"Did it hurt?", Haku wanted to ask the question right away when he saw the wounds as John nodded.
"More than any pain you could possibly imagine. You and the rest of the Talons, I fear, would be praying for death to come quick with them; of course, maybe one, you could be saved... but three? I just barely steeled through the pain to say my last words to Pocahontas.", John explained.
Haku exhaled, "I can't imagine how it would have been, with dark magic in those arrows...Ratcliffe truly had it in for you, yet you saved Pocahontas as he saw that she was your weak spot...".
"You did as much save them yourself, Haku... as her father showed you before.", John smiled as Haku nodded, "Yeah... I guess I did...".
John chuckled, "Modest as ever.", before smiling, "You're a natural with Koda...It's incredible how he has some of my personality next to my nose...You truly braved your physical fear to save Koda even if Powhatan was faking at the time, and you truly watched all of the alternate path in that mental vision without looking away, angry for Pocahontas's innocence and horrified for her death...You truly love them...".
Haku gulped, and looked straight at John, "Yes, I do. I understand it was only six days up to now, but somehow, meeting Pocahontas in the flesh than standing like an observer to the movie, and saving her son, I never regretted falling in love with them as I got to truly know them.".
"And you do more for them than you would think, Haku. Believe it or not.", John told him. "Yeah, I'm beginning to think that too... but... I'd rather more hear it from their, or rather specifically, her lips than anyone else.", Haku said.
"Understandable.", John nodded with a soft grin.
Haku sighed lightly, "I am not looking to replace you or anything. I never wanted to hurt you.", and John smiled, "I was her first love, Haku, but she needs to move on. I want her to be happy, and you never hurt me at all for you truly care for her and Koda.", before reaching into his pocket and brought out Pocahontas's beloved necklace, all intact.
Haku had noticed that she wasn't wearing it all this time and wondered if it was destroyed in the mess of war or buried with either John or Powhatan.
"Between the war and everything, she barely managed to find time to recover the necklace and bury it with me, but it remained broken. Luckily, the Blue Fairy saw to fix it on my request, and even if my compass was the better choice as it was buried along with her father's deerskin cape wrapped around me, I want her to know that she can be herself again than wallow in the past and move on.", John smiled bitterly as he gently held Pocahontas's necklace.
Haku sighed as he nodded, "I'll bring this back to her...", with a respectable smile. "I know you will.", John smiled. "You're a good man, Haku... and I know that they can't be in any safer hands than with you.".
Haku realized when John said it, it meant that he's giving his blessing for Haku to take care of Pocahontas and Koda, and smiled, "Thank you, John.", and John chuckled, passing the necklace to Haku, and Haku tucked it tenderly into his pocket.
Then there was a bell sound piercing the air, and the boys looked up to see the ends of the fort to the docks, a bridge of willow wreath leaves and sunflower petals, with a flair of fabric in the railings.
"Well, that's my cue. And oh, just you know, we don't have wounds or illnesses in the heavens of Neverland, they only appear as scars or wound marks in the spiritual plane.", John got up, and replied.
Haku gave a relieved nod, "That's really great. Take care of yourself, John Smith.", with a smile, and John nodded, "You too as well, Haku Teika.", before heading for the bridge on the docks, vanishing into the mist with a laugh as a thrilling purr and a bark barely is heard.
Realizing that it was Meeko and Percy greeting John home, Haku smiled, and then saw the campfire shimmering with a yellow streak, and fast as lightning, Sparky came out of the fire, landing on the log with a grin.
"Haku did it! Sparky happy for you!", Sparky smiled widely, and Haku chuckled, "Thanks, Sparky. You here to take me back to my mindscape?", having heard the stories of his other comrades, and realized that Zuri is the last one left.
Sparky nodded, "Ih! In mindscape, we do vow for Sparky to be Haku's soul dragon guide and tattoo, and Haku to be protector of the Yellow Infinity Stone of Mind.", and Haku nodded, "Alright, let's go.", grabbing into Sparky's outreached hand.
Haku suddenly found himself looking up into the night sky of the jungle canopy as he woke up. He didn't fully know exactly where he was in the jungle, but it must have not been too far from the ruins, he hoped.
"Ah... my head...", Haku placed his hand on it like he was feeling a total hangover.
Haku remembered doing the vow with Sparky for the last few minutes in his mindscape, and now, he's wearing the amulet, in the shape of Chinese beads, and his tattoo is resting on his left leg, with the head resting outwards on the front of the corner between the leg and the foot, eyes gleaming.
He took a deep breath, rubbing his forehead as the headache slowly ebbed away, and got up, exhaling as he looked around, and decided to remember his feelings when he watched that mental vision of a disaster, wanting to find his dragon form.
He heard Sparky's voice, 'Haku fight for Pocahontas and Koda, remember that', and Haku smiled, digging deeply into his feelings, and he found it, the inner core. He then shifted, feeling his body shrink and change shape as he became a dragon.
He looked at himself, seeing that he is similar to Sparky, except having wings and a different pelt which is dark brown with muted gold lightning bolt markings, and he's small as human toddler.
'More like a small Komodo dragon then... still, nasty surprise...' Haku thought. 'Especially nasty shock!', Sparky added as Haku opened his mouth and a burst of electricity shot forward.
Haku blinked in surprise as the burst of electricity hit a tree trunk, "Whoa...Okay, this can work on bad guys. What else?".
Sparky mentally spoke, 'Focus on the campfire in the ruins. Haku can teleport through fire, remember?', and Haku widened his eyes, "Gosh, oh, okay, does it hurt?".
'No, no hurt. Fire teleportation like tickle on arm.', Sparky replied. "I hope you're right about that or this'll be a very short test...", Haku took a deep breath as he thought about the campfire in the ruins; his mind focused on it.
Before he knew it, he became a flash of light, flying through fire, the tickle not even harmful, but like breeze-tickle, and he came out of the campfire, taking shape as he landed on one of the ruin blocks, and saw people watching him, with the team open-mouthed in surprise, with Pocahontas staring in slight fear, holding Koda to her chest.
Haku took a deep breath, and shifted back to human, feeling the dragon settle in his body as it's natural, bonded to him, and he grinned lightly as Pocahontas went through expressions in a second, relaxing as she spoke in awe, "Haku?".
"Uh, I didn't keep you all awake, did I?", Haku chuckled as Pocahontas shook her head, "Well, I got woken up and found out that you weren't around so...".
"None of us truly could sleep while you were out... in case things went wrong.", Pippa pointed out.
Haku smiled reassuringly, "I appreciate that, guys.", walking up to Pocahontas as Koda babbled, reaching out for him, and Haku sighed, "Hey, Koda. It's okay.", caressing his head, before looking up to Pocahontas, "Sorry that I made you worry, Pocahontas.".
"Well, I wasn't worried too much. The others all went through theirs and came back fine so I thought the same.", Pocahontas smiled.
Zuri can notice that Haku is seeming to dose himself with steady confidence and realized that he met John Smith. With a poke of her arm to Pippa, and gestured to the pot, Pippa nodded, and squeezed Adam's hand to grab his attention, "Well, since Haku is clearly fine, care to grab some food?".
Adam nodded, "Sounds good.", getting off his seat to head for the stew pot, following Pippa and Zuri. Haku noticed that they left him alone with Pocahontas and Koda, and smiled mentally, grateful that he has some sort of privacy.
Haku exhaled, "Good to hear. The tests were intense, but I passed them with flying colors...I met people I'd never thought to meet...I saw Meeko and Percy.", and Pocahontas blinked in surprise before giggling softly, "Was Meeko up to mischief?".
Haku chuckled, "A bit, that's for sure, and Percy, he surprised me with a game. I won, of course, and he was respectable of his loss...But that wasn't even the biggest surprises...I met your father...".
Her eyes widened as she heard that, "I... I guess I should've known... from what I heard from the others and all about their journeys.".
"Yeah, I suppose so, of course, he wasn't the only one...", Haku took a deep breath as he found the necklace on him and pulled it out.
Pocahontas gasped, putting a hand on her mouth as Koda babbled in concern, and tears started to show in Pocahontas's eyes, "My mother's necklace...I-I thought it was broken, and I-I buried it w-with-", and Haku smiled softly, "John Smith...Apparently, he asked the Blue Fairy to fix it on his behalf, and he wanted me to give it back to you, to where it belongs...".
Pocahontas gently took the necklace as she began to sob. "I'm sorry if this is too emotional at the moment.", Haku said.
"It's alright, Haku... I... thank you.", Pocahontas reassured him as she wrapped an arm around him while still holding onto Koda.
Haku smiled warmly, "You're welcome, Pocahontas.", rubbing her back as he held her, and ruffled Koda's growing hair gently, and Koda gurgled happily, sensing that his momma is being weird-happy, but it's a good kind of happy.
Pocahontas pulled back, wiping her tears, "Would, would you put it around me?", and Haku nodded, "I'd be honored to.", taking the necklace gently from her hand, and as Pocahontas moved her hair around, Haku carefully and gently put it on her, placing it perfectly around her neck.
Pocahontas fingered the shell tenderly, "I truly forgot how it feels complete with this on.", and Haku smiled, "It suits you, Pocahontas.", before looking a bit thoughtful.
"I know that look, Haku. Something's bothering you.", Pocahontas replied, and Haku laughed softly, "Couldn't get one past you...Can you wait tonight? I promise I'll tell you, but I need to talk with the team and Shere Khan. I have an idea to get rid of Scar and save the prisoners.".
"If it brings an end to all this fighting sooner, I could wait for weeks or months if need be.", Pocahontas chuckled. Haku gave a big smile from hearing that, and nodded, "Appreciate that, Pocahontas. Why don't you feed the kid while I talk with the team, okay?", bopping Koda's nose gently, earning him to giggle.
Pocahontas smiled, nodding, and Haku got off his seat, heading to the team, and Haku looked at Shere Khan nearby, "May I have your attention, your majesty? I need to share a newly forming plan with you and my comrades.".
Khan nodded, "Of course. What do you have in mind?", and Haku exhales, "As you have recently seen, I can teleport through fires. I am small, able to camouflage in the dark, fast as a flash. If I take down the archers and the gate guards, along with the dogs, I can open the gate for you to slip through, and you, along with the others, attack the tents and the rest of the guards while I teleport up to the treehouse. There are torches of fire, and if I take the drop on Scar, he will be dead.".
"Interesting plan... only issue would be fully knowing what's in store for use in the treehouse. It's been quite some time since we last really had a good look at it, and that was when Clayton was in charge. Scar may have rotated the defenses into something much more akin to his liking.", Khan reminded.
"So, we just sneak close and watch for a few days what exactly is waiting for us." Zuri said. "Haku's got a point; we could easily get the drop on Scar... and all that leaves is Frollo. And then the war is all but won.".
Adam blinked before smiling, "True, but with hassling him, he didn't have time to regroup or anything. Let me check the mirror.".
With polite asking, the mirror started up, and showed the fort, "Still the same as before, with the guards half sleeping, half awake. No shield, no dark magic. The treehouse itself is dark with a few torches alight on the shaded porch, and there's a few campfires scattered around the tents and cages.", Adam commented.
"I'd very much prefer to see it all in person.", Khan said. "If we're going to do this, it can't be a simple raid; we take out Scar and reclaim home once and for all. Besides, we have ways of getting fairly close to it; we just never really had the strength to overcome the defenses without an unacceptable number of lives lost."
Zuri grinned, "Then we take the tunnels. As soon as we're close, Haku will be our inside man.", and Haku replied, "It's dark now. If we wait any longer or attack in the daylight, we're sitting ducks. But it's your decision, your majesty.".
Khan went into thought about it, "I think... I think I'd very much like us to quickly check it out fully first as well as give the time to quickly gather our forces. Give you a better chance of getting to Scar, Haku, if we time a faint attack and keep him distracted.".
"So, about another day or two?", Pippa asked as Khan nodded, "Yes, but very much by the end of this week; hopefully the Congo will finally be free...".
Zuri nodded, "Sounds good to me. Do you agree, boys and Pippa?", and they nodded, saying 'aye' as a term of agreement. Khan smiled, "Excellent, after we have a good night's meal, I will have my patrols, and of course, some of you, to go spy on the fort and learn of the guard schedule and such. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to play with my children to tire them out for a story and bedtime.", with a nod.
Pippa grinned, "Oh, boy, I can't wait to put some bad guys out of commission! Been a long while since the time back at Tremaine's old takeover.", and Adam, having shut the mirror down, chuckled, "Indeed. It's going to be weird not to fight again once the war's over, but peace is way better than war.".
"Amen.", Haku sighed as he got back up and decided it was better to spend some more time with Pocohontas while time was permitting.
Pocahontas looked up as she rocked the cradle gently besides her, Koda asleep after finishing his dinner, and Haku smiled, "Already tuckered out, eh?", and Pocahontas smiled, "Well, he was looking around for you for some time before you came by fire. Does that hurt, by the way?".
Haku shook his head, "Nah, it was more of like a tickle-breeze feeling on flesh as I teleported through the fire. It's like...I am invincible to fire since I am a dragon shapeshifter now.", and Pocahontas nodded, "That certainly makes sense. So, how did your idea go?".
Haku smiled as he sat down, "Shere Khan liked it. The plan will commence in a day or two once we get some sense of how the fort works and all. And hopefully, the Congo will be freed, and Shere Khan, along with Tarzan will reclaim the throne, to be kings again.".
Pocahontas beamed, "That's wonderful! I would love to see the people smiling again.", and Haku nodded, "Yep.", before taking a deep breath, "There was another reason why John Smith gave me your necklace.", looking straight at Pocahontas.
"I think I can take a guess.", Pocahontas said as she looked back down at Koda and gently rubbed his head. "You can?", Haku raised an eyebrow.
"Of course... why else would he really come to you and give you the necklace unless it was for one reason only?", Pocahontas said as Haku swallowed in nervousness to what she was going to say next.
Pocahontas looked up, and straight at him, "John has seen how you saved me, and how you came to care for me and Koda, even when it was only an excuse for you to talk with me and get to know me. He wants me to move on, to not wallow in the past, to find happiness, to fall in love again. In place, by giving you the necklace, he gave you his blessing to be there for me. Am I right so far?".