1. Prologue: Grieving the Lost

_**Disclaimer: I don't own X-men they belong to marvel (this goes for the entire story) I only own my characters.**_

_**Authors Note: this is my first X-men fan fiction so hehe go easy on me, I've also read in other fan fictions that Rogue can touch people she trusts so I'm going with that, also Remy joins the X-men after the last episode of evolution as well as Piotr in this story.**_

Prologue: Grieving the Lost

No, no this couldn't be happening, it wasn't fair. How could she have lost both of her little girls in such a bizarre occurrence and accident, why was life always so cruel to her? Rogue sat with her back up against the headboard of her bed as continuous tears cascaded down face. Less than 7 hours ago both of her girls had been there laying in her arms sleeping soundly, now both of their bodies were in a morgue in downtown Bayville covered in bloodied sheets that she wasn't permitted to see because of the potential mental strain that could break her barriers against all of the psyches.

The accident had been so sudden that it didn't seem real, one moment Rogues friend Carla (A n older woman she had met a few years prior who she had quickly come to trust.) had shown up at the institute looking to take the girls shopping, for a mothers day gift no doubt, seeing as Carla kept insisting that Rogue needed a break. Rogue had agreed reluctantly, after some pushing and prodding from Kitty about being a bit too much of a mother hen. Then next she got _the _phone call claiming that both of her girls had been killed in an obscene explosion at the mall along with her friend Carla, and that she needed to go to the morgue to claim her girls as if they were lost baggage. It didn't fully hit Rogue until she hung up the phone then as she had silently collapsed to her knees repeating the word no over and over again.

She wouldn't have moved from the spot had it not been for Kitty's voice calling her name and trying to drag up off of the floor before sprinting off to get the professor. When the professor found out he felt her devastation and had told Kitty and Piotr to get her to her room and away from the lingering group that had formed around her in the kitchen. Xavier had sent Beast along with Bobby to claim the bodies while he tried to contact the X-men to get Gambit back as soon as possible. She could still feel the cold hand of kitty's trying to get her up but had Piotr ended up picking her up and carrying her to her room. Kitty's face would have been covered in tears had she not been trying to hold it together for Rogue. Kitty partially blamed herself, had she not pestered Rogue about letting the girls go this wouldn't have happened and the sweet twins would still be running around pestering everyone in there path. Kitty chocked back a sob as she held Rogue who only stared of into space her eyes holding no emotion except emptiness and tears ran like rivers down her face.

Piotr after having Sat Rogue down had quickly retreated from the room, he could even feel the pang in his heart as he thought about the two twins who had managed to weasel their way into the hearts of everyone at the mansion. He closed his eyes and prayed softly as he walked down the halls. The whole mansion had fallen silent after finding out that two is its youngest members were no longer among them. Jubilee and Amara had crept from the Kitchen with tear stained faces after hearing the news, while Jamie and Tabitha had held their heads low in respect for the children lost. The other X-men were somewhere halfway across the world trying to complete a mission and unknowing of the sorrowful occurrence that had taken place in their absence. While the other youngest members had no idea why everyone was crying.

Suddenly Rogue pushed Kitty off of her, she didn't know what she was going to do, or how she was going to cope but at that moment she didn't need Kitty on top of her. A thought hit her though that left her breathless how was she going to tell Remy?

Her heart seemed to stop, Remy had no idea what was going on he had left that morning to divert some mutant rebellion from blowing up a government building along with the other X-men. She could still see the look on his face as he had kissed each girl goodbye that morning. It left her hurting more (if that was even possible) as she realized that was the last time he would ever see their girls, she blamed herself if she hadn't of let them go, or had she just gone with them this could have all be avoided. Rogue sobbed as she thought about the events of the night before and wished with all of her heart she had listened to her little Eclaire.

_ Isabella, the eldest twin, had snuck in late in the night, frightened, due to the massive thunder storm and had shaken Rogue awake._

_"Momma," the green eyed girl whispered frantically "Momma!" a low squeal escaped the girls lips as thunder shook the mansion, this got Rogues attention._

_"Bella? What are ya doin?" Rogue rubbed her eyes, then stopped as she saw tears streaking down her daughters face, "Bella whats wrong?" Rogue extended her arms and pulled the young girl into her arms. _

_"The thunder scared me..." she sniffed, emerald eyes staring into Rogues own. Another bolt struck and the girl eeked loudly before burying her face into her mothers should. Rogue chuckled slightly as she ran her hand through her daughters dark auburn tresses. The girls frame shook silently as her tears soaked her mothers shirt._

_"It's alright Bella, its not gonna hurt ya," Rogue whispered reassuringly, as they sat they for a few minutes a thought crossed her mind._

_"Bella, Wheres Aire?" Rogue asked gently, running her fingers through her daughters hair. _

_Isabella looked up tears still running down her face "Shes still sleeping." Rogue rolled her eyes and shot a glare at the man snoring loudly beside her, "She takes after your father on that one. They could sleep through a nuclear explosion and not even twitch." Bella giggled at that and re-buried her face into her mother's shirt. Within the moment the young girl had fallen asleep, Rogue smiled, kissing her forehead lightly, she picked up Bella and carried her to her room. It wasn't far, actually to be blunt it was strait across from her and Remy's room, and had more than once proven its convenience. Sliding open the door she walked carefully over to Isabella's bed and gently lowered her daughter onto the bed before covering her up. Straitening Rogue took in the sight of Eclaire's empty bed and felt a jolt run through her body. Frantically she scanned the room, only to find the young girl perched on the window seal her foot dangling over the edge._

_"Aire, what are ya doing?" Rogues voice gushed relief evident in her voice. No response came from the girl, so Rogue gently went up to her and reached for her hand. "Eclaire, are ya alright?"_

_The girl seemed to ignore Rogue and continued to stare out the window, the lightning lighting up her face and white streaked hair. Rogue felt a strange chill run up her spine, repressing the feeling she continued to speak to the girl softly. "Did the thunder frighten ya as well?" _

_"No." came the soft reply the girl turned her gaze towards her mother, her red on black eyes shimmering with tears, "It wasn't the thunder. I saw someone." Rogue wrapped her arms around Eclaire._

_" It was just a dream, and dreams ain't real honey, their just things your mind comes up with to scare ya." Rogue assured her. Eclaire shook her head and slipped from Rogues arms._

_"It was real," she looked at her mother "The man told me so, he said we," Eclaire motioned to herself and Isabella "are gonna die." Rogues heart jumped into her throat. With nimble grace Rogue caught Eclaire in her arms and hugged her close._

_"I 'm never gonna let anything hurt ya," Rogue said reassuringly. She could feel the fear coming off of her 4 year old daughter, something she had never felt with Eclaire. Eclaire was fearless, and had proved it on more than one occasion. Remy had to go rescue her from her strange adventures constantly, from crawling on the roof, to messing with the danger room, fear was something that was non existent with Eclaire and it scared Rogue to death to see her daughter so afraid of a dream. _

_"Who is this man?" Rogue asked holding her daughter tightly to her chest. Eclaire shuddered "I don't know Momma, but he was real he stood right there." The girl pointed towards the corner of the room._

_"You can't stop it." Eclaire continued said tears evident in her voice, "Momma I'm not afraid about me, but I don't want them to take Bella." Rogue couldn't take it anymore seeing her daughter like this, She stood, Eclaire still in her arms, and walked over to Isabella's sleeping form, she sat down and laid Aire next to Bella, and began to stroke her hair. _

_For some reason though Rogue couldn't find words of comfort for her daughter yet she had to find something, so Rogue settled for humming. Still Eclaire's wide eyed stare never changed, Rogue quit humming and stroked her daughters face._

_"Aire no one is gonna take ya or hurt ya, I promise, I won't let it happen." Aire looked at her mother "and if that man does something your daddy and I will be right there to stop it."_

_"You promise?" the girl whispered. Rogue nodded her head and began running her fingers through her hair. _

_"I promise, no ones gonna hurt ya." Eclaire sighed in relief and fell asleep almost immediately, but it still didn't comfort Rogue, something wasn't settling right. Shaking her head she pushed it to the back of her mind, its just a stage, Rogue reassured herself before getting up and leaving her two girls to sleep. She considered waking up Remy but knowing him he'd either laugh at her or lose his temper at the thought of so strange man in his daughters room. Rogue pushed the thoughts back again it was a dream she told herself just a dream....._

Rogue sat there now with nothing to say, nothing to do, only her aching heart and broken friend to keep her company. Rogue felt something pull at her mind as she realized the familiar feeling she was going to pass out. She wished it would come sooner so it could take her from this hell and leave her in a pit of darkness she never wanted to wake up from. Throwing her legs over the bed she staggered clumsily towards the door and barely heard as Kitty raced behind her. She raced towards her daughters room and through open the door, laying on Isabella's bed she screamed at the top of her lungs before letting the comforting darkness over come her.

The sounds of pens clicking and crying civilians filled the mall after the store had blown up, it had only taken the lives of two young girls and an older female accompanying them. Though through all the chaos no one took notice of the maintenance man wheeling two trash cans away from the scene with a bright smile tugging at his lips as his eyes flashed yellow.

_**Authors Note:Yay! Cliffhanger, err well sorta hehe, so in the next chapter I haven't decided if I'm going to show Gambits reaction or just going to move strait onto 12 years after this event. Please don't kill me! I didn't have time to proofread it yet so it will probably be re-posted later after the story is finished. Also I should be updating tonight or tomorrow. Til next time!**_


	2. Memoirs and Rain

_**Authors note: Well here's the next chapter as promised, I'm going to show Gambits reaction as a flash back, the present time for the story is 12 years after the explosion.**_

_**Courtney Summers: Thanks! Lol I'm glad your enjoying the story so far I was worried it wasn't going to come out well.**_

_**Temari's Angle: I'm glad it caught your attention, here's the next chapter. I'm hoping to update at least once a week if not more. **_

_**Water Raven: Ohh I didn't mean to make you cry! Sorry, lol and you'll just have to wait and see what happened to the twins.**_

_**Laceylou76: hehe I took your advice thank you! Hehe be forewarned though I think this chapter sucks cause I'm no good with angst, so bear with me on this one. **_

**Chapter 1: Memoirs and Rain**

Rogue stood silently staring out the window watching as the rain thundered against the window sill. It was always weather like this that made her depressed, though she was never genuinely in a good mood anymore. She sighed and glanced at her wall clock, it was well past midnight and Remy still hadn't yet returned from his so called 'errand', he went on a lot of those lately and his breath always lingered of alcohol after. Though Rogue couldn't blame him after watching him collapse when he found out the news, just the mere thought of it made her shutter. In all truth she didn't know how she lived with herself or how he still lived with her for that matter.

_The X-Jet hovered over the tropic forest silently preparing for take off. The mission was simple and had gone over smooth, with few to no problems, well that was until the anxious voice of the professor had echoed through Jeans head. _

_'Jean I need you and the others to report back to the mansion as quick as possible.'_

_Jean had stopped mid-sentence as his voice entered her head, the others on the X-Jet looked on suddenly as her face fell._

_'Professor, what's going on?' Jean quickly replied. She heard the professor sigh and felt something like mental strain and pain rush through her head, something was really wrong._

_'it's hard to explain, but, well, just be braced to deal with Gambit when you get here, along with Wolverine and Kurt. It's the twins...' With that the professors voice faded into the distance leaving a startled Jean staring at Gambit. The Cajun raised an eyebrow at the young red headed physic. Jean's eyes slowly moved from him to Kurt then finally landed on Wolverine. She shook her head and turned back to face the controls she truly hoped everyone was okay, she couldn't bring herself to tell them about the professor's message fearing the worst. _

_"Jean, vhat was that about?" Kurt's voice piped in, curiosity coating his thick German accent._

_"I...'"Jean stopped "I don't know but the professor sounded anxious." Kurt's brows came together._

_"Did he say vhat about?" Kurt chimed again the sound of nervousness replacing the curiosity._

_Jean sucked in a heavy breath '"He said it had something to do with the twins.." No sooner had the words left her mouth Gambit was up on his toes red eyes flaring._

_"Qu'est-ce qu'il a dit de mon ange filles?" His voice was filled with panic and rage, but was soon overcome when Logan's voice cut through the tension._

_"Sit you damn Cajun, the sooner you do the quicker we can get there to find out." the coldness of Logan's voice left everyone speechless as his claws kept pulling and pushing against his skin, the soft click as they unsheathed themselves and as they retracted themselves. They had never heard such an emotion come from Logan, Gambit growled bitterly before sitting down unable to stop moving, he had a horrid feeling in the pit of his stomach._

_"They were killed this morning in an explosion.." the professor's words echoed through Gambit's head leaving him breathless, this couldn't be happening it just couldn't. He looked to Rogue for some hint of a cruel joke. Yes that's what it was a cruel joke and his two daughters were safe and __sound in their rooms But as he looked Rogue over he knew it wasn't so, her eyes were swollen red and as he looked at her, she shot her head in the opposite direction sobs racking her form. So Gambit did the only thing he could do at the time, he felt his knees give way as he collapsed onto the carpeted floor his mind twirling and screaming at some greater being just to steal his life to end this cruelty. _

_Behind him he could hear Kurt's outraged and furious voice, "Nein nein das kann nicht passieren, meine süße Nichten, was hat die kalte Hand des Glaubens tun?" Kurt's quickly went from rage to sorrow as he fell back against the wall, the shock knocking him back. He slowly shook his head from side to side this couldn't be happening their was no way. _

_Logan on the other hand had stormed out of the room curse words echoing loud and clear through out the base as he contemplated ways to kill the sorry bastard who had stolen his 'grand daughters' away. Everyone avoided stepping into his path._

_Yet Gambit despite his years of burying his emotions and fighting off the pain and tears all came forward as he lay collapsed on the carpeted floor of the office as he whispered his daughters names over and over again until he had been forced up by Kurt's sturdy hand as Kurt's course voice rang through his ears, "Ich hoffe, der Herr hat einen süßen Platz für sie im Himmel für diese verdammt grausame Welt getroffen hat, sie wegzuwerfen." Remy hadn't the slightest clue as to their meaning but found comfort in them and it would be the only comfort he would find in years from it._

She fingered the glass with a gloved finger, after the shock had hit her, her powers had reverted back to square one, and she had withdrew herself from the world once again except this time there was no comfort that could be given. Remy had lost it and had locked himself away from the world for the first year after the incident and did not speak to anyone, hell he would have died had Rogue not pestered him to eat though she found little motivation to do so herself.

You could often find him though sitting on Eclaire's bed staring around the room whispering things to the thin air as though his daughters were still there. After a year of their sulking though, Kitty had tried to pull them away from the past and to move onto the future to possibly start a new life, new home, new kids...but as those words had left Kitty's mouth she had regretted them because she was pinned against the wall by Rogue her dark glare unforgiving for even thinking such things. To Rogue her Aire and Bella were all there was and all there was going to be. She had reluctantly agreed to let Kitty live after some prying from Logan who, even in his calm nonchalant manner was hurting just as much as the others.

Rogue hated herself, so much that at one time she had tried to get herself killed by throwing the danger room into overdrive, Logan had to save her from that one and she had spent the next eight weeks in the infirmary, this incident had sent Remy over the edge quickly snapping him from his daze back to a somewhat living being, he had to protect Rogue that was all he had left of his shattered life though still at times he would feel the weakness rise and would drown it quickly away in alcohol. Rogue didn't mind seeing as it was his way of getting away but she still hated waking up every morning to see it slowly eating away at him that he could never have them back.

The funeral it what had be the hardest. Rogue couldn't bring herself to go and locked herself away in her room, whilst Remy bit his lip and went he did not speak at all during the entire thing. The entire mansion attended and were tear ridden to watch the two girls be buried in the forest near the mansion. The thought of ones so young being taken still fresh in their minds. Jean had tried to comfort Remy but to no avail and had quickly stepped away for once knowing her boundaries. Kurt had spent a fortnight praying for them on their sullen graves topped with the cement statue of angels he was hurt almost as much as Rogue. As for Wolverine no one saw him for three months after the incident, then out of nowhere he showed back up on the door step no words were exchanged just silent understanding as he made his way to his untouched room. Remy had slowly became himself again, in ways. He never blamed Rogue only himself and it left her hurting.

She never told him about the dream though, afraid he would snap and kill her right on the spot, not that she didn't deserve it. Her life had return to somewhat normal, she at least able to act human when the time came, but still deep down something still bothered her about that stormy night, she had lied to her daughter and it still burned her, somehow there had to be some way for her to repent for that sin, but no ideas came to mind.

In the thick rain she caught sight of a red bike pulling into the drive, Remy. She flipped her hair back plastering a fake smile on her face she had to be strong for her broken family, for now anyway until she could figure out a way to fix things, what she didn't know was that soon her chance would arrive to get her life back but she had to play the cards right....

_**Qu'est-ce qu'il a dit de mon ange filles- What did he say about my angel daughters**_

_**Nein nein das kann nicht passieren, meine süße Nichten, was hat die kalte Hand des Glaubens tun-**_

_**No no this can't be happening, my sweet nieces what has the cold hand of faith done?**_

_**Ich hoffe, der Herr hat einen süßen Platz für sie im Himmel für diese verdammt grausame Welt getroffen hat, sie wegzuwerfen- I hope the lord has found a sweet place for them in heaven for this damned cruel world has taken them away. **_

_**Okay! So that's it for chapter 1, promise next chapter will bring in more action and such this is mostly background knowledge I had to get out of the way, I intend to update either today or tomorrow! **_


	3. Valkyrie

_**Authors note: Here's the next chapter it brings in several of my characters, the story should speed up now that the filler chapters are done so onto the story!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't Own the All American Rejects song 'Dirty Little Secret'**_

_**Laceylou76: Thank you! Lol I didn't know I had added so much emotion into that chapter, this chapter sadly doesn't have Remy and Rogue but their coming back soon I promise!**_

**Chapter 2: Valkyrie**

__"Thank you, please come again!" Chimed Elle, her long auburn hair bouncing as she walked over to clean off the table. As she cleared off the final table for the night she glanced at her watch, 11:00p.m. Great she thought sourly they had been held over for almost two hours and she wasn't exactly thrilled about walking home in the middle of the night in downtown L.A. Her sister had shown up earlier telling her that she had plans for the night and wouldn't be able to give her a ride home. Elle had agreed reluctantly.

Sighing she slipped the dishes into the bucket and hauled them to the kitchen. Stepping in she smelt the familiar fragrance of dish soap and heard the horrid singing of Mark the dish washer. He always kept his headphones in and sang at the top of his lungs after closing, sometimes almost loud enough to shatter glass along with Elle's eardrums.

Throwing the dishes into the sink she walked over and stood next to Mark. His eyes were closed and his was dancing around like an idiot singing into a dirty serving spoon "Dirty Little Secret." She had to force herself not to burst out laughing at the off key notes and horrid dancing. With ease she reach over and tapped him on the shoulder, which turned out not to be such a good idea. As soon as her fingers brushed his shoulder he jumped, flinging the spoon backwards and landing head first into the dirty dishwater splashing Elle.

Elle stopped and wiped her face of the nasty water trying not to threaten his life. The brown headed boy quickly pulled himself from the water and smiled sheepishly at her.

"Hi Elle!" he squeaked guiltily his blue eyes shimmering with mirth. "Your not gonna kill me are you?" He questioned guarding himself with the dirty serving spoon. Elle shook her head and laughed.

"No I guess not seeing as you have a spoon," she gestured towards his defensive stance "and aren't afraid to use it." The boy smiled and threw the spoon up in the air and in a valiant attempt to catch it slipped and crashed at Elle's feet.

"Nice shoes." He complimented her sneakers, before being hauled up by Elle.

"Thanks." she said, rolling her green eyes, she walked away and grabbed a dry towel and threw it at Mark. "I'm heading home, see you tomorrow." She said waving her hand towards him in a farewell gesture. Stepping through the kitchen doors she could hear him yell 'Bye' at her then an ominous crash. She giggled that boy was such an idiot. Stepping behind the counter she picked up her backpack and threw off the hideous Lime apron she had to wear revealing her long navy shirt over low jeans. Mindy the other waitress came up to her and handed her share of the tip money, Elle thanked her before pocketing the money and stepping out into the streets.

Turning she began to walk down the south side of the street into the cool night air. She sighed, it was a rather nice night so maybe it wouldn't be that bad of a walk home. She was glad she had only the company of the night tonight though, and was rather thankful that she had managed to slip away so easily; often when Mark knew Rouge wasn't going to pick up Elle, he would insist upon driving her home. A lot of things were going through her mind at that moment and she didn't have the patience to put up with the lost little puppy. Not that there was anything wrong with Mark he just had a tendency to ramble.....A lot, often leaving Elle with a wonderful migraine that could make a headache scream and run in terror.

Whistling she twirled her keys around her finger humming an old song from her childhood that she had never quiet gotten right. Truth was she didn't ever even remember learning it, but their still was that blank spot in her memories before sister Angelina had adopted her and her sister. Maybe her real birth mother had taught it to her, but she wasn't sure. Shaking her head she pushed those memories away, sister Angelina had always told her that her real birth parents had never wanted her and that they had left her and her sister in that store to die knowing it was going to blow up, and that they disappeared soon after the accident only to never be seen again.

Elle shuddered at the memory of waking up after the accident, it had been horrifying she was only four at the time and had no memories of who or what she was. Angelina had told her of the tragic accident and told her she was going to be their mother from now on. Elle had only nodded her head and cried as Angelina held her. She and her sister Rouge had nothing from their past to prove who they were, or where they came from, so they started anew at only four. Both girls were smart beyond their years though Rouge had a bit less common sense than she. Seeing as she tried to complete stunts that could kill her on a regular basis.

Elle laughed at that, she wondered who she had gotten that from, her mother or her father? Climbing the stairs to her apartment, Elle shoved the key into the lock and pushed open the door. She stopped where was Rouge? She knew she was going out but she surely wouldn't still be out at midnight would she?

Throwing down her bag she flipped on a light and walked over to the table and written in bright red ink was a note from her sister that left Elle scowling, she was bond determined to get herself killed wasn't she?

_Elle,_

_I'm going street racing tonight,so I won't be home til late, Oh and your closet door might have accidentally, note 'accidentally' fell off of hinges. You might wanna fix it. _

_Your loving sister,_

_Rouge._

Elle groaned and crumpled up the note. Her sister was the most reckless person she had ever met and the most destructive as well. Walking into her bed room she saw her closet door propped crookedly up against the wall, with a boot print prominent on its surface. Rouge had kicked in her closet door! Elle growled, sauntering over to the closet she began to dig through her belongings everything was accounted for, well except her savings.

"ROUGE!"

Twelve racers sat around a central ring in the underground parking facility of a large chain business. Each straddled a bike worthy of recognition, some that were so changed to increase their performance that their original frame was unrecognizable. Some bikes alone were worth more than the amount of money that could be won, but the thrill of the race left them not caring about what some considered was small pocket change.

Each racer listened intently as the rules were called out and as bets were placed. The rules were simple, everyone put in their wager, an even amount of five grand, and the first to make it through each check point on the loop around the city and to claim their banner won all of the wagers made. Concluding the introductions they moved to the starting point. As they waited for the onlookers to take their seats a small black bike shot through the outer ring strait to the starting line.

"Is it too late to join in?" The rider on the black CBR1000RR shouted out towards the officials. Taking off her helmet, locks of light auburn hair mixed with white cascaded down the girls back and thin sun glasses sat perched on her face. The officials began debating between themselves as the girl approached them.

"Looky what we've got here mate's." Came the taunting voice of a young man sitting on the back of a red Ducati 1098 S Tricolore "We've got ourselves a sheila who thinks she can play with the big boys." Running his fingers through his vibrant orange spiked hair he laughed along with the others and shouted out at the officials "Let 'er join, this will just prove that little girls who don't stay at home only get hurt."

The girl threw her money into the hands of the officials then turned to face the Aussie perched on his bike.

"Cocky aren't we?" the girl questioned, flipping her oddly colored hair back and stepping forward, face to face with the Aussie. He smirked and stepped closer.

"You sure are feisty for such a beauty," he coed snatching the girls hand and politely kissing the top of it, "maybe after I win this you will be going with me for dinner my little flame?" As quick as the words had left his mouth her hand had slipped from his and backhanded him.

"Little boy's who play with fire get burned." She retorted as she flipped her hair back and strode towards her bike. Throwing her leg over her bike she pulled her hair up into the helmet and leaned forward ready to begin.

The Aussie laughed and slipped his helmet on, turning to face the girl again he let a low whistle escape his lips. For the first time he took in the full appearance of the girl, she was clad in dark leather that hugged her body perfectly and wore combat boot that rode up to her knees. Her hair was astounding when it was down but with it up it gave her an air of mystery, all in all he was hooked. Maybe after he won this he really might convince the sheila to see him.

"Sheila!" He called tauntingly "True little boys get burned if they don't know how to play with fire, but, well, I must say I'm an expert." He stared at the girl as she ignored his taunting calls and kept her eyes on the roadway.

"Ha, you, hair brain, can't take no for an answer, can you?" She sneered glancing over to him, taking notice of his prominent stare. "How sad I must say though," she drawled her lip twitching ever so slightly "that your going to have to crawl home to mommy and daddy and explain that you got smoked by a girl."

This sent the Aussie over the edge as he shot a hot glare in the direction of the young female but quickly recomposed himself and retorted "That hurts Sheila," he whimpered pulling a low pout that made the other racers snicker, "don't you wanna kiss the boo boo you made?" He asked waggling his eyebrows and gesturing towards his face.

"No, I'd rather not kiss your ass.....oh I mean your face," she put a finger to her chin and smirked "though there isn't much difference." The group of men burst out laughing at the expense of the Aussie, quickly causing him to loose his composure who did this girl think she was?  
"You've got quite the mouth on you sheila," he stated and looked her over one more time "The names Fireblade, might I have the pleasure of knowing your name?" No response came from the girl as she settled herself into a racing stance. He growled low in spite of himself, he'd never had this much trouble out of a girl and it was eating him from the inside out. A low whistle blew signaling the racers to get set. Pulling his bike forward he prepared to shoot out first and take the lead. A young woman dressed in shorts and a tank top walked out provocatively and waved the flag. With her fingers she counted it down three, two, one...the flag dropped and the racers shot forward the young woman quickly took the lead leaving the men startled how in the world?

&&&&&&

Rouge laughed in spite of herself, she loved racing in general and tormenting the Australian had left her with more mirth that usual. Speeding past the first check point she swerved her bike quickly to the left and shot beneath the low lying under cove that seemed invisible unless you knew where to look. Speeding through the alcove she heard a bike rev behind her, glancing back she caught sight of the Aussie. Great she thought bitterly swerving over to the left lane.

With ease he pulled up beside her flashing a grin he shouted towards her "So your talented I'll give you that but can you keep up?" He revved his bike and shot forward ahead of Rouge. She only shook her head as she quickly shot up next to him keeping equal. He smiled and gestured for her to shoot ahead but instead she shot through the cut off leaving the Aussie stunned and mouth hanging agape, impossible.

Fireblade shot through the final check point clearly in the lead of the race, he hadn't seen Rouge since she had cut away from him at the cove. He sighed so maybe he'd given the sheila too much credit. He'd been hoping she'd put up more of a fight, but alas all girls left him disappointed anymore. Throwing the bike into overdrive he shot for the finish less that 1200 yards ahead, he revved it too full speed he had a clear shot at the win, well that was until a black bike shot out above him "sh......."

Rouge laughed as her bike flew over the Aussies and landed ahead of him fishtailing slightly before shooting off for the finish. She smirked she really loved knowing downtown L.A. Like the back of hand. Skidding into the finish she turned her bike as she came to a stop as the others pulled into the finish looks of disbelief on their faces.

"No way," Sean whispered as the girl dismounted the bike and walked over to claim her winnings. The officials looked stunned as the girl thanked them and threw the bag over her shoulder. A murmur rose through the crowd as the girl repositioned herself on her bike.

"Wait a minute!" Shouted a large man with dark hair and draped in leather to match as he strode over to the girl "You cheated, I want my money." With pure strength the man grabbed the girl by the shoulder only to be stopped suddenly as fire licked at his legs ready to consume him.

"Back away from the sheila, Conner," he growled his once vibrant green eyes now a dark flaming red. The man gaped, dumbstruck at the sight of the young man. His hand was extended in front of him controlling the deadly element at the mans feet.

Stuttering the man managed to shout "Your a mutant!" before shooting a menacing glare towards Fireblade. Spreading his hand more the fire became larger leaving scorch marks on Connors jeans. Before he could continue though a steel toed boot connected with the side of his head as Rouge spun herself out of his grasp.

"Back off!" With ease Rouge flipped over the man, who was still stunned from the kick to the head and kicked him in the back causing him to tumble forward over his bike unconscious. Everything seemed to stand still for a moment until someone screamed. Then the whole place broke into unordered chaos. The two men sitting on Fireblade's right and left stepped forward, and pounced at him. With a flick of his hand they were both caught in flames, as he raced over to Rouge.

"Come on!" Fireblade shouted as he tugged at her shoulder, she quickly swiped his hand away.

"I can take care of myself." Rouge growled, turning quickly on her heal her hands shot out and caught the man about to tackle her by the collar. Suddenly it began to glow a dull red and with ease she threw him back as his shirt exploded leaving the man lying on the ground in a heavy daze.

Fireblade's heart skipped a beat, he'd only seen power like when his uncle was in battle, but it couldn't be. Turning the girl around he swiped her glasses causing her to slam her eyes shut and curse bitterly as her hand shot out and hit him across the face. Catching the glasses Rouge threw them back onto her face and grabbed Fireblade by the throat.

"Never touch my glasses, understood?" she growled bitterly. Throwing him onto the ground she kneeled down and planted her hands flat against the asphalt, suddenly the men racing towards the two mutants stopped as red kinetic energy danced at their feet holding them in place.

"One wrong move and it's all of your deaths." Rouge looked over each man carefully noticing the rage and aggression slowly melt away into fear and terror. Throwing her hands up she pushed men back, the energy still cracking at their ankles. Turning she kept one hand extend towards the men as she helped Fireblade up. After pushing him towards his bike, she raced over to her own, and with a flourish of her hand let the kinetic energy dissipate before revving her engine to life and speeding away with Fireblade quickly on her tail.

&&&&

Racing down the interstate, Rouge tried to lose the Aussie, figuring he could go back to whatever hole he'd crawled from but instead he persistently followed her, careful to make sure he didn't lose sight of her. She had long passed her exit that led to her home, and was now racing towards San Diego. Cursing she sped up ahead of a semi and slipped into the nearest exit ramp. Pulling her bike into the parking lot of the gas station she killed her bike and pushed it behind the building. Carefully she peered around to see that she had lost Fireblade and sighed in relief.

Kicking her bike back too life she sped away down the road looking for the next ramp that would send her back to L.A.

&&&&

Pulling across from the semi, Fireblade swore. He had missed the girl, she'd managed to take that exit ramp leaving him lost as to where to go to find her. He shook his head, he just wish he knew what color her eyes had been. Everything matched up with the description of his uncles deceased daughter, but he hadn't been able to see her eyes leaving him at a loss.

He felt sick at his stomach he was so sure it had been her. Though maybe it was just him mind playing tricks on him. Pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind, he decided to forget the events that had just occurred and swore to himself that it was only his mind having a break down. Pulling off on the exit ramp he sped into the Comfort Inn ready to retire back to his room before heading home the next day. He decided against mentioning his encounter with the girl to save from the heart ache it would bring his uncle.

&&&&&

Pulling her bike onto the side of the road, Rouge pulled off her helmet and settled it down behind her on her seat. Opening the bag she counted out fifteen grand and pocketed the money. Stepping off the bike she quickly ran up the stairs of the church orphanage steps before setting the bag down she clipped a small note to it and knocked loudly. Twisting around she raced off to the side and cut long ways across the grass towards her bike before revving the engine and speeding away.

As Rouge sped away, an elderly woman opened the door to find the bag sitting on the steps with a note stuck to the side.

_Use it wisely._

Opening it up, the woman gasp, at least fifty grand was in the bag. She felt tears pull at her eyes. Someone must of sent an angel she thought as she pulled the money towards her chest. The orphanage was doing poorly and many of the children were suffering from the lack of money, but now with this the future looked brighter. Smiling she crossed herself before shutting the door to the frigid night as she raced to tell the other care takers of this strange miracle.

_**Authors Note: Woo finally! This chapter took me forever, I'm currently working on the next one and hope to have it up within the next few days! Til next time!**_


	4. A Bond Sealed by Blood

_**Authors Note: Here's chapter 4 people, I must say I'm surprised with how the story's coming along, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it!**_

_**The-writing-vampire- Okay so I can only answer 1 and ½ of those questions right now without giving the plot away. Fireblade is in fact the son of Pyro and his mother will be revealed in this chapter. Also this is not Fireblade's only appearance he plays a key role in the story, and has several more encounters with Rouge (if that helps any -sweat drops-) Also her name is 'Rouge' not 'Rogue' sorry for the confusion. Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**Courtney Summers- Thanks! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**_

**Chapter 4: A Bond Sealed by Blood**

Pulling into the parking garage, Rouge killed the engine of her bike and slumped forward over the handle bars. Putting her face in her hands she let her mind wander as it pleased, shes was too tired to care. She sat there for a long time thinking about the orphanage, and the memories she had of the place before her so called 'foster mother', Angelina had taken them to her own home. She remembered the sound of kids running up and down the halls and the gentle laughs and comforts of the caretakers. It had been her one safe haven after waking up from the incident. She could still remember that moment clear as day.

_A sharp pain shot through the girls side causing her to cry out in pain. Suddenly she could feel gentle hands running over her face and neck trying to comfort her, but to no avail. Her eyes shot open and she stopped suddenly she was looking into the eyes of a young woman with blue eyes and draped in a light cotton dress. _

_"Dear are you alright?" The woman asked, her voice light and soft. The girl could only nod her head. Sitting up she reach down and ran her fingers over where the pain had been, it was gone. Looking up into the woman's eyes a sudden thought hit her that sent the girl into instant panic._

_"Who are you?" she shouted and pushed herself away from the woman. Her eyes filling up with tears as the girl wrapped her arms around her knees she questioned, "who am I?" The woman laid a gentle hand on the girls shoulder and sat down on the clean white bed next to her._

_"My name is Angelina," The woman said a sad smile caressing her lips "and your name is Rouge." the girl looked up startled not knowing what to say or do. The woman continued "You were caught in a terrible accident and lost most of your memories, you and your sister." Angelina nodded her head in the direction of another girl sleeping soundly on the bed. Angelina ran her fingers through her own blonde locks "You should sleep I will explain it all in time to you." Rouge could only nod as she lay back down and closed her eyes, letting the darkness numb the confusion of her innocent four year old mind._

Rouge jumped suddenly, she had dosed off on her bike. Shaking the sleep from her head, she dismounted her bike and pulled the key from the ignition. Stuffing it in her pocket she raced up the stairs towards her apartment. Walking onto the flat surface of the third floor of the building, Rouge made her way over to a door numbered 333 and shoved her key into the lock. Twisting it she carefully pushed the door open praying to high heaven Elle was asleep. Though her attempts proved futile as she caught sight of her sister standing in the doorway, a look of pure menace on her face.

"Rouge." She stated warningly as she picked her way over towards her sister.

Rouge lifted an eyebrow and calmly replied "Yes?" before withdrawing the money and throwing it over at her sister, "Your loans repaid, along with interest."

Elle stopped and looked at the money "So I'm taking it you won?" Rouge smirked and nodded before throwing herself down on the couch and peering up at her sister.

"You should have seen it Elle! The look on their faces when I slid into the lead was priceless!" Elle smacked Rouge over the head with the remote. "Oh I'm sure, and I bet they were just thrilled when you used your powers too." Rouge swallowed and looked at her sister with an innocent look.

"What are you talking about Elle?" Rouge asked playfully as if it was some kind of joke. Elle growled low in her throat before flipping on the T.V. To the local news channel.

"Oh I don't know maybe this." Rouge watched as a news bulletin ran across the screen.

_Mutant_ _activity's sited at local parking complex. _

Rouge pushed herself up on her elbows as she watched the man she had kicked in the head banter on about how mutants had destroyed his bike.

'_Their were two of them I tell ya!' The man shouted a wild look in his eyes. 'One of them could control fire and the other, she was like super woman with her agility and when she made that guys shirt blow up-"_

The channel flicked off and Elle glared down at her sister. "That ring a bell." Rouge grinned sheepishly before rolling off of the couch and putting the coffee table between herself and her sister.

"Now Elle no need to get angry I can explain." Rouge held her hands up in front of her a small grin playing at her lips.

_"_Oh really? So the whole agreement of not using our powers in public no longer exists." Elle seemed bitter, but with careful prying Rouge could get her to lighten up, maybe.

"Elle! They attacked me first, besides I didn't use my powers until that cocky Australian.."

_"Rouge! _What do you mean cocky Australian? There was another mutant!" Elle's voice was coated in annoyance leaving Rouge cringing at the high pitched squeal in her sisters voice.

"Would you let me finish!" Rouge shot back throwing a pillow at her sister. Elle caught the pillow without even flinching and glared at her sister listening.

"Look Elle it was nothing, the guy on the T.V. Grabbed me and the Australian got the bright idea to use his powers to supposedly help me, though I am perfectly capable on my own, what is it with men.." Elle smacked her sister with the pillow.

"Would you just get to the point." Elle groaned, a headache beginning to form at the base of her neck.

"Okay, okay, the point is he helped me and I got loose. Then I helped him out of a situation by grabbing a guy and charging his shirt to knock him out. Then they teamed up on us so I caught them with my kinetic energy and threw them back, then we got the hell out of there." Rouge finished in one breath trying to assure her sister she hadn't done anything wrong. Elle still looked annoyed, then suddenly a thought crossed her mind.

"Who was this guy, and where did he go?" Elle questioned her face twisted in worry.

"He said his name was Fireblade, and he tried to follow me but I lost him on the freeway." Rouge suddenly stopped "He also tried to steal my glasses he wanted to see my eyes for some reason. Like he knew they were demonic." Rouge reach up and pulled off her glasses revealing red on black cat eyes covered in thick eyelashes with no makeup.

Elle smacked her forehead, "Look lets just forget this, it was probably nothing, I doubt anyone knows it was you, lets just get to bed it's late." Turning Elle started walking towards her room til a crash sounded outside the door leaving both girls looking at one another.

"Merde." they whispered simultaneously.

&&&&&&

Throwing himself back on the bed Fireblade glanced at the clock. 5:13 A.M. He groaned there was no way he was going to sleep anytime soon. Throwing his arms over his eyes he kept replaying the events of the evening in his head, trying to understand why that girl had left him so startled. He was so certain he had met her before. Somewhere long ago, it was so vague it was like a dream but it felt so real and familiar.

Suddenly a loud blaring echoed through out the room knocking him off of his bed."Oh Bloody.... Damn it!" He yelled throwing a flame at the alarm clock. The plastic burst into flame immediately shutting up the obnoxious buzzing noise. Jumping up from the floor he walked over towards the mirror. His reflection seemed to taught him with the scars that covered his torso. Shaking his head he pushed the haunted memories to the back of his mind. Grabbing his black T-shirt he slipped it over his head, and pulled his black leather trench coat on over it. Grabbing his duffel bag he threw it over his shoulder before marching out of the hotel room, slamming the door behind him. Entering the lobby he threw the room key down on the counter along with a wad of money before striding out of the hotel leaving the hostess shocked by his abrupt manner.

Throwing his leg over his bike he revved it to life before speeding away towards the train station, hoping to catch the next train headed for home. He couldn't take the thought that one of the twins could be alive and he needed to leave before it drove him mad. His 'celebration from graduating' had turned sour, making him wish all the more he was home running danger room sessions with the X-men. Dialing on his cell phone he called his mothers phone. It rang several times before going strait to voice mail.

"Mom, I'm hitching a ride home by train." He slammed the phone shut and shoved it back into his pocket. He knew she wouldn't be happy with his decision, but he really didn't care and if worse came to worse he would hide behind his father, seeing as he was the one that let him go and said he would break the news to his mother. When it came to his mother, he wasn't ashamed to admit he was terrified of her, most men within a mile of her were. Well except for his father but he was border line psychotic anyway so it made no difference.

Pulling into the train station he grabbed a directory, looking for the next train that would get him to New York. Spotting it he threw the paper aside and entered the train yard unseen and loaded the one labeled KR554- East Bound. Kicking his bike's stand out he slip the door of the cargo trail shut and let himself fall into a deep slumber, that for once in years was peaceful.

&&&&&&

"Pyro!" Wanda's voice screeched causing John to jump suddenly. He'd been married to that woman for almost twenty years, but hell he didn't think he would ever get accustomed to her unearthly screech that could wake the dead.

"Yes, dear." Pyro replied innocently, as his wife rounded the corner. She hadn't changed much in appearance after the last twenty years, her black hair was now long and past her shoulders, and her dark teenage make up had changed to a slightly lighter version that had the smokey eyed affect. Her clothing was simple, a long red top set over low black jeans and black stiletto boots. John would have complimented on her beauty had the look of murder had not been plastered on her face.

"Would you care to explain why are son is in California right now hitching a ride back on a train?" Wanda growled the kitchen appliances beginning to glow a light blue. Pyro swallowed hard and grinned mischievously.

"He's almost 19 love, and wanted t' go street racing.." Pyro immediately regretted the words once they had left his mouth seeing as the appliances left their places on the cabinets and began to float around him.

"You stupid idiotic moron! You'd let our son just up and leave to go street racing!" Suddenly Pyro was being pegged with the appliances and could do nothing more than dive away from the flying

objects. Suddenly as the fridge flew towards him forced it back towards Wanda with a ball of flames.

"N-now now sheila there's n' need t' be angry!" Pyro tried to reassure her, but to no avail. The only thing that saved him was the bell, literally. The door bell rang just as Wanda was about to squish him beneath the washing machine (though he still wasn't quite sure how'd she'd gotten it in the kitchen.) Scampering away from his angry wife he dashed to the door and slung it open to find a slightly startled Remy and bemused looking Rogue.

"Sorry about the wait, the sheila's havin' slight emotional issues at th' moment." Suddenly a pot smashed into the back of John's head throwing him forward onto the ground revealing a pissed looking Wanda behind him. Rogue raised her eyebrows but Wanda just waved it off.

"You ready to go?" Wanda asked the couple before her. Rogue nodded her head slowly. Wanda sighed it had been ages since either of them had went anywhere and they were just now pulling themselves from their dark stupor after the incident over a decade ago, and the one time Wanda convinced them to go somewhere Pyro had to go screw up, that was just her luck wasn't it?

"Wait where's Aiden?" Rogue asked her eyebrows quirked at not seeing the little lunatic running around somewhere. Wanda growled as Pyro whimpered.

"A certain idiot," Wanda glared down at Pyro "Decided it would a good idea to let him go to California to go street racing as a graduation present."

Remy whistled and Rogue felt her jaw fall, how stupid could one person be? Wanda reading her expression pulled Rogue after her, leaving Remy to help up a fallen John.

"Thanks a lot Mate," Remy only nodded his head before looking at John as if he'd grown a second head when they heard a car rev behind them, an angry Wanda behind the wheel and a slightly confused Rogue sitting in the passenger seat.

"Well look's as' though you've really anger'd de fille." Remy said as he watched Wanda back out of the drive and speed off leaving both men standing there startled.

"How 'n th' world th' sheila get 'er 'ands on my keys?" Pyro looking slightly confused shook his head.

"Well' look's as though we're walking moi ami, best start now if we want t' make it dere by sunset." Pyro dumbly nodded his head as they made their way down the street, both having forgot about Rogue's car pulled up on the side walk keys sitting in the ignition.

_**Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it, I think it went a little fast, plus I'm not good with accents so hehe sorry! I'm already on the next chapter so it should be up soon!**_

_**Please R&R!!!**_


	5. Time of Essence

_**IMPORTANT! Due to my lovely ability to miss type things and not catch myself I accidentally missed named Fireblade 'Aiden' his name is actually ' Keir' Sorry for that mishap! I don't think I'm going to go back and change it until the story is finished so apologies to everyone! Also this chapter is kinda random and angsty but it's needed background knowledge for the next two chapters. **_

_**The-writing-vampire- Thank you so much for pointing out the whole Aiden thing to me, I completely agree it is not fitting, and whatever was running through my head when I wrote that I'm still not sure. So big kudos go out to you!**_

_**Laceylou76- Thank you! It seems that everyone is enjoying the fact that I made John and Wanda a couple in this story, I hope I portrayed them well. Here's the next update as promised!**_

_**Fallingstar1011- Thank you! Hope you enjoy this next chapter.**_

**Chapter 5: Time of Essence**

Soon after the crash sounded they heard the low murmur of cursing in a thin Scottish accent.

Rouge glanced at her sister, eyebrows raised, a look of curiosity and annoyance rolled into one on her face. She burst out laughing and pointed tauntingly at her sister.

"Looks like your lover boy's here, soeur." Rouge quickly turned on her heel, still laughing though it seemed to have darkened and marched off towards her room. Elle let the air escape her lungs, that she hadn't been aware she'd been holding, before opening the door. She let out a sigh of annoyance as she took in the sight before her. A boy no older than nineteen stood before her clad in a dark hoodie and blue jeans, hazel eyes gleaming guiltily and dark brown hair falling into his eyes.

"Sorry Elle, I just er, got worried when I saw the news and eh, he he never mind your fine apparently, I'll leave." As he turned to leave Elle felt herself battling her inner demons against whether or not to let him after all that had happened between them, and she really didn't want Rouge to gut him like a pig... Forcing back all of the protesting voices in her head Elle wrapped her hand around his arm and turned him to face her.

"No it's fine, thank you for checking on us Skye, it means a lot." Elle flashed a smile and watched the boy visibly reel on the spot from her smile. His cheeks flushed red as he glanced at the ground.

"Not a problem." He reassured her looking up and grinning crookedly, something that would have at one time knocked Elle on her knees. They stood their staring at one another for a moment before Elle backed up into the doorway and motioned for him to follow her in. He quickly followed after and stepped into the small apartment complex.

Glancing around the apartment he cleared his throat nervously and questioned "Where's Rouge?"

Elle stepped up beside him and nodded her head towards the hallway. "She ran off to her room."

Skye hung his head and laughed half heartedly "Guess she isn't thrilled I'm here is she?"

Elle only shrugged her shoulders before walking off towards the kitchen. Throwing herself up onto the cabinets she began rummaging through the cabinets.

"Anything you want Skye?" She questioned off-handidly, her voice lacking it's usual prep and life. She quickly began rummaging quicker trying not to look back at the boy propped up against the counter watching her moves carefully.

"No, its quite alright...but by chance can I speak to you?" His voice was low and seemed shaken "You know about my wedding this weekend."

Elle stopped suddenly dropping the box of tea in her hands, forcing back the emotions threatening to come forward, she motioned for him to continue, and began rummaging through the cabinet looking for some obscene object just so she didn't have to look at him.

"Yo-your still coming right?" He more pleaded than questioned, "Cause I really want you there."

"Skye, you know as well as anyone that Gabriela doesn't want me there." She responded, her voice hiding her hurt emotion well. "Tea?" She questioned holding the box up above her head.

Skye rolled his eyes "Like I care what she thinks, speck." Elle smiled at the use of her old nickname, something she hadn't heard since this wonderful engagement had occurred over eight months ago. This had been all his parents idea to make their family soar once again. A marriage into a rich family, it would secure his parents for life, yet they had no concern for how it would affect their only child's life.

"Ciel..." she warned, using his old nickname as if it was the last time she would ever get to say it, " Look I can't, I'm not a part of your life anymore." She whispered choking out that last words, turning quickly she looked away from him knowing that this was a long time in coming. Her final good-bye to her best friend.

"Speck.."

&&&&&

Rouge growled in annoyance before throwing herself down on the bed. A yelped echoed as she landed on her border collie.

"Oops sorry, Keeva." She apologized to the gray dog splotched with black. It barked at her as if lecturing at her before tackling her onto her bed to lick her face.

"Hey! Hey! Stupid mutt!" She laughed as she threw the fuzzball off to the side. "You don't know when to quit do you?" Rolling her eyes, she glanced over at the clock, 5:45 A.M.

"Damn it," she mumbled rolling onto her bed and burying her face into the pillow. It was Monday morning and she had class at 9: 30. Rouge couldn't explain how thankful she was that Angelina had home schooled them and had both her and her sister graduated from high school on their sixteenth birthday, it had been a moment of pure join and happiness. The only down side was that Angelina persisted that they both attend college, so in turn proving her current dilemma.

Whining in annoyance she stood up and stretched her arms up above her head before leaning backwards to pop her back. Maybe she could just sleep through the class it was just Physics after all. Opening the door she could hear Elle speaking to Skye, trying to hide her emotions

. Okay so maybe she'd been too mean to the boy when he got engaged to that witch, but he was the one who had left her sister sitting in the park in tears while it was raining, it was only right for her to tell him to never come back. Yet here he was again hurting her sister for the umpteenth time. Rolling up her sleeves she prepared to walk into the kitchen to drag his out of her house again, that was until she heard Elle whisper "I can't, I'm not a part of your life anymore."

Rouge stopped dead in her tracks, she couldn't believe it. Had Elle finally figured out the truth for herself. Pressing herself up against the wall she listened as the conversation continued on.

&&&&

"No Skye," Elle stomped her foot, "You chose your path, and on that path I no longer reside, I'm so sorry." Elle felt the tears streak down her face.

"Elle please." Skye began as he reach for her, as suddenly as he did though he saw the gleam in her eyes that told him he'd broken her to a point of no return. All of the broken promises he'd made her about always loving her and always being there for her, he'd lied to her and had left her dumped on the sidewalk. For the first time he wasn't blinded by his parents foolish reassurance that she was fine, he'd hurt his best friend more than once and yet here he was again doing to her what he'd done a thousand times over.

"Elle..I-I'm so sorry." He looked at her, her beautiful face was scrunched up as she cried, she seemed so small in that moment and that if he touched her she'd shatter. Closing his eyes he laid his hand over the counter and beneath his fingers appeared a rose red as blood. With that he quickly left the apartment, he had to make it right somehow he had to. Yet before he had taken more than a step outside of the apartment something hard hit him in the jaw, knocking him to the ground.

"Your lucky I don't kill you right on the spot," Rouge hissed as she lifted the boy up by his collar pulling his face less than an inch from her own. Her red eyes were alight with rage as her ungloved hand hovered above his face waiting to touch him and drain every ounce of life from his body.

"But I won't do that cause it would only make her hurt more." With ease she tossed him against the railing before pulling her glove back on "and this time I mean it, Don't come back." With that she walked into the apartment and promptly slammed and locked the door.

Skye only looked at the door before he felt his own tears mix with the light rain that had just started to fall what had he done?

&&&&&

Elle sat in the floor her head leaning against the sink cabinet, how stupid could she be? A low purring caused her to jump, her cat Miko had rolled up next to her rubbing his head against her leg.

"Look's like your all I got left, Mon amour." She picked up the cat and hugged it tightly to her chest as she let her emotions for the first time in her life escape down in tears. She didn't hear the sound of the front door slamming shut or the annoyed voice of her sister shouting curse words at the ceiling.

"Elle, soeur," Rouge stopped when she caught sight of her sister sitting up against the cabinet hugging Miko so tightly that the cat couldn't have escaped, though from the soft purring and licking Rouge could tell he didn't want to go anywhere.

Kneeling next to her sister she pulled her into a tight hug and began humming. Both she and her sister had always had it hard, and this was just another thing to add to their list of 'crappy things'. Rouge held her sister for a time just allowing her to cry until suddenly a small broken chuckle came from her sisters crying form.

"You know what Rouge," she laughed sadly and looked up at her sister "I really wish you would have done more to Gabriela other than just dyeing her hair that nasty hot pink color during the engagement party, I wish you would have cut it too." Rouge forced a laugh as she sat back and looked at the mischievous look growing in her sisters eyes.

"Well its still not too late.." Rouge grinned as Elle laughed sadly.

"I wish," she said rolling her blood shot eyes at her sister, "Our luck is so crappy."

She giggled as Rouge tried to stand but tripped over Miko.

"Don't even start." Rouge growled her pride wounded, suddenly a big ball of fur landed square on Rouge's chest causing her to yelp. Keeva sat there his head cocked to the side looking at Rouge.

"Damn mutt," She muttered as she threw Keeva off and looked at the clock, 6:55 A.M.

"We'd better get ready," Elle murmured tears still streaking down her face, but slowly dissipating, she'd always been so good at hiding her emotions. Standing up she held her hand out towards her sister and helped her up. "Let's get ready so we can get to class."

Rouge nodded numbly as she watched her sisters retreating form knowing that this was a wound that would be a long time in the making of healing and she only hoped she would realize that there were bigger and better things out there for her instead of that damn Scott trying to sweep her off of her feet. She sighed in relief all of that pain would be over after Saturday when he got married to that stuck up woman with the perfect body and hair.

She could still remember the way his parents had praised her as though she were the best thing in the world during the engagement party, telling him how much better she was than Elle and that he'd made the right choice, and how they had critiqued everything about Elle that night when she came for the sake of Skye. Rouge would have killed them in an instant had it not been for Elle's pleading.

She growled and looked down at her gloved hand, she had the power to destroy whatever she wanted, yet she never could seem to destroy the things that hurt her sister. She damned their powers that had made their parents abandon them, leaving them with no one except Angelina, who wasn't there haft the time anyway, and had always been so concerned with their gifts that it seemed it was the only reason she kept them around.

But, alas they had made it through childhood and only had to get through the next five months and then they would be free from Angelina's hand, she just hoped the court would rule in their favor. Sighing she darted off towards her room to change into something more suitable for school, seeing as the leather might cause her to get a few stares from here and there.

&&&&&&&

Rogue looked over at Wanda as she drove through the busy streets of downtown Bayville. Something wasn't right and it didn't seem to have anything to do with Keir or his little adventure.

"Wanda what's gotten into ya?" Rogue asked, looking for even the slightest change in the Scarlet Witches face but none came, and her reply was nothing more than silence. She'd been acting strange ever since she had came out of the gas station, and Rogue was at a loss as to why.

Kicking the car up to a higher speed she cut up and around the cars ahead of her and quickly shot through an exit onto the interstate. They drove in silence for a time, Rogue had quickly realized that they were no longer going to the dance club, but their new destination proved to be a mystery to Rogue.

Suddenly the scarlet witch pulled off of the interstate and drove down multiple streets til they came to a sight Rogue had never wanted to see again in her life. The mall that her children had died in. It had been abandoned after the accident and now remained vacant except for the few homeless that took resident in it during the rain season.

"No, Wanda take meh back rahght now." Rogue could feel the panic rising in her chest, but the scarlet witch ignored her and continued driving into the parking lot, pulling right in front of the mall entrance, Wanda killed the car and slid out.

"Ah ain't going Wanda there ain't no way ya can make meh." But before Rogue could protest Wanda had hold of her arm and was dragging her into the store, kicking and screaming, literally. Rounding the halls Wanda drug a hysterical Rogue down the long corridor towards the store covered in caution tape. Ripping through it she let go of Rogue's arm only to be punched in the nose so hard it sent her flying against the wall.

"That's it, what in your sick mind made ya think Ah want to be here." Rogue put both hands on her hips and glared at the woman lying limp in front of her eyes. Suddenly though her body began to shift taking on the form of another sight Rogue wished to never see, Mystique.

"Hello my daughter, quite the circumstances we've come to meet at this moment." Rogue swore her heart stopped in her chest at that moment.

_**Author's note: Okay so this is the most random chapter ever, but I had to show it for the next chapters so please bare with me. **_

_**Also in case your wondering Skye's powers are the ability to control the earth, as in plants and such, which is where the rose came from. Also Skye is not a bad guy he just kinda got caught up in the wrong thing at the wrong time. Yay cliffhanger!**_

_**Next chapter should be out within the next few days I'm about start on it. R&R please!!!!!**_


	6. Moments of Confrontation

_**Author's Note- There really isn't much to say except please review! It really gives me inspiration to write, thanks.**_

_**Laceylou76- Don't worry, Remy will be brought back into the story soon enough, The whole Wanda thing will be explained in time as well, I'm glad your enjoying seeing the girls, there's going to be a lot more of them to come in the future. Haha I think I startled several people with that cliff hanger. Also thanks for the constant reviews they help keep me inspired! **_

**Chapter 6: Moments of Confrontation **

"Rouge!" Jerking awake Rouge glared through her sunglasses at the owner of the voice that had startled her from her nap. An elderly plump woman stood at the front of the room her dark gray eyes glaring at Rouge behind leopard print glasses.

"Glad to see you could join us in the real world Miss Darkholme, now would you care to answer my question?" The woman spat, upon close inspection you could see a name tag poised on her desk engraved in gold;Professor Weathretail. The woman's thick bun of gray curls bounced as she walking across the podium waiting for a response.

Rubbing her neck Rouge glanced around the room at the other students looking for the slightest hint as to what the question was, though the only response she got back were a few looks of pity and a select few sets of eyes rolled at her. She glanced at the board and let her eyes trail over it.

"Just as I thought," Weathretail barked and slammed the yard stick against the black board "this is proof of what you never want to become, a clueless, unmotivated, procrastinating.." But before she could finish Rouge's voice rang out.

"Einsteins relation of the kinetic theory was shown through the mass formula of the diffusion of atomic particles, which was later backed by Marian Smoluchowski later in 1906." Rouge let a cocky grin grace her lips as she observed the reaction of Weathretail.

The plump woman tightened her shoulders and let a low 'hmph' escape her lips before turning back to the board to continue on her lecture.

Silently chuckling, Rouge folded her arms on the desk readying herself to return to her nap before a fellow student tapped her on the shoulder. Glancing up she saw a young brunette with odd hazel eyes.

"That was impressive, how did you find the question from the board when only equations were written?" The girl waited patiently as Rouge cocked her head to the side, another smirk forming on her features.

"Lucky guess." The girl seemed unconvinced but turned her attention back towards Weathretail who was passing out packets for the daily assignments. Coming towards the two girls seated in the back row she tossed the final packets onto the desk and sent Rouge a final glare before marching off to conclude the day.

Tossing the packet into her bag, Rouge zipped it up before standing and promptly waltzing out of the room ignoring the multiple glares that were sent her way. She chuckled she really loved her many abilities that came with being a mutant, the telekinesis that she could access on certain occasions had well proved its worth.

Most of the students were too stupid to realize the fact that Weathretail had no idea what she was teaching or doing. So because of this they disliked Rouge because she would call Weathretail on her mistakes and had proved her wrong on several occasions.

More than once she'd slept through or skipped class because of the boredom that was given to her because of the class. Not to get her wrong, Physics sucked, and she was no Einstein, but it didn't take an idiot to look up something in a book. So because of said ability she had the highest score in the class and was condemned for it, go figure.

Climbing down the stairs, Rouge entered the open lobby-slash-study area were the science students often came. Passing the vending machines and students scattered through out the room she pushed open the door and ventured out onto the campus grounds. Turning North she began to make her way towards the literature building. She hoped Elle would be out soon, she had _that_ feeling at the pit of her stomach and it wasn't settling right. She just wanted to get home.

Climbing over the wall that separated the different sections of the campus, she jumped down and walked over towards the bench that was set out front near the fountains and main entrance. Throwing down her bag she plopped down on the bench and began waiting. Something that she had never been any good at. She took little notice of the men hanging in the trees beside the building watching her every move.

&&&&&&&&&

Elle rubbed her head, a migraine beginning to rear its head from lack of sleep. Forcing the pain out of her mind she tried to tune into the discussion that was taking place but to no avail. With ease she slid down into her chair and let her head rest against the cool wood of the desk. It was comforting to say the least. It had been three days since her encounter with Skye and the pain still was as new as the day she got it, she wasn't sure if it would ever fade. He had been her first and only friend for the longest time and it hurt to have him ripped away from her.

She didn't know how long she lay there before she felt a sudden jolt course through her body. Jumping she glanced around the room to see everyone still in deep discussion. Suddenly an old feeling made itself known in her stomach. Feeling the panic rise in her chest, she could feel _their_ presence.

Jumping up she left the classroom, her bag long forgotten, and began racing through the corridors she had to get to the courtyard. Skidding around students she ditched the elevator and shot down the stairs. Throwing herself up on the rail she slid down the final set of stairs and burst through the exit door only to find Rouge sitting in the courtyard, eyes averted towards the ground. Feeling some of the panic lift from her chest she sprinted towards her sister.

Coming towards a stop she laid a hand on her sisters shoulder, "Rouge-", but before she could finish Rouge had pulled her down next to her on the bench and had removed her sunglasses. Looking her sister strait in the eye she saw that Rouge knew exactly what was going on, her crimson eyes shimmering in the sunlight.

Suddenly everything around the girls froze, as though time itself had come to a standstill, they had found them. Throwing themselves off of the bench both girls rolled away as the bench exploded and re-stood, back to back. Men in black uniforms seemed to materialize out of nowhere as they surrounded both girls, guns loaded and pointed.

"Look's like it's game time." Rouge's grin could practically be seen through the tone of her voice as she shed the thick leather gloves surrounding her fingers and as thick red sparks began dancing at her fingertips. Elle shook her head before pulling her hands up into a defensive stance ready for them to make the first move.

In the blink of an eye men on both sides of the girls shot forward, night sticks in hand. They obviously didn't want to kill them only to make them bleed and be in pain. Elle growled in annoyance as she realized they had no intentions of letting either girl escape.

With ease Rouge jumped above the first wave of men that shot out towards her and sent a wave of vibrant red kinetic energy beneath their feet blowing them down towards the ground in a huge heap. Landing she quickly whipped around into a round house kick that collided with one of the soldiers jaws. Grabbing his arm she pushed back on her left foot and sent him flying over her shoulder knocking down the men on her right.

Elle's fist collided with one of the mens gut's before she flipped him over her back and grabbed the next soldiers hand and torqued his arm upwards before lifting her leg up for a downwards kick, breaking the bone and leaving the man to scream in sudden agony.

Pushing him back she cursed seeing another wave of men rushing towards her. They had to get out of their if they wanted to survive. Throwing one final punch she raced backwards towards her sister. Once their backs collided, Elle reach forward and grabbed one of the night sticks and tore it away from the man before falling into a low stance and kicking his feet out from underneath him.

They only had to hold it for a few more moments before...Suddenly the mens assault stopped. With quick grace all of the men fell back into line, the injured supported between them. A low clapping sounded through the courtyard.

"Bravo, you girls haven't lost your touch, though your guardian is nowhere in sight how strange." A smile graced the lips of the elderly man, who despite his age you could see he was in good shape. His graying hair combed back away from his face and his dark almond eyes glimmering in the sunlight with victory.

"How sad it is though that this game must end." From a pocket on his jacket he withdrew a plastic gun, tranquilizers no doubt. A wicked smile graced his lips and he aimed ready to fire, but before the trigger was even pulled a thick wall of emerald smoke surrounded Elle and Rouge and they was gone. The man's smile sudden fell.

"Find them, now."

&&&&&&&&&

"What was that!?!" Rouge practically screeched as the girls landed on the balcony of their apartment.

"I-I have no idea." Elle whispered her eyes alive with light as she looked at her hands, how in the world had she..?

"Look never mind it doesn't matter we need to get the hell out of here or we're screwed." With that Rouge drug Elle up by her collar before charging the lock on the back door.

"You know we have a key." Elle piped as the lock exploded and Rouge slammed it open.

"Too late." She mumbled before setting off towards her room. Elle quickly catching the memo darted off towards her own room. Throwing open the door she rushed in and popped her closet lock. Withdrawing some clothes she began to shove them into an old duffel bag worn and tore from its years of use. Suddenly a thought hit her, and before she could think over her decision her phone was out of her pocket and dialing a familiar number.

It rang several times before going strait to voice mail. Gulping she waited for the low bleep to sound before starting her message.

"Skye, I need you to get to my apartment ASAP......"

&&&&&&&&&&

Rouge growled as she slammed the phone shut, 'Angelina' was still refusing to pick up her phone and it was driving Rouge mad. Dialing one last time she opted for an answer other than the machine, but to no such luck.

Growling she spat a quick message into the phone about their situation, that they were leaving and that she needed to answer her phone, she also threw in a few choice curse words that were slightly altered due to her anger.

Snapping it shut, she threw in a few other items into her duffel bag along with her clothes. These items included a photo shot of herself and her sister, an old torn Queen of Hearts that she assumed had belonged to one of her birth parents (seeing as she had it on her when she woke up), and a wallet that had several credit cards, all under Angelina's name conveniently.

Pulling her hair into a high ponytail she glanced in the mirror and for the first time in years overlooked her appearance. She had grown, a lot over the last few years, leaving her at 5'9 and ½, she had a slim waistline and could have easily pulled off being a boy had it not been for her long, thick, curly hair and girlish face. She wondered if she resembled her mother any.

A loud snapping crash sounded behind her causing her to jump and charge the duffel bag in her hand. Her worries were put to rest as soon as she saw the big lump of gray fur laying in the floor, it's blue eyes shimmering with confusion.

"Oh Keeva." She whispered as she bent down and pulled the dog into a big hug, knowing that she couldn't take him with them.

"You've got to stay here and watch the house for me okay?" She whispered to the big dog, knowing that she probably wouldn't see her fuzz ball again. Thinking this over she hoped her neighbors would figure out that Miko and Keeva were alone and would take them, she figured she could leave enough food out until then, and she could just fill the bathtub for water. Standing she whistled for the confused dog to follow her, Keeva followed but not without a confused and sad gleam in his eyes as though he knew he was being left.

&&&&&&&&

Skye sat silent as his parents conversed with their soon to be 'in-laws', he could still feel the ache of the seeing Elle cry like that, and he was at a loss as to how to make things right. Sighing he buried his head deeper into the palm of his hand trying to tune out the constant chatter.

"Love, what's wrong?" The voice rang pulling Skye from his stupor. He looked up to see his fiance Gabriela draped in a red dress that barely covered what needed to be covered. He forced himself not to roll his eyes at her choice of clothing. Ignoring the provocativeness of the dress he looked up into her face which was not much better. Her shoulder length hair was dyed a copper blonde, though her brown roots were beginning to show. While her face, which would have been beautiful, was coated in thick make-up giving a bad air off about her.

He had always preferred the natural look, like the one Elle had.

"Are you ignoring me?" Gabriela snorted as she sat down next to Skye leaning over so that the dress revealed even more. Skye forced himself not to puke as he turned away.

"This has to do with that bastard orphan Ella or whatever her name is doesn't it?" The woman fumed her drawn on eyebrows coming together to meet at the center of her forehead. Ignoring her, Skye shot his attention away from the woman next to him to look at the flower arrangements sat on the different tables.

Gabriela shot up knocking over the glasses of wine sat on the table and quickly silencing the conversations going on at the table.

"I knew it!" she screeched at him, "You would choose her over me wouldn't you? WOULDN'T YOU!" She began to stomp her stiletto heals angrily oddly resembling a four year old having a tantrum.

"Oh! It's reasons like this why I stole your phone when that evil bitch called early, I swear this has to stop.." Skye looked up disbelieving at Gabriela, so that's where his phone had went, and more yet she had called him.

"Where is it?" Skye growled startling Gabriela, a look of defiance and fear growing in her eyes.

"Why it's none of your business." Skye would have hit her had he not been raised not to do so.

"Gabriela tell me know, or it's over." She looked up at his towering form, swallowing she pulled the phone out of her purse and threw it at him.

Ignoring the multiple glares that were sent his way, he called his voice mail and felt as his heart seemed to stop in his chest when he heard Elle's panic stricken voice. Stopping her turned at glared at Gabriela before turning to leave, he could deal with her later, he had to get to Elle.

"Your leaving for her again?" Gabriela spat disbelievingly as she ran up and began to tug on his arm.

Skye stopped and turned towards her, menace burning in his eyes. "Let. Go. Now." He growled yanking his arm away from her. With a quick tug he pulled off the engagement ring and threw it at Gabriela.

"It's over, never ever come near me again, you filthy piece of trash." With that he turned towards his parents a dark look growing in his eyes as he addressed them.

"Same goes to you. I'll be leaving tonight." and with that he walked away, with only on thing on his mind.

Elle.

&&&&&&&&

Pulling on the the top of her closet Elle dislodged an old dark suitcase, containing all of her sisters and her own legal documents. Pulling out all of the cards and certificates she stuffed them into a hard covered binder and threw them in her duffel bag. Tossing the suitcase back into her closet, she zipped the bag up.

Running her fingers over her neck she searched for the final item that she would need. Her fingertips brushed against the gold locket, she sighed in relief. It was the only memento of her previous life and she had no intentions of forgetting it.

Throwing her bag over her shoulder she took one final look around her room. For the second time in her life she was leaving behind everything she ever knew to start anew. Running her fingers over Miko's soft coat she whispered her silent good-byes before turning off the light and silently closing the doors.

Racing down the hall, she whirled into the kitchen her sneakers making soft pattering noises against the floor. Walking into the kitchen she saw her sister calmly watching out of the kitchen window, mindlessly twirling two marbles between her fingers.

"You think wearing that's going to help us blend in?" Elle asked mindlessly as she looked over her sisters clothing. She had on thick combat boots, dark jeans fell over the boot tops, a black t-shirt clung to her beneath her usual trench coat and black biker gloves adorned her hands, whilst her thick auburn hair streaked with white was pulled into a thick braid against her back and her usual sunglasses sat perched on her nose. She looked like something strait from a comic book.

"It's better than the leather." She mumbled as she overlooked her sister. Elle's long hair was halfway pulled back, she had on a dark green T-shirt with a thin jacket over top and classic blue jeans that flared over her old worn converses.

"Whatever, the boys have got food and water that should hold them out for a week or two, until somebody finds them," Rouge adjusted her sunglasses and finished "Let's go."

Throwing the bag over her shoulder, she stopped suddenly as she heard the tapping of footsteps outside. Elle's eyebrows knitted in concern, as Rouge motioned for her to follow her towards the balcony.

"Look's like we're taking the Scenic route." Rouge mumbled as they stood on the balcony over looking the downtown streets of L.A. Nodding they began their descent down the three story building, that was until Elle slipped and drug Rouge down with her.

Suddenly though neither girl was falling as they landed with a slight oomph in the parking garage the emerald smoke surrounding them once more.

"I'm really starting to like this new power of yours soeur." With that Rouge drug Elle up onto her feet and raced over to her bike. Pulling the key from her pocket she revved the bike to life and motioned for her sister to get on.

Elle swung her bag onto her back before wrapping her arms around her sisters waist before shooting off into the streets of L.A. Destination unknown.

_**Woot next chapters going to be fun to write! Hope you enjoyed this one. **_

_**Soeur- sister**_


	7. Shocking Dilemma

_**Authors Note: Hi! Yay for the next chapter. **_

_**Laceylou76- Haha I promise this chapter has both Rogue and Remy in it, I'm not bringing the girls into this chapter. Haha yes I gave Rouge Remy's smirk, I'm kind of building Rouge off of Remy and Elle off of Rogue. Thank you once again for the constant reviews! Here's a cookie. -hands virtual cookie- onto the next chapter.**_

**Chapter 7: Shocking Dilemma**

"What are ya doing here," Rogue attempted to shout but it came out as only a whisper. Her fist involuntarily clenched up at her side as she overlooked her adoptive mother. Even over the course of fourteen years she still looked exactly the same, even the cyanide smile that was plastered on her face.

"Is that anyway to treat your mother?" Mystique hissed as she rose into a standing position. Jutting out her right hip she allowed her gloved hand to rest on it.

"What do ya want with meh?" Rogue whispered her eyes beginning to grow alight with anger "Why would ya bring meh back to this place!" Rogue could feel the many psyches that had forever been dormant reappear and pushing for her just to jump Mystique and strangle her, while her own conscious wanted to wait, even if for just a moment.

"Marie," Mystique started causing Rogue to involuntarily flinch, she hadn't been called that in so long, "I'm here to assist you, that is if you will allow it." Mystique held out her hand as if for a truce.

"What could ya possibly help meh with?" Rogue whispered pulling her arms around her torso, forcing back that tears that threatened to fall.

"I have information on this accident, that points to the fact that both of my granddaughters are alive." Rogue's eyes shot up disbelievingly, she was lying she had to be.

"Your lying." Rogue shot but the look in Mystique's eye's told otherwise, "No, no it's not possible the bodies.." Rogue began rambling feeling her entire being beginning to crumble, it wasn't possible.

"It was all a ruse, they weren't real." Rogue's dark eye's began to have a light growing in them as sudden realization hit her as she watched Carla reappear before her eyes, "I planted them and took the girl's away from the scene of the accident and wiped their memories."

Rogue's mind shot into overdrive as she replayed over ever moment of pain and agony she had gone through at the thought that her daughters were dead. She thought over every memory of the last twelve years that had left her nothing more than a dead shell barely breathing, over the thoughts of the look on Remy's face, the fights everything and turned it all into rage.

Before she knew what she was doing she was on top of Mystique beating the living daylight's out of her.

"You deceitful bitch! Where are my girl's!" Rogue felt herself being thrown off but it didn't stop her from jumping at Mystique again. Tears streamed down her face as her fist pelted Mystique's body, but what was strange was the fact that she wasn't fighting back.

With ease, when Mystique thought Rogue had her fair share of shot's, she tripped her and pinned her against the ground, ash beginning to coat Rogue's long hair.

"It was for their own good, it would have been their death's had I not done so Marie. So please listen, I'm trying to help you get them back but I must have your cooperation."

"Fahne Ah'm listening." Rogue growled through the sobs that racked her body. With ease Mystique got off of Rogue and offered her hand out towards her. Rogue slapped the hand away and quickly stood. "Now start talkin'"

"Very well, do you remember-"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Merde." Remy hissed as they drove down another vacant street, still with no sigh of Wanda's car in sight.

St. John and himself had both found Wanda tied up and destroying things inside a gas station when they were walking down the road towards the club.

When they had untied her she had nearly knocked Pyro and Gambit out for their idiocy of not bringing Rogue's car. She had quickly explained how Mystique had posed as the stations clerk and how she drug her over the counter and knocked her out, only for her to awaken to find she was tied up and that she assumed Mystique had stolen the car with the unsuspecting Rogue riding passenger with no clue as to what was going on.

They had quickly decided that walking was not a good option, so they decided to 'comendeir' a car for the night. Lucky, out of some strange chance of luck, Pyro knew how to hot wire cars so it worked out rather well. Yet they were still at a standstill trying to find her. Driving on the multiple streets of Bayville they had failed to find anything, and Remy was almost tempted to call in the other x-men to join the search.

He could feel his heart racing at a hundred miles, he couldn't afford to take the chance that he could lose the last thing he held dear in his life. He knew she could hold her own, but something about this situation was strange and Mystique wasn't one just wanting to go out on a joy ride. Growling in frustration he slammed his fist down on the glove compartment.

"Man mate, 'his isn't good." John's feet were propped up on the back seat as he nervously flipped his lighter open and closed. His eyes darting from window to window scanning.

"Shut it idiot." Wanda mumbled knowing that his constant pessimistic mood was not helping Remy or her own mental health very much at the moment.

She was starting to worry, what in the world would Mystique want with Rogue, hadn't they settled their differences and went different directions? Suddenly an idea hit her, it was obscene yes, but probable. Thinking over the words Mystique had told told.

_"I'm trying to help her redeem her life and to do so I need you to get out of my way, Witch."_

Whipping the car around in the middle of the intersection, she managed to throw Pyro against the back window and Remy forward onto the dash board. With ease she slammed the car into fifth gear and shot off towards the interstate, she hoped her odd hunch was right.

Remy raised both of his eyebrows at the Scarlet Witch not certain of what she was doing, only hoping that what ever it was she was right. Pyro on the other hand decided to voice his opinion.

"Sheila, what is running through 'hat 'hick head of yours?" Pyro was suddenly slammed against the seat with and was restrained with a blue strand of power, and one securely clamped over his mouth making sure he didn't utter another word.

"Damn Australian."

&&&&&&&&&

"So their both alive? And in California?" Rogue felt like she was going to collapse from shock and disbelief, leaning her back against the wall, she was now completely covered in ash, but that was the least of her worries.

"As far as I know they both are, I put them in the care of one of my stooges." Mystique watched Rogue carefully as a light came back into her eyes, something that hadn't been there in over twelve years.

"How soon can I get to them?" Rogue asked her feet shuffling against the floor of the building as she closed the space between herself and Mystique.

"I don't know, I know that he's got his sights on them again though. You'll need cerebro to find them." Mystique's eyes were slightly glanced over as she thought back on the days she first had the girls in her care.

"They think your the reason they got caught in the accident," Mystique flipped her hair back "This was not my doing, it was my stooges but it proved for the better because they never set out to find you, it kept them safe."

"Ah can't believe it, Ah would have never thought." Rogue's eyes were brimming with tears.

"Don't get your hopes up Marie, they could very well be in his hands now, but I needed to recruit someone to protect them, hiding them from you won't do them any good anymore." Rogue nodded her head and pushed her hair behind her ears as she watched Mystique.

"Why did ya help them?" Mystique turned her head and avoided the gaze of her daughter.

"I owed it too them, as well as you." Suddenly a moment occurred that Rogue never thought that would she and her mother were on even ground, but of course as faith would have it something always has to intervene.

A bright red card floated in front of Mystique and blew her back against the wall. Soon the rescue brigade rushed into the room, Remy stood in the front flanked by Pyro on the right and Wanda on the left.

With a swift flick of his wrist, Pyro had flame tiger's form around Mystique. She smiled sadly at Rogue before shifting into a tiny gnat and disappearing from view.

Remy soon had his arms snaked around Rogue, stroking her hair and mumbling in french, words of comfort to her, though her mind was a thousand miles away. That's when a thought hit her, she couldn't tell Remy.

For one he wouldn't believe her and would try to convince her that Mystique was getting in her head again, and two she didn't want to break him again, if anyone broke it would be her. Craning her neck she looked up at him, her eyes beginning to brim with tears, pushing away from him and wrapped her arms around herself. She couldn't do this not right now.

"Chere?" He asked mindlessly as reach for her. As he stepped closer a look of confusion and hurt forming in his demonic eyes.

"Ah'm so sorry Remy." and with that she promptly blacked out and fell forward, her mind overloaded.

&&&&&&&&

With ease Remy stepped forward and caught her. Panic began to rise in his chest as he looked her over. No injuries, he sighed in relief. With ease he picked her up bride style, her head resting against his chest and her arms folded flat over her abdomen.

He looked up to see Pyro and Wanda making their way over towards the couple, looks of confusion on their faces.

"The sheila alright mate?" Pyro asked his head slightly cocked to the side making him look like a deer caught in the head lights.

"Oui, mon ami, she'll live." With that Remy walked away from the couple and made his way down the mall corridors, thoughts racing through his mind. He had felt the confusion and sorrow when he had held Rogue, she had seemed scared almost terrified yet confused at the same time. It was frightening to him, what in the world could have led his chere to feel such emotions.

He sighed in annoyance, count on Mystique to go and screw with Rogue's already fragile mind. With ease he pulled open the car door an laid Rogue inside. Kissing his gloved hand he pressed it against her forehead before sliding into the car next to her. Gently he laid his wife's head in his lap. He watched in mild amusement as John came skidding out the building random objects flying at him. With a slid across the front of the car St. John managed to bust his face on the ground before quickly climbing into the passenger side door. Slamming it shut, he shook his head at Remy.

"You got the calm one mate." Soon a very pissed Wanda emerged from the building, her hands glowing a light blue as she strode towards the car. Suddenly the door flew open and Pyro was hexed out of the car. Sprawled out on the ground in a daze, Wanda stepped over her husband and slid into the drivers seat mumbling incoherent insults about the Aussie. Revving the car to life, she quickly turned and looked at Remy, a mischievous look playing in her eyes.

Remy, one to catch on quickly, could only nod and laugh as the Scarlet Witch drove off leaving her Pyromaniac husband to walk home.

"Maybe next time he'll watch what he says about my weight."

_**Authors Note: This chapter was fun to write, I'm surprised I finished so quickly, lol so there will probably be multiple grammer and spelling problems, go figure. Haha I'm sorry but I had to add the bits of comic relief with Pyro and Wanda I just couldn't resist. Next chapter should be up soon! **_


	8. Dim as an Ember

_**Authors Note: Alright so if anyone is confused **Italics **Is flashbacks and or dreams. Please review! I will give anyone who does so a virtual cookie! I need to know if you guys are liking it! Any who here's the next chapter.**_

_**Laceylou76- Haha yes there is going to be a whole heap o' trouble to come but you'll have to wait and see, lol. Here's the next chapter I'm really thrilled your enjoying the story. **_

_**Water raven- Fireblade's (Keir's) coming back soon I promise, and he'll have a run in with the twins soon enough. You'll have to wait and see about Remy. Here's the next chapter.**_

**Chapter 8- Dim as an Ember**

Rouge mindlessly flipped through the channels of the television barely paying attention to what was on, her mind was adrift a thousand miles away in thoughts and worries. After escaping from the clutches of danger, they had managed to slip past the tracking devices and had slid into this beat down motel somewhere on the outskirts of Nevada, with no destination in mind.

"Would you quit that." She heard Elle's voice gripe, apparently she was back with food sooner than Rouge thought. "You know it gets on my nerves with the constant flipping of channels."

Rouge rolled her eyes, and laughed, throwing the remote down she snagged the food from her sister before plopping back down on the sofa. Pulling out a slice of pizza she motioned for Elle to join her but she only shook her head.

"I'm going to bathe, I smell like a pig." Sniffing her hair Elle crumpled up her nose, and with that walked over towards her bed and began digging clothes out of her duffel bag, she wouldn't have heard Rouge's retort had it not been from years of dealing with her mumbling.

"You look like one too." Rouge felt a pillow back hand her and fall into her lap.

"We're twins, so in that case so do you." Pulling her hair out of its ponytail, Elle slammed the bathroom door before Rouge could retort. Rouge stuck out her tongue before settling back down into the lumpy couch and turning her attention back towards the T.V.

She stuffed the last bit of pizza in her mouth before settling on some random cartoon. Throwing the remote across the room she rested her head back against the couch. She watched in mild interest as a red headed girl ran across the screen a little floppy eared gray dog at her heals.

Keeva, she though sadly, thinking of her poor gray fuzzball that she greatly missed. As the girl broke into some rundown palace Eclaire pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Suddenly though the movie caught her attention as she began to sing.

'_Dancing bears, painted wings, things I almost remember,' _Rouge reach up and rubbed her temple, talk about a random head pain. The movie seemed so familiar too her, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it. '_and a song someone sings once upon a December.' _Rouge gasp in pain as she suddenly fell to the floor gripping her head, memories flooding through it.

_Eclaire sat situated on her fathers lap and Isabella in her mothers as the orphan girl 'Anya' began to sing in the movie._

_'Dancing bears, painted wings things I almost remember,' she twirled around the door 'and a song someone sings once upon a December.' Rogue began humming the old familiar tune and watched in amusement at how entranced Bella was, while Eclaire was trying to grab the candy Remy held high above his head away from her. She was jumping and growling, as Remy laughed egging her on to jump higher. _

_"Oh quit torturing the poor girl, Rems." With ease Rogue plucked the candy from his hand and handed to Eclaire who proceeded to stick her tongue out and jump onto the floor, her attention now back on the T.V._

_'Someone holds me safe and warm, horses prance through a silver storm, figures dancing gracefully, across my memory!' Suddenly the screen lit up as figures burst from the dusty windows and began to dance around Anya, the girls were hooked._

_'Someone holds me safe and warm, horses prance through a silver storm, figures dancing gracefully, across my memory!' She spun and was soon draped in yellow gown and fine jewels. _

_'Far away, long ago, glowing dim as an ember, things my heart use to know things it yearns to remember," Both girls were sitting forwards on their knees, their big three year old eyes wide with mirth and entrancement. 'And a song, someone sings, once upon a December.' her voice slowly faded away along with the dress and people around her._

_"Boo!" Bella and Eclaire both screamed and dove forward under the coffee table, as Remy continued to laugh at the girls._

_Rogue smacked Remy on the arm "Remy Lebeau, what is running through dat thick skull o' yours?" Rolling her eyes she pulled Bella out from the under the coffee table. _

_The girls eyes were glued shut, but as she felt fingers running through her hair she peeked through one. Seeing it was her mother she shot into her arms._

_Eclaire, who like her father caught on quickly, growled after the words had left her mothers mouth. Standing she turned to face her father, eyes squinted in annoyance._

_"Stupid pere" Eclaire pulled a pout that could make any man stop in their tracks. Remy chuckled as he swept her up in his arms._

_"Did pere scare you mon petite?" He grinned as Eclaire stuck her lip out further and crossed her arms. She nodded her head before cocking it towards the side. Remy grinned before fuzzing up her hair._

_"Petite you look like a bird with dat face non?" He grinned when she glared up at him, red on black meeting red on black. _

_"Well pere, you smell funny." She stuck out her tongue, before attempting to jump out of his lap, but Remy held tight causing the girl to thrash in annoyance. Suddenly though she burst out laughing as her father tickled her, causing her to squeal. _

_"Pa-pa! Stop!" She giggled as she tried pulling away but to no avail, Rogue laughed and joined in tickling Eclaire's sides. Bella just sat there dumb stuck before it hit her, with a swift motion she was in the floor tickling her sisters feet"BELLA! Hey stop it! Momma! Papa! Pl-ease qu-quit!" She squealed tears running down her cheeks from laughing so hard. _

"ROUGE! Damn it wake up!" She felt a firm slap against her cheek causing her to wake from the hazy dream. Blinking several times she glanced up to see a rather annoyed and wet Elle standing above her wrapped in a robe.

"What was that! I leave for ten minutes and I come back to see you laying in the floor laughing like an idiot!" Elle wrapped her arms around herself and looked at her sister expectantly.

Rouge sat up and rubbed her head, a migraine forming. She tried to focus on the things she saw in the dream but it was all a haze, except for...

"Elle! I've got it!" Elle raised a well groomed eyebrow at her sister. "I know where were going."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Keir felt a jolt run through his body as the train came to a stop. Forcing his eyes open, he took note of the fact that no light was present in the train car. Sitting up he stretched his back, and came to the conclusion that it was night. He smiled to himself, it looked as though luck was on his side.

Waiting for the constant talking to cease outside, Keir pulled the stand from his bike up and balanced it with his arms. After a few moments the voices died down, and Keir pulled the train door open. With ease he jumped out of the train with his bike, and quietly began snaking away from the station.

When he felt he was clear of watching eyes he revved his bike to life and shot off towards the bright city lights to the west. Looking around something wasn't settling right with him. This wasn't right, New York didn't have swamp land. He came to an immediate stop as he read the sign hanging from the building.

Keir palmed his forehead and growled, stupid train directory, it lied! He yanked his phone from his pocket and looked to see that the battery was about to die, great he thought in annoyance. Pulling away from the sign he continued on into the city the sign blowing carelessly in the wind.

_'Welcome to New Orleans!'_

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"We're what?!?" Elle shot up, her mouth curling up into a snarl, there was no way her sister was stupid enough to trust a dream.

Both girls were in a small town in on the out skirts of New Orleans, Louisiana. Rouge might have forgotten to mention the true reason to Elle why they were in Louisiana, and she wasn't seeming to be taking it too well. Previously Rouge might have twisted the truth ever so slightly saying she knew a friend in Louisiana, hey at least she had gotten Elle here, with only a little bit of lying, that had to count for something right?

"Elle, I promise I know it was real! It was a sign for us to find safety." Okay or maybe she could be that stupid.

"Rouge I can't believe you expect me to believe you that the last name 'Lebeau' is going to help us any." Elle pushed out her left hip and rested her fist on it, glaring at her sister.

"Elle trust me on this one," She looked at her sister eyes full of mirth and adventure, "I know it's true, and if we can find the person with that name, BOOM! We find safe haven."

Elle laid her head in her hands and shook it back and forth. "This makes no sense, you watch a movie and suddenly BAM! You know a random name, and where to go to find it, incredible."

"Well now that you mention it," Rouge laughed innocently and looked at her sister "I don't know which way we're going really, But it did sound southerny..."

Elle just moaned and slammed her head against the gas pump, this couldn't be happening. Rouge opened her mouth to speak but Elle raised her hand commanding her not to.

"So what if we find this so called 'Lebeau' family? How are they going to help us? Do they even know us?" Rouge shrugged her shoulders while leaning against her bike.

"Great just great," Elle murmured more to herself than anyone, "Well let's finish this wild goose chase we started, seeing as you didn't approve of my idea of getting out of the country and running." Rouge jumped up and shot her fist in the air before quickly pulling it back down and a low whistle coming through her thick lips.

"So that means you approve?" Rouge's voice was filled with excitement, Elle only let her jaw hang slightly open.

"No I don't approve, but heck we've seen so much random crap in the last few days I guess any things possible." Rouge nodded happily before jumping on and revving her bike to life.

"Oh mamma Mia here we go again." Elle mumbled before jumping on behind her sister on the bike as she shot off onto the roadway. Elle could already play the scenarios over in her head of what was going to happen.

For one, chances were good that they weren't going to find any so called 'Lebeau' family and were going to be stuck in some random city in the south starting back at square one, or they would find the family and they wouldn't have a damn clue as to what the hell was going on. Yep that sounded rather probable. Elle groaned, in all truth it was better than staying to find out what would happen to them had they stuck around to fight the soldiers.

She hated it when her sisters crazy ideas seemed to make more sense than the reality and world around them. What next? She thought grimly, a chicken riding a bicycle on the road with a dwarf following close behind.

She shook her head she hoped not, but as luck would have it when they pulled into the next town Elle could have shot herself. A man in a chicken suit was racing down the highway on a bicycle with a midget chasing after him screeching. I just had to open my damn mouth didn't I? Elle into a large hotel, Rouge killed the bike.

"Elle did you see that guy dressed as a chicken and that midget? That's something you don't see everyday." Elle resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Suddenly a thought hit her though, so if I can make random things appear what would happen if I?

"I want a pony." She waited for a moment but nothing happened "Damn." Rouge cocked her head to the side, her eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Um Elle?"

"Don't even ask." With that she yanked the card from her sisters hand and strode into the hotel, maybe a good nights sleep would help revive her slowly dissipating mental state.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Rouge followed behind her sister slowly, trying to figure out if she had really pushed her over the edge, from the way she was speaking it sure seemed like it. Stepping into the hotel she glanced around the small lobby, it was nothing fancy, but was more seemingly clean than the last one they had stayed at, so Rouge had no complaints.

Walking over Rouge felt a key being shoved into her hands. Elle flipped her long auburn hair back before motioning for Rouge to follow. Both girls entered the elevator and shot up towards the fourth floor. As the elevator doors opened though, Rouge felt her heart jump. Slamming her hand onto the third floor key, she repeatedly beat the button to make the doors close.

Elle looked at her like she'd grown two heads. "Um what was that?" Rouge looked at her sister her body becoming suddenly fidgety, she wasn't thinking strait all she could think of was the fact that she had seen that same exact orange headed Aussie no more than two weeks ago trying to track her down. The only sane thoughts running through her head consisted of Oh merde, Oh merde, Oh merde!

As the elevator stopped Rouge drug her sister out of it and rushed for the stairs. With ease she pushed the door open and drug her sister behind with her. She smiled sheepishly.

"Oh nothing Elle, hehe I just love the stairs that's all!" Without waiting for a response she bolted up the stairs, hoping her sister didn't catch on or worse that that Aussie didn't. Pushing open door at the top of the stairs she raced towards the room labeled 445 and shoved her key in the lock, but the door wouldn't open.

"Merde!" She hissed as she struggled to re-enter the key. With sudden force she felt the key be swiped from her hand, turned over and placed in the lock. The door lock shined green and Elle pushed open the door. Rouge rushed through and immediately pulled the drapes, laughing nervously.

"Rouge." Elle said warningly, her arms crossed over her chest, duffel bag long forgotten and laying the floor.

"Yes?"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Keir stopped dead in his tracks, had he just seen Auburn hair streaked with white. He shook his head there was no way, but deciding to follow his curious nature (which we all know curiosity killed the cat) he waited for the elevator to come back up before shooting it down towards the previous floor it had been on, the third.

As the elevator doors opened he heard the doors to the stairs slam shut as the sound of running feet vibrated through the door. Pushing it open he eased it back silently into place before calmly and nonchalantly walking up the stair case. He watched as the fourth floor door swung shut, and quickly followed through it.

He stopped and whistled in disbelief it was her, he knew that hair anywhere, he wasn't even sure how he had doubted it being her the first night he had seen her, but as he got a better look he was being convinced of it. Though what was more shocking was the fact than an auburn haired, green eyed beauty stood next to her, and looked like the splitting image of his sheila. There was no way it wasn't them, of that he was sure now.

Deciding not to frighten the girl anymore than she was, he memorized her room number and decided he would pay her a visit later on in the night.

His Eclaire, she was alive. That sweet little girl that had always played with him and spoke with him as a child, she was alive and he was at a loss for words. True he had been six almost seven when she had turned four but he had still found so much comfort in her presence.

He let his mind glance over memories long ago of the girl when they were children. They had practically been crib mates seeing as his parents were best friends with her own, and he couldn't remember a time before the accident without her in it

. He had let her memory go so long ago from the pain of losing his only friend, but yet there she was breathing and _alive. _He knew now that he couldn't keep it from his uncle, but it could wait. He had to speak with her first, then he could drag her father into it.

Standing in front of his door, he wasn't sure how he'd gotten back to it, it didn't matter really. Pushing open the door he walked in and let it close behind him. He felt his knees collapse beneath him and did the one thing he had refused to do so many years ago when they said she was dead, he cried.

_**Authors note: I'm not really sure what to think about this chapter, hmm well we'll see how you all like it! And the only way to know that is reviews!!!!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the movie 'Anastasia' or the line from the ABBA song 'Mamma Mia' til next time!**_


	9. Deceiving the Deceived

_**Author's Note: Hey I'm back! I know this chapters been postponed for a few days, sorry, I'm hoping that updating should stay consist after this so no worries!**_

_**Laceylou76- Haha yes indeed I do hate having to write disclaimers for just one simple song line -sighs- but alas that's life, lol. Here's the next chapter!**_

**Chapter 9: Deceiving the Deceived**

Rogue felt a sharp pain rush through the side of her head, instinctively her hands shot up and began cradling it. She lay there for a few moments indulging herself in the softness of the sheets beneath her and allowed herself time to clear her head of sleep before allowing her eyes to open. What met them was a familiar sight, a dark room colored in hues of black and gold.

Pushing herself up into a sitting position she tried to remember how she had gotten here. Nothing seemed to add up, she remembered getting ready to go out and leaving, she remembered an angry Wanda then...She gasped it hadn't been a dream.

Shakily she threw her legs over the side of the bed and rested her elbows on them. It had really happened, there was no lie behind it.

Jumping up she shot over towards the mirror and took in her disheveled appearance, her light make-up was smeared and her face seemed to be covered in ash. Her long auburn hair with a streak of white was ratted and jumped in several different directions as though it were trying to escape from the very base of her head.

She was still in the same clothes, a purple long sleeved shirt set over low-rise black jeans that flared at the knee, her boots were carefully placed by the foot of the bed, but that was the least of her concerns at the moment. Pulling her hair into a lumpy knot at the base of her neck she smeared the rest of the make up away before sprinting through the door and down the hallway one destination set in her mind.

She ignored the odd and worried glances sent her way as she continued her long sprint through the mansion. Her mind raced a hundred miles an hour keeping up with the steady pace of her foot fall.

Gliding down the stairs she pushed the concerned shouts of the original X-men out of mind and tuned out the sound of following footsteps. She ran out into the dark night towards the back side of the mansion where the trees grew thickest.

She wasn't certain as to how long she ran, dodging in and out of trees before she came to the spot were she had spent many of sleepless nights at. Sprinting the final distance she allowed herself to stare at the small hill and the figures perched on it's top.

Falling onto her knees Rogue took in the appearance of two concrete angels smiling up at her. The words of Mystique echoed throughout her mind sending it into overdrive, every psyche yelling for once in unison telling her, no commanding her to do as they told.

She took little notice of the tears streaming down her face as she stood, listening to the voice yell and encourage in pace with her heart, and did something that she would have never thought of to do in a million surplus years.

Her foot came down and collided on the first angels head, it cracked and clumsily rolled towards the side. With little thought she began to jump and kick the rest of the statue apart until it was little more than crumbled pieces on the ground.

After she had finished she set off to destroy the second angel. She began kicking it down and busting it up, but before she could completely destroy the petite figure she felt two arms wrap around her waist and yank her into the air away from the newly destroyed graves.

"Stripes! Kid listen! Hey stop fighting!" She fought against the strong grip of Wolverine trying to set herself free but it was pointless. She left her body go limp and let the tears cascade down her face and onto the ground where countless had fallen in the past. She looked towards the remains of the angels, one was beaten to a point beyond recognition and the other only had part of the plaque remaining _Isabella Marie~ _

Sobbing uncontrollably she yanked away from Logan and took of in any direction, anywhere other than where she was.

She had a slight lead, but she knew it wouldn't matter though Logan could out run her by a long shot, but it didn't mean she wouldn't at least make an attempt at escape. Cutting suddenly towards the left she sprinted out towards the garage, she had to get away, she had to sort things out.

Fulling focusing on Kitty's powers she phased through the back of the garage flawlessly and strait into her emerald Camaro. Apparently faith decided to be nice to her for once, seeing as her keys sat idly in the ignition.

Without even bothering with the seat belt she revved the engine to life before once again focusing on Kitty's power and shooting out of the garage, phasing strait through a worried looking Kurt and startled Jean. Shoving the car hazardously into fifth gear she didn't even bother thinking about the gate opener and phased strait through. Whipping the car towards the west she flew off into the night, hoping with all her heart they wouldn't find her til she was ready.

At that moment, had she have looked back, she would have seen a fully assembled team standing there dumb folded and a confused and worried looking Remy standing in the center of them all.

&&&&&&&&&&

Rogue sat silently on the dock her head in her hands. The sun was beginning to break over the horizon lighting up the short strands of hair that embroidered her face making them shine a beautiful mixture of white and auburn. The cool breeze of the water caressing over her skin, making her already tired mind want to collapse and shut down, wanting it to forget and go on, but she knew that couldn't be the case.

Moaning she began racking at her brain again, trying to figure out what had overcome her less than an hour before, yet no sane explanation could be found. Feeling exhaustion overcome her she shook it from her head and allowed her eyes to trail over the sight of the bay.

She let her mind wonder over thoughts about Remy, and what she had done to all that was supposedly left of her daughters. She chocked back a sob, she'd managed to hurt him again with her own stupidity. In all logical reasoning she should have believed that Mystique was lying, that it was another trap but deep down she knew it was the truth. She should have told Remy, she should still tell him but a part of her screamed rejection when she thought it, fiddlesticks.

Sighing she finally put two and two together, the thoughts of her daughters being alive made her lose it, it made her angry, upset, and devastated, and when she looked at the angels all she had seen was a poor cover up story, a lie, to cover the truth of the matter. To hide the fact that she had abandoned all hope when she still should of held on, when she should have been the one their not that stooge of Mystique's, Angelina. She felt tears overflow from her eyes again, she seemed to being doing that a lot lately.

She nearly jumped out of her skin though when a gloved hand gripped her shoulder and broke the barrier holding her thoughts. "Chere."

Looking up her eyes met themselves as they reflected from sunglass covered eyes of Remy. She couldn't look at him, not after all she had done. Shrugging his hand off she pulled her knees to her chest and looked out onto the water hoping that for once he would do the smart thing and leave her. Though that wasn't the case, she felt him plop down next to her, his hand entrancing itself with her own, glove on glove. How she hated that.

They sat there for a time in silence, only the soft whistle of the wind and cawing of birds sounding off in the distance.

"Remy how can ya stand the sight of meh?" Rogue barely whispered, the tears had still yet to cease their constant pull.

"What do ya mean chere?" He questioned and he scooted closer to his wife trying to break the unbreakable distance that had come between them.

"What do ya think Rems? Ah destroyed all that was left of 'em! and yet here ya are still, following me as though Ah'm some sorta angel that can't do no wrong." She slammed her eyes shut hoping with all of her might he would see reason and leave.

"Chere how could I every leave ya? Your all I have left." She knew the sincerity in his voice and it made her hurt even more. She felt him drape his trench coat over her shoulders before he pulled her into his lap, allowing the comforting silence to fall.

Rogue though let her two evils fight it out in her head as she allowed herself to enjoy the company of the only man she could have ever truly loved. Though as time passed something slowly became agonizingly visible in her mind. As much as she wanted to tell what she had been told she could never tell him, not until she was certain, but lying to him wasn't an option either. Suddenly it hit her.

"Remy?" she off handily asked, wrapping the coat tighter around herself. She heard him hum in reply, signaling her to continue,.

"Ah'm so sorry, Ah don't know what came over me, and for everything." She felt the tears trickle a bit before stopping once again, "And Ah have ta know will ya ever give up on meh?"

"Would never dream of it Chere." She felt his gloved hand press against her cheek as he pressed a small kiss against it. She fell back in silence against his chest, this would have to due til she could plot her next course of action.

Though in that one moment she felt more comfort in his embrace and in the fact that he would never leave her even in her dark times, no matter what she did, that she had felt in almost a decade and never wanted to leave it. The world was beginning to spin again to take on meaning, to become colorful once more and she was prepared to face it head on.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Rogue sat silently on her bed, pondering over the events of the last few days. She swore she would never again walk into those woods as long as she lived she couldn't face up to what laid out there. The others, well the ones that had respect for her space, had simply avoided the topic of what had happened during 'Rogue's Little Meltdown," as the mansion began calling it.

Whilst those closest to her confronted her in their traditional manners. Kitty in all of her glory had proclaimed her thoughts and opinions towards Rogue by jumping up and standing in the middle of the table and yelling.

Seeing as to how Rogue had taken it, Logan threatened Kitty with sparring sessions for a week which quickly caused the valley girl to stop yapping. Somethings never ever changed.

Kurt on the other hand had been understanding and had merely given his condolences and told her that his door was always open before _bamfing _away, no doubt to go find Amanda. Rogue laughed to herself at the thought, those two had been together longer than Remy and herself, but yet they still weren't married and had no children of their own.

Though they seemed to claim all of the orphans at the institute seeing as they all always ran towards the loving couple for safety. Kurt had always had such a big heart, and she knew he would have made a great father, but after the incident he had sworn off ever having a child that could be harmed because of the life he lead, another person Rogue had injured.

She groaned in annoyance before flopping back down onto the bed and throwing her hands over her eyes. She still was plan less and had no idea how to approach the professor about using Cerebro to search. Running through several scenarios in her head she rejected them all, it seemed hopeless.

_Rogue please meet me in the briefing room, _Rogue sat up her heart pounding, had the professor? No he never invaded anyone's personal space unless it was absolutely necessary, but it didn't set Rogue at ease as she rolled off the bed and into a standing position. Only one way to find out she thought solemnly as she made her way towards the doorway, making sure to avert her gaze from the room that sat right across from Remy's and her own.

The professor had been kind enough to leave the room vacant for the sake of putting Rogue and Remy at peace, they had even let all of the girls stuff in there, though it was all packed away and boxed. Rogue involuntarily shuddered, she didn't want to be anywhere near that stuff, she didn't want to risk losing it again.

Slipping silently down the hallway she felt herself run into something big. She looked up into the soft brown eyes of Jamie and let a laugh escape her lips. He had grown so much since they were kids and now almost towered over everyone, well except Piotr but that would have required him to be a true giant.

"Oh I'm sorry Rogue," he still had that little kid blush that crept up onto his cheeks when he was embarrassed, but what was more astonishing was that he didn't break into multiples of himself when she hit him. He'd finally gotten control over it surprisingly, just like Rogue had at one time..

"Rogue? Um are you alright?" She looked up and plastered a grin on her face.

"Ah'm fine Jamie, just out of it ya know?" He nodded his head before letting a grin come onto his lips. Without warning he caught her up in a tight hug and chuckled.

"That help any?" He smirked as he watched one of his oldest 'friends' gasp for air suddenly.

"No, and if ya want to remain among the livin' I'd be runnin' about now." Jamie felt his jaw drop, had Rogue just threatened him? He couldn't help but get his hopes up, the old Rogue was rearing her head. Well time to play it up he thought excitedly.

"Well that would require for you to catch me so I'm not worried." He watched in pure fascination as she growled and rolled up her sleeve.

"That's it Multiple ya'd better get a head start now." Jamie laughed and took off sprinting towards the briefing room an angry Rogue hot on his heals. Splitting himself into three, they each took off down a different hallway. Though it didn't matter to Rogue, she knew where he was going and continued following the one that was racing towards the briefing room.

Suddenly though as Jamie shot through the door, Rogue managed to get her boot tangled in her pant leg and crashed strait through the doorway into the briefing room.

Everyone watched in astonishment as the southerner hit the floor and a loud curse escaped her lips. Pushing herself off of the floor she turned her attention to Jamie.

"Why Ah outta.." but before the threat could be finished, Xavier cleared his throat and caught Rogues attention.

"Oh sorry professar, I'll be good." With that she walked towards her seat between Kurt and Remy, both staring at each other in total shock.

"Did she just say I'll be good?" Kurt whispered disbelievingly to Remy as Rogue walked over to her seat. Remy only shrugged his shoulders, disbelief playing in his demonic eyes.

"Sounds like the old Rogue c.." But before Kurt could finish Rogue sat down and pointed her attention towards the Professor.

"So now that everyone is here, I can start," Folding his hands on the table Xavier glanced over each of the mutants in the Room, taking in the faces that had so long been a part of his life.

"While using Cerebro earlier I picked up on strange mutant activity, one of which has potential to rival even Jean," Each mutant looked at one another, shock playing on their features, "but what proves problematic is the fact that once their powers are not in use, it appears as though they are non exist beings."

"Chuck if their disappearing right under your nose doesn't that mean their dead?" Wolverine asked, he was propped up against the wall watching Charles with careful eyes.

"I'm fully aware of that Logan," Wolverine cocked an eyebrow at the professor not fully understanding, "I thought much the same when I first caught hold of this discovery, but the next time their powers were used I knew that could not have been the case."

"Professar if I may say something," Rogue began, everyone's attention fell onto the woman, this was the most they had heard her speak in such a long time, "but why do ya keep referrin' to their powers as if they are one, how are they connected?" Xavier hid a smile as he answered her, she had always been good at catching on.

"Good question, the truth is the fact that when one uses their power both appear, I believe it has something to do with them being related, siblings if my assumptions are correct." Rogue nodded her head and sat back in her chair, something suddenly boiling up inside of her, questions were eating at her stomach, but she decided to bite her lip and wait.

"So the mission is simple I want you to speak with them, but do not frighten them," the professor sent twin glares at Wolverine and Gambit, both mutants averted their gazes. So okay maybe their last recruiting session hadn't gone so well but the mutant had been a little punk... "and if possible recruit them, but if they refuse I want you to make sure they have our contact information and are safe is that understood?"

Everyone's head nodded in unison before Kurt spoke up, "But professor ve don't even know what they look like, age, gender nothing." The Professor sighed and nodded his head in agreement.

"I understand Kurt, but however they are blocking me out prevents me from knowing anything other than the fact that they are powerful mutants." Kurt understanding let the questions die there.

"Now I want you to split up into two groups of search parties one led by Wolverine and the other by Rogue." Rogue stared dumbly at the Professor she was never put in charge unless the circumstances were dire.

"With Wolverine I want Storm, Beast and Multiple, With Rogue I want Gambit, Shadowcat and Nightcrawler." Turning the Professor wheeled over towards a shadowed Jean in the background retrieving the box that lay dormant in her hands. Opening it up he revealed several small ear buds and passed them around.

"The likely hood that this mission will go a rye is slim, but if something does occur a team will be on stand by ready to deploy at a moments notice, this team will consist of Myself, Cyclops, Jean, and Iceman ."

"Professor why if these mutants are so dangerous why are you sending only eight of us?" Kitty asked her eyebrows knitted together.

"I don't want them frightened, and if there are too many they are bond determined to feel threatened." Kitty nodded in understanding, "I want the Blackbird prepped and ready to go as soon as possible, everyone please go ready yourselves, your destination is on the outskirts of New Orleans that's where I last caught the power source." An audible groan came from Remy who slammed his head into his hand mumbling incoherent complaints. Everyone quickly turned there attention away from the brooding Cajun and stood to leave.

As Rogue turned to leave a mental message shot through her and Logan's heads, _please will you two wait a moment so I may speak with you. _Stopping Rogue turned around and made her way back towards the Professor Wolverine close behind her. Her thoughts were dark Louisiana wasn't were she needed to be she was needed in California.

"This mission is more than recruiting," Xavier rubbed his head in irritation, "It is a rescue mission, from what I can sense they are being hunted."

"Hunted? By who?" Logan growled, his experience with being hunted was not a fond one, not that being hunted was a fun experience for anyone. Rogue felt her heart jump again, more and more coincidences.

"I'm not certain, I can identify though that there are multiple trackers, but with the block they have it's hard to track anything near them."

"So we act first, questions later am Ah correct." The Professor nodded. Locking eyes with Xavier Rogue could hear his voice run through her head.

_Rogue I want you to be the moderator of this mission what you say goes._

_Professar why am Ah doin' this? Ah'm a follower not a leader._

_Please Rogue you must understand these mutants are terrified, that is all I can tell about them __in the brief glimpses I've gotten of them and my better instincts are telling me to intrust them into your care ._

Rogue still wasn't convinced _Whatever ya say Professar._

_Rogue?_

_Yes?_

_I know that it is not my place to interfere in your personal life but what happened when you destroyed Eclaire and Isabella's graves?_

_A-Ah don't know, it was so sudden, like it really wasn't me, kinda like a dream, a bad bad dream._

_Hmm, understood, take note I am always here if you ever need me._

_Ah know._

With that Rogue turned and left bubbles boiling in her stomach. The words that had left Mystique's mouth were reappearing over and over again. Everything matched but one thing the location. California was nowhere near Louisiana, but something inside Rogue told her otherwise and she hoped with all of her heart that her gut was right.

_**Author's Note: So this chapter took me forever to write and I still don't like the way it came out, eh oh well. Please review!**_


	10. Mistrust of The Demon

_**Yay! Here's the next chapter. To those of you who reviewed thank you so much!**_

_**Sarah- Lol I'm glad you like the story so much.**_

_**Laceylou76- Haha yes I couldn't resist the urge to make Gambit suffer by having to go back to New Orleans, but there is a valid plot reason why their there so no worries. You'll just have to wait an see Remy's reaction to Rogue knowing, muhaha lol. **_

_**Courtney Summers- Thank you!**_

**Chapter 10: Mistrust of The Demon**

Rouge slipped silently though the halls of the hotel her mind still trying to sort the dream she had had a few days prior. That song had triggered something in her mind and if her sister was right they were past memories. She hadn't gotten anything relevant about them except for the name 'Lebeau', which so far hadn't helped her any.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance, as if the confusing vision wasn't bad enough she could hear the silent steps of a certain orange haired stalker trailing after her. She wasn't sure of what interests he had in her and she wasn't really thrilled to find out.

Waltzing through the lobby she bowed her head towards the receptionist in a greeting before slipping out of the building and making her way towards the pool area. Pushing open the gate she let it slowly fall back into place. She dropped the towel and pulled her t-shirt over her head, leaving her in nothing more than a dark pair of swim trunks and a red bikini, her poison skin released from its barrier.

She stood there silent for a few moments before she heard the undeniable whisper of shuffling feet. Feeling the slight rush of breeze rush past her, she pivoted on her heal and shot her leg up. The Australian stood glued to the spot shocked.

Rouge's foot was mere inches from his face and she didn't seem to have any intentions of moving it anytime soon.

"Why are you following me?" Rouge hissed pulling her foot back down and straitening her back. He let his eyes wander over her for a moment soaking in the sight of her without being wrapped in so many layers of clothing, he was impressed. Pulling his gaze away from her body he forced himself to look at her face, sunglasses perched hazardously on her nose still.

"The more important question sheila is why do you keep running?" He shot back, arms crossed protectively over his chest.

"How does that concern you, Crocodile Dundee?" She sneered her body still ridged ready to spring at any given moment.

"Wouldn't you like to know, mud rat." Rouge growled low in her throat, this bastard really wanted to die didn't he?

Somehow in the time that the two were arguing they had migrated closer towards one another, less than a foot apart. Keir with sudden quick reflexes swept his foot under the girls knees and set her tumbling backwards.

Though before she could hit the ground he had a well covered arm behind her back supporting her. With ease he tried to snag the sunglasses from her but felt her foot connect with his stomach and send him reeling backwards and falling into the pool.

"Ow crikey!" Rouge yelled in mock tone, "I think de poor Aussie went for a dip." Keir growled and pulled himself from the pool, dripping.

"Mud rat," he called warningly, his lime eyes beginning to glow a darker color. Pulling himself completely from the pool he wrung out his jacket.

"Yes Dundee?" She called innocently, red sparks dancing up and down her hands. Growling he shot forward but was avoided as she jumped to the left just as he skid towards her.

"Oo looks like the pretty boys losing his touch." Rouge grinned as she pulled a handful of marbles from her pocket and charged them. With one fluid motion she sent the spiraling towards the grounded Aussie.

"Oh Bloody.." Keir jumped up and away from the explosion, allowing a small blue flame to form in his hand. Throwing it towards Rouge he jumped up and ran towards her, only to feel himself suddenly stop. He looked down in shock, red kinetic energy was dancing at his ankles.

"Enough games Fireblade, I want to know why your here, and I want to know now." Rouge stepped up close to the Aussie, her nose barely mere millimeters from his own.

Who are you?" Rouge questioned, one hand was firmly planted on her hip while the other twirled two marbles between her fingers. Without answering Keir reach forward and caught Rouge's face in his gloved hands.

"Eclaire come on think!" Without warning Rouge felt instincts kick in and punched him in the face. It sent him flying back, and as he hit the ground he barely caught himself on his knees.

"Who the hell is Eclaire!" Rouge cried, something inside her had busted, the name danced throughout her mind, as though it were something that she had always known, something that had always been her own.

Standing up he rubbed the blood from his nose and began moving in closer to the girl once more.

"What are you talking about?" She questioned her voice hiding the panic and hysteria growing inside well. He inwardly sighed and took in the appearance of the fiery girl, on a sudden impulse an idea wracked at his brains if there was only a way to knock her off of her feet..

A small cocky smirk played on his lips as a sudden idea hit him. His stepped forward and craned his neck, and before Rouge could react their lips met. She felt the familiar pull of another persons essence come into her body as the boys eyes suddenly widened and he collapsed.

Memories and emotions rushed through her body making it feel like a hazy dream. She grabbed her head as she saw still frames of herself in his mind and heard his thoughts....

"Ah you cocky ass," She kicked his limp form and snorted, "Guess your the one that got knocked off your feet, huh Keir?"

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Elle heard a loud banging coming from the hotel doorway, lifting herself from the couch she pulled open the door. Waiting beyond it stood an annoyed looking Rouge with an unconscious guy hung across her shoulders army style.

"What in the world?" Rouge only rolled her eyes before shoving past her sister and throwing the unconscious Keir onto the bed.

"What happened!?" Elle yelled as she rushed over and pushed the boys hair from his face, he was burning up.

"Idiot kissed me," she snorted, "He's that damn Australian that I saw earlier." Elle looked the boy over, He was a good six feet in height and was well built. His face was boy like but with adult qualities, all in all he was definitely a looker.

"He got the bright idea of trying to steal my glasses, and we got in a fight," Rouge traced her lip mindlessly with her finger, "It was rather amusing though when I carried him through the lobby." Rouge grinned at the memory of the look on the hostesses face as she walked through the lobby with Keir supported over her back. The woman had stared at her in shock her mouth opening and closing oddly resembling a gold fish, Rouge chuckled. Elle ignoring her sister walked into the bathroom and emerged with a wash cloth and placed it on the boys forehead. She could be so careless at times.

"He wasn't lying," Rouge mumbled more too herself than to Elle as she stared off blindly into space, "He's truly convinced he knows me." She watched quietly as her sisters gentle hands ran over the boys face, healing the slight scratches and bumps that covered its surface, an idea playing at the edges of her mind. She watched as her sister took precaution taking care of the boy. She snorted inwardly, Elle would take care of someone that would try to kill her if you let her. Rolling her eyes she finally decided her best course of action and voiced it.

"I know who I'm looking for now," she proclaimed, "Stay here and watch over blunder boy I've got errands to run." Striding into the bathroom she slammed and locked the door behind her. Elle simple continued to ignore her sister as she healed the boys broken nose returning it to its original perfect shape. You could count on Rouge to destroy absolutely anything that got in her path, Elle sighed had her sister always been so obnoxious? Thinking for a moment she knew what she had to do and she knew Rouge wasn't going to be happy with her proposition but she really didn't care. Standing up she patted the wrinkles out of her clothes and began gathering up her belongings.

After a few minutes Rouge emerged dressed in her leather racing outfits bottoms, a red T-shirt and her old tattered trench coat over top, her hair released from its tight ponytail.

"Your not going on your own." Elle chided, her body propped up against the door frame and auburn locks falling from her ponytail. Rouge could only sigh, she knew once Elle made up her mind there was no changing it. She inwardly groaned, what were they going to do with blunder boy?

"Fine, but what are we going to do with Crocodile Dundee over here?" Rouge nodded her head towards the unconscious figure sprawled out on the bed. Elle raised her eyebrows at the nickname her sister had said, but in her better judgement decided not to question it.

"Leave him, he's fine, I healed the majority of his bumps and bruises and mended his broken nose," Elle looked at her sister who simple shrugged her shoulders and continued making sure all of her belongings were accounted for.

"He'll just be sore," Elle popped her fingers, "Plus he knows how to get back to his own room." Elle kicked her duffel bag out from under the coffee table, and shouldered it. Rouge catching on to the memo grabbed her own and threw it over her shoulder. Turning attention away from Elle she began sifting through her belongings. Everything was accounted for except her most prized posession.

"Where's my Queen of Hearts?" Frantically Rouge began to tear the room appart from top to bottom. Elle soon joined in the search but the card was nowhere to be seen. Feeling a dull feeling rise in her stomach Rouge began to recap all of the places she had had the card. Suddenly it hit her and she ran over towards the bed and yanked the pillow opposite the Aussie. She sighed in relief as she pulled it into her hands and let her gloved fingers trail over the card. With ease she slipped into her pocket before turning her attention back towards Elle.

"Ready?" Rouge asked casually, her eyes lingering on the sleeping form of the Australian, something about him was different but Rouge didn't have time to concern herself with those thoughts.

"Ready," Elle chimed and nodded her head in response of her sisters question as they left the room. The door slammed behind them but the vibrant haired boy didn't stir from his slumber, he was caught up in dreams of the past.

&&&&&&&&&&&

"Were looking for a the family that goes by the name Lebeau," The man stopped suddenly, his jaw slightly open, what would a pair of teenagers want with the Thieves Guild?

"A-Ah've never heard de name, sorry filles." The one with the strange hair and glasses groaned and looked at him again. Both girls stood behind the counter both looking like they had been to hell and back.

"Your certain?" She asked, he could hear the pleading in her voice, maybe he could help them out a little. Rubbing his brow he sat down the glass he had been cleaning and tried to tune out the loud music blasting in the background.

"Wat was de name again?" he asked and watched as the girls head shot up, hope playing in the emerald eyes of the the other.

"Lebeau, do we need to spell it?" The one with the emerald eyes asked, she seemed so quiet and innocent, something that didn't belong anywhere near those scoundrels.

"Non, I know de place, dough Ah wouldn't recommend two gals wanderin' down dere alone." The one with the glasses snorted, she seemed to be a bit more vicious that the other.

"I wouldn't be too concerned if I were you." She pushed her falling sunglasses back into place, "Can you give us the address?"

He nodded his head and withdrew a pen and paper from his pocket. Laying the pad down her began jotting down the address.

"Wat do ya filles want wit dese people?" He asked casually as he finished writing down the address and handed it to the girls.

"How would it benefit you to know my good sir?" The one with the glasses retorted her voice almost purring as the words left her mouth, it reminded him of a certain Cajun he knew long ago.

"Ah guess it wouldn't," the man responsed holding back a groan he was sending those girls to an early grave "Be careful filles, ya don' know what yer gettin yerselfs inta." They both nodded their head in thanks and quickly manuevered their way through the swaying crowd of bodies towards the exit.

The man whistled in disbelief, the one in the glasses truly did remind him of an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time. Ironically enough he had belonged to the same family those girls were looking for. Was there a connection? Nah he thought pushing the very idea down and away. Ole Remy didn't have no young 'uns.

&&&&&&&&&&

"This is the place soeur." Rouge folded the piece of paper and shoved it back into her pocket as she took in the sight of the two metal gates that towered above the two girls, the Symbols TG Carved into the gate. They had spent more than two hours traveling down the backroads trying to get to this place. Rouge ran her fingers over the heavy locks of the gate several entrance scenarios playing over in her mind.

"You think you can get us through?" Elle smirked and nodded her head. Grabbing her sister by the arm both girls disappeared in a cloud of emerald smoke and appeared on the other side of the gate.

"Did I ever mention how I love that power?" Elle could only smirk.

"You could stand to mention it more." Rouge laughed and gave her sister a high five. Turning both girls looked at the challenge that lay before them, lots and lots of swamp land.

"I'm glad I wore boots," Elle piped, pushing the loose strands of hair behind her ears. It was well past midnight and humid, and it was driving Elle up the wall she hated the feeling of sticky skin more than anything. She looked over disbelievingly at her sister draped in a heavy trench coat, Elle could only shudder at the thought of how it must of felt beneath all that clothing.

"Come on let's go." Rouge took the first step into the muck and sunk a good foot into it. She glared at it and tried prying her way out, but to no avail.

"Merde," Rouge tried prying her foot from the mud but again with little success. Elle rolled her eyes and helped her pull her leg free before stepping next to her sister, managing to get herself stuck as well.

"Forget this." Rouge felt Elle's hand land onto her shoulder as they _bamfed _farther into the swamp land. Landing Elle only sunk in a few inches.

"Okay I think we can handle this,"she heard a moan come from her sister.

"Speak for yourself." Elle had to hold back a chuckle as she saw Rouge standing in the mud, sunk up to mid thigh. She laughed as Rouge repetively beat the ground with her fist willing it to move.

"Okay or maybe not." Elle reach out to grab her sister and teleport them further ahead again, but froze when she heard the sickening sound of guns being loaded.

"Now look wat we have here, two lost little filles." Looking up Rouge took in the sight of about seven men standing around the girls. The one who had spoken appeared to be around his late thirties early forties and had a scrowl covering his face. With a flick of his wrist he motioned for the men to move in and grab the girls.

A man appearing to be in his early twenties reach out and grabbed Rouge's arms pinning them to her sides and preventing her from movement. While another one around the same build but much older grabbed Elle and held her still.

"This one is belle," The younger man, around twenty two, whistled as he ran his grimy fingers through Rouge's multi-colored hair. A dark look was playing in his eyes as he eyed Rouge over. Elle felt disgusted with the way he was looking at her younger sister (even if only by a few minutes) and wanted to do nothing more than knock that smirk off of his face.

"Back. Off!" Rouge barked struggling against the huge mans grip, he only held tighter and laughed.

"Looks as dough we 'ave a fighter boys." Suddenly though the mans clothes began to glow a low red. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of his glowing figure.

"What in the...?" Rouge pulled her arms free and gripped the mans arms finishing the charge before throwing him back and allowing him blow up leaving him unmoving. Without hestitsion Rouge began charging her mud barrier, it exploded with a soft _thwap!_. Jumping up she withdrew several marbles from her pocket before charging them and sending them flying towards the men scattered around them.

While she had the chance Elle kicked the mans feet out from underneath him. Torquing his arm up she bent it back and ripped herself from his grip and shoved him back. Turning she took in the sight of several men standing ready to attack. Crouching low she prepared for the onslaught about to occur, she just hoped they would make out of this alive. She knew they should have just flown out of the country, but no they had to be here fighting a bunch of smelly old perverts.

Minutes passed by but nothing happened, no one attacked. Elle slightly confused straitened up and took notice of the man that had ordered the others to grab themstaring intently at Rouge.

At some point between breaking from the barrier and throwing the man back she had lost her sunglasses and her demonic eyes were shimmering in the moonlight giving off a dark and dangerous air about her. She stared strait back at the man having no intentions of breaking the their lock gaze. Let him have an eye full Rouge thought bitterly as she prepared to charge another hand full of marbles and send them his way.

" Oh mon dieu, elle a les yeux de Remy." The man took a step back and stopped, turning he began barking orders in french at the men surrounding him. They all immediately dropped their guns and backed away as the man started to approach the girls slowly.

Taking that opportunity to help Rouge and ignoring the man, Elle reach down and picked up Rouge's broken sunglasses and handed them to her, but she paid little heed to the sunglasses, her mind running and spinning at a neck-breaking pace. Something wasn't adding up right and Rouge felt like she was about to have a breakdown.

"Soeur, they just said I had Remy's eyes." Her gaze was far away as she reviewed the memories that had run through her mind when she had touched had 'said' that his so called 'uncles' name was Remy, and that his twin daughters had died in an explosion twelves years prior, and that one of them had white striped hair and red on black eyes. Suddenly it all fell into place.

"Impossible." Rouge's mind began to blacken around the edges. She heard Elle call her name and rush towards her, but it was too late as her unconscious body made contact with the ground.

&&&&&&&&&&&

Rouge's eyes suddenly snapped open, but as soon as they had she regretted it. Slamming her eyes back shut she groaned in annoyance, did the lights always have to be so bright?

"Now you finally decide to wake up." Elle's irritated voice rumbled through Rouge's head, causing the pain to increase.

"What happened?" Rouge whimpered rubbing her temples. Everything was a blur she remembered the swamp lands and the fight but the rest was hazy. Barely cracking her eyes open she looked down to see that she was covered in a thick blue comforter and felt several pillows propped up beneath her neck. Where in heaven's name was she?

"You fainted." Elle had said it so nonchalantly that Rouge had to do a double take. That's when she knew she was hiding something, Elle had never been a good liar. Growling she was about to question Elle when suddenly an older woman walked into the room, a relieved smile playing at her lips.

"Ah'm glad to see ya are awake child, ya had me worried." The woman smiled and walked over towards Rouge and sat at the foot of the bed and patted the area where Rouge's foot stuck up. Rouge raised her eyebrows at Elle, but she merely shrugged her shoulders and motioned towards the door where another person stood. There in the doorway stood an older man, his hair was long and speckled with white but still had a reddish hue to it, he was tall and well built he seemed oddly familiar in an out of world sense.

"How are ya Rouge?" The man asked, Rouge let her jaw fall open slightly, how in the world did he know her name? She looked to Elle for answers but her attention was turned away from her and directed to the man in the doorway.

"What's going on? Who are you?" Rouge asked in panic but watched as her sisters calm face looked from the woman to the man. In understanding the man cleared his throat.

"Mah name is Jean-Luc, and Ah'm fairly certain Ah'm your grandfathar."

"Oh merde." Rouge whimpered before falling back on the bed and moaning.

_**Author's note: Wow I'm amazed that I've been so consistent with this piece! Lol the next chapter will be up within the next day or so. **_

_**Oh mon dieu, elle a les yeux de Remy- Oh my god, she has Remy's eyes.**_


	11. Pick Pocket's and Photo's

_**Author's Note: I want to send my thanks to all of those reading/reviewing/favoriting I appreciate it a lot! **_

_**Courtney Summers- Haha don't going dying yet! The next chapter is here! **_

_**Laceylou76- Lol I'm glad you like Rouge and Keir's interaction there's going to be a lot more of that to come in future chapters! Special thanks to you for reviewing for every chapter! **_

_**b.a.n.h.s..oc- Your names a doosey to write out! Lol but alas thank you for the review, I'm glad you think that of the story I'm having a lot of fun writing it.**_

_**Sailormoon846212- Thank you! **_

**Chapter 11: Pick Pockets and Photos **

Elle sat on the blue comforter of the guest room Mattie had given to the girls. She'd been here for almost three days and somehow oddly it felt like home. Though it was strange at first with all of the mistrustful gazes sent her way when she roamed the halls, but after one look from Jean-Luc they all began avert their attention elsewhere.

Not that Elle blamed them, she would be suspicious too if a random set of teenagers popped up on her doorstep and claimed they were long lost family. She sighed through her nose, she was so certain that she would never see her real family but here she was spending time with them, enjoying their company. Though what shocked Elle most was the fact that they were heirs to the Thieves Guild! Talk about a shocker.

A light tapping came from the doorway, standing Elle went and pulled open the heavy oak door. Just beyond it stood a grinning Mattie with an arm load of boxes in her arms.

"Can Ah come in?" The older woman asked adjusting her load, it looked as if she was about to drop it.

"Of course, Tante," Mattie had told the girls that they could call her that if they wanted and to Elle it seemed so fitting that she took her up on the offer.

"Let me help ya." Elle had also picked up on the accent a bit in her stay at the house, though she took little notice of it, it seemed so right and she never wanted to change it. Grabbing several boxes from the bundle Elle glided over towards the bed and laid them down. Mattie, not far behind through the rest of them down next to Elle's pile. Rubbing her fingers off on her apron she smiled up at Elle, she looked so much like that fille Remy had married.

"Sorry for disturbin' ya, but I thought ya might like to see some pictures of your pere and mere, though I don' have too many of 'er." Elle's eyes widened, they had pictures. Numbly Elle nodded her head resisting the urge to tear the boxes apart just to see a glimpse of one picture, just one clue.

She had spent most of her childhood creating images of what her parents had looked like. She had always imagined that they both had been good looking people, tall and slender. She always imagined her mother having dark emerald eyes and a kind smile, much like her own, while her father had those startling red on black eyes and a cocky grin, resembling Rouge's.

Mattie smile brightly as she picked up a slender box and pocked the lock with careful fingers. Pulling out several photo's she handed them over to Elle.

Elle's eyes widened as she gasped, there before her in an old picture stood a boy around seventeen with dark auburn hair and dazzling eyes, the splitting image of Rouge.

"Dat was just before your pere up and left, he was a trouble maker if Ah ever did see one." Elle felt tears boiling up at the back of her eyes but she forced them away and turned towards the next picture. This one was of the same man but a bit younger around twelve, he was standing on a tree trunk sunglasses perched on his nose as he grinned. She laughed inwardly at herself she had been dead on about Rouge looking just like their father. She scanned through the rest of the photo's in her hand, her heart aching from the loss of her parents.

Mattie seeing the sorrow in the girls face as pulled out the only two photo's she had of the girls mother. With gentle hands she handed them to Elle and watched as unmistakable tears began racing down her cheeks.

In the first photo a woman with bright emerald eyes and a contagious smile was leaning against the same man from the other pictures, her beautiful face framed in white bangs. She could see the resemblance between herself and her mother down right to a tee. They looked so..happy. Just like she and Skye had...She felt a broken sob escape her throat but forced the rest down, he was gone.

Mattie cleared her throat and smiled sadly as she twisted a lock of her graying hair back into place.

"Ah stole dat picture from your pere," Elle suddenly laughed at the guilty look on the woman's face, "What? He never sent meh any of ya and de family, besides he has hundred's of 'em." Elle felt her heart leap, that was right her parents were still out there.

Forcing the thought from her mind she pulled up the next one, it was tattered around the edges but the image was undeniable. In the picture sat the small woman and man next to one another on a large bed, two bundles held securely in each of their arms, love written over their features.

"Those two bundles were ya and Rouge, when ya were just born." Elle's eyes widened, tears now roaming freely down her face, they were there, in that picture, alive and apparently loved.

"Ah now dat picture brings back a truck load worth of memories." The woman laughed ready to tell a story that had long remained dormant. Pulling her feet onto the bed she kicked off her sandals and began.

"See your pere had come back down her to N'Awlins to help his nit witted father out of another jam." Mattie folded her hands in her lap, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Well your mere was a persistent li'tle thang and decided to follow your daddy," Elle felt her ears perk up as Mattie continued on with the story, "She was about, oh Ah'd say seven maybe eight month's along with ya. He tried ta make her stay but she was hard headed and followed him anyway."

Elle felt herself grow warm at the thought of her mother and father being real beings, it seemed so surreal.

"Remy got down 'ere and got ole Jean-Luc outta another mess, but another one was brewing bout de same time," Elle knew where this story was going and couldn't help jumping slightly as Mattie's hands began to move in motion with her words.

"Your mere had gone into labor right here in de house, whilst your father was gone. We weren't able to get nowhere seeing as it was just me, ya momma and Cecile, with no car, so we ended up delivering ya here." Mattie laughed kindheartedly her round face lighting up with the laughter at the memory.

"Ah never seen such a look on your daddy's face when dey got back, he started panickin' and your granpere had to knock him out to prevent 'im from causin a ruckus, not ta say dere wasn't one already seein as your mere was cussin' him for all his worth." Elle felt herself laugh along with Mattie the mere thought of her father panicking and her mother screaming at him was just so unimaginable, the man in the photo looked so level headed and able and the woman so calm and serene.

"He woke up jus' in time ta see ya born, I swear I never seen dat boy cry like dat before dat moment, but he did. Ah handed ya too him while Rouge was born a few minute's after." Elle felt her heartache as she realized the story was coming to a close.

"He jus stood dere and held ya like ya was dey only thang in dis world dat mattered, ya and your soeur." Readjusting her apron Mattie stood and walked over towards the window a sad look growing in her eyes, "Dat was de last time I saw Remy, they staid for a few weeks ta give your momma sometime to recuperate, but as soon as she had he up and left, it broke mah heart, dough I couldn't blame 'im, not after all he'd been through." She finished the sentence talking more to a past memory than to Elle. Suddenly a loud chocking sob made Mattie jump. Turning on her heal she saw Elle's lithe form shuddering. With quiet grace Mattie walked over towards the girl and sat down. Scooting closer towards her, she wrapped her arms around her allowing for her tears to be soaked into her thin cotton shirt.

Elle had never felt such immense emotion course through her body, she was at a loss as to what to think. Had Angelina lied about them being abandoned? the looks of the man and woman, no her parents, left Elle questioning everything that woman had ever told them. She felt a sour taste fill her mouth, had she always hated those that had always loved her?

"Shh it be alright Elle," Mattie said as she stroked the girls long auburn locks. "I can't say much about dat accident ya was in but I can tell ya dat your mere and pere would never have dreamed of hurtin' ya." Elle felt her heart break more, the words the woman spoke sounded so sure. After a few moments Elle's broken voice piped up.

"W-was my name always Elle?" She could feel Mattie shake her head and pull away from her, making her look her in her face.

"Non, your name was Isabella Marie Lebeau, your momma was mighty proud of dat, seeing Marie was her name and all." Elle looked up shocked at the woman, _Isabella Marie Lebeau, _she felt the sobs return, she had here mothers name.

"Dough she always went by Rogue, or Chere when it came ta Remy talkin to 'er," Mattie smiled and pushed the loose strands of hair from the girls face, "Dey would be proud of ya seeing how far ya've come with all de challenges in your life, you'll be wit dem someday, soon if ya want meh to make de call." Elle whimpered and buried her head deeper into the woman's shoulder, she could have the life she always wanted and only in the mere matter of days or hours if they'd come as quickly as Mattie made it out to be.

But Rouge she thought sadly, what will she think? She'd always been so distrustful of the world and things around them, she was bond determined to reject the idea that her parents would want them back so willing. Still yet she was even still having doubts that this was their family, even though it was her own bright idea to come. Elle had to talk to her, but not until she found out what was pulling at the edges of her mind.

"Tante will you give me sometime to think it over?" Mattie kissed the girls forehead and nodded her head.

"Ah'll give as much time in de world as you need, petite." Elle felt the tears cascading down her cheeks begin to slow, maybe this hadn't been such a bad idea after all.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"And dis be the place where we hold our meetings." Jean-Luc turned to looked at the girl, he watching in silent amazement as her eyes took in every detail of the room. She was definitely a thief's child that was for sure. She had that careful eye and light steps, something that the Thieves Guild was lacking these days. Maybe after all of this was sorted out she'd join up and take the place of her missing father.

"Petite, how much do ya know about your pere?" Jean-Luc asked, his arms crossed as he propped up against the heavy oak table. He let his mind wander over the memory of the first night he had met the girls. Henri had rushed in with an unconcisious Rouge in his arms, explaining the strange events that had occured. Jean-Luc had wanted to kill their newest recruite, Felix, for acting as such to his granddaughter, but had settled for him to have to scrub the underground cells, which hadn't been cleaned in over a decade.

"Not a single thing, cept his name is Remy." Jean-Luc pulled his mind from the memory as he watched the young girl walk past him, her eyes trailing over the paintings that lined the walls.

"Lovely aren't de?" He asked mindlessly, taking in the portraits and landscapes Cecile had painted*. Walking towards the girl he noticed an oddly familiar leather object in her hands, he patted his pockets disbelievingly.

"Hey now how'd ya get dat!" Jean-Luc cried as Rouge tossed the wallet back at him, ignoring the disbelieving tone in his voice.

"I thought you were suppose to be thieves, but by the looks of it you've lost your touch." Jean-Luc growled, the girl definitely had Remy's attitude, and he wasn't sure if he liked it or hated it yet.

"You've got a mouth on ya petite, where'd ya get dat?" Rouge snorted and walked over towards one painting, it was a scene of the mansion from afar, every detail was almost scaled to perfection.

"I'm not sure, it just something that's always been there." Turning Rouge focused her full attention onto to Jean-Luc her eyes glowing in the dim lights of the room.

"Why are you so convinced he is my father?" Rouge asked as her fingers lightly trailed over the paintings surface, hazy memories playing at the back of her mind.

"You de splittin' image of 'im and got his mouth, dat be more than enough." Rouge nodded her head silently, deciding that that was the best she was going to get, and more important questions were boiling at the back of her mind.

"Jean-Luc what can you tell me about my father?" He sighed in frustration, he knew the questioning was going to start sooner or later, best get it out of the way now.

"Other dan de fact dat he left us for dose damn X-men? Not much Ah 'aven't seen 'im since you were born." Sitting down in the chair at the head of the table he motioned for Rouge to join him.

"Wat I can tell you dough is about your pere's past, dat is if ya want to know, Eclaire." Her eyebrows met at the center of her forehead as she looked at him confused, Keir had called her that same name..

"Dat's right ya don' know your real name do ya?" Rouge shook her head in response. Jean-Luc let a small smile caress his lips, the girl even had Remy's quiet way of responding when confused.

"Your real name Petite, is Eclaire Silvine Lebeau, your middle name came from mah mother, her name was Silvine*." She looked at him a familiar bell tolling in her head once more.

Jean-Luc, ignoring the startled look on her face and motioned for the girl to join him at the table. With lithe movement she moved towards the chair and sat down, silently crossed her legs listening intently as the older man let out a sigh and began running his fingers over his thick mustache.

"About your father well, hmm Ah guess I can start by sayin he's adopted, I caught 'im trying to pick pocket meh when he was around ten. I saw the potential talent in de boy and brought 'im home." Rouge let her eyebrows perk up, adopted, potential talent?

"he began trainin in de art of thievery, and got good real fast, fit into de family well too. He was never one to brag dough, he got in got out and called it good." Jean-Luc cocked his head slightly towards the side thinking of things to tell the girl.

"He was a charmer, ladies man, he could knock any girl off of her feet with nothing more than a grin." Rouge felt her stomach churn, something was going on and she wasn't sure what it was, her mind was phasing in and out of focus and she having a hard time keeping tuned in. She slammed her eyes shut as she the room began to spin.

"He also was one of dem mutants, could charge things an blow dem up. Dough he didn't tell no one until he used 'is powers to get us out of a mess. I think dat's where dey strange eye thing come's from. While we would be stubblin round in de dark, Remy could see perfectly clearly, I think he found it amusing."

"He got up and left one day aftar a mission, he was pretty upset, I'd never seen him so unstable, I think it had to due with his mutant powers expanding." Jean-Luc watched the girl, her eyes were closed tight, he opted to stop but instead just continued on, "Ah didn't see him til he came back to bail me outta one of moi messes, dat's when I first met your momma. Talented li'tle thing she was, drained de information from de man and pointed us in de right direction for escape." Rouge couldn't help but shoot her eyes open and stare, dizzyness and upset stomach long forgotten, she had inherited both her mother and father's powers?

"Once we escaped dough a group of mutants, Ah guess you could call dem her family showed up ta take 'er home. Ah thought de one with de claws was gonna rip Remy's throat out but Rogue saved 'im and turned ta leave wit them, but not before Remy could give her a memento. Ah watched as he withdrew his favorite card de Queen of Hearts and gave it ta her. Ah'd never seen him look at a fille de way he did her." Rouge had tuned out the last part of the sentence as she dug through her pockets and withdrew her only reminder that she had family.

"Would this happen to be that card?" Rouge asked almost breathlessly, Jean-Luc's eyes widened as he gently plucked the card from the girls fingers. He whistled in disbelief, it was old and tattered but definitely Remy's, he could see the small scorch marks on the card where his son had at one time charged the card, but hadn't thrown it.

"Yep, dis be de one." He handed the card back to Rouge, she flipped the card through her fingers several times before quickly pocketing it, and turning back towards the Cajun and motioning with her hand for him to continue.

"He staid down here in de Bayou for a time before he migrated back up to New York aftar de whole Apocalypse thing, lookin' for your momma no doubt. I heard from him from time ta time but never nothin' more than a hello, are ya alive, and a swift goodbye."

"Dat was until de Assassins Guild prompted for a truce, it was simple Remy only had to marry Belladonna deir heiress, whom he's know since he was eight. So in attempt to cool de risin tension I called for 'im to come home and proposed de idea ta him. He rejected de idea until some careful prodding from me."

Rouge growled in irritation, was the only thing this man did was use her father? She was getting more and more irritated by the second, but let him continue on none the less, feeling too sick to banter or point it out.

"On de day of de wedding, he kept being jumpy and not speakin, I knew he had dat damn fille on his mind," Jean-Luc spat out the words as though he had just eaten something foul, "but I assured him everythin' was fine and dat she didn't need 'im." Rouge felt her hands instinctively ball up into fist, it was taking all of her self restrain to not jump over the table and pummel the man.

"He listened for a time, and got through de entire weddin march when dat girl showed up and stopped the weddin just before Remy said 'is vows. She told 'im how much she loved 'im and dat she always would before turnin on 'er heals and runnin out, and what did Remy do? Followed aftar 'er of course."

Jean-Luc watched the expression on the girls face, he wasn't sure what she was thinking so he continued on unaware of her flaring temper and breaking mental state.

"He came back dat night, and threw de ring at Belladonna, and cussin everything in sight before leaving to go wit dat li'tle fille, I couldn't help but hate her for ruining de truce."

At this Rouge jumped up, her anger having suddenly jumped and reaching it's breaking point. Her mind had suddenly exploded with pain and her body felt as though it was on fire, but the only thing she could seem to focus on was the anger of the man before her speaking in such a way of her parents.

Jean-Luc watched in mock horror as the entire oak table began to glow a dark red, much the same way as when Remy's powers had jumped out of control.

"You have no right to say that like you own his life," Rouge murmured her eyes glowing even brighter with her sudden outburst of power, "From the sound of it seems that you only used him, then tried to ruin his life!" Lifting the table up with the kinetic energy she flipped it over, barely clearing Jean-Luc's head, and sent it crashing into the far wall. He watched as she collapsed onto her knees gripping her head, her power surge finally disappeared leaving nothing more than young girl kneeling in place of the demon that had been there mere moments before.

"I should have never come, I want no part of this family, of any of this!" Rouge cried out, tears leaking down the side of her face, her powers were going out of control, and she had no solution as how to stop it.

"No wonder my father left me to die in that building! From the way he was raised it doesn't surprise me!" Jean-Luc stopped and began running over all of the things he said and realized just how bad he had made himself and Remy out to be, and how he had put Rogue down. He swallowed hard, what hadn't the girl told him? Being left in a building? It was all getting the better of the older Cajun. He watched the girl scream and grip her head tightly again, helpless in the situation.

"Petite! Listen to moi, Ah didn't mean it like dat!" The girls head shot up as she shot daggers at Jean-Luc. "Your mere wasn't a bad person! Let moi finish!"

"Your lying." She whispered and with a swift flick of her wrist he was pinned against the wall. She could hear voices whispering, running in and out of her mind, leaving her battling trying to find herself, but to no avail.

"JUST STOP!" Rouge could feel emotions, powers, and the memories of people she had never met rush through her mind, pushing and pulling her in every direction. She looked up and saw the scared look on her grandfathers face, she had lost her temper over nothing. She had to leave, she didn't want to hurt anyone, she had to get away, just long enough to stop this.

Jumping up she held her hands up towards Jean-Luc, and tried releasing the bonds that held him, they wouldn't budge. She felt her eyes widen as another pain shot through her head, pushing off on her heal she shot off out of the office.

Jean-Luc felt the bonds around him release as Rouge rushed through the doorway, red kinetic energy surrounding everything in her path. He fell towards the floor, a sharp pain traveling up his shoulder, he hissed in pain as he watched her retreating form. What had he done? He had hurt his granddaughter just as much as his son. He cursed himself, knowing he shouldn't have let the bitterness of his son's anti-social manner towards him influence his telling of his past.

Jumping up onto his feet he followed the path of destruction the girl had left. Zipping around the corner, he saw the front door blown completely apart and left in nothing more than little splinters scattered across the entrance way. He saw the confused and worried looks of the other family members as they looked to him for an answer. He racked at his brain for an answer any answer.

"Get a hold of Remy now." He barked hoping his decision would prove for the better.

_**Author's Note:**_

_***1) I wasn't sure what the name of Henri's wife was and I read somewhere it was Cecile, sorry if I'm wrong.**_

_***2)Totally made up the name Silvine and it belonging to Jean-Luc's mother.**_

_**Yay another chapter down! Please please review. I'm currently finishing the next chapter so it should be up soon.**_


	12. Whom Holds Faith's Hand?

_**Author's Note: Wow! So many reviews, 30! thanks so much**** it means alot! I'm so sorry for the late update but my laptop charger shorted out and I had to order a new one, I'm on a separate computer right now so if its a few days before I next update please understand, but I promise unless something major comes up it won't be more than four or five days before the next update. **_

_**PeggySkitles- Thanks, lol I try to rely on spell check mostly but slip up every once in a while. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I had absolutely no idea what her name was that helps so much!!!!**_

_**b.a.n.h.s.f.c..-Haha yes Rouge's character is suppose to be very unstable and broken, you'll see why in later if I may request something of you can I shorten your name to ban for my sanity when replying? lol**_

_**Courtney Summers-Is here! **_

_**Laceylou76-I'm glad you liked the way I made the perspectives of Mattie and Jean-Luc different. Yes you'll have to wait a bit longer for this section to resolve and explain itself but I'm putting alot of effort into it so I hope it comes out to your liking!**_

_**sailormoon846212- Thank you so much! Uhmm actually there are a handful of really good storys like that,I'll PM their url's to you if you'd like.**_

_**Dani- Haha I'm glad to see new people liking my story, here's my next chapter so no need to have withdraws!**_

_**Lalaladybug67- Thank you for the compliment! hope you enjoy this next chapter.**_

_**the-writing-vampire-tis alright! I'm glad to see you back though, yay college.. Haha I'm starting to think everyone's liking the rouge/fireblade moments which makes me really happy cause I have alot planned for it. You'll just have to wait and see how Remy's find's out. LOL! I could totally see Rogue doing that, -laughs evilly- thats a perfect image right there, lol. Well here's the next chapter glad to see you back, and thank you!  
**_

**Chapter 12: Whom Hold's Faith's Hand.**

The buzzing of the mansions phone rang silently through out Jean-Luc's ear, with each unanswered ring his body became more fidgety. He groaned in impatience, did those people ever pick up their forsaken phones? Wasn't that the whole point of owning one? He felt his sister's gentle hand squeeze his shoulder in reassurance. He snorted reassurance my ass, your just rubbing in the fact that I screwed up, again, he thought bitterly.

It rang several more times before a calm yet slightly winded voice answered the phone, "Xavier's Institute for gifted youngsters!", Jean-Luc sighed in a mixture of relief and annoyance, relief for the fact he had gotten an answer, annoyance because it sounded like the idiot on the other line had the attention span of a gnat.

"Oui, may Ah speak ta Remy, it be rather urgent." He heard the soft sound of whispering and giggling in the background. He mentally smacked his forehead, just what he needed a ton of gossiping teenagers to deal with when he needed to get ahold of his son. He was about to start yelling when the voice piped up suddenly.

"Oh I'm sorry, left on a this morning." Jean-Luc felt his gut twist, karma was having a hell of a good time messing with him wasn't she. Forcing himself not to kill the innocent bystander, he went to speak again but had to stop, seeing as his voice was mocking that of a homicidal maniacs. Clearing his throat he lightened his tone but not much.

"Do ya know when he'll be back?" More giggling, then sudden silence. For a moment he thought that they had hung up the phone on him, and debated whether to hang it up or not, when suddenly the voice piped up again a poor intimation of his voice sounding back.

"We don know ya reckon," Jean-Luc was ready to start cussing when suddenly the line was filled with the sound of taunting laughter. Though quickly after the line went dead, only one thought soaring through is mind those damn teenagers...

He hung up the phone and looked up at Mattie, her brow furrowed in confusion and worry. "Any luck?" She asked sadly, knowing the answer already, but trying to seem hopefully for any spark of fortune.

"Non, jus a bunch o' chucklin teenagers, Remy's gone on a mission." She reach out a hand to help Jean-Luc up but he merely shooed it away and laid both of his hands over his eyes. He sat there for a moment in complete silence, his mind replaying the events of the night prior. The demonic glare of his granddaughter still fresh in his mind. He had thought he could right his wrongs with Remy by going through Rouge but to no such luck.

Suddenly Henri burst into the room, a look of defeat on his face as he took in the sight of his father and aunt. Mattie looked up at Henri, their gazes meeting for a swift moment, she knew what was to come and she couldn't help but feel her heart shatter.

"Pere, dere's nothin' we looked everywhere and there is no trace of 'er." Henri along with several other squadrons had scoured the place from top to bottom, from boundary line to boundary line, only to find the girls bike gone and with no tracks to follow. After said discovery they all set out looking all over New Orleans for her but sighted no signs of her or her mutant destruction. What was strange though was the fact that her bike still remained in the parking garage and he wasn't certain as to how she fled so quickly without it.

Henri bowed his head, he had grown a real soft spot towards the girls while they were there, but Rouge, not to play favorites, in all honesty he had enjoyed her company the best, she was through and through a Lebeau, from the attitude to the mouth, it reminded him so much of his brother, whom he missed greatly. It was like having another kid Remy around, but with more flare.

His thoughts were short lived though as Jean-Luc sat up and groaned loudly. He looked back and forth between his two family members presently in the room. Even though they didn't show it on their features they both blamed him partially for what had occurred. Of course Jean-Luc couldn't blame them, he fully blamed himself, but had wished that he been a bit less selfish and more understanding. Hell he thought sourly, had I done that from the start I wouldn't have lost my boy either. Abruptly though his thoughts came to another dilemma, his frustration growing two fold.

"Does Elle know about dis?" He looked at Mattie, who shook her head. She wrung her hands together nervously, something that she had done since he could remember, and something he knew she only did when her fears were at their peaks, or she was hiding something. Knowing the degree of the situation he knew it was the first, but it didn't help matters any.

"Non, she still be asleep." Jean-Luc leaned his head back against the back of the large sitting chair, great just great. I lose on granddaughter and the other ones clueless, that's going to be fun to deal with. He looked at his sister pleadingly but suddenly a spark came into her eye as she shook her head no, knowing exactly what was running through her brothers thick skull.

"Don' you even try ta push dis off on moi Jean-Luc, dis be your mess." Mattie crossed her arms in defiance sealing her point. Henri dispite the circumstances looked like he wanted to chuckle at the sight of the two older adults.

"Merde, thanks alot soeur, now I gotta break another one." He looked at the staircase, only imagining the wrath that awaited him when a certain green eyed beauty woke up.

&&&&&&

Merde. Merde. Merde. Did he forget to mention Merde?

Remy could feel his body slightly vibrating from the impatience he had. They had spent almost four whole days in this town and still no sign of any 'mysterious mutants.' He grunted in annoyance which got him a look from a slightly confused Kitty. He only shrugged his shoulders and shot his gaze in the opposite direction. He hated this town, it had stolen everything from him ripping his very soul to shreds, and now standing there again it made him uncomfortable,yet almost longing for the things he once had.

He shook himself forcing the thought away, how selfish could he be? True he longed for the touch of another, but it wasn't Rogue's fault that her damn powers reverted back to square one after the incident. She had hated herself after the incident but never once let it show on purpose to Remy, but through small actions he knew it had slowly eaten away at her very being. He growled inwardly, if he ever got his hands the bastard that had torn all that was precious to him away.......

He felt a dull pain in his heart knowing the exact source of it. The mere thought of that long buried memory still had the power to make his entire core shudder. It was a memory he had long tried to drown away in alcohol and tears, but to no such luck that forbidden picture always made itself known at the worst times. It had tore him in a way that no wound ever could, and despite his own pain he could only imagine what Rogue's still was. As far as he knew she still cried herself to sleep when it rained outside, when all he felt was a dull throb that could easily be pushed aside with the right train of thought. He dreaded those storms, and the sound of her trying to hide her broken sobs was more than enough to make his insides burn. He knew she blamed herself for the accident through and through though, and that she beat herself up for it every waking moment of everyday and despite everyone's constant comfort and understanding for years she still was trapped in the darkness.

Though he had see light in her, even if just the smallest glimmer in the last few days. Small actions that were almost forgotten due to the rarity and non existent use were beginning to show themselves again and it left Remy breathless. Those actions were enough to show there was hope, and that maybe she was pulling herself free from the darkness, and whatever had set off these small glimmers well Remy could have kissed it.

Remy felt a sharp pain explode through out his shin and he let out a strangled yelp, his trance long forgotten as he hugged his shin to his chest. Slightly opening his eyes and peering out he took in the sight of a certain brown haired girl that had been a major part of his deteriorating mental state.

"Mon Dieu! What was dat for chat?" He hissed at Kitty. She merely rolled her eyes at him, she had long given up on trying to be addressed as Katherine and had let the stupid nicknames stay. Pulling her arms up roughly she motioned behind her where the majority of the group were well ahead and quickly making themselves smaller dots on the horizon.

"Oh I don't know, maybe the fact that you've been standing there like an idiot for a good fifteen minutes!" She jumped up waving her arms slightly, allowing a huge amount of escape through her teeth she let her tense shoulders drop down.

"So can we like follow them, please? Cause I really don't wanna run in this heat." Kitty pulled at the collar of her shirt and fanned herself earning a chuckle from Remy. She scowled at him and turned to leave, he followed right behind on her heals.

"I've been meaning to ask you something Gambit." He looked at the Shadowcat, a certain feeling pulling at his mind telling him to decline her access to questions, but going against his better instincts motioned for the girl to continue.

"How do you wear a damn trench coat in the middle of summer!" She had stopped on the side walk her hands dug into her hips and head slightly cocked towards the right. Gambit had to force himself not to burst out in relieved laughter as he took in the sight of the menacing glare the five foot four woman who weighed around a hundred and ten pounds was shooting at him.

"It's really nothin', petite." He walked past Kitty, who quickly stormed up next to him and shot another dirty glare in his direction. "See dis really isn't a coat it is a built in air conditioning system, non?" She glanced at him and nodded in agreement completely oblivious to what she had agreed to. Though her head did a double take realizing the stupidity of her actions. She grew red in the face from embarrassment before crossing her arms over her chest trying to regain some of her long lost dignity as Remy's laughter could be heard four blocks down.

"Haha your funny gumbo," She quickened her pace and began mumbling incoherent insults, that even Wolverine's sensitive hearing would of had a hard time picking up on. He sighed in content, he still had his family. Even if it consisted fully of a bunch of misfits with strange talents. As he thought about though he realized he wouldn't have wanted it any other way. He continued lazily walking through the streets coming across some old familiar spots from his childhood. He was lost funny in the moment before a certain irritated voice rang over the communicator.

_'Swamp Rat, Ah swear if ya don't hurry it up Ah'm kickin ya to the couch!_' Remy's lip twitched in amusement, that was definitely the old Rogue rearing her head. He smiled in spite of himself and quickened his pace. Cutting around a corner he thought of different ways to antagonize his chere, when he came upon a sight that left his heart strumming. Scorch marks covered the buildings and streets, while pieces of car's and store's lay scattered through out the roadway.

"Bout tahme ya got here Swamp rat," Rogue flipped her hair over her shoulders a sudden impatient look coming into her glowing green eyes, "As you can see, we've got a slight problem on out hands." Remy could only nod his head dumbly as he took in the sight of the destruction. He had never seen anything quite along these lines, except for one time in his life, and that one time he had had to leave home because he had caused said destruction.

Hearing a familiar _bamfing_ noise sound behind him, Remy turned to meet face to face with an image induced Kurt. Over the last twenty years his long hair had progressively gotten shorter, to a point were it ended just above his chin, but aside from that he didn't any different that he did the day he had turned twenty five.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you! Vhere vere you?" Remy could only shrug his shoulders, in all honest truth he had been lost in a memory, but that wasn't going to cut it so he settled for using one of his many talents, lying.

"Lookin' round de alleyways for any sigh of de muties. Dough it appears it was right in front of us." Kurt eyed him with suspicion before disappearing and reappearing next to his sister. Remy turning tuned out everything around him as he over looked the damage done. He sighed in discontent, there was no way these mutants were safe if they had such powers, but what bugged him the most was the fact that they looked just like his powers.

Suddenly a flash of auburn and white caught at the edge of Remy's eye and he couldn't help but allow his eyes to widen, he then caught a quick flash of orange and...green?

"Mon ami's Ah dink we've found de culprits." He pointed his finger down the dark alleyway were the low echo of light footsteps could be heard. Rogue's eyes once again lit up with a sudden determination that left Remy startled.

"Alrahght, here's what we're doing."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Elle felt her heart jump in fear, pain, anguish and most of all anger. She took in the sight of the man before her and without fully thinking through her actions let her fist fly forward. With a resonation _crack_ Elle pulled her hand back and watched as her grandfather fell to the ground, hand cradling his injured jaw.

"You low life bastard!" Elle screamed wet tears streaming down her face, how could he have let this happen? What kind of man was he? She glared down at the man who's dark eyes were glazed over in pain, whether from the ache in his jaw or the emotions of guilt of which he had brought upon himself, Elle wasn't sure but either worked for her at the moment.

She felt a light hand grab her shoulder and before she knew what she was doing she shoved Mattie away. Focusing on her room she disappeared in a thick cloud of emerald and appeared in her room. Grabbing her bag she began stuffing her various items inside, ignoring the constant pool of tears cascading down her cheeks. She knew this had the greatest possibility of happening, of the the situation backfiring, but she had let her foolish hopes get in the way with dreams of the perfect life, and now her other half was out there somewhere doing only god knows what. She growled in frustration and pinned her long hair back behind her neck and shouldered her bag.

Picturing the front gate of the mansion she felt the familiar pull and soft kiss of wind as she came through the portal. What she didn't feel though was the soft thud of her feet touching the ground. She looked up and took in a sight she had long feared. Fighting with all of her might she tried to transport away and succeeded. She landed in the bar where she and her sister had first began their search. Seeing as it was a little before noon the place was deserted.

Jumping up she ran through the building ignoring the growing feeling in her gut as she shot through the doors of the tavern and fell into the arms of a furry blue beast.

"Why hello, what is your hurry young one." She felt her heart skip a beat, it was talking. She laughed like an idiot before losing consciousness in the able arms of 'Hank McCoy' her last thoughts consisting of _what has this world boiled down too?_.

_**Woot! This chapter was a pain to get out, but alas here it is! And I promise this is nothing like what it seems, hehe but you'll have to wait til next chapter to find out! I promise it's sooo much better and more complicated than this chapter makes it out to be! So TTFN! R&R!!!!  
**_


	13. Where Arth Thou Fool?

_**Author's Note: Hey everyone! I'm sorry about the last chapter I'm thinking about redoing it. Anywho! Here's the next chapter! This has a lot of Rouge/Fireblade moments so for those of you that like them enjoy! ALSO Thank you to everyone one reviewing!  
**_

_**ban- I'm glad! Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you for letting me shorten it! -hands cookie-**_

_**martshi3- I'm glad that your back to reading it, and hope I make the rest of the story to fit what everyone wants!**_

_**Laceylou76- Ha ha yes the idea of the teenagers on the other line came to me in a random plot bunny it, it apparently worked well! Whoops! I didn't mean to make it out to Remy hating New Orleans, just those that lived in it, hehe sorry for that! He still loves New Orleans.......-twitches- Didn't mean to confuse you...-.-' Lol the ending was suppose to be completely sudden and random so I hoped you liked it.**_

_**MelissaRM- Lol yes she did!**_

_**sailormoon846212- I actually haven't really thought about it, lol this plot came to me at random and I didn't really have it planned out, so it may be quite long I hope that's not a problem! Will do, though I won't be able to PM you til my laptops fixed, sorry. **_

_**Fox Adler- Thanks! hope you enjoy this chapter!  
**_

_**P.S. This chapter takes place the night before chapter 12 and during/right after chapter 11.  
**_

**Chapter 13- Where Art Thou Fool?**

The feeling of marsh beneath Rouge's feet had sudden lessened and the ground had leveled slightly signaling that fact that she was nearing the entrance gate. Focusing her sudden surging powers towards her hands, she could feel it quickly inch up her arms and through her palms into her fingers. Forcing the dark red sparks away from herself she watched as they over took the gate and crushed it with a resonating crunching noise. A loud cracking sound echoed through out the swamp land as the two gates fell, broken, twisted and contorted into shapes unrecognizable compared towards its original whole.

Stopping, by instinct, she began listening carefully, concentrating fully on the sounds of nature around her. She could hear the silent song of crickets, the bubbling of water, and the loud clomping of human feet following far behind.

Pushing off of her left foot she shot out towards the road way, not concerned about the risks of being on her own in such a dark and desolated place. Her mind was to occupied with the rapid rush of thoughts of others in her head, some she had never met, and some that she knew like the back of her own hand. She could hear the light chime of Elle's laugh, mixed along with a cocky grin of a certain orange haired Australian and a dark chuckle of a blonde headed Angelina.

She could feel the sharp pain of invisible metal knives bursting forth through her knuckles, burning with pain and rage. The physic pull of every living being connect to her, their constant habits making themselves vividly clear in her hazy mind. She could feel her body bursting with speed, adrenaline, and the phasing of her body through the many solid objects she had passed through. The feeling of pure unchained power was undeniable and exhilarating, yet terrifying and frightening all the same. Rouge didn't know whether to cry in misery or laugh in mirth.

She pressed on, her body moving with the many motions that her mind commanded. Jump, duck, dodge, slow, turn, faster. She could see the bright lights of the city flash on and off before her, creating a blinding effect that made her eyes water in pain. She could hear the terrified shouts of people surrounding her, hearing the sound of their foot falls as they quickly fled away from her. Though most of all she could feel the emotions they gave way, each pulsing with one thought, _monster. _She felt tears boil in her eyes, monster? A sudden rage that wasn't her own shot through her, and before she knew what was happening she could feel herself floating and suddenly silence. Only the sound of her powers and frantic heart beating in one, she closed her eyes she was no one, nothing, and sadly she was content with that.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Keir growled in annoyance, apparently no one had spotted two young teenage twins running around the ghetto's of New Orleans. He had hit every bar and store from one side of the city to the next and had still yet to find anything on two auburn haired twins, one with green eyes and the other with white streaked hair, and in his opinion hard to miss.

Sighing he nodded his head in thanks to the woman, who, in return, puckered her lips and winked at him. Grinning with his most flirting smile he tipped his invisible hat at her in a farewell gesture before turning and fleeing away into the dark night of the Cajun capital. Stepping outside of the bar he felt the soft wind of the swamp land dance over his cheek before disappearing into thin air.

He turned and began picking his way down towards the corner and away from the bar, lost without any leads as to what to do next. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he began replaying what little he remember of his confrontation with Eclaire, hoping to find some clue as to help him.

She had given him the look of annoyance and mistrust when had first confronted her. He had thought she would have at least been reasonable and listened to what he had to say, but no she had lost her composer and had thrown him in the pool, she'd always had a short temper to begin with, and never took well to taunting. After that though things went hazy except for the kiss, it was unforgettable, the way her lip fell into place against his own like a missing piece of a puzzle long broken. He could still in that moment taste the slight tinge of cinnamon and smell the fragrance of rain that followed her wherever she went, and he had found himself immensely addicted to it.

He shook his head violently, no he wasn't falling for that same grimy tomboy that liked to play in the dirt that had been his partner in crime, it was just his emotions of not seeing her and believing her dead for so long, yes that's what it he thought with reassurance, I have so many different options available for me. Take for example the woman in the bar she was beautiful even if in a hookerish sort of way, way better than long lush locks of white/auburn hair and a feisty temper and mouth to match. He groaned in annoyance, okay so maybe he had a little thing for the sheila, but it wasn't much.

Keir was suddenly and brutally pulled from his own little ravine of denial when the sudden screams and cries of people broke through the sound barrier. Instinctively he rushed towards the source only to find himself being trampled as men, woman, and children alike fought and shoved past him in panic stricken fever.

Raising an eyebrow he pressed his body up against the stone building, away from the swarming crowd and began picking his way against the constant wave of people rushing against him in an opposing current. He fought against it for a time until it suddenly died down, no living being within sight. Pushing away from the wall he rounded the corner and took in a sight that was menacing and angelic all the same.

Eclaire was suspended in air, her body covered and protected in a huge circle of red kinetic energy popping and sizzling, while smaller more defined lines raced around it, making it resemble Saturn in a very demonic and hellish sort of way. He watched in pure fascination as the kinetic energy seeped from the mass and began slinking and making their way towards him.

"Ahh shi..." a sudden burst of energy shot past his head, startling him and causing him to fall crashing towards the ground. On instincts his body suddenly became wrapped in thick coils of glowing blue flames that danced in protection around him, viciously fighting off the foreign attackers. Regaining his composure he shot onto his feet and allowed a blue ball of pulsing flame to appear in his hands before shooting it out towards the growing red mass. As soon as the flames hit though they were extinguished and absorbed.

He couldn't help but gawk, great he had found the girl, but in what state? Oh just one where she was content with murdering him and seemed to have no idea she was attempting at doing so. Rolling off towards the side, he missed as a sudden bolt of blue flame shot back towards him and frying the spot that he had once stood. Oh and apparently she now had control over his powers just peachy.

Racing forward a sudden idea hit him and he concentrated all of his strength onto a power long dormant in his body. Smiling as he felt the strong power course through his body. he willed the dark blue matter in his palm to shoot out and engulf the large red orb.

It quickly came over the orb, he smiled, so maybe being able to access his mothers powers weren't such a bad thing in certain instances, though he could already feel the toll it was taking on his body. Damn it, he inwardly cursed as he focused more intently on diluting her powers, she was resisting against it flawlessly and if it didn't break soon he would lose consciousness. Trying to keep his wits about him he Then without warning something broke in her defenses and he watched in pure amazement and relief as the blue matter quickly over came the red only leaving a certain sheila floating mid air. Though suddenly her levitation stopped as her body rushed towards the ground.

With speed and agility that could have rivaled a panther's, even in his weakened state, Keir slid in underneath the girl and caught her gently in his arms. Standing he adjusted her weight before looking down and feeling his heart swell. In sleep Eclaire was angelic, her once normal hard features, constant scrowl lines, and cocky grins were replaced by delicate lines that made her look vulernerable and fragile. Damn emotions he thought bitterly.

He held her for a time simply overlooking her, and letting his mind play over random things that would need to be tended to, when suddenly her eyes shot open, crimson on black, and anger burning in their very depths. _Oh bloody...._

Keir was fully aware and certain as to what had just happened as his body slid across the pavement, an undeniable pain pulsing through out his shoulder and jaw. Damn that girl had an arm on her. He watched as her dark and menacing form closed in on him, her anger coming off of her like a light house in the middle of the night; he resisted the urge to laugh, she was playing hard to get.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Rouge couldn't help but growl in anger. What was that damn aussie doing with her?!? and more importantly, how in the world had she ended up in his arms, with him staring at her? Nasty pervert, she thought numbly, feeling the familiar control of her powers move through out her fingers.

Reaching down with able fingers she pulled him up, face to face, but a good foot apart, knowing his tendency's. That smart-ass grin that only Keir could have held title too appeared and Rouge had to resist the urge to slap him into next week.

"What are you doing here dundee?" She hissed, her gloved hand drawn and ready to strike at a moments notice. He laughed.

"Well I was about to ask you the same thing, sheila." Rouge looked at him in confusion, something wasn't adding up quite right. That's when it all suddenly fell into place and she relinquished her hold on the poor Australians throat as she fell back onto the ground her mouth hanging slightly agape.

"W-what happened?" She asked almost pleadingly, her demonic eyes glancing up into Keir's own vibrant lime. He simply shrugged his shoulders before reaching down and offering the stubborn girl a hand.

"I'm not sure, but whatever it was you tore this street a new one, mud rat." Rouge's eyes tore from his own gaze and began to glance around. She had to hold back the cry of surprise as she took in the sights of the busted windows, scorched buildings, and much random debris strewn along the street. She slowly felt her mind return to the moment when she lost control and when her power surge had come forth. She could still hear the faint whisper of voices echoing through out her head, and instinctively she reach up and clung to it willing them away, slowly but surely they disappeared.

"Oi are you alright Sheila?" Rouge looked up into the vibrant eyes of Keir who had knelt down next to her, a comforting gloved hand on her shoulder and she felt herself do something she would have never dreamt of in a thousand surplus years, she felt trust. Nodding her head she grabbed his hand and allowed him to pull her up. Once she was on her feet though he began to waver on the spot and Rouge had to reach out and stable him.

"Well dundee what do we do now?" She asked her brows slightly lifted. As the Australians mouth opened to answer though another cruel voice cut in, as a low clapping sounded through out the abandoned street.

"Well done Allerdyce, I'm surprised you were able to suppress so much power." The man watched as a look of pure horror and defiance came over the boys face, making him want to laugh out in amusement.

"Ah do you not remember me Keir? I surely would have thought you would have remembered the one who saved your pathetic infant life." Keir looked as though he was about to burst into angry tears and attack in pure rage but somehow he managed to hold it in and whisper.

"You, your the one that did this." The man laughed as he revealed himself from the shadows, causing Rouge to growl in anger. He was the one that had been hunting after her sister and herself for the better part of four years.

"Sinister." Rouge hissed, her ever vowel dripping with poison. He could only smile and bow slightly, his pale skin shimmering sickly in the dim street lights.

"I'm honored you remember me, Rouge or if I may say 'Eclaire' seeing as that's what everyone is calling you as of late." He smiled menacingly before stepping closer towards the two mutants, his hands extended in front of him as if though offering a truce.

"Now we have one of two options, you may come peacefully and your little boyfriends life shall be spared or," His wicked grin grew as men in black uniforms appeared around him along with several other cloaked figures, obviously mutants, "You can fight and he'll meet an early grave, and such a fine specimen I would rather not waste. Please choose quickly." He crossed his arms waiting for an answer.

"Or I'll take option three," Rouge murmured, suddenly her arms shot out and the earth beneath her began to shake completely catching the men off guard, knocking several over.

"Run!" Grabbing Keir's arm they both shot through the city streets running with grace and speed that could have rivaled even Pietro.

"Where'd you learn to do that! It was like Avalanche back home!" Keir looked at the strained look on the girls face. She glanced at him in annoyance, but no the less answered the question.

"Apparently I stole it from his, cause he was in my head about oh say twenty minutes ago and his real name is Lance Alvers." Keir felt his heart leap in hope, she'd gotten her memories back! And somehow Lance's powers but that didn't matter at the moment.

"So you remember?" She looked at him and scowled as they shot around a corner. Pulling her body up into rhythm with his own she forced herself not to shove the cocky idiot down and to leave him to the lions.

"Negative retard! I don't remember your retarded ass or anyone by the name of Alvers for that matter," She groaned in annoyance before continuing, "But I'm obviously stuck with you at the moment so I'm going to make due with what I have." Skidding around another corner she took in a sight that provided mild hopes to her hopeless case. She would have known that Tricolour anywhere.

With skilled hands she swiped the keys from Fireblade's pocket before throwing herself onto the bike. Skillfully with practiced hands she shoved the key into the ignition and twisted, within moments she had revved it to life. Shooting an urgent gaze towards the Australian she motioned for Keir to get on.

"Oh no sheila, you are not driving my bike, move." Keir's arms crossed firmly over his chest, and it took all of the waning self restrain she possessed not to curse the boy for all of his non existent worth.

"Get. Your. Aussie. Ass. On. Now." Rouge's eyes were flaming a dangerous color, but Keir wasn't about to back down, though that wasn't until the sound of shouting and footsteps could be heard. He groaned in defeat, this girl was bound determined to kill his ego wasn't she. Slipping on the back of the bike, he gripped the back seat cover as she shot off.

Keir felt his balance suddenly fail for a moment and he found his grip around the waist of a certain loud mouthed Cajun. He quickly pulled away, trying to hide his hurt pride. He was being out driven by a girl, and had almost been thrown from his own bike all in the same instant, it was enough to knock any man from his soap box.

He felt the speed of his bike accelerate, pushing itself to out run the men pursuing them closely. Apparently Sinister had upgraded his men's equipment seeing as they now possessed car, fast ones at that, and were quickly gaining ground on the unfortunate duo.

"Merde." Rouge barked, turning her head slightly she took in the sight of the men quickly gaining on her. Racking at her brain she came up with a sudden rash decision, that if it did not succeed would put both herself and Keir six feet under. A bullet whizzed past her head, okay so she had better chances with her bright idea. Pushing herself away from the handle bars she flipped over Keir's shoulders and landed in a crouched position on the back of the bike.

Keir seeing her sudden change in tactics slid forward and caught the handle bars in his hands bringing the loose bike back under control. Taking a moment to glance back he quickly caught her gaze and watched the silent message being sent his way. In understanding he slowed the bike slightly and stabled it. He watched as her hunched form straitened slightly and gloved fingers began to glow red. Sparks began to dance at the pursuing cars tires, blowing them and sending the hunks of metal spiraling off towards the side. He felt her body slip back down behind him and her arms lock securely around his waist. He resisted the urge to grin stupidly at the thought that _her _arms were around_ his_ waist.

They raced away for a time the demolished cars of Sinister's men nowhere in sight. Keir could feel his hopes rising when suddenly the roaring of other motorcycles could be heard cutting in behind them. He watched in mock horror as several bikes appeared, carrying the mutant servants of Sinister.

"Looks 'ike we 'ave some followers Sheila." He could feel her swift nod on his back, and her hands loosening from around his waist. Her body twisting around to send another shower of sparks at the hunters. Though to their misfortune managed to avoid all of them, receiving a few chose key curse words from Rouge. Looking ahead he watched as the sight of the river grew closer into sight a draw bridge lay strait ahead.

"Shoot off towards the bridge, we can cross it before it opens and hopefully lose them." Silently agreeing he pressed his precious bike towards it's limit speed in an attempt to cross the raising bridge. His hopes were diminished as he watched the bridge begin to climb up to an impossible angle. We'll never make make it, he thought sourly, but we can't fight them off neither, not in the state we're in. He felt Rouge's hands dig into his sides and her words echo right behind his ear.

"Keep going! It's our only shot!" She shouted, He shook his head in defiance.

"No, we won't make it we'll drown!" He shot back the bike still traveling at dangerously heighten speeds. He felt her hands dig into his sides harder, causing him to wince in pain.

"We've better chances with that than them!" He could feel one of her hands loosen from his waist as she motioned frantically behind her. He sighed in defeat knowing she was right, and hoping with his entire heart that it would work.

In one swift motion the bike suddenly flew away from the oncoming enemies and onto the ramp, and began it rapid rush against gravity's pull on it. He watched in disbelief as they cleared the gap barely, but felt his heart twist when Rouge's hands came undone from his waist as she fell backwards towards the rushing river. Her once unbreakable courage was gone and now replaced by fear as she began her rapid descent backwards and as a high scream escaped from her lips.

In one swift motion he threw himself from the bike and began the fall towards the rushing water. Straitened his body, his bike long forgotten, he will gravity to pull him towards the falling girl. He watched as she hit the surface of the water with a sickening snap, and as she was pulled underneath no signs of her resurfacing. Capturing a mouthful of air, he prepared his body for the sudden onslaught of water and held his arms out ahead of him ready to break the surface.

With a sudden whoosh of air his body broke through the barrier of water; he fought against the great urge to release his breath as the rushing waves hit him full on and the icy feeling began to seep to his very bone. Glancing around frantically he looked for an sign of the girl. None came as he felt the current pull him further down. Struggling to pull himself back up, he fought against the currents and resurfaced for just a moment, before allowing the currents to pull him back under.

As he went under for a second time he felt his heart beat sickeningly in his chest, fearing the worst for the girl. As he was about to give up his search though a lock of auburn hair caught his attention, and he rushed towards it. He looked in mock horror as the girls body was whipping in and out of the currents obviously unconscious.

Reaching out towards her, he barely caught her hand and began pulling her towards himself. Once she was securely in his arms he shot up towards the surface, he breath about to escape from his lungs. Keir's head suddenly broke from beneath the water as he began to gasp filling his oxygen deprived lungs to the brim. Pulling Rouge up with him, above the rushing currents he allowed for her head to rest against his shoulder. He waited for a moment before he realized a key factor that sent off every alarm in his body into over drive.

She wasn't breathing.

"Shit!"

**_Author's Note- Cliffhanger! Muhaha! Please review! I know the ending was a wee bit rushed but I really wanted to get this chapter out today.  
_**


	14. Encounters of Truth Part I

_**Author's Note: Hello everyone and thanks again to all of those reviewing and favoriting, I'm at the 40 mark so Hurray! **_

_**Laceylou76- Thank you! I actually enjoy writing those types of action scenes most so I'm glad that you thought highly of it. Lol yes Rouge and Keir are suppose to be similar to Rogue and Remy so...yea hehe. I try to stay constant with my updates, so I hope I can continue to do so, lol.**_

_**MelissaRM- Yes she does, and in theory he would lol.**_

_**Ban- Thanks, as for Sinister I went over several major X-men bad guys and he seemed to fit what I wanted the most.**_

_**sailormoon846212-Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad your liking the story so far. Yay, so I will send the urls to you when my laptop charger comes in, and I'm off of this computer.**_

_**the-writing-vampire- Holy crow this is a long review thank you! As always your questions will be answered as the story unfolds but I appreciate you telling me what you are curious about it helps keep me on track! I'm glad you liked how I added the Jean-Luc scene as well as the interaction with Fireblade and Rouge, I feel like I'm moving to far from Elle's character and building mostly on her sisters, (Oops hehe.) I completely agree I despise it when people do that with their stories and promise I won't do that to mine, I try to stay constant in updating but it gets hard when I'm busy so If I ever come to a point where I don't update for a long while please understand! lol Thanks once again and I hope this chapter helps answer some of your questions!  
**_

**Chapter 14: Encounters of Truth**

A sharp pain shot through Elle's skull, resisting the urge to vomit she reach up towards her face, some foreign object was resting upon her forehead. Feeling her fingers brush against soft cloth she let a startled gasp escape from her mouth as she pulled the wash cloth down and overlooked it. It was still mildly damp but warm, apparently from the fever she must have been running. Lying it down next to her she pushed herself up onto her elbows and took in her surroundings.

She whistled lowly, it looked like she was on the inside of a jet, a very high tech one at that. Damn it, she inwardly groaned, looks like Sinister did get his grimy hands on me. Pushing down the thick panic about to rise in her chest she threw her legs over the side of the wall bench she was stretched out on and attempted to stand, only to brutally fail and fall head first onto the cool metal floor with a soft_ thunk_. She groaned and pressed her throbbing temple against the cool metal and was content with just laying there for a moment, just long enough to let the nausea pass.

She wasn't certain of what events had happened that had led her to this, but she wasn't planning on sticking around long enough to ask. After a few moments the nausea had depleted to a tolerable level and she pushed herself up onto her palms. Just as she was about to go into a kneeling position though the sound of talking voices could be heard, and she felt her breath hitch in her throat. So much for a silent and swift get away.

With ease she pushed herself up into a crouched position and began slinking towards the doorway where the voices were coming from. Peeking slightly around the corner, she resisted the urge to squeak as she took in the sight of two well built men, a furry blue beast, and a woman with startling white hair and dark skin. She leaned back against the doorway, away from prying eyes. Closing her own she began to listen to the soft prattling that was being exchanged between the four.

"I do not know Logan, it just isn't possible, and even if it were it would be days of DNA testing to prove it." The Blue Beast calmly responded towards the growling man, his hands clenching together at his sides.

"Hank I know her scent anywhere, its her, there isn't a way around it." Logan retorted, the tall woman standing next to the shorter man sighed and began massaging the bridge of her nose.

"Logan, I know you cared dearly for the twins, but please you must be reasonable."

"I am being reasonable Storm! I know the scent, it is her." The mans arms went up over his chest and crossed dangerously. The woman sighed before turning towards the other man, obviously younger than the other three and motioned towards him.

"Jamie, what do you think?" The brown haired man looked over towards the woman and back between the two men, his hands wringing nervously in front of him and brown eyes torn between differentiating sides.

"I-I don't know, I just don't know." The man's head fell downward, and his body seemed to slump forward slightly, "I'm sorry." The woman reach out a gentle hand and gripped Jamie's shoulder comfortingly before turning her attention back towards Logan.

"Very well, seeing as we are going nowhere fast, we will wait for the girl to wake up, then we can question her." Suddenly though Logan's head shot up and he began sniffing the air.

"Looks like it happened sooner than expected," He mumbled before raising his voice and turning to face the doorway, "Come on out kid, we know your there." Elle gasped in surprise and within a second disappeared in a thick cover of emerald smoke. Opening her eyes, she hissed in annoyance, she was only outside of the jet, and her strength was wavering meaning one thing no more transporting. Looks like I'm running she quickly decided before breaking for the trees, every muscle in her body resisting.

She could hear the panicked shouts of the men and woman behind her and the trampling noises as they quickly shot out towards her. She felt her heart race in fear and in a frenzy began cutting in and out of trees trying to avoid her pursuers. Suddenly though her foot got caught on a rock and she went tumbling forward, sharp pains rushing through her body as she rolled down the hill side.

As she came to a dizzying stop, she let a small broken sob escape from her lungs. There was nowhere else to run, and no energy left to run, so there she was feeding herself to the lions. I hope Rouge is okay she thought sadly as she heard the foot steps growing closer. She could hear the frantic voice of the browned haired man above her as he reach down and grabbed her shoulders.

"Hey! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Though much to Jamie's surprise he didn't receive a vocal answer as much as a physical one as the girl kicked him hard in the shin and pushed herself back into the leaves, her emerald eyes shimmering with angry tears.

"Leave me alone! I want no part of Sinister's twisted game!" Jamie looked up in startled surprise Sinister? Suddenly though Logan appeared at the opposite side of the hill and began picking his way towards the girl. Sensing someone coming up behind her she turned around and fought back the urge to launch herself at the man.

"Hey Kid! Calm yourself we don't work for Sinister," Logan slowed his pace and lifted his hands out in front of him, a sign of peace, "We're trying to help you." Elle looked up her face streaked with tears, no one could help her she was already in waist deep and was sinking fast. Lifting her hands up over her face she began to sob and let the tears escape, she'd been doing a lot of that lately, and sat there waiting for the other mutants to kill her or worse.

Instead she felt strong feminine arms wrap around her and began to rub circles on her back. The comforting voice of the white haired woman mumbling soft comforts into her hair. Subconsciously she wrapped her own arms around the woman, if her world was about to end, then at least she could die in mock comfort.

They sat there for a time, before Elle suddenly pulled away and looked at the woman who's arms where still wrapped tightly around her. Pulling back she smiled down at Elle and pushed herself back onto the leaves.

"Child, we mean you no harm you must understand." She smiled brightly and reach out her hand, "My name is Ororo, but you may call me Storm." Elle with quiet caution took the womans hand in her own and shook it in an awkward sense.

"The man behind you is Jamie, also known as multiple." Jamie grinned and split himself into two causing Elle's eyes to widen in surprise, the tall blue man stepped behind Storm and smiled warmly down towards Elle.

"Behind me is Dr. Hank McCoy, he's the one that you ran into back at the tavern." Elle's shot up in surprise, tavern? Though it came to her quickly and she had to hide the blush rising up on her cheeks, how stupid could she be? She watched as Hank stepped in front of Storm and stooped down, shaking Elle's hand hard, obviously he wasn't as frightening as he looked.

"Pleasure to meet you, you may also call me Beast." He bowed his head before stepping back behind Storm and looked towards the other man standing off towards the side.

"The man over there is-" But before she could finish Elle's tight voice cut in.

"Logan," He stared at her in shock, she simply shrugged her shoulders, "Sorry I just over heard your name when you were talking earlier." Her tears had begun to dry and her mind had cleared partially of the fuzz. Reaching up she wiped the last few away from her sleeve, a strange feeling of dizziness coming over her.

"Yes, quite right." Storm watched the girl carefully as she dug her nails into the ground, concern beginning to fill her features. "We are mutants much like yourself. If we may ask what is your name?"

Elle looked up in shock, she didn't know whether to use her real name or not. She swallowed hard, the world was beginning to spin around her as she tried to keep her gaze locked on them, what harm could it do to tell her the truth?

"Isabella Marie Lebeau," Storm along with Jamie and Hank all gasped in unison, whilist Logan only lifted a brow and listened as the girl continued, "But I was re-named Elle by my foster mother Angelina. I was caught in an explosion when I was four years old and had my memories wiped. I lived in California for the remainder of twelve years there, But when I turned twelve Sinister began hunting my sister and I so we went into hiding. Only recently did we travel down here to New Orleans and found my fathers family." Elle's eyes were glazed as she stared off into the distance her voice barely above a whisper.

"The only reason we found out they were related was because of my sisters eyes, their red on black, much like my father Remy's." She said her fathers name distantly memories beginning to fill the void that had always been present in her mind.

"She had an attack though after Jean-Luc upset her, she ran." Her emerald eyes looked up into Storms own blue ones, "I went after her but fell into the arms of Sinister so I ported away and landed in the tavern. In fear I ran and well you know the rest of the story." Elle's focus had finally broken though as memories of the people around her began to fill her mind. Logan's comforting yet hard hugs, Storms delightful laugh, Beast's tsking of the tongue when she was in trouble, and the soft voice of Jamie when they played outside.

Suddenly a blinding pain shot through her mind and she fell backwards toward the ground gripping her head in attempt to ward off the agonizing pain as her back arched. She could hear the worried shouts of those around her, and the soft fur as Hank's hands pushed her hair from her face.

"She's starting to seize we need to get her back to the jet now." Hank's eyes were slightly glazed as he held down the girls slightly convulsing body with the help of Logan, "Jamie get a hold of Remy and Rogue." Hearing those names the barriers around her mind finally broke and before she fell into a dark haunted sleep but yet she could still here the drowned out words of Logan.

"Hang in there kid."

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Remy silently walked through the alleyway following the light pattering footsteps of the duo racing in the opposite direction. He had been following after them for awhile and they seemed to have no intentions of stopping. Whistling he reach out his hand and let it trail over the hard bricks of the ancient buildings, listening as they cut off towards the right. He grinned, strait into a dead end they went he thought in amusement.

Turning around the corner he took in a sight he hadn't expect, a young girl no older than ten was trying to climb the wall behind her, orange hair and green jacket flying as she jumped up and down looking for an escape. The other was a young boy slightly older who looked at Remy with pure fear, his white falling into his face and auburn jacket blowing in the wind.

Smelling the sudden tinge of sulfur in the air, he spared a quick glance towards the others behind him, equal looks of disappointment on their faces. The so called 'dangerous mutants' were nothing more than a pair of children scampering down the alleyways, oblivious as to what they were falsely accused of.

Stepping forward Rogue reach out her hand to the children, disappointment and sorrow written all over her features.

"We ain't gonna hurt ya none, we're just tryin to help ya. But Ah gotta ask how'd ya destroy the street so bad?" The boy's eyes suddenly widened as he frantically began shaking his head back and forth, denying the accusation.

"We didn't do that! Are power's aren't strong enough to do that." The boy suddenly dissipated, making Rogue jump up in shock. The girl finally had stopped trying to find holes in the wall and had caught onto the memo quickly. They watched as the girl's body suddenly began to shift size and shape. Mere moments later in place of the girl stood a dark orange Alley cat sceowing loudly and looking at the older mutants with large blue eyes.

Suddenly the boy reappeared, right before Rogue, and shot forward and grabbed her hand, his baby blue eyes beginning to shimmer with tears. "We're sorry for roaming the Alley's miss! We'll never do it again I promise!" Rogue felt her heart skip in guilt and not resisting the urge grabbed the boy in her arms and pulled him close.

"Nah it's fahne, but do ya know who did it?" The boy looked up and shook his head, Rogue sighed in defeat. In the mean while the girl had returned to her human form, a gleam appearing in her eyes as she turned her attention back towards the conversation before her. Clearing her throat she stepped closer towards the group, her foot fall silent.

"I did," the boy looked up in shock as he pulled himself from Rogue's grip, "It was a set of teenagers, one could control flame, and the other she controlled this weird red kinetic energy. Neither won really, cause as soon as they were about to start fighting again a man with bright skin almost paint white came out and started talking to them." The girl shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot as she stared at the ground refusing to make eye contact.

"After that though I don't know, I ran before anyone could note my appearance." She stepped up closer towards the boy and slung an arm around him hugging him awkwardly. The boy in the meanwhile merely stared at the girl like she'd grown two heads.

"Sis!" He shouted shoving the girl off, "How stupid could you be! You know what mom's gonna say!" The boy's eyes were wide as he pointed an accusing finger at the girl. Rolling onto her feet the girl closed in closer towards the boy, and looked down at him, seeing as she stood a whole head taller than him.

"They never let us do anything anyways! What's the fun in that!" The girl's arm's flew up above her head demonstrating her point. The boy merely scowled and redirected his attention towards the group of people. He bowed his head politely before disappearing, slight foot tracks appearing in the mud as he ran, no doubt about to go tell on his reckless sister. The girl grunted in annoyance and rolled her eyes.

"Brother's." She murmured before transforming into her feline appearance and dashing off trying to catch up with the fading footsteps. Rogue closed her eyes and forced back the irritation waiting to spill over, she'd gotten her hopes up for nothing, but had received some clues as to where to start next. Standing she brushed off the caked mud from her jeans and turned her attention back towards her team.

"Looks like vere back to square one." Kurt said sadly and shrugged his shoulders. The others nodded their heads in agreement before focusing their attention back towards Rogue. As she was about to propose her next plan, though suddenly a knife flew past Kurt's ear causing him to stagger backwards and everyone to turn their attention towards a new figure that had made itself known.

"It would be wise if you were to listen to what I have to say first." Looking up they watched as the form of a young man in his early twenties evaporated and was replaced by a familiar blue presence. Mystique looked at them impassively and planted her fist securely on her hip, her eyes traveling over the group.

"Mystique," Kitty growled menacingly, her eyes alight with anger. Jumping to his feet, Remy began to charge a handful of cards, but before he could throw them he felt Rogue's hand grip his forearm. He looked down to see the pleading look in her eyes, she knew something he didn't.

"Smart girl," Mystique commented as she maneuvered her way over towards the fallen group, "Rogue Isabella's alive right now, and with Wolverine as well as the others. But Sinister's headed in that direction and if you don't play it safe your going to lose her." Everything seemed to freeze around the group as everyone's eyes landed on Rogue. Ignoring their accusing gazes she shot up onto her feet and met Mystique's gaze.

"What do Ah need ta do ta get mah girl back? Where is Eclaire?" Remy could feel his entire being shatter, what was she hiding from him? It wasn't possibly he thought numbly, feeling his knees begin to shake beneath his form, he had watched both be buried. Mystique was playing a dirty trick he concluded sourly, but the look on Rogue's face told another story.

Had she knew all along that their little girls where alive and out there? He looked at his wife in disbelief, every ounce of trust he had put into her evaporating in that very moment. In shock he could do nothing more than sit there and listen as their conversation continued, ignoring the breaking feeling as his soul shattered into many fragments.

"Rogue, Eclaire's gone I can't get a reading on her life signs." Rogue felt her heart tear down it's seems, surpressing a sob she gripped her mouth with one hand. She had to hold it together she still had one of her girls out there, and from the sounds of it needed their full undivided attention.

"I need the cooperation of all of you if want any chance at saving her." Rogue turned her attention towards the group, she could see the hurt and betrayal in Kitty and Kurt's eyes but their agreement in helping, but in Remy's there was nothing, no emotion, no meaning. Standing up slowly he walked over towards Mystique ignoring Rogue's pleading glances.

"We do we need ta do?" He whimpered menacingly, his eyes glaring right into Mystique's own, his hand crushing the cards that laid in his palm. With ease Mystique explained the plan with swift and smooth tones her gaze never breaking from Remy's own. Turning on his heal he began to stalk back over towards Kurt but stopped when Rogue caught a hold of his arm and turned him to face her.

"Ah'm so sorry Remy but ya got ta understand ya wouldn't have believed meh." Remy in a moment of pure rage and betrayall brutally jerked his arm away from Rogue's and turned his attention towards her, his eyes still emotionless, and for some reason that burned Rogue worse than if had been anything other than that.

"Really? You didn' dink I deserved ta know dat my girls were out dere alive? That dere was a way for us to help dem?" His tone was bitter, but instead of feeling sorrow Rogue could feel her temper rising against his own. "We lost one o' dem again chere! Again! I and didn't even know!" His face was beginning to crack from its calm composition revealing the weakness of emotion underneath; It was something Rogue had never wanted to see on his features again.

"Just like your mere said, now we 'ave one left and Ah won't let ya jeopardize her life as well." In a sudden instance Rogue lost her composure and her hand shot out and smacked Remy hard across the face.

"Don't you dare blame meh for that, Remy Lebeau! Had Ah told ya, ya would have been all upset and sayin that she was lyin and would have convinced me so, then we wouldn't have any left!" Rogue's voice had cracked ever so slightly at the end causing Kurt to jump into protective brother mode. Jumping in front of Rogue, he was about to fight back with the Cajun when suddenly Mystique's heavy voice cut through the tension.

"We have to go now." Hearing the urgency in her voice they grouped off respectively on the side that they supported, Kitty stood next to Gambit, fully backing the Cajun on his resolve. Whilst Kurt had a protective arm around his sister's body ready to tear the Cajun apart for even having the nerve to yell at her. Mystique closed her eyes, supporting neither side just wanting to see her one grandchild left survive.

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"She's stable." Hank sighed in mild relief, brushing a few stray strands of hair away from Isabella's face, her vitals had returned to norm but she had fallen into a deep comatose state and he wasn't sure when or if she would awaken from it. He couldn't help but feel sorrow and happiness mixed into one, he was overjoyed to know that the girl was back, but the mere thought that she might not waken worried Beast to a point of no return. The girls, even as annoying as they had been, had become the lively hood and entertainment in the mansion, and after their so called 'death' no one had ever been quite the same.

Looking over the girl he couldn't quite over come the amazement that even after all of those years she still looked just they same, he didn't know how he hadn't believed Logan when he first proposed the idea. Though what startled him most was how she was alive, nothing seemed to add up and it was beginning to eat away at the furry geniuses brain. Turning he took in the sight of a worried Logan propped hazardously against the door frame, his keen eyes watching the simple rise and fall of the girls chest showing that she was among the living.

"What caused it?" His cruel voice cut in, his claws suddenly extending in anger and annoyance, whoever had played this dirty trick was going to play dearly. Beast could do nothing more than shake his head unknowingly.

"I'm not sure, but whatever it was it was powerful, enough to almost kill her." Hearing those words Logan's fist slammed against the side of the X-Jet making it shake. He had lost her once, and had no intentions of losing her again. Re-sheathing his claws Logan stepped over closer towards the girl and took her hand in his own. He stood there for a time simply overlooking her hand, thinking of all the times that girl had been persistent and made him hold her hand. At the time he had thought it ridiculous but after losing her it had left him regretting ever thinking such things.

"Kid, you'd better wake up." Seeing as his command had no effect on the kid he sat down on the chair next to the unconscious girl. He should have known better than to have given up hope on them so many years ago, all the signs had been obvious that it wasn't them that had been buried, but in his hard headiness he never once thought to check the scent. he buried his head in his other hand and groaned in annoyance, thinking over the reactions he was going to have to deal with when the other squadron got back.

"You cause a lot of trouble you know that, Tumble?" Wolverine had given that nickname to her and Stumble to Eclaire when they were around the age of two. During that time neither could walk more than a few steps without falling flat on their faces. He hid a grin at the thought of the evil glare's that they had always sent his way when he called them that, like they knew the were being insulted.

Suddenly the lose grip in his hand tightened and he looked down into the sleep ridden but bright eyes of Elle, a small smile playing at her lips. Loosening her grip from Logan's she propped herself up on her elbows a glimmer glowing in her eyes.

"I haven't heard that name in a long time, Wolvie." Logan's eyes widened slightly, in a sudden motion the girl had pulled herself into an upright position, throwing her legs over the bench, and her head resting in her right hand that was positioned on her right knee.

"Kid I wouldn't be sitting up if I were you, you almost died." Much to Logan's surprise the girl laughed out loudly, it's ringing and chiming tone sounding through out the cabin of the jet.

"Well apparently I'm not and I have my memories back so I'm not going to complain." Swiftly pulling herself onto her feet she passed Logan and walked through the doorway into the cockpit, where a fidgety Storm was sitting pulling at the loose bun her hair was in, and a worried looking Jamie was propped up against the head of the controls, speaking to Storm. In mock amazement Elle began to remember slight glimpses of the two and felt her soul swell, with quick motions she ran up towards the two and stopped abruptly causing Jamie to glance at her and turn his head back towards Storm. Suddenly though as what he saw sank in he turned his attention back towards the girl standing before him.

"Isabella!" He practically screeched before pulling the girl into a tight hug, Elle could only laugh as the tall man squished her against himself. It was something that she hadn't felt in years and wasn't quite ready to relinquish her hold on yet. Storm quickly stood up and as soon as Jamie released his hold on the girl she flew strait into the older woman's arms, a sad smile playing at her lips.

"Isabella how is this possible?" Storm asked almost pleadingly her eyes beginning to glaze over in tears. She felt the girl shrug her shoulders and look up at her. Storm couldn't help but smile, knowing what type of reunion was about to occur when the others arrived. Pulling herself from Storm's grip she stepped back and looked over the two standing before her. Family, she thought sadly before the brief memory of her sister hit her and she fell back into a chair.

"Rouge." Elle murmured and looked up at Storm, the older woman sensing her distress grabbed her shoulders and leveled their gazes. Storm had not forgotten the other twin and at the mention of her name was ready to leave and search for the missing twin.

"We'll find her, I promise." Storms voice was strong and steady, and it brought comfort to the young girl. Beast soon walked in and watched the scene unfold before him, before Elle caught sight of the furry man and turned her full attention back on him.

"It's been awhile, Beast." She commented her arms tucked tightly across her chest, Beast couldn't help but chuckle. He was shocked and wary of her being awake so soon, and seeming so stable but he wasn't about to start arguing it.

"It has been quite a time hasn't it?" Elle smiled as she made her way over and tightly hugged the man around his neck. Jumping back from him, she watched as part of her family slowly pieced together before her. They stood there for a time merely staring at one another in disbelief, before suddenly the entire Jet shook knocking everyone off of their feet and onto the ground.

"What was that!" Jamie screeched, holding onto one of the chairs as the jet was being flipped. It rolled several times before coming to a stop. Moving into a kneeling position Elle felt a familiar presence and cussed.

"I smell Sinister." Logan growled his claws extending, with ease he jumped up and began slicing at the door frame, trying to create an exit. Once the door was open though Wolverine's body was violently jerked from the jet as he was slung against a tree, unconscious, a black material consuming him and holding him in place. Next ripped from the jet were Storm, Beast, and Jamie as they were brutally pinned against the ground, black appendages binding them against the dirt, no solutions for escape and incapable of using their powers.

Sinister appeared from behind a large tree his cyanide grin burning all those that looked upon it. He stepped forward and motioned for two of the cloaked figures to retrieve the auburn haired mutant. In mere moments they returned with her caught between the two, fighting with all of her might to get loose.

"Now, now Isabella there's no need to fight me, I mean you no harm," His voice was low and sent shivers up her spine, she really didn't like where this situation was going. "See even you sister is among us now, ask her she'll tell you the truth of the matter." From behind Sinister appeared Eclaire her long auburn and white streaked hair pulled up and her eyes shimmering in the sun a faint smile playing at her lips.

"Elle stop! He's trying to help us! He can cure us look," With swift motions she pulled the leather gloves from her fingers and reach out and touched her sister, there was no pull, no drain. Elle stared in disbelief at her sisters form, a smile playing at her lips she'd never seen before. That's when it suddenly became clear. Balancing her weight between the two figure's she kicked upwards knocking the impersonator back.

"Your not my sister, she doesn't smile like that." They watched as the form of the girl suddenly shifted to that of a young man, he rubbed his chin where the girl had kicked him and laughed.

"You've picked a fighter boss."

"Not for long." With that Sinister stepped closer to Elle and withdrew two viles filled with dark liquid, inserting them into her skin, he watched as her gaze became unfocused and as she slumped forward between the two mutants, falling unconscious for the third time that day. Lifting the girl into his arms he turned to hear a loud bamfing noise and the shocked gasp of his new guests. He couldn't help but laugh out at the dark glares and hateful emotions coming off of them.

"If you want her," Sinister taunted, "Come and get her." Remy's eyes suddenly began to glow darkly as his hands became encased in thick pulsing energy, a darkness coming over his face.

"I will, you can count on dat." With that Remy shot forward, energy pulsing through out his system. In tow behind him rushed the other mutants not restrained anger burning on their features. Sinister laughed and watched as his servants appeared in front of him, ready to take on the oncoming Calvary, a dark smile playing at his lips, this game was getting more interesting by the moment.

**_Author's Note: Holy Crow this chapter took me FOREVER! But here it is, I was getting tired towards the end so I cut it off there, sorry if it seemed rather abrupt, I will continue this section in the next chapter, and sorry for any spelling/gramer/writing mistakes I made I was in a hurry and I didn't completely sift through this chapter sorry! please review!_**


	15. Encounters of Truth Part II

_**Author's Note: Here's part two of the chapter 'Ecounters of Truth' Enjoy!**_

_**MelissaRM- The updates here! You don't have to die now, lol.**_

_**Fox Adler- Yes she is, lol. You'll have to wait and see!**_

_**ban- Thanks! You'll have to wait to see what happens to Rouge. **_

_**sailormoon846212- Yes they found Isabella, you'll have to wait and see about Remy and Rogue, as well as Rouge, Thanks for the review!**_

_**kii- Thanks for the review!**_

**Chapter 14- Encounter's of Truth (Part 2)**

Mystique hissed in annoyance and dove off towards the left, avoiding one of the crushing blows of Arclight. She couldn't seem to get a hit on the foul tempered woman anywhere and it was making her own temper boil. They had only been fighting Sinister's lackeys for the time of maybe a quarter hour, and she could already feel her strength waning. From her position on the ground Mystique glanced over towards the others fighting, and felt her heart sink. They couldn't win.

Arching her back she threw herself up and twisted herself into a standing position, before crouching down, hands at the ready for the oncoming assault. Arclight grinned sadistically and began walking circles around the shape shifter. With each step she moved in closer towards her, her tongue clicking in displeasure. In a moment of pure chance Arclight shot forward and caught Mystique's jaw in one of her bone crushing punches sending the shifter backwards and knocking her to her knees. Holding her jaw in her hand Mystique watched in anxious annoyance as the woman closed the distance between them.

"I thought you would have put up more of a fight, shifter." Arclight taunted, her short dark hair bobbing with her swift and cat like movements. In a flurry the woman shot forward and attempted to land a kick in Mystique's face, but failed brutally when the shape shifter caught hold of her ankle and slung her backwards causing her to go flying through the air. Arclight hit the tree with a resonating crash and slumped towards the ground, obviously unconscious.

One down, Mystique thought glumly as she pulled herself up from her kneeling position. In a swift motion her body fell upon itself twisting and morphing to resemble a hawk, and with a piercing cry she shot off towards her failing son as he fought off the overpowering Omega Red.

Within moments she was hovering above the battle, and soon after shifted allowing gravity to pull her body downwards towards the earth. Landing softly, she watched Kurt be thrown back and collapse on the ground, Omega Red lingering over him a sadistic gleam in his dark eyes. With a quick motion Omega Red* had Kurt pulled up by his throat, cutting off the elf's air supply. Taking that opportunity Mystique raced forward and threw herself into the air, her foot colliding with the big brutes head.

Immediately he dropped the elf and staggered backwards. In an instant Kurt had disappeared, nowhere in sight. Recovering from his staggering for a moment, the tall Russian began scanning around him looking for the perpetrator. A hard kick was landed on the base of his neck in that instant, sending him spiraling forward and meeting the ground with a solid thwacking noise. He turned to take in the sight of the blue elf he had almost killed mere minutes ago. Cursing in Russian he stood to his full height, the tentacles from his wrist lashing out back and forth.

Standing next to her son, Mystique ventured a glance at him, over the years he had grown considerable and seemed more than capable of handling his own now. His eyes glanced over towards her own and he allowed for a frown to venture on his lips, accusation growing in his yellow eyes. In the time after Apocalypse Mystique had kept in mild contact with her son, building a bond she would have never thought possible, but after the incident with the girls she had cut all ties hoping to hide them long enough for them to grow and prepare for the attack of Sinister. Obviously she had failed miserably and now had her own son back to hating her, what a life she led.

"Mutter*, you go left I go right?" Mystique nodded her head at her sons tactics, and shot off towards her position, hoping that after everything had settled maybe they'd let her live, and if she was fortunate could rebuild a bond with both her son and daughter.

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Wolverine's claws extended and slashed through the dark mass that was surrounding him. It fell, shredded, and began to whither before shooting off towards its master. Wolverine couldn't help but growl as the dark mass of a new mutant he had never seen before. She was a woman*, no older than twenty four, her purple hair flowed around her, and her orange eyes seemed to glow with a light all of their own. Stepping forward, she flicked her wrist up and out towards Wolverine, a mass of black material racing towards him.

Flipping up he managed to avoid the onslaught of the black material and landed his claws extended. She snarled in annoyance before crouching down into a low stance and began hissing words. Suddenly the world around Wolverine became pitch black, dark tentacles ripping at his uniform. He yelled in defiance and attempted to slice them, but to no avail. They merely replaced themselves and became stronger and stiffer each time he cut them.

He felt his body being pulled underneath the black mass, nowhere to move or go. Suddenly his head was enveloped chocking off his oxygen supplies. He fought against the blackness but it wouldn't budge, suddenly his mind began to become fuzzy and his body felt distant, he was suffocating. In a final attempt at escape he allowed for his claws to sheath themselves, letting his body go limp, making the appearance of losing consciousness or dying.

In lithe moments the blackness dissipated and he felt himself fall and hit the group, she had bought it. Rolling over onto his side, Wolverine peered through the hood of his uniform and watched as the black material made another lash out towards him, its hostess hissing angry words of disbelief. Jumping up onto his feet he rolled off towards the side, playing the game of cat and mouse with the darkness. He proceeded to jump and avoid the mass, trying to find a way towards the woman controlling it. An idea hit him though as he looked up above him, the trees dancing in the wind.

Shooting off in the opposite direction of the woman he extended his claws and dug them into the bark of a tree, and began his rapid ascent towards the top. Once he felt he was high enough to avoid the woman's powers he shot off through the trees, blending in like the perfect shadow.

The woman watched the trees with bright eyes, shadows dancing around her feet, the man was there somewhere. She heard a loud thunk behind her and whipped around shooting out her dark tentacles of power. She stopped though when she realized no one was there.

"Looking for me darlin?" She gasp in surprise when she felt the heavy sting of metal pass through her abdomen. Coughing she fell forward onto the ground, the black evaporating, releasing Jamie as well as Storm and Beast from their prisons. Turning Wolverine took in the sight of the others fighting, debating which way to head first.

Mystique and Kurt were battling back to back, trying to fend off Omega Red and Sunfire . Kitty was phasing as Riptide slung shuirekens out towards her, on her face plastered a look of pure annoyance and irritation. Jamie had tackles a stalking Ruckus, and the two were battling it out fist to fist. Beast had his hands full as he fought off both harpoon and prism, whilst Storm was sending thunder bolts towards an oncoming Vertigo. Remy and Rogue though had it the worst, both were being slung back as they head first into Sinister's trap, a grinning Polaris and Blockbuster standing in their path.

Knowing his destination he rushed forwards towards the two southerners, getting to Sinister was the key point after all.

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Gambit cursed in irritation as he withdrew another handful of cards and sent them flying outwards towards the big oaf known as BlockBurst. The man simply stood there and allowed for the cards to smash into him, barely leaving a mark on his skin. He was getting nowhere with this, turning Remy saw Rogue dive towards the side avoiding another sonic burst from the body of Polaris (currently occupied by Malice*.) and hissing curse words all the while.

"Looks like the little man doesn't want to play." BlockBuster called from across the field, but Remy took little to no notice of it sparking anger in the large man's being, no one ignored him.

A loud pounding noise came from behind Gambit, and by mere inches managed he to jump out of the way as Blockbusters fist collided with the ground making the earth quake. Turning on his heal Gambit began making a swift retreat backwards trying to buy himself sometime while he scrambled for a strategy.

The large man smiled evilly before chasing after the much smaller Cajun. Merde, Gambit thought in annoyance as he shot across the swamp, this brute doesn't seem to have a stopping point he thought numbly. Sprinting farther out ahead, Remy cut off towards the side and behind several sets of trees, knowing the brute would chase after him and run into the trees hopefully knocking himself out.

Suddenly though the sound of wood snapping caught Remy's attention, as trees began to fall around him. He looked up into the psychotic eyes of BlockBuster and swore. Damn that man had a thicker skull than he had thought.

"You've got a thick skull dere you know?" The man yelled in irritation at the insult and swung his fist down towards Gambit's body, okay so maybe taunting the four hundred pound giant was not a good plan.

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Rogue jumped backwards, avoiding another swipe from Polaris. This woman was infuriating her, and the sight of Sinister holding Isabella only an arms length away was breaking portions of anger that Rogue didn't even know she possessed. Skidding forward on the wet leaves she counterbalanced her weight causing her body to twist around landing a kick in the green haired woman's face, knocking her back flat. A sonic wave escaped from her, causing Rogue's hands to shoot up over her ears and a painful cry to escape her lips.

Falling to her knees, she heard the sarcastic laugh of Polaris, every nerve insides Rogue's body where sudden set on fire as she kicked out and knocked the approaching woman over. Flipping up into an upright position Rogue glared down at the woman before removing the glove from her left hand and touching the woman's face. Her eyes suddenly widened and the breath became caught in her throat before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell backwards.

Every thought and emotion raced through out Rogue mind in colorful streams of life and memories, some more frightening than others. Kneeling Rogue sifted through the memories, nothing of any use coming up. The sight of their base was unknown to even the servants, only Sinister knew it. Growling in irritation Rogue pulled the leather glove back on before stepping over the woman, her mind set on one target. Grabbing a hold of a low lying branch she swung herself up into the tree, and began stalking her way towards the pale man.

As she stood above him she took off both of her gloves and stuffed them in her back pocket. Leaning forward she adjusted her weight so that only her bare skin touched Sinister and not Isabella. Confirming that the position she was in was the best she swung down from the branches, ready to take on the geneticist head on.

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Remy rolled around another tree, as BlockBuster destroyed the one he had been standing behind mere moments ago. He watched as the splintered wood scattered across the ground and shuddered only imagining what it would be like if that was what collided with his body. Jumping up he gripped one of the branches and swung himself behind the giant, attempting to land a kick under his feet. Though much to Gambits unfortunate surprise he felt a shattering pain travel up his ankle as his foot collided with the ankle. He seethed through his teeth refusing to cry out as he jumped up and ran back towards the covering of the trees.

With each step he took it felt like a thousand tiny needle points were being shoved into his bones, it was painful enough to make him limp, which was rare. Jumping of his good foot he tucked his body in and rolled down the hillside, skidding as the land leveled out. Suddenly though there was a big hole, obviously dug by hunters trying to trap big game, in the ground and Remy felt himself fall in partially. Gripping the muddy ground with all of his might he willed himself to pull up cursing the life of every hunter he'd ever met. After a few fear drenched moments he pulled himself free a new battle plan brewing.

Randomly though a blur of black and orange shot past Gambit's eyes making him do a double take, what in high heaven..? That's when Remy saw the pissed look on Logan's face as he pushed himself up from the ground, his mouth filled with mud. Spitting it out, he growled menacingly before taking off in the same direction he had come from. Understanding began to wash over the Cajun and he quickly followed the footsteps of Wolverine, hoping that he could keep his cool long enough to listen to reason.

Remy snorted in spite of himself who was he kidding? Wolverine listening to reason? That would be the day that pigs flied. Favoring his right foot slightly Gambit rushed across the landscape towards the sound of crunching wood and sharp metal. As he neared the duo he pulled out three of his final four cards and charged them sending them at a pile of twigs behind the giant. They burst into flames at instant contact. Seeing the fire Wolverine kept pushing Blockbuster back towards the flames.

The giant laughed as he threw a bone crushing punch at the X-man but yelped in pain when it collided with the adamantium claws of Logan, ripping his hand wide open. Staggering back slightly, he felt a searing pain travel up his backside. Looking down BlockBuster caught sight of the fire and immediately fell backwards rolling trying to extinguish the flames.

"Wolverine, drive him farther back towards de hillside, I have an idea." The older man looked at the Cajun with slightly raised eyebrows but complied none the less as he ran up towards the giant and laid a sharp kick into his side making him roll the final distance towards the hillside. In sudden motion the big man hollered in disbelief as he went tumbling down. Following close behind the big man, both Wolverine and Gambit watched as his body jolted over rocks before suddenly falling into the dug out trench. A hard rumble shook the earth, then stilled, well BlockBuster was out for the count.

"Nice work Gumbo," Wolverine commented as he watched the mud seep deeper into the hole, "but we've got to get to Sinister pronto." Remy nodded his head, ignoring the pain in his ankle, that could wait until he finished ripping Sinister to shreds.

Taking the lead Logan shot up the hillside, Gambit trailing less than two feet behind, silently thanking whatever hunter had dug such a ridiculous sized hole.

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Rogue felt her feet collided with Sinister's body knocking him off towards the side and sending Elle rolling in the opposite direction. Reaching down with her bare hands she gripped Sinister's face and allowed for every horrible memory and thought to enter her body. Though what shocked her was when the thoughts of completely different person entered her mind. Jumping back in shock she watched as Sinister morphed into the form of a young girl* her pink and blonde hair startling in the sun.

She heard an evil laugh come from behind her and gasp when she watched Isabella's body melt away revealing the same blue and blacked headed boy from earlier laying in her place.

"A bit shockin idin't love, bet yer wern't suspectin a shifter were ya?" Rogue felt her heart sink as she watched the boy rise into a standing position, his black eyeliner making his blue eyes seem to dance. He stood around five ten at the most and was was thin but lean, though from the Gothic clothes he wore you wouldn't have been able to tell.

"Sorray, but see ole boss man had to get that girl back ta the lab before you had a chance ta get your hands on her you know?" The boys thick British accent was light as he spoke. Turing on the spot he grinned stupidly as he watched over Rogue's shoulder.

"Looks like ye almost killed my sister love," The boys voice lowered as he watched his the girl behind Rogue gasp for breath in her unconscious state, "Pity it is, seein as we haven't a choice whether we work for ole Sinister or not, well best ta go out with a bang you know?" Rogue felt her heart clench, those kids were slaves.

"What's your name?" Rogue asked suddenly, the boy stopped watching his sister before turning his attention back towards the woman before him. "If ya tell me that Ah'll help your sister."

"How does that concern you?" He asked, his accent getting thicker as worry became evident in his voice. Rogue only stood there and eyed the boy. She watched as he scrambled for a solution. "I'm Forrest, my sister's Serene, we're twins."

Nodding her head Rogue knelt down next to the girl and rested a palm on her forehead, she could feel the heat even through out her thick gloves. With ease Rogue rolled the girl over onto her side and slapped her hard square in the back causing the horrid gasping to suddenly stop and her breathing return to normal.

"Nothin more than hyperventilating." Rogue murmured remembering the first time Elle had had one of those fits and the panic that raced through her system, thank god Hank had been there or Rogue might have lost her mind.

Being lost in the memory Rogue took little notice as the boy knelt down next to his sister and gently gripped her hand, relief and worry both prominent on his face.

"Thank you, but why'd you help me, her, err us?" The boy asked nervously, Rogue only shook her head, her heart was already broken enough and to see another child be broken or killed wasn't something she was up for.

"Your not the bad guy, your a slave to that old creten." Rogue mumbled as she stood, tears streaming openly down her face. Looking at the boy she motioned for him to take his sister and leave. feeling her emotions beginning to overcome her, she didn't want to harm the boy. Taking the girl in his arms he nodded his head in thanks before racing off towards his team mates. Rogue felt her knees collapse beneath her, her mind a complete jumble of emotions all her own.

She heard the shouts and orders as Sinister's servants began their retreat, her mind not being able to comprehend the fact that the battle was over. She heard the rushing of feet against the ground as the X-men rushed over towards her. They all abruptly stopped at the sight of the missing Sinister and Isabella, and the limp Rogue on her knees. She felt the gentle hand of Kitty grip her shoulder, trying to give some type of impossible comfort. The wet splotches appearing on her shoulder proved that point farther as Kitty silently wept.

"We'll find her Rogue, I promise. We'll get the help of Scott, Jean, the Professor..." Kitty's voice faded though as she watched Rogue's body shudder beneath her hand. Truth was Kitty had been infuriated at the fact that Rogue hadn't told anyone, but as she watched her she understood why, if she hurt herself it was one thing but hurting a handful of others was unbearable. Dropping to her knees Kitty ignored the tight pull in her hip where Riptide had managed to hit her, and wrapped her arms around Rogue, much the same way she had done the day of the twins poised deaths. They sat there for a moment before the sound of the remaining X-men's foot steps were heard.

Breaking through the trees Gambit stopped suddenly a look of horror plastered on his features. In a swift motion his body fell back against the nearest tree as he slid downwards towards the earth he couldn't help but want to cry like a child. Though in all of his resistance he managed to force the tears back, but not the emotions that were coursing through his system. He couldn't help but send accusing gazes towards Rogue.

Shooting towards his feet he strode over towards the group and stopped just before Rogue. In a swift motion, induced by rash emotions and unlogical thinking, he tugged his wedding ring off of his finger before tossing it towards the crying woman.

"It's over Rogue." With that he turned not caring about the wound he had just tore in the weeping woman, and began making him way towards the X-jet, the others only watching his retreating form with sad eyes, not wanted to tear a larger hole in the situation by interfering. Wolverine appeared from the trees a scowl deeper than any they'd ever seen on his face. Leaning against the tree he watched as the Cajun made his way past him, and in that second could have swore he saw tears on the thief's face.

"Looks like we lost, Stripes." Logan stated calmly, his arms crossed over his chest, unsure of how to approach the fragile situation, but knowing full well that once they returned to the mansion he would have some business to attend to with a certain Cajun. Letting his eyes glance over the many faces in the group he could see the dissapointment and sorrow written on their features.

Standing abruptly Rogue pushed Kitty off of her and rolled up the arm of her sleeves before grabbing Remy's wedding band and shooting off towards the woods where the Cajun had disappeared. Wolverine raised an eyebrow before coughing non chalantly in his hand.

"I'm going to go referee." Turning he sauntered through the woods, giving Rogue a good chance at landing a few good hits before he had to pull her off of Gambit. Their relationship had been tension filled for over a decade and Wolverine thought it was about time they settled it.

Sulfur filled the air as Kurt apeared next to Wolverine, his eyes glazed over in anger, as his tail swished rapidly behind him.

"Mystique fled after the battle." He stated, hiding his roaring emotions well. Logan only grunted in reply as the two slowing made their way through the swampland. "Logan, ve can't give up hope, yet there seems to be none that ve can hold onto."

"Elf, let's just get these two under control first, then worry about that second." Kurt nodded his head before grabbing Wolverines arm, both deciding that it was time to pull the two garanteed fighting southerns apart. The duo certain that it was going to be more than just a yelling spree between the Southern Belle and Raging Cajun.

**_Author's Note: Okay so the things with *'s next them are things I need to explain._**

**_Omega Red- I added him cause it is a key in the plot further on._**

**_The girl- She's one of my OC's for this story, her mutant name is Turn-Table._**

**_The twins- Both also a set of my OC's, key members further on in the story. _**

**_Malice- In the comic books Malice had control over Polaris's body for a time so I'm going with that._**

**_Mutter- German for 'Mother'_**

**_Please R&R! Also please let me know if you want me to go ahead on jump onto the next part of the story without the fight between Rogue and Remy or with it! Thanks!_**


	16. Moonlit Silence

_**Author's Note: IMPORTANT!!!! So I've had several different opinions sent my way about whether to include the fight between Remy and Rogue, and decided to attempt at making everyone happy, so I'm going to skip it in this chapter but add it as a separate chapter on its own after this one. Hope everyone is okay with that!**_

**_sailormoon846212-I wouldn't be too worried about Rogue and Remy seeing as this is a Romy story -hint hint- lol. Your about to find out what Sinister has in store for the twins, also as I told everyone above I'm going to do it in the next chapter I hope that's okay!_**

**_Ban- Haha Its a Romy story so do not fear! Lol You get to see the outcome of Rouge and Fireblades adventure in this chapter so you can see what happened to her. _**

**_Courtney Summers- Thank you! Wow I didn't know you like it so much. lol_**

**_MelissaRM- Back to the twin(s) we go._**

**_LaceyLou76- Haha I promise it will be a big fight between the two, I'm currently working on it right now. Thank you for the compliments on my writing they really help me keep motivated. As for the angst with Remy I was actually very surprised with how the quality came out seeing as I have little to no experience writing as such. I'm glad your enjoying the story, hope I can keep it up. lol!_**

**Chapter- Moonlit Silence**

A loud sneeze echoed through out the box car, receiving a low chuckle in reply.

"Bless you, Sheila." Rouge resisted the urge to crawl over towards the maniac and smack the guaranteed smirk off of his face. Wiping her nose against her sleeve she moaned in annoyance and leaned back onto the smooth and cold metal of the box car. She closed her eyes and forced down a shiver that was making itself known. Allowing a sigh to escape her lips she fell into a light doze remembering the events that happened less than two hours prior.

_Rouge suddenly gasp for breath as she rolled over on her side and began coughing up the foreign liquid in her lungs. She felt a gentle gloved hand pull her hair from her face as the last of the content came from her lungs and splattered in front of her on the ground. Collapsing on her side she willed her breathing to return to norm and for the searing pain in her throat to diminish._

_"My god Sheila, don't do that again!" Rouge groaned, remembering full well who her company was. Covering her eyes with her arm she willed him to disappear. Peering underneath her sleeve she inwardly cursed, he was still there his vibrant eyes wide and puppy like making Rouge's stomach turn flips. Damn idiot she thought angrily before rolling over onto her back and looking up towards the sky. It was splotched with patches of white stars and the moon shown brightly over the land causing her sensitive eyes to burn. _

_"Dundee what happened?" She whispered hoarsly, having a good idea but not wanting to face the truth. Propping herself up on her elbows she looked out towards the flowing river and felt herself shudder, she hated water in general, but deep flowing water scared the wits from her._

_"Hehe now about that," He started rubbing the back of his neck a thick blush appearing on his cheeks. Wait a blush? Oh god Rouge thought feeling her entire being reel. "You kinda fell off of the bike and I kinda had t' come save you." Rouge held up her hand silencing him, and signaling that that was more than enough information for her. His low chuckle sounded as he reach out and traced a pattern over her cheek._

_"You know you 'ike it Sheila." Rouge growled and kicked himback, her arms crossing defiantly over her chest. Keir fell backwards and broke out into that maniacal laughter that left Rouge's spine tingling._

_"Right, and I'm secretly a man." She muttered, her lip stuck in an undeniable pout. Keir sat up his eyebrows arched and a look of mock surprise written all over his face._

_"Your one to? I thought I was the only cross dresser! I guess I can't call you Sheila no more then." Rouge blinked once then twice, unsure of how to approach the situation. After a few moments of total shock she regained her composure and smirked her head slightly cocked towards the side._

_"Well that does explain a lot," She started her grin growing wider as she continued on, "I always knew I was more ballsy and masculine than you, mister I straiten my hair." Keir's maniacal laughter stopped and he looked at the girl a mischievous look playing in his eyes._

_"Now how did you know that Sheila?" Rouge simply shrugged her shoulders, her attention diverted back towards the bridge, having lost interest in the conversation with the Aussie._

_"Total guess." Keir rolled his eyes before jumping up to his feet and offering a hand towards the grounded girl. Grabbing his hand, Rouge allowed for Keir to pull her up. She felt a slight wave of dizziness wash over her but quickly suppressed it. _

_"Come on we'd better go get your bike," Rouge's eyes darted over towards the end of the bridge where a demolished Tricolour lay dormant. Keir nodded his head sadly and offered his hand out towards the girl. Who, in return, rolled her eyes and made her way past him. As much as Rouge hated to admit it she was enjoying the company of maniac, and it brought some sunshine towards her dull life. _

Rouge jumped suddenly when the train hit a rough part of the track, and it sent her flying across the box car. She landed with a loud smack against the already demolished bike. Somehow both her and Keir had managed to sneak the mangled piece of metal into the train with them without being caught. Pushing herself up from the hunk of metal she once again sneezed and let out a small groan.

"Oi Sheila must you make a mess outta everthing?" Keir's soft voice questioned, obviously weighed down with the sound of sleep. A slight rustling came from Rouge's left as Keir sat up his eyes seeming to glowing in the streaming moonlight. Rouge, ignoring the questioning looks of the Australian, maneuvered her way back towards her corner and slid down, the rustling sound of her sweat pants sounding as she landed.

After they had retrieved the bike, Keir had been persistent in Rouge changing from her soaking wet clothes, claiming that she was going to get sick. After much bantering and threatening she had ended up in a pair of his sweat pants, an orange long sleeved shirt, both coming from his duffel bag to of which neither were sure how it had survived and her hair pulled in a sloppy bunat the back of her head. She snorted, so much for not getting sick. A sudden shiver ran up her spine, and not being able to suppress it her body shook.

She sat there for a moment her arms locked tightly around her body, willing the chill of the freezing water to final evaporate but to no success. Suddenly though something warm was wrapped around her shoulders causing the shivering to immediately cease.

With careful eyes she watched as Keir's body slid next to her own, his orange hair laying flat against his forehead and his eyes slightly glazed over. Even though being reluctant to let the heat go she started un-shouldering the jacket but was stopped when Keir's hand grabbed her own.

"Keep it, your the one that can't take a little cold." Rouge couldn't help but notice the slight compassion in his sarcastic tone. Pushing his hair back from his forehead he slumped forward slightly, the drain of his powers finally being shown on his features.

"So you were raised in L.A. and can' swim, how pitiful luv." Rouge growled and sent a menacing glare towards the boy who simply blew it off still staring off in the distance. "and t' 'hink I 'hought you weren't scared of anything." He laughed lightly before it slowly faded falling back into a eery silence.

"So where are you taking me, Keir?" Rouge questioned trying to keep her gaze from the boy, her gaze being directed at several opposite directions, "Are you certain they can help me find my sister?"

"Oh so now were on first name basis huh Rouge?" Realizing her fatal mistake, she could do nothing more than slap her own forehead, "Heh I kinda like the ring of that, though I still like Eclaire."

"My name is not Eclaire." Rouge stated her voice full of malice, she didn't want to hear that name it was to familiar and unknown for her to feel safe with it. "And if you want to play it that was, _Keir_ I could always just go back to calling you Dundee."

Keir grinned, "Well 'hen 'hat would mean I could call you Sheila then." He let his tongue click against the top of his mouth, "or better yet, Mud Rat."At that Rouge's head suddenly shot up her mouth frozen in a snarl.

"I'm not a mud rat, damn it." Keir only laughed and laced his arm around Rouge's shoulders, who, promptly in return shoved it off, her locked gaze never leaving his own.

"Actually you are, both of your parents where from down south," Rouge looked at him skeptically but continued listening, "Your dad was full Cajun, hence for the nick name 'Swamp rat' that your mum gave 'im. And your mum was from Mississippi, 'River rat', and seeing that both of those places contain mud I dubbed thee 'Mud rat', clever n'?"

"Bought as clever as.." Rouge let her sentence die though thinking over the last time she'd used a comeback in such context. "You know what never mind." Smoothing the wrinkles from the leather jacket around her shoulders she allowed for another awkward silence to fall, but this one more short lived than the others.

"Rouge, do you really not remember me, or anyone?" Keir's voice had taken on a new tone, a sane one, one that Rouge wouldn't have ever thoughtpossible and it made her stop suddenly, truly thinking over the content of the questions.

"No I don't, I've only had one flash and all I got from it was the name Lebeau," Reaching up she tugged her hair down from its bun allowing for the knotted strands to fall about her shoulders, "I have no idea where I came from." Keir opened his mouth, obviously to make a smart ass remark but was quickly quieted as Rouge caught sight of the stance of his mouth.

"Oh no I'm not walking into that one."

"Oh but Sheila you don't want me to tell you about the birds and the bees?"

"Hell no! I got enough of that in Sex Ed."

"hehe you said the S word."

"Shut up, you nasty pervert."

"Me the pervert? Your the one that said it!"

"You brought it up first!"

"So your point being?"

"I hate you." She quickly turned her back towards the boy making a valiant attempt at ignoring him, and failing miserably. "Would you quit pouting your getting on my nerves!"

"Why should I you hurt moi feelings Sheila." Rouge raised an eyebrow at the boys failed attempt at using French.

"Don't use French, you can't pull it off mon ami." Keir's face fell into a pout for a mere second before another glint appeared in his eyes.

"You called me your friend." Rouge growled and lightly charged a handful of hay and chunked it at the Australian. It landed and exploded only powerful enough to leave a light stingy sensation on his skin.

"Go sleep over there on that pile of hay, and leave me alone." Keir laughed heartedly and didn't budge from his spot.

"I've known you for two days and your already kicking me to the couch, hay, whatever you want to call it, and were not even married." Rouge rolled her eyes before slumping down against her pile of hay.

"And are never going to be, mind you." Keir simply sighed as he leaned his head back against the hay pile, lying next to the fuming girl. He gave a quick glance over and couldn't help but think how cute her scowl was, even if in a evil sadistic sort of way.

"Dundee?" Rouge asked in a calm and spaced tone, lack of sleep evident in her voice. Questions had been buzzing around in her mind non stop, but one was making itself known more so than the rest and she didn't have the stamina or resistance to hold it back.

"Yes Mud Rat?" Keir replied in a sing song voice. Rouge could only roll her eyes at the pet name before moving onto the subject that had been jeering at her ever since she had run into Keir in the street.

"How do you know Sinister." The look on Keir's face immediately altered, and his voice deepened to a low tone that even startled Rouge.

"It's a long story and not a pretty one at that, so you wouldn't want t' hear it." Rouge's nose slightly scrunched up at the end as she looked over towards Keir, his face covered in a mask of darkness.

"We've got time," Rouge replied calmly, letting her curiosity get the better of her, "Plus if you tell me, I'll answer any question of your choice." Rouge immediately regret ed the words once they left her mouth, the Aussies head shot up slightly, but resistance still in his eyes.

"Anything?" Rouge rolled her eyes and shoved Fireblade back slightly, knowing the thoughts rushing through the boys head. Didn't matter how old a guy was, how he looked, or his personality their minds were always in the gutters.

"About my life, yes." His head fell slightly but he nodded his head none the less and gestured for Rouge to get comfortable knowing the length and severity of the memory.

"Well let's see how d' I put this? See I was always sickly when I was little, it came from being premature and all. Didn't have many friends, well except for you o' course," Keir glanced over towards the girl but no visible emotion could be seen on her face, "After you died I kinda lost will to live, I let my weakness get the better of me. Hank McCoy told my parent's I was going to die and that there wasn't anything that medical science could d' t' stop it, my body was just t' weak."

"My mother almost went insane, err well more insane than she was and clung to me like if she let g' I would evaporate. My father was the same but in a more subdued fashion, see after I was born they told my mother she couldn't have any other children, so I was their 'nly chance I guess you could say." His eyes were far away, lost in the memory, "Then my grandfather met a scientist wh' said he could cure me."

"Sinister." Rouge proclaimed knowingly, Keir shook his head in agreement before continueing on. "Exactly, My grandfather knew 'f the man's treacherious behaviour but with his 'nly grandchild's life 'n the line he was game for anything. He didn't tell my parents he simple came and got me 'ne day and took me n' note n' nothing."

_Keir sat silently on his bed, being to weak to get up and go anywhere anymore. He could feel something, something dark and sinister trying to consume him, and it scared him half to death. He didn't have fun anymore not since his best friend had died. They had long ago made a promise they would always be there for one another and in losing her he felt his entire soul shatter. He'd never fit in anywhere, but he'd always had Eclaire. The big mouthed reckless kid who stayed in trouble more so than out of it. But now she was gone, no longer there to cheer him on to climb trees to catch him when he fell to help him when he felt sick, she'd always been a light in his dim world. _

_The only one who'd ever stand up to any one person that said something mean to him. She gotten in several fights over him, some of which she'd barely walked out of. Injuries ranging anywhere from slight scuffs and bruises, to a busted lip and bloody nose, but not once did she ever regret her actions. He felt a tear stream down his face, in a swift motion he wiped it away hiding it from the world. His father had told him to not cry and be strong and cherish the memories not mourn them over Eclaire, yet in certain day's he just couldn't seem to cope. _

_A loud crashing sound came from downstairs causing Keir to jump slightly. Uncle Toad, or as his mother called him, stalker Toad had been left in charge of him for the day seeing as he had lost his position on the team for a time due to suspension. Keir couldn't help but wonder what the pale skinned mutant had managed to break this time, and more yet why he wasn't helping him. In a moment of pure defiance he crossed the line his parents had told him not to cross and swung his legs over the bed. He stumbled slightly, not accustom to standing without help and began trekking his way towards the door frame._

_Reaching up he twisted the knob to reveal a rare sight, but one Keir treasured none the less._

_"Grandpa!" Keir yelped and jumped up into the King of Magnesium's arms, merely enjoying a presence he barely saw. The older man's deep laugh rumbled through his chest as he rubbed Keir's pale orange hair and lifted him up higher into his arms._

_"Hello Keir," He said lightly but his tone soon darkened slightly as he lowered the boy towards the ground, "I need you to listen to me okay?" Keir nodded his head egerlyhis shaggy hair bouncing with the movement. "Were going to go to someone who can heal you, but in order to do so you have to promise me you'll trust me and no matter what won't give up."_

_Keir looked at his grandfather mildly confused, but none the less complied knowing his grandfather would never intentionally hurt him. A smile small appeared on Magneto's face as he lifted the petite boy up and began making him way down the hall and proceeded down the staircase. After becoming pregnant Wanda had lost her temper with the old and demolished boarding house and began making slight repairs, not wanting her child to grow up in such rubbish, and threatening the lives of any of those that destroyed said repairs. After years of work it had become bearable and to Keir a warm sight of home._

_As they stepped down the final stair Keir couldn't help but cock his head off towards the side at a unconcious Toad laying on the floor. Keir looked up at his grandfather questioningly, who cleverly hid a grin before replying, "He didn't seem to want to let me see you so I insisted upon coming in."_

_Keir giggled at that, he'd never understood why his mother had help such a grudge against such a great man. In a few long strides Magneto had exited the boarding house and now stood next to an old modeled car, that was in good shape. Opening the door he sat the small Keir inside and buckled himin. Before moving off towards the drivers side, trying to make haste to avoid the wrath of both the speed demon and scarlet witch, not forgetting to Pyromaniac who was father to the said child in the passenger seat. Bringing the car to life he pulled away from the dirt driveway and made his way towards the interstate._

_Keir had his face plastered against the window, watching as the many colors of the city and forest flashed by. He wasn't certain as to how long it had been since he'd seen in, but in that moment he couldn't seem to get enough. Keir looked over towards his grandfather, a smile playing at his lips unaware of the consequences that were about to unfold. _

_&&&&&&&&&&&&_

_Keir looked at the pale white man in fear, his heart galloping at a thousand beats per second. Something about him didn't feel right, and he wanted nothing more than for his grandfather to come back and get him. The man's smile was horrid, his teeth were a sharp line of razors and his eyes glowed a faint red. As the man neared Keir he slid farther back on the medical table, scared for his life. _

_"Now child, I mean only to help you, you must understand, but to do so," The man's voice was even more frightening than his appearance, "you have to cooperate. Don't you want to be happy again? To see your mom and dad happy?" Keir thought about all the things that had happened in the past year how things had become more sad, and how his mother cried a lot. Thinking only to make his mom smile again he nodded his head bravely before allowing Sinister to grab his hand. _

_"There now, better." Keir watched as the man withdrew a needle and pressed deep into Keirs skin, the golden green liquid being released into his veins. As he pulled the needle out, Keir suddenly felt something he hadn't ever felt prior, he felt energy coursing through his system, he felt strength, and most of all he could no longer feel the dark gripping pain at the edge of his mind. Keir looked up in amazement at the man who simple grinned evilly in return. _

_"How did you do that?" Keir asked in pure amazement his high voice slightly squeaking at the end. The man simply shrugged his shoulders and watched as Magneto reappeared in the room. Keir jumped up and began shouting for his grandfather to join him. The mans low chuckle sounded as me made his way across towards the boy. Though in a terrifying moment of realization his grandfather suddenlybecame someone else, a man with brown hair who's clown like laugh made the boy eep. _

_"Looks like I killed the trail boss, they have no idea where to look to find us, and as far as that Toad's concerned ole Magneto stole the boy." Sinister cackled as he threw the dirty needle aside and readjusted his lab coat. _

_"Good work Morph, now grab him and tie him down." Keir felt himself began to hyperventalate as suddenly the brown haired imposter grabbed him and pinned him against the table, tieing down the fighting childs limbs. _

_"Now the real work can begin." Sinister said almost too delightfully. Keir felt tears running down his cheeks as he attempted to shout his mom, his father, and his uncles names pleading for them to come and save him. "It's useless young Allerdyce, they're nowhere near here and won't ever be able to find you. So if you calm yourself we can make this quick and painless. Keir in a sudden moment of defiance spit into the face of Sinister, causing the huge man to growl._

_"Hard way it is then child." Another needle point broke through the skin of Keir's arm and suddenly he felt his body go limp, no control over it, but ever feeling becoming hypersensitive. He felt his shirt beginning pulled up and over his head, and the sudden increased searing pain as a knife cut across the top of his torso. In the sudden pain his mind overloaded and he blacked out, grateful to be free of the ripping pain._

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Rouge automatically felt her fist clench at her sides, no one should have ever dreamt of hurting a child in such a way. Looking over towards Keir she wanted to do nothing more than to hunt the sorry son of a bitch down that had made both herself and her sisters life hell, as well as the idiotic Australians.

"So it was never your grandfather at all?" Keir shook his head, a small laugh coming from his mouth.

"Nope, it was the shape shifter Morph the entire time. Ha if I could have just seen the look on my grandfathers face when he heard such accusations." Keir played up to sound so harmless, but Rouge could tell it hurt him in a way nothing had ever before.

"So the surgeries, what were they for?" Rouge tempted silently, almost so much so that Keir barely caught it.

"To study my anatomy, to figure out how my mutation worked. What disappointed himwas the fact that I wasn't what he was looking for." Keir's hand played at the bottom of his shirt, "But he left enough scars to last anyone a hundred life times." With ease he pulled his shirt up over his head revealing the slashes and dices that ran all up and down his torso, making Rouge's eyes widen both in anger and sympathy. With a gloved finger she traced over one.

"How did they not kill you?" She whispered as she pulled her hand back, trying to hide the new tomato color of her cheeks. Keir quickly pulled his shirt back down and propped his body once again back against the hay.

"That's a question I've been asking myself for years, luv...." Blinking his eyes he turned his attention back towards the girl who, despite acting so, was more intrigued by the story than she let on. Sighing he continued on, hoping that reliving the pain would be worth asking the girl one simple question.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_Keir felt a stray tear stream down his cheek, he'd been at this facility for more than a month, and his body ached in way that no eight year old should ever have to suffer through. He'd given up hope that anyone was ever going to find him. Pressing his back up against the side of the stone bench that had served as his bed, he willed the fire that was new to him to appear in his hands. It had been his only companion for countless days. It's color varied from time to time some times it was a deep passion orange, or a violent crimson red, or it could be a neon blue to a dazzling purple._

_The slamming of a door suddenly sounded and Keir immediately hid the flame, certain that they were coming for him again. Seeing as he was the only prisoner currently occupying any of the cells. He watched as a man draped in a heavy trench coat began scanning through the cells, that wasn't right those that worked Sinister always wore those dreaded lab coats or uniforms. No this man was different, especially in his speed, he moved in lithe grace that no human could rival. _

_Pushing himself up under the bench he hid, hoping the man wouldn't spot him. Keir held his breath trying to somehow make the man disappear faster but instead he appeared right in front of his cell. Keir knew he was caught when the man gasped and began rapidly running the access keys through the locks. Once the correct one slid through the man shoved the door open and rushed over towards the boy. Pulling the hood of his jacket back, he revealed short cropped white hair and dazzling blue eyes._

_"Keir! That bastard, why once I get my hands on him." But Keir was paying little attention to the words that were escaping the mans mouth, because he was to caught up the fact that the speed demon himself stood before him, his uncle. In moment of sudden weakness he launched himself at the man and held on tight, refusing to let his grip loosen even slightly. The man's break neck ramble stopped as he tightened his grip around his nephew. _

_Standing suddenly Pietro turned his attention towards the sound of rushing feet, and in an instant disappeared in that direction, quickly maneuvering past them. They ran like that for a time until they hit a force field sending both flying in opposite directions, Pietro cussing as he was on his feet in an instant ready to take on the geneticist that had stolen a fraction of his family away._

_Sinister appeared around the corner a look of pure menace and annoyance plastered on his face. In a moment Pietro had appeared next to the scientist and had landed a hard blow into the mans jaw sending him toppling backwards but not without shooting his leg out and entangling it with Quicksilver's own knocking him down as well. Though in a moments notice Pietro was back on his feet ready to go whilst the thick form of Sinister took a time to stand. _

_For a time they exchanged blows, neither winning the upper hand in the battle until somehow managed to knock Quicksilver back and gripping the man by his throat. He lifted him into the air about to crush the easily breakable bones in the mutants neck, when something in Keir broke and a blinding pain shot through out his system. Before he knew what he was doing Sinister's body along with half the hallway was coated in thick raging flames, dancing refusing to let their grip on the man go. _

_Sinister in a moments notice, sensing the severity of the situation fled trying to extinguish the flames that had engulfed his body, unaware of the fact that his experiments had increased the mutants abilities to such a level. Keir felt his power begin to relapse and felt himself hit the ground. Above him was the wavering images of the flames and the illusion of the hallway sifting due to the heat. Though that view was blocked when his uncles face came into view, worry written in every line on his face. _

_His lips were moving but Keir couldn't hear what he was saying, he could only feel the familiar darkness around him. His uncles movements became rushed and before he knew what had happened everything went black._

_&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

_Keir could hear the low bleating of machines in the background. On instinct he cringed waiting for the sharp blade of Sinister to make a cut but no such thing happened instead he felt nothing, well nothing but the soreness of his muscles as his body moved. Allowing for one eye to open he took in the sight of a medical lab, allowing the other one to open he felt a gushing relief when he realized it wasn't Sinister's._

_A low gasp came from beside him and before he was certain of what was going on, his mother had him in an unbreakable embrace, kissing his head and hair multiple times and feeling the wetness of her tears streaming down his body. Looking up he managed a quick grin causing his mother to cry harder, but with a smile on her face._

_"Momma, I'm so sorry." Wanda's eyes suddenly widened at her sons apologies, "I think I hurt uncle Pietro with my flames I didn't mean to, they they were just so hard to control and...I'm sorry!" Keir buried his face into his mothers shoulder and Wanda couldn't help but cringe, her son had done no wrong in anyway yet here he was crying asking for forgiveness for something that never occurred._

_"You didn't do anything hun," She whispered pushing his pale hair away from his face revealing his once sea foam green eyes to sudden be a vibrant lime. "Pietro's fine, other than the fact he's terrified and worried about you." Keir looked up disbelief playing in his large eyes._

_"Really?" Wanda nodded, tears still streaming down her face. "So can I see him as well as dad I miss him.." Wanda let a low chuckle escape her lips and nodded her head, ready to give the boy in her arms anything he wanted._

_&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

Rouge reach up and wiped something foreign from her eye. Keir cocked an eyebrow at the girl, who in return could only glare through her teary eyes.

"Your crying." He stated the obvious as he wiped a stray tear away from her face, she slapped his hand away and sniffed disdainfully.

"Am not." Rouge stated.

"Are too." Keir calmly replied.

"AM NOT!" Rouge shot back.

"Are too!" Keir shouted playfully.

"Whatever." She mumbled before pulling her knees to her chest and looking at the boy in a whole new light. Keir cleared his throat and grinned gleefully, causing Rouge to growl.

"Now it's my turn Sheila." He stated calmly, running a finger along his chin debating what one free-bee question he would use. Coming up with one he snapped his fingers and clicked his tongue. "Well did your powers become known?"

Rouge's body suddenly went stiff as she looked at the Australian before her, attempted to clear her throat to speak but nothing would come out. Her hand shaking slightly she went to push a stray stand of hair from her face, trying to compose herself enough to tell the brutal story that could rival even his own.

Seeing the distress in her eyes Keir felt a sudden secret understanding come over him as he reach out and grabbed the shaking girl. Tears were streaming openly down her face as she buried it deep into his chest, taking in the comforting heat of another person.

"You don't have t' tell me Sheila, not until your good and ready." Keir felt his anger suddenly spike, playing over the many scenarios that could have sent the girl into such a state to act as such.

"Thank you, Keir." He grinned at the usage of his name, but avoided saying anything and simply tried to make his presence for her comforting. In a matter of minutes she was fast asleep in his arms and he felt reluctant to let go, but after several minutes of holding her he laid her down and stood to make his way across the box car. Though a sudden grasp around his ankle made him stop. He knelt down and gently unlocked the girls fingers from around his ankle but in return felt himself being pulled down onto the hay.

In a random moment he found himself laying on his back his arms wrapped around Rouge and her head against his chest, once again sound asleep. I could get use to this, he thought before pulling the girl closer, knowing full well what her reaction was going to be in the morning. Though in the mean time he enjoyed the presence of the girl, beginning to realize he was feeling something more powerful than friendship between them.

"Don't worry Eclaire, I'm never going to let anyone lay another finger on you." Even in her deep sleep Rouge heard the words and a small sad smile appeared on her face knowing that even in his most sincerest proclamations that it was an impossible feat.

**_Author's Note- hehe Rouge's past will be revealed in time, also explaining why shes so distrustful of people. Hope you liked the fluff of this chapter, something else I'm entirely new at. Please review! The little button is commanding you to do so!_**


	17. Demon Eyes, Angel Lips

**_Author's Note: Dum Dum DUM! The long awaited chapter of Rogue vs. Remy, hope you all like it!_**

**_Laceylou76- lol I wasn't thinking about that when I wrote this chapter but now that you mention it, it is very similar to the one where Gambit kidnaps Rogue. I'm glad you like the Rouge/Keir pairing its just alot of fun to right, and wow almost as much as Romy? That's quite a bit from what I can tell! lol I know, Morph was an awesome character in the 90's show its sad they kinda just shoved him in the closest after that, that's why I brought him into this fic._**

**_sailormoon846212- Lol you'll have to wait and see what happened in Rouge's past, but it will be revealed in time. Haha yes I couldn't kill off one of the main roles too quickly, she has a lot more to do in this story, so yeah. lol!_**

**_MelissaRM- I don't know if you got to read this chapter before you left, but if you did I'm glad, I rushed trying to get this up so you could have it before you left, lol. Bella will make her appearance shortly._**

**_Ban- Yes I completely agree, I've read alot of stories about the X-men's kids and not in one have I seen Jonda's kids paired up with Romy's. Yes here's the long awaited fight scene. _**

**_the-writing-vampire- lol tis alright, I don't mind you reviewing every chapter but once in a while is nice ;D. Rabid fangirl? Wow lol I didn't think my OC pairing would go over that well but I shant complain. Don't worry I can guarantee it won't be over a year for me updating on this story, I actually am hoping to have it finished out before the end of August. Once again thanks for letting me know what your anticipating it keeps me on track! hope you enjoy this chapter!_**

**Chapter 17: Demon Eyes, Angel Lips**

Rogue couldn't help but growl in annoyance. As if it wasn't bad enough losing her daughter again to a damned Cretan her husband decided to have a little pity party himself and leave her. She had been married to that damn Cajun for a surplus of thirteen years, and he was ready to up and leave because she was trying to protect him? She didn't think so, not without putting her two sense in first.

Wiping the tears away angrily, she stomped through the mud infested hole known as New Orleans swamp land looking for said Demon. In her left hand she squished his wedding band willing it to turn to mush under the force she was putting on it, but to no such luck. Once again she growled before pocketing the ring and picking up her pace into a steady gait. Allowing her mind to drift over the severe emotions running through her head, she continued her constant scanning.

She wasn't certain as to how they were going to find Isabella, or rescue for that matter, and even if they managed it what type of damage would already be done? Would there be a Bella to save? She knew full well she was wasting precious time hunting after the Swamp Rat, and had her thoughts not been influenced by the emotional impact, she probably would have let him go focusing all of her being onto finding Bella, but seeing as the fight had been brewing over the last decade, it was about time the pot spilled over and she was ready to tip it.

She felt her foot catch on something and felt herself fall head first down into the clumpy mud, leaving her uniform caked. Pushing herself up on her hands she saw what she had tripped on and repeated several dark curse words. Kicking the Bo staff off towards the side, she clenched her fist at her sides and looked up towards the trees.

"Get yer ass down 'ere Swamp Rat, Ah got somethinta say ta ya." Her accent became thicker as her anger flowed. A slight fluttering of leaves indicated the presence of the thief, and in a moment an object fell from a low branch and landed in a kneeling position in front of Rogue. Gambit looked up at the fuming woman and could do nothing more than scowl, wanting nothing more than to shove the woman away and make her keep her distance, permanently.

"What do ya want Marie, Ah ain't got time ta be playin dese games, I got find moi daughter." Rogue's eyes flared suddenly and in a moment of pure and un-restrained force her fist shot out and slammed into the thief's jaw causing him to stagger back a few steps, but his gaze never once leaving Rogue's own.

"Your daughter? Your daughter! Why Ah outta knock ya on your ass for that Lebeau!" She bit her lip hard resisting the urge to lunge out at the man and tackle him and instead continued on her rampage. "Ya ain't got no rahght ta say that! I carried her for nine months and went through livin' hell ta bring her into this world and shes your daughter! She's more mine than she'll eva be yours"

"Really? So a real mere would just go on jeopardizing deir daughter's life by keepin it a secret, you aren't worthy of that title Marie." Not being able to resist anymore Rogue jumped forward and tackled Gambit to the ground. She began laying punches against his face, but was stopped suddenly when his hands wrapped around her wrist and his knee caught her in the side and he slung her hard across the landscape.

She landed and rolled a few times before coming to a dizzying stop. In a flash though was back on her feet, her anger well beyond repair and searching for an escape route, namely beating a certain auburn haired man to a pulp.

"This is more than just about Bella idn't Remy? This started a long tahme ago didn't it? Didn't it!" The man only snarled in reply before returning to a standing position, bruising beginning to form on his jaw line and cheek bones. "Don' ya ignore meh, answer my question!"

Remy only looked at Rogue, his eyes once again unreadable, as he popped his neck. "Dere's nothin left to discuss Rogue, dis be where we separate." He then promptly turned on his heal and began walking away, which in turn only added kindling to the already out of control fire of Rogue's emotions. Not even truly thinking about her actions, she lifted her hand and telekinetically lifted the retreating man from the ground and slung him through the air, and slammed him against the ground in front of her.

Kneeling down she grabbed his collar in a death grip and made his eyes meet her own. "Ah said ya ain't leavin' without answerin my question, now get goin'." His dark eyes glazed over in anger, and in a swift motion he knocked Rogue from her feet, knocking her back, then grabbed her arms and pinned them behind her head, his body sitting on her stomach.

"Ya want ta know Rogue? Ya want ta know Ah'm finishin dis? Fine den Ah'll tell ya." His gripped tightened on her wrist causing them to ache, but it was the least of her worries. "Ah'm finishin dis cause Ah can't take it no more! Your always sulkin, actin haft dead. I went through the same damn bloody pain ya did, but Ah went on, Ah did what I had ta do, but you, you just let it eat away at ya! How was Ah suppose ta help? You wouldn't let moi get close ya wouldn't do nothin more dan pout Chere!" Rogue could feel tears building up behind her eyes but refused to let them fall or make themselves known.

"Den suddenly ya lose your mind and go destroy deir graves, and what do Ah do? Ah picked up de damn pieces and didn' ask one question. Den suddenly Ah find out your crazy mother knew dat our filles were alive, but ya didn't even once bother ta tell moi? Ya didn dink Ah deserved ta know!" Remy was on the verge of tears when Rogue's knees came up and she shoved him backwards, making him relinquish his hold on her wrist.

"What did ya want me ta do Swamp Rat? If Ah told ya what would ya have done? Told me Ah was crazy, that she was lyin? I can't tell ya anything Remy Lebeau!" She threw her hands up in the air to create a point. "And don't ya go tellin me who went about sulkin all dese years, had Ah not practically shoved food down ya throat after the accident ya wouldn't be here!" Remy jumped up onto his feet, his hands caught in tight fist.

"Ah tell ya had I been raised not ta hit de femme's ya would be out bout now." At this Rogue raised her brows and hissed at him.

"Oh so is this what's this is about? The fact that your over-sized ego won't let ya fight? Ya got somethin ta prove?" She taunted Remy, her voice dripping in acid sarcasm, "Or are ya to scared ta hit meh? Come'n if ya ain't scared then fight meh! Their isn't no one ta see, and I ain't runnin and tellin no one." Remy gritted his teeth resisting to take the woman up on her offer, everything his father had taught him beginning to slip beneath years of rage.

"Ah. Don't. Hit. Femme's." Remy stated through gritted teeth, Rogue only rolled her eyes. Before placing a hand on her hip, she wanted him to lunge at her so bad that she willing to stoop as low as it took.

"Ya wouldn't be breakin none of those damn codes of so called 'integrity' ya got there," She used her finger to emphasize the usage of the word, "seein as ya ain't got nothin ta call yourself a man by. Hell Ah'm more of one then you are sugah." She said it in such a brutal fashion, that all of the barriers that had ever held Remy's self control broke and he lunged forward at the woman and promptly knocked her towards the ground his fist colliding with her thin jaw.

Rogue grinned in sadistic delight, he'd taken the bait. The sudden rush of adrenaline blinded all of her logic as she raised her elbow and brought it down on his shoulder, making him yelp out in pain. She quickly took that opportunity to take her position on the top and began hitting him with everything thing she had, each punch filled with emotion. In a vague attempt at blocking the woman Remy raised his arms above his face, hoping to avoid too much damage.

"Oh ya afraid Ah'm gonna mess up your pretty face, sugah?" Remy growled at the comment before slamming his elbow upwards and catching Rogue's nose, blood beginning to run rapidly down her face.

"Don' even start dere, Rogue, ya gonna learn real fast it won do ya no good." Rogue at this released her hold on her nose and slammed her knee down onto Remy's stomach, knocking the breath from the Cajun, but not his spirit. With a fast hand he gripped a handful of Rogue's hair and slung her to the side, before taking his perch once again on top. Rogue spit into Remy's face causing his hold on her to loosen and allowing for her fist to fly up and collide with his throat.

They exchanged blows like that for a time, each taking turns flipping the other and gaining the top position. Settling a score that had long been in the making. Neither were certain as to how long they had been exchanging blows when suddenly a force pulled Rogue from her position from Remy and restrained her, holding her aching arms pinned against her side. She fought and kicked trying to get away from her captor but to no success, how she hated the fact that her brother popped in at the most horrid times, she wasn't forgiving him for this one.

"Schwester Ruhe selbst!" Kurt half shouted, trying to pull his raging sister from her rabid state, but to no such luck as she slammed her head back against his own causing stars to dance across his vision, but his grip still held tight.

Remy, in the mean while, had been drug up by Logan, His head caught in a tight head lock beneath the man's arm, giving him no route for escape. So he settled for cussing at the Canadian, which in return only got him a smack over the head.

"Ya low life bastard! Let meh go now! Ah got business ta finish!" Kurt only shoot his head, deny his sisters claim. Tears were streaming openly down her face, seeing as she wasn't going to be able to finish her fight physical, she could close it verbally.

"Ah hate ya Remy Lebeau," She screamed, her voice echoing across the swamp land, "Ah hate ya with all my heart. Ah wish ya would just go away." Her composure, if you could call it that, broke and sobs wracked her body and tears streamed openly. "Ah tried ta make it better, Ah really did but ya don't appreciate nothin sugah, nothin." Her head suddenly fell forward, her body shaking with the emotions that had so long been pent up but were release and racing through her system rapid.

Remy could do nothing but glare at her, but deep inside he could feel the guilt and regret of his decisions making themselves known. He knew he shouldn't have hit her, hell he hated himself for doing it, but it was the only way to get it out, to get over what had long been dormant. A few stray tears were making themselves known as they drug the dirt clump on his face away leaving streaks of his tanned skin showing through.

"Ah don blame ya Chere, Ah hate myself to. Ah shouldn'a hit ya, Ah'm so sorry," His voice was weak and vulnerable all of his shields let down, "but ya don know how it is ta be left in the dark, thinkin dat ya could be out tryin ta find somethin dat meant so much ta ya. Ah know what ya were thinkin and you were right, Ah wouldn have believed ya Ah just wish dere had been another way."

Suddenly Rogue's head shot up, understanding and reasoning finally returning to her. She looked over towards her bloodied and beaten husband, realizing she had been the one to cause that damage. She felt his pain suddenly, understanding his situation finally, and she began to cry harder. What if Remy had known and hadn't told her? Would she have been fine and dandy with it? No, she would have been livid, demanding an explanation. She bit her lip trying to compose herself, but to no avail only causing the sobbing noises to come louder. She had blamed him for something that was her own fault, he didn't owe her an apology, he didn't owe her anything.

"Oh Remy Ah don't know what Ah was thinkin, A-Ah'm so sorray." Her voice was broken and it was tearing Remy's insides apart piece by piece. "Ah could never hate ya sugah, but ya hatin me Ah could understand full and well. Ya have every right ta leave me." Working her way out of Kurt's loosened grip she pulled the ring from her pocket and rolled between her fingers. Logan, seeing the situation cooling down, let his grip go on the thief and backed away only slightly, ready to jump at a moments notice.

Standing Rogue made her way towards Remy, once there she gently unfolded his clenched fist before laying the ring in his hand and closing his fingers around it.

"Ah can't fix what Ah've done Rem, Ah know ya can't stand the sight o me but Ah hafta find Bella, and I need your help. After that though ya can go ya own way." Her voice was faint as she whispered her goodbye. Turning on her heal to leave she felt a familiar grasp around her wrist, this time far gentler, and felt herself being pulled back. Remy's arms snaked around her waist and his head rested against her shoulder.

"Your funny Chere, cause for a second dere Ah thought ya were bein serious." Rogue's eyes widened but suddenly filled with tears again. She knew she didn't deserve him, she pushed at his grip trying to escape, but to no avail, he still had strength over her.

"Remy please let meh go, Ah don't wanna hurt ya no more." She whispered but in return only received a light chuckle that made the hair on her neck stand on end. Though stopped suddenly when he twisted her around and pulled her chin up so that their faces were mere inches apart.

"You've lost all faith in moi Chere, Ah could never leave ya, even if my life depended on it," He brushed a stray strand of white from her eyes and well as a tear, "Remember? Ah promised Ah'dnever give up on ya and Ah have every intention o keepin dat promise, dat is if ya still want me after what Ah did ta ya." His eyes misted over in guilt but Rogue, not being able to take it buried her face into his chest.

"Your the craziest man Ah know Remy Lebeau, for stickin with me," She looked up at him, her decision clear as the silent message went between them, "and for that Ah'd give the world for you." Remy smirked and tightened his grip around her, his head resting against her hair. They stood their for a time, truly enjoying one another fully for the first time since either could remember, when a awkward cough sounded.

"Uhmm vell ve best get going the other's vill be vorried." Rogue laughed at the tone in her brothers voice, and knew full well that if she looked towards him a bright red would be shining beneath the deep blue of his fur. Reluctantly she pushed away from Remy, and turned ready to leave; but as she turned she felt something that madeher gasp, the tip of her sleeve was rolled up and it brushed against the ungloved fingers of Remy's hand. Her body became stiff as she waited for the pull to come, but it never did. In shock she looked at Remy who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Looks like Chere's got control again." Rogue could only laugh and did something she would have never thought possible again, she crashed her lips against Remy's taking his taste, something she had longed for. A groan came from across the field as Jamie walked into view his nose scrunched up in disgust. He'd never been one for the touchy feely things. Rogue jumped back suddenly a blush prominent on her face, but Remy only grinning far from embarrassed about the situation.

"Eh so yea, uhmm we'd better get going." Jamie said soundlessly, still not quite over the shock of walking into a make out scene, even with such a low degree of intensity. The guy was almost thirty and still couldn't seem to handle seeing other's make-out, but himself doing so what another story.

"Rahght let's go," Rogue was about to link her finger's with Remy's when suddenly an idea occured to her and she yanked her hand from the leather glove and shoved it into her pocket. Linking her nude hand with his own, Rogue shivered in delight. A low grumble came from Logan sounding something along the lines of 'damn kids,' before making his way off towards the group emerging from the trees.

The couple shot quick glances at one another before following suite of Logan. As they approached the group all of the small talk and chatter suddenly stopped as they took in the disheveled appearances of their team mates. Somehow during the battle Remy had managed to get a huge rip across the mid section of his uniform along with several small gashes along his legs and torso, whilst Rogue had managed to rip off one entire pant leg, as well as a missing shoulder, leaving her pale skin to shimmer in the waning light. Not to mention that both of their faces were bloodied and or bruised.

Suddenly though a racing Kitty came gliding down the slight slope towards the group her brown hair bouncing with her movement. She came to a sudden stop before Logan, and quickly began to banter on about the X-Jet being prepped, but stopped mid-sentence when she took in the battered and beaten appearances of her team mates and ventured to ask the question that had been looming above the entire group.

"What in the world happened to you to!" Kitty's eyes were wide and had glints of disbelief playing in them. Remy could only shrug his shoulders, leaving Rogue to answer the awkward question.

"We kinda got in a fahght," she stated simply running her right through her mud caked hair, "just a little one though." Kitty snorted in disbelief before crossing her arms over her chest.

"A little one my ass, you both look like you've been drug through hell and back." Remy laughed aloud at this and pulled Rogue closer towards him, making their skin to skin contact between their hands more visible causing an even bigger rise from Kitty.

"Wait! You can touch again!?!" Rogue only nodded her head, getting a head shake from Kitty. She grinned before turning attention back towards the group who each had a look of shock written on their features at the sudden news. After a few moments everyone began making their long trek towards the Jet, Remy leaning on Rogue, his hurt ankle throbbing. Another thought still lingered in all of their minds, each relating to a green eyed girl with auburn hair.

"Remy do ya think we'll get her back." Rogue asked seriously, her heart still aching from the loss. After the words had left Mystique's mouth that Eclaire was dead Rogue felt a sudden even more anxious feeling to try and get her Bella back.

"Ah don think so," Rogue felt her heart clench suddenly but was relieved when Remy's voice continued, "Ah know so." Rogue nodded her head determination set in her mind.

"We lost Eclaire Remy," She said sadly, thinking about the little crimson eyed mutant with the chiming laugh, "Ah can't forgive myself for it."

"Ah can't either Chere, but knowin Eclaire she'd want us to find Bella." Rogue couldn't help but shake her head at the thought of the protectiveness Eclaire had always show towards those she loved, especially Bella and Keir.

"Ah know Remy, she was always so caring, even if in her own little mean way." At this Remy laughed, knowing full well what his wife was talking about, and somehow in that moment Rogue knew everything was going to be alright.

**_Author's Note: I hope I wrote this to everyones liking! Please Read and Review!_**

**_Schwester Ruhe mein selbst!- Calm yourself my sister.  
_**


	18. Mirroring the Eyes of Another

_**Author's Note: Thanks to all of those reading my story, I hope your enjoying it. Not much else to say really, other than please R&R.**_

_**dani- Thanks for reviewing! Lol I can guarantee it will be interesting hope you enjoy this chapter.**_

_**Laceylou76- Haha thanks, I really had fun writing that chapter and it made me all hyped cause I've never seen/nor read anything like I wrote so it makes me happy to see its somewhat an original take. I'm really pleased that you liked it so much, and the Jean-Luc/Romy confrontation is going to be just as much fun to write, though it won't be for a time before its mentioned. **_

_**ban- Lol, thanks, the fight as I said before was a blast to write. Elle won't appear for a few more chapters sadly, there's just too much to fill in before we get there. Lol 'kinda' being the operative word, lol if Rouge doesn't kill him first. -wink-**_

_**sailormoon846212- Lol thank you, yes it will be an eye opener when they find out Rouge is alive. Also did you get the link I sent you? **_

_**the-writing-vampire- Lol I can always count on a long review from you or Laceylou76, it makes me happy. lol now that you mention it I think I need to bring some more Jonda into the story, even as just a side view, lol thanks for pointing it out. Haha you'll have to wait and see where Keir and Rouge end up but I can promise Choas is ensured. thanks for the review!**_

**Chapter 18- Mirroring the Eyes of Another**

Rouge moaned tiredly, sleep still pulling her down trying to force her back into slumber but to no avail. Yawning slightly Rouge realized just how comfortable she was, i didn't know hay could be so warm, she thought tiredly. Pushing herself slightly she felt something wrapped around her, huh that's weird she thought distantly. Allowing her eyes to focus she felt her calm serene mood pop.

"DUNDEE!" She screeched pulling herself from Keir loose grip, smacking him from his sleep. He groaned before waving her hand off like a fly and rolling over, his back turned towards her. He knew full well she was going to have said reaction when she woke up with his arms around her. Well it was nice while it lasted, his thoughts murmured. Deciding to act clueless he yawned and stretched his arms out, acting innocent.

"What is it, Mud Rat?" He asked barely conscious, unaware of the pissed girl sitting next to him. "A bug scare you or something, luv?" Rouge growled at the insult and brought her fist down on his shoulder causing him to yelp out.

"Oh I saw a bug alright, a nasty little pest," Her eyes were glowing slightly in the sunlight streaming through the cracked door, "And I'm about to squish it for having its nasty arms around me!" She lunged at the Australian causing him to roll backwards and her falling forward headfirst. Keir quickly fell over the top of her grounded form, causing a scene that would have made Remy's fatherly instincts scream murder.

Keir was straddling Rouge, his knees on either side of her stomach and his hands planted flat against her stomach, while Rouge's arms laid above her head, her hair sprawled far around her head, a nasty sight indeed.

"Oh I didn't know you liked to play dirty like this Sheila." He whispered, his eyebrows lifted in slight amusement. Rouge would have been red in the face from embarrassment had it not been for the cocky grin on his face, making her blood boil. Deciding against an anger ridden reaction she decided to play along, hoping to scare the wits from the boy. Gripping a hold of the sides of Keir's legs she threw him on his back in a swift motion, taking her perch on top. A smirk that mirrored her fathers on her face, and her eyes twinkling mischievously, yep she'd definitively won this one.

"I didn't know little girls like you could even think as such." She whispered in a low voice, her finger trailing slightly over his jaw, making his skin crawl in delight. Suppressing the violent shudder running up his spine, he grinned and reach up and gripped Rouge's face between his hands tracing patterns over her cheeks with his gloved hands. Okay so maybe she didn't have this one won.

"And I didn't know men could be so dazzling either." They were both still on the cross dressing kick, Rouge having more fun with it than she wanted to admit. In sudden motion he pulled her face down, barely inches from his own. In a sudden moment Rouge froze, his breath on her cheek sending shocks through her body she'd never felt before. Suddenly though as his lips came towards her own she slapped him down, causing a whimper to escape his lips.

"You cocky moron! Do you have a death wish?" She grumbled, pushing herself off of the boy and walking towards the doorway.

"If it meant kissing you just once Sheila, I'd die a thousand times." Keir stated over dramatically his hand over his heart in a lovers gesture. Rouge snorted in annoyance and flipped her hair back, ignoring the stupid antics of the boy propped up on his elbows.

Shoving the Box car door back she was greeted with the sweet sent of warm air, and the sight of racing landscape. Leaning against the door frame she allowed for the soft wind to whip her ratted hair back from her face, its gentle kiss leaving her breathless.

"Hey Dundee, where are we heading? Cause this doesn't look like more swampland." She noted, as she watched the fields of golden of what looked like wheat fly by. Keir, having risen into a standing position waltz over towards her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Were heading to see an old friend of my mother's that I think can help you." Rouge quirked an eyebrow at the boy; what was he planning. "I think she can replace your memories, she did it for my mother after hers were altered."

Rouge quirked an eyebrow at him, "So your taking me to a shrink?" She asked randomly, causing a loud chuckle to exit from the boys mouth.

"Far from it luv," His green eyes sparkled in the glimmering sunlight catching Rouge's attention, "She's a witch, per say, she's got a real talent for fixing things, and seeing as shes a family friend I know she'll help without question."

"Great, and I thought the shrink was bad, I'm going to end up a toad aren't I?" Rouge murmured before pulling out her Queen of Hearts. She played with it for a time, flipping it through her fingers and running the tips of her nails down the card tracing the patterns. Keir watched fascinated as she twirled the card with expertise hands, she had a real talent for it. Reaching out he plucked the cards from her fingers getting a yelp in return.

"I swear if you don't give it back.." Her threat was short lived though when Keir's voice chimed in, a bright tone apparent in it.

"I'll give it back don't worry, Sheila." Keir looked at the card and smiled, knowing the history behind it full well. Bowing slightly he placed the card back in her hands.

"There you are your majesty." His sarcastic tone was dripping with lithe mirth. Grabbing her hand he placed a kiss on the top before feeling the familiar sting as she back handed him. "Ow I'm guess your majesty didn't like that?"

"No, and one more slip up, and the Queen shall have your head." His chuckled before stuffing his hands in his pockets, praying that Agatha could help the clueless girl before him.

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Rouge couldn't help but stare in disbelief at the large mansion that lay before her. It was an old Victorian styled home, painted a faint white that looked spotless. A long balcony ran across the second floor, the railing built with a deep oak and covered in thick details of wood carvings. Across the railing and many trestles that adorned the house bouts of honeysuckle and ivy streamed across, their green and yellow hue contrasting wildly with the white paint. The architecture was brilliant and Rouge let a low whistle escape from between her lips, she was dazzled.

"Lovely isn't it?" Keir asked off handily, watching the girls expression very closely. She nodded her head in response slowly, refusing to break her gaze from the gorgeous home. "Wait til you see the inside." Rouge's eyes brightened at the prospect.

Taking Rouge's hand he led her down the small pathway towards the large iron gate that stretched across the front of the mansion. With skilled fingers he pried the lock loose and let the old gate swing in. Bowing slightly he motioned for Rouge to go on ahead, she complied silently, her breath stolen by the beauty of the lawn. Instead of flower beds as to what most mansions had, this one had wild lilies and night gazers scattered freely across the land, creating a beautiful portrait of vivid oranges and pinks to soft blues and yellows, that were heavily accented by dark purples; Each bristling in the wind, as if to their own silent rhythm.

Keir offered his arm out towards the girl, who in her zoned state took it with little to no defiance. He led her up the stone pathways, and across the old wooden bridge. Rouge watched in awe as the water beneath the bridge began to jump, showing the large and colorful bodies of undeniable fish. As they cleared the finally distance towards the mansion, Rouge got an eery sense they were being watched and nearly jumped out of her skin when a large black panther dropped in front of them.

Though suddenly she felt no threat and stepped back as it made its way towards Keir. In a swift motion it began wrapping its body around Keir's legs and purred. Rouge's jaw fell slightly, concluding that she had truly lost her mind. Keir arm slipped from Rouge's grasp, and reach down and began to run his fingers over the felines smooth flawless coat. It licked Keir's hand before jumping at him and shifting into a small sized house cat its green eyes shimmering as it took in Rouge's appearance.

"Her name's Ebony, she's Agatha's familiar." He said non nonchalantly, as the cat rubbed itself up against him, purring non stop. A soft click sounded at the front door of the mansion swung in slightly. Turning Keir smiled encouragingly at Rouge and sat Ebony down, who promptly whined at losing attention, and wrapped him arm back around Rouge's own.

"No need to worry luv, she welcomes you." Rouge raised an eyebrow at him.

"And how are you so certain of that?" Keir rolled his eyes before pulling on her arm forcing her to take a step forward.

"Trust me you'd know if you weren't welcome." Seeing as that was the best answer she was going to receive, Rouge allowed for Keir to pull her through the slightly ajared door. Once they entered Rouge gasp in amazement. The walls were covered in paintings of places around the world, some so old that it seemed if you so much as breathed they would fade to dust. A dark chandelier hung from the ceiling light up the entrance way in a dark amber light.

Ebony meowed and rushed past Keir and through a doorway. Taking it as signal to follow Keir let his grip slide down from Rouge's arm to her hand. Taking off suddenly he began sprinting through the corridors a startled Rouge trying to keep pace but failing miserably. The cat suddenly slipped over towards the side, down a flight of stairs. Keir came to a stop and grinned through his panting.

"Ebony likes to take the long way around." Keir said sheepishly, the red from his flushed cheeks fading and his breathing evening out.

"Apparently." Rouge commented slowly, not sure entirely sure of what was going on. Walking away Keir began making his descent down the long slightly twisted staircase. Rouge, more leery of the situation waited a moment before following after. Taking the first few steps she watched as the closed ceiling suddenly opened up to a huge room, that was adorned in heavy Victorian furniture. Deep and dark rugs covered the cherry wood of the floors, and a large fire place sat situated in the center of the far wall, dim embers crackling

Though what was most shocking was the woman, who was undeniably aged, that stood in the center of the room, her face set in hard lines. Rouge watched as Keir made his way over towards her and greeted her with a kiss on the hand, which she returned with a slight nod.

"There is no need to be fearful child, I can sense your anxiousness." Rouge jumped startled, slightly fearful of the woman being able to read her actions so well. Finishing her decent down the stairs, she stood awkwardly off towards the side, uncertain of what to say or do. Suddenly she felt a slight pushing at the back of her calves, looking down she saw Ebony forcing her towards the two in the center of the room.

Following the order of the feline, she walked over towards the two and stopped just beside Keir, refusing to create to much space between themselves. Agatha took notice of this, but said nothing in regards to it instead so extended a small welcome.

"Welcome children, I've been expecting you. Come, I have tea prepared." Agatha stated simply and began walking away, her long dress moving silently with her movements. Rouge looked at Keir the look of what-the-hell written across her face, but only got a shrug in return before he walked towards the retreating woman. Great, just peachy, Rouge thought sourly following suit of her companion, first I get attacked by Sinister, end up in New Orleans, meet my so called family, have a power spurt, almost drown, wake up with a random Australians arms around me, and now I following so crazy lady to go drink tea, just wonderful, could it get any more obscene?

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"Agatha please there must be something you can do." Keir attempted to reason but was quickly quieted when the woman raised a finger, signaling for him to stop. Sighing threw his nose he fell back against the plush red chair, his seemingly bright hopes gleaming dimmer. They had been in the presence of the witch for a few hours, when she had insisted upon talking to Keir alone, and leaving Rouge in the other room to bond with the attention deprived familiar.

"Keir, if their was something I could do, I would help," Her finger trailed lightly around the rim of her tea cup, her eyes focused fully on the steaming liquid, "But I can not I'm sorry."

"But Agatha, I know the memories are there, I just can't get to them without help." Agatha's attention averted towards the boy, his eyes were pleading for her help, but she knew full well what the consequences would be for the girl.

"Keir, she must unlock them on her own," Agatha blew the steam away from her tea before taking a tiny sip, "and when she does she will need protection, if I attempt at touching her memories I will only break the barrier quicker."

Keir looked up in confusion at the woman, "What do you mean." Agatha sighed, sitting down the fragile china, she wiped the the last remnants of tea from her lips before standing.

"Keir you must watch after her, at least until this time of tension is has passed," Agatha's thin body moved gracefully as she dug through the shelves of the library looking for an old trinket, "if you don't the consequence could prove both fatal to herself and those around her." With wiry finger's the elderly woman withdrew a box and blew the dust from it.

"In this box lies a charm, something from a time long ago." Keir looked up in shock and confusion as the woman wrapped his hands around the box, "You must make sure the girl wears it at all times, it will be the only thing that can help protect her, and it is only in a small way. This is the only help I can offer you."

Keir glanced down at the wooden box, ancient and beaten. Resisting the temptation to peer into the box he looked back towards the tall woman above him.

"Protect her from what?" Keir's voice was beginning to rise in rage, his body tightening and ready to act on the thought that someone would want to harm her. Agatha sighed as her face darkened, she knew this time would come, she had seen it in Eclaire as a little girl, the darker of the two pieces.

"Herself."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Farewell child, may faith follow you." Agatha kissed her finger tips before pressing them to Rouge's hair. Keir mumbled something incoherent, and began trotting away, his mood suddenly darker. "May the blessings of all being's be with you." She mumbled silently as the pair made their way down the stoned path. A low meow came from behind Agatha, signaling the presence of her only rival in age.

"Ebony I fear this will not be the last time we see that child." The cat scowed in reply, it's tail sticking strait up as it licked its for paw and cleaned its face. "And that when that encounter's comes we shall not be standing on the same battle line." Agatha's old eyes misted over in thought, and as sudden as a wind can appear she as well as Ebony were gone only leaving a dark purple rose in her wake.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Stupid old crone." Keir mumbled getting a questionable, but none the less amused look from Rouge.

"Aren't you the one who was just telling me how great she was?" Rouge asked her feet barely making noise as they tapped against the ground. Keir had been acting strangely ever since he and Agatha had emerged from the library. Stopping Keir withdrew a dark jewelery box, engraved with moon stones and symbols. He handed it to Rouge, who only looked at it in wonder, curious as to the age of the artifact.

"Keir what in the-"

"Open it."

"But I can't it's not-"

"Rouge just open it." Hearing the seriousness in his voice Rouge ran her fingers along the sides of the box releasing the locks that held it securely shut. With ease little creaking pop, the lid loosened until suddenly it lifted slightly. Looking at it with curious eyes, Rouge pulled the lid open and gasp at what was inside. A dark black gold choker woven together to resemble vines laid inside, it was engraved with the shapes of lilies each blood red by the stone ruby's.

"Keir, what, how, why.." She couldn't seem to overcome to the beauty of the piece of jewelry. Normally she would have cared less and would have ignored it but this, is seemed to be calling to her, it seemed to fill a missing piece.

"A gift from Agatha, she believed it would look nice on you," Keir lied. Offering his hand out he took the necklace, "Here allow me." Pulling her hair up she felt the cool metal touch against her throat and tighten securely. In a moment everything that had seemed so dull before seemed lighter, and all those mixed emotions vanished.

"What is this?" Rouge asked, knowing full well now that it wasn't just a nice piece of jewelry. Keir sighed he should have known she'd be smarter then that, but once again he'd under estimated her.

"A charm to clear the mind," Keir told her, his eyes looking over the piece, "she said it would help break the barriers that have been set." Rouge looked at him, something was off, really off he hadn't called her sheila or luv or any of those weird pet names and in all honestly she liked them better than the dull and darkness he was being then. Catching her gazing at him, he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and grabbed her hand.

"Well sheila, looks like our next stop is going to be interesting." Rouge inwardly sighed in relief, his normal tone had returned but a gnawing feeling was still at the back of her mind.

"Where are we going Dundee?" She ventured, his grin only grew wider.

"Oh just a place with o bunch o old friends." Great, Rouge thought, I guess it can get worse.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"This is where you live?" Rouge asked, trying not to sound rude, but failing miserably. Before her stood a two story home, that looked like it had been taken out back and beaten a couple dozen times.

"Yes it is, promise it looks better on the inside though." With ease the pair slid from the truck the man nodding at the two. On their way towards Bayville he'd seen the two teenagers hauling the load of scrap metal, and being in a decent mood offered them a ride. Currently they were both in the back maneuvering the bike out. He sighed, who knew how bad those two were gonna get it for destroying such a beautiful bike.

"Thank you." The man jumped, startled from the sudden voice. The girl stood by the window, her oddly colored hair whipping in the wind and sunglasses perched on her nose. It's midnight he thought dumbly, why would she be wearing those?

"Yea, yea you two better get on home before you get in trouble." The man chided, the girl once again thanked the man before moving away from path and allowing for him to pull away.

"Well let's get this over to the house before we get run over, sheila," Keir's voice piped. Lifting one side, and Keir on the other the two managed to carry the piece of metal over towards the front of the building. Laying it down on the ground, Keir made his way up the stairs.

"Looks like everyone's out, so we're here on our own." Popping the lock on the door Keir opened it and walked inside, Rouge following behind. Stepping inside she shut the door behind her, a sudden smell in the air. Ignoring it Rouge began to make her way after Keir when suddenly her foot caught on something and she tumbled forward. Looking down she saw what looked like a large piece of fabric. Lifting it up she burst out into laughter.

"Holy crow! These things are like the size of a full sized Sudan!" Rouge held up the boxer shorts, that were decorated with red hearts that where on a white background. "Awfully colorful too." Keir only looked at her in disgust, realizing she was touching blobs dirty boxer shorts. With a sudden smack he knocked them from her hands before pulling her up and pointing frantically towards the kitchen.

"Go was your hands now! You don't know what kind of gunk is growing on those." Rouge seeing the flaw in his thinking laughed, she had gloves on. Reaching out she swiped one hand across his shirt and the other across his face. He jumped back in disgust and began gagging before racing off towards the kitchen. Rouge was laughing manically at the Aussie, she'd never in her entire life had met someone that scared of boxer shorts.

"What a loser." She chuckled, before rubbing said invisible substance against her jeans. Taking the opportunity of being alone she began making her way around the house exploring the various rooms. Keir had been right it did look much nicer on the inside. Walking through the living room she glanced up towards the ceiling and did a double take, was that pizza? Grabbing a marble she charged it and tossed it. Exploding, the unknown substance fell on the couch, yep that was pizza.

"Uh hem I hope I'm not interrupting anything luv." Keir stood in the doorway an annoyed and bemused look on plastered on his features. "Here, there's a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that are mine, and these are some of my mom's old clothes, you can wear them until we can wash your other ones, or just wear nothing." He smirked, his tone suddenly dropping towards the end. Rouge yanked the clothes from him, a look of utter annoyance on her face.

"No I'll take the clothes thank you." Stuffing then under her arm she looked towards the Australian, who was looking towards the ground, a blush growing on his features. "What now?"

"Eh well hehe errr what are you going to do about, you know uhmmm," He scratched the back of his neck before muttering the next part so fast rouge barely caught it, "underwear." It was Rouge's turn to smirk, toying with him had quickly become her favorite game.

"What did you say? I didn't catch that last part?" His cheeks grew even more red. Through clenched teeth he attempted at whispering the message again.

"I said what are you going to do about, underwear." He once again whispered it low, barely audible. Taking the chance for all it's worth Rouge cocked her head towards the side, showing she still didn't catch it.

"Under wear! you know the things you wear beneath your clothes?" He face was blaring red, and it made Rouge giggle.

"Oh those, I've got it covered." His face fell when he came to understand that she had heard him the first time. "Hey why are you glaring at me? You were the one who was mumbling."

"You understood it the first time," He pouted, "My Sheila's being mean to me." Rouge rolled her eyes before shoving past him.

"I'm not your sheila or whatever it is you call me for the last time." She retorted. He quickly followed behind her, a sudden thought pulling at his mind.

"Luv, you can sleep in my bed." Rouge stopped and looked at him, understanding how his words had come across he quick reprehended, "I mean you can have my room, I'll take the couch." Her tense form loosened as her hand went up and waved the offer off.

"Nah it's fine, I like the couch better anyways." Keir sighed once again having to force his offer upon the girl.

"No you can have my room, you the guest after all." Rouge turned at looked at him, her nose slightly scrunched up at the end.

"No I'll take the couch. I'd rather not contract any parasite in that bed of yours anyway." Rouge began making her way up the creaking stairs.

"Hey! There's no parasites, just Doritos crumbs." Keir shot back defensively.

"Oh great, cause you know I just love a midnight snack." Rouge threw her hands up dramatically trying to drive the point home.

"See! Now you can enjoy yourself in my room, I'll even dig out the month old milk from under my bed." Keir chanted in delight.

"Oh nothing better than to wash smushed Dorito crumbs down with moldy milk." Rouge replied sarcastically, spinning her wrist around.

"Ah ha! I'm not the only one who enjoys that combination." Keir claimed in victory.

"Ah so that explains your nasty breath." Rouge responded calmly reaching the top of the stairs. Keir blew into his hand and sniffed.

"Hey! It smells like cinnamon, not mold you meany head..." Rouge turned and looked at him her brows lifted.

"Did you seriously just call me 'meany head'?" Keir grinned before wrapping his arms across his torso, a wonder retort playing at the edges of his mind, knowing that it would irk the girl.

"Yes indeed I did I figured it would be a nicer response than pain in the ass." At this Rouge laughed and turned on her heal, walking mindlessly down the hall.

"Now your speaking my language Dundee" Keir stopped in shock, he'd just called the girl something that would have set off any normal female on a rampage, but there she was waltzing down the hallway. "Hey, Keir if you don't mind can I grab a shower? Seeing as I smell like week old cheese."

"Of course, bathrooms to your left." Keir pointed to the slightly ajared door, once she nodded her head in understanding he made his way towards his bedroom to retrieve a blanket, a pillow, and of course his stuffed koala bear that he wasn't about to let Rouge see. Even as children she had picked on him about it, and still having it twelve years later would only make it that much worse.

Stooping down underneath his bed, he begin sifting through objects looking for said stuff animal. Suddenly something crawled onto his hand and he shrieked out, mirroring the scream of an eleven year old girl. Pulling himself up he began dancing around and screaming trying to be rid himself of the eight legged Cretan crawling up his arm. He did this for a few moments before Rouge burst into the room, a handful of marbles charged in her hand.

She stopped though when she saw Keir standing on his bed his finger pointing accusingly at a spider, a tiny spider. The charge instantly depleted and she walked over and picked up the little insect.

"Were you seriously freaking out about a spider?" She asked her voice monotone already knowing the answer to her question. Keir nodded his head frantically and motion for Rouge to get rid of it. "Nah I don't want to hurt the little guy." Rouge stated calmly shoving her hand out towards Keir, who promptly squealed like a girl again before falling onto his bed, knees curled up to his chest. She looked at the boy and debated between torturing him further or not, the decision was made quickly as she set the spider down on the bed next to Keir.

"Night." She called non nonchalantly, knowing that above his screams and the sound of flying objects he wouldn't hear it. Opening the door to the bathroom once again she closed it behind her and locked it. Pushing the shower curtain back she stopped and couldn't help but stare, the soap was coated in what looked like slime. She sniffed her hair, then looked back towards the slimed soap. Groaning in annoyance she closed the curtain and began rummaging beneath the sink what she pulled out made her cock her head towards the side in confusion, was there seriously habanero sauce in the bathroom?

Shaking her head she threw it towards the side and continued rummaging she came across several strange objects which consisted of a string bikini, a deflated water floaty, whipped cream, underwear with the name 'Lance' written on them, a spatula and a bag full of nail clippings? She quirked her eyebrows no wonder Keir was such a nutcase. Finally she came across what appeared to be travel bag opening it up she found different scented soaps, all very frilly scented, much to her dismay, inside as well as shampoo and conditioner. As she stood though she saw that a label was written across the bottles skimming over them she almost died laughing.

Now she could have understood them belonging to Keir's mother but the fact that they had the name Pietro written across them, she just couldn't quit laughing. The simple thought that the tough speed demon Keir had told her about washed himself in rose scented soap made her giddy. She sat there in the floor for a time before wiping the tears from her eyes and deciding to bathe. Oh boy, she thought chuckling inwardly, got any other surprises in store for me?

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Keir yelped in victory when the shoe collided with the spiders body squishing it. Standing up he jumped from his bed and picked up the shoe, avoiding the dead carcass of the spider. How he hated those damn eight legged freaks. True he wasn't scared of bugs, snakes, bears, but put an eight legged arachnid in front of him and all of his courage was washed down the drain. Stretching his hands above his head, he caught sight of the missing stuffed animal perched on his shelf. Grabbing it he threw it into his dresser drawer, trying to hide it from Rouge. Once he was certain she wouldn't find it he grabbed his blanket and pillow and began mozzing on done towards the living room.

He didn't even want to think what the morning would bring, a combination of love, annoyance, anger, confusion, and of course his favorite scolding. He snorted if his mother would just relax a tinny tiny bit his life would have been so much more pleasant. Due to his mothers sudden rash decision was part of the reason he was stuffing Rouge in his room, knowing full well that if his mother walked in and saw her lying on the couch she would loose her ever loving mind.

Lost in thought Keir jumped when a sudden shriek came from the bathroom. Whoops, he thought sheepishly knowing how pissed Rouge was going to be with him, I guess I forgot to mention that the hot was cold and cold was hot. There was a sudden swishing sound and he gulped quickening his pace, apparently no had taken the time to fix the shower head either. Maybe she wouldn't strangle him in his sleep.

"DUNDEE!"

Okay or maybe she would.

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Rouge sighed in mock relief as she slid into Keir's bed. She'd finally managed to scrub a weeks worth of grime away from her skin, and she felt renewed, even despite the fact it took her a good ten minutes to fix the water temperature and haywire shower head but she'd managed. Sniffing her skin she groaned in disgust, she smelt like pomegranates, the most unfrilly of the frilly soaps.

Though despite the outward feeling of being refreshed her insides where still tossing and turning at break neck speeds. Her thoughts had become a jumbled mesh of emotions that she wasn't exactly keen on sorting out. In that last two weeks her life had gone from typical mutant college student to this, a life of running hiding and having to fight just to avoid capture, whoopty flippin do. Flopping back on the pillow she took notice just how the bed felt compared to what she had slept on in the last few days. Flipping off the lamp she closed her eyes, willing herself to go to sleep but to no avail.

She laid there for a few moments before flopping over onto her stomach, she couldn't help but let her mind wander towards Elle. She didn't know where she was, or even if she was. Groaning Rouge buried her head into the pillow, hoping to somehow smother the constant pull of thoughts. She hadn't been thinking strait when she had up and left the Lebeau household, but what was she to do? Stay and hurt everyone cause she couldn't get her own emotions under control?

Aside from that what was it going to be like when she met up with her parents? The people who had left her and her sister to die in that explosion. Somehow by the way he always avoided the subject of where he was taking her she knew it would be to them. It didn't matter how Keir had tried to reason they would have never done such things, Rouge knew otherwise, she knew that they didn't want either her or her sister. Hell she wouldn't even be going to them if she had a choice, but seeing as her need to find her sister was far greater than her self hatred she could attempt to tolerate them for a time, that was if they'd even help.

Rouge's mind was blurring around the edges the first signs of sleep, she felt her body relax and her mind finally begin to shut down. The last conscious thought could remember though was the faint fragrance of citrus and mangos that came off of the pillow, leaving her dreams to be filled with flashes of orange and green.

_**Author's Note: Personally I don't know what to think about this chapter I tried for humor but I'm not sure I got it. Eek well if its too bad let me know and I shall redo it! But to know you must review!**_


	19. Flames of Desire

**_Author's Note: Okay so I couldn't resist writing this chapter before getting back to Elle! -ducks and covers-Promise she will be back soon though!_**

**_ban-Lol I'm glad you liked seeing that side of Keir, hehe I couldn't pass up the opportunity on the Koala bear! Hope you enjoy this chapter! The encounter is coming really soon!_**

**_the-writing-vampire- I completely agree with your motto, lol. Awesome, I've taken a creative writing course as an elective, and have found that it is a good career if someone decides to enter it. See writing is a pass time of mine and I've had several friends who have read my other work that have said I've got good potential of becoming a novelist, hehe but who knows I'm just now a sophmore. ^.^' But I hope you succeed in becoming as such, and being an editor would be an awesome career for you, lol seeing as to how your reviews are always written. Yay Rouge/Fireblade~Eclaire/Keir moments! As for the scene you keep asking me about -the brotherhood- here it is! *maniacal laughter* ahem, excuse me. Hope you don't mind waiting til next chapter or so to see where Elle is at though!_**

**_baying-for-the-moon- Thanks for reviewing! As to your comment on the mock horror I was taunt in my Advanced writting class that 'mock' could also define a certain level of grade of horror or amusement, hehe sorry if I confused you, not saying that your wrong or anything its just what i was told, (my teacher was a nutcase though if that supports my case any, -did this one sentence make any sense -.-') _**

**_Courtney Summers- Thank you! Here's the next chapter! -hope its okay im answering both reviews in one.)_**

**Chapter 19:Flames of Desire**

Wanda groaned in exhaustion, her head was pounding, her feet ached, and she wanted nothing more than to crawl into her own bed and sleep for a week. Their newest mission from S.H.I.E.L.D had proved itself to be far more difficult task that it was originally set out to be, leaving herself as well as the rest of the Brotherhood exhausted and worn. Taking the first few steps onto the wild lawn in front of the boarding house, Wanda sighed in relief a few more steps and she would be free from the idiots that were her surrogate family.

"Yo, Wanda." Toad called, his tongue lashing out and catching a fly. The Scarlet Witch shuddered even after years of dealing with said mutant she still couldn't quite get comfortable with his disgusting ways.

"What Slime ball?" She called her eyebrows furrowed in the middle of her forehead, a hex itching to escape from her fingers and attack Toad. She felt a warm hand slip into her own and felt her her hand instantly stop twitching, looking up she caught the gaze of sea foam green eyes and let a small almost invisible small grace her lips. Grinning John wrapped his arms around Wanda and kissed her hair, if anything good had come from this life it had been him, the crazy maniac who she threatened his life on a daily basis.

"Never mind, yo." Toad called, in a swift motion he busted through the front door of the boarding house, not catching sight of the warped metal horridly hid behind a tree. Landing in a crouched position Todd glanced around the old boarding house before catching sight of a fly buzzing in the air. Bounding up the stairs he followed after it quickly, it's flight patterns dizzying. The insect flew off towards the side and through the slightly cracked door of Keir's room. Deciding that said teenager still wasn't home he rudely burst through the doorway and stopped his jaw hitting the floor.

A young girl stood there, her thick exotic hair curling down her back in natural waves and a look of pure shock painted on her features. Her shirt was half way over her head, leaving her in nothing but her black jeans and a sports bra. Toad couldn't help but allow his eyes to wander over her and he whistled, liking what he saw.

"Hehe your eighteen right cuddle bumps?" In a moment her face quickly melted from shock into one of rage. Suddenly her hand shot out and he flew from the room colliding with the wall, red energy crackling around him. It was like a young Wanda, but better looking, she even had that scary aura about her.

Trying to recover from his daze, Toad barely noticed when the door of the bathroom opened revealing a sleepy eyed Keir, with a towel hung over his shoulders, dressed in camo pants and a black T-shirt. His eyes quickly scanned over the hallway and took in the grounded appearance of Toad, and the tomato red face of Eclaire, her hands crackling with energy. It took him a minute to sort out the situation but when it clicked it took him less than a moment to pick up the smaller mutant and sling him down the staircase.

Keir turned and looked Rouge over, his protective nature kicking in, and making sure the Slime Ball hadn't touched _his _Sheila. Once he was certain he walked towards her, menace written across her features.

"Is that man of any importance to you?" She asked lowly her mouth caught in a slight snarl.

"Not really, hey are you okay? He didn't touch you did he?" Keir's hands gripped her shoulders but she pulled away. Ignoring his question, Rouge concentrated on his first answer and made her way towards the staircase.

"Good cause once I'm done there won't be anything left."

Toad landed with a solid thunk. Punk he thought sourly, stupid kid gets all the good looking ones.

"Yo Wanda! Your sons holding off on some chick up there." Toad screeched. Wanda's eyebrows rose in question as she heard the news that her son was back.

"Toad what are you-" But before her sentence could be finished marbles rolled around Toad glowing crimson. His eyes widened slightly but before he could react they exploded sending him flying into a stunned Blob. The sound of clomping feet could be heard clamoring down the stairs, in moments a girl dressed in a black shirt and jeans, marbles lying dormant in her hands.

Seeing the intruder Lance impulsively acting on instinct, Shot his hands out sending a tremor out towards Rouge. In response to the quaking earth she tumbled off towards the side and charged the marbles in her hands sending them flying out towards the brotherhood. Jumping back from the explosion Wanda sent a hex towards the girl, who in return deflected it and sent another wave of marbles tumbling towards the woman. Diving towards the side Wanda grabbed Pyro around his collar and pulled him down behind her avoiding the explosion. As Wanda was about to send another hex bolt a loud familiar voice came to her ears.

"Stop! Mum! Lance!" Rushed down the stairs his face pulled up in tension at the sight of his family battling his best friend. "Rouge! Please stop, I can explain." Rouge looked up through dark glasses at the boy then back at the group of mutants, debating what to do. Keir seeing her doubt pulled a low pout onto his face causing the girl's body to loosen slightly, but still tight ready to spring.

In a moment Keir threw himself over the railing of the stairs and rushed over towards Rouge. Gently grabbing her hand he willed her to release her grip on the potential bombs. Looking up she saw the pleading in his eyes and immediately released her hold and let the marbles spill into him open palm. Stuffing them in his pocket he reach out a hand and pulled the girl from her crouched position.

"Keir, I swear you'd better start talking now." Wanda's eyes were alive with anger and impatience, her arms crossed over her chest, and her fingers tapping on her forearm.

"hehe well see, errr," He scratched the back of his neck nervously, the brotherhood along with Rouge watching him expectantly, "This is my girlfriend." Rouge's hand reach out and back handed the boy, a small yelp as her hand collided with his cheek.

"Your a damn idiot." With that Rouge walked over towards the wall and leaned against it, looks of disbelief coming over the groups face.

"Keir," Wanda started slowly her eyes never leaving the girl, "What's going on?" He sighed through his nose and clamped a hand over his eyes, not knowing where to take the conversation from there. Wanda scanned the girl over and took in her resemblance towards Remy, and her hair had the infamous white streaks, there was no way.... In a moment though a sudden flash of white appeared, and stopped revealing a tall man with white hair.

"What's with all the ruckus? I swear I could hear it all the way across.." Pietro's voice cut off suddenly when he saw his nephew standing in front of him. "Wait when did you get back?" From the corner of his eyes he caught sight of Rouge propped up against the wall, a scowl growing on her face. "Who the hell is she!"

"Well how do I put this?" Keir asked more to himself than the others. Snapping his fingers he stepped over the newly demolished floors and swiped Rouge's glasses. A unison of gasp echoed through out the group as they took in her demonic eyes resembling an old allies down to a tee.

Rouge stepped forward next towards, her hand extended and palm waiting expectantly. Keir who could only smile sheepishly laid the glasses in her hands before flinching back waiting for the sharp sting, which never came.

"Ah so your finally gaining a tolerance to me Sheila." Nope never mind there was the sting. "Okay now that one actually hurt, luv."

"Keep talking and its going to be hurting somewhere where the sun doesn't shine." Keir stepped back slightly his hands held up in front of him protectively. Rouge merely rolled her eyes at the gesture. Taking it as a sigh to continue Keir turned towards his family and calmly questioned.

"Everyone I'm sure you remember Eclaire?" A sudden eerie silence came over the room leaving both Blob and Lance glancing at one another confused, Pietro's jaw almost touching the floor, A grin growing on Pyro's face and Wanda feeling her body shake slightly.

Toad began counting on his fingers and gulped, she was only sixteen. He promptly passed out at the mere thought of what a certain short temper Cajun would do to him, Lance barely having time to catch him.

"Okay, what the hell just happened?" Rouge asked, her temper growing shorter with the passing seconds. Though the words seemed to run through out one of Wanda's ears and out the other, her entire attention devoted onto how this was even plausible. She scanned over the girl and felt her stomach twist, it was her, there was no way of denying it. As she was about to speak though Pyro broke from his position in the group and rushed over towards the girl and pulling her into a bear hug spinning her.

"Eclaire!" Pyro chanted refusing to relinquish his hold on the girl as she shoved and pushed at him. Keir chuckled when Rouge sent him the look of get-this-freak-off-of-me-now-or-else.

"Welcome home." Keir said silently, Rouge only groaned in reply, the things she would go through for her sister.

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"So you were in California the whole time?" Rouge nodded her head, her hands pulled into her lap awkwardly, they had been sitting in the living room discussing her life story for the last thirty minutes and it was making her uncomfortable.

Wanda nodded her head, glancing around the room she forced herself not to laugh at the pathetic looks on each of the faces. Pietro sat in the arm chair his eyes where wide as saucers and he refused to break his locked gaze on the girl. Blob and Lance were situated in the floor looking shocked but pleased with the situation. Pyro in all of his glory was sitting right next to the girl, cutting off Keir from her, and constantly talking to her, which she would periodically nod her head in response. Toad was no where in sight, obviously keeping his distance from Remy's daughter knowing the consequences of his actions. Wanda was quite pleased with his absence.

She had quickly became attached towards the girl, she fit in like family. She couldn't place her finger on how or why but by looking at her she knew it was the same annoying little girl who would pester her to no end but redeem herself in a random moment.

Standing Wanda brushed the wrinkles out of her clothes before turning back towards her son. He looked so...happy, something she hadn't seen in his face in forever. He was trying to reach over his fathers head to get the girls attention but was quickly shoved back as John continued to banter on about the 'good ole days'. Exiting the room Wanda pulled out her cell phone and dialed a familiar number. It rang a few times before going towards the familiar southern ring of Rogue's voicemail. She slammed the phone shut and rubbed her nose, so much for getting to sleep.

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"So anyway then your father almost blew your mom up with that card, it was priceless!" Pyro threw his hands up in the air, a delightful smile on his face, while Rouge looked completely disturbed. Keir coughed into his hand before standing and walking towards the door.

"Rouge, do you want to accompany me to get some fresh air?" Rouge had never moved so fast in her life and was beside him a flash pulling him towards the doorway. Once she was free from the prying eyes of the others she slumped forward a vein throbbing in her forehead.

"Sheila what's wrong?" He asked casually, taking in her bent over form. "Are you alright?"

Her body straitened suddenly, "No I'm not." She growled, she wanted nothing more than to smack the stupid look off of his face. Keir's eyebrows lifted.

"Rouge, what happened?" His hand reach out towards her but she caught in a milli-second and threw it towards the side.

"Keir what is running through that skull of yours!" Rouge through her hands up in the air, "I'm not Eclaire for the last time! They think I'm someone who died long ago!" Much to Keir surprise tears were running down her cheeks though her voice was heavily coated in anger and....guilt?

"Rouge you are my Eclaire, don't doubt that for a second."Stepping forward towards her he gently pushed her hair back from her face, revealing her wide wet eyes, and slightly red nose.

"Keir I can't do this, I-It doesn't feel right, I-I don't deserve this this kindness." Rouge looked at him with eyes of broken soul and it made his heart wrench. From that one moment her eyes revealed everything he would ever need to know about her.

Placing a hand behind her head he pulled her into his arms and stroked her hair his voice humming an old lullaby. Her sobs were strong for a time as she buried her face into his shirt leaving it soaked in tears. She let every emotions pull itself from her, every bad thing, thought, or occurence was released in the water running from her eyes. She stayed there for a time allowing for Keir to comfort her.

"Damn it Dundee," She mumbled her emotions coming back under control, "I always cry when I'm around you."

"It's cause of my dazzling good looks no?" She smacked him for the umpteenth time.

"Your an idiot." She murmured.

"I think your falling for me sheila." Keir said simply, his hand still stroking her hair. A small snort came from her as she peered up at him through her wet lashes.

"I didn't fall for you," She mumbled, "You tripped me." Keir's eyes lit up at the statement and grinned stupidly. A small cough came from the doorway making both jump in shock and take in the appearance of a grinning maniac.

"Well now that you two are done with your love fest," Pyro said his grin never leaving his face, "Wanda wants to talk to you, Eclaire." Pushing herself away from Keir she stepped away and made her way past Pyro her cheeks gleaming a vibrant red. After she exited John's sauntered over towards his son and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"Looks 'ike you've got a thing for the little Sheila," Keir felt a blush rising on his cheeks as he shoved his father off and walked away mumbling something about 'incoherent idiot.' John watched his retreating form with a smile, things were finally stitching themselves back together.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Wanda?" Rouge asked walking around the corner of the kitchen. Instead of Wanda though Rouge found Pietro and Fred sitting at the counter, cards in their hands and Lance watching silently. Deciding to keep her presence on the down low, she quickly crossed behind Pietro and took a seat next to Lance watching the card game with careful eyes. Fred threw down a full house, two threes and three fours. Pietro grinned before throwing down a royal flush getting a lumbering groan from Fred.

"Want to try again Freddy boy?" Pietro asked casually shuffling the cards with almost invisible movements. Fred nodded his head, and watched as Pietro slung the cards out on the table. Flipping the first card a visible grin came off of Freddy as he raised his bet slightly. Pietro quickly followed suit and raised.

"Their always like this you know?" Lance said making Rouge send a small glance his way, "Pietro always beats Freddy out, hell I think I've only won once against him." At this Rouge cocked an eyebrow as Pietro took in another winning before standing.

"Deal me in." She said casually, throwing twenty dollars in the center of the table. After receiving several skeptical looks from everyone, she was dealed in. Watching her cards she ran over the statistics in her head and grinned knowing her next move. She watched as Fred raised it in the norm, and Pietro following suit, matching both of their raises she raised it twenty dollars more. They continued doing so until the pot was filled to brim with all of their money.

"You've got nerve kid." Pietro said throwing down his four nines and ace high. Freddy groaned and didn't even bother showing his hand, instead he threw the cards down and made his way over towards the fridge. Rouge, grinning in spite of herself threw down her three aces and two queens, all the same suit.

"I win." She pried, her hand folded under her chin and eyes twinkling. Pietro's jaw fell slightly as he watch the girl slide the cash over towards her and began counting it out. A low whistle came from Lance's mouth as he stood and walked over towards the speed demon.

"Pietro close your mouth, your drooling." Lance commented, making Quicksilver shoot a dark glare towards him but complying none the less. "You realize you just got whipped by a sixteen year old kid right?"

"Shut it Lance," Pietro shot back his ego severely wounded. A small chuckle came from the girl as she divided the money into its original portions and handed Pietro's share back to him. He raised an eyebrow at her but she only shrugged before standing and handing Freddy back his money. Raising her hand she bid the men farewell and walked from the room, no doubt to continue her search for the Scarlet Witch.

"She fits right in." Avalanche commented his eyes far off. Pietro snorted.

"Yea she fits right in," Pietro said his voice dripping venomously in sarcasm, "Just like Freddy fits into a pair of 32 pants."

"Hey!" Fred shouted, his head finally having been pulled from the fridge. Quicksilver simply rolled his eyes before speeding out of the room.

"Eh don't worry about it much," Lance said a grin on his lips, "he's just mad cause he's found his match."

Freddy laughed.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Eclaire, err Rouge I'm out here!" Wanda called from her perch on the back railing of the porch. Seeing her Rouge made her way out of the door and climbed up beside the older woman.

"You wanted to talk to me." She said simply, more a statement than a question. Wanda nodded her head, her attention diverted towards the setting sun.

"Yes I wanted to apologize about a certain scaly creature walking in on you." Wanda's voice had a tinge of vengeance to it that made Rouge laugh.

"I'm guessing you've had problems with him as well?" Wanda looked her head in the eye.

"You have no idea." Rouge snorted in laughter. Wanda after a few moments joyed in with her. Wiping a tear from her eye Wanda couldn't help but grin, "You know even after you meet your parents there's always a spot here for you."

"hmmm." Was Rouge's reply, her eyes were locked with the colorful horizon. They sat in silence for a time, before Wanda decided to venture a question. "That's a beautiful necklace you have."

Rouge's fingers reach up and ran over the old piece of metal, "Agatha Harkness gave it too me, Keir took me to her for help."

"Really?" Wanda said disbelievingly, what had Agatha given the girl. As if reading her mind Rouge replied calmly.

"It's a charm necklace, to help unlock my memories," Her voice faded towards the end, doubt evident. "Keir's so certain I'm this girl he knew a long time ago."

"Rouge, you don't believe us do you?" The girls shoulders fell and her face buried in her hand. "You don't believe that we truly know you?"

"I don't know what to believe," She responded her voice was blank, "I lost my parents when I was four, and have no memories of them except the fact they left both me and my sister to die in that building."

At this Wanda's shoulders shot up. "That's bullshit." Rouge's eyes widened at the older woman. "Your parents didn't do any such thing, you weren't even with them when it happened."

"Rogue was with Kitty, and Remy was on a mission. Carla had taken both you and Isabella shopping when it happened, she died in the accident." At this Rouge's voice cut in suddenly.

"Carla? As is Carla Darkholme? She was our joint Guardian, she was a mutant...her real name was Raven." Suddenly the pieces fell into place and Wanda shot up onto her feet her malice growing on her features.

"Mystique was behind this!" Wanda yelled outraged, picturing the blue woman with the cyanide smile. "That's it I've got to get you to your parent's this can't wait any longer." Grabbing her arm Wanda drug Rouge from her perch, but felt a slight jolt in her hand when Rouge ripped her arm away.

"No, I want nothing to do with those bastards," Rouge's voice dripped with hatred her eyes glowing dimly in the night, "I'd rather slit my own throat than speak with them about my past. I came to find my sister, that's it."

"Eclaire I'm not budging on this one, your parents have been through enough shit as it is." Rouge's fist shot out and caught Wanda on the jaw.

"Oh how unfortunate!" Rouge screamed, "They had it so hard, they must of felt terrible." Wanda pushed herself up onto her knees and watched the girl before her. "They didn't have to spend every waking moment asking themselves 'why? why did my parents hate me? why did they abandon me?"

Rouge watched the same cold expression remain on the witches face, "You know what, forget this. Forget all of you, I can do this on my own." Spinning on her heal Rouge rounded around the house, quickly disappearing into the night. She could feel the tug of her emotions pulling at her powers and it left her sick at her stomach.

This had been the second time she'd run, she felt like such an idiot, a damsiel in distress who couldn't keep her damn emotions under control. She wanted to laugh and cry all in the same instance. She wanted to believe them, she wanted to belong but how could she? She was a demon, she'd been told it countless times. Why should it have been any different now then it was then.

Angelina had told her time after time she was the reason she and her sister were abandoned, had she had normal eyes and normal hair she would have been excepted, but no she looked like a damn demon and got the rat for it everytime anything went wrong. She had to play the adult for both her and her sister because Angelina had been a piss poor mother, and unknown to Elle she had been hurt more than one way when she was a child.

As the vicious thoughts ripped her mind into pieces she sprinted down the streets scanning for an outlet, and exit, a place where she could sort out her emotions. Suddenly the sight of a park came into view and something inside Rouge's mind chimed.

_"Eclaire!" Keir whined his lip stuck in a pout. "What?" She chided, her hair caked in sand. "Your in the way!" "Your such a baby!" "Am not!" "Are too!"_

Rouge didn't realize how far she had gone when caught sigh of something familiar. Rushing over towards it she crawled onto it and pulled her knees towards her chest. She gripped her head and willed the voiced to subside but to no avail.

_"Aire be careful!" Keir shouted, he was perched on the rapidly spinning merry-go-round his orange hair flipping in the wind._

_"Oh shush!" She shouted back, in an instant she pushed off of her toe and jumped onto the spinning device, "See I'm fine."_

_"Don't do that!" He yelped, "You scared me."_

She felt tears leak from her eyes, she knew that little girl from somewhere but she couldn't place her finger on it. Suddenly the picture warped.

_"Aire!" The young Aussie yelped at the sight of his friend beaten and bloodied._

_"Yes?" She replied calmly wiping the blood from her nose a smile on her lips._

_"Your hurt what happened?" Keir saw the group of bloodied boys walking away. "Aire you fought them all?!?"_

_"Yep." She said calmly her slightly freckled face lighting up, "I think I won too."_

_"Why?" He asked rubbing sand from her hair._

_"Cause people don't make fun of my friends."_

"STOP!" She screamed tearing at her hair, she willed the voices to silence, but instead came a memory she never wanted to appear again.

"No..."

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Pietro sat on his bed gazing out the window his mind a mile away. A kid had beat him at something he was unbeatable at, and that made every ounce of his pride soak through the body of his skin and evaporate from his body. Throwing himself back on the bed he wondered why they were helping her again? Right, he groaned, because Wanda's buddy buddies with those X-freaks and Keir's got a thing for the brat.

His ravine of self loathing though quickly came to an end when he heard his sister shouting his name. His was off of his bed and gone in a flash. Appearing by his sister he felt his anger rise, why that little bitch...

"Wanda! Your bleeding..." His hand reach out towards the cut on her cheek, but she slapped it away.

"Go get Eclaire, she took off running, I upset her bad."

"No." Wanda slapped her brother hard across the face.

"Damn it Pietro! Stop acting like a child!" Her voice was low as she gripped her brother's arm pulling his face mere inches from her own. "She's a child Pietro, and a screwed up one at that! Get over your damn ego problem and go find her!"

"Fine." He murmured and disappeared into the trees leaving a bleeding Wanda on the ground. Reaching up she brushed a hand over her bleeding cheek and saw a flash of herself as a child.

"Shit." She punched the ground, "Damn it!"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_Rouge felt her heart ripping in her chest, but refused to stop, knowing the consequences if she did as such. Sliding around a corner she dove into a dark alleyway, and felt her soul shatter as she came to a dead end. She ran to the wall and began beating on it willing it to move, but by the time she had figured there was no escape the light tapping of boots rounded the corner._

_Before her stood a man, no older than 22 surrounded by men coated in uniforms the letter F.O.H. inscribed on their jackets. His face a dark tan and his eyes shimmered an old blue hazel. Spitting out his tooth pick he stepped forward and grabbed Rouge by the arm dragging her up. She began squirming and kicking but to no such luck, she was just too small to fend them off. _

_"Looks like we caught the mutie boys," The man's voice was dark and left a sickening feeling in the pit of her gut. "So what are your powers little girl?" He asked in a sweetly bitter voice, Rouge only growled in reply. This caused a spark to go off in the man as he chunked her across the alleyway, her twelve year old fragile body colliding with the trash can. Rolling onto her side she seethed through her teeth, trying to break the constant tear fall._

_The man once again approached her but this time with a knife in hand. In a swift motion she felt it slide across her cheek making her scream in agony. The man grinned sadistically as he put the knife aside and a low chuckle echoed through out the crowd. Gripping her face into between his hands he looked her over. Despite her thin frame, and being a mutant she wasn't a half bad looking kid, he grinned. In a swift motion the knife came down again except this time across the back of her long hair, leaving it jagged and lying just below her chin. _

_"How pitiful such beautiful hair had to be ruined because of a mutation," He said the would with such venom that Rouge actually felt her shield wane, she wanted nothing more than to scream but it just wouldn't come. Suddenly his tone took on a whole new meaning as the thick gloves on his hands shredded off._

_"I will make you regret ever being born." He stated darkly, his now nude fingers running across her face in a fashion that should have never been attempted. As his hand was about to go towards a place where it shouldn't have a sudden pulling sensation came over his hand. Screaming he tried to pull his hands loose from the girl but to no avail. It sucked every ounce of life from him and he fell towards the side, his body caught in a deep comatose state. _

_The men seeing her sudden act of power jumped back slightly alarmed, but seeing their comrade down quickly regained composure. Jumping forward the first man gripped his leader around the waist and pulled him back away from the girl while the others jumped forward and began laying blows towards the girls fragile body. Rouge's mind was wavering in and out of focus another persons presence clearly written in her mind. It battled against her own trying to take control but she fought back against it with all of her will._

_She could feel the sharp pains on the outside of her body and tried to prevent them by curling up and holding her knees to her chest. She laid there and cried trying to fight off the dark presence trying to over come her mind, suddenly though it dissapeared when a new presence arrived and shoved it away. Their was a low chuckling sound coming from the woman in the purple dress above her, her black hair in thick curls and purple eyes gleaming. Suddenly she was gone._

_Venturing to open her eyes Rouge stiftled a cry when she sat up and saw that all of the men were gone, only particles of dust floating in the wind. She screamed into her hands, she'd killed them all, all of them. Gripping her head she fell forward onto her elbows and screamed in pain and rage wishing for that woman to leave, she'd killed those men not her._

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Rouge's body sudden jolted though when she looked down and saw that her bare hand was on Pietro's face. She felt her being slipping away and sliding into him, So this is what it feels like to be drained she thought numbly before falling backwards and falling unconscious.

Pietro's whole world spun in vivid colors and relapses, he saw every detailed memory of the girl in his mind, and he felt himself flinch. Falling onto his knees near the merry-go-round he let each emotion and persona take hold of his body. So this is what Rogue feels like, he thought dumbly, knowing he would never give the mutant crap about her powers anytime sson. Though after what seemed like an eternity it stopped. Pressing his head to the cool metal, he wanted nothing more than to vomit and go to sleep pretending it had never happened, but seeing the girl's memories he quickly understood why Sinister wanted her.

Damn it, he thought sourly, the girl gave me part of her concious without even meaning too. Struggiling onto his feet he looked at the unconcious girl and moaned, he knew he was going to get to explain ever detail to everyone, plus carry the girl back.

"Me and my damn luck."

**_Author's Note: Once again alot of things to come hope you liked this chapter!_**


	20. Chiding the Broken

**_Author's Note: Hello Everyone! I'm sorry for the late update but I've been really busy. Thanks to all of those reviewing!_**

**_Ban- That confrontation is coming soon I can assure you and it isn't going to be exactly 'pleasant' if that gives you any hints. -winks- Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you liked how I incorporated Wanda to relate to Rouge. _**

**_Courtney Summers- Thanks! Here's the next chapter ;)_**

**_Laceylou76- Yes Rogue and Remy's cell service must suck. ;P lol There is more of Wanda and Pyro to come, as well as Rogue and Remy, hope you enjoy this next chapter!_**

**Chapter 20: Chiding the Broken**

Elle kicked the cell with all of her might only to be sent tumbling back as the force field acted up. Smacking the wall she cursed under her breath, this was just karma having a good old time wasn't it? Pushing herself up onto her hands she slid onto the cold hard concrete bench that served as her bed. She'd been in this cursed 'dungeon' of sorts for what seemed like days, though without any sunlight or clocks it was hard to keep track.

A low rumbling came down the hallway and Elle shook her head the thought not again running through her mind. In a matter of moments a group of men appeared by her cell, cyanide grins on all of their faces, bad thoughts obviously running through their heads. Sinister had given them a job, a fairly easy one at that, of beating Elle until she was ready to cooperate, yet so far she hadn't budged an inch. Crouching on the floor Elle watched the men closely as they entered her cell.

"Well now Bella, you going to cooperate," The man's smile lit up, he had been the same one who had originally came after them, "or are we going to have to do it the hard way?" Elle smiled before launching her foot out and tripping the man. He landed with a soft thawp, barely bruised physically, but a fatal gash ripped in his pride.

"Why you little.." As he stood about to smack the girl, someone cleared their throat, stopping him. Turning on his heal he took in the sight of Forrest, one of the shape-shifting lackys. "What do you want mutant?" He spat at the boy who's grin only grew wider.

"Well how do Ay say this but ole boss man sent me," He pointed at himself, "Ta tell you lunneys" he pointed at the men who responded in growling, "ta leave the girl be, he says if you hurt 'er anymore it isn't gonna be pretty on your part."The man, who had finally been dubbed the name 'Bastian', growled before rising to his full height.

"You mutant scum are nothing," He barked his old eyes shimmering, "once project Gemini is complete all of you ludicrous beings will be wiped from this planet by the hands of humans." At this Forrest grinned before shifting into Sinister his voice mirroring his masters down to a tee.

"Make one foul move Bastian and it shall be the end of you, if you comply though the war you dream of will follow suit." Forrest slowly faded into his old self, causing the group of men to shudder slightly. Elle had learned in her time there that they feared Sinister hence forth the Children of Dawn's*cooperation with the scientist. In a quick yell of orders the men were lined up and moving from her cell, but not before one good blow was laid way too her face. She jerked towards the side and hissed, hiding the pain in her eyes from the man.

Bastian bowed before following after his men, smugness playing in his eyes. Once their foot steps droned away the young teen stepped forward and propped himself up against the wall.

"Your gonna get killed like that," He murmured, the shadows of his frame dancing against the floor, "If you'd just cooperate you'd be in a lot less pain."

"At least I still have my pride and won't back down." She retorted her eyes filled to brim with anger. The boy smiled before sitting down next to her and watching her with piercing blue eyes.

"You've got a lot of never gal," his fingers reach out and swiped the blood from her cut cheek, "but he'll break you."

"And how can be certain of that?" Elle's arms crossed over her chest as she watched the boy carefully.

"Because he can and will do things you'll wish never happened ta you." He said simply, though upon careful inspection you heard the slight tinge of pain in his voice. "I'm trying ta help you."

"And why would you want to do that?" She spat at him, her knees drawn closely towards her chest trying to create space between them.

"Cause I owe you the favor." He reach into his pocket and pulled out what looked like gel capsules. "Your mum saved my sister now Ay'm gonna save you." Elle's eyes widened at the mention of her mother, but she refused to let her shield down.

"Take these, they'll nullify the poison Sinister's going to inject into you to wipe your concious," Elle couldn't find any logical reason of trusting him but for some reason she did, "but your gonna have ta act the part until the rescue brigade gets here." He stood about to walk from the cell when Elle's low voice echoed out towards him.

"How are they going to find me?" Elle knew the answer before it even came.

"Don't know, gal," His footsteps were echoing down the corridor, "hope they figure it out for your sake."

Of course, Elle thought sourly, nothing ever plays out like in the movies. Moaning she slammed her head against the wall hoping to knock some sense into herself by not taking the capsules. Nope, she thought, still seems more logical than the others ideas. Popping them in her mouth she swallowed and leaned back against the wall. Damn it Rouge, I bet you've got it easier than I do.

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The cold chains were snapped around her wrist and a bandanna pulled about her eyes before they lead her away from her cell. She walked for a time following the constant tug of the chains lead, round the corner, up the stairs, down the stairs, to the left. She bit her lip, not being able to see where she was being taken was making her stomach knot. Suddenly the nasty smell of Brimstone met her nose and she had to force herself not to remove the few contents of her stomach.

The pull stopped and the slight snipping noise was heard as codes were punched in. '_Access Granted' _the computer chimed. The slick sound of metal sliding met her ears and the pull on the chain returned. She only followed a few steps though before a rough had shoved her back and she landed on a hard chair. The bandanna was pulled suddenly from her face, causing her eyes to snap shut from the bright light streaming towards them.

"Welcome Bella," Was the half hearted reply that made Elle's heart freeze, "what do you think of my fortress?" Elle looked around her and resisted the use the word, 'cliche' knowing it wouldn't obtain a happy response, she in turn settled for asking her own question.

"What do you want with me?" At this Sinister grinned his hand trailing lightly over the metal lab table.

"Your quite the curious one aren't you?" He asked before picking up what appeared to be a green amulet, "How unfortunate it is though that I can not tell you in full detail, due to the little fact that a certain treacherous servant went behind my back." In Sinister's hand appeared a blue capsule much similar to the ones she had taken earlier.

"Sadly I must now wait a time before inhancing your body," Elle felt a cold shiver run up her spine, "but I will assure you, you are the cause for change Isabella, and you will be the first stone laid." Elle growled and tugged against her bonds only receiving a low powered shock in return.

"Now, now Bella, I wouldn't do that if I were you," behind him appeared two of his mutant servants, a body supported in between them, "Cause if you fight it won't hurt you but instead," the mask was pulled back and Elle yelled in rage, "Skye Masterian."

Elle felt tears pull at her eyes at the tattered appearance of her best friend. His face was bloodied and cut, his left eye swollen. His clothes were singed in places and his left ankle seemed slightly disfigured.

"Now Elle I must know do I have your cooperation or no?" A sudden growl came from the still figure as he raised his head, his hazel eyes filled with livid rage.

"Don't even think it Elle." Was his curt reply before Ruckus's hand came down and hit the boy in the face, causing his body to slump once more. Elle's body began thrashing against her bonds causing hazardous amounts of electricity to be shot through her body, Suddenly though the pain numbed and she watched in grave horror as the device around Skye's neck powered and shot a crackling volt of electricity through him.

"Fine." Elle whispered, tears trailing down her cheeks, "Let him go and I'll do whatever you say. Just please don't hurt him." Sinister's grin grew as he raised his hand ceasing the current running through the boys body.

"Deal." Was the reply Sinister gave as he turned towards the men motioning for him to take Skye away.

"Wait!" Elle yelped, Sinister stopped and watched her through red eyes, "please just allow one moment between us, please." Sinister's head nodded swiftly once as the mutants throw Skye down before the girl and left. Sinister walked away a few steps before leaving through the door and slamming it behind him. The cuffs soon came off of Skye's wrist revealing the raw and torn skin underneath.

"Oh Skye," Elle whispered kneeling next to him allowing her fingers to travel over his face. His hand suddenly shot up and caught her own gently before his eyes suddenly raised towards her.

"What's wrong with you?" He attempted at yelling but only succeeded in a hoarse whisper, "If I died it doesn't matter but if you-"

"If I what?" Was her strong reply, "Skye it doesn't matter if I cooperate or not, I can't change what their going to do to me, but if you get loose there's hope for both of us." His eyebrows raised at her before he pulled her into a tight embrace, not wanting to let go.

"Elle, I've screwed up enough, I'm not going to let it happen again. I. Won't. Leave." Elle's finger's reach up and caught a lock of his dark hair, twisting it on her finger she locked their gazes.

"You've got to get out of here, find Rouge and the others-" She was cut off though when Skye's voice chimed back.

"Others?" A small grin came onto Elle's face, even though it was pained.

"My family." Skye's eyebrows lifted upward a look of incredulous disbelief written on his features.

"But I thought-"

"So did I, I was wrong," Her finger's traveled down the side of his face, she willed her healing powers to work and fix his scarred skin but to no avail, the power negators were just to powerful. "I have my memories back, my parents, my family, they all loved me. They never abandoned me, It was all a scheme to get me away from them." His eyes were filled with unknown emotions as he watched her.

"Look its a long story, but now I need you to promise, no swear to me you will get out of here and find them." Skye shook his head in defiance but got a firm shake in return.

"I can hold up in here, you won't make it another day." She gestured toward his open wounds, "Go, I've got a plan but I need you to get out of here first." Skye paused for a moment before opening his mouth.

"I swear I will but you can't give in, got it?" Elle smiled truly for the first time in a year.

"Got it." He suddenly became silent. Knowing what he had to finish with he started to respond when Elle's finger's came up over his lips.

"Lie down, play unconscious." Sensing her urgency he complied, but still opted to tell her he left Gabriela for her. "After this is all done I hope I can come to befriend Gabriela, I can't seem to give you up."

"But Elle-" Suddenly her hand smacked down over her lips, as her sobs became loud and heart wrenching. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her but knew he could not.

"Ah I see you have said your farewells?" Sinister's thick voice leaked.

"Yes," Was Elle's sorrow soaked reply as she stood, straitening her shoulders she looked at him head on. "What next?" His grin could practically be heard dancing in his voice.

"Good girl your learning," Sinister's hands snapped together and Skye felt his body being drug up suddenly and being pulled away. "Take him towards the cliff and leave him." A low chuckle was exchanged between the two mutants making Skye want to jump up and tackle them.

As Skye was drug from the room, Elle slowly suppressed her fake sobs and looked at Sinister, ready to face head on whatever he had in store for her.

Mon Dieu, she thought frantically, please help him get out of here in one piece, for both our sakes.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Elle felt herself being thrown again into her cell, but instead of colliding with the floor she collided with another body. Groaning she pulled the bandanna from her face and took in the dark face of Forrest.

"Got caught?" Was Elle's sullen reply.

"Shut it girl," He barked his hand coming up over his face, his blue and black hair sticking in all directions. His goth clothes were torn in places revealing a thin lean body underneath.

"So do you want to tell me the truth now or later?" Elle's voice was strong, yet gentle making the boy moan in reply.

"Don't see no point in telling, seeing as I'l be dead within the week." Elle wanted to smack the self loathing boy, but resisted the urge by reaching out and touching his fingers.

"I wouldn't be so sure," his eyes looked up and a bit of light glimmered in them as she withdrew half of the capsules he'd given her from her pockets.

"Your clever," He commented watching as she stowed them safety back in her tattered jeans, "So what's this grand ole plan of yours?" Elle cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Hey us prisoners gotta stick together you know?" Forrest reach out his hand and Elle grabbed his shaking it hard.

"Name's Forrest," He flipped his black hair back from his face, "got a sister Serene who'll be joinin us in a moment."

"Elle, or Isabella," She replied calmly her finger's releasing themselves from his strong grip, "A sister?"

"Twin ta be exact, wasn't too keen on lettin me sit and rot in a prison cell by myself." His sad grin grew, as he pushed a stray lock of hair from Elle's face, "You've got one yourself don't you?" Elle curtly nodded her head.

"Ole Sinister isn't too good about keepin secrets," he said his eyes focused off in the distance, "That's the only reason we got any hope of making it out of 'ere."

"Tell me," he looked at the girl confused, "Tell me everything you know about the Gemini project." His face darkened but he nodded in agreement none the less. The sound of scrapping metal sounded making both close their mouths quickly.

"We'll finish this when Serene gets 'ere she know more than Ay do." The door to their cell suddenly opened and a girl with blonde and bubble gum pink hair was shoved inside.

"Hey! careful with the merchandise love," Elle felt her heart sink, she had prep and idiot written across her forehead, "I mean like Oh my gawd could you be any meaner?" The man looked at her in disgust and disappeared around a corner.

"How'd it go?" Forrest ventured, the girl turned and the incompetent idiot look dissipated from her face and was replaced by one of intelligence.

"Better than could have been expected," She walked over towards the two and shoved her brother aside taking a seat right next to Elle.

"Name's Serene, but you can call me Chaos, fit's me better." Elle laughed and gave her greetings in return.

"Isabella eh? Real pretty name, fits you." Stretching the girls hand reach out and smacked her brother across the face, getting a small laugh from Elle in return. "So what do you want to know?"

"Why are you two here? You both seem to want out pretty bad." Serene sighed and laid her head in her hand and cocked her head slightly towards the side.

"We were born to one of Sinister's ole lackeys, and he forced us ta stay, he said he'd kill our father if we ever said anything." She tapped her fingers against each of her opposing palms,"so we got stuck 'ere, and now we don't even know where out father is."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have allowed for you to help me." was Elle's reply, which in return she received two unforgettable laughs.

"Oh don't be gal, dad would be proud of us," Forrest said. "He never liked ole Sinister anywho."

"Yep, he'd be doin the happy dance right about now," Serene wipped a tear from laughing away from her eyes, "Now tell me what do you need ta know? And what do we need ta do?"

Elle smiled deviously, she wasn't as helpless as she looked. "What can you tell me about the Gemini project?"

Serene's eyes glossed over slightly as if though her mind had entered a dormant stage. "There's a lot Ay can tell you, but there's only a bit that will be of any use ta you." Elle nodded her head signaling for the girl to continue on.

"Well see project Gemini was started oh say bout twenty two years ago, before the Apocalypse fiasco even occurred." Serene ran a finger over her thin pink lips her mind caught up in memories, "Sinister got some research on some new born mutants and found some type of advanced gene in their systems dormant. He spent a good six years working on a way to enhance it, once he thought he had completed the serum he tested it. They were advanced beyond their imaginations in power, but both subjects died a week later, the gene hadn't been progressed far enough ta hold up ta such violent chemical changes."

After this her voice slowly faded as was picked up by Forrest, his deep voice rumbling in his chest, "After that ole Sinister went lookin for more subjects but couldn't find any, so he went searching through some scientist lab and found blood work on two new born mutants that had that replica gene," Forrest stopped suddenly but Serene didn't miss a beat and picked up where he had left off.

"But their gene was also much stronger, due to their mix in bloodline. See their father had the potential ta be a walkin nuclear power plant with his bio kinetic ability ta charge items, and their mum could literally drain the life from someone with a touch of her hand. So with such strong genes combining there was bound ta be a new mutation occur, and when it did Sinister was on it in the flash of an eye."

"Those children were me and my sister," Elle barely whispered, things piecing themselves together in front of her. Serene nodded sharply before gesturing to see if Elle wanted her to continue. Elle nodded her head slowly not sure how much more of the information she could take. So Sinister had gotten into Beast's medical records that's how he found us....

"He planned ta kidnap the children...errr I mean you guys, but not before messing with one of you guys minds, your sister's I'm guessing," Elle looked up suddenly very interested and enraged at the acts of the scientist against her sister.

"He implanted the spirit of a long dead mutant into the hostess body of a woman here at the lab, Turn-Table, and connected her physical with your sister. The woman she can control the ability of shadow and it has been eating away at her for most of her life, its slowly killing her. Once her body goes the possessor will need a new host which is where you sister comes in," Forrest grunted as he let his head fall forward in exhaustion, "She has the potential to become an Omega level mutant with her combination of powers-"

"So wait your telling me that all those times my sister lost control of her powers it wasn't her fault?" Elle asked almost speechless, Serene shook her head declining the claim.

"Not quite it's more complicated than that, true the entity bond might of had some cause and effect, but Bella you have to understand your sister's powers are limitless, that is until her life force is used up." Elle's eyes widened, her whole body starting to shake. "You have to understand your sister's energy isn't just limitless she has to have time to allow for her body to recover and with this entity that has been eating away at her for twelve years now; and though she might not now signs of aging they will become prominent soon unless the seal on the bond is broken."

"So all the times she was sick for no reason, for all the sudden outburst?" Elle's voice was dead as Serene nodded her head and offered out a comforting hand. Elle opted to take it but settled for twirling her hair around her finger, a bad habit she had when she was nervous.

"But why, why would he do that?" Her hair was quickly becoming knotted and Serene had to force her hand down before she tore her hair away.

"Because your sister has the ability to block telepathy and mind control, how do you think she kept you hidden for so long? But, with a separate entity inside he has full control, plus it would broaden his horizons on extending her power. Elle the thing is this entity makes our local haunting, Malice look like a cake walk, this woman was one of the original first born mutants, she lived for centuries."

Serene felt herself shudder, "But She was killed as a witch in the Salem witch trials and with a couple hundred years of brooding she's ready to tear humanity and mutants alike that stand in her path apart, and shes willing to use any host she can get her hands on." By this time Elle was shaking with emotions, rage and frustration all rolled into one. "So with her inside your sister's already broken mind their won't be a fight." Elle sat silent for a moment before venturing another question.

"S-so we can't let this entity enter my sister or-" Serene gripped Elle's hand as Forrest finished for her.

"The world has a one way ticket ta hell, and if your sister gets possessed she will have ta be killed." At this Elle tightened her fist and swung at the boy, barely missing him by inches as he rolled out of the way.

"You low life piece of trash this is my sister!" Tears of annoyance and confusion were streaming down her cheeks but began to slow as Serene pulled her back down towards the ground and ran a finger under her eyes wiping the tears.

"So we won't it happen." Serene stated calmly, her bubble gum pink hair contrasting so bad with her level headed personality.

"W-what about me? What does he have planned for me?" At this Forrest's voice came it, no real emotion could be heard as he spoke.

"You came with the ability to heal others as well as yourself that alone can be a dangerous weapon itself if mutated right, and the transporting is just an added bonus." Forrest rubbed the base of his neck his eyes refusing to make contact with Elle's. "If sinister can single out that gene that you carry that heals, he can create an army that no one can harm or stop, and with you and your sister at his sides he would be indestructible."

Elle fell backwards against the wall and rubbed her temples understanding the severity of the situation. Serene stretched her legs out, trying to relieve them of their cramping.

"How do I stop it?" Forrest and Serene looked at one another then towards Elle.

"You fight."

,&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Skye felt a sudden change in motion when the two mutant up and chunked him over the low lying cliff. Opening his eyes he felt panic rise in his chest, beneath him was nothing but a pool of deep dead water.

Holding his breath he tried to straiten his position but with little effect. His body hit with a hard splash and everything went black, but before everything faded he felt something tight wrap around his body and begin to pull.

"Ha bet that girlys gonna have a fit when she finds out." Ruckus stated running a hand through his oily hair.

"Nah boss will have her so drugged she won't know the difference between white and black." Blockbuster piped in return.

Their dark laughs echoed out into the night, signaling the first signs of change.

**_Author's Note: I know short chapter, but I'm in a hurry to get this one out so please forgive its crappy quality the next one should be up tomorrow, my schedules lightening up._**

**_Children of Dawn- (Personal Creation) A cut branch of the F.O.H. that wants an all out war between Humans and Mutants to prove whos the better species, led by a descendant of the F.O.H. (More information on this group with come in future chapters, please review!) Also I need suggestions on secondary couples seeing the main ones consist of Romy, Jonda, and Roeir (Rouge/Keir)_**


	21. Crossroads of Destiny Part I

_**Author's Note- Yay! Chapter 21 finally! **_

**_Ban-Thanks! lol as for Rouge you'll have to wait and see._**

**_Courtney Summers- Here's you update!_**

**_the-writing-vampire- Thank you! I really appreciate you complimenting on my writting. Lol I'm glad you liked the last two chapters and they come out towards you liking. Heres the chapter I think everyones been waiting for the confrontation between Rouge/Rogue and Remy it was fun to write to say the least. Once again thank you for the questions they keep me on track. -sorry if this seems short I'm in a bit of a rush-_**

**Chapter 21: Crossroads of Destiny**

"You've got to be kidding me." Rouge said, completely dumb folded at the sight of the mansion before her. She felt a comforting grip on her shoulder and had to resist the urge to run in any other direction that was directed at the mansion. Looking up her eyes collided with beautiful lime and she felt her heart flutter, how she hated but adored that feeling.

"Not at all luv, can't believe you don't remember it." With gentle hands he pushed her forward and placed a hand on the small of her back sending shivers up her spine. His hand quickly stole away from the sensitive spot and came to rest in her own. Squishing it gently he saw the slightest change in her demeanor and inwardly smirked, claiming the unofficial victory as his own.

Wanda paid little attention towards the actions of the two teens as she stepped forward and let out a slow sigh through her nose. The past two days had played out in thick unsortable chaos that left even Pietro's head spinning at its constant rate. Willing her hand to raise she clicked the speaker button and waited a moment. No reply came, growling she tapped it twice her patience growing thin. Suddenly a chiming voice came over the line and Wanda wanted nothing more than to turn and stride away, but looking onto the girl at her left she knew no such option was possible.

"Who is there?" Wanda scowled in disgust, she hated the Summer's boy just as much as she hated his parents. Sighing she plastered a fake smile on her face before responding with her most delightful tone.

"Abel*, this is Wanda Maximoff-Allerdyce, I came to speak to Professor Xavier." A low snorting sound came over the line and Wanda cringed resisting the urge to send a hex bolt through the speaker. She felt a calming hand land on her shoulder and settled for sighing in annoyance, stupid husband she thought bitterly.

"Come in." With ease the towering gates swung in and Wanda motioned for Keir and Rouge to lead the way. As the two took the first steps in, Pyro's hand immediately found Wanda's and they followed at the youth's heals.

Pietro rolled his eyes in annoyance before trailing behind the four the retreating figures. The Speed Demon wasn't thrilled about speaking with the X-men nor offering his services in protecting the brat that had his nephew wrapped around her little finger; but to save himself from being hexed into next week and or being burnt to a crisp, he really didn't have a choice in the matter.

As he followed after the group a sudden involuntary shudder raced up his back and the memories of the girl unfolded in his mind for the billionth time that day. Watching her memories had first been like an out of body experience for him, like he was on the side lines watching the same re-run a hundred times over. Seeing such pain and anguish had made his insides turn to mush, he knew those said feelings better anyone, and he felt a strange pang of emotion run through him, sympathy. He scowled, damn kid, he thought angrily knowing that karma had more fun ruining his life than helping it.

_What comes around goes around,_Pietro growled at the whispering voice of his conscious and shoved it towards the back of his mind, knowing full well it was telling the ugly truth. Mindlessly his fingers caught the tie to his coat and he began to twist it, trying to reveal the annoying and nagging feelings coursing through his system.

Rouge felt the soft tug of the grass beneath her feet and felt her stomach swell, just watching as mutant children ran playing like it was nothing out of the norm sent a wave of jealousy coursing through her system. What she would have given to have had a care free life. She laughed in spite of herself, she was playing the pity party card and being selfish, how shallow can I be? She thought blandly her hands twitching mindlessly at her sides, no wonder Elle was the golden girl.

Walking closer towards the playing children Rouge took notice that they were using their powers openly, and felt her jaw fall slightly. She could feel envy coming off of her very being and it was agitating her. Shaking her head she forced her focus towards the ground and finished the last few steps towards the entrance in a matter of three long strides. Stopping she took a deep breath and looked at the door, knowing something lay before that door that would alter her very reality, not that it hadn't been warped already.

The door gently opened and much to her surprise revealed a red headed boy with sparkling blue eyes and a blank look that had stick-in-the-mud written all over it. The boys gaze traveled over the group standing before him. Once his gaze landed on Rouge though he couldn't seem to break it. In a swift motion he was down the stairs and standing a few feet from the girl his blue eyes glaring through her dark sunglasses. She smirked, irking the boy he stepped back and growled, obviously he didn't like the fact she had a mental shield, and a damn good one at that.

"Why are you here? The Brotherhood isn't Welcome." At this Keir stepped up and Rouge had to suppress a giggle as the boy took a step back. In all of his glory Keir stood a few inches shorter than the boy before her and had a slighter build, but the look of superiority on his features made the boy look puny compared to Keir. Rouge felt a rush of emotion, wait was that....pride? She shook her head, she really needed to lay off of the energy drinks.

"Are you certain of that, Abel? Cause last I checked Xavier welcomed us with open arms." At that he groaned in frustration, and in his role as a lap dog bowed his head in respect.

"I'm sorry," he said apologizing though the tone was far from convincing, "We have just been in a slight uproar as of late several events have occurred and it had proved problematic for our emotions and the team. Please follow me." At this Keir smirked and sent Rouge off in a round of laughing.

"Mon Dieu, that was impressive I must say." At this Keir beamed and motioned for Rouge to follow him up the stairs. As she came into the entrance way many different gazes were sent in her direction. Ignoring them she followed closely behind the boy dubbed Abel into what appeared to be a meeting area.

"This is the war room, please make yourselves comfortable, Professor Xavier will be here in a moment." Nodding Keir grinned and pulled out a chair motioning for Rouge to sit, who in return rolled her eyes and slid into one beside it.

"I'm not that helpless." Keir rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath that oddly sounded like 'feminazi'. Taking a seat next to Rouge Pietro couldn't help but look from the corner of his eye and watch. Having seen the inner depths of her mind he had a whole new understanding of the girl and much to his displeasure had to admit she had a good way of handling it, hell he was surprised she hadn't already gone off the deep end. He also wasn't exactly thrilled about the guaranteed reaction she was going to have when she saw the set of southerns know as her parents, with all that pent up rage and hatred he would be surprised if there was a mansion left standing after it all.

"Rouge," Wanda's voice carefully pried, "I'm going to find the Professor, and bring him here..." her voice cut off but quickly resurfaced, "please promise me you'll at least give them a chance to speak with you, they deserve that much."

"No promises." Was Rouge's sharp reply causing Wanda's head to fall in defeat, that girl had a rebellious streak in her.....

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_The Night Before_

_"Pietro!" Wanda's feet barely touched the ground as she raced over towards her brother with an unconscious Rouge in his arms, "What happened!" _

_"We had a tea party and went dancing with elves." Was Pietro's smart-ass reply causing his sisters brow to furrow in irritation. "What does it look like Wanda? She passed out, but not before giving me a fraction of her conscious!" Wanda opened her mouth about to reply when a panting Keir and Pyro suddenly rounded on them. In an instant Pietro's load was relieved as Keir brought her into his arms and held her close worry written across his features._

_"What happened?" John questioned between his pants, his eyes were clouded over in confusion._

_"Well I was about to get to that before you came racing down the street." Pietro rubbed his forehead and fell back against the tall tree that was behind him. "Wanda, I don't know how to explain this but when she touched me I drained her memories her mind and I saw her past, she has no idea who we are."_

_"Your certain?" Wanda questioned her voice thick in anxiety as she looked the girl over, eyes watching the slow and steady rise and fall of her chest._

_"A hundred percent, though there are memories of Keir but their fuzzy." Keir's ears perched up at this and his eyes made contact with his uncles._

_"Tell me what you saw." It was more a command than a request, opening his Pietro was about to respond when another wave of dizziness hit him and he went tumbling forward. In a moments notice Pyro had caught him and had his arm around his shoulder supporting the weakened speed demon._

_"I vote we get back to the house before finishing 'his." John calmly stated, receiving a sharp nod from both Wanda and Keir. They began trekking back towards the boarding house. Pietro looked at his sister pleadingly then glanced at Keir. It took her a moment to sort out what message he was conveying but once she got it she didn't hesitate to fill it._

_"Keir get Rouge on back towards the house, we won't be far behind." At this Keir's tense stance lightened and his pace quickened suddenly, his body quickly becoming a dot on the horizon._

_"Well mate best tell us what you can't say in front o Keir." At this Pietro sighed and pushed away from the Pyromaniac and landed on the ground, thankful to be in a sitting position. _

_"Wanda I never thought anybody could be more screwed up than you, apparently I was wrong." At this Wanda knelt down in front of her brother and gripped his shoulders forcing his face to rise and look at her._

_"What did she show you?" Wanda questioned, her hands shaking slightly. Pyro had moved from his standing position as was currently leaning against a tree, his lighter flipping open and closed at a constant rate._

_"Friends of Humanity tried to kill her about half a dozen times, shes almost drowned twice, her mind in a twisted web of broken minds and," He groaned not wanting to finish the sentence._

_"And what?" Wanda questioned much softer this time, even though she and Pietro had a dark past they had grown over there differences for the most part and sincerely cared for one another now, well for the most part._

_"About six months ago she contracted the Legacy Virus." Wanda felt her mind whirl and she fell from her kneeling position back onto her butt. Pyro's hands faltered slightly causing him to almost lose his grip on his lighter. _

_"And that's only half of it."_

_&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

Wanda felt numb as she entered the office of Xavier himself. Looking around she took in the sight of several mutants that she remembered distantly. Not stopping his conversation Xavier took little notice of Wanda's appearance in his actions but in her mind she could already began to feel him probe.

_Wanda welcome, it has been a time._

_Yes it has look Xavier I've got some important information that needs to be discussed this second and-_

_Wanda, are you certain its her?_

_A hundred percent, theres no doubt._

_Very well._

"Everyone I must ask that we continue this meeting later, there are more pressing matters at hand." The other mutants nodded their heads in respect and quickly disperested from the room. Charles hands came up and folded beneath his chin, his old blue eyes watching Wanda's every action.

"Where's Rogue and Remy?" Was Wanda's distant question. Xavier sighed and ran a hand over his bald head, more a motion of habit than of any importance.

"Louisiana, their on their way back now and if my calculations are correct they should be here within the hour." Wanda sighed, feeling her heart give a heavy tug as it constrited in her chest.

"Good, they need to see her...." Wanda's hand came to rest on her hip as she averted her gaze.

"They found Isabella." This caused Wanda's head to shoot up, shock playing in her eyes, "but Sinister got his hands on her first, they were certain Rouge was dead according to Mystique."

"Mystique is the reason this mess started." Wanda growled, wanting to strangle said Mutant for her actions.

"It was for their protection." Xavier reasoned his tone never rising, but staying constant.

"Protection my ass...." A loud yelp came from down the hall and Wanda's gut twisted. Glancing towards Xavier his eyebrows furrowed together so closely they resembled one as opposed to two.

"Go, I will follow." Wanda was already sprinting down the hall after go had left his mouth.

"So much for a happy reunion."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Rouge watched in amusement as Pyro and Keir played chess with flames pieces, their hands not once being marred by the flame. In interest Rouge's eyes never left the sight of the chess battlefield and had to inwardly roll her eyes at the nerdiness the two showed when sporting a victory. One of Keir's knights raced forward and stabbed a javelin through John's pawn making it fall to its knees then dissipate into thin air.

A low shuffling sound sounded off in the distance but Rouge paid it little heed as she turned her attention back towards Pietro. His once bright face was now showered over in shadows, and caught in a permanent scowl. She knew he had a dislike for her, which she didn't really care about, but by his actions she could tell there was more to the story than he was letting on.

"Pietro I-" but before her sentence could be completed a blue man appeared suddenly in the middle of the table, his face caught somewhere between anger and happiness. Glancing around he locked his sights on Keir and grinned, paying little heed to either Pietro or Rouge.

"Keir, Pyro vhat are you doing here?" He asked in a curious tone. Keir chuckled and let the chess game evaporate into thin air before pointing over Kurt's shoulder.

"Bringing your niece home." Jumping Kurt turned and gasp his body suddenly ridgid. Rouge had taken off her glasses when they had entered the room revealing her naked eyes to the world and her thick hair was for once let down from it tight prison and fell down her shoulders in thick locks, their was no hiding her true appearance. In a moments notice Kurt fell flat on his rear and stared at the girl in disbelief.

"Eclaire?" He asked in a strange tone making Rouge stand and step back slightly, "Eclaire? Oh Mein Gott it really is you!" Before Eclaire knew what hit her Kurt had pulled her in a tight embrace and began spinning her around. She groaned in irritation, why did people have to be all touchy feely.

"Elf? What in high heaven are you doing?" A stern voice came making Rouge's heart stop, she knew that voice. Kurt suddenly stopping spinning her a smile a mile wide on his features.

"Logan! It's Eclaire!" The man's jaw seemed to fall slightly as he took in her appearance. He sniffed the air once and confirmed his suspicious thoughts.

"STRIPES! GUMBO!" He yelled his eyes never once leaving the girl.

"Oh would you like relax Logan, they went up to their room and-" Kitty's jaw hit the floor. She stood stunned for a moment before racing towards Kurt and phasing the girl through his arms. In a swift moment she had the girl wrapped tightly in her arms and refused to relinquish her hold.

"Elf get Stripes and Gumbo in here now. " Was the harsh and barked command of Logan which Kurt quickly followed popping out of the room. Beast Storm and Mutiple had made their way into the room, looks of awe on their features but unwilling to test the temper of Kitty as she held her 'niece'. Kitty stood with her arms wrapped around Rouge for a time before Rouge snapped out of it and pushed away from Kitty. Kitty's eyes took on a certain look of hurt as she stepped forward trying to grab the girl again.

"What is with you people and the whole touchy feely thing?" Rouge moaned, her hands held up in front her attempting to ward off the people standing before her, "I haven't the slightest idea as to who the hell you are."

"Eclaire?" Kitty said gently, "Please you have to remember me, Aunt Kitty remember? I use to put you in those frilly dresses you hated?"

"Pyrde just stop." Pietro said heartlessly his eyes glancing over his cuticles, "She has no memories of you. Any of you for that matter." Kitty's face scrunched up in anger but before she could retaliate Keir had sent a fire ball in his direction making him have to jump off towards the side.

"What the hell do you think you doing pip squeak?" Pietro yelped on his feet in a flash. Ignoring his uncle Keir made his way towards a weary looking Rouge whose eyes were wide as saucers as she tried to put the pieces together, it was just too much.

Stumbling backwards a few steps Rouge felt herself collide with something hard. Looking up she gasp her entire body suddenly setting on fire, red on black eyes clashing with red on black.

"Oh Merde." The two said in unison.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

In a moment of rash emotion Rouge pushed herself away from the man and against the nearest wall, her eyes refusing to break their locked gazes.

"Eclaire?" The man asked softly, his eyes wide in shock. Rouge felt her breathing suddenly quicken as she slid down towards the ground her hands gripping at her hair.

"No this can't be happening, no, no, NO!" Rouge suddenly jerked off towards the side and buried her face into her hands, wishing for it all to go away.

"What in the world." Rogue asked as she walked into the room. Taking in Remy's paralyzed form her eyes followed his along with everyone else's gaze and landed on the girl. She felt her heart shred down its seam. There in the floor sat her baby, her precious Eclaire alive and breathing.

"Aire?" Rogue asked silently her hand extended towards the grounded girl. Rouge's emotions were a whirl wind of color anger, sadness, happiness, resentment it was all very confusing. Sitting for a moment Rouge debated on whether crying or not but decided against it knowing full well that she had played this scenario out in her mind more than once. Rising to her full height she pushed her shoulders back and locked eyes with both the man and the woman.

"Go fu-" Before Rouge could finish her comment though Keir's hand came over her mouth. Suddenly a sharp pain shot through his hand and he yelped, she bit him!

"Keir you low life pain in the ass, let me say what I want to. I'm not here for some damn happy reunion I'm here to find Elle and I'll be damned if I don't." Keir pouted at her but for once it didn't lower her shields instead it got him a dirty glare and a snort.

In a rapid motion Wanda skid into the room her brow covered in sweat as she raced towards the center of the room.

"W-wait hold on." Wanda held up one finger, her form was bent over and gasping breaths wracked her body. "Rouge let me explain, errrr introductions... Well shit! I don't know where to start." Wanda hit the ground her eyes watering slightly from her rapid sprint. In a swift motion Keir pulled his mother up into a standing position, everyone's eyes were on the young teenage girl who looked somewhere between crying and yelling.

"Look," She said her hands clenching at her sides, "I'm not this 'Eclaire' everyone says I am, my name is Rouge and my sisters name is Elle and I was told I could find help here." Her eyes keep trying to avert themselves from the couple but she couldn't seem to break the stare.

"Actually dear one you are Eclaire, your name was just changed for your protection." Everyone's attention suddenly turned towards the woman standing in the center of the room. She stood around five foot six and had light blonde hair that clashed with her stunning blue eyes, she was draped in a white cotton dress.

"Oh now you decided to show up Angelina," Rouge's hands began emitting a crackling energy, "I outta kick your sorry ass from here to next Tuesday." At this Angelina smiled before letting it drop and shifting her gaze towards the hawk flying into the room. In a moment of shifting motion the hawk became 'Carla' before everyone's eyes.

"Oh and look its Carla, my other piss poor guardian!" Rouge threw her hands up in the air before turning around and beating her head against the wall.

"Good to see you too Rouge," Mystique hissed her red hair shimmering in the bright light, "Though I would like to know why you disabled my protection bracelet, you had me convinced you were dead."

"Ding ding! We have a winner!" Rouge shouted slapping her hand above her chest anger growing on her features. "Good lord, where is the rum when you need it?" The majority of the room raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Never mind."

"You always did have a smart mouth on you." Mystique muttered, her hand mindlessly running through her hair.

"And you always had a big ass on you so we're even." Rouge stated matter-of-factly. Kurt burst out laughing at this, getting a menacing glare from Mystique as she looked her back side over. "Okay look I just want to find my sister, I want nothing to do with my shitty parents, either set," Her eyes roamed over both Rogue and Remy as well as Mystique and Angelina "I just want to find my sister."

"Which we can help you with Rouge, but" A new voice chimed from in, a man in a wheel chair rolling in flanked by a red headed woman and a man with strange sunglasses, "I request you at least allow your mother and father a chance to tell you their side of the story, and allow us to test your DNA." Rouge hissed and pinched the end of her nose.

"Sure why the hell not, but I can't promise nothing will be blown up in the process."Keir placed an arm around her shoulders which she quickly grabbed and threw him over her shoulder.

"And you dundee you have a better chance of surviving in a nuclear explosion." At this Remy and John both let out sharp laughs.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"So your telling me that all of the stuff you told me was fake?" Rouge asked incredously, her hands shaking in slight shock. Angelina nodded her head before bowing it slightly obviously in remorse. "Well that sure does clear up a lot." Standing Rouge brushed off her jeans before walking over and sitting down in between Remy and Rogue. In the process of coming to said conclusion she had managed to blow up several objects, attack both Mystique and Remy, and hide behind Wanda at least twice.

"Looks like I owe both of you an apology." Rogue smiled tears shimmering in her eyes as she pulled Rouge into a tight hug which immediately made her body go stiff.

"Rogue, err mom can you please not do that." Rouge gently pushed away from the woman, her green eyes puffy around the edges.

"Why?" Rouge sighed and scratched the back of her neck.

"I can't touch people, my mutation won't allow it." Uncovering her hand she showed her nude hand to her mother. "I touch you once and ever thought, emotion, or thing you ever felt will belong to me. Plus I'm not a big fan on the whole touchy feely business." At this Rogue laughed and she pulled her daughter back into a tight hold refusing to let go.

"Well sugah Ah had the same problem but Ah learned ta control it, as for the touchy feely business ya'd better just get use ta it." At this Rouge groaned and slumped forward slightly. Remy laughed before fuzzying up her hair getting a menacing glare in return.

"You'd better watch it pere or it won't end happily for you." Remy couldn't help but grin in pure enjoyment, how he had missed torturing his little Eclaire, well technically Rouge now. He inwardly growled he didn't like that name and was bond determined to get her to change it back to Eclaire.

"Well mon fille you've said such threats before but nothin eva happened." Rouge reach out and with swift fingers she gripped his ear and twisted it causing a loud ringing shout to come from him. "Okay! Okay Ah'm sorry ange no more ah promise!" Rouge let her hold on the mans ear go and smirked as he crabled it with his right hand. Rogue had to stop herself from staring, she had Remy's smirk down to a tee.

"Uh hem," Mystique started, her face caught in its usual emotionless stare, "Me and Angelina have a few things we must tend to, but we will return in time to help find my other granddaughter." With the the red headed woman strode from the room with a pissing and moaning Angelina following behind.

Leaning back Rouge put a hand over her eyes and groaned. "Look I know bonding and crap is great and all but I really need sometime to sort things out may I be excused?" Both Rogue and Remy were relutant to let her go but once Wanda's voice rang out they knew they couldn't stop it.

"We understand go on ahead." Nodding her head Rouge stood to leave but not without Wanda's voice finishing, "Please take someone with you though. With the bounty Sinisters got on your head, we can't afford to lose both you and Elle." At this Rouge cringed and had to stop momentarily to even out her breathing. Ever since she had learned of Sinisters actions she was ready to take the mutant head on by with the constant denials of the team she knew she wouldn't be able to unless she left on her own.

"I know." Rouge stated calmly as she reach down and grabbed Keir's hand dragging the boy along behind her. A audible snort came from Remy and Rogue had to resist the urge to smack him.

"What is your problem Swamp Rat? We have one of our girls back and you concerned bout the fact that shes got a boy with her?" At this Remy mumbled something incoherently before standing and walking in the opposite direction. "Where do you thahnk your goin Remy?"

"Get something ta drink chere." He lied, he knew a quick wrap around so that he would be able to spy on the two teens.

"Oi mate wait up I'm goin with you." Pyro jumped up from his seat and quickly shot after the Cajun. Both the Scarlet Witch and Rogue looked at one another before shaking their heads.

"Should we interfere?" Wanda asked ready to get up and follow after the nosy men.

"Nah, Aire will put 'em in their place if they get to annoyin." Rogue smirked, pride filling her every word. Eclaire had grown up just as she had always thought she would, indepent, strong, smart mouth, and more than capable of putting someone in their place.

"Rogue," Wanda's tone suddenly turned serious.

"What is it Wanda?" She asked, not wanting her picture perfect moment ruined.

"Rouge gave her memories to Pietro the first night she was with us and we figure out somethings about her you might want to know." At this Rogue's back straitened.

"Tell meh." Wanda ran a hand over her worn jeans before looking over towards her silent brother.

"You want to start Pietro?" The speed demon looked up through blood shot eyes and snarled.

"What is there to tell Wanda?" He asked angrily, the girls Psyche was getting to him more so than it should have, "the fact that she was almost molested by the F.O.H., the fact Sinister wants her as a weapon? Or better yet that she has the Legacy Virus?" Rogue felt her heart stop. No this couldn't be happening no not again she couldn't lose her.

"Pietro!" Wanda snarled shooting up onto her feet her hands glowing blue, "What is wrong with you?" At this the speed demon shot up and stood toe to toe with his sister, towering over her.

"The truth! The fact that the kids dying, and that she wants to fight but knows full well you aren't going to let her!" Pietro's hands balled up into fist, "She wants to go down fighting and I can't blame her. Her destiny's already written in stone might as well let her do what she will with the time she has left." And with the Quicksilver disappeared. Wanda sighed and turned towards her old friend whose eyes were hollow.

"Rogue." Wanda started.

"Don't Wanda Ah don't care what they say Ah'm not losin her again and if that means going ta the ends of the earth Ah will." Rogue stood and turned to head towards the kitchen, Wanda was beside her in an instant.

"I'm with you the whole way, I can't watch Keir break again," Wanda flipped her hair, "Or lose my daughter in law." Rogue smirked at the comment. The two finished their walk in silence looking for the only men who had any hope in helping them, Beast and Xavier.

**_Author's Note: Woot! There's part one done, I was having some serious issues getting this chapter out but I think it came out okay (I hope so anyway) anywho please read and review! Next chapter will be up shortly brace yourselfs! ;P_**

**_Abel - (pronouced Able) Son of Jean and Scott Summers, old friend of Elle's not so much of Eclaires, (will be explained in later chapters) Age- 19_**


	22. Crossroads of Destiny Part II

_**Author's Note: IM SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE!!!! -whimpers- I had to visit family for a week an a half and they had no internet access! Then I started school yesterday and with college classes its been hard to keep up....updates won't be as often as they were but im not giving up on this story and it will be finished soon! Wow so many reviews ! Thank you everyone! =P**_

**_Laceylou76-Thanks! I really enjoyed writing that chapter, and no fear lol major Romy moments are coming very soon. _**

**_Dani- lol thanks, actually the legacy virus was put in the comics as well as some of the TV shows. Actually in the comics Pyro ended up dying from it -sniffs- _**

**_Red-red-red-ribbon- Hey! Thanks for reviewing heres the update!_**

**_Courtney Summers- Thanks!_**

**_ban- lol you'll have to wait and see what happens to Rouge, and thanks for the review!_**

**_sailormoon846212- Thanks for the review! Im glad you liked the way I introduced Rouge to her parents, hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for the advice._**

**_shadowcat6620-Hey thanks for reviewing and giving me the suggestion on lancitty, I will add some in later chapters. Glad you like the Rouge/Keir moments, heres the next chapter._**

**_The-writing-vampire- Hey dont worry about it my computer does the same thing a lot to... -sweat drops- haha yes I really had a blast writing that chapter, and Rouge's character as well as Elle's are about to have some serious things revealed about them, as for Pyro your right on the dot, you'll get to see more interactions between Pyro Remy and Keir involving Rouge -grins evilly- now you'll just have to wait and see what happens to Rouge -maniacal laughter- ahem, anywho. Sorry for the late update as I said my internet access was cut from me for about two weeks, but here's the update! lol your friend is right you would make a good editor, lol. I hear you, my freedom has officially been revoked as well. ='(_**

**Chapter 22- Crossroads of Destiny Part II**

Rouge stepped out onto the thick green grass, and shivered in delight as the cool breeze danced across her skin. Watching her actions closely Keir removed the leather jacket from his shoulder and offered it out towards the girl. She smirked and waved his offer off, stepping forward she knelt down and let her gloved hands intertwine with the tall grass. For a time both staid in silence, taking comfort in the presence of the other, and wrapping themselves in the sound of each other breathing.

"You know their following us right?" Keir murmured, his lips barely moving with the action. At this Rouge raised an eyebrow and slowly lifted her head towards the sky before looking back towards the ground, a slight nod only one watching could catch.

"You could hear them from a mile away." She replied softly, but in a bitter tone. At this Keir grinned and ran a hand through his shaggy orange locks. "And I thought he was suppose to be a thief." She muttered sarcastically.

"He is, but having my father follow behind is like trying to play hide and seek in the sahara with an elephant, its impossible." A sudden crash and accented curse echoed through out the courtyard earning grins from both of it occupants.

"So its like being around you?" Keir's lip automatically fell into a pout and his green grew wide in innocence. "Your pathetic."

"I take that as a compliment sheila." Rolling her eyes Rouge pushed herself up onto her toes before slipping farther off into the courtyard. Following quickly at her heals Keir watched as she weaved across the land, her body moving almost as if though she were dancing. Keir couldn't break his stare as he watched her, he could feel blood rushing towards his cheeks and felt himself go into shock. He didn't blush, but when his hand ran across his fevered cheek he knew his assumptions weren't off.

"Uhmm what's wrong with you?" Rouge asked in a mock angry tone, a smile playing at her lips. His cheeks grew redder and a sharp laugh escaped her lips. With a quick motion she playfully punched Keir in the arm, though it didn't feel playful. His teeth suddenly clenched as the pain shot up his arm, he really was an embarressment if a girl play hitting him hurt.

"Are you actually seething?"

"No."

"Bull."

"Your a bull."

"Thanks." She replied calmly before pushing her hip out and placing a firm fist against it. Another stumbling noise was heard and both teens sighed in unison annoyance, so much for privacy. A sudden idea hit Keir and he couldn't help but let his insides well up in mirth. With a quick side step he pulled himself closer to Rouge, getting a disdainful and untrusting look from the demon eyed girl.

"Dundee! What are you doing?" she hissed, her hands ready to shove him off of her for the millionth time. Suddenly though his gloved finger was on her lips quieting her, for a moment she seriously considered biting it. Looking up she saw the mischievous and evil look playing in his eyes and suddenly understood, if they weren't going to get privacy why not play it up?

Shifting her weight her arms suddenly snaked up around Keir's neck and her body pressed up against his. He had to supress a moan as a sudden shudder ran up his body. In a lithe motion his hand trailed down towards the small of her back, their lips were mere inches away.......

When a dirt covered Pyro suddenly slid inbetween the two teens, a wild almost protective look in his eyes, "Oi! Eclaire, I need to uhh uhmm errrr..." Rouge rose an eyebrow in fake annoyance forcing herself not to laugh at his lame excuses.

"What he means ta say mon fille is dat your pere needs ta talk ta ya, that is if ya will allow him." Remy's excuse came out in a smooth tone, no hints of lying. Rouge fought off the urge to scowl, he was good, almost as good as she was.

"No I wouldn't mind, but a bit of privacy would be appreciated." Remy and Pyro both squirmed on the spot, making the feeling of victory swell in her chest.

"Oi what do you mean? We were just out walking when we happened to stumble upon you two." As Pyro feverent excuse left his lips, Remy's hand shot up and smacked him across the back of his head.

"OI! Mate, what was that?" John shouted his hand holding his head protectively. Remy rolled his eyes, his hands dangling at his sides.

"It was a word of advice." He replied smoothly.

"Wait you didn't say anything.." Pyro stated, confused. Keir suddenly moaned and smacked his forehead at his fathers stupidity. It took Pyro a moment before a knowing glint came into his eyes, "Oh that kinda advice, gotcha." Remy shot a glare at his closest friend and ran over the idea of smacking him again.

"Look, okay well it doesn't matter but can I please have a moment of alone time?" Rouge asked, her voice almost pleading. Her eyes traveled over towards Keir, "I mean completely alone." Keir's hands instinctely tightened at his sides, defiance playing in his eyes.

"Non petite it ain't safe.." Remy stated, Pyro nodded his head in agreement. Rouge groaned, she had to get away there had to be something....

"But I've been on my own for years and I'm okay I just want a few minutes, please." The pleading in her voice tore Remy's heart to shreds, but he was still reluctant. He watched her with prying eyes something was off about her. After a few moments of debating he let his resolve fade.

"Fine, but don't go far and if anything seems off ya get back ta the mansion got it?" Rouge nodded her head almost a little too enthusiastically. Turning on her heal she swiftly made her way into the woods. Keir stepped forward to follow her but was stopped when his fathers hand caught his arm.

"No let 'er be she's got a lot on 'er mind, and plus we need to have a little discussion." Pyro's grin was almost sinister, and Remy's eyes hardened. Keir swallowed hard and put on a sheepish smile, so they both played up the romance card and she got to go for a walk while he had to fight for his life.

"bout?" Keir sqeaked, his voice more accented than usual.

"Oh just dat little moment between you and moi daughter Keir, Ah woulda never thought." Keir took a step back and held his hands up trying to keep an innocent composure, while his insides screamed for him to retreat. Great my own father's even acting like shes the victim, he thought sourly.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Rouge sprinted through the woods surpressing the sour taste rising in her mouth, it was something that had become common but had settled during her most recent adventures. Though apparently it was enjoying rearing its ugly head again. Suddenly the copper taste rose in her mouth and she couldn't hold it any longer falling to her knees she opened her mouth and felt her body pushing the blood from her lungs.

After coughing violently for several minutes she shakingly wiped the excess blood from her mouth and shuddered. Her lungs were on fire, and her body felt as if it wasn't in contact with her concious. Falling onto her elbows she moaned, so much for hoping the virus had simply dissapated. Breathing through her mouth she tried not to concentrate on the red contents spilled on the ground before her.

She sat there for a few moments, feeling confident the spell had passed when it hit her again. Except this time hands had pulled her hair from her face and when she fell forward weakened they caught her. For a moment her head spun giving off visions of colors blurring and mutiple images combining into one. After closing her eyes she managed to whisper out.

"Pietro what are you doing? I thought you hated me." She heard the disgusted grunt come from the speed demon and concluded he still wasn't found of her.

"Hell if I know," he spat angryly propping the girl up on her elbows, "since you gave me your damn concious I've been stuck in your head for the past few days. It's creepy as hell mind you." At this Rouge's eyes narrowed as she tried to replay the events up to where she gave him her memories to him, drawing a thick blank.

"Look if your gonna be pissy about it you can take your preppy ass and go file your nails." She meant to make it sound as though she were growling but it came out more as a weak whisper. Pietro's eyebrows shot up in annoyance and his mouth opened to retort but decided against it and groaned in return. Kneeling next to the girl he looked her over getting a death glare in return.

"Temper, temper." He murmured not wanting to admit just how much the girl reminded him of fractions of himself long ago. In return she wrinkled her nose and him and crossed her arms turning her attention in the opposite direction of him. Sighing in annoyance, he reach out and lifted the girl from the ground. Stepping away from her he watched her sway and almost fall, with speed unprecivable to the human eye he caught her and allowed her to lean slightly on his shoulder.

"What do you want?" Rouge questioned through clenched teeth, trying to force the constant coughing to subside.

"To get your damn mind out of my head, and to do that I have to help you get away from here to get your sister." At this Rouge's eyes widened, and her body shook slightly.

"How did you-?" Pietro rolled his eyes and tapped the side of his head.

"Your mind, my head, remember?" His eyes shot towards the blood covered ground, "and I also know about that sickness of yours." Rouge could have sworn her heart stopped in her chest, he wouldn't tell them, would he?....

"I'm not telling anyone kid, though I let it slip to your mom and Wanda thats why you need to get going so soon." Rouge could feel panic rising, "and I know that you know your chances of survival," he stopped and shuddered finishing the sentence through his actions. "And I know you want to save your sister without being held back so I'm going to help you get away undetected." Her hands sudden quit clenching at her sides and her mouth hung slightly open.

"You'd seriously-?" Pietro nodded quickly once.

"I can buy you some time to get away, but only a little you've got to get undercover and fast." She listened intently waiting for the catch that she knew was inevitable, "but," there it was "your going to write a letter to Keir, break it off clean." She heard the strict tone in his voice and it make her stomach twist in annoyance but the thought of her Austrilian brought tears to her eyes. Reaching into her pocket she withdrew the piece of paper she'd written the night prior.

"It's already done." she mumbled, she had finally regained her balance was standing off on her own now. Taking the letter Pietro smartly stored it beneath his jacket and looked towards the girl. As much as she angered him, he'd grown to tolerate her and even appreciate her bravery and personality and knew he would have a small sore spot for letting her go on her own but he knew it was the best solution.

"Here," he said handing her a thin sliver of paper, "I managed to smuggle this off of one of Sinisters men slinking around the city, it should tell you their next search point if you intercept them and if you agree to join him you can get a clean sweep in and," he pulled out a small tracking device, "give this to your sister, if you don't make it out at least she has a good chance. You know full well what would happen if the X-men got this information it wouldn't end well and hope for your sister would be gone." Rouge closed her eyes in agreement knowing full well that this was the only chance of saving Elle.

"Thank you." She stated, more strongly her eyes finally peering up into his, crystal blue clashing with red on black, his heart twisted. What the? but before his thoughts could be finished the girl had shot out her hand in an offering of agreement. He took her hand numbly and shook it stiffly, not knowing what was wrong with him. Her concious had finally silenced but his had returned and was ringing warning bells in her head at a constant rate.

Stepping backwards she felt her heart tear slightly at the thought of the home she was leaving before racing off in the distance a plan already formulating in her head. Pietro watched her dissapating form and felt himself shiver, had he done the wrong thing...? He shook his head, no he didn't the kid had the right to do what she needed to and it was the only possible to find Sinisters base. Stepping back he drew in a deep breath and looked towards the mansion his plan falling firmly into place.

Don't worry kid, he thought in silence, I'm not far behind. With that he zipped away towards the mansion nothing but a white blur in the wind.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Rouge slipped inside the X-men's garage and began sifting through the many vehicles that were stored. Many had the quality and speed she needed, but nothing truly suited what she wanted that was until her eyes fell on an emerald green camero. Stepping next to the car she tested the door and much to her relief it swung open. Sliding in she took in the sight of the ignition keys sitting idly. Too easy, she thought pressing the garage door opener, it slipped open silently.

Revving the car she slipped into third gear and flew from the garage out towards the front gate. The headlights were off so in the darkness of the night you couldn't see her silently slinking away. With ease the high gate swung open and she slipped through completely undetected. Pulling out the address on the paper she read it once then twice.

It would be easy to find, and all it would take was a little acting to get where she needed to be. Hang in there Elle, she thought I'm on my way and the calvary won't be far behind.

Rouge whistled and thanked whatever god was watching out for her before slamming on the breaks when something slammed against the roof of the car, merde.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Keir slipped into the the front courtyard trying his damnedest to stay silent and unseen, after the lecture he'd just received he didn't want to see anyone. As he was about to ascend the front stair case he caught sight of a certain emerald carmaro slinking away from the mansion. From what he knew Rogue hadn't left. Letting curiousity get the best of him he sprinted towards the towering fence and climbed it in a matter of seconds.

Balancing on the fence he watched as the car sped towards his spot. With a swift motion he slipped from the fence and landed on top of the car. He didn't expect it though when the car slammed on its breaks and sent him tumbling forward.

Owwwwwww, me and my damn ideas. He thought as his body crashed with the aspault. Pushing himself up he was about to yell at the driver of the car when he saw Rouge, her face contorted in anger.

"What the hell!" She screeched throwing her hands up in the air.

"Same goes to you Sheila whats going on?" He had risen into a standing position his arms crossed over his chest.

"It doesn't matter." She stated.

"Uh yeah it does where are you taking Aunt Rogue's car?" At this a look of guilt passed over her face. When he was about to speak though a strong round of coughs caught her. In a mere moment all of his emotions except concern evaporated and he was by her side in an instant. As her coughing stopped he felt his body numb as her hand came away and blood was prominent on its surface.

"Rouge!" he didn't know what to do. Seeing his reaction she cursed and grabbed his arm throwing him in the passenger side door slamming it behind him. In a moment she slid into the drivers seat and looked at him her eyes watering.

"What's going on?" He asked incredously, wanting nothing more than to carry her back to Hank McCoy. She sniffed and laid her head against the steering wheel.

"I'm dying," she said bluntly, "and I have to get my sister back no ifs ands or buts about it. Now please go home so I can get this done before I'm too weak." Keir was horrified, he wasn't sure how to respond until he saw the determination in her eyes.

"You won't go back will you?" He asked, knowing the answer. When she nodded her head he gripped his head and looked at her, love obvious on his features, "Your not going on your own and your not going to die. I'm going with you."

She knew he wouldn't budge so she threw the car into drive and started her story from the beginning.

**_Author's Note: Okay so really rushed, not proofread and kinda crappy quality but I promised I'd get it out tonight it will be wayyyy better next time. By the way there will be a part three to this chapter before we get back to Elle just to forwarn you. Please don't give up on this story cause of this crappy chapter I just had to get it out, Tschua._**


	23. Crossroads of Destiny Part III

**_Author's Note- My god it's been FAR TOO LONG since I've UPDATED!!! Gahhhhhh I'm so sorry! It's a long story about why I haven't been updating but can easily be outlined through, College (BLAH)classes in HS, HS retardism, Writers block, and laziness. BUT to make this known THIS STORY WILL BE COMPLETED!! In this chapter I'm not going to write to my reviewers, I'm so sorry but I feel the actual chapter is more important, BUT I will be writing to reviewers again in later chapter. So here is the long awaited Chapter 23 part III_**

**_Chapter 23: Crossroads of Destiny_**

_The low humming of cars passing on the streets echoed throughout the night, but everything else was coated in a dark silence, as though you could reach out and touch it with your very fingers. A low snort came from one of the experiments, they were growing restless, Sinister grinned. With long fingers he reach out and allowed his fingers to trail over the mutilated mussel of the once beautiful wolf hound, but was now reduced to nothing more than a snarling mass of fur and fangs. Perfect Sinister thought his grin growing wider. Stepping away from the experiments he slowly traced his way past the hounds and towards the nasty brothers their heads bent in low conversation._

_"Well?" Sinister questioned, his tone far from pleased. The truth of the matter was the fact that his greatest experiment was running lose and he was unable to get his hands on her. Running a long hand through his black hair he locked his eyes on the slowly rising heads that had abruptly stopped talking to send their gazes in his direction. After several moments George stepped forward his blonde hair cascading down his back and his eyes wide in fear as he cleared his throat in preparation to speak._

_"Sir we can't find anything-" The smashing sound of Sinisters fist colliding with one of the cage caused for silence to envelope the entire group and their eyes to grow wide as they watched the sharp teeth of Sinister bore themselves in their direction._

_"NO MORE EXCUSES!" Sinister roared his eyes blazing with rage as he watched the group of mutants squirm underneath his gaze, good, he thought, about time they learned their position in this group. Stepping forward Sinister allowed for his hand to graze over the top of the cage latch before grabbing the bolt and yanking back causing for blood curdling howling to echo through the night. One by one the shadow ridden creatures emerged from their cages and sent menacing glares towards the nasty boys their yellow eyes burning in the darkness of the night._

_"I want her here now," Sinister enunciated slowly, "and since you incompetent morons can't seem to track down one LEVEL 5 mutant then I guess it's time to leave it up to creatures that actually have a brain." As Sinister let the last words slip past his lips he pulled out a frayed card, the Queen of Heart's embedded on it and offered it towards the mutilated hound. It sniffed the item once, then twice before baring it's teeth and throwing its head back a long screeching howl tearing through the sound barrier, then suddenly they were off blending into the night as if though they were truly shadows._

_The nasty boys all yelled in unison before diving behind some boxes their eyes wide in fear, and a bone chilling ice coated grin came across Sinister's face, It's game time my fair Eclaire...think you can keep up? _

_

* * *

_

Rouge felt a gloved hand slip through her own and for the first time didn't experience the urge to pull away, instead she laced her fingers through with his own suppressing the cold shudder than ran through her body.

"Damn, Shit, FU-" Keir started but stopped when Rouge's hand tightened on his own, causing him to raise his eyes to look over her. Her long thick curls had been released from their prison and her eyes for once weren't covered in the dark sunglasses that hid her parentage so well. To him she looked like an angel, an angel going to her final battle and ready and willing to give her life to protect the ones that she loved the most. To say the least the sour taste it left in Keir mouth made his want to kill all of the sorry son-of-a-bitches that had made his Eclaires life the hell that it was.

"No use crying over spilt milk Dundee." She stated simply her eyes glazed as she swerved in and out of traffic and a thin trail of sweat dancing down her forehead. She's really dying, Keir thought his heart ripping down it's seams as he watched her suppress a coughing spell, she's really going to leave me....Stop thinking like that! He chided himself shaking his head so that orange locks fell loosely above and in his eyes, he wouldn't, COULDN'T lose her again, he wouldn't survive it.

"Stop it," Her light soprano-alto mixed voice chided, her eyes never leaving their staring contest with the pavement that lay before them, "I can't change what has happened to me and I can't save myself neither can you or should you attempt to. I know my destiny better than anyone else and I'm okay with it but I sure as hell am not okay with you brooding like some sissy ass emo kid about how to save me when it isn't possible, you despite your annoying bitchy personality and ego issues have a right to be happy, even if that means without me being a part of it."

At that Keir's eyes widened, had she just made a reference to them...? He watched her carefully and gasped when he saw a solitary tear slide down her cheek, she really did care- SMASH! A sudden force hit the car sending it tumbling over the median clear across the road and over the rail. The green camaro landed with a screeching slide and several rolls before landing on its side oddly resembling a smashed mountain dew can.

"SON OF ABEL SUMMERS!" Forcing his eyes open Keir took note of the smoke making its way from beneath the hood and the prime smell of gasoline filling the air. Pushing his legs forward he busted out the front of the dashboard before carefully kicking out the windshield. Turning his face to avoid glass shards he took in the unconscious appearance of Rouge her eyes closed tightly and her hands caught in tight fist, a look of pure agony crossing her features. Cursing allowed he pulled the all purpose knife from his boot and sliced his seatbelt in half freeing him from the metal death contraption. Whatever had hit them had hit them hard and FAST.

Slipping the blade beneath Rouge's seatbelt he snapped it loose and forced his arm underneath her back before gently and forcefully pulling her up from her seat and out through the opening he had created in the Camaro. As he pulled her away from the wreckage a sudden hissing echoed throughout the air causing Keir to suddenly drop both himself and Rouge onto the ground before a sudden POP resounded and the entire car went up in flames.

Rolling off of Rouge he looked down to assess the damage done to her. After a few careful moments of examination he was able to conclude the damage was no worse than a few scrapes and a bruise or two, but that was only on the outside that didn't include any internal injuries or damage and judging from the amount of blood that was trickling past Rouge's lips Keir knew there had to be several present. Pulling her face up into his gloved hands he wiped away the traces of blood and attempted to ignore the alarming bells tolling in his head as well as the pounding of his heart in his chest.

"Eclaire! Eclaire come on wake up." He shook her gently as his fingers traced their way down her neck looking for the jugular vein. Finding it he waited a desperate second before he felt her pulse jumping beneath his glove, it was faint but it was enough signal to show that she was alive. Shoving his hand into his pocket he began to dig for his cell phone but stopped abruptly when a low growling echoed around him. Raising his eyes slightly he took in the notion that there was nothing present but after a moment or so figures began to materialize before him.

Long canine bodies that were shrouded in shadow, their muzzles torn to pieces and fierce jagged teeth jutting from beneath them. Yet what proved to be most terrifying were the yellow slitted eyes that spoke danger and death. Pushing himself onto his feet Keir automatically fell into a defensive stance his eyes taking in the odds against him. 14, 15,....18 and counting, Shit, he thought sourly as the last of the creatures appeared. Forcing himself onto his toes he launched himself at the creature closest to him, allowing every riled up emotion to come out as he fought the oncoming hoards.

If I'm gonna die, he thought bitterly his foot smashing into an oncoming muzzle and blue hex bolts crackling around him, let it be in the honor of protecting the one I love and helping her obtain her dream....

* * *

The rain had suddenly began to pore over the mansion leaving Rogue in an even more depressed mood than before with even just the information that Eclaire had contracted the legacy virus. Pulling her knees up to her chest she watched out the window her mind caught in a battle of emotions and determination. A low cough broke her from her stupor as she glanced up to take in the soaked appearance of Wanda, her eyes dull as she watched Rogue.

"Did ya find anythin at all?" Rogue asked already knowing the answer before Wanda has even shook her head denying the claim. Sitting next to Rogue Wanda allowed for her head to fall and for black hair to fall into her eyes.

"Nothing yet, but we're not giving up." Wanda started her hands weaved together as she allowed her soaked body begin the long process of drying. Any other time she would have been on a mission determined to find a towel and dry clothing but underneath the current circumstances just sitting and allowing herself to dry by air was all she could allow herself to do.

"Ah won't lose 'er." Rogue said flatly as she offered a blanket out towards Wanda who took it gratefully. "And Ah know Rem's isn't gonna stand for it either." Rogue watched as Wanda draped the long material around her shoulders her blue eyes fighting to not look Rogue in the eye.

"I know that, it just seems that the fates are against us Rogue." Wanda mindlessly ran her fingers through her soaked hair as she watched out the window with Rogue. Wanda nearly jumped out of her skin when a low chuckle echoed next to her.

"It's always been against us ain't it? Ain't nothin new." Wanda felt herself grin a lopsided grin at the sight of her best friend smiling, no it wasn't a happy smile or a humorous one, it was worn and torn but was coated in hope and that was enough for Wanda. Both sat in silence for a time before suddenly the door bell rang pulling both woman from their thoughts.

Looking towards Wanda who shrugged her shoulders, Rogue pushed herself up from the couch and made her way slowly towards the door. Unlatches the many locks Rogue could have never been prepared for what stood beyond that doorway. Pulling it open revealed a battered and torn Skye, his body and face beaten beneath recognition and soaked thoroughly from head to toe. Yet before he lost consciousness and fell into the waiting arms of Rogue he said one phrase that completely sparked Rogue's determination to have both of her girls.

"Belle's alive....fortress....I know where it....is.....Friends...with her..." and with that Skye fell forward content that he had made it, to wherever he was and all he could pray was that they knew what he was talking about and could save her.

* * *

Keir hissed as a pain shot through his side as he brought down another blow onto the creatures head sending it spiraling back into a flurry of black ash. Falling backwards he sent one final kick at the last two beast and watched in relief as their forms disinigrated. Lying backwards he allowed his body to rest for only a brief moment before forcing himself onto his feet. Stumbling slightly he quickly regained his balance and let a low whistle slip between his teeth, he had done it, he had destroyed over 50 of those damned creatures and was still alive.

"Bravo," Keir's blood suddenly ran cold as he turned to face the last man he ever wanted to see stand before him flanked by his cronies, and a more than please grin plastered across his terrifying creatures, Keir wanted nothing more than to be the one to wipe it off of his face, "Maybe you weren't such a failed experiment after all though." Pushing forward Sinister gripped Keir around his neck before lifting him up and locking gazes with the battered teenager.

"How sad is it that this will be your final battle, such a pity and waste." With sudden shear force Sinister slung Keir backwards causing him to roll and skid until he landed a massive clump next to a still unconscious Rouge. Biting back a cry Keir looked over towards Rouge who was in the same position he had left her in, and felt tears sting at the corners of his eyes. Forcing his rubber legs beneath him he attempted and succeeded into rising into a standing position.

"You won't have her." Keir barked all traces of sarcasm and playfulness wiped from his features and replaced with those of pure hatred and rage. Sinister raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by another voice that made Keir's blood run ice.

"Now now boys, no need to get fussy over me," the voice purred and Keir couldn't help himself from turning and casting his eyes upon Rouge. What he saw made his heart stop, she was still Rouge but her features had been twisted and contorted to make the appearance of someone else, and her eyes once dark and beautiful were now purple and manipulative. Stepping forward he watched as Rouge stripped off a glove from her hand and stroked it gently across Keir's cheek. His heart damn near stopping in finally feeling that touch, but there was something terribly wrong with it yet Keir was unable to resist it.

Stepping forward he felt her lips lock on his own and he felt his insides explode, her lips were everything he dreamt she tasted of ripe cinnamon and rain and it made his knees weak. Against all of his instincts he leaned forward and allowed for his tongue to slip past her lips the intoxicating taste blurry all of his senses in his mind warning bells screeched but he ignored them, his mind caught in a lie that was unbreakable.

Until suddenly it felt wrong, so wrong, so FOREIGN, but before he could react he felt his mind slip from him and slide delicately into the body of Rouge. Before he lost consciousness though he swore he saw a flash of red and the words I'm sorry mouthed.

* * *

Rouge stepped back a terrifying grin plastered on her face as she watched the boy slip to the ground lost to the real world. Inside of her she felt a screaming and had to growl apparently her host's original owner wasn't a big fan of her sudden appearance.

"My lady?" Looking up Rouge grinned at Sinister and smiled her feet slowly carrying herself towards the mutant.

"The one and only," She looked down at herself, "Such a lovely host you chose Sinister, though she is a bit worse for wear, but no fear that can be fixed with time." Looping her arm through Sinister's she smiled up sweetly at the man and sent one finally passing glance towards the collapsed teenager on the asphalt.

"Now my dearest Sinister we must be rid myself of these degusting clothes for something more," a twinkle in her oddly colored eyes, "feminine and Victorian, obviously women have lost their sense of perseveration over the ages."

" Yes. But we have much work to be done, I'm sorry for the abrupt way that you had to be awakened." He said gently as he led the newly awakened mutant away from the ruble, "Boy's dispose of that vermin." Rouge's body suddenly stopped as she looked up at Sinister.

"No," She said forcefully stopping the nasty boy's in their tracks, "keep him, I find amusement from him, and feel as though his powers could be an addition to MY army." Then with that she stepped away from Sinister and walked away like she owned the world.

Somewhere deep inside of her a red eyed beauty could do nothing more than cry and wait praying that somehow she would be able to regain herself.

**_Author's note: Okay so the ending was abrupt but I'm going to revise it soon. REVIEW!!!!! Chapters should be coming out regularly soon._**


	24. Authors note of DOOM okay not really

_**Author's Note:**_

Yes, Yes I can understand how frustrating it is going to be for you readers to be getting an authors note instead of an actual chapter (gomen, gomen) However there is good news within this authors note. Honestly I've been preoccupied with other writing projects and just never came back to this one, and while I was cleaning my account I reread this story and forgot how much I truly enjoyed writing it. SOO this story is not discontinued! I promise!  
I just need to get the plot bunnies and muses in my head going so I can finish this story out. (I know everyones dying to know whether or not Rouge lives, and so on and so forth.)  
Fortunately this being my Senior year of high school and while I have college courses I only have half days at the high school (and am only on a four day school week) so updates should start up regularly again (seeing as I have a tone of time on my hands to kill on the weekends and need to do something semi productive instead of playing my PS3 and on youtube -_-''.) TO ALL OF MY FAITHFUL REVIEWERS AND AUTHORS ALERTS

_**THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU...YOU'VE KEPT ME MOTIVATED THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE THING.**_

_**Did I mention Thank you?**_

Look forward to this story getting jump started again soon.

~Arrow Wolf

(P.S. This note will be deleted as soon as the next chapters up so please do not Review, if you wish to contact me PM me. :P Thanks!)


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