Chapter Text
Zach hated it. Every bit of it, even from high up in the air. His jet soared across a thick forest and he could just feel the wildlife from down below and it made him shudder. All those wild animals, squirming around all messily and unexpected- The thought of a wild, savage creature crawling up his leg and startling him caused him to pace even more.
He was thinking. Thinking of a sure-proof way to get one of the toughest animals to become inspiration for a robot that would keep the nasty critters away. Why base it on an animal? Because animals are natural fighters, or at least, the best ones are. Zach needed a fierce predator that would keep all filthy animals away from him, including those Wild Rats he despised so much.
Glancing out the window, he impulsively bit the corner of his lip as he always did whilst concentrating. He knew the brothers were in here somewhere, but where exactly was unknown to him and to put it simply, he didn’t want to put up with them.
He didn’t exactly think about it when he leaned back, resting a hand on the edge of the controls. The shiny slick surface that had just been cleaned by his Zachbots a few moments prior slid his hand right off and he tripped, giving a startled yelp as he slammed into the control board.
The screen started flashing after several buttons had been pressed and suddenly the jet jerked upwards slightly, but it was enough to cause Zach to stumble backwards and tumble towards the doors that had now flown open.
A series of unfortunate accidents had led to him falling out of his jet, his screams of fear being drowned out by the loud whirring of the polluting engines as it continued flying forward, the bots inside unaware that the engineer was no longer inside. The screen stopped flashing and an override code closed the doors for the safety of the people inside, but already too late to have saved Zach. A moment sooner and he probably wouldn't be hurtling towards the ground.
Zach crashed through the canopy of the trees, the branches cutting across his pale complexion, ruining his previously blemish-free silk skin. With a thud, he slammed onto the ground causing his whole bodying to quake. The leaves from above had split to form the hole from which he had fallen through, and they had settled on the ground around his body, his poor aching body.
He had gotten a few scrapes, some of them worse than others, but most of them stung. Not wanting to sit up, he lay there with his eyes closed, hoping the pain would go away. In short, it didn’t. Plus he was all alone in the forest, with messy nature and the dirty animals.
Pausing, he shifted his attention slightly, away from the sounds of animal calls and rustling leaves. Footsteps along the dirt floor, the echoing taps nearing with every passing second. Laughter, with two separate voices.
Oh how desperately he wanted his eyes to shoot open and for his legs to start working, but no, his body refused. Aching bones laid still on the ground, his mind anxiously awaiting the arrival of those he knew were coming. He didn’t want the Wild Rats to see him, not like this, he didn’t want to be anywhere near them, but their echoing laughter, their voices seemed to come from every direction.
The footsteps suddenly came to a halt and he could feel that they were right up beside him. A small gasp and commotion stirred up.
“Is that Zack? Is he okay?”
“What’s he doing here?”
A small pause as they spoke quietly. Then one of them spoke up,
“Zack? Can you hear me? C’mon, open your eyes…”
The soothing voice made him stir, much to his demise, and he found his eyes cracking open, letting the piercing sun enter his vision. He winced and turned his head to the side to try and block it without having to move his throbbing hand.
A green and brown blob sat by his side and several blinks later, it formed to create the younger Kratt brother. He groaned sluggishly, wanting to close his eyes again and rest, but they wouldn’t stop with the questions.
“Hey, are you okay? What happened?” Chris glanced up to look for any sign of what events may have led to this, but the area around them was empty, clear of any evidence, or anything really. Where were his Zachbots that never left his side? Or rather, why was Zach away from them?
Then, Chris lowered his gaze to look back at the inventor, taking note of his torn wooly jumper and all the cuts and scrapes on him. Even his leg sat at an uncomfortable angle, which made him question what could’ve happened.
“Go away…” Zach mumbled tiredly, turning his face away from him, only to be met by the other, blue, Rat. He refused to cooperate with them, he wouldn’t let them get the best of him.
"Zach, you gotta let us help you." Martin spoke, making the man in black roll his head back to face Chris. The blue one was more annoying than Chris, he didn't want to speak to him. He didn't want to speak to either of them actually, but they just had to try and help him like the goody-two-shoes they are.
“I’m fine.” He insisted, eyes now adjusted to the sunlight, or at least enough so that they weren’t burning into his sockets now. Not wanting the brothers to bother him anymore, he sat up, pulling a face as he did so but wasn’t going to let the pain take advantage of him. “See?” He said snarkily.
“Can you tell us what you’re doing out here?” Chris questioned, glancing over at his brother with a raised eyebrow, still confused over what to do with him.
Zach folded his arms across his chest, wincing slightly as they scraped across the cuts on his torso,
“Nothing.” The last thing he needed was them laughing at him because he had been clumsy and fallen from his jet. He didn’t know why they would laugh at someone falling from massive heights, but he still found it embarrassing and didn’t want to try.
“Oh yeah, well where are your Zachbots? You never go anywhere without them.” Martin raised his index finger, matter-of-factly.
Chris nodded,
“What animal are you after this time, Zach?” He frowned. As much as he hated jumping to conclusions, they knew this man like the back of their hands, and a majority of the time they only met when he was on the hunt for animals to use.
Zach glared at him,
“I’m not after anything.” Not wanting to talk to them much, he limited the amount of words he was using in the hopes that they would get the idea and back off.
A silence roused as the brothers stared disbelievingly at him.
He could feel the heat from their glare and it made him curl up slightly. Scared? No, no he wasn’t. But instead intimidated in the slightest. How often did they go staring at people in silence? They were usually so energetic that them sitting still gave him chills, goosebumps sitting on his forearms.
How was he going to get home anyways? If he refused their help, he doubted his bots would be able to successfully find him. Plus he absolutely despised that feeling of when he got back and had to lick his own wounds in misery. He doubted he had many bandages left, and since the brothers were so eager to aid him…
The black haired man sighed glancing down at the ground,
“I… I fell from my jet.” He moped quietly before lifting his head up quickly. “Laugh and I’ll make you regret it.”
The brothers exchanged looks. He fell from high up in the air? What were the chances that he only got away with a few bruises and scrapes? They tilted their heads back to spot the small hole in the branches and leaves, realising that he was telling the truth.
The green clad man patted his pockets, feeling for a medical kit when he it dawned him that he didn’t have it on him. The small organised part of himself cursed himself for not having it the one time they actually needed it, he was usually so prepared. He didn’t really expect his brother to have anything either. Maybe a few stray bandaids, but that wasn’t going to help the injured man.
Leaving him alone in the forest was probably not the best thing to do, so as much as it pained him to say it…
“Why don’t you come with us to the Tortuga?” Chris offered, giving him an awkward smile.
“Why, so you can lock me up?” Zach frowned. “Why not help me here?”
The brunet sighed and stood up, holding his hand out towards him,
“Come on Zach, you know we’re not like that. Plus we don’t have much to help you out here.” He smiled faintly.
Zach looked at him, then his hand. He was right. They weren’t exactly the type that locked people up when they were at their lowest point. Sighing, he gently took Chris’s gloved hand and the man helped him to his feet. Even through the green glove, he could feel his tough grip and spent a moment thinking about how all those trees he climbed made him strong before he quickly let go.
Except as soon as he stopped putting his weight on him and felt the ground with his feet, an unexpected pain shot up his leg, throbbing and causing him to squeal before stumbling backwards. His heart raced as he slammed into the grassy ground, shrieking as it continued to ache.
Chris quickly kneeled down beside him,
“Woah, what happened?” He questioned, though he didn’t know why, glancing down at his leg. Perhaps he should’ve paid more attention to the way it rested so that he didn’t have to feel this pain.
“It’s my stupid leg!” He hissed through his teeth, glaring down at it. “I can’t stand on it!” As if it weren’t obvious enough, how dumb were these people?
The green brother carefully crouched by his side, gesturing on the other side for Martin to go.
“Alright, on the count of three we’re going to help you up, okay?”
“What? You want me to walk?!” The man in black shouted, glaring daggers at him in outrage.
“No, no, we’ll just support you.” Chris shook his head. “Not unless you want us to try and carry you.” He teased.
“Ew, no way.” Zach placed his arms across the brother’s shoulders, not saying another word.
“Alright, three, two, one-” They all got up with Zach standing idly on one foot, leaning on both Kratt Bros. Oh how he wished he didn’t have to be near them, but what else was he supposed to do? Be left all alone in the forest with no way to walk?
Carefully limping, the trip back to the Tortuga was rather boring. Zach hadn’t said a single word the whole trip, but the two wouldn’t stop yapping on and on about all the wildlife they saw. He wished it had just been animals, but no, the brothers just had to tell him all about the oak trees, honeysuckle bushes and different mosses. Just about ready to let go of the blathering brothers and attempt an escape, there was a rustle in a bush up ahead that made him squeal in fear.
He almost jumped into Chris's arms for protection, when a small brown rabbit crawled out, staring up at them with those black and brown eyes of its.
“Hey, check it out, a European Rabbit!” Martin grinned.
“Hurray, another bunny.” Zach rolled his eyes, trying to get them to keep on moving.
“You know, it’s native to Europe but has been introduced and is an invasive species in all other continents. The effects its had on Australia is actually pretty rough.” The oldest continued on.
“Don’t forget how endangered it is in some parts of Europe due to habitat loss and over hunting.” Chris added.
The black clad man in the middle gave a loud groan,
“Hello? Broken leg over here!” He winced slightly as he attempted to lift it up. Bad idea, definitely wasn’t going to try that again.
“Oh, right, sorry Zack.” Martin chuckled, moving along the path again.
Zach spared one last glance at the rabbit and he could’ve sworn it stared directly at him. Eyes widening slightly, he returned his gaze in front of him again and focused on not falling, from time to time paying attention to what the Kratt brothers were saying.
Eventually their large ‘turtle-thingy’ ship came into view and finally the two stopped rambling about animals and plants, now focusing on getting Zach to the gaping mouth entryway. Frankly, he never understood why they chose a turtle. Why not something scarier to intimidate others? Or even better, maybe just a normal looking ship? Why did they have to be all 'lovey dovey' and 'protect the turtles'?
Their feet clanked against the metal flooring and Aviva, who had her back turned to them spoke up,
“You guys are back early.” She stood at the large screen on the back wall, gazing at the pictures and words spread across it.
She did a couple of more things on it before turning to face them with a smile. A smile that didn’t hesitate to convert to shock and anger when she saw Zach,
“What is he doing here?!” She glowered at the man, making him give a nervous smile in return.
“Relax Aviva, we’re just helping him out with his leg before he leaves.” Chris spoke.
“What if he steals something? Or decides to take any animals that pass by? You know this is risky.”
Martin sighed,
“We know. But all we’re going to do is help him before sending him back.”
“You can’t seriously want to help him after everything he’s done. What if he takes advantage of this situation?”
“It’ll be fine Aviva, I promise I’ll keep an eye on him the whole time.” Chris reassured.
“You’d better, because if he decides to steal something, the responsibility will rest on your shoulders.” She stared at him, squinting her eyes before she walked off, not wanting to be in the same room as him.
Chris gulped slightly, giving a small smile and a thumb up. The three then walked over to a spare seat and let Zach sit down.
“Thanks Martin, I can help him out now if you’d prefer.”
“All yours bro.” The man in blue said, a little fed up with him already.
Martin went off to talk to Koki who had stood and watched the whole interaction nearby and Chris went over to a cupboard to search for the med kit. He carefully took off his gloves and his power suit and placed it to the side so they wouldn’t get in the way.
Zach looked around with a pompous little smirk. This was perfect, he was right inside the Wild Rat’s base. He could steal anything he wanted, it was his chance for revenge. Inventions? Charge codes? Secret data? They were all his - if he could find a way to get the rats out of their turtle.
He was quickly snapped out of his scheming by Chris’s voice.
“Listen Zach, you’d better not be planning anything.” The adventurer placed the medical kit down on the tabletop beside him and began rummaging through it. He knew all of Zach's expressions like the back of his hand...
Which definitely sounded weird to him as soon as he thought about it. It was just a casual thing, the whole crew had just gotten used to seeing Zach scheming. It wasn't because he was watching him or anything.
He shoved the weird thoughts aside and pulled out an antibiotic ointment,
“Here we are. Think you can put this on any cuts and bruises while I take a look at your leg?"
Zach didn't hesitate to snatch it out of his hand,
“Of course I can." He said snarkily. What did he think he was, a child? Besides, last thing he wanted was the Wild Rat to be getting all close to him.
The thin man squirted a large blob on his hand and stuck it under his poor torn sweater. No way was he lifting his shirt around here, not in front of him. He flinched slightly as the ointment spread on his cuts and bruises, making them sting.
Chris took the bottle of ointment and put it away once the inventor had put it aside, then he rolled up Zach’s pant sleeve and studied his leg,
“Lucky for you, it's closed fracture, which means it only broke inside the skin. Much more painful if it breaks out. Here, let me put it in a cast.” He pulled out a splint and some bandages and quickly wrapped it up.
Zach bit his lip, carefully pulling his hand out of his jumper and stared at him. It was a little awkward to see him so close, but he didn’t say anything.
A moment passed as Chris finished and he looked back at him,
“You should probably go to a doctor afterwards, just in case… I guess I should call your jet now and get the Zachbots to come get you.” He gave a small smile.
Zach blinked as he stared at him, face feeling warm before he realised he wasn’t prepared. He hadn’t even gotten the time to steal anything yet.
Once Chris had turned his back, Zach’s eyes narrowed, turning to look at everyone else. Chris was busy at the controls, trying to find a way to call his ship, while the blue one and the engineer who were now looking at animals on a computer. Aviva was gone, so…
“Hey Zach, what code do you use to connect to your…” Chris’s voice trailed off as he slowly spun on his heel. Eyes trailing across the Tortuga his heart dropped,
“Uh… Guys? Where’d Zach go?”
Martin and Koki’s heads immediately whipped around, knowing that was the last sentence any of them wanted to hear,
“Weren’t you watching him?!”
“I was! I turned my head for a second and- Oh no. No, no, no…” He clambered over to where his suit once rested, heart pounding in absolute fear and betrayal. “Zach stole my creature power suit!”
“How far could a man with a broken leg have gone?” Koki’s eyes widened. “Hold on, I'll scan the area.”
“No need, I’ll go see.” Chris rushed out, glancing about. There was no sign of the man in black, and where he could’ve gone was a mystery.
This was it, he was doomed to be berated by Aviva over and over for eternity. She would never let him hear the end of it, how he had willingly let in Zach and let him swipe one of the only two creature power suits in existence, probably gone off to abuse this power he now had.