A/N Sooo, I'm a hard-core Charles/Erik shipper but I've never attempted to write it before this so I want to know if I can do so successfully. This isn't exactly romance though so I might do one that's happy and romancy next if people like this. So on with the story then.

UNBETA-ED Hope it's not too crappy with the spelling and grammar. Bit of a rush job.

Summary: What would have happened if, on the beach, Erik had been caught by surprise and hadn't moved quickly enough and Moira's shot had met its target. Implied Erik/Charles. Don't like, don't read.

Disclaimer: I, very unfortunately, own no rights at all to the X-Men series. I'm just a hopeless fan girl who needs ma slashy goodness so please don't sue

It Was Over

"Nooo!"

None of them would ever forget that haunting cry, the man's pain and agony washing over them. What was worse was that it wasn't expected.

They had watched in shock as the only human on the beach resorted to an unnecessary extreme and drew her gun, they watched as the two men who had quickly become their mentors continued to fight, completely unaware of the danger literally at their back.

They had watched as, just before Moira squeezed the trigger, Charles punched Erik in the jaw forcefully, making the other man's head snap to the side and they both stumbled. They watched as both men's eyes widened as they saw the threat and Erik reached his hand up.

And they watched as he wasn't fast enough, eyes still wild from the fight and flicking back to glance at Charles, fear burning in his eyes because they both knew he didn't have enough control in that second to stop the bullet as the gun fired off and let loose the deadly metal.

It felt like life was suddenly moving in slow motion and yet so fast it was impossible to keep up. All at once the life sparked out of Erik's eyes, the left over missiles plummeted into the ocean below and Charles' yell filled the air.

"NO!" Charles sprinted forward and caught Erik by the shoulders as he fell, sinking to the ground with the taller man cradled in his arms as his bent his head over his chest, clutching at the man's suit, desperately trying to find a heartbeat or any sign of life.

Tears leaked freely from his eyes as he tried to swallow his sobs but one escaped him as his eyes lifted from his chest to Erik's face and he saw the dark crimson hole that now gruesomely marred the perfect man's left cheekbone and he was forced to look into his blank eyes, eyes that were usually the only way to tell exactly what Erik was thinking but were now just as closed off as the rest of him.

"No, no, no, no, no. Erik come on, open your eyes. Please Erik." His hands ran all over Erik's chest, scrambling, trying to find something to give him hope, to give him a reason not to breakdown. His right hand crawled upwards, coming to rest and caress the still man's cheek, covering the imperfection and hiding any blood from sight. "Please," he whispered again, "don't leave me."

When yet again he received no response he cried out in his mind, trying to connect with Erik in the last way he could think of. But his emotions ran strong and uncontrolled and the yell he sent out reached them all, making them all flinch and tears well in all their eyes.

Erik!

He didn't notice as his forehead came into contact with the unmoving chest while his hand stayed splayed on his cheek, tears still falling.

There was silence, the only sound filling the air was the soft breeze blowing through the tall trees and the soft noises of distress still escaping Charles lips.

The mutants stood together, shocked and unable to fully absorb everything that had just happened. The mutants from the Hellfire Club stood unsurely off to the side, not knowing if now was the time for them to escape while the others were distracted.

Riptide shot a look at Azazel and the crimson man sneered at the group, grabbed his shoulder and they teleported away, not even drawing a flinch from the rest on the beach.

Tears leaked out of Angel's and Raven's eyes, hands cupped over her mouth in horror while the boys stood at their side, each alternating glowering at Moira and trying to figure out if they should approach the Professor.

Finally they came back to their senses and realised a few things. First, there seemed to be something more to the Professor's reaction than losing his closest friend and companion and second, the ships that the humans resided in were now getting closer to the beach, most likely coming to pick them up, though they did not know whether it was to arrest or help them and so they needed their leader to tell them what to do.

"Charles," Raven called out softly, voice quivering.

When she didn't get a response out of the man Alex stepped forward on shaky legs and called out to him as well.

"Professor?"

"Don't." The voice was muffled as his head still rested on Erik's chest but the warning in Charles' tone was clear to them all. "As you have all just witnessed I have very little control right now so Alex," now he raised his head to look at them and their breaths were taken away at the utterly hopeless look on his face while his eyes swirled with agony and anger they had never seen in their mentor before, "just don't."

Alex stepped back again, head hung in defeat. Suddenly a different voice came, one none of them wanted to hear.

"Charles?" Whatever movement the crouched, anguished man was making before stopped and the air around them suddenly crackled with tension and anger. "Charles I-" Moira stepped closer to the fallen pair, "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."

With that the man's eyes rose once again and as his eyes locked with hers the last of his control seemed to slip away and every one of his emotions were being broadcasted to all those on the beach, as well as the occupants of the ships that were approaching.

The humans fell to the ground and held their hands over their ears, trying to block out the sudden keening that seemed to come from somewhere inside their minds and yet was all around them.

The mutants cringed but stayed on their feet, not knowing whether or not to interfere as Charles began to advance on the fallen Moira. His steps were fast and menacing, face contorted in agony.

"How DARE you?" Moira's hands fell from her ears and her used all that was left of her waning strength to look up at her accuser, knowing that whatever would come next she deserved wholeheartedly. "You've no idea what you've done! Murderer!" He spat the words at her, nothing but hatred in his eyes.

She tried to defend herself one last time, knowing it was probably pointless but needing to somehow justify her actions. "Charles, I'm sorry. I know he was your friend, but he was a danger t-"

The sound that he interrupted her with was barely human, a vicious snarl that echoed in the still wide open psychic link. "Friend? Friend? He was EVERYTHING! Don't pretend that you understand what you've taken from me! Erik. Was. Everything! Ev-every…" His voice faltered and his breaths started coming out as gasps. His eyes turned even wilder as they shot around the scenery before him.

They all saw and panicked when his gaze fell upon the gun that lay oh-so-innocently in the sand, as if it hadn't just taken a life. His gaze focussed on it and turned steely, bending quickly to pick it up, hands seeming to caress the steel.

All breaths were held as he didn't hesitate to raise the gun and point it at Moira's head, the woman looking terrified with tears streaming down her face. Charles' breathing was harsh and loud, moving his whole body, limbs shaking in anger and the beginnings of shock.

Raven lay a hand on Alex's shoulder as he moved forward to intervene. She had seen something change in Charles' eyes, some sort of reason return and one tiny sliver of the Charles she knew reappearing in his mania.

"Just wait." The others looked at her as if she was crazy but she knew him better than any of them.

Less than two seconds later Charles lowered the gun, switching hands and grabbing it by the barrel as he knelt in front of Moira, almost at eye-level but still seeming to tower over her menacingly.

He spoke through clenched teeth. "I never would. Do you understand?" The frightened woman nodded quickly, tears still falling but knowing she would not be getting any sympathy from this group. He leant just a bit closer to her. "If I ever see your face again I won't be responsible for what happens to it."

He stood then and it only took a split second for his stance to lose its fight, shoulders slumping and tears reappearing as he turned back to the body of the man he wasn't sure he could live without. He fell back to his side and pulled Erik's head into his lap, stroking his hair and not letting his eyes linger on the bullet hole that broke his heart.

A cloud of smoke and a strange noise indicated the return of Azazel but Charles couldn't even be bothered to turn his head to enquire why he had come back.

The others formed a protective circle around Erik and Charles, not sure what to expect.

The fierce looking mutant raised his hands in a gesture of peace, face drawn and serious. He spoke with a thick accent, for once being sincere with no underlying hostility. "No more blood needs be shed today. Come with me, I can take you away from this place, back to your home so you may mourn."

They all heard Charles softly sob once at that and knew they could trust their once enemy. Alex nodding solemnly at him and gestured Azazel forward as they all crowded around the still fallen pair. Alex and Raven lay their hands gently on Charles' shoulders, who still had not looked up from the body he cradled so carefully and lovingly that they had to wonder how they had never seen their connection before.

They spared one last, heated glance at Moira before they were gone in a puff of smoke.

Azazel transported them back to the mansion before disappearing once again. The school was unsettlingly quiet for the rest of the week. They held a funeral for Erik three days after their return where Charles made a speech and they all shed many tears for their friend. in the end he had done wrong but he was still the man that had stood beside them, stand up for them, even against the professor, who had been their friend, mentor and guardian.

However that had been two weeks ago and they had hardly seen nor heard from Charles since, the telepath choosing rather to spend his time in his room, only emerging for meals where he sat silently, never a smile to grace his face. The mansion held an ominous presence to them all, a teacher lacking and the spirit of everyone being sucked out by his absence.

The school was supposed to open with all the other schools in the beginning of the new semester, starting off small since the humans were still extremely cautious and mistrusting of them. But Charles and Erik could have done it, made people trust them, let them in. But without one, theother seemed empty, half of a whole... Everything was seeming hopeless and the beginning of semester loomed, becoming something they were wary and scared of instead of the excitment it had brought up before.

"He'll get better right? I mean… right?" Alex looked away from the program to the speaker and shot the other boy a glance, grimacing.

"I dunno Banshee, the Professor's different now. We've all seen it. Even Raven doesn't know what to do. What chance does anyone else have to help if she can't?"

After that there was nothing more to say. They sat in silence on the couch, ignoring the inane chatter coming from the television and wondering if they would ever have their professor back, if they would ever have the chance to share him with the world that so desperately needed him.

A/N So I know, crappy ending. But I only wanted this to be a one-shot as a trial run to see if I could write X-Men well or not. Mostly I wanna know if I wrote the beach scene well or not.

For those Whovians out there, yes, the part with Charles and the gun was a direct reference and slight copyright off "The Doctor's Daughter" episode. I couldn't help it, it's one of my favourite Doctor moments :p

Please review and tell me what you think.

Thanks for reading,

Metal.