Chris silently hiked up the base of the Appalachian Mountains. He couldn't fall back asleep because of something nagging in his body. The sun hadn't even rosen up over the mountain range of North America's eastern coast. The green Kratt had his medallion in his bag just in case he ran into trouble.
After a good fifteen minute walk, he sat down on a large rock. The Earth Guardian breathed in the fresh mountain air in peace with a smile of content. A strange sound made it to his ears. He looked around startled, but saw nothing. Chris looked down at the rock he's sitting on and was surprised to see... quartz forming around his hand.
"Woah," he said, obviously spooked a bit as he hops off. Approaching the big stone again, the younger Kratt Brother placed his hand on its surface. Instantly, small clear crystals outlined it and slowly began to grow. The brunette's eyes sparkled in amazement as a huge grin came onto his face.
"Awesome! I can make crystals! I wonder if I can do it with other things!" Picking up a stick nearby, he focused on it and the wood turned into emerald.
"Yes! It works on plants too! Not that I'll try it on living plants anyway." Nearby was a dead oak tree. Chris went up to it, ready to maximize his new power. Once he made sure no creatures lived in it though. Once he was done checking, he put both hands on the long trunk. Eyes squeezed shut in concentration, and the whole tree became all sorts of colors of different gems. The Kratt looked like a happy school boy as he looked proudly at his work.
"This is so amazing! I can't wait to show-" Suddenly, the whole tree started becoming black, like onyx black. Chris could only stare, obviously unsure at how it happened.
Martin yawned as he woke up before the sunrise. Mina snuggled closer to him when he sat up. The blonde smiled down at his little sister before looking over at Chris's hammock. But, his little brother wasn't there. His "sprigs" started twitching in the motion of crickets rub their legs together.
"That's a new one," he mused at this. "But where did Chris go?" Carefully, as to not wake the little nymph, Martin crawled out of his hammock and landed quietly on the ground. Instantly, the "sprigs" started "pulling" in a specific direction.
"Woah. Okay. I can see my hair wants me to go that way." He looked toward the mountain. Something began glittering near the mountain's base. The blue eyed brother stared in confusion for a bit.
"Huh. That wasn't there yesterday." The small hairs start rubbing against each other again. "All right. First, I'll find Chris. Then, I'll find out what this sense signal means." With that, the blue Kratt started heading up the mountain.
Along the middle of the way, he slipped on some ice that came out of nowhere, and stepped into a lake, but as he looked down, he saw the water's surface under his feet was frozen. He gasped at that, and then walked a little more to see more and more frozen floor with every little step.
"Wow!" Martin clapped his hands of excitement, but then, he felt them cold. By rubbing them, he saw that snowflakes were falling from them. Experimenting with even more excitement, he moved his hands on a circular motion, making a snowball. He threw the snow he formed to the sky, and made it snow all around him.
"*laugh* This is awesome! Wait till I tell Chris!" Martin skated across the lake to reach the mountain.
The black crystal showed Chris's reflection on the trunk. Looking closely, he saw a new image form. "Martin?" Suddenly, the image showed his brother being struck in the heart with a quartz stalagmite, the blonde then backing away holding his chest. The brunette gasped in horror. He slowly backed away, but a trail of quartz followed his feet. His heel got caught under a half exposed rock and he fell backwards. The moment his hands touched the dirt, it crystallized along with the grass in his range. Sitting up, he saw what he had caused and can only stare in shock.
Not far behind, Martin reached the mountain's base. "Chris!" he called. A few moments later, he heard a thump and the sound of something crackling from up ahead. The unsuspecting blonde smiled.
"Looks like someone's been out climbing a bit. Hey Chris!" The older brother started climbing after his little brother, creating some frost on the branches he was on and leaving a trail of snow as he went.
"Chris!" he heard his name. The tree climber gasped as he looks down the mountainside, picking out a bit of blue in the trees.
"Oh no," he mumbled in fear. "Martin." He got up, but the moment he touched the rock from earlier, it got completely covered in crystals.
"Hey Chris!" He's getting closer.
"No… no…" The brown eyed brother began backing away again, more quartz forming. "I don't want to hurt you. Stay away." His brother obviously didn't hear him since the sound of pounding steps were coming closer.
Chris looked up the mountain. He had no other choice. Ditching his bag, he sprinted higher up, crystals appearing behind him. But these jewels were different. They were much bigger and were spreading down the mountain.
"Dabio, it's rare to see big beautiful crystals appearing on a mountain, right?" Donita Donata questioned her henchman. She was currently looking down through her jet window, admiring the shimmering quartz.
"Uh, I think so," the dumb blonde answered.
"It's actually not very likely. They're hunormous! And look! More just popping out of the ground, right behind…" She took out a pair of binoculars to get better detail of the moving brown and green speck. Her eyes widened from behind the small end. "Chris-Angelo?" Putting the binoculars down, the fashion designer began to think.
"Hmm, so what Zach said was true." She looked at Chris from above again before an evil grin grew on her face. "And what luck that one can make gems out of nowhere. I believe I found a better way to get gems for my jewelry line without even mining for them." Then, she looked down to the mountain to see Martin climbing to meet Chris.
"Chris! Come on out!" Martin hollered. Then, he looked down to see all the snow he created along the way. The blonde jumped down for a closer look.
"This is so cool! I had no idea that being Water Guardian could also mean I can make snow and ice!" Suddenly, crystal spikes harpooned out of the ground. "What the?!" He didn't have enough time to stop before one pierced his chest. The blonde tried holding in his scream of pain, letting out a grunt instead as he staggered back, clutching his chest. Unknowing to him, the snow's surface became covered by a layer of ice upon impact.
Donita saw this was the perfect opportunity to convince Chris to work for her. "Land ahead of that Kratt Brother up the mountain, Dabio. I've found myself a living jewelry maker."
Taking in deep breaths to ease the pain, Martin stood straight again. He looked at the place he was hit... but there was no sign of any wound. Still... it hurt. He could tell that something was definitely wrong. Pulling out his Creature Pod, the blue Kratt called the crew.
"Tortuga! Come in!" After a couple of seconds, a tired Koki came on the small screen. The computer professional let out a tired yawn.
"Martin, why are you calling so early in the morning?" she questioned. Bambrick then took notice of the jewels in the background and the creature adventurer holding his chest. "Are those crystals dangerously close behind you? What even happened?"
"When I woke up, I noticed Chris missing so I went to look for him. Also, my Kratt Sense started going off, though I have no idea what this one means. As I was heading up the mountain, trying my awesome new ice powers that I just discovered, these crystals pop out of nowhere and I got hit."
"You've been hit?!"
"I'm okay, Koki. I still have to find Chris, but let the crew know that something weird is going on up here."
"We'll keep an eye on you just in case. I have a feeling that strike is not something to push aside."
"Okay Koki." Martin hung up. The blonde walked around the crystals, but was surprised by how long it is. "Wow. That's a lot of crystals. But where did they come from?" Eventually, he came across Chris's bag.
"There's his bag." He dug through it and pulled out the green medallion. "And his medallion. Chris would never leave this behind, unless..." The little hairs started twitching again. He suddenly heard the sound of jet engines overhead. Looking up, the big brother saw a blur of pink.
"Oh no! Donita's here!" The "sprigs" rubbed faster. Martin gasped, finally understanding the signal. "Chris is in danger!"
Martin continued to trudge up the mountain. "Hang on Chris." However, with each step, he felt his body beginning to stiffen. He couldn't explain why. His muscles weren't near sore and he was perfectly hydrated. So what was wrong with him? Suddenly, his Creature Pod started ringing and he answered. On the line is Mina and she looked worried.
"Martin, are you okay?" she asked her brother in concern.
"I'm okay, sis. Haven't found Chris yet. Did you get anything about what's happening?"
"Well, Luna actually consulted with Hermia and her response was that this can only be the work of the Earth Guardian." Martin's eyes widened to this.
"Chris did this? But that can't be right."
"That's what I thought. He probably didn't cause it on purpose. But then, the next part was what was really scary." The nymph hybrid gasped. "And it's already happening!"
"What is?"
"Well, first off, your hair looks white in the light! Like it's polar bear fur!"
"What?" The Water Guardian switched his Creature Pod to Reflection Mode. His reflection showed him, but like Mina said, some of his hair was white. "How did that happen?"
"Because you were struck. You're… hardening into crystal."
"I'm what?! But I'm still flesh and blood!"
"For now! But it's starting to affect your body! Martin, you have to come back to the Tortuga now!"
"But I have to find Chris! And if he caused the crystallization, than it's more the reason to save him from Donita! She's here!"
"Oh no! Then we have no time to lose! If you won't come back, we'll come to you! Stay where you are!"
"But Chris-"
"I'm sure Chris will be fine," Aviva assured him, coming up next to Mina. "We're already on our way. And we're here!" The Tortuga hovered above the Water Guardian and began to lower down.
The hatch opened, showing Aviva with a lasso. In one swift movement, she lassoed the eldest Kratt and pulled him up. "Woah, MK, you don't look so good."
"I'm fine, Aviva. We just need to find Chris and fast." He took a step forward, but he suddenly felt weak and fell forward.
"Martin!" The inventor lunged toward him and managed to grab him. A little more of his hair then became white. The blue Kratt began taking in heavy breaths of air. With Corcovado's help, he got to the control room. The rest of the crew came up to him, checking over his body.
"We've got to do something, crew!" Koki thought. "Luna, is there some kind of antidote to save him?" Luna only shook her head solemnly.
"Not for this," she answered. "If Martin were struck in the head, it could be reversible, but it was his heart. And no one had ever been able to soften a crystallized heart in the past. However, Hermia did tell me that maybe the sixth element can fix this." All eyes went on the owl.
"The sixth element?" Mina repeated. "Aren't there only five?"
"This element isn't as crucial as the other five, but it is the sixth."
"What is it?" Aviva questioned.
"She doesn't know. All that she knew about it is this riddle; 'It comes in many forms, be it for family or allies. An act through this bond will soften even the hardest heart.'" The crew, minus Chris, thought about the riddle.
"'Many forms'…" Corcovado muttered.
"'Family or allies'…" Bambrick murmured.
"Bonds…" Jimmy mumbled. Suddenly, the alarm went off. Koki rushed to the main computer and pressed a button that showed what was going on. The monitor put up Donita's plane landing. After a few seconds, the fashion designer came out with a pose beam behind her.
"The sooner I get the little Kratt Brother, the sooner I get the jewels I need for my jewelry line," she said before heading down the mountain.
"Oh no!" Martin exclaimed.
*BG music: Joy Division - Isolation*
Chris had found a cave on the mountainside and was using it as a training area. But so far, he wasn't having much luck. The whole cave was covered in quartz.
"Focus... focus..." he muttered to himself in worry. "Pull it together... control it!" Unfortunately, it only led to crystal spikes coming out of the far wall. "Please... I don't want to hurt him. Not like THEN. I made a promise..."
"Okay, according to the Guardian Link, Chris should be THERE!" Mina led the way, pointing to a cave. Jimmy landed Tortuga in a lucky clearing.
"Um, I got good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear?" he asked the crew.
"Good," Aviva and Mina responded.
"Bad," Koki and Martin said at the exact same time as them. The Kratt in blue had been wrapped in a blanket and seated on the table. A bit more of his hair was white.
"Well, it's kinda both. We found Chris. But so did Donita!" The team saw the fashionista entering the cave.
"We gotta save him..." Martin stated, trying to stand up, but he had to hold onto to the edge of the table to stay up. The Water Guardian breathed heavily.
"No Martin, you're too weak," Mina told him, helping him up a little.
"But, I can't let Donita take him away so she can use him for jewelry."
"But your body might crystallize at any moment!"
"That won't stop me. He's MY little brother. He's MY responsibility. He's MY best friend. And I won't let ANYTHING happen to him." Everyone stared in amazement. They knew that Martin cared a lot about Chris, but not by THIS degree. Aviva sighed, knowing that arguing will not help them save Chris.
"All right, but stay near us," she said. Martin weakly smiled. Suddenly, he heard something crackling. The blonde felt his fingers going numb so he looked down at his hands. He gasped when he saw through the tips of his fingers, glass like. "Martin?" The Water Guardian quickly hid his hands under the blanket.
"Let's hurry." Mina and Aviva helped him down to the garage.
"Focus… focus!" Chris chanted with more fear than before. All that answered was the crackling of more quartz forming. He breathed deeply over and over from the stress and held his aching head.
"Well hello, Chris-Angelo," he heard a familiar voice. He looked and saw Donata coming into the cave.
"Donita! What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to make you an offer you can't refuse."
"I know you, Donita. What are you planning?"
"Don't try anything, Donata!" Chris heard another voice. He gasped.
"They…" He looked at the entrance and saw his team coming up fast.
"Let's talk in private, shall we?" The fashionista smirked as she walked past him. "Wouldn't want your brother getting hurt, would you?" he heard her whisper. The Earth Guardian tensed up again at the question. How did she know that's what he feared most? Anything happening to Martin because of HIMSELF. The horrible memory played in his mind again.
'No! I won't let it happen again! I promised!' he screamed in his mind. Focusing, he released a blast of crystal at the open entrance.
Martin pulled the blanket closer, if that was still possible. His last blonde streak turned pure white. Mina looked his way in high concern. Aviva glanced behind her shoulder to him with a look of worry before focusing ahead. She gasped. The entrance was beginning to seal up with pale grey quartz. The Hispanic hit the brakes on the hover bike, prompting Koki and Jimmy to stop on their buzz bikes. "That crystal is going to seal them in!"
"It's like Chris doesn't want to be saved!" Jimmy said.
"But why?" Mina asked. Martin only narrowed his eyes and activated his medallion. He stuck a hand out of the blanket, now half crystallized. "Martin, wait!" He didn't stop and unleashed an icy wind. It solidified around an opening in the crystals, keeping it open. The Water Guardian got off the hover bike, struggling to stay on his feet.
"I… need… to save… Chris…" he stammered. Without warning, he managed to run towards the opening.
"Martin!" the crew called. The ice started cracking against the quartz. He jumped for it, barely making it inside before he was sealed inside. The blanket was caught under the crystal, revealing glass like spots all over his body. Martin struggled to pick himself off the ground. He used the quartz wall to support himself.
"Now here is the deal," he heard Donita say. He looked and saw the two talking, though they were meters apart. They didn't notice him. "You don't want Martino getting hurt and I want some crystals for my jewelry. So how about you come work for me and I keep you away from him? Do we have a deal?" She held out a hand. Martin looked surprised. Chris ran away to protect him? "Make a gorgeous gem so I know it's a deal."
Chris hesitated, thinking it over. It's true that he didn't want to hurt Martin, but work for Donita? He then pictured Zach making a deal with him. He would downright refuse any offer he made unless it was serious. And right now, it WAS serious. Plus, this was Donita, not Zach. Looked like he had no other choice but-
"Don't do it, Chris!" Martin shouted, getting their attention. Chris gasped at the sight of his brother, white hair and glassy spots.
"Martin?"
"It's me Chris."
"Wha-... What happened to you?"
"That's not important right now. Why didn't you call us about your new power? Why won't you let us help you?"
"I don't want to hurt anyone. Especially you, bro. Not after that vision I had."
"But dude! We are brothers! We tell each other everything! So why did you not-"
"I'm not breaking my promise!" the brunette interrupted.
"What promise?"
"Of course. You don't remember that day."
*Flashback*
'It was during summer vacation after my first year of school. We had gone to the park one day. When we thought things were perfect, Zach showed up with a robot, a new prototype of his Zachbots.'
"Hey, you rats!" the bully shouted at them.
"It's Kratt!" both brothers snapped back.
"Whatever! Check out my newest version of the Zachbot!" The prototype came rolling over to them. It beeped twice before shooting water at the Kratts. When it finally stopped, both found themselves soaked. Varmitech laughed hysterically at them. "I told you I'd get you, didn't I?" Angry, young Chris grabbed a big rock and stuffed it into the robot's tube like mouth.
"No more water aiming for you," he commented. Young Martin gave his little brother a proud pat on the back.
'Suddenly, the Zachbot started to malfunction. It was about to blow up. Zach had immediately run to safety. But we weren't so lucky until...'
"Chris!" the blonde yelled, shoving his brother away from the blast range. Following Chris's landing on the ground, a bang came with a flash of orange. The brunette looked behind him and he regretted it. Laying on the ground, sprawled out like he was dead, was his older brother.
"Martin!" The younger Kratt rushed to his side, but was unsure what to do. Martin's blue shirt was burnt a bit with smoke stains and his khaki shorts had a tear at the bottom.
"Now look what you've done, Christopher!" the bully yelled, angry at him. "My improvement has been destroyed!" Then he started to laugh like a maniac again. "And you also endangered your brother! What kind of brother is that! Everything today is YOUR fault!" As he continued his laughing fit, the brunette's brown eyes began welling up.
'It's MY fault,' the youngest child thought. Chris then hid his face in his hands in shame and guilt. 'MY fault.' The tears came out rapidly down his hidden face just as the ambulance arrived.
*End Flashback*
Martin stood in place, shocked by his confession. He really had no recollection of that day. Chris had started crying near the end. "The doctors said that you had a mild concussion. And that if you hadn't receive immediate treatment, you actually could've died. I was never so scared. I didn't want to lose you because of me. On the fourth day you were in the hospital, I made a promise to you that I would never put you in harm's way like that ever again."
"Chris..." was all the elder one could say.
"Oh, this is too good," Donita mused, walking in between them. She pointed a finger at Chris. "You left your home to protect your brother, but unfortunately, it did the exact opposite effect. According to what I just saw, and from what I intercepted from your crew members, Martino is turning into crystal. Basically, your brother is dying... because of you."
"No..." the green Kratt barely got out before falling to his knees. The crystal dome suddenly became dull shades of greys and black. Chris buried his face into his hands.
"Now for the brother." Donita controlled her pose beam to hover over the depressed sibling. Martin's eyes widened in fear. He won't let Donita have his little brother, his best friend in the world!
"CHRIS!" he yelled before using the last bits of strength in his legs to make him run forward. The swimming brother quickly threw an ice shield over both him and Chris... just before his entire body froze in place. Everything he had on, even himself became clear... as crystal.
The light of the pose beam bounced off the shield and hit Donita instead, making her unable to move. "What?! No!" Just then, Aviva's modified stone digger managed to break through the dome. The crew rushed in, only to see that they were too late. Chris finally looked up and he saw the back of the statue. He looked horrified.
"MARTIN!" Chris shrieked, running to the front of his now crystallized brother. "No... Martin..." Large tears streamed down his face and his hair went flat. He wrapped his arms around the quartz statue as he sobbed into its hard chest.
"Martin...?" Mina said in sadness, tears falling from her eyes. Koki buried her face into Jimmy's shoulder as she started to cry. Aviva covered her mouth as the salty water dripped from her face. The whole crew, except Chris, held their heads low in mourning... until they noticed a faint blue glow. They all looked up to see Martin's medallion still intact. As if in slow motion, his body started becoming flesh and cloth. The weeping brother didn't notice until he felt fabric instead of a glass like texture against him. A deep breath made him look up, seeing his brother... alive.
"Martin?" The latter looked down at his sibling.
"Chris..." Both brothers embraced each other in a tight hug. They stayed like that for a few seconds as the others cheered in joy. Chris then pulled back to make eye contact.
"Why did you...?"
"That's what loving brothers do." Mina gasped in realization.
"'In many forms, be it family or allies, an act of this bond will soften even the hardest heart'," she recited the riddle. "Love. That's the six element."
"Love..." Chris whispered. A spark came to his eyes and instantly, the crystal dome srarted breaking into microscopic shards. In fact, all the crystallization on the mountain was rounded up into a tiny ball of the glass like stones in the Earth Guardian's hand. Then in one swift movement of his hands, they disappeared completely.
"Hey! Where did my jewels go?!" Donita's voice cried out. They had completely forgotten about her. Chris took a step forward, but Martin put an arm in front of him. He first made an ice stalagmite to destroy the pose beam and then lowered the ice shield. There stood the fashionista and a she looked shocked when she saw Martin back to normal. The blonde had a stern look on his face.
"Martino?! But... Chris-Angelo crystallized your heart!"
"Donita, you're the only one on this side of the mountain with a heart as hard as a rock," he told her. "And my brother's powers are for protecting the planet, not making jewels for your jewelry line. He belongs living free and with his family."
She stepped back, fearing about what would happen now. Martin stepped on the floor, creating an ice floor and making Donita slip away from there, screaming, making the others laugh.
Chris looked at him. "Martin, I'm so sorry. It was dumb of me to hide my feelings like that. I was so scared..."
"Sometimes people make bad choices when they're afraid," Luna appeared. "But you know now that your love is the key."
"Yeah... I sure do." Chris put a hand on his big brother's shoulder, receiving back a hug.
"Dear Hermia,
I have seen what fear of something can do to not just yourself, but others close to you. You can try to avoid it, but it'll eventually catch up to you. But now I know that with the sixth element, Love, I have no fears to worry about. And I'll always have that element. No matter where I am.
Earth Guardian,
Chris Kratt"
Chris saw Martin sitting on a tree branch not too high up. Being the expert climber that he is, he reached him in a couple of seconds. "What are you doing up here?" the brunette asked. The Kratt in blue just turned to him with a smile.
"Hey bro," he said simply. "Not really up here for much reason. Just felt like sitting on a branch. Like the good old days." Chris smiled, sitting on a nearby branch that was just as sturdy.
"Yeah. It's been so long since we just sat on a high branch just for the fun of it."
"But barely anything changed, right?"
"Right." Chris suddenly got up and laid himself on top of his brother with his back on Martin's chest. Martin ceased movement in surprise. "And it's been too long since we sat together just like this."
"Oh, I remember now. Man, we were really young. And everytime we sat like this, you always..." The blonde stopped when he noticed how Chris was breathing. Slow and deep. And he had his eyes closed with a smile on his face, making Martin chuckle lightly. "Fell asleep immediately." The big brother gently ruffled Chris's already messy hair. "I love you, bro. Never forget that." Martin laid a protective hand on Chris's folded ones on his lap before slipping into the calming dark of sleep with a smile as well.
Martin's medallion was on the nightstand along with Chris's medallion. Both began to glow softly before it illuminated the whole room. When it died down, the centers had changed. Chris's was a six-petaled flower and Martin's was a snowflake. The images disappeared, returning to circles.