Professor Pikalus

"Freaking coding... Not doing what it's supposed to..." I grumbled as I started to type furiously on the computer. More and more numbers and words popped up until I realized there was a lot more mistakes than I thought. "YOU GOTTA BE- AAA!" I screamed and picked up the nearest thing I could get my hands on. Today's unlucky winner was a little pencil holder, full of colored pencils.

I quickly chucked it across the room, not caring where it would land before getting back to work. With this, I'd have a lot more mistakes to make up for, and a long day ahead of me to fix them.

"Pikalus." I snapped my head in the direction of the voice and narrowed my eyes. Jerold, the lead scientist, was the one to speak and only matches my expression I shot at him. There were a couple interns and scientists behind him, hiding and avoiding my direct gaze. "Take a break." He ordered.

"What? I have so much work to do!" I protested, but Jerold's gaze only hardened.

"You're too frustrated to be productive right now and you're scaring the other scientist off! No more work for the lab for the rest of the day, I'll have someone else take your jobs." I tried to argue but Jerold never swayed. Eventually, I gave up and wandered out and towards the main entrance.

However, I might not have known what I was going to do beforehand, ideas sprouted in my mind when I noticed a certain hybrid strolling towards me. Though, there was something off.

Tanith's hair was now pretty messy, tangled in some places but strangely neat in others. Her movements swayed from side to side and she seemed to space out, even as she was trying to walk towards me. She had about four scarves around her neck but oddly enough, it wasn't that cold.

Finally, when she staggered over to me, I could ask her. "What the actually heck Tanith? I thought you at least had some sort of fashion sense! What's with all those scarves?"

Tanith blinked, taking a minute to understand before looking down at what she was wearing. "... It was cold." She answered but she spoke softly.

I raised an eyebrow. "Cold enough for four scarves?"

"Well... I couldn't decide on one so I brought them all." She said then let out a heady yawn. "Also, I couldn't decided when to sleep either so I never got any. Do you have any medicine to help me sleep or anything?"

But I just stared her down for a while, trying to understand what she was getting at. "So, you can't decide on anything?"

Tanith nodded. "As of now, yeah. I'm not really sure what it is but it'll probably fade eventually."

Right then, my scientist instincts kicked in. "Anything else you're feeling out of the ordinary?" I questioned. "Did you feel strange at all after Ace possessed us?"

The medic's eyes shot up in surprise. "You felt that too? I thought that was just me!" But her head quickly shook. "It's not that though, I'd know if it was. I did feel strangely frustrated earlier, but I checked everyone I bonded with and they're all fine."

I chuckled. "Well, you're not alone there! Jerold banned me from work today because I was getting to angry apparently."

It took us both longer than we were willing to admit, but we both suddenly understood what was going on. We locked eyes and my mouth fell open with Tanith just grabbed the sides of her head like she was trying to get a grip on what we figured out.

"YOU BONDED WITH ME?"

I didn't mean to sound alarmed but I couldn't resist it. Tanith just hesitated. "I think so!"

"When did this happen?"

"I don't know! I don't get a warning, it just happens!"

"Holy-" I had to take a moment to collect myself and took deep breaths. Though I felt so many things at once, there was something that came to me, something Tanith mentioned when she explained the conditions to her bonding abilities. "Does that mean that you care about me? A lot?"

Tanith nodded, and slowly, but surely, my smile turned smug. "Awww, you care about me?" I teased, getting her to roll her eyes playfully in response.

"Only you, huh Pikalus?" She gently shook her head.

I got a giggle out of it before ushering her inside. "Let's find out what's going on with you."

Since I wasn't doing work for the lab, Jerold couldn't stop me as I strolled in and set up a little therapidic area for Tanith and I in one of the empty glass cages. It basically consisted of a couch I brought in and a swivel chair for myself.

Tanith laid on the couch, shifting slightly and letting the end of her tail drape off of it. The couch was a tad too short of the hybrid's tail. Meanwhile, I had a clipboard out with a pen to accompany it and was ready to take notes.

I clicked my pen a couple times before glancing over at Tanith. She locked onto my eyes. I gave her a nod, but she hesitated. "What?" I asked, getting another squirm out of her.

"... Usually I'm the therapist, so this is kinda a strange change of pace." The sorceress admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck.

"There's a first time for everything." I pointed out before leaning in. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

"It's kinda hard to decide things." She spoke after a moment of silence. "Things like whether I should go to sleep or not. Part of me wanted to stay up and go exploring, while the other part of me wants to sleep because it's nessecary."

I scribbled down a couple things. "Is it always two parts of you? Exactly two choices?" I asked and glanced up.

Tanith blinked a couple times fast but began to nod slowly in the end. "The more I think about it, yes." I could hear the hints of surprise in her voice. "Always two. Every single time!"

An idea started to form, so I asked more. "Is there a pattern to them? Maybe one is always logical, while the other is more appealing to you?" I prompted, getting more and more agreement from her.

"Yes, how did you-" I cut her off.

"It's you right and left brain." I said, standing up. Tanith stared.

"My what?"

"Left and right brain. Your logic and emotions." I clearified. "I think they're not agreeing with each other on something big, so they can't agree on small things either."

Tanith lightly shook her head, eyes now on the ground. "What big thing?"

"You tell me! It's your brain, what are you unsure about?" I asked again, raising my voice.

"Well right now, everything! I don't know, sleep?" She threw her arms in the air and sat up, curling her tail below her.

I hummed, crossing my arms as I thought to myself. How would you figure out what's in your head?

Then it hit me. Something that Cody mentioned a while ago. "Don't you have a conscience that manifests inside of you and has a personality and everything?" Tanith blinked and nodded. "What if your logic and emotions are the same way? What if they're like a part of you, inside of you, and they're at war because they disagree about something?"

Her eyebrows knitted together. "It's... Possible. But it's doubtful I'll be able to contact them. The only reason I can talk with Cece and none of you can with your conscience is because I'm an empath and we require them."

"You won't need to talk to them." I grinned. "Because I'm going to."

Tanith looked at me, wide eyed and crossed her arms gently. "I'm not too sure I'm comfortable with you going into my mind." She told me.

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, we bonded, remember? It'll be fine, trust me on this."

Tanith searched my eyes for the truth, and must've found it because she sighed deeply. "Alright, fine." I rushed out of the glass room and got supplies as quick as I could, stealing from other people's stations when I saw it. As soon as I got everything I needed, I found my way back and began to work on a machine.

Tanith gaped at the finished product for a while before saying anything. "And this let's you inside my mind?" I nodded and she huffed. "... Here we go then."

I had two wired hats, connected by a long and thick wire. There were some stickers to go on both of our heads and a remote on my side. Tanith slipped on hers and laid down on the bed, and I pulled up my chair and did the same, helping her put on the stickers in the right places.

"Are we ready?" She asked anxiously.

I held up the remote and scanned it for the right button. "Almost..." I hummed before finding it and pressing it. Tanith's body jerked for a moment before reverting to a sleep mode. "Now we're ready." I said to myself, and pushed the blue button.

I felt my whole body spaz for a second before I was long gone as well.

When I opened my eyes, the white marble of the lab was gone and replaced with a tropical scenery.

There was sand beneath my feet and waves of the ocean nearby, invading the sand but then retreating back to its home. Palm trees bearing coconuts and bushes with colorful flowers seemed to be the only plant life around. I noted a couple of small crabs scudding around, and I glared at them.

Kicked the ones close to me, I sent it flying and made it land on the sand, upside down. Other crabs nearby scurried away, now knowing I wasn't friendly with them. "Screw crabs..." I mumbled under my breath.

"You're not supposed to be here." My head shot up and found myself face to face with a familiar face.

She might have had pink eyes and hair, but had the same face and tail as well. Her face was mostly blank, but a little confused. "What are you doing here, Professor Pikalus?" Her voice was next to monotone. This must be logic. I guessed and cleared my throat.

"I'm hear to solve all your problems, where is the other one?" The pink haired girl only stared.

"I highly doubt you can solve all of our problems, but if you're looking for Layla, I can take you to her. " I nodded vigorously and she began to lead the way.

"You can call me Emmy by the way." She said without looking back as we passed through the sand and palm trees. "It's what most do."

"Most?" I echoed. "How many of there are you?"

"Five in total, including myself, though I haven't seen one in decades and now that Cece is back from wherever she hid, I doubt we will again." She mused.

Huh... Is it like that in my mind? I wondered to myself. Emmy paused briefly before turning in another direction. "You seem confused, how can I help?"

She knew that? She didn't even look back! "Yeah," I said, catching up. "Just wondering if it's like that in my mind."

"Yes." Emmy said, now finally glancing at me. "Everyone is like that, just some have different ones than others. For example, your negative emotion that manifests would likely be Rage, while Tanith has a different one."

"And who is this "Negative Emotion"?" I prompted, interested in what emotion Tanith would create in her mind.

Emmy was silent for a long moment, I almost thought she wouldn't answer but in the end, she chose to. "... We call her Faya." And that's all she said as we walked.

I started to notice a change in scenery the further we got away. The sand first disappeared, now replaced with grass and soon, the bushes and palm trees too. It wasn't long before I found myself in a grassland with tents in the middle of it.

Emmy strolled right up to the beginning of the area and stopped dead in her tracks. "She's coming." Emmy whispered to me before relaxing. Soon, I spotted her.

Who I could only assume to be "Layla" was carrying a backpack full of something I couldn't see and was mumbling to herself. Her form was completely human, unlike the one beside me. She had messy brown hair in a bun and glasses on, which she kept adjusting. Though she had a similar face, for some reason, her body looked smaller.

"Where even is that- are you kidding me?" She grumbled as she dug through the bag. "Where is that-" Her hazel eyes drifted up and stopped dead when they saw me. Their bag dropped to the ground, spilling out some papers but they didn't seem to care.

Layla bolted over and skidded to a stop before looking me up and down, circling me and giving me little pokes and prods. "No way... You seem like the real deal, not a memory! Professor, is that you?" She asked, eyes round with curiosity.

I nodded. "Of course! There's only one me!"

She smiled brightly and clapped her hands together in excitement, bringing it close to her mouth like she was trying to hide the large smile on her face. "Ahhh! You're my favorite! Always so logical, precise and you're still so strong! So great to meet you in person, I'm Layla!"

Layla held out her hand and I shook it, but one phrase she said stuck with me. "I'm your favorite? Does that mean-"

Layla and Emmy both collectively shook their heads, Layla's being a little more urgent while Emmy's was short and quick. "No, no! Being my favorite doesn't mean you're Tanith's favorite. She and Emmy here insist they don't have a favorite, but the rest of us do. You're mine!"

I couldn't help but feel surprised. "Really? Never thought I'd be emotion's favorite."

Emmy and Layla stared at me for a long time. "... I'm logic, Emmy is emotions." Layla corrected, tilting her head. "Why does everyone get that wrong?"

I exchanged glances between the two of them, giving a skeptical look at how Layla was showing so much more emotion than Emmy and her almost monotone voice and flat face. "... Really? I've hardly seen Emmy show any emotions at all!"

"I feel too much to give into any one emotion." Emmy replied cooly. "You might act on joy or confusion because it's what you feel the most, but I can't. There's too much, I need a strong emotion to show anything." She explained.

Layla scoffed. "And as if I could understand all of those messy emotions. Blah!" She stuck out her tongue in disgust. "They're all sticky and mushy!"

As I wrapped my head around the concept, Emmy's eyes narrowed the slightest bit at Layla. "Emotions are important, just as important as logic."

"Yeah whatever." Layla rolled her eyes. "You deal with your stuff and I'll deal with mine."

I glanced between them. "Is that what you're fighting about? Which part is more important?" Their heads collectively shook. "What then? Work with me here!" I huffed. I wasn't sure how long I could stay here, so I needed to work fast.

Layla stiffened for a tick and Emmy's eyes shifted to her, her tail flickering, almost annoyed. "Do you want to tell or should I explain it?" I could have sworn her tone was guarded and bitter, but it could have been my imagination.

Layla was silent for a long time, eyes fixated on the ground. "It doesn't make sense." she said finally, meeting Emmy's eyes. Emmy wasn't happy with her response.

"It doesn't have to!" She argued, finally giving into frustration. "Why can't you let us be happy? Let her be happy!"

Layla returned the glare that Emmy began to give her. "You know exactly why!" Emmy let out a breath of hot air, beginning to fume, now pacing back and forth. I decided to take a step back, unsure of what they were talking about. "Remember last time? Remember how heart broken you were when you found out his heart belonged to someone else?" Layla pointed out, standing her ground.

"Of course I do!" Emmy roared, facing her. "But it's been decades since then! I've gotten over it! Paul is gone, I can live with that! I've let it go, why haven't you?"

Shock filled logic's face at the mention of someone. "You said his name." Her voice was breathless. Suddenly, the anger seemed to drain out of Emmy. "You never say his name."

Emmy's eyes changed, symathy shining within them. "I can now. Don't you see?" She slithered forward and grabbed her hands, catching Layla's attention. "I'm okay, Atlantis has healed us in more ways than we thought. Just let us love again. Let her love again."

Layla avoided her gaze, letting it drop to the floor. The silence was so thick, it almost felt palpable. "... I don't want you to get hurt again." She whispered, eventually raising her head to lock onto Emmy's eyes. "It took you so long to recover and I'm no good with emotions so I couldn't help."

Emmy hesitated. "'Tis better to have loved and lost,"

"Than never love at all." Layla finished, eyes softening. "How dare you use the words of Alfred Lord Tennyson against me, you know how much I love him and his words of wisdom." Layla joked, getting a small chuckle out of Emmy.

I let them have a moment before stepping in. "Uh, ladies?" Their heads turned to me. "You two good?"

Emmy side glanced at Layla and Layla paused before nodding. "If you want to let Tanith fall in love with KK, I won't stop you." The embodiment of logic flashed a smile at her. I nearly screamed 'What?' when I processed what she said. "In fact, you have my support! Let her love again."

Emmy smiled brightly before giving her hand a 'Thank You' squeeze and let go of them. "It's settled then. She's in love. How she acts because of it is up to her."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" At that point, I had to butt in. "Tanith is in love with who now?"

The forms of Tanith's left and right brain both gave me a look. Emmy's face returned to her seemingly emotionless state. "You didn't know? I thought it was obvious personally." She replied.

The more I thought about it, the more I began to see the little things, things I should have seen before. Tanith acted a little differently, even at the mention of him. Her smile was different when she saw him, a different kind of happy. How she always disappeared every once in a while and came back with a little more spring in her step.

They were right, if you knew where to look, it was obvious.

"OH MY GOSH!"

Though I was planning to scream it, someone else beat me to it. A human looking girl marched up to the pair and crossed her arms. I almost mistook her for Tanith, but then I spotted their eyes: Bright green, and she had her hair in a ponytail. "Are you kidding me? I've been saying for weeks, 'Guys, get your crap together' but noooo! No one listens to Cece because it's not like she knows Tanith best!"

Who I could only assume to be Cece threw her arms in the air and groaned loudly. Logic and emotions both let out a giggle, Layla's was a little more prominent than Emmy's.

Cece rolled her eyes and turned to me. "Good work and all, but we'll take it from here." She said, then reached up and put her hand on my forehead and a pulse passed through my body.

I gasped and sat up, nearly tugging the device on my head off. I quickly fumbled for the remote and hit the power off button, making Tanith shoot up and shake her wired hat off and take off the stickers.

"Hey! Careful! This is taxpayers money right there!" I barked at her as she roughly forced it off her head.

Tanith paused for a moment after taking it off and whipped around to me. As I tugged off mine, she spoke. "Never do that again." She shuddered. "That was weird."

I stared at her long enough for her to question me. "Exactly how long have you been in love with the leader of the Tide Changers?"

Tanith's face flushed. "Not sure..." She admitted. "But it's been awhile. Kinda new, but kinda not at the same time. I officially learned before New Beginnings Day but only now have I actually sorted it out."

I opened my mouth but she stopped me. "I know, it's kinda a messy situation to get into but I'm figuring out the conditions as I go... Can you do me a favor?"

I perked up and nodded. "Don't say anything to anyone, especially not Cody. When I'm ready to tell him, I'll do it myself but just... Keep it to yourself, alright?"

I studied her for a moment but begrudgingly agreed. "Fine... But only because we bonded." I teased and nudged her, getting a loud groan.

*********************************
The moment when you realize your chapter sounded a lot like inside out... I didn't plan that at all.

Tanith actually dealing with her feelings has been coming for a long time, and so she finally does it. Granted, Pikalus helps by actually going inside her mind, but it's something. It doesn't take tooooo long because A- Not even logic can stop her and B- Her logic and emotions are very close.

And so, Pikalus is added onto the list of people who know about how Tanith feels. Others being Sam, Selena, Darrel and Bartholomew. (Did I miss anyone?) However, specifically Pikalus knowing is important for later on... You'll find out much later what I'm talking about.

And so, you meet two more parts of Tanith! No idea if they'll appear as much as Cece might, but hey, I had fun with them. Plus, they helped hint at later events...

Just remember I don't normally add in little details without a reason. :)

Anyways, enough of that, I hope you liked this! I honestly didn't think I'd be able to upload anything but memes but I DID IT! Be sure to comment and goodbye!

--JustAnAtlantisWriter