A/N: WOW. ITS BEEN A WHILE SINCE I LAST UPDATED AND I JUST COULDN'T GET MYSELF TO FINISH THIS CHAPTER.

WELL, SCHOOL'S OVER AND SUMMER'S HERE AND I HAVEN'T DONE ANY PARTYING SO I DECIDED THAT I MIGHT AS WELL WORK ON MY STORIES. HEHEHE.

HOPE YOU GUYS HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN ABOUT THIS. I KNOW IT'S MY FAULT. I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN A WHILE. I PROMISE I WON'T PROCRASTINATE ANYMORE. I WILL BE UPDATING THIS WEEKLY IF YOU GUYS GIVE ME REVIEWS.

NO REVIEWS, NO UPDATES. HEHEHE.

THAT'S RIGHT I'M EVIL. =P

WELL, ANYWAY, HERE GOES ANOTHER CHAPTER.

ENJOY.

~*~

No matter how chaste the kiss was, Rogue was guilt ridden.

When she broke away from Pietro, she had slapped him so hard that she left an imprint of her hand on his cheek.

"You'll regret that." She hissed; her eyes cold and deadly.

Pietro looked at her, truly hurt as he rubbed a hand on his stinging cheek. "Rogue-"

"I already told you not to call me that." She voiced icily as she stared at him with angry eyes.

"My mistake." He mumbled somberly.

"That's right." She replied coldly. "What exactly were you thinking? That I would suddenly regain my memory from a kiss?"

"Actually, I kissed you because I never had the chance to when you were alive." Pietro replied firmly as he leveled her glare. "And maybe that you'd remember too."

"You're a little too late."

"It's never too late." He insisted and she scoffed at him.

"Wrong again." She retorted. "No matter how this war ends I will not go back to you and your pathetic friends. I have a purpose on this Earth and that is to destroy or rule it."

"That's what Apocalypse taught you. How do you know he's telling the truth?" Pietro dared to ask.

"I know because he's my father." She replied.

"He isn't your father!"

"Apocalypse gave me life. I am standing here because of him." Rogue insisted. "If you really care about me like you claim to, you should be grateful as well."

"He turned you into a monster."

Her eyes narrowed slightly at the comment and she felt slightly insulted. "He made me powerful. He gave me strength to stand up for myself."

Pietro shook his head in dismay. "He's still the enemy."

"That makes me the same then. You will regret this and that's a promise." Rogue whispered gravely before she teleported in front of him.

Pietro heaved a sigh as he clenched his fists tightly.

"Well, that was one smooth move." Wanda drawled sarcastically as she walked up to her brother, a slightly disappointed look on her face.

"That was intense, yo." Toad piped in and Pietro glared at him.

"We're not getting anywhere with her. I'd say it's getting worse." Lance declared solemnly.

"She still feels threatened. She needs time." Kurt explained and the rest of the Brotherhood glared at him.

"What are you a shrink?" Wanda spat out. She really disliked the boy and she had to wonder why one of them hadn't beaten the life out of him yet. And the valley girl too.

"I'm trying to help." He retorted.

"Well, it's not working!" Wanda argued. "By popping out of nowhere, you made her angry. You made the whole situation worse!"

"Well you could have warned me!"

"We're not on the same team, X freak! We do not help each other!" Wanda declared angrily as her powers began to surge due to her heightened emotions.

"I suggest you place nice, Wanda, because we are getting nowhere by not working together." Kurt retorted irately as he reflected the girl's glare.

"I will never work with you. You and your kind started this whole mess." She hissed.

Kurt scoffed. "My kind? Look around Wanda. We're all the same kind. We're all mutants."

"There's a big difference between us, Nightcrawler. 'My' kind doesn't kill it's own."

"You should really talk, Wanda. You've been hunting your father for quite some time now. And you say you don't kill your own?"

"He placed me into an institution! He destroyed my life!" She yelled.

"And he took away my mother from me! It doesn't mean I hunt him down and kill him!"

"What made you think she wanted to keep you if she had the choice?" She yelled.

"You little-"

"Stop it!" Lance yelled as he stepped between the two heated mutants who looked about ready to rip each others throats. "We don't have time for this. Kurt, Wanda's right. You did mess up. And Wanda, we need them on our side. We need anyone who's willing to help us. Both of you hold the name calling until this is over."

Wanda redirected her glare at Lance who seemed the least bit afraid of her.

"Lance is right. Now everyone calm down. We need a place to stay for the night." Pietro joined in.

"We're broke."

"Who said we're going to pay?" Lance replied.

"Hey guys, I think Rogue's gone batty. One minute she's psycho, evil Sakhmet and then the next, she's nice, innocent Rogue." Toad exclaimed casually as he hopped alongside his team members.

Kurt gave him an offended look. This was his sister that Toad was talking about.

Kitty remained quiet while Wanda sighed sharply. Fred was eating the remaining crumbs of potato chips.

"Shut up, Toad." Pietro said.

"No, really. I think she's schizophrenic."

"She's not schizo. She's battling from memory loss." Pietro argued.

"Right." Toad said disbelievingly. "So who were you kissing there just now? Rogue or Sakhmet? Or both? It's like having two girls. You must have been really e-"

"Shut up!" Everyone yelled in unison.

"You guys need to chill." Toad muttered.

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

"I think we need to come up with a new plan. I don't like this one." Logan declared as he walked side by side with Mystique.

"See my caring face." She muttered in response.

"You're not very easy to work with." Logan growled.

"Yeah and you're just great." Mystique drawled. "Listen here, Wolverine. We're not doing this as friends. We're doing this for Rogue. So no niceties between us, and no pretenses to remotely like each other as civilized human beings. Correction: mutants. When this is over, you and I are back to our old routine. Understood?"

"And I thought I was cynical." He muttered.

She sent him a death glare before returning her attention to the small "dimension machine" in front of her. "Tell me that you know how to work this thing."

"Hey, I'm not into science." He replied somberly.

She sighed sharply. "What are you here for if you can't do anything?"

He growled again. "Beats me. You're the one brilliant enough to want my help." He replied.

Mystique groaned. She decided that snapping Wolverine out of his pathetic self-hate state two weeks ago was the worst thing she could do, especially to herself.

Instead of moping and blaming himself endlessly, Wolverine discovered a new passion in life.

Making snappy comments and annoying the life out of Mystique.

At first, she presumed that it was his way of coping, of hiding his guilt and remorse. So she let it slide.

But then he seemed to enjoy it.

"So you actually think that we can defeat Apocalypse with this "dimension machine" and get Rogue back?" He asked as he scrutinized the well crafted device.

She snatched the machine from him. "Don't break it. It's not a toy." She snapped. When Mystique saw the hurt look on his face, her expressions softened. "No, I'm not expecting to defeat Magneto with this. I'm hoping to use this to get him out of this dimension. Hopefully Rogue won't hate us too much for getting rid of him, temporarily."

Logan sighed. "That's not much to go on, Mystique."

"We don't have a choice." She replied.

"How'd you get this out of the mansion, by the way?" He asked curiously.

She shrugged at him, a wicked smile on our face. "Had one of the boys do a quick run." She replied.

"Well, at least they're useful for something." Logan declared as he stood next to her, patiently watching her as she inspected the machine.

Mystique nodded absently as she pressed tiny buttons on the machine. "They've all we got. They better be prepared or we'll never win this."

"You actually think we have a chance?" He asked.

"If there's a will, there's a way." She replied vaguely. She didn't know the answer to Wolverine's question but they were about to find out. "Come on. Time to update the rest of the team."

Logan nodded somberly. He had a bad feeling about this.

Really bad.

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

Anger settled on Apocalypse's face as Davan Shakari reported what he just witnessed.

"She's associating with the enemy. That mutant boy, Pietro, has great influence over her. They all do but that boy, especially." Davan explained. "She could deflect anytime."

Apocalypse's jaw was set squarely as his eyes reflected true fury. "When she returns, send Sakhmet in. I want to have a word with her."

Davan nodded grimly as he exited the room. He knew that if Sakhmet did deflect, there would be a great shift in power. Their strength would be tested.

Their resolve would falter because their true greatness lay in Apocalypse and Sakhmet. If Sakhmet chose the other side, Apocalypse would have a true challenge in his hands.

It would not be good for any of them.

Sighing, Davan proceeded to the hall that led to Sakhmet's chambers. Hopefully she would be there. Keeping Apocalypse waiting would worsen the situation.

And Davan hoped that when Sakhmet and Apocalypse have their chance to speak to each other, they would see eye to eye and the young protégé would stay.

He spotted her stepping out of her room, looking slightly shaken with her face flushed. She knew instantly what Davan came for when she saw him.

Nodding grimly she followed him back to where Apocalypse waited.

Davan shot Sakhmet a worried Rogue before stopping by the doorway, letting her go inside on her own.

In the room, Apocalypse had left his seat and was now standing by the far wall, looking out the window.

He had his hands crossed behind his back.

"You asked for me?" She said softly, making her presence known.

Slowly, Apocalypse turned to face her. He didn't look happy. "Have you found what you were looking for?" He asked.

She hesitated slightly. "Some." Sakhmet replied. "Everything is still vague. I wish I knew more."

"Then you should keep looking." Apocalypse declared. Sakhmet shot him a surprised look. "I'm well aware that you went to the Brotherhood tonight and although I wish that you informed your teammates before you left, I do understand your reasons."

"You're not angry?"

"I have no reason to be." Apocalypse replied. "Just because you belong to this 'family' does not mean you have to be isolated from the rest of the world, mutant or otherwise. But you must be careful. These people betrayed you in some way. They either killed you or let you die."

"But the Brotherhood tried to protect me." She insisted.

"They let you die." Apocalypse pressed. "I've come to a decision, Sakhmet."

"Oh."

"The Horsemen and I are leaving at dawn." He declared.

"Where to?"

Apocalypse shook his head at her. "It doesn't matter. You'll soon find out but my decision is you stay here."

Panic rose in her throat. "Why?" She asked.

"You still search for answers about your past. Answers that I or the Horsemen can not give you. It's time that you leave the fold. You've been quite dependent on us for some time now. You need to learn to survive alone."

"But you can't leave me." She protested.

"We are not abandoning you. We're giving you a chance to decide."

"I've already decided." She said a little too quickly.

"No you haven't." He replied. "You're holding back because a part of you is missing. I see many great things for you but first, find your way and then return to us. Don't think us wrong."

"But I belong with you and the Horsemen. This is all I know. I can't go out there." She explained hastily.

"My point exactly."

"I don't understand. Is this punishment?" She asked.

"Hardly." Apocalypse answered and with that he turned and walked out of the room leaving Sakhmet to stare after him, her eyes filled with tears.

She teleported out of the room and found herself in the air, hovering on top of the Brotherhood house. She looked down at the shambles and sighed as she descended onto the ground.

It began to rain and Sakhmet heave a sigh as she looked around her in the darkness. Something rustled amongst the trees and she set her hands on fire, ready to attack.

"It's me." Pietro said calmly as he stepped out of the shadows, his hands in his pockets. She glared at him before returning her gaze to the house. "I didn't think you'd come back."

"Then why are you here?" She asked bitterly. She was consumed with anger but there was this feeling of loss and she didn't know what to do.

"I had a feeling that you needed me." He replied softly.

"I don't need anyone. You don't know me." She said as the rain began to soak their hair and clothes.

"I used to think that I did know you. Apparently I don't." He said with a smirk.

"We're going to destroy this planet." Sakhmet declared as she continued to stare at the rubble.

"I know." Pietro replied with a heavy sigh as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"You should be afraid."

He shook his head at her as a sad smile crossed his face. "If the end comes, then let it. But I'm not going to be afraid. Not even when I know that your threats aren't petty and that you will destroy us when the time comes."

"This is pointless, Pietro. You won't get her back."

"You talk like she's a different person but anyway, I'm working on it." He smiled and she shot him a disapproving look. "So, why are you here?"

She shrugged her shoulders at him. "Don't really know."

"Isn't Daddy dearest going to get worried?" He asked somewhat bitterly.

"What's it to you?" She snapped. She wanted to fight him, maybe release some anger out of her system but he looked suddenly very vulnerable as he stood in the rain, with the large bruise on his cheek from the slap she gave him.

So she didn't.

"I'm not here to argue or fight with you. Hell, I don't even know why I'm here but I want to get out of the rain. It's ruining my hair." Pietro said lightly as he turned to leave. "Are you coming?"

She looked at him hesitantly. She wondered what she would gain by going with him but knowing that she had no place else to stay, Sakhmet complied.

"We're still not friends and I'm not rejoining the group." She reminded him.

Pietro nodded. "Yeah, you told us. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten." He replied.

"Good."

"You're losing your touch Ro-Sakhmet. We're becoming less and less afraid of you." He joked, glancing at her as they walked side by side.

"You just wait and see." She told him darkly as they headed to where the rest of the group was waiting.

~*~

A/N: WHEN I WROTE THIS CHAPTER I DECIDED THAT IT SHOULDN'T BE AS ANGSTY AND DARK AS THE OTHERS. I MEAN ALL YOU GUYS HAVE READ FOR A WHILE NOW ARE DEATH, DESTRUCTION AND MORE CHAOS.

SO I ADDED SOME LIGHTER MOMENTS. I DON'T KNOW IF THIS CHAPTER IS REMOTELY FUNNY BUT I DIDN'T WANT MORE BROODING FROM THE CHAPTERS.

I KNOW THAT SOME OF THE CHARACTER'S PERSONALITY SEEM TO DO A TOTALLY FLIP. I TRIED TO MAKE THEM SUBTLE OR AT LEAST WRITE AN EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THEY'RE ACTING THAT WAY (EX: WOLVERINE'S SNAPPY COMEBACKS) BUT WE MUST MOVE ON TO MUSHINESS BETWEEN PIETRO AND ROGUE. ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU GUYS WANT?

THE WAR IS STILL NOT OVER. THEY WILL STILL HAVE TO FIGHT, MIND YOU. JUST BECAUSE SAKHMET IS BEING SLIGHTLY FRIENDLY TO THE BROTHERHOOD DOESN'T MEAN IT'S OVER.

NOPE. NOPE.

ON ANOTHER NOTE, I MEANT NO OFFENCE TO ANYONE BY CALLING KITTY A VALLEY GIRL. IT'S HOW THE CHARACTER IS. JUST PORTRAYING HOW WANDA WOULD SEE KITTY. NO FLAMES OKAY.

ANYWAY, KEEP IN MIND THE PROPHECY ABOUT ROGUE. THAT WAS WAY IN THE BEGINNING. THAT PROPHECY IS THE KEY TO HOW THIS STORY ENDS. HEHEHE.

OH, I REALY CAN'T REMEMBER WHETHER PIETRO EVER KISSED ROGUE SO LET'S JUST PRETEND HE NEVER DID.

ANYHOO, THAT'S ABOUT IT.

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. I LIVE AND WRITE FOR REVIEWS.

SO GO ON ALREADY.

THANKS.