Disclaimer: The main characters are not mine, this is an amateur effort written purely for the fun of it, and no money has exchanged hands, and it is not intended to breach the copyright of Paramount and Pet Fly Publication.

With thanks Connie for the beta reading, for Gail for her input, and Mary for her French.

For Lorraine, Many thanks for your kind present of your picture of Jim and Blair.

Soul Keeper 3

Dancing Death

Part One

Westchester

Mandy and Kat Taylor arrived at the Mansion for the new term, there was always the sickening feeling of leaving their parents behind, but the Mansion had become a home away from home, with good friends among the inhabitants.

This term was going to be different, for the first time Professor Xavier was including non-mutant children on the school register, the first step in integrating human and mutants.

Mandy hefted her bag, threaded her way through the other students milling around in the front entrance, and headed for their room on the third floor girl’s wing.

“Salute Petite.” The voice came from behind them and could only be one person.

“Hi Gambit,” Mandy’s smile was genuine, as she took in the man leaning against the banister of the central stairway. “Looking well,” she glanced at her sister, this was beginning to sound lame, and could feel herself starting to flush. Being the object of Gambit’s undivided attention was a little overwhelming. Even if his eyes were hidden by his habitual dark glasses.

“Let Gambit help y,” the tall Cajun X-Man leaned past her, took both bags, and started up the stairs, leaving the girls to trail behind him. He already had their door open and was putting the cases down when they arrived slightly out of breath behind him.

“And you’re still here Gambit?” Mandy could not help blurting out the question. She had thought that the ex–Marauder would have made a run for it by now.

“Seems dat dey need Gambit.” He made no effort to explain further. “See y’ both later.” He closed the door behind him as he left.

Kat, the older of the two, exhaled slowly, “Good to know he’s in a good mood, because sooner or later he is going to remember, and then, poof.”

“Yeah and half the building goes supernova, maybe we should talk to Professor Xavier.”

“Yeah and the first thing he does is speak to Dad,” she left the sentence hanging in the air. “Mandy, whatever we do, we are screwed.”

“So we have what, another three years at school and Gambit’s going to be here, so murder is out, although with your cooking you could put him out of action.” Mandy put in with a grin.

“Okay so I put Mr. Summers in the med lab for 48 hours. How was I to know that he would get food poisoning from my cooking? I did get a 10 from Mr. Logan.” Kat put in.

“Yeah, only when he knew you had poisoned Mr. Summers.”

“A marks a mark,” Kat snapped back, she suddenly clicked her fingers, “Gambit’s badge, did you see it?”

“So, all faculty wear them on meet and greet day.”

“Faculty, so what’s Gambit doing with it?”

“You don’t think...” Kat grabbed the information back off the dressing table, tore open the envelope and quickly ran her finger down the listing.

“Shit!”

“What?”

“Mr. R. LeBeau, Student Councilor,” Mandy tried to grab the listing, only Kat pulled it back, “Mr. LeBeau is taking us for Sex Education 101 on a Thursday morning.”

“Oh Hell…” There was a pause as the two girls exchanged a look. “Well it could be worse.”

“It is Mandy, Self Defense, you know you flunked it last year.”

“Don’t tell me, I have Logan.”

“You’re right, I am not telling you have Logan, you have Gambit.”

“It’s going to be a long term.” Mandy flopped back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, “a real long term.”

0-0-0-0-0

The Danger Room.

The first day of school and what did she have, Mandy yawned, self-defense. What kind of school had a PE lesson at 6:30 in the morning, she mused.

The Danger Room was on half-light. She glanced round and then her breath caught as she saw the flash of red eyes as Gambit came out of the gloom.

“Morning Petite.”

“Gambit,” the click of the Bo-staff snapping out to its full six-foot made her jump and step back, she knew exactly what it could do, in his hands that staff was a deadly weapon.

“I read y’r file Mandy,” he tutted, “y’ have to learn to protection y’rself petite. It’s a big bad world out dere.”

“Already know that,” Mandy snapped back. The Bo-staff lashed out and she jumped back, but the blow was perfectly timed to hit the floor near her feet. Gambit must have partially charged the Bo-staff because of the loud bang it made when he hit the floor.

“So what y’ goin to do Mandy?” Gambit paused, “So what y’ goin to do?” He swung the Bo-staff round before she could register it and it was pointed at her throat. In that split second all Mandy could remember was when they had been attacked in their Uncle’s house, by the Marauder’s led by Gambit.

Mandy brought her hands together fingers interlocking towards her body and then pushed away from her body, using her telekinetic ability she threw Gambit from her, the fear that she had experienced at the kidnapping was relived and boosted her power. The Cajun flew six feet backwards, hit the floor with a bone-crunching thud, and lay still.

“Oh my god,” Mandy rushed to his side. “Gambit?”

The Bo-staff hooked her legs from under her and she landed on her backside. Even as he got back to his feet with a graceful move, the Bo-staff pushed her in the chest, knocking her onto her back, and she was looking up its length at him. With the back of his partly gloved hand he wiped his face and the telltale smear of blood, from his lips. He cut off her apology.

“If y’ goin to put a homme down, make sure he stay down, cher. Dat were Gambit comes in. Powers are bein, but Gambit teach y’ to fight.”

He leaned down and pulled her to her feet, collapsing his own Bo-staff and then pulling another from his pocket, it was a smaller version than his own, with a flick of his hand the staff snapped out to its full length.

Placing it into her hands, he smiled, “Won’t bite y’ Mandy.” Turning it in her hand she nearly dropped it.

Gambit moved behind her, his hands covering hers so that he could direct her movement, he felt her tense, “It’s okay cher, it’s just old Gambit, and he won’t hurt y’.” He heard her exhale.

“Sorry Gambit.” It was disconcerting to feel the long lean body pressed against her, but his grip was impersonal and she relaxed allowing him to take her through the first simple exercised, and soon moving slowly with the flow of his body

0-0-0-0-0-0

Six Weeks Later

Cascade

Washington

Jim Ellison looked down at the body and shook his head, this was the third mutant that had been murdered in Cascade in the last three months, each had been killed at a full moon, and the body mutilated by the killer.

As a Detective in the Cascade police force, it was his job to catch the killer, but he was more driven than most. As a Sentinel it was his city to protect, and someone was killing his tribe, and he would bring that someone down.

He lifted his head and fixed his senses on his Guide, the young man that helped him control his enhanced senses, who had made a burden into a gift, and for that Jim could never repay him enough, but it still saddened him that Blair had had to pay such a price.

As a Guide Blair had been classed first as a rogue, an empath that refused to give himself up to the GDP for training. He had hidden his talent to try and maintain a normal life. All the kid had wanted to do was get his PhD. and teach, both of which would have been denied him if the authorities had learned that he was a Guide.

But that had all ended when he had been kidnapped and made the personal pet Guide of a psychotic Sentinel. He had finally managed to betray her to the police, and instead of being helped he had been thrown to the tender mercies of the GDP, ending up in a correction facility where he had been raped and abused on a regular basis, and where a weaker man would have committed suicide to escape. But Blair had hung on and found Ellison, since then the Detective had done everything he could to re-build the younger man’s life.

Blair turned and met his gaze, a smile touching his lips as he crossed over to stand by his Sentinel, his gloved hand dropping onto Jim’s shoulder, as he lowered his empathic barriers and linked to his Sentinel to help him focus on the search for clues.

Captain Simon Banks hovered in the background as Blair handed off a bag to the forensic officer, the man was careful not to make contact with Blair’s hand, the empath had his barriers down and the touch of anyone other than his Sentinel could catapult the Guide into empathic shock. It had only happened once, and the offender was still on sick leave, or so the rumor mill said.

“Okay Jim, what did you find?”

Jim Ellison, Senior Sentinel Prime of Cascade and one of the Senior Detectives in the elite Major Crimes Department shook his head. “Not a lot Simon, whoever did this knew that they would be calling in Sentinels, he or she,” he saw the look on his Captain’s face, “I would not rule out a woman, remember Alex Barnes.”

Simon nodded, “So?”

“They saturated the scene with sage, can’t find anything worth a damn, but we got lucky with a cloth fragment in the man’s hand.” He looked back at the body as it was being taken away. “We have to find whoever is doing this, that poor kid was only 18 and some bastard killed him because he was a mutant. Who’s next, Sentinels,” his gaze hardened, “or Guides?”

0-0-0-0

Major Crimes

Simon Banks stretched his full six foot three and paused as he caught his reflection in the mirror, he had worked hard to get where he was. Captain of Major Crimes, he tried to be fair and play no favorites, every one of his Detectives was there on merit, black, white, male or female, they had earned their place on his team.

The knock on the door brought him back to the present. Jim Ellison stood just inside the office. “Captain,” he waved the file, “we've got a connection between the killings.”

“Show me.”

The Sentinel crossed to the dry board, “the first killing was John Bennett, the next was Carl Day, and the third tonight, was Leo Bishop, all three were students at Rainier.”

“On the same course?”

“No, Bennett was on Sentinel Studies, Day was on Accounting, and Bishop on Archaeology. “All three men worked at a local club to raise money for their education. Two were on the swim team until their mutant powers cut in.”

“What could they do?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary, but it gave them agility and speed above the normal,” Jim flicked a page of the report, “Leo had all the makings of a first class professional skater, but once he came on-line it meant that he could not pursue a career in professional or amateur sport, but it didn’t stop him dancing.”

“All three of them worked at a club called the Watering Hole, it’s new and they boast that all their dancers are mutants, its popular among the thrill seekers. The reason we didn’t get the information to start with was that all of them danced under a different name, and their boss didn’t report them missing, and when their faces turned up on the newspapers, he turned a blind eye, the good of the club.” Simon didn’t miss the sarcastic bite to the Sentinel’s words.

“Is he willing to help us?”

“He is now,” the Sentinel almost purred the words as a smile twisted his lips.

0-0-0-0-0

Rainier University.

The beginning of term

Jubilation Lee, sat down in the lecture hall, and piled her books in front of her. A pretty girl with fine features, raven black hair worn long, swept back and pinned in place by a old gold colored slide, she clicked her chewing gum and slipped deeper in her seat as she recognized the teacher, “Dr. Blair Sandburg,” of all the people she had to meet up with.

The young man took his place in front of the lectern, “Good Morning, this is the first lesson of Sentinel 101, anyone in the wrong class should leave now?”

Two young men muttered apologies as they left the lecture hall. Blair just smiled and turned back to his class.

“For the next six months you are going to be studying Sentinels and Guides, and the social interaction of the clans and the world about them. Now open your books to page 12,” and he launched into his lecture.

0-0-0-

As the class started to filter out, Blair crossed to Jubilee. “How are you settling in Jubilee?” His smile was gentle, and she felt his concern as a soft caress of her mind.

“Fine, Dr. Sandburg, I just wish I didn’t have to leave the Mansion.”

Blair steered her away from the other students, “it was not a punishment. The Professor thought that if you studied Sentinel 101 for this term it would give you a better insight to what is happening with Logan and Gambit.”

“The Swamp Rat,” Jubilee spat the words, and then looked up into Blair’s eyes. “Sorry.”

“I understand, but I thought you did too, in New Orleans. I won’t lie; you made a major mistake in turning on Gambit, one that could have gotten you killed. Sentinels, especially those with the feral strain, don’t take kindly to people endangering their Guides. But I know that you want to make amends, you can do it.”

“But Gambit...”

“Gambit is an empath, if you let him in he will know what you’re feeling, and then Logan isn’t going to stand a chance.” Blair patted her arm. “At least give it a go.”

Jubilee nodded, not trusting herself to talk, she clung to her books as Blair walked away.

Logan had been her friend, her father figure, and her security blanket, during the days when all she had known was fear. He had rescued her and taken her to the Mansion. She had met Rogue for the first time, her older sister in the Logan Clan, and then Mandy and Kat had joined. All sisters together, who could gang together to bully Logan, A smile touched her lips as she remembered the time they had coaxed, hell, dragged him into taking them to the mall shopping. They had been a family.

And now there was Gambit. For the first time in her life Jubilee didn’t lie to herself, she was jealous that the Cajun had joined the family, but maybe the family could get bigger without her losing Logan.

Jubilee remembered what it had been like before she had come down to Rainier,

The weather was warm and the smell of newly cut grass had reminded Rogue of home, her father pushing the lawn mower across the grass, trying for the checkerboard effect that he loved. Mandy and Kat had a firm grip on Gambit’s long sleeved shirt, even in this heat the Cajun didn’t wear short sleeves, and still wore the habitual dark glasses ( the sun was too harsh for his light sensitive eyes), and his cropped leather gloves.

“Come on Gambit, you promised, two on two, no powers flag football.” Mandy pleaded, at the same time Rogue appeared and Gambit stopped dead in his tracks.

“Bingo, game over,” Kat said with a grin, you’d have to be blind not to see that Gambit and Rogue had a thing going, the only problem was that Gambit and Rogue seemed to be the only ones not clued in about it, which made it a great spectator sport.

Rogue had tried to talk Jubilee into playing but the younger girl had just shook her head. It hurt Rogue to see her younger sister-by-clan like this. Logan declined as well, preferring to sit under the nearest tree with a beer in his hand watching his cubs playing with his Guide.

His Guide was young and hyper, this would help burn off some of his energy, and then later he would bond, and maybe this time Gambit would not be so impulsive. But then, according to Dr. Sandburg, Logan took a pull on the beer, hard to think that kid was a PhD. in Sentinel science, Gambit was a Dark Guide, and they were from time immemorial a hand full in the bond. What was it they said, the only tamed Dark Guide was a …….

He was brought back to the present by a yell?

The game was now forgotten and had turned into a free for all, with the cubs pinning his Guide to the ground. Rogue, with her superhuman strength was holding Gambit down with one hand as the other two girls pushed newly cut grass down the back of his shirt, as Rogue herself was thrusting a handful of grass down the front of his Guide’s tight jeans.

With a grin Logan got to his feet, “Rogue!” At her name she stopped what she was doing and looked up, her hand still down the front of Gambit’s jeans. Logan carefully raised an eyebrow, looked from her face to her hand and back up again, and allowed his grin to broaden. Rogue colored bright red and tried to jerk her hand free, and in doing so found she was stuck, her face got hotter as she tried to free herself. Her overheated brain finally registering that if she released the grass she could get her hand out, she pulled back so fast that she landed on her backside looking up at Logan, who turned on his heels and walked back towards the mansion.

He heard the footfalls and Gambit was at his side, he had allowed his mate to play and now they needed to bond. Sentinel and Guide soul mated for this life and the next.

Logan made a mental note to talk to Sandburg about the dreams, he was pretty sure that Gambit shared them when they slept in the bond, and he wanted to know what they meant. Normally he would have dismissed them, but there were dimensions to the Dark Bond, as Sandburg had described it, that he had to understand, the Darkest Bond was coming and he wanted to be ready.

He saw Jubilee from the corner of his eye, tears streaking her face as she watched them leave. Logan had to fight the urge to release his claws. He felt the touch of Gambit’s mind, like a soft caress against his anger, the touch of fingertips brushed the back of his hand, and he let the anger drop away. She was going to Rainier for a term, to learn more about Sentinels and Guides, and maybe then she would be able to return to the clan; in his heart of hearts he missed her.

A cough brought Jubilee back to earth and to the present.

“Hi, you’re new.”

“Only here,” Jubilee grinned.

The girls laughed, the oldest of the three looked to be in her early twenties with long blond hair pulled back and fixed with a thick black hair band. “We saw you talking to Dr. Sandburg, good looking isn’t he?”

“I suppose so,” she had not really given it much thought.

“Open your eyes and look,” the blond girl put in, “pity he’s one of them.”

“He’s gay,” Jubilee mouth dropped open.

“No, he’s a Guide, an empath, and his Sentinel is a real hunk, I would not mind being a filling in that sandwich,” the others burst out laughing and Jubilee joined it, she has not made any friends yet, and the girls looked fun.

The blond did the introduction, “I am Crystal, this is Julia,” she pointed to a smaller girl, all of five foot one, with curly dark hair, “and this is Pam,” indicating the third girl that had mousy brown hair. Jubilee was all too aware she was the youngest of their group.

“Come, we’ll show you around.” Crystal caught her arm and tugged her up. She added in a whisper, “Dr. Sandburg was in entertainment you know.”

“No?”

Julia traded a grin with her friends; this was going to be fun.

“Oh. He had a film career,” Crystal steered Jubilee away as she added, “are you doing anything tonight?”

0-0-0-0-0-0

Jubilee was stood outside of her apartment, the Professor had paid good money to get her decent accommodation in Cascade, and she was well aware that she was luckier than a majority of her fellow students, in that she didn’t have to share a shoebox with three other people.

Because this was her first night out since she had come to Cascade she had decided to dress to kill, her hair adorned by a jade slide, the high mandarin necked silk blouse, black skirt and shoes, made her look stunning. She had already seen the looks of some of the boys as she waited for Pam to pick her up, in the last few weeks she had made good friends with the three girls. All three, Crystal, Julia and Pam, had good academic heads on their shoulders, but a wicked sense of humor that had helped her cheer up.

Pam pulled the car up and Jubilee piled in. Julia and Crystal were already in the back and leaning over the seats, “You are going to love this place, the guys are wow,” she passed Jubilee a hip flask. “Come on Jubes, don’t be prissy, a shot of whiskey to make the evening go with a swing.”

Jubilee hesitated and then took a mouthful, the girls were watching so she was not going to be a baby, even if she was three years younger than them.

Pam reached over her shoulder and swerved as Jubilee yelled, “watch that car!” But Pam ignored her and took a swig of the whiskey.

“Smooth, girl, just like that new dancer, body to die for, hot sex on toast,” Crystal whispered a comment in Julia’s ear, too low for Jubilee to hear. Julia joined in the laugh.

“What we eating tonight girls?” The conversation was making the younger girl a little uneasy. “What about Italian?”

“We have a taste for Cajun, what you say Jubilee, a little hot Gumbo?”

“Yeah okay.” Jubilee sat back and looked out of the window, she got a feeling that something was happening round her and she had no idea of what.

Pam parked the car round the back of the club and Jubilee for the first time got a look at “The Watering Hole.” The bouncer stopped them, and if she was honest Jubilee was praying that they would be refused entry, but the bouncer just pocketed the fifty that Pam gave him and waved them through.

The dancer had already started; walking behind the other taller girls Jubilee didn’t see what was happening until they suddenly parted.

“Now that is hot Gumbo.”

She looked up and her mouth dropped open, the dancers ankles were locked round the top of the pole, he dropped his body backward, and caught the pole with his hands so that his long lean body was stretched nearly the full length of the pole, his long auburn hair brushing the ground. He slid down, his hands touching the floor in a handstand, his long legs releasing the pole and he rolled forward coming to his feet, his body moving sensually to the music. Sweat coated his body, all he wore was a pair of skin-tight jeans, so tight they must have been spray painted on him.

The dancer somersaulted and then went into a single hand walk over before landing in the split position, his head resting on his knee, his long hair veiling his features, then his upper body snapped upright hair flying clear of his face.

The dancer rolled onto his stomach, then spun onto his side and up to his feet, three steps and he was wrapped round the pole again.

The stage went black and the club’s clients went crazy.

When the lights came back on a new dancer was starting.

Jubilee’s mouth was hanging open. “See what I mean, Hot and spicy,” Pam said, as with a fingertip she pressed the younger girl’s jaw shut. “Our meal for tonight. How much have we in the kitty?” Crystal pulled out a thick roll of money. “400.

Jubilee you tell the manager we want personal lap dances from the Cajun.”

“Errr, not a good idea, I mean...”

“Jubilee, it’s not like we’re going to fuck him.” Crystal took great pleasure in the look on the younger girl’s face. “Go get him girl,” and pushed her towards the bar.

The crowd had opened enough for her to reach the bartender. “Mister.” Her face drained of color as the bartender turned and she found herself looking into ruby colored glasses, and at Scott Summers.

Six weeks earlier.

Westchester

Blair dropped his hand onto his Sentinel’s arm, “Easy Jim, we’re entering their territory, Logan has a Guide, he isn’t going to claim me.”

“Just who is this Logan,” Simon leaned forward, his breath catching, as the cramp in his legs made itself known.

Blair twisted in his seat, “Logan is a Sentinel Primal, the only one that I have ever found, and I am hoping that he will let me document him.” Simon rolled his eyes, Sandburg was bouncing, and the kid had more energy than the energizer bunny.

“Jim?” Simon decided to bypass Blair, he had the feeling he was about to get a lecture on the subject, he could almost feel sorry for this Logan if Blair had set his sights on him.

“Sorry Simon,” the Sentinel apologized for his guide and took up the story, “Logan is a Primal Dark Sentinel, and his Guide, Gambit, is a Dark Guide.”

The big Captain flopped back in his seat, “You mean there’s two of them,” and under his breathe he added, “oh shit!” Simon had had a few run-ins with the Dark Guide, and seeing the normally peaceful Blair Sandburg turn into the dangerous volatile persona of the ancient Dark Guide had been something he hoped never to see again.

“So how stable is this err, Gambit,” Simon trailed off as Blair cut across him.

“You’ll get your chance to find out.”

A man who looked to be younger than Blair stood on the steps of the Mansion. . His auburn hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and his face was framed by bangs, he was tall, six foot two, and had a rangy build. He was wearing a black battered duster over jeans and t-shirt; sneakers covered his feet. The newcomer looked, to Simon, normal except for the fact he was wearing dark glasses on an overcast day. His hands were in his pockets.

“Salute Blair, James.” The accent Simon identified as Cajun, remembering it from his holiday in New Orleans.

The younger man closed the distance between them. Gambit turned to Blair first and the Cajun crossed his hands over his chest, wrist to wrist, the flat of his hands so the tips of his fingers touched his shoulders, then lowered his head down. Blair copied the greeting, only then did the two Dark Guides seem to stand down. “Permission is granted brother.” Blair’s voice had the husky tone of the Dark Guide.”

Gambit turned to Jim, his voice dropping to the same sensual purr, “James,” and leaned in, as he tipped his chin up, exposing his throat. Taking great care as if he was fragile, Jim rested his hand round the younger Dark Guide’s waist, and then scented at this throat.

A loud roar caused Simon to pull his service revolver and spin round, as a newcomer strode towards them. The man was Jim’s age, a mass of dark hair, he was only five-five if an inch, but pound for pound was as well built as the Cascade Detective. As he came at them there was a ‘snitk’ and Simon jumped back as three deadly blades shot from each hand and the man roared his challenge.

“Simon don’t move,” Jim warned, and then he acknowledges the newcomer. “Logan,” but he never broke eye contact with the more primal Sentinel.

Before anything could develop, Blair acted; ignoring his own Sentinel he stepped out in front of Logan and lifted his chin, exposing his throat to Logan in an open invite to scent him.

Logan detected the change in scent, Blair was scared, the need to protect a Guide overrode everything; he pulled Blair close, nuzzled at his throat, clumsily petted his head and back to calm him, it was only then he exchanged Blair for his own Guide, wrapping his arms round the tall Cajun and holding him close.

It was Jim that did the introductions, “Simon, this is Logan and Gambit.” He paused, “Logan, Gambit, Captain Simon Banks, Major Crimes Cascade PD.”

Simon slowly holstered his service weapon, ready to follow the Sentinel and Guide’s lead. Only then did the claws retract, but even so Logan kept Gambit away from the Captain.

“Why the visit Ellison, the bond’s strong, we don’t need you.” The feral Sentinel tightened his one arm grip round his Guide’s waist.

“Police business, we might need the help of the X-Men.”

0-0-0-0-

Professor Xavier scanned in the pictures taken of the nightclub, and in a few seconds the danger room had replicated the club.

Scott entered and looked round him, his mouth dropping open, “Gambit,” Scott was already yelling for the Cajun X-Man, “you get you backside down to the Danger room, and I am mean now Cajun.”

Xavier could not help but smile. “I programmed this Scott, not Remy, now this is Captain Banks, he needs help on a triple murder case in Cascade, three young boys, all mutants, have been killed, we need to send in someone undercover.”

“I’ll go,” Scott put in straight away, he would not ask one of his X-Men to do something that he hadn’t checked out first.

0-0-0-0

Gambit came into the Danger Room in time to see Scott Summers lose his grip on the pole in the center of the stage, his balance was wrong, his foot slid down and he landed heavily on his backside.

“Great move Cyke, music to suffer by.” Gambit yelled as he saw their fearless leader struggling to untangle from the pole.

“You think you can do better Gambit?” This was a direct challenge.

Gambit shed his black duster like a second skin, then in one stride went into a cartwheel to a hand spring, and the momentum threw him towards the pole; he caught it and then swung round, before somersaulting off.

“Like that Cyke?” Gambit grinned as Scott turned to the Professor.

“Great, he’s like human Velcro,” then his face softened into a smile. “Well done Remy.” The Cajun dropped his barriers slightly and found the warmth of pride in the emotions that Scott was projecting at him, he wasn’t angry for being shown up, the reverse, he was pleased that Gambit had done so well.

“Congratulations Gambit, you have the job.”

“W’at Job?” He looked from Professor Xavier to Simon, puzzled.

“You’re the newest pole dancer at the Watering Hole.” Simon put in, and then cringed as he saw the look on the man called Logan’s face, he looked ready to kill.

0-0-0-0

“Like hell Gambit is going to Cascade alone, over my dead body, bud.” Logan’s voice had the bite of the darkest primal Sentinel; he had his Guide pinned in the corner of Xavier’s study, blocking all access to him.

“No cher, it’s something Gambit has to do. Gambit could not allow another homme to die.” The mutant Guide’s hand was running over his Sentinel’s shoulder, allowing his touch and voice to sooth his Sentinel.

“Then I am coming with you Cajun.” His eyes flicked from Sentinel to Guide to Captain, and it was not a statement, it was a written law.

Jim nodded in agreement, no Sentinel would allow his Guide to go into danger alone, Logan’s reaction was to be expected and applauded. “The Watering hole, as of tomorrow, will need a new bouncer, think you can manage that?”

He didn’t get an answer but the look on the Primal Sentinel’s face promised death to anyone that tried to touch his Guide.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Part two

The Present - Cascade

The Watering Hole Night Club

Like any nightclub it was easy to walk past it in daytime, it looked drab and uninviting, but once the lights came up, it became a beacon for women out for a good time.

Jean Gray straightened her Channel power suit and walked over to the bar. She had picked up on her husband’s shock at seeing Jubilee, but she handed the $300 dollars over and ordered the Cajun for her private booth. Without a backward look the brunette X-woman took her seat.

Ten minutes later the Cajun reappeared wearing the same sprayed on jeans, but with a loose scarlet shirt covering his upper body, a pair of sneakers on his feet, habitual dark glasses covering his eyes. For a moment he paused and got his bearings, then took a seat in the booth, sliding across the seat so they were hidden from view.

Immediately, Jean captured his hand, her mind opening to allow him to link, she could only imagine what the emotions in the club were doing to the younger man. He might have very strong shields, but even so it would wear him down quickly, that had been the second dance of the night and with each one the women were getting more rowdy. “Gambit you need to keep a firm hold on your empathy, you’re broadcasting dear.” She reached a hand out and brushed his hair away from his eyes, “and you don’t need those with me.” Jean fingers lightly touched his dark glasses, and then stroked his face with the back of her hand.

“Cyke won’t like that.”

“Scott is busy, and Gambit, you’re no threat.”

“Gambit could be.” He cocked his head to one side and hooked his glasses, pulling them down so that he could see over them.

“But Gambit knows that I love Scott, and would not do anything to threaten that, now would he

“Non.” He paused, “but Logan...”

“Business Remy.” She saw the smile touch his lips, “are you picking up anything?”

Gambit shrugged, “Dere is a dark cloud in dis club, Gambit he picks up lust, sex of de fine femmes, but someone wants to kill, tried to lower mon charm but nearly lost it.”

“Think about those feeling, and I will track the emotions back to their sender.”

“Non!”

“Remy you let me in before, please.”

“Too dangerous.”

“I am willing to take the risk,” she gave his hand a squeeze.

Without warning Gambit dropped his barriers and she felt as if she was being sucked into his mind, it was like trying to stand in a high wind, she stumbled but finally managed to keep her footing. Gambit stood leaning against his barriers, but this was a different Gambit, he wore a pair of slashed tight jeans, a black t-shirt that was too long, and an old battered brown trench coat. He looked younger, the cigarette in his hand flicked towards her, and it exploded near her face, making her pull back. “Y’ still want to go ahead with dis?”

“Yes.” Jean saw the way he tipped his head to one side as if trying to puzzle her out, “No agenda Gambit, remember.”

Taking a chance, she closed the distance between them and held her hand out. For a long moment nothing happened, and then she felt his hand curl round hers. Together they moved deeper into his mind.

The mindscape of everyone’s mind was different, Storm’s was an English County garden, Logan’s... she gave a shudder, and for Gambit it was the streets of New Orleans French Quarter and Bourbon Street. For Jean it was like looking at photographs, but as they approached each picture they changed into a portal entrance that would take them through to that memory.

The newest of the memories took them back into the club, and she shuddered at the emotions from the women as Gambit had danced. Like a frenzied feeding of a school of sharks, the colors in the club were red and pulsing.

Turning, Gambit pointed to the back of the club, and she followed the thread of emotions, a thread jet black and decaying, with the poison of dark emotions, lust, hate, and the need to kill. Jean carefully collected the emotions and the imprint from them, and sealed them in a box, she looked round to find Gambit watching himself dance, and she felt the self loathing and guilt pouring off the younger man, those would have to be addressed later when the case was over, she sensed they were old emotions. She reached for his hand and squeezed it softly until he looked away from the stage back to her again. “Time to go home Gambit.”

“I am home.”

There was such despair in his voice that Jean pulled him into a hug, “No Remy, home is Logan and the X-Men.” Keeping a firm grip on him she pulled back to the barrier, only then releasing him, “remember you’re loved Remy.” Then she slid through the barriers, feeling them strengthen behind her.

Gambit’s eyes fluttered open and for a split second he looked lost.

“All over Remy.” Leaning forward she pressed a kiss to his forehead, then checked her watch, “remember you have back up, you’re not on your own.”

0-0-0-0-0

Scott saw his wife leave the booth, then turned his attention back to Bobby as the Iceman laid his tray down on the counter. Scott loaded it with another load of drinks. “I would not mind Slim, but that’s another forty dollars that those old ladies have just pushed down my jeans, and I am not even dancing.”

“Bobby,” the name was a warning.

“Okay, okay, keep an eye on Gambit.” Turning on his heels Bobby started back into the belly of the club. In the distance Rose Connor was closing the ‘staff only’ door. At 58 she was the den mother of the Watering Hole, she acted like a mother for the dancers, and her grief at the recent deaths was genuine. She had worked at the club for the last ten years.

Bobby saw the look of distaste on her face as she bumped into the new bouncer, one Marie Parker. Rogue looked the part in her tux, her hair pulled back and twisted up in a knot. She touched her hair with a gloved hand as she stepped out of the older woman’s way.

The lights began to dim for the next dancer. Looking round Rogue saw Jubilee and her mouth hardened. Under the way of the clan Jubilee was her younger sister, she headed for them, but the owner of the club, Max Simon, reached her first. Her eyes widened and she followed him to the dancer’s dressing rooms behind the stage. Her first concern was Gambit; she took a steadying breath when she saw that the Cajun was okay.

Gambit knelt over a young Asian dancer, he shook his head, “He’s dead.” Rising he caught Rogue’s shoulders and all but dragged her out, “Y’ don’t want to see dat petite.” He tightened his hold as her face paled, the dancers face had been beaten to a pulp in a frenzied assault.

Rogue knew that Logan was not going to be happy about this, he had nearly taken the Danger Room apart when he had been told he was needed for another mission on the eve of their departure for Cascade.

She had taken his place because she was ‘family’, and had promised to look after Gambit. Now she had to live up to that promise to protect the Cajun.

0-0-0

Jim Ellison looked at the body, this was the latest killing and the murderer was getting more and more bold. This time he had attacked the dancer in the one place he might have thought himself safe, his own dressing room.

“Who found the body?”

Officer Martin Holt let his eyes drift over the guide who stood at the Sentinel’s shoulder, and pointedly ignored him. After all you didn’t acknowledge a guide dog, and as far as he was concerned that was all guides were, the new regulation be damned. “A cleaning lady called Mrs. Connor, she screamed and one of the dancers came running.” He shook his head, “dances as the Raging Cajun, a regular blackened fish eating Cajun, can’t even speak English, you wouldn’t think he’s American, more like a frog eater.” There was bitterness in his voice and was mirrored in his emotions that ate at Blair’s barriers, Jim felt his guide shudder

“Watch your mouth Holt,” the warning was said softly, but the look in Jim Ellison’s eyes brought Holt to a full stop, he had crossed the line and he knew it.

“So which room’s he in.” Jim could smell Gambit’s scent and could have followed it, but he had to play the game, Gambit was supposed to be a stranger to him.

“Room t... t... three,” Holt stuttered. Ignoring him, Jim shepherded his Guide through the door first. The officer wasn’t Guide safe, and to a Sentinel there was no worse crime.

Jim pushed the door open. Gambit sat at the dressing table, the room empty except for a duffle bag in a corner. The Cajun was playing cards; the only noise in the room was the slap of pasteboard. Blair closed the door behind them, “Are you alright Remy?”

“Non, de ba’tard killed him unduh our nose, we got to stop him.” He paused, “De homme didn’t break in.” Gambit scooped the cards up, “De time window for de killin means de killuh was in de club. He picked Chung, could have been Gambit, Jean bought me private time, Chung he went back straight after de dance.” He tapped the cards bringing them into line, and slid them into his pocket.

“Did you pick anything up?” Blair asked as Jim looked round the room.

“Oui, evil, lust, hate, dis is one sick homme, Blair.”

The Sentinel halted and looked back at Gambit, “Remy, come here.”

With a shrug the X-Man did as he was asked, keeping his movements slow, Jim reached for his hand and brought it up so that he could inhale his scent. Blair caught Gambit’s arm to stop the even younger Guide from pulling away. Releasing it, Jim duplicated his actions with Gambit’s other hand.

“Talk to me Jim.” Blair released his hold and placed his own hand on Jim’s shoulder, linking, and allowing his mind to brush that of his Sentinel.

“Any reason anyone should be touching your stuff Gambit?” Jim nodded to the closet, “this reeks of scent.” He wrinkled his nose, pulled the door open, and nearly gagged, the corrupt scent was rancid to the Sentinel, and he began to spiral down into a void, as the world blacked out.

Blair only had time to yell a warning as the two Guides caught the big police officer and lowered him to the ground. With Gambit supporting him, Blair wrapped himself round his Sentinel, using his hands and voice to coax him back. When that failed, his mind, with the power of a kick ass Dark Guide, tore through the void, hauling the Sentinel back to the present. Jim came round with a start, his breath catching in his throat, his grip tightening on his Guide.

“Talk to me Jim. What was it?”

When he tried to look towards the closet Blair caught his chin and stopped him, “No big guy, concentrate only on me, you’re not going down that road again.”

Ellison dipped his head and inhaled his Guide’s scent; wrapping his senses round his Guide, all he could hear was the younger man’s heart, all he could taste and smell was his Guide’s scent, at that moment the world was Blair Sandburg. Listening to the sound of Blair’s voice, he was coaxed back, until all his senses were re-set to a manageable level. Finally he could talk.

“The scent was bad Chief, really bad, decayed. The killer was in here, and then when Gambit didn’t come back he went after the other dancer. He was after you Remy, looks like we baited the hook a little too well.”

“What am I going to tell Logan,” the female voice brought the three men round. Rogue was stood in the doorway; she was all but wringing her hands.

“If the killers after Gambit, Logan has to know...”

“Logan’s not to know Cher,” Remy put in quickly. “Logan is undercover, he can’t break cover for Gambit, understand, too dangerous for him.”

“But...?”

“We handle it.” His red on black eyes flicked from Jim to Blair to Rogue and back again. “De killuh will be back, and we get him, oui?”

There was a knock on the door, “Captain Banks is here detective.” The police officer stood waiting.

“Coming. Blair take Mr. LeBeau’s statement, and Miss Parker’s, and I expect to see you in 20 minutes.” Jim made his tone all business.

The look on the uniform’s face made Jim itch to put a fist through that smug expression, the man was just waiting for Jim to put Blair in his place, a Guide was a legalized slave to a Sentinel, with no rights until recently, and many people didn’t like the changes.

Blair tugged the notebook from his backpack as the door closed, “we’d best get this down Mr. LeBeau.”

The Cajun just looked at Jim’s retreating back, “How y’ take dem looking at y’ like dat, like y’ nothin more dan a pet dawg.”

“Holt?” Blair shrugged, “a long story.”

“Give us de Reader’s Diges’ version.”

Blair had the feeling he wasn’t going to get the statement until he did.

“Holt’s brother and his partner Richard Travis crossed the path of a Sentinel, a woman called Alex Barnes. She had me as her pet Guide, took everything away from me, threatened to kill Naomi if I tried to leave her.”

“Naomi?” Rogue put in, “Your girlfriend?”

“No, my mother,” Blair continued, “ It was only when Namoi was reported killed in a car crash, that I was able to contact Jim, and betray Alex to the police.” Blair’s voice became distant “as it was I ended up killing her to protect Jim.

“Betray?”

“I was her guide, okay I never wanted to be, but she was my sentinel what else can you call it”.

“And Holt”, Rogue promoted.

Alex shot Travis, and killed his partner. The police thought Travis had been injured protecting him, and he was awarded a medal for bravery. On the back of that he got rapid promotion, and ended up in Major Crimes. When the truth came out he was demoted and,” Blair shrugged, “he hates my guts. He blames me for what happened, and maybe he’s right.”

Blair was lost in the moment, until he felt a hand rub his shoulder and he looked up at Gambit, the two Guides had both suffered, and Gambit was the one person that could understand guilt, even misplaced guilt.

“Y’ want dat statement Blair?”

0-0-0-0

As Jim walked down the corridor with Travis he slowed, the decayed smell was back, turning his stomach; he halted at the air conditioning vent.

“Give me your nightstick,” he added, “now,” with a snarl. Using it he pried off the vent cover, pulled on a pair of latex gloves, and reached up and along as far as he could. His fingertips grazed something. Stretching, he managed to catch hold of it, a baseball bat, the end covered with blood. His eyes focused on it, and he saw hair of more than one color, and skin fragments; this was the murder weapon.

“Get Captain Banks and Lieutenant Plummer, and Travis, you tell anyone about this bat and you’ll be on the morgue patrol for the next twenty years.” Jim’s tone told him it wasn’t a threat; it was a promise.

Lieutenant Plummer, Jim’s ex-wife, was a petite blond woman, as always she was dressed in a smart two-piece skirt suit., She took the bat and laid it down on a sterile sheet. “I am going to need to take this back to the lab for testing.”

“No.”

“Jim, this has to be tested.”

“The killer has used it on all the killings, he’s not going to leave it. I scented him in the Cajun’s room, he’s going to be back for the kid, if he finds his weapon of choice gone then he is going to rabbit so fast we’re never going to catch him.”

Caroline shook her head. “You can’t ask a civilian to act as bait for his killer Jim, its too dangerous.”

“It’s the only way,” he looked at Simon, seeing the expression on his Captain’s face, “Gambit is prepared to take the risk, I know he is.”

“Lieutenant, take the bat and you have two hours to run your tests and gather information, then I need it back here. Jim, get the vent changed and in the meantime I will have this area completely sealed off, then we bait our trap.”

The last comment was for Caroline’s benefit, the X-Men were already in place.

0-0-0-0-0

In the dressing room, Blair closed the notebook and stowed it away in his jacket, “I’ll get it typed up and you’ll have to come in and sign it.”

“Gambit can’t go into a polize station.”

“If you’re not on the file they.” Blair’s voice trailed off, “You are on record aren’t you.” As he saw the look on Gambit’s face.

“Interpol, that all, but dey would like to get deir hands on Gambit” The Cajun X man added, “Gambit and the X-Men will have de killuh by den Blair, and y’ won’t need it”

0-0-0-0-0

Back in the corridor Simon was puzzled and asked. “How did you miss the bat when you first came down here, if it smells that bad.

Jim reached a hand up to the vent, “the air conditioning keeps cutting in and out and that wafted the scent. The killer left this,” he pulled down a small bag of sage, “he was using that as a mask, but when the air conditioning cut in, it circulated the scent and the sage could not handle it. Sometimes even Sentinels have to get lucky.”

0-0-0-0-0

Scott Summers was wiping the bar down, at the same time watching the reaction of the customers to the fact that they had to wait for the police to finish with them. Jubilee was moving from one foot to the other. He didn’t have to be a telepath to know that she was scared that she was going to be found out as being underage.

The police officer checking ID’s looked at hers and for a moment seemed to freeze and then handed it back, and continued on to the next group.

Pam sighed, “You didn’t tell me you had a fake ID, I thought we had it then.”

“Errr didn’t want to brag.” But Jubilee was looking past her to the businesswoman. Jean Gray was an alpha telepath, and had worked her magic on the police officer, but at the same time Jean’s voice entered her mind. <Jubilation Lee, Mr. Summers will be talking to you later, go back to the flat now, and stay home>.

<I am not a kid>, Jubilee shot back, she wasn’t a ‘path’, but she knew that Jean would hear her.

<Then stop acting like one>, the contempt was plain in her voice as she turned away.

0-0-0-0-0

Finally Jubilee was free from the club, and she climbed into the car, and the other girls piled in, Pam, immediately handed the younger girl a hip flask.

“I think we all need this after tonight,” she grinned, “but what a rush. I vote we all go back tomorrow night, I still have a craving for some hot spicy Cajun, girls.”

“It will be closed, the killing.”

“Jubilee, Jubilee, stop being so small town, they won’t be able to seat all the women that will want to be there, nothing like a good murder to get the juices flowing, and that got the juices flowing.” She took another pull and handed it to Julie.

Now that the flask was drained it was pushed back in her bag, it was then Jubilee saw the smear on the scarf, it looked black in the night light, but it was quickly pushed back into the bag, and she could not get away from the thought it was blood.

0-0-0-0-0

The Managers office in the Watering Hole had a shabby but homey (in the states homely is synonymous with ugly, homey is synonymous with homelike) feel about it, but given the amount of money that the club raked in nightly it was more a decorating statement than a financial one.

Scott was sat on the sofa with Jean, while Rogue was seated in an overstuffed armchair with Gambit perched on the arm.

The picture on the computer flickered and then cleared, as the security disc was played, there were three cameras in the club, and the recordings showed the activity from three locations, the front entrance, the main bar and the dance area. It showed Jubilee and her group entering, than taking a seat. , The camera panned through the dancing, and then the main bar. Scott was serving and Bobby taking the drinks through the throng of customers. He clearly jumped at one point when a wandering hand found his backside. The young man colored as he saw the grin Jean gave him.

Jim forwarded the disc, “This is when Gambit started his dance,” he froze the picture, in the background there was clearly caught in the flash of the lighting a figure, shapeless in the shadow, but near the employees entrance.

He advanced the disc a little further, and the camera panned round again, when it came back the figure was gone. He continued the disc, and this time the door opened exactly as there was a flash from the next dancer’s lighting.

At the computer, Blair’s fingers flashed across the keyboard, and the shadow was slowly lifted as the computer filled in the missing pixels and the face came into focus.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Back in her apartment Jubilee was seated at her desk, her fingers clicking over the keys of the laptop as she surfed the net. A knock on the door, and she froze, her heart pounding, this had to be Scott Summers at best, or Logan at worst. It would just be like Wolvie to break cover because of the Cajun, where that Swamp Rat was concerned he had a total blind spot.

But even so she wanted to see Logan so badly, but at the same time she was scared not so much of him, as what he might say. If he told her once and for all to leave she would be losing the only people she called family. The tears came to her eyes and fell silently down her face. Since her misguided betrayal of Gambit, Logan seemed to be hovering on the verge of exploding when he saw her, and once she had even heard the snitk of his claws flexing. Her anger had burned white hot when Gambit had touched him those long slender fingers running over the back of Logan’s hand, a touch a word and the Wolverine had calmed, and she had hated Gambit even more.

Now all she could do was wait for the sword to fall, and it would. She had broken the rules and the Professor, as kindly as he was, would not let her get away with that.

The knock on the front door was heavy and she jumped nearly knocking her coke over the keyboard, she shot up and pulled the door open only to find Pam, Julie and Crystal stood there.

“Hi girlfriend.”

“Hi,” she stood back and let them enter, without waiting for an invitation they opened her refrigerator and removed a six-pack of Coke.

“We’ve been talking,” Pam announced. “It’s bout time you heard about the real nature of guides and sentinels and not just that crap that Sandburg is spouting. I know a guy that can put you right.”

“Do you think we should, I mean...”

“Are you backing out on us?” Crystal put in, “You know there’s a lot of girls that would like to hang with us, but if you’re scared...”

“No, I’ll go. Let me get my coat,” she scooped up her yellow signature jacket.

The flask was passed between the girls in the car, as Pam was driving. She saw the look on Jubilee’s face as the younger girl realized that she had no idea where they were going. Before the question could be put she said.

“A surprise Jubes, you know we heard about your trouble with Dr. Sandburg.”

“He rejected my essay, so what, I should have done the reading, but...” She trailed off, but for all the effect her words had she might not have spoken, as the conversation flowed round her.

“Come off it Pammy, Doctor Sandburg is a Guide, how many on the board do you think he had to service to get his PhD.” The crudity was deliberate, to see Jubilee’s reaction. “Don’t look so shocked girl, don’t you know that all Sentinels fuck their Guides, submissive, docile and good in the sack.” Julie continued, “Only the GDP knows what they need, and Sandburg has corrupted it just like he corrupted his Sentinel. A Guide should be on his knees at his Sentinel’s side, not walking round as if he was a regular human. Filthy little whores the lot of them, we got talking to that woman from the club, she told us that the Cajun is an empath, explains it, a hot bod like that, bet he’s like sex on toast, four on one Cajun filling.”

Jubilee’s face blazed bright red as each of them tried to out do each other in what they would like to do with Gambit. She felt as if she was going to throw up.

The car came to a halt, and they piled out. This place looked dangerous and not for the first time she was pleased she had her powers to fall back on.

There was already about ten people there, she recognized three of them as being police from the club, and some from the University. She was getting a bad feeling about this.

“Can’t we go to the club and get that Gumbo” Any thing to get away from the place, she suppressed a shudder as she recognized a few Anti Mutant League armbands.

“Later, we’re going to get our appetite wetted first,” Pam told her, her tone showing that she was not going to explain any further.

“Pam, who is your friend?” The man’s voice came from behind them, Jubilee turned to find herself looking at a man in his late twenties, with dark hair, he was good looking but there was something round the eyes that reminded her of a cobra, “this is Jubilation Lee, David Lash. David use to be GDP before Sandburg ended his career.”

“Where do you come from Jubilation?” His voice was silky smooth; it felt like a snake sliding across her skin.

“Westchester, I am here for the Sentinel 101 course.”

“As taught by Dr. Sandburg,” he made the title and name sound like a curse. “Well let me show you how it should be taught.”

He strode forward to the screen, and then with a nod the lights went out, Jubilee was tugged to a canvas patio chair, and the lecture started.

Picture after picture came up on the screen, with each click of the remote. David Lash explained the corrupting nature of the guide, how they perverted their sentinel, how only the strict discipline of the GDP could keep them under control.

The pictures where sickening, a guide servicing three men with blacked out faces, begging for them to take him, offering himself to them on his knees and back

With a sickening thud Jubilee realized that it was Dr Sandburg, his body gaunt, the bones showing over his ribs, his hair matted and plastered against his sweat stained face, frozen in agony as his body was twisted by the different extreme wraps, as he was punished and violated. Now she knew what the girls meant about him being a star of video. Jubilee looked at her friends, and could see their excitement and hear the comments passing between them. Couldn’t they see the pain and terror in the eyes of Dr Sandburg, this wasn’t done with any consent; this was rape pure and simple and they where gloating over it. The meager amount of food that she had eaten before she came out started to come back up, and she had to hurry to the rear of the warehouse, into the darkness before throwing up.

When the light came back up, she heard a scuffle and a young man was pulled out and thrown on the floor he was naked his body already marked by deep black bruising. .

“Here we have a Guide,” David’s foot caught the prisoner in the stomach. “Now you will be shown how to leash a Guide. A rogue guide must be punished to enable them to come to understand the simple nature of their lives. They have no career no family, no will of there own, only that of their sentinel. He relies on them for clothes, food and protection. If the guide responds to our training then he will earn clothing, if not he will be punished. Don’t allow your emotions to get the best of you; we are not talking of citizen’s here, just Guides. For a moment he paused, and then threw the leash to one of the others, “Fred you’ve been studying, show them how to do the extreme leash.” The lights went down and only a spotlight lit up the struggling Guide and his tormentors.

The girls leaned close to watch. Turning, Jubilee saw a sliver of light as one of the doors to the street was opened, someone was leaving.

Jubilee knew she could not let this happen, she brought her hands up to send a shower of power in a multicolor discharge when the door to the warehouse buckled, exploded open, and the police came in fast. Yells of “Cascade Police. Freeze,” echoed through the warehouse. The lights came on again and the men surrounding them wore the word Sentinel stenciled on their vests. A tall well-built man, in black SWAT armor crossed to the kneeling Guide and pushed the man Fred away from him, his face showing his concern, “You okay?”

The young man nodded, but made no effort to stop the Sentinel, as he was pulled close in a hug, firm hands sweeping over him to check. Edwards snarled as his hand lightly brushed his Guide’s stomach and he could feel the heat from the bruising caused by the kick to the stomach. He had been against his Guide acting as decoy, but Jim Ellison had pointedly refused to allow Blair to put himself at risk, knowing that some of the GDP would be all too willing to put a bullet in his head considering him a rabid psycho Guide. So as the Guide Prime of Cascade, second only to Blair Sandburg, the Senior Guide Prime, David had acted as decoy.

Knowing that his Sentinel was following him had helped him get through the ordeal, that, and the knowledge that no one would ever be abused again by this group. So when his sentinel pulled his own coat round his guide’s naked body it was not just the warmth of the coat that soothed the guide, but their connection. He could not help but think he had only put up with the abuse for six hours and they hadn’t violated him, what had Blair done to survive the horror of his past. Rape and beatings had been a daily occurrence for the young Senior Guide Prime. He looked across at Jim Ellison; the Senior Sentinel Prime took the slides from the machine and put them into the evidence bag, his face a stoic mask.

Jim Ellison’s hand went to the cell phone, he muttered something and then strode over and handed the evidence bag to Edwards, “I have to go, take care of these, and make sure they don’t go missing, it’s Blair.” There was bitterness in the Senior Sentinel’s voice. Edwards just nodded and accepted the bag.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Scott had thought it through carefully; they had to get the killer legally. It was no good if the killer walked because of a violation of human rights.

This had to be done by the book, so he had put through the call to Jim Ellison and told him they were in position to make a move.

Ellison had spoken short and sharply, they where not to enter the house until he had the warrant, and it would be better for Rogue and Gambit to stay at the Club just in case this didn’t pan out, that way they would not have broken cover.

Jean and Scott sat in a car along from the suspect’s house, for the third time Scott checked his watch, Bobby was supposed to join them after his shift and the Iceman was still missing.

0-0-0-0-0

The Watering Hole Night Club.

Rogue was leaning against the bar, Bobby was just loading up his tray, as he winced “That one was as old as my grandmother, she pinched me, Rogue, I am not even dancing,” he rolled his eyes, “and it always gets worse when Gambit dances." He paused and hefted his tray up, balancing it carefully. “You know when we get back the Professor is going to have to train him to improve his block.”

When Rogue didn’t answer he gave a shrug and struggled off with his tray, muttering “women.”

The Raging Cajun was already on the dance platform and like Rogue the women only had eyes for him. Instead of his usual tight jeans he was wearing cropped faded jeans, the back pocket was hanging off, the front button undone, letting them settle lower on his hips. The music was hot and so was his act. The way he twisted round the pole it was as if he was making love to it. Gambit’s body was arching, twisting, stretching, it was a display of sexual gymnastics that would have gotten any gymnast banned for life. His long hair slapping round his face and shoulders, as he finished with a summersault onto the pole that left him stretched full length down the pole, his hair masking his face.

The lights went off and the club went into uproar.

Rogue had already moved into position, blocking any of the ladies that would have followed Gambit out the door to his dressing room. Even so she had to fight against putting a fist through the face of a woman that pressed a 50 into her hand with a note for Gambit. What she wanted from the Cajun was not a lap dance more like a horizontal tango for three. Rogue closed the door behind her, and tore it into pieces. The sooner this mission was over the better it was going to be.

By the time that Gambit had showered, changed and she had managed to get him to put his head down for a couple of hours to help him maintain his barriers against the raw sexual emotions of the women in the club the Watering Hole was in darkness.

Rogue poured some hot coffee and made some sandwiches before returning to the dressing room were Gambit sat playing cards, smiled, and put the cup down in front of him. He took a sip, and a look of surprise lit his face, honey, she had put honey in his coffee. Only Logan knew he liked that, and she had taken the time to find out. It was then she heard the squeak of Mrs. Connor’s cart as it came down the hallway, containing the costumes for the next evening’s show.

0-0-0-0-0

At the suspect’s house, Jim was making sure that Blair was wearing his Kevlar vest. It was not unknown for his young guide to forget to put it on.

Cyclops was in position, and at the command from Jim his optic ray cut through the door’s lock, the X-Men entering fast and spreading out. From the bathroom Jean called out telepathically, <you better see this, Jim, Cyclops>.

Laid in the bathroom was Mrs. Connors, her body nothing more than cold flesh and dried blood.

Bobby had arrived just as the forensic team did. He took one look at the body as it was being loaded on the gurney, and his face went gray, he had fought and he was sure that he had killed people, but this was different it was murder.

He swallowed hard to stop from throwing up. Turning away from the body he stuttered, “but I saw her arrive at the club, that can’t be her, she’s at the Watering Hole.” Scott hit the communicator, “Gambit, Rogue, the killer is in the club with you its Mrs. Connor.”

Jim and Blair were already out the front door and piling into the truck, the blue light slapped on the roof as it took off with a squeal of tires as they headed for the Watering Hole.

0-0-0-0-0

The communicatorscreamed its warning just as Gambit was checking out the main dance floor and as Rogue was checking the dressing room. It was just then that the lights went out. Gambit’s red on black eyes were designed for the night, so he easily saw the killer and dropped flat as the baseball bat swung at his head.

As he hit the ground Remy’s leg struck out, knocking her feet from under her, she landed heavily and rolled clear of his follow up kick to the head. Her hand came round and a light flared, seeming to burn through Gambit’s eyes. With a scream, his hands went to his eyes, only his heightened sense of spatial awareness saved him as he ducked under the bat as it arched at his head. Grabbing for her wrist, he charged the bat and threw her away from him. The bat exploded, sending them both flying, Gambit landed on the top of the tables that collapsed under the impact.

It was then he heard the murderer calling out to him, “Come on Cajun, accept your destiny, your death, what can you have to live for, a blackened fish eating bog hopper, we had a future, what’s yours, finding a John to pay your bills and.”

“Keep away from him,” the door from the dressing rooms burst open and Rogue came through. In the faint glow from the security lighting she saw Mrs. Connor heading towards Gambit, who was on all fours, and in that split second she knew he was blinded. With a snarl she launched herself off the ground at Mrs. Connor’s, taking her round the waist and throwing her the length of the room where the woman landed hard and didn’t move. Torn between checking on Gambit or Mrs. Connor, she went to the Cajun.

“Remy?”

He rubbed at this eyes, able to see some again. There was still a bright glare of white, but it was fading. His head felt as if it was going to explode, but at least he could see again.

“Stay here, I’d best check on her.”

Carefully Rogue leaned over the woman.

A piece of wood arced at Rogue’s face, the blow taking her in the side of the head and knocking her to the ground, the next blow into her side. Only the fact she was nearly indestructible saved her life, but it still stunned her.

Mrs. Connor pulled herself up to her knees and snarled, “Mutie bitch,” and swung again.

The exploding cards took her in the chest and blew her backwards away from Rogue. She was flung backwards, the front of her dress a charred mess, and then she straightened up. Under her clothes was a flack vest. She pulled an automatic from her coat and fired, and only his speed and agility saved Gambit as he twisted and somersaulted out of the way, putting distance between the killer and Rogue.

Gambit planted his Bo-staff in the carpet, and used it to run up the wall and drop behind the stunned woman. The Bo-staff twisted through his hands and arched at the back of her neck, charging just as it made contact. There was a loud bang, her head snapped back, and she went down as if every string had been cut. It was then he saw that in the impact her wig had fallen off, showing her own hair covered in a tight net, and it was then he realized the mistake they had all made.

Rogue groggily got to her feet and made her way over to the Cajun X-Man as he reached down, his fingertips brushing Mrs. Connor’s face. Finding a ridge, he pulled at it, the skin peeled back and he found himself looking at the face of a man. Blood was seeping from his mouth and nose, and his eyes were closed.

Gambit pulled Rogue close, he had thought he had lost her when Rose Connor had attacked. He could not see how anyone could survive that, and he had reacted, only knowing that he had to destroy the threat to her.

Rogue found herself almost plastered to the Cajun, her face pressed against his shoulder. She tried to move so that she could look up into his face, but he was holding her too tightly, talking to her in Cajun French, his hands moving over her back and head, as if needing to reassure himself that she was alright. Rogue found she didn’t mind.

It was then that she felt dampness. She managed to get a look at her hand and saw blood coating it. The Cajun has been hurt, and anger swept through her. She saw the puzzlement in his eyes, the fear of rejection as he felt her emotions, not sure of where her anger was aimed, “You’re hurt Remy,” Rogue tried to explain.

From the corner of her eye she saw movement, Mrs. Connor, or the man that was dressed as her, had moved? That was impossible, he was dead.

The gunshots echoed through the club like thunderclaps, Mrs. Connor’s body shuddered as the bullets took her through the head. Jim Ellison stood in the doorway, his smoking gun still held at the ready, Blair behind him.

“I’ll check on ‘her’ you see to Gambit and Rogue.” Jim knelt by the body. Even through the makeup and the violent damage inflicted by the bullet to the head, he could see the man’s face and breathed a name, “David Lash,” an emotional vampire that had killed Guide’s, enjoying the fear at the moment of death. Now he was dead.

It was then Jim smelt it on Lash... explosives!

Sending out his senses he was on his feet and running, he grabbed Blair by the scruff and pulled him away from the fuse box, throwing his Guide behind him.

“Jim?”

Sentinel eyes scanned the side of the box. Fresh scratch marks showed on the paint, and the screw heads were loose. Easing them out, he opened the box and saw the timer.

Grabbing Blair he dragged him away from the box and down the back corridor, shouting, “Gambit, Rogue, get the hell out of here, it’s going to blow.” Knowing they could not make it through the club to the X-Men in time and with a prayer that the two had heard the warning, Jim crashed through the fire exit. Blair and he were halfway across the car park when the club exploded.

The moment she heard the warning Rogue acted. She had survived the baseball bat attack only because, due to her powers, she was damn hard to kill, but if a bomb went off, the Cajun would die. She caught him up and flew for the door as she heard the whoosh of the explosion. Time had run out.

Rogue threw Gambit to the floor as the bomb exploded, using her body to shield him, her arms wrapped round his head, protecting him as the wall and roof began to come down. She grunted as debris thudded into her, but held tight. Only when there was silence did she slowly lift her head and look down at him.

But it was Gambit that spoke first, “Are y’ all right Cher?” Before she could pull back he cupped her face in his bare hand. She caught his wrist to push his hand away before her powers sucked out his very life force. But there was nothing, just the same tingling that she had felt before. Then he leaned up and kissed her. Rogue let her body sink down on top of him. When he broke the kiss, his red on black eyes sparkling, she gasped, “I always thought when they said the earth moved they were joking.”

“Then y’ nevuh been with a Cajun man Cher,” and he leaned up to kiss her again.

For the first time it felt as if a weight had been lifted from her, and her smile was breathtaking. “That better be your Bo-staff I can feel Cajun.”

His chuckle was low and sexy, “If y’ ax nice, Gambit might show y’ it.” But at the same time Rogue could see the pain, and she eased off him and helped him to his feet, his white shirt heavily bloodstained.

The flames were engulfing the club, running round the fittings. Ignoring his protest she picked him up with one arm round his waist and holding him close, she used the other to tuck his head under her chin, her arm covering his head, as she propelled her way through the skylight roof and into the night sky.

0-0-0-0

Cascade PD

Jubilee sat with the other people from the raid in the holding cells, she heard her name called and for a moment she felt relieved to be leaving this place, but her heart sank when she saw who was waiting for her, Cyclops and Detective Jim Ellison, and neither of them looked happy.

“I can explain,” was all she could say before Scott moved in on her and her plea’s fell on deaf ears.

0-0-0-0-0

Jubilee had thought she would never get away from the lecture. When Scott Summers started, it needed an act of god to get him to shut up. Finally she was home, and she just wished she had something a little stronger to drink, as it was she couldn’t sleep. Not only was she grounded by Scott, Ellison has hinted there was disciplinary action being taken, which might or might not cost her, her place at Rainier.

The knock on her front door was loud and she got the impression that the person was not going away, she pulled the door open and just stared.

“Salute petite.” The voice was slurred.

Gambit was leaning against the doorjamb; Rogue’s arm was around his waist keeping him upright. He yawned and his head rolled against Rogue. She tightened her grip. The Cajun was crashing and burning.

Bending slightly Rogue scooped the Cajun up and with a curt, “Stand back Jubes” she brushed past her heading for the sofa, and put him down, moving cushions to make him comfortable. She perched on the edge of the sofa, and carefully lifted his shirt to check on the large pad taped to his side, there was no new bleeding so he should be resting easy. Jubilee was totally ignored for the moment.

It could have been worse, a hell of a lot worse, or so Jubilee kept telling herself. She looked across at Gambit, the Cajun’s head was lolled back against the headrest, and he was certainly not feeling any pain. As if reading her mind, Rogue said, “The doctor put 15 stitches in Remy’s side, and the stuff he used has him flying as high as a kite, but that’s only until he crashes and burns. “Scott wants me to ride shotgun on you, and since I can’t leave sleeping beauty here, you get both of us.”

“But what if Pam comes by?”

“Than you introduce us to your friends,” it was then Rogue saw the look that Jubilee gave Gambit.

“Rogue, they’ll recognize him, he’s a mutant.”

“Well I hate to break it to you girl, you’re one as well, or have you forgotten?”

“Duh, but we pass as normal. Gambit, his eyes, they would creep anyone out. My friends...” Her voice trailed off as she saw the look Rogue gave her.

“Your friends, Jubes? What kind of friend takes you to an illegal meeting to watch Guide abuse, or to a pole dancing club come to that.”

“I didn’t know it was to be Guide abuse, they were misled, they had to be.” Jubilee tried to convince herself that that was the case. Pam would never have taken her if she had known.

“If you believe that girl, you’re in denial.”

Jubilee didn’t answer, she knew that Rogue was right, but still they were her friends.

It was then Gambit groaned in his sleep as he tried to move. Rogue shook her head and effortlessly picked the Cajun up, “that your room sugar?”

“Yeah,” then bleated, “Rogue no, you can’t. Rogue!”

Totally ignoring her, Rogue laid the Cajun down on the bed and started to remove his sneakers. She dropped them to the floor, then eased off his bloodstained shirt, and was reaching for the clasp on his jeans when she looked up at Jubilee, “you best turn round missy, just in case.”

“In case?”

“The Cajun goes commando, kiddo.”

Jubilee’s hand went to her mouth and she turned quickly away. She heard the jeans hit the floor and the sound of the comforter being pulled up.

“You can look now.” Rogue was sat on the edge of the bed, her fingers lightly stroking the sleeping man’s face, brushing strands of auburn hair from his closed eyes.

“You can touch him?”

“Duh,” Rogue parroted back one of Jubilee’s favorite expressions. “It happened in New Orleans when he kissed me.”

“Does he know?”

“After tonight, yes.” Rogue stood up, stripped down to her bra and panties, and slid under the comforter. “Don’t look so shocked Jubes, his barriers are down, and I can feel him projecting. That warm feeling, it’s Gambit.” Gently she coaxed him into her arms, without opening his eyes he snuggled closer to her.

“I may not be Logan, but I can shield you. Now sleep sugar,” she pressed a kiss to his forehead, and then pulled the comforter up round them.

0-0-0-0

3:00 a.m.

Jubilee tried to turn over yet again on the sofa; the cushions were rock hard. She swore, sat up, and looked towards the bedroom door. This was the last straw.

Jubilee got up, pulled on her dressing gown over her snoopy PJ’s, picked up her blanket and went back into her bedroom. For a moment she just stood there looking at the two already sharing it. It was a queen size, so why not. She started round to Rogue’s side and then muttered under her breath, not enough room.

So she has a choice, go back to the sofa or sleep next to the Cajun.

Well she had done it before.

Lifting the blanket she carefully slid in, spooning up behind him, it was either that or fall out. Her hand hovered above him, not sure where to put it. In the end she slid it round his waist and snuggled under the cover. With any luck she would be up before Gambit and would never have to explain.

Gambit’s eyes flickered, opened, and he found himself nose to nose with Jubilation Lee. A smile touched his lips; it was then he realized that Rogue was still holding on to him. She had molded herself to him, her hand resting on the waistband of his boxers, her fingers splayed across his groin. He could feel every warm curve of her body against his.

Trapped between the two of them, he began to imagine dead kittens, anything to stop the wonderful feeling of Rogue’s hand as she nestled closer to him in her sleep. It was nearly his undoing when she pressed a kiss to the back of his neck, her face rubbing against him as her hand tightened.

Jubilee’s eyes opened and she started violently, finding herself looking into the flashing red on black eyes of Gambit. Letting go, she fell backward taking the blankets with her and landed with a thud on her bottom.

Gambit peered over the edge of the bed, “Y’ okay petite?” There was a grin on his face as Jubilee fought to get the blankets off her. It was then she saw the funny side of it and laughed, and could not stop, the tears falling down her face.

Rogue groggily lifted her head, and two things registered; one, she was still holding onto Gambit; and two, that he liked what she was doing as his body came alive under her hand.

“Whoops, sorry sugar,” her hand came off him as if it was burned. Then she propped herself up so that she could see over his shoulder, “Jubilee?” She sounded puzzled.

Gambit swung his long legs off the bed and reached for Jubilee, tugging her up to sit on the bed, wrapping an arm round her, “It’ alright Jubilee.” He slowly reached a hand up to wipe away tears; her whole body was shaking. “Rogue y’ get her a drink oui.”

“Remy?”

She caught the look on his face and disappeared into the kitchen.

Lowering his barriers, Gambit allowed his empathy to cocoon Jubilee, he had to concentrate, but she must have felt it because she stopped crying, her eyes red and puffy, and for the first time looked at him.

“I am sorry Gambit, really am.” She took a shuddering breath. “I never knew. They said that you were hurting Logan, and I could not let you do that. When, when they...” She looked down at the carpet, not able to say the words.

Gambit’s long slender fingers covered her hand; she felt the brush of his fingertips, the hard calluses that mirrored the ones on her hands from when her powers had come on-line. He turned her hand over. “Wolverine is still angry, but Logan knows different petite. Gambit will make Wolverine see de truth.”

Jubilee’s anger flared, she didn’t need Gambit, but then maybe she did. For the first time in her life she let her mind open up, and let her feelings go. She heard the Cajun gasp, and then his arm tightened round her.

Jubilee spun round. “Gambit? Remy?”

“Gambit fine Jubilee.” He brushed her face. “Now we make de old man see we all family.”

The younger girl nodded and returned the hug.

0-0-0-0-0

It was as if Gambit was hit with a steam roller, the ceiling seemed to crash down on top of him, his head was spinning and he could not stop the cry of pain as part of his mind splintered and blew apart. Gambit’s breathing became faster and he tried to break free of Jubilee’s hold on him.

Jubilee saw the sheer panic on his face, and the lost look as he brought his elbow down onto the pressure point to make her release her hold.

“Gambit,” she tried to grab hold of him but her arm was numb. He rolled off the bed, hitting the floor and coming up making for the door. All the younger girl knew was that she had to stop him; something was wrong major time. Jubilee threw herself across the room and caught him by the hips and brought him crashing down as she screamed for Rogue, already the carpet was beginning to charge.

Rogue didn’t know what was going on but the carpet was about to explode. She swore violently; gripping the carpet she tore it off and threw it out of the window. It hit the dumpster and there was a loud bang as it exploded.

Jubilee had been flipped off the Cajun, he had almost got to his coat where it lay draped across the back of the sofa, when Rogue hit him, the impact taking him over the back of the furniture. Rogue twisted so that she hit the floor first, her body absorbing the impact, the coffee table shattering under their combined weight. Using her inhuman strength she managed to flip the Cajun over, keeping his hands held high up his back.

Rogue leaned down, narrowly avoiding Gambit’s head as he threw it back. “Easy Gambit, no one is going to hurt you,” she looked down and saw the blood seeping through the bandage. “Now look what you done sugar, now quite struggling, or I’ll have to hog tie you, no one is going to hurt you.” She repeated herself, wanting him to understand he was safe.

She felt his body relax under her.

“Y’ know Gambit?”

“Oh hell,” Rogue breathed, and shook her head as she felt the charm begin to work on her, “Quit it Cajun or I’ll put you out cold.” The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him, but there was something very wrong with him.

“De Doctor sent y?”

“Right,” Rogue put in carefully. He must have gotten confused and was talking about the Professor.

Jubilee was scared, something was very wrong with the Cajun, this was the final step, and she ruthlessly pushed her petty feelings away. She moved to flank Rogue in case she was needed.

Slowly Rogue got off Gambit, moving back enough to let him get to his knees. One hand was pressed to his side; he looked down at his hand and the blood, than looked up at the other two people in the room.

“You got injured earlier this evening, this is a safe house,” Jubilee put in, feeling uncomfortable when the red on black eyes fixed on her, the warmth she has seen earlier gone.

The Cajun got to his feet, swayed and reached for his jeans, and then dropped to his knees, his hands clutching at his head, his scream made their blood go cold.

The Marauder tried to bite the pain back, but his head felt as if it was on the point of exploding, then his brain shut down, and he dropped forward as if pole axed, only Rogue’s quick reflexes stopped him from landing face first into the carpet. Swiftly she scooped him up and laid him back on the bed.

“What the hell was that?” Jubilee demanded.

“I wish I knew.” Rogue began to peel the bandaged back, the stitches had broken open, and the wound was bleeding again. “Get on the phone and get Jean and Scott over here, we need a path.” She had seen enough people hit by a telepathic blast to known that Gambit had been attacked.

0-0-0-0-0

Xavier Mansion – Westchester

Mandy and Kat sat up in bed, waking from the shared nightmare. Out of breath, sweat soaked and shaking, they exchanged a look and both breathed at the same time, “Gambit.” The link they had created with the Cajun, all those months ago was still active, and they knew he was in serious trouble.

0-0-0-0-0

Jean had been speaking to Blair and Jim long into the night as they discussed the Sentinel/Guide dynamics when she had suddenly cried out clutching her head. When she could finally steady herself she said only one thing “ we need to get to Gambit now.”

When they arrived at the apartment, they didn’t waste time. Blair rested his hand on the pale Cajun’s face as he opened his own shields, he shook his head; he could sense the damage done to the other Dark Guide.

“Gambit has started to cascade, we're going to have to dose him up, unless you can get Logan here.” Blair quickly explained to Jean, about lethal empathic overloads. Blair added almost bitterly, “its the downside of our talent.” Jim’s eyebrows rose at that, it was the first time he had heard Blair call his empathy a talent rather than a curse.

Jean placed her hands on each side of Gambit’s face as she concentrated on entering his mind, only to pull back. “It’s no good Scott. It’s like shifting sand, I can’t get in, Only Gambit can get me past his defenses.”

Rogue hesitated, she knew it could blow a mission, but it had to be said; “I think we need Logan.”

“No,” Scott shook his head, “Logan is in too deep, and we can’t pull him out.”

“But if we lose Gambit...” Rogue paused then added, “we would lose him as well, it’s in all the books, Sentinel and Guide are bonded for life, kill one and the other dies, and we need Logan.”

At that moment the phone rang, and Jubilee handed it across to Scott. “It’s the Professor.”

Blair sat down on the edge of the bed, picked up a limp slender hand, and reached out with his empathy. His mind brushed the Cajun’s, without turning round he called Jim over. “I know you don’t like doing this big guy, but you're going to have to bond with him, someone has attempted to break his bond. We could lose him, I have never sensed a Guide in this condition.”

“What do I have to do?” Jim’s tone told a lot. He wasn’t happy, but would do it to protect a Guide.

“Sit with your back against the headrest and I’ll put Gambit in your arms. Gently Jim, his mind is fragile at the moment.”

“Blair?”

“You’re doing fine,” Blair then curled up, his head resting against Gambit’s chest, his hand interlaced with that of the X-Man, and he reached out with his empathy. First he gathered the younger man’s mind in his, gently rolling it like a ball, caressing it, encouraging it to open up. The barriers were strong, but the touch of a Sentinel triggered them to open, but even so Gambit was fighting to keep them in place.

Jim’s breath caught in his throat, like the shock of drinking an iced drink on a hot day, it jolted right through him. His grip tightened on the Cajun, one round the waist and one anchoring Gambit’s head by his long auburn hair. But he was being thrown back, then Blair’s mind linked with his, and Blair brought a mental hammer to smash down the barriers. On the third impact, they shattered; Blair and Jim were in.

Not in the area that Gambit usually allowed people into. This was different; his memories were in rooms in his mind. Blair’s mental projection walked round the room, bending quickly, he jerked the carpet back and off a hidden trap door. The trap door blew off, sending Blair through two walls to land in a twitching heap.

When the mental projection of Jim went to help him, Blair shrugged him off; the Dark Guide had come to the fore, if Gambit wanted a fight he would get one.

Standing in the mindscape was Gambit, but for the first time he was dressed as a Dark Guide, black robes and a dark scarlet belt.

The Cajun’s eyes glowed with an inhuman light. “Leave now or are y, goin to take de risk.”

“The risk is often worth the game.” Blair put in.

Gambit’s mentally projected self just grinned, but there was no mirth in his smile. He was a true Dark Guide.

Jim could see the difference in the two men, Blair usually was a pacifist until the Dark Guide came through, infusing within him the emotions of the ancients, but Gambit was a Dark Guide 24/7 and as such was the more dangerous of the two.

Now was the time for him to connect, Dark on Dark, embracing that part of his persona. And with it came the knowledge, unlike Blair, Gambit no, Gamin, was from the Acadian Temple, a corrupt temple, run by a High Priest expelled from the Dark Temple. His Guides were paired with Sentinels to make a formable team, it was said that no palace could stand against them if they wished to enter. They stole papers, gold, hearts and minds; their Sentinels barely controlled feral animals red in teeth and claw.

Gamin’s red belt like Blaer’s purple showed that he was fully bonded into the Darkest Bond. Jim looked round him, waiting for the other Sentinel to arrive, it was then he saw the blood on his hands, “Lo ijin is dead, de bond is gone.”

“No!” Blaer moved forward quickly, he reached for him only to have to drop to avoid the sword that seemed to appear like magic in the other's hand and swing towards his head. Rolling clear Blaer pulled his own swords, putting himself between Gamin and Jeme.

“My Sentinel marked and bonded until death and beyond.”

The swords met with a loud clash, then the ancient gave way to the Cajun X Man’s past.

The landscape round them changed and they found that they were in another mind room, a man sat in a chair, his long nails tapping against the wood of the chair. On their knees in front of them was Gambit, he knelt his head touching the floor, the long auburn hair fanning out, his arms straight out behind him, reminding Blair of a painting of an Tudor execution, he could see the small tremors running through Gambit’s body, he had been down a long time. Blair had to stop his self reaching out to pull Gambit up, but he realized that until the Dark Guide was a fixed memory, they could walk round it, but were unable to interact.

The old man got up from his chair, a long stick in his hand, and brought it down over Gambit’s back, in long, strong blows. All the time Gambit tried to keep his position, but the old man increased the power of the blows until finally he slumped forward. Then a hand fixed in the long hair, and pulled him forward onto his knees, Blair called out, and then stumbled backward as the old man actually turned and smiled, it was for Blair like being thrown into a tub of worms, he felt violated by just the look, his heart went out to Gambit... to have been in this man’s reach. One word came to his mind, ‘Antiquarian’, and the emotion with it was evil.

The room containing them crumbled and Blair reached for the door to the next room.

Jean was monitoring the three of them carefully. Scott watched her with growing concern as the tears fell silently down her face as door after door opened, Bourbon Street, and the fight to survive on the streets. Some of the things Gambit had had to do, had shocked them all, but it had not turned them away from the Cajun.

Blair’s eyes suddenly opened and Jean's hand dropped away breaking the connection with the three men, the look in Blair’s eyes had been something she had never seen before, fierce and fiery, but it wasn’t Blair, but another, one whose power scared her.

For a long time Jubilee and Rogue were not privy to the connection, nothing seemed to happen, then the bigger man, Jim, opened his eyes, and she could see how tired he was, his hand moved to rub the shoulder of his smaller partner.

“Is he going to be alright Chief?”

“The bond has been saved, but is fragile, he will need to bond with Logan, and soon.”

Jim carefully eased Gambit down on the pillow, his fingers tracing over the fine features, allowing himself the privilege of imprinting the younger man, something that Gambit would have fought to the death to prevent. But it was another string to bind the volatile Cajun to them until Logan could come and take over.

0-0-0-0

Blair nodded to Scott, “We need to talk.” With Rogue, Jean and Scott in tow, Jim and Blair moved into the next room, closing the door behind them. The Sentinel’s arm wrapped round Blair’s waist to help him along, he could feel the exhaustion in his young Guide, and made the mental note to bond with him the moment they entered his territory.

Left alone with Gambit, Jubilee tried to follow the conversation next door, but soon gave up.

0-0-0-0—0

Blair perched on the edge of Jim’s chair, leaning into the larger man, his connection vibrant and alive.

“We have a major problem, I hope that you can understand what we are going to say. Gambit is a Dark Guide, the only other one I have ever met, his powers would be rated as a 10 by the GDP, but his empathy has been corrupted by the Antiquarian, you saw what he did to him, how he taught him, and what he made him do. Gambit will have to face his memories, at the moment he has them locked down tightly, but he has been attacked, you saw the telepathic knife wounds.”

Jean nodded, “They have attempted to break through some recent blocks, the memories have leaked through, but don’t make sense. He is a Marauder, and yet they had him strapped naked on a table, what that man did to him...” Jean shuddered, and Blair felt her emotions, an almost maternal need to protect the Cajun.

Carefully Blair dipped his shields and focused on Scott, and gave a mental whistle, he had thought his Sentinel had a rod up his back when he met him, but Scott must have had it welded in place at birth. But a smile touched Blair’s lips, there was still the need to protect Gambit, the Cajun if he but knew it, had some friends here.

0-0-0-

In the bedroom Jubilee saw movement and leaned over him, calling softly.

A hand lashed up and caught her by the throat; Jubilee kept perfectly still, there was confusion in the red eyes.

“You’re going to be fine Cajun, no one is going to hurt you, and you’re safe.” Jubilee tried to keep eye contact, but wished that one of the others were in here, she could not read his red on black eyes, they just seemed to blaze at her.

When she saw him still looking round she added, “this is my apartment, you got hurt last night, and Rogue, umm Marie, brought you here.”

The Cajun’s head tilted to one side as he tried to remember. He released her with a shove and ran a hand over the pad on his side, he felt the dampness of the blood, and lifted his hand to look at it, then looked back at her as if he had never seen blood before.

“It started bleeding again, so we put a clean one on.” Jubilee put in just as. Jean put her head round the corner of the door; she felt the turmoil that was the Cajun’s mind. “How are you feeling Remy?”

There was an uncomfortable pause; she tried again. “Gambit,” he didn’t remember his newly discovered name.

To Gambit it didn’t make sense that the X-Men would help him; it didn’t really matter the Antiquarian would punish him for getting caught. Finally he realized that Jean Grey was expecting a reply.

“Gambit okay, y’r Jean Grey.” The Cajun was measuring the distance between him and his duster, which contained his cards.

“Yes, and we are friends.” She put in firmly, then reached her hand back and caught Scott’s, and eased him forward.

Gambit tucked a leg under him, ready to make a spring for the coat. “Cyclops.” He knew enough about the leader of the X-Men to know that he would only have one chance against him, and that would only be if he took out Jean Grey first. But so far neither of them had make any aggressive moves against him. He was the Antiquarian’s pet, they were X-Men; this didn’t make sense.

Scott walked over to the duster, pulled out a pack of cards, and then tossed them to the Cajun. Gambit caught them in mid-air, for a fraction of a second they charged with power as he fanned them, then the power died away. If they were giving him his cards back, then there must have been some sort of agreement between the Antiquarian and the X-Men, if only he could remember.

Gambit tired to concentrate, his eyes wrinkled, he almost had it when the pain came again, blasting like white-hot heat through his brain, the cards fell from his fingers and he clutched at this head.

Scott started forward only to be held back by Jean. “Rem... Err, Gambit,” in his mind Scott heard his wife’s voice, “his memory is affected by the telepathic surge I felt, you have to take this easy, he don’t remember joining us.”

“Gambit no X-Men, nevuh join y’, Gambit a Marauder.”

The words had only just left his mouth when he screamed again, head going back, his body convulsed, and then he went down,

Scott pushed past Jean and caught hold of the Cajun, even as Blair did the same, Gambit’s body thrashed and then went limp. His eyes finally opened and slowly focused, flickering from Blair to Scott and back again.

“We catch de killer?” It looked as if he had no memory of the last few minutes

“Yeah Cajun, we got him, the doctor had to use a painkiller and its wiped you out.”

Gambit nodded and allowed the two men to help him back into the bed, he shuddered when Scott’s hand accidentally brushed his bare shoulder.

“Big guy, mind doing a little Cajun sitting?”

Jim’s smile hide his concern, he settled back again against the headboard and coaxed the Cajun into his arms, he could feel the first of the tremors that signaled barriers falling. “Join with me Gambit,” tentatively he felt the younger man’s mind brush his and he sent comforting thoughts and emotions back as he remembered the early months of dealing with his own abused Guide. Then carefully he cocooned Gambit’s mind in his and settled back, feeling the moment that the younger Guide fell asleep.

Blair looked on thoughtfully, he knew Essex was a powerful telepath from what the X Men had told him, and had been able to home in on the bond. Only the Cajun’s inner strength had prevented him being able to break it completely, but in the process he had mind raped the Cajun, and he had not been alone. That creature the Antiquarian had been helping him, triggering memories of his obedience training, of being forced on to the streets of New Orleans. That training had put the GDP thugs and perverts to shame.

But what troubled Blair was the shadow he had felt on the other Guide’s mind, it had been the touch of a strange feral; the Cajun had bonded with him, but not completed the bond. It was then Blair breathed two words, “the shield.”

From where he sat Jim said. “Hunter?”

“No!” Blair snapped, and then sighed, “sorry Jim.” Then sentinel soft he said, “Gambit is an Acadian Dark Guide, equal in power and potential, and therefore has a Shield, a feral Shield. His touch is all over Gambit’s mind, we are going to have to tread very carefully here, and this shield is every bit as dangerous as Logan. Blair had to repress a shudder, at the sentinel he felt in the Cajun’s mind.

0-0-0-0-0

Xavier Mansion

Next Morning.

Neither Mandy nor Kat Taylor were surprised to get a message to meet the Professor in his study, a telepathic surge that big must have registered with every telepath in the mansion. Dr Henry McCoy had joined the Professor, so it looked like the truth was finally going to come out.

Mandy started to explain only to be waved to a halt by Dr Henry McCoy

“Mandy from the beginning please,” Henry put in.

“Sorry. Dr. Essex had Gambit kidnap us. He led three other Marauders on the raid, the next thing we knew we were in a cell. Essex wanted to experiment on us, but before he could, Gambit got us out, only...”

Kat took up the story. “He was hurt after he fell down a hole in the floor. We had to get him out, but he was unconscious, so we sent down a mind probe, we managed to wake him up and get him out of the tunnels.”

“He stayed with us for a couple of days. Essex sent some Marauders, and Gambit fought them off. He stole enough money to put us on the train home, but as it pulled away we saw him collapse in agony, he was hurting real bad, we had hoped that he had escaped Essex.”

Charles Xavier looked over at them, “The school is sending a delegation to the Student Conference in Cascade, and you both will be joining them. Once in Cascade Mrs. Summers will make contact with you, and you will help her with Gambit. And ladies...”

Kat nodded, “I know Sir, we won’t fail Gambit or you.”

0-0-0-0-0

Cascade

Ranier University

Blair hadn’t been happy about leaving Gambit, but he had obligations to the University, and his class and a lecture to deliver.

Dr Sandburg leaned against the lectern as he viewed his group of 10 students.

In the background Jim Ellison stood, his arms crossed over his chest his eyes and ears missing nothing.

“Well Gentlemen we are going to the World Student convention tomorrow, do you have any questions?”

Blair waited in silence. “Come on, one of you must have a question.”

“Dr. Sandburg,” the oldest of the unbonded Sentinels put his hand up.

“Yes Martin.”

He looked over his shoulder, “If anyone attempts to touch you, do we kill or maim Sir?”

Blair’s mouth dropped open, and then snapped shut. He turned to look at his own Sentinel as Jim Ellison pushed away from the wall and came down the center stairway; as he walked past the unbonded young Sentinels got to their feet. This was the Senior Sentinel Prime of Cascade and the Northern Territories.

That order had to come from only one person. “You will prevent them touching Dr. Sandburg, if he is injured you will protect him.”

“Jim, they're only children.” Blair cut across the conversation between the two sentinels.

“They are Sentinels, you are their Senior Guide Prime,” Jims words sounded as if they had been cut in stone. “To serve and protect the Guide.”

The young Sentinels intoned grimly, “To serve and protect.” Their eyes never left Blair’s face.

In front of them Jim reached out and pulled Blair close, one hand tangled in his long hair, pulled his head sideways and inhaled at his neck. Even as he did it, Jim kept eye contact with the unbonded. “My Guide, claimed and marked” he all but roared his challenge.

The Sentinel growled low and deep throated, Blair felt the growl vibrating through his chest. When he looked into Jim’s eyes he saw the need to bond, the students collected their bags and left, the last one pulled down the door shade, closed and locked the door behind him. They exchanged a grin; Dr. Sandburg had gone into heat at the touch of his Sentinel. They had all detected the change in their teacher's scent, his willingness to be claimed, everything was as it should be in their world.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Blair laid on the sleeping bag that Jim had taken from the emergency supplies, his head rested on his Sentinel’s thigh and Jim was carding his hair, enjoying the luxurious feeling of the silken threads sliding through his fingers, his hand tightened right near the scalp so not to hurt his guide as he pulled Blair to him and into his arms. The bonding had been more primal, the evidence was in Blair’s clothes scattered across the room, and the small wound on Blair’s throat that was still bleeding from the claiming, it would bruise and mark him

Jim has wanted to make sure that every one knew to whom he belonged.

Blair knew that for now the primal sentinel inside his friend was satisfied, but he could see a sentinel night ahead of him once they got home, he would be lucky if he set foot out side the bonding bed for the near future, as his sentinel would stake his claim on his guide, making sure that in every way he was branded with his scent and his mark.

0-0-0-0-0

Ranier Museum and Conference Center.

The building was one of the newest in Cascade and at the same time of the oldest. In a spate of new money investments the Museum had been given 56 million dollars to re-invent itself, the round Victorian building coupled with the tall stately conference center had led it to be nicknamed the lipstick and compact.

The banners hanging down the side of the building fluttered in the wind and proclaimed the 45^th annual Students Conference.

Inside Dr. Eric Grant counted his students; he now had ten, six normal humans and four mutants, although to look at them you would never know. A human himself he and his wife had thought hard and long when they had been offered the positions on the staff at the school. They had decided that mutant or human, children were children, and that was what they wanted to do.

Two-iced piano’s later he still hadn’t changed his mind. At 56, Eric had been a teacher for the last 35 years and his wife for the last 30. It was their life and they looked on the children as part of their ever-expanding family.

Mandy and Kat Taylor were carrying their bags into the hotel, the two sisters as always together, with them was a senior Robert Drake, A.K.A., Iceman, and a member of the X-Men team. The fourth mutant was Tina, she was able to transport and had the code name of Shimmer. Grant allowed a smile to touch his lips, at first he had been puzzled by the nicknames, then he had realized that in a way the name was a coming of age for the mutants, showing they accepted their powers. The fact that the rest of the faculty was mutant had never bothered him; in fact he had found it interesting to watch them at work and at play. Life had never been boring since he and his wife had taken up the position.

If anything it was the humans that worried him, Brad Worthington was 17 years old and the younger cousin of the Accountant Warrant Worthington III A.K.A., Angel, but the boy seemed to have a fierce dislike of mutants, except for his cousin, but Eric had decided that it might have something to do with the fact that Warren was listed among the top 20 wealthiest men in the world.

Brad’s sidekick, Terry Shear, was another, and he hated to say it, but it fit, another rich brat, and then Lisa Grey the younger sister of Jean Grey, Sharon Milton and finally John Faulkner.

The Conference was due to start on the 5^th, which gave them a day to settle in.

“Dr. Grant,” a voice behind him made him turn and he saw a young man who could not have been more than 26, with long curly hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a black and white shirt, open at the collar. He could not help but notice the dark bruise on the side of the young man's neck.

“I am Dr. Sandburg. Glad to meet you. How many students do you have?”

Eric returned the smile; the doctor had spoken the whole sentence without a breath.

“Ten all together.” He read the name badge, and his eyebrows came up, “You’re a Guide?” Automatically he looked round for the Sentinel, he knew enough to know that no Sentinel would allow his Guide to walk around alone, they were property, “Doctor?”

“Yes.” Doctor Sandburg answered.

Oh hell, Eric knew that he had said it out aloud. “I...” he stuttered, “its just...”

“You want to know where my Sentinel is,” there was a touch of sadness in the younger man’s voice. “I understand, but times have changed Dr. Grant. A Guide is no longer the chattel of a Sentinel, we do have independence, and citizen rights now. Times are changing Doctor.”

“I am sorry.”

“Why?” Sandburg tilted his head slightly, as if puzzled.

“I didn’t mean to insult you.”

“No insult taken Dr. Grant,” there was warmth in his voice that prompted Eric Grant to correct him.

“Eric,” Grant put his hand out and was pleased when Sandburg accepted his handshake.

“Blair. Now your students, I think they’re going to enjoy the ‘getting to know you’ session tomorrow, we have a buffet.”

“Which school are you with Blair?”

“Rainier University. The GDP has ten unbonded Sentinels here, all aged 15 to 17, I am riding shotgun on them with my sentinel Jim Ellison, Senior Sentinel Prime of Cascade and the Northern Territories.” When he caught the look on Grant’s face he added, “lets just say that half of them are too frightened to look at me, and the other half are trying not to touch me because they think Jim will take their arms off at the socket. But other than that, it’s going great.” He paused, “talking of which, here he comes.”

Eric turned in the direction that Blair was looking and saw a tall imposing man heading in their direction, good looking, but in a grim way, and Grant had to fight the urge to pull the younger man behind him, to protect him.

“Don’t worry Eric, whoa big guy,” the last three words were released with a gush of breath squeezed out of him as Jim pulled Blair close and began running his hands over him, with his face pressed against the junction of his shoulder and neck, inhaling his scent.

“Big Guy? Jim? Ellison?” Blair was trying to extricate himself from the embrace. “Okay, listen to me,” with the roaring bite of a Dark Guide he snapped, “you will not maul me.” Jim pulled back, for a moment his blue eyes were lost and then they snapped back into focus.

“Chief?” Jim’s eyes swept over Blair, seeing the long hair pulled down, the rumpled clothing and the shocked man who stood near him.

When he saw the way Jim was looking at Dr. Grant, he put the kick ass Dark Guide tone into his voice again. “Talk to me Jim.”

“I smelt another Sentinel.”

“That doesn’t usually trigger you Jim, we...”

“He’s primal, a feral.”

“Logan?”

“No, another, and not bonded.” Jim’s voice took on the low growling tone of the Dark Sentinel’s primal self.

“No threat, you listen to me, no threat! He’s gone.” Blair was talking quickly, the last thing he needed was Jim to go primal, out here in public. He could see the changing shades of color in his Sentinel’s eyes, the Panther, his spirit Guide, was coming through, and the Panther would see nothing wrong in throwing his Guide to the floor in the middle of a hotel and taking his Guide to the bond.

Blair caught Jim’s wrist, “Bond Sentinel, claim and mark your Guide.”

Jim’s lips pulled back into a predatory smile. “But only in the chamber of bonding.”

On the Gallery overlooking the entrance hall, a tall man stepped back from the barrier, scratched his blond beard with his claw like fingernails, and tugged at his tie. This game of dress up was annoying, but if Essex wanted it, he would do what the Doctor said. He could remember the pain that Essex inflicted on him, but he could also remember what had been promised to him. The Guide down there had what he wanted, but was not the one he wanted. He had shielded the other Guide at a price, and this time he would make sure that he never left him again. Sentinel and Guide, bonded for life, soul mates; Gambit would be his again, and this time he would never let him go.

0-0-0-0-0

Jean had been unable to locate Logan, and it was possible that his mission was entering its end phase, so in the meantime they would have to do their best to keep the Cajun occupied and in one place, the last thing they needed was Gambit trying to make his way back to Essex because the Doctor had penetrated his barriers.

Scott walked round Gambit and shook his head. A simple suit, and the Cajun make it look as if it had come off the pages of GQ, he straightened the collar of the shirt at the back, brushed the shoulders of the suit jacket, and nodded his approval, glancing down to make sure that the shoes were polished. The final touch was the badge he clipped to the pocket of the suit.

Mr. R. LeBeau

Student Councilor

Xavier Academy

When Gambit reached for the tie, Scott batted the hand away.

“Hands off Gambit, the tie is okay.”

“Gambit not happy about this mon amie,” he tugged at the trousers, “Why can’t he wear his own clothes?”

“Because...” Scott ground to a halt and contented himself with brushing another speck of dust from the suit.

Gambit cocked his head to one side, “Because?”

Scott was not sure how to phrase it, and he didn’t want to upset the younger Cajun, but he could not lie to him, he was an empath.

“Your clothes aren’t suitable, not for a teacher.”

“Gambit wears dem at school.”

“We know you, but others would be judgmental.”

“W’at does Gambit teach?”

“Errr... you’re a student councilor, and you teach sex education.” Scott tried to stop himself cringing as he said it. The Cajun was nearly back to normal after the telepathic attack, but there were still some memory gaps.

“Sex!” The grin on the Cajun’s face made Scott roll his eyes, “Gambit a master at that.” But at the same time Scott saw something in the younger man’s red on black eyes, it was only there a fleeting second and then was gone, but it made him wonder.

“Right. Now Mr. Grant took a fall, he broke his leg and is going to be in hospital, so you are going to escort the students round. This is the agenda, and remember, Jean and I will be dealing with the Faculty section of the conference.”

When he touched Gambit’s arm to encourage him towards the door, he didn’t want them being late, he felt the Cajun flinch, and realized that the younger man must have been fighting against pulling away all the time he was helping him with the suit.

0-0-0-0-0

Dr. Sullivan stood in the entrance of the Museum as Xavier’s school party arrived, and approached a young man, “Excuse me.” It was when the younger man turned that he saw the badge and realized it wasn’t a senior student, this was actually faculty. “Mr. LeBeau, I am Dr. Sullivan, I am pleased to see you’re on time. We are waiting for the Grace Fuller School to arrive, if you could bring your students over here.”

Sullivan’s mouth dropped open, it was rare to hear a teacher use that language to his students, and certainly not in that accent. How the children understood him was a minor miracle. They hurried over with two of the boys dragging their heels. He handed out the program for the art museum, and with another look at his watch, sent them off.

Victor Creed lowered his newspaper and followed Gambit shepherding his charges into the main hallway. It amused him to see the Cajun trying so hard to fit in with the humans. When was the kid going to understand that he didn’t have to. Once Essex had finalized his plans, it was the humans that would be hunted down. His hand tightened on the newspaper, sliced through the paper, and crumpled it up into a ball. The need to bond was burning through him. Essex said not to approach the Cajun, but this opportunity...

Mandy and Kat were keeping an eye on Gambit, they knew that he was injured and halfway through the day they could see his skin was graying as the pain began to roll over him. John noticed them nod towards Gambit as their Student Councilor undid the top button of his shirt and pulled his tie down.

John started forward only to have Brad catch hold of his arm. “And where are you going kid?”

“That’s Faulkner, and get lost Worthington,” he spat back as he went over.

“Mr. LeBeau,” he waited for the Cajun teacher to turn to him.

“Oui John.” Then looked surprised as a bottle of water was pushed into his hand, and the student guided him to one of the benches.

“We’re just going to look round the landscape and 21^st Century gallery sir, we won’t be long.”

Brad and Terry were about to argue, when they found themselves pushed along by the others.

Staring at the floor, Gambit took a pull on the lukewarm water, when a pair of shoes came into his view. He didn’t have to look up to detect the animalistic power running through the man, a heavy hand dropped onto the back of his neck, the fingers rubbing, not hurting, but with enough force that he would know they could. It was a feral Sentinel.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Bobby was concerned they had returned half an hour to find Gambit gone; the bottle of water on the floor was the only sign he had been there. The Iceman blamed himself, the Cajun had been sick and he hadn’t thought to keep an eye on him, he had been too busy getting to know Lisa Grey.

Lisa clicked her mobile phone off, “Mr. Summer’s is on his way.”

“Trust the Cajun, he must have seen a skirt, gone off, and is fucking his brains out.” Brad Worthington put in with a sneer.

The clip across the back of his head brought him to a halt, he whirled round and then stepped back, the words unsaid, as he looked up into the face of his cousin, Warren.

“You keep a civil tongue in your head Bradford, if Gambit isn’t here then the one place he isn’t is in bed. Now I want you to pair up and each take a gallery, and check everywhere, he is hurting, you find him, you call in.”

Mandy looked at the good looking winged X-Man, and marveled at the fact that to the outside world he looked perfectly normal, his magnificent white wings, which at the Mansion he never hid, were masked by an image-inducer.

To Mandy and Kat he asked, “you have a connection with Gambit, can you get a trace on him?”

Kat shook her head, “his shielding is shifting around, oh my god,” her face went bright red and Mandy caught her hand; she took a couple of deep breaths as the shields fell and they managed to activate the link.

0-0-0-0-0

Gambit was draped across the body of the Sentinel, his long auburn hair fanned out across the man’s chest, his arm wrapped round the Sentinel, holding on to him tightly in his sleep. The older man had a hand wrapped into the long hair of the Guide, allowing himself these few minutes to revel in the scent and feel of the man without having to put up with the smart mouth that usually went along with the whole package. Gambit was a regular motor mouth when he got going, talking a mile a minute, in the strange mixture of French and English that was his Cajun heritage. The auburn hair was like silken thread, the Sentinel could feel each individual strand, he twisted it round one finger and gave it a gentle tug, but the Guide didn’t wake up, just made a low moan and brushed his face against the Sentinel’s chest, causing the blond to increase his hold on the tall rangy Cajun.

The tips of the fingers of his hand brushed feather light over the smooth skin of the Cajun’s back and dipped down to stroke across his hip. A frown appeared on the Sentinel’s face as he felt the old scars, he moved his hand up and across Gambit’s back, the welts made by his claws felt hot and angry against his hand, he dipped his head to brush against the younger man’s.

He didn’t want this moment to end, for the first time in his life he felt a connection, and more important, a peace. Each time he bonded with the kid, the feeling became more intense, and he craved it even more, Gambit was like an addiction to him. With a growl of irritation he felt Gambit wake up, learning from his past mistake, the Sentinel released the Guide quickly, all too clearly remembering that Gambit had blown a bed up when he had felt trapped. He had managed to kick the kid off the bed before it blew, saving him from being hurt, and his own healing factor had done the rest. Of course he had had to punish him, but... The Sentinel pushed the memory away; he didn’t want to think of inflicting pain on the Guide, not now.

Gambit was off the bed and stalking over to his clothes, he didn’t even turn round to look at the Sentinel who was lounging on the bed. He flinched as the Sentinel came up behind him, an arm snaking round his waist, pulling him back against the muscular body, as he was aggressively scented.

“Back off homme,” the Cajun snarled, his hand charging up the Gideon Bible, as a large paw of a hand covered it. “Okay kid, let it go,” the Sentinel pulled back allowing Gambit to turn.

The Cajun scooped up the battered black duster, and only looked back at the door. “Y’ had y’r pound of flesh, y’ leave dem femmes alone, or y’ nevuh get to have Gambit again.”

“A deals a deal Remy.” The Sentinel purred his name.

“Name’s Gambit, Remy someone else, Gambit don’t know him.” The door crashed closed behind him.

The Sentinel shook his head and went into the bathroom; he could smell the Guide’s scent on his body. When they had bonded he had insisted on skin-to-skin bonding, needing to feel his Guide, the clothing only acting as a distraction. A smile twisted his lips, it wasn’t as if the kid was shy, and he wasn’t seeing anything that other people hadn’t seen or paid for. With a quick flick of the wrist he cut the shower off, unused. He could not bear to distance himself from the Guide even now. He would keep the scent, and it would keep him warm all day.

He admired his reflection in the mirror over the basin, one hand scratching at his face, he felt so good he might just give Jason Bennett a break and just kill him quick, rather than what he had planned, Victor Creed mused, as he went back to his room to beginning getting dressed.

Warren circled the hotel block, the girls had been able to direct him towards Gambit, then had lost the connections as his shields had come down hard, cutting them off.  He was about to give up and return to the hotel penthouse when he saw Gambit, his eagle eyes easily picking out the other X-Man. He lost height fast, landed easily, and began to close the distance between them.

"Gambit.”

The Cajun turned fast, a card glowing in his hand.

"Easy man it's me, Warren.”

As the hand dropped, Warren moved quickly, catching Gambit round the waist and lifted off high into the sky, before the Cajun could even think.

Warren landed easily on the balcony, releasing the other man.  Warren stepped
back, his hands held up, "you looked like you needed a lift.”

Warren hissed "oh " as he noticed the color drain dramatically from Gambit's face and he just managed to get the man into the bathroom, as he was violently sick. All the winged X-Man could do was hold back long hair as the younger man vomited, and when the worst of it was over he went to get a wet washcloth and towel. When he came back he saw money scattered over the floor of the bathroom, some of it blown into confetti.

Warren cleaned the young man up, got him to his feet, and then into the bedroom. Gambit was in no shape to make it to his own room, and Scott had given instructions that Gambit was not to be alone.

Already Warren could feel the Cajun's charm factor begin to wrap round him, his body beginning to react to it, sick he was losing control.  Ruthlessly he stamped down on the response, there was no way that Gambit could be left on his own, he was broadcasting raw sex, it could get him in to a lot of trouble. The Professor had taught them how to block the charm factor.

Warren was thoughtful, he had been sat down and lectured by Henri earlier about Gambit and his needs as an empath, and one of those needs was for shielding, and what would happen if Logan were absent. Gambit needed surrogate shields, and Warren had had to examine his feelings about the Cajun before he volunteered. .

Now for the first time Warren knew he had to help the Cajun. Helping Gambit onto the bed, he concentrated on Bambi in veal pies, anything that would push the Cajun's empathic lure away from him. All the time he spoke reassuringly to Gambit, telling him that he was safe, that he would not hurt him, that he would protect him.

Gambit had flinched when he tried to help him out of the jacket, so Warren ignored the trousers. Bending, he pulled the shoes and socks off, then pushed the Cajun flat on the bed, and pulled the comforter over him.  Gambit jerked when he tried to check his forehead for fever, "Easy thief, I am not going to hurt you.” ‘Thief’ was said with affection; Warren had long gotten over his disgust at Gambit being a Master Thief.  Keeping an eye on his younger charge, Warren punched in Scott's mobile number and waited for his leader to answer.

"It's okay Slim, I've got Gambit.”

"Are you all right with this?" Scott was thoughtful, "if not I'll collect him, he's shared with us before now.”

"Us?” Warren's lips curled into a smile, "You have to be kidding Slim, you Jean and the Cajun?”

Scott sighed, "I walked in and Gambit was curled up in the middle of the bed, he was out for the count, and there was Jean, fussing over him, and you know what she said, "It's good practice for when we have children.”

"I told her straight, children are one thing, but six foot two Cajuns are another.” 

"Did you kick him out?”

"No, Jean wouldn’t let me, but if your sure your going to be okay”, Scott left it hanging in the air.” If you need us, call.”

Warren muttered his agreement, and the phone was put down as he hurried over just managing to catch the Cajun in time when he nearly fell out of the bed as he battled his own nightmares.

Warren changed into his sweats and flexed his wings, then carefully got into bed, he moved as close as he could without touching. The winged X Man carefully opened his mind, allowing the basic shields that the Professor had taught all his students to erect, to fall, then there was a soft caress against his mind, and he felt the Cajun’s mind seek his out.

"That's it Gambit, I won’t let you fall.” With great care he raised his shields round Gambit, cocooning him.

When Warren woke the next morning, he nearly sneezed as hair tickled his nose and he realized that he had his arms full of Cajun Guide. Glancing at his watch he saw he had another two hours before he had to get up. Gambit began to stir so he pulled him closer, lightly rubbing the sleeping man’s back in comforting circles.

Gambit’s fingers flexed in his feathers, and he buried his face against Warren’s shoulder.

“Why didn’t you pick Bobby as a surrogate Sentinel?” That had always puzzled Warren, both of them had worked hard after a couple of false starts to build up a friendship with the Cajun, and let them help him. He didn’t expect an answer.

“Too cold, Gambit don’ like cold.” The voice was still heavy with sleep.

“Sure Cajun,” Warren slowed his massage of Gambit’s back, coxing him back to sleep, “Your Sentinel will be back soon.”

“Sabertooth, an’t Gambit’s Sentinel,” the Cajun shuddered.

"Sabertooth!” Warren had to fight down his loathing, if that creature had gotten his claws into Gambit, Logan couldn't get back quick enough. He was considering trying to question Gambit, but gave up, as the red on black eyes slid closed again, and the Cajun snuggled down. One long slender hand petting his wings, “Good wings, soft,” and his voice drifted off.

0-0-0-0

Over breakfast, the Cajun having long gone back to this own room, Warren brought Scott up to speed, "He said that Sabertooth wasn't his Sentinel, and Slim, this morning when I loaned him a fresh change of clothes I saw his back, there are a lot of old scars, those I knew about, but there are some fresh ones, and I mean still bleeding. Sabertooth had gotten hold of him.”

"We watch him Warren, and make sure he's in one piece for Logan?”

“And if Sabertooth is poaching?”

“We let Logan take him down.” The tone of Scott’s voice made Warren look at him a little closer, it was said with a finality he had never heard before, this wasn’t ‘they’ll see if we can talk him down’ Scott, this was something new, almost cold-blooded.

Mess with the Cajun and die.

0-0-0-0

Student Conference.

Blair shepherded his students into the first exhibition room, he spotted Gambit, and went over to talk to the taller Guide. He didn’t have to be a Sentinel to see the exhaustion on his face, even if he did hide it well.

Without turning he knew that the unbonded Sentinels had closed on them, a Guide was like catnip to them, and in his fragile state Gambit might react unpredictably if threatened.

But before the Senior Guide Prime could say anything they backed away from him, their eyes never leaving the other Guide. One of them caught Blair’s wrist and pulled him back, he all but lost his footing, then they had him surrounded, hands moving over his body as he was pinned between them.

There was a loud bang as if a firecracker had exploded and the Sentinels, hands clasped to their heads, staggered back. Already another card was glowing in Gambit’s hand, “Back off him mon amies, or de next card goes down y'r throat.”

The unbonded Sentinels pulled back. Blair felt the broadcasted Blessed Protector emotions coming from all ten of them. Ignoring it for the moment, Blair tucked in his shirt, and calmed his fears. He had seen a Guide claiming frenzy, and had been at the receiving end of one when he had become Pet Barnes again, in a nightmare time of pain and humiliation, and he had to fight the shudder that ran through him. But what had set them off?

In the Piet Mondrian Gallery, Jill Elliot, one of the lecturers from Rainier University, had been talking to a tall man, a Viking if she had ever seen one in the flesh, when suddenly he had stopped and turned towards one of the other rooms, and she would have sworn blind that he growled, the wine glass exploding in his hand.

“Mr. Creed, are you alright?” The broken stem of the wine glass was thrust in her hand and he walked out.

Blair suddenly felt the other Sentinel, it was like a cold shudder down his back, he spun round and then stepped back, the blond stood framed in the doorway his eyes raking the room, his hands opening and closing. It was then Blair felt his emotions and he knew that he was looking at the Shield, and for the first time felt the vibes coming off the other Dark Guide, and the penny dropped. Gambit gave off a different vibe than him, and that called to the feral, and the other Sentinels, it told them that the Cajun was to be owned, claimed and marked by a more dangerous one of their kind. Dark feral to Dark feral, Blair made a mental note to see of he could get Gambit into the lab for testing.

The burst of machine gun fire took the feral in the back, his body jerking under the impact, Gambit caught Blair and dragged him out of the room, the young unbonded Sentinels following quickly, they had to get the students away from the gunmen, and find Gambit’s group.

The gunman stepped over the dead body and walked in, their point made. Kincaid nodded to the corpse. “Put it out of the window, I want them to know that we mean business Jack.”

Jack Logan looked down at the corpse and a smile touched his grim features under his black facemask as he fired a burst at a floor to ceiling window, it smashed and he bent and threw the body out. It dropped three floors and impacted on a car, flattening the roof and blowing out the windshield.

He had no idea why Sabertooth was in Cascade, but the close proximity to his guide made him worried, it would take about 30 minutes to recover from those injuries, and allow Logan to make a clear run at getting his Guide and the pups out of the building.

0-0-0-0-0

Once the alarm had been given, the police arrived in strength with Major Crime Cascade’s elite and their Captain Simon Banks taking over the incident.

But already their had been a fatality, in the car park the paramedic zipped the body bag over the blond man and carried him to the ambulance; it had gone 100 yards when the brakes slammed on. Simon Banks spun round as the door flew open and the blond man came out, tore open one of the manhole covers and dropped down it. Simon pressed the intercom switch.

Who ever this man or thing was, it was going to interfere with their plan.

“Ellison, you have a loose cannon heading towards you, be advised.”

“I see him Simon,” the radio clicked off and he heard a burst of fire coming from under his feet.

0-0-0-0-0

Blair kept his students moving, heading for the still under construction new exhibition hall. It was closed off, but it would give them access to the building next door and hopefully freedom.

Gambit was bringing up the rear, a flurry of cards brought down part of the corridor to block the terrorist as they chased them.

“Your students?”

“Safe Blair,” Gambit tapped his head, and didn’t say anything else.

In the North Wing of the conference center, Mandy Taylor let go of her sister’s hand, “We are connected Bobby, Mr. LeBeau is with Dr. Sandburg and his students, they managed to keep one step ahead of the terrorists.”

Bobby nodded, the Cajun was accounted for, “tell Gam... errr Mr. LeBeau to keep with them and not try to get back to us.” He looked towards the ice barrier that sealed the only entrance to the wing, it would take C4 to get through it, and he guessed that they would not force the issue. The rapping of the machine gun fire told him that there were enough targets out there for the terrorists to turn their attention to before them.

Brad was nervously ringing his hands, “Bobby we have to get out of here.”

“We will Brad, just have to work out the best way to do it.”

0-0-0-0-0

Simon Banks heard the commotion behind him, recognized the two X men, and then looked up at the building.

“So who is in there, we have a head count of 60 children and 20 teachers that have got out so far.”

“Gambit, Iceman, Shimmer, Mandy and Kat Taylor,” Scott's voice became tender and his hand tightened on his wife’s shoulder, “Lisa, Jean’s sister, Brad Worthington, Sharp and Faulkner.”

A yell made Simon look up as one of the police officers saw Angel land on the car park and start walking towards them. Simon could understand the reaction, the first time he had seen Angel he had been unable to take his eyes of the wings himself. Shaking his head he tried to concentrate on the business at hand.

Jean’s face for the first time showed a shadow of a smile. “Logan is in there.”

“What?” Scott turned to face her.

“I can feel Logan in there, and Scott, he’s on the verge of going feral, it’s Gambit, oh my god.” Her hand flew to her mouth in horror at the sound of a single shot.

0-0-0-0

Blair kept between the masked gunmen and his students, as he cursed his bad luck. Of all the times for the Anti-Mutant League to stage an attack, it had to be at the Student Conference, and it had to be his students.

They had nearly made it out of the Conference center when their luck had turned. The running fight had been short and sharp, and left three of the terrorists on the ground. Blair held the thighbone of a dinosaur in his hands as he stood over his victim. Gambit had taken the other two out and was straightening up when his head snapped round; he dived sideways taking Blair down as reinforcements arrived. They hit the floor and rolled clear of a burst of machine gun fire. Slowly Blair raised his hands.

The explosion announced that the AML’s patience had run out and they had decided to tackle the ice barrier head on. The machine gun fire made the students drop to the floor to avoid the bullets; Shimmer caught Bobby and vanished as she transported out of the room. She hated leaving her classmates, but the terrorists had seen Bobby iced up and she recognized the uniform, AML, any mutant’s worst nightmare.

0-0-0-0-0-0

"Mutant bastard!” The snarl made Blair’s head jerk round in time to see one of the men slam his rifle butt into Gambit's head, seeing the red on black eyes, he kicked the Cajun hard in the side as he hit the floor. 

"How could decent people allow a perverted mutant to be in charge of their children,” he kicked again, but Gambit managed to shield his head. He could not risk making a move against them; the children would be killed in the crossfire.

"Get away from him.” The words were snarled out from a smaller and stockier member of the AML, he still wore the assault hood masking his face.

When the man went to bring the rifle crashing down on the fallen Gambit, the stocky masked man's gun barrel ground into the side of the attacker’s head.

"Back off him bud, I won’t tell you twice.” 

“Mutant lover,” the man snarled back. The smaller man put him down hard, with one blow.

Mandy and Lisa caught hold of Gambit and dragged him back into their group.

Brad was shaking, for the first time he had seen violence first-hand, and it had sickened him

He positioned himself so that he was blocking the AML's view of their teacher. He pulled out his handkerchief and passed it to Mandy and she began to wipe away the blood that ran down the Cajun’s face.

"Let me see,” his hand was shaking slightly as he cupped Gambit's face and looked into the red on black eyes. He could not detect anything that might indicate that the Cajun had concussion. As he straightened up he gave Gambit’s shoulder a squeeze.

Blair was having trouble with his students, the moment the AML had pulled their guns the junior Sentinels had begun to come on-line fully. It was a gut reaction, Blair was a Guide, and protect the Guide was hardwired into their very souls. The three youngest Sentinels caught him and pulled him violently backwards as the older ones formed up in front of him, growling low and deep throated in warning as the AML came near them.

The leader, Garth Kincaid, fired a burst up into the ceiling.  "Guide Sandburg, here, now, or I start on your students."

Blair pushed himself free, he could not allow them to be hurt.

Crossing to Kincaid was the hardest thing he had ever done.  Kincaid was medium height, with the build and manner of soldier. He tore the identification badge from Blair's shirtfront, and examined it, "Doctor Sandburg"; his laugh was bitter and mocking.  He hit Blair across the face. "Answer me Guide, do you think you’re better than us?”

Blair refused to speak, knowing that whatever Kincaid was going to do was going to happen. 

Bored, Kincaid ordered, "On your knees Guide.”

Blair could feel the loathing and hatred coming off the man like a bitter wave.  He had come too far to kneel to a jumped up dictator.

"On your knees Guide,” when Blair didn't move Kincaid nodded to one of the AML

who clubbed him down,

"A Guide is nothing Sandburg; you don't exist. Kincaid snarled at him.

Mandy was not watching Blair, she was clinging hold of Gambit, and at least the remaining members of the group were working together to protect him. The AML seemed to think that they were all human, that the dreaded mutants had fled, but at the same time it gave the AML only one target, Gambit.

Her sister Kat was looking at the smaller of the masked AML gunmen; her mind brushed his and she recognized Logan, she didn’t know how he had gotten in with the attack group, but he was telling them to wait for his signal.

0-0-0-0-0

Simon turned as he tried to hear Jim Ellison; there was a lot of static. “We are going in Simon, keep SWAT back until we secure the Guides and the children, the AML are concentrating on mutants.”

"Kincaid hasn't issued any demands yet, but the man is unstable and a rabid mutant hater.”

“I copy that Simon.”

The Captain frowned; he could hear a loud growling in the background of Jim’s transmission. Simon broke off as a sheet of paper was thrust into his hand,

“Sorry Jim, Kincaid has confirmed he has Blair and the Sentinels, and he has Gambit.”

“They die then,” the strange voice was snarling, then the mike clicked off.

It was then Simon realized that Jim had said We, and for the first time he felt a cold shiver run down his back, as if someone has stood on his grave.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Mike Prewitt had been in the AML for ten years, a good foot soldier; he had never questioned the need to attack mutants, considering them unclean, a pollution of the human gene pool. Now he patrolled the basement area.

From the corner of his eye he saw movement and spun round. A clawed hand wrapped round his throat, he was picked up and thrown against the wall.

He was looking into what he had feared, the feral face of a mutant, the blond hair like a mane, the mouth open in a silent roar, as with his free hand his claws punched into Mike's chest, closed on his still beating heart, and pulled it out, the bloody tissue thrown to the floor as Sabertooth yanked off the AML man’s headset and pulled it on. He looked at Jim Ellison, “you fight your war your way, I’ll fight my war my way.

When the next AML man on the floor ahead of him called for Mike, it was Sabertooth that answered, and the mutant began to hunt his next victim.

0-0-0-0

Kincaid pushed Blair out of the way, “Crawl to your betters guide, and get out of my way.” A nasty smile was already taking form on his face.

"You know what is needed, something to show them that we mean business” Kincaid looked towards the young Sentinels, and the guide and dismissed them. He needed someone that would make an impact, he chuckled softly at his own joke.

"Get him.” He pointed to Gambit.

Jim's head tilted to one side as he heard the voice, recognizing it as Logan’s as he spoke Sentinel soft. "You can hear me Ellison, get to the window of 646 second one along, you have a guide to rescue.

0-0-0-0-0

The stocky masked AML grabbed Gambit and dragged him forward; Blair tried to get in the way only to reel back from a rifle in the face. Kincaid reached out, for Gambit, but the shorter AML man pulled him back, "sir, let me off the Mutie.”

"You’re keen, go ahead.” Kincaid gave his permission.

The stocky man fired one burst of fire into the window, the glass flying out, then his arm round Gambit's neck, bending the taller mutant backwards, he pulled him to the hole in the window, the wind tugging at their clothing. He pressed the gun to Gambit’s head, twisted away from Kincaid, than fired, and blood splattered onto the remaining glass as the AML man let the body fall free from him. For a long moment the stocky man just watched the body fall, then he turned on his heels and walked back.

The students were holding each other, trying to hold back tears.

Jim pulled the window open and holstered his weapon, he was being anchored by Sabertooth, he could not help but jolt as the gun fired and then the body fell. The sentinel lunged forward off the windowsill and caught the falling guide, suddenly Jim was yanked upright and backward, as Sabertooth hauled them both through the window. dropping them roughly on the floor.

Gambit looked like death warmed up, blood, splattering him from jaw to hairline as he rolled onto his hands and knees. Jim reached his hand out to help him up, and for a moment Gambit just looked at him his eyes vacant. .

"Come on kid, you know I won’t hurt you.”

"You would not get a chance cop,” the voice came from behind Jim, and he spun round; the feral Sentinel was flexing his clawed fingers.  Instinctively he moved in front of Gambit, blocking him from Sabertooth.

Jim froze as he felt the heat from a charged card pressed to his throat.

”Lower de gun James, not needed with Saber.”

“Saber?” He inhaled and smelt the scent of this feral on the X-Man Guide. “You and him?”

"Sabertooth not Gambit's Sentinel, Gambit never bonds, won’t lose his independence.” The Cajun spat the words.

"This can wait Gambit, we need to get the children free first.”  Jim put in quickly.

Gambit nodded, and lowered the card as Sabertooth came forward; reaching out for him.

"Saber, y' not touch Gambit, or he fry y'r head, y’ only touch Gambit if he tell y’ too.”

The blond feral Sentinel raised his hands, given a choice he would have ignored the Sentinel and just taken Gambit and run, but he knew the kid would not let him. For a Marauder the Cajun had too much of a conscious.

0-0-0-0-0

Jim concentrated on Gambit, and Saber tooth, the interplay between the two men was awesome, he could feel the tension in the room. The Cajun Guide walked towards the other feral Sentinel, his body moving unconsciously with the sensual grace of a Dark Guide. Gambit reached out his long, slender fingers, brushing the blond Sentinel’s face with the back of his hand, and leaned into him, allowing Sabertooth to pull him close and run his hands over his body. Sentinel soft Gambit said, “On Gambit’s terms only Saber”.

"We get out now Gambit, the Doctor is waiting for you.” Sabertooth leaned in and inhaled at the younger man's throat. Detecting a touch of fear, he rumbled deep in his chest, "No one is going to hurt you Gambit I'll skin him first before he touches you.” Clumsily he petted the Cajun's back as he wrapped an arm round his waist.

"We need to get de chiles out, Saber.”  He let his charm slip and felt the feral Sentinel react to his empathy, Sabertooth’s clawed hand slid down Gambit’s back to rest on his hip.

The feral Sentinel began a deep rumbling purring noise, "Kill them, than we bond Gambit promise Saber that.”

Slowly the blond sentinel released his Guide, pulling Gambit behind him, he cocked his head to one side and inhaled Jim's scent, "your Guide is up there, we get him too, and then I'll take care of the runt.” Sabertooth had recognized Logan's scent and there was no way he was going to let Logan walk away with his guide.

0-0-0-0-0

The young Sentinels listened carefully to the voice of their Senior Sentinel Prime, the small, stocky AML man was a friend, and when the time came they were to protect Blair and leave the combat to the others.

Logan fixed his eyes on Mandy; he knew that his cub had identified him. He had to force his formidable Weapon X barriers to lower, and as he concentrated on Mandy, he heard her voice in his head.

"Slow down kitten, Gambit is safe, Ellison has him. Link me to Drake.”

"Ice Cubes, you hearing me?”

"Got you Wolvie.”  Drake’s voice came through loud and clear, "how is Gambit?”

"Alive, now to get rid of the threat, I am going to take Kincaid out, I need you to seal the door so that his other men can't get in. Think you can do that ?”

"Sure.”

"Shimmer.”

"Yes Mr. Logan.”

“You need to get Drake in here.”

"Yes Sir.”

"Okay kids, we are going on 10, Mandy, Kat, bring them down.”

Logan reached up and removed his mask.

Kincaid shook his head, "What the hell are you doing man, put that back on?”

Logan got closer, "You know Kincaid, that crap you spout about mutants is just a load of bull, its about time you met your future.”

Wolverine dropped his gun, and there was a double snitk as his claws came out, and he sliced through Kincaid's gun, leaving him gaping at the two-pieces of machine gun in his hands..

With a scream like a banshee Kincaid threw the pieces down, pulled an automatic from behind his back and with a snarl, emptied the clip into Wolverine. It was the last thing that he ever did, the claws of one hand went straight through him, his mouth dropped open and blood trickled from his lips. He was looking straight into the feral yellow eyes of Logan, when the second set of claws ripped into him.

The screams of the other AML soldiers echoed through the room, as the telepathic knife the girls welded drove them to the their knees to then collapse to the floor. Even as Kincaid’s body fell, Shimmer appeared with Drake. The Iceman worked quickly, only just getting the ice wall in place as an explosion rocked the room as Kincaid’s men tried to force their way in.

On the lower floor, Jim was putting down a solid field of fire. As charged playing cards exploded he moved to the next position. By leap-frogging back towards the stairwell he was able to give covering fire to Gambit, and then be covered when he moved. Like a large predator, Sabertooth moved behind Gambit, his stolen rifle empty, he used it to batter down any AML soldiers that got close enough to them.

Slowly the three men were being beaten back along the corridor.

The windows lining the corridor imploded and the AML went down in a flurry of fire from the hovering Angel. With a nod at them, the winged X-Man banked away from the building, dodging a burst of fire from a lower floor.

0-0-0-0-0

Jim, Gambit and Sabertooth burst through the fire exit, the AML soldiers spun round even as Jim yelled for them to freeze, but he knew they wouldn’t. Jim staggered under one bullet to his Kevlar vest, but at the same time took the AML soldier down. But bullets didn’t even slow Sabertooth down as he attacked, shielding Gambit as he covered the short distance between them and the enemy.

Still working on maintaining the ice wall, Bobby pulled back as blood splattered up the wall, looking black on the ice. For a moment the man seemed to be frozen in place and then slid down, leaving a bloody river. Bobby pulled Shimmer back as claws began to slice through the icy barrier.

Logan's growl was low and rumbling, his shoulders dropped down, there was a double snikt as his claws slid out and he prepared to attack his new threat. Only one voice could call him from his feral rage, and it wasn’t Blair Sandburg.

The ice wall crumbled, and the scent of another feral flooded Wolverine’s senses.

The man in front of him was in his way, a Guide, a Guide of the Dark calling yes, but not his Guide; he swung one clawed hand to frighten him off. The Guide was reaching for him. Suddenly there was a flash of movement and Logan was hit hard, the momentum taking him to the floor, one set of claws going through the attackers clothing, opening his side up, the other hand missed his throat, and he found himself pinned under the young slender body, staring up into the black and red eyes of his Guide. The claws slid back, and one hand caught in the long auburn hair, twisting the satin strands in his fingers as he pulled Gambit down so that he could scent at his throat.

With a snarl, he smelt his Guide’s blood, a scent he was too familiar with, quickly he rolled him onto his back, leaning over him, his hands moving over the younger man, tearing open the shirt to check his left side, where three scratches oozed blood.

Gambit caught his hand. “Gambit okay Cher, he Okays.”

Slowly he sat up, biting back the pain that stung like red-hot barbs, catching Logan’s wrists. Letting his charm wrap round the older man, reassuring him that he was all right.

“Runt.”

Gambit was sent flying onto his back as Logan exploded to his feet, putting himself between his Guide and the new threat. With a roar he attacked.

Blair went to help Gambit to his feet, pulling himself free of Jim’s grip, his own Sentinel roaring his displeasure, as he tried to pet and reassure himself his Guide was unhurt.

“Later Jim.”

Gambit shook himself free of Blair’s hand, he was swearing in Cajun French as he got to his feet, and from his pocket took four of his cards. They began to glow, and he launched them straight at the ferals, the explosion blew a hole in the floor and the two fell through to the floor below. Without waiting he dropped down himself, leaving Blair who looked down at them.

A smile twisted Blair’s lips; his brother of the Dark Calling was taking charge of his Sentinel and Shield.

Sabertooth rolled clear of the shattered desk that had collapsed under his weight as he had hit it on the way down, only to see Gambit in front of him. Before he could register the Guide, a well-aimed kick to the head put him down. Then the Cajun turned his attention to Logan, as his feral sentinel attacked the downed Sabertooth. Gambit’s timing was perfect; his hands slapped the floor as the momentum of his forward somersault sent his feet straight into Logan’s chest, sending him flying back over another desk. Three cards sent at Sabertooth kept him in place, as did a flurry at Logan.

The Cajun X-Man walked up and down between them, as through his mind the knowledge of the ancient Dark Guides began to surface. Sabertooth lunged forward, and the cards threw him backwards.

“Dis ends now mon amies. Non need to fight. Y’ do dat and Gambit will kick y’r ass.”

Gambit felt the Sentinels, his own Sentinel’s presence was like a warm caress over his mind, it was like being held and cherished. Sabertooth’s vibes were slightly prickly, but he felt the same need to protect and cherish him. The Cajun cocked his head to one side, as one word came to his mind, ‘Shield’. His eyes widened.

He put out a hand, “Logan.”

Blair watched as Wolverine came towards his Guide, hell he didn’t walk, he was prowling, a loud growl came from Sabertooth as Wolverine, with a smile that was all teeth, wrapped an arm round his Guide’s waist, pulling the taller, younger man to him. The claws on one hand retracted, but the other remained to protect his Guide if need be.

Gambit leaned forward so that his forehead rested against Logan’s as he talked softly to him. When, with a growl, Logan tried to twist out of his grasp, Gambit held on to him, “None, Cher y’ listen to Gambit.”

The feral Sentinel calmed under his Guide’s touch, he didn’t pull away when Gambit’s long slender fingers wrapped round his head. The Cajun’s empathy flooded his mind, and he tightened his grip on Gambit.

Then he screamed as pain shot through his head, worse than any telepathic knife, his mind flew into pieces, then wrapped itself round his Guide’s mind as memories not of now, but of a past time, came flooding through his mind. His eyes locked on Gambit and he reached a hand up to brush the long hair from his Guide’s face and breathed, “Gamin.”

“Lo ijin.”

Lo ijin the ancient Dark Feral Sentinel turned to Sabertooth, “Creedin,” he put a hand out to the speechless Sabertooth.

The scent of the Guide and his need to connect with Gambit drew Sabertooth close. Gambit reached back and caught his wrist, pulling so that he was plastered against his back so that the Cajun was now stood between the two Sentinels. Whatever Sabertooth was about to say or do was forgotten when his mind was touched by Gambit, it was like mainlining pure power. His mind fragmented and then reformed, and it was Creedin that met Logan’s gaze.

As the ancient link of Gamin, Lo ijin, and Creedin, was reformed.

The power between the three ferals was looping back and forward, as life histories, both past and present, flowed between them faster than any Internet connection.

Blair pulled back from the hole in the floor and waved Jim and the others back.

“You’d best tell Simon not to go in there with his SWAT team, because if he does no one will walk out alive.”

When he saw the way Jim looked at him, he said, “the Darkest Bond has begun.”

0-0-0-0-0

Knowing the emotion of the darkest bond Jim and Blair entered carefully, It had taken a lot to coax the Sentinels to take their guide to the bonding suite on one of the lower floors. All the way down the corridors had been cleared, any man, woman or child would be viewed as a threat to their bonding.

Only Blair and Jim had been allowed close, and only then because the sentinels could scent the darkest bond on them. Logan had carried Gambit, the young guides body had laid limp in his arms, as Sabertooth had prowled ahead of him, head constantly moving from side to side, looking for a threat.

The door to the bonding suit closed behind them, and for the first time or so it seemed to Blair he breathed a sigh of relief, now at least the darkest bond was contained for the moment, and it could take its course.

Gambit’s eyes opened and he looked round him, he had no idea where he was, but he felt safe, he was laying in Logan’s arms, holding him close, then he felt a heavy weight across his waist and warmth down his back, turning his head slightly he saw Sabertooth, the other feral sentinel was spooned up behind him, his face pressed to the back of his neck. Before he could panic, he felt the emotions washing round him, love, respect, cherish, love, respect and cherish. Nothing hostile or lustful just the pure emotions of a sentinel for his chosen guide.

Both sentinels’ eyes opened as through the bond they felt Gambit wake up. Strong hands moved over him petting and reassuring him, coaxing him back down. Exhaustion from maintaining his bond and balancing the two sentinels made him feel soul weary and he a patted them both then he yawned his jaw clicking, “Bein Sentinel, Bein Shield,” And buried his face against Logan’s shoulder, and allowed the emotions to send him back to sleep.

Sabertooth, not meeting Logan’s gaze, made sure that his jacket covered the younger man, “He gets cold easy you know that.”

“Yeah.”

“Started when Essex had him off the Antiquarian, he ran some checks on him, he really hurt him,” To offset the angry emotions Sabertooth concentrated on petting Gambit, smoothing the jacket collar back down from where it had been pulled up round the Cajun’s neck. He wrinkled his nose, “this Cyclops scent I can smell.”

“Seems the kid borrowed the suit, don’t have many clothes.”

“Need to change that ” Sabertooth put in, “kid needs clothes, can’t go round looking like a Bourbon Street whore all the time.” He ignored the growl coming from Logan.

“I can look after my own guide, Shield.”

“You had better.” There was a veiled threat to the words, for a moment, Logan and Sabertooth just looked at each other, over the sleeping body of Gambit, then as if reaching a decision Logan closed his eyes, and followed his guide into sleep.

0-0-0-0

When he had finally woken again, Saber tooth was gone, and Logan had moved his guide with the help of the X Men back to the hotel and to Warren’s Penthouse suite.

As soon as they walked through the door, Warren was immediately on his feet

And when he saw the vacant look on the Cajun’s face asked gently. “Thief, can you hear me? Gambit?” He reached a hand out to touch him but Logan growled, it was a warning.

“There’s a room through there. What do you need?”

“A first aid kit, food, and energy drink.” There was a long pause then, “thanks Wings,” and Logan disappeared with his Guide, the door closing behind them.

Warren was very careful when he returned with the food; he laid it down and then knocked on the door, and retreated out of the way.

Logan opened the door and looked round, before picking up the tray, and then closing and locking the door behind him, now firmly in blessed protector mode.

Putting the tray on the dressing table he looked critically at his guide

“Okay Cajun get them off.”

He saw Gambit flinch, and then, “Usually the femmes and the hommes try to sweet talk Gambit first.”

The tone was right, as were the words, but when he said ‘homme’ there was a harsher tone to the Cajun’s voice. Logan filed it away for further investigation.

Logan’s hands rested on his hips, “You heard me Gumbo, you’re hurting, I can smell the blood and I can see the bruising from here. A hot bath and a rubdown will help you sleep. So don’t argue with your Sentinel.”

“Dat stuff smells.”

“You want to be as stiff as a board tomorrow, or you want to be walking?”

“Walking cher.”

“So get your skinny butt into that bath now.”

Logan’s eyes rolled up to the heavens as the Cajun left a trail of clothes to the bathroom. The Sentinel opened the tub of liniment, it was unscented so he tipped the container and saw Sentinel Safe on the packaging. As long as it eased his Guide that was all that mattered.

0-0-0-0-0

Dan Slater Commander in the GDP, the Guide Development Program, straightened his tie for the third time; he could not help but hear the snigger from his left and turned to see Blair fighting to control his laughter.

“So what’s wrong Guide?” He was pleased to see that Blair didn’t flinch from him. At one time that tone from a GDP officer would have had the young Guide on his knees, in the much hated posture of full respect.

“Logan and Gambit are bonding, believe me you don’t want to go there.”

“Gambit has to be checked and graded, all Guides...” The elevator came to a halt and Dan Slater stepped out, Blair didn’t follow.

“They’re all feral Slater.”

“They? Shield, Dark Sentinel and Guide?”

“All feral,” Slater turned on his heel and went back into the elevator.

“I think this can wait, don’t you?”

“Wise man Slater, wise man,” the words were said with a touch of dark humor.

Blair put a hand in his pocket and drew out an invite. “Oh, and by the way Dan, Professor Xavier has invited you to the Mansion next week with Jim and me.

Slater fingered the letter, why did he get the feeling he was going to regret this?

The end.