Behind The Alpha Book 7 Graham

Chapter 21

(Chapter song ’24 Ghosts III' by Nine Inch Nails)
KITA

Tanuki brings his sword down and I dodge just as it hits the ground.  Snow and dirt fly away from the blade like water.  He raises it again and swipes at me. I take to the air and call my lightning.
A bolt streaks across the sky and strikes down. Tanuki raises his blade in front of his face, blocks the strike, collects the energy and fires it at me within seconds.  It hits me and I’m electrified out of the air.  I spirit down and hit the ground.  Pain explodes through my body. 
He rushes me and strikes at me.  I jump out of the way, behind a tree trunk.  His sword embeds itself on one side and I dart to the other.  He rips it out and slashes the other side.  I dart again.  The sword digs into the rough bark. 
He glares at me as I climb the tree.  He springs upward to a branch and I narrow my eyes.  He points his blade down and jumps at me.  I power my ice tail and catch his hand in my teeth.  He screams and drops his katana.  He falls to the ground as he holds his freezing hand. 
On his knees, he breathes heavy as he holds his iced palm out.  He starts to glow red and I watch as my ice power recedes.
My eyes widen as he raises his head to me.  His face twists in anger.  “Your powers are useless, Kitsune.”  He growls. 
I shift and run for his sword.  I dive into a roll, grab the katana and stand on my feet with the blade at my head.  “They aren’t that useless, I’m still quicker and smarter then you dog.”
He stands and unsheathes his second sword from his back.  “I think you underestimate me.  I’m just warming up.” 
He breaks into a run and I rush him.  We clash in the clearing by the gold cliff edge. 
He strikes at me and I call my strength.  Our swords spark as the sharp edges hit each other.  Tanuki is so determined, I have to clench my teeth and step back, but he lacks heart which is a fatal weakness. 
My hair flies everywhere as the walls break more and the winds pick up. 
He brings his blade down and I stop it with my blade in both hands.  He forces me to my knee as I struggle against his push.  His sword glows red hot and I call my fire.  The power goes straight to the blade.  The heat melts is sword in two. 
He steps back and I release with a hand on the ground.  I pant as I recover from the struggle. 
He looks at his broken weapon and growls as he throws the pieces.
He jumps in the air and shifts.  His paws land and he is one of the larger Tanuki I have ever seen. 
The coon dog spirit.  Tanuki is the size of a large canine, has the body shape of a large hunting dog, but the fur pattern of a raccoon.  His slick fur is thick and his long, brown striped tail flicks at me as he lowers himself and growls.  His claws dig into the ground and snaps his teeth as he barks at me.  His beady eyes throw a death glare as I shift. 
The stand off feels like hours as I power up my tails and fan them out.
He barks loud and runs at me.  My tails shoot out fire, ice and lightning from the blue tips.  The snow explodes around him as he dodges.  He leaps for me and I catch him in my legs.  I teleport to the sky and drop him to the ground.  He opens a wormhole and disappears. 
I search for him and the sky explodes.  He falls out of wormhole above me and lands on my back.  As we fall, I spin to my back and try to bite at him. 
He's holding my neck with his paws while he tries to rip my head off. 
I teleport, reappear and throw him toward the cliff and land on my paws.
He slides across the frozen ground and off the edge.  I hear him howl as he falls.  I rush to edge and look over it.  He’s gone.
He reappears behind me, grabs my tails and throws me to the other side of the forest. 
I teleport back to him, grab his neck and throw him over the cliff on the blue side.  As he falls, he calls a wormhole, but was too late.  He hits the blue veil and is electrocuted in it’s cosmic storm. 
He's plastered to the wall, screaming in pain and shifts. His arms and legs are pinned to the wall. 
“KITSUNE!!!”  He yells as his body starts to rip apart and become absorbed through the wall. 
I watch with my chin high as pieces of his body separate and rocket back to the blue world. 
He manages to peel is arm off and reach out to me.  His face twists in confused fury. 
“This is my realm!”  I shout.
“NOOO!”  He yells as his head is transferred into the shimmering blue divide. 
I take a deep breath and look over the ever cracking wall.  It’s practically see through and I see Tanuki rise on the other side.  He holds his side and our eyes meet.  He looks for a way back, but without Alt-Graham, he cannot cross.  He snarls at me and shifts, running back to his world.  He will always be my burden to bear, but at least he’s out of the way. 
My victory is interrupted by Graham grinding in pain.
I turn and run back. 
Sliding to a stop, my eyes find Grahams.  He stands and is bleeding from every where. 
“Kita.”  He whines as he holds his stomach while on his hands and knees. 
“GRAHAM LOOK OUT!”  I yell. 
Graham rolls to his back, just as Alt-Graham deals a blow to his head.  His muffled cries of pain hit my ears and rage fills me. 
I sprint and leap into the air.  I land on Alt-Grahams chest and bite his neck. 
He lands on his back, kicks me off with a growl and rolls to his hands and knees.  “WHAT THE FUCK?!”  He grinds at me.
Graham grabs his shoulder and throws a punch to his head.  He lands another before Alt-Graham kicks back with his boot.  Graham falls to his back. 
“Graham!  Become one!”  I yell to him.
He looks at me confused.  “What?”
Alt-Graham grabs his shirt and delivers two blows to his head. 
Graham gets to his knees and groans as he tries to crawl away. 
Alt-Graham wipes the blood from his nose.  “You really are pathetic.  The only thing you’re good for is book smarts.  You can’t fight worth a damn.  I can’t believe you’re even an Alpha.”
“I’m more Alpha than you are.  I’m not selfish.”  Graham pants as he slowly gets to his quivering legs. 
“Oh, you’re not selfish?  Like you didn’t give Destiny the green light to bring you back because you missed your friends.”  Alt-Graham picks up a thick branch and spins it as he walks.  He points it at Graham.  “You didn’t even think about the consequences of that for a second, did you?”
“I didn’t know.”  Graham coughs while holding his side.
“BULLSHIT!”  Alt-Graham swings the branch and hits him upside the head with it and Graham goes down, landing on his stomach.
“GRAHAM!”  I scream with worry.
I want to help, but he must fight this alone.  What can I do? 
Alt-Graham hits him across the back and Graham screams in pain. 
I whine as I look around for anything that can help.  I teleport to Grahams head and push a rock to him with my nose.  He looks at me and grabs it. 
“Your right.”  He coughs again.  “All I got is book smarts.  Which right now, is very useful because…”  He spins to his side, throws the rock and hits Alt-Graham between the eyes.
Alt-Graham stumbles and falls as he cries out in pain, holding his head.
Graham stands up.  “I learned that rocks are hard.”  He breathes as he leans on his knees. 
I jump in front of him and look up.  “Become one."  I say, quickly.
“What does that even mean?”  He looks at me with a whine.
“Believe.  You are one.”  I say as I step out the way.
Alt-Graham stands up and glares.  His forehead trickles blood down his nose as his fists ball.  “I’m really getting tired of you.  I’ve got shit to do.  I'm sure your little fox would like more fun.”  He winks at me with a smirk as he runs his fingers through his wet bloody hair. 
“Never.”  I grit. 
Graham stands between us.  “You keep your eyes on me, dickhead.  Leave her out of this.” 
Alt-Graham laughs.  “You can’t possibly believe she’d choose you over me.”  He saunters up to Graham and holds his hand to his chest.  “I give the way better D.  Don’t I, sweetheart.”  He looks around Graham to me. 
I scowl and bare my teeth.
“It’s ok, baby.  When I’m through here, we can make up back at my place.”  His lips part to a bloody grin.
“Yeah.  That’s not happening!”  Graham rushes him, pulls back a fist and swings. 
Alt-Graham catches his fist in his hand and their connection explodes in blue and gold light.
“What?”  They both say at the same time. 
Graham pulls back, but his fist is stuck to Alt-Grahams hand.  “LET GO!”  He demands.
“I’m trying!  You let go!”  Alt-Graham hisses back. 
The light crawls up both their arms.
“W-What’s happening?!”  Alt-Graham panics as he tries to pull himself free. 
Grahams brows stitch together.  “Kita?!”  His voice is shaky as he tries to pull back.
I run up behind him.  “BELIEVE IT!”  I boom.
The sky glows blue and gold and the world starts to spin around us. 
Their skin flows with light at the same rate.  The wind is like a typhoon.  I dig my claws in as my tails are blown around.  The two men stand in the center of the eye. 
The both arch back and scream as their hands are consumed and meld together. 
My eyes glow and my power shoots out of my tails to boost the energy in my pocket and help Graham.
The connection pulls them together.  Their boots push the snow as they fight it, but Grahams mind has taken over and the bond had been made.  There’s no fighting it. 
The light increases as their shoulders meet and their heads flail. 
“NOOOOO!!”  They both scream to the sky as their ears and cheeks merge together.  Their eyes widen and mouths hang open with shock.  Lights shoot out their eyes and their hair flies around their heads. 
The pocket explodes in light as the two become one and the two left arms form one strong arm.  The two left legs slide together at the thigh, down to the foot.
His arms shoot out to his sides and his head is thrown back as a lightning bolt of blue and gold fires from the clouds and hits him in the chest.
“GRAHAM!!”
His body shakes violently as he’s electrocuted and the world thunders.  The ground quakes and I hear something on the veils.
I fight the winds to the blue veil and watch as the cracks recede and the wall becomes opaque. 
“GRAHAM!  IT’S WORKING!”  I scream over the thunder and shaking. 
He lets out a blood curdling scream and explodes in a brilliant blue light filtered with gold.  I wrap myself in a ball and bury my head as the realm takes his power from him. 
I hear trees fall, souls cry and rocks break.
I peek over my tails and see the flashes from the gold veil as the cracks repair.  My eyes tear as I watch. 
“The Master of Worlds.”  I whisper as his power builds then returns to his singular body.  “It worked.” 
Graham continues to seize until the last crack is repaired.  The shaking slows then stops.  Rocks settle off in the distance, their sounds echo through the trunks as the pocket calms. 
The clouds part to let the blue/white moon shine over head and the lights die down.  The only things sparkling in the sky are billions of stars.  The gentle snowfall resumes and the crows help the spirits settle.
Graham falls to his hands and knees and his head hangs off his shoulders. 
I unfurl myself and approach cautiously.  I have no idea what this may have done to him.  Who he will be in this moment.  I don’t even know if he’s actually whole.
I crawl on my belly and try to find his eyes as I lay under him and lift his hair with my head.  “Graham?”  My whiskers twitch and my ears flick.  My tails slightly wag as I try to get a sense of him.
Sweat drips from his nose.  His breathing is erratic.  He’s trembling and his eyes are slammed shut.  His arm muscles flex and his jaw ticks as he clenches his teeth.  He breathes through his nose like he’s absorbing a lot of pain.  The glow under his skin fades and he slowly opens his eyes.  The blue and white, galaxy like, swirling lights shine bright for a second then fade to his blue ones. 
I tilt my head the other way.  “Graham.  Are you alright?”
“I…”  He raises his head to me.  “I feel…”  He breathes.  He looks into my eyes as a smile grows on his lips and excitement fills his eyes.
“Kita…I’m back.”