Notes: There's some Pyro in this chapter and since I don't know how to write an Australian accent on paper, he's going to be talking just like everyone else. So ya'll just have to imagine his cute accent. .

St. John Allerdyce, what a strange name, thought Bobby as he scanned Pyro's mind. He likes to write romance novels? That is even more strange. He seems very interesting. He licked his lips as a tall, familiar figure by passed his hiding spot. Remy didn't even notice him as he passed quickly. Bobby smiled maniacally as Remy disappeared from view, knowing exactly why the card-throwing mutant was in such a hurry.

"Really, Gumbo," he whispered to himself. "Don't you know better than to trust the opposing team?" He grew bored quickly and decided to retrace his steps, rolling his eyes as Spyke's angry voice floated to his ears. The dark boy was still as he had left him; attempting to decipher a map Pietro had given them.

"Are we lost?" he asked.

Spyke scowled at him in irritation, grumbling under his breath and turning away angrily. Storm smiled apologetically from where she sat on a rock but he ignored her. Bobby blinked in confusion at the trees behind him and was startled when his mind connected with Pyro's. He swallowed his gasp and smiled widely as the blond stepped from behind his hiding place. "Hello!"

Grinning widely, almost like Cheshire cat, Pyro waved back. "G'day. Do you mind if I keep you company?"

"I don't mind," Bobby tested his newly-learned ability and combined it with Boom Boom's, excited when a small flame appeared in the palm of his hand, which was opened behind his back. Storm and Spyke nodded at each other and left Bobby to fend for himself. "Do you think you can keep up with me?"

His opponent only smiled wider.

"Good," Bobby threw a large fireball at Pyro, catching the blond off-guard. Caught in the explosion, Bobby shielded himself by creating an ice-shield and observed Pyro's figure standing among the leaping flames. Wrinkling his nose in distaste at the burning trees all around them but refrained from putting out the fire. He wanted a challenge, after all. "You're not giving up, are you?"

"Of course not," Pyro said. Maniac smile still painted on his face and a strange gleam in his eyes.

Remy stopped abruptly as the ground vibrated beneath his feet, cocking an eyebrow at the smoke he could see emitting from the forest. From where he stood on the hill, he could see the flames leaping hungrily at the trees. He started when half of the burning trees were suddenly covered in ice.

"Looks like Iceman's already having fun with Pyro," said someone behind him.

"Dat'll keep 'im busy," said another.

Remy wiped the scowl off his face and smiled charmingly at the two girls and furry... boy?- standing before him. Attempting to seem uninterested in the battle going on in the forest. "Gambit s'poses y're heah t' fig't 'im."

"Yuh s'posed raght," said Rogue.

"Den let's get started."

Bobby dodged another stream of fire and yawned widely. Appraising their surroundings and congratulating himself for a job well done. Where Pyro's half of the battle field was covered in fire, his own was covered in ice. The cool temperature made him feel more comfortable.

"I think you can do better than that," he said mockingly, dodging once more and giggling. "Too slow."

Pyro growled as he gathered as much fire as he could and launched it at the boy. Bobby squealed and covered his head, only to stumble to the ground and fall onto his back as Pyro tackled him. The blond pinned his arms above his head, smiling wickedly down at him. Though Bobby knew he could easily overthrow Pyro, he didn't. He was curious to see what the blond would do and also, he found he enjoyed the position he was in. The thought made him blush madly but his face was already red from the heat, or so he hoped.

"So, ya like Gambit?" Pyro asked.

Bobby wriggled uncomfortably under his gaze and shrugged. The rocks underneath him were digging into his back. "I guess so."

"You don't sound too sure 'bout that."

"What does it matter anyway?"

Pyro smiled, entirely different from the usual maniac grin he always sported that Bobby stared at him. Shocked but still fascinated when the blond drew closer and gave him a firm kiss. Lips closed. Bobby continued to stare at him through half-lidded eyes as he drew back to gauge his reaction. When Pyro's hands loosened on his wrists, he was swift to tangle one hand in the short blond hair. They both parted their lips as they kissed again. Deeper. A soft gasp escaped Bobby's lips as Pyro sucked on his tongue and went unheard. This was only the third kiss he had ever received and it was, by far, the best one. "Pyro," he gasped, trying to push the older mutant away.

The blond sat up, drawing Bobby into his arms so that the ice wielder was straddling his hips. They stared at each other momentarily and then Bobby kissed the blond's cheek, loosely hugging him. He was disappointed when Pietro's mental "voice" reached him and the gypsy told him to "stop playing around and get your butt back here."

He pulled Pyro to his feet. "I have to go." The blond caught his chin and gave him another breath-stealing kiss.

"Later," Pyro breathed against his lips.

"Later," Bobby agreed. He left, feeling as though he was walking on a cloud. He was so caught up in daydreaming that he didn't even notice where he was going until he ran straight into Wolverine. Quicksilver cocked an eyebrow at his happy expression but refrained from commenting, which Bobby was thankful for because aside from feeling very happy, he was feeling extremely confused.

"Let's go back to the Institute," said Cyclops.

"I'm afraid you aren't going anywhere," a smooth voice said.

Magneto signaled for someone behind him. Sabertooth snarled at them but they were more shocked to see the three male members of the Brotherhood emerge as well and Quicksilver wondered about his sister's whereabouts. Glad that she wasn't present yet saddened by her absence.

"Not only do you defy me," Magneto said, in his usual calm voice. Though Quicksilver could hear a slight edge to it and was satisfied. "But you lead a mission onto my grounds. Pietro?"

Quicksilver looked annoyed. "What?" he snapped.

If Magneto was taken back he didn't show it. "Is there something you wish to say?"

The speed demon seemed to think that over. "Yes, actually. I was wondering what you planned to do about Mesmero escaping."

"How did you-"

There's nothing that helmet of yours can keep from me, Quicksilver thought smugly.

Magneto's expression changed from shocked to satisfied and a small smile spread over his lips. "I see my little experiment worked, after all. I was beginning to get... disappointed."

"You-" Quicksilver stared at his father in shock. "You- you-"

"Yes. It was I who had you drugged," said Magneto. "Though I never expected to lose my weapon to Xavier."

"Is that all I am to you?" the boy snapped, more annoyed than truly surprised or anything. "Just someone to experiment on?"

"You were too weak to be my son."

The speed demon choked and laughed hysterically, startling even the X-Men so that they drew back from him. "Too bad your plan didn't go like you wanted it to, then, huh?" He smiled at his father sweetly. "I'll show you who's weak!" He launched forward at the same time Sabertooth did.

Bobby stopped the Brotherhood from helping Sabertooth by throwing out an earthquake and savoring the feeling of the waves in his brain. Where doing something as simple as that would have given Avalanche major headaches, he reveled in the slight pain the tremors caused. The three boys cried out as they landed back against one another and Wolverine ran to Quicksilver's side to help him. The two unsheathed their claws and easily took Sabertooth down.

Meanwhile, the X-Men were taking on the Brotherhood and the Acolytes who had just arrived. Bobby was knocked back by Colossus and he cried out as a sharp rock dug into his spine, knocking the breath out of him. He could feel his wrist throbbing from having sprained it that morning and whimpered. The fact that Gambit had thrown two exploding cards at him, however, fueled his anger and he stood shakily as Colossus advanced on him.

"Forgive me," the steel-covered mutant whispered.

"It's not my fault you're weak," growled Bobby. He unfolded his wings and took flight just as Colossus attempted to punch him. The tree trembled and fell down heavily, making the ground shake. He connected to Colosuss' mind and his own body turned to steel, as did his wings. The others were distracted by this phenomenon and were startled by the X-Men attacking them. Toad was the easiest to knock out and Quicksilver proceeded to taunt Avalanche.

"No hard feelings," said the speed demon once he had grown bored of teasing the boy. He blasted the rock-tumbler back off his feet and unconscious.

Bobby knocked Colossus out and turned to see how the others were faring. He found himself face to face with Pyro, who was staring at him hungrily. Bobby was sure he was blushing but hoped the steel couldn't show that. The blond touched his wings and arms in awe, Bobby released his breath and the steel plate retracted.

"Beautiful," Pyro murmured and bent down to kiss him lightly.

"Sorry," Bobby murmured back, bringing his fist up. He caught the blond as he slumped forward and set him gently on the ground, making sure he would be all right. He caught Gambit's angry eyes as he stood, feeling angry himself.

The Cajun threw a pair of cards at him but he absorbed the energy out of them. The electric fire tickled his skin and he was oddly fascinated by it emitting from his skin. He gathered it into a small ball of light and threw it back at Gambit. Satisfied when the mutant was knocked off his feet. Seeing as the others were almost done, he threw up his "Sight Veil," he bent down to give Pyro a kiss before joining the others in retreating.

"It was fun!" Bobby exclaimed when Hank asked him how it had gone. "You should have been there!" His wrist was still throbbing painfully but he ignored it for the time being.

"What did you find out?" asked Xavier, smiling at Bobby's excessive energy.

"Turns out Gambit was being controlled by another mutant," said Scott. "Mesmero. Magneto captured him but Mesmero escaped and is heading to London."

"What do we do now?" asked Jean.

"Any suggestions, Pietro?" the professor inquired.

Pietro had his head on Evan's shoulder and was staring blankly into space. He turned his blank gaze to the telepath and shrugged. "Follow him?"

The telepath gazed at him in concern. "Is there something bothering you, Pietro?"

"Eh?" Pietro blinked rapidly and shook his head. "No, not at all. Just tired."

"Maybe we should talk about this in the morning," suggested Ororo. "We aren't going to get anywhere tonight." She eyed the half-asleep teenagers draped over the chairs and each other.

The professor nodded. "Of course, we will talk about it tomorrow." He smiled as the teens helped each other to their feet, Bobby had draped himself across Hank's back and was attempting to stay awake, which he was failing quite nicely at. "Good night, everyone."

There were murmurs of "Good night, professor," and Bobby's, "It's night?" followed by Pietro telling him to shut up and go to sleep.

Finally, Xavier was alone in his office. He moved his chair so that he could look out the window, fingers interlaced so that he could prop his chin upon them. He had touched upon the minds of Kurt, Kitty, Rogue, and Scott briefly to piece together a memory of the mission and why Pietro had been looking so angry.

"Would you really do that to your own son, Magnus?" Xavier asked the moon. "Of course. Apparently, you did." At least Pietro wasn't absolutely loyal to his father or he might have been completely shattered. But even so, he was feeling a little betrayed and angry. He had the right to be angry and to feel betrayed, especially since it was his own father who had betrayed him.

Pietro batted Evan's hands away impatiently as he attempted to get up. The dark boy was still sleeping, reaching for the body next to him only to find it gone. He woke groggily and saw his boyfriend throwing on some clothes. Pietro seemed to be in a hurry.

"Pietro?" he wondered.

"Go back to sleeping," the gypsy murmured, placing a soft kiss on his brow.

"Whas goin' on?"

"Bobby's having a bad dream," said Pietro. "I'll be back shortly." The dark boy made some agreeing noises and Pietro left the room quickly. Bobby's room was just around the corner and as he neared, he could feel Bobby's anxiety deepen and his fear grow. Bobby's mental scream cut through his mind like a knife and Pietro shielded the still sleeping X-Men from it.

Jean came running out of her room, almost colliding with Pietro in the hallway. The professor, Ororo, Logan, and Hank were already at Bobby's room. Pietro opened the door and they entered the room quickly, Logan closed the door behind them. They froze in the middle of the room and gasped simultaneously.

"What is that?" demanded Jean, frightened.

Pietro was fascinated and neared the bed even as Ororo tried to keep him back. A pair of sad eyes regarded him pleadingly and he gently stroked the dragon's head. Feeling the rough texture of the skin underneath his fingertips. Bobby calmed considerably as the dragon relaxed yet continued to whimper pathetically.

The flesh of Bobby's chest looked almost bruised but Pietro could make out the outline of what seemed to be... a dragon. It was from that shape that the animated dragon was attempting to wiggle out of.

"Come on," the speedster coaxed the frightened creature, it continued to slither free until all four of it's legs were resting upon Bobby's chest. It's long spiked tail withdrawing lastly and curling in the air. The bruise became smaller until it was just a small tattoo on Bobby's chest.

"Pietro?" the professor finally found his voice.

"I had a vision about this," said Pietro, still in awe. "This is Bobby's self. Since Bobby has copies of others within himself. It becomes crucial that he doesn't lose himself."

"Magnificent," Hank prodded the small dragon and it bit his finger angrily. "Ow. Strong bite."

"We shall call him..." the speed demon paused thoughtfully. "Kaze."

"Shall we wake up Icecube?" asked Logan.

"No," said Pietro. "He should already know."

"Will this happen to you?" Hank asked.

"Not anytime soon, I hope," Pietro wasn't keen on the idea of losing himself. "We should leave now." The dragon settled down, curled on the pillow beside Bobby's head.

They gathered in the hallway and bid each other good night. Pietro walked slowly back to Evan's room, deep in thought. "The dragon is a symbol of good luck to the Chinese. But I wonder what it symbolizes to us. I hope I don't get one anytime soon, though. But it will happen someday." He'd had a vision about it, after all. "Just hope I'm not insane by then."

"I'm so cute!" Bobby gushed in delight as he fed his dragon-self a strawberry.

"Bobby!" Ororo cried, hands on her hips and glaring down at the brunette angrily. "You can't just feed him whatever you like!"

"He eats whatever I eat," said Bobby, in a smug voice. "He is, after all, me."

Ororo grew silent, looking unusually pissed off as she stormed out of the kitchen. Pietro didn't comment and finished his breakfast. "You are aware that this is our last day here?"

"How am I going to hide Kaze from everyone?" asked Bobby as he and Kaze shared a mournful look.

"Shape shift him," said Pietro in a bored tone. "I'm sure you can manage it, somehow."

Bobby gazed at his dragon-self thoughtfully. "You'd look adorable as a plushy." Kaze purred in agreement, climbing onto Bobby's shoulder and wrapping his tail about the boy's neck. His wings folded back neatly against his back.

"Have you packed?"

"Yes," said Bobby, still distracted. "When are we coming back?"

"Whenever we feel like it."

"Can we go to other places, too?" Bobby picked up the dishes and placed them in the sink. "I'd like to visit China, maybe Germany."

"We'll see," Pietro sighed. Just as long as we don't have to come back here. He ran a hand through his hair as some of his bangs once again fell into his eyes. He watched as Bobby prodded his dragon-self from head to foot, looking thoughtful. "Bobby, I was being sarcastic. Just summon him back."

The brunette pouted but did as he was told. His dragon-self disappeared into the tattoo on his chest. "Are we doing anything else today?"

"I'm getting a haircut," said Pietro.

"Are you going to dye it, too?" Bobby asked excitedly. "Like I suggested before?"

"I don't want to look like a skunk, Bobby," Pietro scowled, sweeping his hair back and out of his face. "My hair keeps abstracting my view when I run."

"Which is why you're getting a haircut," Bobby pulled at a strand of his hair absentmindedly. "Can I go with you?"

Pietro yawned and agreed, dropping his head onto the table and closing his eyes. "Tired."

"But it's half-past noon," Bobby raised an eyebrow, pulling a can of soda out of the refrigerator and opening it smoothly. "What were you doing last night?"

Pietro's words were muffled and whiny. He didn't move, even as Logan entered the kitchen to get something to drink. "What's wrong with you, whelp?"

"Why does there have to be anything wrong?" Pietro snapped, lifting himself away from the table and stalking out of the room. Resembling Logan having a bad day.

The air was hot and sticky. Humid. He couldn't breath. This was how it felt right before a storm, he knew, and he could see the distant black cloud spreading across the sky. Covering the sun.

He gasped.

And there was blood. Blood all around him, raining down, and creating puddles on the ground. He couldn't even move as the blood flooded, reaching his ankles, soaking his pants.

Pants?

He wasn't wearing pants. He couldn't make out what he wore.

He turned around, shrinking back from the creature before him in fear. But the dragon did not attack, didn't even move as he approached it. The stake cutting through it's heart nailed it to the cross. The blood covering his body was still fresh and if he reached forward... just a little...

"Pietro!"

Pietro cursed mentally and sat up abruptly, groaning as his head spun. A warm body appeared at his side, pushing him back against the blankets. Soothing murmurs drifted into his ears and he gradually relaxed.

"What do you want?" he bit out harshly.

"You were whimpering in your sleep," said Evan softly. He reached to touch the gypsy's cheek but the slender boy slid out of his grasp. Evan sat back, hurt and angry, but knowing he was partly to blame for Pietro's anger.

Once he was calm, Pietro snuggled against Evan's side. Unable to help himself, just wanting to feel close to someone. To be with Evan and forget all the problems they still had to work out or how screwed up their entire relationship actually was. The dark boy didn't even hesitate in drawing him closer.

"Sorry," Pietro mumbled, leaning his head on Evan's shoulder. He felt warm and comfortable, as though there was nothing wrong with the world.

"Bad dream?" Evan murmured into his hair.

Pietro made some agreeable noises and snuggled closer, not wanting to move and pull away though he knew he had to. Especially when Evan's hand trailed up under his shirt, sending electric jolts down his spine.

"Stop it," he pulled back, withdrawing from Evan's embrace completely. He felt betrayed, angry at Evan but even more so at himself. "Evan. We have to talk."

Evan groaned, not meaning to but unable to stop himself. He was so frustrated. He caught the snowy-haired teen around the waist. "Can't we talk later?"

"Get off me!" Pietro panicked, unsure of why but not liking how Evan was acting. "I'm not some sex toy!" He stood by the window, his head bent, face buried in his hands as he tried to catch his breath. "If that's all you think of me as, then..." he swallowed thickly, unable to say what his mind was ordering him to say.

"I don't!" Evan was on his feet then, unsure but determined. "Pietro-"

"Do you love me?" the speedster demanded. Needing to be assured that someone, if only one person, cared about him.

But Evan was gaping at him with wide-eyes, his lips forming words but not sound emerged. It was as though he'd just been splashed with a bucket of cold water. Pietro refused to venture into the dark boy's mind, feeling physically and mentally exhausted. He was out of the room before Evan had a chance to pull him together enough to reply.

The dark boy closed his eyes tightly, hands fisted at his sides. "You're an idiot, Evan." His skin tingled, spikes forming underneath, waiting to be released. He inhaled sharply as some of the spikes emerged without his permission. "No, no. Not now." He needed to go after Pietro but not when he couldn't even control his mutation. "I do love you, Pietro."

He was there again. At the beginning. There was no blood, only the crucified dragon with the stake through it's heart. He stood by the cliff's edge, looking up at the dragon sullenly. Feeling so close yet so far away. If he reached over just a little, he could almost touch the lightning-shaped scar on it's torso.

Reach over... just a little more...

"'Tro!"

Pietro bit his lip and tasted blood as he held back a frustrated scream. He deflated when Bobby's concerned expression caught his eye and he turned away. Feeling ashamed at being caught showing so much weakness.

"Mr. Logan said he'd give us a ride to the mall," the brunette said. He held his hand out, smiling encouragingly at the speed demon. "Let's go."

"Aa, ikimashou," agreed Pietro. He allowed bobby to help him to his feet. "We aren't taking his bike, are we?"

"Of course not!" Bobby didn't look too sure of himself and hesitated. "Maybe... You don't want to?"

"As long as we fit."

The wind was starting to pick up and Pietro could feel it. It sent tingles down his spine and he reveled in the feeling. Bobby ran ahead, arms outstretched and laughing giddily. Pietro froze when a familiar blond stepped out from behind a tree, and Bobby blushed brightly. Pietro could feel the tension palpating between the two and was thrown off. He'd thought Bobby had a crush on Gambit... and realized why Gambit had been so keen on physically harming Bobby during their stand off. It seemed Bobby had a short attention span and grew bored easily, which wasn't really surprising.

"What are you doing here?" Pietro hissed, breaking the spell between the two. "What is it with all of you trespassing on the grounds just to see Bobby?"

Pyro's expression darkened momentarily and Pietro mentally cheered. It would seem that, just like Gambit, Pyro was the jealous type. "I'm not here to harm anyone."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Logan had his claws unsheathed and was snarling very threatingly.

Pietro rolled his eyes, waving his hand about in the air. "He's just here to ask for Bobby's hand in marriage."

"Can I?" John asked.

"No," Pietro growled then smiled. "But you can come to the mall with us. How did you get here?"

"Bike."

"Oh, good. You can give Bobby a ride."

Logan began to protest but Pietro grasped his shirt and dragged him away forcefully. We have to go now."

Bobby smiled timidly, fidgeting a little under John's intense gaze. "Is it okay?"

John smiled softly. "Yeah. This can count as our first date." He chuckled as Bobby blushed once again. The brunette was too cute for words. "Should we go?"

"Yeah," Bobby practically squeaked. He felt odd, like a girl on her first date. He shuddered at the thought and blushed again when John put an arm around his shoulders.

Pietro and Bobby had a brief argument during the trip. Bobby still thought that the gypsy should get his hair dyed and wouldn't detour away from the topic until Pietro agreed. They soon fell silent as they neared their destination. Bobby had been enjoying the feel of the wind blowing through his hair and was disappointed when they stopped.

As though sensing his disappointment, John smiled. "Maybe you'd like to ride with me some other time?"

The brunette beamed and nodded enthusiastically. He remembered then that he and Pietro were leaving the next morning and slumped his shoulders. "But Pietro and I are leaving tomorrow."

John nodded, because he knew that. "Maybe I should go with you."

"Would you be willing to leave the Acolytes?" asked Pietro. "I wouldn't mind you coming along, if Bobby wants you to. But I don't want you turning on us."

"Yeah, I'm willing to leave the Acolytes," said John easily, he smirked. "But I don't know if I will. I like being one."

"Then how about we try to change your mind?" Pietro challenged, smirking back. "Come with us and if we persuade you, then you agree to leave the Acolytes."

"Agreed!" John and Pietro shook each other's hands while Logan and Bobby looked at one another, bemused. They had no idea what had happened but didn't ask as they were dragged inside.

The corridors were not overly crowded but Bobby and Pietro still felt uncomfortable with the number of unguarded minds around them. Logan didn't like crowds, himself, and growled at anyone who came near.

"Hurry up so we can leave," he snarled at Pietro, the gypsy scowled at him, but turned to smile charmingly at the girl behind the counter. She blushed brightly at the attention she was receiving and was speechless.

Pietro grew sick of her gawking and tapped his perfectly manicured fingernails on the counter top. "I have an appointment." The girl snapped out of her daydreaming and opened her mouth to speak. "Pietro Maximoff."

"I hope she won't be the one cutting your hair," whispered Bobby in his ear, trying to keep himself from laughing. He went to sit beside John when Pietro made to grab him. Logan raised an inquiring eyebrow at him. "Pietro has an unwanted fan." The girl was still staring at Pietro with an awful blush on her gawky face. Pietro was ignoring her as he looked over some hair magazines on a rack hanging by him. "Girls are so weird."

John agreed and continued to flip through the magazine he'd picked up at the rack. "Is this going to take long?"

"I hope not," Logan was trying to concentrate on something other than the walls lined with shampoo and conditioner. Or the awful advertising hanging on the windows. The smell of shampoo and dye were giving him headaches, even Bobby looked a little green. "Let's go outside, Icecube."

"Yeah," Bobby stumbled after him, a hand over his mouth. John blinked at the closing door in shock then went back to his magazine.

Pietro followed a middle-aged woman and took the seat she instructed him to take. He told her he wanted a hair cut and described how he wanted his hair dyed. Poking at her weak mind to further get the idea into her head. When he was sure she knew exactly what he wanted, he lay back and relaxed.

Meanwhile, Logan and Bobby had been lured into a nearby arcade by the loud noises. Logan had no choice but to follow Bobby inside when the brunette spotted a game he wanted to try. Yet he wouldn't go nearer than needed and observed the dancing players from a respectable distance. Dancing? Logan shook his head and looked on, amused when some of the players attempted to pull off stunts and failed.

Bobby wanted to try and searched his pocket for change. Happy when he found some.

Logan leaned back to watch Bobby make a fool of himself and was shocked when the brunette began moving to the music. Some of the teenagers watching were impressed as well and soon, Bobby having won, wanted to challenge him as well. He wasn't sure when John and Pietro joined him but Bobby was sweating by then and turning down more challenges. Claiming to be "too tired" and making a quick escape.

"I didn't know you could dance," Logan said.

Bobby shrugged. "It's not really dancing. Only a game and I am, after all, the Game King!" He flexed imaginary muscles, giggling when John began to tickle him mercilessly.

Logan stopped abruptly, grabbing Pietro's arm and turning him around so that they stood face-to-face. He eyed the dye job and cut with a critical eye before deciding he liked what he saw. "Nice hair," was all he said.

"It's cute!" Bobby smiled widely.

John agreed. "It is nice. Nice contrast."

Pietro didn't really care so long as his hair didn't fall into his face anymore. "What are we going to do now?"

"Let's go see a movie!" suggested Bobby in excitement. "Like... Lord of the Rings°!"

"I'm up for it," said Pietro.

"Why not," shrugged John.

Logan snorted. "Whatever."

"When are you guys leaving for London?" Pietro asked, taking a sip from his water bottle.

"I think tomorrow afternoon, but I'm not sure," John said. "Someone did sabotage most of our equipment."

"Oops," Pietro smiled, he wasn't very sorry about having done it. "It gives us more time. We can go to Japan, recruit this new mutant and join the others in London. Mesmero won't do anything until we get there because he needs us to destroy something for him. The more we can stall Magneto, the better."

"I can get into some of our system files and cause some minor damages," said the fire-controlling mutant. "That should buy us more time."

"You're really getting good at foretelling," said Logan.

A memory of the dragon on the cross taunted him. "Yeah, really good." He pushed the memory of the strange vision away and concentrated on the screen as the film began. Bobby was leaning forward in his seat, staring at the screen with wide eyes. Other than the light emitting from the screen, the theater was dark. Almost all the seats were occupied, except for the ones around them because Pietro and Bobby had "influenced" the people away.

Bobby dug into the popcorn like a starving man and didn't take his eyes away from the screen until the movie ended almost three hours later. By then, the brunette was cuddling against John and sniffing. "Poor Frodo, he's such an unlucky person."

"Aragorn was hot," Pietro said, although he hadn't read any of the books, he'd found himself enjoying the plot.

"I like Frodo," said Bobby. "Elijah Wood is cute."

Pietro shrugged. "I didn't like the elves. It's really no excuse to wear tights."

Bobby rolled his eyes but didn't argue. Logan and John had decided to remain quiet so they wouldn't be dragged into the discussion. It was almost six and they had to be getting back. John dropped Bobby off at the front gate and he rode with Logan and Pietro the rest of the way.

"That was fun!" exclaimed Bobby, as they entered the Institute.

"Where have you been?" Ororo's angry voice stopped them cold. "We've been worried sick"

"I went to get my hair cut," Pietro explained, he wanted to take a nap or something because he was feeling so tired. "I told the professor this morning."

"Charles didn't tell me anything," Ororo scowled, she eyed Pietro's hair distastefully before turning on her heel and stalking out of the room.

"What's her problem?" Bobby snarled after her, the woman's tone had made him hostile.

"We were worried," Jean tried to explain.

"Worried that I might hurt Bobby or something?" Pietro asked calmly, though his eyes were narrowed.

Jean began to protest but stopped, looking away in shame. As did the others, even Evan, avoiding Pietro's eyes. They remained rooted to the floor as Pietro left the room quickly, with Bobby following closely. They passed Scott in the hallway, he blinked at their retreating backs in confusion.

"Play a game with me!" Bobby whined, he pouted adorably at Pietro, sniffing occasionally.

Pietro tried (in vain) to ignore the look as he checked over his bags to make sure everything was packed. His room was bare and he'd taken most of the things he'd kept in Evan's room, too. It wasn't much but it filled at least two big trunks.

"Why did you pack everything?" Bobby bit his lip uncertainly as he eyed the baggage. "You aren't planning on coming back?"

"I don't see a point to it, do you?" the speedster sat on the bed beside Bobby. "Since we're going to be meeting the team in London, you can ride back with them."

"Where are you going?"

"I had another vision and I think it might be another mutant."

"You're not taking me with you?" Bobby demanded incredulously.

Pietro sighed, rubbing his temples furiously. "I didn't think you'd want to go."

"'Tro! I want to go with you," Bobby whined. He threw himself on top of the older boy, hanging on tightly so that the gypsy couldn't remove him. "Don't leave me!"

The force of Bobby throwing himself at him sent them sprawled across the bed. Pietro was relieved to know that Bobby still trusted him. "I'd never leave you behind, Bobby."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

With that done and out of the way, Bobby felt much happier. "So what was your vision about?"

"A floating ship," the speed demon said. He tried to recall the short image he had seen. "That's all I remember. A floating ship."

"Sounds strange," Bobby wasn't interested anymore and rolled off the bed. "I'm bored. There's nothing to do around here!"

"Go say goodbye to your friends, then," said the speedsters, feeling rather bored himself. "We're leaving at five in the morning."

"Okay," Bobby absently rubbed his chest where his dragon-tattoo was. He left Pietro half-asleep and ran down the hall at Quicksilver-speed. Running past Amara and Ray on the way but not stopping to talk to them. he caught sight of his target as he rounded the corner. "Sam!" The boy had no time to move aside as Bobby tackled him. Roberto barely had time to move out of the way as the two fell to the floor in a tangled heap. "Ow."

Pietro didn't bother to acknowledge the new presence in the room and had barely heard the door open. When the presence didn't leave after a while, he sighed but didn't turn around. "What do you want Evan?"

"You said we needed to talk," said Evan, standing uncertainly by the bed. "Is now a good time?"

"Evan..." Pietro sat up, turning his back on the boy and closing his eyes. "Now is not a good time."

"I think now's the perfect time!" Evan grasped Pietro's shoulder and turned him around. He didn't look very happy. "Stop avoiding me. I'm sorry for what happened this afternoon." He touched Pietro's cheeks gently, holding him in place, so that the gypsy couldn't look away. "Listen to me, okay? I love you."

The gypsy closed his eyes and struggled to get away from him. But Evan would not let him go, holding him firmly in place.

"Why are you afraid?" he demanded. "Are you going to run away now, Pietro, like last time?"

The snowy-haired teen froze. "I did not run away!"

"I didn't see you again until-"

"That had nothing to do with you!" Pietro deflated, burrowing his face in Evan's shoulder. "I thought... I'm sorry."

"What did you think?" Evan demanded. "That I didn't mean it?"

The gypsy closed his eyes tightly as he felt the burning in the corners of his eyes and tears threatened to spill. He shook his head, "No, I knew you meant it. But Magneto-"

"Magneto?" Evan's eyes widened as he came to a realization. "He told you to stay away from me, right?"

He wanted to deny it but didn't, instead Pietro nodded. "Something like that."

"What about now?"

Pietro smiled thinly, leaning forward to place a chaste kissed on the dark boy's lips. "I know what I want now. I won't let Magneto take advantage of me anymore." With a growl, Evan pounced, successfully managing to pin the speedster to the bed.

"Nice hair, by the way," he said, breathing against the gypsy's lips. He trailed soft kisses down Pietro's jaw and to his neck. He froze when he felt the familiar tingling of his spikes beneath his skin, pulling away abruptly.

"Evan, what's wrong?" Pietro asked in concern. He was surprised when Evan pulled away again and stood up.

"Nothing!" the blond growled fiercely.

The gypsy drew back in shock, staring at him in surprise and hurt. "The hell it's nothing!"

"Pietro, don't take it personally!"

"How can I not?" Pietro swallowed thickly. "There's obviously something wrong with you. Why won't you tell me?"

"Must you be such a drama queen!?" Evan instantly regretted the words as Pietro's expression shattered then turned stone cold. He was standing outside in the blink of an eye, the door being slammed in his face and locked. He had barely noticed that he'd let out some of his spikes in his blind anger.

Pietro, on the other hand, had noticed as soon as a frame he kept on his nightstand was hit by one. The glass lay on the floor, the frame still on the stand. One long spike had cut straight through it, the photograph was torn in half. "Is this another sign, God?" he said, picking up the pieces of glass slowly. "Of course." The torn photograph fell into the garbage can in the corner of his room. "Someone obviously doesn't like me up there."

Bobby and Sam moved aside as Evan stalked past them in anger. The ice wielder rolled his eyes and continued down the hall without waiting for Sam to catch up. He tackled Hank into a hug as soon as he saw the large, furry mutant and the two of them wrestled around the living room playfully. The girls cried out and moved out of their way, Logan barely saved himself from being ran over, while others simply looked on in amusement. Bobby wondered why everyone had gathered in the living room, stopping to read a large banner hanging on the wall that read; "Farewell, Bobby and Pietro."

"We were going to shout 'Surprise!'," said Amara, pouting slightly.

Bobby blinked at them questioningly. "Was this an excuse to have a party?"

They all froze and glanced at each other nervously. Rogue helped him to his feet, smiling smugly. "Yeah, it was. Got uh problem wit dat?"

"Not at all," Bobby tackled Hank again, just as the doctor was getting to his feet. "Pietro isn't feeling well, though. He and Evan had a fight and he's still angry with everyone."

"Big surprise there," Scott murmured, Jean heard him and jabbed him in the ribs.

When he had worn himself out, Bobby went to sit next to Logan. Snuggling against the muscled mutant's side as Logan read the newspaper for the upteenth time that day. He drowned out the voices as he let Logan's shields wash over him, blocking every one's thoughts from him. There was a hand running through his hair and a voice singing in his ears.

"Koori," the voice said. Bobby opened his eyes slowly, staring at the unfamiliar face before him. A face much older than his own, yet so similar. Warm cobalt eyes smiled at him and he felt happy. "Sleepy head. You're going to be late for school."

"But I don't wanna go!" he heard himself say and felt himself pouting, couldn't seem to have control over words escaping his mouth. "Do I really have to go, Papa?"

"Yes," the man laughed, eyes crinkling at the corners. But Bobby could see the sadness in those eyes and in the way he smiled. "Its only kindergarten, Iceling. Remember that you can't show your gift to the other children, okay?"

"Yes, Papa," he pouted again. But relished in the sound of "Papa's" laughter. Papa hardly laughed anymore, he was always so sad... "I'll be good, Papa. I promise!"

There was that sad smile again. "I know."

"You can't protect him from everything!" an angry voice was yelling. "Do you want him to grow up to be weak, Hiroshi?"

Bobby could see from where he was hiding at the top of the stairs. He could see that "Papa" was angry, even though he was crying. "Why do you care now, anyway? You never cared about his well-being before!"

.

"He has to power to be strong, Hiro!"

"Is that all you care about?" Papa cried angrily.

"He is destined to become one of the Seven Lights that the legends speaks of, Hiroshi!" the other man exclaimed. "The Priest is the third most powerful position, next to Kami and Warrior."

"You gave up your rights as his father a long time ago," Papa said. "I don't want to see you around here again. Get out of my house!"

.

"They say he committed suicide," the voices whispered.

"Disgraceful and he leaves his son for others to take care of."

"Koori."

"Leave me alone."

"I know you don't know me. I'm your father."

"My father is dead, and if he isn't. Then I will kill him myself."

"Koori."

"I will always hate you for making him so sad."

.

"Papa, wake up. Papa? Why aren't you waking up? I promise to be good today if you wake up. Please wake up, Papa!"

.

"Papa, I promise I'll avenge your death. I'll kill him, Papa. I promise."

"Bobby!" Pietro shook the ice wielder forcefully. The others were gathered around, worried beyond belief. Watching the small boy writhe and whimper in his sleep. "Bobby, come back now. You weren't meant to see those."

The ice wielder opened his eyes suddenly, breathing heavily as he grasped Pietro's collar. "It's not true!"

The professor ordered everyone out, allowing Logan and Hank to stay when they refused to budge.

"You were five, Bobby," Pietro said, but the brunette refused to listen, covering his ears and shaking his head.

"It's not true!" Bobby sobbed. He growled at the professor as he wheeled closer. "This is your fault! What did you do to me?"

"You were brought to me as a child," Xavier explained, staying out of harms reach. "You were disturbed, no child should have to see his father's death. So I made some adjustments to your memories, locking them in the far reaches of your mind so no one could discover them."

"I don't-"

"You were only five," the professor continued. "The Drakes were a nice family and they wanted a child. All I had to do was modify some memories and you were then, Robert Drake."

"What gives you the right to do that?" Bobby cried. "You had no right!"

"Your father would have wanted you to have a normal life."

Bobby laughed humorlessly. "My father might as well be dead and rotting a hundred feet beneath the earth!"

"Forgive me. I meant your Dad."

The brunette bared his fangs at him and vanished through the floor. Pietro craned his neck to scowl at the professor in extreme disgust. "Nice going, Cueball. I say you've earned a point negative on Bobby's scale of friends and a point negative on my scale of people to trust." He stalked out of the room, growling at the mutants gathered in the hallway.

"Is there anything else you've forgotten to mention?" Logan asked, seriously angry at the professor for having had emotionally wounded one of his pups.

"Who are the Seven Lights?" Bobby asked, once he was calm and the tears had stopped.

"Supposedly, they were seven great warriors capable of containing Apocalypse or something," Pietro shrugged. "God and his six seraphim. Why?"

"Father said I was the Priest or something."

"That would make sense," Pietro remembered his visions, leaning back against the tree he and Bobby were sitting under. "The Priest had a lot of magic and was essentially very pure. The only two others who were more powerful than him were God and Warrior. Warrior had the power over Death. He was otherwise known as the Grim Reaper."

"Who were the others?"

"Prophet, Emperor, Keeper, and Dragon."

"You're Prophet, right? That's why you know everything," said Bobby. "I'm starting to remember some things, just little bits of memories. Is this like some reincarnation thing?"

Pietro sat up then, tucking his knees under his chin and wrapping his arms about them. "Mesmero wants to awaken Apocalypse. It's the Seraphim's job to make sure that doesn't happen or lock him up again, destroy him, etc. If what we know so far is true, then we need to find the rest of the team or we aren't going to be much good."

"Great. How do we find the rest of the team?"

"I have no idea," Pietro smiled at the younger boy. "Why don't you help me out here, Mr. Priest?"

Bobby sniffed pompously. "I think this is your forte, Mr. Prophet."

Author's Notes: I'm sorry that it took so long to put up this chapter. I had it written but I didn't have time to type it often, I got easily sidetracked. This chapter is sort of lame and I'm changing a few things to accommodate plot changes, too. I ended the chapter sort of... quickly. But I didn't have much more to go on... . I don't have much to say either.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! I feel so loved! Actually, you might love the characters more than me... but, what the hell! .

IceBlueRose: Don't worry. You won't have to deal with Evan any longer. I was pretty mean to him in this chapter, though.

Chatwyn: Like I stated, if I did... It's going to be a crossover with Get Backers, right now. But it's also going to be a crossover with other shows, too. Because I felt like doing something new. If you don't know anything on Get Backers, then you can look up basic info. But if you don't want to do that, then just tell me and I'll put some info up at the start of the next chapter. Okay?

Pixie13: I know some people like Evan x Pietro, and I do sometimes, too. But I enjoy reading Lance/Pietro more and that's what I'm going to write. But I was thinking of writing another little Evan x Pietro just for the heck of it. ,

Destiny's Light: I love Get Backers, too. Ginji is adorable. Anyway, I'm not going to give away anymore secrets, but I'm just going to say that it'll take a while before Ginji decides to get together with Ban, even if Ban wants to get together with him before hand. And Ginji is a very important character. .

Vree: I think so, too. Bobby never gets very big parts in Evolution fics, and not in the original X-Men either. And he is one of my favorite characters from Evo. He and Pietro are tied, actually. I happen to like Scott a lot, too.

Ellen: I really don't know how to write the friendship between Hank and Bobby without making it seem as though there's something more to it. But I tried, it turned out more fatherly/son, though.

To everyone else that I didn't mention, thank you! I was wondering... I don't want to set up Jean with Scott, because that is so boring. So I was thinking about setting him up with Logan... because I've been reading too many Logan/Scott fics this past week and I'm in love with the pairing. So, no matter what everyone says, I'll still make it a Logan x Scott, so there! . I still can't believe I wrote Evan and Pietro together, making out... and etc. I want to go back and kill the scene... but oh well. It was bound to happen sometime or another and I needed to get it over with. It won't happen again... Well, actually it might, just not so soon. I had originally intended to make this a Rogue/Bobby or Remy/Bobby/Rogue, or something... but Bobby's too happy for Rogue. So I'm just going to make them really good friends. I didn't want Remy and Rogue fighting over Bobby, either. It would seem really weird.

Dreams of Magic: No, Bobby does not use an image inducer. Okay? Bobby can willingly use whatever power he wishes to use without the difficulties that other mutants have. Therefore, he can look like Kurt at one time and like himself at another. It's not a permanent thing, he just steals other's powers and makes them his own. But he can put them away in a box for later use, not literally in a box, though. Then there's the Remy/Bobby/John thing. Remy likes Bobby, and Bobby used to like him but since he has a short attention span, he grew bored and likes John, now. I'm not saying he doesn't still like Remy, he does. It's all explained in the story, everything I've written here has been slipped into the story, I thought it was all out in the open already. But some people don't catch stuff like that. Bobby fell asleep and had a dream, it was a memory-dream thingie. His memories were blocked by the Professor for protection but since Bobby is becoming a more powerful mutant, he is slowly breaking down the walls that the Professor created in his mind. Bobby doesn't need to touch people to gain their powers, he just connects to them mentally. And Pietro's foretelling abilities have nothing to do with mutation, therefore Bobby can't steal that. Bobby's dragon appearance is explained by Pietro at the beginning. The dragon is like Bobby's soul, the part of Bobby shouldn't be tainted by all the other voices occupying his body. His body is like a shell to maintain all the different powers he steals, and the dragon is just himself. It'll be explained later on in the story, too. No, Bobby isn't exactly Japanese. We'll get into it more later because he doesn't yet fully remember everything about his childhood. It's alright that you asked all those questions, I knew that not everyone was going to understand what was going on. Especially since I wrote this chapter in a hurry. This is a really long note I wrote, though. If you have anymore questions, just ask. I'll try my best to answer them without giving the entire plot away.