Disclamer: nohing belongs to me…


A/N – Hey! I'm back…:) Full of brand new ideas…just not for this story… Just kidding. :) So this chapter is finally up…Anyway, I wrote about a half of it before I went to vacation and finished it just this morning…I hope you like it! It's action mostly. But first, a big thanks to my reviewers!

BlkDiamond – Nice to have you back…:) Thanks for reviewing!

musagirl15 – I hope you like this chapter as well!

warrior zoe – I know what you mean…I want my own Remy too…sigh :( Too bad he ain't available…Glad you're enjoying!

enchantedlight – Thanx

darkwolfblade – It's nice to know there are more people who like some older music…:) Most of my friends literally have question marks in their eyes when they hear some of the songs on my mp3 player. :) Well, the mysterious scrolls aren't that mysterious after all. That obvious, huh:D Thanks for reading the fic! And reviewing, of course…:)

irisheyesrsmilig – Thank you!

Roguechere – I hope it won't be that long, don't worry. But look at it from the bright side! I'll come back full of brand new great ideas and write three chapters in a row…Okay, not exactly three, but you get my point. I still hope I'll manage to finish this chapter before I leave.

Mystical Sand – Well, I won't kill Rogue, at least not in this chapter. I need my daily dose of Romy…;) But I will make her suffer…as evil and twisted as it sounds. And about the Warren/Rogue connection, I'm accually basing my entire story mostly on the cartoon so I took over that connection too…:) Enjoy in the next chapter!

blackagenda - blushes…Thanks:)

Scarlet blood – Thanks a lot for reviewing! And I had a really nice vacation, thanks so much for the good wishes! I hope you keep reading!

animeangel404 – Thanks…:) I hope you enjoy the next chapter too…


"talking"

'thinking'

--flashbacks--

song lyrics


CHAPTER 12:

WILDERNESS OF PAIN

"Hey Tinhead! Have a taste of these!" Wolverine extended his claws with a loud SNICKT and charged towards Apocalypse. However he was stopped by Avelanche who directed his shockwave straight into Logan's chest and blew him a few feet away.

"This wasn't the smartest thing to do, bub." He growled furiously taking time to recover for a split second and pinning Avelanche to the wall with his claws at the next. A thin line of blood slided slowly down his neck as Wolverine's claw touched his throat. He gulped in fear staring into his wild eyes full of anger and fury. But than the feral man withdrew the dangerous adamantium spikes and the moment of relif on Avelanche's face turned into one big nothingness as Logan's fist collided with his skull sending him into unconciousness.

"Now…where were we…" he smirked and made his way towards Apocalypse again. But none of the X-men managed to reach him. His slaves were popping out of everywhere and although Cyclops and his team managed to drag them away from the building and the innocent civilians, still they couldn't reach Apocalypse. The next mutant that blocked Wolverine's way was Mystique.

"Out of my way, woman!" he shouted angrily

"No." she replied stubbornly

"You're crazy! What are ya thinking on helping Apocalpse out of your own free will!"

"I do what any mother would do for her child."

"Rogue is not y'r daughter, lady. And even if she is, what kind of mother would give away her kid to a monster like Apocalypse."

"You can't understand, Wolverine. Apocalypse can bring Rogue back to me. I will have my daughter back. He will not hurt her."

"Yeah. I bet he won't" he replied sarcastically "Now move before I check what you had for breakfast" he extended his claws again

"I don't think so." She gazed at him with her piercing yellow eyes while shapeshifting and changing her yellow gaze into a blue one. "You wouldn't hurt me, now would you Wolverine." She waved her shiny red hair in front of him speaking in a voice of Jean Grey.

"You're not gonna fool me, Mystique." He flinched for a second, but recovered immediately. "I know you're not Jean."

She smirked at him, blue eyes becoming lighter, pale skin becoming darker, red hair changing into pure white.

"You have to control your anger, Logan." She spoke in a soft voice of the African goddess

"You're not gonna distract me, you twisted bitch!" he yelled, his voice suprisingly different. Why did it effect him in such way when she shifted into Storm? He took a few steps back, his hands falling slightly while 'Storm' approached him slowly with a gun. Suddenly a few playing cards exploded in front of her legs making her look the other way. This gave Gambit an excellent opportunity to sneak up to her from the other side and, supproting himself with his bo-staff, kick her hard in the stomach knocking her on the ground where she shifted back to her blue self again groaning in pain.

"You alright, mon ami?"

"Why do you care, Cajun." He growled back at him and made his way towards Apocalypse again. Remy stood puzzled for a moment, but didn't have the time to think because he got hit from behind by someone. He recovered immediately and jumped back into the fight.


"Hold this line, team! We can not allow them to come close to the building! The professor will be giving us further instructions from the Blackbird." Cyclops was barking out orders at anyone who was interested to listen. The fight was at its full swing. The X-men did their best to stop their opponents but they were quite outnumbered. Up high from the sky Storm shot lightnings on anyone who she could reach. Her abillity to fly was her great advantage because no one except Apocalypses four Horsemen could fly and even them got disabled when their robotic 'horses' got destroyed. And besides, she had a great overview of the battle from the sky. That is when she spotted Logan running towards Apocalypse not noticing an enemy following close behind. With all those noises and sounds going on in the battle, his extraordinary senses could easily be fooled. She also saw that Remy, who somehow appeared here, was busy with a few opponents of his own so she rushed without thinking into Logan's aid. Unfortunately, she didn't react fast enough when the mutant following Logan turned suddenly and attacked her. A strong blast out of his hands caught her off guard and she screamed in pain before losing her concentration and started falling rapidly towards the ground. Wolverine turned and looked with worried eyes at a pure white spot coming closer and closer towards the earth. "STORM!" He let out a painful scream. He couldn't explain the mixture of feelings he felt when he saw her. A mixture of concern, fear and desperation for not being able to do anything. And there was something more. He was just to afraid to admit it.

A few iron sparks flew from Warren's wings and shot the mutant that fired on Storm knocking him out. He outstreched his wings and barely caught her before she crashed. He landed near Logan putting unconcious Storm and flew away in the battle shortly after Logan ran to check on her. He just muttered something on getting to Apocalypse first.

"Storm. C'mon Storm, say somethin'." He felt so relieved when he saw Archangel caught her, but she was still unconcious and vulnerable. Who would'eve thought someone so powerful as Storm could be so gentle and vulnerable. She was always afraid to use her powers at their full strength not to hurt someone too bad. That's why she was the one getting hurt most of the times. "Please, 'Ro. Wake up darlin'…" he repeated while kneeling next to her.

"Mmmh…Logan?" she blinked her soft blue eyes open "What happened?"

"You got hit by a bad guy. Are ya okay?" It was amazing how grumpy and senseless Wolverine couldn't supress a smile while gazing into her eyes. He spoke in a voice so soft it was almost unreckognizable as his. Storm smiled at his unusual action and nodded assuring him that she indeed was alright. Something exploded nearby and he drew her closer to himself shielding her from the explosion with his body. She lifted both of her hands to rest on his broad chest and closed her eyes, her head still pounding in painful little waves. They stayed that way for a second longer before they finally splitted up. She gazed up confused into his eyes while he was still holding her. A few moments of akward silence passed before they finally stood up realizing again that they were in the middle of war.

"Ya sure you're okay?"

"Yes Logan. Do not worry. I will be alright…And thank you." She smiled briefly at him before flying away again leaving him to look after her for a second more. At the next second he was already running to kick some more butt with a broad smile on his face.


The next time Remy could stop for a second to take a break, he could see that no one of his former team mates were nearby. He couldn't see any of the enemies either. Just the huge purple back of Apocalypse not to far in front of him. He smirked and made his way carefully towards him. He picked up a large stone and took his time to properly charge it before yelling:

"Hey, M'sieur Apocalypse! Remember me?" at that he threw the rock that exploded at Apocalypses chest making him stumble backwards and eventually fall. The fight stopped for a second, the X-men smiling in amazment and Apocalypses slaves scattering paniced to help their master.

"Foolish mutant. Your pitiful powers are no match for me!" he stood up slowly towering over Gambit who took his defensive stance at the same time ready to attack. "Stop the others!" he ordeded to his followers "I shall take care of this one."

His red eyes glowed with hatred as Remy's sparkeled with pride and bravery. Remy dodged a few of his hits managing to send a few more glowing cards that only distracted his enemy a bit. Eventually, Apocalypses attack sent him flying backwards where he finally smashed into wall. He groaned painfully feeling as if every bone in his body was broken. But he didn't have the time to think about it as Apocalypse came closer and closer. He threw some more cards at his direction but he just swept them away. The shadows covered his face completley so Remy could only see his feet coming and hear his twisted laughter. Suddenly his fist glowed poisonusly green and illuminated his face making it look even more malicious under the green light of power.

'At least I die as an X-man, non?' he mused, already thinking at the worst while he could almost feel the razor power radiating from Apocalypses hands.


Rogue could see the place the battle was held on from far away. The damaged buildings, fire that was burning here and there and pillars of black smoke gave away Apocalypses position from afar. She speeded up a bit hoping no one was hurt. She couldn't stand the thought of her friends getting hurt by that thing. As she got closer she could see Apocalypses high form towering over something or someone. His fists were the same green as they were when he knocked her out a few months back. At the same moment her breath got caught up in her throat when she saw Remy's crumbled form in front of him. Her heart started pounding violently and her vision got blurry from tears welling up in her eyes, but she forced herself to stay focused. She picked up a busted truck and threw it towards Apocalypse with all of her might.


All the other X-men rushed to help Gambit, but they couldn't reach them. The enslaved mutants did their job in stopping them to reach their master. At that moment even Cyclops got that desperate expression on his face.

'It's over' he thought 'Gambit's going to die and I can't do anything about it. I can't even save a friend, how am I supposed to save the entire world than.'

Storm was on the floor again, Logan helping her up again and she buried her head in his shoulder crying in sadness for her loving friend. Logan held her clutching his fist in anger. He never cared much for the Cajun, but he knew his death would mean incredible pain for the ones he did care about and that made him sad. And he was angry for allowing himself to be sad. All the other X-men stood in silence knowing they can't stop the inevitable as the other mutants watched in awe and fear their master's deadly power.

Remy closed his eyes waiting for the fatefull hit. They say that at the moment of death your whole life runs away in front of your eyes. Like some kind of a movie. It didn't happen to him. His mind was completley blank. People usually think about all the good and bad things they did, wondering will they go to heaven or hell. Remy was never a religious person. He never belived in some higher force, vis major. He belived in luck. And this time luck played him out. Still, there was one thing he was thinking of.

'Rogue, chere, I wish I could tell y'de truth. I wish I could 'xplain t'you dat I had t'leave t'protect y'. Dat I had t'leave jus' 'cause I loved y'too much.'

He heard a crash and was amazed how he didn't feel anything. Not even his bruised body ached that much. He was surprised how he could still think. And hear and smell and feel. He always imagined the moment of his death as one big nothingness. A dark tunnel in which you enter and stay there for eternity unaware of anything. The noise he heard made him open his eyes again.

He realized than that nothing had happened. That he was still in the middle of the battle and alive. Only, Apocalypse wasn't looking at him anymore. Little bits of a smashed veichle were falling off him as he was trying to regain his balance smirking maliciously at the same time. Than that voice. If it had been just the voice, Remy would have most certanly thought he was in heaven, but the sight of Apocalypse sort of ruined the whole picture.

"Hey, big guy! Lookin' foh me?" her soft Southern drawl came from somewhere above.

"Well, well. Look who do we have here. And I thought your friends were going to hide you from me forever."

"Leave them outta this, Apocalypse! This is between you an' me!" she shouted furiously, relieved slightly when she noticed Remy shifting down below her. It meant he was still alive and concious enough to move.

"I couldn't agree more my dear. I knew your mutant friends will try to protect you. But I also knew that the best way to make you crawl out your little hiding place was to use your pathetic little boyfriend as a bait."

"You're sick…" she replied disgusted, her body shaking in silent anger

"What's going on! Rogue, what does this mean!" Cyclops shouted, nervousness welling up as he couldn't follow the flow of the events anymore.

"Rogue, I thought I told you to stay in the mansion." Professor X finally left the security of the Blackbird and hovered next to it in his chair, fearing the worst is yet to come.

"Ah'm sorry professah. Ah cain't let the people Ah care about get hurt because of meh. Ah hafta face this alone." She casted one last look in Remy's direction before charging and hitting Apocalypse with all of her might.


"Wha's goin' on 'ere! Wha's she doin'?" Gambit jumped up at his feet ignoring the pain it caused, when he heard her desperate words and saw her actions.

"Kid, are you nuts!" Wolverine already made a move to go and help her, but Storm's hand held him back. He turned to see her sad face, tears gliding down her cheeks. He realized she was in pain too and that he couldn't do anything to help. He bowed his head and clenched his fists in silent anger while professor X's voice echoed in their minds answering what they were all wondering.

'My X-men, we have done all we could. It is Rogue's battle now. I shall restrain from further explanations and only say that we can only watch and hope everything goes fine. For all our sakes.'

His voice was soothing, but even he didn't sound too convinced in his words. He was more desperate than ever. Still, everyone did what he said. Even Archangel restrained from any attack. Rogue of all people knew what he had been through and she was one of the rare he would allow to destroy Apocalypse instead of him. That is, if it was possible. Remy already opened his mout to protest, but he wasn't sure what could he do. He could give all his strength, his life for her, but he was afraid it wouldn't be nearly enough. So he too didn't do anything aware that nothing was possible at the moment.

Everyone lifted their eyes in silent prayer, hoping things won't turn out for the worst.


Rogue wasn't aware of her thoughts while speeding throught the air and fighting Apocalypse. Her mind was completley blank. She concentrated fully on the battle. Suddenly Apocalypses hands became green again as he made another move towards her, but she avoided his hit a small smile escaping her lips. 'Oh, no. You're not pullin' the same trick on meh twice.'

Apocalypse was getting more and more furious by the second. She was too fast. He couldn't catch her and she was throwing things on him. It didn't hurt him but it ruined his concentration and distracted him in attacking her. His uncontrolable anger was probably the reason why he made the mistake by letting her come near his face when he finally did grab her in his fist.

She gasped when his huge fist closed around her waist. She felt like a Barbie doll in some kid's hand and she would have probably smiled for thinking on something like this if it wasn't for the fact she was barely breathing because of his fingers pressing on her lungs. She could see his evil face becoming bigger as he drew her closer to his head. She panicked for a moment thinking hard on what to do to get out of this situation. Soon she realized what to do. She took a long breath and took her gloves off with her teeth. As soon as she was close enough she grabed an exposed part of his face and held it tight…


Nothing happened at first but soon she felt incredible pain. Some kind of purple haze appeared around both of them. She kept on absorbing him untill she saw that it was effecting him as well. He started shrinking on normal human size, a painful look on his face, but a sick smirk still there too.

"There is a price for trying to absorb me, angel." He muttered forcing himself to stand

She could feel his thoughts and memories flowing into her. A bunch of feelings that didn't belong to her. She could feel new power flowing through her. And it ached. Her whole body was shaking from incredible pain. She could feel her mind, her identity losing the battle. She could feel her other personalities trying to take over. She could feel his mind trying to take over so she directed the remains of her strength on letting go.

With a loud scream she flew a few feet back and collapsed on the ground leaving a body-shaped dent behind her. Apocalypse tried to walk, but stumbeled and fell on to his knees still laughing hysterically. Some of his followers rushed forewards to pick him up and some running to attack the X-men again as they were gathering around their fallen team mate.

Gambit was running towards Rogue before she even touched the ground, but he got delayed by some more enemies blocking his way. He was fighting desperately, throwing at them anything he could get a hold of. He was injured, he could feel the pain in every inch of his body, feel the warmness of blood trickling down the side of his waist so he presumed he had some kind of a cut somewhere on his torso, but it didn't matter now. All it was important at the moment was to get to her as soon as possible. To make sure she is alright. He hoped with all of his heart that she was while he fought his way towards her.

Wolverine, however, was luckier. He managed to get to Rogue while the other X-men held the enemies back.

"Rogue…? Kid, c'mon, say something…"

She was struggling hard to maintain control. Logan lifted her off the ground a bit, but she was still shaking, that purple haze still lingering around her. She held her eyes strongly closed, clutching her sides with her hands, groaning in pain. In her mind she was standing in the middle of a plain trying to fight off numerous shadows that represented all the people she absorbed throughout the years. They were all yelling at her, attacking her, calling her names, demanding their lives back. Some were just unreckognisable shadows, but some of them had faces. She was a bit relieved to see the figures of her fellow X-men trying to help her control the voices. But she was still afraid. Although she was through similar situations before, still there was something different. There was a new presence now. A presence of an unimaginable power. She could feel it flowing through her. She could feel a new mind taking over. That laugh was audible again, but it came from her mind this time. She fought her way to the surface, trying to win her control over, but this mind was so powerful. There were memories so horrible she bueried them deep in the depths of her mind instantly. She could already feel her control slipping and in these last seconds she tried to recall her exercises with the professor. She tried to remember his words on concetration or knowing her inner strength or something like that. But it was too late. She was going to let that mind take over. Apocalypse will take over and she can't stop him. But she can try. At least one more time while she still has the mind of her own she can try. So she did concentrate, recall the images of the people she cared about in her mind. All the people Apocalypse would destroy if she allowed him to win. The X-men stepped out of the shadows. Her friends, her family. They were everything to her. She had to fight. Because of everything they did for her, she had to fight.

"C'mon darlin', you gotta fight it over." Logan was shaking her lightly trying to make her get out of that trans-like stase she was in while she was fighting for control.

Suddenly her eyes snapped open. She was still on her knees, but now she was able to remain in that position by herself. However, her eyes were blank. They had a dull expression, like she had just been brainwashed or hypnotized or something. The circle around them was starting to shrink as the enemies swarmed out from everywhere. Logan left her side and stood up outstretching his claws.

"C'mon you slime balls. Show me what ya got." He growled showing off his fangs. "A whole lotta you at one. I like the odds." He commented as he threw a few that attacked first back. Several more charged to attack but a rain of glowing playing cards stopped them.

"Make dat two, mon ami." Gambit landed, just slightly less elegant than usual, on his feet next to Wolverine, his bo-staff in his left hand, three more cards already glowing in his right.

"There are a lot of things I don't like about you, Gumbo, but I gotta admit it that you gotta great timing." He sliced through some steel armour like through hot butter and knocked the owner of the armour down before adding: "Still, I colud'eve handeled this alone."

"Sure y'could." Gambit smirked painfully as he landed badly on his knee in attempt to avoid another attack.

Still, they couldn't hold them for much longer. Remy was soon on his knees again as someone slammed him hardly into his chest making the blood out of his wound flow even stronger. Logan pulled back and knelt next to Rogue again who was still staring into some distant spot, not reacting to anything. Remy was crouched in front of them, trying to stand up, desperate in attempt to stop them getting to her. Logan grabbed her arm ready to pick her up and run if necessary. He looked around and saw all the other X-men in similar situations. They were swarmed with enemies that were popping out of everywhere like annoying little ants. During those few moments tha appeared like hours, Rogue was finishing her inner battle with Apoclaypses mind. She let out a loud scream as her mind finally took over again. But it was still weak and unstable. She was still fighting for control. She blinked a few times to get rid of the black spots in front of her eyes and the sounds of the battle rushed into her ears again. She heard Logan's voice calling her name, heard Remy's soft Cajun accent saying something she didn't quite catch. She shook her head to clear her vision and finally saw the horrible scenes of the battle. Logan was shaking her, Remy was kneeling before her, a painful look all over his face, his shirt drenched with blood underneath his trench coat. She felt her hands trembling, felt the presence of that power again, that mind trying to take over. She had to unleash it. She had to set that power free or else she would explode.

"Get down." She whispered, afraid that what she might hear would not be her voice.

"Rogue?" Logan released her from his hold and Remy lifted his head to look at her in the eyes.

She started to stand up slowly. It seemed like she was floating on that purple glow that surronded her. "Ah said, GET DOWN!" she shouted for all of the X-men to hear. She was afraid that once she uses this new power she won't be able to warn them again.

Even before anyone could do what she said her hands started to glow green and with a loud scream she unleashed a circular wave that knocked down all of the enemies surronding her and the other X-men. Everyone just watched in amazment. She was still floating just slightly above the ground, her eyes still wide open, her hands outstretched. She casted a frightened look towards Apocalypse that supported himself up and was now smiling evily again.

"You are stronger than I thought, angel." He broke the silence with his malicious laughter while dissapearing in the flash of white light along with his four Horsemen.

She felt her body shaking again. She felt a stabbing pain in her stomach. It was a hot summer evening but still she felt cold. It was freezing. The purple haze that supported her up was now gone and she was falling. Storm landed next to her to help support her, but Remy already got a hold of her. He knelt again cradling her in his arms. He slipped his trench coat off and wrapped it around her shaking body. Her skin was ice cold.

"Rogue? Chere, please say somet'in'…"

Her head felt heavy. She couldn't feel the rest of her body anymore. Only the pulsing of her head. Her sight grew dim as her eyes focused on Remy's face in front of her. She wanted to call out for him, already opened her mouth to do so, but no sound came out. She lifted her hand up to him and his fingers clasping around hers were the last thing she felt before she sunk into the darkness.


A/N – There you have it. Chapter 12 finally finished…And we're coming to an end of the story as well. Anyway, not much to say. The title is a lyric from The End by The Doors. My favourite band, by the way…:) Just the other day I bought a huge poster of them for my room. :) Anyway, any questions? Leave it in your review. I can never get enough of reviews so press that little button at the bottom of your screen and write something. Even if it's just to say hello…:) All constructive criticism welcome!