Chapter Five: A Brother Bond Was Born

As they began to make comments about the two lunatic rams, they headed to the lava area that was filled with geysers and the heat began to get intense. Once they arrived at the dangerous and unpredictable area, Percy sniffed as he gasped in excitement, "This is it! We are getting closer now!"

This made Thomas's mouth dropped in shock as he didn't expect that they were getting close but horrified him was that they have to go past the hot geysers area to arrive at their destination. With that, Thomas walked back in fear as Percy noticed him, "Hey. Don't worry, all we have to do is just go through it."

This made Thomas questioned Percy as he wasn't so sure if that was safe and that it was the right path, "Are you sure you know where you're going?", he asked with a raised eyebrow as his legs began to go in jelly mode.

"Yes! Yes! Follow me!", Percy exclaimed as he ran only to stop himself as one of the geysers boomed out with heated smoke as he gasped in shock.

"Percy!", Thomas cried, "Be careful!"

With that, the two navigated their way to the danger zone of the area as they tried to avoid getting killed. As they arrived at the small log bridge, Percy decided to go first as Thomas went behind him. While balancing on the log, Percy decided to pretend he tripped, which made Thomas freaked out. This made Percy smirked as Thomas got annoyed with him. However, when Thomas decided to scare Percy, they both heard a thud on the log that was near Thomas as they both looked behind it. There, they spotted a spear as they saw a man that looked awfully familiar, "Gordon!", Thomas cried as he told Percy to run.

There, the two ran as fast as they could as Gordon growled in frustration as he had missed his shot. With that, he grabbed his spear as he charged towards them while yelling in pure hatred and anger. As the two bears ran, they tried to avoid geysers as Thomas instructed Percy to tell him which way to go. Just hearing the hisses and booms from geysers didn't help the situation as Thomas and Percy's hearts began to pound as they panted heavily. While trying to get away from Gordon, they both spotted a long log bridge that would lead them to the safer zone. Underneath the log bridge was a running stream that had rather a heavy current. They knew this was the only way to get out of here. With that, Percy went first to cross the bridge as Thomas catch up.

However, as they went across the bridge, they felt the log moved violently as Gordon tossed one side of the log to the stream. With quick thinking, Thomas pushed Percy up as he climbed to the other side before Thomas could climb up himself. While Thomas tried to get up, Gordon threw his spear, which hit under Thomas's left hind leg as Percy cried out his name. Thomas gasped in horror as he looked at Gordon with wide eyes as he was now afraid of him, just like how bears are afraid of humans while humans are afraid of bears. When Thomas looked at Gordon, he could see his eyes are like pitch black of pure anger as his eyes were narrowed and his teeth gritted. However, when Percy cried out his name again, Thomas snapped out of his state as he managed to get to the other side without falling.

Just seeing the two bears escaped made Gordon furious as he decided to leap to try to get to the other side but unfortunately for him, he missed as he held onto the unstable log with his spear in his right hand before he pummelled to the heavy stream below as he got carried away. When Thomas and Percy saw the whole ordeal, Thomas's eyes went wider as he felt tears coming out of his eyes, "Gordon.", he whispered under his breath as even though his older brother attempted to get him down, he felt terrible for him as he was his brother after all.

While Thomas stood there, feeling helpless, Percy could see that Thomas was troubled as he explained that he doesn't understand why humans hate bears. Thomas looked at Percy with a small frown as he replied that some humans and some bears are killers as he put a more negative view on bears for when he was younger, he heard so many bear attack stories, which scared him when he was a little boy.

However, before Percy could respond, they both heard some voices coming from the birds in the bright blue sky as they squawked and cried, "Fish! Fish! Fish! Fish! Fish!"

This got Thomas confused as he looked up while Percy smiled from ear to ear, "We made it! Haha! We're here! Come on!", exclaimed Percy as he ran off.

Thomas was surprised about this as he tried to call out for Percy. Unfortunately, as he tried to get to Percy, some of the birds swooped to him while repeating the same word. Thomas tried to shoo the birds until he tripped and fell into the water, making a huge splash. When Thomas got up, he was about to go after the birds when suddenly he felt a presence right behind him, there, he turned around and to his horror, he saw a massive light green bear with pure green eyes as he roared out loud. Inside his mouth was a salmon as he looked at Thomas with a grunt. Thomas gasped as he looked around and noticed he was surrounded by bears. This terrified him as he let out a huge scream, which stopped all the bears' activities and they looked at him either confused or angry. After that, one of the bears told Thomas to quiet down as he would scare the salmons away. The light green bear ate his salmon, swallowing it while trying to calm Thomas down.

Not long after, Percy ran to the light green bear and cried in joy, "Henry!"

Henry chuckled as the two gave each other a bear hug as Percy asked if Henry saw his mother and could be hanging out with his mother. Henry shook his head as he replied that he hasn't. With that, Percy looked at Thomas as he pointed at the mountain that touches the light and explained that they are there. Thomas was least pleased to see that but not long after that, Percy and Henry laughed as Percy explained that for once, he beat his mother as he then introduced Thomas and explained their wild adventures like how they rode on the mammoths. This sparked everyone's interest as they found it bizarre as Percy told them that it was Thomas who introduced that idea. Percy also explained how Thomas's behaviour was not so bear-like how he would drink differently and that he never hibernated in his entire life.

This made Thomas blushed madly as some of the bears laughed at him and Henry made a comment that Thomas's behaviour sounds odd. With that, Thomas cleared his throat as he explained to them that he wants to talk to Percy quickly. There, he looked at Percy as he sighed, "Okay Percy. Uh, I-I got to get going.", he stuttered as he tried to get away.

"Well, when you come back, we can go and...", Percy exclaimed until Thomas interrupted him.

"I-I won't be coming back.", he explained as he let out a huge sigh.

This made Percy upset and hurt as he wanted to know why Thomas wanted to leave, "What? But why?"

"It's… It's complicated.", Thomas replied as he looked away from him and he tried to leave.

This made Henry frown as he went up to him and asked, "Why are you leaving, Thomas?"

"Well, it's just that I-I... I don't belong here.", Thomas replied truthfully as he once again tried to leave.

This made Henry chuckled as he wrapped his left front leg around Thomas as he replied happily, "Don't belong? Every bear belongs here. Haha! Come on, buddy."

With that, Henry made Thomas faced the direction that he wanted him to see. There, Thomas opened his eyes wide as his mouth agape. What he saw was spectacular as it was a medium-size lake with a bunch of miniature waterfalls coming from the small mountains as many bears did all sorts of activities such as fishing, sliding down the waterslide, and playing water fight. Thomas was amazed at how the bears were having the time of their life and nobody was left behind. He even saw some cubs being nuzzled by their mother. This made Thomas's heart melt as he never expected the bears to be so caring and welcoming. With all this event occurring, he then realised that he badly misunderstood them as he always negatively painted them. However, what made him realise the most was that when he received his totem that was shaped of a bear and that it symbolises love, he knew that the totem was correct as the bears were loving and compassionate to one another.

This made Thomas feel happy as he started to no longer fear the bears and he even began to join in some activities. However, when Percy noticed that Thomas was having the time of his life, he smirked as he pushed Thomas to the top of the mountain as he then pushed him into the waterslide, and he joined in. Thomas screamed in terror at first until he felt the adrenaline kicked in as he and Percy screamed in joy. They had their arms up as they laughed so hard. Once they crashed into the lake, which let out a huge splash, both Thomas and Percy swam back to shore as they laughed so hard. Everyone else joined in until Henry interrupted their fun, "All right, all right. Settle down, everyone, settle down.", he instructed everyone to gather around as he held the tail part of the salmon, "You know what time it is now. Time to share our event that happened this year. Okay, I'll go first.

With that, everyone listened as Thomas sat next to Percy and they both smiled, "Okay, let's see. The most interesting thing that happened to me this year. Hmm.", Henry thought hard until he had one, "Oh, I know, I know, I know. Listen to this. I'd say it was when I finally knocked down that tree, that was blocking the view from my cave. Now I got a family of chipmunks staying at my place."

When he said that, he and the others spotted a family of chipmunks, who had their paws on their hips as the mother chipmunk tapped her feet. This made Henry feel bad and he sweated, "Umm… yeah. That wasn't a good one. Anyways, who wants to go next?", he asked.

"Henry! Henry! I got one!", cried a yellow female bear named Flora as she raised her paw.

"Alright, here you go!", he exclaimed as he tossed the salmon's tail to Flora.

When Flora caught it, she hugged the tail tightly as she told a tragic story, "This year, I lost my dear friend, Toby."

After that, everyone heard a voice in the distance as the voice shouted, "Quit telling everyone that I'm dead! I'm still alive!"

In that response, Flora began to build tears in her eyes as began to choke in her sadness, "Sometimes I can still hear his voice!", she cried as she tossed the salmon's tail away and she covered her eyes while sobbing.

As the tail went flying, Percy attempted to catch it but only for someone else to catch it. It was caught by a dirty green bear named Bradford as he began to speak in a language that no one could comprehend. With that, Bradford began to wail in laughter as many bears made a fake laugh while some coughed. As Bradford then began to wheeze, he threw the tail and it was caught by a splendid red bear named James as he began to flirt to an emerald green bear named Emily, "I guess it's our turn. This is the year I met the most gorgeous…"

"No, you're gorgeous.", Emily interrupted as she began to snuggle him.

"You're gorgeouser.", James made up a word as his nose met Emily's.

"If you want to kiss, go somewhere else!", Henry chuckled as he used his paws to make a megaphone shape to get the couple's attention.

While this occurred, Flora was still crying about her "friend's passing", when Toby told her to stop as he was still alive. As James and Emily began to snuggle more, James tossed the tail as Thomas accidentally caught it by pure luck. This got Thomas confused as he didn't know what to do. This got Percy surprised as he asked him if ever played that game before. Thomas shook his head as Henry explained that he must tell something he had done this year. This made Thomas nervous as everyone wait to hear something for him. After a moment, Thomas mustered up the courage as he asked the bears if they wanted to hear his story. Everyone nodded as they asked to spill it. There, Thomas began to tell his story, "I went on the longest, hardest, the most exhausting journey I've ever been on, with the biggest pain in the neck I've ever met.", Thomas acted dramatic as he gave Percy a smirk, "Heh. What do you expect from a little brother?"

With that, Thomas hugged Percy, which made Percy blushed happily and everyone awed at it. Once everything was settled, Thomas chuckled heartily as he gave the salmon's tail to Percy as he told him that it was his turn. Henry was looking forward to it the most, "Let's hear it, Percy!", Henry exclaimed as everyone grinned, including Thomas.

Percy didn't waste a moment to tell his story, but he told it too quickly, "Okay, okay. Here we go. Ahem. This year I watched my mom in a life-and-death struggle, against all odds battling possibly the most fiercest creature on the face of the earth. Okay, who's next?"

Everyone gasped as they wanted to hear about his story in detail, "Wait, wait, wait a minute. I think we all want to hear the rest of that one, Percy.", Henry cried.

"I thought you might say that.", said Percy as he made a smug face and then he told the story while acting it, "It was probably the fifth or sixth coldest day in my entire life. Me and mum were eating fish, having a great time as I explained my first time being independent as I'm officially an adult when suddenly, she pushes me into the bushes and tells me to be quiet. She says, "I smell something," so I started sniffing. There was something in the woods, running right towards us, getting closer and closer."

Just seeing Percy acted dramatically made Thomas shook his head, rolled his eyes and he smiled. However, the intensity of the story grew as Percy then cried, "And then, out of the trees, jumps the hunter!"

When he heard that, Thomas's mouth dropped in shock as some other bears gasped in horror or swallowed their salmon whole, "And now there was nowhere for my mother to go. The monster has her backed up against this giant glacier!", Percy continued.

Just hearing that made Thomas's eyes go wide as he began to pant quickly and heavily. What he had heard horrified him as he realised something. The bear that he killed before he became a bear, was Percy's mother as he felt anxiety and guilt kicking in. Thomas was so in a state of shock as he began to have the flashback of the day that Edward passed away and the day he fought against the bear with his brothers, "The monster attacks, pop! But my mother was too quick for him. And before he can do it again, she stands up real big, and yells, "Go away!""

When Thomas heard that, he remembered the bit when the bear pushed him off the cliff as Percy wasn't finished, "Then my mother smells more of them. There's a whole pack coming right at us!"

With that, Thomas remembered the words he spoke to Edward when he warned him about the danger, "Edward, no! The bear! Look behind you!"

"She runs out to stop them before they could find me as I haven't ever fought hunters in my life. And all around they're poking her with sticks.", Percy explained as he went intense with the story.

The next thing Thomas remembered was when Edward and the bear plunged from the collapsed glacier as Edward died from it, "The whole thing broke, and they fell into the water. There was ice everywhere! She couldn't hold her breath any longer before, pow! She burst out if the water. I've never been so scared in my life.", Percy finished his story as everyone was horrified about it.

With that, Thomas got so many flashbacks playing in his head as it was too difficult to bear. Just realising his sins made him feel terrible as he felt a knot in the stomach as his head spun. All the events playing at once made him wish he could go back in time and make amends for his past actions. No wonder why he upset The Great Spirits and his older brother. Once the flashbacks were over, Thomas let out an internal yell as he couldn't handle it anymore.

As Percy finished his story, Henry was amazed yet shocked about it, "Whoa! Fell off a glacier? I've never seen anything like that. Can you imagine?"

The bears discussed it as they all agreed that they could never imagine that. While that was happening, Percy turned his head to Thomas, but only to see that Thomas was quiet as a mouse with his mouth still open and a pair of wide eyes. This made Percy concerned, "Hey, what's the matter, Thomas?", he asked in a worried tone.

As Percy tried to get an answer, Emily then asked Percy a question, "Percy? What happened next? Was she okay?"

While Percy looked at Emily and the other bears, Henry noticed that Thomas looked zoned out as he then asked himself, "Hey, Kenai, what's wrong?"

With that, Thomas managed to snap out of his zone as he began to run away from the other bears as he felt like a criminal and a burden. This got Henry upset as he asked where he was going. While Thomas ran away, Percy then answered Emily's question, "She got out of the water, but that's how we got separated. Right after that, I met Thomas."

However, when Percy looked where Thomas was once, he noticed that Thomas was long gone as he went after him, "Thomas? Thomas!"

As Percy looked for Thomas while the bears continued to chat and laugh, Thomas stumbled while running past the woods as he headed to the cliff that was opposite to where the mountain that touches the light was. He needed to escape as he needed some fresh air. He also wanted to get away as he felt like he was the real monster. All the things he had done made him realise who was the bad one at the time.

There, Thomas laid down as he buried his face under his front legs and began to cry silently. He felt so horrible that he felt like he let everyone down and he felt like he was the main reason why Edward died, even though Edward did sacrifice his life to save him and Gordon's life. What Thomas knew that there was no way out and that the past can never be fixed as it's now forever broken.

As Thomas sobbed, Percy crept behind him as he decided to jumpscare him to cheer him up. Percy went from different bushes or rocks as he then let out a huge fake roar. There, he pounced on Thomas as he laughed, "Scared you again, huh?", he boasted as he was the master of scaring Thomas.

However, the only reaction that Percy received was Thomas lifted his head slowly as he made a fake small laugh, "Uh-huh. Yeah."

This made Percy frowned as he knew there was something up with him and he's seemed pretty bothered, "Where have you been? You look horrible.", Percy asked as he gave him a sad smile as he attempted to make Thomas feel better.

When Percy asked that question, Thomas thought for a moment if he should tell the painful truth to Percy or not. Something inside him told him to do so, but Thomas didn't want to as he didn't want to ruin a friendship and brother-like bond with Percy. All these crazy adventures they went on, they enjoyed each other's company, but now after realising that Thomas killed Percy's mother, he knew that he did something very wrong, and it wouldn't be right to hold it in.

However, as Percy tried to advise Thomas that he got told when he was a cub by his mother, Thomas attempted to gain Percy's attention without getting agitated. After three attempts, Thomas managed to get Percy's attention as he let out a huge sigh while his ears folded back, "Percy. There's something I, uh, y-you know that story you told me an hour ago?", he asked.

"Yeah.", Percy replied as he gave him a small smile.

"Well, I-I have a story to tell you.", Thomas replied as he knew that there's no going back at that point.

This got Percy curious as he grabbed some wild berries and offer some to Thomas. Thomas shook his head as he lost his appetite. Percy understood as he began to consume the wild berries as he asked what the story was about. There, Thomas began to tell the story that would forever change their relationship, "Well, it's a kind of about a man, and kind of about a bear. But mostly it's about a monster, a monster who did something so bad..."