A/N: Thanks for reading this guys. Seriously though, if you haven't read volume one you should go do that first. You will be lost otherwise. Okay I'll shut up now.

DISCLAIMER: MARVEL owns the X Men franchise. This storyline, however is mine. I make no money from this, so... Eh. You get the gist.


Chapter 1: Tactical Losses

Charles turned at the sound of a splash to see Raven pop up from beneath the water, giggling.

"Hey! Watch it, Chickie! You're getting water on the towels!" Cain scolded, attempting to shake the lake water off of his shirtsleeve.

Kurt Marko and Mother Xavier were lounging in the sun farther from the water's edge, leaving Cain alone to mind the younger children, as usual. Charles smiled knowingly at the surly teen and dove back underwater, splashing his sister as he went.

He happened to know for a fact that Cain had purposely positioned the pile of towels there in an attempt to dissuade them from getting water on him. Charles stayed under for a surprisingly long time without feeling any need to come up for air. The sand and rock beneath him seemed to glow in this underwater realm. The beams of sunlight piercing through in broad shafts gave his surroundings a blissful surrealism. It was so peaceful and welcoming that he found himself wishing that he could stay forever. It seemed that every time he submerged himself, he needed to surface for air less and less.

"Oooh pretty! I found a mirror!" Raven exclaimed happily as he resurfaced, holding up a beautiful, antique hand mirror.

"Come 'ere let's see it." Cain called back with the slightest hint of resignation in his voice, putting his food aside. "And Charlie: Don't drift away, please! Come back!"

Charles frowned at his stepbrother's odd choice of words. Then he just brushed it off, swimming a little closer as he'd commanded. Perhaps it's just another one of those slang things? Never mind.

"See? It's not even scratched or nothing!" Raven said animatedly, handing over her newly discovered treasure for Cain's inspection.

"Or anything, Love." Their mother corrected lazily. "It's not scratched or anything."

"Sure!" Raven replied, rubbing at a smudge on one edge.

"We don't use double negatives." Their mother added.

"She's ten…" Cain mumbled to himself irritably.

"Okay! It looks really nice, doesn't it?" Raven continued, distracted by her new prize. "Like it's old and special!" Cain chewed his lower lip thoughtfully.

"It looks like an antique." He observed, turning it over in his hands. At that point Charles lost interest and ducked back underwater. The tide was getting stronger but he didn't mind too much. He had always been a strong swimmer. When he resurfaced, he found himself a bit farther from the shore than he'd expected.

"Charles! Stay with us!" Cain snapped, and Charles swam over to the dock. He could feel the teen's stormy blue gaze on him the entire time. Charles grabbed onto the dock and pouted at the others. He didn't think it was really his fault that he'd drifted. He hadn't done it on purpose. If Cain's so concerned, then why doesn't he just swim out and fetch me? Cain turned back to his conversation with mother and Raven smirked and rolled her eyes at him. Charles found himself feeling extremely tempted to stick his tongue out at her. That would be childish. He was too old for that now, wasn't he?

The thought immediately vanished from his mind when he caught sight of the lone, melancholy figure standing in the trees a little way behind Raven. He seemed so strangely familiar, watching Charles with sad, silver eyes.

Charles couldn't remember why the man felt so important to him, but he simply knew that he was, and that the figure had lost something that was very precious to him.


Raven wandered into the dining room to join the others for breakfast, coming in just after Logan. She glanced hopefully at Marie as she passed.

"Any change?"

"Nothin' yet." Marie responded grimly, glancing at Erik's empty place at the table.

"Damn! My turn then, I guess." Raven concluded with a yawn and headed for the kitchen. This time Lucy already had the breakfast tray ready to go by the time she arrived.

"I'll take it up this time Lucy." Raven told her, taking the tray out of the older woman's arms.

"Thanks Miss." The servant replied with a polite nod and went back to her duties. Raven found Erik in Charles' room, sitting in the armchair at his bedside, just as he had been on the past three mornings since the Beach. She silently crossed the room and set his tray down on the bedside table.

"Morning." She greeted, handing him his coffee. He grunted an acknowledgement and accepted the mug. Raven gestured to the tray. "Eat this." Erik narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't even start, Erik. Starving yourself is not going to help Charles at all. It only ticks off the staff." Erik glared at her before returning his full attention to Charles' prone form and tightening his grip on the younger man's hand. "He'll wake up." Raven assured him. Erik nodded. When he gave no further response, she began to make her way out of the room.

"Francis?" Erik asked, stopping her in the doorway.

"There's been no change yet, but that's to be expected, considering…" Raven sighed, running a hand through her bright red hair. "It wasn't your fault." She reminded him. "None of us could've known—" Erik let out a bitter, humorless laugh that caused her to flinch slightly. "It wasn't your fault." She insisted and left.


"There's still the question of how to handle Moira's return to the Agency." Darwin pointed out.

"I won't tell them anything." Moira assured the others adamantly.

"Then don't return." Logan remarked, blowing out a puff of cigar smoke. "Your bosses aren't going to take no for an answer."

"Not in the house." Raven told him, again, taking the cigar out of his mouth and snuffing it out as she took her seat.

"They can't force it out of me." Moira insisted.

"'Course they can." Marie countered. "That's why we've gotta give 'em a little somethin' to work with. It just can't be too much. Only enough to keep them satisfied."

"I'm listening…" Moira prompted. Marie took a bite of her toast and shrugged.

"I'll tell you when I think of somethin'"

Moira let out an aggravated huff and let her head fall forward into her arms.

"They see us all as potential threats, yes?" Azazel observed.

"Yeah." Alex put in. "But mostly you guys." Angel glared at him.

"We must do all that we can to alter their impression of our kind." Azazel continued, unbothered. "An act of good faith, to prove to them that you have kept your side of the agreement."

"We already did what we were sent to do." Sean said pointedly. "We stopped Shaw."

"A dead enemy is progress." Azazel responded solemnly. "But a captured enemy, is far more valuable." Angel tensed, her eyes widening.

"I'd really rather not." She said tightly. Azazel nodded his head in response.

"I will." He concluded, looking Moira straight in the eye.

"You're insane." Riptide told him from where he stood behind the scarlet mutant's right shoulder.

"Perhaps." Azazel admitted. "I am old and jaded, but I know that I have lived through far worse things." He turned his head to look the other man over. "And you have not." He observed, returning to his coffee.

"Are you sure?" Moira asked him seriously. She knew that he had only been working with Shaw out of necessity and not at all by choice. Azazel nodded.

"I'd rather avoid another inquisition." He replied then smiled, showing his razor-sharp teeth. "You would let us go?" He nodded toward Riptide. "He and I, we are killers. You should not let either of us walk free."

"You—" Riptide spat, pulling out a hidden blade and moving to stab the other man in the back but Logan whirled around and blocked the attack with his adamantium claws. The others leapt to their feet as well except Azazel, who continued to drink his coffee, barely batting an eyelash.

"Drop it, Bub." Logan growled. Riptide struggled against him for a second before surrendering.

"Such foolishness." Azazel remarked.

"Janos Quested, you are under arrest for multiple counts of murder and two confirmed terrorist acts." Moira announced.

"Fucking traitor!" Janos accused. Angel swallowed, avoiding his gaze as Moira cuffed him.

"I decide who I consider to be a threat." Moira told him. "Not Azazel, not even my supervisors. They make mistakes. I gave you a chance. You fucked it up. Now, be quiet."


Charles sighed and looked over at Cain. He was still talking with Sharon Xavier. Raven had come back into the water, but she currently had her back turned to him. Charles knew that he was getting pulled more and more strongly towards the center of the lake, but maybe he could just make sure to swim back to the dock before the others noticed. It wasn't any fun sticking to the dock like this and the luminous world below was calling out to him so enticingly.

He bit his lip, checking again to make sure he wasn't being watched. No. He let go of the dock and let himself drift for a moment before going under. It was truly beautiful down here. The sun was shining in through the reeds nearby, making a rhythmic, dancing pattern on the silvery-brown log beneath. He turned over to look up at the flickering surface of the water.

There was another presence nearby, so similar to his own that it hadn't registered at first. In fact, it was almost exactly the same as his own. He only noticed it because of the cool metallic impression it left, along with a taste of ozone. It was definitely another mind though. It was coming from closer to the center of the lake. He turned to look and saw a pale, slender figure suspended under the surface of the lake. The area around it was inexplicably darker and a shadow hid the other boy's face, while his jet-black locks fluttered gently in the current. He was remaining stationary somehow. Strange. Charles swam a little closer to investigate. The other boy was anchored. There was a fine, shining strand stretching out of the boys hand, leading back towards the shore, like a fishing line. Charles reached out and poked it experimentally. Suddenly his lungs were desperately demanding oxygen. The other boy's eyes flashed open, glowing with bright blue light and a voice reverberated, loudly through Charles head.

FATHER?

Charles surged upward gasping for breath once he reached the surface.

"Hey Charlie, is something wrong?" Raven asked as he swam hastily past her to shore. He ran right out of the water inadvertently shaking water off onto Cain.

"Jesus Christ!" Cain shouted in annoyance. "Use a towel! Use a damn towel!"

"Watch your language boy!" Kurt warned, not even sparing them a glance. Charles caught the towel that his stepbrother lobbed at his head and used it to dry himself off. The mirror that raven had brought ashore was lying at his feet, having been knocked over when Cain threw the towel.

"Someone should come play with me!" Raven called to them. Charles picked up her mirror, walking towards the adults. The familiar figure was back.

"Not happening." Cain called to Raven.

"Sorry, Love." Mrs. Xavier added, lifting her sunhat off of her face. "It's almost time to return home."

The phantom with silver eyes was watching Charles mournfully. He looked like he wanted to reach out but was somehow restricted. Charles studied him thoughtfully then glanced down at the mirror. His reflection showed a twenty four year old man now instead of the boy he should've expected to see. He glanced back up in surprise. He knew the phantom.

"Erik?" He questioned. The mirror fell from his hand as Cain grabbed his shoulder.

"Nice job, Nerd. Come on, it's time to go." He informed Charles. Everything was already all packed up and ready to go. Raven brushed past them scooping up her mirror as she sped over to join the adults. Charles frowned at Cain, then at Erik.

"Come along boys. The car has arrived." His mother called to them. Cain made an indistinct sound in acknowledgement and picked up Raven's forgotten towel. When Charles didn't answer his mother made her way back to them, still smiling warmly. "What's the matter, Darling?"

Charles swallowed down the lump forming in his throat. She looked exactly as he remembered her.

"You're dead." He said sadly. Her smile faltered. "You—You died twelve years ago." He looked from his mother back to Erik. He seamed more substantial now, and Charles realized that he was beginning to sense his mind once again. "I wish that weren't true… but all three of you have been gone for a very long time, and this—" He sucked in a sharp breath, blinking away tears. "I can't…"

"Oh… You poor thing." His mother's ghost soothed, touching his cheek. He sniffed and pulled away.

"What is this?" He demanded, stepping back. Cain caught his shoulders before he could knock into him. "I don't understand!" The lake seemed to be spreading steadily closer whenever Charles wasn't looking at it.

"Careful, Genius." Cain cautioned. Charles blinked. He couldn't recall his stepbrother ever calling him that before. He looked up at Cain curiously. "It's time to go home."

"I don't—" Charles began to argue, then got a hold of himself. The others were watching them intently. His mother's hand twitched as if she wanted to reach out and grab him but was choosing her moment.

"Now you're getting it." Cain remarked. Charles glanced at Erik again. He could now make out the silhouettes of others further into the trees. Charles licked his lips nervously and looked back up into his stepbrother's face.

"I'm sorry." He confessed. "I never meant for you to get hurt."

"I'm not real, remember?" Cain replied and shoved him forward. The other ghosts moved to grab him but Charles lunged toward Erik, grabbing him by the arms and letting himself fall through into the shade of the trees.


Erik sat bolt upright, becoming completely alert at the sound of Charles' huge gasp. The telepath snapped awake, gulping in air like a drowning man. His vivid, electric blue eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Charles!" Erik exclaimed, both shocked and relieved. "Charles, you're awake!"

"What the hell was that?!" Charles breathed roughly.


A/N: So how'd I do?