Illyana turned her eyes on Kurt. "It's the shock of it, isn't it? Some personal thing pierces the fog and lets you come out of it, right?"
"Ja." Kurt turned his eyes skyward. "I could stop Tabitha. I'm almost sure of it. But… I don't know Betsy or Brian that well. I have no idea what could reach them."
"I do." Illyana smiled sadly. "Kurt?"
He let a more piercing gaze meet her eyes. "Vhat?"
"If I don't come back… Thank you for everything. You. Forge… Everyone. Just… Make sure they know, okay?" She sniffed slightly.
"You'll be fine. Just…"
"If I don't come back, okay?" she asked, and a portal opened under her and swallowed her whole.
No! He thought. Ach! I'm so not in control here…
Illyana dropped down on to the street in front of Tabitha and Betsy.
"Come on." Illyana said, opening a portal. "Betsy, you have to help me save Brian. Something's wrong with Alistaire."
"I know!" Betsy threw up her arms. "He just ran Brain down right in front of us."
"Wait!" Tabitha tried to stop them. "Why did you save Kurt?" She demanded.
"I was saving him for you." Illyana smiled sweetly and sadly at the same time. "He's on the roof." She pointed. "There."
Tabitha shot Illyana the sweetest smile imaginable. "You… Saved him for me?" She strode over and hugged Illyana. "You are just too sweet!"
And Illyana turned away, leading Betsy through the portal and away from Tabitha.
NO! Kurt shook his head from above the street. We shouldn't be splitting up!
But it was no use complaining over what was already done.
The first portal they stepped through put them only a few blocks away. Brian's screams of anger could be heard in the distance and it took several portal trips to find themselves standing before the junkyard, the flames licking up in to the air.
"What happened here?" Betsy demanded of the night watchman. "Where's Brian?"
A long, slow groan resonated out from under the buss and Brian slid the magnet off him in several slow attempts.
Illyana and Betsy rushed over to him.
"Did Alistaire do this?" Betsy demanded of Brian.
Brian in turn shrieked in an exhausted rage and screamed until his face turned red, then purple.
Now… or never. Illyana decided.
"I did it." She told them both. "I'm the one who put the spell on Brian for The Hellfire Club."
And with a jolt… Brian stopped screaming.
Betsy's eyes opened wide and she shook in place. "You…did … what?"
Brian blinked, still standing in the hole where Alistaire had buried him.
"Some man contracted it through Emma and she had me do it. I crippled Brian using magic. It was me. I did it."
Brian nodded. Makes … sense… little … clues… all along…
Betsy screamed and her sword lashed out at Illyana.
But it impacted in to Brian's palm. He closed his fingers around the blade and slowly turned his head to meet Betsy's eyes. "Don't." Was all he said.
"Don't?" Betsy demanded. "DON'T?"
Brian was bleeding and burned. He was missing large clumps of hair and his clothes were in tatters. It was an odd sight to see this broken mountain of a man so incredibly calm and decisive.
"That's right. Don't." He breathed heavily.
Betsy tried to pull her sward away from him but only succeeded in making the blood flow more freely from his hand and so she stopped. "But Brian… She…"
"Was under a spell herself." He finished. "She couldn't help it."
Betsy was shaking her head in disagreement. "No… This isn't about magic… This is about you! Have you really grown so vain, and so shallow that you want to go back to the lighthouse and spend your days hitting on…" She motioned at Illyana. "THAT?"
Brian shivered and shook in anticipation. "Betsy… YES! I am exactly that shallow! I always have been!"
"No Brian, you're not. You're decent and noble and…"
But Brian was shaking his head. "I think… I let you believe that … but… Betsy…" He sighed. "I never beat up those people who were mean to you because… I'm noble…" His eyes sparkled and she realized he was crying and couldn't help himself. "I did it… Because they were mean to you."
"To… me?" Betsy swallowed.
Brian shrugged. "I knew they were jerks. I knew they deserved it… But they were like that before and after they hurt you… I …"
Betsy looked back at Illyana and the down at Brian.
Suddenly Betsy ripped her sword from Brain's hand and arced it around at Illyana's throat.
"NO!" Brian jumped – or more appropriately – fell to the other side of his hole.
But he needn't have bothered.
Betsy stopped just as the blade touched Illyana's throat.
Illyana stood there, mouthing the lords prayer in Russian.
She's … Betsy swallowed and looked at her. A small trickle of blood ran down Illyana's neck from the blade. She's ready to… let me…
Betsy followed the sight of the sword down to her own hands and somehow it seemed to surprise her that she was holding the sword and she dropped it, backing up slowly and in fear of both Illyana and herself.
She didn't even more to defend herself… Betsy was still shaking and reeling from the news.
And in a flash… Betsy was gone.
Illyana opened her eyes.
Brain was slowly trying to pull himself out of the hole.
"Here." Illyana opened a portal below him and he dropped out of the ground and then out of the air in front of her to face Illyana.
"I am so…" Illyana couldn't bring herself to say 'sorry', so she just shook her head sadly instead.
Brian swallowed. "I know… I should be angry." He said. "I probably am… Somewhere inside." He took a breath and stood up slowly. "But… Being crippled… Gave me a new appreciation for… People who can't help themselves."
"I know it's too much to ask that you ever…"
"So you're forgiven." He said quickly. "Mostly because I understand why it happened and…" He caressed her face slowly. "And because I never want to think about it again." He winced in pain. "I always figured… Someone out there did that to me… And it almost makes some kind of sense that it would be you."
"Sense?" Illyana asked, her voice cracking. "What kind of sense does it make?"
Brian nodded. "The people we choose to love… Are always the people who can hurt us most." He finished slowly. "We just… Did it out of order this time."
She cocked her head at him in flustered amazement.
"Nowhere … for us to go now…" He held his side and fell to his knees in pain. "But up." He finished speaking as she dove to his side.
And without any other way to be of comfort to him, she took his one large hand in both of hers and cried against his fist.