Double Rainbow

Dark Rainbow-10

I wake up in a dream, alone. Everything is too bright and I close my eyes. That steady heartbeat resounds once more, the soft booms comforting me. I open my eyes to see the glittering Canira, her fur mother-of-pearl colored fur ebbing and flowing like water along the side of a pond.

"What?" I ask, "Why am I here?" I look down to see my paws have their spectrums again. I test my wings and feel them there as if they had never left.

"Dark Rainbow..." Her tone is solemn, almost sad. "I am here to offer you that choice."

"You mean the weird thing from a month ago?"

"Yes. As I said, you were chosen for this. However, you missed your opportunity. Now I give you the choice to fulfill as much of it as you can."

"Come on. What's the catch?"

She sighs, her fur glimmering slightly less. "You would have to leave Dreamland behind. Forever."

I frown, looking intently at her. Finally, I say, "Torch won't miss me." Although I'll miss him. More than he'll ever know.

"I assure you he would, if you chose that. If he would remember."

"What are you talking about?!"

"To move you fully to this world and allow you to stay, I have to wipe you off of that timeline."

"Why?! What are your stupid rules for? Why can't you just let him remember if I decide to-"

The symbol on her back glows, and I notice it is three scars, pointed inwards. Similar to the Obsidians, but not quite. I remember one of Avery's legends. The Unknown Canira sprang from new light, but that light was opposed by the new darkness of Obsidians.

The world turns black, and an image sits in my mind, all that I can see. The Unknown Canira's voice resonates in my head. Long ago, a war was fought against the Obsidians. Not three, but five were chosen to fight. One was Princess Puppy-Spots, the second queen of Dreamland.

Five proud, powerful Canii appear in my mind's eye. One is Natrina, another I recognize as who must be Princess Puppy-Spots.

"They symbolized the values that once again must carry us through these hard times. Leadership," Princess Puppy-Spots, or PPS, faces the winds.

"Love," Natrina smiles at me, as if she knows I'm there.

"Determination," A red Canis with fluffy flaming tufts looks ready to attack something at any minute.

"Hope," A purple Canis with four white wings flies over the others.

"and Trust." The last Canis is a small brown one, with a little bandana wrapped around his neck.

"The five of them had to fight the Obsidians together, much like you did. However, the Obsidians were quickly driven out of Dreamland but they had to be chased all around the dimensions, and they drove them out but could not infiltrate their world.

This dimension you are on, in particular, ended up with a bloody history. The five Canis took wolf form, and made many friends and allies. The little Canis of Trust had made many friends in particular and ended up sacrificing himself to save one of his friends."

"What does this have to do with me?!"

"You can't choose both. The Canis of Trust ended up dying in wolf form, even though he was a Canis. The universe itself began to work its way around him having existed in two worlds. Everyone in Dreamland slowly forgot him. No one remembered him just a mere three years later. You can choose here and now. How do you want to live the rest of your life, Dark Rainbow?"

I look at her intently, a growl rumbling at the back of my throat. "Tell me what will happen to the Imperial Three if I don't come back."

"That would normally be against the rules, but since destiny will inevitably change if you go back... Very well."

Her eyes glow and the images rush back, much faster and without any monologue by the Unknown Canira. Avery and Torch kissing under the willow tree, fireflies illuminating the two of them. Spritz and them in the Obsidian Factory, killing Obsidians with ease and finally, an Obsidian in the shape of a leopard, as if to mock Storm, takes a shard of a fallen comrade and throws it at Torch, the tiny shard embedding itself in his heart. Blood wells and he crumples to the floor. The other two, surrounded, fall afterwards. The visions go fuzzy and the Unknown Canira stares down at me.

"They would fail?" I whimper, overwhelmed.

She says nothing but merely nods at me.

"Listen. I'm going to have to go then, aren't I? Their destinies depend on it. The universe depends on it."

The Unknown Canira says nothing.

"You have to tell Paladin..." I say.

"Tell him what? I can't interfere. It's forbidden."

"He needs a sign. A sign of hope. How about... two rainbows."

"What?"

"A double rainbow. That's extremely simple. He'll know... he has to. Just... please."

She nods again. "Hope. A sign of hope. I like that."

The whole place ripples with energy, and I take a pawful of it. I see only light for a second, and my eyes water, realizing it's the glare of the sun. I scatter the stardust across the heavens, and descend below the clouds to find the black stone, but no tree. I land on it and a rainbow erupts below me. My dragon-like wings fan out once more, and I realize how much I missed having them. Looking at the awestruck expressions of the four Canira below, I say, "Miss me?"