Joe
I sighed deeply and found myself starting to fiddle with the seatbelt. Cody sat next to me, but only stared at the ground, clearly deep in thought. Again.

We were going to Atlantis, the lost city that I never even thought existed in the first place. After a group of Atlantean soldiers approached us at the hospital and started to blabber on about us being Kings and our birthright, we had a choice. It was either stick to what we knew, or go forward and live a new life, underwater.

I was all for it, though Cody was unsure. But, now that I thought about it, I didn't have any reason to stay. My job as a surgeon would transfer over in Atlantis, I divorced all of my wives and Cody was coming with me anyways. Plus, in Atlantis, I'd be a king, someone even more respected than a surgeon. I had nothing to loose by going there.

Cody on the other hand, well he was leaving behind the woman he loved. It was no wonder he hesitated. But, in the end, we both agreed that this was an opportunity we couldn't refuse.

The Atlanteans might have had gills, but we sure didn't so we traveled by submarine. It was also a lot faster than swimming so we all agreed it was the right choice.

Two of the guards piloted the submarine while the rest sat across from Cody and I. They would mumbled to each other and make small talk, but for the most part stayed silent. I didn't blame them, I was pretty shocked too. I was a king! To Atlantis of all places! How was that possible? I knew my memory was foggy but forgetting something like that seemed impossible.

Suddenly, the underwater vehicle stopped and everyone lurched forward, the only thing keeping us secure to our seat was the seatbelt. Cody snapped back into reality and looked around wildly. "Are we here?" He asked, leaning forward to direct it at the drivers.

"Almost. The portal is right in front of us. We just need to wait for Rasmus to open it. Sending in a transmission now." They responded and started to speak into a radio.

My eyebrows knitted together. "Why do we need to wait for this, "Rasmus" guy? Can't we just come in?"

One of the guards sitting across from us shook their head. They're eyes strayed to the ceiling before getting up. "Here. Better if I show you two."

He brought down a scope, similar to the ones you always see in movies and brought up the handles on it. Peeking through it, he adjusted it before beckoning us forward. Cody quickly unbuckled himself and shot forward, putting it up to his eyes. I followed behind and waited for him to finish.

The penguin's mouth fell open and all he could say was, "Wow." Soon, he moved aside and I was able to check for myself. Unlike Cody, I had some beautiful words to say about what I saw.

"HOLY CRAP! THAT LOOKS AWESOME!"

There was a large circle in the sea floor, bedrock lined the outline and the inside as well. Something about it pulled at my heart, like I knew it well. It gave off a mystical energy that made me feel all tingly inside and just sent chills down my spine. If that wasn't cool enough, there was lava lining the ground around it, and it refused to bend to the waters will and stayed lava instead of becoming obsidian. It was almost like the portal was protecting it.

When I pulled away, I could see now the guard had an amused look on his face. "Cool right?"

"I don't think that's the right word to describe lava." I joked, getting a snicker out of everyone who heard me.

"Well, that's why we can't get it. It takes an enormous force to break in so we have to wait for someone of royalty to open it for us."

Cody and I exchanged looks. "We're royalty, right?" Cody pointed out.

The guard's deep blue eyes widened. "That's right... You could open it... Do it then! Both of you have a connection to the Nexus and that kind of bond never fades. If you try to summon it, maybe you could reawaken those feelings!"

Cody and I both paused and had the same thought: How do we do this?

The guards provided the two of us with scuba gear and let us out. The thick water was making it hard to move and I wasn't a great swimmer.

Lucky for me, penguins were so Cody helped me get to the portal, tugging at my arm as we swam. He stopped a little above it and the two of us hovered over it. "Just summon the power of the... Whatever he said." I said out loud, trying to not only remind Cody, but myself.

"I think he called it a 'Nexus' or something... I guess we have powers? How many surprises do we have?" Cody joked, getting a grin out of me. "Is there going to be tricksters, mad scientists or someone who hates us with a burning passion and only wishes to kill us?"

"I sure hope not. I'm not up to speed on fighting."

Cody chuckled but then stopped and closed his eyes. After a moment, it came to me that he was concentrating, trying to get the power and that I should probably be doing the same. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on deep inner feelings, but the only thing I could get was how hungry I was. I sighed and opened them back up, turning to my best friend.

Cody slowly raised his hand, his palm towards the portal and blue lightning started to spark from it. I flinched in surprise but kept watching as it grew. Cody's face started to flush, like it was taking every core of his being to keep it up before taking a sudden breath, gasping for air. The lightning disappeared, just as quickly as it came.

His eyes flew open and just for a moment, they were an electric blue but he blinked and they were brown again. His arm fell to his side as he looked down in defeat. "It's no use..." He mumbled and he softly closed his eyes.

"What? Cody, you almost had it!"

"Almost." He echoed. "Almost isn't good enough." Cody put his hands in his face and let out a huff. "I can't be a king! Who am I kidding? I'm just a kid! If I try to run a kingdom I'll just-"

"Cody." My voice suddenly became stern, surprising us both. His eyes shot open and locked eyes with me. I smiled and grabbed his hand. "You gotta give yourself some credit. You're a doctor at a young age! That's gotta count for something. Besides," I gave a quick and comforting squeeze while holding his hand.

"You aren't alone. I'll be there to run the kingdom with you! We're brothers, aren't we?"

Cody stared for a long time before cracking a smile and a laugh escaped him. Soon, I joined him. A wave of energy passed through me and sparks flew off where our hands were joined. Neither of could react in time as it turned to a huge lightning bolt and shot forward, hitting the portal. I released my hand and instead used it to swim back, Cody doing the same.

The portal glowed and rumbled until it opened up, revealing the underwater city.

There were many buildings, but one stood out, right in the heat of the city. It was large and made of marble, reminding me of a little of a chapel. Something about it just seemed so... Familiar.

The water seemed different, just peering into it and colorful coral lit up the outskirts of the town. As a school of fish passed by, and Cody and I were speechless for the longest time.

"So this is Atlantis... Do you think we can still eat fish here?"

Cody burst out laughing.
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I smiled sadly as I gazed at my sleeping brother. It was late at night and I sat on my bed, across from Cody's. I knew I had to do it soon, but I but wanted to savor this for as long as I could.

Cody was curled up in his bed and smiled in his sleep. "Yes..." He murmured, shifting in the bed. "Yes, I will accept the hot dog eating award. Heh, no one could beat 34 hot dogs in five minutes. Suck it Joe... Suck it KrakenKid... Wait. What's he doing here?"

I chuckled at his words, but something deep inside my heart started to break.

As the memory of the two of us coming to Atlantis flashed in my mind, one part stuck with me.  My promise."You aren't alone. I'll be there to run the kingdom with you!"

"I'm sorry Cody." I whispered, knowing he couldn't hear me. Getting up from my bed, I walked over and sat on the end of Cody's. I stared at my brother and began to talk to him, even though I knew he had no idea what I was saying.

"I need to do this. You'll be fine without me. In fact," My hand turned into a fist and I averted my eyes downwards. "You were always fine without me..."

Despite my feelings, I pushed it all away and faced him. I needed to say this, I didn't have time for feeling sorry for myself. "I'm going to find out more about our Dad. This might not make sense, but I need to do this. I want to make this place whole again. Poseidon-" I hesitated.

Cody looked up to our father, seeing him as a role model. Even now, whenever he felt hopeless, he saw that he had to move forward for our Dad. He wanted to make him proud, and it really showed. Atlantis was improving, and all because Cody wanted to be like his father. But Poseidon didn't always make the best choices. I wanted Cody to know the truth, but I couldn't tell him.

"Poseidon...He knew Atlantis like the back of his hand. Maybe if I know more about him, I can bring him back! We can make Atlantis even better! Safer than we could make it! Maybe I'll find Mom! We can be a true family!" I started to get myself worked up, but then remembered what I had to do. "The point is,"

Tears streamed out of my eyes but somehow, I laughed. "I'll miss you Cody. But I have to go."

I got up and grabbed the pre-packed backpack, slipping it on. I started to walk out, but stopped and turned around. Cody still slept soundly, and I looked down. He'll handle it. I told myself and huffed.

"Goodbye brother."
***********************

Pain shot through my stomach as I dived behind the pillar of rock. Large claw marks were racked across my chest, and blood poured out of it. I gasped, trying to keep it in or at least slow the red liquid down.

My movement slowed as I pressed my back against the rocks of the cave and glanced out. The large monster like creatures lumbered around and reminded me of my mistake.

The titans, my father's greatest enemies. They knew knowledge about Poseidon that no one else did, so I thought I could ask. Boy was I wrong. They were aggressive and even the ritual I used to keep them calm and under control wasn't working. I had the blood of their greatest enemy, and they had a rage that nothing could control.

I released unstoppable creatures upon myself.

Energy drained out of me as my body began to go limp. My life flashed throughout my eyes, but one person was always there in all of them: Cody.

I chuckled. "I'm sorry I couldn't come home brother..." My hand slipped into my pocket and began to dig through it. There wasn't much, but I did have one thing. I pulled out a picture I kept of the two of us goofing off. Our faces never looked happier as we made googlely eyes at the camera. Tears left my sockets without my consent and soon, I couldn't stop it as it became a waterfall. "I wanted to come home and see you again, even if it was for just a moment." I clutched the picture in my hand as rumbling of what could only be the titans, came closer.

I smiled and started to clear up my face. "You're doing great. I know it. Cody... I-"

A sharp pain cut me off as claws sunk in my heart and my eyes widened. I gasped in pain and sunk to the ground, watching my own blood start to stain the dark ground. "C-Cody." I stuttered. The world darkened around me as something loomed over my dying form. "G-goodbye. I love y-"

And I was no more.
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Welll... You wanted some bro feels so, uh... Here they are!

Wow... I'm kinda evil. Not the feely-est thing I've written, but up there! Wow...

WELP! I hope you enjoyed this! Be sure to comment your thoughts and such, and goodbye!

--JustAnAtlantisWriter