OK folks, here's the deal: I was about halfway through this chapter--half friggin' way!--when I accidentally deleted it.  ;__; Not good…quite the opposite, in fact.  Thankfully it's Christmas break, so I have two weeks to write.

OK, for this chapter only (unless I say otherwise later), stuff written [like this] is a scene from a movie.  Kay?

I hope this is as good as the original was.  Here goes…

Rogue's debriefing was short, taking barely fifteen minutes.  It was then decided that Kitty and Kurt should each be debriefed separately, to determine what they had learned.  Since this was likely to take quite a bit of time, Rogue decided to go see Dr. Walker about her hypnosis session.

The Doctor was sitting at her desk, apparently doing paperwork.  She stopped when Rogue came in.

"Hello, Rogue.  Once again, you seem to have arrived several days ahead of schedule."

"Sorry."

Dr. Walker waved her apology away.  "Don't be.  If it weren't for you, I'd go mad with boredom.  So, I take it you're here about the hypnosis?"

Rogue nodded.

"Excellent.  We will begin straightaway.  Lie down on the couch, please."

Rogue obeyed as Dr. Walker moved to the chair across from the couch, taking a notepad and pen with her.

"Now, I am going to put you into a trance.  I want you to close your eyes.  Take a deep breath.  Hold it.  And release slowly.  Deep breath.  Hold it.  Release.  I want you to focus entirely on your breathing.  Deep breath, hold, release.  Don't break the pattern.  Deep, hold, release.  Deep, hold, release.  I want you to feel the rhythm.  Let it flow through you.  Deep breath, hold, release.  Now I am going to count backwards from ten.  When I get to zero, you will be asleep, but you will still be able to hear me and respond to everything I say.  Ten…nine…eight…seven…"

Rogue's mind was becoming foggy.  She seemed very weary all of a sudden.  Each breath brought her closer to unconsciousness.

"Four…three…two…one…zero."

Rogue was in the Darkness.  It swirled around her like a black wind.  A tiny surge of fear coursed through her, fear of being in such total nothingness.  She pushed it away quickly.  Rogue strained her ears, hoping to hear the voices of the ghosts she had seen before.  A different voice came to her, instead.

"Rogue?"

"Yes, Doctor?"

"Tell me where you are."

"Ah'm not really anywhere.  There's nothin' here.  Literally."

"Can you see anything?"

"No.  It's just black."

The Doctor was silent for a few moments.

"OK, you're going to have to find a path of some sort, to lead you deeper into your subconscious."

"How'm Ah supposed t' do that if Ah can't see?"

"Close your eyes, and imagine the path showing itself to you.  Remember, that's your mind, you're the one who controls it."

Rogue closed her eyes, and imagined a path appearing in front of her.  She opened them again--nothing.

"It didn't work."

"Try harder.  Don't just picture it happening, will it to happen.  Command it to happen.  It's your mind.  Take charge."

Rogue closed her eyes again.  She thought about the path appearing at her command.  She spread her arms wide, holding her hands palm-up.

"This is my realm!" she shouted.  "My mind!  I demand entrance!  Show me the path that will take me where I wish to go!  Show it to me, for I am the master of this place!  I am the Rogue!  I am the Ausire!" 

With the last word she felt a surge of energy thunder through her.  It coursed like fire through her veins, touching every part of her body.  It was a rush the likes of which no drug could ever induce.  It was power.

And it was gone.

Rogue eased open her eyes, slightly off-balance from the shock.  To her surprise, the Darkness had parted slightly, revealing a dirt road.

"It worked," she whispered, amazed.

"What made you decide to say all that?"

Rogue froze. 

"I have no idea.  Instinct, maybe?"

"Could be.  Say, what was that last word you used?  It didn't sound English."

"It's nothing," she lied.  "So, Ah'm guessin' you want me to start followin' this little road?"

"Unless you'd rather stand around talking.  I get paid either way, so the choice is entirely up to you."

Rogue rolled her eyes and began walking.              

----------

"OK, Ah am over this whole Darkness thing."

Rogue had been walking for what felt like an hour, but who could really tell in such a place?  At first it had been interesting; walking down a path that seemed to have walls made of night on either side.  Then it had turned creepy when she discovered that if she put a hand into the "wall," it would appear to have vanished.  Now, however, it was just boring.

"You'd think Ah'd have found somethin' by now."

"Maybe its there, and you just can't see it," the Doctor suggested. 

"In which case Ah'm screwed."

"Not necessarily."

"Well if Ah can't see it, then for all we know Ah've already passed it, and this is just a wild goose chase."

"Just have a little patience.  You'll find what you're after."

Rogue highly doubted that, but didn't say so. Instead she resolved to just continue walking until the Doctor told her to stop or she went insane, whichever came first. 

As it turned out, neither happened.  Instead, she found a small, flickering light in the distance.  It danced and swayed like a candle in the wind, despite the fact that there was no wind to speak of.

"Um, Doc?  Ah think Ah see something."

"I told you you'd find it," the Doctor said smugly.  "What is it?"

"A light.  Ah can't really see it yet; Ah'm too far away.  It's right by the path, though.  Hold on, Ah'm gonna get closer."

Rogue jogged up the path to where the light was, pausing about a foot away.  It was a dimly lit torch, sitting in an iron holder.  The flame wasn't orange like she'd expected; it was green. 

Looking around, Rogue noticed another torch on the opposite side of the road.  It was in an identical holder, but was unlit.

"There's a torch here," she said.  "And it's got a green flame.  Looks kinda creepy.  There's another torch on the other side of the road, but it's not lit."

"A green flame?  That is strange."

"Well it is mah favorite color."

"I though black was your favorite color."

"Tell no one," Rogue said jokingly.  "Ah'm gonna light this other torch.  Maybe then Ah'll actually be able to see somethin' in here."

She took the first torch out of its holder and brought it over to the second.  The moment the flame caught, there was a roaring sound, and the path was suddenly illuminated by green lights.  Dozens of torches on both sides of the path had caught fire simultaneously, with enough light to drive the Darkness back.

Rogue wished they hadn't.

"Oh, God," she whispered.

The road was lined with cages.  They were stacked up three high, and ran down along the path for as far as she could see.  Inside the cages were thin, ghostly forms.  Scraggily, transparent arms reached through the bars, clawing at the air.  They wailed in agony, rage, and frustration. 

Rogue's eyes widened.  Inside the cages she could see the faces of every person she'd ever touched.  There was Logan, clawing at his bars half-heartedly, all hope gone from his sunken eyes.  And there was Scott, his face pressed against the bars, arm outstretched.

"Help us," he pleaded.  "Please, help us."

Rogue couldn't stand to look at him.  She spun around, and was met by another wall of cages.  The one nearest to her held a bone-thin Jean, who was looking at her with pure hatred.

"Soul-stealer," Jean spat.  "Vampire!  Murder!"

"Ah'm sorry," Rogue whispered, tears beginning to sting her eyes.

"For what?"  Rogue barely heard the Doctor's voice through all the screaming.  "Rogue, what's going on?"

"Ah can't do this.  Ah'm goin' back!"  Rogue turned on her heel and bolted away from the cages, covering her ears to block out their tortured cries.

"Rogue, why are you quitting?  What's wrong?"

Rogue told the Doctor about the cages, and the horrid, blood-chilling screams.

"You can't let them stop you," the Doctor said once she was done. 

"Ah'm not goin' back there."

"You have to."

"No, Ah don't.  Ah've lived with mah power for this long, Ah can keep living with it."

"If that's what you want to do, I won't stop you.  Huh."

"What?"

"Nothing, I just never though of you as being a coward."

"Ah know what you're trying to do, and it won't work.  You can't convince to go back through there."

"Why not?  What's so scary about it?"

Rogue shivered.  "Seeing all those poor people locked up…"

"But they aren't people."

"What?"

"They aren't people.  Unless I'm mistaken, your powers just absorb a copy of the people you touch.  So the things in those cages are nothing more than copies.  Fakes.  Cheap knock-offs.  The real ones are still alive and well, am I right?"

"Yeah, but--"

"But nothing.  The things in those cages aren't real people."

"It still isn't right for them to be in cages like that."

"And why are they in cages?"

"So that they won't take over mah mind."

"Well then I don't think the cages are working.  I mean, if you won't even go past them to get to your switch, I'd say they have taken over.  And what's worse, they've taken your control hostage.  They're standing between you and the one thing that could set you free; the one thing that an insure that no more of those cages get filled.  And you're about to let them get away with that."

Rogue chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully.  Dr. Walker was right, they were just copies.  Maybe if she kept her ears covered, and didn't look at them, she might be able to make it through…

"Okay," she conceded.  "Ah'll do it."

"That's the Rogue I know.  Just remember, there's nothing to be afraid of.  It's your mind, and you're in control."

Rogue nodded, although she knew Dr. Walker couldn't see it.

Slowly she approached the cages.  When she was close enough to hear the screaming, she stopped.

"Ah can do this," she whispered.  She took a deep breath, and started walking.

The moment she entered their line of sight, the caged figures started calling to her.

"Help us!"

"Soul-stealer!"

"Let us out!"

"Save us, please!"

"How could you do this to us?"

"Monster!"

"Don't leave us!"

She clamped her hands over her ears, and kept her eyes pinned to the floor.

"They aren't real," she reminded herself. "They aren't real."

"Come back!"

"Vampire!"

"Help!"

Amid the chorus of screams Rogue heard one voice that made her heart break.

"Schwester?  Help me, please!"

Rogue looked up to see Kurt reaching down to her from one of the top cages.  His hollow cheeks were tear-streaked.  Rogue choked back a sob and turned away from him.

"Schwester, vhy are you leaving me?  Come back!  Schwester!"

"Ah'm sorry!" Rogue sobbed.  She broke into a run, desperate to get away from the despairing cries. 

As she went, she caught a glimpse of Gambit's wailing form out of the corner of her eye.  That glimpse triggered her memory of their date, bringing a scene from the movie to her mind.

[Dory, the royal blue tang fish, was floating next to Marlin, a very sad-looking clown fish.

"It's gone," Marlin said.  "The mask is gone."

"What, did you drop it?" Dory asked.

"No, you dropped it!"

"Oops."

"Now I'm never gonna find my son."  Marlin looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Hey Mr. Grumpy Gills.  When life gets you down, you know what you gotta do?"

"I don't want to know what you gotta do."

Dory ignored him and began to sing.

"Just keep swimming!  Just keep swimming!  Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming!  What do we do?  We swim, swim, swim!"]

Rogue couldn't help grinning.  "Just keep swimming," she whispered.  "Just keep swimming.  Just keep swimming."  She repeated the phrase continually, using it as a block to distract her from the screams.

After awhile Rogue began to notice that the screams had grown fainter.  She looked around; she was past the cages!

"Ah'm through," she said half to herself.

"Great!  I knew you'd make it."

Rogue slowed her pace to a jog, and continued along the road.

----------

There was no telling how much time Rogue spent in the Darkness.  It could have been fifteen minutes, or it could have been three hours.  She just didn't know.

The green torches continued to light her path, for which she was thankful.  She continually scanned the road up ahead for signs of…well, anything.  Eventually she began to see a building of some sort off in the distance.

Rogue broke into a sprint.  As she approached the building, she saw that it was made of large stones.  The stones were cracked, with moss and vines growing over them.

The road she was on led right to the front door of the building, leaving no doubt as to weather or not this was her destination.  It was several stories high, and was topped by a pitched roof decorated with stone gargoyles. 

When Rogue was practically at the front door she stopped to get a better look at the building.  There was a massive stone awning over the door.  It was supported by two pillars on either side of Rogue.  Each pillar was so big around that Rogue could not have reached all the way around them if she'd tried.  Wrapped around the pillars were carved stone dragons.  They glared down at her from the tops of the pillars, guarding the entrance.  Next to one of the stone a small gong sat on the floor.  Like everything else there, it appeared to be on its last legs. 

The door itself was about seven feet tall, made of rotting wood.  The knob and hinges were all made of iron.  Rogue took hold of the doorknob and pulled on it. 

Nothing.  The door was stuck.

"Oh, come on!  Would it kill ya t' open?"

"I take it you've found something."

"Yeah, a thousand year old building with a door that won't open, and two stone dragons that're givin' me the third degree."  She tugged again, using all her body weight.  It held fast.

"Open, ya God dang piece o' wood!"

"Have you tried the doorbell?" Dr. Walker said jokingly.

"Y' know, that ain't a bad idea."

Rogue went over to the gong.  It was decorated with a Chinese-style dragon in the center.  She looked around for a drumstick to hit it with, but it was nowhere to be seen.  There was a hook on the side of the gong's holder that was probably supposed to hold the drumstick, but it had disappeared.

"Figures," Rogue muttered.  She got down to look around and behind the gong, thinking it might have fallen out and rolled away.  She searched around the pillar, but without avail.  Coming back to the gong, she noticed that the dragon on the front was clutching something in its teeth.  It was a drumstick.  Looking up, Rogue saw that the pillar's dragon had the drumstick in its mouth.

"Well Ah am not climbin' that thing!  Ah'll just hafta improvise."

Rogue stood up and kicked the gong, then jumped back as the door swung open.

"Cool."

She peered into the doorway; the space beyond it was pitch black.  Rogue ran back to the road and grabbed a torch out of its holder, then went back to the door and stepped inside.

The green light cast long shadows on the tile floor.  Cobwebs clung to the corners and to the small candles hung on the walls.  Rogue lit several of the candles to get more light in the room—several of them, however, refused to ignite. 

With the increased light, Rogue could see that there was a dried water fountain in the middle of the floor.  It was a statue of a man and a woman standing side by side.  The man was almost two feet taller than Rogue.  His muscular arms fell at his sides, with one hand clutching staff.  His face was full of unyielding determination.  He was staring at the space in front of him, daring the world to try and challenge him.  The woman was slender, high-chinned, and straight-backed, with her fists at her sides.  Although the stone was worn and cracked, she was still beautiful with hair that fell to her waist.  She wore an expression similar to the man's, an expression that clearly said "I am a free being, slave to no one, with a life to live as I see fit."

Rogue's eyes wandered to the base of the fountain, where the title was written as a single word: LIFE.

"Wow."

She stepped past the fountain and into the corridor behind it.  The walls there were carved with pictures that Rogue couldn't make out through the cobwebs.  The corridor opened up into another room, this time without candles lining the walls.  She held her torch higher to help light the area more.

The room was filled with stone pedestals that stood waist-high.  Each one held an object of some sort.  Some held miniature statues of dragons, while others held rings and necklaces.  Still others held big, dust-covered books that looked like they would crumble into dust if you touched them. 

"What is all of this?"

"All of what?"

Rogue realized that Dr. Walker didn't have a clue what was going on, and filled her in.  "Ah'm startin' to think this place is some kind o' temple.  There's tons o' neat stuff in here: jade necklaces, books that're thicker than the Bible, and hey!  A dagger!  Sweet!  Actually, this whole side of the room looks like it's devoted to weaponry."

She was right.  The pedestals on that side of the room held three-pronged daggers, knives with elaborate designs carved into the hilts, double-sided battle axes, curved scimitars, short swords, broad swords, rapiers, cutlasses—basically anything with a sharp edge.

"Ah'm lovin' this place."

As she walked around admiring the weapons, she saw one that looked oddly familiar.  It was a very plain sword, with a long blade and crosstree hilt.  She couldn't quite place where she recognized it from.  Then it came to her.

"It's Narsil."

"Come again?"

"The sword Narsil, it's here."

"Narsil?  What's that?"

"From Lord of the Rings?  The sword that was broken?"

"Sorry, never saw the movies."

Rogue scoffed.  "And you call yourself an American. Seriously, what kind of person doesn't know about Lord of the Rings?"

"Ok, you've made your point."

Rogue reluctantly left the weapons room, and began exploring the temple for signs of her switch.  At length she came to a large door guarded by twin sentinels of stone.  They were men-at-arms, dressed in full combat armor and standing at attention.  One held an axe, the other sword.  Rogue passed them and went to open the door when something caught her eye.  Carved into the stone next to the door was an inscription.

"Ah've found a door that's got some kind of inscription written next to it."

"Well, what does it say?"

" 'Beyond this threshold lies Control, that timid and elusive creature.  Treat Her with care, and She will stand by you like a faithful dog.  Abuse Her, and She will desert you forever.'  What d' you suppose it means?"

"I think it's saying that if you try to use too much of your powers—like, say, absorbing as much of a person as you can—then you would lose control, with no way of getting it back."

"That would stink.  Alright, Ah'm goin' in."

Rogue pushed open the door and stepped inside, never once realizing that the inscription was written in a language never spoken by any civilization here on Earth…

CLIFFHANGER!!!  Am I evil or what?  10 and ½ pages…go me!  Sorry it took so long, but life got in the way. 

OK, time for a little contest.  If you can figure out where I got the statue in the water fountain from, I'll give you…A GIANT BAG OF POPCORN!!!  YAAAAAAY!!

Well, I could waste more time talkin' to you, but then it would take longer for me to get this uploaded, and we don't want that!  So bye, and happy belated New Year!