CHAPTER FOURTEEN:
DIE TRYING

THEY ALL STOOD THERE IN the rain, umbrella's covering them as Charles spoke on the behalf of Raven. "We are all at war. War with ourselves. And Raven had been waging that was most of her life. I hope now she's found peace. Raven died doing what she did best, helping a friend. A friend in need. She is not gone. She lives on, through me, through us, and through the spirit of the X-Men."

Aurelia, Scott, Ororo, and Kurt all made their way back into the building only to find a group of kids sitting on the steps, causing the four to stop and look at them. "Is it true?" One of the boys asked. "Jean killed her?"

Aurelia's jaw clenched before she closed her eyes and carefully made her way over to the boy. "She didn't know what she was doing." Aurelia softly told him. "Jean lost control, but she's still Jean. The same Jean we all know and care about. She's still on our side, she's still our friend. We can still help her. We can still find her. Bring her home." Her throat clogged with tears, causing for the blonde to swallow thickly. "That's what we're gonna do, alright?"

She nodded her head before walking away, quickly wiping away the tears that had fell down her cheeks. She made her way to her room, the room she and Jean had shared. She opened the door, stepping inside and taking a moment to look around before she placed a hand over her mouth, falling to her knees as muffled sobs fell from her lips. She cried for Raven, for the death of her mentor that taught her control. She cried for Jean, her girlfriend that was losing control. And then she cried for herself, because her heart was slowly being ripped into two and everything hurt.

She could feel herself start to lose control. She could feel the vibrations dancing between her hands. Her anchor, the person that she thought of, the person who helped her stay calm, was no longer in her room. She found herself standing up, walking over to the bedside table and pulling open the drawer to reveal the golden bracelet she hadn't worn in almost a year. She picked up the bracelet, her hands shaking, before latching it around her wrist and closing her eyes as she felt her powers reel themselves back in.

A knock came on her door, causing Aurelia to quickly wipe away her tears before walking towards the door to reveal Ororo standing there, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed over her chest. "Aria, that wasn't an accident. She killed Raven. Maybe you can't admit that to yourself, or to them, but it's the truth."

Aurelia shook her head. "No. That out there, that wasn't Jean. That was someone or something else. The Jean I know would never do anything to hurt anyone that she loves."

Ororo took a step closer towards the girl before softly saying, "Sometimes you want to believe people are something that they are not. And then by the time you realize who they are, it's too late." Aurelia clenched her jaw. "I know you and Scott both care about her, but I don't know if this time she can be saved."

"Well, I guess I'll have to die trying, won't I?" Aurelia whispered, narrowing her eyes at the white haired woman. Ororo looked at her for a moment before nodding once and then turning on her heel and walking out of the room, leaving Aurelia to stand there by herself.

As it rained outside, Aurelia found herself sitting on the couch, a book placed in her hands, though she wasn't reading. She couldn't concentrate enough on reading. Her mind was filled with so many thoughts about Jean and her whereabouts, and all she wanted to know was that the woman was alright. She gnawed on her lips, surprised she had yet to draw blood. She fiddled with her bracelet, stopping when the sound of footsteps could be heard. She looked up to see Scott standing there.

Aurelia closed her book, sitting up a little straighter and giving Scott a small nod. He carefully made his way into the room, closing the door behind him before moving to take a seat beside of Aurelia. He sat there for a moment before asking, "How are you holding up?"

The blonde shrugged. "Alright, I guess."

"Aria. . ."

"I could feel myself start to lose control." She admitted, tears immediately springing to her eyes as she looked at Scott, holding up her wrist to show him the bracelet. "She's my anchor, and now I don't know where she is, if she's okay, all they're saying on the news is that they deemed her dangerous, that they're going to hunt her down. Scott, I can't―︎I can't―︎"

"I know." Scott whispered, nodding his head as he pulled the girl into him. He placed a hand in her hair as she started to sob into his chest. He didn't like seeing her like this. He wasn't used to seeing Aurelia cry, she was known as constantly having a smile on her face, and lately all she had been doing was frowning and crying.

"You believe me, right?" Aurelia croaked, moving her head to look up at him. "You believe that she isn't dangerous? That we can find her? That―︎that we can bring her home?"

Scott nodded his head. "Of course. You and I both know that what happened was an accident. Jean is still Jean, we just gotta find a way to bring her back."

Aurelia softly sighed, glancing down at her bracelet for a moment before saying, "And in order to do that, we got to find where she's going next."