time eternal.

nine.

. chapter nine

Hank announced the upcoming landing, letting his passengers prepare for departure.

August took the time to go to the bathroom. After all that happened in Paris, an uneasiness feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure why she got it, but it all of a sudden felt like she was going to collapse.

Running cold water from the sink, August splashed her face. It calmed her for a second, but the feeling immediately returned.

She looked up at her reflection in the mirror, eyes wide as she saw herself fade. It was only for a moment, but she witnessed herself become less apparent.

"Oh my God," she cried, quietly so that the others wouldn't hear.

She soon came back into focus, returning to her original position. Looking down, she found that both her hands were still faded and blurred.

"August?"

Her head whipped around to face the door, then quickly turned back to look at her faded hands. She stuffed them into her coat pockets, pushing the door open with her elbow, although it was a struggle.

In front of her was Logan, who had a skeptical look on his face, but August ignored it and walked passed him. The worry that struck her was still evident inside. She needed to get away from people and figure out what's wrong with her hands.

Exiting the jet was no easy task either. With her hands in both pockets, she couldn't hang onto the railing to keep her balance. She nearly tipped over a couple times, but played it off so that no one noticed. Although on the last few steps, she lost her footing, and almost tumbled down the remaining ladder if it wasn't for hands coming from behind to grip her waist.

She glanced over her shoulder, her green eyes coming to pierce into Charles' icy blue ones. They stared at each other for a moment, before Logan yelled at them to hurry up.

Walking down the runway, August looked over at Charles again and said, "thank you." It was simple, but it sounded like it held much deeper meaning.

"You're welcome," Charles grumbled, keeping his gaze forward and away from August. He was afraid to look at her again, because he felt something he can't feel. He felt love and compassion through that quick touch. With his hand on her waist, it brought back old memories he wishes he could forget, because the pain of remembering is almost as great as the pain of seeing her forgetting.

No other words were said as the four continued towards the mansion. August could feel a numbness throbbing throughout her body, starting from her bones to the hairs on her arms. She could barely feel her hands, let alone her fingertips. August could feel it slowly traveling down her bottom half, making its way towards her legs. Soon, her body would fade, she was sure.

There was no reasonable explanation as to why this was happening to her, except the thought of her mutation. Perhaps it was that which was making her fade. Though it still made no sense.

Reaching the mansion, August felt her legs begin to wobble. As soon as Hank opened the door to the great architecture, and they were all inside, August had tumbled to the floor in a great heap.

She heard Charles shout for her, but he too was unable to move to aid her. They both laid on the floor, helpless to one another.

Logan was quick to prop Charles up against the podium to their right, leaving Hank to get August.

August could feel a tingling in her legs, and somehow she knew that they were beginning to fade too. Her legs switched between a tingling sensation to a burning flame that crawled up her bones.