A/N: Livvy Leopard caught a slight plot hole with Simon falling in the water and not controlling it. Darn me. I might be able to explain that away in the next chapter. Until then, enjoy this chapter!
Chapter Sixteen – Miraculous Things
"Dad, Mr. Max, get out of here!" Harley urged.
"Not until you all are safe!" Doc protested.
"This way!" Max urged. They hurried off in the opposite direction of the fire. However, the dry forest provided perfect fuel for the fire, and the flames spread quickly. The tops of the trees caught fire first. Then the grass and the brush on the ground. Sky used her pyrokinesis to help make a path for everyone.
"Which way is the town?" Harley asked no one in particular.
"Who cares? Let's just get out of here!" Sparky yelped.
"Blade, what do we do?" Nick asked.
"We have to find some cover! Let it burn over!" Blade urged.
"What cover?" Sky demanded. "There aren't any caves or abandoned mines out here!"
"Then what do we do?" Leland demanded. "Back ourselves up against the river?"
"No good." Blade said. "If the fire doesn't get us, we'll be pushed into the river and possibly swept downstream."
They all skidded to a halt when flaming branches landed in their path. Sky manipulated the flames again. But she suddenly lost control as she and Nick switched once more.
"Take control of the fire, Nick!" Katherine urged.
"I can't!" Nick protested. "Sky didn't teach me her pyromaniac stuff! Quick, teach me!"
"First off, it's called 'pyrokinesis.'" Sky said. "Second, I don't have time to give you Pyro 101 lessons!" She and Nick switched back, and Sky parted the flames for everyone to dart through. But Sky and Nick switched yet again, then switched back again. Their switching became more rapid, and it got harder for Sky to use her powers.
"Where do we go?" Sparky asked. "Everything is on fire!"
"I can't use my powers anymore!" Sky groaned. "We can't stop switching!" Everyone stopped when they found their path blocked. But when they looked around, they realized there truly wasn't another way to go. Flaming debris started to fall towards them. Harley created a force field around them to protect the group.
Nick and Sky began switching every couple seconds. "What's happening?" Nick asked.
"I think one of you is about to disappear!" Katherine gasped.
Harley gritted her teeth a little. "This force field's getting hot."
"Just hold it up as best you can." Finn came closer to Harley, hoping to lend her his strength. "This is our only shelter for the fire to burn over."
"You can do it." Doc assured.
"It's getting kind of hot in here." Sparky complained a little.
Everyone was so focused on the fire that they almost forgot about the two people in their group in the most distress. Nick and Sky felt weak from all the switching. "Sky, just hang on." Nick whispered to her. "I'll disappear, and you can be there for Blade."
"No, you should be here for Blade." Sky protested.
"I've been dead for years, Sky."
"And you didn't deserve to be dead."
"That's a dumb thing to say."
"So is 'let me die,' which is basically what you're saying."
"Sky, I lived my life."
"I don't want you to disappear. It'll hurt me and Blade."
"It'll hurt Blade more if he loses you."
"This is going to hurt him regardless!"
"This is not up for discussion."
"We're not discussing, we're arguing! And I don't think we even have a choice!"
"Would both of you just shut up?!" Blade shouted at them.
Nick and Sky jumped, and they saw that everyone stared at them. Their argument caught the attention of the rest of the group. The two of them looked down.
Blade sighed heavily. "I'm tired of worrying about this. I'm tired of thinking about which friend I'll lose next. Nothing about this situation is fair or ideal or good. But I'm prepared for whatever happens. I won't fall back into that hole I dug for myself after you died, Nick. There are a lot of people I can lean on for help, and I'm not afraid to anymore. I'm ready for whatever happens, now. But, if I had my way, I'd give my own life to save both of yours."
"Don't think that way." Nick scolded. "You had enough of those thoughts after I died. We'll get through it. Somehow, in some way, we'll get through this."
"Right." Blade nodded. "Sky?"
Sky didn't answer for a moment. Then, she looked up to Blade. "I haven't dealt with something like this since Max died. It just seems so…permanent…"
"I think you've got plenty of proof to show you otherwise." Max chuckled, gesturing to himself, Doc, and Leland, the ghosts of the group.
Sky knew she didn't have much time to think before she or Nick vanished. It still hurt to think about it. Not only hurt, but she was truly terrified, which didn't happen much in her life. But she smiled nonetheless. She stepped up to Blade and put a hand on his muzzle, activating their Soul Connect Thread. "I'm not ready. But I'll learn to accept what happens."
"So will we." Katherine said. Harley nodded in agreement. Even Sparky smiled sadly.
Suddenly, the force field went from aqua green-colored to pure white. The air became cool and comfortable again.
"Well done, Harley!" Finn congratulated his Partner.
"Uh, I'm not doing this." Harley said.
"Katherine?" Leland asked.
"Not me." Katherine shook her head. In fact, everyone denied having anything to do with the new force field.
"What's going on?" Doc wondered as the force field began to glow brighter. "Harley?"
"I'm not the one doing this." Harley insisted.
The light became brighter and brighter, and everyone scooted closer together. Nobody could see a thing. Nobody could hear the roar of the wildfire anymore.
Everyone had shut their eyes to prevent themselves from being blinded. When the light died, eyes blinked open and then widened.
"Where are we?" Blade wondered. His voice echoed in the cavern where they now stood.
"A cave, I guess. Or a tunnel." Finn said.
Harley put a hand to the cave wall. "Never knew a cave made of tree bark. And where is the light coming from? I can see almost perfectly in here."
"But how did we get here?" Nick wondered.
"Hey, Doc and Max are gone." Sky realized.
"Sky! You and Nick aren't switching anymore!" Katherine gasped.
Sky and Nick looked down and inspected themselves. Sure enough, Nick was back in his ghostly helicopter form, and Sky was back in her own body. They stayed that way, too.
"I feel more solid. Like I'm fully on my own two feet." Sky realized.
"And I feel light as a feather!" Nick did a flip in his glee.
"Okay, reign in the joy, partner." Blade said, despite the relieved smile on his lips. "We still don't know where we are. Or how we got here, for that matter."
"Or how those doors got there." Sparky pointed to the giant set of wooden doors before them.
"Were those there two minutes ago?" Sky asked. A round of negative responses answered. The doors opened, and everyone backed up a little.
"I guess there's nowhere else to go except forward." Blade said.
"Leland and I can scout ahead. Come on, Turbo." Nick and Leland floated ahead of the group, and Sky and Harley led the way through the doors. The large doors shut behind them, slightly unnerving the traveling group. But they continued on with Leland and Nick's encouragement. Lanterns blazed to life, lining the tunnel and guiding them.
They continued down the tunnel for several minutes, and then Nick and Leland hurried up to them. "You guys aren't going to believe this!" Nick said excitedly. Everyone picked up the pace, and they stopped when they reached a large room. There was a table and bookshelf off to one side, the table covered in bottles and jars of unidentifiable liquids and lights. A couch and a TV sat on the other side of the room. On the far end rested two hearths: a large one with a fire blazing inside and a smaller one built in the wall with a green fire. A woman sat on the couch, wearing a green T-shirt and black yoga pants, watching Scooby-Doo.
"I apologize for not having refreshments prepared." The woman said, shutting off her TV. "Except I wasn't expecting guests."
All except Nick and Sky were astonished and rattled by the woman's physical appearance changing every two seconds or so. "Who are you?" Harley asked.
"That's Seishin." Nick breathed.
"The Goddess of Psyche." Sky added.
"At your service." Seishin bowed to her visitors. "I must admit I am surprised you managed to make it to my home. This is usually only possible if one activates a deity token."
"A deity token?" Katherine looked to Sky. Sky reached into her pocket and pulled out the amulet. Except now, the amulet glowed softly.
"The amulet must've brought us to you." Sky murmured.
Seishin's eyes settled on the amulet, and she gasped softly. "Wait…is that….how did you….?"
"We sort of came upon it by accident." Nick explained. "I had given it to Sky, and later we found out what the darned thing was."
"We've been trying to find you to return it." Harley said. "Didn't you see us looking for you?"
"Actually, I just got back from a trip to Spain. I had a hot date with a dryad." Seishin giggled at everyone's reactions.
"Well, at least we found you." Sky said, handing Seishin the amulet.
Seishin looked like she had to restrain herself from snatching the amulet eagerly. A new chain materialized out of thin air, threading through the amulet and allowing Seishin to clip it back around her neck. A glow passed over her, and she sighed heavily. "Gods, I have missed this feeling. I'm indebted to you, Skylar Amelia Riley. And your friends. I suppose you'll be asking for that wish I promised."
"The girls deserve the credit, really." Blade said. "They're the ones who did all the research."
"And Sky came up with the idea to find you." Sparky added. "We all thought she was crazy."
"So I'll be granting your wishes, then." Seishin mused, staring at Sky, Harley, and Katherine in turn.
"If you don't mind." Sky said. "See, Nick and I are in this kind of situation. A while back, I was in a race, and then I got injured, and then Nick—"
Seishin held up a hand to silence Sky. "I heard the call of my amulet soon after I returned home. I came up to the surface to investigate, and saw your fight with that Simon fellow. I also heard your argument, and your Partner's words." Seishin smiled at Blade. "You have a very strong Partner, Skylar. So brave, like you. When I learned that you and Nick were trapped in one body, I dispelled Nick's spirit from your body, in honor of the bravery and devotion I saw."
"So we're back to normal?" Nick gasped. "Yes!" Blade sighed in relief, smiling thankfully.
"Now, I still have three wishes to grant for my precious psyche humans." Seishin said.
"First, can I ask you something I've been dying to know?" Sky requested. At Seishin's nod, Sky asked, "Why did you make us? I went through the dreams from the book, and I did all this research, but I still don't fully understand why you would make humans like me and my friends. Why?"
Seishin nodded slowly in understanding. She raised her hands, and light materialized in the air. The lights took different forms as Seishin explained. "Thousands of years ago, there were no psyche humans. Vehicles and humans lived apart from each other. They feared one another because they were so different. Soon, a war started. No matter what I or any of the spirits did, the fighting did not stop. There seemed to be no hope for peace. That's when I got the idea to create something that could bond the two species together. Something that could show how they could get along. Thus, the psyche human was born. A creature who looked like a human, but had a heart like an engine. A creature who could bond with vehicles spiritually and physically. I made psyche humans to bring peace.
"I was born in Basque Country, but I found my place of dwelling here, in the forests of California, long before they became known as such. From this place, I created psyche humans and helped them spread to other cultures. I took the forms of deities in those cultures to assist them. My first psyche humans I fashioned from clay and wood, brought to life with fire. To guide them, I created a psyche human from a piece of myself. That piece of myself, that very first psyche human, is your ancestor, Skylar."
Sky gasped. "Really? We're related?"
"Yes. In a way." Seishin chuckled at Sky's slack-jawed reaction. "That is why you are so powerful. That is why you have two different powers and two different Partners."
"Is that why she has dreamscape power? It's so rare." Harley guessed.
"Partly, yes." Seishin nodded. "Your powers are an extension of who you are. Your fiery personality, and your strong imagination and desire for control, Sky, lead you to pyrokinesis and dreamscape. Harley: the healer and protector. Katherine: the formally lonely soul who makes connections and friends so easily."
"Whoa." Harley breathed.
Seishin touched her amulet. "This, I made to allow me to keep an eye on my people, so I could help them should they ever need it. Like a mother, it seems, I worried for my creations. After the amulet was stolen, I spent so many years in the dark. I had to travel so often, but I still had to create new psyche humans and find them Partners for them to encounter in their lives. For so long, I had to pray nothing terrible happened. Word traveled to me about the incident at the Academy for Psyche Students, and that horrible man who tried to wipe out my precious children. I spent quite a bit of time beating myself up for not being there, but I am so thankful you girls were there and could save the day."
"Well, that's just what Harley does." Sky said, smiling at her friend. "And Katherine? She was so brave."
"Hey, you were brave, too." Harley said. "Heck, you didn't totally flip when you found out I was a spy."
"I guess I was more freaked when I first saw you with a gun." Sky laughed.
Seishin chortled. "What wonderful psych-mans you grew up to be. What wonderful lives you've lived, and the years to come will no doubt be any different. But I believe we still have your wishes to deal with. Must get you home as soon as possible."
"What're you guys gonna wish for?" Sparky asked excitedly.
"Goodness, I don't know." Katherine said. "Skylar, Harley, one of you go first."
Sky and Harley exchanged a look and a smile. "We already know what we want." Sky said.
Harley nodded. "Seishin, Goddess of Psyche, if you can, Sky and I want to bring two friends back to this world for good. There are others I think of when I think of this wish, like my dad, but his time had come, and I've accepted that. But Leland and Nick? They died too young."
"Can you bring them back to life?" Sky requested.
The two aforementioned ghosts stared in shock, their jaws dropped. "Are you guys serious?" Nick breathed.
"You want to use such a gift on us?" Leland asked uncertainly.
"Of course. You're our friends." Sky said.
"And you deserve this." Harley assured. "That's how we want to use our wishes." Leland and Nick smiled, still shocked and very touched by the kind gesture.
Seishin thought for a moment. "This is something I can do, but it's going to require something from Nick and Leland. Ghosts return to the mortal world because they feel they have unfinished business, or they have something to connect to in the living world. If you want to come back to life, you're going to need something much stronger. So, Leland and Nick, what bonds you to this world so strongly that you could return to life?"
"That's easy for me!" Leland assured. "My friendship with Finn and Harley. Not to mention my Soul Connection with Katherine."
"Yes, very good." Seishin nodded. "And what about you, Nick "Loopin'" Lopez? What anchors you to this world?"
Nick didn't even have to think about it. "My bond with my hermano, Blade. And there's a certain young woman on this earth that I've kinda maybe fallen in love with."
"Kinda maybe?" Sky smirked.
Nick chuckled nervously. "Well, yeah…..uh….." He blinked. "Wait, do you know? Who told you?!"
"No one. I sort of figured it out myself." Sky shrugged.
"Oh." Nick might've turned red from everyone laughing good-naturedly at him. "And, uh, how do you feel about that?"
Sky blushed. "I don't know how to describe my feelings, but I think I might be in love with a certain helicopter who has always been such a good friend."
Nick looked like he would pass out from bliss, but Blade nudged him to snap him out of it. "About time, partner." Blade chuckled.
"You knew this whole time, didn't you?" Sky crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Blade.
"Maybe." Blade shrugged innocently.
Seishin laughed. "I always knew you were one of my favorite Soul Connect Partners."
"Well, I would hope to be in favor of a goddess, considering I'm partnered with one of her descendants." Blade said.
"Did you plan that?" Sky asked Seishin.
"Yes." Seishin nodded. "Whenever a psyche human is born, I must choose a Soul Connect Partner for them. That means I must search for a vehicle already alive, recently born or otherwise, or I must consult with a deity friend of mine to find a vehicle soon to be born. For you, Sky, I had to choose a very special Partner. In fact, I had to choose two because of your immense power. To be honest, I didn't know who it would be at first. I don't choose your psyche human birthmark. Those come about on their own, based on who your Partner will be. I had to consult an oracle to find the two vehicles who would impact your life the most: your adoptive father and your friend with whom you place your life on a daily basis."
"But even with an oracle, how could you know that I would meet Skipper or Blade?" Sky asked.
"I don't." Seishin shrugged. "The oracle's visions tell me who the Partner will be. I have to trust that Fate will guide them together. That's the funny thing about Soul Connections. Somehow, in some way, the psych-man and the vehicle are drawn together."
"This is so fascinating." Katherine said in awe.
"It is pretty cool, isn't it?" Seishin giggled. "But let's move on to your wishes. I can grant Sky's and Harley's wishes, but I need to give Nick and Leland new bodies to start their new lives. Nick's body was buried years ago, and is no longer intact enough to hold a spirit. As for you Leland Turbo…well, let's face it. You were crushed into a cube. Can't exactly go back to a body like that."
"Yes, don't remind me." Leland chuckled weakly.
Seishin thought for a moment. "Let's see. Completely new forms, different from your old ones. Ah! I've got it!" She hurried to her work table, pushing aside some of the materials and pulling a couple blocks of wood near her. Everyone watched, awestruck, as Seishin moved at lightning-fast speed, carving each block of wood into the form of a human man. Then she took out a paintbrush, and a single touch from the bristles colored the dolls. "There. Two human forms, ready to go. Now, Katherine, I can assign you a new Soul Connect Partner without a problem. Just let me—"
"Actually, I don't want a new Partner." Katherine protested politely.
"Really? Then how can I still be your Partner when I'm human?" Leland asked.
"I don't know, but I want you to remain my Partner." Katherine insisted. "I am who I am now because of my experiences and friendship with you. You've helped me get stronger, be more confident in myself. Seishin, if you can, use my wish in exchange for keeping Leland as my Partner. Please."
Seishin thought about it for a moment. "I think I can work something out. A Soul Connection is a link between the heart of a psych-man and the engine of a vehicle. So, all we have to do is give Leland's human form a heart that resembles an engine."
"You can do that?" Finn asked in amazement.
"I'm a goddess." Seishin said sassily. "I can do whatever I damn well please." Everyone laughed at the remark. "But that means, if you get any injures in the chest or heart problems, you'll go to Harley instead of a regular doctor. Understand?"
"This is very generous, madam." Leland said. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. There is something important you must know." Seishin's tone was serious now. "If these wishes are to be fulfilled, you must accept your new forms knowing that you can never go back to your old lives. Only the ones who knew you as ghosts can know of your new selves. Your families, anyone you knew in your previous lives, cannot know of this. They only know you as dead, anyway. You will still go by Nick Lopez and Leland Turbo, but I wouldn't recommend becoming an actor and a spy again. Do you understand and accept this?"
"I accept." Leland nodded.
"I'm in!" Nick agreed. "At least we'll still be with some of our old friends."
"Yes, I think we'll be all right." Leland said. "We accept."
Seishin stepped up to the ghosts, holding out the dolls. The wooden figures floated up to hang in the air, and then they dissolved into what looked like thousands of tiny fireflies, which began to circle around Nick and Leland. Soon, the two ghosts were consumed by the lights.
When the light died, two human men stood in the ghosts' places. Leland was a Caucasian man, now, dressed in black loafers and a black suit with a red shirt. His eyes were still lilac-colored, and his clean-cut hair the same color as his old paintjob. Nick was a Latino man: tan skin, black hair, and the same amber eyes he always had. He dressed in blue-and-white sneakers, jeans, and a "CHoPs" promotional T-shirt.
"Whoa!" Nick looked down to his new body. "Check us out!" He put a hand to his chest. "I have a heartbeat! Cool!"
Leland mimicked Nick. "I do, too, but it almost feels like the beats are humming."
"Probably the engine part of your heart." Harley guessed. "You look good."
"I'm not sure how I feel about these arms and legs." Leland wobbled a little.
"I think you look great." Blade said. He and Finn looked thrilled to see their friends revived and living again.
"Although, I can't remember the last time you were clean-shaven." Finn chuckled at Leland, noting that his old spy partner did not have a facial hair equivalent to his old grill plate.
Leland rubbed his mouth. "My skin is so smooth."
"Muy macho, eh Blade?" Nick laughed, flexing his small muscles.
Blade rolled his eyes. "Nope. Still as scrawny as ever."
Nick scoffed. "Whatever." He leaned against Blade, and suddenly a glowing thread appeared between Nick and Blade. The thread went from Blade's engine to Nick's new heart.
"Is that…..?" Katherine gasped.
"A Soul Connect Thread." Harley confirmed. "Nick, you're a psyche human! You and Blade are Soul Connecting!"
Sky went to Blade and put a hand on his side. "Hey, we're still connecting, too!"
"Wow." Nick checked his arms, and he found a psyche human birthmark on his forearm: a heart surrounded by flames. "That's so awesome!"
Seishin chuckled. "Well, I think it's about time you went home. Enjoy your new lives." She raised her hands, palms towards the group. A glowing circle appeared around everyone, steadily getting brighter.
"Wait!" Sparky gasped. "What about the wildfire?"
"Yeah, that thing's probably still raging up there!" Harley agreed.
"Seishin, what do we do?" Sky asked.
"You started it, you take care of it." Seishin shrugged.
"We didn't start it!" Katherine protested. "Simon did!"
"Well then it's a good thing you have a pyromaniac in your group." Seishin laughed. Her laughter echoed around the group as the light consumed them.
When the light faded, it was replaced with the glow of the wildfire raging around them. Harley summoned another force field to protect them.
"Thanks a lot, Seishin!" Nick shouted into the air.
"What do we do?" Sparky asked.
"I could call Siddeley to pick us up." Finn suggested.
"No." Blade said. "That jet will stir up the embers into a firestorm. I won't be able to fly us out either."
"Maybe I can move us through the fire." Harley said. "Except my force field won't extinguish the flames while we walk."
"What did Seishin mean when she mentioned a 'pyromaniac'?" Leland wondered.
Sky jolted a little in realization. She stared at her hands, and then to the fire part of her psyche human birthmark. "I got it! I understand!"
"What? What do we do?" Blade asked.
"Harley, let me out of here. But keep the force field up to protect everyone." Sky ordered.
"What?" Harley gawked. "You want to go out into that inferno?"
"Trust me." Sky assured. "I know what to do."
Blade analyzed Sky's confident look. "Harley, do what she says."
Harley hesitated, but then dropped the shield long enough for Sky to jump out. Harley brought the force field up again to protect the group from the wildfire. Sky stood just outside the shield, staring at the fire.
"Cuervo, be careful!" Nick called.
Sky shut her eyes. She felt the heat from the fire. She heard the crackling and roaring of the flames. She focused on her powers of pyrokinesis. So often, she used her power without really feeling it. Now, it was like Sky could feel the fire within her. By feeling that fire inside her, she could feel the fire around her.
Sky extended her palms towards the ground. The fire seemed to lean towards her, awaiting her orders. She raised her arms slowly, and the flames began to travel upwards. The flames of the wildfire crawled up the trees and into the sky, leaving ashes and blackened grass and trees in its wake. Harley lowered the force field when she felt it was safe, and everyone watched with gobsmacked expressions as Sky continued to guide the wildfire up. The wildfire cast a glow over the forest as it swirled above them.
Then, the flames shot down and stopped between Sky's hands. The flames curled and swirled and compacted until Sky had a bright ball of fire floating between her palms. She held onto it for a moment, and then she shot the fireball into the air. The fireball made a whistling sound as it went up, and then exploded into a round of fireworks. The wildfire was completely extinguished, now firing off safely high above the trees.
"That was incredible." Finn said.
"Amazing." Katherine agreed.
"I didn't know she could do that." Sparky gawked.
Harley stared at Sky, the raven-haired girl's face illuminated by the glow of the fireworks. "She really is very powerful, isn't she?"
Blade grinned proudly. "Yeah. She's pretty powerful."
Sky turned to her friends and smiled. "Come on. Grandpa's probably worried sick."
A/N: Geez, I hope that made sense and was good. Only one more chapter to go!
I imagined Sky extinguishing the wildfire as kind of like Elsa dispelling the eternal winter in Frozen.
If you want to see more of your favorite Cars and Planes characters as humans, you ought to check out author and artist Aileen Roseven, who wrote a series of stories that started with "The Remembered." The stories are awesome, and the artwork can be found on Deviantart. Check out that awesomeness!