DISCLAIMER
None of these characters were invented by me(big suprise), and I'm
not making dime one off this, it's only done for the enjoyment of
myself and others.  Please don't sue.  All character names and places
are copyright to Marvel Comics, but this story is copyrighted
1999 LuNaTiC Publishing.

NOTES
This is an unofficial, repeat, unofficial sequel to 'Fading Out'
by Laersyn.  Laersyn gave me the nod to post this, but requested that
I tell people it's unofficial.  So, one more time, this is an
UNOFFICIAL sequel.  Thanx again, Laersyn.

Fading Out--Postscript

Pete Wisdom awoke in his bed at the Muir Island Genetic Research
Center feeling worse than he had in years.  This hangover was by
far the most painful one he'd ever experienced.  Not yet fully awake,
Pete turned to throw his arm over the body of his lover, Kitty
'ShadowCat' Pryde.

When his arm hit the mattress, his eyes opened fully.

When his eyes opened fully, he looked at the unoccupied half of
the bed.

And he remembered.

He had been trying to drink himself into oblivion last night, and
it had worked.  He'd forgotten she was dead.

For about the first twelve seconds he was awake.

In a flash, it all came back to him.  Her illness, his despair, her
attitude calm at facing her death, his attitude anything but.

In that second, Pete went through all the emotions surrounding her
death again, reliving it unwillingly.  Swallowing hard, he wiped
away a tear from one blue eye, and sat up in bed, his head bowed.
The pain in his heart was worse than the one in his head.

Once again, he asked himself why.  Why her?  Why not him?

And once again, he couldn't answer himself.

            ************

Around noon that day, Pete finally decided to venture downstairs.
The previous two weeks had been unbelieveably difficult, for him
and the others.  Each day was a fire drill, it seemed.  Excalibur
simply went through the motions, with little enthusiasm for anything.
As Pete walked through the TV room, he noticed the X-Men were there.
He went to pour himself a cup of coffee.  Wait a bleedin' minute,
his mind said.  The bloody X-Men are here?  Pete took the coffee,
and went back.  Sure enough, there they were.  Not all of them,
but--He frowned in thought, his alcohol-besotted mind struggling
to figure it--All the X-Men that Kitty had been close to.  Lockheed
was perched on top of the big-screen TV, with the master remote
control in his taloned paw.

"You.  Sit."  The little alien dragon said, pointing at Pete with
his tail.  Pete didn't even have the desire to argue, so he took a
seat on the arm of the sofa.  Lockheed switched on the TV and VCR.
"You all watch.  Kitty make.  She want you to watch now.  She ask
me to do this.  So watch."  Lockheed hit the 'play' button, and on
the screen suddenly was Kitty.  She was sitting in the Communications
Suite, looking perfectly normal.  The date display indicated that
it had been taped the day after she found out she was Legacy positive.
No one in the room moved.  The videotaped image of their dead friend
and teammate began to speak.

"Well, if you're watching this, that means two things.  One, Lockheed
listened to what I said for a change, and two, that....I've died.
I wanted you specifically here because I have some things to say,
and I knew this was the only way I could do it.  So, let's get
started, shall we?"

"Betsy.  I'll never be able to thank you enough for keeping me alive
after the Morlock Massacre, even though you've said I have.  I just
want to say it again, thank you.  You are absolutely one of my dearest
friends, and I love you."

Elisabeth Braddock began to weep silently, clinging to her brother's
huge arm for support.  Kitty continued.

"Brian.  I always thought of you as a very close friend, and I know
you felt the same.  I know that you cared for me a great deal, and
just know that I cared for you, too.  You may not have been the
easiest person to get along with, but, hey, neither was I.  I want
you to know how much our friendship meant to me."

Brian Braddock was sandwiched between his sister and his fiancee,
a stoic mask on his face, supporting the two women he cared about
the most.

"Meggan.  If I have one big regret, it's that I'll miss you and
Brian's wedding.  I think it would have been nice to be a bridesmaid.
But, I guess that's the way the ball bounces.  You were always a
very good friend, and I knew I could tell you things I couldn't
tell anyone else.  Thank you, for your friendship, and for you
letting me be your friend.  Also, I want you two to look after
Lockheed for me.  Remember that the only cat food he'll eat is
canned, and anything else, he'll let you know."

Meggan's tears were coursing down her face.  She was trying to keep
her shields up, but it was becoming exceedingly difficult.

"Moira and Hank.  If I know you two, you're both beating yourselves
up over not finding a cure.  Well, don't.  If I'm gone, then it just
wasn't meant to be right now.  What's important is that you both
have to keep searching.  I know that one day you'll find your
answer."

Moira MacTaggert was stroking her adopted daughter's hair gently,
while Hank McCoy was crouched on the floor, his big fists clenched
tight and his bottom lip quivering.

"Rahne, you've been like a sister to me.  All those nights of girl
talk, all those times we told each other secrets, I enjoyed every
minute of it.  Now, though, you've got to be there for your mom.
You're going to have to be the one who gets her through this.  She
won't let anybody else in, so it's up to you.  I will always be
your friend, Rahne."

Rahne Sinclair blinked away tears as Kitty kept talking.

"Douglock, it took me a while to realize that you weren't Doug Ramsey,
but I finally did, for which I'm sure you're grateful.  Whatever
part of you was Doug, you're yourself, and I'm glad to have known
you.  Doug, you have to be there for Rahne.  She can't help Moira
by herself, so you have to assist her.  Do it for me, Doug.  And
remember that you are my friend."

Douglock came as close to crying at that instant as he ever had yet.
Swallowing his emotions, he kept looking at the screen.

"Now, I have the five I most wanted to hear this in alphabetical
order.  Bear with me."

"Logan.  Ogenkidesuka, Sensei?(How are you doing, teacher?)  When
I came to the X-Men, you were one of the first to welcome me with
open arms.  I mean, here was a bunch of adults with a thirteen year
old thrown in the mix.  Yet you always treated me like an equal, even
though you made it obvious I was the student.  You taught me how to
fight, but you also taught me how to NOT fight.  You were always
there for me, and you were the next best thing to a father I had.
For that, I thank you, and please know that I will always love you."

Logan shut his eyes and lowered his head at that, and Pete could
see one tear slide down the older man's cheek.  On screen, Kitty
was wiping away a few as well, and she composed herself before
continuing.

"I know that you're hurting, but promise me that you're going to
pull yourself together.  You have to, for Jubilee.  You're all she's
got, and she needs you as much, if not more, than I ever did.  Take
good care of her, for me."

Logan nodded silently, opening his eyes and getting himself together.

"Ororo.  You were another one to let me into your little family
unconditionally.  You always tried to set an example for me, to show
me the right thing to do, and I like to think I paid attention some
of the time.  You taught me the value of life, and you showed it
to me in a million different ways.  I can't thank you enough for
everything you did for me, and with me.  I love you, Ororo."

Ororo Munroe was barely able to stay quiet, as gentle sobs shook
her thin form slightly.  Logan reached over and took her hand, trying
to give her some comfort.

"Kurt.  Now, I'll admit, when I first got to the X-Men, I didn't
care to know you.  Fact is, you scared the hell out of me.  But you
never pushed, you never made me feel threatened, and once I saw you
for the person behind the fur and fangs, I knew we would always be
close.  And I also felt guilty for judging you by your appearence
before getting to know you.  I apologize for that, and I thank you
for the things you taught me, how to see past people's color, shape,
whatever else, and notice what was really there.  I REALLY need to
thank you for that, because it helped me to see behind the next
person's facade."

Kurt Wagner smiled, knowing Kitty too well not to guess where this
was heading.

"Pete.  Pete Wisdom.  The first day we met, I thought you were an
obnoxious, rude, arrogant, nicotine-addicted borderline alcoholic.
And I was right."  Kitty giggled at that, and even those gathered in
the room couldn't keep from smiling.  "But, when I remembered what
Kurt had taught me, when I looked at you, really looked, I saw you for
who you are.  No matter how much you try to hide it, Pete, you care.
And that's why I fell in love with you.  No matter what we ever did or
said--or didn't--I want to tell you, not a second went by that I
haven't loved you with all my heart.  You found something in me that
was wounded, and you healed it.  And I guess I did the same thing
for you.  Pete, I want you to promise me you won't drink yourself into
the grave.  I have to know you'll be alright when I'm gone.  You have
to keep going, no matter how much it hurts, because there are still
jobs out there that need doing.  Whenever it hurts too much, just
remember that,"  Kitty was crying openly, now, "That I love you more
than you could ever know or understand, and that I always have and
always will."

Kitty broke down a little as she stopped, and Pete could barely
stand it.  Tears were streaming down his thin face, and his body
was shaking with quiet sobs.  Logan put a comforting hand on his
thin shoulder, and Pete grasped it with his own, in a silent gesture
of appreciation.  Kitty composed herself again, and went on.

"And last, but not least, Professor Xavier.  Professor....oh, hell
with this....Charles, I don't want you to feel guilty or responsible
for my death.  You're not.  Don't think that this wouldn't have
happened if you hadn't enrolled me in the school, because you don't
know that.  I knew the risks when I signed on, I knew that believing
in the dream, fighting for the dream, standing for something, I knew
that it might come to this.  I accepted that a long time ago.  I don't
have any regrets about living your dream, none at all.  All the
things I've seen, the places I've been, the things I've done.  I've
lived more in six years than most people do in six decades.  Charles,
you were the one that taught me to believe in something, even when it
hurt, and for that, I am eternally grateful."

Xavier seemed more shaken at this moment than most of those assembled
had ever seen him, but he managed to stay calm.  Kitty looked at her
watch, and cleared her throat.

"Well, that's everybody.  I want you all to keep on living, to keep
on fighting.  If you're going to mourn me, do it, but please, you've
got to stop sometime.  You all have to keep on going.  If for no
other reason, consider this my last request.  Do it in honor of me.
And just remember that,"  Kitty started to cry again,  "That I love
you all very much."  She began to weep openly, then she reached out
to the control panel, and the screen went black.

The entire assembleage was shaken by this point, and Lockheed switched
off the TV and VCR.  The little purple dragon perched back on top
of the big-screen, looking like a cathedral gargoyle.

"You hear what she said.  She wanted us to go on.  We gotta do it.
For Kitty."  Lockheed looked like he was about to cry, too, but then
he quickly flew out the open door.  Excalibur and the select X-Men
looked at each other.  Nothing had to be said.  The tape had said
it all.  One at a time, the people Kitty Pryde had been closest to
got up and walked out of the room.  And one at a time, they began
to heal.

                 ************

Finis`