Chapter Text
"Did I make the right choice?"
Armadylan stared at his reflection in the moat, who looked back at him, longing for an answer.
Resting his face in his hands, Armadylan stared into the distance: the totem headquarters that belonged to his allies, the PJ Masks, rested quietly not far from where he was. Inactive, hollow, just a relic of the past: where foolish mistakes and petty arguments held the structure together like glue. Remembering his exciting adventures with the masked heroes, his chest felt heavy as he curled his legs into his chest. Looking at the stars above, he frowned. Is this what I really want? To be on my own?
A hero was something he had always wanted to be, ever since he first visited his dad’s fire station: heroes make people happy, and they stop bad things from happening. What was there not to love about being a hero?
When he first got his powers and learned about the existence of the PJ Masks, he remembered how much he wanted to be their next member. He thought he would be a great addition to their team, but looking back, he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed about how intense he was about it. Brash, rough, thin-skinned: if he could ever go back and change how he approached them, he’d do it faster than Catboy could run through town and back.
I was such a hotshot.. no wonder they didn't want me on their team.
It made sense they had their eyes on other, more competent heroes like Newton and An-Yu: they took their jobs seriously, they were responsible, they got along well with the PJs, unlike Armadylan. Even the newer heroes like Ice Cub and Lilyfay, although a bit inexperienced and frivolous in their duties at times, were perfect choices for their hero team: when fighting evil, you need people who can keep the team’s spirits up.
All I would do would just make more conflict.
Without Armadylan, their team expanded from a measly three to eight powerful heroes from across the universe. That only made him feel worse about himself: when he remembered running into Catboy and Bastet and being offered to join their alliance, he was surprised. Surely, after everything he’d done, the name Armadylan would’ve been something forbidden to say, like saying good luck to someone at an audition. But, he was wrong: they wanted him back, and he thought he could make up lost time. And yet, where was he now? Alone without anyone to rely on.
This regret intensified when Bastet, an apparent foe from his past holder's history, asked something similar on their way back to Power Q after defeating Pharaoh Boy. "Why don't you want to be a part of the Power Heroes?"
Before, he didn't have a reason, besides wanting to work alone, and now.. he still didn't have a clear answer. "Working alone sounded a lot more fun in my head," Armadylan thought to himself before seeing a blur of blue light in the distance, followed by the Gekko Mobile.
"I'm missing out on all the fun hero stuff." Armadylan huffed. "Why did I even come out tonight?"
Lately, this had become a weird habit of his; right as he knew his family was asleep, he'd sneak out and would try to patrol in search of a rogue villain, but they'd usually be taken care of by the Power Heroes. Once he saw the problem was already taken care of, Armadylan would usually mope around town or head straight back home, sometimes being caught by his parents sneaking back inside (thankfully, while not wearing his hero costume). Tonight would be one of those nights, as he moped around the moat and gazed sadly at the waters whilst skipping stones.
What's the point of being a hero now when all of the problems are already dealt with? What purpose do I even serve anymore?
Throwing another stone into the water, Armadylan numbly stared at his reflection, hoping to see the same spark he had long ago. But all he saw was a pitiful, worn-out reject: no one wanted that. They needed someone smart, someone powerful, someone who could be in control of their powers and not let the power go to their head. Anybody but him.
His face began to feel warm in both embarrassment and anger, and as his lip began to quiver, Armadylan grabbed a rather large rock and chucked it into the pond. The splash of the impact hit the shoreline, with Armadylan panting heavily and glaring at the water.
“Stupid… so stupid…” Armadylan thought as his fists began to shake, but not with anger. A tear rolled down his cheek as his face flushed in embarrassment. He knew it wasn’t a bad thing to cry, especially with everything he’d been dealing with up until now, but the last thing he wanted was a villain to come across him and mock him.
He didn’t want to get angrier; he’d seen the kind of person he could become when he was angry, and he didn’t want to unleash that side of him ever again.
“Might as well head home… not like anyone is around to hang out with me,” Sighing, Armadylan got up and was about to head back home before he heard something move in the water.
"Huh?" Looking back, the once-still water soon changed as something, or rather someone, emerged. It didn't take long for Armadylan to recognize who this mysterious creature was. "Octobella..?"
Octobella turned to look over at him before frowning once she recognized the orange and yellow costume. "Oh, look who it is. The little aardvark's snooping around my moat again."
"ARM-a-dillo!" Armadylan corrected, feeling his face starting to heat up again for another, unrelated reason. "Sheesh, what's with you villains and not knowing your mammals? I don't call you Squidinna, do I?"
"No, and you BETTER not," Octobella warned, pointing a sharp finger at him before crossing her arms. "What are you even doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with your little PJ Pals?"
"I should be asking you the same thing," Armadylan replied, copying her peeved-off posture. "I thought you would be busy polishing your little crystal garden right about now."
"I was," Octobella snapped back. "Everything was just peachy before I was getting hit in the back of the head by stupid little pebbles: any idea where those could've come from?" She asked with a knowing expression, glaring at Armadylan.
Armadylan deflated before rubbing a hand behind his head. "S-Sorry about that.. didn't realize my strength could go that far. I was just bored."
"Heard that one before," Octobella replied, bitterly remembering her encounters with the little green guy and his abundant sense of strength. That little green twerp? She couldn't imagine him having all that strength for his itty-bitty body, but this boy? She believed that. "Anyways, why aren't you bothering your little PJ Pals stopping baddies like me?"
"I..." Armadylan looked at the ground nervously. Sighing, he shrugged. "I... I don't know. I should be hanging out with them, but.. I don't know. It's complicated."
"Oh, I see," Octobella interrupted. "You got tired of hanging around those goodie-goodies, so you came here to bother me. Figures. Those little PJ Pests get on everyone's nerves.”
Armadylan raised a brow at that comment. She seemed… understanding?. But, he shouldn't have his hopes up that high. Last time he did, he was polishing her crystal collection without a second thought and was ultimately betrayed as she turned his friends into garden gnomes. "I'm not annoyed... okay, sometimes they CAN make me frustrated, but why should I talk to you of all people about them?"
"Because," Octobella crawled her way out of the water and walked over to be right next to him. "I've heard so many tales about them getting on other kids' nerves, heroes and villains alike. I've had to deal with those pesky PJs for years now. They always think they're above everyone else when they're not."
"You're one to talk, little Miss Backstabber," Armadylan replied, before sitting down and letting his legs swing over the edge of the moat.
But Octobella just shrugged and smirked. "Fair, but at least I'm honest about my true intentions after a while. Those PJs, however, don’t. They’re always twisting everything to make themselves seem like the heroes, and everyone else who disagrees is the bad guy. They can hide behind their masks, but at least what you see is what you get with me." Octobella added, her eyes glinting with a mixture of defiance and pride.
"Hey, that's not—" Armadylan began to try and defend his allies, but he thought for a moment about what she was implying. He didn't want to outright say they had a superiority complex, especially since they were a year younger than him. Yet, he couldn't ignore the nagging feeling in his gut, recalling a few moments where Octobella's words rang uncomfortably true. Instances where they brushed off his contributions, or where they assumed he was doing something bad without thinking of other alternatives.
After a moment, Armadylan sighed, the weight of his thoughts pressing down on him. "Maybe you have a point. I guess… I just never wanted to see it that way. I wanted to believe they were... better. They're supposed to be heroes, right?" He glanced at Octobella, whose expression made him doubtful. “Right?”
"You can call them whatever you want, but I just see them as a nuisance. Especially since that little green one took my precious pond weed without asking." Octobella replied, her tone sounding more aggravated by the mention of the little lizard.
"Are you ever going to let that grudge go?" Armadylan asked. He remembered her ranting about him while he was polishing her crystals, and he was starting to doubt going down there with her. "I'm pretty sure everyone in the universe knows he didn't know you were there or that it was yours."
"I'll let down that grudge when all the water in the globe evaporates," Octobella affirmed, receiving an eye-roll from Armadylan. Guess there are some things he couldn't change with her.
"But that's beside the point," Octobella began to talk, shifting the conversation back."Aren't you just tired of them not respecting you? You should be treated better."
Armadylan sighed. "It doesn't matter anymore. I work solo now."
"Solo?"
"Well, for now, I guess. They never said I couldn’t come back and be a part of their team, but I just didn't think it would've worked out... I mean, I don't hate them or anything-"
"I hate them," Octobella budged in, crossing her arms. "They always bothered me. Surprised it took you so long to figure that out."
Armadylan playfully rolled his eyes. "Who don't you hate?"
"Well..." Octobella crawled over to his side, smirking. "You're probably the only one, besides Percival."
"I-I am..?"
Ocotbella nodded. "Say..? Instead of working solo.. you could work with me?"
"What? And polishing your crystals forever? I'll pass," Armadylan scoffed, turning away. But before he could fully retreat, one of Octobella's tentacles gently pulled his face back towards her. His heart skipped a beat as he found himself staring into her mesmerizing ocean-blue eyes, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. He forgot how, unironically, pretty she was, from her golden freckles to her soothing smile that, while he knew could be filled with as much poison as a jellyfish, seemed so reassuring.
"You're lucky, you know?" Octobella murmured with a sly smile. "Not everyone is as lucky to get on my good side. I know you weren't as... open to be my friend back then, but how about we turn the tide and start over, partner?"
"P-Partner..?" Armadylan felt his face grow warm. His brief crush on the eight-legged sea creature had lasted only one night, cut short by her betrayal. Yet now, as he looked at her, those old feelings began to resurface.
Octobella nodded. "How about you and I get back at those who've treated you wrong? It doesn't just have to be your so-called 'hero' friends. We could also take revenge on those pesky villains."
"They've bothered you, too?" Armadylan asked, his curiosity piqued.
"They've intruded into my precious moat, tried to steal my pondweed," Octobella recalled, her voice lowering in anger at the thought of those aggravating villains messing around in her safe space. “Sometimes I just wish they knew-”
"Not to mess with you?” Armadylan suggested with a small smile. Octobella noticed his smile and, for a moment, their eyes met with a mischievous glint.
"Yes," she said, returning his smile. "Exactly."
The two stared at each other for a while before they snapped out of it. Octobella quickly let her tentacle slip away from his cheek, turning away with a shy blush. Armadylan, however, was unable to contain himself and broke into an eager, boyish grin.
"Well then," Octobella cleared her throat before sitting up, turning towards Armadylan again. He looked up at her again, seeing her stick her hand out. "Why don't you come to my garden? There's not a lot there to do, besides admiring my beautiful crystals, but it's better than just sitting here all night and mope by my precious moat."
Armadylan was about to reach out, his hand hovering in the air, but he froze mid-grasp.
Am I making the right choice?
What if she betrays me again and uses me for another one of her schemes?
He hesitated, his gaze dropping to the ground. But then the thought of the PJs came to mind, their judgmental faces flashing before him, and his brow furrowed in determination. They had never truly understood him, never given him the chance he deserved. Now he had a chance to show them what they had misjudged. His hand slowly resumed its path, the hesitation melting away as his palm intertwined with hers.
"I'm ready with whatever you have in store," Armadylan confirmed, standing up as Octobella's magic engulfed him. "I'm tired of letting them walk all over me."
Octobella smirked, pleased by his willingness. "Now that's what I like to hear." The two jumped into the moat, swimming to the mystical garden below the town, just missing Bastet and An-Yu running by.
"Bastet?" An-Yu called out. "Why'd you run over here? The Ninjalinos went that way."
Bastet looked around, feeling as if she was supposed to be there. "I am not sure... I felt like I needed to be over here. Like some sort of... call from beyond?"
"Odd," An-Yu walked over by her side, looking at the still water below. "Were you worried about Octobella again?"
"I mean.. I guess.." Bastet shrugged before An-Yu laid a hand on her shoulder.
"You shouldn't waste your worries on her. It's one less villain to deal with."
Bastet sighed, slowly agreeing with An-Yu. "I guess you're right. I am probably overthinking."
Just then, something flew by the two: a sticky splat. Night Ninja and his Ninjalinos began to laugh before Night Ninja tossed a sticky splat in the air. "YOOHOO!! Power LOSERS! Can't catch us!"
"Okay, that's it!" An-Yu raised her staff as she began to chase the pesky Ninja. Bastet was about to follow her, but paused to stare back at the moat one last time. There had to have been a reason for me to be here, right?
After a moment, the sound of her friend in trouble snapped Bastet from her thoughts. She raced over with her Sun Disk in hand, unaware of what was happening below her feet.