Regina: Lucky you. You now have another chapter of In the Dreaming to read. Sorry it has taken me so long to do this, it was the usual excuses: writer's block, school, wanting to make music videos but having the frustration of not having any clips - pretty much just life getting in the way. Stupid life.
On the upside though, Ascension 1 was on Saturday! Yay! That means that just one more episode, the last episode, to go. Last episode? Noooooooo! I love X-Men: Evolution, why did they have to go and do stupid things like that?
I'm going to go cry now. Make me feel better and review. And for more Amyro goodness, go visit my website, Burning Souls. Please? I'll be your best friend! Anyway, this chapter is for all those who love X-Men: Evolution, Amyro, and anything else. I won't name names. You know who you are.
In The Dreaming
Chapter Six: Lost in Darkness
The darkness around Amara appears to be almost liquid. The inky blackness is so thick that Amara cannot see more than five centimetres beyond her fiery form.
Amara is beginning to tire. The strain of keeping up her fire in an attempt to stave off the darkness is taking its toll on her.
She cannot keep this up forever.
Soon she will lose the last of her strength.
And then the darkness will claim her.
X X X
Hank rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hm."
"Is that a good 'hm' or a bad 'hm'?"
Hank looked at Bobby, who was standing next to him, waiting to refreeze Amara's bed.
She had not changed at all in the past few hours. She was still burning with the same intensity that she had been since she had started, and no one had been able to get near her.
There had been several attempts - from Logan, Bobby and Jean - but nothing had been remotely successful.
And so all they had been doing was making sure that Amara did not cause any damage to any of the other students, or to any of the building.
Damage to Amara could not be assessed due to the nature of her condition.
"It's a neutral 'hm'," said Hank, in response to Bobby's question. "I hate to say this, but there is nothing I can do. All I can do now is hope that this phase will pass, and then we can actually do something. I just-" Hank stopped in mid-sentence. "Yes?" he asked noone in particular. "Of course, Charles. Someone else with similar powers is also sick?" Hank paused, waiting for Xavier to speak to him mentally. "But who is it? Can't you tell - of course. How soon will they be here?" Hank nodded, thoughtful. "All right. Just send them down when they arrive."
"What did Professor Xavier want?" asked Bobby, when the conversation was over.
"To tell me that another mutant with similar powers and symptoms is on there way here. He picked them up when he did a mind-scan with Cerebro. He was hoping to pick up on anything unusual with Cerebro."
"Sounds like he did," said Bobby. "Who is this mutant, anyway?"
Hank shook his head. "That's the thing. He wouldn't say anything. Except that the mutant's power is a form of fire."
"That was all?"
"That was all."
"How soon will they be here?" asked Bobby.
"Five minutes," replied Hank. "Come on, Bobby. You can give me a hand with some of this equipment. We need to make up a bed for our new patient."
"Is the mutant on fire, too?"
"No," said Hank. "Professor Xavier made sure to tell me that. We just need a regular bed for this one."
X X X
He can smell fire. Something is burning. But in all his years, he has never smelt anything that smells quite like this. Although he is certain that he has never smelt this exact smell, it somehow smells familiar. Like he has been smelling it every day of his life, but has not realised it somehow.
He takes a step forward. And almost stumbles. It is as if he is a child again, learning how to walk again. Or as if his body has been controlled by somebody else, and he has only now regained control of it, and due to it being out of his control for so long, he has to relearn everything.
Startled, he realises that the pain is gone. His head feels clear.
And although he has his feet firmly on the ground, his body feels light, lighter than air, as if he is almost floating.
Stepping forward cautiously, as he does not know where he is, he moves forward in any direction. He has no way of knowing where he is, nor where he is going. He just knows that he has to go somewhere.
He stops, sensing something out there in the darkness. It is coming from the same direction as the smell of fire. It feels like fire, but like the smell, it has a strangely familiar sense to it.
Not knowing what else to do, he heads towards it.
X X X
The sounds of a fight occurring above them stopped Hank and Bobby in their preparations for the new mutant's arrival.
"What the-" began Hank, but he was cut off by what sounded like a series of small explosions.
"Tabitha." There was no need for Bobby to say more.
BAMPF! "Look, guys, there's a little problem with this mutant," said Kurt as soon as he teleported into the infirmary. "You see, he's not quite like us. He's-" The sound of more explosions cut Kurt off. "Well, this mutant is, well, you'll recognise him when you see him, Mr McCoy," was all he said, before he teleported away.
"That does not sound good," muttered Hank, but he went back to getting the bed ready.
"Is that where you want him?" asked a sudden voice. "Good." Something blurred in front of Hank, and the next thing Hank knew, there was a teenage male lying unconscious on the bed.
"Hello, Pietro," Hank said, his voice colder than Bobby had ever heard it - and of all the adults he knew, Hank was the most easy-going. "I take it this is the patient."
Pietro, who was standing a safe distance from Hank, with the bed between them, nodded. "This is him. Pyro. He works for -"
Hank cut him off. "I remember him."
"Look," said Pietro. "Professor X said that you had to help him. So help John, all right?"
Hank sighed, and looked down at the unconscious John. "Okay," he said finally. "Was he like this when you found him?"
Pietro shook his head. "No. He was complaining if a headache. But about a week ago, he had this really bad flu. He was asleep almost all the time."
Hank managed to contain his surprise. Bobby, on the other hand, could not.
"That was just like Amara right before this happened!"
Hank nodded. "I know. And I have no doubt that these two cases are connected." He looked back over his shoulder at Amara, whose flames flickered slightly, as if they were about to go out. Turning back to John, he added, "The question is. . . how."
X X X
John has been walking for sometime now, but for all he knows, he has been going nowhere.
But instinct drives him, pushing him forwards through the darkness that surrounds him. Somehow he knows that he cannot stop, and for that reason he continues.
The strange feeling he has, the sensing of fire, is growing stronger. It is calling to him, drawing him closer and closer, even though he cannot see anything in front of him.
And suddenly the darkness opens up in front of him, revealing the most amazing sight in front of him. A living, breathing flame, in the form of a girl. She has her back to him, but at the sound if his footsteps, she turns, revealing the face of the girl who has been haunting in his dreams.
Her eyes burn with recognition. "John? Is it really you?" She reaches out her hands, and changes from the living flame to that of a normal girl. She is definitely the girl that John had seen during his fevered dreams.
Beyond all will, beyond all reason, John finds himself walking towards her, wanting to touch her, take her in his arms and hold her, make sure she is real, and not just another vision brought on by fever.
She, too, walks towards him, hands outstretched, crossing the darkness which is like liquid, threatening to swallow her up.
Their fingers brush. . .
. . . and then tendrils of darkness reach out from the ground, wind their way around her legs, twining like vines around her body, swallowing her up in darkness and night.
She reaches out, in a futile gesture, and John races forward to try and grab her. For a moment it appears that he has her, but then the darkness moves underneath his fingers, breaking his grip on her.
"John!" she screams, a heart-wrenching, soul-destroying scream.
And then she is gone. Swallowed up by the darkness.
And John is alone once more.
On the upside though, Ascension 1 was on Saturday! Yay! That means that just one more episode, the last episode, to go. Last episode? Noooooooo! I love X-Men: Evolution, why did they have to go and do stupid things like that?
I'm going to go cry now. Make me feel better and review. And for more Amyro goodness, go visit my website, Burning Souls. Please? I'll be your best friend! Anyway, this chapter is for all those who love X-Men: Evolution, Amyro, and anything else. I won't name names. You know who you are.
In The Dreaming
Chapter Six: Lost in Darkness
The darkness around Amara appears to be almost liquid. The inky blackness is so thick that Amara cannot see more than five centimetres beyond her fiery form.
Amara is beginning to tire. The strain of keeping up her fire in an attempt to stave off the darkness is taking its toll on her.
She cannot keep this up forever.
Soon she will lose the last of her strength.
And then the darkness will claim her.
X X X
Hank rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hm."
"Is that a good 'hm' or a bad 'hm'?"
Hank looked at Bobby, who was standing next to him, waiting to refreeze Amara's bed.
She had not changed at all in the past few hours. She was still burning with the same intensity that she had been since she had started, and no one had been able to get near her.
There had been several attempts - from Logan, Bobby and Jean - but nothing had been remotely successful.
And so all they had been doing was making sure that Amara did not cause any damage to any of the other students, or to any of the building.
Damage to Amara could not be assessed due to the nature of her condition.
"It's a neutral 'hm'," said Hank, in response to Bobby's question. "I hate to say this, but there is nothing I can do. All I can do now is hope that this phase will pass, and then we can actually do something. I just-" Hank stopped in mid-sentence. "Yes?" he asked noone in particular. "Of course, Charles. Someone else with similar powers is also sick?" Hank paused, waiting for Xavier to speak to him mentally. "But who is it? Can't you tell - of course. How soon will they be here?" Hank nodded, thoughtful. "All right. Just send them down when they arrive."
"What did Professor Xavier want?" asked Bobby, when the conversation was over.
"To tell me that another mutant with similar powers and symptoms is on there way here. He picked them up when he did a mind-scan with Cerebro. He was hoping to pick up on anything unusual with Cerebro."
"Sounds like he did," said Bobby. "Who is this mutant, anyway?"
Hank shook his head. "That's the thing. He wouldn't say anything. Except that the mutant's power is a form of fire."
"That was all?"
"That was all."
"How soon will they be here?" asked Bobby.
"Five minutes," replied Hank. "Come on, Bobby. You can give me a hand with some of this equipment. We need to make up a bed for our new patient."
"Is the mutant on fire, too?"
"No," said Hank. "Professor Xavier made sure to tell me that. We just need a regular bed for this one."
X X X
He can smell fire. Something is burning. But in all his years, he has never smelt anything that smells quite like this. Although he is certain that he has never smelt this exact smell, it somehow smells familiar. Like he has been smelling it every day of his life, but has not realised it somehow.
He takes a step forward. And almost stumbles. It is as if he is a child again, learning how to walk again. Or as if his body has been controlled by somebody else, and he has only now regained control of it, and due to it being out of his control for so long, he has to relearn everything.
Startled, he realises that the pain is gone. His head feels clear.
And although he has his feet firmly on the ground, his body feels light, lighter than air, as if he is almost floating.
Stepping forward cautiously, as he does not know where he is, he moves forward in any direction. He has no way of knowing where he is, nor where he is going. He just knows that he has to go somewhere.
He stops, sensing something out there in the darkness. It is coming from the same direction as the smell of fire. It feels like fire, but like the smell, it has a strangely familiar sense to it.
Not knowing what else to do, he heads towards it.
X X X
The sounds of a fight occurring above them stopped Hank and Bobby in their preparations for the new mutant's arrival.
"What the-" began Hank, but he was cut off by what sounded like a series of small explosions.
"Tabitha." There was no need for Bobby to say more.
BAMPF! "Look, guys, there's a little problem with this mutant," said Kurt as soon as he teleported into the infirmary. "You see, he's not quite like us. He's-" The sound of more explosions cut Kurt off. "Well, this mutant is, well, you'll recognise him when you see him, Mr McCoy," was all he said, before he teleported away.
"That does not sound good," muttered Hank, but he went back to getting the bed ready.
"Is that where you want him?" asked a sudden voice. "Good." Something blurred in front of Hank, and the next thing Hank knew, there was a teenage male lying unconscious on the bed.
"Hello, Pietro," Hank said, his voice colder than Bobby had ever heard it - and of all the adults he knew, Hank was the most easy-going. "I take it this is the patient."
Pietro, who was standing a safe distance from Hank, with the bed between them, nodded. "This is him. Pyro. He works for -"
Hank cut him off. "I remember him."
"Look," said Pietro. "Professor X said that you had to help him. So help John, all right?"
Hank sighed, and looked down at the unconscious John. "Okay," he said finally. "Was he like this when you found him?"
Pietro shook his head. "No. He was complaining if a headache. But about a week ago, he had this really bad flu. He was asleep almost all the time."
Hank managed to contain his surprise. Bobby, on the other hand, could not.
"That was just like Amara right before this happened!"
Hank nodded. "I know. And I have no doubt that these two cases are connected." He looked back over his shoulder at Amara, whose flames flickered slightly, as if they were about to go out. Turning back to John, he added, "The question is. . . how."
X X X
John has been walking for sometime now, but for all he knows, he has been going nowhere.
But instinct drives him, pushing him forwards through the darkness that surrounds him. Somehow he knows that he cannot stop, and for that reason he continues.
The strange feeling he has, the sensing of fire, is growing stronger. It is calling to him, drawing him closer and closer, even though he cannot see anything in front of him.
And suddenly the darkness opens up in front of him, revealing the most amazing sight in front of him. A living, breathing flame, in the form of a girl. She has her back to him, but at the sound if his footsteps, she turns, revealing the face of the girl who has been haunting in his dreams.
Her eyes burn with recognition. "John? Is it really you?" She reaches out her hands, and changes from the living flame to that of a normal girl. She is definitely the girl that John had seen during his fevered dreams.
Beyond all will, beyond all reason, John finds himself walking towards her, wanting to touch her, take her in his arms and hold her, make sure she is real, and not just another vision brought on by fever.
She, too, walks towards him, hands outstretched, crossing the darkness which is like liquid, threatening to swallow her up.
Their fingers brush. . .
. . . and then tendrils of darkness reach out from the ground, wind their way around her legs, twining like vines around her body, swallowing her up in darkness and night.
She reaches out, in a futile gesture, and John races forward to try and grab her. For a moment it appears that he has her, but then the darkness moves underneath his fingers, breaking his grip on her.
"John!" she screams, a heart-wrenching, soul-destroying scream.
And then she is gone. Swallowed up by the darkness.
And John is alone once more.