Summary: Five years later after Jubilee's departure from the team, the X-Men go in search of a city rumoured to be a mutant's paradise. But all is not as if seems in Eden as the X-Men discover an old friend in the midst of a rebel war...

Wolverine, Jubilee and Gambit stood back to back in the darkened Danger Room. Each were posed for a fight, ready to outwit to other with their own mutant abilities. There was tension in the air as the trio waited for the signal to begin. Then the buzzer sounded and three began their training session.

Jubilee rolled out of the way as Gambit turned and threw a card her way. She ducked out of it's way just before it exploded. She retaliated with her own mutant power, trying to trip the Cajun up with a light shot to the leg. She was able to take him down, and Gambit found himself at Jubilee's mercy. His left leg stung slightly were she had hit him, and he clutched it, trying to assess if there was any serious damage. Jubilee walked slowly and truimphantley towards the fallen X-Man. She'd never have guessed that Gambit would be so easy to beat. She was about to pin him, but he tripped her over with his staff as she approached.

" Rule one, petite, " he mocked, " Never underestimate your opponent! "

Leaping up, he made a beeline for the opposite side of the room, only to run into more trouble.

Some of Beast's additions to the Danger Room- robots- had him surrounded. There were five in all, each with artillery ready to fire. Gambit froze, thinking about what to do. Big mistake! One of the robots fired, knocking him against the wall. As he lay dazed, Wolverine and Jubilee made short of the robots. Slashing combined with the familiar sound of fireworks brought Wolverine and Jubilee together as a team, working as a unit to bring down the metal assailants. Within a matter of seconds, they were nothing but piles of scrap metal.

*Hank ain't gonna be too thrilled,* thought Wolverine as he stood over one of his conquests, which lay smouldering on the floor. He turned to see Jubilee heading towards Gambit, who was still lying against the wall. She was going to finish him off; get him out of the game.

*Good thing too,* he thought to himself, *Haven't had much of a chance to train alone with the kid for a while.*

He looked at her thoughtfully, recapping over the past five years she had been with the X-Men. She'd changed a lot, especially in the last couple of years. She wasn't wearing the big earrings now. The yellow jacket had gone, replaced by a flowing black leather coat which came down to her ankles. The new tight-fitting black uniform looked more grown up than the old one did- re jumper and blue shorts- and her hair was longer than he had ever seen it. It came halfway down her back, flowing neatly over her shoulders. At eighteen, she had grown into a beautiful young woman, and a smart one too. She was turning into an excellent assest to the team, especially when out in the field. Her combat skills were good, and she had learnt to use her mutant powers in so many different ways, apart from making 'fireworks'. She had grown up in so many ways, but she was still Jubilee. His Jubilee...

Wolverine made himself stop staring at her, reminding himself who it was, and got back to the task at hand- training. He waited in the darkness of a corner like a spider in it's web. If Jubilee got Gambit on the run, then maybe he could ambush him if he ran past.

Gambit was quick to get out of the way of Jubilee's blasts of plasma. He rolled and stood, running to another part of the room. Wolverine had correctly anticipated this move and the Cajun was coming right towards him. Without making a sound and moving swiftly, Wolverine ambushed Gambit from behind, forcing him to the ground with a fierce tackle. The Cajun put a good fight, wrestling with him, trying to gain some momentum to escape. But Wolverine had him in a tight grip. The two men rolled around on the floor, trying to pin each other. Gambit tried many times to a charge a card, but Wolverine would knock it out of his hand on every attempt. Wolverine was deepily engrossed in the fight, so much in fact that he didn't notice the shadow kurking behind him until it was too late. On the verge of pinning Gambit, Wolverine noticed the shadow getting closer and he reacted instinctively.

Snikt! His claws cut through the silent assailant. His attacker didn't move. Wolverine could feel the weight of whatever it was on his claws. And then he heard a gasp of pain.

A familiar gasp.

The Danger Room door burst open. Cyclops, Storm and Beast ran through the door as Jean deactivated the programme from the control booth. As the lights flipped on, they could see Gambit pinned to the floor by Wolverine's knees. Wolverine was motionless. The claws from one had were extended through Jubilee's right shoulder and out her back.

Jubilee was frozen on the end of his fist, standing behind him. He held her there, staring into her shocked face, not sure if he should move or not.

*What have I done?*

" Jubilee! " shoutred Jean from the control booth. Beast and Cyclops came over to help, as Storm stood near the door. She was silent, her face clearly shocked.

" Jean, prepare the med. lab and call 911! " Beast shouted up to Jean. She nodded and ran out of the control booth towards the mansion's infirmary.

" Logan, listen carefully. When I say so, retract your claws. We'll catch her. " Beast said, calmy.

Wolverine nodded anxiouxly. His heart was in his throat. He was shaking slightly with shock. Jubilee noticed his distress despite her own, and in her weakened state, gently reached up one arm and touched his face tenderly. As she touched his cheek, Logan closed his eyes at the feel of her soft fingertips. Using her remaining strength, she smiled;

" It's okay, " she said, her voice no louder than a whisper. She seemed to have difficulty breathing as she drew ragged gasps as she spoke, " It was an accident. "

Wolverine opened his eyes, glimpsing into her still face which radiated so much strength.

" Are you ready, Logan? " asked Beast. Cyclops positioned himself behind Jubilee in order to catch her.

" I'm ready. " he answered, his voice as quiet as Jubilee's.

He retracted his claws, pulling through Jubilee like a hot knife through butter. She cried out and staggered back, her mouth still open. Her eyes were wide with fear as she fell back into Cyclops' arms. Wolverine stood up shakily, as did Gambit from being pinned down for so long. They both watched nervously as Beast and Cyclops gently moved her to the med. lab. Storm followed, and Gambit was not far behind her. Wolverine, however, just stood there, staring at the mass of red on the floor and the stains on his own glove...

5 YEARS LATER...

He heard her... she was in his dreams again. He couldn't see her face but he knew it was here. The sound of her voice brought an ocean of memories flooding back;

" I'll be here, " she whispered to him, her voice echoing over the visions of the past which were dancing around in his head. " If you come here, I'll be waiting..."

The jumble of dissolving images changed, forming into the solid form that was the mansion's main hall. He saw himself there, pacing back and forth at the foot of the grand staircase. Everything was completely silent and still, except for the echo of his footsteps on the polished stone floor.

Then she appeared.

She walked down the stairs, running her gloved hand down the wooden banister. He stopped pacing to watch her as she came towards him. She stopped halfway down and smiled, her crystalline eyes dazzling like stars on a clear night. She looked as beautiful as ever.

She continued down the stairs, running this time. As she hurried towards him, she opened her arms to embrace him. But as he went to receive her, she faded away, leaving him grasping nothing but air. The dream around him faded to black, and he was alone again...

Logan woke in a cold sweat as if he had just had a nightmare. He slapped his forehead, trying to shake off the grogginess he was feeling. He sighed and grabbed the glass of water which stood on the bedside table. After downing it in one gulp, he looked at the clock- 3.45am. He got out of bed, put on his robe and walked to the window.

The full moon was shining silver atop it's pedestal in the sky. It covered the gardens and woodland behind the mansion with it's light. Logan stared at it. It reminded him of her... and that song she used to sing all the time:

You can try to resist
Try to hide from my kiss
But you know
But you know that you
Can't fight the moonlight

He found himself humming the tune and made himself stop. He sighed again, and thought about her.

Jubilee was lucky to have survived the injuries she suffered at his hands. It was no surprise that they had become complete strangers in the weeks that followed. He couldn't handle visiting her in the hospital, knowing that he was the one who put her there. He'd put the one person he cared about the most in a hospital. He knew that she had asked for him to come many times, but every time, he had denied her request.

Her homecoming was the worst. He saw her getting out of the car with a large bandage over her right shoulder and it made him fell sick and angry at himself. The fact that she would be scarred for life was the thing that hurt him the most. It was a permanent reminder of what he'd done to her.

He did his best to avoid her on that first day. The following weeks were no easier. Every time she tried to talk to him about it, he pushed her away. He still cared about, but he just couldn't face her. Things were never going to be the same between them again, and he knew it.

Then came the day that she walked out on the team. Jubilee had tried to talk to him again about the incident in the Danger Room. But it soon escalated into a brutal war of words between herself and Logan. Both said things they didn't mean, and it had ended with Jubilee running crying to her room. The next day she was gone... without a letter of explanation or even a good-bye.

The X-Men had searched everywhere for her with no luck. It was as if she had just vanished into thin air. Cerebro couldn't find her, meaning she was either out of range or shielding Cerebro somehow.

Logan still stared out of the window. No one had seen or heard from her for five years. Cerebro's auto-scan was still looking for her without anything to show for it. Many a time the Professor had wanted to stop the search, deeming it hopeless, but Logan had convinced him otherwise. He wondered where she was and what she was doing right now.

*Probably happy with someone who loves her enough to take care of her properly* he thought, not taking his eyes off the moon.

*Wherever she is, I hope she's okay.*

TO BE CONTINUED...