Memento Mori

20

Zipping through the debris was easy enough. Peter managed to find steady footing and jump and walk from one thing to another. He was uncertain whether Erik realised it, but he had made a rather natural staircase leading straight up to him.

Stopping, he listened to the gasp which came from Raven. The feeling which was niggling away at her would soon pass. Hopefully quickly. Didn't want to come all this way and have to wait for her to recover, not to be rude, they didn't exactly have time for this.

Being surrounded by the swirling mass of all things metal, while Raven recovered, Peter looked upwards. He inhaled deeply, he had to remind himself of what Liesel said, this was him at his worst. Peter felt a little hesitant there, yet...how could he call her out as a liar? She had said she had known him most of her life, so she would know what Erik was like on a good day, a bad day, and a horrendously awful day.

Peter reached out and pressed hard against the apparent bubble which surrounded the man. It didn't give, this thing seemed rather impenetrable, to his side Raven was looking around surveying everything. From up high, the destruction was something else entirely.

Even trying to vibrate the particles did nothing, Peter was still blocked. He let out a short sigh, "The magnetic field is too strong. I can't get us in there." Peter darted and appeared back by Raven's side.

She looked at him before looking upwards. "Erik!" She called out, he was just levitating there, eyes shut a look of calm concentration on his face. She shook her head, he could hear her, she knew that as eyes slowly opened.

"Mystique," he glanced her way as everything around him still churned.

"I know you think you've lost everything." Raven said, her voice echoing in this odd space that he had created for himself. She sounded apologetic as she looked at him. The fact the woman he thought was dead, was down there didn't make this any easier. How to bring that up, Raven didn't know. "But you haven't. You have me, you have Charles, you have more family than you know." Raven glanced at Peter, he warily looked back at her. "You don't think you had the chance to save your family before. But you do now. That's what I've come here to tell you," Raven said, looking surely at Erik, he just stared back at her. "We are all here, and so is she." Raven said, hoping this time Erik wouldn't think she was lying, like Charles apparently was.

Erik just slid his eyes to Peter, "And you?" He merely asked, curious as to why he was here again.

Peter breathed deeply a few times, he looked around trying to get the words out. But all he managed was: "I'm your...I'm here for my family, too." It wasn't what he intended but Erik was looking at him with some understanding that wasn't there moments ago.

Despite of them still all standing here, they could easily spy what befall the jet, the fate of the occupants was known. Raven and Peter looked towards the burning wreckage with wide eyes. They had missed out on most of the action while trying to talk sense into Erik.

"Charles," Raven's voice was full of worry, she didn't know what had happened to her brother. She was uncertain whether they all got off that before it crashed and burned. There were so many variables that she didn't know, and she didn't like it. Raven slowly looked away and looked back to Erik, he still remained unmoving. "I'm going to fight for what I have left." She said, having to raise her voice over the noise of everything around them. "Are you?" She questioned and looked to Peter. He got the message and stepped close, holding onto her arm, he placed his hand against her neck again. He glanced one last time back at Erik, before disappearing from view, and leaving him to think about everything.

Only because he had a blank mask on, it didn't mean Erik wasn't inwardly processing things. He listened to what both had said, had taken it all on board, and was left remembering his friend who right now, he didn't know how he was. Raven was the second person to tell him that Liesel was here. He thought he had had quite enough of death and destruction for one day. If this was the case, he needed to find her, and he needed to find Charles.

It wouldn't be hard to do, just follow the destruction. Nur was likely to do anything within his many powers to get Charles back. Erik didn't even know how they got him free, but they had. Considering the surroundings hadn't further imploded, it was clear Charles was alive. Nur needed Charles, and there honestly was only a small number of places to hide away in. They couldn't keep Charles from him, he would kill them all; even from here he could hear the distant sounds of fighting, they would all be exhausted and unable to fully protect the telepath.

But yet, Erik still remained in place. Perhaps one of the few who opted to follow Nur who was actually doing what was asked of him now. He was unaware to what was going on with any of them down there. However, even he managed to see the flare of lightning which shot upwards into the sky. His eyes widened at the velocity of it, but even over all the noise and the crackling, he could distinctly hear it. A scream. Erik knew the voice, the owner, and he had long since vowed that Liesel wouldn't be targeted and in pain, not without him helping it. Yet, it wasn't just pain, the screams coming from her, sounded like agony. Shaw had harmed Liesel too, and looked what happened there; yes, Erik's main incentive for revenge was his mother, but the things he did to her were enough to get avenged all unto themselves. The police harmed her, he dealt with them. He missed out on the others who got her, he was sure she probably dealt with them. And now, Nur was doing the exact same thing which Erik had always, albeit hypocritically perhaps, promised would never happen to her. Nur liked to keep saying no more, of anything. And Erik agreed, only in his own way; no more hurting those who remained close to him.

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(Edited: 11/July/2019)