Disclaimer: I own nothing!

The Stillness frightened Eric most. Not the enormity of his power or his black determination to annihilate the fleets, not the bullet he pulled from Charles' back or the blood that spilled through the remaining hole, not his friend's heaving chest or the sweat streaming down his face, but the stillness of Charles as he lay in Eric's lap terrified him.

As he stood letting Moira take Charles into her arms he felt the wrongness of his movement next to the stillness of his friend. Charles moved only once. He raised his arms to kiss his sister goodbye. And his legs…

Eric had felt the heaviness in those legs, had sensed all the lack of support in their muscles. He turned and took Mystique's hand, leaving the beach before his fears could be confirmed.