I don't own X-men: Evolution or "The Paper Bag Princess" by Robert Munsch
Time slowed to a crawl, the minutes ticking by interminably. Where his teammates were, Pyro neither knew nor cared; he played with the fire in his hands, trying to think of a solution to dissolve the stalemate that had frozen the atmosphere in the cave.
Amara sat miserably at first, not daring to light the smallest part of herself, even to relieve her boredom by moulding the rocks around herself. Gradually, though, curiosity and idle mindedness overcame her apprehension, and she turned to observe her jailer and tormenter.
Pyro was making shapes with a flame that danced before him. First, a dragon swooped down to incinerate a castle with one fiery breath before making off with a figure in its burning talons. Only one figure was left hovering by the "wreckage" of the fire castle; a girl.
Amara watched with hidden delight as the story of "The Paper Bag Princess" by Robert Munsch was played out mutely before her eyes. She fondly remembered sitting and reading that same story to Jamie Madrox just after Christmas; he had insisted that she know what it was about.
She hoped that Jamie and Bobby had gotten away all right. She hoped that all of her friends and Mr. McCoy had found their separate ways to safety. Whatever Magneto wanted with them, it was guaranteed not to be good.
She shuddered and turned her eyes to the line of fire that still roared across the cave mouth. Awaiting an unknown fate, kept captive by a guy who she couldn't figure out; an unpredictable pyromaniac who confused her to no end.
As if hearing her thoughts, Pyro looked up and locked eyes with her own. Amara froze, willing herself not to look away. Tension crackled between them as her chocolate brown stare held his intense and frenetic blue one. John's expression didn't change in the slightest as he brought his palm up to face level, looking at her over a ball of orange flame.
John concentrated, holding up his end of the staring match while pouring his thoughts, his feelings, his emotions into the fireball that he held before himself. He hoped desperately that his idea would work; summoning up all the feelings that he held for Amara, he shoved them into the swirling flames and let go.
Amara, to her credit, didn't scream or duck as the fireball shot directly at her from across the cave. The Nova Roman princess shifted as quickly as thought; the fireball hit her squarely in the chest and sank in, absorbed by her own flames. Amara was about to shift back when she suddenly experienced a strange surge of emotions not her own.
Her eyes narrowed. She knew what he was doing, and was about to reciprocate when the thoughts overwhelmed her. This is what Rogue must feel like, she thought vaguely, putting a hand to her head in a vain effort to stop her mind from reeling. She felt disoriented, out of control; in a battle for mastery of her mind against an unwelcome intrusion. But that was when the thought-sentences bubbled to the surface of her consciousness.
She's so beautiful...I'm such an idiot!
Argh! John you fool, what have you done to her?
I hope she will forgive me.
Amara, I love you.
I just can't tell you how sorry I am.
I hope that this idea works; I don't think I can stand this silence any longer...
Amara felt her resolve soften, but reformed her shields quickly. Her eyes hardened as she thought of his violation of her freedom, his carefree manner in kissing her without consent, his assumption that she liked it—true or not. Raising a molten finger, she conjured a fireball, and forced her own feelings, thoughts and emotions into it. She took the flame and lobbed it gently towards Pyro, who had been watching her with hope and fear in his eyes.
John forced himself not to flinch as the fire splattered on his chest, dancing harmlessly over his body until he was sheathed in a thin, flickering glow. Pyro felt Amara's awareness awakening in his mind, and tried his best to prepare for the onslaught of emotion that crashed into his consciousness. Soon, the boiling mass of feeling gave rise to thought- sentences; he cringed at the first few.
What did he just do to me? What's happening?
Oh no, I'm trapped in a cave with a perverted psychopath!
What am I going to do? How am I going to get out of here without endangering myself or getting into another one of those awful situations?
Why can't Pyro just let me go? He can lie and say he never saw me...no, Mastermind would find out.
Look at him just sitting there. Does he actually care for me like he says?
Don't kid yourself, Amara. He's just having a good time while following orders. You're a perk...his amusement until Magneto shows up.
He says he loves me, does he? Well, does he even really consider what I want?
The emotions that went along with the thoughts ranged from frightened to confused to bitterness. Not what Pyro had been looking for at all. But there was hope; he knew from her inner feelings that she had a compassionate streak; forgiveness was something that he could work towards.
He looked towards her again, the fire that caressed his skin fading into wisps of smoke. She was so beautiful in that blazing form of hers...but her eyes were hard as coals as she stared at him, no emotion in her face whatsoever.
When Amara noticed his eyes on her, she slowly shifted back to human, reluctantly letting go of the warmth in exchange for a measure of control over her own actions. There was no telling what he would do to her.
John watched sadly as she shifted back. She didn't trust him anymore. Perhaps she never had, but now that mistrust had become part of her being.
A clicking of metal on stone brought his attention to the cave mouth. Dispelling the flames that guarded the cave mouth, Pyro revealed the silver orb that would take himself and his prisoner back to Magneto's base. He got up, pulling his gloves on.
"Come on. We don't have all day."
All she did was glare at him. He sighed and tried again, hating himself for being the cause of her hostility.
"Listen, sheila. You can just hop in there noice and easy, or we could do it the hard way."
John used his flamethrowers to create a fiery guard holding a spear, which walked across the cave and offered Amara its hand. She didn't change expression, but totally ignored the guard, getting up and walking unassisted to stand in front of the orb. Right before she got in, she sheathed her hand in magma and threw a ball of the molten rock to splatter right on the rock beside the cave mouth. Once done, she hopped into the orb.
Pyro shrugged. Dispelling his guard, he got in the orb alongside the girl; it closed and immediately took off.
A/N: Agh, the trials of being original! I could have made Amara hate Pyro, or make her project feelings of hate towards him so that he in turn hated her, but I think that I wouldn't be able to write myself out of that predicament. Here's my excuse:
Amara is naturally a kind person. She tries to see both sides of the issue, and she knows the values of forgive and forget.
However, Pyro has just destroyed whatever trust she had in him, and she really does not like being played around with, therefore she's not exactly liking him too much now.
Pyro's just crazy. I don't really know what to do with his character. Meh. It'll work out in the end.
Rrrg, there's like no dialogue in this chapter!! No fun!! I'll try for more next time; writing all this deep soul-searchingly sappy crap is draining me. But it is a necessary part of the plotline. Now on to review answers!
VangieGirl: I'm trying not to be cliche. Don't worry; Amara's a princess, of course she won't cave first. She'll make Pyro come crawling to her for forgiveness...mwahaha
amyro 4evah: Yes, yes you did say that before. I'm trying my best, gimme a break. Sheesh...lol :)
childrenwithblades: I hate it when ff.net does that! It happens all the time! Thanks, I'm glad you like the plotline. I've read a couple of your stories, and I liked the plots...especially the baby Pietro one...so funny! I'm not really a big fan of slash however...I like to keep John with Amara lol.