Darkest Blight

Chapter 4:

Chester, only seven years old, carefully approached his classmates on the school playground. He could hear them talk amongst themselves, discussing rules and who would be on whose team. "Hey guys." With two measly words, everyone turned to Chester. Their eyes reflecting either indifference or distaste. "Can I play with you guys?"

"No!" One of the kids shouted at him. Several others repeated the sentence or shacked their heads.

Chester blinked. "Why?"

"You're a smug know-it-all!" One of them replied.

"And you're a creepy weirdo!" Another one cried out.

Chester lowered his head. He felt the sting of rejection but wasn't gonna give up yet. "What if I stay quiet? Can I play then?"

"O my god!" One of the kids exclaimed. "Get it thru your thick skull already. We don't like you! Go away!" One kid grabbed a rock from the ground and threw it at Chester. The rock, luckily missed but Chester got the message and ran off.

Later, he watched the other kids play while he sat curled up by the school wall. He felt the coldness of isolation.

A hopeful Chester handed a valentine's card to his crush, Myra. Myra took one displeased look at the card she had been given. She then crumbled the paper up into a ball and tossed it in Chester's face. "You really think I would like you, you dork?" Myra mocked and laughed at him. "I don't think any girl would ever want you!"

Chester felt his heart break.

Chester ran. He ran thru the bad streets of his neighborhood, being chased by a violent gang. He shouldn't have insulted them but they had threaten to steal his backpack and his emotions had overlapped his judgement. Chester was scared but he knew how to find his way in these streets.

He managed to climb into a window of a rundown house. Then before any of the gang members could follow, Chester slinked into a hole in the wall. The inside was filled with coarse sand. Here he could stay hidden and wait for things to blow over or possible continue further into the building. This was how Chester survived on the streets, by knowing how to quickly get in and out of places. Doesn't mean he didn't wish things were different thou.

The fist collided with Chester's face and one could hear his nose breaking. He was up against a big guy in the school corridor. "What ya gonna do, you little wimp." His attacker mocked. The two were surrounded by students that watched the fight. Anger filled Chester's body. He hated to fight, he hated this guy but not nearly enough as he hated being a victim. He swung his fist but didn't hit his target hard enough. The bully then punched Chester in the stomach, knocking the wind of the boy. When Chester clutched his injured spot, his tormentor took the opportunity to kick him to the floor.

Lying crushed against the floor, Chester hoped it would be the end of it.

Then he felt himself being picked up by the collar of his shirt and was dragged by the bully thru the hallway with only his feet tracing the ground. Chester heard the other students cheering. They wanted this, they wanted to see him suffer.

The bully dragged Chester into the boy's bathroom and forced his head into a toilet bowl. The toilet water mixed with the blood running from his broken nose. When his tormentor pulled him out of the toilet he gasped for air before being forced down into the dirty water again. In-between the time of the gasp and the water he could hear everyone's laughter.

Once upon a time, Chester would put more effort into fighting this. He would scream, he would beg, he would struggle but not anymore. Years of humiliation and victimization had torn down his self-esteem and drained his spirit.

At night, Chester would cry himself to sleep. Not just was it over the despairing loneliness and mistreatment he was going thru but it was also fear. Fear that tomorrow would be the same, fear that there would be no end to his torment. He snuggled into his pillow, subconsciously hoping it would give him comfort away from his harrowing thoughts.

At that moment, Chester wanted someone to hold him, to touch him. He wanted a kind voice to tell him that it wasn't his fault, that he deserved better and that things were going to get better. Sadly, such privileges was denied him.

Chester did not know this was the moment his life would change forever.

"This has to work, it just has to." Chester lamented as he worked in the school's science lab. "If I can make a stable anti-rot formula, people will see that I'm not worthless. I will be a hero and people will finally like me."

Chester used a pipette to take a few centiliters of his chemical brew and then let it drop into a small container of decomposing plant material. He then checked it under a microscope. It was still rotting. Not the results he wanted. Displeased, he wrote down his findings in a notebook. Using a pair of forceps, he picked up a chemical vial from the holder next to him. The chemicals in the vial was yellow and smelled really bad. Hopping this would alter the decomposing properties of his chemical cocktail he poured the vial into the beaker.

Suddenly, the chemicals started to boil and the beaker vibrated. Chester gasped horrified and held his arm above to his face for protection. The chemical reaction was an explosion, powerful enough to send Chester flying. He hit his head against a table and blacked out.

When he woke up, he was in a lot of pain. His shirt and pants were gone. Not burned off, Chester couldn't find a single chemical burn on his entire body. They were just gone. He looked around the lab. Everything laid in ruin except for one thing. A flower that had survived the explosion. Chester had always loved plants, especially flowers and he used to water the plants here in the science lab. He picked up the little plant by the stem and to his horror, it rotted.

Terrified beyond belief, Chester dropped the flower and stepped back till he hit a table. He turned around and saw that the table was rotting. "No, no…this isn't happening." He ran as fast as he could out of the lab and thru the corridors. People was laughing at his nakedness but Chester didn't care. His mind was already rushing with a thousand thoughts more horrifying than being laughed at. 'This can't be real, this has to be a nightmare.'

Chester accidentally bumped right into one of the teachers, a tall dark haired man. He turned to Chester. "Chester! Why aren't you wearing a-

Then the teacher saw to his horror that his shirt had started to decompose. He grabbed the seams of the shirt, barely believing what he was seeing.

The only one more terrified than the teacher was Chester. If he could rot clothes and flowers what else could he rot by mere touch? Animals? Buildings? Humans? Was he even human anymore? What chance at happiness did he have as a monster?

"Kid Rot? Hu, Kid? Kid Rot? Are you there?" Fartor's voice suddenly snapped Kid Rot out of his flashbacks. He was still in MegaFartzilla's laboratory.

"What?" Kid Rot snapped at his partner.

"You seem to have spaced out. For a while actually." Fartor responded as he hovered slightly above the parasite. "As a supervillain, compassion is of course beneath me but out sheer curiosity I have to ask, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kid Rot grumbled. He took half-a-step away from the flatologist. His head tilted down in brooding. 'Why do I have Chester's memories and why do they keep popping up? I am not him. I am everything he is not.' Kid Rotthought. "Say, you don't need me right now, right?" He asked Fartor.

"Nah, you have already converted enough plant material to drive MegaFartzilla for another half-hour."

"Then I will have some downtime. I'll be back soon." Kid Rot said before ghosting thru the floor, leaving some black slime after him.

Fartor sighed. "That Kid Rot is a very…peculiar character."

Kid Rot came down thru the roof of the brig, landing safely on both feet. The brig only had two cells, one to house Abby and one to house Ty. The Rip-1 was still there, patrolling the room like an old guard dog. The mechanical raptor took notice of Kid Rot, facing him while standing absolutely still.

Kid Rot sneered before jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Scram." The Rip-1 did as it was told and ran away. Kid Rot looked at the door, the one that lead to Abby. 'I have to remind myself of who I really am.'

Abby was getting tiered at their hopeless situation. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Any ideas on how to get out of here yet?"

"No." Ty sighed from his cell as he leaned against the wall. "I was thinking we could do something with the televisions. I mean, they are the only thing Fartor has left us with. Speaking of which, I do wonder what we'll do when one of us have to, you know…tinkle."

Abby rolled her eyes but decided to ignore her brother's immature joke. "Maybe we can fashion some kind of weapon out of the TVs or maybe we can pull the old injured-prisoner trick."

Suddenly Abby felt a rancid smell fill the air. What was even worse was that she recognized it. When she turned she saw Kid Rot emerging from the door, like some kind of evil spirit. "Hey, darling." Kid Rot mused.

Abby scowled and got into a fighting position. Fists clenched and ready. "Kid Rot, What do you want?"

"I thought I could wait to meet you till after the world was mine but it would seem like I can't wait anymore. I've missed you." Kid Rot said and started advancing on Abby.

Abby's scowl deepened. "You know Kid Rot, for once I have actually missed you too…but for entirely different reasons." With that, Abby threw a punch at Kid Rot's face but he blocked her assault by grabbing her wrist. Abby tried to punch him with her other hand but he grabbed that one as well.

Kid Rot chuckled. "Do you really think you can beat me with your mere normal human strength? I am superhuman." He then pushed Abby up against a wall and forced her hands above her head. Abby's eyes turned from fierce to fearful as Kid Rot's lips curved into a sadistic smile and his lustful eyes stared into hers.

"Hey, get your dirty hands of my sister you pervy psycho!" Ty shouted angrily as he saw everything from the window.

Kid Rot scowled and looked over at Ty. "Words to the wise, future brother-in-law, shut the hell up." Kid Rot then turned his attention back to Abby. He pinned her hands to the wall with one hand, leaving his other hand free to touch her. He first placed his free hand under her armpit (really close to her breast) but really he was just trying to scare her. His hand moved down her back before coming to rest on her small. He then pressed her body against his. He leaned in closer to her face, his forehead resting against hers. Kid Rot purred in excitement. "You know Fartor thinks I am working for him but once we have conquered the world, I will tear his fat, smelly body out that rusty suit of his and slay him. Then I'll be King Rot and you'll be my queen."

Kid Rot's hand left the small on her back and clutched her jaw. He squeezed it a bit to force her mouth open. Then he leaned in for the kiss, getting closer and closer until-

Abby's knee collided hard with Kid Rot's crotch, hard enough that a breaking sound could be heard. "DON'T EVER TOUCH ME!" Abby hollered at Kid Rot as he stumbled backwards, clutching his sore spot.

"Way to go, Abby." Ty cheered. Abby ran at Kid Rot and kicked him into the nearest wall.

Despite the pain, Kid Rot chuckled. "Feisty. Always liked that about you. Maybe I can use that when I turn on Fartor."

Abby growled in anger before charging at Kid Rot again but before she got to him, Kid Rot ignited his entire body with dark-energy. Abby stopped in her tracks. As angry as she was, she still had enough common sense not to touch Kid Rot's dark flames. She would rot if she did. Kid Rot stood straight up, facing the girl. "You will love me Abby. I will not be denied."

"What makes you think I could ever love you?" Abby spat.

Kid Rot smirked a bit. "Because I will take everything from you. Your freedom, you brother, your parents, your city, your world, your innocents, your strength. I will take it all from you until the only thing you have left is me. You will cling to me like a rock in the stormy ocean. And you will love me for it."

The words almost made Abby shiver. It was perhaps the maddest, cruelest thing she had ever heard.

Suddenly, the TV turned on and Fartor appeared on screen. "Kid Rot, stop with whatever you're doing and come back to the lab. I need your help with something." The methane-breather stated in an irritated tone. Then the screen turned to black again.

"Hm." Kid Rot huffed, still smirking thou. "Seem like we have to continue this later, beautiful." Kid Rot let his dark-flames burn out. "Until then, my love." He ghosted thru the door and disappeared.

With Kid Rot gone, Abby finally sighed in relief.

"Abby, are you okay." Ty asked softly in concern.

Abby looked at her brother. She managed to fake a smile. "Yeah, Ty. I'm fine."

Naomi was getting restless. There was nothing for her to do while waiting for Andy and his little robot to survey the schoolyard for any trace of Ty. "Have you found anything yet, Andy?"

"Maybe. It takes some time to cipher the data." Andy responded while looking at his laptop. His robot, the Sentry-Pede was circling the spot where Ty and Abby had disappeared along with Fartor and Kid Rot. The data the Sentry-Pede collected was translated to Andy's laptop.

"Maybe it's busted." Naomi said, trying her best not to let her anxiousness get to her.

"It's not busted, it's new. This is like, the first real time I've done a person search with Sentry-Pede's Bio-Vision." Andy replied. He then thought of something different which made him smile a bit. "You know, Ty and Abby being Grossologists explains a lot. It explains where they always disappear too, it explains why they confronted Lance Boil in my room and it explains how they could save you and Paige from Dr. Colon."

"And it explains why Ty always stood me up." Naomi said, feeling bad for having been so angry with him.

"Yeah, he have been ignoring me as well. At first I thought he just found me annoying but now I know it was because he had to go save the world…or at least the city." Andy stated. Then a bar appeared on his screen and when it was fully loaded, the screen said 'DNA Scan Complete.' "Huh, that's odd." Andy said, surprised and a tad worried.

Naomi walked up to Andy and looked over his shoulder. "What's odd?"

"Well, we have found protein strains matching Ty's DNA but none of Ty's DNA itself which is weird. DNA is fragile but still, it shouldn't have dissolved this quickly. At least not to this degree." Andy crouched down, feeling the grass. The blades turned into mush as soon as he touched it. "The vegetation is rotten." He concluded while rubbing the green mush between his fingers.

Naomi put a finger to her chin, thinking. "Abby said something about someone named Kid Rot. He must have been one of the bad guys. He might have some kind of rot powers."

"Then it would stand to reason that Kid Rot used his powers to eradicate all biological trace of Ty and Abby." Andy concluded.

Naomi felt as if someone had pierced her heart with a dagger. "So, you mean we won't be able to find them?" She almost choked on the words.

Andy lowered his head, feeling incredible sad. "I'm afraid so."

Naomi couldn't take it anymore. She fell onto her knees and started crying into her hands. "Oh Ty."

Andy gently stroked Naomi's back, trying to comfort her. "There, there Naomi. It's okay."

"Ty is gone and the last thing I said was…." Naomi cried.

Not knowing what to do, Andy carefully wrapped his arms around her. Instinctively, Naomi hugged him back and cried onto his shoulder. Naomi and Andy had never been very close. To Naomi, Andy had simply been her crush's best friend and to Andy she had been his best friends crush but at that moment they felt very close.

As the two hugged it out, The Sentry-Pede changed tactic. It turned its big, red cyclops eye towards the school entrance before transforming its legs to tank-treads and speeded into the school.

"I never really knew him, did I?" Naomi sniffled.

Andy let go of her so he could look her in the eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I never knew he was a Grossologist. He kept so much about himself secret." Naomi explained.

"Well I can assure you that you knew Ty at his happiest." Andy said.

Naomi wiped away her tears with her sleeve. "What do you mean?"

Andy smiled honestly. "He loved you Naomi, he never said it outright but I could tell. Whenever he talked about you he sounded as if it was free ice cream day in the cafeteria. And whenever he thought he had screwed things up between you he got so sad I thought nothing could cheer him up. Trust me, you where-I mean are very special to him and I know he want you to be happy."

Naomi managed to smile. "Thank you." She rose up onto her feet. "So, what do we do now?"

"I suggest we go back to class. Then, afterwards we can talk more about this."

Naomi nodded.

Andy looked for his robot but could not find Sentry-Pede. "Hey, where's my robot?"

Naomi pointed at the dirty tracks that the centipede-like robot had left after it. They lead into the school.

"Oh no. Please help me catch him before someone steps on him." Andy said before running after his creation and Naomi followed. They followed the tracks into the corridors. "It must be his chess-program." Andy exclaimed.

"Chess program?" Naomi asked puzzled.

"Well, you know how you can play a game of chess against a computer? I programmed Sentry-Pede with one of those programs. It allows him to simply change tactics once the old one fails."

"So he is still looking for Ty and Abby?" Naomi blinked.

"Yeah but poorly. I mean, there's no way they could have been taken back to school." Andy said. They finally found the little robot stationed right in front of Ty's locker. "There you are Sentry-Pede." Andy then noticed that his robot's eye was blinking, which meant it was sending data to Andy's computer. "Hm, he is sending me something." Andy opened up his laptop. What he saw, completely took him off guard. "Wow."

"What is it?" Naomi asked.

"I know I said only finding Ty's proteins was weird but I was wrong. This is weird." Andy exclaimed. "I designed Sentry-Pede to explore subterranean terrains so I installed him with a GPR, a ground penetrating radar."

"And…"

"And according to the GPR, there is a hidden room and a shaft behind Ty and Abby's lockers."

Naomi plinked, confused and wondering. "You know I have always found it weird that Ty and Abby's lockers where next to each other when Abby goes one class above Ty."

"And if Ty and Abby are Grossologists, they would need a quick way of getting out of school without anyone noticing." Andy reasoned.

"So what we are suggesting is…"

"We just found our way into the Grossologists' secret headquarters."

"It's time." Fartor tapped his fingers as he hovered up thru the air of MegaFartzilla's laboratory. "One more sniff of our precious swamp gas and my MegaFartzilla will fly like an eagle. A really gassy eagle. Are you ready, my apprentice?"

Kid Rot was walking up the stairs towards the Rot-Connector, the machine that allowed Kid Rot to share his power with MegaFartzilla. He sneered irritated at Fartor. "I have already told you a thousand times, I am not your apprentice."

"Oh, I'm sorry my equal and malicious partner. It's just that I have always wanted an apprentice and you have been so loyal and helpful to me. I guess we have kind of bounded." Fartor explained.

Kid Rot scowl hardened. 'Muse as much as you want Fartor cause you will soon learn that Kid Rot don't cooperate, he manipulates. Once this world is so sick it can't fight back, I will destroy you.' Kid Rot was still crossed but decided it was better to let it slide and play along. "I guess I have grown rather fond of your dumb word-plays and steel tentacles too. Now, let's RotnRoll."

Fartor rolled his eyes. "RotnRoll? Yeah, I am the one with the dumb word-plays..."

Kid Rot entered the Rot-Connector and stuck his hands into the metallic holsters. When he ignited his hands with dark-energy the machine started to glow obsidian. Fartor smirked sadistically and typed in a few commands on a computer.

Then, things started to get really weird.

Three needles inside the holsters pierced thru Kid Rot's wrists. He hollered in pain. "Hrg, what the heck is this?" He tried to jerk free but it only hurt more, the needles in his hands had sunken in too deep. He tried to ghost out of the machine but he couldn't. The machine seem to neutralize his powers.

Then, a really large needle on a mechanic arm was lowered down from the ceiling. Like the tail of a striking scorpion, it launched itself right into Kid Rot's neck. Kid Rot hollered in agony. He screamed until he felt exhausted from sheer pain. "Fartor, what is going on?"

"This is the moment I betray you, Kid." Fartor answered and flew up to the parasite.

"What! Why?" Kid Rot shouted furiously.

Fartor pouted and moved aside. A small, flying robot that looked like a TV-screen flew up to Kid Rot. The screen showed Kid Rot's conversation with Abby. "You know, Fartor thinks I am working for him but once we have conquered the world, I will tear his fat, smelly body out that rusty suit and slay him. Then I'll be King Rot and you'll be my queen."

Kid Rot scowled over having been bested. The TV-robot flew away and Fartor came up to him again. "Now to be fair, I always did plan on betraying you Kid. You were way too volatile to be trusted but I never thought you would be this deceitful. So I knew I needed to act before you did."

"So what? You still need me to run this stupid machine." Kid Rot snarled.

Fartor chuckled. "You underestimate my ingenuity Kid Rot. Did it ever occur to you that my MegaFartzilla can tap into more than simply your power to produce methane? I will take this doomsday machine to the upper atmosphere like planned but I won't use it to simple spread methane gas. No, I will use it to rot every single biological hot spot on this planet. The Amazon rainforest, the Savannahs of Africa, the vast forests of Canada. All of them will become giant compost heaps, producing massive amounts of swamp gas. It will be like having dozens of Fartzillas stationed all over the world. Can you imagine?" Fartor took a moment to study Kid Rot's expression. Kid Rot's eyes was like two angry daggers. "Of course you can. It has been your dream since the beginning, hasn't it? Well, that and Abby. Anyway, in order for me to tap into all of your powers you need to be separated from your body. I will turn you, which is the parasite within, into an engine for my doomsday machine." Fartor laughed. "You know, this might be the most diabolical thing I've ever done. I will take everything from you. Your body, your freedom, your power, your dream. I might as well take your Abby as well, she will be a perfect slave."

Kid Rot growled like a mad Pitbull, his skin ignited with dark energy but for all his anger, he couldn't do anything.

Fartor pressed a button on the control board. The machine started humming and flashing with violet light. Once again, Kid Rot screamed it pain and the needles that penetrated him started buzzing and pumping. "I swear Fartor, I will kill you for this!"

The light in the laboratory flickered on and off. Fartor stared in anticipation at a crystalline tube that lead from the Rot-Connector. Finally, after several minutes of screaming, Kid Rot got silent and the needle in his neck started extracting the bacteria from his nervous system. Black slime ran thru the crystalline tube before cumulating in a glass container on top of MegaFartzilla's engine.

The lights in the laboratory came back on and for a moment it seemed like serenity had replaced the intensity. Fartor approached the glass container. He stared intensely at the black goop inside. "Come on, live. I can't use you unless you're still alive…"

The black blot then started to stretch and move. It rose up in a shapeless, melting form.

"Ha! You're alive. How do you feel Kid Rot now that you have nobody's company? Haha." Fartor then turned his attention to a lever next to the engine. "Now, to test your usefulness." He pulled down the lever and the bottom of the container started glowing with a blue shine. Electric jolts sparked around the Kid Rot bacteria that in reaction started squirming and twitching in a pained dance. Fartor smiled devilishly when he saw the vegetables in the tank decomposed.

Outside, MegaFartzilla kept terrorizing the city, rendering entire buildings to ruble. It then reared its tail and gave off a deafening roar. Methane gas spewed out of the tail-cannon, into the already poisoned sky.

"Yes, yes! I've done it!" Fartor exclaimed, hovering up into the air in celebration. "I can now use any of Kid Rot's powers as I wish and MegaFartzilla has finally consumed enough gas to rise into the upper atmosphere and to the final step of my plan. Mwahahahahahaha!"

"urgh…"

Fartor's jubilating laughter was interrupted when he heard something. An uncomfortable groan coming from the Rot-Connector. Mystified, Fartor moved closer to the machine. There, slumped over the dashboard was Kid Rot's host body, Chester.

"Unbelievable." Fartor said and pushed a few buttons on the control board. This caused the needles that puncturing Chester's body to retreat and the semi-conscious boy tumbled to the floor. Fartor picked Chester up by the shirt and looked him right in the face. "Amazing. I was sure that without the Kid Rot bacteria, his host body's cellular-structure would simple fall apart. Yet, here you are. Worse for wear but alive. You are a miracle of nature."

Chester's eyes were half open but they didn't seem to focus on anything. His body was listless like a doll. He looked sick. Chester then puked-up black slime. A lot of it actually.

Fartor thou wouldn't let some throw-up spoil his good mood thou. "You will be a fascinating subject for study…once I rule the world."

Abby had taken off her belt and was using it as a lasso to try to get the keys hanging outside her cell. A clever idea but ultimately futile. The belt would either miss or cling to the hook. After yet another failed attempt Abby groaned in annoyance.

Ty was looking on from his cell next to hers. "Try to get it thru the keychain." He suggested.

"Then what? It would still have to connect once it's thru." Abby let out a disappointed sigh. "Forget it, it would never have worked anyway." She strapped on her belt again and leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.

The two heard noises coming towards them so they hurried back to their respective doors to look out the windows. What they saw made them gasp in unison.

Fartor was coming down the hallway, dragging Chester's body over the floor. The flatologist was accompanied by two Rip-1s.

"Is that…Chester?" Abby gasped, barely believing what she was seeing.

Fartor came up to Ty's cell. Ty stared daggers at the methane-breather and Fartor had no problem returning the stares. "Step away from the door, Ty."

"Or else…" Ty inquired rebelliously.

"Or else my Rip-1s will cut the cheese…and your face." One of the robotic raptors snapped its jaws at Ty's face while the other one hissed menacingly. Ty reluctantly backed away from the door. Fartor opened it up and threw Chester's raggedy body into the cell.

Abby saw what was happening thru the small window in the wall. "Ty, is he…"

Ty crouched next to Chester and placed two fingers on the blond boy's throat to check his pulse. "He is fine but he seem to be in some sort of shock."

Abby glared at Fartor. "What did you do to him?"

"I turned on Kid Rot before he could turn on me. Also, I was getting tired of all his rot puns." Fartor replied. "I extracted the parasite out of his host body and is now using him as an engine to power MegaFartzilla's weapons."

'So Kid Rot is gone and Chester is back. I guess this the most positive development to happen today.' Abby thought but her optimism was short lived.

One of Fartor's tentacles lashed out and grabbed Ty, locking his arms and chest in a vice like grip before lifting him out of his cell and closed the door after him.

"Ty!" Abby cried out.

Fartor smirked as he stared into Ty's defiant eyes. "Now, before I take this shebang into the upper atmosphere there is one more task that needs to be carried out. The total destruction of the bureau of Grossology and for that I will need your help, Ty."

When Ty heard that he got stiff with fear. He gulped nervously.

"Remember when I said everyone has a reason to be here? Well Ty, its time I showed you your reason."

"This doesn't make any sense." Naomi exclaimed while Andy unlocked Ty's locker. He had seen Ty open it many time and had consequently learned the number combination. "I have seen the insides of Ty and Abby's lockers before. They're just ordinary school lockers."

"You've seen the inside of Ty's locker? Must have been after he took down all of those photos he had of you." Andy stated.

Naomi grimaced. "What?"

"Whops, that was supposed to be a secret. Please, don't tell Ty I told you that." Andy finally managed to open the door. The inside of Ty's locker was like it always was. No secret room, no secret shaft, nothing but books and papers and hair gel.

"I told you, it's a typical locker." Naomi said.

"The secret entrance is probably behind the lockers, not the lockers themselves." Andy stated. He rubbed his chin as he contemplated his next move. "To the chemistry lab!" Andy proclaimed and ran off, humming the 60s Batman theme tune.

Andy and Naomi returned to the lockers, 15 minutes later with Andy carrying a beaker with a transparent liquid.

"Now, this is a really strong superacid Naomi. It eats thru metal so we have to be careful not to get any on our skin." Andy explained.

"I let you handle it Andy. You're the science expert." Naomi said.

Andy got down on his knees and climbed into Ty's locker. He was about to pour the beaker's content onto the inner wall when he hesitated. He frowned worried and backed of the locker (his arms and the beaker was still inside thou).

"Is something wrong Andy?" Naomi asked.

"I was just wondering if this really is a good idea. I mean, this is pretty much vandalism and even if we get to the Grossologists' headquarters, they will probably just kick us out or worse. I mean, they are secret for a reason." Andy explained. Andy was a very cautious guy. The only times he ever got into anything risky was when he was with Ty, who was the more adventurous of the two.

Naomi was about to say something when someone interrupted. "What the heck are you two doing?" Naomi and Andy looked at who had said that. It was Roger Pink-Eye.

"Oh, hey Roger." Naomi said sheepishly and stepped in front of the locker so Roger wouldn't see what they were doing.

Roger crossed his arms and tapped his foot. "What are you doing with Ty's locker?"

"Um…" Naomi scratched her neck, she knew she had to come up with something. She got an idea. She scowled as spitefully as her cute face could and tried to speak with as much venom as she could muster. "Buzz-off Pink-Eye! Ty has been blowing me off one time too many so now I'm getting even by ruining his locker and taking whatever I want. It's no more than fair."

Roger arched the eyebrow over his one good eye. "That doesn't sound like you. I always thought you were some kind of saint."

"Well, maybe I'm tired of being nice." Naomi barked.

Roger turned his attention to Andy, tilting his head and raised his brow again. "And what about you, Andy? Aren't you supposed to be Ty's best friend or something?"

"Um…um…well, you see…" Andy tried to come up with a convincing lie but got too nervous to come up with anything.

"Wait, I know what's going on." Roger exclaimed. "Naomi has promised to date you if you help her get even with Ty, hasn't she?"

"Um, yeah." Andy nodded with a sheepish grin. "You know me, I do anything to get with a girl."

"Well, I am going to report this." Roger said and tried to walk away when Naomi grabbed him by his arms.

"No!" She forced him against a wall. "Listen, I have had a rough couple of weeks, Roger. Ty turned out to be amoral creep that just uses the once closest to him, my bullheaded brothers has treated me like dirt even more than usual and I am tiered of never getting what I want so leave me alone!"

For a moment, Roger seemed genuinely scared by the petite girl that was holding him up a wall but then scowled back and pushed her off him. "Fine. As if I care." The ginger haired boy exclaimed and stormed off in a huff.

Once he was gone Naomi turned to Andy. "Give me the acid Andy, I'll do it." Without saying anything, Andy handed her the beaked and Naomi then crept into the locker. She was truthful about one thing. She was tiered of not getting what she wanted. She wanted Ty and she wanted answers.

She carefully poured some of the acid to the flat metal surface. The fumes stung her nose a little. She then backed away, stood up and gave the inside of Ty's locker a firm kick. The metal plate fell in.

"Nice job." Andy said.

The two went thru the opening and came out on the other side of the wall. They found themselves in a mostly dark, mostly empty room. However there was a row of lights (almost like those on an airport) leading to what looked like an elevator at the end of the room. Neither of them felt like they could say anything, the anxiety was too high. Being the slightly braver of the two, Naomi took one step into light.

That proved to be a mistake.

The next second the two was blinded by a flash of light. They both shrieked in fear and Andy jumped up into Naomi's arms like in some kind of Hanna Barbera cartoon. Another light washed over them, like a scanner.

That was when a robotic voice started talking. "Scanners Can't Identify Your Bio-Signature or Visual Features In Register. Conclusion: Intruders. Action: Eliminate. "Suddenly a pair of giant lasers folded out of the walls, aiming at the two teens.

Andy hugged Naomi tighter, expecting pain but then he got an idea. He picked up Sentry-Pede from the floor and held it up for the scanners.

"Identifying DNA of Grossology Agent Ty Archer." The computer-voice stated and the lasers retreated back into the walls. "You May Proceed."

"I love you." Andy said to the little robot and kissed its cyclops head.

"You're a genius Andy." Naomi complimented and ran up to the elevator. "Come on." She waved and Andy joined her in the elevator.

The nicely lit elevator started descending down the shaft. "I can't believe we made it this far." Naomi exclaimed.

"Now, nothing can go wrong." Andy exclaimed.

"Initiating Retina Scan." The computer voice stated.

"Wait? What?" Andy said confused.

Yet another light scanned Andy and Naomi's eyes. "Retina Scan Fail to Recognize Any Grossology Agents In Vicinity. Conclusion: Intruders. Action: Immobilize."

Gas started to fill the elevator to the teens' horror. "Seriously?" Andy exclaimed right before the gas reached him and he started to faint.

"Andy!" Naomi managed to take a hold of the boy and leaned him against the nearest wall so he wouldn't fall but it was too late. Andy slumped down onto the floor.

The knockout gas was starting to get to Naomi as well. She coughed violently. She fell to her knees and her vision started getting blurry before finally falling onto the floor. She could hear the elevator coming to a stop.

The last thing Naomi saw was a shadowy figure towering over her, with a smaller shadowy figure on his shoulder. In her last moment of consciousness, she whispered, "Ty, where are you?"

Ty found that he couldn't open his eyes. If it was because he was too scared to open them, to find out what Fartor had done to him or if he was simply too weak to open them, not even he knew. He knew he was in pain thou. Not the kind of explosive pain one felt from an injury but the kind that festered inside of you and slowly grows, tearing at your mind.

Fartor pressed his lips close to Ty's ears. Ty knew it was him just by the smell. Strangely, Fartor's presence didn't fill him with fear as it rightfully should. "How do you feel?" Fartor asked in a smooth tone.

"Pain…hurt." Ty replied, whimpering.

"Where? Where does it hurt?"

Ty whined. "…Inside."

"Your heart. Does your heart hurt?"

"Yes."

"Why does your heart hurt?" Fartor asked next.

Ty pressed his eyelids even tighter, trying to remember. An image started to form in his mind. It was Naomi. Her friendly smile and big soulful eyes that once filled him with such amazing feelings now just intensified his pain. "Na-Naomi."

"Why? Why did Naomi hurt you?"

"The missions…I lied too many times and she… gave me so many chances." Ty sobbed.

Fartor smirked sadistically. "So who is it that's been hurting you?"

Ty's pain suddenly turned into an inferno of rage. He saw The Director, The Detective, LabRat, Abby, the Gaglab, and the GRS-1. Ty opened up his eyes. They were now tainted yellow and their irises had turned red. "The Bureau… The Bureau of Grossology did this to me."

"And what do you want?"

"Revenge." Ty growled. He felt himself float off the metallic berth he had been lying on, using a weaponized, methane-driven suit of armor.

"Yes, yes!" Fartor jubilated. "Rise, Far-Ty and do what you were meant to do. Destroy the bureau of Grossology."

Author's Note:

In hindsight, I should probably have made his chapter shorter. There was just so much to cover and I had no idea where to end it so sorry if it turned out a bit too long. I promise the rest of the chapters will be shorter.

But man, I managed to cover a lot of things in this chapter. Kid Rot is out (but not gone), Chester is back, Andy & Naomi has reached the bureau of Grossology and Ty has turned back into Far-Ty. What will I come up with next?

A correction for my last chapter; I stated that the redheaded reporter was never mentioned by name in the series so I referred to her as Stacey Dime but the show actually did mention her name once. In the episode 'Flushed Away' her name was revealed to be Kelly. So I went back and edited chapter 3. Now her name is officially Kelly even in this story. I'm sorry for any confusion I might have caused.

I hoped you guys enjoyed this latest chapter and as usual I will appreciate your review.