Remy barely heard Cyclops' call to fall back. Storm finally calmed the Cajun down and led him back to camp with one arm around her friend. Back at the camp, Remy paced, an ace moving through his fingers. Rogue knew that meant he was agitated and worried. She wasn't sure how she felt about it, so she kept her mouth shut for once, not knowing what to say or do.
Rogue sat with Logan, watching Remy, and realizing in that moment exactly what Warren meant to Remy. She was still jealous, but at the same time felt bad for him. Logan watched as well, hoping Remy wouldn't go off and do anything stupid, and at the same time, figured he would. Not that he blamed Remy. If it had been Mariko, he wouldn't place bets on him being able to stay calm either.
Remy's voice cracked with pain and worry. "What we do now? Can't jus' leave him wit' dat monster! I promised!"
Scott was feeling very worried about his friend as well. And also rather guilty. He'd known Warren's history with Sauron and yet despite that he'd needed Angel and so had asked him to come on the mission. Now one of his best friends was in the hands of a madman. "Don't worry, Remy, we'll get him back." Cyclops rarely called Gambit by his given name, but this situation warranted it, as he wanted to comfort the Cajun. Hank spoke up as well, "Indubitably. We shall not allow our esteemed colleague to languish in captivity."
Remy ran his free hand through the auburn mass that usually got in his eyes. Rogue and Storm both knew it meant he was really scared though he would never admit it. He only did it in certain situations like now. "An' how ya gonna get him out, neh? Who knows what he'll do? I should have told Ange t'stay home. It's my fault he's even here. I shouldn't have told him it was his choice."
Jean sat down next to Remy, not quite putting her arm around him, giving him some space, but definitely close to him in a comforting manner. "It's not your fault, Remy. We all agreed to Warren's coming with us. Warren agreed. But all the blame is on Sauron. And we will get Warren back." Her voice was forceful on the last sentence and she looked up to her husband, the team leader.
Cyclops nodded, his stance showing he was thinking tactically now. "We still have to free Ka-Zar's people. To do that, we have to take out the Mutates and that can only help us get Warren back because it gets rid of Sauron's backup."
Remy nodded, still looking down. but he had stopped pacing and simply held the ace now instead of flipping it through fingers. Logan spoke next to reassure Remy. "Jeannie and Cyke are right. You know we ain't gonna abandon Warren. We don't do that to anyone. We just gotta get around that Vertigo...she's the dangerous one since she don't gotta touch ya to hurt ya."
Cyclops nodded, all business. "Then we take her out from a distance, strategic strike. THEN we attack the rest of the Mutates and get the villagers out of there."
Remy looked up at Scott, eyes blazing. "So what we waitin' for? I owe dat witch for makin' me lose breakfast." Logan laughed. "Me and Cajun can take her out Cyke." Storm smiled. "A fog should aid you in your efforts."
Cyclops smiled wolfishly. "I'm thinking that once we have Vertigo out, and the Mutates come after us, we can block them off from the villagers with some pieces of the mountain." His visor glowed red, almost in anticipation. "Ka-Zar, you get your people to safety. We'll handle the rest." Ka-Zar nodded, standing up next to Zabu. It was still dividing their forces, but that was unavoidable.
Storm looked up and soon a fog covered the land. She kept it dense enough so that they could not be seen, but thin enough so they could see themselves. Remy paused only to grab some stones to use as weapons. Rogue cracked her knuckles in anticipation of another good fight. Logan and Scott didn't always get along, but times like this, Logan had to give Scott credit. The Boy Scout had his moments. "Lead on, Fearless Leader."
Cyclops nodded curtly and the X-Men made their way back to the mountain and to battle. Betsy hung back only for an instant. She had no problems with helping Ka-Zar's people or defeating the Mutates, but she wanted Warren to suffer. However, he was already in the hands of Sauron, someone who'd already proved he could hurt the winged mutant deeply. No, she wouldn't have to act against the X-Men a second time. Besides, once was chancing it. If she tried again, she'd surely be caught. Psylocke was not about to underestimate her teammates.
As expected, Vertigo attempted the same trick: stand up away from everyone and make them ill. But Logan smelled her first and guided Remy towards her back. Storm's fog provided cover until it was too late. Remy enjoyed taking her down and made sure she would be out for a while. Logan kept control, but he wouldn't lie and say that beating up the Mutates wasn't enjoyable. Remy fought like a man possessed and his adrenaline boost took a few by surprise. Rogue took an aerial attack along with Storm. This time the battle seemed more personal.
Cyclops kept to the plan and Vertigo's separating herself only made it easier. As the rest of the Mutates spilled out of the compound, eager to battle some very sick (they thought) X-Men, a ruby red beam shook the mountain and a small avalanche tumbled between Vertigo and the rest. He knew Gambit and Wolverine would have made sure she wasn't going to be waking anytime soon. After the battle, they could secure her properly.
The battle raged as Remy, Logan, and Rogue at least ran on pure adrenaline. The nice thing about the Savage Land is that there was plenty of ammo for Gambit's power to charge. A coconut, a stone, even dirt, all became a weapon. Finally, they managed to defeat the Mutates and began the process of securing them.
Hank had bounded from opponent to opponent and Jean had telekinetically tripped up Barbarus and Gaza. The battle wasn't brief, as both sides were fairly well-matched, but neither was it too prolonged. By the time the X-Men were starting to secure their prisoners, Ka-Zar and some of the more hardy men from his village came to help, as they had finished getting their people to safety. The villagers helped transport the Mutates to the more secure village. They had made sure to blindfold Vertigo and Jean entered her unconscious mind long enough to ensure she stayed unconscious for much longer. All in all, it was only about two hours since Warren had been taken, but everyone was hungry, dirty, and had no idea of where exactly Sauron was keeping his captive. They headed back to the village to refuel and hopefully debrief the captives as to possible locations within the mountain.
Remy sat on a rock back at camp, the anger and adrenaline rush leaving his body. He was bruised, battered, and sore as hell, but he felt nothing. He sighed deep, knowing the day was growing short to give way to night. And he realized, sadly, that he would be sleeping alone for the first time since...well, since Warren had come home with him. Even if they had done nothing, Remy hadn't realized how much he needed Warren with him. Even in separate beds in the beginning, just his presence had been enough.
Betsy ate her simple dinner, provided by grateful natives, with much enjoyment. It had little to do with the quality of the meal, which was actually surprisingly good, and everything to do with the fact that they would have to wait through the night until they could rescue Warren. The former slaves had been able to provide very little information about the interior of the mountain. They had apparently been taken to a room blindfolded and told to work and then taken back out afterwards. Little had been learned. That meant that while they did still have daylight left, it was going to be spent on reconnaissance and planning, leaving the actual rescue until the next morning at the earliest.
Storm and Logan stayed with Remy and made sure he ate something. Remy tasted nothing and he ate only so his friends would get off his back. Afterwards, he offered his help with the recon. Anything to keep himself occupied.
Not everyone was needed for recon, so Cyclops only took a few with him. Wolverine of course, for his senses, and Storm in case they needed camouflage. Jean and Beast stayed behind to help the villagers with the prisoners. Rogue had nothing to contribute on a stealth mission so she stayed behind as well. Scott included Gambit because he knew Remy needed to feel like he was doing something to help Warren. He would have included Psylocke in case her new shadow skills could come in handy but Jean had drawn him aside and quietly recommended Betsy be left behind or she would make Remy uncomfortable, her break with Warren being less than amicable and all. Cyclops noticed as they left that Psylocke certainly did not seem to mind being left out.
Remy was grateful that both Rogue and Betsy had been left behind. He didn't need the animosity of Betsy distracting him. Rogue, at least, seemed to have softened a bit. At least she wasn't calling him names or making accusations. But truth be told, Betsy scared him. Since she had come back from the Crimson Dawn, she had terrified Remy. And that was saying quite a bit. After all he'd seen both as an X-Man and a thief, nothing had ever gotten under his skin and creeped him out like Betsy.
The small group of X-Men made their way back to the compound where the former slaves had been kept. Since the small cave from which Sauron had disappeared with Warren was only large enough for two or three people, Cyclops had Storm fly Wolverine up first. If anyone could track a trail from a chasm in a cave, it was Logan.
Remy was antsy. Sure he knew Logan was a good tracker, but he was no slouch himself. He paced a bit, impatiently waiting for Logan's report.
Logan could still smell the oil Warren used on his wings, it was very distinctive. Sauron had definitely taken then down the gap in the floor that occurred towards the back of the small cave, but the hole itself was fairly straight and Logan wasn't a flier. He had Storm bring him back down and reported his findings to Cyclops. "We need someone who can climb down that thing and maybe tell us if there are more passageways at the bottom, or even along the way. Maybe the Cajun can do it. The walls weren't completely smooth. I'll go with him, see if I can keep the trail, 'specially if there's more than one passage."
"What we waitin fo'? Let's get goin'. Who knows what dat monster's already done?" Storm flew them both up and Remy began the climb down, making sure to look out for any other passages. He had to force himself to take it slow and not rush. Warren would be OK. Maybe if he kept repeating it, he would believe it. But as good a liar as he was, he couldn't believe himself. Logan could sense the fear in Remy and hoped that Warren was still alive. He wouldn't want to be Sauron after Remy got done with him.
As the two men climbed down, Remy indicated to Logan all the passageways they passed, some big, some small, on all sides of the vertical tunnel. Logan checked each one and indicated they should go on. The tunnel began widening and soon they were looking down on a cavern about the size of a small one-story house. It was light with a few flickering torches and had several tunnels splitting off in various directions. Logan nodded to himself. "Right. This is where we stop, Cajun, and turn around. We bring the others here tomorrow and figure out which way then. Do it now and we might set off a trap without any backup." He immediately started to climb back up.
Remy knew Logan was right, but he lingered a moment before climbing back up the cliff. If he had his way, he would have just gone in himself. But he was smart enough to know that he would be no good if there indeed was a trap. And it was a sucker bet that there was in all probability. Storm looked relieved to see him, and he knew she had been afraid he would have rushed in. "When we comin' back?"
"Tomorrow at dawn," said Cyclops. "Storm, would you rather stay at the village? We'll need someone to watch the Mutates." It was a graceful way of letting Storm stay behind on this mission. Not only for her own sake but for the team's. Performing a mission entirely in caves would invoke her phobia and that could prove to be dangerous for everyone. As leader, it was Cyclops' job to be aware of weaknesses and minimize the risks.
Storm smiled graciously. "Thank you Cyclops. Yes, I will take that assignment. You have others far better equipped than I for this mission." She always admired how Scott could lead without making anyone feel weak or left out. She knew Remy well enough to know that for once, he would be up before anyone else. "Come, we should rest for tomorrow."
The next morning, Rogue woke and stretched, surprised to find Remy making the coffee. Remy was not what one could call a morning person in any sense of the word. How he ended up with Warren who was often awake with the beginning of dawn amazed her. And how they had not driven each other insane was something else. But then again, it must be love. And that thought depressed Rogue. Remy was oblivious to his former girlfriend's musings, focused only on the brew in his hands. He was avoiding checking time in the hope that he wouldn't make his anxiety worse. He had even beaten Scott to the coffee pot. He noticed Rogue was awake, and braced himself for the sarcastic comment he was sure was coming. Instead, he received only silence.
Scott woke up with his finely tuned internal clock and was rather surprised to already smell coffee. Even if he was one of several morning people on the team, on a mission he was almost always the first one up. The few exceptions were when a teammate was worrying over something. As he opened his eyes in the direction of the coffee-smell and noticed that it was Remy who had brewed it, he knew that nothing had changed this time. He certainly didn't blame Remy for worrying. If it was Jean who was in Sauron's clutches, he wasn't sure he'd be able to sleep at all and Jean didn't have the history that Warren had with this particular enemy.
Remy heard the rustling as Scott woke and wordlessly handed Scott a ceramic mug. As a thief, he was generally patient. After all, one had to be to wait for an opportunity so as not to get caught in a pinch. Rogue noticed the lack of sleep and the toll it had taken on Remy. She moved towards Scott and spoke low so Remy wouldn't hear. "You sure he's gonna be OK? I know that sounds silly comin' from me, but I ain't evah seen him this bad. He can usually stay up all night with no effect really. But he looks like hell, Scott."
Scott nodded as he sipped at the coffee and answered in equally low tones. He was fairly certain Remy could hear them if he wanted, but he was also pretty sure the Cajun wasn't paying too much attention to anything but his own mind at the moment. "Getting Warren back, and we WILL get him back, will help a lot, but then he'll have new problems to deal with. We just have to make sure we stay with them and offer our support and help for as long as they need it."
Rogue nodded and sighed deep. "Warren's lucky. I know me an' Remy had issues...but he stayed a lot longer than anyone else would have." She had realized this just now and felt ashamed for how she had treated Remy. "I know Warren's your friend and all, but trust me...Remy is probably the best person for him if he hadda have a guy. Despite what I said, Remy ain't gonna abandon him."
Scott nodded, "I've been friends with Warren for a long time now, we were in the first five, and he's always been looking for someone like Remy, I think. Someone who can love him for who he is, despite all his emotional problems, though he tries to hide those. We were always there for him, but none of us were exactly what he needed. Candy was, but when she died, he was even worse about sharing himself."
"Remy's got his own issues, but ya know, for the first time...he seems happy. Not so dark like he used ta be." Rogue had realized that, like Scott and the others with Warren, she hadn't been exactly what Remy needed. "I'll keep an eye on Remy. Way he's looking, he might do something stupid to save Warren...but end up killing himself in the process."
"Thanks, I was going to ask Jean, but with the way the caves are set up, I'd rather have her alert to catching one of us if we fall down another one of those chasms or something. But I definitely think that Warren will recover from whatever's been done to him with Remy there to help him through it." He noticed that the others were starting to get up, which was good because otherwise he'd have had to start waking them, and finished the last of his coffee, ready to start the rescue.
Remy had ignored Rogue, instead mentally preparing himself for this rescue. being a thief had to be of some use finally. Maybe for once he wouldn't screw something up. The looks shot his way, the concerned glances, meant nothing. All he wanted was Warren. Finally, after what seemed like ages, they were finally ready to go. Rogue stuck close to him, watching to make sure he didn't go off on his own. And he wouldn't...not yet anyway.
Leaving Storm behind at the village to keep an eye on the captive Mutates, the X-Men made their way to the base of the mountain. Beast easily free climbed up to the small cave and then down the chasm that led to the cavern Remy and Logan had discovered the day before, but the others let Jean telekinetically lift them one at a time. She moved herself to the cave and then, from that vantage point, brought the others in and down. Once everyone was in the cavern, it was mostly Logan's show, trying to track their missing teammate and his abductor.
Logan took a few sniffs of the air then extended claws just in case. Remy was close behind, hand on several stones in a pocket. He would defer to Logan for now. As soon as he saw Warren, he wasn't making any promises. Who knew what the madman had done, what damage he had caused. Remy cursed silently to himself, imagining all of Warren's progress completely undone.
Although the scent he was looking for was about eighteen hours old at this point, it was easy to pinpoint because there was very little air movement in the cave system. Logan led everyone through an opening that led deeper into the mountain, all of them carrying industrial flashlights as their only source of illumination. They walked through several different branches of the path. Hank commented that it appeared as if part of the cave system was natural and other parts were added on later, most likely what the villagers' forced labor had been used for. Logan followed Warren's scent through the twisting passageways for over an hour until they came to a dead end. "This is where it stops, Cyke," growled Wolverine. "It's as if they went through the wall."
Remy stepped up to the wall and ran his fingers over it. He wasn't sure what he was looking for exactly. A switch, a button, but it had to be here somewhere. Finally, he found the latch and flipped it, revealing a hidden passage as the doorway swung open. Before anyone could stop him, Remy was through it. He had to be in here. He had to be. Remy wasn't much for religion, but he couldn't help praying now as Tante had taught him. Behind him, Logan cursed and growled low.
Where before they had been traveling through regular rock caves, now they were in what looked to be an underground apartment, furnished simply, but furnished nonetheless. There were sconces along the walls, holding low-smoke oil lamps that emitted enough light that the X-Men were able to turn off their flashlights. There were two doors on either side of the room, but only one had a lock on it.
Betsy saw Gambit heading directly towards that locked door and knew they had found Warren. But she didn't want him rescued! He deserved this torture for being happy after she'd left him, for not crawling back and begging her to take him back in. And if Warren's existence wasn't full of pain, perhaps he shouldn't exist at all. Eyes narrowed, her rage blotting out all intelligent thought, Betsy entered the shadows and came out in the locked room, where Warren was curled up on a bed with Sauron standing over him. Her appearance gave Sauron just enough time to ready himself for a fight before Gambit burst into the room.
Sauron and Betsy were not disappointed. The door blew open, charged by Remy's power. His eyes looked even more demonic than usual, and his hand glowed with power. "Step away now." Logan stepped in a moment behind Remy and got an odd smell. 'Betsy? What the blazes is she doing in here?'
Scott followed into the room and immediately hit Sauron with an optic blast. The plan was to distract Sauron while Hank and Jean got Warren out of the way and then, when they didn't have to worry about protecting Warren in the middle of a battle, make sure they took Sauron out. Scott wasn't sure if Remy would run to Warren's side or immediately attack Sauron, so he'd planned for both possibilities. He was surprised when he noticed Betsy was already in the room. She obviously had used her shadow powers, but why had she used them so soon? She'd tipped off Sauron. As was evident by the way the power-leech partially dodged Cyclops' blast, he'd been ready for them.
Remy leapt forward, determined to kill Sauron and rescue Warren. The order in which the events happened didn't matter. He kept the barrage of charged objects flying, even using some feathers that had fallen to the floor. Betsy didn't register, all he saw was Warren. Logan quickly contacted Jean and alerted her to Betsy's presence. No clue what is going on, but it's bad. Remy only has eyes for Feathers and Sauron. But Betsy seems ta be up to something. As he mentally spoke, he let his claws do the rest of the talking for him.
Hank slipped in the door behind the others and immediately made for the bed. When he reached Warren's side, he did a quick examination, to be sure that moving him wouldn't be a problem. 'He's naked,' Hank winced to himself. 'For obvious reasons. Not too much blood, I'd expected more, but that just means less physical problems to deal with. Bruises and cuts all over him, but it looks like most of the trauma is mental and he can certainly be moved. Good. Get him out of here now, worry about the mental trauma later, when we can actually think about it.' Beast cradled Warren, who wasn't completely unconscious, but certainly wasn't aware either, to his furred chest and, keeping close to the wall and as away from the fight as possible in the confined room, ran in a crouch to the door. Jean covered him by telekinetically stopping anything from hitting him or the precious cargo he carried.
Sauron's reptilian face couldn't actually sow much emotion, but it was obvious he was enjoying himself. After ducking from the optic blast, he'd been hit by several of Gambit's charged explosives, but he was at top strength due to the lifeforce he'd been draining out of Angel, so he was able to keep his feet and still fight. The room, although fairly large for a bedroom, was too small for the X-Men to effectively maneuver, and Logan, the first in and therefore the closest, was an easy target. Sauron simply laid a clawed hand on Wolverine and focussed on draining as much lifeforce in as little time as possible. Logan went down with a grunt of pain and Sauron was again at top strength. He flared his wings enough to jump over the fallen X-Man and focussed his eyes on Gambit, who was at the moment the obvious problem. His hypnotic power swelled. "You don't wish to fight me."
"You're right. I want you dead. And outta Ange's life." Gambit spat back. He couldn't lose it now. Couldn't give in. Rogue saw what was happening and went towards Sauron, pulling off a glove as she did so. Her goal was to stop Sauron so he couldn't hypnotize Remy. Or at least slow him down a bit. Logan groaned as his healing factor kicked in. It would take several long moments before he would be able to even stand much less shake it off. He felt like he was swimming through peanut butter as he willed himself to heal faster.
Sauron's eyes narrowed as Remy fought his influence. Warren had been easy to control but this one was fighting him. "You are tired," he said in his slithery voice, lent a melodic air with his power behind it. His focus was disrupted however, when Rogue touched her skin to his. Two power-leeches, both capable of draining the lifeforce from a person in minutes or less, trying to overcome each other. Sauron finally focussed his hypnosis on her, telling her to trip as he backed away. Unfortunately, their draining powers were matched, and while Rogue might have been able to resist if given more time, the first command always struck the hardest and she fell over Logan's prone form. Betsy watched everything from the corner. With Jean occupied, she was actually the best one to jump through Sauron's mental defenses, but she remained still, undecided.
Remy was not going to go down without a fight. Anger coursed through him, upping his adrenaline system, giving him some strength, but he was tired. Worry, fear, and a lack of sleep were taking their toll. He caught a glance at Betsy standing there watching. Then it struck him how much she would do to see Warren hurt. Not even Emma Frost was that cold. Logan finally managed to lift his head and saw Remy and Sauron locked in a battle of hypnosis. Red...Is Warren safe? Because Bets is just standing here...and Cajun needs some help.
Hank had moved swiftly, grabbing a fur cover from one of the the chairs in the outer room and then bringing Warren completely out of the hidden door and into the caves. There, he made sure he was around a corner before stopping and wrapping his friend in the fur. Jean had followed, on guard for the battle spilling out beyond the one room. She was just coming back into the outer room when Logan's thought hit her. Her eyes narrowed and she stalked swiftly into the bedroom. She witnessed Rogue and Logan on the floor, both trying to struggle back up, but getting into each other's way and Logan had obviously been drained. Scott was shooting blasts at Sauron, but had to be careful, lest he bring the mountain down. He was using low intensity blasts for the same reason and wasn't having much luck, not with both Warren's and Logan's strength coursing through their enemy. Betsy was watching the battle, contributing nothing, and Remy was standing in a fighting stance, eyes locked with Sauron's, a battle of wills taking place. Jean reached out with her mind and started to batter at Sauron's mental walls. As soon as he was distracted, she sent a mental shout to Gambit, Remy, now!
Remy took the chance and charged his bo staff with as much energy as he could raise. He then thrust the glowing weapon at Sauron hoping it would kill the beast. The blow wasn't fatal but it was enough to knock the reptile out. Jean immediately encased him in a telekinetic shield and Scott moved to help Logan and Rogue.
Remy fell to his knees, drained of power and energy. He had been working too long on pure adrenaline and now that it was over, he collapsed. Logan recovered first and went over to Remy. "Breathing is shallow, he's just exhausted. Take him outta here. He'll be fine once he sees Warren is safe now." He then turned to Betsy. "YOU! You just stood there. You better have a damn good reason...and by the way...there ain't none."
Betsy growled a bit and then stalked away, not waiting for the others to catch up. Rogue stood up easily now that Logan wasn't hindering her. With Jean moving Sauron and Logan carrying Remy, the team made their way to where Hank waited with Warren.