Thanks for all the reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Kitty sat on the small hotel bed, trying to focus on the sitcom that was on television, but she just couldn't pay attention. The laugh track roared at the impossible or, at least unlikely, situations, but tears began to fill her eyes. Her own life had become an unlikely situation, but there was nothing funny about it. It was selfish, but she wished she had never came on this trip. Perhaps, if she had just stayed home the other memories would have quietly faded away.
The bathroom door opened and Jean stepped out, wrapping a towel around her wet hair. Kitty quickly turned away, hoping that Jean hadn't noticed that she was crying. However, when she felt Jean gently touch her shoulder, she realized that Jean knew. It wasn't exactly easy to hide your feelings from a telepath.
"I'm sorry," Kitty mumbled, using the back of her hand to wipe her eyes.
"That's okay," Jean replied, "besides, I think that perhaps I'm the one who should apologize."
"What do you mean?" Kitty asked.
Jean took a deep breath as she walked over and sat down on the other bed. "Your memories - the other memories were starting to fade, right?"
Kitty nodded, wondering where Jean was going with this.
"But that wasn't true with me," Jean explained, "From the moment I woke up both memories were equally clear - equally true." Her voice became soft. "We made comments and jokes about going crazy, that was what was truly happening to me." She paused as she made eye contact with Kitty. "I'm sorry," she finally continued, "I didn't want to drag you into this and I surely didn't want you to have the same problems that I was. It's just that when I found you, I was relieved because I finally learned that it wasn't all just in my head. My only thought was that now I might able to find out what was going on."
Kitty was surprised by Jean's admission. "That's okay," she managed. The frustration she had been feeling melted away, but she couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
"No, it's not okay," Jean responded, "but thanks anyway."
"So…," Kitty said, trying to change the subject. "What are we going to do tomorrow?"
Jean pulled back the blanket and crawled into bed. "We have someone we need to visit," she answered.
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The house looked basically the same. It was better maintained it looked somewhat neater. Plus the "Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House," sign was absent. Yet, it was still the same. Jean and Kitty were parked just down the street where they could watch the house. "What are we doing here?" Kitty inquired.
"Just wait," Jean instructed.
As if on cue, the front door opened as 'Principal Darkholme' stepped forward. Kitty gasped and slid down in the seat hoping not to be noticed. Thankfully, it seemed that the local principal had other things on her mind as she climbed into her car and drove the opposite way down the street.
Once she was out of sight, Kitty sat back up in her seat. "How did you know she was here?" she asked.
Jean smiled, her eyes sparkling slightly. "I picked it up yesterday when we saw her," she answered, "Now, let's see what we can find."
Kitty was a little surprised when she realized that Jean was actually preparing to break into Mystique's home. Well, they didn't have to actually 'break in' since Kitty had quietly phased them through the front door, but still she was nervous at thought of Mystique catching them. At the same time, Kitty had to admit she was curious as to what the interior of the house would look like.
It appeared that Mystique had a talent for decorating. Each room had it's own unique style and color scheme - and the lavish decorations seemed to be in such contrast with the rather plain exterior. Yet, as Kitty looked around, she couldn't help but feel something was missing. That's when she realized there was almost no personal effects to be found. The living room, for example, was beautiful but it looked more like a room you would seem portrayed in a magazine rather than in a real home. The only thing that seemed to display any real personality was a large walnut bookcase that was located in one corner. A cursory glance of the contents seemed to indicate that Mystique was quite a fan of Stephen King. In fact, there was a worn copy of "The Dark Half" setting on a nearby table, a red bookmark marking a page somewhere near the middle of the novel.
The upstairs was quite similar. The main bedroom was decorated gloriously, as if it was the room of some fairy tale princess. The closet, however, was bare except for two coats and there was only one pair of gloves in a drawer. Kitty had never really thought about it before, but she supposed it made since that Mystique didn't own a lot of clothes.
The only thing that was out of place upstairs was one small bedroom at the end of the hall. It was not decorated beautifully like the others and the few items that were in the room were more masculine in nature. Besides, it looked as if the inhabitant of this room was rather sloppy.
Still, despite the fact that the house was interesting, they had found nothing that shed any light on their current problems. Kitty shook her head as they made their way downstairs and turned towards Jean. She was about to make a comment about the ways things were going, but paused when she noticed Jean's expression. It looked as if she was about to cry. "Don't worry, Jean," Kitty said, "I'm sure we'll figure all of this out soon."
"It's not that," Jean replied, "Look, I haven't been completely honest with you. You know how I said my memories were all clear?"
"Yeah. So?"
"Well, most of them are, except for one. Just before the ground began shaking and the lights went out, something had happened. I know I was running to tell everyone when the earthquake or whatever it was hit."
"What was it?" Kitty asked.
"I can't remember," Jean admitted, "but I know it's important somehow. I wish I could remember what it was because I think that it's central somehow to all that's happened. What about you? Can you remember anything else about that night?"
Before Kitty could respond, a noise from outside interrupted them. Running to a nearby window, they saw that Mystique had returned and was heading for the front door. They hurried to the back but saw that there was no door on this side of the house, so Kitty grabbed Jean's hand and they phased through the wall to outside.
"That was close," Jean commented.
"Yeah," Kitty agreed, "I thought for sure-"
"What are you two doing here?" a voice interrupted.
Both girls turned and saw Toad sitting, or rather squatting, in the limb on a nearby tree. Kitty recognized him immediately ; another clue that these memories were becoming clearer.
Toad jumped down from the tree and smiled. "Boy," he said, "did you guys pick the wrong house to break into. I know I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when she finds out." He laughed slightly.
Jean seemed aggravated as she turned away. "Come on, Kitty," she instructed.
"What's your hurry?" Toad asked. He jumped a few times until he landed in front of them. "Where are you running off to?"
Jean's eyes narrowed. "We haven't got time for this right now, Toad," she said.
The smile quickly slid from Toad's face as this comment. "How did you know who I was?" he questioned.
"Look, we have to go," Kitty spoke up, "Like she said: we don't have time to talk about this now."
"Maybe you should make some time," Toad responded. His tongue lashed out towards them. Kitty jumped to the side as it struck the ground. Even if she hadn't moved, it wouldn't had hit them. It appeared that Toad was trying more to intimidate them than anything else.
"We've wasted enough time," Jean stated. She moved her hand and telekinetically shoved Toad backwards several feet. This seemed to anger him as he jumped to his feet and started towards them again. Again, Jean used to her telekinesis to shove him back, harder this time. He hit a tree and moaned slightly as he rubbed his lower back.
"You certainly handled him easily enough," someone congratulated them, "Maybe now you need a real challenge." The speaker stepped from the shadows and walked towards them. Kitty recognized him as quickly as she had Toad, and felt immediately relieved. Finally, things were looking up for them. She glanced at Jean, and was not surprised to see there were tears in her eyes.
"Scott," Jean said simply, her voice trembling slightly.
And so ends chapter 5. I hope that you liked it. Chapter 6 will have a few more surprises, I hope.
