A/N: No explanation for long wait. Just enjoy the story.

Chapter 14

"Come on Anna, say Daddy." Remy was on his knees in front of his two-year-old daughter, who just stared at him. "It's not that hard."

"Gambit?" The word was cute but not what he wanted to hear. It's been over a week since she started calling him that and only two weeks since she called Rogue Mommy. He deserved to be called by his rightful name, right?

"No, cher. Dad-dy." He pronounced the words slowly and encouraged Anna to follow his example.

"Gam-bit?" He banged his head against the plastic fencing surrounding the little girl, before coming up with a perfect idea. Getting up from the ground he opened a jar and pulled out a chocolate chip cookie. Walking slowly back to his daughter he broke a piece of the delicious substance and acted like he was going to give it to her only to put it in his own mouth. Anna started jumping up and down showing that she wanted a piece also.

"Yo' don't get any until yo' say Daddy." Her eyes went to the cookie, his face, and then fell upon the door where they remained. "What are yo' lookin' at?"

"Mommy." Remy turned around but there was nobody there, but just as he was about to comment about that Rogue walked through the door and frowned at the two. Remy noticed that her eyes were locked on the cookie and he guiltily tried to hide it behind his back.

"Remy! Are ya tryin ta bribe the girl now?" Remy shook his head. "Ya know she'll call ya, daddy someday so stop frettin about it."

"I know I just want her to say it now." Remy pouted and was about to take a bite of the cookie only to find it missing. Turning around he found his daughter popping the last piece into her mouth.

"Merdi! How did yo' get the cookie away from me?" Anna stared up at him and he realized that he just said a bad word in front of her. A bad word that Rogue said she would force him to sleep on the rec. rooms couch for two weeks if he ever said. Turning around slowly he waited for Rogue to start screaming at him only to find the room empty. Letting out a sigh he was just about to thank God for his luck when he heard a sound coming from Anna. "What did yo' say?"

"Merdi!" Remy's face went pale as put a finger over her lips trying to shush her but she took it as sign to play. "Merdi? MerdiMerdiMerdi Mer-di!"

"Anna. Stop." She started giggling over Remy's pretend angry face and started repeating the word again. Remy couldn't help but smile, it was cute after all, but he didn't want to get in trouble over it. "Anna, if yo' stop I'll give yo' a cookie."

She nodded her head and he went and retrieved another cookie for her. Slouching in a chair he decided that it was enough playtime for one day and got up. "Bye, Anna."

"Bye, Gambit!" He stopped for a second, before shaking his head and waking out of the room. Just as he was about to close the door his arm brushed against a shoulder and Logan lightly shoved him out of the way. Remy was still surprised by the animosity directed to him from this guy, but in a way Remy did marry his daughter so he just had to put up with it.

While Remy was walking to his room to sulk Logan went over to a familiar jar to pull out a big cookie which he handed to Anna.

"Keep on calling him Gambit and I'll give you another cookie tomorrow, kay?" Anna enthusiastically nodded her head. Logan ruffled her hair before leaving the kitchen with a huge smile on his face.

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"There isn't enough money in the education fund do you want to move some of the danger room money or just the overall mansion funds?" The Professor took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt another headache coming on. He knew that Scott meant well by asking these questions but he really wished the boy could think for himself.

"Take from the mansion fund." The Professor kept a straight face as Scott opened his mouth to ask a question, but before he could say anything he stopped and looked over the Professor's shoulder. The Professor turned slowly and encountered a little girl standing in front of his closed study door.

"Is there something you want to ask, Anna?" She just stared at them for a moment as if she was deciding what to say. Thinking about it for a second she nodded her head and left the room.

"What was that about?" Scott was accustomed to this happening and also to the usual answer the Professor would give.

"Nothing of importance. It's best that you just forget about it." For a few seconds he tried to hold onto his train of thought but he could feel himself start to slip back into the conversation they had before she arrived.

"So what about the new showers in the..."

"Scott why don't you decide? I have faith in you." Scott, still a little disoriented, nodded his head and slowly left the room. Letting out a sigh Charles turned back to his desk and wasn't surprised to see Anna sitting on the edge.

"Why are you doing this?" Her voice was curious but her face didn't reflect the emotion shown in her voice.

"Do what?"

"Sit here listening to people like him, you're smarter than that."

"I do this because it is right. They need me to guide them."

"Because if you don't they would have to think for themselves?" the professor frowned at her logic, before asking his own question.

"Why are you here then, you are smarter than you let them believe. Why not reveal the truth?"

"Because for some reason you don't want them too know." She paused, waiting for a reason from him but he remained silence. "Also it is better. Pretending to be like a child."

"You are a child." She shook her head before she jumped of the desk and landed perfectly on the floor.

"Maybe for a while, but now…" Walking up to the wheelchair she stood on her toes and barely made it to his ear. "We both know what Sinister did."

It was only for his quick thinking that the Professor didn't reveal the shocked expression that she expected, but it didn't matter since she already knew the truth.

"I was made to know, but I wonder about your part in this whole thing." Again she waited for answer but was left with silence. As she was about to exit the room she turned back and gave him one last piece of information. "I know that it's going to happen today."

Not waiting for an answer she left the room and was half way down the hall when she heard footsteps behind her.

"There yo' are!" Remy was about to pick up his daughter but an indescribable feeling made him stop. It only lasted a second before she looked up at him with a huge smile followed by her arms uplifted. Shaking the feeling he picked her up and carried her outside to the garden. Putting her down on the grass she ran over to where Nathan was and started to play hide and seek.

"I got that feelin' again." Rogue turned to her husband and watched the children play for a while before shaking her head.

"There is nothin wrong with our daughter. She's just a little different that's all. Now why don't ya help Logan chop some wood while I fix up the picnic table?" Gambit visibly shook remembering the last time he went to help the Canadian and nearly ended up a head shorter. "Hurry up he's in a good mood for some reason so don't worry."

Kissing his wife he slowly made his way to the trees while Rogue pulled out the blanket. As she was setting it up she turned to the children and watched as Nathan excitedly searched all over the place for Anna who was hiding behind a bush. Smiling Rogue went back to work and when she looked up again it was Nathan's turn to hide and Anna was searching. Actually she searched every place other then where he was. Rogue paused and couldn't help but feel that was slightly odd. /There is nothing wrong with Anna. Scott and Jean are just getting to me./ Giving her head a little shake she was about to place the last glass down when she caught some movement by the trees. Narrowing her eyes she could make out a figure in dark clothes before her head exploded with agony and she crumbled to the floor.

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Logan lifted his head and ignored whatever Remy was talking about. /I could have sworn I heard glass shatter./ He was about to pick up his ax again when a high pitched sound vibrated in his head he was barely able to make out Nathan's voice before it disappeared.

"What the hell was that?" Logan turned to Gambit but he was already running in the direction of his wife and Logan was a few feet behind him. When they reached the table they found Rogue floating above the ground her eyes lifeless.

"Rogue what's wrong?" Logan scanned the area as Remy tried to coax his wife into talking. It was then that he noticed the oddly shaped shadow of a tree. Unleashing his claws he ran in that direction only to have some force throw him back. Looking over his shoulder Logan could see Rogue's arm still outstretched and pointing at him. "Rogue!"

"Stay back, Cajun. Something's not right here." Taking a whiff of the air Wolverine realized who the person behind the tree was. "Mesmero, show yourself!"

"It's almost over now." Mesmero walked out of the shadows and Rogue floated to his side.

"What do you mean?" Logan growled at the man while Remy threw a few cards at Mesmero's direction. The cards were deflected and landed back near his feet. By this time the others had arrived and were wondering what was going on.

"I have no reason to explain. You will see what I mean soon enough." Lifting his staff up Rogue took the signal and carried them both off leaving Remy and Logan yelling her name.

"We need to meet in the war room." Nodding his head Remy was about to follow Logan when he wondered where Anna was. Looking over to the bench he spotted the two children hiding underneath it.

"We need to go inside, come on." Nathan ran over to his mom and dad while Anna waited underneath the bench. "Anna come on."

Remy was about to go and get her when a dark purple swirl appeared behind her. Someone stepped out from the hole and Remy could feel everyone's fear rise as Sinister appeared in front of them.

"What are you doing here?" Scott stepped forward his hand going up to his glasses.

"Now, now, Scott you don't want to hit Anna now do you." The little girl had gotten out from under the table and was standing next to the portal. She didn't seem to be frightened in the least.

"Anna come here." Kurt and Kitty were trying to persuade Anna to run to them.

"Now she isn't going anywhere. I would have hoped to get Nathan too but there is always time for that later." With that said Sinister picked up Anna and carried her into the portal while everyone stood helpless watching him.

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"Vhat are ve to do Professor?" Kurt stood his back against the wall as he waited for the Professor's answer. There wasn't enough space in the meeting room for everyone so they entered the rec. room to talk. The students at the school had been sent on a field trip in the morning and the young children were playing in the nursery under the supervision of Rahne.

"We have no leads as to where Mesmero could have taken Rogue, but we might be able to find Anna." With this said everyone turned to Remy who was sitting motionless in the chair furthest from the others. Piotr was standing beside him, trying to get a reaction from him, but nothing seemed to be working.

"What's with Remy?" Kitty was about to go help the Cajun when he stood up and walked towards the door. "Hey where are you going?"

"I know where Anna is." Remy picked up his trench coat and checked the pockets for his deck of cards.

"You are just going there by yourself? And then what?" Scott stood up and followed Remy to the door. "We need a plan Remy."

"Okay. You guys come up with one while I go save my daughter." Scott grabbed onto Remy's arm but he just shrugged him off.

"What about Rogue?"

"She would want me to find Anna first. Wouldn't yo' do the same thin' if yo' were in my situation?" Scott took a second to think about it and nodded his head, just as he was about to let him go the Professor entered the room.

"Remy, Beast has informed me that he has an idea where Mesmero is taking Rogue. I'm going to be sending some of the X-Men after them and I strongly insist that you don't go alone. Let the others get dressed then head to where you think Anna is being held.".

"Fine, but tell everyone to hurry up."

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"Do you know who I am?" Sinister paced around the girl, deciding whether or not the plan would work.

"You're Sinister." The little girl looked the man in the face before searching the room.

"Are you looking for your Mother? I'm sorry, but I wasn't the one to capture her."

"I know who took her, and I know why I'm here." Anna lifted her head and stared into Sinister's uncaring eyes with indifference. "So could you just get this over with?"

"Well you know how to take the fun out of everything. Must have gotten it from your mother." Sinister moved to a table in the corner and pulled out a syringe. Inside of it was a dark purplish liquid. "So you already know what this is don't you?"

Anna just stared at the vial as Sinister came closer.

"Turn around." Anna obeyed the order and as soon as she was facing the other way she could feel a sharp prick and the back of her head and then everything went black.

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After making a stop at the acolytes' base, Mesmero took Rogue to the mountain that held his master. Once he reached the chamber's door he told Rogue to make a duplicate of herself, and enter through the opening at the bottom. Turning into a snake she slithered into a circular room and touched the pedestal in the middle. Pain shot up the girl's arm but she remained motionless while her body slowly turned to stone. With that completed the doorway was opened and with a mental command Rogue touched her stone duplicate and returned to her whole self.

It was then that he noticed the noise coming from outside the cave. Taking up a fighting stance he sent Rogue into the next room to release Apocalypse while he fought off her pathetic friends.

As the battle intensified in the other room Logan was able to slip away and watch silently as Rogue released Apocalypse. In a matter of minutes the newly awakened mutant was able to overpower the occupants of the room. Mesmero was awed by his master's power and was about to follow him when something slammed into his stomach causing him to crumble to the floor. Looking up he waited for his master to save him but Apocalypse did not even turn around. Raising his hands into the air he ascended to the clouds leaving his loyal servant behind.

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"How do you feel?" Sinister smiled as his creation charged a glass cylinder across the room while she was sitting on a bed on the other side. "Was there any headaches? Bursts of power?"

"No everything's fine." Anna jumped down from the bed and then leaped to the two-foot high desk with ease. "When are they coming?"

A familiar flash of light announced the arrival of Gateway and with him came three people she suspected was behind this all along.

The room became quite as gateway left leaving the new arrivals. Anna didn't give a second glance to the two in front but the last one caused her to react even if it was just a slight raise of her brow.

"Is everything ready Essex?" Nodding everybody took up their positions getting ready for what is to come.

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Apocalypse flew over the massive cities, taking in everything and rewriting it in his head to form his worldview, the one that he was going to create. Landing on the ground outside of a manor he tore through the doors and entered the lair of another one of his servants "Essex, where is this child that you wanted to show me?"

"Right here sir." He pointed to a bed where a young girl was sitting, her eyes stared at him blankly. "Do you wish for a demonstration?"

Not waiting for an answer Essex opened a cage and pulled out by the tail a dark gray rat. Letting the rodent go it scurried around the floor and let out a high pitched screech as its skin burned and eventually disintegrated. The young girl looked away from the mouse and stared at Apocalypse again. The ancient man was not impressed. Just as he was about to voice his opinion the whole cage was knocked to the ground releasing a dozen mice to run around the floor. The girl continued to look into his eyes as every rat was turned to dust before they could even make a sound.

"I am…impressed. Even now she would make an excellent horseman." He was pleased, everything was beginning to fall into place and soon he would control the world. He almost felt like laughing but stopped when he felt a searing pain shoot across his arm and all the way to his chest. Holding onto his arm he could see a faint red burning its way across his arm and immediately recognized it from the demonstration of the rats.

Using his power to form a barrier he was able to slow down the effects. Taking in a huge breath he was about to let his energy out at the girl when a metal sailed across the room and knocked his legs out from under him. Out of nowhere Magneto seemed to materialize and shoot out all metal objects in his direction. While he was hitting the objects out of the way he could feel someone forcefully trying to enter his mind.

All of the attacks were distracting him and he could feel the hold over his barrier wane. The burning in his arm intensified and when he raised his left arm to block a metal knife there was nothing there and the knife was able to slice through a piece of his already damaged shoulder.

Fully enraged now he pushed himself through to the attacks to the only one that was causing any real damages. Anger welling up inside him he forgot his powers and took a swing with his right arm. The hit pushed the young girl towards the wall but before it could make contact the body twirled in mid air and landed feet first into the wall. Pushing off from there the child's form changed and adopted a blue tint before it collided with Apocalypse's frame. The impact sent the man to the ground and the few seconds of surprise was all that was needed to leave him unguarded and finally dead.

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Everyone gathered around the pile of dust including Anna who stepped out of her hiding place to get a better look of what she did.

"Is he dead?" Magneto nodded and sat down, suddenly feeling very old. "I killed him?"

"He was a monster, you got rid of a monster." Mystique pulled the girl up into a hug that both were uncomfortable in.

"It was quite excellent really." Sinister got a glare from everyone else in the room and smiled finding the whole situation amusing.

After the hug was over Mystique placed the little girl on the bed and stepped back so the last person of the group could come forward.

"Could you tell me a story?" The man placed his hand over hers and wished that she was talking about a fairy tale but he knew exactly what she asked and what she wanted to hear.

"Once upon a time three friends came up with a plan to stop a wicked monster. Their names were Raven Darkholme, Eric Lensherr, and Charles Xavier.

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A/N: The Last chapter will include an explanation, and the ending and will be up hopefully today or tomorrow.