Chapter Text
The plan was “Guys Night”. Just him and Chainsaw, out for bowling and chicken wings. Flirting with the waitress who liked him and let him know it, Chainsaw beating him at bowling again. The typical Friday night plan.
Except there was a giant, bittersweet wrench in the cogs tonight. A text to Chainsaw from a number that had not messaged them in months, with the last text being a campy glitter GIF letting them know their Christmas card was on its way in the mail.
Adam is alive but in bad (yet stable!!!) shape. Come to the Professor’s lab- Ricky
Now they were five minutes from their former home; Chainsaw sat in the drivers seat hoping he didn’t look as teary as he felt while Catboy glared out the window.
When they arrived at the Lab, they were greeted before the y could even get out of the car by one of Catboy’s least favorite people, the MC Bat Commander.
“Hey! I'm s toked you guys could make it ! I wasn’t sure you two woul-”
Catboy stuck his head out the car window , a snarl playing across his face .
“We aren’t here to see you, Zippo. Just let us in already. ”
The grin of their former Commander faded as he opened the Lab’s door for them. Before Catboy could exit the car, Chainsaw tightly grabbed his wrist.
“Catboy, I know you two don’t get along anymore, and I know you have the burn scars to prove it, but that was unnecessary. The last thing Adam needs to see right now is you two fighting about something that happened a decade ago. If you upset Adam, I WILL punt you into next month.”
Catboy sighed in defeat and slumped back into the passenger chair.
“ That’s fair, I guess .”
The building that had become known simply as “The Lab” to the Aquabats had once been some sort of clinical testing laboratory that none of them bothered to remember the history of. The lobby had long since lost any formality or prestige the facility may have had, being renovated into a funky sort of living room or lounge. Both men had dozens of fond memories of this place, despite how long it had been since they’d last visited. The Commander had already shirked away, much to the relief of both Catboy and Chainsaw, leaving the Professor and an unfamiliar, Hot Topic-esque man with fittingly asymmetric hair as the room’s only occupants. While the stranger didn’t react to their presence, as soon as the Professor saw the retired band members enter the room, he sprang up from his chair and sprinted over to greet them, pulling them into a hug.
“ Oh, I've missed you two so much! how long has it been since you visited?”
Catboy and Chainsaw were both still on edge from the alarming text they’d received , so they were caught off guard by the Professor’s nostalgia and good spirits. After a moment of awkward silence, Chainsaw spoke up.
“Uhhh... It was a few years back, actually. Ironically, I think it was when we, um. Threw the funeral for Adam. After he’d hit his 7 year mark for being missing and all and was legally presumed dead.”
Monty awkwardly snickered in a manner not typically reserved for discussing funerals.
“Yes, well... You two know where your rooms are, and-
Catboy scowled, interrupting him.
“Yeah, but how is Adam?! The text from Ricky we got said he was in bad shape! What happened? Where has he been all these years?!”
Monty looked surprised at the outburst.
“Well, he’s been sleepy since the surgery, as to be expected, but the physical part of the recovery should be quick. ”
This answer did not comfort Monty’s guests as much as he hoped it would, as evidenced by Chainsaw’s reply .
“What? Why did he need surgery? And just what do you mean by ‘physically in good shape,’ is he in a bad place mentally?”
The Professor sighed, rubbing his temples as his normally chipper demeanor cracked .
“M got him. He did... Something awful. For Adam’s sake, I won’t go into too much detail, but... I had to remove a lot of foreign objects from his body, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he had long term mental side effects. Heck, It’s pretty much a guarantee. If the invasive substances didn’t cause any brain damage, the trauma will, and he’s still dealing with a decade’s worth of amnesia.”
The room filled with silence for moment, followed by another question from Chainsaw. This time, however, his voice was quiet.
“Can we see him?”
Monty gave him a sad smile.
“I'll go check up on him. If he’s well enough he’ll come out here here to see you. If not, I’ll come back and take you to visit with him.”
Chainsaw nodded, giving a relieved smile.
“Thank you, Professor. ”
As soon as the Professor was gone, the two guests then shifted their focus to the edgy looking stranger, Chainsaw flashing an awkward wave before sitting down next to him.
“ So , uh what’s your name kid?”
Catboy stared down the ‘Bats newest recruit, looking vaguely impressed.
“Skillsawz . ”
Catboy gave him a look and rolled his eyes .
“ Your real name , ” he said, as though he didn’t regularly introduce himself as Catboy.
“ That is my real name , ” he scowled.
“ First or last name? O r is it , like, Skill Sawz ? ”
“Do you prefer Mr. Sawz?” Chainsaw piped in. “Is Skill short for Skilliam? Or Skilfred?”
“Maybe it’s Skillian. Or Skilbert. Long John Skilver.”
The pair’s teasing seemed to get to him, as he groaned and looked down in defeat, running a hand through his oily black hair.
“Okay, fine, fine! It doesn't even matter, i’m dropping that old stage name anyway. It’s Skylar. Skylar Skylles”
Chainsaw looked up, visibly amused.
“Skylles? You’re kidding… how you spell that, kid? Sky-double L-E-S?”
Skillsawz blinked, visibly caught off guard.
“How did you..?”
Chainsaw folded his arms and grinned.
“That’s my ma’s maiden name. Who’s your dad?”
Skillsawz had a look of surprise. He’d heard the whole “small world” thing, but this?
“…Arlyn”
Catboy snickered.
“Well that’s a South Bay name if I’ve ever heard one!”
Skillsawz looked confused.
“... South Bay?”
Chainsaw gave him a sympathetic look.
“Well, Catboy, I’m afraid Cruella deSkill here is my cousin. Ma told me Uncle Arl left the island one day and never came back . Always did wonder what happened to him... Guess we know now, though I’m not surprised he didn’t tell you where he was from.”
Skillsawz looked as curious as he did unnerved.
“ Okay, well, now that we’ve dissected my ENTIRE family tree, who are you guys? ”
Catboy gave a sly grin, puffing up his chest.
“Mike Gerudo, of the Cataloopus Gerudos! But you can call me Catboy.”
Chainsaw snorted, shaking his head at Catboy’s clownish lack of humility.
“And I’m Chainsaw, Prince Of Karate. I was named after our oldest uncle, k id.”
Skillsawz seemed dazed, his eyes locking into Chainsaw.
“So... You guys are from the same place as my dad, huh? I heard it got destroyed, but... Could any of our other relatives be alive?”
He seemed strangely hopeful, and Chainsaw awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
Catboy was the first of the two to meet his eyes directly.
“ Look, kid... I know Chainsaw was able to find one of his five brothers, but for the most part , the bulk of the population of the island has been presumed dead, if not worse. Only around 10 to 15 percent of the island was able to evacuate and make it over here. F or the rest of those numbers, we’ve have had no contact with them , so we have choice but to assume the worst. We’ve herd rumors ranging from everyone going underground to restart life, to mass slavery, to being lab rats, to being wiped out completely. ”
T he color drained from Skylar’s face.
“ And- So I was... Helping those who did it? I’m a former Minion of Silver skull, he got me a bad time and dragged me along into his plans. I was told after the fact I was at one of the lower points of M’s chain of command . I mean, if I knew I was working for any sort of mass murderer-- ”
Chainsaw let out a long , sad sigh.
“Look, kid. you were working someone who didn’t want you to know you were part of something bigger. You couldn’t have known why Silver Skull hated the Aquabats, or that some giant, evil, floating head warlord was calling the shots. More importantly, when you saw something was fishy, you bailed, right? And then you joined forces with the bats.You’re probably blaming yourself for what happened, but don’t: you might have been in a pretty low place, but you already dug yourself out of that hole, and if you want, I can stick around for a bit and help you get your footing in your new life. Even if you don’t, The Aquabats will help with the rest. Just believe in them, and yourself. Especially now that your one of ‘em.”
Skylar gave a small smile, the expression looking almost out of place for him.
“... I think I’d like that. Would you mind starting with South Bay? It would be cool to know where my family’s from. ”