Generation X: It's Always Darkest... part 10

Disclaimer: Gen X and Excalibur are Marvel's, but anyone else is
probably mine.

Author's Note: Last chapter in the First Contact Trilogy, folks. I'm betting
this doesn't end quite the way you'd expect it to, either. Stay tuned for my
next piece of work [tittle TBA] introducing severalmore new mutants with perhaps 
a cameo of the other X teams now and then, with an... unexpected star. PLEASE 
tell me what you thought, people! I live for feedback! Note: this occurs BEFORE 
the second battle with Emplate, which, in this reality, never occurs, and also 
before Douglock is kidnaped by Black Air. Also, the epilogue catches up to the
present, and the last part is told in third person. Don't worry, you'll see
why in due course...
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                                                       10
                           All Good Things Must Come To An End...

     "DOA!" Emplate snapped.

     "Shall I free her? Sir?" the little troll asked.

     "Of course," he snarled. The little creature called DOA scampered
over to my side and pried all the restraints off of my arm's and legs,
leaving me free to stand.

     "Why are you doing this?!" Monet asked.

     "You know why, 'Monet'," he replied coldly. "You ALWAYS knew."
He turned to me, his red eyes glowing. "Dawn!" he snapped. "Hold these
chattel fast, but do not kill them. I have... use for them."

     "Muh... muh..." I wanted to say 'master' so badly..!  His thoughts
nagged at my mind as he tried to make me do what he wanted. Then I
looked at the others' horrified and despairing faces and made my decision.
With a deep, determined breath I gathered my waning will power.
"Emplate... I won't... let you use me anymore!" I declared, fighting off his
control. I tried to prepare a psi-bolt, but I was still too much under
his influence to focus it properly.

     "You're FIGHTING me?" Emplate exclaimed in surprise. "I hadn't
thought that possible. Oh well, you shall just have to die with the rest of
them, then."

     Frightened and enraged, I extended my wings instinctively, spreading
them around me in an almost defensive manner. I began to wonder what
power I could use against him when DOA came up behind me.

     "Pretty silver wings," he sneered. "She can probably fly well with them
too. Shall I relieve her of them? Sir?"

     "Why let you when *I* can do it?" Emplate faded out and reappeared
next to me before I could move.

     "Let THIS be a lesson to you," he growled, slashing a large, sharp
hand across my wings. "NEVER cross your master!"

     "EEEIIIIAAARGH!!!!!" I shrieked as his fingers sliced through
feathers, skin and bone like a knife through butter. Blood poured from my
wings and pooled on the floor as I fell to the ground, shuddering in pain.

     And DOA smiled.

     "Little Dawn won't fly far with THOSE," he cackled. "Excellent work.
Sir." I looked at him, my wings fluttering pitifully. Even through the haze
of agony I could sense something sinister about the little troll, maybe even
more so then Emplate.

     "Dawn!"

     I looked to one side and saw Glenn flying at Emplate, fists first. Rage
fueled his powers, and he slammed Emplate into the wall. "You monster!"
he screamed. "Yer killin' her!"

     "Merely maiming her," he replied, pulling himself out of the wall,
unfazed. "She'll be fine, but those wings of hers will never be the same
again. Not that it matters -- she didn't really need them in the first place."
He lifted his razor-sharp hand and said, "Let's see how well your amusing
little healing factor can function when you head is separated from your
body."

     Suddenly ten blades of reddish-gold energy hit Emplate in the side,
courtesy of Pete Wisdom and his infamous hot-knives. "Try doing that
with a bleedin' hole in your side, toerag," Pete said.

     "Ah, Mr. Wisdom," Emplate said, turning slowly. "Has no one briefed
you on the nature of my powers? No? Then this shall be excellent
education for you." He fired Wisdom's own hot-knives back at him,
scorching the former secret serviceman's jacket as it clipped his side. Kitty
quickly stepped in and phased him before anything else could touch him.

     "Ye canna use any form o' energy against him," Sean explained. "He
c'n just channel it back to ye."

     In the meantime Jubilee had run up to me. "Geez, Dawn, yer bleeding
awful bad," Jubilee observed. "Here, put this on. It might help." She took
off her prized yellow trench coat and wrapped it around my wings to try
and stop the bleeding.

     "T-thanks Jubilee..." I gasped. With great effort I shut down the pain
section of my brain so I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. As the
pain abated my senses cleared. "Glenn!" I exclaimed, snapping my head
up. "What about--"

     "Kitty's on it."

     Indeed, at that very moment Kitty had phased under the floor, reached
up, and grabbed Glenn by the arm. "Come on, Glenn," she whispered,
"I'm getting you out of here. Take the deepest breath you can and hold
it..." She phased him under ground just as Emplate turned around and
emerged several seconds later about sixteen feet away.

     "You should not attack children, tovarisch," Piotr said, slamming an
armored fist into Emplate's stomach. Emplate reeled slightly, unable to
channel his power. However, the next time Piotr's fist came at him he
teleported behind him and out of harm's way.

     "Any ideas how we can stop tall, spiky and ugly?" Jubilee inquired.

     "Let me see if I can get into his mind," I said, concentrating. I hadn't
been able to do it before, but now he was distracted, and the pathways to
his mind already existed because we were linked. I searched his mind and
found so much misery I was nearly overwhelmed, but managed to get my
shields up in time. I searched and discovered an... anomaly. It was
something dark and evil and hungry, and very old. There was no way it
could have been part of Emplate. I snapped the connection between
Emplate and the anomaly with... unexpected results.

     Both Emplate and DOA cried out in agony as I severed the link
between the two, leaving Emplate unconscious. DOA got to his feet
slowly and looked at me. "You are strong," he said to me, rubbing his
head. "Strong enough to break my control over the boy."

     "YOUR control over HIM?" I said.

     "Yes," he replied. "MY control over HIM."

     "It was you..?" Monet said. "YOU were doing it? YOU were
controlling Verney?"

     "'Verney'?" Jubilee muttered.

     "You didn't honestly think his real name was Emplate, did you?" DOA
remarked obscurely. "Young Mr. St. Croix was an excellent pawn, his
misery was quite... delicious."

     "Who ARE you?" I asked.

     "There is no need for disguises now," he said. The dwarfed mutant
grew three feet or so, his chauffeur's outfit and tiny, grinning face
replaced with a leering skull and a ragged blue cloak. "I am D'Spayre," he
told us in a voice that sent chills up my spine. "I feed off of misery and
hatred, and indeed Verney was a truly fantastic catch. His ability to
enscroll people made him a vessel for their pain. I made him believe he
had enslaved ME, when in actuality it was *I* who had enslaved
HIM. Through him I spread my influence, making me many times
stronger then I have ever been before." The demon turned to Kurt, who
look frozen in shock. "You will not find me as easy to defeat this time,
Nightcrawler," he snarled. He turned to me and said, "YOU, on the other
hand, YOU are as much a weapon for me as HE was," he indicated
Emplate, or Verney, as the case may be. "YOU can summon the dead,
and through you I shall be able to feed upon THEIR miseries as well!
Come to me, child, come and serve your master."

     I didn't want to, I swear, but I couldn't stop myself. My feet seemed to
be moving independently of my mind, and I was helpless to stop it. My
mind was drowning in D'Spayre's dark influence, leaving me grasping at
straws to hold onto my sanity.

     Then I heard Glenn calling to me in the distance. "Dawn, NO!!!" he
cried. "Don't go with him! Don't let him win!"

     :Glenn..?: I sent weakly. :Where are you, Glenn..? I'm lost... help me...
please... he's SWALLOWING me... help me find a way out of here!:

     "Dawn, hold on!" my friend called. "You can do it, I know you can!"

     "Dawn, listen to me!" Monet said. "You MUST reject D'Spayre's
influence! You can do it if you really try, but you MUST NOT LET HIM
TAKE YOU!"

     If I really try... I thought about Will, about how if D'Spayre succeeded
in taking control of me he would torture him and Clarice and Jenny, and
about Glenn and the others, and how Verney would be used to control
THEM, too. What it would be like to be used for the rest of my life, of
how terrible it felt to be controlled. I gathered my meager strength and
rallied my defenses, seeking to purge myself of the evil taint of D'Spayre.
With a supreme effort I expelled the foul presence from my mind and
watched in amazement as the evil erupted from my body in the form of  a
sickly green light. I stood up, literally crackling with psionic energy.

     "Your ploy has failed, demon," I snarled through gritted teeth. "I'm
FREE, and I'll NEVER let you get to me again."

     "Very well," D'Spayre said, "If I cannot have you, I shall destroy you!"
He threw a bolt of black energy at me, which surely would have killed me
had I not called upon Clarice and had her 'port us to an empty room
somewhere else in the complex.

     "What're we gonna do now?!" Jubilee exclaimed. "That thing'll
probably torch the whole building!"

     "Kurt, didn't you fight D'Spayre before?" Meggan asked.

     The former X-Man nodded. "I did," he agreed. "I beat him with hope.
Quite literally, in fact. He caused me to relive a memory, unaware that it,
instead of being one of pain and trauma, was one of a friendship that
outlived the hate and fear. Thus weakened, I ran him through with a
sword, and without any anger and fear to sustain him, he was
vanquished. For the moment."

     "Pardon my ignorance," Pete interrupted, "But wot the bloody 'ell are
you talking about?! People running around with mouths on their hands,
mind control, and six foot blue demons ain't my area of expertise."

     "You haven't been in the super hero biz very long, have you?" Angelo
remarked.

     "I hate to interrupt," I said, pressing my hands against my forehead,
"but I'm feeling something, and I think it's..."

     "Time to turn around and run like hell!" Jubilee finished as D'Spayre
literally burned through a wall.

     "Fools!" he cried. "Did you really think you could run from me?!
Where ever you go, I can follow you! You shall never be able to escape
me!"

     "We'll see about that!" Sean shouted. He pushed Moira through the
door way into the next room, saying, "Run, Moira! I'll hold him off while
ye an' the others take the children t' the shelter!" He triggered his sonic
scream and turned it on D'Spayre, full force.

     "Sean, I dinna want ta leave ye here!" Moira exclaimed as she shoved
the rest of us through the doors.

     "Go, woman!" he barked. "Ye must protect the children!"

     "For yuir sake, Sean, I will," Moira whispered, a tear running down
her cheek as she hurried out of the room.

     Moira led us through several winding corridors, going deep down to
the bottom of the complex. Everyone was unnaturally quiet; even Mondo
couldn't think of anything to say. Finally we arrived at a huge, steel door.
All of us, Gen X and Excalibur alike, ran through the door way and into
the huge shelter behind it. "Here," Moira said. "We can hold that demon
off while Kitty phases the children out and puts them on a boat to the
mainland. They'll be safe there."

      "No offense, Senorita," Angelo put in, "but nowhere's safe from that
thing. You saw what it did to the walls, it can go ANYWHERE."

     :Ange's right,: Jonothon sent. :What's to guarantee that after it finishes
choppin' up yer and the rest o' yer little group it doesn't come after us?
And maybe hurt a lot o' other folk in the bargain?:

     "Well, what do you suggest?!" Moira demanded. "Tha' we jus' sit here
like frightened rabbits while tha' horror kills us?!"

     I didn't hear whatever was said next, for I was smote by such a wave
of pain that it drove me to my knees. I knew it must have been Sean, and
I cried out in terror, afraid of what would happen to him if left up there
any longer. Without a moment's hesitation I 'ported him down to the
shelter, fearing that I was too late to save him.

     He appeared at Moira's feet, scarcely breathing and horribly burned.
"SEAN!" Moira cried. She leaned over him and inspected his wound.
"Rahne, get me the med kit from the shelf, stat!" she exclaimed. The
small, red haired girl quickly did as she requested, grabbing the kit and
several small towels, which she wet down and applied to Sean's burns.

     "Still alive, thank God," Moira sighed as she dabbed something on the
burns. "He'll live... but for how long I dinna ken, seeing as how the
current situation is goin'."

     That was when I made up my mind. I walked over to the door and
opened it.

     "Dawn, what are you doing?" Emma asked, her usually calm
demeanor slipping.

     "Ya're not plannin' ta do what Ah think ya are, are ya?" Paige asked, in
her panic her voice reverting to her Southern accent. "That's suicide, gal!"

     "Paige," I said, "I CAN'T let anyone else die. I'll hold him off while
you escape. It's me he's after, and I don't have that much to lose anyway."

     "Dawn, no!" Glenn exclaimed, catching hold of my arm. "I won't let
you throw your life away!"

     I smiled wanly. "It's a bit too late for that, Glenn," I said. "I'm dying as
it is, I might as well make my death matter."

     "What? Dawn, what're you saying?"

     "Glenn... I AM dying. I have the Legacy Virus, and it's in its final
stages. I've got a month left, tops."

     I looked around the room, perceiving all the horrified faces. I shook
my head slowly and said, "So you see, I really DON'T have that much to
lose, not as much as any of you guys." I took a step towards the door and
looked out. The far wall of the hallway was burning away; D'Spayre was
almost there. I turned to Glenn, tears in my eyes. "Glenn..." I started.

    Glenn put his hand to my lips, silencing me. He embraced me and
kissed me empathically on the lips. Then he did something totally
unexpected -- he shoved me back into the shelter and stepped out the
door himself, sealing it behind him.

     "GLENN?!" I screamed, pounding on the door. "Glenn, no! Don't do
this! Not for me! I'm not worth it!" I could feel tears flowing down my
cheeks, but I couldn't muster the power to teleport myself out to help him
or him in to safety.

     :I love you, Dawn,: he sent over our psionic rapport. :I always will.:
He took a step towards the unholy terror... and was incinerated by an
energy blast.

     :GLENN?!?!?!: I sent in terror. :NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:
My agonized cry was heard by everyone in a fifty mile radius, including
the others in the shelter. I sank to my knees, sobs wracking my body once
more as I realized he was truly gone this time. This time there would be
no way to cure him... death was final. Irreversible.

     "Lass..." came Sean's weak voice. I could barely see his burned form
through my tears, but I could hear his voice clearly enough. "Lass, I'm
sorry... about yuir friend... but please, save... yuirself... and the others.
Get them... out of here. Please..." he lapsed into unconsciousness.

     "All right..." I whispered. I 'ported everyone, including myself, to the
surface of the island and awaited my fate.

     I didn't have to wait long, for D'Spayre erupted from the ground,
spraying debris everywhere. "INFIDELS!" he shrieked. "No mortal
weapon or being can hurt me, or haven't you realized by now?! I shall kill
you all, and hang your skulls from the doorway of my palace as a
reminder to all those who dare oppose me!" He burst into maniacal
laughter.

     Then something clicked. No mortal weapon could hurt him... but what
if I didn't USE a mortal weapon? What if... Yes, it would work. It had to,
if I could only pull it off...

     :Monet,: I sent. :I think I have a solution...: I explained my plan to her
and she nodded.

     :Yes,: she sent. :It just might work. What have we got to lose?:

     I started to concentrate as D'Spayre advanced on us, gathering the
souls of people who might possibly help me. Jenny DeMount, Clarice
Ferguson, my cousin Will, James Proudstar, the young Illyana Rasputin,
the flickering half-souls of Doug Ramsey and Warlock, my own parents,
Jane and Peter Embers, Jamie Madrox, Kwannon, the assassin, David
Haller, Professor Xavier's son, and, last but not least, Glenn. I asked each
of these thirteen souls the same question: :Will you help defeat
D'Spayre?:

     :You needn't even ask!: Jenny told me.

     :anything to save my friends,: Clarice agreed.

     :Anything for YOU, kiddo,: Will replied.

     :Might as well,: James snorted. :Nothin' else to do.:

     :For Katya and Piotr,: Illyana pledged.

     :For Rahne and Kitty and Sam's sister,: Doug added.

     :For the friends of selfsoulfriend Doug,: Warlock answered.

     :To atone for what I have done,: my father swore.

     :For you, Dawn: my mom said.

     :For Moira and Rahne and all the rest,: Jamie sent.

     :For the sake of the dream, and the world,: Kwannon promised.

     :For my father's dream,: David echoed.

     :To fight by your side one last time, Dawn,: Glenn sent.

     :Thank you,: I sent. I had never contained so many souls as this
before, and I prayed that I was doing the right thing. Using the combined
energy of the souls I super charged my psionic power, summoning the
sword I had used against Emplate in the astral plane. I filled it with the
hopes and dreams of the deceased, the love and the friendship alike, as
well as every fiber of love in my heart. The pain was unbelievable, but I
only needed it for a few seconds. I turned to D'Spayre, plunged it into his
heart, and screamed, "This is for Glenn, you bastard!!!!!!!"

     D'Spayre let out a shriek of pain and fell to the ground, trembling.
"But how..?" he asked as his body began to shrink.

     "It's NOT a mortal weapon," I told him. "It's the sum and substance of
love and hope, such as you will never know."

     D'Spayre tried to speak, but his body collapsed within itself and he
shriveled into a pile of ashes. As he did the sword and the souls I had
gather faded out of existence, Glenn calling out to me one last time. :I
love you, Dawn. Never forget that.: With that message he too
disappeared, leaving me alone and severely drained. I passed out on the
lawn just as the sun set over the ocean, throwing a few final beams of
gold over my face.

_*_

                            Epilogue: A Dying Wish



     I close my journal silently and gaze out of the window near my
bedside. It's been three weeks since I've written in my journal, and it
seems like such a long time ago. I do remember Moira telling me I'd
burned out my medium power the day after, though, and the trip to
London where I scattered Glenn's ashes over his parent's graves. I miss
talking to Will and my parents and Glenn, but I'll see them soon enough
the way things are going. The Legacy Virus entered the final stages two
days ago, leaving me bedridden and too weak to stand, though my
telepathy has increased a thousand fold, forcing the others to install
psionic inhibitors so I could maintain the last shreds of my sanity. My
wings, shredded beyond repair, were still bandaged and splinted, but
luckily there hadn't been any infection, for what it's worth. I know that
THIS will be the day I go to join my friends and family, but I'd promised
myself I'd live long enough to see the sun rise one last time...

     I shake my head weakly and finger my tape recorder. It contains a
message for the boy called Douglock, the fusion of Doug Ramsey and his
friend Warlock. Doug gave me a vital piece of information before he left,
and I've recorded it for Douglock to find after I die. I know Moira and
Hank and the rest will be happy when they discover what it is, but it'll
keep until I'm safely gone. Rachel said I'd have something important to
accomplish, and since I'm dying I guess this must be it. I twist around
among the numerous Shi'ar gadgets monitoring my health and do a mind
scan of the building. Hank flew in a week ago to help with my treatment,
but he's only delaying the inevitable. Both he and Moira are asleep, totally
exhausted after working around the clock to find a cure for me. Sean is
resting comfortably in his room, having only just recovered from his
wounds. Emma went back to the Academy, saying she couldn't leave
Artie and Leech alone any longer, but in truth I think it was because she
couldn't bear to see me die. Everyone in Gen X are also asleep in the
guest rooms, and Emp- er, Verney, has been undergoing therapy to
enable him to accept what happened while Moira devises a substitute for
the genetic material he extracts from mutants. He is lying awake in his
room, thinking. Everyone in Excalibur are still sleeping, no doubt still
slightly the worse for wear after stopping that mutant terrorist who tried
to blow up the pub on the mainland (don't ask). All save Douglock,
anyway. He sits by my bedside, keeping watch over the monitors and
other things that are hooked up to me.

     :Doug?: I send, too weak to speak aloud. It won't be long now; I've
GOT to get outside.

     "Yes, Dawn?" he says.

     :Two things. First, make sure you listen to this,: I indicate the tape
recorder, :AFTER I'm gone. Second, will you take me out to see the sun
rise? Please?:

     "Dr. MacTaggert says you should not be moved," Douglock answers.

     :Doug, look. I'm going to die today, I can feel it. All I want before I
go is too see the sunrise one more time. Please... take me out to see it?:

     Douglock considers my request. "I know I shall 'catch it' from virtually
every unit on this island, but seeing as how it is your last request I shall
comply."

     :Thank you...: Douglock nodded and picks me out of the monitoring
devices. He carries me out the door and through the halls until we come
to the exit. He walks to the edge of the cliff that overlooks the water just
as the sun begins to peek over the horizon. I smile to myself as the rays
of light touch my face and vibrant pink replaces the dull grey of he sky. I
can feel my life ebbing away and a huge charge of psionic energy is
released. With it I send a message to my teammates... my family. :Good
bye, my friends. I hope that my legacy of love and hope will outlive that
of hate and fear. I love you all... goodbye....:

     My soul feels as if it's floating as my life slips away and I'm carried
towards the light. Will and Mom and Dad are there, waiting for me. They
reach out to me, and I'm no longer afraid. This doesn't feel so much like
the end as a new beginning.

_*_

     "Dougie?" Moira calls as she runs up to the side of the cliff. "Where
is--"

     "She is here, Dr. MacTaggert," Douglock replies. "She wanted to see
the sun rise one last time..."

     "Acch, the poor lass," Moira murmurs as she looks at Dawn, a tear
coming from her eye. She gazes at her companion. "Why Dougie, ye're
cryin' too!"

     Douglock raises a hand to his eye and wipes away a tear. "Why, so I
am," he agrees. "What is the purpose of crying?"

     "It's somethin' people do when they're verra sad or verra happy,"
Moira says. "And I suspect tha' ye're verra sad."

     "Moira..." Douglock says after a time, "Why did she want to see the
sun rise? It was not logical, for if she had stayed in the med lab she might
have lived longer."

     "True," Moira said, brushing back the hair from Dawn's face, "but I
suspect tha' she didna want ta spend her last earthly moments surrounded
by machines an' the like, but ta see her name sake, the dawn, which is the
symbol of the beginin' o' somethin'. Maybe death truly is the beginin', an'
life jus' the prologue." The two walk back into the building in silence,
and as they pass the med lab Douglock stops to retrieve the tape
recorder.

     "Dawn requested for me to listen to this after she died," he explains.
He presses play and Dawn's voice chimes, "Douglock, access memory file
1000011110010100011111010000010."

     "Is tha' it?" Moira inquires.

     "Dr. MacTaggert..." Douglock says, his eyes going wide, "I can
remember!"

     "Remember what, Dougie?"

     "Just before the Zero unit ceased to function he implanted the
information about the Legacy Virus into my cortex," Douglock tells her.
"Information that might eventually have led to a cure! And now, with
Dawn's help, I have complete access to it!"

     "Truly?" Moira gasps. "Doug, tha's wonderful! Tha' must ha' been
what she meant aboot a  legacy o' love an' hope' outlivin' tha' o' hate an'
fear. Come, we must download the information into the computers an' get
started as soon as possible."

     With a nod Douglock lays Dawn's body onto the bed gently and walks
out the door. Moira starts to follow, then says, "Acch, lassie, ye've given
us so much hope fer the present an' the future alike. I hope tha' in death
ye're reunited wi' yuir family, because after all ye've had ta indure ye
deserve tha' much at least." She runs her hand through the girl's hair once
more and then leaves the room.

      And a soundless voice echos through the hallways of Muir.

      :Thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you...:

Never the End.


__________________________________________________________
Well, there it is, the end of the First Contact Saga. I sincerely hope
everyone enjoyed it, because it was a pleasure working on it. Special
thanks to anyone who sent me comments and/or constructive criticism.
Watch for my next piece of fanfiction (of which I'm still debating a tittle
for, unfortunatly, thought I've already got three chapters on it.) I
guarantee, you don't want to miss it.

"There is no death, only a change of worlds."

 --Excalibur Annual #2

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There are no dreams, only different facets of reality, and we are all mere
reflections within them.
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