The kraken rubbed his face, the light that once blinded him still seemed to flash even if it was gone. A low groan was let out as he steadily sat up. His muscles were stiff but he fixed that with some stretching and finally processed the world around him. Where was he? The area was not familiar at all. All this was adding on to the fact that when he last checked, he was in the palace of Atlantis with-

THAT PENGUIN! He could remember now! They were fighting again and-- There was a big flash of light from the--- Nexus? What happened? His eyes gazed around the unfamiliar land. Though it did comfort the purple being that he wasn't in a prison cell or, well, dead, the question still remained, where was he? He knew most of Atlantis like the back of his hand, or tentacle in this case. Where he was currently, it wasn't in Atlantis.

Underwater still, but the water around him was dense and the area held some sort of weird tree, bearing black fruit. As he checked the area for some sign of anything, a body lying on the ground surprised him. Looking more closely, it was black and white and appeared to be a penguin. However, unlike his nemesis, it was small, most likely a child. It was laid under the tree, as if for comfort or protection. The Tide Changer contemplated calling out to the being, before it began to move. The penguin shifted a bit before getting up. Their face moved lazily, until the pair were facing each other.

KrakenKid couldn't suppress his words slipping out of his mouth.

"You have got to be kidding me."

--------------

KrakenKid

"You have got to be kidding me!"

I groaned and let my whole body fall back against the rocky ground. My two tentacles reached up to my face and I buried myself in them, screaming in frustration. Not only was I somehow outside Atlantis, now I was stuck with a small Cody. Did the Nexus do this? Did it turn Cody small and banish us both? "What did I do to deserve this? I'm sorry! Just undo it already!" I hollered to no one in particular. Of course, as expected, there was no reply from anybody useful.

"Uh.. Are you okay mister?"

A small childlike voice asked me. I rolled my eyes, even if he couldn't see me. Sitting up, I made eye contact with the being once more. We stared each other down.

Just like that other smelly penguin, this one looked just like him, but much smaller. This one was, what maybe five? Six? More? I could never determine someone's age. Cannibal was so much better at that game then me. His body barely got up to my waist when both of us were standing. His eyes were their normal brown color but were curious, too curious about me that made me wonder if this was the same penguin. Their black and white feathers were a little more faded but there all the same, and the feet were tiny.

"NO! DO I LOOK OKAY TO YOU?" I screeched. His eyes darted around. "Not really." My hand tightened. "IT WAS A RHETORIC-" I stopped myself and just took a deep breath. "You know what? Never mind." I huffed, giving up on lecturing the child. They just kinda stared at me, perplexed. "Are you a real kraken?" His voice was higher pitched but annoyed me all the same. "No, I'm just some guy dressed as one, YES I AM A REAL KRAKEN!" I screamed again before taking in deep breaths in an effort to calm myself down. It didn't work.

"You seem a little on edge Mr. Kraken." The penguin stepped forward. I threw my arms up. "Oh really? What in the world would give you that idea?" Sarcasm dripped from my mouth like venom. The little one however, didn't get the hint to stop talking. "Well for one thing, you keep raising your voice. My mom does that when she's all stressed out."

"Oh my gosh..." I rubbed my eyes more than necessary, trying to rub this nightmare out. When my eyes opened again, I was disgruntled that it was still there and closed them once again. Why couldn't this kid get that some questions aren't meant to be answered. This just has to be Cody.

"Well Mr. Kraken, you should try eating." My eyes opened slowly, glaring at the baby penguin. He didn't seem to notice it. "Why in the world would eating have to do with anything?" My voice became lower than normal. "Well, my mom eats a lot when she's stressed out. Maybe it'll help you!" I took in a long deep breath before sighing. "Yeah okay fine. I'll try that kid." I tried to get my special chicken, but then my heart sank.

"Oh no, no no no NO!" I searched everything but no matter what I did, there result wouldn't change.

Everything I had was gone.

"No! My Special Chicken! My Gun! My Phone! EVERYTHING IS GONE!" I wailed hysterically. I felt my heartbeat quicken. "I'm doomed! No! I'm stuck here without anything! No gun to protect me or any troops either! No freaking food! I'm dead!" I exclaimed. I didn't notice the child moving. "This is how I die! Nope, of course not in battle but in the stupidest way possible! Stuck outside of my own home with- MMMM!"

Before I finished my sentence, a sudden black object was shoved inside my mouth. I flailed around before spitting it out on to my tentacle. Surprise turned to anger as I faced the one responsible, staring at me expectantly. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" I demanded out of them. They blinked. "You said you didn't have food so I got you some." The brown eyes enlarged, staring into my soul. "Eat it." He whispered, head leaning in. Out of my hysteria, I humored the little one and took a bite of the black fruit. To my surprise, it was sweet and actually pretty good. Kinda reminded me of a mango. "Huh." I spoke once I swallowed down a bite. "That's not too bad actually. Good work penguin."

"Cody." He grinned. I stared back and blinked slowly. "What?" He giggled at my actions. "My name's Cody! What's yours?" My yellow eyes bore into his. So this really is him... Why is he so small and.. A child? "KrakenKid." I answered finally, maintaining eye contact and continued to eat the fruit. The penguin held out his hand to me, waiting. I glanced down at it, taking another bite in slow motion, finishing off the fruit.

"Shake it!" He insisted, nodding excitedly and shaking his hand up and down. Energy practically radiated off the kid. Eventually giving in, I shook his hand. He smiled like this was the best thing that ever happened to him. "There you go! It's nice to meet you KrakenKid!" His laugh was pure making me question what was happening. "Likewise... Hey, uh, Cody?" I hesitated. Cody locked onto me. "Yes?"

"You wouldn't happen to know the year it is, would you?"

"I do know!"

He told me the year, making my heart drop. It was no wonder why he looked so young. He had not been turned into a child, but instead I was transported back in time.

Now here I was, stuck in the past with the young version of my greatest rival.

This was going to get tricky.

I groaned again. "Oh noooooo." Plopped myself down on the ground, trying to get a grasp on all this information. I rubbed my forehead, the stress was unbearable to deal with. I stared blankly at the ground. Suddenly, another black fruit was presented on the hand of a black and white being. I glanced up. Younger Cody was holding it out to me, pushing it ever so closely.

For the first time in who knows how long, I chuckled. "No no, thanks but I'm fine." A deep sigh escaped my throat. At least this version of Cody is nicer and not so fake.

"Hey KrakenKid!" He peeped, getting my attention. "Whattdoya want kid?" I propped my head up with my arm, facing him. "Where do you live?" He asked, his eyes shining with wonder. I paused. "Well that's kind of a weird question to ask but to be honest," My eyes searched around. "I have no idea where we are, so currently I'm homeless." His face fell a little, frowning. "You don't have a home? Well, come with me! I have a place I've been hiding out for a while and it certainly has room for one more!"

"I-I'm not too sure kid." He just laughed. "Come on! Don't be shy, it's fine!" He snatched my hand and started to drag me along. "Whoa! Hey!" I tried protesting but he didn't stop. "No! I'm helping! Be grateful Kraken!" Then he stopped, as if thinking, and started laughing. "Heh, they should call you Kranken because of how cranky you are!" He giggled loudly and a moan of despair was released. That was exactly what older him called me.

"Please don't!"

"Too late KrankenKid, the nickname is sticking to you like a band aid!"

Being dragged along by the kid version of my greatest enemy, Cody started to sing the 'Band Aid' song that you always see in commercials while I hopelessly followed, unsure of what was happening. Hopefully this is all temporary.

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN! COMING AT YOU WITH AN UPDATE ON BOTH BOOKS!

Since I didn't have anything Halloween related to celebrate, I thought, why not just update both books on the same day? Here you go! I really loved writing this and I hope you liked how it turned out! Be sure to comment and tell me how I did, it's great to know if I'm doing this right! Hope you're liking this story!

--JustAnAtlantisWriter