Chapter 25

It had been mere seconds,mere seconds that he stood there and stared at the empty space, but for him it felt like hours. His heart was beating so fast, and his breath had stopped. Then he ran, stumbled, to the broken window. He could feel the wind and the rain against his skin, could hear the thunder outside. The world was going down. "Chaaarles!" he screamed, mind and voice. He felt so desperate.

He grabbed the side of the window ,leaning outside to look down. He expected to see a crushed body on the ground below, on the asphalt, full of blood. However, it wasn't that way. There was no broken body. There was fire,a darting flame, bright red against the gray of the houses. Then there was a bird, a bird out of flames, and he could see him, Charles, in the middle of the flames. He was flying. Erik was not sure if he should be relieved or scared. He could not see much; all he could see was that Charles flew away,fast, the flames of the bird licking at the walls of the houses. He could destroy the whole city. He could burn it away. But he fled,was fleeing, away, out of the city.

He would not let him go; he could not let him go. He had to follow.

The metal bender was aware of the fact that he wouldn't be able to follow Charles, not if he used his powers to fly. He was too slowly. His gaze wandered around in the room, searching. He had to hurry.

His gaze stopped at the metal rod, or better, at the metal rod which once had been a metal rod, but now was a puddle of hard metal. He could use it, he had to use it. He would look ridiculous,standing on a metal plate and flying through the air, but it would be much faster, much easier to handle. It was not easy to guide himself through the air, back then when he wore the metal shoes, but it would be easier if he stood on something. He would be able to fly much faster, then. He had to try it. Maybe it wouldn't work, and he would end up as slow as before, or maybe he would fall off. He did not care. He had to get to Charles. He had to save him. At least this time. Because, this time it would be the last. If he failed now, he would have failed forever. He was aware of that fact, but it did not scare him, not a bit. Because, he was sure he would save Charles this time. He would do everything to save him.

And so he let the metal plate fly up to him. He stepped onto it, and looked down. He knew, he would fall far, and he could die, but he also knew that he had to do something, now, because this was his last chance; his last chance to do things right. He had to save Charles life now; he owed him this. His body ached, every cell of it, every move did hurt; but he ignored it.

Without Charles, he would have died. He wouldn't have been able to get Shaw on his own. He realized that now. Shaw would have killed him, he was sure.

He had taken a life, together with Charles, and now he had to save one.

Maybe it would settle things then.

He looked back onto the dead body of the man who had ruined his life, once more, then he took a deep breath and pushed himself over the edge. He was falling,then, on the plate, and for one moment he was sure he wouldn't survive this. He was falling,falling, rapidly, and he couldn't stop it.

But then he saw the flame, far away, and he knew that there was Charles.

He had to survive this, because of Charles. Because he owed Charles this; he owed him to save his life. Because, Charles had saved his.

And so he took all his power, all his will, and raised his hands, his palms upwards, and reached for the metal, tried to feel it. And he felt it, as if it was his own body, as if it belonged to him. And he screamed, in his mind, told the metal to bend under his will, to listen, to stop his fall, to hover in the air, to carry him.

It obeyed, carried him , over the road, till he was flying over the street, faster than he had flown the last time. It felt amazing, but he had no time to focus on this feeling. He had to focus on the metal underneath, because one false movement, and he would fall,lose his control over the piece of metal.

It didn't took him too long to see Charles again; the flames were high, bright, and conspicuous.

He used the metal on his suit to follow him. He couldn't stop him,though. All he could do was follow, follow and wait until his friend would stop, until he could get to him. The surroundings were just a blur of colors, of gray and black, sometimes a bit of green. Where were they? Not in New York City, that was for sure.. He could feel the rain against his face, and the ache in his body, the wind, cold and rough. Where were they going? He couldn't tell how long they flew. How long it took until Charles suddenly landed, more crashed down onto the ground. It was when he stopped as well, several meters away from Charles.

They were in the countryside, trees and high grass around them. There was a lake as well. The sky was high and wide. He didn't know where they were..

Charles was in the middle of the field; he was on his knees, his hands clutching the sides of his head. He was in pain. He wasn't screaming, just crying. Those tears weren't cristal clear anymore; they were thick and black like oil. His powers were beyond any control,destroying the trees and the high grass, which was on fire now,as well as some trees. The water of the lake began to flow up into the air, while the sky began to fill with black smoke. The sky was still gray. It still did rain.

He hurried towards Charles, not caring about the flames or the powers, which could easily kill him. They did not kill him though, because of one reason; he protected himslelf. He protected himself with the help of magnetic fields. He was not aware that he could summon and controll them; he did it unknowingly.

However, this magnetic fields saved his life; they managed to divert the powers of the phoenix, protecting Erik like a shield. And so he walked towards his friend, the flames not able to reach him. It was not easy to walk against the powers, which tried to destroy him, to keep him away from the other mutant. It was like walking against water. But Erik did not stop, he did not break under the pressure that the powers build against his shield and his body.

"Chaaaarles !" he screamed against the howling of the unnaturally strong wind "Chaaaarles, listen!"

Charles could not hear him. He shook his head, over and over again, his hands pressed against his ears to stop the voices inside his head. His eyes were red, just red, two holes with fire inside. He was pressing his lips together, his porcelain white face interveined with dark veins, which looked so much like deep cracks. "Chaarles!" he screamed, his hands balled into fists while he tried to walk against the force and the strong wind "Chaaarles, you are in control! This is your body! This is your mind! Calm yourself!"

But he couldn't, couldn't, couldn't hear him... He rocked back and forth , his hands grabbing his hair, his black lips opened, but not for a scream.."Have to kill them, millions and millions, burn away what does not work, humans and their souls..."

The wind became stronger, the water in the air raised higher, and the flames lashed out in all directions. "NOO, Charles!" the metal bender screamed, trying desperatly to reach his friend, but he only seemed to get nowhere fast. "Charles, this is not you! This is HIM! This is the phoenix speaking! You have to control it! Chaaarles, let me through to you!"

Charles raised his gaze, his shockingly soulless eyes looking up to meet Erik's. "Burn away what does not work.." he mumbled, rocking back and forth, back and forth "Becoming, becoming ,becoming.."

And the flames grew higher, higher until they seemed to reach the sky, and the smoke became thicker, thicker until the sky was gone. "CHAARLES!" Erik screamed, lashing out aginst nothing, trying to come forward, but he was so slow, so so slow, and Charles seemed so far away, getting further and further away... "Chaaarles, stop this! Calm your mind, CALM-YOUR-MIND! God damn it, Charles!"

Charles brows furrowed, and he took a deep,faltering breath "Ahh,...hn..Erik!...I..I can see it all..The end..All life..E..Erik, I..I'm losing..losing..myself.." and he was crying so much, and his suit was red, red, and it stayed red, it did not change back..."Erik.." Charles smiled, so sad and so desperate "My friend.."

"No, Charles, NO!" and Erik ran, ran and ran as fast as he could, against the wind, against the invisible force that tried to push him back. "Hang on, Charles! You can do it! Hang on, god damn it!"

Spasms ran through Charles' body, and he was shivering violently, and he was still smiling as he shook his head "N..hg..No Erik, n..not..not this time." And that was when he stood up on shaky legs, barely able to hold himself, standing up straight "There is..just one way..to end this.."

Erik stumbled forward, catching Charles as he wanted to fly up into the air. "NO way!" he screamed against the wind, which ruffled their hair "NO WAY, Charles ! I won't let you go, I never let you go , you stupid!" But Charles was not listening, Charles was not there. Erik could feel the heath of the flames through his suit, could feel the pure power which emanated from the other mutant.."CHAARLES!" he threw them to the ground, shaking the other man "Stay with me, don't you dare to leave me!"

Charles was staring right through him, his lips forming words which were not his own. He was so pale.

"You-god-damn-hn.." Erik shook him, again and again, while Charles head lolled back and forth. He was not responding.

Suddenly Erik was thrown away, flying through the air and landed hard on the ground. He groaned as his body shivered because of the pain that ran through him.

Charles was standing now, soft, warm light radiating around im, his arms raised up to the sky, as well as his face, flames licking at his body, his hair melting with the flames behind him, becoming a tangle of snake-like flames around his head. "Destroy what does not work!" he screamed, his voice sounding distorted and too dark "Burn it away, clean it, kill them all!"

Erik winced as he pulled himself up to his feet. His shoulder did hurt a lot, and he was sure his nose was bleeding again.

It had been Shaws plan from the start, to get the phoenix like this. He had wanted him to destroy the world, so he could rebuild a new. And even now, after his death, he had received what he had wanted; total destruction, caused by the phoenix. Erik would not let this happen! Charles was no murderer, he was no killing machine which cleaned the world off of their sins and its humans to rebuild a new world. There would be no one to rebuild it. The phoenix was a god, it was a force from far away, maybe. It was wayward. Someone had to stop it. Erik knew it had to be him.

And so he ran, ignoring the pain in his body, ran towards the phoenx, who ignored him, too busy with trying to destroy the world. The air was already to hot, thick, and the flames high like skyscrapers. The trees, the grass- burning.

Erik flung himself at the phoenix, bringing him down once more. "Stupid man!" the phoenix hissed, pressing his hand against Erik's cheek to push him away,off of himself "Stupid mutant, trying to stop me! Destroying, ultimative destruction, kill them all, worthless human! Don't stop me, kill you, kill you!" Erik grabbed his wirst,pressing it down on the ground "STOP it!" he snarled, breath heavy "Leave him alone! Charles, come back, come back to me you fool! Stop this!"

The phoenix grinned, laughed and laughed, pushing Erik off of him "You won't bring him back, never, never! You don't understand our pain, this all, stupid man !"

And than it hit Erik; he began to understand. Maybe he needed to feel the same pain, to understand it, all of this. Maybe then he could stop it.

And so he closed his eyes, his hands grabbed the helmet, and he could feel the gaze of the phoenix on himself. He did not stop him. He did not say a word.

Maybe this what he did now was stupid. Maybe he would die. But, he had to try it. For Charles. And, for the rest of the world.

He lifted the helmet off,off of his head, with both his hands. Immediately pain hit him, and he sank to his knees, clutching the helmet in his hands tighter, as he saw it. He saw it ALL. The whole world, all thoughts, all pain and misery. People, dieing, killing another, hate, sadness, pain, so much pain. A child, raped, a man who was hitting his women, a young boy,killed on the street by the shot of a gun which wasn't meant for him. Politics, making plans, stupid plans, and war, war,war in all their heads, greedy, greedy for money, blood and fame. This world was so rotten, rotten to its very root, and there was so much hate.

It did not seem to stop. And they were in his head, screaming, crying, begging. Burn away what does not work.. This world..It did not work. Those humans had their mistakes, no one was perfect, but it caused so much pain. So much pain, and he felt it all. Charles, the phoenix, he felt and saw it all. He wanted to repair it, to clean it. To burn it away so new could be created. Like the phoenix from the ashes. But still, still, still it was wrong.

Everyone had a right to life, also the humans and mutants of this world. No matter what failures had been created, there were also good things. And , no matter how much pain he felt at the moment, Erik tried to tell, to show, him; he tried to show the phoenix that this world was meant to exist, to stay, that there had to be life on it. This was earth. And, maybe they would learn, some day, what life meant, that they had to respect the life and the earth.

Not now, though.

He stood up, swaying , walking towards the phoenix, who watched him with an contemptuous glance. He pressed his lips together, one foot in front of the other, till he was in front of the phoenix, who had his eyes narrowed.

"You-" he hissed "even though you saw and felt what I did...You would die for them!" and there was hurt and anger and..jealousy? Erik laughed, a breathless laughter, more a hiss, as he answered calmly, with a small smile "No..No,I would not die for them. I would die for you."

And the phoenix stared at him, stared , his eyes wide and his face blank, as a smile crossed his lips, a small, small smile. He leaned forward, slowly, and placed a soft kiss on Erik's lips "Kill me." he then begged, his voice small but with no hint of sadness or regret "End this."

Erik shook his head, the pain in it getting worse and worse every minute. How had Charles been able to stand this? He was so much stronger than he looked like... "My dear friend.." he said, one hand brushing against Charles cheek "I won't, and will never, kill you."

"But,you have,.." Charles answered, and he knew it was Charles, because the phoenix would never beg to be killed "I am a danger, I will kill you all, I can't, I can't, I can't..."

He was losing it again. Erik could see it in his eyes.

"Hush, Charles." he whispered, his forehead against Charles' "Hush. Together we can. You are not alone, you know.." and he leaned back, his eyes on Charles "You were, you are, and you will never be alone. I will stay with you, no matter what." Charles looked at him, a sad expression on his face. And he looked tired, so tried of all this. Erik winced as a new level of pain began to hit his head, more and more thoughts and feeling of people he didn't know.. He raised his arms, took the helmet, and put it in Charles head.

The pain in his head stopped right away,as well as the visions, as well as the flames, which vanished abruptly. The wind calmed down, as well as the water, which sank back into the lake. Charles held his hand, the sad and pained expression on his face faded. The dark veins were still there, as well as the red eyes, which were eyes now, not just red light. The suit began to change, first it just faded into blue, then it became a white shirt and black trousers. So ,the suit had been an illusion,after all..

And now he smiled, while the black tears began to dry slowly. "They are..quiet now.." he whispered and fell forward, but Erik caught him before he could hit the ground. "Charles?" he asked, carefully, holding Charles arm length away from himself to look at Charles' face. Charles eyes were closed, his head on his chest. He did not respond. His breath was calm,maybe too calm.

He almost looked as if he was asleep.. "Charles?" he asked again, and couldn't hide his worry. "Charles? Hey? Hey, wake up!" But Charles did not answer, nor did he wake up. He stayed calm and white as a wall. Erik told himself to calm down, while he sat down together with Charles. He felt the pain in his body again, now, after all this had ended. It was over now. That was what he told himself. He held Charles in his arms, while his gaze wandered around. The field was burned, the grass just black ash. The trees looked like burned skeletons. There was still smoke in the air, but the sky could be seen again. There were no flames anymore.

And Erik silently told himself, that there would never be flames again. No phoenix, no more. He pressed Charles body tighter against his own, taking a deep breath and dropped his head back,to look at the sky.

He still could feel the phantom pain inside his head, all the voices, and he was sure, if he closed his eyes, he would still see all those people with their different lifes. He never, never, wanted Charles to feel this. He never ever wanted Charles to carry the burden of all their thoughts and all those feelings. But, for now they had to get away from here.

But,how? He was not able to carry Charles, not in his current state.. He stared at the sky, his thoughts blank, as he remembered the phone that Raven had given him. Maybe now it was for use..

He searched for it, and finally found it. It hadn't had one scratch, and Erik was sure that was because of Hank's abilities. He had no clue how to use it,nor how to call Raven. He pushed various buttons, trying and trying, till he found Raven's name on the display. Then he pushed the button with the telephone receiver on it,just by guessing, holding the phone to his ear, waiting. It began to get dark. Night was coming. How long had all this lasted?

Piep, Piep...He waited. What if Raven would not answer the call? What, if something happened to the kids?...

"Yes?" a voice asked, Raven's voice, and Erik let out the breath that he wasn't aware of he was holding "Raven.." he said, relief in his vocie "Raven,god..are you..Are you all alright?"

For a moment, there was no answer, but then she answered, her voice sounding as if she was about to cry "Yes..Yes, we are alright! Oh my god, Erik..We.,..I..Are you alright? You both? Is..Is Charles..?"

"Yes. We are alright.." his gaze went down to Charles "Shaw is dead. And Charles with me. But, we need your help. I don't know where we are,and-"

"Does not matter!" Raven almost screamed "We can find you via tracking device! You have one in your suits! Hahaha,oh my, Erik! We're coming, don't move! We..We're coming!"

She hung up and Erik put the phone on the ground next to himself and leaned forward, hugging Charles tightly "Everything will be alright.." he mumbled, suddenly tired "Everything will be fine.."

He was so tired.

He wished, he could sleep a bit.

:) ya,sorry for the not so fast update; I had birthday and I was a bit lazy, well,but here it is.
Sooo,well, is it over now? HMMMM, we will se :)

See you all as soon as possible, and THANKS for all reviews and those who read this story :)