Author's note: Again, I'm so sorry I haven't been writing. There's a lot going on right now, like I'm moving to college in a few days, and such. (Wow, I've been making a lot of excuses.) Though, I want you to understand that writing this isn't a burden or a hindrance on my life. Storywriting's one of my many passions, and I love doing it. It's just I haven't had much time for it. Anyway, sorry for my big ol' rant. Enjoy!
What is 4 if you raise it to the power of 3?
"Did you really go to the spirit world?"
"How long were you there?"
"Did you talk to anyone?"
"Did you still have your scar?"
Mel had been bombarded with questions about the spirit world from Tera ever since she had revealed that she had been there.
"Wow, Tera. I've never seen you this... energetic before." Said Mel in a slightly jaunty tone. After realizing how she was acting, Tera regained her composure and asked her another question.
"So, what was it like?" She asked. Mel looked around the room and found that everyone else had turned their way, as if they were also curious to know the answer. Everyone began noticing Mel's hesitance to speak of the subject.
"Come on! What happened over there?" Asked Squirt in a lighthearted fashion.
Mel formed a brief reply. "Well, I didn't have any metal on me; I was in my complete form. I saw a lot of other dogs, and I talked to Blake, and I..." Everyone suddenly started shouting with surprise.
"What!? You spoke with my brother!?" Asked Ty.
"Fascinating! Trans-dimensional communication!" Exclaimed Strudel.
Tera didn't say anything. She remained motionless, simply pondering the thoughts passing through her head.
Everyone finally quieted back down when Xavier asked her to continue. Mel began describing her experience as best as she could.
"Well, there was darkness everywhere, and there was a long white staircase. When I climbed it, that's when I arrived. I spoke with Blake for a while... and then..." Mel's face grew long. Everyone leaned in closer, itching with anticipation. But, Mel couldn't go on. She ran to Xavier, hugged him tightly, and began a gentle sob.
"It was so scary!" She wept. "Everything was crumbling, and the black dog... he ran back to my..." Mel could no longer talk. Xavier hugged her back, and everybody else gathered closer to her in empathy. Lucky thought about giving words of consolation, but everyone agreed that it would probably be best to just let the moment pass.
After a few minutes, Mel finally felt comfortable enough to stand up straight again. When she did, Lucky approached her and bent down. "It's okay, it's over now. You're safe with us. No one can hurt you now. We will find a way out of here." He said softly. Mel looked up at him.
"How?" She asked, bearing a more positive mood now. Lucky stood back up. "That's exactly what we're going to figure out now." He replied. Hearing this, the Pound Puppies stood up, waiting for instruction. "Mel, are you comfortable with going to the spirit world again?" After thinking for a bit, she nodded her head. "Great! Mel, how about you go back to try and get some help? We'll all work on a plan here."
Mel accepted her responsibility. She didn't hesitate to sit down and begin to concentrate. Everyone around her watched in curiosity as Mel suddenly became as inanimate as a stone. They heard one deep exhale from her after her eyes slowly closed. Lucky suddenly spoke up. "Alright, gang. And you too, Xavier, Ty, and Tera. It's time to do our part. Let's go dogs, go!"
Mel found herself lying in the deep black abyss once again. She slowly opened her eyes and gazed out into the white mist. There was something she found different about the place, however. It seemed more... frightening. She used to look upon the other world with excitement, curiosity, and anticipation. Now, all she felt was dread, something she wanted to escape as quickly as possible.
She actually found it quite unfortunate. She was saddened by the fact that a medium of such joyful memories of friendship and reunion were now overshadowed by a dark sense of irrational fear. She knew she was not in harm's way at the moment, but she couldn't help but feel slight effects of the post-trauma caused by her previous experience.
She spotted the white staircase without much searching. As she approached it, her attention was drawn to its appearance; it looked completely unscathed. She wasn't really surprised. Instead, she was rather fascinated by it.
She began to climb, regaining more and more confidence with each step. She eventually reached the top, laying eyes upon the same sight she had always seen when she came. She just didn't feel as awed by the sight anymore. She once again reflected how a beautiful and majestic memory was permanently tainted by a negative emotion.
Suddenly, Mel heard a voice. "Mel! Thank God, you're okay!" Nothing soothed Mel's woes like hearing the sound of her best friend once more. She saw Blake's spirit running toward her with a large grin on his face. Mel greeted him with open arms, and when Blake finally reached her, he jumped into them and hugged her tightly. "I'm so glad you're safe! What happened to you after the fall?" He said. They let go of each other and stood up.
"Thanks, Blake. Unfortunately, we're going to have to postpone the small talk until further notice. I'm actually here with more urgent matters." Said Mel.
Blake immediately looked down with a glum expression. "That black dog... he took your body, right?" He said, looking back up at her.
"Yeah, how did you know?" She replied.
"Because when that happens, you're essentially a ghost. You're still using your own body, which allows you to stay on Earth. However, that dog was the one that made it down the staircase. Therefore, he's the one that made it into it, so he's the one that controls it."
"Well actually, I got my body back. But how was it that the black dog was visible to everyone, but I wasn't?"
"Yeah, it's because powerful spirits have other abilities. They have the ability to appear to others, and even to interact with objects."
"Well, I came here to seek your help. The black dog is threatening to kill all of us if we don't give him Tera's body! What do we do? If we do nothing, many lives would be at risk."
"Well, the only thing I can do for you is give you some knowledge about how spirits behave. There are two ways to remove a spirit from a body. The first is to damage the host. If the body the spirit is using is no longer fit to hold a spirit, it will be immediately sent to the spirit world. The other way is to force it out. Those who have been to the spirit world before can perform a sort of astral push. This will effectively force a spirit back to the spirit world. However, it does not..."
Before Blake could say anything else, Mel began hearing an intense crackling noise, as if a telephone was losing connection. The noise didn't seem to have an origin; it wasn't coming from anywhere. The noise was interrupting Blake. Mel covered one of her ears and paced nervously.
"Mel? Are you okay?" Asked Blake, concerned. Mel shrugged. Just then, flashes of black appeared in Mel's vision. It was as if she was losing connection with her eyes. Blake then suddenly gasped with realization.
"Mel! The perihelion! It's ending! You will be forced back to Earth soon!" He shouted. Mel managed to piece together what Blake said, although it was difficult with that noise.
"So, I won't ever see you again? This is goodbye?" She asked, suddenly becoming very sad that it was over. She looked at him with concern, taking her paw off her ear.
"I'm afraid so, Mel. But don't worry; it's not forever." Blake said while giving a reassuring smile. "It's been so nice seeing you again. I wish you good luck." The way Blake smiled made Mel feel sad. She was upset that she would no longer be able to talk to her friend for a substantially long period of time. She had always hated goodbyes.
"Thank you, for everything. Goodbye, Blake." Said Mel. The crackling became more intense as she smiled at him one final time. Darkness had suddenly consumed her vision which, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, was a terrifying experience.
The constant deafening sound of chaos was suddenly interrupted when it was cut off and replaced with the low calm fluorescent light humming at 60 Hertz. She inhaled sharply and jolted to a standing position, as if waking up from a nightmare. She then realized she was back in her body once again. Upon opening her eyes, everybody rushed over to her.
"Mel!" Xavier shouted. She noticed that it wasn't quite as comforting as it was last time. Everyone's expressions were a lot more worrisome. "Where have you been? We've all been worried sick!"
Mel immediately became overcome with an emotion that was a combination of fear and guilt.
"Wh... Why? What time is it?" She asked worriedly.
"About 5:30." Replied Ty.
"What!? I'm sorry! I should've told you! Time moves much slower in the spirit world. I must've scared you all to death."
"Well, not yet, you didn't." Replied Squirt.
"Squirt!" Shouted Cookie. "Anyway, it's alright, darling. We believe we've come up with something that will work for sure." That was enough to catch Mel's full attention.
"Alright, Mel. Did you find a way to send the black dog back to the spirit world?" Asked Lucky.
"Yes. It's this astral push that Blake taught me about. But, I've never actually done one, and..." Mel answered meekly. Lucky then answered back.
"Well, do you think you'll be able to figure it out in half an hour?"
Mel smiled confidently. "I know I can!"
"Excellent! Then let's tell you what we've come up with!"