Hey guys. The chapter was actually uploaded on early August. I got a review from someone who told me that they had no idea this was up, so I'm trying to update it so that more people know that it's complete. As for another story... stay tuned.... :)

FINALLY! Hi guys. I'm terribly sorry for the delay. Believe it or not last week's delay was not my fault. As I was finishing up the epilogue, I received an email from which informed me that another story I had written waaaaay back, had apparently violated a condition of the submission's code that they have here. What that violation was, wasn't clarified and I'm still in the dark as to what that was. As a result that story (it was a 'Friends' story I'd written) was removed from the site and I was refused access for upload for a certain period of time.

Anyways... I finally managed to upload the last chapter. So before I go into Cyberspace oblivion (as I will not be writing another story –I just got a new job, which will probably take up most of my time) I want to thank you all for reading this and for taking the time to send me your thoughts about the story. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it (despite the occasional delays for which once again I appologise).

So enjoy the last part.

As for me I'm signing off.

Goodbye

Tayrion

Epilogue

The next day.

Logan was pacing frustrated up and down the office of Xavier. Scott, Hank and Ororo were also there sitting more calmly in chairs, as Xavier was filling them in about what exactly happened.

"... Remy thinking that he had no other way, he decided to go through with it. He managed to get himself in the infirmary, while Crane attacked us for a simple diversion, to empty the mansion and allow Remy to take all the genetic and medical samples and information about all of you. The only ones he didn't take was Rogue's." concluded the Professor.

"Oh how precious! The bastard is sentimental! Excuse me Charlie but I think you're all taking this rather calmly. You're talking about him as though he didn't sucker us all and then stole from us!" shouted an angry Logan.

"We're all upset Logan." Said Ororo with a heavy heart, as she was starting to like Remy a lot, and hoped that he and Rogue could make it work. "But fuming over it will not accomplish anything."

"Don't worry 'ro I'm not gonna just sit around and fume about it. I made a promise to him, which I intend to keep, once I find him." Said Logan in a very menacing tone.

"Now it finally makes sense." Interjected Hank.

The others all turned and looked at Hank quizzically.

"Just before he –apparently- went and kissed Rogue, he came and found me and wanted to know whether or not I could cure a cancerous mutation. He seemed pretty pressed for time, and when I told him that odds were I couldn't, he stormed out really hurriedly. I guess he was still trying to see if he could save his little sister without betraying us."

"That's right Hank!" said Xavier. "Whenever I talked to him he tiptoed around the fact that he had someone really sick to worry about, but I could never get him to open up."

Logan seemed to get more and more frustrated. "Hey. The guy came in here with a purpose. He played us all for fools, he stole from us and he toyed with a girl's emotions to actually achieve his goal!"

"That's not true!" a voice was heard behind them, as Rogue burst in the office. "That's not true at all."

"Rogue were you eavesdropping?" asked Scott.

Rogue ignored Scott as she went on talking, looking intently at Logan. "He never toyed with my emotions."

"But darling he used you because it suited him. He knew that it was going to be hard to be fully trusted so quickly, so he forged this connection to you, to have you on his side and plus give the professor an extra reason to consider him for the team. Even worse he then exploited your feelings to use your powers to his advantage and gain access to the infirmary without any suspicious look. That's a very manipulative and scum person in my book."

"Look... You don't know him like I do. He would never do that." Said Rogue in protest.

"But darlin' that's the thing. You don't know him. You've only known him for a week or so, and the guy was lying from the first moment we met him. How can you still defend him after everything he's done to you? Am I the only sane person in here?" Said Logan frustrated.

"Look. I'm not saying that what he did was right. I'm just wondering what any of us would do if we were in his shoes. Can you honestly say, that you would have chosen differently?" Asked Rogue as if she was issuing a challenge to the older X-Man.

"I sure as hell wouldn't toy with people's emotions and I wouldn't go around lying my head off. If what you say is true, about his sister and all, then I can agree that his intentions were good. But that doesn't give him the right to do what he did. Besides you know what they say... the road to hell is paved with good intentions." Said Logan calming down a bit.

Rogue now seemed the frustrated one. "Argh.... Why do I even bother?" She shouted as she left the room angrily, leaving the rest of the X-Men in awkward silence.

Ororo was the one to break the silence. "Logan you have to see how this is for her. She loved Remy and this was a big blow for her. We must give her some time to get over this. In the mean time, try not to go against her so much

The next week

The Professor entered the dark room. He wasn't sure about this but he decided to take his chances. As he was looking around him, he heard a voice from behind him.

"I'm glad you accepted my invitation Charles. I was afraid you wouldn't come."

"To be honest I wasn't sure whether this was a good idea, but in the end I decided to trust you and hear you out Nate."

Essex chuckled at the sound of the name by which the professor always used to call him.

"I have to admit Charles that you amaze me. You decided to trust me even after I tricked you into acquiring your students' DNA samples and tests. Some would say that you're foolish." Said Nathaniel with a hint of sarcasm. "But I'm not one of them. I admire your courage and your faith in humans."

"What's this all about Nathan? Did you just call me to gloat over your tricking me?" said Xavier somewhat annoyed.

"Far from it dear friend. I wanted to... heh... to appologize ... I guess..." said Nathaniel a bit surprised with what he said himself.

"Appologise?" asked Xavier his voice full of doubt.

"I never wanted it to come to this Charles. If you'd agreed to cooperate from the start I wouldn't have resorted to such drastic measures."

"So... you don't really want to appologise. You just want to accuse me, in order to justify your actions." Said Xavier in a very strict tone.

"Justify my actions?" said Nathaniel as if the very idea of it was absurd. "To who? To you?"

"No." said the professor calmly. "I believe that you need to do it for yourself. To be able to sleep at night. Are the nightmares getting worse Nathan?"

At first Essex was stunned silent. And then a small chuckle escaped his lips. "Oh... Charles. You're good. You're very good. And what makes you think that I doubt my actions?"

"You are what the media had dubbed Dr. Sinister right? The unidentified doctor who performed experiments and research on unsuspecting humans and mutants, that led to the death of many." asked Xavier calmly.

"Yes. Though the actions and the reasons reported were hardly accurate."

"But don't you see? The Nathan I knew wouldn't harm innocents. He was all about the betterment of humanity. How could you have fallen so?" asked Xavier almost pleading.

"That's where you're mistaken Charles. I've risen to a new hight of understanding. And whether you believe it or not, I do not kill innocent people. The few that died over the years of my research were accidents. And that's what the media reported. But they couldn't have known what the results of that research was. They don't know that I, single-handedly, managed to stop the spread of a disease more lethal than the Ebola virus, before it even started. They don't know that right now I'm close to finding a cure to a cancerous disease that could wipe out the entire mutant population if left unchecked. They don't know what sacrifices need to be done for these things and believe me they don't want to know. They just want to feel safe without knowing how its done" Said Nathan in a very authoritative tone.

"But innocents pay for your methods."

"But these are the methods that are most efficient. If everything was dealt the way you view the world, then hundreds would have died before you achieved anything. It's all about action and prevention. You're all about finding the cure and the answer to a problem after it's arisen, where I'd rather not deal with the problem and stop it before it becomes one."

"This is all pure hypothesis. You're using rhetoric now Nathan it doesn't suit you." Said Xavier annoyed.

"Rhetoric? Let's take a recent example. If Remy had given in to your ill-advised suggestions and brought his little sister to you, she would be dead now. Instead he did the wise thing and did what I asked of him. Do you know what the result is? Vanessa has taken her first step to recovery. It may not be a very big step, as the cure I'm working on is still missing ... a key... ingredient, if you will, but it's a step to the right direction nonetheless. Now tell me... is that not worth everything? And not just for her. Thanks to what Remy did, I will now be able to possibly help many others, with similar problems as Vanessa."

"But that's the thing Nathan. Had I known that giving you what you wanted would certainly help you save a life, even if it was just Vanessa's, I would have given it to you. Instead you chose the wrong path again as you did in the past. You should have known that you can always find a solution other than killing an innocent."

"Now you're being a hypocrite. The government is constantly in war with 'terror', as they say, and in that war it has killed thousands of innocent people, directly or indirectly. They say they're doing that to protect our freedom, and to secure the safety of this land. And you are constantly trying to work with them and collaborate with them. Now because 10 or 12 people died, by accident, because of my research, you brand me a villain? And what about you old friend? You send your students to deal with various menaces to protect the innocent, as you say, and they constantly risk their lives. You also lost a student recently. Is that so different than what I'm trying to achieve?"

"My students do what they're doing of their own accord. You are doing your research and experiments on people who never asked for it. Jean made a conscious choice. She sacrificed herself. That's where you're wrong." Said Xavier in a reprimanding tone.

"A conscious choice? Do you truly believe that your students would rush into harm's way had you not filled their heads with your ideals and your dreams? Is that what you say at night to help yourself sleep old friend?"

Now it was Xavier's turn to be stunned silent. What Nathan said, was what had been gnawing on his soul, ever since he formed the X-Men, and even more so when Jean died. He didn't know what to say, as he felt the chilling touch of self doubt clawing at him.

"Anyway... I didn't call you here to fill you with extra sorrow. Despite what you may think, I don't see you as my enemy. Well... at least not yet... I just wanted to reassure you that Crane will not be bothering you or your students again and that I will not use the information I acquired against your precious X-Men. This meeting is over. Goodbye old friend. I hope we never meet as enemies."

With that Nathaniel Essex disappeared. Xavier remained there in the dark room, lost in his thoughts. He was not more at ease after what he heard, as Essex intended. Instead it left him with more doubt as to what the future might hold.

The next month

Even in her sleep she couldn't find any peace, she always thought. Nightmares ever so often came and plagued her dreams. But lately the nightmares in her sleep had subsided. It was almost as if when a nightmare was about to burst, an invisible force kept it at bay and forced it into submission. It was definitely weird she thought, but she was not about to start complaining. She could finally get a full night's sleep.

Besides, she thought she had a pretty good idea who that invisible force was. It wasn't difficult to figure out. The nightmares started subsiding ever since that day. Ever since that kiss. When she closed her eyes, in those lonesome hours before sleep took over her, she could still feel his touch, his burning passion and his desire. It was the single most exciting experience of her young life. And when a year ago she wouldn't have thought it possible, ever since she met him, she started believing that it would be possible to have more such experiences in her future.

Every time she went to sleep, she searched for him, in her mind's landscapes. Ever so often she would catch a fleeting glimpse of his shadow and sometimes she would even approach him close enough to see his face, before he disappeared once again. She wanted to see him and talk to him so badly! It was frustrating, as she felt his presence in her mind constantly, but she could never focus hard enough to actually find him.

Today was her birthday. She had fun the whole day as Logan Ororo and the other X-Men threw her a surprise party. But as the time approached for her to go to sleep, a fear came over her. Just like every other birthday night. The reason why was completely blocked out of her mind, she was just very aware that something bad had happened to her many years ago, on her birthday when she went to bed.

She tried with all her strength to block out this almost paralyzing fear, but found she was hardly succeeding. Although she was exhausted from the day's exertions, and she felt her eyes heavy, she dreaded falling asleep. She even considered going to Ororo's or Jubilee's bedroom and ask if she could sleep with either of them, but then determination build up in her. She was not a child. She was a grown woman and she had to face up to anything that may come to her sleep.

"Marie..." she heard a whispering voice, in the darkness of her room. "Where's my little darling?"

Terror gripped her heart. This could not be real. This was just a dream. It had to be. She pulled her covers up to her face, as her heart started pounding faster and faster.

"Where's my little girl hiding? Under her covers?" Said the voice again that felt so familiar, but for some unknown to her reason, filled her heart with fear, disgust and hatred. Then a large shadow appeared over her. It was covered in darkness, as light refused to fall upon the figure. Rogue felt like screaming, as her heartbeat became faster and faster, feeling like her heart would burst.

"Here she is. Here is my beautiful little Marie..." As the dark figure made to sit on Rogue's bed and Rogue was on the verge of tears, light started filling the room. It came in from her window and slowly it started spreading through the whole room, culminating in an almost blinding light that dispersed the menacing shadow for good.

As Rogue scanned carefully her surroundings, she saw sitting on her window, a very familiar figure. His smile immediately enveloped her senses in a warm embrace.

"Remy!" She shouted excitedly. "Please don't leave again." She pleaded before he had a chance to disappear, as he so often did in the past.

He smiled reassuringly. "But cherie... You know I'd never leave you. I've always been wit you and I always will be."

Rogue slowly got out of her bed, and made her way to him. She approached him and slowly extended her hand to, hesitantly, touch his face. As her fingers came into contact with his face, she recoiled as if by reflex.

Remy smiled. "Cherie, don't be afraid we're inside your dream, noting can hurt you here. And trust me if anyone tried, I wouldn't let anyting to happen to you."

"How... How did you do this with the light? If it is my dream how come you affected it?" asked Rogue confused.

"Rogue, you created me. In here I am de real me. De me dat you got to know when I kissed you. Dat was de main reason why I did it. You know dat, don't you? I wanted you to know me. To understand why I had to do what I was going to do. And most of all, so dat you can experience first-handedly de love I feel for you cherie."

"But why didn't you say something? Someone might have been able to help your sister."

"You know why Rogue. You know my thoughts, my reasons, my everyting. I was not about to risk losing Vanessa. And you know dat I came close to taking dat risk. De only reason why I even considered taking my chances wit Xavier and de X-Men, was you. But in de end I couldn't do dat. Up until I met you, Vanessa was de only light in my crappy life. I'd do anyting to save her. Please try and understand dat."

Rogue looked on thoughtful and somewhat disappointed. "I... I think I understand. I would have probably done the same thing if I were you. It's... It's just that we came so... so close and... I miss you co much..."

Remy reached out with his hand and caressed her cheak. "But cherie... I'm always wit you. You have to believe dat. Do you remember de thoughts in my head when I kissed you? I love you and I'll always be looking out for you. I will keep my promise to you cherie. And I'm sure dat if you want it... one day we will meet again. Remember what I told you. Magic is everywhere."

With that Remy leaned in, embraced Rogue, and the two kissed passionately as the light that was coming in from the window enveloped them both.

The moment lasted for an eternity and as the two lovers parted, Remy made to leave. Rogue quickly grabbed hold of his hand.

"Please Remy... could you stay with me for the night. I feel at peace when you're with me." Said Rogue in a pleading voice.

Remy looked back at Rogue lovingly. "Of course cherie. I can do dat."

Rogue returned to her bed and lay down. Beside her lay Remy and put his arms around her. There in her loved one's arms, Rogue fell asleep happy and safe.

A figure cloaked in darkness, was watching on as Rogue was sleeping. He was on a tree outside Rogue's window, watching the young woman as she was sleeping. And then he whispered.

"Sleep safe my love. Remy will always be looking out for you. Dat I promise."

Rogue smiled warmly in her peaceful sleep. A single card lay beside her on the bed; the queen of hearts.

The end...