Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.
Chapter 9 – Spirits Unleashed
Dana was forced to give a sedative to both Kim and Tommy as the expected panic broke out. Knowing they'd want to be with their daughter she kept it light, knocking them out for no longer then thirty minutes, but it had the desired effect. Dana also took that time to inform the other Rangers and enlist their help with Tommy and Kim once they awoke. She then gave a list to Joel of all the things she would need from the Aquabase to try and find out why Kira was dying in the hopes to prevent it from happening. With nothing else to do until Joel returned, with his wife if Dana was lucky, for she could certainly use Angela Rawlings' help, Dana returned to Kira's room to watch over her and finally registered Connor's presence.
"Who are you?" She asked, truly having no idea who this teen was.
"Connor McKnight. Red Dino Thunder Power Ranger." He replied in an automated voice, his unreadable expression never wavering from Kira.
"You're her teammate."
"Yeah."
"And you're here because…?"
"Because she's also my mate."
"Your what?!" Dana demanded, wondering if she'd heard him correctly.
"My mate. Look it's a long story, ask Dr. and Mrs. O about it, or their friends the Originals, they all know about it. But for now tell me what's wrong with her. Please." Connor hadn't heard a word they'd said in the hall, he'd been so wrapped up in his mixed feelings of concern for his mate and bitterness that he was this concerned in the first place.
"She's dying." Dana said finally. Connor felt his heart stop at those words and though he didn't remember moving, or reacting in any way, he remembered when Dana rushed over to steady him and began checking his vitals. Dana's voice was a complete haze as those two words kept repeating inside his head. He'd never felt fear like he did at this moment and with this threat to his mate the power of the bond overrode his bitterness, fully instilling in him a complete and utter desperation to save her. She was his life, and if she died, so did he.
"He's gone into shock." Were the first words Connor heard when he began to become aware again.
"Dude, snap out of it!" Ethan demanded, having been called in by Billy when Dana had relayed the seriousness of Kira's situation.
"We have to save her." He muttered.
"Of course we have to save her!" He replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Tell me what you need me to do."
"What?" Connor asked, finally turning from Kira to face his friend.
"Dude, seriously? You're going to choose now to return to being a dumb jock? You're the one bonded to her, you're the one who shares a soul with her, the one who's one half of your guys' single entity."
"So?" Connor asked when he still failed to grasp the concept.
"Think, Connor! Half of your soul is dying, half of you is dying and yet it's only her physical body that's dying. Think of it like your soccer team." He ground out when Connor still failed to see is point. "When one player is injured what do the other teammates do?"
"They compensate." He answered swiftly. "They ensure their teammate's spot is covered."
"Exactly! Kira's down and out but you're not. So compensate for her!"
"I can share my power, our power, with her and keep her alive until we figure something out." He finished, finally catching on and saving Ethan from strangling him for taking so long. Without another word Connor returned his attention to Kira. Grasping one of her hands he closed his eyes and concentrated, willing the power of their bond to come forward and leave his body, entering hers. At first nothing happened, but slowly a faint red glow began to emanate from him, seeping towards Kira before engulfing her in it. Connor didn't notice when Tommy and Kim re-entered the room after having woken up, to see their daughter bathed in a red glow that was clearly coming from Kira.
"He's sharing-" Ethan began but Tommy cut him off.
"Sharing his life force. Keeping her alive…for now."
"But it only buys us time. We still don't know what's wrong with her." Kim said.
"Then lets figure that out, shall we?" Said a voice from the doorway where Angela Rawlings stood in front of her husband and the other Lightspeed Rangers, all of whom were carrying the various equipment Dana needed.
"Can we while he's channelling his power to her?" Dana asked.
"We should be able to get a reading on his energy signature and then simply eliminate it from any results."
"This is why I need you." Dana said as she began to instruct her friends on where to put the equipment. "A brain tumour I can handle, The Power causing problems…not so much." Ethan, Tommy and Kim soon found themselves ushered out of the room as Dana and Angela got to work. After having deposited their load, the Lightspeed Rangers were also banished from the room and all of them headed down to the already over crowded living room to wait. Nearly two hours passed before Dana and Angela came downstairs, neither of them looking very happy.
"We found nothing." Dana said. "We've eliminated every possibility we can think of, from re-checking her organ functions, to an external power attacking her, but nothing."
"I'm afraid I don't know what to say." Angela admitted. "Dana was correct that she should be completely healthy. And yet she's not."
"Connor's energy is still keeping her alive." Dana added. "But he can only hold out for so long before he uses up all his life force and they both die." Tommy and Kim held each other tightly, unable to believe that there was no hope. They were Power Rangers, there was always hope…until there wasn't. Thankfully, others of their group were thinking with a slightly clearer head then they were.
"We can do this guys." Zack said addressing the Original Rangers. "Throughout all this we've forgotten one thing: we're Ninjetti. Anything is possible."
"You think The Great Power can save her?" Kim breathed.
"It saved Zordon. It rebuilt the Command Centre, twice. It stopped Ivan, who even Zordon and the Ancient Warriors couldn't defeat." Billy reasoned.
"It can't get worse if we try." Said Trini. This was supposed to be a happy day, when they announced her pregnancy, but it had turned into a nightmare beyond anything they could have thought of.
"Then let's go." Said Tommy.
"Wait." Said Jason. "Is it safe?" He asked Trini. He was losing his goddaughter, he couldn't lose his unborn child too, and who knew what using that amount of power would do to Trini. Trini nodded and smiled.
"The Great Power would never take our child from us." She said with complete confidence. There wasn't a shred of doubt in her mind that she and their unborn child would be fine. Looking into her eyes, Jason saw the truth, and along with the Ape the Bear's agreement that their power would never hurt the babe, Jason happily conceded to this chance at saving Kira. As Kira's room was not meant to hold all twenty something of them, only the Originals, Ethan, Dana and Angela went upstairs. Dana and Angela prepared to monitor Kira while the six Ninjetti Warriors called on their Animal Spirits, donning their Ninjetti robes once more. Unable to move Connor, who remained in a sort of trance, completely oblivious to them, they could not form a circle as they were used to but made do with a semi-circle. At Dana's nod they called on The Great Power and felt their Animal Spirits burst forth from the crests on their chests. The Spirits flew around for a bit, bathing the room in their golden light, before coming a stop in a circle atop Kira. Connor suddenly broke out of his trance, the red energy that had surrounded him and Kira vanishing. Ethan caught him as he fell off his chair, light headed and dizzy, and the two stepped back, looking on with hope. The cry of each Animal Spirit could be heard before an orb of blinding golden power formed within their circle, slowly lowering towards Kira. When the orb entered her Kira's eyes snapped open and she drew a ragged breath as The Great Power surged through her, seeping out of her very being causing her to glow with the its golden power. Eventually, the light died down and the Animal Spirits returned to their partners. The Ninjetti lowered their hoods and approached Kira who's eyes were darting around, trying to find answers as to what was going on.
"Mom? Dad?" she asked, her eyes settling on them and Tommy and Kim both burst into tears. Her colour had returned and any other outward sign of illness was gone; they only hoped the same held true for the inside. "What's going on?"
"It's a long story." Kim said with a relieved laugh.
"I think I've got time. If Dana and Mrs. Rawlings are here I'm probably not going anywhere anytime soon."
"Well you've got that right." Said Dana as she waited once again for the scanner's results.
"So?" Tommy asked when he heard the scanner beep. Dana looked up and shook her head.
"It wasn't enough."
"But she's better." Argued Trini.
"Yes, she's better, but she's not cured. Whatever you did had a major impact, but her body is still shutting down. Just at a much slower pace." None of them liked that news, Connor least of all as he shook off Ethan, promptly falling to the ground as he could not stand on his own, before he dragged himself over to his mate's side.
"So…what do…we do?" he panted, incredibly weak from the amount of energy he'd expended.
"I have a thought." Billy spoke up. "A theory." As Billy's theories were right 99.99% of the time, they all looked at him with hope in their eyes. "Kira responded to Connor's power because they are mates, but are mates because of the Ninjetti. They are mates through The Great Power, and even though it was his life force Connor gave her, there were still traces of The Great Power within his life force. Then we infused Kira with The Great Power itself. Not indirectly like Connor, but directly, and this is the result. My theory, is that whatever is causing Kira's body to shut down, is directly related to The Great Power. To the Ninjetti." Those who knew of the prophecy knew he was referring to it, and his theory revolved around there being more to the prophecy then they knew, and whatever it was, was costing Kira her life.
"How do we test that theory?" Zack asked.
"We have to contact Dulcea." Said Kim. "She's the only one who might have some answers."
"But we can't just contact her." Said Jason. "There's no interplanetary communications system on Phaedos. We'd have to teleport there ourselves."
"Then that's what we do." Said Tommy resolutely.
"Hold on a sec." said Kira. "We're going to Phaedos?" she clarified, the others nodded not seeing any other option. "We can't all go to Phaedos. Earth needs us. If we all go there's no active Rangers left. Mesogog will overrun the planet in a couple of days. Not to mention the White Ranger."
"Connor and Ethan will stay." Said Tommy. Connor's head snapped in his direction and Kira shot an incredulous look at her father.
"You really think Connor is going to be able to focus on anything if I'm still fighting for my life? Like it or not, until we fix this both Connor and I are out for the count. That just leaves you and Ethan as active Rangers."
"So what do you propose?"
"I'll go to Phaedos." At Connor's growl she rolled her eyes and amended her statement. "We'll go to Phaedos. We'll find Dulcea and get the answers we need."
"You're not going to Phaedos alone." Kim said. "It's too dangerous. I won't allow it."
"And I won't allow you to sacrifice Earth for the sake of being overprotective and stubborn." Kira shot back. "And in case you missed it, Connor's going with me."
"Two of you can't do it alone. Especially if you have to reach the Monolith." Said Trini. "It took all six of us to get through the traps the Ninjetti set."
"Yeah, but we're not just anyone." Said Kira. "I'm The Child of Power, The Child of The Great Power, The Child of the Ninjetti. I think we'll be fine." They had to concede that she had a point. Kira wasn't just anyone, she was The Child of Power and she was going after The Great Power, after the power that already resided in her. She wouldn't have to reach the Monolith to find The Great Power. Dulcea would help her look deep inside, as she had with them, and help her find it within herself.
"Ok fine." Tommy said finally after a silent conversation with Kim. "But Billy and Alpha are going to power up your communicators and weld them on to your wrists so you'll always be able to reach us and always be able to teleport home if things go wrong."
"And you contact us the minute you're safely there. And when you find Dulcea." Kim added. "And periodically so we know you're alright." Although believing it to be overkill, Kira nodded her agreement, knowing it was the only way she'd be allowed to go. Their plan was relayed to the others downstairs before Tommy, Kim, Billy and Connor teleported to the Command Centre, Kira being forced to rest while some of Alpha's inventions helped Connor regain his energy, and Billy and Alpha worked on their communicators. Finally, when Connor could not only support himself again, but support Kira as well, Tommy and Kim deemed it ok for them to go. Meeting on the main platform, Kira looked up at Zordon's energy tube where in her grandfather's place was the picture of the Original Rangers that had appeared there when the Command Centre had been rebuild after his death. True to form, pictures of other Ranger teams had graced the walls when they were formed. The Lost Galaxy Rangers smiled down from next to the Space Rangers and the teams just got newer and newer until Kira saw one of her own team, she, Connor, Ethan and her dad looking down on the Command Centre.
"I never thought I'd ever be up on these walls." She mumbled.
"He'd be proud of you." Kim replied, referring to Zordon. "As we are." Tommy came over and smiled his agreement before he told them it was time to go. Connor and Kira took their place in the middle of the platform as Alpha punched in a few controls and they felt the feeling of teleportation overtake them, taking them away from Earth to a place where they hoped they'd find the answers they sought. It took an amazingly short time to reach a planet several galaxies away. Tommy and Kim had told them all they remembered of Phaedos and so they knew more or less where they were headed.
"Up the cliffs, across the top away from the sea and towards the jungle." Kira muttered as the two began the hike. Although Connor had his full strength back, Kira did not and the two had to stop numerous times for her to rest. They made it to the top of the cliffs without running into any living thing, though they did come across the bones of a few creatures of unknown origin. They kept an eye out for Dulcea, who they didn't doubt know they were there, but had yet to make an appearance. They figured they'd see her when she realized they were headed to the Ninjetti Temple. Sure enough, as night approached and the sea had disappeared behind them while the jungle became more and more visible, a figure in a green cloak emerged ahead of them, holding her stick aloft in a cautionary manner.
"You approach sacred ground, heavily guarded against intruders." She warned. "What is your purpose on Phaedos?"
"To find you." Kira replied. "Dulcea we need your help." The woman removed her hood and stared at them questioningly.
"How do you know who I am?" She asked, raising her stick a little higher.
"Easy." Connor said as he stepped in front of Kira, ready to defend her if necessary.
"From my parents." Kira responded, pushing Connor aside slightly. "Dulcea my name's Kira Oliver, I'm Tommy and Kimberly's daughter. The daughter of the Crane and Falcon." She added in case the ancient being didn't remember their actual names. Though she needn't have worried, for the moment she'd said their names, recognition flashed across her face.
"The Child of-"
"Of Power, yeah." Kira finished. "And this is my mate, Connor."
"Your mate?" She asked slightly surprised.
"Yep. The prophecy's coming true." Said Connor, relaxing now that the threat to his mate was gone.
"What help do you need?"
"Answers. Kira's dying." Those words caught in his throat but he went on. "But not from any physical cause, the best doctor on our planet says there's no reason she shouldn't be healthy. Her parents, and their friends-"
"The Ninjetti Warriors." Kira supplied.
"Yeah them, they used The Great Power and it made her better, but she's still dying, just more slowly."
"Uncle Billy thinks it has something to do with the prophecy and The Great Power."
"Billy thinks The Great Power is killing you?" Dulcea asked, completely shocked. "That's impossible. The Great Power is the power of the Ninjetti and we are warriors of the light, our power is purely good. It is possible that a Ninjetti Warrior turns to darkness and uses The Great Power to cause death and destruction, but The Great Power cannot kill on its own."
"But what about the prophecy?" Connor asked. "It's completely wack, there must be something in it that is causing this!" Dulcea slowly shook her head.
"I assume Tommy and Kimberly told you the exact wording of the prophecy." At their nods she continued. "That is the prophecy in its entirety. There is nothing in it that suggests the death of The Child."
"So then what could it be?!" Connor ground out, getting really frustrated. "She can't be dying of nothing!"
"I quite agree with you. And if it is something to do with The Great Power, we will discover what it is." Said Dulcea. "But I can do no more here. We shall return to the temple and ask the Sacred Animals for help." She led them the rest of the way to the temple and both were in awe at the sight before them. The over six million year old temple was still impressive even in its ruined state. Dulcea lit a fire in the middle of the plateau as she did with the Original Rangers before them, but unlike their visit, Kira and Connor were not here in search of The Great Power for they already had it. Dulcea took a seat before the fire inviting Connor and Kira to sit across from her.
"So…what happens now?" Connor asked, wondering how one goes about asking Sacred Animal Spirits for help.
"We shall call on The Great Power and the Sacred Animals will guide us to the answers we seek." Dulcea responded. "Close your eyes and summon your power, allow the Sacred Animals in." Connor and Kira did just that, willing to try anything by this point. Some minutes passed and they felt The Great Power swirl around them but no answers came, not to them at least.
"As I already knew, it is not The Great Power." Dulcea said. "At least not directly. It is possible it is indirectly related."
"What do you mean?" Connor asked.
"Your Animal Spirits. They are inherently tied to you, to your life force, if something is wrong with your Animal Spirit, it could very well be costing you your life."
"But I don't have an Animal Spirit." Kira said. Dulcea smiled, amused.
"Everyone has an Animal Spirit, though not everyone is capable of releasing it. You are The Child of Power, The Child of the Ninjetti prophecy. It is not possible for you not to be able to release your Animal Spirit. Nor you, Connor. As mate to The Child of Power you too will be able to release your Spirit."
"So we have to release them then." Said Kira.
"Let's do it." Agreed Connor. Dulcea nodded and stood up, preparing to help two more become Ninjetti. Unlike the last time the powder she had spread over the fire was unnecessary for these two did not need the extra boost to tap into their Spirits, it was simply an impossibility that these particular two could not find them.
"Close your eyes and look deep inside. Search your feelings and yourselves and allow your Animal Spirits to run free." Thinking that Dr. O had been right when he said he'd get used to the 'close your eyes and look deep inside' bit, Connor did as instructed. The feeling that welled up inside him was familiar to him, for it had made an appearance every time Kira was in danger, or upset, and most notably when they'd first been bonded. He realized then that the power of their bond was their Animal Spirits. It wasn't long before both Kira and Connor felt the power overwhelm them as the cries of two animals, two roars, could be heard. They felt a similar feeling to when they morphed as their clothes melted away to be replaced by Ninjetti robes before a blinding light erupted behind their closed eyes, when it died down and they finally opened their eyes it was to see two glowing Animal Spirits, a Cheetah and a Lion, one of whom was not yet fully grown, just like its partner. Kira looked down to the crest on her chest and confirmed that the Cheetah did indeed belong to her, though its size was a dead giveaway, and truthfully she would have been able to guess anyways, for while one Spirit was sitting calmly, the other was lying on its side, clearly suffering.
"I think it's safe to say it's my Animal Spirit." She mumbled as she approached the Cheetah. "But what's wrong with it? Why's it suffering?"
"There are only two reasons I know of for why an Animal Spirit would suffer so." Dulcea answered as she and Connor came to stand with Kira.
"And those are?" Connor asked.
"As they are born of The Great Power, Animal Spirits are purely good, it is their partners who can join the darkness. Should that happen, and a pure Animal Spirit is used by its partner for dark deeds, the Animal Spirit cannot survive for long."
"So Kira would have to be evil?"
"Not just evil, but specifically forcing her Animal Spirit to fight for the darkness. An Animal Spirit carrier can be evil with no repercussions so long as their Animal Spirit remains dormant, or unused, inside them."
"Ok, so since that's never happened, it's gotta be option two." Dulcea shot Connor a calculating look, staring at him as she spoke to gauge his reaction.
"The other reason is if one bonded mate no longer loves the other." Connor's expression took on one of shock and confusion but Dulcea wasn't finished. "A mating bond is created solely on the mates' love for each other, and not necessarily the love of two adults. You are not the first pair to be too young to truly be mates, there have been others who were children, or one mate who was a child, and their love was pure until they grew, but that did not diminish its strength. If one mate no longer loves the other, the other mate will suffer, though I have not heard of one dying from it. They merely suffer their unrequited love for the rest of their lives." She muttered the last part, but it was still heard. "Of course, you are not normal Ninjetti. You are the ones of the prophecy and perhaps this is where The Great Power comes in to play. As you already know The Great Power is an entity of goodness, yet the prophecy states that The Child will save or destroy the universe, dependant upon the success or failure of the bond you share. Perhaps this is The Great Power's way of trying to ensure The Child will not bring about destruction."
"This doesn't make any sense." Said Connor. "You're saying she's dying because I don't love her anymore? Of course I love her! If I didn't love her I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't have given up most of my life force to keep her alive, I wouldn't put up with my future being taken from me!" At his heated final words the Cheetah let out a whimper and Kira felt weakness overtake her.
"Woah!" she said, steadying herself.
"You ok?" Connor asked, reaching to steady her.
"Yeah, yeah I just felt weak all of a sudden." Dulcea's calculating look remained on Connor as she asked another question.
"What do you mean by your future being taken from you?"
"I just…I just mean that I didn't choose this. That this bond was forced on me. I didn't have a choice…I didn't want this." Again the Cheetah whimpered and Kira grabbed on to Connor for support.
"So Kira was forced on you. And you don't want her."
"That's not what I said." Connor defended.
"That's exactly what you said, at least as far as your Animal Spirit is concerned." Dulcea countered. "It is normal for humans to feel emotions of all sorts and feeling resentment and anger towards the situation is normal. But your Animal Spirit is not a human. It does not understand that these feelings do not mean you do not love her and so what it hears is that you did not choose to be her mate, you do not want to be her mate, and you do not love her. As far as your Animal Spirits are concerned Connor does not love Kira, so the Lion, who is inherently tied to Connor, does not love the Cheetah."
"And that misunderstanding is killing her?!" Connor breathed incredulously.
"Yes." Dulcea said simply. "An Animal Spirit will suffer if they lose the love of their mate, but due to the prophecy, The Great Power is taking that one step further. If you no longer love her, the bond fails and destruction will befall the universe. By bringing about her death, The Great Power attempts to ensure the universe's survival, for she cannot use her power to destroy it if she is dead."
"But you said The Great Power can't kill. Now you're saying its killing her?"
"I said The Great Power alone cannot kill. But it is not alone, it has the power of the prophecy and the power of every Ninjetti Warrior to ever live. You see, The Great Power is made up of the power of every Ninjetti to ever exist, dead or alive, and it is our sworn duty to protect the universe."
"And it's trying to fulfill its sworn duty by killing me if our bond fails." Kira finished. "In other words I can't live unless Connor loves me."
"I believe so, yes." Dulcea said sullenly.
"But I do love you!" He insisted, looking into her eyes and begging her to believe him. "We've gone through this, I love you, there is nothing more important to me then you."
"But your feelings have changed." She mumbled.
"No. No they haven't. You hear that?" he yelled to the Lion who had begun pacing when Connor became incensed. "You're wrong, I do love her! Resenting the situation doesn't mean I don't love her!" When the Lion merely looked at him his anger turned to sorrow and tears began to form as he sunk to the ground, pulling Kira into his arms. "I love you, I do want you, I don't want you to die." He sobbed. "Yeah I was angry and feeling like I was trapped, and I know I've been a complete dick this week because of it…but that doesn't mean I don't love you." Kira tightened her arms around him as his guilt overwhelmed her. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen…don't die, please don't die…I'm sorry, I love you and I'm so sorry!" While his guilt flooded through their bond so did his love and it was enough to have the Cheetah raise its head. While Connor clung to Kira and she tried to assure him that everything would be alright, Dulcea watched the results of Connor's proclamation and emotional shift. The Lion stopped his pacing and raced over to the Cheetah. He began nuzzling her and purring before lying beside her and affectionately licking her head. It was the Lion's form of apology, and like her partner, the Cheetah craned her neck and licked him back, reassuring the Lion, as Kira was Connor, that it was alright. The change in both Kira and the Cheetah was apparent. As the Lion realized his mistake, the bond was once again filled with love and Kira's life force returned to her, their bond no longer failing in eyes of The Great Power. After awhile, Connor and Kira pulled apart and became aware of Kira's returned health. Smiling broadly, they turned towards their Animal Spirits, seeing the Lion wrapped protectively around the Cheetah.
"Looks like I'm not going anywhere just yet." Kira murmured laying her head on Connor's shoulder and breathing a sigh of relief. Though she knew that as a Ranger she could die at any time, this was different, scarier, as far as she was concerned.
"Yeah, but this shouldn't have happened in the first place." Connor mumbled back, his own relief causing his heart to finally stop racing.
"You should have talked to me." She said. "You should have told me that's how you were feeling, not just let it fester. You're not the only one who feels that way."
"You didn't say anything either."
"I've had years to get used to the fact that my future isn't my own, that I have no choice in a lot of things. I also found out before you that I'd one day be bonded to someone and lose more of my freedom and I had mom and dad to help me through it. I know you don't have your parents, but you have me. I get that you might not want to talk to me about everything and that's fine, but you've got Ethan too. He might be weirded out but he's still your friend, he'll still help you."
"I know. He snapped me out of it today. Made me see that I could help you, keep you alive till we figured something out."
"Good. Trust him. And trust me. We're partners in this, Connor, don't shut me out." Connor nodded.
"I won't. Not anymore, not when I see the consequences." He was silent for a moment as he stared at the Lion, feeling a bit of resentment return, though not directed at their situation, but rather at his Animal Spirit. The Lion's misunderstanding had nearly cost him his mate. "This shouldn't have happened." He said again. "And I'm gonna make sure it never can again."
"How…?" Kira asked hesitantly.
"Dulcea you said our Animal Spirits are inherently tied to us right?"
"I did."
"Then there shouldn't be any misunderstandings between us. If they're tied to us, if they're a part of us, they should know us, know what we're feeling, what we're thinking. I get he's not human, but he's going to understand human emotions." Connor began to admit a red glow, as did the Lion, as Connor worked to bend his Spirit to his will. Although unsure if it was even possible, Kira was all for Connor's idea and lent her own power to his endeavour, and she and the Cheetah beginning to glow a pale yellow. Nothing else visible happened, the four beings merely stood staring at each other, glowing. Inside, however, a pressure was building in both their minds. Eventually it broke and they were filled with silence before they became aware of another presence in their minds, three other presences actually.
"Connor…?" Kira thought, believing she recognized one of them.
"Yeah?"
"We can communicate telepathically now." She said. "This is going to take some getting used to."
"Yeah, doesn't look like we succeeded with our Animal Spirits though."
"Don't be so sure, human." Another, deep baritone voice said. Kira and Connor looked to each other then to their Spirits who were both looking them in the eyes.
"Y-you're my Lion Spirit, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"And the Cheetah?" Kira asked.
"I too am here." A female, younger sounding, voice said.
"Ok, this is weird. Mom and dad can talk to each other, but not to their Spirits."
"Your parents never tried to establish a deeper connection with their Spirits." The Cheetah responded.
"Yeah well it wouldn't have been necessary if you weren't killing Kira." Connor accused the Lion.
"No, this would not have been necessary if you had not wallowed in your bitterness."
"Oh would you stop it?" The Cheetah asked, batting at the Lion. "As we now know it was a misunderstanding, let it go. And do stop trying to be intimidating, you're not very good at it."
"I can be intimidating…" The Lion pouted, breaking the tension with his Connor like tendencies.
"I shouldn't be surprised." Kira laughed. "He is your Spirit after all." The Cheetah laughed along with Kira as she walked forward and came to a stop before her.
"I am Nala." She introduced, to Kira's surprise.
"Y-you have a name?"
"Yes. And it is Nala." Kira turned to Connor with amusement in her eyes.
"If your Spirit's name is Simba laughter will be what kills me this time." She said.
"Simba?" The Lion asked. "What is Simba? Why is that name important?"
"They're characters from 'The Lion King.' " Said Connor.
"The Lion King? I do not understand this reference." Said Nala.
"Oh…well it's…it's not important." Said Kira.
"If you say so." Nala responded with a shrug. While their minds were now connected, it apparently did not mean that all their knowledge was shared. They could communicate, and stop a repeat incident of Kira dying, but they'd actually have to explain things, not assume their Spirits just knew.
"I do not have a name." Connor's Lion spoke up.
"Why do you have a name and he doesn't?" Connor asked Nala.
"We are, in essence, animals, but we are also a part of you. We share your most fundamental beliefs, your personality. Me having a name must mean something to Kira, while you are not too bothered with them."
"Ok then." Connor shrugged. After that their conversation ended and their Animal Spirits retreated back inside them. Connor and Kira turned to Dulcea who had stood silently off to the side and observed the exchange, although she could not hear their mental conversation.
"We established a connection." Kira explained. "Connor and I can now communicate telepathically, like mom and dad, but also with our Animal Spirits."
"You can speak with your Animal Spirits?" Dulcea asked, her eyebrows raising.
"I take it that's not normal." Said Connor.
"No. I have never before heard of someone speaking with their Animal Spirit. Communicating silently through feelings yes, but not actually speaking."
"Well, we're just weird I guess." Said Kira with a yawn. It was then that they became aware of how late it was. It was nightfall when they'd met up with Dulcea, then they'd walked here before everything else had happened.
"It is late." Said Dulcea. "We will sleep and speak more in the morning, before you return home." When she said the word home, Kira's eyes widened.
"We forgot to contact mom and dad!" She cried. "We were supposed to do that when we got here, then again when we found Dulcea, and then again just because."
"Dr. O's gonna kill me." Connor mumbled. "Mrs. O is gonna kill me." That second thought certainly put more fear into both Connor and Kira and they both frantically reached for their communicators, Kira succeeding first. Needless to say Tommy and Kim were furious that they'd gone hours without a single word, and more importantly that they hadn't answered their communicators when Tommy and Kim had called; the two parents had feared the worst. Kira quickly explained that they hadn't heard their communicators as they'd been too busy saving her life, and guess what? They'd succeeded! Those words cooled Tommy and Kim's anger right down for they both couldn't find fault with that excuse, and were so relieved that their daughter was going to live that they were once again made incomprehensible by their tears, though this time from happiness. After a few more minutes they signed off saying they'd be home the next morning before they settled back against one of the stonewalls, Connor ensuring his mate was safely tucked in his arms, before the two drifted off to sleep.
A/N - I hope my explanation made sense. I re-wrote it like three times so, you'll decide if I chose the right one or not...
There were quite a few of your who guessed after Kira and Connor bonded that Connor's spirit would be the Lion and you were absolutely right. And yes Kira's spirit is the Cheetah...more on that to come.
Review please!