That night Gambit and Rogue left the mansion without a word to hunt down Mesmero. Every once and a while, Gambit would look back at Rogue on his motorcycle. He wasn't sure if she knew what she had put on the line when she said she's help him. Gambit sighed and continued on his way.

'Where are you, you bastard?' He thought.

Back at the Institute, Xavier wasn't surprised to find that they were missing. He had pieced everything together himself and got the rest of the information from Jean. After she learned that gambit and Rogue had left, she thought it was only necessary to tell him what had been going on.

Rogue knew he'd find out.

As Gambit looked back at her she looked up at him and smiled. It was a weak smile, not the kind she usually gave him. But there was something in her eyes that gave her away. Something was troubling her. You'd think it'd be the fact the guy she's going off to kill has a button that could kill her instantly, or how that very guy was killed by the hands of her 'boyfriend' and yet somehow he's not quite dead. But it wasn't that. There was something else.

"Rogue, you akay?" Gambit asked trying to keep his voice louder than the roaring sound of his motorcycle.

"Yeah, Ah'm fine. Ahr we almost there?" She replied in the same tone, changing the subject.

Gambit looked ahead, "Yea, we should be."

Rogue knew how to kill Mesmero. She knew how to end all this. But what she didn't know was whether or not she'd live to see it all happen. Rogue had a plan, but she didn't know if she'd live long enough to put it into action.

Gambit was right. They were very close to were Mesmero had taken them before. Gambit had to park his motorcycle in a few bushes a mile away from the place. Mesmero was sure to hear them if he rode it all the way there.

Gambit had been expecting Mesmero to enter his mind again but much to Gambit's surprise, he didn't.

"Rogue, be very careful. Sumthin's tellin' meh he knos we're here." He whispered.

--

Pyro sat up in his chair, "Then wut ahr we waitin for? Let's follow 'em!"

"I agree with you, but we don't know where they went." Tabitha argued.

"Well duh, whereveh Mesmero is."

Tabitha folded her arms, "Mesmero'd dead…right?"

"Uh…I dun't kno 'ow ta brake this to ya, mate, but Mesermo's 'bout as dead as meh patience rite now.

"Very funny."

"So, let's check that Cerebro thingie an goh find 'em!"

Tabitha shrugged, "I guess you have a point. Let's go find the professor."

--

The moon shown brightly through the small window, illuminating everything it touched. The light seeped into the cracks and onto the floor. Mesmero walked past the window blocking out the light and casting the hall into darkness. He gave a sly smile and held the button close to him. He had been in Gambit's mind the whole time. He knew what Gambit was planning and he knew how to stop him without having to get his hands dirty. But no, he wouldn't kill Rogue quite yet. He had something else in plan.

--

"So that's our plan. " Taibhta finnished.

Xavier thought about it for a moment.

"I kno Remy, an' e'll be goin' after Mesmero. But we all kno that Mesmero is strong. Gambit can't finnish 'im off alone!" Pyro added quickly.

"All right, but we mustn't just rush in there without a plan."

Pyro smiled, "Dun't worry…we gotta' plan."

--

Gambit and Rogue had made inside Mesero's base, though Gambit knew stealth was unnecessary. As the walked inside the base, a bright light immediately flashed on, blinding the two. Mesmero's voice could be heard somewhere inside the light, though Gambit couldn't figure out where. He could see in the dark fine, but not in this kind of light.

'Now you know how I feel.'

Gambit felt something slam into the side of his face. He withdrew his staff but he couldn't see a thing. At this point he had lost sight of Rogue completely.

Gambit fell to the ground blindly and then everything went black. He whipped his head around but Rogue was gone. His red eyes scanned the room carefully but Rogue was no where to be seen. What had Mesmero done?

--

Pyro and Tabitha had entered the base first, undetected by Mesmero, the rest of the X-Men on their way. But the further into the base they got, the darker it became. Pyro was about to take out his lighter to provide him and Tabitha some light, when they heard something fall from the ceiling.

Suddenly, the same bright light shot out across the room, lighting everything in its path. Pyro looked around frantically for the source of the light but he couldn't see a thing.

He squinted his eyes in order to block out some of the light and looked around for Tabitha. But she was gone. Suddenly, Pyro felt as if he was spinning. He shut his eyes tight and tried to focus. Flames erupted all around him, bringing back all his memories of his parent's death. He couldn't bare it.

--

Rogue wandered around the room aimlessly, trying to find a way out. But she was locked in tight. The door had been locked from the outside and she had no idea where she was. Rogue remembered seeing the light then she ended up here. It must have transported her again.

Just then, Rogue heard someone behind her. She turned around quickly, ready to fight who ever it was. But as she drew up to his, she realized it was Gambit.

"Remy? How'd youh get here?"

"I don't know. I just remembered seeing that light, then I ended up here."

Rogue gave a sigh of relief. Gambit was okay and even if she was lost in Mesmero's base, she was with Gambit, "Do yeh kno where we ahr?"

"What do you mean?"

Rogue eyed him, "Ah mean, where ahr we?"

"Oh," Gambit smiled, "It doesn't matter."

"Remy…ahr you feelin' akay?" Rogue asked suspisiously.

She headed over to the door and was about to tun the handle. But Gambit grabbed her arm.

"Remy! Don't!" Rogue cried out. Her sleeves where pulled up and Gambit had made skin contact. However, nothing had happened. She looked up at him in confusion, "How'd youh…"

"Rogue, it doesn't matter." Gambit said smoothly. He cupped a hand under her chin and brought their lips together for a few precious seconds. Rogue drew away, expecting to have shocked Gambit and taken his powers, but nothing happened. She felt the same. But something was different. There was something strange about Gambit. But like Gambit had said…it doesn't matter. For the first time in Rogue's life, she was happy. She didn't have her powers, which meant she wouldn't hurt Gambit. She wasn't sure if losing her powers should make her happy but at that moment it didn't matter. Rogue

Then it hit her! That was it. It didn't matter. Just like Gambit had said. He didn't have an accent.

Rogue pulled away from him and looked up into his jagged red eyes. There was something different about him.

"Gambit, why aren't my powers working?"

Gambit grabbed her arm but Rogue jumped back. What was going on. Just then, a loud explosion erupted from behind them. Rogue fell to the ground. Out of the smoke came Gambit. Rogue just starred at him. What the Hell was going on?

"Get away from her you bastard." He spat.

Now there were two Gambits. The one that came out of the smoke whipped out a card and threw at the other Gambit. The card exploded in his face and he disappeared.

Rogue looked up at Gambit in confusion as he approached her, his eyes sparkling over a deep blood red. What was goin on?

--

Pyro leaped back as the darkness around him began to fade. He looked around nervously as he realized where he was, or at least, where it looked like he was.

Pyro was back in his old house. Everything looked the same. Pyro scanned his surroundings in confusion. How was this possible?

Just then, he heard someone walking behind him. Pyro whipped his head around expecting to see Tabitha or Mesmero, but instead he saw a girl. No older than 15. Her long mahogany hair fell down her back. Her eyes were an intense jade green. She wore a long white dress and a golden necklace with an oval shaped jade stone at the bottom. It matched her eyes perfectly.

The girl seemed so familiar to Pyro, but he didn't remember ever meeting someone like her.

Like of tidal wave all of the memories he worked so hard to suppress came rushing back to him.

"Ivy?" He breathed.

She looked up at him and cocked her head, "Huh?"

She defiantly could be his sister.

"'Ow do you kno my name?" She asked him shyly.

"Is tha' really you?"

Pyro couldn't believe it. He thought she was dead. All these years, she had been alive? It couldn't be…Ivy had been killed off in that fire. Then again Pyro never did see her die and the police said they never found her body.

Pyro heart began to throb. Everything he had been here for, to help Gambit and Rogue, he had completely forgotten.

"John?" She cooed.

It was her.

Pyro tried to say something but he couldn't spit out the words. He was shocked and utterly speechless.

Ivy studied her brother hard then smiled. Her smiled was always so kind, Pyro knew it was her.

"John, I 'aven't seen you in a long time." She spoke no louder than a whisper.

"Ivy…" Pyro didn't know what to say. He had missed her so much and just to see her face, to know that she was unharmed brought tears to his eyes, "I neveh thought I'd see you again."

Ivy went up to Pyro, still smiling, and wrapped her arms around him, "I'm glad to see you too."

--

Rogue just starred up at Gambit, "Wut's goin' on?" She asked softly.

Gambit walked up to her and helped her up. Immediately the room faded leaving the two in darkness, "It was all an image. Ahr you okay?"

"Yea, but Ah don't understand. Wut jus happened?"

"Mesmero created an image of youhr deepest desire."

'Was that really wut Ah wanted? The not have any powers?' Rogue looked up at Gambit, 'Or is that jus a lie? This could be jus another image.' She thought.

"Rogue? Ahr youh akay?"

Rogue lifted her head up and placed her lips on his. She drew away slowly and looked up at him, "Yea, youh'r the Gambit Ah know."

It took him a second to transfer all that information, "Ah'm glad to hear that. But Ah've got this strange feelin that John's here."

"Huh?"

Gambit shrugged, "Dunno, call meh crazy."

Rogue laughed, "Akay."

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I gotta Dell, dude! No, seriously. I gots a brand spankin new computer and everything. Unfortunately it took a while to get AOL but now I gots DSL so my computer no longer moves with the speed of a glassier!!! (does happy dance) In order to get AOL on this computer I had to disconnect it from my original computer that had all my stories on it so it took forEVER to transfer everything! So…anywho, pleaz review!!