SO VERY SORRY this chapter took so much longer than usual to get done. It was just so...agh, you'll see.
The reactions I received from the last chapter were quite pleasing, I have to say.I had absolutely been itching to get it out and when I finished, I was quite satisfied with it. The levity is good to relieve the tension, don't you think? But this next one is less than pleasant so get ready for a severe change of gears. And with Remy's infamous butt-pat, don't you just love it? Hahahaha...
Okay, sorry for not replying to all your reviews but I really really am short on time right now I just wanted to upload this for all of you!
Silkyblack(still like Kitty), flowerperson, evlteddy, Les723, CircleofStone, fudgebrowne, ishandahalf(where will I put those stars??), PomegranateQueen, Allie, Freak87(Logan and Ororo...mmm, the possibilities--Logan and Jean, ew), Blackrougefille, Sweety8587 (i got the pistol line fr/ Titanic, I think it's a very archaic saying, oops), enchanted light, Gren44(maybe you can visit that restaurant, oh, wait, I never mentioned the name...heh),kendokao-----much love to you all! May you never be disappointed with the way things turn out in this fanfic. And have no doubts, it will not go unfinished.
If any of y'all are sneakin' a peak and not reviewing--honestly, I am disappointed!! deep scowl Show some gratitude, it's like the non-monetary payment for this "fine" entertainment. Heh.
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Kitty called the mansion often for updates but Rogue never had any news for her.
"How can we not know anything by now?" Kitty hissed, voice tight. "The Professor's been gone for days!"
Rogue sat in the kitchen with Wanda, while Kurt and Tabitha prepared dinner. She adjusted the cordless phone to her other ear. "Ah don't know, Kit, nobody does. The Professor hasn't contacted us, yet. Except for that one time to say they'd gotten there safely and another time to tell us they were just meeting with the Count..."
"We can't, like, track them down or anything?" Kitty was almost shrill. "Can't we find the X-jet on radar or something?"
"Not if it isn't givin' off a signal," Rogue said. "That's what Mr. McCoy said anyway. None of us know what's going on and we're thinkin' about going off to find them."
Kitty let out a shaky breath on the other end of the line, "It got Bobby, Rogue. Bobby and Sam. Doesn't matter that we're not at the Institute. It's still gonna, like, find us anyway...God, what's going on? The Professor's gone, Logan's gone, Storm's gone--and we don't know how to stop this! It'll just keep attacking us until we're all dead--"
"Stop it, Kitty," Rogue hissed. Hearing her usually optimistic friend speaking in such a way made her blood run cold. "Don't think like that. Please, just...everything'll be okay."
Wanda looked up at Rogue with a worried expression, something not characteristic for her. It was chafing.
Rogue tried to convince herself that things would be all right. Hearing Kitty's panicked words, the voices in her mind began shouting again. She tried to shut them out. "Things are gonna be okay. They always do. Ah mean, we're really prepared. Just yesterday Mr. McCoy showed us all how to handle the IVs and monitors and stuff just in case, ya know, 't help us anymore..." She realized the words were wrong after she said them.
"I have to, like, go, Rogue," Kitty said, voice thick. She was trying not to cry. "I, uh, my mom's calling. I'll call later." She hung up without waiting for a reply.
Rogue set the phone down.
"All right," Tabitha said, setting a bowl of noodles on the table. Kurt placed a pot of spaghetti sauce beside it. "Dinner is prepared. Dig in!"
"Where's Mr. McCoy and Gambit?" Rogue asked.
Kurt nodded towards the Infirmary, "He's getting a last check up. Mr. McCoy zays he's probably well enough to leave tonight."
Wanda took the plate that Tabitha passed her. "As much as his cockiness annoys me, I wish he'd stick around. This place doesn't feel right...missing so many people. I'm kind of missing my annoying brother--God, even Todd's stupidness." She sneered angrily, appearing more like the Wanda they all knew.
Rogue pushed her spaghetti around on the plate, murmuring a quiet, "Yeah."
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"So do I get a clean bill o'health, Doc?"
Mr. McCoy pulled off his latex gloves and tossed them in the trash can. "Well, Mr. LeBeau..." He picked up the chart and scribbled some notes. After reviewing the information for a few seconds he looked up and smiled, "Your wounds are healing nicely. These past few days have been good to you, if you discard the unwarranted Danger Room session..." He gave the patient a disapproving frown before continuing, "You won't need any more medical attention, but don't stress your body too much. The gashes can still hurt a bit. Ah, let me remove the head bandage. It's not necessary anymore." He set the chart down and peeled off the tape and gauze.
Remy ran a hand over his forehead, feeling the scabs covered by his bangs. "You go'n' be keepin' dat file?"
Mr. McCoy nearly smirked, "Why, yes. I always compile the files and notes of all my patients. But don't worry, they are only for my eyes to see."
"Ain't possible for y'jus' t'burn it, neh?"
"I don't see a reason for you to be nervous. It only contains biological information."
Remy shrugged, "Guess so." Mere biology or not, he didn't like the idea of people keeping facts about him. He debated whether or not to steal it later.
"Well, now that's everything's done, there really isn't any reason for me to keep you here," Mr. McCoy said. He looked like a proud doctor after having discharged an ill patient. "You're perfectly healthy as far as I can tell. Feel free to leave anytime."
"Y'kickin' me out, Doc?"
"Of course not. Hmm, I know the Professor offered you a place here, as an X-Man. Is that something you are considering?" Mr. McCoy tried to read the Cajun's expression.
Remy pulled on his shirt and shrugged again in his usual detached manner. "Hard t'say, homme. Now dat Mags is gone, not really sure what I should be doin' right now. Signin' up wit' de X-Men seems a lil'...dunno."
Mr. McCoy nodded, "Well, you're welcome to stay if that's what you wish. In the meantime, go and have yourself some dinner. I'm sure it's all prepared now. I'll go check on the patients one last time." He turned and left, picking up three charts along the way.
Remy heard him talking to the redhead in the other room.
"You really should go eat something, Jean."
"I can't leave Scott. He'll know if I'm not there. We have a connection."
"Would you like me to bring something down?"
"I'm not really hungry, Hank. I just...I just want to be with him right now."
Remy looked at the floor. He still had not moved from the examination cot. That redhead sure was committed to Shades. And despite how much he couldn't see anything appealing in the eye-blasting stiff, he had to admire how the guy could make a girl fall so hard. Not that it was anything new for Remy. Many belle femmes had fallen for him, loved him, and he had left them all in the dust--never even leaving a note or giving them a second thought. No words of comfort, no good-byes. Still, he wondered if any of those girls had really fallen for him, or was it all just intense infatuation? Would they do anything for him? Risk everything for him? Starve themselves and stay at the side of his sickbed? He would never know, and he wasn't sure if he even cared.
"I don't know what to do, Hank," Jean's voice floated in from the other room. It sounded congested, like she had been crying. "If Scott doesn't make it--if he doesn't..."
"Do not dwell on those thoughts," Mr. McCoy said. "All we can do is have some faith."
Jean clearly was not listening. "I didn't even get a chance to say good-bye..."
Remy hopped off the cot and picked up his trench coat. As he pulled it on he left the Infirmary. This place was definitely getting to him. It was making him think about things he'd rather not ponder. There was a sense of family here. Though none of them were blood-linked, they acted as though they were. It was contagious. And then there was her. He combed his fingers through his hair. He smiled without realizing it, remembering how she had noticed his habit.
He smelled tomato sauce wafting from the kitchen. A growl in his stomach alerted hunger, but he ignored it. Maybe it was time to leave before he got himself in too deep. Nobody wanted him here anyway. He did not want to become attached to a place again. Life was easier living it alone. Then his own words came back to bite him in the ass.
Dey care 'bout you and y'shouldn't push dem away like y'do, otherwise, you really will end up alone.
But he was not her. He did not have what she had. Remy sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. He turned away from the kitchen, going up the large staircase. He locked himself in his guest bedroom and decided to take a shower. He turned the water as hot as it would go, trying to burn away all thoughts. When he was finished he dried off, careful with the now-thinner bandages. The bulkier ones had been traded in when the wounds began to close up appropriately.
He saw himself in the mirror as he pulled on some more borrowed clothes. Look at what happened to you, fool. And where did you go? Where else but to the X-Men of all people, the only ones who are righteous enough to offer unconditional help. Maybe this was a good place. His thoughts were no less boggled as he pulled on his trench coat. He only became more confused when the screams reached his ears.
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Tabitha knocked over the spaghetti sauce when they heard the noise. She leapt from the table, hands covering her ears. "It's Hank!"
Rogue struggled to breathe for a moment. No, not Mr. McCoy. Not Mr. McCoy. She followed the others into the Infirmary, running as fast as their feet could carry them. As they entered the observation area a cart of surgical tools flew past, nearly impaling Kurt. It crashed against the wall, sharp knives and scalpels flying everywhere. Rogue cried out as a sailing razor sliced her arm. Suddenly the flying blades were stopped in midair, then flung away from them by an invisible force.
"Watch out!" Jean shouted desperately. She stood blocking the doorway to the comatose patients.
Mr. McCoy was not himself. He roared frighteningly and picked up a chair. He heaved it across the room, aiming at an unseen target. "Leave me alone!" he roared savagely. "Stay away!" He groped about his tools, picking up anything he could find and hurling them clumsily. Kurt disappeared with a puff of smoke and brimstone. He reappeared on top of Hank, grabbing a hold of his head and covering his eyes. "It's all vight Mr. McCoy! There's nothing there! Nothing--" He yelped when he was thrown off.
Jean telekinetically stopped him from crashing onto a counter of lab equipment.
Rogue winced in pain as the psyches in her mind began screaming in panic once again. She fought to keep her mental walls up, straining from the effort.
She's here! She's here!
Run away before she sees us!
What do you think you're doing? Get the hell away!
She'll take us! She'll take us!
The doctor was showing all the stereotypically expected behaviors of his beastly appearance. He roared and growled, eyes wide and feral. He swiped and clawed at the air in vain, all the while roaring at the top of his primal lungs.
And the X-Men just watched in horror. Rogue snapped out of it quickly and shouted, "Move him! Get him away from it!"
Jean was the first to react. With a strained gasp she focused her energy on Hank and propelled him out of the observation area. He continued to flail and squirm until Wanda hexed him with her powers. He couldn't move properly after that. As he skimmed through the corridor he looked around, eyes searching frantically. He seemed to relax a bit, breathing ruggedly.
Rogue was the first to reach him, followed by Jean, Kurt, Wanda, and Tabitha. "Mr. McCoy?" she called softly. "Mr. McCoy can ya hear me?"
He looked around, eyes unfocused. "R-Rogue, students, f-forgive me. I, uh, she was here...she was--there! There she is! Stay away from me!" His ear-splitting roars echoed down the hall. He growled furiously, knocking the youths aside as he grabbed for things to throw. He snatched a side table from the wall and flung it at the ceiling. It shattered to splinters of wood that rained down on the students.
With a frustrated growl Wanda hexed him again with more force. He collapsed to the ground. "Hurry, we don't know where it is!"
Rogue grabbed one arm while Jean took the other. Tabitha looked around fearfully, cherry bombs glowing in both hands. She threw them in random directions and their explosions created little craters in the walls and ceiling. It was her screaming that they did not expect.
Wanda cursed as she latched onto Tabitha with her powers. As she tried to pull the girl away something flickered into view like a distorted image, right above the shrieking blond. Her eyes widened when the smoky figure appeared. She suddenly forgot her powers. "Oh my God," she gasped, fear clutching her mind, rendering her helpless. Ghosts were real. Evil spirits and demons and monsters...forget mutants. This was a ghost. Ghosts were real.
Tabitha didn't scream for long as the ghost grabbed her head with its clawed hands, all the while not taking her eyes off Wanda. The ghost was feminine and smiled prettily though it only appeared ever more terrifying. Then Tabitha ceased her pained wailing and fell as a rag doll. The ghost floated towards its next prey.
Rogue stopped for a breath after she and Jean had hauled Hank around the corner. "Kurt?" she looked around in alarm. "And Tabitha--Wanda!" She nearly screamed when Kurt poofed into existence with Wanda at his side.
"It got Tabby," he told them. "And Vanda vas next."
Suddenly the witch started screaming incoherently. She threw her hexes in all directions, causing the lights, rug, and hall decorations to fly dangerously.
"Kurt!" Jean cried. "Teleport Hank away from here!"
Rogue ducked a flying painting and looked at Jean. She was right; Hank had to be saved first. He was the only adult left, the only voice of reason that they had to preserve. "Do it, Kurt!" she shouted. She pulled off her gloves and touched Hank's skin for a brief moment. She felt his agility flow into her veins. The already present personalities in her mind quieted when Hank entered. His authority disciplined them.
Kurt nodded and moved to grab Hank when a twirling vase smashed against his head. His eyes rolled up and he fell in a heap.
"Kurt!" Rogue gasped, leaping out of the way of another flying object.
Wanda was attacking the invisible ghost. "You won't get me!" she screamed angrily, fearfully, crazily. "I'm not scared of you! I'm not scared of you!"
Rogue watched where Wanda's hexed objects flew, no doubt to the location of Wraith. She looked at Jean but the telepath had already caught on. Her eyes darted from place to place as Wanda continued to hurl objects. Simultaneously barring things from hitting her, Jean focused a psychic blast in an estimated direction.
There was ripple in the air and for a split second a smoky figure appeared before disappearing again.
Astral projection, Rogue thought, remembering her earlier discussion with Hank. Then it's not a ghost, it's a telepathic self-projection which means a telepath can attack it. Hope surged through her as she turned to tell Jean. But the air was knocked out of her lungs as something flew into her. She was thrown backwards but caught by strong arms.
"Chere, didn't know y'could fly." Remy set her down on the floor. His light words were heavy with a grave tone. Red-on-black eyes focused on the disturbing scene. He heard Rogue gasping for air, but knew she'd be all right in a few seconds.
The redhead was trying to attack telepathically while keeping objects from hitting her. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she began to look more strained by the second. Scarlet Witch's angry shrieking only added to the ensuing chaos of panic and flying hall ornaments. But Remy saw beyond all that. He saw the ghostly figure. When he had eye contact he froze, feet unable to move.
So dis is fear, he was somehow able to think. Dis is terror. He had never felt it like this before. The moments he'd caught a glimpse of the phantom before had been brief. But now he felt cold all over and had the incredible urge to run away.
It was a girl, a girl laughing as she continued to toy with Scarlet Witch. Like a child playing an amusing game. She looked horrid, with scraggly hair and wide protruding eyes. Her hands were smoky claws and face contorted into all expressions horrible and discomforting. She dodged the objects though some hit and went right through her. She scowled her vaporous face when a few of Jean's weaker-by-the-second psychic blasts impacted against her ethereal form. She finally seemed to bore of the taunting and dove straight at Wanda like a missile. The witch dropped unconscious in seconds. Objects ceased to fly as the hexes desisted.
Remy finally snapped out of his daze. He charged a few cards and tossed them. The ghostly form only giggled as they went right through her and exploded. Jean cried out from the bursts of energy and lost her concentration. She collapsed against the wall, exhausted.
Won't you be mine, Remy.
His eyes snapped up to meet the phantom's. Slowly the frightening features began to melt away, revealing the face of a girl not unpleasant to look at.
Oh, you're so beautiful. Beautiful demon eyes. You'll be mine and we'll be ever so happy...you'll see...
She floated towards Hank with a playful grin on her face. He was just coming to, groaning and opening his eyes. He saw her and froze, beastly mouth hanging open in confusion.
Always wanted a fuzzy animal to play with. Never had the chance, though. Never had the chance. Would you cry for me, Remy? Would you cry for me, even if you don't love me yet?
She looked almost sad but once she began draining the doctor she was ebullient with laughter and high-pitched shrieks again. She leapt away, bouncing off the walls and hanging off the lights like a primal ape. Then she swirled by Remy, reaching out to touch him but her wispy hand drifted right through his flesh.
He felt cold and wanted to twist away but couldn't. His mind could not make sense of what he was seeing. "Why y'doin' dis?" he asked.
Everybody needs to live. Even me--and this is the only way I can feel alive. Don't I deserve to live? She pouted and smoky tears flowed down her cheeks. Don't I deserve life? But I don't have it! He took it away from me that evil bastard. I'll kill him one of these days. I'll be back and I'll kill him! And suddenly she was gone as though she had never been there.
Remy tried to sort out what just happened. He looked up and down the hall, noted the fallen X-Men. The redhead was shallowly panting while massaging her temples. Nightcrawler began to awake, looking around groggily. Beast, Scarlet Witch, and BoomBoom lay unconscious. Comatose.
Remy turned around to see Rogue slouched against the wall, hand clutching her upper arm. She was muttering to herself incoherently, quieting the voices in her head. Then with a relieved sigh she opened her eyes and looked at him. Those deep emeralds scanned the scene before her and she bit her lip. She shook her head, bangs falling over her porcelain face.
Remy suddenly saw the drops of redness seeping through her fingers. "Chere, y'bleedin'," he said hoarsely. Disregarding her discomfort towards touch, he helped her off the floor and looked at her arm. "S'not too bad."
She looked up at him with a doubtful gaze. "You were talking to her," she murmured quietly. "I watched you...she was talking to you wasn't she?"
Remy averted his eyes, shivering at the thought. The ghostly girl did not seem like a heartless mutant killer. Her childlike innocence was obvious, her anger and sadness unexplainable. Remy was glad that Rogue did not press for answers.
As Jean and Kurt regained their composure, all four of them tended to their fallen friends. They worked silently, the air they breathed thick with destruction, fear, and doubt.
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Alas, we leave on a solemn note. This chapter was originally going to be much longer but I've split it up to make sense plot-wise and give more leeway to delve into Rogue and Remy's relationship. Think it'll work out--I just might be that conniving.
Next Chapter: Rhyme and Reason
Bittersweet dramatic angst--I think. See ya next time! And don't forget...REVIEW!!! It really makes my day!
Remember to check every 2-3 days for updates--they come up often!
Sneak Preview: Demon In My View Sequel: Guess what? I just decided there's gonna be a sequel to this story. I've already started plotting out what's going to happen in it too!! It might take a while to get out what with my senior year of high school coming up, but I think you guys will like it. I think the only word that can describe it is...epic.
I'm gushing I'm so excited! Keep those reviews coming in case I lose my steam--God, forbid, but it happens.