Third Person
For Tanith, it wasn't much of a question where she needed to go. The crystals were a possibility, sure, but if they broke, it wouldn't be the end of the world for her.
However, she was fond of several people in her neighborhood, and she was not going to waste time on making sure all of them were safe. So as soon as she arrived, she got Larry out of the house and quickly rushed to the house next to hers and knocked frantically on the door.
Opening the door, Bartholomew squinted at her. "T, do you realize what time it is?" He yawned.
But Tanith quickly pulled him out of the house, alarming him and causing him to lose his footing. "I know, it's earlier than you like but shut up for one second and listen to me! There's going to be a three balls of energy around here and they're basically bombs! Get everyone out, we've already wasted enough time!"
Bartholomew's eyes were wide but he quickly nodded before rushing to the next house. Tanith alerted a couple of her nearby neighbors to do the same before she began to search for the pulses.
One was right in the middle of her and Bartholomew's homes. She hesitated, but ended up putting it into a bubble and throwing it higher before searching for the rest. Half way through checking some of the other neighbors houses, Bartholomew re-approached her. "What happened?"
"Ace." She answered quickly, narrowing her eyes. "I don't know why but there's always a reason with him. Never just plain destruction because it's fun."
Her neighbor studied her face. "But you wish it were?" He guessed.
Tanith nodded her head slightly. "It's easier to call them plain evil that way, but Cody is making it hard to. Keeps insisting there's more to him than meets the eye, and while he's not wrong, I wish he were."
He nodded in response. "I see... Do you like to see people as black and white then?"
"Well, not exactly. Obviously everyone is more shades of gray than anything, but when it comes to your enemies, you often want to see them as just one thing rather than a person with a variety of feelings and reasons." Tanith huffed, scanning all around her, her tail moving from side to side anxiously. "So as much as I dislike the guy, he's got more to him."
Bartholomew kept nodding before squinting. "Is that one?" He pointed to a shining, blue, ball that swirled with power just out of where she was checking.
Tanith grinned. "Yep!" She rushed towards it and quickly repeated the same action she did before, making sure it would be safe for the time being. Bartholomew was a bit slow to follow, weary of it. Tanith frowned. "You know, I bet the people could use more help than me."
He nodded, glancing back. "Right... I-..." He turned back, cutting himself off.
The hybrid's shoulder slumped, giving him a look. "I get it, you're not a fighter, you've said it several times. I have this, you can go."
He gave her one last look, slowly nodding along. "Of course. Good luck, T." He waved before rushing off to make sure everyone else was evacuating.
Though the first two were much easier, Tanith was struggling with the last, searching the neighborhood but wasn't finding much. As she searched the balconies, she noticed one house still had a dog inside. Blinking, she quickly rushed up to the door and let it out, but the dog had other ideas.
It tugged at her shirt to come inside, which she obeyed, and soon found herself being led into a bedroom, where an old woman slept soundly. Recognizing her, Tanith gently shook her awake. "Mrs. Rockefeller! You need to wake up."
The old woman's eyes fluttered open, and she gave a little smile to Tanith. "Oh, my dear, you came to visit? I haven't seen you in a while, would you like something to eat or drink?"
Tanith shook her head. "I appreciate it but we really need to get out of here! You could be in danger!"
She blinked but got up, her dog following along. "Well if you say so. But do come by to visit more, Muffin needs to get used to people and I have some leftover baked goods that need eating." She nodded at her dog upon mentioning him, who barked at his name. Larry, who was still following Tanith, began to communicate with Muffin, touching noses with them, even though the mimic didn't truly have one.
"Sounds wonderful." Tanith shot the best smile she could manage in her panic, rushing them both out the door and showing her the way to go. She thanked her before moving on her way.
Tanith sighed deeply, but it didn't last long as there was a bright light to her left from an a building a little above her neighborhood that made her freeze. Then, the building started to come down, right where Mrs. Rockefeller was walking.
Tanith summoned a dome to protect the two of them certain that it would, but didn't take into account that the wave the pulse produced would spread, nor did she think to check if she was in the splash zone of anything else that might fall.
But someone else did.
Tanith didn't even see them coming, but she was suddenly shoved forward, almost making her lose her hold on the dome she kept up, and before she could scold whoever did it to her, she heard the crash behind her and the gust that came with it.
Whirling around, Tanith stared at the rumble, and two thoughts came to mind. One was Larry, and the other, was who pushed her out of the way?
She shook herself before digging through it, her natural instincts kicking in as her tail flung the rumble of the building away until she reached a man with curly, brown hair. Her eyes widened, and she quickly bent down to him.
"Bartholomew! Can you hear me?" She asked, keeping the panic in her voice low, but was unable to prevent it altogether. He had several cuts all over him, and a large piece of marble impaled his leg, while a thankfully much smaller one was poking at his side. He groaned slightly, moving enough to where he showed off Larry under his stomach. Tanith blinked in surprise. "You used your own body to shield him... That's a dangerous move, Bartholomew."
"Y-yeah no kidding." He grunted, attempting to sit up but Tanith kept him down. Larry squeezed out from under him, but kept close, seeming to wimper a little. Tanith understood why, Bartholomew had become his unpaid babysitter for when Tanith was away, and the two were close. Bartholomew looked down to his bleeding side, eyes struggling to stay open. "This is why I'd rather stay away from heroic acts."
Tanith started to heal, taking out the shrapnel from his side before beginning the healing process, then moved onto the leg. "You took quite a lot of damage." She told him calmly, betraying how her heart was thumping faster than she could process. "I'm gonna need you to stay a couple days in the hospital to make sure you're healing properly, and that they don't open up again."
He nodded, starting to lose consciousness. Tanith put her hand on his shoulder. When he looked up, now finally noticing his glasses were shattered beyond repair, he could see a blurry smile on her face. "Thank you. You're not as big as a coward as I thought and I'm grateful to have a frenemy like you."
He attempted a weak one back. "Of course, who else would I find just as infuriating as you? I'd be nearly impossible." He winced as some of the scratches on his face burned. "I have no idea how you do this all the time."
"What? All the time? That's a bit of an exaggeration."
"It wasn't that long ago where you almost died from protecting a blow from Cody, who probably would've been fine anyways given it was Nexus Energy."
"Really? Come on, we're doing this now?" Tanith grunted. "We just had a bonding moment and we're doing this now? It's not even Thursday yet."
"You're just changing the subject because you know I'll win." He chuckled, then regretted it as pain shot through his ribs. "And I'll still be in the hospital then. Given all this." He gestured to himself.
Tanith rolled her eyes. "I'll visit you. Now go unconscious already so I can check you fully, you're not gonna let me when you're awake."
Bartholomew rolled his eyes, then shut them and in seconds, was fast asleep. Tanith carefully picked him up off the ground and made her way towards the hospital. "I knew you were skinny but you're practically a feather." She snorted to herself as she walked.
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KrakenKid didn't hesitate as much as he wished, but he knew this was the place as soon as Ace gave them the clue. After all, he remembered that the last time he visited it, he was still having feelings of being watched, meaning Ace saw him here and knew.
Before him stood a hidden little cave, a old and rusted sign hanging above it that once read, "Brick and KrakenKid's Cool Cave"
He sighed as memories flooded back as he entered.
Since he still knew this place like the back of his hand, and knew since it was so small there weren't many places to hide it, finding all three pulses were easy, though KrakenKid made the mistake of putting them all together, close enough for them all to merge as one, and become a bigger one.
With great difficulty, the kraken managed to absorb the Nexus energy, even though it pained him to do so. He still wasn't used to it. And when he finished, his vision swayed, and everything was spotted.
He almost passed out, but instead, he began to slip right into a memory.
He could see it all play out in front of him. A younger version of himself, with violet skin and pale yellow eyes, over a foot shorter than his much larger and muscular friend, who was a maroon colored kraken with dark blue eyes.
His mind began to make him actually seem them again, standing in the cave with all of their shelves of books and video games, several toys scattered all throughout and sitting at the picnic table they had dragged inside of it. He could see himself making little noises as he played with the dinosaurs, then Brick would come in and talk with him, despite having a T-Rex who would most likely kill his lone Raptor, he'd be friendly.
KrakenKid always liked that about Brick. Even though he could toward over him, and win in a fight against him, he never did anything mean to him. Because as tough as he was, and as much as he fought all the other kids, he knew that the young KrakenKid didn't want to fight anyone, and knew of how shy he could be.
All the times of how Brick would beat up anyone who even insulted him or mentioned anything negative about how small he was made both versions of KrakenKid smile with fondness.
"Hello there other dino!" Brick spoke in the lowest voice he could manage, and also in a more 'Fancy Accent' the type you'd expect from someone wearing a monocle. "I'm T-Rex!" Brick made a grab for another dino. "And this is my friend, Bron.... Bronasaur-... Uh." he scratched his head.
"Brontosaurus!" The younger KrakenKid told him proudly.
"Right!" Brick chuckled, putting the toys down and turning to him. "I can never remember the names, I don't know how you do it."
The kraken only giggled. "I'm not exactly the strongest so I make up for it in school." He told him. "That way, people won't just judge because I'm small."
"And if they do," Brick flexed his tentacle. "I'll sock 'em! Right in the eye! Nobody picks on my best friend!" He grinned when the kraken kept laughing. "Besides, it's perfect! You can be the brains and I'll be the brawn! Together, we'll be unstoppable!"
KrakenKid could remember every bit of the memory as his mind played it out in front of him, but it started to fade when the thought of the genocide came to mind. He never saw Brick after that war, and as much as he wanted to deny it, he couldn't help but feel sorrow in his heart.
"I miss you, old friend." He whispered, though to who, not even he was sure.
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Blooper wasn't scared.
That's what he kept telling himself.
He could handle this. Just defuse the bomb things and everything will be okay. Besides, he had Cannibal to help him out, he'd be fine. As they neared the Conch Command, he just kept telling himself that. It worked for a while.
Until CannibalCrab stopped in his tracks, eyes widening. "Oh no." He whispered, then covered his face. "There's no way... Ace couldn't know about that... Oh crap, yes he could- Blooper, I gotta go."
Blooper turned towards him. "What? Where else do you have to go, it's not in the Conch Command?"
Cannibal let out a long breath. "No, I think I'm supposed to be somewhere else. I need to get to the other half of Atlantis fast so just go on without me. And don't mention the bombs to the other Tide Changers."
"Wha- why not?" Blooper stuttered in surprise. I'm gonna have to defuse a bomb by myself? Ohhhh no...
CannibalCrab glanced around before leaning over and spoke in a low voice. "The Tide Changers can sometimes overreact to things like this, they panic a lot, and without KrakenKid there to calm them down..." He shuddered. "Last time was a nightmare, I don't want to discuss it. So, just don't tell anyone, alright? The only people who you can trust with it are Darrel, Harold, and depending on the day, my cousin and Gnash. Just don't get help from only Gnash, he might panic a little. Got it?"
Blooper nodded hesitant before Cannibal sprinted off, leaving him behind.
Blooper swallowed his fears and continued home. As soon as he entered the doors, he made a beeline straight for Darrel, and began to spill everything, talking quickly.
Darrel didn't seem to mind, and was even able to keep up. Once he was done, he stood up. "So we need to find three of the 'Pulses'?" He asked, getting a nod in confirmation. "Very well then. We'll need to get to Harold, find a way to defuse them before we start looking."
The blue bird strolled out of the room, heading for downstairs, with the young kraken following. Darrel's eyes darted to him for a moment, then a little chuckle escape him, his head shaking a little. Blooper gave him a questioning look. "Oh, it's nothing." Darrel sighed with amusement.
"No, tell me!" Blooper demanded, curiosity creeping up on him.
More laughter came from Darrel. "KrakenKid always mentions how much you remind him of your mother, with some of your more bold attitude, as well as some of your more extreme practical jokes," Blooper blinked, hardly anyone ever talked about his mother, and never directly to him. "However," Darrel added with a smirk. "He tends to forget that you have many of his traits too. Just then when you came in looking for my help, I could've sworn I thought you were KrakenKid again. Especially the way you were acting."
"The way I was acting?" Blooper echoed, crossing his arms. "I wasn't acting any different than normal!"
He let out a snort as they rounded the corner. "Please. You both have this look on your face when you're scared, but you're trying to hide it."
The young kraken couldn't help but frown deeper. He hardly ever saw his Dad actually scared- other than one or two pranks that went too far- so the idea of him being it to something like this was impossible. "He doesn't get scared."
"On the contrary," Darrel retorted. "He's scared all of the time. Scared that something's going to happen to you, Cannibal or me. Scared that Atlantis is going to attack at any time. Scared that he's not leading properly and of betrayal- he's even scared of love often, but the point is, no one is ever fearless. Not even your Dad. He just knows how to deal with it."
Blooper might've said something, but they were already in the lab by then, so he decided to drop it instead. Harold turned his head when he heard people entering the room, then his eye darted from Darrel to Blooper and back again. "Somethin's up, huh?" He predicted with a sigh. "What do you need? I'm all ears."
"Something to absorb Nexus energy." Darrel answered.
Harold's mouth twitched into a smile. "You're in luck, KrakenKid ordered something of that type a while ago. Originally it was for fighting the penguin, but given the possibilities now, he might use it for other people. If it works, that is, I haven't tested it yet. What's it for?"
Blooper checked to make sure no one else could hear him before whispering a shortened version of the situation to him. Harold nodded. "Hm. Interesting... And perfect for what I've been working on." He grabbed a gun looking weapon off the table and handed it over. "It's like a vacuum, sucking all the energy inside of it. Just point and shoot, not that hard."
"Point and shoot." Blooper mumbled to himself, aiming around with it. "Just point and-" He accidentally pulled the trigger, and for a brief moment, it began to rapidly take in water before he let go, jumping. "Uh... I didn't do anything!"
Harold snorted. "Anyone ever tell you that you're just like your Dad?"
The yellow eyes glanced over to Darrel, who looked like he was refraining from cracking up. "Yeah, someone has mentioned it. Thanks Harold."
"Of course. And if you need any weapons, please just ask! I'm getting bored over here with paperwork and defense mechanisms." He called after them before sitting down and beginning to type on his computer.
"Perfect!" Blooper clutched the gun. "Now we just need to find them." He turned to Darrel. "Any ideas?"
Darrel hummed before suggesting a couple places, and Blooper set off. Darrel ended up following him, figuring that someone needed to make sure he didn't get into trouble. The first was near the top of the Conch Command. Blooper grinned as the vacuum did its work, sucking it in with ease.
"So," Blooper began as they were off to check some of the other places. "What else don't I know about my Dad? How did you to meet? He doesn't like to talk about his past to me... Or anyone really."
Darrel nodded slightly. "There's a reason for that. Your father isn't exactly over what went on in the past, and he thinks that the best way to deal with it is to simply not talk about it." Darrel glanced over to Blooper. "Don't take it personally, it took Cannibal ages to figure it out."
"Didn't he open up to Tanith thought?"
"Tanith kept climbing through the window to have a "Feels Jam" with him, not to mention, she appears to be an empath, even if it is to a select amount of people. It's difficult for KrakenKid to hide what he's feeling with her when she knows what's going on."
Blooper paused for a moment, eyebrows knitting together. "Wait... She was here quite a lot over the past week... But Dad kept telling me he was fine!"
Darrel gave him a skeptical look. "Don't you tell your Dad that you're fine when you're really not? Neither of you wants to tell the other how scared they are, because neither of you wants to worry the other. Like, for example, when your Dad came back from work late at night, you told him you slept great, when in fact, you had a nightmare."
Blooper tensed. "No I didn't!" He protested immediately, but Darrel waved it off.
"You have your Dad's terrible lying as well. How the penguin is ever fooled by him, I'll never know. Try again." Darrel crossed his wings, his tail feathers twitching on the end from irritation.
Blooper bit his lip, looking away. "I know it was just a dream, I'm fine! I just saw some things, okay? That's it, it's no big deal."
"What sort of things?" Darrel prompted.
Blooper paused. "I saw... Ace. We were all facing him and then suddenly, he just attacked one of us. It's kinda blurry but for some reason, he attacked just one person, and three others fell with them... My Dad was one of them- not the one attacked, he was standing right next to me, I would've remembered that- but one of the people who fell anyways. Ace then attacked the rest of us- and we tried to fight him but we all just fell. Including me. I felt a shock and then just darkness. It was so surreal."
Darrel hesitated. Surreal... Could it be..? "Anything else you remember? Small details?"
Blooper groaned. "I don't know! I was with Selena at once point when we were fighting Ace. It was us and Atlanteans for some reason... Uh... Ace kinda looked like someone just backstabbed him- you know, really angry. Oh! And he had a cape on. A gray one. But he doesn't wear a cape so obviously it's not real."
Darrel studied Blooper's eyes. He debated to himself for a moment, then brushed it off. "Very well..." He didn't sound entirely convinced.
The next one was in one of the places Darrel predicted, in CrankyCrab's restaurant. They almost didn't find it, until Blooper noticed something from beneath the floorboards, glowing. How Ace got it there, he'd never know since he wasn't sure when CrankyCrab ever slept. He managed to keep it a secret by acting like he was just vacuuming up a stain. Darrel gave the cook a brief explanation before moving on.
"You never answered my question." Blooper said as they headed for the tunnels. "About how you and my Dad met."
Darrel nodded slowly. "That's a good one. It was an average day for me to begin with. I lived over in Atlantis at the time, in Sector Four, and I was just taking out the trash when I found him. He was in the trash, hiding."
Blooper snickered. "No way, this has to be a joke. Are you getting back at me for all of my pranks?"
But Darrel shook his head shooting a little smile at him. "Nothing like that. Believe me, I'd get back at you gladly if your Dad wouldn't scold me for it. Bit overprotective. But KrakenKid was hiding from soldiers patrolling around. I had a heart attack when I saw him because-"
Darrel cut himself off. "...Blooper, what do you know about other krakens?"
Blooper wracked his brain for details. "Dad doesn't normally talk about them but I do know that me and him are the last ones left in Atlantis. And Atlantis was at fault for that."
"Do you know what happened to the rest?"
Blooper shook his head. "I have a couple ideas but I'm not sure which one is right."
"...Do you know what genocide means?" Blooper fell silent, which told Darrel all he needed to know. "I won't go into details, but Poseidon did that to his- your people. That's a big reason why he'll never fully look at Cody like everyone else in the kingdom does. Why he still has a hatred for him. The son of the man who killed your people... That's not someone you can so easily forgive, even if he didn't do it himself."
When Blooper continued to say nothing, Darrel talked on. "I found your Dad hiding in my dumpster. The last kraken in Atlantis. He was scared and angry, and more importantly, just a kid. I let him inside of my house for shelter. I learned his story, and he learned mine. He stayed for longer than either of us thought but I was glad. A week later, he was going to leave, but I left with him. I packed up everything I had and followed him. Just like I always have, and he's never forgotten it. I was the first person to believe he could change things. Outside of your father, I was the first Tide Changer."
Darrel's snickering echoed off the tunnel walls. "Oh you should've seen the Conch Command when we first founded it- much messier and crooked than it is now. I was exhausted every day trying to clean it up, but your Dad was more than eccentric about what we were creating."
They both stopped when they found the last Pulse in the tunnels. As Blooper prepared to take it out, he glanced at Darrel. When he finished sucking it in, he asked his question. "So, my Dad learned your story... What was it?"
Darrel puffed, shaking his head. "That's a story for another day." He told him, then the pair walked back towards the Conch Command.
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CannibalCrab never wished harder that he was wrong.
After all, he didn't truly care for this place, why would he? It wasn't like it had any fond memories at all- even the ruined ones, nor did it have anyone special to him. It wasn't like he actually cared about this place. It wasn't like he visited every once in a while when he had more dreams about-
Okay, all of that was a lie.
All the way over in Sector Two, in the outskirts, was a small village. It was technically a part of Atlantis, but given it was more isolated than the rest of it, much like the Conch Command, many forgot that it was. This village, was full of one species, and this was the village where Cannibal grew up.
The crabs.
CannibalCrab stuck to the shadows, but a part of him watched the busy crabs at work, all moving around, pushing past one another and only stopping if something caught their eyes. Admittedly, they were prideful and prude, and anyone remotely different was an outcast. Literally.
Cannibal's memories flooded back as he moved from place to place, checking around before moving on. The marketplace, all the places he used to play, everything good about the place came back to him. In fact, he even found the first Pulse in his childhood home- which now was completely abandoned, and while it saddened him, he knew exactly why.
It was his fault that it was.
Cannibal decided to rid of the pulse through slashing at it repeatedly. He found that it began to break up, at first in half but then in fourths, and so on, until it was nothing. He smiled at his work, but his smile faltered when he saw it.
The grave in his backyard, the headstone starting to grow old, but the flowers on it were new. Fresh even, meaning it had to be put there today, and Cannibal could guess who. He read the gravestone a few times before sighing. The main part he couldn't get over was, "Loving wife. Betrayed by her own love."
There was a part of him that regretted that more than anything, but another part... Brushed it off. After all, the others were to blame. They knew exactly what they did. Cannibal left the grave behind and moved on.
After seeing the grave, the nostalgia of living there suddenly faded. Now, his birthplace seemed a lot less glamorous. He could see the other crabs purposely bumping into one another and giving dirty looks, and all of the destruction in the streets still remained. Smashed stands and fruit that once was on them were there too. Suddenly, he remembered how hateful his people could be.
It wasn't hard to guess where the other would be. On the edge of the town, more isolated than the rest, stood a small house, and as expected, a pulse there too. Cannibal rid of it before pausing and glancing into the window of the house.
Inside, two women were rushing around the kitchen, lightly bickering to each other as the cooked. CannibalCrab could hear it was about dinner and how to prep it. He smiled a little as the pair of crabs finally decided on a spice, plucking it from the cabinet before they kissed and moved on with cooking.
His eyes trailed until he noticed a familiar picture sitting on the dining table. Three crabs, all smiling at the camera as they laughed. The first two were the very two woman who lived in the house. The last was much younger, but Cannibal recognized himself when he saw it. He knew the picture so well.
"They kept it..." He let out a breathy laugh. "Even after everything that happened, they never took it down... And people wonder where I picked up my fierce loyalty from." He glanced at the two female crabs one last time. "Thanks Moms." He whispered before moving on.
Cannibal found the last on hiding within the town market. It was well hidden, and Cannibal almost missed it when he was passing by. He would've gotten rid of it immediately, if memories didn't start to come back to him.
Memories of the day it happened. When he accidentally let his addiction show at the worst time, and everyone learned what he really was. His crab eating ways. Not crabs like him, but just the little annoying ones nobody liked. But they still hated it. They persecuted him. He hid away for a while- it took awhile for everyone to track him down, even if he did just go home- but they did.
He was hungry, hadn't eaten since, and all the stress was getting to him. The mod broke into his home and began to tear it apart. His wife was hurt, but they managed to get away briefly. Then...
CannibalCrab was so hungry. His wife was bleeding, and suddenly everything just happened at once and he-
CannibalCrab threw the memory out of his head and stared at the pulse.
And he walked away. He didn't look back at it, or the village in general. He walked right out of there, and when it went off and he heard screams, he only looked back to his Mothers' house. They were unaffected, so he didn't care.
They deserved it. CannibalCrab finally decided. After all that time, he finally came to terms with one thing. The past is in the past now, this place won't matter to me anymore.
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"Excuse me, WHAT? You think I'm just going to let you go out there and defuse some bombs?"
Professor Pikalus groaned lightly. "Mom, I'm fine! I've done this sort of thing before, I can do this."
The brown haired woman crossed her arms, giving him a look. Her fluffy hair was up in a bun, and it was starting to gray, though you could still see it's original color in it. She gave him a look. "Niall, do you really think I care if you've done it before? You're putting yourself in danger, again! Nu-uh, not under my watch! You have soldiers for that!"
"This was personal!" Professor argued. He didn't want to tell his Mom what was happening since he knew this exact talk would happen, but the first Pulse was by her house, and she spotted him. As soon as she did, he knew there was no use trying to run, she'd find him and he'd be in even bigger trouble. Age didn't matter to his mother, she would find him, and she'd yell at him just as she did when he got into trouble as a child. Because in her eyes, he still was her little boy. "I don't know how he found out, but he chooses places to put them based on what we care about ! I can find them quicker than any soldiers, and there's no time to waste. I need to-"
"Niall!" She grabbed his wrist as soon as he tried to walk out of the door. "I don't want you getting into trouble!"
He let out a frustrated huff. "I'm helping people, Mom! And I'm not just some kid anymore!"
"That's right, you're MY kid!" Her eyes flashed. "And you always will be, I don't care how old you are!"
"You don't understand!" He shot back at her. "Ace is a menace! He hurts people- he could've hurt you! I'm making sure that doesn't happen! I don't know why he's doing this, and frankly, I don't care! I'm stopping him, Mother. I have to-"
"And you're not understanding me." Her voice was fierce. "I am not losing my child."
Pikalus did a double take at the growl the rose from her voice. Her green eyes flashed with determination. "I can't protect your sister and my baby girl as much as I can anymore. And every day I hear about how much more dangerous Atlantis is. I know how you play an active role in it, and I have a heart attack everytime something goes down. I'm afraid that one day, I'll wake up and you'll be dead."
Pikalus blinked in surprise. He tried to speak, but his mother beat him to it. "You don't understand, you will when you have a child, but your child is your responsibility, your legacy, and is a whole part of you. You're my child. I raised you from when you were a babe. I watched you grow up into the scientist you are now, and I put every part of my blood, sweat and tears into making sure you succeeded in what you wanted." She took in shaky breaths. "You're everything to me. And I know you need to help people, but sometimes I wish you chose a more simple career path and didn't face all this danger."
Pikalus nodded slowly, smiling. "I-I know, Mom. But, I need to do this. Think you can handle it? I'll do fine."
She paused, but her grip loosened until finally, it was gone and her hand returned to her side. "Alright." She gave him a nod. "Give 'em hell, Niall."
Pikalus grinned even wider than before. "Of course, Momma. I'll make you proud."
"You always do." She told him as he left. He could feel her gaze on him as he left.
Professor didn't have to think much to figure out it was his Mother, not the lab. After all, his Mother meant more to him than anything or anyone in the lab. He was a momma's boy, and he wasn't afraid to admit it.
His childhood home, where his Momma lived, was just above the Poor District. They were considered rather poor growing up, given even if he didn't live there, he wasn't too far better off. In fact, people like him who grew up like he did were often called "Borderers" due to being just on the line. Some were Borderers for being poor like he was, others were to being rich or middle class- it could be applied to several situations.
Professor could see just into the Poor District as he strolled, and though he looked, not one trace of a Pulse was found in there, which he did find a bit odd. After all, so many important memories were there and he visited there all the time to catch up with old friends. It was perfect to place one, but, there wasn't any.
Shrugging his shoulders, Professor soon found himself in a panic given his search in the Poor District had taken longer than he wanted. He began to check other places, and found another where he often bought some of his favorite pastries, even as an adult. The lady was surprised and as soon as he rid of it, she gave him a couple in thanks.
Professor knew that the right thing to do was say, "Oh, it's no problem" and brush it off, denying the pastry. But, he also couldn't turn down such a request, especially to an offer like that, so he took it.
As he continued, he couldn't help but feel like he was running out of time. As he passed by his old abandon elementary school, he soon learned that he was right in thinking so when a flash of blue exploded from it. Professor did manage to quickly shoot at the wave as it cut through the side of the building, but as soon as he was finished, the building began to crumble and fall.
Already panicked, it wasn't because of how he would be affected by it, for he was fine, but it was rather where the building was going to land: The Poor District.
He screamed at people to run, and there were several screams as it started to fall on them, but Professor didn't know what he could do to stop it. To his surprise, there was a flash of blue rushing towards it, and then as that same blue figure stood in front of it, Professor soon recognized it to be Ace of all people.
Ace was in the splash zone for the falling building, but stared up at it with determination. He began to charge blue lightning within him, before he shot it, right at the building. The lightning spread to every inch of the building, the lightning splitting the falling marble into two, and then taking that half, and splitting that into two, and repeating that until that piece would eventually be nothing but dust. A lot to do, but Ace had a fire in his eyes as he did so, and kept releasing as much power as he could, until it was all gone.
The falling building was nothing but dust. Ace had vaporized the whole thing.
Ace paused, then let out a long huff in exhaustion. He couldn't just do that everyday, and especially the new power that he just got was now still buzzing within him. He began to feel a headache, but then he noticed something moving in the corner of his eye. Then, it was too late.
Professor Pikalus' hammer slammed into his gut, and both the force of that, and Pikalus' force, caused him to crash into the ground. He didn't even get to recover as another caused him to be flung to the side like a rag doll and hit the wall that divided the Poor District and winced. Pain spread throughout his body, and when Professor approached him, he lifted up his hand to spark lightning, but the injuries already got to him.
Professor slammed his hammer right on his ribs, causing his hand to jerk up in the pain and shoot, completely missing. Pikalus' eyes burned with fury and unforgiving. He couldn't help but hear his own promise ringing through his ears.
If I kill Ace, Cody won't feel responsible for needing to. He told himself, hitting Ace again.
Ace could feel his vision fading from him, black spots dancing around, and didn't have the energy to move. Professor raised his hammer behind his head, ready for a finishing blow-
And then there was a weight pulling him down, something wrapping around his wrists. He struggled with his before he glanced back to see it was a kid holding him back, holding on for dear life. Their purple eyes stared right at him.
"Kid! Let go!" Professor grunted.
"No." He hold him firmly, holding on and gripping tighter, pulling him down with his full body weight.
Out of the corner of his eye, Pikalus noticed Ace began to sloppily run away. Pikalus let go of the hammer, freeing himself of the kid and began to run after him, but the kid soon lached onto his legs. "No." The kid repeated again. "Stop it." He tone was serious, but his eyes held so much anger that Pikalus almost saw a reflection of himself in it. He tried to shake him off, but after a couple of minutes, the kid let go himself. Professor blinked in confusion, then quickly looked around, and realized it was because Ace was long gone.
When he looked around again, the kid with purple eyes was gone too.
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Chester quickly moved through Atlantis, making his way to the outskirts. He hoped he was right, and though he normally was, he couldn't be wrong now.
He managed to make it to the place, and when he walked in, he found himself both relieved, and then highly concerned. Relieved that he was right, and found the right cave Ace would go to, but then concerned, because Ace didn't move a muscle when he walked into the cave. Ace normally at least flinched or started up his powers, but now he just laid against the wall, clutching his stomach, where blood was pouring out of.
"...Chester?" Ace's voice was hoarse. "You found me... How did you-"
"You were injured, meaning you had to find shelter." Chester told him immediately, going to his side. "You like caves so it had to be one of those. You wanted it further enough so Pikalus couldn't find you through the first cave he looked at, but close enough because you're hurting. This one fit the description."
Ace stared, then nodded sloppily. "R-right... You're so smart... You're always so smart." Chester moved to help, taking out a first aid kit that he carried around with him, but Ace shook his head. "N-no... You've helped enough, I-I can't-..." He took in a breath, getting his words straight. "I can't let you get involved. Not with someone like me. You've helped enough."
Chester narrowed his eyes. "I'm not leaving." He told him firmly, though he was pretty sure that given Ace was twice his size, he could easily kick him out if needed.
Ace kept shaking his head, looking up at him with pleading eyes. "Chester, don't do this. I need to do all of this alone, you can't get involved."
"I'm not changing my mind about this." Chester didn't so much as sway.
Ace paused for a moment before sighing in defeat, moving his hand away. Chester quickly began to work, easily accessing his memories about first aid that he learned way back. Though, he couldn't deny that he was shaken by how much blood there was, and more importantly, seeing it on Ace's body. He shook himself out of it to work.
There was a silence between the two before Ace broke it. "I didn't need a body you know."
Chester blinked in surprise. "You..." He replayed the words over and over again, but they didn't quite make sense to him. "I don't understand..." He mumbled, frowning.
"I could've done it all without a body. Completed all it wants. My purpose here. I could've just possed people for the rest of my life. I had the opportunity to make the Nexus explode a couple times now, but that first one... I could've ended everything, but... I couldn't resist it. I wanted a body so badly. My very own body."
Chester was already confused, but Ace letting out a laugh only made it worse. "Such a human desire for an abomination like me! To want something. All humans desire something- something they would do anything to get! Some desires are apparent, like wanting happiness or power, but others? Those deep, dark ones you never let see the light of day? The rage, the hunger, the need for destruction? That's there too. Just in the corner on your mind."
Chester began to listen more than he was doing anything else. Ace continued. "I exploited people because of this, made them give into the dark desires because it helped me get what I apparently wanted. To destroy... That was me. But then, right in the middle of that plan, irony hit me right where it hurt." He gave Chester a look. "Because I gave into my own deep, dark desires instead of what I thought I wanted... I thought I wanted to destroy but instead, I wanted... To be alive. More alive than before."
His eyes trailed down. "There's always a reason for a deep desire, and it's almost always fear. Fear of your kingdom falling apart, fear of being an outcast, fear of letting people in... There's so much fear in the world... I-I remember when I first truly gained life and independance, I was so confused. Scientists found me and they... They didn't know I was alive. Not at first. They thought I was just power- energy for their manipulation."
Ace's voice only became heavier. "And because of that, they nearly ripped me apart. They even figured out I was alive, but apparently, it wasn't enough. I wasn't human enough for them to care. I... It was so painful." Ace shivered.
"Maybe that's why I needed to be alive. So people would stop using me and tearing me apart. So hey could consider me human. So I could be truly alive."
Ace let out another laugh, this one scared Chester more. "Isn't that funny? I could've stopped this all, but I gave it all up for life. Even though life is so painful and full of lies, I just wanted to be apart of it... Wow, I truly am an abomination, aren't I?"
Chester only then noticed how Ace was fading, and panicked. "Ace! Hold on, I can help!" He told him, rapidly wrapping the wounds, but Ace didn't respond. Chester paused after a moment, only hearing his heartbeat quickly in his chest.
"Ace?" He tried again, trying to keep his voice level, but Ace's chest had stopped rising. His heart dropped. "...Ace." He knew he wasn't going to respond but he couldn't stop himself from saying it.
Chester was silent for a long time.
Then Ace's whole body jerked violently, and for a moment, black lightning shook his body. Ace gasped awake, breathing heavily, and Chester wasted no more time to patch up his wounds. "Ace! Are you-..." He trailed off as Ace looked around wildly before pressing his back against the wall.
"...It wouldn't let me." He said in a quiet voice.
"What?"
Ace spoke up a little louder. "It wouldn't let me die. I knew I was gone for a moment there, but it brought me back, jump started my heart just so I could live long enough to survive this... It's not going to let me die if my body's still in working condition."
Chester blinked, then picked it up. "The hatred?" Ace nodded his head. "So you really were for a second there?"
Ace hesitated, then nodded. "I'm sorry you had to see that... I..." He put a hand over his now bandaged up wounds. "I'm sorry." He told him again quieter.
"Just don't do that again, okay?" Chester told him.
"Okay. I'll try." Ace gave him a reassuring smile.
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WOOOOO I DID IT
So a lotta things happened
--In one chapter, Tanith says, "Let's say me or someone else you know is in danger, and you can help. Answer honestly, would you? Would you actually come to my aid?" And Bartholomew doesn't answer, leading her to believe that's a no, which while it was at the time, remember True Colors shine in all times of crisis. Bartholomew really would.
--Selena in one chapter, I believe this one was Second Chances, actually mentions how she's not sure how they're even gonna kill Ace, and literally says, "Are we just gonna drop a building on him and hope he dies?" That was foreshadowing for this. It didn't work. He made the building go POOF
--In the same chapter, "Pikalus needed to kill Ace so Cody didn't have to." Was also referencing Pikalus' attempt in killing Ace. Also, HEY WOLFY, remember how I mentioned in my comment how Professor has a hammer? That totally wasn't a hint hint to this chapter ;)
--Backstories are mentioned
--Darrel tells how he and Kraken met through his point of view. Blooper learns a lot of stuff
--Blooper might have had a prophetic dream
--Once again, since only Cody and mildly Kraken have the ability to absorb the Nexus, the others have to get creative. Tanith bubbles hers, Cannibal cuts his up until it's nothing, Professor shoots his, Blooper gets a device from Harold, everyone has to improvise.
--Ace was watching them to see how'd they react in times of crisis, which is also why he knew to get the building when he saw it falling
--Ace didn't put any Pulses in the Poor District, and didn't let the building fall in it either. That's because Chester lives there, and he's not sure where Chester is, so he's protecting him.
--Pikalus now knows somewhat of Chester
--Ace's heart stopped beating for a moment there. The hatred is forcing him to complete what it wants now by keeping him alive. Killing him, keeping him alive, it really does torture him.
--Crap went down
And I think I covered what I need to say!
I hope you guys liked this because both parts were 13,000 words or so long and that was a pain. Be sure to comment what you think, and goodbye!
--JustAnAtlantisWriter