Guardian Ghost
"Nope. Not there. Nope. Nuh-uh. Nope. Ugh, how do these guys find anything in here?"
Dynamite, Pinecone, and Dipper paused as they passed the kitchen area, a bit confused by the clanking sounds and Sky's mildly frustrated muttering. Pinecone opened the door and they peered inside to see Sky kneeling on the floor and sticking her entire body from the waist up inside a cabinet.
"Skylar? What are you doing?" Dipper giggled.
Sky pulled herself from the cabinet, sitting on her ankles. "I'm trying to find a can of oil. I didn't want to make a mess while I did it, but this place is so disorganized it doesn't seem possible to make it messier."
"Maru has a strange way of organizing things." Dynamite admitted. "If we try to change it, he'll throw a fit. But we generally keep the oil in the cabinet there or the fridge if you want it cold."
"Thanks." Sky moved to the cabinet above the stove, climbing onto the counter to grab a can.
"What do you need oil for?" Pinecone asked.
"I'm taking an offering to the forest spirits." Sky said. "I know, it sounds weird, but Windlifter told me all about them and I swear I saw one. I just want to show I'm grateful since I almost got lost on my last hike."
"Did you actually see one?" Dynamite asked as Sky jumped from the counter and to the floor.
"I thought I did." Sky said. "I could've sworn I saw someone in the forest, so I followed them."
"I'm sure, whoever they are, they'll enjoy the gift." Dipper nodded, the girls bidding Sky farewell as the human woman jogged into the forest behind the base. She kept going, weaving through the trees and hiking under the sun rays striking through the tree branches. It took maybe twenty minutes before she felt a safe enough distance from the base; ergo, away from prying eyes and ears.
Sky looked around. "Hey Nick? Nick! You out here?"
"Wherever you are, Cuervo."
Sky smiled broadly as a familiar figure materialized in front of her: a Hughes 500D helicopter painted white and navy blue, with a blue-and-gold helmet and a green visor. A logo on his side read "California Helicopter Patrol." "Hey Nick." Sky greeted.
"Hey there, Sky." Nick Loopin' Lopez greeted, chuckling. He noticed the young woman seemed to be hiding something behind her back. "Whatcha got there?"
"A surprise for you." Sky brought the can of oil around for Nick to see. "Ta-da!"
Nick's amber-colored eyes lit up. "All right! Awesome!"
Sky laughed, placing the can of oil before the ghost and opening it so he could drink. She laughed again when Nick immediately guzzled down at least half the can. "I didn't know ghosts could eat."
Nick paused in his drinking, sighing happily. "Well, we don't get hungry or thirsty, but boy do I miss the taste of a good can."
"So, does it go right through you?" Sky asked, sitting cross-legged before the ghost. "No pun intended, of course."
Nick laughed. "Not sure. I guess we'll find out in a little bit if ghosts need to go to the bathroom." The two of them laughed. Nick continued to constantly watch over Blade, as he had done for over two decades; but since discovering the Soul Connection, Nick also adopted Sky under his watchful eye. Sky was the only one who could see Nick, and he preferred to keep it that way for now. Nick greatly enjoyed the times Sky managed to set aside to talk to him, taking advantage of the quiet moments of fire season. They talked about everything from funny things happening around the base to Sky and Dusty's racing.
"Bonfire nights are fun." Sky bobbed her head. "Last night, we talked about some of our favorite memories on the base. Maru said he liked the 'mishaps' of my and Dusty's training time."
"I will admit the time you sprayed Blade with a fire extinguisher was very funny." Nick chortled.
"Blade didn't think so." Sky laughed. Nick laughed too, finally finishing his can of oil. A thought crossed Sky's mind, and her smile fell a little. "Hey, Nick?"
"Yeah?" Nick asked.
"Does…..uh….does Blade know that you watch over us?" Sky asked. "Like have you ever talked to him the way you talk to me?"
Nick's smile fell, his mood taking a depressing turn. He stared at the ground. "No…no, he doesn't."
"You've been watching him for over twenty years, and he has no idea?" Sky asked.
"I've never actually allowed him to see me." Nick admitted.
"Maybe you should." Sky shrugged.
"I don't think so." Nick said, still staring at the ground.
"Oh, come on." Sky encouraged. "If I get to talk to you, Blade should too. Blade should've been the first to be able to see you. I bet he'd be so happy to see his best friend again."
"I don't think so." Nick asked.
"Why wouldn't he?" Sky shrugged.
"What if he isn't happy to see me?" Nick said. "What if seeing my ghost forces him into a relapse of his PTSD?"
Sky blinked in surprise. "Blade has PTSD?"
"Had PTSD. Used to be really bad. It's gotten better over the years, but I'm afraid if I show myself, he'll just fall right back into it again." Nick said. "You weren't there, Sky. After I died, Blade was so angry and bitter all the time. He'd snap at everybody. He'd lock himself in his apartment and not come out for days. A year of that led into him having that cold personality for so long."
Sky looked to the ground, remembering when she first met Blade. His arctic blue eyes seemed to reflect his icy cold personality. She had noticed he definitely smiled more often now, except when he slips into Tough and Stern Fire Chief Mode. She looked back to Nick. "So why didn't you show yourself when he was having such a hard time?"
"Like I said, I was afraid of making it worse." Nick sighed. "He still blames himself. I can see it."
"But maybe you two seeing each other would be beneficial, for the both of you." Sky suggested.
"No." Nick sighed. "No, I really don't think so."
Sky sighed too. "But—"
"Look, I really don't want to talk about it, all right?" Nick said, his tone pleading. He perked up a bit. "I gotta go. Blade's going spot fire scouting and I gotta follow him." He forced a smile. "Thanks for the oil, Cuervo. You're a good friend."
Sky smiled back. "You're welcome." She waved as Nick disappeared, going off to follow Blade on his scouting. She stayed in her spot for another moment before taking the empty can of oil and returning to the base.
When Blade invited his Soul Connect partner to stay in his hanger during her and Dusty's time on the base, Sky insisted on the hammock and platform/ladder so Blade wouldn't accidentally roll off his bed and run her over in the middle of the night. Even though Blade constantly assured her he would never run her over, he let her hook up the hammock so she'd feel comfortable. Sky thought for sure this meant she wouldn't be able to roll out of bed.
She didn't expect one of Blade's rotors to clip her shoulder, though. Sky groaned painfully, rolling over in her hammock. "Dang it, Blade! There are better ways to wake me up in the morning." But as she wearily blinked her eyes open, Sky realized it wasn't morning; in fact, it was still the middle of the night. Sky sat straight up in her hammock and whipped her head around to Blade. The red-and-white AgustaWestland muttered in his sleep, jerking now and then and his eyes squeezed shut as though he were in pain.
Not another nightmare. Sky mentally groaned, but her concern for her friend spurred her into action. "Blade! Blade, hey!" She quickly got out of her hammock and climbed/jumped to the ground, approaching Blade and stopping near his nose. She slapped him lightly a few times. "Blade, wake up! You're having a nightmare! You gotta wake up!" But Blade continued to mutter, his words barely discernable, and he winced like someone beat him over the canopy with a baseball bat. Sky slapped him harder. "Blade! For heaven's sake, wake up!" Sky felt at a loss when Blade still didn't respond to her. The only other time she saw these kinds of reactions were when Skipper had nightmares. Unfortunately, the only way to fix it required something Blade hated.
But Sky couldn't wait any longer.
"Sorry about this, Blade." Sky sighed, pressing her hands to black section of Blade's muzzle. Their Soul Connection activated, and Sky's irises turned white as she synced herself with Blade's conscious.
The next time Sky blinked, she found her surroundings changed. Instead of being in Blade's hanger, she stood in the midst of a forest in flames. She shuddered briefly, remembering her time when she was in a coma after Dusty's crash. But she shook it off to search for Blade. The flames licked at her skin as she ran through the forest, but she felt no heat nor burns per the usual. Finally, she skidded to a halt at a scene that would terrify the common person. Blade stood in a burning clearing, decked out in his "CHoPs" paintjob and his hoist caught in a pile of fallen, flaming trees. Off to one side rested a beaten and damaged Nick, about to be crushed by a tree that tilted far to one side. On the other side was a river with whitewater rapids, and Sky could see Dusty trapped in the mix of water and logs. Sky looked behind her and inexplicably saw the main hanger at the base, currently aflame. But the amount of fire didn't scare her and it didn't seem to scare Blade. What seemed to put Blade over the edge was the screaming. Sky listened carefully, her heart clenching at what she heard: Nick's weakened pleas, Dusty's terrified calls, and the entire Air Attack team's jumbled mess of panicked shouts. Everyone shouted at once, but Sky could clearly pick up what they said.
Help us! Help us, Blade!
Blade, please!
Don't just stand there! Do something!
Don't let me die!
Please just help me!
Get us out of here!
Blade, do something!
Sky hurried to Blade, who struggled to free himself from the pile of burning trees. As she came closer, she finally heard his mutterings. Blade stuttered and murmured apologies, begging for forgiveness and desperately trying to get out. He looked close to tears, so weak and fragile, and Sky couldn't believe the brave and tough fire chief he knew could be this way.
"Blade!" She shouted, standing right in front of the helicopter. "Blade, you need to wake up! None of this is real! Everyone's okay, and you have to wake up and see that!"
Blade didn't seem to register what Sky said. He stared right through her, his eyes wide and panicky behind his green visor.
"Blade!" Sky slapped her hands on his muzzle, trying to force him to focus on her. "Wake up right now! It's okay! None of this is real!"
Blade's mutterings abruptly halted. "Sky. Sky, don't die. I'm trying to help. Please, don't die."
Sky looked around, but the scenery remained the same, and she had to wonder what Blade saw her as in this horrific nightmare. Blade suddenly squeezed his eyes shut, his mutterings become more feverish. Sky growled in frustration, turning away from Blade to glare at the nightmarish scene. "All right, that does it! This dream is under new management!"
Sky focused on her powers, and then she crossed her arms in an X in front of her. She stomped one foot against the ground and pushed her hands out. Instantly, a wave of light passed over the area and changed the flaming forest of death to a tranquil, living forest in Piston Peak. The sun stretched across a clear blue sky and the trees were a deep, dark green to add to the calmness. Sky nodded in satisfaction and looked back to Blade. He was still in his "CHoPs" paintjob and his eyes remained shut, but his muttering became quieter.
"Blade. Blade, it's okay now. I'm right here." Sky said soothingly, stepping up to the AgustaWestland. She placed a comforting hand on his muzzle, and another wave of light passed over him to change his paint to the red-and-white he wore today. His muttering stopped. Sky smiled softly. "Blade, open your eyes. I'm right here."
Blade hesitantly obeyed, and his icy blue eyes locked onto Sky's blue-green ones. "Raven?"
He's calling me by my nickname. That's a good sign. Sky thought. "Hey Blade."
When Blade realized he talked to Real Sky and not Dream/Nightmare Sky, he suddenly frowned. She did it again! He realized. "What have I told you about coming into my dreams without my permission?"
Sky frowned back, her hands on her hips. "What have I told you about talking to me when you're having nightmares like this?" She groaned, running her hand through her hair. "Blade, you said those dreams were getting better."
"They are." Blade said. "They're getting much more creative and a heck of a lot scarier."
Sky groaned again. "Blade….."
"Don't take that tone with me! I hate that tone!" Blade snapped. It was the tone Sky used that sounded pitiful, like she tried to say "you poor thing, what can I do to help?" Blade hated it. It made him feel like a helpless victim, but he wouldn't stand for it. "How do you know how to change dreams, anyway?" Blade grumbled.
Sky narrowed her eyes a bit. "I have quite a bit of practice from when I have to do the same thing for my Navy commander father when he has nightmares."
Blade went silent, having almost forgotten that Skipper fought in World War II. He must get night terrors as bad as Blade does, maybe worse. But he's a stay-at-home veteran now. He doesn't have to deal with the fear of losing another friend. Blade thought, sighing.
Sky's gaze softened. It did take some practice on her part, but for as long as she could remember she had the power to go into people's dreams and change them. Skipper got used to it after a while and even thanked Sky when she did it. Sparky certainly seemed grateful too. But Blade constantly pushed her away when she tried to help. Soul Connect partners don't do that. Sky thought, wanting to tell this to Blade but unsure how he would react. Besides, using their Soul Connection was a pretty weak excuse. So she tried a different approach as she relaxed herself. "This is the fifth nightmare this week, but somehow this seems like the worse one. You haven't had dreams like this for weeks. Why is that?"
Blade glanced up to her, then sighed. "Today's the anniversary of Nick's crash."
Sky cringed a bit. "Oh….." That explains a lot. She thought back to what Nick said about Blade's PTSD after his death. Did those feelings come back every year around this time? Even Skipper had recurring nightmares around the anniversary of what happened at Glendal Canal. To deal with that pain for so long...Sky couldn't even imagine it. As she stood with Blade in the dreamscape forest, she wondered if she should reveal Nick's presence on the base and how he always watched over Blade. But then she remembered Nick's reaction when she brought it up. Out of respect for Nick, Sky decided against it for now.
"I've had to deal with these nightmares for years. I can do it now like I've done it in the past." Blade said, interrupted Sky's thoughts.
"But you don't have to suffer through this alone." Sky insisted. "I can help."
"I don't need your help." Blade muttered bitterly.
Sky glared. "No, it's that you don't want my help." Blade didn't respond, looking away from her. Sky kept glaring, and she huffed. "Fine. Be that way. But let me tell you this, Blade: your dreams, your fears, they don't control you; you control them." With that, she turned on her heel and began marching off.
Blade suddenly realized she was leaving. "Whoa, wait a minute! How do I get out of this forest?"
"It's your head!" Sky called without looking back. "You do whatever you want!"
"But I don't know how to do any of that!" Blade protested. But Sky snapped her fingers and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Blade looked around, wondering what the heck he was supposed to do. "Sky? Sky! Sky, seriously, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do!" But Sky didn't reappear, leaving Blade to awkwardly stare at the scenery around him. He growled in irritation. "Women." He muttered. Well, at least this is better than my nightmares.
Sky blinked and found herself back in the hanger. Blade, still asleep, looked much more relaxed. But Sky only huffed as she marched back to her hammock. "Men. Typical. 'Oh, I'm going to handle this all by myself because I don't know when to accept help from the people who care about me.' Ugh!" She hunkered down into her hammock, crossing her arms and closing her eyes to sleep. After a minute, she heard muttering again, and she opened her eyes to look over at Blade. He didn't fidget so much as he did before, but he still squeezed his eyes shut and he muttered incoherently again. Sky's anger melted, and she quietly snuck back down towards him. She paused, knowing Blade definitely wouldn't want to see her in his dreams again. Sky stared at her hand. Times like this made her ponder her powers; were they some sort of supernatural force, like magic? Or was it something else? Sky never really knew. In all her research, she found there seemed to be a difference between magic and the powers of a psyche human.
No matter what they are, they let me help my friends. So I'm grateful. Sky thought. She gently placed a hand on Blade's side. "No more nightmares tonight." Sky whispered. "Have only sweet dreams and sleep peacefully."
Her powers obeyed her will, and Blade stopped muttering as he relaxed. He sighed softly, content, and Sky smiled as she gently patted Blade's side.
"Goodnight, Blade."
When Sky awoke the next morning, she almost fell out of her hammock scrambling to get out the door. She overslept by a lot; it was already eight o'clock. She normally woke up early to scout for spot fires with Blade. But when she finally got dressed, she found a note taped to the door from the fire chief.
Went scouting. Will be back later for lunch. Enjoy the extra hours of sleep.
Sky wasn't sure if this was Blade's way of thanking her or punishing her for invading his dreams last night. But she knew she was already too awake to go back to sleep, so she departed for the kitchen to make herself breakfast. The Smokejumper boys were still sound asleep, and everyone else went about their business and waited for the siren to go off (though hoping it wouldn't today; it was too nice out to fight fires). Sky made herself a sandwich, but only ate half of it before putting the rest away for lunch. She didn't really want to talk to anybody, so she walked off into the forest for time alone.
She didn't stay alone for long. "Hey Cuervo. ¿Qué pasa?"
Sky glanced over to see Nick floating beside her, apparently joining in on her hike. "Hey Nick."
"You okay?" Nick asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, I guess." Sky shrugged. "Just thinking about Blade." She looked to Nick with an almost pleading gaze. "Are you sure you can't show yourself to him?"
"We've been over this, Sky." Nick sighed.
"But talking to him will help him heal. I know it." Sky insisted. "I just witnessed one of the worst of Blade's nightmares. And I mean a really bad one. Usually his nightmares—"
"Don't talk to me about Blade's nightmares, Skylar Riley." Nick said in a firm, almost scolding tone. "You weren't the first one to witness them."
Sky paused, and she mentally kicked herself for not thinking of that sooner. Of course, since Nick was a ghost, surely he had the ability to go into Blade's head while he slept and see those dreams. "Then you have to understand. He's still scarred, like really badly. And I know that if you could talk to him, he'll get better."
"Why do you put so much faith in me?" Nick asked, confused and almost scared.
"Because you're his best friend." Sky said.
"Not anymore." Nick scoffed softly. "That's your job, now."
"No, my job is to work with him as a firefighter and be his Soul Connect partner." Sky corrected. "Blade's part of my family, and I'm going to do everything I can to help him. But there's only so much I can do. He told me himself that I can't replace his best friend."
Nick sighed. "I just….I don't want to hurt him."
"You don't know that you will."
"And if I do?"
"Isn't that a chance you're just going to have to take?"
Nick paused, staring off into space. Sky waited patiently for his response. Nick thought about the past several years he spent watching over Blade. Always a spectator. Never actually getting to tell Blade how proud he was that his best friend did such amazing things. As much as Nick wanted to deny it, he just couldn't. "I want to talk to him. To tell him that I think what he does is so cool." Nick breathed. He took in a breath and let it out slowly. Then his lips stretched into a warm grin. "Let's do it."
"Really?" Sky asked excitedly.
"Yeah. But we gotta plan it right. We don't wanna put him into shock." Nick said.
Sky nodded excitedly. "Yeah! We just have to think of a way to sort of reintroduce you two."
Blade woke up that morning conflicted. He hated it when Sky intruded on his nightmares, but at the same time he felt rather touched that she cared so much to help him in the middle of the night. So when he woke up to go scouting, he decided to let Sky sleep in. Hopefully a little time away from each other would help them cool down so they wouldn't be mad for the rest of the day.
After finding no fires or signs of a potential fire, Blade returned to base to find Sky waving to him in front of his hanger. She wore a warm grin, and Blade felt his nerves ease. Maybe she's not as mad as I thought. Or she's about to get back at me in the worst way. Blade landed before his hanger and Sky approached him. "All right, Raven. What's that grin for?"
"I can't just be smiling?" Sky shrugged, giggling.
"Nope." Blade said simply.
Sky laughed. "I'm just excited. I want to show you something."
Blade narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Show me what?"
"It's a surprise." Sky said in a sing-song voice. She laughed again when Blade raised an eye frame at her. "You'll like it. I promise."
Blade analyzed her with his gaze for a moment before sighing. "Fine. Where is it?"
Sky tried to keep a lid on her excitement, but she couldn't stop smiling as Blade flew her over the park to where they would meet Nick. Blade landed in a clearing, and Sky hopped out of his hoist hatch and led him through the forest. They followed the old train tracks for a while, but ultimately Sky's destination was Airway Meadow. When they came a short distance away, Sky stopped.
"The surprise is right through there." Sky gestured towards the trees. "Go on and see it and I'll catch up."
Blade looked back and forth between Sky and the meadow, currently hidden by the trees. "If one of the Smokejumpers comes out and tries to scare me—"
"Nobody is going to try and scare you!" Sky laughed. "Just go on. You'll like it."
Blade rolled his eyes. Just do it and get it over with or she'll never leave you alone. So he rolled off into the trees and towards the meadow. Sky bit her lip to keep herself from squeaking excitedly.
Waiting in the trees on the other side of the meadow, Nick couldn't stop murmuring to himself. "Okay. Okay, just focus, Lopez. You can do this." He glanced to the meadow, but Blade hadn't arrived yet. "What do I say? Uh, 'Hey Blade! It's your old partner who's now dead!' No, no, that's stupid. 'Blade, I know this is going to come as a shock, but it's me, Nick.' No, that's worse. Uh, maybe I could trying speaking Spanish? Nah, that'll just make it weird." Nick groaned. "Come on! You can do this. He's your best friend and you've been wanting to talk to him for ages. Just go out there slowly and let him react." He nodded to himself, fully prepared, and looked out as Blade entered the meadow.
Nick froze, staring at his best friend. Anything and everything he was about to say disappeared in an instant. Only Nick could see it, having watched Blade since the day he died. But he could see it clear as day: a new light in Blade's eyes. Those icy blue eyes didn't hold the same coldness they used to have. Ironically enough, they looked warm and comforting. These were not the eyes of a torn soul, tormented by nightmares. The arctic feeling of Blade's eyes seemed to have dulled to only a frost.
When Blade had disappeared, Sky hurried around to be on the other side of the meadow, hiding amongst some bushes. She could hardly contain her ecstasy, trying to imagine how Blade would react at first. But she didn't dare ruin the surprise. Besides, this was a special moment for Blade and Nick, and she wasn't going to spoil it. So she stayed in the bushes, waiting for the opportune moment to come out and see the two reunited friends.
But a few tense minutes passed, and Sky began to sense something was wrong. She could just see Blade's red-and-white paintjob through the foliage, so he was at the clearing. So where was Nick? Or were both helicopters so shocked they couldn't respond at all? Sky waited another thirty seconds before standing and making her way to the meadow.
"Hey Blade? Blade!" Sky called. She stepped into the clearing and blinked in surprise to find Nick nowhere in sight. But she masked her concern with a smile and began walking towards Blade. The AgustaWestland was still, staring at something behind Sky. Maybe Nick is here. Sky thought. "Hey Blade! Did you see—"
"Skylar don't move!" Blade said hurriedly and quietly, his tone panicked and his eyes wide.
Sky froze, her smile dropping. Blade rarely called her by her first name. He only did it when they were in a formal setting or when he was deadly serious about something. "What is it?" Sky whispered.
Blade didn't dare take his eyes off what he stared at. "Very slowly, and very calmly, turn around."
Sky swallowed, carefully shifting her weight to look behind her. She gasped softly in some fear when she saw a pair of wolves, both black-grey in color. The park saw a variety of wildlife, both machine and non-machine alike. But Sky hadn't been this close to wolves since the last time she went to the zoo with Sparky. These wolves growled at Sky, about thirty feet away but still close enough to be dangerous. Blade was another thirty feet away behind her. Sky fought to stay calm; wolves didn't come into town back at Propwash, so she would have to trust that Blade knew what to do.
"Blade?" Sky half-whispered, half-called.
"Don't. Panic." Blade ordered in a hushed tone. "Slowly walk towards me." Sky obeyed, stepping backwards carefully and not taking her eyes off the wolves. The dogs kept growling, but they hadn't moved yet. Sky tried to remember what she learned about wolf hunting patterns, but right now she could only guess that the wolves were planning how they could take them down. Blade started up his rotors and opened his hoist hatch, ready to fly out of there and to safety.
Suddenly, Sky's foot hit a thin, sturdy tree branch and she tripped to the ground. The wolves lunged, but Sky scrambled to her feet and used the branch like a baseball bat to smack one of the wolves aside. The second wolf came around and jumped up, but suddenly Blade's tail whooshed past Sky's head and knocked the second wolf to the ground. Sky noticed Blade's hoist cable and grabbed it, allowing him to pull her up and away from the wolves. Sky hurriedly climbed into the hoist hatch, the door sliding shut and plunging her into near-darkness. Sky panted a bit, willing her heart to stop pounding so hard.
"You all right, Raven?" Blade asked over the radio as he flew over the park.
"Fine. You?" Sky breathed a little heavily, seeming quite freaked out.
"Fine." Blade said. "What kind of surprise was that?"
"I wasn't trying to show you the wolves!" Sky snapped.
"Well what were you trying to show me?" Blade demanded.
Sky didn't answer for a minute. "I…..uh…..I wanted to show you a forest shrine I found. Windlifter told me all about them, and I thought I found one and I, uh, wanted to show you. I thought you would find it cool."
Blade blinked in surprise, and then he smiled a little. Maybe it seemed strange that Sky wanted to show him something like that, but it looked like she was just trying to make amends. "Hey, I'm sure it would've been cool."
Sky laughed a little. "Yeah."
"Listen, don't worry about it." Blade encouraged. "We gotta find Jammer and let him know about the wolves."
By the time Blade reached the lodge, Sky calmed down considerably and the two of them wandered inside to find Jammer. The lodge hadn't changed much in appearance since Cad's dismissal, but it definitely became quieter. Thankfully, Blade and Sky managed to catch Jammer in his office and reported the wolves.
"Oh yeah, we've gotten a couple other reports from the campers." Jammer said. "The wolf populations are growing in the park because a lot of them are moving here looking for prey."
"There's not enough in the rest of California?" Sky asked, mostly out of curiosity.
"It's been a dry year." Blade explained. "In the summer especially, less rain is less food for prey, which means less food for predators. That's when animals like wolves and mountain lions begin coming into more populated areas." Sky bobbed her head in understanding.
"We don't want to have to hurt the wolves, being a conservation park and all, but we might have a problem if they get to close to campers." Jammer said.
"Can't we capture them and send them to another park or something?" Sky suggested.
"Sure, but we don't want to move the wolves if they don't cause problems. It might interrupt their natural instincts and could cause more issues if we accidentally break up a pack." Jammer said. "I'll put up a notice for the campers to keep their food covered. In the meantime, Blade, tell your firefighters to keep an eye out. If the problem gets too severe, we'll need some help rounding up the wolves."
"Can do, Jammer." Blade nodded.
On the one hand, Sky was very happy that Blade wasn't mad at her anymore.
On the other hand, she was still quite irritated with a certain ghost.
So there she stood, in the middle of a clearing far from the base, with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face. "Nick Enrique Lopez!"
After a minute, Nick appeared with a rather nervous smile on his face. "Hey Cuervo! How's it going?" He chuckled nervously, a sound that transitioned into a groan when Sky's glare didn't waver. "You're mad at me, aren't you?"
"Quite." Sky said. "What happened back there?"
"I got scared." Nick admitted.
"Of Blade or the wolves?" Sky asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Both." Nick said.
Sky rolled her eyes. "Nick—"
"You weren't there!" Nick suddenly snapped, shocking Sky into silence. Nick sighed heavily, staring at the ground. "You weren't there to see what I saw. Maybe you don't even see it like I do."
"See what?" Sky asked.
"Just…..Blade….." Nick sighed. "He's different. Happier. Maybe he still blames himself for what happened, but he's actually starting to look like the Blade I remember. I know he can climb out of his grief and if he can't do it alone, he can do it with your help."
"Nick, I can only do so much." Sky protested. "I can change a bad dream into a good one without him knowing, but I can't do everything on my own even with a Soul Connection. I worry about Blade when Dusty and I return to Propwash Junction. There are nights when I can't sleep because I'm worried he's having another nightmare. I don't worry about Skipper because he's got Sparky there to talk to. Blade doesn't talk to anyone on the base about these things; I often have to force answers out of him. If you could talk to him when he needs it, be there and be that friend he can talk to, I know he will get better. I can't be you, Nick." Sky stepped closer to the ghost, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "I need your help. I need you to be there; Blade needs you to be there."
Nick stared at Sky. He wanted to scream in frustration and tell her just how much he wanted to reveal himself to Blade. But his desire to actually talk to his friend waged war with his fear of sending Blade into an even deeper pit of despair; one he could very well never climb out of. "I'm sorry, Cuervo. I truly am. But that's just not an option for me."
Sky opened her mouth to protest, but Nick disappeared before she could. Downtrodden, Sky sighed sadly and began walking back to base. It was mostly quiet; a fire hadn't broken out in a few days, which made everyone both relaxed and a little on edge. But the team simply did what they could to entertain themselves until the siren went off. Sky tried to do the same, spending the rest of the afternoon with Dusty to just talk. If Dusty noticed how down she appeared, he didn't push her to reveal what she thought about.
That night, sleep decided to evade Sky. No matter what she did, she couldn't seem to find a comfortable position in her normally cozy hammock. She glanced over to where Blade normally slept, but the helicopter was still out on his favorite cliff. So she climbed from her hammock and down to the floor, grabbing her guitar from the corner. She quietly opened the hanger door and looked around, but everyone else still slept soundly and Blade rested in his usual perch out on the cliff. Sky slipped out the door, walking around behind the hanger so she'd have a little more privacy. She settled down on the ground, leaning against a tree and tuning her guitar. It only took a moment for the right song to come to Sky. She listened to and played so much music that she could instantly find the right song to describe her feelings, like a musical mood ring. Sky sighed softly, strumming her guitar.
Blade had been making his way to his hanger to turn in for the night when he heard it. It sounded like the strumming of a guitar, and instantly he assumed Sky the player. What on earth is she doing up so late? Blade wondered, quietly following the sound of the music. He paused at the corner of the hanger, unseen by Sky. He listened as Sky continued to sing, unaware of her audience. Blade didn't really want to interrupt; Sky didn't sing often in front of the other firefighters (or anyone, for that matter), despite constantly being told what a beautiful voice she had. This would be one of the few opportunities Blade could get to listen to her. So Blade stayed quiet, listening to Sky's song.
Dusty once told the team how Sky always played music related to how she felt at the moment. Very rarely did she sing/play just a random song. So Blade found himself really thinking about Sky's song choice. One of the first things that came to his head was what Sky told him after he told her about Nick's death: that she wouldn't leave him alone with his pain because she thought he didn't deserve it.
Blade stared at the ground for a moment before turning and retiring to his hanger. He settled on his bed, ready to sleep. But a few minutes later, the door opened and Sky slipped in. She and Blade locked eyes and Sky paused. They stared at each other for a minute before Sky returned her guitar to the corner where she kept it. Then she walked over and sat down beside Blade, gently leaning back to rest her back against the side of Blade's muzzle. The two of them sat in silence for a long moment.
Blade spoke first. "I never asked you to look out for me."
"You never had to." Sky said with a small shrug.
Another round of silence.
"I tell a lot of horror stories from my time in the orphanage." Sky said. "Some people might think I'm exaggerating, but that's because they didn't feel what I felt when I was a kid. The fear that nobody would ever love me. How angry I got when people stared at me in pity." Sky pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them a little. "The nightmares I woke up from, and the nights I spent cowering in bed because I didn't have anyone to comfort me." She sighed, waiting for a response from Blade. But the helicopter was silent, allowing her to continue. "It's a scary feeling, and it hurts. It hurts a lot. I have a new family, and I don't want any of them to feel that kind of pain. Especially not Skipper…and you….." She stared at the ground. "If I can do something to help prevent that kind of pain, I'm going to do it. It's not fair for someone to be left alone with something that hurts them."
Blade didn't take his eyes off Sky, and silence echoed around them. Then, he smiled and nuzzled the girl lovingly. Sky turned towards him, staring hopefully. Blade chuckled a little. "You're one special kid, Sky. Your family is lucky to have you."
Sky stared at Blade for a moment before she smiled broadly. She laughed lightly and she hugged him as best as she could, resting her head on his muzzle. The two of them fell silent again, this time peaceful and content.
Outside the window, unseen by the duo, Nick watched the tender scene with misty eyes. He longed to be in there with him, but he couldn't force himself to move. Tears appeared in his eyes, but they disappeared when they dripped off him. Finally unable to bear it any longer, Nick disappeared to cry alone.
As he had done for years.
For the next the week, things seemed to go back to normal. The team fought a couple fires and the wolves didn't go near the campers. But Sky also noticed Nick didn't come to see her anymore. She hoped he wasn't too mad, and did what she could to focus more on her job.
Like today, when she joined Blade for some spot fire scouting. She rode in the hoist hatch, Blade keeping the door open this time so she could see everything. She was careful to keep her harness attached to the winch, leaning out the hatch a ways to look around.
"Anything from you're vantage point?" Blade asked.
"Nope! What about you?" Sky asked.
"Nothing." Blade said. He took another careful look around, making a mental note that they flew over Augerin Canyon now. The bridge seemed empty save for two human boys and a car, all of them looking about teenager age based on their size. Blade narrowed his eyes. "Wait. What are they doing?"
Sky pulled a miniature telescope from her pocket and looked towards the bridge. The teenagers sat almost dead center of the bridge, messing with a cylindrical object. "It looks like some sort of model rocket."
Blade rolled his eyes. "Oh great."
"This happen before?" Sky asked, putting the telescope away.
"Not this specifically, but you always find stupid teenagers doing stupid stuff." Blade sighed. "Think you can get a picture of them or something so we can tell Jammer?"
"You got it." Sky nodded, pulling out her cell phone.
Blade began flying towards the bridge, aiming to hover above the boys. "Hey! You down there!"
"Oh Chevy!" one of the boys yelped. "Run for it!" They hurried off, but not before Sky could snap a picture of them. Then she noticed something, zooming in with the camera phone to check it out.
"They lit the fuse." Sky groaned, putting her phone away.
"We'll just let it go off and go find the rocket before an animal does." Blade said, beginning to rise out of the canyon.
Suddenly, the rocket shot up into the air with much more force and sparks than a normal model rocket. Sky's eyes widened. "That's not—"
Too late. What they thought was a model rocket turned out to be a firework, which exploded right in front of Blade. Lights burst in front of his vision and all he heard after the boom was a bunch of ringing. Sky screamed, jumping back to avoid the sparks. A downdraft pushed the helicopter from the sparks and smoke, but he was still so disoriented he couldn't get his bearings. But he still had enough conscious thought to close his hoist hatch and keep Sky safe. Everything became a swirl of colors, and he fought to get control of his rotors. Meanwhile, Sky tumbled about inside the hoist hatch, yelping and grunting in pain. It finally stopped after several seconds, and Sky landed painfully on her side. She groaned, pushing herself upright and moving her limbs a bit to make sure nothing broke. Thankfully, everything was intact but sore.
"Blade?" Sky called. "You all right?" But Blade didn't respond, not even over the radio. Sky made her way to the door and pulled an emergency lever on one side, installed by Maru for rare situations like this. The door popped open enough for Sky to push it a ways more and let her squeeze out. She found Blade crash-landed on the rocky shore of the river at the bottom of the canyon. Blade didn't look too bad apart from some new dents in his retardant tank and the fact that he was out cold. Sky gently placed a hand on Blade's side, activating their Soul Connection. Thankfully, she easily felt pulses of life that indicated the helicopter would be all right. But he was completely unresponsive, and his consciousness didn't seem active. Sky winced in sympathy. "Oh man, Blade. You really are out cold." She laughed softly, patting Blade's side. "You're going to have one heck of a headache when you wake up."
"Sky!"
Sky let out a small scream, jumping and spinning around. She sighed heavily and put a hand to her chest. "Nick! Oh, geez, you almost gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry." The ghost said sheepishly.
"What are you doing here?" Sky asked. "I haven't seen you all week."
"Just because I'm not going to show myself to Blade doesn't mean I'll stop watching over him and you." Nick said. "I was there when you guys got hit, and I had to do something."
Sky glanced to Blade, noting the rocks he rested on. The last time he crash-landed, it was into dirt and still left more damage than this. Sky looked back at Nick. "You cushioned the fall?"
Nick looked a little sheepish again. "Well, you know, I can only do so much since I'm a ghost. But I wasn't going to let you guys get hurt."
Sky smiled broadly. "Thanks, Nick. Really. Blade's going to be okay because of you." She glanced up to the walls of the canyon. "Right now, we just have to worry about getting out of here."
"Can't Blade just fly out?" Nick suggested.
"Not here." Sky said regretfully. "See those rock pillars? They're way too close for comfort, even if they're just outside of Blade's rotor span. We could try flying, but one wrong move and his rotors get sheared off, and then Maru will kill us."
"So you're stuck here?" Nick asked, panicked.
"No." Sky said, calming the ghost. "I'm just going to call Windlifter to get us to a clearer spot to take off. Better safe than sorry." She readjusted her wire headset, pulling the microphone closer to her mouth. She twisted the knob on the radio, clipped to her jeans, until she found the right channel. "This is Jolly Wrench Riley calling Windlifter. Blade and I had a minor crash and now we're stuck at the bottom of Augerin Canyon. Requesting airlift support, over." Sky listened for Windlifter's response. But all that came back was a soft static sound. Sky tried again. "Windlifter, come in. This is Skylar Riley, requesting an airlift for Blade out of Augerin Canyon. Blade's all right, but we need some help." Again, only static returned, and Sky began to feel anxious.
"What's wrong, Cuervo?" Nick asked.
"Windlifter's not responding. Hang on." Sky switched the radio channel. "Maru, it's Skylar. Blade and I are stuck at the bottom of Augerin Canyon and we need airlift support. Do you read me? Over." Static. "Maru, come in!" Static. Sky switched through several channels. "Patch? Patch, do you read me? Dipper? Dusty? Cabbie? Smokejumpers? Does anyone read me? Over." Sky strained for any sound, but nothing came. She inspected her radio, but found nothing wrong with it.
"What is it?" Nick asked, definitely growing more and more worried by the second.
Sky looked around. "The walls of the canyon must be blocking the signal. I can't get to anyone."
"Well, what if we wait until Blade wakes up and you guys can hike out?" Nick suggested.
"I don't know." Sky said uncertainly. "I don't want to have to force Blade to try and maneuver over these rocks. The river's too deep; if he falls in for any reason, he could get even more stuck and drown. Besides, we have no idea how long he'll be out cold, and I'd like him somewhere safe until he does wake up."
"So what are you going to do?" Nick asked.
"I'm going to hike out myself and call Windlifter. He can pick me up and we'll return for Blade." Sky said. "Meanwhile, I want you to stay with him and make sure he's okay."
"Me?" Nick half-squeaked. "But what am I supposed to do?"
"Just watch him. Make sure he doesn't get any more injured for any reason." Sky said. "Believe me, I wouldn't be leaving him here if you weren't around to keep an eye on him."
Nick glanced back and forth between the raven-haired woman and his unconscious friend. He sighed in resignation. "Okay. I'll make sure nothing happens to him."
"You're the best, Nick." Sky said with a smile. "I'll be back as soon as I can!" She turned and hurried off, jumping/climbing over rocks and following the river towards the entrance of the canyon.
Nick looked to Blade, sighing. "You'll be okay, hermano. Just hang in there."
Several minutes passed. Blade didn't move, but Nick could hear his breathing. Nick desperately tried to prevent himself from getting anxious, reminding himself that Sky would be back with Windlifter any minute now. Secretly, he hoped Blade would stay unconscious until then. He didn't want to have to worry about what he would do if Blade woke up and started freaking out because Sky was missing. He could already hear his friends' worried remarks. Where is she? Did she fall into the river? Has she drowned? I gotta find her!
"You always were the protective one." Nick murmured, staring at Blade. "Just hold on, okay? Everything's going to be all right." Blade still didn't move, and Nick sighed. "If I were alive, I could actually help you. We couldn't attached your hoist to my landing gear and I would've helped pull you out through the river. But I can't. All I could do was cushion your fall. I'm useless!" He stared at the ground, wishing he could do something, anything more for his friend.
Nick tensed up when he suddenly heard growling, and he whipped around. He gasped a bit in horror to see a pack of wolves, including the two that attacked Sky and Blade last week. The wild dogs eyed Blade hungrily. Non-machine wolves couldn't eat metal, but they could get hungry enough to try and dig through the metal to reach the edible internal organs.
"Hey!" Nick barked, putting himself between the wolves and Blade. "Back off ya mutts!" The wolves snarled and barked, ready to attack. Nick hardly thought about anything except one thing: protect Blade. He glared, enraged, and willed himself to become more visible and tangible. One of the wolves lunged, but Nick hovered in the air and spun around, smacking the wolf aside with his tail. Another one lunged for Nick this time, but the ghost body-slammed the dog into a rock. The other wolves began making their way towards Blade, but Nick was quick to knock them aside. The wolves were persistent, constantly trying to reach Blade or push Nick back. The ghostly helicopter never let the wolves get less than five feet from his friend. Several minutes of fighting passed, with the wolves yelping often as Nick slammed them against rocks. Soon, they backed off, growling/whimpering at Nick.
Nick glared hard, standing protectively over Blade. He emphasized every word in his sentence. "I said back off." He didn't take his eyes off the wolves, watching them turn and run off to find food elsewhere. Nick nodded in satisfaction and turned to look over Blade. But he did his job right; Blade didn't have a scratch on him that came from the wolves. Nick sighed in relief. He's safe. He's okay.
Then, Blade moaned softly. Nick froze, preparing to turn invisible again. But something stopped him. He felt a pull in his head, a thought he pushed out time and time again. Show yourself. Let him see you. Let him know you're there. But he couldn't.
I'm not ready. Nick thought. I can't do it. But as Blade fought to regain his consciousness, Nick found he still couldn't force himself to disappear. A memory popped up in his mind. One night, he had watched Sky exit the main hanger after a few "CHoPs" episodes, but she must've heard something because she wandered around the side of the hanger. Nick, still invisible, followed her to find Blade under one of the hanger windows, well-hidden from the rest of the team inside. It took a bit of quiet coaxing from Sky to get Blade to explain why he was out there (and why he hadn't busted the team for watching "CHoPs" episodes behind his back).
I'm just listening to Nick's voice. Blade had explained. Wouldn't want to forget it, you know?
He had said it so nonchalantly, and maybe that's why it hurt Nick even more than what he said. As much as Nick tried to deny it, tried to force himself to stay hidden because he thought it was best for Blade, he wanted so badly to actually talk to him. He wanted to talk to his best friend and let him know that not once did he ever blame Blade for his death.
Blade finally won in his fight against another round of unconsciousness. Sky…..Sky, where are you? But Sky wouldn't respond to his thoughts, which meant one of three things:
One, she was unconscious too.
Two, she somehow got thrown out of the hoist hatch.
Three, she got out of the hoist hatch and ran for help.
Or, though Blade didn't want to jump to conclusions, Sky was dead. But he had a feeling that wouldn't be the case, and he struggled to open his eyes so he could get a sense of how long he had been out. The light hurt his eyes a bit, but he just blinked a few times to get used to it. He had to blink a few more times to turn the blur of colors into a clear image of his surroundings, but when he could finally see he noticed he rested next to the river at the bottom of Augerin Canyon with a….with…
Blade blinked a bit, narrowing his eyes in confusion. That paintjob. That warm grin. Those bright, amber eyes. "Nick?"
Nick sighed, feeling all the stress he experience from the past couple weeks fall away like leaves in autumn. "Hey hermano."
Blade stared with his eyes half-open, his brain not quite registering everything. Was it a hallucination? Or was he really seeing his best friend in front of him? It certainly looked like Nick. He couldn't stop smiling, and…..tears? Nick was crying? Whatever from?
Nick jumped a bit when he heard a familiar sound of rotors in the air, and he vanished.
"Nick?" Blade croaked, looking around.
"Blade!" Sky called as Windlifter lowered her and a rescue harness into the canyon. Maru had hooked up longer cables to the harness to Windlifter could make it into the canyon without damaging his rotors and still retrieve Blade. Sky jumped off the harness and hurried to Blade. "Hey! You're awake. Good. Are you doing all right?"
Blade didn't answer, murmuring under his breath. "Nick…"
Sky paused. "What?" She leaned down a little closer to his mouth to hear him over Windlifter's rotors chopping in the air.
"Nick…" Blade murmured, sounding confused. "I…..I saw…Nick….."
Sky froze a bit, and then smiled knowingly. She began hooking the fire chief into the rescue harness. "Don't worry, Blade. Just hang tight and we'll get you out of here."
Maru gave Blade a clean bill of health, but soon after began complaining about how he damaged his retardant tank. Blade rolled his eyes, apparently not affected by his recent crash. He even radioed Jammer after Maru's checkup to report the teenagers.
But as the day wore on, Sky noticed times when Blade seemed deep in thought. It seemed something puzzled him greatly, and Sky could only guess Blade actually saw Nick. Blade wouldn't tell anyone about it, but he couldn't stop thinking about what he thought he saw. It looked so much like Nick. But it couldn't be real. It had to have been a hallucination. Yeah, maybe that was it. He hit his head and thought he saw his long-dead best friend.
But it seemed so real.
That night, Blade perched out on his favorite cliff—as he did most every night—and tried to balance looking out for fires with thinking about what happened in the canyon. Sky watched him from her vantage point at their hanger, leaning on the railing of the porch-like area outside the hanger doors. After a while, Nick appeared beside her, the two of them silently staring at Blade for a moment.
"I'm gonna go talk to him." Nick decided.
"You don't have to if you don't want to." Sky shrugged. "I shouldn't have tried to force you into it before. You weren't ready, and I should've respected that. So I'm sorry."
"Thanks, Cuervo." Nick said appreciatively. "But you were right about one thing: Blade might actually need me. With your help, he's been able to start climbing out of that hole he's dug himself into. Maybe…maybe I can give him that last little push."
Sky smiled softly. "You decide what you want to do, Nick. Goodnight." She turned and disappeared into the hanger.
Nick looked out to Blade, and he took in a deep breath. He let it out slowly, settling into his decision. Then he began hopping over towards Blade. When he lived, the sound of his landing gear hitting the ground would always make a soft clanging noise; now, he was only silent, and he began thinking of ways he could announce his presence without causing Blade to freak out. Nick stopped right behind Blade, opening his mouth to speak.
"Hey Nick."
Nick jolted. "Caramba, Blade! Casi me dio un ataque de motor!"
When Blade finally responded after a long moment, his voice was so soft Nick almost didn't hear him. "So you are here."
Nick sighed, settling down next to Blade. The two of them sat in silence, staring out at the vast forest of the park. Nick wondered what he could say at that moment, but nothing really came to mind. Everything that did come to mind didn't seem like a good conversation starter. So he just waited for Blade to begin speaking.
"Soon after Cad Spinner cut our budget for his lodge restoration project, he came to us complaining that someone on the base kept dumping snow onto him." Blade said. "This continued for most of the winter, but nobody on the base claimed to be doing it, and Cad couldn't prove it was any of us. Even the Smokejumpers and Maru adamantly claimed they had nothing to do with it." Blade looked over to Nick, his expression unreadable. "Was that you?"
Nick smirked. "You better believe it, hermano. Nobody messes with my favorite firefighters and gets away with it." He locked his amber eyes onto Blade's icy blue ones, now alight with a new warmth. "Not once did I leave your side, Blade. You always watched out for me, so I made it my job to do the same."
Blade looked down. "You're not…you know…trapped here, are you? I mean, can you not move on or something?"
Nick shook his nose a bit. "No idea. I guess I could move on if I wanted, but I chose not to. I wanted to stay with my best friend."
Blade smiled, one of the biggest smiles he had ever worn in many years. "You're here. Chrysler, you're actually here."
Nick sighed, relieved to see this positive reaction. "And here I was worried coming back would be a bad thing."
"You kidding?" Blade chuckled softly. "I really missed you, partner."
Nick wanted to start crying again, but he successfully held back his happy tears. "Man, I've missed hearing that."
"Told ya so."
The two helicopters jumped and looked down a bit to see Sky sitting cross-legged between them. "Skylar!" Nick whined exasperatedly.
"When did she get there?" Blade wondered aloud.
Sky laughed, covering her mouth with her hands. Nick glared a bit with a small pout. "Kid, I know where you sleep at night!"
Sky rolled her eyes. "Nick, everyone on this base knows where I sleep at night." She stood and ran off before Nick could snap at her again. Nick rolled his eyes, but smiled when Blade laughed.
"That's one special kid you got for a Soul Connect partner." Nick sighed.
"Yeah." Blade nodded in agreement. "While you're out here, can I ask you about a couple other things?"
"I'm not going anywhere." Nick chuckled.
Blade smiled warmly. "All right. One Halloween, the Smokejumpers were convinced their hanger was haunted. Said things kept falling over and they heard strange noises at night." Blade raised an eye frame. "Care to explain?"
Nick chuckled, albeit nervously. "Yeah, about that….."
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this one!
Nick's Spanish (gotten from Google Translate): "Caramba, Blade! Casi me dio un ataque de motor!" means "Geez, Blade! You nearly gave me an engine attack!"