This chapter was a long read, but it was so, so worth it. I loved every bit of it. I loved the coziness and togetherness of the opening scenes, especially all the kids reconnecting and reminiscing about freakin' bedtime stories - I mean, what could be sweeter? (Pretty steamy rough sex between Charles and Erik, too.)

And what a slow, suspenseful buildup to their finally meeting Shaw again. I loved the bits of humor, but it felt almost like torture too, because I was just dying to find out whether they would finally take him down and how. Their goodbye and taking off by themselves almost killed me - "Hold my hand."

I continue to be so impressed by how you weave the canon and AU elements of this story together. Their takedown of Shaw brings them closer together, rather than driving them apart, like it always should have done - but then you have the nerve to go and kill them! I'm so torn about this. They went down making a safer, better world for mutants, together, like they would've wanted - but I wanted them to get a nice fluffy ending!

That scene of Raven taking up their torch is too much, and I am up too late getting too emotional reading this darn fanfiction. Alles ist gut.

Ooh, I really love the suspense of the gang's mission to rescue Charles from Shaw. I'm impressed that you still get it so intense even though we already know that they do get him back. I was so nervous to see Erik's reaction when he finally saw Charles again.

I also love that we don't find out until now exactly how Shaw messed with Charles's mind; implanting him with his own ideas and identity is so twisted. I hate this guy, but I have to admit, he's a smart villain. I love the way you work in all the most memorable lines from First Class here - We are the better men, you and me against the world, Charles, Never looked better, mate. So curious (and a little nervous) to find out how this is all going to end!

Man, this chapter had almost too much adrenaline for me. I really love how well you shift between all these intense different scenes, and you have a gift for loaded last lines in each section. I think the opening scene here is even darker than all the others between Charles and Shaw, because we find out that Shaw didn't just torture Charles physically but messed with his mind.

"Erik looks like he's living a nightmare" - It's so interesting to see Erik in the wake of Charles getting abducted, because it really explains why he's been the more grounded, stable one in the present-day storyline. Losing Charles was the most unbearable thing for him, and now that the nightmare's over and they're together again, nothing else could ever be that bad. Charles doesn't really have that point of comparison here. I love how Raven reacts so unexpectedly calmly, too.

"As long as we don't tell him what came after" - This is such a sweet and sad line to me, how Alex is still trying to maintain his little brother's innocence amidst all this death and destruction. Interesting conundrum too that they're all working together even though they don't share the same ideals. Nasty ending for that poor manipulated soldier, though, and I really wonder what else Charles and Erik have up their sleeves.

Nice ending scenes with the gang arriving in Genosha and Charles and Erik going off on trips together while the kids speculate. They were the perfect way to come down from all those battle scenes. Loved this!

Oh, man, their conversation after the call to Moira just ripped my heart out and stomped on it - "just enough pieces left to make something whole," the treading water/finding an island metaphor that works so well, the way they reassure each other that they're close to finding Shaw. I think what's most touching in this chapter in that they're actually starting to plan what they'll do after they get Shaw - play chess again, "build a better world," visit Genosha. Oh man, I hope they get the happy ending they deserve.

I also enjoyed seeing how Logan found his way to the school in this story, and of course that attack on the base at the end is such an intense cliffhanger! Haven't you put Charles and Erik through enough in this story? I loved Charles's detached reaction, too - so creepy. Can't wait to read more!

What an intense scene of Charles and Erik briefing the Brotherhood on Shaw and their plans to kill him. "Nothing else matters" - you can really feel the drama building in how much they both want Shaw dead finally, and how they'll stop at nothing for it. I hope they don't do anything too dangerous.

Oh, what a heart-wrenching conversation between about the "old" Charles. It's such a contrast to the happier flashbacks of them together in the previous chapters - instead of seeing that version of Charles again, they can only talk about him now. Charles's worry and Erik's reassurance is so stinkin' sweet.

I lol'ed at Sean explaining that Erik and Charles are always fighting ("how they, like, function," haha, of course it is) and Erik describing him as "a stuffy old bat" to Ororo. It's good comedic reliefs to Charles seeing Moira again for the first time and the lingering effects on Psylocke at the end. Man, this story is really so good!

Oh man, what an intense chapter. I'm grateful that you're only showing us Charles imprisonment by Shaw in short doses, because I think they'd be too much to read all at once. What a sad, stark contrast between the Charles in that opening scene, so scared and vulnerable and in pain, vs. the Charles in the rest of the chapter, who's so controlled and controlling. The scene with Psylocke is very powerful at showing how Charles stops at nothing anymore, especially where Erik is concerned.

And that ending scene is so intense, too - such a startling departure from a happy canon scene that I had been enjoying. I assume this is how Shaw got his hands on Charles, and I hate that it happened so early in their relationship, but at least they had their declaration of love on top of the satellite dish.

I found this chapter rather lighter reading than the first two, and I really enjoyed it for that reason. The story needs a little relief, and this delivered it in a nice, unexpected way. I lol'ed at Charles's reaction when he sees Erik's big, fancy metal bedframe, and I love the way you intersperse this chapter with scenes of their earlier relationship. "I'm with Erik" and their first time in the hotel room are such bittersweet scenes to see them so young, in love, and optimistic for the future, vs. the bitter, older men that they are now, especially Charles. What a number Shaw did on them both. I just hope you give him his comeuppance in this story!

Man, this chapter was well-done the whole way through. I really love how we see more of your new, dark Charles here. Even though it's sad to see that he's changed so much from his optimistic old self, this version of him is so creepy and fascinating. I love the little things Erik says and does to keep him anchored, and how he automatically knows when Charles needs it - you depict the deep bond between them so perfectly, and just like with Moira, it was such a change for me to see them reversed from their roles in the movies. I'm really looking forward to the rest of this.

What an intense prologue to kick off what looks like one intense story. Kitty makes a good stand-in for the reader for a lot of this chapter; I shared her confusion in the kitchen about Sean and Alex's conversation, and in the study over how she's been living in Xavier's school but has apparently never met the man before. I'm already impressed by the dark Charles you've created here, and I love Erik reigning him back with "That's enough," a reversal of their usual roles. Looking forward to reading more!

I loved it and died with that finale. Amazing!

Its good! I LIKE IT!

Omg, just finished reading this and I have to say one of the best Charles/Eric story I've read ever.(And I've read a lot of them lol) You are a really good writer, once I started reading I couldn't stop, I loved the way the story was set up with the different time jumps, I loved reading them and getting a better insight to the story.

Love the final statue. And I agree. Even in her most ridiculous incarnations, Mystique is always utterly badass.

Oh My God.
I waited until I finished reading he entire thing before reviewing, since it's marked complete already.
Holy Crap.
This was amazingly well done.
Excellent at keeping me stuck on the edge of crying for nearly the entire thing. Though that's partly because I got the hints towards the general 'we do this and then we die' aspect early on and having that on top of the other shit piled on them, and the excellently written effects of that shit... Yeah, I'd have been crying miserably several times if the writing hadn't kept me so desperately caught up in the story I couldn't stop even for that- can't see to read if your crying, after all. ;)
Onslaught is officially the most terrifying 'mutant' ever. No more debates. At all. Onslaught gets the top ranking, possibly forever.
Separate, they both always rank awfully high and cause half the debates. But when they are that tightly and perfectly 'clicked'? Amplifying each other?
Yeah, no contest. Ever again. Holy Shit.

Shaw, you ****ed up. Badly. *grumbles incoherently* *rummages for an acceptable image to attach to a target for archery practice*

*bows* Very, very much job well done. I'd offer treats in offering, but they aren't virtual enough to attach here.

Congratulations, the story was remarkable and cohesive, not to mention coherent, which is nothing short of a miracle in fanfiction, considering you handled over three different timelines. Take a moment to give a thought to professional writing or world domination for a second; you might have what it takes.

On the other hand, while I'm generally against they-all-die-the-whole-one-of-him-(or two, in this case) endings, the meaning was plain from about halfway through and constantly reinforced since. It's been a delicate, elegant and imminent progression and as much as I didn't like where it was headed, it was believable. As a reader, I got the message that this was not for the angst points, but rather a natural end, seeing as Charles makes no progress towards healing, whatsoever; I admire consistency (again, over three timelines, astounding). For this reason, the epilogue ending fell flat. I like that you gave some hope, but unlike the X-Men 3 ending (yeah, that movie happened) the deaths were not thrown in on a screenwriter's whim after one too many and thus ambiguous endings should not be thrown in just to please the audience.

This story is a couple of years old but it had me sobbing like a 4 year old by the end. I had to stop multiple times to wipe away the tears. With the sheer amount of emotion with every additional piece of the puzzle revealed is catastrophic. I can see why so many have added this to a favorite's list or recommended it in other stories (which is actually how I came to read it.) It isn't too often that I write a review for a story aged nearly 2 years but this warrants a kudos.

Amazing. Fantastic. A dramatic and emotional read. Spell binding from the first chapter. That's what this story was and much more. Thank you and good luck on everything it is you do. I hope to read more of your fantastic work in the near future.