Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you everyone for reading! Your comments have been really helpful! (and sorry if I haven't yet replied, reaalllyy bad at that lol). This chapter's more of a filler to kind of explain... Please enjoy! :)

She felt lonely now that the professor had left. He said he had to return to the real world...That this wasn’t the real world. He called this purgatory, just like Phoenix had named it. What was purgatory again?

‘The dimension that lies parallel to the living and the condemned.

The gate-way’ It was her mind, her purgatory. Did that mean she was purgatory?

Unlike before, her head was empty, clean. Marie had spent an infinite amount of time sweeping her mind, removing anyone and everyone’s lingering essence. First to go was the boy, the one she had kissed, with his dirty blonde hair and charming smile. It had been a shock when his breath filled her lungs, but was not returned back to him. Like a kiss of death.
Second was a man, the man that had given the girl her first ride at the beginning of her travels. And followed all the other men that had tried to take from her more than she was willing to give. Like rats, they were vermin. Twisted humans who would soon be condemned, just as they were to live on this earth.

Next was a child, an accident she had made in a park; the child had fallen from a swing and she thought it was ok, to help, to soothe her. To get up from the worn bench and rub the child shoulder, as she searched for his mother. But the child did not understand danger and had grabbed her cheek. Marie had cried for that one, cried like a child.

Then was Magneto, an intelligent and ambitious man, pillard on the foundation of pain and rage and sacrifice, for the greater good. He had been almost impossible for her to cleanse...so much hate, too much rage. She had managed.

 After, she broke the dam and in a flood, she wiped all the people she had fought against and along side with. It was like a sea, had she killed them her ledger would have been dripping red.

Last was him. Wolverine. Logan. Half animal, half man. He had been the most cooperative. His human was scarred but his animal...serenity was the gift he had given her. He was infact the one that had helped her to strengthen her walls and build the pillars. Whether he knew it or not, he was a one man army, condemned to live, protect, fight and lose...Lose to death and lose to love. She had stood toe to paw as he faded. No matter how many times he touched her, she knew…

He would never pass through Purgatory.





Logan hadn’t left Rogue’s side, she had been comatose for five days. And in those five days, she hadn’t responded, not a single twitch of muscle, not a single flicker beneath her lashes. If Logan hadn’t been able to hear the rhythm of her heart beat or the blood being pumped through her body and the unnatural growth of the silky black hair on her head; he would have thought she was dead.

Slowly he had been losing his mind. When the professor had woken from his connection with Rogue, he’d said nothing, just wheeled out of the room with that kid-Kitty-trailing after him. Ororo had already left, to substitute one of the professor’s classes. And Ice-brat had paced, muttering about the Phoenix. What happened? What had the professor found?

 From then, Xavier had refused for any of the x-men to look for Jean. Ororo had argued, saying that the word could be at risk and blah. But the weather-which had not seen what he had. If they aggravated the goddess in any way, she may just wipe the entire earth. Not a city, the earth. They had already lost Scott. Everyone had almost died on Alcatraz and now they were back to square one. Deep down, Xavier wished they had killed her at Alcatraz, when they had the chance, but his righteous attitude had prevented him from entertaining the idea. He knew he would come to regret it.

But not all hope was lost. Somewhere in Rogue- no, Marie’s mind, he had found a glimmer a sign. A clue to what connected Jean to Marie. They had met before, whether Jean had been aware or not Xavier did not know. But the Phoenix new, and Marie was remembering. Xavier knew that that, and that reason alone, was why she hadn’t done anything yet. The Phoenix was waiting.


 Kitty walked down the hallway as she exited class. Since the last time, her nerves had calmed. Surprising as it was, once she had gone back to her classes and routine of working until three in the morning, she had forgotten and worried less about her comatose friend. But during that time, she’d had a constant nagging feeling in the back of her mind. The sensation became more and more prominent with each hour and the days rolled by like years.

Of her own accord she’d began searching through Rogue’s belongings as to clue of the girls fractured memories. It had driven her crazy. First she had slowly built to become sleep deprived over the guilt of “stealing” her best-friend’s boyfriend and now, yet again, she lacked sleep for the same woman. If Kitty had learned anything, she definitely learned her friend was like a magnet. Attracting anyone that crosses her path to become entangled in this hectic life.
It’s not everyday you find your friend to have a dark past and turn out to be the goddess of death and what have you, with a super villain (that was originally the good guy) after them. This was like something out of a freaking comic book! Kitty looked out the window from where she sat, occasionally dipping in and out of the conversations of passers by. The gossip still hadn’t died.

Everyone was talking about the whole Jean/Logan/Rogue fiasco. Kitty chuckled at the latest story these kids had managed to conspire. They’d said Logan was in love with both but chose Rogue over Jean and that Jean had lost it. She sighed, if only things were that simple, “But let ‘em believe it. No need for more chaos.” She muttered, unaware of the professor wheeling to a stop beside her.

“You’re quite right, my dear.”

She spun round in surprise, “Professor!”

“I’m sorry to have startled you.”

Kitty smiled back politely, “It’s ok. How’s Rogue?”

 “It seems she is fine, just...recovering from a great ordeal.” He replied, careful of what he disclosed.

“You mean the memories.” Her question was more of a statement, and her voice lowered considerably.

 The professor frown in something almost akin to shock, “May I ask how you know about that?”

Kitty hesitated, but then after a second thought shrugged, like keeping this a secret would do any good now, “She used to have nightmares, Talked in her sleep a lot too. They were never big-big, and whenever she woke up she couldn’t remember. So I thought nothing of it.” Kitty’s breathing hitched as tears welled in her eyes. Xavier handed her his handkerchief and nodded for her to continue, “But then she started drawing. The pictures looked like abstracts at first, like blobs, but when I looked hard-like really hard-I could see shadows and- I asked Jubilee, since you know- and she told me what she thought and to ask Jean. I kinda went through her records... There was also that time that bobby tried to touch her hand and hug her but she freaked! I didn’t want her to get hurt. She’s already afraid of her skin...I didn’t want to tell her.” Kitty looked down at the now tear-soaked hanky, “Professor what actually happened?” she asked, the broken teenager needed the rest of the story.

“Shadowcat, I believe you should ask her yourself. She will be awake soon. But as to this situation with the Phoenix and considering you are a member of this team, I will tell you. The phoenix is waiting for Rogue to wake up. Stay on guard.” Xavier advised as he wheeled away. He had business to take care of.

Kitty’s eye’s widened at the news as scrambled from her position to go find Jubilee. Rogue was awake!

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