Present
Kai woke up to the rough sound of slicing. He cracked his eyes open, barely peeking, and opened them wide when he realized what was happening.
"Misako!" Kai whispered to her, who was slicing through the ropes. "What are you doing?"
"I am freeing you," Misako replied casually, as if it was supposed to be obvious. "You don't deserve to be here. You don't deserve this life."
"What are you talking about?" Kai asked, nearly exasperated. "What life?"
"My father is plotting to free you and then turn you all into his slaves. If you remain here, you can never leave. You will remain in the same fate as I." Misako replied gravely, then as soon as her knife successfully cut through the first rope, she moved on to the next.
"No, no...stop," Kai said, grabbing her wrist to stop her from cutting. "Misako, what does he do?"
"Kai, it does not matter." Misako replied. "You are in danger. I can not let you stay. Especially..."
Misako drifted off and ceased talking, but Kai still knew what she was thinking.
She must free him, especially since Kai is her son.
"There is a boat by the Pond of Shimmers. Take it. The lake leads to the rapids. Sail through it, and you will be in the open ocean. Take north, and eventually you will end up at the Dark Island."
Misako looked at her son as she said this, as if it was the most vital words that Kai was ever going to hear, which it probably was.
"But...I don't want to leave without you." Kai told her. "Not if you're my mother. You've been away my whole life. I don't want to spend any more time like that. With you not around."
"I have always been around, Kai," Misako told him. "And I always will. I will always be your mother, and nothing will change that."
Misako then sliced through the last rope and Kai felt the annoying pinch on his skin fall away with the restraint. "Now go, Kai. I'll untie your friends. And you have to go. Remember, to the Pond of Shimmers. Sail down the rapids. Go North. Remember."
Kai nodded and stood up. Then he wrapped his arms around his mother's torso, feeling their fur mix on their own bodies, and the two Turans sighed.
"I'll miss you stalking me in my room, you know." Kai said, chuckling. Misako smiled as she let go of her son.
"And I'll miss stalking you," she replied, laughing. She grabbed Kai's shoulders, careful not to dig into them with her talons. "Now go. Your friends will meet you at the pond. The lookout crew should be sleeping right now, so for now you are safe."
Kai nodded, and turned to go. Then he turned around again to face his mother.
And Mistako saw clearly the question he's been wanting to ask, and the want for it to be answered.
"Wu," she said. "It is Wu. We were young, and we had to separate because we weren't safe with each other."
"Just before Night ended and the Sun was about to come up, I placed you on a rock by the shore with the sapphire that Wu had given me in your blankets. I watched your Day-dweller parents take you with that newborn girl Nya into their home. I watched over you everyday."
"...Wu?" Kai asked with disbelief. "But...he was so..."
"Old? No, he wasn't. The lonely life ages you. He is about the same age as I am. When I heard that he died, that my father killed him, I was heartbroken. The father of my child...dead."
Kai's world fell just a little at these words.
When he had found out the gruesome details about the findings of Wu's body, he felt sympathy for the old man and for Nya, Jay and Zane to have seen it. But now that he knew that had been his own father...
Kai said nothing in response. He was lost in thought, and lost in grief. How could he not have known his own father?
"Thank you, Misako." Kai finally said, smiling at his mother. "I hope I'll see you again."
"Same, Kai." she replied.
Then Kai took off running.
It wasn't long until Nya, Jay and Cole came running toward Kai, who was waiting at the pond with the boat.
"You guys okay?" Kai asked, and the three nodded.
"Fine," Nya replied. "That the boat?"
Kai nodded and gestured to it.
"Yep. It's what's gonna get us out of here. But we should probably hurry." he said, and got into the front of the boat. Jay lifted his brother into the middle, and sat himself in the back. He barely noticed when Nya sat next to him.
"Now we're going to be entering the rapids..." Kai cautioned. "It's going to get really bumpy, so I need you all to hang on. Make sure no one falls in, and make sure the boat doesn't hit any rocks. Clear? Good."
Then taking an oar, Kai pushed the boat off of the shore, and rowed across the lake. Cole and Jay did the same while Nya kept watch, making sure they weren't being followed.
The ride was quiet. All that they heard was a few Night insects chirping and twitting. None heard any other sound, besides their breathing and the sound of the water sloshing as Kai, Cole, and Jay rowed.
As they neared the rapids, Jay reached down below his feet, pulled out an extra oar and handed it to Nya. He barely looked at her.
"We'll need you to help push the boat away from the rocks," was all that Jay said. "The rapids are tough. But it'll be over soon enough, if the Turans don't come after us."
"Got it." Nya replied, and clutched her oar. She looked down into the water to see her reflection.
Her face was covered in dust and dirt. Her hair was in chaos, and sweat glistened everywhere visible, even around her eyes. Bags under her eyes only reminded her how little she's slept since Night began.
And the empty sitting spot in front of her reminded her of what she's lost.
"Almost to the rapids," Kai's voice calls out. "Nya?"
"Oh," Nya said, snapping to reality. "Right. Yeah, I'll be ready."
The entrance to the rapids was small. They four had to use their oars to squeeze the boat through the opening, and then they were off.
It was easy at first. The water was smooth but quick, but it was something that the four could handle.
Then the boat ran right into a big rock, causing a loud scraping noise, and it threw them up.
It only became more difficult from there.
More big rocks appeared, and they all had to be quick to push the boat away. It knocked them all around, like they were balls in a ping pong table, tossed back and forth, sending them screaming.
A roar shook the forest behind them, and they turned. Their hearts stopped.
Only one creature could cause a sound like that.
Then it appeared. They could all see it's bright purple eyes, even though they were almost half mile from the shore. It roared again.
The Turans were never going to give up on catching them.
But the kids will never give up on returning home.