Chapter 5
Rating: "T" for violence, suggested nudity, language, etc.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Sometimes people skip over the large paragraphs of dialogue or whatnot, but if you want to know the whole story of what's going on for future chapters, I would really recommend NOT skipping anything here – there's a lot of revealing information toward the end.
Synopsis: AU from Dark Horizons - Rogue is taken by Apocalypse and Gambit must rescue her.
The battle with Apocalypse
Apocalypse's intentions with Rogue – needs her for a power source
The Brotherhood weighs in on Rogue's secret personality
Gambit's POV in Apocalypse's fortress & horrible plane rides.
I just wanted to give a brief synopsis of what occurs in each chapter because I hate when I forget the plot of a story and need to go back and re-read everything to figure out what's going on.
Just a tidbit: there will be very cute scenes in this story where Rogue really 'Warms up' to Remy, but mostly they fight and bicker like all the other comics and cartoons. Remy saves Rogue, Rogue saves Remy, etc., etc.
seastar1234 – As for "Witch" - Darn right and proud of it! 2 - I hope I didn't leave you hangin' too long. 3 - We are enjoying it. And 4 – I will try my hardest to update every Monday despite any and all christenings… XD (laughing hysterically).
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Last time in Getting Warmer -
Anticipating an attack, he quickly pulled into a ball and rolled across the floor once before springing up with his staff extended.
What he saw however nearly made him drop both his jaw and his weapon.
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As his staff clattered to the floor, Remy stared up at an unbelievably tall, incredibly real, and perfectly gorgeous waterfall. The stone façade surrounding the falls, however, was what really kept the Cajun's attention—it was cluttered with jewels and crystals of every shape and size imaginable.
Diamonds, rubies, emeralds and hundreds of other precious stones caused the rock face to shine and sparkle with thousands of colors. After gazing open-mouthed at the sight for some time, he slowly shifted his gaze from one end of the chamber to another and marveled at the enormity and beauty of the rest of the room.
The sandstone walls on either side of the waterfall were nearly invisible through the dense green foliage that grew up the sides and wrapped around the ceiling. Hundreds of flowers bloomed on every vine in a grand mixture of fragrances and colors, filling the room with the pure, sweet scent of spring. Roses, daisies, lilies, and baby's breath grew almost wild throughout the left side of the room, creating a secret-garden look to the extravagant interior.
Adding to the ambience was the enormous circling pond that stemmed from the indoor waterfall. It was nearly the size of an Olympic pool and appeared very deep near the far end—perfect for a relaxing mid-day swim.
Remy stepped closer to the pond's edge and looked into the crisp blue water. The pool was completely clear and obviously went through some sort of filtration process to clean the sand and minerals away. Looking down though, the Cajun noted that there were some rather large fish swimming near the bottom of the pseudo-lake.
Remy bent down with his staff in one hand and felt the water. It was slightly cool, but he could see that an indoor heating system was working deep within the recesses of the pool.
As the water rippled outward from his touch, it left him in a brief trance. Gambit let his thoughts wander and the image of a young woman with white streaks and sad eyes invaded his mind. He let himself fall back to the day he met her and how beautiful she looked with that dazed yet curious expression.
Shaking himself, he turned once again toward the waterfall and gazed wistfully at the luminous diamonds and other precious stones. Walking toward it, he longingly reached out for the priceless gems.
'Wouldn't hurt to take just a few, non?' He thought to himself as he continued toward the stone exterior. Then, just before his hand reached the nearest emerald, the image of Rogue's eyes flitted through his mind again and Remy jerked himself away from the temptation and stuck his digits under the falls.
The nearly freezing waters shocked him back to his senses and he turned carefully away from the dazzling wall. He took a deep, calming breath and exhaled slowly, all the while coaching himself silently. 'Now focus, Remy. We be here for de girl, not for de gold.'
He had to squeeze his eyes tightly to keep his resolve and with slow, steady steps, he walked back toward the monstrous doors. Remy opened the right door a crack and peeked out – making sure no one was around to blow his cover. When he was certain that everything was clear he backed out of the room slowly and carefully pulled the door shut.
When the door fell back into place noiselessly Remy heaved a sigh of relief and turned toward the stairs. He'd never find Rogue by going through every single door in the temple.
As he moved to go up the steps however, the sound of large, loud steps warned him that someone was coming down his escape path. He started to move back toward the waterfall room, but realized that most of the footprints were heading that way and it was likely that the new threat would be coming that way also.
Remy bolted across the hall, making sure he ducked low enough so his duster would sweep away any sign of his footprints, and carefully slid the opposite door open. Gambit did a quick scan of the room for possible problems before silently sliding the massive door shut again.
He had only a crack to go when he spied the large foot of one of Apocalypse's robots and immediately stopped pushing. Even the slightest bit of movement would alert the machine to his presence, so Remy opted to hope that no one noticed the small opening between the doors.
Gambit pressed himself up against the wall and listened for the footsteps to subside, but he tensed when the movement stopped just outside of the doors.
Mesmero's voice filtered through the crack in the doors, and Gambit froze at the sound. If the telepath sensed his presence all was lost. The Cajun cleared his mind and held his breath, hoping that they would go into the waterfall room instead.
When Gambit heard the doors to the waterfall room opening, he let out a relieved sigh and went silently over to the crack to see what was happening.
The doors had been left open to the opposite room and Gambit could see the robot filling up two large buckets of water from the pool. Remy tried to find Mesmero too, but the telepath was currently out of sight. Remy watched the robot finish its task then turn toward the wall of flowers, waiting.
Mesmero soon emerged into Remy's line of vision, but was nearly engulfed by an enormous bouquet of flowers.
The sight of the evil, tattooed mutant holding a beautiful garden bouquet was almost overwhelming and the Cajun had to fight to hold back a laugh.
As the two figures exited the room, Remy moved away from the crack so he wouldn't be seen and cleared his mind again. That didn't stop him from hearing Mesmero grumble about retrieving flowers and food and fancy dresses for Apocalypse, though.
"That brat will be the end of me. Suddenly I become no better than one of these mechanical creatures and am made to fetch trinkets and gifts for that skunk-haired girl," Mesmero grumbled as the monstrous metal minion fought to close the door with a bucket in either hand.
At the mention of Rogue though, Gambit's mind instantly wandered. So much for the torture idea… As her face came into his head though, Mesmero suddenly stopped grumbling.
"Hmm. What is this I sense? A presence perhaps?" Mesmero wondered out loud.
'Merde!' Gambit exclaimed in his head and fought to regain control of his thoughts.
Damn girl and her damn eyes really would be the death of him.
Gambit could hear Mesmero walking toward the hiding place and the Cajun pulled out a stack of cards from his jacket pocket, prepared to charge and throw them at the last crucial second.
Remy steeled himself, waiting for Mesmero to open the doors. Gambit could hear it start to creak as it moved and he took a deep breath as he waited to be discovered.
Instead of the "Ah ha!" he expected though, Gambit heard a yelp of surprise from the other mutant and the door ceased to move. With a quick look at the heaven-sent distraction, Gambit put himself behind the opposite door – the one Mesmero had been opening just moments ago.
The quick peek revealed that the metal robot had turned abruptly and thus had doused Mesmero with a huge gush of water from the bucket, conveniently causing the mind reading man to be deterred long enough for Remy to hide himself and clear his thoughts once again.
"You clumsy lump of metal!! I should have you melted down to scraps for this!" Mesmero fumed.
Without his previous determination or concentration, Mesmero threw open the door again. The telepath made a quick visual sweep of the room and, finding nothing, pulled the door shut with a huff.
Mesmero grumbled and complained all the way up the stairs and only when the two were out of hearing range did Gambit come out from hiding and follow them.
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Gambit was crouched low behind another looming marble column in yet another grand hallway as he silently and imperceptibly followed Mesmero and the robot around the temple and came to a stop outside yet another enormous set of doors.
They had already stopped once for a giant fruit basket filled with goodies from nearly every region in the world, then there was another stop for chocolates and another for dozens fancy dresses. At this point, the robot's arms looked about ready to fall off.
The one dress that had caught Gambit's attention, however, was a beautiful white gown made of satin and silk. It had dozens of blue sapphires embroidered into the bodice and along the short, simple train. There was a long slit rising up the front leg and a low, scooping neckline that left little to the imagination.
It was sleeveless save for two off the shoulder straps attached to which were two strips of white organza that flowed from the back of the strap and were affixed to a pair of golden bracelets.
Among the other accessories was a pair of white heeled sandals, a beautiful golden necklace and a pair of dangling golden earrings (which looked extremely heavy).
And then there was the crown. Can't forget the crown…
Or the diamond ring…
Gambit had visibly gulped when he saw the extravagant ensemble. Apparently Apocalypse didn't mean to make a slave out of Rogue after all. This parade of gifts and grandeur didn't exactly scream torture – at least not to him.
So it was that Gambit was waiting yet again for Mesmero and the mechanical menace to enter yet another room for yet another extravagant present.
"I wonder what it'll be this time," he wondered silently, "a puppy?"
As he waited nonchalantly for the duo to enter the room though, he was surprised to see a pair of women emerge from the doors instead.
What surprised Gambit more was what they were carrying: a pair of torn black pants, a black sweater and a purple coat. He immediately recognized the coat as Rogue's – complete with spots of blood n either shoulder…
"Foie de merde!" he hissed silently.
As the girls turned a corner and disappeared from sight, the double doors suddenly swung open with the aide of another robot.
From his vantage point in the darkened hallway, Gambit raised his sunglasses from his nose (which he had thankfully and conveniently left in his pocket) and took in the scene.
Apocalypse was seated on a large golden throne inlaid with dozens of precious jewels. He sat stoically with his hands folded on his lap and his eyes closed as Mesmero kneeled before him with the large bouquet in his hands.
"You have retrieved all that I asked?" Apocalypse asked casually.
"Y – yes master. It is done," Mesmero stuttered.
"Good," he replied, "you, go put those things in her room. She will be awake very soon now," Apocalypse motioned to the robot.
Mesmero stood again and deposited the flowers in a large golden vase near the throne.
"Did you discover anything from probing her mind my lord?" the servant asked quietly.
Apocalypse took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. His eyes were still closed, but a small, wicked smile formed.
"The girl has great power. In time, her natural abilities will endow her with limitless power and energy. Although, I made a rather curious discovery during my probe as well," he stated as his eyes slowly opened and Gambit quickly replaced his sunglasses so as not to be seen.
Apocalypse continued as he stared in the direction of Rogue's room, "It seems she has another ability I was unable to extract. Had I dug any deeper, her mind would have been damaged permanently."
He frowned, "But no matter, once the ritual is complete, she will be under my control forever and all of her abilities will be mine. With her as my ultimate weapon, I will rule supreme over these vermin – these humans!"
Apocalypse rose as he became more incensed, but then fatigue overtook him and he was forced to sit again.
"She alone has enough power to sustain me," he paused a moment in consternation, "in fact, I fear that once she learns to control them, her powers will rival my own."
"Thankfully, the ritual will render her under my complete control; she will not sleep without my consent. I will control her entire existence, and together we will control the world."
Apocalypse's eyes narrowed suddenly, "you are sure, Mesmero, that nothing can go wrong with the ritual?"
"Nothing will go wrong my lord," Mesmero stated confidently before continuing.
"We will proceed with the ritual as soon as she awakens. You and she will stand before the alter and combine your blood using the dagger. Unfortunately, I cannot maintain my control over her during this time because the strain would destroy her. However, I am sure that we have a few chains around here somewhere," Mesmero grinned.
"Yes, yes, go on," Apocalypse was quickly regaining his strength and becoming impatient.
"Then, you will bestow upon her the artifact which will bind her to you and give you limitless power," the telepath finished.
"That is fine Mesmero, but how do I control her?! She must belong to me forever and your simple mind control tricks will not suffice for long. They have already caused a great strain on her body."
He rose again with renewed vigor and strutted down the few stone steps.
"Of course my lord. She will become yours – powers, mind and body – once you … consummate … the ritual."
Apocalypse grinned salaciously and Gambit forced himself not to be sick.
"Yes. She will be mine. Everything that she is will belong to me. I must confess that I do not often submit to the urges of the flesh. But, during my probe of her mind I find that the girl's very essence thrills me. She is afraid of herself, for she knows what she can do. She has been hurt, but she finds strength in her pain. She hides her true self – her passion and her fire – in self-denial."
"I have been in her memories Mesmero, I have lived her life and I know all that she is – all that she hides from the world – and it excites me. She feels all that other humans feel, but it is stronger because of her denial. She tortures herself by not giving in to her emotions and it has planted the seeds of doubt and hatred that will make this process so much easier," he grinned again – a toothless, heartless smile that made Gambit's blood run cold.
Apocalypse continued, "It will also be much, much more pleasurable. I have had many virgins in my time, but never before has one been so pure, so untouched. Even despite all the conflicts and horrors that rage through her mind."
He paused again, "not one kiss, not one caress, not one touch – not even by her own hand… All of that innocence," he grinned again with hunger in his eyes, "and I will destroy it completely in one swift thrust!" He crushed his fist into his open palm.
As Apocalypse laughed maniacally for a moment and Mesmero chuckled nervously beside him, Gambit felt his stomach churn again and fought the overwhelming urge to vomit. The mere thought of that madman touching Rogue that way… he just had to get the girl out of here.
Mesmero spoke again and effectively killed his master's jovial mood, "It is fortunate that the girl has been so perfectly primed for you my lord."
"And why is that?"
"Her virginity, her utter separation from other humans and her bitterness toward her powers all create a combination that will make the ritual virtually flawless. Had she not been a virgin, it would take longer for the ritual to reach full potential; if she had been closer to her fellow X-Men, she may be easier to reach and if she were not so bitter toward her powers, she would not be so easy to convert.
"She will struggle against the ritual, but once you have taken her body, that bitterness and hatred will consume her and make her more susceptible to the powers of the artifact and the ritual."
Apocalypse considered this new information for a moment before nodding in agreement, "I suppose you are correct; but this means that there is a fraction of a possibility that something may go wrong. You are absolutely certain the X-Men have no idea of our location?"
"Absolutely, my lord, they haven't an inkling of where we may be. I have a shield around the temple so that no psychic messages can get in or out and in the event that our guest tries to contact the good Professor I will immediately be alerted and able to intercept the message.
Mesmero continued, "also, I will be able locate the girl or anyone else who attempts a telepathic connection and deliver a very painful shock. I can guarantee that if Xavier does manage to locate our Rogue, he will not be conscious long enough to pass the message along," his lips twisted up in a contorted grimace-like smile.
"I will also be able to sense if anyone is using mutant powers within miles of our location and can easily find any mutant that comes near this place. The new moon falls in five days; as long as we perform the ritual before then, nothing can go wrong."
Apocalypse nodded, "And she is completely powerless for now? She cannot use her absorption abilities on either of us?"
"No, my lord. The spell I have cast over her will subdue her powers until we are ready to release them. She will be able to touch anyone she wishes for the first time in years, but only you will have the pleasure."
"Good," Apocalypse agreed, "then let us prepare. I will waste no time in seeing my plan to completion. I wish to look in on the items for the ritual," he motioned to Mesmero to follow and then pointed to the two robots, "you two stay here and guard my queen."
With the last command, Apocalypse and Mesmero left the throne room with the two stone guards at the door and descended into the lower levels of the temple.
Gambit, knowing he hadn't a moment to lose, fingered a small stone and rolled it around in his hands for a moment. He flicked the pebble down the hallway, and like the good little watchdogs they are, the stone monsters went chasing after the noise – leaving the front door wide open and unprotected.
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Whew! So that's all for now, sorry to leave you hanging, but I tried to make this chapter a little longer for ya'll. Hope it's to your liking.
I will try to write more next time, but I can't be certain as this is almost ten pages and I've spent the last two hours typing instead of working.
So … I think I'll get back to working now and let you all review this chapter!! Please, please, please review!! If I get enough of them, I will try to update on Thursday too!
Is that incentive enough? I sure hope so! I'm shooting for like, 16 more reviews.
Sucks because by the time I posted this story last time, I had almost 90! Does that mean I need to lower the rating or increase it?
HEY!! POLL TIME!!!!! Everyone review and tell me if you want this story to remain T or go up to M – I only have like two, maybe three chapters that are REALLY, REALLY graphic (and a little twisted…) and I can always label them as M and leave the story as "T."
What do YOU think?!
Plus, if anyone has suggestions for what can happen in the five days (especially back at the mansion or this is going to be a very one-sided story…) I would really appreciate some recommendations.
Love and Light,
Wiccamage