Life with Koda: Cont'd

[Truttle]

I had managed to sneak into the human village undetected, since it was very late and dark. I had found an object hanging in the air tied to a rope from a tree. I could smell salmon from inside, so I ripped the rope tide to the tree and caught the basket before it crashed to the floor. I took the basket by the rope tide around it and carried it in my mouth.

"I don't think you'll be needing this anymore!"

I said as I ran off before I could get spotted. Judging from the weight of the basket, I figured that this was a good amount of salmon. I carried it back to Nikiski's den. Nikiski was in a state of focused meditation. Trying to keep thinking of Ken'ichi. I didn't think he'd want to eat right now so I just set the salmon down and walked outside to let him concentrate. I looked towards the mountains where Spectrue had headed and hoped he would be able to return with what we need to help Ken'ichi.

[Spectrum]

OOC: I'll brb to make the part where I get the prism and everything. I have to goto the store right now, FIGURES!

[Spectrum]

Diamond and I kept running faster through the ever rising drops of water, the storms beginning to lift now. As we passed through Ice Corner again, we headed south-westerdly, where that prism lays hidden in the volcanic mountain area. As we neared the mountain I spoke of, I turned to Diamond.

"Diamond, I want you to come with me this time."

"Alright, Spec." She said. We entered the cavernal entrance on the bottom of the mountain, we stepped closer and closer into the alter. I felt an aura resinating in the hot, red area, the garnet-like stones covering the scaley walls. It felt very humid and seemed like an oven. Diamond quickly got tired.

"I don't know if I can stand this much longer, Spec..." She said, exhausted at the hands of the heat.

"Me neither, but Ken'ichi is depending on us and if we don't find the prism, we may never see Ken'ichi awaken again." My voice drained out as I looked around us. If anything, I wasn't going to let Ken'ichi be at the fate of living in eternal darkness in his faint state. We had to find the prism, and get back as soon as possible. He needs to know more of my adventures, he needs to know stories of my past, I ever so wanted to have him listen to my adventures and paths, and if he didn't hear that, he may still doubt his own future, for the loss of his family. Those anger-stricken eyes that I saw when he was going to tear the last shred of the human's life, that hatred...I had to do something about it, if I can...No, WHEN I revive him back. He deserves so much more than to be alone with that shadowed heart and that darkened mind. I must spread light to his soul and spirit. As I thought of this, our surroundings began heatening. Diamond was beginning to become faint...

"Spec, we have to get outta here..."

"Diamond, instead of profusing at this heat, can't you use some sort of ice element to cool the surroundings?" I gestured.

" I can't really do much, but here goes... "

With that, she closed her eyes and concentrated deeply. She needed to, for this heat was unbearable, and it would soon consume our conciousness and dehydrate our bodies. Soon, her fur began rising like that of the wind, and the whole area began getting pushed by the force of her icy winds. Feeling the cool breeze of the refreshing conditioned air, I began to come back of conciousness. She, too was breathing easier now.

" Alright, let's go, or this place will light right back up faster than a firecracker!" Diamond exclaimed.

We ran to the wall of the cave, and saw a stair like entrance. We scaled the walls, making our way to the top, and the heat was coming back, as Diamond had said...

"Ugg....we'd better hurry, Diamond..." We climbed faster and faster, and then I heard a shriek. I looked below me and saw Diamond staring at something with wide eyes. I looked toward the direction she was looking, and my face became horrified. There was lava flowing upward!

"OH GREAT! Come on!" I yelled, as I pulled Diamond by the paw, making her climb faster with me. We finally reached the top, leaping back up on the ground. It was even hotter here.

"Diamond, do a light ice wind again!" She did so, and the tempature dropped for a little bit again. Running foward closer and closer to some kind of pedistal, I looked closer at it to see the Comet prism, struck in the center of the stone.

"Hurry and get the crystal and lets go!" Diamond yelled. I nodded and ran towards it, swiped it and ran back.

"I got it!"

"Good! Now-"

Oh no... The lava has risen even further. How are we supposed to get out of here!? I looked up to see an opening, very small, but big enough to fit through. But I have no abilities to fly!!!

"Diamond..I don't think we will...."

"Me neither..."

"Yea..."

I looked up at the sky lit hole and thought hard. Why...I'm sorry Ken'ichi....

"Wait..." I said...I had a plan.

"What are you-?!"

I walked closer to the edge of the lava.

"Diamond, hop on my hands."

"Wha?"

"Just do it!"

She did so, and when contact between my hands and her feet came to, I catapulted her up to the hole, letting her escape the heat of the lava.

"Whatta bout you!!?"

I clentched my prism hard and prayed. I hoped this would work.

"Diamond..." I waved good-bye to her, just in case I wouldn't see her again.

Soon the lava had risen to level with my feet, almost touching them. Then finally the whole place collasped in smoldering lava...

OOC: Alright, don't worry what happens next, you'll see.... Remember how I told you at the begining of my story, I had severly bit hurt on the mountain? Riiiiight.... You'll figure it out... Next post is Diamond.

[Diamond]

OOC: i'm begining where spec left off.

"Spectrum!!!!!!!!!!!!" I yelled into the mountainous structure, as the lava engulfed his figure. I stood back and yelped as the lava spurted from the top. I ran down the mountain, faster and faster, then stumbling over myself and falling downward, rolling in the gravel and dirt. I fell face first into a pit by a boulder. I began sobbing...

"Spec...What did you do...Why...?" I cried into the dirt, my face full of rocks... What did he do!?

Suddenly I felt a pat on my shoulder.... Wha..? I turned around very slowly, wiping away excess dirt from my face and tears, and before me I saw...a wolf? A silver-furred wolf stood before me, panting and talking to me...

"Didn't think I was going to leave this world that way, did ya?!"

The wolf sat down by the boulder and eyed me. I looked into his eyes...Those eyes...That hair...The brown marking on his forehead...Could it be...?

"Spec--trum??"

"The one and only!"

In overjoyed happiness I leapt for him and glomped him, licking his face happily.

"Spectrum! It's you! I thought you were....!!!"

"I know, I know! But I'll explain later. For now, this is my Spectra form. Spectrue is my bear form, and Spectrum is my normal name for all of them, but mainly my original fox form!"

"I don't care about the details, Spec! I'm just glad you made it!"

"Well...Yea, I did. But I haven't found a way to transform back into my fox form or bear form quite yet.. But with this animal form, I may be able to keep up with you on all fours now."

What he said was true, he was now on all fours, like he was as a bear.

"Now...How do you work this thing, Diamond?"

"Thing?! Excuse me? Us canines happen to be a very graceful species, mind you, and-"

"Relax Diamond! I was just kidding! Now let's go back and get Ken'ichi back to health."

"Right...I suppose..."

We finally ran back as fast as we could toward the north-easterdly, where we began. I was so glad Spec was alright...But this transforming...er...reincarnating business is really puzzling...I hope he explains soon, or the others will freak too now that there is a wolf named Spectrue, Spectrum and Spectra, geeze...

[Truttle]

OOC: Man! This is wild! Like something out of a Japanese manga! I love reading your posts!

[Spectrum]

OOC: Thanks a lot! I await another post from someone now, I don't want to keep posting on and on or my hands will cramp!

[Ken'ichi]

OOC: These are still Ken'ichi's dreams so they're third person posts.

BIC:
(Ken'ichi)
Soaring through the skies like an eagle, but still he does not know what is happening, as he soars through the skies unconscious. And yet, he sees images, those he treasures, someone dear to him is trying to reach him, in the form of memories. Ken'ichi sees the old days, when he first met Niki, and yet he lets go of that memory to view the future one, riding Niki's back after surviving a human attack. Ken'ichi sighs as he watches Niki splashing water unto the group and catching fish for them.

Ken'ichi opens his eyes and finds himself standing on the edge of a cliff, practically the same height as the one he fell down

"It's over, isn't it?" A familiar voice calls Ken'ichi from behind, he turns around to see the black grizzly once again, "Good to see you again Ken'ichi."

"You?! What are you doing here?!" Ken'ichi shouts in anger, as he did in the past.

"I see you're still the aggresive cub as you were in the past." The black grizzly coolly told the cub, "So, is your life at an end? That's the only reason why I can see you again."

The grizzly gets closer to Ken'ichi, but...

"Get away from me..." Ken'ichi growled as he stepped back.

The grizzly stopped, "Still don't appreciate me after what I did?"

"What do you think?! If you wouldn't have saved me back there when I was wounded by the humans, I would've been with my family right now! But you saved me and did the complete opposite I wanted, I prefer being with my family than to live that long year by myself!!!"

"A family took you in after that year didn't they?" Ken'ichi flinched, the grizzly gave a mocking smile and turned around.

"Don't run away from me! Ken'ichi yelled, ticked off about the grizzly walking away in the middle of an argument.

"You're the one running." The grizzly replied and he dissapeared as he walked out of sight.

Ken'ichi roared out in frustration, he hates all of this. The memories come back to the cub as he sits down, he looks up into the sky as he begins seeing the memories again, his race with his friends, catching fish with Niki and the others, being saved by Niki from drowning, leaving the story-telling party after having an argument with Koda, and many more. Ken'ichi felt him, Niki was calling out to him, begging for him to survive. Ken'ichi's body glowed and sparkles of light starts to rise from him, like if he was desintegrating. A tear falls from Ken'ichi's face, he wants to go back, back to prevent this mess he has done to himself, but that wasn't possible. His eye widen as another stream of pain came from his chest, he falls backwards unto his back, clutching his chest where the arrow struck him down. But just as soon the pain started, it has ended.

"I'm not dying...not yet...I'll fight on...I'll survive, I promised him...and now I'll promise Niki...No matter if my heart stops, I will come back!"

Ken'ichi closes his eyes and nods, sealing the promise. But more pain sorrounds him and he collapses, his wound is starting to hurt again, and it'll probably have a devastating result in the real world. No matter if one is in the real world or in dreamland, both worlds are connected, and when something happens to the dreamer in real life, chances are the dreamer will suffer the same result in dreamland.

"My heart...what's wrong..." Ken'ichi whispers to himself.

OOC: Take it from here Niki

[Nikiski]

"Please, do survive, Ken'ichi, please..."

I just wish there's more I can do do help him...

Suddently I hear Ken'ichi moarns in pain... I sigh... but there's nothing I can do to help... All I can do is to think... that he'll survive...

A tear roll down my cheek as I see Ken'ichi struggles in pain. My tear practically dropped right onto his wound on his chest... I close my eyes and I try to focus my thoughts on Ken'ichi... He is rolling a bit at looks as if he is in severe pain... I hear Ken'ichi says.

"I'm not dying...not yet...I'll fight on...I'll survive, I promised him...and now I'll promise Niki...No matter if my heart stops, I will come back!"

Then Ken'ichi says in a faint, weak voice.

"My heart...what's wrong..."

I look at Ken'ichi, I put my paw onto Ken'ichi's chest above his heart. I can feel his heart beating fast... He must be in a lot of pain...

"Nothing's wrong, Ken'ichi, it's healing your wounds..."

I close my eyes once again to medidate on Ken'ichi... but this time... a bit harder... it seems that there is an opposing force...

[Ken'ichi]

(Koda)
I can't believe this is happening. Ken'ichi is badly wounded, losing a lot of blood, and I don't know what to do. I just laid down in the back of the cave in the shadows, crying. I don't think Ken'ichi is going to survive those mortal wounds, but I have to keep faith in him. Ken'ichi has gotten out of tough situations before, he'll pull through this one too.

I stand up and look to where Niki is lying with Ken'ichi, he must be the most broken up of all. I pad to him and rub myself against him, trying to give him some comfort.

"Don't give up Niki, he'll pull through..." I look at Ken'ichi, then back at Niki, "Right?"

I still have my doubts, how can he survive such wounds...But I gotta believe. I sit next to Niki and wait for his response...

[Nikiski]

As I close my eyes once more, and I find myself fighting a force... mentally... I hear Koda's question, but I cannot reply... since all my energy have been used to fight that force in my mind... and all of a sudden...

"Nikiski? Why are you here?"

"Huh?"

I look around, wait... where am I? What am I doing? I am by the edge of a cliff... what? Wasn't I supposed to be in my cave? I gasp as I see the northern lights. They dance across the sky with unexpressable beauty. I pad over to where Ken'ichi is...

"This reminds me of... when I saw my brother..." I said.

"...and my family..." Ken'ichi added.

"Yeah..."

Well, Siraki and Ken'ichi's family is once again seen in the northern lights... they come down... to meet us. Siraki and Kamali pad forward and they explain what happened is not an coincidence.

OOC~ OK, just to explain what happened... My body is actually physically still there, with my paw under Ken'ichi's head... I still breathe, and I'm not dead... just my soul has left and has gone into Ken'ichi's dream... so... no matter what you do to my body, it just seems like an empty shell... and my eyes are darken as if something is missing if you happen to pull my eyelids up

[Spectrum]

It was getting earlier. The morning sun dust of the rays of light pierced through my eyes, as me and Diamond kept leaping over logs, jumping through swamps, and breaking through caverns. It was tougher trying to get back then to go away from the north, I didn't know why. It seemed the area was much more carreened, tilted somewhat even. But that didn't stop our page through the hills and valleys, making our trip as fast as we could.

"I hope Ken'ichi will be alright..." I talked aloud.

"I'm sure he will, just don't worry Spec!" Diamond's confidence in me cheered me up a bit. I felt he might just not be there when I get there, his life taken away, just as my own small sister had when I walked in her room...

-flash back- (3rd person)

"Mom?! Dad!?" Spectrum gets up from his bed and looks around..

"Mom??" Suddenly he gasps....Blood...on the floor... the carpet stained with blood, his mother laying on the couch, shot...

"M-m-mo...mom...?!!!?"

Spectrum looks around the room and sees his dad, laying dead on the floor as well...

"...Dad..." Spectrum is horrified, runs up to his little sister's room and peers around the corner...

"Prizy...??"

"Spec...y..."

Spectrum quickly runs toward the bed and sees his sister's throat red with hand marks...She had been suffocated... Her last breath had been taken...

"Why..."

Spectrum lays his head upon his sister's chest and crys deeply...

-end flash-

"I will not let him die..." Spectrum whispers to himself..

"What?" Diamond says confused.

"Nevermind, we're almost there!"

We arrive nearer to the cave, I skid to a halt right before the entrance, so noone sees me quite yet. I sit down and rest, along with Diamond skidding past me and sitting down as well, we were both panting like heck. Then, from an overwhelming darkness, I felt faint, and could no longer stand up. And as if a lighted match had gone out, I had too, along with Diamond, and we fainted....

[Ken'ichi]

(Ken'ichi)-(3rd person)
The sparkles of light that was coming out of Ken'ichi has stopped and began rising into the sky, forming the Northern Lights. He shook his head and looked up at the Northern Lights.

Am I dead? That's the first thing that comes into Ken'ichi's mind, his body was sorrounded by that aura that the spirits have. He thought it was over, but the aura suddenly goes away when Ken'ichi felt a familiar sense touching him as a blanket. Ken'ichi rubbed his right shoulder as he felt the sense. Without even looking back, he asks.

"Nikiski? Why are you here?"

Ken'ichi hears Niki's usual puzzling reaction, "Huh?"

Ken'ichi hears Niki padding closer to him, Ken'ichi doesn't move, no joy, no happiness, something is keeping Ken'ichi from being happy to see his big brother again, this could be his last chance.

Ken'ichi hear's Niki's opinion about the Northern Lights, "This reminds me of... when I saw my brother..."

"...and my family..." Ken'ichi adds as he looks up at them. Ken'ichi bows his head in sadness and pain as he clutches his chest, the pain from his physical body is coming through dreamland and is reaching him. He overcomes the pain once again and looks ahead of him to see Siraki and his family, they have come down from the Northern Lights to see them again. Ken'ichi turned his head away from them in shame, he doesn't want his family to see their child who has failed at keeping his darksoul under control, a soul that was born when his hatred and anger toward the humans have consumed his heart and mind. Niki asked the spirits what is happening, how he got here and what happened to Ken'ichi's wounds.

Siraki chuckled, "Figured you would ask that, eh lil' bro?" Siraki took a few steps, "It's actually the strong bond as brothers between you two."

Ken'ichi's brother, Kamali, gets closer to Ken'ichi, who bows his head and tries to hide his face from his brother. "And as you thought about Ken'ichi to keep him alive with the prism inside your soul, your love and bond reacted with each other and created a bridge between you two..." Kamali placed his paw under Ken'ichi's chin and lifted his head so Ken'ichi's eyes are looking directly to Kamali's eyes, "And your two were connected and your minds and hearts became one." Kamali keeps looking at Ken'ichi's eyes and could make out a part of Niki inside of him.

"And with that, you found a way to cross your soul into Ken'ichi, thus entering his dream. A task that only true brothers can do." Siraki said as he looked at Niki's eyes, he too could make out a part of Ken'ichi inside of him, "Each one of you holds a part of each other inside, making you two very close...as one."

Ken'ichi moves his eyes away from his brother's, but Kamali only chuckles, "Hey kid, don't worry about it."

Ken'ichi looks at family behind his brother, they don't seem upset about Ken'ichi's mistakes, just as long as he learns from them, they're proud of him. Ken'ichi slowly stood up and hugs his brother, Kamali smiles and does the same.

OOC: OK if you finish the dream Niki?

[Nikiski]

I ask the spirits.

"Siraki, why am I here? What am I doing here?"

"Figured you would ask that, eh lil' bro? It's actually the strong bond as brothers between you two."

Kamali, gets closer to Ken'ichi, who bows his head and tries to hide his face from his brother. Kamali continues.

"And as you thought about Ken'ichi to keep him alive with the prism inside your soul, your love and bond reacted with each other and created a bridge between you two..."

Kamali placed his paw under Ken'ichi's chin and lifted his head so Ken'ichi's eyes are looking directly to Kamali's eyes,

"And your two were connected and your minds and hearts became one."

Siraki says as he looks into my eyes, "And with that, you found a way to cross your soul into Ken'ichi, thus entering his dream. A task that only true brothers can do. Each one of you holds a part of each other inside, making you two very close...as one."

Ken'ichi moves his eyes away from his brother's, but Kamali only chuckles, "Hey kid, don't worry about it."

Then, all of these vanish...

[Nertuark]

It is early in the morning and my nose pick up the scent of two canines... I pad outside and see... a wolf! And the husky I saw last night... They are on the ground... passed out...

"Koda! We need help!"

[Ken'ichi]

(Koda)-(1st person)
I lay next to Niki and Ken'ichi, I can't let my friends be alone, I gotta give them my support, I don't want Ken'ichi to die, I don't want to lose him, Ken'ichi...

"Koda! We need help!"

I look at Nertuark calling me, I pad over to him and he points me to a wolf and a husky, that husky is Diamond!

I run back into the cave and race toward Truttle, "Truttle, we need you out here!"

As Truttle gets up, I race back outside with him following. With Truttle's help, we manage to drag the wolf and Diamond into the cave. As we laid them somewhere in the cave, I noticed the wolf seems somehow familiar, I take a closer look and immediatly recognize the markings on his head...Spectrue?