Generation X, The X-Men and all related characters are the 
property of Marvel Comics. No copyright infringement is 
intended.

This story and all original characters are the property of the 
author.
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To Hell and Back:  Part Five


November 1, 1994

'It's either the rain or the sore feet,' Angelo decided. 'Probably 
the sore feet. Yeah. That's definitely the worst part.'

Too bad Jubilee and Claudia didn't seem to have the same 
problem as he. Little Jubilee -- who would most likely smack 
him if she heard him call her that -- had a tendency to get so far 
ahead of him that he was afraid of losing sight of her 
altogether, only to wait for him to catch up and then start the 
process all over. Angelo shook his head. Where did she get all 
that energy? Maybe *that* was her mutant power? He 
considered the thought for a moment then discarded it. Not 
likely. She got tired at the end of a long day, the same as he 
did.

Now Claudia, *she* was the worst. Like Jubilee, she enjoyed 
out-distancing him, but unlike Jubilee, she rarely waited for 
him to catch up. As a result, Angelo had been forced to walk at 
a steady marching pace for the entire trip.

But after three weeks he was finally getting into it. Mostly. 
Well, he wasn't getting left so far behind anymore.

Or maybe the cold weather had finally forced those two to 
slow down.

It was early November and for the last three weeks they'd been 
heading toward the north-east; sometimes hitching a lift with 
other refugees or sympathetic humans who had the luxury of 
vehicles or horses; mostly walking. But lack of food and 
supplies, added to the fact that they didn't know where they 
were going and the young twelve-year-old they had to take care 
of, were seriously impeding their progress. They had long since 
entered the Rockies, but it was taking them longer than it 
should have to get through them. The approaching winter didn't 
help matters any, either; Angelo spent the better part of the 
days looking for a sheltered place to bed down for the night, 
and the better part of the night shivering and wishing he didn't 
have to get up in the morning.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. Like he had any right to 
complain. Walking his feet off in the mountains was a lot 
better than the future that had awaited him at the camps. He 
paused for a moment, knowing Jubilee wouldn't go too far 
ahead, and that Claudia would wait for Jubilee and therefore 
he wouldn't loose them. Right now his back was aching 
something horrible and he wanted two minutes of rest before 
they had to climb the next slope.

Angelo tilted his head back to catch the remnants of sunlight. 
It was late afternoon and the sun was almost below the 
horizon. They really had to find someplace to bed down for the 
night while they still had enough light to see by.

As if brought on by his thoughts the sunlight suddenly glinted 
and flashed, the sudden light almost painfully bright. Angelo 
blinked and looked to see what had caused it.

"Claudia, Jubilee!" Angelo didn't move, his gaze fixed on the 
apparition that greeted him. 'I am seeing things. Never shoulda 
smoked that last joint...'

"Ange? C'mon, mi amigo, what's wrong? You see something? 
We been spotted? The cadre? Oh, man, it's not humans, is it?" 
Claudia gripped his arm tightly and stared at him.

"No, Claud. Look. Tell me if I'm seeing what I think I'm 
seeing." Angelo pointed and she followed his lead, her breath 
catching as she saw.

"So cool," Jubilee said excitedly. "A castle!"

Not exactly, but Angelo admitted that there probably wasn't a 
better word for it. The 'castle' was a stone manor, doubtless 
hundreds of years old. Even with the distance separating the 
three refugees from the edifice, Angelo could make out towers 
reaching up into the sky and the glint of sunlight off glass.

Angelo met Claudia's curious gaze and Jubilee's excited one. 
"What do you think, girls? Worth checking out?"

Jubilee snorted, just as he'd known she would. "Girls? Ange, 
please, show a little respect. We are women, thank you very 
much. And what do you mean, 'is it worth checking out?' " 
Jubilee's eyes widened with disbelief and more than a little 
excess energy. "Are you kidding me? Let's go!"

"We'll have to be careful," Claudia said, no less curious, but 
much more cautious. "Someone could be up there. It would be 
perfect for a rebel base."

Mention of the rebels killed a great deal of Jubilee's 
enthusiasm and Angelo mentally berated himself for being 
relieved. How could such a little girl - little in age and physical 
stature - have so much energy? It had to defy some law of 
physics.

"It's too late to check it out today at any rate," he said. "We 
need to find someplace to hole up for the night. Tomorrow we 
can check the place out. Claudia, can your powers let you 
sense people?"

Claudia saw what he was getting at. "A bit. Only if they're not 
shielded and only if I get close enough to them."

Angelo nodded, unconsciously slipping one arm around 
Jubilee's shoulders as they both studied the 'castle.' "Tomorrow 
we'll check it out, deal?"

Jubilee nodded, a bit of the enthusiasm back. Claudia smiled at 
Angelo. "Even if it is safe," she pointed out, "the odds of 
finding food or supplies or water nearby are slim."

"I know," Angelo said lightly. "But I want to see what's there. I 
want to know what that place is. Claud, it looks like this place 
has been practically untouched by anyone for years." His grip 
on Jubilee's shoulders tightened unconsciously. She looked up 
at him curiously. "Chica, Claudia, can you imagine what a 
place would feel like, if nothing of Apocalypse's has ever 
touched it? If no Infinite has ever been there, no Mardri and his 
false prayers, no Elite and their killing squads? I want that 
Claudia. Even if it's only once."

Claudia held his gaze until his cheeks burned red with 
embarrassment at having gone on like he had. He was almost to 
the point of breaking the gaze and saying to hell with the 
whole thing when Claudia took a shaky breath and smiled at 
him wistfully. "Beautiful? Clean, maybe?"

"huh?"

"That's what it would feel like," Claudia replied quietly. "I 
want that too, Angelo. We'll go there tomorrow. See if we can't 
find what we're looking for."
______


Continued in Part 6