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That night Kurt did something he hadn't done in quite some time, he slept for an entire undisturbed and peaceful night. He was physically and emotionally drained and fell asleep well before the van had ever reached the mansion. He dozed off to the barrage of questions and concerned looks of the residents of the Xavier Institute who came to find him.

He felt relieved that perhaps now, after so many weeks of internal agony at the hands of creeping doubts and malicious voices, he might have some peace. That, after so much time feeling like he was alone with his agony, there were answers. Perhaps, the indelible marks of a demon were only on the outside and not inside. Sure, this new answer meant that Kurt needed psychological help, but that was science and science had quick answers and medicine. There is no cure for being a demon.

Kurt awoke in his bed at the institute. He rolled over and looked at his alarm clock. The alarm had been turned off and it was now 1:37 in the daytime. He got up and looked at himself in the mirror, he was a little dirty and his fur was matted down in various places; but, other than that, he looked the same way he always did. This felt right, here at the institute, amongst friends. Nay, amongst family.

Kurt was met outside his door by Logan, who, by his appearance, seemed to have been there for quite some time.

"How you feeling, elf?" Logan asked, trying to seem as nonchalant as ever.

"Better." Kurt responding.

"Good to hear it. Just so you know, the Prof wants to see you once you're ready. Not that you should rush, you do look like hell," Logan said.

"Gee, thanks," Kurt said with playful sarcasm that had not graced Logan's ears for a while.

Logan allowed himself a slight smile as Kurt walked away. The elf had grown on him, somewhat.

Kurt took a long shower, got dressed, then met the Professor downstairs in his office.

"Good morning, Kurt. I hope you slept well," said the Professor as Kurt took a seat.

"I did."

"Wonderful. Now, Kurt, first off I feel that I should apologize for not acting sooner. Had I stepped in when I should have, things might not have gone as far as they did. And for that, I would like to apologize." After the Professor was done apologizing he brought his wheelchair up to the chair Kurt was sitting in.

"Ok, now I just want you to relax. I promise this will not hurt."

The Professor placed his hands up to Kurt's face and spread his fingers along the sides of Kurt's head. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate on Kurt's mind, allowing a flood of sounds and images into his brain. The Professor filtered through them slowly, trying to piece together a coherent flow of information. This became a very daunting task because at many points in Kurt's mind it was hard to tell what was a dream and what was a memory. Truly unbelievable stories of both romantic tragedies and horrific nightmares blurred the line between fact and fiction. They felt like memories, but also felt like dreams. The most puzzling of all was a deep rooted sense of callousness that was not a part of Kurt's character but was still anchored deep into his mind.

As the Professor came out of his trance he gave a slight frown.

"What is it Professor?" Kurt asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Well Kurt, to be honest, I am not sure what to make of all of this. Certain minds are hard to decipher in such a short amount of time."

"Was it the dreams?"

"Dreams, Kurt?"

"Yes, I have them occasionally. That is where the voice first came from."

"I see. Perhaps we should have started here, please tell me more."

"Well, for some time now I have been having strange dreams. But, these dreams aren't ordinary, they just feel all too real. Some times I would wake up feeling horribly sad or even angry and have no idea why. Eventually, these dreams started to seep into my real life. I couldn't stop thinking about them. This led to the voice."

"You mentioned that before, what do you mean by it?"

"Well, at first they were small whispers that would echo through my head. Telling me things."

"What types of things?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Ok, Kurt, we don't need to talk about that. But if you can, try to tell me more about this voice."

"Well, sometimes it is hard to understand and can be tuned out. Other times, it is very clear and hard to ignore. It was...frightening."

At this point Kurt looked visibly upset and had trouble choking out the last word.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

"I...I would rather not Professor. I think I need some time to figure this out."

"Alright, just remember I am always here whenever you need me."

"Thanks, Professor."

Kurt teleported back up to his room and just stood on the railing of the balcony outside his window. He did this often when he felt that he needed some time to think. It distressed him that the quick answers he was expecting from the Professor did not come. However, it was only one session. Perhaps the Professor will have more answers next time. That was rational thinking, but there was still a small doubt festering in the back of his mind. Kurt stayed on the balcony all day, he didn't feel like being bothered and wasn't very hungry. The others left him alone, he had been through a lot.

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