Chapter IX: Reunion

Dropping back down on all fours, Grizz charged forward, setting his sights on Panda and Charlie. Still clutching Panda's arm, Charlie moved swiftly, pulling him out of the way of the charging grizzly and leading him away as fast as he could, though Grizz did not pursue them. He skidded to a halt and looked back over his shoulder, his gaze settling on Nom Nom, who still had not managed to get to his feet yet, though he was frantically scooting back across the ground. Once he saw the bear look his way, he immediately attempted to get to his feet, but he stumbled and fell back. Knowing he couldn't escape at this point, the koala braced himself, shielding his face with his arms as he prepared for Grizz to tear into him.

Suddenly, Nom Nom felt someone grab him roughly and pull him out of the way before the charging grizzly could sink his teeth and claws into him. Opening his eyes again, he was able to see the ground rushing by beneath him. Just as he acknowledged that it was Ice Bear who had grabbed him, he felt himself suddenly being thrown from his arms and straight into some thick underbrush. "Stay down," the polar bear stated firmly but calmly as he tossed him. The koala tried to maneuver around the brush but doing so was difficult, as he was constantly being poked and jabbed by needle-like twigs. He managed to find the smallest gap in the foliage and peeked through, noticing Grizz was still pursuing his brother.

Ice Bear stopped abruptly and turned to face his brother, who skidded to a halt just five feet in front of him. The polar bear tried to maintain his composure, but he had started to tremble slightly with fear. "Ice Bear doesn't want to fight you," he stated calmly, narrowing his eyes. Grizz responded with a loud huff, saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"Grizz!"

Ice Bear looked up, noticing Panda was heading towards them, while Charlie was sprinting to catch up with him. "Grizz, stop this! Please!"

Once he had finally managed to catch up with the bear, Charlie quickly grabbed his arm, holding him back. The grizzly bear turned to glance at them for a moment before refocusing his attention back on Ice Bear. He charged without warning, and Ice Bear widened his stance and braced for the violent impact.

Grizz collided with the polar bear roughly, pushing him back several feet, though he managed to keep himself standing. Ice Bear quickly pressed a paw against his throat in an attempt to keep his snapping jaws from getting too close to his face. Within seconds, Grizz's strength became too much, and Ice Bear found himself losing his footing and falling back. As his back hit the ground, he managed to lift a leg and press it against Grizz's abdomen, pushing him upward and completely flipping him over his head. Free of his weight, Ice Bear immediately jumped to his feet again. Grizz was on him again within seconds, taking multiple swipes at him while also trying to get at his throat.

Meanwhile, Panda kept trying to pull free from Charlie's grip. "Let go! I have to do something!"

"He'll kill you, Panda!"

They both continued watching helplessly, barely noticing Nom Nom had managed to crawl his way out from the underbrush and was now making his way towards them. "They're gonna kill each other!" he shouted.

They all looked on in shock as Grizz managed to overpower the polar bear and knock him to the ground, where he lay in a slight daze for a few moments. As he made an attempt to try and sit up, Grizz immediately shoved him back down with his paw, growling menacingly.

Panda finally managed to tear himself from Charlie's grip and raced towards his brothers, knowing Grizz was likely about to deliver the fatal blow to his youngest sibling.

"GRIZZ, STOP!" he shouted. "STOOOOP!"

The grizzly hesitated, his paw hovering above Ice Bear's head as he prepared to slash his throat. He looked towards the approaching panda, narrowing his eyes threateningly.

"Grizz, stop this! This isn't you! Just please stop it! I know it's not your fault, but I'm not going to just stand here and watch you do this! YOU'RE STRONGER THAN THIS! PLEASE, GRIZZ! LISTEN TO WHAT I'M TELLING YOU!"

Pan-Pan?

"Please…" The younger bear let out a choked sob. "Please, Grizz….I just want my brother back."

Grizz closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head, Panda's pleas still ringing loudly in his ears. When he finally opened his eyes again, Ice Bear was the first thing he saw, and he was horrified to see the smallest splatters of blood on his body, which stood out in stark contrast against the white fur. "Li'l bro…?" he whispered. The panic seemed to dissipate from the polar bear's eyes, and he relaxed somewhat upon hearing his older brother's gentle voice instead of vicious growls and snarls.

"Grizz?"

Hearing Panda call to him softly, Grizz immediately whipped his head around to face him. He slowly stood up on his hind legs and took a step back, glancing between him and Ice Bear. "Panda, I…I didn't…"

"Grizz, it's all right," his younger brother assured as he held up his paws, taking a step forward. "It's going to be okay."

Grizz looked past Panda and noticed Nom Nom and Charlie standing not too far away. "Did…Did I hurt anyone else?" he squeaked, shifting his focus back to Panda.

"No, Grizz." Panda continued taking cautious steps towards his sibling. "Come on, let's go home, okay?"

Grizz squeezed his eyes shut as he grabbed at his head. "No…No, I'm a monster! Look at what I've done!" he sobbed.

"Grizz, it's not your fault. You weren't in the right frame of mind. You didn't realize what you were doing."

"No, Panda, stay back! I could change back any second!" the grizzly warned as he looked up again and held up a paw to stop him. "J-Just stay back, okay? I'm dangerous!" The bear immediately began backing away. "Please, I don't want to hurt anyone anymore," he managed to utter through a cracking voice, tears blurring his vision.

"You won't, Grizz, it's going to be okay. Let's just go home."

Grizz stood in complete silence for the longest time, trembling slightly. He glanced towards Ice Bear, relieved to see that he was on his feet again and seemed to be fine for the most part, but seeing the small blood stains from the nicks and cuts he had received during their brief brawl made him feel absolutely sick with guilt.

He didn't know what to do. While he wanted nothing more than to just go home with his brothers and try to put this entire ordeal behind him, he knew he was still incredibly unstable. He could easily revert back to his primal state at any given moment and attack his brothers again without a second thought. Hurting Nom Nom had been bad enough, but if he did something to seriously injure or even kill one of his brothers, he just wouldn't be able to go on living anymore.

Grizz locked eyes with Panda again as he started to open his mouth to reply, but an odd sound forced him to pause and look up towards the night sky. As the sound grew louder, everyone eventually turned their gazes upwards. They all gaped with looks of astonishment when they saw a helicopter emerge over the trees, its bright search light scanning the ground. Panda winced as the light briefly shined over him before moving over Grizz and Ice Bear. As the light shifted towards Charlie and Nom Nom, the Bigfoot let out a panicked yelp before he fled towards the trees, not wanting to risk being spotted by humans. Nom Nom glanced back at him momentarily before looking back up at the hovering aircraft. The bright spotlight found its way over to him and he winced, shielding his eyes as his entire body was illuminated.

"EVERYONE STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" a threatening voice shouted at them through what sounded like a megaphone. "NOBODY MOVE!"

Everyone stood in stunned silence as they watched the helicopter slowly descend into the clearing. People had already started leaping out of the craft before it had even touched the ground.

"Sir, are you all right?!"

Once he had recovered from being blinded by the spotlight, Nom Nom looked up and saw both of his security personnel rushing towards him.

"He's injured!"

Nom Nom took a step back as one of his bodyguards knelt down in front of him and extended a hand towards him. "N-No, I'm fine," he said as he resisted the approaching hand, his tone lacking its usual sharpness.

"Sir, you're injured," the man reaffirmed as he attempted to reach for him again. "We're taking you out of here."

"PUT YOUR HANDS UP!" a voice suddenly shouted aggressively, forcing Nom Nom to refocus his attention on the bear brothers, who were horrified to find themselves staring down the barrels of the guns being aimed at them.

"Woah, stop!" the koala shouted as he took off in a pained sprint. "STOP! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Did these bears kidnap you?" one of the authorities asked curtly, never taking his eyes off the bears as he kept his gun pointed at them.

"What?! NO! No one kidnapped me! We just got lost! Now put the guns down, you nitwits!"

"Y-Yeah, officer, we swear we didn't kidnap him," Panda uttered nervously, never taking his eyes off the gun pointed at his face. "We were out here looking for him just like you were."

The armed men exchanged skeptical glances between each other, still keeping their weapons pointed at the bears.

"Put. The guns. Down," Nom Nom repeated firmly. After a moment's hesitation, the men finally complied, lowering their weapons. "Morons," the koala muttered under his breath. He turned and looked up when he suddenly felt someone standing over him.

"Sir, we need to get you to a hospital," his security guard repeated as he knelt down before him again. "Do you know if anything might be broken?"

Nom Nom looked downward as he lifted a paw to his ribs. "I…I don't know. I think I might have broken a rib."

"Grizz, stop! Where are you going?!"

Startled, Nom Nom turned and followed Panda's gaze, noticing Grizz had taken off in a mad sprint and was now heading towards the forest. Not again. "Woah, hang on," the koala protested as he felt himself being carefully lifted off the ground by his security guard. "Wait, put me down, we can't just-"

"Sir, we need to get you to the emergency room," the man cut him off sternly.

"But-"

"Nom Nom, it's okay, just go," Panda interjected, receiving a conflicted look from the koala. "We know our way back, don't worry," he reaffirmed as he started walking backwards. "But we need to take care of our brother first. We're not going anywhere without him." The panda turned and fled to the woods, Ice Bear immediately following after him.

Nom Nom silently watched them flee as he was swiftly carted away to the helicopter. He soon found himself zoning out as he was carefully placed on the floor. Various voices spoke urgently all around him, though it only registered as noise to him. Sitting in that helicopter and being surrounded by people meant nothing to him at that moment. Grizz was the only thing he could think about, and even if his brothers were there with him, it still didn't feel right to leave him behind.

He barely even acknowledged the human who was crouched over him and inspecting his wounds, though he flinched when he felt him place his hands on him.

"Can I ask how this happened?" he asked as he referred to his bandaged arm.

Nom Nom turned away, unable to look him in the eye as he softly replied, "A wolf."

ooooooo

Both Panda and Ice Bear had expected their search for Grizz to be a bit of a challenge, but as they stepped past the edge of the forest, they were both somewhat surprised to see their older brother sitting atop a stump just a few yards away, his back facing them. They stood silently for a few moments, the whirling sound of the helicopter gradually fading from their ears. They could hear Charlie's labored breathing behind them as he ran to catch up with them, though they didn't turn to face him.

"Is he…Where did he…?" the Bigfoot gasped as he leaned forward and placed his hands on his knees. Once he managed to catch his breath, he peered over the tops of the bear's heads and frowned deeply when he saw the eldest bear hunched over on the stump. "Is he okay?"

"I don't think so," Panda whispered as he started forward, Ice Bear promptly following. Charlie only followed a short distance before Panda asked him to hang back and give them a moment to talk to Grizz, to which he complied. Stepping closer to his sibling, he could almost feeling the self-loathing radiating off his body. Seeing his brother in such a state was frightening, and he didn't know if he was the right candidate to bring him reassurance. It seemed like he was always the one who needed reassurance from Grizz.

"You guys should leave," Grizz muttered into his paws, breaking the silence first. "You're not safe."

"Grizz, quit being ridiculous," Panda countered. "If you don't come willingly then…we'll drag you home by force!"

Grizz lifted his head from his paws, looking at his siblings through tear-filled eyes. "Don't you get it?! I'm a monster!"

"Grizz, you are not a monster!"

"Yes, I am!" the older bear cried as he buried his face in his paws again. "You're not safe around me! Just go, please! I could change back any second!"

Panda's face softened as he watched his brother's shoulder shake with his sobs. Slipping his backpack from his shoulders, the younger bear knelt down on the ground and unzipped it. "Do you want a Pop-Tart?" he asked gently as he reached inside and pulled out the box of treats. Grizz raised his head and glanced at the box with mild interest. Panda smiled as he reached inside the box and pulled out an unopened packet, handing it out to the grizzly. Grizz slowly reached out and took the packet, promptly tearing it open. "Grizz…you're not a monster. I want you to stop saying that."

Grizz looked away shamefully, biting into one of the Pop-Tarts and chewing it slowly.

"Did you think we were monsters?"

The grizzly paused and looked towards his sibling. Unable to respond due to his mouth being full, he simply raised a brow.

"Nom Nom told us," the panda answered, and Grizz immediately looked away again. "Did you? Did you think we were monsters?"

"Of course not!" Grizz finally answered after swallowing the last of his snack, wiping the crumbs from his mouth.

"Then why would you think you are?"

Grizz squeezed his eyes shut, shouting, "Because this is different! I nearly killed Nom Nom, and I hurt you!" he added as he looked towards Ice Bear. "And…I…I killed a deer. There was blood everywhere! It was horrible. You don't have blood on your hands like I do."

Panda sighed heavily as he took a step forward, placing his paw on the back of Grizz's head. "Grizz…you're being way too hard on yourself. You were just…being a predator. I know that's not very comforting, but this was what life would have been like for you if you had chosen to live out here. That's how all grizzly bears live. You're not a horrible person because you were following your natural instincts."

Grizz started munching on his second Pop-Tart, his shame still evident.

"We're not angry, Grizz, and we're not afraid of you. We know this wasn't your fault."

"Nom Nom was angry," the grizzly mumbled as he lowered his head. "He hates me now, I know it. He'll probably never want to see me again."

Panda knelt down to where he could look up into his brother's eyes. "He doesn't hate you, Grizz. He insisted that we come find you."

A look of mild surprise came upon the older bear's face. "He did? Really?" He glanced at Ice Bear, who simply nodded his head to concur. "I shouldn't have left him behind…but I was so worried that I'd-"

"It's okay, Grizz," Panda hushed him.

Grizz wiped at his eyes. "Is he all right?"

"They're flying him to the hospital right now. We can check in on him after we get back."

The brown bear looked away again, still unsure.

"Please, Grizz. Let's just go home. You know we're not going to leave unless you're with us. I promise, everything's going to be okay."

Sighing heavily, Grizz glanced between Panda and Ice Bear before finally conceding, nodding his head in agreement. "Okay," he murmured as he finally got to his feet again. He closed the gap between himself and Panda and grabbed him in a tight embrace, which Panda returned without hesitation. As he felt Ice Bear move in to join them, Grizz quickly lifted an arm and pulled him close, holding both bears with every last ounce of strength his tired muscles still possessed.

Looking up, he saw Charlie had chosen that moment to finally approach them. He held his hands close to his chest, appearing timid. "Is everything all right?"

"Hey, Charlie," the grizzly greeted with a weak smile. He leaned into Ice Bear, having not realized until that very moment just how exhausted he was.

"You doin' all right now?"

"Yeah…I'm better," Grizz replied, though he didn't feel too confident in his answer. "I just wanna go home now."

Charlie smiled. "You got it."

Author's Note: Well...one more chapter to go. I can't believe it's almost over.

I'd just like to make a quick note about the final chapter. I haven't actually started working on it yet, so I'm not going to promise an update next Friday. I'll just plan on posting it whenever it's finished, which may not be on a Friday. I just don't want to rush myself. Setting a deadline may mean sacrificing quality, and I don't want to risk that.