Memories

Chapter Thirty-Nine

The metal door groaned before being flung off, Charles and Erik strolling in as if they hadn't taken out nine of their teammates already and were threatening the whole of the human race.

"Charles-" Raven tried, soon cut off by Charles's voice.

"I'm not Charles, darling, I'm Onslaught," The evil creature replied, grinning.

"Charles, please, wake up. Can't you see what you're doing? Stop this madness!" Raven begged, but that didn't move Onslaught to emotion. He just looked annoyed.

"Go to sleep now," he ordered, but she didn't. Emma was straining all of her powers under the weight of Charles's abilities, but she was enduring.

"How interesting. You're strong," Onslaught said, his curious, cruel eyes turning on Emma now.

"I can handle her," Magneto said, glaring at his former pet telepath, moving toward her menacingly.

"No!" Darwin shouted, charging Magneto. Magneto flung the metal door at Darwin, but Alex blasted it. The three began fighting, all the while Onslaught, Emma, and Raven avoided the fight.

"Please, Charles, listen to me! This isn't you! You aren't like this! You wouldn't be letting Erik do this. You wouldn't be using your powers against us. You're good, Charles," Raven insisted, trying to reach the brother she knew was in there.

"Ah, yes. 'Good.' A lot of good that has gotten Charles. It got him crippled. It got him abandoned by everyone he loved, including you. It let him be ignored by his mother and used by the government. It got Charles raped and beat multiple times by his stepbrother, all for the sake of his mother's possible happiness. Being 'good' doesn't seem too appealing, dear girl," Onslaught said, and Raven flinched as if she'd been hit.

"I love you, Charles. Please, come back to me," Raven begged, only to have metal wrap around her torso, restricting her breathing. A piece of metal went around Emma's throat, tightening as it had when the two men had confronted her in Russia. Erik had taken out Darwin and Alex in short work, and now he was doing the same thing to Emma as before to get her to drop her shield. She glared at him hatefully, fighting desperately against the metal choker.

She could hear her own neck cracking. She knew she couldn't withstand must more. She needed to shift soon, or she'd die. Suddenly, it loosened. It wasn't so tight that it was breaking her anymore. She looked at Erik, but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking toward the blankets.

She looked where his eyes were, and her heart spiked with fear. The children had come out of hiding, and now Onslaught could see them. He was looking at them, and so was Erik.

"Erik, if your heart still beats in your chest, you will leave them be. Don't let them see this, Erik. Don't let them be like us," Emma hissed at the cold man she'd come under the employment of. She didn't need to elaborate on what she meant. He knew it all to well.

"Daddy, Vati, why are you hurting Auntie Emma and Auntie Raven?" Wanda, sweet Wanda, asked, and Emma could've sworn she'd somehow amplified her own cuteness as tears welled up in her innocent, luminous green eyes.

Raven kicked and flung her body around, trying to get down to protect the children to no avail. She was stuck. Erik wanted to glare at the women, remind them that they were his children, that he'd always protect them, but he couldn't look away from his terrified children. Then, he remembered. A lifetime ago, he'd considered Alex, Darwin, Sean, Angel, Hank, and even Raven as his children. His and Charles's children.

"Daddy, please, wake up. Stop hurting them," Pietro said quietly, having grasped the situation; Charles wasn't himself, and he needed to be woken up.

Kitty ran over to Onslaught- to Emma's and Raven's horror- and clung to his leg, quietly crying into his pants. Onslaught looked down at the little three-year-old and gently laid his hand on her head. The cruelty melted away, leaving Charles's kindness in his eyes. A look of agony crossed his face, and he cried out in pain, clutching his head. Kitty lept back, frightened.

"Charles? What's the matter?" Erik yelled, going to the love of his life's side.

"Hurry, Emma! I don't know how long I can control it! Shut it off! Shut off my mind!" Charles yelled painfully, clutching his head and shutting his eyes tightly.

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to wake you up!" Emma exclaimed, shaking her head.

"Do it!" Charles shouted as Raven and Erik both shouted 'no'.

Emma did as told, entering Charles's mind and shutting off all higher brain functions, only leaving what allowed him to breathe. Charles's look of pain vanished as his body collapsed onto the floor, a useless body once more.

"No!" Erik shouted again desperately, falling to the ground next to him. Erik began to sob, desperately trying to shake Charles awake. But there was no waking Charles. The only thing that kept Erik from the murderous rage that was always inside of him, boiling under the surface, was the strong heartbeat within Charles's chest that sung to Erik's own. But, despite his strong heartbeat, Charles's beautiful, vibrant, lovely, lively eyes remained shut peacefully, as if he were dreaming of that wonderful world he thought he could create- where mutants and humans coexisted peacefully.

The metal holding the women fell away, leaving them free to move to the children's sides. Emma had them look away, removing them from the room as Erik sobbed over Charles's comatose body. Raven stayed, crying too. Emma took the children to their rooms, forcing them to fall asleep in their beds and filling their heads with the promise that everything would be okay.

It was a lie.

She knew nothing would be okay again.