X-men: The Zen Chronicles (Redheadstemper)

[Hikari_Mamo]

Piotr stared at them all nervously. His little flower was in pain and he could do nothing! His gut was telling him to not let anyone touch Faye, however, if Logan's healing was the only thing keeping her alive then he might as well do it. The ice was painful but Faye seemed to not be turning into magma anymore so that was a good thing. "Do it." He said to Logan. "Just be careful." He turned his attention to Charles who was looking more than a little worried. "Professor? Kak Dela?" He asked frowning.

"I can't sense Felicity's thoughts. I can hear the thoughts of those who she has touched running in her mind but not hers. I'm worried that the personalities are fighting for control and are hurting her-"

"Dammit Logan! Now!" Piotr growled at the man who, after putting Kel down somewhere safe gently started stroking Faye's cheek.
"No one say a word." He growled at everyone and he did this.

"Spasibo." Poitr said simply as he looked down at Faye.

Piotr? This soon? Xavier's voice whispered in his mind.

Da. Piotr replied smiling at Faye Tenderly. Da, I love her. I know it's so soon but I've liked her since she set foot on campus. But now? After everything I know it's love.  

[redheadstemper]

I'm certainly not one to tell you to deny such feelings. Will you tell her if she wakes?

Piotr blushed, and set himself to the task of making sure that Kel didn't slide around with the turbulence. I will tell her, of course.

The Professor's mental voice became even more gentle. And if she doesn't wake?

I ... don't think there would be anything left to live for. Piotr's mental voice was soft and sad.

I can only tell you two things, Piotr, first, Jean and I will both do everything in our power to save her, and second, if we cannot, do try to find something. I had a ... comparable loss when I was not that much older than you, and I thought I would never be happy again. Now I have found much joy in life.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Piotr didn't respond. Instead he just kept watch over Faye and Kel hoping the sisters would be okay.

Faye stirred a little. Everyone watching her in the plane brightened just a bit. "Piotr." She moaned slight colour returning to her cheeks before she gave a heavy sigh and stopped moving. Piotr's slight happy smile faded into panic.

"What just happened?!" He cried on the verge of tears.

"Her body's shut down." Jean replied. "What you're doing is working Logan but the strain of the other powers, have caused her mind to be forced into a coma. Storm! How much longer til we get back?"

Piotr stopped listening and just stared at his little flower with worry. "Be okay." He whispered but didn't touch her, just in case it was counter productive to Logan's help.  

[redheadstemper]

Piotr's attention was suddenly torn from Faye by the plane touching down rather roughly. Jean was yelling at him.

"-snap out of it? We need you to carry Rakel, Logan's got Faye, the others will have to come later. Oh good, you're actually tracking again. We've got to get Faye back to the mansion." She added as she followed Logan down the ramp. Piotr looked around, picked Kel up and followed them to the Blackbird. Jean had apparently telekinetically triggered the mechanism to get the Blackbird ready, as it rose to the surface as they raced towards it.


In the cargo plane, Professor Xavier made a call. "Hello? Hank, it's Charles, I'm afraid I'm going to need your help. ... Yes, I know, it is quite literally a young woman's life on the line, however... Yes, I know how hard it is to find a job that doesn't care that you're ... You know that I need a new chemistry teacher, I tell you every time a teacher tells me they can't stand to teach mutants any more... I know you ... Hank! We need to find out what's wrong with Faye, or even if we get her to wake up without your help, it will just happen again. All right, I'll get Scott to pick you up once we're back home."  

[Hikari_Mamo]

"Get her on a bed." Jean said setting up her instruments while Logan gently laid Faye on a bed and Piotr put Kel on another. Then, Jean set up IV fluids for both girls. Painkillers mainly for Kel though. "I don't know how long she'll be out for," Jean said mainly to herself as she set up the nasal gastric tube then the machines to monitor Faye's condition. "Well Professor?" Jean asked Xavier through her mind.

Stand by. He replied and his voice went silent for long, agonizing moments before he replied with: It's a tiny whisper. But she's there. The others are fading, Logan and Piotr's voices are still strong but she's fighting back. Barely.

Jean sighed sadly. But she still had hope. Felicity was coming back. Slowly. From what Jean could gather it would be a very slow road, and Piotr would be tortured by it the whole time. When was Hank going to arrive anyway?  

[redheadstemper]

Kel woke slowly, not realising at first that the voices around her were not part of her - very strange - dream.

"John, I understand that you want to be here, but at the rate Faye's mind is healing, she won't wake today. She won't wake this week, even, so I have to tell you both to leave this infirmary."

"Not gonna kick me out, Jeannie?"

"Well, first, it wouldn't take, second it would inflict you worrying on the children, and third" Kel heard someone walking towards her "the one you are here to see is awake. How are you feeling, Kel?"

"Did you have to knock me out?"

Jean smirked. "Well, I could have left you to fight the exhaustion for as long as you could, but then you would have felt worse when you woke, which wouldn't have been any time soon." Jean's tone matched the stern look she gave Kel perfectly. "I thought you might want to be awake before I started any serious testing, but I underestimated just how exhausted you were. I'd tell you what I've got so far, but I'm going to need to talk to Hank first. He'll be arriving soon, and I would prefer if you both were out of here before then." As she spoke, they heard the basketball court opening to let the Blackbird in. "Kel, you can't take your codeine for the sedative headache, but I'm told Ororo's tea does wonders. Now shoo, the both of you!"

As Kel was ushered out of the infirmary by Logan, she told him to go to the hangar, instead. "I dont think you've met Dr McCoy, so I think you'll want to see him before he gets confounded by Faye. "

"You don't think he'll be able to help?"

"He'll be able to help, but from what Jean said, I think he'll be puzzled until he's done his tests and talked to Jeannie."

As they approached the door to the Blackbird's hangar, it opened and a large man covered in blue fur, with decidedly simian features, and dressed in a suit exited.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

"Kel!" Beast beamed. "I didn't know you were back!" He smiled and went to her putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Glad to see you've returned. Now I must be off. I'll see you around soon."


Piotr at first stood his ground. "I can't just leave her!" He bellowed. "She needs me!"

"No she doesn't-" John began.

"Shut it flame boy! You have no say here you abandoned her!" Piotr's eyes were shining a little in anger. "She's mine now go play with your lighter fire boy!"

"What was that?!" John growled lighting up his hands.

"Enough both of you get out!" Jean hissed making their minds hurt. The monitor started beeping as Faye's body started to fit again.

"Sh*t!!" Jean hissed trying to see what was going on.

"Hey," Piotr whispered to Faye stroking her arm. "Ssh." He whispered in her ear. "I'm here it's okay don't be scared." Jean watched amazed as he seemed to soothe her out of a seizure.

"How did you do that?" Jean asked with a frown.

"She hates fighting." Piotr replied. "I will stay here until Hank arrives. If she starts up again let me know I'll come back right away."  

[redheadstemper]

Piotr thought for a moment as he left the infirmary, then made his way into the mansion. He at first didn't think anything of the fact that Pyro was following him, as there were limited paths to the main mansion, but as he reached the main area of the mansion and started towards the kitchen, he noticed that John was still following him and turned. "What are you doing?"

"Following you." John crossed his arms and stood his ground.

"Why? You should go and talk to the friends you left behind, but the two that are able to talk back to you are waiting at the airstrip for Cyclops to get them after fetching Doctor McCoy."

"Just what are you trying to say? All I want to know is what she sees in you!" Pyro was outraged now, and didn't realise how loud he was getting.

"I am saying that your actions have made three people mourn for your friendship, one of them mourning what could have been more, and now you try to act as if you have not chosen to follow someone who has almost killed your friend! As to what she sees in me, it is much more than she saw in you, before you left her. Now, I need to eat, and you need to ******** off!"

Piotr left him standing in the hall, and headed towards the kitchen to get some dinner, and make up for the lunch he had missed, vaguely wondering why he had said such things. Even though he felt that way, he was normally more ... politely phrased about it.


In the hallway, John stared after Piotr, not noticing two shapes coming up behind him. Suddenly, he heard a, "So!", and a hand landed on his shoulder. He half turned to see Professor Xavier, in his wheelchair, wearing glasses for some reason.

"Mr Allerdyce, we need to talk, man" he took the glasses off with one hand, "to man."

Both men were shocked when a boy standing several yards down the hall suddenly called out, "YYYYEEEEAAAAHHHHH!" He looked at their puzzled faces, before squeaking, "CSI Miami?" and almost running around the corner.

Charles shook his head and gripped John's shoulder tighter before he could run away. "Now, John, we really do need to talk. Come along to my office, now."  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Jean rubbed her temples a little. She had tried to make sense of it all. Tried to understand why Felicity wasn't responding to any known treatments. "Ah Hank finally!" She cried when he walked in. "Why are you upset?"

"Kel dragged her boyfriend to see me." He said. "Like I'm a bloody Museum display." He shook his head. "Now where's this girl Scott has been telling me about."

"Over here." Jean replied leading him to the bed as she explained what happened. "Careful not to touch her. I don't know what will happen."

"Understood." Hank replied and with Jean began their tests.




"So," Xavier asked with a smile. "Do we understand each other?" He asked John over his glasses.

"Y-yes." John replied looking a little distressed.

"Good. Now, your old room is still there if you want it. I have to go see what's going on with my Niece then talk to Piotr you go. . . do whatever okay?"

"Yes sir." John replied a little scared.  

[redheadstemper]

A week later, Piotr was eating breakfast, planning to spend most of his day watching over Faye as he had been doing all week, when Xavier entered the kitchen.

"Jean tells me that you have been spending almost all your time in the infirmary."

"Yes, Professor, I feel that I need to do something, but all I can do is make sure she is not alone."

Xavier smiled softly. "She won't be alone, Piotr, if you take some, or even most, of your time elsewhere. There is always someone there, and you can talk to Kel, Hank, Jean, Logan ... most of the teachers still here for the holidays spend time with her, and have already agreed amongst themselves to not let her be alone."

Piotr was puzzled. "But what of the times when I was the only one there?"

"They wanted to give you privacy, Piotr. Now, may I suggest that you do something with your time? If you sit there for too long, you will lose hope, since you cannot see her coming back to us. I assure you that she is, but it is hard to believe when you can't see it. You two haven't had a first date yet, even if you have spoken to each other, and while the culture you were raised in encourages you to recognise love early, hers does not." Piotr stood to wash his breakfast bowl as he listened to Xavier. "Perhaps you could plan a nice date for when she wakes up?"

"But I wouldn't know what to plan, Professor."

"You could talk to the others, Kel would probably know what Faye would like, and the other young men will probably give you more advice than you need. Ask people, and they will be glad to help." Xavier left Piotr in the kitchen to think.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Jean and Hank stared at each other for long moments. "Every test we make gives us the same answer." Hank said eventually. "If this happens again. . . she won't come back."

"I know. We need to restrict the amount of people she touches." Jean replied.

"We can't just tell her to pick who she wants to touch." Hank said in a frustrated tone. "You've told me that she's like Rakel. You tell her not to do something and she goes ahead and does it anyway."

"What about humans? We don't know the effects she has on normals. Do we?" Jean pondered.

"Well, we could invite her parents here from Australia to find out-" Hank began.

"Hank!" Jean screeched. "You're not seriously thinking about human experimentation are you?!" The other flushed under his fur.

"N-No! Of course not how could you suggest such a thing?! I was just pointing out that with recent events the parents might be worried."

"Sure you were." Xavier replied with a frown. "And unless something happens like she takes a turn for the worst her parents won't come to see her, they trust me enough-"

"You mean they won't come to her now even though she could be dying? And won't they want to at some point meet Piotr?" Jean asked with a frown.

"I've been sending them letters with pictures of him. But yes they have asked that at some point we send the black bird to pick them up so they can spend Felicity's birthday with her since she's spent the last three alone."  

[redheadstemper]

None of the three adults seemed to notice Piotr sketching next to Faye. They didn't turn around when he broke his pencil at the though of Faye being close to death. He was almost glad that he'd broken it when he heard them say that she'd spent her last three birthdays alone. If he'd still had it in his hand, he would have given himself splinters.

After his discussion with Professor Xavier, Piotr had thought about what he could do to make Faye feel better when she woke up. He couldn't really book anywhere for a nice date before she did, after all. He'd finally settled on sketching some of the beautiful things he'd seen - including one of her face, when she'd smiled at him just a week ago. Jean hadn't seemed to notice him when he slipped in, and now he was glad. None of them would have told him this, and he felt he needed to know.

"What do you think her limit would be, safely? She didn't seem to react badly to Wolverine, Kel or me." Xavier and the two doctors turned to face him, apparently surprised that he was there.

"Well, we can't really know, but I don't think more than one other, if she's touched all three of you. I think time to adjust between copying powers would help, too, but it's hard to know for certain. What I can say is that her having Logan's powers saved her this time, so perhaps if she's going to absorb more than one power, Logan's should be first."


Later the same day, Piotr knocked on Kel's door, after pausing to make sure she was alone. Or at least not busy.

"Yes? Oh, hi Piotr, what's up?"

"I was hoping you would be able to tell me what Faye likes? For a date? Professor Xavier pointed out that we have not had a date yet, and that it would be something to cheer her up once she recovers, and-"

"Kay, I think I've got it. You want pointers for a first date with Faye. Well, you shouldn't go overboard, but she likes fancy food, a bit of romance, maybe some music. You know, what most girls like. Maybe you could ask someone else about where to take her - I don't know the places 'round here. The blokes could tell you where they take their girls, and the girls can tell you what they think of those places."

As Piotr walked away, he pondered on who he should ask. Perhaps Bobby could help?


Elsewhere, Hank was talking to Charles. "Why do her parents trust you so much?"

"Well, it is a bit complicated, but when I was an athlete, one of my running mates was ... well, he turns out to be Faye's grandfather, to simplify things. Apparently he told his son all about me, and he now thinks of me as an uncle. So, as far as they are concerned, she's in the hands of a competent relative."  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Bobby grinned over at Rogue and Kitty. "Hey! stop ganging up on me!" He called as they played Foosball.

"Hey you wanted to play both of us." Rogue said with a grin.

"Because he didn't want to make you jealous." John interrupted. "And you're such the jealous type Rogue." All three stopped their game and gaped at him.

"Shouldn't you be-" Rogue began but Bobby and Kitty rushed him.

"John you're back!" They cried hugging him tight for a moment.

"We thought you'd be with Faye." Bobby said a little concerned.

"I would be with Faye." John replied with a little blush. "But Piotr is there and everyone thinks he's so great. Urgh." He sighed. Clearly jealous of him and the fact that everyone was happy that Faye and Piotr were together.

Xavier paused in his explanation and his eyes wide. A tiny blush on his cheeks as he turned to look at the comatose Faye. "Such thoughts Felicity." He mumbled shaking his head.  

[redheadstemper]

Piotr, having decided on a course of action, went to Bobby's room to ask for his advice. As he approached the open door, he heard John, apparently ranting about him.

"Oh, I'm Piotr, I'm so great, everyone just falls all over me to help me get together with a girl who was going to hook up with Pyro."

Piotr continued to stand in the doorway, and saw John and Rogue facing away from the door, both of them facing Bobby at the window. Bobby's eyes flicked to Piotr and an amused look crossed his face before he continued listening to his best friend's rant. John went on in the same fashion for some time before finally looking at Bobby's face and saying, "he's right behind me, isn't he?"

Rogue turned to look and yelped in surprise before Bobby answered. "Yep."

"How long?"

"Oh, a good five minutes or so."

"I'm going now." Pyro made good his statement by squeezing past Piotr and heading down the hall.

"So, not that I'm not happy to see you, but, well, why are you here? You don't usually pop by people's rooms."

"I ... was hoping for your help, to plan a date-"

"Right, I so don't need to hear this." Rogue cut in, leaving in the same direction as John.

"For Faye? What do you need to know?"

"Well, I don't know where to take her. Kel said she likes fancy food, but I don't know where that might be, in town."

"Well, there's this one place, that I heard some of the girls talking about. I haven't been there, since Rogue doesn't like fancy food, but the other girls were saying how they wish their boyfeiends would take them there. Do you know what else she would like? What else did Kel say?"

"Um, romance, and music. And not to go overboard."

"Right, well, as for romance, candles on the table. I can't help you with music, though some places will get a violinist to drop by your table if you want ... my dad took us to one for my mom's birthday one time."

"Well, thank you for the help. I think I shall go and ask the gils about the restaurant. Who was it that was talking?"

"I think your best bet is Kitty." As Piotr left Bobby's room, Iceman calleout,, "good luck with that, man."  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Piotr nodded following Bobby out and then went off to find Kitty. The girl was hard to pin down so he asked other girls while he went what they thought of the place Bobby had suggested.

"Oh that's a lovely place for a date!" One had gushed. "It's so romantic and the background music is so lovely~! Ah! She'd love it."

"But I heard the Blue Dragon was a good place to go." Her friend commented. "Both places are nice. I've never been to any myself. But I know some of the Professor's have. Maybe you should ask them later?" The girl watched Piotr blush and nod with a giggle. The way he was with Faye was so romantic, they hoped when they got boyfriends theirs would treat them the same.

Piotr kept moving. He had ti find Kitty! She just- "Hey Piotr." Kitty's voice sounded. "I heard you're looking for me. What's up?" Piotr stumbled a little bit and smiled.

"Yeah. Um I was wondering," He began. "If you've heard of any good places for a first date." He blushed a little and rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh sure, I've got a whole list of them." She grinned at his actions and went through the list. "I've been to many on my own or with friends. The one place I'd totally recommend is the Firefly." She smiled. "That's the one Kel said right? Well if you want, I can call ahead and let them know you'll be calling? They know me well there, I work weekends for them sometimes when they need me and they love me over there. I'll hook you up."

"Uh. . . thank you. Kel told me to not over do it though. But I don't know what that means so maybe wait until she wakes up before making plans?" He said in a broken voice.

"Hey, you okay man?" Kitty asked. "You look sad. Be happy this will be your first date with her!" Piotr shook his head.

"Thanks, I'm trying to be happy but I'm worried she won't wake up. I mean I know she will but I'm still scared." Kitty patted his shoulder.

"She'll be fine. Hey! Why don't we go into town and find a nice dress for her to wear? She's a size smaller than I am so I'm sure we'll find something nice." Kitty smiled. "We could bring Kel too, she know's what Faye likes too."

Piotr smiled a little. "Why are you helping us? Are you not mad that Faye didn't go with John?"

"Are you kidding?!" Kitty asked looking offended. "He abandoned her! He has no business trying to get her back!" She put her hands on her hips and frowned. "Besides you treat her better than he ever would. I'm rooting for you two. Come on! Let's go find Kel and ask her to come with us!"