Disclaimer: I still don't own the X-Men.

A/N: So close and yet so far.

"So...like...Magneto knows where Rogue is?" Kitty asked excitedly.

Logan shook his head. "He thinks he knows where that Acolyte of his is."

"Pyro wouldn't tell us where though," Scott added, looking annoyed and a little disappointed in himself at the same time.

"I doubt he knows. He would've told us if he did."

Kitty wasn't going to ask why he'd do that. She had a feeling she didn't want to know just what kind of threats Logan had given the guy.

"I will contact Magnus and..."

"I don't think we have time for that, Charles," Logan interrupted.

"Pyro said Magneto told him to meet him somewhere tonight," Jean explained. "He got away before we could find out where they were meeting, but...we're pretty sure Magneto is going to try and break Gambit out soon."

"Do you think they'll try to get Rogue out as vell?" Kurt asked, sounding almost desperately hopeful.

The Professor closed his eyes and sighed, and Kitty felt her own hope being crushed into a million tiny pieces. "If he has the opportunity, he might. Since he knows we are searching for her, and we have not been at odds lately. However, I would not put my trust in Magneto to do what is right, if it hampers his personal gain. I have my doubts about whether or not he would attempt to rescue Gambit if he did not have something Magnus was after."

"So..." Kitty began. "What are we going to do, Professor?" It felt like she was asking that question way too often lately.

"We are going to try to find where this meeting is taking place, and if possible, follow Magneto to wherever it is that he believes his Acolyte has been taken to."

"And then we're going to rescue Rogue, right?" Kurt asked.

"There are many things to consider before jumping to conclusions or hastily taking action, Kurt."

"But..."

"One step at a time."

Kurt sagged, but nodded. Kitty knew how he felt. She just wanted to get Rogue back, preferably in one piece.

Rogue coughed and then winced as the jarring motion sent a stabbing pain through her chest. Her throat was dry and scratchy and she was pretty sure she was coming down with a cold. Which was obviously just want she needed on top of everything else that was wrong.

She carefully shifted on the hard flood of her cell, trying to get more comfortable. As tired as she was, she couldn't seem to sleep. If she did fall asleep, she would probably just be woken up by banging on her door before the nightmare started all over again.

She found a small amount of solace in the fact that, eventually, they would be done with her. She highly doubted they would ever let her go, but maybe if they had no more use for her they'd put her out of her misery. The thought should probably be depressing, but it wasn't. It was almost a relief to think about.

She just hurt all over.

Her head pounded, voices in her head screamed at her, memories of her father cursing at her wouldn't leave her alone, and the physical pain was only getting worse. It had to stop eventually.

She was finally on the brink of sleep when something startled her awake. At first she wasn't sure what it had been, but then she heard it again. A loud crashing noise from outside. It was followed seconds later by people yelling. She couldn't understand what was being yelled, but they were obviously worked up about something.

Another loud bang, this time closer, and the sound of something hitting the door of her cell. Her heart raced as she tried to stand up. Her sore limbs made it difficult. A burst of hope helped her to fight through the pain though. Maybe it was her friends. What if they'd finally come to get her? What if...

A much louder crunch actually made the door give a lurch, but then suddenly the light in the cell went out completely. Her breath hitched when she was suddenly engulfed in total darkness. It creeped in around her, pressing closer and closer until she felt as though she would suffocate. Her back hit a wall, but she forced herself to remain standing.

"You'll stay in there till I say so," her father's voice yelled before the closet door was slammed shut.

She closed her eyes against the memory and pushed through the panic. It was just a little darkness. A little darkness while she was trapped in a locked room, being held prisoner by sadistic madmen. Nothing to panic over.

With a deep breath she opened her eyes. Not that it did any good. She couldn't see two feet in front of her with or without her eyes open. Her friends were here though, and she wasn't just going to sit back and wait.

"Help!" she screamed as loudly as she could. "I'm in here!"

There was more yelling outside, this time sounding like an argument. Another crashing noise. The voices stopped, and for a moment she felt a cold chill go down her spine at the thought that they'd given up.

But then the door jerked open.

Light flooded into the cell so quickly she had to shut her eyes against the sudden brightness.

"Chere?"

Her heart thudding against her ribcage. "Gambit?" She squinted against the light and stepped forward. She didn't care who it was. The door was open and she was leaving. She limped out of the room as fast as she could, but Gambit held out an arm to stop her from going too far. A moment later she realized why.

Large chunks of metal and smaller bits of debris were being flung all over the place. Guards were running back and forth, firing at something around the corner. A long blast of fire shot from the other direction, followed by a crazed sounding laugh.

Magneto and Pyro, she realized.

"Where are the X-Men?" she asked, looking around as if they would jump out at any second. If Magneto came to rescue Gambit, surely they would be around to rescue her.

Gambit gave her a slightly confused, and slightly concerned look. "I don't know. But we got to get outta here, chere." He went to grab her arm, but she snatched it away. The action made her a little dizzy and she had to brace herself against the corridor wall. He wasn't wearing gloves though, and she barely had any sleeves.

"Gambit!" Magneto's booming voice echoed from somewhere down the hallway. It was hard to tell exactly where with all the debris and smoke. "Let's go!"

A large piece of what Rogue thought was a door went flying their way, barely missing their heads and colliding instead with the guards running towards them. What dawned on Rogue then was that her friends weren't here. Magneto, of all people, had come to rescue Gambit. No one had come to rescue her though.

"Time to run, Rogue," Gambit said over the chaotic mess around them.

He started off in the direction of Magneto's voice, and she ran after him. Her injured leg protested with each step, and her vision swam for a moment as smoke tickled her nose and throat. A cough ripped through her chest. It felt like her lungs were burning from the inside out, and she didn't think it was because of the smoke.

A maniacal laugh came from behind them and a second later Pyro ran past her before disappearing up ahead. Something grazed her arms, and it wasn't until she heard Gambit cursing under his breath that she realized the 'something' had been a bullet.

The guards chasing after Pyro had found them instead.

Rogue looked over her shoulder in time to see one of them gaining speed, his gun aimed directly at Gambit's head. With wide eyes she grabbed the back of Gambit's shirt and yanked him out of the way with all her strength. They both hit the wall as bullets flew past, one narrowly missing the Cajun's head.

The guards were getting closer and, judging by the yelling from up ahead, Magneto had his hands full with some as well. She looked at Gambit as they tried to take cover behind a stray piece of metal that had been ripped from the wall. The bullets kept coming, smoke filled the hallway, and angry yells came from every direction.

On top of it all, Rogue wasn't sure how much longer her leg would hold her up. It was already hard to think, and judging by the drugged induced haze in Gambit's eyes he wasn't having much luck focusing either.

At least one of them should make it out alive though.

What felt like long minutes of thought were only a few brief second before she made up her mind.

"Tell my friends..." She trailed off, drawing a blank.

Gambit didn't seem to notice anyway. He was focused on trying to avoid getting shot while they inched their way further down the hall. Without a moment's hesitation, she propelled herself out from behind the scrap metal. He made a grab for her, but she was out of his reach. She ducked as a bullet flew past her head.

"Run!" she yelled at him.

"I'm not leaving you," he stated, reaching out for her shoulder again and dragging her back behind the cover.

The guards were getting closer again, and though they'd stopped shooting for a moment, she knew it wouldn't last. "Get out of here, Gambit! Go!"

"Remy ain't leaving you, chere."

She met his eyes and knew he wasn't joking. It was nice to know at least one person wouldn't leave her behind so easily. The moment was broken, however, when the guards started yelling at them to surrender.

Magneto's voice thundered down the hall. "Gambit! Now!"

"Go!" she yelled at him over all the noise. "I'll distract them," she added as the guards began firing again. "Just run as soon as you can."

With that she made a run for it, but not towards Magneto. She heard Gambit yelling after her as she charged the guards, who froze in surprise. Their shock only lasted a moment though. She kicked and punched and rammed herself into them with as much strength as she had left. It was enough to distract them, leaving Gambit a clearer path to escape.

Just as her arm was wrenched behind her back she looked back to see if Gambit was gone. He was, she realized, but not on his own two feet. As she was forced to the ground by half a dozen guards she watched as Colossus ran out of sight with an unconscious Gambit slung over his shoulder.

The yelling and crashing sounds continued for a few more seconds as she was dragged in the opposite direction. An explosion far away made her smirk weakly, but the satisfaction only lasted a moment before a taser rod was shoved into her bruised side. She collapsed to the ground, and the guards gathered around her as if waiting for her to get up and resist some more.

But she didn't.

She simply laid there, her hands restrained behind her back, and eventually the noise around her blended into the background. She had no energy left to do anything, and no real desire to. Everything she'd been through...everything she'd fought to survive...

What was the point?

This was going to be the end for her.