Chapter 1: Brother Of Mine
If anyone were piloting a helicopter over the forests of North America. One would eventually find a gigantic turtle whose appearance reminded one of a battle mech from their favorite robot-bashing movie. Most people would start panicking and immediately assume that someone was building mechs for world takeover. However, if the pilot were a member of the zoology/biology/engineering communities. They would snap a quick photo, hash tag #IFoundTheGOATS, post it if they had dependable wifi, then move on to reach their destination. Or for obvious safety reasons, they might ask any available passengers onboard to do it for them. For the massive turtle that was not a turtle and definitely not some madman's super weapon. Happened to be the Tortuga HQ, a versatile behemoth that was the main transport of the Wild Kratts.
A global response team charged with ensuring that animal conservation and ecological efforts worldwide ran smoothly. Staying attuned to the natural world to alert of any impending disasters to the animal kingdom or the ecosystems. Ever since their formation, about twenty-seven different species and nine major habitats have been saved. Along with the creation of fourteen habitats, three eco-friendly global policies, and thirty-two inventions that aided other ecologists, zoologists, engineers, biologists, and mechanics. To top it all off, Team Kratt contributed a total of seventy five crucial discoveries to the scientific community. Forever cementing their place in the history book of science.
A few feet away from the parked Tortuga. A fold-up table had been set up for one of the team's founders, Chris Kratt, to organize his stuff. Sure, it would be far more convenient to reorganize everything inside their HQ. However, there was nothing that Chris enjoyed more than being out in the warm sunshine while being surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of majestic and climb-ready trees. The brunette carefully repacked the last of the dozen first aid kits standing neatly on the table, divided in stacks of three each. The busy biologist hummed a little as he set the kit aside to start filling up the team's backpacks. They had a mission tomorrow that required all hands on deck, so he jumped onto preparations as soon as he filed in the last report.
Keeping in mind everyone's specific needs and preferences, he carefully filled up each pack. Optimizing as much space as possible while double-checking that each bag was in acceptable condition for adventuring. When he opened the rations trunk he kept on the side of the table to grab rations for Jimmy-he received a nasty shock. Apparently someone had been sneaking snacks from one of the ration chests despite their strict food supply policy. The thief had raided the box of granola bars and left only six bars left for the remaining four people. Chris' grip tightened on the trunk's lid. There was only one person who would dare to break regulations, especially when granola bars were concerned.
It wasn't Jimmy for sure. The team's pilot had his own "secret stash" of snacks so he would not be tempted to decimate the rations. More troubling was that Jimmy needed those bars far more than the culprit for tomorrow. His gamer friend was burdened with Type 1 diabetes, so Chris always made sure to add in a little extra for his pal. (Also he always double-checked that the latter had taken his injections or had enough sugar pills.) Now, thanks to the carelessness of a certain culprit he often felt tempted to strangle. Aviva and Koki would either have to go without the bars or Jimmy would have to get by with too little.
It did not help matters that their ration supply took a hit from two weeks ago when they found three lost kids who have been dumped in the woods by-no. He did not want to even think about it! The kids stayed with them for about five days before the forest rangers finally arrived to return them home. Chris did not regret helping those cast off youngsters. However, it still cost them a considerable portion of their own supplies nevertheless. Together he and Koki had to meticulously recalculate everything they had so that they could get by until their next supply run. Now he felt all their hard work starting to come undone because SOMEONE caved into his craving for granola bars.
Realistically, it was just a small and misfortunate detail in the grand scheme of things. Yet to Chris even the smallest of details always mattered. "Next time, we are skipping the blueberry and chocolate drizzled ones..." He grumbled as he closed the trunk before standing up. The frazzled brunette walked right up to a familiar red head enjoying the otherwise gorgeous day in a hammock he set up. "Say Jimmy..." Chris sighed a bit with regret as he addressed the pilot. Jimmy Z opened a eye, "Hhhmmm? Yeah, I just took mine a hour ago." He held up his left arm which sported a red band-aid with stars.
The green-clad Kratt shook his head explaining, "That's good but I'm not checking on your injections right now. Do you happened to have any leftover snacks from your stash?" The gamer thought about it for a moment before musing, "Does this have something to do with the granola bar wrappers in the trash bin? I saw them while throwing away some junk this morning." A slight twitch from the increasingly agitated brunette told Jimmy that he had hit the mark. So the redhead replied, "Don't sweat it Chris, I can bring my own snacks for tomorrow. I'll even bring some extra sugar pills." He assured him.
"Okay good, but leave enough until we can get you more." Chris sighed before leaving Jimmy to enjoy his siesta. Okay, so that would mean two bars for me, Koki, and Aviva. None for that dummy because I'm sure he had more than his fair share. Honestly, would it hurt him to restrain his impulses once in- His train of thought screeched to a halt when he reached his table. His creature pod had been placed in an accessible spot that did not block him from moving supplies. Now that spot was as empty as the granola bar box would have been if the bandit failed to leave any behind.
This time he did not resist from face palming, "And of course some curious animal had to snatch my creature pod behind my back..." He groaned. As he walked closer to the table he spotted some paw prints nearby. Since they led up to the vacant pod spot, he immediately began tracking the trail. As he scrutinized the paw prints he noticed how bizarre they looked. He whipped out a magnifying glass he always kept on hand. Bending down a bit as he followed the path the mischievous animal robber had took. "Too round to be a gray wolf's...The claw marks seem a little abnormal...Its definitely not a wild feline or any other predator I'm familiar with...In fact, it looks more like they were made by some cheap prop for monster movies-"
The realization hit him harder than that one time he got walloped by a red kangaroo. Before he could backtrack to save himself a familiar figure covered in leaves jumped him! "I AM BIGFOOT!" "Auuuuggghhhh!" The collision caused so much force that the duo ended up rolling into a ball. A ball that slipped down a slipper slope before unceremoniously splashing into a river at the bottom. SPLASH! Chris spluttered in anger as he attempted to get out of the water, "BRO. NOT COOL!" The younger Kratt growled as he faced the laughing, blonde, and blue loving brother that had unwittingly caused him so much hassle.
"Ya should have seen your face dude! Your eyes were the size of dinner plates!" Martin Kratt howled in amusement as he wiped away an imaginary tear. His sibling just glared at him, clearly unamused as he crossed his arms, "So were you just lying in wait to be Bigfoot all day? Or did you actually get anything done?" He snapped. Martin, seeing he had pressed one too many of his little brother's buttons. Quickly scrambled to pull him up saying, "Don't worry, I finished up everything for today! I even have a extra brown bat colony report to file in for later." Chris wrung out his jacket as he grumped, "That's nice and all but-wait... What do you mean from that? Were you up ALL night?!"
The ruffled brunette exclaimed as he recalled he had not seen Martin at all this morning. The latter gulped as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Uuuuuhhh, so I may have felt a little insomniac and went out for a walk. And I stumbled upon a bat colony that we haven't tagged yet-so I worked on the full report on them to get registered. It just happened to take..." He trailed off when he noticed the tell-tale twitching of his brother. The pit of his stomach churned and not from the "snacks" he had taken along. He held up his hands as he attempted to patch things up, "You guys can have the rest of the bars! I'm sorry the rationing slipped my mind a bit! Uuuuuhhhhh, you want to see the colony?.." He lamely offered.
Chris just stared at him for a solid minute before announcing, "We are not buying the blueberry or chocolate drizzled granola bars." "Nnnnnnooooooooo why?! Dude, not cool!" The elder Kratt protested in despair. The younger one just ignored his pleas as he scanned the riverbank for his lost communicator. He found his creature pod resting on a smooth, large stone not to fall away from him. (Fortunately, it appeared to be entirely intact without cracks. If it were than Chris would be sorely tempted to ban his brother's favorites for the next two supply runs.)
He bent down to pick it up. Too bad a adorable little beaver kit decided to snatch it for herself. "HEY!" The adventurer loved animals, but as the beaver kit splish-splashed away carrying his pod with dangerously-damaging looking teeth. It was adding insult to injury for his worsening day. "Hey, give it back!" He splashed after the fuzzy little thief who fled for refuge inside a log. Martin oh-so-helpfully laughed at him as he tried to retrieve his hostage device. Whenever he stuck his arm into one end of the log, the kit dashed to the other side. Then by the time Chris switched to the other end the kit would be on the opposite side.
"Come on! You don't need it! GIVE. IT." The frustrated biologist demanded through clenched teeth as he stretched as far as he could into the log. His amused sibling had a few more hearty laughs before finally deciding to intervene. (Or risk having his poor little bro lose a gasket.) The blonde whistled as he checked the riverbank for what he needed. He picked up a medium sized stick that was not too thick for a lil kit's mouth. Then he strode over to the end of the log unoccupied by a fuming Kratt on the verge of losing it. He bent down to smile at the stubborn kit before offering the stick. "Here ya go Carmie! A nice, chewy stick just for you!" He singsong temptingly.
The cute little critter padded over to the smiling adventurer and not the hopping mad one. It dropped the creature pod to chomp onto the stick. Martin swiped the tiny tablet before petting the happy baby beaver. His new fuzzy friend beamed up at him before leaping back into the water to join her family. He sauntered over to his brother with the pod in hand. Tossing it to the grouchy biologist before ruffling the latter's somewhat dried hair saying, "There ya go dude! Big bro got your back." He bragged confidently. Instead of thanking him, Chris swatted him away as he scowled, "Still your fault this happened! And why Carmie?"
"After the one and only Carmen Sandiego! Her fur is a bit reddish, she DID steal your pod, and she has the same sparkle in her eyes as-" "OK, I AM STOPPING YOU RIGHT THERE." Chris held up a hand before checking his tablet. Once again he found yet another detail not to his liking. "Yay. There are teeth marks on my favorite case. It's what I always wanted." He grumped sarcastically as he frowned at the marks marring his jaguar printed case highlighted with neon green.
Martin attempted to soothe his ticked off brother as he placed a hand on his shoulder, "Hey! Look at this way! You just received a once-in-a-lifetime autograph of the young Carmie! Who will one day become the Carmen Sandiego of all the beavers-" Chris slapped him. "Ow!" Martin held up his cheek. "Shut up or risk making my day any worse..." His siblings snarled before stalking off. Planning to finish his to-do-list as quickly as possible so that he could lock himself away in his room for the rest of the day. Preferably with books and a few steaming cups of Joe as company instead of his lovable idiot of a brother-
He didn't even make it off the riverbank before being engulfed into a unexpected but comforting hug. For a moment the green climber toyed with the idea of dunking his oversized blue pest in the river a couple dozen times. Then decided against it because it could easily escalate into a dunking spree. The duo stood in silence for a few blissful moments before the elder spoke up, "So, sorry about the bars. I'll accept the consequences as a reminder to be more careful with the rations. And I can help ya with packing up the gear for tomorrow after we have lunch."
Chris was about to shake his head, "I might have to eat later. I'm already more than fifteen minutes off my schedule-" "Ggggurggleeee..." The biologist's stomach strongly objected to the proposal. Chris blushed crimson as Martin let out a chuckle at his expense, "Come on bro! Even busy bees need to fuel up! You can be a workaholic sometimes." The blue swimmer claimed as he led his brother out of the river. The brunette was still annoyed but he let loose a smile, "Well, someone has to make sure our operations will run smoothly." He quipped back.
One hearty lunch, a short food fight, and several hours of organization later...
Chris laid back in bed in the privacy of his "room". Which was only as spacious as two large closets placed together. However, the Tortuga was not a moving mansion despite its apparent bulk. Plus, he did not require that much space in the first place. He had all the space he could want whenever he went outdoors.
He had just reached the eighth chapter of his new book, Avenger of Athena, when his creature pod awoken, beeeeeeep! Frowning a bit due to not expecting any calls and wanting to enjoy himself. He set his book carefully down as he picked up his device. The second he registered the phone number on the screen he instantly tasted bile surging through his throat. He placed his pod back onto his bedside stand to avoid spoiling his tranquil evening. Unfortunately, the tablet continued ringing with vibrations as the caller on the other end persisted.
Beeeeep! Beeeeep!
Beeeeep! Beeeeep!
Beeeeep! Beeeeep!
Beeeeep! Beeeeep!
Moaning in defeat, Chris reluctantly tore himself away from the world of Greek myths to face the insistent caller. He picked up his pod, sucked in a deep breath, and pressed answer to the incoming voice call. "Good! I knew you would pick up your call eventually. Nice to see you have a workload despite the frivolous and fun-seeking nature of your current occupation." A pompous voice assumed. Chris held back a groan before greeting back, "Hi Henry, yes my job is fun. But you do know that at least nine creature adventurers die annually while twenty-four receive major injuries every year." He politely reminded him with a slightly pointed frown.
Henry, otherwise known as Dr. Higgs, merely shrugged it off saying, "Such a small percentage my boy and please, you are free to call me Dr. Higgs anytime! On the bright side of those somewhat dismal numbers, at least that clumsy fool of your brother has been lucky enough not to be one of them. Although I wouldn't be surprised if you had to invite me to his funeral a year or two from now." Chris did not approve of violence. That did not mean however he never felt the fancy to knock someone's teeth out. The person chattering away at the other end of screen was not helping in curbing the temptation either.
"Now to business. We missed you here at Artemis' Oasis. So much so that everyone accepted my proposal to temporarily have you back on the team." Now Chris was seriously contemplating ripping off arms. "I beg your pardon doc?" He uttered in a tone that any man with common sense would take as a sign to back off.
Dr. Higgs was a bit too confident to heed common sense. He obliviously droned on, "There is a new project we had just undertaken at the company. Unfortunately, two of the members chosen for the team had the misfortune of being in a bus accident on the way to work."
Chris gasped, "Did they survive?" His ex-coworker answered casually, "Don't worry my dear boy! Both are alive but sadly not well. The project has a strict deadline of four months and maybe a week depending on the higher-ups' patience. However, the former members will not be able to return to work in time to help finish the project. So it is crucial for this project's success that you manage to come back to California preferably by next Monday."
The baffled Kratt could not believe what was unfolding before him. Was his ex-coworker actually forcing him to come back to Artemis' Oasis without his consent or even mere consideration for his own schedule?! "What?! You TOLD everyone I would be coming back?! I did not even agree to any of this Henry! What the flipping heck are you doing promising I'll come?!" The brunette protested as his creature pod began trembling from his rising agitation.
The calling biochemist gave his former colleague a look that was usually reserved for uncooperative children. With the urge of a pressuring parent Dr. Higgs responded, "Kratt. Not to offend you in any way. YET, it's high time you use that biological brilliance of yours to contribute back to science. You surely cannot waste your talent chasing after your wayward brother all the time. Hhhhmmmmm?" The biologist's pod was now in imminent danger of getting crushed by his grip.
With all the politeness of a lion forced to not engage with his arch rival. He retorted, "Henry. I am an adult with my own responsibilities and duties. I left Artemis' Oasis seven years ago and I do NOT intend to return. I am flattered you attempted to include me on this very important project. Unfortunately, I'll have to pass and YOU will have to inform the higher-ups' that they will have to find someone else. Which should not be any trouble for the prestigious company I once worked for." He pointed out.
Now most people would relent after someone stood their ground. Alas, Dr. Higgs only scoffed as he argued, "You really, really, really, really, need to disentangle yourself from your brother. Its unprofessional, immature, and impractical at how enamored you are with him. I do hope that I will not have to give any happy congratulations at one point." He glared at the green-clad Kratt with scorn and irritation. Chris' gaze slowly turned blazing red.
He had clearly set down his boundaries. Only for them to be stepped over like a dirtied rain puddle. Then have the water thrust into his face. Before the biochemist could insult him further-the creature adventurer ended the call. Then blocked the number just to be safe. He immediately began typing the most persuasive email he could configure despite his emotional state rocking the boat in his brain. Finally he sent the email to his former bosses at Artemis' Oasis. Hopefully, they would not attempt to convince him otherwise...
The creature pod was dumped into a duffel bag before being buried by dozens of clothes. Chris thrust the duffel bag under his bed for the time being. He flopped back onto his bed with a strangled growl. The idiot he just hung up on had triggered the train in his brain. A train that chugged up unpleasant memories he tried his hardest to erase or ignore. He stuffed his head under a pillow as he tried to halt its advance. Which had unluckily began reaching unstoppable speeds within the depths of his mind.
"Jeez, can't that dumb-dumb take anything seriously?"
"Ha! I knew blue belle would somehow screw it up!"
"What a absolute clown, too bad none of the circuses are allowed to have those furry babies he loves anymore."
"Chris, please understand. We mean not to offend you or your family. It is just that your brother is not as dependable or capable as you are."
"Yo dude, isn't Martin good at anything else besides being a jokester and doodling?"
"I KNOW your brother did it Kratt! We are not wasting already dwindling time in investigating a outrageous stunt HE IS absolutely responsible for!"
"Chris, I asked for you to be part of my life and no one else! We don't need anyone interfering with US, especially that so-called older brother of yours! I don't intend to waste any of my precious time with that klutzy goofball-Oh?! So you are going to break up with me over him?! Hmph! I should have known..."
"Why can't your brother be more like you Chris? Is it too much to ask? Why don't you DO something about his attitude?"
"Tis a shame that someone as prestigious as Dr. Kratt has to suffer the misfortune of having someone like, Mr. Martin, as a sibling. Now, now, Dr. Kratt do not fret! We know your troubles and we won't condemn you for your blood. Every family has black, or in this case, blue sheep..."
"You cannot leave just because your crazy brother came up with this stupid "Team Kratt" idea! Its going to fail and you know it! Because your brother is nothing but a-"
"Chris? Are you okay?!" The younger Kratt jolted upright to face the one person that was the center of his spirals into turmoil. Martin Kratt held two cups of hot chocolate with whipped cream dollop generously on each. (Although Martin's of course had a bunch of star shaped blue marshmallows on top.) He passed over one of the mugs as he questioned, "Did you forget your anxiety pills today? That's like the one thing your forgetful about."
The brunette gave a nod as he accepted the warm mug. He stared at the dancing polar bear and walrus depicted on it as his elder sibling began rummaging for his medication. The blonde brother frowned as he located the bottle. "Chris, I know you hate these. But buddy, you gotta take em. I would too if I had any health problems myself." He gently scolded him as he popped opened the bottle, withdrew two tablets, and handed them to his downcast sibling.
Chris usually glared at his pills before taking them. This time he took them without even batting a eye at the horrid taste and texture. For the next few minutes, he blankly watched his whipped cream slowly melt into the small pool of chocolate. Once again he was yanked from the swirling whirlpool of his mind by a consoling one-armed hug. He looked up to see his big brother smile brightly at him. Like the sun breaking through the clouds of a passing thunderstorm.
"Hey, Martin?..."
"Yeah, Chris?"
"There's nothing wrong with us being brothers right?"
"Duh! Of course not! And if anyone says otherwise than they need medication more than you or Jimmy do!"
"Ha, ha, maybe you need medication for that impulsivity of yours!"
"I already do. You and Aviva. Because we all know that the day I die is the day I cross our dear Senorita Cientifico too many times!"
"Does not stop you from crashing the Createrra or testing the Stone Digger before it was ready. You must really want that funeral..."
"HEY! Those were accidents! I'm usually more careful with her stuff!"
"Like that one incident with the ostrich-"
"Just drop it and drink your cocoa bro. ): "
Chris snickered as he took a sip. Grateful that Martin had successfully been diverted from what was really bothering him. Which hardly included his daily medication at all...