(A/N) Well, fellow fans, as always, thankee kindly for your reviews, favorites, and alerts. Hopefully, I continue to please.

A Song of Steel and Fire

Chapter 2: Requiem for the Fallen

No sooner had the words left Shaw's mouth than Azazel had vanished, reappearing a second later with Eric held tightly in his arms.

"Please," Charles begged, struggling to remain calm, "don't hurt him. Whatever you're planning to do…take me instead. He's just a boy."

"Daddy! Papa!" Eric shouted, starting to cry as Azazel passed him to Shaw.

"Now why do you always assume the worst of me, Charles? You don't know why I'm here."

"You…you can't take him," Charles said, feeling like he might start to cry himself if Shaw didn't put his son down right this instant.

"Who said anything like that? We've just come to wish your boy a happy birthday," he said, turning his attention down to the little boy in his arms. "Eric James Xavier. That's your name, isn't it?" he asked gently.

"Mmhm," Eric mumbled, wiping his nose as he nodded.

"That's a nice name. How old are you today, Eric?"

Eric didn't say anything. He just meekly held up four fingers, trying very hard not to cry.

"Did you get some cool presents?"

"Uhuh. P-please, Sir. I wanna go back to my Daddy and Papa," Eric pleaded, lower lip trembling.

"You're a very brave boy, Eric…trying so hard not to cry. Before I let you go back, I do have a present for you. Is that okay?" Shaw asked, gently lifting Eric's face up by the chin in order to look him in the eye.

"I- I guess," the little boy said, sniffling quietly.

"Good," the older mutant whispered, turning a leering gaze to Charles and Erik as he lowered his lips to Eric's.

It wasn't a full-blown kiss…not quite. Shaw pressed his lips to the corner of Eric's mouth, darting his tongue out to slip it delicately inside for only a second. Eric was too frightened to try to resist. He couldn't understand what was happening to him. The man wasn't hurting him…but he didn't like what he was doing, either. The way he was holding his body pressed against his made him feel strange. His stomach was churning and he felt like he was going to throw up.

"Put him down now!" Erik growled, the metal in the near vicinity beginning to rattle in response to his anger. The utensils on the tables all twisted themselves into unrecognizable shapes.

Finishing with the boy's lips, Shaw moved down to his neck, pressing his lips to the soft skin.

"Do you like your gift, mein kleinen Eric?" he murmured against his neck, beginning to suck on the skin.

Say 'yes.'

"Yes," he said, nearly throwing up as the word slipped out of his mouth. Charles had spoken to him often enough through telepathy that he could recognize it…but this wasn't Daddy…or Aunt Destiny or Pele. He didn't know this voice.

You like this, the voice urged nastily in his head. He was so scared and confused, all he wanted to do right now was curl into a ball and cry.

"Please…please let him go," he heard Daddy begging. Then there was a sudden sharp pain in his neck and he couldn't keep from crying out.

"Eric!"

Shaw licked his lips as he pulled back from him. "Mm, tastes nice," he said. Then, shifting Eric in his grasp, he briefly rested a hand between his legs. Several tears escaped his eyes.

"What…what are you doing? Please…I don't like it…please stop…please…"

"All right, Liebkind, you can go back to your parents now," he said, kissing him on the cheek and setting him back on his feet.

For a moment, Eric swayed on his feet, feeling extremely dizzy and sick, but then his eyes focused on his daddy, holding out his arms for him. Once he was sure he wouldn't fall, he ran to him as fast as he could and Charles caught him, sweeping him up in his arms and hugging him close, gently rubbing his back as Eric buried his face in his shoulder and finally began to sob.

"Daddy, I don't feel good," he cried helplessly. "My tummy feels funny."

"It's all right, baby," Charles soothed, kissing the top of his head. "Everything's going to be all right. I'll take you inside soon and we'll get you feeling better." For Eric's sake, he fought to keep himself calm. His lover's rage was loud enough for the both of them…loud enough to speak for the ugly, dark bruise blossoming on their son's neck.

"He's just a child," Erik hissed, summoning up one of his switchblades.

"So were you, mein kleinen Erik Lehnsherr. It's the best time to start."

"Start what?" Erik demanded, moving to stand between Shaw and Charles and their son. He knew…of course he knew that answer. How could he not? But at the same time, part of him desperately wished it wasn't what he knew. He couldn't bear to think of it applied to his son. He had sworn never to let that happen.

"I promise you, Erik, you'll be thanking me for it someday. I have it on good authority that what's to come is the only way to awaken your boy's power."

"I don't care what you think you're accomplishing…you will not touch him again," the metal-kine snarled, raising the blade to Shaw's face.

"Going to kill me, Erik? I'm not entirely certain you could."

"Touch one hair on my son's head and I promise you there won't even be enough of you left to bury."

"His head? Oh, no, no, no, you misunderstand my meaning. I don't have to hurt your son…at least not directly. If he's anything like the two of you, there's a much easier way to accomplish my goals."

"This is the only warning I'm going to give you. That helmet isn't going to protect you from me. Get out of here…now…or I'm going to skin you alive," Erik threatened, his expression leaving no room for doubt.

"All right, all right," Shaw capitulated, raising his hands in defeat. As he began to back away from Erik, his gaze drifted over the group of people, coming to rest on one person in particular. At first, he didn't quite believe it, but then his eyes and mind slowly looked back through the changes the years had wrought….and finally found the dark, fiery gem of his collection.

"Pele…?" he said slowly, still a little disbelieving. "Pele…I must say, I'm a little surprised to see you…alive," he said, his tone souring as he glanced briefly at Emma.

"You're…only just now learning this?" the young telepath asked, trying her best not to let her own fear show.

"Well, apparently some people don't see fit to tell me these things," he said, glancing between Emma and Blindfold on either side of him, but then he seemed to consider the situation and he began to smile again. "No matter. I've found more than I expected today: not three, but four gems that belong to me."

"Eric and Charles don't belong to you!" Erik snapped.

"Only Eric and Charles, kleinen Erik?" he asked with a knowing leer. "You don't deny you belong to me?"

Finally, the hand that held the switchblade dropped and Erik's hands dangled uselessly at his sides, a look of combined hatred, self-loathing, and acknowledgment in his grey eyes.

"I never have. How can I? You made me what I am…Herr Doktor…but that doesn't mean I have to lie back and take it."

"We'll see."

"You're…Ruth Aldine?" Destiny's voice suddenly broke in.

The elder precog's face was turned in Blindfold's direction, but even her odd brand of sight did not avail her now. She imagined the girl was experiencing much the same thing; there was simply a void in reality where she stood…a vanishing point in the grand causal scheme of the universe.

"Yes," the younger seer answered to the other blank space, "and you're Irene Kinross." It was virtually the only detail they had about each other…names. Unlike all the other people in their lives, these two women could never really see each other…and for two people who could literally see all, this was something new and slightly frightening.

Saying nothing more, Blindfold began to move toward Destiny. At first, she moved at a normal pace, but as she came closer, she began to slow, and Destiny thought she knew why. As the young woman came closer, the gaping void in her awareness grew larger, slowly engulfing her reality. By the time they were no more than a few feet from each other, her mutant senses were completely gone. Her vast awareness had fallen into darkness. Even her psychic connection to Mystique, the other woman's presence in her mind a constant comfort, had been cut off completely. For the first time since her mutation had manifested, Destiny was well and truly blind.

Blindfold stopped her advance, overcome by the same effect. For a moment, she held her hands out in front of her, as if to stumble forward, but then they fell limply at her sides.

"A-Azazel?" she called quietly. "Can you help me? I can't…I can't see."

The teleporter's eyes widened briefly at this, but he soon bamfed to her side, placing a protective arm around her shoulders and guiding her steadily forward.

"The…the baby," she said slowly, haltingly, still unused to the state of helplessness. Understanding her wish, Azazel took one of her hands in his and guided it to Destiny's swollen stomach. The elder seer stood stark still, unable to see what was happening. Mystique stood by her side throughout, ready to spring into action should it prove necessary.

Blindfold gasped faintly when she felt the child kick against her palm. "Hello…Kurt," she said softly.

Destiny's eyes widened in seeming horror as realization washed over her. "It…it's you. You're the reason I can't-"

"Yes," Blindfold interrupted before she could reveal anymore.

"You and he-"

"Yes."

"But…but why? She won't even-"

"You know why," Blindfold countered, her hand slowly falling from Destiny's belly and balling into a fist. "You know what must be…and what must never be."

"Why him? Why her?" Destiny continued to plead, her sightless eyes suddenly bright with unshed tears.

"Because we are the only ones who can make that decision. They would not survive."

Destiny's eyes slid shut and three tears slid down her face before she nodded, recapturing her composure with a brief shudder.

"Don't waste it," Blindfold advised.

"I wouldn't dream of it," she whispered, her hands unconsciously moving to the swell of her growing child.

"That…that's enough," Blindfold finally said to Azazel, who wrapped his arms securely around her and teleported back to the other two.

"She's right. That is enough," Erik said, his eyes narrowed to mere slits in pain and anger. "Haven't you caused enough damage for one day?"

"You know I can always do a little more. If you want to know just how much, come to my villa in Florence…and know that until you do come to me, your son isn't safe. He never has been."

Before anyone could say anything more, the four vanished into thin air. The next sound to be heard was the violent sound of retching. Eric had thrown up on Charles.

"I…I'm sorry…" Eric groaned, crying even harder.

"Oh, oh, you're fine, sweetie," Charles soothed, turning to head back to the mansion. "It isn't your fault. We'll get you cleaned up. Just lay your head on my other shoulder," he coaxed, shifting Eric in his arms.

Erik grabbed a few napkins from their table and quickly followed after them, starting to clean up the worst of the vomit as they moved. Once he'd finished with this, he moved around to Charles' other side, gently ruffling their son's hair to get him to look up.

"Feeling any better, Liebling?" he asked, keeping his focus on his son in order to quiet his raging mind.

Eric nodded weakly, clinging to Charles for all he was worth. "Ja…a…a little."

"Al ti-ra veh al tif chad," he said to him in Hebrew, knowing Eric liked the language, even if he couldn't yet understand it. "Daddy and Papa promise never to let him touch you again."

"Who…was that?"

"A very bad man," Charles said harshly as he continued to rub Eric's back.

"I don't…I don't feel good," the little boy continued to cry, unable to truly process what had happened to him. "It…it feels weird," he struggled to explain.

"Shh, shh, it's all right now," Charles repeated, even though he knew it bloody well was not all right. Their son had experienced something no child should have to experience, even if it had been only a fraction of what Shaw was capable of.

Both parents knew in that moment that they would die before they allowed Sebastian Shaw to touch Eric ever again.

XxX

Charles gave Eric a bath…even though his baby boy was shaking badly and hesitant to be touched, even by him. Erik stood watch all the while. Charles then got Eric into his pajamas and put him to bed, even though it wasn't quite dark yet. Charles lay with him until he fell asleep, which didn't take very long. The poor boy was exhausted and emotionally drained. Neither of the parents felt comfortable leaving him alone when the threat of Shaw still loomed so near, even though they knew they needed to talk about what had happened and they would both be needed. Pele was the one to finally offer a solution. She could sit in Eric's room with him, in case he woke…or in case of danger. She would be able to keep tabs on the meeting, offer her opinions with her telepathy and she could keep an eye on Eric.

"What did Blindfold tell you the day she contacted you?" Destiny demanded of Charles once they had all gathered in Charles' study. Even Haley joined them while Jubilation kept an eye on Scott and Elliot.

"I might ask you the same. What was going on between the two of you today?" Charles fired back.

"What you said: something between me and her. You know I can't tell you these things," she reminded him, though she was mostly resigned to the fact that there would always be a rift between her and Charles and Erik over her power…especially after what had happened with Raine.

"Then why should he tell you what she said?" Erik asked callously.

"Because we can't help if we don't know all the details," Artemis said reasonably. "You don't have to do this alone. We all want to protect Eric, too."

Sighing, Charles ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, yes, of course you're right. I'm not thinking clearly."

"It's all right," Elsie reassured. "It's been a very trying day."

"She said…that she hoped I'd enjoyed my time with Eric…because it would be over soon," he explained as he sat down beside Erik, hands clasped together and resting against his chin. In an attempt to console, Erik draped an arm around his shoulders, hugging him a little closer.

"Did she…specify which one she meant?" Hank asked. Charles shook his head.

Any light to shed on the subject, Destiny? Pele asked her.

"She doesn't know which one she means," Destiny answered automatically. "For all we precogs sound like we know what will happen, the future isn't a straight line. It isn't fixed. It's infinitely complex. She knows that something may be ending, but she doesn't know which way it will go. The event only becomes more certain the closer you are to it in time. She could mean either one, but meant to scare you into panic or inaction by leaving it open like that."

"And the only way to find out…is to go to Italy," Charles said quietly.

"Can we risk that?" Alex posed the question to the room at large. "I mean…this is pretty obviously a set up. Can we afford to walk into it?"

"Unfortunately, the only way to find out what Shaw's next move is…is to follow where he leads," Erik said heavily.

Don't sound so gloomy about it, Pele reprimanded, clearly cracking a smirk. I'd say we have enough power between us that we can handle springing one little trap.

"What about Eric?" Artemis worried aloud. "With us off hunting Shaw, there'll be no one here to protect him…and he's the one they're really after. The students aren't trained for combat yet. Really, only Tessa has any idea what she's doing."

"We won't all go," Charles answered immediately. "There's no sense in risking all of us."

"But you'll need as many as can be spared," Artemis said thoughtfully. "I might…have an idea."

"What sort of idea?" Charles asked, looking up at her.

"What if we were…to hide him?" she continued slowly, "…to take him somewhere they wouldn't find him?"

"It would be a good idea…if Blindfold didn't already know where you were going," Erik reminded her.

"It might still work. Blindfold is bound by the same laws of causality as I am," Destiny reminded them. "Just because she knows doesn't mean she'll tell them. It depends on how she wants events to play out."

"And that's theunknown factor," Sean said.

"What did you have in mind, Artemis?" Charles asked her.

"My family…my wolf family, I mean," she quickly corrected herself.

"Are you sure you can…go back to them?" Charles asked hesitantly. "It isn't dangerous?"

"Of course it isn't. I'm their sister. They would welcome me and anyone I brought with me."

"And you're sure they would still be there? It has been several years since you last saw them."

"Even if…they're not," she began, clearly not wanting to think about anything of the sort, "I know how to survive out there; I could take care of him. I'd keep him hidden until you all got everything figured out."

"Erik?" Charles queried, turning slowly to look at his lover.

Maybe…she did survive on her own for six years, after all.

I think…it might be good for him to be away from people for a while…after what happened today. Besides…she was very happy with them, he recounted, fondly remembering his sessions with Artemis and her love for her wolf family. I think it would be good for him, he reiterated, clasping Erik's hand in his.

"Okay," Erik said, briefly resting his forehead against Charles'.

"Not gonna lie, it's kinda weird when you guys do that…just stare at each other for five minutes and look up totally decided on something," Sean informed them.

"Gonna keep us in the loop?" Mystique asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We're going to allow this…if you really think you can protect him," Charles said firmly.

"Absolutely," Artemis replied, meeting his gaze with utter conviction. "I won't let anything happen to him."

"Well, if you're going to do this, I'm going with you," Alex announced. "No way you're going this alone."

"Maybe…Pele ought to go with you, as well?" Charles suggested.

No! the young telepath's voice suddenly broke in. Charles, I'm going with you and Erik. I…I have to.

Are you sure you're ready for this? He asked her privately, concerned.

As ready as I'm ever going to be. I just…I have to do this.

As you wish…Iolana.

"Sean, Hank, Mystique, we'll need the three of you with us, as well. Destiny, in your condition, I suggest you remain behind. Haley, for the time being, I would advise that you and Scott remain here. Shaw is certainly not above harming you to get what he wants."

"I do have work, you know?" she reminded him.

"This shouldn't take so long as all that. I did warn you from the beginning that any association with us could prove dangerous."

"Fair enough," she conceded, sighing in slight frustration. Work or no, Haley would certainly do anything to protect her son.

"Try and keep classes running as usual," Charles instructed Elsie, head teacher in his absence.

"Of course."

"And you know what to do if there's any trouble?" he pressed.

"Yes, Charles. We've been over this a thousand times already," she said with a slightly exasperated smile.

"So…Italy? When are we heading out?" Sean asked, sounding more than a little eager.

"Five in the morning," Charles announced promptly to several groans. "I want to let Eric sleep some more. We'll see the three of them off in the morning, then we'll depart, so I would advise you all get to bed at a reasonable hour if you want a decent night's sleep."

XxX

Charles disappeared after the meeting. Once Erik had checked that Pele was okay to watch Eric a while longer, he quickly followed in his footsteps. When Charles Xavier was nowhere to be found, there was one place he would almost certainly be.

As he'd suspected, the metal-kine found his lover sitting out by their daughter's grave. Whenever he was feeling sad or uncertain, or he just plain missed the baby girl who had never really lived, Charles came out to sit with Raine, no matter what time of day or night it was. They sometimes came together, or with Eric, and Erik sometimes came on his own, as well, but he knew Charles came much more often than he did. He'd had a connection to Raine even he could barely fathom…his little child, who had been so like him…losing her had been hard on them both, but it had nearly killed Charles. Even now, five years later, he still didn't like the thought of his baby girl out here alone.

Charles was sitting with his knees drawn up against his chest, his chin resting on them as he traced a hand over the writing on the stone.

"Are you all right?" he asked, laying a hand on his shoulder as he crouched behind him.

"I was…thinking about her today," Charles said quietly, reaching a hand back to touch Erik's.

"I know," Erik said. Invariably, they both thought of their daughter whenever Eric reached any kind of hallmark in his life. Being gentle, Erik pulled Charles back against his body, closer against his warmth, attempting to pull him back from the chill of the night and the horribly morbid and sad thoughts that inevitably seemed to find one beside a grave. "I miss her, too."

"God, Erik, we…we can't lose him," he cried quietly.

"We won't," Erik promised him, trying to reassure him with a gentle kiss to his cheek. "I won't let that monster have our son…no matter what it takes…I won't!"

"Don't…don't say that," Charles mumbled, swiping feebly at the moisture on his face. "Don't say…no matter what it takes. I don't want to lose you, either. I couldn't…bear it…to lose either of you. I couldn't…" He couldn't manage anymore words after that and his mind was a jumbled mass of seething pain and despair. Slowly, Erik helped him to stand, knowing that the best thing for him right now would be to get back inside…away from the thoughts of death.

"You won't. It doesn't have to be that way. She showed you the future before and it turned out all right. You can't let her get to you. She has her own schemes, just like the rest of them. The best thing to do…is just forget she ever said anything and do what we have to do to protect our family," Erik said, keeping an arm wrapped securely around Charles' shoulders as he led him back toward the mansion.

Charles swallowed heavily and nodded, leaning his head against Erik's shoulder. "You're right…I know that. I just can't help…being afraid…terrified. I don't know what's come over me."

"It's what happens…when you lose someone," Erik attempted to explain, his voice breaking slightly over the word 'lose.' "You can't bear the thought of it happening again. The fear grips you…poisons you…until it drives out everything else. We can't let Blindfold get into our heads like that. Just breathe…breathe with me," he coached, slowing down his breathing to a more meditative pace.

Charles did as he asked, breathing in and out slowly, matching Erik's pace, until his frantic thoughts had mostly calmed. For the rest of the walk back to their room, they remained silent, just breathing together, each drawing calm and strength from the other.

XxX

Both parents knew they'd never be able to sleep properly, so they set up a watch. As such, it was Erik who was in the room with their son when the little boy woke screaming from a nightmare. Erik had soothed him, kissed him and cradled him, and ultimately ended up carrying him back to his and Charles' room to sleep nestled between them. Even then, Charles remained awake to allow both his Eriks time to sleep.

By the time five A.M. rolled around, they were sad, but not particularly surprised to find they couldn't get Eric fully awake. So they pulled him into his clothes and carried him down to the underground garage, where Artemis and Alex were already waiting at her bike. The others had all come down to say goodbye, as well.

"Be safe," Elsie counseled her daughter as she hugged her. Alistair pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"We'll be back before you know it," Artemis said with a grin.

"Make sure you don't let anything happen to her, lad," Alistair warned Alex.

"Oh, he'd amputate his own feet before he let anything happen to her," Haley teased her brother, shifting her sleepy son in her arms in order to give him a light punch on the shoulder. "Keep it together, yeah?"

"Yeah," he said.

Mystique and Destiny came to Charles and each gave Eric a goodbye kiss on the cheek.

"We'll see you soon, okay, kiddo?" Mystique said fondly, patting his head.

"We expect to see you back here for the victory party," Pele said to Artemis, giving her a brief hug before the wolf girl went to put on her helmet and climb onto her bike.

"Well, you'll just have to come and get us, now won't you."

"Don't do anything stupid, okay?" Hank requested of Alex as the blonde pulled his own helmet on.

"Come on, Bozo, how much trouble can we get into in the middle of a forest?" he asked as he climbed onto the bike behind Artemis.

"Considering that it's you…I shudder to think," Hank said, completely deadpan.

"Say hi to the wolves for me, okay?" Sean said to Eric, holding up a hand, to which the little boy gave him a sleepy high-five.

"Gonna say goodbye to Eric?" Haley asked Scott, bringing him over to Charles and Eric. While Erik secured his son's own small helmet, the two boys smiled sleepily at each other. Scott waved at Eric and mumbled, "Bye," before laying his head back on his mother's shoulder.

"Eric," Charles began, looking down into his son's sleep-glazed eyes, "Papa and I are going to have to leave you with Rosie for a little while, but she and Alex are going to take care of you. They're going to take you to meet some friends of theirs. Is that all right?"

Eric nodded, still not fully awake.

"We'll see you very soon, pumpkin, so don't be scared. We'll come and get you when it's safe. We will see each other again…I promise you," Charles said, reassuring himself just as much as their son, who of course, had no idea of the true magnitude of this moment. Charles leaned down slightly and pressed a kiss to Eric's forehead. "We love you. We love you so much, Eric."

"I love you, too, Daddy," he managed to say before a large yawn escaped his mouth.

Just as Eric was about to fall asleep again, Erik leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Be good for Rosie, Liebkind. We love you very much."

"Mmhm," Eric mumbled, resting his head against Charles' shoulder. Snuggling him close and kissing him one last time, Charles held onto his sleeping baby for a few more minutes before Mystique had to coax him over to the bike.

Being careful, Charles settled Eric in front of Artemis. Then Alex reached forward and wrapped his arms securely around both Artemis and Eric.

"You'll be careful?" Charles asked Artemis as she revved up the bike. Artemis loved her bike and was very skilled with it…and sometimes could be a little reckless astride it…but Charles also knew that Artemis loved his son like a little brother and would never intentionally put him in danger.

"Absolutely," she said, seizing his gaze with her own, at her most sincere without words in a way only she could be.

"All right," Charles said as he backed away, shaking his head in a vain effort to clear it. "You should go before I really do lose it."

Bending intently over the bike and Eric's slumbering form, Artemis threw the machine into gear, barreling out of the garage amidst waves and calls from the small group. As Charles and Erik watched them disappear into the darkness, Charles leaned briefly against Erik, drawing several shuddering breaths as the metal-kine kissed the top of his head. By the time he had pulled away, however, he had completely regained his composure, every sign of his near break down gone.

"All right, let's suit up. We have work to do."

XxX

(A/N) Translation: Al ti-ra veh al tif chad = Don't be frightened, don't be scared.