FATR: Wooh! It's been a while, huh? This has some fluffly bits in it. Venom will either appear in the 4th or 5th chapter, depending on how much detail I want to go into concerning Otto's meditations. Would focussing an entire chapter on his transformation be boring? I fear it may be, but I leave it to the reader to decide. I have a more detailed synopsis of this and upcoming story ideas in my profile. I do not own any characters in this chapter. I don't even own any of the names, or the octoplate (you will find out what I mean if you don't know already.) Basically all I own is the plot of this fanfic. /creepy feardotcom man voice/ Let the chip chip commence.

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Aided by the eyes of his children, Otto made his way down the now familiar tunnels. They turned and passed under an arch into a cramped cylindrical room, cramped for a man with four arms welded to his back, at any rate. Directly in front of him was a ladder and about four feet above him the underside of a manhole cover. What if someone sees us?

(Trust us, father.)

We won't let anything happen to you.

Otto found this hard to do. The arms were so destructive. Last time he had trusted them...

(We only do what you want us to do. We will sneak in and out quickly, and no one will ever know we were there.)

Otto sighed. Okay. I'll trust you. Even so he remained on guard. He could sense their agitation at his reluctance to put any faith in them but there wasn't a whole lot they could do about it right then. They couldn't sit there and argue all night, so they ignored it for the time being. The bottom left moved to remove the cover. Wait... Otto paused as a thought popped into his brain. Go take a look, first... Larry.

The bottom right tentacle, which Otto had spontaneously decided to dub Larry, tilted its head at him before moving up and turning on its infrared detecting feature. The world beyond the cold concrete sprang to life in a rainbow of temperatures. I see two humans walking together. Gender of both unknown.

How close?

Ten feet and increasing. In about 7.6 minutes all should be clear.

Good. Keep watch just to be sure. There was a long silence and then the top right whispered, so as not to disturb the others, in Otto's ear.

(Do I get a name, father?)

Otto was about to answer but things began happening quickly at that point so he had to put it off. Wait until we get back. Larry and his brother pushed open the man hole and propelled Otto into a very desolate, run down part of the city. Without a pause they scuttled to the sidewalk and up the nearest building. The whole trip, from sewer to roof, only took about ten seconds. Otto surveyed the landscape from his new perch. This was as close as we could get?

The streets farther in are too crowded.

#We'll get there and back before sunrise.#

Even as they spoke they whisked him off, across roof tops and over allies. Otto was proud of his children's speed and agility. This seemed to motivate them to ever swifter speeds and they were at his... er... the old apartment and lab in no time. The top left used the tiny pincers to manipulate the lock on one of the windows open and the rest maneuvered him inside. This stealth ability was an entirely new revelation to Otto. Before he could ask one of them answered.

#Stealth was never really required before.#

Now hurry, there isn't much time.

Otto nodded slowly and moved out of the puddle of light from the window. The rest of the house was dark, the electricity turned off. How long was I... dead?

(Not long.)

They weren't going to chat until his work was done. That was fine with him, he supposed. People had clearly begun the process of cleaning the place out. He hoped there was still some non-perishable food left, perhaps some bags, cleaning products, and whatever else he might need to clean up his new home. As Otto wandered towards the kitchen the tentacles began exploring various rooms in search of useful items. They had never been in the house with him before and he could sense their wonderment.

As Otto approached the kitchen door he could of sworn he heard movement on the other side. He froze with his had on the knob and tiptoed back a couple steps, eyes trained on the door as though he might see through it. Fortunately part of him could. Larry? Who's in there?

Larry returned from the general direction of Otto's bedroom where the others were arguing over what was necessary to bring along and what wasn't. It switched on the infrared sensor and scanned the door. I don't see anything. Though... the... the stove just turned on.

By itself?

Curious, isn't it? Should we go investigate? I want to investigate.

The bottom left joined them. Just be ready to fight.

We only fight if we are threatened, and no one gets killed, understand? Neither of them answered and Otto groaned to himself as he opened the door, praying that they would obey. However, all thoughts were wiped out completely when he saw into the room. He froze in the door frame and gave a little mental cry that caused the remaining two tentacles to come zipping back. Otto didn't notice. His full attention was trained on the figure leaning over the stove, stirring some aromatic dish. Bracelets jingled on her wrists and auburn hair flowed over the earthy tone shawl draped about her shoulders. When she lifted her head and beamed and him with ruby lips her earrings swung against her neck. No, not ruby red lips. Rose red lips. Otto opened his mouth, choked, and closed it again, looking like an octopus out of water.

"You're home!" Rosie dropped what she was doing and rushed over to him, stopping short of throwing her arms around him. "They said you were dead."

I'm not the only one who's supposed to be dead. Otto was still in shock.

Rosie laughed. "You haven't really changed a lot, have you? I knew you would show up here eventually."

Father, what's going on?

"Rosie," Otto choked, the shock finally wearing off. This was what he had longed for, dreamed of, for days. He dove forward to embrace her...

And passed right through her?

He turned to see Rosie gazing at him with sad, longing eyes. That's it. I've cracked, gone off the deep end, lost my marbles...

"You are still quite sane. Well, at least as sane as you've always been," she added with a giggle. Then her expression grew serious. "I love you, Otto, I always will, and I hate to see you punishing yourself like this. There's nothing you can do about it now."

But if I had done something about it then you would be alive now. I was selfish, and I lost you...

"I forgive you, I forgave you long ago, but you have to forgive yourself."

She... Forgives me? He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It still doesn't make it okay. I killed you, I've done so many horrible things, and I need to be punished somehow.

"Why do you have to make everything about punishment?" Rosie wanted to hold him but she couldn't. "This isn't the end for you. We will be together again, but you have to come to terms with your last two lives. Very few are given a second chance, and you've been given a third chance."

I need more time.

Rosie put her hand up as if to caress his cheek, though she couldn't really. "Promise me something."

Anything, my love.

"Take a few days to sort out your karmic baggage, take as much time as you need, but as soon as you are done, go up and look around. You don't have to stay, you don't even have to interact with anybody. I just want you to explore and give everything you see some long, hard thought."

I will.

"You have to promise."

Otto closed his eyes. I promise I will. He felt a coldness against his lips, like a breath of winter air. It was a kiss that was there and not there, the kiss of a ghost. He kissed back but only in a very limited way. The kiss hurt and healed at the same time. What's it like on the other side? No answer. Rosie? He opened his eyes to see he was alone with his tentacles in the empty kitchen. They were all gathered around, studying him curiously.

What was that?

Didn't... aw man, it's worse than I thought. Otto put his head in his hands. What I need is professional help.

The arms looked at each at other. #Was that Rosie? She seemed nice.#

Otto's head snapped up and he stared at the one who had just spoken. It had a more feminine voice then the others. It also hid the more delicate pincers. It needed a more feminine name... Yes, it was her.

If you are our father, and she was your wife, would that make her our mother?

Otto was surprised to hear the arms speaking so... humanly. They had told him they followed his impulses, no matter how subconscious those impulses were, so were they saying this because he wanted them to? This brought out an entirely new set theories for him to reflect on, but there would be much more time for that later. I suppose it would. Does that make you... happy? It seemed odd associating emotions with the arms.

Our mother...

(Yes.)

#It does.#

Actually.

Good. It makes me happy too. Otto turned to the pantry while his children turned to the drawers and attempted to locate some large, heavy duty garbage bags. The scientist was pleased to discover that there were still some canned goods left in the pantry. He hadn't really been 'dead' long. Maybe at most an hour. Until then the house had technically still been his, so they had only begun to clean it up for sale that day. Strangely, he didn't think he'd be sad to see the place go. It was from an old life, one that was now two lives away. He had to let it go gracefully. He took the bag offered by one of his helpers and started stuffing things in without paying much attention to it. He was aware of the others in the kitchen behind him, poking through drawers and cabinets, but he wasn't really thinking about them. When everything was packed he ambled back into the kitchen.

(Father?)

Otto looked down at the neat bundle of papers being offered to him. His hand took them and his eyes scanned through them. It was a collection of old designs from his desk. He returned them dismissively to the one who had brought them and turned to help the rest of his children search for supplies.

(Father...)

I don't want them!

It shrank back and mumbled a meek (Okay.)

Otto shook his head. I'm sorry. This is very stressful for me. When the kitchen was packed up Otto moved to the sports closet to fish out the sleeping bag. Otto had never really liked the outdoors. Rosie had been very in tune with nature, like the immortal nymphs of myth. They had a place where they camped when they could get breaks, and Otto had enjoyed every minute because Rosie enjoyed every minute. What odd twist of fate brought a right brain like her and a left brain like me together? One side of the brain would be nothing without the other's support... He pulled down the sleeping bag and an air mattress and stuffed them in the designated bag. The tentacles returned with the bag of cleaning supplies and something else, something they cradled as carefully as if it were made of...

What is this, father?

Otto took the plate with the octopus rising out of the glass water and swallowed the lump in his throat. Rosie, your mother, made it for me for our first anniversary.

(Shall we get rid of it?) Was the gently put question.

Otto shook his head. No. This will be my keepsake. He wrapped it in a wad of towels and nestled it in the bag of linens between the pillows and the sleeping bag. Let's go see what the lab has to offer.