APOCALYPSE

Disclaimer: not mine.-

Author's notes: sorry about the delay. Promise I won't take so long for the next one. Hope I didn't make a mess of this, and that you enjoy.

CHAPTER NINE:

ANSWERS

For the past few days, Remy had woken up in a different room every morning. It always took him a while to gather his surroundings, but eventually he'd realize where he was, once the drowsiness of restless sleep would pass. This time though, he felt particularly numbed. His leg hurt, he was sure he had a fever and the bed was definitively the most uncomfortable bed he'd ever slept in. The room was too dark and dismal even for him to see anything that might have given him a clue of where he was. But what really threw him of balance was the warm body snuggled behind him. Contrary to the rumors, Remy wasn't all that used to spending the night with strangers, especially strangers he had no memory of even meeting. He had a vague recollection of fighting Sabertooth the night before, but he wasn't so sure of that being nothing more than another one of his dreams. His throbbing limb somewhat confirmed it, though. He took hold of the thin arm wrapped around his waist. He'd turned around to look at it's owner's face, but laying on his severed leg was out of the question. Up close, he could see the delicate, small hand. The skin was so white it was almost fluorescent. Around one of it's long fingers, there was a ring that made his blood run cold. The first thing he thought was that it looked like some kind of flower, but then decided it was more of a cross with a superposed X on it. There was a stone at each end of it. Two onyx stones, two rubies, two amber stones and two emeralds; each at the opposite end of it's pair. The ring itself was platinum. The thief in him knew it was somewhat valuable in monetary terms, but something inside him told him it's real worth laid somewhere else. HE struggled to get onto his back to see his companions face. Inwardly, he already knew who it was, so he wasn't surprised when he saw her young face, half covered with her impossible black hair, mused from sleep. Sleep that made her look not a day over ten, and a lot more peaceful and sweet than what he remembered her being. Sidney, he recalled it was her name. As soon as he threatened to get up to inspect the place, she imprisoned him further, snuggling closer and letting out a soft whimper. He managed to replace himself with a pillow and threw the moth-eaten comforter aside. A little sigh of relief escaped his lips, when out of habit he checked for clothing on both of them, and found that, though his pants had been removed with the obvious purpose of bandaging his leg, both of them were pretty much dressed. After a little search in the absolute darkness, he thanked the lord above for finding a candle next to her side of the small cot and lit it with his fingers. The warm light bathed it all, allowing him to look for a way out. The room was incredibly small. There was barely enough room for the cot and a tin set of stairs. He considered his wounds, but still took the chance and climbed it, using mostly his hands, but not before he'd tugged the child back under the blanket and placed the candle on the floor next to the stairs. Lifting the lid and passing threw it proved to be a little more complicated, but after enough effort, he finally succeeded. He was surprised to find sunlight hurting his eyes and had to close his eyes to adjust to the brightness. Remy found himself in a ruin of a room that seemed to have been the library at some point. The windows were broken, spider webs pretty much covered it all and most of the empty shelves where broken or burned. There was one though, that was clean, whole, and packed with books. He limped his way to it. There were books all sizes and colors, but mostly hardcover, old editions. HE rummaged through the titles, finding that it was some sort of occultism collection. There were all about dark magic and mythology, some of them he'd even seen in Tante Mattie's bookcase. He smiled when he found a worn out version of "Little women" hidden between the other books, reminding him that his savior was nothing but a kid. In the center of the bookcase was a book that had the same symbol of the girl's ring on it's back. As far as he knew, it was the oldest book there; he was even surprised to see that it was intact. He hesitated for a moment about grabbing it, but then shrugged. He found it too tempting to consider that he might have not liked what he was about to read. Sliding onto the dirty floor, he opened it. But before he had a chance to glance at the first page, a loud thud made him look up.

"Bloody hell!" she yelled, and he shuddered. "What on earth do you think you're doing, mate?! You bleeding lunatic. What, you want to get killed?!" Remy blinked confusedly while she fought with the laces of her military boots.

"Killed? What are y' talkin' 'bout, petite?" He knew there was danger, he could feel it. He also knew that girl knew what that danger was.

"You never, ever, get out of me sight again, you hear me, frog?" He nodded.

"D'accord, petite."

"So..." she sat next to him and glanced at the book he was holding. "What, your momma never told you not to go through someone else's stuff, mate?"

"Y' have a very interestin' collection of books 'ere. Are dey all y'rs?" he asked, waving the copy of "Little women on her face. She winced and started fighting him for it.

"Gimme that! Me mom gave it to me, let go!" Remy smiled triumphal, but returned the book to it's rightful owner.

"Y'r mere? Where is she? She must be real worried 'bout y', petite." he said tenderly. Sidney looked down.

"She's dead." she said deadpan, but Remy heard the pain in her voice nonetheless.

"Je suis desole, petite." he said kindly.

"Forget about it frog. And yes, the books are all mine. I've been taking care of this place on me own for two years now. As you can see, it has been trying."

"Mais, y'r so young!" Remy felt sorry for her. He knew what it was like to be alone and helpless at such a tender age.

"Hey mate! I'm thirteen, I ain't no baby, ok?" she smiled smugly. Remy shook his head.

"Mais, someone helps y'. non? Wit' food an' money, takes care of y'?" she snorted.

"Mate, I'm richer than you'll ever be. My order goes a long way, and they were very prepared for any eventuality. But now that the time's coming, the beast has been busy killing us all so we wouldn't find you. That's all. I'm living like a bloody rat 'cause I have to stay alive until the ascension."

"Y'r order? The beast? The ascension? Petite, Remy doesn' know what y'r sayin'."

Sidney sighed and shook her head sadly. "This is what I've feared. I was hoping that some of the guardians would have escaped long enough to find you and let you know. Being as I'm the only one left, I had to stay here, where the ascension will take place. Besides, every bit of information that the guardians had on you, was lost the last time they attacked the caves, so I was completely in the dark. If you don't know, that means the second offspring doesn't either, and I only have four days to find it."

"I don' know what y'r talking 'bout, petite." But he did, in a way. It was like having all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. It was just a matter of trying to put them together, and the girl was the start. She acquire a formal posture, and spoke as if she were reciting a poem.

"Well, there's this prophecy that the guardians have sworn to protect and see through. For thousands of years, as long as the beast existed, the prophesy was kept a secret until the sign of the new era, that would announce the beginning of the end." Remy waved his hands to stop her.

"It all sounds very nice, petite, but y'll have to go a little slower. What are de guardians?"

"Warriors, knights if you will. And don't call me petite, mate, I'm Gamma, the last guardian of the."

"Thought y'r name was Sidney." Remy interrupted, scratching his head. She smiled.

"It is. C'mon, you won't tell me you don't have a nickname now, will you?" he smiled sheepishly.

"Oui, I do. It's Gambit." She went pale. "What?" he asked, concerned. She shrugged.

"Are you a chess fan?" he shook his head no.

"More of a card person, me. Why?"

"Why would you name yourself after a play of chess that means sacrificing one piece for a bigger purpose?" she asked softly. He smirked.

"I jus' thought it was suave, petite. Dat's me, y' know? De suave one." He said smugly and she burst out laughing.

"You're funny, frog. And I told you, don't call me petite." Remy went serious.

"Dat's what y' are! Y'r so young and y' shouldn' be mixed up wit' dis. I don' really know what's goin' on, but I know is too dangerous for a chile like y'." she shifted uncomfortably.

"Well frog, it's not like I have a choice, is it? I'm the only one left to guide you to the beast and protect you until the ascension." Remy laughed.

"I know where de bete is. I can take y' dere. I'm sure y'd like him" he joked, but she just stared blankly at him. Finally she seemed to remember something and frowned.

"Why did you get out of the shelter without waking me up mate? The beast must know I've found you. That sheep probably told him by know." Remy shrugged.

"I woke up in dat little room downstairs, didn' know where I was." Then he smiled coyly and added. "Y' seemed to enjoy usin' Remy as a pillow, petite." She gasped.

"I SO did not!" Remy smirked.

"Y' did not enjoy it, or used Remy as a pillow?"

"Either!" she yelled, swatting his arm.

"Hey, I don blame y'! Remy is irresistible." He laughed smugly, but she seemed offended.

"I was not using you as a pillow, you lousy git! But that's the only bed, and I wasn't about to sleep on the floor because you were too bloody stupid to go and let that sheep live!" he frowned at the memory.

"I had a collar on! I'd gotten rid of de monster if I could."

"What has that got to do with anything?!" she huffed.

"Y' know powers don' work when y' have a Genosha collar on, don' y'?" she sighed and shook her head.

"There's a lot I need to explain to you mate. But first." she patted his wounded leg, and he winced. "You have to heal, 'cause." Remy's eyes opened to their fullest, feeling someone's presence in the house. "What?" she asked curiously.

"Someone's here." He whispered. He was shocked to see Sidney's eyes changing from silver to red. She stared at the opposite wall and nodded.

"I guess I'll have to ask y' about y'r powers too, eh?"

Sidney moved silently and cautiously to the bookcase, and from one of the books she retrieved a pair of twin daggers, as exquisite as the sword he'd seen her use the night before.

"Stay here, do not move." She whispered in an imperative tone. He shook his head.

"I can defend myself, petite. How many are dey? I t'ink dey're two, but."

"Yes, I can see them, now, stay." He cursed under his breath.

She moved to the front door and from then on, all he could hear was metal on metal and growling. He gathered a few books to charge, leaving the one he'd picked up earlier aside. He knew he couldn't destroy that one. Ignoring her request, he limped towards the door, ready to put up a fight; but he wasn't ready for what he found on the other side.

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