Remy had known his efforts to save Bella Donna would not be easy. He also knew they would be met with anger and derision from the thieves, but he felt he didn't have a choice. He knew the Elixir of Longevity would be able to save his wife, and even though his family would be horrified at him using the Elixir to save the life of an assassin, he had to do it.

What Remy didn't know was that his family would not be the only ones opposing his use of the Elixir.

Remy traveled to Europe, seeking the guild benefactress Candra. She was an immortal, a type of super-mutant known as an External. It was she who gave the assassins their powers, and it was she who gave the thieves the Elixir. These gifts were in return for the tithing. Remy couldn't very well go to his father and ask for some of the Elixir the thieves had in their possession, so he had to ask Candra for more. Either that or he had to steal it from her, something he was not above doing.

When he got there, he got the shock, and the fight, of his life.

Remy managed to steal a vial…the very last vial in existance…of the Elixir from Candra's possession with surprisingly little resistance. Remy thought perhaps it was because maybe Candra cared about Bella Donna, but in reality, it was because Candra knew who would oppose him.

From out of nowhere, a man dressed from head to toe in black attacked Remy in the alley outside Candra's home. Remy couldn't see who the man was, but the voice was unmistakable.

"Give me de vial, t'ief. Now."

Remy almost tripped over his own two feet. "Julien?!" he squawked in astonishment. "But…you…I…"

"I must have it. Give it to me, or I will kill you."

"No, Julien. Dis is for Bella Donna, to save her life. I can' give it to you." Remy said, leaping out of the way of Julien's attack.

"You don' understand, LeBeau. I must have de Elixir. I need it." Julien's voice was desperate, not angry. He truly believed what he was saying.

'I don' understand!' Remy thought as he tried to hold onto the vial and fight Julien at the same time. "Je ne comprend pas, Julien! What are you sayin'?"

After Remy tossed Julien against a wall, the desperate assassin sat there, breathing heavily. He decided to show Remy the truth and took off his mask, revealing the monster he had become.

Remy's jaw almost hit the ground. Julien explained to Remy that he had tasted the Elixir and in a sense become addicted to it. Because he hadn't been conditioned to it, it effected him badly. If he didn't get more, he would surely die a slow, painful death.

"I have to talk to my father 'bout dis…" Remy muttered when Julien finished. Did the thieves even know of this risk that came with the Elixir?

A few hours later, Remy, with Julien in tow, confronted Jean-Luc in New Orleans. Jean-Luc affirmed what Julien had told Remy, and expanded on it when Remy asked.

"We have always known of de risk, son. Most of us overlooked it; there have only been a few who have not."

Jean-Luc looked at Remy, after Julien had taken off to assemble a group of assassins. "You have de last vial of de Elixir. Dat's why he was after you."

"Oui."

"Why, Remy?"

"I'm goin' to use it to save Bel's life." Remy replied candidly, deciding he might as well tell the truth and get it over with. He knew Julien would be back, and he knew his father was not going to let Remy do what he wanted without a fight.

Jean-Luc sighed. "I can' let you do dat, Remy."

"Sorry, Papa, but you don' have a choice. I'm gon' save my wife's life whether de Guild agrees wit' me or not."

At the LeBeau mansion an hour later, the entire Thieves Guild was assembled. Jean-Luc informed them of what Remy intended to do with the last vial of the Elixir. Needless to say, they were outraged.

"We can' let him do it!" Theoren exclaimed. The others, with the exception of Emil, whose silence was overlooked, agreed.

"We aren' de only ones tryin' to stop him." Jean-Luc told them. "It appears Julien is still alive. He wants de Elixir for himself an' a select group of his assassin followers. We can' let dem get it, either."

"What're we waitin' for? Let's go." Mercy said quietly. She was the only woman in the Thieves Guild, but as Henri's widow, she was highly respected by the men in the Guild, and they often did as she suggested.

The others followed her out of the room, with Jean-Luc taking up the rear. He noticed that his red-haired young nephew remained seated where he was, a solemn expression on his face.

"Emil?" Jean-Luc questioned. "Are you comin'?"

Emil took a deep breath and let it out slowly, knowing his response was not going to sit well with the Guild patriarch. "Non, uncle. I'm not."

Jean-Luc was shocked by Emil's answer. He hadn't expected to be so openly disagreed with. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Emil replied quietly. "I'm not goin'. I don' care if you excommunicate me like I know you're gon' do to Remy, but I won' change my mind. I hope he succeeds."

Jean-Luc sighed. "I'm sorry to hear dat, Emil, but I won' excommunicate you. You are suspended from all Guild activities until further notice, however."

Emil nodded, knowing he'd gotten off very easily. "Good luck, Jean-Luc. I t'ink you're gon' need it."

Later, there was a knock on the door of Emil's bedroom. "C'min." Emil replied to it. He wasn't expecting Remy to be on the other side, and he wasn't wrong. It was Genard.

"What happened?" he asked as his friend sat down.

"Julien's dead. For read dis time, too." Genard began. "Marius did it."

"Huh. Imagine dat." Emil grinned. "What else?"

"We lost de vial. Julien managed to destroy it b'fore anyone else could get it. I guess he felt dat if he couldn' have it, no one else should be allowed to. Some of de Elixir got on Remy's shirt an' he used dose few drops to try an' save Bel."

"An'…?"

"It worked. She doesn' remember anyt'ing, but she's alive." Genard explained. "Dey kicked Remy out of de Guild."

Emil nodded with a sigh. "I knew dey would. Did he go back to New York?"

"Oui."

"Dat's b'comin' a habit of his." Emil griped.

"What is?"

"Him leavin' without sayin' goodbye. Sheesh. Hey, Jean-Luc didn' happen to mention to anyone jus' how long I'm gon' be suspended, did he?"

Genard chuckled. "Non, sorry. You shouldn' have sided wit' Remy, Red. You knew he was wrong."

"G, he saved de life of someone he loved. Dat's not wrong." Emil retorted.

Genard got up from the desk chair and paused at the door. "Don' let Theo hear you sayin' dat, kid."

"Your loyalty to him is commendable, Emil." Jean-Luc stated from the doorway of Emil's room.

Emil, who was lying flat on his back, head pillowed in his arms, staring at the ceiling, tilted his head and looked at his uncle. "Dat so?"

"Oui." Jean-Luc sat down in the chair where Genard had sat just moments before and looked back at his young nephew. Emil reminded Jean-Luc so much of his late sister it was almost scary. Francois Lapin would never have gone against the Guild no matter what he felt himself, however Jean-Luc's sister Therese would at any opportunity, being an independent individual. Emil took after his mother in more than just looks.

"So…am I still grounded?" Emil asked with a hopeful glimmer in his sparkly blue eyes.

"Oh yes." Jean-Luc assured him.

Emil grinned. "It was worth a shot."

Jean-Luc sat in silence for a moment, thinking about both the past and the future. Finally, he spoke again. "You're never gon' stop bein' his friend, are you?"

"Nope. It don' matter dat he ain' here, it don' matter dat he ain' part of de Guild anymore, he's de only best friend I got. I ain' 'bout to sell him up de river, so to speak. Ever. Why?"

Jean-Luc sighed. "Good. I t'ink someday you'll find out why. I don' know de answer right now, but I jus' have dis feelin' dat you'll figure it out eventually."