Um, sorry about your brother
Author's note: So just how did Illyana and Kitty get back together? Set just after Epilogue Three in X-Men battle of the atom chapter 10. Something happened that allowed them to connect again. This is my take. Updated after I wrote there are no snowflakes in hell.
Part 1: So now what?
"... and that's why we need an end to our differences" Scott finished an impromptu slightly impassioned speech in Beast's lab. The future X-Men had just departed via the time cube with the bodies of the fallen, including Illyana's brother from the future.
"Will he ever shut up" mumbled Kitty. Scott was trying to convince Henry about some nuanced point that Henry was obviously disregarding out of hand (major hand waving and some minor finger wagging ensued).
The group was beginning to break up, subdividing into the usual cliques or routines. Wolverine was already off in search of a beer (and the truth be told something quite a bit stronger). Ororo had left just after Login departed (oh so subtle) so likely not much imagination needed as to what the two were doing.
Magneto and Emma (bitch!) were already gone "Hmm where did they go? I guess Yana (I mean fake Yana) port'd them back to wherever the heck they're lurking at."
Bobby was observing the Scott/Hank dialogs and injecting the usual "Yea but", "You suck" and other comments of even lesser applicability.
"Bobby we are sooo done" thought Pryde with more then a little anger.
Kitty turned her back on the quarrelsome trio only to overhear "...uck you and the horse you flew in on!". There was a flash of light and Scott was gone.
"Guess Illyana left and took the murdering blowhard with her" Kitty though as she frowned. "Serves him right, yanked out in mid angry finger pointing pontification. Real classy Bobby, you've get to come up with better arguments. There's a reason you're not teaching debate or critical reasoning".
Kitty left the lab and phased up to the school's grounds. "Now what" thought Pryde, "can't stay here anymore, can't leave the x-kids here, but what to do"?
The gardens were peacefully. Twilight was just beginning to turn to true darkness and the scent of jasmine was heavy in the air.
Kitty began to wander the garden paths lost in thought "Avengers are a no go, the FF are all F'd up so that's out. Shield? Yea right. Doom? Double yea right. Can't remain here but got no place to go, hmmm".
Suddenly Lockheed landed on her left shoulder, wrapped himself around her neck and nuzzled her behind her right ear. "Who's a good dragon ..." Kitty murmured to Lockheed as she lightly scratched where his wings and back met "Who's a good dragon ...".
Pryde suddenly realized her random steps had taken her into the monuments to the fallen part of the garden. Up ahead was the statue to Peter
"Dead, now not dead, but future dead self sent back to future" thought Kitty. "This whole set of statues is really somewhat problematic, I mean we raise monuments to the fallen just to have them come back and fall again".
Kitty walked around a bush when she suddenly noticed that somebody was kneeling in front of Colossus's status, their back to Kitty.
It was her, Illyana (?the fake?).
Kitty had always felt very uneasy and tense around this re-embodied image of Yana. Her Yana would never have done the things this Yana did. This Yana had tortured Kitty's students in limbo, ripped Pixie's soul apart; and what the new mutant team went though was unforgiveable. Over all of that was the act of allowing Peter to become the Juggernaut remained a emotional wound that would not go away.
As Kitty turned to go she heard "That was not a very nice thing to say".
Kitty reluctantly turned back "What do you mean by that? What are you talking about" she replied to Illyana's back.
"Yeah, but who trusts you. You said that back in the lab back when I first explained that the second set of X-Men from the future was the good guys because I brought them" Illyana replied. "That wasn't very nice or necessary, I was just trying to explain" Illyana finished.
Kitty noticed a tone in Illyana's voice that she had not heard before. Prior conversations and brief encounters with this new and oh so not improved Yana had always had a coldish or standoffish tone, dry, slightly disconnected, like she was not talking with people but talking to abstract people. Now this Yana sounded slightly contemplative, hesitant, and somewhat sad, sort of like the Yana of old.
Kitty nibbled her lower lip, "I should go" she thought, "But go where"? She paused in indecision.
She replied to Illyana back "Well who does trust you? I mean look at what you've done since you've returned. Who haven't you screwed over since you came back", Kitty suddenly found herself unleashing a flood of words that she had always wanted to say.
"Pixie will never be the same. Victor counts himself lucky he just lost an arm. Your old pals, the New Mutants, were all traumatized by the whole vengeance on the elder gods and give me back my soul SNAFU. There's not a student on this campus who would want to be near you, heck half the ones you met in limbo would cut your throat if given half a chance after what you did to them. We still have some of them waking up with panic attacks thinking that they're back in limbo and your about to get them".
"You hang out with Scott, that murdering bastard, and Emma that oh so icy bitch. OMG you're even dressing like that exhibitionist skank, skin tight short shorts and a boob window for crying out loud. As a junior Phoenix you apparently created some kind of franchised subdivision of hell on earth and sadistically tortured those whom you imprisoned there. Rogue told us all about it"!
"Illyana would never have done those thing. You are NOT my Yana! You're a sick twisted limbo creature just pretending to be Yana! And Peter, God Peter, just when things were starting to finally work out for us you had to go and let him touch that blasted stone so the man I loved was gone replaced by ...". Kitty slowly wound down the avalanche of words, suddenly remembering that a version of Peter had just died and that this Illyana appeared to be in some sort of mourning. She noticed that Illyana's back had stiffened and she felt Lockheed tense up.
"And um... I'm sorry about your brother" Kitty lamely ended the diatribe.
Kitty again turned to go "Crap" she thought "That did not go nearly as well as I had always imaged it would, and I complain about Bobby, geeze".
She paused as she heard "Kitty, can we talk, I mean really talk for just once"? Again Kitty nibbled her lip in indecision. "What could we possible talk about" she thought.
Lockheed relaxed and nuzzled her hair which helped Kitty decide. Kitty turned back and strode over to where Illyana was keeling. "Ok, but I'm not really sure what we could possibly say to each other" Kitty stated as she sat down next to the keeling Illyana.
Silently they both sat there for a time.
"Have you ever heard the story about the toad and the scorpion" Illyana hesitantly asked.
"I think so" replied Kitty "It's a morality tale about not trusting those who do not deserve trust".
Illyana nodded once in agreement "My mother used to tell the story back when I was young" Illyana replied "She had lots of stories about not trusting strangers, it's kind of a Russian thing. Mama's version went like this":