Connection

Epilogue

Another week had passed. They moved to a rainforest for more discoveries. Chris made a tremendous amount of recovery with the help of his brother, and his friends. Aviva acted as his substitute on multiple occasions, assisting Martin on his adventures.

Martin clashed with Zach at one point, and he used this opportunity to avenge Chris. Even though he didn't come out unscathed, he made sure Zach wouldn't lay a finger on anyone, or anything for a while. Everyone scolded him for his recklessness, but it was a worthy sacrifice according to him.

The icy air caressed Chris' skin, waking him up from his slumber. He sat on the bed with his legs crossed and rubbed his eyes. He looked to the opposite side where a blond man was sitting on the floor, leaning his body on the bed.

"Good morning," Martin greeted, his voice had a faint hint of drowsiness in it. "Are you feeling better?"

Chris yawned. "I am, and I should be the one asking that question."

"It's been a while, so let's go out together today. Pretty please?" He imitated puppy-dog eyes.

"Have you looked at yourself? I don't want you to end up like me."

"Come on, you're making a big deal out of nothing. It's just bruises—"

"And cuts." His lips curved downwards, and he glared at the man.

"I'll be fine as long as I'm with you. I promise."

He sighed. "There's nothing that can stop you once you've made up your mind, huh?"

He stood up from the floor, and lay on the bed, hugging his pillow. "Then hurry up, and get ready. Do you want me to wash you like when we were little?"

He rolled the blanket and tossed it on Martin's face.

He pulled the blanket off his face. "Be honest. You secretly want me to do it, don't you?" He wriggled his eyebrows.

"Yeah, as if." He laughed. He got out of the bed and walked towards the bathroom.

Martin had fallen asleep when Chris finished taking a shower. He reached out to tap the snoring man's shoulder, but stopped midway, and grabbed the crumpled blanket between the pillows instead. He covered his brother before he stepped out to the kitchen to eat sandwiches for breakfast.

The tune of chirping birds in the forest accompanied the morning silence while he ate. Once he finished his breakfast, he paced to the lounge where everyone was occupied on their respective working stations, except for Jimmy, who was sleeping on the bean bag chair with his baseball cap covering his face. Aviva and Koki greeted, "Good morning."

"You're up early, Chris. Where's Martin?" Aviva asked before reverting her attention to a clipboard in her hand.

"He fell asleep."

"Did he really?" She turned her head and raised an eyebrow. "He had an insane amount of energy. Did all of it evaporate just like that?"

"He somehow managed to wake Jimmy up earlier. Poor guy," Koki said.

"That aside," Aviva said, placing the clipboard on the table, "this is the preferred scenario. Even though his injuries aren't as bad as yours, he still has to rest. Speaking of which, what about you?"

"I'm doing much better now. Thank you for asking." He smiled.

Martin emerged from the hallway. He yawned, and scratched his side before he tiptoed behind Chris, and tickled him, startling the younger brother. Aviva and Koki chuckled at the interaction between the brothers. "Why didn't you wake me up? Don't tell me you're leaving without me."

"Stop it." He giggled. "I want you to get more sleep."

"Oh, are both of you going out today?" Aviva asked.

"Yeah. Martin insisted if that's okay with you." He scratched the back of his head.

"All right." She sighed. She rose from her seat and grabbed two Creature Power Suits from the table. "But you have to wear the Creature Power Suits this time, no exception. I've fixed them up and reinforced the materials.

"One more thing, and both of you have to promise me."

Martin wrapped his arm around Chris' shoulders. "I'm listening."

"Don't strain yourselves. Return here immediately if one, or both of you are exhausted."

Martin gestured a thumbs up. "Roger."

She nodded. She folded her arms and turned her head sideways. "Koki, how's your progress with the Creature Pods?"

"Just a moment." She typed on the keyboard, her eyes moving back, and forth between the computer screen, and the Creature Pods'. "And ... we're done! No communication issues whatsoever."

Koki gestured for Chris to come over and handed him their Creature Pods. His communication device glinted, and it felt sturdy in his palm. "Be more honest next time, Chris. No wonder I couldn't get through to you at the time, you never told us your Creature Pod broke. It was beyond saving, so Aviva made a new one for you. Take good care of it, all right?"

He thanked Koki, he turned around and saw Martin had worn his Creature Power Suit when they were talking. His brother helped him to wear one.

"Ready, Chris?" Martin gestured a fist bump.

"Ready." Chris nodded, and fist-bumped his brother.

They sprinted towards the entrance, leaped, and cheered simultaneously. "Let's go creature adventuring!"

The End