For real this time!

Third Person

Just a moment. That's how fast it all went by.

One moment Cody was vaporizing everything in sight, which thankfully was just the enemy army, but the next moment he stopped. His body went limp, and the next moment, well, that was up to them to decide what would happen.

How weird. How everything happens in just moments. You can do a lot in just a couple moments too.

So Tanith and Professor took their moment to catch Cody as he fell.

It was mostly Professor who did so, cradling the penguin in his arms but Tanith was there to instantly check his vitals. Tanith's instincts were to always do that before anything else. I guess being a war medic for so long made it that way. Tanith wasn't sure she could handle it on her own, so she just stuck to the things she did know.

Breathing... Is he breathing? Yes, oh thank the spirits. She huffed. That was most important right now. Heart still beating, lungs still working, so at least he was alive.

Professor clutched the king's body while the hybrid checked him, waiting for some sort of answer. She looked up and gave him a little nod, making his release a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Alive. Cody was still alive, even if he wasn't responding.

"Cody?" He spoke softly. "Cody, can you hear me?"

Whether he did or not, Cody didn't respond. Not even the slightest movements came from him, making both of them worry.

But him not responding was the least of their worries, because soon his body did something else.

His entire form flickered, in and out of existence, like he was a hologram but both knew he wasn't. Professor felt the weight of the king disappear and reappear, making his heart spaz out of control. It was like he was becoming a ghost. "What's going on?" He demanded as Tanith's face turned horrified.

"Not sure but it's like he's fading! All that power took a toll on his body. Remember how I said it was killing him?" He nodded. "This is an after effect. Professor, he's still dying! His body isn't stable, it's literary flickering!"

"FIX IT!" He roared, making her flinch. Tanith quickly grabbed Cody's arm on one of the moments when it solidified and golden rays started to flow out of her hands. Healing magic. Tanith had no idea if it was helping or not, but she noticed that as she was doing it, his body no longer flickered. It stayed.

Tanith kept it up for as long as she could before having to break away. She considered taking out her spear and using it to help, but seeing that Cody had stopped, she decided against it.

Both sighed in relief, but with Cody in the condition he was in, they were distracted.

They didn't notice the remaining of the army.

They didn't notice the approaching figure.

Not until it was too late.

Tokozalos were vicious beings, and vengeful ones at that. Though there were few left and though half might have taken the smart option and fled, the rest were angrier than ever, and they knew just who to blame it on. They saw the king's face, and they weren't going to let it go.

The first one to recover sped forward, rivaling speeds of a cheetah, and struck with its long claws. Neither Tanith, nor Professor, saw it coming.

Suddenly blood soaked Cody's black and white body, and they both froze, but only for a moment.

It all happened so fast that Tanith was having a rough time trying to decipher what was happening. Blood was everywhere, filling up her vision, then something got dumped in her arms and she watched as a Professor disappeared from her sight in a flash. Blinking, her head dipped down to see what was in her open arms and only saw more blood. Blood covering Cody's body.

Cody's body...

Tanith kept blinking, trying to process it. Cody. Cody is bleeding. A lot. Cody is bleeding a lot. So much blood. He's... He's dying. Gun shots went off around her, filling up her ears.

Blood... So. Much. Blood.

In fact, that's practically all she could see.

He's dying... No... No, no, no! He's dying! Tears started to pour from her sockets. NO! I CAN'T LOSE YOU TOO!

"TANITH!" Her head shot up, trying to forget the flashes of blood in her mind. Professor's figure stood in front of her, then grabbed her shoulders. "HEY! SNAP OUT OF IT!"

She flinched but then the thoughts faded, and she was back, or at least in better shape. The hybrid gasped for a breath, getting Professor's eyebrow to raise. "What is wrong with you?"

"I- blood. Lots of it. He's gushing blood." Tanith couldn't stop how terrified she sounded.

"You've seen blood before! Plenty of it!" Tanith knew that, but every time she looked down, dread just consumed her and she couldn't more. As her blue eyes fixated on him, Professor's eyes narrowed. "Tanith! This isn't the time to freeze! HEAL HIM!"

Tanith couldn't move. "TANITH! HEAL HIM!" His yelling only made her more jittery, her arms began to shake. Pikalus' panic set deep in his heart as he watched her do nothing. He wasn't a doctor, but she was. He could move, but she couldn't. If only one of them could switch roles. "YOU BETTER HEAL HIM SOLDIER, OR I SWEAR I WILL ROUNDHOUSE KICK YOU OUT THIS PORTAL RIGHT NOW!"

Soldier. That's the word that made her act. Tanith's instincts snapped in and suddenly a huge flash of light emitted from her. A gold glow started from her chest but rays shone everywhere at once. When Professor was hit by one, at first it was like a jolt of electricity, but when it passed it actually felt pleasant, like it would before.

It faded, and the wound on Cody's chest closed up.

Tanith panted heavily, eyes still stared at the blood covering his body.

At least I got somewhere... Professor sighed.

"Take Cody to the hospital as fast as you can. Grab a car- any car, it doesn't matter, they'll understand- and keep your foot- I mean tail- on the gas pedal and just get him there. I don't care if you run anyone over, just get over there as fast as you-"

"I-I can't drive!" She admitted.

Professor huffed, glancing back up at the portal.

At least twenty soldiers of the remaining army poured through it. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but with their speed they managed to escape into the city, Atlanteans rushing after them. Anyone remaining was either dust, or fled.

Cody almost destroyed an entire army, and he did it single handedly.

Professor couldn't deny it: That was downright scary.

No wonder he was struggling to hold onto reality.

"Spartacus! PebbleTeen!" Professor's head instantly went to the two generals for help. He whipped around, and waited for them to swim up to him. "PebbleTeen, hunt down the Toko-whatever's, and Spartacus, get these two to a hospital! Stat!" He screeched, getting them both to jerk into motion.

PebbleTeen started to rally the troops while Spartacus lightly guided the hybrid away from the portal. Professor watched before getting troops of his own and helped with the search.

Professor and Tanith sat in the waiting room, mostly alone. There were a couple people around, but all left them alone. Every once in awhile, they would glance over, but only for a moment. Most didn't know why those two were there, but they could feel the darkness radiating off of them, so they kept their distance.

As for the pair, both had a lot running on their mind, but it boiled down to two things: How they acted, and Cody's condition.

Cody was currently under treatment by the doctors, all trying to figure out what was going on with is body. So far, they found out that the energy from the Nexus- the bad energy at least- was still pumping through his veins. They were trying to get it out without killing him in the process, and if they didn't, he'd die.

The other fact was mostly a problem for Professor. How Tanith reacted still puzzled him. She did mention being in war for a really long time, and it was pretty bad for her, so why'd she react the way she did?

Finally, he had to say something. "Why'd you freeze?" Tanith turned to him, but didn't seem to understand. "You were in a trance when looking at Cody and you got all weird about his blood, so what? Why'd that happen?"

The medic's face drooped when she figured out what he was asking. "Oh... Sorry about that I..." She paused for a long moment, so long that Professor thought she'd dodged the question, but finally she answered. "I saw his body and all the blood he'd lost and just kinda got lost in the thought that I'd lose him too. I've kinda watched a lot of people I considered friends die and I was getting worried that Cody was going to be one of them. If that had been any old soldier it would have been fine but seeing that on Cody..."

She didn't finish, but the scientist got the point.

Both let out a collective deep sigh and Tanith closed her eyes. It had been a long day. Professor had spent most of it trying to find the remaining enemies, and trying to manage the kingdom, with Rasmus taking over for him while he visited Cody.

Tanith... He wasn't sure what she did, but whatever it was she looked exhausted. Even now, she was drifting off to sleep. For one moment, she looked peaceful.

Then it was gone when her eyes shot open, pure panic in them. "NO!" She screamed. A feeling deep in her soul darkened, and she knew that feeling too well. It wasn't one she'd ever forget.

A feeling of dying, but it wasn't her's.

Jumping out of her seat and leaving all behind, the half human wasted no time scrambling to the end of the room, making a sharp turn and disappearing from sight. Professor went after her, trying to call out to see what the heck was wrong. Tanith accidentally bumped into someone, sending them to the ground but kept going, yelling an apology as she did. Professor quickly helped them off the ground before following.

The Irishman found her inside a hospital room, looming over a flickering body.

Cody.

"NO YOU DON'T!" Rage filled her voice she she struggled to grab his shoulders, with them fading out of existence and becoming ghost like. "I have lost too many people! And you, Cody Maverick, WILL NOT BE ONE OF THEM!"

A burst of power shot from her and the room was filled with her healing rays, but instead of floating and graceful, they were demanding. It seemed to have no direction until she pulled out her staff. Without a warning, it was shoved into the floor, cracking it but stayed in place now. The red stone glowed and the magic responded to it, filling up Tanith's body until she looked like she couldn't hold any more, then released it all at once on his body.

At first, it was harmonized until blue lightning started to clash with it. The colors were at war, fighting over the king's fate, and the whole things spun out of control. The remaining of the Nexus' power started to shock anything living in the room, even targeting Tanith, but she refused to react.

Professor watched as for a moment, everything was chaos, but then all magic canceled each other out, and it was over. One of the Doctors, who had done the smart thing and taken cover, sprang up and checked on Cody. When they finished, you could see the astonishment on their face.

"How did you... He's okay... I mean, we'll still have to check up on everything, but you got the energy out."

Professor grinned and walked up to the hybrid, who was taking deep breaths. "Good job." He told her, giving a pat on the back.

*********************************************

Tanith had rushed in such a hurry, she left many of her belonging behind, one of which was her phone.

The phone began to buzz, lighting up as someone tried to call her.

Said person was pacing around as they held the phone up to their ear, and when nobody picked it up, they tried two more times before sighing in defeat. They were about to click the end call button when they were reminded of something: Voice messages.

As the beep rang out, they hesitated before speaking.

"Hey Tanith, it's KK." KrakenKid paused, then chuckled. "Kinda weird for me to call myself that, huh? Anyways, I was calling to check up on you because... I noticed you haven't really visited in awhile, plus you've been totally off the grid for a couple days and Harold said some weird stuff was going on in Atlantis," he waved his tentacle in the air, as if to dismiss the thought. "Long story short, you've been absent for a while, and..."

KrakenKid paused again, before sitting down. "I guess I just wanted to make sure you're still alive. You okay? I'm getting a little worried- not like I don't think you can handle yourself! But... I'm getting all these weird feelings of sadness, fear and distress and I know they aren't mine, and there's that whole 'Bonding' thing and-..." KrakenKid shook his head slowly, huffing.

"Just... Call me back." He said quickly before hanging up. The phone was dropped on the cushions before he put his head in his hands and groaned. "Worst. Voice message. Ever. Come on KrakenKid! Stop being awkward! You're just worried about a friend! That's it! That wasn't clingy or anything."

A moment passed before KrakenKid turned to his two guards.

"That was clingy, wasn't it?"

"No! Of course not!" One insisted.

"Little bit." The other Illithid chuckled, getting the first to glare at him. "What? Honesty is the best policy, isn't it?"

KrakenKid just groaned more. "I'm an evil villain who has been in wars and survived death, why is talking on the phone so hard?"

Both Illithids paused before the second one spoke up. "Maybe it's because you-"

KrakenKid knew what he was going to say and snapped his head towards him. "Not. Another. Word." He growled, getting him to shut up.

************************************************************

YAYAYAYAYYAY! For real this time!

Alright, some stuff happened in this chapter! The ending was actually not planned, believe it or not! It was pretty last minute because I realized, "Holy crap, KrakenKid has not made an appearance in a long time... TOO LONG." So I did that!

Ah yes, the aftermath! Except I couldn't name it aftermath because I already have a chapter named that but now THINGS ARE GONNA GO DOWN

What I mean by that, is that I have a TON of things planned that could only occur after this chapter happened soooooooooo, that's gonna be fun!

I hope you liked getting the REAL chapter, as well as the chapter itself! As always, be sure to comment and I'll see ya'll in the next chapter!

--JustAnAtlantisWriter