Hello everyone! It took a really long time for this to update! My apologies, I've been extremely busy with school. Hopefully it is worth the wait! Reviews would mean a lot so please leave one if you can!

Erik didn't usually dream, but when he did, it was a blur of terrorizing fears; Memories of the camps, of Shaw, and occasionally of Charles. He would remember the day they parted ways. Relive it over and over again. The sadness was enough to wake him up in tears, but of course he kept that to himself.

He didn't completely understand why it had hurt him so badly. He'd managed to get Charles to a hospital in time for the damage to not become permanent. His friend would not be in a wheelchair. Though the idea that they would not be able to continue to work towards common goals was painful, the fact that Charles would be safe and happy made up for it a million times over.

This time, Erik was having a rather decent dream, something that made his subconscious slightly uncomfortable. He closed his eyes as he let the rays of the sun engulf him in a feeing of warmth. He found himself outside of Charles' mansion. Children, students he assumed, were playing cheerfully with one another in the garden. He walked towards the mansion's huge wooden doors and stepped inside. The rooms were slightly warped and unrealistic. The hints of familiarity were masked by insecurity and confusion.

The hallways, eerily empty and hazy, left a bad feeling in the pit of Erik's stomach. He could sense that something was extremely off, but continued to explore.

Erik could hear voices coming from somewhere behind closed doors. They sounded so distant he was unable to make sense of what they were saying. The hallway stretched as he made his way down it, the doors becoming an impossible distance. He attempted to open a few of them with his power but was unable to do so. He was couldn't use his gift.

Suddenly a door appeared before him. It was to the library. He was relieved to find that it was unlocked and close enough for him to enter.

He could not have prepared himself for what he saw inside.

The library was in a disastrous state. Books were torn and thrown across the room. Some of the walls were crumbling and the ceiling looked as though it could cave in at any second. The chessboard that he and Charles had once used was tipped over on its side, the pieces scattered across the floor. There was no sign of any inhabitants, until he felt someone's presence.

"So you've decided to come back I see"

It was Charles. His clothes were torn and his face was bloodied. There was something eerily different about him. He looked much slimmer, more haggard than Erik had remembered. He could not feel the familiarity he once could behind his friends sunken-in eyes.

"You abandoned us Erik, you left us when we needed you the most. Because of you, the children are dead. You killed them Erik. Their blood is on your hands."

Erik attempted to speak but no sound would come from his mouth. He could see the bloodied knife that Charles held in his hand. His expression bordered on the line of insanity. Erik could feel his own pulse in his head. He didn't understand what was going on at all, and the fact that he was unable to speak worsened

his fears.

"I can't let you leave here Erik. You've left once, you're not leaving me again." In what seemed like a flash, Charles was now behind him and was mere centimeters away. His breath felt icy cold on the back of Erik's neck.

Charles let out a shivering whisper. "They're coming for you, my friend."

At that instant, Charles shoved the knife into Erik's shoulder. The pain was excruciating. A hundred times worse than an ordinary stab wound. He sunk to his knees, Charles sinking with him.

The walls and floor beneath them began to crumble and the pain caused Erik's vision to bur and fade to white.

The last thing Erik heard before succumbing to the pain was a sharp whisper from his old friend.

"Lebe, so dass du erneut leben magst"

Live, so that you may live again.

Erik awoke gasping for air. It was pitch-black dark, must have been the middle of the night. Pain shot through his shoulder, sparking his memory. He had been shot, and Charles had been with him. The government was attacking when he had passed out. Where was he? How long had he been asleep?

He felt something move beside him. Something warm. Startled and scared, he punched it, hard.

"OUCH, Bloody Hell, what the...Erik? You're awake!"

Charles familiar voice was music to his ears.

"Charles? Please I'm so thirsty, water!" Erik's voice came out in a croak. However long he had been asleep, he hadn't been able to drink.

Charles quickly put a water bottle to his lips. He drank like there was no tomorrow.

"I'm sorry Charles, I didn't know it was you. I'm so confused. What's happening? Where did the government go? How long have I been asleep?" Erik attempted to sit up further but was halted by the pain in his shoulder, causing him to wince.

He felt a warm hand on his back, calming him.

"My friend, there are many things we need to discuss, but you're very hurt and need to take it easy. We are completely safe at the moment. I'll explain everything in the morning, but for now, we all need some rest."

Charles fluffed whatever Erik was laying his head on, It felt like clothing, a jacket perhaps and pulled the blanket over him.

"I'll be right next to you if you need anything" Charles grabbed Erik's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Erik didn't want to let go.

He didn't understand the circumstance of his safety, but he trusted Charles. Charles was brilliant, it was no surprise they had somehow gotten out of that mess.

Erik just hoped that all of the other mutants were safe. He could hear faint snores around him and took comfort in knowing that they were probably all right, at least for the moment. His mind was buzzing with thoughts and questions, but he felt extremely weak and tired. Charles was right, he needed as much rest as he could get. There wasn't much that could be done in this darkness.

Charles laid down and got comfortable next to Erik.

The world was changing, ending even perhaps, and Charles really couldn't fathom what was happening. He had seen the army retreat into the forest after Raven had convinced them to leave (In the form of Lenton of course), but they had only made it a few feet into the trees before their cries of terror had been audible.

A hoard of undead mutants and humans had made their way to the mansion. They must have been drawn to the area from the amount of sound from the explosions. Serves the government right for blowing up his school. Hank had picked up Erik and carried him while Charles had rounded up the children. The older students had helped carry the younger ones into safety.

While the undead feasted on the army and government men, Charles and his students had escaped. Raven had cleverly disguised herself as one of the undead mutants. She had even managed to mimic the decaying of their skin and feign the illusion of death. She returned safely and had been helping take care of the younger students. While with the government, she had discovered that their main goal had been to cure the mutants at the school. They had gotten information that the school had been training very powerful mutants. The government saw it as a priority to take out the school before the students had time to retaliate.

Charles understood that the cure somehow caused mutants to come back to life, but he did not understand the severity of the situation. He prayed that the government was devising a cure for the undead, but if the attack on his school was any indication, he wasn't hopeful. The humans had cared more about destroying the mutants than they had to think about the repercussions of the cure. Based on the amount of undead that had been attacking the army that night, the disease was spreading extremely quickly. His mansion in Westchester was located in isolation so surely the effect would be less noticeable out here. He wondered about the city. So many people living in such proximity, How would they fare?

Had the army not been there to supply fresh meat, they may not have been so lucky. They had managed to make it into another hidden underground bunker. One only Charles knew the location to. The door was hidden under a layer of dirt in the forest, away from the mansion and area where the government and army were being attacked. None of the undead had invaded that area, but it was only a matter of time before they had finished devouring those men and turned to look for more flesh. Charles knew the bunker was only a temporary fix, but they needed a place to hide.

Erik had passed out that night and slept through the next day. When the sun rose, the other mutants, Logan, Jean, Scott, and Alex had carefully raided the ruined mansion for supplies. There were only a few undead mutants remaining in the area. Some were obviously civilians and others were members of the army that hadn't been completely killed in the battle. The others must have wandered off in the search of more life and meat. The four students had used their powers to take them out the remaining undead. To their horror, a blow to the body didn't kill them. The only way they were able to completely kill them was to give them a hard blow to the head. The disease affected their brains and until it was destroyed or damaged, they were still able to function. They had all come back extremely shaken up by the sights they had witnessed. There was very little left of the men and women that had attacked the mansion. Bodies had been ripped apart and strewn across the area. Nobody was identifiable; it was just a bloody mess of organs and limbs.

The students had tried their best to stick to their task of retrieving supplies from the mansion, but it had been hard to walk through the area without witnessing some sight of gore.

Regardless, they had managed to pick up quite a lot of bedding as well as a small amount of food-Enough for the mutants to survive for a few days.

Charles and Hank had stayed behind to see to Erik's wound. Hank was surprisingly skilled in first aid. The bullet had luckily gone right through Erik's shoulder, missing any vital organs. The absence of the bullet would make the healing process much easier. They had applied constant pressure to the wound and prevented too much bleeding. They then used a makeshift bandage made out of Charles' jacket. The students had managed to retrieve some first aid supplies the following day when they had raided the mansion. Hank redressed the wound accordingly. Erik was resting peacefully on the cold concrete floor of the bunker.

Kitty had taken quite the liking to Erik. She had saw him get shot and refused to leave his side. She was currently sleeping a few feet away from them both. Charles was relieved that the commotion between him and Erik had not woken her up. She was quite worried about "Mr. Erik" and had a great deal of difficulty in getting to sleep. The younger children did not understand the idea of the undead yet. But in reality, neither did Charles

Charles held a small amount of comfort in the fact that Erik was by his side. He had been hurt so badly that day on the beach, physically and emotionally. He had lost his best friend, and his sister-the two most important people in his life. It felt so wonderful to have them both back. Charles only wished it was under different circumstances. He shuffled a little closer to Erik. There was no hiding the fact that he loved his friend very much, but it was not the time and place for silly things like that. He had his Erik, Raven and students to protect.

Charles reached into Erik's mind and felt that his friend was still in quite a lot of pain. Focusing his thoughts, he drew the pain out, pulling some of it into himself. Erik's shoulder still hurt, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been before. Charles couldn't stand to think of Erik being in pain. He had suffered so much throughout his life. Charles so badly wanted him to be comfortable.

"Charles?" Erik whispered into the darkness. He had been able to feel the pain subside and knew it had been Charles using his power.

"Yes my friend?"

"Thank you." Erik reached out and reclaimed his friend's hand, and held on tightly while he drifted off to sleep.

Charles closed his eyes as well. He needed as much sleep as he could get. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

Thanks a million for reading!