Chapter 6: Reality Check

Manuel kept a firm grip on Que's arm in case she lost it again, but he didn't think that would happen. All he felt was confusion and exhaustion. He had no idea what had happened.

He and Que met the Professor in the infirmary. Storm had joined them as well, and Manuel helped Que to one of the infirmary beds.

"Thank you Manuel. I will check in with you and the others later. Nice job today. You were quick to help your comrades in need," the Professor said dismissing him.

Once Manuel had left, Charles turned to Que. She looked dazed and confused.

"Que, do you know what happened?" he asked.

She did not seem as though she heard him and continued to have a dazed, far away look in her eyes. He tried again.

"Que, can you hear me?" he mentally prompted. "Do you know where you are?"

Slowly, Que glanced up and stared at the adults for long moment. She opened her mouth, drew in a breath to answer, but then she looked away, brow furrowed. Her face had a vacant look and her eyes were far off. Que's mind seemed to still be somewhere else, somewhere far from the Institute, and much less pleasant.

"Que," the Professor said, reaching and taking one of Que's hands. At his touch, Que gasp slightly, her eyes snapped back into focus, and she shook slightly. She looked around wildly and still confused, but her expression was mix with anxiety and fear.

"Que, stay with me. I need you to focus. Can you feel my hands? We are in the infirmary at the institute," the Professor explained. He squeezed her hands gently a few times.

"Professor?" Que said quietly. She seemed to calm down a little, but still seemed anxious and confused.

"Why… how did I get here?" she asked.

"What was the last thing you remember?" Charles asked.

"I am not sure… I…" Que said her brow furrowed again. Her gaze started to slip again.

"Que, stay with me. Feel my hands. I need you to stay with me. What do you remember?" Charles asked.

"I remember… no… that's not right," she said somewhat to herself. "I don't know. It's all really confusing."

"Has anything like this ever happened before Que?" Charles asked, still gently pressing her hands. He didn't want her to slip back into whatever memory had just plagued her.

"Umm… I am not sure. Maybe… a few years ago. I can't remember. What happened?" she asked worriedly.

"Que, you just had a pretty severe episode with your powers in the Danger Room. You didn't seem to realize where you were or who you were with," Charles explained.

"What? No, that can't be right. I… I didn't go there," she replied slightly defensively.

"Que, who is Biel?" Charles asked. He had gleaned what he could from the others memories in the Danger Room, especially Paige and Manuel.

Que's eyes grew wide. "What?"

She would have sworn he had read her mind. She had just been thinking about Biel. There was no way he could have know about him unless she'd told him herself.

"You attacked your teammates in the Danger Room in attempts to protect Paige. You thought she was someone named Biel," the Professor continued.

"Is what you remember something about him?"

Que put her head into her hands. "Biel was… an old teammate," she admitted.

"Can you tell me about what you remember?" Charles probed.

"Biel and I… we were on a mission. It went wrong, and we were captured, but we escaped…" she said in a whisper.

"We were there to steal some sort of tablet. The monks in the temple… they wanted to set an example. We were beaten, but we still got away. They released demons from another realm to come after us," Que went silent as she slipped again, rocking slightly in her chair.

"That must have been very scary. Que try to focus on my voice. Let's see if you can stay in the room with us. Can you look at Storm? That's it," the Professor said calmly. Storm looked both fascinated and sad. She never realized what haunted Que's nightmares.

"We barely escaped with our lives. We climbed… it was so cold. My arms burned. They were after us," Que started again, rubbing her arms.

"Oh Professor, I'm so sorry. Did I hurt anyone? I don't even remember doing... I swear I… I…" she fretted.

"No one was injured," he assured her. "They are actually more concerned about you at the moment, but please can you continue your story?"

Que looked at him perplexed. Why did he want to know more?

"Que the hope is that by exposure, or talking about it, will help you be less prone to something like this happening again. Have you ever talk to anyone about your time with this group?" he asked.

"Aside from what I've told you previously? Of course not," Que said more matter-o-factly than she had been since they came in. A bit more of her usual fire had returned to her eyes as well. Charles let go of Que's hands and sat back expectantly. There was a reason Que had never told anyone. It was very uncomfortable. The memories were not just unpleasant but quite painful too.

"Que, I wouldn't be asking you to do this if I didn't think it would help you," the Professor said gently.

"We were able to make it to the top of the mountain and set up the emergency pick up, but Biel had been hurt pretty badly and was bleeding. One of the creatures had snagged his shoulder back at the temple. Thinking back, I don't really know how he made it to the top. Then, the demons started coming up. We fought. He was behind me. I didn't know how we'd make it out. No matter how many we set flying over the edge, two more would appear. I heard a scream…" Que's voice broke and she stopped speaking.

There was a pause, and Storm moved to sit by Que on the infirmary bed. She and Charles could assume what had happened, but it was still difficult for Que to say.

"They... got him. T-t-tore him open before I could…" Que started slipping back into the memory, but before she could the Professor spoke up.

"Were you and Biel very close? Can you tell me about him?" Charles asked.

"Biel and I were teammates. He was fifteen or so at the time, and I was eleven. All of us on the team shared something... I guess. Biel could generate impact-resistant shields, but he was more a defense member of our team. I don't know how they picked him up. He wasn't big and strong, and he was bright but nothing exceptional. He was just a gentle teen from Andorra, but maybe the faction had something on him or he could do something we didn't know about or maybe they just needed someone to offset some of the more… distinct personalities," she trailed off in thought this time. Charles noted how sad and pained her expression had become.

"They killed Biel… I was so... angry. The whole mountain side was shaking, and I was able to… to do things I usually can't do. I took his body back to the temple. The entire mountainside seemed to move at my every whim. I blacked out before I got there. I can't remember what happened, but after I was kneeling among fiery debris on the side of the mountain and being picked up by one of our jets. I still had Biel's body in my arms," Que choked out quietly.

With this, she laid down on her side, clutching her knees to her chest. Her breathing got a little more labored and she scrunched her her tight, trying to block the memory. Not only had she gotten her teammate killed because of her arrogance, but she was fairly certain, even though she had no memory of it, she'd killed all the people in the temple on the mountain. All she could think about or see now was the fiery remains and Biel's lifeless body.

With that, the two adults felt the room temperature drop about twenty degrees and were able to see their breath.

"Que," Charles said, gripping her hands again and brushing some hair away from her face. "Look at me. Take some deep breaths. That's it. I think it would be best if we took a break and you got some rest. May I assist?"

Que nodded and Charles helped her find a lighter corner of memories.