There are missiles. And Erik and his anger. There's a tackle. Then a punch.

He's lying on the sand. He's trying to get up. He's standing.

There's a sound. He turns to see, to hear, to understand.

A sharp pain rips through his abdomen. He looks down.

There's a hole in his stupid yellow and blue suit. He doesn't understand. Who would do that to something Hank had worked so hard on? Why?

He notices the blood then. Funny, he doesn't remember where that came from.

He looks up to ask Erik, who is facing away from him.

"Erik... I- um... where, did...?"

Erik turns to face him then. He looks frustrated.

"What Charles?" His tone is angrier than his face.

This confuses Charles even more. Is Erik angry at him? Why? What did he do?

"How...I don't remember…"

Charles waves his hand around, trying to explain.

Erik looks confused, then there's a flash of fear across his face. Why? It's only a little blood, Hank won't be that angry, will he?

"Charles!"

Erik rushes forward.

Charles' knees give out.

Charles is lying on the sand again. He doesn't remember how he got there.

Erik is above him. He looks sad, and scared. Mostly scared.

Charles doesn't want Erik scared, doesn't like Erik scared. He wants Erik happy, smiling, playing chess with him.

He tries to tell Erik this, but the words won't come out.

Erik stares down at him, uncomprehensively.

Then Erik looks up, his lips move but Charles can't seem to hear what he's saying.

A red mutant comes to stand above Erik and Charles.

The mutant says something to Erik that Charles misses, and Erik's face gets red.

And then pales.

He looks down at Charles and Charles can see tears in Erik's eyes.

That's not right.

Erik is strong, Erik doesn't cry. Erik himself had told Charles just the other day when Charles had unlocked the memory of Erik's mother, he'd said it'd been the first time in years that he'd even had the urge to cry.

Why is Erik crying now?

Before Charles can ponder the answer any, a wave of drowsiness comes over him and he feels his eyes slipping closed.

Oh well, he'll just ask Erik when he wakes up.