The first thing Inkley noticed was how much darker it was down here. He could barely make out the shapes of other inklings and their brightly colored tentacles. Next, the air rushing past him was cool, far cooler than the air above the grate. Inkley fell for longer than he thought possible, and hit cold, wet concrete with an audible slap. The shock of the landing startled Inkley directly into his humanoid form, and he found the air pushed from his lungs.

"Is he dead?"

Something pressed into Inkley's side. He groaned and squirmed in response.

"The new kids always mess up the landing."

"Someone check his pockets."

There was a brief moment when the voices - all of them unfamiliar - blended together. And then a pair of feet stepped directly into Inkley's view, and the voices from his attention. His eyes traveled up the legs, and he eventually found Luma crouching before him, staring down.

"You alright?"

Inkley groaned again, but rose to his knees. He placed both hands on his thighs and doubled over in an attempt to catch his breath.

"Hey. Are you alright?" Inkley suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, but was only vaguely aware that it belonged to Luma.

"Alright, alright," A new voice called. It was masculine, and held a casual authority that drew the attention of the gathered inklings. "Give the new guy some breathing room." After a moment, the group loosened and dispersed, going off in pairs and trios. Inkley could hear a new pair of feet approach.

Luma frowned. "Get up." She said quietly, and as Inkley clumsily tried climbing up, she hooked an arm beneath his and helped pull him to his feet.

Once on his feet, Inkley turned to look at the approaching inkling.

He stood three or four inches taller than Inkley, looked fairly athletic, and had to be at least sixteen. His tentacles were electric blue, and let down. His eyes were bright blue, strikingly similar to his tentacles. He wore a deep purple jacket that looked like it was water-repellent, as well as a rather standard pair of black shorts. On his feet was a pair of black and purple sneakers. But all that was in the back of Inkley's mind as he stared at the impressive roller slung over the boy's shoulder. His free hand was crammed into a jacket pocket. Taking in the whole image, Inkley realized this boy seemed to be a perfect representation of Inkopolis youth.

Geez, this guy should be in commercials or something…

"Hey Luma." He said with an easy smile.

Luma crossed her arms and stared at the boy with undisguised hostility. "Blue."

"Who's the new guy?"

"How about you ask him? He's right here."

The boy, Blue, paused and frowned, but his smile quickly returned. He looked at Inkley. "Hey. I'm Clay, but most kids just call me Blue."

"I'm Inkley."

"So, you're a friend of Luma's?" Blue asked.

"Y-yeah." Inkley sent a glance over his shoulder at Luma, who was busily fiddling with her shooter.

He laughed and shook his head. "She probably didn't tell you much about all this, right? Just dragged you here with your gear." Inkley could do little but nod dumbly. "Yeah." He exhaled, and then his voice dropped down. "She does this to a lot of kids. Brings 'em down here and leaves them to fend for themselves." He looked at Inkley from the corner of his eye. "Anyway, we all come down here to just… Have fun, you know? No rules, besides don't hurt anybody. Just good, ink-covered fun." He gave Inkley a solid slap on the back and laughed. "I'm sure you'll fit right in!"

Suddenly, Luma appeared in between them, looking very much upset. "If you're done, I've got to show him around."

"Just trying to be friendly to the new kid." Blue replied, putting a hand up innocently.

"Go be friendly to someone else." Luma snapped back. "This one's mine." Without waiting for a response, she snatched Inkley's wrist and pulled him in the opposite direction.

Inkley looked over his shoulder as he was pulled along, and saw Blue standing there. Everything about him seemed different, his posture, his expression. He was no longer the welcoming ring-leader. Inkley couldn't quite describe the look Blue had on his face, but it made him very uncomfortable.

"I inking hate him!" Luma hissed as they rounded a corner.

"Wh-what?"

Luma suddenly released Inkley wrist. She turned away and crossed her arms.. "Blue. I can't stand him."

Inkley paused. "Why not..?" At first, Luma didn't respond. Inkley slowly reached a hand out towards her shoulder, and snatched it away when she turned around.

"Did you see the way he was acting?" Luma replied angrily. "He's such a condescending ass!"

Inkley could do little but stare blankly at her. He felt like he was supposed to say something, but didn't know what.

Luma sighed and shook her head. "You don't know him. Once you know him, you'll understand…" She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed again. "Never mind. I said I was gonna show you around. Come on."

Inkley blinked, and suddenly realized he was in a sewer. The walls were concrete, gray, but surprisingly clean. The ground was wet, but most of the water flowed into a channel cut into the very middle of the ground. It was narrow enough to step over and covered by grating with an inch or two between each bar. The water within the channel rushed ran the same way Luma seemed to be leading Inkley, and off in the distance, there seemed to be an indentation in the concrete, with three channels leading into it. All three emptied out into what seemed to be a black hole, covered by a particularly sturdy looking grate, with the gaps in between being so small, Inkley wondered if a squid could fall through…

"Don't worry about the water," Luma said suddenly, as if she read his mind. "You can't fall through those grates. Some of the ballsier, or dumber kids have tried. It's impossible."

Two paths opened up, one directly ahead, and another to the left. To the right was nothing but concrete wall, marked with graffiti. Some of the scrawlings were more legible than others, and he stopped to examine one for a moment. Luma stopped with him, and watched as he brushed his fingers across a green arrow near the corner of the wall, pointing to the pathway on the left.

"A lot of this stuff is from us." Luma said finally. "After a while, you'll get to leave your own mark, too." She stepped forward suddenly, and brought her hand up to where Inkley's was. Her fingers brushed the back of his palm as she pointed at the arrow. "We use different colors to say different things. The green arrows point towards exits." Turning around, she pointed at an orange one. "Orange points to the meeting area. That's the place just under the main entrance."

Luma stepped away from the wall, and motioned for Inkley to follow. They turned to the left, and Inkley suddenly felt very lost. The tunnel seemed to stretch forever, and the light was low enough that Inkley couldn't see past the second set of crossroads in the distance. He could, however, make out the flashes of color, the hurried, excited movement of other kids in the dark. They ran past, laughing and shouting, nearly all of them covered in a rainbow of colors. Luma led Inkley for quite some time, pointing out specific paths, notable patches of graffiti, or the occasional hiding spot, tucked away behind seemingly useless grates on the walls. At one point, Luma pointed out a ladder, against one of the walls. Rain poured through the grated manhole cover, and washed away to the nearest channel.

"This is one of the ladders that go topside. There's at least two more scattered around here. If you get lost, sometimes you're better off climbing up and finding your way back to the main entrance on the streets." Luma told him, jerking a thumb upwards for emphasis. After a moment, she put hand on her hip, idly aiming her shooter, empty as it was, at Inkley with her other hand. "I think that pretty much covers it. You'll get the hang of navigating as you go, but-"

Luma was interrupted by shrill laughter from around the corner. She grinned, stabbed a finger at Inkley, and then her thumb at herself. Catching the hint, Inkley followed her as she jogged towards the sound, apparently trying to be stealthy. She stopped at the corner, and peered to the left, before quickly jerking her head back and grinning even more.

"There are some kids there. They don't know we're here." She said quietly. "Fill up. We're gonna get 'em."

Inkley nodded, but waited for her to shapeshift first. He followed her lead after a moment, and several awkward seconds later, both of them resurfaced from their own ink, with nearly-full tanks. Luma waved for Inkley to follow her, and he did so, crouched over in an attempt to match her stealth. Of course, he couldn't, and his awkward stride barely kept pace with hers as the crept up behind a slim, red-tentacled girl with her back to them. Her friend, a blue-tentacled boy with a roller that looked too large for him, standing across the crossroads from her, saw them and stood.

"Look-" Was all he could get out before a torrent of orange ink went at him. He fell onto his rear, sputtering and laughing all the while.

The girl had fully turned around by the time Inkley realized he was supposed to be inking her. He turned his face away, raised his shooter, and depressed the trigger. It kicked, and ink flew everywhere. Yet the girl still got a shot off. Red paint slapped against Inkley's chest, and he flinched, sending his Splattershot Junior wide. For some reason, Inkley had expected getting inked to hurt. But it didn't; in fact, it almost felt pleasant.

"Splat!"

Inkley paused, as did the blue boy and the red girl. All three of them looked at Luma, who had a fresh coat of green ink up her left side.

"You inked me." She growled, looking at Inkley. The boy and girl both ran off down the same path, giggling at or with one another. "It's gonna be like that, is it?" She asked expectantly.

Inkley tried to stammer out an apology, but reeled backwards when orange ink splattered all over his face. He spat out a glob of ink and gasped, trying furiously to wipe ink out of his eyes.

"Two can play at that game!" Luma shouted, though Inkley could barely see her. "Catch me if you can!"

Inkley heard footsteps move away from him, and of course, when he could finally open his eyes, Luma was gone, running down the tunnel at full speed. He simply gawked at her for a moment, before shaking his daze off and giving chase. She stopped at a corner, glanced both ways, and turned around to face Inkley. She smirked at him, gave him an exaggerated wink, and bolted to the right. Rounding the corner, Inkley could immediately tell from the distance she had covered that she was far more athletic than him. He would never be able to properly keep pace with her.

Luma was about to cross another intersection when she ducked back behind the corner. Not a second later, a wave of purple ink painted the space she was just standing in. She leaned around the corner, sprayed a quick gout of ink, and then bolted across the tunnel to the other side, and blue ink painted a trail behind her, and a hooded inkling with a rather androgynous appearance peeked around the corner, looking directly at Inkley with a pleased look on their face. They rounded the corner with a charger raised, and after a moment, a solid line of pink ink took Inkley full on the chest, knocking him flat onto his rear. The inkling strode past Inkley, and gave him a playful salute.

"Better luck next time, cutie."

Inkley sat for a moment, wiping the pink from his hoodie, before standing and glancing around. Luma was casually strolling away, her shoot slung over one shoulder while her free hand was crammed into a pocket. She glanced back over her shoulder. "You coming?" She mouthed.

Inkley huffed, and once again shook off his daze. He took off after Luma, who finally began running again. Passing the corner, Inkley glanced to the right and saw a red boy charging away from him recklessly, a hefty roller on the ground before him. A green duo ran from the roller, laughing and whooping with delight all the while. Turning his attention back to matters that concerned him, he skidded to a halt at the corner of a three-way intersection, and glanced both ways. Luma was moving at a full sprint down the left path, and Inkley let out a loud groan as he gave chase.

Though his legs were heavy, his chest heaved with each breath, and it felt like he was about the throw up, Inkley was surprised to find that he was almost keeping pace with Luma. Were it not for the others in the tunnels, often times catching both of them at moments that interrupted the chase, Luma would have undoubtedly been able to outrun Inkley. Inkley saw several of the same faces during the romp through the maze of tunnels, and in turn, inked and was inked by them.

What seemed like hours passed in a blur. Several others joined the chase on both sides, and it turned into a war. They fought for the intersections, painting the walls and one another a myriad of colors for the sake of making of a mess. At some point during the night, Inkley found himself running down a corridor, shoulder to shoulder with Blue, with the older boy painting the floor with his roller with Inkley sprayed forward, keeping another group of inklings tucked behind the safety of the corners.

Not too long after that, Inkley found himself screaming as he fled from Blue, desperately trying to avoid being rolled over. Two other inklings were ahead of him, and suddenly, both of them broke off, turning on their heels and sprinting down opposite paths, leaving Inkley alone, still running as fast as his tired legs would carry him. After a few moments, the path Inkley was on ended, and Inkley slid as he tried to turn to the right at a full sprint. He carried on running for another second, before realizing something. He eventually slowed down and stopped beside a ladder leading topside. A green arrow on the wall behind the ladder pointed upwards.

"I'm alone…" Inkley said after a moment. Blue had stopped chasing him, undoubtedly in favor of going after someone who wasn't so awfully out of shape. Inkley doubled over, putting one hand on a rung of the ladder for support, and heaved out several shuddering breaths. "Splat."

Inkley sat like that for a while, simply trying to catch his breath and wishing the ache in his legs would go away. He had no doubt that he'd be feeling this in the morning, and he would have a fun time trying to hide it from his mother. After a minute, he straightened up and exhaled. He sent a glance around and listened, trying to determine where others were, so he could join the fun. He was just about to set off towards the nearest shouting voice when something hit his shoulders and knocked him to the ground.

Inkley hit the floor with an oomph, all the air pressed from his lungs as weight bore down on the small of his back.

"Hiya." Luma hissed into Inkley's ear. Though Inkley's cheek was pressed to the cold concrete, and he couldn't twist around to look at her, he could tell she was straddling his back. "Almost thought I lost you, y'know. Thought that the others had swept you up and I would never see Inkley again." She laughed. "It wouldn't be the first time people have gotten lost in here… Figuratively, I mean. We always do a head-count before we wrap up, and-"

"'Scuse me, but could you let me up?"

"What?" Luma asked absently, before laughing again. "Oh, yeah." After a moment she rose, and Inkley exhaled.

He rose with a groan, and stretched noisily. "Ow." He cast a suspicious look at Luma, and then up the ladder. "What were you doing up there?"

Luma shrugged noncommittally. "I sit up on the ladders sometimes, to try and get a drop on people who walk by." She smirked at Inkley. "You're the first one I ever landed on though."

Inkley was about to reply when the shrill sound of a whistle cut him off. Luma motioned for him to follow, and they made their way to the meeting area. A small group had already gathered, and more filtered in by the minute. Blue stood at the head of the group, his roller leaning against the wall, and two younger boys stood beside him, one with arms crossed and the other with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

Blue stared out at the crowd for a moment, before nodding to himself, seemingly satisfied by the group. "Alright guys and gals. The night's over!" A collective groan went up. "You all know the drill. Starts at eleven, ends at two. Don't act surprised." He chuckled and shook his head. "We all had a great night, and even got a new guy! Where's the new kid?"

Inkley blinked, realized they were talking about him, and tried to shrink away. But several sets of hands pushed him to the front.

"There he is!" Blue said. He took Inkley by the elbow and pulled him close, before throwing an arm around his shoulder and shaking him. "This guy, Inkley; he's one of us now. Let's hear it for the new kid!" A short cheer went up, and with a grin, Blue pushed Inkley back into the crowd. "Alright. Same time, two weeks from now." His grin only grew, and with a wink, he added "Stay out of trouble 'till then!"

With that, the gathered inklings began leaving, moving away in groups of three and four. Luma nudged Inkley with her elbow, and motioned for him to follow her. Almost everyone was heading towards the nearest ladder, while a small handful scattered in the other direction, heading for the other two ladders in the far corners of the sewer. He followed Luma towards the nearest ladder, and after waiting for their turn, they climbed up, and Inkley was somewhat disheartened to discover that it was still raining fairly hard. Looking down at his chest, however, he realized that a very large amount of ink that had stained his hoodie was now running in the rain, dripping down his entire body and onto the ground. For the first time in his life Inkley had a use for the stain-resistance nearly every article of clothing Inkopolis was made with. Of course, he also spent a fairly large portion of his life either naked or in a pair of shorts.

Inkley glanced around, and noticed that they were in another alley, completely different from the one Luma and Inkley and originally entered from. Two heavy metal doors with solid-looking locks could be found, one on either wall. The entire alley was fenced off, with only a single gate providing access to the lonely little alleyway. Holding the gate shut, however, was a rather hefty-looking padlock.

Inkley frowned. He was about to ask how they were supposed to get out, when two others disconnected their shooters, handed them to another duo standing nearby, and began scaling the fence. After crossing the top, one dropped to the other side, and the other followed after a moment. The duo holding their shooters tossed them over, before disconnecting their own and tossing them over as well. All four of the shooters were caught, and after a moment, all four of their owners were over the fence. Luma nudged Inkley's shoulder and stepped up to the fence, hurriedly disconnecting her Splattershot before tossing it over.

"Hurry up." She told him, before moving to climb the fence.

Inkley furrowed his brow and set to disconnecting his Splattershot Junior. He glanced across the fence, and found himself looking into the face of the same hooded pink girl who had knocked him on his rear earlier. She winked at him, and with a faint blush, Inkley tossed his shooter over the fence. With a grunt of effort, he climbed the fence, and upon reaching the top, slipped both legs over and dropped to the ground. He landed heavily and awkwardly, stumbling forward and dropping to a knee. A gloved hand was thrust into his vision, and Inkley looked up to the hooded girl who extended it.

"Watch your step, cutie." She said as she helped Inkley up, handing him his shooter.

"Really, Lilith?" Luma asked, putting a fist on her hip.

Lilith giggled and shrugged at Luma. "What can I say? You know how to pick 'em, Luma."

Luma sighed, playfully slapping Lilith's arm before motioning to Inkley. "Right. See you later." She said, glancing at the hooded girl before walking off. "C'mon, Inkley. Let's get our stuff."

Inkley followed after Luma, but sent a glance back. Lilith stayed with the others, catching a beaten charger and saying something to its owner. "Friend of yours?" He asked, turning back to Luma.

"Yeah." She replied with a halfhearted shrug. "Known each other for a while." Pointing down the street, she added "Down there's the alley we went down in. Our stuff should still be in the dumpster."

They walked in silence for a minute or two. Inkley spent the time trying to reconnect his shooter to his tank, which was still a quarter full of sloughing ink. At first, it was hard because of the scarce lighting, but as they grew closer to Inkopolis plaza, the light became brighter, and he eventually succeeded.

With a cursory glance, Inkley could tell that almost no one else was out at this time of night. From the corner of his eye, he saw a rather dazed-looking couple, sloppily clinging to one another as they stumbled through the street. Luma seemed completely unfazed by the time or the thought of being caught by some authority figure. Indeed, it seemed as though she had done this so many times it was little more than another rut in her routine. And Inkley would have believed that if someone told him.

They reached the alley, and though Inkley couldn't say why, he half-expected the dumpster, and all of his stuff, to be gone. But it was still there, the lid closed to keep out the rain. Luma shrugged off her tank, set it and her shooter down, and clambered up the edge, tossing open the lid and hopped over the edge.

"Which one is yours?"

"Black and silver, with the Krak-On logo on the front."

After a moment, his bag came flying at him. It struck his chest and he barely caught it before it hit the ground. He busied himself with putting his shooter and tank away while Luma dug her own bag out of the bunch. After a minute, both of them had their belongings, and were on their way again.

"You have your money?" Luma asked suddenly.

Inkley was caught off-guard by the question. After a moment, he nodded absently, and stuffed a hand into his pocket. He fished out a small handful of coins. "Yeah."

"Sweet." She said. "I know a place we can pick up some snacks."

And she did. Luma led the way through the dimly lit streets, and eventually, they were standing in a brightly-lit convenience store, with shelves lined with food, items like bandages and painkillers, even pairs of gloves and sunglasses. In the far corner was a cooler filled with canned and bottled beverages. At the front of the store, behind the counter, was a bored-looking girl with neon-yellow tentacles. She barely acknowledged Luma and Inkley's entrance, instead blowing a pink bubble with a wad of gum. Her eyes darted down to the magazine lying on the counter in front of her and they didn't come back up. There was something strange about her, though, something Inkley couldn't place.

Luma, however, paid no attention the clerk, instead moving directly towards the candy aisle. She waited for only a moment, before removing several bags of candy from their hangers, including Gummi-Urchins, Chocolate Inklets, and Never-Ending Inkstoppers. With all that tucked under one arm, she slipped around the corner, undoubtedly heading for the drink cooler. Deciding he could use a snack himself, Inkley grabbed two packs of Gummi-Urchins and followed after her. Rounding the corner, Inkley could see Luma pulling a bottle of Splat Cola from the shelf. She wheeled around, nearly colliding with Inkley, but she simply grinned at him, and sidestepped him to go to the counter. Inkley grabbed himself a bottle of Splatberry Punch, before following Luma. They both dumped their armfuls on the counter.

The clerk looked expectantly at them. She stared at both of them for a particularly long time, before blowing another bubble and scanning their items. "Is all this together?"

"Yeah." Luma said quickly.

The clerk clicked her tongue and finished scanning everything. "That'll be seven coins."

Inkley frowned thoughtfully as he dug out the coins, and counted them in his palm before dumping them on the counter. The clerk scooped the coins into her hand, hit a button on the register, and placed the coins within.

"You want the receipt?" The clerk asked.

"No."

The clerk unceremoniously scooped everything but the drinks into a plastic bag and handed the bag to Luma. "A bit late for little squiddies like you two to be out, isn't it?"

"Probably." Luma replied, taking her drink and heading for the door. Inkley grabbed his own drink, and followed after her. She shoved the bag into his hands. "Hold that."

Inkley remained quiet as they walked, mostly because he had no idea where they were. They had left the Plaza at some point, and so Inkley was relying entirely on Luma to navigate. It took them only a few minutes to return to the Plaza, however, and once there, they made a beeline towards the train station. There was no train waiting for them, and so they sat down on nearby benches. Inkley jammed a hand into the plastic bag, dug out two packs of Gummi-Urchins, and stuffed one into his backpack. Sitting across from him, Luma raised both her hands, and Inkley tossed the plastic bag to her. She caught it, and immediately began opening her Inklets.

Inkley popped a handful of gummies into his mouth and chewed for a moment. He sent a curious glance around the Plaza, and noticed that it was empty again. "Where's everyone else?" He asked suddenly.

Luma shrugged halfheartedly. "Moth of 'em are pwobably on a twain." She said, slurring around a mouthful of chocolate. Swallowing, she added "Some of them might be home by now. A few live really close by."

"Oh." Inkley said absently, nodding thoughtfully. He glanced furtively at Luma, who was occupied with another handful of sweets, and considered asking her. He repeated the question in his head a dozen times. Where do you live? He opened his mouth, and suddenly, the sound of a train rattling down the tracks not too far away cut him off.

Not too long after, a train pulled into the station. The door slid open, but no one exited. Luma stood and entered, and with his shoulders slumped, Inkley followed her. They entered the train car, and moved to the rear, where the seats were turned to face one another. Luma sat on one side, and Inkley took the seat across from her. The conductor barely waited for the both of them to sit before the train lurched into motion. Evidently, they knew or believed that no one else was getting on this late at night.

The duo rode in silence for several minutes. The only sounds that accompanied their ride were the steady roll of the train over the tracks, and a just-as-steady munching as they ate. As time wore on, the silence ate at Inkley's nerves.

"S-so, uh… How long have you been…" Inkley began, pausing to find the proper words. "Doing this?"

Luma chewed and swallowed a mouthful before replying. "A while. Can't remember exactly when I started." She said with a shrug. "I started getting into turf-fighting stuff as soon as I could, I guess." She paused, before cocking an eyebrow at Inkley. "Why?"

Inkley blinked. "I-I don't know." He stammered after a moment. "Just wondering, I guess."

Luma grinned at him, and for the first time, Inkley realized, she had shown her teeth while grinning. They were brilliantly white, but her three fangs looked remarkably larger than his own, and those of others, he suspected. "Riiiiight." She said. "Y'know, you kept up with the rest of us better than most new kids. Most of them - especially kids who are new like you - are really… Soft, I guess. Like a squid! They can't run well, they have trouble changing to a squid and back… You catch on quick."

A faint blush colored Inkley's cheeks, and he felt his tentacles darken. "I guess I'm a fast learner."

Luma shrugged again. "Don't get me wrong, you were almost always at the back of the pack, but the fact that you were with the pack makes you pretty decent for a new kid."

"Thanks..?"

She looked him in the eyes, and all traces of humor disappeared from her voice. "You really should start exercising, though. It gets easier the earlier you start." The flippant tone of her voice returned, and she smirked. "I didn't get this body overnight, you know." Inkley's blush only increased, and Luma laughed.

They kept talking for a while, but the entirety of the ride after that was a haze. Inkley could only vaguely recall the rest of the conversation.

Eventually, a voice came over the speaker. "Now stopping at Inkwood Grove."

That broke Inkley from his daze. "That's my stop." He said suddenly.

A minute later, the train came to a halt, and the door slid open.

"Alright, Inkley." Luma said, giving him a playful salute, surprisingly similar to the one Lilith had given him earlier in the night. "Thanks for the food. I'll see ya around, kid."

The way she said it sent shivers down Inkley's spine as he exited the train car. Glancing around, Inkley could tell that it was still raining, although it appeared to have lightened up substantially. Still, nearly all the lights in his neighborhood were off. As he walked, Inkley shrugged off his bag, stuffed his drink inside, and shouldered it again. He put his hood up, drew it tightly around his head, and made his way home.

The night air was cool, and the rain was cooler. His walk home was uneventful, and he found himself staring at the front of his own home in what seemed like no time at all. There wasn't a single trace of light from within his home, meaning his mother was definitely asleep. Inkley recalled that she would occasionally watch TV late at night. Shaking the thought from his head, Inkley walked right up to the front door, and tried the knob. It didn't budge. With a sigh, he stepped off the stone stairs leading to the door, sent a furtive glance around, and felt blindly around the left side of the bottom step. After a moment, his fingers brushed cold metal, and he peeled the key off the side of the step. His mother had told him about the key there not too long ago, and warned him that he shouldn't ever actually get locked out of the house. So if he ever needed to use this key, that had been so expertly taped to the side of the step, he had made a bad decision somewhere along the way.

The memory of that conversation they had, when Inkley was neither a squid nor a kid, was brought to the front of his mind. He sighed as he unlocked the door and replaced the key, and wondered if the fact that he didn't feel any guilt made him a bad inkling or not. He opened the door quietly, stuck his head in, listened, and stepped in softly. He closed the door behind him as quietly as he could, and shuffled through the dark towards the stairs. His steps were slow and sure as he tried to avoid stumbling and making noise in the dark.

Eventually, his crawling pace brought him to his room. He opened the door, entered, closed it behind him as quietly as he could, and put his bag in the closet. He stripped down to his boxers, threw all the dirty clothes in the corner where his hamper should have been, and as he tossed the dirty clothes in his bed into the corner, he marveled at how clean the hoodie was. No stains, no discoloration. Thank ink for whoever made clothes ink-resistant.

Inkley flopped into his bed, too tired to bother to close the window, and a cool breeze blew into his room. He shivered, pulled his sheets around his body, and eventually drifted off.


Inkley woke with a groan. The predicted soreness from last night had indeed hit him, and his legs were the hardest hit. He eventually rose, and found he had trouble putting any pressure at all on his legs. After several minutes of simply staring at the floor, he managed to stand, and shuffled painfully to the upstairs bathroom. He relieved himself, and before leaving, found himself staring at his reflection in the mirror. Luma's words from last night rang in his head. He lifted an arm and flexed, hoping to see some kind of muscular definition in his bicep. He saw very little. With a frown, he poked two fingers into his stomach, and sighed. It was kind of soft. But, barely a month ago, his body had only the most basic form of definition. At that point in his life, despite the vaguely humanoid shape, his entire body was incredibly soft. And so very sticky. Inkley couldn't suppress a laugh as he remembered how messy the second-to-last stage of his life was.

Inkley went back to his room, threw on a pair of shorts and a white shirt, and went downstairs. It was silent. His mother, evidently, had left already. Looking at a clock in the living room, Inkley could clearly see why. It was nearly eleven already! Inkley groaned as he made himself a bowl of cereal. The last time he had woke up that late was his fourteenth birthday, when he had spent nearly the entire night before sitting in front of the mirror, waiting to fully turn into a kid. He had fallen asleep at three in the morning, passed out in the hallway, and when he woke up, he was no longer a gelatinous squid-thing, but a fully-fledged kid.

Inkley ate slowly, taking the time to think about last night. Would it be weird if he considered that the greatest night of his life? He honestly didn't know, and after he ate, he rushed upstairs to brush his teeth, the memories still flashing through his head like a TV show. It all sort of felt like a dream. Inkley paid particular attention to his fangs while brushing, and he was suddenly reminded of Luma. With a sigh, he spat into the sink, put his toothbrush back, and went back to his room.

He had a message waiting for him on his computer. It was from Brine.

"You up?" It was from nearly an hour ago.

Inkley sat at his computer, groaning with discomfort as his legs throbbed. "Yeah. What's up?"

It was nearly fifteen minutes later when he got a response. "Can I come over today? I want to see your Splattershot."

"Sure. Come over whenever. My mom's not gonna be home for a while."

"Cool. I'll be over in an hour."

"See you then." Inkley typed, and then powered down his computer. Once again, he knew Brine probably didn't even get the last message. With nothing better to do, Inkley went downstairs, flopped down on the couch in the living room, flipped on the TV, put his feet up and tried to relax.