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

8. 2 - The X Impulse - 3 of 3

Author's Note: This chapter has a different feeling to it than most, but this final part is the most intense in terms of drama. However I think it's going to be important in developing the characters further down the road, so bear with me.

Episode 2: The X Impulse

Installment 3 of 3

Kitty laid in her new - and still never slept-in - bed, one of the two pillows hugged against her chest while the other continued to get wet with her tears. She finally calmed down after the encounter in the infirmary, but fear was still alive in her heart. Not of the strange boy anymore, but of the perspective that being a 'mutant' herself is a one way road towards becoming as abnormal as he is.

She can walk through walls, there's no way it makes her be like him. All she ever tried was to fit in, and something happened that made her different, but not like this. She can't let herself be put in the same category as someone who could never fit in… She can still fit in, somehow. Ignore her power and go back home. She can. She should.

She needs to have her old life back.

She cleaned her nose and dropped to the floor beside her bed. She pulled out one of the bags she emptied just half an hour ago. She unzipped it and opened just as someone knocked on the door of her room again.

This time she wasn't feeling quite confident as she responded; "...Come in…"

Jean slipped inside. "You're unpacking?"

Kitty looked down at the empty bag in her lap. She nodded, but then figured there's no point lying. "I- Actually I was going to, like… pack back."

"Pack back?" Jean asked sitting down on the floor beside her. "Are you that scared of staying?"

Pryde tightened her grip on the straps of the bag.

"Don't worry, Kitty. I know how you feel" Grey said softly. "When I first came here I wanted to go back home too. In fact, by the end of first week I was out the door with my stuff. I was scared of what this place is offering, requiring… what it makes me."

The words hit so close to home that Kitty's palms relaxed. "Why didn't you leave then?"

"Scott stopped me. He talked to me. He convinced me we all feel the same way. Scared, alone… I know you feel that way too. And staying here is difficult because it's like you admit to not belonging in the outside world… Like you commit to being a freak…"

Kitty felt tears in her eyes.

"...But it's not how it is at all" Jean assured low as she reached to her back. Kitty looked at her, her eyes almost begging to be told why. Why this painful truth isn't accurate. "We're here to turn our differences into strengths. We work together to create something special… We understand what it's like to feel like you don't belong because of being a mutant, and that's precisely what the Professor is trying to prove wrong. We'll show other people that we do belong in the outside world. But to do that, we need to learn how to use what made us feel like we don't."

Kitty was quiet, it made sense but it felt like the hard way. Why not just ignore what makes her different. Why not pretend it doesn't exist. No one would know, all she needs to do is never, ever use it.

"Tell you what" Jean put her hand on top of her own, causing her to ease the grip she still had on the empty bag. "Stay for a week or two. No one will force you to stay, but you may find that life isn't always about being the same as everyone else. Sometimes it's what makes us different that makes us belong."

"...Fine" she whispered. "I'll… I'll stay. Just to, like, give it a shot."

"That's all I ask."

xXxXxXx

+25.09.1995, Mon+

"Okay, Pryde, you've totally got this!" Kitty said staring fiercely into her reflection's eyes. "You can walk through walls. Like, how hard can High School really be compared to that?"

She mentally knocked out the part of her that insisted that being able to walk through walls is exactly why High School can be prove even more difficult.

Somebody knocked on her door. Already being on her feet, she opened it to find a somewhat familiar, but stranger boy waiting. He had dark, shoulder-length hair, dark blue eyes and handsome features. She felt her cheeks warm up a bit. "Um, hi?"

He avoided meeting her eyes. "Hi… Uh, Scott asked me to come fetch you so he can give everyone a ride to school" he sounded kind of down, also had some type of accent that reminded her of her german teacher from Deerfield Theatre Arts High School.

"Oh, um, okay, like, just give me a sec" she left the door open as she run up to where she left her little backpack. She returned with it hanging off one shoulder. "Ready!"

He stepped back to let her onto the corridor and they headed towards the man hall in an awkward silence. Something seemed to bug the boy, she could tell as she kept peeking at him with corner of her eye.

"So, um…" she picked up. "You're a student here, too?"

"...Ja."

'German, after all', she thought.

"Oh. I thought I met everyone already" she chuckled trying to get a connection there. "I'm Kitty, then."

He slowed to a stop and looked at her. Her hand hung there with no response as he continued to examine her face with a serious expression. Uncertain of what to make of it, she pulled her hand back and blushed with embarrassment.

When he finally spoke up his voice was regretful, like he wished he could avoid saying it. "We already met."

"What?" she asked confused. She would have rememb-

Suddenly she froze still. Her eyes skimmed over him top to bottom, suddenly realizing everything about him, from the blue tint in his hair to the way his fingers kept in twos before he clenched them under her gaze and finally the face that struck her as familiar.

"That was you-..." she gasped.

He inhaled slowly, turning his eyes away from her. "Ja" he responded low. She stepped back, tense as she tried to make sense of it and figure what to do next. His fists relaxed and his shoulders slumped as his eyes slowly returned to her. "Just don't panic, please…"

He sounded so tired. Just how many times has he been through this? The question caused her to cool off a little. She still kept her distance, but the tension in her body slightly eased.

"...Okay."

He looked at her surprised. "Okay?"

"Y-yeah…" he shifted and she stepped back. "J-just keep away from me."

There was a brief glisten in his eyes as he looked away from her, but he confirmed with a slight nod. "I'll-... I'll show you to the garage. Everyone's waiting…"

They continued to the main hall and then outside. Kitty kept a distance of a nearly a dozen feet, her eyes on his back, analyzing every move and every curve and edge of his body.

"...Why do you look normal now?" she asked so low she was actually surprised when he turned his face to her.

He swallowed before lifting his left hand. "This watch… it creates a hologram so I can- you know… blend in."

The technology wasn't as impressive as the general fact was terrifying to her. Is that what the rest of her life would be like? Playing pretend so no one figures she's a freak living with other freaks in a freaky place? What a downer.

They arrived at the garage. Jean and Scott were sitting in a roofless red car in front of it.

"There you are. Hope in the back!" Summers pointed his thumb at the backseat.

The disguised boy got in first, and for a moment Kitty hesitated before going around the other side and slipping inside the car. As she buckled up she made sure to stay as close to the door on her side - and far from the blue boy - as she could. He clearly noticed but chose to ignore it, the look on his face that of defeat.

"How was the first night?" Jean asked looking over her shoulder from the front seat.

"Um, it… it was okay, I guess" Kitty responded.

"Do you feel better than yesterday?" the redhead clearly meant the near-breakdown situation Kitty had when she wanted to pack back and return home. Right after her encounter with the blue boy in the infirmary.

She couldn't help keep peeking at him with corner of her eye. She was suspicious of him, but at the same time he didn't appear to be dangerous. Guess he just looked the part.

Without the hologram anyway.

"A little better now, that I like, slept on it" Kitty tried to send Jean a brief smile but it didn't look half sincere. "I need more time to digest everything that's happening."

"That's understandable."

"Are you okay, Kurt?" Scott asked finally after watching the boy slumped back in his rear mirror.

Wagner's eyes shifted to meet him in the reflection. Kitty went quiet the second he was brought into the conversation.

"Do you even need to ask?" he asked in a rusty voice.

Jean also looked more serious, her eyes now shifting to him and lingering for a moment before she sighed. "Try to take your mind off of Fallen for the time being. It will do no good if you just dwell on what's going on."

There was no visible response from the boy, like her words weren't even addressed to him. She seemed to give up and turned back to face the road.

Kitty on the other hand kept staring at him off at the edge of her vision. Just now it registered what Jean said the other day, and how she'd first met him in the infirmary at the bedside of some girl who they referred to as Fallen. This strange boy - Kurt, supposedly really cares about her. No wonder he seems so down and detached if her life is on the line.

A quick tug of sorrow on her heart was quickly washed away by her unwillingness towards the boy. No matter if he seems saddened, nor whether he cares about someone in a coma, no part of her wanted to trust him or the purity of his intentions. Half of her still refused to believe he's just a mutant like her and the others at this school, that part of her attributed him an origin a lot darker, rooted somewhere that puts him in a completely different category than she is in. And that meant he can't be trusted.

She felt a little angry that she seems to be the only one in this car that believed so. Scott and Jean seemed to be sorry for him, for his near loss of the cared-for person. But she just sat there, mere meter away from him, and wondered whether that cared-for person even wants this kind of affection. Or worse, whether perhaps he put her in this state and plays a victim, fooling everyone.

The thought brought a shiver down her back.

She noticed him looking at her.

She curled up. Could he hear her thoughts? Just what can he actually do? What are the limits of how deep he can get under someone's skin to deceive them like that?

She spent the rest of the way stressing herself over him so much, that by the time they pulled in the parking lot she nearly jumped out of the car.

"Woah, I don't think I've ever seen anyone so motivated for school" Scott said.

Kitty just stared at him for a moment before her eyes nervously returned to the other boy.

"Come on, classes will start in less than four minutes" Summers said again, gesturing at everyone to follow. "The two of you have the first period in classroom 73, right?"

Pryde was just about to follow him but stopped as she realized he meant her and Kurt.

"You guys go" Jean said. "We'll catch up with you in a moment. I want a word with Kitty."

The other two exchanged short looks before heading towards the building.

Jean stepped in front of Kitty obscuring her view of their backs. "Kitty… Your thoughts in the car were so loud I couldn't help but hear them" she said with a sad grimace. "Kurt's nothing like what you think. In fact, he's a great guy and you're just hurting him. Trust me, right now, he's hurting enough as it is" she squeezed her shoulder with a fleeting smile.

"I… I'm sorry, I just can't…"

Kitty shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. Jean's probably right, she's making it all up in her head.

"I know" Jean said softly. "You're projecting your fear of being different on him. But try to keep an open mind. You might get surprised."

Her words seemed to get strangely under her skin, soothing something so deep inside her mind that it actually caused a calm, content feeling to flow through her. Every emotion that was building up - the stress, the anticipation, the anger - melted into defeat and just opening herself up to whatever comes her way. She was too tired of seeing out an enemy in this entire situation. If you seek enemies that's all you'll ever find.

She took a deep breath. "...Alright."

"Good" Jean smiled. "Now come on. I'll show you where your first class is. And I suggest you do sit down with Kurt after all, so he can share his books with you."

Not completely into the idea, she still decided to nod and followed her to the school. As they parted at the door of Kitty's first class, Jean smiled sadly to herself.

The least she could do was quiet the storm for a moment so maybe, just maybe, the sun can come shining through.

xXxXxXx

It was a challenging weekend, to say the least, and not in any way Xavier actually expected to have to handle when he started this team. Monday didn't bring any positive conclusions or solutions to the saddening case of his recent recruit from another dimension, but the least it brought was a tiny ray of hope in form of his old colleague.

He arrived at a quarter to the noon and let himself in, since he was in the system for years now and the fingerprint scanner at the main gate recognized him as one of the residents. It wasn't until he reached the door of his office and knocked that the Professor knew he's there.

"Good day to you, Charles. I hope you don't mind me coming in like that" the man's wide face appeared in the doorway.

The other man smiled from above the papers he was studying regarding everything and anything dimensions and comatose related. "Hank, welcome. Of course not, I'm glad you're finally here."

He moved away from the desk to meet his friend halfway and the two gave the other's hand a heartfelt squeeze. "I see a few changes here and there. Am I right assuming you're finally utilizing the idea we've discussed years ago?"

"Yes" Xavier connected his hands with fingertips after he gestured for the old friend to sit down at the coffee area. "Starting this year I began to bring in recruits to make up the initial team. It's been going well, until it turned out three of them traveled in time and dimension."

"Excuse me, Charles, I think my hearing might be failing me" McCoy leaned in on the cough. "Did you say they traveled in time and dimension?"

"I'm afraid you heard right."

"Afraid?" now the man's bushy brows traveled up his forehead in fascination and disbelief. "If what you're saying is true, it is incredible! You must tell me more about it."

"I was going to. In fact" Charles inhaled deeply. "That's one of the things I was hoping to talk to you about. See, due to the strange origin, one of the said students' life is in great danger… I believe you could be one of the few people qualified to try and find a way to save the girl."

xXxXxXx

When Kitty came to the class and hesitantly asked if she can sit down beside him, Kurt was surprised, to say the least. It wasn't a bad surprise. A good one, maybe. Positive feelings didn't really have any place in his heart at the moment, but he could definitely consider it a step in the right direction. And on the second day already?

Even as she avoided any further interaction, conversation or eye contact, she still continued to sit with him in every class to use his books. Three classes later he started to find some comfort in it. The least he could do was to find comfort in the memory of the times when she'd sit with him for reasons other than books, and when she would be of support.

With so little left to give him any comfort, he needed to make up his own at this point.

After the third period Kitty drifted away from him to follow Jean to the cafeteria. He was falling a dozen steps behind, not even remotely excited for lunch, that being one of the first times in his life for him not to be eager to eat.

Before he made up his mind about whether to at least grab a plate and pretend or just plain ignore the line and sit the lunch out staring into space, he was approached by another student.

"Hi, uh… you're friends with Fallen, right?" he asked.

At the mention of her name Kurt flinched a bit and his eyes narrowed with both - irritation that anyone dares to speak of her right now, and sadness rooting so deep in the thought of her current state.

He didn't respond, just lifting his eyes to meet the other boy's. His messily styled black hair and black outfit gave an alternative edge to his lithe persona.

The boy's polite smile turned into an awkward grimace at the lack of response. "Anyway. I'm Max. I, um, I'm supposed to be doing a project with her and we were supposed to meet up but she kind of stood me out and I, you know, wanted to know if she's sick or something so I know where to go from here… Meaning the project, I mean."

Kurt averted his gaze wishing not to be having this conversation right. In fact, he wished everyone would just let him be and drown in this mystery until it's all over. Discussing Fallen with anyone, much less a complete stranger, was a nail in his heart.

"Ja. She's sick" he responded in a lowered, harsh voice.

"Um… Okay, thanks for-"

But Kurt was already on his way.

"...letting me know…" Max finished looking after him with a confused grimace.

xXx

After all, Kurt decided to spend the lunch break in solitary area behind the school. He figured he couldn't handle sitting at the cafeteria and staring at the empty chair where Fallen should be sitting.

But then, being alone also didn't help him not to think about it.

If anything, it gave too much room to dwell on and imagine things. Her, laying alone in the infirmary, perhaps hitting the flatline this very moment.

He shook his head trying to shake off this image from his mind because it caused instant itch in his eyes, and it wasn't a very good place nor time to break down.

Sitting the lunch break out was like an eternity spent on fighting away the worst scenarios from his head. Finally, as the break time edged to its end, he returned to the building and grabbed his Spanish book on the way to the class.

When he took his place in the third row, he was merely the second student to arrive at the classroom. Within minutes it started to fill up, much to his relief. At least something to focus on other than terrifying reality back home.

Kitty also entered the classroom. Wagner looked up at her as she glanced around before shyly venturing over to his desk. "May I?" she asked.

He nodded, shifting his backpack away for her to take the chair beside him. She slipped behind the desk quietly without making eye contact with him.

All day long she's been following his schedule and sitting with him to borrow the books, but he knew it's behavior born of necessity, not as much as of sympathy. He was the only person she already knew at Freshmen, so even having a personal issue with him, he would still be her easy route of getting through her first day of school.

It's funny how well you can know someone who doesn't even dare to look you in the eye.

With just a corner of his own eye he looked at her. It was difficult to have her sitting by his side all morning long and knowing that no matter how much he wants to, he can't talk to her about how difficult these days are for him. Despite how dear he held Kitty, she was far from even considering him a friend at this point.

And thus a person he'd otherwise go to for emotional support became another nail to his mental coffin.

Sighing he shifted his eyes to the door as Mr Pablo Gilbert, their Spanish teacher, entered the classroom. "Buenos días a todos" the man said.

"Buenos días, profesor" was more or less the poorly synchronous response from the students. In more than one case it was all they were able to say without looking into their textbooks every three letters or so.

Kurt was one of the better students at this class, or at least - he was somewhere within the better half. Perhaps that wasn't yet known to the teacher, given he only went to a few classes so far, but he already took Mr Gilbert's classes for almost three semesters last time around and in contrast to a lot of his fellow classmates, he actually enjoyed them.

Not today.

Opening his textbook to the right page was as much effort as he was willing to put out today, and only because Kitty was determined not to talk to him if she doesn't have to, enough not to ask to handle his textbook on her own. But in all honesty he wished he could just be left to stare out the window and wait out the entire school day, and another, and however long it takes for Fallen to wake up and be alright again.

Hopefully.

The line of thought was broken as halfway through the class the teacher read his name out loud and looked up from his desk expectantly. Peeking around Kurt could see a few faces turned to him, most of them with as much interest as you would have for a square meter of average grass.

"Uh, yes?" he asked, not even remotely recalling whether anything was being said regarding the reason he was called out. He tuned out everything up until that moment.

"¿Cuál es tu color favorito?" the teacher repeated.

Oh. So it's just a casual quiz with teacher asking basic questions to randomly picked students. At least something to be done with quick; "...Mi color favorito es verde" he responded.

"Bien, señor Wagner" the teacher nodded marking a plus by his name in the school journal. "But from now on pay attention to the class."

"I'm sorry, I have important things on my mind" the boy said almost as if to himself, but the teacher picked up on it.

"More important than school?" he asked.

Kurt's eyes snapped to him. He got the point of the teacher requesting all attention to be put to his class, but yes, for the sake of everything he knows, these things are more important, and him questioning it caused Kurt to feel something he rarely had a taste of.

Bitter anger.

"Yes, sir, by far" he stated harshly.

Now more faces were turned to him and interest sparked in their eyes. The teacher lifted his eyes to him behind his glasses before briefly regarding the rest of the class. He can't let his authority be questioned like that.

"If you have more important things then what are you doing at school?" he asked, not so much angry as disappointed on the inside. He had high expectations to this new student that A'ced last week's overview quiz.

But for Kurt, this question was the bull's eye. His eyes became firm, cold sense of purpose replacing his sadness and exhaustion. He got up, and now the last of student's eyes were on him.

"You're right" he stated clearly. "I also don't know what I'm doing here."

He was a millisecond from teleporting right out of that classroom, but he was stopped by the part of him that held onto reason in this mess of emotional damage. Instead, he clenched his fists and without looking into anyone's eyes or thinking about the consequences, he walked out onto the corridor.

He didn't stop until he found himself in a blind spot with nobody around, then he hit the 'off' button on his watch and finally teleported back to the Institute.

xXx

His breath was shuddering as he re-appeared at the corridor in front of his room - and, in consequence - in front of Fallen's room as well. His eyes instinctively shifted to the door of her room first, fogging up, but he refused to break.

His back rested against the wall in the dead middle between the two of their rooms, he took time to breathe deep and calm his exasperated heart. A minute passed. Then two. Five. He was left staring blankly at where the ceiling met the wall in front of him, his thoughts melted into numb sorrow.

Everything was so empty and quiet, he felt even more alone as he listened into the silence.

Eventually he went to his room to retrieve a piece of paper with his home number that was nestled in the drawer beside his bed, and with it he returned to use the landline sitting between his and Fallen's room.

Soon he heard the familiar voice ask; "[Hello? Kurt, is that you?]"

"[Yes, mom. How did you know?]"

"[How many people would call me all the way from America?]"

"[Right.]"

"[How are you, son? You sound down. Is everything alright over there?]"

For a moment he was silent. He slid down against the wall next to where the landline aparature was placed. "[...No… Nothing's alright. I… I really need someone to talk to right now…]"

A few minutes later he was still sitting on the floor, phone in his hand and stared into the carpet between his feet.

"[Thanks, mom]" he said snorting slightly.

"[Just stay strong, sweetheart. Fallen seemed like a tough girl, she'll pull through]" his mother assured. "[Everything will be alright if you just have faith.]"

He remembered the times when he used to truly believe that faith has any power, right now he wished he could go back to that if only for a moment of hope. He let himself take his mother's words and find comfort in them, even if the logical part of him no longer found reason in belief.

"[Thanks, mom]" he repeated. "[What about you, how have you been these past two weeks?]"

"[Ah, you know, son… it's pretty much the same as usual. It's quiet though, without you here.]"

"[At least you get some rest]" he smirked sadly.

"[I'm enjoying the quiet, indeed. But I would rather have you here and about the place]" the woman chuckled, but there was a sad undertone. She was very compassionate of his tender situation regarding Fallen's coma.

"Yeah…" the boy smiled sadly to himself. "[I will come visit no further than for Christmas.]"

"[Do take your girlfriend with you.]"

He closed his eyes for a moment. "[If she wakes up.]"

"[What is this negative thinking! I'm sure she will.]"

He wished he could say the same for himself. But doubts were creeping in so deep after having spent two days sitting by her bed and seeing no sign of improvement.

"[Alright, sweetheart. We need to wrap it up because I'm going to work.]"

Another thing to be concerned about, his mother working herself into her own grave. She needed to rest and be under medical supervision, but last time as he picked up a conversation about it, she cut it short saying bills don't pay themselves. And she was right. He needed to figure some way to support her so she could rest.

"[Don't strain yourself too much, alright?]" he asked.

"[I will do what needs to be done. Don't parent your parent, young man.]"

Kurt snickered sadly. "[Sorry. I'm just worried because I love you.]"

"[And I love you, Kurti. But things need to get done. Alright… I need to go. Say hi from me to the Professor and that nice lady. And your friends of course.]"

"[I will.]"

"[Good. Be positive, sweetie. And call me whenever you can, yes?]"

"[I will]" he repeated.

"[Good. Goodbye, love.]"

"[Bye, mom.]"

Hollow repetitive sound filled the line. For a lingering moment Kurt continued to sit with the phone in his hands before reaching up to replace it on the station.

The numbness he felt before this conversation started slowly transitioning into purifying sadness and at the same time - some kind of home. Maybe his mother is right, maybe everything will be alright, maybe he's just tormenting himself for nothing and all he needs is to wait out the worst.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

But he was too tired not to hold on to the 'maybe yes'.

He took in a deep breath and got up. Just as he was about to go to his room, his heart spun him around in the opposite direction and he slipped into Fallen's room instead. The door clicked low behind him as he gently pushed it closed with his back.

For a moment he just remained there, in cold glow, his eyes looking over the place. It didn't even have the time to take on a piece of her personality, but the few items left in the open that belonged to her, as well as the few memories he had of her in here made it feel oddly like she's spent a lot more time here than she actually have.

Two weeks, it couldn't be all there would ever be. She would be back to this room any time now. She will be okay.

Repeating it to himself like a mantra he allowed himself to walk across the room and sit down on the edge of the bed. The sheets were left in a mess, just the way it ended up after she got out of the bed on that fatal day. Nobody was in this room since, as it would seem.

It stood abandoned so suddenly, still looking lived-in.

He felt his eyes fog, but this time he didn't try to stop it. That's all his eyes seemed to want to do since Fallen collapsed - shed tears. Shamelessly cry. And in this sanctuary, he let them.

He laid down, familiar scent enveloped him from the sheets. A scent that always lingered on him and everything he owned too. Just like his scent lingered on her and all of her belongings. Everything was their shared space, but after these three days her presence began to wear out in his room.

Here, it was still vivid. Still alive.

He squeezed his eyes allowing her presence to envelope him in a comforting embrace. His arm slipped under the pillow to hug it against side of his face.

But there, he felt something that wasn't there before. A rigid, cool object. He pulled out a notebook and looked at it with confusion. He knew her bed no worse than he knew his own, and she never kept a notebook under her pillow.

Thrown off he decided to see if it's anything of importance.

And the first page had his heart already stop as he saw his name written on top of it in bold letters, underlined with a rough line below which was a block of text written in familiar handwriting that was undeniably Fallen's.

KURT

If you're reading this I probably failed to talk to you before trouble caught up with me. Forge likely already explained what happened, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for not confronting you properly.

I know I should have told you. I know it so well, and yet I couldn't bring myself to. I didn't want to see you hurt. I was selfish enough to ignore that it doesn't mean you wouldn't get hurt by it whether I'm there to see it or not.

I need you to carry on, no matter what happened to me. Please, do not blame yourself. Do not ever blame yourself for this. I don't. I wouldn't. Ever.

If I'm gone, the one thing I want you to do is not go down with me.

Stay strong, Sweetheart. We promised we would do all we can to piece our lives back together without each other, should anything happen. Now it's time, you must move on and put it behind you. You can find happiness without me, I know you can. I believe in you. Always have, always will.

I love you more than you know.

F.

He didn't know when exactly, but somewhere through reading this letter he's lost all self-control he tried so hard to maintain since he found her unconscious. Somewhere between the lines of love and what felt like an ultimate farewell he's abandoned pride and let shameless sobs squeeze him into a tight ball on top of her bed.

At long last, as he lifted up still clutching the notebook to his chest, all he could think about was to teleport to the Infirmary. He did so, appearing beside Fallen's bed, immediately pushing the notebook against mattress beside her.

"I don't want to!" he pleaded. "I don't want to move on! I want you to- wake up" his voice lowered into a whisper. "Please, just… wake up..."

"Kurt."

The boy turned his head surprised that he's not alone. "Forge…"

Silvercloud's shoulders slumped another bit at the look of sadness and despair in his friend's eyes. He approached him slowly and put hand on his shoulder supportively squeezing it to assure that there's still hope. Even faint as it is, but that was all they had left.

He wished that such pleading as what Kurt just did could make a difference, but in fact he came here to try and make peace with the fact that nothing they do makes difference anymore. After spending three days trying to figure out how to interfere with Fallen's issue and shifts odds, he realized there's nothing that could be done within less than at least half a dozen months.

And he knew all too well they don't have that much time.

That being said, he wished he could say something to make Kurt feel better, after all it was Wagner who ended up most hurting from all of this. He himself didn't know Fallen that well or that long, others in here knew her even less, and she probably drifted in what felt like comfortable nothingness. Or so she would if she will lose the fight, so soon enough - even if there's terror inside her now - it would all be over for her.

Kurt, he was the one who would need to go on carrying the pain of losing someone beloved.

"How are you holding up?" he asked low.

"I-..." Kurt cut off drawing a sharp breath. He clenched his hands over the bed sheet draped over the girl. "I just can't understand... Why is everything… going so wrong?"

He struggled to maintain control and Forge didn't blame him for finding it hard. He could only imagine vaguely what he must be feeling.

"I wish I had the answers to that" he responded. "But the only one I can think of is that I screwed up."

Kurt shook his head. "No… You did something incredible for us. I just- I wish we never were in a situation where we chose to ask you to do that… If we never did, none of it would have happened… Scheiße!" he cussed abruptly straightening and turning around, his hands grabbing his head. "Why did I think coming back to this dimension was ever a good idea!"

"Kurt, easy on yourself, you couldn't have known…" Forge reached his hand trying to replace it on Wagner's shoulder and ease him back down, but the boy made another abrupt turn making it impossible.

"I was so selfish bringing her to a dimension where there's so many horrible things going on, with mutant war and all this- this danger of living at the Institute-"

"None of it caused it, it was if anything the fault of me not taking enough caution-"

"No" Kurt stopped him finally turning to look him in the eye. "It was all because I asked you to help bring her here in the first place. And I did because I- I felt alone being the only mutant in her entire dimension… You know, at one point I made peace with not seeing my friends from here again because I had new friends there, but… being the only one this- different… was something I somehow never could make peace with" he fell silent for a moment before finishing low; "Her wanting to get away from her past was something I used as an excuse for fulfilling my stupid need of blending in, and now she could die because of it."

Forge was looking at him for a lingering moment before scoffing low. Kurt shifted his eyes to him confused to see a sad smirk on his lips.

"She said you would do that."

"...Do what?"

"Try to take all the blame."

The german looked aside sternly. "So what if I do."

"That you are not to blame, dude" he grabbed both of his shoulders forcing the shorter boy to look at him. "And Fallen said it loud and clear to my face that she wants you not to blame yourself, so if I will have to smack you to assure you don't, I will. I won't like it, but I'll do it."

Kurt stared back at him a little surprised, before another grimace showed on his face. "She talked to you about all of this?" he sounded disappointed.

"Yeah..." Forge let go of him and both of them turned to look at the unconscious girl. "She asked me to figure out what's going on, and after I did… she just asked that I keep an eye on you if she ends up…" he inhaled deeply waving his arm in a vague motion towards her, "like this."

For a lingering moment they were both silent.

Forge decided to pick up again; "Look, man… I know my words mean nada, and you probably already know that… But she really cared for you to deal with this situation as well as you possibly can. So if I have any authority to speak, I think you should at least try to keep your head up, no matter if she comes through okay or not. At the end of the day you need to keep on living a life, even if she won't anymore."

Kurt's eyes softened with sorrow, he casted them on the notebook still in one of his hands. He remembered every words from the message scribbled for him on the first page. "Why do I keep hearing this?" he asked in a low whisper. "Why is… everyone acting like she's already gone?"

"I know it's a harsh thing to say, but she could as well be anytime now."

"But she's not" Kurt snapped back giving him a look equally harsh to Forge's words. "And as long as that's the case I refuse to be told what to do if she-!" he cut off, suddenly his eyes sparkling up with sorrow more than reprimand. Whatever term he was about to say clearly couldn't go through his throat. His eyes snapped back to the girl's face, forcing away the thought of the dark scenario. "D-... Did you know that we met when she ran away from her family and country? She was just 13, it was illegal and she didn't have much money or anyone to support her through this. But she made it" he remembered, his eyes still on her face. "Not only she was able to handle herself remarkably well for that age, but she also helped me when it came to this…"

And he wasn't easy to approach then, he realized it now that his numerous phobias and severe depression that haunted him at the time made for an impenetrable wall made to shelter him from further trauma. Before the physical help related to obtaining food and other essentials, he was grateful for the time she took to climb over that wall and embrace the vulnerability, and for being able to wash away his shame of having it in the first place.

There was so much he was grateful to her for, and he always did his best to pay back with whatever he could, but right now all he could do was to believe that she can make it. But he did believe it, because more than anything else, she was a survivor.

Finally his voice returned, but now it was quiet and humble; "...If anyone can pull through something like this, I believe it's Fallen."

xXx

It was about 30 minutes later and Kurt was now sitting alone in the Infirmary, if not for the still girl on the bed. This time however, instead of bending to lay against the bed, he was sitting up straight, only his head lowered to look at an envelope in his hands. Soon after Forge left he went through the notebook, but the only thing he found there other than the note for him, was this silvery envelope with 'for Prof. Xavier alone' written on it in Fallen's best handwriting.

And for a dozen minutes or so he was just looking at it, contemplating whether it could be anything to do with the case of her coma. A part of him wanted to rip it open and see for himself, but he knew better than to disrespect her request. He should probably just deliver it to the Professor and hope that whatever is inside, is going to be of help.

As if in response to his questions the infirmary's door slid open and the Professor rolled in saying something to another man that followed a step behind. Kurt tensed for a moment at the sight of the stranger before his eyes rested on his face and he recognized him.

"Doctor McCoy" he said before thinking about it. Just as the two men fell quiet turning their eyes to him he realized he shouldn't have said that - after all, he shouldn't have known who the man is. "I-I mea-… I heard about you from the- uh, Professor."

"It's alright, Kurt" Xavier said exhaling low. "I told Hank about your unusual arrival."

That wasn't any less surprising than the man's presence and for a moment the boy didn't know how to respond. It was long enough for the guest to chime in;

"Yours and your two friends' case is very interesting to me, however I am sorry to hear that one of you didn't take the travel so well."

The words caused a lingering silence to hang in the air as Kurt back at his girlfriend solemnly.

This time it was the Professor to break it; "I asked Hank to take a look at Fallen to see if he can come up with anything we haven't figured. Would you mind?"

Wagner looked back to the two men and swallowed to clear his throat. "...If there's any chance he could help… go ahead."

The new arrival approached Kurt instead of the bed. "I know you know who I am…" he said putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "But for the sake of courtesy let me introduce myself officially. I'm Hank McCoy" he offered his hand.

The boy looked down on it for a second, in back of his mind thinking about how rare it is for people to just plain overlook his unique appearance right from the first meeting. But then again, perhaps doctor McCoy has a clear idea of what future will bring for his own self in terms of outer mutations.

He took a hold of his hand a gave it a half-hearted squeeze.

"I assure you, Kurt, I'll try to work with your Professor and help your friend to the best of my knowledge."

Wagner nodded and responded faintly. "Thank you."

Then he quietly watched the man walk past him and approach the bed, his eyes first scanning the girl and then shifting to the equipment for detailed reading of what's happening with her at the moment.

Breathing in and a slow breath, Kurt closed his eyes for a second before turning to Professor Xavier, suddenly remembering the silvery envelope still in his hand. He handed it over to the man; "I found it in Fallen's room. I don't know when she wanted you to get it… but I assume now is good as ever."

The man took the envelope. After a moment of looking at the front with his name he began to rip it open.

Hoping for some grand answers to be inside, Wagner picked up again; "There's also one more thing I wanted to talk to you about… not related to Fallen."

"Of course, what is it, Kurt?" the man asked just as he finished opening the envelope. He pulled out a single piece of paper folded in half and started to read whatever was inside.

The boy stared at him and the paper intensely until the man appeared to be done, but by the time he did, the man's expression turned so solemn it was alarming. His silence lasted for far too long and Kurt couldn't take it anymore; "Is it something that will help?"

The man seemed to take a moment avoiding looking up into the boy's eyes for a moment, but when he finally did - he looked sorry. "I'm afraid it has nothing to do with what's happening here."

"What?" just not Wagner realized how much he didn't expect that. "What is it about then?!" almost reflexively he reached to retrieve the paper from the man's hands, but he shifted it away from him, slid it back into the envelope, and Kurt watched stunned as the envelope disappeared into Xavier's jacket's inner pocket.

"Have you drawn any conclusions, Hank?" the man asked, his voice suddenly louder and leaving no doubt that the previous subject is over.

"Only that I've never seen a coma this deep before, I'm afraid."

A brief grimace came and went as Xavier seemed to have expected just that. As the other man continued to examine Fallen's state, Charles turned his eyes to his student again; "What is the other situation you wanted to discuss with me, Kurt?"

The boy still couldn't get over the fact that whatever the message in the envelope said was just snatched away from him without so much as an excuse. He realized that it was addressed to Xavier in the first place, not him, but it didn't feel right under these circumstances. However the other matter at hand was too important to go back and argue about a piece of paper that - apparently - won't change a thing.

"I…" he stopped to take a deep breath. "I'm worried about mein Mutter. My mom, I mean… she's working hard, always has, but she's over 50 and her heart is weak. The strain of working 10 hours a day almost 2 hours away from home, it's too much for her. I know she's bound to… die."

The word stung on his tongue even though he came to terms with it. But it was then, when she was already gone, and now that she was alive… he refused to give up on her.

"I know the time of her death down to a minute. And I'm just thinking that maybe if she didn't need to work so hard and instead got a proper medical care… She could make it longer than that. Longer than… before all of this."

"And you would like to ask me to provide the funds so she could stop working and take care of her health" Xavier's lips were actually curved in a very subtle smile.

The boy humbly nodded. "Only until I can earn enough to support her the same way by myself."

The man shifted his chair just a foot closer to the boy so he could easily reach up to squeeze his forearm. "I think that you coming to me with this is the absolute right thing to do. I will be happy to invest any money necessary for your mother to get proper rest and cover any medical expenses."

"Really?" as the boy looked up Xavier couldn't help but notice that it's the first time since Saturday that there was a spark of hope in them. "Thank you, Herr Professor! I will do all I can to pay you back and-"

"There's no need to pay me back" the man rested against his chair again. "All I ask in return is your loyalty to the team and if you ever chose to leave it… Simply being the good man that I know you already are."

The boy's chest swelled with hope and gratitude that brightened his face for the first time in those three days, but the entire aura of positivity deflated within seconds as McCoy cleared his throat out loud and the boy's attention returned to the unconscious girl.

"I think we could inject a small dosage of proper chemicals to jump-start what would pass as 'regular body functioning'" Hank said. "However we should treat this as the last resort, in case she collapses. In the current state however, I believe the coma is her body's and mind's strongest defense against collapsing, so it's not wise to force her awake. So far that's all I've gathered from what I see and what you told me, Charles" the man motioned to his friend. "But I can stay around and look into it further."

"That would be most appreciated. Thank you, Hank."

"Danke, Doc McCoy" Kurt exhaled, his eyes drifting to Fallen's face again.

xXx

[[The following scenes are EXTRAS until stated otherwise in similar brackets]]

It was frustrating for Kurt, and in the most depressing manner, to be at that point in his life when he needed to take refuge in the same false image of hope that once got him through his childhood and adolescence. The hope that everything will be alright despite most - if not all - signs suggest otherwise. This whole entire 'having faith' that odds will shift.

But he did it, and he knew he will continue to do it. If that's what gets him through these days…

Yet it was so hard to maintain this - or any other less than depressing - mindset whenever he had so much as five seconds to think about it in quiet and peace. That afternoon, when the training time came, he gave it his all and doubled it up. Not even Scott dared get in the way of this much smaller boy as he let his frustration out by quick and forceful reactions to whatever device posed a threat in the simulation.

Logan, who led this particular training, didn't fail to notice, but he did not mention it.

However, as the evening approached, the man wandered upstairs and knocked on the boy's door. He opened the door without waiting to be actually invited. He found the room empty and chill with air floating from the open balcony.

xXx

Kurt passes the last few meters of the back yard just walking instead of sprinting, but his steps were more hurried and forceful than per usual. He should be weakened by now, after the training in the afternoon and such along and intensive running session in the evening. Yet he was restless.

He climbed up the three in front of the Institute and crawled along the branches with ease to get back onto his balcony. He left it's door agape, careless about whether someone will notice and know he broke the curfew.

Cool air filled the room during his absence and lights were switched off, so the only difference he felt when entering it was disappearance of the wind. To deep within his own head, he didn't even notice at first that he's not alone in his room. Without doing so much as glancing around he approached his nightstand and slid its drawer open. He still felt rush in his veins from running, he wanted to hold on to it instead of giving up to the infirmity he felt otherwise.

When he heard a creak and a muffled growl behind him, he stood up straight so abruptly that he almost threw his alarm clock off the nightstand. His eyes were used to the darkness enough so he didn't need two seconds to see the source of the sounds.

Logan was slumped against back of Kurt's chair by the desk that was sitting against the opposite wall. The man's arms were crossed over his wide chest and his brown eyes piercing through Wagner with cold reprimand. At first the boy wanted to say something to excuse breaking the curfew, but the will to argue his possible grounding fled the moment he realized how unimportant school rules are in comparison to everything else that was going on in his life right now.

He just stopped in his track and watched Logan to see if he will be punished. The man also remained silent, looking at him like he expected the boy to speak first.

Finally he growled low with a hint of resignation and got up, sighing as he approached the teen. He gave up the idea of punishing him, because he understood how it feels to need to get away from everyone and let go. He also knew other ways of letting go, and the boy didn't seem spend enough to rest.

He firmly gripped the young german's shoulder, a gesture as close to support as he ever got. "Seems like it's going to be a long night, kid" his voice was lowered and husky, but with no softness to it. He spoke like a man to a man, understanding but not exhibiting his compassion.

Kurt stopped looking at him, both his hands and jaw clenched.

"I don't want to say it will be all good, nobody knows" Wolverine's grip on Wagner's shoulder tightened, drawing the boy's attention back to him. "Look, I only heard snippets of what's goin' on, but I know there's nothin' we can do about it. Neither me nor ya, kid. Chuck and McCoy can do very little" under his fingers he felt tensed muscles loosen up as Kurt proceeded to give up to the dreadful sorrow. "But it's not hopeless. As long as there's any chance nobody's goin' to give it up. And even if it all goes down a hill, ya will need to climb another one."

He wasn't much of a talker. Less a man of words, and more that of action, but he needed to be straight with the kid. He resonated with him, having watched so many people die. Good people. People he cared about, one way or another. He knew what it feels like more than he wished to admit.

"Waiting is the worst" he stated. Silence lingered, the man's hand slid off the boy's shoulder. "If you're not plannin' on sleepin' anyway, I know a way to discharge the frustration. I'm headed for the playground Chuck dares to call a gym."

The man turned around and went for the door, he stopped with its handle in his hand and looked back at Wagner just as the boy walked past him and entered the corridor.

Kurt tucked his hands deep into pockets of his pants and let his head hang down a little. "You might have a point" he muttered taking the lead on the way to the gym.

Logan almost smirked, but the situation didn't let those remainings of sense of humor in him surface. After years and years of looking at various suffering, it was hard to find humor in this world. There seemed to be only irony.

xXx

Kurt felt unloaded amounts of tension; sorrow, sadness, fear, hope, love, frustration, all of it was boiling and pushing him onto new levels of being upset and angry. That's why he more than welcomed Logan's offer and didn't say a word of disapproval when the man sent him over to one of the punching bags and handed him bandages to wrap his knuckles with. Wolverine himself also wordlessly approached the second bag and - without taking precautions for his knuckles - began to train as well.

After a moment of weighting the situation, Wagner decided to go for it after all. He usually wasn't one for fighting and aggression, his skills and tactics were defensive and his idea of workout had nothing to do with causing possible harm, but this time… This time nothing really was 'its usual' either way.

He wrapped the stretchy material around his knuckles and palmed the ends getting into the right position. For a lingering moment he was just looking at the bag half-heartedly.

"Treat it like it's your problem. Don't be afraid of it, attack it" Logan said in-between his own punches. His voice was stable.

Kurt took these words oddly to his heart. He hit the bag once, twice, still uncertain. Third, fourth, harder. Fifth, fimer, allowing himself to imagine that the little problems lay within this bag. Those, that seemed so small compared to the ones he didn't have the strength to face. Sixth, seventh punch, another, another, again and again, pum-pum-pum, faster and stronger.

Logan looked at him with barely a corner of his eye. He didn't need to see him with clarity; he could hear and feel the boy letting his anger and frustration out in the most natural and instinctive way. The one way that oftentimes is the only way.

"Speak" Wolverine stated. "Whatever bugs ya, whatever makes ya feel this way."

Kurt didn't focus on his words but the meaning got through to him, and he devoted one forceful punch to all those who expected him to open up as if it's that simple.

He remained silent for a moment longer and didn't want to speak up at all, but then he felt words already roll of his tongue, low and bitter; "Waiting and infirmity are some of the worst tortures. You were right. Fallen was right."

And there was so much he awaited with fear. Fallen either awakening or passing away. His mother passing away, at the destined time or a little later, but still. And it felt like everything would go downhill from there. He knew the future. He awaited it with concern before, but now it was turning into anxious fear.

He drove his fist into the punching bag.

"We worked so hard for this. After all those years it all started to fall into place… and now this" after another heavy punch he stopped. His fist lingered against the bag before both his palms laid flat on its surface. For a moment he was solemnly looking at his hands, wondering how much are they really able to bear if the people he loves will continue to be snatched away from him like this. Like he lost his father. Like - in a way - he lost his friends when time shifted. Like he was about to lose two of the most important women in his life.

He started to throw punches again.

"Being close to me is like a death sentence" he muttered under his breath, tears sparkling up in his eyes as he frowned and threw one punch after another, giving it all he had to give anymore - all the negative emotions.

Until he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder pulling him away from the bag slightly. He looked over at Logan with a frown, not pleased with being stopped just as he felt he started to see the real issue within this punching bag.

"Ok, listen up" Wolverine said. "I don't know what happened before yer girl's coma, but whatever it was, whoever went down for you, they did it out of love. And if there's a good way to go, I'm sure that's how they'd want it."

The words stirred something inside Kurt, but he didn't have the time to name it just yet as Wolverine walked towards the door.

"I'll leave ya to it. Take yer time, just don't break those toothpick arms of yours."

Silence was only interrupted by fading sound of the man's footsteps, and those too, soon disappeared and he was left alone. His hands began working on the punching bag.

Alone. Exactly. He was left alone.

He yearned for Fallen to be beside him, he knew it in his heart that she's the person he can always turn to, wants to protect and spend his life with. But a sour thought lingered just below the surface of his thoughts, triggered by the even sourer perspective of losing Fallen on top of everything else; The realization that if she will not make it, sooner or later he will try to throw himself into first arms willing to take him. It was something he always tried to stop his friends from doing, but he knew he's got the tendency to do that himself. He now knew better than in Amanda's days, and he didn't want to feel so needy of fake reassurance again - he didn't want to get caught up in the same self-destructive mindset he used to have in the past.

But he was also afraid of being alone again.

He was afraid of this feeling of solitude. He knew it well and throughout. During the half year he spent at Jardine's circus, it clawed its way into him and destroyed all the escape routes. He knew it would never leave again.

Even among friends and beloved ones he still had this feeling at the rock bottom of his heart. He remembered that after those awful events from Jardine's, he returned home and slid into his mother's loving embrace and with utmost fear realized that the feeling of being alone remains. Fallen was the only one who learned to tame it, to sooth his pain and fear, but even she never managed to weed it out from the depth of his soul.

The isolation, the solitude.

He was scared of them.

How was he supposed to deal with this entire situation? With a sudden loss of his girlfriend, best friend and everything Fallen was to him? To make peace with the fact that someone like her is to lose life when all she ever did was fight for her own and show him how to embrace his. How? The worst part was that he felt he can't do anything anymore. Not for Fallen, and probably not for his mother. He had no way of protecting them.

He didn't even notice when his strategic, well-trained punched turned into fierce and desperate attacks. His muscles were too tense causing a fallout of pain to surge back every time his fists collided with the punching bag.

It took him a dozen of seconds to calm down.

For a moment he stood there breathing heavily, acknowledging his hot sweat, wet eyes, dry throat and pain in his arms that was spreading throughout the rest of his body. He still felt the urge to throw another punch, but he felt the adrenaline slowly go down and leave a shadow of relief alongside grief. He knew that's it for today, he went far and beyond his limits. He didn't even want to put the effort into teleporting, he just walked out of the gym and headed upstairs trying to calm his breath.

Right away he went to take the shower. When water washed away the sweat and refreshed his mind, he realized how tired he really is.

But he couldn't fall asleep. He did everything that was his everyday routine, some things twice, he circled his room time and time again. He made sure everything is done and done well. He'd lay down, get up, look out the window, he wanted to turn music on but every song annoyed him right now. He felt exhaustion in his muscles, but his mind remained restless.

When his school workbooks couldn't be anymore packed, chargers any more plugged in to everything that could be charging, fur brushed any more than silky smooth as he brushed it now, and when the bed couldn't be in any more mess from his constant lying down and getting up - Kurt gave up. He simply gave up and did the one thing that kept him awake.

He teleported to the infirmary.

xXx

Kitty couldn't remember what she dreamed of, but she woke up with some uncertain fear and sorrow that was hard to describe.

She missed home. It was only a day and a half into living at the Institute, but it already felt like an eternity since the morning her father was reading a newspaper and her mother fried pancakes… and then they left for Bayville and all she was left with was a small photo album to remind her of home.

Already, she was anticipating going back for Hanukkah, but a part of her wanted more than that. The entire life she had before the term 'being a mutant' ever came up.

But she knew she made the right choice by coming here and sweeping her newfound powers under a carpet won't make them disappear. And even being aware of that didn't change the fact that she wanted to just curl up under the bed sheet and cry. In fact it even fueled her need to do that. Too much happened too fast.

But Kitty Pryde isn't a baby, and looking back she felt shame color her cheeks as she thought about the little breakdown she had when she wanted to pack her bag and return home. Running back to parents was the one thing she needed to prove she won't do.

Tempting as it sounds.

But breaking away could be beneficial too. If she overlooks the entire 'being a freak of nature' deal, it's like living in a big, fancy dormitory, where there's no overprotective parents to treat her like a little child.

Tossing those thoughts in her head made it impossible to fall asleep again. After a few minutes she gave up and switched the nightlight on to pull out a warm blanket she saw in the wardrobe. Pulling it around her back she grabbed her stuffed dragon for comfort and left the room. Once she reached the kitchen she could've sworn she saw a dark figure move in the shadows, but she took a deep breath and told herself it's just her imagination.

She lingered at the doorstep, her hand sliding across the wall trying to find the light switch that she wasn't entirely sure where is located. Finally her fingers found a cool smooth square box.

Before she moved the switch she heard an accented voice behind her; "Keety?"

Startled, she hit the light switch at the same time as she turned around with a gasp and took on a resemblance of the position that she was taught during the one and only defensive class she ever took. A couple feet before her was the strange blue boy with the tail. Seeing that it was him didn't certainly make her feel any safer than she did when she didn't yet know who is behind her.

Not sure what to do, she held the defensive position, whereas the boy put his hands up in front of himself conciliatorily. "Woah, Keety, calm down… I didn't mean to scare you, I'm sorry. But calm down, okay?" he urged gently with his worried eyes cautiously on her.

The girl was still breathing a little heavily, but something about his voice was so soothing that the sense of danger fled like it was never there. She dropped her fists and relaxed her fingers. "S-sorry. I'm just-..."

"It's okay" he assured forcing a smile despite he was clearly suffering on the inside. "I understand. What are you doing here at 4 a.m.?"

"Um…" she still eyed him with caution. "I could, like, ask you the same question. You were sitting here, and in the dark. Totally not creepy."

He snickered sadly at her remark. "My night vision is better that other people's. And I came here because I skipped dinner and I'm tired of listening to my own stomach cuss me out for it."

A shadow of amusement on Kitty's face was swiftly replaced by an unmoved mask. "Okay then."

"What about you?" the boy didn't sound like prying so much as caring, at that struck her as a little odd. But sweet of him at the same time. "Can't sleep?"

Choosing to keep it simple, Kitty just nodded, her eyes drifting away from him for a moment. But they were back when she saw that he stepped closer, and she merely stopped herself from stepping back, but she saw that he's not even advancing towards her, but the plush toy she dropped when he startled her. He picked it up from the floor and gently examined for any dust or dirt before holding it out to her with an awkward, but sympathetic smirk.

"Nice dragon. Was it a gift from someone important?"

Pryde felt her cheeks flush a little. Good thing he didn't chose to make fun of her carrying around a plushie, not everybody respected her love for stuffed toys that she never wanted to grow out of. But this one was special. "From my dad" she answered low. "He won it for me at festival when I was little."

On the second thoughts, why is she even telling him that.

"Cool Did you name it?"

Kitty's cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink. "Yeah. Lockheed."

"Awesome. Would you and Lockheed want to sit down for some warm drink?"

Pryde's eyebrow twitched and she watched the boy walk around the counter to boil some water; she searched for any sign of him mocking her with those words, but she found none. She searched harder.

Her silence caused him to look back at her. He waved a brown tin box in the air for her to see. "We've got awesome chocolate. What do you say?"

Now that brought her back to the situation at hand. "Sure!" but then she realized her enthusiasm was out of place. "I- I mean, sure…"

The boy pulled out two mugs from the cupboard. He opened the tin box and poured two spoonfuls of the dark powder into them before proceeding to search for something in another cupboard.

Kitty realized she's still standing by the light switch, clutching the blanket and her stuffed dragon and surely looking scared. She took a deep breath and urged herself to sit by the freestanding counter just three feet away from the doorway. Looking back at the stranger boy she saw him drop marshmallows into the mugs and her eyes widened slightly. They continued to look like pennies as he he poured the hot water and some milk into mugs and placed them on the counter, cautious as he slid one across its surface to her.

"Here."

She blinked and looked down at the steaming liquid with a marshmallow peeking through the surface. The sweet, comforting scent filled her nose and made everything seem better all of sudden. "It's my favourite drink…" she whispered.

The boy just smirked faintly but didn't seem surprised, if anything he looked nostalgic. Now, from just across the counter, she was close enough to also see the pain in his unique, pale eyes. He seemed scary to her the other day, but right now she thought he looked really gentle and sad.

"So, um…" she picked up hesitantly as she focused her eyes on the mug she nervously cupped in her hands. "That girl in the infirmary… Are you two, like, um, tight?"

His eyes sparked at the words with both warmth and sadness a notch deeper than before. "Fallen. Ja, we… we are really tight" he whispered with a forced smirk that came and went so quickly she wouldn't missed it if she blinked.

She still didn't chose to take his word for it, a part of her still questioning his intentions and every single thing about him, but she nodded her head a bit.

"What happened to her?"

"She…" he seemed to re-consider telling her. A sigh indicated he chose not to. "She just had some trouble for the last two weeks and her body's has enough."

A vague answer like that didn't increase her trust towards him. Silence fell again.

She took a sip of the chocolate. It was delicious and comforting. Her parents used to always make it for her, just like this, whenever she was going through a rough time. It always worked wonders to sooth her fear. Maybe that's why she continued to sit here with the strange boy.

He seemed lost in his thoughts, staring blankly away from her. She took the opportunity to glide her eyes over him and dwell on what her life has come down to. Sipping chocolate with a fuzzy demonic elf at 4 in the morning in a huge mansion for superpowered teenagers.

So much for being normal.

xXx

+Following morning+

When Kurt woke up on a chair in the infirmary, he felt so exhausted and sore he couldn't think clearly. For a moment he thought that the last few days were only a bad dream, but the reality around him confirmed it was all but cruel truth.

He quickly identified what woke him up, that being Doc McCoy who went through printed data from the monitoring devices Fallen was attached to. The man's grey-blue eyes turned to him and he smiled apologetically. "Good morning, Kurt. I didn't mean to wake you up. However I probably should have, since you should be at school for almost an hour now."

Wagner grimaced, shifted in the chair and proceed to press on his eyes sockets and forehead to restore clarity of mind. He glanced at the clock, it was almost 9 a.m., he must have dozed off three, maybe four hours ago.

Earlier that morning, or if you prefer - late last night, after twenty minutes of hanging with him, Kitty returned to her room and he came back here, still unable to rest in his own room because every time he closed his eyes he had terrible images of Fallen's demise in front of his eyes.

Now the exhaustion and physical pain caused by extreme amounts of exercise yesterday mixed with sleep deprivation crept in. Every more caused some sort of sore. Heck, even breathing caused his chest to ache.

"Do I really have to?" he asked in a voice muffled with sleep and tiredness.

"Have to what?"

"Go to school…"

Hank smirked sympathetically. "I am not your supervisor, you should talk to the Professor about it."

Kurt exhaled. So the answer is no. Case not worth pushing.

His eyes moved to Fallen and he urged himself up to her side. For a moment he lingered over her palm, giving it a light squeeze that was met with no response. Her skin was still cold as if no blood was moving through her veins after all.

He pushed the thought aside and lingered another moment before stepping away from the bed and teleporting upstairs, to his room. He took a quick shower and was ready to teleport to school. Of course, he'd had already missed the first period, but he knew Professor won't cut him any slack if he misses the day altogether. He only wasn't grounded after yesterday because the man figured that his teacher at school will not let it slide anyway, so some kind of punishment will be assigned.

Of course dodgin that hardly crossed his mind, as his full focus was on trying to merely function like a person who's heart isn't being put through a shredder.

When he arrived at the class, he saw that Kitty found someone else to sit with. Probably due to his absence. He tried not to take it personally.

She continued to sit with the other person throughout the day. Cindi, if he remembered right. Just your average, C/B-grade student with typical teenage-girl interests. Kitty seemed to get along with her alright. Good, he's happy for her.

During the lunch break he sat off to the side at their usual table. With the group, but not really. He didn't speak up, and they seemed hesitant about bringing him into a conversation, much less starting a new one regarding his mood. They didn't know what's alright to say in this situation. And that's alright.

He just withheld his feelings until the school day ended, and then teleported straight back to the Institute from a bathroom stall. He immediately dropped his backpack and changed into a workout outfit - gray tank top and green sweatpants. He was just about to teleport to the underground, but he slowed down. On seconds thoughts he teleported to the room next door. Fallen's room.

The familiar scent and items heaved on his heart, but he took a deep breath and found what he came here for. A music player with earbud headphones wrapped around it. It was small and flat enough to feel and look like it's not even there when he slipped it into the pocket of his sweatpants.

Then he finally teleported to the undergrounds - the Danger Room's simulation control room to be exact. He could vaguely remember how the system works, but after a few minutes he managed to have it do what he wanted. The air shimmered in the simulation chamber below. A skeletal jungle of pipes, rings and trapezes was vowed from light before solidifying to look like it's always been there.

Kurt took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he pulled out and untangled the headphones. Ignoring the sore that was still very much alive in every muscle he could think of, he teleported down to the ground.

xXx

Kurt allowed himself to free-fall for a chilling moment before grabbing another pipe; the speed he was moving with made him swing around it and he easily stopped himself over it, propping atop of it for a second. He didn't wait to find the balance as he lunged towards a trapeze hanging three meters away, he swung on it to let go and jump off onto a podest ten feet below.

The music was loud in his ears, the little bud phones sat tight in his ears and except for having to adjust them sometimes, they withstood his extreme maneuvers.

From the podest, he jumped down, diving head first towards another pipe, he let go almost immediately after reaching it, merely changing his direction to grip another trapeze and linger there as he hung down with his knees hooked over its bar. He closed his eyes, rubbing pillows of his palms against eye sockets as he took a moment to catch his breath.

The earbuds' wire was tightly pulled on the nape of his neck, it went down along his back under the shirt, and around, connecting to the music player securely zipped up in his front pocket. He was grateful that Fallen decided to take these two items, of all things, along with her from the future. It was the perfect equipment to listen to music during workout.

If you could call this a workout. He didn't try to practice or learn anything, he just needed to escape.

The loud music was supposed to make it harder to hear his own thoughts. It was supposed to keep up the rush, the need for speed, but sometimes this music made his focus disappear so much that he almost forgot to grip on a pipe or look where he's jumping. Or maybe he's just overall distracted. But still, why did the damn thing turn on this particular band, out of the tons of artists he knew Fallen had on this little cursed device?

OOMPH! was a german band that Kurt himself introduced Fallen to, and the girl claimed them to be her favourite band for years now. Seems like she had their folder on a loop because it was the third song from their repertoire in line. And for the first time Kurt thought that he'd rather not speak German, because those lyrics were cruel and sharp on his heart. It was a high end mockery.

But he continued to listen, staying in motion to soften the impact the songs had on him;

If you only knew how cold your skin is when I touch you

If you only knew how much I am afraid of losing you

And once more I fall to my knees and beg

That you are not destined to lose this fight

He really did. Since Saturday it seemed like he's found his religion again. It's been a while since he tried to pray, but now he was praying constantly, if in back of his mind. And in the moment of quiet he put his hands together in a traditional prayer.

If you only knew how much I need all of this to end

All those nights I spent just looking at you

Knowing that you can't see me too

And one more time I hold your hand tight

Before you leave me forever

I don't know if I'll ever feel your warmth again

Don't let this moment be your last to feel

Just run away with me while your heart's still beating

He went faster, his movement gaining speed as he swung in between the complex construction spreading all over the Danger Room, wall to wall, top to bottom. Anger, sorrow and mix of everything else and the painfully real lyrics pushed him to jump further, take greater risk of falling.

He stopped on a swinging trapeze as 'RUN!' was shouted in his ears, fading into echo. He sat down on it, resting his head against his knee, feeling hot tears in corners of his eyes. View of the construction below him became blurred. He wiped the tears away with back of his hand.

He felt it's difficult to breathe and his throat was dry, he could feel hot sweat over his back and dripping down his forehead leaving an unpleasant dampness. He could feel his muscles pulsating from severe abuse of their stamina, but he also felt that it's not over yet. He's not ready to sit down and rest, not yet. There's too much stirring inside of him.

But before he continued, he went to the mp3 player's settings and and unlooped OOMPH!'s folder. This band had too easy of a way with his emotions.

*The lyrics are translation of Brich Aus! by OOMPH!

[[The end of EXTRA scenes, the below scenes are part of the main chapter]]

+28.09.1995, Thu+

It's been five days. Five days. And she still hasn't come around. At this point, honestly, it was logical thing to do to give up the hope. But hour after hour, day after day, whenever someone suggested he should prepare for the worse, he continued to say one thing: I won't give up.

For years people told him that he never knows when to give up, and maybe they were right. Maybe it was insane to keep believing in a happy ending. But he chose to extinguish his fears and insecurities with hope and persistence. He always have.

Even as days turned into nights and nights into days, whenever he had to get out there and do something like go to school or attend dinner, he had that stern look on his face. Like he was working up some immunity to the possibility of failure.

He chose to believe everything will be okay.

Everyone else just grimaced with grim compassion and pity, their own hopes draining as the week progressed.

Four days.

Nothing was changing. Not for good, not for bad. Deep down Xavier started to wonder how long should they keep her alive if this state continues. Patients in comas are eventually put to eternal rest. What if being in this state she does have some awareness and is in agony. What if letting go is the best they could to for her.

But Kurt would never allow such speculations to even be spoken out loud. Not with his new-found stubborness in belief she can pull through. It was admirable, but at the same time very painful to watch.

But on this particular day, something happened not long after all teenage residents of the Institute left for school. When Hank called him down to the infirmary giving off anxious vibes, he started to suspect the worst. Once they arrived, McCoy presented him with prints of her oxygen intake and blood pressure mapped on four diagrams.

Two looked just like for the last days, an image already embedded in his memory. The other two opposed with sine waves a lot more rickety and dense. His eyebrows twitched as he took the two sets and compared the exact data printed in upper right corners. "Are those from tonight?"

Hank grunted his agreement and fixed glasses that began to slide down his arched nose. "Seems like her state was- and continues to be- disrupted. Everything sped up compared to the last week. I don't know whether it's good or bad news, but I would put my bet on the first one."

There was a hint of glee in the man's voice towards the end. Charles looked up at him, still worried but at long last hope returned to him as well. "What are the readings now?"

"She's at half the usual heartbeat rate and almost half the usual oxygen intake. Both are steadily increasing. I've found an oxygen mask to help her keep up."

Xavier's eyes switched to look past his friend at the girl. A sigh of uncertainty-stained relief escaped his lips. "We might be finally going somewhere with this."

xXx

Two hours passed since Hank called Charles into the infirmary. Two hours fourteen minutes to be exact. He kept track of time and the girl's progress to make sure she's proceeding nice and steady. Much to his relief, she was.

Xavier - who left precisely twenty-seven minutes ago - returned from Cerebro.

"Did you learn anything?" Hank asked looking over to the other man.

"Hm" Professor's fingertips connected in front of his face. "It appears her mind is in quite a hectic frenzy, which could be a good thing. But I didn't seem able to penetrate it deep enough to try and make conscious contact with her."

"And that is also a good thing, or a bad one?"

"I'm afraid it's impossible to tell. I've never dealt with a mind in this particular state, I have nothing to base my conclusions off."

"I see."

They both fell silent for a lingering moment, just looking at the girl. She was still pale, but it seemed like the least bit of color returned to her skin.

"Kurt wanted to be informed immediately if anything changed" Hank stated in a low voice.

"Not yet. I'm worried she might bounce back and get worse then before."

"Is there a 'worse than before'?" McCoy turned to look at him.

Xavier's eyes met his own and held his gaze intensely. Realization of what the 'worse' he was speaking of was sent little shivers down Hank's back.

xXxXxXx

"Logan."

The man turned his head to look at the woman. Usually he wouldn't bother, but she was so easy on the eyes. "What is it, 'Ro?"

Monroe fixed her white hair behind her ear as she looked back into the hall. "Have you seen Charles?"

"McCoy fetched him a while ago. A long while."

"What for?" the woman asked with slight concern.

The man returned to looking at the News, shrugging his broad shoulder slightly. "They're in the infirmary. Not my place to pry."

"Infirmary…" she echoed low. She could bet her arm it must be related to Fallen then. The girl's sudden coma caused a lot of commotion last weekend, and since then everyone were checking on her now and then. No one said it out loud but everyone probably wondered whether her demise is inevitably coming.

Maybe it came. Or maybe she got better. Whatever it was, she headed to the infirmary.

"Ororo. I'm glad you're here" Xavier smiled at her nervously the moment she entered.

Her eyes traveled past the two man at the girl. She was still unconscious, but at the same time still alive, so it was difficult to tell if anything's changed. "What's happening?"

It was Hank who stepped forward and regarded her with warm eyes. "I'm glad you ask."

xXxXxXx

As if from far and deep within this void she could hear muffled voices, coming and going like waves washing the shore of her senses. She tried to urge herself to drift towards them, and the closer she was, the more she could feel of other stimulus; the lukewarm temperature, the clean scent, the facture of material she was covered with. The feeling began to slightly return to her numb limbs, and even as she couldn't force them to move yet, she could at least feel she has any.

After an undefined time of floating in the sensation, she became aware of her face. After another minute or so she urged her eyelids to part, but all she saw was darkness. She closed them again.

With every moment she was growing more and more aware of existing, of being herself. She tried to open her eyes again. From within the darkness she started to make out faint light. In the light she started to make out darker, moving shapes. The light was blinding. She shut her eyes closed again for a moment. When she opened them again and waited, the shapes began to clarify slowly, she could see they're people. Who or even how many, she couldn't tell.

She closed her eyes again and tried to remember what happened. The thing she remembered was was… Tiles. A shower cabin. Yes, she was taking a shower to cool down, but the nausea started to darken her vision. She tried to get out, grab a towel and sit down, wait it out. If she ever made it out of the shower was something she couldn't recall.

And whether she did or not, she had a feeling that a lot happened since then. She had some confusing recollection of the after events, a cacophony of intense sensations. But she couldn't put her finger on a single happening that could be named with words. It was just like entering the heart of chaos.

But now she wasn't in a shower or bathroom now. There was something relatively soft below her. A mattress. She must be on a bed. The characteristic scent in the air made her think of a hospital.

She opened her eyes one more time, the misshaped shadows clarified but the light was still a little too much. She closed her eyes again and tried to focus on her body, full awareness rushing back to her. She shakily lifted herself up on one elbow to sit up. "H-..." her voice was husky, her throat so dry it could as well be cracking like a dried piece of meat. For all she knew it was. "How-..."

"Try not to talk just yet" someone said putting his hand on her back to help her sit. She didn't recognize this voice. "Here."

She could feel cool glass gently press against her lower lip. Water. Her eyes parted ever so slightly for a moment, but then she lifted her hand to guide the man's hand and tilt the glass. Swallowing water hurt a little, but she couldn't stop from gulping down all of it like it was a nectar of life.

Only then she finally managed to open her eyes for more than three seconds. Someone shifted the bright light away, its killer rays no longer clawed on her irises and she was able to see with reasonable clarity now.

Four faces were looking back at her. One of which she didn't recognize. Three she almost didn't expect to see ever again. A part of her was surprised that ever seeing them was anything other than a dream. A part of her would always be surprised.

But Wolverine, Storm and Professor Xavier were watching her revival with gentle expressions, relief almost written across their foreheads. She chuckled awkwardly, her voice coming out hoarse, but better now that she had some water. "I guess I gave you a scare, huh?"

Their expressions said it all.

"I would recommend not doing that again, that's for certain" Xavier smiled at her.

"Yeah, you better" Logan stated and she could see a hint of a smirk on his face just before he fully turned around to leave.

She shifted my eyes to the man she didn't recognize. He had remarkably wide shoulders, gentle blue-grey eyes behind small reading glasses perched on his crooked nose, graying dark hair brushed back almost neatly and cut short around the sides. There was something familiar in his wide, square face and thin lips curved in a warm smile.

"Are you…" she started hesitantly.

"Hank McCoy" he responded. It was the voice she didn't recognize before. "I'm glad to see you conscious."

The statement breathed a little more awareness into her. "How long was I out?"

At that everyone seemed to take the glee down a notch. It was Storm who approached the bed and seated herself on the edge of it. "It was five whole days, Fallen" she said gently.

And Fallen was glad she did. The words collided in her head like canonballs even with a gentle delivery. Five days? She did feel like a lot of time has passed from what she last remembers, but she would bet on a dozen minutes, maybe a few hours. Maybe. But five days?

"Shit."

"Fallen" the Professor reprimanded half-heartedly.

"I'm sorry, but-" she cut off, her mouth parted in surprise. "Five days…" she whispered under her breath and then asked aloud; "Wait, where's Kurt? Does he know that I'm awake?"

"No, not yet" Ororo said.

Charles chimed in. "He's at school. I was going to inform him of your recovery once we make sure that- well" his face grew more solemn, "that you do, in fact, recover."

"Good. Don't tell him" Fallen stated exhaling. With corner of her eye she could see looks of curious surprise. "I'll do it myself."

"Alright, but for now you need to rest" Ororo put both her hands on the girl's shoulders and gently urged her to lay back down. "Kurt won't be home for another two hours and you've been through a lot. Lay back down, please."

The brunette sighed with resignation but let the woman help her back down onto the pillow. Her own muscles were too weak to handle her own weight like that.

"You should also eat something solid" the woman continued. "What do you think, you two?" she looked at the two men overseeing the girl's state for those couple past days.

Hank gave her a small nod and smiled at the girl.

xXx

"Am I still in danger of bouncing back into coma?" Fallen asked as she pressed a cotton pad against her inner elbow where Doc McCoy - who volunteered to examine her - punctured her for a blood sample.

"So far all the tests results show you are proceeding to recover at a quick rate. I doubt there's a chance of the same issue reoccurring, your body already dealt with it, permanently if I do say so myself" the man's voice had a positive ring to the matter of fact tone. "But I do recommend that you do not put much stress on your body for some time. Rest for a few days and we'll see how you feel."

"We?" she repeated. "Are you planning to stay, Doctor?"

The man put down the vial with her blood sample and took a moment before looking over his shoulder at her. "Maybe for a few more days. Then I need to return to my own work and studies."

"I see."

"Although" he spoke up again returning to her with another vial. "Just like I told your Professor, I do consider moving to Bayville in about a year or so."

"Mhm" she took the vial and looked down at it. "What am I supposed to do with this one?"

The man smirked sympathetically and nodded his head behind her.

She looked over her shoulder to see bathroom door. "...Oh."

xXx

"HOLLY HECK!" Forge exclaimed as he stormed into the infirmary and saw Fallen sitting on the edge of the bed. "You're actually alive!"

Before the girl could come up with a smartass response, the young man was in front of her, basically suffocating her against his chest.

"Easy there, my friend, she's vulnerable."

"F'm noft" the girl said but Silvercloud's embrace muffled her voice.

He let go, stopping with arms on her shoulders. His dark brown eyes examined every detail of her face like he thought something could be missing. Then his face brightened in a grin and he patted her on the back, not as gently as Hank would recommend. "Gal, I have no words."

"I have one for you" she looked up and smiled. "Thanks."

"Huh?"

"I feel like I didn't say it loud and clear enough when you brought us here. Thanks for doing it for us."

Forge's face softened in a smile. "Hey, I owed Kurt one. BIG one. And I almost got you dead in the process, so…"

"Oh, don't mention it" she waved her hand comically, but then the look on her face became more genuine. "I will be okay after all. So… thank you, Jona."

Forge's brows twitched a bit at the name. Hardly anyone used his real name, but somehow it didn't sound half bad when said by someone he genuinely wanted to consider a friend. He smiled a bit and gestured towards the door.

"I'm heading to the kitchen. Victory meal? What do you want? Name it. I don't mean to brag, but I'm a great cook."

"Something easy on the stomach, please. I don't know if my body's ready to take anything but."

"Gotcha" he snapped his fingers and headed to the door. "Back in forty-five."

xXx

After a good meal, about a gallon of mineral water and trying to walk out her sore muscles by stumbling around the infirmary for an hour - Fallen felt her strength flowing right back. It would sure take at least a few days to be truly back to her own self, but she felt good enough to insist on leaving the infirmary.

"You need to stay under medical supervision. At least for a few days" Xavier said after he'd returned to them.

"Fine. Can I at least leave for long enough to greet Kurt and say hi to Scott and Jean? After five days of playing Sleeping Beauty I owe them that much."

The man inhaled deeply, but as he exhaled his face softened. "Alright. But then you're to return to the infirmary."

"I will, Professor. Promise."

She appreciated the care. Even if she hated to be protected and schooled, she knew that five days of what she now learned was an extremely deep coma was definitely some solid ground to decide she needs to be observed.

But she at least got a 'surprise welcoming' pass, and that was enough for now. She spent two hours anticipating the moment when she can ease Kurt's concern for her. Especially after during the meal Forge told her how much Kurt was rooting and fearing for her the entire time.

She glanced at the clock. They should be back anytime now.

Smiling faintly she got up. Her legs still felt weak, but not weak enough to threaten to fail her. She just took her time and kept close to walls as she proceeded out of the infirmary and to the elevator.

xXxXxXx

Kitty peeked at everyone from her seat by the backdoor of the red Cadillac. Over the last week she got kind of accustomed to the three of them. Kurt still raised her concerns and she kept on a fair distance from him, but then again in the current situation he didn't even seem like he wants to be approached. Scott was kind of stiff, but kind of funny too, in a dorky way. Handsome, also in a little dorky way with the way he was dressing. Jean was great, even too good, and that Kitty started to regard as a bit of her flaw. Or maybe it was just jealousy.

Either way she felt a little bit less scared and alone. Even her first training that was supposed to take place this weekend didn't sound like such a terrible thing. Or maybe it's because she spent the last week making her mind up about being strong and confident.

And accepting the fact that she will probably fail the training in any and all ways there are.

You can't win everything, I guess.

Scott pulled up the car in front of the main door and let everyone out before driving off towards the garage. Kurt was first up the stairs and held the glass door for her and Jean. Kitty kept her head low as she passed him, muttering a low 'thanks'. A part of her still wondered if maybe he's just charming his way for a reason. Hot chocolate with marshmallows and holding door for her, all gentleman-like and for what. She gave him little to no reason to be nice to her anyway.

"Kitty, would you like to come and see the training like Scott mentioned on the way?" Jean asked as they entered the main hall. "You'll be less nervous if you know what you're in for."

"Um, yeah, like, totally" she answered uncertain. "I'd rather know."

"Alright. Kurt, you're training with us today, right?" Grey asked bringing the boy's attention back from whatever darkness lurked in his mind.

"...Ja, sure. But first I want to check on-"

"Kurt."

He froze for a second before turning to look up the staircase. Kitty followed his gaze. There was a girl about their age, wearing grey sweatpants and a t-shirt, her brown hair in a messy bun at the nape of her neck. She recognized her almost immediately - it was the one she saw unconscious. The girl Kurt seemed to mourn for from her day one.

"I heard you missed me" she said, a warm but mischievous smirk playing on her lips as she gazed at the german.

Before Kitty had any more time to interpret the situation, Wagner disappeared from her side leaving behind a sulfur smell. Kitty knew he can teleport and she saw it from a distance, but the smell freaked her out.

Before she acted on it though, she saw him reappear up the stairs, right beside the back-from-the-almost-dead girl, his arms instantly wrapping her in a right embrace. Her smile turned into something deeper, tender but intense just before she let her face disappear into the side of the blue boy's neck, her arms responding to the embrace with equal strength.

"Fallen…!" she just heard him gasp before he pulled back to look her in the eye. "You're okay…"

"I am. I am now."

There was something so warm about the way they looked at each other. And Kurt finally smiled, all grim washed away from his eyes. He wasn't playing saying they were tight. Kitty suddenly realized she was just biased towards the boy all along.

With corner of her eye Kitty noticed Jean looking at her. When she turned to face her, the redhead had a knowing smirk on her face. Like she meant to say something along the lines, 'I knew you'd figure that out sooner or later'.

She heard Jean's voice in her head; *I did.*

Kitty's lips twitched in an uncontrolled smile as she moved her eyes back to the couple up the stairs. Maybe she does still need to re-evaluate her values in life, but she felt like she's beginning to see the right way to do it.

Next time on X-Men: Revolution...

It turns out that what happened to me has an interesting side effect that is likely to affect me for the rest of my life. Now I was supposed to spend a few days recovering, but I was glad everything's stable at last and there's no risk of another throwback. Now it was time to continue onto these first steps of journey into X-Men: Evolution's storyline, and I knew it's about time a very special person discovers the curse of her powers. This weekend however, wasn't meant to be a happy family reunion, but a horror experience for the terrified goth girl from Mississippi who will soon find out that nearly her entire life was a manipulative lie. Knowing how the recrutation was originally a dramatic failure Kurt attempts to help his adopted sister before anybody gets hurt. But is interfering a good idea to begin with? And we can't forget that a certain, clever yet evil shapeshifter is involved in chasing down after this pallid rioter.

Look forward to episode 3: "Rogue"