CHAPTER FIFTEEN
"Tapeworm…..Tape, wake up."
Tapeworm rolled onto his back and opened his eyes. It took a while for his eyes to focus before he realized that Max was standing at the side of his bed, her arm out, ready to shake him. He stared at her for a few seconds, not sure what to do. He couldn't breathe. He wasn't even sure if he was seeing what he was really seeing.
Max chuckled. "You're not going crazy, Tape," she said, as if reading his thoughts. "It's really me."
"Max…?" he breathed. He slowly sat up and then brought his hands up to his hair, grabbing onto the ends of it. Get your act together, man. You know that she's not really here. You're just dreaming.
"You are dreaming," Max said. Tapeworm was pretty sure that she could definitely read him mind at this point. "But I'm really here." To prove her point, she reached out and grabbed onto Tapeworm's hand. He jumped, startled, when he felt how warm it was.
As soon as his mind registered that her hand was in his, tears sprang to his eyes. He wasn't there when Max died, but he was there when they went to go and bury her body. He didn't cry, not in front of everyone anyway. Bailey, Everyone else cried, either loudly or quietly to themselves, but he didn't cry. Not until everything was over and he got home. He ignored the constant questions from his mother about his time on the ship and who Bailey was as she was staying at his house (guilt crept through his body at the thought that he had lied to his parents when he could have potentially been dead) and then went up to his room. He sat on his bed for twenty minutes in silence before he started to scream and cry. He understood at that moment why, at first, Zack and Riley didn't ever say that they were actually together. The idea of having to lose the person that you cared the most for (besides your family) it was just unbearable. Tapeworm cried for two hours straight, and then he fell into a deep sleep.
After that he acted like nothing was wrong on the outside, but it was tearing him apart, day by day on the inside. He knew that the others were giving him his space to grieve, but it was staring to get on his nerves a bit. Some of them walked on eggshells around him, others just didn't even bring it up; which was helpful. He and Cody talked a lot, him about how he was really feeling with his parents having left him and Zack, and then Tapeworm how he was really feeling about everything. It was good to be able to confide in him, like they used to when they were kids, like when they went to Math Camp. But there are still a few things that Tapeworm didn't tell him.
Max gave Tapeworm a sympathetic smile as she moved and sat next to him on his bed. "Don't freak out, Dude." She reached out and rubbed his back, the feeling sending chills up and down his spine. "It's me. Relax."
"How are you here?" Tapeworm whispered, lifting his head. His eyes were wide. "I'm not dead, am I?"
Max laughed quietly. "No, you're not dead." She reassured him.
"But…how can you be-"
"I already told you, you're dreaming." Max said patiently. Her smile faded and a serious look crossed her face. "But I don't have much time; I have so much that I need to show you." She got off of the bed and held out her hand.
Tapeworm ran a hand over his face. "Do I have time to get dressed?"
"You're still half-asleep aren't you?" Max laughed, placing her hands on her hips as Tapeworm got to his feet. He looked down at her and smiled a little when he saw that she was still wearing her hair in braids and had her hat on. As usual.
"Well, the fact that my girlfriend, whom I thought was dead, is standing right in front of me, telling me that I have to go somewhere with her…I'm a bit confused." Tapeworm said honestly.
Max held her hand out once more. "Come with me and everything will be clear. Well," she paused. "As clear as I can show you." She replied.
Tapeworm hesitated before taking her hand.
All at once, he felt exhausted. His lids fell, he tried, in vain, to keep them open, but he couldn't help it. He had to close his eyes. When he opened them again, Max was no longer by his side, he wasn't in his room in WingzCorp anymore.
He was in a hallway. A dark hallway with very little light, but just enough to see his reflection in the mirror that was across from him. He looked different than he thought, he had gotten too thing. So many years running around, trying to protect him and his friends had done that to him. With everything that was going on now, he was sure that his nutrition was going to take a downhill slide once more. He had some bags under his eyes, but they weren't that bad. Turning around, he noticed that there was nothing behind him, only darkness.
There was no light, no mirrors, nothing at all, only darkness.
Facing the direction he started out in, he walked down the hallway.
His eyes moved to the mirrored walls every few seconds. He couldn't help it; he had to look at them. Every now and then he would see glimpses of his past. When he was a kid, back when he was normal; when he didn't worry about his life. Back when he was constantly being made fun of. He was always the odd one out, he never knew why. It wasn't until he met Max that he felt like he finally had a friend, and then came Zack and Cody and the others…. All of a sudden all Tapeworm could see was his reflection. Sighing, Tapeworm started walking once more. At the end of the hallway was a door that he hadn't noticed before. His footsteps echoed along the hallway, his ragged breath filling his ears. Tapeworm finally reached the door and grabbed onto the handle. He paused for a moment before turning the doorknob and pushing the door open. On the other side of the door was another room. There was nothing in the room but a mirror. By the mirror was a figure in a dressed all in black, wearing a black cloak as well.
Tapeworm walked over and looked into the mirror. He looked at his reflection. No…not his reflection. He looked at himself, distant from everyone, sullen. Hiding from the world. He then turned towards the figure that was in the room. The figure leaned towards Tapeworm and his mouth opened to reveal sharp, pointed teeth. He took a breath and then whispered, "If you leave I will find you. If you die I will follow you. You're not going to get rid of me."
Shocked, Tapeworm took a step back.
All of a sudden, he felt something jerk his hand and his eyes flew open and he saw Max standing in front of him, looking concerned. Her eyes were searching his, looking back and forth from his left one to his right.
"Tape, are you ok?" She asked.
"Yeah, I-I'm fine." Tapeworm replied, shaking his head. He looked at Max curiously. "Is… is that what you wanted to show me?"
Max shook her head this time. "I haven't even moved yet," she said, gently squeezing his hand. "You just closed your eyes and then…started to mutter something, and then you snapped back, gasping for air like you were just drowning or something."
Tapeworm moved his free hand to his throat. Drowning? Yes, he supposed that's what it felt like. That he was being choked off by whatever it was that was talking to him. Maybe he had been drowning and didn't realize it. He dropped his hand to his side and turned back to Max, nodding, letting her know that he was ok.
"Alright, let's go." Max took Tapeworm's other hand in hers and closed her eyes.
A bright light filled the room. A blinding light. Tapeworm squeezed his eyes shut, but the light penetrated his eyelids. He saw nothing but luminosity. The sound of drums pounded in his ear, as if a war was about to begin, as if the drums were warning someone. He opened his eyes again and the light turned to a pale blue light. He could see, but there was nothing there but blue light. He wasn't standing. He was floating. At that point in his life, he shouldn't have been surprised, but it was still a bit scary to him. Especially since he didn't know what was around him. He tried to walk, but quickly found that you could not walk on air, as his feet flew up and he was floating upside down. As he was overturned, it made the blood flow to his head, making him lightheaded. Slowly the sapphire light turned into blackness and Tapeworm's body became numb. A soft angelic tune hummed in his ears, comforting him. He felt safe; he was filled with serenity as he was serenaded by the softness of the melody. He heard the drums begin to pick up again, trying to overcome the peaceful tune. The exquisite harmony only sung louder, spreading tranquility that prevailed over the dreadful thrashes of the drums. Even though you could scarcely hear the drums, they still existed for they would never stop, but only be distance until time for them to conquer once again.
"Tape, you can open your eyes now," Max said beside him, laughing a little at his expense.
Tapeworm slowly opened his eyes and he gasped when he saw what was below him. A wonderful landscape that had lush, green, rolling hills to the left, mountains in front of him, a…volcano to the right. There was an area that was filled with snow, and there was ocean water as far as he could see.
"Wow," he whispered.
"I know," Max replied with a warm smile. "Do you know where we are?"
"No," Tapeworm shook his head, his eyes darting back and forth, unable to hold still. He had to take in everything, he knew, somehow, that he wasn't going to be there long. He had to be sure that he saw everything that he needed to see, to be able to remember it all. "Where are we?"
"My home."
Tapeworm turned his head and saw Ursa at his side, in his human form. Tapeworm wasn't sure what age he was supposed to be, he knew that his guardian had been alive for a long time, but he looked young. He couldn't mask the look of happiness that was on his face, the same kind of look that anyone got when they were about to get home from being away for so long. His green eyes, which resembled emeralds, were sparkling.
"Come on," Max took Tapeworm's hand and pointed herself towards the ground. Tapeworm smiled a little as they propelled towards the ground easily. Max's element had always been air (or wind depending on who you asked) and she said that having it felt like she was always free. Now he understood what she meant. The feeling of the wind rushing by him easily spiked his adrenaline.
When the three touched the ground, Ursa quickly started to walk back and forth, sniffing loudly. "Yep, its home. It smells like it."
"So, we're in the Element World?" Tapeworm asked, turning to Max.
"Yes and No." Max replied calmly. She had her arms crossed over her chest. "We're in the Elemental World, but not physically. We're here in your dream."
Tapeworm rolled his eyes. Does everything always have to do with our dreams? Why can't things just be straight forward?
Max smiled and walked over to Tapeworm's side, wrapping an arm around his waist. "It's really beautiful, right?" She asked. Tapeworm nodded. "I spend most of my time here if I'm not…" she let her voice trail off before she stared to walk off into the woods. Tapeworm followed her and Ursa walked a few ways behind Tapeworm, always protective of his ward.
"Why are we here?" Tapeworm asked as he followed her.
"Our world isn't the only place that's falling apart," Max replied over her shoulder. She continued to walk through the woods. The three stopped only when she reached the edge of an overhanging cliff. She motioned Tapeworm to her side and pointed down. Tapeworm stood next to her and followed where she was pointing.
He didn't see anything; all he could see were little things moving around, he was sure that it was people. It seemed like they were in their own little village. He then noticed movement towards the left, moving close to the village. He strained hard to see, but then recognized what he was looking at.
Wolves.
A pack of them.
They came at a run, full out from two directions, racing straight for the unprotected crowd. It was like some classroom nature film. Like watching as a lion pride attacked a herd of antelope. Only this herd was human. This herd had to reservoir of lightning speed.
Helpless.
Panic struck them; they surged toward the middle, villagers at the edges seeing their doom approach on swift paws.
"Oh my god," Tapeworm said. His instinct to help immediately filled his veins. He clenched his hands into fists, his hands encased in a glowing, green light. "We have to help them." He turned to his guardian, who looked back at him. "Ursa, turn to your animal form and let's-"
"You can't." Max interrupted. "I told you, it's not really real. It's just a dream. But this is what's really going on." She turned to Tapeworm, her eyes filled with fear. "Earth isn't the only place that you have to save. You have to save the Elemental World too. The collapse…it wasn't the only problem. That was only because Gattaca's absence was starting to affect it. Now that he's back… something else is happening."
"Ursa was being controlled when he came back to me, when I got my powers back." Tapeworm said, thinking hard. "Do you think that it has something to do with this?"
Max nodded.
But what?
Tapeworm let out a sigh through his nose, turning his head away as the screams started to get louder. He placed his hands over his ears and they abruptly stopped. He didn't want to look down; just in case he saw something he didn't want to see. Instead, he turned to Max.
"Have you seen Canis?" He asked her.
Pain filled Max's eyes before she smiled a little. "Briefly," she replied. "Before she was being re-born."
"Re-born?" Tapeworm echoed.
Max took Tapeworm's hand and they went off into the air once more. When they landed, they were in the middle of an area that seemed like it was underground. Like he was in a cave, but the air was semi-dry, semi-wet. He could hear voices; he could hear people talking, and babies crying. Tapeworm followed Max down the tunnel until they came out in a area that was filled with woman that were dressed like nurses walked around little bassinets that covered the floor. Max led Tapeworm over to a bassinet and he looked down to see a baby sleeping quietly in one.
"I remember this place," Ursa said as he poked his head over the bassinet. "Barely," he added. "My mom said that I cried a lot when I was here."
"Babies do that," Max smiled. "You see, Tapeworm, this is like a hospital to the Element Kingdom, which is the area of the Element World that we're in. Women who are going to give birth come here to be sure that everything is ok. When the babies are born, they're taken here to be cared for before they can be taken home, just like human babies." She quickly corrected himself. "Well, they are human. But the difference is that these babies have the opportunity to become guardians, though not all of them do. Whenever a guardian is…killed, they have the choice of whether or not they want to be re-born, to be made the guardian to someone else, or to die along with their master.
"So Canis?" Tapeworm asked.
"She's over there," Max pointed before walking over to a bassinet that was in the back corner. When the three peered down into it, the baby girl that was inside, looked up at them with a curious look. When she looked at Max, you could see that her eyes lit up, but then she looked around at the other two around her and the light faded. "I know she knows me, subconsciously, but I don't know if she remembered me yet. She's going to be assigned to a new ward, that's what she and I both wanted."
"Max, this must be really hard for you." Tapeworm said gently.
"Ah, not really," Max shrugged. "I'm glad that she's going to help someone else, Chris. That's all that I could want." She turned to Tapeworm. "You guys really needed to see this, so you knew what was going on. Just as there's more like that's being brought in here, there's more like being taken away. And ther's something that's starting to take over."
"Do you know what it is?" Tapeworm asked, practically pleading with his eyes for her to tell him.
Max gave a sarcastic laugh. "Do we ever?"
All of a sudden, the room filled with the bright blue light once more. Max gave Tapeworm a sad smile as she moved forward and stood close to him. He knew what that meant; it was time for him to go. Tapeworm closed his eyes briefly as he nodded. When he opened them again, he gave Max a warm smile. She wrapped her arms around his waist and he did the same to her shoulders. He stood at a little over six foot and was almost exactly a foot taller than her so she rested her head on his shoulder right by his neck and he rested his chin on the top of her head. It wasn't as uncomfortable as Tapeworm thought it was going to be. He expected her to be cold, but like before, she was warm. He felt so at peace that he closed his eyes and stood there with her inhaling the faint scent of her perfume. Max could hear the soft murmur of his heartbeat and she tightened her arms around him and he responded by doing the same.
They didn't want to let go.
Not again.
Tapeworm gently leaned her head back and looked into her eyes. Max smiled back, just as softly as he was smiling at her. Tapeworm leaned down and pressed his lips to her lips. His tears began to fall harder than they ever had before. When he parted their lips he saw a soft smile on the lips he fell in love with 3 years ago.
That smile was the last thing he saw before the light came back and he was taken away again.
…
..
.
Tapeworm sucked in a breath as his eyes shot open. He looked around the room and realized that he was still in his bed in WingzCorp. He sat up and shook out his hair, running his hands over his face. It was just a dream.
A dream?
It felt too real to be a dream. But that didn't surprise him either. Their dreams were always something that each of them took seriously. It was something that they got answers from, but this time, all Tapeworm had were questions. He had to talk to someone about this, and he knew that there was only one person that could help him at a time like this.
Tapeworm quickly jumped out of bed and went over to the desk that was in the room. He pulled the top right drawer open and pulled out flashlight before he hurried from his room, blindly finding his way to Zack's and Cody's room. He didn't really know where he was going; WingzCorp was so big, he was sure that he would get lost thirty times during the day. But he was determined to find Cody and nothing was going to stop him at this point. When he reached the room, he knocked lightly before opening the door.
"Cody, are you awake?" he whispered loudly.
"How can I not be?" Cody's sarcastic voice responded from the left side of the room. Tapeworm closed the door behind him and quietly moved over to Cody's bed. "I could usually sleep with Zack's snoring before, but the fact that this room echoes is freaking ridiculous." Tapeworm's light laughter was drowned out by another one of Zack's loud snores. "What's wrong?"
Tapeworm turned on the flashlight and held it up so the two of them could see each other. Tapeworm smiled a little when he saw Blankie sitting around Cody's shoulders. Some things never change. Tapeworm sat down on the floor next to Cody's bed. The cold seeped through his clothes and into his bones.
"I had a dream, that I saw Max," Tapeworm said slowly. "And…I don't know if it was real or not, but it felt real. I could feel her, like; my hand didn't go through her. And she took me to the Element World and-"
"Wait, Tapeworm, slow down." Cody held up a hand. "You saw Max?" He looked a little skeptical.
"I'm not going crazy, Codes." Tapeworm said, already starting to feel defensive.
"I didn't say you were," Cody said mildly. "I'm just worried about you. You don't talk about what happened much, and if you bottle things up, that's not healthy." He waved a hand. "Take Crys or the Jacksons for example."
Tapeworm gave a wry smile. "Crys still won't tell you why she's mad at you?"
"No, but that's not the point." Cody said quickly.
Tapeworm gave a short laugh. It sounded like he couldn't believe what he was about to say."You know, when it came to death, I always wondered what would happen. My parents always told me about God and heaven and angels and everything. So…when Max died…" he trailed off for a moment and Cody nodded, urging him to continue. "I always wondered if she became an angel or whatever. Way up there in heaven, looking down on me. I would wonder if she could see me crying for her and what she thought. If she were in my dream I could see her face so clearly but when I woke up, it was as if her memory was slipping through my fingers. I hated it, I hated forgetting."
Cody frowned, seeming to know what he was feeling. That's why Tapeworm enjoyed talking to him so much; he always seemed to empathize with whatever it was that someone else was feeling. Cody used to get teased for being so sensitive, but it was something that Tapeworm always admired about him.
"Sorry, dude." He said quietly.
"It's alright," Tapeworm waved a hand. "But I swear I saw her in my dream tonight. I felt her. She was really there. She told me that there was something going on with the Element World and then she showed me. Something bad is going on there, Cody. Something there is what's taking over our guardians when they try to get back."
Cody nodded once. "Did you see any of our guardians?"
"I saw Canis," Tapeworm said. He then explained about the 'hospital room' that the babies were born in. "I never thought that the Elementals would live basically the same way that we did."
"Tape," Cody was one step behind. "How could you see Canis if she died?"
"Oh," Tapeworm licked his lips. "Max explained, saying that when guardians die, they have the option of actually dying along with their ward…or being re-born and becoming a guardian to someone else. Canis decided to be someone else's guardian."
"So we have hope, if our guardians die," Cody nodded, a sense of relief falling over him. "That's good." He then turned serious, looking at Tapeworm closely. "Why do I get the feeling that there's something that you're not telling me, though?"
Tapeworm hesitated. There were two things that he wasn't telling him. He wasn't telling him about the cloaked figure and the mirrors that he saw in his dream. And he wasn't telling him what he and Bailey were planning on doing. It was so complicated at this point, but he knew that he was going to explode if he didn't tell him something.
"I know that Core is up to something," Tapeworm said slowly. "I think that he's going to go and try to find the Element Stone, he has a few ideas…" He cleared his throat. "I was thinking of following him, to see if he actually does find it."
"Are you crazy?" Cody's eyes widened. "Don't you think that's really dangerous?"
"Yes," Tapeworm nodded. "But as one of the few of us that have our powers back, I think that it would be really helpful if we see what it can do. I'll do my best to stay out of sight so I don't have anyone else running on our tail."
"And what are the rest of us supposed to do?" Cody paused when Zack's snoring died down for a minute. But he rolled onto his other side, pulling his blanket up over his head and his snoring started once more. Cody rolled his eyes as if he was saying 'can you believe him?' Tapeworm smiled. Cody went back to the topic at hand. "Are we supposed to just sit here and wait for you?"
"No," Tapeworm shook his head. "You guys are going to work hard to try and get your powers back, and so your fighting instincts don't go to waste. If worse comes to worse, you have WingzCorp, Crystal, and whatever it is that Aaron can do, to help you guys."
"I still think it's a bad idea." Cody said slowly. "But I'm not going to stop you; I can tell that you won't be stopped no matter what I say."
Tapeworm nodded. He knew that he was threatening his trust with Cody by not telling him that Bailey was going too. Cody would be furious if…when he found out. It was something that they had to risk, cause if Cody tried to stop them, Bailey would be even more torn than she already was. That was the one thing that none of them liked about being in a relationship with all of this going on, besides potentially losing the other person; whether you admitted it or not, your view over what you would do quickly changed so the other person had some sort of a hold over your decisions.
Tapeworm didn't have to worry about that anymore.
"I'll keep your secret for now," Cody said. "But you know that I suck at lying. You're going to have to tell everyone else soon."
"I know." Tapeworm agreed, grateful.
"When are you going to leave?"
"As soon as Core does. I need to follow him."
"Alright," Cody held out a hand and Tapeworm grabbed onto it. The two drew towards each other and then slapped each other on the back. Cody then gave Tapeworm a real hug, which Tapeworm willingly returned. "Be safe, alright."
"I will." Tapeworm nodded before getting up and leaving the room.
Even when he was back in his bed, trying to get a few more hours of sleep, the cold never left his body.
It wasn't until early that morning that Tapeworm was shaken awake by Bailey. He silently nodded to her and she left the room she could get dressed and gather his things together. He pulled his backpack over his back and made sure to put his watch on before he left his room and followed Bailey outside of WingzCorp. He could hear Core's footsteps through the woods, loud at first, then growing fainter.
Ursa appeared at his side in a flash of green light and Tapeworm turned to him, running his hand over his fur. It was times like these that he wished that his guardian could fly, that way they wouldn't have to risk being seen, and they wouldn't have to walk or run most of the way. But at the same time, he enjoyed being one of the few elementals around them that didn't have a flying guardian. It made him feel special. Besides, what other bear did anyone know that could easily fell a tree with one swipe, as if moving it through cheese? Ursa looked back at him, his eyes showing the same thing that Tapeworm was feeling.
Determination and fear.
"Are you ready to go?" Bailey asked, hitching her backpack up onto her shoulders. She looked over her shoulder, listening as Core's footsteps started to disappear with the wind.
"Ready." Tapeworm replied.
A/N: Woo, a Tapeworm filled chapter. I hope that you guys liked it. Who knows what else will happen now that the two of them are gone? I'll update again soon. Thanks for the feedback so far!
Cheers,
-Riles