Woohoo! Sorry that took a lot of time, but I was working on "Laissez les bons temps rouler" these last days, and was suffering of a pretty bad case of writer's block lately… The last chapter is on the way, pleaaaaase be patient!

Yasei Raiden : Well, I don't really have the intention of making Antoine piss his pants, neither of making Remy kill Antoine with bare hands, though I've always imagined him as an over-protective father… Things will turn out right… promise.

Nessie6 : oh oh, fellow sadistic friend. It seems I'm not the only one who likes seeing Remy and Rogue tortured. As long as it ends well…

KatLeBeau : Cute hein? Like I said to Yasei Raiden, I've always imagined Remy as a good, but protective father. And I have no difficulty imagining he's willing to go to extremes to save his son and daughter.

Tammy : Yeah, I'm afraid we haven't seen a lot of Rogue lately… This is more about her kids than her, in fact.

Talia458 : Now why would I want to hurt Antoine? Na na na, the X-Men have always been kind enough to ask questions before smacking anyone's butt, so I trust they will do the same with Antoine. Now, as for Remy…

Becki : Glad you're not mad at me! I would hate to make my reviewers mad. Reviews are what you write for…

Lucky439 : Again, there it is. Sorry it took so long.

ishandahalf : Well, I've been working a lot on "Let the good times roll" lately, and almost forgot about that chapter I had almost finished… And I wouldn't want to be any near a murderous over-protective fatherly Remy too. Especially if the murderous rage is directed to me.

SanguineNocturne : Thanks a lot! As for the fairy tale ending… I can only hope! I never know what I'll be writing in the next chapter…

Enjoy!

Just try not bringing the house down

The moment he saw the burning angry eyes on him, he felt ridiculous. The man in front of him might have been more than forty years old, but he was in top shape and agile, Antoine knew, and probably more than himself. He stood a few inches over Antoine and was broader in the shoulders than him. More than anything else, Antoine had in front of him a mutant in perfect control of incredible powers, powers he had had for more than twenty years. Remy was a terrifying mutant, at least from Antoine's point of view, and his three little years of knowing his powers seemed ridiculous when confronted to Remy's hard training and experience in hand to hand combat.

He stood no chance against him, but he had to try. A card appeared in Remy's hand and began to glow, and Antoine took a step back, raising his hands in front of him in some kind of defense.

"I…"

The card hit him straight in the chest, and his feet left the ground as he flew back to hit the wall.

"Didn't use full power, boy. Wouldn't want to damage m'house, non?" Coughing, Antoine sat up and raised his head to look at him. Remy had another card in hand, though he hadn't charged it yet.

"Papa! Please stop!" Josée put a hand on her father's arm, but he rudely shoved it away from her grip, glaring at her.

"What d'y'mean, stop? He enters de house in de middle o'de night and tries to kidnap ye…"

"Kidnap me?" She looked dumbfounded for a few moments, then started to laugh. "Dad! It's Antoine!"

"Why should I care about his name?"

"Antoine?" Lydia had recognized the name Josée had talked to her about, and she was looking at him with growing anger in her eyes. "Why!? You're Aeros! The one who attacked us in the street! You're the one that hurt Louis!"

"What?" Josée met Antoine's eyes, and her own moss green eyes narrowed. "Is that true?" Antoine sighed. Remy was standing by her, also waiting for his answer. Antoine dropped his arms to his sides, and cocked his head to the side.

"I… I did not know it was your brother." The card began to glow in Remy's hand.

"Wrong answer, boy" Remy said in a dark voice. Antoine felt a wave of frustration coming inside of him, and his eyes glowed purple. Remy frowned, but did not move back.

"Merde, I've had it! Let me talk before trying to kill me!" He raised his hand and a hard draft of air flew in the room, raising sheets of paper from the desk. Remy squinted his eyes as his hair blew in his face, but still didn't move. Antoine thought he saw a flicker of appreciation in the red eyes, though, and his courage crept a bit higher. "Louis's not hurt! And I had to do it!"

"Why?" Remy sounded challenging, and Antoine felt himself boiling inside.

"Sinister would've killed me if I hadn't" he snapped, his voice cold.

Josée's mouth opened without a sound coming out, and a dark red color rose to her cheeks. "You're working for Sinister?" she hissed, but turned on her heels and left the room without letting him time to answer. Lydia ran out after her, and he stood alone with Remy in the dark room.

"Aren't y'gonna answer de question?" he asked, sounding calm all of a sudden.

"I'm forced to work for Sinister. Now I'm in it up to my neck." Remy nodded, closing his eyes, and turned to the door.

"Suis-moi."* It wasn't meant in a reassuring tone, but Antoine smiled despite himself. He hadn't heard French in a long time.

***

Josée had taken refuge in Louis' bedroom, and sat on the empty bed. The place was a mess, and she made a sad smile. She had so often came here to chat and laugh with her brother, and the mess felt reassuring. There was a gentle knock on the door, but she stayed silent.

"Sugah?" The door opened and Rogue popped her head in. "Can Ah come in, honey?" Josée shrugged.

"It's not my room."

She heard her mother coming in and gently close the door. Soon her arms came around her chest and she felt the heat of her body against her back. Motherly magic : she leaned her head back on her mother's shoulder, and began to cry. "Louis never liked him when I talked about him…"

"Louis' never met him."

"Yes, he did now."

"Sugah, it's not because your Antoine's working foh Sinister that yah have ta think he's a bad man. Sinister's a tricky villain, yah know…" Josée broke free of her embrace, and turned around to meet her eyes.

"What do you mean?"** Rogue didn't answer and stared into her eyes. She looked like she was making some kind of decision, but suddently shook her head.

"Believe me, honey. Sinister can trick tha best of men in doing tha worse of things."

***

He looked miserable, Remy had to admit. The young man had followed him into the mansion, and had waited as he woke up the inhabitants of the house. He now sat in a couch, his head in his hands, and looked like he wanted to be anywhere else than here. Remy saw him shiver and straighten up, and he met his eyes. He looked miserable enough, but the boy had guts. He repressed a chuckle.

"How d'ye met Sinister?" Antoine rolled his eyes to the ceiling and sighed, and leaned back in the couch.

"This spring. I couldn't hide the fact that I had problems with my powers anymore, and he appeared out of nowhere, saying he could help me. I wasn't in a situation in which I had much choice…"

"Yeah, he does dat." Antoine looked back at him, frowning.

"What do you mean?" Remy shook his head. He hadn't told his son and daughter about Sinister, he certainly wasn't going to tell this guy…

"We've known Mr. Sinister for a long time." Both men turned their head towards the door, where a woman had talked. She looked outstanding, with hair as white as snow, and eyes a clear blue.

"Ororo," Remy said, and gestured towards the boy on the couch. "This is Antoine, Josée's… friend." Ororo smiled.

"Denial is a bad habit, Gambit. I've always hoped you would get rid of it with years passing." Remy glared at her, but his mouth twiched upwards. Ororo stood in front of the couch, and Antoine got up to shake her hand. Remy smiled when surprise crossed his features. Storm was a tall woman, and she towered most men. She didn't tower Antoine, though, and the look of surprise left his face to be replaced by a more serious one. "I believe, Antoine, that you have most important information on how to get back my godson."

"I have. I know where he is."

*Follow me.

** Bear in mind that Louis and Josée maybe don't know a lot about their father's past… Well maybe the Thieves Guild part, since they're family to Remy, but my guess is that Rogue and Remy, nor any other X-Men, would ever tell them about the Sinister/Morlock/Antartica thing…