Third Person

Within the hospital room, a group of friends gathered around one person, who laid asleep.

Professor Pikalus, Selena, Sam as well as Tanith were these people. Selena was talking, joking as if the one who was still asleep could hear her and laugh. "And that's why Rasmus is taking over your duty of writing and addressing letters!" Selena finished, then started to giggle. Professor and Sam joined in while Tanith turned red, embarrassed but couldn't deny she found the whole ordeal humorous..

"I forget that you guys don't have the same phrases as me! How was I supposed to know they wouldn't understand "As useful as a frozen tail in the aestas rocks"? It made sense to me."

Pikalus raised an eyebrow. "What does that even mean? Frozen tail? In summer rocks?"

Tanith let out an exasperated sigh, shaking her head. "It's.. Never mind, it basically means completely useless."

Selena snickered a little more, but all of it died down eventually. They all stared at Cody, still sleeping as soundly as ever, and suddenly joking just seemed wrong. So badly they wanted it to return to normal, but he just wasn't waking up.

Finally, one of the mermaids spoke up. "What'd you say about his condition, Tanith?" Sam asked, squinting her eyes to further examine Cody like there was a missing puzzle piece to waking him up. She was disappointed to find there wasn't one.

The hybrid took in a deep breath before speaking. "He's perfectly fine, all injuries are okay, I fully healed them and everything, and according to the reports, his brain waves are normal. He's not exactly in a coma but... He's just not waking up. He's been in this state for one and a half days, and he's still sleeping..." Tanith trailed off placing her hand on his shoulder and studied his face. "I can barely feel his emotions either, somethings blocking me from doing it. I just-... I don't know what to do!" She slumped down, making the others do a similar action.

All of them just felt so helpless.

A long silence passed before Professor glanced at the clock on the wall and his eyes widened. "Oh crap- it's nearly one in the morning! We have to wake up early tomorrow, remember? For the whole "Protecting the portal" ideal? Rasmus needs a ton of help making sure that thing doesn't let any more unwanted creatures inside while he figures out a way to fix it."

The others quickly stood up, remembering it as well. "Bye Cody! Be back tomorrow!" Sam and Selena said in unison and sped out. Professor followed close behind but Tanith lingered. She slithered out a little slower than normal and stopped just before she left, glancing back. Just like before, the penguin wasn't moving any more than his chest going up and down. Her eyes saddened and dropped to the floor.

"Why aren't you waking up?" She whispered to him, before shutting the door behind her, leaving him alone.

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

Cody laughed harder than he had in what felt like years. His body ached and his sides began to hurt after it continued for a while. He didn't know why, but it just felt so good to laugh like he was, so he made no attempt to stop himself. The one who told the joke's eyes brightened, but eyebrows also arched in confusion.

"Whoa! I didn't think it was that funny!"

"Are you kidding me?" Cody managed to get out, wiping away the forming tears from his eyes, still giggling a bit. "That was hilarious!" Some part of Cody knew he was right and it wasn't that funny, but something inside of him was just so happy. He wasn't sure why, what was different? Everything seemed the same to him. "Come on, how could you not know that? You've lived here for... How long has it been now?"

The blue eyes rolled. "You should know this, we came at the same time, bro!"

Cody stifled a snicker, mentally slapping himself for being an idiot but didn't beat himself up about it so much. He wasn't sure what was so different, but something stopped him from nitpicking at every little flaw he had, like he would normally do. "Oh yeah." He remembered, turning to face Joe. His brother's face was still full of confusion. "I don't know why but it feels like..." Cody's smile slowly dropped as he looked around and began to slow to a stop as they strolled through the castle. His eyes fixated on their bedroom, and an image flashed. Suddenly, the whole room seemed bigger for a moment, having a slide and a bouncing pit, even a mini ship where they're beds were placed, before it returned to the two large beds across from each other and some desks. Why did the other image feel so right? "Like somethings... Different." His voice was a million miles away, lost in thought.

His eyes soon trailed to his brother, and suddenly felt heartache. Like his very soul was being split apart into two, and then shattering into pieces that could never be put back together. His brother flashed before his eyes, suddenly not there for a tick before returning. Cody nearly fell over, the pain swelling up in his head becoming unbearable and it felt like he was going to burst. "Cody?" As soon he spoke again, Cody shook himself and he returned to his joyful state. Why was he so surprised and stricken to see his own brother?

Cody lightly shook his head, stumbling into their room. "I-I'm fine..." He moved his hand to his head and began to rub it gently. His own mind felt like he just tried to solve the hardest math equation in existence, and losing. Why did he feel like everything around him was falling apart? "Just a headache."

Joe huffed and sat down beside him. "Again? How many has it been this week, like fifteen? You should really see Professor Pikalus about that." He paused, looking him up and down before asking again. "Are you sure you're okay?" Concern filled his voice.

Cody gave his best reassuring smile, even despite the pain he was feeling. Even now, when meeting his brother's eyes, it wouldn't fade. If anything, it was stronger. "It's probably nothing, you go on ahead." He insisted, then remembered something to help move him along. "Rasmus is waiting, isn't he?"

Joe nodded and sighed, shoulders slumping down. "Yeah, another boring meeting about finding KrakenKid. I mean I know it's important, but does he really have to make a whole meeting about it?" Cody just shrugged in response, his headache starting to worsen again but he refused to voice it, clenching his teeth as the pain worsened. Joe looked up, staring off into space before starting to voice his thoughts. "Do you ever wonder what he's like? KrakenKid?"

Cody rolled his eyes just thinking about him. "Oh believe me, you don't want to know. He's definitely not my favorite person. Kinda a weirdo." He joked, lightly elbowing the chicken.

But the chicken just knitted his eyebrows together, tilting his head. "How do you know? We've never met him!"

Cody's worsening headache suddenly turned into another mind splitting pain and he almost screamed when it did. But I have met him! He... Wait... What did he do? How did I meet him? The penguin gradually relaxed. What was he thinking about? "Huh... You're right, my mistake... Go have fun at the meeting, I'll stay behind." Cody wasn't sure why he thought he remembered but it probably wasn't important.

His brother slouched for a moment, eyes drooping with it. "Great, now I have to do it without you? Oh well, get better soon, Cody!" Joe waved before quickly leaving for the dining room, where the council was meeting.

Cody watched him leave and huffed. He closed his eyes and searched his mind, but couldn't find what he was thinking about before. He just seemed to draw up blank, like whatever it was was either hidden from him, or never existed in the first place. His brown eyes flickered open again and he leaned back and onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling, letting his mind wander even further.

An eternity seemed to pass but his pain still lingered around, like it refused to leave him without giving answers. Answers to questions that Cody didn't know.

Eventually, he gave up and decided on walking. Maybe he could really clear his mind and focus if he did. He sat up, getting a head rush but ignored it and moved on, making his way up the stairs and to the throne room. Once up there, a chill passed through him, making his heart quicken. Only after that did he realize what was wrong.

The whole room was not only pitch black, the only light coming from the Nexus, giving off a haunting blue glow, but also nobody was around. No guards, citizens, nobody. Only Cody.

The Nexus pulsed with energy, sparking a few times as if it were trying to catch Cody's attention. If that was the case, it did a good job because Cody immediately turned to it. The glow called to him and whispered things that he didn't understand, but wanted to. He didn't even feel his legs moving towards it, just that he was closing in on it and feeling the power grow as he did. His hand outstretched, so badly wanting to touch it and consume the power, but at the same time knowing it was a bad idea.

He gazed deep inside of it, and that's when it showed scenes, like it was a crystal ball.

He saw himself being held at gunpoint by a purple figure- KrakenKid- but he didn't seem too concerned. He joked, as if that form of himself was just waiting to get a laugh out of the villain, wanting to see another side to him. He saw an orange and red crab, attacking him head on until that memory went black and though Cody swore he never saw him before, the name CannibalCrab stuck in his mind. He saw Professor and himself in a jail cell in a place that his brain wanted to call a Conch Command or something. He watched the Sneaky Sisters fill his room with cake, a prank he couldn't seem to remember, nor why his room looked so different, or why it looked like the image that suddenly flashed in his eyes before. He saw himself with Professor, KrakenKid and the crab all trying to rescue a small purple squid. Then he saw someone else, a human with a snake tail who smiled at him warmly. He watched as she comforted him after a nightmare. How'd she know about the nightmare? Why did he want to call her "Tanith"? How did he even know she was comforting him after a nightmare of all things?

Memories of these people kept coming, the Nexus getting brighter until it filled the dark room with a powerful and intense blue light. Cody felt lighter than the water around him and like he was falling, before the whole scene faded.

Cody jolted out of the state finally, his heart beating out of his chest without a rhythm but he was somewhere new. The throne room wasn't in sight.

He was floating for one thing. Not swimming at all, but just floating, like the water was heavier than he was and he didn't need to swim to move. His body was transparent and had a blue glow to it, one just like the Nexus himself. He felt just like a ghost, both existing and not existing at the same time. Living and not living at the same time.

Cody's mind filled with confusion. What just happened? How'd he get out here from the palace so fast? As he scanned his surroundings, seeing generic buildings and coral, a familiar red and white building with a plus sign filled his vision. Hospital.

He wanted to swim down to it, but his body started to drift, like there was a force pulling him in another direction and before he knew it, he was passing through walls of stone before arriving before a pair of houses, underground. A shield with two S's on it caused him to remember where this was.

The Sneaky Sister's house.

The world around him melted, and Cody squeezed his eyes shut, starting to now get lightheaded.

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

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a store, an armory to be exact.

Suits of armor were set up all around him, ranging from different styles, types and weights, some clearly would be heavier than others. Some were bland while others were colorful, being blue, red or some other color, even multi-colored. Not only this, but weapons were on racks, most of which were swords but a few bows or axes would pop up as well the more he looked around.

Something about this place felt so... Off. And fake. Like it was a dream.

Cody wandered through the seemingly endless armory, finding it hard to find an exit or even a window for that matter. At first, he stuck to the walls but finally wandered deeper into the heart of it before seeing another being.

There was a small, round cushion in the middle of a huge space, while also having a little path come from it and go out, further into the store. There, sitting on the cushion, was a familiar teal mermaid that he knew so well.

He opened his mouth to speak to Sam, but someone else beat him too it.

Selena burst into the area, coming from the path he had seen before and was dressed head to toe in maroon armor, with an even deeper colored sword in her hands. She moved around quickly and swung in the air, as if she were having a fake fight with unknown enemies, and winning. Sam smiled as she watched her. When Selena finally stopped, jabbing her sword in the air like she was declaring victory, she quickly turned to Sam, grinning like a maniac.

"Why do you think? Yes or no?" She asked eagerly, bouncing a bit making the plates armor tap lightly against other plates.

Sam smiled, nodding approvingly. "I'd give that a yes! Put it in the cart and bring out the next one! It's all free." She added, clearly enjoying seeing her sister so cheery.

Cody soon recognized what was so off about the store: It was surreal. The reason why it felt like a dream was because it probably was, but not Cody's. He didn't feel in control, or in place either. He wasn't sure how he knew this, but something told him he was right.

Selena giggled and turned to go back down the path again, but Cody caught her eyes and she stopped, blinking. "Cody?" Cody snapped out of his thoughts and to the sisters, who both looked him up and down before they shrugged. "What do you think?"

Cody found himself struck for a moment, unsure of what to say now that they saw him but managed to get out a, "Looks good." Satisfying both of them.

"If you think this is good, you should see my personal favorite!" Selena exclaimed and swam off, probably to find more armor, but Cody felt himself being pulled away from them, and he was weightless again.

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

Cody opened his eyes, feeling the same feeling he got before, like everything around him was shifting slightly and that nothing was real.

This time, Cody knew he was in another dream, just like before. He wasn't sure how, but something deep inside was not only telling him that but also that these dreams weren't his. He wasn't sure if the last dream was Selena's or Sam's, but both seemed to enjoy it so it could have been either. It also seemed that despite him being in someone else's dream, they could still seem him.

Cody pondered this for a while and almost didn't notice where he was until it hit him. The walls weren't made of marble, but the ground was still smooth and were brown. The walls were even smoother, and seemed to be an odd white color that he couldn't describe.

Cody thought he had never been there before, but something inside disagreed and made his head hurt again. The words Conch Command came to him, he wasn't sure why.

Cody was in the middle of a hall, having the option of going up or down, but he really wasn't sure what he was supposed to be doing. He had never been here... Right? His questions were never answered as the sound of someone muttering under their breath made him snap into focus, almost giving him a heart attack. In the silence, it wasn't hard to figure out what they were saying.

"Not good, very not good... They're going to- oh no, I revealed myself! What was I thinking?" Whoever was talking was only speaking to themself, and Cody guessed they were a couple wrong moves away from slapping themselves as well. "The Tide Changers aren't ready for war, we haven't even gotten cloning perfected yet! We don't have the soldiers we need for battle! They know!" The voice only became more panicked as it neared. Whoever was speaking started to talk even faster than before. "They know I'm a kraken now! They're going to-"

Suddenly, the owner of the voice came around the corner in a hurry and collided with Cody, not only hitting their heads together but also knocking both of them off their feet. Cody was able to recover quickly and snapped his attention up, to the purple kraken, still on the ground. KrakenKid. Cody wanted to scream or run or something, but stopped when he spoke again.

"Gah! Sorry! I-I wasn't looking and I'm just so scattered right now that- Where's Darrel?" Cody couldn't believe his ears, why was KrakenKid of all people so panicked? He kept jumping in between sentences, it almost unnerved Cody. When Cody didn't answer, KrakenKid shook his head. "Never mind, I think he's in his office. Sorry again!" The villain didn't even look at him as he sprang up and scuttled up the stairs as quickly as he could move, his walk was swayed and messy.

Cody watched for a moment, shocked and trying to figure out what was going on before finally deciding on one thing: The only way to get answers was to follow him.

Cody scampered up the steps after him, but slowed down when light came from his left, showing him a room. An office from what he could see so far. Cody stayed close to the wall as he creeped closer and peeked around the corner.

KrakenKid was pacing, hastily moving up and down in endless strides while a bluebird watched him. KrakenKid's tentacles shot up to his head and he clutched it, like he was trying to get a grip on his mind and based on the way he was talking, Cody might have been spot on.

"Darrel, what do I do? Atlantis knows we exist now- and I know- that's great right? That's what you're going to tell me, right? BUT IT'S NOT!" His voice turned into a sudden wail, but broke off. His breaths became ragged as he kept going. "They know now! I'm not just that figure in the dark, I'm now KrakenKid, the person they need to eliminate to have peace again! They'll want to catch me- like they want to catch all villains, but do you know what will happen when they do, Darrel?" KrakenKid's voice only accelerated as he went on and only now did he stop to breathe, his whole body facing the bird, whose name must have been Darrel.

Cody noticed a look of panic flash in Darrel's eyes.

"THEY'LL KILL ME!" If Cody had ever heard a wail in his life, it was nothing compared to what he heard now. He could hear the tremors in his voice, the fear and the absolutely paralyzing panic in there too. KrakenKid's eyes betrayed him, now leaking as he attempted to cover his face, trying to hide from the world. "They're going to KILL me Darrel! Since when have they liked krakens? Since when have they had justice? I don't want to die! I don't want to-"

Cody nearly jumped in shock as the bird flew up to KrakenKid's height and delivered a hefty slap across his face. KrakenKid stumbled back, blinking hard and now frozen in place, staring at Darrel as if he were expecting another slap to follow.

But surprisingly, Darrel had sympathetic eyes. "Get ahold of yourself, KrakenKid! You have to stay strong!" He paused before sighing. "I know... I've knew all of this could happen since the moment I heard about what you wanted to do, but you have to listen to me when I say this: If anyone were to rebel against Atlantis, it's you. You are the one person who could succeed. You have the passion, the skills, the leadership! I know this is all so scary and our odds for being hunted down and killed increase with our every move, and now they've reached higher than ever before, but just listen to me."

Darrel took a step forward, making KrakenKid tense up, but he lightly cupped the edges of his face and stared deep into his eyes. "It's okay to fall apart sometimes, but you have to get back up afterwards and know that when you fall apart and know you can't pick yourself up, that someone else is there. Whatever you do, do not fall apart to an Atlantean, and whatever happens," Darrel smiled genuinely. "Just know that I believe in you."

KrakenKid paused for a moment before gently wrapping his arms around Darrel. Darrel blinked in confusion at the sudden hug, but Cody could see he was returning it. "... Thank you." He sniffed, taking shaky breaths. "You kinda scared me there, I gotta admit but I think that's what I needed. To be scared straight." He smiled for the first time in a while. "So thank you, for believing in me when no one else did."

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

Cody didn't even notice he was fading until the whole scene shifted.

The penguin king was somewhere new, the majority of the area was either wooden or stone, most of the stone being on the walls while the wood on the floor. Whatever it was, he was definitely in the entrance of it.

Cody was unsure of what to do, that is, until he heard the sounds of something hitting the floor and a loud grunt coming from further inside.

Cody tenderly followed within and found something new, a large circle with a pit in the middle, rails lining the edges of the pit to make sure others wouldn't accidentally fall in. In the middle were two people.

One was without a doubt KrakenKid, he stuck out like a sore thumb with his colors, while the other was a giant crab of some sort, being mostly orange. The crab was collapsed on the floor and groaning, a fencing sword a little out of his grip as he attempted to reach for it, but his body wouldn't move. The crab had some minor injuries, but something told Cody the most serious was probably whatever just made him fall. The kraken stood over him, holding the same type of sword in his right tentacle. His shoulders were slumped and he sighed before offering the other a hand.

CannibalCrab. The name flashed in his mind as he watched the crab get up off the floor.

KrakenKid's eyebrows rose, carefully choosing his words before he spoke. "Are you sure you're up for this "Soldier" thing? I know you want back at Atlantis, believe me, I do too but is this really the way to do it? You don't see like much of a fighter..."

CannibalCrab huffed, shaking off the pain before putting on a determined look. "Doesn't matter, I want to fight! I'm a fast learner, I swear!"

Yellow eyes bore a skeptical look. "You said that when we started."

"So?" He challenged, baring his teeth to appear more threatening, but even Cody knew it wasn't working.

"We've been training for five hours, and not once have you even come close to succeeding. The only time I've gotten hit was because you accidentally threw it up into the air and it scraped one of my lower tentacles on the way down. You sure you're fast?"

CannibalCrab hesitated but nodded. "I can figure this out!"

KrakenKid's eyes narrowed, scanning him and seemed to detect a lie because he wasn't convinced. "I know I said you have to improvise in fighting a lot, but you have to know the basics too. Just let me teach you them." CannibalCrab was going to protest but KrakenKid beat him to it. "And don't say you don't need it."

The crab slumped down but huffed, nodding. KrakenKid smiled and quickly scooped up the fallen sword and handed it over to him. "Now, always have a good sized stance, you want to be wide, but comfortable." The crab adjusted himself to match his statement. "Now, match what I do with my sword, block my every swing."

The kraken swung lightly, and the cannibal was quick to meet him, the swords clashing. This was done a few more times before he gave more advice. "Good, now let's try moving around, in the battlefield you'll need to always stay agile or they might catch you off guard! Believe me, those Atlanteans are slippery."

KrakenKid advanced on CannibalCrab, making him glance back to make sure his footing was correct but soon found that was a mistake. "Hey! Eyes on the opponent!" His focus snapped back up to the yellow eyes. "You never know when I can COUNTER STRIKE!" He screamed and spun around, aiming for his side. CannibalCrab quickly blocked him but the force of his blade didn't match and he lost, getting thrown off balance and hitting the floor. The fencing blade was drawn close to his throat before the kraken let him off, sighing and shaking his head.

CannibalCrab struggled to his feet. "Whoa! Go easy on me, it's my first time!"

Cody wasn't sure why, but this sparked aggression into KrakenKid.

"Atlantis won't go easy on you!" KrakenKid retaliated, eyes narrowing down at him before they softened and helped him up again. "Listen..." He trailed off a moment before meeting his eyes. "I don't think you were made to fight."

CannibalCrab was taken aback. "Anyone can be a fighter! Didn't you say that? Come on, I can fight! When the battle comes, I'll show-"

"WHEN THE BATTLE COMES, YOU'LL DIE!" KrakenKid screamed, then his breath hitched and he avoided the crab's shocked gaze. He covered his face with his arms, letting out a deep sigh. "Sorry, didn't mean to snap at you like that. I know, it's you first time and all but... Anyone can die on the battlefield, it doesn't matter how much experience they have, or what they learned. I don't think you understand that."

CannibalCrab was silent for a long time, but when he spoke again, he asked a question that surprised both KrakenKid and Cody. "Who'd you lose?"

KrakenKid wasn't sure what to say for a long moment, but his shoulders relaxed. "Nothing gets past you, huh?" He laughed lightly, but it was empty and humorless. "... I lost an old friend, a general. I miss her a lot and honestly, I'm scared to send anyone else into battle because I could lose them too."

Cannibal nodded and his eyes glinted with determination. "Well, you're not losing me! Come on, show me what you've got!"

KrakenKid paused but finally picked up his sword again, reluctantly. "Fine." The crab brightened up. "I'll give you another go."

Cody watched as they fought again, this time the crab was doing much better. Cody smiled, he didn't know that villains ever felt this much pain, but seeing it now was... Strange.

Good strange.

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

Cody's next jump took him to the markets of Atlantis. The streets weren't very busy, only a couple people strolling through from shop to shop, taking their time and enjoying what a nice day it was. Everything was so peaceful, and it warmed his heart.

Cody watched them, seeing a friendly exchange between two Atlanteans, and he couldn't stop the grin from forming on his face. This was the city he was protecting, and he had no regrets.

Like most of the other dreams, Cody was drawn to one place, a quaint little ice cream parlor where he could hear laughter from inside. The penguin walked through the doorless entrance and peered inside. There were only two customers there.

One was KrakenKid, which surprised him and he might have been a little hostile or uncomfortable if he hadn't heard how he laughed like he was having the time of his life. He sat at the counter on a tall stool next to someone else. Someone that Cody recognized, but he wasn't sure from where.

A hybrid, half human and half snake, was sitting there, giggling with the kraken and clearly was enjoying every minute she had there. Her gaze wandered for a moment, as if she sensed something was off before fixating on the penguin, shocked for a moment but then grinned widely,

She hopped out of her seat, sprinting over and engulfed him into a bearhug, holding on like she was scared to let go. Tanith. The name hit him like a truck as she pulled away. "Cody! Come and join us!" She quickly pulled him over to the seat next to her and the two of them sat down. Cody spared a glance at KrakenKid, but the kraken just smiled warmly, nothing sinister behind it, which confused him. He had never seen him like that in person, and especially not to him.

"Oh, it's so great to have both of you here!" She squealed, giggling some more. "Three chocolate cream supremes, waiter!" She called, ordering for them all.

Cody found himself both perplexed and relaxed. He wasn't sure why this "Tanith" lady was so comforable with KrakenKid, but she was enjoying his company, making jokes that Cody didn't seem to understand, one of them being about KrakenKid and him pointing a gun at Tanith? Cody didn't understand what was so funny about that but Tanith and KrakenKid seemed to get a good laugh out of it, so Cody laughed along.

He didn't know why, but when Tanith smiled, genuinely joyful, he felt happy. Like he accomplished something, or that it just felt good to see her like that.

Then something dark out of the corner of his eye made him freeze.

The whole dream was melting away, quite literally. The walls dripped, becoming like wet paint and showing the color behind it: Pitch black. For a moment, Cody thought he was just dream switching again but when he turned back to Tanith, she was noticing it too.

"Awww no!" She slouched, slightly pouting. "I'm waking up already? Come on!" She watched at the remaining of the dream disappeared, leaving only herself and Cody. Her back was turned to the penguin, unknowing that she wasn't alone. "Right when I have a good dream too? It's been ages! Just a couple more minutes!" The hybrid shouted to the descending darkness.

But nothing happened. They didn't fade, change, nothing. Everything was just black. "... That's... Strange." Tanith mused to herself, looking around. "The dream is gone but I'm still here... What-"

Just as she was turning to face Cody, almost seeing him, footsteps snapped her attention away from him and towards where it was coming from, which was right in front of her. They were brisk, but slowed down the closer they got to Tanith. Cody could only see a human-like form while the darkness seemed to cover the rest of them. Tanith seemed confused, but then they spoke.

"Tanith Luna Mutationem."

Tanith stiffened, and for the first time in that night, Cody was confused. He had never heard her full name before, and for some reason, hearing her with a last name was even more foreign to him. He might have spoken out, gone closer or done anything if he didn't hear a hiss come from Tanith, startling him.

"YOU!" Her voice was filled with venom and hate, Cody could just hear it. She slithered forward a couple feet, but still kept her distance from the now halted figure, still shadowed. "I THOUGHT-"

"I know." They cut her off. "But we need to talk."

Cody started to feel weightless again, and knew he didn't have much time. He tried to hold on to whatever fabric of reality possible, trying to tense up and somehow skip the dream jump to get answers, but it only seemed to slow it down, and barely. The form from the darkness stepped out into the light but Cody was too far gone to be able to see them, though he tried. All he could manage to get out of it was them talking one last time before he was pulled out of the dream by invisible strings.

"I have a proposition for you."

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

Cody's body felt exhausted, even though he wasn't experiencing real life. Whatever he just tried to stay in the last dream wasn't his smartest choice, and he didn't even get answers! He huffed, leaned against a cold, steel wall and began to take in the whole scene around him.

Though it looked a lot different, Cody could tell this was the lab. The planes looked ancient, having no lasers and based on how they were only planes and no fighter jets like he was used to seeing, he'd say this was a different timeline. Not too far back, but definitely not something that Cody would remember. Sure, his brain was already scrambled with seeing "Tanith" and "CannibalCrab" but everything before he came to Atlantis with his brother was way off limits. He tried, and tried, and tried, but nothing ever worked.

Cody was next to one of the garages, which probably held some sort of tank or experiment, he couldn't tell which. Though his could have been interesting, there was one garage at the very end of the rows that really caught his eye.

It was not only bulkier, having thick walls of something that looked stronger than steel, but there were so many guards as well, all standing all around it, even the walls without a door like they were afraid of something escaping.

Cody would soon learn he was exactly right.

The entrance had around five heavily armed men or women, it was hard to tell. Two stood by the door in the middle, which not only had a passcode but a retinal scanner as well. They were protecting something important, or trying to keep something in.

Cody watched as someone approached them who stuck out. They wore a navy blue, almost gray, robe and had it covering their face. They were quick to move up to the entrance to the guarded place he had his eyes on, only making Cody advance with them. As the cloaked figure tried to move for the door, the guards blocked their way, staring them down.

"'Scue me, but this is a restricted area! You're either going to need to be one of the people on our list that can come in, or permission from them and unless you're the top chemist we've been waiting for, we're going to need you to back off."

However, the figure only seemed to chuckle to themselves. When they moved suddenly, the guards instantly pointed their guns at them. The figure held their hands in a 'It's okay' gesture before slowly inching their hands up to their hood. The guards watched as they removed it, and gasped. Cody found his heart skipping a beat as well.

All of the guards instantly bowed down. "We're so sorry, my prince! We didn't realize you were coming! So very sorry! It won't happen again, I swear!"

This version of Cody just snickered and shook his head. "It's okay." He cleared his throat before speaking again. "Rise." He said firmly. The guards obeyed. "You probably didn't realize I was coming because I'm not supposed to be here."

All the guards looked taken aback. "You're not?" Past Cody shook his head. "Then why are you here?"

"I'm here to see him." He smirked and nodded at the door behind them. "I think you know who I'm talking about."

The guards froze, glancing at the door, almost expectantly and then exchanged a glance before facing past Cody again. "We don't think that's wise, sir. If anyone should see him, it's your father. Let him deal with it!" They tried to sway him.

Past Cody huffed and shook his head firmly. "He's not coming, the council won't let him. They all think it's too risky for the King of Atlantis to make an appearance. However, they never said anything about the prince of Atlantis, so I think I'm fine. Let me see him."

The first guard nearly choked on his words. "W-what? But my prince! You're a prince for Pete's sake, we can't let you get into danger! What if you get hurt- or worse- die?"

The penguin just scoffed, rolling his eyes. "If I die, my brother can take the throne. Atlantis has two princes after all." Cody heard him say it in a joking voice, but something also told him that he wasn't joking at the same time. Did he not care?

The guards once again were frozen in place. "Open up! Now!" The prince of Atlantis barked, getting them to scramble to open it up. After a scan and typing the code in, Cody found himself being pulled inside. The doors began to open, but the real Cody was quickly teleported inside.

The room was nearly pitch black, making him squint but he still couldn't see a thing. However, as the door opened, light showed him was the room around him looked like. There was a small slice where Cody was that separated it from the rest of the room. There were some tables, chemistry stuff that Cody didn't understand, more science stuff and a computer or two. The rest of the room was barred off, the bars were made of thick and strong metal, metal that Cody had only ever seen in a few machines that couldn't break under any circumstances or the lab would be doomed to explode. He knew there was something important here.

And if there were bars, that only meant one thing: This was a prisoner.

One possibly as dangerous as KrakenKid if he was in a place like this.

The light stretched into the jail cell as past Cody and three guards entered, eventually reaching the very back of it. Present Cody nearly gave away his position when he saw who it was.

A huge, blue and very muscular man was chained to the wall, both his arms and his legs. He growled as they entered, twitching and sparking with an unstable power. Cody knew his best friends like the back of his hand and there was not a doubt in his mind that this being was Hulk, the enraged form of Professor Pikalus.

His heart nearly broke seeing him chained up like an animal. Why was no one helping him?

Past Cody slowly approached the cell door, gazing out onto Hulk, studying him carefully. The guards refused to get even ten feet to the door, staying back and peeking out from where Cody was standing. "What'd you say his name was? Niall or something?"

The guard sandwiched in the middle spoke up. "Yes, Professor Niall Pikalus. I don't think this is a good idea seeing him- he's never even met you before! If he managed to punch Jerold of all people, he'd kill you in an instant! Please, let your father do this! Or your brother! Prince Joe and him are friends, right?"

Cody nodded slowly. "Yeah, but Joe couldn't stand seeing him like this. He wouldn't be able to do what needs to be done," He cracked open the door, making all the guard's eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets. "So I'll do it for him."

"What do you think you're doing!" They all whisper screamed, running to the door to stop him but he was already inside, striding for Hulk. They all watched helplessly, their fear paralyzed them from following him. "He's going to kill you!"

Past Cody waved it off. "Trust me. I got this." He cleared his throat, getting Hulk's hateful gaze to focus on him. He put on a little smile. "Hey buddy, let's have a little chat."

Hulk suddenly lashed out against his chains, nearly punching the penguin but he slid out of the way in time. Skidding to a stop, the prince's brown eyes narrowed. In an instant, he has a sword in his hand, though where it came from was a mystery to even present Cody. "Alright then, let's do this the hard way." He muttered bitterly and readied himself to strike.

Past Cody shot forward. When Hulk tried to strike, he was blocked by the sword and kneed in the stomach. He flinched, hunching over and Cody hastily used this to his advantage. He started to tangle the chains, making them restrain Pikalus from moving until he straight up couldn't anymore. It all happened so fast, and the real Cody watched as he rendered him useless in seconds.

Cody, the king of Atlantis, was more than puzzled. One, how did he ever have enough skill to take down Hulk in a matter of seconds, and two, why didn't he remember this at all? In all the other dreams, some part of them was familiar but this just felt so strange.

But also so right at the same time.

A gasp nearly escaped Cody as the younger form of himself stood in front of the Hulk, who struggled to free himself or even defend himself, with his sword drawn. Professor Pikalus was at his complete mercy.

But the prince threw his weapon away and knelt down in front of the Hulk, putting a hand on both of his shoulders. "Hey! Calm down!" Hulk roared in response, attempting to bite him but didn't succeed. "I mean it! You're fine, man! Get a hold of yourself! My name is Prince Cody, and I'm here to help. I'm not here to hurt you anymore than I have to. That thing I did before? Self defense, it won't happen again. Now look at me." He snapped his fingers in front of Hulk's face, getting a flicker of confusion but surprisingly, he obeyed. Their eyes met, and Cody put on a determined face.

"You're fine, you're okay! Nothing's going to happen to you, I promise. I swear to you Pikalus, I'll make sure of that."

The two shared a look, and slowly, but surely, the blue color began to fade. The three guards gasped loudly, and didn't seem to notice that present Cody did the same, but the prince didn't make any indication that he noticed. His muscles kept fading, painfully slowly but surely, until standing before him was a scrawny looking scientist, who nearly collapsed. Past Cody quickly caught him and steadied him, making the scientist sway with confusion.

He blinked slowly, focusing in on Cody and tilting his head. "P-Prince Cody?"

The prince nodded. "Niall, right? Welcome back, you gave us a scare there."

The penguin got up, offering him a hand which he took and shakily stood. "I... My prince, I can't seem to remember but... What happened?"

Cody put his arm around his shoulder, making sure he had all the support needed to start walking out of the cage. "Chemical meltdown. Many died but you barely got out. Nobody's sure what happened to you but you suddenly went all big, blue and angry. You punched some walls, some people, all that fun stuff. It's okay now though."

Pikalus blinked rapidly. "W-what? I turned into a blue monster? Am I an outlaw now? Do I have to go to jail? I don't have the money to pay for it, I'm sorry!"

But past Cody waved it off. "Nah, nothing bad's going to happen to you. I promise. Right guys?" He called out to the guards. Cody was pretty sure they didn't hear him but they nodded anyways. "See this guy? Mr. Pikalus is under my protection!"

Professor seemed stunned. "What? Why?"

Prince Cody just smirked and gave him a light nudge. "Because you were nice to my brother."

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

"Cody? CODY!"

Cody's head reeled, spinning with new thoughts until he could barely think. So many memories flooded his mind and he wasn't sure what was happening to him. His head felt like it could be split in two at this point, but there was one voice he held onto.

His brother's, calling his name.

His eyes shot open, showing Joe's concerned face as he lightly shook his shoulders, then filled with relief. "Oh finally! You really spaced out on us! Don't do that to me man!"

Cody blinked. What was he just thinking about?

He gazed around, finding himself in the throne room again and glanced behind him. The Nexus pulsed as if it were trying to tell him something, or giving him a choice. The latter seemed really likely for some reason.

"Cody? Come on, we gotta sleep! Big day tomorrow!" Cody's gaze shifted from his brother to the Nexus, until he made a choice.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming." He said, and followed his brother down the stairs.

Cody felt as though he made a huge decision, but wasn't sure what it was.  

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

7,000 words? WHAT THE CRAP????

HOW???

Oh boy, I have a lot to explain in this chapter, so I'm just going to quickly do it. A lot of this must be confusing soooooo HERE'S THE GIST!

First off, Cody is having a dream in his coma. His dream is about if Joe didn't leave, so they're together and running the city, meaning many of the events that did happen like meeting KrakenKid or even getting that really cool new room. The whole reason he's not waking up is because he doesn't want to. He's living in world where is brother is not only with him, but alive, why would he want to leave? (Whisper whisper because of loyalty but I'll get to that later whisper whisper) However, Cody often gets headaches because in his dream, all of his memories are locked away but sometimes they come back and his mind wants to wake up but his heart wants to stay asleep. This mostly happens during when people visit and talk to him, because some part of him hears them and wants to wake up, but the other part wants to stay sleeping. The Nexus is finally like, "Okay, he needs help" and shows him what he's forgotten. It takes it one step forward by sending him into other's dreams.

Next, the dreams. Everyone is dreaming of something they secretly miss or wish for:

Sam dreams of spending quality girls/sister time with Selena, something they haven't gotten to do since Cody got into a coma and even less so with them having to take over with his jobs. (Yes, I did choose Sam)

KrakenKid remembers when Darrel first became his "Father Like" figure, and when he realized not only the gravity of his mission, but all of the support he had for it. He secretly wants to have another bonding moment with Darrel.

For CannibalCrab, he remembers when he first decided he was going to fight for KrakenKid. KrakenKid had first took him in and when CannibalCrab wanted to fight, he taught him himself. Yeah, it took a while but they really bonded over time and that's the whole reason why he's the general. Like KrakenKid, CannibalCrab wishes for another time like that.

Tanith is just having fun with KrakenKid again because like everyone else, she's been stressing and more prone to rage. (Oh boy, there's going to be more rage in the next chapter) Nobody is trying to kill him, nor is he trying to kill anyone else. They're just having fun, eating ice cream, joking and no one is giving them weird looks. Tanith is actually quite aware in her dreams, though she can't control them, so when she sees Cody, she's shocked at first because she forgets she's in a dream for a second and that Cody can appear in it (Though it is the real Cody) and even though she remembers it's a dream, she doesn't care and just hugs him, afraid to wake up because he'll be gone. She get's even happier when Cody and KrakenKid actually get along and she can be with them both without them fighting. She's 100% happy in the dream, something she hasn't been in a long time, and Cody can tell and is pretty happy about seeing that. (Then shady stuff happens but let's move on, that's for another time)

Finally, Pikalus. Pikalus dreams of when he first turned into the hulk, and everybody freaked out. Because they had no idea how to deal with it, they locked him up and tried to run tests, though barely anyone could get close to him without getting punched (Jerold). They panicked and tried to bring Poseidon in because Pikalus really likes Poseidon and looks up to him so they figured he could go, but the council didn't want to risk it. Cody was like "Screw it, I'm going" and visited and calmed him himself. Pikalus first officially met Cody this way and always remembers it as a good moment because Cody took him under his wing and now he's doing the same to him. Though it's a little harder to read, Pikalus really wants him to wake up so he can be with his best bro again.

The Nexus showed Cody all of this and gave him a choice: Go to them, or stay with his brother. However, this wasn't very obvious to Cody so he imminently chose his brother.

Maybe next time when the choice is presented again, he'll have more of a debate.

Also, Selena and Blooper stayed up all night in a sleepover so Cody didn't go to their dreams. Totally not because I was exhausted to write anymore, nooooooo, not at all...

I feel like I explained too much but I was really proud of this, okay? Sorry if I kinda ruined the light bulb moment where you suddenly understand all the stuff! There are still some stuff you can search for and interpret! (Crap I revealed too much)

Anyways, I hope you liked this MONSTER of a chapter because bOY DID IT TAKE A WHILE! See why it took so long to come out? Anyways, comment what you think and stuff, and I'll see you in the next chapter where some shady and emotional stuff goes down! BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I swear, no one ask me if I'm pulling a Tanith, I PROMISE I'M GETTING SLEEP

--JustAnAtlantisWriter