Bab 80: A Choice and An Answer

The starry night sky accompanied Edward's way as he walked thoughtlessly, letting the cold wind guide him. However, he still found his way back to the main gate of the X-Mansion, like a labyrinth with no way out. The cold handle of the gates somehow felt colder tonight. It was still 7 PM, but the mansion was oddly empty and dark.

"Oh right, it's Saturday night," muttered Edward.

He remembered that every Saturday night, most of the students would spend their time in the city. When he pushed open the door, it made a creaking noise that echoed through the hallway, breaking the solitude of the night. As he calmly made his way inside, Edward felt a little bit hungry and decided to visit the old kitchen in the basement. However, he met someone unexpected when he arrived there.

"Back so soon, Edward?" asked Charles Xavier aka Professor X, who seemed to be purposely waiting for him.

Edward ignored him and walked past him, toward the fridge, looking for something edible.

"Top left corner. There's a tart from yesterday. You can have it since the one who put it there already forgot about it." said Charles, turning the wheelchair to face Edward.

Edward grabbed the tart and some fruits before putting them all into his inventory. While looking for some drinks in another fridge. Seeing that Charles still patiently waiting for him to respond, Edward felt burdened. He sighed and asked, "What do you want this time, Professor?"

Charles then asked, "Finally, do you have some time to talk?"

"About Our Lord and Savior? No thanks, I'm not a religious person," replied Edward.

"Sarcastic as always. Did something happen today, Edward? You looked awfully depressed." asked Charles again, feeling concerned.

Edward knitted his eyebrows, "Are you reading my mind?"

"You know I can't, Edward. Even if I didn't have a Ph.D. in Psychology, it's not hard to see that you were struggling with something," replied Charles. "So, do you want to talk about it?"

"Two years, Professor. You had two fucking years in front of you and only now you decided to talk to me," said Edward. "Why now?"

In these past two years, he might be living, trained, and studied in the X-Mansion, but not even once that the Professor before him tried to talk to him. It was as if he purposely ignoring him, letting him do whatever he wants, however he wants. Even when Edward was given a contract to use the Danger Room, only Jean or Storm talked to him about it. The only time they did have a conversation with each other was when Edward was in his class or when they passed each other in the hallway. And that itself couldn't be counted as a conversation as they just mostly greeted each other or talked about the weather.

The inaction of the man before him baffled him to the point that he wondered if this man was the same as the one that proactively involved himself with his students' life depicted in the movies and comics.

Charles gathered his thought for a moment before answering, "Because it would be useless. Even if I asked you, do you really wanted to say the truth? Do you really wanted my help?"

"Help?" muttered Edward while smirking. "Do you really think that you could help me? Even leaving that chair is very hard for you, what kind of help do you think that you could offer to me?"

Edward wanted to say it. He wanted to say that the world would start to fall apart in the future. That everything he did until now was to prepare for the future that was starting to take a U-Turn toward the unknown. That he wanted to rely on someone else other than himself. That he wanted to give up. But... he couldn't. Not when his family was here. In this fucked up world.

Charles didn't take Edward's word to the heart as he already expected it. In his eyes, Edward was not a genius kid that could solve every question on the chalkboard. He wasn't the strongest kid that triumphed over his peers or those higher than him. He was just a kid that was burdened with something huge. A kid who was exhausted with the way the world turns. Edward should've played with kids his age in a peaceful playground, but instead, he was busy coloring his hand with reds in the darkest alley.

In these past two years, he never stopped observing him. He couldn't read his mind as he did with others. Even when he borrowed the perspective of anyone who was around him, he still couldn't get through him. He couldn't offer his hand when he didn't even know if what Edward needed was actually a hand or a stair. That was why he was always waiting.

"What made this time different than before?" asked Edward, facing Charles who was still looking at him with a warm smile.

"Because unlike before, you're starting to hesitate. You're wondering if the path you have been taking all this time was wrong. It was the only time you lower your guard."

Edward snickered, "What use in you telling me that? Isn't that only made me put up my guards even higher?"

"But it made you stay. That was enough," replied Charles, calmly. He raised his hand and tapped the chair beside him, offering Edward a seat so that they could talk for more.

Edward did hesitate. He was trying to adapt to this world's rules, but it was too much for him to handle. And after seeing how in the future he would be so much different than who he was before having this power, put him in a tight spot. On one hand, he wanted to get stronger to fight future events, and on the other hand, it was him becoming the devil himself.

And also, he didn't want to have anything to do with the mind reader in front of him who could even tame the steel-headed Wolverine. He didn't want to be one of his pawns in his political struggle with Magneto and the Government which would happen in the future. He didn't plan to stay too long with the X-Men.

The only thing that made him stay until now was so that these people could watch over Sherry when he roamed around looking for more powers. He couldn't trust that any other third party wouldn't do anything knowing that the last sample for the G-Virus was flowing in her blood. He planned to leave her.

Seeing that Edward wasn't talking, Charles then offered him something. In Charles's hand, there was a piece of paper, with a photograph of a girl. "If you still don't know what to do, why don't you accept this, Edward? You might find your answer."

"Do you really know the answer for my doubt?" asked Edward, feeling tired as he took a seat beside Charles.

"I might know everything, Edward. But it didn't mean I had the answer for everything as well," said Charles.

Edward sneered, "So, are you just spouting bullshit all this time?"

"Not really, but I could offer you a choice," replied Charles, shoving the paper into Edward's hand. "Whether you take it or not, whether you find it or not, it was all in your hand."

"In the end, it was all me," muttered Edward while looking at the photograph of a girl. But there was a new light glimmered in his eyes, curiosity, and intuition. Edward then asked, "Could I really find my answer here?"

"It's all up to you," said Charles, leaving Edward alone in the kitchen who was gazing at the bright moon in the sky through the tiny gaps of the window. He then muttered, "You already had the answer all this time, all you need was a single push to the bright light."

======

An hour later, the pitch-black jet plane, Blackbird, flew in an unknown direction. Professor X, along with Scott, Storm, and Jean, watched as the plane tore a cloud in two with a high speed.

"He really accepted it," said Scott, giving storm ten bucks for losing the bet. "What did you say to him, Professor?"

"Nothing much. I just offered him a choice. Whether he found the answer, it was all up to him." replied Charles.

"What kind of choice?" asked Jean, curious about how Professor X could persuade the most obstinate kid in the mansion.

"Whether he would take the boring straight road toward his destination, or took a turn and take the winding road on the mountain even if it would delay his arrival," replied Charles while turning the wheelchair. "What do you think he would take?"

Scott thought for a moment before answering, "the straight road. It's boring, but faster."

"Then, I'll bet ten bucks on the winding road," said Charles.

"Wait, it's a bet?" mumbled Scott.

Storm chimed in while flaunting the ten bucks she just got from Scott and said, "I'll take the winding road as well."

"Damn it, he better take the straight road," muttered Scott, lamenting on the ten bucks he just lost.

"Then, Scott has to pay us ten bucks each, right?" said Jean.

"Hey, the winner hasn't been decided yet, and why do I have to pay all of you ten bucks each? That's not how this bet works," grumbled Scott.

Charles just smiled at the lively atmosphere around him. It had been a long time since he started fighting for the generation to come. He found his way flawed sometimes, but he couldn't stop. When he found Edward, he saw himself standing at his place. In some ways, Edward reminded him of himself. They might fight a different battlefield, but the start of everything was, all the same, to protect their small family.

======

Chris was driving Sherry back to the X-Mansion. They just returned from shopping and visiting the tailor shop that would make Edward's suit and Sherry's dress. However, both of them didn't share any words after they walked out of the tailor shop's door. He didn't know what happened, but Sherry suddenly went silent.

Chris couldn't bear the silence anymore and just asked, "Is there anything bugging your mind?"

Sherry was snapped out of her deep thought and awkwardly replied while trying to put up a smile, "No, it's nothing, Uncle Chris."

Sherry wanted to stay silent. She didn't want to tell him that she felt Edward's presence when they were done shopping. That his presence suddenly vanished when Chris appeared.

"But it didn't look like that to me," said Chris. Sensing that Sherry might hesitate because it was concerning himself, he encouraged her, "Just tell me. It's fine."

Sherry glanced toward's Chris side a few times before taking a deep breath. He found her little action cute to see and silently chuckled, but Sherry's next words actually startled him.

"Why you never asked about Edward?" asked Sherry. Chris couldn't reply to her immediately as he was trying to find an excuse. But Sherry then continued, "did you ever wonder how he was doing in the past two years?"

Chris was silent. He always wanted to ask about him. He wanted to talk about him. He wanted to know how he was doing without him. But...

"I was too scared," replied Chris. "I was too scared to find out he wasn't fine at all. I was too scared to find out that after all this time, he still hates me."

Sherry was surprised by his answers. She was saddened by the fact that the bond of this little family was shaking and on the verge of falling apart. And what made her feel even worse was that she couldn't do anything to mend the damage.

Chris then asked, "What about Claire, did Edward finally willing to meet her?"

"No. Edward's always hiding whenever Claire came to visit," replied Sherry. "But it doesn't mean that he hates both of you. He was just too..."

...ashamed of himself. That was what Sherry wanted to say, but she couldn't. She felt pained whenever she saw Edward feeling depressed. Even though he was not her blood-related brother, he was more than that.

The car then started to slow down. They arrived in front of the X-Mansion's entrance gate. Sherry still wanted to say something, but Chris stopped her. And opened her door for her.

"It's okay," said Chris. "It might be how it was supposed to be. I'm an incompetent uncle, am I?"

'No, you're not.' thought Sherry, watching the car departs with the heavy shopping bags in her hands. It was mostly presents for Edward's birthday next month. But just like last year, they might find themselves thrown away in the attic.

It was then that a pitch-black plane flew on top of her. It was so fast that in a matter of seconds, the plane couldn't be seen anymore. However, Sherry could feel it. Edward's presence was inside that plane. She dropped the heavy bags and ran into the mansion. He couldn't find anyone to ask where Edward was going. After what happened before, she thought that Edward was trying to run away one more time, and now for good.

"Edward..." mumbled, Sherry, dropping on her knees while covering the tears that flowed down her pretty face. All of the pent up feeling she held until now burst out of her chest.

======

Up in the air, Blackbird flew into the horizon with a speed so fast that almost couldn't be seen properly with a naked eye. All of these were caused by a simple Reinforcement from Edward.

In the pilot seat, Edward was sitting while monitoring the course and destination of the plane. The auto-plot feature really helped because Edward didn't have any experience in aviation. However, if needed, he actually could fly the plane. He already watched how Storm and Scott flew this plane before, so replicating their skill wasn't that hard with his Photographic Reflexes in charge.

{Estimated Time of Arrival: 2 Minutes, 39 Seconds.}

While Edward could restore anything broken into what they are before, there was one thing that his ability couldn't do. Restoring the energy inside his item, or in this case, the fuel of the jet plane.

{Warning: Fuel Supply is under 10%, you are suggested to refuel the tank before continuing the flight.}

"What the fuck?" mumbled, Edward. He already checked everything including the fuel supply. He asked Scott to refill it before commencing the flight. "Wait a minute, did he forgot to refill it?"

Suddenly, the plane started to slow down. However, because the speed of the jet plane was so fast, Edward could still control it and prepared an emergency landing. But there was a risk of the plane catching fire or exploded if there was a slight mistake in landing.

"Fuck! I'll fucking shoot his goggles when I returned tomorrow!" yelled Edward before the plane slammed into the forest at the foot of a hill.

Edward cast Reinforcement over and over again to prevent the plane from taking too much damage and exploded. The plane carved a huge and long trail in the forest. Trees fell after the plane hit them, but because of that, the plane started to slow down until it stopped near a lake with a small island in the middle.

Inside the plane, Edward was feeling a slight headache. The plane was shaking too much, but T least it landed without any problem.

{You have arrived at the destination. Have a nice day.}

"Nice day my ass," muttered Edward, releasing the safety belt and opening the hatch. As he climbed up, he was greeted by the view of a forest on the feet of a hill. In front of Blackbird was a lake with a single small island in the middle. Using his eagle eye, he found an entrance of a cave in the middle of the island.

"At least the village was close by," muttered Edward again. However, after looking left and right, this place felt somewhat familiar to him. It was as if he have been here before.

Suddenly, he heard a crack from a twig being stepped behind her. Lights flickered as two handguns appeared in his hands, and his full-body equipment covered him in an instant. Edward closed his eyes and started using Radar Sense to identify the threat.

"Eh?!" exclaimed Edward, surprised by the identity of two people that were walking toward him.

'This place, don't tell me...'

It was then that Edward heard the two people conversing with one another.

"Are you sure it was over here, Gotz?" asked a small and stubby man half the size of the other man.

"I'm sure, Mr. Mayor. That plane crashed landing over there, by the lake." replied a muscular man with his messy beard covering half of his face.

After plowing through the bush, finally, Edward and the two met with each other. But this time, Edward already hid his equipment and weapons back into his inventory. He didn't want to represent himself as a dangerous man. He put the plane inside his inventory as well, but there was nothing that could be done with the damage it caused to the forest. So he just planned to play dumb.

"Good Evening." greeted Edward.

"Uwaaaagh!" shrieked the small Mayor with the red hat and suits. He immediately hid behind Gotz who was holding a lantern with one hand. "Sh...Sh...Show yourself, do you think you could scare m...me...?"

'You already did though.' thought Gotz and Edward at the same time.

Without wasting any time, Edward showed himself as a harmless and innocent kid. Gotz was startled after finding Edward, a kid like him in a forest after dark, something bad must have happened. The Mayor peeked through Gotz's crotch and saw Edward. Although he was older than him, Edward was 10cm taller than him. But that was not what he was thinking after he saw Edward.

He immediately ran to Edward's side and checked on him. "What happened, are you okay?"

Usually, when someone met a stranger, no matter if it was a kid or an adult, the first thing they would ask would be the identity of that person. However, the Mayor immediately asked about his well-being first.

'He was much nicer than I thought it would be.' thought Edward. He then replied, "I'm fine. Do you know where this is? I think I just got lost."

Lost? In the middle of nowhere? Edward found his excuse was actually laughable and cliche. No way thay someone would fall for it.

Suddenly, Gotz busted into tears and hugged Edward. "Eh!?" exclaimed Edward one more time. He glanced at the Mayor, asking what was happening here.

The Mayor understood his concerns and said, "Ahh, don't worry about it. I think Gotz just recalled a bad experience."

It took a while until Gotz calmed down and led them downhill, into his cabin. Along the way, Edward purposely asked again about where and what this place is.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself and my village." said the small mayor. "My name is Thomas, the Mayor of Mineral Town."

'Yep, just like what I expected.' thought Edward, feeling excited.