Special thanks to TristeAlma for reviewing every single chapter in one day! You rock. This chapter is dedicated to you.

As for the rest of you, who have been here since the beginning… thank you. I know I've sucked at updating as of late… and there's really no reason why.

And here ends the last of the not-so-scheduled regular updates.

The Perks of Being a Telepath

Chapter 28: Dreamland

The scene changed abruptly once more. It was a place more familiar to Erik than anywhere else in the entire world. He walked it often enough in his dreams, haunted by the memories that clung to it and never being able to fully escape all of the horror that happened here.

The two Charles and Erik stood on one side of a giant chain link fence, broken only by a black, metal gate. The top of the fence was lined with barbed wire. It was raining steadily, making the dirt ground underneath turn to a sea of mud.

Erik felt a sinking sense of horror as he turned to the two men beside him.

"Why are we here?"

He barely recognized his own voice. It was a twisted snarl, filled with bitterness, hatred, and regret—a combination he thought he'd never use when speaking to Charles.

The darker Charles had lost his smirk. Instead, he looked more dangerous than ever, dressed simply in a black jacket and pants that accented the darkness of his eyes. He regarded Erik with a solemn expression.

"Because I want you to remember."

"Remember what, exactly?"

The other Charles started, his face changing from the shocked horror into something akin to anger as he glared at Dark Charles. His voice was hard and flat when he spoke.

"Don't."

The metal gate shuddered violently and vanished for a moment, being replaced by the Xavier mansion for a heartbeat, before the gate returned.

Dark Charles let out a cold, cruel laugh as the other Charles bent over, gasping for breath.

"Do you honestly think you're strong enough to beat me?"

The other Charles dropped to his knees, one hand pressed to his temple. The scene once more shook and this time, the Xavier mansion in the middle of broad daylight stayed.

Dark Charles smirked.

"Cute."

The mansion faded away in a blink of Dark Charles' eyes. Instead of being in Poland, they were something almost as intimately familiar to Erik. It was his wedding day.

Erik froze as his eyes rested on his bride-to-be walking down the aisle way. She was as beautiful as he remembered, in a long white dress and a simple, yet elegant veil. Their daughter sat in the front pew, with a happy smile on her face.

It would be the last time he saw either of them alive.

The other Charles stumbled to his feet, shuddering violently.

"Don't do this. Please."

Erik tore his eyes away from Magda at the sound of the pleading voice.

Dark Charles smiled serenely.

"It is what has to be done, my dear. You know that as well as I do."

"Please."

Erik looked between the two of them, trying to figure out what was happening, and failing entirely.

Dark Charles sighed heavily, turning to face Erik. His voice was cold when he spoke.

"I am sorry for this. I truly am. The pain you've gone through and are about to go through again is a pain no man should have to bear. But I need you to do this."

"Why?"

Erik's voice was a broken, overly emotional snarl as Magda walked up the small steps and joined his past self at the altar.

Dark Charles grinned.

"You don't honestly believe I'm going to tell you anything, now do I?"

He took a step closer to Erik, who unconsciously took a step backward. While this version of Charles was no bigger than the man Erik knew, there was something about him that seemed dangerous.

Erik had almost completely forgotten about the other Charles at that point, with his attention split between his ill-fated wedding and Dark Charles' plan. He was reminded in a hurry when the other one started talking.

"He wants to use you like Shaw did. He wants you to remember the pain and suffering you went through so he can use it against you. He wants, in short, for you to become an animal, so he can finish Shaw's plan of ruling the world."

Erik turned to look at the other Charles, alarmed by how pale and injured he looked. Blood was seeping steadily out of his nose, one eye was closed, and all of the injuries he had suffered back in the land of consciousness seemed to be making an appearance.

He went to move over to Charles, to make sure he was all right, but he couldn't move a single muscle.

Dark Charles let out a harsh laugh.

"You're not going anywhere, Lensherr. And Charlie, don't be absurd! What Shaw was planning was elementary. I don't want to destroy the world! I want to save it!"

The other Charles shook his head.

"You're going to have a rough time of it saving it from the inside of my head. Face it—you're trapped here."

Dark Charles just sighed.

"When are you going to learn, Charlie? I am more powerful than you are because I'm not ruled by the stupid morals you are. You're the one trapped in here. Not me."

With that, he vanished and the scene of a much younger Erik and Magda walking back down the aisle ripped itself apart. In its place was the Westchester mansion's garden.

Erik's attention was yanked away from the satellite dish in the distance by a sharp gasp. His eyes widened in horror as they rested on Charles.

The telepath was on his knees, with one arm wrapped around his chest, and the other placed firmly on the ground to keep him upright. Sweat and blood plastered his hair to his forehead. His eyes were firmly shut and blood was still dripping out of his nose.

"Charles."

Erik closed the distance between them in a single stride. He crouched down beside his friend and placed a gentle hand on Charles' shoulder.

The other man opened his eyes. The sheer amount of pain in them was overwhelming.

"Erik… I'm sorry."

Erik's hand tightened on Charles' shoulder.

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

Charles shook his head and let out a cough. Blood stained his lips and the arm around his chest tightened.

"Yes, I do. I let him free. I gave up, Erik. I knew what he is capable of and I knew what his plans were and I just let him free."

His words were coming out in short gasps, but the meaning of them was clear.

Erik shook his head, deciding to deal with that issue later. He highly doubted that this Charles really had any control over that other Charles at the moment.

"This is not your fault, Charles."

"You don't get it. I let him free. And now, we're trapped."

Erik froze—he hadn't considered the implications of what his still being here with Charles meant.

"What?"

Charles closed his eyes again and took a deep breath, shuddering violently.

"We're trapped inside my mind. Onslaught—the darker me—he locked us in here."

"Telepaths can do that?"

Even after four years of knowing Charles and other telepaths, it was surprising how little Erik knew about them.

Charles smiled grimly.

"How do you think I've kept him under control for so long?"

He shook again, letting out another cough. Erik gently tugged one of Charles' arms around his shoulders, offering the telepath a little more support. Charles leaned into him gratefully.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes, before Erik sighed.

"Why am I still here?"

Charles gave a one-shouldered shrug.

"I guess, for now, he has other plans."

"Like what?"

Charles shook his head.

"This may seem strange, but I can't read his mind while I'm stuck inside it."

The lie gleamed in his eyes, but for once, Erik decided not to push it.

"So what now?"

Charles glanced at him, his eyes glazed with pain.

"Now, we survive in here long enough for me to gain my strength back and then we take on Onslaught."

Erik smiled slightly.

"That's my kind of plan."

It was just closing in on noon Texan time as Charles and Erik made their way to the main part of Dallas. The streets were slammed packed with people, a fact which both surprised and worried Erik. He had never been one for crowds and one this big symbolized something important.

I almost forgot. The president is supposed to be giving a speech here today.

Charles' slightly dazed thoughts alerted Erik to the fact that the telepath was just as affected—if not more so—than Erik was about the crowd.

Just focus on my mind. Block out the rest.

Charles gave Erik a sideways glance, but didn't say anything. Erik felt a slight pressure in his mind and the overwhelmed look on Charles' face slowly faded away.

Thank you, my friend.

Erik nodded once, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

You won't be any help if you're unconscious.

They made their way through the crowd in relative silence. Erik felt Charles reach out with his powers in attempts to find the rouge mutants, but the hundreds of minds from the crowd proved to be too overwhelming for the telepath.

Erik, I don't know if I'm going to be of use today.

When are you ever of use, Charles?

Erik received an eye roll for his efforts, but from the strained look on Charles' face, he knew that the sarcasm did little to ease the tension.

So where now?

Charles looked around, before pointing down the road.

That way.

Are you sure?

Not in the slightest.

They started walking down the road.

Raven settled back down in the uncomfortable wooden chair after she hung up the phone with Hank. He had been forced to find somewhere to hide out until Sean or Raven could come find him. With the recent CIA break out, the entire world would be more suspicious than ever about any mutant activity whatsoever. Raven couldn't risk losing Hank, not again. Not on top of everything that had happened.

She folded her arms against her chest, suddenly cold despite the warm air coming from the rattling heater in the ceiling.

Two beds over, Sean stirred slightly in his sleep, mumbling incoherently, before he rolled over and let out a huge snore. Raven smiled slightly at how childish he seemed when he was asleep.

With a heavy sigh, she looked back to Charles, who was unresponsive and pale. His eyes, she noticed with surprise, were moving rapidly back and forth behind their lids.

She reached out with one hand and gently grasped his. She was shocked when he gently squeezed it back.

"Charles?"

There was no response and the pressure on her hand rapidly disappeared. But she knew it had been there in the first place.

She smiled as tears stung her eyes and made their way down her face. It was the first sign she had seen that he was still in there. Still fighting.

"Don't give up on me, Charles. Please. I'm right here. Just stay with me."