Charles screamed as the metal coin slowly pushed its way into Shaw's skull. The pain doubled when it hit Shaw's brain as the metal disrupted and severed neurons that Charles had held on to with his mind. He could feel the man screaming and latching onto whatever he could grasp, a desperate attempt at surviving. The last thing he remember before blacking out was a sinister laugh and the words ' ah~ so you're Erik's telepath.'
"Shaw is dead." Erik dragged and threw the body onto the sand. "Keep on resisting and I will not hesitate to end you."
Too busy with his speech, Erik failed to notice his friend standing up and grinning like a maniac.
“Perfect.”
“What?” Erik turned to the source of the voice, his hair raising on his neck. It was Charles who spoke but something was not right. The telepath’s hair was matted with sweat and he could see some minor injuries he had sustained from the plane crash but the man was walking as if pain was but an illusion.Charles kept his eyes on him and he walked slowly towards the man. It was almost unnerving how everyone else parted to make way for him. Like they could sense his danger. "I knew you were the perfect weapon Erik."
"Charles?"
"Is that what you call him?" Charles grinned and tapped his finger on his lips. Wrong, it’s all wrong. Erik wasn’t sure why but his whole expression and mannerisms were off.
And then suddenly Charles froze and dropped to his knees panting.
"What's going on?" Raven seemed genuinely confused and worried. "Charles, stop this nonsense."
She was almost at his side when he stood up again.
"Ooh~ He's resisting." Charles laughed, "And angry too. You know, he reminds me so much of you when I had you strapped to the metal table."
At that Erik paled.
"Charles, stop." It was Moira and she had her gun aimed at him.
"Or what?" Charles flipped his wrist and the CIA agent crumpled to the ground, motionless. Erik watched on in both fascination and horror as the others started falling around him until it was just him and Charles left standing on the beach.
"That's right." Charles encouraged him and Erik felt sick. It was the same tone, one he’s been exposed to over and over again, talking to him as if he was nothing more than an intelligent pet.
"Shaw."
"Gut gemacht Erik."
"NO!" Erik launched a shrapnel from the plane wreck at Shaw, letting his anger and hate drive it. The metal sliced through the air and flew straight towards the other man and halted.He couldn’t do it, not to Charles. And that bastard knew because he was laughing. He knew Erik was once again helpless, just like he had been with his mother all those years ago.
“I killed you! You’re dead!” Erik spat, hoping that the words would reflect the reality he was witnessing. Shaw was dead, he was certain.”How?”
"Oh yes. You see, the only reason you could kill me was because your little telepath here was holding me down." he tapped his head. "But I'm a survivor Erik, just like you."
“How?” Erik growled.
“Easy. He held me through a mental link. A bridge.” Shaw smiled with Charles’ face. “And what are bridges for my dear boy?”
"Let him go! Let him go or I swear-"
"What? Kill me again? With that coin of yours? Then again if you hadn’t, I might not have been able to cross the bridge. If you haven’t caused him that much pain when you pushed the coin through my head, his defences wouldn’t have weakened enough for me to enter. "
What? Charles felt that? No, Shaw is lying, if Charles had felt it, he would've informed Erik, he wouldn't have just taken it like that...would he?
"Oh my dear boy. You have-" Shaw suddenly froze again and collapsed to the ground.
Erik ran to Charles immediately, dropping the metal shrapnel he still held with his power. Charles laid face down and he didn’t seem like he was breathing. Erik grabbed his shoulders and tuned him over, laying his friend’s head on his thighs.
Please be alive. Please be alive. Please…
He placed his palm against Charles chest and heaved a sigh of relief when he felt the slow rise and fall of it. Charles was alive. And judging from the rapid movements of his eyes, it also seemed like he was fighting, resisting. Shaw, Charles was fighting Shaw!
Come on Charles, come on.Erik tried to project his voice to the telepath. He had removed the helmet and didn't care if Charles went in and read his mind. He poured everything into it, his admiration and respect, the little joy of having a friend to travel with, the ability to finally trust in another, the elation of finding another mutant whom he could so easily gel with and hope. It was small but it was there every time he was with the man. Hope that maybe the worse was over and that he could have something.
With Shaw down, the telepathic hold on the others began to wane and they stillet regained consciousness. Eric didn’t know who woke up first but he knew that Raven was the first to speak to him, worried about both her brother and the man that encouraged her to be who she was.
"What happened?" She reached out but stopped halfway, deciding it was best not to touch a telepath in distress.
“Shaw.”
“What?”
He held on tighter when Charles whimpered, trying his best to calm him down. So distracted was he by the unseen battle going on in his friend's mind that he barely caught the missiles that the ships had launched at them. If Charles had not woken in time and shouted 'watch out', he was sure the entire beach would be a nuclear wasteland by now. And that all of them would be dead.
"You're all right." Erik still held the missiles in the air as he turned his attention back to the man he was holding. He knew Raven had asked Moira to call off the attack and the others were being evacuated by Azazel. He didn't know and honestly didn't care why Azazel would even help them.
“You scared me.” Erik whispered.
Charles didn't say anything but he did lean in Erik’s touch.
“Charles?” Erik felt an uncomfortable sense of dread when Charles still did not speak and just looked at him with a watery smile.
“No-” It happened too quickly, Erik had barely let the word out before he felt a sudden puff of warm smoke behind him and nauseating pull through time and space. Barely a second passed before he stumbled out of Azazel's grasp and flung the nearest metal he could reach with his power towards the Red mutant.
"Take me back!" He roared and held the other mutant down by the metal in his clothes. They were back at the manor and miles away from Charles.
"Erik!"
"Take me back." His voice was calmer down but the groaning of the building's rails and structure betrayed the depth of his desperation.
“I can’t…” Azazel struggled against his hold.
”You can.”
"Erik. Please." Raven tried to reason with him. “Charles won’t want-”
"Charles is back there! I didn't drop the missiles! He's going to die, he'll die." He could feel the sense of panic and dread building up again.
"It's too late." Azazel regretted the words immediately when he felt a thin metal rail wrapping itself around his neck. "He had to do it! Shaw was in him." He gritted his teeth and tried to teleport away but was unable to with Erik holding him onto this plane so tightly.
“Erik! Stop! If you kill him, we won’t be able to go back at all!” Raven ran towards Azazel and tried to pray the metal noose around his neck.
Erik didn’t want to but he eventually released the man and dropped to his knees. Raven was right. If he had killed Azazel, then going back, even to collect…whatever remains would be near impossible.
So, this was it? After all he had been through and suffered, after all his attempt at becoming stronger…he had still failed to save…
Maybe Shaw was right. He was weak, his mother, his people and now his only friend, all dead because he was too weak. He had allowed Shaw to win, even in death, the bastard had taken another light in his life and promptly snuffed it out. Suddenly everything felt empty and pointless. His rage, the fire and fuel that once drove him was now dry and he found that he could no longer find the will to even move.
Azazel took the chance to teleport away and Erik just knelt there, his eyes staring into space. It was his fault, he should've been more capable, if he were then maybe his friend wouldn't die. If he had not been so...blind to it all, Charles would still be here. Erik didn't know how long he knelt there or when he blacked out because when he woke up, it was not face down on a carpet but tucked away in a bed, Charles' bed.
He was confused for awhile, unable to reconcile the image in front of him withy the memory of what just happened.
And then he felt it, the light brush of a mind against his, warm and gentle. Erik slowly turned to his side and what he saw finally broke the dam and for the first time in years, he finally allowed his emotions to flow. It felt almost liberating to acknowledge it all and not bury it.
Charles was beside him, alive, unconscious but alive. The stupid idealistic telepath was alive and he could feel all the emotions swell in him at once, thankfulness, joy, anger, fear, uncertainty and the strongest one he had kept buried...love.
"Erik...you're too loud." Charles winced.
"Charles!" His mental walls came up with such speed and force causing his head to spin. He thought he saw hurt in Charles eyes but with everything spinning he could not be certain.
“Sorry...”
“You pushed me away to die.” Erik kept his voice neutral and tried to reign his emotions so that the metal around him do not start groaning under his pressure.
They laid side by side in silence for a couple more minutes before he felt a gentle presence in his mind, asking for permission to speak. He allowed it and was secretly glad to have the familiar presence in his mind although he’ll never admit to Charles.
I’m sorry I scared you my friend. I had to get rid of Shaw. It was the only way.
That was a horrible way to do it ... Erik responded a while later.
Maybe. But none of you had Shaw’s ability so if the missiles had hit anyone of you, you’d all be vaporized. Charles huffed.
“His ability?’ Erik sat up, impressed, intrigued and shocked but what he just heard.
“Yeah. The mental link also dragged along some of his abilities.” Charles voice was a little hoarse.
“What did you do Charles?”
“A clean up.”
“Charles.”
He was still beating around the bush, afraid that the unfiltered truth would anger the man. But Erik got the gist of it. All he needed to do was think of a stupid, matyr-like plan and chances were, that was what Charles did.
“It was a risk I had to take my friend.” Charles gave up lifted his hand to Erik’s face but pulled back when he noticed the other man flinch. “Sorry. I just wanted to show you…it’s a lot easier than me explaining it to you verbally.”
Erik was thankful and glad to have his friend back but he was still a little hesitant on having a telepath so close to his mind, his emotions and especially his closely guarded desire. But with Charles looking at him like a kicked puppy, it was hard to not give in. Which was why Erik relented, took Charles’ hand and placed it on his face.
“Show me.”
Charles nodded and closed his eyes. Erik did too and waited for the familiar assault of images and sounds. There was nothing and he was about to speak again when it suddenly hit him.
Like a tsunami, Erik relived the moments. It felt like rushing through ride, he was bombarded with emotions, thought, smell, pain…everything. And then he saw it. Through Charles’ eyes, he saw himself holding off the missiles as he held the man. He saw how Charles used the missiles to some how destabilize his link with Shaw through energy absorption power and then he had snuffed him out. It was a huge risk, having a couple of missiles go off near him so that he could absorb their energy.
Erik felt the heat, the pain and he also saw what Charles did next. The man had actually managed to do a mass broadcast to the ships and world leaders, removing all their memories of what happened and sending them all back. But he also fel the drain after that. Charles had obviously over exerted himself, using so much power at once took a toll on him and when Azazel brought him back, his mind was all over the place, like puzzle that had been smashed. It seek stability and structure and had latched so viciously onto Erik's mind causing the man to black out.
When Erik finally returned to his own mind all he could say was “How?” It wasn’t what he wanted to say but for some reason, that was what came out.
"Honestly? I don’t know. But it's gone now." Charles desperately tried to reassure him. "So is he."
”I’m not talking about Shaw.”
“Not about…Shaw?” Charles seemed genuinely confused. And who could blame him? Just a few hours ago, Erik had been obsessed over killing the man.
“Forget that monster Charles.”
“Right.” He seemed hurt again and Erik didn’t know why but he knew it was his fault somehow.
"Just…don't do that again. Ever." Erik laid back down and closed his eyes. Charles was the first friend he had, the first person he was willing to be vulnerable to and he wasn't sure what it was but he also knew the if anything happened to the man, he's raze the world to the ground then off himself. Charles was the only good thing he had left in this world and no one was to touch him. Erik would make sure of that.
Charles coughed awkwardly and Erik turned to see the telepath looking at the ceiling, his cheeks dusted pink. Erik felt his heart sink and scrambled to reinforce his mental walls. Did Charles sense what he was feeling? Crap.
"You were...projecting, very loudly." Charles bit his lower lip and looked right at Erik. Damn the man, his wide eyes and red lips, Charles was going to be the death of him.
Erik sighed and felt a little annoyed when Charles grinned at him smugly. Still the altruistic, naive telepath thought Erik. Well, since it’s all out now, Erik decided to do what he had always wanted to do and projected an extremely lewd fantasy of what he plans to do with Charles when they both recover.
"Erik!" Charles gaped at him, the pink spreading across his face and down his shirt. Good. That’ll shut him up and wipe that smug look off his face.
Erik didn't reply, he merely snorted and turned his back to his sputtering telepath and closed his eyes. His, Charles was his. At least that's one good thing that came out of this whole hunt for Shaw.
-end-