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And once again they found themselves not wanting to get out of bed. Their stomachs protesting; however, the comfort of their warm bodies wrapped around each other was too tempting. With their head hazed by sleep, they feared that a simple unintended movement would be enough to ruin the moment, and the feeling of plenitude would vanish.

The glaring of the morning through the window, the world beginning to breathe outside. Sheltered in each other's arms, realizing – maybe for the first time, in fact – how much they needed each other.

Rogue felt liberated from the moment she convinced herself of how unlikely a sudden return of her powers was. Still, as she wore nothing more than bedsheets, feeling another body next to her, fearless, she finally understood what freedom really meant. She felt not only free but also protected and unattainable.

She stretched out with a long and pleasant yawn. They had barely slept, only themselves to blame. Even with the room dim, they exchanged glances as if to memorize every feature of each other's faces, silently praying for that moment to last a little longer, so that they could feel that way as long as possible.

Despite it all, they were not naïve, they knew that it could not last forever. Still, the mere thought, the certainty of having each other for at least one more day was enough. The next day could wait, they were together then and that was all that mattered.

They were fearless when all they could see was each other's eyes.

The three distinctive figures looked up, anticipating. Beast, Nightcrawler and Shadowcat stood before the pyramid, silently and disquietedly, waiting for the others. In the clear sky, they finally spotted something coming near: one of the three X-Men's jets. That one approximately four times smaller than the Blackbird. The door opened to reveal Storm and the Professor.

Xavier's features were serious and grave, for he believed to be of greater use at the Cerebro. Still he felt the need to be present at the moment the pyramid was open. In order for him to be there, Jean was left in charge of Cerebro. Professor and pupil knew how long she had been preparing for it, and she was not completely ready for such power and responsibility yet. Although risks needed to be taken at dire moments like that.

Next to the young telepath was Cyclops and Wolverine, who had stayed behind at the Institute in order to instruct the younger mutants. Logan, in turn, was not only agitated but also strangely absent-minded.

Once filled in on the situation, the young ones would soon be ready, dressed in their uniforms and split up in small functional groups. When they went into action, it would not be like a Danger Room simulation – they were aware of that much. Their eyes sparkled in anxiety, which almost concealed the fear they felt.

All eyes were turned to the monitors presenting the news from around the world, for they knew they would find the rings and the mutant of the prophecy in different parts of the globe. The signs could be anything. Watching TV was more than a hunch.

Back in the desert, following a number of preventive measures and combinations of mutant powers, Beast was ready to open the Genesis Chamber, after piecing together all the clues he had found with Xavier's valuable aid.

Tension seemed to make the air thick when Beast pushed the buttons on the side of the chamber, like a password on a screen. Xavier's telepathic powers created a shield around the pyramid.

Everyone swallowed hard and held their breath. Kurt and Kitty held hands despite themselves and shut their eyes, close to regretting their insisting to stay. When they opened their eyes again, nothing had changed.

"Did it work?" questioned Kitty following some confusing seconds.

Hank's sharp eyes behind his glasses showed that he was looking for an answer. "I've followed the instructions. It must have worked" he said assuredly. "It's only a matter of time now."

At an impasse, Xavier pondered whether he should return to the mansion to be in charge of the Cerebro or stay put to help to assure that nothing would go wrong. As he fought an internal battle, there was a sudden explosion. The chamber split open, casting a beam into the sky that lasted no longer then three seconds and seemed to disappear after splitting into four parts. Each one went in a different direction.

"It's done" Hank said in a hoarse voice.

Following a brief conversation, the others decided to return to the mansion and start the preparations for what there was ahead of them. Hank insisted on staying, just in case. A hologram would concealedthe pyramid. There were other places that needed their mutant abilities.

Around ten minutes later, as they returned to the Institute, Cyclops's voice came through the jet's communication device.

"The signs are coming up" his voice tense but always controlled. Back at the mansion, his visor reflected dreadful imagens on the monitors.

Cyclops rushed to meet Jean at Cerebro, arriving at the exact moment she yelled after being hit by an enormous force. The shock would make her weak for the next hours.

On the jet, Xavier also felt the impact. He was hit just as it started. Something huge was about to happen.

Night came around again with its reassuring silence. Just by closing one's eyes, the sound of the waves falling down endlessly could be heard. That was what she was doing at the moment, listening to the waves fall, picturing them behind shut eyes.

"You sleeping?"

Green eyes shuttered open and saw his face, felt his warm breath close to her lips. His murmur enveloping her so comfortably.

"No" she replied softly, laying on her side, facing him. Remy moved to lie on his back, resting the back of his head on his hands.

Amid their conversation she closed her eyes and his voice began to fade away. Felling guilty, she focused in order to pick the chat up where she thought they had left off.

"You told me about your adoptive father and brother, but not your mother."

He shrugged. "When I was adopted, Jean-Luc's wife, Henri's mother, was deceased. I guess it was recent. I've seen pictures of her once but... no one really talked about her and I didn't ask. Must've been hard for them dealing wit' losing her. It's always hard."

"Well, Ah grew up with two moms and things didn't work out that well for me either. Your dad may never win dad of the year but Ah think you lucked out compared to me. Your life hasn't been totally phony."

They were quiet as they realized the conversation had gone too dark. As Remy thought of something to turn the situation around, Rogue beat him to it.

"Tell me about your aunt, the one you mentioned once."

"Tante Mattie?" he chortled. "She was the closest to a mother I've ever had."

"She must've grounded you a thousand times" she said with a smile, imagining how naughty of a child he must have been.

He smiled. She was right. "She used to yell at me all de time but in a loving kinda way, you know, 'cause she cared about me" for a moment, almost imperceptible, his voice saddened; he realized he spoke in the past tense as if when he got to see her again, everything would be changed and nothing would ever be the same way again.

"I'd love to meet her someday" and added with a naughty smirk: "Ah bet she got a buncha stories to tell" he nodded absent-mindedly. "What's wrong?" she asked for his eyes were far away.

"Rien. Just somet'ing I remembered" he wetted his lips and frowned. "A couple of years ago I purchased a house in the French Quarter, on a very quiet street. Nobody knows dis besides Tante Mattie. It's dere waiting for the day I can finally settle down and..." his voice faded away and he was silent after that.

Rogue felt a lump in her throat. "Sounds like a helluva long term plan."

They laid motionless, barely breathing, before Gambit shifted positions so he was facing Rogue, almost no space between their faces.

"I can't wait to take you dere."

She smiled and leaned in for a kiss.

Xavier headed to the Cerebro fast as soon as he picked up on disturbances of unknown nature in four different parts of the globe, which was occurring simultaneously but without apparent connection.

It was not long until reports on the inexplicable sudden phenomena started to come up.

Everyone at the mansion was astounded. Storms and squall burst out as if it were the end of the world.

Once the group gathered – with the exception of Xavier who would stay at Cerebro –, Cyclops ran by them. "It's happening in four different places" he pointed at the world map on the screen where it flashed red. "There are disruptions in Egypt, Mexico, China and India. Worst scenario seems to be in the latter. For now, the storm appears to be restricted to the sea, however, it's rapidly moving towards the shore."

On the screens live news from around the world showed the inexplicable phenomena nonstop. On one of them, a reporter struggled to speak through the wind that threw her off balance. Instances of mutants using their abilities to protect the people would soon pop up.

Ororo watched the monitors closely. "It's just unbelievable" she whispered to herself, wondering if that power was greater than hers. However, she was yanked out of her thinking when someone called her name; the teams were about to be informed.

Xavier joined the others almost unnoticed. Amidst the commotion, only Jean noticed that he had gone pale.

"What's wrong, Professor?" she asked as she rushed to his aid. They moved to a corner, stepping away from the rest of the group. No one noticed, except for Storm and Wolverine, who also drew near. Better that way, they did not want the others to hear.

"Where in India is the phenomenon occurring?" questioned the Professor.

"On the coast. West" answered Jean, checking the map. "It took form in the middle of the Arabian Sea, and it's now moving to the shore."

Xavier's eyes fell to the ground before he spoke again. "When I located Gambit's powers," he explained; his voice low and urgent "Destiny assertively demanded that no one should know Rogue's whereabouts. Well, since Magnus and I were the only ones who knew of it, I persuaded him to allow me to erase the information from his memory. It took some convincing but… in any case, I couldn't do the same to myself, someone had to know, for precaution sake. Therefore, I merely pushed the memory of it away, to the back of my mind but still aware of it."

"Where the hell you're getting at, Professor?" Logan questioned hastily. His patience hanging by a thread.

Xavier breathed in deeply. "One of the events is taking place where Rogue and Gambit are" and fell silence. He seemed to be the only one who had connected the dots.

Wolverine clinched his fists and jaw. "We gotta go now. Time to take action."

"Scott," Xavier said, energetically, his strength returning. "Are the teams all set?"

"Yes, Professor. Three teams, one veteran as leader."

"I'll go with the team four" demanded Logan.

Scott nodded. There was no time for arguments. "Jean" he called, "take over Wolverine's place as leader in team three" she assented. Cyclops turned to speak to everyone: "We'll need all the help we can find. Civilians lives are at risk. Each team will go to one of the determined locations to find out what's going on as fast as possible."

Xavier turned to Cyclops. "Scott, I need you in team four."

"Then I need Hank to replace me in team one."

"I'll get him. Leave the pyramid to me."

That way, Beast was the leader of the team one.

Storm of the team two.

Jean of the team three.

Xavier continued: "Cyclops, Shadowcat, Wolverine, go to Rogue. I will be using Cerebro to gather more information. Make sure that all is ready. The Blackbird and the other jets must be taking off in ten minutes."

"Remember" Cyclops spoke up. "Our mission is to locate the artifacts. Good luck, everyone."

They felt as if walking between two worlds.

The first of them, the real one, was farther and farther away as the dream one resembled reality more and more.

Oscillating and floating between the two.

"You know something Ah miss?" she asked quietly. Even her voice had changed into a sincerer and softer sound. "Music" she said after hearing him murmur. She was lying on the couch with her head on his lap as his fingers caressed her hair.

"I'll see to it next time I go to town" he said thoughtlessly, not sure whether there would be another time.

It was still early even though the sun had already set, which would not stop Rogue from feeling sleepy. There was something in that place that made her doze off easily. Or maybe she was making up for all the sleepless nights of the previous years. At any rate, she was about to fall asleep again. In an attempt to stop herself from that, she stretched her legs and arms. Felt her body throbbing from a day of activities spent under water. Late in the afternoon, they had a picnic on the beach, under the long shade of a tree, and stepped inside after it got dark.

Realizing she could not keep her eyes open any longer, with her voice full of innuendo, Rogue stated that she was turning in. Sat up and kissed Remy softly on his lips. Not wanting to let her go, he brought her body near to give her a long kiss. Smiling somewhat timidly, she got to her feet and invited him to follow her. He readily said yes. Before they reached bed, however, they heard the front door slam repeatedly. It was quite windy, therefore, if the door was not properly closed, it would keep making that noise all through the night.

Rogue headed to bed while Remy went to lock the door. He halted and his eyes narrowed as he looked at the sky. It was so dark. Uncharacteristically dark, especially for that time of the evening. There, the days were long. Even though intrigued, Remy chose to let go of those thoughts and went to be with Rogue. Once he lay down, Rogue nestled against him and closed her eyes. His instincts made him restless, though.

Minutes later Remy jerked around. "You hear dat, Anna?" his voice fraught.

"Hear what?" she asked. His abrupt moving woke her up, but she still felt sleepy. "Thunder?"

"It don't sound like common thunder" he said as his eyebrows wrinkled with preoccupation.

"What do you mean, Remy?"

"Stay here" he said as he got to his feet. She rolled her eyes. She hated when he said that. Wondered why he continued to waste time telling her to stay when she would always do the opposite.

Gambit returned to the front door and threw it open. The strong icy wind hit him hard. It was freezing. Remy felt the hair in the back of his head and bare arms shiver almost painfully. His frowning deepened.

In the sky, dark clouds gathered in an abnormally fashion and too rapidly, forming an immense cluster of black mass that seemed to be moving toward them. They were used to storms but that – Gambit was sure of it – was no ordinary storm.

There was something wrong. Gambit knew it. Could feel it all over his body.

More awake, Rogue came close to him from behind and put her arms around him. She was taken aback by how stiff his muscles were. "What's wrong, Remy?" worry taking over her voice.

"Somet'ing isn't right" he said, standing still. His eyes hypnotized by that view.

"What?" she asked as she frowned, finally turned her eyes at what Remy was seeing.

"Dose clouds" he said, not taking his eyes off of that black mass. "Ain't normal. They're moving too fast."

"What if this is no storm...?" she at last realized what it meant. Her whole body shivered. "You think... Apocalypse...?" she swallowed in a dry throat, not able to finish her sentence or make sense out of it.

After an initial numbness Remy's instincts kicked in. "We gotta get outta here" he grabbed her by the hand and impelled her to run.

"We're leaving the house behind?" she asked as they got to the backdoor. "You think outside is safer than here?" asked incredulity.

"I do" he said with conviction; his steps did not hesitate. "It's coming at us, Rogue. We don't have much time."

Rogue wanted to protest but there was no time. She trusted him from the beginning. She would trust him now, even though fleeing in those conditions did not seem to make sense.

"We have to find somewhere safe" he yelled.

"Where?"

The storm had caught up with them. It was eating everything up.

Rogue looked back and saw part of the roof being taken away by the wind. The house was being torn down piece by piece. Their dreams and lives crushed like a fragile house of cards.

They went on running. The wind and the rain knocked down the trees, which they had to dodge, most of cases, barely in time. The chirping of the birds and other small animals was blaring. The rain became fiercer.

As hastily as they left, Gambit did not have anything he could use as a weapon. Twice he had to charge trunks that almost fell on them. Felt the blood in the palm of his hand.

They felt fragile and vulnerable, running away aimlessly, barefoot, semi naked. The cold and fear taking over them.

Alone in the mansion, Xavier barely blinked.

"We found another one" said Sunspot, in Mexico.

The Professor breathed a little more relieved after each message. One by one, the rings were found inside of pyramids. It wound up being less difficult than they had anticipated because the pyramids broke into two and pointed the way. Thus, the artifacts were unearthed as storms simply ceased as abruptly as they had begun.

The mutants stayed behind to help the victims and the ones left homeless. Fortunately, there were no fatal victims thanks to many mutants acting quickly.

Xavier groaned as he took off Cerebro helmet. He had finally picked up on the signal he had been waiting on.

The ground trembled under their feet, as if it would split in two at any moment and swallow them whole. The rain turned the once green ground into a bog. Many times they had their feet stuck in mud puddles.

After stepping into a deeper puddle, Rogue fell on her knees. Gambit pulled her up and they resumed their running. They kept slipping repeatedly, but managed to stay standing. In one false step, Rogue did not fall on her butt only because Remy was faster and pulled her up. Thanks to their sharpened reflexes, they dodged the trees that fell right in front of them. They leaped over them and went on.

The rain nearly blinded them, making it difficult to know what was ahead of them. Another tree plummeted to the ground right behind them, the branches whipped their legs from behind and this time they fell on their stomach. Getting to their feet as fast as they could, they went on. It was as if the storm was brutally chasing them.

"There's a grotto nearby" he said as they ran.

Rogue could not make out what he was saying but kept on following him. Although the rain made it hard to track down where they were going, Gambit continued to follow the path he believed would lead to a shelter.

After three endless minutes, Remy spotted the grotto entrance and sped up, pushing his tired legs to the limit and driving Rogue to do the same. As they jumped inside, they saw a tree fall right behind them, obstructing half of the entrance, which, ironically, would be of help, since it would stop the place from flooding. At any rate, they brought themselves to go deeper into the cave.

They gasped trying to catch their breath. They were cold and completely soaked. Their hair was sticky and dirty with mud and leaves, which made them feel even more unease. The mud started to dry on their feet. The grotto ceiling dripped everywhere. The unevenness of the walls and the ground formed blocks of stone large enough to sit on. Rogue sat down and stared blankly. The image of the house crumbling into pieces would not leave her mind.

"Why does this feel so familiar?" he tried to say in a light tone, but his voice trembled.

Rogue blinked in confusion before she understood what he meant, she smiled in spite it all. Stood up and snuggle up to Remy. "There's this difference" she murmured, her voice trembling from cold.

They were both wearing only tank tops and shorts. They stripped off and wrung their clothes out, using them to wipe the excess of water out of their bodies. They spread them over some stones to dry enough with the help of an improvised fire made with what they could find. The place, however, was so damp that they doubted it would do any good. Any noise made them fear that the place would collapse over their heads.

Without the rain to wash away the blood, Rogue noticed that Remy's right hand bled. She used the dripping water to wash the cuts, which luckily were superficial. Tearing a strip out of her tank top, she carefully bandaged his hand.

They clumsily tried to find a comfortable sitting position, but the only comfort they found was in each other's arms.

There was nothing they could do for the time being except wait.

For what they did not know for sure.

To be continued…

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