"Kyle, how do you feel?"

The words came to me out of the darkness. I opened my eyes, but the darkness remained.

"I can't see." I was too tired to feel fear at that. "I can't see …"

"It's all right, sugah. We just have your eyes bandaged." I felt a hand lightly stroke my cheek—a hand wearing a lacy glove. "Other than that, how do you feel?"

"Tired. Achy."

"Even so, you are rather a fortunate young man, Kyle." Hank. "I thought for certain that your vital spark would be extinguished well before we reached the medical facilities of the X-Mansion."

"What'd he say, ma Cherie?"

"He said that he thought I'd be a goner before you guys got me back here, Remy."

"Ah, Remy had faith in his Kyle. I knew you would make it."

"Then why were you crying, sugah? We practically had to tear you out of his arms, Kyle. Ah'm almost jealous."

I felt a strong hand grip mine. "Do not do this thing again, mon ami. We could not handle losing you."

But they will lose you, Kyle. You live because I willed it so. You belong to me, Kyle. You will never be free of your promise to me…

"Hank, how long before I'm able to get out of here?"

"You were unconscious for three days, Kyle. I'd rather run some more tests on you before you go gallivanting around getting into mischief with Rogue and Remy again."

"I doubt the tests will tell you anything you don't already know." The Lady wanted me alive and able to do her bidding.

"Just stay in bed tonight, and we'll see about how things look in the morning."

"Fine. I'd like to speak with Emma when she has a chance to get away."

"What for, sugah?"

"We have business to conduct."

To give her credit, Emma didn't even try to deduct the cost of my medical care from my fee. "I suppose you'll be going about your own business now?"

"Yes."

"As I told you earlier, as long as it does not adversely affect mutant kind, I will see to it that the X-men leave you to your own devices." Then in a softer tone … "You don't have to leave, Kyle. You could have a place here with us."

"Even though I'm not a mutant?"

"Even though you're not a mutant." I felt a pair of soft lips brush my cheeks. "You're not bad for a human being, Kyle."

"Now don't go getting Cyke mad at me, Emma. His looks really can kill." I felt myself smiling, and it troubled me somewhat. I was going to miss her—I was going to miss all of them.

Well, maybe not all of them. Wolverine hadn't exactly signed up on the "Kyle's not so bad" bandwagon after all…

"You don't have to leave, Kyle. Whatever it is that brought you to New York, you have a future with us. With the X-Men."

"I don't belong here, Emma."

"Because you're not a mutant? Didn't we already talk about that?"

"No, it's not that." I shut my eyes. "I made a promise. The kind of promise that can't be broken."

"Some promises should be broken, Kyle."

"I don't have a choice, Emma."

"There's always a choice. It's not always easy, but you always have a choice."

"I'm tired, Emma. Mind letting me take a nap?"

"Of course, Kyle. Sleep well." She touched my cheek again, her fingers seeming to linger as they touched my lips. "Just think about what I said."

"Hello, sugah. It's Rogue."

"I kind of figured that out once you said 'sugah', sugar."

"Don't go, Kyle. Don't leave me. Don't leave Remy. We both want you to stay."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"It's complicated, Rogue. There are things I have to do. Promises I can't break." I sighed. "And let's face it; I really don't want to spend my life playing Betty to Remy's Veronica in the 'Win Rogue's Heart' contest."

She chuckled. "Ah think you'd be Veronica, wouldn't you? You're the one with the dark hair, sugah…"

"Veronica's the one Archie really wants. Betty's just his standby …"

"Is that what you think you are to me, Kyle?" Her voice was soft.

"I don't know for sure what I am to you, Rogue." I sighed. "I didn't expect this. I never thought that I'd ever meet a girl like you—I never thought I'd feel this intensely about someone I barely knew. You're a complication, Rogue. I don't need any more complications in my life than I already have."

"Ah'm sorry, Kyle. Ah nevah meant for you to be hurt." She stroked my face with her gloved hand. "Ah like you, Kyle. Ah really do. You're important to me. And Ah don't want you to walk out of mah life just yet. Can't you stay?"

"No." It took more out of me than I expected to say that. "Rogue, this isn't where I'm meant to be."

She sighed. "Ah see. Will Ah see you again?"

"I don't know. I don't think so." When I'm done, you won't want to see me again, Rogue.

"So you're leaving in the morning?"

"Yes."

"Ah'm going to miss you so much …"

"Ah'll—I mean, I'll miss you too, Rogue. But it's for the best."

"Ah suppose you know what you're doing, sugah. Ah just wish Ah could change your mind."

"I know."

She caressed my face again with her fingers. "Remy won't come. He says if Ah couldn't change your mind there'd be no point in his tryin'."

"He's probably right."

"Ah'll let you get back to sleep then, Kyle. Ah hope to see you before you leave. Goodnight, sugah."

"Goodnight, Rogue."

She touched my face again, and then she was gone and I was left to the darkness again.

"Tomorrow …" I whispered to myself.

Tomorrow, Kyle, the Lady whispered in my mind. Tomorrow you get the Uru and then we can finally cast the spell that will free me from my imprisonment and bring you the power I promised you. The power to take anything you wanted …

"No, not anything. At least not the things I really want …"

Kyle?

"Nothing, my Lady. Nothing at all …"