This are getting more and more, let's say: complicated. I hope you'll enjoy and read the next chapter. Anyway, theroguepheonix, your question should be answered in this chapter. ***grins so evilly*** This is supposed to be drama, so don't be surprised if all the characters are depressed.

I wish you a good read, hoping for some more REVIEWS. And I thank dearly those that have already.

Jubilee had left the room saying that Mystique wanted to see her. Rogue was left alone. There wasn't much here. It was a medical room, specialised for when Rogue had one of her "falls". But Jub had left her newspaper on the bed. Rogue reached for it and looked at the first page. There was a photo of Arian XII. It would be launched in a five days, heading for the International Space Lab. Marie sighted, it would be soon finished. They only had a couple of moves to do. She then turned the paper to look at the back. It was the cinema news, this time about Jurassic Park 5 coming out in the theatres.

She relaxed, sinking low in the pillow, trying not to think about the hospital dress she was wearing. She just hated anything doing with medical performance. But she would have to face it soon or later.

She closed her eyes trying to go to sleep. It finally came, slowly and surely.

It couldn't be a normal dream, for there was too many details. Like the branches of fir trees above her head hiding the moon and stars, the noise of pine needles cracking under her steps, the smell of blood and the moaning. This could only be a dream from Hemlock, the mutant that had given Marie her power and life. She winced at the memory, she wished so much that the rest of what remained of the girl in her head could disappear completely.

Rogue still advanced until she came upon the scene. She forgot to breath, dead in her tracks, dread filling her veins.

*************** *******************

Logan had being walking for a while in the streets of New York. The sun was gone. But he didn't care: head down he continued to walk.

He didn't realise that he was getting in the darkest place of New York. A car was battered and burnt on the pavement. He went around it.

A couple of girls on the side of the road with very short skirts just glanced at him as he passed. He didn't look like a person that wanted to have some fun.

A man stepped in front of him, a gun pointed to the chest.

"Give me your money buddy," he hissed.

Logan didn't hear him and continued to walk against the weapon when, suddenly, the shot entered him. A couple of girls screamed and ran away. Logan couldn't ignore getting blasted in the chest and looked up. His insides were burning and he moaned as he fell to the ground.

The man was dressed in black. He took Logan's bag and started to search his pockets and fell on the dairy. Logan had been looking at him without reacting, but when he saw that the man was taking Marie's dairy, his claws shot out. The man responded by another shot, not well positioned, the cartridge sinking in the neck. He then got up and ran away.

Logan could only feel guilty and wished it was the end.

Warm liquid poured out of his neck making a puddle of blood around his head. There was still a glitter of consciousness as someone picked him up and dragged him in a darker and smaller street.

********

Jean lied down next to Scott. Their room had wood panelled walls, shinning with varnish in the small light coming from the bed lamp.

She snuggled against him, wearing her silk night-gown, her hair undone, a cascade of red falling from her head. She was still beautiful even thought she looked tired, her face lacking some colour from the effort of staying awake. Scott was still all dressed, no expression on his face.

"Please, relax, Scott," she mumbled in his shirt half-asleep.

"I've been blind," he said.

"By love, honey... By love," she whispered, her eyes closed, the words more difficult to come out.

{ They had been sitting on a bench under a tree. The moon had been peaking from behind some clouds.

"I assure you I can. Scott, trust me," the women with red hair said.

"I only ask to do so. But I don't think we should, it's too dangerous," Scott wanted Jean to do it.

"The professor assured me that I could. You don't think that I would do anything as risky before asking Xavier if I could."

Scott looked down. "If you say so, I accept."

The women smiled and put her hands towards his head and gently lifted his glasses off.

And hell came upon Earth.}

He had been tricked by Mystique. He had wanted Jean to see his eyes. There had been no fight, no bravery, no punches. It had been a child's game for her.

Scott got up, touching his glasses unconsciously, escaping from his fiancées grasp. Insomnia took him to the garden.

It looked dull since Storm had left. She had something like a green thumb making all the plants she cared about green as new. But she had left with the children for New Zealand to make sure they were well protected and the garden was now falling dead.

He walked up and down some fanned roses, his mind tortured by his thoughts. Then a smell came to him, the smell of death. You always remember that smell, and when it's the first time you smelt it, you know straight away what it is.

Scott, with caution walked towards it, fingering his glasses.

He held his breath when he found out from what it was coming from. His long life's friend was lying on the ground, his blue face with an expression of slumber.

"Kurt!"

Scott kneeled next to him, taking a three-fingered blue hand in his. The blue elf had had gone on vacation wanting to see the Egyptian pyramids. Scott had called him on his mobile but he hadn't answered. Kitty had been someone special for Kurt, and they were now both gone.

And it was when the sun decided to loom up from the horizon.

**********

Logan woke up in a bed in a cosy room. There was red wallpaper and oriental decoration. His gaze fell next to him.

Sitting on a chair, looking straight at him was a woman-girl, black hair. But he recognised her because of the mall ton her left cheek.

"Gwen?" he croaked.

"Glad you remembered my name this time!" she exclaimed. The distaste in her voice hadn't gone since last time. "I found you in a pretty bad state."

She touched Logan's hair, it was matted with dried blood.

She was wearing a orange gown, white elephants decorating the cuffs. Her hair was put back in a long plat falling to the waist.

"In a very bad state," she said, her fingertips touching lightly his neck where no mark could be seen. "You're a mutty."

Logan didn't care, he kept still without speaking. When he had fallen into blackness it had been relief, something nice and soft taking him away. He was quite disappointed to wake up and feel that the same pain was clutching his heart again.

"Well," she finally said getting up, "You can call me Shade and thank me later."

She took off her gown to reveal her work uniform of a cashier. "I'll be away all morning, so if you need anything you'll have to get yourself." With those last words, she was out.

After a half an hour, he dragged himself out of bed, bare chest. The place smelt oriental perfume, spiced and stuffy, probably from the kind of sticks you burnt. He preferred better Rogue's cinnamon room. His T-shirt was lying clean on the back of the chair, a hole in one of it's sides. He quickly put it on and wondered in the rest of the apartment. He found his coat easily and searched the pockets. The dairy was missing, but he felt something cold at the bottom of one of them. He slowly took it out. In his hand was his dog tags, the ones that Marie always wore.

******

Jean had been woken up after just ten minutes of sleep. She was now in the lab inspecting Kurt, or what was left of Kurt. One of his hands were missing, it looked like it had been ripped off, Jean guessed it was the work of a scavenger after Kurt's death. He was covered in blood from wounds ripped a bit all over without being any puncture in the clothes.

Scott stood, his back turned from the bed.

"I have the impression I've already seen this," Jean said slowly. She backed away and took off her gloves. "On Logan."

At the name, Scott lifted his head, like if something had suddenly revealed it's self.

"When he had been drained by Rogue."

"There must be something else, dear," Jean quickly said deciding now that she should check on the professor. She walked into another room. There lying on a bed was the professor, still, with artificial breathing. It had been impossible for Jean to enter her mind, hard walls were blocking her out. Trying several times already she had slammed into them at each time.

Scott followed her. "Rogue killed Kurt and used his power to zap away when Mystique blew the west-wing up!" he yelled thinking he had found the answer to all their problems, his arms raised like if he was embracing the proof. "It's not the first time she's done it!"

Jean refused to say such a thing. Rogue couldn't be as evil. She was such a quite child that always stayed out of any trouble, just for the sake of making Logan be able to keep his promise towards her.

"Scott! Rogue is dead! Kitty, Magma, Bobby, Jubilee!" Jean said, crying, "I've searched for them! I so wished that they had escaped the explosion that I used Cerebro! But they aren't there, they are nowhere!"

"She killed Kurt before then!"

The pressure she had endured for a couple of days burst out. Her knees were wobbly. Not managing to stand up she held to the professor's bed crying loudly. Scott calmed down straight away and took her in his arms trying to comfort her, saying sweet words in her ear, hugging her tightly, her head in his chest.

Nothing had gone right. Jean had failed horribly at the UN in Paris, then Mystique came. The death of several pupils, Xavier in the coma, the children were evacuated, sent to New Zealand for protection. Only Scott and Jean were left here to make sure that what was left of the School would be destroyed. For America was becoming too dangerous for any mutant. Then discovering Kurt, what else could happen?

"Tomorrow," Jean breathed. "We leave tomorrow."

"What do we about Rogue's things?" Scott asked. "She has no parents or relatives to send them to."

"We take them."

******

Rogue was furious.

"Mystique!" she yelled in the corridors still dressed in her hospital gown. "Get your blue but here!"

She took the elevator. It took her up.

There was a tower, grey and slick in the middle of nowhere. This middle of nowhere was a hill with fir trees surrounding it. The grass was thick and in this case, wet. It had rained here in Alaska.

Rogue found Mystique there, at the control panel. She didn't look away from the screen which was showing the surroundings in heat waves. Everything was bluish with some very small red dots.

"You've taken the dog tags!" Rogue accused her.

To this, Mystique did turn around. "What do you mean, Child? Those metallic things couldn't have disappeared."

"Exactly. And you're first on the list of people that could want to take them from me!" Rogue said advancing, menacing with an ungloved hand. "You keep trying to make me forget about Wolverine!"

"I haven't taken them," Mystique defended herself. Rogue saw that she wasn't lying.

"Where are they then?" Rogue had the impression that she had been washed of everything she knew, everything she believed in, wondering deep in a corner of her mind who she was really.

"Never mind! There's other things to do than worrying about stupid bits of metal!" she exclaimed clenching her fist.

Mystique looked at her with pity, Rogue more looked like someone that had escaped from an asylum than a school. She hoped it had nothing to do with Miss Lee, the tags missing, she was always up to something that didn't follow to the plan. Rogue had to think about something else than what she would lose.

It was when Kitty decided to show up in a black tight suit (her old X-men suit), surfacing threw the floor with Jubilee carrying something in her hand. They both looked grim. Even Miss Lee's yellow coat didn't seem to make her look happier than Kitty.

"The dairy!" Jubilee proclaimed, showing a booklet.

Rogue lunged for it. "What's it doing here?" She was all shaky, retreating with the small book. "Ah had left it at the Mansion.!" She yelled. Opening the thing, she could smell someone different from herself that had been touching all the pages. Two in fact, one them was Jubilee, the other... She discovered that the lock had been neatly cut threw like a piece of thread with sharp scissors.

Mystique snatched it from her hands. Jubilee and Kitty held back helplessly as Mystique ripped the dairy to shreds. The lock clattered on the floor with the pieces of paper that slowly floated to the rejoin it. Rogue took a strand of paper from the pile, a glitter in her eyes.

"Why?" she questioned the shape-shifter looking up from her crouched position, her tantrum forgotten.

"Leave the past where you left it, we've got the future plan."

Rogue felt a tinge of cold go up her spine and looked away.

"Yes, and in this future, is it planned for us to survive?" Jubilee couldn't suppress the question that had been bothering her since she had gone to find the dairy. "It's not I enjoy life or anything, but I would find it convenient if I stayed alive. Because Kurt didn't make it."

Kitty looked at her friend in shock.

"Kurt couldn't have died He would just disappear..." she said making a jest that could be perceived as Kurt evaporated into thin air.

When Rogue turned around, her eyes were red, a sly grin splattered across her face. "How did you think we escaped the explosion, Honey?"

"We... You borrowed some of his power," she said taking a step back.

"Oups," she sneered, "my hands must have stayed too long around his neck," she said grabbing a invisible Kurt. "I don't know if he died suffocated or drained." She lifted her hands to match her words. "What do you think?"

Jubilee held her breath at the horror she witnessed. Rogue had left leaving her body in the possession of those that held fortress in her mind.

"Rogue? Where are you?" she whispered.

Kitty had taken a second step back. "I should have known better, this is pure... madness!" she spat the last word out as Mystique launched at her pushing her to the floor, seeking to break her neck. But she easily phased threw the blue shape shifter. "This was a big mistake," she proclaimed, "I'll make sure you finish your days in a cell." And she was gone, sinking threw the wall.

The glare Mystique then gave Rogue was pure hate. Then it calmed down to become pity. Jubilee felt the same, pity for her friend, glad that her suffering would only expend to five more days if Kitty didn't reveal everything too soon.

Rogue got up, no, it was still not Rogue. Jubilee secretly called the body: "It." She tried her best to look friendly. "You need some more rest," she told Rogue taking her by the elbow and guiding her to the elevator. "It looks like a truck run you down." It more looked like she was dead and buried.

When they were both gone, Mystique took back her place on the chair, deciding they would need to act more swiftly than planned.

Ok, I know this shorter than the others, less than 3000, in fact only 2910 But it'll have to do, for now. I could get this chapter any longer because it would take the beginning of the next chapt. Well, you understand me.

I hope you enjoyed Xmas or version of Xmas, and I hope the year 2003 will be better than this year. I don't want to be critic or anything, but I find it ironical because USA gives, like of the fluffy films that all goes well, family rejoined and all the bla bla. And they will separating families in Iraq with bombs. Well, I'm happy that our stupid french president (his nickname is Super Liar, Super Menteur in french) at least did one thing right!!!

Well I'll leave you here hoping that you'll REVIEW, even if it had nothing to do with the story (like views on this world?) Happy New Year!!!!

Human Nature.