Silence reigned across Cairo.

En Sabah Nur had finally been destroyed.

Iris felt as though she were underwater, her movements slow and her vision blurry. She was aware of a hand tucked inside of hers, and she glanced to her right. Jean stood beside her, blinking at the destruction all around them. The two of them were so overwhelmed by the uncontrolled release of their powers, that they were having trouble snapping out of their exhausted daze.

Iris still felt uneasy. Only minutes before, she'd been En Sabah Nur's weapon. The thought made her skin crawl. She shook her head as she tried to process the events since En Sabah Nur had taken control of Cerebro.

She heard a flurry of movement behind her, accompanied by voices. She blinked and turned around. She caught sight of Hank and Moira, leaning over Charles' body.

Charles.

Iris glanced up and caught Jean's eye. Jean nodded gently, and they released hands. After a pause, Iris took a step forwards. Hank glanced up at her, his eyes shining. He appeared slightly hesitant, and Iris felt herself flinch when she recalled her fight with him.

"Is he alright?" She asked, her voice shaking slightly. Hank leant back as she fell down to her knees beside him. A strangled cry escaped her. Charles' body was still, his eyes closed. He wasn't breathing. She couldn't speak.

Hank reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her towards him gently.

"He's gone." Hank's voice was low. Iris squeezed her eyes shut, trying to steady her breaths. Devastation crashed into her all at once. She'd lost Charles. She'd been unable to save him because she'd been someone else. She couldn't believe how weak she felt. She should have been able to fight En Sabah Nur's abilities to control her, not just given in. She felt her body trembling as she started to sob, and Hank tightened his grip on her. She'd been so foolish and wasted the last few months away from Charles. Now she was paying the price – he was gone and she hadn't been able to hug him, kiss him, hold his hand, tell him how much she –

"No he's not." Jean's voice rang out, "I can still feel him."

Iris opened her eyes as Jean rushed forwards and sat beside them. Slowly, she reached out and brushed her hand against Charles' temple. Iris held her breath.

His eyes opened.

*

Charles was in so much pain. His mind hurt so much. En Sabah Nur had challenged him within his mind in a way he'd never even thought possible. It had been such a strain.

The last thing he remembered was calling out to Jean and telling her to unleash her powers. It had worked, because En Sabah Nur was gone.

But everything hurt, and Charles didn't know where he was. Faintly, he could hear voices around him, but they hurt his head even more. He felt half awake, as if he could fall asleep any moment. If he fell asleep, would he wake up? Or would he slip away forever? The urge to sleep tugged at him, pulling him further and further into darkness. He tried to fight it, but he couldn't. He was slipping away, the voices getting fainter and fainter...

A new voice entered his mind.

Professor.

He recognised it. Jean. It was Jean.

He blindly fumbled for the voice, reaching out and holding onto it. The darkness was fading. Jean was leading him away from the darkness.

His eyes fluttered open, and he squinted as he tried to adjust to the bright light. There were figures crouched around him. Moira was on one side, her eyes wide with worry. Jean was beside her, a look of relief on her face. He could see Hank too, in his natural blue form, clutching onto someone beside him. Charles blinked again.

It was Iris. Her cheek was bruised, her face was tear-stricken, her dark hair falling across her eyes. Hank's grip around her loosened, and she leant closer to Charles, moving her hair away from her face. He met her gaze, and as he looked at her, he felt everything around them fall away.

Within her gaze, was the spark in her eyes that made her Iris. She was back. She hadn't been lost, after all.

"Iris," His voice was gravelly as he tried to speak. He could see her bottom lip trembling as she looked at him.

"It's me," She whispered, "It's really me."

Slowly, he reached out and brushed his fingers against her cheek, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "I know, love."

She took hold of his wrist, and slowly ran her fingers up towards his, their hands becoming entwined. He squeezed her hand gently, and silently observed how hot her skin was.

He could feel her intense pain and anguish. She had barely awoken from her weaponised daze, and she had so much to process. Her expression was guarded, but Charles could see through it.

He always could.

*

Erik had been stunned into silence when he'd watched Iris emerge from the abandoned house, beside the red-haired girl who had been protecting Charles. They'd held one another's hands and unleashed their full powers on En Sabah Nur.

Some people would have been terrified by the sight of the abilities, but Erik was never afraid of mutants' abilities. He was always amazed at how much strength they had, and what they could do. He'd always known Iris had been afraid of unleashing her powers, because of the way Shaw had treated her as a child, but as he'd watched her defeat En Sabah Nur, he didn't think she needed to be afraid.

The battle had come to an end, and Cairo had fallen to a slow and steady silence. Erik had sought out Mystique and approached her cautiously. She was in her natural blue form – the way she was meant to be. She was slowly sitting up off of the dusty floor, her hand resting on her neck where En Sabah Nur had tried to choke her. Her gaze fell on Erik, and something unreadable flickered across her eyes.

Once upon a time, he'd been able to read her. It was his fault that he couldn't anymore. He'd sent her on the path that had hardened her heart and darkened her soul.

No more.

He reached out his hand for her to help her up, and after a hesitant pause, she took hold of it.

"What changed?" She asked, her voice rough. She winced at the pain.

"I realised the importance of family." He shrugged his shoulders, and smiled at her carefully, "I don't want to lose anyone else that I care about."

The hint of a smile passed over her lips. She gestured to the young man, Peter, who was on the floor nearby, "I think Peter needs some help, too."

Erik nodded with a small frown, and approached Peter slowly. He was holding his leg in pain, but when he caught sight of Erik he tried to compose himself.

"Hey," Peter murmured quietly, "Totally cool that you, you know, helped us in the end. Nice move."

Erik crouched down to help him up, "Glad you think so, kid. You were pretty 'cool' yourself, until he broke your leg."

Peter laughed, but he seemed to be glowing with pride. Erik reached his arm around him and began to pull him into a standing position. Mystique approached from the other side with a small smile.

"Thank you," Peter beamed at Erik.

The other mutants who had been in the house with Charles had started to emerge. The young boy with laser eyes, and his blue-skinned teleporter friend approached Peter and offered to take him on either side. Erik passed him onto them, and he spotted a figure crouching in the shadows. It was the young girl, Ororo, who had fought beside En Sabah Nur for most of the fight. Her alliance had changed, though. She was watching all of them in fear, worried that they would not be welcoming towards her. When she caught Erik looking at her, she slowly emerged from the shadows. Her gaze was questioning.

"You don't need to be afraid," Erik told her gently, "We won't hurt you."

She narrowed her eyes at him hesitantly, and then she nodded.

Erik glanced up to see who else had emerged from the house. He hadn't been entirely sure what was happening up there, and concern was gnawing away at him.

He saw Moira approaching them, glancing behind her at Hank, in his natural blue form, with Charles in his arms. Erik felt a wave of sadness wash over him when he saw his old friend there, without his hair, looking incredibly exhausted. He caught Erik's gaze, and the two of them nodded at each other.

Beside them was the red-haired girl and... Iris. Her movements were slow, as though she were still waking up from her weaponised daze, and her eyes were on the ground. She raised her head, and when she met Erik's eyes, he recognised the devastation on her face. He stepped towards her hesitantly, and within seconds the gap between them had closed as she fell into him. He was surprised, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him gently, settling his chin on the top of her head. He could feel her shaking in his arms, and he looked up at Charles, who was watching her sadly.

"Iris," Erik's voice was low as he spoke to her, "I'm sorry that I brought you here. I'm sorry that I'm the cause of your pain. You're one of my oldest friends. I should never have betrayed you like that."

He felt her shaking body begin to steady, and after a moment she pulled back to look at him.

"You were hurting," She whispered, "I'm so sorry about your family, Erik."

"It doesn't justify what I did - " He started to say, but she shook her head firmly.

"We made it right in the end, didn't we?"

He paused for a moment, and then he nodded, "Yes. We did. We both did."

They pulled apart, and Erik glanced at everyone around him. Mystique, Hank, Iris, and Charles. He felt his something twinge in his heart.

It was time to go home.

*

It was a long journey.

They found an abandoned truck, and drove for miles and miles until they found a train station. From the station, they got a train to the airport.

On the train, they sat in silence.

Hank, Moira, Scott, Kurt, and Ororo sat together. The young girl looked nervous to be sitting with them, as if she feared they would turn on her at any moment.

Raven, Peter, and Erik sat together in the seats behind them. Peter slept, while Erik watched him and silently wondered what was so familiar to him about the young man.

Iris had sat down next to Charles, and Jean had sat on the other side of her. The three of them had fallen asleep almost right away, as exhaustion washed over them in one fell swoop. Jean's head was leant against Iris' shoulder, and Iris' head rested on top of the young girl's red hair. Charles' head had fallen against her other shoulder.

As the train passed through a tunnel, it jolted slightly, and Charles felt himself wake up. He could feel a weight in his hand, and when he opened his eyes he saw that his fingers had become entwined with Iris' as they'd slept.

His head still ached, and he could still hear so many voices in his mind, but in that moment he didn't mind. He could feel the warmth of Iris' skin against his own, and that was enough to steady his heart rate. He allowed his eyes to close again.

He dreamt of green trees and golden sunlight, and Iris in his arms.