Memoria Redux Risty

By Princess Alexandria

Risty rested her chin on Rogue's shoulder and smiled at the soft contented sigh that Rogue gave out, before trying to focus on the television again. Rogue loved being held, and Risty gave her that, just very carefully. Risty's body was pressed back into the couch as Rogue sat between her legs, watching the show.

Kitty occasionally gave them an odd look and Risty just glared at the girl until she looked away. Risty stared at Kitty a little longer, before trying to focus on the rather bad movie again.

"So like, are you two going to do something, like, special on your anniversary?" Kitty spoke as the commercial started and Risty just sighed at the question. She wasn't really sure what to do for a three month anniversary, it seemed a bit odd to celebrate that. Risty hugged Rogue to her, being careful not to accidently brush up against Rogue's skin.

"We'll think of something." Risty smiled, knowing Rogue wanted to celebrate this, and that was all the reason Risty needed.

After Rogue and Kitty left for their danger room session, Risty nabbed the keys to a car and decided to start planning this anniversary. She paid little attention to the crunch of the gravel under her feet as she made her way to the car she was 'borrowing', her mind considering and rejecting plans for the date and even more venomously rejecting her present ideas. She had to buy Rogue something, but nothing was coming to mind that didn't seem stupid.

She still felt a bit nervous walking the streets by herself, even though the parts of memory that had returned to her gave her the impression the monsters that had tortured her didn't know where she came from. Risty hadn't expected to feel so exposed, vulnerable, as she shopped alone. She just had wanted to surprise Rogue and hadn't wanted to deal with the X-geeks to do it.

Risty kept her eyes moving, and slowly she started to relax so she could focus on the stores. The teddy bear store called to her and Risty frowned as she felt the urge to purchase one. That wasn't what she wanted to get, she'd already dismissed the idea of a cute gift. She wanted Rogue to feel like a woman, not a girl.

Risty slowed in front of the lingerie store, and grimaced as she realized that perfect gift for a three month anniversary wasn't perfect for Rogue. Risty couldn't buy a mutant who couldn't touch anyone's skin, sexy, revealing, lingerie. It would taunt Rogue and just be cruel.



Risty glanced into the Bed Bath and Beyond store briefly, she she'd already purchased two sets of silk sheets, which they put to good use regularly. They didn't need another set, and nothing else in there said anniversary to her.

When she turned to look where she was going Risty's eyes widened as she found someone right in front of her. Another step would have had Risty ramming into the older woman. Risty glanced at the woman, noticing her dark sun glasses inside a mall. Risty sighed and started to continue evaluating the stores once she could.

She felt eyes on her and turned back to see that old woman was staring at her. Risty just gave that woman a small polite smile and turned to check out the other stores. As she took to just walking passed the clothing store rather than look, she felt an odd sense of having recognized that woman. Risty swallowed hard and glanced back, but the woman she was thinking of wasn't there.

The tension ratcheted up and Risty almost cursed herself when she realized she wished she'd invited Jean on this trip into town. Her mind kept replaying that look the old woman gave her and a sense of danger came to Risty, but it was odd. Risty didn't think that old woman was a threat, she didn't feel that at all, but a looming sense of doom hit Risty as she remembered the woman's face. Risty did her best to push those thoughts away, but she did keep an eye out for the woman, or anyone else suspicious, as she continued to shop.

The jewelry store came just as Risty was about ready to give up and leave. Glancing at their fine gold chains and simple rings, Risty almost scoffed at the idea of getting Rogue these things. Her girl was a Goth. It did, however, finally give Risty an idea. Rings would be a waste, under the gloves, but a nice choker would work.

There was a sense of accomplishment in getting a perfect gift and Risty smiled as she walked out of the mall, a small bag in hand. It contained a wrapped gift that Rogue should love.

The parking garage was creepy, like most parking garages were. Risty made her way down a row of cars. Someone was there calling out something, but she was focused on looking into the shadows for threats.

When the sound repeated Risty's eyes widened as she recognized what was being called. "Mystique." A woman's voice called out and Risty swallowed hard as she debated about turning around. She kept walking, listening hard for an attack. She could hear the hum of a well maintained car trailing after her. "Mystique." The word was called again and Risty grimaced as she risked a glance behind her even as she walked more hurriedly toward the car she'd brought and wanted to use to escape this.

It was that woman with the dark sunglasses. She was in a limo, the back window opened, as she stared out at Risty. Risty turned and started to walk faster, but she was pretty sure that woman was calling out to her.

"I'm at the Regency Hotel if you decide you want to talk." The woman finally called out and the car drove off. It didn't seemed to affect the pounding of Risty's heart, or the slight shaking of her hands. Risty checked her backseat for intruders before getting in the car, but after a quick deep breath, Risty drove out of the parking garage so fast some man yelled at her.

Risty looked pale when she came back and Rogue was concerned about her. None of Rogue's gentle questions came back with answers as to why Risty was so tense during dinner, so Rogue followed Risty to their room after dinner.

The girl was sitting on the bed, staring blankly out the window when Rogue got there, and Rogue closed their bedroom door softly. "Someone called me Mystique today." Risty spoke quietly, her voice weak and weary. Rogue's eyes widened and her heart started to sink. Who would know? Would this be a problem?

"Did you recognize them?" Rogue asked after a moment, while moving slowly to sit on the bed with Risty. Rogue pulled one leg onto the bed so she could shift and face the woman sitting next to her.

"I don't know. There was something familiar about her, but I can't recall." Risty sighed heavily. "But I went out just as me, and she still called me that. She has to know me pretty well, don't you think?"

"Could she been one of the people that did that to you?" Rogue asked, feeling nauseous. If those bastards came for Risty again Rogue would kill them. Risty was never going to go through that again; she'd suffered so much already.

"I don't know." Risty looked up and Rogue could see she was scared. "I don't think so luv. I'd hope that if I saw one I'd know it, and she didn't seem cruel. She just called out to me and when I didn't come she left." Rogue frowned. It made her think this woman knew Mystique in another way, and while it might not be dangerous to Risty, it really concerned Rogue. Risty said she wasn't going to remember Mystique, and that she'd remain Risty. Rogue wanted Risty to keep her word. She didn't want to lose her.

In Rogue's mind, this mystery woman had just become the enemy. She clenched her fists, swearing to herself that she wasn't about to lose Risty to this. "Maybe you shouldn't go out alone for a while." Rogue offered, resisting the urge to order her lover to stay near her.

"Right luv, maybe that would be best." Risty sounded distracted and continued to just sit there. Rogue didn't know what to do. She pulled Risty into a hug and just held her.



Risty found herself staring up at the shadows on the ceiling rather than sleeping a few hours later. She'd slipped into sleep briefly, but her dreams had been weird, not horrible like her normal nightmares, but confusing. That woman she'd seen earlier that day had been baking and talking to her about something she had to do, but Risty couldn't remember what she'd said. It had gotten really weird when it shifted to an alley and she saw a little girl, grimy and cold, with a stripe of white hair.

"So is this our little rogue?" Risty heard herself ask, but her voice was different. In the dream she'd turned to the woman with sunglasses, and this time at night. "This is the girl you said we needed to rescue Irene?"

"Yes, she'll be very important." The woman, Irene, spoke to her and then softened her voice to address the little girl. Rogue had to be about five. "What's your name little one?" Irene asked little Rogue and the girl didn't answer. "Well, we need to call you something." Irene pressed on in the face of a silent child. "Rogue it is." Risty stared at her, puzzled at how weird her dreams were, before waking up.

Risty tried to dismiss it as just a weird dream, but it bothered her. She slowly slipped out of bed. She grabbed some clothes and quietly put them on, being very careful to not disturb Rogue in doing it. She pulled a piece of paper out of Rogue's notebook and wrote a quick note, knowing that Rogue wouldn't be happy to read it. She was going out, even though she'd said she didn't want to remember Mystique, and she wanted to ignore this, something told her she shouldn't.

Risty carried her shoes out of the room with her, and she carefully slipped downstairs, worried about being found out. She put her shoes on without tying them and took a set of car keys, her heart pounding. She felt sick, and shaky, and more than a little worried as she drove away from the mansion towards Regency Hotel. She didn't even know who it was she was after, but somehow she didn't think she'd have trouble finding her.

If that woman's name was Irene, Risty wasn't sure what she'd do. Irene was Rogue's mom's name. Risty had to ask her.

………………………….

Risty stood in front of the hotel, debating about how to find out where that mystery woman was. Her planning was interrupted by that woman stepping out and staring at her. "I was expecting you."

"How? I wasn't going to come." Risty spoke and watched as the woman's mouth tightened for a moment, before it was covered up.

"I'm in room 916, shall we go up there." The woman spoke and Risty debated about it. The woman's voice softened. "This isn't a conversation that should be overheard." Still Risty made no attempt to follow, unsure how safe it would be.



"Well, luv, I know my memories of daddy telling me to not talk to strangers isn't real, but it's still a good idea." Risty finally spoke and the woman let out a long slow breath.

"I'm Irene Adler." The woman, Irene, said just enough to make Risty go with her. "You're dating my daughter now, aren't you?"

"Um," Risty glanced around a bit nervously. "Yes Ma'am." Irene seemed rather pale, and Risty felt a bit concerned. "Rogue said you were a lesbian, and you'd understand." She pressed, but Irene wasn't looking at her, or towards her as the case was, since Risty now remembered Rogue saying Irene was blind.

"Let's go upstairs." Irene's voice was thick with some emotion. "This has gotten very complicated."

Risty stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the 9th floor, remembering the room number Irene had given her. They stood in silence, and Risty fought the urge to fidget nervously. Instead she stood still and stared at the floor readout, saying nothing.

She should have brought Rogue with her, Risty thought as the door opened and Irene beckoned her to follow her to the left.

Risty closed the door behind her, and stood in the hotel room, watching Irene stare off into nothing for a moment, before sighing heavily and turning toward her before sitting on the bed. Irene waved at the chair and Risty slowly took it.

"Mystique." Irene started and Risty grimaced.

"Names Risty." Risty stared the woman down. "Mystique is gone, good riddance." She was a little surprised to see Irene flinch at that. This was Rogue's mom, and Risty had no idea how this woman had known Mystique. There was too much strange about all of this.

Irene seemed sad, lost for just a moment, by the way her shoulders slumped. "Well, then Risty, I have a lot to tell you."

"I don't want to be Mystique." Risty tried to clarify. "I don't want to hear it."

"But you came." Irene spoke with conviction and Risty couldn't deny it. "Why if you don't want to hear what I have to say?" Risty couldn't answer, and Irene sat forward a little, her voice more commanding. "I would be surprised if I didn't spark some memories in you. I know you've forgotten, you wouldn't be where you are doing what you're doing if you remembered."

Risty ran her hand through her hair and sighed heavily. "How does Mystique know you?"



"That is very complicated." Irene took the sunglasses off and rubbed at her eyes, before just looking at Risty with her pale, unseeing eyes. "Mystique and I work together, we live together, and we raised a child together." Risty felt herself paling. "She was my lover, and I was the one person in the world she trusted."

"But." Risty protested quietly, "Rogue would have said," Her mind went back to how much trouble Rogue had when she'd found out who else Risty was, but it would have been worse if she knew wouldn't it?

"She doesn't know. We kept that from her." Irene answered gently and Risty just gaped at the woman. Risty was finding it hard to breathe suddenly and she gripped the chair she was sitting on tightly, because she was feeling a bit dizzy and worried she might just fall off. Her eyes jerked to Irene's face when the woman started to get up and move toward her.

"No, no, stay away." Risty ordered even as her mind was frozen on the revelations. She wanted to deny it, but then where did that dream come from? There were other things, strange things she'd known and just shrugged off.

She'd had to stop herself from buying Rogue a teddy bear today, Risty thought with horror, remembering how Rogue had told her about her mother, the one that was rarely home and the gifts she'd be given to make up for that.

"We need to talk." Irene spoke gently, and Risty finally blinked and started to push past her shock enough to see the compassion and pain in Irene's face. "Oh dear, I never realized. With my powers, I became too overconfident and I didn't realize that you'd end up with Rogue like this. I just planned for you to stay long enough for Dr. McCoy to fix what those monsters did." Irene's voice was rough and Risty watched as tears trailed down the old woman's cheeks.

"I've been sleeping with Rogue for almost three months." Risty's voice cracked, thinking of her Goth girlfriend. Irene broke into sobs and Risty just stared at her, her mind stalling on what she'd been told. She had no memory, or spotty memories she should be honest, but that didn't mean it wasn't true. "We're celebrating our three month anniversary tomorrow night." Risty ran her fingers through her hair, pulling a little, before just leaning forward with her head in her hands. "I love her, and I don't remember, I don't."

"You missed our fifteenth year anniversary." Irene managed to speak and it felt like Risty was being tortured by the words. "You were captured during that time and I couldn't get to you."

Silence filled the room, and Risty stared up at a miserable looking Irene, her eyes angry. "But I've been out for months, and you didn't even look me up. I hadn't known who I was, and the only person I had was Rogue, my Rogue. You left me like that!" Risty felt 

like screaming, but it was so late and this was a hotel room. "And she's," Risty's voice cracked.

"Mystique, I thought it was for the best. We don't have the resources that Xavier does." Irene pleaded and Risty stood up suddenly, needing to leave. As she struggled with the door, arms wrapped around her from behind, "Please forgive me." Irene pleaded again and Risty couldn't breathe. She shrugged Irene off and ran out the door.

She drove until she just couldn't see past her tears and pulled over. Risty watched the sunset from a field in the middle of god knows where, trying to make sense of this mess. Pieces of memories came to her, proving the truth of Irene's words. Risty sat in the car staring out at the sky, but she wasn't seeing anything, as the block she'd put on her own mind after the abuse, the one the Professor never could explain, started to crack.

……………………..

Rogue had trouble focusing on school all day. She'd tried to talk the Professor into using Cerebro to check on Risty, because the girl had disappeared last night, but he couldn't do that with her. A quirk of Risty's powers kept her invisible and Rogue had horrible visions of Risty being in trouble. Rogue knew something was wrong. She couldn't focus on school at all, and when the final bell went off she raced to the car, and was forced to wait even longer for the others to show up so they could leave.

When Rogue saw the car they suspected Risty had borrowed back in the garage, Rogue didn't wait for the car she was in to stop completely before leaping out of it and racing for the mansion. She looked and didn't see Risty in the living room, so she took the stairs two at a time to get to their room.

Once the door flew opened Rogue found herself stopping her race as she stared at the back of Risty's head as the girl stared out the window. Rogue took a step into the room, and Risty didn't turn around. A sense of growing unease filled Rogue as she stared at Risty, and then she slowly closed the door behind her when she heard the sound of the others coming in the front door. "Risty? Where were you?"

"I needed to think." Risty didn't really answer, and her next words were quieter, "I didn't want to remember." Risty spoke and Rogue felt her heart clench. The pain of that only grew as Risty slowly turned to look at her, and Rogue saw the blue skin. It looked so strange, since all the features, and even the hair was all Risty. The eyes were yellow, and Rogue stared in shock at this hybrid between Risty and Mystique. "Oh Rogue," Risty had tears on her face and Rogue fought with her shock at seeing some Mystique in her to take a step closer. "I never meant to hurt you, I never wanted that."

"What do you mean?" Rogue asked, but she could feel the finality of the words.

"Mystique wasn't single." Risty whispered and looked away. "I didn't know. No one knew."



"But, but you're with me now." Rogue protested weakly, even as her mind spun at the idea of Mystique and this mystery lover stealing Risty from her. "Risty, you promised not to do this." Rogue felt childish, she knew this wasn't something easy to promise.

"It's so complicated Rogue." Risty turned back to look at her and Rogue looked past the blue skin and yellow eyes. Rogue's eyes were watering and her body shaking. "So unbelievably complicated. I feel like I'm being ripped apart." Risty's voice cracked and Rogue ached to comfort her, but what was happening kept her from doing it. "Oh Rogue, I hope you don't hate me forever, I couldn't take that luv."

"Why are you picking her? I love you too." Rogue shakily asked. That caused Risty to take a very shaky breath. "Why?"

"Oh God Rogue, it's not like that. It wasn't a choice I could make. Don't ever think I didn't pick you, I couldn't pick you. There is a difference luv." Risty's words made no sense and Rogue glanced around the room to see a packed bag. This had already been decided without her. "I'm not good for you Rogue."

"I don't agree." Rogue's eyes narrowed as she stared at Risty.

"I can't explain, and it wouldn't really help. Not at all." Risty stood up and was just an arms length away, before she pulled Rogue into a hug. "Never doubt that I love you Rogue." Risty whispered, "but the part of me that is Risty is shrinking luv. I can't stay."

Rogue stood still in shock as Risty grabbed her luggage and moved toward the door. Risty paused before opening it. "I'm so sorry." Risty whispered and left. Rogue slowly sank to the ground, hugging her own legs as sobs started to emerge from her and her heart felt like it had been shredded.

"I don't understand." Rogue muttered into her legs, and when the bedroom door creaked she didn't even look up.

"Oh child." Ororo's voice was soft and Rogue flinched as she was pulled into Ororo's arms. Her sobs grew in intensity with arms around her, so she wasn't sure it was helping, but she didn't pull away.

The end