Age of Apocalypse: Redux: The Chains of Fate

by Doosri Pistole

Apocalypse has initiated the final game. Millions have fallen before his might. And only the Xmen can stop him. Features Scott, Remy, Jean, Logan, Rogue, Magneto and Xman, with appearances from all corners of the AoA and 616 universes. Complete.

10. Bring Me to Life

Well…. Here we are, with my penultimate chapter. Well, unless you count the epilogue. Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to all Remy lovers out there. It's long though, and I can promise one thing. The next chapter is probably going to be longer. I' halfway through with that one, but I also have exams, so expect that one in a while. But I will finish this. Plus, I'm going to begin to upload a couple of others. So you can read those if you want.

Disclaimer: No… I don't own the X-men, and I have killed off nearly all my OC's, just a few left.

Feedback: C'mon, one little message to six_nites@hotmail.com

   ~*~

 Bring Me To Life

 The sounds of grunting had faded away, to be replaced by quiet chuckles, and small gasps of laughter. Remy had removed his fingers from his ears a little while earlier. Deathbird had gotten so loud that Remy had been very seriously thinking that someone was going to come in and investigate what the noise was about. The two clandestine lovers had been quick though. Only took them about fifteen minutes. Still long enough for Remy to nearly take a vow of chastity. Between Candra's near unquenchable lust, and these two, the Ragin' Cajun was quite sick of sex. He heard Shaw mumble something, and the two disengaged. Shaw began putting on his clothes, while Deathbird wore her armor again. It was about time. Then he could leave this place. Some investigation this had been. Sitting cramped up behind a damn machine, listening to two people copulate. He heard the sound of Shaw pulling on his boots. Deathbird's armor clinked against the ground. Once finished dressing, the two shared another kiss, before Shaw walked off.
  Remy shifted his position slightly, and looked over the machine he was behind. The doors opened slightly, and Shaw walked out. Deathbird walked over to the machine again and re-fastened her chest armor. The door closed, and she turned to the machine. She pulled out the little object and toyed with it.
 "Did you enjoy our little romp?" Remy froze in place. Deathbird still stood where she was, twiddling with the object. She turned and faced Remy.
 "Oh I knew you were there from before I entered this chamber. It aroused my curiosity. What could Candra's bodyguard want here? You are no Shi'ar. You are not among the higher echelons of power. Even Candra cannot enter here without permission from Apocalypse. I allowed you to enter before closing the doors. I even let you see me converse with D'ken."
 Deathbird walked over to him. The room suddenly lit up brightly. Without her face armor on Remy noticed that her hair was strangely cut, sticking straight up from her forehead, almost like a crest. Her delicate grace seemed almost… birdlike.
 "So tell me, bodyguard, why are you here?"
 Remy walked out from behind the machine. It would be of little use standing there. He would have moved before, but Deathbird had shocked him into motionlessness. He had to think fast now. If what Deathbird said was true, she had no right to be here either. If that was true, then she was communing with someone hostile to Apocalypse. His mind worked… but he could come up with no answer. This D'ken was no one he had heard of before. A possibility struck him. Candra had said much of the technology used by Apocalypse was alien. The name she had used had been Celestial. She had implied that they were a race of powerful beings, who had traveled the cosmos, searching out races and worlds, studying them at their leisure. She had not known what their purpose had been on earth, just that they had come millennia ago, before even Apocalypse had been born. This Shi'ar Deathbird talked of. It could be an alien race. Deathbird did look slightly alien, now that Remy got a chance to see her up close. He made his gamble.
 "You seemed to have been interrupted when talking to your leader back in your home world. Using Shaw as a source of information was smart. Too bad you had to bed him to gain it. Still, a mole like you probably had to. Orders from above… I know the feeling." Remy spoke in pure, accent less English. Deathbirds tilted eyes widened. One second she was staring at him in surprise, the next she moved with unbelievable speed, pinning him against the machine he had been hiding behind. Her face hovered an inch above his, twisted with anger.
 "How do you know all this? Who are you, human? Answer me!"
 Remy smiled in the most insolent way he knew.
  "No friend to you chere."
 Deathbirds frown deepened, and she threw him to the side. Remy landed hard on the ground.
 "It does not matter I suppose. I had intended to kill you anyway." Deathbird jumped in the air, higher than Remy would have thought possible. He rolled out of the way just in time, as her fist crashed into the floor where he had been. He stood quickly, moving as fast as he could in the bulky armor. Deathbird moved faster than he could have guessed. He thought his statement would have caused more than one second of surprise. Another second, and he would have attacked her. His gamble had failed. Sort of. At least she hadn't exactly taken him by surprise. There was still one more thing he could do.
 "Killing me won't 'xactly help you chere.  I'm not de only one who knows about dis. Been watching you f'r a while now. 'Sides chere. Kill me, an' Candra's gonna hang you up t' dry."
 His words had the intended effect. She hesitated for a second. He could tell what must be going through her head. Wonderment at his statement. Then she would second guess herself, think back to the different times she must have communicated. Thinking about how she could have missed it. Affirmation of her abilities would follow. Remy didn't intend to let her think that far ahead. He leapt at her, extending his leg out to catch her in the face with a snapping kick. To her credit, she tried to protect herself. She moved back quickly, snapping her arms up to block or parry his action. However, she was too slow, and Remy's kick caught the side of her jaw, knocking her back. Deathbird reeled about for a second, and then straightened herself out. Remy had already begun moving. His fist nearly hit her. However, she had anticipated a punch, and moved a wing up. Again, Remy's advantage of surprise attack helped him. She was still reeling from the kick, and her wing only managed to brush his fist aside, not crack his fist. Remy pulled back, and kicked out at her. However Deathbird had retreated as well. She gave him an appraising glance.

 "You are good. Fast, athletic. I would relish a long fight… but some other time. For now, I have to finish this fight quickly. I only have a small window."
 Deathbird rushed forward, but just before reaching Remy she took to the air. He watched as she swooped upwards almost slowly, her grace almost captivating him. Whatever she was, she was definitely gorgeous. Remy shook his head. Just moments after almost taking a vow of chastity, he was thinking about women again, an alien for that matter. A drop dead sexy alien, but still an alien. Remy backed away, but she remained in the air, almost flying. Remy's eyes narrowed, and he moved back, crouching in a defensive pose. Deathbird seemed to hover for an instant, and then she was streaking down at him. Remy began bracing for the impact, but it never came. Deathbird landed out of his reach in front of him, and then swiped his legs out from below him. Remy fell to the ground; he grunted as his armor dug into his back. It was really slowing him down. He needed to use his eyes. He pulled off his helmet, and threw back his hair. Deathbird jumped on him before he could get up, pinning his arms to the floor. She punched him three times, before smashing a knee into his midsection.
 "A pity you have to die. You are very good looking. Still, you are only terran, and your kind could never satisfy me."
 Her eyes gleamed as she said it. Remy smiled slightly, feeling a sliver of blood trickle from his nose. He could see her eyes. That's all that mattered. He didn't dare use his powers overtly. But his empathy was not. It was almost second nature for him to use it. He hoped it would work on her. He projected his entire will into making her want him. She was attracted to him. Good, he could use that. Her eyes widened as he fed unbridled lust straight into her head. If she was even remotely aroused, this would work like a charm. Her eyes than grew shadowed, and her grip became firmer. Remy felt despair wash up in him. It wasn't working. He was trapped here, without any reasonable means of defense. He could use his power, but using so much of his power would surely tip of Apocalypse, and he didn't want to end up a corpse in the near future.
 His fears were washed away as with a groan Deathbird bent and captured his lips with hers. Remy's eyes widened as Deathbird groaned with passion. He could feel her body radiate warmth. He was successful, oh how he was successful! Her lips were soft and yet firm. Her tongue forced entry into his mouth, and at the first taste of her Remy nearly groaned himself. It was exotic, like nothing he had ever felt or tasted before. No wonder Shaw had betrayed Apocalypse for her. Her hands left his and cupped his face, pulling him closer, her mouth working on his, moving passionately. Remy began stroking her neck, giving into the sensations. He thought about how best to remove her armor. Her hands relieved him of that, as she reached behind and unclasped her armor, hurling it away. Her breasts pressed against his chest, and their size and shape reminded him of Belladonna's. They had been like this… His eyes widened. Bella! He had given into the lust he had fed into Deathbird. His resolve returned and he smoothed his hands over her back, reaching behind her head. She moaned against his mouth again, and Remy placed his hands on the nape of her neck. With a deft movement he twisted it sharply. Deathbirds eyes widened, and then glazed over, and she fell limply against him. Remy rested his head against the floor, breathing deeply. A dangerous side effect of his power. Trying so strongly caused it to turn on him. Deathbird could have killed him. He could see why she had achieved her rank without too much notice.
 He got up, retrieving his helmet. This was no place for him to be in. If he was lucky no one would find her until much later.
 He walked toward the doors, which opened automatically. Good, a problem he did not have to deal with. He wondered again what these Shi'ar were. Still, it was not his problem. He did not expect too long. He had delayed his vengeance long enough. Maybe it had been a good thing, fighting Deathbird. It had reminded him of Belladonna, and the oath he had made a long time ago.

                                            x-----------------------------------x

  "Charles." Erik stared at wonderment at his son. He and Rogue had both agreed on the name. A fitting name to the hope of the future. His son. He had never gotten a chance to see his first son, Pietro grow, neither had he seen Wanda as a baby. He had missed out on their early years, and felt the ache painfully now. He deeply regretted what he had once been about to do. The plans he had made, the future he may have come to bring about. A future, he now realized, much like the world they now lived in. His grand plans for a war between humans and mutants, a war which mutants would surely win, a war he was convinced was necessary. A war he now realized no one could ever win. He hung his head in shame. His eyes fell on his son. The tiny form was so still, almost lifeless. Ever since Rogue and the child had been removed from child support, Erik had breathed easier. He glanced over to the other bed, occupied by one individual. Victor Creed. The feral had given his powers freely, giving his wife a second shot at life. It had cost him, and he was now recovering. It was expected that it would take a little over two hours more for him to recover. He remembered the moment when blind panic had hit him, such a feeling of helplessness as he had never felt before. Rogue had gone critical, and her life signs had fluctuated badly; she had flat-lined once. It was then that Creed had come forward and calmly pulled off her glove and put her hand to his face. It had worked. The healing power that was in him had worked, in tandem with Rogue's absorption powers. It had been stunned seconds before anyone thought to remove Creed. He shook his head. It was amazing. A few months ago this would have been the farthest thought from his mind. Now, though, he was content.
 "Hey." A soft voice whispered behind him. He turned to see Rogue coming towards him, supported by Pietro and Wanda. His family.
 "Rogue! You should not be…" She put a finger to her lips, silencing his protests. Sidling up to him with some difficulty she leaned against him. He put his arms out to support her.
 She relaxed in his embrace and watched Charles with him.
  "Owah son, Erik… he's owah son."
 He felt wetness sliding down her cheek. Cupping her chin he stared into her eyes with some concern.

 "It's nothing… Ah'm just feelin' good. Really content."
 Erik smiled and held her close, as Pietro and Wanda stood on the other side of the small bed in which Charles lay, watching the most recent addition to their family. Erik knew peaceful moments like these would be few and fleeting, and he reveled in it.

                                            x----------------------------x

 The clean up had taken no time. With everyone accounted for the X-men had decided to finally leave the hellish tower. However, there was some question of transport. The small X-jet below the Sea Wall was not large enough to accommodate all the X-men present. There was the externals ship, but no one really wanted to travel in that. An easy answer presented itself. It was surprising no one thought of it earlier. Even Kitty, who thought of it, seemed surprised at the thought. It made perfect sense however. Sammael's personal ship was here, and it was large enough to transport all of Apocalypse's command, plus a thousand infinites. Programming it would be no problem, Kitty could deal with that easily. The X-men had moved to the ship quickly. It fast proved to be a godsend. There was more than enough room, as well as a fully equipped medical bay, with a de-tox chamber. That had been enough to deal with Warrens severe injuries. Kitty had re-programmed the craft easily enough. Scott and Logan had gone scouting to find anything of value, ad finding nothing had returned. The control tower of the Sea Wall grid was destroyed. Apocalypse's main line of defense was finished. Now, the human could launch an attack, and Apocalypse would have no defense against it. Nothing except the forces in America.
 With Jean and Ororo taking care of Warren, and Kitty and Peter piloting the craft, Kurt, Scott, Logan, Betsy, Helena and Shiro were left to their own devices. Shiro went off on his own, apparently investigating the craft, though Kurt and Peter had already done so. Betsy and Helena had retreated to a corner and were talking softly, and Kurt had begun a deep investigation of the map screen. That left Scott and Logan together.
 "So…" Logan decided to break the silence first. Although he was not a talkative, or for that matter, social person, sitting doing nothing was not something he enjoyed. Ever. He needed to talk right now. Get rid of the old memories haunting him. Mariko…
 Scott looked up at Logan, and had no idea what to reply. He was just as anti-social as Logan, probably more, and he and the feral had never spoken more than two sentences to each other outside of when they had to. Although each of them had a healthy amount of respect for the other, they still didn't get along too well. They had too much history, old and new. Plus, Jean always stood between them. Whilst Scott was secure in her love, mainly due to their mind link, he also knew that Jean still had strong feelings for Logan, also due to the mind link. Logan for his part, still blamed Scott for stealing Jean away from him, in some small remote part of himself, but a part nevertheless. Cyclops had taken his hand from him, and Logan had humiliated and defeated Scott, as well as scar his side deeply. Scott had been in a de-tox tank for two days after that wound. Still, they had worked their way around many of their problems due to the simple fact that they both shared many values, and that what had been done, had been done due to the fact that they had been enemies. Nothing personal had been involved.
  It had happened though, and their history would always keep them from being friends.
  "So…" Scott finally said something. He repeated Logan's line. The two stared at each other. They just sat there and stared. Finally Logan shrugged towards Betsy and Helena.
 "So, what do you think is up with those two?"
 Scott looked towards them, and then back at Logan.
 "I have no idea. I've known Helena for a long time, but I never got close to anyone at the Tower. I don't know Betsy at all. They're friends I hear, old friends."
 Logan began shaking his head halfway through.
 "No no, that's not what I mean. I know they've been friends since childhood, that's not what I was saying. I mean, what do ya think is going on there. They seem a bit closer than friends don't ya think?"
 Scott just stared at him for a long time. Then he cocked his head slightly.
 "You're gossiping?" he sounded shocked. Logan was a bit shocked too. He needed to deal with his memories someway though, and if he needed to gossip to do so, so be it.
 "Nah, just trying to make conversation." Logan supposed that wasn't the best thing to say, but he had never been a good conversationalist. Flirt – sure, argue – fine, insult – gladly… but make conversation – never. He gave up. Scott was no conversationalist. He decided to go bother Kurt.
 Scott sat there, wondering what that had been all about. He looked up at the navigation screen Peter was using. Expected time of arrival was two hours. Oh well. Scott sat there and did what he was best at. Brood.

                                              x---------------------------x

 Apocalypse felt the death of Death. At the same time War gasped. A Madri was trying to hail the Sea Wall's at the time. A little while ago the Sea Wall command tower had become silent. A few minutes later it had become blinking red on the main screen. That meant it was under heavy attack. When Apocalypse had ordered the Madri to scan it for Sammael or Halfbane, they had been reported dead. Apocalypse had demanded a report on mutant readings from an hour earlier, and had found that it had been filled with high level mutants. The remaining externals, Rasputin, the X-men, and a little later Death. A little later more X-men had appeared, and some externals had disappeared, apparently dead. And then Rasputin's readings had disappeared. However, all of that was preferable to what had happened next. Death too had been killed, and all the X-men still lived.
 Apocalypse rose up in his throne in anger. His hands balled into fists at his side. Three horsemen, Sammael and Rasputin, as well as his main line of defense. The humans were sure to realize soon that the Sea Wall's were down. He could still command them from here, but to a very limited extent. Exodus, Candra and War stared in shock at the screen. His new lieutenants. Apart from holocaust, they were all that was left. He smiled grimly. The X-men had forced him to play one of his cards early. He had hoped to use them later, but for now, it was all he could do. He could not fight the X-men and the human High Council at the same time. Especially if they were beginning to produce Sentinels of a higher caliber then the ones already in production. 
  "My hand has been forced. So.. it finally draws to a conclusion. War! Go now, and expand the Sea Wall. Eurasia has been a thorn in my side long enough. I will now destroy it. With the pitiful humans out of the way, I can focus all my forces towards the X-men, and their eventual destruction."
 Apocalypse began laughing. Something no one in the room had ever seen happen before. Even War stood paralyzed for a moment before briskly moving to do her masters bidding. Candra and Exodus watched in horror as Apocalypse stood above them laughing at the screen.

                                            x---------------------------x

 Alex stood before the little throne he had made for himself. It was elevated right in the center of the circular room. Sitting in it he could spin around to monitor any part of the room. The walls of the room were lined with monitors, each corresponding to a different part of the Tower. While some areas were of course, un-monitor-able, such as Apocalypse's personal quarters, as well as the external and any other high level personages room. However, Alex could ensure security over a large area, at almost any given time. The room was filled with his people, the security officials, as well as the Rooks, head of security under him, now just below Prelate in rank.
 At the moment Alex was watching the east monitor bank, the area which correspondingly covered most of the eastern part of the Tower. His gaze was centered on one particular monitor at the moment. It showed a slightly disgruntled figure coming out of an area which Alex was not allowed to monitor. An area the figure was certainly not allowed to enter. Alex had been keeping his eye on this 'bodyguard' of Candra's for a while now, ever since he had nearly crippled one of Alex's best Rooks. Of course the fact that Domino had received mechanical implants had mollified Alex to a point where he did not think more serious action had to be taken against the bodyguard. He had of course protested to Candra about what had happened, but she had told him something along the lines of 'The Fittest survive' and that he should be more concerned with his Rooks training. After that she had warned him that if anyone so much as looked at her bodyguard wrong, she would crucify Alex. Alex was not one to contradict his superiors, and had warned his Rooks against retaliation. He however had increased surveillance of the bodyguard. The one time he had seen the bodyguard up close, the mans posture and voice had reminded him of someone, or something.
 Alex shook his head. He had been elated when the bodyguard had been reported to be leaving his rooms, and further elated when he had gone into a restricted zone. He couldn't have been more surprised, or shocked to see Deathbird, and then Apocalypse's spymaster, Shaw go the same way. He supposed that it could be for different reasons. Shaw probably had clearance to go there, but the other two didn't. Shaw's hurried return a few minutes later had deepened Alex's suspicions. And then the bodyguard had also returned. Deathbird had not. He mused over the possibilities. He could send his Rooks, but then if what the bodyguard had been doing was authorized, Alex would suffer Candra's wrath. He grimaced. Better to send someone else.
 He turned slightly. Below him, the rooks stood around, talking, a bit relaxed, but still keeping a close eye on the monitors. They were well trained, Alex thought with a hint of pride. However, his eyes sought out one particular Rook. Meltdown was a comely young woman, with ambition enough to lift mountains. With her were as usual the Bedlam brothers. The three were friends, but Alex knew that Meltdown was using them. Both the Bedlams were sleeping with her, which if either found out, would be bad for themselves, and for Meltdown. They would do for what he wanted. They would do nicely. As they were Sea Wall Prelates originally, they were under Deathbird, and would probably follow her orders over his…. Before. After Meltdown however, and the fact that Alex had shown them the Haven, the bedlams were friendly enough with him.
 "Jesse, Terry." The two looked up from their conversation with Tabitha.
 "Hey, Alex." Jesse was the more relaxed of the two usually, but that wasn't saying much.
 "There's something I need you guys to do."
 "Sure Alex. Just say it, we'll do it." Maybe Terry was the more relaxed. Alex didn't know, and at the moment, he didn't really care.
 Alex pointed to the monitor on which the bodyguard was walking along the corridors, occasionally stopping to greet someone, or to converse with someone for a while.
 "I just saw him go to a restricted area. I'd send one of my Rooks, but Candra warned me that if any Rook ever harassed him, it was my neck."
 The brothers laughed slightly. Like everyone else, they knew the story. Ordinarily the laughter would have annoyed Alex, but now he supposed it was probably better. It still didn't stop him from flushing slightly.
 "Sure Alex. We know. We'll do it. Just questions right? Or do we bring him in."
 Alex thought it over, then, "Just question him. If he sounds suspicious, bring him in."
 The brothers laughed again and went away, probably discussing how to deal with the bodyguard. Knowing the two, it would be funny, as well as humiliating for the bodyguard.
 He sat in his throne. He had another problem, a problem that beginning to get worse. Lorna had become more questioning about his disappearances. And the Bedlams had once kidded him about red heads in front of Lorna. Alex had hurried away, and made some sort of explanation to Lorna about how this redhead at the Haven had been trying to hit on him. Lorna had seemed believing, but he had this eerie feeling of being watched sometimes, and Lorna had gotten more and more violent in bed. Alex wasn't sure if Lorna suspected anything, or whether she was just letting out some steam. She had been upset when Quja had died. Alex sighed. He should break it off with Scarlet, but recently he had more and more urges to go to her, to be with her. He was pretty sure he loved Lorna, but he was also beginning to realize that he had also fallen for Scarlet. Which was a problem.

                                          x---------------------------x

 Remy hurried along the corridors. Everything seemed normal to him, but he had a feeling something big was happening. He supposed it could be the adrenaline from his battle against Deathbird. That was probably it. His eyes narrowed. He had wasted enough time. No more excuses. He knew Sinister wasn't dead. That bastard wouldn't die so easily. And he was sure Candra knew where he was. From what he had gleaned, the two externals had worked together for a long time. Not overtly, just going along in fairly the same direction for much of their lives. Candra was a sensualist. She reveled in creature comforts. She had two aphrodisiacs, power, and sensuality. Which probably explained why she was attracted to him. He had analyzed her long enough. He knew her little quirks, her weaknesses, her strengths. She was a skilled fighter, as well as skilled in her power. Still, having lived for centuries would make that a given. She was cruel and depraved. He couldn't forget that, though it was easy to when he was in her arms. He had to keep one thing clear in his mind. It was revenge. It was all about getting even. Keeping a vow. A vow that shaped his life. That should have shaped his life. He had lost track of himself during that pleasant interlude with the X-men and Rogue… but now he was back to what he had been doing. He had worked under Apocalypse earlier, before his rescue by Magneto, a mutant who had become his close friend. Now he was nothing to him.
 So lost was Remy in his thoughts that he ran into what seemed like a solid wall. He grunted and looked up, to see who had come in his way. The Bedlams weren't too tall. Terry was about his height, with Jesse being almost the same. However, Terry had a bigger build as well as armor. He smiled down at him.
 "Hey man, Alex wants to know what you're doing here."
Remy cursed his luck. He should have been paying attention. There were two ways out for him. He could kill the Bedlams, and seek out and kill Candra. But that way he would not get Sinister. Furthermore, there was a chance he would not manage to reach Candra. There were camera's everywhere, and he would have scant chance against all the EMF, as well as Candra and Exodus, not to mention the rest of Apocalypse's forces and the big man himself. He could also try to talk his way out of it. He was always good at that. Plus, these two did not know him at all.
 "Sorry hommes, but why would de High Prelate be wanting me? I'm just Candra's bodyguard."
 Jesse shrugged, "Hey, he says he saw you enter a restricted area. You're not supposed to have been there."
 So, he was seen. With the others who also went there, Remy was pretty certain Alex's hackles would be raised. Still, the high prelate would not want to confront Candra. Best he played this relaxed, smooth.
 "Sorry about dat homme, I din' know it was restricted. Been dere with Candra once, so I didn' think it would be restricted. 'Sides, dis Cajun needed to get out o' her sight for a while. She been getting to 'possessive' of late, hein?"
 Terry began to laugh. Remy supposed it was a good thing all the Prelates were amused by the fact that Candra seemed to only keep him on as a lover. It did rankle in him though.
 "I din' figure she'd come look for me dere, bein' with Apocalypse an all right now. Now, you don' really wanna take me to Alex just for dis?"
 Jesse and Terry smiled at him, Terry clapping him on the back hard enough to make Remy stumble.
 "You're a funny guy, bodyguard. Catch us sometime you're off… if you're ever off, an we'll get you out of Candra's sights. Havens free to us, and we'd welcome your company."
 Remy smiled to himself. The two were a good sort. Still, he had no time to go off with them.
 "T'ank's homme, but if Candra finds out I been running around in Haven, she'll skin me alive. She gets real jealous."
 Terry and Jesse began laughing again.
 "Get along bodyguard, and make sure you guard her body good tonight!"
 Ha, ha. Remy wasn't really amused, but he supposed it was good that they were letting him go. He'd done it again. Damn, he was charming!
 Now, to get back before Candra noticed he was missing. He hoped she had not returned yet.

                                     x--------------------------------x

   It had been a few hours now. Plague had been dead for a while, and Rogue and Magnus watched over their child. Charles. A name to honor the memory of their friend and mentor, as well as a name that brought hope, for that was what Charles Xavier had been. Hope. With the birth of another, there was once again hope. It filled Magnus's heart. As did love. He looked to the side, to where his wife gently touched their son. Touch, Rogues dream, had finally come true. To touch a baby. Her own baby. Magnus knew that no matter how much Rogue loved him, the baby would now always hold a place in her heart that even he could not reach. It held a large place in his as well. Indeed most of the X-men folded into so much mush at the sight of Charles. Even the feral Sabretooth was besotted with the baby, to a smaller extent. He didn't show it much anyway. Magnus was glad. Victor Creed had changed, more than Magnus would have believed possible. And no small part of that change was caused by Blink – Clarice. At first Magnus thought the two were lovers, but it was not so. The two had a platonic, father-daughter relationship. Strange. Still, it brought added might to Magnus and the X-men. Rogue had healed rapidly, one might say almost miraculously. Victor Creed's power had helped in that; helped to a great extent. Rogue was almost back to full power. She had lost a lot of blood though, and that made her thinner, though no weaker than before. She had treated it as a joke, saying she didn't need to watch what she ate for a while. However as her lover and husband, Magnus could not help but worry.

 He shifted his thoughts to other matters. The team he had left on the ground had found the wandering mutant, a mutant he had seen before. A mutant who he knew from New York. He claimed his name was bishop, and Emma's cursory voyage into his mind had shown them images of themselves, strange, distorted. Exhausted the man had dropped off to sleep soon after being rescued. Magnus had let him. He had other things to worry about then. Now however his mind returned to what he had witnessed. He knew one thing. He had to find out what was going on.
 "I shall be back soon my love. I must see to the mutant we have with us."
 Rogue glanced up, nodded, and then returned to playing with her son. Magnus smiled slightly and left the room. Once Rogue would have been by his side, wanting to go wherever he went. Now she was content to let him do something's on his own. Not that it wasn't a relief in some ways. Rogue had been too stubborn and bloody-minded for her own good. For his patience at any rate. And she had become worse during and after her pregnancy.
 He walked through the hybrid to the chambers – almost a prison – where the strange mutant – Bishop he had said his name was – lay. AS he walked in Magnus noticed no one was in the room. A pair of large black hands suddenly reached out from his left and grabbed his neck.
 "Give me one reason why I shouldn't do away with you, Magneto."
 Gasping for breath, the master of magnetism, tore one of Bishops hands away. It was no easy feat. Bishop was damnably strong.
 "If you do not, I will rip your body to shreds." Magnus had no idea what this mutant was trying to prove, but he would deal with him if he dared to harm any aboard this ship.
  "Hmm… good enough… for now," Bishop left Magnus and walked back to his bed. "I did not leave you because I feared your threat Magneto. I left you because it reminded me that things are different in this… world, this time! Everything is wrong! Wrong! And I do not know what!"
 Bishop smashed his hands onto the bed, trembling with suppressed fury. Magnus stared at him. This world? Wrong? The man was mad.
 "Be at ease, my friend. I will send for some -"
 "NO!" Bishop turned around, one of his eyes glowing with power malevolently, "No one else. I have wandered this world for nearly two decades, trying to understand what was wrong. You, once the X-men's biggest enemy, leading them against another enemy, Apocalypse. Xavier is dead, Cyclops and Beast work for Apocalypse, for Sinister, and Sabretooth is one of the X-men… This is sheer insanity. I don't know what happened, only that something has happened, and I am part of the cause."
 Magnus stared at him, then, "I would denounce you as being insane, friend, but your words somehow ring true. I don't know…. I will send for Emma. She is our only telepath, and she will access your thoughts, make them right, learn why you are in this state."
 Bishop stared at him, "Emma Frost… humph. She too is an X-woman? Another change. Well…. Maybe not. She did teach at the Massachusetts…. It does not matter. Bring the White Queen, we will see what she has to say."

 
  An hour later Magnus sat in his room, his palms together, joined index fingers tapping his lips. He had a lot to think about. From what he and Emma had learnt, Bishop was a time-refugee of sorts, a man from a world that was much happier. The X-men had gone back in time to stop Legion, Xavier and Gabrielle's son of all things, from killing he, Magneto, and had succeeded. However, something had gone horribly wrong. Instead of going back to the future… the X-men had got caught in a time loop, horribly altered by Legions death. From there, only Bishop, who could wield temporal energies to some extent, managed to escape, landing in this world, a world where Legion did not exist, because Xavier and Gabrielle had not been together long enough to have any sort of relationship. The war had been started by the Hellfire Club, and Apocalypse had arrived. And one thing led to another, the war began, and the world was buried beneath the ashes of a once proud race. The humans had been defeated, and Apocalypse had taken over America. The heroes of the world had been defeated, Apocalypse had become stronger and stronger. Even the loss of his original citadel had been a temporary drawback, as his new Tower situated in Louisiana was even more fortified, even more heavily guarded. Magnus remembered the shuddering defeat the X-men had faced there. And then had come Muir. The Island had been destroyed by Apocalypse, and the X-men had fled. Magneto's darkest hour. Now however, things were looking up. They had defeated two of his horsemen, and stopped one of his cullings decisively. Slowly but surely they were getting their own back. He wondered what had happened to the others, the ones who had infiltrated the Sea Wall and gone to London. He hoped they still lived, and had been successful.
 Magneto knew there was nothing that could be done for Bishop. The mans mind was a mess, and would probably remain. Emma had tried to pick out the thoughts of the other world, and then remove them, but the thoughts and memories were so much a part of Bishop that removing them could potentially render Bishop a vegetable. Which was not what Magneto wanted. In Bishop they had a strong ally. And Bishop had been agreeable to this. If nothing else, Bishop had wanted to save this world from Apocalypse. Magneto hoped the strength of his conviction could see him through safely.
 The entire craft shook suddenly as though something had hit it. Magneto stood quickly and ran outside. Before he had taken two steps Pietro was there.
 "Father! A ship suddenly appeared out of thin air. Apparently it was hidden from our sensors and only appeared on our view screens moments ago. Just before it attacked. It's already deploying Infinites. And not just infinites but other deformities. I am sorry about this father…"
 Magneto shook his head, his mouth set in a grim line. So this was Apocalypse's response.
 "You are not to blame Pietro. Apocalypse is… Come, we go to battle."
 

  The entire side of the ship had been hit, three blasts of high intensity energy. Only the hybrids superior armor kept the blasts from tearing through the hull. On the bridge Magneto watched as the pilots strained to keep it afloat. He could see the ship ahead, and the swarms of Infinites and, as Pietro had put it, other deformities. Mutants, and what Magneto assumed were experiments of Dark Beast. However it was what led them that made Magneto's lips stretch thinner. Standing above the ship was a figure glowing yellow. A large figure, encased in glowing yellow armor. Holocaust. Apocalypse's son and right hand man… mutant. With him was the Prelate Lumina. He had almost fifty mutant with him, as well as hundreds of Infinites. They were more than outnumbered. Lumina was capable of taking on one X-man fairly easily. Holocaust more than capable.
 "Engage defenses. Take out the Rooks first. They are attacking en masse. That shall be their downfall. Once the Rooks fall, concentrate on the mutant units. The Infinites will be my problem. To me X-men!"
 

                                                   x-----------------------x

  Logan stood outside the door to the infirmary. Inside he could hear Ororo and Jean talking softly… about Warrens wings. Logan didn't want to know. Kurt had not proved to be much of an outlet, sitting and concentrating too much on what he was doing. Logan had thought of chasing down Shiro, but the Japanese would probably be as hard to talk to as Scott. That left the two women in the infirmary. Logan was surprised he hadn't considered them earlier. Warren's health was safeguarded; in the de-tox tank he would recover most of his outer wounds. It was the internal damage done to his wings that would need to be seen to… later though. Logan figured it was because he didn't want to appear weak, especially to these two. The two had been among his closest friends, indeed Jean had been much more, but he had shrunk from going to them at first. He shook his head. He was acting differently, and he needed to unburden himself. For that only Jean would have sufficed. It was a good thing no one else could or would talk to him right now. In the end he would have gone to Jean.
 He walked in, clearing his throat in order to break into their conversation politely.
 "Sorry fer interrupting, but I really need ta talk to ya Jeannie."
 He bowed his head, not looking at either in the eye. Ororo raised a puzzled brow, but obliged, walking out of the door, with a parting comment, "I'll see what is happening in the cockpit. I'll be back shortly." The last was meant as a forewarning of her return, so she didn't interrupt anything.
 As soon as Ororo left Logan walked over to a chair, and sat down, running his hand through his mane of hair. Jean folded her arms below her breasts and gave hi a pointed glance.
 "Okay Logan, spill. What's bothering you. It must be something big for you to come down here and want to talk to me. Besides I can see you're nervous. What's wrong?" She spoke gently, but firmly. Logan would have smiled if he exerted himself, but right now he was too tired, too melancholy, too depressed to. Jean knew him well.
 "I… I met someone… I … Ah Dammit Jean, I don't know how ta explain myself."
 Jean leaned forward, her brows narrowing in concern.
 "Logan? You… met someone? I don't understand? What are you trying to say? Do you want me to read your mind?"
 At that Logan shook his head, "Nah… I… I need to let it out Jean."
 She leaned back and nodded, waiting for him to continue. Logan steeled himself and then let the memories swirl around him.
 "Ya know a long time ago, before joining the X-men, before I met ya and the others, I was in Japan?" Jean nodded with his words. She knew his life history better than anyone, except maybe Xavier when he had been alive. Now maybe only Creed knew him better.
 "I was a warrior there, learning their art of fighting. Learning how ta kill others, as well as defend myself. Over there I also met a woman. Mariko…" The name brought pain with it. A pain in his heart that struck deep. Mariko…

 Logan looked up at Jean, his heart in his eyes.
 "I loved her Jeannie… I loved her with all I had, all I could…"
 Jean stared at him.
 "What happened?" Jean asked, in a near whisper.
 Logan bowed his head, "She died… killed by blowfish poison. It was before the whole Apocalypse wars began. Just before. I had just returned and found her in our home to be… lying on the floor, a shattered glass vial behind her." He could remember that day so well, the grim despair that had gripped him. The feeling of wanting to kill, to destroy whatever had done this to his Mariko. He had run into the forests, hopping form place to place, until he had been captured by S.H.I.E.L.D, and the Weapon X program. Just before the war had begun. The darkest years of his life. Weapon X and the ensuing war had given him no time to think about Mariko, and then he had met Jean, and the agony had died a little. With her leaving him so recent, and the meeting with Mariko, only to moments later realize she was as inaccessible to him as she had been when he had thought her dead. Not that she was much different now. He looked up, and saw Jean staring back at him with tears swimming in her eyes. He realized he had been broadcasting. He cursed himself as Jean bowed her head.
 "Oh… Logan… I … I'm so sorry… What can I say, or do… I can't help your pain… I can't take it away. I can only…"
 Logan held up a hand.
 "It's okay Jeannie… I just… needed to vent." Logan was disgusted to find his voice cracking as he spoke. Jeannie looked at him a little longer and then opened her arms and hugged him closer to her, placing his head in the hollow between her shoulder and her neck. The human and the animal in Logan succumbed to her embrace, needing it.
 Logan sat on his knees in front of her, clutching her to him, almost painfully, dealing with his pain. Her presence was intoxicating, as it had always been, pulling a cover over Mariko and his memories, blanketing them in her splendor. Logan raised his head and stared deep into her eyes. Then he gave into the animal in him and kissed her.
 He kissed her with the passion of a man who knows it's his last kiss, his last moment. He kissed her with all the passion in his soul. He kissed her with all the love he bore for her.
 His heart exulted as she responded for an instant, her mouth opening to gasp below his. Then suddenly she was backing away form him.
 Not fast enough.
 The doorway opened before they had fully parted, and Scott stared at them.
 Logan looked up at Scott, saw the sudden clench of his jaw, and then the relaxation of the jaw.
 "I just came down to check on Warren, and felt these powerful emotions in my head. Careless Jean, you should have blocked it." He spoke matter-of-factly. Logan could hear a weary resignation in his voice, as well as a grim finality.
 Jean looked up at him, her eyes wide, her upper lip twitching. She shuddered slightly, her eyes blinking open and closed, once.
 "Scott, it's not what it seemed like. I…"
 Scott slashed a hand through the air. Logan could feel the controlled violence in the mutant. He clenched his jaw. Damn… he shouldn't have let his wilder side get control of him. It was the mood, the emotions running wild in him.
 "Scott, it was my fault. I came here looking for help, to deal with some problems I been having. Look, for what it's worth, I nearly forced it on her."
 Scott looked at him and then turned to Jean.
 "I see… you forced her to kiss you. I… I'm sorry for interfering. I have no rights over you Jean… there's no need to look so guilty. I'm just glad you made yourself clear, even if it was in such a… messy way."
 Scott turned and walked out, leaving Jean staring after him, her hand outstretched.
 "You want I get him for you Jeannie. Make him understand?"
 Jean shook her head in resignation.
 "No… not now. He won't be ready to listen. I'll just have to explain it to him later."
 Logan lowered his head.
 "I'm sorry Jeannie. I didn't mean to… what can I say, it was my fault. I'll understand if ya don't…"
 Jean looked up angrily at him.

 "Don't be stupid Logan. It was the moment. We were both swamped with you memories. It would have had some sort of consequences. Scott and I… we'll deal with it. I'm just glad to have been of help." The last sentence said with a gentle smile.
 Logan shook his head.
 "You're too young to need ta bother with my problems. I'm fine Jeannie. Just needed to vent some. Talk to him. I ain't seen ya happier than when yer with him, darlin'. You an' he, you're perfect together. Settle this quick. Trust me, letting it fester ain't gonna be helpful in the long run. Let him cool down, and then tackle him. Don't take no fer an answer. Yer good at that."
 Jean smiled again, a more genuine smile.
 "Thank you Logan. Now go back, I can't help Warren with you hovering about. And send Ororo."
 As Logan left he saw Jean bow her head, pressing a hand to her face. He stiffened his shoulders. Scott would understand, one way or another.

                                             x--------------------------x

   Remy hurried through the corridors, trying to reach Candra without attracting any more interest. Havok had taken an interest here, and that spelled trouble for Remy. If he could get close enough to recognize him, Havok would go straight to Apocalypse. With the security chief now sniffing around his heels, Remy had to make plans fast. His mind burned through scenarios, but there was nothing. If only Sinister was still here. Remy would have enjoyed killing him. As it is he only had his suspicions about his even being alive. He had to know, and fast. He had to avenge Belladonna, he HAD to! It was all he had left.
 He slowed as he came closer to Candra's quarters. No one apart from the customary guards were outside. He walked up to the door, which recognizing his bio-signature opened. He walked inside hesitantly, warily eyeing the room for any signs of Candra. None. She still wasn't back.

 He supposed he should be relieved, but right now he wanted some answers, and he wanted them quick.

                                            x----------------------------x
 
  Alex paced his little platform, the space confining him to only a few steps before he had to turn again. The Bedlams had yet to return, hopefully bringing the bodyguard with them. He knew the fellow, he had met him before. But where? He did not know. All he knew was that he knew him from somewhere. Alex clenched a fist. Candra protected him, and all were aware of her protection. If he could find out anything at all about this bodyguard, that would be damning for Candra, he would take it to Apocalypse himself. Being the leader of all Prelates, even if he had to share that leadership with another, had some advantages. He could seek audience with Apocalypse. And if he found out that Deathbird was involved with this bodyguard, then he would be supreme. He would be the only leader of the prelates, perhaps even one of Apocalypse's right hand men. And if he played his cards right, he would one day take Apocalypse's place.
 The door opened and he turned, expectantly, a grim smile on his face. It was the Bedlams, as he had expected, and they brought someone with them, but not as a prisoner, and not the person Alex wanted to see. Lorna… damn.
 The Bedlams walked up and saluted him in their joking way. Once he had total control he would make them serious.
 "Where is he?" Why had the Bedlams not brought the bodyguard. They had better have a good reason, or he would skin them alive.
 "Hey Alex, you said bring him if he sounded suspicious. He'd been there before, he didn't know it was restricted having gone with Candra, and at this time he just needed some place to get some fresh air… so to speak, not much chance of getting fresh air here, what with all the dead people out there, but-"
 Alex flushed with rage.
 "He what? You didn't bring him because he needed some fresh air? You thought that was a good excuse?" His fist trembled. The two didn't notice, but Jesse looked at him in a slightly irritable way.
 "Hey man, he said he'd been there with Candra. You want us to go head to head with her? No fear pal, you want to piss on Candra's boots, you do it on your own."
 Alex suppressed his instinct to throttle Jesse. He calmed himself. Maybe the man had said something incriminating.

  "Okay… fair enough. What else did he say?"
 Terry began laughing.
 "He talked about how Candra ran him to the ground all the time. Made some Cajun joke in that accent of his. Hell, it seemed like we really were in New Orleans like it was years back. If you closed your eyes you could probably imagine him as some bayou boy, swamp rat."
 Alex frowned thoughtfully. Swamp rat, swamp rat… why was that so familiar. Suddenly his eyes widened. He remembered a fight against the X-men a few years ago, when he and Lorna had gone up against Rogue. The two had double teamed her until another X-man had interfered. The mutant had been called Gambit, and he had been a Cajun. He had flung three playing cards at him, and Alex had been flung back due to the impact. He had heard, dazedly, Rogue thanking Gambit, calling him swamp rat.
 He snapped his fingers. That was why he had seemed so familiar. It was only because Gambit had later left the X-men that Alex didn't remember immediately. Gambit had also been there during the time the X-men attacked the Tower to save that rebel, Jean Grey. The woman who had subverted his brother, revealing Scott's weakness. An X-man in the tower, aided and abetted by Candra. This was perfect.
  "That's very good news Bedlams, thank you."
 They looked a bit surprised, then shrugged.
 "Okay Alex… we're off to the haven, wanna join us?"
 Alex shook his head and the two departed. Lorna who had stood quiet till now walked up to him with a determined look on her face. She was feeling confrontational. That wasn't good, but he didn't have time to talk to her now.
 "Alex-"
 He cut her off, "Not now Lorna. I have something I need to do…" he stared at the monitor that showed the restricted area. Perfect. Alex smiled, "and I need to go do it now."
 He walked off without another word. Lorna stared at his back, and Alex knew he would have hell to pay when she met him again. Still, if all went as planned, maybe he won't.

                                      x----------------------------------x

 Apocalypse walked cautiously into the room where he had stored all his Shi'ar devices. The alarm he had designed for the room had gone off, alerting him to the presence of someone there. The destruction of Death had diverted him for a while, but now he was free to investigate. The first thing that caught his eye was the small glowing object on the floor. A Shi'ar device. He then saw the body of Deathbird. She was dead, her neck snapped cleanly. He walked up to her and pulled off her headpiece. Her hair flared out behind her head, in almost a crest like formation. As he had suspected. She was Shi'ar. However her death meant little other than he had lost another commander. One liable to betray him certainly, but a commander nonetheless. He wondered who might have done this. Her partner? Or someone else. His scanners showed him nothing other than three people had been in this room, Deathbird one of them. He held up the device. Interesting, it was shaped almost in a perfect circle, with one part jutting out into a place to hold. Slim hands, certainly not his fists. Concentrating slightly, Apocalypse changed his form into one that was the exact duplicate, externally, of Deathbird.
 "Now, to use this device."
 With the knowledge he had gained from the Celestial technology he possessed he was able to learn several languages, from Kree to Shi'ar to even that used by the almighty celestials. He pressed the device into one likely crevice. As he did the machine sprang to life, humming so gently even he had trouble hearing the vibrations. A large globe opened up to reveal a monitor. And on the monitor was the face of a male Shi'ar. It spoke.
 "You have been delayed Cal'Sayee. What news of the shield? Do we dare invade this planet full force? Remember, we cannot have delays. You said in our last communication that your contact was working on it. We need to have that shield down, otherwise we will not be able to attack full force. We will waste precious resources subverting the shield that appeared a few years ago, and you know without the whole army, we will never be able to defeat this world. If not for this Apocalypse who you pretend to serve, we would have invaded years ago. You must bring the shield down."
 Apocalypse smiled… this fool had given him all the information he needed. The Shi'ar were planning an attack, and it was only through his activation of the celestials equipment that had prevented these Shi'ar from attacking. As long as it stayed up, they could not attack. He reverted to his real form. He reveled in the fools intake of breath.
 "Greetings Shi'ar. I am Apocalypse. Your compatriot, known to me as Deathbird, is dead. Know this, you can never attack me, not without facing certain death and destruction. I know of your empire, indeed I have known of it for over five thousand years. Come if you will, Shi'ar! I will be waiting."
 Apocalypse pulled out the device, shutting the machine down. The last thing he saw was the face of Deathbirds commander, pale with shock. Apocalypse smiled. If the Shi'ar did attack, they would find a world filled with the strong, a world that would destroy them.
 Now, he could turn his mind to other pressing matters. With the expansion of the Sea Wall underway, he would have nothing to fear from the humans. They would be too busy battling his perimeter security platforms. A battle that would be in vain. Apocalypse had built them to withstand nuclear assaults, and be able to destroy with weapons beyond even that. Still… at least it guaranteed the destruction of a weak race. He looked down at Deathbird. He now had two immediate problems. One was the X-men, which Holocaust should have engaged by now. The other were these partners and contacts of Deathbirds.
 "I must find them, before they can cause any more trouble!"
 He heard the sound of heavy booted feet and whirled around, ready to destroy whoever it was.
 "I can help you with that my Lord." Havok bowed to his master. Apocalypse relaxed, but only slightly. He may still need to be alert, just in case this Prelate was in league with Deathbird.
 "Indeed? Tell me what you think you know."

                                             x-----------------------------x

   Remy watched carefully as Candra sat down in one of the gigantic and soft chairs in the room. Her legs crossed and she watched him as he sat in the chair in front, having taken off all his armor. She had arrived moments ago, and was a little annoyed at finding him in his armor, or in the process of taking it off. The talk with Apocalypse had not gone well, apparently. Not too bad for her. Apparently there was little standing in her way now to becoming second in command. Remy knew her well. Candra wanted power, yes, and hungered for it. However she was also lazy, and would prefer someone else to manage that power, while still having absolute control. Candra wasn't exactly lazy, but she was not one to be hurried into anything. She liked having power, and reveling in it. She didn't like making too many decisions. In her position, as one of Apocalypse's mighty externals, she had what she wanted. She did revel in combat as well. Candra was an exceedingly sensual and passionate creature. Remy knew how she ticked. And he now needed to put full use of his own power over her.
 Candra's eyes had taken on an intensity, and intensity that Remy knew well. He watched as she stood up, flaunting her body through the clutching garment she wore.
 She turned and pushed her back towards him, wanting him to take off her clothes. Remy complied, unclipping her light armor, and then unzipping her polymer-fiber tights. He smoothed his palms over her back, watching her arch backwards like a cat. Bed, he supposed, was as good a place as any to get the answers he needed.
 His hands moved along her ribs to gently cup her breasts. She groaned low in her throat. Then reached back with her arms and pulled his head down, kissing him upside down. Remy moved one hand lower, pushing the material further down her body, exploring each part with a roving hand. Candra now fully pressed herself against him, grinding her hips against his crotch. Remy pulled back long enough to whisper in her ear.
 "I've been here long enough Candra. And I know something's. Things which you would have kept from me. Where is Sinister?"
 Candra stopped kissing his neck for one second, and then continued nuzzling his throat. She turned in his embrace and pressed herself against him fully. She bit his chin slightly and then licked his slightly parted lips.
 "Now, why would you believe Nathaniel is alive?"
 Remy laughed humorlessly, "Because I know you Candra, and I know him better. He'll have a back up plan, I know. Besides, de others and Apocalypse also believe him to be alive somewhere. Don' play wit me Candra. Not now, not anymore. T'ings are coming to a head, and I want t'ings between Sinister and I to be finished."
 Candra stepped back from him, her eyes flashing.
 "So… you are still bent on avenging your one time lover. A fitting irony then. But before I answer your questions, tell me one thing. Who's the girl?"

 Remy had been concentrating on her words so much that he almost missed her question. It left him pole-axed. Girl?
 His hesitation seemed to confirm something in Candra's luminous blue eyes. They grew cold and she pulled herself up.
 "Tell me, Lebeau! Who is she?! If not, I'll make Dark Beast pry the information from your mind."
 Girl… surely she could not mean Deathbird? How would she know? It was impossible. Yet as Candra distanced himself from him he realized that Candra was now furious. Enraged due to jealousy.
 "Candra… dere is no girl. I don't know what you're talking about, an' I don' much care. Now, you didn' answer my question. Where's Sinister!"
 Candra struck without warning. He felt merciless unseen fingers grab his hands and fling him back against the wall, pinning him. Candra leaned back and procured a dampening device. Remy lashed out instinctively and the small bracelet type device exploded in Candra's hands, making Candra yelp with pain. She looked at him, and Remy saw death in her eyes. She believed him to have cheated on her. Well, if need be, he'd make her suffer before he quizzed her on Sinister's whereabouts.
 "We can do dis de hard way, or we can do dis de easy way Candra."
 She laughed, "easy for a mutant who's stuck to the wall to say. Can you carry out any threat you make?"
 Remy knew his empathy wouldn't work on her, not with any large amount of success. He instead focused on the chairs around her, and him. They began to glow. He relaxed into the easy flow of his powers, feeling the charge. Candra's eyes widened in rage and she leapt forward, a telekinetic version of her blasting forward to smash into him, knocking the wind out of him, and stopping him from fully charging the chairs. Nevertheless, Remy rubbed his fingers together and smiled grimly. The chairs burst into flame, not exploding completely, but enough to make Candra wince.
 "You'll pay for your betrayal, Lebeau."
 Wave after wave of telekinetic blasts hit him, and he fell to the floor, cowering from the pain and hurt she inflicted on him. She walked up to him, looking as imperiously beautiful as the first time he had seen her. She was surrounded by flames, which glowed around her with a strange luminescence, casting part of her face and body into shadows. Just like the first time he had seen her, walking towards him on the rooftop, with Belladonna in her grasp. Belladonna. His resolve strengthened and he looked at Candra, feeling her every atom glow.
 "You jus' made de biggest mistake of your life, chere."
 Candra hesitated, and Remy silently amended his previous statement. Her hesitation was the biggest mistake she had ever made, for now Remy had time to charge her entire body, making her explode. Not something he could do with any ease, and he felt his power draining out of him like as if leaking from a sieve. He felt his body going numb, as Candra began to glow with a different luminescence. Her clothes made it easier, as did her armored boots. Candra's eyes grew panicked, and her attacks suddenly began increasing in momentum. Finally, when he didn't let up on his attack, Candra's eyes grew colder than anything Iceman could ever make. Remy felt despair wash up in him. He wasn;t fast enough, and knowing that he was going to kill him, Candra had just made her choice.
 "I only wanted to punish you… I never wanted it to come to this, but you leave me no choice Remy."
 He could feel it, her gathering her will, in order to unleash her powers and annihilate him. She could do it, he knew.
 An explosion happened then, and Remy was flung aside, as was Candra. Dazedly Remy looked towards Candra, wondering what had happened. She lay on the ground, groaning and trying to stand. Then a voice spoke, and Remy's blood froze. He watched as Candra also froze, and lost all her color. It was the voice of doom, a thunderous, impossibly deep voice.
 "A pity it has come to this indeed, Candra. You also, leave me no choice."
 As Remy fainted he saw the booted feet of Apocalypse, as well as Havok bending down above him. With the last breath he took before fainting, Remy cursed.
 "Merde…"

                                              x----------------------x

 Emma moved slowly. Staring down at the chaos below her, she was in no hurry to rush to her death. Here, in the Hybrid, she would be of most use. Her job was simple. Shut down the brains of all the enemies on the field. This immediately counted out the Infinites, they had no brains to speak of. The mutant units were protected, but not too strongly. They could be taken down, with a little time and effort. The Uber-leutnants were different. They had strong protection, and wearing it down would take time they did not have. The Rooks and Prelate Lumina also had extremely strong shields. Emma cursed Dark Beast. She could read their minds, as well as hurt them with psychic bolts, but kill them… no. Being under-strength with half their members only, the X-men were at a disadvantage. With Sean out of action, and Rogue still weaker than usual because of her pregnancy, they were having problems with this mass assault.
 Iceman was taking on an entire mutant unit on his own. So far he was able to hold them off, being a much stronger mutant, but it was taking a lot of his strength. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were holding their own against another mutant unit, but it was getting harder to take down the mutants. They were well trained, not attacking en masse, but slowly wearing the two X-men down, using flanking attacks and hiding whenever they could. Sabretooth and Blink were teaming up against another mutant unit. That left two mutant units, one of which were attacking the Hybrid directly. Emma trusted Know-it-all, who had hacked into the Hybrid's core system, to handle them. More than part machine, Know-it-all was almost completely machine like at times.
 Which left one mutant unit for her to handle. Magneto and Rogue had already drawn away the Infinites and the Rooks. Holocaust still attacked the Hybrid. Lumina was also out there somewhere. The X-men were badly outnumbered. Emma gritted her teeth and continued to attack the mutant units with her psi-bolts. Give them pain, and then shut them down. It still took too long. It had been fifteen minutes since the attack began, and she had taken down only three- four of the blasted creatures. Her mind was on overload, connecting together everyone, as well as attacking the mutant units.
 * Emma, Iceman needs help, quickly! *
 Emma turned to Iceman, who was getting swamped by the mutant unit her faced. Emma focused and sent a powerful psi-wave towards them. Not very effective, but it would do for now. The units staggered slightly, and Iceman broke free. Thankfully, he had already taken down the Uber-leutnant. Emma quickly turned her attention back to the mutant units reaching the Hybrid. Know-it-all already had her hands full. Emma scattered them with a psi-wave, and then chose one out and began the process of shutting off his brain. Form the corner of her eye she noticed that Sabretooth and Blink were making short work of their unit. With Sabretooth's savagery, and Blink displacing any who tried to swamp him, it seemed as though they were having an easy time. However Emma could tell Blink's power was getting stretched to its limit. Sabretooth on the other hand, reveled in the combat, seemingly growing stronger with each kill. Emma had seen Logan fight long enough to know he was getting closer to going berserk.
  Quicksilver had procured a rope from somewhere and looped around two of the units, who Scarlet Witch hexed with ease. They seemed to have handled their units well enough, with only four left, as well as the Uber-leutnant.
 One unit down, Emma thought with triumph. There were still five left for her to shut down.
 Magneto was making short work of the Infinites, while Rogue took on the deformed cyborgs, and humans who had been upgraded to something beyond human, though less than mutant. Though it seemed that Rogue was unwilling to absorb any of them. A bright light suddenly filled the corner of Emma's vision. Turning she saw that Lumina had reached one of the X-men. Blink displaced herself, but Lumina was too close to Sabretooth. Sabretooth was not in the throes of a berserker rage though, which proved to be what saved him. He threw the bodies of two units at the expanding shield Lumina was creating, causing the charge to illuminate their bodies, each molecule in their body exploding, leaving only smoking remains. Emma froze. Lumina had grown more powerful.

 A Magnetic blast from the sky slammed into the shield, breaking past and smashing into her. Lumina fell to the ground, slamming down hard. Sabretooth ran towards her, ignoring the units attempting to impede his progress. Suddenly a blast rained down from the sky, and Sabretooth was flung back. Into the smoke created by the blast fell a heavy object, causing small tremors to run through the ground.
 As Sabretooth stood, out of the smoke charged Holocaust, slamming into the feral mutant. Sabretooth went flying back, slamming into some debris, pushing in due to the impact, and getting buried under.
 Another brain down, another unit down. Emma grabbed another and fed a hundred psi-bolts in rapid succession. She didn't have time it seemed. Holocaust had joined the battle.

 "Mr. Creed!" The heartfelt cry resounded against a chord in Emma. Such desolation from one so young. It reminded her of herself, as the White Queen, at the tender age of seventeen, fooling the others with her telepathy. As she stood she saw some one she had never expected to see again. Quicksilver had slowed down, indeed he could barely move. Harry Leland stood in front of him, exerting his gravitational pull to keep Quicksilver grounded. Long enough for another Rook, Scanner to reach out and grab Quicksilver, using her bio-kinetically charged form to inflict pain directly onto his body. Quicksilver screamed and fell. The Scarlet Witch raised her hand and hex-bolts rained down on Scanner, knocking her back. Leland once again used his power, and Scarlet Witch found herself being pulled down.
 Blink charged at Holocaust, despite Magneto's shouted cry warning her against it. Magneto had problems of his own as three Infinites plowed into him. Using his powers, he blasted them apart, but that only left dozens more streaming towards him and the Hybrid.
 Three more units with an Uber-leutnant leading them still raced towards her and the Hybrid. Emma was in a quandary. Who should she help?
 Blink threw one of her displacement daggers at Holocaust, which only seemed to annoy him. He sent blast after blast at Blink, who quickly teleported to escape the attack. Ice man had problems as well, as Lumina had recovered and was focusing on him now. Her energy grid was expanding, this time more tightly packed together. Lumina had greater control over her powers, that much was certain. Iceman skidded around her grid, trying to get a shot off on her. He began freezing the floor, but his ice was consumed by Lumina's grid. Finally Iceman backed off, but her grid was expanding fast. It began narrowing out, and lengthening. Lumina had grown much, much more skilled… very much more indeed. Iceman looked back, and skidded on, employing all the power he had to get away. However with a few mutant units still left, he was getting boxed in.
 Holocaust was toying with Blink. No matter what the young mutant tried, Holocaust was there, letting rip with his bio-nuclear blasts, which Blink hurriedly teleported to avoid. Blink was waning, and holocaust was getting closer and closer to doing heavy damage to her.
 Emma hesitated, and saw to her horror that a mutant unit stood directly by her, only meters away from the Hybrid. Blood dripped from his nose. Emma recognized the unit as the one who she had attacked with psi-bolts. The mutant smiled and his hands began to glow with energy. Emma quirked an eyebrow, and sent another massive assault directly into his head. The unit staggered, but steadied, still charging. One hand pointed at Emma. Too late, thought Emma in resignation. She began backtracking.
 "I think we should leave zis place, nein?"
 Emma gasped as a two fingered hand snaked around her neck. Then reality warped around her, and the next second she was standing a hundred meters back, watching as an explosion took place in front of her, the shockwave forcing her to stagger backwards.
 "What?" Emma turned to see Nightcrawler salute her before porting away. Emma smiled as she felt the other X-men's presence in her head. A large craft flew down to the battlefield, with minute figures dropping from it. Emma recognized the craft as one belonging to Apocalypse. Where had the X-men gotten it from? She banished questions form her head as she stared at the mutant who had tried to kill her. She smiled. Reinforcements had arrived. There was no need to worry about others, and she could concentrate on her self only. The mutant fell back under Emma's renewed attack.
 

                                       x------------------------------x

 Sammaels personal ship had detected a battle going on somewhere on the west coast. Scott watched over Kurt's shoulder as he began pinpointing the location. With a cry of alarm, Kurt ported over to Kitty. Scott stumbled back as the stench hit him full force, coupled with the suddenness of Kurt's departure.

 "Kitten, we must go to these co-ordinates, immediately. Ze X-men are under attack!"
 Scott wondered how Kurt knew. Kitty had already put in the co-ordinates and was practically bouncing on her seat, willing the craft to move faster. Next to her Peter sat grimly, watching the small grid-map between the two pilot's seats. Scott studied the markings on the larger grid-map and navigation board Kurt had been monitoring earlier. One of Apocalypse's carriers was there… no… not a normal carrier. A special one. Holocausts favorite carrier. The one with which he had devastated half the world. While it was not specially built, like Sammael's was, Holocausts carrier was much larger, and could carry a lot of troops. Scott's fists clenched. If the X-men were facing Holocaust with full capacity, then they would be severely outnumbered.
  "Not just under attack, Kurt… but under attack from Holocaust, and if I don't miss my guess, anywhere between five hundred to a thousand Infinites. Apart from Mutant units, Prelates and Holocaust himself. We have to hurry."
 Kitty stared at him, aghast.
  "Hell yeah, we have to hurry. It should take about fifteen to twenty minutes at the speed we're hitting."
 Scott nodded, and turned back to the monitor. He focused on the symbol of Holocaust that hovered over one showing an enemy ship, but his mind kept on slipping back to the image he had seen only minutes previously. His heart shook with betrayal. How could she? He should have realized it, should have known it was too good to be true. No one could love him for long, not without turning away. What he was… what he had done…
 "Hey bub, come with me."
 Before Scott could even react Logan had grabbed him and pulled him out of the cockpit. As they reached outside, Scott turned with a snarl.
 "What do you think you're doing?"
 His fists bunched. He gritted his teeth. He had to keep a hold on his rage. In front of him, Logan seemed to be doing the same thing. A meaty finger reached out and poked him in the chest.
 "What…do… you… think… you… are… doing?" Each word punctuated with a poke. Scott stared down at the finger.

 "What the hell are you talking about?"
 Logan growled.
 "You know damn well. What is it with you! Jeannie's hurting right now! Look, bub I know what you think you saw, but believe me, Jeannie had no part in it."

 Scott folded his arms in order that he not hit Logan. It would not help right now.
 "I see. Is that all?" Scott bit out.
 Logan took a deep breath and then let it out.
 "Look bub, I warned you earlier. You hurt her, and I gut you. Right now it ain't yer fault, but if you leave things lying the way they are, it will. Right now I oughta gut myself, but it won't help at all. It'll just heal. I forced myself on Jean, I was hurtin, and didn' know where ta go. That's why I was trying ta talk earlier. I seen some things… ah, it don't matter. Right now, I gotta make things right, and ya gotta go talk to Jean. Don't judge her before ya know everything. Listen ta her… cause if ya don't… ya don't deserve her…"
 Scott stared down at the man, and then pulled back a fist and smashed it into Logan's jaw. The feral staggered back, slamming against the bulkhead. He growled angrily, and then noticed Scott's face. There was hint of a smile there. Scott turned and walked off, heading for the infirmary. Logan slid down the wall and sat down, withdrawing his claws, which had popped out as soon as Scott had punched him. He smiled. Scott could punch, but it was next to useless against Logan, and Scott knew that. Logan just accepted it as a little punishment for what he did, and let it go at that. His smile fell however as he thought about what Scott might do now. If Jeannie was ever hurt again, Logan would kill. Too many women in his life had been hurt, Mariko, Carol, Natasha… many more. His only weak spot… Logan got up and walked into the cockpit. He had to forget this melancholy shit, and focus. There was a fight coming up. He figured he could channel his depression into battle, like he had done before. He smiled, anticipating action…

  Scott walked up to the door, and it opened for him. Inside he could hear Jean and Ororo talking again, this time with Jean sitting in a chair, holding her head. He couldn't feel her, having blocked his side of the link. Ororo looked up, but Jean remained bowed. Ororo's eyes widened, and then she smiled inexplicably. With all the warmth she had shown him earlier, or lack thereof, he'd expected to be slammed into the walls, fried by lightning. Scott wondered how to talk to Jean. He wasn't good at this… he opened the link. Jean stiffened and then looked up. Her eyes were slightly red, but there were no tear streaks. Scott smiled inwardly. Brave Jean… she'd never cry. Jean sensed his smile, and lit up. Getting up she ran into him, burrowing her face into his shoulder.
 "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"
 Scott was taken aback, and he gingerly put his arms around her. She felt so right in his arms, perfect. Ororo had walked into the de-tox tank area, giving them some privacy.
 "It's alright Jean… I was just shocked… I jumped to conclusions. You're compassionate, and Logan's a mutant you do feel strongly about. I should have trusted you to explain… still, it's over and done with."
 Jean held on for another second, and then moved back.
  "There's another thing… the other X-men are under attack by Holocaust and his army. We're heading for the place now. The X-men are heavily outnumbered, so get ready."
 Jean paled, and then nodded. Scott turned around, heading for the cockpit. Behind him he heard Jean telling Ororo to get ready. Before leaving he turned.
  "Jean, contact Shiro, tell him to be prepared."

 Scott turned around. They should be arriving any minute now.

                                              x--------------------------------x

   Rogue was standing by his door when he left the room. After not having seen her for nearly a week, he was ecstatic. He grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her in the air, whirling her about. It was then that he noticed that she was standing a bit stiffly. He apologized if his actions had hurt her, knowing that she had just been through a harrowing week, and that she may even be injured to some extent. Her mission, along with Quicksilver, Weapon X, Jean and Magneto had had some setbacks, but they had gotten through them, mostly thanks to Rogue and Magneto.
 "What's wrong, chere?" Remy looked at her closely. She averted her eyes.
 "Remy… ah, ah needed to talk to ya…" She faltered. Remy smiled encouragingly.
 "Tell ol' Remy all 'bout it chere, he standin' right here."
 Rogue bit her lip, and looked up, still not meeting his eyes. Remy cocked an eyebrow, his inner joy at seeing her, getting replaced by apprehension. Rogue was never like this, not unless she had bad news to deliver. Like when she had told him about Jubilee… damn… he still didn't like thinking about her. Another girl he had lost. His thoughts wandered for an instant to Belladonna, then guiltily moved away, turning back to the woman before him, the woman who had begun to occupy Bella's place in his heart.
 "Remy, ah have control of my powers… Ah…"
 Remy's eyes widened, and he spoke in a hushed whisper.
 "Chere? Are you sure? You… how?" he looked wonderingly at her, not daring to touch her lest it was all a dream.
 "It was during the battle.. Magneto fell, and ah had to use his powah's… but he was so neah death ah couldn't, not without killin him!" Rogue's eyes watered, and she was near hysterics. Remy reached for her, to soothe her, but she flinched away. He stepped back, hurt.
 "Ah had to, othahwise we'd all die. Sammael an Exodus were there, along with hundreds of Infinites, an four Prelates; Cyclops, Havok, Unus and Emplate. We were getting bogged down, an ah had to… Ah… ah managed to focus, doing all that the Professah taught me, ah let go of everythin… an it worked. I could control it, draw in as much as I want, and not leech it all out…"
 Remy was overjoyed. Hesitantly he reached out and touched Rogues hands, for once not encased in leather. She tried to move back, probably from some left over fear of hurting him, but Remy grabbed her. Her skin… the touch he had dreamed of for so long. He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, her veins, feeling every individual miniscule wrinkle lovingly.
 "Ah.. Rogue…chere…" He leaned in close, "Chere, I want, need to kiss you. It seems at times I've spent a lifetime lovin you, and wantin your touch so badly, I could…" he trailed off, leaning closer. Rogue's luminous green eyes met his, and Remy looked in, seeking out the loving glow her eyes had, inside, always when she looked at him. Her eyes fluttered, and she sighed, and her breath across his lips was electrifying. As their lips met, Remy shivered, not willing to press further, wanting to take his time. He knew his heart belonged to her a long time ago. Now, so did his soul.
 Before he could draw her closer, deepen the kiss, she broke free, and backed away. Remy could see tears in her eyes. He could feel his own eyes tearing, but he had a dark suspicion Rogue was crying for a totally different reason.
 "Ah… ah had to tell ya Remy. Ah had to let ya kiss me. I owed you one. Bu that was for the first an last time." Remy blinked. First and Last???
 "Ah… ah don't love ya anymore Remy. Ah've found somebody else."
 Remy's heart shattered into a hundred different pieces. Voices screamed in his head. He stood stock still, still relaxed, but his jaw was rigid. His mind reeled, his heart cried, his soul screamed.
 "Chere…?" A nervous blubber.
 Rogue flinched as he said the word, and she spoke again, looking at some point behind him, still not meeting his eyes. For some reason, that hurt almost as much as what she was going to say next.
 "Ah'm sorry Remy. Ah know, it seems so cruel, especially after giving you what Ah know you've dreamed of for so long, for what ah dreamed of. But please understand… ah love E- someone else now. Ah'm sorry Remy, but when ah touched him, mah heart knew it."
 Remy looked down, not trusting himself to speak anything. His emotions began spiraling around him, and he felt a desperate need to lash out, at something, anything. A hand touched his shoulder gently, and he looked up, straight into Rogue's eyes. Those beautiful green eyes, glistening with tears. A silent scream echoed in his soul, and as it did Rogue flinched harder. Maybe it was his empathy, or maybe it was looking at his eyes, which Remy could feel were burning redder than ever before.
 "Why chere? Why tell me now? Why tempt me, and den take away the one t'ing I've ached for? Is it some sort of sick twisted game? Did I mean so little!" Remy looked away, and Rogue once again tried to touch him. At the skin to skin contact, Remy turned away. His eyes flashing worse than before.
 "Don't!" Rogue backed away. Remy walked further away from her, kneeling his head against his arm, which was pressed against the wall. "Jus'… leave me."
 He didn't look up, but he knew she was still there. Finally, after what seemed like eons she began moving away. She had only taken three steps before he spoke again.
 "Who is it?"
 Rogue stopped, and Remy heard her taking in a deep shuddering breath. He knew she was crying, knew she was hurting, and a small part of him bled with her hurt, knowing he was the source of her pain. But her betrayal had cut through him like nothing else, agony greater than anything he had ever experienced. The greater part of him was glad she was hurting, glad she was suffering for causing him this pain.
 She spoke softly.
 "Erik…Magneto." She then ran away, sobbing quietly.
 Erik… Magneto. Erik… Magneto. His friend! The words had shocked Remy to his core. The two had always been close, but he had assumed it was because he was one of the people she had first met, who had saved her long ago. Magneto… his friend.
 Remy owed him a lot. Before the X-men, Remy had been with Apocalypse. An Uber-leutnant, probably Prelate at some point in the future. Remy had known Sinister was there, but everyday Sinister had seemed to grow more and more untouchable. He had had almost no clearance, and no one saw an External other than the Prelates. Unless of course the Externals had some business, or a culling. There weren't too many of those now. The only External Remy had ever seen had been Sammael. He had been consumed by revenge, hoping only to get close enough to Sinister to hurt him, kill him. For a long time he had wasted in Apocalypse's ranks. Then one day, the X-men had come, and Magneto had faced him in single combat. He had made him the offer. Join the X-men, or die. Remy knew he was no match for Magneto, and had told him what he wanted. Magneto had talked to him, explained him that there was more to life than revenge. Remy had scoffed, and asked Magneto to leave him be, and  let him survive the battle. He was no enemy to the X-men, but to Sinister.
 Magneto had caught him in a magnetic bubble and taken him to their ship, and they had left, with Remy protesting all the way. Once at the Institute, they had talked at length, along with Storm, another X-woman. Magneto had told him that the easiest way to get to Sinister was through the X-men, and Storm had been able to relate to him, due to their past of being under Apocalypse, joining the X-men, and finally letting go of her need to avenge her family's deaths. Then Remy had met Rogue. Magneto had arranged the meeting, knowing that Rogue, as a southerner would like southern company. Remy and Rogue had not hit it off immediately, but soon they had been close. Rogue, Stormy and Magneto. The three had been his closest friends. Now he only had Storm left.
 Remy smashed a fist into the wall, letting loose a cry of bitterness.

  He awoke to a buzzing sensation in his head, and a foot planted in his stomach.
 "Rise before the Master, cretin." A heavily built woman was hitting him using her armored toecaps on her boots. She had modified mechanic wings implanted in her back, and a helmet covered the top half of her face. A thin ponytail stuck out the back.
 Remy wondered at her insult. Cretin. He had been called many things before, but not cretin.
 "Remy…" He coughed at the pain of speaking, but continued anyway, "begs t' differ. He is not cretin."
 The woman smiled and kicked him harder.
 "Hold Vultura. If he's dead, we won't be able to question him." Havok. Remy looked around as the room finally came into focus. It was a room he had previously not been in. It was not too large, although it had a very high roof. Apocalypse stood at one end, his deaths head visage looking down at him impassively. Havok stood near by, his eyes glowing with pleasure. Right next to him was this… Vultura. A few feet away was Candra, also not bound, and wide awake, glaring daggers at Apocalypse. There was someone else in the room as well, the Shadow King, his presence floating ominously in a dark corner. A Madri was also near by to attend to Apocalypse.
 "Question? To what purpose, high Prelate?"
 Remy had never been this close to Apocalypse before, and the booming voice numbed him. A part of him raged as he realized he was very close to death, and that he had still not had his revenge. Revenge… years ago Magneto had robbed him of his chance to exact that revenge against those that had killed Belladonna. Then Rogue… he shook his head. It was all just memories, nothing mattered but that he had to survive this trial. Somehow… even if his chances seemed almost nil.
 "He may know something of the X-men, Lord. I propose we torture him and make him reveal the plans of these X-men."
 Apocalypse began to laugh.
 "The X-men? I know their plans already Havok. They are already engaging Holocaust, and will either perish, or meet with me in battle soon enough. I am already prepared. I need nothing from this fool. Barring one thing." Apocalypse strode up to Remy.
 Remy stared up into Apocalypses eyes, and had to force himself to meet the gaze. Apocalypse stared at him and then seemed to smile slightly.
 "You do not show fear, a sure sign of the strong. You have infiltrated my Tower, inveigled yourself with one of my chief lieutenants, and no doubt caused some harm to me. However, you have also inadvertently managed to reveal traitors within my midst, and in some ways saved this world by helping stop a Shi'ar invasion. Speak now, rebel. Tell me what Deathbird spoke. What has she told you?"
 Remy blinked once. Stopped an invasion? What was Apocalypse talking about?
 "She tol' Remy nothin'. Jus' tried ta kill him. Remy takes dat sort of t'ing personally, and so he took matters into his own hands, an' killed her instead."
 Apocalypses hand clamped down on his shoulder.
  "You may be telling the truth. In any event it does not matter. Who else was with her?"
 His hand bore down heavily on his shoulder, and Remy gritted his teeth against the pain.
  "Jus' before Remy killed her, she was meetin' with your spymaster, Shaw."
  Apocalypse let go, and Remy stumbled. Apocalypse turned around and walked towards the throne in the center of the room.
 "You have done well Havok. I hand over command of the EMF to you. With the death of Sammael, there are none capable of handling that task. Perhaps you will soon attain the rank I had promised your traitorous brother. AS one of my chief lieutenants. There are but a few of those left."
 Candra had watched the proceedings quietly until now. She finally spoke.
  "Apocalypse!" He turned to regard her over his shoulder.
 "What of me? What do you plan to do with me? I have done nothing wrong."
 Remy could marvel at her sheer bravery. Although maybe it was desperation.
 Apocalypse apparently liked her statement. He turned fully and smiled at her. There was no emotion in the smile. Only… a bare flicker of enjoyment.
  "You have been loyal to me for a long time Candra. From the start you were among the most powerful, and strong willed of my lieutenants. You were a suitable aide in the past. I admire your will Candra. It is the only reason I kept you alive, even when it was obvious you and Sinister conspired together, and still do. No need to look so shocked, Candra. I know of your little meetings with him. I know of his little project. I felt it before. The child is powerful, true. He will be a suitable source of power for me."
 Candra was ashen faced. Remy stared at her hard. She knew where Sinister was all along! All the time. He had suspected as much, but to be faced with the truth felt like a sucker punch to him. He could have avoided so much wasted time if he had not been so… lethargic. He cursed himself.
 * Bella… forgive me… *
 "I have been loyal, and am still! The only reason I have not told you of the rebel was because he was loyal to me! He was a pet to me."
 Havok sneered at her.
 "You routinely take your pets to bed, Candra?" Havok turned to Apocalypse, "she has fallen for the rebel, Lord. Who know what secrets she has revealed to him, and them?"
  Apocalypse considered Candra, who scowled at Havok and turned back to Apocalypse.
  "My Lord. I have proven my loyalty in the past. I merely took pleasure in the rebels body. I do not care for him in any other way. If you will, I will kill him myself."
  Apocalypse shook his head.
 "I think you have finally fallen prey to your passions Candra. I know you well. No… you will not kill him. You have failed me. You have become weak."
 It was as though he had passed judgment. Candra blanched, and groveled before him. Remy was a bit surprised. A chain came down and snapped around his neck, as many others also restrained Candra.
 "The rebel can destroy anything he touches. The chain will not damage us much, even if he were able to use it."
 Remy smiled. That was it. Here was his chance to get away. Use his powers. They did not know of the improvements to his powers by Sinister.
 Over here he was dead. Outside he may have a chance.
 * All I do… I do for you Bella. Chere, I will join you once I have completed my task… *
 Vultura had begun to walk towards him. He stared at her, feeling each molecule within her armor hum with potential energy. He began to charge it, feeling the power build. Vultura stopped as she felt her armor grow warmer. She looked down as saw the glow as it charged to a higher extent. Havok stared in shock, and Apocalypse turned in surprise. Vultura screamed just before Remy let the charge ignite, her cry getting cut off by the sound of the explosion. Havok fell back, reeling against the force unleashed.
 "Well, well. It seems he has powers I was unaware of. I sense Sinister's hand in this. Vultura was my last Reaver. I suppose she was worthless with the rest of her compatriots dead." Apocalypse had begun walking forward as he spoke, and Remy had not stood still either. He charged his chain, and let it melt, instead of exploding.
 He was free. Apocalypse was still close by however, and Havok was recovering.
 "A futile effort, rebel. You will now die."
 Remy saw death approaching as Apocalypse came forward. He sighed and turned towards Candra, presenting his back to Apocalypse. It was a risk, but one he had to take. He looked at Candra's chains, charging them to melting point, ignoring the footfalls getting closer behind him.
 Candra was also free. Remy hoped his gamble had worked
  "Hold Apocalypse. We'll stop you together!"
 Candra came to stand beside Remy as they faced Apocalypse.
  He considered them.
 "You were never foolish before Candra. At least not to this extent. You are both strong. It is a pity your other weaknesses have blinded you to your own strengths."

 Candra gripped his hand once.
  "We will die fighting love!"
 Remy smiled at her, coldly.
  "Yes, you will Candra."
 He then turned and ran for the door, making it explode as he neared it. He heard Candra's cry of rage and betrayal. He smiled. His vengeance on her was complete.
 Havok yelled something, but Remy heard nothing, so focused was he on the door in front. It burst open just as he reached it, and he felt heat at his back. Havok had missed. He ran forward, knocking down two Infinite guards. He looked back as he reached the corner.
 Candra backed away from Apocalypse, as Havok looked back at Apocalypse and Candra.
 "Your rebel lover has betrayed you Candra. I admire his plan. He used you as his tool. And you, in your weakness, were used as you have used so many others."
  Remy could see the anguish in Candra from here, and his heart reveled in her pain. Apocalypse's hands gripped her neck, the neck he had kissed just that morning. Candra did not resist. Apocalypse's hands snapped her neck as easily as a child's. A dull numbness spread through Remy as he stared at Candra's body, falling down, her head smacking against the floor, bouncing, and then coming to rest, her eyes twisted in pain, agony and suffering. His heart claimed victory, his soul only watched.

 A low blast brought him to his senses. Havok cursed his tearing eyes as he couldn't make out Remy through all the smoke that had risen from the door and the bodies of the now burning Infinites. Remy stared at his clenched fists, and at the dead Infinites. Had he done that?
 He shook his head, and turned and ran. As soon as he reached a stairwell he focused his power straight down, causing explosions straight down. The power came to him faster now, the flow more easily. He had gained in it's use since Sinister had last met him. He considered Candra's words. 'Ironic'… he knew where to find Sinister.

                                                   x-------------------------------------x

  Cyclops realized he had fallen into chaos the moment he landed on the ground. Sending Nightcrawler to aid those in the Hybrid had been a last moment inspiration. However, he was needed here on the ground as well. He aimed for Leland's legs, knowing that to be the easiest way to bring the gravity manipulating mutant down. His optic blast smashed into Leland's knees, with enough force to crush both knees. Leland fell to the ground with a hoarse cry of pain. As he fell Scanner turned, her eyes glittering with fury. She stopped dead as she noticed Cyclops.
 "Give it up Rook, you're no match for me."
 Before Scanner could move another step She was flung back and into the arms of Scarlet Witch, who had used her power to nullify Scanners. Before Scanner could try to fight Scarlet Witch's control, Quicksilver had punched her three times in quick succession. Scarlet Witch left her, and Scanner fell to the floor, her nose leaking blood. The entire ground around her suddenly burst open, and she was flung back, getting knocked unconscious.
  "He's out." Cyclops picked up Leland's limp hand and then dropped it. He figured the pain had knocked him out.
 Across the field of battle, Jean had begun clearing away the remaining Mutant Units, her twin attack of telepathy and telekinesis successfully impeding each unit from attacking her and Iceman. Iceman then used his power to freeze them in place, and then shatter them as they were held by Jean. He gave a quick thumbs up to Jean. The two turned their attention to Lumina who was smirking at them. Iceman looked above at the massive tube-like grid of energy that was descending upon them. Suddenly they felt themselves being pulled back. They looked down to see the very ground pulling them back.
 Lumina's eyes widened as she saw Rumik standing there, utilizing her power to save Jean and Iceman. She snarled and her grid suddenly flared up again.
 "Traitor! You'll pay for your treachery Helena!"
 Rumik looked at her pityingly.
  "Leave it Sylvia. Let go of your hatred. I was a fool for a long time. Don't be a fool."
  Lumina's face darkened, and her grid began expanding faster.
 Grimacing Rumik backed away. Lumina was almost invulnerable at this point. Rumik had only seen Lumina do something like this once before, and it had been when she killed her lovers murderer. Cyclops knew Rumik was close to Lumina, but she was closer to Psylocke. He wondered if she would kill Lumina. Any energy, even magnetic would just be absorbed by Lumina now.

 Above, Magneto and Rogue were still having trouble with the Infinites. As many as they managed to kill, more just streamed out of the transport ship. Along with the deformities, he and Rogue had been forced to stand back to back, circling warily, trying to keep away Holocausts army. Even Magneto was getting pressed, with hundreds of Infinites firing at him, it was all he could do to keep a shield up and knock them disable them one at a time. His concern for the others was also hampering his concentration. Suddenly the Infinites to the extreme left of his vision began catching fire. He turned in some surprise and saw Sunfire floating in the air, his arms spewing forth a torrent of atomic flame. The Infinites

turned to deal with the new threat, but Sunfire was already on a roll. The Infinites could not stand against the fiery energy, and every Infinites within range was instantly aflame. Magneto smiled as he saw the sudden surge of tide their way. With a booming sound he saw Storm electrocute dozens of deformities in one fell blow. With a blue nimbus surrounding her, and her eyes sparking electric blue, Magneto understood why she had once been regarded as a goddess.
 "Greetings, Magneto. I hope were in time."
 Magneto nodded.
  "We were getting things done, sugah. This'll just make it easiah," rogue winked impishly at Storm. Storm smiled too, and then suddenly did a double take, her eyes losing their glow as she took in Rogue's stomach.
 "Blessed nature! Your stomach Rogue! You mean…"
  Rogue smiled, and Storm beamed.
  "Ah gave birth to a son Ro."
  Storm was so happy the weather began to change, becoming good again. Then Storm shook her head, and her eyes began to glow again. Rogue turned to see Holocausts ship releasing hundreds of figures.
 "Damn…"
 

  Blink was getting tired. No matter where she went, Holocaust managed to sense her and shoot his bio-nuclear blasts, almost destroying her a few times. She maneuvered closer to him, so that her high energy daggers could rip away his armor. She ported around, tryin to reach him. She finally managed to get close enough to slash at his armor, porting away a small part of it. Holocaust seemed startled and then his grinning deaths head smiled.
 "Impressive girl… but you'll have to do better."
 Before Blinks eyes his armor suddenly grew back. As she stared in surprise his fist suddenly grabbed her around the waist, large enough to encompass it whole. She struggled in his grip and he threw her.
 She ported frantically and managed to arrive a few feet away from Holocaust, who turned to her and punched her, as the momentum from his throw pushed her into his fist. She screamed in pain as she felt her ribs snap and break. Holocaust laughed as she smashed into some rubble and fell groaning, her mouth trickling blood. Her eyes wide with pain and fear she stared up at Holocaust approaching her. She tried to fight or ignore the pain as Mr. Creed had taught her, but it was too much, and she felt herself blacking out.
 "NO!" The cry resounded through the air, and Blink looked up at Mr. Logan, Mr. Creed's friend, leaping for Holocaust.

 Weapon X had seen Blink fight against Holocaust, and knew that Sabretooth must be down. He knew enough about his former enemy, and his ties to the girl to know that he wouldn't let her fight Holocaust on her own. He heard her cry in pain and gritted his teeth, letting it fuel his rage. He unleashed his claws and lunged at Holocausts back, the claws on his hand plunging into Holocausts armor, even as his feet kicked the back of Holocausts legs. The son of Apocalypse yelled in anger, and suddenly Weapon X found himself staring into Holocausts eyes. Holocaust turned with sudden fury and Weapon X was knocked down. He shook his head bemusedly. Not one of his smarter plans. Holocaust was not someone to take on one on one. He ducked Holocausts punch and sliced at his armor. Weapon X was faster and more agile, but whatever damage he did to holocaust, the armor he wore and was comprised of just mended itself within seconds, much like his own healing factor.
 "Weapon X. Apocalypse would have chosen you for his Elite had you not chosen to side with the cripple Xavier. You are strong… but your weakness has overcome your strengths, and you must be purged from this world."
 Weapon X's flesh crawled every time he heard holocaust talk. Holocausts voice was like himself, an empty shell, hoarse, yet vibrant. Inhuman. Weapon X roared with pain as Holocaust finally managed to hit him.
 "Shut up ya overgrown thing." Weapon X turned towards Blink, and Sabretooth. The feral had dug his way out, and was kneeling next to Blink, his eyes gleaming with his anger. Weapon X smiled. Sabretooth roared and leapt at Holocaust, digging his claws deep into Holocausts armor, managing to find a handhold. Weapon X attacked form in front, slicing away at holocausts armor.
 Holocaust pushed Weapon X away franticly, and reached behind him and grabbed Sabretooth. Sabretooth however would not let go. Finally with a great wrench holocaust pulled him off, and slammed Sabretooth into the ground. Holocausts armor was cracked in places, and some energy seemed to release from the crack.
 "You will pay, bastard gene-trash."
 His cannon hand began glowing.
 

  Jean knew they were in trouble. Above them, Magneto, Rogue, Storm and Sunfire, arguably the strongest among them were facing off against nearly a thousand Infinites and deformed creatures. On the Hybrid, the mutant units were too close for the Hybrids defenses to engage them, and Colossus and Shadowcat had gone there as well in order to help Nightcrawler and Emma deal with them. Weapon X and Sabretooth were being beaten down by Holocaust. Cyclops, Rumik, Iceman, Psylocke, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and herself faced off against Lumina, Mutant units and three Rooks, Domino, Damask and Fatale. With only Leland and Scanner down, the others were already pressing on them. Ordinarily this would be an easy battle for the X-men, but Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were injured and fatigued form their earlier battle, and Iceman was also tiring rapidly. Psylocke was engaged with Damask, and Rumik was shifting the ground fast in order to keep Lumina's energy grid from getting close to them. Jean was holding back the mutant units, as Cyclops and Iceman took them down. Fatale was moving around as well, making sure that Quicksilver never got close enough, keeping him occupied with her dead aim, and Scarlet Witch was employing her own probability changing powers, coupled with her magical prowess to keep Domino off balance. However Domino's powers were latent, and it was only Scarlet Witch's hex bolts that kept Domino from reaching Scarlet Witch.
 Jean flung the units back, and watched as one of them, a weak telekinetic tried to resist. Smiling she created a shield around her that she could not break and crushed her instantly. As she did so she telepathically managed to confuse another long enough for Cyclops to smash him down with a charged double axe handle smash from his gauntlets.
  Suddenly she heard Sabretooth cry out in agonizing pain. She turned and saw Sabretooth falling to his knees, clutching his side. Smoke seeped through his fingers. Holocaust had scored a hit, and Sabretooth was faltering. Blink was still out, and Weapon X could not take on Holocaust alone.
  "Iceman, help Weapon X."
 Cyclops had also noticed it, and Iceman followed his orders without hesitating. He streaked down the field, his hands in front of him, letting loose a massive burst of freezing energy. Holocaust fell back, already beginning to freeze. However before he could be frozen, he let loose, his bio-nuclear blast burning away the ice in moments, and he fired at Iceman, who had already begun strafing aside.
 Suddenly Jean could feel someone else approaching. She turned and looked to the east. A blur was speeding through the sky. With her telepathy primed, she could feel the psionic power radiating from it, as well as something deeper. Someone was coming.

   Shadowcat and Colossus had set Sammael's ship on auto-pilot, and Shadowcat had phased herself and Colossus out of the ship directly above the Hybrid, as Nightcrawler teleported. Phasing through the Hybrid as well, she and Colossus had gone straight to the bridge. The pilots had everything in hand, and Know-it-all had begun targeting the mutant units attacking the Hybrid. However, they were getting too close even then, and Shadowcat calculated that some would still manage to get past the Hybrid's defenses.
 "Colossus, head for the breaches made by Holocaust. The units will enter from there." He nodded, and took off. Shadowcat turned to Know-it-all. She had once been a student of Xavier's as well, however she had integrated herself with the technology at Xavier's house and later Wundagore. After the X-men had returned to Wundagore, after their defeat at Muir Isle, she had transferred to the Hybrid.
  Shadowcat always felt a little ill at ease around her, knowing that she had once been human, or human-like at any rate.
 "Know-it-all, what's the status?"

 "Colossus has reached a breach, and awaits any units approach. Emma frost and Nightcrawler are facing off against the units attacking them. One breach remains unguarded, but no units are close enough to enter using it."

 Shadowcat nodded, and turned to follow Colossus's path. She could see what was happening on the ground, and in the air. They were being beaten down on all fronts. Hopefully she, Emma, Nightcrawler and Colossus could hold the Hybrid.
 

  Colossus had not expected any resistance from any mutant unit Know-it-all had missed. Two of them fell to his fists, but one managed to evade, and stretched his arms, grabbing him and managing to hurl him out of the breach. Moving faster than he had believed himself possible he latched onto the units leg armor and used his momentum to swing around. He smashed against the side of the Hybrid and lost his grip on the unit. His other hand immediately smashed into the armored hide of the Hybrid, managing to hold him in place. From above he heard Shadowcat cry out in alarm. Seconds later the unit came stumbling back, clutching his face. Colossus reached up and grabbed his leg, using the unit to boost himself up. He reverted to his normal form, and got a grip inside. He changed back and pulled the unit out, flinging him out of the Hybrid. He reverted again and Shadowcat helped him up. Two more mutant units barreled in then, and Shadowcat phased through him, kicking one into the other. They stumbled against the wall, and Colossus ripped out one wall and hurled it onto them. One of them ducked out of the way, but the other was smashed out of the Hybrid. The last Shadowcat phased through and then slit his throat using her small claws. She raised an eyebrow looking at the part of the wall he had ripped out, that had fallen to the floor. Colossus guessed her meaning and picked it up, ramming it into the breach, making a rudimentary sort of fixing, in order to keep any other unit out.
 "Let's go to Emma and Nightcrawler. They probably have their hands full."

 They moved quickly, on the way passing Bishop. They stared at him.
 "Who are you?" Colossus asked suspiciously.
 The man raised his hands in front of him.
  "My name is Bishop… you are different from what I remember Colossus and Shadowcat… I… I have no time to explain. Suffice it to say, I'm not your enemy, and I wish to fight those outside. I can help… Magnus will vouch for me, as will any other X-man on this ship."
 Shadowcat was still wary, but she let him go. She had no time to waste.

 Getting to the others was no problem, thought Shadowcat. In fact, they weren't really having any problems. Shadowcat and Colossus rounded the corner in time for a mutant to fly smack into Colossus. The unit fell, and her eyes widened in anger and frustration.
 "Oh, good. You caught ze one zat got away."
 Nightcrawler bamfed next to them, and then cleanly slit the units throat.
 "Any problems here?"
 Emma shook her head.
 "No, that was the last of them. However, the others are having problems."
 They rushed to the edge and looked down at the X-men. Holocaust had taken down Sabretooth and was advancing on Weapon X and Iceman who were backtracking. The mutant Bishop had reached the battlefield and was helping take down units. Something glinted in the sky. Shadowcat looked to the left. A man was flying in the air, watching the battle rage. He was too far away for her to make out his features, and a faint glow came from one of his eyes. Beside her Emma gasped.
 "Sheer power… who is he?"

Shadowcat knew she referred to the man.
 

                                                    x------------------------x

 Cyclops stared up at the sky. The man had arrived a few seconds ago, and now he watched. Cyclops burned with impatience and indecision. If only the mutant above would reveal who he was! He just watched. He seemed to be waiting. He wondered what it could be. He almost dismissed the mutant as being insane, for who but a deranged mutant would attempt to watch a raging battlefield. Holocaust had also noticed him.
 "Who? A stripling of a mutant! Is this another of your X-men Magneto? Another whelp to fight against the might of Apocalypse?!"
 Magneto could not hear him, but the boy seemed to stiffen, and then slowly turned towards Holocaust. Cyclops mind worked feverishly. Who was the kid? He seemed familiar, somehow. Holocaust settled the matter. He pointed upwards and launched the first salvo. The kid flinched and then the blast took him. Cyclops looked away. Whoever it was finished. He turned his attention back to the remaining units, when suddenly he froze.
 "This whelp isn't finished yet, monster."
 The boy was still alive. His eye still glowed with weird energy, and his hands also glowed with energy. Jean gasped next to him.
 "The energy… it's telepathic!"
 Cyclops was stunned. No one had ever survived a direct assault from Holocaust, not without at least looking singed, or injured. The kid still seemed as fresh as when he had arrived, though there was some blood on his clothes, which were also bedraggled.
 Holocaust was stupefied.
 "How… what…???"
 The kid suddenly let loose, and a massive telekinetic wave surged through the ground knocking Holocaust back. Holocaust fell to the ground and looked up.
 "I don't know what you are kid, but you're topping my list of people to kill."

 Holocaust leapt at him. The kid tried to get ready, but Holocaust knocked him down. Weapon X and Iceman ran to his aid, but the kid seemed able to handle himself. A thin beam of psionic energy slammed into Holocaust from his eye and Holocaust fell back again, stumbling. 
 "I am holocaust you sonofabitch, and I am the son of Apocalypse! I'll kill you!"
 He let loose with another blast, but the kid blocked it, with a powerful shield. The effort seemed to cost him however, as he stumbled afterwards. His hands stopped glowing for a second.
 "I don't care who you are. I killed another one of Apocalypse's lackeys, Sinister, and I will kill you!"
 Cyclops stared at him, his senses reeling. Killed Sinister? This kid was powerful… very much so.
 Holocaust also seemed to be considering him.
 Then Holocaust laughed.
  "Okay kid. Enough playing."
 The kid nodded, and then ran at him. The two met explosively, punching and trying to get a hold on the other. Finally Holocaust gained the upper hand and hurled The kid away. The kid fell on his back, hard. Holocaust aimed at him, but Weapon X knocked into him form the side, and his aim went off, scorching the ground next to the kid. The kid rolled away and stood up, standing there, and wiping his bleeding mouth. Then he smiled grimly. A sudden stream of energy came out of his head and smashed into Holocaust, knocking him down. Holocaust put his head to the top of his armor.
 "Arghh… who are you kid?"
 The kid's smile widened.

 "I'm Nate Grey, but to you, I'm the X-man who kicked your butt."
 Another stream of energy came forth and Holocaust reeled. Finally he turned and motioned to his ship. Suddenly he began de-materializing.
  "I'll see you later… kid."
 Nate fired psionic blasts at him, but Holocaust was gone. The ship thundered to life, and then it blasted off. On the ground the Rooks and mutant units looked in dismay.
 Cyclops turned to the kid, but he had fainted, Iceman supporting him. Suddenly he heard Lumina cry out in shock. Cyclops turned to see a large black mutant standing in front of Lumina, her grid being sucked in by him. His eyes widened behind his visor. Impossible! The mutant had absorbed the energy grid!
  Glowing with energy the mutant pointed his fists at Lumina, and then let loose, releasing all the energy into a force beam that slammed into Lumina. Cyclops heard Lumina cry out in anger and pain. Then the beam diminished and Lumina crumpled to the ground. The mutant also fell to his knees. Then suddenly he aimed to his left and fired again, this time his beam slamming into Domino, who slammed into debris. Rumik immediately grabbed Damask with the debris around them, which molded itself around her legs, holding her fast. She looked down in horror, and then her eyes rolled up as Psylocke managed to infiltrate her defenses.
 She sagged back and a trickle of blood fell from her nose. Without her shields Psylocke had probably terminated her easily.
 Above them the Infinites were still firing at Magneto, Storm, Sunfire and Rogue, but their momentary panic when Holocaust left had cost them dearly. From the ground Iceman began shooting small ice daggers upwards, impaling Infinites. Cyclops stared in disgust at the deformities and begun shooting his blats at them.
 Fatale realized she was on the losing side and panicked, turning to run away. Before she took a step, Quicksilver had punched her, sending her flying. Before she hit the ground Scarlet Witch tore up the ground with a powerful bolt, sending Fatale spinning. As she fell her face was tilted at an odd angle, her neck broken.
 Cyclops shook his head as The Infinites and deformities above them dwindled. They had actually won, without any casualties.
 

                                                  x--------------------------------x

 Remy moved quietly. His mind was functioning at a rapid pace, his senses more acute than normal. Adrenaline he supposed. A rush he hadn't felt for a long time. Even while fighting Deathbird, it had only been Belladonna that had made him kill her, even under Apocalypse's gaze Remy had thought only of Bella. Rogue… Remy shook his head. He had also thought of Rogue; he had remembered the first time she had told him of her new found ability to control her powers. Of course it was to a limited extent. There was still much she could still not do. If she was unconscious her powers could slip, making her again dangerous to touch. Of course, the others had been overjoyed, especially Magnus. Erik… Remy shook his head. They had all betrayed him. Even his beautiful windrider. Stormy… his pet name for her. Ororo, the woman who had been like his sister. If only he had not been so platonic towards her, she would have been perfect for him. Beautiful, calm, with a generous and loving nature, yet with a fun loving streak. Ororo was also a thief, which made them colleagues in a way, and able to understand each other far better than others. Of course, Rogue had also understood him. So had Bella. So had Erik. Yet to a lesser extent. He thought of his team. Sarah… the young child who he had rescued, and who looked up to him as her elder brother. Gavin… young, hot tempered, naïve in many ways. Raven. She had never really been a part of the team. She had joined as a matter of convenience. Her heart had always lain in Avalon. Betsy, the fiery British woman. A former X-woman, and one who had joined with him. Although, now that he thought about it, Betsy had never been very friendly with the others. She had been his lover for a while, but it had not worked out. She had her friend though, Helena. Ororo… again, the leading member of his team, and the tactical brains behind his operation. While Remy led in name, Ororo led on the field. Much like the X-men, with Xavier leading from behind the scenes, while Erik led on the field.
 Remy again shook his head. His team members were now dead. They too had betrayed him. They too had kept secrets from him. All of them. He clenched his fists. He had to calm down. He had stripped himself of this. He took a deep breath, and then let it out softly. He shook his head. A momentary aberration. He was fine. He sneaked along the passageways again. He knew where he was going. He picked his way the lower levels, where the prisoners were stored. Containment cells. He remembered coming through here, eager to rescue Betsy. That hadn't gone too well. They had rescued Betsy, but lost Jean, who they had later recovered in a mass assault, which they had also lost. It was there that he had faced Sinister and Candra again. He smiled slightly. Candra… he had avenged himself from her. Now only Sinister was left.
 He was at a junction. He looked left and then right. No guards. He moved slowly. He remembered the last time he had snuck out of here, Nate Grey at his side. Heh… the kid had been damnably powerful. Sinister had created him… Remy wondered what had happened to the kid for a second and then put it out of his mind.
 He was close now. The storage room was ahead. No guards again… this was sloppy. He heard movement to his right. He looked up and saw a camera. It was focusing another way, but would soon turn to him. He had a second, a window. He judged it, looking around carefully. Motion sensors were in place. Good enough. He could handle them. He moved quickly, and the at the last second before reaching the storage room wreckage he leaped, clearing any and all debris on the ground, landing a few feet away. He held his breath for a second. Nothing. Maybe he was just paranoid. A few feet ahead he saw the ladder that had once led down to the catacombs. Now it was a big hole in the ground, with rocks and mud all around. He was right. Sinister had access to the Tower. He was in the catacombs. He was in Bella's grotto. He smiled staring down at the boot prints. Sinister was his. He felt no anger that Sinister had once again desecrated Bella's grotto. Only a grim sense of coming around. Justice. A fitting end for Sinister to die in Bella's grotto.
 

                                              x-------------------------------x

 Jean looked down at the young man lying on the bed. His brown hair fell across his forehead, a single white lock slightly apart from the rest, falling into his nose, making it twitch. Feeling a sudden tenderness she brushed it away. The boy was young, maybe a bit over half her age? He couldn't be out of his teens. How powerful was he? The psionic might he had unleashed in fighting against Holocaust had been more than impressive. No one had ever taken down Holocaust so conclusively. After Magneto had torn his body apart, he had returned in this form, stronger than before it seemed, with near invulnerability as well as armor that was an extension of his energy, shaping itself around him. This boy had defeated him, and if what he said was true, killed Sinister as well. Definitely someone to take notice of.
 There was something else about him as well. Quite apart from the telepathy she sensed something else about him. His face was familiar, but there was something more. She resisted the urge to stroke his head. She shook her head. The boy brought out tender feelings in her, completely platonic, and she didn't know why.
 "Hey, Jean. Didn' notice you come in here."
 Jean looked up at Sean coming out of the other room he had been in. She smiled and hugged him. When she had learned of his grievous injuries fighting Plague she had been saddened. Sean had been a close friend for a long time. He moved back, and smiled at her.
 "It's right fine to see ye Jeannie-girl. Now… how long've ye been back, an' what happened?" His face darkened, "Especially to Rogue?"
 Jean smiled.
 "Rogue is fine, Sean. She gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. Plague is dead, as is Death. We killed him in the Sea Wall. The Sea Wall is also down." Jean smiled as she said so, remembering Rogue and Erik's face when Rogue told her and the others about her pregnancy.
 Sean smiled again.
 "Excellent news, Jean. For a while I had given up hope that Rogue had survived. What happened at the Sea Wall?"

 Jean shook her head, "it's a long story Sean, and I'll tell you later. Now, if you're up to it, we should go to the meeting room. I was just supposed to place Nate here, making sure he's fine and then go to the meeting room. There's much to discuss."
 Sean looked at the kid, "who is he?"

 Jean shook her head, "I don't know Sean. No one knows, he just appeared suddenly and helped us defeat Holocaust's army, taking the big man down himself."
 Sean's eyebrows raised and he looked at Nate with some respect.
 "Come on, let's go. I'll sign you out of the infirmary."
 

  Magnus looked around the room at the assembled X-men. Despite some setbacks, everything had gone to plan. They had stopped the cullings, stopped Death from devastating the Human High Council, taken out the Sea Wall, and killed two more horsemen. Apocalypse was down to one horseman and his other lieutenants, Exodus, Candra and Holocaust. It was time to strike, hard and fast. He looked to the side at his wife Rogue. She gently touched his shoulder. His gaze swept across the room, seeing all of his X-men assembled. Even Creed, still walking a little gingerly from the injuries he had incurred fighting Holocaust. Blink stood by him, watching carefully, a hand held to her injured ribs. The de-tox tanks on Sammaels ship had come in handy for her, healing her marginally. Bones weren't mended so easily. Warren was much better, still not able to fly as well as before, but at least on par with him, Rogue, Storm or Sunfire. Even Sean was back, his injuries almost gone, his life energy returning to him slowly. Caution urged him to relax for a while, rest and recuperate. They didn't have time however. They needed to strike now, and quickly. He had said as much, receiving complete approval. All of them were primed right now. The next question was how. He pondered that, when Ororo broke the silence.
  "Erik… we can still use the catacombs. There is still a way to enter the Tower form there, and if not, any blockades can be easily put down."
 Magnus looked at her, an eyebrow raised, his sign to tell her to continue.
  "We all know where they are, and any Infinites we meet can be easily dealt with, especially with the aid of both ships. Already our back-up pilots for this ship can handle it with ease, and it has excellent armaments. With the aid of this young man, Nate, we can easily break in."
 Magnus nodded.
 "Yes… it is a good plan… but can we trust the young man?"
 Jean spoke up then, "Yes." The others looked at her in some surprise, including Scott.
  "We can trust him… I don't know why, but we can. I can sense it…"
 Magnus nodded.
 "Your instinct proved to be correct before Jean," Magnus nodded at Scott, who acknowledged with a slight nod, "so we'll trust the young man… to a small extent. He is amazingly powerful, and we would be hard pressed to take him on as well as all of Apocalypse's armies."
 Scott spoke then, "the containment cells are located right there. We can free the prisoners, who will run wild. The distraction should gain us some extra leverage."

 Magnus looked at him, "The prisoners will be killed… the guards won't hesitate to kill them."

  Scott nodded, "yes… but most of them will be pitiable souls, twisted so much by Dark Beast in his experimentation that killing them would be a mercy. I have seen it long enough. Without Sinister's restraining hand the Dark Beast would be free to do as he willed. Apocalypse had no care for any prisoners, and the externals only passing. Except Sinister. He believed they could be of some use."

 Magnus nodded again.
 "I see… in that case you may be right. However we'll judge it when we get there. We are not cold blooded killers Cyclops."

 Jean looked at him in some annoyance and Magnus shook his head slightly, telling Jean with a simple look that he was not picking out Scott. He smiled inwardly. She could be damnably protective.
 "Then it is decided. We travel immediately. We should be close to Bella's grotto in about an hour traveling on Sammaels ship. The Hybrid will remain out of range of the Towers more powerful sensors. Sammaels ship should not cause too much excitement unless it is seen by those who know Sammael is dead. Come X-men… we leave now. We'll divide into two teams once we get there."

 The X-men moved out, beginning to get ready for the final battle, the one they had been awaiting a long time.

                                         x---------------------------x

  Remy stared down at the passageway that led to Bella's grotto. It was fairly dark, much darker than he had remembered. The coating on the walls wasn't glowing so much anymore. He looked at a rock, wondering whether to charge it to give light or not. If Sinister was down here, he would immediately sense it. On the other hand, without the light Remy was nearly blinded in the dark. Sinister wasn't. Remy had good reason to know of Sinister's abilities, and he was fairly certain that Sinister would know if he attempted an overt attack. He knew what he needed to do. For a second he felt rage strike him so swiftly he could barely hold it in. After so long, the moment of his revenge was nearly there.
 He moved quickly, making certain not to make any noise. He knew these catacombs like the back of his hand, and while Sinister may have been here for some time, he did not know them quite as well. He moved back a bit, and headed into a tunnel to the right.

                                             x-----------------------------x

 The teams had been split up as soon as they reached the grotto. One team was to stay behind, acting as reconnaissance in case of any mishap, while another would go first, as a scouting party. The scouting party was easy to determine. Anyone who knew the tunnels, as well as who would prove to be beneficial in the darkness. The team was spearheaded by Ororo and Rogue, the ones who knew the grotto best, following whom were Kurt, Kitty, Jean, Scott, Logan, Creed and Clarice. The others had remained behind, with Emma and Betsy keeping the teams in constant contact.
 Scott moved warily through the deserted ruins of outer New Orleans. The wanton destruction had been partially caused by him. Of course, it had been necessary then, but Scott still felt guilty. He sighed softly. He kept his emotions shielded, making certain Jean didn't feel it. She'd just get annoyed. While at first she had been comforting when he had been self-pitying, now she was prone to smack him over the head. And not too lightly either. She had stayed close to him since the incident in the ship. He looked over at Logan. The two would never be friends, Scott knew that, but he respected the man, and felt for him in some ways. He had been swimming through a sea of grief and just needed some support. For Logan to ask for it would be more difficult than anything else. They were alike in that way he supposed. To have overcome that and actually set things straight between Scott and Jean was something that had markedly increased Scott's respect for him. Even so, they had too many issues between them. Scott had blown off his hand and in effect stolen his lover from him. Although Logan had given him grief as well, Scott knew that his debt to Logan was perhaps greater. He didn't particularly like that.
 He shook his head. Plenty of time to gather wool later. Right now he needed to prepare himself for a conflict. Perhaps the biggest ever. He darted his head left and right. His visor gave him the ability to detect movement much faster and more clearly than anyone else, except perhaps Warren, Logan and Creed, although his eyesight worked just as well in the dark as well. Trajectories, distances, geometric space… judging things like that came easily to him.
  They had stopped, and Scott saw Rogue by a building, doing something.

                                     x-----------------------------------------x

 A myriad of emotions went through Rogue as she searched for the right brick. She remembered the first time Remy had brought her here. He had wanted to show her the final resting place of his one time love, Belladonna, and the woman who had shaped so much of his life. Rogue had been jealous originally, but once she had entered had been to amazed to be jealous. In the middle of all the death and nothingness, flourished life. Bella's grotto as Remy had called it was beautiful. At times Rogue wished she could have a tomb so beautiful. It had been peaceful. She wondered where Remy was now, if he was alive or still in Candra's clutches. She had told no one else that he might still be alive. She still loved him, although Magnus had claimed her heart as his own. She could sense Ororo's suffering behind her. She gripped her hand, and the African goddess gripped it tightly, given her a small smile. Remy had been a brother to Ororo, and Rogue hoped she would not break down. Ororo believed him dead, Rogue knew that. She didn't want to give Ororo false hope, and had not said a word about what she thought was true. That Remy was still alive, in Candra's hands… suffering.
 The secret door opened, and Rogue turned her gaze to the room ahead of her. The X-men behind her gasped as they saw the room. Even those who had be here before were surprised. After the emptiness behind them, the grotto seemed a haven. Rogue entered, an immediately felt peace course through her. This was the outer part however. Bella's grave was further ahead.
 "We gotta go further on. The entrance to the catacombs is in the next room, along with Bella's grave."

 Ororo nodded.
"We must be careful however, once we reach the catacombs. There is not telling what security measures have been put in since the last time we attacked. Take your fill of peace here. You will not find a place so beautiful anywhere else in this world. And we must be prepared for the fight ahead. Once we reach the tunnels, we will contact the other team. The door will remain open now."
 They stopped for a second, and then moved forward. Rogue looked at all of them, and saw Jean frowning. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Creed stiffen.
 "There's something fishy about this place…"
 Creed was almost growling, and the hackles at the back of his neck were raised. Surprisingly Logan didn't sense anything.
 "You sure bub? I don't feel nothin."
 Creed growled.
 "There's something here…"
 Rogue looked at Ororo, who shrugged.
 "Let's jus' go on. We'll see what's up after we reach the tunnels. Let's jus' be prepared for anythin' though."

Ororo nodded. Rogue took a deep breath.
 "Jean… you sense anything?"
 Jean stared at the door, frowning, and then slowly shook her head.
 "No… at least I don't think so. Something's wrong here. I'm not sure what… I'll need to concentrate fully on this…nothing… Just for an instant… I sensed something… something familiar."
 Rogue shook her head in frustration.
 "Let's just fohget it. All of us just betah be careful."
 She walked to the door that led to Belladonna's burial chamber. She took a deep breath, and then opened the door.
 The inside was the same as always. Even more beautiful than the outside area, a small pond… Rogue did a double take. The pond was dry. She looked around. The beauty only spread till a certain point. The area around Bella's grave was not as green as before. Dirt covered the angel, which lay on the ground a few feet away. The small hole and ladder leading down had been opened up, opened into a much larger hole, almost perfectly round. One wall which had been covered with moss and wines had been opened up, stairs leading down to the hole where the angel had been.
 "By the goddess….."
 Ororo rushed in staring around in shock and anger. The X-men who had been here before were also staring in consternation.
 "Who? Who could have done this!"
 Ororo's anger was almost palpable. A sudden humming turned them all towards the now dry pool. Something was coming.
 Rogue could feel her heart beat louder.
 She got into a ready stance. Behind her Ororo had taken to the air. The pool's bed… expanded, and then swirled to open up, a small layer of dirt and mud falling into the hole made. Rogue could see the semblance of a figure now. Black hair, falling down to the shoulders, chest covered in red armor, flickering tendrils hanging behind the powerful body. Glowing red eyes, with a ruby diamond inscribed in the forehead.
 "Sinister!" The hatred in the word conveyed all that Rogue felt at the moment. Contempt, hatred, rage… overpowering fury. She clenched her fists.
 The immaculate face smiled slightly. He spoke, a clear, resonant voice, spoken with a slight British accent, almost imperceptible. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Scott stare stupefied.

"Welcome, X-men."

 "Ah don't know what all you've done here… but you're gonna die. For what you've done before, for what you did to Remy, for what you did here." Rogue was shivering with anger.
 He smiled again. She heard a snarl and then Logan and Creed were streaking towards him, Kurt already bamfing above him. He couldn't face all of them.
 As they fell on the figure, it flickered, and they fell into the mud, Kurt almost falling down into the hole.
 "What?"
 She heard footsteps behind her, and groaned softly. She had fallen for the oldest trick in the book.
 "Pitiful… I expected something more clever. Especially from you Scott. I took great pains to train you all these years. Apparently it was all wasted."
 They all turned to see him standing at the head of the stairs leading down into the hole where the angel's statue had once been.
 A hologram….
 Suddenly in whipping motions thin metallic arms sprang from the walls and grabbed them. They all tired to avoid it, Ororo taking flight, Rogue trying to power out, Kitty phasing, Logan and Creed slashing, Kurt and Clarice teleporting. Scott and Jean knocked the arms out of the air, but they were having no more success than the others. Slowly the arms pushed them together. Kurt managed to get free, but a well timed blast from Sinister knocked him flat.
 "Don't be too hasty mister Wagner. Thing carefully, judge, and then act, calculating everything necessary before blindly using your powers."
 Kitty phased out of the way of one and ran to Sinister, dropping to the ground, and phasing down just as a claw swiped at her. Logan and Creed also got free and attacked him. Sinister actually let them attack, standing there with the same sardonic smile on his face.
 "Come now… surely genetic perfections such as you two will manage to defeat me?"
 But no matter how much Logan and Creed slashed and clawed at him, Sinister's body actually gelled together faster than they could hurt him. Finally Sinister managed to knock Creed back, the larger mutant smacking into the wall with a grunt. Logan managed to evade Sinister for a few more minutes, but Sinister finally managed to knock him back as well.
 Kitty emerged from behind him, but he was ready, suddenly merging backwards into the very air, emerging a few feet away. Kitty gaped, as Sinister sent a concussive blast her way as well, knocking her down.
 Scott sent three blasts his way, but Sinister dodged them all, keeping a running commentary degrading them. Rogue snapped and smashed through another arm threatening to pin her down.
 "Jean! Call Erik and the othah's!"
 She flew at Sinister, knocking him back. Sinister sailed into the wall, hitting it with a smack, falling to the floor. Almost immediately however he was back up on his feet, almost flowing up.

"I've tried Rogue! I can't get through!" Jean sounded extremely agitated.
 Ororo sped for him, thunder in her eyes, but suddenly she was displaced, and ran headlong into a recovering Creed. Jean attempted to hold him in a telekinetic grip, but he seemed to shrug it off almost contemptuously. Rogue again flew at him, powering up another punch.
Sinister again displaced himself, standing at the far end of the room from them. Right next to Clarice.
 "Hello dear child… I hear you took on Holocaust. Very brave of you."
 She stared up at him her eyes wide with fear. A sudden concussive shock and she flew across the room, falling to the floor in a heap. Rogue felt another bolt of anger shoot through her. Clarice was just a child… She heard Creed roaring.
 Scott was trying to knock him down using his optic blasts, but Sinister was managing to evade each one, and those he couldn't move out of the way of… his body simply opened a space to allow the blast to pass through.
 "I am not fond of repeating myself…but this effort is almost not worth my effort. It appears that neither Magnus nor Charles taught you how to use your surroundings, and your other abilities, your bare hands and natural skills, other than your mutant powers. Come, let us make this fight more interesting."
 Suddenly hundreds of claws and arms came out of the walls and ceiling, weapons of all sorts aiming at them. Suddenly it was all the X-men could do to avoid the various armaments that were attacking them. Rogue hoped Erik was coming soon. If Sinister had any other tricks up his sleeve, things were looking bleak for them. In the extremely confined space Ororo could not use her powers to any great extent, and Rogue was hampered by the lack of space as well. Sinister was not as powerful as a horseman, but he was crafty, and he had been prepared for them. She gritted her teeth and fought on.

                                              x---------------------------x

 At first Remy had not been able to believe his eyes. Then rage had overpowered everything. The grotto had been desecrated. Sinister had destroyed Bella's gravesite. Remy still remembered how he had searched for her body, and upon finding it had taken it to the one place he could be sure would be safe from anything else. It had been a place where he had been frequently. A small store, operated by the Guilds jointly, in order to provide a safe access to the catacombs below the sewers of New Orleans. He had ducked in, and sheltered with Bella's body for the few days that New Orleans had been overrun. After spending three interminable nights, nights filled with ghosts of his past, especially Bella, he had finally gone above to find New Orleans a massive graveyard. He had hid from any patrols, and scouted the area. He had converted an entire storeroom in the shop into a garden, burying Belladonna in it. He had found an angel, still marvelously unscathed and erected it above the grave.
 Over the years he had tended the grotto, making it more and more beautiful, keeping the entrance to the catacombs hidden beneath the angel statue. Even later, while working as an Uber-leutnant, he had made sure to tend the grotto as much as he could. He had kept it in pristine condition. It had been his homage to Belladonna. His remembrance of her.
 Seeing what Sinister had done to it struck Remy senseless with rage. His fists clenched in overwhelming fury. Around him he could feel the charge of several different objects. He had never felt as powerful in his life. Or as angry. Sinister would pay with pounds of blood before he was through.
 He moved slowly and softly, making no noise. He wondered why Sinister had not sensed him yet. He looked around the laboratory carefully. Sinister seemed to have made himself at home. Remy smiled coldly. He would probably have not needed to go through the containment area. For this sort of equipment, Sinister would have needed direct access to his lab in the Tower. And there would have been a way to get from his lab to this place. He watched from his hiding place, wondering when Sinister would appear. The catacombs were right next to another of the thieves guilds personal tunnels, small winding, interconnected caves that led to different points in the catacombs. One of them led to a place directly below Bella's grotto, and another led to the grotto itself. However for some reason that one was now blocked with steel. Remy guessed that Sinister had made some changes to the walls of the grotto. Sweat dropped in front of his eyes, and Remy realized he had been in this position for over half an hour. He shifted his cramped muscles and decided to take another look at the grotto area. Maybe there was something he missed there.
 He was only a few feet away form it when he realized something was going on. He could hear sounds of a battle. Rage again clouded his thoughts. A battle… ? It was bad enough that Sinister had desecrated the grotto, but now this!
 Almost literally seeing red, Remy got ready to destroy the wall in front of him. The grotto was in bad enough shape. Then he heard a piercing cry of anger, and he froze. He knew that sound. Rogue. Sudden emotion welled up in his throat, but then he forced it down.
 First and last?
 Ah… Ah don't love ya anymore.  Ah've found someone else

 Erik… Magneto.
He clenched his fist.
 She's pregnant.
His jaw tautened. He heard cries of alarm and anger, from the X-men, and Sinister's mocking commentary. Deliberately he turned his back on them. Let them weaken Sinister for him. Once they were dead, and Sinister thought himself victorious, he would strike. Finish him. Once and for all.

 A thought popped into his head.
 * What then Remy? Once everyone is dead, what will you do? *
 He shut the thought away, but it seemed the thought had now become a voice, endlessly needling him.
 * What then, Remy? What will you do then? Once all your enemies are dead, once all those who you swore vengeance against are dead… what then? *
 "Shut up!" He swore under his breath.
 * And if I do… shut up I mean? Will you continue down this path? Killing, taking your revenge… it is a hollow prize Remy. You will never feel complete. *
 "What d' you know? What's dere for me alive? De X-men… HA, they don' want no part of me. Dey've betrayed one time too many. My team? No'ting. I got no'ting. Just my revenge. A promise to Bella. An' no voice in my head gonna stop me."

 The voice seemed to shut up after that. Remy smiled and continued, heeding none of the shouts and anger swirling behind the steel wall. Once Sinister was done he'd kill him.

                                   x-----------------------------------x

 Cyclops tugged ineffectually at the bonds that imprisoned him. Sinister had laid a trap for them, and all of them had been caught. Somehow Jean wasn't able to contact the others. Apparently Sinister was blocking her telepathically. Cyclops was surprised at that. A little. Sinister had never claimed to be telepathic. Then again, he hadn't always told Cyclops everything anyway. The only good thing was that Emma and Psylocke would have noticed, and would be coming, along with a sizeable part of the others, preferably the whole team.
 Rogue had yelled insults at Sinister till she had gone hoarse. Storm had contented herself with giving him baleful looks. Sinister was watching the bodies of Nightcrawler and Shadowcat, musing on what to do with them apparently. None of his bonds would hold them. Cyclops was fairly certain he would kill them when he was done.
 'Scott?'

Cyclops jerked slightly. Jean was contacting him? How?
 'Relax… I don't think he can block this easily. I can't attack him telepathically, and he seems to shrug off any telekinetic ones. Still, there's one thing I can do. Can you break free of your bonds?'
Scott shook his head.
 'If I had more power, maybe. But I'm at low levels right now.'

Jean smiled suddenly.
 'And if I tweak them a little?'
'That would work. But how?'

'Hush, and get ready.'
 Cyclops waited. Almost at once he felt a sudden surge in his power.
 "What the-?"
 'Now Scott! I can't keep this up forever. Free yourself!'
Cyclops found himself nearly reeling with power. He broke through his bonds easily, just as Sinister turned around in shock.
 "Surprised father?"
 He shot at Sinister, and a blast hit him on his side. Howling with agony he bent double. Cyclops was a bit surprised at the result, and smiled grimly.
 "Where's your bluff now Sinister?"

 Sinister looked at him angrily. Cyclops shot again, using his gauntlets as well, but Sinister was prepared, dodging them and moving forward. Cyclops judged the fight in microseconds, still firing. He would have no chance against Sinister if he got close enough. Sinister was much stronger and faster than him, and probably as well trained. He wasn't giving him enough time to teleport or fire his own concussive blasts, but Sinister was dodging every blast, and the first one was already healing. He judged all this, and formulated a quick plan, that could very well end in disaster.
 "I taught you well boy, but not well enough it seems. You got in a good first shot, but you've lost any advantage you had now, and I am far more powerful than you."
 Cyclops backed away slowly, and then moved forward as well, still firing, but only from his visor, short bursts of energy that Sinister managed to dodge completely.
 As he they closed, Cyclops swung with all his might. Sinister dodged the punch as well, and laughed. His hand reached out and grabbed Cyclops by the neck.
 "A nice effort, but wasted. I must commend Ms. Grey on her initiative. It gives me no pleasure in doing this Scott."
 His voice changed at the end, becoming more like that when he was young, more kindly, as well as becoming more regretful as well. It almost cost Cyclops, who hesitated. But apparently Sinister also hesitated. And the instant gave Cyclops enough time to recover.
 "I do however, take pleasure in this Sinister."
 the movements had taken very little time, and Cyclops let loose. His hands, now pointed behind him cleaved through Rogue and Creeds bonds, setting them free. Creed quickly set Clarice and Logan free, and then they used the Adamantium in their bodies and tore apart the bonds holding the rest.
 Before Sinister could crush his larynx, Jean intervened, pulling Sinister's hand off Cyclops's neck.
 "I won't let you kill him, Sinister."
Sinister pushed off the attack, but he was distracted by the others heading for him. Sinister blinked once, and then Cyclops noticed small particles of light around him, and his tendril-cape flicker faster. Before Sinister could do anything, Cyclops grabbed his arms. Sinister looked down in surprise, and then both of them were enveloped in energy. Cyclops felt a thundering sound in his ears, and then a wrenching feeling in him. Then he fell to the ground, and felt a heavy boot strike him in the chest, and stumble over him. The grotto had disappeared, and he was in some dark cave. Sinister had stumbled over him, and even now moved to stand up. Cyclops barely had an instant to get up and orient himself to his new surroundings when Sinister began attacking him. Concussive blasts rained down on him, and he dodged frantically. Suddenly the blasts stopped, and Sinister waited for him to notice. Cyclops stood back a little, warily eyeing the room and Sinister. Something was up.
 "This is no way to finish you, Scott. I will finish you with my bare hands. For your betrayal, and the damage you did to my plans. I always considered you to be my true son Scott. Alex was always too impulsive, always too rash. He was wasteful, and quick to act without thinking. In many ways you were so unalike that I wondered how you could be brothers. I will regret this, but it is a necessity now."
 He began moving forward, and Cyclops shifted his stance, watching Sinister's movements, trying to anticipate his actions. He shouldn't have bothered. In the blink of an eye Sinister was upon him, and Cyclops desperately warded off his attacks; attacks that grew faster and more brutal, until Cyclops was reeling before the attack. A fist crashed into his stomach, another into his cheek, and he felt blood gathering in his mouth. A foot nearly crushed his ribs, and another fist numbed his shoulder.
 Finally an uppercut sent Cyclops backwards into the wall of the cave.
 "Put up some fight Cyclops. This is too easy…"
 Cyclops gritted his teeth, and the coppery taste in his mouth suddenly spurred him on. He let loose suddenly, and his fist crashed into the side of Sinister's face. The face distorted, and the neck flowed back with the impact. Then it flowed back, and Sinister watched him impassively.
 "A worthy effort. You are as tenacious as your son."
 Cyclops was about to let loose again when Sinister spoke, and he froze.
 "My what?"
 Sinister chuckled.
  "I did you very great favor Cyclops. I procreated for you and Miss Grey. Your son is a fine boy, getting on in his teen years. As I recall he gave me quite a beating as well, but not enough to kill me. I have a special reason for having made him. You see, he was the only being with enough power to take on Apocalypse, but only when trained properly, and when older. He already has a white lock on his forehead due to the stress he has been under. Premature, but not unexpected."
 Cyclops still remained frozen.
  "Nate? You mean… Nate! He's my son? Mine and Jean's… how?"
 Sinister laughed.
 "I thought it rather clever. Naming him after his grandfather."
 Sudden rage coursed through Cyclops's veins. He remembered Jean telling him how she wanted kids, how she had once dreamed of having a child of her own. Cyclops had never thought about it before then, and had not given it much thought then, telling Jean that to bring a child into this world was madness. But now… now he thought of Jean, about having children, about how this… demon in front of him had used him.
 With a cry borne of bitter anger and hatred he swung at the face before him. This time Sinister's neck didn't just flow back, but his entire body arced backwards, and he fell against the other wall. Cyclops gauntlet glowed angrily. He stood with little difficulty and stared at Sinister, the man he had respected and admired for most of his life. The last year had really opened his eyes. And he had Jean to thank for that. For what Sinister had done to him, and to Jean… he would die.
 He moved forward, his gauntlets glowing.

 Sinister stood, his eyes widening slightly in shock. Cyclops was surprised to see blood dripping from his nose.
 "Surprisingly powerful."
 Cyclops closed with him and swung again, but this time Sinister was ready, and he dodged the blow and struck himself, sending Cyclops staggering. His other hands reached out and grabbed at the tube connecting his left gauntlet to his visor and head. With a sudden pull the tube was ripped out of his gauntlet and head. With a cry of agony Cyclops fell to his knees. The pain in his head was intense, and his left arm burned.
  "I gave this weapon to you Scott. It is time to take them away. The pain will be worse than when I first fitted them, and what I will do to you after that will make this seem pleasant."
 His other hand grabbed at the other tube, but before he could get a grip Cyclops moved back, and shot at him with the last of his energy. Sinister grunted as he fell back again, this time the front of his body looking battered, and not remolding itself immediately as it had done so before.
 Cyclops fell forward, his vision blurring and then blackening.

                                               x-----------------------------------x

 Jean's eyes widened as she saw Cyclops grab Sinister, and then they both disappeared.
 "What the hell? Where did they go?" Weapon X snarled.
 Jean could feel Cyclops still. He was below them and to the right. She could find him easily.
 "I know where he is. I can feel him. He's below us, probably somewhere in Sinister's inner sanctum."
 She paused. Her telepathy was working fine again. She put her fingers to her head and sent a message to Magneto's team.
 * Emma, this is Jean. *
 Emma replied immediately.
 * Jean! What happened? You disappeared for a while. Magneto was so worried he's taken us all towards the grotto. Psylocke is leading the way. What happened? *
 Jean sighed. Well, she supposed the scouting team had done what was needed, and they could go in as a whole team.
 * We ran into some trouble. Still having some. Sinister captured Cyclops, and we're going after them. We'll finish Sinister once and for all. Get here quick. *
 Jean cut off the communication, and turned to Rogue.
 "The others are coming. Let's go. We need to find Sinister and Scott. Scott is no match for Sinister one on one." With that she began running towards the steps leading down into Sinister's inner sanctum.

                                        x----------------------------------x

 Remy watched as Sinister fought against Cyclops. He wondered how well Cyclops would fare against Sinister. So far Sinister had him running from concussive blasts. Then he stopped. Remy wondered what was going on. Was Sinister stopping out of affection? Candra had told him how the two had shared a father-son relationship. Then Sinister spoke, and Remy chuckled humorlessly. How stupid of him. Sinister wasn't the sentimental type. He watched as Sinister beat Cyclops till the ex- High Prelate fell against the wall. Sinister spoke again and Remy had to give Cyclops some points for his reply. However Sinister didn't seemed fazed by it. His reply completely stunned Cyclops. Remy could tell form the way Cyclops stood… as well as form the waves of shock that rolled off him. So… apparently Sinister had tracked down Nate. And it seemed the kid had actually beaten Sinister. Remy smiled a little at that. He had liked the boy. He was one of the few people in his life that had not betrayed him in some way or another. He shook his head. He had to keep his mind on the fight in front of him. He had to be ready for the right time to attack Sinister. Cyclops's next attack surprised not only Sinister but Remy as well. He had never seen that happen to Sinister before. Sinister stood with some difficulty, but less than Cyclops. Cyclops moved forward and attacked again, but Sinister dodged and then tore one of the tubes connecting one of his gauntlets to his head. Cyclops yelled with agony, and Remy winced. That had to hurt.
  Again Remy found himself giving Cyclops points, if only for sheer stubbornness. Apparently the attack was a last-ditch type of maneuver, for Cyclops fell forward after it. Sinister stumbled back, and Remy could make out his whole face. He was bleeding. Remy had never seen that happen either, and he knew this was the time to attack. Before Sinister could do anything he moved forward, and launched himself into the air.
 "Sinister!"
 He yelled, letting his hatred pour out into the cry. As Sinister turned in surprise his foot connected with his shoulder. Sinister was knocked to the side, and he bit off an oath as he fell. Remy wasn't done yet, and he quickly pulled out small metal slivers he had secreted.

 He charged them quickly and let loose, hitting Sinister in rapid succession. Sinister had no time to dodge.
 "Sinister… f'r what you did t' Bella… t' me, and t' dis place… I'm going to kill you. I've waited t' kill you f'r a long time now."
 Sinister's surprise changed to wicked delight.
 "Ah… Lebeau. I was wondering if I would ever get my hands on you again."
 Remy smiled as well.
 "Non… I got mine on you, diable."
 He grabbed Sinister and began charging. Sinister's eyes widened, and he pushed Remy away forcibly. Remy staggered back, but the deed was done, and he rubbed his finger together.
 "No!"

 Sinister barely had to time to cry out before a series of small explosions took place all over the front of his body. Remy shielded his eyes, and waited for the dust and smoke to clear.

 Suddenly a hand came out, followed by a shoulder, and then the rest of Sinister's horribly mangled body appeared. His armor was almost completely gone, his tendril-cape flickering and fluttering as though possessed. His eyes were glowing blindingly red, and the diamond on his head even more so. His teeth were bared in a rictus of anger. His other hand sprang forward, and his fist caught Remy hard. He fell back, his body smashing against the wall. He felt a rib crack. Then Sinister was above him.
 "You damned fool. Did you think you could defeat me?"
 He grabbed Remy and lifted him in the air.
 "I could crush you."
 Remy smiled with some difficulty.
 "Remy!" The horrified and shocked cry caused them both to turn.
 Rogue stood there, standing behind Jean and Weapon X, and behind her was Storm, Sabretooth…? And another girl he didn't recognize.
 "De gangs all here, Sinister…"
 He sounded smug, but inside Remy was cursing the X-men. Sinister was his. They would ruin his plan.
 * they'll be killed… do you want them to die? *
 He replied to the voice again;
 * I don' care. Let dem die. Dey only betrayed me… *

* So… Rogue betrayed you. Fine… but Ororo? What about Ro? Stormy? *
 

 Unbidden images of Ororo sprung to mind, the way she laughed at a joke he had told her, the way she had always been loyal to him. No… she had betrayed him… no… she had been a good friend, a sister to him. The one woman he was always comfortable with. His only true family. And Rogue… He had loved her… with every fiber of his being. She had left him… hurt him… but at least she was happy. What right did he have to hurt her…? Precious few people found happiness in this world. She had a child now… A child that should have been his!!! No…. it didn't matter. The child was an innocent, and it needed its mother. He couldn't remember his own mother… had he ever known her? He remembered now the anguish of his younger years, and the joy at finally finding a family. He hadn't been trusted there either… and later… he hadn't been trusted in the X-men. No… he always kept the X-men at arms length. Did he like what he had become? Cold-blooded. Hard. A killer. Suddenly Remy saw Belladonna's face in front of him. Bella… her eyes seemed accusatory. Maybe she was the voice. Maybe this was what she had wanted all along. Had he really become like Sinister? He remembered manipulating Candra. Leaving her to die in Apocalypse's hands. She had been cruel, and hard, but not necessarily evil. And he had used her and betrayed her… just as he had been treated. Just as Sinister did. He had become Sinister. His glowing red eyes looked into Sinister's own glowing red eyes. No… no.
 "No!"

He screamed in anger, and then spun out of Sinister's hands.
 "Remy… goddess, you're alive!"
 Ororo sounded so happy. He felt warmth speed through him. Sinister suddenly teleported, and stood a few feet away.
 "I have had enough of you X-men."
 Jean was already by Cyclops, tending to him. He could feel her worry and anguish. Her fear as she saw the tube lying by him. He could finish this. As an X-man.
 "Gambit… how're you alive?"
 He looked at Weapon X. The first time the mutant had not called him gumbo. Although he didn't mind the name, being called Gambit gave him a sense of belonging. He had been wrong.
 * Bella… forgive me. *
He ran forward.
 "Dis way, X-men. Time to take down this bastard."
Gambit soared, and he felt more powerful than he had ever felt before.
 Behind him he could feel Rogue and Storm. Sabretooth's snarl, Weapon X's growl.
 They all attacked Sinister.
 The foul external fell back under the attack. Rogue and Storm dive bombed him, and he barely managed to block them, when Sabretooth and Weapon X began clawing and slashing him. With a great cry of anger, the most animal-like sound he had ever heard Sinister make, Sinister threw Weapon X and Sabretooth away from him. He grabbed Storm and Rogue out of the air and flung them away as well. His tendril-cape began moving even more agitatedly, literally whipping about. His diamond glowed so brightly Gambit had to shield his eyes. Then Gambit attacked, letting lose his power, throwing all the other pieces of metal he had collected. Sinister staggered, yet with each blow he seemed to get stronger. He wondered how he had ever thought he could fight him one on one.

 "Bastard! For what you've done to Scott… to me… to the X-men…. But most especially to Scott, I'm going to make you suffer."
 He turned to see Jean floating in the air above Cyclops. He eyes were also glowing with power, and Gambit felt awed for a moment. For an instant he thought he could make out a fiery bird behind her, but then the moment passed, and Jean raised her hands. He turned back to see Sinister enveloped in bands of pure power. They pulsed lavender and purple, and then fire seemed to envelop him, and Sinister screamed in anger and agony. Then he seemed to fly back and strike the cave wall, once, twice, thrice, again and again and again, until Jean finally left him.
 Gambit was awed again. Could Sinister survive even this?
  He heard a groan, and stepped back slightly. But even as he did, he knew hope. Sinister was bleeding freely now. He was close to defeat.

 Sinister seemed to spin then, rising in the air, spinning around as his tendrils crackled with energy. A sudden wave of tesseract energy surrounded him, and then Gambit was falling. A blinding light pervaded his senses, and he felt numb for an instant.
 He moved… that much he knew. He could still move. He got up slowly and painfully, noticing that the caves had changed. He could hear rumbles, and there were chasms all around him and Sinister, and near Cyclops and Jean as well. Storm and Rogue took to the air. Sabretooth protected the girl, and Weapon X covered the dazed Jean and the slowly regaining consciousness Cyclops.
 "Merde…" his ribs hurt, and he was sure something was broken.
 Sinister stood nearby, breathing heavily.
 "You… all… curse you… for what you have done to … me…"
 Sinister's eyes locked on Jean.
 "You… witch…. Die!"
 He raised his hands, but Gambit was already moving. Without second thought, he jumped and fell on Sinister, sending the blast away from Jean, and directly above them. Rocks fell on them, and created more chasms. He felt one smash into his arm, and felt it snap.
 "Remy!" Rogue… ah love… he smiled. He knew what he must do. The entire place was falling apart. He knew the geography of these caves… they all lead lower and lower to an underground river, a river that fed the swamps apparently. The river was below them, he knew it. Already Sinister was moving, throwing him to the side. He hit the ground hard. In a daze he looked up. Rogue and Storm were heading his way, trying to dodge the falling rocks.
 Sinister was trying to get up, but Gambit was above him. He threw him off, but then Rogue was there, and Storm, her hands crackling with electrical energy. Sinister flew back, as Rogue and Storm hit him in tandem. He smashed against the wall, and was buried beneath a ton of rocks.
 "Merde…"
 Rogue and Storm quickly carried him across, and laid him on the ground. Around them the rocks still fell. He could see Cyclops and Jean being helped by Weapon X, crossing the small rifts, making their way to the point they had entered from.
 "Remy… you can't die."
 He felt moisture on his face. Above him Rogue was crying. He moved his undamaged hand and wiped a tear form her cheek.
 "Ah… don't cry Rogue. Remy's fine."
 Storm hugged him.
 "Oh…. Goddess. I thought you were dead…." She moved away and glared at him.
 He sighed. He felt content.
 Suddenly the rocks Sinister was beneath began shifting.
 "No…." Cyclops sounded disbelieving. Gambit stood wearily.
 "Oh well… it's time to take out de bastard permanently."
 Rogue looked at him. Storm was looking at the rocks, and at the emerging form of Sinister. 
 "Remy?"
 He smiled at her.
 "Take care of yourself Roguey… yourself, your son, and Erik. He's a good man."
 He turned to Stormy, and then kissed her.
 "Be brave Stormy. This is necessary."
 He shook his head. His mind had never felt this clear. He knew what must be done. The only way to kill Sinister was to destroy him utterly. And he was good at that. He knew what had to be done. He began to run towards Sinister, who had completely emerged form the rocks, and was turning towards them, his form again glowing with energy. Gambit smiled, and then he jumped.
 Behind him he could hear the cries of Storm and Rogue. He used his empathy to send out a wave of love, and then focused on Sinister. He crashed into him, and as they fell back, Gambit pulled all the energy around him, and began charging it.
 "What… are you insane! What are you doing???" Sinister was too stunned to do anything. His surprise cost him.
 "Dis is for Bella…. For the X-men… and for me. I swore years ago, and I've kept my promise… but I'm not like you Sinister. I'm dying happy."
 Then he let himself become one with the flow of energy. All the potential energy around him began glowing instantly, and then he himself began glowing. He grabbed Sinister, and pushed off the ledge, into one of the gaping holes. He heard Rogue cry out, and Storm scream in despair, and then he heard Sinister's angry bellow, tinged with fear… and acceptance?
 The world around him suddenly ceased to exist, and he felt indescribable pain churn through his very being, and then he was drifting.
 Just before everything went dark, he saw Belladonna's face, and not the one that had haunted his dreams, not her agonized expression as she died, but a face that shown with love, her hair gently falling around her face, her eyes glowing with laughter.
 * Belle… my angel. *

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So… it's all over for Mr. Gambit. How'd the whole war for his soul and humanity thingy go? If it could use work, don't hesitate to tell me. This chapter was also one of the reasons I began writing this story. I had Gambit's death planned out from the very beginning. Sorry for you ppl who really really like Gambit (like me), but I figured this was the best way for him to go. And hey, he gets among the best deaths.

 Still, there is more to come. Next: the final battle, against War, holocaust, Exodus, the remaining Prelates, the towers forces, and the big man finally gets some action. Apocalypse in action next! See how the mighty Apocalypse of this world compares with the others (who were pretty weak in my opinion… they should have been more powerful.) Plus, the reason for this world., and the real background behind it! A tie in to AoA, and the 616 universe.

 All that and more, next time. Keep those reviews coming, and I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing it.