Regina: I'm going to make this short. Thanks everyone.
Trial by Fire
Chapter Eleven: Slumbering Flames
"You have an idea?" asked Amara. "What? Tell me!"
John shook his head. "They won't try to come after us for a while, I think, so we've got a few hours. I'll tell you then."
"Tell me what then?"
John smiled grimly. "Nice try," he replied, swooping in to kiss her briefly. "I won't fall for that trick that easily. At least," he added, "not as easily as I fell for you."
Amara felt warmth flood her body at the remark (although it could have also been due to the kiss).
"You just have to trust me, Amara. Can you do that?"
Amara nodded. "I trust you with my life."
"Just what I was afraid of," replied John with a grin. "You just have to do exactly what I say, and everything will be - all right." John's voice cracked on the last two words.
"John? Are you all right?" Amara's voice reflected her concern for the man she loved.
John shrugged it off. "Fine, love. Just distracted. Are we going to do this, or what?"
"Do what? You haven't told me what we're doing!"
John laughed. "Have I told you how much I love you?"
Amara thought seriously. "Only as often as you can."
John kissed her gently. "You never know when you might lose everything." He looked away, at the night sky that enveloped the two of them. "Come on, we've got to go," he added, taking her hand and leading her away.
Amara knew better than to ask.
*
"We drove her away, didn't we?"
Jean sat down next to Tabitha. "No, we didn't. It's not your fault."
"But it is!" replied Tabitha, slamming her clenched fists. "If we had just paid attention to her we would have seen it!"
"Seen what?" asked Jean.
"The way he looked at her! You were there, Bobby, tell her! Pyro looked at her, as if he recognised her!"
Bobby nodded slowly. "He stopped when he saw her. And then he attacked her, but stopped -"
"-when she transformed!" Tabitha finished. "He knew her! That's why he came back!"
"But how?" asked Scott, joining the conversation. "He never met her before all of this. We'd know if he had."
"I don't know how, but he knew her," Tabitha replied. "Not her, exactly, but -' she stopped suddenly, struck by a realisation. "She knew him, too!"
"What?!"
"Amara knew him, too!" Tabitha's eyes were bright as she continued. "She recognised him that day, too! And we said so ourselves, she hadn't been the same since Pyro attacked her! And those dreams she'd been having. . ."
". . . were about him," said Jean, picking up on where Tabitha had left off.
"She cried out a name the night she disappeared," added Kitty. "John."
"And that's what she called him the second time we. . . oh, no," said Scott.
"Oh, yes," said Tabitha.
"Wasn't she kept after school because she had used her powers?" asked Kitty.
"She said that it wasn't her that made the flame move by itself," said Tabitha.
"Then he must have been at the school!"
"I heard Principal Kelly talking the next day about some mutant up a tree," Kurt added to the mix. "I thought he was just talking about me."
Tabitha shook her head. "No. That was him."
"This is much worse than we thought."
"Much, much, much worse."
"So, what are we going to do?"
"I don't know."
*
"John, what do you have planned?"
John kept on walking, his hand still in Amara's.
"John? What are you going to do?"
He turned around and faced her. "Make you happy," he said with a smile.
"What?"
"Your happiness is one of the most important things to me. So, I'm going to make you happy."
"Is this part of the plan?" asked Amara.
"Maybe. Trust me on this."
*
Xavier, Ororo, Hank and Logan looked at the information their students had presented them.
"He had this planned from the beginning?" Xavier asked finally.
"I don't think so," Hank said. "Amara left here of her own free will."
"I wouldn't agree with 'own free will'," Logan growled. "There's something not quite right here."
"We know that, Logan," replied Ororo. "But we have to look at every option before making our move."
"I'll tell you what I'll move will be," Logan replied. "I'll go out there and get her back."
"We've tried that," Hank replied. "Twice. And both times we have failed."
"From what the children tell us, he's protecting her," added Ororo.
"We can only hope that he doesn't hurt her."
*
"I promised I would never let anyone hurt you. And that includes me."
"But I don't understand. What you're saying is -"
"I know what I'm saying. You said you trusted me, so just go along with this."
"No!" Amara replied strongly. "I won't do this! You can't make me!"
"Love, I don't want this either, I don't want to see you hurt!" John's voice was pleading.
"Then why?" she asked, tears in her eyes.
"Because I love you," John said finally. He held her hand tightly in one of his own, and with the other, took hold of her chin, and lifted her face up, so she could look into his eyes.
Something about this was eerily familiar to Amara. But she couldn't quite place it in this darkness.
"John," she whispered.
"Shh," he whispered back. And then he kissed her on the forehead. His lips trailed down through her hair, to her eyes and finally to her cheek.
He pulled away, before kissing her on the lips, and his eyes were so sad that her own began to well up in response.
And with a sudden awareness, Amara knew why this was so familiar.
It was exactly like her dream. The one she had had the night she had left, and started all of this.
And just like in that dream, John whispered, "I'm sorry."
Amara knew what was going to happen next, and she wasn't going to let him push her away like he had done in the dream, the foreshadowing of what was going to happen.
Gripping him strongly, Amara pulled him to her, and kissed him hard. She refused to let go, even when her vision was going black and she began seeing stars, because she knew the moment she let go, he would leave, and be gone for good.
But John was stronger, physically, and perhaps, emotionally, if he could make a decision like this. And he broke the kiss.
"I love you, Amara, and I don't want to do this," he whispered against her lips, as if by doing that, he could save another, and another kiss. "This is the only way. Remember I love you, and remember this."
He whispered something else against her lips, something that filled her heart, and something she would never forget.
"I love you," he whispered finally.
"I love you, too. And I'll never forget."
"Neither will I."
"I love you," they said as one.
And that was the last thing they did as one, as John let go of Amara, and disappeared forever into the night.
And the fire that was inside Amara burned cold.
After what seemed like an eternity, and she was sure that John was not coming back, Amara walked up the hill towards the mansion that was her home.
*
"Hey, Amara," Tabitha said, two nights after Amara had returned. "Can I come in?"
Amara looked away from the view of the night sky that her window gave her. "Sure."
Cautiously Tabitha entered the room. "Are you all right?"
Truthfully, Amara shook her head. "No. And I don't think I'll ever be. I loved him, Tabitha, and he loved me. I'll never get over that."
"Perhaps I should go then, if you need some time alone."
"You don't have to."
Tabitha left anyway, and Amara was secretly relieved.
As soon as the door behind Tabitha closed, Amara smiled, remembering what John had whispered to her. He would be back someday, and she would wait until then. They had gone through their trial by fire, and had come out the other side. But they needed time to recover, and they could only do that apart, until they would one day be reunited.
His words would comfort her until then, and she whispered them, knowing in her heart that he was saying them, too, wherever he was.
"The fire which seems extinguished often slumbers beneath the ashes."
Trial by Fire
Chapter Eleven: Slumbering Flames
"You have an idea?" asked Amara. "What? Tell me!"
John shook his head. "They won't try to come after us for a while, I think, so we've got a few hours. I'll tell you then."
"Tell me what then?"
John smiled grimly. "Nice try," he replied, swooping in to kiss her briefly. "I won't fall for that trick that easily. At least," he added, "not as easily as I fell for you."
Amara felt warmth flood her body at the remark (although it could have also been due to the kiss).
"You just have to trust me, Amara. Can you do that?"
Amara nodded. "I trust you with my life."
"Just what I was afraid of," replied John with a grin. "You just have to do exactly what I say, and everything will be - all right." John's voice cracked on the last two words.
"John? Are you all right?" Amara's voice reflected her concern for the man she loved.
John shrugged it off. "Fine, love. Just distracted. Are we going to do this, or what?"
"Do what? You haven't told me what we're doing!"
John laughed. "Have I told you how much I love you?"
Amara thought seriously. "Only as often as you can."
John kissed her gently. "You never know when you might lose everything." He looked away, at the night sky that enveloped the two of them. "Come on, we've got to go," he added, taking her hand and leading her away.
Amara knew better than to ask.
*
"We drove her away, didn't we?"
Jean sat down next to Tabitha. "No, we didn't. It's not your fault."
"But it is!" replied Tabitha, slamming her clenched fists. "If we had just paid attention to her we would have seen it!"
"Seen what?" asked Jean.
"The way he looked at her! You were there, Bobby, tell her! Pyro looked at her, as if he recognised her!"
Bobby nodded slowly. "He stopped when he saw her. And then he attacked her, but stopped -"
"-when she transformed!" Tabitha finished. "He knew her! That's why he came back!"
"But how?" asked Scott, joining the conversation. "He never met her before all of this. We'd know if he had."
"I don't know how, but he knew her," Tabitha replied. "Not her, exactly, but -' she stopped suddenly, struck by a realisation. "She knew him, too!"
"What?!"
"Amara knew him, too!" Tabitha's eyes were bright as she continued. "She recognised him that day, too! And we said so ourselves, she hadn't been the same since Pyro attacked her! And those dreams she'd been having. . ."
". . . were about him," said Jean, picking up on where Tabitha had left off.
"She cried out a name the night she disappeared," added Kitty. "John."
"And that's what she called him the second time we. . . oh, no," said Scott.
"Oh, yes," said Tabitha.
"Wasn't she kept after school because she had used her powers?" asked Kitty.
"She said that it wasn't her that made the flame move by itself," said Tabitha.
"Then he must have been at the school!"
"I heard Principal Kelly talking the next day about some mutant up a tree," Kurt added to the mix. "I thought he was just talking about me."
Tabitha shook her head. "No. That was him."
"This is much worse than we thought."
"Much, much, much worse."
"So, what are we going to do?"
"I don't know."
*
"John, what do you have planned?"
John kept on walking, his hand still in Amara's.
"John? What are you going to do?"
He turned around and faced her. "Make you happy," he said with a smile.
"What?"
"Your happiness is one of the most important things to me. So, I'm going to make you happy."
"Is this part of the plan?" asked Amara.
"Maybe. Trust me on this."
*
Xavier, Ororo, Hank and Logan looked at the information their students had presented them.
"He had this planned from the beginning?" Xavier asked finally.
"I don't think so," Hank said. "Amara left here of her own free will."
"I wouldn't agree with 'own free will'," Logan growled. "There's something not quite right here."
"We know that, Logan," replied Ororo. "But we have to look at every option before making our move."
"I'll tell you what I'll move will be," Logan replied. "I'll go out there and get her back."
"We've tried that," Hank replied. "Twice. And both times we have failed."
"From what the children tell us, he's protecting her," added Ororo.
"We can only hope that he doesn't hurt her."
*
"I promised I would never let anyone hurt you. And that includes me."
"But I don't understand. What you're saying is -"
"I know what I'm saying. You said you trusted me, so just go along with this."
"No!" Amara replied strongly. "I won't do this! You can't make me!"
"Love, I don't want this either, I don't want to see you hurt!" John's voice was pleading.
"Then why?" she asked, tears in her eyes.
"Because I love you," John said finally. He held her hand tightly in one of his own, and with the other, took hold of her chin, and lifted her face up, so she could look into his eyes.
Something about this was eerily familiar to Amara. But she couldn't quite place it in this darkness.
"John," she whispered.
"Shh," he whispered back. And then he kissed her on the forehead. His lips trailed down through her hair, to her eyes and finally to her cheek.
He pulled away, before kissing her on the lips, and his eyes were so sad that her own began to well up in response.
And with a sudden awareness, Amara knew why this was so familiar.
It was exactly like her dream. The one she had had the night she had left, and started all of this.
And just like in that dream, John whispered, "I'm sorry."
Amara knew what was going to happen next, and she wasn't going to let him push her away like he had done in the dream, the foreshadowing of what was going to happen.
Gripping him strongly, Amara pulled him to her, and kissed him hard. She refused to let go, even when her vision was going black and she began seeing stars, because she knew the moment she let go, he would leave, and be gone for good.
But John was stronger, physically, and perhaps, emotionally, if he could make a decision like this. And he broke the kiss.
"I love you, Amara, and I don't want to do this," he whispered against her lips, as if by doing that, he could save another, and another kiss. "This is the only way. Remember I love you, and remember this."
He whispered something else against her lips, something that filled her heart, and something she would never forget.
"I love you," he whispered finally.
"I love you, too. And I'll never forget."
"Neither will I."
"I love you," they said as one.
And that was the last thing they did as one, as John let go of Amara, and disappeared forever into the night.
And the fire that was inside Amara burned cold.
After what seemed like an eternity, and she was sure that John was not coming back, Amara walked up the hill towards the mansion that was her home.
*
"Hey, Amara," Tabitha said, two nights after Amara had returned. "Can I come in?"
Amara looked away from the view of the night sky that her window gave her. "Sure."
Cautiously Tabitha entered the room. "Are you all right?"
Truthfully, Amara shook her head. "No. And I don't think I'll ever be. I loved him, Tabitha, and he loved me. I'll never get over that."
"Perhaps I should go then, if you need some time alone."
"You don't have to."
Tabitha left anyway, and Amara was secretly relieved.
As soon as the door behind Tabitha closed, Amara smiled, remembering what John had whispered to her. He would be back someday, and she would wait until then. They had gone through their trial by fire, and had come out the other side. But they needed time to recover, and they could only do that apart, until they would one day be reunited.
His words would comfort her until then, and she whispered them, knowing in her heart that he was saying them, too, wherever he was.
"The fire which seems extinguished often slumbers beneath the ashes."