Written in the Stars
April 14th, 1912. 11: 47pm
by
Adréa


Disclaimer: The song is from Aida, so credit to Disney. The Scarlet Pimpernel... I don't know who it belongs to now, but it was written by the Baroness Orczy. Well, everyone else seems to own the X-Men. Marvel, Fox, Warner Brothers, Universal, etc. etc. Why can't I? Look! They'll work for twinkies and beer! It's true! They did this fic for twinkies and beer. Although I had to throw in a few steaks and peeps somewhere...

Author's Notes: I tried to make it not exactly like Cameron's movie! But some things kinda snuck in there and stuck. Be prepared for suckiness! (that even a word?) Big shout out and thanks to my best friend JenN who unknowingly gave be ideas and knowingly gave me every ounce of support she could.

Author's Notes2: I don't even own Amy and Jenn for they are based on people I know. I'm currently working on another fic involving them that would go much farther into their personalities, so sorry if you don't understand things or what not because they aren't well developed in this one. Now, on with the show!

---

Staring at the iceberg was all Marie could do from looking behind her. Victor was gone, there was no doubt there. But she couldn't bear to turn around and find Logan gone. It just couldn't be. The image of his throat being ripped out was pushed far back into her mind and locked away in a cage.

She could hear his friends behind her, perhaps trying to help him. But it was useless. No one could survive what--

No! He was perfectly alright. He was perfectly alright...

Even as she repeated it to herself, her body shook with sobs. A hand fell on her shoulder and she jumped, turning to face her new assailant.

But the waiter, Remy, is who stood before her. "Scott says he be fine, chere. Jus' give 'im time."

"F-fine?" she stammered. Logan, fine? But how...?

"Oui. But you shouldn't see, it not pretty."

She had to see, she just had to. Pushing Remy back, she ran over to where Logan lay. Scott had turned him over and was currently using his jacket to slow the bleeding. But it was true, Logan was still alive despite the gaping hole in his throat and the blood coming out of his mouth. His face didn't hold the expression that impending death usually did, just a pained calm.

Her arms wrapped around him as she buried her face in his chest, still letting Scott do what he was. Silent tears fell from her eyes, mixing with the blood already on his shirt. "Logan, don't ya' dare leave me... Don' ya' dare..." she whispered to him.

To comfort her and ensure her that he would be alright, he wrapped an arm around her waist and held her as tightly as he could. It was a great pain to breathe and his body was weakening even more at the coughing he had to do.

The couple remained like that for the few minutes it took for the worst damage to repair itself so Logan could breathe normally again. Still using Scott's coat as a bandage, he got to his feet. Marie never left him as he did, still plastered herself against him, matting the side of her face and the center of her chest with his blood yet not caring.

"Are ya' doin' better, sugah?" she asked him, noticing the endearment she used and blushing profusely.

Relief spread through her like she had never felt before when he gave her a crooked smile and nodded his head. Footsteps alerted them to someone else coming up to them. Hopefully the crew were too busy with the iceberg to really notice or care about what they had seen on the front of the ship, however doubtful it might be.

Amy peeked her head over at them all standing there. "Guys, you should come. I got a bad feelin' about this," she said, jerking her head back to indicated the iceberg now behind them. "Captain just ordered to stop the ship."

Before they followed, Logan turned to Marie and mouthed the words, 'You okay?'.

Apparently he couldn't talk yet, that part must not have healed yet. Concern shone through his eyes and she became lost in them for a moment before Logan fingered the blood on her front. "Ah- Ah'm fine, Logan. It's yers. He didn' hurt me."

Most of them returned to Xavier's quarters, but Amy and Remy went off to try and find out more information even though they already knew what was happening. The ship was going to sink, Irene's ramblings had told them that. What they hadn't known was until that moment, was if it were to be on that voyage or one years from now.

Marie felt good to be in a warmer climate and in the presence of a man whom she had come to respect for no reason. The kindness he emitted even in the crisis at hand was enough to calm her as well.

Everyone within Xavier's group had squeezed themselves into one room. Most had to stand because there weren't nearly enough chairs.

Her face paled at that thought. There weren't enough chairs like there weren't enough lifeboats.

"Now..." the Professor began, "I have brought you all here due to an emergency. The ship has struck an iceberg, despite what we are being told, it was certainly not a thrown propeller blade. Given Irene Alder's ramblings that night in the Dinning Room, I believe that it is happening."

"Should I try and create a vortex around the ship? Keep the water from getting in and transport us to safety?" the black goddess asked softly.

"No... I doubt the ship could handle it, and you would make the coming panic even worse than it will be. We all know what the outcome is going to be."

Marie graciously accepted the moist piece of cloth offered to her in order to at least wipe the blood off her face. Nothing could be done about her attire.

"Given Erik's powers, although none of us trust him," Jean mused as she checked on Logan's wounds, "Could he help if he was willing?"

Xavier sighed and shook his head. "I doubt he would be. He doesn't have much care for regular humans. Besides, I don't believe he has the strength necessary to do it."

"What?" Logan growled weakly. Marie could see that the wound had completely healed and Logan was wiping himself off and discarding his jacket and shirt.

His chest made her lost yet again, until Xavier spoke, "Erik is dying. He hasn't told me up front, but I know it. That leaves him weak."

"Then why doesn't the bastard keel over and die now? Make things a helluva lot simpler for us."

The Professor gave Logan an amused smile other than a verbal response. His eyes immediately clouded over as the did when he used his powers. "Amy's eavesdropped on a meeting being held in someone's quarters. He suspects one or two hours at most before the ship is gone."

Everyone in the room looked at one another. The situation was grave. Very grave. Bobby, who up to that moment had been as silent as Jenn, spoke up with the one question on everyone's minds. "What do we do?"

No one spoke for a minute as the each considered the question that shouldn't have been answered, for the question should not have had need to be asked. Gripped his wife's hand tightly, Scott was the one who responded. "They will follow standard procedure. Women and children shall be sent off first."

At that moment, Jean and Jennifer clung to their men, refusing to believe they would have to be parted. The door opened as Remy and Amy entered, followed closely by a steward. "Ladies and gentlemen. It is Captain's orders that you please return to your rooms, put on your lifebelts, and proceed to the Boat Deck in an orderly fashion as soon as possible." As he spoke, he opened the closet and extracted the lifebelts there, handing them to the nearest people to him.

Jennifer and Marie accepted the preservers and put hem on. Marie was in shock, but her body still complied to unconscious orders.

"Logan, Scott, Remy. You three go to our other rooms and get enough for all of us. The rest of you go to the staircase and wait," Xavier ordered.

Logan's hand on her sleeved arm snapped Marie out of her daze. "It'll be okay. We'll get you to a boat."

"But what about you?"

He gave her a reassuring smile. "If there is one thing you should have learned about me by now, is that it's damn hard to kill me."

"Logan? Could you help me get my mother and two servants on a boat as well?"

The door before him opened and he went inside, grabbing the lifebelts. "Your mother?" Although there was still no indication that Irene Alder used her powers on purpose to help Erik and the like, he still felt uneasy about returning her to her room. "I'll get them. I don't want you anywhere near them."

"Okay..."

"Here, go with Remy and stay by him until I meet with you again. I'll help your mother and servants," he said as he left, only stopping for enough time to hand her the preservers.

Marie watched sadly as he left her standing there. She wanted to cry, to beg him to stay with her, to never leave her again. But she knew he was doing it for her safety and was willing to accept that. They would meet up again in a little while and she would latch onto him and refuse to let go, even if it meant her not getting on one of those boats.

~*~ X ~*~

Scott returned to Xavier's quarters with two lifebelts, a third he had already donned himself. Jean put on hers numbly. She had turned her emotions off to help strengthen her mental shields. Her mind and heart were cold to what was going on around them, otherwise she would surely drown when the panic gripping the ship's inhabitants grew.

The Professor simply stared at the white floatation device and handed it back to Scott. "Professor?" he inquired, refusing to take it back.

"Give it to someone else," he replied with a tinge of sadness. "I think we all know that there is no way I am getting off this ship."

A crack opened in Jean's emotional defenses and her eyes started to shed tears. "But... Professor, we need you!" she cried out, unbelieving that the man who was like a father to her and mentor was going to just give up so easily.

Xavier got to his feet and waddled over to Jean, taking a seat once again, beside her. "Jean... Scott... You two were my first students, and I am grateful to have taught you both. I wish things were different, but they aren't." He ran a comforting hand down her back and gave her a tender smile. "I will always be with you. You both can do fine without me, and you will."

They both jumped as Scott banged his fist against the wall in frustration, resting his head against it afterwards. "It's not fair... You can still do so much--"

"I will not take the place of a woman or a child on one of those boats," he declared sternly, forcing them to drop the issue. He gave Jean a hug and she kissed him on his bald head. "I shall miss you both."

"I understand, Charles..." The redhead told him once she had gotten a hold of her emotions again. It was very rare that she ever called him by his first name. Only during extremely emotional and distressing times, or when they were having one of their heart to heart talks.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Scott taking off his glasses, his eyes squeezed painfully shut as he wiped them and his glasses. Xavier rose to his feet once more, using his crutch to navigate to the one he thought of as a son.

"Scott..." he said softly, checking to make sure Jean wasn't eavesdropping on their conversation. What he wanted to tell the boy was something he didn't want anyone else to hear. "I want you to promise me, Scott, that no matter what happens... You will get off this ship. They are going to look to you and Jean now, and you must get off the ship if our dreams are to survive."

"But..." he started, exasperated. "But, there's no possible way I could--"

"I'm certain you will find one," Xavier interrupted, not wanting him to think for even a moment that it was hopeless. "There's bound to be more than a few ways other than bribing or forcing that a man can get off.

"Profess--" he sighed, "Charles... You only begun training me in taking over the school this year. I'm not ready. I can't do it without you."

"You have been ready for years, Scott. With your great leadership, and the letters I left in one of my desk drawer, you will succeed. The letters are words of good-bye and wisdom for each of you that I have known long enough to write them for." Despite his exterior calm, his heart and voice were breaking at knowing those were the last words they would know him by. So much he had to leave unsaid in those letters, because they simply would have been far too long. Each were many pages front and back in length as they were. "Promise me, Scott," he pleaded.

"I promise..."

It was obvious by then that the room had a slight tilt to it. Nothing major, but ever so slanted. Jean got up and both her and Scott hugged the old man tightly with Jean placing another kiss on his head. "Go on, find a way off. I shall be in the First Class Lounge, though I don't want to see you or the others there again." Although he tried to fight it, a single tear rolled down his cheek because the others would not get a chance to say good-bye to him, and there was no way he could use his powers to do it.

"We all love you, Charles," Jean whispered to him, not trusting her voice any louder. "We always will."

Charles watched with a breaking heart as his children left. He stared in silence at the empty room for a few minutes before making the long trek to the Lounge, where he knew an old friend was waiting for him.

Indeed, that old friend was sitting calmly at a table in the Lounge, smoking a cigarette and staring at a bottle of bourbon on the table. Xavier didn't fail to notice the two glasses sitting there with some of the liquid in it.

Xavier took the unspoken and unacknowledged invitation to sit across from the man and took a sip of the strong liquor.

Erik lifted his eyes to meet Charles' as the corners of his lips twitched upwards in a smile. "I knew you would seek me out."

"Might we just talk as if we were the friends we were once?" Charles asked, although he already knew the answer.

Erik Lensherr nodded his head, and the two became friends once again, at the end of both of their lives. Talking about everything and nothing at all as if the ship they were on was not sinking from under them.

~*~ X ~*~

Graydon Creed had called him to a meeting a while ago. Ever since he'd gotten to the man's quarters, he has done nothing but pace. Not even acknowledged his presence. But Henry Gyrich could be a patient man, and knew well how not to disturb Creed when he was pacing.

Gyrich sat comfortably in his chair, watching the man only a few years younger than him wear a trench in the carpet while he thought. About what, was the only thing keeping Gyrich himself occupied.

He combed his short brown hair back, though it just fell back to where it was before. His brown eyes peered behind a pair of glasses. Almost thirty, and already in lenses. It was a pain, but one he had to deal with. The one good thing going for him was that not only was he in incredible shape, he looked almost ten years younger than he really was. No one would believe he was older than Creed, even if they showed their birth certificates.

Gyrich was one of those guys that had done practically everything. He first started working in a small diner, then moved to a store clerk. After being robbed, he went into the police force, and from there he worked his way quickly to a U.S. Senator's personal assistant. Senator Kelly, to be exact.

That was going to be his career for life. Until Creed came along. With money and just a little bit of persuasion, Creed hired him away from Kelly to work for him. His investigative skills along with his police force training were something he was highly interested in and was willing to pay nearly double the amount Gyrich was making on a government salary.

"I have a plan I need your help carrying out," were the first words Graydon uttered to him. And even then they were far away, his mind still thinking it through. Gyrich had seen his employer this way before, it usual proceeded one of his madman rages. Something had pissed him off, royally.

"Say it, I'll do it," Henry declared as an assurance that he wasn't in any way, shape, or form going to back out now. Creed wasn't the most respectable of people, nor the most liked -- not by a long shot. He had many enemies, not all of them mutants. That was another area Gyrich came in to deal with.

"My fiancée... My own fiancée... How could I have been so blind? So trusting?" Creed rambled on, perhaps even forgetting that Henry was there.

"That freak of nature bitch will pay for making a fool out of me!"

Whoa... Henry hadn't even seen that one coming. Apparently, his little bride-to-be was a mutant. Not a good thing, for her at least. He tugged lightly at the stupid lifebelt he had to wear. Oh yeah, the ship's dilemma. Perhaps he should be paying more attention to that? However he had been assured that it was nothing serious, the engines were still dead. And until they started again, he would not be at ease.

"I want her dead. I don't truly care how, I just want the bitch dead! And her family too. They must have known the truth--" Graydon paused and his eyes went wide.

"What?" Henry asked, too damn curious to keep silent.

"They did know... The mother -- Irene... The night we met she had a breakdown, proclaiming that the ship was going to sink..." Their eyes locked as the unsaid words settled into their brains. Her family were mutants, and they had purposely done everything for a reason. Indeed, they all would pay.

Gyrich sat and listened intently as his employer's plan poured from his lips.

~*~ X ~*~

The crowd in the Grand Staircase was so thick, Marie was close to having a panic attack. Without gloves on it left her hands exposed, and knowing now what her skin could do, it was traumatizing for her to wait in a packed area. She was so thankful when some of the people left to go outside to the Boat Deck finally.

Logan had yet to return. She knew it would take a while for him to get her mother there and get her in one of the boats. But patient was not something someone could be given the circumstance.

At least she was being guarded on all sides by the women. Ororo, Jenn, and Amy had each formed a perimeter around her and were pushing away people who strayed too close.

The girls had started some form of a conversation, if just to keep their minds from wandering too far. They were trying to figure out how to get the men onto the boats.

"Well, I won't be on one," Ororo stated. "I'll use my powers so I don't take up a space."

Marie vaguely heard the goddess explain that her powers were that of controlling the weather. Someone she knew had spotted her in the crowd and was making his way near her. Someone with a tuff of perfect brown hair whom she didn't want to deal with, but knew she had to.

"Marie, at last!" Graydon said as he got up to them. "I have been searching everywhere for you."

The girls didn't let him near her, for which she was silently thankful. He narrowed his eyes in confusion. "This is my fiancée, you can let me see her."

"I-it's alright..." she stammered out, knowing she had to get it over with sooner or later. And now was a better time, in front of a crowd.

Reluctantly, the girls move just to let Graydon near the girl with the poisonous skin. But none of them moved beyond arms reach of the man.

"Marie, my darling... We must get you to a boat." He tried to take her hand in his, but she pulled away quickly.

Something caught her eye just to the side of Graydon. Jenn was holding a pair of gloves, possibly snatched from someone else. Gratefully, Marie took them and put them on. "Are you cold, my dear?" Graydon asked with concern.

"A little..." Which was true.

"Come, let us get you a coat," he began to lead her away.

But what if Logan returned while she was gone? She couldn't go. "No, no, that's alright..."

"I insist. I do not want my bride-to-be freezing out there. Come." Well, if she went, then the girls would still be there to tell Logan. And it would be freezing out there without a proper coat. Plus, maybe she would meet up with Logan in her quarters.

As soon as the two went down the staircase and walked into the corridor that would lead to Marie's room, something very hard was pressed into the small of her back. And Graydon's grip on her arm tightened immensely.

She gasped at his force, confused for the third time that night. A new personal record.

"Do you think I didn't see that little show you put on right outside my door?" he whispered harshly into her ear, everything about him had changed. Just like everything had changed when she met what she thought was Logan down in the Scotland Road. Only this couldn't be the shapeshifter, he didn't have the scratches on his cheek.

Logan's memories served her purpose once again. Graydon Creed despised as deeply as a person could people like her. Mutants. He must have seen the claws. And the knowledge that he had been destined to marry a mutant had sent him over the edge.

"Graydon, what are you doing?" she demanded.

"Simple. I'm going to make sure you, and those others I saw, don't make it off the ship. Especially that little skank you seem to have become so fond of."

Marie gasped again. "How did you--"

The demented man cut her off with a chuckle. "I have my sources."

She silently cursed herself for not defending his honor. Though the Logan in her head didn't care what the pansy called him, he just wanted to rip the guy to shreds for what he was doing to Marie.

"Come now, my dear," he said sarcastically. No more kindness showed in his voice, only complete and utter hatred. "I know just where to go."

~*~ X ~*~

God, it was cold. And things were taking too damn long. But with the ship slightly tilted, Marie's mother stumbled far more frequently and made things move even slower. The two girls and one guy servants were bustling about, getting things prepared and getting Irene ready.

When Logan had gotten to Marie's room, he was greatly disappointed that her 'father' wasn't there. He had been hoping to gut the bastard. One of the girls, Kitty, if he remembered correctly, had grabbed a coat that was certainly Marie's. That was good, she would definitely need it.

The servants were so nervous, their powers were going out of control. Kitty phased through a chair when she bent to pick something up, Jubilee had fried more than one thing in the room. And St. John was absentmindedly playing with his lighter. Well, at least he kinda knew what they could do now.

"Let's go," he ordered gruffly once Irene Alder was ready to go out to the Boat Deck. He linked an arm with her to help steady her when she lost her footing. Being blind and on a sinking ship had to be hard for her, mutant or no.

The girls followed closely behind, the boy staying behind. Logan didn't like that one bit and growled at the kid to join them.

"No, I have to wait for Mr. Darkholme to return," he said with a faint Australian accent.

"Kid, I doubt he's gonna return to his room. Now get your ass behind us."

The young boy hesitated, not sure whether to test the growly man or to disobey his employer. Given the circumstances, there was a good chance Logan was right, and Darkholme wouldn't be returning, instead waiting for them to take Irene and Marie into the lifeboats.

Logan only continued once again when the boy -- St. John, he was called -- fell into step behind them. He got them to the Grand Staircase as quickly as he could, highly debating if he should just carry Irene, it would get them there faster.

The beauty of the place escaped him for once, crowded with people as if they were simply heading for dinner. Had it not been for the lifebelts, Logan would have thought he'd gone back in time. People were chatting away as if nothing was happening.

However, a certain group of people caught his attention. And the look on their faces meant that something had happened. Ororo volunteered to tell Logan, since she was the most logical choice next to Jenn, but she refused to be the one. For once in her life, both Jenn and Ororo were afraid to deal with Logan.

After looking around the room, he immediately knew what it was about. Marie wasn't there.

Maybe God had cut him a fucking break for a little while when he saw her swimming naked in the pool, but he was making up for it tenfold.

"Graydon Creed came and took her away. She said that she would be alright, but Amy followed. He knows she's a mutant and is going to kill her," the whether goddess whispered to Logan, so not to upset Irene or the servants.

"What the fuck are you all doing here standing around," he growled back, his temper rising. To protect the woman's delicate arm that he was holding, he let go of it.

"Amy and Remy followed. We can take Mrs. Darkholme and the servants to the Boat Deck."

He trusted Raptor -- a nickname Amy had earned for her ferocity and swiftness in a fight, much to his body's pained remembrance -- to not let Marie come to harm. And since the Cajun had managed to help blow Victor off the ship, he wasn't that bad either.

Using his sense of smell, he blocked out all of them except for Marie. Her scent still lingered heavily in the air despite the other people. His animalistic nature wanted to unleash itself, to go berserk until he found his mate again. But that wouldn't help her at all. Using that scent as a guideline, he began to track her throughout the ship.

~*~ X ~*~

It was downright freezing outside. The moon provided no light to see by, making the ocean look like vast emptiness surrounded them. A dark oblivion to which a lifeboat was being lowered into. Nothing but the stars shown up in the sky.

For Marie's bidding, Bobby and Scott carefully helped Irene Adler Darkholme into one of those boats. Followed closely by two of her servants. St. John passed for young enough to still be determined a child, although Bobby bet he wasn't any younger than himself. The Asian one had decided she needed to go back for something and would catch another boat.

With the way the crewmembers were acting about the two men helping the blind woman on board, Scott didn't want to press his luck by asking if he could board as well with this group. Jean was not going to be happy with him deserting her, but it was what had to be done.

Scott turned to his wife of three years. It nearly killed him to see her in such a state. Her cheeks were wet with silent tears, her eyes dull to the world around her. A crisis situation was hard enough for a regular person, who had to listen to the other people involved. But it must have been hell for a telepath, he could also feel them. Feel their true emotions as they projected them without a care. It was a wonder why she hadn't lost it already, her shields weren't nearly as good as Xavier's--

No, he couldn't go there. Couldn't think about that. He was their leader, their new father figure now. He had to set an example and be the strong one. Although for appearances, Ororo seemed to be holding it together even better than he was. If he didn't make it, then she could definitely help to take over. It would not die with him.

"Jean, I--" She looked at him, more tears falling at knowing that this might mean good-bye. The cheery tune the band was playing made everything seem wrong. There was so much he wanted to tell her, so much he wanted to show her. It was so unfair how life could cheat you out of your promise to grow old with someone. To spend your last days just basking in their love. But sometimes it cut that horribly short, and didn't allow you time at all. He supposed he should be thankful he did have some. "I love you, Jean... No matter what happens, I will always love you..."

He sealed those words with a passionate kiss, and let all of his feelings of love flow out of him and towards her, so she would feel them even through her shields. Such a connection between them made him proud. "No matter what, I will always love you too, Scott..." she whispered in response, not trusting her voice any louder.

Jean refused to cry when the officer pulled her away from her husband, the man she should have spent her whole life with. She refused to cry when they placed her in the lifeboat, separating her forever. Her heart broke inside, but she didn't let it show. She had to be strong for Scott, he needed her strength now. She could let it go once they were away, when he couldn't see her, couldn't hear her. And maybe he wouldn't be able to feel her that way.

His gaze behind his red glasses, though impossible to see, she knew never left her face as other women and children were loaded onto the boat with her.

~*~ X ~*~

Marie had never been so cold and frightened in her life. Her body was trembling uncontrollably. Graydon had brought her to the indoor pool down below. Brought her and tied her there before leaving with an evil grin. He had told her how he wanted to watch her die, but he felt it better to safe his own measly hide instead. Okay, so not exactly in those words, but that was pretty much the jist of it.

Water had already seeped through to ankle deep at least, there were traces of it when Graydon had brought her, and not all of it was from the pool. It was slow rising, so maybe that was a good sign. But if her schooling had taught her right, the more water the ship took, the faster it would take it. Marie couldn't budge from the chair she was tied to, and her feet had gone numb from the cold water. Graydon had done a good job, no matter how much she tried, the rope held tightly. And the gag in her mouth was almost choking her.

Within a few minutes of just waiting there, the water had risen to her knees. Things were looking very bad.

It was when she heard voices that her hopes began to rise with the water.

"Shit! I hate the cold! I hate the cold!" a female shouted.

"We both be southerners, why we gotta deal with 'dis?" A man's voice whom she recognized as Remy's replied.

Renewed with hope, Marie began yelling through the rag. Muffled sounds were all that came out, but she made them be as loud as she could get them. Her legs were numb and her wrists were rubbed raw against the bounds.

A moment later, the door opened and the couple waded into the room. "Hey, Marie," Amy greeted her with teeth chattering. "Couldn't you have gotten yourself tied up in a more dry climate?"

If she had been able, Marie would have responded to that with actual words other than an annoyed grunt through the gag. Remy chuckled some as he used a knife to cut her loose. "I'm thrilled you find my situation hilarious, Mr. LeBeau," she spat out once the gag was removed.

Remy started to laugh even louder until someone else burst through the door. "Marie!"

Oh, God, it was Logan. Alright, no more getting kidnapped, split up, or separated in any way. Marie was going to permanently attach herself to that man and never let go. Unable to trust her legs without feeling them, she allowed her love to come to her and sweep her off her feet. His mouth moved to intervene with hers, but stopped short when a man cleared his throat in the doorway.

Damn... he had just remembered her skin because of that. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to gut the man standing in the doorway holding a gun at them.

A man none of them had seen before stood in the doorway, grinning. "How touching a reunion. Pity I'm going to end it."

"What makes you say that?"

Every intent and purpose to catch the man off his guard and scare the hell out of him with that remark, worked like a charm. Before he had been so calm and sure of himself, now he was nervous. Logan could sense it. No man said those words with such passion unless they meant it.

But quickly, the man's grip tightened on the gun, his confidence returning. "I'm sorry, I forgot you must have a lower I.Q. Because I'm the one holding the gun."

"Who the fuck are you?"

"What does it matter? Oh, what the hell. Henry Gyrich."

Gyrich may have been a bit cocky, but Logan could tell he wasn't stupid. Every time someone even blinked, his eyes shot to that person. He was dealing with mutants whose powers he didn't know. As much as Logan wanted to intimidate the man further, they didn't have the time. Water was up to Amy's waist, and was rising more quickly.

"Perhaps you don' know me, homme. But dis Cajun is just a server at de Café," Remy said as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

"Then why are you down here?"

Remy shrugged. "Boredom? Or, could be dat dis Cajun also be known as Gambit. An' don' take too kindly to people like you." Before Gyrich could even blink, much less react to Remy's words, he flung his hand back and threw an object at him.

With a scream of pain, Gyrich's hand was pinned to the bulkhead by a dagger, the gun dropped into the water with a loud *splash*. Remy grinned triumphantly. "Who said a mutant needs t' use his powers t' do harm?"

They all at least breathed with cold relief as Logan went over and elbowed the stunned man in the face, knocking him out. His body slump down, only kept above the water by the hand pinned to the bulkhead. A fine stream of blood ran down it, turning the water nearby red.

His heightened senses picked up the groaning of the ship, and he knew they had to get out fast. "I think it's time for us to bail," Amy said aloud, echoing his own thoughts.

The two couples each ignored how frozen they were in order to wade through the cold water to the nearest stairs. Rushing water not only explained why it was rising so much faster now, but it also cut off their exit route.

~*~ X ~*~

He'll be fine. She could get on a boat, he could stay, and he'll be fine. He's not called the Iceman for nothing, you know.... Maybe if she kept repeating that to herself, it would make her feel less afraid. Bobby swore to his girl that he wouldn't truly leave her, that he'd be perfectly alright. When the ship sank, he'd just swim to her. The cold wouldn't do a thing to bother him.

The words comforted her some, but not a whole lot. There was still the whole drowning issue that could do him in. Jean had been lowered away already in another boat, so Scott and Bobby stood next to each other once Jennifer was pulled away. It was pointless for her to stay, other than to stay with Bobby. But there was no way he would allow it. He'd sooner force her in there than let her stay on the ship. "I love you!" she yelled at him from her seat in the small boat. A far cry from the glorious ship they had been on.

"I love you too." he told her back and blew a kiss to her. Even then, they were still acting all lovey-dovey towards each other like the young people they were.

A woman nearby had the audacity to tell the crewmember to hold the boat while she went back to her room to get something. The officer had had enough and simply picked the woman up and placed her in the boat. "She's the last! Prepare to lower!"

Scott felt himself being pushed as someone rushed past him. A glance told him it was Thomas Andrews, demanding to know why the boats were being launched only half full.

"Good, God..." Scott whispered, unable to believe it. And unable to believe that he hadn't noticed it himself.

Someone else bumped into him. Things were getting too crowded near the edge for his tastes. He let the people past, then did a double take on who it was.

The red clad form and the white haired form were unmistakable as the Maximoff twins. Pietro was getting his sister onto the same boat. He could hear the boy say, "I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I wish things were moving slower."

At least Jenn didn't seem to have a big problem with Wanda in the same boat, especially since they were sitting as far from each other as they could. "Hey, shades. Where's the other girl?"

Scott glared at the kid. "Probably on the other side," he hoped silently. Truth was, he didn't know. She had disappeared with the others going after Marie. His mind wandered as the boat was filled and began it's slow decent into the ocean.

"I don't care what you say, I'm getting off this bloody ship!"

Well, well, well. Looks like all of the little Brotherhood band was crawling out of the ship. Only problem was, this certain member was desperate to get off the ship. Very desperate. As in holding loaded gun and threatening people with it desperate.

The passengers and officers that could, held their hands up. Scott could see the guns the officers had, but Mortimer would be faster in pulling the trigger. However, Scott wasn't about to allow that to happen. Much less have him get on the same lifeboat as one of his friends.

With his stern, leadership voice, Scott addressed the slimy toad. "If you want on one of these boats, you'll have to go through me."

"Are you an idiot, Mortimer?" Pietro asked, shocking Scott with what he was doing. The speed demon moved closer to his companion. "There's no way you are getting on, just face it."

"Don't test me, Pietro," the British man snarled.

Another distress flare lit into the sky, distracting the small man. It was then that Pietro struck, zipping over to him and latching onto the gun. The men immediately began a tug of war with the weapon. Scott held his hand up to his glasses to fire, but the way the two were dancing around, he couldn't get a clear shot.

Other men nearby helped Pietro in trying to subdue Mortimer, who was shouting obscenities at all of them. But before they could wrestle it away, a single shot rang out into the night, frightening the nearby people and making them scream.

A sharp pain ran through Scott's left leg unlike anything he had felt before. He took a step back to view his leg, to find out what was wrong. The knee gave way and Scott could feel himself falling. He knew what was to come, the incredible pain of falling into the freezing water below.

Time slowed down for him as the deck came into view, the startled faces, Bobby yelling and reaching for him even though he was far too late. At least Mortimer had been stopped, though he couldn't stop thinking about the promise he broke to both Charles and Jean.

That was his last thought as his body impacted with something soft and hard at the same time.

~*~ X ~*~

None of them could feel their bodies after the long trek came to an end once they got out of the water. Now they could concentrate on warming up and getting higher before where they were flooded.

Things were pretty easy going considering the numb limbs they had to work with. That was, until they reached a crowd of third class passengers, none of which appeared to be moving. Everyone was talking at once, most of which demanding some gate to be opened.

"Everyone, it isn't time to go up to the boats yet," a steward was announcing from the other side of the gate. "Please stay calm!"

Logan let out a murderous chuckle. The ship was sinking, they were locked behind bars, what was there to be calm about?

"And gentlemen, please allow the women and children up to the front!" the annoying steward turned his attention to someone else. "Go and get some help."

Not caring about who got in his way, Logan pushed people to either side, squeezing his way up the stairwell with Marie clinging tightly to the back of his soaked coat. Many people let out a stream of curses and pushed him roughly back, but he gave them a growl and a murderous glare, so that shut them up. "Open the damn gates!" he yelled once only a few steps from his goal.

"Bring forward the women!" God, they sounded like hungry savages wanting a good piece of meat to fuck. "Unlock the gates."

Logan felt a new rush of adrenaline at those words. The gates unlocked and people began to stampede up the stairs. "No! Women only, damn you! Get back!" Only a couple of people escaped before the people were pushed back by force and the gates locked shut once again.

The people still tried to persuade the steward to reopen the gate. But Logan knew there was no chance of that happening without force. Logan pulled the few passengers in front of him back behind him and Marie. He gave the man standing in front of him the most savage glare he could and growled at him amidst the yelling patrons, "Open the fuckin' gate!"

The steward paled and stepped back in fear, holding a gun in his shaking hands. Too bad the little fucker didn't realize he had failed to lock the ammo in place, the gun was useless and Logan was tired of asking. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and he didn't care who saw. His claws popped out with a *choock* and they tore through the pathetic excuse for a gate like a hot knife through butter.

With no lock to keep it closed, there was no way they could keep the people contained below. He pressed forward, punching the steward right in the face, knocking him out flat. Latching onto Marie's hand, they were the first two to begin running for higher decks.

The ship had a far more noticeable slant, which made Logan very worried. How much time had passed? Was it too late to get to a boat?

He wouldn't think that -- *refused* to think that. But, face it, he wasn't one for happy thoughts in dire times. More like dreary thoughts.

Using the Second Class Stairs, they took them all the way to the Boat Deck. "There are still boats!" Marie cried with joy, apparently having had some of the same thoughts.

"Then lets get you on one," he said as he began to lead her towards the bow.

"Whoa, hold it, Mister." She pulled him to a stop. "I'm not getting on one of those unless you can too--AH! Logan!"

Quite frankly, Logan didn't want to hear it. He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder and carried her down to the boats.

"Put me down! Logan, put me down!" she screeched and kicked at him.

"Shut up, Marie!"

Oh, fuck. She started to cry after he yelled at her. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Gently, so as not to hurt her more, he set her down in front of him and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, darlin', I'm sorry..."

She held onto him so tightly as she sobbed, that it was hard to believe it came from such a small form. "D-don't l-l-leave me, L-ogan," she managed as her body trembled.

"Fuck, Marie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you..."

At that moment, he wasn't sure what he wanted more. To get Marie to safety, or to shut that damn band playing that far too cheerful song up by snapping their instruments and throwing them to the sea.

Logan continued to soothe Marie until she stopped crying. Right about the time that shots rang out nearby. Panic was starting to take hold. It wouldn't be long before everything fell apart once people resorted to violence. Those were just warning shots that time, but the next time, it might be aimed at the increasing crowds around the boats that were left.

They had to find a way to get them both off the ship, and fast. Before Logan decided to hell with Marie's pleadings and place her on a boat without him. True, she would hate him for the rest of her life. But at least she'd have a life to hate him by. Jean and Ororo at least would help her cope, and help her go on.

Every second that past doubled the amount of fear in everyone. As Logan looked past the hoards of screaming, desperate people, he could see that the Forward Castle was already completely immersed in water. It was sinking faster than he had originally thought.

Tugging lightly on her arm, he got Marie to follow him closer to the panicking crowds and awaiting salvation for her.

~*~ X ~*~

Oh, God... she hated blood... it made her sick. Wishing Jean were there wasn't going to help Scott any. He was still bleeding bad, and most of the women weren't willing to lend any help by way of clothing to stop the bleeding. Jenn had run out of skirt lining for bandages and Wanda had given up her heavy coat to keep him warm.

The bullet must have gotten a major blood line or artery or something in Scott's leg. Although she was best friends with Hank and spent a lot of time around him, she still knew next to didly-squat about what to do in a situation like this. If it was a vein or artery, it wasn't going to stop bleeding until the hole was repaired or plugged.

"Ick... ick... ick... ick..." she chanted as she removed the bandages and stuck a finger through the hole that it was bleeding out of the most. It was an entry-exit wound, but one side was worse than the other. She felt blindly with her finger to try and find where the hole was in whatever was causing the bleeding. Her efforts were hopeless as she couldn't feel a thing that she could understand, and keeping her finger in would simply make him bleed internally which was a worse thing than bleeding out.

Removing her finger, Wanda began tearing at her own skirt lining to use. "Thanks..." Jenn said, still unsure why this woman was helping. After all, she was one of the bad guys, right? Wouldn't she rather Scott died?

"Me and my brother aren't exactly what you think," the young woman said. "We don't kill."

"Only kidnap?" Jenn replied a bit more harshly than intended.

"We were told that it was only for a diversion, and that we didn't have to harm you two in any way. So we agreed and did it."

"But your brother had other intentions."

Wanda smiled and shook her head. "My brother was having fun. He never would have forced either of you to do anything you didn't want to. And if you were paying attention, he stopped Mortimer from killing anyone."

Jenn's hazel eyes cast sadly upon Scott's still and pale form. "That remains to be seen..."

~*~ X ~*~

For the hundredth time, Amy ran through her mind the events which led to what happened. Logan had opened the gate with his claws, people had pushed through like a fuckin' stampede. She was pulled back while Remy was pushed forward, and before she could get near the gates they had found some rope to tie it back shut with.

Remy had continued to be pushed forward by the mob and hadn't come back. Searching for another way up had only led to more locked gates and angry mobs. All the begging, pleading, threatening wasn't getting the gates opened any faster.

Now she was sandwiched between the mob in a stairwell. Unable to reach the gates, and unable to reach the corridor. Completely stuck until something happened one way or the other.

And the screaming she heard far behind her that was coming closer didn't help to calm her nerves any. She knew if people were screaming than water was coming. And water was something she wasn't very fond of at the moment, especially freezing cold water.

"You can't leave us here to die!" a woman yelled up ahead. The vocalizations of the people were getting louder and more desperate, following by a long stream of curses from everyone present to have known what just happened.

The people ahead of her pushed onward as the people at the gates fought with them. Shit... there was water coming and they had been abandoned by the crew to die. The ship was sinking faster and the people were panicking more. At the rate they were, the flimsy gate should be ripped from its snug holes in the walls in no time... and that was being optimistic.

"Ev'rybody stand back!" someone up ahead yelled at the top of his lungs.

But his shout was lost in the screams of the people at the bottom, who the water had just reached. It was surging up fast on them and Amy was pushed so hard against the person in front of her that it was difficult to breathe. They would all be crushed to death sooner than drown at this rate. Which in her mind wasn't that bad a thing.

"Mon Dieu, pardonnez-moi..."

A loud and forceful explosion propelled them all back into a heap in the corridor. Cold water stung at her skin just as the smoke stung at her eyes. She coughed and realized that her glasses had been knocked off. Not like she needed them to see, but to hide her eyes. No matter now, she had to get up before she was trampled.

The sounds of creaking filled her heightened senses. A different kind of creaking that she ship was making. This creak was the sound of a far more dangerous creak. As soon as she got to her feet, there was another explosion sound, followed by the sound of a lot of fast rushing water.

In an instant they were met by it, a good deal of the people were swept away in the current, but Amy latched herself onto the wall of the stairwell and refused to budge even as the water tried its damnedest to rip her from it.

People screamed and rushed up the rest of the stairs, or swam futilely against the current. But she couldn't dare let herself move just yet, not until the water slowed down. Her iron grip would falter if she did and she would be taken by the river.

A large piece which must have been a door hit her, cutting deep into her. She cried out in pain and fear as her grip wasn't enough against the water and the blow of the debris. Her hands clawed at the wall as she began to travel down the corridor.

But her trip was cut surprisingly short. A strong hand had latched onto hers from the stairwell and began to slowly drag her towards it. Another hand grabbed her other one and joined with the first to pull her to the safety of the stairs. Without much hesitation, she stepped over the few bodies that had caught the front of the blast, a twang of pity for the poor souls who didn't know any better than to have gotten away from the fucking gate.

She turned to thank whoever had saved her but was stopped when someone wrapped their arms around her, lifted her up and spun her around. It was Remy! And not only that, but somehow he had dragged Bobby down to help him. She was about to thank them then, but once again was interrupted, this time by Remy's lips upon hers.

She giggled amidst the kiss and returned his grip on him.

"Uh, guys... sorry to break up the love-fest here, but the water's still rising fast..." Bobby said.

Sometimes, she could just be so jealous of him. And this was one of those times. He was standing in ankle deep freezing water, and looked like he was just standing in ankle deep water at the beach. To him, it was just water. But even just water was enough to kill him.

"Here," he said before they followed Remy. He handed her his jacket, for obvious reasons he didn't need it, for obvious reasons she did.

"Thanks... for everything..." she said as she placed the jacket on her freezing body and followed Remy.

~*~ X ~*~

First Officer Murdoch was busy loading people into a lifeboat. There wasn't a huge mob there like further down the ship. Very few people were at this one. He yelled at the top of his lungs for any women and children to please come to him and board the boat.

Yet after a while there wasn't any more to be loaded, as Ismay informed him. They were all aft of them and couldn't hear him. Murdoch looked to the dozen or so men standing around and yelled out, "Anyone else, then!"

The men immediately reacted and got onto the lifeboat. A few of them rejoiced with their loved ones that they thought they'd be parted from.

Murdoch yelled it for a few minutes before it became clear no one else was going to board for a while. He then turned and raised his hands to begin commanding the lowering, when he saw Bruce Ismay sitting in the boat. It was not his place to do anything about it if the man had a strong desire to live, he had one himself, though he knew he wasn't getting off the ship alive.

It was then that he noticed the bandage across Ismay's cheek. Certainly it hadn't been there before when Murdoch saw him last. For a brief moment he wondered what had happened. But he had a job to do.

"Take them down," he ordered and continued to direct as the lifeboat was lowered to the ocean. For a brief moment, he could have sworn on his soon to be made grave, that Ismay's eyes had flashed yellow.

~*~ X ~*~

They ran to the stern of the ship, pushing people out of their way if need be. But it was too late, the remaining boat was already filled and being lowered. Only ones left were the ones they were trying to get down from their position on the roofs.

Logan shook his head as one of the collapsible ones was rocked off the edge. He knew the oars wouldn't hold, and they didn't. The boat snapped them like twigs as it fell upon them, one piece got a man in the back, sending him flying over the missing edge of the ship with a chilling scream.

Marie flinched and pressed herself more tightly into his arms. There were so many people, and so much of her skin was exposed. The last thing she needed right now was to absorb someone else, someone who wasn't taking the situation nearly as calmly as her.

As if she was taking it calmly. She was a moment away from having a breakdown. The only thing keeping her from doing so was that it wouldn't do anyone any good, least of all her and Logan. Really, it confused her to why they where there, waiting for a boat. All the officers were armed and would shoot any man who tried to board without permission. And since Logan wasn't a crewmember, there was no way they would allow him on.

It would be a little while before they got it positioned and hooked up, ready to receive passengers. The couple moved out of the way, allowing the crew to do their jobs.

Marie screamed as a door was flung open and Logan was hit hard, sent sprawling to the deck. She bent down to help him up, but was violently yanked away, pulled in through the door and to the Grand Staircase.

"Looks like Gyrich was a bad choice for this," a voice she recognized as Creed's whispered dangerously close to her neck. "But I'll finish it off."

A small cry escaped her as he yanked her again, pulling her down the stairs. Peeking over the sides, she saw that the Reception Area already held a bit of water in it. Bright turquoise water, clear as Caribbean oceans.

He led her down the stairs, only pausing when a feral roar was heard overhead. Logan was pissed as hell.

Her feet splashed in the cold water that was steadily rising. Strange how not long before, she had had dinner in the area that Creed had pulled her into. No one was there. No witnesses to however he planned to try and kill her.

Try being the main word. With Logan hot on their heels, it wasn't likely to happen. Not to her anyways. But Creed held a gun, no doubt. And he might be able to at least injure Logan before the wild man could reach them.

Sure enough, a moment later Logan burst through the glass and wood doors. Marie felt herself being pressed against Creed, a gun held against her head as he held her hostage. "You take one more step towards us, AnimalMan, and you'll get to watch her brains blow out of her head."

He gripped his arm tightly around Marie's neck, making it difficult for her to breathe. If he didn't shoot first, she would certainly die from lack of oxygen.

Why did these sort of things happen to them? Why couldn't they just be left alone! Logan was right in believing God didn't quite like him. And her too, now it seemed. Logan growled in protest, unsure of what to do. He wanted to gut Creed, to make him pay for even thinking about harming Marie. But if he tried, she would die.

And if he didn't do anything, she would die, he reminded himself. So really, what choice was there?

Logan glared at Creed, and Creed glared right back. Two men who had no pity or remorse when it came to killing. No queasy stomachs or second thoughts. Both were versed well in their field. Only difference was style. Creed would go for the neater, less bloody approach with a gun, while Logan would be feral and rip the person to shreds. Both were deadly and effective.

Question was: Who would win?

The longer he waited, the harder it would be. Water was up to his knees now, which made it extremely difficult to move fast. Instead, he needed to prove to be some sort of other threat. A nearby table held the answer.

Logan lunged for it and grabbed a knife, then quickly flung it at Creed, not intended for it to hit anywhere near him for fear of hitting Marie.

The weapon did have it's desired affect though, Creed pointed his gun at Logan and shot him twice, right in the chest. He grunted as pain exploded in his chest, his body slumped over the table.

Marie screamed his name and fought against her attacker. Her strength was weak and pitiful against the much stronger man. But she had a secret defense, as much as she didn't want to use it, it was the only way. Using her bare hands, she latched onto Creed's face with a death grip.

Creed's jaw went slack and his eyes opened wide as the connection immediately opened up. His life, his energy, his mind poured into her fingertips. His veins bulged in his face, and she briefly wondered if she did the same. There was no pain for her, just a simple overwhelming rush of things. After a time, her mind screamed at her to let go, to which she obeyed. Creed's form fell from her fingers and splashed into the water.

The man remained unconscious as he was emerged in water. He had still been alive when she let go, but a few moments of breathing water and unconsciously thrashing about, that ceased to be. As soon as Creed had begun to get pissy in her brain, he shut up. In fact... it was blank where he was a moment ago.

Either that had something to do with the fact he wasn't a mutant, or that he was dead. More than likely the latter.

Immediately pushing the questions that sprang to mind, and ignoring the cold biting all the way to her bones, Marie waded through to Logan. His blood stained the hand-sewn tablecloth and he didn't move. He couldn't be dead, not after all they'd been through.

She shook his arm a little to see if it would jar a reaction out of him. Yet there was nothing. "Logan?" she said, but still nothing. "Logan, answer me, sugah..."

"Okay... I'll answer... ow..."

Marie couldn't help it, she really couldn't. She started to laugh. It was such an unmanly thing for Logan to say that it was funny to her. Maybe she had lost it, or gone into shock. Or both. Both could happen.

"Logan, we have ta' get out of here. The tables are startin' ta' float."

"Really? I thought it was just me." With a grunt of pain he stood up, the entire front of his lifebelt soaked with red.

"Oh, Logan..." Marie's eyes brimmed with tears at seeing him like that.

"I'll be fine, Marie. Just like I was numerous times before." He took her and led her back to the stairs and up them.

~*~ X ~*~

As soon as the trio had set foot out on deck, things did not look promising. Everyone was running to and fro, jumping off the ship, panic had gripped every soul left on board. Bobby and Remy used themselves as shields to part the crowds of people in order to get to the front of the ship. There just had to be some boats left.

The nearest boat they reached had a huge mob surrounding it. Each officer held a gun pointed at them, one of them being the First Officer. He was yelling into the crowd, "I'll shoot any man who tries to get passed me! Get back!"

The mob began yelling back, but it did no good. One man jumped high above their heads and landed in front of the crest they had made surrounding the boat. Murdoch immediately reacted and shot the green skinned man. Out of the corner of his eye, something else moved and he shot again. Only this time it was a young woman who had been pushed forward.

It didn't hurt that much, nor was it that bad a wound really. It had only nicked Amy's arm and was already healing. But from Murdoch's position it looked much worse. He had shot and killed man, and shot a woman. The man had deserved it, but the woman...

Murdoch looked down at the trail of blood around his feet from the man. He glanced to either side of him. The girl was looking at him with forgiveness. Strange thing was, her eyes changed colors. The others looked at him with hatred, his fellow officers looked at him with indifference. They weren't going to give away their true emotions on the situation.

How did it come to this? When had everything gone wrong? Titanic was supposed to be unsinkable, was supposed to be still sailing towards New York, safe and sound.

But reality was different from fantasy. And the reality was that the ship was sinking, that he had killed a man for wanting to live and injured a woman. What more harm would he do than good? It wasn't worth it.

Murdoch stood up straight and saluted the highest ranking officer next to him. The man immediately recognized the look of calm resignation on Murdoch's face when he held the gun to his own head and cried out, "No, Wil!"

The shot that rang out made everyone present gasp and become quiet and still for a moment, before it settled in that they were still in peril and began to load the lifeboat like before.

Remy once again pushed Amy forward, constantly apologizing for getting her shot. The wound was nonexistent now, at least the physical one. However, the one in her heart continued to tear and bleed as she was forced to go. "Remy, please--"

"Don' argue wit' me, mon amour," he interrupted. Afraid that if she begged enough, he'd want her to stay. He kissed her one last time, a sweet, tender kiss that he hoped she would never forget. An officer grabbed her and pulled her into the boat while she reached out for her love, craving one last touch. They were too far separated.

The band had dispersed. Only the maestro remained. He stood there, alone, and began to play by himself. The first notes of 'Nearer My God to Thee' began to play from his instrument. Within just a few measures, the rest of the band had returned to play along. No version they had ever heard before brought so much emotion and heart to it. They played slow and perfectly, bringing meaning out in each note. No one dared to interrupt them, not even if they were in a blind panic.

Amy was usually so good in hiding her emotions. But it was impossible for her to do so when music matching her mood was being played. Tears slid down her cheeks and sobs she tried desperately to hide racked her body. It just wasn't working, no matter what she did.

She couldn't bear to watch Remy, yet couldn't bear even more to not. He was holding people back so they wouldn't storm the boat. It was getting harder and harder for the officers to keep people back as the water rose onto the deck and around the boat she was in.

In her mind, the music drowned out the screams and the eerie groans the ship was making. In her mind there was nothing but her and Remy together. Before sailing on Titanic she had been afraid of love, afraid of a relationship. Many men had tried to court her, but she had always bluntly refused. On the ship, a certain Cajun thief-turned-waiter had become a thief once again and stolen her heart, teaching her that it was alright to love.

Now, in the darkest part of her mind, she wished they had never met. The pain of losing someone you loved was far greater than the pain of losing your humanity or any injury she had ever received combined. If they had never met, she wouldn't feel like she was dying right now, that every second took a little piece of her with it.

Yet if that were true, then she would have gone throughout her whole life pushing love away. Because the one man who could break those walls she would had never met.

"There's no time!" someone yelled, breaking her little dream. "Cut those Falls! Cut 'em! Cut 'em if ya' have to!"

Remy sprang into action. Or, into the water, for that matter. A knife magically appeared in his hand and he pulled himself onto one of the ropes and began sawing at it. But Amy would have none of that. She pulled him down into the boat by his pantleg and took the knife from him.

He gazed at her in surprise and began to ask just what she was doing, when she took his place by the rope and used one of her powers.

The panic became more distant as it moved slower, shouts and screams held out much longer. The water that splashed her seemed to take forever to connect with her skin as she worked furiously on the ropes. She glanced to her side and noticed that the only thing that seemed to move normal was another man with white hair across from her. He was moving as fast as her, if not faster, but that was his power too, although how differently did it.

Pietro and Amy worked faster on the falls, cutting one, then jumping to another. Pietro was on the outside and was having to fight against the current as well. Someone who was being swept by it ran into him, causing him to lose his grip and ride along with the flow. His dagger was lost somewhere along the way, so he couldn't swim back to help them. Carefully swimming, he aimed for dry deck instead.

Amy only stopped in her sawing when the headache became unbearable and she was forced to stop, collapsing into the boat. Remy's arms circled around her, keeping her upright. "It's alright, mon amour... 'Tis alright..." he tried to calm her.

Loud creaking and groaning brought her foggy mind's attention behind the two of them. Like spring coils pulled far too taunt, the supports for the first funnel casing gave way, cutting people in half as it sprang to the water like warm string through a cheesecake. The creaking grew even louder as the funnel lost its support and began tipping towards the water. As it fell it moved faster until it impacted with the water and the unfortunate people under it.

Remy braced himself and Amy as the great waves rocked the small boat. People around them were desperately trying to climb into the boat. The added weight on one side combined with the wave tipped the boat over. They all screamed as they were met with the cold stinging of the ocean water. A few of them were trapped underneath the boat and held onto the seats they had been previously using to sit on in order to find the air to breathe.

Being tall enough, Remy put his feet down on the deck underneath the water and used his arms to try and push the boat back over. "Work wit' me!"

The other men underneath that were tall enough did the same, flipping the lifeboat and water people had undoubtedly already climbed upon it off. People lunged for the boat like ants lunge at a piece of candy dropped by a child. The Cajun climbed into it first, immediately reaching back and grabbing Amy, pulling her up.

She was nearly unconscious, no matter how she tried to fight it. Her body was just too weak from her mental exertions. In the comfort of Remy's arms, she lost the battle and drifted to sleep.

~*~ X ~*~

"So... How did you get involved with Lensherr, then? If you don't always agree with his methods?" Jenn asked, wanting to keep her mind off of the ship behind them and the dying man in her arms.

"He's my father, that's how," Wanda replied, sneaking glances at the doomed sea liner now and then.

"Oh..." Jenn looked up briefly in time to see the outline of something moving high above them. She knew it was Ororo. Her abilities allowed her to use the wind to make her fly, yet she couldn't control it like that with someone else. Every moment she needed to change the winds, and unless she could feel it herself, it was too hard to do.

"Oh my God..." Wanda breathed out as she stared in shock at the ship.

Although she knew she shouldn't, Jenn couldn't help but glance behind her. One of the funnels had just fallen. And the entire ship looked as if it were infested with bugs. So many people were left... and one of them was Bobby.

But he was still alive. At least at that moment. Jenn believed she would know if he was gone, or wanted to anyways. She felt like she deserved it. They loved each other more than anything, that opened up a psychic connection that would let you know if something serious was happening to your loved one, or if they were dead.

It proved to be right as Scott's breathing shallowed even more, his skin deathly pale and his lips turning purple from the cold and blood loss. As it happened, Jenn could hear a woman begin to cry even louder, and imagined it to be Jean. Sure, she was a real psychic, but she would have defenses up in order to not hear the people on the ship. Still, that connection she would have with her husband would still be there, and she could feel it slipping away.

"Come on, Scott... hang in there... For us... For Jean..." Jennifer pleaded. "You hang in there too, Bobby," she whispered in a prayer to whoever would listen.

~*~ X ~*~

There was no way they could get near one of the remaining boats. Once the funnel fell, Logan lost all hope of that. Titanic was sinking fast now, and didn't have much time left. "Come on!" he yelled to Marie above the shouts and pleas of the crowd. He pulled her out of the rising water and began dragging her to the stern of the ship.

At that moment, that was the only direction anyone was going other than down, off the ship. Logan knew better than that and pushed past the crowds, keeping a firm grip on the girl behind him. She stumbled a few times in her shoes, but he kept her upright.

If Logan thought the people were being noisy then, as soon as the lights went out on the ship, they were ten times worse. Darkness always made things worse. With nothing but the stars to light them, it was nearly impossible to see five feet in front of them.

People were ignoring the stairs and just climbing over the ship to get to the back. It was a good idea, so they follow suit. Logan let go of Marie to jump down a particularly high piece, then turned and helped her down. "We've got to move faster!" Marie yelled as she looked behind her.

The more they moved to the back, the more difficult it became to do so. Their feet slide on the smooth boards and Logan grabbed onto one of the stairway rails, pulling them up on them. The mob moved like the sea as one mass.

They nearly lost their footing numerous times, but Logan kept them upright until they went as far as they could go. The couple entwined themselves in the railing, the ship now completely vertical.

Marie glanced to either side of her. To their left, she could see Jubilee, her servant holding on for dear life. Her brown eyes were wide and haunted, her hair disheveled. Yet she was wearing that bright yellow jacket that she loved so much. That was how Marie identified her.

"Jubilee!" she yelled at her.

"Chica?" the girl responded with the pet name she had given her. It was obvious in her voice that she was so close to breaking down, only her will to live kept it from happening.

To Marie's right, she could just make out the face of Bobby Drake holding onto the support lining. It was odd how she couldn't see him breathing. As if he were as cold as the air. The boy looked at her, deep pain was in his eyes. Yet hardly any fear. She briefly wondered if his mutation -- whatever it was -- had anything to do with it.

~*~ X ~*~

Curse those people who couldn't move out of his way fast enough! If it weren't for them he wouldn't have to be hanging onto an open door right then, keeping an eye out for any falling people who just couldn't hang on anymore.

One thing was for certain, using a damn door to hang onto was probably ranking near the top of his dumbest ideas. Second to setting foot on this ship and joining his damn father in his stupid crusade.

Pietro swung his feet some to get some leverage on the door frame, so he didn't have to completely rely on the door itself that couldn't possibly hold him for long. His mind imagined that the creaking wasn't only coming from behind him.

But the cracking certainly ways. Pietro looked down and saw the floorboards snapping. The damn ship was breaking apart! He couldn't even describe the sound after that, it was so hideous. Passengers screaming did nothing to drown out the sound of the ship collapsing upon itself.

It rocked back slightly before plummeting back to the ocean in a free fall. Pietro's feet lost their ground on the door frame and he swung back. His fears began true when the hinges splintered apart and he didn't have anything else to hold onto.

His body began sliding towards the abyss that used to be connected to more of the ship. He yelled but as soon as his feet touched the ground, he began running.

Titanic bounced on the ocean, his feet leaving it for a short time before meeting up with the floor again. Pietro didn't care who he ran over or blew away, he was not going to be that near the gap.

~*~ X ~*~

Right after the stern had fallen back level, Logan pulled himself and Marie to the other side of the railing. Bobby did the same thing and Jubilee was already over so she didn't move.

Faster than before, the stern section became vertical again. It was worse than any amusement ride she had been on because in this, there were no safety lines. There was nothing to make sure everything would be alright. And it sure as hell was anything but fun.

Marie cried out in fear, not understand why nothing was happened. "Logan!"

"I'm right here, darlin', I'm right here," he breathed into her neck between heavy pants.

Next to her, Bobby let out a yell as someone grabbed onto him. In an attempt to get out of the other man's grasp, he slipped and fell back with another yell. Marie squeezed her eyes shut and tried not to imagine him falling to the cold water. Tried not to imagine how soon they would be joining him.

Logan had a gut feeling as the ship slowly sank down again. "I think this could be it, Marie!" He quickly ripped off a sleeve of his jacket and bound it around one of her hands and one of his.

Her eyes widened as the water rushed to greet them, eager to take them into her folds. Marie had never stared death in the face before, but she was at that very moment. She knew what she had to do, same as Logan, and the two prepared for it.

She glanced to her side again and saw Jubilee watching the water and glancing at them constantly, seeing what they would do. Marie tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it was pointless. Jubilee wouldn't see it anyways, and what in God's name was there to smile about? They could very well be about to die.

Within a few seconds Marie made a show of taking a deep breath and saw Jubilee do the same out of the corner of her eye. Then they squeezed shut as the cold water rushed over her, engulfing her in her cold blankets. She refused to let go of the fabric which held her and Logan together and kicked and used her able arm to find the surface.

The pressure was intense against her ears and head and she felt like she was doing nothing but moving in circles. For all she knew she was. Her lungs burned for it's deprived substance, but there wasn't any for her to give it. It wasn't until her face met stinging cold air that she knew she was out and breathed out the air she had in her and gulped down new.

It was mad out there, people flailing about, using anything they could get their hands on to help stay afloat, even if the preservers would do it for them on their own. "Marie!" she could hear someone yell not far away.

The arm connected to Logan tugged and she followed it, followed him. It was so cold and her skin was already going numb, but she continued on. They swam until they were far enough away from the large mob to get some peace. There was something floating in the water that Logan took her to and told her to get on.

She didn't care what it was, but she got on it, sprawling herself across the flat surface. "W-what ab-bout-t y-o-u?" she managed to stutter out.

"Ice is better than ice water in some ways," someone said nearby them. Next to Logan a large slab of ice formed and floated in the water. Seeing as that was the only thing near, he got on top of it.

"Th-thanks, Icem-man."

"Yeah... I'm gonna go back and make more for other people. Give them something until the boats come back." Marie gaped as Drake rowed by in a very small iceboat, complete with an ice oar and a sailor hat made of ice. If she weren't so damn cold, she would have laughed at the humor. It was amazing anyone could have any now.

The young man whistled and rowed on, forming ice slabs for anyone in need.

Amidst the mass of people, a true whistle was being used to its full extent. Followed by the pleading orders of the officer connected to it, others joined in the screaming for help.

Logan knew that there was no way the boats would come back. They'd sooner let them all freeze to death. Of course, if Logan was in their position, he would probably do the same thing. If they came back, the frozen people would swamp the boats and everything that had been save in them would be in the same peril as the ones in the water.

He looked around them. But for the life of him, he couldn't tell where any of the boats were. "M-marie... we n-n-need-d to... to swim-m."

"D-don't want-t to-oo..." she replied weakly.

"You... have to, M-m-marie." Using his untied arm and the opposite leg, he slowly paddled. But with it wasn't enough to make them go anywhere. "F-fuck." Unless they both went back into the water, they weren't going anywhere.

Given the option to either stay where they were and freeze to death like everyone else, or at least trying to survive -- it was pretty obvious what he would choose for them.

Logan slide off his piece of ice into the water, causing Marie to let out a startled cry of protest. "We n-need to swim to th-the boats."

"I'm warm..."

Fuck. Warm was not good. Warm was very, very bad. Warm was just a minute away from numbness. "Come on, M-arie." He dragged her into the water, their lifebelts keeping them afloat more than anything.

Marie paddled along with him, even further away from the crowd of slowly dying people. She was no longer cold, and no longer warm. Her body felt nothing in the icy waters. She supposed that wasn't a good thing, but really didn't care. The sooner she got to a boat, the sooner she could sleep.

Their movements were slow and clumsy without any of the nerves closer to the surface to help. They didn't realize how much they took it for granted, to be able to feel what they were doing.

Logan remained persistent even as Marie began slacking off in her efforts. "I'm so tired, Logan..."

He stopped at those words and turned to face her, his wild hair and mutton chops home to pieces of ice. "Marie... stay with me... You have to stay awake, you hear me?"

"Why can't I sleep, Logan?"

"Because I said so." With that, he continued his clumsy swimming efforts. He had to keep her mind focused, keep her talking maybe. "Hey... y'know... I never did find out who the Scarlet Pimpernel was."

If she could have smiled, she would have. "I'm not going to ruin it for you. You're just going to have to read it and find out for yourself."

A few wheezing breaths came out, the best of a chuckle he could manage with freezing vocal cords. "Not even a hint?"

"Okay... Don't drink anything during the pepper-snuff incident. You'll choke."

"That helps a lot." At least she was beginning to have a sense of humor about it.

"Logan... I love you..." Marie whispered faintly, her eyelids growing heavier.

Panic gripped him. "Tell me that again when we reach someplace dry and we get some sleep." He pressed on faster, harder. There had to be a boat around some-- Yes! There was one up ahead!

"We're gonna make it, Marie. Just hold on, there's a boat up ahead." He pushed his body to the limit, the boat was still far away and they didn't have much time. Marie didn't have much time.

For a couple of minutes he pressed onwards, swimming towards the boat he saw. He was so intent on getting them to safety that it wasn't until then that he noticed Marie wasn't helping at all.

"Marie?" He paused and turned to face her. Her beautiful chocolate eyes that had gazed at him so intently many times before were closed. Another pang of fear gripped his heart. "Marie?" he asked again, panic rising in his voice. "Marie, wake up, darlin'..."

Those eyes he loved so much remained closed. Were it not for the fact he was so frozen, his eyes would have brimmed with tears about to fall. They had survived so much, they were so close. It couldn't be. He brought her still form to his and stroked her frozen hair back, away from her face. "Marie? Darlin', please don't do this to me..." He placed his bare hand against her face, praying for a miracle. For the first time Logan could remember, he prayed to whatever God would listen.

Still nothing happened.

In sorrow and defeat, he pressed his lips to her own, desperate to taste her one last time. Once he did he kissed her forehead and rested his cheek against it. Logan wasn't a man who cried over the drop of a hat. But there was no one around, no one who would notice as soft sobs shook him and the cold form of the only woman he had loved and was denied a life with. "I love you too, Marie..." he whispered into her hair.

CHAPTERS:

Prologue   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   Epilogue

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