"Souvenir," Erik looked at Liesel as she whispered this. She tapped the hard hat on her head with a grin. "No?"

"No." He replied while the two of them made their way through the many stacks of storage crates. The large long different coloured boxes sat cold and motionless around the yard. In the dark most of them looked black, the pathetic yellow flood lighting which was present caused harsh glares of light to illuminate the area. 

The light rain of the evening pattered gently down onto the rather uneven ground, creating small puddles which splashed every so often when someone power walked through them. Finding the place in question was easy, Erik had been mildly surprised that Liesel did know where she was going. She led them straight to the building, and the storage facility where these robots were apparently being created and then shipped off.

"I may have kept an eye on this place." Liesel explained quietly while peering around a horrible orange crate. 

Erik stood by her side watching the men busy themselves around. There was quite a small collection, some stood close by ushering and directing where to put things. Some were behind the wheels of forklifts, the arms of which were supporting large bodies, motionless and inactive, yet seeing them like that gave them both quite a good chance to measure them up. They were huge, simply put, Liesel was certain that when standing the Sentinels would easily be the height of a two storey building and then some; they were gigantic. Honestly, she didn't want to face something like that, no way did she want to fight one of those. She didn't quite like the chances of survival. 

"What's the plan?" Liesel asked while pushing the hat up and off of her eyes. The item was evidently designed for men only, it was quite big on her head. It kept slipping and obscuring her vision, which was really very annoying.

Erik didn't reply, he just sent her a smile before slipping away from her side. Liesel hissed his name in a whisper, she clutched onto the crate side and narrowed her eyes. Unlike the airport, she was rather certain that these men would definitely not be as casual when seeing a woman suddenly amongst them. Even from her hiding place she could see that there were no women. Her appearing would be noted. And from there she didn't even want to think. She watched as he managed to get into one of the vehicles which was transporting the Sentinels to who only knew where. Liesel frowned, throwing her arms in the air, only to wince and put a hand to her shoulder, she stepped out from her hiding space.

He left her. Why wasn't she surprised? Letting out a short sigh, Liesel crossed her arms and kicked at the floor. Moving out from her hiding spot, she made her way to the exit. He had found out all that he needed to know to achieve his goal, and he had left her. Honestly, why wasn't she surprised? She should've seen it coming really. It was blatantly obvious a double cross was going to happen in some way. Or would that class as a triple cross? Considering he had already gone against Charles, he had now gone against her...Liesel pulled the hat from her head and tucked it under her arm, it was a souvenir now. There was no one to take it away from her, so it was hers.

Looking about, she frowned slowly. She needed to go find someone, anyone, pouting she kicked at the ground and picked up walking again. Maybe she could hunt Charles out again or something? Surely he was loitering around the city somewhere. Everyone seemed to be converging on Washington, only problem was: how to find one man amongst so many? She groaned with annoyance and tipped her head back. Glaring at the night sky, she blinked away rain drops and just ultimately decided to not bother. 

She'd aided where she could, she had given information where she said she would, she never said anything about taking part in a final fight. She was here just for information sharing. She'd fulfilled this, even if she felt hollow and empty and cold from Erik's disappearance. It was unfair. Cruelly unfair how easily he seemed to just leave.

Yet again: she shouldn't be surprised. Clicking her tongue, she decided then to just go home. What was the point of walking around Washington at night? It wasn't like she was going to find Charles. Or Hank, or even Logan. She had better chances at finding them tomorrow at this White House meeting, thing. She'd go there then, and well...do whatever, she hadn't quite thought that far ahead. She was curious really, she wanted to see what was going to happen. But for now, she really needed a decent night's sleep. And for that the only place for it was home. Or at least the warehouse base where she had last seen Gretchen and Newt.

It just so happened that the warehouse they were in, was halfway across the city and she had no money for a taxi. This caused her to groan again, walking. Lots, and lots of walking. She would teleport around, if only she was alone. Considering the late hour of the day, the less than pleasant people were out and milling around the streets. Liesel just shot looks where she needed, if someone dared to approach, she glared. She did not want no drugged up man approaching her, no thank you.

Twirling the hat on her finger, she whistled and waited until she could get to the back streets and alleys, then and only then did she use her powers to speed the travel up. Not that she was against walking, but walking was seriously so tiring, and she was sort of tired enough. Naturally when it came to walking into the warehouse, she got rather mixed reactions. Shock and surprise were two of the main ones, along with confusion.

"What are you doing back here?" Newt had asked while casually drinking from what seemed to be some sort of strawberry milkshake carton. Liesel merely raised an eyebrow and pointed a finger at the dairy drink. Newt got the hint and raided the fridge for another one, he handed it to her as a few passed and said hello to Liesel.

She greeted them back kindly and stuck the straw in the carton. Hopping up to sit on the counter, Liesel paused in her drinking and shook her head sadly. "He left me."

"You sound almost shocked." Newt commented dryly.

"I'm not...it's just..."

"You thought it'd be you and him, again?"

"Something like that...look I know, naïve is putting it lightly...but...I can't help it, it's him." Liesel admitted sadly with a defeated sigh as she looked to the carton in her hands. She turned it over and mindlessly read the information and awful advertising slogans before looking to Newt when he laid and scaled hand on her shoulder.

"Love sucks."

"You ever been in love?" Liesel questioned curiously, she watched as Newt looked a little shifty and lowered his face. "You have! Oh do tell..."

"Well-"

"I didn't believe it when I heard whispers of your return. Yet low and behold, here you are! What happened this time?"

"Gretchen," Liesel slid from the counter and looked at her sister. Gretchen's pale eyes narrowed slowly, and seriously. "He left me."

"Wow." Gretchen's blunt voice said while she rolled her eyes. "Like we didn't see that coming." She shook her head and watched as Liesel looked sadly down at the ground. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry it didn't turn out like you hoped."

"Ah, no...it's my own fault, some people don't change. Even through years of imprisonment...I'm just silly, foolish, an idiot really to ever think he would change." Liesel said while biting the inside of her cheek to distract herself from the oncoming sadness she was feeling. It hurt. It really, really hurt. It was like him turning away from her all over again. Only this time she wasn't alone, not that she was the first time, because she had the two people before her, even if they were looking at her sadly, and sympathetically.

"You're none of those things," Gretchen moved forwards and wrapped her arms around Liesel's shoulders. "You going to this meeting still?"

"Yes."

"I'm coming too."

"Okay."

"Not going to change my mind?"

"I think I'll need someone there to keep me on the straight and narrow." Liesel commented with a tight smile while shutting her eyes and leaning her head against Gretchen's shoulder.

"I'll try."

"Super," Liesel pulled away, looking from her to Newt she smiled even more. "You two are the best, do you know that?" They exchanged a confused look while she slipped back. "I'm going to catch up on some sleep. I suggest we all do, seeing as it's quite late now." Liesel waved over her shoulder as she went off with the intentions of finding a spare room to crash in and sleep.

----

Liesel couldn't help but feel and find that it was ironically another sunny day. It was just typical. The one day where something was evidently going to happen, and it was bright and sunny just like any other day in the city. Liesel shook her head, if the weather was in tune with every bad thing which happened in earth's history, then it would certainly be horrible 99.9% of the time, because there was always something nasty happening somewhere in the world.

"You sure you want to go?" Gretchen asked while they left the warehouse space and walked along the street. "We can always go back. Just watch it on the television. There's no reason why we need to be there."

Liesel remained silent, she frowned and put her hands in her trouser pockets. "I do." She spoke at length with a slow nod. "I need to be there. I need to see what is going on first hand. I need to see what these Sentinels are truly capable of. And I need to see and hear what speech is going to be given as to why they even exist. Gretchen, I need to see what these hunters can do...because I may have to fight them in the future for all I know." Liesel said sadly while looking to her sister. 

Gretchen looked saddened by the sheer honesty of which she spoke with. Yet, she relented with a nod, she wouldn't stop Liesel. If she felt like she needed to go, then Gretchen would allow her to go; she would be by her side throughout the whole thing, no way was she leaving her alone, not now. She could see she was hurting. Though Gretchen didn't quite know how to make her pain go away, she could be there for her to aid her where she could. She swore though that if there was a chance to punch Erik in the face, she would do it, without hesitation. Because how dare he break her sister's heart, again. Taking advantage was putting it lightly. This was sheer horrid opportunism at its best.

"We don't have invites, or tickets."

Liesel smiled, "I know."

"So how do you propose we get in?"

She shrugged, "Breaking and entering isn't something I'm oblivious to."

"The security is going to be seriously high, Liesel. Not to mention it's broad daylight." Gretchen pointed out and watched as she deflated at these two points. Hailing a taxi, the two climbed in and remained in silence. The driver seemed to enthusiastically ramble on, he seemed quite excited with what was happening at this meeting. Upon realising where they were both going, he had blurted out all sort of rubbish gossip about what could be happening, or what may be happening, and everything and anything else.

Neither Gretchen nor Liesel really responded, they may have passed a comment just to be nice. But that was about it. They clearly didn't care about being caught in a conversation with an overly anti-mutant supporter; Liesel more so was trying to keep silent. She sat clenching her hands tightly in an effort to stay calm. When the large building came into view, Liesel basically tore open the door and jumped out. Gretchen paid the fare and stood by her side. They listened to the car pull away as they looked over the freshly trimmed grass of the expansive lawn, the security who were positioned at the gates, and the flocks of people flooding in.

"We did not expect to see you here," a voice from the side spoke up. Liesel jumped and looked to the side before looking down. Charles sat in his wheelchair with a hard look on his face. "What happened this time?"

"He left me." Liesel said, Charles lowered his sunglasses to look at her with a small amount of sympathy in his eyes. "And no, I'm not surprised." Liesel rolled her eyes. "I was thinking about trying to find you, you know? I just didn't know how."

"I found you first." Charles smiled while nodding his head, Logan and Hank followed behind him as he led the way. "What happened, Liesel?"

"I told him where to find the Sentinels, and his things...and then he went. So don't be surprised if you can't sense him. He'll be here, one way or another. Everyone seems to be here. Have you found your sister yet?" Liesel said in an annoyed tone. Going over her own idiocy was seriously very annoying. She realised how much of an oblivious blind idiot she was.

"No. But she will be here too," Charles said while glancing up at her. "Trask is here, which means she has to be as well." Seems Raven was hellbent on ending the man's life. She wasn't going to miss the opportunity again. Regardless of all the people and security around.

Liesel nodded, and then tensed when a security check point came up. She merely raised an eyebrow as Charles easily lied and got them entry. "This all became such a mess, didn't it?"

"It can still be solved and sorted out though." Charles said while watching as she found a seat and sat down, Gretchen wasted no time in sitting next to her and looking about with a guarded expression.

"Even I could've told you that it wouldn't have been an easy thing to succeed in." Gretchen said while turning away and looking at them. Looking over the milling camera crews and reporters was boring. They all looked eager eyed at the stage, happily awaiting whatever was coming.

"No one likes an I told you so, Gretchen." Liesel smiled stiffly and patted her sister on the hand.

"I'm just saying."

"I know," Liesel frowned sadly. "I know." She glanced up at Logan and Hank, they hadn't sat down as yet and seemed to be scanning the crowd as well. Shaking her head, she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. She was getting herself comfortable for the long haul. If there was one thing she had learned from watching speeches on television: they tended to go on for a while. She intended to be comfortable for the duration. She zoned out slightly, she was too busy looking up at the sky that when she was nudged in the ribs she shot Gretchen a look.

Gretchen in return just nodded to the stage. Liesel hadn't realised that by now all the commotion had died down, everyone was seated and silent, the President was now in front of a podium and looking ready to start. "My fellow Americans, today we face the greatest threat in our history: Mutants." Liesel frowned, he was one smug sounding man, that's all she could derive so far. Richard Nixon looked so sure, so certain that he was truly oblivious to the fact that the seemingly disliked mutants had already aided this country already. Without their help, Shaw would've succeeded and everything would be different. They wouldn't be here, now listening to this speech. "We have prepared for this threat. In the immortal words of Robert Oppenheimer: 'Behold. The world will never be the same again.'" He said while throwing his arm wide, he extended his hand and waved at the cloth covered objects on the stage behind him.

There were hushed murmurs, gasps, and even some applause which steadily grew at the sight of the robotic figures stoic and motionless on the stage. The small group all leaned forwards in their seats as they gazed at the inactive machines which all stood neatly in a line behind the select few who were on the stage. The purple and silver finishing of them seemed to gleam in the bright sunlight, while the glass over the facial part fractured light around. They were massive, once standing up they were massive. Liesel thought they would be higher than a two storey building, she was right. They towered easily over everything and everyone. The camera crews present had to crane the cameras on their stands up to get a shot at their faces.

Once the shock and awe had passed, the enthusiastic cheering ensued. The people gathered seemed really, very pleased with what they were looking at. Though their happiness was short lived when a sound, much like the sound of something kick starting into life clicked through the air. There was the whirr of mechanics waking, and dull golden eyes flickered into life before the heads they were set in lifted too. One after another, each Sentinel came to life.

By the startled looks on everyone's faces, it was pretty clear this wasn't meant to happen. "Erik," Liesel tensed and shifted in her seat, Charles paused trying to locate Raven and looked at her worriedly. "I don't know what it is that he did to them. But he has to be the one behind this, surely?" Not that she got into the habit of pinning the blame on him when anything bad cropped up; but this was too much coincidence for her liking, he had set out to find them, he had and then he disappeared with them. So therefore: he must have done something to them.

Charles opened his mouth to reply, only to shake his head sadly. He wasn't surprised. His eyes snapped open when he finally managed to get a lock on Raven. Directing Logan and Hank to her location he turned and looked at the twins. "Is there anything at all you can think of?"

"Listen, they're made out of metal, right? He could just very well be near and manipulating them for all I know." Liesel pointed out while burying her face in her hands. She leaned her elbows against her knees and shook her head sadly. "This isn't going to end well." She didn't need to state the obvious, she turned her head and looked to Charles. 

By the defeated look on his face, he clearly had already figured as much. Liesel frowned when she heard movement from her side. By now most people had started to scatter because of the Sentinels moving; but Gretchen didn't seem to particularly be at unease with this. But now, now she looked startled and concerned over something else. Liesel looked up, her mouth opened slowly as she looked to the stadium hovering above them. Her eyes widened as she stood up slowly too, with her arms limp by her sides. Her eyes only widened even more when the large structure was rather easily and carelessly directed downwards. Liesel grabbed onto Gretchen's arm and yanked her to the side before rather cruelly shoving both her and Charles to the side.

Gretchen moved off of Charles, she hadn't meant to literally land in his lap, but it just happened with thanks to her sister. She turned to give Liesel a piece of her mind, only to look down at the trapped form underneath the metal girders and other pieces of debris. Liesel laid on her side, her arms outstretched from the building structure on top of her, blood was steadily pooling from her head, as well as from her nose. "Liesel?! Liesel!" Gretchen shouted hysterically while crawling over. She grasped onto her hands, they didn't even twitch to hold onto her. "Liesel!" She shouted and moved blood soaked hair out of her face. She leaned down and shut her eyes, there was a ragged in take of breath. Gretchen sat back on her heels and let out a cry of relief and pain, she was alive. She was alive yet unconscious, but who only knew what the damage of the broken and crumbled building work had done to her.

She cried quietly then, holding onto Liesel's hand and bowing her head. She only wanted to come here to see what was to happen, this wasn't meant to happen, Liesel had suffered enough in her life without this happening too! Looking up when a hand was placed on her shoulder, she looked up at Charles. He had cut his head on the way down, but he looked otherwise okay. "I'm sorry," even though it wasn't his place to apologise.

"He has to pay for this." Gretchen said with tear filled eyes. "He can't just get to walk away from this."

"Gretchen," Charles said seriously, getting her attention as her eyes flicked back to him. "Do not even try to get revenge on this man. It will end in more misery and pain." Charles said, he didn't want her to get hurt all for the sake of lashing out because of Erik hurting her sister.

Gretchen looked away from him, she looked up at the battle which was happening before them. The Sentinels, when in action, were truly quite terrifying to watch. They were so fluid, a little slow but dangerously fluid with their extended punches and attempts to fight against the figures, who looked so small in comparison, which were hitting back and trying to fight against them. "There is no good from this." Gretchen said while watching as the safe room got ripped out of the building. "How can good come from this?" She slowly turned and looked at Charles. He seemed to be distracted by the altercation between Raven and Erik, but he looked at her surely, briefly.

"There's good...it's hard to achieve, but you can't believe that things are going to get steadily worse." He said while hearing Raven's words. "Your sister will be free, when things start to move, pull her."

"Isn't that what you're not meant to do when someone is hurt?"

"Good point," Charles said while putting a finger to his temple. Without his helmet on, Charles was able to get into Erik's mind. It was somewhere he didn't exactly wish to be in again, yet he made him move everything from on top of Liesel, only then did he let him go and look sadly down at Gretchen again.

She was still whispering to Liesel to wake up, and she got nothing in return. "Stay away from her! You even dare to take another step forwards, and I swear to God I will find a way to kill you myself." Gretchen said fiercely while practically laying over Liesel to shield her from Erik's view. Without the mound of debris there, he could see the three of them. Well, firstly he saw Charles and Gretchen, both were looking from something on the ground to each other and then forwards again.

Erik was confused until he looked down and recognised a familiar streak of auburn hair, Liesel. He immediately started moving forwards when he noticed she wasn't moving. He understood Gretchen's apparent heartbreak now. He understood it all too well because it felt like something was twisting and turning within him too. Naturally though, when Gretchen shouted and threatened him, he stopped. From the look on her face, Erik could tell that she was serious; though highly doubtful that his life was going to end by her hands, he stopped drawing near.

Gretchen ceased glaring at him when she felt movement from underneath her, she looked relieved, only for that relief to disappear when Liesel started screaming in agony. She failed to put her hands underneath herself and haul herself up, she was thrashing around, or at least trying to, all the while screaming and crying. It ended rather promptly by Charles doing the kind thing and knocking her back out. She fell motionless again then, Gretchen stroked hair out of her face and sniffled. Leaning her forehead against Liesel's she shut her eyes tightly and ignored the brief exchange between Charles and Erik. She didn't care about this, all of this, she just cared for her sister and the fact that there was nothing she could do right now to make her better.

----

Edited: 17/June/2019

Reedited: 26/August/2021