Heart of Emerald

by CreatureLover555

Chris loves his brother, but not everyone else does. In fact, it seems people are always out to belittle his beloved sibling every chance they get. Yet what hurts the most is how he finds himself always favored over Martin. When the Kratt Brothers and their friends get roped in to help out a eco-friendly fundraiser. The secrets that Chris has kept buried for years may break free...

8. To Confess Your Darkness

December 3rd rolled around, everyone apart of the Frozen Campaign were already busy on setting up the second event in Freedom Park, Charlotte, North Carolina. A light snowfall sprinkled the atmosphere with fluffy flakes and just the slightest touch of frost. With Christmas peeking around the corner and their first success bolstering the reputation of the ambitious project. Everyone was in high spirits and anticipation as they prepared to receive TWICE as many fairgoers than last time. Except for one green-loving, tree-climbing, and secret-keeping biologist named Chris Fredrick James Kratt.

The brunette had been given a deadline, to confess to his big bro before the New Year or risk "Cokes" telling Martin herself. No doubt Koki would do it with as much conviction as hesitation he had for himself right now. Still, she was right. His older sibling may be naive at times, but he probably caught on that something was up. (The "beast" incident on their way to Charlotte would definitely be a dead giveaway.) The younger Kratt still tasted the nastiness of his freshly taken medication on his tongue. Remembering Koki's reaction when she discovered the true nature of his seemingly mundane "social anxiety" pills.

She was furious.

Would Martin be as furious as well?

Chris watched from across a pathway splitting two lines of booths. Martin's station was right across from him, the bulky blonde rearranging the chocolate sculptures he had hauled from NYC. Chris let out a chuckle at how Jimmy complained of the extra "deadweight" of the fourteen tinfoiled covered creations his brother begged to take along. Fortunately, their red headed pilot managed to fly the Tortuga safely to their destination despite the added weight in the cargo hold. The younger brother morosely watched as the sunny blonde he had grown to care for so much happily positioned his colorful statues about using Polar Bear powers. The elder Kratt even whistled an all-too familiar theme song as he worked.

Martin always seemed to be so easily happy all the time. Something that many were either exasperated or made envious by. Only Chris knew the truth, still, he could not bring himself to break the spell. You got that from your mother. The dark voice of his nightmare echoed back hauntingly. Shut up. I'm going to tell him right now! He snapped at himself as he squared his shoulders, stepped onto the pathway, and prepared to match right over to his brother-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Martin turned around just in time to see Chris get hijacked by a speeding runaway reindeer cart. "Hey! No fair! I want in on that!! Wait up little bro!" Polar bear Martin laughed as he got down on all fours and ran after his coasting sibling. The cart zoomed through the stands as Frozen campaigners caught onto Chris' screams just in time to barrel out of the way. Then get a taste of the wild side of the North Pole as a big, blue Kratt bear charged after the out of control cart.

"Dang!! You're going faster than a penguin sliding on ice bro!!" Martin cried out.

"GET ME OFF THIS DAMN CART RIGHT NOW!!!" Chris yelled helplessly.

"Geez, dude. Saying damn counts as a curse word and our parents taught us NOT to swear!!" The elder Kratt scolded loudly.

The younger Kratt stopped screaming for a good full minute before shouting back, "YOU EITHER SHUT UP OR HELP ME GET OFF THIS DAMN JOYRIDE!!!"

Martin could not believe what he heard, "Bro!! You don't tell people, especially your big brother to shut-ooh……ouch…..um, oof." Before the blonde zoologist could return a proper reprimand, the cart holding his brother hostage had smashed into what was once the hot fudge stand. The blue arctic bear padded up to the chocolate covered wreckage. Gingerly removing chocolate stained pieces of wood or thin metal to reveal whatever was left of his brother. Fortunately, the brunette remained relatively unharmed with the only downside being absolutely soaked in lukewarm chocolate.

"Nnnnnnnnooooooooooooo!! I was STILL perfecting that batch!!" The unfortunate owner of the now deserviced hot fudge stand wailed. "Bro? You ok?" Martin asked as he picked up his sticky, miserable little brother. The ticked off Chris glared at him, "Don't you dare say anything." "Like what? That chocolate fudge compliments your matching hair and eyes?" The jokester blonde grinned. The aghast brunette splattered a generous amount of brown sweetness on his older sibling's face.

Only to watch in utter disbelief as the latter licked it all off. "Yum! I give your fudge a 8/10 for how smooth and creamy it is. But it could use more sweetness!" Martin Kratt said to the chef of the ruined hot fudge batch. Chris covered his eyes with his one fudge-clean hand. "Why is it that I'm the one stuck with the weirdest brother ever…" He groaned. Said brother grinned as he replied, "Come on Chris! You should try it! It's really good-" "YOU DO KNOW THAT GERMS ARE A THING RIGHT?!?!?!" Protested the scandalized biologist.

Operation Communication

Attempts: 1

Failures: 1

Successes: 0

December 5th arrived along with the decision made by Martin Kratt to talk to Chris. The gold hearted zoologist's mind could not help but replay his baby brother's freak out on the trip to North Carolina. A good heart-to-heart was long overdue so the worried sibling left his Youth Area as soon as he finished setting it all up. He navigated the seemingly endless array of half-stocked booths and yet-to-be-fully assembled stands. Distractions of every color, sound, and smell hit him from all sides in forms of banners or crafts or concessions to everything else in between. Yet when the leader of the Wild Kratts sincerely set his focus to a goal. Nothing on earth could persuade him to give in until his objective was completed.

Unfortunately, the all-too familiar faces blocking his path seemed to not have taken the hint. The troubled blonde tensed up as he hesitantly greeted the Divaz Duo. "Hey, what's cooking?" He grinned. "Neither of us can cook." Aaron's eyes rolled. Martin coughed, "Then what's swimming?" "I hardly think Charlotte is experiencing suitable conditions for swimming." Dina scoffed while placing a hand on her hip. Mischief glinted in the zoologist's ocean blue eyes as he playfully replied, "Then what's sledding? Get it?! Because it's snowing-"

"Martin Kratt!!" Both Divaz siblings snapped. The light in Martin's eyes faded, "Ok, what on earth do you guys want from me?" He growled. The redhead duo gazed at him intently. Carefully weighing their next words. Aaron sighed deeply before saying, "Martin, you can't help your brother. In fact, you're not doing him any favors at all…" The elder Kratt felt his heart skip a beat. Wondering if maybe Aaron was sustaining brain damage from a fallen icicle- "In fact, you might actually be doing him a favor if you encouraged him to leave! It wouldn't be too hard for him to return to Artemis' Oasis or become part of another prestigious standing." Dina cut in.

The bewildered Kratt stared wordlessly at the Divaz. Not believing his ears nor the jolted tremors of his heart. "Be careful of the icicles. Brain damage is NOT funny." The blonde responded as he quickly ditched the two of them behind with long strides. Going in the opposite direction he was supposed to be headed. Geez…These guys are not funny…Chris and I need each other! It's not a matter of me keeping him from anything! I mean ... .We both wanted to live the wild side of life! He told me himself!

There's no way that otherwise it wouldn't be true- "Hey, Martin! Over here!!" The Wild Kratts' leader looked up just to see his co-leader and favorite inventor run up to meet him. Only to start skidding on the slightly icy walkways. "Aiieee!" She wobbled dangerously but luckily Martin dived in to grab her. Only to end up smashing into a snow drift with Aviva in his arms. POOF! The two Wild Kratts sat up from their awkward position. Surrounded by snow that decorated their night black and wheat gold hair. The misty cold surrounding them highlighted their features as they smiled sheepishly at each other.

"Thanks for the save, mi héroe." The inventor quipped the wildlife expert sweetly as she playfully jabbed him in the ribs.

"Cualquier cosa para ti, Aviva." Her favorite goofball quipped back without skipping a beat.

Operation Communication

Attempts: 2

Failures: 2

Successes: 0

December 8th, opening day was quite hectic for everyone involved. Someone misplaced the boxes of brochures and snowflake pins, the holographic monitors for the demonstration were on the fritz, and about a dozen of the staff members were waylaid by traffic caused by two reckless kids meeting car crash style. (Fortunately, nobody or nothing was laid to ruin except two perfectly good cars and driving privileges.) On top of that, they had twice as many people this time for the second Frozen event. Meaning everyone had to double their efforts or leave many to be lacking and tempted to leave bad reviews on social media.

Around 7 PM when they could finally call it quits for the day. Chris looked like he had participated in the car accident from earlier today. His spiky hair sprouted in all directions instead of being well kept back. A dark coffee stain blemishing the front pocket of his once immaculate but now noticeably crinkled lab coat. Along with a bandaid on his left cheek to cover a slight scar he gave himself when he grazed himself with Wolverine claws by accident. How did that happen?

In the hopes of impressing a possible sponsor, Chris shifted into their favorite animal, the walrus. Only for his creature power suit to decide that it was the perfect time to demonstrate the good old "glitch schtick". By malfunctioning during the transformation into a walrus to summon wolverine arms and claws instead of flippers. Resulting in him accidentally slapping himself and getting a bleeding cut in front of over a hundred strangers and one blood-woozy would-be sponsor…. Yep. Today sure went splendidly.

Despite his horribly rotten day, he had to find Martin. They needed to talk. Chris' eyes darted around for any malicious paint gunners or equally awful Divaz siblings. Spotting no one in sight, he quickly strode through the stalls. Dodging workers packing up for the day as he hunted for his brother. He soon arrived at the Youth Area, inhaling the crisp cool air and slightly artificial peppermint. He carefully trekked throughout the decorative and very messy play place.

Popcorn bags, cookie wrappers, and styrofoam cups littering the grounds. A few of the penguin signs tipped over or the flags they held were awkwardly bent. Suspicious colored patches in the snow he avoided. A few of the craft tables overflowed with abandoned crafts or leftover supplies too muddied with glue to be saved for later. The well-organized biologist shook his head at the rather chaotic space. Maybe he could help his bro out with cleaning and talk about what had to be said while they were at it. The work might ease the inevitable shock that would come of Chris' confession-

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! I AM NOT A PUPPY!!! PUPPIES ARE NOT BLUE AND DON'T USUALLY TALK!!!!" The younger Kratt's head shot up to find a small blue blur barreling towards him! "OOF!" The brunette stumbled back a bit as he beheld a furry and very blue wolf Kratt cub in his grasp. "What in the name of creature adventuring-" "PUPPY!!!" Both boys looked up to see four kids hurry up to them. Looking as happy to see Martin as horrified he was to see them. The transformed brother looked up to his trusted sibling with desperation, "CHRIS!!! You gotta talk sense into these guys!!

I accidentally-somehow-glitched my creature power suit while using Arctic Wolf Powers and I got stuck as a cub!! I tried to change back but I think I broke my suit so I went looking for Aviva BUT. I ran into a family who hasn't left the park yet and these kids think I'm a puppy but I AM NOT A PUPPY AND I DON'T WANT TO WEAR A LEASH AND COLLAR OR EAT DOG FOOD FOR LIFE OR PLAY DRESS UP AS A PRINCESS PONY EVERYDAY, BROTHER PLEASE SAVE MEEEEE!!!!" Chris blinked at the panicking cub in his arms, "You literally played My Little Pony with Fatima just a couple weeks ago." The brunette deadpanned.

Wolf Martin whined as he protested, "IN my very dignified and handsome creature power suit in an anatomically correct way." This caused the other Kratt to snort, "Did you literally plagiarize that from me when I complained about my old puffin jacket?" His older (temporarily smaller) brother scoffed haughtily as he claimed, "Nonsense! I merely took inspiration from you brother dear and took it to the next level. NOW PLEASE SAVE ME!!!" He clung to his sibling's jacket with his tiny but sharp claws.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow. Loosen up a bit!" Chris requested as he turned to address the four dog-eager kids in front of him. He gave an apologetic smile as he broke it to them gently, "Sorry guys, as flattered as my brother is with your attraction. I am afraid he already has a home with me and our friends. But maybe you can convince your parents to get you a dog from a nearby animal shelter! I'm sure any dog would love to be-" "Wait! The puppy is your brother?!" One of the boys piped up with wide eyes.

Chris shot a finger with a wink, "You bet buddy." "Prove IT." One of the girls placed hands on her hips as she gazed at the wildlife expert as critically as Paisley Paver once did. Oh great, don't tell me the big guy upstairs made two of them…. The brunette sighed as he took out his Arctic Wolf disk. "You guys do know about our creature power suits right?" The four youngsters stared blankly before one of them said, "But mom and dad said they are just fancy costumes. And they are usually right!"

Both Kratt brothers were tempted to scream. Like seriously?!?! No, the frozen campaign wasn't about them. HOWEVER, it was already established, indisputable fact that the Wild Kratts' use of creature power is a very legitimate thing. (Which is why the Kratt brothers were used as clickbait for the Frozen Campaign in the first place because nothing brings in people like super suits in action.) Did these children's parents literally have the gall to bring their offspring to an event and write off a verified technology as nothing more than a stage gimmick?!?! Did they even consider the climate change-driven fair as no different from a typical winter festival?! Well, no time to speculate on parenting styles, time to save his brother from being doomed to petdom.

Chris set Martin down as he pressed the button on his power vest. "Oh really?" He chuckled as in a flash of green light he morphed into the same species as his brother. He looked up proudly at the flabbergasted young rascals, "Nothing so cosmetic about this." "Uuuuhhh Chris? You're a cub like me now." His brother spoke up. The green wolf blinked in bafflement as he realized that the children towering over him were reminiscent of his new smaller height as a wolf pup.

The green cub reached up to deactivate, "ALSO! We can change back to human form anytime!!" Clack. Nothing happened so he pressed again. Clack. Then a few more times with more hurried pressure. Clack, clack, clack, clack! Chris met Martin's eyes before slowly turning to the grinning children before them. "Now we can have TWO colorful and talking puppies!!" There was only one proper response to this: "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH AVIVAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

The duo screamed as they hightailed it out of there.

To make a long story short; it took Aviva, Koki, Jimmy, and the exasperated parents nearly an hour to persuade the stubborn and clingy children that NO. Kratt brothers, even in cuddly cub form, did not make for the best pets at all or ever.

Operation Communication

Attempts: 3

Failures: 3

Successes: 0

Finally, enough was enough. They had finished their second week of the Frozen Campaign and were scheduled to depart for Orlando by the 16th. Today was the 15th, they hardly had enough time before their fundraising duties and whatever craziness life cooked up for them this time. They both knew they had to talk and that the other brother wanted it. So they managed to snag a reservation ahead of time for a private room at the back of a little cafe called The Comfy Puffin.

The brothers found themselves ensconced at the fine little establishment. A brick shop mainly painted black with little white puffins decorating the outside along with the usual Christmas fanfare. The inside of the shop was decorated with tasteful wooden furniture, framed photographs of winter life at its best, mini puffin plushies peeking out from bookshelves or table baskets, and even a pen near the window front of the shop housing about ten guinea pigs in perfectly sized puffin hoodies.

The bros were situated in the private back room as promised. Martin had ordered two mugs of hot chocolate festooned with whipped cream, white chocolate flakes, and one candy cane for each. Chris stared blankly at his, wishing for a straight black coffee instead. He liked cocoa as much as the next guy, but chocolate never provided the strength that came with pure caffeine. However, a certain communication expert has flatly stated (ordered), that it would be best if he held off the caffeine for now. Martin ordered the chocolate for the sake of comfort, because this very important "chat" was going to be anything BUT comforting…

"This isn't about the granola bars isn't it? Or your usual social anxiety. This is something else." Martin started off the first bat. "Oh, no! This IS about the granola bars honestly! You can't just snack off the rations whenever you want!" Chris suddenly blurted out, still not completely ready to have this conversation yet. Alas, his big brother definitely was, "Christopher, knock off the sarcasm. What is going on? My brother is NOT the type to hurt people even if he is angry. Actually, I've never seen him this angry before. Upset, yes, but prone to rage? Almost never until now." Ocean blue eyes gazed sternly at the wood brown ones that hesitated to meet his gaze.

Chris sighed deeply as he gripped his cocoa mug. "I apologize. I admit this is out of character for me, but not in the way you think..." "Go on." Martin encouraged as he swirled his whipped cream with his candy cane. Chris coughed a bit before pushing forward despite the dread pooling into his stomach. "Martin…It really bothers me when people go after you." "Same bro." His sibling nodded. The younger brother narrowed his eyes, "No. Like, it really, really, really bothers me whenever people target you. Or when people attempt to separate me from you." The brunette biologist pointed at his oceanic counterpart.

Martin blinked, "Uuuuummm, like, okay? That is understandable…However, uuuuhhh, could you clarify?" The slightly dark look in his little brother's eyes was putting him on edge. Chris sucked in a huge breath before explaining further. "Look. I don't like it whenever people put you down in any shape or form. Not just Aaron & Dina, anyone at all. You know about my old coworker Henry? He keeps trying to connect with me but the moment he starts trash talking you I block him."

Martin recalled a stiff and formal older gentleman that always scoffed at him. "Yeah, weird how he didn't mind you but definitely minded me." Chris took a long sip of his hot chocolate and wiped away the whipped cream on his lips. Then he confessed, "I do stuff to people that hurt you Martin." The blonde blinked, "What?" The brunette across the table gazed at him with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Remember your so-called friends that took your backpack and tried to shoot the blue jays? One time, I found them again working on their science project. It was at a park near our school. They never turned it in by the way, probably because it got wrecked by a hockey stick." The elder Kratt felt his heart skip a beat. Recalling the suspicious paint stains on his hockey stick that he never remembered how they got there. He attributed it to his own tendency to mix up art supplies with anything else.

When in reality, it had been used as a tool for revenge. Yet the dawning horror did not stop there as Chris went on, "That wasn't just a one-time thing. I meant it when I said I paid back those who hurt you Martin. That jerk that used to bully you in middle school? I stole his prized autographed ball and sold it at a discount to another kid. Used the money to replace your bike after that idiot wrecked your first one for kicks. The two girls that humiliated you daily in high school? I swiped their phones and ruined their online reputations forever. That money-grabbing landlord you had to deal with during college? The reason he eventually "warmed" up to you was because I made sure of it. My first and only girlfriend? I dumped her over how she saw you.

I am not saying I attacked anyone wily-nily if they only made a few random insults or weren't courteous for the day towards you. But, anyone that dared crossed the line at making you feel inferior or worthless. Well, let's just say I prefer taking care of them. It's why Aaron and Dina eventually let up from harassing you after college. The only reason they can get past me now is because of the little fundraiser we all got roped into…."

Martin could not help but stare at his brother as if he just revealed he was Dracula all along. "Why?…." Was all that the older sibling could say. Anything else to say dying on his tongue as his mind still reeled from the bewildering information. His kind and forgiving brother, taking revenge against people that hurt him. Why would Chris do that? How the actual heck did he get away with all of that under his watch?!?!

The younger Kratt shrugged as he said unapologetically, "Martin. I didn't care much for other people during our youth. Why should I? You were all I had. Between mom's downward spiral and dad work-excused absence, you were all I had. Everyone else just didn't care or just made our problems worse. No one bothered to help but grandma. It was all too easy to become an animal person than a people person. At least creatures don't judge you for your home life or go out of their way to make you even more miserable."

"What changed?" Martin asked as he pushed away his cocoa mug. Suddenly losing his usually zealous appetite for sweetness. "I don't know how on earth you managed to pull all that nasty junk on my watch. But, at least back then dealing with mom and college is a good enough excuse for you to get behind my back. Still, ever since we formed the Wild Kratts. You haven't had much of an opportunity to hide your behavior. In fact, you have been quite the opposite-"

It was then it hit the older brother. That's how Chris changed, the Wild Kratts…… The wide-eyed blonde stammered, "You said, said-that! You-" His cherished younger brother gave him a deadpan look, "I stand by what I said at the time. I did want to explore the creature world with you. But only if you were with me. I do love animals Martin, but if it wasn't for you I probably wouldn't have even acknowledged them over the pain of our childhood…. Animals were our escape from reality back then and they eventually did become our Great Escape.

I…..Even if I was successful at Artemis' Oasis. Even if I was respected well enough in the field of biology. Even if people ended up liking me. I couldn't be happy because you were no longer there. You and I had separate career paths and thus separate lives. And all I could think about is where was the awareness everyone is showing to me now back when we needed it the most? Why do I have to be content with all these strangers and not be with the one who always stood by me? I…..Being part of the Wild Kratts did change me for the better. But……I had some medical help too."

Martin began to realize too late Chris' social anxiety was actually a different beast. Chris sighed deeply as he brought an all-too-familiar pill bottle to light. He stared at it for a while before finally surrendering it to his brother with a slight tremor. The elder grasped the white container as he read the prescription. He scanned it once. Scrutinized it twice. For a moment time itself stopped as the blonde kept analyzing the prescription. His brain scrambling to process all the new information as he bored holes into the bottle hoping against hope that somehow it wasn't Chris'.

SLAM!!!

The bottle was smashed onto the table, the cheap plastic cracking and pills starting to leak out. The younger Kratt shot up to see fire raging in the eyes of his happy-go-lucky brother. "WHY THE FRICK DID YOU KEEP ALL THIS CRAP FROM ME?!?! I'M YOUR OLDER BROTHER FOR DAMN SAKE!!! I AM SUPPOSED TO HELP YOU WITH WHATEVER CRUD YOU MANAGE TO GET YOURSELF STUCK IN AGAIN!!!" The blue-clad elder was beyond infuriated and hurt, glaring at someone he thought he knew only to just now discover their darker side.

Chris immediately began to backpedal, "Martin!! Bro! Look!! It's not a big deal-" CRACK!!! A mug was suddenly thrust to the wall, causing the mug to splinter into several pieces on impact. Lukewarm chocolate and porcelain shards mixed together into a soupy mess on the floor. The older brother basically snarled, "NOT A BIG FLIPPING DEAL?!?! THAT MY OWN LITTLE BROTHER IS FREAKING DIAGNOSED WITH THREE DAMN MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES?!?! THAT HE'S SEEING A DOCTOR I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT?!?! THAT HE HAD WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO HURT PEOPLE JUST TO AVENGE ME EVEN IF IT MIGHT GET HIM INTO TROUBLE?!?! THAT YOU LIED ABOUT WHY YOU AGREED TO START THE-"

CRACK!!! The other hot cocoa mug soon met a similar fate next to the first. Chris stood up to gaze his brother in the eyes, "I didn't LIE. I meant what I said when I wanted to help out animals with you. Better them than people any day." Martin gripped the edges of the table. "THAT'S YOUR ATTITUDE?!?! Screw people over and only let creatures off the hook?!?! DO YOU EVEN LIKE THE WILD KRATT KIDS?!?!" Chris was silent for a moment before honestly saying, "Yes, I do. But I can only hope they don't grow up to be like our parents or all the other jerks we had to deal with."

Martin rubbed his forehead, "It wasn't mom's fault she had bipolar disorder-" "But it WAS her fault for denying the truth, refusing medical help, and DAMN PERSECUTING US FOR IT…." The younger Kratt hissed like a snake poised to defend itself. The elder Kratt glared back, "Look. It doesn't matter whose fault it was that our family had a very crappy life for almost two decades!! But I am the older brother here and it's my job to make sure you are ok!! Why the utter frick did you not tell ME that you were having these problems all along?!?!"

Chris looked up with bitterness in his eyes, "You are just a martyr, bro." The blonde brother went agape at this, "I beg your pardon?!" The brunette brother leaned forward with frustration scrawled all over his face, "How many DAMN times do you have to sacrifice yourself for everyone else?!?! You took the brunt of mom's crap and dad's absence for the sake of the family! You let so-called friends and peers off the hook everytime they took advantage of you!! And no matter how many freaking times the outside world has humiliated you, cheated you, and cast you out for just being yourself- you just laugh it off!!! I love you big brother and I was, am, and will ALWAYS BE SICK OF HOW PEOPLE TREAT YOU!!! THAT'S WHY I AGREED TO FORM THE WILD KRATTS!!! TO GET YOU AWAY FROM EVERYONE ELSE BUT ME!!!!" He roared furiously from the depths of his heart.

Silence.

Martin slid down to his chair, plopping helplessly into it. As he tried to process everything that Chris had been holding back for years. Chris still remained upright, hoping he didn't somehow break his beloved sibling. The biologist stared at the table for a bit before turning to the shattered remains of the cocoa mugs. Will going to have to compensate for those…. Cringing at how their emotions made them careless towards the cafe's property. He looked up to register the empty space at the other end of the table.

"Martin?….."

The younger brother looked around the private room to find the door left open.

"Martin!?"

He quickly left the room and stepped into the main area of the Comfy Puffin. His brother was nowhere in sight ordering a chocolate croissant or playing with the guinea pig puffin mascots.

"Martin!!!"

Chris rushed outside only to halt right outside the door as he saw the holiday crowds out in full force. Even the cars on the road were abiding to the force of the merrymaking masses.

"MARTIN!!!!!!!"

The green coded Kratt dived into the dense traffic as he hunted for his brother. Carefully navigating through the swarms of humanity while keeping his pace. He didn't know if it was because evening dawned upon them. Nevertheless, every person seemed to fade into inky blackness. Until they only appeared as shadows gliding about him. Not caring for anything or anyone around them as they pushed forward to wherever they wished.

Chris finally managed to break through to an area of light. Deciding to stop to see if he could catch a glimpse of his brother. Only for a painted puffin on a glass door to appear in front of him. He soon recognized the area as the front of the cafe he just left. The overhead light turned on as darkness began to loom from the skies above. He grabbed a chair from one of the outside tables and placed it near the front entrance's light. He scanned his new horizons searching for any glimpse of ocean blue among the sea of blackness. It almost felt akin to standing on that accursed stage before the audience of his demons from his nightmare….

Then at the very farthest reaches of the masses he caught a glimpse of his brother's signature blue. He nearly stumbled off the chair, once again dove into the crowds. Dodged honking cars and indignant passersby as he raced to catch up to Martin. He finally reached the spot to find one, lone blue beanie on the sidewalk. His big brother was nowhere in sight. Chris knelt down to pick up the beanie. Holding it tightly in his hands, trying not to believe that the one he cared for the most had somehow been sunk into the abyss.

"I'm sorry…..let me go." The ghosts of his nightmare struck once more.

Then he screamed.

Operation Communication

Attempts: 4

Failures: 3(?)

Successes: Objective completed but favorable outcome denied.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: THE COMFY PUFFIN IS THE ONLY FICTIONAL LOCATION. THE OTHER MENTIONED LOCATIONS LIKE FREEDOM PARK OR SHAKE SHACK ARE REAL.