Reconciliation (Part 1)
Sorry for the longer wait for this chapter! But longer wait means longer chapter, so this chapter is slightly longer than the rest iirc.
MetalSoul: Yes, as you have correctly guessed this is a redo of an older story that Wes deleted because she was too busy with school. Glad you enjoy it so far!
Ok, with the author's notes out of the way now, enjoy the chapter!
Cici lined up the muzzle of the Octo Shot with the dummy's chest and pulled the trigger. The squid-shaped balloon popped within a few seconds as globs of fuchsia ink hit it. She put the weapon back on the small table beside her and walked away from the shooting range, nearly bumping into a passing Octoball on the way out. Her heart was still heavy; it was inevitable that she and Octavia would need to talk it out at some point, but how would they face each other? What should they say? Would they even want to see each other? Maybe that Nemo guy was correct; she might as well request to transfer to another dorm and get separated from Octavia.
No. Running away from the problem doesn't solve jack. She must talk with her, whether they like it or not.
"Hey, you alright there, pal?" Cici looked up and saw a tall Octoling boy before him. His four short tentacles were combed back neatly. He had a large Octobrush slung behind him. He carried a big, wide smile, but it contrasted his concerned tone, "You seem to have something on your heart."
"I don't think so." Cici looked away.
"Wanna talk it out?" The boy suggested.
"Talk...it out?" Cici raised a brow in confusion. She had not met someone who was willing to talk with another stranger for something they have no part in.
"Name's Tristan." The boy introduced himself. "And why not, it's alright to talk 'bout something if it helps you feel better."
This boy seemed persistent. He was a complete stranger, so why should he care how she felt? But as much as Cici wanted to swat him away, she couldn't deny he was right, so why not go along with it? "I guess we can talk a little."
"Alright, but we can't talk over all this noise." Tristan gestured at the numerous cadets practicing their sharpshooting skills in the range. "Let's go somewhere else."
Later on…
"Here we are." Tristan had taken her to some sort of recreational area in the Academy. The whole place looked like a small bar, and a flat-faced Twintacle Octotrooper was passing some drinks to the different Octolings here. In the distance, several Octolings were playing some sort of card game, and occasionally Cici could hear them yell in victory if they won a round. There were some tables and chairs scattered around in groups, not really in any specific pattern. Cici could see the large vats of drinks, probably alcoholic, behind the bartender that was there, the translucent liquid shining in the light. The room was pretty well lit, and seemed pretty nice.
"Hey, catch." Tristan tossed at Cici a can of cherry soda, which she caught perfectly, before he popped open his own can. So far this girl hasn't said anything yet, not even anything generic like introducing herself. Well, he'll have to be patient. "Let's sit down."
Cici kept her eyes trained on this polite boy as she sipped her soda. He seemed pretty chill and sort of…there's a word to describe his chivalrous personality and it's not "flirty". She had seen many boys who tried to impress her and some other girls. Ah right, "gentleman" is the word. She knew the difference between a soft-spoken guy and a nerd who tries so hard to flirt that he ends up looking stupid.
"So," Tristan kept his welcoming smile. "What's been happening, pal?"
"How do I start?" Cici rubbed her forehead. "I don't know how to describe this…"
"Don't work yourself up, pal. One at a time." Tristan assured her. "Go slowly."
"Pal"? Really? I swear, I'm going to get killed or kidnapped or something. Cici thought as she began to describe how the fight started.
"Well, Octavia seemed worked up about the new law the King's nephew created, and she was really upset about how the Octoling died."
"The traitor Octoling? Yeah, it's a shame." Tristan bowed his head slightly as he remembered the assembly. "I understand why she wanted to run away, though; things are kinda hectic down here."
"That'd be an understatement."
"Anyway, back to the point," Tristan put down his can. "Octavia, you say? I've heard of her; pretty cheerful and lively. It's hard to find someone like her down here. You said she was upset, huh?"
"Yeah. Then all of a sudden she just snapped and said…all I did is just ignore her and pretend she's not there."
"Hoo my, now that's something. But," He put on an apologetic expression, "Is that really true? Did you really do that?"
"I guess so. I admit I was pretty harsh on her. In fact, the next thing I said to her was:
"I hardly even know you at all! All YOU do is follow me like some lost homeless pile of worthless garbage!"
"Ouch. That's blunt, man." Tristan didn't want to say that so straightforwardly, but he had to point out the truth to her.
"I know, I know." Cici nodded in defeat. "I tried to apologize to her, but she doesn't want to face me anymore. I don't know what to do." For the first time in years, her emotionless facade slipped as she buried her face in her hands and tried to fight back the urge to break down in tears.
"Alright, it's okay. It's not too late." Tristan reached out his palms and gently grabbed the girl's trembling arms, making her look up at him. "Don't be afraid to go up to her. If she tries to push you away, don't be disheartened. Her reaction right now is pretty justified and normal to something like that."
"I guess...but, if it's normal, does that mean we aren't supposed to, I don't know, clear things up and start fresh?"
"I never said you can't apologize, I just said that you should just wait and maybe tell her when you two are alone, with no distractions around." Tristan said. Cici took another sip of her soda, and stared at the liquid as she thought about what to do. She could see her reflection in it, and all she could see was the disappointment radiating from her facial expressions. She felt as if she ruined her one chance to prove to herself that not everyone is going to treat her horribly, and that there are some nice people in this underground hell.
"Maybe you can try to do something with her, like hanging out together for a bit." Tristan suggested. "Then, you two can just talk it over."
"Perhaps. You know, from everything I experienced in my life so far, I thought everyone around me is cold and heartless, that they all just hate me for some indescribable reason. Sometimes, I just ask myself why no one wants to be near me, why I can't have anyone I can run to when I need help. And now, when my perfect opportunity comes up, I ruin it. No, I don't just ruin it; I make it disappear forever." Her voice began to crack at the last two words.
"Well, maybe you've been around the wrong group. Not everyone is like that, you know. For example, I saw you were a bit depressed looking and such over there. I could've ignored you and thought 'not my problem', but here we are, talking to each other. Kinda cool how even when everything's chaotic and messy, there's always still some good around here."
"Yeah." Cici nodded. Although she admittedly thinks it was weird for a complete stranger like him to start talking to her, she sort of liked it. She hadn't really had a decent conversation like this with someone in a while. "Thank you. For the advice."
"No problem. Hey, I need to go check on a friend of mine, but if you see me around, you can always come talk to me. Later, pal." Tristan walked away, chucking his soda can into a garbage bin. The can bounced around the walls of the bin, and Cici just watched as it slowly landed on the bottom with a soft thud. She got up and simply dropped her empty can into the bin, and she walked away, leaving the sounds of the bar behind her.
At the infirmary...
Octavia waved at the receptionist as she walked out of the door. Crystal's words kept bouncing around in her mind. What should she do now? Return to the dorms? Find Cici? She had no clue what to do…
Hmm, what to do, what to do...surely it's not THAT hard, I've talked to her several times before! Yeah, shouldn't be hard at all… Octavia thought to herself, a confident smile on her face.
"Octavia, wait!" Octavia heard a familiar female voice behind her and she turned to see Cici, who seemed both relieved and nervous. Octavia didn't really smile or frown, not knowing how to feel. "Oh, hi Cici…"
"Hey." Cici tried her hardest to keep herself composed as she began to speak. "Um...look, about what I said, I'm sorry. I-I don't know what I was thinking, I think I just got frustrated and I…"
"Frustrated is underselling it, don't you think?"
"Octavia, I'm sorry...I didn't realize how much I needed someone...you know, like a friend."
"Uh huh…"
"And I guess, I just felt horrible about what I said. I know I've said it so many times, but I mean it: I'm sorry." Cici told her, staring at Octavia straight into her eyes. Her hopeful pupils reminded Octavia of those adorable creatures called Octoballs she had seen, except those things only had one eye, while she had two. Two sad, hopeful eyes staring at her. Octavia wouldn't describe Cici right now as "on the verge of tears", but she still seemed close to the term.
"Hmm...okay, I forgive you. Sort of. But for the most part, yes, you're forgiven." Octavia told Cici, and without any warning, she threw herself towards her and trapped her in a tight hug. This sudden display of affection shocked the Octoling in question, who yelped slightly before returning the embrace, although lightly.
"So, no fights?"
"No more." Octavia whispered softly.
"And we're...friends?"
"Yes Cici, we're friends if you want to be. Sorry for running away when you wanted to apologize."
"No Octavia, your actions are justified. Anyway...you want to do something?" Cici asked. The two walked over to a bench, as they were in yet another recreational center that emulated a nature park. Electronic panels displayed the "sky", and there were plants there that the Octarians probably had scavenged from the forests surrounding the Valley and the Canyon. Everything was well tended, and the whole room was very bright.
"Hmm...well, I don't know. Maybe we should walk around?" Octavia suggested. "I haven't explored the whole entirety of the Academy yet. Maybe only a few rooms and halls, at best."
"Yeah. Here, let's go over that way." Cici pointed at a small tree no far away. "I haven't been here long either, so lots of this is new to me still."
"Great! Let's go." The duo walked past the small tree, into a deep well lit hall. It was wide, with many large rooms on both sides. These rooms consisted of some usual stuff, like bathrooms and armories, and some were quite unique rooms, like a small weapons manufacturing room and a storage room full of metal parts.
"You know, I never recognized that storage room of growing pods before. Or that room with the weird creepy guys making weapons." Octavia told Cici, who looked at the shiny floor as they walked. The hall was now less lit up, but light was still bright enough to see pretty clearly. Octavia found another room, and she immediately pulled on Cici's sleeve. The Octoling stopped abruptly, her heels making a minor screeching noise.
"Octavia!"
"Sorry, I just wanted to check this room for a second." Octavia said, pointing with her thumb to the doorway behind her. There was a keypad next to it, but the double doors had already opened. The room was labelled with a metal sign screwed onto the wall on the side.
"The 'boiler' room? No offense Octavia, but one, we probably aren't allowed there, and two, don't say we are just because the door is open."
"But the doors are open! And officers wouldn't just leave the doors open if they knew we weren't allowed."
"Didn't I just tell you not to say we can go in if the doors are op- Octavia, wait!" Cici exclaimed as she suddenly saw her friend walk into the room. The room was huge and very roomy. It was a literal maze of pipes, both thick and skinny, and pipes were everywhere. They were currently on a platform, which kept them from falling down deep under. The platform was made of grates, which meant octopus form was out of the question. The room was dimly lit, only visible through orange lights that shone in the mostly dark room. Everything looked orange at this point. Click could see steam rising from some pipes, although she didn't worry. The boiler room certainly wasn't quiet, and she could hear noises echoing throughout the walls. She caught up to Octavia, who reached a midpoint with a central control station. Here, several long paths of the platforms connected to this control area, although this wasn't the only one. There were several others in the room, all put in certain places to monitor pipes and control certain areas of the boiler room.
"Octavia, why are we here again?"
"You said you wanted to explore, that's what we're doing. Besides, it can't be that bad, no one's in here." Octavia told her in a cheery voice. Nonetheless, Cici was not convinced but followed her friend anyway, not wanting to see her get hurt. Suddenly, Cici heard voices. They were distant, yes, but she could hear them.
"Octavia, over here." Cici motioned, and Octavia joined her friend as she led them towards the voices. She can now hear them clearly, and she didn't recognize any of their voices. They crept up behind a large pipe, and peeks around the corner to see four Octolings. Probably the most noticeable one was the tallest Octoling Cici had ever laid her eyes on. He was huge, and she wondered how he even fit through half the doors in the Academy with his size. There was another tall Octoling boy, although he was significantly shorter than the muscly one. There was a girl there as well, and she was about the average height for an Octoling. She seemed bored, but Cici couldn't tell from her angle. Then, there was…
"Orcus, are you listening?" The tall Octoling said to his teammate. Orcus simply shrugged, slightly frustrating the Octoling.
"Yeah yeah, I'm listening."
"Very well. Anyway, I think we should look for those two Inklings, and squash 'em beneath our feet." The tall Octoling told them, motioning his foot and stomping on the ground. It made the platform shake slightly, and Octavia was wobbling before she grabbed and held onto Cici's arm.
"We can't unless Augustus says so. It's the rules, appointed to us by Augustus from the King himself." The muscular Octoling said to his friend. His friend simply snorted out of annoyance with that fact.
"So what? They're Inklings, surely the King will accept if we just kill off a few of their numbers. I mean, they are our enemy, they're the reason we are all down here."
"Perhaps they are, but we have orders to follow, and there are restrictions." The girl added. Octavia peeked out of the side of the pipe before she began sneaking towards another area. Cici noticed her friend was gone, and quickly started to whisper to her friend.
"Octavia, what are you doing!? Are you trying to get us caught?"
"I'm just trying to get a better look at them. I know one of them is Orcus, but I don't know who the others are…" Octavia whispered back before sneaking over to another large pipe.
"Octavia, come back here right now! You'll make them see you!" Cici whispered in the most demanding-but-not-loud tone she could. Octavia peered over, and listened as they continued to argue about what to do about Inklings in Octo Valley. Cici tried to motion to Octavia to make her come back to her "safe spot", but the Octoling girl ignored her.
"Ugh, Augustus listens to the King too much. He knows his Uncle is too soft on the Inklings, and I know that he CAN accomplish the very same goals Octavio promised us! He could get us all of our power back, he could militarize us more quickly, and before you know it, we'll be knocking on the Inklings' doors, ready to splat them all and paint their streets with their own ink. All of this could be accomplished, if only Augustus didn't listen to that engineer he's always flirting with." The tall Octoling ranted angrily. The girl and Orcus both had expressionless faces as they listened.
"Owen, I think it's best if you don't criticize our King. Especially not like that." The girl warned him.
"Oh? And who's going to listen? No one's here except us, and we knocked out all the guards in the boiler room."
"I did, Owen." The muscular Octoling drawled, but his friend waved him off. Orcus yawned, making Owen glare at him.
"Does this bore you, Orcus?"
"No, not at all. Besides, it's quite funny to watch you rant about Augustus and how he fawns over that engineer. Jealous much?" Orcus snarked, and he turned his head to watch some steam rise from a pipe nearby. However, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed movement. He turned his head a little bit more and saw someone he didn't expect to see.
Why is Octavia here, of all places? I don't think she'd be allowed here, she's not part of the maintenance crew or the guards stationed here. Orcus thought, but Owen grabbed his attention back.
"No, not at all. She's attractive, but she's also a distraction to what Augustus could fulfill for us. I say we kill her, or kidnap her and leave her for the Inklings to kill. Either way, I want her gone." Owen answered. He looked at everyone, and then whispered to Oscar. Oscar nodded as he listened, and then walked off.
"So, what do you say Orcus? Should we get that stupid engineer out of the picture, maybe kill her off or do something to put her out of commission?" Owen asked the group.
"No, Owen. I don't feel like taking any lives today, or tomorrow. I'm only fighting when it's necessary."
"We don't have to kill her. There are other means...if you understand my point…" A creepy grin crawled up onto Owen's face. Orcus knew exactly what he was suggesting, and he shook his head in disbelief.
"N-no. I would never do such a thing."
"Always the goody two-shoes, Orcus, aren't you? Whatever. Say, did you notice the audience we have?" Owen asked Orcus, and he could hear some muffled screams. He looked to see that Oscar, the big brute, had an Octoling girl in his muscular arms. He immediately recognized her as Cici, the girl Octavia was roommates with.
"Hey, let her go!" Octavia immediately ran out of her hiding spot, a stern glare on her face.
"Octavia, it appears you still haven't learned from your experiences at the orphanage. You can't hide. I've noticed you guys were here, ever since you moved to your new spot." Owen taunted. He motioned to Oscar, and the Octoling started tightening his grip on Cici, who was flailing around and kicking her legs in an attempt to escape. She was screaming, but her mouth was covered by one of Oscar's large hands. Oscar formed a firm grip on her head and started to twist it slowly, making her scream more loudly, as audible as she could with a huge hand over her mouth.
"Please, stop!" Octavia pleaded." You're hurting her!"
"And do you think we'd care? I mean, I certainly don't, and no one else here does. Seems like only one here who cares is you, and you're only one out what, hundreds that attend this Academy? I don't think people would miss her a lot." Owen smirked evilly as he watched Cici's futile struggling. Octavia wanted to wipe the smirk off clean, but she knew she couldn't. He could easily overpower her, and it wouldn't be hard to do so. Problem is, how would she get Cici out?
"Let her go, Owen." Orcus demanded, but Owen didn't budge, and neither did Oscar. The latter had stopped trying to twist Cici's head, and she seemed to relax slightly, however she was still struggling to get out of his tough grip.
"Come on Owen, think about this logically. If you kill them, where are you going to hide the bodies?"
"Simple; they were traitors, so we killed them. And three out of four would have the same story." Owen argued.
"I never said I would agree with the story." The girl muttered, but Owen didn't hear her from the distant noises echoing around the boiler room.
"Owen, let them go, please."
"Oc-Octavia...help m...e…" Cici muttered. Octavia had her hands over her mouth, speechless and afraid. She didn't know what to do, and she could see her friend writhing in pain. She wanted to help Cici desperately, but the odds didn't seem to be on her side.
"Oscar, kill the one you're holding." Owen commanded.
"Alrighty. Ready, little girl?" Oscar asked menacingly as he grabbed her legs and torso. Cici closed her eyes; if this is how she'll leave this wretched world, then so be it. Oscar raised her up high and prepared to tear her into two, but the Octoling girl in the group immediately kicked him in the stomach, making him drop Cici, who fell to the floor limply. The girl flipped off Oscar's stomach and landed perfectly a few feet away.
"Sorry Owen, I prefer no bloodshed, not here." The girl said firmly.
"Oh, is everyone becoming soft now? Are we to pander to the weak?" Owen asked mockingly.
"No, but it's obvious you have an unfair advantage combat wise. Don't you think it would be a waste of energy killing them?"
"I can tear her to pieces without breaking a sweat, what are you implying?" Oscar asked, slightly miffed at her remark. She shrugged, and although Oscar seemed to be a bit set off by this, he didn't move to attack her, remaining where he was. Cici attempted to get back on her feet and run towards Octavia's location, but Owen, with sudden speed and power, stomped on her legs, and she screamed in pain as she crashed to the ground, her head making a dull thud on the platform.
"CICI!" Octavia exclaimed in horror as Owen walked over to Cici, and knelt down to face her.
"That's just a small sampler of what will happen if you dare rat on us and tell about what you heard here, you understand? Tell anyone, and I'll give you the full serving." Cici could only nod her head weakly before Octavia and the other girl rushed to help her up. They carried her off toward the entrance, where Octavia got Cici on her back and carried her piggy-back style.
"Thank you for helping me. I can take her to the infirmary from here. Thank you for saving her too." Octavia told the girl. She didn't have a frown, but she didn't really have a smile either. She was more or less expressionless right now. Octavia can now see in the light of the hallway that she was wearing the new metal goggles, which she thought was strange.
"There's no need to thank me. I didn't do anything special."
"I would beg to differ, but can I ask you something? Why did you save use? You are with Owen, aren't you?"
"Yes, because I'm part of the same squad he's in. He's the only person I really know, I was moved here recently because I met requirements for an experiment." The Octoling explained. She seemed quiet, but she didn't seem to have any sort of malice in her voice.
"Oh...well, thank you anyway. What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Natalie. Natalie Tilus."
"Thank you, Natalie." Octavia said again for probably the third time in a row. Cici was unconscious now from the pain, and her limp body was leaning on Octavia's back, who was slightly hunched over. Octavia walked down the hall, while Natalie walked the other way. As she walked down, staring at the semi-scuffed floor tiles that reflected the ceiling lights, Natalie thought about her actions. Since Owen was technically team leader, she probably shouldn't have stepped out of line for some strangers like those two girls. They did bring this on themselves, didn't they? Then again, Oscar left the doors open, so they should have expected some curious wanderers coming in. But Natalie felt good about what she did. It was small, but she swore she felt herself smile for the first time in a long while…
Later…
Orcus was troubled. He could have done more, he should have done more. He could have warned them, or signalled Octavia to leave the boiler room for her own safety. All he had to hope was that her friend was okay barring some intense leg injury that would likely put her out of commission for training sessions for a few days, or maybe weeks. As for Owen's idea for silencing Marina...he had to keep an eye on that unpredictable brute. He didn't really know Marina, and never really talked to her in person, but he knew she was important, and hearing the stories about Augustus from Nemo's roommate was enough for him to know that she was probably the only one who's keeping Augustus sane, for now.
"I guess it's my job to look after Marina and make sure Owen isn't out of line. As for Inklings...ugh, this is so frustrating and confusing at the same time!" Orcus said to himself, punching the training dummy in front of him. An Octotrooper who was walking beside him just stared at him in confusion before ignoring him and continuing on.
"They didn't seem so bad when I saw them. Sure, we fought those two, but...if Inklings hated Octolings, why did they bring that one Octoling girl with them? Maybe I'm believing too much fairy tales, and not looking at the bigger picture that's probably right in front of my face…" Orcus muttered to himself as he threw a few more jabs and a powerful uppercut, which sent the dummy flying and then slamming right into the Octotrooper from before. Orcus winced as he saw the poor Octarian fly into a wall, making a huge dent in it.
"S-sorry!" Orcus called out, and quietly made his way out of the room.
That's the chapter! Next chapter will be focusing more on Octavia and Cici's past, especially the latter, and her story is pretty interesting. Now, will Owen go along with his plan and silence Marina, or will someone stop him before he does? Also, who is this Natalie person? Well, you will all find out in later chapters. Anyway, thanks for reading and be sure to leave a review!
