PROLOGUE
At the Xavier Institute.
"I'm afraid so…." The voice was low and heavy.
"I see…." There was a long sigh, "Well then, if you say there's nothing more we can do Ororo, then I would like to ask you for one last favour."
"Anything, Erik." The white-haired weather witchlooked upon her companion.
"I would like to be alone with Charles." Erik said and shortly cast his eyes upon the dying mutant on the bed.
Ororo nodded, "Off course, Erik." The weather witch turned slowly around and headed for the door. She understood very well why their former enemy wanted to be alone with the telepath. They shared a history that went way back, which she, and no one else at the mansion, knew about or understood. All Ororo knew was that if there was anyone who deserved to hold Charles' hand until his final breath, it was the Pole, formerly known as Magneto.
Ororo closed the door safely and silently behind her.
Erik took the chair next to the bed and sat down, finding Charles' hand and holding it tight. He tried to fight back the tears that had slowly been building up while he had had the conversation with the beautiful weather-bender. Now, alone, it was getting even harder to hold them back.
"Do not think like that, my old friend." It suddenly came from the mutant lying on the bed.
Erik felt as if his heart leaped a bit. "Charles." He said and then when their eyes connected Erik quickly looked away. "I…."
"Erik, what lies in the past…."
"I know Charles!" Erik said a bit more harshly than he had wanted to. He then looked straight back at the telepath, "But what you have asked me to do is still beyond my belief!"
Charles lowered his eyes for a moment and then rested them upon the man holding his hand. "The children need a strong leader, Erik." Charles held a breath and then as his lungs began to build up in his chest, he coughed while the air came out again. It took a little while before the telepath could talk again, but he managed to speak only with a hoarse whisper. "Ever since you joined the X-Men, and ever since our little war was put behind us, you have showed me how much heart you can put into this school. Even the teachers have told me that, Erik, even Logan has said it in his own special way.…"
"But Charles," Erik began, "I'm not like you."
"Who says you have to be?" The telepath shortly smiled, "I know you have the potential to keep this school running. I've seen it, Erik."
Erik sighed heavily, "I just hope you're right Charles…."
"Oh, I am." The telepath smiled even wider and then with a lot of effort he squeezed his old friend's hand.
Erik tried to smile back, but it was one of the most painful smiles he had ever managed to make. There was silence for a long time in the big bedroom, until the dying mutant looked upon his mourning friend.
"I know there's something more to that sad face of yours," Charles said, "and it is not just my departure from this world…."
Erik looked up and caught Charles' gaze. He could see right away that the mutant in the bed had not used his powers to read him. To read him right now would be for Charles to read an open book.
"It's been over 10 years Charles; I'm loosing ho-..."
"NO! Erik!" Charles raised his voice, "Hope is ALWAYS there! No matter what, hope will be the very thing, we, us mutants are living on. As for you," Charles took his other hand and placed it on top of the Erik's. "Hope is what has brought me to this very moment where I now see it is time for one of my last confessions to you."
"You?" Erik could not help but smile a little and he wondered. "What do you possibly have to offer me of confessions, old friend? Tell me Charles," the white haired mutant said, "are you a sinner?"
Charles' eyes were no longer looking into Erik's.
"Charles?" Erik leaned forward hoping to catch the telepath's eyes without having to raise a hand to turn his face in the right direction. Erik sensed that his friend was struggling with something beyond his imagination.
"What do I know about family…Erik…?" Charles then said and sighed. "My own brother is one of the worst of mutants, our parents are dead, and I never got married or had any children of my own." Again the dying mutant took in a deep breath to fill in his lungs.
"Charles?" Erik was beginning to get impatient, "You confuse me. Is there something you have not told me? Is it about….?"
"I know where he is, Erik." Charles said.
Erik gasped. His mouth flew open and his hands, together with the rest of his body, stiffened.
"You know?!"
Charles nodded.
"You know?! For how long?!" Erik took back his hand.
Charles shrunk by the gesture and looked up, "Yes, Erik. I knew this whole time."
"WHY? HOW?!" Erik flew up from his chair, "And you never told me?"
Charles' skin colour seemed to be more than just white now. It was all bluish. He did not talk while his friend was in this stage. He knew that in such a state of shock one had to be cooled down for the mind to function just more optimally, when it would be given new information, so the telepath waited to hear his friend speak again. And Erik did so, not long after.
The metal mutant began to slow down his heated body, and in the end turned himself to the weakened, dying mutant on the bed. "Speak Charles," he said and crossed his arms.
Charles leaned back and placed his hands on his lap, "A little over ten years ago, your son came to me. He was dealing with something that he did not dare to talk about to anyone but me. I knew that the boy had come to me as a last option to solve his problem." Charles looked at his friend, "Pietro was very very afraid," Charles saw that Erik was beginning to calm down, "so I chose to help him in the best way I possibly could." Charles took in a deep breath and coughed harshly, almost falling over, when unexpectedly Erik came to help his friend. Charles was looking at his friend, stunned.
"I hope you have a good reason for keeping this a secret for so long." Erik said.
Charles was then able to smile, "You see, Erik? This is why I chose you."
Ororo stood outside the door waiting for being called into Charles again. She was his nurse during this hard time while waiting for death to make its final appearance.
The door was opened and Erik stepped out. He looked shortly at the weather-witch and without a word departed from the room.
When Erik left the room where his old friend was soon going to take his last breath, the last words the telepath still rang in his head.
"Keep in mind, Erik, that your son only saw this as a last option, and he has made this decision on his own...not even his pride or his strong egotism was enough for him to do it any other way but this." A cough. "Promise me, that you will learn how to understand why he did this…."
Ororo waited a few seconds before entering the room, and when she did, Charles waves her over immediately. He took her hand as she arrived by the bed side.
" Ororo," he said. "I've just told Erik something about his son…"
" Pietro!?" Ororo was stunned. " He's alive?"
" Yes," Charles said.
" Oh, Evan will be so happy to know this." Ororo smiled.
" Yes, but Storm," Ororo turned to the telepath by the sound of her true same. At the same time her eyes met his, she knew by the look on Charles' face, that there was something important waiting to be said, so she waited patiently. "I want you to take Kurt, Evan and Logan with you, and make sure that Erik does not do anything stupid."
Ororo raised a brow.
"You see, Storm," Charles sighed. " Pietro carries something very close to his heart that has to be protected by all means."
"I don't understand, Charles," Ororo said. "What is in his possession that can be so valuable?"
"I do not have time to explain, Storm," Charles said. "Just make sure that Pietro will be all right and protected by you from possible danger from his father or others. But first of all I want you to send Kurt and Evan to the CPD and find Lance Alvers."
"Avalanche?" Ororo asked with a sneer.
"Yes," Charles said. "As you go, I will explain to you on the way."
The weather- witch did as she was told and then left the room.
Charles fell back onto his pillows on the bed and now knew that the last plan of peace he would ever make had begun.