The mental cry of anguish from Xavier when he begged for backup didn't go unnoticed. Everyone outside dropped everything they were doing and rushed towards the mansion as fast as they could. Jubilee, Kitty, Jean, Logan and Rogue were speedily heading homewards, each and everyone begging they were not too late to be of any assistance. They knew Xavier was not one to call for assistance if it wasn't extremely important. Logan and Rogue, as always together, arrived first and to be blunt were shell-shocked over what they saw.
They quite simply could not believe their eyes, and in the case of Logan he couldn't believe his other senses either. Every sense of his simply screamed death...death...death. And for some time his conscious mind refused to believe that. That the mansion and the people there could be defeated so easily. Or seemingly so easy. They had both been a part of the X-men for quite some time at that point and soon the training and instincts took over. Something dreadful had indeed taken place and now was not the time to panic. That may come later, when there might be even more cause for panic. For now though, they used their hard-earned expertise in finding out what had happened.
They were still in the midst of that when Jean, Kitty and Jubes showed up. All of them looking just as shocked over the state of the estate.
They were as well disciplined when it came to grave matters, even though all of them wished they weren't. But wishes don't do the dirty work for you and at this point in time, Jean and Logan in particular proved what they were made of. They seeminly were able to turn off their feelings and used their powers to the utmost in finding survivors. Jean with her telepathy and Logan with his animal senses. What it would cost them in the long run was either conviniently ignored or pushed to the side for the time being.
They concentrated all of their beings into finding survivors of the slaughter that just recently had taken place.
They didn't find many. Remy was still alive, even if it was just barely. Same thing with Fate and Bobby. The rest were dead. Except for Xavier. His body was still alive but the once brilliant mind had withdrawn into its own shell. He was basically a vegetable, living but not sentient in any way that mattered.
No one could determine what had made Xavier that way as of yet but Jean was determined she would find the cause eventually. In the meantime she had to use her energies to fight off death for Remy, Fate and Bobby. Their life was much more at risk than Xavier's for the time being.
The days passed and turned into weeks. Bobby and Fate were getting stronger all the time but Remy seemed to have given up.
Until one day. The first day he opened his eyes after that disastrous day. The first thing he saw was Jean checking his vitals and he used a lot of his strength in just asking her to get Logan. Jean didn't hesistate and immediately went to fetch Logan, telling him that his friend wanted to see him. Maybe for the last time.
During the time Logan and Remy had known eachother, they had almost instantly become the best of friends. Partly because they both saw themselves as outsiders and were not afraid of opening up infront of the other.
Logan immediately went away to Remy's sickbed without second thought.
"Hey there Gumbo, Red said you wanted to see me. I hope
it's to tell me you're soon ready for our next poker game", Logan said
in an attempt to lighten the mood. Remy laughed weakly
before saying "If only. I've drawn my last card Logan. You know that."
Logan didn't know what to say so he just nodded his
head, not wanting to insult his friend in what may be his last moments.
"You know Logan, we've always been honest to one another. Up to a point.
There's some things in my past I've never told you.
And don't lie to me by saying you've told me everything. Of what you can
remember anyway."
"I won't."
"I know. So will you tell me the truth so I can die in peace?"
"Yes."
Gambit reaches slowly into one of his pockets and retrieve something.
"Can you then explain why Sabretooth gave me this before he gave me a
killing blow?" he says as he gives Logan an exact
replica of the dogtags Logan had once given Rogue. But Remy was not
finished.
"He gave me these and told me to tell the runt to 'Remember the Oath'.
Is it true what he said, about the part you played in all of this?"
"I don't know. What did he say?"
"That if it hadn't been for you this would never had taken place. He
claims that you and his employer have known eachother for quite some
time."
"Magneto? No, I hadn't heard of Magneto until I was first brought here."
"Not Magneto. Some guy called Sinister. Dunno who that is. Except that
Creed said that the guy could make every terrorist in
existance, himself included, look tame in comparison and a phrase. "
"What phrase?"
"Welcome to the slaughterhouse."
At that Logan completely froze. Literally. But not for long. He knew what Remy was talking about. What Creed was talking about. And if hadn't known shame and guilt before that moment he knew know what those emotions were all about. The conditioning had finally been removed and now Logan wished it never had been.
He had always known. That one day or the other, for good or for bad, his past would catch up with him. Now it had and good had nothing to do with it. This was bad. Very very bad. He had always been threading on thin ice when it came to that and now the ice had broken under him, just to froze again when he was way below the waterline.
An ice not easily broken again, not even with adamantium-laced claws.
