Well, it's finally here, the final chapter of this story, Chapter 12.
I woke up in the morning with no interruptions besides my alarm clock going off. I yawned and stretched, glad that there was nothing serious going on for once. Rocky has gotten his powers under control for now, and, as long as he takes his medications, hopefully he will be for the rest of his life. I made sure to freshen up a bit, since my fur was a bit matted with dust and sweat, and I gave myself a quick wash. Afterwards, I headed over to the lookout tower to retrieve my pup pack to start waking up the other pups from their rooms. As I walked over to the elevator, I took a glance outside, where dark clouds were forming above in the sky. It looks like it's going to rain today.
I grabbed my pup pack that was hanging on a hook next to Marshall's, and pawed back to the rooms, thinking about what I should do with the day. I should go and train with Rocky, since I did promise to look after him, but I also really need to see what I can do about his powers. I need to find those wolves again to see if there's anything I can do if an outbreak happens again. I'll go find the wolves after breakfast. I woke up all the pups from their rooms and headed to breakfast with a very woozy Marshall.
"Good morning Marshall! You feeling well today?" I asked kindly. Marshall only grunted.
"I had a pretty rough night last night. I'm feeling quite tired. Hopefully breakfast will wake me up." Marshall grumbled. After hearing that, I knew Marshall wasn't in the talking mood, so I walked silently with Marshall up to the cafeteria where Ryder had already filled up our bowls with food. Everyone was there, and I saw Skye and Rubble chatting about having a small fight, something about seeing who was stronger now that Rubble had trained. I settled myself next to Rocky, who was happily chowing down on his bowl.
"Oh, good morning Chase!" Rocky greeted me between bites.
"Good morning Rocky! Do you want to start training today?" I asked him.
"Yea, sure! The sooner the better!" Rocky happily agreed.
"I need to head out for a bit, but I'll be able to start later today, say after lunch?" I asked, hoping to fit a visit to the forest before it rains.
"Sure thing! Make sure to bring an umbrella, it looks like it might rain." Rocky advised. I nodded and placed my empty bowl back onto the counter. I went back to my room to grab an umbrella and headed out towards the forest. The clouds outside seemed pretty dark, but the rain hadn't started to pour yet, so I quickly ran into the forest with my speedy ability. I vaguely remembered where the wolf's dens were, but it still took me a bit to relocate them, after all, it's just trees among trees. Finally, I found the wolves hunkering in their dens, most likely waiting for the rain to start. They looked at me with confusion, as though they were questioning my sanity for coming out here when the rain would start pouring at any minute. The leader made his way over to me from his den, and greeted me with a bow. I bowed in return.
"What brings you back, white wolf?" he howled.
"I came to ask for your assistance. Yesterday, my friend had a power meltdown, and I need to know if there is a way to stop it from happening again or how to help when it happens again." I asked.
"The powerful one had a meltdown you say? That's not good. Is he fine now?" The white wolf, a nervous look forming on his face.
"Rocky seemed fine this morning during breakfast." I answered, hoping nothing was wrong.
"Good. You need to keep him indoors for today. It looks to be a massive thunderstorm. In his state, it is very likely that if he goes outside, lightning will be attracted to him. If it hits him, one of these meltdowns will happen." the white wolf cautioned. I looked at him with a blank face.
"If he does get hit, what can I do to help him?" I questioned, just in case something of the sort would occur.
"If he does get struck, then hope for the best. It will most likely induce a disaster. He's too young to handle his powers. We will be there if that's the case and try to stop the disaster from going out of control. We have done it once, but only barely. This time if it happens, it may not be as fortunate as last time." the white wolf barked. I nodded in understanding. Just make sure Rocky doesn't get struck by lightning, how hard could that be? I waved goodbye to the wolves and ran back to the lookout. Drops started to fall from the sky as I ran, and by the time I reached the lookout, I could hear the thunder roaring above me just as the clouds started to pour. I quickly entered the lookout, shaking my fur dry. Though I had an umbrella, it wasn't very effective at keeping the water out during the heavy downpour. I got most of the water out of my fur, but I needed a towel badly. I walked back to my room, passing by Rocky's room where I saw him staring out the window. He turned and noticed me looking at him, and waved. He must've seen how wet I was and quickly ran and grabbed a towel and handed it to me to dry. I thanked him and started to dry myself until I heard Rocky say something.
"Hey Chase, I hope you don't catch a cold, you're drenched with water" Rocky told me, shivering at the thought of being in my place.
"It's not as bad as you think" I laughed, still finding it funny that Rocky hates the water when he has full control over it.
"Anyways, while you were gone I wanted to start doing a bit more research on the copier power. With a bit of cross linking between my texts, it may not be possible for this pup to exist in this time or world, but that may be for the best. It states here at the end that if these four pups meet, someone or something will awaken and seek to take back "his" power or something like that. If we do end up meeting this pup, you, Tracker and Arrby may be in tremendous danger." Rocky informed me. That was new to me. Someone coming back for his power? What does that even mean?
"That's nice to know, Rocky, I'll keep that in mind. Now about your training" I started to ask before Rocky's face lit up like a light bulb.
"Yes, of course! What do you want to start with?" Rocky asked excitedly.
"I was thinking about heading over to the arena and let you let out some energy, you know, to set your limit" I suggested.
"Oh? That sounds like fun!" Rocky yipped and zipped away. I giggled and zoomed after him, racing him towards the arena. The other pups were already there playing tag since they knew we weren't there and since they had a fair game for once. As Rocky and I entered the building, they greeted us and asked if we wanted to join. I sorrowfully declined, which then revealed a face of relief on the other pups and they continued the game. Rocky was already at the other corner, practically hopping up and down, waiting for me to arrive.
"Alright Rocky, why don't you just let loose and release as much as you got" I told him and smiled. He nodded, and I instantly saw storm clouds forming inside the arena. Rain started to pour down heavily, yet I could see Rocky standing there, taking in the magical rainfall. His own lightning charged the thunder clouds and small jolts of lightning could be seen striking around Rocky. The other pups had stopped playing their game and instead took the opportunity to run around in the rain, enjoying the quick shower. Bolt after bolt came raining down as Rocky laughed happily, running around in the rain and up into the air. It always surprised me that Rocky could do such a thing in the rain, but it would be useful in certain predicaments.
I watched as Rocky danced around in the cloud when suddenly the lights went out. The arena turned pitch dark, and I couldn't see any of the pups. I hobbled around, blindly setting my paw out, hoping to find something of use to guide my through the arena. I heard the shouts of the other pups as they too were trying to find each other.
"Rocky, can you stop the rain? I need to light a lantern!" I heard Marshall shout out. The rain soon stopped and I could see bursts of fire coming out with Marshall's curses after each failed attempt. The water must've dampened Marshall's fire, and was having trouble lighting anything. Soon, Marshall lit the lantern and we could see once more. The pups around looked frightened and were curious about what had happened. I soon heard Ryder come running in with his flashlight, gasping for breath as he halted in front of us.
"Sorry about the outage, pups. The storm outside seems to have knocked down a power line. I'm glad you pups are okay." Ryder explained, relieved.
"Ryder, we need to fix it, it could hurt someone" Rocky suggested, worried.
"Indeed, Rocky. I need a team of pups to help me at least move the pole to a safer area before anyone or anything comes in contact with it and gets hurt. Skye, Chase, and Rocky, follow me. We are going to move it out of the way." Ryder ordered. I nodded before realizing who Ryder had recruited to go out.
"Uh, Ryder, maybe it isn't a good idea for Rocky to head out in the rain, after all he doesn't like water." I laughed nervously.
"Chase, you know that if there is a rescue to be done, water isn't going to stop me" Rocky reminded me.
"I know, but I don't want you heading out there, who knows what could happen" I cautioned, hoping Rocky would stay.
"Is something wrong, Chase? Is there a reason you don't want Rocky going out in the rain?" Ryder asked me curiously.
"Well, I just think that after his meltdown yesterday, it wouldn't be a good idea to have him go out, that's all." I explained.
"Chase, I'll be fine! I control the water and lightning anyways!" Rocky laughed. "But if it makes you feel any better, I'll stay back."
I gave a sigh of relief after hearing that. Rocky wasn't going to get out into the storm and cause a disaster. Ryder chose Rubble to take his place and the three of us went out into the rain with raincoats to see what had happened to the power. As it turned out, a power line was splayed right across the lookout driveway, blocking our trucks to leave the area. We quickly righted the pole to the side of the driveway, but we saw that the pole had smashed right into Zuma's truck, smashing the engine entirely. Rocky needed to fix that after the storm. We quickly headed inside as the three of us shook our fur dry. The raincoats were definitely better than the umbrella I had earlier, but still had some water leak in. Zuma, Marshall and Rocky came up to us as they were waiting at the entrance and Ryder explained to Rocky that Zuma's truck was pretty roughed up and needed repairs sometime after the storm had passed. I saw Rocky nod, and headed towards his room. I excused myself, grabbed a flashlight and caught up to Rocky, pawing up beside him.
"Oh, hey Chase, you want to help me do a bit more research?" Rocky asked politely.
"Research? On that pup?" I asked back.
"Yep! Even though I may not get the opportunity to meet him, I still want to know as much as possible about him and his ability!" Rocky explained happily. Rocky really liked to study I realized as I nodded and entered his study room. He asked me to turn on my floodlight and pulled down some old dusty books for me to carry and had me set them on the floor next to his desk. Most of them had weird names like "Powers over the centuries" and "Power: A timeline of mystery" that made no sense to me. Rocky soon opened up one of these books and started to read. I also decided to grab a book and attempted to read it before I realized that it was in a completely different language. Why did Rocky even have this book? I placed it back before picking up a new one. I flipped a few pages, read a few passages, but none of them I found any interest in. I yawned as I kept flipping, and I guess at some point I fell asleep.
The next thing I knew was that I woke up in Rocky's bed. There was a note next to me, explaining that Rocky had something important to do before continuing his research and invited me to visit back when he was finished. I dismissed it and kept in mind to visit Rocky after he was back. Back from where? Wait, there was no way that he went outside, right?
I frantically jolted around the lookout, hoping that Rocky was still inside, and not outside where he was vulnerable to lightning. I soon found him in the garage with Ryder. They had moved Zuma's truck next to the driveway, and Rocky was waiting inside for Ryder to push it in so he and Ryder could do repairs. Ryder had said something to Rocky, and left, passing by me and giving me a little pat on the head.
"Oh, hey Chase! I saw that you fell asleep and set you on my bed. I hope you had a nice rest!" Rocky cheerfully yipped. I gave a huge sigh of relief. This storm had really put me on edge, especially after the close encounters of Rocky heading outside. Then I noticed that on the ground there were some wet footprints. Wet paw prints. Rocky had gone outside to push in the truck. I was very startled when I saw this, and quickly rushed over to Rocky.
"Rocky, you went outside?!" I yelled.
"Yea, so what if I did? Nothing happened to me" Rocky replied, getting annoyed at me.
"It's dangerous outside, especially for you" I shouted, and Rocky finally snapped.
"You know what Chase, I don't know what your problem is but you've been acting weird lately. What's wrong with me going outside, huh? I know that my aquaphobia is known by everyone in the world, yet you decide that it would be safer for me to stay inside. What if I wanted to face this fear and go in the rain and get wet, huh?" Rocky hollered back.
"I just want to protect you, I don't want anything bad to happen." I replied quietly, but Rocky was already fired up.
"So what, you think a little rain can hurt me? Grow up Chase! There's nothing out there that can hurt me as much as you think is possible, and I'll prove it!" Rocky yelled with rage and stomped towards the pouring rain. I panicked as I grabbed his tail and yanked it back, yet Rocky was surprisingly strong for a pup his size. I got dragged as he angrily left the cover of the roof and stepped outside in the rain. I let go and quickly ran back under the covers of the garage.
"See, I told you, there is nothing out here that can hurt me!" Rocky screamed in my face. As he screamed, I could hear rumbles coming from the sky as a swirling vortex formed around Rocky's position.
"Rocky, you need to head in now!" I hollered, realizing too late that I was fueling his rage and rebellious actions.
"Don't you dare tell me what I can and can't do! I've lived my life for so long in denial, and I don't need you to start it over again!" Rocky screamed back. I heard the rumbling get louder, and ran out to grab Rocky before the bolt hit, but it was already too late. A massive thunderbolt hit Rocky as he screamed in pain, sparks reflecting off his fur as he fell to the ground in a heap. I ran to him, calling his name, but was no use as I felt the wind and sky start to howl in rage. Every step I took towards him the wind seemed to push me back further, as though a barrier of wind withheld me from Rocky. In the distance, I could see a small dark twister forming the sky, and I knew that I had to get Rocky inside before it brushed past the lookout.
I pushed and pushed, yet the wind pushed back harder. I wasn't making any ground! At this point, Rocky was going to be swept up by the wind if I didn't do something. I rammed up against the wind, getting a head start and reached out for Rocky. For a second, my paw had just grazed Rocky's tail, but the wind equally as strong threw me back into the garage where I sent boxes, tools and other random junk flying. I gasped in pain as I felt my back starting to bleed from all the metal objects, but I didn't care. My priority was to get Rocky safe. I quickly got back up, gritting my teeth in pain and ran back towards Rocky. However, Rocky was no longer there. He had simply vanished, which I assumed that the twister had already scooped him up.
Over the horizons, I saw Grey and white specks rushing over, and as time passed, it was clear that the wolves had come rushing over to the storm.
"What happened white wolf? I thought you had it under control?!" the grey wolf leader howled at me.
"He refused to believe me! And… and I think I got on his nerves. I'm the worst friend ever. I was supposed to help him!" I cried, tears starting to form.
"I see. Where is he now?" the white wolf leader grunted softly as he came by my side and patted me on the head. It was quite comforting to feel his big paws softly grazing my fur.
"The wind swept him up I think. I'm worried it might throw him and hurt him." I sputtered.
"In this storm? Not likely. He's the one fueling it, so I have a feeling the weather is keeping him safe inside it's core. We need to break into it, but I have no clue where he is in these dense clouds." the grey wolf growled.
"At least he's safe. How can we locate him?" I asked, hoping for an easy solution.
"At this state it may take hours to find him, and we don't have that time. We need to figure out where he is before this storm destroys everything!" the grey wolf howled back. The wind was howling in the back, and I could see rocks and debris getting dragged along with the twister and lightning strikes could be seen striking everywhere around town.
"Wait, I know someone who might be able to help!" I realized. The one who seeks, Tracker, might be able to locate Rocky! I just need to get him over here. I quickly excused myself as I ran out of the lookout in a flash and right towards the jungle. Thankfully, the storm hadn't arrived there, but the storm could be seen from the jungle, and it wasn't pretty. A big massive dark ball of clouds had formed over Adventure Bay, and I could see it swirling and picking up everything in its path.
"Oh, hey Chase! What brings you to the jungle?" Tracker asked, bounding towards me.
"I need you to do a favor for me. Can you come to the lookout?" I asked. Tracker started to back away, looking scared.
"You want me over there? I don't know, I hear a massive storm coming, and it's really loud, even from here, and it looks really dark over there" Tracker whimpered.
"I know that you're scared of the dark, but if you don't help, someone could get hurt or even die. That someone is Rocky" I stated firmly. Trackers ears suddenly perked up.
"Rocky? Then I have no choice but to help him! I'm indebted to him!" Tracker howled before getting into his truck. I gestured to him to get off his truck and told him to hold on. At first he was confused, but as soon as he felt me yank him, he knew that I was rushing him over to the lookout. In a flash, I was already there, and Tracker looked flustered.
"White wolf, who is this pup?" the white wolf leader asked.
"This is Tracker. His ability allows him to find anyone as long as he can get a scent." I responded.
"What? Really? That's amazing! That's exactly what we need! Good job white wolf!" the grey wolf howled in joy. I quickly looked around for anything with Rocky's scent, his fur, a tool he used, anything with a hint of him. After finding nothing of his, I ran over to his room where I grabbed whatever I could. It turned out to be a book off of Rocky's desk and rushed back for Tracker to sniff, hoping Rocky's scent was on it. I put the book on the ground and Tracker took a deep smell. His eyes soon started to glow red, and he looked around.
"I see him! He's right over Katie's pet parlor!" Tracker shouted.
"We got our target; wolves, let's tame the storm!" the grey wolf howled and ran off in the wind. The white wolves followed suit, leaving both me and Tracker at the lookout.
"Should we follow them?" Tracker asked, worried.
"We should. We could be helpful" I replied, grabbing Tracker by the paw and once more zoomed off towards the direction of the parlor. There, I found the wolves surrounding the area, the whites shielding the water from the grey wolves and the grey wolves trying to penetrate the windy wall. They were howling in a completely foreign language, barking at each other to somehow break the wall and get to Rocky. Occasionally I saw a grey wolf fly in, only for him to get shot right back out. Lightning strikes started to bombard the wolves, and some of the electricity wielders were holding them off, but all of the defenders were getting tired out fast. They needed to get into the barrier fast. At some point, I found the grey wolf leader came flying down and greeted me hastily.
"Hello white one, I need you to come with me." the grey wolf grunted.
"Why's that?" I asked with confusion.
"The target isn't cooperating with us. Every time we open a hole in the barrier and charge in, he expels us, stating we aren't allowed in. You were his friend right? He might let you in!" the grey wolf explained. That made sense, but to go into the storm? That by itself was scary. Not only that, I still need to calm Rocky down, and after that encounter I had with him earlier, I wasn't confident he was going to let me in either, but I decided to give it a try. I nodded and the grey wolf dragged me up into the sky. There, he already had a unit of grey wolves attempting to open another hole in the clouds. The winds up there were extremely strong, yet the wolves at work didn't seem to be affected at all. Soon, the wolves barked and the grey leader howled back.
"Get ready white one, it will only be open for a moment before it closes again." the grey wolf ordered. I gulped, and prepared myself to go into the eye of the storm. Suddenly, a hole opened right in the clouds and I felt a massive bust of wind come from behind that pushed me right in. I drifted a bit before the hole closed behind me. I was somehow floating inside of the sphere, and it was almost completely dark.
"Chase… You finally came" I heard a voice coming from somewhere in the ball. It was Rocky! "I knew you would come eventually. I fear my power is getting too strong and these wolves will get hurt if they approach. I knew that only you and your power could stop me."
"Rocky! But where are you?" I shouted into the void.
"Just follow my voice Chase" Rocky's voice echoed. I flailed my paws around the open air, as though I was swimming in water. Rocky kept talking, allowing me to find where he was. After a final stroke of my paw, I was greeted to a lit, compact area where the storm didn't seem to affect.
"Hi Chase, I'd known you would come," Rocky spoke, tired.
"Rocky! I'm going to save you! Grab my paw!" I shouted at Rocky, holding out my paw.
"My power's too far gone Chase, it's become an essence of its own. Pulling me out won't do anything but allow it to rampage on." Rocky weakly stated.
"Then what am I supposed to do? Tell me, how can I save you?" I shouted, desperate for a response.
"I'm not savable anymore, but you can still save Adventure Bay. Chase, I know what your powers are capable of. Do what you did to that wolf to me" Rocky pleaded.
"What are you talking about?! Are you insane?! I refuse! There must be another way!" I screamed, tears forming in my eyes, clouding my vision.
"Chase, please. You have to. Do it for Adventure Bay, do it for the pups, the wolves, Ryder and the people we save. Do it for me, Chase" Rocky whimpered. Tears flowed down my cheeks as I approached Rocky. I saw him slowly close his eyes and smiled, awaiting his inevitable fate. I felt my energy rush into me, and I felt my powers come back.
"Hear my calls O' blood moon, lend me your strength and courage, I beg of thee!" I shouted into the sky. A red beam penetrated from the clouds as my prayer was answered by the blood red moon. I was ready to lose control once more, but for some reason I stood still in front of Rocky's body. A voice suddenly boomed above, one that I had never heard before.
"Chase, caller of the blood moon, I lend you my strength, but not for blood lust or rage. I lend you my strength to control, and, in turn, bring this helpless pup to the wolves." the voice from above howled. This surprised me. Every time I called for strength, I had never heard anything of the sort. I felt a new energy formulate inside of me, and for once I could control this power. I drew my claw against Rocky's back leg, drawing a tiny drop of blood. I licked my claw, and I felt myself bound to Rocky.
"Rocky, relax and calm down. There is nothing to worry about. You are safe with me. Let your power die, let the storm calm, let the fury built up inside melt away." I spoke gently. Surprisingly, the storm around me started to fade, and the wind soon stopped howling. The barrier around Rocky had soon disintegrated and we were left in the air, the wind barricade fading to a gentle breeze. The thunder and lightning claps had halted, and heavy rain became a drizzle. Me and Rocky soon fell from the sky with nothing to hold us up. I clenched onto Rocky, shielding him from any impact that may come from hitting the hard, rocky surface. I shut my eyes, waiting for pain to shock me, but instead I felt a cushion of air pressing against my fur. The grey wolves had caught me in a bed of gusts, and we landed on the ground safely.
"Good job white one! You really are the one to save him from the war!" the white wolf growled. I cocked my head in confusion.
"After seeing this happen, I realized the war that the prophecy had spoken of wasn't the war between our tribes, but the conflict in this young pup. The moon had explained everything to me. Come, we must go to our den." the white wolf howled and pawed away. I followed, still confused on what had happened. When we arrived, I found the pups and Ryder there taking shelter.
"Hey Ryder, hey pups! What are you doing here?" I asked happily.
"Hey Chase! We were moved here to shelter from the storm. These wolves told us it wasn't safe at the lookout and we moved here until the weather calmed." Ryder explained. The white wolf set Rocky down into a bigger den, away from the others and beckoned to me to come over. I pawed over to him and sat down.
"The moon explained her actions. She gave you the power to cull the storm and gave me the permission to retrieve one of his abilities so that something like this won't happen again. Since I am not knowledgeable of this pup, I think you should make the decision on which power to remove from this pup." the white wolf barked. Me choose one of Rocky's powers to take away? How could I make that choice? Both powers made Rocky who he is.
"Is there another way to help? Like-" I started before Rocky started to stir. He started to tear up and whimper.
"Rocky?" I soothingly whispered as I looked at his face, eyes filled with tears and sorrow.
"I can't lose either power, Chase. My electricity represents me, and my water is the only I have left in remembrance of my brother. I couldn't give them up" Rocky cried.
"Well little mixed one, you have to give something up in return, if not your power, it would have to be something else you naturally have, like your hearing, sight, ability to read, and such." the white wolf explained with a sigh. What are these options? Surely Rocky wouldn't lose his senses for the sake of his powers, right?
"I will give up my sight" Rocky stated plainly. My jaw dropped.
"What?! Why Rocky?!" I shouted at him.
"Chase, after what I did, I don't deserve to see your face any more. I should've trusted you, yet I acted out of anger and spite. I'm sorry Chase." Rocky apologized.
"I-I forgive you, but please don't give up something like that! You need to see!" I shouted at him, trying to get some sense into Rocky, but Rocky shook his head.
"I already made my decision. Please, just let it happen. I'll get around fine, trust me" Rocky said, turned over and looked at me one last time. I could see a smile on his face, a face that showed sorrow and joy at the same time. I let a tear fall before turning back to the white wolf.
"Is this the choice you have chosen? His sight for his life?" the white wolf barked, and I nodded. "Very well."
The white wolf held out his paws in front of Rocky, and I could see the essence float out of Rocky. Rocky soon fell unconscious, and the essence spilled out of him and into the sky towards the moon. Soon, the essence stopped flowing, and the white wolf told me it was done. I gingerly shook Rocky, and he stirred, his head slowly lifting. He opened his eyes right towards me and I saw that the light and color was drained completely from his eyes. Instead of the beautiful amber eyes he once had, they were now dull and gray.
"Chase? Are you here?" Rocky whispered.
"Yes, Rocky. I'm here. You're safe now. Let's go home" I soothed.
"Alright, let's go home together, friend."
Well, here's the end. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the end of this story. It was a pleasure to finally finish this story, and it was such a rush after I got started finally. I do have plans for another story that I will be alluding to, and hope you find that one as appealing as you did this one. Anyways, Review, Grammar, Thanks For Reading!