"I didn't expect you to be well enough to come with me so soon… Are you sure Donita said it was okay?" Zach questioned. He and Martin stood on the viewing platform of Zachs black jet, currently flying over the ocean. To be honest, Martin wasn't feeling so great, but the brisk, salty air was helping clear his mind. It had been slightly foggy since he had woke up… to be honest, probably since he had seen his brother last.
He couldn't get Chris out of his mind. He was positive he had done some lasting damage to his brother, and it was really weighing on his conscience. If he could stop the Tortuga, it would stop Chris and maybe he'd never have to deal with him again. He didn't think he could handle another physical confrontation again. Of course, Donita would be angry he disobeyed her. Martin was positive once she realized he had rid them of the Wild Kratts forever she would forgive him.
First things first, they had to find the Tortuga. Martin doubted they would have left overnight. Chris probably wasn't doing well enough to move that fast. Martin ignored the feelings that surfaced with that thought. So back to India they went. Martin was sure wherever a Wild Kratt was, they'd be able to find the Tortuga nearby.
"I feel fine, Zach. In fact, I think I have the perfect creature for your moat. You wanted crocodiles?" Martin smirked at the pale inventor. "There is a really rare species in India, in fact they're a critically endangered species, and they're called Gharials. And if that doesn't peak your interest, they come in all black as well."
"They sound perfect!" Zach laughed and rubbed his hands together. Martin smiled, knowing that such a critically endangered animal being captured would draw out the Wild Kratts for sure.
Once again, Chris had no memory of how he ended up back on the Tortuga. He opened his eyes and found himself in his bedroom. At least he didn't wake up in the medical room again. He tried to sit up he almost blacked out again from pain. The kick to the ribs must have actually broke something. Breathing was so painful he wanted to cry, only the act would probably end up hurting more.
Oh Martin… He couldn't really blame his brother. He didn't mean any of the things he said or did. He couldn't. Chris had been dreaming about the time they snowboarded across the Canadian tundra, and how they had shown off for each other, or raced to name each animal by their scientific name before the other could. One night they got a little off course and had to spend the night in a cave. The temperatures had dropped really fast but they kept each other warm in front of a fire. Chris' cheeks warmed at the memory. There was no way Martin would willingly leave him for Donita, of all people. He hoped at least.
Chris gritted his teeth and rolled off the bed. He managed to muffle his grunt of pain as he stood up. At least standing was definitely better. He had to fight the urge to cough and he was feeling dizzy, but he was confident he could go look for Martin again. Smoothing down his hair and wincing from the pain it caused, he tried to make himself more presentable before he walked in to the control room.
"Chris, you're awake! How are you feeling?" Aviva asked as soon as she noticed him enter the room. Everyone was sitting around the table and had been making plans by the look of it. Papers and tablets were strewn across the table, with a few rolled up maps here and there. The main screen displayed a topographic map of the location he had found Martin in last night.
"I'm sore, but I'll be alright." He wheezed a little. He could see the concern in the other's eyes, but he didn't have time for it. "What happened?"
"We were going to ask you the same thing. We were monitoring your position through the forest yesterday, when you caught up to Martins location. Suddenly the tracker following Martins creature power suit turned off, or stopped working. Then yours didn't move for a long time. When we couldn't get a hold of you, I came out looking." Aviva explained. "You were passed out on the ground when I found you. I thought you were dead at first."
"I'm sorry to scare you guys like that." Chris wiped his forehead. The room was so hot and he just wanted to lay back down. He couldn't decide whether the agony of laying down was a better option than trying to stay upright in the hot, spinning room.
"So what happened to you? Did you find Martin?" Koki asked.
"Yeah, I found Martin… I, uh, think he's been brainwashed." Everyone looked stunned. "He was poaching birds when I found him. He went on to tell me how in love with Donita he is, and that he was going to make sure we didn't get in his way."
"Donita!? What happened to Zach? And poaching? There is no way Martin would do any of this willingly." Aviva thought out loud. "What else did he say? Where did he go?"
"He was using his creature powers to hurt the animals, so I broke his vest. He got angry and attacked me, but for a moment it was as though he remembered who he was. He seemed like he was sorry for hurting me. Our Martin is still there somewhere underneath the brainwashing. "
"Are you alright, Chris? If he attacked you, he could have aggravated your healing injuries." Koki stood up and walked over to him. "Your breathing sounds laboured, and I think you might have a fever."
"I'm fine, I swear. We need to find Martin first. He can't be that far away by now. He's probably wherever Donita is." He brushed her hand away from his face. The action caused him to lose his balance slightly and he had to grip the back of a chair to stay upright.
"Hey man, I don't think you should be going anywhere right now. You don't look like you're doing so well." Jimmy stood up to hold him upright.
An alarm blared through the control room, just as Chris was shrugging Jimmy off. Everyone turned to the screen as one of the Wild Kratts kids popped up. Aadhya was a little girl from the state of Uttar Pradesh, which sat below the boarder of Nepal.
"Namaste Wild Kratts." She placed her hands together and inclined her head. "You requested us Wild Kratts Kids should contact you if we see anything suspicious? I thought you should know I spotted Zach's jet flying over my city not long ago. It looked like it was headed south-west to Madhya Pradesh."
"Thanks for the heads up, Aadhya. We'll go take a look!" Aviva gave the thumbs up.
"Madhya Pradesh? You don't think he's headed to the National Chambal Sanctuary?" Chris wondered aloud. "It's also called the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary. It protects the critically endangered gharial, the red-crowned roof turtle and the endangered Ganges river dolphin."
"Any animals considered an endangered species will interest Zach." Koki sighed. "Let's get over there and check it out. How does that sound, Jimmy?"
"I'm on it!" He said as he headed to the flight deck. Everyone else starts to pack up and gather supplies. Chris bent over to pick up a pack and room started to spin. He lost his balance and cried out in agony as his broken body hit the floor.
"Chris!" Aviva dropped to the floor next to him. Chris was struggling to breath, as every gasp sent sharp pain throughout his whole body. She checked his temperature with her hand and slicked his sweaty hair back. "We need to get you to a hospital."
"No! No, please. You need to stop Zach first. Remember what he did to the black bucks? We can't fail again. Please. I'll be okay, I promise." He begged. She looked as though she was struggling to make a decision. They were all stretched a little thin at the moment. Martin was gone, Chris was ill, and now Zach was possibly on his way to poach an animal.
"Alright… but you're staying behind. I mean it Chris! If you go out and die on us, I'll be really angry with you and Martin will never forgive us!" Aviva threatened him. He tried to smile, but he couldn't find the drive to do even that. She helped him up and back to his bedroom. He tried to argue that they would need his help, but his body was so exhausted from the pain, he was out cold by the time his head hit the pillow.
It was hard work, but Zach and Martin had managed to find and subdue a pair of basking gharials. Martin didn't bother to tell Zach that these crocodiles don't eat humans so they wouldn't make great moat beasts, but they would be the perfect bait to lure out his enemies. The two crocs snarled and rolled in their nets, but the Zachbots were having no problem dragging them towards the jet. Martin took a moment to admire the black, leathery beasts. Their hide would make a great handbag, he thought to himself.
His thoughts were interrupted as right on cue came the Wild Kratts to save the day... except Martin was surprised and slightly disappointed to hear a female voice instead of a male.
"What do you think you're doing, Zach!" Aviva yelled as she hopped off her bug-bike. She was dressed in her creature power suit, and trailing behind her were Koki and Jimmy, both dressed in one as well. There was no sign of Chris. Could it be an ambush? The three team members advanced on Zach, who put his hands up in front of him as defence. Martin rolled his eyes and walked out of the shadows.
"Is there a problem?" He asked as he stepped in front of Zach. The three Wild Kratts team members gaped at him in stunned silence. He sneered as he glared back at the rag tag group in front of him. They looked so stupid and defenceless. They hadn't even activated a creature power, and he would make sure they never got the chance. Martin had originally wanted to sneak off and find the Tortuga, leaving Zach and his robots to do the dirty work, but he couldn't resist intimidating his enemies. They suddenly all started talking at once.
"Oh Martin!" Koki sobbed. "I had hoped it wasn't true!"
"You can't do this, MK. Come back to us!" Jimmy pleaded.
It was Aviva he heard most clearly though. "Chris is in a bad place and he needs you, Martin."
"He means nothing to me, just like the rest of you." He snarled. The mention of his brother sent in into a rage. The three of them gasped. He wanted to make them hurt, and since he didn't have his creature power suit anymore, he was going to use his words. "Do you know how pathetic you all look right now? You think you can put on a cute little pink vest and come stop the bad guys? Go back to the Tortuga and let the men take care of everything."
"Hey man, Aviva created the creature power suits, she knows exactly what she's doing!" Jimmy walks up to him and pokes him in the chest.
"And what exactly do you do for the team besides sleep, eat, and consistently fuck things up?" Martin shoves him back hard.
Everyone is angry now. It's tense as both sides wait to see who makes the first move. The Wild Kratts team hesitate, unsure of attacking a friend. They team loses the draw when Zach orders his Zachbots to descend. Martin backs out of the fray as creature powers are activated, Zachbots fly around, and ghariels get loose. He's riled up and wants to join in, but he knows he has a mission. His anger seemed to clear his mind, and he set off to find the Tortuga while everyone is distracted.
