Kitty sighed and looked around. She'd been trapped in this hole with Lance, Pietro, and Gambit for at least 2 hours. The air was tight with tension. Every time they heard a burst of raucous laughter from above, Gambit would growl, punch the wall, and try to climb out. Kitty felt like slapping him. It was useless and he knew it.

Pietro and Lance were having some short of whispered argument. They obviously didn't want her to know what it was about, because whenever one of them got too loud, the other one would shove him and go "shut up man!"

Kitty turned away from all of them and tried for the hundredth time to phase through the wall. As usual, it didn't work. Jean-Luc had really thought of everything. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around. It was Pietro, looking at her sympathetically. Obviously he was done arguing with Lance.

"Hey," he said softly. "It's okay. We're gonna get out of here."

She glared at him. "I don't need sympathy Pietro. I'm fine. So why don't you go back to arguing with Lance about me, okay?"

"What? We weren't-- "

"Oh please," said Kitty. "I'm not stupid. What is it this time?"

"Look, Kitty," said Lance uncomfortably. "Pietro and I were just discussing his reason for coming along on this trip."

'He came along because he loves me,' thought Kitty. 'Pietro loves me.'

"Um, fine, whatever," she snapped. "Just leave me alone. I need to think."

Just then, someone lifted the up the cage that covered the hole. Strong arms lifted up Gambit, Lance, and Pietro. Kitty was left in the hole.

"Hey!" screeched Kitty. "What's going on?! Let me out of here!" There was no reply. A blanket was thrown over the hole, and Kitty sank to her knees in total darkness. She could hear Lance yelling something, but he sounded so far away. Panic took over her body. Curling up into a ball on the floor, Kitty began to cry.

Meanwhile, Lance, Pietro, and Gambit were being dragged across the main wall to one of the far walls. Lance and Pietro were shackled to the wall. Gambit was taken to the center of the room and chained to the marble pillar that supported the ceiling.

Jean-Luc's minions were clearing away the tables. The people were gathering along the walls. Apparently, there was going to be some kind of spectacle. Then, Jean-Luc himself came out, smirking all the way.

"Ah, my son," he said to Gambit. "It is so good to see you again."

Gambit responded to that with a few choice words that are never used in polite company.

Jean-Luc chuckled. "You're feisty, that's good. The time has come for me to explain this situation to you. It is a plan that has been in the works for some 20 years. Now, all will be revealed."

Gambit contributed a few more choice words.

"Today, Remy, you will face your fate. Today you will participate in a winner-take-all battle, to the death. As my son, you will represent the LeBeau family in a battle against our biggest rival. You know exactly who I mean. Years of petty conflicts will end here tonight. The winner will receive all of the loser's wealth and resources, as well as the members of the losing clan .

Gambit stared in disbelief. "What?" he asked, hoarsely.

Jean-Luc's eyes grew tender. "I know you will not let me down my son. You I am proud of you. You became what I could not. Yours is a legacy that will far outlast mine."

"I am nothing like you!" spat Gambit angrily.

"Oh but you are," said Jean-Luc. "You may not realize it, but you are. Now, the rest should be obvious. I used the lovely Rogue to lure you here. As for your friends, it is unfortunate that they followed you. But then, we must all make sacrifices that we don't want to."

"I will not fight for you," said Gambit quietly.

"Yes, I was afraid you'd feel that way," said Jean-Luc. "But just think of what will happen to Rogue if you forfeit, and therefore lose. She will be in the hands of our greatest enemy. Lord only knows what they will do to her, especially since she is-oh, excuse me, was- so close to you."

Gambit hung his head in bitter defeat. He would have to fight, for Rogue's safety.

"Bring out the girl," said Jean-Luc. "She'll serve as motivation."

"No!" said Gambit. "She doesn't need to see this. I'll fight, just leave her out of it."

Jean-Luc smiled. "It's endearing Remy, how much you care about this girl. I would think you would want to see her. Bring her out!"

Cormac disappeared through a door and came back out with a pale, haggard, red-eyed Rogue, still bound in rope.

See her thus, Gambit was filled with an intense, burning anger. He struggled against his chains.

"R-Remy," choked out Rogue. "Ah'm sorry, Ah'm so sorry. Ah Ah love you, so much. Ah'm sorry I let stupid things get in the way of that."

Gambit drew a ragged breath. More than anything, he wanted to run to her, comfort her.

"Rogue, it's me who should be sorry. I acted like a fool. When we get out of here, I will make it up to you, I swear it. I--"

"Enough," said Jean-Luc. "It is time. Fight well my son, remember what it at stake."

Gambit set his jaw, and the crowd murmured excitedly. Cormac set Rogue down in front of Lance and Pietro.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and in walked Jean-Luc's greatest enemy and his clan. Silently, they took their places on the other side of the hall. Their chosen fighter stepped forward. He was a tall, well,-built man who smiled arrogantly at Gambit tied to the pillar.

Jean-Luc stepped forward and unchained Remy.

"It begins," he said simply.

The two young men began to circle each other. Suddenly, the other man lashed out and slashed Remy with a knife. Blood began to seep from the wound, which was on his shoulder.

Rogue began to cry.

The fight continued. Whenever one of the men landed a hit, his clan would erupt in loud cheering.

As time went on, it became apparent that Remy was winning. Both men were bruised and bloody.

Suddenly, Gambit picked up his opponent and threw him across the room. He landed with a sickening crunch on a blanket that was on the floor. A moment later he crashed through the bars and fell into a hole. The same hole that Kitty was trapped in.

Lance and Pietro both cried out. Gambit was running across the room to check on Kitty. Jean-Luc and crew were celebrating Gambit's victory by rounded up members of the opposing clan. Noise filled the room, screams, laughter, and arguments. Rogue rolled against the wall, still crying. This was like a scene out of hell.

Lance was furiously struggling to break free. His powers activated, and the ground began to shake. Stones fell from the ceiling, crushing people. Someone screamed "earthquake!" and
there was a stampede for the door. People were trampled, and confusion ran rampant. Terrified screams filled the room.

Across the room, Kitty was shakily climbing out of the hole with the help of Gambit. Squinting against the sudden influx of light, she glanced around.

Above their heads, a stone was knocked loose from the ceiling. It began to fall.

"Kitty!"screamed Lance in horror. "Watch out!"

Kitty looked over at him. "What "

The rock landed with a thud. Rogue and Lance stared, in shock.

Then, just as Rogue was about to burst into tears again, Gambit came walking over from the corner. He was followed by Kitty, who was leaning on the arm of Pietro.

"You--" said Lance. "How how did you--"

"The stone that my shackles were attached to crumbled," said Pietro. "I made it just in time."

Kitty and Rogue both burst into tears.

Gambit knelt down and gently untied Rogue. He pulled her to her feet and into his arms. "You're okay," he said, delirious with relief. "You're okay." Rogue sobbed onto his shoulder clutching his shirt with both hands.

"We should give them a minute alone," said Kitty. Pietro nodded, and freed Lance from his shackles. The three of them walked across the room and sat on the stairs.

"Kitty, I--I'm sorry," said Lance, staring at his hands. "I didn't mean to make the ceiling come crashing down, I-I just--when I saw that guy fall on top of you, I thought you were hurt or worse. I was only trying to get to you."

Kitty looked over at him. "Lance, I know it wasn't your fault, really. I would never get mad at you for trying to help. I--"

Pietro stood up quickly. "We should get out of here before that Jean-Luc guy comes back. I'll go get Rogue and Gambit." He took off across the room.

Kitty sighed and put her head in her hands. Lance moved behind her and began to rub her shoulders comfortingly.

"There's nothing you can do about him Kit. You can't change your feelings to make other people happy. He's just going to have to accept it."

"I know, but I feel so bad. I should have never come up with that stupid plan to make you jealous. Then Pietro and me would be fine. We were fine before that, and now he can't even stand to be around me! God, why does life have to be so complicated?"

Lance shrugged. "When you figure out the answer to that one, let me know."

Pietro returned with Gambit and Rogue. He had a slightly forlorn look in his eyes. Trying to ignore it, Kitty stood up and went down to hug Rogue.

"Oh Rogue. I'm so glad you're okay. I thought we were all going to die, it was horrible."

Rogue hugged the younger girl back, still sniffling. "Thanks Kit. Ah just want to go home."

"We're leaving right now," said Kitty.

The 5 mutants walked back upstairs, through the secret passage, out of the church, and right to the car that Gambit and Kitty had "borrowed" earlier. As Lance drove to the air strip, the car was silent. No one spoke a word.

Once they arrived, Kitty began to prep the chopper for take off while everyone else got settled in the back.

Soon, they were airborne. Rogue and Gambit were talking quietly in the very back of the helicopter. Pietro was sitting by himself in the middle, staring resolutely out the window. Lance came up and sat next to Kitty.

"Can I be the co-pilot?" he asked jokingly.

Kitty laughed a little. "That depends. Can you fly?"

"Not exactly...but I can learn."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "You'd better stick to driving that jeep of yours. Speaking of, isn't it time you got a new one?"

Lance looked shocked. "Get a new jeep? Are you crazy? I love that car, it's been there with me through everything, including our first date.

Kitty giggled. "That's right, I forgot. Do you remember that time we tried to drive it to Canada? It died on the highway!"

"Hey now," said Lance, mock defensively. "That wasn't it's fault, it's a long drive from Bayville to Canada. Why were we going to Canada anyway, that was crazy."

"Ah!" said Kitty. "It was your idea! You got in a fight with Scott and Pietro on the same
day, decided that the world was out to get you, and begged me to come away with you."

Lance looked a little embarrassed. "Yeah, well, I was stressed out, and I just needed to get away from everything. And you agreed to go! You're supposed to be the rational responsible one! You should have explained to me why it wasn't a good idea and then suggested that we go out for ice cream or something."

"I just couldn't say no to you. You looked so cute down there under my balcony. Plus, the idea of going off on an adventure with my boyfriend sounded a heck of a lot more appealing then a Danger Room session with Wolverine."

Lance smiled smugly. "I guess I am a pretty exciting guy."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Look what I've gone and done, I've given to a big head!"

Lance shook his head, remembering something else. "Wolverine just about killed me when I finally got you home. I don't think I've ver been more scared in my life."

Kitty giggled. "I swear, Mr. Logan scares every boy that comes to take out me or Rogue or Jean. I'm surprised that any of us actually got boyfriends!"

"Well, you were too gorgeous for me to stay away."

Kitty blushed a little. "Thank you."

Bayville appeared below them, and Kitty landed the helicopter. At the airport, they went their separate ways. Lance and Pietro went back to the BoM house in Lance's jeep, and Remy left on his motorcycle, but not before he gave Rogue a very long hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. Kitty and Rogue called a cab to take them back to the Institute.

"I take it you and Remy made up," observed Kitty, watching the houses go by through the cab window.

"Yeah," said Rogue quietly. "After being in a situation like that, petty fights seem so stupid and a waste of time. You've got to enjoy a good thing while you have it, cause you never know when it'll be taken away from ya."

Thanks to all the reviewers.

I know that I left this story for 4 months, and I apologize for that, but now it's summer, and I'm back. School is over, so I'll have plenty of time to write. This story will be finished, as well as my other ones.

I really appreciate those people who stuck with me. You guys rock.

Druid-Priestess