Combusting Hearts
Chapter 25
Secrets Within Memories
It had been two days and Elaine still hadn't woken up. Yes, her hand would occasionally twitch or her eyelids would flitter back and forth, but she still wouldn't wake up. She seemed to be forever stuck in the world of dreams.
Gambit, the renowned Cajun still refused to leave her side, only ever briefly parting to use the bathroom every few hours. He just couldn't bring himself to leave.
"Gambit?" the Professor called, slowly wheeling into the room.
Gambit lifted his head to stare at the man before him, a sad smile gracing his face as he looked at the Professor.
"You still haven't left, have you?" Charles asked in a calm manner.
Gambit shook his head slowly.
"Non…how can I when she be like d'is?" he asked quietly, " How could Gambit leave her like d'is when she be so…so…merde!," he whispered, burying his face in his hands.
Seeing this, Charles came over to Gambit's side, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Gambit looked up at him, his eyes wet and watery. The Professor had seen such things many times before, felt them even, but they never got any easier. He also knew how Gambit felt about Elaine. Frankly, in his opinion, it was a rather obvious thing. Then again, Charles could also see the inner workings of Gambit and Elaine as time went by. There was something there between them, a strong and loving bond that had developed for one another that no other could brake. Granted, people could test them and pull at them, poke and prod, but never could they truly brake the bond between the two. In fact, he'd never seen a pair more bound to each other than those two were from the very moment that they had met.
"I need to have a look at her again. Perhaps this time I'll be able to find something in the reaches of her mind," Charles said quietly, moving close to Elaine.
Gambit watched as the Professor closed his eyes, concentrating on sifting through Elaine's mind.
She walked the streets alone at night, a mere child in the Professor's eyes. She was a young teenager who had lost her parents, who's sanity had run thin on the humanity around her, and who's heart had started to grow scared and cold.
"Hey boys, look what we got here, a piece of mutant meat," a guy a few years older than her spoke.
It was a guy from her neighborhood that had always had his eyes on her.
"What do you want?" Elaine asked, carefully looking around her so as not to draw attention.
As she stood there, a few more guys started to advance on her until she was backed up against a wall.
All she could do was look around her as the man before her came closer to her, pressing her up against the wall. The fear in her eyes was obvious as she stood there staring at him.
"Do you really want to know what I want Elaine?" he asked, bringing his lips slowly up to her ear and whispering something to her.
When he finally pulled away, her eyes were wide, her face pale, and body shaking. She swallowed hard as she stood there, fingers curling into her palms.
She was too scared to even move as he placed his hands on her, kissing her neck and using his hands to slowly feel her body. Although, the moment his hand started to move under her shirt, he was thrown back by an explosion.
Two of the guys ran off, scared for their lives, while the rest stayed behind with mild anger in their hearts.
"Why you little…" one of them got up and lunged at her, attacking her with his fists.
A moment later, he was thrown back, but not by Elaine. It was someone else, a rather tall man with dark hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. His eyes were also a striking blue that seemed to set the night on fire, burning straight through your soul. Those eyes held a subtle cruelty behind them that went unseen by those around him.
"W-who…who are y-you?" Elaine's shaky voice asked as she sat there on the ground against the wall.
He merely smiled at her, readjusting his dolphin gray suit, before kneeling down in front of her.
"Who am I?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to the side, "My name is Victor, Victor Stain," he said, brushing some hair out of Elaine's face. "Now, who might you be my dear?" he asked, staring at her intently.
Elaine swallowed heavily, before attempting to open her mouth to answer.
"M-my n-n-name is E-Elaine," she spoke softly, still a bit dazed.
"And what is your last name?" he asked, their eyes locking with one another.
"Conners," she said without hesitation, before blinking a few times.
He had a faint smirk on his face before he spoke further.
"Well, Miss Elaine Conners, why don't I escort you back home? A young lady such as yourself shouldn't be walking around at night alone like this," he said smoothly, gently pulling her to her feet.
She just stood there watching him carefully.
"I apologize…but I don't like strangers," she said quietly, rubbing her arms for warmth.
All that he did was let out a chuckle.
"Well, then let me put it this way. Would you rather have me, a stranger with a name or those nameless lowlifes?" he asked, his eyebrow raised in question.
She didn't say a word, giving him the answer that he was looking for.
"That's what I thought. Now, tell me where you live and I'll take you home little one," he said, carefully placing a hand on her shoulder.
She pulled back for a moment, her arms still wrapped around herself.
"I can't go back there," she whispered, looking away.
"And why not? It is your home after all, is it not?"
"No…it's not…they never were," she whispered.
"Take me to where you've been staying ," he said, lifting her chin to look at him.
She slowly nodded her head, starting to walk back 'home' with the man beside her.
Before they got to the door, Victor turned her around, before leaning down to her level.
"Now," he started, taking hold of her delicate hand and placing some money into it, "I want you to take this money and buy yourself some new clothes, alright?" he asked, making sure that she was listening to him.
She nodded her head slowly, a little unsure of herself, but he corrected that issue.
"You need proper clothes my dear. From what I can tell, these people are not providing you with such luxuries, are they?" he asked, receiving a solemn shake of her head.
"No…they don't," she whispered.
"Well, if you ever have problems with humans again, just call the number on this called and I'll be there to help," he said, pressing a small business card into her hands. "Now, let's finish this and get you inside," he said, leading her the rest of the way up to the door.
With a sharp knock on the door, he stood there beside her, his hand resting lightly on her shoulder.
When the door opened, they were met with that of a man. The look on his face was that of disgust as he looked down at Elaine, causing her to back away from him and hide against Victor's tall frame.
"I see that you've found the little brat, I'm truly sorry that you had to bother bringing her home," the said, reaching forward and grabbing Elaine's arm painfully.
Victor saw this and grabbed the man's wrist tightly in his hand, making him let go.
"I suggest Sir, that you not handle this young lady in such a way or would you rather me report you to the authorities for child abuse?" Victor asked, squeezing the man's wrist tightly.
"N-no Sir," the man all but whimpered, causing Victor's lips to turn up into a satisfies expression.
At that, he let go of the man's wrist and turned to Elaine, leaning down to her level and whispering into her ear.
"Call me within the week and I'll see if I can't find you some place more…suitable," he said, before coming to stare at her eyes. "Alright?" he asked.
She quickly nodded her head, glancing carefully at the man at the door, before slipping past him into the house. The man in question got ready to close the door when Victor quickly caught it.
"Now, remember what we talked about. Otherwise, there'll be hell to pay," Victor warned, before stepping away from the door and allowing the man to slam it shut in fear.
"That man…" the Professor whispered to himself as he opened his eyes.
He could have sworn that after the door closed in her memory and the man had looked right at him, mouthing something quietly that he could have sworn was his name.
"Victor Stain, why does that sound so familiar," Charles asked himself.
"Wait a minute, you mean shadow creeper man!" Gambit asked, sitting up in his seat.
"Shadow creeper? Wait…Specter," the Professor's eyes widened in realization.
"D'at's it, d'at's his name," Gambit said, hate in his voice. "D'at man can play a mean game o' poker," Gambit said, "AND he be down right dangerous."
The Professor nodded his head in agreement. Victor Stain was definitely not a man to be messed with, that was for sure. This also made Charles think carefully.
"Gambit?"
"Oui, Professor?" Gambit responded, turning himself to face him.
"How many times have you run into this man?" the Professor asked, waiting for an answer.
Gambit sat there and thought for a few moments, his hand tapping his chin.
"Gambit don' know how many, but I do know d'at I come across d'e man quite a few times," he said, looking back over at Elaine. "D'e man be dangerous and he be one tricky bastard," he said.
He then looked back at the Professor.
"What he have ta do wit' Cheri d'ough," he asked curiously.
"That's exactly what I'm going to find out. I've only come across him a few times, though the stories I've heard plenty of," he explained, moving his chair back just a bit.
He then looked at Gambit once more.
"Apparently, he met Elaine a few years ago when she ran into some trouble," he started, brushing his hand over her face for a moment, "Without going back in, that's all that I can tell you," he stated.
Gambit nodded his head.
"D'en we better find out soon what he have ta do wit' Cheri, cuz if he touch her…let's just say, Gambit won' be too happy," he said, cracking a few stiff knuckles.
Ok, that's chapter 25. I hope that everyone enjoyed it. Please rememeber to review?