"Pale summer moonlight shimmers on the seafloor,
An octopus, unaware that dawn will bring capture,
Rests within a trap, dreaming fleeting dreams..."
Our story starts deep underground, where a poor Octoling lies unconscious, in what seems to be a leather crop-top and leather leggings. Her hair is a bright turquoise, like dormant coral on the ocean floor. The 8-limbed cephalopod slowly starts to stir, her eyes being met by the sight of an interesting face: an old, senile-looking cuttlefish.
"Ahoy! Octoling! Up and at 'em, ya lazy whiffle-whaffle," yelled the old man. His glasses slowly fell as he flailed about, seemingly at random.
At this point, the young Octoling had completely woken up, wanting to question the cuttlefish. "Ugh… Wha-?" was all she could manage to say before she got interrupted by the old man.
"This fight ain't over yet!" the cuttlefish exclaimed at the confused cephalopod, "Prepare for a royal Squidbeak-style whoopin'!"
The Octoling could only scream, "Woah, what do you even mean, mister?!"
The cuttlefish, not seeming to hear her, continued his babbling. "But there's no honor in defeating an unarmed opponent… and you seem to have lost your weapon somewhere around here."
"So, am I off the hook, then? Can I get out of here?" the Octoling questioned.
"Wait a minute… Where IS here, anyway?" the cuttlefish questioned in response.
The Octoling thought for a moment, looking around before shrugging. "It almost looks like some sort of underground subway station," she replied.
"That's odd… Last time I checked, you were battling my protege, Agent 3, in Octo Valley," the cuttlefish explained, "Then the both of you were suddenly attacked by someone. I don't know who it was, though."
The Octoling stood up, brushing herself off before a deep sigh escaped her mouth. "Well, we must've come from somewhere, right?" the cephalopod exclaimed, "Perhaps we can call a truce until we manage to escape?"
"That sounds like a mighty-fine idea to me, at least for now," the old cuttlefish agreed, "You can call me Cap'n Cuttlefish, but just calling me Craig works too."
"And my name… it's… I don't remember at all," the Octoling admitted.
"Hmmm… How about I call you Coral?" Cuttlefish suggested, "I mean, your ink is so bright and blue, kinda like coral."
"That does sound like a nice name… Alright, you can call me Coral, then!" the freshly-named Octoling said, now having a warm smile on her face.
'Okay, then that's settled! How 'bout you move onwards, see if you can find any clues as to how we can escape," Cuttlefish suggested, "I'll catch up to you in a little bit."
"I think I got it!" Coral exclaimed, starting to move deeper into the seemingly-abandoned facility, where unexpected technology awaits her arrival.
After travelling in the subway for what felt like hours, Cap'n Cuttlefish and Coral find themselves on what seems to be an empty subway platform.
"I noticed something odd about our earlier encounter," Cuttlefish noted, "Y'see, before you came to, I swear I heard you humming the Calamari Inkantation. Perhaps the heavenly melody was etched into your soul?"
"Honestly, anything could have happened while I was unconscious," Coral replied, "For all I know, you could've been whacking me with that stick of yours the whole time."
Cap'n Cuttlefish just pretends that Coral's last sentence didn't exist. "I've heard many a tale of Octarians whose lives were changed by those funky beats," Cuttlefish explains, "Perhaps the same happened to you, during the battle between Agent 3 and DJ Octavio from a couple years ago."
"Maybe it did, maybe it didn't… But I don't remember anything of the sort," Coral reluctantly admits.
"Well, either way, it must have some sort of connection," Cuttlefish exclaimed, "Maybe you didn't deserve to have Agent 3 sicced on you after all. We'll just have to wait and see."
A large group of beeping and chirping noises start to fill the area. Cuttlefish and Coral turn around to see what looks like an old-fashioned telephone. Coral starts walking closer to the phone, Cuttlefish being close behind. Once the young Octoling gets near the phone, she reaches out to touch it, when suddenly, the phone seemingly plays a little jingle before flailing around. This makes Coral jump back in shock and confusion, her eyes widened and her mouth agape.
"GREETINGS, NUMBER 10,008," the telephone yelled flatly, "YOUR CURRENT LOCATION IS: DEEPSEA METRO CENTRAL STATION."
"So that's what this place is called, huh?" Coral realized, "Nice name for an abandoned mess."
"MY PRIMARY FUNCTION IS TO FACILITATE YOUR JOURNEY TO THE PROMISED LAND," the phone explained, "YOU CAN CALL ME TELLER. PLEASED TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE."
"Well, nice to meet ya, Teller!" Cuttlefish exclaims.
[Activating "Contemporary Speech Mode"]
Coral and Cuttlefish seem confused as to what Teller is doing, until…
"Yo, what is crackalacking, home skillet?" Teller weirdly spoke, "Let us bounce to the promised land fo sho!"
"Wait, what's going on here? Why are you now speaking all weird?" Coral questioned.
"I am all 'bout it 'bout it, so listen while I [SLANG_NOT_FOUND] you the facts!" Teller continued, "You've spent your whole life in the dark, your eyes closed to the new hotness that awaits."
"'Spent my whole life in the dark?' What does he mean?" Coral wondered confusedly.
"The promised land: A utopia of light beyond your wildest dreams. It is all that and a bag of cool beans!"
"Now that is quite a deal!" Cuttlefish excitedly yelled.
"I will take you to the promised land now…" Teller exclaimed.
"Huh, that almost seemed a bit too eas-" Coral began.
"NOT!" Teller screamed, "Hahaha! Psyche out!"
"Wait, so then what do we do?!" Coral curiously asked.
"Y'see, only cats who have proven themselves in this facility can reach the promised land," Teller explained, "You dig, dog?"
"Aha, I understand now," said Cuttlefish, "Thank you for the explanation, Teller!"
"There were 10,007 applicants before you, so you're officially #10,008!" Teller continued, "Pretty cool, right?"
"There is something pretty rewarding about being at such a high number…" Coral admitted to herself.
"This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo!" Teller claimed, "Good luck, and [SLANG_NOT_FOUND]."
"Well, okay then. I guess we better get go-" Coral started again.
"Here is your CQ Card and CQ-80," Teller interrupted. "They're so bad."
A weird card and cellphone then slide out from Teller's speaker. Coral picks them up almost immediately after.
"Guard them with your lizzife," Teller explained, "because if you lose them, you'll be [ERROR]. Now come on, ride the train. I'm outie 5000."
"Coral, did you get all that?" Cuttlefish asked, "It seemed like quite a beakful to take in."
"Despite the weird terms, I think I understand what he was trying to say," Coral replied.
"Perhaps, when talking about the 'promised land,' he meant the surface," Cuttlefish added.
Just as he had said that, a train slowly made its way to the platform. The door to one of its cars quickly opened wide, as if begging Coral and Cuttlefish to get on.
"After you, Craig," Coral suggested, "Let's get to the surface!"
And so, the two boarded the train as it closed its doors and exited the station. The great adventure begins here.