Hey guys. I actually have a good excuse this time. I have been rehearsing for the school production (Romeo and Juliet: a musical, lol) for the last 2 months, and so have been unable to so much as open the document since last term. But now, it is holidays, so I have the chance to get this out to you before the angry mob gets me (with pitchforks). And do the mounds of homework that my lovely teachers have left me. There's so much love in this room right now. Anyway, less mindless yabber, more story! Thanks for your patience (or lack of it!).

With love, but not a lot of energy,

Miss P

Klaus: Well Mister Impatience, I would like to see your book getting to the conclusion, then, seeing as you expect a rapid finish from me! And I'll have you know, suspense is the funnest of fun to write! The kids' powers… well nothing really, to tell you the truth. A motivation for kidnap, I guess, lol! And now that I think about it, there wasn't really a point to Eva's manifesting either, except to save Rogue, and if they didn't, there wouldn't really have been a need for that chapter at all! I don't know what it means! Stop that!

Terminatrix T-X: A little confused as to why you reviewed at chapter 2, but thanks anyway!

Ishandahalf: I try! She just seemed to get off too easily the other times…poor Rogue, I'm so mean to her! But, as you say, she did get to grouch at Remy briefly (AKA Romyness, lol!) so it's not all bad!

MorriganFearn: Thankyou very much! I'm glad it's keeping you interested!

Kazzeh Sodapop: Thanks, you're lovely! Rogue is my fave too! (Obviously, lol)

Epona: Poor Remy? I don't understand! (Cries) Thanks, I think they should have visited it at least once on the show too, they always give us these potential conflicts and then do nothing more about them, which is totally unfair, cos I love conflict! I also love it when people love my fic! Muchas gracias!

'Where are you. I know you're here somewhere. I don't know where, but I will find you. I will find you if it is the last thing I do.'

Logan peered down the shadowy passage. He sniffed cautiously, taking in all the various odors that were floating around the place. Her scent was on the air too, only in snatches, but he could still smell it, still recognise it. What he couldn't do was place the source. His senses were already working overtime, but the Wolverine was never the sort of man to allow breaks. And right now he was determined to get what he came for.

He crept along, keeping close to the wall, though if he was honest, he knew it wouldn't help him in the slightest if someone came down the corridor and turned the lights on. Just instinct, really. After stealing his way through more of the seemingly endless maze of hallways, he stopped and took a whiff of the new air. Her smell was fainter, and mixed with others. This was not her he was sensing, it was those who had had recent contact with her. She was alive, and unless he was mistaken, which he doubted, she wasn't too far away. Trusting his sense of smell to lead him, he continued in this new direction, this time with Rogue's scent getting stronger as he went. He could smell the Acolytes better now too, the corridor was obviously right in the middle of the action. And he'd picked up two unfamiliar scents that now seemed to be in the same direction as Rogue, though they hadn't been with her at the beginning.

'The runts,' he realised, almost laughing out loud at his idiocy. What with losing Rogue, arguing with Xavier, then actually getting himself back here to find her, he'd completely forgotten about those kids. Not to mention food.

His stomach grumbled like it'd picked up his thoughts (which, of course, it would have). Passing up a fight, going against Charles and ignoring his stomach? Next he'd be letting her flag Danger Room and reading her bedtime stories.

He shuddered slightly, feeling very glad there were no mind readers in the near vicinity.

He stuck his head cautiously around the corner, then sniffed the air for the 500th time to get his bearings. This time, however, an unexpected smell reached him, and he cursed himself for letting his concentration slide. It was a harsh, unclean sort of smell, and it snaked it's way up his nostrils and into his brain, which immediately paired it with a face he was really not in the mood for seeing right now.

"Sabertooth."

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in. Something I'll be quite happy to drag right out again."

"Don't flatter yourself. Where's the girl?"

" 'The girl'?" he mocked. "She's around. But what's the hurry? C'mon, stop and chat awhile, where're your manners? Besides, I'm not too sure the brat's up to visitors right now."

Logan's eyes narrowed. "If you've hurt her, Creed, I promise you I will slice you ten times over for every one of her injuries."

"Ooh, stop, you'll give me nightmares. Really, Logan. Carrying on like that. Anyone would think you cared about her."

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you jealous?"

"Of what? A life-sucking loner? Or that she gets to take the easy road out of here?"

With a throaty growl, Logan popped his claws. Sabertooth sprang backwards with ease, and they circled each other, like something out of those old-time cowboy movies.

"No getting out of it this time, bub. No mercy. This time it's personal."

Sabertooth only sneered. "I know," he smirked. "I made sure of it."

Logan's eyes widened. As the realisation hit him, he let out a roar of fury and lunged for his enemy's sickeningly smug face.

Many of the students at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters had a large amount of their personality traits hidden. Some they were consciously reluctant to disclose, and some they had not yet even discovered for themselves. In fact, one could even go so far as to say they lead double lives, and were one person one moment, and a completely different one the next.

Take, for example, Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde. While her friends knew why she avoided gym class like the plague and which guy she liked, only someone like Kurt Wagner or Scott Summers knew why she was yawning her way down the halls, looking worried and downcast.

"So, does the professor know where Rogue is yet?"

"No, he doesn't. He hasn't been able to locate her or any of the Acolytes, so we still have no idea how to get back there. But I'm sure we'll find her, cos we're sure not giving up any time soon.

"Yeah, cos it, like, couldn't be too hard, I mean, we found them once before, right? One of those guys is bound to use their powers sooner of later anyhow."

"Definitely. And anyway, she probably wouldn't like us getting all worried about her."

Kitty giggled nervously. "She'll probably get mad at us for saving her. She'll think she could've, like, done it herself or something."

Scott laughed too, nodding a little too long. He stared into space, still nodding slowly to himself. Kitty's brow creased as she looked up at him, waiting for some real reassurance. It didn't come. He looked as helpless as she felt. She looked at the floor instead, feeling as though she was about to cry.

She sat heavily down on the step. She felt rather than saw Scott sit down next to her, and his hand pat her shoulder. She raised her head to his hopelessly, and found him attempting a weak smile.

Seeing him trying to put on a brave face and act as though their babble had some truth to it, made all her self-control melt into everything she was really feeling. She threw her arms around Scott.

"I'm so scared Scott. What do they want with her? What will they do to get what they want? They didn't hesitate to smash her into a tree and, like, knock her senseless just to get her in the first place! How much further are they willing to go? Why did this have to happen now? We are, like, friends now. I don't want to lose her"

"I know Kitty. I'm scared too."

'Be calm. If she is not using her powers, she is not in danger. If it comes to it, we can simply take to the air and…no. The students are exhausted already. Telepathic communication, with her mental shields, is out of the question. And Magneto's helmet makes even searching Cerebro for him pointless. So how in the world do I find you, Rogue? I cannot find answers, and people are relying on me to give them.'

Xavier rested his head in his hands. He could not be accused of hating many things, but one of a very rare few was feeling helpless. Especially when one of his students were concerned. And the occasion seemed to be repeating itself with Rogue.

The first, of course, was their failed attempt at recruiting her. Which led to the second, her time with the Brotherhood. Waiting to see which way she would turn. Excruciating.

The next was her dreams of Kurt's past. The potentially painful flashbacks poured forth, and he had no power to stop them. Well, he probably did, but if there was one place he was afraid to explore it was Rogue's mind.

And then, the one that topped them all. When psyche after psyche possessed her from the inside and it almost killed her. When he just about destroyed her himself. He repressed a shudder at the memory.

And last but not least, when Mesmero took control of her mind and forced her to attack the entire mutant population in Bayville. He knew that eventually, with the right training, Rogue could easily become one of the most powerful mutants in the world, but knowing about it and experiencing it firsthand were completely different things. He sincerely hoped she never turned on them, because they sure wouldn't stand a chance against her.

And now yet another case had racked itself up on the list. Instead of performing a rescue, Rogue had been captured. Rogue, who you had to convince to stop in a testing battle simulation. Rogue, who stood up for anyone, even if they wouldn't stand up for her. Rogue, The Rogue, who had an attitude to freeze Hawaii, who had been singled out her entire life and hated the world for it. And she probably wouldn't take kindly to being held captive either.

A smile crossed Xavier's face as he imagined the look on her face upon finding herself a prisoner. She'd probably have been cursing and threatening from the moment she got there. And he would see her cursing and threatening her way out no matter what it took.

He lifted the headgear once more from its cradle. He stared at it, hoping, despite what he'd been telling himself, and everyone else, that she had had the need to use her powers so he could find her.

He put the helmet on his head. Mutant signatures, looking nothing more than glowing red blobs, appeared one by one on the screen. There were many in the Bayville/New York area, most of which he could recognise just by looking at them. There were a few on the outskirts of the city, but nothing further than that. He sighed heavily, though couldn't say he was surprised. He was about to lift the headgear from his head, when something caught his eye. Two more 'blobs' had appeared, ridiculously far away from any kind of civilisation. They were fighting viciously, and both mutants' healing factors were working ceaselessly. It was Logan and Sabertooth.

Xavier looked more carefully at the location. It was not far from the general area where they had last fought the Acolytes. And he doubted one as deranged as Sabertooth would be allowed far from base. The base where Magneto was. The base where Rogue was.

'Logan actually found her.'

Making a silent promise never to underestimate Logan's determination and care for the teen again, Xavier turned his wheelchair and left the room as fast as he could.

Everyone, get suited up and meet downstairs as quickly as possible, please. We are getting our Rogue back.


"Storm, Jean, would you two please analyze from the air which is the safest way to approach the dome. We will land the jet and meet you at the edge of the cliff."

The women nodded, and leapt simultaneously out of hatches on the jet's underbelly. They were soon lost from sight. Scott relinquished the controls to the Professor, who nodded at Kurt. He ported outside the jet, then straight back in. He gave Xavier the thumbs up, then ported next to Kitty, tail swishing anxiously.

"Like, calm down," she said crossly, after being lashed on the leg by the forked end. "We're here now."

"Doesn't mean she's ok," Kurt said, and ported back to the front of the jet, looking agitatedly over Xavier's shoulder.

They touched down smoothly, despite the odd unavoidable bush or young tree. They made their various ways outside, then all proceeded, grumbling fit to bust, to camouflage the shiny black jet.

Once it was almost completely covered in branches and plants, they shook themselves free of soil and grubs, and trudged towards the cliff face, where Jean and Storm were already waiting.

"There was no one outside, anywhere near the dome, or in the forest. And it looks like Magneto's had an upgrade. There's a door, on the south side. All we have to do is unlock it."

"Excellent, thankyou. Now, no one is to speak above a whisper, and when we get closer, it would preferable not to speak at all. We must take the utmost care not to be caught, or we shall only end up repeating our last visit. Everyone be on your guard."

The team nodded soberly. They were well aware of how drastically they had failed, and were determined to get it right this time. They would not let their teammate down.

Kurt looked at Jean, who was speaking to Professor Xavier. He felt guilty for going off at her like he had. He knew Rogue wasn't the politest of people, especially to Jean, and she was trying really hard to help bring her back. She may act like a perfect little princess at times, but she had a good heart, and usually good intentions, and she was right in saying she didn't deserve what he said to her.

"Jean?"

Jean turned around to find Kurt standing behind her, looking at the ground. She tilted her head curiously.

"Yeah?"

"Uh, can I speak vith you a moment?"

She looked questioningly at Professor X. He smiled and nodded. She followed Kurt a few metres away.

"What is it?"

"I, vell, I just vanted to say, I'm sorry. For yelling at you yesterday. I know you didn't deserve it, and most of it wasn't even true anyvay. You are trying your best to help get Rogue back, and I'm sorry for saying you only cared about yourself, because you obviously have higher morals than that. You are a thoughtful person, and I am the selfish one for treating you like that. I really am sorry."

Jean looked at him, then she smiled weakly.

"It's ok Kurt. I understand. I know you care about Rogue, and even though our relationship isn't great, I do care about what happens to her too. I'm sorry too, I realise I have no idea what it's like for Rogue, and I should try to be more understanding of her. I'm glad she has you guys to be there for her."

Kurt nodded. They smiled at each other. Kurt suddenly spotted something behind Jean. He smothered a laugh, and pointed. Jean turned. Xavier was sitting in the one spot, trying to push himself over a tree root. Jean's shoulders shook with silent laughter. She lifted him up telekinetically, and he turned to look at her, a red tinge in his cheeks. She carried him along with her tk, and took to the air herself to lead the way. Kurt chuckled.

Kitty bounded up to Kurt.

"What was that about? You guys weren't like, arguing again were you?"

"No, it's all ok. But shall we carry on, miene schone Keety? (1) It is a long walk, and I'd say we could both do vith company on the way!"

Kitty giggled, and took the arm he offered.

They arrived sooner than they thought. The atmosphere was tense and nervous. No one spoke. They crept as quietly as possible to the door that Storm and Jean had spotted. They looked at it, then at each other. It seemed too easy somehow. Jean caught Xavier's eye. He nodded. She stared at the door, and drew a line in the air with her finger. There was a faint scraping sound. She tried the door. It didn't open.

I've done the bolt, but there's probably some other sort of lock. There's no keyhole.

You may have to remove the whole door in that case. I know there's virtually no point, but try to be as quiet as you can.

Jean shut her eyes. She envisioned the door in front of her. She reached out her hands and held it firmly. She jiggled it a little, then jerked it quickly. There was a creak from the real door, and she opened her eyes as it broke away from its frame. She caught it before it fell, and set it down gently.

Well done Jean. Is everyone ready?

The students nodded silently.

Then let us face the Acolytes together.

Kitty squeezed Kurt's hand. He smiled at her. He gave Jean the thumbs up, and together they made their way into the dome.

Rogue's head was pounding. Everything hurt. She scrumpled her eyes up, half hoping to pass out again to escape the pain. No such luck. She attempted to sit up, as her slumped position was very uncomfortable, but her head thumped in protest and she lay down instead. It was so loud, it was like one of her psyches had managed to get their hands on a jackhammer and was slamming it against her skull, while all the others crashed around as loud as they could in the backround.

She screwed up her face, trying to block it out, but the weird thing was, it didn't seem to be coming from inside her head. It was silent enough in there, but something was pounding, and her head ached like hell, so she didn't know what else it could be. She lifted her arm as best she could and put it over her face.

"¡Ella es despierta!" (2)

"Rogue! Are you awake?"

Rogue groaned, hoping they'd just shut up and leave her to die in peace.

"Omigod, Rogue are you all alright? That man went really crazy!"

"Eva saved you!"

"I did, my powers, Rogue, remember? You told me that was the fire thing, before you went knocked-out. Are you really hurt? You're not going to die, are you?"

"I wish," Rogue mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Ooh, my head! What the hell is that noise?" Rogue demanded furiously, as the crashing got louder.

"We not know. It started a little time before you come waked-up," Max informed her.

"Lots of people are yelling and stuff," Eva put in. "Think they might be fighting."

"Good. Hope they all kill each other."

Max looked at Eva uncertainly. Rogue shut her eyes again. If only they could go away and leave her alone. She lay her head on her arm, and winced. It was obviously bruised. A lot of her was. But she didn't care, all she wanted was to go back to sleep, to unconsciousness, to peace.

Thump.

Rogue's head slid off her arm and hit the floor. She looked at the door, terrified. It shuddered again as something hit it from the outside.

'Wonder if he's actually going to kill me this time,' she thought wearily. 'Probably.'

She wished he would just snap her neck or something, instead of beating her to a pulp before trying to strangle her. She was sick of pain. She wanted to scream something at him, let him know she was already dead so he could just go away. She hated the fact that she was scared of him.

There came a weird sort of whistling sound from behind the door, like when you wave a stick around really fast. The door glowed red for a second before exploding. Scott ran in.

"Rogue!"

Scott ran over to her, and made to throw his arms around her, but stopped short about a metre away from her, much to Rogue's relief. He stared at her in shock.

"Holy shit, Rogue, what have they done to you?"

"Oh nothin' much."

"Don't move."

The red light burned her eyes even through her closed lids. Her hands were no longer restrained, though she couldn't be bothered moving them anyway. Another blast and 'crack' at her feet told her he'd broken those chains too.

"I'm gonna kill them," Scott muttered furiously. He knelt down beside her. "Are you ok? Nothing's broken is it? Can you move?"

Rogue didn't bother answering him. She shut her eyes again.

"Don't go to sleep Rogue! Do you have a concussion? How's your head?"

"Fuckin' killing me."

"Are those the kids?" Scott said suddenly.

Once again, Rogue didn't answer. It was a dumb question anyway.

"Hi. Are you two ok? My name's Scott. I won't hurt you."

"I'm Eva," said Eva. "And this is Maximo."

"Listen, we have to get you out of here, ok? Are you alright to walk?"

Both kids nodded.

"Ok. Follow me."

Suddenly Rogue found herself being lifted off the ground. She groaned as her head throbbed furiously.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Getting you out."

"I'm perfectly fine to walk."

Scott laughed bitterly. "I don't think so Rogue. But don't worry, the Acolytes will be worse off once we're done."

He carried her out the door, the kids trotting happily behind.

"You can put me down now," Rogue said crossly, after about 10 minutes of trudging through corridors with Scott's belt pinching her side. "You're hurting me."

"Oh, I'm really sorry. Where does it hurt? Is there anything I can do?"

"Everywhere, and yes, you can put me down, like I asked."

"Rogue I need to get you out of here, to safety. Especially in your condition."

"I can get myself out."

"Sorry."

He hitched her up further off his hip, and carried on walking. Rogue wanted to hit him. Who was he to decide she was incapable of walking? Sure, her head hurt, sure, she'd been bashed about quite a lot in a short period of time, but that wasn't to say she needed people treating her like a vegetable.

She was trying to think of a suitable indignant/cutting remark to convince Scott to put her down, but as she opened her mouth she realised his eyes were shut and his mouth was moving soundlessly. He was contacting the professor. He better not be saying how mortally injured and helpless she was. She didn't want everyone making a huge fuss over her. Why can't people ever seem to be satisfied with a simple 'Hello, welcome back'?

Scott lead the way through a pointless door that opened onto yet another corridor, and round the corner until the darkness seemed to lift slightly. They must have made it to the north side.

"They're around here somewhere," muttered Scott, to no one in particular.

"Who?"

Scott turned to look at Eva, who was looking up at him innocently. Her endless flow of questions took a while to get used to.

"Our team," said Scott shortly. Rogue would've raised an eyebrow if her head hadn't felt like it was clamped in a giant vice. That sounded so military.

A sudden, huge crash confirmed Scott's sense of direction. Now the sounds of an obvious battle became clearer, and it was surprising they hadn't picked it up before.

Scott broke into a run, Rogue bouncing uncomfortably in his arms. The kids charged after them, full of childish energy. He turned the corner to find what looked like a fully-fledged, though miniature, war going on down the main north corridor.

They saw straight away what had made the crash. There was a huge hole in the wall, and by the looks of things, seemed to go by the name of Sabertooth. Logan was standing a few feet away, still in a fighting stance but with a very satisfied look on his face. Sabertooth was trying to disentangle himself from the rubble. Meanwhile both Pietro and St John were attacking Spyke, and he definitely wasn't winning.

He was standing looking rather helpless, while a cackling Pyro spurted flames around him. They were then picked up into a whirlwind caused by Pietro, who happened to be running around Evan. Now and again he would shoot the occasional bone, but they were just sucked straight into the whirlwind. He looked so stupid and angry and just helpless standing there yelling abuse, that it would almost have been funny if his life hadn't been in danger. Scott finally put Rogue down to lift a hand to his visor, and hit Pietro with a well-placed optic blast. He was knocked of his feet and skidded along the ground. Evan immediately pinned him down with an arsenal of spykes.

"Oops. Sorry mate," said Pyro, making to slink away. Rogue started after him, smirking with anticipation of payback, but Scott grabbed the back of her coat.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Don't be stupid Rogue. Look at yourself. You can hardly walk, let alone fight. I hate seeing you like this, and there's no way I am even going to chance it happening again, ok?"

"I want to help."

"No. It's not often I'll argue with you, but even if you were in any state for battle, I think they're doing fine on their own, don't you?"

They looked around at the scene again. Jean had just created a psychic bubble around herself, and thrown Gambit on his (nice) ass. He was forced to leap out of the way of his own charged cards, deflected by the bubble. He reached into his pocket again, but his feet suddenly sunk 30 centimetres into the floor. He lurched unsteadily as Kitty phased back up and waved cheekily at him. At the other end of the corridor, Sabertooth and Logan were back in full swing, while Kurt repeatedly teleported around a very confused Piotr. Pyro, who, in the meantime, had been amusing himself with different flame shapes, noticed this, and looked like he was about to intervene in the only way a pyromaniac knew. But Scott got in first, shooting a beam of red light at him, which sent him flying right into the trapped Pietro.

Rogue laughed, and swayed slightly on the spot. She was beginning to feel very lightheaded. Scott noticed just in time, and caught her under the arms before she fell. His arm knocked her ribs, and tears of pain sprung to her eyes before she could stop them. She let out a little squeak.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" cried Scott, sounding panicked. "I didn't mean to hurt you, are you ok?"

A roar of more than one voice drowned out any reply Rogue might've made. All heads turned as Logan retracted his claws from Sabertooth's shoulders. The rage and pain-induced roars both stopped as the latter fell to the floor with a thud. The wounds soon healed, but unconsciousness remained.

Logan looked up. His face was haggard and grim. But his eyes were soft as he uttered one word.

"Stripes."

For the first time, they noticed the figure huddled next to Scott. One they had searched for, feared for and just really, really missed.

All at once, the X-men left the Acolytes in their various states of immobility, and ran silently to their teammate. Scott held out a warning hand.

"Don't touch her, she's hurt pretty bad. We have to get her out of here."

They could only stare at her. Somehow, they had imagined finding her, or not finding her. Not finding her hurt like this. Tears pricked their eyelids as they watched them pour down her cheeks.

"Mein Gott, Rogue," said Kurt finally.

"I'll kill them," growled Logan.

"They didn't all do that," announced a small voice. They looked down at the little green-eyed girl.

"They were OK, really," she continued earnestly. "It was just him."

She pointed to the unconscious Sabertooth. "He kept attacking Rogue, and hurting her. That man," she pointed at Piotr this time, "tries to stop him, but sometimes he can't."

"She's right," said Rogue weakly. "They never hurt us. He wanted to kill me, because he wanted to kill Logan. He thought it would bring Logan here. They brought me here because they couldn't risk him hurting me. They were going to set me free."

Logan snarled, and unsheathed his claws.

"No, Logan," said Jean, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't."

"Let me go, Red. He could've killed her."

"Look, she's right Logan. We have to get Rogue back to the institute in case she gets any worse. If you kill one of his men, Magneto will retaliate, no matter how worthless he is as an asset. And a vengeful Magneto could get Rogue killed anyway. It could get all of us killed. He doesn't have the same morals as we do."

Logan glared at Scott, but retracted his claws. "Fine. Save that for another day."

He sighed, then gave Rogue a small smile. "Good to see ya, kid. Exercised our skills a bit to find you, you know."

"Miss me, did ya Logan?" Rogue retorted, managing a smirk despite her bruises.

"Course I did. This lot're useless in the Danger Room without you."

He patted her shoulder gently. "Don't scare us like that again, got it?"

She smiled back. "Got it."

As he went over to talk to Scott, Kurt sidled up to her.

"How on earth do you do it, schwester?" he asked, shaking his head.

"Do what?"

"Survive everything that life throws at you. You've had it pretty rough, and not the normal, parents splitting, moving house kinda rough. Some people vould groan, saying life had given them the short end of the stick, and hide avay from the vorld, not vanting to see anyone who has it better than them. But you, you groan, saying life has given you the short end of the stick, and go out in it anyvay. You've been kidnapped, held prisoner, beaten half to death, and here you are smiling. How?"

"Well, I guess I'm just happy to see y'all again," Rogue replied. She met Kurt's eyes with a grin. He grinned back, shuffling his feet along the dusty floor. Then suddenly he was next to her, his arms wrapped around her in a gentle hug.

"I'm happy to see you, too."

"Ok, we're out of here."

Scott joined the siblings, smiling down at them. "Brotherly love, huh?"

Kurt blushed, and let go of Rogue quickly. She chuckled.

"The Professor is speaking with Magneto. He said to meet him at the jet in 10 minutes, so lets get going."

"With Magneto?" Rogue said incredulously.

"Don't worry. They're just having a conversation they should've had a very long time ago."

With that, he carefully put an arm around Rogue's waist, and lifted her up, placing his other arm in the crook of her knees. She gasped, grabbing him around the neck for support. Kurt laughed, then ported away as she scowled at him.

"Must you!" she muttered furiously, a pink tinge in her pale cheeks. Scott nodded, his unseen eyes twinkling with amusement.

It wasn't until they had nearly reached the jet when Scott reluctantly put Rogue down, and only because he was needed to clear some extremely dense shrubbery form their path. He ordered Rogue sit down, and not move until he came to get her. Rogue, feeling childishly annoyed at being bossed around, wandered a few metres from where he'd left her before sitting down on a dead log. Soon after she'd taken a seat, someone sat down next to her. They were both silent for a few moments, neither one looking up. Then she spoke.

"Hey Rogue."

Rogue gasped. In the rush of everything, she'd completely forgotten about…

"Kitty! You're alright!"

Kitty sighed, shaking her head sadly.

"I'm alright? You are unbelievable. Here you've been, at the mercy of power-crazy madmen, with no means of escape, for days on end, you've had the absolute shit kicked out of you, and several attempts on your life. And you're glad that I'm alright. God Rogue. You are incredible."

"Hey, the last time I saw you, you were dangling off a cliff. How was I to know?"

"The last time I saw you, you were unconscious and being carried away by the babysitter of a homicidal maniac! I have been worried sick about you, Rogue! I thought I'd never see you again! You were worried about me? Do you ever worry about you!"

"Oh, only when Sabertooth tried to kill me for the third time, otherwise, it's been great."

Rogue got to her feet angrily.

"Don't, please," cried Kitty, tears running down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I've just been so scared Rogue. I had nightmares that you were on an executioner's block, and Sabertooth was the axeman, and I was in the crowd, but I couldn't get there in time…it was horrible. I thought we wouldn't find you in time either."

"Look, Kitty, it's okay. You did find me. I'm okay."

"You're not okay. Look at you. God, Rogue, what did he do to you?"

"You don't want to know, trust me."

"I'm so sorry. I should've been able to help you, back on the cliff, you…"

"Don't you dare blame yourself Kitty, this was not anything to do with you. You couldn't have done anything, and anyway, it doesn't matter anymore. I'm here now."

"I'm so glad, Rogue. I'm so glad. I missed you so much."

Kitty flung herself on Rogue, tears soaking the lapels of her coat. Rogue winced, but didn't say anything. She hugged Kitty back.

"The jet's just through this group of trees," announced Scott, standing over them as the girls broke apart. "Do you want to walk, Rogue?"

Kitty nudged Rogue gently, and winked. Rogue smiled.

"Like hell I do. You can't get out of it that easily."

Scott opened his mouth to protest, then, thinking better of it, picked her up again without a word, and didn't set her down till they had reached the jet. She sat with Kurt and Kitty for awhile, but then they were needed to help clear the Blackbird of its camouflage. She offered to help, but, predictably, they refused. So she sat on her own against a young sycamore, watching them work. It felt so good to be amongst them again. Being away had helped her realise that they were closer than she'd thought. She was glad she'd been able to meet Eva and Max too, and help them. She hoped they'd understand their powers better now, and maybe their parents would even let them join the institute one day. She guessed her 'visit' hadn't been all bad after all. Mostly…but not all.

Suddenly she felt something fall into her lap. She looked down in surprise. It was a rose. A single, red rose. She looked up, but nothing was there, only the leaves and winged seeds of the tree she leaned against. She sat up, looking all around. There was no one around but those working around the jet. She leaned back against the tree, twirling the rose in her gloved fingers confusedly.

"Almost as beautiful as you, cher," whispered a voice right in her ear.

She yelped and spun around. Remy held a finger to his lips.

"Ssh. Can't stay long. We just deliver de Professor, den be on our way. Remy did not want to leave wit'out saying goodbye."

"Where are you going?" Rogue whispered.

"Don' know. Into his mystery, is Mags. Den again, so am I. Dats why I be seeing you again, chere. Count on dat."

He slipped something into her hand and closed her fingers around it.

"You've done somet'ing dat hasn't been done before, cher. An' I don' wanna leave dat behind."

Rogue could only manage one word. "What?"

"You, Rogue. I don' wanna leave you. And dat, chere, is where no one has ever gone before."

He got silently to his feet, took her hand, and kissed it.

"Au revoir, ma cher. Been very nice to know you."

Then he was gone. He was round one tree, then another, then…just gone. Rogue watched the spot for a moment before opening her palm out. Inside it was her necklace, her amethyst necklace…and a ring that matched it exactly. She immediately took her glove off and slid it onto her finger. She spread her fingers, admiring it. It really was gorgeous.

"Time to go Rogue."

She turned. Professor Xavier smiled down at her from his wheelchair. She stood up hurriedly, guiltily pulling her glove on again. His eyes twinkled in such a knowing way she found she couldn't meet them, and instead looked at her tattered shoes.

"I'm glad you're safe Rogue. We were all very worried about you."

"I know you were professor. I know you were."

"Well, shall I dare repeat more of my students words in saying it is good to have you back?"

"I'd say you could sir."

She looked up sheepishly and returned his smile. He swiveled round and led the way back to the jet. As she walked up the ramp, Rogue turned and looked up. The metal orb was just disappearing from sight. She sighed, and entered the dark inside of the Blackbird.

As she sat herself next to Kurt, Logan came and stood over her.

"We've got a few stops to make on the way," he said nodding towards the back, where Eva was sticking feathers up her nose to make herself sneeze. Each time she did so, a small fireball would come out of her mouth and Max would cackle with laughter.

"Yeah," Rogue nodded. "They'll be glad to get home, I think."

"Like you?" said Logan, a strangely amused look on his face.

"Well, of cour…why? What's happened?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing. And I'm sure you'll be glad to see all the others again too."

"Yeah…" said Rogue cautiously.

"Like Hank. I'm sure he's really looking forward to having you back."

"What? No! I don't need to go to the infirmary, honest, I'm fine! I'm FINE!"

Well, there we go. Last chapter will be up ASAP. After I've done my architecture assignment, and anything else that's lurking from my long homework neglection…sigh. Hope you guys liked this. I hated the Cerebro scene. I have no idea how the stupid machine works, as you may have guessed, so I just made it up. Yuck. I won't be doing that again. Sorry if Rogue was too out of character back there aswell, I just thought she'd be really happy to see everyone again, and to kinda not be a prisoner anymore…that sorta thing. Thought I'd throw in an extra bit of Romyness too, to make up for leaving you so long (again). But if you still love me, please review! Muchas Gracias!

1: my beautiful Kitty

2: she's awake!