Part 135: Last Act

Main story folder & table of contents: "Return To Manitou Island" 
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PART ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIVE:
Last Act

"I DON'T NEED ANYONE BUT MYSELF!" Chakenapok screamed. "I'M PERFECTLY FINE ON MY OWN!!"

His eyes squeezed shut and he let out a screaming shrieking wail, jerking his hands at the walls as if to shatter them to pieces with his flames, yet no fire came. Charmian, Manabozho, Moon Wolf, and the others all stood and watched him throw a useless fit, his shriek disintegrating into sobs as he realized that he had no more power left. Charmian felt a twinge in her chest, and realized that she felt sorry for him again...yet seeing him screaming like this, and not trying to kill anybody for once, made the emotion easier to handle. She bit her lip and wished that he had never had to feel this way.

Then he drew his arms in and hunched in on himself, still screaming and crying, and collapsed to his knees. He huddled in tight, and then a strange shifting glow passed over him, once, then twice. Charmian took in a breath and took a step back, her eyes wide.

"What--what's happening to him--?" she cried.

No one could answer. They all stood staring at him in awe as wave after wave of light washed over him, Chakenapok huddling and squeezing his knees to his chest and sobbing aloud. Charmian tensed her fingers, ready to start defending herself whenever he should draw upon some reserve of power somewhere--yet that didn't happen. As she watched, he drew in a shaky horrible gasping breath, and shuddered wildly, one of the waves of light passing over him and then seeming to pull away from his body. She watched it rise into the air, as if he were a snake shedding a strange skin...before her eyes, the light shifted into mist, then droplets of water, and they drifted across the room toward the tunnel entrance. Everyone stared at the droplets, perplexed, as they came up before Chibiabos, and slowly disappeared around him. He looked at his hands with a confused frown.

Charmian turned back to look at Chakenapok. He had dropped onto hands and knees now and was grimacing and gasping for breath, shaking and whimpering like a beaten dog; he let out a broken cry when another wave of light pulled itself loose, drifted upward, then changed into a breeze of warm air. This floated over toward Peepaukawiss and faded away.

"What..." Charmian just looked from one to the other. "What's going on?" she asked, dumbfounded. "What did he just do to you guys--?"

They shook their heads, seeming equally confused. "I...I do not know," Chibiabos confessed.

"I...I feel a little bit...stronger, somehow," Puka said uncertainly, flexing his fingers, "though I can't be sure..."

"Stronger...?" She turned to watch the next wave of light ascend, and this one changed into rippling flames. She and Moon Wolf held up their hands to fight it off, but it just slowly made its way toward Mudjikawiss, who watched as it faded away. His brow furrowed and he rubbed at his head.

"Fire...?" Charmian bit her lip. She glanced at the trembling whimpering Chakenapok, then at Chibiabos. "Water..." She turned next to Puka. "Air." She gasped and her eyes lit up. "Medicine! His body--" She whirled toward Chakenapok, who rocked back and forth again, eyes shut tight and teeth bared. "The same elements you guys have," she said in awe, watching the waves of light flicker over him as he moaned. "His body...it's made from what you guys gave him. He's made up out of your denial!"

Moon Wolf frowned at this odd explanation, but as if to prove her point, another wave of light shimmered and detached itself, and Chakenapok let out a loud cry as it did so, rising away from him. They watched it slowly solidify into what looked to be fine grains of sand...this then floated toward Manabozho, fading away around him and leaving him staring at where it had just been, a surprised look on his face. The waves of light passing over Chakenapok grew faster now, and his cry grew, his claws gouging into the floor. He shook as if he were freezing, and Charmian finally saw his body start to fade, the cave wall coming into view behind him. He lifted his head at last, his yellow eyes fading, and gave them all an aggrieved look, tears streaming down his face. His spirit stone flared in his chest, dimming red jagged through with black.

Charmian felt someone gently squeeze her good arm and turned to look at Moon Wolf. "I think that you can help him, now," he said softly, and looked down at her hand. Charmian did the same and her brow furrowed. She flexed her fingers.

"But...I promised I wouldn't use it," she murmured.

"I believe it would be all right to break your promise, this once," Chibiabos replied.

She looked up at him, then back at Chakenapok. The look on his face made her want to cry, but she reluctantly stepped toward him anyway. When she stopped in front of him he didn't even bother lifting one hand, though she couldn't tell whether he was sad or angry or what. She held out her hand, palm facing him, and bit her lip.

"Sorry," she said in a small voice, and a beam of light came from her hand, striking him in the chest. He gasped and stiffened when it surrounded him, and she stood and watched as the black crags all throughout his spirit stone started to fade and thin and shrink away. She felt an ache in her own chest, and looked down to see the orangy-red of her own spirit stone fading back into view, the black evaporating just as it had in Chakenapok's. By the time that the black had vanished, she was staring at his stone with her brow furrowed, focused on the fiery orange-red swirling there. She couldn't believe it. His spirit stone looked exactly like hers.

The glow around him faded rather than exploded, and she turned away, letting out her breath. She trudged back to join the others and reached up a hand to rub at her eyes, which were stinging from the fire and from other things. The others continued staring at Chakenapok but she didn't have the heart to turn back again.

"Is it over...?" Marten asked in a small voice.

"I think so." Charmian opened her eyes and blinked them a few times. She didn't feel the same as she had when she'd defeated Ocryana. Back then, she'd felt jubilant, relieved, exultant. Right now...she felt tired...listless...and her heart still felt heavy, somehow.

"Can he hurt anyone again?" Peepaukawiss asked.

Chibiabos slowly shook his head. "I do not think so...we took back every bit of power we had given him. He has nothing left now but his own spirit."

Charmian blinked again and lifted her head. "What'll happen to him--?" she blurted out; they all looked at her and her heart thudded hard. "Where will he go--? Will he go to the Spirit Land--?"

Chibiabos bit his lip, then lowered his eyes in thought. "He has already been turned away from the Spirit Road," Moon Wolf said. "And he has no body left."

Charmian clutched at the edge of her vest. "Then--you mean--he'll be a lost spirit, again--?" She bit her lip. "What if he comes back and tries this all over again--?"

Chibiabos shook his head again. "I do not feel he would...all of his reasons for revenge are gone. And he does not have the power."

That's what we did all this for, then? Charmian thought in a near-panic. We did all of this, so he could become a lost spirit again--? What sort of solution is that? That's exactly what I wanted NOT to do! It's because he was a lost spirit that all of this happened in the FIRST place--!

"Mainlander..."

The hair on the back of Charmian's neck stood on end and her eyes grew. The others all looked at Chakenapok again, their own eyes wide. She slowly turned her head, lifting her good hand, and dreading what she might see. She froze as soon as she saw Chakenapok's yellow eyes fixed right on hers, and the thought of what she'd just been told--he was a lost spirit again--alone--no one to turn to but himself--made her skin go cold. Her fingers slowly crooked, and she thought of fire.

Chakenapok's eyes flickered, then dimmed to plain yellow. She saw something in his tensed features give way...and blinked, as soon as she realized that she had never seen anyone's eyes look so...exhausted...before.

"Thank you," Chakenapok said, and slowly faded away. A fine mist of ash drifted to the floor, marking the last place where he had been, and the flames in the cave faded away along with him, a silent darkness settling in.

Charmian stared at the spot he had been in when Mudjikawiss lifted his hand and with a flare of fire lit up the room again. Her heart felt frozen in her chest as she struggled to make sense of what she'd just seen; she slowly blinked, her eyes shifting right, then left, but he was really gone. Already the cave was growing colder, and even darker, as she imagined it must have looked before he had moved in. Only a few stray crystals here and there, as well as Mudjikawiss's flames, kept it lit at all, and she finally let out her breath.

"What...what did that mean?" she whispered, brow furrowing, then raised her voice. "What did he mean, 'Thank you'? Why was he thanking me...?"

Soft footsteps came from off to her side, and Chibiabos stared at the fine coating of ash upon the floor. "You were the one who let him find rest," he said quietly. "I think he has been wanting this, for a long time."

"But..." She felt her eyes sting. "He's still a lost spirit. I didn't change anything. Why would he thank me for that?"

"Things have changed," Chibiabos said, and turned to look at her. The corners of his mouth turned up, just slightly. "He now knows he is no longer alone."

Charmian stared at him for a moment, then let out her breath. She stepped toward the ashes and stooped down to trail her finger through them, lifting it and peering at them in the dim light. They glittered slightly in the flames, but other than that, there was nothing about them that looked any different from regular ashes. She looked at them in silence.

Fire and flint and ash. That's all he ever was. That, and hurt and hatred and fear. Are they right? Can somebody like that really find rest anywhere...?

She felt a cool breeze work its way in through one of the tunnels, and her eyes grew. She gasped and her head jerked up; the others looked at her and frowned, but she didn't even see them, scrambling to her feet and whirling around. Her eyes fixed now on Thomas, lying still and silent not far from one of the cracks in the floor; her eyes went round and she ran at him, stumbling before regaining her balance. "Thomas--!"

She dropped down beside him and took hold of his head, tilting it to the side to face her. His eyes were shut--probably from when he had been moved--and his face was pale. She took hold of his hand and it was cold, like always, yet not quite as cold as it should have been--it wasn't the creeping searing cold that he had had before, but rather a...dead, lifeless cold...not the presence of cold as a power, but the total absence of heat. Her hand starting to shake, she pulled his eye open, but it was cloudy; she pressed her fingers to his neck, but felt nothing. Her chest started to hitch and her eyes flooded with tears.

"Thomas...?" she barely managed to get out, her voice breaking; her eyes shut tight and the tears spilled down her face to patter against his shoulder. She lowered her head to his chest and squeezed his hand. "I thought...he would come back," she choked, and a moment later her sobs filled the cave, the piteous sounds echoing off of the walls and making the others wince and lower their eyes as if ashamed. For once Charmian didn't even care that she was crying in front of everyone; it was as if none of them were even there anymore. She squeezed Thomas's hand hard enough to bruise, but he didn't bruise, and she couldn't bring herself to believe it. She'd really thought that once Chakenapok was dealt with, all of the damage he'd done would reverse itself, and Thomas would be back...

Yet Chakenapok was gone, and the fire was all gone, and Thomas was still gone, just as before.

Her throat and heart hurt with the noises she was letting out, and she could barely breathe, nearly choking on her own tears. She could sense the others around her, sense their discomfort, their own shame at not being able to help, but said nothing to them. Her voice no longer worked and all that she could do was cry even harder, for once missing the icy cold that he had always carried around with him. He felt too warm, now.

She pressed her face to his chest and cried, barely able to hear the soft sound of footsteps approaching, and barely even noticing someone kneeling down beside her. She opened her eye a crack to see a hand reach out to touch the top of Thomas's chest. Chibiabos's voice was so soft that she barely heard it over the sound of her own crying.

"He has not been gone long," he murmured, as if to himself. "He cannot have yet made it to the Spirit Road." He paused. "He is still close by."

Both of Charmian's eyes opened, staring at his pale hand, at Thomas's pale face. She slowly lifted her head, fighting back her tears, though she couldn't help hiccupping. She met Chibiabos's eyes, her own still streaming. She saw the others standing around them, staring at her.

"You...you can bring him back...?" she managed to say, her voice breaking. When Chibiabos looked at her she took in a breath and clasped Thomas's hand. "Please, can you bring him back?" she cried. "Can you do it? Please, please do it! Please bring him back!"

The others slowly moved forward. Chibiabos stared at her for a moment, then looked back down at Thomas. His eyes were vague and sad, yet they seemed comforting in a way, as well. His hand still pressed to Thomas's chest as if to reveal his spirit stone.

"I have been given a life," he said softly, "to replace the one I lost. I have been given a chance that most others never have."

"Can you bring him back?" Charmian asked, her eyes pleading.

He lifted his head to look at her again, and after a long moment he smiled at her. Charmian felt her heart start to rise in her chest as her eyes grew, and it thudded hard, her fingers squeezing Thomas's.

"To give this same gift that I have been given," Chibiabos said. "This would be the greatest thing that I can do. I should like to do such a thing." He paused, and looked back at Thomas. "I would need to do something much like the Ogimah-Quae did...to bring his spirit back before it goes too far. And to place it back in his body."

"Ogimah-Quae--?" Charmian blinked and then furrowed her brow. "But--the Ogimah-Quae--"

He looked at her again, his eyes calm and sincere. "There must be equal payment. I will need to give him my own life."

Charmian sucked in a breath. "NO!" a voice shot out, and her head jerked up. The blue glow immediately died from Manabozho's eyes and his features returned to normal, as if he had never changed at all; he came storming toward them, fists clenched and feathers flaring, to halt on Thomas's other side. His lip curled back but Charmian could see the tears in his eyes.

"You just came back!" he snapped. "The Ogimah-Quae gave her life for YOU! You can't do this!"

Peepaukawiss took a step forward as well, wringing his hands, his own eyes wet. "Baby Brother...!"

Chibiabos pulled his hand away from Thomas's chest. "This is the only way," he said quietly. "If he is to come back. You have seen what happens when a life returns with nothing given in exchange." He waved at Moon Wolf. "There must be equal payment for everything. This is the way it has always been."

Manabozho snarled. "I don't CARE how it's always been! You just GOT your life back! You'd give it up again just like THAT--?"

Something like hurt flickered through Chibiabos's eyes at last; Charmian's head started to sink, when she felt his hand touch hers. "You would leave things this way?" he said in response, and Charmian felt Manabozho and Puka looking at her, and wished that she were not even there anymore.

Chibiabos squeezed her hand so that she lifted her head just a little. Manabozho stared at his brother in disbelief, his mouth open, but now the anger had fled his eyes and she could see the grief. She remembered how he had looked in the Fairy Realm, when Wabasso had fallen through the ice, and when he had blamed her...she knew he didn't blame her anymore...but the look there was the same as it had been before, and now it was even worse. His eyes filled with tears and he took a hesitant step forward, holding out his hand as if not knowing what to do with it.

"Wabasso..." His voice cracked in his throat, and his other hand clutched at his side. "You got another chance," he said brokenly. "Doesn't this mean something? You came back again--don't you want to stay here? To start things over--?"

The hurt faded from Chibiabos's eyes. "I have been given another chance," he said softly. "And I have treasured every moment of it. Every moment I could be with the three of you once more. I have done more than most people have done, and now I am happy." He tilted his head a little. "But I knew I would never stay here long. I was not meant to come back like this...and you see how I am. I will never truly belong here. I will be happiest...if I can do this one last thing, before I must go. Give this life to someone who needs it more than I do." He looked down at Thomas. "Someone who needs another chance."

The tears spilled from Puka's eyes and he sniffled. "Baby Brother..." Mudjikawiss just scowled, though his own eyes seemed somewhat damp; Moon Wolf averted his eyes while Marten sniffled as well and rubbed at his. Manabozho sank down to kneel in front of them, and Chibiabos stared across at him, his younger brother's eyes wet and pleading.

"Big Brother," Manabozho whispered, and the tears started to trickle down his face. "You can't go. I've already lost you too many times. Without you...where will I be? What will I do?"

I always followed you. I was always one step behind you. But I'm grown now. It was my turn to be one step ahead. Why did you go? What am I supposed to do now...?

Charmian's chest hitched and she stared at Thomas, though she didn't see him. Instead she saw Wabasso staring back at her in the Spirit Land, his eyes blue, Manabozho's voice echoing in her head. The two of them stared at each other now, and after a moment Chibiabos offered a faint smile.

"You will do just as you have always done, Little Brother," he murmured. "You will keep living. And I will keep watching over you." The tears flooded Manabozho's eyes and Charmian couldn't look at him anymore; she lowered her head and felt Chibiabos squeeze her hand gently. His voice came soft to her ear. "Charmian...?"

Charmian squinched her eyes shut and dug her fingers into Thomas's hand, then let it go so it slid to the floor with a dull thump. Her shoulders shook, and her heart felt heavier and more painful than it had ever felt when within Chakenapok's grasp. She forced her mouth to open and her voice to speak, the most difficult words she'd ever had to say in her life.

"It's Manabozho's decision...you're his brother."

She sensed Chibiabos take pause. She didn't bother trying to stop her tears this time, lifting one shaky hand to wipe at her streaming eyes as the breath hitched in her throat. Every other feeling she'd ever had, joy, terror, anger, confusion, pride, guilt, happiness, didn't seem to exist anymore, if any of them even had. All that she could feel was a dead weight in her chest, and a deadness in her heart and head and all throughout her, and for the very first time she truly wished that she had never even found a place like Manitou Island if this was how it was to be.

There was a long silence. She finally heard something shift softly, as of feathers moving, and then felt something take her hand. It was lifted from her knee and pulled forward slightly, only to be placed against something else, and her breath caught. She instinctively curled her fingers around it and opened her eyes, to see that she was holding Thomas's hand.

Manabozho slowly pulled his own hand away from hers, his head hanging and his eyes streaming, and stood, turning away.

Charmian stared at him, almost unable to speak. "Mana...Manabozho...?"

He stopped several paces away, near Puka; Puka looked at him, then at Charmian and the others, blinking the tears from his eyes and sniffling. He touched Manabozho's arm but Manabozho didn't even bother pushing him away. He didn't turn his head to look back.

"I'm grown now," he said, his voice barely audible. "I'll be fine on my own."

Charmian continued staring at him until she could no longer see, her eyes blurred so much. She blinked them furiously and had to cock her head to the side to try to rub them against her shoulder, as her free arm was useless. She felt Chibiabos briefly touch her and Thomas's hands, then he pulled away and placed his hand over Thomas's chest. She turned her head to look as a soft glow appeared around his fingers, then spread to Thomas, moving up to his head, and down his body to his feet. The glow began to move and grow around Chibiabos as well, and everyone stood and stared at them as he concentrated, the glow becoming brighter, shifting and swirling around them. Charmian could even feel it in her own hand, which refused to let Thomas go; her tears started to die as she watched in awe, the glow at last slowly fading, Chibiabos holding his hand over Thomas's chest for another moment or so before carefully drawing it back, and letting out his breath.

Everyone paused. Then leaned over, all as one, to look into Thomas's face.

Continue:

Part 136: Goodbye, My Brother  (13+) It's time for a final goodbye between brothers... #997842 by Tehuti, Lord Of The Eight

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