Damn it, it's already getting dark, and I didn't make it far enough. Just great.
I've been in this region for almost three whole days, which is strange for a nomad like me. I'd better find a place to rest.
Man, if it weren't for those damned humans, I'd be long gone by now. But since they keep coming deeper into this place, it's hard to move around.
After walking a bit, I find an empty cave and start preparing it as a place to sleep.
I head out to gather some leaves to cover the cave floor when—
BOOM!
A massive explosion shakes the entire forest as something crashes from the sky straight into the ground.
Oh my God!
Could it be that meteor Gaia told me about — the one that wiped out the dinosaurs — came back?!
But then I remember she said that was impossible, since it only happened once. And if it happened again, I'd be the first to know.
So… what the hell was that?
Curiosity killed the cat.
I start moving toward the spot where it fell.
And the closer I get, the stranger I feel — like something is wrong.
But I push that thought deep into the back of my mind and keep walking toward the crater.
When I arrive, I see… a bird?
What the hell is that?
I look carefully — no movement, just flames. Still, maybe the bird's hurt. I should check.
I start climbing down into the crater toward the injured bird and find it odd, because Gaia told me I have knowledge of all known animals — what they are, at least, though not what they look like — so I have to imagine most of them myself.
And none of the animals I know match this one.
How the hell is it on fire? Was it struck by lightning?
When I reach it, I touch its body — hard and cold.
Is it already dead?
THUD!
Just as I'm about to use Gaia's power, I hear a loud crash — something fell, or maybe was thrown.
Startled, I jump onto the creature's body and sneak toward the noise.
When I get close, I see a human woman carrying another on her shoulder, staggering out of the metallic bird.
But she doesn't look good — I can smell the blood from here.
The one she's carrying has a head wound that's bleeding slightly and wears some kind of strange thing over his eyes.
I don't know what it is, but one thing's for sure — neither of them looks well. The woman's about to collapse.
She barely takes two steps before falling face-first to the ground.
I won't lie — I'm not a fan of humans, especially the ones I've seen so far. But honestly… these two look pitiful.
Would Gaia get mad if I took them to the cave?
I think for a bit, then a phrase of hers echoes in my mind:
"I'll always support you, no matter the path you choose."
Sigh.
I sigh, thinking, Why am I such a nice guy?
Climbing off the fallen creature, I walk toward the pair. The woman still seems a little conscious, so I kneel beside her, place my hand on her forehead, and whisper the same words Gaia always says:
"Sleep well."
Her eyes widen for a moment, then she loses strength and passes out.
Seeing that, I carry her and the other one up from the crater, then go back to check on the bird.
I notice a hole where the two had emerged from.
Curious as ever, I stick my head inside — and see a red light shining in the darkness, with three more humans lying unconscious.
Damn it. This is going to be a lot of work.
_____________
Ugh… my head.
What happened?
Bits of memory come back — the mission, the Blackbird…
I jolt upright, panic setting in, and glance around, trying to find the others.
I'm inside a dim cave. My eyes quickly adjust to the darkness.
Where am I?
I look around, searching for the others, and soon spot them lying nearby — all still in uniform.
Strange. What's going on?
Who saved us — and how?
I scan the place carefully but see no one.
I stand, though it's not easy.
The cave entrance isn't far.
But something feels off. Really off.
Whoever saved us isn't ordinary — it must've taken time and effort to carry all of us here… unless they were strong enough to lift everyone at once.
So either we've been rescued by something that plans to have us for dinner later… or by an enemy who thinks they can keep us contained.
I need to stay alert — and try to wake the others.
Slowly, I move to Jean's side and try to wake her, but she doesn't stir.
Damn it. Maybe her injuries are worse than I thought.
I turn to Anna next — nothing, not even a twitch.
Worried, I check on Kurt — still unresponsive. Maybe they were drugged with a strong sedative.
Crap. We're screwed. It's just me — and if the enemy's powerful, I might not be able to protect the others alone.
Think, Scott, think.
Before I can come up with anything, I hear footsteps approaching the cave entrance.
Damn it. It's now or never.
As soon as I see the silhouette of whoever it is, I lift my visor — and fire.
Damn, that was rough. I didn't expect carrying them to the cave to be that hard. The weird thing is they still haven't woken up.
I mean, sure, some of their wounds looked bad, but when Mr. Bear got hit in the head, Gaia's power healed him instantly.
Eh, whatever.
I just hope these humans can eat the fruit I brought — it took a while to get them, especially since I had to convince Mother Gaia to make extra food because of them.
She likes humans, sure — but not what they do. So I had to use my best trick: call her "Mom" and make a cute face. Works every time.
Being a kid has its perks.
And honestly, accepting Gaia as my mother isn't so bad. She's the only one who truly knows me — sometimes even better than I know myself. She always seems to know what I need before I even ask.
Ahh…
I don't know what I'd do without her.
Oh — I'm almost back.
I reach the entrance and see that one of them is clearly awake.
Which one is it, I wonder?
If I can get a little closer, I'll find out.
I start to step inside — but as soon as I do, the human with that weird thing on his eyes moves it aside, and I only see a red beam racing straight toward me.
Terrified, I raise my arms in front of me, trying to shield myself — but it's no use.
I feel immense heat — and unimaginable pain.
Damn it… why did he have to do this to me? I helped them!
Such ungratefulness. I should've listened to Mother Gaia.
Humans aren't trustworthy at all when you're different. She warned me that I might regret helping these people, but—naive as always—I thought she was wrong.
Shit… so this is how I'm going to die?
But just as my mind starts to fade into white — a sound catches my attention.
CLICK.
_____________
Meanwhile, Professor Xavier was in the Cerebro chamber, desperately trying to contact Ororo, Logan, Scott, or the others—but there was no response. Not even when he tried to locate them.
Growing increasingly desperate, Charles turned to Hank beside him and said,
"Hank, I need you to try again. See if you can locate the Blackbird. Maybe if we find it, we'll find the others."
Hank nodded quickly and hurried toward the lab to try to track down the Blackbird.
"Damn it!"
Charles slammed his hand against his wheelchair, frustrated beyond words at his failure to find any of his friends or students.
All of this had happened because of him—for sending them on that damned mission.
It was supposed to be simple: investigate a strange location that had been sending out repeated distress calls about a mutate attack. He'd even used Cerebro beforehand to make sure everything was fine. When he checked, he'd seen it was just a mutant losing control—so he sent a small rescue team, in case confrontation became necessary.
But not long after that, Jean had sent a telepathic message saying that the Brotherhood was involved, and that Logan and Ororo had probably been captured.
When he tried to reach her again, she didn't respond—and her unique psychic signature vanished completely.
That was twelve hours ago.
He hadn't slept at all since then, doing everything he could to solve the problem—but nothing. Not even a trace of what might have happened.
CLICK!
Just as Charles was about to use Cerebro again, a sharp click echoed through the room—but it wasn't just a sound. It was something far more powerful.
So powerful that the moment he heard it, Cerebro began crackling with energy, forcing Charles to hurl himself away from it—only for it to explode moments later.
Even Charles wasn't unscathed. His nose began to bleed, and a throbbing pain pulsed in his head.
"Ugh… what the hell was that?"
He paused to catch his breath, but then recognized the psychic signature.
"Wait… isn't this identical to that pulse from a month ago?"
"No… this is much worse. It feels like a being declaring its presence to the world."
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Hey everyone, hope you're enjoying the story so far—I'm feeling really inspired right now!As usual, if you have any questions, ideas, constructive criticism, or advice on how I can improve my writing, feel free to share them. I'll always read them!