Okay, next chapter is up!! There is Romyness in this chapter, to all my fellow shippers!! As well as some Jonda! No Romy in the next chapter… I've just got too much going on, but then, we reach our conclusion, and there will be a Romy explosion, like I said before! Stick around; next chapter will be a clash of Titans (not my Tennessee Titans… w00t!!) Oh so many reviews this chapter!! I love you all!! Just keep doin' what you're doin'!! And I hope you all had a Happy New Year!! (Eat your black-eyed peas????)

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            – SPHINX –

            "Rogue… you don't want to hurt us…" Mystique pleaded as the X-Men slowly backed away from Rogue standing before them, cold, vacant, and unpredictable.

            "'Want'… I have no desires… no more." Rogue responded as she took slow steps closer to Mystique. The X-Men watched her carefully as Rogue stopped and bent down to pick up a scorpion scurrying across the ground in front of her, unaware of the plight of the world. Rogue held it up in the air between her thumb and index finger, displaying it for all to see. The scorpion thrashed about in her grasp, trying to sting her or break free. She smiled fiendishly as the scorpion suddenly began to shrivel up as it hung in the air. Once the scorpion gave up its fight, Rogue tossed the carcass aside. All of her fingers quickly began to reshape themselves, resembling the points of the scorpion's tail. She unexpectedly lashed out, trying to catch Mystique with her venom. Instead, Mystique quickly jumped back out of the way, and Wolverine jumped in from the side to grab Rogue. She used Magneto's powers that she had stolen many months ago, and froze Wolverine's skeleton in place. She slowly reached her hand out to touch Wolverine on the face when she was interrupted by a firecracker exploding at her heels. She turned around to see Jubilee standing behind her, some distance away, looking scared and unsure after having acted brashly to save Wolverine. Rogue threw her hand down and Wolverine went crashing into the ground as she changed her focus. The green glow of Rogue's eyes faded to red as she called up Cyclops' power. She gritted her teeth in anger as she blasted Jubilee. Jubilee was hit so hard she was knocked off her feet and thrown in the air, then skidded across the ground where she stopped, unconscious. Berzerker aimed to fire at her from behind, but she rose up into the air, evading his electric bolt. Rouge raised her hands in the air to draw in storm clouds, and hit Berzerker with a lightning bolt, but it only made him stronger. He fired at her again, and she used Shadowcat's power to phase it through her. She only grew more frustrated, the green glow of her eyes flashing with rage as she opened up the storm clouds and dropped sheets of rain on him. Berzerker's powers were short circuited and he dropped to the ground.

            "Rogue… chère, you don' wanna do this. Please… you can fight Apocalypse. I know you can." Rogue looked down from the heavens to see Gambit calling to her from below. For a moment, she felt her heart cry for him. The rains began to dry up and the clouds quickly departed, and she stared at him beneath her. Suddenly, a command coursed through her veins and she shot at him with a psychic bolt.

            *BAMF!*

            Nightcrawler quickly teleported in, grabbed Gambit, and teleported out.

            *BAMF!*

            When they reappeared out of harm's way, Gambit began to morph back into Mystique.

            "It was a good try, mother." Nightcrawler said. Mystique turned to grumble in his face, but once she made eye contact, she couldn't be frustrated with him anymore.

            Pyro made his way to the front line below Rogue, at the paws of the Sphinx. "Alright, sweetheart, you're makin' me angry… No more temper tantrums." He warned her. Pyro flared up his working flame thrower and created a wall of fire. He held it between Rogue and himself, in an attempt to protect the rest of the team as well. He fed it more fire, forming the addition into a giant lion, pacing back and forth in front of the wall.  Rogue showed no reaction as she simply put up her arms and took control of the fire. She created a small area of thin lames so Pyro could see her face through it as she smiled at him. "Oh… right… CRAP!" He said as it hit him that she had absorbed his own power not too long ago. He took off running back toward the jet, away from the Sphinx as the hole grew and the lion jumped through, chasing after Pyro. Then, Rogue sent the wall of fire crashing down on him. The rest of the X-Men scattered, leaving Jubilee where she was, safely behind Rogue, and Nightcrawler teleported Berzerker out of the way, not having enough time to save Pyro too. Rogue was too strong for Pyro to fight back with his mutant abilities. When he finally decided he wasn't going to be able to outrun the fire, he crouched down on the ground to try and protect himself as he best he could, even if it was a futile attempt. As the lion and the wall grew closer to him, the two merged together. Rogue was enjoying the power Apocalypse gave her when it suddenly began to slip from her fingers. As the fire collapsed on Pyro, it began to reform into a bird. The firey bird wrapped its wings around Pyro, and he no longer felt afraid. He was filled, instead, with a sense of inner peace and calm. He stood up as the bird protected him and caressed his skin. He looked up to see Rogue surprised by this turn of events. Pyro's eyes glowed orange as he once again threw the fire up at her. Rogue didn't move, refusing to be weak; willing to die if she was. The bird suddenly stopped before it engulfed Rogue. Instead, the bird looked her in the eyes, and before she knew it, she was looking into Jean's eyes. Jean hovered in the air in front of Rogue, seemingly having appeared out of nowhere. The two stared at each other for a moment, as the dancing flames of the fire gradually went into slow motion. Jean wore the black leather clothes and high heeled boots she had left the Hellfire Club in, but as she hanged in the air with her arms calmly folded across her chest, the black leather became a dark red and a yellow bird spread across her torso as she telekinetically rearranged the molecules of her clothing.  The team on the ground merely stared in awe as they watched Jean in the sky. Another command coursed through Rogue and she reached her hand out to touch Jean's face, but Jean didn't flinch.

            "Red?!" Wolverine called out to her, trying to stop her from letting Rogue touch her face. Jean didn't react, but Wolverine's mouth started to sink back into his face, his lips sealing themselves shut. He was stopped dead in his tracks. Rogue continued to reach out to Jean's face, and when nothing happened, Rogue was dumbfounded.

            "How… how can this… but Apocalypse--"

            "Be still." Jean finally spoke with a calm, echoic, booming voice. The Earth sighed with relief, breathing from every rock, every tree, every grain of sand. Jean reached her hand out and gently brushed Rogue's cheek. As their skin made contact, Rogue froze. She hanged in the air above the Sphinx like solid stone. Little did these X-Men know, a shockwave had gone out to anyone connected to Apocalypse, freezing them in the same way as they prepared for transition. As Jean turned to face the team, she moved in slow motion, trying to absorb every possible moment with all possible senses. She slowly waved her hand and Wolverine's mouth rose back to the surface of his face. "You should not worry for this body… for this person. One could not dare to absorb the life force of the universe. Your concern is pure and selfless. You will be rewarded in a manner fitting for your actions." The team just looked at each other confused and amazed.

            "What the HELL is going on?" Mystique growled.

            "It's the Phoenix." Pyro muttered in a daze as he joined his comrades. "She showed me… just for a second…" He smiled as he reveled in the ecstasy the Phoenix had imparted to him.

            "What is a Phoenix?" Mystique asked as she rolled her eyes at Pyro and asked Wolverine.

            "It's… uh… anything and everything… I guess…" He answered. Mystique just rolled her eyes again, knowing she wasn't going to get a comprehensive response.

            "What are you?!" Mystique finally yelled up at Jean.

            "I am the embodiment of the power of the universe." Jean replied simply, but Mystique couldn't understand.

            "What does that mean?!" Mystique shouted, frustrated.

            "What are you beyond dust and moisture and happenstance? I am no more… on my own scale." The Phoenix answered. Mystique was growing angry by the lack of any cohesive response she was receiving.

            "What have you done to Rogue?!" Mystique ultimately blurted out.

            "Do not fear for her. She is a person in bondage and thus, not a whole person. I would not expect your feeble mind to comprehend." Before any of the X-Men could respond, the Phoenix made her hands into fists and pulled her elbows into her sides. Her body strained fiercely as she forced out the energy of stars. A yellow orange glow shot out of her heart, the firey rapture about her screaming violently as the light enveloped the Earth. The X-Men wanted to watch her to see what she was doing, but the light she exuded blinded them as if she was a sun hanging only a few dozen feet over them. Suddenly, the light snapped backed, retracting back within her as quickly as it had spread. When they were able to open their eyes, all the other teams that had been spread about the globe did the same.

            "Whoa…" Shadowcat said as she looked up to see Storm, Beast, Magma, Sunspot and Cannonball all huddled around a frozen Warbird, still bracing for impact. Avalanche was still rubbing her back incase she had to throw up again, a little bit slower to realize the slight change in setting.

            "Where are we?" Psylocke said, sitting on Archangel's legs as she looked up to the burning trees of the Chinese landscape replaced with a barren, Egyptian desert. Iceman just blankly pointed up to the Phoenix hanging in the air above them.

            "So… we're in Egypt? At the Sphinx?" Toad asked, befuddled.

            "Welcome, mate." Pyro nodded, just as surprised to see everyone else.

            "The Sphinx?!" Gambit asked as he finally let go of his head to see Rogue. In losing his concentration, Wolverine trembled as he felt something course through is bones. He unsheathed his claws to see them glowing pink. He quickly realized the source, but not sure of why.

            "Hey, listen gumbo, you gotta uncharge the metal in my body." Wolverine tried to say as calmly as possible so as not let on his petrifying fear.

            "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" Gambit said as he went back to his concentration, slowly restoring the kinetic energy of Wolverine's skeleton back to normal.

            "Jean!" Cyclops shouted at the Phoenix, so relived to see her again. He realized instantly though, that it wasn't the Jean he hoped it was.

            "Do not cry for me, my love." She answered. The sound of her voice caused everyone to stop what they doing and look up at her. "I have caused you to feel so much pain. Through this, I learn the sting of regret. Dear boy, do not fear. I hear you. She hears you." The way she spoke to him filled Cyclops with a sense of inner peace, and he worried no more.

            Gambit, still curled up on the ground clutching his head, was suddenly enveloped by the by warm, firey wings of the Phoenix as she spoke to him in his heart. "You will suffer for your love no longer. The destruction hurts you." Gambit finally looked up at her in the sky. She seemed to hardly acknowledge his existence from her perch, but it felt as though she stood directly in front of him. "I will protect you." She comforted him. He finally felt he could relax his mind as the Phoenix took over for him. He stood up and stared at Rogue.

            "Can you… can you tell her somethin' for me?" Gambit cautiously asked the Phoenix.

            "She already knows what you have to say. Soon, she will need to hear it, but not now." The Phoenix answered back as she turned back to Rogue. She calmly placed a hand on Rogue's rigid shoulder. The Phoenix closed her eyes and sighed. As she reopened them, not only was Rogue once again reanimated, but so were Angel and Carol. The evil green glow was gone as they all slowly regained some sort of consciousness.

            "Carol!" The Beast shouted with excitement.

            "Ungh… who?" She moaned as she rubbed her head and sat up

            "You don't--"

            "Hank, take her on the plane." The professor interrupted his disappointed statement. Beast nodded sheepishly as he helped Storm carry Carol on the helijet.

            "Warren!!" Psylocke bursted with exhilaration as she kissed him.

            "Betsy--" He responded humbly with a smile.

            "Alright, c'mon." Sunspot said as he had to pull Psylocke off of Angel and Iceman helped him on the jet, his feathers tinged red with is own blood, still dripping from his wounds.

            Gambit just stood under Rogue and watched, waiting for her to come back to him.

            "Where am Ah?" Rogue asked as she opened her eyes for what felt like the first time in ages. Gambit heaved a sigh of relief as he heard her soft southern accent for the first time in so long.

            "You are going home… with people who love you." The Phoenix replied peacefully. Rogue was too deep in a fog to realize what was going on before her.

            "Love me?..." She mumbled as she drifted off into a deep sleep. "Gambit…" She grumbled before she was gone. She began to tip backward as she remained in the sky. When she was completely horizontal, she began to drift back to the ground.

            "Rogue!! Rogue!!" Gambit tried to call out to her.

            "Shh…" The Phoenix quieted him. "She is at peace now." He continued to look up at the Phoenix, waiting for an explanation. When he didn't get one, he looked to Wolverine at his side.

            "Gimme your coat, kid." Wolverine said. Gambit just stared at him as if he was crazy. "Gumbo, gimme your coat!" He looked up to see Rogue falling closer to the ground. Wolverine held out his arms beneath her, and Gambit laid his coat over them to prevent any skin-to-skin contact. Rogue gently fell into Wolverine's arms and Gambit gently stroked her hair as they walked her onto the plane.

            "Wanda?!" Pyro shouted as he crossed paths Magneto. She was lifeless and bleeding as he carried her onto the helijet. "You did this to her, didn't you?!" Pyro screamed at Magneto. "You pushed her too hard!!" Magneto just impatiently rolled his eyes at the ferocious, firey ball that was Pyro. "Your little helmet won't protect you from this!" He yelled as he fired up his working flame thrower.

            "No." Magneto finally responded to Pyro's accusations. "I wanted her to stop. She pushed herself too far when she was injured. I would never hurt my child." He then gave his hand a jerk, and Pyro's metal fuel pack pulled him to the ground, out of Magneto's way.

            "He's right." Quicksilver said as Pyro got back up to chase after Magneto. "She got hurt but she refused to sit out." Pyro just waited for a further explanation while the Beast wrapped up Quicksilver's shoulders. They had long since stopped bleeding after Riptide's assault, but they still needed to be covered. "Don't worry. If he hurt her, I would've killed him myself."

            "Jean!" The professor called out to the Phoenix. "Jean, we are here for you."

            "I scare you." The Phoenix responded, throwing the professor back. "My mentor, you have always derived security from the fact that you could probe the minds of your peers. And while you never have, without prior knowledge, you use your abilities to comfort you. You fear me because you cannot know what I have planned." The professor and Cyclops just looked at each other, dumbfounded by her insight.

            "I know what you have planned." Psylocke blurted out, no longer able to keep her fears and visions to herself, as she jumped into the biggest matter at hand. "We won't le you do it. You'll serve your purpose and then you'll get out of here. You'll defeat Apocalypse then go away. You can't consume us the way you have those other solar systems. It's my mistake, I know that. But we will all defeat you. We're the X-Men; we'll do whatever it takes." Everyone just looked at her, surprised by the accusation. The Phoenix merely chuckled at her passion in what she believed.

            "Your re-awakening precognition… it was not." The Phoenix explained. "That power died with Kwannon. All that has followed has merely been a coincidence. A residue of the gift left within you."

            "So… Apocalypse has been feeding me those images? The horrible, bloody future I saw was simply to scare me?" The Phoenix nodded calmly.

            "But you saw through it. You saw my reason for inhabiting this body on this planet in this universe. I have traveled the farthest reaches of this universe, feasting on the stars of galaxies. I reveled in the pain and destruction of billions upon billions of lives. I had lost my purpose in my crusade, only to submerge myself in my own power. But you saw truth in a sea of lies. For that, the world thanks you." Psylocke was still trying to absorb the meaning of the Phoenix's powerful words.

            "So you are here to help us?" Xavier asked.

            "I am here to perform my duties."

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First of all, sorry with the cop-out on the whole Berzerker deal… I thank you for your compliments on my fight scenes, and I feel I sorta let you down. I just couldn't think of any other way to get rid of him!! Just had to address that, but that's all!!      

Rouge151 – Well, there's Rogue for ya, a little bit o' Romy, hope it works for you. I'm glad you got the whole thing with Carol… I wasn't sure anyone would! And I'm glad you liked the Betsy/Warren. Thanks for reviewing!! And Happy New Year!!

Aro – yay!! No neglect!! I don't have to call MFFNA (My FanFic Neglect Agency) on you!! I'm glad you like the Betsy/Warren, and I got some Romy in there for you!! Hope it tides you over for a little while. No Romy in the next chapter, then there will be that explosion I was talking about earlier. Stay tuned!! Happy New Year!!

RougeFan – Yay!! I'm glad you like my horsemen choices. I've been planning this for Carol for along time. Hope you like this dose of Rogue!! And the suspense will all be over soon. Just stick around!! Happy New Year!!

Sphinx29 – Yay!! You like my humor!! I'm not very good at being funny on cue, but I can get a little bit in there every once in a while… but is definitely a drama fic! Happy New Year!!

Ishandahalf – I'm so glad you enjoyed the Betsy/Warren. Hope you enjoyed this Romy and Jonda! No Romy in the next chapter, but after that will be the Romy explosion I PROMISE!! And your question about the statue-ness was answered. Okay, okay, I'm sorry about the whole science thing. I'm just a curious bugger. Okay, so it's magic. That works for me!! My Wizard says you better keep those reviews a comin' supafast!! And Happy New Year!!

Pyrosgal – w00t!! A new reviewer!! I'm glad you like my Pyro. Yeah… there really isn't a lot of John around these parts, now is there? Thanks for reading and reviewing, keep it up!! And Happy New Year!!

Epona – Woohoo!!! Another new reviewer!! Short and sweet, I love ya, babe!! Keep those reviews a comin' and I'll keep a postin'! Happy new Year!!

Leann – This is the best Christmas ever!! New Reviewers for walmartshoplifter!! Yay!! I'm glad you love my story! Keep your review a comin', and I'll keep a postin'!! Happy New Year to you as well!!

Ellavira – yet another new reviewer!! I'm so glad you like my fic!! It makes me so happy!! Here's another post, and review soon!! Happy New Year!! (I just don't get tired of saying that!)

Lady Farevay – Okay, two months and no reviews?!?! Better late than never I guess ;-P Don't let it happen again! I'm glad you like my fic so much! I'm so glad you like the Romy, hope this chapter makes you happy. It's like a shot of Romy tequila on an empty stomach, baby!! So, it wasn't exactly a Rogue/Jean/Phoenix showdown, but sort of. Hope I didn't shatter your dreams!! Okay, don't go two months without reviewing again!! (Although there isn't that much left…)  HaPpY nEw YeAr!!

Gothic Cajun – I was wondering what happened to you!! I'm so glad you're back, and making up for lost time!! That's why you always have to challenge the man!! I'm glad you're still interested enough to keep reading after so long!! Yay!! I love you!! Hope this Romy was good enough for ya!! Keep reviewing and Happy New Year!!