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From One Book to Another:
Chapter Seven:
In Another World
Anna-Marie's eyes widened, gasping as her mouth filled with water. Was she drowning? It certainly felt like it. She raised her arms up, trying to find the surface, trying to find where the water ended and where air, life, would be. But she was sinking, further and further down into the abyss. And as much as she kicked her legs, tried to swim, something seemed to weigh her down.
Was it her clothes? She seemed to be wearing a sheet. A toga? She pulled it off of her, leaving herself nude, but lighter in the water. Her head felt heavy? Why? It… little bobbles in her hair. Those were next to go; golden pins were discarded and sunk below her. She needed-
Suddenly, she saw a hand reaching out to her from above.
'Max!' she thought relieved as she quickly grabbed it and it pulled her up. Her eyes closed as she pulled to the surface; oh, air! Sweet, sweet air was waiting for her. Her head turned downward as she coughed, expelling the water from her throat as she sat on a slightly raised ledge in a smaller pool of water, her legs and knees still submerged.
The hand moved to her back, rubbing at her back soothingly. A second joined it and they moved to her shoulders, kneading at her skin, it felt wonderfully warm compared to the abyss she'd just escaped, shivering as she was from the water. She kept her eyes closed for a long moment as she tried to catch her breath; coughing every few seconds as the last bits of liquid left in her was expelled.
She reached up and took hold of his hand as she opened her eyes. They were in a cave, a small alcove.
"Max, is this the waterfall you were telling me-" she asked as she turned her head to see her lover. She gasped in shock as she pulled away from the hands holding her shoulders, and scurried back deeper into the cave, as far as she could go, pushing her back up against the hard rock, desperate to flee from- "Farouk," she breathed.
"Hello, pet," his toothy grin widened as he took in her naked form. The fully dressed heavy-set man reached under the water and produced a cane before standing up in front of the waterfall, the exit to the dark little cave he'd trapped her in. Not a drop of water clung to his pince-nez glasses, his fez titled at a jaunty angle, nor his expensively tailored suit. She pulled her knees up and used her hand as best she could to cover her body from his looming gaze. She didn't like adopting this cringing pose, but she would deny this man anything she could want out of principle.
"Where's Max?" she asked, dropping all pretense to any sort of friendliness to this apparition.
"The Lord of the Underworld has many duties to fulfill, and as such is mired in his labor. So, too does the goddess of spring," he informed her.
"Perseph-Anna-Marie," she heard that familiar, beloved voice -
'No, this isn't real! …Right?' - of her mother's call out from behind Farouk as if on cue.
"Your mother begs your attention, my little goddess," he said mockingly.
But this was just another illusion. That woman wasn't real. She wasn't here. Why should she play his game?
"Or would you prefer to remain within the shadows of this cave? What sweet debauchery shall we engage in next?" he sneered at her, his eyes leering. She was positive his image flickered. Would he try to take her only memories, or Max's form? Panic filled her.
She scrambled to her feet.
On second thought, she'd take her chances outside, away, anywhere but here with him. She used her arms to try and cover herself as she kept close to the wall, eager to keep space between them. The closer she inched toward the waterfall, the more impossible the task became and she had to squeeze past him. His head turned, toward hers and he leaned down, his foul breath on her cheek.
"Still wishing me luck, pet?" he asked mockingly. Her skin wanted to ooze off of her to avoid feeling him at any length.
Another sensation, this one of a desperate need to remember something. Anna-Marie was forced to place her hand on her head as she felt a dizzying sensation, her eyes closing-
Rogue's laid on a bed, her palms up, on either side of her head. "Do you know why it didn't work?" her own voice ringed in her ears as she stared up at the dark being composed of malice, red glowing eyes stared covetously down into hers.
'It matters not,' he stated, as he dug his claws into her, she yelped out in pain. 'Resist all you like, outcome won't change.'
"It won't, will it?" she hissed, biting through the pain.
'You will be mine,' he growled as he dug his claws further into her.
"Yeah, good luck-'
Anna-Marie's eyes flew open and she ran out of the cave, through the waterfall, and as she emerged on the other side, she was relieved to see she was fully dressed. Once more she was back in an elegant green toga, her long hair pinned up with numerous bobbles. There wasn't a drop of water on her toga, and not a single hair out of place.
'I'm Rogue, I'm Rogue, I'm-' she chanted in her mind, even as she struggled to grasp what that meant. Max was right, that was what she knew.
"Perseph-Anna-Marie," a blue skinned woman wearing a light blue toga asked, breeching her thoughts. "Daughter, where have you been?" she asked.
"Momma?" Anna-Marie asked confused, her hand on her head, which felt like it wanted to split open. She blinked confusedly' why was the attire of the woman in front of her shifting uneasily, from the blue toga to a white one? With a belt made of tiny skulls? She blinked and suddenly saw the woman wearing a black leather pants and a matching shirt. "Momma?" she asked again as the woman ran up to her.
"Daughter, are you feeling ill?" her mother asked as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Were you still catching shadows?" she asked.
"Yeah, Momma, I was," she replied as her eye refocused and the woman's shape became consistent as she was adorned in a light blue toga, much like her own.
"We're heading back to the harvest-site," Momma said as her strong hand placed itself on the small of her daughter's back and started to firmly lead her away from the brook. "I don't want you running off on your own anymore. Carol will continue the search. I want you with the wood nymphs," she ordered.
"Yes, Momma," she said, if only to put the construct at ease. If the Shadow King wanted her to stay put, she'd need to do the opposite. 'I need ta find Max,' she told herself. It was just a matter of finding the right time to slip away.
I'm taking nearly as long as she thought it would, thankfully. Rogue was up and walking, carrying a full basket of produce toward the edge of the field, where no one else was standing at the moment. She set down the basket and glanced from side to side, before taking off in a full sprint into the woods.
She ran. The grove she sprinted through was oddly linear. The trees sprouted in two single lines, forcing her to run straight, then left, then right, then up a hill that was steep, then another long spring forward before she was running down a different rocky hill. She barely managed to get to the bottom of the hill unscathed, before she saw she was in a clearing at the bottom of the hill, surrounded on two sides by rocky terrain and one side with water. The clearing itself was completely made of stone.
"Max!" she shouted as she saw him in the clearing; he was back in the loincloth, dodging attacks from a shadowy figure.
"Anna-Marie?" he questioned, his attention diverted for a moment, his head turning toward her, before the shadow was able to get in a lucky hit, Max doubled over in pain.
"No," she whispered in horror, running over to his side. She placed her hands on his shoulders, steadying him, before he stood up straight.
"I'm alright," he said, placing himself between her and the shadow. "It's incorporeal," he warned. "How's your memory?" he asked, as they both stood still, waiting for it's next attack, unable to launch an offensive of their own.
"Fuzzy," she replied. "But I know you're right, Magneto, and all this is fake," she added.
"A welcomed improvement, Rogue," he said.
"Perseph-Anna-Marie," an annoyed voice called out, as it entered the clearing. "Your mother told you to stay put!" The shadow seemed to show interest in the newcomer and launched forward, bypassing her and Max as a full force at the blonde.
"Watch out," Rogue cried, as they both spun around, Max still taking the lead, shielding her with his body. They watched in disbelief, as the shadow encased Carol's form and a dark figure took her place, wearing her shape. The next attack was immediate, it sprung forward, hands transformed into long claws, swiping at them.
"Do ya think she's incorporeal?" he asked, as he pulled her to the left, helping them both to evade the claws.
"Only one way to find out," she said, stepping in front of Max, and lunging forward. Her fist made contact with Carol's cheek, and she felt the shadow recoil in response. "I think we're in business," she grinned, readying herself to attack again.
However, her expression dropped, as she saw a myriad of shadows appear, encircling the clearing. Magneto moved, turning away from her, until they were standing back to back, able to cover each other. Carol stayed where she was, standing, now motionless as she was joined by her allies, gaining the upper hand.
"We're surrounded," Max commented bitterly, as the circle of shadows constricted, closing in. "Stay back, you vile apparitions," he called out before she felt the earth vibrating beneath her feet.
Glancing up, she saw Magneto releasing a small magnetic charge. Within the circle of shadows, some either fell to the ground, or flew high up into the air to avoid the attack. A few didn't move in time and were hit, including Carol, who was forced to the ground. Rogue heard groans, audible groans, both male and female in response to the attack.
'Huh?' she asked, confused as Magneto formed a magnetic shield around them.
"Hopefully, that will buy us some time," he commented.
As if on cue, a shadow appeared out of nowhere in a puff of smoke, invading the shield Magneto had formed. Anna-Marie felt three-fingered-hands on her shoulders as the shadow appeared behind her. Inhaling, she smelt rotten eggs. Magneto reacted to the intrusion strongly, punching at the figure, who fell to the hard ground by her feet.
"Be gone," Max said as he stepped in front of her, another magnetic charge was set loose, the shield lowering for a moment, to expel the shadowy figure from their small sanctuary toward the water. The shadow reacted quickly and was able to disappear in another puff of smoke before it was launched into the water.
Rogue took a deep breath in, taking in the scent. Why did it seem familiar?
"Rogue, there are too many of them. We must flee," he informed her.
"And, go where?" she asked him as she took another breath. She closed her eyes, taking in the smell, trying to pinpoint where she knew it from.
"It doesn't matter, as long as we escape this current assault. We can regroup and strategize a course of action, once we're no longer inundated with so many opponents," he advised.
"Remind me who Kurt is again," she said, as she opened her eyes, not sure why his name had popped into her mind.
"Your brother, a mutant… a teleporter," he said, muttering that last bit before he took a deep breath of his own. "Brimstone," he hissed, disgusted with himself.
"Okay, let's back up a minute," she said. "We know Shadow King is tryna possess our bodies. And we thought he got that done, right? But what if we're wrong? What if?"
"He's only made us think he has," Max finished.
Anna-Marie glanced around, studying the terrain. Her head suddenly felt heavy and as she blinked, the area shifted from rocky hills, to some sort of amphitheater. The hills in reality were stone steps and seats, which surrounded the stone circle they were standing upon. She spun around and saw the body of water was larger than she first perceived, it was as if she was staring into the ocean.
"Is there an amphitheater on Utopia?" she asked next.
"Yes, is that where we are?" he asked.
"I think so," she nodded, blinking again and the hills and small body of water returned. "Lower the shield, Max," she ordered and he did so without hesitation.
They waited a moment, a long moment, and she was relieved when nothing attacked them.
"Kurt, I apologize if I hurt you," he called out, his brow furrowed with worry. "I apologize if I harmed anyone," he added. "Carol?" he questioned. "I doubt the Avengers have business on Utopia. Who was I attacking?" he asked, in a panic.
"Nothing ya did hurt it?" she asked and he inhaled sharply.
"Wolverine, if we're lucky. He'll be fine," he commented. "Though, I do apologize," he said, loudly.
"I don't think Shadow King has control over our bodies. I think he tryna use us to do his dirty work for him," she said. "So, we ain't attacking nobody," she called out, now addressing the crowd of shadows. "We're just gonna sit," she said, glancing over to where- "right over there," she declared, pointing where the steps should be. "So, if y'all could back up a little, that would be mighty gracious of y'all."
Like a sea, the shadows parted, forming a wider circle, giving the couple access to the requested area. This was a risk; they could be wrong, Shadow King could be allowing the change in location if only to pounce once their guards were lowered.
"Are you certain about this?" Max asked as he took her hand.
"As much as I'm gonna be," she admitted. "If I'm wrong-"
"Then we'll handle the repercussions," he promised, squeezing her hand.
She nodded and they took a tentative step forward together.