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EIGHTY ✖ VIDEO
[Charles is considerably less composed than Erik was when he clicks on his comm and addresses the Barge. He's happy, but he's spent so long waiting for this to happen, has spent so long here being put through literal hell, listening to people tell him time and time again that it was hopeless for them, that they weren't going to be any different and while he'd never really believed them, it's still good to know that those people had been wrong, that there are going to be challenges in the future but they'll be able to face it together, he won't have to be alone, and he can't stay on this ship for a second longer. Not right now.
So he's smiling, desperate relief radiating off him in waves. His face is still flushed, his eyes a little red, but he absolutely doesn't care less that it looks like he's been crying because this is what he's been waiting for for two very long years.]
I have to go. [And again it hits him that he can go home, that they're going to fix this and he lets out an almost disbelieving laugh.] There's a very urgent matter I need to attend to back home, and it can't wait any longer.
[And there's a part of him that's terrified they'll go back and this will all have turned out to be some kind of cosmic joke, but sounds more excited than anything else, to go back and hope this plays out the right way this time, that they're finally getting their second chance.]
I can't- [Some of the excitement fades, and he takes a breath before continuing.] Knowing the Admiral, I can't promise I'll be back, obviously, but I'll try. I intend to come back.
In the mean time, try not to get into too much trouble.
[Private to Alana]
[He does have some loose ends to tie up here first though, and he does feel a bit like an asshole for running out on this and then trying to dump it in someone else's lap, but. He has to go. He can't stay here forever, even though he knows he still has reasons to come back.
So he does look genuinely apologetic when he contacts Alana.]
I know this is terribly presumptuous of me, and I completely understand if it's too much trouble, but would you mind checking in on Miss Brown if I'm not back in a week? It's certainly not in my nature to run out on someone like this, but this is a fairly unusual set of circumstances.
[Private to Alex]
That keeping out of trouble goes double for you, yes?
[He's kidding, but seriously, if he comes back and finds out you've been murdered again, he won't be a happy camper.
He sobers a little, still smiling, but it's more serious, less deliriously happy and excited.]
Thank you, for being willing to give him a second chance. I know it wasn't easy. [But he's really glad you did. Mom is proud. :c]
[Private to Jean]
[This isn't goodbye, and he's determined not to make it seem like one, even if he still wants to at least try to wrap up loose ends, make sure people know what they mean to him before he's gone, just in case, because things are never certain here and he isn't trusting the Admiral to bring him back fast enough to have a second chance at this later.]
I know this likely makes me a hypocrite, considering I'm planning on coming back, but whenever you feel you've accomplished what you came here to do? Go home. [His smile is gentle, tone insistent, because they've talked about this before and he's made his thoughts perfectly clear on the subject, but. It felt worth repeating.]
You don't deserve to be locked away here, and I know your friends and family feel the same way. Don't resign yourself to staying here forever.
[Private to Anya]
[There's a lot he could say to Anya. A lot. Some of it he's not even sure how to put into words, because they've had a complicated relationship pretty much from day one, and there are plenty of things he could say to try and make this a meaningful goodbye, but he doesn't want to act like it is.
So he keeps it simple, almost casual, because really, maybe he's just bad at goodbyes.]
I hope you'll consider taking Erik up on his offer, once you're done exploring the multiverse. Or if you ever just need a break from it.
[He doesn't know if she'll ever want to stay permanently, necessarily, but the offer's still there, if she ever needs somewhere to think of as a home base. He's never cared that she isn't a mutant, and while he knows that maybe she would care, or feel out of place or unwelcome, he wants to make sure she knows she's welcome.
He grins, somewhere between teasing and genuine.] I could even offer a teaching position as incentive, if you were interested.
[Private to Morgana]
[In a lot of ways, this is the most difficult pseudo goodbye he has to do, mostly because it feels more like a goodbye, even if it isn't. He knows he'll see Alex at some point (probably the second they get back, honestly), and there's a chance that Anya will come visit or maybe even stay, and there's probably a version of Jean somewhere out there waiting for him and Erik to find her and give her somewhere she can feel safe, but Morgana isn't coming back with them. He can remember offering it to her in a different world, and while he knows that she said no for entirely different reasons, he knows she'd still probably turn down the offer if he made it right now.
Still. He doesn't want to leave her, and he knows part of her will resent him for leaving in the first place, no matter what promises he makes about returning. He's not sure if he can really blame her for it.
So he's sobered considerably by the time he sends her a message, more serious than excited, because he wants her to know that he isn't doing this lightly, that this doesn't invalidate everything he's said to her before, that he has to leave, but he isn't running away.]
I do plan on coming back.
[Private to Zane]
Look after the gardens for me while I'm gone?
[He doesn't know if Zane needs reassurance from him anymore, if he's already confident enough in his role here and what he has to do now that he's fully outgrown his use for his former warden, but Charles still wants to let him know that he has faith in him, that he knows he can do this, that he's proud of everything he's accomplished.
This feels a little easier to start off with.]
So he's smiling, desperate relief radiating off him in waves. His face is still flushed, his eyes a little red, but he absolutely doesn't care less that it looks like he's been crying because this is what he's been waiting for for two very long years.]
I have to go. [And again it hits him that he can go home, that they're going to fix this and he lets out an almost disbelieving laugh.] There's a very urgent matter I need to attend to back home, and it can't wait any longer.
[And there's a part of him that's terrified they'll go back and this will all have turned out to be some kind of cosmic joke, but sounds more excited than anything else, to go back and hope this plays out the right way this time, that they're finally getting their second chance.]
I can't- [Some of the excitement fades, and he takes a breath before continuing.] Knowing the Admiral, I can't promise I'll be back, obviously, but I'll try. I intend to come back.
In the mean time, try not to get into too much trouble.
[Private to Alana]
[He does have some loose ends to tie up here first though, and he does feel a bit like an asshole for running out on this and then trying to dump it in someone else's lap, but. He has to go. He can't stay here forever, even though he knows he still has reasons to come back.
So he does look genuinely apologetic when he contacts Alana.]
I know this is terribly presumptuous of me, and I completely understand if it's too much trouble, but would you mind checking in on Miss Brown if I'm not back in a week? It's certainly not in my nature to run out on someone like this, but this is a fairly unusual set of circumstances.
[Private to Alex]
That keeping out of trouble goes double for you, yes?
[He's kidding, but seriously, if he comes back and finds out you've been murdered again, he won't be a happy camper.
He sobers a little, still smiling, but it's more serious, less deliriously happy and excited.]
Thank you, for being willing to give him a second chance. I know it wasn't easy. [But he's really glad you did. Mom is proud. :c]
[Private to Jean]
[This isn't goodbye, and he's determined not to make it seem like one, even if he still wants to at least try to wrap up loose ends, make sure people know what they mean to him before he's gone, just in case, because things are never certain here and he isn't trusting the Admiral to bring him back fast enough to have a second chance at this later.]
I know this likely makes me a hypocrite, considering I'm planning on coming back, but whenever you feel you've accomplished what you came here to do? Go home. [His smile is gentle, tone insistent, because they've talked about this before and he's made his thoughts perfectly clear on the subject, but. It felt worth repeating.]
You don't deserve to be locked away here, and I know your friends and family feel the same way. Don't resign yourself to staying here forever.
[Private to Anya]
[There's a lot he could say to Anya. A lot. Some of it he's not even sure how to put into words, because they've had a complicated relationship pretty much from day one, and there are plenty of things he could say to try and make this a meaningful goodbye, but he doesn't want to act like it is.
So he keeps it simple, almost casual, because really, maybe he's just bad at goodbyes.]
I hope you'll consider taking Erik up on his offer, once you're done exploring the multiverse. Or if you ever just need a break from it.
[He doesn't know if she'll ever want to stay permanently, necessarily, but the offer's still there, if she ever needs somewhere to think of as a home base. He's never cared that she isn't a mutant, and while he knows that maybe she would care, or feel out of place or unwelcome, he wants to make sure she knows she's welcome.
He grins, somewhere between teasing and genuine.] I could even offer a teaching position as incentive, if you were interested.
[Private to Morgana]
[In a lot of ways, this is the most difficult pseudo goodbye he has to do, mostly because it feels more like a goodbye, even if it isn't. He knows he'll see Alex at some point (probably the second they get back, honestly), and there's a chance that Anya will come visit or maybe even stay, and there's probably a version of Jean somewhere out there waiting for him and Erik to find her and give her somewhere she can feel safe, but Morgana isn't coming back with them. He can remember offering it to her in a different world, and while he knows that she said no for entirely different reasons, he knows she'd still probably turn down the offer if he made it right now.
Still. He doesn't want to leave her, and he knows part of her will resent him for leaving in the first place, no matter what promises he makes about returning. He's not sure if he can really blame her for it.
So he's sobered considerably by the time he sends her a message, more serious than excited, because he wants her to know that he isn't doing this lightly, that this doesn't invalidate everything he's said to her before, that he has to leave, but he isn't running away.]
I do plan on coming back.
[Private to Zane]
Look after the gardens for me while I'm gone?
[He doesn't know if Zane needs reassurance from him anymore, if he's already confident enough in his role here and what he has to do now that he's fully outgrown his use for his former warden, but Charles still wants to let him know that he has faith in him, that he knows he can do this, that he's proud of everything he's accomplished.
This feels a little easier to start off with.]