Hey guys! Sorry for the late-ish update. Here's what happened... I didnt sleep. Not till 6am at least... Yeah. I don't know. I probably shouldn't have been drinking monster at 6pm. I mean, I haven't even finished it. Sigh. Anywho! Let's get on with the show!
Charles slouched in his seat, dragging a hand over his face while Hank landed. He had sobered up a few hours ago and cursed himself. He absolutely didn't want to fight with her again. He didn't want to be the reason she cried. He hated when she cried, it pained him too much. Amaya hadn't even come out of the bathroom since then. She locked herself in and even after Logan tried to persuade her to come out, but she didn't respond. Some good the mission was. Logan said that this was an opportunity to fix their relationship, to fix everything. The only thing it did was bring them together to yell at each other again. He had to fix this. He wanted to fix this. But it was too broken. They were both too broken.
Hank landed the plane quickly, getting up from the cockpit. "We should get back to the mansion, come on."
"Way ahead of you," Logan said. He was the first one out of the plane before Hank even finished talking. He didn't want to have to go on a plane for a long while, he could see why Amaya was so apprehensive about them.
Charles went to get Amaya. He paused at the door, trying to think of something to say other than that they were there, but he couldn't. Just as Charles raised his hand to knock, Amaya opened the door. Making eye contact was awkward at best. Neither of them could even sustain it, quickly looking away. Amaya's eyes were still red and puffy, and Charles wanted to say something, anything to make it better, but he couldn't. He didn't want to accidentally make things worse. The way things were going, it seemed like anything could be turned into an argument.
Amaya brushed past him, running a hand through her hair as she left the plane. She couldn't sleep in the least. Whenever her mind slipped for even a second, she awoke well on her way to hyperventilation. Erik wasn't there to help her through it and the nightmares were getting worse, especially after all of the arguments that day.
As she made her way to the car, Logan began walking beside her. She didn't spare him a glance, keeping her eyes ahead.
He put a hand on her shoulder. If she wasn't going to give him her attention freely, he would ask for it. "It's a stupid question, but how you doin', kid?"
"Fine, thank you," she murmured, shrugging his hand off.
He sighed and watched as she wordlessly slipped in the car. Seemed like Rui was wrong. Charles and Amaya wouldn't be able to resolve things. He got in the driver's seat while Hank got in the back, Charles up front with Logan. The mansion wasn't too far, considering the hanger was on the same grounds, but it was still far enough. Either way, the ride as painfully silent. The second they arrived, Amaya swept past everyone and disappeared in the shadows, but not without glancing at Charles. It was so quick, Charles could have sworn he didn't see it if he wasn't looking at her either.
As they walked into the foyer, Charles winced in at the sudden pain in his head. He let out a cry, gripping it tightly. It was such perfect timing, he thought spitefully.
"What happened?" Logan asked, rushing over.
"He needs his treatment," Hank replied, helping Charles over to one of the walls, sitting him down.
"Hank, I can hear them," Charles said. "Make them stop..."
"I'll be right back." Hank nodded to them before rushing up the stairs to grab the serum.
"Hey, hey!" Logan tried as Charles squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears with his hands in an attempt to block out everything. "Pull yourself together. This isn't over yet."
Charles took several heavy breaths, glancing up at Logan whilst pressing two fingers to his temple. "You don't believe that."
"How do you know?"
"The serum kept my powers in hibernation," he reminded. "The longer I go without it, the faster this-" He pointed to his head. "Comes back... They all come back...!" he cried, trying to shut everyone out again.
Logan took a few steps forward, trying to think of something to say. They had to finish this mission and stop Raven. She was going to go after Trask again, that was a definite yes. They may have stopped her from killing him in Paris, but they needed to stop her from killing him permanently. "Look... I'm still here. She's still out there, and we need your help, Charles. I need you," he said as Charles rolled his sleeve up, getting ready for the next dose of his serum. "We can't find her without your powers..."
Hank rushed back, holding a syringe. "I added an extra dosage because you missed one," he said, giving it to him.
"Charles."
He glanced at Logan for a moment before taking the syringe, pressing the tip against his skin, but didn't break it. He hesitated, thinking over everything Logan had said. He knew he was right, but he didn't want to admit it. The voices, the thoughts, the pain, it was too much. It was all too much for him. He didn't want any of it. But they needed him. He needed to help them. If he didn't, the future wouldn't change and they'd be wiped out. Everyone he knew, those he cared about... They'd die. He let out a heavy breath and put the syringe down and wiped his face.
"Hank... Do me a favor," Charles began. "Make sure Cerebro is up and running..."
Hank's face seemed like it lit up tenfold and he nodded. "It hasn't stopped working, it's still up."
Charles nodded and shakily stood up, heading to the hidden elevator that led down to the machine. He would give it one more try. They took the elevator down to the hidden levels of the mansion. Charles was apprehensive about it. The last time he used Cerebro was to look for Amaya. Despite what she thought, he had searched for her, but his mind couldn't take it. Not after all of that loss. They walked into Cerebro, slowly making their way to the middle.
"Raven's wounded," Hank said, turning on the machine. "She won't be moving fast."
Charles took the helmet and blew several layers of dust off of it. "These are muscles I haven't stretched in a long time," he warned, slipping it on his head. Almost instantly, he felt that sharp pain in his mind. It was overwhelming touching all of those minds after so many years. It was worse than he imagined. All he heard was the pain, their shouting, their screaming, their hurt. He couldn't even focus on finding Raven. He wanted to stop, to turn back and never enter this place again. It was scaring him. With a shout, the glass on several of the machine's meters blew up and Charles hastily took off the helmet, breathing heavily.
"Charles!" Hank called, placing a hand on his back. "Charles, it's alright... I'll go check the generator."
"It's not the machinery, is it?"
He shook his head. "I can't do this. My mind..."
"Yes, you can."
"It won't take it."
"You're just a little rusty."
"You don't understand, it's not a question of being rusty! I can flip the switches, I can turn the knobs, it comes from here-" he pointed to his head. "It comes from... And it's broken. I feel like one of my students. Helpless." Charles shook his head and turned around, heading back out. "It was a mistake coming down here. It was a mistake freeing Erik. This whole thing is one bloody mistake. I'm sorry, Logan, but they sent back the wrong man."
"You're right," he said, making Charles pause at the door. Logan began making his way to the man. "I am. Actually, it was supposed to be you, but I was the only one who could physically make the trip and uh... I don't know how long I've got here. But I do know that a long time ago- Actually, a long time from now, I was your most helpless student and you unlocked my mind. You showed me what I was, showed me what I can be. I don't know how to do that for you. You're right, but I know someone who might. Look into my mind."
"You saw what I did to Cerebro. You don't want me inside your head-"
"There's no damage you can do that hasn't already been done, trust me."
Charles hesitantly touched Logan's mind and almost flinched as soon as he did. He saw all of his memories, everything he had to go through. All of the heartbreak and betrayal, all of the loss. "You poor, poor man."
"Look past me."
"No, I don't want your suffering. I don't want your future!" he shouted, eyes watering.
"Look past my future. Look for your future... That's it... That's it."
Charles opened his eyes in Logan's mind, feeling as if he switched places with the man's body. He was laying on the stone table. He sat up and with a quick glance around, cautiously stood from it. He took in his surroundings. A young woman seated at the head of the table, the one who transported Logan back was bleeding heavily, two men by her side. One of them he recognized. Rui. Only, he was slightly older. He was by the girl's side healing her injury. He tentatively stepped to the old man sitting down. This was him. He knew it was, he could feel it.
"Charles," the older him spoke.
Charles couldn't help but smile slightly. This was something he never would have believed if it wasn't happening to him. "Charles. So this is what becomes of us. Erik was right. Humanity does this to us."
"Not if we show them a better path."
He looked at him incredulously. "You still believe?"
"Just because someone stumbles and loses their way, it doesn't mean they're lost forever. Sometimes we all need a little help."
"I'm not the man I was... I open my mind and it almost overwhelms me."
"You're afraid, and Cerebro knows it."
He shook his head. "All those voices... So much pain."
"It's not their pain you're afraid of. It's yours, Charles, and as frightening as it may be, that pain will make you stronger. If you allow us all to feel it, embrace it, it will make you more powerful than you ever imagined. It's the greatest gift we have. To bear their pain without breaking. It's born from the most human power... Hope. Please, Charles. We need you to hope again."
"I can't do it alone," he merely whispered as he felt a tear slip down his face.
The older Charles gave him a small smile. "You're not alone, Charles. You're never alone. Hank, Logan, Raven, Erik, your students, Amaya... You won't be alone."
He chuckled, shaking his head. "Raven, Erik, and Amaya are gone."
"They're not gone. They're lost, and as are you. You will be able to fix this, Charles, fix everything. You just need to hope."
Charles withdrew from Logan's mind, deep in thought.
"Find what you were looking for?" Logan asked.
That was more than enough to convince him to try again. He would still be able to stop Raven and Erik. He would still be able to fix everything that happened, everything that went down between him and Amaya. He would be able to fix the future. He just had to hope and find a way.
"Power's back on," Hank said, slowing down as he arrived. He glanced between Logan and Charles, knowing that something had happened, something to make him change his mind.
"Yes," he replied. "Yes it is."
A lot of this chapter followed the movie, I only changed a few things to fit the story. So a lot of you guys think you know what happened to Amaya, but don't wanna say because it's horrible. C'mon guys! Sharing is caring! See you in the next chappie~!