antaurilover685, who owns Kairi, asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)
Skylanders Trap Team belongs to Activision. I only own Rachel.
Hear The Thunder Roar Inside You
Kairi had been in the library with Thumpback, resting against his side as the giant Skylander was reading a book of sea legends to her. He had a feeling she just wanted to hear his voice, but didn't mind as he loved her. Crossbones then came in and smiled at the two. "Hey, you guys might want to get into the main building," he said. "We've got some bad weather coming."
Seeing how large the clouds were getting, Kairi began to feel a bit queasy as she followed Thumpback and Crossbones to the Main Hall and to one of the large rooms where some of the others were gathered. She spotted Rachel sitting next to Bouncer and went over to her. "Hey, Rach," she said.
"Hello, Kairi," said the Tech Portal Master with a smile before looking concerned. "You okay, hon? You look like you ate something sour."
"Well, Crossbones mentioned we have a storm coming," said the other girl. "You don't think there'll be thunder, do you?"
Rachel glanced out the window and saw the clouds were really big and getting quite dark. "There might be," she said.
Kairi gulped and started shaking. Crossbones quickly helped her over to the couch Thumpback was sitting on. "Kairi?" He asked. "You okay?"
Just then, thunder rumbled and Kairi let out a startled cry and dove underneath one of the tables that had a long tablecloth covering it. Everyone looked surprised until Rachel went over and lifted up the tablecloth to reveal a badly shaken Kairi. Another thunderclap sounded and Kairi looked ready to cry. "Hon, are you scared of the thunder?" Rachel asked gently.
She got a nod in response, but the girl didn't move from under the table. Echo came over and gently nudged her Portal Master. "We're safe in the Academy, Kairi," she said gently.
Thunder rumbled a bit louder this time before a huge thunderclap sounded right over their heads, making them all jump and Kairi practically plowed over both Rachel and Echo as she ran to get out of the room, but crashed into someone who caught her. "Whoa," said a new voice gently.
Kairi looked up and saw the face of a massive Skylander that looked like a dark thundercloud and she lost it, letting out a scream that shook the windows just before another thunderclap sounded sharply.
Frantic now, Kairi raced out of the room and fled up one of the staircases, before flying back down it to head for the Skaletones' Showdown room, but it was dark and she stumbled on something, falling down and curling up, covering her ears to block out the thunder.
She was shaking so much that she didn't feel someone gently pick her up and carry her back to the Main Hall. Rachel, seeing Thunderbolt had Kairi and she was safe, was relieved and then saw the Air Trapper wink at her and she nodded.
Kairi felt someone gently place her down. "Kairi," said the same voice she had run in to and she shook as she looked up at Thunderbolt. He sighed, setting aside his sword and reaching a hand towards the terrified girl, his fingers gently pressing on pressure points in Kairi's back and shoulders. Kairi's shaking stopped when he did so and she looked up at him fearfully before curling up into a ball and he again pressed gently on those same pressure points, forcing her to calm down.
Settling down beside her on the couch, Thunderbolt patiently continued trying to calm the Water Portal Master down, now rubbing her back. Finally, Kairi relaxed and looked up at him, still a bit unsure, but a bit less frightened. Another thunderclap sounded right then, making Kairi instantly afraid and she felt the Air Trapper lift her up into his arms and she clung to him. "Kairi, why does the thunder scare you?" He asked gently.
Wondering how he knew her name, she whimpered a little. "It's so loud," she said as she shivered like crazy. Thunderbolt began gently stroking the girl's brown hair and she looked up at him, hoping she hadn't offended him, but he smiled gently at her.
"I'm not offended," he said gently. "But your friends are worried about you."
Kairi looked away. "I…I didn't want them to find out," she said.
Thunderbolt stood up and set the girl down on her feet. "Come with me," he said warmly and took her up to the Observatory, adjusting the huge telescope to look at the clouds. "Ever seen the inside of a thundercloud?"
She shook her head and he gestured to the telescope and she looked through it to see what the cloud looked like. She was surprised to see it was mostly just wispy condensation that was packed tightly together, not letting any sunlight through. Lightning then flashed and she braced herself.
"One…two…three…four…five…six…seven," she heard Thunderbolt count before they heard thunder rumble a bit more quietly this time. "The storm's seven miles away from here."
Kairi looked at him. "How do you know that?" She asked.
"I counted the time from the lightning flash to the thunder clap," he said. "Each second that passes between the two, that's how many miles away the storm is."
Kairi saw a flash of lightning and began counting, reaching eight before she heard the thunder rumble, but she didn't find it as startling now. She counted again and thunder sounded after five seconds. "Hmm, sounds like it's happening in different areas," Thunderbolt said thoughtfully.
He saw Kairi take a deep breath and count the time between the flash of lightning and the thunder clap, and each time she did, she was expecting the thunder to come, so she didn't feel as scared, but she still jumped a bit and let out a sigh. "This is going to take a little getting used to," she said before looking sad and gazing up at Thunderbolt. "I'm sorry I seem like a coward."
He gently tilted her chin up with a gentle hand. "You're not a coward at all, Kairi," he said. "You're one of the bravest girls I know."
"How can you say that when you just witnessed my fear of thunder?" She asked incredulously.
"Because it takes a brave person to be a Portal Master," Thunderbolt said gently. "You might not be fearless, but you are no coward."
Kairi looked away. "But, I'm so scared of thunder," she said honestly.
"And you are facing that fear now," he pointed out gently. "You don't have as much fear now as you did before, correct?"
She gave it some thought. "I'm still a bit afraid of it," she admitted.
Thunderbolt smiled and lifted her into his arms again, making her jump in surprise. "No Portal Master or Skylander is completely fearless, Kairi," he said gently.
"He's right," said Master Eon as he appeared in the room. "To truly be brave, you have to not only face your fear, but admit that fear too."
Seeing what they were getting at, she nodded understandingly. "I guess you guys are right," she said.
Thunderbolt smirked and the next thing Kairi knew, she was running and giggling as the Air Trapper chased her, trying to capture her to tickle her. He managed to poke her sides and stomach playfully as she managed to escape capture and she laughed, racing back into the other room where the others were waiting.
Rachel lifted her head a bit when she heard Kairi run in and saw her dive behind Thumpback, who was a bit surprised when he saw her giggling a bit. "Um, Kairi, Thunderbolt doesn't give up that easily," Rachel said.
"Give up on what?" Bouncer asked her curiously.
Rachel saw that coming and smirked. "Oh, no," she said. "I know that question all too well."
Kairi was shocked. "He tickles you too?" She asked in amazement.
Rachel practically leapt two feet in the air as she jumped off the couch before Bouncer could grab her, but Thunderbolt caught her. Kairi was about to run again when Bouncer caught her and traded her to Thunderbolt for Rachel.
Thunderbolt smirked at Kairi and started tickling her like crazy, making her laugh. "I believe I hear thunder roaring inside you, Kairi," he said teasingly.
Rachel was trapped in Bouncer's arms as he tickled her stomach for a bit before letting her up as they watched Thumpback join Thunderbolt in tickling the Water Portal Master, who managed to escape the two and raced towards Bouncer and Rachel, who both chuckled.
"You okay from earlier, Kairi?" Rachel asked in concern.
"Yeah," the other girl said. "But, I still don't like thunderstorms. No offense, Thunderbolt."
"None taken," he said, smiling at her.
Rachel smiled a little. "I don't care too much for thunderstorms either, but they're part of the ecosystem," she said. "Also, water tends to rust metal."
That made them all chuckle in amusement as Kairi saw the storm was still around them, but all she did now was jump a little when the thunder sounded. She felt Thumpback pull her close to him and she snuggled into his side as they all settled down again to wait out the storm before going on more adventures.
Please leave a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418