Rogue raced through the air on a motorcycle of her conscience’s own making into Gambit’s soul. She could not see him, as hard as she looked, but she knew he had to be there so she kept talking.
“All you got in here is that big ol’ ancestral house, sugah?” She yelled out into the grey sky of oblivion. A large plantation mansion filled the entire landscape, fortified behind menacing rod-iron fence.
“That big ugly crypt don’t impress me none either!” She tried to keep her voice light and witty but the sight was making her sick. The elaborate tomb stood grotesquely behind the fence, right in front of the house, blocking most of it from her sight as she drove up to the fence. She pulled hard on the lock but it did not budge and she swore loudly before going back to her bike.
“If you think a locked gate is gonna keep me out, you got another think coming, LeBeau!” She rived the bike up again and circled around till she was far enough away. Rogue hit the gas and charged the fence, pulling the bike up just it time to sail over it.
She managed to clear the grim metallic points of the fence but could not hold the bike straight. She was not prepared for the pain that shot through her body when she hit the ground, assuming that one could not feel anything in the astral plane. Seconds after, the bike followed and she screamed in agony as it landed across her legs.
“You’ve been keeping me, chere,” Gambit’s calm voice floated over to her and she jerked her head around to face him. He stood with his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, leaning relaxed against the dull marble of the crypt, his long hair hanging in his face. “I’ve been waiting for you, Rogue. I want us to ascend to the afterlife together.”
She struggled with the knot of metal that pinned her to the ethereal ground. “Were goin’ somewhere, alright,” she answered him, managing to kick the beast. “But it ain’t the afterlife, sugah. Were goin’ back home. Back to livin’ life.”
He shook his head at her and removed his hands from their resting place. “You got brass, Rogue, but it is outta your hands.” He turned away from her and began walking toward the blindingly bright light just above the crypt.
**
Logan desperately tried to hold the thrashing Rogue still on her bed. Her painful screams and sobs torn at his heart and he wanted to hold her. To soothe her. But anything less than his three-hundred pound metal frame pinning her still and her jerking movements caused more of her ever precious blood to escape from the deep cavity in her chest. He all but trashed the medical unit when he saw her only moments ago, his heart stopped beating at the sight of her lying there, bloody and all but dead. The doctors, Cyclops, Jean, and Kurt all tried to assure him that she wasn’t dead. She could still make it. But with each jerk of her body that seemed less and less.
“You had better not leave me, Gambit!” She yelled to the nothingness about her, her eyes still hid behind their lids. He took her outburst as a sign that she had gained some measure of consciousness and he used the opportunity to frantically plead to her.
“Stop that, Rogue! Beast is helping the rat.” He yelled, his voice harsh and scratchy from the lump that refused to release its hold on his throat. But her thrashing continued and a mix between a strangled growl and a whimper tore out of his throat.
“You have to stop, kid! You’re killing yourself!” He no longer cared how many around him heard the pathetic quake in his voice.
“Please, darlin’,” he continued, quieter this time, murmuring against the thick hair at the top of her head. “Please...You gotta rest. You gotta let the doctors take care of you.”
**
Running to him she was able to grab his trench coat before he took anymore steps away from her. “Damn it, Remy, don’t just turn your back on me,” she snarled.
He didn’t turn around to meet her though, just continued to stare up, letting the gentle warmth of the light spread throughout him. “It’s so beautiful,” he mumbled. “It feels so much like home...”
She swore again and this time gripped his shoulders and forcefully spun his body around, trying to snap his attention away from the phantom beacon. “Ah’m not gonna let you go,” she sternly warned him, her grip digging into his shoulder blades.
“Don’t be foolish, chere. I know it’s my time.”. His peaceful, platonic tone made her shake in furry. She wanted to slap that lackadaisical attitude right out of him.
“Ah will not let you die, Remy. Ah will not *help* you die! Ah love you, you bastard! Doesn’t that mean anything?!”
He smiled sweetly at her, his hand came up to gently stroke her arm. “I love you too, Rogue, mon doux. But what better way to go then as I save the world?”
**
He couldn’t take it anymore. Each beep from the machine to her left rang louder and louder in his ear as the space between them decreased. He was a desperate, howling man when he took her face in his hands, pushing down into her plump cheeks to increase impact and lifting her head off the bed to bring it within millimeters of his.
“Rogue!” he called out again. “Don’t you run out on me, girl, not like this, not without a *fight*!” His snarling was so intense drops of his salvia shot from his mouth onto her face. Her eyelids opened just enough that he could see her eyes roll back into her head as he shook her hard again.
“Our skin touches, you take my healing powers. It’s *automatic*. You don’t even have to be awake!”
He didn’t care that he was doing the one thing she hated most, forcing his mutation on her. “So take it, Rogue,” he yelled, begging, “take it ALL!”
No pain came yet, just another twitch of her eyelid. He pushed his hand even further onto her face and brought her head the rest of the way so that their foreheads, noses, and chins all touched. “LIVE!” was his passionate command.
**
He slowly began to lift off his feet and ascend toward the beautiful light that called to him. Rogue, however, unwilling to relinquish her hold on him, screamed when she too began rising up.
“We haven’t even had a chance to live our life together yet, Remy! You can’t just leave me!” She yelled at him, trying to reason with her lover. As they moved past one of the angel statues on the crypt she grabbed one of its wings in a death grip, refusing to allow either of them to go any farther.
“You may think it’s your time to die,” she continued now that she bought more time, “ But were god damned X-Men! We make are own destines; our own miracles! You should fucking know that by now!”
**
Logan checked her face for any signs that the connection had opened, not feeling the pull himself. He moved one of his hands further down onto her neck to force some kind of interaction, but again nothing happened.
“Jean!” Logan screamed, tears beginning to water in his eyes as he clutched the limp body tightly to his chest, making sure the side of his face was still touching hers.
“What is it?” Jean cautiously stepped over. Everyone in the small unit was forced to witness the scene that played out in front of them, all except for Beast who was still furiously working on Gambit.
“Her powers have stopped fucking working!” He yelled at the red head, his face clearly showed the shock that they weren’t more surprised by the knowledge; they only looked at him in pity.
She bowed her head and laid her hand on his shoulder, “She’s on her own.”
“And fucking dying,” he hissed.
**
He moved his hand away from her arm and placed it over the hand that was curled tightly into his coat. Gently he tried to pry her fingers away from it, but they remained as stubborn as their owner.
“Assez, Rogue,” he begged, “You have to let me go. I may never be in such a state of grace again.”
Sweat began to form across her brow as she struggled to keep her hold on both him and the statue. The pull got stronger and stronger and she could feel the tension it was causing in her shoulder blades.
“No,” she groaned, fighting off the pressure, “Our story isn’t done yet.”
“Don’t you see, chere? It is. This is the happy ending,” he smiled wide at her.
“Well, fuck then, ah’m selfish! Ah want better! And so should you!”
He tried again at her fingers but she still refused to release her anchor on him and the earth. “I’ve had a hard life and I’m tired. I’ve *earned* this reward.”
“So you’re just gonna give up on us? Because it’s too hard?” She accused him.
“No, mon amour,” the pitch of his voice raised slightly, “I want us to be together. I want us to share this together, pour l'éternité.”
~~You gotta fight, kid. You can’t give up on me.~~
Her heart nearly stopped at the phantom voice that seemed so weak in her ear. “Did you hear that?” she asked breathless.
“Hear what?” Gambit raised his eyebrow at her.
~~Please, darlin’, I need you.~~
“That!” she shouted at him.
“No, Rogue. I don’t hear anything. Come on,” He squeezed her hand, “It’s time to go.”
She studied his face, the relaxed determination set on his brow. Tears welled up slowly in her eyes as she thought back to all they’d done together, all the fun they had, how much his touch meant to her. He was right, they did deserve a peaceful rest. And there was no guarantee she would live anyway. At least if she went with him now they could be together forever, basking in all the love and glory heaven had to offer. There was no guarantee that if she died in the end of all this that she’d get this chance again, maybe without him she was destined for someplace far worse.
As the tears streaked down her face she wanted to wipe them away, they only intensified the feeling of dread that loomed over this whole situation, but she could not remove them from her ashen face. She could not bring herself to release either hold on him or the angel holding her to earth.
“Please don’t go, Remy. Don't do this. Don't leave *me*,” her voice was low and weak. If he would just stay, just fight for *them* she wouldn’t have to make the choice. They could fight for life together.
“I’m not, chere. Remy’s just tired of the fight. Aren’t you? Aren’t you tried of struggling? Of scrapping tooth and nail and still getting nowhere?”
He was right, she admitted to herself. Never being able to touch the ones she loved, fighting both her own kind and humans, it would be so easy just to end it all. Just to finally be in peace.
But her grip on the angel did not relax. The phantom voice was still whispering in her ear. Still telling her not to let go. To stay. The longer the voice spoke it went from encouraging fight words to desperate and haunting ‘darlin’, please’ over and over again.
A choked sob escaped her throat when she realized who it was. Logan. *He* was begging her not to leave him. Not to give up. He didn’t say how much the X-Men needed her. Or how much mutant kind needed her. Nor how much humanity needed her. Only that he needed her. He promised her more. More life, better life. Anything she wanted, but the only way to get it was she couldn’t give up.
His pleas matched those she cried to Remy. The pain Remy’s defeat gave her made the decision for her. “Ah can’t, Remy,” she whispered. She could feel her heart ripping inside her chest at the words, knowing exactly what the they meant. But she couldn’t bring herself to doing to someone else what he was doing to her, especially not Logan.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I apologize for the back and forth between scenes, I know it’s a little confusing, but is suppose to build suspense. Or something. -.-' No character bashing was intended here, I assure you.