Alright! After the personal failure that was chapter seven I am now here again to try and fix whatever I cocked up with it – I was just too tired to continue so it kinda of got cut off... sorry.
If I have the time I'll probably merge this chapter with the previous one but it just depends on how much I'm putting in this chapter and if it'll flow alright if it's together with C7. God... someone shoot me please :p
And moving on, yesterday I had a mega-hard time trying to get into the 'zone' with this fic and today I've got it again (annoying much) but I found a way around it. I ended up just writing whatever was in my head, by hand (lol), and once it was out I was able to focus on this. I might have to do that for this chapter as well but you're worth it.
Anyway, the reason I'm telling you lot that is because I might end up putting all the little things I've scribbled out up (some of them are thoughts and feelings about random things whilst others are kind of like bittersweet letters etc) and I just wanted to give you guys a heads up. Just in case you come across them and think "WTF!" :p
Oh, btw, I have a youtube account and have done a couple of Erik/Charles videos (how could I not? :p) which are pretty easy to find; you just put into the youtube searchbar - Erik/Charles – "How to Save a Life" (or "Losing your Memory")
And... moving on to the chapter I think. I'll try to stick to my plan (the one I've wrote down... kinda) and I hope you guys like this and don't kill me... ;)
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Lesson Six continued(yeah, no fancy title this time, sorry guys, I'll give you a really good one next time :p)
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"Well that was anticlimactic." Erik muttered as he stood next to his friend... on the beach still. "We're still on the beach. Are you sure you did it right Charles?"
Charles turned and gave Erik a hard glare. "Of course I did. And we're not on the beach anymore. We're on the one in Shaw's mind." Charles pointed at something behind Erik who turned around. "Since I'm quite certain that on the real beach there weren't any surgical instruments."
"Oh." Erik breathed out as he watched the instruments warily. "He can't harm us whilst we're in here can he?" He asked suddenly, quickly glancing at Charles. In the brief moment that he took his eyes off the instruments they shot at him and Charles let out a cry of surprise as he instinctively grabbed his friend and dragged him to the ground.
The instruments shot over their heads and Charles' gaze snapped onto them as they spun around and came at them again. "Does that answer your question?" Charles cried out as he rolled to the side as a scalpel embedded itself in the sand right where his arm had been.
"What do we do?" Erik exclaimed as another scalpel nicked his suit on his forearm. He scrambled backwards and tried to keep all of the instruments in sight as they flew around the two of them, now back-to-back.
"I don't know!" Charles replied in frustration as a saw made its way toward his legs. "Run!" He shouted and the two of them scrambled to their feet and took off towards the trees. "If we find the core of his power we should be able to stop him."
Should?" Erik called back to his friend who shot him one hell of a glare.
"Do you have a better idea because if you do I would love to hear it!" Charles shouted as he dived to the floor and the pair of scissors aiming for him landed with a dull 'thud' in the sand. He jumped to his feet and pelted after Erik into the trees on the edge of the beach.
As they ran through the trees Erik glanced behind them and began to slow down when he realised the instruments were nowhere to be seen. "Charles." He breathed out as he slowed to a stop and his friend ran into his back. "I think they're gone."
"Just because you think they're gone doesn't mean they are Erik. This is Shaw's mind, we don't know what we'll come across." Charles reminded his friend as he climbed to his feet after falling to the ground from his impromptu collision with Erik's back.
"Where's the core?" Erik asked, huffing in frustration as he looked about them. "And did you encounter any of this the first time you entered his mind?" He added looking at Charles who shook his head.
"No." Charles sighed and looked around them also. "I was able to enter Shaw's mind without becoming part of the decor, but I was alone then and I suppose that bringing in another mind of a person who isn't a telepath has resulted us being in Shaw's mind enough for him to manipulate his thoughts to affect us directly." Charles looked at Erik who raised an eyebrow at him. "Because you're not a telepath we've had to enter the actual consciousness of Shaw's mind and that means we're at his mercy until we can find the core of his power." He clarified and Erik rolled his eyes in frustration.
"Great." The mutant muttered. "Well, which way genius?" He asked sarcastically and Charles sighed in exasperation.
Pushing his annoyance to the back of his mind, Charles focused on routing out Shaw's core where the madman's power resided. Closing his eyes he began to follow the trails of thoughts, his mind flitting over Shaw's own with barely any altercation, and eventually he found the core. Opening his eyes he sighed and looked at Erik for a moment before looking back towards the beach. "Towards the sub." He answered and Erik frowned.
"The sub?" He repeated for clarification and Charles nodded. "What about those surgical instruments?" He asked and Charles shrugged.
"I guess we'll improvise." The telepath answered before setting off back towards the beach. Erik huffed silently and followed after his friend.
"Oh yes, improvise. It's not like that's what we've been doing for a while now is it?" He muttered sarcastically and shook his head at what they were doing. They were going to get themselves killed.
'No we're not!' Charles thought to his friend who glared at the telepath's back. 'I don't think.'
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"They've been gone for a while." Raven said worriedly as she paced along the length of the clearing. Beast was sat on a fallen tree, trying to resist the urge to clean his paws, whilst Riptide and Angel sat on the floor of the clearing away from the two X-Men.
"It's been five minutes Raven." Beast pointed out as he looked up at the pacing blue girl and sighed. He didn't understand why she was worrying so much, alright, that was a lie because he was worrying just as much, but he didn't understand why she thought mentioning it aloud would help in any way.
Raven clicked her tongue in worry and continued her fretful pacing when Angel said quietly. "Chill out Raven. They're fine." The girl, woman, girl looked at the blue mutant who stopped pacing and turned to look at her.
"No thanks to you!" Raven exclaimed as she took a step towards her and Beast hopped off the tree trunk and moved to stand behind Raven, ready to restrain her if necessary. Angel looked away from Raven, shame and guilt written on her features and Riptide placed a comforting hand on her arm.
"No. This is Shaw's fault." Beast said firmly as he placed a restraining hand on Raven's shoulder, he could feel her trembling and he just wanted to wrap her in his arms and hold her close and comfort her. "Shaw's manipulation has brought this about, we were merely pawns in his game."
"We had a choice." Riptide countered quietly and they all looked at the man who had been silent up till now. Angel was surprised because she had always assumed that the tornado-creating mutant couldn't speak and here he was, talking. And he had a nice, low and soft voice that was in direct contrast with his ability. "What Shaw promised us, each of us, may have helped our decisions but we could have still said no. So we are all responsible, just some moreso."
Riptide looked at Beast who nodded in agreement and Angel looked at Raven. "Hate me all you want Raven, you every right to, but believe me when I say I'm sorry. I just wanted to be happy." Angel's voice tapered off as she looked down at her hands and fidgeted.
"You were happy with us!" Raven exclaimed and Beast tightened his grip on her shoulder slightly, just enough to stop her from moving closer to Angel. "You were in that room with us all those weeks ago and we were all happy!"
"No I wasn't!" Angel argued, her voice raising as she stood up and Riptide climbed to his feet behind her. "I didn't know any of you! I didn't know if any of you would look at me like I was a freak once the surprise at meeting others wore off!" Angel shook her head angrily as tears began to well in her eyes. Riptide placed a hand on her arm lightly as she continued, her voice vulnerable and tired. "I'm tired of hiding who I am Raven." Hanging her head in shame Angel began to silently cry, her sobs wracking her body and Riptide rubbed her arm in his attempt to comfort her.
Raven sighed, her anger draining away from her, and she stepped forward when Beast let go of her shoulder. Stepping up in front of Angel, Raven reached out a hand and lifted Angel's chin slightly. "And you think we're not Angel? Any of us?" Raven asked softly. "I was left in an orphanage Angel, I never knew my parents because of how I looked. I was feared by other children who didn't know what I was, I was feared by adults. Angel, don't you think I would have given anything to have been normal? Don't you think we all want to be accepted and loved?"
Angel didn't answer and Raven wrapped her arms around the crying girl who clung to her desperately. "Maybe normal people won't accept us now but one day, someday, they will. One day mutants and humans will live in peace and we won't have to hide ever again."
Angel sobbed into Raven's shoulder and through her sobs Raven heard her ask, her voice quiet and vulnerable. "But why can't we be accepted now?"
Raven sighed and pulled back slightly so that she could see the other girls face. "Because." She started and waited for Angel's eyes to catch her own. "Because none of us are really ready yet."
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Standing on the edge of the tree line, Azazel watched in silence as the ships from the two fleets continued to move into position. Though Azazel wasn't an official naval officer as such, he could still tell that the fleets were moving so that they could get a clear shot at the beach and the two men standing upon it. Azazel didn't know them, not really, though he knew their names and a bit about them. But though he knew little he still knew enough to realise that these two men were something that Shaw had never been. Good.
The telepath, whose silent screams had kept Azazel awake for days on the sub, was battling to save everyone even when he was so tired; it was obvious in the way the man's hands shook almost imperceptibly and how there were creases in his youthful face brought on by the ghost pain he could still feel. Azazel may have done many dishonourable things in his life but he knew that the most dishonourable, the most inhuman thing he had ever done, was to have taken this bright, innocent, kind man from his family and delivered him into Shaw's poisoned embrace.
And the metal manipulator, the one who Shaw had caused so much pain to in the past. Azazel wasn't sure how to feel about him, wasn't sure if he wanted to be associated with him because, though he tried not to show it, there was a darkness in him like that was present in Shaw. It made Azazel nervous because he understood that darkness, Azazel shared that darkness; it was the shadows of the past, of a past that made you want to scream and shout and make the world burn. Oh yes, Azazel knew it far too well and he was afraid of the metal manipulator for his knowledge of the others own weakness. But, for all his fearing of the other mutant, Azazel could still acknowledge the fact that, as long as the telepath was his friend, the metal manipulator would never become what Shaw had intended for him to be. A weapon.
As long as Charles stayed with Erik and Erik with Charles, neither would become monsters. And Azazel prayed that they would never part ways till death. Because he didn't want to live in a world where they were enemies.
Just as he was about to teleport to them and get them the hell off the beach, the two men suddenly moved. From their previously frozen positions, standing side-by-side in front of Shaw, Erik fell backwards with a cry, his hand slipping out of Charles' own, as Charles collapsed to the ground and curled up into a ball.
"Azazel!" Erik cried out as he scrambled over to his friend and wrapped his arms around Charles' shaking body. Looking towards the tree-line Erik spotted Azazel just on the edge of the trees and he blinked. A loud "crack!" echoed on the beach and Azazel was suddenly crouching down next to Erik as his eyes opened. Before he could even say the words, Azazel placed a red hand on Erik's shoulder and the three of them teleported off the beach just as the ships out in the ocean fired their missiles onto an empty beach. Save for the permanently frozen Shaw of course.
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"What happened?" Beast asked seriously as he knelt down next to the still shaking Charles in Erik's arms. Looking up at Erik's face, Beast thought that the other man was going into shock he was so pale. Looking into Erik's eyes Beast saw that his friend was panicking and terrified and afraid and so many other things that Beast wanted to say something to try and calm him, but didn't know what he could say. So, instead he asked. "Erik. What happened?"
"Don't touch him." Erik whispered, his words strained as he tried to concentrate. "Don't touch him." He repeated and Beast frowned.
"I need to check him over." Beast explained as he reached out a hand and he growled in surprise when the metal on his suit was suddenly subject to Erik's power. Flying backwards and landing on his back, Beast suppressed the growl building in his throat, now was not the time for instinct to kick in.
"Don't touch him!" Erik shouted, his voice filled with so much fear and pain that Beast felt guilty for trying to make sure Charles was alright. He didn't know why Erik didn't want him to touch the professor but something was telling him that ignoring the metal manipulator right now would not end well.
"Alright." Beast said as he knelt a few feet away from Erik. "I won't, I promise." He held out his paws in a placating gesture and he watched as Erik's shoulders relaxed slightly. "But you need to check his pulse."
Erik nodded and with a trembling hand he reached out and placed two fingers on Charles' neck. His friends pulse was thready and fast, jittering and spluttering as whatever had happened to him took its toll. Not looking at Beast, Erik said softly. "It's fast and jumpy." He didn't pay attention to the any of them after that as he began to speak, his words strained and guilt-ridden. "I don't know what happened... we contained Shaw and were coming out when something changed... and the next thing I know I'm falling backwards and I can hear Charles screaming in my mind... I don't understand."
"We need to get back to the mansion." Beast said firmly. Looking at Azazel he asked the teleporter. "Could you take us there?"
"Yes. But someone will have to tell me the address." Azazel replied and Beast nodded his head in agreement. "They need to be looked after." Azazel added quietly enough for Beast to hear and he looked at the red mutant. "I may have been with Shaw but I am with you now and I care for those I am with." The red mutant explained as he saw Beast's questioning gaze.
"Raven." Beast said looking at the distraught sister of Charles Xavier. Upon hearing her name she looked up at Beast and he continued. "You need to tell Moira that we're going to the mansion and to call us when she and Banshee are ready." Raven looked like she was about to argue but he added. "I can't go Raven, look at me."
Raven blinked and wiped away the tears still rolling down her cheeks. "Right." She croaked as she composed herself. "Right. Sorry. I'll go now." She added, her voice as level as she could make it but Beast could still hear the slight tremor in it.
"Thank you. We'll wait for you." Beast added and he watched as Raven quickly transformed into her blonde self and took off at a run in the direction of the hospital. Turning to look at Azazel he recited the address for the mansion.
They waited in silence for Raven to return and, whilst they waited they listened to the quiet murmurs from Erik echoing around the clearing as the mutant whispered words that they couldn't make out to the still shaking telepath.
It felt like an age had passed when Raven returned, grasping her side as she tried to breathe through the stitch in her side. She reached out to take Angel's hand as they all silently linked hands and Beast lightly placed a hand on Erik's shoulder, feeling the man tense up slightly at the contact. A heartbeat later a loud "crack!" emanated from where they were standing in the clearing and they disappeared from sight.
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Okay! And that's where I'm leaving it for today 'cause I have some homework to do :p
Sorry for the cliffie and all that and I'm sorry to anyone who's confused or anything like that but meh :p
I have a plan and it's really quite hilarious that, whilst trying to stick to my plot-plan I ended up departing from it entirely... which I have no idea as to how I managed that but whatever xD
This isn't as long as the previous one and I hope you like it. I have tried hard (and my tummy's telling me I'm hungry which is why I've kind of finished with this lol) and I hope you appreciate all the hard work I've put in to this *stern glare* Na, jokes! I just hope you like it, no need to appreciate my hard work or anything :p
And I'll shut up now before I descend into completely random thoughts and such... God I need to stop thinking so much! :p
Kasey