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Monet started to think again on what had Rich upset. After hearing everything, she
realized that the death of Black Tom had little to do with it. She started considering the facts in
her mind, doing her best to stay aware of what was happening.
Jean said to Sean, "Is that everything that has happened?" Monet could tell that she
wanted to be sure that nothing was left out. She wanted all the information. She wanted all the
truthful information.
"Aye. We've had a close watch on him everyday. But we don't know how long he is
going to continue being like this. We can't talk to him, because we don't truly know the problem."
Monet watched the calmness of how Sean answered the question. Some of the worlds repeated
themselves in her mind. Truly know the problem, that was part of the answer, but how did it fit
in.
Jean finally said, "I hope he can recover. I still wonder how Professer Xavier is dealing
with what he had done." Monet noticed a look of anguish on her face, as well as everyone elses.
It finally hit her. What had been bothering Rich, what had drove him into the state he was in.
"That's it," she yelled. "That's the problem." Everyone was looking at her, and she then
said calmly, "I have figured out what is wrong with Rich."
Sean glance at her and said, "What is it, lass?"
"Betrayal. When he found out about Bastion, he felt betrayed. And then when Bastion
killed himself, Rich didn't want to care about what Bastion did to save him."
Scott looked as if he was in shock. "You mean he destroyed himself, and all of Zero
Tolerance, to possibly renew his nephew's belief." Monet noticed that the words had hit
everyone.
Emma Frost looked at them in shock. "You mean that Bastion destroyed all of Zero
Tolerance to save his nephew's faith. If Rich knew that, he might just snap out of it." Monet
understood that much, but she figured that the best people to talk to Rich would be those who
had suffered in the same way.
"Emma, I think it would be best if Penny, Jean, Scott and myself went to see Rich. We
all know what betrayal is like." Emma nodded, as did everyone else. With that, Monet went with
the others off to Rich's dorm room.
Everett had kept an eye on Rich since everyone left. He understood to a point what Rich
was going through, but still didn't understand why Rich hadn't cheered up. He had to admit that
after being controlled by Emplate, that he didn't want company. It was a terrible struggle for him
to keep control, and still he couldn't keep control. Emplate had manipulated him like a puppet.
Those few times he broke free, he tried to stop Emplate by sacrificing his own life. When Monet
helped him break free, he was totally depressed, much like how Rich was. It was Jubilee that
helped him cope with it.
The time had passed when everyone had left to talk to Scott and Jean. He kept a
careful eye on Rich, knowing that if Rich did something rash, Penny might blame him. Everyone
had been told about what Rich did to Black Tom while upset and having Penny's abilities. After
a while, he heard music playing in Rich's room. Rich's taste in music was varied from New Age
to Oldies. It was hard to tell what mood he was in when he put on music, because the music
rarely reflected his mood. Everett was trying to figure out if the music reflected Rich's current
mood, when he heard a voice behind him ask, "How is Rich?" He spun around and saw Penny
standing there with Monet, Scott and Jean.
He told her the truth. "I don't know if it is a good sign or a bad sign. He put on some
music, and I have never heard it before." He watched as Penny walked to the door and listened
to the music. He felt releaved when she smiled.
"It's a soundtrack. I think it is from a movie he showed me once. It is probably a good
sign." She then faced him and said, "Monet thinks she has figured out what is wrong with Rich."
Now that was a good sign, because maybe they could snap him out of it. "So what is the
problem, Monet?"
"Rich feels like he was betrayed by Bastion. Bastion was Rich's uncle who Rich thought
was dead." Everett remembered hearing that when Rich's father had stopped by to drop off his
stuff. He was about to ask about why only those four were there when he noticed something.
The music was gone.
He looked in the door, and didn't see Rich. He used his aura to get in synch with Rich.
Rich was still in the room, but he couldn't figure out where. Penny rushed in the room, shouting
his name. He had stayed focused on Rich's ability, when all of a sudden, he heard Penny
shouting something he couldn't understand. It was in his mind. He yelled to Penny, "You must
be near him, because my aura has somehow picked up your psionic call." He then saw Monet
levitate just a bit and point Rich out.
Rich heard everyone outside the door. He didn't want company. He didn't even feel
alone with everyone constantly keeping an eye on him. He just wanted to escape, all of his
problem, all of his life. He put the music on to see if he could do that, but when he heard
everybody at the door, he put his earphones on and sat on the floor, out of sight of the door. He
listened to the song that was playing.
"Don't tell me truth hurts," the song sang as Rich thought, I know it hurts. He never had
a problem with what was truth before, but that was all lies. As he listened, he thought to himself
that he would love to be someplace where nothing ever hurt again, as the song said it. His
thoughts were interrupted by Yvette yelling his name, vocally and psionicly. It was then he
realized that she was close enough that he latched onto her abilities.
In a few seconds, he saw Monet hovering in the room and looking at straight him. The
music in his earphone was soft enough for him to hear her say to Yvette, "He's over her, Penny."
The last thing he wanted was company. After all that happened, he still wanted to end it all. No
one left him alone, no one gave him peace, and no one could understand what he was dealing
with.
Yvette, the one girl who ever had feelings for him, looked at him and said, "Rich, there
are people here who can help you." She motioned to a red-haired woman and a man with red
sunglasses.
He didn't care. They couldn't understand what he was dealing with. {I don't want any
company. The only help I need is in leaving this life.} He didn't want to say that to Yvette, but
nothing was going right. He didn't even know what was true anymore. He turned and reached
for his CD Player.
Yvette looked at him with concern in her eyes. "Rich, we know what is bothering you."
How could they know what was bothering him. No one could understand what was plaguing him.
His hand was almost to the volume control of the CD Player when he felt someone holding his
hand in a restraining grip.
Rich turned to face Monet. Apparently, she was part of this group that thought they
figured out what was bothering him. He knew that she couldn't understand how Yvette and he
spoke psyonicly, so he vocally said, "Let go."
Monet responded to what he said totally differently that what he expected. "The only
way your going to do anything to prevent us from helping you, is to kill us." He didn't want to do
that. He already taken one life, and he didn't want to take any more. He looked in Yvette's
direction and she nodded in agreement. He didn't want to take her life. She meant too much to
him. She comforted him when he went killed Black Tom Cassidy.
He started to cry, something he didn't do often. "You can't possibly understand what I'm
going through."
The red-haired woman walked over to him and said, "I think we can. Let me introduce
myself and my husband." He noticed that the man in the red sunglasses walked over to her side.
"This is Scott Summers, and I am his wife, Jean. We are members of the X-Men, and former
students of Charles Xavier." He realized something at that moment. These two had suffer the
same pain he was dealing with now. They had been betrayed, but it wasn't the same, or was it?
Rich looked up at them and said, "What was Professer Xavier like before Onslaught?"
Scott Summers said, "He was always working on peace between humans and mutants.
He always believed it was possible."
Jean continued by saying, "And he still does. He hoped that by serving time for what
Onslaught did, he can rebuild that dream." It wasn't totally the same, at least Xavier still cared
for his students.
"But, thats not my problem. The one that I trusted was family and went against
everything he said."
It was Monet who then said, "Like I used to trust my brother." He looked over at Monet,
a bit shocked. He knew that those two never got along, at least right now. "Rich, when I was
younger, I trusted my brother to help me, protect me, and he did, until his abilities manifested. I
tried to help in finding a cure, but it all changed that day." He knew what she was talking about
when she said that day, the day he first attacked her. It still wasn't the same, though.
Yvette then said, "Rich, when I lost my family and I was without a home, Emplate took
me in, saying he would take care of me. I believe you know what happened" Between the four
of them, Rich realized that they did understand what he was going through.
Rich finally started to get out of his depression, "If Bastion killed himself to try and
protect me, it was probably useless. There is probably another of those Sentinels coming to
attack the school."
Jean looked at him and said, "Do you know what Bastion did when he killed himself?" He
shook his head, because when it happened, he had his eyes closed. "Bastion sent a signal that
destroyed every Sentinel and all existance of Zero Tolerance." He looked up at her in shock. "A
group of Sentinels were about to attack our plane, when the robots self-destructed. A
government official, who is good friends of the X-Men, told us of what had happened."
Rich realized what she was saying. Bastion didn't just kill himself. Bastion destroyed all
of Zero Tolerance to protect him. It was Bastion's last attempt to renew the faith Rich had placed
in him. Rich now understood that his uncle, the former leader of Zero Tolerance, still cared for
him. "I still wished that he hadn't killed himself, but you can't change the past." He looked at all
of them and said, "Thank you. I guess I was just hit to hard in the emotion department."
Yvette just hugged him and said, "At least you are feeling better." It wasn't going to take
long, but he would return to his 'normal' life. He just wondered if Bastion's last attempt to make
peace would have lasting affects.
**************************************************************
"January 31"
"Dear Diary,"
"It has been two weeks since Rich had started to recover from all the events of his first
month here. He and Penny have returned to there normal lives, as well as everyone else had. I
know that Rich told me that Marius is still fighting to stop the madness and hunger that controls
him, and that there is still hope to rescue him. As for Bastion, Rich still hopes that all that
Bastion did was not for nothing. If Bastion had any reason for what he did, Rich said that
anything left would appear soon. Rich doesn't sound pessimistic, but I hope he doesn't regret
what he..."
There was a knocking at Monet's door. She replied, "Yes."
The voice from outside the door was that of Rich. "Monet, I think something is up."
She ran and opened the door, "What is it, Rich?" He handed her a piece of paper and
she read it. She was amazed at what was on it.
"I should have known. Regardless of what he said, Bastion concidered mutants as
equals. He said he protected that girl. His last wish is that Ms. Frost makes her a member of the
school."
"I hope this works out." He nodded and left to tell everyone else. He had probably
already told Penny, but she knew that he still had doubt of her belief. Monet returned to her
diary.
"said. I hope more that we all benefit by it."
"Monet."
Finis?
