DISCLAIMER: I, LeDiz, do not own X-men Evolution, X-men, Kurt Wagner or any of the characters portrayed in this chapter, or the preceding chapters, with the exception of Sarah Hayle, Daniel Kamiya, Counsellor Ventile, Antionette Bounty-hunter and the village boys. The characters Astrid and Johannes are the copyright of the author Internutter. All other characters are the property of Marvel and Warner Brothers and I, Lediz, claim no right to them.

DISCLAIMER: Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side!
Oh my God, the sun! What is it? A big ball of flaming gas but that's not important right now.
What do you call a man with no arms, no legs, hanging on the wall? Art!

Cheers, people!

#########=====#######

Evan drew his jacket tighter around him and looked up at the gate. Would the passwords still work? Would he be shot on sight?

Would anyone be up to care?

He tapped in his old password at the keypad, and, amazingly, it worked. He walked through the gates, then up the long driveway, and finally to the door, without so much as a laser.

They hadn't been expecting that, the Morlocks. They'd told him he'd be shot, they wouldn't accept he was just homesick.

But he was. It wasn't that he wanted to go home, back here, to the mansion. It was that he wanted to see everyone again. It had been way too long.

He locked the door behind him and switched on the torch. Well, the foyer looked the same. He smiled. What had he been expecting? Another bombing or something?

He heard voices from the living room and went to investigate. He'd gotten very good at being quiet, so as long as it wasn't Wolverine, or probably Kurt, he'd be fine. He made sure he had his psychic shields up too.

He edged around the corner and raised his eyebrows. It was the TV, of course. But on the sofa bed, sprawled out with their arms around each other, were Kurt and Rogue. He felt that familiar twinge of jealousy. He used to get it all the time whenever he saw people with Rogue. Then he cocked his head. If had been anyone else but Kurt, he would've been a little suspicious of how they were lying. Too close to be friendly.

He edged closer. Rogue's makeup was stained, and had run down her cheeks. She'd been crying. He sighed silently. Of course. Kurt always comforted everyone.

He looked at what had been his closest friend. Sure Kurt was older, but he was the only one at the institute that really seemed to give a damn, aside from the teachers. Kitty and Jean were always caught up in everything else, Scott was just mister military, and Rogue… well, he wouldn't let Rogue know he wasn't impenetrable. Usually he wouldn't let anyone know that, but his shields didn't work on Kurt.

At first, he'd assumed Kurt only cared because he thought he was lucky to have any friends at all. Then Evan realised how many people Kurt talked to on a regular basis at school. And how close he was to other mutants.

Who was Evan, if he could hang around with anyone else?

He drew back his mouth thoughtfully, then frowned. Kurt's fur looked kinda funny. Sure his facial fur was shorter and smoother than the rest of it, but right now, in the flickering light, it looked… funky. He rolled his eyes. Nice phrasing, Daniels.

He shrugged to himself and went back to the stairs. Up one-flight and down three corridors. He opened the girl's door, not at all careful. After all, Kitty had left and Rogue obviously wouldn't be there. He blinked. The room had gone back to how it had been with Kitty there. There was even the extra bed with… someone… in it. He grinned. Kitty was back. And by the look of it, just as ditzy as ever.

Next stop was Scott's room. Ugh. Boring as ever.

Jean's was just the same. Except… he walked in carefully to look at the wall above the dresser. Before it had held only a mirror with a few photos of her school friends hanging around. Now… the mirror was smaller, just enough to get a full view of your face, but the mirror's old size was now covered. Old photos from years before any of them had come, pictures of Evan himself, new photos of the entire mansion. There was one that had almost everyone in the frame… and it showed everyone's personality. There were two people missing… Kurt, who he guessed was taking the picture, and Evan.

He shook his head and walked outside again.

The next level had Ororo's room. He walked in, then crouched by the bed, watching her sleep. He'd left her… but she was sleeping peacefully. Smiling, even. He reached out to touch her, just to make sure she was real, but stopped an inch from her cheek. He stood up and left, without looking back.

Down one flight and around a corridor…

His old room… he opened it and looked in.

Whoa. Talk about change of decoration.

Then he saw Bobby. He stared. Then closed the door and leaned back on it, disbelieving.

They'd replaced him.

#########=====#######

Kurt's shower was longer than normal. He hated it when he cried, even more than most guys did. Because not only was it an emotional drag, but he had to put up with salt and that weird gritty feeling all through his fur.

But the shower was long because he was thinking. He leaned back against the wall, watching the water fall on his legs and feet, and just… thought.

When he looked back on it, even just a few hours later, he wasn't sure about what he'd been thinking, probably just about the coming day.

Friday.

He'd been offered to take the day off, but he went against that idea. There were a few things he had to do.

Besides, any more time of just sitting around doing nothing would kill him, he added with a grin.

But when he got to school, it was with a sudden desire to turn and run on all fours back to the institute. He could remember what Loke had done. And though his was kinda happy with the jock front, he also knew he could be in for a world of hurt eventually.

And then there was Ventile…

And Amanda…

Life was such a bitch.

He caught a flash of something and looked to the others. "Did you guys just see that?"

"See what?" asked Rogue, looking through her binder. "Where did I put it?"

"Scott? Did you see that? Like… a brown flash or something?"

Scott raised his eyebrows. "They're called cars, Kurt."

"You're a real laugh riot. No, this was smaller… ach, probably nothing."

Scott shrugged and turned to Jean.

Kitty, on the other side of Rogue, glanced at Kurt. She'd decided she wasn't going to talk to him. It was way too embarrassing.

Not that she'd really had the chance or anything, but yeah.

#########=====#######

Kurt and Scott were leaning against a tree at lunch, doing each other's homework via proxy. "This is the last year I'll ever have to do German." Said Scott thoughtfully.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Said Kurt. He looked up. "So what are you going to do with yourself?"

"Dunno. Haven't thought about it."

"Well, I bet you'll do something that keeps you in Bayville, so you can stay the fearless leader." He said. "That's a thought. Why don't you become a teacher at the institute, like Herr McCoy?"

"Me? A teach- oh. Hi, Amanda."

Kurt froze. On the other side of the tree, he couldn't see her, but he knew it was more than likely that she saw him.

"Hi, Scott. He okay to talk to?"

"Well," Kurt leaned around the tree, deciding to be the better man, and smiled crookedly. "I have been something of a demon of late, so probably not. How are you, Amanda?"

Scott cleared his throat. "Uhm… do you want me to… hang around… jic?"

Kurt licked his lips. "Nah. Think I'm fine."

Scott grinned. "Good to hear. Nice to see you, Amanda." He said, standing up. Amanda took his place and sighed, loud and long.

Kurt toyed with his English notebook. "So. About Monday, I'm sorry. I just… I had to get out of there."

"You called me a fucking bitch." She replied.

He smiled apologetically. "Ja… um… ja." he chuckled, then dropped his notebook, frowning. "You deserve it, too. Amanda, as much as I love you and all that, you took off my watch in the middle of a very crowded courtyard."

She looked over her shoulder at him. "I just wanted to make a point."

"I go into those halls and no matter what happens, I know at least one person will try to hit me. On a good day. I got a scream, this morning. I went into gym late, only one guy still in the change rooms and he backed up against the wall, yelped when I tried to talk to him, and ran for it. Do you know how that feels?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I get that every time I try to talk to you these days."

He almost grinned. "You are my definition of the monster in the bed."

"I think you mean under."

"No, I don't." he grinned.

She stared, then blushed, and laughed. "So… am I still in trouble?"

"Yes." He said. "A great deal. And I shall have to do something about it."

She shifted so she was sitting beside him, and followed his gaze to the football stands, where Rogue and Bobby were talking. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

He shrugged. "Probably just as well. I wasn't thinking either." He looked at her. "Amanda… hypothetical question."

"Mm?"

"Say you broke up with someone, because it was better for you, but you still… cared about them." He brushed his hair back. "But you know that if you were to ever go out again, things would just end up worse. What would you do?"

She sighed and tapped her fingers absently. "Hypothetically?"

"Ja."

"Hypothetically, Kurt, I don't think I'd want to know the answer to that question." She said, then put her hand on his arm. "You know what I want. But I don't think it's really what you want."

He smiled, then took a breath to say something, but she just held up a finger.

"I don't want any bad jokes, Vaugner. Now, I'm going to go." She grinned as she stood up and walked away, still talking over her shoulder. "This friends thing sucks beyond a joke, so how about we just… don't talk until you know what you want." She grinned. "Besides, there's this guy I want to talk to."

He laughed. "How long did it take you to make him up?"

"About three hours. Now shut up and make up your mind!"

He laughed, then his eyes went back to Bobby and Rogue.

#########=====#######

Ventile, however, was not nearly as much fun. He refused to accept that Loke was technically a part of Kurt. He seemed incredibly stressed. He didn't want to admit that Loke had been serious in his 'confession'.

So when Kurt left the office, he was suitably annoyed.

He found Tabitha leaning against his locker. "Go away." He told her.

"But it's that time of the day!" she whined as he moved her arm to get at his lock.

"Tabs, you're beautiful, liebchen, go drag one of the jocks behind the bike shed." He said, rolling her off the door.

"But I like fuzziumpkins!" she grinned.

He raised an eyebrow. "You actually call it that?"

"Not usually." She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and peered into the locker with him. "But come on!"

"No demon lover for you today." He said, pushing her off with a laugh. "Sorry, Tabs, but I don't think I can do that anymore."

She sighed. "I didn't think so. Hey. You just said the D-word."

"Been saying it all day." He grinned.

She eyed him shrewdly, and then smiled. "Well, well. My little fuzzball's growing up."

"Hey Tabby… have you seen…" he licked his lips thoughtfully. "Have you seen Evan?"

"Evan…" she furrowed her brow. "No. Why?"

"I just… keep… I keep thinking I see him. Just wondering if anyone else had."

She shrugged. "No idea, fuzzball. Sorry. Hey, see you tonight, I'm going to investigate the bike shed."

"Sehr Gut!" he laughed. "See you."

She gave him one last glance, then turned the corner. He bit his lip and looked down the hall, toward the front doors. He narrowed his eyes and turned off his hologram. The dark shape moved slightly and he smirked. "Three holes in the ground." He muttered.

#########=====#######

Scott tapped his foot and looked at his watch impatiently.

Kurt was late.

He looked around, worried. Any number of things could've happened these days. One of them being he might've made up with Amanda.

"Hey there, Cyke."

He turned. Kurt was walking from the opposite direction, town. He looked a little thoughtful. "Hey, Kurt. Where were you?"

"Talking." He said, easing into the car. "With Evan."

Scott raised his eyebrows.

The girls had all found their own way home, and Bobby was still getting around with the new recruits. It was just the two of them. He started the car, waiting for him to continue.

"I got an offer to join the Morlocks, actually." He said slowly. He watched Scott's knuckles turn white and cleared his throat before continuing. "I said no, of course, but you know… Evan. Wow."

Scott nodded. "How is he?" he asked tersely.

"He is as he is." He sighed. "I dunno. Seemed a little annoyed. But then, I wasn't helping. We had a big argument over the merits of humans, and whether it was ethical to hide ourselves…" he laughed. "He made a good point there."

"How so?"

Kurt examined his watch. "I'm a hypocrite. I believe in all this equality and free rights crap, how mutants should be accepted as what and who they are, but everyday, I go outside, lying."

"You do whatchya gotta do, I guess." He reasoned, slowing the car for the lights.

"Ja, exactly." He nodded. "I even got asked to continue wearing my watch at school by a few of the teachers. Something about a distraction."

He chuckled. "You're kinda hard to ignore, I'll give you that."

"Yeah, but how would I be without the watch?" he grinned.

Scott rolled his eyes. "You're a dick."

"Charming." He looked at the other cars for a moment. "So, Scott. What do you think about Evan coming back?"

"He better not." Said Scott. "He made his decision."

"No, I mean, he came around this morning. Just checking stuff out."

He sighed. "Fuck. I knew we should've changed the codes."

"Hmph. It's not like he did anything."

"True." Scott checked the rear-view. "But, I dunno. I just don't like the idea."

"Mister military strikes again." Kurt said absently.

"That's right."

#########=====#######

Padded feet are very hard to hear, especially on grass. But that's why wolf's ears are extra sensitive, so they can pick out their prey's movements. But Rahne doesn't need to be a wolf to hear these things, so she wasn't especially surprised when Kurt sat down on the cliff beside her.

He remained quiet, watching the moon.

Rahne opened one eye. "What?"

He smirked. "I'm listening, be quiet."

"Listening to what?"

"Shh!" he grinned. "Listen!"

She grinned back at him and closed her eyes. "Nature."

"It's what's natural." He added.

"It's evolution!"

They giggled, then looked at each other quietly. Rahne furrowed her brow. "That wasn't you the other day, was it?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

"Do you remember what you did?"

He had the good grace to duck his head, his blush lost in the darkness. "Yes…"

"Yeah, well, I'm still angry at you."

"I figured." He looked at her sideways. "You okay… about… Scotland?"

She looked down at her feet. "Yeah… I think so. It's nothing that hasn't happened before. Regular day in the life of a werewolf!"

"That's not what I was talking about."

She nodded, sniffing. "I know. But I have to tell Sam, I guess."

"Yeah…" He leaned back. "So… did you keep any silver?"

She laughed. "No, actually. Did you keep your last holy water?"

He grinned. "I've got a vial of it upstairs."

"Do you think we'll ever go back home and feel like it?"

He shook his head. "Probably not. But until then, Rahne, we've got the institute."

"Looking on the Bright Side, aren't you?"

"Ooh, yes." He pulled himself to his feet. "I've decided that too much bad… stuff… happens for me to get too worried about it. It's time we started thinking what happens, it happens. We have to become the team that Scott's always yapping about." He grinned and offered his hand.

She took it and stood up, looking around. "But, we aren't going to have that life, Kurt. Like I said before, we're… we're still monsters."

He shrugged. "Then let's be monsters. If you're going to scare people, Rahne, at least enjoy yourself while you're doing it." He grinned and started back into the woods. "It's my new ambition, to scare the life out of half of Bayville before school ends."

"But it's only two weeks away!" she cried.

"Then I'll have to work hard, won't I?"

She watched him go into the trees, and looked back out over the water. "Hey, Kurt!"

From a fair distance, there was a slight noise. He was listening.

"I… thanks."

She heard him laugh. "Anytime, Liebchen!" he called. "I'll be inside when you're feeling more eloquent."

She rolled her eyes. From inside the woods, Kurt grinned to himself. He was right. He was going to enjoy himself. He always would.

He laughed. Ahh, the corniness of reality… he looked up at Kitty's window and smirked. She wasn't really that bad. She was sweet. Cute, in a totally dense sort of way. When she knew what she was doing, she was still almost perfect. He snickered and moved on. Ahh, the possibilities of daydreams.

#########=====################=====################=====#######

So the last, the final, REVIEWS! (I think I'm crying…)

Aww! Akaluk! =hugs= I'm sorry! You feeling okay? But still. Even you could be more subtle than that! Anyway… if you need to talk, my inbox is always open!

Raven Fayth! Ack! No! Not another one! Get up! Quick! =looks around = No one saw that, did they? Anyway. Sorry that's I've cut you off from your addiction. With any luck the side stories and non-related people will keep you alive…

Yes, Me, this is the end. Of a long collection of chapters. Ugh. Yeah, I understand why you haven't been reviewing. I must say though, I was a little worried that I'd gotten really bad and you'd given up on me! And which side story do you want, out of interest? I've got one vote for the Kurt-before-ten one, a very disturbing request for Kietro, and one for Rahne. Whatchya want? Huh? Huh?

= Looks around nervously = Uh, sorry Yma… Um… = hide = As for Loke… eheheheh. He's getting fully explained in the Kurt-before-ten one. Worry not! = goes back into hiding = I think I ended it too soon…

Fallon Marie Night- I know you won't read this for ages, but I like to say hi to reviewers. Hi! Thanks for all the praise… I dunno if it's that close to the show… but I gotta say, I like Jean a lot more since I started writing. Weird, huh?

KamiSusan! Yeah, I know about your name, I was just being pathetic. Sorry. Was watching a really badly translated cartoon before I read your review. Ignore me, please! You could always say you were God Susan, or Susan Hair!… heh heh… going now…

Ezrajade- I don't know why, but I always want to put a 'y' in your name. I don't know any jaydes, but I always wants to write ezrajayde. There's something about your name that just makes me want to misspell. You can kill me later. Heh. I wouldn't worry about catching up anymore. I don't think I'll be updating every day anymore. The Kurt/Loki switch overs were sorta kinda supposed to be confusing… make you kinda feel like the characters (I know, I'm bullshitting, I don't care!)! And yes, teachers are scum of the universe. The fact I'm looking to BE one of these scum of the universe is entirely beside the point.

Thanks Helena! You hanging around for the side stories? Hope so! Thanks for putting up with all the chapters, much appreciated, hey?

Kiki- damn your interpreting skills! Kurti Kurti Wagner is going to be one of the Kurt-before-ten lines! How dare you pick up on it! Grr. Too much reading logging for you! Ooh, what hole? Huh? Have to go re-read and starting tearing at plot holes! Nah, just kidding. I signed up to nutfiction, but I can't get it to work for me. Grr. It's too sophisticated for its own good.

Chrissie! Hoorayness! I didn't know you were bitchy, but if you like, I can have Nights (yes, my all-over muse's name is Nights. Don't ask and don't mention the missing wing, you'll get along fine!) get annoyed for me. Exams are a week and two days away. I've been dealing with sickness this week. I think Me gave her sickness over the internet.

DjLeathal- is that right? Meh. You gotta love the insane evil Nightcrawler, donchya? Heh.

=grins=

Guess who's next on my review list?

Neko-chan… Heh heh heh…

Sorry. I really quite like Neko-chan's reviews, because she managed to tell me off and praise me in the same sentence. It was really quite clever. Hey Neko-chan! Yeah, a lot of people seemed to like Tabs in this story. She's one of my favourites, as I said, and I'm quite proud of the fact that I've converted a few people into not hating her. = grins = And you hate Kitty! Bwu-hahahahahahaha! Sorry. No, don't hate Kitty! I'll try and make her better in other stories! And I'm sorry chapter fourteen didn't go so well in your opinion, but I got She Could've Written you work, so! And I'll make sure Dyonne hears about how much you appreciate her efforts. She got rather annoyed that no one thanked her at the time. But you gotta admit, it helped the story along to have Kitty being annoying, right?

Right?

[cri-]

Don't you dare! Sorry. Heh. The bird statement was for the less interpretive of our audience… Thanks! Astrid and Johannes are purely Internutter's creation… I just nicked them…

Aww! Ryu-Sama! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Aww! = hugs, kisses = Max and Mav, go play with my muses. Don't worry! We'll have lots more coming up, Ryu! Thanks for forgiving me, but now I feel bad… :(

Okay, there was more than this… I remember more than this…

I can't find more than this…

Egh. Internutter! I know you were there, coz I remember thinking about nutfiction because of it! Thanks! Um… for Nutfiction, (I'll probably ask this somewhere on the board, but yeah) do I upload using html or what? It looks weird no matter what I did, so I'm another one for the idiot wall- go me!

Okay, guys, it's been amazing writing and reading with you all. I hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as I did. See you all in the side stories! Bye!

Love, LeDiz