Moira's eyes had been locked on Charles when it happened. She had seen the uncertainty in his eyes, the angst of his decision and been sorry that it had to have been her to demand it of him. She knew that he would feel the deaths of the men below, and allow himself no succor from the guilt he would carry on the inside.

For that reason, she had kept her eyes on him, hoping to impart any strength and support. She, too, knew what it was to have to allow bad things to happen in order for a better outcome. Being a CIA agent was not as easy as some would like to believe, and certainly not as adventurous and noble as her father had always made it out to be when she was growing up.

She had been forced to make a lot of tough calls.

But none of those decisions had been as tough as remaining helplessly motionless when suddenly Charles flipped over the side of the boat with a mere shout of alarm that was whipped away by the turbulent wind.

Moira's eyes widened as her own plaintive scream of dismay cut through the air. "Charles!" The boys stopped what they were doing, all eyes swiveling to where the professor had been a moment before, but now the spot was empty. Moira did not have to look at the boys to know that they paled as the realization of what had just happened occurred to them.

As if the world wanted to cement it into their realities, though, three splashes cut short the cries of alarm from the men, and Moira did not hear any flailing of limbs. They had gone under, and the suction would insure that they did not come back up easily.

All of this happened in the time span of ten seconds. On the tenth second, she looked up and locked eyes with Hank. She saw her own horror reflected there. Then, the two of them looked over to where Alex and Sean were, both mouths hanging open and eyes wide.

Moira knew what was about to happen before it did, and she jumped forward in time with Hank. The lifeboat plummeted steeply as Alex and Sean simultaneously released their ropes and lunged towards the side of the lifeboat where Charles had been, intending to dive in after him. She grabbed Sean around the waist, feeling his lower ribs rub against her knuckles as she bore her entire body weight into pulling him back from the edge.

Hank seized Alex in the same way, plucking him from the edge of death as their small escape pod suddenly smacked into the surface of the water and was carried further from their sinking boat by the swell of wave that had caught them. Moira closed her eyes, holding Sean tightly to her chest as the momentum slammed them against the front of the lifeboat.

Sean's hoarse howl of grief cut through her heart. "Professor! Professor!" he shouted into the wind, struggling once they had stilled considerably. He jammed elbows into her sides and stomach, gentler than she was sure he could have, and flailed like an eel to escape her grip. Tears ran down her face as she hugged him tightly to her, like a mother would her child.

Alex was doing likewise in Hank's grip, scratching at his arms and trying to bite him as he screamed just as loudly "Charles! Charles! Let me go, Hank! We have to help him!" He yelled furiously. Hank growled deep in his throat. Moira got a glimpse of tears in his eyes.

"Alex, he's gone," Hank growled.

"What? Are you crazy? We can still save him!" Sean yelled breathlessly. Hank shook his head, just missing an elbow to the face.

"He's just a coward!" Alex roared, his eyes burning with fury. "He doesn't want to save Charles because he's afraid!" Moira looked away to the thrashing ocean as Hank's eyes grew wide and his sharp fangs made an appearance.

She cringed when he took Alex's shirt into his hands and suddenly crushed him against the lifeboats floor, straddling the boy none-too-gently. Sean cringed as well, wisely deciding to stay still. Alex was breathing hard, fingers digging into Hank's wrists and teeth set in a clear sign of defiance.

Hank loomed over him, snorting like an animal. His eyes were glowing with rage. "Calm down," he growled, merely. Alex glanced overboard, his body stilling.

"But…But Charles," he stammered.

"Is gone," Hank finished, as a tear ran down his face. Alex looked up at him, and the pure anguish in his eyes would have made a stranger think that they had known Charles their entire lives. Alex's bottom lip trembled, and he closed his eyes as if he couldn't bear to look at Hank anymore.

Sean let out a muffled sob against her chest and Moira hugged him tighter, lying her chin on a bed of wet curls. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, heart breaking. "I'm so sorry," Alex opened his eyes then, and something in them made Hank nod and sit up. Alex sat beside him, arms wrapped around his knees. He looked so much like a vulnerable child that Moira let out a sob of her own.

Oh, Charles, she thought. Hank put a hand on Alex's trembling shoulder and gazed at them all, eyes grave. "I'm sorry," he told them softly, and there were no other words that could describe the situation at hand, the awful mocking of fate.

The cruelty of the world, whether ruled by humans or mutants. They stayed like that, buoyed by the swelling waves, struck on all sides by chilling rain and deafened by the lightning striking and the sounds of men yelling, the creak of the ship sinking further and further for an what felt like an eternity but what was actually about ten seconds.

All of a sudden, the eternity ended when Hank sat up straighter, a sudden light in his eyes. "Did you hear that?" He asked. Moira looked up, brought from her haze of grief. She went silent, listening. She heard nothing but wind, rain and the occasional shout from the soldiers remaining.

"Hear what?" She asked through a throat that ached with tears. Hank stood, slowly, the added weight making the boat sink a good two inches in the water. Hank sniffed loudly as Alex and Sean protested.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Alex demanded, gripping the sides of the lifeboat. Hank ignored them, his eyes set on a distant thing, squinting in the rain.

"Is that…?" he mumbled. Moira watched him carefully, wondering if she should be afraid. She suddenly very much wished that she had her gun on her.

"What is it, Hank?" She asked. Then, she sat up straighter as an impossible but glorious thought occurred to her. "Is it Charles?" She was not sure how he would have been able to pull himself back up to the surface, but she did know that he had accomplished the highly unlikely before. Why not the impossible now? Hank waved his hand at her irritably.

"No!" he cried. "Listen," she did and after a second in which she could only hear the wind, the wind become a voice.

A familiar voice.

Sean and Alex heard it too, and their eyes widened as they scrambled to their knees. "Is that…?" Alex mumbled.

"It can't be," Sean squinted into the rain, but it came again. Raven's voice, like an angel in the night, calling.

"Hank! Sean! Alex! Charles!" And then another one, added to it.

"Charles! Boys! Moira!" Erik. Moira had never been so glad to hear them.

"Here!" the word burst out of her like it had been waiting on the tip of her tongue all along, her heart leaping. "We're here!" Hank waved his hands frantically, emitting sharp and echoing roars.

Alex and Sean took up the call, waving and yelling frantically until something large and hulking-the head of a whale-came into sight. Moira exhaled deeply as she recognized the top of a submarine, still half submerged in the water. Through the rain, she could see Raven, her blue skin rippling like a fish's scales; and Erik, the helmet atop his head like a lighthouse beacon.

Both of them smiled when they saw them. Erik pointed and the submarine rushed forward, bearing the two towards their small dingy. Raven's eyes searched them all as they approached, detailing any injuries until…

"Where's Charles?" Erik seemed to want to know the same thing. His own eyes searched the boat acutely as if he suspected that Charles was hiding behind someone. Moira's heart stopped, and she despaired. Sean bowed his head. Alex gulped. Hank gazed at them sadly.

"Raven… He's… You see…" Hank's voice faltered so much that he just looked at the spot where Charles had gone under, sadly. The gesture said everything. Raven's eyes widened when she followed to where his eyes had gone. Her mouth dropped open. Erik inhaled sharply, and again, surprised Moira out of her wits. Without speaking, the metal-bender snatched the helmet from his head, stuffed it into Raven's hands and dove into the thrashing waves as gracefully as a seal.

"Erik!" Hank cried, horrified, but he was already gone beneath the waves.

It occurred to Erik that he would probably drown, but that thought was burst into flames as soon as it had come, put to rest by the knowledge that Charles was beneath the merciless waves, and he was paralyzed from the waist down. There was no way that he could swim.

Besides, Erik remembered a night quite like this one, where he had been in the same danger as Charles, and the other man ad not cared about the consequences of what he was doing, but rather had done it anyway

That was Charles's way; and now Erik's as well.

Still, when the water hit his face, he had to resist the urge to gasp from the cold of it. He opened his eyes, feeling them burn. The water below was shrouded in blackness and murky with floating debris from the ship. He could not see more than two or five inches ahead of him, at that. How was he supposed to find Charles, in all this mess?

The same way that he found you.

For the first time, Erik envied another mutant their powers. The power of telepathy would come in handy right about now. He shook his head with difficulty. Things were different under water. He didn't have the luxury of doubting or worrying. Charles needed him, and Erik could only hold his breath for so long.

So he did the only thing that he could do. He hoped with all his might that this would work-and called out for Charles. Propelling himself deeper into the murky waters, he screamed the name over and over in his head, willing every shrapnel of his soul to repeat the call so that Charles's ultra-sensitive mind might pick it up.

Please Charles, he thought reverently. Answer me. I'm here, If only you'll answer me.

Erik was unsure whether this would work if Charles were already unconscious, which was most likely the case.

I won't leave you, he thought with a determined ire. So if you want me to live, you'll have to answer. You'll have to! Erik's lungs started to burn, and he was far beneath the surface. He might very well drown if he did not get up to air soon. However, he had not been bluffing. If Charles did not answer, then Erik wasn't going anywhere. He would keep looking-die down here if he had too.

He had come back for Charles; and he wasn't going back into this cruel, unforgiving world without him.

Do you hear that, you bloody idiot? He thought as his head started to become light and his vision blurred. The murky waters suddenly seemed even murkier. Answer me Charles or else we'll both die down here! Adrenaline kicked in.

Erik had to fight down his survival instincts to head back to the surface; had to wrestle away the panic that had begun to encase him like an air bubble. Oh, air, sweet air. He needed air…

No, he needed Charles. Erik kept swimming, going deeper and deeper. Now his entire body was on fire with suffocation. He kept going down, further and further… Dots swam before his eyes. Charles!

Nothing. The water was silent, empty, dark. Like his childhood, like most of his life The thought of returning to that silence, of forever staying here in this empty darkness filled him with a dread that overpowered the adrenaline. Only Charles had been brave-or perhaps stupid-enough to challenge him to stand in the light again.

Charles, where are you?!

Granted, he had not done a very good job once there, but at least he had gotten a glimpse of light and realized, finally, after so many years….

That he was not alone.

CHARLES, ANSWER ME! His legs stopped working, his muscles seizing and cramping. Erik stopped, floating idly in the deep waters. He willed himself to stay awake, that last shout having taken most of his energy. Erik allowed himself to just sit there then, surrounded by darkness, and if it were possible he might have sobbed aloud, for Charles would never ignore him. So he must be…

These melancholy thoughts were interrupted by a break in the silence. It was a whisper, a mere brush against his mind as delicate and precise as an artists' tender sweep. His name. Erik, in an all-too familiar voice. Erik, save yourself.

Of course he would say that.

Where are you? Erik demanded, brought to life by that soothing voice.

A second of silence. Then, A bit to your left, further down. We're being dragged by the ship's suction. Erik, I don't think…

Do you have any metal on you?

The voice was getting weaker, sounding as if it were fading. Where to, Erik knew all too well. It's no use, Erik. Just go.

Not bloody likely, Xavier.

Erik…

I'm here to help you. Just hold on. Then, because he felt like he needed to say it. You're not alone, Charles.

He did not have to see Charles to know that he smiled. The image of that smile caused an ember of purpose to ignite in his heart. Erik forced his body to go down, to his left, and he smiled himself when he saw Charles's hair floating like seaweed in the gloom. Their eyes met. Charles's were dull. He was near death.

Erik… He had to hurry. Charles didn't sound so good. Michael… Leave it to Charles Xavier to want to save the human. Erik was half tempted to leave them both just for that. That human was lucky he had saved Charles's life or else Erik would have had nothing to do with him. As it was, he called the metal watch on Michael's hand and grabbed Charles by the arm, pulling.

It took an eternity-in which Raven called herself by several names, none of them very nice- and stayed close to Hank's side. He would not let her touch him; she understood why, but he did not leave her alone in this dark moment. He stood close by, their bodies so close she could feel his heat and she took comfort from it.

Sean, Alex, Moira and Hank had all crammed unto the top of the submarine, their small lifeboat floating idly nearby. All eyes searched the water frantically, looking for any sign of life. Hank had already explained that it was unlikely that Charles was still alive even if Erik did manage to find him and bring him to the surface.

The statistics weren't good, he had explained.

Despite those chances, none of them dared go inside of the submarine until they absolutely knew. If they don't come up, she glanced at the submarine. Angel had joined them a second ago. She stood between Alex and Sean, her wings flittering every once in awhile as if she wanted to go searching herself. Riptide will pay or this.

And she would make sure he suffered the same fate as he had condemned her brothers to die. The water was right here after all. The waves had calmed, and now only little laps of waves hit the side of the submarine, soaking their shoes, but otherwise it was calm again, with only tiny droplets of rain smacking them every few minutes. The thunderclouds had beat a graceful retreat, growling menacingly. Things were calming down.

So why did it feel as if her heart would jump out of her chest?

Come on Erik, just one more miracle. One, she prayed frantically. After a moment of silence, Angel broke it.

"Should I fly over and see if I can find anything?" she asked.

"Like what?" Alex sounded tired, defeated. Angel shrugged, anxiously.

"Anything. It beats sitting here waiting for them to reappear like…" Angel's sarcastic remark born of fear was interrupted by none other than Erik Lenshnerr. Raven held her breath as suddenly the older man burst through the surface of the water as if it were glass, breaking the calm with his gasping breaths.

"Erik!" Moira screamed. He looked up, eyes wide. "Is he…?" Moira's voice broke.

Erik didn't answer. Instead, he swam towards the lifeboat, sloppily. Raven imagined his arms were burning. She studied his face; looking for any signs of grief or sadness, but found none; just a certain furious triumph in his eyes as he stopped before the lifeboat and hung onto the side. Alex and Sean had already jumped in, and outstretched hands to help. Erik glanced at them, then smiled. "You might want to get the professor first," he turned around and Raven saw a wet mop of chocolate hair set above dull sapphire eyes.

But they were open, and Charles was gasping and coughing up seawater, clinging to Erik's back weakly. Alex and Sean grabbed him under the arms with exclamations of joy. They hauled him aboard with animated roughness. Charles flopped weakly into the boat, his legs dragging behind him like lifeless sticks. He promptly vomited seawater. "Charles!" Moira gasped, grinning. He looked up, and despite the dullness in his eyes, he was grinning.

"Hello there… My friends. Are you… Alright then?" he coughed hoarsely past heaving breaths. Before anyone could answer however, Erik climbed into the boat, helped by Alex. Behind him, Dr. Fisherman scrambled after, both of them coughing and gasping for breath.

"You idiot, Charles!" Erik was roaring angrily once he had gotten his breath. "You thrice-cursed, damned, hypocritical idiot!" He collapsed on his knees next to Charles. Raven's brother was on his back, arms outstretched like an angel and hair plastered to his face while he breathed deeply. He only smiled at Erik's insults.

"Do you have death wish? 'Save yourself, Erik' 'Save Michael, Erik' what the hell?! I'm tired of you saving everyone else, Xavier! You're a pain in the ass! You can't even swim!" Erik raged, waving a hand at Charles's immobile legs. "Stop being a bloody hero because you're not! You're an IDIOT!" He roared with his final breath before he collapsed on his stomach next to Charles, gasping for breath. Charles glanced at him from the corner of sparkling sapphire eyes.

"Are you done?" he inquired, politely.

Erik scoffed. "No," he hissed. "I have a whole other round when we get on dry land," he informed him huffily. Charles's smile grew until it turned into a snicker, then a chuckle, then an outright roaring laugh. He fell onto his back, laughing until tears were falling down his cheeks.

Michael was aghast. He stared at Charles, flabbergasted. "What the hell are you laughing at?" He asked.

Charles pointed to Erik, holding his sides tightly. If anything, it seemed to make Erik even angrier. "He… He…Called me an idiot for trying to save one….But you…" he poked Erik in the side. "You nearly drowned to save two of us, including a human! You came back for us… I told you there was good in you, Erik. I told you!" This point seemed to put Charles into a fit of stitches as he clapped Erik on the back. "Well done, my friend!" He snickered. Charles flopped unto his back, victoriously. "I win!"

Erik, who had even staring at Charles while he gave his explanation, looked as if he very much wanted to throw him back in the ocean. Raven couldn't help but feel laughter bubbling up in her too.

It was rather funny when you thought about it.

Still, she wasn't sure she should laugh when Erik looked so positively murderous. Erik looked up; his face darkening until…The façade broke. Erik shoved Charles roughly, high-pitched snickers erupting from him too. "Shut up, Charles," he replied as laughter overtook him and then they were both laughing themselves silly at the bottom of the tiny lifeboat. It only took a few second for the others to join in, hysterically, and Raven could never remember being so happy; or feeling so much like she belonged.

"Just shut up."