Consciousness came to him gradually, almost calmly, in large contrast to the madness he had to endure. He didn't even ache one bit. Had he been more alert, he would've found this highly suspicious.

As he was now, the respite was a blessing. He didn't hurry to awaken, shifting only slightly with a soft groan and squeezing the sleep out of his eyes before cracking them open.

But all his sight registered was darkness, a hazy nothingness that made him question whether he actually opened his eyes or not. He opened his mouth to call out for someone, anyone, but all that came out was a sharp gasp as a bright spotlight flashed on with an echoing mechanical roar.

He lifted his hands to cover his eyes blearily, but his wrists felt heavy and weighed down. The sound of metal chains rattled, draping over his knees coldly.

"H…h-hello?" he croaked out uneasily, his throat hoarse and dry. "G-guys? Commander? Jimmy? A-anybody?"

Another clank resonated across the vastness, and then he heard voices, muffled and distorted as if they were underwater.

"You sure this is all we can do?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I have no way of fixing him otherwise."

He straightened up, recognizing at least one of the voices. "J-Jimmy!" He scrambled to sit up, but that exertion alone brought him great fatigue. Lifting his numbingly heavy arms, he trembled at the chained shackles clamped around his wrists, and he found another pair fastened to his ankles.

"Man, that blows. Still…"

"He can't hurt anyone else this way. This is for the best."

"Ha-hurt any—what!?" In mounting terror, he struggled in his chains, glancing up to spot a small window of light among the emptiness, two shadows peeking in to observe him. He struggled further, panting in desperation, "N-no! What happened!? Who's hurt? What'd I do!? Jimmy, answer me, please!"

"After all, he only brought this on himself."

His heart clenched painfully, and he slumped. "J-Jimmy, I… I'm sorry…" he choked, shoulders wracked with sobs. "I-I'm sorry! I was just—I didn't mean for it to-!" He flinched when the window slammed shut, disappearing altogether. "N… NO!" he cried out, straining his chains even more. "You can't just—don't leave me here! PLEASE! Jimmy please don't leave me all alone like this please Jimmy-!"

Eaglebones startled awake in a cold sweat, crying the robot's name. He found himself in a completely different environment; though the lights were dim, he recognized the ceiling of the Tram's lab right away.

And on command, Jimmy popped into his line of vision, his usual stoic face wrought with worry. "I'm here, Eaglebones, I'm here."

All he could do at the moment was stare wide-eyed and pant heavily, waiting for everything in his distressed head to catch up.

Awkwardly, the robot continued, "It appears you've just awoken from a fever dream. If there's anything I can do to make you feel any bett—oh." Hardly phased by the tight embrace around his middle, Jimmy smiled and patted his friend's back in comfort. "There, there, it's alright. Are you well?"

As if reminded, his body immediately began protesting his sharp movements, his already delicate bones creaking and aching from earlier stress.

Not making any effort to pull away from the hug, Eaglebones shuddered and croaked out, "No."

The robot shook his head in amusement as he gently pushed the guitarist back down onto his cot. "Then if I were you, I'd refrain from stressing yourself too much. Your body's gone through some… admittedly strange changes."

As he wandered away from the bedside, Eaglebones lolled his head over to watch him consult his notes. "J… Jimmy…"

"It's nothing terribly drastic, you seem to be stable now… but the levels of adrenaline I've measured are of the charts."

"Jimmy…!"

"Your super healing's been kicked into overdrive as well. Any traces of last night's injuries have all but vanished—"

"Jimmy!"

He turned back at that rasping cry, frowning apologetically. "Yes? What is it, Eaglebones?"

"Did I—" he gulped down strained words and tried again. "D-did I hurt anyone?"

The robot faltering did not give him confidence, and he started panicking all over again. "P-please tell me I didn't hurt anybody, Jimmy please-!"

"You didn't." He then smiled. "No one was seriously injured. You did cause quite a bit of structural damage to the BattleTram, but all of that can always be repaired."

Relief washed over Eaglebones like a wave, and he physically relaxed for the first time since he woke up. Everything had been such a huge blur of pain and rage and despair, but that shred of good news was enough to bring him some peace.

Naturally, it would be short-lived, as that was only part of the larger issue at hand. He felt the cot shift and drearily glanced back over to Jimmy, who had sat down beside him with a grave expression.

"I've been ordered to let the others know when you're awake," he put in plain words. "They're going to want an explanation." He then paused and gave out a shrug, lightening up his posture a bit. "If you have one, of course."

"N-no, I. I, I do," Eaglebones nodded curtly, cringing at the effort. "It's totally my fault."

It hurt, watching the disappointment grace the robot's face, but he only nodded in response. He stood and left him alone again, switching on the intercom. "Attention, Aquabats. He is awake and stable."

As they waited, Eaglebones groaned and rubbed his head gingerly, sitting up. Once the ringing in his ears had dulled, he caught Jimmy's concerned voice, "Are you sure you should be sitting upright?"

"Mm. Laying down is making me dizzy."

"…Interesting." He was vaguely aware that the robot was watching him get comfortable as best he could, holding his lanky knees close, crossing them, uncrossing them, curling inwardly, not entirely sure what to do with his suddenly awkward limbs. Sitting in any comfortable position wasn't comfortable at all anymore, and it quietly frustrated him.

He had finally opted to hugging his knees close to his face, his hair bunching up over his stiffened shoulders. To those entering the lab, he appeared puffed up and aggrevated.

But that did little to quell one's glee. "Eaglebones!" Crash beamed, rushing forward. Bones would a split second of terror before being enveloped in a mighty hug; if he wasn't massively uncomfortable before, he certainly was now. "You're awake oh man last night was so scary are you ok oh no you're shaking are you cold do you need a blanket—"

"Whoa, hey Crash, buddy, give him some space-!" As the Commander pulled him one way, Eaglebones practically squawked as he surged back the other way, twisting in on himself defensively, eyes huge in animalistic fright.

The room fell silent, apart from his heavy gulps for breath. Perhaps unwisely, Ricky ventured, "Dude. Are you okay?"

That was the second time, and frankly, no, he didn't feel any better from the first time he was asked. He let out a quivering sigh, and replied, "I'm fine."

"Good." He winced, slowly glancing over at the Commander. His arms were crossed in a rare moment of actual seriousness. "'Cause you've got a lot of explaining to do."

Eaglebones was dreading this moment above all else. All eyes were on him; his gaze snapped rather rapidly between them, and though they varied from intense to concerned, they all held shame and disappointment, at least to him.

"L-listen, I-!" he stuttered out. "I, I don't remember a lot of what happened last night but I swear, I was outta control, I didn't want to hurt anyone and I'm sorry I broke the BattleTram, I just, I-I'm sorry-!"

"A-tat-tat-tat!" The Commander interrupted, roughly waving him off and grabbing his full attention again. "None of that matters right now, Eaglebones. What matters is that you left, disappeared for hours, and whe you came back you were a hulking bird beast in a murderous rampage!"

"Yeah!" Crash practically startled his jittering bandmate. "You were mondo scary!"

"And tough!" Ricky added, more excited than frightened. "You ripped right through the Level 2 Defense Shields like they were nothing! With huge claws!"

Eaglebones went quiet as he looked over his trembling hands. "I… I did?" He clenched them tight and snapped his gaze back up, his head cocking to the side subconsciously. "How did you guys s-stop me?"

"Sunlight!" Jimmy replied. "Once the sun rose, you collapsed and transformed back."

"My idea, by the way," the Commander cut in.

Eaglebones took a moment to soak this in as Jimmy continued, "Now, you've never had these lycanthrope-like tendencies until now. Which leads us to believe something happened after you left the BattleTram last night."

A lump formed in his throat, and he stopped making eye contact with the others, huddling up again and staring at the floor.

"So what happened, Eaglebones?"

Some time passed in tense silence. Crash, who was usually not so subtle, managed to briefly slip out of the room during that suffocating moment.

Eventually, Eaglebones sighed deeply. "…yesterday, I… got a message from my brother." He tried very hard to ignore their instant change in posture. "He told me to meet him in the desert, alone and unarmed."

"And you went and did it!?" He cringed, quietly enduring the Commander's immediately accusing tone. "You trusted the guy who tried to blow us up with a bird backpack bomb?"

"…I just… I thought maybe—"

"Maybe what? That he'd want to 'talk things out?'" His eyes screwed shut, his temper beginning to bubble. "Eagleclaw's tried to take you out twice, what makes you think he'd—"

"Because he's my brother!" he lashed out, this time startling everyone else in return. With his shoulders hunched up, his hair puffed out and eerily added to his angered scowl. "Is it really so wrong to hope he'd want to make amends!? Is it really!?"

Another round of awkward silence. Though the Commander clearly looked indignant, Jimmy's warning glance kept him quiet.

"So what happened when you met up with him?" Ricky asked.

"He tricked me, what else!?" Eaglebones threw up his arms in frustration, curling right back up with his hand at his temple unbelievingly. "He, had this book, a spellbook he found, and… and he was showing me a few spells he learned and…!" His throat tightened. "And it… made me feel like… like I wasn't…"

"…Wasn't what?"

He swallowed hard and shook his head rapidly. "Nevermind, nothing," he got out bitterly, wrapping his limbs up all over again. He was more uncomfortable that ever. "He told me he wanted to try out a spell that would require help, so I agreed, and—" He scoffed at his own idiocy. "He went and cursed me, I guess. Everything after that was a huge blur, but I wanna say I wandered the desert for a while before I found the BattleTram."

The silence that follower was thick and hot, or maybe that was his own feverish head. Either way, the looks they gave each other, and the fact that even the Commander had grown appropriately worried, did little to bring him any comfort. He would've rather suffered an endless, guilt-heavy lecture than this uncertainty.

"Look, I—I know I should've told you," he caved in, hoping to save himself from a nameless, terrible fate. "This is completely my fault, I just…" He dragged his hurt gaze up. "I just didn't want you guys getting involved. After last time, I didn't want any of you getting hurt again by our stupid rivalry." It dropped again as he chuckled miserably and choked out, "Guess I haven't learned a thing-!"

Before he could descend into further self-loathing, he froze as a blanket was kindly draped over his shoulders. He hadn't even noticed Crash has returned, much less approach from behind to give him his own form of comfort. The bassist met his wide stare with a big grin.

Crash would remain at his side as he tugged the blanket closer around himself, and with a shaky sigh, continued. "I don't know what to do," Eaglebones admitted flatly. "I've never heard of the spell he used, so I have no idea how to go about breaking it."

He noticed them trading glances again, assuming the worst. "I know you guys don't believe me, but—"

"Well then!" the Commander completely interrupted him, having regained his air of determination. "Guess it's on us to figure out!"

Eaglebones glanced up in surprise as he began belting out orders. "Jimmy, I'm gonna need you to look into this. I know magic's not your forte, but…"

The robot shook his head confidently. "Nonsense, Commander. Theoretically, magic follows its own set of rules and principles; it's simply another kind of science. I'm certain I can find the answers we need in due time."

"Awesome, good hustle, robot." Eaglebones was frozen in a gawk between them before the Commander turned away. "Ricky, you and me are tracking Eagleclaw down before he can put anyone else in danger with his new gnarly powers."

"Right!"

Eaglebones could hardly believe what he was hearing. "You… you guys… believe me-?"

"What about me, Commander?" He nearly toppled off the table, scared senseless when Crash piped up beside him eagerly, and loudly.

The Commander regarded the pair, noting their contrast in stance and expression. Then, possibly against better judgment, he decided, "Crash, you're gonna be taking care of Eaglebones."

The gap between them widened, as Crash brightened up while Bones sank in mortification. "Don't leave his side. Make him comfy, give 'em what he needs, and all that good stuff."

While Crash seemed rather in favor, nodding quickly in response to each part of that tall order, Eaglebones coiled tighter into his blanket, hiding his face, reddened in humiliation. As much as he understood the precautions being taken here, the thought of having to be 'cared for' like a sick child was a harsh blow on his pride.

It didn't help when he caught mumbling voices, his hearing much more sensitive since last night, and he peeked a glimpse up to find the Commander had pulled Crash aside. "Make sure to keep him calm too. We definitely wanna avoid him transforming and wrecking havoc again if we can help it."

"What do I do if he does transform, though?"

"Than you gotta subdue him. Simple."

Eaglebones began to seethe. Right there, he was sitting right there and they had the nerve to talk about him like some kind of animal they had to keep control of, he was terrified out of his mind enough as it was and they were treating him less like a friend and more like a threat, like a liability

"Okay! You got it, Commander!" Just as his anger reached a boiling point, he went completely rigid as Crash wrapped him up in another tight hug. "Don't worry, pal, I'll take good care of you! Promise!"

"G-geh, get—OFFA ME!" Eaglebones screeched so loudly and suddenly that every one of them leaped back, not just Crash. He would've even startled himself if he hadn't been filled to burst with blistering rage.

"What do you think I am, some kind of idiot!?" he screamed and screamed and continued to scream, his white-hot fury only swelling greater, "Some stupid helpless child who can't handle himself!? Okay, fine, I get it, you're all pretending to believe me so that I don't go ballistic, fine, I can accept that, but I'm not a dumb sniveling kid with a freakin' cold, I'm under my lunatic brother's curse and I might be a horrible monster now but I'm still an adult and I can handle it myself and I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!"

He flinched slightly at a high-pitched whine that broke his concentrated rage. Frantically, his flinted eyes searched for the source of the sound, and he took in a breath and held it painfully when he caught sight of Jimmy's laser fingertips, open, exposed, and pointed directly at him.

His gut churned in mounting dread. Audible cracks sounded off as his face, contorted in more than just anger, began to loosen in horrid realization, his hair losing its body and drooping to cage that face. His skin was left crawling, just on the verge of a painful itch, and muscles once pumping with adrenaline not a moment before began to quaver.

He regarded each one of his friends, forced to take defensive poses as they looked up at him warily. Yes, up. The guitarist had managed to press himself up into the corner where the wall met the ceiling, though he had no recollection of how he got up there or even how he was still holding himself in place now.

No one dared to speak, but the fear and caution showed through plain as day. Crash looked like he was about to cry.

Eaglebones took this moment to wearily recollect on the past minute or so, his heart sinking. Had he really just thought and said all those awful things? He felt like throwing up; his friends, his dear sweet friends were offering help, all the help he so desperately needed, and he repaid them by uselessly lashing out.

He let out a choke, then lost the strength that held him up and limply dropped out of the air. Crash and Ricky instantly charged forward, catching him from either side and gently lowering him back down on the cot.

"S…s-sorry… I-I'm…!" He curled in on himself all over again, shivering deeply. His head was splitting, too. He felt like he was going to be sick. "I'm so sorry, I… I wasn't—I-I didn't mean—oh man, I'm just… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

He heard a sigh; it could've easily been taken as pitiful, or disappointed, but in reality it was only relieved. The Commander quietly instructed the robot to stand down, and Jimmy made an agreeing, concerned grunt in response.

Eaglebones' soft panting halted when Crash finally braved a pat atop his head. He paused, unsure for a moment, then butted his head up into the touch, suddenly aching for warm contact. This time he willingly buried himself in a less tight embrace from his larger friend, throwing pride completely out the window; it was clear he had no room for it. Not now.

Another sigh, then, "…Aquabats."

The team all turned to their leader at that unusually soft-spoken command. Eaglebones turned halfway away from Crash's chest, unable to mask the shame in his large eyes.

"Let's get to work."