Auxiliary Chapter: The Heart of the House of El
In a private laboratory at the very top of one of Argo City's crystal towers, the light of Krypton's great red sun, Rao, filtered through the panoramic windows. It was not the golden, life-giving light of other worlds; it was a crimson light, ancient and solemn, that bathed the sterile air with a soft, twilight hue, as if the planet itself lived in a perpetual sunset. The silence in the room was broken only by the gentle hum of memory crystals that stood like translucent monoliths and by the constant, rhythmic pulse of a biomechanical gestation pod floating in the center of the room. Within it, suspended in a bright blue amniotic gel that contrasted with the red of the environment, a small canine life form was taking its final shape.
Jor-El, in his dark tunic with the crest of the House of El emblazoned on his chest, watched the holograms that danced over the pod. His eyes, sharp and accustomed to deciphering the secrets of the universe, did not see just an animal. They saw the culmination of his theories, a genetic map of astonishing complexity, a symphony of biological sequences designed with a purpose that went beyond simple existence. This was more than a simple project; it was his greatest biological achievement. He was not creating a pet. He was designing a guardian, a companion whose loyalty would not be programmed like that of a mindless automaton, but would be born from genuine affection and a conceptual, almost psychic connection. It was a living testament that Kryptonian science, at its zenith of cold logic, could, and should, have a soul.
"The empathic matrix is stable," he murmured to himself, his fingers gliding over the holographic interface. "The loyalty sequence has been anchored to our house's genome. It will not obey out of fear or programming, but from an instinct as fundamental as breathing."
Lara Lor-Van approached silently, her presence a warmth that softened the cold logic of the laboratory. She placed a hand on her husband's shoulder, her gaze not on the data, but on the small creature floating peacefully in the blue gel.
"It's perfect, El," she whispered, her voice filled with a wonder that went beyond science. "Will it be alone? To create a life with the sole purpose of serving... it troubles me."
"It will never be alone," Jor-El replied without taking his eyes off the data, though his tone softened as he felt Lara's hand. "Its purpose will not be an order, Lara. It will be an instinct. It will be love. We have designed it to be incapable of feeling complete loneliness as long as a member of our house breathes. It is, in essence, a living compass, and its north will always be family."
Lara moved closer to the pod, placing her palm on the cool glass. "But will it be happy, El? Will it feel joy? Or just the weight of its duty?"
Jor-El finally turned to look at her, and his eyes reflected the love he felt for her, the one variable his science could never fully quantify. "It will have our children, Lara. And if they are anything like you, it will know a joy greater than any other being on this planet has ever known."
With a final, decisive gesture, Jor-El completed the sequence on the console. "Iniciating final maturation and awakening."
The pod began to vibrate with greater intensity. The blue gel receded with a gentle murmur, draining into the base and revealing a puppy as pure white as the pristine snow on Krypton's mountains. Its fur, still damp, shone under the red light. Small tubes disconnected from its body with a delicate touch, and the pod depressurized with a nearly inaudible hiss. The front hatch slid open.
The puppy, perfect and fragile, took its first breath of Kryptonian air. And with it, its consciousness, designed and cultivated, awakened to the universe for the first time.
(Krypto's Perspective)
...it was not darkness. It was NOTHING. A formless silence. A timeless void.
And then, EVERYTHING.
'LIGHT. A red light, warm, that does not burn, but embraces. SOUND. A low, constant hum. A pulse. The heartbeat of the world. AIR. A breath that fills something I did not know was empty. And Smells...'
'Smells. So many. The cold metal. The singing crystal. The clean air. But two... two smells are the center of everything. The anchor in the storm of sensations.'
'The Smell of the Creator. Strong. Full of Mind and Cold Metal and Purpose. It is the smell of logic, of the stars, of a plan. It is the hand that shaped me.'
'The Smell of the Mother. Soft. Full of Warmth and Life and Home. It is the smell of a heartbeat, of safety, of unconditional love. It is the hand that gave me warmth.'
There are no complex thoughts. No words. There is only a feeling, a warmth that ignites in my chest like a small sun. A purpose, implanted deep within my being like the first star in an empty sky: Protect. Love. Be loyal. The Pack.
'My Pack. The two of them. They are my Pack. I must protect them. I must love them. I must be loyal. My purpose... is them.'
I open my eyes. I see them. The Creator and the Mother. They look at me. I feel a pull, a need to get closer. I take my first hesitant step onto the cold lab floor. My tail, which I didn't know I had, moves on its own. The Smell of the Mother gets stronger, her smile is a brighter sun than the one in the sky. The Smell of the Creator also smiles, a smile of triumph and of... pride.
'I have found the Pack.'
*****
(Third-Person Perspective)
Krypto, being a mere puppy with fur as white as the snow on the peaks of Mount Stahr, was introduced to a young Kara Zor-El. The introduction did not take place in the sterile laboratory, but in the private chambers of the House of El, a space with high ceilings and crystals that sang softly with the controlled air currents of Argo City. Kara, a girl of insatiable curiosity and an energy that often baffled her logical parents, knelt, her blue eyes, as bright as the sapphires from the mines of Kandor, fixed on the small creature.
The connection was instantaneous, an arc of recognition that transcended species and science. For Kara, he was a wonderful secret, a friend who did not judge her for her scientific curiosity or her teenage clumsiness. He was a ball of warm, soft fur in a world of cold crystal and inflexible logic. For Krypto, Kara was a revelation. She was not a creator; she was not a figure of authority. She was something new. Something vital.
They grew up together, two souls intertwined under the solemn light of Rao. Their laughter, hers clear and crystalline, his playful barks, echoed through the halls of their home. They played in the holographic fields of Argo City, where Kara would throw solid energy toys that Krypto, with natural agility, would catch in mid-air. Under the red sun, their strengths were comparable; they were companions, not master and pet. He was her shadow, her confidant, the silent guardian of her dreams. On nights when astrophysics lessons became too overwhelming, Kara would whisper her frustrations into Krypto's soft, furry ear, certain that her secrets were safe.
In a world that valued restraint and logic above all else, Krypto taught Kara the pure language of emotion. And Kara, in turn, became the gravitational center of his existence.
(Krypto POV)
'A new smell. It's not the Creator's. It's not the Mother's. It's... different. It's the smell of Laughter and Light and Wind. It is the best smell.'
'She looks at me. Her eyes are two blue suns. She doesn't study me. She sees me. I feel a pull. A need. Stronger than purpose. It is... Joy. A warm sensation that spreads from my chest to the tip of my tail.'
'MY GIRL! My Sun. Her laughter is the best sound. Her touch is HOME. Joy. Play. Warmth. Protect the Girl. Play with the Girl. The Pack is her and me. Her heart beats alongside mine. Always. Protect my Sun.'
'We run. The ground is soft. The air is fresh. She throws the light that shines. I catch it! I'm fast! She's fast! We are equal. We are one. When she is sad, the smell of wet salt comes from her eyes. I put my head in her lap. The smell goes away. The smell of the Sun returns. I have fulfilled my purpose. I have protected her from sadness.'
'At night, she tells me secrets. The words are strange noises, but I understand the feeling. The weight on her heart becomes lighter. My presence helps her. I am her guardian. I am her friend. I am hers.'
'The Creator and the Mother are the Pack. But she... she is the Heart of the Pack. My purpose is not just to protect. My purpose is Kara.'
(Third-Person Perspective)
The years passed like silent seasons on the Kryptonian calendar. Krypto grew, his body became strong and majestic, but his devotion to Kara never wavered. He became a constant presence in her life, the only being who knew her without the expectations of her lineage. When Kara cried over the loss of her grandparents, it was Krypto's fur that absorbed her tears. When she celebrated her acceptance into the Science Academy, it was Krypto who jumped into her arms in a whirlwind of white joy.
One afternoon, while exploring one of Argo City's biological reserves, a reptilian creature, a krypt-lizard that had escaped its containment, pounced on Kara from the shadows. Before she could react, a white blur intervened. Krypto, with a fierce growl he had never emitted before, confronted the beast, which was three times his size. He did not fight with the logic of a programmed guardian. He fought with the furious love of a family protecting one of their own.
That day, Kara did not just see her friend. She saw her protector. And Krypto, seeing the fear in Kara's eyes transform into relief, solidified his purpose forever. No matter the enemy, no matter the danger. His place was between Kara and the universe. He was her living shield.
(Krypto POV)
'Danger. A sour smell. Teeth. Claws. It's going toward MY SUN!'
'No. I won't allow it.'
A growl comes from my chest. A sound I didn't know I could make. Fury. Heat. PROTECT! My body moves on its own. I get in between. I'm small. It doesn't matter. I am her shield. The Girl's shield. The Sun's shield.
The beast backs away. The sour smell mixes with the smell of fear. Its fear. I am not afraid. I only have purpose. My Sun is safe behind me.
'The danger is gone. I turn around. She looks at me. Her blue eyes shine. The smell of fear is gone. Now she smells of... pride. Of love. She hugs me. Her heart beats fast. Mine too. We are safe. Together.'
'The Pack is safe. My Sun is safe. I have fulfilled my duty. I am a good dog.'
*****
(Third-Person Perspective)
The years on Krypton passed with a solemn cadence, marked not by the change of seasons, which did not exist, but by the cycles of controlled light that bathed Argo City. Kara grew, her brilliant mind expanding with every science lesson and every exploration of the holographic archives. Krypto grew at her side, his body becoming an elegant and powerful musculature under his immaculate fur, but his heart remained that of the puppy who had found his purpose in the laughter of a little girl. Their bond was a constant in a world of predetermined logic, a small and warm sun of unconditional affection.
Then, the Pack changed.
The arrival of Kal-El was not an event celebrated with great ceremonies, but with the silent and profound joy of his parents. In the gestation chamber of the House of El, a new family member was brought into the world, his fate already heavy with the hopes and fears of a planet on the brink of the abyss.
When the baby was presented to the family, Krypto was the last to approach. Kara, now a teenager who understood the gravity of her world's situation, looked at the little one with a mixture of wonder and a sadness she could not name. Krypto, in turn, watched Kara. His Sun. The center of his universe. And he noticed the change in her smell. The joy was there, yes, but underneath, there was a new layer of worry, of responsibility.
Jor-El, with a solemnity that Krypto had never felt in him before, knelt and guided the dog toward the floating crib where little Kal-El slept.
"This is your new duty, my faithful friend," Jor-El whispered, his hand resting on Krypto's head. "He is Kal-El. The last son of our house. Your purpose, now, expands. You must protect him. You must be his guardian."
Krypto approached the crib. The baby's smell was a strange and fascinating mix. It was the smell of the Creators, of the Pack, but it was also something new, fragile, and completely helpless. It was not the vibrant and energetic smell of his Sun. It was a soft smell, like the first light after a long night.
(Krypto POV)
'A new, strange smell. Soft. It's not the smell of Laughter and Wind. It's not the smell of my Sun.'
I approach. The Creator puts his hand on me. His smell is heavy. Worry. Fear. I have never smelled fear on the Creator before. He guides me toward a soft light. Inside, the new smell is stronger.
'A new puppy. Small. Fragile. It smells of the Girl and the Creators. It is from the Pack. My duty is to protect it. A new mission. I look at my Sun. She looks at the Puppy. Her smell is a mix of Joy and Wet Salt. She is worried about him. If she worries, I worry.'
'The Puppy sleeps. His breathing is a whisper. He cannot run. He cannot play. He can only... be. He is vulnerable. The Pack must protect the vulnerable. I understand. It is the law.'
'The Girl is the Sun, the center of everything. The Puppy is the Moon, a reflection of her light that I must also take care of. The Pack grows. My purpose grows. Now I have two hearts to protect.'
(Third-Person Perspective)
Life in the House of El found a new rhythm. Krypto, in his infinite loyalty, divided his being. Part of him was still Kara's shadow, accompanying her in her studies, waiting patiently outside the classrooms of the Science Academy, always ready to greet her with a wag of his tail. But another part of him became the silent guardian of Kal-El's crib. He would spend hours lying on the nursery floor, his ears alert to the slightest sign of distress from the baby, his presence a living promise of security.
Kara often sat with him, watching her little cousin sleep. In those moments of calm, the weight of her father's knowledge about Krypton's impending fate seemed to fade.
"You will be a great man, Kal," she would whisper to her sleeping cousin, while her hand stroked Krypto's fur. "And he will take care of you. He always does."
Krypto felt the sadness in Kara's voice, a melancholy he did not fully understand but felt as his own. His duty became crystal clear. He not only had to protect their bodies but also their hearts. He had to be the bridge between the older sister, who carried the weight of knowledge, and the little brother, who represented the innocence of an uncertain future.
One night, a faulty service droid entered the nursery, its circuits sputtering, its movements erratic. Before it could approach the crib, Krypto stepped in between, a low, deep growl vibrating in his chest. He did not attack. He simply planted himself, his body a white and unmovable barrier of loyalty. The droid, upon encountering that unbreakable will, backed away and left.
(Krypto POV)
'I play with my Sun. We run. She laughs. The best sound. Then, I go with the Moon. He sleeps. His smell is milk and dreams. It is peaceful. My duty is to keep it that way.'
A noise. Something approaches. It smells like burnt metal. Bad. Danger. I stand in front of the Moon. I growl. The sound comes from my chest. It is the sound that says, "You shall not pass." The sound that says, "This is my Pack."
The smell of burnt metal is gone. The Moon is still sleeping. He didn't feel the danger. I have done my job. I look at my Sun, who is watching me from the doorway. Her smell is of pride. Of gratitude. I have protected her Puppy. I have protected our Pack.
'I am Krypto of the House of El. I am the guardian of two suns. And as long as I breathe, no shadow will touch them.'
*****
(Third-Person Perspective)
The end of Krypton was not a whisper, but a scream. A scream that began in the planet's core and spread upward, cracking the logic and complacency of a civilization that believed itself to be eternal. For months, Jor-El had warned the Council. He had shown them the data, the seismic tremors, the energy readings from the core that were off all scales. They called him an alarmist, a brilliant scientist but prone to melodrama. Denial was a more comfortable shield than the terrible truth. But the truth could not be ignored forever.
The day the world broke, the very air tasted of ash. Alarms, silent for generations, howled throughout Argo City, their sirens a funeral dirge for a million souls who did not know how to flee. The tremors were no longer subtle; they were violent convulsions that cracked the foundations of the crystal towers, sending cascades of sharp fragments into the streets below. The sky, normally a solemn red, was now stained with streaks of a sickly green, the energy of the dying core seeping through the planetary crust.
In the tower of the House of El, chaos was a desperate dance against time. Jor-El and Lara moved with a precision born of panic and a plan rehearsed a thousand times in their minds. There was no longer time to save Krypton. There was only time to save its legacy.
"Kal-El's ship is ready!" Jor-El yelled over the roar of a nearby building collapsing. "The Gestation Matrix is stabilized. It contains all our knowledge, our history."
Kara, a teenager now, helped Lara wrap the little Kal-El in blankets with their house's crest. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with terror, but her determination was a reflection of her parents'. Krypto was at their feet, a low, constant growl vibrating in his chest, his body tense like a spring, his instinct screaming that his Pack was in a danger he could not fight.
"Krypto, come," Jor-El commanded, his voice firm despite his trembling hands. He opened the hatch of a second, smaller pod, designed to dock with and follow Kal-El's. "Your mission begins now. Protect him. Be his guardian in the stars."
Krypto looked at Jor-El, then at Kara. The thought of being separated from her was a wound, a betrayal of his most fundamental purpose. But the smell of fear in his Creators, and the pleading look in his Sun's eyes, told him he must obey.
(Krypto POV)
'NOISE! SO MUCH NOISE! The ground is shaking. The air smells like something is burning. Of fear. The smell of fear is everywhere. On the Creators. On my Sun. DANGER!'
'My body wants to run, to bark, to bite the monster that is shaking the world. But there is no monster to bite. The monster is the ground itself. The air itself.'
The Creator calls me. His voice is harsh. His smell is of hurry and pain. He shows me a cold box. He wants me to enter. I look at my Sun. Her blue eyes are full of salty water. She hugs me. Tight. Her heart beats fast, fast, fast. "Take care of him, Krypto," she whispers. "Take care of my little cousin." Her smell mixes with the Puppy's. I understand. It is a command. The hardest command.
I'm put into the cold box. Darkness. The Puppy's smell is close, in another box. But my Sun's... it fades. I see her through the glass. Her hand is on the glass. I put my paw on my side. I want to break it. I want to go back to her. But duty... duty is to protect the Puppy.
A tremor. Stronger. A scream. The smell of breaking metal. The Puppy's box is gone. It's moving away. I must follow it! My box moves, but... something is wrong. A collision. A tearing sound. My Sun's smell... I'VE LOST HER! I CAN'T SMELL MY SUN!
Then... NOTHING. A tear in the world. Silence. Cold. The smell of my Pack... is gone.
(Third-Person Perspective)
A massive explosion shook the tower at the most inopportune moment. One of the spires of a neighboring building, weakened by the tremors, broke off and crashed into the launch platform. The impact was catastrophic. Kal-El's ship, already in its launch sequence, was blasted into space, its trajectory unaltered. But Krypto's pod, which was about to follow it, was hit by the debris.
Its navigation system failed. The hyperspace jump engine overloaded and exploded, but the explosion was not outward, but inward. Instead of propelling it across the universe, the energy tore the very fabric of space-time around it. For an instant, a wound opened in reality, a hungry maw of a non-light color.
Kara could only scream her friend's name as she watched the small pod, instead of following her cousin's trail, get absorbed by the unnatural tear, disappearing in a silent blink.
She had lost her planet. She had lost her parents. And now, in the chaos of the end of the world, she had just lost her best friend. Krypto's pod, instead of traveling to the stars, had fallen into the place that existed between them: the Phantom Zone.
*****
(Third-Person Perspective)
Time, in the Phantom Zone, did not exist. There were no sunrises to mark it, nor seasons to announce its passing. It was a conceptual void, a non-place of a silence and a cold that were not physical, but existential. It was the absence of everything: of light, of sound, of matter, of purpose. The souls trapped here, the phantoms of Krypton's worst criminals, slowly faded away, their consciences unraveling like threads from a forgotten tapestry until nothing remained but a whisper of their own malice.
But Krypto was not like them.
He was not a criminal. He was not there as a punishment. And, most importantly, he was not empty. Deep within his being, at the core of his genetic code designed by Jor-El, an unquenchable flame burned: the instinct to protect his Pack. That purpose, that unconditional love, became his anchor in the sea of nothingness. While the other phantoms dissolved, Krypto's consciousness endured, a small and lonely island of loyalty in an ocean of oblivion.
At first, there was only confusion. The memory of the roar, of breaking metal, of his Sun's (Kara's) smell disappearing in an instant of panic. He was alone. Completely alone. And the silence was a howl that threatened to consume him. But then, through the stillness, he felt something. It was not a sound, nor a vision. It was an echo. A rhythmic and distant pulse. A heartbeat. The heart of the Puppy.
The empathic bond that Jor-El had woven into his being, designed to transcend space, proved to be strong enough to transcend dimensions. He could not see Kal-El. He could not hear him. But he could feel him. He became a silent witness, experiencing Clark Kent's life not through eyes, but through the heart.
(Krypto's Perspective)
'Cold. Silence. Alone. The smell of my Sun… is gone. The Puppy's smell… is gone. The Pack's smell… is gone. I am lost. I am an echo in nothingness. The silence is a monster that devours me.'
'But… wait. A sound. No, it's not a sound. It's a... pulse. Slow. Steady. Distant. I know it. It's the Puppy's heartbeat! He is alive! I am not alone! I cling to that pulse as a puppy clings to its mother's warmth. It is my only star in this lightless sky.'
'The pulse changes. It quickens. I feel a sudden warmth. A smell of wet earth and hay. The Puppy's fear smell. And then... other smells. Two new ones. They smell of kindness. Of warm hands. The Puppy's fear fades, replaced by a feeling of safety. Of warmth. The Puppy has found a new pack. My duty is to watch.'
The pulses turn into years. I feel the echo of his joy when his little legs learn to move. I feel his frustration when he tries to make noises with his mouth and the words don't come out right. I feel the new pack's pride when he finally succeeds. Every emotion, every triumph, every fall... is an echo that reaches me through the void, a reminder that my mission continues.
And then, one day, I feel something new. Something impossible. A feeling of lightness. Of vertigo. AIR! WIND! SUN! It is not the red, solemn sun of my home. It is a yellow, brilliant sun that floods the Puppy with an energy I can feel even here. I feel the pure euphoria, the breathless laughter, the absolute wonder of a child who discovers that the chains of gravity no longer apply to him. HE FLIES! The Puppy flies. And for an instant, I fly with him, a happy phantom in a silent prison.
Time continues to flow. I feel the pain of his first broken heart. The frustration of being different. The loneliness of keeping such a big secret. And then, I feel the fire. The smell of smoke. The intense heat. The fear of others. But the Puppy feels no fear. I feel his determination, a wave of compassion so strong it almost drowns me. I feel the crunch of bending metal. I feel the overwhelming gratitude of a life saved. The Puppy has become a protector. Like me.
I feel him become a symbol. The creation of the suit. The emblem of our house, now a beacon of hope. I feel the weight of that hope on his shoulders. I feel his resolve to carry that burden, not as a duty, but as a privilege. The Puppy has become Superman. And I, his silent witness, feel a pride so immense it fills the void around me.
But through it all, through every echo of joy and every triumph, the same question haunts me. The same pain persists.
'Where is my Sun?'
'The smell of my Girl... is gone. I search for her in the silence. I scream her name in a place where there is no sound. I do not find her. The pain is a wound that never heals. The loneliness is a constant. I must continue to watch the Puppy. It is my duty. But my heart... my heart searches for a sun that no longer shines. I am a guardian who has lost half his charge. And that half... was my everything.'
*****
(Third-Person Perspective)
The years on Earth passed, and the puppy that Krypto had known through distant echoes became a man. Clark Kent, now Superman, the beacon of hope for his adopted world, faced countless threats. But none prepared him for the disorienting silence of the Phantom Zone. In a mission to stop General Zod, he was forced to enter his people's dimensional prison, a realm of specters and madness where the laws of physics were mere suggestions.
He floated in nothingness, his mind bombarded by the whispers of the Kryptonian phantoms, his super-senses useless in a place that had nothing to sense. It was a labyrinth without walls, an ocean without water. It was then that one of the Zone's creatures, a specter of twisted energy with claws of pure despair, lunged at him. Disoriented and vulnerable, Clark braced for an impact that never came.
A spectral white blur, a silent howl that resonated in the soul rather than the ears, got in the way. A canine form, translucent yet unbreakable, confronted the specter, its loyalty a shield stronger than any steel. Clark felt an instant connection, an inexplicable pull of familiarity, like the echo of a memory he had never had. With the help of this ghostly guardian, he managed to find the way out, escaping the Phantom Zone, but the image of the white dog was seared into his mind.
Against the advice of his allies, who saw it as madness, Clark became obsessed. He could not abandon the being who had saved him. Using his Fortress technology, he spent months calibrating the dimensional frequencies, searching for a way to anchor and extract his savior. Finally, he succeeded. He opened a small, stable tear in reality, extending a hand through the veil of worlds.
"Come on, boy," he called into the void. "It's time to go home."
(Krypto POV)
'Silence. Cold. Loneliness. The Puppy's pulse is my only song. I feel him grow. Strong. Good. A protector. My duty is fulfilled from afar. But the pain for my Sun never leaves. I am a half-guardian. A half-heart.'
'One day, the pulse is... HERE! The smell! The Puppy's smell is in the cold! It's not an echo! IT'S HIM! He is in my prison. Danger. Shadows with teeth. No. They won't touch my Pack.'
'My body, which I didn't know I had, moves. I am a phantom. I am a howl. I get in between. Protect the Puppy! The shadows retreat. He looks at me. His eyes. The eyes of the House of El. He recognizes me. He doesn't know why. I do. I am his guardian.'
'He leaves. The smell fades. The silence returns. But... it's different. He left a trail. A promise. I wait. For the first time in an eternity, I wait.'
'LIGHT! A crack in nothingness. The smell of the Puppy-Man. His hand. He calls me. "Come on, boy." My name. It's not my name, but I understand it. It's HOME. I leap toward the light. I leap toward him.'
(Third-Person Perspective)
When Clark pulled Krypto through the portal, the transition was violent. The phantom dog, accustomed to nothingness, was flooded by reality. The air, the sound, the smell of the Fortress of Solitude... and the light. The light of a yellow sun.
For an instant, Krypto collapsed onto the crystal floor, overwhelmed. And then, the energy flooded him. Every single one of his cells, designed on Krypton, drank the golden radiation like thirsty earth drinks the rain. He felt his muscles tense, his bones become unbreakable, his senses expand to encompass the world. He got up, no longer as a puppy, but as a superdog, vibrating with a power he didn't know he possessed.
He looked at Clark, and the pure, unadulterated joy of a reunion that had been decades in the making exploded into a deafening bark that shook the Fortress's crystals. He launched himself into Clark's arms, a whirlwind of white fur and unconditional affection.
In the days that followed, Krypto experienced ecstasy. He discovered the pleasure of flying alongside his Puppy-Man above the fields of Kansas, of chasing clouds at the speed of sound, of feeling the wind in his ears. The Pack was almost complete. His purpose, latent for so long, had been renewed.
But even in the midst of the joy, in the moments of calm, Krypto would sit on the Kent farm, lift his head toward the stars, and sniff the air. He was searching for something. A smell. An echo. The memory of a laugh and a pair of blue suns.
Clark would often watch him from the porch, a look of sad understanding on his face. He knew Krypto wasn't looking for a home. He was looking for the other half of his heart.
(Krypto POV)
'WARMTH! YELLOW LIGHT! I feel... everything! The smell of the grass! The sound of the birds! The taste of the wind! And HIM! The Puppy-Man! He is real! I lick him! He laughs! The best sound!'
'We run. No! WE FLY! The sky is ours! Play! Joy! The Pack is almost complete! My Sun is missing!'
'At night, I lie at his feet. His smell is of Home. Of Safety. But... I look at the stars. Where are you, my Girl? Where is my Sun? The Puppy-Man is the Moon, bright and strong. But a moon cannot warm the heart like a sun. I miss you. I will wait for you. Always.'
*****
(Third-Person Perspective)
The years on Earth passed like a gentle dream for Krypto. The joy of flying alongside Clark over the golden fields of Kansas, the satisfaction of being a silent guardian for the Kent family, the thrill of helping Superman on his missions... all of it filled the void that the Phantom Zone had left in his soul. He became Superman's faithful companion, a well-kept secret from the world, but a constant of unconditional love in Clark's life.
But even in moments of greatest happiness, a part of his heart remained in the past, in a world of red skies. At night, he often sat on the farmhouse porch, his gaze fixed on the stars, sniffing the air in search of an echo, of an impossible scent that the wind never brought.
Then, one day, the universe answered.
A ship, a scar of fire and metal, tore through Earth's atmosphere and crashed on the outskirts of Metropolis. Clark was the first to arrive. From the smoking wreckage, he pulled out an eighteen-year-old girl, confused, frightened, and with the crest of the House of El on her chest. She was injured, disoriented, a stranger with the face of his family.
He took her to the Fortress of Solitude, the only place where he could guarantee her safety and privacy. As the Fortress's crystals analyzed the newcomer, confirming her identity as Kara Zor-El, his cousin, Clark felt a surge of emotions he didn't know how to process. Joy. Grief. Responsibility. And then, he thought of the only other being who shared his heritage.
With a sharp whistle that resonated across continents, he called his friend.
(Krypto POV)
'I play with the Puppy-Man. It's fun. I chase him above the clouds. He laughs. The best sound. But it's not the laugh of my Sun. It's a good laugh. But it's not hers.'
'Suddenly, a sound. The whistle. The call. The Puppy-Man needs me. I stop playing. I fly. Fast, fast, fast. The wind in my ears. The yellow sun on my fur. I'm going home. To the ice house.'
'I land. The air here is cold. It smells like Krypton. Like memories. The Puppy-Man is there. His smell is of joy and... something else. Of sadness. Of awe. He guides me into a room. A room that smells of medicine and distant stars.'
'And then... I smell it.'
'A smell. An impossible smell. An echo of HOME. A memory I thought was lost forever. Stronger than the Creators' smell. Stronger than the Puppy-Man's smell. It's the smell I have searched for every night in the stars. The smell of Laughter and Wind and Whispered Secrets.'
'The Puppy-Man calls me, but the other smell is stronger, a sun that pulls me with a gravity I cannot resist. I enter the crystal room. And I see her.'
'She is on a bed. She has grown. Her hair is longer. Her face is filled with a sadness that breaks my heart. But it's her. THAT SMELL! IT IS HER! MY SUN! SHE'S BACK! MY GIRL!'
Krypto's joy was a force of nature, an explosion of pure love that had been contained for decades. He launched himself across the room, a white blur of emotion, and leaped onto the bed where Kara lay, still weak and confused. He knocked her over with the weight of his affection, licking the tears that were beginning to roll down her cheeks, whimpering and barking with a happiness so overwhelming that it made the air vibrate.
Kara, at first, was startled. But then, the familiar smell of the fur, the feel of that rough tongue, the sound of that whimper... a memory buried under layers of trauma and pain burst into her mind.
"Krypto?" she whispered, her voice broken.
The dog barked in response, a high-pitched, joyful sound.
Kara hugged him, burying her face in his white fur, and for the first time since her world had died, she cried. She cried for her parents, for her planet, for her loneliness. But this time, she was not crying alone. The last living piece of her childhood, the guardian of her memories, had returned.
After the initial euphoria, came the indecision. Krypto felt divided. He looked from Kara, his first home, to Clark, his duty and his friend. His heart, so large and loyal, pulled him in two directions. He loved Clark. But Kara... Kara was his Sun.
Clark saw it all from the doorway, a sad and understanding smile on his face. He saw the instant connection, the piece of Krypton that his cousin desperately needed to start healing. He was an adult, the world's hero, surrounded by friends and the family he had built on Earth. She was a teenager who had lost everything, for the second time.
He knelt by the bed, his big hand stroking Krypto's fur.
"It's okay, boy," he said in a low voice, his voice filled with an emotion he rarely showed. "She needs you more than I do." He looked at Kara, his blue eyes meeting hers, filled with an understanding that transcended words. "You both need each other. Take care of her for me. As you always have."
And so, the pack was redefined. Krypto, the heart of the House of El, found his place beside his Sun, the girl he had sworn to protect since the beginning of time. His purpose, fragmented for so long, was complete again. He was the guardian of Kara Zor-El. And this time, he would not let anything or anyone take her away.
*****
The years that followed were a strange mixture of reunion and drift. Krypto and Kara became inseparable, a small, solitary family of two navigating a universe that didn't feel like their own. They traveled. They saw the wonders of a thousand worlds, from the floating markets of Xudar to the silent crystal moons of Gallius IV. But wherever they went, the shadow of Krypton followed them.
Kara, although no longer alone, found no peace. The immense power granted to her by a yellow sun felt less like a gift and more like a crystal cage, separating her from any genuine experience. She yearned for the feeling of the breeze on her skin without fear of causing a hurricane, the warmth of a drink without it evaporating in her hand. Because of this, more and more frequently, they would seek out planets that orbited red suns.
In these worlds of crimson light, she could simply be Kara. She could walk, she could get tired, she could feel the cold and the heat. And Krypto, at her side, felt his own superhuman strength fade, leaving him as a simple dog. A guardian dog, always alert, because it was in those moments of vulnerability that he felt most strongly that he must protect her.
(Krypto POV)
'We fly. Together. My Sun and I. The void is less cold when she is near. We see lights. Colors. Worlds. But the smell of Wet Salt never completely leaves her. Sadness is a shadow that follows her.'
'She likes the worlds with red light. The air here is heavy. My body feels heavy. My ears don't hear as far. My eyes don't see as deep. I don't like it. Danger can hide in any shadow. But she likes it. Here, her smell changes. The tension in her shoulders disappears. She laughs more. A tired laugh, but it is her laugh. If she is happy here, I will be her guardian here. I will watch twice as hard. I will be her eyes and ears.'
'Today is a red-light day. A new place. It smells of dust and sadness. A bar. I don't like bars. Too many sour smells. Too many broken hearts. My Sun goes inside. "Wait for me here, boy," she says. Her voice is heavy. Today is one of the bad days. I wait. I always wait.'
(Third-Person Perspective)
Krypto waited patiently outside "The Broken Comet," his senses, although diminished, were on high alert. He smelled the despair emanating from the place and he didn't like it. He heard the brief burst of violence, the snap of bones, and he jumped to his feet, a growl forming in his throat. The door opened and Kara came out, her smell was a mixture of alcohol, adrenaline, and a deep frustration with herself. Krypto stuck close to her leg, an anchor of loyalty in her personal storm.
He saw the little girl, Ruthye, follow her. A new smell. A new problem. His instinct told him that this girl was important to his Sun, so he accepted her into the temporary pack. He followed Kara through the twilight landscape, his presence a silent promise that she was not alone.
They arrived at the hidden cove where Kara had hidden her ship. The air changed. A new smell. The smell of malice. Of a trap. Krypto stepped between Kara and the shadows of the rocks, his body tense, his lips curled back in a silent growl.
Then, the world turned into a whirlwind of pain.
(Krypto POV)
'Danger! The sour smell of the bar beast! And another! A smell of poison and death! They are coming toward my Sun! NO!'
'I stand in front. I am her shield. Always. A whistle in the air. I see the arrow. Slow. Too slow for me under a yellow sun. But here... here I am just a dog.'
'I jump. A sharp pain. Fire. Fire in my side. I whimper. The world tilts. I fall. The smell of poison... is inside me. Cold. It spreads. My legs won't respond.'
'I see my Sun fight. She is a lioness. Fury and pain in her eyes. She fights for me. For the girl. She gets hurt. She bleeds. I want to help her. I want to get up. I can't. The cold is too strong.'
'The man with the poison runs. He takes the metal house. He leaves. He leaves us. My Sun runs to me. Her hands are on my fur. Her smell is of panic. Of terror. Of Wet Salt, stronger than ever. She is crying. For me.'
'At the edge of my vision, on the top of a distant rock, I see something. A figure. A man with a hat. Just a blurry glimpse. A strange smell. Of tea and stars. Did I imagine it? The world turns dark. The only thing I feel are the hands of my Sun, trembling in my fur. The only thing I hear is her voice, screaming my name.'
"Krypto... Krypto, no! Please, don't!"
'My Sun needs me. I must... protect her. But the cold... the cold is winning. Darkness. I'm sorry, my Girl. I'm sorry...'
A/N
Image of this Chapter
Hey, how are you all doing?
I'm so excited because I recently finished up university! I have a couple of weeks to fully dedicate myself to writing this novel and a few others I've been planning. I've started outlining another DC story, and wow, I think I like it even more than this one! Of course, I won't start it just yet. I want to write at least 20 chapters of this novel before I seriously think about creating another one.
I'll give you a little spoiler, though. One part is obvious and the other isn't so obvious, but at the same time it is. HPxTH, what do you think? Anyone know what I'm talking about? Leave a comment, and I'll like the one who guesses correctly!
Currently, I've written the drafts for chapters 6 and 7 of Better Call Kisuke. This first mini-arc will cover the plot of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
See you next time!