Third Person

KrakenKid wasn't sure what it was exactly.

Maybe it was the less than friendly people of Atlantis who tried their best to hide it, or the lack of special chicken or CrankyCrab, who cooked it. Maybe it was missing Darrel's stories, no matter how long they were, or CannibalCrab's little explanations for everything he got himself into and had to get help to get out of, or even Blooper's little pranks that would give him a rude awakening.

Maybe it was all of these things, but KrakenKid couldn't help but feel off.

He could tell Cody was trying everything to make him comfortable. No amount of KrakenKid telling him it was okay could distract him from the guilt he felt. KrakenKid tried to resist the favors at first, but eventually gave in after a couple days of persistence.

Cody had told stories to keep him entertained, brought back food and treats, and everything he could think of to help. It did, but only a little bit.

Adjusting was tough, and KrakenKid wasn't convinced he could at all. He could deal with being blind, even if it did pain him to have his sight taken away like that, but Atlantis was a different story. He often dreamed of being the ruler and turning it into the perfect place, but now he just felt more in danger than ever. That if someone broke into his house in the middle of the night, he might not be able to stop them from killing him.

"Kranky? You're spacing out." The sound of Cody's voice brought him back into focus, and KrakenKid nodded absently. There was a long pause, and KrakenKid wished he could see his face and read his emotions, but eventually the sigh came. That can't be good.

"What is it?" Cody asked him, and KrakenKid struggled for words.

"Fine, fine." He cleared his throat, settling down. "You were talking about... Something. News?"

Cody paused for a long time, and seeing as he couldn't, well, see him, he just had to sit there and wait for an answer. Cody on the other hand, examined KrakenKid closely, fully knowing by now that something was off with him, thought what could be a list of things. "Are you feeling homesick again?"

KrakenKid held his breath. "Uh. Sort of." He answered, thinking back before shoving the thoughts out of his mind completely.

Cody hesitated, then folded the newspaper he still held in his hands and turned all of his focus to the kraken. "Do you need to say anything?" KrakenKid shook his head. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm fine." He insisted, crossing his arms and holding them close to his chest. "Can't we just move on?"

"...You know, you can tell me anything." Cody added. "I won't be offended. Are the people being mean to you? Is it the house?"

KrakenKid found himself starting to absently play with the blanket beneath him. "They're fine. Quiet mostly and obviously I can't tell if they're staring at me so that's a plus. And I'm starting to get used to the house. I can navigate it on my own now." He gave a weak smile, hoping it would be enough.

To his luck, Cody took it and let him be. "Alright. If you say so. Should I keep reading or..?"

"Yeah, sure. It's nice." KrakenKid answered. His mind wandered away for a moment, then decided on something. "And- uh- thank you. For everything. You've done your best and I appreciate that."

A happy little hum escaped Cody's lips as he grinned. "It's the least I can do."

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"Blooper, get out of bed."

"Do I have to?" Came a little groan as the small kraken only seemed to curl further into the blankets, his head now hidden in them. "Yesterday I had a lot of work, can't I just take the day off?"

CannibalCrab stared down at the form on the bed and silently sighed, looking around before sitting at the end of the bed. "I suppose."

Blooper's body perked up, and his head stuck out from the blankets. "Wait, really?" He blinked, puzzled.

"Yes. If," He added just before Blooper could shrink away again. "You answer my question. Just one question."

Blooper's yellow eyes squinted in suspicion, now looking the general up and down. "Just one question? What is it, math and when I get the answer wrong, I have to get up for the rest of the day?"

"Nope." Cannibal answered, popping the 'P' at the end. He kept a straight face, determined to not give himself away. "Just a regular question that you'll know the answer of. Answer it, and you can spend the rest of the day in bed." When he noticed Blooper was still wary of him, he sweetened the deal. "I'll even bring the food to you."

As he suspected, that was enough to convince Blooper. "Deal." He grinned wildly. Though it wasn't widely known, CannibalCrab was quite the cook, something him and his cousin both shared. Blooper always enjoyed his dishes, and complained that he didn't do it more.

CannibalCrab let himself relax, knowing now he could get answers without much of a struggle. "Why are you sleeping in his bed?"

Blooper tensed, eyes going wide and darting around in panic. Cannibal knew fully well he didn't need to say names for Blooper to recognize who he was talking about. "I-uh!" He stuttered in surprise, unprepared for the question. "I don't know what you're talking about!" He covered his mouth with the blanket but his eyes stared at anything but his eyes.

The crab waved his claw in front of his face. "Hey! You said you'd answer. Besides, it's just me. You can tell me anything."

Blooper finally glanced at his eyes before they shied away, focusing on the wall. "...I had a nightmare, okay?" He began to bunch the blanket together, making a protective bubble around himself out of the fabric. "A silly one, just being chased around by a monster I couldn't see but kept growling at me. But then, when I woke up, I went to his bed on instinct and-..." His voice trailed off, his he let his body go limp.

"He wasn't there." CannibalCrab guessed, getting a little nod.

"So I ended up sleeping in his bed. It's," Blooper shrugged. "Familiar, I guess? Pretty comfortable too, it wasn't hard to fall asleep in it. It's kinda stupid-"

"He's your Dad- your only family left. He's been with you for most of your life, of course you miss him." CannibalCrab sympathized, leaning his body against the column that held up the roof of the bed. "I get it. I've been holding onto his gun because of the same reason." When Blooper's yellow eyes strayed, he spoke up to catch his attention. "And it's not stupid. Respect your feelings, and just hold on."

When Blooper lifted his head up and smiled, CannibalCrab took that as a win. He stood up, stretching as he did. "I'm going to make you some pancakes, and yes," He cut in before Blooper could say it. "I'll add chocolate chips to the batter."

As he walked away, Blooper mustered up the will to call out to him. "You're wrong."

CannibalCrab stopped in his tracks, confused. "About what?"

Blooper smiled a little. "About KrakenKid being my only family left."

CannibalCrab took a moment to soak it in, then snorted. Blooper frowned. "What?"

"That was so cheesy." CannibalCrab let himself laugh out loud, his whole body shaking with the sound.

Blooper's eyes narrowed. "HEY! RESPECT MY FEELINGS!"

CannibalCrab felt a pillow hit him straight in the head, and he finally settled down. "Sorry, you're right, and I'm sorry. I'll add in chocolate milk just because of that." Blooper gave a satisfied nod, and as the general walked away, he couldn't help but mumbled to himself. "You are definitely your father's child."

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Guilt was a tricky emotion.

Guilt didn't always stay with you, but would often come in waves, or be triggered by certain events. The waves could be random, and as Professor Pikalus found, were heavy hitting.

One moment, he was minding his own business, going over the ideas another scientist had for a new chemical that could help farmers grow their crops faster, then suddenly, all it took was reading the risks of it and it was on him.

One risk was if a farmer accidentally sprayed it in their eyes, they could temporarily blind themselves, and he was overcome with guilt.

Guilt of what he did, and more importantly, how Cody took the blame for it.

It wasn't Cody's fault, I was the one who did it. Cody was just trying to save his people, it's not his fault I was angry. That I had super strength when I did it. I should've known how to properly knock someone out, I know various anatomy! Why was I so reckless? Why didn't I think about it? Why did I just swing?

Over and over, the moment where he swung as hard as he could and hit KrakenKid's skull played again and again, and didn't seem to stop. His fist clenched, appearing bigger than he remembered.

"I don't know but you should have seen him. I've never seen him more distressed in my life..."

It's all your fault that he feels this way.

"I know but I have to talk to him! I need to apologize!"

It's all your fault that he thinks he needs to apologize.

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT PENGUIN!"

But it's not all his fault. It's yours. It's all your fault.

"Professor Pikalus? Are you quite alright?"

All your fault. You did this to them. It's all your fault.

"P-professor? Calm down now! Y-you're starting to-!"

IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!

"PROFESSOR PIKALUS!"

Finally the voice broke through the thoughts and turned to the scientist next to him. Why does he look so small? And why do I feel-

"S-sir!" The scientist squeaked. "You're starting to- uh- you know! Just calm down!"

Looking down at himself, Professor's skin was turning a sickly shade of blue, and his muscles were growing muscles far faster than the normal human body. He shook himself, focing his mind to settle until he was back to normal size. Though he had gotten better at controlling himself when Hulking up, his emotions still got the best of him, and right then, he had a lot more trouble than normal.

He apologized, then assured them he would be fine on his own before they eventually left him alone.

Even as they did, his thoughts still plagued him.

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Wowowowoowowowow! An UPDATE HAS BEEN MADE

Sorry guys, I've had a very busy week and I've been really trying to make this chapter pretty good so hopefully it turned out good!

Stuff has been happened, and there is a ripple effect for some of these events, so watch out for that.

Anyways, I hope you guys liked this! Be sure to comment what you think, and as always, farewell!

--JustAnAtlantisWriter