We hit the ground with tremendous force. I felt my head slam against the cold, hard metal of the plane as it finally skidded to a hault. Raven instantly unbuckled her seatbelt and ran over to Charles and I.

"Are you guys okay?"

I groaned and rolled off of Charles as tried to stand up. "I've had better days…" I muttered, rubbing my throbbing head.

"Sorry to break up the reunion you three, but Shaw is right over there. We have to get to him now" Erik reminded us.

Raven and I shared a look as we went over to stand by Erik.

"Look… Charles" I started to say before he had the chance to open his mouth. "Rae and I talked about this. She's going to man the fort with you on the ground, and I'm going with Erik inside the submarine and you can communicate with us telepathically."

He opened his mouth to protest, but Erik and I already started to walk away while Raven turned to Charles and began to give him instructions. We were 10 feet from the sub before two of Shaw's mutant friends tried to ward us off, followed by Angel. Sean and Alex distracted them while Erik managed to get inside the sub, but Angel continued to get closer to me, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"It's no use Ryleigh, just give it up. The humans are our enemies and we are the better race. The sooner you realize that, the less damage I'll have to do to you" she taunted.

I whirled around and took a swing at her. "How DARE you! He tried to save you…! Darwin gave up his life because he believed that we were all equals and this, THIS is how you repay him? By forcing us to make a choice and playing God? How dare you think that you are superior just because you are different. You sicken me, Angel. You are not the girl I thought you were."

She looked momentarily stunned, and blinked twice before beginning to fly off. "Just this once, Williams. If I see you again, don't expect me to do this again." And with that, she took off and disappeared from view.

I felt a hand grab my shoulder and I shrieked, ready to attack.

"Whoa, hold on… it's just me" Charles said softly.

"What are you doing?" I hissed. "I need to get in there to help Erik!"

He blue eyes snapped up and pierced into him as gave me a sad smile and said "I know, and my intention is not to stop you. I just needed to see you before you left. Just in case…" and he swallowed thickly, unable to finish the dreadful sentence that we both knew the answer to.

"Hey now, have a little faith in me. I'm sure Raven and I have pulled off far scarier stunts. I'm a tough girl" I murmured, trying to lighten the mood.

"If anything happens to you, I don't think I could live with myself for just letting you go" he pleaded.

"I know," I said gently "but this is my choice. I have to do what's right Charles. For all of us."

"Just be careful Ryleigh. I'll stay with you when you're in there" He said, tapping to his head."

I nodded and turned to walk away only to have him grab my arm and pull me into a fierce hug. I finally pulled away and headed towards the submarine. I took a deep breath and walked inside, determined to find Erik. At the same time, Charles began walking back to the aircraft remains. While he walked, he subconsciously hummed the song from Ryleigh's dream. "say you love me more than you did before, and I'm sorry that it's this way. But i'm coming home, I'll be coming home, and if you ask me I will stay, I will stay…"