AN: Hey, guys! I'm finally back! Sorry for the long delay, you see, I started working on this chapter two times in the past and everytime I ended up losing the progress I made which demoralized me so much that I didn't want to try again for a time. But now it's finally finished!
Like I promised, Connor will attend Amaya's birthday party, but if you want to know what happens there, you'll have to read this chapter! So... Have fun with it!
Chapter 17: Old Ghosts
After a thorough scolding from her parents, Amaya headed straight for the door and waited for Greg to arrive. She wasn't an inpatient person, but she couldn't help but mentally urge him to hurry up as she paced in front of the door in frustration. Her improving vision was becoming more and more difficult to bear. Finally, she heard someone knock on the door and she went to open it. The sudden light entering her eyes was not pleasant to deal with, but she sighed in relief when she saw the blond boy standing there.
"What took you so long?" she asked in announce. "You literally live next door for crying out loud!" Greg was taken aback by the less than cordial greeting, but after he got over it, he frowned at the girl.
"Well, good morning to you too! Do you have any idea how hard it is to dig up sunglasses from your closet at the end of November?" he asked as he held up the pair he brought her. "What do you need these for anyway? And where are your regular glasses?" Amaya couldn't even answer because the light from outside was stinging her eyes so much she had to turn away and cover them. Greg noticed this and his anger quickly turned to concern.
"Hey, you're okay?" he asked as he ran up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Amaya groaned in agony.
"Just come in, I'll tell you everything. And close the door please." Greg did as he was told and escorted Amaya into her room, by the time they got there, Amaya managed to pull herself together. She looked up at Greg and took the sunglasses from him.
"Thanks. I needed that." she told him. Greg looked utterly confused.
"And why exactly?" he asked. Amaya sighed before sitting down on her bed and gesturing for Greg to join her.
"I know it's going to sound unbelievable, but... I think my Owl Eyes work during the day as well. I see much clearer but my eyes are also more sensitive." she told him as he sat down next to her. She looked up at Greg, waiting for a response. Truth be told, she expected him to flip and ask about every detail, but she was surprised to see him not even flinching when she shared this revelation. He just gave a definite nod and said, "I see." Amaya stated in surprise.
"What, that's it?" Greg just shrugged.
"After everything that happened to us since we got our powers, is this really that surprising?" he said calmly. Amaya had to agree that he had a point. "I'm more interested than surprised. Interested in what does this mean for us." Amaya thought for a while, but she couldn't come up with a satisfying conclusion.
"I don't really know. But we'll have to be very careful. If our powers can activate during the day, I don't really want to float away before my parents." Greg winced upon hearing that.
"Yes. That would be a hard situation to explain yourself out of. Still, it could be worse if it happened in front of your sister. Can you imagine that?" Greg asked with a laugh. Amaya grimaced. She wasn't sure if she should tell Greg that her sister had found out about her superhero identity. Granted, she made sure she didn't give him away, but still, perhaps she should tell him.
"Uh... Actually... About that..." she tried, but Greg interrupted her.
"Hey, I wonder what does that mean for me! Like, maybe I'll become a little stronger during the day?" he wondered. Amaya chuckled and rolled her eyes.
"I'm pretty sure that's not how it works. It seems that only my super sense sharpened and you don't have one." Greg looked at her playfully.
"Is that so?" he asked before reaching to grab Amaya's hand.
"Sorry." she said teasingly. "It's as soft as ever." Greg raised an eyebrow at her.
"Oh, really? Well, how about this?" he then stepped of the bed and pulled on Amaya's arm, pulling her along with him. But before she fell, Greg caught her by the waist and pulled her close to him. "Is that soft too?" Amaya chuckled.
"It is actually, but there's nothing wrong with that." she replied tenderly, looking him in the eye. And in that moment, when Greg looked deep into her dark brown eyes for the first time ever without her glasses, he felt some unexplainable warmth in his cheeks and his chest.
"I... I don't know how I've never noticed that before." he whispered quietly, but still strong enough for her to hear.
"Noticed what?" Amaya asked, smiling back at him affectionately. Greg kept staring into her eyes for a little longer, before finally responding.
"You have beautiful eyes." he said, completely unaware of himself. Amaya gasped in surprise and blushed. She didn't know what to say, so instead she just looked down.
"Th... Thank you." she managed to mutter after a few seconds. Greg was afraid that she will slap him or push him away, but she did neither of these things. She didn't want to. Amaya didn't want to admit, but the things Greg said and his closeness... they felt very nice. And Greg meant every word he said. He had been harboring this secret for a while now, but he had always thought Amaya was the prettiest girl he had ever laid his eyes on. He just never dared to say anything about it because even the blind could see the attraction between her and Connor. But now that Connor was... gone... maybe he could...
Greg shook his head and stepped away from her. What was he thinking? Even though Connor was no longer here, it still felt like going behind his back. Not only that, but Amaya's life was already stressful enough as it is and she was still having a hard time getting over the death of their friend. He did not need to complicate things further for her. But on the other hand, he also saw the positive effects that his presence and his closeness seemed to have on the girl. He felt like he was helping her recover and to move on easier. And if that was the case, then he was more than happy to keep it up. There was nothing he could do for Connor now, but he could still make Amaya happy.
Amaya notice the troubled look on her blonde friend's face and she did not like it. "What's wrong?" she asked as she put a hand on his shoulder. Greg smiled back at her blissfully.
"Nothing." he whispered, brushing off her hand of his shoulder and taking it into his. "Everything is just fine." the look he was giving her made Amaya smile too.
"Thank you, Greg. You helped me so much lately. I don't know how I would have kept myself together without you." she said. Greg took her other hand in his too and gently squeezed them both.
"You don't have to thank me. I will always be here for you. I promise." Amaya's smile softened. The look she was giving him now was very warm and affectionate. Greg was enjoying it, but it was also starting to make him a little nervous. He looked away to the side awkwardly which made Amaya chuckle. Greg let go of her hands and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He turned away from the girl and that was the moment when he noticed something strange in the window.
"Hey, what's that?" he asked as he pointed there. Amaya turned there and something glued to the glass. She raised her eyes in suspicion.
"I don't know." she walked over to the window and opened it to see what was there. Her eyes widened when she saw the substance that held the the object to it. "Greg, this is a piece of sticky splat!" she exclaimed. Alarmed, Greg ran over to her side to see it for himself.
"It's holding something against the glass." he told her. And indeed, upon closer look, Amaya saw a piece of paper under the sticky matter. Cautiously, she pulled it off the window and her eyes widened in excitement when she saw what it was.
"It's my signed, collector's edition Flossy Flash comic I lost on a mission a few weeks ago!" she exclaimed before throwing the glue away and holding it to her chest. Greg just shot her a deadpan look.
"Really? You still take comics to the missions?" he wondered. Amaya blushed slightly and looked down sheepishly.
"What can I say? Old habits die hard." she explained. "One of the ninjalinos stole it when..." then it hit her. She held the comic in front of her and looked at it with a soft smile.
"When what?" Greg asked. Amaya didn't answer, instead she got off the bed, picked up the sticky splat that held the comic to the window and inspected it closely. She was so excited about her comic that she didn't even notice a note attached to it, simply saying, "Thanks". She then showed it to Greg.
"Thanks?" he read it out loud in surprise. "Thanks for what?" Amaya chuckled at her friend's confusion. He didn't know about how she saved Night Ninja and his ninjalinos from the Winter Star. She will tell him about it, but later. Right now, she wanted to enjoy this moment. How she needed this couldn't be overstated. How ironic that during these depressing times, it was one of her biggest enemies that made her feel this again. These were the small moments that made her superhero job worth all the trouble.
(scene change)
This was a bad idea. Actually no, scratch that, this was a horrible idea. If there ever will be an olympics for horrible ideas, this one will win every gold medal. But he needed this. He needed this so much. Every single brain cell in his head was objecting against what he was planning to do, but even their combined might was nothing against the need that was driving his actions now.
Amaya. That was the only thing that mattered. The only thing he cared about at the moment. He wasn't thinking. All he knew was he needed to see her at any cost. Even the haunting memories that would have been triggered by seeing his parents' house again have evaded him. All he could focus was the girl of her affections. He walked down the sidewalk, his hands buried in the pockets of the brown hoodie he took from his lair, the hood concealing his face. In fact, he had trouble seeing where he was going because of that thing, and the implant LIA put in his ear was also bothering him due to interferences and minor malfunctions. He'll really have to tell the robot that the device was not working fully well yet. But as he got closer and closer to the three houses that looked all too familiar to him, all of these things began to bother him less and less. And eventually they ceased to bother him altogether.
As he was getting closer to Amaya's house, he needed no Owl Eyes to see the party decorations in the window. As he expected, many of them were Flossy Flash themed. He couldn't help but smile to himself. Some things never change. But suddenly, this reminded him of something. There was something that he needed to do. And if he thought coming back to the city on Amaya's birthday was crazy, this next idea he just had made it look like the most sensible decision in history.
Taking a glance at the house of his parents, he sneaked up to the door and placed his ear on it. Turning off the implant LIA gave him, he listened to any movement inside and he was relieved to hear absolutely nothing. No one was home. He then looked down to see the doormat, knelt down and lifted it up. To his delight, their parents still kept the spare key there. He wasted no time in opening the door and heading upstairs towards him old room. When he entered, he saw that curiously enough, his room has been kept clean and tidy since his disappearance. It must have been a way of coping. But Connor didn't care about that right now. There was only one thing he could bring himself to care about.
He knelt down next to his bed, lifted the blanket and pulled out a small box. He opened it and stared down at it's content for a few seconds before pulling it out. It was a large owl plush, particularly the one that Amaya wanted so much from the local toy store. He's been saving his allowance for about two months to get it. And he also colored the plush red and drew the Owlette symbol onto it's chest. Around the neck of the plush was a Flossy Flash themed birthday card and on it's back was a massage.
On this card, you see the second best Superheroine in the world.
This gift will always remind you of who is number one.
Connor smiled. This had to be the best gift he can ever give her. If only he could give it to Amaya personally. If only he could see her face when she opens it. He sighed sadly. This was the first time he found a drawback in being his new self. And something inside him told him it won't be the last.
(scene change)
Amaya and Greg spent the rest of the morning in the girl's room, discussing the events of the past day. Amaya was forced to put on the sunglasses Greg brought her because as time passed and the sunlight was increasing in strength, it began hurting her eyes more and more. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Yes?" Amaya called. The door opened to reveal her father standing there.
"Sweetie, it's time to come down. The guest will arrive soon and we can't start the party without the birthday girl." he told her, before noticing the unusual accessory. "Um… why are you wearing sunglasses at the end of November?" he asked. The two kids looked at each other, trying to come up with an explanation.
"Uh... she's gotten blind." Greg blurted out without much thinking. Roger stared at him in confusion and Amaya elbowed him in the side.
"Nitwit." she muttered. She remembered what she and her sister agreed upon about what will they tell their parents about her disappearance from the festival last night and she knew exactly what she should say.
"It's just… my eyes are still a little red about crying so much last night and I don't want anyone to see them." her father frowned in concern, but eventually nodded in understanding. "Go on. We will be downstairs soon." Roger left the room and Greg turned to the girl.
"The red eyes explanation for long, you know." Amaya sighed.
"I know. We'll have to think of something."
"Want me to blind you for real?" Greg joked.
"I'm going to punch you." Amaya replied warningly. Greg just chuckled, and eventually the girl joined in.
"Shall we go now?" he asked after a few minutes of laughter. Amaya just nodded and the two jumped off the bed and started heading towards the door, but Greg suddenly stopped. "And for what it's worth, even if your eyes would be so red from crying, it wouldn't make them any less beautiful to me." he said before running out of the room, leaving a stunned and furiously blushing Amaya behind.
(scene change)
Connor made his way out of the house with the box under his arm and locked the door, placing the key back under the doormat. He made sure that everything was back in it's place to make it look like he was never in there. Before he could walk away from the building, he noticed a crowd of children carrying fancily wrapped up boxes. He instantly recognized them as his old classmates and he quickly figured it out that they were going to Amaya's birthday party. He waited until they passed the stone fence around Amaya's house and ran up to it. Peeking around it, he saw even more kids gathering in front of the entrance. Their entire class has been invited. Taking advantage of the sudden situation, he pulled the hood over his head and sneaked up to them with skill that would have made his superhero namesake proud. The kids were too busy chatting with each other to notice him.
Amaya's mom came up to the gate and unlocked it, greeting the party guests with a warm smile. "Hi, kids! Please come in! The party's about to start!" They didn't need to be told twice. All of them walked in. Connor made sure he was in the middle of the crowd where he would not be detected.
Inside, Greg just made his way down the stairs where he was greeted by Maya.
"Where's my sister, squirt?" she questioned.
"She's on her way." he replied casually. Maya nodded.
"Good. Let her deal with the squirt invasion about to commence. It's bad enough that I have to put up with you guys all the time, but now we're having a whole class of you over?! If she wasn't my sister, I'd be so outta here for the day." she grumbled. Greg smirked cheekily.
"Oh, Maya, if it frustrates you so much… that just makes it even better." he replied walking away. The older girl glared after him, but suddenly came up with the best comeback.
"Hey, think you could get one of your costumed friends to entertain these kids? I bet they would love that. Especially after last night." Greg stopped dead in his tracks and turned pale when he heard that. He slowly turned back to Maya, who had a very satisfied look on her face when she saw the hilariously nervous expression he was giving her.
"Uh, wha... what are you talking about?" before Maya could answer, the discussion was interrupted by Amaya walking down to them.
"Hey, Maya." she greeted before looking over at her friend and immediately noticing the look on his face. "Greg, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Maya chuckled behind her as Greg grabbed Amaya's hand and pulled her away. "Hey, watch it!" Amaya yelled, struggling to keep her balance. Greg pulled her into the living room and looked around to see if the coast was clear before turning back to her.
"Did you... Did you ever get even the faintest of clues that your sister might know about the... J-Pay Asks-May?" he asked nervously. Amaya was confused at first, but eventually she understood.
"Oh." she said bluntly in realization. "I wanted to talk to you about this. She... kinda... saw me flying into my room and transform back last night." she confessed. Greg dropped his jaw, but his wonder soon turned to anger.
"And you also told her I was Gekko?!" Amaya raised her hands in defense.
"No, I didn't! I made sure not to give away your identity!"
"Then how does she know?" Greg asked sharply.
"You just told me, squirt." the kids jumped in surprise and turned to see Maya standing next to them smiling smugly. Greg's eyes widened and he just stood still for a moment before the reality of how he was tricked sank in and he smacked his forehead. Maya tried to keep up her smug expression, but eventually burst out laughing. "Oh, boy! You're just too easy!" Greg and Amaya just stared at her in annoyance for a few seconds before the boy broke the silence.
"She knows who we are. Guess we'll have to kill her." he deadpanned. Before Amaya could respond, she heard the doorbell. She sighed.
"We'll kill her later. Right now, let's get this party started." As Amaya went to the door, Maya tapped Greg on the shoulder to get his attention.
"Hey, squirt, where's your birthday present to Amaya?" she asked. Greg's eyes widened in alarm.
"Oh, sniveling serpents! I was so focused on getting her the sunglasses she asked for that I forget to bring it over! Good thing I live next door. I just run home and get it." he followed Amaya to the front door, but didn't get there in time to avoid their friends swarming in. As he struggled to get past them, he ended up bumping shoulders with a boy who gave him a strange feeling. He was slightly taller than him, wearing blue trousers and a brown hoodie with the hood up and concealing his face. Greg narrowed his eyes in thought when he saw him. He never saw him before, but he still felt strangely familiar. But Greg had no time to reflect on that as he needed to get Amaya's present and he only got a good look at this boy for a split second.
Muttering a quick apology, he turned away from her and left the house. Connor already had the memory rush from seeing Greg from the first time since the accident, so he recovered faster and just headed inside. He's not going to stay for long anyway. He'll just throw off the present and leave. As the crowd of kids he blended in with split up, he melted into the background and waited for the right to deliver the package.
As he tried to remain as unnoticable as possible, he scanned the room for the birthday girl. Since everyone had come to give her their greetings and gifts, it was not particularly difficult to spot her. The guests were all standing in a half circle around the center of the living room and on the middle of them, there was her. Connor tried to stay in the background as much as he could, but he could still see her perfectly. This was the first time he had seen her as Amaya ever since the accident and not even the sunglasses she was wearing could ruin the total image.
Connor was slightly confused as to why was she wearing them, but then he realized it must have been the same reason he used his implants. Her super senses must have been evolving too. He heard some of the guests asking her about it and she told them her eyes were a little red from crying after last night at the festival reminded her so much of Connor. Connor felt his heart drop when he heard that. In that moment, all he wanted to do was to walk up to her, pull her in a hug and tell her that he was there for her and always will be. Even if her eyes were really that red from crying, he was sure there were just as pretty as he remembered.
But then he remembered that she was just using it as an excuse to hide the change she was going through because of her powers and keep her superhero identity hidden. That realization caused some of the resentment he held for her costumed alter ego to resurface. The fact that she just was using him like that made him shoot her an angry scowl. Was she even missing him like she claimed? She had abandoned him in Romeo's lab after all. As did Gekko. He hated her for it, but at the same time, he hated himself even more. He hated himself for trying to hate Amaya. He hated himself for not being able to hate her. But above all else, he hated himself for still loving her.
Connor shook his head. This was no time to deal with his inner struggles. Peeking out from behind the armchair he was hiding behind and when he was sure no one was looking, he slipped the gift he inteintended to give Amaya in it. He then turned around to see an open window behind him and after taking one last look around to make sure no one was looking, he climbed out on it and left the property.
But he did not make it very far...
As he passed the house of his parents again, he felt something pull on the back of his hoodie rather forcefully. Or rather someone. His Mad Cat instincts kicked in and he elbowed his assailant in the stomach, before turning around and punching them in the face. To his surprise, he saw none other than the boy he bumped into on his way to the party, his former friend and college, Greg. He didn't even stagger when he punched him. Connor assumed a fighting stance, but Greg just glared at him.
"So I was right last night." he said. Connor just raised an eyebrow in confusion, before realizing that his hood was no longer on his head. Greg managed to pull it off. And so here he was. Face to face with one of his fellow PJ Masks, but for the first time since he became Mad Cat, they knew who he was. Connor was unsure how he should react, mainly because he was also unsure how he felt at the moment, but in the end, he simply returned the other boy's expressionless look.
"Funny just how much of an effect a slip of tongue can have." he replied, knowing exactly what Greg was referring to. The two boys eyed each other silently for a few seconds. In the end it was Connor who broke the silence. "I assume you have questions." Greg kept staring for a few more moments, trying to find the best way to respond before answering.
"What I have is a very strong urge to go 'Super Gekko Muscles' on your furry behind!" Greg was letting all of his pent up anger at his friend go. "So if you want to answer those questions before I do - since I think you know what they are - I would be quick!" Connor narrowed his eyes.
"You have a lot of nerve! Demanding an explanation when all that happened is your fault!" It was Greg's turn to be confused.
"Our fault?! Just how is it our fault that you went nuts?!"
"Well, for starters, you left me in Romeo's head while he drilled my brain! Do you have any idea how much pain I had to endure?! I was awake the whole time while those wires burned their way inside anywhere they could." Connor broke down at the memory. Even just remembering it was incredibly painful. When Greg saw the broken look on his face, all of his anger evaporated. He could see just how much Connor was still suffering. He wanted to reach out and comfort him, but Connor soon pulled himself together and glared up at him again.
"You made it clear that I can no longer rely on you during the past month! So from now on, I'm on my own!" he was about to leave it at that and walk away, but Greg wasn't done yet.
"Is that the same thing you're going to tell your parents? If you ever work up the courage to face them again, that is." Connor stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn back or talk.
"Don't you think about them?" Connor just stood in silence. "And even if you think don't consider us a team anymore, aren't we at least friends anymore? Did you ever think about us? How we were feeling while you were gone?" Connor did have an answer to that.
"Well, let's see, you left me on Romeo's experimenting table and didn't even bother to check on me in the following days. I think you made how you were feeling quite clear!" he expected Greg to back away in guilt, but he stood his ground.
"Amaya told me she saw the lab fall down an abyss. She thought you died." Connor scoffed.
"Cool story. She probably didn't even care if that was the truth or not and couldn't be bothered to find out." Now Greg was angry.
"If you say something like that about her again, I'll make whatever Romeo did to you look like a paper cut!" he snarled with venom. "You don't know anything! You haven't seen her during those days! She was devastated! She wasn't herself for days! And you just stomp on her feelings like that?!"
"Then why don't you run back to her to tell her everything and leave me alone?! I'm sure she would feel better!" Connor countered.
"After what you did to us?!" Greg responded. "I already brought her out of the shell she had hidden in after you disappeared. This would break her even worse. Let's just say she has it in for your new persona." though Connor was not surprised to hear that after everything he did to her, but it still hurt. After a few more seconds, Greg spoke again. "But in the end, the fact that you're here today proves one thing."
"Oh, yeah? And what is that?" Connor asked cynically.
"That you don't believe in anything you just said." for the first time during that conversation, Connor jumped in surprise. "You still consider us your friends and your teammates and you want things to return to the way they were." Connor was starting to get irritated. He wanted to end this discussion as soon as he could.
"What does it matter? It's not like they could!" he snapped, but after a short pause, he spoke again and for a moment, his tone turned hopeful. "Could they?" Connor knew he betrayed himself in that moment, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to care. Greg sighed.
"I don't know, Connor. You hurt me. I could forgive that. And for what you put your parents through? That is not my place." Greg spoke with a friend calm and friendly voice, but when he reached the next part of his speech, his voice got firm and cold. "But you hurt Amaya. In more ways than one. And that I cannot forgive. She is more important to me than anything." Connor immediately realized what Greg was talking about. To say he was surprised would be an understatement. He never saw even the slightest sign of Greg harboring any feelings for the girl of their group. He was about to speak again, but Greg beat him to it. "I don't think she should find out about this and I will do everything I can to make sure she won't. She's already suffered enough."
Connor wanted to reply. To say that Amaya wasn't the only one to suffer from this situation. But he just couldn't find his voice. Greg's words awakened some feelings in him; guilt, shame and hopelessness. He felt like every chance of mending what was broken between him and the others was now lost. And while he didn't speak, Greg knew exactly how he was feeling and what he was thinking. It was clear that they understood each other and with that, the two boys went their separate ways.
Apparently, Desire was too late with her warning. It was already too late...
(linesbreak)
AN: Well, looks like things are about to get a whole lot more interesting! Greg now knows Connor is Mad Cat and plans to keep both him and this information from Amaya to spare her from more suffering. And with the PJ Masks turning away from Connor, he'll have to look for comfort elsewhere. Where will he find it you ask? If you want to find out, you'll have to stay tuned! :)I'll be updating Bad to the Bone next! I'm telling you guys, I'm extremely excited about that fic. Two chapters are half finished and I have TONS of ideas for more! Also working on a LunaCat oneshot that I'm planning to publish during the holiday season. But if I don't make it by then, Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of you! :) See ya soon!