A/N: After writing Chapter 3, this one simply wrote itself. I've always wanted to write a cryptic dream sequence and took this as my chance. I wanted to be a bit different and not have Khaless in it and I think it worked out pretty well.

Chapter 4- Again...?

B'Elanna Torres felt disoriented. Her vision was blurry and she could hardly move. She knew she was standing and she felt a strong wind blowing through her hair.

She felt watched.

Slowly it seemed, her motor functions returned and the fog cleared from her brain; she began to make out her surroundings. She was surrounded by mountains and appeared to be standing in the middle of a grassy summit. Long green blades of grass reached her knees and reflected the light from above in intricate patterns as a wind blew intermittently over the summit causing a dance of colour and movement. Her peripheral vision was still unfocused and ethereal, almost like a dream…

"Shit. Am I dead?" B'Elanna looked herself over to see that she was dressed in her usual Engineering Starfleet uniform without apparent injury and took a tentative step. At least this isn't the Barge of the Dead…'not that this situation made any more sense to her. This was not Gre'thor or Sto'Vo'Kor. She felt fine but was still confused. Looking into the sky she immediately recognized the green-blue haze of Qo'nos' sky.

"Let me guess, another lesson in being a good Klingon?" she spoke to no one in particular with a growing hint of frustration. B'Elanna Torres was not a patient woman at the best of times and she was getting tired of these 'visions'.

Maybe I shouldn't have killed my spirit animal.

She couldn't help but chuckle at that. Chakotay told her that as far as he knew, she was the only person to ever actually kill her spirit animal. Shaking her head in amusement, she decided that she might as well start going somewhere- anywhere before she actually died of boredom. As she began to walk towards the mountains to the south, movement somewhere to her left caught her attention and she turned to finally settle her gaze on a large sabre bear lumbering slowly toward her. Immediately going into a crouch in order to not be seen by the large carnivore, B'Elanna started considering her options of escaping the beast. The sabre bear was a fearsome predator only hunted by the greatest of Klingon warriors. 600 kilos of fur, spikes and claws made these beasts something to respect and fear. Some Klingons even believed these creatures were descendents of an offshoot of the Klingons own ancestors.

As the large creature drew near at a very deliberate pace, shoulder spikes lifting and lowering with each step, B'Elanna began to wonder if escape was even an option. Perhaps this had something to do with the lizard-creature that had attacked her earlier that evening?

"What are you?" came a deep echoing voice out of the sabre bear as its black eyes connected with B'Elanna's own brown eyes and held them as if in a tractor beam. B'Elanna didn't see its mouth move and summoning her courage she decided to get whatever this was over with, so she stood up and faced the creature.

"I am a Klingon, my name is-"

"You are no Klingon" came the emotionless yet deep-rumbling reply cutting off any courage B'Elanna had mustered at the moment. Luckily for B'Elanna, courage and anger seemed interchangeable from moment to moment with her so she allowed her anger to build and take her once more.

"I AM a Klingon! What more does Kahless want from me! I've already gone through this shit on the Barge of the Dead!" B'Elanna bellowed balling her fists at her sides as her blood began to boil. Another gust of wind blew B'Elanna's hair across her face but she made no move to clear the dark strands from her vision as she attempted to stare down the massive beast.

The sabre bear took another step towards her as if completely unimpressed at her outburst. "You are a simpering pup. Always confused. Always angry, unfocused and wasting your potential."

"What does that mean? I'm the Chief Engineer of a starship, I've got friends. I've reclaimed my Klingon heritage-" B'Elanna was cut off again as the large beast lashed at her with one of its clawed paws knocking her down.

"You are no Klingon." Once again the anger began to boil in B'Elanna as she scrambled to get up once more. "But you are also no Human, so what are you?" the beast posed again as B'Elanna stood tall a few feet from the creature and dusted herself off. She was not feeling any pain from the strike and took that as a good sign; at least she thought it was a good sign. She tried to reign in her anger and sort out the creature's puzzle. It seemed simple enough.

"I am a Human-Klingon hybrid, my mother was Klingon, my father Human… but I suspect you already knew that."

"Then why do you not act as you are? The first part of your life was spent pretending to be Human, the next part was spent trying 'not' to be Klingon, and now you want to be completely Klingon?" The large beast kept its eyes locked on her as she began to pace back in forth.

B'Elanna was coming to the conclusion that this was another philosophical problem and so she did what she always did when faced with a problem- she paced back and forth in a huff alternating between crossing and uncrossing her arms.

"Then you don't want me to be Klingon? But not Human? I don't understand, what should I be?" B'Elanna turned to face the spiked creature once more. She didn't like riddles. Klingons don't 'do' riddles. Unless they appear to you in dreams apparently.

"Be what you are." Was the simple reply.

"ARRGHH! What I AM is a half-breed, not accepted by either race! Am I to be an outcast for my whole life then? Alone? Less than each of my two halves?" Anger and despair stormed within the young woman as she fought back thoughts of her abandonment as a child by her human father and all of the hurtful things that were said to her by both Humans and Klingons alike while she was growing up.

The sabre bear suddenly pounced with lightning speed, knocking B'Elanna down once more, but this time, it held her down with one paw as it loomed over her. B'Elanna grabbed the leg holding her down with both hands but try as she might, she was unable to free herself from its crushing pressure on her chest. Bearing its sharp teeth with black eyes boring into her soul, it 'spoke' once more. "It is this belief that keeps you from achieving your potential. You are not less than your halves, instead you are stronger than both. Klingon fire focused by Human determination. Human fear tempered by Klingon courage. You fear you are not strong enough, you fear you are not good enough for others and you feel powerless. Find that which binds your two halves together and you will discover, HoS 'oH Daq tIq!" *Real power is in the heart*

With that, the sabre bear released B'Elanna and began to walk away as she sat up taking in a large breath while attempting to digest the words spoken directly into her soul. Was she still missing something in her life? A purpose being unfulfilled? Was there something more within herself that she could really start to believe in? Before she could get up, she once more felt her vision begin to fade and dizziness overtake her. Before her world once again went dark, she heard the distant voice of the beast. "taH nuq SoH 'oH..." *Be what you are*

End Chapter 4

** Guess B'Elanna has a Klingon spirit animal as well...