Villain: Sauron/Karl Lykos

Guest Appearance: Beast, Lilandra

Cameo:Stephen Summers, Kate Summers, Alex Summers (all in flashback)

Letters Page: Page One

The X-Men are not dead, however. They’ve barely survived but still managed to tunnel their way up onto the surface, into the Savage Land! Storm is visibly shaken so Banshee suggests they take a flight. Unfortunately, once in the air, a giant pterodactyl grabs him. Colossus delivers a “fastball special” and tosses Wolverine into the air where he slashes the dinosaur’s head. The creature lets go of Banshee but Wolverine isn’t done, slashing into it in a near-berserker rage, bringing it straight to the ground, deader than a doornail. Cyclops disapproves of Wolverine’s methods, and an argument flares up, but Banshee interrupts. He’s spotted a village in the distance. Unbeknownst to the X-Men, they're being watched, by a human who recognizes Cyclops, and knows who the X-Men are.

Jean and the Beast return to the mansion to deliver the bad news. Lilandra welcomes them, but Jean goes upstairs alone to see the professor. Charles needs only to look into her eyes to learn what happened. They grieve in silence.

?The X-Men have made their way to the village, and the locals there have been most hospitable to them. Banshee gets all bug-eyed when he sees Ororo in her hot, Savage Land bikini outfit. Nearby, Scott shaves in a small pond and notices that with a moustache he looks alot like Corsair. This taps certain hidden memories and he begins to suspect the reason, but Storm interrupts. She wants to share her grief for Jean but for reasons Scott cannot understand, he has no similar feelings. Wolverine, on the other hand, aches for Jean’s loss. He keeps it to his taciturn self, while gazing at a picture of Jean.

Storm swims in the pond and stretches out on the shore, luxuriating in the freedom of a place that makes her feel like her home in Africa. A pair of hands reach from behind her and grabs her head. The man standing over her seems to be sucking in Storm's incredible supply of life energy. Suddenly electricity flies across the sky, alerting the X-Men who rush to the scene. They find an unconscious Storm in the clutches of Sauron.

(continued in XMEN #115)

- -synopsis by Jonathan Clarke, aka doesitmatter, and Gormuu

- - panel scans provided by Jonathan Clarke, aka doesitmatter