Notes: Quing: Thank you so much for all your reviews! It makes me super happy that you like this fic. Midnightrose: Thank you! I'm sorry about the long wait, I thought I'd posted this chapter last week but then looked and saw that I hadn't. Ooops! Jade: Thank you! Unfortunately, I'm gonna really focus on Scott's reaction and just sort of shove everyone else to the side. I will write a couple of bits with Logan and Kitty, though. Madjackmaxwell: Thank you! Also, that wasn't the end. Couple more chapters to go till the end. Queen-morganalefay: You're right, he did deserve so much more, but it can't always be about people getting what they deserve. And as for whether Rogue's alright… well, you'll see about that in these last three chapters. XX-Goth-Gal: Thank you! I'm so glad that everyone seems to think Adams got off easy, it sorta lets me know that I did good in creating his character and making him evil. Unearthlyangel89: Thanks! I'm glad you think I got their reactions right, I was a bit worried about that ending scene because it was kinda important to my mind, being all significant that it's all over. But then, I'm weird and find random little things important, lol. Quinevere: Thanks! Next chapter's already half-written, so it should be along soon. Sangofanatic: Thank you! And I really wanna say something in response to your comments but it would be spoilerific for how the fic ends I'm afraid.

Not too sure about this chapter, it seems a little rushed and disjointed to me. Also, just two more chapters to go folks, and then this fic is done, and I have the final chapter already written out.

Chapter Twelve

Rogue was tired of their questions. She was in the library, curled up at one end of the sofa, whilst her friends drilled her again and again about what had happened. She wanted, now that she actually had the option, to be heavily drugged and preferably unconscious. She wanted to lie in a soft, warm bed and think of absolutely nothing. She wanted to not have to answer questions that she really couldn't give a toss about. She wanted to not have to look at Scott's blank face, wondering what she could say to him. She knew that she had to talk to him soon, that the Professor would eventually release the grip he had on his mind and let him 'wake up' so to speak.

Sighing, Rogue uncurled herself, letting a grimace of pain wash over her expression as her various wounds reminded her of their presence. Ororo stopped in mid-question to look at her curiously, and blinked at the scowl she received.

"I need to talk to Scott, and in private," she said, looking only at the Professor. "I have to tell him," she added quietly.

For a moment, silence reigned, until the Professor nodded in a very resigned manner. "Very well. I'll be waiting outside. Be careful."

There were arguments, naturally, but with a few comments for Xavier and, surprisingly, Logan, everyone filled out. Rogue waited, anxiously, until awareness spread across Scott's face and he looked around in confusion.

"What-Rogue? What's going on? How did we get here? Where's Jean? Rogue?"

Rogue licked her lips and stared at her gloved hands, clenching them into fists. She opened her mouth to speak but found that the words died on her lips. Her eyes burned with unexpected tears and she blinked them back, refusing to show such weakness.

"I was kidnapped by a sadistic fuck named Adams," she began, her voice hoarse with repressed emotion. She refused to look at him, staring at her hands as if they were all that existed in the world. It was easier to speak that way, easier to explain the gruesome details if she pretended she was speaking to herself.

"He was kidnapping mutants and making them fight each other for the enjoyment of other sadistic fucks. He made quite a bit of money that way, and I was his best fighter. I… killed, other mutants, to save my own skin, and I… I didn't care. If it meant I lived, I'd kill anyone. Until they captured Jean. I couldn't… couldn't fight her, and she couldn't fight me. So the guards took us and… and they tortured us. I was first, and it was brutal. It hurt so fucking much, but I never gave in, never asked for it to stop. But then… then they moved to Jean. She was strong, she lasted a lot longer than most people would, but… when it came to the… the rape… she couldn't take it. She agreed to fight, and so I had no choice. We were put back in the Cage and… we fought. She fought good, it was the hardest fight I've had, and it was so close. But I've had more practise, I've had to work hard on my skills, and in the end… I won. I killed her. I'm sorry."

Rogue finally looked up, letting her eyes sweep over Scott's face, and she wondered how he would react, where his chaotic emotions would lead him. She suspected that she was already knew, and her suspicions were proved correct when rage clouded his expression.

"You killed her?" he shouted, his voice seeming impossibly loud after his tense silence. "You fucking killed her? Jesus Christ, Rogue, she was your friend! How could you fucking kill her?"

There was more, he ranted and raved, pacing the room and gesturing wildly with his hands, but she didn't listen, letting it wash through her unheard because there was no point, she knew what he was saying and had no interest in actually hearing it.

"Was I supposed to let her kill me?" she asked when he finally took a breath, her voice icy and sharp.

"She wouldn't have! Fuck, Rogue, Jean could never hurt anyone!"

Rogue took a deep breath and refused to lose her temper, working hard at keeping her voice quiet and controlled. "You have no idea what Jean was capable of, Scott. She wasn't Ms. Perfect and Innocent, not once they got their hands on her. She was going to kill me, I just killed her first."

"And who gave you that fucking right? God, Rogue, you shouldn't have even fought her in the first place! You should have waited, should have stalled them, until we found you! We were looking for you, we've been searching ever since you first disappeared, we would have found you! You didn't have to fucking kill her!"

Before she quite knew what she was doing, Rogue was pulling at her dirty, torn clothes, throwing them on to the floor so that she could pull at the bandages covering her body. She was vaguely aware that Scott had stopped shouting and was just staring at her, but that wasn't important, nothing was important apart from the seething storm of fury within her.

"Take a good fucking look, Scott!" she hissed, glaring at him as she held her arms out to display her half-naked body. "This is what I fucking suffered for her! I could have stopped it at any fucking time but I didn't because she was my friend and I didn't want to kill her! Don't you dare try to lecture me on what I should have done because I did everything I fucking could. You have no idea what I've been through so shut the fuck up before I do something that I might not regret tomorrow."

She stormed out of the library, ignoring Xavier, Logan and Kitty. She didn't have a destination in mind, she was too focused on forcing the anger back, on controlling her breathing and trying to think calm, rational thoughts.

She wasn't really surprised when she ended up in Jean's room, it was just the sort of thing her morbid brain would do. She sat down on the bed, clutching the covers in her fists, and wished that she could replay the last five minutes, wished that she could go back and play that scene again. She shouldn't have blown up at Scott like that, though it had served to shut him up. But still, it had been the wrong thing to do, he had loved Jean and he had every right to be angry.

Sighing, Rogue let herself lie down, trying not to think about who's bed she was on. She gazed across the room at the dresser, looking at the various pictures and notes that covered the edges of the mirror. Tears fell silently from her eyes and she brushed them away angrily, rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling.

She wondered what would happen in the morning, when the harsh light of day flooded the dark facts of her experiences. She wondered how everyone would react once they'd got past the shock. She wondered how they would treat her, when all was said and done. She wondered if she cared.