Chapter 203: Phoenix Spread's It's Wings!

Looking up at Jean, I gritted my teeth and slowly began to stand up; even if I was significantly injured, I wasn't going to just lie on the ground while she was getting manhandled. Raising to my knee, I took a breather before pushing off my knee and standing up, feeling as if I'd run a marathon just to be able to stand up. While hunched over, leaning on my knees and breathing heavily, I glared at Apocalypse before taking a deep breath, only to suddenly launch myself toward him.

Yet, thanks to my injured state, I was forced to an immediate halt when I got close, his telekinesis proving to be a rather strong hindrance given my condition; however, his resistance only spurred me on to further push myself despite my injury worsening by the second, though, just when I was about to overpower his telekinesis, I felt my body increase in weight millions of times before I was suddenly slammed to the ground, sinking through the earth.

"T-Tut!?" Exclaimed Jean worriedly as she glanced at the human-shaped hole Tut's body made, only to slightly widen her eyes and sigh in relief when she saw a black hand grab the top.

"I-I'm a-alive." Said Tut softly as he slowly exited from the human-shaped crater while eyeing Apocalypse, who had been intently observing Jean this whole time, seemingly looking deeper than just her surface appearance.

After struggling to escape the crater, I lay on the ground in exhaustion, only to spot Kurt suddenly appear standing beside me; grabbing his leg, I had expected him to teleport me a distance away, yet he didn't do so, causing me to frown and look up at him, only to see his expression was quite ugly.

"Dammit, they're not working!" Stated Kurt angrily as he clenched his fist and closed his eyes, vividly imagining his detailed memory, yet when he opened his eyes, he was standing in the same spot.

"I-It's Apocalypse; h-he's doing something that's preventing you t-to teleport out of here. T-There's no fleeing, w-were defeating him right here and now!" Remarked Tut with a frown as he clicked his tongue before slowly standing up once more, and although Kurt attempted to help, he refused since he was still experiencing increased gravity.

'Here goes' nothing; I-I just need to get Jean out of Apocalypse's hold. S-She should hopefully be able to defeat him afterward, if she can't, well, we're pretty much fucked.' Thought Tut with a deep breath as he hardened his gaze and eyed Apocalypse, only to grit his teeth, clench his fist, and flex his muscles before pushing off the ground, flying towards Apocalypse.

Despite my injury, I moved even faster than before, approaching the speed of light as I appeared before Apocalypse almost instantly; grabbing him by the neck, I blasted him with my heat vision while dragging him through the ground, freeing Jean, who Kurt promptly caught.

'Okay, so what do I do now?' Thought Tut with a slight frown as he glanced down at Apocalypse, who suddenly grabbed his neck and squeezed.

"Fighting even with such an injury, I must commend your spirit. The host of the Phoenix Force must be someone you cherish; no warrior fights so hard unless they have something to protect." Stated Apocalypse in a deep voice as he seemingly ignored Tut's heat vision blasting him in the forehead while squeezing his neck and looking up at him with slight respect.

Other than a grunt, I didn't bother to respond and instead made a U-turn as I headed straight for Jean; she was the only one who could possibly stop Apocalypse. Yet, while I was looking at her, all of a sudden, I felt a thud along with my body shuddering in response; feeling waves of pain erupting from my chest, I swiftly began to slow down while I looked down at my chest, only to see Apocalypse's arm had stabbed through my chest. Hearing a rather powerful heartbeat behind me, I looked back, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw my heart still pulsating within his hand, only for my strength to rapidly wane.

'T-That's my heart.' Thought Tut in slight shock as he glanced at his beating heart, only to release Apocalypse's neck while he removed his hand from his chest before.

Seeing my own beating heart was a rather surreal feeling, to say the least; yet, everything began to fade away: my strength, my sight, my hearing, my consciousness, everything started to vanish while a familiar cold sensation overtook my body. However, before I could continue to think about what I was experiencing, I heard Kurt and Jean yelling, prompting me to look up at them, followed by Mom, causing me to look up through the clouds at the satellite she was watching the fight through.

'Haa, stupid clouds.' Mused Tut as he was suddenly tossed toward Kurt and Jean, who both tried to catch him, though, like a bowling pin, they quickly topped onto the ground.

"T-TUT!" Yelled Kurt and Jean as the former finally used her telekinesis to lift Tut up before placing him on the ground and kneeling over him, only to sport a terrible expression when she saw the gaping hole in his chest.

While lying on the ground, although my vision was worsening by the second, I could still vividly see Jean crying as she looked at my condition; I was tempted to say a little joke to ease the atmosphere, but Apocalypse was still alive, and he needed to be defeated.

"J-Jean, s-stop crying l-like a little bitch! I-It's simple i-if you can defeat A-Apocalypse q-quickly enough, I-I'll survive. G-Get t-that w-world record." Said Tut aggressively as he looked up at Jean and held her hand, causing her to clench her fist while numerous tears streamed down her face.

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I couldn't help but tightly hold Tut's hand at his words; as much as I wanted to save him, I-I couldn't; Apocalypse, h-he was too strong, i-if even Tut couldn't defeat him, w-what could I do? I-I was just a stupid teenager who could do cool things with her mind while Tut was powerful enough to affect the entire earth with his strength; h-how was I supposed to defeat Apocalypse when even someone like that couldn't?

"I-I can't! H-He's too powerful!" Yelled Jean with a heartbroken expression as she glanced up at Apocalypse, who was emerging from the ground while still holding Tut's beating heart in his hand.

Just as I intended to accept my inevitable death that was soon to come, I was suddenly pinched, causing me to wince in pain subconsciously as I looked down at Tut, who was looking rather annoyed.

"Tsk, s-stop lying to yourself, Jean; y-you've been holding back t-this entire time, a-always worried you'd hurt someone; I-I can see it in your every movement. N-Now isn't the time to hold back; i-it's do or die r-right now." Declared Tut between his breaths as he looked at Jean in annoyance, causing her to rapidly shake her head.

"Hmph, m-maybe you're not d-doing it consciously, b-but subconsciously, y-you're holding yourself back. S-Stop restraining y-yourself, y-you're not going to hurt anyone, y-you're going to protect, j-just like Professor X h-has said." Added Tut softly as he eyed Jean before looking up at the cloudy sky while she silently hung her head down.

"I-I c-can't e-even if I do, i-it won't b-be enough." Muttered Jean with a pained expression as she held Tut's hand, preparing to die with him.

"Y-You can, I-I believe, I-I know you can. N-Now let go, Jean; r-release all of your pent of emotions. L-Let that Phoenix fly." Stated Tut with a smirk as he tightly held Jean's hand with a confident smile.

(I thought about doing the Android 16 speech right here)

I wasn't even given a chance to respond when I was suddenly tossed a few meters forward, close to where Apocalypse was slowly walking toward us; quickly catching myself, I turned and looked back at Tut, though Kurt was dragging him away while the two spoke. Despite Tut's words, I-I didn't know whether I could do it, w-what if even after giving my all, it still isn't enough? I-I didn't know, b-but, I-I knew Tut would die, a-and i-if I need to, I'd give it my all and then some.

'Let it go. Let it go.' Thought Jean as she looked at Apocalypse before taking a deep breath, closing her eyes, and calming her mind while she repeated those three words.

Just as Tut said, I stopped holding myself back; I called all of it forth; I wasn't worried about harming anyone I cared about; there was no one except me and Apocalypse here; there was nothing holding me back anymore. When I opened my eyes, I saw myself floating within the black void while standing before me was my flaming self, yet, unlike previously, I didn't hesitate to step forward and grab its hand, only to yank it forward and tightly embrace her.

"Phoenix Force." Said Jean softly as she hugged her flaming self, causing her to faintly smile while she seeped into Jean before entirely disappearing.

Snapping my eyes open, I felt a sudden rush of power like never before, far more potent than when I first touched the Phoenix Force, yet I didn't think deeply about it, and with renewed vigor and newfound confidence, I walked forward as a massive gush of ethereal flames spewed from my body. However, it was all harmless, except for Apocalypse, who was quickly burnt and consumed by the ethereal flames. By my Phoenix Force.

"N-NO! S-STOP! T-THE PHONEIX FORCE IS MINE!! A-A GOD SUCH AS I CAN'T DIE!" Yelled Apocalypse loudly in terror as he was slowly getting burnt by the power of the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force; even his armor was getting melted.

Apocalypse had tried to escape from the sea of flames that had engulfed him, but I didn't allow it, and with a simple thought, the flames grabbed him and forced him onto his knees while I simply approached.

"Die." Stated Jean softly as she looked at Apocalypse, who was screaming in agony while slowly being burnt into nothingness until his body vanished.