X-Men: Revolution

by J.HunterFiction

Kurt once made his way to the Real World and learned that up there life he knew was a cartoon. Right now he's back to Evo in company of 2 individuals and has to re-live every single episode. As expected, knowing the future can be a heavy burden and a great responsibility. KurtxOC, realistic approach, I know it's long but it'll be so worth it

7. 2 - The X Impulse - 2 of 3

Episode 2: THE X IMPULSE

Installment 2 of 3

"Fallen, hey!" Kurt appeared out of nowhere and pulled the girl aside a bit, to avoid colliding with the passing students. "My last block was called off, the teacher had some emergency. I'm supposed to go home now."

She nodded. "...Yeah, okay. I still have history so you go ahead."

"Scott's off to the Institute now, too, so you won't have a ride. I could wait for you if you want-"

"No, it's fine" she cut in, her eyes wandering somewhere above his arm. "Really. I'll just walk, it's not that far."

Kurt's eyes were examining her, the feeling that something's off about her behavior was still there and itching. "You sure you're okay?"

"...Yeah" not sounding very convincing, she seemed to try and make up with a smile. "I'm fine, I'm just- having a lot on my mind, that's all."

Kurt knew how she acts when that's the case, and it didn't seem to be nothing but a petty excuse right now. But pushing would get him nowhere with her.

"I should go to my class before the teacher gets there. He hates it when we're late" she still didn't fully hold his gaze as she said that, seemed to be looking rather through him than at him. "I'll see you home."

Just as she was about to go down the hallway, Kurt grabbed her wrist stopping her. "...Alright" he said. "But before you go... can you tell me one thing?"

She looked back at him questioningly.

He exhaled slightly, lowering his voice to keep it private; "Is it something I did?"

A moment of confusion on her face quickly turned into understanding and a form of regret as she stepped back, close to him. "It's not. You did nothing wrong" she said low, but this time her eyes were truly on his own, making him believe it - unlike the previous excuses. "I'm just-... I need a few days to deal with something. I'll- I'll tell you when I feel it'is the time, alright?"

The last words made him exhale in defeat. "Alright. I'm ears whenever you're ready. Ja?"

She nodded ever so slightly with a small, grateful smile.

"I'll see you home" she said again, gave him a brief peck on the cheek and this time he let her blend in with the crowd as she headed to her last block.

The bell rang, and within seconds the school halls were left with merely a few students roaming them, careless that they're late for class. Kurt tucked his hands in the pockets of his hoodie and headed towards the door.

He felt tempted to wait this block out after all and maybe convince Fallen to open up as they'd walk home, but he knew he would be out of line with such persistence. He's done everything he could in terms of making sure she would talk to him when she sees fit, there was nothing else to do but give her the space to process whatever had a grip on her.

He emerged onto the backyard, instantly noticing Scott as he waved his hand at him from beside his car. Kurt approached the taller boy.

"What took you so long?" Summers asked as he jumped into the driver's seat and started the engine. He looked up at Wagner who continued to stand there. "Come on, hop in!"

"I'm not sure if I want to take you up on the offer this time" Kurt said with a slight grimace.

"What? Come ON" Scott rested back with defeat. "Jean's with the Professor, Fallen's still at school, you want to bail on me too?"

Kurt smirked with a slight snort. He looked back at the school building, making up his mind. "A little company can't hurt, I guess" he said, semi-joking mannerism back to his voice as he shrugged and got onto the passenger's seat.

"That's the spirit" the boy stated and pulled car from the parking lot. "It might be actually kind of nice to be away from the girls, if only for a moment."

"Hm? What is that, Scott Summers can't handle ladies?" Kurt asked teasingly rising his eyebrows.

"Nah, man, they can't handle me" he pointed his thumb at himself as he faced him briefly.

"Suuure."

"Seriously though" Scott focused on the road again, a slight frown was visible despite his glasses. "I just don't get them, dude. Earlier today Jean got angry with me for nothing!" waved his hand with frustration.

"Are you sure it was nothing? Did you say or do something?"

"No! I mean, I said I don't like that Professor takes her to the recruitation alone, but she took it and twisted it and turned into into some kind of insult against her!"

"Maybe it came off like you don't trust her to handle it?"

"...I don't know, man. Maybe that's what she thought. But it's just-" he took a moment and then exhaled. "I'm supposed to be the leader of this team, and I'm not even involved in recruiting new members."

"I see it's not just about Jean anymore."

"No" Summers stated seriously looking at the road before him. "Not only."

"I think you need to trust the Professor a liiittle bit more" Kurt pitched his voice as he brought his thumb and forefinger half an inch apart. "He wouldn't put you in charge if he didn't want you to be there. But nobody can be involved in everything all the time, you know."

"I suppose" he agreed with discontent.

After a moment Wagner picked up; "I wonder how the recruitation went."

It was just thinking out loud, he did - after all - mostly know how it would go.

"Professor is there. What could go wrong?" Summers responded absently.

"I don't know" Kurt sighed. "Earthquakes, stuff like that."

Scott looked at him like he was talking nonsense.

Wagner shrugged, slightly amused. "Just wondering out loud."

Summers turned his face to the road again. "Anything could happen" he agreed in a lowered, solemn voice. Kurt gave him a questioning look, wondering about the sudden change in his tone. Scott wetted his lips and proceeded to explain; "When the Professor found me my eyes blew a hole in a hospital. Damn, even that accident at the game before you arrived" his hands clenched tighter on the steering wheel. After a moment his fingers relaxed. "Back at that hospital the Professor came just in time before something worse could happen. I would probably hurt someone... If the new girl can possibly be danger to herself or others it's good that the Professor took off to get her so soon."

Kurt didn't comment, just nodded. His gaze dropped.

After a moment of lingering silence Scott broke it in gentle, but curious voice. "How was it for you?"

Summers knew mutations must be a sensitive subject to Wagner, and the younger boy's uncomfortable shifting in the seat was a proof. But the Professor never told them anything about what recruiting Kurt was like nor about anything of his life before that, and another thing about being a leader so far that annoyed Scott, was how he didn't seem to be ever informed about the background of his team.

They stopped at the red light and he turned his face to the boy in passenger's seat.

Kurt exhaled, realizing silence isn't an answer that Summers would find satisfactory.

But his recent arrival at the Institute was shrouded in secrets due to the trans-dimensional, time-travel nature of it. He knew he can't just spill balls about it now.

However what he felt like Scott's asking about now, would not be the technically complicated recruitation from earlier this month. It was the emotionally disturbing memory of the first time he ever met the Professor. He swallowed, clearing his throat.

"He saved me from people who would have probably killed me otherwise" he responded. "They chased me down, I was cornered... he got into their heads, stopped them and got me out of there."

"Aw man" Scott said under his breath. "That sucks."

Kurt didn't respond, just staring at the door handle absently. After another minute he just said low; "I wonder what it'd be like to have mutations that don't control your life."

"Me too, brother" Scott shifted his eyes from the road to the back mirror where he could see his face. Everything was red through the lense of sunglasses sitting on his nose. He was sometimes terrified by the thought that merely taking them off turns him into a destructive weapon with little to no control. "Me too."

xXx

Logan looked down at his reflection in shimmering surface of his motorcycle that he just finished polishing. Now the dark red reflected light in a way that was very pleasant to his eyes. The man closed the jar of polishing cream and put away the soft material like he always did, and then wind brought a smell he was sensitive to. Among all the odors, this smell had his attention every time and even if the source was miles away it always had him alarmed.

"Sabertooth..." the man growled, feeling that the sole thought of facing him makes his blood rush a little tad faster, driven by anger and will to revenge that he couldn't explain.

He didn't remember his past, but he knew that Sabertooth was somehow a part of it, and that wherever he is, he means trouble. No doubt this bub was heading here for him, maybe for a reason, maybe just looking for a fight, he never knew. But it was clear the two of them have a history and something told Logan that it wasn't one full of rainbows and flowers. Sabertooth smelled nothing like flowers.

Without wasting time and waiting for the bub to arrive at the Institute, Wolverine went to get his uniform. Finishing by putting on claws-friendly gloves he got onto his shimmering motorcycle and headed towards the gate on full-speed. With shriek of the wheels he headed to the city centre where the smell was the strongest.

xXx

Scott was just about to park in the garage when Logan passed by his car, got onto his motorcycle and left like his life depended on it. Both he and Kurt followed the man with their eyes.

"Is something on fire, or what?" Wagner said.

"Man. It looks like something serious" Scott stated slightly surprised. It was hard to miss the hint of interest in his voice.

Kurt looked at his friend with sudden realization. Among so many actions that took place at the Institute it wasn't hard to forget some of them. Now he remembered that last time they'd followed Wolverine, who wasn't entirely happy about that, and Scott's car got SMASH'ed on the ground.

He couldn't remember who was the one to suggest following them, but knowing himself and Scott.. oh well, he guessed he must have suggested it himself.

One thing had him thinking. Can he change anything? Maybe Wolverine is bound to meet with Sabertooth, but could it be Kurt could save Scott's car from being crushed? Not following them would do just that, but Kurt rememebered quite well, that the two of them helped to quickly end the fight. Who knows how much more damage could the two men make if Kurt decided not to do the same 'mistakes' again.

"Are we going to follow him?" he asked with a mischievous smirk.

Scott replied with a similar smirk. "Let's do it" the boy turned the car around and followed the Wolverine.

Going quite fast they soon were in the town's center. Scott wondered out loud about why their instructor left in such hurry, but Kurt was more focused on remembering where they found them, because right now they officially lost them. When he saw a big parking lot building next to a mall, Wagner suddenly remembered this is where they are. This is also where Scott's car was cruelly crushed.

"Turn up that driveway" he said immediately.

"What? Why?"

Kurt quickly ran his eyes through the open floors of the parking building. On the roof he could see Wolverine looking down. "Up there!" he pointed, the same moment Sabertooth also came in the view.

Scott didn't question him anymore and turned, parked, and both teens jumped out of the car.

Summers grabbed Wagner's arm. "Takes us to the roof."

Kurt was about to make a comment about being a taxi, but he let it go. After all it would be really ridiculous to run up there or use the elevator if they can just bamf. He turned off his inducer, trying not to destroy it again, and 'ported them both to the roof.

When they re-appeared they were slightly surprised to see the roof empty, with just Logan's motorcycle and a couple holes in the ground. They could hear wild growls and sounds of crushed carosaries.

"They're below us!" Scott hurried down with Kurt close behind him. When they got below they saw who Wolverine was fighting with.

The man was dressed in jagged, brown leather coat, he was blond, long hair, tall and muscled, savage looking, he had fangs displayed as he growled, and his nails were more like claws of some wild animal.

xXx

Logan's back hit a thick pillar, he could feel it almost snap under the pressure as Sabertooth pushed him against it with a car. The front of it pressed to him began to wrinkle and parts were falling off as they bent to fit his shape, but Sabertooth wasn't going to stop.

"One shall fall by the other's hand- it's our destiny, we can't change it!" his opponent said, with a voice even harsher than Wolverine's own.

Logan pushed the car back as much as he could. Despite his strength Sabertooth was in a better position, and he could only push it so much to breathe.

"I didn't know you went for that- philosophy mumbo-jumbo" he said, putting all his strength into getting away from where he was trapped. He knew his chances to do so are slim until the opponent will decide to let him go.

Suddenly they heard a voice from behind Sabertooth's back; "Hey, Hairball! I got your destiny right here!" and abruptly the man was hit by a laser blast that sent him flying towards a delivery van a couple meters away.

Wolverine looked at the two teenage boys and cursed in his thoughts. 'Cyke and Elf, you damn kiddos! Why the heck'd they come here?'. With a growl he pushed the car away as the 'damn kiddos' ran at his aggressor. Sabertooth pushed them both away with just one shove of his thick arm.

Kurt lifted himself on one elbow rubbing his arm that didn't quite break his fall. "Typical" he muttered. There was no time to dwell on it because when he opened his eyes he saw Sabertooth's boots right in front of him and he could hear the colors growl above him. He looked up just in time to see the man being pushed away with full weight of Wolverine's adamantium skeleton as Logan raged against him.

The impact of Wolverine's attack was so strong both men slid across the floor and stopped against door of an elevator. The door opened and Sabertooth's back hit the floor of the elevator.

With a wild growl he held onto the door frame, pulling his knees up and having his feet placed against Wolverine's chest; he pushed him away so hard he ended up inside of the elevator as Logan hit against a pillar behind him. Before Wolverine got up and run up to Sabertooth again the elevator's door closed. Sabertooth saw adamantium claws cut through the steel door like it was a paper, but the elevator headed down, and only pieces of the door hit against the top of it.

Logan stared at them as they fell towards the darkness below. From the depth he could only hear Sabertooth call after him: "The best is yet to come, Wolverine!"

And Logan didn't doubt that.

Scott and Kurt stood behind him, also looking down over the man's shoulders. "Well.. I guess we won for now" Wagner said.

Logan frowned and turned to the two teens. "I don't fight your battles, so don't fight mine" he warned them and left as if he wanted to kill someone.

Kurt looked over at the instructor. "Ouch. But he still loves us."

Scott crossed his arms. "Oh yeah. Big time."

xXx

Students were swarming around her, but she didn't hurry to leave, instead slowly emerging onto the front yard, trying to find some strength and perhaps serenity in the cool sun rays that were breaking between thick grey clouds.

With her thoughts being even louder than the actual noise around, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly to tune them out. Admitting too much of the situation would cause her to do something she proudly avoided her entire life until now - panic.

Suddenly she was tapped on the shoulder and as she turned around she saw a boy whom she was familiar with, but who wasn't her friend.

"Hey. We were supposed to discuss this assignment but you left too fast. I thought I'd catch up with you."

For a moment she couldn't remember what it's about because despite leaving the class a mere minute ago, she already left it forgotten. Now it clicked they were paired up for a project in History.

"...Right. Sorry" she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I was distracted during the last class."

"I could tell" he nodded, but didn't seem to mind. "I don't know if you remember me, I'm Max" he offered his slender hand to her.

The girl shook it a bit as she ran her eyes over him; black hair and contrasting blue eyes, he was dressed black, with a band-printed t-shirt, spiked bracelet on his wrist and thin glasses on his nose. His style was standing out but he didn't seem to force it, just naturally drift towards something generally less popular.

"Fallen" she introduced herself, not bothering to explain that it wasn't her legal name. Everyone figured that much right away. "I honestly didn't pay any attention to what the project is supposed to be about, you will need to fill me in on it."

"Sure. Which way are you headed? We could talk on the way."

For a moment she wanted to decline, especially since it didn't even seem to make sense to bother with a project she might not live to present. However on the second thoughts she - kind of instinctively - forced herself into acting as if the threat of dispersing is not there. Stay within the usual lines to fabricate a sense of control.

"Yeah, I'm headed straight through the center."

"Great, me too. Let's go then" the boy - Max - threw on his jacket and fixed his backpack on one shoulder, waving at Fallen to follow him down the stairs.

As he explained what they're supposed to do for the assignment she really tried to focus on it, even if only for the distraction purposes. By the time they passes the city center they already decided to act out a scene as personifications of countries that are parts of the conflict and comedically discuss it back and forth to lay out their war history in an appealing manner.

"We could borrow historical hats from the drama club" Max suggested. "You know, for the laughs."

They finally reached crossroads where they seemed to step in different directions.

"Oh. You're going that way?" the boy asked.

"Yeah."

"To the Artwoods?" the boy seemed curious but also sheepish. Artwoods was an estate area for the richer residents of Bayville.

"No" the girl shook her head a bit. "A little further."

"Further…" he repeated. "But there is only this one mansion…"

"Yep."

He looked almost scared as the information dawned on him. "You live there?"

"Yeah."

Maybe if she wasn't living in her head so much she'd care to ask why he seems bothered with it, but that wasn't the case at the moment. But she did take notice of his attitude suddenly turning into one a lot shyer.

"O-oh."

"You're turning here?" she looked briefly in the direction he seemed to wander towards.

"Y-yeah."

She slightly raised her eyebrow at his current attitude at this point, but still didn't mention it. "So if we part now, I suggest we just work some scenes separately and then put together what we come up with."

The boy nodded quickly. "Yeah, sure. Works for me."

He didn't look her in the eye.

"See you Monday?" he said.

She nodded, but she was pretty sure he didn't see it as he waved his hand briefly and nearly scurried away, pacing across the street.

Not thinking much of it, she dove back into her head and thoughts of possible doom.

xXx

Kurt and Scott were in the kitchen with cans of soda in their hands.

"I wonder who he was...?" Scott wondered out loud. "He looked dangerous."

Wagner could easily tell him about the man in details, but he knew he has to play dumb. But though it was one of the very first situations he knew more than he was allowed to tell, it was already hard to stop from spilling.

"Whoever he was he's at really bad terms with Wolverine" he stated sipping on the drink.

Scott nodded slightly.

"On the other hand Mr Logan likes US and look how he torments us. Maybe he treats best friends even more extremely and these two are best buddies" Kurt wondered out loud with amusement. But it didn't amuse him as much as his smile would make it seem. Right now he didn't feel smile-y at all.

Jean appeared in the doorway and greeted both boys with a smile. "How was school?"

"It was fine" Scott's tone changed slightly when the girl came. It always did. "The exams weren't hard."

Grey chuckled low and sat next to Summers. "Well, the recrutation on the other hand had quite an unexpected outcome. But we did it, the girl will be here this weekend."

"What happened?" the boy asked, happy to hear the story, especially since Jean would be the one telling it, and for some odd reason he liked the sound of her voice.

Kurt just rolled his eyes with sympathetic amusement and left the two future lovebirds alone to talk one on one as he teleported upstairs.

xXxXxXx

+23.09.1995, Sat+

She felt like she's sinking.

Now it was constant. Like she's not grounded to the reality. Like a part of her was already disconnected.

This morning… it wasn't just difficult to appear her usual, it was downright impossible. She combed her hair, did her make-up, went downstairs on time, but she couldn't change the look in her eyes. Like the soul was not there anymore.

She couldn't even focus them properly, having to opt for living through a blurry lense of immobile pupils. Her fingers had trouble grabbing things, making her routine that much more time and energy consuming. Energy she hardly had anymore.

And as she walked through the blurred corridors of the mansion, she wanted to but wasn't ready to make peace with that fact that this state she's in now means that the conclusion of this battle is probably established and not in her favor.

A part of her was glad to find the kitchen empty.

At least she didn't need to explain to anyone why she doesn't want to eat today.

With just a glass of tap water, she sat down, listening into the silence.

Someone was going down the stairs. In a moment Forge was at the door with a brief welcoming that left his lips before he took a better look at her and stopped. She turned her tired, empty eyes to him but they didn't even focus on him, just looked right past. Only for the moment when he found himself on the right distance she could see the look of concern on his face.

"Holy, it doesn't look good" he said low.

"I don't have to see myself to tell" Fallen replied and casted her distant eyes on the glass of water in her hands.

"Damn it" Silvercloud cussed low as he lowered himself onto a chair next to her. "I hoped it would turn out okay after all but… I'm sorry. I screwed up…"

She shook her head ever so slightly. "No, you did all you could. I'm grateful that you tried. I'm sure Kurt will see it this way too… maybe not right when he finds out but, sooner or later."

"Wait" the boy shifted stunned. "He doesn't know?!" his voice was lowered into an intense whisper.

She shook her head again. "Until I woke up today I still thought it might be unnecessary to have this conversation because it will turn out okay. But even with my eye dilated I can see how pale I am" she spread her hand in front of herself. "And I can feel my body shutting down slowly. I guess it's a matter of hours and I'll be a goner…"

"Fallen…"

"Don't." she closed her eyes and inhaled. "I don't need you to be sorry for me. Just… try to make sure Kurt doesn't blame himself. I know he will try."

Forge silently clenched his fingers taking a deep breath.

xXx

"Hey, have you seen Fallen?" Kurt asked confused as he nearly finished his breakfast and she was still not present, despite he checked her room five minutes ago and she wasn't there.

"She said she wanted to take a shower."

There was something detached about Forge's voice, but Wagner didn't take time to notice as he looked out into the hall as if expecting her to come downstairs any moment now. As that did not happen and he was done with eating as well as cleaning after himself, he finally lost to his worry about her and headed upstairs.

He didn't want to come across as overprotective - even though he knew he was sometimes, but he knew Fallen didn't enjoy being treated like she needs to be protected in any shape or form. That didn't change the fact that he cared, and given how uncharacteristically she was acting for the last few days, he felt entitled to check on her any time he finds appropriate.

Perhaps during a shower wasn't what a normal person would call 'appropriate', but he didn't see her all morning and yesterday evening she sent him off saying she feels ill and wants to rest.

Alone.

And that was something to be alarmed about, as whenever she was sick or tired before, she liked him to hang around, or at very least - didn't mind it.

He just wanted to understand where it's coming from all of sudden.

The water was running, but there was no response to his first knocking, so he tried again. "Fallen?" he called to her, but to no effect. "Fallen, are you there?"

Only after the third time he knocked he noticed that the water seemed to be running without so much as a minor disturbance. No splashing, no other noise, just wet monotone.

"Fallen, if you don't respond now I'm coming in" he said, now worry creeping into his voice.

Still nothing to indicate someone's even there. He felt an odd grip on his heart just before he teleported onto the other side of the door, but the grip turned into freezing dread when the darkness before his eyes disappeared to reveal pale body sprawled face down on the bathroom floor.

xXxXxXx

+Meanwhile, Deerfield, Illinois+

Kitty just finished packing another bag, and she struggled to zip it while she sat on it. "Come on, you can do it!" she repeated.

There was laughter of her father in the doorway. "Oh baby, this bag will burst at the seams if you keep forcing so much clothes inside."

"Dad, will you help me?" she girl asked with begging eyes.

Cameron walked over to her, pushed the lid and with a few sharp pulls of the zipper he was done. Kitty hugged him with gratitude, but as she stepped away the man's face was serious.

"Is everything okay, daddy?"

"Are you sure you will make it, babygirl?" the man asked looking down at the petite brunette. He felt like she was such a thin, precious porcelain that would shatter at the slightest push.

To be honest Kitty didn't think much about it. her parents were extremely overprotective since last night (more than ever, which seemed impossible), and they seemed to worry so much that she didn't feel the need to worry herself. In fact what she was more worried about was whether they won't suddenly take back everything at the last moment and take her back home after they'd arrive at Xavier's. Instead of worrying if she can make it there alone or worrying about the powers she recently got, she focused on convincing her parents that this boarding school is a good idea.

On one hand she was scared of being so far from her family that she loved and was really close to. On the other hand she was a teenager and wanted to finally get some freedom and go a little crazy, but that couldn't be done when she was living with her parents. She was excited to live at school full of people her age.

"I will be fine, promise" she swore looking into her father's eyes.

Cameron watched her with doubt for a moment, but eventually sighed with defeat and headed back to the door. "Alright. Go to sleep, you need to have a lot of strength for tomorrow. You can finish packing in the morning."

"Goodnight, dad."

"Goodnight, Kitty. Sleep well."

The man quietly closed the door behind himself. Kitty sighed, switched off the lights and slipped under the bedsheets. She reached for her plushie dragon that sit by her pillow, and for her mobile that she got on her last birthday. She usually only used it for one thing - talking to Tracey, one of a few people at her school that were nice to her even when she wouldn't let them use her homework to finish their own. Most of other students either ignored her or laughed that she's a geek because she actually had good grades in all classes.

Kitty waited a few signals before a sleepy voice of her friend echoed on the other side; *Yeeea...?*

"Hi, Trace."

*I was almost asleep...*

"Sorry, I, like, didn't mean to wake you up. But, it's... it's totally important" the brunette's voice became a little sad, and it seemed to alarm the other girl.

*What happened?*

The thought of telling her what really happened pierced Kitty's mind like a bolt. She wished to tell her the truth about walking through walls, about Lance, about the mess it created in her head. But she remembered the way Professor Xavier talked about all of this. There was no denying that he didn't want everyone to know about existence of powers just yet, and Kitty wouldn't know how to start anyway. Knowing Tracey she would react very emotionally and Kitty's had enough emotions for one day.

"Tomorrow morning I'm leaving..."

*WHAT?* the girl asked suddenly. *Why so suddenly?*

"You know, like... half of the school was destroyed and all-"

*Yeah, but classes are on hiatus only for one week.*

"But my parents are worried that it's not safe there anymore" Kitty knew it's a half-lie half-truth, but they really were worried about that. "You know how they are..."

After a moment there was a sigh in the phone. *It's really a massacre with your parents... Where are they taking you?*

"Boarding school in Bayville."

*Bayville? Never heard of this one...*

"It's the north coast of New York... you would know if you ever took a look at a map" Kitty rolled her eyes.

*New York?! Are you kidding me?! It's a world away!*

"I know..." Kitty's eyes glistened as she stared at the ceiling.

*But we'll keep in touch?*

"Totally.*

Low knocking on the door got Kitty's attention. Her mother peeked inside the room. "I heard you're talking to someone, little one..."

"Gotta go, Trace. I'll call you when I'm there, promise!" Kitty hung up and placed her phone on her nightstand while her mother sat beside her with a gentle, sad smile.

"You look like you were crying, are you alright, sweetie?" she asked.

Kitty blinked a few times to get rid of the unshed tears. "Yeah, mom, it's all good, like, it's just, you know... I'm a little worried about what the kids will think of me."

Theresa smiled at her. "These two girls who helped us today seemed nice and they liked you."

"Well, yeah, but..." Kitty wrapped her arms around herself.

"It will be alright, sweetie. I'm sure everyone will love you" she hugged her daughter gently.

The girl smiled a little. "Thank you, mom."

Theresa smiled at her again and got up. "Sweet dreams, Kitty. Don't worry too much. Dad worries for both of us. Goodnight."

Kitty chuckled low. "True. Goodnight, mommy."

"Ah, and set your alarm clock for six."

"Six...?!"

"There's a long way ahead of us, right?"

"...Alright..."

"Now goodnight."

Kitty noded and laid down. Last thing on her mind before she fell asleep was that it's the last time in a while that she sleeps in her own bed…

xXxXxXx

Wet hair curling around the floor were still in front of his face, burnt into his memory; the legs still reaching into the shower cabin, the crooked position of the arms. And most of all - the coldness of her skin, so void of color, and limpness of her entire body, so void of life as he picked her up.

It was a nightmare he couldn't fabricate if he tried.

It was over a dozen hours later and his hands were still shaking, and he wondered if they'd ever stop - in back of his mind, where his thoughts of everything else were quieter and he could wonder the first thing about the future.

But in the conscious part of his mind, he was reliving it.

He relieved every single second from the moment he woke up, still unaware of the nightmare the day would become. He wondered if there was anything he could have done better to prevent it. Numb but full of guilt and regret, he tried to chew it down by tiniest pieces…

+Earlier that day, 10:12 a.m.+

Sitting in the glasshouse and tending to plants was one of the few things that always made Ororo feel at peace, here maybe even more so than ever inside the mansion. She liked to spend time on her own, and in here - the time felt especially rewarding as she watched flowers bloom under her care.

But this Friday morning her peace was disturbed so abruptly that she dropped one of her favourite specimens, the noise of breaking pot not enough to drown out the Professor's voice in her head;

*I need you in the Infirmary immediately! Fallen is unconscious and doesn't appear to breathe* the urgency was there intensely but not remotely necessary with such a terrifying message.

She bursted out of the glasshouse and as quickly as possible made her way to the elevator, then out of it and she entered the infirmary like a lightning bolt. "What happened?!"

Professor Xavier was struggling to collect reanimation equipment as he instructed Kurt how to manually try bringing back the girl's heartbeat in the meantime. There was no time to ask questions or give explanations, Monroe ran up to Charles and helped bring a defibrillator and oxygen mask over to the bed.

"Let us take over" Xavier said to Kurt, trying to sound like he's got it under control, but he neither sounded or felt like he does.

Wagner stepped aside, expression of blank fear and disbelief as he kept rejecting that this is really happening. He watched the two adults as Ororo - under Xavier's Instructions - discharged one portion of electric current after another into the girl's chest. There was no response, and every attempt made him tense another extreme bit.

"Kurt" Xavier said seeing the boy's face. "You should wait outside."

"Aber-"

"Kurt, I must ask you to wait outside" the man repeated in a demanding tone. Kurt didn't move. Xavier shifted his wheelchair to be facing him. "You will help if you wait outside."

Wagner kept staring at the lifeless body on the bed as Ororo kept trying to rescue it.

"Do what the man asks, kid" Logan entered the room immediately approaching to put hand on Wagner's arm. "Come on."

The man gently but firmly pulled the boy towards the door; though Kurt kept looking back and slightly resisted, he let himself be led out of the infirmary without saying a word.

As they stepped into the corridor, Logan looked him in the eye. "Wait here."

And with one final squeeze of his arm, he returned to the Infirmary, the door closed leaving him in complete silence.

With his eyes wide open and staring into the blank space Kurt sunk to the floor with his back against the wall, powerless. Time that seemed to rush like a hurricane for the last few minutes now suddenly slowed down to an agonizing extreme; he felt like he's drugged. Everything - his surroundings and thoughts felt like they abandoned shape and form, it was just a mess that made him feel sick to his stomach. World in front of his eyes was fuzzy, there was pressure in his head, escaping noisily through his ears.

If he just lost her, it didn't register. He was wrapped in this thought, but trapped so deep in it that there was no distance to see it from.

He didn't know how long he spent sitting like that, he hardly noticed as Forge hurried past him into the infirmary to emerge in a few minutes and kneel in front of him, trying to say something that didn't register. It all seemed to take place behind some thick wall, in a world he wasn't a part of.

Only as Forge put hands on his shoulders to shake him back into awareness he began to drift back. Whatever his friend was saying still didn't get through to him, but his own lips moved a bit as he wanted to say something, but a sudden grip on his throat made his voice pull back. As he tried to swallow this burgle that seemed stuck in his throat, his eyes began to itch and he had to inhale quickly to stop from crying.

His throat was tight, his senses shattered, he was distracted, couldn't sort his thoughts, all he knew was the itch in his eyes and the shaking of his hands. And more and more aware of the indications of it - one thing he managed to whisper;

"Her heart didn't beat."

xXx

+Meanwhile, inside the infirmary+

"Nothing" Xavier said in a lowered voice as he shone light into the girl's motionless pupils. Flicking the light off, he turned his face to the other two.

Logan's eyes were piercing endless space before them, Ororo's gaze was averted yet light reflected in unshed tears in corners of her own eyes. The silence was heavy, darkness lurking in the further corners of the infirmary was creeping in onto the warm light within the curtains surrounding the bed.

The hustle on the edge of panic that went on around it for the last couple minutes made current silence feel heavy and unbearable. The weight of a life they just lost made the air feel dense as it filled spaces between them.

Charles exhaled for the first time in what felt like forever of keeping the air in, now it seeped through his mouth so slow as to not disturb the silence. A little shiver worked down his back as he noticed that one of the girl's eyes was still cracked open, empty glare almost resentful. He reached out and gently pulled the lid down.

A brief memory of his days as a student came back to him, of the few occasions when he witnessed preparations for cremation or burying a deceased. It was an unconventional biology lesson with a bitter taste of odd intimacy with the inevitable. He remembered each touch of cold skin of a dead human being to be a little shock, even if only due to the awareness that one day it might be you laid out on a table for people to take care of.

But it's never been as shocking as it was when his fingertips brushed against the brunette's forehead. Cold skin radiated something nearly electrical that rushed to his palm, a thin but clear stream threading through is arm and into his head. He shuddered at the impulse that shouldn't be there anymore.

At first he discarded it as leftover impulses that accumulated in the brain to release late - it was rare, but it happened. Like muscles twitching after one's death because of the post-mortem chemistry. But this time - Charles realized - it wasn't the case; he telepathically followed the current and it brought him into her mind. It was calm like no other, silent and unmoving, foggy and yet, undersurface - a messy tangle of chaotic thoughts swirled below the muteness. It was like a war going on behind soundproof walls, and as he inched closer it was but a hypnotizing humm of a million different sounds overlapping.

"Charles" a hand on his arm pulled him away from the muffled noise all too sudden, leaving him dizzy. His dazzled eyes couldn't find and then focus on his friends for a moment, it took a moment to make out what Ororo was saying; "Did you see something?"

Xavier held her gaze for a moment, his eyes slightly too wide not to be alarming. Then he looked past her concerned expression at Logan who also appeared to be alert as he watched him closely. He suddenly realized that his presence in the - supposedly dead girl's - mind lasted more than the mere moment it felt like to him. It was odd how her mind sucked him in and made him lose the sense of time and space; but then he never saw something like the state she was in right now.

He shrugged off the brief thought that this might be what a brain is like just after death. It wasn't, he could feel it being alive somehow. The most similar state to this he had ever witnessed within somebody's mind was with patients who remain in a coma with little to no chances of ever awakening.

Charles rubbed on his eyes forcefully to regain his focus.

"Could one of you move the cardiograph over here… It's in the medical storage" he gestured to the other room weakly.

Ororo was quick to react, even though a questioning frown twisted her face before she pulled back and paced to the back door. Logan didn't move an inch other than squinting his eyes a bit more. "Chuck" he said solemnly. "I can tell a cold one when I see it, and she's definitely-"

"There's something still alive" Xavier interrupted him. "At least some part of her…"

"...What did you see?"

"I'm not sure yet."

Metal crackled as Ororo wheeled the cardiograph over the doorstep and across the room. Charles connected the girl to it proceeded to switch everything on. As the screen lit up, Ororo and Logan watched the straight line above Xavier's head.

But the man didn't seem very discouraged by it; he just continued to play with the settings - his cardiograph allowing to detect a lot lesser pulse than the equipment used in hospitals, he kept turning up the sensitivity.

And finally, the straight line became disrupted by a wave, one than another, and it kept going. Charles' own heart felt like it's beating a little too fast as he turned his gaze away from the screen and to the pale figure on the bed.

Ororo behind him was still like a statue. Only as the man turned around to face her she realized that she was holding her breath. "She's…"

"Alive" the man nodded the tiniest bit. "To an extent. With heartbeats on such low frequency and so weak, it's less than what could be detected in a regular hospital. They'd pronounce her dead… In fact, if not for the impulse from her mind I would, too" the man's brown eyes were casted slightly down as he admitted it.

"But…" Monroe blinked, relieved and confused at once. "Her eyes weren't reacting… And she's not breathing…"

"I believe parts of her brain are indeed shut down, that would explain the eyes. As for breathing I think we might have let the apparences fool us" he drove his wheelchair to a set of shelves and searched them for a moment.

"How is that possible, Chuck?" Logan asked.

"This case seems more extreme than what I've known" Xavier began. "But I think I'm beginning to understand. Kurt found her in a shower, she was freezing but she in fact warmed up after he brought her here. Of course, then she cooled down again, but as she warmed up it means the insides of her body were really warm to begin with. I believe she spent the last few minutes under really cold water that helped bring down the temperature low enough to put her in the coma and not… Well" he lowered his voice, finally pulling an object from the shelf and letting it sit in his lap. "I'm afraid to think how close of a call it was."

"Help me here" Monroe said. "I'm no doctor. How do the dots connect?"

"Cold slowed down her body functions when it was overstraining, so she didn't snap completely" Logan muttered. "That right, Chuck?"

Xavier gave him a nod as he made his way back to the bedside and began to set up the new piece of equipment. She likely had a high fever just before losing consciousness due to body working so quickly, and it explains why she chose to turn the water ice cold. Everything made sense, but there was still one big question.

"What was wrong?" Ororo frowned. "People don't end up in a state like this for no reason."

Charles switched on the device he brought from the cabinet. The screen lit up. "You're right, Ororo. There must have been something she was struggling with that caused the fever, not the other way around. Whatever it was, it pushed her body to the extreme and this coma was the last line of defense."

Ororo fell silent and stepped back to Logan's side, both of them watching Xavier set up the new hi-tech device and then - stare into the face of its screen for a lingering moment.

"Charles? What does this… thing… do?" Ororo asked.

"It monitors the exact amount of oxygen in the lungs" came a low answer, followed by another minute of silence. When he pulled back and locked his hands in front of his face, it was difficult to read from his eyes. "No more than a shallow breath within a minute" he said finally. "But she is breathing…"

"Is it enough for her to…?" Ororo asked hesitantly.

"Barely" Charles responded. He looked as if he aged within the last dozen of minutes. "But in this state her body doesn't need more, most actions were halted, the rest is there but almost nonexistent."

Charles' eyes narrowed as he gazed at the motionless girl.

"The question is why she's in this state. And when will she wake up…"

Logan who was silent most of the time only needed one little word to send a shiver down their spines; "If."

xXx

Kurt just stared blankly at the floor between his knees, his hands tightly clenched on the opposite forearm to keep from shaking. He didn't look at Forge for at least ten minutes now - though to him it felt like forever - but he still felt his hand where it planted on his arm despite Kurt deliberately refused to engage in any dialogue.

He listened in anticipation, trying to hear any sounds other than their own breathing and heartbeats. But the steel walls of the corridor echoed silence.

It sounded like thunder when the infirmary door finally clicked and slid open to reveal Professor Xavier with Ororo and Logan behind him. Kurt was on his feet instantly, Forge not far behind off the floor. Wagner couldn't utter a word, just staring with hope and fear, and a heart beating so hard it hurt.

"How's she?" Forge questioned for sake of breaking the silence that began to linger.

"Unconscious, but stable" Xavier responded. Kurt breathed a shuddering, relieved breath and leaned against the wall, appearing exhausted. "You can come inside if you want."

There was one bit of hesitation before Kurt pulled away from the wall and stepped past Xavier to the infirmary. He wasn't sure how to feel about seeing whatever state Fallen is in, after all this time of spiralling into a pit of fear for her life.

Once his eyes actually laid on the still figure underneath the covers, he felt unsettled.

"She looks like she's…" it wouldn't leave his lips.

"She's in a coma" Xavier assured. "However the deepest kind there is."

"Will she wake up?" Forge asked inching his way into the room behind them.

The way he put it caused Kurt to feel nauseous, he flinched. "When. When will she" he corrected almost without realizing.

The boy couldn't see it with his eyes fixated on the bed, but Forge noticed the man averting his eyes as if not so sure about that.

"We still don't know that much about the state she's in, it's difficult to tell anything before we identify the problem."

Kurt realized he was hanging nearby the door, paralyzed with a strong mix of emotions he couldn't make sense of. Now he finally urged himself forward, slowly making it across the room to the side of the bed. The more Fallen's pale face came into his view, the more he felt himself shudder deep on the inside. A very unpleasant feeling twisting his guts.

She didn't look remotely alive.

"Did you notice anything strange those last couple of days, Kurt?"

It wasn't until the end of the sentence that he realized Xavier is addressing him. He turned back in, although maintaining his attention on anything other than the bed was a struggle.

"She… she's been acting odd. Kept avoiding me… it was unlike her, but… I don't know how that ties into her falling into this-... Coma."

"I…" Forge hesitated as the Professor's eyes shifted to him. He wetted his lips. "I think I know what caused it."

For the first time Kurt's eyes tore away from the girl to intensely probe his friend's unsure gaze. "Was?"

Forge took a moment to think it through, but at this point whatever promises he made to Fallen in regards of keeping the situation a secret, decidedly didn't apply in this situation. He finally approached the bed and pulled up a chair to sit beside it.

"I overlooked one possibility that I should have paid more attention to when bringing her here along with us…" he began to explain.

Ten minutes later silence settled again and Forge's regretful eyes were casted down, on the pale arm lined limply along sheet-covered lifeless body.

Explaining the situation all over again made guild sit heavier on his shoulders. Especially since this time it felt to him like he's just excusing himself for allowing it to happen.

The silence following his monologue thickened air in the infirmary, he found himself fighting over whether he wants to look into faces of the other two. Should be expect judgement and anger at him? Would the Professor want him out the door for causing this? Would Kurt's trust in him be damaged to the point when they couldn't be friends anymore?

And yet the questions shrinked next to the question of whether Fallen has a chance of living though this mistake.

When he did lift his gaze, the other two weren't even looking at him. Professor Xavier's eyes were closed, a slight frown on his face indicating he's deeply lost in thoughts. Kurt still stood on the opposite side of the bed, unmoving like a statue, eyes fixed on Fallen again.

"Is there anything that can be done to better her chances?" Wagner's voice was faint.

Silvercloud swallowed. "Given the circumstances, I don't think there's anything we can do from the outside. Perhaps something could be done telepathically, but I wouldn't know."

"I'll look into it" Xavier stated after a short pause. "I might need the Cerebro for this purpose, but it might actually work."

"Please, do." Kurt turned his gaze away from Fallen at long last, the movement finally collecting all the wetness in inner corners of his eyes. "Anything, just don't let her die."

xXx

The following few hours were hard on everyone. The Professor wanted to perform a few more tests to see if he can get any reasonable response from the unconscious girl, check if any parts of her brain remained functioning beyonds just keeping her alive. Forge waited around for a few more minutes before leaving to look over his data and analyze the situation for the millionth time. On the way out he came across Jean who saw Ororo and Logan leave the undergrounds with morbid looks on their faces and he was compelled to tell her of Fallen's coma and make up some excuse as to what could have caused it. Ororo was doing almost the same with Scott, a couple rooms down the corridor. Logan seemed to disappear from everyone's sight as soon as he left the infirmary, presumably isolating himself in the garage.

As time passed every resident of the mansion stepped by to check on the situation in the infirmary and expressed their worry. The dinner was quiet.

Evening approached way too soon and nothing seemed to be changing. Neither Forge or Professor Xavier came up with an idea how to help Fallen, Jean and Scott were keeping an eye on the situation, Ororo did what she could to calm everyone's nerves as well as her own.

All along Kurt insisted to stay in the infirmary, refusing to either go up for dinner or return to his room. It was a dozen hours now, and the furthest he was from Fallen's bedside was an adjacent bathroom. A couple of times he shifted to make room or got up to assist in the tests that took the better part of the morning, after that he was mostly left alone except for when Ororo brought a set of comfortable clothes so Fallen wouldn't spent the rest of her 'time out' - as she called it - wrapped clumsily in a bathing towel that Kurt grabbed in the hustle before teleporting her to the infirmary.

Most of the time, however, he just sat there alone and in silence, stroking her hand and listening to the cardiograph and humming oxygen mask.

With how cold her skin was and how motionless her chest appeared, the beeping noise was all he had to remind him that she's still alive. The rhythmic sound was what held his sanity still in place, while a part of him just wanted to lay down on the floor like a little child and scream for someone to fix everything this instant. And scary part was, it wasn't a tantrum of entitlement, it was an urgent desperacy that made him wish he could trade his life for her own.

Memories of what Forge said were raw in his memory. How he said there's fifty percent chance for her to make it and that the only thing to do is to wait and see.

And so Kurt waited. And he watched.

But with so many hours behind him, it was becoming impossible to fend off the terrifying thoughts. What forge said meant that she also had fifty percent of dying. What he said, meant he could only wait to see if she will die.

What it meant, is that he might have just spent all those hours awaiting Fallen's death. He just sat there, and watched, and listened, and did nothing.

His fingers clenched around her own, cold and indifferent ones.

Waiting is the worst, and when you know there's nothing you can do it becomes the essence of suffering.

The infirmary door slide open. He slightly flinched and looked over to see Forge. He resumed his position, barely able to see him at the edge of his vision, but clearly hearing him approach. By the sound of his breath, the older boy was tense.

Forge approached, his eyes on back of Kurt's head as silence lingered. Eventually he swallowed, turning gaze away from his friend. "I know I had no right to keep that from you" he said low.

"She asked you to" Kurt whispered back without moving an inch.

It sounded to Forge like he was being justified, his dishonesty discarded by a petty excuse. But before he decided to insist on his own blame, he realized that being angry at him was exactly the last thing Kurt needed right now, and he realized it too. He was the only other person he had to confine in, and in this situation that was slowly settling its full weight on their shoulders - a person to be in this together meant a world.

But at the same time, whereas he wanted to make Kurt feel like he's not facing this alone, Forge realized that he can't begin to imagine what Wagner must be feeling right now. Forge barely knew Fallen for a short period of time, and while he grew very sympathetic of the girl, the sadness and fear that her state caused for him were nothing in comparison. Kurt and Fallen were practically inseparable for years and ready to jump in flames for one another, to see a person who means this much to you on the brink of death is something that stands alone to any and all kinds of suffering in this world.

Unable to put this thought into words without sounding condescending or pitiful, he just put hand on his friend's shoulder and squeezed it supportively.

For a lingering moment he just stood behind Kurt's shoulder, looking over him at the fruit of his mistake. His stomach weighed him down with unpleasant feeling of responsibility, that knew knew wasn't entirely his to take. He laid out the height of risk to both Kurt and Fallen, he took as many precautions as could be taken, he went over everything time and time again for months to make sure he lowers those risks. But some things are just out of our control and he knew when taking the blame is due, and when it's just unreasonable.

While he owned to the mistake and offered the due apology, he knew it's not time to dwell on what already did all the damage it could. 'The spilled milk, is what they say' he thought, almost bitterly amused at how silly the analogy sounded.

"You should take rest" he said low, his palm tightening another bit on Kurt's shoulder. "It's almost half past nine."

The was no response, so he picked up again;

"Kurt, you've been sitting here for almost fourteen hours. You need-"

"I want to stay" he cut in.

"Are you-"

"I'm sure."

Forge let his mouth close as he deeply breathed in and exhaled slowly through his nose. "Fine."

As he left, silence filled the room again. For another two or three hours nobody came in again to check on the situation, and Kurt felt convinced everyone would be gone for the rest of the night.

Finally left alone he allowed everything that happened today to register, one bit at a time, each bit spilling hot tears from his eyes.

xXxXxXx

+24.09.1995, Sun+

The alarm clock was exceptionally loud and annoying this morning, so was the feeling that Kitty had a dream and she couldn't remember what was it about. She only knew it must have been scary because she woke up with her heart hammering heavily.

She slipped her hand out of the bedsheets and rapidly reached to her nightstand. She jerked back to the other side of the bed when she felt her hand pass through the alarm clock making it buzz and turn off.

Kitty watched the device and her hand for a moment before groaning and burying her face in the pillow again.

Somebody knocked on her door. "Kitty? Are you awake yet?"

"I am, dad!" she called back.

"Pancakes will be ready in five minutes."

The girl groaned into her pillow again before getting up and looking at her reflection with messed hair. "Ok, Pryde. Now pull yourself together and show them that you're positive you can make it on your own."

xXx

A dozen minutes later Kitty bravely stepped into the kitchen with a smile on her lips. She kissed both her parents as she greeted them with a voice of someone who can take it all.

It changed very little. Her mother still had the same suppressed worry in her eyes as she readied the last plateful of pancakes for her daughter. Her father sat at the table and without any emotions looked over the headlines in newspaper in his hands. Kitty didn't think about it, but for Theresa it was obvious that the man doesn't even read them, as he's mind is somewhere else, but he tries to focus on something else so not to make a big fuss about his daughter's sudden departure.

Kitty felt dissatisfied with the fact that her cheerful greetings didn't make impact. She sat at the table and tried to keep up the brave face.

"Sweetie, eat quickly before it gets cold" her mother gently suggested as she joined the other two at the table. "How pretty you look today... but you should wear something comfortable, we'll be on the road for a long time."

"Come on, mom..." Kitty rolled her eyes. "The first impression is the most important, and there could be some cute guys~..."

The girl's father looked at her from above the newspapers with warning glint in his eyes.

"I mean... mom, help?"

Theresa gently chuckled. "Stay calm, Cameron. Kitty's not a little girl anymore, she can think about boys."

"Effects of what we witnessed yesterday" the man muttered killing the mood in the kitchen as well as Kitty's appetite. She felt like curling up in the chair with self guilt.

Cameron closed the newspaper and got up from the table.

"Hurry up, Kitty. We should be leaving already."

The teenager and her mother sat quietly for a moment after he left. Eventually Theresa grabbed her daughter's hand and said low; "Dad's just worried."

Kitty nodded her head, but didn't try to act brave anymore as she picked up her pancakes again.

xXxXxXx

+Meanwhile, Xavier's Institute+

The first thing Charles noticed when he entered the Infirmary in the morning was that Kurt is sitting by the bed, same as when he last saw him early evening the other day. Only difference was that this time he appeared more exhausted, with his back arched to let him rest his forehead against the edge of the mattress. But he wasn't sleeping, he lifted his head to reveal bloodshot eyes, and Xavier confirmed that the boy indeed spent the entire night here.

"Good morning, Kurt."

Wagner dropped his gaze with a slight frown of disagreement. He didn't respond, just adjusting himself on the chair to watch what the man is doing while keeping Fallen within the field of his vision.

"Is there anything you learned about how to help her?" he asked. Charles could tell there's a hint of judgement, the boy probably figured he went for a good night of sleep and didn't bother with this crisis.

He honestly didn't blame him for jumping to conclusions. He could tell the boy can barely control his emotions not to burst at the seams.

"I have actually spent majority of tonight reading up on anything that could be relevant to Fallen's state. I want to enter her mind today by using Cerebro, but I found it wise to arm myself with knowledge beforehand."

The boy's shoulders slumped as he dumped the semi-hostile approach. "...Does it seem like something you could be able to help with telepathically?" his voice was faint and could be inaudible of not for the silence.

"Ask me that after I examine her mind."

Kurt shifted, straightening his back. "When…?"

"Right after breakfast" the man said and urged a sympathetic but sad smile. "Which, besides, is something I think you should have as well."

Wagner grimaced slightly. "I don't want to leave her side."

"If you spare me the time I'd spend convincing you she'd want you to nourish yourself in the meantime, we'll be able to more quickly get to actually examining her."

Xavier knew that if anything will convince the boy to go and have a meal, this is it. He didn't want him to sit here until the situation resolves, especially since it might be days and he was underweight enough as it is.

Wagner did seem to conclude the man is right. With a lingering look at the unconscious girl, he hesitantly lifted off of the chair and drew a deep breath. It looked like it was physically difficult to step away, but he shifted a foot away from the furniture and disappeared, teleporting presumably to the kitchen.

Charles let out a breath of slight relief, but his peace of mind was still greatly disturbed by the sight of Fallen - unconscious and pale as life had already given up on her. But he knew he can't do that - give up on life of his student, or any life in particular.

He drove his wheelchair over to the bedside and placed his hand over the girl's cold forehead. For a moment he examined what he could reach by the mere power of his own telepathy. Under the quiet surface was still the same raging, but muted chaos that seemed to have an odd effect of drawing him in for what felt like abyss with no way back.

He carefully slid along the edge of the peaceful nothingness, putting all his mind to not stepping past the line where the chaos would consume him. Finally he drew back, that being a process more difficult than when he'd dive out of any mind in its usual state.

He glanced at his wristwatch - what felt like a dozen of seconds of wandering her mind, was over four minutes to the outside world. He's never experienced losing time like this before.

Cerebro is a must.

He returned to the corridor and made his way to the end of it. Retina scanner confirmed his identity before granting him access to the chamber. He placed the helmet over his head, the system lit up and he could feel a tingle as his brain was plugged in to what felt like a giant battery to power up what he knew to be already impressive telepathic ability.

He closed his eyes and tuned out for a moment before allowing himself to locate all nearby people. Jean brushing her hair, Scott marveling about new strategies for trainings, Ororo sipping her morning coffee in the glasshouse, Logan reading the morning newspaper with the inner anxiety ever present in the man, and finally Kurt who'd just returned to the Infirmary and settled back on the same chair he spent the entire night in. He focused on Fallen's faint mind, one that seemed to barely be there until he dove inside and approached the raging chaos.

Everything was more vivid now, crisper. Less consuming also. He allowed himself to the edge of the chaos, and a little past the safety into the extreme war zone. Memories, thoughts and emotions were stirring and mixing all over him, but as he focused his mind further into all of it, he felt a void at the end, an abyss threatening to consume everything and throw it into nothingness. Like a mental black hole trying to swallow the world of her mind.

The face of it caused him to abruptly withdraw, odd sense of fear rushing his blood. He was spit out of her mind so roughly that it caused him to jerk where he was sitting in the Cerebro chamber.

His eyes opened again, glistening with concern. If this is what Forge was talking about, saying she's being rejected by this universe, he had no idea how- and IF- he can do anything about it.

The private landline wirelessly connected to his wheelchair beeped softly when he left the chamber. A notification popped up, informing that a local number was trying to contact him when he was inside Cerebro. People who had this number were very few and far between, so he knew it must be one of his close associates.

Right after returning to his office, he called back. Shortly, a feminine voice informed him he's reached Gregory's Hotel in Queens, New York, and is being put through with the specific room to which the number is assigned. Another two signals sounded before he heard a low grunt and a familiar voice ask; "Henry McCoy, yes?"

"Hank" a smile finally curved Xavier's lips after this string of serious events starting yesterday. "It's good to hear you again."

"Charles. Yes, it's been a while" smile tinted the other man's voice as well. "I have been trying to reach you earlier to say that I'll be in Bayville tomorrow morning. I thought I'd invite myself for a cup of tea and reminiscence of the old times."

"I would be honoured if you'd come and visit me at the Institute. There's a lot new I'd like to show you, and even more I'd like to talk to you about, my friend."

"Is there any particular time you see fit?"

"I haven't made any specific plans."

"In this case I will see you on the morrow."

A faint smile lingered on Xavier's lips as the two of them wrapped up the conversation and hung up. A form of relief loosened Charles' muscles.

Henry McCoy was a friend he made during his studies, before he became the Professor and before Hank earned himself the title of a Doctor that he didn't brag about much. He was very helpful in Xavier's quest for Professor-hood, working as a close associate on his research both - in a lab and out there, in this wild world. Hank was also a man more than familiar with the concept of mutants - himself bearing the gene X that he managed to keep deactivated throughout the years by using a self-developed chemical solution.

If there was one person Charles could talk to about the current situation it was Doctor Henry McCoy. Trans-dimensional time-travel and universe rejecting a girl thus putting her in a coma was a lot to put on anyone's shoulders, but Xavier knew better than to underestimate his old friends' thirst for understanding the truth and taking the world for what it is.

That was something he always admired - in a way - about the other man. The ability to accept things as they are. Maybe this approach would give him the perspective and clarity to come up with some answers and solutions that he couldn't produce all along.

xXxXxXx

Kitty watched the landscape slide by with growing excitement as well anxious hesitation. The second a sign informing they entered 'Bayville' sped behind the window she sat straight like an arrow, her eyes already searching for the place of her destination. A part of her felt like all her bravery was left behind in Illinois and whatever bits remained already drained during the drive to Chicago, the 2.5 hour flight to New York, followed by another 2 hour drive with a rented car.

Another part of her - the one not urging to cling to her parents and ask to return home - was frustrated with the fact that they so very insisted on taking her all the way to the Institute. Not only has it been over six hours of listening to the same pep talk over and over, and she could have been there hours ago if she took up the Professor on his jet offer, but also - that part of her that wanted to run back home still considered doing so. Had she been left without her parents on this journey, at least she wouldn't have a reason to think that going back is still an option.

Right now, however, the feeling that there is certainly NO coming back, still managed to stir her guts the second she realized they'd just pulled up in front of a gate.

Her eyes hesitantly absorbed everything - from the high fence, down the million-mile driveway behind it, to a grand mansion sitting at the end of it, surrounded by what felt like endless adjacent grounds. Her eyes fell on the golden plate bolted to stone wall on side of the fence. 'Prof. Ch.F. Xavier's Institute for the Gifted Youngers' shimmered in the cold sun rays, the words curved around a big 'X' emblem carved into the plate.

It made it real.

The idea of leaving home for a long time - for the first time in fact, the challenge of adapting to a completely new environment, of owning up with her strange new ability, and of parting with her parents not long from now for what can be weeks, months even. It all made her throat clench with nervousness. But she didn't want to withdraw and prove her parents that she's not mature enough to handle herself on her own away from home. She tried to do the exact opposite the entire morning, she can't blow it now.

"Is it really here?" her mother asked low as she examined the sandy driveway with slight disbelief. No surprise, the place was impressive, even looking from the outside.

Her dad on the other hand didn't say a word, his stare both hard and soft in this strange, fatherly manner. After a moment of lingering silence and everyone just absorbing the view, the man got out of the car and approached intercom at the side of the gate. They could barely hear a murmur inside the car, so instead Kitty's mom turned her head to face her.

"How are you holding up, sweetheart?"

"Good, mommy" Pryde smiled nervously. "Just don't let dad, like, embarrass me in front of other students."

"He does tend to do that" the woman admitted with a slight smirk.

Kitty giggled and shifted back just as the man returned to the driver's seat. Peering through the front window she could see the gate open inward automatically, and in less than three seconds they were able to enter the private driveway.

They pulled up in front of the main entrance where they were met by two men. One of them, Kitty already knew to be the founder of this place - Professor Xavier. The other look more hostile compared to the Professor's welcoming smile - kind of unkempt, his bushy eyebrows pulled in a slight frown and massive arms crossed on his broad chest. The girl examined him nervously as they all got out of the car and met them on top of the stone staircase.

"Good morning Mr and Mrs Pryde. Kitty" Xavier said offering his hand to all of them for a brief greeting. "Welcome to my home. And from now on, also yours, Kitty" he took an extra moment as he shook her hand to offer her an inviting smile. "If you chose to stay, of course."

"We'll see about that" Cameron said before the girl could respond. But the previous harsh edge to his voice was gone, like what he already saw proved him that there's no need for being hostile towards the offer.

Charles could tell and he offered the man another smile before shifting back to gesture towards his companion, who - this far - didn't say a word, just watching, careful but disinterested. "This is my associate and one of the Instructors here, Logan. He'd be taking Katherine's luggage upstairs to the living quarters whenever you feel ready."

"Thank you…" Cameron's head turned to his but his eyes lingered on the other man. "I think we'd like to see everything first."

"Of course. Do come inside" the Professor gestured at the glass door behind them.

The other man - Logan, got them open for them. He didn't look like a door-boy, and neither did he look pleased with acting like on right now, but the man's harsh, dark eyes were pushed from Kitty's attention as soon as they entered the building.

She didn't peer through the glass before, to focused on the two man, but the grand hall they stepped into brought all her attention to itself. Three storeys worthy of tall walls were shimmering smoothly in the cold, natural light seeping in through the glazed front of the room; a couple of big ceramic flower pots and marble sculptures ornamented both - the ground floor as well as a balcony circling everything over their heads. Big, bronze chandelier dangled in the middle above their heads, and below it was a wide staircase with red carpeting - matching the large rug covering most of the floor, one with golden, greek design outlining it to put a contrast between it and the polished brown, linoleum flooring.

A familiar face appeared on top of the staircase. "Jean!" Kitty called. She grew fond of the girl after she helped them earlier this week, and she figured she's a friendly soul in all of this. Well, at least after Kitty's initial anger with everyone and anyone having to do with being 'a mutant' wore off.

The redhead waved at her and descended to the ground floor. "Hello, Kitty. How was your journey?"

The brunette peeked over her shoulders at her parents already bombarding the Professor with another series of questions. "Long."

Jean just managed to smirk with understanding before the girl's mom called to her. "Come with us, Professor Xavier will show us around."

Kitty peeked back at the redhead who nodded at her to get back to them. "We'll talk later."

Pryde nodded and returned to the others.

Meanwhile Jean's smile faded one bit at a time, until it was completely gone when they disappeared from her view. She exhaled and continued on her way to the living room where she slumped against armrest of a couch, her hand buried in her long, red hair to gently massage her scalp.

Since Fallen collapsed yesterday the air around the Institute has been in frenzy. She couldn't block out all the emotions stirring in everyone; she picked up telepathically how worried the Professor is, even as he smiles to welcome his new student. How depressed and terrified Kurt is, the emotion floating all the way to her from the bedside that he didn't leave unless absolutely forced to. And the rabidness and guilt quietly oozing from Forge.

That last one was curious - in its own, saddening way. What was he feeling guilty for? It felt like he contributed to the state Fallen is in, but Jean did her best not to allow any details to seep into her mind. She didn't want to pry, and she never wanted to use her telepathic abilities to do anything that could stain her friends' trust.

Even friends she barely just made. Or maybe especially those friends.

But then it was also odd that nobody seemed to be able - or willing - to give any details about why Fallen is in a coma. The guilt indicated he knew the first thing.

But it wasn't her place to point fingers. She knew that both Forge and the Professor are putting equal effort into figuring out how to bring her back. It was their feeling of helplessness that kept her up tonight and kept her so frustrated into the afternoon.

That, and her own concern about Fallen. She didn't want to watch - much less feel - another person die.

xXx

Half an hour, twenty rooms, a mile of outdoors and a million questions later, Kitty was sitting beside her parents in Professor Xavier's office, tapping her feet against the carpet as the man wrapped up the tour. She was anxious, excited… scared. But it was settled - she'd be staying at the Institute. Her bags were already pulled out of the trunk and that rough looking man from before was carrying them up into her room-to-be as they spoke.

"Any other questions?" Professor Xavier asked politely. She was impressed with his patience in answering the ones that already came his way.

Her parents looked at each other and lingered for a moment, but eventually Cameron turned back to the man. "I think we know everything for now. We will trust you with our daughter, if she still wants to stay."

"Of course" Xavier turned to look at Kitty, but before his head made the full turn she was up on her feet.

"I do!" she exclaimed. "I-I'm sorry. But I really do want to stay and see what I can learn about my, um… like, powers."

The confidence in this decision wasn't as unwavering as she tried to make it seem, but she decidedly stuck by it, even despite the throbbing worry in her heart as she and her parents said juicy good-byes a dozen minutes later. Professor offered they could stay the night and leave the following day, but her father insisted they'd not want to abuse his hospitality and after another prep talk they got back into the car and hit the road.

Kitty watched their car roll off the driveway and disappear onto the main road beyond the gates. Back on the way to Illinois, back to home, and with her staying in New York all alone.

She broke out of the hold of this thought as someone planted their hand on her shoulder. She looked back to see Jean smiling at her with understanding. "Come on, it's chilly outside. We'll have you settled in."

She didn't say anything, just dropped her eyes slightly and let the older girl lead her back inside. Grey kept her hand gently on the back of her shoulders, making her feel slightly less alone, but still - despite the redhead seemed nice and reliable, she was still a total stranger, and that made her presence that much less comforting.

"Hey, this is our new student, Kitty Pryde."

Jean's voice introducing her made her finally examine her surroundings with more focus. There were two people in the room, and they both approached closer.

"Hey, I'm Scott" said a tall, handsome boy in red sunglasses with brown hair falling on his forehead. His voice edged on polite friendliness but he seemed overall serious.

Jean stepped to his side and gestured slightly towards him. "Scott is our leader during trainings and in the future when we'd need to get out in the real world and utilize what we've learned to help people" she explained.

Kitty just nodded to confirm she gets it, but truth be told it was rather much to wrap one's head around - training to go out there and act as some type of a rescue group was something she never expected to be a part of. She wouldn't even think twice about such a concept last week when she considered herself a regular teenager who'd probably end up making money for tuition in some boutique store at a mall and become something respectable after education. Perhaps she'd be a teacher, or something ordinary but nice like that.

A superpowered hero?

She wished she could laugh at it but at this point, it felt too much like that's what she's being guided into.

"And I'm one of the supervisors. Or instructors, as the Professor likes to call it" the other stranger who approached was a lean woman with accent as exotic as her looks. She had dark, chocolate skin, bright blue eyes the color of summer sky, and long, pure white hair pulled back with a purple hairband. "I'm Ororo Monroe. I'm glad you're joining us, Kitty."

"I-It's nice to meet you both" Kitty responded low. It was just dawning on her that she did, in fact, just joined them, and just how much unprepared she feels to execute it.

All three of them were tall and in good shape, and Kitty shamefully realized that compared to them she was just a short, lithe teen, not a superhero material. Not to mention Physical Education was her worst nightmare and she had about as much muscle power as a five year old. She never imagined herself seeking an occupation or even so much as a hobby that requires her to put her body to works instead of solely the brains and knowledge.

For the first time she realized that maybe the mean girls at her school were right. Maybe she was a nerd.

"Oh, hey."

Another person appeared in the doorway, and he didn't help her feel any more confident in her situation. He was also tall and wrapped in more muscle than Scott from what she could tell. He also seemed older than him, probably in his mid-twenties. The boy had black, messy hair and light brown skin that made it difficult to identify his race.

He seemed a little awkward as he examined her deciding whether to come over or carry on his way, but eventually he stepped in and offered his hand to her.

"You're new? I'm Jonathon, but everyone just calls me Forge" he introduced himself as she nervously took his hand. His grip on her palm was surprisingly light and considerate.

"Forge?" she asked before she had the time to think whether it's okay.

"Yeah, like blacksmith's workshop. I made it up myself when I was a kid because I liked to make stuff from scratch" he explained with an awkward grimace that was supposed to be a smile.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

The moment of awkward silence was luckily broken by Jean. "I saw you already met Logan, so you almost know all of us now."

Kitty's thoughts briefly drifted to the grumpy man wondering if that encounter can pass for 'meeting'. "Who else is there?"

It felt like everyone shifted a bit, or maybe she just imagined it. The atmosphere became a bit heavier. Jean tried to cover it up with a semi-smirk. "There's two others. One isn't… available right now. And there's Kurt, but…" she looked over to Scott briefly. "I don't know if he's in the mindset to meet anyone right now."

"Uh…" Kitty examined her and everyone. Something was clearly going on here.

Jean no doubt could tell Kitty has questions. She looked over at Ororo in what seemed like asking for approval. She seemed to have found it as she approached Kitty and guided her towards the door. "Come with me."

Pryde felt nervous due to the atmosphere, but she exhaled in slight relief as they left the room and she was alone with Jean again. They stopped, Grey looked at her with serious expression, but with a hint of softness too.

"One of our students is in a coma. I think it's better if I tell you now, than if you find out for yourself and think we tried to hide it from you. You're one of us now, you should know."

"What?" Kitty echoed, her thoughts racing. "Did something happen to her during the trainings? Is it because of powers?"

Jean shook her head. "We don't know what happened, she just… collapsed. I don't think even the Professor knows, they're trying to figure it out. But it has nothing to do with what we do here" she put her hands on the girl's shoulders to make her look into her eyes. "You're not at risk of it happening to you, I promise."

Kitty took a second before swallowing and nodding. "Okay. So, um… what about that other person?"

"Kurt?" Jean pulled back and inhaled slowly. "He really cares about that girl, so he watches over her the entire time. He didn't so much as say 'hi' to any of us since she's unconscious, that's why I figured it's not the best moment to introduce you two."

"The girl" Kitty said. "Will she, like, be alright?"

"...Honestly, I don't think anyone knows the answer to that."

xXx

Kitty sighed deeply as she slid the last of her emptied bags under the bed and looked around. The room hardly felt like her own, but it was better with her stuff actually unpacked, including a few ornamentations here and there and three framed photos lined along the otherwise empty shelf above the desk.

She glanced towards a second bed sitting against the opposite wall. It was empty, neatly made and unused. She was yet to be assigned a roommate, once someone new joins them. Apparently she was one of the first students in here, and all others residents were the people she met. Except for the two who were supposedly in the place they dubbed an 'Infirmary', located in an off-limits section of the mansion.

Jean promised to show her the off-limits areas the following day. They didn't quite want parents to know about those, so no one even mention there's more to the mansion when her parents were still here. She felt uncomfortable with the thought that she's not supposed to share this information with her parents.

But she decided to respect the rules and see how it goes.

Someone knocked on the door softly.

"Um… Come in" she called out.

The door opened and Professor Xavier smiled at her politely. "May I?"

"Uh, like, yeah. I mean, of course" she got off the floor, dusted off her back and sat back on the edge of her new bed as the man approached but kept a reasonable distance.

"I see you've unpacked yourself" he said briefly sweeping the room with his eyes. "I'm glad. Do you like your room?"

She nodded quietly.

"I'm glad" he repeated. "I wanted to make sure if you need anything."

"I'm good."

"Good. There's also something I wanted to ask. By no means you are obliged to agree, you're fine to take two or three days off to settle in, however I think it might be better if you would chose to enter our local high school right away. Starting tomorrow. Or would that be too much at once?"

Kitty took a deep, deep breath. Moving in and coming to terms with the situation was already a lot, but she knew putting off regular school would make her stress pile up. It's better if she acts before she can grow her worries about the first day.

"I'll go" she responded shortly. Anything to push past 'the firsts' and start easing herself into the new life. "But what about like, books and stuff?"

They probably don't have the very same books in most classes as they had in her school. And even if they did, she didn't bring them along from Illinois.

"You'll have those as quickly as it takes to place and order in the book store, so two, maybe three days. Until then I recommend asking someone to share books with you. Actually, one of our students is also on the temporary schedule for a few more days, so you will be in all the same classes and he could share books with you. Have you met Kurt already?"

She shook her head. "I just um, heard of him."

And from what she heard it wasn't the best time for him to be bothered with meeting people or attending school, so she didn't feel very confident in getting into his space like this.

"Come with me, then" the Professor said turning his chair to face the door again. Seeing her questioning look he explained; "I'm about to go see him right now."

"But isn't he, like… watching over that unconscious girl?"

The man's face became a bit more serious, sad even. "I take it you already heard about Fallen. Yes… Kurt's in the Infirmary with her. But the weekend is over and he needs to go to school tomorrow, even if it's difficult for him."

It almost seemed like the man isn't talking to her anymore, but having an inner monologue out loud. She didn't dare say another thing, instead she just quietly followed the man, falling a step behind as they got to the elevator. A few seconds later they emerged into a very strange corridor. There was no windows, walls were made of some type of metal and illuminated with white light.

"Where…" she began but her voice drifted off as she glanced around.

"It's the undergrounds. You will be shown around throughout the couple following days. There's a lot we couldn't discuss with your parents. Keep in mind that the true nature of this school is a secret and to keep it that way, families of our students are told the bare minimum."

The off-limits area, then. Her heart throbbed. It was scary how serious they all are about this whole thing. It made her wonder what is she expected to become in this place.

They stopped in front of the first door to the left, it was metal like everything, and it slid open automatically. Inside was a room that looked like a mixture of a laboratory and a hospital ward with three, curtain-separated beds and medicaments sitting in white-painted wood and glass cases.

One of the beds was occupied, and someone was sitting beside it face down. After they entered the individual lifted his head and Kitty froze with a gasp. His face was blue, his eyes bright yellow, first squinted they opened wide as he looked at her and she shivered at the way they gawked at her. He shifted back and within a fractal of a second she analyzed everything else about him - starting with three blue digits of his hands, the strange bare feet and finishing at the long forked piece that with horror, she realized is a tail.

"Ah!" she cried as she stepped back, this mere second being enough for her to go from being nervous to absolutely terrified. He flinched at her scream and that only made her step back more abruptly.

"Kitty, w-" he said standing up.

She put her hand in front of herself. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!" then it hit her. "H-HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!"

"Kitty, please, calm yourself" the Professor sounded calm, but confident. It only did enough to make her feel less afraid for her life, but still wanting to be anywhere but here.

"W-what are you?" she asked in disbelief.

The hateful edge in her voice caused the boy to look away. "A mutant. Like you" he responded faintly.

"N-no… No way! We're nothing alike!" she shook her head fervently. Hot tears stung her eyes just thinking it could be otherwise. "You're some kind of a freak, a-a- a demon, and I'm not- I'm not like you…!"

She spun around trying to figure out how to open the door.

"Kitty…"

She found the button that did the trick. Without looking back at the Professor trying to stop her, she ran back to the elevator.

Xavier exhaled and turned to see Kurt return to his chair and slump down, facing away from him. The rested his forehead against his palm and didn't say a word.

The man approached closer. "Give her time. She'll come around to be your friend."

"I know" the boy whispered snorting low as he turned his face to him. There were tears in his eyes. His voice was quivering as he spoke; "But I'm sitting here wondering if I'm watching my girlfriend die because of me, and my ex-best friend who doesn't remember me calling me a demon is the last thing I needed to hear."

The man put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's not your fault that Fallen is in this state."

"Then who's fault is it?" Wagner insisted. "If we never met- or at least if I didn't keep saying I want us to come back to my dimension- she would be alright…"

"You didn't know she would end up this way."

"We took the risk… Because I wanted her here" his fingers clenched in a fist.

Xavier knew he can't say anything to make it right. With how things are, Fallen may not make it to the end of her first month in this dimension, and it was difficult to deny she would probably be alright if she never came here. It was probably something she was prepared take the risk for, but not knowing the girl all that well, he knew he has no authority to speak for her. Even if he was inside her head, Kurt would not take his words for anything but a petty comforting monologue.

"I can't speak on her behalf. But there's one thing I know for sure" he said. "She would not want you to blame yourself. You need to be strong for her, no matter how it all ends."

The boy's eyes dropped even lower, resignation crept even deeper. "I need it to end without her getting hurt more than she already is."

The man tightened his grip on the boy's shoulders. "Kurt, you're not listening to me. I said you need to keep going no matter the outcome of this. And you could start by returning to your room for the night, going to sleep. In the morning you need to go to school."

"School?" he echoed looking up suddenly. "How can you expect me to go to school when-" he cut off, his face turning to girl's face again. "I-I can't… with Fallen here, I-"

"You must, Kurt" the man squeezed his shoulder with more urgency. "Get back into your routine. I'll inform you immediately if anything changes in Fallen's state. But you need to carry on with your week."

Wagner's eyes were widely open as he stared at his girlfriend's unmoving features. He spent the last- what was it, 48 hours?... He spent the entire time sitting here, waiting, anticipating, playing out scenarios in his head - both the good and the bad ones. He limited his world and life to the little confine within the curtains that surrounded this bed. The furthest he went was the bathroom and kitchen, that one time when Professor insisted he needs to grab some food. Even then he returned to eat the semi-small portion over the following couple hours of sitting beside her bed.

The usual endless pit of his stomach was knotted, and if his appetite was put aside, then every other need wasn't even taken into consideration. Much less responsibilities so trivial as attending school.

"No, I-"

"I'm not asking. I'm informing you that you are going to school in the morning" the man ordered. If that's what it takes to bring the boy out of this bubble, so be it. "I remind you, that I am still your supervisor and you're obliged to obey my commands."

Kurt was speechless, he couldn't wrap his head around how could he be expected to go about his day as if life of the most important person in his life wasn't hanging on a thin thread that can as well break while he's sitting in class doing calculus.

"It's for your own good" the man assured.

And this concept of 'his good' was beyond him as much.

"Go back upstairs, Kurt."

He finally shook off the shock. "Do I really have to?" but he already knew the answer. "Can I- Can I at least have a few more minutes to- to digest all of this?"

Charles nodded and pulled back. "Alright. Don't take too long, you need to sleep. Also, Kurt?"

Wagner looked at him, trying not to look hostile despite he was angry with the man for forcing him away from Fallen's bedside.

"I would like to ask you to share your books with Kitty tomorrow, also show her around to the proper classes. She'll be on the same schedule for a few days."

Kurt looked away again. "She made herself pretty clear about wanting me to stay away from her."

"You know she will change her mind."

"But it will take time."

"I see no reason why that time wouldn't start tomorrow morning."

Wagner responded with silence, too tired to argue despite he knew it would take long weeks for Kitty to stop acting like he's about to devour her soul. But with everything that's gone wrong this weekend, her hurtful approach was just a cherry on top, and what's the point of fighting it if the cake is made anyway?

He just dropped his eyes to Fallen again. He heard Xavier leave.

As the door slid closed behind the man, he reached for the girl's hand and squeezed it, trying to visualize how it felt when she'd respond to his hold. He tried to remember the comfort it would bring, to draw the strength it would instil. He needed to think it over to find confidence in the thought that she would want him to go. To live on while he waits for the conclusions.

He needed to assure himself she would ask him to keep going.

And once he did, he wiped his tear with back of his hand and let go of her hand as he got up. "Just so you don't say I wasn't strong for you when you wake up" he whispered leaning in to place a kiss on her forehead before teleporting up to his room to prepare to take on the following day.

To be continued...