Chapter 7

Ne m'oubliez pas (Do not forget me)

(Just outside of New Orleans city limits)

" You sure you're okay? You looked really winded. " Rogue asked Remy. He had left the club looking pekid, for a moment she thought all of this stress was making him ill.

" Ah'm fine." Remy assured her. He was more than just a little embarrassed by what he had done in the club. He took his punishment to heart, and understood that Logan could have done far worse. That punch may have also helped bring him back to reality, and for that, he could not be upset. For a moment he did want to argue the same points he had used to justify himself; like how his actions were out of necessity or that Rogue knew what she was getting into, but that would have been stupid; that was something the old him would have surely done. He remembered a time not too long ago, when he thought he was always right, and it was everyone else that had the problem. Generally he still felt that way, normally he was would never admit to his mistakes, but this time he knew better than to argue. He had used Rogue unfairly and took liberties he shouldn't have, and for his recklessness, he would never apologize, but he rightfully accepted his punishment without a protest. Logan was glad, if not surprised, to see that he had accepted getting his punch to the gut without a word and had moved on from it; Gambit took to focusing on the rest of the night, which Logan was thankful for.

"You know where this place is?" Logan asked him. They followed Remy outside the exuberant streets of New Orleans and further out to where the lights became dimmer and the streets became quieter. Until they found themselves at a point where the water's of the Louisiana swamp-land met the banks. Gambit had followed suit, as the lights and happiness of the city faded so did his demeanor. Logan and Rogue had noticed it, if you looked at his eyes long enough you could see a hint of fear through the misery. His fear and nervousness would come in waves, reeking havoc on his heart. In between the waves of anxiety he would take on a docile and sadly thoughtful manner, at times it was though he was sleep walking. It concerned Rogue to the point of being afraid for him.

"Here." Remy said solemnly. He had brought them to a point where the roads stopped and paths were barely worn, it was a wilderness. Scott had thought for a moment that he was trying to lose them again, but quickly changed his mind because Gambit seemed to be moving slower. Ever since they had left the city limits Gambit seemed to take on a hesitant trudge, however the dread in his step was invisible to Scott.

" In there? How can you even see?" Scott was understandably skeptical, the pitch blackness of the water was so dark and still, that it looked like polished black onyx. He couldn't discern one tree from another, the moonlight played tricks and blurred the lines between shadow and reflection, it seemed impossible to decipher what was solid or just an ink-black shadow.

"Memory...n'dis." Remy said, as he held out the piece of paper that held the coordinates of the location. When Remy recognized where it was his heart sank, it was smack in the middle of the ancient tithing grounds and just south of he and Belle's secret swimming spot.

" Where'd you get that?" Rogue asked. By this point she was beyond concerned, it seemed as though every she spoke to him it was almost like he had forgotten about her. When he did noticed her, it was as if he hadn't realized she was there and would always gave her a small sad smile; it was though he was looking at her in a way that he was savoring every moment, because he would never see her again.

" M'brother." his eyes softened slightly when he spoke to her. His manner around her was almost remorseful, all in a matter of hours it was as if he had transitioned from a cocky and confident charmer with a wolfish walk to a lost soul, sick with guilt and walking with the same pace of a man sentenced to death. Remy gave no mind how he looked or acted as he looked over the plans that his brother had given, and that his cousin had died for.

" How did he get it?" Scott asked, he was slightly impressed by how Gambit had gotten all of this information in such a short amount of time. This aspect made much more sense to him. Scott was tactical and analytical. It was far easier to measure how quickly and efficiently a job got then any matter of motivation or psychology. He was not be emotional being that Gambit was and wanted to know where their information was coming from, he trusted no one, other than his team; for the exception of Gambit and drunk Bobby; sober Bobby was even questionable at times.

" Family...dat left dis mess ta de mutie." Remy muttered bitterly, as he fumbled through the brush along the bank, he appeared to be looking for something. He didn't mean to say that, thinking out loud was something he didn't usually do, but then again, he usually didn't have people asking him questions while he was trying to configure his next move.

"Who?" Scott asked again, not understanding his muttered response.

" Family." Remy simply stated, not wanting to take it any further. However, Logan had heard him, this offered a bit of insight into the man and what his role was in this "family" of his. Logan suspected he was the only member of his family with an active x-gene, and if he wasn't then he was the only one with an x-gene that was doing anything. Logan watched him pick up a stick and began poking along the bank.

" You plan on swimmin' there or something? " Bobby asked, some time had passed and Bobby had been given an order of fried crayfish and several glasses of water and was feeling more like himself again. He liked drinking very much and hoped to do it more in the future with a more fun-loving group. Bobby watched Gambit continued to tap along the bank.

"Here." Remy said. He had not been checking the riverbank for long until he tapped against something solid. It was a flat wooden raft with a very long oar. Henry had come through, he had left his brother a way to get across the watery terrine in the quietest way possible. A motor of a speed boat or air-boat would've been faster but you could hear one from a mile away. A raft would make no more sound than a gator slipping through the water. He was debating on how to explain to the others how he needed to do this alone. This was strictly a family matter, and if they persisted, the most that Gambit would allow them to do is back him up from afar; no one needed to see this part of him. He was at a loss for words but strangely Logan understood the situation better than he thought.

" Why do I get the feeling like you're tryin' ta push on ahead without us?" Logan asked, his tight-lipped demeanor told him that this was where they had to part ways. Normally nothing could get the guy to shut-up, this was clearly Gambit trying to detach and prepare himself for something devastating. Logan felt that he had a good idea of why this had to be. He knew that Gambit was probably pushing his luck bringing non-family this far. Their matters of business seemed incredibly secretive and for anyone to be involved that was outside of either family had to be punishable rule one. The odds were already stacked against the guy. Logan wanted to think that Gambit being left to fend for himself should be a well-deserved punishment for all the people he had abandoned and cheated, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to be that judgemental. For the exception of his brother, who couldn't help, it didn't seem like anyone related to him wanted to help him. Most impressively to Logan, he was willingly heading directly into a situation where there was a good chance he would lose his life. The humanitarian in Logan recognized that possibly for the first time in his life, he was actually trying to do the right thing by owning up against impossible odds; for that, Logan would not allow him to go completely alone. Perhaps they would not be directly behind him, but they would be there watching over him to some extent, someone had to.

" That's 'cause Ah ain't got a choice...Ah got laws ta abide by." Remy said in almost a pained whisper, the look on Logan's face seemed like he understood the mechanics of what was happening and gave him a knowing look. Logan was on board for walking along side the guy to and through New Orleans, he felt like they were close enough to keep an eye out for him until he got done doing what he needed to. And they were close enough to play back up if things started getting bad for him.

" Laws?" Scott asked surprised, if not a little arrogant, he had a very hard time believing that Gambit would obey any sort of law. The concept seemed almost ridiculous to him. He couldn't say he was unwilling to help Gambit and his father, but after what he had seen today of Gambit and his old lifestyle, Scott was more than willing to wash his hands of all of it. Scott watched Logan look Gambit in the eye for a brief moment and communicate something wordlessly.

" Okay, but don't expect us to not be far behind." Logan warned. The moment that Gambit had explained he was breaking off from the group Rogue thought he was being ridiculous, but when Logan okayed him to go she became upset.

" Wait. What do ya mean we won't be far behind? We'll be standin' next ta you! How are we not together in this, laws er' no?" Rogue asked. The whole point of them coming to New Orleans was to help him with this. They had caught up to him only now; there was no way that she would be shaken off.

" Can't be like dat, Cher." Remy said somberly. It felt as though everyone was allowing him to meet his death, something felt very wrong. The way he spoke made Rogue uneasy, she saw this all as dangerously unnecessary. She knew that the stakes were high, so why wouldn't he want their help or at least hers?

"Ah can fly you over-" She felt as though she were fighting on obviously losing battle. The feeling of hopelessness was so strong it almost felt as though she were a kid again and the adults were making her decisions for her. She had no power or say in this decision and it was almost enough to make her scream.

" Rogue, dat ain't de way dis works..." Remy opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped. The disappointment and confusion on her face was heartbreaking to him. There was literally no way he could explain the situation differently, this was bigger than both of them, there was simply nothing that she could do and nothing he could do to change it. Thankfully, Logan placed a hand on her shoulder, she looked back at him with frustration, not quite understanding the why they were all agreeing to such a bad idea.

" This is somethin' he's got ta do on his own, darlin'." Logan explained. Rogue watched almost helplessly as Gambit un-tethered the wooden raft from a thick root sticking out of the bank.

" Logan?" Rogue said with the slightest of beg and desperation in her voice. She looked to Scott to create some sort of plan that allowed them to go over as a team, but Scott knew nothing of these things or this lifestyle, and did not say anything. Bobby felt the tension, even though he didn't necessarily understand either, but he agreed with Rogue; he didn't necessarily get why they couldn't go over as a team, but the situation seemed so serious that he didn't say a word. She looked back at Logan, disappointed by his willingness to let him go without so much as a argument.

" He's got ta see 'em face-ta-face, n' he needs to look like he's alone when he does." Logan said to her as gently as he could. He had a first-hand knowledge of this type of old way, these people had created a world where these laws had been followed before the birth of the country, and their presence would make the situation all the more hostile. This form of secret government was so ingratiated that any disruption would cause a full-out war; just like Remy's father had done. His father's thirst for greed and power had devastated his son's life because he had violated these old ways; because John-Luc had lived up to his reputation as a criminal, he had lost everything he had forcefully acquired and could end up losing far more by the end of the night. Logan would follow Gambit's lead, he knew the X-men's very presence may have been another strike against the Thieves, by being Gambit's hidden back up, he may have created more of reason to lose tonight. Showing up with Gambit would surely stir up more unnecessary hostility.

"But-" Rogue protested, but neither men could listen. Gambit was thankful that Logan seemed, for the most part, to understand the gravity of what was going on. However he still did not, or would not comprehend Gambit's request to be left completely alone.

" The second things start lookin' bad we'll jump in. " Logan assured him, he then turned to walk over to Scott and Bobby, Logan tried to not react to Rogue's eyes that were growing with confused frustration.

"Logan." Gambit called after him. Logan looked back at him over his shoulder. "Don't." Gambit said as seriously as he could, it was his final attempt to stop them from following him. Logan did not respond as he turned and stepped back over to Bobby and Scott. Logan decided to give them a moment, if he needed to say something, even if it was good bye, now would be the time. Rogue had her fists balled in frustration, as Logan stepped away from her. She then turned around to look at Remy, and he shocked her by swiftly wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly.

" Remy-" Rogue said in a shocked whisper. Why was he being this way, why did this all feel so final? It was all terribly unnerving, this is not the man she was used to, this was not the same man that had retrieved mutant captives from an abandoned mine or the man that had infiltrated the Genoshian Army to save her and her friends lives. She felt like she was being held by a dead man, she almost didn't recognize him without his annoying over-confidence or his charming grin or cocksure glint in his eye. She wanted to tell him he was being stupid, she wanted to say how irrational this all was, and who cared about these old laws? Who cared about these ancient rules when these vicious murderers had his father and he could potentially die. Now was not the time to be a law abiding Thief Guild member, now was the time to break these laws like his father had done. She didn't understand how, all of a sudden, he could grow some sort of moral obligation to his traditions; he's timing was insanity.

"Thanks fo' de dance, Cher. " Remy had every problem in the world apologizing, but saying thank you was something that he never found too difficult. He continued to press his hands against her back and slowly move them up and down perhaps this was an attempt to savor her; to remember her. There was only two ways that this could end: either Remy would die tonight and hopefully his brother would survive, even if his father and himself did not. He was sure if he died there would be no hope for his father. And as a bonus, the last thing he ever did would be something right for once, or he would retrieve his father and they would both live and Remy would never want to be seen again. This was so ugly, this side of him, no rational person would ever want anything this toxic poisoning their lives; he knew he wouldn't. If they survived he would accept his fate and stay with the Thieves Guild, it was always his rightful place, and he was a fool to think he could have ran from it.

" This is-" Rogue was cut off by the strangest and most finalizing goodbyes of her life. In this moment Remy was saying goodbye to everything that they could have been. He truly believed he would not survive the night, and he meant what he had said, it really was a great time in his life. And not just their first and last dance at the club, from the moment that he had met her again in New Orleans and even when he had kidnapped her, they had begun a sort of dance. It was clear to himself now, not even he had realized how happy he was.

"Coulda been de best dance Ah ever had." In the way he said it, Rogue knew that he wasn't just talking about the dance at the Cats Club, he was talking about all of their time together. She had made him happy and she deserve to know that; he needed her to know that before they parted ways, possibly for the last time. " Please don' say nothin' else."

"Ah..." Rogue said, and then not another word. She could not protest, she could not deny him his last request and she said nothing. This was Remy's last gift to her as well, this way she didn't need to say goodbye and she wouldn't have to think of anything to say. Given more time they could have fallen in love, but that was too painful to think about. Remy slowly and painstakingly released her, she turned away so she wouldn't have to look at him anymore, she couldn't bare it. In a moment he would be cloaked in the velvet black shadows and would no longer be visible. Rogue continue to feel helpless, but only for a moment before she began feeling determination. She wasn't going to allow him to fall like this. In all of her fear and crushing panic she had forgotten who she was, she was an X-Man, a woman with incredible power. She then turned and walked towards the others.

" So what do we do now?" Bobby asked Rogue. She faced them, the look on her face was utter tenacity. She looked at Bobby and almost smiled.

" We give him a hand." Rogue said.

(Earlier that night earlier that night...)

" Good luck little brother. " Henri thought as he tied the wooden raft to the bank. He then got onto another raft and paddled down the river in the opposite direction. As promised he keep his distance from the Assassins home but stayed within paddling distance. He did not want to be too far away. He would not miss an opportunity to retrieve his father or possibly even help his brother. He made his way down the river and it was only a few yards into the darkness before he got the overwhelming urge that he was being watched. Immediately he pulled a gun from his waistband and made sure that the safety was off. He waited and listened, at first he thought it was a cloud of bats, the way the fluttering sound through the poplar trees resonating against the water did not sound like a person hanging in the branches.

"Henri LeBeau, welcome home Thief son. " The voice rang in Henri's ears. Strangely the voice did not echo. By all rights, the voice should have echoed, but he knew immediately that this was not a voice of this natural world, and he respectively called back.

"On a night like tonight, seems like speaking face-to-face would be the proper thing." Henri spoke softly into the darkness, he knew exactly who this was. As far as Henri was concerned, he had nerves of steel, his heart barely rose a heartbeat as he confronted this immortal being. He was not afraid of death, he wanted to die someday, and he embraced who he was, a man with faults, but also a man with no stomach for criminal life unless it was on paper. He then turned his attention to the voice ringing in his ears. It was a voice of a woman that he had met when he was only 13 years old, when he had become an official Thief member, and he knew better than to be anything less than subservient to her.

" I would not think the son of Jean-Luc LeBeau would know what the word 'proper' meant." Candra's voice responded disrespectfully. Candra felt like the LeBeau men were generally a cowardice bunch. Henri was definitely the worst, he ran further and longer than his brother ever did. He began running from his proper Guild lifestyle in his late teen's and he preferred to serve his purpose detached and away. He normally could be found everywhere else but home, Candra was surprised he was actually here.

" Please, Candra, Ah'm not m' father. Ah've learned from his mistakes, give me a chance-give the Thieves a chance ta make right what my father had done wrong." Henri said thoughtfully. Since this could have been the only time that Henri would have a solo audience with Candra, he thought perhaps it would be best to start apologizing now, perhaps she would help spare his father's life.

" You are certainly not your father. I have, in my existence, never met a guild member of either side, that refused my gifts." Candra remembered when she met the first son of Jean-Luc LeBeau. She was confused by him, to say the least. " You didn't want to drink the elixir vitale." She remembered. At the time she didn't ask, because she didn't care enough for an answer. Now as she saw him growing older, with the lines on his face and the graying of his mustache, she wanted to know why.

" You are a miraculous creature and your gifts are sublime, but Ah'm not prepared for an existence of near-immortality. Ah find comfort in natural death, but not tonight and not for my family. Candra, please help us live." In true LeBeau charm, Henri attempted to state their case before the night's events began. He knew whatever was happening tonight would start very soon and it didn't hurt to speak with the one in charge. Surely, his father was guilty of a grave offense, but Henri did not see the harm in pleading his case.

" The same prayer was made the night you slaughtered the Assassins. An Assassin begged me to live as well and they were the ones that were wronged. You tell me who was more befitting of an answered prayer: you begging for your life after doing an unspeakable wrong or the innocent Assassins that were attempting peace and then unjustly slaughtered?" Omnipotent beings were not necessarily interested in being kind and just. Candra had been powerful so long and had played with lives so easily she didn't necessarily care about what was fair. She wanted to be treated as a God; she wanted her words to matter more in the lives of these people than anything else, she wanted her laws to be followed, and she loved being entertained by them.

" Certainly greed is an infection that you have never suffered from, but it is a horrible feeling and an irresistible one. We are, after all, only human. Our mistake did violate the old ways and because of it we have experienced loss of nearly everything, and suffered gruesome punishment as a justified result. Give us a chance to win our lives within the confines of the tradition. I promise you retribution in the old ways." Henri had no issue with speaking to Candra; just like his father had taught him you must speak as though you were talking to a judge that actually mattered, but also remember that the woman knows herself to be a God. Whether you agreed with her or not, it was irrelevant, let her think whatever she wanted; Play into it. The important thing was that she would deliver the power that her promised.

"Retribution of tradition and re-establishment of the old ways seems odd coming from a Thief-son. Your Guild even denied my existence." She said her voice growing in anger. For all her knowledge and experience that she had acquired during her long life, she had developed a very narcissistic and vain habit.

"Candra, Ah will not lie to you. Perhaps you are correct and some faith was lost, some members no longer wanted to accept your power but I always did. This is why Ah did not drink the elixir vitale Ah knew it would work, and never doubted you." Henri explained. Candra could not argue with this point, his very actions proved that he did respect Candra and her power.

" Would you give me good reason to give you such an undeserving chance?" You could practically hear the anticipation in Candra's voice. It was almost as though she were asking what would she get out of tonight. Henri knew he had to offer something that would tempt Candra and an idea suddenly sprang in his head, it was a long shot but he had no other options. What could he possibly have to give a god? Out of desperation Henry attempted his gamble.

" My brother has with him powerful mutants, not as powerful as you, but they could serve as audience. You could allow them to know you." Henri remained stone-faced, but inside he practically winced at his words, he knew that outside members were a direct violation of her law, however, Candra was a vain and at times, compulsive. Hopefully the idea of a new and powerful audience would tantalize her. There was a long silence, which was a good sign, this meant that she was thinking about it.

" A powerful mutant audience?" Candra ask, clearly intrigued by the concept. She knew that there were growing numbers of powerful mutants in the world, many of them did not rival her power, but the idea of beings more powerful than the humans marveling at her ability and her strength was quite the temptation.

" Four of them. Each one of them unique and powerful in there own right, and there will be no one to stand for my brother other than myself and my father. These four mutants do not know of your strength, surely a fight with a single-minded audience does not interest you as much as a house divided." Henri felt confident that he had Candra's attention, he could practically hear her smiling in the darkness. Hopefully Remy's friends would not protest to this, but as it stands, they would have little choice in the matter. Once Candra set her sights on something she wanted she would always get it, no matter what stood in her way.

" These mutants would agree to this- Well, it does not matter. Yes, I cannot argue with you, I would like to see that. Where are these mutants?" It was difficult to fathom that a powerful ancient being actually having a tinge of child-like excitement at the thought of impressing superior humans, but she could not deny the thrill. When you lived as long as Candra had, the idea of thrill becomes harder and harder to attain. She would have never walked away from an opportunity like this, even if it did violate her own laws.

" They will be approaching very soon. They will be accompanying my brother, and surely Remy will not defy the laws, he knows better; you may take them once they part ways." Henri would not yet breathe a sigh of relief because he did not know if his brother's mutant friends would disagree and attempt to fight with Candra. He knew that he was risking the chance that they would anger Candra. Of course he did not want Candra to kill the four mutants, but he was more concerned about how that would reflect on his family, hopefully they would understand; especially the girl that seemed to care for his brother, he he hoped that, possibility, she would talk the others into serving as audience and hopefully they would not become involved.

" I will escort them once they arrive. In the meantime you must be escorted as well. The time is growing close for your retribution, or destruction depending on how well your brother does tonight." She said. Henri's stomach dropped, he had not counted on this. He had a strong feeling that this was a becoming a Blood Trial! Candra had arranged a Blood Trail for the Assassins! She only she could arrange a t for the Assassins so that the Thieves may pay for what they had done and Remy would be fighting for the future of the Thieves Guild.

" Wha-?!" Henri felt a tightening pressure around his rib cage as though he were being held by a giant hand that was threatening to crush him to death. He was then pulled off of his feet and levitated into the night sky; Candra's face manifested in front of him, at first, all he was faced was just a dark black shadow, the shadow then began to develop contours and form and shape until it was the beautiful smiling face of an ancient woman with a child-like glint of excitement in her eye. She looked exactly as beautiful and as terrifying as she did when he was a boy.

" You must pull in your share as well Thief-son." Candra smiled. Henri had still violated laws for the role he played in the Assassin massacre and Candra would not allow him to forget. As she spoke stadium-strong lights snapped on and immediately flooded the swamp with a wave of electric light Henry fell blind for a moment until his eyes adjusted; in the trees and small boats hidden along the bank Assassins had been waiting for this and had watched everything. They had been lining the bank silently as Candra instructed them to. Henri felt like the life was being crush from him and could not speak Candra smiled at him one last time and practically threw him into the group of Assassins who caught and held him.

"Long time coming Thief..." One particularly compulsive and enraged Assassin member said.

"W-who?" Henri did not recognize these men or their clothing, they looked like perhaps they could be Assassins, but the clothing was different and the faces were not at all the Boudreaux's he remembered. Recruiting new members was unusual, but not unexpected, seeing as Thieves had nearly slaughtered them into extinction.

" Perhaps we haven't been properly introduced. Us new members like to call each other 'Rippers' but for what you have done I will settle for something a little more... inelegant." he pulled a gun from his waistband and held it to Henry's head and cocked the trigger. These new Ripper-Assassins had made an effort to establish themselves by aiding in the rebuilding of the Assassin's Guild by agreeing to be a part of the truly grizzly and brutal acts ordered by their Assassin Guild leader. "It's best we get you out of the way now!" Suddenly, the would-be murderer whipped his gun to his side and made a slight choking sound. Being new to the Assassin Guild meant learning all the rules and regulations that were put in place to keep both sides in order, and just like any training, new members were going to make mistakes.

" Ripper-Assassin there is much that you need to learn!" Candra's voice boomed for all to hear. Just as she had done with Henri, she gripped the Ripper with unseen hands and lifted him in front of her. " You must learn the way of things!" She then slowly proceeded to lower him into the dark swamp water below. He choked and sputtered right under the water's surface. He whipped and flailed as the water began to fill his lungs. Other members did not dare speak out. One other Assassin, that clearly knew the drowning Ripper/Assassin, did race over to the bank and watched helplessly as his teammate drowned. After a moment the Ripper-Assassin stopped his splashing and his lifeless body floated limp to the surface. The Assassin that had raced over to the bank, clearly this Assassin was a friend of his, jumped into the water and pulled his friend's body onto the shore. He then look up to Candra and boldly spoke.

" You killed him!" The Assassin said in total shock, he could barely comprehend what had just happened to his fellow Ripper-Assassin.

" He needed to learn a lesson." Candra replied coldly. She didn't necessarily care for either side more or less. She did want to reward Assassins and Ripper-Assassins for their unwavering dedication to her by arranging the Blood Trial for the sake of them winning their justice. She had given them much, she made it so the Assassins were allowed to create their 'Rippers' and she had allowed them to recruit to swell their ranks, and she also had given them the resources to force their way back into power in New Orleans and the southern coast, all in a very short amount of time. Her generosity, however, did not mean they could act however they liked.

" But he-he dead!" the Assassin responded.

" That is the lesson! Do not defy me, do not defy my law or suffer the same!" Candra boomed. The other Assassin's looked at Henri, they naturally blamed him for the newest death of their teammate, and hissed threats into his ears as they dragged him towards the new Assassin home.

(Along the swamp bank; 2 miles from the Assassin maison)

"Okay so we have to back up Gambit without anybody knowing we're backing him up. We have to remain as hidden as possible, best way to do that is to get an aerial view of this place. Rogue?" Scott said inviting Rogue to do her thing.

"Ah'm on it." Rogue then levitated and flew up, like a shot, high above the dark clouds to get a better look at where the complex. She took to flying naturally, it was almost like swimming only with a much greater amount of control; it was so simple for her and she could fly so much faster then she could run and it only made her half as tired. It was an explainable expression of absolute freedom. Meanwhile, on the ground Scott looked to Bobby.

" We're going to need to cut ourselves a path, and a quick one. The fastest way to anything as a straight line. Logan? Bobby? What do you got?" Scott knew giving out assignments made his team creative and they were excellent problem solvers. He was confident they would find a solid way of approaching this.

"Simple." Bobby said confidently. And just as he stated, he stepped onto the swamp water and froze it into a solid ridged walkway, complete with hand rail. He would walk several steps out into the water and miraculously the ice bridge would manifest before his next step could land, it was automatic and a wonderfully simple solution. Even though Bobby was not the biggest fan of hot weather, the Louisiana environment was extremely humid, which made it ideal to pull water out of the air to create ice; being Iceman was never so easy. Logan stepped onto the bridge as well and jumped into the trees. He used his adamantium claws to cut away anything that would have obstructed their path, he then sliced the branches like a hot knife through butter; it was almost as effortless as Bobby's display.

" Bobby, let's get a little light on the subject." Scott ordered. Scott and Bobby had been working on a little trick together: Bobby would create a hollow basketball size ice ball with a small opening and Scott would then shoot his optic blast into the ice-ball and it would reflect and hit against the inside of the ball allowing the red optic blast to light and shine for a short period of time before losing momentum. Bobby would then place it in the water and it would become a floating lighted buoy. The red light optic blast was low-light enough to where it would not be recognized from a distance, making it perfectly safe to use as a way to light their path and, most importantly, to see if anything was placed in the water to prevent unwanted visitors.

"Good. Logan?" Scott asked what he could see, hear, and smell.

" It's clear enough and we can make it through. Good enough visibility where we could get there in no time." Logan said. They then watched Rogue descending from the night sky and gently land in front of Scott. Scott briefly admired her descension and the way she gracefully touch her feet to the soft bank, even her hair seemed to fall in slow motion. In her revealing civilian clothing he could not help but notice how beautiful she was, the moody young girl he had attended high-school with was quickly disappearing and being replaced with this strong and nearly, fully-developed woman.

" North by northeast. You're already headin' in the right direction. Ah can see it plain as day, n' Logan's right. It'll take no time at all if we leave now. We could probably get there before he does." Rogue said confidently. They're incredible display of amazing powers were practically breathtaking to Candra who watched from afar. Henri LeBeau was correct, these beings were powerful and beautiful. The older mutant with claws was animalistic and fierce, a bit primitive, however, she almost knew he was unnaturally older then the rest. The youngest was still a boy, clearly and in every way he seemed immature, fun and fun-loving but with the power to freeze the entire swamp if he had a mind to. The taller young man, it was obvious to her that he had just finished with boy-hood, slender and handsome. He generated incredible power from his eyes, she had never seen anything like it. The girl they had with him was a flyer, and how carefully she touched everything made her think that her power was incredible, and the precious moment between her and the youngest Thief-son did not go unnoticed by her. She delighted at the idea of imposing her powers and abilities on them, and the possible drama of the Thief-son, his scorned Assassin in-laws, and this beautiful mutant girl was deliciously intriguing.

" Can you see the complex?" Scott asked.

" Yeah, n'other than the hostage situation, Ah don't think were gonna have any problem gettin' inta it. Ah can't see it close-up, but it's yer standard five level manor- house, high wall surroundin' it, about 10 feet, n'a swamp around that. It looks deserted. Lights are on, but it ain't lookin' like anybody's home." Rogue said.

" Just because we don't see 'em doesn't mean they're not there." Logan said, he assumed he could smell them around him if they were in fact watching him, and he noticed nothing, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something in the atmosphere that he didn't recognize; he knew what swamp smells like. He knew what swamp water, poplar and magnolia smelled like, being out in this wilderness was relatively comfortable for him, but the problem was he could faintly smell a scent that was completely out of place to the atmosphere. It was like nothing he had ever noticed before, it was so unfamiliar he didn't know whether or not this was something he should be concerned about. He was on his guard anyhow, and the others did not notice Logan's body language changed and continued to discuss their next move.

"Rogue did you want to fly over?" Bobby asked. " Because I can ice slide everyone straight to their front door if you want." He was so confident in his abilities. Louisiana would be the perfect environment to try some real advanced ice-tricks. He stood on his ice-bridge, using the perfect humid environment to make the most lavish ice-sculptures and dropping them into the water.

" I think it would be best if Logan paved the way, and Rogue was our sky-eye. With how fast you make your ice slides there won't be enough light to navigate where you're going. We should take this steady." Scott cautioned.

" Gettin' there before Gambit does sounds like a really good idea Scott. What about paving way for him? Logan?" Rogue looked to Logan for his opinion and he was clearly distracted by something out in the darkness. Scott turn to him also and noticed the same thing and became immediately alarmed.

"Logan?" Scott asked. He didn't respond to Scott, instead his body tensed and he popped his long metal claws.

"Bobby! Get off the water!" Logan called out. Logan had followed that unfamiliar smell all around them, it was moving and was circling them and then it had disappeared. The scent then mixed with the familiar smell of swamp-water, he knew whatever this was, it was rising from the water. He then called out to Bobby as quickly as he noticed it. Bobby did not ask questions and jumped off of his ice-bridge toward the swamp's bank. Not a moment had gone by before Bobby landed on the bank and a glowing green light began to illuminate the bottom of the swamp floor. It was like a fireball and from the depths of the black water it slowly rose only to burst through the surface of the still swamp. The light broke not only the water's surface but also Bobby's ice-bridge; shards of ice sprayed everywhere. A grand splash of water followed, the water's splash suspended in midair like some grand ornate glass-looking alter and the stray droplets of water that accompanied the explosives splash stayed suspended and remained dispersed like drops of rain that never fell, everything seemed to be suspended in thin air. The green light began to form an unnatural shadow, the light defied all logic as the form of a woman took shape and hovered above the suspended water alter.

"What is this!" Scott demanded, he was unafraid and understandably shocked at what he saw. The woman seems to be made of translucent light, she slowly but surely began to dim and in front of their eyes, floated a solid person. She wore a red and gold type of type of revealing armor, similar to something a futuristic Amazon would wear; it glistens like a sort of unnatural metal. She had a long flowing mane of blonde hair that moved as though she were under water, it floated all around her and about her shoulders. One half of her face seemed as though it had been severely burnt and the outline of her facial muscles were prominent. The damaged half of her face seemed to radiate with streaks of blue neon colored veins underneath the muscles of her face. Her eyes had been closed as if she had been sleeping. Then, as if woken by Scott's question, her eyes dramatically snapped open, one eye was a clear blue and her other eye, on the damaged half of her face, was a solid white eye with no pupil, it shined with the same neon blue light that her veins did.

"Who are you?" Scott said firmly. Scott's question was answered with a small superior sort of grin.

" I am Candra of the Floating Spires and I am God here. You are outsiders, and you have no business within the confines of this place." Candra had not appeared in front of anyone beyond the agreed-upon date and time in more than 700 years and if these people had been ordinary humans she would have continued her tradition in only making her presence known by the use of her voice. But tonight was a very special night, and she could not help but break her own rules. Rogue was angered by the obstacle in front of her, keeping her from making sure that her teammates survived. She boldly flew in front of Candra and looked her in the eye fearlessly.

"We have someone here that is part of our team. He is our business." Rogue said firmly, she wasn't impressed by her fancy title or dramatic entrance.

" And you would challenge me?" Candra said, she was impressed by the girl's unwillingness to cower. Perhaps she misjudged her. Did this girl willingly feel more for the Thief-son then a what she originally thought, and he her? It would be intriguing to see the result.

" Ah don't want to." Rogue said thoughtfully, she much rather discuss this, but she was on a time restraint and doubted this 'Candra of the Floating Spires' was in a chatty mood.

" But we will if we have to." Scott added from below.

" You cannot stop what is happening here tonight. However, if you wish to become audience to this trial... that, I will allow." Candra stated.

"What trial?" Rogue asked. She got the feeling that this woman was more God-complex than actual God. She felt that this woman was, in reality, a maximum-level mutant with a serious ego; but just because Rogue had revoked her God-card didn't mean that her power wasn't real.

" What is left of the Thieves Guild are being tried for their crimes against Guild law. Jean-Luc LeBeau has been sentenced to death, however, the Assassins must earn the right to kill him. The youngest LeBeau son must agree to fight for his father's life. If he loses, there will be no more Thieves Guild and if he wins things may remain as they always have been, but with control more evenly disbursed among the two families." Candra was extremely proud of her sentencing. If the Thieves won, then the feuding of the families would begin again and the fight for power would resume. If the Thief fell, then the Assassin would have all of what the Thieves took and more. Either way, Candra was entertained.

" When you say 'lose', what-" Rogue had a feeling that this 'trial' wasn't so much a trial, but rather a fight to the death.

" It is a Blood Trial." Candra said proudly. Rogue nearly winced, unfortunately she was right.

" Fightin' ta the death!? That's crazy! Why would you do that?" Rogue demanded, her fists balling in anger. She was sure now, this woman was a mutant, not a God and she was playing with the lives of these people as though they were toys. She had been doing it for so long that she actually believed her own made-up legend, she was a self-made myth with the power to back it up, and that power was so strong no one objected; especially when her 'followers' received such powerful gifts. Because of these 'gifts', both, Thieves and Assassins had even less of a reason to speak against Candra.

" It is the way it is always been done and it will be this way until the end and you will not interfere." Candra was finding the attitudes of these mutants bothersome and she was becoming bored.

" Like hell we won't!" Rogue demanded as she rushed Candra. Rogue pulled back to give this 'God' the punch of her life, but she was stopped abruptly in midair by Candra merely raising her brow. This was more of what Candra was looking for, she hadn't had a good fight in eons.

" Your power is impressive, but mine is greater do not attempt to challenge me, child. Still, I will permit you audience. You have the audacity to challenge me, you are clearly worthy enough to view my brand of justice." Candra was reasonably surprised when the girl had attempted to attack her, she should have known better. However, she was taken aback when a pure red optic blast hit her directly in the shoulder, this mildly angered and further impressed her, because it hurt. She rarely felt pain, she then looked at Scott and mentally grab the others and pulled them up to her eye level along with Rogue. None of them could move. Bobby attempted to make ice but it only succeeded in frosting his hands and nothing more. Logan extended his claws, however he could not move them to use them.

" You don't have to do this!" Scott called out, he had suspected the same thing Rogue had: they were dealing with a very, very powerful mutant. Scott was absolutely sure now, Gambit was not worth this. Now, because of him, all of them were in danger and this was far exceeding his disappointments. He attempted to once again, release an optic blast right to Candra's face, though it would cause them to drop into the water, it would give them a chance to re-group and come at her again; they would no longer be in her absolute control. When Scott attempted his optic blast something prevented him from doing so. Candra had learned quickly, she was purposely blocking his ability and the harder Scott tried the more it actually hurt his eyes. Candra was successfully blocking his optic blast, this self-proclaimed God, clearly she was a mutant, a mutant that far exceeded their own abilities but as Earth-bound as the rest of them, one of her abilities was holding their powers hostage.

" No one needs to die tonight!" Logan protested.

"Your own lives are in your hands! You will not die tonight as long as you remember yourselves. However the fate of the trial is up to those involved, if you somehow become an interference I will kill the lot of them; it will be simple." Candra's voice almost sounded as though thunder rumbled all around them. She had told them the truth; certainly she was in control of this place and they were outgunned.

" Well, since you're not going to kill us, where are you taking us?" Scott said more annoyed then angry. And as powerful as she was, she did not want to block their ability to speak. She wanted to hear what they had to say. She smiled at Scott.

" This is an Assassin trial, it will be held in the Assassin home. It is where you were going anyhow, and we should hurry. The youngest LeBeau son is almost there and he cannot do without his sympathizers." Candra said. She carried her captives to the Blood Trial, the excitement in her grin was difficult to ignore. This was the most excitement she had, had in lifetimes.

(further up the river...)

The dark clouds were mercifully forgiving in covering Gambit's path to his old childhood secret spot. It was the place he had his first taste of alcohol with his best friend Belle. They had even shared an unfortunate childhood first-kiss involving a hiccup, a bit lip, and Remy being punched in the stomach, but they moved on from it; their friendship survived and they went on to share everything together: secrets, games, meals and virtually help keep each other sane through their mutually unbelievable lifestyles. They knew that not everyone was like them and together they were each others support system. They were each others reasons for surviving their childhoods. Belle would have been the reason they survived through their teen years if Remy's father hadn't gotten in the way. Belle had convinced him that the only way to remain alive and stay in the south was to join the two rival families in peace. And there was only one way to do it legally; they needed to marry each other. They would have to be patient, keep up appearances, pretend they were in love long enough to be convincing. Once they established the ground work for peace, they could leave and start their real lives in the real world. It was a pretty idea, take care of their families and have their freedom too. It would be a drastic remedy to help the healing between the two families. Remy was apprehensive, but ultimately agreed to her plan with the support of both their fathers. Sadly, it did nothing to cool the hatred of either side. Jean-Luc LeBeau, Remy's father, could not resist the chance to use Belle's plan to gain total control of the south. He followed Guild law to a T, until the Assassins were at their most vulnerable. Jean-Luc then used the eldest Boudreaux son, just like he used Belle and Remy to distract the entire Assassin Guild, which gave Jean-Luc the perfect opportunity to seize the upper hand and incite war. The worst part may have been, that, given enough time, Belle's plan could have worked.

Slowly Gambit paddled down the narrow waterways, careful to avoid the strangling vines and underwater roots that threatened to tangle him. He made sure to abandon the raft and jumped into the half submerged poplar trees that grew close to the bank of the river. Remy jumped soundlessly from tree to tree until he came upon the treeline that hugged the border of the high stone wall. He made sure to abandoned raft so that it began to flow down river, hopefully it would serve as something of a distraction if it was discovered it all. All at once it seemed like the veil of cloud cover parted enough for the moonlight to reveal the new Assassins maison; the slopes and towers of the house clearly influenced by the old plantation houses and Victorian manors. On each side of the grand doorway were two flaming pillars that lit up the front lawn. Everything about it was large, omniscient and ornate. He could see no movement outside of the grounds or near any of the windows, It seemed that it was lit up enough for some sort of grand event but no one could be seen inside. Remy had expected there to at least be Assassins with guns on the rooftops watching the vast waterways for approaching boats or unwanted visitors, like himself. He did not see a soul, even though the house looked very much alive. He would jump from cypress to cypress tree with ease, in order to inch closer and closer towards the complex. Thankfully, Noly's plans were so detailed that he had no issue finding the safest path there. The first thing that the Assassins had made sure was established was the high stone wall, but it made no matter because Remy had no problem seamlessly jumping from the ground in front of the stone wall and scaling it with absolute ease. Again, thanks to Noly's plans, he landed on the other side of the wall in the best possible position. He was disturbed that he still hadn't seen a soul. He knew they had to be expecting him, but he was sure he hadn't been detected yet. Noly's plans indicated that there was an unfinished portion of the complex that was reserved for a deck and garden, it had yet to be set up with lighting. No electricity was as good as an unlocked door to a skilled thief. He was sure that once the house was done, the manor would be a fortress, hidden away in the maze-like swamp. It was almost as though it were something out of a different time, a dark and hidden castle and some where his father was being held within it.

Following the plans, Gambit scaled the wall on the east side of the building with ease, it was where the deepest shadows were cast, if for some reason the clouds shifted and the moonlight made an appearance it would not matter because the east side of the building was cloaked in a shadowy cape. His favorite way to break into any building was always a skylight, basements and back doors were far too obvious. The high ground was the best possible place to get a visual and it was always less obvious to anyone that may have been keeping watch inside. Usually people always suspected a basement first, then a back door, a side window was usually next, even a dog door, if you were capable of getting in through, but a skylight gave you an element of surprise. He wouldn't have been at all shocked if the Assassins were prepared for that, but he saw no one.

Gambit had chose the best skylight, according to the Noly's floor plans, he gripped the frame of the window and soundlessly rolled himself inside. He stuck to the darkest parts of the house, he had prepared himself for anything as well, anything for the exception of what he saw. Just as he dropped in from the skylight just above the foyer, the soft glow of candles lined the outside of the room and weaved along the wall of only one specific hallway. He recognized this immediately, it was a formal invitation to convene. He had only seen it once in his own home, when he was little, it was an welcome mat for Guild business.

"Here we go..." Remy thought, and taking in a deep breath he faced himself in the direction of, what the plans told him, was the grand ballroom. This candle lit path wasn't just a welcome mat, it was a warning that they had been waiting for him. Remy had never appreciated Guild law until now, he knew that if he were to follow the candle pathway that he would not be harmed. He remembered his uncles talking about how the lit candle pathway gave the illusion of civility, as if there was a civil way to kill a man. If they were, in fact, abiding by the laws as then that meant he would be face to face with whom ever was in charge and, hopefully, his living father. He was almost certain that he was being called in to witness his father's execution, and then possibly be killed himself. He could only hope that where ever his brother was, that he was far enough to not witness his family being killed, Henri's sole job was to retrieve their father once Remy got done saving him. He was also sure that the X-men were around, hopefully, they would not be here in time to see him like this. In the same weighted heavy walk that he had felt on the way to the river bank, he continued to walk down this hallway almost as though it were a death row. The hallways were long and lavish, clearly they just finished them. They were long runways of polished black and white marble with lush crimson carpet. One one side of the hall were long open windows, with long flowing chiffon curtains that were alive with wind and gracefully danced and they reached for Remy as he passed by. The other side of the hallway was lined with guiding, flickering candles and large ornate frames with portraits of dead Assassin family members, their eyes watched him as he passed by. In spirit, they had all attended tonight; he couldn't imagine they would want to miss the ending of the Thieves Guild, revenge will always draw a crowd.

He was sure he was completely alone, but not unknown. He heard soft conversation and shuffling as he set down the long, candlelit hallway. As he walked down the long hallway leading into who-knows-what, there was a noticeable surge of excited conversation and as quickly as the voices kicked up it quieted down. It sounded like a group of people, not just ten or twenty, it seemed like it may have been a group of at least 200 people. Halfway through his death march everything became silent again. The hallway also became darker and darker. He hated that he didn't know what this was exactly, but he was beginning to grow a very familiar feeling of dread. It was the same dread he had felt back at the school infirmary; it was the same dread that forced him to chase Rogue away. His dread gave way to a growing panic as he approached the ornate doors of the ballroom. He had no sooner stepped in front the thick hardwood doors before they opened for him. He forced his breathing to remain steady as he stepped forward.

The moment he stepped in everything became as quiet as a tomb, nothing stirred as he took several cautious steps into the huge dark space. He could see the polished marble floors and its high impressive ceilings, which caused the slightest of sounds to give off the most magnificent echoes but, as became habit with him by the time he was thirteen, his footsteps always remain silent as he walked through the grand entrance of the newly finished ballroom. No sooner had he stepped through the threshold, that a literal fireball ignited in the center of the high ceiling. Flames ignited a large chandelier and everywhere around him candles ignited with soft light, though he couldn't see them lit by anyone the light began to illuminate the room and reveal a group of dark figures lining the walls everywhere. As the room become more and more brightly lit he could see all of them; they were against the walls, and standing on what appeared to be stage and along the railings of the upper loft. Remy even noticed little Elie Boudreaux pressing his little face between the bars up on the loft, he looked down on him with the same hatred as his fellow adult Assassins. Everywhere was full, even the smaller balconies, each one of them occupied by an eager yet somber looking face. Remy had estimated well, now with the dim light he could see that there was just over 200 Assassin populated the room, he was sure that no Assassin or Ripper would miss this.

~*~" The guest of honor has arrived!"~*~ One of the voices said. It was a woman's voice, he wasn't certain where the voice had come from; it could have been from any direction. The echo was confusing, at first it felt like the voice was speaking from the middle of the room, it was condescending and almost joyful. Something made Remy jerk his head toward the stage, a figure whose face was obstructed by shadow and dressed in the traditional Assassin tithing-coat stepped forward. This long-legged woman wore boots and some sort of black tight armored pants, that's all Remy could see but he already knew who this was. Remy's heart began to pound so hard he feared he would black out, the moment the voice registered in his mind, Remy could feel a terrible chill under his skin, it caused a shivering wave to weaken his body. He struggled to keep his breathing from picking up, if panic took him, it would be all over. And as the figure stepped forward, the incredible weight of the guilt, sadness, and crushing anxiety physically made Remy's knees buckle. The moment the voice spoke again Remy dropped to one knee, unable to hold himself up.

"Welcome home, Neg." said Bella Donna Boudreaux.

(To be continued...)