Disclaimer: I own nothing written about in this story.

Pursuit

AN: Just a bit of trivia here. I actually pulled some inspiration for this chapter from an old cartoon called BraveStarr. If you know anything at all about that show, you will quickly see the connection in this chapter. If not, meh, you're not missing out on anything, trust me.

Chapter Nine – of a Brother

Terra woke up with another splitting headache and groaned as he applied a paw to his head. A huge brown paw. He sighed. An animal, again. Not like he was surprised though. It was his own fault for agreeing to give Ven one last, ridiculous world. In the previous world he had been so determined not to let this happen, but then Ven had used the secret weapon and hid behind Eraq and pleaded with him to convince his father to let them go to another "awesome" animal world. Of course, Eraq had agreed with the blond and practically begged Terra until he caved in. Seriously though, who could say no to that face?

He blinked a few times to clear his foggy vision and noticed first that the air was thick with the scent of foliage and he could hear various birds chirping noisily above. He looked up to see countless, green trees surrounding the area that framed a clear blue sky with the midday sun already hanging directly overhead. They appeared to have landed in the middle of a forest. There also seemed to be a slight chill in the air, which told him they must be pretty high up on a mountain somewhere or it was winter in this world.

He felt his ears twitch as he sat up. There was some groaning nearby and he looked around to see a pitch black pelt of fur that looked awfully familiar. There was another ebony toned body but much, much larger. A blond pelt that Terra could only scowl at, and finally there was Angelo's familiar tri-colored body. He didn't see Aqua or Eraq among the group as the others slithered to wakefulness. He wasn't worried though, they'd show up in a moment, he knew.

"Woah, is that you Terra?" Zack marveled up at him, being the first to witness his giant, brown body. "You're a bear! That's so cool!"

Terra took a second to examine his body, from his hulking brown shoulders to the stubby little tail on his rump. He turned back to Zack with a bored tone. "And you're a wolf again."

"Eh?" Zack turned in a circle though he didn't accomplish much. "Guess it's just meant to be?" He grinned and then turned as Rin clambered into a standing position beside him. "Hey, cool! Rin you're a horse!"

"Well," Rin said as she shook her head as it no doubt ached. "That's different." She laughed and looked back curiously as she switched her long, flowing tail experimentally.

"You all look ridiculous," Angelo barked candidly as Ven stirred beside her.

The blond sat up and regarded all the animals around him as though he were still dreaming. He blinked and looked down at his golden-yellow paws before immediately twisting around to see what he was. "Hey," he whined plaintively. "I'm no different here than in the Pridelands!"

"Actually Ven," Terra snickered. "You don't have a mane this time."

"Ahw man!" Ven cried pathetically as he tried to twist around again and see the mane that wasn't there. "That was the coolest part of being a lion!"

"I wonder why we're all different this time?" Terra wondered allowed, ignoring Ven's complaints as he gazed around at his companions.

"Not us Dad!" Eraq called out to him from the branch of a tree. "We're the same."

Terra reached up and plucked the little dark-blue bear cub from the tree and held him up to inspect closely. "Actually Eraq, I think we're a little different somehow."

"What do you mean?" Ven snorted. "He's a bear, you're a bear, same thing! What I don't get is, why is Aqua an eagle?"

"What?" Terra looked up just in time to see a brilliant blue feathered eagle light on the same tree Eraq had been perched in. She screeched at him wordlessly, as though testing out her odd, new vocal cords. Terra stared at her in disbelief and it took him longer to react then it should have but he eventually set Eraq down slowly, as if he were participating in some sort of complicated ritual. "I can't do this," he deadpanned. "We're leaving." He promptly turned for the ship but was quick to realize that neither he nor Rin would be able to fit through the entrance to the cockpit... "Ven."

"...Yeah?"

"I hate you."

The blond mountain cat only grinned in reply while Aqua glided down to land on Terra's bulky shoulder. "We'll have to see if there's a way to change you back to human."

"Is that even possible?" Zack wanted to know as he observed Rin's towering form above him. "It's really weird to be smaller than you by the way."

"Don't know," Aqua answered with a shrug of her wings. "But it's worth checking at least. Otherwise we'll have to leave Terra and Rin here and try to come back with a bigger ship. If Cid even has one."

Terra sighed dramatically as he nosed a button on the hull of the ship, causing the hatch to close and the camouflage to engage. "This world is gonna be a lot of trouble. I can see it already."

"Now who's moping?" Aqua teased as she preened at his head playfully.

Terra gave her a withered look. "My wife is an eagle. I have every right to mope."

"Wow, this is so cool!" Eraq exclaimed brightly as he tumbled in the leaves and undergrowth. It took three of his tiny steps just to cross from one of Terra's massive forepaws to the other as he lopped around, zigzagging between them in all his excitement. "Wait til I tell Marlene and Denzel I got to be a dog, a lion and a bear!"

"Yeah well, enjoy it while it lasts," he told his son and ruffled the fur on his head. "This is the last time."

"But Daaaad," Eraq whined and peered up at his father with the most adorable, sad and pleading face he could manage.

But Terra steeled himself and batted a gentle paw at the cub's muzzle. "Nope. Won't work this time runt." That face may have swayed him in the previous world, but this animal business was getting way out of hand. He and Aqua weren't even the same species anymore, and frankly, he was really getting tired of not being able to... interact with her properly. Heck, this was even worse then the time they had been transformed into a tiger and a dragon, respectively.

"Don't worry Eraq," Ven encouraged as he padded over to give the bear cub a nudge with his muzzle. "The next world I have planned is so cool you don't have to be an animal to enjoy it."

"We won't have time for another world if we don't find a way to get Terra and Rin back to normal pretty soon," Aqua commented and idly examined the bright blue sky as if she could see something the others couldn't.

"Does anyone else hear that?" All eyes turned to Angelo as she tipped her head curiously, ears twitching. Everyone was silent for a moment as they listened attentively and soon a faint call passed through their clearing, the voice calling more frequently as it grew closer. It was a male voice and it was quickly joined by another one, a feminine one, as they both continued to cry out the same word or name over and over again.

Terra was the first to hone in on the sounds and he halted at the edge of a rocky bluff that overlooked a huge clearing, where a mighty river flowed along a pebbly shore that gradually gave way to grass and then was finally rimmed by the forest. Walking in their direction on the bank of the river were two brown bears like himself, a male and a female. Their cries were riddled with distressed and their heads were darting to and fro, searching.

He would know that expression anywhere, and he was sure Aqua, who was still perched on his shoulder, knew it too. Before Terra could even suggest that they offer to help the pair, Aqua launched herself into the air and glided down to them. Her flight was a bit choppy at first, as she adjusted to the use of her new wings, but she quickly caught on and latched onto the branch of a tree as close to the bears as she could get. Same old Aqua. Eager to help out but still wary of the danger that the bears might pose. She was only an eagle after all.

With a shake of his head and an exasperated sigh, Terra led the others toward a safe path down the bluff. "Come on guys. Looks like we've got a new mission."

Aqua's arrival did not go unnoticed by the two bears and the male gasped up at her suddenly. "Sitka?" Upon closer scrutiny however, his face fell in disappointment. She was obviously not who he had originally thought.

Aqua guessed that there weren't very many blue feathered eagles in the world, if any. "My name is Aqua," she introduced herself. "My friends and I could hear you shouting. Are you looking for someone?"

"Oh, well yeah, my little brother. He's about yeh big," the male explained and held his paw up to his chest to define how tall the missing cub was. "He's obnoxious and talks way too much for his own good."

"Kenai," the female beside him scolded gently before turning back to Aqua, hopeful. "He's a good little cub and he wouldn't hurt anyone. Have you seen him?"

Before Aqua could make out an answer there was an abrupt crashing in the forest nearby and Terra burst into the clearing. Leaves and twigs clung to his fur in haphazard clumps as he approached the pair of bears and Aqua's tree. He sent up an annoyed glare. "You know, you could have waited for us. It was a lot more trouble to get down here on foot."

Aqua couldn't help but chuckle at the disheveled sight of him, though the sound came out as an eagle's chirping. Eraq tumbled out after him while the others all trailed along behind him, looking much the same, with various articles of forest attached to their bodies. "And miss out on a sight like this?" She tried to fight off the humor in her voice but was failing miserably. "Besides, I was just scouting the situation."

Terra grumbled a number of incoherent comments about scouting but moved to sit down next to her tree. The others all lined up beside him, all of them either too dazed from the hasty trip down the bluff or too distracted by ridding the debris from their fur.

The bear called Kenai appeared thoroughly confused as he looked from one odd creature to the next before finally pulling his gaze back up to Aqua. "Wait a second. You mean these are your friends?"

Aqua floated down to once again perch on Terra's shoulder, earning another grumble from him as her sharp talons grazed his thick fur. "We must seem strange to you," Aqua replied, realizing that so many different animals traveling together would look ridiculous to most people and wildlife.

"Not really. I'm just surprised to see that I'm not the only one with weird friends," Kenai commented with a shrug. "A couple of moose, one of my older brothers died and is now an eagle spirit, and my other brother is still a man back in my old village."

"Still a man?" Terra leaned forward; he was suddenly very interested in the conversation. "Wait, you mean that you used to be human?"

"Well, It's a long story, but the short version would be that both Nita and I," Kenai explained while making a short gesture with his head to the female beside him. "We were turned into bears by the great spirits so that we could take care of Koda. But, it seems like we're not doing a very good job with that at the moment."

"Koda," Ven repeated before stepping forward curiously. "That's the name you were calling out before."

"My little brother." Kenai gave a somber nod. "That's who we've been searching for all morning."

"What's he look like?" Eraq asked excitedly as he tumbled over to Kenai, as eager to help out as his mother. Aqua smiled warmly as she watched him stagger a bit, his body still adjusting to the anatomy of a bear instead of a lion.

Kenai marveled down at the tiny charcoal bear cub and tipped his head in amusement. "Well, he looks a lot like you, except he's a little bigger with brown fur and a white snout."

"We could help you look for him," Ven finally offered for the group. "Where were you guys headed before he went missing? Maybe he just wanted to show you that he could make it there on his own?" he ventured, speaking from experience of course.

Kenai looked up, thoughtful for a moment. "We were on our way to Crowberry Ridge for the berry season but when we woke up this morning, he was gone."

"Can you think of any reason he might have run off?" Aqua felt like she was interrogating the poor grizzly, though he didn't seem to mind at all. It was actually Terra that growled impatiently, no doubt hoping to find out more about the spirits and changing back to human.

"Well, he has been acting sort of jealous lately," Kenai admitted, sharing a guilty look with Nita. "But I thought he had gotten over that phase awhile ago."

"Like Ven said, we're willing to help you find him," Terra cut in gently, though his tone was determined. "But could you tell us a little more about how you were changed into a bear?"

Kenai raised a brow and tipped his head as he drew his gaze over each of Aqua's friends curiously. "What, did the spirits change all of you into animals too?"

"You could say that."

"Wow, the spirits sure are busy these days." Kenai chuckled at his own joke but cleared his throat abruptly when Nita nudged him a warning. Aqua noted that Kenai didn't seem as worried about his brother than Nita was, though he was still concerned. "Anyway, the only way I know of to change back to human is to go to the mountain where the lights touch the earth. There, the spirits might decide to change you back." He paused to share a glance with Nita and then turned back to Terra and Aqua. "If you help us find Koda, we can take you there."

"But weren't you headed for that that berry ridge place?" Ven wondered.

"Crowberry Ridge is actually on the way to the mountain," Nita explained kindly. "So it would be no trouble for us to show you the way."

After some proper introductions, they decided that in order to cover more ground they would split into two search parties. Learning from their experience two worlds ago, they decided not to split up as much this time and since Kenai and Nita knew the territory best, they were the leaders of both teams. Kenai led the first team, with Terra, Aqua, Eraq and Ven, while Nita led Rin, Angelo and Zack. After the problems they caused in the Pridelands, Terra thought it was best if they separate the two troublemakers this time.

Before the two groups parted, they headed back to the place where Kenai, Nita and Koda had spent the night and then set out towards Crowberry Ridge. From there they headed upstream, the opposite direction Kenai and Nita had been searching initially. They would be skirting the current mountain on either side, with one team taking the left and the other taking the right, then meeting back up on the far side again. It was going to be a long trip to get to the specified mountain, Kenai had told them. Easily a day's journey, and that was without too many delays.

That was about four hours ago, and Terra's mood was plummeting rapidly as he trudged through the forest, the damp undergrowth soaking his paws. The nice weather from earlier had shifted and now a thin drizzle fell from the cloudy sky to coat his fur with a cold, wet film.

Although Aqua was technically part of Kenai's party, she would often fly up, high above the trees in order to keep tabs on the other group's location, just in case something happened and the other team needed to know about it. She was perched on Terra's shoulders when she wasn't checking on the other team, and it made sense for her to ride, since she couldn't exactly fly constantly with so much moisture in the air. Normally he wouldn't have cared, in fact he was happy to carry her, except that her dagger-like talons grazed his backside with every step he took, and although his fur was thick and warded off any actual wound, it was still an added irritant to a growing list.

To top it all off, Eraq was darting around like a maniac, doing his best to find every possible puddle of water to splash through and nearly colliding with his father's paws more than once. "Eraq, would you calm down?" Terra grumbled after the cub had nearly tripped him for the umpteenth time.

"But Dad," Eraq whined plaintively. "You told me to enjoy this while it lasts."

Terra sighed in utter defeat. There was no arguing with that sort of logic. "Why are you so grumpy?" Aqua chortled at him, and he could just hear the smile in her tone. "Did you use up all your good humor trying to cheer me up yesterday?" When he didn't answer but merely grumbled incoherently she leaned forward to preen his head to pester a reply out of him.

He merely turned enough to mouth at her with his massive jaw in a mixture of annoyance and affection, refusing to answer. Although her claws were a constant irritation, he wasn't about to tell her to find another ride. They continued their feud of beak and maw until they heard a frantic scratching noise and both their heads shot up to see that Eraq had scaled a tree and was currently clinging to a high branch. His expression was a comedic blend of satisfaction and trepidation in that he was happy he made it up so high but wasn't entirely sure how he would get back down.

"Eraq, get down before you break your neck," Aqua fussed at him worriedly and fidgeted on Terra's back as though she were about to take wing and rescue him.

"What are you so worried about?" Kenai asked, incredulous. He looked up from his scrupulous task of tracking Koda, which was nigh impossible with all the moisture in the air. "He's a bear cub, they're practically born in the trees."

"Well, Eraq certainly wasn't born in a tree," Aqua muttered but sighed with relief as Eraq was carefully crawling his way back down the trunk, rump first as his sturdy claws dug into the bark for traction. "Now do as your father says and try to calm down."

"Ok Mom," the cub complied with an exaggerated sigh. "I just thought I might be able to see Koda from up there."

"You won't need to," Kenai suddenly told him, his nose scanning the wet soil by the river. "I've found his tracks."

Aqua soared high over the treetops, scanning the mountainside for her other companions. She could feel the moisture from the damp air collecting on her feathers and it made it harder to flap her wings, though not impossible. She had to admit, being an eagle was an amazing experience. Out of the three animals she had been turned into the past few days, this was definitely her favorite. And it wasn't that she hated being a dog or a lion, she didn't really care either way, but being able to fly by her own power was exhilarating, not to mention that with the simplest amount of focus she could hone in on the tiniest object down below.

It didn't take long to spot Rin's large equestrian form on the landscape, with Zack and Angelo padding along beside her and Nita in the lead. She chirped down at them as she closed in for a landing, noting idly that Nita had halted to study the ground intently. The others loitered around and waited patiently as they looked up to see Aqua perch on a nearby tree with a sturdy branche that could bear her weight. "I came to tell you," Aqua puffed before anyone could greet her. "Kenai has found some of Koda's tracks and we're following them. He seemed to be headed to Crowberry Ridge like we thought."

Nita perked up at the news, but her expression was still very tense as she looked from Aqua and back to the ground again. "I've found some tracks too," she said soberly. "Hunter tracks."

"Hunter?" Aqua tipped her feathered head curiously, though the intensity in Nita's tone concerned her. "You mean like other wild animals?"

"No," the female grizzly answered firmly. "Human hunters." She frowned down at the many tracks in the soft, wet earth. "But what worries me is that they're not from my village, and I don't think they're from Kenai's village either. Which means, they don't know about us, and probably don't care, even if they did know we used to be human."

At that, Aqua's instincts flared up with alarm and she immediately spread her grand wings for takeoff. It didn't matter that she was still tired from her previous flight; she had to get back and warn Terra of the danger. With the way Eraq had been wandering off lately, it worried her that he might get snatched up right from under Terra's watch. "You're almost to the rendezvous point, so we should meet up as soon as possible," she told the others as she started flapping her wings, her role as a leader kicking in without even thinking about it. "I'll head back and warn the others."

Terra didn't like it. He trailed along behind Kenai and Ven as they followed Koda's scent and wandering pawprints. But his tracks completely vanished and were replaced by at least a dozen or more very different, yet familiar footprints. Human footprints, Terra knew, and he didn't like it one bit. The fact that Koda's tracks had disappeared without a trace, the obvious evidence of a struggle, and the cub's scent still on the wind, all pointed to one dreaded, inescapable conclusion. Koda had been captured.

Terra looked up to see that Kenai was staring down at the evidence on the ground as though his whole world had just been torn apart. His eyes darted around at the strewn leaves and twigs and the scattered prints marring the soft earth. His breathing had intensified and his maw opened and closed as though he were fighting off fresh sobs.

It was then that Terra realized that Kenai hadn't been especially worried about Koda's absence until now. Sure, he had wanted to find him, but now that he knew the cub had been captured, or maybe worse, his entire outlook on the matter shattered, and he didn't seem to know how to handle it.

"Hey," Ven said gently as he drew beside the distraught brown bear. "It's ok, we'll find him. I'm sure he's fine, and all we have to do is follow these tracks, right?"

Terra let Ven handle the matter for now and turned to find his own wayward cub, wary of this new danger in the forest. He didn't need to worry though, as Eraq was only a little ways off, digging around for a mouse he just seen scurry into the roots of a tree. The tiny charcoal cub had been oblivious to the dire revelation, and Terra was grateful for that. "Eraq, come here."

"Aww, but Dad, I'm hungry!" the cub whined but obeyed as he tumbled over to his father.

"Well you're not eating a mouse, that's for sure." He drew the cub closer with one giant, protective paw. Aqua would throttle him for sure if she found out he had let their son eat a mouse. "We'll find you some berries pretty soon, but for now we're gonna play a game, alright?" He smiled warmly when his son's expression lit up with excitement. "I need you to pay attention to the rules, or the game won't work." Eraq nodded exuberantly and Terra went on to explain. "Pretend that you're my shadow, Eraq. When I move, you move, ok?"

Eraq's eyes went as wide as saucers. "But Dad, you're shadow is huge!"

"Eraq." Terra sighed. "Keyword, pretend."

"Oh." Eraq thought carefully for a moment before turning up a confident grin. "I can do that Dad."

"Good," Terra said and gave his son an affectionate nudge with his snout. "Now stay between my paws, got it?"

Eraq nodded again and then beamed suddenly as he caught sight of his mother's silent approach. "Mom's back!"

Even with the warning, Aqua's unannounced landing on his back startled him but he quickly shook it off when he noticed her labored breathing. Did she fly back without resting first? "That was fast. Is everything alright on their end?"

"Their fine," Aqua panted out. "But they found some human hunter tracks."

"So did we," Terra told her. "We think they took Koda." He paused for an instant, not knowing if she would agree with a pursuit. "We were planning on following the hunters in order to rescue him."

Before Aqua could so much as take a breath to answer him, Eraq cut in, as though he had been waiting for a lull in their conversation. "Hey Mom, guess what?" he called up to her but didn't wait for a reply. "We're playing a game and I'm Dad's shadow!"

Aqua shared a confused look with Terra but it only took a fraction of a second for her to realize that this was Terra's way of keeping their son close and safe. "That sounds like a fun game," she replied brightly in an attempt to mask the severity of the situation, her breath finally returning to a normal rate. "That might be hard though, are you sure you can keep up?" She hoped that a bit of prodding might make him stick to the "game" a little more seriously.

And Eraq took to the bait instantly as he peered up at her stubbornly. "I can keep up, Mom!"

"Terra, Aqua," Ven called to them as Kenai lumbered away, a purpose in his gait as he followed the footprints. "We're heading after the hunters now."

Terra looked back up to Aqua to see the trepidation in her eyes. He had his doubts that she would agree to the plan, so he was surprised when she met his gaze and nodded her consent. He was glad to see that she finally felt confident in his ability to keep them safe. She had to know that he would fight off as many hunters as it took in order to protect them. He looked down to a bored looking cub. "Ok shadow, you ready to get moving?"

"Dad." Eraq rolled his eyes in a childish display. "Shadows can't talk."

"Oh really? I don't know who keeps telling you these lies, because my shadow just talked." There was some giggling below but it was cut off abruptly when Terra charged into a trot in order to catch up with Kenai and Ven's healthy head start, causing Eraq to scramble to keep up on his tiny legs. But he was determined, and after awhile he was able to keep pace with his father, slowing in tandem when they caught up to the others.

After about an hour of tracking the hunters though, Terra could tell that his son was growing bored of the game, and maybe even getting a little tired too, not to mention still hungry. He was starting to think about suggesting they rest and search for food soon when Kenai suddenly halted at the fore. The forest seemed to end where he stood, making way for an expansive, valley-like clearing down below, since they were at the top of a steep, grassy rise.

As he moved to stand beside Ven and Kenai, Terra noted that the sun had begun its descent on the far off horizon and the weather had cleared awhile ago, with only a wet tang left in the air. He peered down into the valley and froze, surprised by the scene before them.

There were about two dozen tents erected on the valley floor below, with countless people coming and going, in and out of the tents. All of them either carrying weapons or animal skins. There was a constant hum of their odd dialect and idly, he noted that they all appeared to be men with no women to be seen. His eyes were drawn to a particular large tent, one that was easily three times the size of the others. That was the one with the most activity, with the majority of the hunters hovering around it.

Terra turned to gaze around at the others beside him and noticed they were all silent, no doubt still trying to dissect the situation in their minds. Before he could make any kind of suggestion though there was a raspy, desperate cry and Kenai jerked forward instinctively, though he managed to reign himself back in before doing anything rash. "That's Koda!" His gaze was intently drawn to the large tent, the source of the cry. "So they did catch him."

"If we want a chance to rescue him," Ven offered gently. "We should wait for the others, then come up with some kind of plan."

Kenai nodded in agreement but began pacing back and forth, obviously distressed by Koda's cries.

Terra watched him and had to wonder, if it had been Eraq down there instead, would he have had the self-control not to charge down there right then and wreak havoc? He had his doubts, but being an external element in the situation as he was, he could clearly see the logic in Ven's suggestion. It would also help if they waited for the sky to darken a bit more so that there chances of sneaking in and sneaking back out would be all the better. Though with all the activity hovering around that tent, he wondered if they'd even be able to get within ten meters of it without being spotted. They needed a good plan.

His thoughts were pulled up to Aqua when she started chattering in her eagle voice. "I'll go tell the others that we found Koda and lead them here. They shouldn't be far, since this is pretty close to our rendezvous."

She was in the air and flapping her powerful wings before anyone could reply. Kenai turned to Terra, his attention distracted between the camp below and concern for his new friends. "Aren't you afraid a hunter might shoot her down with an arrow?"

Eraq, who had been leaning against his father's foreleg tiredly, suddenly gasped and shot up in fear for his mother. "Dad, that wouldn't really happen, would it?"

Terra's breath hitched from the question. It couldn't be good for the boy to be so concerned about something so serious at his young age. In order to quell his fears, Terra leaned down with a confident smirk and whispered into the cub's ear. "Don't you remember Eraq? Your mother is one of the Grand Masters back home. She's too fast and too clever to get shot down by some dumb hunter."

Eraq's features brightened tenfold and he nodded fervently. "Oh yeah, I forgot. Mom can beat anybody. Even you, huh Dad?" He reared up and tipped his head curiously as he planted both forepaws on his father's chest.

"Hm," Terra grumbled out. His tone and expression a blend of amusement and resentment. He was glad his son was feeling better about the matter but this was just getting humiliating. Feeling somewhat inferior to his wife was one thing, but the fact that their own son sensed it was almost like a blow to the gut. Still, he couldn't exactly contradict his former statement by explaining that their fighting prowess was actually equal when sparring seriously. "She's the strongest person I know." He wasn't talking about physical strength, but Eraq didn't need to know that.

The cub seemed satisfied with that and his eyes caught on a line of bushes with tiny red orbs before darting over to them excitedly. Terra followed more sedately, mildly amused that Eraq had forgotten about his shadow game. "Can I eat them Dad?"

Terra sniffed at the crimson berries carefully. He was wary of the danger certain berries posed but wasn't exactly an expert on the subject, though his trepidation must have been obvious. "Those are whortleberries," Kenai called from his place near the treeline. "They're safe."

With such a confident answer, Terra didn't question it further and nodded down to his son, lifting him on his broad head in order to reach the produce higher up. It didn't take them long to make short work of the first bush and then they were on to the next. Once they had finally reached their fill, Terra led a dozing Eraq back over to Ven and Kenai, where they sat talking over their plan of attack.

"That should work," Ven was saying. "If what you say is true, and it distracts most of them, then we shouldn't have a problem getting in and out unnoticed."

"It should work fine," Kenai reassured him. "There aren't many horses in this region."

Terra had been about to inquire the details of their plan when Kenai suddenly gasped in horror, his eyes trained on a different tent down below. "Did you see all those weapons?" he asked, turning to Ven and Terra in shock. "I knew something was strange about them. This isn't just a hunting party, it's an invasion force!"

Terra shared a wide eyed look with Ven; this wasn't something they could get involved in. Saving a single cub from poachers was once thing. Helping to sway a war was quite another. But before either of them could explain any of this to Kenai, Aqua returned with a muffled chirp so as not to alert the hunters to their presence. "They're almost here."

"Good," Kenai said, his eyes averted back to the camp below. "Koda sounds scared, but I don't think he's hurt."

Aqua had landed on the ground by Terra's paws and Eraq's drowsy body in order to nuzzle his head gently. "Someone looks tired." The cub's only reply was a yawn. With his belly full, he was no doubt ready to pass out for the night.

The sun was beginning to sink below the far off tree line on the horizon when Nita and the others finally joined them. They were breathless but alert. "Where's Koda?" Nita questioned instantly.

"Down there," Kenai threw his head in the direction of the camp. "But listen Nita. These aren't just hunters, they're invaders. We have to warn our villages."

"But we have to save Koda!" she nearly shouted at him.

"We will," Kenai told her calmly. "But I think you should be the one to warn the shaman in your village, then she can warn mine. Meanwhile, we'll save Koda and meet up with you at Crowberry Ridge."

"You have a plan, don't you?" Nita asked him, somewhat dubious. "Aqua will come get me if things go wrong?"

"Yes, I'll send for help if we run into trouble. But if things go as planned, we'll be long gone before any hunter even knows we were there."

As Kenai and Nita said their farewells Ven turned to everyone else. "Here's the plan. Someone has to stay and protect Eraq, but the rest of us have to storm the camp just in case we're spotted. Rin, if you're up for it, we need you to be the distraction. Kenai says the hunters will focus on you to catch you, since horses are rare here."

Rin nodded bravely. "I just have to run around and stay out of their reach until you guys get away, right?"

Angelo moved over to give Eraq an affectionate lick. "I'll stay and protect the cub."

"I'll stay as well," Aqua said. "There's not really anything I can do to help with the raid anyway."

Ven nodded at them and turned to each person as he named them. "That leaves me, Kenai, Terra, and Zack to the task of finding Koda while Rin distracts the hunters."

"Are we ready?" Kenai asked as Nita could be seen padding off into the brush with her new mission. Everyone turned to him and nodded their affirmation. "Then let's go rescue my brother."

Terra watched with anticipation as Rin pranced down to the human camp. Since it was nearly dusk her dark coat blended in with the scenery and she went entirely unnoticed until she was practically at their gate, that is, if they had one. Once someone did notice her though, it only took an instant for the entire camp to erupt into action, with everyone dashing around for ropes and blankets in order to box her in and catch her. Terra was relieved to see that none of the hunters carried spears or any other weapon for that matter. It seemed that they had no intention whatsoever to harm her; she was too rare to risk wounding her.

"Let's go," Kenai said and launched forward down the steep slope. The others followed right behind him and soon enough they had to slow their approach so as not to alert anyone of their presence. There were only a couple of hunters remaining to guard the large tent where Koda was being held, but even they were looking rather anxious about the capture of the horse. As Terra and the others drew closer, they could hear the guards arguing about something, but he couldn't understand their strange language. He looked to see Kenai listening intently, obviously understanding them. He gave them a signal for silence and waited patiently just around the corner of the tent and out of sight of the bickering guards.

Rin was doing a marvelous job at keeping the majority of the hunters busy. She was a clever one, letting them get just close enough to think they had her and then she would leap away from their ropes and nicker at them. When they tried using the blankets to box her in closer to the ropes she would simply charge through the soft barricade, which to any wild horse would have seemed impenetrable or harmful. The men were getting frustrated but kept at it, determined to capture their prize.

Kenai's patience finally paid off, and the guards were called to help with the capture, thus leaving the large tent completely vulnerable to infiltration. The foursome slipped in silently and they all gaped in surprise at the sight of so many caged animals. "Kenai!" Koda called from one of the cages and Kenai rushed over to him. Terra took stock of the situation quickly as Ven and Zack remained at the entrance to watch their backs. The interior would have been dark if not for the lone torch flickering at the center, with one wall lined with wooden cages while the other side was heaped with countless furry pelts. Terra eyed the latter sadly; there was nothing they could do for them.

As for all the caged animals however, he could do something. He moved to join Kenai just as the other grizzly crushed Koda's wooden prison with his powerful forearms. "You two run ahead and join Aqua. We'll stay and release the other animals."

Kenai looked like he wanted to do just that, but he hesitated for an instant. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Terra confirmed with a nod. "We'll be right behind you, now go!"

Kenai didn't need to be told twice as he nudged Koda into a run and they both trampled out the tent flap. Terra turned back to the line of cages and opened his maw into a snarl. Earthshaker flashed into existence and with one blinding sweep, every single cage vanished into fading fragments of light, leaving every trapped animal in a state of confusion for an instant before they all started darting in every possible direction. Chaos was what he wanted and chaos is what he got as the creatures spilled out of the exit, making Ven and Zack step back in alarm. "Time to go!" Terra told them as he charged by. They followed at his heels and he roared to Rin, signaling her to escape as well.

She leaped after them, dodging a rope that came a little too close to her head and nearly collided with another hunter that jumped in her way as a last ditch effort to stop her. After she had finally threaded her way through the mob of hunters she galloped headlong back up the rise and met up with the others where Aqua and Angelo had been waiting with Eraq.

Confusion and disorder thundered to life in the camp, while some men were shouting orders, others were either scrambling for torches in the fading light or chasing the various loose animals darting around for an escape.

Terra panted as his companions all grouped together and he did a quick head count, relieved to see everyone was safe and accounted for. "We need to get out of here, before they hunt us down."

Everyone nodded there agreement, and although they were already tired, their adrenalin seemed to kick in and they followed after Kenai as he lead them through the woods to safety. Terra scooped up Eraq by the scruff and pounded along, while Aqua took to the sky to scout ahead for any dangers. They didn't stop until they reached the base of another mountain, everyone panting and exhausted. It wasn't until then that Terra noticed a large satchel hanging from Kenai's muzzle. He tossed it to him as Terra set a sleepy Eraq down and looked at the bag quizzically. "Blankets, I snatched them from one of the tents," Kenai explained as he looked up to the peak of the mountain. "It's cold at the top, and if the spirits do change you back, then you'll all be naked."

Just as Kenai had mention when they first met him, Koda was extremely talkative. He had been chattering away almost constantly on their mad dash to escape and now he burst into another series of questions to which Kenai didn't even bother to keep up with. No doubt his endless curiosity was never sated.

Terra followed Kenai's gaze briefly. He hadn't realized they'd stopped at the very mountain they needed. "Thank you for all your help," Kenai told them with a smile. "But we have to get going. Nita is probably worried."

"We're glad to help," Aqua spoke for the others as she lighted once again on Terra's shoulders. "And thank you for showing us the way here."

Kenai nodded and turned to leave. "Come on Koda."

"Aww, but Kenai, you still haven't told me anything about these guys!" Koda tumbled after his brother in a blather of rebukes. "And what took you so long?"

Their voices faded into the night as they headed down a well worn path, as if it were a main thoroughfare for bears.

After resting for a bit Terra was the first to stand. "Well, the sooner we get to the top, the sooner we can leave."

Everyone was dead on their feet by the time they reached the frigid summit, but after trekking upward for most the night they had finally made it. There was snow everywhere except for one isolated area where the lights danced brilliantly in every imaginable color above and spilled forth a transparent, insubstantial waterfall onto the flat stone which appeared to be the very apex of the mountain, and possibly the entire world.

They all donned the blankets in preparation for the change and balked at the strange phenomenon before them, everyone except Terra, for he was determined.

He stepped warily toward the strange water that flowed from practically nowhere and pooled only to a certain point above his paws, never expanding its reach past the patch of stone or overflowing into the snow at its borders. There was an ancient magic here, or at least something else very powerful and omnipotent. His instincts told him there was no danger though, so with a wide eyed Eraq hanging from his jaw and an awestruck Aqua on his back, he stepped into the spirit water.

Terra sighed contentedly. All in all, the day had been one great big annoyance, but he wasn't about to complain about the end results. He was the only one still awake as he sat upright and held Aqua close with one arm, his human arm, wrapped around her waist. She in turn cradled Eraq in her lap with both arms around him to keep him warm.

The change had been blinding and disorienting at first and unfortunately he, and everyone else for that matter, was naked after the transformation. He was eternally grateful for Kenai's foresight in giving them that bag of blankets, at least, until the Gummi ship landed to pick them up and they were able to take turns changing into their spare clothes in the ship. Afterward though, no one made the suggestion to leave, but rather they all collapsed onto the cold stone, wrapped themselves with the blankets and rightly passed out.

He felt Aqua shift in his hold, her head lifting from his chest as she looked up at him and smiled inquisitively. "Happy now?"

Terra didn't reply at first, his eyes drawn up at the rainbow of ethereal lights that continued to play above their heads, rising and falling like a chaotic, yet eternally beautiful dance. A moment later though, he turned his contented gaze to her and leaned in to place a gentle kiss on her lips just as the far off sun broke the horizon. "Very."