A/N: this takes place in Age of Apocalypse kind of theme and if you're not familiar with Remy and Rogue's situation in the futuristic version than I advise you, everyone to go out and read it. It's an interesting version containing great art from different inspiring artists. Also, not good with accents I will try to write in the style of Remy and Rogue's respective french~cajun/mississippi southern mannerisms. X-men belongs to Marvel and their respective characters.

"I'm so happy I met everyone…

I wish we could go on more adventures

…But we have only our memories..."

---FF9

Remy lifts the lid to the opening, rising from underneath the ground from the planet's interior, and reminds himself that this was just a mission that needs to be done and over with. He curses himself for becoming trapped as the rest of them, he came here with Lila Cheney and somehow they got separated. Earlier he had spotted Rogue and her guard dog Sabretooth and was pleasantly surprised. Were they here as well for the mission of retrieving precious items for their homeland planet earth?

Still, the trapped emotion rose up before he had seen them and now after this, he felt unsure. Most of all for feeling something a little less sure of the situation because he had left most of his group back on earth. Maybe this time, this time he can show Rogue that he was worthy.

The situation was getting worse and he expects it not to get any better any time soon. The gateway to the breaking point of the entrance to the other side of the universe now colliding with the rest of his theories; what could possibly bring him to this conclusion? That the souls of the damned would rather live the rest of their existence in the pits of never-ending hell and that he was stuck here in the outer limits of the universe, an alien to an unknown terrain.

That possibility was open and he stares up at the multitude of stars, light years away and the string of flashing purple-white streaks of dust covered rocks hovering upon the edges of the rings around this planets mystery.

A collision with earth's most uncommon living souls, mutants they will always be and the infract structure of the cosmos's reality breaks up in the point of no return. Returning home. The image of her still stings in his memory. The feeling of euphoria hit him again in that blissful discovery of new adventure, the blood lust running in the veins of his damned soul, and his lips curls at the vision before him.

Duplicate beings, twin peaks that took on rounded feminine shapes taking on the illusion of delicate forms, coming closer, ever so close that they seem to want to kiss the lips that shapes the Cajuns mouth, breath turning into shards of ice upon contact of the atmosphere. His fingers felt immobilized as he tries to reach for his weapons, to lift them up for a voluntary defense but stills in that open air silence.

They form just then, the visions humanizing, shaping into the figures of mortal women, their attire in ancient garbs that cling seductively to their bodies. Their faces unspeakable, for they possessed none, it hovers between the creating of forms and breaking up in droplets of water.

It was so indescribable that he barely could breathe. It felt as if time had stopped and they held the cards.

Upon their contact, the last coherent thought was to blast them away, he had an ace up his sleeve. And even if it were the last thing he can do before losing himself, it was an effort worth trying, to get home to her.

Instead, a blanket of darkness fell all around.

"Remy, wake up"

The familiar voice was so near, so sweet, it felt like a caress in the nameless terrain of no departure and she was there when his eyes began to flicker, opening up to the beauty of her love.

Then he remembers his place, where they have been, who she has married. The old hurts came back to haunt him and his teeth clenches at the sight, the woman who had given him reason to hate came up clear. He felt bruised and wonders how long he had been unconscious.



"Chere?" He shoves her softly away, the feel of her gloved skin on his seem to burn and she gave him an anxious look, her lips inviting in that crimson backdrop. She took no offense to his open loathing, realizing that their relationship had gone through so many rough and agonizing roads but he could never hate her, never.

It didn't matter at this point, she thought fleetingly, they had to flee from there and it took her every effort to maintain the previous attacks that would have fallen on him. She was frantic but from his viewpoint he saw her strength, the casual control of her emotions.

"Remy" she repeated, this time with urgency, "We must leave. Ah have held them off for the time being but they all seem to be attracted to your energy. They want your kinetic energy! They want to merge with your psyche and all ah can do for the moment was delay their action. Ah might not be able to hold them off any longer if they all decide to bring in reinforcements. There's no telling how many more are there." She looks back, anxious and tense all of a sudden, the calmness broke as she relays her hurried reply.

"What happened?" he gets up, a bit unsteadily but no longer afraid of what might happen, more in fear, for the first time of what she might do. He realizes long before that her presence was too dangerous to him and he didn't like the feeling that was all too real when this woman brought herself too close.

"Ah couldn't find Lila Cheney so ah stumbled on to you. We were at the far side of the planet's southern terrain; it was so cold, so cold…." She said the last words in a whisper, holding herself with both hands around her slender arms. Wearing the jacket that was her husbands brings pain, which pierces his insides causing Gambit to look away.

Magneto's claim on her even reaches this far from the earth's atmosphere. They hung on her shoulders, reminding Remy where his place was. "They were goin' to take ya away, Remy, ah couldn't let that happen. Ah know ya despise me but ya must know, we are all in this together."

"Where is Lila?" Remy narrows his eyes, cursing himself not to forget his partner. Lila Cheney. She was the only thing that kept his loneliness at check. Where was she? Was she okay? He was responsible for everyone in his X-ternal group. Rogue's presence unnerves him and found that she was way too friendly and it ate at him not to lower his defenses.

He took note of the situation around them, the entrapped aliens that are imprisoned in the wall of Rogue's borrowed power, the emptiness of the vast scenery, the colors of blood and the approaching cold that looked like a wall of ice, making slow progress to their location.

"Sabretooth couldn't even stay close to you." Remy mutters. "We can't find him at this point and there's nothing to do but fight against dem." he nods in the direction of their unwelcome hosts.

"No, we can't find them. Not right now. And Lila is too clever to get lost, she'll find ah way." She breathed a little too heavy, the smokiness of the atmosphere creating icy breaths, lifting up out between her full lips.

Gambit was optimistic, especially now that he's got his senses cleared and the renewed anger he felt at her presence. It was as if she gave him inspiration for hurting him. Loathing her for making him aware of the way he feels.

"Do you have any other ideas, chere?" he emphasizes the last word and to her ears it felt like a challenge. Chuckling, he continued in the same mocking vein, "With your powers and mine together we can take them on. I don't know how they got me to lower my defenses but…"

"Are ya just thick headed or do ah have tah explain to ya that we can't!" she yells in fury, interrupting his train of thought, surprise at her fresh anger.

"They want your power, Remy Lebeau! Do ya want to add being an idiot to your uncontrolled and careless male macho ego to go at everything that is unknown to you? We're in a different planet, in a different dimension for god's sake!"

He rolls his eyes at her heated retort, enjoying the flush of her cheeks, "Uh-huh, so what else is new." He watches the foreign sky, noting the changes, realizing that in a little while, they have to leave, but where? The unending territory seems limitless, as if it possesses a mirage of sorts and the thought hit him.

Mirage, indeed and he continues his counter with her apparently disinterested in her antagonism. "Chere, so far you've managed to name me in so many synonyms--" he counts them off on his gloved fingers, "Having lack of control, not being vigilant enough, egotistic, hard headed, and an idiot. Care to add anymore to drive the stake in?"

Rogue felt a rising anger but knew he had always made her feel this way, even before she gave herself to Magnus. She relaxes, and the noise of the incoming cold of the planet's ambiance interrupts their little interlude. "By the way, you forgot 'bastard,'" he offers, obligingly, watching the expression on her face while he quickly glances at the delusion of the open wide landscape, the changes in her face fascinating him.

Best not tick her off anymore, Remy observes, but he couldn't get over the feeling that he felt somewhat blissful even in the circumstance they are in. Rogue coming to his rescue. Who would have thought? He absently rubs at his shin, recalling the last sucker punch she gave him when he didn't live up to her expectations. The thought was painful because he hadn't meant to lose sight of her child Charles at the time. It went to prove how much her love ran deep for the feel and belonging of being part of a family and to finally touch them.

The reminder itself was painful. He couldn't give her what Erik Magnus could and it burns his gut, his soul and most of all his damn heart that he couldn't be the one to give the ultimate gift of touch. Yet her presence here at the present gave him unfulfilled hope and being this close to her was like nothing he would trade for. He closes his eyes briefly, letting go of the past, remembering their current dilemma.

Remy leans over and whispers in her ear, his voice seem to caress her entirely, "Don't make a move. Stay perfectly still."

He remains there just inches away from her face, his eyes looking into hers and she dares not look away. Remaining acutely aware of the situation at hand, between his presence and the approaching icy frontal horizon, she blinks several times to break some kind of contact with his eyes, and she could almost feel the intense heat that emanates from his body, the static near contact of his face barely inches from hers.

He had built up a wall of intense kinetic energy field as a defense around them and she had trusted him to save them from the incoming barrage of cold. Remy took a chance, realizing that the mirage of the terrain was just that, a mirage to trick them into running, into movement that would have taken them nowhere, eventually ending up victims to the planet's entrapment.

Even as the threat appears to subside, they remain stuck there, together, appearing like lovers; two beautiful powerful mutants in the near embrace of a captured moment in time.

She felt cold all of a sudden, the jacket Magneto gave her had fell to the ground earlier and only the heat of Remy's nearness gave her some semblance of warmth. Upon the complete departure of the threat, she gave a small sigh of relief, moves a little further away from him and shivers.

"We have to go, Remy." She broke the intimate contact. Standing up, Rogue offers him her gloved hands.

Remy takes it, hoping that this moment would last but nothing lasts forever. He bows his head, sighs, "Give my regards to your son Charles, Chere."

"That ah will do, Cajun."

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