Old Friend

Chapter 3

Charles hungrily ate the food which Erik brought him, since he was really hungry. He normally always ate at distinct times, and now he hadn’t eaten for three days.

Erik was sitting next to him in an armchair, and with amusement watched his old friend gobble down the food in a way not typical to him.

“Did you like it?” he asked when Charles was done eating.

“Yes, very much. Thank you,” Xavier replied and put his tray away. “Erik… Are you really not going to let me call home?” he then asked.

Erik sighed. “Charles, we have already discussed this. Not yet. Don’t look at yourself as a prisoner. I will let you go. But not yet. Be patient.”

“But they are worried! They must think I’m dead! Please, Erik, let me tell my children that I am alive? We’ve already lost Jean, and it would be unbearable for them to lose me too. Please, if you’re my friend, you will let me do this.”

“What did you say?” Erik asked, completely dumb struck. “Did you just say that Jean Grey is… dead?”

Charles sighed deeply and felt the pain of Jean’s loss returning, and wasn’t really sure how to explain this to Erik. Of course Erik didn’t know that Jean was dead. He left before it happened.

“Yes, she is dead,” he said slowly. “My little girl is dead.”

“But… how?” Erik asked confusedly.

“She died at Alkali Lake, right after you left Stryker’s base. She sacrificed herself for us. If she hadn’t saved us we all would have died.”

Erik didn’t know what to say. That Jean Grey had died while the rest of the X-men made it was something completely new to him. In a clumsy attempt to comfort Charles, he took his friend’s hand in his own and squeezed it gently.

“I’m so very sorry, Charles. I didn’t know,” he said quietly.

“I know you didn’t. I just forgot.”

“I know how you feel.”

“Like losing a daughter…” Charles whispered. “The children lost a teacher and role model, and Scott lost his future wife. Nothing has been the same at the mansion since her death.”

“I am really sorry, Charles,” Erik said compassionately. “I know how it feels to lose someone close.”

Charles smiled weakly, despite that tears were gathering in his eyes.

“I know you do, Erik. It’s just that when someone reminds me of Jean’s death…”

“I wouldn’t have brought it up if I’d known,” Erik promised.

“I believe you. But let’s not talk about Jean anymore. It only makes me wonder if there had been something more we could have done to save her.”

“Do you want me to leave?” Erik asked.

“No… I just want to talk about something else. Tell me how young St. John is. He lives here with you as well, doesn’t he?”

Erik nodded. “Yes. I’m tutoring him at home, and I promise that I teach him everything that you would have taught him.”

Charles smiled ironically. “Human and mutant co-existence?” he asked.

“Save that. In this house we only discuss the mutant superiority.”

“I thought so… Maybe John is better off with you. He never really felt at home at the Xavier-institute. He always wanted something more… something I couldn’t offer him. He has found it with you, I suppose?”

“He would like to see you, he’s told me. Would you like that?”

“Aren’t you afraid I will talk him into coming back to us?” Charles wondered.

“No. I know what John wants. Right now he’s worried about you.”

“I might see him… later.”

“I will tell him that.”

Erik looked at his wristwatch and discovered that it was later than he thought.

“Oh God, it’s really late…” he sighed. “I have to go now, Charles. I have some things that I must deal with. But I’ll be back this evening. I will tell Raven to check on you once in a while and ask if you need anything. Is that alright?”

Mystique, Charles thought. He wasn’t exactly looking forward to seeing her, but he obviously had no choice. He had always thought her yellow eyes were freaky.

“Sure, that’s fine,” he forced out.

Erik got up from his armchair and sat down on Charles’ bed edge instead. His hair was neatly combed back and he was wearing a grey turtleneck sweater and black cashmere pants. It was obvious that Erik was dressed for a downtown visit.

“I’ll see you this evening. I promise to get you something really great. Will you be alright in the meantime?”

“Erik, I’m no child,” Charles remarked, although the concern touched him.

“No, that was not what I meant,” Erik replied.

He leaned forward and placed a kiss on Charles’ forehead. For a moment he thought about kissing his lips, but changed his mind. Then he got up and went to the door.

“Bye Charles,” he said before he left.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Sabretooth returned to Magneto’s new “mansion” he wondered if the traitor Xavier was still there. He hoped not, but at the same time he did. It would feel good to really hurt him…

Sabretooth began to growl covetously when he thought of all he would do to Xavier if he caught him. His mouth started watering, and he could still taste the blood of the deer he’d killed earlier. He had left the cadaver in the forest.

But Victor Creed was still hungry – he always was, it seemed – and went to the kitchen to get something eatable. He didn’t like their new “lair” very much, since he had preferred something a little more… primitive, like the rocky island out in the Atlantic Sea.

Mystique was in the kitchen reading a magazine. She didn’t even look up when Sabretooth entered, even though she heard him. It angered him, of course, but he chose to ignore it. Mystique was a bitch, and she wasn’t worthy of his wrath.

“Where’s Mags?” he grunted as he took out a steak from the fridge. He always ate his meat raw, since it tasted better than ripe meat.

“He had to go on some errands,” Mystique replied absent-mindedly, without looking up now either.

Sabretooth grunted in reply. “Is Xavier still here?” he then asked and leaned against the sink. He tried to see what kind of crap Mystique was reading, but none of what he saw told him very much. Anyway, it was crap.

“Yes, he is still here,” Mystique replied slowly after some time.

“Where’s he?”

Now Mystique looked up. The question made her watchful. She clearly remembered promising Erik not to tell him where Xavier was, because there was a risk Sabretooth would hurt him. And there seemed to be a risk, alright.

“Why do you care?” she replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

“I asked you a question!” the feral mutant growled, staring at his blue “sister”. “Tell me where he is, you bitch!”

“No,” Mystique said shortly.

“Why not?!”

“Because you don’t need to know!” Mystique snapped, starting to get annoyed. “Why do you wannow now where Xavier is? You’re gonna hurt him, aren’t you?”

“Maybe. He deserves it! Now tell me where he is, you blue cunt!”

Mystique didn’t even bother replying this time. She would never tell him where Xavier was. Cn’t n’t he just get that through his thick skull sometime?

But Sabretooth wasn’t going to take a no for an answer. He lunged forward and reached Mystique in no time. She had no time to react when he tore the silly magazine away from her hands and then grabbed Mystique herself, with strength and speed that made the chair she was sitting on tip over. He grabbed her arms and slammed her against the pantry door so hard the door almost fell from its hold.

Mystique cried out with both pain and surprise. She had not expected this, and didn’t know what to do.

Sabretooth buried his long claws in her arms and wrenched them up behind her back. He was much stronger, and she was as good as helpless. She cried out when his claws pierced her blue skin and felt her own blood flowing down her arms.

“Now I’m asking you again!” the blond lunatic hissed and slammed her against the pantry door once more. “Where’s Xavier? I won’t take a “no” this time!”

“Victor, you’re hurting me…” Mystique whispered.

“That’s the idea. A little bitch like you has to learn to answer when she’s spoken to. WHERE IS XAVIER?!”

“I won’t tell you…” Mystique croaked. “Hurting me won’t help…!”

“No?” Sabretooth triumphed and tightened his grip of Mystique. The pain made her grit her teeth, but she was not going to betray Xavier. A promise to Erik was holy.

“Are you gonna tell me, or do I have to chastise you even more?” he whispered in her ear.

Mystique didn’t answer. The pain in her arms was driving her mad, but she wasn’t going to give up. She didn’t believe Victor would *dare* hurting her for real; if Erik found out he’d get furious.

“Well?” Sabretooth mocked.

“Forget it…”

A clear and terrified but also angry voice interrupted them both.

“What is going on here?” exclaimed Pyro, who had just returned and now stood there, staring at them from the doorway.

Victor looked up, and so did Mystique. He froze, but hisd ofd of her remained as firm as before and she could not break loose.

“What are you doing?!” Pyro screamed when he saw what the blond giant was up to. “Let her go right now! You’re hurting her!”

Sabretooth started growling again and looked from Pyro to Mystique. The boy had stuck his hand into his pocket, probably to pick up his lighter. He looked frightenedt alt also seemed ready to fight.

For a split second Sabretooth considered whether he could slit the kid’s throat before he got a chance to use his pyrokinetic power. He decided not to, and slammed Mystique against the pantry door one last time before he released her and rushed outside. When passing, he pushed Pyro into a wall.

Mystique watched him disappear and felt enormously relieved. This could have ended up bad. Imagine that Pyro had saved her! Maybe the boy could be handy sometimes?

John gripped his lighter spasmodically hard for some time after Sabretooth left. When he realized the lunatic wouldn’t come back, he breathed out and slipped his lighter back into his trouser pocket. Mystique had sunk onto a chair, rubbed her sore, bleeding arms. Her face expressed clear pain and she still looked frightened.

John approached her carefully, with one hand stretched out.

“Mystique? Are you okay?” he asked slowly and sat down next to her.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Mystique replied in a muffled voice. She wished Pyro would leave. Right now she wanted to be alone.

“Did he hurt you?” John asked carefully, although the question itself was unnecessary. Sabretooth had hurt her; the question was how bad.

“I’m okay,” she said shortly. “I’ll be fine.”

“You’re bleeding. Let me help you,” he begged and placed a soothing hand on her shoulder.

“I said I’m fine!” Mystique snapped and shook off his hand. Pity was the last thing she wanted, and she definitely didn’t want it from Pyro.

“What was your fight about?” John asked instead.

“Nothing special. He just gets like that every now and then. You’d better get used to it.”

“I wish he had never returned…” John muttered.

Mystique smiled sarcastically. “Who doesn’t?”

“Are you going to tell Erik?” he asked then.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“He doesn’t need to know. Forget it.”

“But we can’t let him go on like that! What if he kills one of us!”

“No, he won’t.”

“Are you sure?” John asked doubtfully.

Mystique smiled, in spite the pain in her arms. “Yes, I am sure. I know him. He won’t kill any of us. I can promise you that. Don’t worry about me. I can handle myself.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Good.”

She got up and let her hand rest on the boy’s shoulder for a second. Really, it was cute of Pyro to worry about her… But she could do better without pity. She always had.

“I have to go now and check on Xavier,” she told him. “Can you make sure he isn’t anywhere around to spy on me?”

Oh, John thought. Xavier. He’s obviously the cause of this fight.

“Sure,” he replied. “I’ll make sure of that.”