The small room is crowded with the last of the remaining X-Men standing in it. Tonight I have to ask them to do the unthinkable. I have to ask them to risk it all for the safety and security of all of our futures.

Storm is standing strong and proud to my right. Her team was informed of tonight's discussion only a few moments ago. None of them I can see are taking it very well.

"Storm and I have come to a finale resolution to our problem," I state as everyone seems to stare at me.

"This is what we both assume will be our last act as your commanding officers. Both of us have decided that this world we live in needs to end. We don't expect any of you to join us unless it is under your own free will. We could never ask you to do something this dangerous without your consistent." I stop and let my words fall onto them as I take a breath and continue.

"Tomorrow we will be conducting a double attack on all four of the horsemen. We will have most of our team's located in California were we have planned a surprised attack on War, Famine and Pestilence. We have already gone ahead and let information leak that Gold Team will be there trying to break into one of their main supply carriers. However, they have no idea that there will be a whole lot more than just Gold Team." I stop and let Storm pick up on her plans for California. It will be her team that will be leading that mission.

"I've sent a messenger to Red and Blue team in Michigan and in Texas they will be meeting us there. We are hoping we will be able to overcome The Horsemen by sheer force and numbers."

I quit paying attention to Storm at that point and locked eyes with familiar green ones across the room. She's the only woman in this place that I trust implicitly besides my co-commander Storm. She's the only person who will keep me grounded when the world gets to be too much and when I look at her I can't see anything of the girl she used to be. All I see now is the woman she is and will become and it pulls the strings at my heart and I wonder in this moment why I never saw it before. I wonder why I never saw her for what she really is to me.

"Then hopefully we should have the ultimate surprise when we finally face Apocalypse," Storm says as I tuned back into the conversation at hand.

"That leads us to our current situation," I say breaking my momentary connection with her. Because I know what I am about to say is going to break her already shattered heart just that much more.

"As Storm's Silver Team leads the rampage on the West Coast with Blue and Red Teams, Gold Team along with X-Factor, who will be sneaking back into the country tonight, will engage Death at his home in New York. Sources have it that they have been keeping many captured mutants there that are more than willing to help our cause," I stop and look straight at her as I say the next part. "We of course can't face off against Death and his entire army with the limited numbers we will have. So we will need someone who can sneak into the compound and distract Death long enough for us to help the rest of the mutants escape."

"So in other words someone's going to have to die," Cannonball asked from his corner of the room. I sighed as the room began to murmur at what I was asking.

"Yes," I said slowly, yet firmly as I continued to watch her. I could see her green eyes flash and turn slightly blue as I said that word.

"So what?" Domino began, "you want someone to volunteer to die?"

"Yes," I say again, not losing my focus on her. Her face seemed to contort in what I assumed was an internal conversation with her self.

"That has to be the most insane thing that has ever come out of your mouth Cyclopes," Lorna Dane said to me in disbelief. But I ignored her and the others as I continued to look onto her.

"Scott," Storm called softly out to me breaking me from my trance, "I'll…"

But before she could finish a voice broke clear through the murmuring voices and my heart seemed to stop with her words.

"I'll do it," she said so clear I had nearly stopped breathing. I turned to look at her and her face was set in a look that spoke volumes to me. It was her last chance to settle the score. He broke her heart and ruined her life, so she break his neck and kill him in return.

"No," I say clear as day from the other side of the room. The voices in the room had become silent as that word slipped through my mouth.

"I am doing it with or without your consent Scott. I am the only logical choice. I can get in undetected and even open the fencing just as easily. You know I will be able to gain an audience with him even if I get caught," she tells me and I know she's right. She is the most logical choice. But my heart is screaming at me to stop her, to refuse her from going. Even if that means I have to lock her up myself.

"We need you Rogue, you're a very valuable asset to this team and we can not afford to lose you this early in the game," I say rationally back to her.

"No Scott, you need me, not the team. I am the only one capable of pulling this off and maybe even living. Anyone else would get killed even before they made it past the fencing," she says and I can't say anything to that. She's right and I know it, I just can't accept it.

"It's the only way," she says to me from across the room we now share together alone. Everyone seems to just fade into the background.

"There has to be another way," I argued back to her moving across the room towards her.

"But there isn't," she says and I just can't believe it, I won't.

"I won't lose you, not you too," I plead to her knowing deep down that it is useless. She'll go, there's no way of stopping her once her minds set.

"I don't want you to ever have to lose someone else again," she tells me as she walks up close to me her gloved hands lay flatly on my chest. "I want you to sleep at night and know that tomorrow will be just as good as it was the day before."

"You silly girl," I tell her as I wrap my arms around her not caring about the watching eyes, "I always worry, even on the good days."

"Maybe you won't, not when this is all over," she whispers to me and I just cling to her tighter. I never knew I could have someone as spectacular as her in my life.

"Stay," I beg to her as I tighten my grip on her. I don't care if everyone here has to listen to me beg for her to stay. I don't care to show the world that she's my weakness, she's my strength.

"I can't," she chokes out as I feel the tears through my shirt.

"Why not?" I whine out to her in desperation.

"Because," she says with a pause, "I volunteered."

I feel my whole world crashing down around me as she leans up and places a gentle kiss on my cheek. I can't even feel the pull of her mutation as it lingers a bit too long. As she pulls away I feel my world slipping through my fingers and out into a world I fear and hate. She smiles at me as she backs away to prepare for tomorrow when her ruined life will finally be over and her new one will begin. But I can't help but wonder when my own ruined life will be over and if I will ever see her on the other side.

"I love you," I whisper to her from across the room. The crowd is now quite as they watch us fall apart, as we fall away from each other. She stops just short of the door leading out of the room where our own world fell apart.

"I know," she tells me and walks away never turning back for one last look. And all I can think about is how she volunteered for this, for him.