wouldn’t need protection if you stopped doing your Ghost stuff, heck you could come stay at Higher for hire if you would let us take you in.”

“Which I wont.” Shade looked out at a valley and waited as Baloo climbed up beside him.

“Why not?” Shade didn’t answer, as he started to head into the forest only to be grabbed by Baloo and pulled back.

“Listen if we’re going to work together on this, your going to have to talk to me.” Shade’s eyes narrowed and his brow furled as he looked at Baloo.

“Fine we’ll talk.” a smile crossed Baloo’s face as he looked at Shade, finally he was starting to get through to this kid. “I hear the Socks are doing pretty good in the play offs.” Shade said, as Baloo let him go, and he started to walk away again.

“Yeah so.” Shade looked back at Baloo and smiled slightly.

“You said you wanted to talk, so I’m talking.”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“That I do.” Baloo gritted his teeth knowing that Shade was still being evasive with him.

“Alright then, explain to me why you helped Molly?”

“She was in trouble.”

“That the only reason?”

“Yes.”

“Alright then tell me why your helping Kit right now.”

“He’s dying, if your trying to get me to admit that I care about you people in any way then you might as well stop that exercise in futility.” Shade stopped dead in his tracks and held up his hand to Baloo. “We stop here.”

“What?… why?” Baloo passed Shade and kept going only to have three spears land in front of him.

“Because we don’t want to make the Eskan’s angry, you wouldn‘t like them angry Baloo.” Shade said, as he looked at Baloo. “Do what I tell you, get to your knees and put your forehead on the ground.” Baloo gulped and did what he was told. As Shade knelt down on one knee and started to make clicking noises with his mouth, once he stopped a few moments past, and there came another clicking sound from a distance. As Shade seem to be communicating with someone out of sight Baloo kept to his position and waited until Shade gave him some instructions. “I’ve just told them why we have come, they agree to allow us to walk through their forest, but one of us has to take a test.” Shade said, as he stood up and looked at Baloo staying put.

“I’ll do anything for Kit, tell them that.” Baloo said, as he looked at Shade standing behind him. “Can I stand up yet?”

“In that order, I’ve already told them, and you might not want to get up just yet.” Shade said, as he reached for his wrist guard, pulled out a needle, and looked at Baloo.

“So what is this test?”

“A test to join their tribe, and don’t worry Baloo you wont have to go through it.”

“WHAT!?” Baloo screamed out as he felt a sharp prick in his hind quarters, only to fall into a deep sleep.

(Sea Duck)

Rebecca slowly woke up, in the floor of the Sea Duck, at the sound of Kit sobbing, as she slowly got off the floor she found the needle in her arm and crushed the paper in her hand even more. “That little… I’m going to give him a piece of my mind when they get back.” with that Rebecca pulled the needle out of her arm and put it to one side to make sure she didn’t get stuck again. She then turned to Kit who was laying on the bottom bunk and sobbing. “Kit sweetie what’s wrong?” Rebecca asked, as she looked at Kit, knowing full well what was wrong.

“My mommy.” Kit’s voice was weak and childish, Rebecca had never seen him this way before. Rebecca then looked down at the paper in her hand and opened it up.

“Ma-am Kit will be going through several stages during this toxins course, first it make him relive the hurt from the past, then the fear of the present, and finally the hate of the future. There is a minor way to hold off these stages, you have to talk to him, you have to make him happy, find what will make him happy and say or do it. As long as Kit’s happy and he hears the sound of a comforting voice then it will force out the nightmares he’s going to be living.”

As Rebecca read the note she put it to one side and knelt down next to Kit. “Honey I’m right here.”

“Mommy?” Kit said smiling slightly.

“It’s Rebecca, Kit I’m right here.” Kit pulled his knees to his chest and started to cry slightly.

“I want my mommy, where is my mommy.” As kit started to cry Rebecca slapped her head slightly remembering what Shade wrote in the letter, as she sat down on the bed she pulled Kit into her lap and held him close. She still remembered how she had caught Kit watching how she treated Molly the first night she had came to his life, as she held him close she started to hum a little song. As Rebecca hummed her song, she smiled to see Kit smiling in her arms. “I’ll always be here for you Kit, no matter what.” As Rebecca looked at the peaceful look on Kit’s face Rebecca looked out the window at the night sky, the stars where out and as she swallowed hard, she whispered faintly wishing on everyone of the stars. “Please Baloo hurry.”

(back in the forest.)

Baloo was woken up from his sleep when smelling salts got waved under his nose, as he opened his eyes he looked at Shade who smiled at him weakly. “Time to wake up.” In a flash Baloo grabbed Shade by the shirt and pulled him close bearing his teeth.

“You drugged me.”

“The test is done, we need to go.” with that Baloo let go of Shade and stood up. After the information sank in Baloo looked at Shade, slightly annoyed.

“You see that’s what I’m talking about.”

“What?”

“Well what I was talking about, you decided what was going to happen even before we talked about it, heck you might have had it decided a long time ago.”

“I did.” Shade said, slightly annoyed as he watched Baloo moving on ahead. “Slow down I have to guide you or your going to.” Before Shade could finish what he was Saying Baloo was engulfed in a plant flower.

“HEY GET ME OUT OF HERE!!” Baloo struggled but the plant’s vines started to wrap around the flower and started to squeeze.

“Stop fighting so much, this is a constrictor plant, it’ll squeeze the life out of you if you keep fighting.”

“And if I stop fighting.” Baloo asked, as he stopped for a moment looking around the plant walls.

“How about you just listen to me and not know what else might happen?”

“TELL ME NOW!!” Shade stopped for a moment and Baloo’s outburst and signed as he shook his head.

“You’ll slowly be digested by the plant, as it secrets acid inside that pod your in.” Shade said, as he slowly moved up to the plant finding it hard to walk or move.

“WHAT!?” Baloo started try and get free once more only to get the life squeezed from him more from the plant. “Get me out of this thing.”

“Then do what I tell you, and stop fighting the plant.” Shade was getting annoyed as he finally found what he was looking for and started to follow a vine going across the ground.

“But you just said.”

“STOP FIGHTING THE PLANT OR YOUR GOING TO DIE TINO!” Baloo stopped for a moment and then felt the vines loosen as it sounded like the planet it self was laughing. After a few minutes the pedals lowered and Baloo walked out, as he looked around he found Shade standing over near a tree flicking a little flower bud in the distance. “Come on we have to keep moving.” Shade said, as he stood up and started to walk away. Baloo noticed that Shade was walking differently as if he was limping slightly, but trying to walk fast.

“Hey kid, who is Tino?” Shade stopped for a moment and then started to walk on. “Hey aren’t you going to answer me?”

“We have a deadline Baloo, we have to get that cure before it’s to late.” Baloo understood by the sound of Shade’s voice that he didn’t want to talk about it.

“Listen kid… Rebecca likes you a lot.”

“We’ve covered this conversation Baloo, your not taking me in, I’m not going to join your family and that’s final.”

“Fine but at least stop with this Ghost stuff, I’ll admit it’s kind of interesting the things you’ve done, some times, but your going to get your self hurt worst then before.”

“A price I’m willing to pay.” Shade said, as he kept going, and Baloo stopped and took a deep sign.

“Is that the price Tino paid?” Shade stopped dead in his tracks and clinched his fist, as he heard the big bear coming closer. “Listen I don’t know.” Baloo tried to put a comforting hand on Shade’s shoulder only to have the wolf cub knock it away, as he started to walk on.

“Tino Insana, Professor Tino Insana, he studied plants. He came here because Cundarian island is filled with a rare bread of plants.”

“Alright so he was a smart guy… what happened?”

“He was teaching me about these plants, I was kind of his assistant, on this trip.”

“So what happened?”

“We where going on are third month here when Tino walked into the same kind of planet that you