A promise is a promise. Have this chapter on the premiere of Season 3.

"At the temple there is a poem called "Loss" carved into the stone. It has three words, but the poet has scratched them out. You cannot read loss, only feel it."

― Arthur Golden

Chapter 10: Left behind.

Gekko ran in the forest with Hope in his arms. Catboy had been pretty clear about him getting the little one to safety, that's what mattered to him the most, so trying not to throw Catboy's efforts over the board, he made a run for HQ. Behind him, he could hear others following him, and he was scared that he was gonna get shot at any moment, these men were clearly armed, it wouldn't be a surprise if he got shot again. Such a place the kids lived in, no wonder they Animal Totems wanted Connor's help.

Rain pelted furiously on him, and every now and then thunder clapped and lightning struck, giving the dark forest a white-ish color. He didn't have Catboy's Super Speed to get Hope faster to safety, and he was sure that Bleeder's followers were getting even more close to him as time passed. Ahead he could see the huge clearing that was in between the huge slope and the Finch Pines forest, and he was relieved that for once something seemed to be going alright; in that clearing was located the kids' HQ, his now temporary destiny.

He jumped a tree trunk, and using the shield of his left arm, he knocked over a pine tree, which Gekko was pretty sure, as he ran away from Bleeder's followers, that some of them got crushed by the falling tree. But that didn't stop the others, he heard something being thrown and as he tried to exit the forest, and long metallic wire -like the ones that people used to catch stray dogs- was tossed on his neck and he was pulled backward.

Hope fell to the ground as Gekko was pulled by Bleeder's followers and watched horrified how Gekko was being slowly killed. Gekko opened an eye and saw Hope in there terrified, he coughed. "R-Run" Coughs. Hope was terrified for a moment, but with a determined look on his face, he ran away and headed to the clearing HQ was located in.

Gekko was being dragged on the muddy forest floor back to where Bleeder and the others were, his back against the grass and his face almost blue. They stopped, but the grasp on his neck was still strong enough to asphyxiate him. He was tossed forcefully ahead of them and Gekko thought it was a good opportunity to escape, but someone coming from the sky and landing in front of him had him shocked.

"Getting rid of me is not that easy, Lizard Brain."

Gekko opened his eyes wide and his mouth hung open. Thorned Heart!

A pair of huge hawk wings shot from the teenager's back, and Gekko for the first time noticed the humanoid features the teenager had. He had long and pointy ears, his face had a huge stripe crossing over his eyes, and instead of nails he had long yellow claws and his legs were twisted like a bird's. The left side of his face was covered in blood and he had the angriest look on, and while he gritted his teeth, he could see fangs on his mouth. "I'm a hybrid, Lizard Brain, why do you think Bleeder needs me?" He enclosed Gekko, kicking his tail. "This is a small world, isn't it?" He chuckled. "Verina was right all this time... 'A few heroes will come in your way, say your farewells, Bleeder.' Huh, who would say?"

Gekko coughed, and he was pretty sure he also coughed blood as well. The wire around his neck was getting pretty tight and he felt it carving into his skin. He tried to use his Gekko Muscles, but Thorned Heart watched with a smile how he failed miserably. Why didn't this wire break?

Thorned Heart giggled. "Verina knows all your cards, she's more alike with you than she is with anybody. Somehow," He stepped on Gekko's chest. "She knew all of this would happen." He looked down at him maliciously, his teeth bared. "I should give you credits, you kinda surprised me back in the gorge,
we didn't expect you there." He got closer to Gekko's face. "Any less, I didn't expect you to have the guts to kill people."

Gekko coughed. "C-Catboy was... r-right." Thorned Heart arched an eyebrow. "W-We s-shouldn't... have mercy on you..."

"So Catboy's the name of the Blue Cat, huh?" He looked thoughtful for a few moments. "Thought it would be something cool, not some stupid replica of Batman." He laughed. "What's up with heroes and animal names these days?" He pulled out a stake from his back and smiled. Gekko saw that the point of the stake had some sort of yellow crystal attached to it, he arched an eyebrow. Thorned Heart noticed his look and put the stake right above Gekko's symbol on the chest. "Verina said this would kill you forever, I don't know what she meant with that, but I enjoy the killing part, so I don't complain."

He put his hand on the air, with the stake on hand, he was ready to stab it in Gekko's chest. He didn't get to do it like a huge wave of sound left everyone deaf. He smiled. Instantly, battle exploded in the forest. Snowfox jumped on Thorned Heart with a mad look on her eyes and used her claws to claw his face. In return, Thorned Heart expanded his wings and putting his arm around her neck, he took her up in the sky.

Foxwolf ran up to him and unleashed the wire from around his neck, tossing it aside. Gekko gasped for air, and Foxwolf put a hand on his shoulder with some pity shown in his eyes. When two of Bleeder's followers ran up to them, Foxwolf moved his gaze away from Gekko and jumped in front of him, his fur fluffing out and his markings glowing. A loud bark-like roar made everything ahead of Foxwolf fly away, trees blended to one side and Bleeder's men laying still on the other side of the clearing.

"Claw Bomb!"

At the sound of Badgerclaw's voice, both Gekko and Foxwolf instantly threw themselves against the muddy floor of the forest. A huge explosion was heard and sharp, long, black claws shot from the bomb Badgerclaw left and hit into everyone and everything that was standing up. All of Bleeder's men fell, some of them with claws across their chest, which made Gekko shiver but at the same time feeling that they had it well served. Catboy was right, they don't really give you a choice. He thought of the cat hero. I guess I wasn't seeing the full picture...

When no one else came after them, they stood up and looked around. "Where's Snowfox?" Gekko asked. When a few Icicles fell from the sky not so far away from them, they saw her struggling with Thorned Heart in the air. He was gonna go after her, but Badgerclaw stopped him.

"Go and help the others," Looking at the sky and running up to a tree with Foxwolf, he yelled. "We got this!"

Gekko hesitated for a moment but finally did as told, running back to where the other battle was taking place. As he was getting closer, he couldn't hear anything but the rushing water at the end of the gorge and thunder clapping, but what he did manage to hear was an agonizing scream over all of that. He instantly recognized the owner of the voice. He fasted his pace. "Owlette! I'm coming!"

When he burst into the clearing, he saw a few bodies lying here and there, but no Owlette or Catboy in sight. "Owlette! Where are you?!" She burst from the gorge, flying with Vita in her arms. A desperate expression filled her face and when she spotted him, she instantly flew right in front of him. "What's-"

"CATBOY FELL ON THE GORGE, WE NEED TO HELP HIM!" She cried.

His heartbeat stopped for a few seconds, and he stood still in there, but when he saw the terrified spark on Vita's eyes, determined, he looked at Owlette. "Take her to HQ, I'll go after Catboy!" When Owlette didn't move, he nudged her. "NOW!" She flew away with the little girl on her arms and Gekko ran to the border of the gorge and jumped.

During the fall, a pale neon green light surrounded him and embraced his body with a powerful electrical feeling. After it was finished with his body, Gekko hit the water and swam on it. He had fins on his forearms and ankles, which helped him swim nicely on the rushing water, and the crest on his head was sharper and longer. He had some kind of protection around his mouth and the sides of his head had two small fins. His Pondweed power had evolved throughout the years, and now it adapted to him and his suit, allowing him to swim and breath in the worst of waters.

He went underwater, and with his suit lighting up, he looked all around for the familiar body of his best friend. The river was even deeper than Gekko first expected it to be, and was full of sharp, long rocks at the bottom which Gekko tried to avoid as he searched around. He followed the current ahead, guessing that if Catboy fell, then the current must have carried him away instead. Swimming swiftly, he avoided trunks and other junk that was carried by the water, looking around and to the bottom of the river to try and find any signs of Catboy.

His suit lighted up more as he used a rock to stop himself from being carried away by the current, and deep in the bottom between long patches of pondweed, Catboy's blue suit was almost unnoticeable in the depths of the river. The pondweed was around Catboy's neck and legs, and his stripes hardly glowed blue as he floated lifelessly in the water, bubbles coming out of his mouth and his eyes slightly open.

Gekko swam to him and got rid of the pondweed around him, freeing Catboy body from them. He didn't expect the older boy to be that heavy, so when the current of the water hit, he was carried away alongside Catboy. He reached out a hand and got a grip on his leg, stopping the cat-hero from getting away on the current and embraced him in a hug.

Catboy was gonna get from this alive, he was not gonna let his best friend die tonight.

He swam up to the surface and took a deep breath when his Pondweed power switched elements, allowing him to breathe like always. Using one of his arms to try to swim on the current, he tried to push Catboy out into the surface with the other, but his face barely stuck out of the water and he struggled to keep him floating. Gekko didn't count on the rain making the water even harder to swim, so when he finally got a grip on a rock, a huge wave of water swallowed them both and the dirty water ran down on his throat.

He embraced Catboy as if his life depended on him, and it did, so when his head popped out from the water again, he looked around to try and look for something that could get them to safety. He used his Lizard grip to get a hold of a tree trunk passing by, and climbed on it, with Catboy on his back.

Ahead, one side of the gorge opened and Gekko finally saw a shore ahead, but given where the trunk was heading to, Gekko knew they wouldn't reach the ground. Carefully not to mess it up, he lay Catboy on the tree trunk and jumped on the water again, clinging to the trunk with his Super Lizard Grip. He noticed there were rocks ahead, and if he did it correctly, he knew he could use them to stop the tree trunk from being carried away by the current.

He used his Gekko Muscles to move the tree trunk on the water while the pondweed power powered his legs, giving him enough impulse to lead the tree between the rocks and the shore. Successfully, the tree trunk deflected and one extreme hit the rocks, while the other got stuck on the mud and pebbles in the shore, which stopped the tree trunk from moving and creating a bridge they could use to cross along to safety. Gekko climbed the tree trunk and tossed Catboy in his back, carefully, he walked across the trunk and jumped down on the shore.

He slipped, so Catboy fell beside him and his own arm hit a rock that came from the ground. Blood started to stream out of it and tinting the puddle of water underneath him red, but he didn't care as he lay down on the ground, tired. After a few short moments, he rolled over to Catboy and sat up, kneeled down beside him. When he rolled Catboy over,
he had a long scar across the left side of his face, from which blood peered down and tinted half of his face in crimson red color.

"Catboy?" He asked quietly. Seeing that the hero's chest didn't move, he put his hands over it and started pressing down hard. He repeated it a few times, and while water came from Catboy's mouth, he didn't move, not even flinch. Starting to panic, Gekko leaned down and putting one hand on Catboy's jaw and the other over his nose to block it, he put his mouth on Catboy's and started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

He could feel the taste of blood on him, but he didn't care, at this moment the only thing he could think about was his best friend's life. After a few more efforts without succeeding, Gekko embraced Catboy on his arms and stood up, with the blue-themed hero hanging lifelessly. With a trembling voice,
Gekko said. "Come on, wake up..." He tried to make Catboy stand up, but his feets touched the ground lifelessly. "Come on, we need to go home..."

On one of these efforts, Gekko stepped on a pebble and both him and Catboy's body fell to the ground. When he regained his posture, he crawled instantly over to him. "Come on! We gotta go back home, together!" He voice was shaky, and he stood over Catboy with small tears forming in the border of his eyes.

Gekko, biting his lip and with a pressure on his chest, shook violently the hero laying on the ground. Catboy's body moved, and his head revealed the 'healthy' side of his face when it turned to the side, but Catboy still didn't wake up. His eyes were slightly open and he stared grimly ahead to nothingness, as his spirit was snatched from his body.

Gekko put an arm over him and with tears streaming down his face, and a smile that wanted to deny everything, he said. "C-Come on, you gotta wake up, you can't be dead..." When Catboy only laid there, Gekko sobbed harshly. "YOU CAN'T BE DEAD!" He agonized. "YOU CAN'T! I REFUSE TO LET YOU GO!" He punched Catboy's chest and put his head in there. "You can't... you can't be... dead..." The tip of Catboy's tail touched the water and motioned, but overall, Catboy didn't move, he didn't do anything more than lay down there, in the cold and muddy ground.

Gekko's tears streamed down his cheeks harshly and shaking, he let out an agonizing scream that filled the quiet of the place, a scream full of pain and grief that no one would've stood it if they were there. He sobbed and cried out loud, mourning over his best friend's body, pleading for him to come back,
even though he knew his best friend was never coming back again.

He hugged him and held him on his arms, and putting Catboy's head over his heart, he cried. "I'M SORRY, PLEASE, COME BACK!" He put his mouth over his forehead and his tears hit Catboy's head instead of the ground. "I'M SO, SO, SORRY! FORGIVE ME! FORGIVE ME, CATBOY!" He let out another agonizing scream and hugged his best friend's body even harder.

"Gekko?" From the sky, Owlette landed not so far away from them. She looked at him, trying to process what she was seeing.

He looked at her, his eyes red and watery. With an ache on his heart, he shakily said. "I-I'm sorry, I t-tri-" He didn't get to finish as he broke into more sobs and hugged Catboy's body closer, nuzzling him and desiring he wasn't such a jerk to him in the first place, desiring so badly he could've moved past from all of that and enjoy the moments he had alongside him. Gekko now will never have the opportunity to say sorry to him, he will never have an opportunity to do or say anything to his best friend at all.

Connor was dead, and there was nothing that he could do to change that.

Owlette kneeled beside him, and he slowly put Catboy's body on the ground. He looked at Owlette, whose tears adorned her cheeks and her face bore a shocked expression. She couldn't believe it, neither could he. She reached out to Catboy's face and removed his mask, leaving only Connor's pale face exposed. He removed the black mask he wore over his eyes that served to protect his identity from the cursed Bleeder, and Owlette slowly put a hand over his eyes. "We should- We should close his eyes..." She slowly closed them with a shaky hand, and sobbed afterward.

Gekko hugged her and both of them mourned in silence, grief overtaking their bodies and emotions. After a few long minutes, they separated and she laughed in pain. "Should we- Should we say some words?"

Gekko stared blankly at Connor laying on the ground. Saying some words to him meant letting Connor go, and he wasn't sure he was prepared for that.
Not yet. "Maybe we should mourn him together, with the others..." His mind drifted to the kids, and the thought of watching them mourning Connor made him feel broken inside. "The kids need a chance to see him one last time..."

Owlette quietly spoke up. "I don't want them to see him," She said. "Not like this..." She looked at him with a sad smile. "They need to remember the real Connor, not this one..." Gekko nodded and both hugged again for a few long minutes before parting away.

They stood up, and between the two of them, they carried Connor's body away from the river and into the dark forest. Gekko's steps were numb, he felt numb, nothing he'll ever do will be the same again. He didn't feel as if his life had any purpose now... what kind of life he could take on without his best friend from life?

Connor was always there, always cheering him up even though he was bleeding inside. Connor made the matter of his father aside to help him with the loss of his father, he was there when Nina left too, when his mother had depression... he ended up accepting his and Luna's relationship even though he disagreed with it, he was there when she broke up with him, and when Nahiri almost killed him. He couldn't think of a single moment in which Connor wasn't there, supporting him as a best friend should.

But for him? He had made Connor feel like crap for the longest time, he had put him down lots of times before, and if it weren't for that, for his actions, things there would've been different. His best friend was now dead, and he will never have the chance to say sorry for everything he did, that felt heavy on his chest as if he had a sharp rock fixed across his chest and that tore its way into his heart.

Connor had died thinking Greg hated him, and Greg will never forgive himself for that.

Both Greg and Amaya, after what seemed ages, finally reached the Headquarters with Connor's body on Gekko's arms. Greg couldn't feel anything but grief, nothing was the same anymore, not with Connor dead.

Rain pelted quietly, the moon hidden behind the clouds as if it knew that something terrible happened. Thunder clapped every now and then, and the wind carried rainwater and leaves it with. Midway to HQ, the door opened and the dark place around them was illuminated. Against the light, there were two figures that rushed to them as soon as they saw them.

Badgerclaw stopped beside Gekko. "What happened?!"

Foxwolf inspected them. "Is he hurt badly?"

Gekko stopped and stared at them numbly, then kept walking with Owlette until they were inside HQ. They met Snowfox's gaze, which shot up with alarm as soon as she saw them. "What happened?!"

They stepped inside Hope's Room and laid Connor on the wooden floor. Neither Owlette or Gekko dared to face the others, they didn't want to see the moment realization of what happened struck them, they didn't want to hold their gazes, they didn't want to see their grief reflected in others. Gekko only lay down on Connor, his head on his chest while quiet tears fell down his cheeks.

The place was deadly quiet, breaths stopped and the time around all of them froze, Gekko noticed it; they realized what happened.

Foxwolf shook his head in denial then burst into tears and crying agonizingly, slipped down onto the floor, hugging his legs as he mourned Connor's death. Badgerclaw stood there, he didn't know how to feel about it, nor did he showed it. He didn't show anything more than shock from the whole situation. Snowfox faced away, trembling and with a hand over her mouth, she sobbed slightly but didn't dare to look back, Gekko couldn't blame her, he couldn't stand seeing Connor's lifeless body either, but it was the last thing he had from him.

Small steps echoed around the place and Gekko spun around only to face the Petit Masks quietly. He could see it in their eyes, especially in Hope's; they knew what was happening. He looked at Owlette and motioned with his head over to where the kids were standing, and she stood up and nudged them outside the room.

Hope resisted, though, he stood there and faced Owlette. "I lost my family before..." Gekko watched quietly the exchange. "I never got to say goodbye to them..." He looked up at Owlette. "Can I at least say goodbye to him?"

Owlette stood there, not knowing what to say. In the end, she nodded and let the boy pass, followed by his sisters. Hope stood beside Connor's body and his shoulders dropped. He sat beside him and hugged him. "You said you weren't gonna leave us..." Unità and Vita each grabbed both of Connor's hands. Hope proceeded. "But yet you are here, leaving us..." He sobbed slightly. "Goodbye, thanks for everything you did for us."

"Thanks." Vita and Unità repeated quietly. They huddled their heads together and closed their eyes, crying softly. Gekko had to give the kids credits for being strong in a situation like this. With pressure on his chest, he thought. Connor taught them well...

Finally, Badgerclaw dropped on the floor and cried, both he and Foxwolf hugged each other and mourned together, trying to comfort the other but with no success at all. Snowfox walked over to Owlette and hugged her as well, both of them crying into each others' shoulder. Gekko watched all of them.

He was on his own, he had no one to mourn with, now that Connor was gone... Gekko had no one to rely on. He stood up, he didn't stand to be there another minute, he couldn't stand accepting the idea that Connor was dead and that he was never gonna see his vivid blue eyes, or hear him laugh. He didn't stand the idea he was never gonna see his best friend again, no one was gonna see him ever again, not him, not his family...

Gekko opened his eyes as he stepped out of the room and into one of the elevators.

Katrina.

Katrina was never gonna see her son again.

He was gonna go back to Tarabiscoville and tell her that her son, who she taught was in danger, was dead.

Gekko being in the last room of the Headquarters, dropped on the floor as soon as he stepped out from the elevators. No one but he was responsible for his death, so many things could've been avoided if he had forgiven him before. Connor would've never run into Bleeder again if he had forgiven him before, they would've trained the Petit Masks together from the beginning, protect them together from the beginning. All of them would've been safer if it wasn't for him.

We told you.

Gekko opened his eyes slowly as he recognized those voices. He stood up, angry. "What do you want from me now?!" When the voices didn't answer, he bared his teeth. "COME ON! TELL ME!"

The lights on the room started to flicker, and between the darkness and the light, animal shapes danced around the room, around Greg. Greg didn't fear them anymore, on the contrary, he hated them. He wanted to grab every and each of these animals and do unimaginable things to them.

They kept dancing around him, and when they finally stopped, a red star shone on the dark of the place, right above him.

We told you. Water was your friend, but not Blue's.

A male voice spoke up, angry. The storm brought nothing but blood, death! And it's all your fault!

A female voice spoke up this time, sad. You changed the current of the waters, Lizard. You made the river run red with your best friend's blood. How did you let it happen?

All the animals yelled in unison, angry. WE WARNED YOU!

Greg opened his eyes in realization when the lights went back to normal. "M-My dream..." He stood there, putting a hand over his chest as he had trouble breathing. His legs felt wobbly, and giving up to the pain, he collapsed on his knees.

"I knew Connor was gonna die from the very beginning..."