Sea Of Feels

12- Monster

Third Person
Cody had been in a couple wars now, some small and some much bigger, but none of them were like this one.

For starters, he was low on soldiers and resources. Why? That brought him to the other oddity: He didn't have Atlantis on his side anymore. Some of them, sure, but just the legionnaires, not the military guard or royal guard. Atlantis now belonged to two people.

One was KrakenKid while the other was the final thing that devastated him about this war: Joe. He would be fighting his own brother.

Joe, the same brother he grew up with most of his life, even if many of his memories were hazy. The same brother that supported him as they worked to be kings, and acted as his rock. The same brother who joked and smiled, making everything brighter in the world. The same brother he mourned over when he was reported dead.

The same brother that he lost, and now that he had him back, he realized that maybe this wasn't the same brother anymore.

It devastated him in ways he couldn't understand.

"Cody?" The voice was soft and carefully, instantly giving him the impression it was Selena speaking. Lifting his head up from the desk, he focused in and found he was right.

Cody was currently in what he thought was some sort of treasury/meeting room in the Conch Command. The desk he was currently at used to be filled with paperwork and a laptop, but he moved both so he could finally have a place to rest and think at the same time. Selena stood right in front of his desk.

Selena's eyes were filled with worry and sympathy, and as much as Cody appreciated it, it told him just how weak and down he looked.

Ever since he became king, those were two things he couldn't be. A weak king meant a weak kingdom, and being sad made him vulnerable. With everyone's eyes on him, he couldn't be either of those things.

But now, did he even have a kingdom? Was he even a king anymore? Did it even matter?

Each thought just made matters worse for Cody. Selena could see his eyes darken, and she knew she just had to say something... Anything!

Clearing her surprisingly dry feeling throat, she managed to find words to express everything she was feeling. "I'm... Sorry."

Cody's eyes flicked up to her, clouding with confusion. It took him a minute to say anything, but eventually he did. "For what? You've done nothing wrong."

Of course, that wasn't entirely true. Selena had robbed a store once, then was part of an elaborate plan to make Cody forget about Blooper kidnapping him, but he clearly wasn't talking about that.

Selena took in a brief breath to make sure she knew what she wanted to say. "No, I mean... I'm sorry about your brother." Cody's confusion turned to his previous darkness in a matter of seconds. His gaze avoided hers, making her start to stutter out more. "I... I can't imagine what that's like. If I had to fight Sam, I'd probably end up dying because... Well, I couldn't! I can't! She's my sister, no matter what happens. So, I'm sorry about your brother."

Cody's eyes closed for a moment, causing Selena to wonder if she should leave him alone or stay with him, but he soon straightened up in his seat and the eyes were open and on her. Those once warm, brown eyes were now dark, cold and had the slightest hint of blue in them. It chilled her to the bone.

"Why apologize? It's not your fault Selena..." Cody let out a long sigh, one that could only be by someone who was fighting a long and agonizing internal battle. "At this point, I don't think it's anyone's fault. KrakenKid just misunderstood me for taking over his home and backstabbing him. Joe trusts the man that brought him back to Atlantis. Professor Pikalus thought I was letting my emotions rule my logic, and me? I'm just trying to run a city and get my brother back... We're just trying to survive, nothing more."