"It was the breaking moment for us as X-Men," Jean told Erik. "When Storm died, Apocalypse disappeared. We weren't sure if we would have another chance to catch him."

Jean and Erik retreated to the library where they found privacy. After Erik called Jean insane and unreasonable and threatening to tell Xavier the truth, she had dragged him in the room and slammed the door, locking it. If he wanted to tell his 'old friend' the truth then Jean would give him the whole truth. Even if it killed her all over again to discuss it.

"Charles was devastated," Jean continued. "He locked himself in his office for days. The only time we saw him was at Storm's funeral where he spoke. Poor man," she said shaking her head, "He could barely continue."

"What happened?" Erik asked.

Jean took in a deep breath. "Well…he finally came out one day…we were all in the kitchen…and he ordered us back to where Storm was killed. That's how we find out that Apocalypse had relocated. It was another blow dealt to us; we had nothing to go on. Then, Charles left one day. He told us that he had some business to attend to and he was going to visit an old friend."

"Moira," Erik said, a small smile forming on his lips.

Jean nodded. "He was supposed to be gone for a week; it ended up being three weeks." Jean took another breath and stood up, suddenly feeling very warm and uncomfortable. "Scott went to go see Moira, in search for Charles, while Logan and I searched within the city and on the outskirts."

"Let guess," Erik drawled. "He was nowhere to be found?"

Jean nodded. "That's when it all started; it's when I realized first hand that the war was starting…and we were already on the losing side."

"I was driving back to Westchester in my SUV when I was suddenly thrown off the road…"

Jean kept her right hand on the wheel of the car as she plopped her left elbow on the window seal and held up her head. Dread was filled within her; the sinking feeling that she was never going to find the Professor…that it was too late. Just as she relaxed slightly, gripping the wheel with both hands, Jean heard a horn blaring. Confused, since no cars were on the road, she looked in her rearview mirror, but saw nothing. Glancing back in front of her, she saw a large semi quickly approaching her, in her lane! Panicking, Jean jerked the wheel to the right, the semi slammed on its brakes, nearly clipping her, as the SUV rocked back and forth, nearly losing traction. Keeping the SUV grounded, she swerved back into her lane and exhaled deeply, looking back in her mirror. The semi wasn't there. Her brows furrowed as he heart beat quickened. Something was wrong. She slammed on the brakes and the SUV skidded to a stop just as the road curved. Unbuckling her seat belt, Jean left the car running and opened the driver's door. Stepping out slowly, she narrowed her eyes as she looked back for any signs of the semi. She looked at the pavement and saw no skid marks from the semi. Frowning, Jean brushed her back. She turned around and looked down below her. The road she was on was on the end of the mountain and down below she saw nothing but rocks and grass. Convincing herself she was just tired, Jean jumped back in the SUV and closed the door. Just as she reached for her seat belt, she heard the blaring horn again. Looking out her driver's window, she saw the semi again. This time, however, it made impact. The metal hitting metal screamed in Jean's ears. She could feel the impact as the semi slammed into her SUV and sent it hitting the barrier and tumbling down the mountain side. The last thing Jean felt, rather than saw, was her SUV hitting the bottom ground.

Then nothing…

"You survived that?" Erik asked, amazed. Jean nodded, carelessly looking through the books on the shelves. "How?"

Jean shrugged, placing the book away. "I don't quite know."

Erik nodded slowly, absorbing the events. "Then what happened?"

Jean picked up another book and looked at Erik. "Then…I found out the truth."

"Is she awake?"

"Hey! Quit it!"

"What?"

"Stop messing with it! You're gonna fuck up something then X will have your head."

"Hey…I think she's waking up…"

"Oh shit…"

"No wonder why they wanted to keep her alive. She's a looker."

"Shut up."

"Stop hitting me!"

Jean slowly opened her eyes then shut them when the piercing light hit her lens. She groaned from the pain, feeling as if her eyes were burning her. She tried to speak, but realized she couldn't; her mouth was dry and her throat felt like it was on fire. She attempted to open her eyes again and saw the outlined shadows of two males.

"Hey…I think she's trying to talk…"

"What's going on?" another voice said.

Jean frowned. Why did that voice sound so familiar?

"I think she's awake, X."

Jean felt another presence beside her.

"Jean?"

That voice…it was so familiar…

"Jean…can you hear me?" She felt the man grab a hold of her hand. "If you can, squeeze my hand." She did. "Good." She didn't see the man smile. "You two, go inform Nur, then leave us be."

Jean heard the two scurry and then a door shut. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a man leaning over her. He was blurry, but she was sure that she knew him. "Professor?" she croaked.

He looked down at her.

Yep, it was him. Jean felt relief. He was alive…

"Don't try and speak…not yet," he told her. "Sleep."

And so she did…

The next time Jean opened her eyes, they didn't burn. She sat up, hissing in pain, and pushing herself up from her fetal position. She looked around and saw that she was in a locked cage, apparently passed out on the cold, dirty, hard ground. Still, she had no idea where she was…and it scared her. Then she remembered…

The Professor!

Was he here too? Was he locked up? Was he still alive? So many questions hit Jean at once and none of them quite made sense. She heard a door click and she backed herself against the wall. She heard footsteps approach and her eyes widened.

"Hello Jean."

She blinked. Was she dreaming? "Professor?" She saw him standing there, in front of her, on the other side of the bars. "What…how are you standing?"

He looked down after the confusion washed from his face. "Oh, this." Jean frowned. "A little gift," he said with a shrug.

Jean felt her power within her surge. Something was definitely wrong. "Watches are gifts," Jean spat, "Not the ability for a crimpled man to once again stand."

"Is that what you've thought of me?" he questioned.

Jean blinked. Was he throwing her words back at her as if it were a game? "Who are you?"

He looked at her as if she had gotten a bad report from the teacher and she had made a stupid excuse for her behavior. "You know who I am very well, Jean."

Jean was beginning to get a very bad vibe from the man standing in front of her and Phoenix was letting it be known. It made it even worse when she felt him inside of her head. She grunted in pain, holding her head, and blocked him out. Staring up at him, with surprise, anger and tears in her eyes, she hissed, "You're not him."

His cocky expression never wavered. "I am and the quicker you accept that…the quicker it'll be for you."

Jean narrowed her eyes at him. "You're…not…him…"

But he said nothing; Xavier simply walked out, leaving Jean alone.

"He must've done that to me for weeks…I lost count after awhile. All the days kinda blurred together."

"Then how did you know?" Erik asked curiously. "Did he tell you…?"

"He…" Jean chuckled painfully. "Showed me. Mentally, he mind raped me. Somehow he figured out a way to break my shields and once he did…" Jean shook her head at the memory and walked over to Erik again. "Apocalypse gave him more power. Added to what Charles was already capable of…"

Erik nodded. "It made him as powerful as you."

"More powerful," Jean corrected. "He tortured me with visions day after day, hour after hour. It was always the same thing. Me killing Scott, Logan killing me, me going insane and killing everyone. After Alcatraz…I spent years rebuilding my life. Charles knew that and he saw it as a weakness."

"What were they trying to do?"

Jean shot Erik a look saying, As if you don't know. "Dark Phoenix."

"Of course," Erik muttered.

"Apocalypse was building an army and who better than the legendary Phoenix?"

"So I take it you turned down their offer?" Erik mused.

Jean didn't laugh nor did her expression soften. "Once I started getting violent…they started to get violent…"

Jean grabbed Pyro by the collar and threw him through the wall. "Let me out of here!" she screamed.

"Calm down Jean," Xavier soothed.

Jean spun on him, her eyes glowing brightly, threatening Xavier. But he didn't flinch. Phoenix titled her head until Jean realized it.

"…it was what he wanted; for me to lose control."

"They wanted to tame the beast," Erik replied, realizing where it was heading.

Jean nodded. "But Logan was right. Once you cage the beast…the beast gets angry. Instead, I stopped fighting. Eventually, he would get tired to mind raping me and I never fought back anymore so they didn't want to fight me."

Erik's eyes widened. "They just let you go?"

Jean snickered. "Of course not."

When Jean said nothing further, Erik frowned. "Well…?"

Jean's eyes grew dark. "As a telepath, we respect a person's mind. We never do anything because a person's mind is fragile and it is very much considered rape if we cross those boundaries." Erik said nothing, giving Jean the time to say what she needed. "He erased my memory," she confessed, seeing Erik's jaw drop and his widened. It was a crime that Charles Xavier would never commit. In the time that Erik had know Xavier, erasing someone's memories was a big no-no. "Logan said he and the others were given word and they found me in a hospital. They had found my SUV months ago…but not me." She looked back up at Erik with tears in her eyes. "I was gone for months! And with no memory. All I remembered was the accident. Even though nothing made sense to me and everything felt strange and mixed up…three months were missing from my life. Everything had changed. Emma and Scott were together. After everything that Scott and I went through, he was with her, and I couldn't handle it."

Erik swallowed hard before asking, "How did you…?"

"I escaped the fire…"

Jean collapsed on the sidewalk as she coughed, spitting out blood. Slowly, she looked up at the house, the house that her family had lived in for years…the house that she grew up in. As the flames grew, she painfully stood up, watching as the fire danced on the roof. Her parents and sister were dead and the one man that she thought she could trust had done it. As she watched, images suddenly flashed in mind. The car accident, the cage, Charles leaning over her, sweeping through her mind, her getting attacked by Pyro. As she blinked, coming out of her daydream, her eyes narrowed and her she clenched her hands into fists. Three months of her life had just come flooding back to her…

Jean turned and stormed away from the house, her mind set on one thing, one man, only. She barely registered as her shock neighbor walked past her, gasping at the house. "Mrs. Grey!" she uttered.

"I didn't like the color," Jean muttered, referring to the house, not engulfed in flames.

"No one believed me," Jean said, "but I didn't care. I gained three months of my life back just to lose everything else."

Jean stormed through the halls of the mansion, ignoring the students who looked at her concerned, gasping and whispering to each other. Once she began to reach the elevator, Scott stopped her.

"Jean…jeez…what happened?" he asked, scared. She covered in a mixture of dirt, dust, cuts and blood. From the way she was walking, he was sure that her shoulder was separated and she broke a few ribs.

"Charles," she seethed.

"What?"

Jean turned, her eyes black and furious, as she glared at Scott. "Charles is what happened!"

"The Professor?" he said. "Jean…"

Without a word, she stormed off again, forgetting about the elevator, and took the stairs. Jean knew that Scott would call for help so she needed to hurry. The faster she went, the more it hurt her chest, but she continued.

Before she could reach Cerebro, Logan, Hank and Moira came out of the elevator with Scott. "Jean?" Logan said with concern once he saw her.

Jean never stopped. "Get out of my way."

"Jean, you need medical attention," Scott said. "I think Apocalypse did something to you…"

Jean shook her head furiously. "No…it was Charles."

"Chuck?" Logan said with his brow raised. "Look, even I don't like 'em sometimes…"

"Move!" Jean demanded. "Before I make you."

Hank took a step forward. "Jean…"

Using her powers, Jean slammed them into the walls, dazing them, as she walked past and into Cerebro. One way or the other…she was going to find Charles…and kill him.

"Were you ever successful?" Erik questioned quietly.

Jean looked down at her hands. "I came close…but I never could." Erik nodded…understanding. "More people died because of me. Because I couldn't do it."

"So who did?"

"Logan," Jean said simply.

Erik watched as she shifted uncomfortably and eventually stood up, ready to walk out. "Raven…" he said, making Jean stop and turn to face him. "Was she always working with Apocalypse?" Jean thought about it, and then shook her head. Erik then stood up. "Is that a good thing…or a bad thing?"

"Personally?" Jean questioned. "Bad. For us, now, it could be considered good."

"How so?"

"Because…it's changing history."