Third Person

Cody couldn't feel anything but panic.

He felt like his kingdom was falling apart at the seams, and that he could do nothing to stop it. His heart pounded, even in the peace and quiet, and his mind could do nothing but speed at what felt like the speed of light. His thoughts consumed his mind, and the world became a blur.

Cody had swam to the roof of the palace and looked over the city. He wasn't sure why he felt to nervous looking down upon the city, but he did, and it wasn't because of the height.

It's been peaceful... He thought to himself. Too peaceful... For too long. Something's going to happen, something will go wrong. Cody shuttered and hugged his knees close to his chest. It always does.

The brown eyes trained over the city, as if at any moment he expected something to explode or break down, but oddly enough, when nothing did, he only panicked more.

The only thing that calmed him was a thought, a simple but dangerous thought. I need to plan ahead for this. He decided, straightening up. His watchful gaze focused on the city. What are the threats?

His mind went to the most recent one, Ace. Ace could attack. He thought, but quickly dismissed it. The last attack was from him, he needs time to heal like the rest of us. He wouldn't attack so soon.

And so he moved on, going to more people. Kevin? No, he's not getting out on his own with our security. Annon? I'm pretty sure he's dead. KrakenKid?

That's where his mind hesitated. He was wounded in our last fight, we all took a hit. He wouldn't attack... But doubt swarmed his mind. Or would he... Atlantis took a lot more damage than the Tide Changers did. They're more prepared than us. They could do it, they could attack us.

Cody drew in a long breath before clenching his fists and teeth. Unless we strike first.

Cody got up quickly, but ended up standing there a minute longer. His eyes stared out onto his city once again, but this time with fiery determination not to let it burn. He was going to save it, no matter what he had to do to make sure of that.

Or who he had to get past if anyone got in his way.

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

"It's clearly magic! Just look at the way it glows!"

"It's radioactive! How are you even holding that without something bad happening? Anyways, it's clearly science!"

While Tanith and Professor PIkalus argued about what was making the glowing crystal so powerful, everyone else in the lab just stuck to what they were doing and payed no mind to them. It wasn't the first time they screamed over nothing, and it wouldn't be the last.

Some of the scientists took sides while the others didn't give a crap about what they were screaming about and just focused on their work.

"Oh really?" Tanith challenged, narrowing her eyes. "If it's not magic, then why does it do this?" She held it up with two of her fingers and let a small amount of healing rays flow from them. Upon contact, the crystal grew brighter, and dimed once it was gone. She stuck her tongue out at him, crossing her arms in the process.

"Because magic is just radioactive rays emitting from different organisms in different ways. You have a certain type of ray that accelerates the body's natural healing factors, one that releases serotonin, the chemical that makes you calm, and another that forces molecules to harden into a dome to your will, making a force field like appearance." He explained quickly.

Tanith stared at him for a while, giving a weird look. "Okay, you made magic sound really boring and how does that explain Cece? My conscience?" Professor opened his mouth but Tanith cut him off. "Don't you dare say schizophrenia, it's not that, I was tested."

Professor rolled his eyes and sighed. "Let's not get into that. Besides, you're clearly biased. Did you say your whole society was all about magic growing up? That everything is magic or something?"

Tanith huffed. "So? That would make you just as biased, growing up in this scientific environment, where everything is science."

Professor paused, unable to retaliate. "Well," He puffed, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess we need someone in the middle."

They both paused before coming up with the same thing. "Cody."

Almost immediately, their phones both buzzed. They paused their conversation to check, and both tensed at the message they read. Professor glanced up. "You got it too?"

Tanith nodded. "Council meeting. And we're both invited." She read it over a couple more times before putting her phone away. "We haven't had one of those since... The break in with the portal?" She guessed, getting a nod from Pikalus.

"Yeah. They weren't able to hold one properly when we all went crazy, so this is the first one in a while." He looked at the message one more time before slipping it into his pocket. "Must be serious."

Tanith and Professor both made their way to the council room, finding that everyone else had already made it, but looked just as confused as they were. PebbleTeen was whispering something to Guppy and Spartacus while Rasmus watched Cody's every move. To their surprise, Sam and Selena were at the table, and seemed to be the most puzzled out of all of them. After all, they weren't supposed to be there, so why were they?

Cody was at the head of the table, his chair facing the other way and seemed to be muttering about something. Tanith and Professor both exchanged worried looks before making their way over to their spots and sitting down.

As soon as they touched down on their seats, Cody shot up in his. He pivoted around it, then slammed his flippers on the table and stared at them all with wide eyes. His actions made everyone either jump, reel back, fluff out or a mixture of all of those. There were several gasps that escaped everyone there as they looked him up and down, and noticed that Cody clearly wasn't himself.

Those top and thick feathers on the top of his head were all messed up for one thing, as well as patches all around his body. His breathing was ragged and heavy and his hand was twitching dangerously, but it was his eyes that concerned them the most.

They were wide, bloodshot, and different colored. While one of them kept the normal shade of brown, the other was an electrifying blue.

With his actions already shocking everyone, his appearance made them all freeze up, allowing him to speak first. "I bet you're all wondering why I called you here today, and it's urgent." His tone was out of place, almost like he was whisper shouting. "Atlantis is in danger. Big danger."

Everyone immediately looked to each other, hoping someone knew what he was talking about but when nobody did, they turned back to him. Cody straightened up suddenly, eyes darting around the room. "Atlantis has been peaceful... Too peaceful." He said, now walking around the room. "In fact, I think we're due for an attack, and you know who will do it?"

He looked at everyone expectantly, but no one could find the will to say anything. Rasmus was taking trained breaths, keeping his eyes focused on Cody's and looked a couple words away from a heart attack. Selena, Sam and Professor all looked to each other, but Tanith glanced down. Her blue eyes squeezed shut and sent a silent prayer to whoever could stop him from saying it.

Please... She murmured to the heavens. Please don't say it. Say Ace, not him. Just say Ace! Just say Ace!

"Do you know who will destroy everything we hold dear?" Cody challenged, looking around the room. "Who will tear us apart while we think we are safe?"

Cody found himself back at the head of the table, with nobody answering. His gaze turned hateful and he slammed his fists on the table as hard as he could, shaking it. A small spark shot off of him and hit the wall. "KRAKENKID!" He growled. "HE WILL DESTROY US!"

Tanith's heart dropped and she swallowed, still avoiding looking at Cody. Selena and Sam shared a mental and very panicked conversation while Professor stared in shock. Rasmus flinched and shrunk down.

"Now!" Cody exclaimed suddenly. "I understand you might be hesitant to agree with me. Say that I'm crazy or wrong," He loosely twirled his hand in the air as he spoke. "But," The twirling spotted and tightened into a fist. His eyes locked onto almost everyone's gaze, waiting for them to look into his eyes if they weren't before moving on. "Why wouldn't he attack us? We are still weak from our last incident, but he came out fine. He's always wanted Atlantis for himself, and if he had the chance to seize it, why wouldn't he? What would be holding him back?"

Nobody found words to say anything, either still in shock, or much to scared to. "Nothing. Nothing would be holding him back, so he's going to come for us, and he will hit harder than he ever has before, and take Atlantis for himself. He was cause mayhem everywhere, and HE WILL KILL US ALL!"

He started to tense up, making everyone mirror him, but soon, he relaxed again. Not like before, but deadly calm, so much so that it actually was scaring most of them. His eyes held a mix of nothingness, and burning revenge in them. "So," He took in a breath, letting out a long one until the whole room seemed to clear up. It was only then that he chose to drop the bomb. "We kill them first."

If they were surprised before, now each and every one of them had a mini heart attack, some more severe than others. "We declare war on them, and we eliminate the threat before they eliminate us. Survival of the fittest."

Finally, PebbleTeen was the one to speak out. "Cody, you do realize to declare war-"

"I must get everyone on the council's full approval, I know." Cody answered, still as calm as before. "Which is why I'm begging you all to consider this. Let's break, come back in an hour or three and tell me then what you think."

Cody broke away immediately and left before anyone could say anything.

The room was silent until Rasmus finally stood up. All eyes were on him, but his gaze didn't look up to meet any of them, fixated on the table. He was thinking to himself, eyebrows furrowing before finally, he said something. "Professor Pikalus, Sam, Selena and Tanith." He called out their names, catching their attention. "We need to talk. In private." He said simply before slipping out of the room.

The four who were called all watched before following behind.

Rasmus led them up to the throne room, and when they got up there, he ordered the guards to clear out and give them privacy. Soon, it was just them, and the Nexus.

Rasmus stood in front of the Nexus, not looking back at them for a long time. He stared right into the heart of it, taking deep breaths, but didn't seem to get any calmer, no matter what he did. It was Selena who finally swam forward and hesitantly cleared her throat.

"Rasmus?" She asked carefully.

"It's happening again." His voice was filled with so many emotions at once: Sadness, hatred, disgust, hopelessness and most of all, fear. So much fear in his voice that it trembled, and he covered his mouth. Selena didn't have to see his face to know that tears were prickling the edges of his eyes. "I thought-..." He took in a shaky breath, barely holding himself together. "I thought it would be different this time. Better. That Cody wouldn't go down the same road."

Professor's inner curiosity was brimming and he couldn't hold it in anymore. "What road? What are you talking about?" He demanded. He might have sounded angry, but Tanith could feel how scared he was. Anger was often expressed by fear, though many people didn't know it.

Rasmus couldn't seem to face them. "Cody... He's going to try and finish it. He's already gone mad and now with as much influence as he has-" Rasmus broke, now appearing so much smaller than any of them had ever seen him. "I can't do this again but if I try and resist will he do what his father did?"

Tanith and Sam exchanged a worried glance and Professor shifted around restlessly, hoping he would make a point soon. Selena however, caught on. "You're talking about before the war with the krakens. You're talking about Poseidon." She realized out loud, surprising everyone, especially Rasmus.

"That's true..." He muttered. "How did you-?"

"I read someone's diary, but the point is, Cody's acting the same way, isn't he? Just as irrational, scared and angry as Poseidon was when he declared war." Selena pressed on.

Rasmus' breath hitched in his throat so he nodded instead of speaking. He swallowed hard and gasped. "I tried to stop him but he-" Rasmus covered his mouth again, worried that the truth he kept hidden for all those years would spill out. What he didn't talk about.

Selena inched forward. "Rasmus," Her voice was soft but still demanding in a way. "What did he do to convince you to his side?"

Rasmus froze but quickly shook his head. "I can't." He whispered. "Don't ask me to say it." He gulped and whipped around. None of them could stop him as he rushed out of the palace without another word.

Selena tried to take off after him but a hand held her back. She turned to find Sam was there, gently shaking her head. "Best not to get into it. He needs more time." She told her. Selena wanted to break off of her hold and go after him anyways, but she did as she was told and stood back.

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

Cody twitched as more and more images of Atlantis burning and in ruins flooded his mind until he thought he was going to break. "No..." He kept whispering. "It can't happen... I won't let it!"

Once again, Cody found himself on the roof of the palace, some place where no one would find him. He needed to be alone. He needed to think.

I need the council's approval, but will they say yes? We need the yes to complete this, we have to get the yes!

Cody began to think back to the council members. Guppy and Spartacus were both pretty shaken up, and they're total soldiers. They'll say yes. But everyone else? PebbleTeen, Nyanta, Rasmus- everyone! They don't believe me. I saw it in their eyes, they don't believe that we're doomed. He almost whispered the words but bit his tongue back. I must get their approval, we need it to go on. To keep us safe.

His eyes trained over the city again, frowning. But how? I gotta get them to believe me somehow... I need them to say yes...

Slowly, but surely, his eyes paused on the buildings. What if... Cody dismissed the thought at first, but it came back. It could work... I could get them on my side....

Cody watched the city, sparks flying from him. Well, He decided. It's for the greater good, and you can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs...

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

The four Atlanteans all rushed down to the hospital as soon as they could.

Already there, several citizens and guards already surrounded the entrance and blocked them from seeing what they needed to.

They hesitated at first before Pikalus began to push his way through the crowd, leaving the girls to do the same. He made his way to the front and burst into the scene. He stopped immediately, making the other three run into him, but while they all began to complain about his stopping, they saw it too. Their blood ran cold the more they stared at it.

There in the sidewalk, there was something carved into the stone.

DOWN WITH THE KING

"You don't think it's him, do you?" Professor asked, glancing back at the girls.

"Who else would it be?" Sam shrugged. "It's not like anyone would send this type of message."

"Unless that's what they wanted us to think." The other three all gave a weird look at Tanith when she said it. "I'm just saying, everyone's first instinct is to blame the Tide Changers when they see something like this, so what if that's the point? To blame the Tide Changers? Does this really seem like KrakenKid's style to you? And did anyone actually see a Tide Changer do it?"

They all paused before Selena glanced at it again. "You do have a point."

"See?" Tanith shot a quick grin to Selena. "To us, we can tell but to everyone else... This is going to look like an attack, and the council is going to get scared. I wish I could warn them but they're all going to think I'm biased."

"You are though." Sam pointed out.

"...Okay, I am but that doesn't make me wrong. Think about what I said and tell me I'm wrong."

Professor wanted nothing more than to do just that. To tell her this was KrakenKid's fault and move on with it, but he couldn't deny the sinking feeling in his heart. "Then do did it?"

Tanith huffed. "Well, like I said, this is a scare tactic to trick people into thinking it's the Tide Changers, and who else would want to trick people into fearing the Tide Changer's when they haven't done anything?"

Selena, Sam and Professor all tensed up. "No... Don't say it..." Selena pleaded.

Tanith sighed and shrugged. "I wish I didn't have to, but I think this is Cody's work. He's really desperate to go to war, isn't he?"

They didn't answer and instead stared at the words in horror.

To their expectations, almost all the council members supported Cody immediately. When the vote came, most raised their hands, including Rasmus who refused to meet any of their eyes, but Professor, Sam, Selena and Tanith kept their hand down.

Cody looked at them all with hurt and surprise. "Guys? Come on, we need this."

But they all stood firm. Cody sighed and rolled his eyes. "Well technically, only Professor's vote matters. Sam and Selena are here because I called them, and Tanith is just a honorary member and doesn't participates in votes like this. So Professor,"

Cody leaned in close. "I need your vote." Professor gulped but shook his head. Cody examined him, then his eyes glinted dangerously. "...Fine then, we'll take another recess. Professor, a word." Cody said, getting up and dragging Professor Pikalus along with him.

They all wished they could followed him, but they couldn't seem to move.

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

Okay, I'm really tired so my editing is gonna be pretty bad so I'm sorry. It's totally not 4 in the morning over here, nooooooooo.

Anyways, like Ace predicted, Cody is going wack like KrakenKid, though his takes a different and far too familiar form. He's ready to declare war, and he's going to great lengths to make sure it happens.

I have a ton planned in the next one, including somewhat details/parallels to what happened between Poseidon and Rasmus that made him say yes, plus a lot more, so it should be fun times.

Selena actually knows about how different Poseidon was when he was doing it because of a very certain journal she read not too long ago, telling her alllllll the details she needs to know and more. How handy, huh?

Anyways, I hope you liked this! Hopefully I've covered all I needed to say for this chapter. Be sure to comment what you think, and goodbye!

--JustAnAtlantisWriter