I'd like to thank you all for reading this story, I never thought you guys'd like it so much. But I'm sorry to say that there's only two more chapters after this. :( Oh well, it was fun to write. Have a good day/night, and please read, review, and save the koalas!

-Cold


Gordy sighed, shivering slightly. The humans had dumped him into an ice-cold tank while he had been out, and the water temperature could very well belong in Antarctica. He wasn't used to this type of frozen water, and he was sure that a chunk of ice had floated past him. "H-hey! Hu-hu-human? I-I-I'm fre-eezing my tentacles off!"

The sorcerer only glanced at him, then back to the potion he was slowly stirring with a bone. "That's the only tank I have, squid. And I don't trust you on land."

"B-but-"

Jason burst into the potion brewing room. "Guys, he's awake!"

Seto jumped and nearly spilt the cure. "Careful," the sorcerer could hear the squid hiss. Seto turned and cast the squid a sharp glare. The prince glared right back at him. The human shook his head and turned back to Jason. "Has he said anything?"

The space man shook his head and went out of the room, gesturing for Seto to follow him. he sorcerer glanced at the squid as Jason left. "I'm not bringing you with me. I'm sorry, but I don't think Sky would..."

The squid blinked, and seemed to nod. "I understand. Tell Him I said hi, though."

Sky had curled into a ball on the bed he had been passed out on. He shivered, trying to get the nightmare out of his head. Sky wished that there was another way to kill the animal without killing himself. But his options were bleak. Either he died, or the monster continued to hurt his friends. Sky sighed. He couldn't tell his friends. If he did, they wouldn't give him the cure. So he wouldn't.

The squid-human looked up as the door creaked. He had assumed it had been locked, but it didn't look like it now.

Dawn poked her head inside the room, scanning the dark shadows for Sky. She found him on the bed, curled in a fetal position. "Sky?" She asked softly. She sat down next to him, wincing when he flinched away from her. "Sky... It wasn't your fault. Sky, look at me," she said gently. Sky lifted his head just enough to glance at her, then covered his face again. "Don't look at me," he mumbled "I'm a monster."

"Oh, Sky," Dawn sighed, wrapping him in a tight hug. "You're not a monster, Sky. You just can't control what the squids did to you."

"But I hurt Ty... Is he okay?"

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, he's fine."

"Can I see him?" Sky asked, uncurling from a ball. He looked at Dawn and saw the relief in her eyes when she saw his normal golden-brown eye color. But he could see her hesitate.

"Dawn, can I see if he's okay?" He asked again. Dawn finally nodded, but didn't say anything. Sky smiled slightly and stood, only then realizing that he wasn't shackled. He rubbed a wrist and started towards the door, which Dawn had left slightly cracked open. Just before he could reach over and open it, the oak wood was slammed open by a very excited bacca."Sky You're okay!"

"Fluffy?" Sky gasped as the furry creature jumped forward and squeezed the squid-human. Sky hissed as one of the tentacles on his back was crushed between Jerome's arms and his back. Not to mention the lack of air Jerome was choking out of him. "J-Jerome...can't... breathe!"

"Oh, sorry, buddy," the bacca said, stepping away from Sky and rubbing his neck in embarrassment. "Guess I was just excited that you were awake."

Sky winced and brought the aching tentacle around to rub it tenderly. "Yeah, I guess..." He frowned slightly and dropped the appendage. Since when did he care about the tentacles? Jason made his way into the room, pushing Jerome away slightly after seeing the bacca still a little close to Sky. "Give him room, Jerome. Geez."

"Yeah, man. Sky needs his space," Kermit said, walking into the room with a smile on his lips. Seeing Sky alive, awake, and in control was a sight for sore eyes. "I thought you were gonna be sleeping forever, you bed potato."

Sky cracked a smile and nodded a greeting at the astronaut and frog. His meeting with Jerome had lightened his mood slightly, and now he could at least fake a smile for his friends. He could give them that much before he took whatever cure that was going to kill him. Sky was going to miss Team Crafted, he really would. If only there was another way to get rid of this monster other than killing himself.

Seto peered into the darkened room that the others had gathered in. As a force of habit, he reached over and flipped the light switch on. Instantly, Sky hissed and covered his face, tentacles coiling around him to block out the light. Seto snapped the light switch nearly in half as he flipped it back down. "Sorry, Sky. It's a habit..."

Sky nodded, forcing the limbs away. "It's okay, Seto, I understand." He looked at the guilty sorcerer, hoping that his friend had come with good news. "So what's up?"

Seto swallowed, unsure if the good news or the bad news should come first. He decided with the good news, which was never a good idea. "The good news is that the cure is almost done. I have a... an acquaintance helping me with it. It should be done by tomorrow."

Sky could tell by his tone that there was more, so he nodded for the human to continue. "And?"

"Well, I did a bit of research."

Uh oh. Whenever Seto 'did a bit of research' it meant that the sorcerer had gone all out in trying to find something. He might have found out that the 'cure' would kill Sky..."

"And I figured out that the cure might not really... cure you."

Crap.

Gordy plopped to the ground after crawling out of his freezing prison. He knew what would make the cure work. He just had to tweak the brewing potion without being found out, and Sky would be home free. The prince glanced back at the tank and realized he wouldn't be able to crawl back into it. Oh well, as long as he made the potion. He squirmed over to the human's brewing stand and wrapped a tentacle around the bottle. So far, the liquid was a dark, coppery color. Gordy frowned as much as a squid could and bit the end of one of his limbs. Crimson blood swelled in the cut, and he hung the wound over the potion. Three drops of blood dripped into the liquid. The potion slowly lightened in color, morphing into a shiny butter-colored liquid.

Gordy looked up and around, then spotted what he needed next. Four emeralds sitting on the counter invited him closer. He climbed up to them, resting on the marble countertop. One tentacle searched for a mallet, which it quickly found, and started hammering two of the four emeralds into a powder. Quickly, the prince scooped the dust into the potion, turning it a navy blue.

The squid searched for another ingredient. He spotted it fairly quickly. Soon he was sitting next to the butter ingots, mallet in hand. The butter powder quickly joined the emerald dust in the liquid. The color melted into a soft yellow-orange. But it wasn't finished yet. Gordy quietly slipped off the countertop, sliding across the floor and over to another brewing stand. Hopeful, he searched through the finished potions there. His eyes widened in triumph at the invisibility potion sitting in the rack. Hurriedly, the prince uncapped the vanishing potion and poured half the contents into his own special brew. There was a burst of light, which died down as the potion was finally completed.

Gordy held the bottle up to the light, inspecting the bright butter color. Sparks of navy blue floated around in the liquid, showing that it was the correct potion. Sighing in relief, Gordy started towards the room that was holding Sky, the cure in hand. This would save Sky, allowing him to live without the animal inside of him. All the prince had to do was get it to Sky and force him to drink it.

He never got the chance.