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Also sorry about the delay I had computer issues

Chapter 3: The Game is Afoot!

Xorn sat on the floor in the living room of the Braddock's house it was a spacious and elegant room. Very peaceful, silent, Xorn then stopped. He turned his head towards the doorway near him his cold gray mask couldn't express the happiness he felt. He knew the others were coming back and the place would have some noise again.

Even if he couldn't talk to any of the others except Amahl, Betsy could talk to him but in a limited broken Chinese. Then the shadow portal opened and the group of teenagers hopped out of it with Amahl in the front.

He looked at him and smiled. Amahl gave a strange grin right back at him and they got into a conversation. Kurt leaped onto a couch, "I'm starving!"

Then Remy glanced around the place, "A really nice place you have here Miss Braddock…maybe I should have accepted your invite the first time!"

"It is a bit roomy though," said Betsy pausing and looking around the place.

"Betsy roomy is a good thing," said Jubilee, "I would hate living in a place where you would get no privacy whatsoever."

She forced Kurt to move by lighting off a spark on his leg. He practically jumped out of the seat to the other end of the couch as Jubilee sat down where his legs previously were and put her feet on the coffee table in front of her.

"When will the others be back Betsy?" asked Peter.

As she turned she winced in pain, Peter had done her a good one in the stomach, "Soon…that's why we didn't go back to school Peter."

Xorn noticed her experiencing pain and almost glided over to her touching her stomach. Betsy felt the pain disappear as her ribs mended and the blood and bruises disappeared into nothing. She clapped him on the shoulder and said thank you in his mind.

Xorn nodded and moved to the side. Betsy then said, "If you guys are hungry you can fix yourselves something…"

She said this before moving over to an armchair and laying back in it, she was going to have a good nap. Kurt scrambled over the couch and Jubilee was not long after him. Lucas chuckled a bit before following the rest of them.

Remy said, "I never had rich people food before."

He ran after them before they disappeared behind a door. Peter decided he would like a bite to eat as well walking over to the door. Remy found himself rummaging through the refrigerator making a pretty big mess.

"This doesn't look like rich people food," Remy frowned as he pulled out a jar of pickles and examined it before setting it down on the counter next to him.

Kurt was sitting on a wall as he reprimanded Remy for giving a stereotype, "Just because someone is rich doesn't mean all they eat is caviar…"

Peter laughed, "That is ridiculous comrade if I was rich I would have a pool of caviar."

"Uh…big guy, having a pool full of fish eggs is kind of gross," said Jubilee, "But hey if you want to swim in eggs be my guest…"

Before Peter could answer Lucas said, "What's the point of this conversation anyways?"

"Umm…honestly I don't know," replied Kurt, "Just trying to have a conversation."

Then all of a sudden a really funny sounding voice was heard, "Hello X-dumplings I thought you were quashed by the Brotherhood my homies kind of I'm sure they wouldn't call me that…but-"

"What the hell?" asked Bishop, "Where's that voice coming from?"

"Oh you little kiddies thought you were at home snuggling up in front of the fridge. But you aren't!" said the disembodied voice, "You can call me Arcade, and you aren't in your mansion this is Murderworld!"

All of a sudden the mansion around them disappeared and they reappeared in a carnival full of games, and many other assorted things. The voice then said, "Little Betsy, St. John, Toad, Xorn and Rogue are somewhere in here too!"

"He didn't mention Amahl…" said Peter looking around.

"He's with me," said Arcade, "Oh and have a ball!"

All of a sudden giant pin balls started flying from everywhere. Kurt yelled, "Mein gott!"

Before leaping over one and onto it bouncing off and teleporting to where Jubilee was he grabbed her hand and teleported her onto the roof of a tent, "How are the others faring?"

"Take a look for yourself crawler," she said.

Peter had turned metal and lifted a ball that flew at him and swung it at the other pinballs launching them away. Remy was dodging the balls and using his explosive cards to offset them forcing them to fly in different directions.

Lucas was about to get hit but Jubilee shot a beam of light at him and he charged up, putting both of his hands on the ball and stopping it dead in it's tracks, "What the hell is this anyways…"

Kurt reappeared with Jubilee down where they were as the balls had disappeared. Then Jubilee said, "I thought we were at the mansion…what could have stopped us from getting back to the mansion…"

Remy said, "So where do you suppose the others are?"

"Well we should fine them…" trailed off Lucas.

Betsy found herself sitting in front of a giant busted Whack-a-Mole game, "Well this Arcade guy will think twice before trying to hit me with a hammer."

"I wanted to play it though Sheila," said St. John, "It would have been really fun to hit you in the face."

"John, shut up," said Betsy, "I'm tired of listening to you speak."

"You know you like me," he said, "Once you let St. John fly out of your pretty little mouth you will fall in love with me."

Before she could respond with an insult Toad hopped out of one of the holes followed by Rogue who bounced out like Toad, she looked up then stood up straight and said, "So that Arcade guy said that the rest of our team is somewhere else in Murderworld, what should we do oh fearless leader."

Betsy sensed sarcasm but then said, "We need to find Amahl first he is our only way out of here…"

"What about the others? Are you planning on just leaving them here!?!" yelled Rogue, "Are we just going to leave them here to die…because this Arcade guy obviously wants us dead, so Amahl is probably as good as dead!"

Xorn walked out from behind a wall nearby and looked at them. Betsy nodded at him then she turned to the rest of the group, "Xorn says he will find Amahl, if we look for the rest of them."

"This bugger will be okay by himself?" Toad asked, Betsy glanced at him and said, "Yes, what I didn't tell all of you is he can create plasma…which is what stars are made out of, so yes he can handle himself."

"I thought he was a pacifist though," said Rogue, "Won't he just sit still."

"He will take care of himelf, Charles Xavier was a pacifist he didn't sit around idle and not help people," Betsy said she was infuriated by this, the group then fell silent as they went to the next tent.

They were standing on a wooden platform looking down into a black hole. There was a tight rope going across it looked pretty frayed and damaged. Betsy stared at the rope and looked across the hole, "He wants us to cross the rope, because the distance is to far for my telekinesis…"

St. John stared at the rope, "Toad why don't you go first?"

"No you dick, I'm not going to die crossing a rope!" Toad exclaimed.

Betsy sighed, "I'll cross first…"

She started to walk across the rope she felt it started to tear under her weight but she kept going about it. Betsy had amazingly graceful steps as she walked across almost as if she was weightless.

She neared the end and made a leap enhanced by her telekinesis and landed perfectly at the other end. Toad laughed, "Why don't I just walk on the walls, duh…"

He leaped onto a wall and started to climb, but then water started to pour from the tent and he started sliding down, "Noooo! I don't want to dieeeee!"

Rogue concentrated she still felt some of Toad's powers left in her but she wouldn't have them for long. She leaped to the wall grabbing Toad's arm and then pulled him jumping to the rope and grabbing it with her other hand.

"Toad just hang on!" Rogue yelled, "We can make it to the other side, I just need some more of your powers…"

Toad started to cry, "But if you let go of the rope we die…"

"I don't need to let go of the rope," she said as she kicked off her boot and pulled off the sock with her other foot.

"Oh I gotcha," he immediately stopped crying and shot his long tongue out touching her face for a bit.

Rogue then started saying some unfavorable words at Toad and finished with, "I meant your foot touching mine!"

"Well hurry up then Rogue," said Toad.

She kept cursing as she pulled her self up with one arm and threw Toad with the other acrobatically landing on the rope with both feet planted on it. Toad got within Betsy's telekinetic range so she pulled him up with her powers as Toad landed next to her.

Rogue then leaped off of the rope landing next to them, "Toad I didn't realize your powers were that strong…"

"Their not…my feet are strong but nothing else," he said.

"I threw you at Betsy and you almost landed next to her…" she said.

"I hate to interrupt you two and your chit chat," said St. John, "But whose going to help me get over there?"

Betsy frowned, "Fine St. John this is counterproductive but I'll help you…"

She started to walk back, when she made it half way she pointed at John as he started to lift off the ground and flew the way Betsy came from as he landed on his face near Rogue.

Betsy then turned around seeing Rogue and Toad laughing at John, but she heard a loud snap and found there was nothing but air beneath her as she fell into the deep abyss of the hole.

"Betsy!" John yelled, "It's my fault!"

He started yelling at Toad and Rogue to climb down there and get her. He struggled against them as they held him back Rogue slapped him across the face and yelled, "Get a hold of yourself! I can hear her, she told me she was fine there's another room down there."

"Oh…" said John, "Why didn't she tell me?"

"She said because you're a psycho now let's get going," Rogue said.

Toad snickered at John, "Someone's in love…"

"No she's just cute," admitted John.

"I don't want to hear about your fancies boys, I am in charge right now so you listen to me, we are going to find the others now," stated Rogue, "Also I'm pretty sure she doesn't like any of us…she can't even tolerate anyone but Xorn, and Amahl."

Toad frowned, "Well speak for yourself I'm pretty sure she likes me okay."

"Right Toad…in fact she absolutely adores you the most too!" sarcastically added Rogue, "Face it, we're the misfits of the group, they take off on some secret mission and leave us behind…"

Before either John or Toad could reply they heard a voice, "Gutetag mein freunds!"

Lucas Bishop was leading all everyone that they hadn't accounted for to them. Kurt disappeared in a loud of smoke and reappeared in one near Rogue, Toad, and John, "Where is our fearless leader?"

"She fell down a hole back there and she is looking for Amahl, and Xorn now, maybe this Arcade guy too," said Rogue.

"Shit!" yelled Jubilee pointing towards an army of robots, which raised guns at them.

"It's the Dark Side!" St. John laughed pulling his lighter from his pocket and lighting it, "Now your going to get it!"

Inferno flew from St. John's lighter launching a robot into the air then he turned and opened his hand as flames fanned from the lighter and sprayed the robots. Explosions started to go off but a sole robot leaped through the fire about to fire its gun at Jubilee.

She turned and fired a ray of sparks blowing it up. Then started to create flashing lights around the robots, which set off the light sensors not allowing them vision. Gambit then jumped in with his staff swinging his weight into a blow colliding with a robot as it ripped though its metal.

"Your cheap metal cannot match the might of mine!" Peter roared as he turned metal and bull rushed the army bowling through them and knocking them over like pins.

Rogue meanwhile high-fived Kurt with her bare hand gaining a bit of his powers she then appeared in a group of robots and grabbed one's head removing it with another teleport. Kurt went through the troops a he sliced through some with his knife Lucas loaded his gun and delivered three headshots to the robots.

"Will this ever end mates?" Toad asked, just as the words left his mouth the robots were cleared out, "What do you know."

Elsewhere in Murderworld under the big top Arcade laughed as he saw Xorn walk in, "You're here…"

He then landed on the ground after leaping from a pedestal. He was an odd man about five feet tall with shaggy red hair and a funny looking red goatee. His polka dotted pink and yellow suit shone in the light what a strange material. His obnoxious bow tie striped, he looked to be about 40 or so.

Xorn started speaking in Chinese, then Arcade walked forward, "Oh right I forgot you are the Chinese one…my bad."

He pulled out a semi-automatic machine gun from his waist, "Like my suit? No…you prefer drab an emo would be jealous of…"

He continued talking in Chinese Arcade continued, "How rude of me, Amahl, will you translate…"

Amahl lifted himself from nearby shadows and said, "He is asking where am I…he still thinks I'm his friend how precious."

"Well you going to do it to him now?" Arcade asked, "We may as well, security says Psylocke is coming soon."

"Of course…"

Xorn and Amahl disappeared from the room and they reappeared in the Astral Plane both could clearly understand each other at this place. Xorn looked at him, "Why have you brought me here?"

"You were clearly the first that might discover…my side," he smiled walking forward, "Besides it's my mission, stop the X-men from ever returning. To infiltrate an new facilities."

"I see…" Xorn trailed off, "You may as well do it now…"

"What no fight Xorn? Oh right you believe fighting isn't the answer, you probably think that I will be nice and help you after I do this," Amahl laughed, "It is rather funny how naive you are, and how naïve you think I am. I am a lot older than I appear to be, my real age is forty four, I work for myself, and the Brotherhood."

He started to morph into a horrible monster and he smiled widely a toothy grin, "You won't leave here alive."

Xorn just sat on the ground looking at his former friend, "I will still consider you my friend."

Claws tore into Xorn's skin and he was torn apart pieces of him flying everywhere. Even his plasma was dulled by the Astral Realm's dark appearance. Amahl said in a harsh voice, "They call me Shadow King!"

Next Chapter: Game Over