Cody

Once the doctors finally gave me the good to go, I got home and Rasmus hugged me, not letting go for what seemed like eternity. I hugged back, and held it there until he was finally ready to pull away. Even when he did, he was reluctant, like he was afraid I would fade away if he did.

"Good to have you back." The rooster smiled softly, and just searched my eyes as if he were making sure I was okay. "Atlantis had missed you. It's not the same without their king."

His last sentence sent dread into my heart when he said it, making what I was planning on doing so much harder. I took in a breath and just blurted it out. "Rasmus, I was hoping I could take a break."

"Well of course!" Rasmus answered. "You just got out of a coma, I was hoping you would anyways! I'll give you a few days to recover. Just enjoy the sights of Atlantis." He insisted, but my eyes still drifted down.

"Actually..." My voice trailed off as I worked up the courage to say it. "I was hoping I could take longer off and possibly... Spend time outside of Atlantis."

Rasmus tensed. "Out. Of. Atlantis?" He said the words like it was foreign to him and a horrified look slowly formed on his face. Then, his eyes suddenly narrowed. "No, you can't leave."

I blinked in surprise. He refused it? "Rasmus, it'll only be a little while, I swear." But Rasmus kept a hard look, shaking his head slowly. I felt anger rise in me. "You're being unreasonable! I need time to heal, and I can't do it here!" Something about my words make him shake but I didn't stop. "I need to leave Atlantis! Just hold it while I'm gone! Let me leave!"

"No!" Something gleamed at his eyes.

"Why not?" I retorted, throwing my hands in the air.

"Because that's exactly what your mother said!" His words stopped my heart. "And she never came back! She disappeared without a trace, and you and your brother went with her. We lost her, and barely got you two back. Then your brother left." I flinched. "And he's gone too. If you leave, you'll never come back too... So please Cody, don't. Just... Stay."

Mom... Rasmus bringing her up sent me back into something I didn't recognize. I could hear her voice, but my mind couldn't seem to put a face with it.

"Cody, Joe? I need to leave and get out of Atlantis. I know you two aren't doing so well either, so come with me. Just the three of us, we'll take the month off. Your "Uncle" Rasmus will take over while we're gone, so don't worry. What do you say? Want to go to a real beach?" The first one sent butterflies into my stomach, making me feel like I was flying and that nothing could bring me down. It made me feel... So very warm inside.

"I'm just going out for a bit, don't worry! I'll be back before midnight!" The next felt... Odd. Almost saddening but I couldn't tell why. What she said was perfectly fine, what was wrong with it?

Then came the last one.

"Hello Cody. Shh, don't get up, keep sleeping. Listen, I need to protect you. I thought coming up here was a good idea but... Your father's sins followed us. Even here, they follow us... But I won't let you get dragged down by them! They're coming, but I can save you! Live a normal life, be with your brother! Become something great! I'm cutting you free. You don't have to have the weights of the kingdom dragging you down any more, so go do what you wanted to do. You were interested in being a doctor, right? You and your brother? I'll help you along, you can be that... You won't remember me when you wake up but... I'll remember you. I'll always remember you, and I'll love you until the end of my days. My dear Cody... Sleep well, for in the morning," I remembered a deep blue glow, and tears, though still no face. I remembered the eyes that cried, electric blue like the Nexus. And most of all, I remembered heartache.

"I'll be gone."

All of this flashed in my head in a mere second.

"Cody?" Rasmus snapped me back to reality, and I met his eyes before huffing.

"How else am I supposed to recover?" I asked him genuinely. I had no idea what to do. Rasmus thought for a long while, then got a thoughtful look on his face.

"Go see your friends." I blinked, staring at him before he repeated himself. "I mean it! Go see your friends! Right now!" He made it sound like an order, but with nothing else to do, I left the palace without a second word.

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

With Tanith living closest to my house, I decided it was best to visit her first. I knocked on the door before getting permission to enter, then slipped inside.

The hybrid was in the kitchen, chopping up fish and preparing to fry it. She glanced up and smiled warmly. Tanith spared no time to stop what she was doing and give me a quick hug. "Great to see they let you out so soon!" She commented, resuming to her cooking. I just nodded.

"The doctors gave me the thumbs up. All my wounds were long healed and they found out I was perfectly fine once I got out of my coma. They even mentioned that someone might have helped with that with her special healing powers?" I hinted, getting a laugh out of her.

"That was me, yes. I was getting worried so I constantly checking up every day and healing what I could. Plus," She added, still grinning. "It worked, didn't it?"

I let out a short snort before pulling up a chair to the table. "So, how have you been?"

Tanith hummed while her back was turned to me, the sound of something frying was clear through the air, as well as the smell of cooked fish becoming more apparent. "Pretty great! I had a long, good dream last night so that's a start! You?" She asked, glancing back.

I gave her a 'Thumbs up' before she returned to her work. My eyes wandered after a while, at first seeing her normal homely things, but then spotted something out of the ordinary. A sword, specifically a katana, propped up against her closet door. Interest perked within me and I found myself swimming over to it to get a better look before my brain realized I was doing it.

The sword was very light, almost weightless but I felt a prick in my finger when I touched the edge of the blade and drew a bit of blood. The part of the blade near the handle was silver and shiny, but the further down it became duller until at the very bottom of it was a dark red-brown color. The handle was pretty small, my hand barely fit it and I'd imagine Tanith would have the same problem, leading me to believe it wasn't hers. That's when I spotted a name on the other side of the handle.

Kenji Cor Toyama.

"Hey, I just finished with my meal and I'm pretty proud how it came out." I whipped around to face her as she began to take out plates and forks, still not looking at me yet. My hand still gripped the handle. "Want to try-" She whipped around but stopped in her tracks, almost making a choking like sound at the sight of the blade.

I acted fast, blurting out the first thing that came to my mind. "Yes I'd love to try some!" Then I realized maybe I should've said something about the sword. "Oh, uh, sorry. Probably should've asked about your stuff before seeing it..." My voice trailed off as Tanith stared.

Suddenly shook herself out of it and strode forward. Something flicked in her eyes but she maintained a smile. "Oh don't worry, I'm not someone who can judge anyone about that anyways." She laughed, but her voice shook. She paused in front of me before carefully taking the sword from me, almost dropping it, and putting it up against the wall. She did it so fast that it nearly clattered to the floor, but luckily it didn't. As she turned around, I heard a small sigh escape her, and then I found myself speaking out.

"Kenji was someone you had to kill, wasn't he?"

Tanith froze and whipped around, eyes wide. "H-how'd you know that?"

My mind raced. I didn't want to tell her I heard her whole conversation about him, but I wasn't sure what other choice I had. Then an idea popped into my head. "Your list." I reminded her. "You know, the people you killed directly? Kenji was on that list."

Tanith hesitated for a long time before nodding along. "Right... I showed you that list." She paused for a long moment before huffing. "I regret killing many people on that list, maybe even all of them, but Kenji is the biggest of them all... He was my best friend, once upon a time."

My head began to swim with ideas until it settled on one. "What was he like?"

Tanith's blue eyes brightened, and she giggled at the simple memory of him, giving me a sign that I chose the right path. "Kenji? Oh boy, he was intelligent! Kenji could solve problems and create machines like you couldn't believe! He's the smartest person I ever had the privilege of knowing!" She winked. "Don't tell Pikalus I said that."

I chuckled in agreement before allowing her to go on. "Kenji was a total sweetheart too! He put everyone else before himself, even if he needed it most. But his biggest flaw?" Tanith met my eyes, a sad look in her eyes. "He didn't believe in himself. He was shy, and lacked confidence, even if he was right most of the time. Though, I must admit," Then, once again, a smile creeped onto her face. "He was getting better at standing up for himself."

When the hybrid didn't continue, I spoke up instead. "He sounds like a great person." Tanith just nodded, going silent.

For a while, she didn't move, deep in thought before her eyes shot up to me. I blinked as she studied me carefully and asked something that caught me off guard. "Do you want to talk about anyone?" She might have offered "Anyone" but I could tell she was being specific to one person.

My sight drifted to the table but I accepted anyways. The hybrid served herself and I some of the fish she took before I finally found the words to speak. "Well, Joe and I have been together for a long time, we both came into Atlantis together to rule. Joe... He was a jokester! He knew exactly what to say to make you smile, and often could make you feel better as well. He was a little crazy in the head, but I loved him for it. His loyalty and heart of gold went out to everyone he could reach for, and he was always a lot wiser than anyone thought." I found myself laughing. "He could set the kitchen on fire one moment but give you life advice the next!"

Tanith chuckled. "You and him have quite a lot of common!"

I nodded. "If only you could have met him, you two probably would have gotten along." I looked up just in time to see a shadow in Tanith's eyes, but she shook it away before I could decipher what it meant.

"If only..." She echoed.

In the silence, I had a lingering thought that stuck in my brain. If I could talk to it to anyone, Tanith just might be my best option. "Also," I spoke up, catching her attention. "I've been having a bit of a problem."

"What is it?" She asked.

"I can't seem to... Pick up my spear." I finished, catching the hybrid off guard. As she stared at me, I started to explain a little more. "I'm a little scared to and every time I've tried, I get shaking and have to put it down again."

Tanith caught on quickly. "You're afraid of the power and being sucked into it's call again. That you'll get stuck in another coma situation?" I nodded, and felt her hand on my back. "I'll be honest with you, I get it. Some power is hard to resist, especially the most powerful. It'll take time, but you'll get better. Trust me on this, you just need time."

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

As I left Tanith's house a little after, I started to head down to the lab. Some of the Atlanteans I passed mentioned they were so happy to see me and I engaged in some friendly banter before going on my way.

A shadow passed behind some of the houses, catching my eyes. I might have left it alone if I didn't see another one follow it. Curiosity overcame my senses and I swam over to get a better look, and came face to face with someone I should have suspected from the beginning.

"Cody?" The two voices of the Sneaky Sisters mixed together when they spoke in unison. I blinked and shot a smile at them. They were quick to return it and pull me behind the houses and out of sight. "Hey! You're out of the hospital!" Selena said. I nodded but noted that both of them were holding something behind their backs.

"What are you two doing?" My eyebrows raised, getting them both to hide it farther behind them.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sam replied innocently.

"Yeah," Her sister shared the same grin, hidden mischief behind it. "It's definitely not kittens. Why would we have kittens, Sam?" She turned to her sister, blatantly hinting at something and winking at me.

"Maybe because a certain head counselor and uncle of our good friend standing in front of us, is afraid of cats and we might "Accidentally" let them loose in the palace when getting them back to their owners? Of course, why would we do that?" Sam looked about ready to burst out giggling but held back, just barely.

"Not for a prank, that's for sure!"

I glanced between the two, a smirked ever growing on my face until I finally knew what to say. "Well, if someone happened to be in the palace about to do a prank, they should know Rasmus will be down in the library and that there's a video camera in my nightstand." The two sisters caught on just as fast and gave a thanks before swimming off speedily.

I watched them and chuckled. That was going to be funny to see later.

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

Pikalus was in the edge of his lab, seeing one of his monsters, specifically the skeleton. When I knocked on the glass, he whipped around and widened his eyes. He rushed over and out of the cage before finally skidding to a halt by my side.

"Cody? He breathed, then grinned. "Great to see you're up!"

"You wouldn't be the first." I admitted as we started to walk. "How's it been going?"

"Great actually, I've been taming some of my pets a little more and hopefully by the end of the year, they'll be working for Atlantis."

"Nice man!" I told him.

He smiled at my praise, then suddenly froze. I gave him a weird glance as he locked eyes with me. "Come here." He ordered and swiftly made his way to the other side of the lab, leaving me to follow behind. He went straight into Sector Zero, his secret part behind and below the lab. I hesitantly came in behind him, saying hello to Susan and dropped down to his mini lab.

When I caught up with Professor, he held a small package in his hand, staring at intently. When I stopped behind him, he turned and held it up for me to see. It was pretty small and rectangular, covered in a brown packaging paper. My name was written in big letters on it.

I blinked in confusion. "What's that? A package for me?" He nodded. "From you?" This time, his head shook. My eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Then what? Or I guess "Who" would be a better question, huh?"

Professor took a deep breath. "It's from Joe." And I tensed. "When we got the message from people that he was dead, they mentioned he had a package for you that they needed to delivered. With the portal broken, I got ahold of it pretty easily and discreetly. I haven't opened it at all because I figured you'd want it for yourself."

He held it out to me, and for a second, my heart skipped a beat. I gingerly took it and my hands shook when I held it. "Th... Thank you." I met his gaze and told him sincerely. "You're a true friend."

Professor just chuckled. "I try to be. I figured you'd want it when you woke up so I prepared it."

I nodded along before breaking down and hugging him. He was surprised at first, but hugged back anyways. "No really... Thank you so much." I nearly sobbed.

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

I sat on the stairs for a long time, just staring at the package. My heart pounded out of control as I began to tear it open, and then choked at the sight of it.

A VCR video tape.

I stared at it for a long time, but decided one thing: I wasn't ready to see it yet.

I slipped it away and let out a long sigh. "Long day huh?" I glanced back to see Rasmus joining me. His feathers were a bit more ruffled than normal. "Believe me, I've been there. Someone let a horde of kittens in the library and they took a special interest in me."

I had to stop myself from laughing. A silence passed until I knew what to say. "Thanks." Rasmus looked up. "You knew that seeing my friends would make my day, and that I didn't really want to leave, no matter what I thought before." I told him, getting a soft smile upon his face.

"And I'm sorry," He told me. "For being scared and selfish. It was unfair of me to force you to stay instead of just telling you to go see your friends."

I instantly disagreed. "You've lost a lot of family and didn't want to lose anymore, I understand." Rasmus' smile became wider, almost bigger than I had ever seen.

Then I let out a giant yawn, making him laugh. "Get some rest, Cody." He said, patting me on the shoulder as we both stood up. I nodded in agreement and made my way downstairs.

In the middle of a beeline for my room, I paused in front of the long hallways and peered down it. My spear was on its pedestal, glowing with power like always. I hastily made my way to it, but hesitated on picking it up.

As soon as I did, ancient power exploded within me and I nearly cried out in shock, dropping the spear instantly. My breathing became ragged and panicked as I stared at the spear, and then turned tail and ran.

I jumped into my bed and snuggled up in the blankets until I calmed down. "You just need time."  The words echoed in my head as I sighed. Time wouldn't come soon enough. My eyelids, now heavy, closed slowly until I started to drift.

But then a feeling came. I opened my eyes and looked for a source, but found nothing. I tried to ignore it, but as I tried to sleep, it stayed.

The feeling of being watched.

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

Sorry if there are more mistakes than normal, I wasn't able to edit this yet! I'll probably come back and edit it later but for now, here it is! I didn't want to delay it another day so I figured I'd just do it now!

"You've locked away your memories in an ice block, but the fact that you chose something so temporary shows that you still had hope for waking up. Ice can break or melt after all."

   "... What memories? The ones from my childhood?" 

 "Those ones are here but they are in the very center. I can't get them out by force, but eventually the ice will melt and you'll get them back in time. You just need something to trigger them back."

Remember that quote last chapter? It applies to the memory Cody had in the beginning. Rasmus' little "That's what your mother said" part triggered it. Little hints on what happened to his Mom if you read in between the lines.

Anyways, I hope you liked this! Don't worry the VCR Tape will come... Later. Be sure to comment what you thought and farewell!

--JustAnAtlantisWriter