Third Person

There were a lot of things KrakenKid had to get used to when living with the princes and their "Pet Scientist", as he put it.

There were normal things, such as not only adjusting to their living space and decorations which were far different from his own, or not only was he not the leader, nor allowed to give many orders, but that there was a lot less people around. His Krazy Krushers used to be plentiful, but now they were all gone and he was living with three other people. Not exactly what he was used to, plus the lack of a constant noise was getting unbearable. Quite time was nice sometimes, but he liked a little background noise.

And here, there wasn't always background noise. It was driving him insane.

There were other things to get used to as well. The Atlanteans were a lot different than him and had a lot of strange activities and overall culture. Seeing as they were living this every day, he had to adjust a little.

The brothers had a competition going on. KrakenKid was no stranger to competition, in fact the Conch Command had many fighting ones, but theirs were something he never even heard of. For example, in the morning, they both tried to see who could chug a whole milk carton first. The answer was neither of them could and they nearly drowned in milk trying to do it, then both threw up.

Not a pleasant sight, nor a pleasant clean up either. They weren't sick, according to Pikalus, just that drinking a whole gallon of milk like that wasn't something you should do.

Another competition they did was "Who could mess the most with Pikalus' lab without getting caught?" which was far more entertaining to watch, despite the fact that KrakenKid was suspected for some of it. He watched the pair draw messages and scribble drawings on the board when his back was turned and flip a bunch of switches. They even managed to gently place a fedora on his head while he was trying to solve an equation.

In the end, the game ended in a tie when they both flipped a switch and turned on an unstable weapon, which promptly exploded soon after. Nobody was seriously injured, but Joe dislocated his shoulder and Cody hasn't stopped smelling like smoke since. Pikalus didn't take too kindly to KrakenKid cracking up at their failure, and it soon broke out into a fight.

KrakenKid would argue with Cody, though it had gone down since Joe's last attempt for bonding, and sometimes Joe if he truly got on his nerves, but it was nothing like Pikalus. For one thing, neither of them held back, constantly cutting into the other one with just their words, and yet it was still painful to watch. What made them so different from the other fights wasn't just that they didn't respect each other, though that was a big part of it.

It was rather the fact that both of them had a gift for being able to observe someone and find their weak spots. Pikalus didn't show it much, but KrakenKid had no problem poking at someone's Achilles' Heel to get them to back off. Poking at Pikalus' only resulted in him doing the opposite and lashing out at him, and he never held back.

When this happened, the brothers were entertained at first. Though the fighting wasn't ideal, Joe backed off to see how it played out while Cody would bring popcorn and acted like he was watching his favorite soap opera. However, as the fight escalated, it became more frightening at the insults they were yelling, and how sometimes, it broke out into physical fighting, slight tears or made everyone uncomfortable.

Now, when the princes watched them fight, the could do nothing but watch in horror as they jabbed at insecurities, beyond crossed the line so much so that it couldn't be seen anymore, and had no intention of stopping. Every time one of them tried to stop it, in the midst of their rage and frustration, those insults would turn on them. Though KrakenKid was ruthless and they expected that from them, Pikalus doing it was more damaging. Not only were they thrown off by it, but his insults hit harder because he knew them better.

Pikalus would of course feel guilty later and do everything he could to make up for it, but in the split moment he spoke, he'd want it to hurt.

So when this particular fight started, Cody and Joe both weren't too keen on jumping in between them in fear of this happening.

As Pikalus began to furiously spit his thoughts at him, the kraken would only roll his eyes and adjust his hat. "I can't believe you didn't stop them! Do you know how dangerous these things are, or do you simply not care? Do you care about anything other than your own pride because I see little reason that suggests otherwise!"

A scoff came from KrakenKid. His eyes showed he was less than impressed with Pikalus' attempt to insult him. "At least I don't pretend. You still try to act friendly towards me when we both know you wouldn't trust me with cutting your hair."

"Well do you blame me?" The scientist answered sharply. "You really expect me to believe you can help us?"

There was a dark flicker in the kraken's eyes upon hearing that. None of them could tell what it was, but those words triggered his inner competitive nature. His shoulders flexed back, unconsciously making himself bigger as he looked at the scientist with fire in his eyes. "I'm a lot more help than you." He responded coldly. "Your tricks and trinkets might be useful, but I can fight. I can think like the enemy because I once was the enemy you hunted down."

KrakenKid's eyes narrowed into a glare that would have made anyone else back off, but not Pikalus. He flicked his head lightly just to annoy him. "Street smarts beat book smarts. We need warriors, rogues even. We don't need a Know-It-All scientist who hides behind his inventions to shield others from his own insecurities and weaknesses."

Pikalus' clenched his jaw but couldn't stop the words from leaving his mouth. "At least I could protect my people! Your little group was destroyed while the princes are still safe and sound!"

KrakenKid actually flinched at that one, and seeing a reaction, Cody finally couldn't bare it any longer. He needed to stop it before it got too bad. "That's enough!" He barked, pushing them away from each other. "Cool it, you're both getting out of hand!"

KrakenKid pushed his arm away, never wavering his eyes from Pikalus. "Stay out of this Princy. This is our fight. Stop trying to be the hero, it won't make you feel any better about yourself."

With his pride taking a hit, Cody had to turn to Pikalus, hoping if he could just get one to cool off, it might stop. Pikalus' eyes barely left KrakenKid's but did briefly shift to Cody's. "He's right about that. Let us do this."

But Cody stood firm, pushing him back. "You'll go at this for hours if I do! Back off, it's not worth it! You shouldn't do this!"

The professor's head swam with anger at KrakenKid's words, and Cody's stubbornness only made it worse. KrakenKid and Pikalus were very different, almost polar opposites in a way, and while some duos who were like this complimented each other, these two only brought out the worst in one another if they weren't careful. So in a hostile situation like this, Pikalus was on high alert.

Unlike what he normally did carefully, he didn't think at all and just snapped at him. "Well I said the same thing to your father about your ascension to kings and he didn't listen either!"

Cody's eyes widened and his mouth hung open. Joe froze in place and even KrakenKid hesitated, second guessing how far he'd go.

Joe finally grabbed his brother and dragged both of them out of the room and towards his room. The silence in the air finally allowed the professor to think straight, and when it dawned on him what he said, his mind crashed around him.

He took his own words out of context just to hurt him, when the truth was far less cruel, almost kind if he had explained it properly.

Though there was another moment of his heart feeling heavy inside, his mind did the next thing it could to cope with it: Find someone else to blame. With the boys already gone so he couldn't fix it, at least not at that moment, finding someone to take his frustration on would be the next best thing.

KrakenKid came to his mind and he whipped around, but he was already gone without a trace. The blood within him boiled until he could barely take it and he quickly started to search for the kraken. Seeing as he wasn't in his room or anywhere else in the ship for that matter, outside was the only place he could think of.

Like he expected, KrakenKid had slipped out into the chilly waters and was keeping to the edge of the reef. Pikalus recognized his shadow as soon as he saw it and swam to catch up.

KrakenKid didn't have to turn around to know he was there, simply lazily keeping his gaze ahead of him and moving at a slow pace.

"What are you doing?" Pikalus demanded, his adrenaline still pumping since their last encounter and he could hear his blood roaring in his ears. His hands twitched but he fiddled with the edges of his lab coat to keep them occupied.

"Taking a stroll." KrakenKid shrugged, still refusing to meet his eyes and kept moving. "Is that against what I'm allowed to do?"

"Going without permission and supervision? Yes," Pikalus crossed his arms and glared. "Yes it is."

KrakenKid paused in his tracks and finally turned to face him. His eyebrows arched and he looked him up and down. "I'm not going to steal anything or attack anyone if that's what you're thinking." KrakenKid answered flatly. A little sigh escaped his lips as he went on. "Not like I want to after last time. I'm in no rush to get handcuffed to the penguin again. Can you at least trust that?"

He didn't budge. The criminal scoffed. "Still no? You really don't know when to quit, do you? Just give it up, there's no way to settle this. Accept that maybe I'm more useful than you are, and let's move on."

Pikalus couldn't control his anger, and now hearing 'There's no way to settle this' sounded more like a challenge than anything. It didn't help that no one, especially not either of the boys, were around to stop him. He marched right up to him and tried to slap him but KrakenKid caught his hand before it could so much as graze him and pushed him back. Pikalus hit the ground with a 'Oof!' and the kraken only rolled his eyes at his little attempt.

KrakenKid was about to turn away when he noticed the scientist's body sparked with a power he had never seen before, and it grew. He'd never admit it outloud, but there was a small amount of fear when he watched him transform into a muscular creature with bright red eyes, and stared him down. His shock luckily did not come before his instincts, so when Pikalus raised his now very large arms in the air and attempted to smash them down on him, he narrowly dodged it and skidded to a stop a couple feet away. He quickly adjusted his cowboy hat, hoping it would stay.

Looking up at him, the kraken's eyes narrowed. "So that's how you want to play." He said. His gun he always kept to his side was out in a split second and he shot three lasers in Pikalus' direction.

Pikalus took the first head on where his heart would be, groaning but shielded himself with his arm from the other two and didn't seem to mind that as much.

KrakenKid paused, eyes moving quickly all around and trying to evaluate the situation, hoping to somehow get an advantage on him, or find a weak spot. Pikalus didn't wait for him to finish before charging right at him.

Once again, KrakenKid easily slipped away from that attack, but Pikalus swatted at him as he dove away and managed to land a hit. It wasn't heavy enough to send him very far, but just enough to get him off balance and send him tumbling to the ground. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet, only to see once again, the monstrous scientist was charging right at him like a bull. He stayed in place, taking his gun and shooting his chest seeing as he had a clear shot. Five hits landed, and though he could see him take the pain, he showed no signs of stopping.

He rushed right up to him and grabbed a couple of his many tentacles, securing a grip on him. KrakenKid didn't have any time to get out of it, though he tried, because he was soon swung into the air, and smashed right into the rocky ground. His back exploded in pain as his hat fluttered off his head.

Unfortunately for the now mostly mindless monster, the thing KrakenKid was famous for was his shooting, specifically his speed in it. So though he tried to slam him into the ground again, he was much slower than his shot and KrakenKid hit him right between the eyes.

He howled with pain and dropped him, covering his face with both hands. KrakenKid spared no time to get out of the way and scan the terrain once again, hoping to find some sort of advantage, whether it be a high ground or even some animal who might not be happy with intruders.

Though it was tough to say at first, eventually he spotted some tough looking vines and bolted to it. He attempted to yank it out on his own, but when it didn't so much as budge, he resorted to shooting the bottom of it and getting it that way. As quickly as he could, he twisted three of them together and tied the ends. Right as he finished, Pikalus finally recovered and wasn't too happy about the last shot.

So his weak spot is his head... Interesting. KrakenKid narrowed his eyes and made a gesture for him to come at him. His cockiness only made the monster more wrathful but he still did exactly what KrakenKid wanted and bolted for him.

The kraken waited until he was a couple feet away before shooting up and juking the attack. In his confusion, Pikalus came to a slow stop, and only was more confused when a weight was on his shoulders. He tried to shake him off, but KrakenKid remained firm. "This ain't my first rodeo!" He answered through gritted teeth. Frustrated, he reached up to grab the criminal but something tied around his wrists, making him stop to look at it, now more confused than anything.

Both wrists had a thick rope of vines around them, but the middle parts were still being held onto by something higher.

KrakenKid gripped the middle of the rope and began to puppet him, sharply pulling his left fist to hit his own face, and then the right, and repeated it. A strained grin formed on his face as he did so.

"Stop hitting yourself." KrakenKid mocked, a little too proud of himself that that tactic actually worked. He was surprised Pikalus even fell for it, but to him, any move, no matter how cheap, simple or just plain old school, was good enough for him.

Well... Maybe not ANY tactic... KrakenKid thought bitterly but pushed the thought of Phaeton out of his mind. His brief pause gave Pikalus exactly what he needed to really think.

Pikalus twisted his arms around, allowing his hands to take hold of the vines rope. The criminal instantly figured out what his next move was going to be but couldn't stop as Pikalus yanked the rope forward, making KrakenKid go flying. He barely managed to be a graceful landing on his feet.

The distance between Pikalus and him were comforting, but the fact that Pikalus hadn't stopped yet was not. This new form that Pikalus had turned into... KrakenKid was beginning to wonder if he truly had control over it, or if he was now mindless to his own rage because of it.

Meanwhile, Pikalus ripped both of the knots of the vines that KrakenKid tied around his wrists, but he still gripped it in one hand, whipping it down on the ground.

A groan escaped the kraken when it came to him. "Slow opponent who I could easily dodge, and I just gave them a whip..." He rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Great job, Kraken. You officially just screwed yourself over."

Pikalus began to make his way over as quickly as he could move, swinging with his left arm. KrakenKid slipped out of his range, but was only met with a sharp pain as the vines whip then cracked down on his back. He grunted but moving out of the way didn't block the second hit from making him collapse completely, finding that even moving was difficult with all the pain.

As the much larger being marched over to him, Krakenkid raised his left tentacle to defend himself from the next hit, but instead the vines was just thrown at him. KrakenKid blinked, staring at the unraveling plants, wondering why he threw it away. He would soon wish that he kept it as seconds later, the monstrous scientist stomped down on his right arm with all of his force and a loud snapping noise as well as an unbearable pain sprouted in KrakenKid's arm.

Finally, KrakenKid had no remorse to take his gun with his left hand, which shook due to not being his dominant arm, and shot as many lasers at Pikalus' head as he could manage without overheating it. Three shots hit bull's eye on his target while the last only grazed his nose as he fell back.

He collapsed to the ground, withering in pain and KrakenKid struggled to get to his feet, cradling his right arm. He trudged right up to the scientist and put his gun to his head before firing. Though painful, seeing as he took the other shots just fine, KrakenKid knew he'd live. He roared when the final shot hit him and went still. Moments later, his form shrank back into the scrawny form that KrakenKid knew the guy to be.

The criminal sighed, relieved that the battle was over and quickly checked his pulse. It was still strong. His eyes slowly drifted from Pikalus, back to his own arm that still burned with pain. KrakenKid really hoped he was wrong, but there was a good chance it was broken.

He paused for a moment, frown at himself before looking in the direction the CephaloPod was in and huffed. "Come on, Pikalus. The princes are going to get worried if we don't get back soon and we need to figure out what we're going to tell them on the way." He said as he quickly scooped his hat off the ground and secured it with one hand.

There was no answer. KrakenKid gave him a look, half crossing his arms. "Pikalus? Get up." Still nothing. He groaned, shaking his head. "You're out cold, aren't you? I knew you were a lightweight but this is just ridiculous..." He trailed off in his words, looking from where he needed to go, and Pikalus back and forth. "...You're really lucky, you know that? You're lucky I'm going to be nice, even if I don't think you deserve it after breaking my arm like that.... Get over here."

KrakenKid gather Pikalus and hoisted him over his good shoulder, nearly tipping over but managed to hold him steadily. From there, he attempted to carry him back.

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

"I'm sure he didn't mean it... Like that." Joe said hesitantly as his brother sparked with anger. Literally. Cody was tightly holding onto his sword that was sending off lightning to reflect his own mood, and judging by it, his calming tactics weren't really working.

"I know I just-" The sword's energy only flared up more as the penguin gritted his teeth. "This always happens with them! They always fight and we always get backlash for it! I hate when he gets like this because he just turns so horrible!"

Joe sighed deeply and lightly patted his brother's back. "I know, I know, I've been there. It's not pretty. They just bring out the worst in each other when they're like this. Polar opposites!"

"But in movies, polar opposites always work together and complete each others flaws, making them like a whole person. They're doing the opposite..." Cody flopped his face into the pillow of his bed. "Why can't it be like the movies?"

Joe paused for a long while before smiling. "I don't know, but I wish it was too. I think I'd be played by a super handsome actor that all the ladies would swoon over, don't you think?"

Cody snickered at his comment, turning over to make his head facing up. "You wish. You'd end up being some dorky little guy." Joe gasped dramatically like he just been betrayed but Cody pushed him over lightly. "Hey, don't be mad, everyone loves the dorky, jokester guy over the hero guy. He brings all the comic relief to the table."

Joe grinned brighter than before. "Awww, are you admitting I'm hilarious? I never thought I'd see the day!"

"Shut up!" Cody nudged him, forgetting everything that bothered him before. The two of them laughed together, and just for a moment, everything was right in the world.

"PRINCY! JOEY!"

But moments never last.

The brothers shot up immediately, knowing the southern voice could only fit one person they knew. They didn't waste another moment to rush out of the room and to where it came from, or at least where they thought it did. They checked the lab and his room first before they finally came across where he really was, and he wasn't alone either.

KrakenKid had Pikalus over his shoulder, and looked utterly exhausted. Wounds covered both of them, and though Pikalus was the one passed out, KrakenKid was definitely more injured than him. As soon as the brothers were in front of him, he passed Pikalus to Cody, only then allowing himself to sway. "For... For such a lightweight, he's hard to carry..." He murmured, trying to keep himself from falling.

Joe noticed and tried to help, but as soon as he grabbed his right arm, KrakenKid yelped and pulled it back. Joe was startled but instead just found other ways to keep him steady. "Come on." He told him, leading him towards his own room. "You should probably lay down."

As KrakenKid and Joe disappeared from his sight, Cody dragged Professor to his own room.

Pikalus' room was pretty plain, given he spent most of his time in the lab. It had the essentials like a bed and nightstand, and a poster showing the periodic table, but other than that, nothing.

Cody laid him down in his bed, pulling the sheets up before turning to go grab the first aid kit. But then, a hand grabbed his wrist before he could, tightly holding on. Cody glanced back, meeting Pikalus' half open eyes, still looking very tired. "I didn't..." He trailed off, then gulped and spoke up. "I didn't mean it like that."

It took Cody a moment to catch on before he just sighed. "It's fine, we can talk about it later. I just need the first-" He tried to pull away, but the professor refused to let go.

"No." He insisted, then there was hesitation and his grip loosened. "I... I need to explain myself now. Please- it wasn't like that... You're so young." He whispered the last part sadly, eyes drooping down.

Cody tensed, then relaxed once he started to get a feeling where this conversation was going. Pikalus let go half because he knew Cody wasn't going to go this time, and the other half because he knew he was weakening just by staying awake. "Atlas- your father- he told me of his plans of crowning you two kings and I disagreed. You two were-are, so young..." He sighed sadly. "All that pressure, all the guilt that would build up, and all of that responsibility... You'd have to give up being kids and I couldn't stand the thought of that. Maybe it was because I had to give up my childhood when I was younger because I wanted to pursue science and wanted nothing else to get in the way... But the weight of my actions and new responsibilities grew heavier. I didn't want such responsibilities to be on your shoulders... But,"

He chuckled whole heartedly. "Your father insisted it was the right thing to do. He always believed in you and Joe, no matter what it was... I wish... I wish I had his faith then."

Cody frowned speaking. "...I get it, and I forgive you. It's okay, you just get a little passionate sometimes." He shot a smile. "It happens to all of us... Just rest up, okay?"

As Cody walked away, Pikalus couldn't help but say one last thing to him before he passed out. "I believe in you now..."

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

KrakenKid was right, his arm was broken. Nearly split into two and since the princes weren't exactly doctors, they both freaked out and he was the one staying calm.

Of course, once they did calm down, they asked what happened and KrakenKid... Didn't answer. He wasn't sure what to tell them, and he wasn't in the mood for throwing Pikalus under the bus, it would just make everything worse.

Unfortunately, they put two and two together and seeing as both of them were injured, they began to think they had gotten into a fight. "Was it the Hulk?" Joe asked while trying to make a sling for his arm. He barely was keep a straight face while Cody could barely even be near the arm.

KrakenKid gave him a perplexed look. "You mean that superhero guy from that movie? He doesn't exist."

Joe shook his head. "No, not him. That's what we call Pikalus when he transforms into that big monster thingy when he gets angry. Was it him?"

KrakenKid went silent for a moment, staring at the blankets of his bed but eventually said something. "...So that's what you call him."

Joe and Cody exchanged glances before sighing. "He's a bit of a handful... What happened? He hasn't transformed in ages!"

The criminal sighed, relaxing in his bed as the two brothers fussed. "I just angered him, that's all. Got a little out of hand without anyone else to stop it."

"Angered him?" Cody gave him a look. "I think that's a bit of an understatement give he did BREAK YOUR ARM!"

"And I made him punch himself repeatedly in the face." KrakenKid shrugged. "What's your point? It's a brawl, we weren't holding back."

His statement wasn't entirely true. The first couple attacks KrakenKid did hold back and focused more on evading his swings, but he didn't want to make a big deal out of it so he kept his mouth shut. They were both in the wrong, no doubt about that, but maybe Pikalus was a little more ruthless than he was, which was surprising to say the least. A criminal getting pummeled by a scientist? What had the world come to?

This "Hulk" mode Pikalus had was something KrakenKid never anticipated from him, which did interest him to no end. What else didn't he know? Maybe he didn't figure out the scientist like he thought he did.

It took a while, but Cody and Joe eventually left him to rest in peace, though KrakenKid couldn't seem to fall asleep in the first place. His arm still bothered him, he had to sleep on his stomach due to the bruises on his back from being slammed into the ground and everything hurt.

Not the first time this happened, and certainly not the last either. KrakenKid wasn't the easiest person to deal with, and it didn't help that he often was stubborn about anything he really didn't want to do. Taking orders from Pikalus was one of them, and losing a fight, whether it be verbal or physical, to him? That one was even bigger.

He began to nod off as his thoughts swam in his mind. He didn't even remember closing his eyes but eventually he found himself waking up who knows how long later to someone opening his door again.

This time, it was Pikalus who slipped inside rather than either of the brothers.

There was a silence between the two before Pikalus cleared his throat. He had bruising mostly around his face, especially the eyes, as well as some burns where the chest was and a burn in the side of his head. "Erm- Kraken, I-"

KrakenKid held up his good arm to silence him. "Save it, there's nothing you can say that I haven't already gotten over." He answered, sitting up and letting his many legs hang over the side of his bed. "Except maybe the arm." He added, glancing down at it and narrowing his eyes. "This is my good arm too."

Pikalus pulled a long needle out from his pocket, full of a glowing white liquid. "That," He smiled sheepishly. "Is where I can help. May I?"

KrakenKid shrugged, holding out his arm to him. "Eh, not like it can get any more useless. Have at it."

Pikalus swiftly injected the needle into him and poured the contaminants from his upper arm. KrakenKid winced a little but otherwise was a good patient. When Pikalus pulled away, he slipped the needle back into his pocket and examined his arm. "Specialized chemicals, made by yours truly. That should speed up the process. A week at most, but it's highly unlikely it'll take that long unless you broke every bone in your arm."

KrakenKid blinked in surprise before cracking a smile. "Thanks. I didn't think you'd go that far out of the way just for me."

Pikalus paused awkwardly, looking at the ground. "Well, it was half out of kindness but the other half... I have something to ask of you."

KrakenKid didn't know why he was a little surprised. Maybe it was living with the Atlanteans that made him a little soft, and forget that people rarely did things without seeking something in return. He crossed his arms and nodded at him to continue.

Pikalus took in a breath. "The boys and I got word about some secret base of operations that Phaeton has for creating weapons and they're going to take it down."

KrakenKid raised an eyebrow. "And you want me to go with?" He guessed. He probably would've anyways, he didn't see a need to ask of him to.

But the scientist shook his head guiltily. "The opposite." He admitted. The kraken was taken aback but waited for a reason. "This mission is going to be a lot more dangerous than the rest, and while more help is ideal, we also need coordination and teamwork. You're more of the lone wolf and-"

The criminal cut in. "And after our little fight, you're afraid I might do the same if Cody aggravates me in battle." He knew where this was going.

The professor sighed deeply. "Yes, and unlike me, he can't turn into a raging monster who can take a lot of hits. He's strong but... I just don't want any chance for them to get hurt. Understood? It's not because I have a grudge against you."

KrakenKid saw the dark flicker in his eyes at his last statement and knew he was partially lying, but didn't mention it. It was normal if he didn't like him, KrakenKid wasn't a big fan of Pikalus either.

So instead, he just nodded and got up. "Fine. I'll stay out of it." He answered and began to walk out of his room. Pikalus followed behind.

Though the princes were a little disappointed that they couldn't get more help on the mission, they went out anyways, Pikalus dropping them off as close as he could before sending them in to sneak in. KrakenKid stayed in the piloting area, sprawling over one of the couches and tipping his hat so it covered his face as he got some shut eye. He did, however, listen in as Cody and Joe used their comms to communicate.

"Alright boys! How does it look?" Pikalus asked anxiously. He had to drop them off quite a ways away to avoid getting seen, so if they needed help, it'd take a minute to get there.

There was a pause, though you could still hear Joe's heavy breathing over the microphone. "Whoa..." The chicken whispered. "It's like one of those mad scientist labs you see in the movies."

"He's not kidding either." Cody agreed, sounding breathless. "There are all sorts of projects everywhere!"

Out of the corner that his hat didn't shield from his eyes, the kraken saw Pikalus visibly pale but shake himself out of it. "Weapons?" KrakenKid couldn't help but detect a hint of hope in his voice. Why would he be hopeful that it had weapons, wasn't that a bad thing?

"Not just physical ones." Suddenly KrakenKid understood. "Biological. Mind control ones? Is that-" Cody's voice was cut short with a grunt, then the sound of electricity being fired filled the channel. "They found us!"

A high pitched scream came from Joe's channel making the kraken shoot up. "Was that... The chicken?" He tried his best not to snicker but was having a difficult time doing so.

Pikalus nodded slightly before asking more. "Are you guys okay? Do you need help?"

"No, no, we're fine!" Cody insisted, his voice sounding more strained than normal, but then again, he was in the middle of a fight. "Just a couple goons and- ACK!" Cody squeaked then his comm turned to static.

"Cody? CODY! Joe, what's going on!" Pikalus demanded. KrakenKid noted his hand began to shake but Pikalus drowned it out with holding onto his coat.

Joe coughed. "We're fine, though- uh... You have more of those communicator thingys, right? Someone jumped Cody and his is broken. In half."

Pikalus sighed in relief, holding one of his hands to his heart. "Y-yeah, I've got plenty, no worries. How serious is it?" His voice has a certain edge to it that made even the kraken nervous. He found himself straying closer to hear the prince better.

"Nothing we can't handle." Neither Pikalus nor KrakenKid found themselves convinced, exchanging a look. "Just a bunch of goons, they've got nothing on us. We'll be- oh no..."

Pikalus nearly jumped out of his skin. "What do you mean 'Oh no', what happened?"

"Nothing, nothing! Just a quick question though, if I were to accidentally bump a button to a machine called 'Tectonic Shifter' how bad would that be?"

KrakenKid was no scientist, but he knew enough to know what that meant. "An Earthquake machine? Joey! Get out of there!"

"Oh, that bad... We need an extraction! Stat!"

"On it!" Pikalus instantly made the ship lurch forward, sending the kraken to the floor, and then to the back of the cockpit. His previous healing wounds started to burn again from the fall but he just bared his teeth and forced himself to get up. "Get out of there!"

"Easier said than done!" Joe's voice wavered. "The whole building is coming down but we'll be-OH NO! THAT'S BAD! THAT'S VERY VERY BAD!"

KrakenKid bolted to the seat next to Pikalus and quickly spoke into the microphone there. "Talk to us, chicken, what's going on?"

"THE EARTH IS SPLITTING OPEN, THAT'S WHAT'S GOING ON!" Joe screamed back. "Everything is falling in! How far are you guys because I don't know if we're gonna make it! NO! CODY!"

KrakenKid gritted his teeth. "Joey, talk sense to us! Did Cody fall in? Are you still in stable ground? This is a two way communication, we need to communicate so talk! We're almost there!"

"He's on the edge! I know I won't be able to pull him up but I have to try!"

"Chicken, do not do that!" KrakenKid shot back. Pikalus was using every bit of power the ship had to try and get there faster but it didn't seem to help. "Stay back, we're almost there!"

"I can't just leave him-" Joe's communicator soon turned to static, and he never spoke another word.

"Joey? JOE!" KrakenKid screeched, but nobody responded. Pikalus gasped, his eyes going wide. The kraken peeked out the window and soon felt his heart stop.

Where the building used to be was now being swallowed up by the huge fissure in the ground. More than two thirds was already gone, but even worse, the fissure seemed to be closing up. While this might've been a good thing so that it wouldn't spread, nor would it be there anymore, it was terrible in knowing that maybe, just maybe, the princes were still inside.

The Cephalopod circled the rumble, trying to spot out the pair, but when nothing, not even their weapons could be spotted from above and with the fissure closing up, both of their hearts dropped.

"No..." Pikalus whispered, utterly horrified.

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

It's been a while, hasn't it? But never fear, I did not abandon this book!

Alright, *Cracks knuckles* I have a lot to say

Now while I imagine Cody and KrakenKid butting heads a lot, Pikalus has a HUGE problem with KrakenKid, mainly because he really doesn't trust him, and defiantly not to protect his boys. Onto of the fact that KrakenKid isn't a fan of him, and the fact that they're very different people while Cody and KrakenKid have some similarities. The main trait they share is their stubbornness and that doesn't exactly scream friendship, now does it?

Pikalus gets all wired up because he honestly thinks that KrakenKid is going to abandon/betray them any second and KrakenKid hates that he thinks that. Plus, KrakenKid can get a bit arrogant in thinking he knows people but Pikalus shows him he doesn't know nearly half as much as he think he does.

Now most of all I AM SO PROUD OF THAT FIGHT SCENE LIKE DANGGGGGG THAT'S PROBABLY MY BEST YET I'M SO HAPPYYYYYYY

I have a theory that if Pikalus purposely transforms on his own, he can control himself but he if transforms due to rage, he'll lose all control.

Also a bit of a cliffhanger... Kinda literally?

Since these chapters take a lot longer to make and since doing a chapter guide for this book would result in sO MANY SPOILERS IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY, I've decided to do something a litttttle different!

Instead, every time I upload a chapter of this book, I'm going to put a little sneak peek/episode guide thingy for the next chapter, so in this case, Chapter 6! Here it is!

Chapter 6- Fish Out Of Water
Summary: As KrakenKid and Pikalus scramble to find the princes, Cody and Joe find themselves somewhere new.

Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! Once again, I'm super proud of that fight scene. Be sure to comment what you think, and goodbye!

--JustAnAtlantisWriter