Author Rant: hehe. I promised that this chapter would be up sooner than the last, and ta da! Okay, so it's still a long time, I'm trying… Things are just hectic. Here we go. Hehe. Enjoy!

Yumiko: Sorry, this took long too…
Rogue Star: Just a TAD bit obsessive with the Ritz joke. And yes, I love the pre-made Ritz sandwiches, well, the ones with the cheese. Not a big peanut butter person myself. hehe.
Fire0: hehe. Thank you. I'm glad you're enjoyed my fic.
Scholar: hehe. I think Mags is the last thing he should worry about at this point.
Mistic UV: Ummm.. I can't really say how long this fic will be. I honestly don't know yet. But I'm trying to condense more into these chapters so I can get closer to what I want to do here.
One23mad: She did it out of desperation, really. She had to get away from him, and she felt that she had to stop him. And hey, I'd kiss him if I was in that situation.
icyangelluv: And here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy ^_^
Rogue15: hehe/glad/you/enjoyed/the/story/./././this/is/a/cool/way/of/typing
Andi: hehe. I know, it's a huge feat for me to update. I'm such a lazy bum.
Dragonet: Wow, that's putting a lot of pressure on a person. hehe. Anyways, I hope this chapter doesn't let you down.
Rogue31: Yah, the beginning of the Hulk was way too detailed. And a lot of other parts.
isandahalf: You and your crazy theories about me working for Ritz and using this fic to sending you subliminal Ritz messages to buy Ritz. Ritz Ritz Ritz. Sorry for the long update once again though. I'm trying to be one with the crack bunny, but it's not working. Damnit!
The Flying Pen: Welcome back from summer camp, here's my Romy goodness for you.
Nightshade: hehehe… It's not a sneaky tactics, she's just using her powers to help, lols.
Lady Dragon: Oh, yah, he's definitely going to try again.

Disclaimer: I was told that I *twitch* am a bit *spasm*… Excuse me… Obsessed with the whole Ritz cracker joke. Yes, I know I'm killing it, but it's my fic.. MWAHAHAHAHHAHA. Unfortunately, the characters itself under the X-men copyright are not of my creation, but that's okay, because that just means more Ritz for me…

He awoke to the sight of charred, fallen trees and burning bushes. Their stench overwhelmed his senses and caused him to lurch forward. Ugh… Wat de hell did John do now? Gambit thought as he pushed himself off the ground. As he looked around at the scene that laid before him, reality instantly took over--Magneto's mission, the girl, getting caught, the girl, the fight, kidnapping the girl, more fighting, and the girl. He smiled a bit as he brought his hands to his lips. Never enjoyed losing a fight as much as he did at that moment. But how long had he been out? And where was the girl now? He scanned the area in search of her, but he couldn't see any signs of the femme. Don't know whether I should be disappointed or relieved, he thought to himself as he surveyed the landscape. It didn't seem like he was out that long. The fires were still burning anyway, but the storm clouds were coming in fast. He would have to wait until their next meeting to show the girl his gratitude for her lip to lip combat skills. Now it was time for him to go.

As he turned to make a break for it, however, the sharp pain shooting up his leg stopped him. "Wat in de hell?" he hissed as he examined his leg. He didn't remember getting injured. Maybe he fell on it when he passed out. Perhaps. But he wasn't ever this careless to get hurt on a mission. Maybe de femme play dirty an kick Remy when he down, non? he mused to himself. Whatever was the cause of it, he had been through worse, so it wasn't going to be a huge problem for it. At least that's what his ego told him as he limped along in a feverish pace. Magneto employed a mutant that had healing abilities, so she may have been able to fix him up. All he had to do was get to his bike and he could go back.

"Going somewhere, Cajun?" a voice growled from behind. Gambit froze in his path as the vibration of the cold voice sent chills down his spine. It was a strange feeling, one that he hadn't felt in a long time, or at least trained himself not to. At least he couldn't remember this feeling of apprehension before. But it was as if something in the back of his mind was starting to take over as he turned around.

"You weren't planning on just up and leaving without saying good-bye to me, where you?" Wolverine spat as he unsheathed his adamintium claws from his knuckles. The dust from the roof collapsing on him was still visible on his tattered uniform, the heat of the flames caused the dust to cling to his exposed skin as he slowly moved forward. "Let's keep this simple. Where's the girl?"

"Damned if I know," Gambit replied, his cocky smirk once again returning to his expression.

The Acolyte's confidence only fueled Wolverine's rage as he prepared to attack. He wasn't going to let this kid get away again, especially after how things went during their last spat. He lunged forward towards the younger mutant in a series of combos. Despite his sore ankle, Gambit deftly blocked most of the older mutant's attacks, some had barely hit their mark before Wolverine took hold of his wrists and flipped him over. As the X-men came down for the final blow, Gambit quickly rolled over a couple of feet. He searched his coat for his staff but to no avail. It wasn't in his secret compartment. And to make matters worse, it seemed as if his cards were snatched to. "That bitch," he muttered under his breath as he got to his feet.

It didn't matter that his weapons were gone. He could make any object a weapon, so it was of no consequence what he used. Plus, he was a capable fighter, despite his injury slowing him down a bit. So why was he all of the sudden overcome with a sense of anxiety and nervousness. Something was wrong. The kiss. What the hell did the girl actually do to him? He pondered as he readied himself for an attack. Strangely enough. The X-men stood where he was.

"Something's not right here," Wolverine said as he stared down his opponent. "You're not holding back on me are you? No, that's not it. Something else." His eyes widened as he moved closer. Gambit backed away and raised his fists as he stood in his defense stance.

"Logan, get down!" a voice cried out from behind them. Before Gambit or Wolverine could react, however, a red energy blast shot through the darkness, striking Gambit and throwing him back a couple of yards. He let out a yell as his body slammed into a couple of trees before he landed. Within seconds, Cyclops came running out, his eyes on his visor, preparing for another attack as he followed the path were the intruder's body was thrown in. "Not so cocky anymore?" he snapped as he cautiously approached the body.

"Scott, stop," Wolverine yelled as he grabbed the young mutant by the arm. "Don't attack him. That's not him."

"What do you mean that's not him?" Scott replied as he struggled away from his grasp. "I saw him. After Kurt teleported us away from the blast, I saw -him- walk away from it without Rogue. He was going in this direction. That's him."

"I don't know what you saw, but it's not him, kid," Wolverine continued as he flipped Scott onto the ground in attempts to calm him. "It doesn't smell like Gumbo, so it's not Gumbo." Scott looked up at him in confusion. "That's not him. I think that's Rogue."

The smell of sulfur and smoke filled the air, the signature signs that Kurt had joined them. "Hey everybody! Look who I found!" the blue-haired mutant grunted as he dragged the unconscious body of the Acolyte behind him. His two allies looked up at him with a confused look on their faces as they looked at his findings. "He vas on the other side, near vhere ve vere, Scott. I don't know vhat you vere talking about seeing him come in this direction."

Despite his attempts, however, the two other X-men stared at him in silence in disbelief. "Um… Guys… Vhat's going on?"

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The steady beeps from the heart-monitoring machine greeted Rogue as she woke up from her nightmare. She slowly pushed herself into a sitting position as she tried to get her bearings back to her. Slowly allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness, she figured out that she was in the med lab. But why? Where was everyone? Dr. McCoy, the Professor, Logan. Logan. All of the sudden everything came flooding back to her about the events of the morning. The intruder, the fight, being kidnapped, and… "Oh, no," she muttered as she brought her fingers to her lips. The tears began to swell up in her eyes as her mind began to wander about what the consequences of her actions brought about. "What have Ah done?"