A/N: Hope you all enjoy this next chapter. There's more angst, but also some Romy goodness and Pyro hysteria.

"What the bloody hell are we doing in the middle of bloody nowhere?!"

Rogue winced at the pitch of the unfamiliar voice, but still felt too groggy to do much more than snuggle deeper into her temporary pillow.

"Silence," her pillow, more commonly known as Gambit, hissed. "Let de fille sleep some more, non?"

She didn't bother to correct the Cajun. She didn't think she had it in her. At least if they thought she was sleeping, they wouldn't question why she hadn't yet moved away from the man who'd tried to blow up her hand a mere few days ago. Currently, it was something she was pondering herself.

It couldn't be the fact that he was drop dead gorgeous or smelled like the perfect southern mixture of tobacco, spice, and pine. Because the Rogue was not swayed by those sorts of girly things. Nope. She wasn't like the other girls at the Institu—

And suddenly her breath caught in her throat and her heart constricted in the most painful of ways. The Institute. Kitty, Kurt. They'd abandoned her. She'd almost been able to forget… almost.

"Fine, but when the chipmunks decide to launch a full scale attack, don't say I didn't warn ya, mate!"

"Pyro, not now."

Rogue was torn between thanking Magneto for commanding silence (because it lessened the pain of the migraine that was currently plaguing her) and begging Pyro not to stop his rant. If she didn't have something to focus on, that'd only leave her with thoughts of her friends – ex friends, she harshly reminded herself – and Area 51. At that, she uncontrollably shivered, something that did not go unnoticed by the man who held her.

"Cherie? Y' all right?"

Forcing her eyes open, Rogue gave a half-hearted glare at Gambit. It was hard to be too mad at the person who saved you. Especially when they were looking at you with such beautiful, worried eyes.

Beautiful eyes? Rogue mentally sneered at herself. Girl, have you gone mad? This is the guy who's responsible for your imprisonment in the first place! Him and all his stupid Acolyte buddies.

"Fine as frog hair," she bit out, though the sarcasm was lessened by the raspy sound of her voice. "No thanks ta ya."

She made an attempt to move out of his arms, but stopped abruptly as the trench coat shifted and nearly left her naked again. Quickly, Gambit readjusted the coat for her, making sure she was covered as much as possible. She fought the urge to smile in thanks and instead hardened her glare.

Focus Rogue! She berated herself. Him. Magneto. Trap. Area 51.

That did just the trick.

"It's all ya fault!" she screamed. "Ya set that trap for us and we fell right into it! Do ya have any idea what they put us through? What they did ta me?"

Rogue didn't know when she'd started crying, only that suddenly her cheeks were wet and her lower lip trembling. She quickly moved out of Gambit's lap and to a standing position, which proved to be a terrible mistake.

Apparently, two hours was not a sufficient time to recover from severe torture because Rogue's knees began to quake and she toppled over. She would have hit the ground hard, probably causing much more damage to her already weakened body, had it not been for Gambit. He lunged forward, grabbing a hold of her and cradling her against his chest.

Hurt, angry, terrified, and confused beyond all measure, Rogue did the only thing she could think of. She hit him. Once, twice, three times. Each sob that came out of her was punctuated by a fist to his chest until she was left with no more energy and could only collapse against him.

"Rogue?"

She looked up, surprised to hear his voice sound so tender when all she'd done was scream at him.

Not that he don't deserve it, she thought bitterly.

"Y' getting' captured was never part o' de plan."

She let out a strange sound, something halfway between a snort and a sniffle. "Bullshit," she replied.

"Actually, he's telling the truth."

Rogue whipped her head around so fast that it hurt. Standing behind her, his helmet in his hands, was Magneto. His face held none of the usual arrogance, but for once seemed quite somber. And Rogue knew, from the memories if nothing else, half the reason Magneto wore the helmet on his head was to hide his emotions. He'd never been good at concealing them when something particularly important was weighing heavy on his mind. It was this, more than anything else, that made Rogue listen to what he had to say.

"The plan was for a battle between the Acolytes and the X-Men to draw the Sentinels out and unveil not only our existence, but theirs as well. You were never supposed to get captured. And I never thought the X-Men would abandon you if you were."

Refusing to cry again, Rogue blinked back the tears she felt sting her eyes at the reminder of betrayal. "Yeah, me neither."

Feeling a warm hand rub gentle circles in the small of her back, Rogue looked back at Remy and couldn't help but offer him a sad smile. He had saved her after all. And, if what Magneto was saying was true…

"Despite what Charles may have told you, my only concern has always been mutantkind. Everything I've done has been to protect our people."

He kneeled down next to her and took her battered hand in his gloved one, flipping it over so they all got a good look at the number branded on her forearm.

003.

"To keep past atrocities from once again occurring," he whispered.

He didn't need to say anymore. Rogue knew from his memories exactly what atrocities he was referring to.

Slowly taking her hand out of his grasp, she raised her emerald eyes to meet his steel blue ones. "Ah know."

And she did. Now at long last she understood his vision, understood why he fought so adamantly against the X-Men. With monsters like Trask around, when you knew peace was not always an option, how could you not?

She bit her lip. There were too many thoughts floating around her head. Thoughts of betrayal, revenge, and doubt. It was all making for one spectacular migraine, which was only aggravated by the roaring psyches. Whatever stupor they'd been in before, they were out of it now and more furious than ever. Raising a hand to her head, she couldn't help but groan.

"Y' okay, cherie?"

"It's the psyches. They're acting up again."

"Charles isn't the only one who can help you with that," came the soft reply from Magneto.

Rogue looked up at him. His face was open and his tone light, letting her know that he wasn't going to keep her against her will, just offering her a way out.

Her instinctual reply was a resounding no. After all, they'd tried that before and it hadn't worked out.

But that wasn't his fault, was it? Mystique was the one who lied to you, not Magneto.

That was undeniably true. In fact, she'd never even met Magneto before that whole Asteroid M catastrophe.

Yet another reason not to trust the metal head. He's nothing but trouble, Stripes.

Shaking her head, Rogue used all her will power to construct a mental wall to block the psyches. All of them. She'd never really had to do that before, and part of her felt bad about doing it to Logan's psyche. He'd only ever tried to look out for her. And though she understood he meant well, this was a decision she needed to make on her own.

But, along with Wolverine's psyche, she had Magneto's and she knew that he'd created Asteroid M with good intentions. He'd wanted to help the mutant race, make them see that they couldn't sit around and wait for humans to accept them. It might never happen. Better to get a head start while they still could. Sure his methods were misguided, but no one was perfect, right?

And, with all that'd happened to Rogue in the last few days, she whole heartily agreed with him. Even if the human race would eventually come around, who knows how long that would take? Five years? Ten? A lifetime? She couldn't wait around for that. She couldn't continue to live her life in fear. And she'd never let a man like Trask treat her with such cruelty again.

Her blood boiled at the thought and it took all she had to contain her rage at the man. She wanted to scream, wanted to kick and punch and hit, wanted to kill. It was an unfamiliar feeling, one that scared her. One that she knew the X-men could never understand.

And that lead back to the real problem, didn't it? The X-men had never really gotten her. For that matter, she'd never really gotten them. Where they were trusting and accepting, she was suspicious and guarded. They believed in white and black, right and wrong, and she knew the world existed in shades of grey. She'd tried to see it from their point of view, but it never really stuck.

In the Danger Room sessions, Scott always called her on being too ruthless, she wanted to scream back that he was a pansy. They preached acceptance and a hope for a world where humans and mutants could live in peace together. She was cynical by nature and had always doubted Xavier's mission.

It hadn't been a belief in his vision that drove her to them. It was the sting of betrayal. The hurt and anger at Mystique for having lied and manipulated her. The ironic thing was that if Mystique had been honest with her from the beginning, things probably would have turned out differently. She'd probably still be with the Brotherhood.

Well, Rogue thought with a smirk, they say there's always a silver lining.

But could she join up with Magneto? Sure, she may have more faith in his cause than Xavier's, but could she betray the X-men? After all they'd done for her?

They betrayed you first.

Except Logan. And Mr. McCoy. And Evan. They'd been betrayed too. They'd been trapped right beside her, had suffered the same fate. Even if she could leave the others, could she leave them? Especially Logan.

It'd kill whatever relationship they had if she joined up with Magneto. He took betrayal about as well as she did and to him that's exactly what joining Magneto's team, and therefore Sabertooth, would be. Regardless of whether or not the others betrayed her first.

She worried her lip between her teeth. "Where are Logan and the others anyway?"

"In the forest," Magneto answered. "I thought this would be a decision you'd need to make on your own."

Rogue raised an eyebrow at this. "How'd ya know there'd be a decision ta make at all?"

He smiled at her and, though it wasn't warm like the Professor's, it lacked its usual menace and made him seem almost… approachable. "I had a hunch. We're a lot more alike than you think, Rogue."

She knew that already. Oddly enough, it was his psyche that gave her the least trouble. In fact, he'd never said a word. She supposed it had something to do with the fact that he understood what it was like to be trapped. And a prison is a prison, be it a confine in Auschwitz or an overcrowding in your own mind.

"Even if Ah did decide ta come with ya," she began slowly, "there'd have ta be some rules."

Magneto nodded, agreeing. "On both sides."

"Ah won't give up any information about the X-men."

"Not a problem," he answered quickly. "I doubt there's much you could tell me that I don't already know."

He spared a brief, almost amused glance with Gambit, who's hand had continued its ministrations up her back and now gently massaged her shoulders (though how he managed to do this without causing her further pain, she had no idea). Rogue ignored the urge to turn around and look at the Cajun charmer. He'd probably have some damnable smirk on his face at her lack of protest (because somehow she just knew he was well aware of the fact that she'd never let anyone be so close to her).

It's my weakened state, Rogue convinced herself. Trask must have fried my brain while he was messing with my body. There's no other explanation.

But, she couldn't deny her piqued curiosity at Magneto's words. It obviously had something to do with Gambit, but what was it? What did he and Magneto know that she didn't?

Whatever it is, I'm gonna find out.

"And Ah won't work with Sabertooth."

"Knew y' was a smart one, cherie."

She opened her mouth to tell him to stop calling her that because really how was she supposed to think when that Cajun accent of his kept sending shivers down her body? Of course, that just led to the thought of what else he could do that might give her goose bumps…

No! Bad thoughts, Rogue! Bad!

Luckily, she was saved by Pyro, who had apparently grown tired of making promiscuous fire dancers. "See Magnesy, even the sheila thinks he's a creeper. C'mon, how bout I fry us up some catburgers for dinner?"

He flicked his lighter open and started to demonstrate just what he'd like to do to Sabertooth. Rogue could feel Remy's chest rumbling with laughter beneath her and couldn't help the small smile that found its way on her face.

Magneto, however, was not quite as amused. "I told you not to call me that."

"Oh c'mon, Boss! You know you love the way I say your name. Makes you go all warm and tingly inside, like a dingo in—aaah!"

Pyro jumped and ran as Magneto sent one of the metal orbs chasing after him and this time Rogue did laugh, though it quickly turned to a grimace of pain. Tenderly feeling her ribs through Gambit's trench coat, she could tell two of them were bruised. Maybe even broken. Fucking bastards.

"Careful dere, cherie. Plenty o' time t' laugh at de Pyro when y' move in t' de base."

"Ah haven't said Ah was going with ya yet, so watch it Cajun."

"Comme la dame souhaite," was his airy reply and Rogue grit her teeth in slight annoyance.

"You'll find working around Sabertooth will not be a problem. The rest of the team does not particularly care for him either—"

"Gee, Ah wonder why?"

"So," Magneto continued, pretending the interruption had never occurred. "I tend to send him on solo missions and save the group work for everyone else. Any other questions?"

She bit her lip. "Will Ah have ta fight the X-men?"

"Undoubtedly."

Rogue paused. Could she do that? Could she fight the people she once considered her closest friends? Hell, her only friends.

But friends don't abandon each other, she reminded herself darkly. If they'd really cared that much about you, they wouldn't have left.

"Okay," she breathed. "Ah think Ah can deal with that."

And if not then I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

"Good, but I also have some conditions. I know you've grown a certain attachment for some of the X-men, but if you should decide to join us, you'll have to cease all contact with them. For obvious reasons."

She nodded. That one she'd been expecting, not that it made it any less painful. Sure the X-men had abandoned her, but some part of her still cared for them. All of them. And especially Logan.

Rogue couldn't ignore the way her throat constricted and her heart ached at the thought of never speaking to him again, but she knew so much worse could happen if she stayed in a team whose vision she didn't share. And whose members she couldn't trust. It would destroy a part of her and she couldn't imagine it'd do wonders for the X-men either. Really, she reasoned, she'd be doing them all a favor.

"Okay. What else?"

"Some of things we do are less than legal and you must be prepared to not only assist in those missions, but also keep quiet about them."

"Done." That one was even easier. After all, seeing life in shades of grey made her all the more capable of crossing the blurred lines. Plus, Rogue figured there'd be no way she could work for Magneto without having to dirty her hands once in a while.

"Other than that, you'll be expected to train with the team and be on call 24/7. We have living quarters at the base, but if you choose to use your salary to rent your own—"

"Ah have a salary?" she asked incredulously.

"Of course. The others have one as well. I see it as only fair."

Her lips twitched at hearing the word "fair" come out of the mouth of Magneto, but otherwise she made no comment.

"As I was saying, you may live elsewhere if you so desire, so long as it within a reasonable distance. Other than that, you're free to come and go as you please. So, do we have a deal?"

Rogue stared at the hand he held out to her and took one last moment to consider what she was doing. She was leaving the X-men, leaving Kitty and Kurt, leaving Logan. And it'd have to be a permanent thing, she knew. The Acolytes were really the only team left. She'd tried the Brotherhood and that had been a flop. And going back to the X-men wouldn't be an option either. Even if they would accept her back into their folds, she doubted Magneto would let her leave.

He may be acting nice now, but she knew better than anyone that he had a ruthless nature about him. Then again, that was part of the reason Rogue was even considering joining his team. There'd be no more of the pansy-ass, never-get-your-hands-dirty crap. And maybe for once, she'd fit in. Maybe.

"Ah've got one more condition," she said.

"Yes?"

Taking a deep breath, Rogue calmed her furiously pounding heart. "Trask wasn't at the base when y'all attacked. He's still out there, somewhere, and Ah—"

She didn't know how to finish that statement. Because finishing would not only make what happened to her all the more real, but it would also acknowledge the hatred boiling inside her. And she'd always been taught at the Institute that hatred was unacceptable. That she should always try to understand the other side.

Oh, but she understood all right. Understood that Trask was a right bastard who was going to get what's coming to him. Because no one should ever get away with committing such heinous deeds. No one.

"It's okay, cherie. We'll get him back. Gambit swears it."

He gave her body a gentle squeeze and Magneto nodded in accordance. "Most assuredly."

Rogue swallowed hard and then shook Magneto's still extended hand. "Okay then," she breathed. "Ah'm in."

A/N: So I hope you all enjoyed this next chapter. Please let me know what you think! Keep reading below for important info.

So, I'd like to give a special thanks to my lovely reviewers. I've responded to all of you individually in my profile and will continue to do this for every chapter.

For the other 185 of you, for shame! Reading and not reviewing. I make it a point to try and review every chapter/story I read and I'm begging you to do the same. I think, more than anything, this should be a site that helps us all to grow as writers. And how can we do that without constructive criticism and positive feedback?

So, I'm going to make a deal with all of my readers. 48 hours after posting each chapter, I will go online and look at how many reviews I've gotten in comparison to how many times the story is viewed. If the reviews are at least 15 of the hits, I'll upload the next chapter immediately. If they're not, I'm going to wait another 5 days.

Hopefully, this will get more of you in the habit of reviewing stories. Make no mistake, this isn't about boosting my ego or anything, I simply want Fanfiction to be a site were fellow authors help each other grow and feedback is a big part of that. The idea is if you get used to reviewing my story, you'll get in the habit of helping others as well.

Now to be fair, if 15 don't review, I won't leave those of you who did out to dry. Include your e-mail with your review (or in a PM to me) and I'll personally send you the next chapter, so long as you PROMISE to officially review on the site as soon as the chapter is uploaded.

Thanks again for reading. I hope I haven't upset anyone because that was definitely not my intent. I appreciate all of you regardless and sincerely hope you'll continue reading and enjoying Gone.

Best, Rae Rihanna

Translations:

Silence- Quiet

Comme la dame souhaite- As the lady wishes