"Kurt?"

Voices in the darkness… Familiar…

"Hey… Kurt? Come on, buddy, wake up…"

Pain. That's what he first registered. His body, especially his head, ached like no tomorrow. He moaned, curling up. He was in a bed, he discovered, and drew the covers over his head, trying to fight the noises. A warm hand was on his, resisting him.

"Easy, Kurt… Easy… Don't hide…"

Blearily, he forced his eyes open. The light hurt him and he winced, ducking his head as the light blasted daggers into his skull. There was a soft 'click' and the light vanished. Kurt winced as he opened his eyes again, looking around, ignoring the fading pains. He was in the hospital wing… He'd know that sterile smell anywhere. Another smell invaded his nose and he turned to see Scott smiling at him. "Good morning… You had us so worried…"

Kurt stared, his jaw slack. "Scott… Your… Your eyes!"

Scott smiled and gently fingered a bandage on his head, nodding. "Yeah… Uh, Jean?" Kurt looked behind Scott to see Jean standing near-by. "Can I tell him?" Jean nodded and Scott sat down in a nearby chair. "Kurt, how far back do you remember?"

Kurt thought this one over hard. He… remembered playing with Bobby… He remembered getting ready to go to the beach… He…

The blue tail, hanging limp over the side of the bed, went stiff. "The professor?"

Scott sighed. "He's dead, Kurt."

"Ja…" the teleporter muttered. "I know…" He had… He had gone out… Out to dinner… Or had he stayed home? No, he had stayed home… Gone to the Danger Room to blow off some steam… "We went to the Danger Room, Scott?" he asked, hesitantly. Why couldn't he remember?

Scott nodded, saying, "Yeah, we did. You were so worked up… And I might as well be honest, so was I… We set the level a little higher than normal, trained ourselves to the point of exhaustion, but we wouldn't quit. We were on the last section when I tripped and one of the robots smashed the side of my head. My visor flew off and I blasted you." Scott rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "You didn't wake up for a long time, Kurt… We were all so scared…"

"What?" Kurt asked, confused. He looked down at himself, expecting a bandage, but saw nothing. He reached for his head and felt the cloth wrapped around his skull. He prodded it, curiously, and yelped in pain.

Scott pushed his hand away from it. "No… Don't touch it… You slammed into one of the robots and well… You didn't wake for about two months, Kurt. I was so worried that I had…" He was silent but then suddenly leaned over and gave the blue elf a tight, friendly hug. "But Jean says you'll be fine. That headache of yours will go away in about a day or two."

Kurt nodded, a bit bewildered by all this. "But… your eyes…" he said, pointing.

The teen leader smiled. "Well, when the robot hit it, it must have fixed whatever happened to me during that plane crash. I have as much control over now as you do your teleporting."

The elf nodded, accepting, and then moaned, "My head hurts… So BADLY!" He then winced as his own voice made his eyes water from the pain.

Scott pushed him down to the bed, saying, "You should rest, Kurt… Just a few more days and then you can get up and about, all right?"

Kurt nodded, not questioning, and rolled over, snuggling under the blankets.

Scott's smile faded as Kurt fell asleep. He reached up and took off his 'bandage', walking out of the room, Jean close behind. They shut the door behind them, and then looked in at Kurt through the glass. Softly, Scott asked, "Did he buy it?"

Jean nodded, taking her fingers down from her temples. "Yeah… He did." She smiled bitterly. "He'll believe anything you say, Scott. You're his 'best friend'." She finger-quoted and Scott winced.

"Yeah… Was that before or after he tried to eat me?" They were silent for a while, and he murmured, "You've told everyone else?"

Jean nodded. "I did. I gave them the same story you gave him." Again, silent fell between them as they stared at the sleeping elf, looking so cute and innocent cuddled in the blankets, his tail twitching as he slept. It was hard to imagine that he'd been out for blood only a few hours beforehand.

Jean suddenly put her hand to her forehead, sighing. Scott gently put a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

She nodded, saying, "It… When I had to erase those memories… Scott… The things he did…" She shook, huddling against Scott, who held her. "It's…" She gave a weak chuckle. "I wish someone could erase my mind!"

Scott nodded. "I know…" he muttered. "I know…" He clearly remembered that… thing he had fought after Jean had used Kurt's ability to put him back to normal… The Nightcrawler. He shuddered. He had never seen anything so evil and primal and murderous in his life.

After a while, Scott asked the main question. "Will his memory ever come back? He still has that … ability. If he remembers… He might go back to those ways…"

The psychic sighed a little, admitting, "I don't know, Scott. I removed everything I could, but there were some… They… They were just too deeply embedded in emotions and sensations. I couldn't reach them without hurting him." She looked through the glass. "I think he'll be okay, though… Those ones I missed… They're so deep… I don't think he'll ever remember them." She gave Scott a smile. "I think things are going to be all right…"

Scott smiled and gently held her as they watched Kurt sleeping.

Kurt woke later that day. After downing as many aspirins that Jean allowed him too, he went upstairs, wanting breakfast. He was starving! He met everyone in the kitchen, who greeted him, asking if he was okay and how his head was. Kurt waved them down, grinning, "I know you all want my autograph, but it will have to wait until after I've had my breakfast." The students laughed and teased him, but did as he asked, letting him eat some cereal in peace. He looked up in surprise when an orange-haired teenager came in, yawning. "Pyro?" Kurt questioned, confused.

John jerked at his code-name, saw Kurt and nearly bolted, but Remy was suddenly behind him, a hand on his shoulder, saying smoothly, "Scott must have forgotten to tell you, but we've joined the X-Men. Colossus too. Magneto took off with Sabertooth and we've not seen them since."

Kurt saw the other students nod, and he relaxed, finishing his breakfast. "Oh, okay."

He didn't notice how relieved everyone looked.

That night, as a bit of celebration, Scott took Kurt out to dinner and a movie. Kurt enjoyed himself thoroughly while Scott filled him in on what he had missed. The damage in the main hall, Scott said, had been caused when Berzerker along with Iceman and Cannonball had decided to play non-powers tag. But obviously, it hadn't stayed non-powers for very long. A stray blast of electricity had hit Scott, who had still been learning his new control, and he had blasted a hole clean into the kitchen dining area. Of course, John had seen the fun and joined in, which explained all those scorch marks on the carpet.

Kurt laughed along with Scott as they went to the theater, lamenting, "Man, I wish I could have been there! Sounds like it was a blast!"

Scott smiled at Kurt, who ran up ahead, his smile becoming tight. "Oh yeah. It was… unforgettable." Idly, he rubbed his jaw, where the Nightcrawler had punched him before and he sighed. But then Kurt was waving to him and he brushed it off as rubbing his chin as he came over, paying for the tickets.

The theater turned out to be more crowed than they had thought, and ended up not sitting next to each other. Kurt playfully promised to be good, double-checked his watch, and then told Scott he'd meet him at the car after the movie had finished if he couldn't find him in the after-movie flood of people. A couple minutes into the film, Kurt slipped out and went to the concession stand, getting a hot dog. He never did like crowds, but this was Scott's treat, so he'd enjoy himself. He went back down the corridor to the movie, but then yelped in surprise as he was suddenly pulled into a side passage, near to the employee entrance.

Kurt shook himself free and glared at Gambit, who was smiling charmingly at him. Kurt finished his mouthful and then hissed angrily, "What is with you?! You nearly gave me a heart attack! You want to talk to me, talk like a normal person and don't yank me into a corridor!"

Remy grinned and leaned back against the wall, smirking. "A hot dog? A bit odd for your taste, isn't it?"

Kurt considered leaving, but Remy seemed like he had a secret and Kurt had to admit he was curious. "What do you mean 'odd'?"

"Well…" Remy paused, looking at Kurt more closely. He then grinned hugely, asking, "You don't remember, do you?"

"What are you talking about?!" Kurt asked, getting annoyed.

Remy came closer to him, saying softly, "You don't remember our raids? How you'd take care of the guards, and I'd clean out?"

Kurt backed up, away from him, saying firmly, "I don't steal!"

"No, you don't…" Remy nodded, his eyes bright. "I stole and you'd have dinner."

"Keep your story straight." Kurt tried to joke, to smile, but he found it difficult. Remy was unsettling him to say the least. "You just said I took care of the guards."

"Yep, and had dinner at the same time."

Remy's eyes were glowing a soft blood red, and Kurt felt a little nervous at the expression on the Cajun's face. "What?" he asked quietly.

The Cajun smiled at him, saying softly, "Oh, we would have fun… You didn't always get a good meal though. There just weren't enough guards… You were always hungry afterwards…"

"S-Stop that!" Kurt said sharply, feeling very, very sick all of a sudden, like he was going to puke. "You're sick and insane!" He turned from Gambit and started walking, muttering to himself about how weird and stupid the Cajun was.

"Don't you remember the night we crashed?" Remy asked softly.

Crash…

Kurt froze and his eyes went wide as images suddenly flooded his mind, disjointed, confused… Motorcycle-riding with Remy-cold-blood on his lip-sliding-falling-old car-cold-warmth-warm thing in his mouth…

Kurt turned slowly, looking back at Remy, odd thoughts drifting through his confused head, like they were missing pieces…

Remy smiled triumphantly. "Ahh… That rusty old memory of yours working again, Bleu?"

Why was that nick-name familiar? He had been called that before… Hadn't he?

He was confused now. It was like he was hearing bits of a story he knew, but he had forgotten the rest. And he wanted to know the rest!

He stepped forwards to Gambit, but the thief slipped aside, saying over his shoulder, "We'll talk later if you want… Go get back to your movie… It's going to start getting good."

Kurt watched him go, bewildered, confused and frustrated. What the heck had all that been about?

A little hesitantly, Kurt walked back down the hall to the movie, taking his seat and quietly eating his hot dog. What did Remy mean, 'not to his taste'? The hot dog tasted fine. He looked at it. It was obviously missing a few bites, but there was no problem with it.

He sighed and finished it quickly, then settled down, watching the film without his previous enthusiasm. He tried to brush off what Gambit had said, but it bugged him. What had he been talking about?!

After the movie had ended, Kurt managed to find Scott out in the parking lot. Scott was sitting on the hood of the car, rubbing his hand, like it hurt him. Curious, Kurt came forwards, asking, "Is that where the robot hit you?"

"What?" Scott asked, confused, turning to him.

Kurt gently took Scott's hand, showing him the red, rashy-looking spot. "Did you get that when the robot threw you?" Kurt noticed Scott's hand was tense, like it was in pain. He let go immediately, saying, "I didn't mean to do that, Scott! Sorry! I would never hurt you!"

Scott gave him a very strange look, but then smiled, saying, "Yeah, it is from the robot. I hit the wall and the stuff Jean put on it to make it better gave me a rash. Have the same thing on my foot too."

"Ouch…" Kurt said sympathetically as he climbed into the car. He grinned, saying, "So are we going or what?" Scott smiled, got in the car and they drove home. He parked in the garage and they both walked inside. Kurt had been told not to 'port until his body was up to it, which was until Jean told him otherwise and he obeyed.

They went to bed soon after, as it was about 11 PM and Kurt stayed up, unable to sleep, thinking still about what the Cajun had said. It was driving him crazy.

There was a thump at his balcony, which was open, and Kurt snapped his head to see Todd standing there, leaning against the doorframe. Kurt sneered at him, asking, "What do you want, Toad?"

The other mutant smiled, grinning, "You know what I want. Something small… And squirmy… And noisy…"

Kurt gave him a blank stare.

"And one for me too."

Kurt turned to see Remy standing at his doorway, smirking again. The elf felt his anger grow. "What are you two talking about?" he asked heatedly. "I have NOTHING for you so go away and leave me alone!"

He was about to 'port when Todd, at a nod from Remy, said, "Oh, and did I ever thank you for giving me Duncan?"

Kurt froze. What?

Todd smiling, showing his yellow teeth. "Oh, I did, didn't I? That night I met you outside of that Chinese buffet place! You had had two yourself that night! Your teeth were all bloody." He grinned.

Kurt, so confused, looked at Remy, who grinned as he came in, shutting the door behind him.

"You gave me my first one in that alley after you found me following you. You fed him to me and it was great."

Kurt stood up, shaking now. Something was wrong here… They were telling him more of the story… But WHAT story in the world had him mixed up with smelly, slimy Toad and the thieving Cajun?

"You… You just leave me alone!" Kurt shouted, 'porting.

The smoke cleared slowly, and Gambit turned on the fan to help it disperse. Todd hopped into the room, looking at the now empty bed. "You think he'll remember?"

"Maybe…" Gambit shrugged. "That redhead certainly did a number on him. I don't know if he remembers any of it at all. But then again, every time it's mentioned, he freaks, so there might be something buried in there. We'll just have to dig it up, and then the fun will be able to continue."

Todd smiled, his eyes glinting palely in the darkness while Remy's burned like fire.

On the roof, Kurt paced back and forth furiously, holding his head. What the heck was going on?! Why were those two talking to him? What had Remy meant, 'feeding him' and what was with that blood Toad had talked about? Kurt growled in frustration. It was like having only a handful of puzzle pieces and trying to find the rest from other people. It was tiring and frustrating and it was driving Kurt crazy!

He paced for about an hour until the cold drove him back inside. He 'ported into the hallway and hesitantly opened his door. They were gone. He let out the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and went in, shutting the door behind him.

Finally! Some peace! But it was not to last.

Right there, sitting innocently on his pillow, was a small, cloth object. Curiosity mixed with dread filled Kurt as he took it and turned on his desk lamp, not trusting his night vision to be telling the truth. But even under the harsh, artificial light, the object remained the same. A football jockey vest, with Duncan's number on the back, but tiny…

Kurt smiled and then chuckled as he watched the three-inch high jocks struggle to walk through the thick carpet. Todd stood by the door, smiling widely, but not approaching just yet.

Kurt smiled at them, revealing his fangs. Using his tail, he gathered them up and dropped them down to be with Duncan. Kurt then sat back on his haunches, smiling down at his catch. He then purred out, "Well, well, Duncan. Now who's the dominant species?"

He then felt a thrill of warning caution and glanced at the bed. But he needn't worry; Jean was long gone in Dreamland.

He then looked back down and slowly began to lean down until he could almost touch them and said softly, "How do you like to be the one in danger for once, Mr. Strong Jock?"

Kurt yelped as he dropped the bit of cloth, recoiling from it as if it were a viper or a venomous spider.

Where the hell had THAT thought some from?!

He whimpered as he stared at the bit of cloth, feeling so confused. That had been another bit of the puzzle. But… what did it all mean?!

He shivered, closing his eyes as he 'ported, leaving his cloud of smoke behind.

Remy waited until Kurt had gone to go into the room and retrieve the dropped cloth. He went to the balcony, grinning at Todd, who was clinging to the railing. He gave him the vest, saying, "Nice work… He completely flipped out."

Todd took back his prize, saying softly, "I knew it was a good idea to keep this…" He looked back up at Remy. "Soon, you think?"

Remy looked back into the room, smiling. "Soon…"

FIN?