Y'all know the dilly yo, that I don't own these characters, marvel or anything else. Sometimes I wish I did, but wishing ain't having… oh well. Y'all know the drill.. blah blah blah.
This story doesn't really fit in with the X-Men Evolution timeline at all nor would I try to make it to. However, in this story, Gambit was an acolyte, and Magneto disappeared. Oh yes, and the first meeting with Gambit and Rogue and the card and the whole media thing still happened. Oh, and Evan doesn't exist in this story or he's off with the morlocks because I don't really need a whole bunch of characters to incorporate into the story, since this is really a ROMY story. Everything else is all A/U but in a beautiful way. Enjoy!
Author's Note: Okay, I'm getting excited about the sequel now. I really am, because I started thinking about it and the sequel is definitely going to better than this story. Though, this story is really only half the story. Whereas I regard this story more of a Rogue story, the sequel deals more with Remy. So, two halves of the same shell if you know what I mean. I am excited and that's a good thing! Next chapter will be the last…. Hope everyone's still reading! I'll respond to reviews next time! Enjoy everyone!
On with the story…
Somewhere I Belong
"No… No. This can't be happening again." Rogue said anxiously as she scanned around feverously for him.
"I'm fine, chere." Remy said from behind her and she immediately turned around and ran into his arms.
When she pulled away from him, she realized that he was probably unconscious in reality. "No. Ya ain't fine. Ah have t' wake up. Ah have t' make sure ya are fine." She said and attempted to take control of her body, which meant she had to push Remy off the ledge of the platform since he was sharing the control of her body with her.
"Non, Rogue. Y' ain't going anywhere. I'm fine, really. We have t'get dis done and now." He stated strongly.
"Get what done, Remy? Get lost in here forever? Look down, Remy. Ah can't fight them all off. There are too many of them. Just jump down and join them so I can wake up and see if ya are fine. What if ya are in a coma again??" She asked frantically as the possibility of him dying in her arms occurred to her.
"I'm fine, Rogue. Don' worry. I didn't hold onto y' for dat long." Remy explained.
"And how do ya know dat? What if ah absorbed ya forever? What if ya can never go back?" She asked worriedly.
"Rogue, I ain't a telepath. I didn't find my way in here so dis isn't even really my mental being. Remember dat when y' absorb someone, y'only take a figment of their present mental psyche. Y'never fully absorb their entire mental being unless y' hold on to 'em for a very long time, and trust me when I say dat I held onto y' just long enough." Remy elucidated calmly.
"Hmm… then how come ah didn't absorb ya fully when ah put ya into a coma?" Rogue couldn't help but question.
"Let's just say y' got lucky den." Remy replied and chuckled lightheartedly. However, Rogue didn't share the same sentiment as she glared at him in return. "It ain't funny, sugah. And ah want ya out of my head! Ya ain't no use in here. Ah can barely fight dose bastards off, ah don't need another one of ya in here!" She cried with annoyance for she was still desperate to return to reality and ensure that Remy was indeed alive.
Looking down from the high platform that they were on, he witnessed the abundant psyches that consumed the place. All of them were trying to overpower each other to fight their way to the top. Remy turned back towards Rogue as he took her hands in his. "Dat's what I'm here for, chere. We're gonna do dis t'gether."
"What are ya talkin' about, Remy? Ah barely know how t'do this and this is my body, what would ya know about it?" Rogue asked skeptically and at this point, her only desire was to wake up and check if Remy was actually fine.
"Y' have a good point, chere, but at dis point, what have y' got t'lose? We're basically on de same level where we both don' know what's going on; we might as well figure dis out t'gether." He reckoned and admitted that he didn't have a plan.
"Ah never wanted ya t' have t' go through this wit' me, Remy. This was never what ah intended. This is my body, my mutation, and my burden, not yours." Rogue stated.
"Chere, when are y' gonna learn dat what happens t'y' affects me too? Dis may be your body and mutation but dis is very much our burden. Y' ain't unloading it on me, I choose t' take it. I choose to help y'. So don't give me no bullshit of fighting dis alone or it's your burden alone, because we're very much in dis t'gether. And I ain't gonna let y' do dis alone simply because I love y'." He said and squeezed her hand to reassure her that he had no intentions of leaving her.
She squeezed his hand back and the two of them look down at the pool of psyches at the bottom. "Ah love ya too, sugah. So, what's next?"
He made eye contact with her and then looked down at the swarm of psyches. "I think y' know. Ready, Rogue?"
"Ready." She responded surely and as soon as she said that, the two of them jumped off the platform and into the pool of psyches.
Once they were down there, the other psyches tried to split the two of them apart, but Remy screamed to Rogue, "DO NOT LET GO OF MY HAND!" She was more than delighted to oblige as she gripped his hand tightly. Remy kicked off a few psyches that were trying to tear the two of them part and he managed to find some room to pull Rogue close to him. She clung on to him and asked, "What do we do now?"
He scanned the internal space of her mind intensively, and answered, "Not quite sure at de moment, chere. Just give me a second." As soon as he said that, he saw it. Along the opposite side of her mind, there was a caged door. "We gotta get t' de ot'er side of dis place, chere. Hold on t' Remy, while we fight 'em off t'get dere." He directed and began to squirm his way towards the designated area.
"Okay…Remy." Rogue agreed and held on to him tightly while he charged his way through. When they reached it, he peered through the gate and found that it led to what seemed like a bottomless pit. An idea came to him, as he told Rogue, "We gotta get all of dem down in dere."
Rogue looked at where he suggested and then gazed back at him. "How?" She simply asked.
"If we have t'force dem down dere, t'an we will have to. By any means necessary, chere. Dis is your life on de line, remember dat." He replied.
"Okay. Just don't fall in there ya'self, sugah." Rogue stated.
"I won't." He said.
"'K. Let's do this." Rogue said with a new determination. Remy held open the gate that led down to the pit and Rogue grabbed the nearest psyche near her. It belonged to Kitty Pryde.
"Like, hi Rogue." The psyche greeted cheerfully.
"Hey, Kitty. Do ya mind?" Rogue asked out of courtesy.
Being the sweet lovable girl she actually was in real life, there was no hesitation on her part when she answered, "Nope. It's about time, really! It was like nice being in here, Rogue, but we all know I'm not supposed to be in your mind, so here I go. See ya in real life!" And with that statement, Kitty voluntarily jumped passed the gate and down the hole.
"Well, that was easy." Rogue said contently and smiled at Remy.
"Ain't all gonna be like dat, chere. Grab another one, now." Remy instructed sternly, though he did return a smile.
Rogue quickly snatched another psyche close to her, and it was Logan. "Hey kid."
"Hey Logan. Ready t' go?" She asked.
"Been ready for awhile now. About time ya got your act together, darling." He stated.
"Well, needed a little help." Rogue said and nodded her head towards Remy, which Logan's psyche looked in the direction as well. Of course Remy had to give Logan one of his patented cocky smirks which only made Logan roll his eyes.
He turned back towards Rogue and said, " I think ya can do better than him, Stripes. But enough of this chit-chat. Take care, darling. Be strong always." As soon as he finished, he jumped in after Kitty.
Upon seeing Logan jumped through the gate, she immediately grabbed another psyche by the arm. It was Kurt's.
"Meine schwester!" He cried with delight.
"Hey Kurt, gonna have t'make this short, there's still a ton of people t'go." Rogue said briskly.
"Love you too, Roguey." He said, embraced her and gave her a peck on the cheek before he too, jumped into the unknown. Rogue brought a hand to her cheek where Kurt had given her a quick kiss. It felt nice to experience touch, even if it was in her own mind and wasn't necessarily real.
"Roguey… we'll have time for more of dat later. Get back to business." Remy interrupted her current state, and she scowled slightly at him before she snatched another psyche near her. It was no other than Scott Summers, the psyche who started the domino effect of what had happened to her and Remy.
She simply glared at the X-leader and in the iciest tone, she said, "Get." However, Scott ignored her command and went straight into a long-winded explanation.
"Rogue, I didn't mean to cause you pain. It wasn't my intentions at all. I just don't understand how you can like a guy like him. Think about it? Do you really think you're going to get all of them through this gate? It's nice to know that you finally figured out the key to controlling this madness and sure he helped you, but how do you know that you're going to win? Don't forget he is a traitor. He did work for Magneto once. I just don't get how you can like a guy who's completely opposite…AHHH!" Scott's psyche suddenly screamed as he was kicked violently through the gate and plummeted down to the unknown.
"She said, 'GET!' Y' Jackass!" Remy shouted after him and rubbed his hands together for a job well done. Rogue giggled and reprimanded lightly, "Sugah, that ain't really nice."
"He overstayed his welcome long enough. Plus, y' know y' wanted me t'do de honours, chere." Remy suggested and arched a coy eyebrow at her.
Rogue simply rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him, although she had a grin on her face. This only caused Remy smirk continuously as he commented, "Remy can t'ink of a few t'ings t' do wit' dat tongue of yours, cherie…"
His statement made Rogue blush profusely and rendered her completely speechless. Instead of responding with a bad comeback, she simply huffed and returned to the task at hand.
After Scott went through, Rogue and Remy managed to grab the psyches of Ororo, Jean, Professor Xavier, Hank, the New Mutants, and even the Brotherhood's who all basically volunteered to jump through for they knew that they didn't belong in her mind at all. Though, the Brotherhood was somewhat reluctant to do so, but since they were once Rogue's teammates and due to their genuine care for her well-being, they understood that their presence only caused her pain.
As soon as all the 'friendly' mutants jumped through the gate, Rogue was feeling extremely exhausted since she was the one who did most of the work while Remy held the gate open. She glanced at the direction of the psyches that were still running free and it included the Acolytes, Magneto, Juggernaut, Sabretooth and Mystique.
She turned back to Remy and said, 'ya wanna take care of your friends, sugah?"
He glanced at her with a devious smile on his face while he rubbed his hands together. "Remy'll be delighted." He said and proceeded to walk towards his former teammates.
As soon as he approached the colossal Piotr, the two chums spoke amicably to each other for a while. Rogue observed the two curiously and when Piotr gave Remy a hearty pat on the back, he turned towards Rogue's direction and approached her. Once he reached her and the open gate, he gave her a bright smile. However, before he jumped in, he said, "Take good care of him."
She arched a curious eyebrow as she watched Piotr fall down the hole. She turned back to Remy, hoping for an explanation but he was already in a row with the flaming Pyro.
"Look, mate, ya don't understand. I like it in here. It's hella good time!" Pyro argued adamantly.
"Homme, dis ain't your head. Y' don't belong in here. Dis ain't even de real you." Remy argued back.
"And how the hell do ya know that? I've been in here longer than you have!" Pyro bickered.
"Look, John… don't make me force y' over dere... Plus, y' owe me!" Remy suddenly exclaimed as he remembered a deed he did for John in the past.
"And what would that be?" Pyro asked curiously though he was still unyielding to the idea of jumping through the gate into a hole where he knew only the bad existed.
Remy grinned happily as he whispered something into Pyro's ear that immediately caused his cheeks to burn a bright crimson which complimented his orange hair quite nicely. Pyro's expression became glum as he glared at Remy once more before he marched over towards Rogue and jumped down into the hole.
She peered down after the pyromaniac and turned back towards Remy. "And what was that all about?"
"Let's just say he doesn't want a few secrets involving a dress, vibrator, and camera to get out…" Remy answered while he smirked cunningly.
"Ah don't think ah even wanna know…" Rogue mumbled.
"Trust Remy when he says y' definitely don'." Remy said in agreement.
"Ah'll take your word for it. So what are we gonna do about the rest of them?" Rogue asked as she watched Magneto fly around while Juggernaut and Sabretooth seemed to be involved in a fight. Then, there was her dear 'mother' who was sitting upon a chair and staring straight at her. He gripped her hand as he was beside her again, and he said, "I don' know, chere. We have t'get it done somehow, though hopefully by the way Juggernaut and Vicky is going at it… dey will push demselves over de edge…"
"If only it can be that easy, sugah. Ah'm tired…" Rogue mumbled as she squeezed Remy's hand. He, however, let go of her hand, only to embrace her. "We're not giving up yet, chere. We're almost done." He encouraged.
"Ah know… but what will this accomplish anyway? We don't even know if this will work… what if they all find a way out of wherever the hell they are now. They're still in my mind, ya know. It just won't end like this." Rogue rambled discerningly as she buried her face into Remy's chest.
"Chere, I don' know what's gonna happen or if dis will do anyt'ing at all, but what I do know is dat dis is better than not doing anyt'ing at all. At least dis way, we tried and if we failed, we'll just try again wit' a different way. No matter what, we'll make you okay, again. Y' understand me?" Remy said and pulled her back to look into her emerald eyes.
When she saw the confidence and security in his ruby orbs, she responded, "Ah understand."
"Hmm… so what are we gonna do about dem?" Remy asked her.
"Ah don' know… maybe we can kind of push Sabretooth and Juggernaut in this direction." Rogue suggested.
"How?" Remy simply questioned.
"Oh… geez… ah don't know. Maybe we can use something as bait…." Rogue said, looked over at him and eyed him up and down. Instantly, Remy got the hint and agreed wholeheartedly.
"Just keep de gate open, chere." He instructed and quickly turned his attention to the two giant mutants who were still sparring it out. "HEY! Y' BIG IDIOTIC NO BRAIN MORONS! COME AND GET SOME OF DIS CAJUN!" He yelled and immediately grabbed the attention of both men.
Without a second thought on the two vicious mutant's minds, they hastily charged towards Remy who managed to dodge them just in time by flipping over the two mutants. Thus, the two gigantic mutants ran straight over the edge.
Their laughter filled the air as Rogue and Remy hugged each other for a successful mission. "Dat was too easy." He commented as he smiled contently.
"Definitely, but we ain't done yet." Rogue replied and pointed back at the two remaining psyches.
"Ah call Mystique!" Rogue declared.
"Fine. I call Magnus den." Remy concurred and pulled away from Rogue's embrace. Their hands intertwined as they gave each other reassuring squeezes. "It's now or never, chere."
"Then, NOW!" Rogue cried and immediately sprung into action. She charged towards Mystique's psyche that had anticipated the action and easily jumped over Rogue. While Rogue had her hands busy with Mystique, Remy was having a tough time trying to bring the master of magnetism down to his level. Apparently, charged-up cards don't affect psyches in this current surrounding.
Rogue circled Mystique defensively as she contemplated how to get Mystique over to the open gate, but by the look on Mystique's face, she was just as determined to win this match as Rogue was. "So, daughter, isn't this a quaint situation? I raised you better than this, you know? This isn't supposed to be how it happens. Mothers should not be pinned against their daughters…"
"I'm going to spell it out for you, Mystique. You. Are. Not. My. MOTHER!" Rogue screamed.
"Perhaps not since I would never have such a ungrateful brat as a child!" Mystique cried and pounced on Rogue. Her unexpected move caused Rogue to fall on her back as Mystique landed on top of her. Her two blue scaly hands wrapped around Rogue's throat as she tried to squeeze the life out of it, but with the use of her legs, Rogue managed to hook her a foot underneath each of Mystique's arms and kicked her off her own body.
This time it was Mystique who fell on her back as Rogue grabbed her hair and dragged her up while landing a few kicks and punches. However, Rogue soon lost her control over Mystique as she countered with a flip over Rogue and pinned both of Rogue's arms to her back. Rogue struggled within her grasp as Mystique held both her arms with one hand, while her other hand yanked Rogue's head back by her hair.
"Do not mess with me, Rogue. We could have made this so much easier. If only you had listened to me and dumped that pathetic boyfriend of yours. Do you really think he's going to stick around through thick and thin? Do you really think this pathetic notion you imbeciles call 'love' is going to last the rest of your life? If you haven't learnt anything from me, learn this. Love doesn't exist." Mystique hissed into Rogue's face.
Her comment only made Rogue's face tense up with anger and before Mystique even knew, Rogue spat in her face and kicked her leg back, which contacted the right leg of Mystique. Her leg gave out as Rogue freed her arms from Mystique's sudden loose grip. With a swift motion, Rogue jerked Mystique's hair and dragged her off from the ground. An incredible strength came over Rogue as she practically threw Mystique's body across the area, which it landed on the ground hard. She, then, jumped on top of Mystique and embarked on a violent series of punches to her face while tears dispelled from her own eyes.
"Ya listen to me! Remy is the best thing that has ever come into my life! Love does exist! And our love is the strongest! DO NOT TELL ME OTHERWISE SINCE YA DO NOT EVEN KNOW THE MEANING OF LOVE!" Rogue cried and with each word spoken, there was a complimentary punch with it.
Shockingly, Mystique was actually smiling sadistically while Rogue punched her continuously. "Yes, Rogue. Get it all out. You're turning into the violent killing machine that I always hoped you would become. Take out your anger on me, go ahead." Mystique taunted.
Her statements immediately made Rogue stop her actions as she realized that she was playing right into Mystique's hands. She got up off of her and dragged Mystique up by her hair with one hand, while the other hand gripped both of her wrists. "Ah will not become a pawn in your game. Not then, not now, not ever!" Rogue snapped as he green eyes burned with determination.
Suddenly, Mystique managed to escape from Rogue's hold by the use of her right leg, which was so flexible that she kicked towards her right shoulder from the front and hit Rogue right in the head. Instantly, Mystique took advantage of her position and pinned Rogue to the ground. "You're too weak to ever be my pawn…" She jeered with only hatred in her tone.
Rogue struggled within Mystique's grasp, but Mystique had her knee pinned against Rogue's back, which only kept her anchored to the ground. Mystique pulled Rogue's hair back and taunted further, "You and Kurt are both useless and pathetic humans that do not deserve to even breathe the same air as everyone else. I wanted so much more for the both of you, but you two only disgrace me."
"If ya didn't notice, Kurt and ah don't need ya in our life then or now. We turned out great and it's because ya left us, so thank ya for ditching us. We couldn't have grown up into good people with morals without ya poor parenting skills." Rogue retorted.
This statement by Rogue earned her head a good hard smack to the ground. "DO NOT TALK TO ME THAT WAY! I AM YOUR MOTHER!" Mystique screamed furiously.
"No… You. ARE. NOT!" Rogue yelled and rolled over which caused Mystique to topple to the ground. With the current opening, Rogue didn't waste any time as she yanked Mystique by the hair and dragged her to the open gate quickly. And before Mystique could even react, she was hurled through the opening and down into the unknown. Tears streamed down Rogue's face as she collapsed to the ground, face in her hands, as the realization sunk in that she had finally conquered her biggest obstacle; control of her own mind.
A hand touched her from behind, and she turned around to face him. Remy smiled brightly at her and pulled her up into an embrace. "Y' did it, chere. I knew y' could." He said soothingly and held her close. Her tears were her only reply.
Finally, she pulled away from him to dry her tears, and she noticed that Magneto was gone. "Where's Magnus?" She asked as she scanned the area.
Remy's mouth dropped in mockery as he placed a hand to his chest. "Chere, did y' t'ink dis Cajun couldn't get de job done?"
Rogue chuckled at Remy's act and said, "Ah didn't say that, swamp rat."
"But y' implied it…" Remy said and pouted slightly.
She was about to respond when suddenly the couple was interrupted by an unexpected voice. "Hiya." He said and both of them turned to face him. As soon as Rogue realized who it was, her eyes filled up with tears once more.
"Cody?" She whispered unsurely.
The blonde psyche smiled brightly and said, "Yeah. It's been a while, huh?"
"Ah'm so sorry! Ah'm so sorry for everything that ah've done… ah'm so sorry!" Rogue apologized profusely as the tears streamed uncontrollably down her face while she confronted her first and most innocent victim.
The blonde boy shrugged and said, "don't worry about it. It's fine really. Ah don't blame ya."
"Ah'm just so sorry." Rogue said and then wrapped her arms around Cody. Her uneven sobs continued as she held onto him. Cody rubbed her back soothingly for a few moments before he disentangled himself from her.
"Really. Ah don't blame ya. It's fine. Every thing happens for a reason. Just don't blame yourself, because ah don't. But, ah'm ready to go now, if that's okay wit' ya?" He simply said and smiled to show that he did really forgive her for what had happened between the two of them.
Her breathing calmed once more and her tears subsided. "If ya wanna, then it's okay. Thanks Cody." She said and hugged him once more.
He chuckled and said, "no need for that. Only regret though is that we didn't finish our dance, but perhaps another time, huh? As for now, ah think it's time for me to go. Take care of y'self."
With that, she released him and he gave her one last smile before he walked over the edge and down into the unknown. Rogue watched him go and a comforting hand was placed on both her shoulders. She leaned back towards Remy as she could feel her mind become freer but inevitably more tiresome. "Rogue, it's about time, Remy goes too." He said softly from behind her.
Straight away, she turned around to face him, her emerald eyes wide with surprise. "No. Ya can't go." She said.
"But chere, Remy has too. Y' don' need me anymore. I don' need t'be here anymore." He explained gently.
"But ah do need ya! Ah do! Ah can't do this by myself… ah need ya here!" She cried irrationally as she embraced Remy and buried her head into his chest.
"Rogue, we said dis isn't even de real me. It's just a figment of my real self. I'm not mean t' exist here or anywhere. I only came t'help y' chere, and we did it… you did it. It's time for me t' go and for you to live. Please be strong, Rogue. Be strong for us." He requested and pulled her back to stare into her teary green eyes.
"Ah just… ya can't…" she began but one look into his pleading ruby orbs, she simply responded, "okay."
A big smile appeared on his face as he said, "Dat's my girl. But one more thing before I go… always wanted to see what dis feels like…" And with that opening, he leaned in and kissed her. At first the sensation was awkward for Rogue, but when she realized that she couldn't possibly hurt him, she kissed him back with an intense desire. When the two finally broke apart, both their breathing was rather uneven but each had a grin on their face.
"Now, Remy knows… and Remy likes. Almost a shame I have t' go, chere, but it's time. Remember I love you no matter what." He said reassuringly and hugged her once more before he turned around and jumped into the unknown.
"Good-bye Remy." She murmured, as she stood by herself in her mind for the first time in a long time.
-xoxo-
The warm soft pad supported his head while he slowly awoke. Eventually he woke up although he remained groggy. When he managed to sit up straight, he realized that he had been sleeping on Rogue's stomach. As soon as Rogue crossed his mind, he quickly rushed to see if she was alive and to his relief, her breathing was normal, though she was still asleep.
He rubbed the back of his head as he leaned back onto his chair. The last thing he had remembered was forcing himself on Rogue in order for her to absorb him and pulling back in the last possible moment before he collapsed onto her abdominal. His eyes glanced over at the clock, but his eyes still couldn't focus on any one object just yet. He gave his eyes a few rubs with the back of his hand, and then glance over at the clock once more. It had only been fifteen minutes since she absorbed him.
Now, all he had to do was wait for her to wake up and see if his crazy plan worked. Though, he wasn't even sure his plan was even remotely feasible, let alone work, but only time would tell.
Then, as if she had intuitively known that he was awaiting her consciousness, she sprung up on the bed. And before he could even say a word or check if she was physically fine, she pressed her lips against his.
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Author's note: So, is Rogue in control once and for all? Is Remy going to go into another a coma? Did Mystique climb back up and take over Rogue's mind? Find out in the next installment of Somewhere I Belong. Now was that lame or what? LoL.