A/N: The final chapter of Save your Breath II! There will be a third story, which I will begin posting in a bit. Subscribe to my author alerts and keep an eye on my page. Or you can check my website, http:/ . com (spaces removed), I post links and info there. Thanks so much for reading and hope you enjoyed! ^^ ~onelildustbunni

- 12-

"JULIAN! Lift us!" Laura ordered as she saw the blade of Kimura's chain saw flash in the fog.

Without question he complied, scooping her off her feet once again and raising them into the air, ignoring the spots swimming in front of his eyes. He brought them to about twenty
feet before slowing, not wanting to leave the scene entirely, as two of their friends were still missing.

Kimura came into view, her head twisting this way and that as she searched for her targets. She finally spotted them and put her hand on her hip, supporting the chain saw with her
other (the blade on the ground, using it line a cane to lean on). "I JUST WANT TO PLAY!" she shouted up to the pair.

Neither responded, but Julian's arms tightened around her waist significantly as he stared down at the woman. Laura looked down slightly as she felt a dampness on the lower part
of her shirt; at first she thought he might have wet himself, but then she saw the stains were dark and thick.

He was bleeding. She had been constantly aware of the smell of his blood, but it had not been as heavy before. He seemed to have torn the wound during his fight to free Brian from the bushes.

"OH LOOK, LOVE BIRDS! I KNOW HOW TO GET THEM DOWN!" Kimura reached in her utility belt, and for a moment Laura thought she was extracting a firearm. Julian must have assumed
the same, because he raised a shield; however, Kimura pulled out a small disc, and clicked her thumb on it—then threw it towards them.

—

"ARRRGH!" Julian snapped his head back instinctively, and dropped them, powerless against the ear-splitting noise. They tumbled to the ground, Julian taking the brunt of the impact; his eyes
fluttered closed, and Laura realized he would be of no help whatsoever.

It was her and Kimura now.

The sound had stopped. Laura scrambled to her knees, and saw that Kimura was much closer now, the steel of her blade gleaming softly in the darkness, the siren in her other hand
with her thumb over the button.

"See…I have claws, too," Kimura said, her tone falsely gentle.

"No," Laura said again, her voice pleading. All she could ever say was no, and Kimura never listened. Kimura didn't care.

Kimura enjoyed her suffering.

"Ohhh, clone!" The woman laughed. "It's going to be fun. One day we'll look back on this and laugh. Wait. You never will…and I'm already laughing, aren't I?"

"Please…" Laura got to her feet, her brow furrowed. "Please do not harm him. I—I will come back. I—I will do anything—"

"You'll do it all anyway," Kimura said, her voice hard. "I thought I already taught you this lesson. Clone, come here…I'm going to punish you. Bring what's-his-face. I'm going to hack him into
bits and you're going to hold him. And if you don't comply, I'll make you do the hacking."

"…" Laura backed away, her heart almost freezing in her chest. If Kimura had trigger scent, then all was lost, and…she needed to run, but if she left Julian, he would certainly be killed.

"CLONE!" Kimura barked.

A movement at Laura's feet. Julian was waking up; his eyes opened and he turned his head up to the woman with the chainsaw.

"Her name's Laura, psycho," he mumbled.

"Julian, don't—" Laura said fearfully.

Kimura looked at the boy, and her features split into a grin. "Julian, is it now? I never caught your name, back there. Oh, there's so much you should know about X. Where to
begin?" She pulled the cord on the chain saw, revving it, and holding it up. "Maybe that she's a clone of DNA that was crap to start with?" VRRRM!"And we're ashamed of
putting her out there?" VRRRM!"So, now I'm going to take her back…piece by piece."

Kimura sprang into action, the chainsaw whipping through the air in front of her. Laura had a split second to react; she began to run away from the boy in the grass, leading the woman away.

"GET OVER HERE, X!" Kimura shouted. "YOU ALREADY KNOW I CAN RUN FASTER THAN YOU! IT'S TIME TO CUT THE CRAP!"

Julian pushed himself up to his elbows, trying to force himself past the throbbing mess of his head, and the stinging mess that was his abdomen. He felt stiff and confused, possibly
because he'd hit his skull on the way down. His vision was also blurred and distorted.

Concentrate. He held out his hand and it shook much worse than before; only a small green spark emerged from the tips of his fingers, then died. He seemed to be virtually powerless.

Then he saw Kimura run into the tomb scene, after Laura, and he scrambled up, the concussion an afterthought. He succeeded in getting to his feet, although he lurched sideways with
every step, and seemed to have sprained his ankle (a jolt of pain shot up his leg with each pressure applied).

He could hear the sounds of fighting inside the tomb as he neared it; finally it was within grabbing distance, and grab it he did, in desperate need of support. He peered around the corner,
into the dark space, and lit his finger slowly.

Laura hadn't been kidding when she'd said that Kimura was indestructible. The girl was pulling no punches. WHAM! WHUD! WHUD! The girl's claws beat a frenzied tempo on the
unbreakable skin, sometimes striking each other and drawing sparks.

"NNNGGAHH!" Laura, shouting in pain. Against the wall, in the dim light, he saw Kimura's chainsaw whipping down, towards the area of Laura's arm. A string of black fluid flew in an arc
through the air and splattered against the wall and floor—and—he blinked. Had—had—oh god—he felt himself gag.

THUMP!

Laura was no longer making sparks.

The girl reeled and stumbled backwards, disorientated.

"…" Laura sagged and began to slide down the wall, leaving an enormous smear of blood. She had been weakened greatly. Her eyes dully found her arm, now lying on the ground like a
mannequin limb. Julian covered his mouth with his free hand, trying to breathe, but he kept gagging.

Laura heard the sound and her eyes flickered up from her arm to his face. Her eyes widened and her lips parted; she obviously hadn't wanted him to see.

Not good. She couldn't fight back, at this exact moment…could not protect him. Laura pushed away from the wall anyway, falling to her knees as she reached weakly for her arm. Kimura stepped
on her good hand, revving her saw and bringing it down on her back.

"—" Laura collapsed as the saw finished the job, separating her other arm from her body. All was lost, she thought, feeling her surroundings begin to fade away. She could heal—she could recover—but
her friends were as good as dead, because she wouldn't be able to protect them anytime soon.

Julian stepped into the tomb shakily. "Stop. What the—what is wrong with you? You—you're completely—"

Kimura looked at him, licked her lips. "Wait your turn, you little bag of shit." She brought the saw up again.

On the up arc, the chain sent a string of blood and other tissue flying through the air; it landed directly across Julian's face, across the bridge of his nose. Something happened; things came into
sharper focus for him once again, and he saw the chain saw descending a third time, towards Laura's neck.

He felt like a gate had opened in his head.

No words were spoken; Kimura froze in place, the saw tip about to bite into Laura's neck. Her eyes glazed over—and then she seemed to explode from inside, her eyes, mouth and
ears emitting green light, and smoke.

She made a horrible noise. The saw clattered to the ground, still running, and Kimura slowly folded to the ground, like a sheet.

Silence, except for the sound of the chain saw.

He stood for a moment, stunned by the enormity of what he had done. He had just…had he really? Yes, there she was, on the ground.

Laura was raising her head, slowly.

"J-j…" she swallowed, her eyebrows drawn together as . "Puh…pass me my arms…puh…please…"

The boy looked like he was going into shock again; Laura despaired. She had to do it almost immediately or…then he finally moved. He knelt down and picked up one of the
disembodied limbs from the elbow, his hands shaking as he brought it to her. "How do I—"

"Just…press it," Laura said. "To the j-joint. It will…heal."

"Is this—I mean—" he looked at his own arms, thought for a moment as he looked at the thumb, his judgment far slower than normal. He finally made a decision, then
pressed the end to her shoulder tentatively. A moment later a reflexive jerk ran down the limb as it reattached itself.

"T-thank you." Laura waited a moment, then pushed herself up. This had to be done as soon as possible, or it would not work. She did not know how long she could be
separated from a limb without losing it entirely. She reached for the other arm, lying about four feet away.

"No. Here." He picked it up by the wrist and held it to the socket again, this time a bit more definitely. For a few agonizing seconds, nothing happened, and Laura looked
down at her limb uncertainly. Had it been too long?

"If it doesn't…I…we'll…" Julian said softly, obviously thinking the same thing, but then it jolted, too, and Laura felt sensation flood down through her fingertips.

"Oh…god…" Julian wiped his forehead. "You weren't kidding."

"No."

They turned to look at Kimura, still lying, silent and smoking slightly on the floor beside the running chain-saw. Her heart…her heart had stopped, Laura realized. She looked at
Julian again, and realized that what she had feared was complete.

He had been hurt by Her World.

"We should not linger," she said finally, getting to her feet. "They may send others."

"They're not—not like Kimura—no more of her, right?" Julian asked fearfully.

"No." Laura paused. "I don't know."

"God," Julian said again. He realized his head hurt, and he held his hand to his temple, rubbing it. "We…the oth…hafta…"

"Here." Laura reached for his hand. "Support yourself on me. You have a severe concussion, in addition to prior injuries. And possibly a sprained ankle. Do not exert yourself further."

He silently accepted her hand, his eyes dull.

…

"That's familiar," Julian mumbled, a little later, as they passed a grave covered in a layer of oddly shaped stones, with a familiar craggy texture.

Laura paused. "You are correct. That is Santo. Here, lean on this and I will—" she referred to the tombstone, but Julian stretched his hand out, and the rocks twirled upwards like a small tornado.

Moments later, they reassembled themselves into Rockslide.

"DUDE!" Santo said, touching his chest. "What the hell—"

Julian had fallen unconscious again, his head rolling on his shoulders; Laura shifted his weight. "We are still missing Sooraya. Here, carry him; I will take one of the others. We will
need to make two trips if we cannot rouse them."

"But—"

"Later." Laura handed Julian's now limp form over to his stronger friend, her expression grim.

…

"That was insane," Santo mumbled as they followed the track into a cobblestone tunnel where three 'ghosts' could be seen, their thumbs hiked up in a traditional hitch-hiking pose. He was
carrying Jay and Brian in addition to Julian; two in his arms, and one piggyback, using the handcuffs to their advantage. Laura was dragging Cessily, wincing slightly as some of
the still-regenerating tissue in her arms made her aware of the damage.

"Yes," Laura replied.

"Oh—" Santo paused, staring into a mirror on the side of the track. "Hey, cool—look—it's a fake mirror. They do all this with illusions, y'know."

"I am aware," Laura said.

"No need to be snarky," Santo said. "By the way, what happened to that crazy woman that knocked me and Cess out? Is she still lurkin' around?"

"She has been…subdued," Laura said stiffly. "What happened?"

"There was lotsa smoke. Cess got hit with some kinda electric shock thing," Santo said. "Then this woman came, and…well, it's kinda embarrassing. I'd rather not."

"Please," Laura said.

Santo stopped. "Fine. She flicked me with her fingernail so hard that I shattered. Never seen anything like it. She's pretty strong or somethin'," he added defensively.

"I am aware," Laura repeated. They proceeded down the hall, and reached a large cobblestone room, reminiscent of a large crypt. They paused in the doorway, their eyes drawn
to the ledge across, where a girl in a white dress stood, her veil-covered head sagging on her shoulder.

"Hurry back... hurry back…And don't forget your death certificate! We're just... dying... to have you..." a woman's voice said in the silence, from a recording; Laura watched as an
animation of a face speaking played on the wall behind the figure, obviously meant for the head.

"That is Sooraya," Laura said.

"What? Really?" Santo asked.

"Yes. In addition to the displacement, I can both hear and smell her." Laura set Cessily down, and headed towards the ledge, popping her claws as she moved.

…

"…this could have been avoided, Mr. Summers, by not allowing the students to leave without an escort," Emma Frost said angrily.

They were standing, in a group, around a parking lot in Disneyland. Cyclops, Emma Frost, Wolverine and Elixir had arrived—about twenty minutes after it had ended—to find a
blood-covered Laura, along with Santo, in the parking lot—and a number of unconscious students. These had been revived; then Emma Frost proceeded to take care of
'damage control'. Kimura's body was collected by Logan, and all were loaded into the stealth-moded Blackbird, except for the two witnesses (Julian and Laura), and the three X-men.

"I'm sorry, Laura," Logan grunted, staring hard at his charge, wearing a blanket around her shoulders. Laura looked down.

"I cannot stay at the institute."

"This didn't happen at the institute."

"I cannot stay."

"Laura—"

"No, Laura, stay." Julian spoke up, sounding tired. "Please."

"Wherever I go…they will hunt me," Laura said. "I endanger those around me. I will seek an uninhabited area, with—"

"What, so you just walk in, ruin my life, and walk back out?" Julian sounded angry. "If you leave…I'll never forgive you."

It sounded like a small, meaningless threat, but Laura stiffened. "You do not und—"

"What? I don't understand? What don't I understand, Laura?"

Laura fell silent. Emma Frost was now looking at her, looking at them, and figuring something out. She now knew who had killed Kimura—and the price it had cost them.

…

Back at Julian's home, sitting around the pool, but now with Logan in the shade, drinking a beer.

"This sucks," Santo groaned. "It's like being at school all over again."

"I heard that," Logan said, from under the brim of his cowboy hat.

Laura entered the kitchen, where Julian was sitting alone, his head in his hands.

"Don't want to talk, Laura," he said without looking up.

"I did not say anything," she replied.

"I want to be alone."

Laura was silent. She remained.

A few moments later, he looked up. "Do you ever think about…what you've done? What you're responsible for?"

"Every day," Laura said quietly.

Silence.

"Okay," he said.

Laura nodded, then reached out and put her hand on his shoulder in silent understanding. He was grieving; not for Kimura, but for the loss of being innocent, of being free of lives he had taken.

She'd done this herself, the first night after killing the Senator and his children. Her claws had found her skin, and she'd felt it to be a kind of soothing, repetitive motion that seemed to ease her new burdens.

"I just couldn't watch her…cut you apart," he said, sounding miserable.

Laura laid her head on his shoulder. "Thank you," she said.

Silence.

THE END...watch for SAVE YOUR BREATH III!