Hey, guys! :D New update! Shorter than rest of my updates, but I think this should be interesting.

Okay, this one is like THE CHAPTER. I've tried to explain everything that happened before over here. I think there'd be questions about my logic, so feel free to ask any questions. I'v been trying to make this story as realistic as I can, but of course, there could be mistakes in my logic/concept. SO tell me if you find any fault.

Thanks for your replies. You all make me smile. :)

Fact - This story has only a couple more chapters left, I think. Then, there'd be an Epilogue. But I'm not too sure because if I suddenly come up with a new idea during my next update, I could probably stretch this longer. Tell me about any ideas that you have. I might write a sequel if I find an idea good enough to transform into a story. At the same time, I'll be keeping my mind open for any new ideas too.

In answer to my earlier questions and your replies:

Wattpad is like fanfiction along with fictionpress, so that you can post your original stories as well as fan-fiction. Also, you can see use it on your phones too. Not that you can't see fanfiction on phones, but you have this wattpad software so it makes stuff easier. And its not necessarily for iphone/blackberry. I have a Samsung phone and wattpad software works on it as well.

Although, I think I don't like wattpad as much as I initially did...

And you guys don't know Meg Cabot? She's like my favorite author/idol out there. Please go and read her Mediator series! They are awesome! :P

She's even famous for her Princess Diaries series, but I liked her Mediator series more. I've already read them all at least twice. And now, I'm thinking bout writing a story based on the Mediator Series, a fanfiction.

Really, she has written on everything there is to write about - romance, mystery, supernatural (vampires/ghosts). Now, she's even writing something on Egyptian mythology (Abandon, I think is the name of her book), something that has interested me long since.

She writes for teenagers, young adults as well as adults. I, for one, have enjoyed all of her stories. Her stories are evergreen that way.

Dream of the Night : I heard that song. Its pretty amazing. I liked the lyrics. I like Linkin Park, but only in a few cases. At other times... I feel like all they are doing is screaming. But that's not always the case. I like a lot of songs by Linkin Park myself. I hope I haven't offended anybody by saying that. That's just my view, so.

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Chapter Twelve

I'm here. You're safe.

.

There was darkness all around me when I got up first. I looked around and couldn't find anything except the solid, rough ground underneath me.

It was cold and I was freezing slightly with only my white wife–beater and green shorts on. Since I didn't have my powers back on, I wore light clothes like these. But it was night and I was freezing in here.

I felt around and could find nothing but the ground. I got up slowly, trying not to fall off because of the slight dizziness that I felt, probably the after effect of my powers coming back on.

With my hands stretched on in front of me, I moved forward, trying to hold on to something but caught only the air.

Finally, after about two minutes of meaningless search, I sat down again, oddly tired. I felt an occasional sting of pain in my head which would go away as soon it would come back again and I was getting a little irritated with it now.

I felt tired as if I had run a very long way. And I wanted to sleep so badly that I swear I almost dozed off for a second back then. But I fought against everything I was feeling and tried to get in control of myself, sitting up straighter.

The last I remember was fainting in the street with everyone around me. With a pang of sorrow I realized that my powers were probably back on. But I tried not to think too much about it. It was supposed to come back some day and better today than tomorrow.

Only, this time when it came back, it was so agonizing. Last time, when I got my powers back after the cure, it was absolutely painless. One night I fell asleep and the next, I had my powers back on. This time however, the pain that I had felt in that alley was worse than any pain that I had suffered so far in my life, which was saying much.

I wanted to get up and look around but I was very tired and instead I lay down feeling a little stifling in this dark place. I tried to think about what exactly was going on and realized suddenly that I had heard Jean's voice before I fell unconscious along with an ear–splitting noise of an explosion.

After about five minutes of lying down, I got up again and tried getting up. I was still a bit unsteady on my feet, but I managed. I tried going in one direction this time to get an idea of how big this place really was. I was slightly panicking now, but I calmed myself again and moved ahead, my hands stretched forwards again.

This was creepy. Did everybody ditch me here in this darkness all alone? Because I could bet Leslie wouldn't have let that happen. Although, maybe Marcus said something and–

Damn. My feet struck something and fell down, scratching my knees against the ground in the process. I sat up, rubbing the sore spot and felt my blood. It was only in a small quantity but it was really hurting now.

I looked around to find what I had struck and felt something like a big boulder, flat on the top, probably used as a sort of make–shift chair?

Great. Anything else that is left to go bad? Where are the lights anyway?

As if on cue, suddenly, all lights in the room came back on and I flinched, covering my eyes. The light was hard after spending the time in utter dark.

First, I looked down at my scabbed knee and saw scratches and a little blood. Nothing much to worry about, I guess. But shit, it hurt. Next, I raised my head and slowly, I looked around, on hand still on my knee.

I was in a big room of some sort. It was huge and spacious, but completely empty. There were some windows and I was guessing that it was some random barn, if the hay that was stacked in one corner was any indication.

A few stairs led up to the upper landing made up of wood, which was clearly visible and obviously empty.

I looked around for the light switches which somebody had obviously switched on, but I couldn't find any. Who switched on the lights then?

Maybe there was a main connection somewhere outside.

I made my way to the huge wooden door when I suddenly felt the sting in my head again and I doubled over in pain, clutching my head and moaning in pain.

A second later, the pain was gone and I found a woman standing in front of me. She looked oddly like Jean and… she was smiling. I had a hard time placing her anywhere in my memory. She had a bit of resemblance to Jean, maybe that nose and mouth and the red hair… but that was it. She wasn't Jean.

Slowly, I got up and couldn't help but look at her accusingly.

"Who are you?" I asked.

The woman didn't answer. I noticed her attire then. She was wearing a doctor's overcoat over a plain blue shirt and jeans, coupled with running shoes.

The next thing I knew, the woman smiled and I heard Jean's voice in my head again.

"Don't you recognize me, Rogue?"

"Jean?" I asked, unsure and disbelieving.

"Wrong!" She said in my head. "It's Phoenix. Jean is long dead."

"But… what… how?" I mumbled, taking an involuntary step back. But suddenly, Jean was standing right in front of me, a hand trailing down the side of my face.

She wasn't speaking, just smiling and yet, I could hear Jean's voice in my head.

"Are you trying to run away? Because it's futile now."

"What?" I asked, intelligently.

She didn't answer, just started circling me.

"How… are you alive?" I asked, trying to fix my gaze at her rotating form. "You were dead. Buried."

"No, Rogue," she answered. "It was just my body that you guys buried. Rather, Jean's. I don't think you people understood that I'm the Phoenix. You cannot kill me. You don't have the power to do it."

"So… you…"

"I borrowed this body. It belonged to Dr. Amy Collins. Now, it belongs to me."

"And…" I gulped. "Where is Dr. Collins?"

"Dead," she said in one whisper that tickled the back of my neck. She was standing right behind me and I shivered involuntarily.

"You killed her?" I asked, turning around to face her.

"I needed her body. She looked oddly like Jean. Believe me, I liked Jean's body but I needed a substitute because of dear Logan. He had to go and backstab me. Trying to kill me!" She laughed, her voice booming across the big barn. "But did he? Did he kill me or… did he just manage to kill my shell? The body that was hindering me?" She smiled again. "I'm thankful to him, you know. He released my true power. Jean's body was only holding me back."

I looked at her, feeling a pang of sorrow. Jean died and her sacrifice wasn't even worth it with Phoenix still alive? God, Logan was…

He'd be destroyed if he ever knew that he when he killed Phoenix, he killed Jean. Not the Phoenix. Because the Phoenix was still alive.

"So you've been going around killing people? Destroying things like you did the last time?" I asked, angry now.

"You know what amazes me?" She asked, sitting down on nothing but air. But really, it was as if she was sitting on a chair or something. She crossed her legs and looked at me. "Oh my, where are my manners? Sit down, Rogue."

"Um, no thanks," I muttered.

"Sit!" She commanded, making me sit down and there I was, sitting in a chair made up of air. I looked around and still saw nothing but air. But whatever it was, it was as solid as a wooden chair.

I felt a sliver of pain up my head again and again that dizziness surrounded me. Blackness clouded my vision for a second, before I shook my head and looked at Jean. No, Phoenix.

She smiled up at me and continued, "It amazes me that… in spite of everything I did, in spite of all the times, I made you hate him, made him hate you… your love for him… it never ceased in being."

"What?" I asked again, shocked and confused. "You did what?"

"What? You thought he wanted to hit you? You thought he wanted to leave you alone at that bar? You thought he didn't care when you cried in that hospital where I arranged for you die?"

I merely looked at her, sitting across from me. She did… How?

"Oh, it was easy," she answered my thoughts yet again. "Logan is special, you know? He's the man I want. The problem is… that he seems to be infatuated to you. I've been trying to make him think about me, make him feel something for me. But damn, it's hard. That guy is loyal."

I didn't even believe this shit. Logan did not like me. He never responded to anything, never dropped a hint and never made me think, even for a second, that he liked me in any way more than a caring father.

Sad, but true.

"That's because he thinks that he's not worthy of you," she replied. "He thinks that you are an innocent little kid. He feels ashamed to even have those dirty thoughts about you because he thinks it's wrong. Because you should have been like a daughter… only, you involved a different kind of emotion in him. You invoked his lust. Every time he saw with your boyfriend, he felt jealous. So, he left you all together. Left you to be happy. To be away from you. Plus, he was mulling over his guilt for killing Jean. Having those thoughts about you… it pushed him on the edge. He left to get rid of your thoughts and then, he came back, all numb. When he didn't find you home… you destroyed everything then. He was trying to forget you, but you had to go and make that difficult for him. Every freaking time."

Only, she didn't say freaking.

My eyes were wide as I tried to come in terms with what she was saying. Logan… he felt attracted to me? How was that possible? He never even… he never showed it.

"He found you," she continued. "At the bar, people staring at you, a cute guy beside you… who could have been everything that you ever wanted. But no… Rogue has to have only the best. And so she gets it. You got the guy that I wanted. He came after you. Only, he still was stuck on his I'm–bad–because–I–think–of–a–kid–that–way thoughts. And then, because of that, you started saying things about me… and Jean. I didn't like it. So, I hit you. Only, you see, hitting a mortal isn't possible without a body. So, I took control of Logan's body. I made him hit you. All he would have seen would be him doing it… but he was under my control. And my, it had the desired effect. You flew off the handle."

I remembered everything all over again as it started playing across my mind. It wasn't Logan. He didn't hit me. It was Jean. Logan would never hit me. He wouldn't…

.

"You hit me?" I asked, my eyes wide with disbelief. My hand clutched my face as I felt a sort of heat where Logan had hit me.

"Yes, I did," he said, sneering at me. "You deserved it. You have no right to talk about me like that."

.

Me? He said me. It was Jean. It was Jean all along!

"You did it," I muttered, looking at her accusingly. "You made me think… you made me question my love for him. How could… I'll kill you!" I shouted, getting up, but with a wave of her hand, I was pushed back into my air–made seat.

"You haven't even gotten to the main part yet, Rogue. Don't forget the bar!" She said, smiling. "It's my personal favorite!"

I looked at her, shocked, confused and angry, all at once.

"Stupid Eric! I made him think about how good it would be to have you on their team. And he was foolish enough to believe. He got Mystique to get you in. That was a mistake, a big one. Mystique was never again the original pawn he believed her to be, after he left her like that, cured of her mutant gene. But they planned well."

I remembered the day Logan and Mystique were explaining all the things to me. I felt a slight headache again while I tried to remember it, as things played in front of my eyes again.

"They got a teleporter. Mystique posed to be me and she went right next to the bar. I just had to push Logan and into running after her, ditching you. It was easy. The teleporter was wearing the same clothes. I was wearing the same clothes. One look, and my face got Logan hooked. It was Mystique… but you see, it was me. My face. He loved me." Her eyes glazed over as I felt disgusted with her. She looked at me moments later.

"I killed the teleporter off. Just snap of my fingers and she was dead, all her life force was transferred in me. And then, Logan was running after me." She sighed. "But I had to disappear into the night too. It was fun to have Logan running after me, but I had to see the other part of the plan too. I had to make sure that you were dead. But no, you escaped even that. I was a little distracted by Logan… and you destroyed my plan meanwhile."

She got up, walking towards me. "I meant to anger Eric and sic Juggernaut on you. He was to kill you. And then, I was late. But you were doing just fine. You angered Eric yourself. And it was going just the way I wanted. Only, you didn't die."

I gulped again, looking at her face. It wasn't at all Jean's, now that I came near enough to see. She obviously had Jean's red hair… in fact, the very same cut. She was just Jean's height. No doubt Logan believed it was Jean. And her smell… he smelled Jean too. Of course! Jean and Phoenix would smell the same.

And yet again… It wasn't his fault that I ended up at the hospital, as I had come to believe. It was Jean all along.

"So… you've been trying to kill me?" I asked in a voice that didn't even feel mine. Stabs of pain were shooting up my head and the rest of my body. I was pushing myself in my attempts to try and stay awake now.

She smirked. "Yes, for a while, I was. And then it struck me. Maybe I wasn't doing this the right way. Because Logan and Mystique… they are a wrong sort of people to mix together. They had a lot of time while you were out and they talked a lot. And Mystique had to go all motherly on you because of your obvious past and tell Logan to confront his feelings for you. And he did."

She said that he confronted his feelings for me… did it mean that he… he liked me now… or even… loved me?

And what did she mean by Mystique being motherly because of my past?

"So… I had to go and solve this problem the other way round. I hatched a new plan. And a new target."

"A new target?" I asked. I wasn't even liking the sound of it. Phoenix was evil, that thing was plain.

"Yeah. Logan was my goal and target earlier. Then, he was my goal and you were my target. But I realized my mistake. For a while, I was targeting you the wrong way. But now… I've got it right."

"How?" I asked, fearing her response.

"I don't want to kill you now Rogue…"

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Actually, the Rogue that you are would be killed. But not your body."

My eyes widened as realization of what Phoenix was trying to do struck me.

"The pain that you're feeling all over? The dizziness? The hazy vision?" I looked at her, my eyes widened. "It's because you're losing your consciousness. You're dying Rogue. And I'm taking over your body. Logan wouldn't even know anything was wrong. I'd be the Phoenix that he'd take for his Marie. Plus, your body won't even hinder my powers. In fact, your body will help me. It'll increase my powers to a substantial amount, along with the fact that… you're not aging… I'll be sort of immortal. And Logan and I… we'd be together forever."

I looked at her aghast. She was… killing me? And what the hell did she mean by me not aging? I was aging…

"No you're not. In fact, you're like this sponge. You're absorbing everybody's powers permanently now. Of course, it has some drawbacks. Like the usual headache, people's memories… but your body is made for me to use. It's like… you were made for me… a perfect fit. Now, I'd have your powers and mine… and believe me… I'll undefeatable."

And that word… undefeatable scared me. Along with the obvious 'You're dying'. God… was this the end? I tried to move, but couldn't. I was tied in thin air.

"Its time," she said, getting up. "This will hurt only a bit. And then… you'll feel a peace that will last forever."

She smiled at me and gripped my head. Then, she placed a hand on each side of my forehead, on my temples, and closed her eyes.

The next second, I heard myself shrieking, wildly loudly. It was a pain like never before. It was as if I was being ripped apart, limb from limb, hand from hand. And I could see her face… Jean's face… Phoenix's face. I was dying and Lord, this pain…

The pain on the sidewalk was only momentary. This was an extended eversion of it. I felt my life–force draining… and I felt limp. She was draining me… pulling me out of my body.

And she'd be the new Rogue. New Marie.

I thrashed wildly, trying to hit anything, trying to free myself from the pain, the end that Dr. Amy Collins had faced. I felt sympathy for her. We'd both end the same way.

I heard somebody calling my name and then, I was thrown in the air. The next thing I knew, there were lips against my forehead, arms around my shoulders that were supporting me. And I heard Logan's assurance, "I'm here, Marie. I'm here. You're safe."

Safe.

Yes, I felt safe in his arms.

I smiled slightly, and I dissolved in his embrace, feeling safe after a long while, at long last.

Tell me what you think about this chapter! Review!