Lol, told ya'll I have more time in the summer. Anyway, I hope the conclusion of the battle(ish-like-thing) is to everyone's satisfaction. :) Enjoy the chapter! Thanks so much! And don't worry; story isn't over yet, or anything. ;) Can't wait to hear from ya'll! I hope you're having a good weekend!

Chapter 21

Now

Charles's eyes are certainly open now. The moment the telepath reveals herself to Jean he feels it too. He can feel her smug satisfaction and he knows just how much trouble they're in.

Hank's grasp on him tightens, Logan is swearing a streak inwardly, and Erik is somewhere near panic.

"Well," Shaw smiles. "It's so nice to see you all, but I'm afraid I can't let any of you go anywhere."

What happened? Erik questions in despair. How did they know…?

The woman is a telepath. Charles lets all of them know this, rather than only Erik. Otherwise only he and Jean would understand what's gone wrong.

They never had any chance of getting out of here cleanly. Shaw's telepath has been following their moves from the beginning, and anything they try now she'll read before they can try it. She can hear him now, telling them what she is.

Nice to meet you too, sweetheart, she scoffs.

The standoff is silent until Erik clears his throat. "You want me," he says roughly. "I'll stay; just let the others leave, and let Nicole help Charles."

"Erik—" Charles stops, because he doesn't know what else he can say. He can't disagree. It isn't just him. It's the children.

Shaw is shaking his head slowly. "I don't think I will."

"But you told me—"

"That was before you attempted to escape. Not that it would have done you much good if you'd succeeded."

Erik's teeth are grinding. Charles can see it from beside him. He can hear his husband's thoughts working, knowing that if he begs—not that he wants to—Shaw may at least give him one thing or other.

He can't make the decision. He knows what it should be, but he doesn't want to make it. Chest aching, Charles does it for him.

"At least let the others go," he says quietly. He's so tired.

Logan, scowling, adds to that. "Just the kids, if you want. Let the kids go." He didn't have to do that, but he did it. Charles thanks him silently, hoping he's paying attention enough to notice.

Scott has a protective arm around Jean, and the girl wants to protest what the adults are saying but nothing is coming out.

Shaw is still looking at them, thinking, though Charles doesn't know what it is going through the man's mind, and it's still as frustrating as ever. But it doesn't matter, really. There are six of them and they're not outnumbered, but he can't do much now himself and all of their powers are useless against Shaw. His only idea won't work now—not until he's stronger.

Or…Charles doesn't know exactly what else to do, especially in his current condition, but he knows he can't even attempt to figure it out with Shaw's telepath monitoring his and everyone else's thoughts.

He does the only thing he can. He puts up as much of a shield as he can, hoping it will be enough to keep her out of, at least, his own thoughts.

It works. He knows it works because his head hurts awfully all of a sudden and because he can feel the telepath's annoyance. Frost. Her name is Emma Frost. You really think that's going to help you? she laughs. Even if you cook something up in there, you can't do it. You don't have enough strength left. You can't even stand up; what makes you think you can do anything against me?

But though he can hear her she can't hear him any longer; not unless he wants her to. He can't protect the others' thoughts too, but it's something.

Though he isn't certain how long he can keep even that up.

Don't worry about it. I've got you.

Jean. She's done the same—cloaked her mind, after watching him do it. She's lending him energy now, and it does help some but as weak as he is it's still difficult, just to control what she gives him. But now, at least, the two of them can communicate.

We have to do something, Mom. I'm not going home without you.

You will if there is no other choice.

There is. I know there is. If you can't really do anything right now then tell me what to do, or…I don't know. I don't guess getting Shaw's helmet off right now would do us any good, would it?

Likely not. I'm not sure. She doesn't know how to do what he'd planned to do. It would be incredibly complicated, and Charles isn't entirely sure it would work even if he were at normal strength. But something else…

Charles gasps in pain, curling farther in Hank's arms when Frost pounds on his brittle defenses.

"Charles!" Erik's hands, one on an arm and one on his shoulder

"They're trying to plan something—the telepaths are trying to shut me out," Frost says aloud.

"Trying? Or succeeding?" Shaw questions in amusement.

Frost scowls, and Charles shouts when she lashes out in anger and the pain worsens. He doesn't have enough to protect himself—just to keep her out of his thoughts. Or at least, he doesn't want to waste what energy he has on anything else. He hears angry shouting, vaguely, but everything else fuzzes out until it stops.

"-st stop!"

"-eave him alone!"

They all fall silent when Charles stops shouting, and when he opens his eyes Erik is close and leaning over him. "Charles…?" Charles is only able to nod in reassurance, but it's better than nothing. Erik swallows, and there's a hand on his cheek for a moment. "I'm so sorry," Erik whispers near his ear, softly enough that only the two of them hear. "This was never supposed to happen."

"I assume that means they're succeeding," Shaw smirks. He shifts his attention from Frost back to the escaping party. "You might as well stop, Charles, Jean. There is nothing you can do. You have nowhere to run and I can overpower any of you."

Maybe so. But Charles has kept hold of his shielding.

Mom? Mom, are you okay? Jean is asking worriedly.

That is an extremely relative term for me at the moment…

He's held on to the shielding, but though Jean is still trying to help him he's growing weaker by the moment.

If he's going to do anything, it has to be soon.

Shaw is motioning past them now, more firm. "Back down the tunnel, all of you. None of you are going anywhere."

"But the children—" Erik protests.

"Knew what they were getting into when they came to rescue you, and what would happen if they failed. It's happened. Cooperate with me, Erik, and they might at least live."

"What about Mom?" Hank questions tightly.

"It's clear that one of you needs to die for your father to understand how serious his situation is. Charles is so close already it seems a shame to waste the effort it took to put him there."

Shaw seems to enjoy saying that quite a bit. Erik is seething, but when the other mutant raises an eyebrow at him he says nothing. With him still close Charles is able to gain a grip on his arm, but it doesn't seem to help at all.

Erik…

I failed. I couldn't protect you. I couldn't protect anyone…

I love you.

That brings him up short, and Charles doesn't care that Frost can hear them since it isn't only within his own mind. Erik looks at him, eyes damp though he would probably very much rather that they weren't, and covers Charles's hand on his arm with his own.

I love you, too.

If nothing happens here, if they don't get out of this now, the others may still have a chance to take care of Shaw and get out of here later. Erik did it once before as a boy; they can do it again. Maybe Charles won't be here, but that hope is something. He knows Erik will do everything he can to make it happen, and that he'll keep his promises about everything else.

"The boy is back," Frost says abruptly.

Shaw is scowling. "Where the hell is Azazel?"

But Charles is already seeking out Kurt, and finds him in the valley in a stand of trees with the other children.

And now that the boy is within range, Charles knows exactly what to do.

Or to try to do.

He pulls together every bit of strength he has, everything Jean has given him, and makes sure the line between them is still open in case he needs more. He compiles concentrated telepathic bursts to send to Kurt and Erik. Frost will hear them, but not be able to decipher them herself quickly enough to do anything before it's too late.

Jean is privy to everything he's doing—almost everything—and she's understandably worried. Are you sure? Can you do anything like that now? Why don't you let me do more?

Just take the others with them out of the equation. Put them to sleep. I don't want you anywhere near Shaw's mind.

But what about the telepath? I could distract her—

AND put the others to sleep at the same time? You're strong, Jean—stronger than me on my best day, at the core of it—but you need more practice, and more coordination. Beyond that, you've done quite a bit in recent days. I'm proud of you. But it's much safer if you leave Shaw and the telepath to me.

Safer for me. Not safer for you. I really hate to say it, but I wouldn't even be so sure about you taking on just Shaw right now. Or just the telepath, for that matter.

Jean…

Let me help with the telepath. At least.

And he doesn't really have time to argue, so he agrees. Jean signals that she's ready, and Charles drops his shields and sends the bursts.

"What are we supposed to be doing?" Moira questions.

"I don't know," Alex is saying. "Jean hasn't contacted us anymore. I don't know what's going on, or anything."

Kurt would have jumped into the compound, but he doesn't know where the others are. Jean hasn't contacted him, either. He and Alex and Sean and Ororo and Moira are trying to decide what to do when the message hits him.

It's everything he needs, inserted into his mind at once—where Uncle Charles and the others are, what kind of trouble they're in, and exactly what Uncle Charles needs him to do.

He doesn't waste time explaining where he's going, as he knows he can't. He goes the moment he knows he needs to.

Frost opens her mouth to warn Shaw, but Charles and Jean are already on her, shutting her up and keeping her from stopping Kurt when he teleports into the storage room.

It's an understatement to say that Shaw is shocked when the boy appears right behind him, leaving again in an instant with the helmet and leaving his mind unprotected.

Charles shifts immediately to clamping down on Shaw's mind as his other lackeys behind him drop, deeply asleep, thanks to Jean. He's immediately glad that he allowed Jean to help him with keeping Frost suppressed, because Shaw's mind is…much more difficult than he expected. All of the energy he's absorbed in his long lifetime has made him stronger in more ways than one.

Erik has heard him, and he's waiting for the signal that Shaw is under control. But it isn't that easy. Even with the connection to Jean, trying to control the man is draining him immediately.

He has to do this. If he doesn't do it now they'll all be dead.

Charles hears himself screaming. Fighting so hard is hurting him. Damnit, if he were at full strength this would hardly be a fight at all.

But it is, and he's running out of energy. He's running out of time. He's running out of everything. Erik is holding onto him and he wonders if it's the last thing he'll ever feel.

Frost is bent over, trying to fight them and failing. She is not a problem. But though Shaw can't do anything else right now, if attacked he could still absorb the energy.

Mom, I've got the telepath! Don't worry about her!

He has no choice but to listen to her. He draws any focus away from Frost.

Did you really think you could defeat me?

Shaw. Charles bites back a cry and pries his eyes open, locking gazes with the man who caused his husband so much pain. I have to.

He does it. He refocuses everything on Shaw, pushing with everything he has left, and Shaw, already limited in movement, freezes completely. Or he would have if Erik hadn't received Charles's signal at the same moment. Instead he drops, a small hole in the center of his forehead.

The small bit of metal from Erik's pocket is buried in the wall behind him.

Erik sends the ball of metal flying as soon as he knows it will do any good, and the moment after Shaw collapses the woman in white does too. Though she is merely unconscious like the others and not dead like Shaw.

Jean stumbles, letting out a heavy breath, but Scott catches her and otherwise she seems fine.

The consequences are not so mild for Charles. He goes limp in Hank's arms, gasping and moaning and coughing up blood. "Oh god, Charles—"

"Damnit," Hank swears. He moves quickly to settle his mother on the floor against the back wall of the storage room, and behind him Logan is swearing much more colorfully and demanding to know what the hell just happened.

"He kept Shaw's powers at bay long enough for me to do that," Erik says quickly, motioning to the dead mutant. Dead. He isn't quite processing that yet. Shaw is gone. But that isn't the concern right now. "Charles! Can you hear me?" He drops to his knees and takes his husband's face between his hands, and Hank is puling his jacket off and pushing it behind his mother's head.

Charles nods once, but he can't get breath enough to say anything and Erik feels nothing in his mind. God, if Charles has nothing left even to contact him that way…"Charles?" This times it comes out unevenly.

A quiet thump, and Jean is beside him and panicking, words tumbling out almost too fast to be understandable. "It took everything he had to do that. He was already so weak even using my energy didn't help. He—in his condition, doing that…Nicole needs to get here. Damnit! I knew he shouldn't have done that! We have to do something. Oh my god, oh god—"

Erik stares at her until it clicks.

Charles is dying. Not in another day or so if nothing is done to purge the radiation poisoning.

Right now.

His gaze snaps back to his husband, who can breathe and has calmed by now. Charles is looking at him, and he doesn't even need to nod for Erik to know he's understood correctly. He swallows, finding one of Charles's hands and twining their fingers. Charles can scarcely squeeze back, but he tries, muscles spasming anyway with weak coughs.

"Where is Nicole?" Erik questions desperately.

"On her way," Jean tells him. "She knows we need her."

He nods, eyes never leaving his husband's. He leans in closer to kiss the cheeks he isn't stroking with a thumb. "Just hold on. You'll be fine…" he whispers. He wishes he could keep the tightness out of his voice, but he can't help the part of himself that's petrified.

Logan is pacing by the door. Scott is standing behind Jean and doesn't seem to know what else to do. Jean is still beside Erik and Hank is at Charles's other side across from them with fingers loosely wrapped around one of his mother's wrists.

"His pulse is weakening fast…" he mutters worriedly.

"She's coming. Just a couple of minutes," Jean says.

"Erik…" The voice is by his ear, barely audible.

"Charles, you're going to be fine. It's over. We did it. We're safe…Nicole's going to help you." Damn his voice for shaking again. Charles's eyes are closing. That can't be good. Erik shakes him, just hopefully not enough to hurt him. "Charles!" He hears Hank and Jean calling out with him, but at the same time he doesn't.

His husband's eyes open again, as wet as his own, and everything freezes in that moment.

Charles feels drained. Empty. He can feel himself slipping away and the only thing still holding him here is Erik. Erik and the children and he can hear them but everything is dimming. He can hear their words but not their thoughts. He can't hear anyone's thoughts. He can't even feel their minds—at least not in the sense that he's used to.

Everything is gone. All he can feel in the faint pressure he felt when he was young, before his powers were really available to him.

"Charles, you're going to be fine. It's over. We did it. We're safe…Nicole's going to help you…" He can hear Erik, but he can't keep his eyes open. Shaking…is someone shaking him?

"Charles!"

He knows there are other voices, but all Charles really hears is Erik's voice, cutting through the fog of nothing and the pressure. The gray unidentifiable feeling of his powers existing but having no active strength. The way it was before the war.

Erik is still calling to him. His eyes open and he can see his husband looking at him, begging him to stay. Loving him. And…

A point of light, in the pressure. Through the gray. A point of light that seems somehow familiar.

And it all comes back. The boy. The point of light. The mind. The one he's felt connected to from the beginning. Except when he forgot. He didn't mean to forget, but if needed fate can work without one's help. This time it did.

Charles almost laughs when he understands. He would, if he had the strength for it. Instead he smiles and squeezes his husband's fingers tighter—all he can do.

"It was you…it was always you." He's not sure it's loud enough to hear, but from the look on Erik's face it was enough. Erik doesn't seem to know exactly what he means, but he offers what he can in return.

"I love you," Erik manages softly. There are tears on his face now. Charles wishes he could make them go away. The boy he saw so many years ago was so happy. Charles wants him to be happy again.

But he's just so tired.

Charles's eyes close again, and Erik panics. "Where is Nicole! NICOLE!" He's twisting toward the door and shouting, as if that will help anything and she'll be able to hear even if she's half the compound away.

"I'm here!" He's not quite sure it's real when she hurries through the door right then anyway. "I'm here!" she repeats.

Logan and Scott and Hank clear out of her way, letting her take the place on the ground by Charles's other side. She quickly plants a hand over his chest, and nothing else changes yet but his breathing evens out.

"I've got him…he isn't going anywhere now."

Erik lets out an uneven breath.

"You can fix this, right?" Jean questions worriedly.

The way Nicole hesitates at that does not help Erik's heart rate. "What? You can, can't you? You wouldn't have come if you couldn't—"

"I can," she says quickly. "It's just that…as close as he came…even before this…incident…" she trails, glancing around the room.

"What?" Erik demands.

She sighs. "I can heal him. I can. But you of all people should know that once it comes this close even I can't bring someone back to perfect health from something like this."

He blinks at her, trying to understand what she means. After the last few minutes it takes a while to straighten his thoughts enough to understand.

He realizes she isn't lying. She isn't wrong. He's seen it before. Both of his parents came close, many times, before they died. His mother was with him longer. Shaw allowed her to be almost healthy more than once. But it was never perfect. Some small thing—her pallor, a cough, the way she was tired so often, often more things than one—something always told him that the repair was not complete.

Nicole is saying that Charles will never be healthy again. Not entirely.

Then again, that isn't so different from the way the last six years have been. Since Bobby and Kitty were born and they nearly lost him.

Erik very quietly tells her this.

"I know…and it may be the same, it's possible, but it's likely it'll be worse. And after exposure to such concentrated radiation…the most thorough scrubbing I can do won't keep him from being more susceptible to other cancers and infections. I think I managed to do enough in the past few days that the brain tumor shouldn't come back, but I can't make any such promise about anything else."

"So what are you saying?"

"Nothing…I just…thought you should be warned."

"Shouldn't Charles be told this?"

"I have been…" Charles's eyes flicker open groggily. "I'm sorry…she's done enough to bring me back to consciousness, but it was easier to stay awake with my eyes resting…still quite drained, I'm afraid…"

Erik laughs weakly, but it doesn't last long. There's something he's missing here, and he knows he's missing it. He's ignoring it purposefully.

Nicole is telling him that if he were strong enough, maybe he could tell Charles that it's all right. He doesn't have to stay. He doesn't have to live like that.

He isn't strong enough. But at least this time, after everything that's already happened in recent months, he knows that to begin with.

But he loves Charles. That part of him knows what he should do, and that part of him opens his mouth.

"Charles…"

"I'm staying." Charles smiles at him tiredly, but not without amusement. "I don't plan to go anywhere just yet, Erik."

Nicole smiles in understanding. "As long as you're sure."

Charles nods, and this time Erik's soft laugh is more genuine. He can feel a warmth from where Nicole's hand touches Charles as he leans to kiss him.

When he pulls back enough to look at his husband Charles's eyes are all but sparkling with excitement. "There's something I have to tell you later…" Erik wonders if it has something to do with the strange thing he said, when he was drifting away.

And then Hank and Jean are moving in, Logan and Scott too, and on top of that Kurt appears with the other four that were in the valley—Alex and Sean and Ororo and Moira, and they all want to know what happened. Nicole is trying to shoo them all off with her free hand so she can work, and all Erik manages to keep the entire time is one of Charles's hands. But after thinking for so long he would lose him it's more than enough, with the smiles Charles sends his way.

They'll have plenty of time now. It may not be perfect, but it will be theirs.