After The Fall

Molly looked up from where she was floating as Max barked. It seemed as though the nap that he'd been taking was over, and she swam over to the edge of the pool, grinning as the puppy bounced impatiently, pawing at his rope toy.

"Now you're wide awake," she shook her head, reaching up to pet him with a still dripping hand. He sneezed and shook the water off, and she laughed and rested her arms on the ground, legs still fluttering in the water. "You wanna come swim again?"

Max grabbed his rope toy and shook his head in what could have been a response if dogs could understand English, but was really just Max trying to kill the toy, completely ignoring Molly's question. Earlier, he'd waded around in the shallow end, but despite the fact that he was a water dog, he still didn't seem to know exactly how he was supposed to feel about actually swimming. She reached out and grabbed the other end of his toy, and his bounced excitedly as he pulled back.

"You are never gonna win this game," she cooed at the puppy. He started growling, shaking his head again in an attempt to wrest the rope from her hand, and she laughed, leaning in to clamp the rope between her teeth and growl back.

Somewhere around 2200, Disney decided that it was about time that they expanded. Really expanded. They bought the entire country of Iceland at a relatively cheap price and began to construct the amusement destination to end all amusement destinations: Disney Universe.

DU is made up of six main parks, four water parks, two virtual reality theme parks, and countless other entertainment options ranging from movie theaters to mini-golf. There's even whole park full of night clubs that run 24 hours, for the grown-ups.

The Magic Kingdom is the biggest park at the resort. At it's center stands a replica of the Genoshan palace. It is here that castle shows take place at least six times daily, featuring live musical performances from the princesses Wanda and Lorna, as well as their adventurous brother, Prince Pietro. If you're lucky, they'll even be out signing autographs and taking pictures!

The rest of the park is made up of a number of lands.

Mutantland, not surprisingly, is dedicated to mutants. Costumed versions of the X-Men (toned down a bit from their accepted historical appearances so as not to scare the kiddies) wander, and once you step through the entrance (through the palace), congratulations! You're a mutant! We're all mutants in Mutantland, and we're all friends, too. Take a spin on the BEAST, a stomach-twisting whirling coaster adventure, or stop and have your hair done like a real mutant in the Princess Lorna Hair Salon.

Classicland features all of your Disney favorites. Here you can find such attractions as the Haunted Mansion, The World Famous Jungle Cruise, The Mad Tea Party, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, and It's a Small World, among others.

Coasterland, as the name suggests, is dedicated to the fine art of roller coasters. There are 6 coasters in Coasterland, and each one is a tribute to modern technology. They are faster, bigger, scarier, and more fun than any coaster really has a right to be. Make sure you get a Fast Pass, because the lines are long.

Adventureland is the place to be if you like exploring. It is home to Disney Universe's very own mountain, Mount Wundagore. There, you'll find The Knights of Wundagore, a thrilling coaster ride. Hop into an antique 23rd century mining car and travel deep into the heart of Wundagore's uranium mines... but be careful, for the mountain is guarded by mystical warriors who will stop at nothing to keep you from depleting their home's precious resources!

Villainland is home to the biggest, baddest baddies that ever called Disney home. From classic bad guys like Maleficent to modern villains, they're all here and they all want your help to take over the goodness of the Magic Kingdom and fill it with pure evil! Stop by the Witch's Candy Apple Cellar for a custom made caramel apple!

Fantasyland is themed as an ancient carnival, with what was known in the 20th and 21st centuries as a midway. You can win prizes and test your luck at a number of games! See a man be shot from a cannon, or feast your eyes on the Carnival of Curiosities, a thrilling side-show. Four times daily, there is a performance under the big top, with acrobats, clowns, and a whole menagerie of performing animals! If you're one of the lucky Guests, you'll get picked from the audience and taught a simple trick on the trapeze, which you will then get to perform for the entire crowd! You may even see an elephant fly!

In true Disney fashion, there are numerous gift shops scattered throughout the park, and you can go home with your choice of souvenirs. From dolls to dresses, from hats to hoodies, it's all there, and it's all very heavily marketed for each park.

Costumed characters, both new and old faces alike, roam the property daily and do autograph signings and photo ops.

Go nuts, and most importantly... HAVE A MAGICAL DAY!

Molly pushed the box to the back of the truck bed, then turned to grab the next box as Warren loaded it on. Once it was also nestled snugly against the back of the cab, she climbed back out, giving the area a quick once-over before closing the truck up and following Warren back to the mouth of the tunnel. There would be other supplies that needed to be brought out. Kitty and Rogue were probably on their way up with them right then.

She opened her mouth to comment on Warren's choice of pants (remarkably stylish, under the circumstances) when a rustling from somewhere behind her made her snap it shut again and turn, drawing her gun. The area had seemed clear, but it wasn't at all unusual for a zombie to suddenly show up in some kind of weird super stealth mode. She frowned, glancing at Warren. He'd heard it too, but it sounded like whatever it was, it wasn't coming any closer. If it was a zombie, they probably would have already stumbled their way into range. Shrugging, she holstered the gun, turned back toward the tunnel... and found herself suddenly in a very different place. A room. Inside.

"Wh..." She frowned, catching sight of what looked like a camera trained on her. What the fuck?

Wanda had been - well, she hadn't been doing anything important, but it had been a hell of a lot better than suddenly no longer being in her room at the Brotherhood house, and instead being in an abandoned theater room that looked way too fucking familiar.

Excellent. She was getting really, really, really fucking tired of this. Actually, rephrase that. Take out a few 'really's and add a few more 'fucking's.

"I swear to fucking god, if this happens one more time, I'm going to-" She cut off as she looked around and realized Pietro wasn't with her. Not that he'd been with her the exact second before she found herself here, but -

He had to be there. There wasn't another option. But a quick examination of the the theater room and the rooms close by turned up no sign of him, and she could feel herself panicking a bit. Fuck no. If she had to be back here, Pietro had damn well better be there with her. Which wasn't even true, really. It wasn't as though she particularly preferred being back in the Brotherhood house to being here. It was just - all right, it was mostly just that she just wanted to be where ever Pietro was. Which meant he had to be here. She would not allow him to-

All right. She had to calm down. Tearing the place apart until she found him would be more satisfying than asking for help, but it would also take longer. Assuming there were even people still keeping an eye on things here, but then, if there weren't, she could go back to plan A.

Wanda headed back into the theater room and turned her attention towards the camera monitoring it. "Someone had better come get me and tell me where the hell Pietro is, or I'll fucking find him myself."

There. That had been calm. She'd even managed to stop the little bits of blue that had started sparking at her fingertips before the debris around had done more than rumble a bit.

Freakshow knew how Magneto brought the Scarlet Witch to Genosha. He knew she was ill, and he knew what her powers were capable of. So when the blonde megamorph blinked his eyes to see that he was in a throne room rather than outside working to clean up the big mess, he automatically assumed it was her reality warping at work.

Kevin put his fists against his mouth and filled his cheeks with air in attempt to suppress the loud belch he felt coming out. His stomach was so full; he had just been eating up all the rubble and junk that tainted the beauty of Genosha in his monstrous worm-like ‘capable of devouring anything with massive teeth’ form.

His jaw slightly dropped as he Looked around the throne room in awe. It was so shiny and amazing. However, it was missing something – people. He would’ve totally sat down on the throne and appreciated the royal sight a whole lot more if he had someone to talk about it with. He hated being a lone. Where was everyone!? Where was Wicked!?

Ohmygodohmygodohygod! Now mentally panicking at the fact he had no idea where exactly he was sent to or how far away he was from any human contact, he darted out of the room with a look of worriment plastered on his face. He raced through the palace hallway, peeking into every single room he went by, desperately trying to find someone.

Billy took a step back and folded his arms across his chest, trying to judge the levelness of the frame. They'd been working on their room slowly but surely. Between Billy's busy transport schedule and getting themselves established as students, fixing their room had unfortunately been back burned a time or two. Not to mention the fact that they hadn't officially shared a room - these last months noninclusive - since they were twelve. And had since developed slightly different tastes in some areas, which meant decoration required some negotiation.

While on the island, Billy had replicated a more or less standard palace bedroom, with a few specially designed comforts tossed in. This was not to be the case in the mansion. The room was large enough for them both to feel comfortable, but the layout was unfamiliar. They'd visited Uncle Charles' school a time or two, but had never stayed. And during every visit they'd always been flanked by personnel, toured the area on a schedule, and been socialized with only a selected few. They'd never been left alone to wander, and standing in the mansion - even though it looked less like the one he knew - without any of those things was eerie.

He rubbed his arms, frowning slightly.

Wanda was glad to be off the island. Even after the amount of time that she'd been in the world, seeing Genosha in such a state was not at all easy. It was a big part of the reason why she often took trips to other places. Now, though, she had an excuse. She hadn't been to the Xavier Institute in a very long time in her world. She'd been a guest lecturer once or twice before she was crowned, but hadn't made it back since. From what she now knew of the residents of the Institute, that was probably a good thing. She was interested in seeing what all had been done on the place in this world, though, and even though she would never admit it aloud, it was partially because she was very curious about the reported expertise of her father's clone.

She headed through the lobby of the hotel, slowing as she spotted a familiar figure... who was different. The boy had Billy's hair, but she was absolutely certain that it was not Billy. Smiling, she approached him, raising an eyebrow. "So, what prompted this change?"

Wanda had waited as long as she could after following Billy and Tommy. They were together, and she had no doubt that Tommy was who Billy needed to see the most right then, but she had to check on them. Needed to know that Billy was okay, or at least somewhere closer to okay than where Arthur thought he was.

Discovering that they'd gone to Wundagore was slightly surprising at first, but made sense. It was a perfect place to hide. The Transia of the world they were in was similar to what she could remember of it from when she was younger. It had changed over the years, and though she'd not spent nearly as much time there as she would have liked, in many ways it was still home. Even if it had been a temporary home at best.

She couldn't quite bring herself to completely enjoy it, though, and it was impossible for her to keep herself at a distance for any longer. Taking a deep breath, she ascended the stairs to the cabin and knocked on the door.

Tommy was still where he had been when he'd stopped actively looking for Billy. He was distracted by the conversation they were having over the comms, annoyed by Billy's insistence that no one else was allowed to know him, and hurt by the fact that Billy had gone off alone in the first place.

He was becoming more determined to let his twin have his precious solitude with every passing second. Arguing with Billy - with either of them, if he were honest - was often like running into a brick wall - check that, an adamantium wall. There was no give at all.

Sitting on the steps of the university's library, Tommy still wasn't sure if Billy would actually come or send a portal - or just delay until he'd gotten more of a hold on himself. He doubted it would be the last one, as Billy usually needed one of his brothers for something like that. And Teddy wasn't here. They really did need him here. Someone to talk Tommy out of his anger, and Billy out of his fury.

Tommy had run to the study when his M- when Wanda had said that she would be there in a minute. He had to catch himself mentally. He didn't think he could afford to even think of her as the alternate of his mother. The resemblance between her world's Kurt and his own was strong, and he imagined that she, too, would be similar.

Unless she had children of a similar age, Tommy doubted that she would be comfortable with the epic slip-up of calling her Mom. He kept focus on that - on what the appropriate way to address her was - and stood nearly at attention, waiting.

Billy lounged beneath the tree. Because he was the only long range teleporter in residence at current, he wasn't confined to the island so much as strictly encouraged to remain there. He respected the necessity and so hadn't left when he and Tommy got a craving for take out. That didn't however mean that they couldn't have it. Years of escaping their guard had given him the distinct ability to transport his twin anywhere in the world with little thought, but a solid hold for easy retrieval or accompanying.

So he'd opened up a portal and Tommy had sped trough with enough cash to buy a car. Now he was waiting. Legs crossed at the ankles and arms folded across his belly, blue portal shimmering and ready to open on Tommy's side when he was ready to return.

Kurt sat on a boulder just beyond where the surf lapped gently at the shore, knees pulled to his chest and chin resting on them as he looked out across the water. The sun was sinking beneath the trees behind him and the surf rolling smoothly towards shore was glassy and dark and smooth. So different from this morning when the rising sun had pinked the foam as waves crashed and tumbled towards the beach and he'd...he'd spread Alex's ashes on the receding tide. Watched them wash out to sea and tried not to think how different it felt, saltwater-damp hands crusted with fine, dry ash instead of still-warm blood and quivering viscera. Tried to keep it together as his gut twisted and his throat closed and the world went blurry and dark at the edges and Billy and, amazingly, Tommy's presence had been the only anchor that kept him upright and semi-functioning until those who'd come to the beach drifted away.

He barely even remembered after that. Definitely didn't remember choosing the tree as his destination when he'd given Billy a last, desperate look and 'ported away, a fraction of a second ahead of doubling over and emptying his stomach of little beyond bile, though it had felt like he'd been trying to vomit up his soul. The hours after that were a blur that he wasn't sure he ever wanted to remember in greater detail. Soft voices, supporting arms, wracking sobs and soul deep pain that he'd tried so hard not to feel until it broke through all at once, rolled him under and held him there for hours. And they'd stayed with him through it all. Until he'd slipped away, cried out, restless and agitated, to wander Alex's favorite haunts and finally say goodbye. To him and Stefan both.

Wanda'd had to go to the bathroom and he knew he was supposed to stay in their room but he'd been looking out the window and seen birds. Bright red and green ones. Lots and lots and lots of them, maybe even more than twenty! And they were out on the lawn and he hadn't thought, just run out to see them...only to watch them all take to the air and fly away almost as soon as he stopped nearby. And he could have caught one, he knew, but the one time he'd done that he'd accidentally hurt the little bird and the thought still made his eyes start to get all stingy and watery so he didn't think about it, just zipped over to a garden bed full of flowers that were every bit as colorful as the birds had been and started plucking them.

Billy had wondered what was going on. Kurt had asked him to meet him beneath their tree and Tommy had actually walked with him there. Step by step all the way to the tree, where he waited with him a moment or two before wandering off. There was something about this whole thing that--

Billy blinked and looked around. Where was Tommy?! WHERE WAS HE?! "Prala!" he called softly, before waiting for him to respond. "PRALA!!" he called again, loudly. Again he waited. Again, no Tommy. "Kaj..." He gave a small hitch. "Muri prala..." And promptly sobbed.

He wasn't really looking forward to this conversation at all, but he felt the issue needed to be addressed for a variety of reasons. Surprisingly he'd managed to beat both of the twins to the study and he leaned back against the piano to wait.

There were enough people around the place now that Kurt didn't tend to risk porting blind into rooms unless he could make a ceiling entrance, and since his arms were currently loaded down with books he was making his way down the hall the old fashioned way. From the sounds of the music drifting out of the study one of the twins was in there playing and he entered quietly, smiling and waving his tail jauntily at Tommy as he headed for the bookshelves in the corner.

Tommy hadn't really reacted when Billy woke up earlier than usual. He'd looped an arm about his brother's waist to keep him in bed, but relinquished him when Billy sleepily muttered about the bathroom. He was about to fall back asleep when his journal started beeping at him.

Finding it took a few seconds, it was lost in the covers. But once he'd read what Billy had sent, Tommy was instantly awake. He shot off a quick I'm coming message, in case Billy had gone farther than the bathroom, dressed at lightning speed and was at Billy's side a second later. "What's wrong?" He tried to keep the frantic out of his voice, but leaned against Billy's side for physical reassurance.

Usually, Tommy made it into the room first. Billy would find him already asleep; strip down, crawl in beside him, tangle up in him and fall asleep himself. If he had something on his mind, he'd lay awake and watch him, or close his eyes and listen to his heart. A steady, never ending hum that never failed to lull him to sleep anyway.

Tommy was his cure all. Nothing could go wrong while Tommy was near. He felt safe with his brother. Loved and accepted, even when they were arguing. Tommy was the other half of his soul and without him, there was no existing. There was no reason to.

Kurt had told him he loved him. Billy had been doing his best to ignore it, but...With Kurt away, it was all he could think about. And it was driving him crazy.

Tired, he shrugged out of his shirt and tossed it aside. Kicked off his shoes and pulled off his pants, tossing them aside likewise before crawling into the bed - leaving a heap upon the floor. He lay down on his side and reached out to trail his fingers over Tommy's pillow.

Even if it was the same face, his face, Tommy's always relaxed him. Looking back quietly, with the same blue eyes. He closed his eyes, able to draw up the image without any difficulty. His chest eased, feeling phantom limbs weigh over him. He curled up about the empty space, slipping into sleep.

Tommy had made his way back to the mansion, albeit slowly for him. When he reached their room, he undressed. Shimmying out of his uniform had taken some doing and more than a little cursing, he wished he'd have asked Billy to change the uniform into something more normal after the excursion to the ships, but the uniform had seemed more appropriate with the cultists about. Still, the effort had brought tears to his eyes. He'd have to find Josh before Billy found him and get him to at least knit the ribs together a little, to take the edge off the pain.

But for now, he wanted a shower and his daily nap. The shower was only so he could feel the warm water on his bruises, and it did feel good, relaxing the muscles and making breathing that much easier. He leaned against the wall and thought about staying there until the water ran cold, but that would undo all the good that had been done. Tommy winced when he leaned over to pull his underwear up, and he thought about going to sleep in only them as he headed back into the bedroom. It was, after all, what he always did, but he was aware that he had a considerable number of bruises on his body, already a dark black and blue as if it was the next day. Billy might see them and certainly flip out.

Tommy located his undershirt and glared at it before giving a slight sigh and putting it on as quickly as possible, his chest erupting in pain and making his breath catch. Gingerly holding one hand to the soreness, he carefully laid down on the bed, not bothering to move aside the covers. He fell asleep quickly, as he did everything.

It didn't make sense. Tommy was crouched down a few feet inside the edge of the jungle, which rapidly thinned at the edge of the cliff. He was watching the surf some distance to his left, where the cliffs curved out into the sea. A thin strip of sand was visible, and the sand was littered with the remains of offerings and gifts. Offerings and gifts for his long-dead Grandfather, as if he was going to roll the iron-laced boulder from his tomb any day now and return to rule the world.

The incoming tide was battering something against the rocks, a small skiff or a box. He knew it shouldn't matter so much to him, but there was this nagging curiosity as to what it was. That was why Tommy was here, in uniform, waiting for the UN ship to move on down the coast or else for night to fall. They'd never see him on the beach, but, if anyone was looking at the beach through binoculars, they would certainly notice when things moved or vanished. So, he would wait - but not patiently.