Well, this took some time to get out, but thanks to a family trip to Michigan, I managed to crack down and finish this chapter. The hype for Splatoon 2 is real, you guys, like to the point where I want to fall into a coma until the 15th for the Splatfest, and again until the release date.
Thanks to The King of Emerald for being my Beta Reader, and thanks to everyone who reads the story. Enjoy the chapter!
"Well, that is probably going to scar... so much for keeping this from mom and Uncle Toru."
Coral sniffled, wiping tears from her eyes as she stood up. She ran a finger across her wound, but gasped in pain as the burning sensation increased just from her touch alone. Coral sighed, picking up her goggles and looking into the lenses, her reflection looking back at her. "Wow, that does look nasty."
"It makes you look like a weird mixture of bad ass but scary," Kai admitted, looking directly at the gash.
"Are you alright?" Orabelle asked, her hand on Coral's shoulder.
"It burns a kelp ton," Coral admitted, before pulling her goggles back onto her head and over her eyes. "But I'll be ok... I'm just glad that weird ink didn't hit you."
"Thank you," Orabelle said, bowing. "I owe you my life."
Coral blushed a little in embarrassment. "No no, it's ok. You would've done the same for me."
Mako walked back over, holding his bucket firmly. "Those weren't Octolings that were shooting at us... what were they?"
"A lesser form, known as Octarians," Coral explained. "Some of the octo-species cannot transform into humanoid forms, thus they do not get the name Octoling. For some reason, I've only seen female Octolings, though I believe male Octolings do exist."
"Either way, the enemy knows we are here," Kai stated, holding his Luna Blaster in front of him, looking around carefully. "And if all of them are armed with that weird ink, then we really could be killed out here."
Orabelle looked down, thinking to herself for a moment. "Maybe we should-"
"Go home? Fat chance," Coral grinned, pointing her thumb at her wound. "This is nothing, and as long as we keep an eye out, we should be fine."
"Coral's right," Mako agreed. "I'm not going to give up just yet on finding your dad. Besides, once we knew they were there, they didn't stand a chance against us! We just need to be more aware of our surroundings from now on."
"Alright... thank you guys," Orabelle said, smiling and getting her E-Liter ready. "Let's go find my dad!"
The four teens trekked on into the structure that they had been heading to before, each one of them with their weapon at the ready just in case they were attacked again, though nothing but silence greeted them as they continued walking, eventually finding another spawner, which Orabelle activated, thought their color remained the same.
"There's nothing here," Coral noted. "Let's see where we should go from here."
"Hold on," Kai suddenly said, holding out his hand. "I heard something."
Coral blinked, looking around, though her goggles weren't picking up on any other life forms besides them. She frowned, adjusting them a little to extend the range before gasping. Someone was with then, watching them from a distance.
"There!" Coral gasped, pointing to where the figure was.
Mako turned the switch on his goggles as well, looking where Coral pointed. "Yes, I see a- Hey! They're moving!"
"They're fast," Coral hissed, looking to her right. "Now they are over there!"
"They're heading this way!" Mako shouted, but it was too late. Suddenly, he and Kai gasped in shock as they were grabbed from behind, and one swift motion later, both of them feel to the ground, knocked out. Orabelle fired at the figure, but they ducked and rushed Orabelle, who screamed in shock before getting knocked away, her E-Liter snapped in half like a twig on the ground where she once stood. Coral gasped, now seeing the figure properly.
She wore standard Octoling gear, complete with a black jumpsuit, and bits of silver armor on the chest and other various areas. She wore a pair of Octoling goggles, which glowed purple where the pupils would be on her eyes. Her messy, purple tentacles flared a little in fury, as she turned swiftly to look at Coral, holding a Splat Roller in her hand.
"Inklings, here?" the Octoling said, raising an eyebrow. "You are awfully young, and certainly not any of the active agents... explain yourselves!"
Mom? No, that is impossible. Mom is gone... Coral thought, before glaring at the Octoling, despite her eyes and markings were invisible to the Octoling through the Agent Goggles. "We are here for General Bay! We know you kidnapped him, so hand him over!"
"General Bay?" the Octoling whispered, thinking. "I have heard no such order to kidnap an Inkling by that name, or any other Inkling at all come to think of it. Now, I must urge you to leave Octo-Valley, before I have to strike to kill."
Coral paused, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you insist on letting us go?"
"If my daughter was still alive, she would be around your age," the Octoling whispered. "I do not wish to take a child away from their mother... I know that pain too well."
"Sorry to say it, but my mother died years ago," Coral explained, raising her roller at the ready. "And like you, I would rather not allow a child to be separated from their parent... I'm getting General Bay back, even if I have to fight you!"
"You are brave, Inkling," the Octoling hissed, raising the Splat Roller. "But foolish as well. I disabled two of your friends and disarmed the other. You will be facing me alone." Suddenly, she turned sharply around, pointing her weapon towards Orabelle, who was trying to sneak towards Kai and Mako. "Do not move. Your friends are fine, I only knocked them out. Once I deal with your friend, I will offer you the same opportunity to flee with your remaining friends. Should you value your life, you will stay where you are until then."
Coral hissed a little, and began circling with the Octoling, both of them walking in rhythm, keeping equal distance from the other. Coral was eyeing the Splat Roller, finding it weird that an Octoling would be wielding one. "Where did you get that roller?"
"It is none of your concern," the Octoling hissed. "But you will find that we Octolings are adding more weapons then just this to our arsenal. Enough talk, en garde, Inkling!" Suddenly, she flung ink at Coral with speed so fast, that Coral only just dodged in time. Coral flicked her own ink at her opponent, yellow raining down on the field covering the fushia, but the Octoling avoided her shot as well, before racing forward and trying to get Coral at point blank range. The two danced around one another, a sea of fushia raining down before a sea of yellow would cover it, and vice versa. Orabelle remained frozen in place, stunned. The Octoling was a superior fighter, that much was clear, but Coral was holding her own very well, against her foe, instant and gut guiding her.
The Octoling suddenly roared in fury, and suddenly Coral's Carbon Roller flew into the air and hit the ground. Coral tried to rush towards the weapon, but had to duck behind a metal beam at the last second to avoid a wave of ink.
"Surrender, and I will let you live!" the Octoling hissed, her left hand now holding Coral's roller. "Just say that you surrender, and I will allow you to gather up your friends and leave the valley without trouble. You got a minute Inkling. If you do not comply before then, I will strike to kill."
Coral was breathing heavily, her mind racing. She was outmatched completely, and despite being able to hold her own against this Octoling for some time, she had superior stamina and skills in battle. Coral hissed, taking off her glove and punching the ground before hissing in pain. She looked over to see her hand landed in the Octoling ink splattered before. Coral stared at the ink, her brain begging for the pain to stop, but something within Coral was just curious about the ink her hand was in. She was half-Octoling after all, if only there was someway she could resist Octoling ink and call upon those genes.
It was as if a switch was flicked. The pain suddenly got more intense, but Coral couldn't move her hand, as if he was being held there by some mysterious force. Suddenly, the pain stopped, and Coral looked at her reflection in the ink gasping in shock. Her tentacles had taken on a black color, and almost looked more rounded then normal, and the Octoling ink no longer hurt her. It was as if she suddenly changed her own body to use Octoling ink instead of Inkling ink. Her mind on overdrive, Coral placed her other hand into her former yellow ink, and almost had to cover her mouth to prevent herself from screaming at the sharp burn.
I see, Coral thought to herself. By touching Octoling ink and absorbing it, I can somehow change my own ink properties to Octoling ink instead of Inkling ink, in exchange for making Inkling ink extremely effective against me... more so then different colored ink usually does, at least.
"You still will not surrender?" the Octoling asked from behind her. "Then die!"
A bomb suddenly landed next to her, but Coral only smirked. The bomb exploded, and ink covered her, but Coral's body didn't flinch at all, as if she was in Turf War and her own teammate had shot at her. She could hear Orabelle's scream of sorrow, and the Octoling sigh in regret. It was her chance! Using the purple ink for cover, Coral shifted into her squid from and dashed through it, jumping out just behind the Octoling. Orabelle gasped, the Octoling turned, and Coral's fist flew through the air, connecting with the Octoling's face, sending her flying into the ink, and shattering her goggles. Both rollers hit the ground, and Coral pinned the Octoling down, who turned to look at Coral, causing her to gasp.
Piercing red eyes stared back at her, surrounded by purple Octoling markings. It was as if an older, pure-Octoling version of Coral was lying there, pinned by the hybrid. Octola let out a grunt, as she tried to struggle out of her daughter's grip, but to no avail. "How?" Octola muttered, looking at Coral with interest. "How can you resist my ink? You can't be..."
Coral let go, standing up and allowing her mother to stand. Tears were streaming from Coral's eyes again, but she managed to get out what she wanted to say before her voice was lost beneath her crying. "I guess... being a hybrid has one advantage to it, huh Mom..." Coral pulled off her goggles, revealing her face.
"Coral!" Octola screamed, pulling her daughter into a sudden hug, one which Coral returned, dissolving completely into tears. The hug seemed to last a life time, the mother and daughter, each one thinking the other had been killed by the actions of Octavio, were finally reunited at last.
"OH SHRIMP, I ALMOST KILLED MY BABY!" Octola suddenly screamed, holding Coral at arm's length and looking over her. "Are you alright? I didn't hurt you too badly, did I? Where did you get that scar!?"
"Mom, I'm ok..." Coral sniffled, wiping her eyes. "You're tough, but I can handle myself. As for the scar, your friends back there weren't too kind to us."
Octola looked confused at first, before narrowing her eyes as she looked at Coral's new scar. "Did they actually go through with that plan?"
Kai groaned from behind them, blinking as he looked up at the two of them. "Aunt Octola?"
"Hello, Kai. I am so sorry I knocked you out!" Octola embarrassingly apologized.
"We're going to need an explanation," Mako bluntly stated, looking at Coral and Octola.
XxXxXxX
Coral found transforming back to normal could be done by focusing on restoring her original Inkling ink, though it was just as painful as absorbing Octoling ink to take on an Octoling like form. She vowed to herself not to use the transformation again unless her life was in danger by other Octarians, not that she really could, with her needing upwards of ten seconds to even take on her so called Octoling-form and her needing fresh Octarian ink in the first place.
"You said you didn't know about General Bay," Orabelle said to Octola, once Kai and Mako were brought up to speed, and Octola was told where Coral got her scar. "Also, it's... nice to meet you. Sorry I shot at you."
"I'm sorry I broke your weapon," Octola sighed, shaking her head. "But no, I don't know about your dad or his kidnapping... but if you kids say he's down here, then I have no reason to doubt you."
"Only reason she's not doubting us is because of Coral," Mako whispered to Orabelle.
"That's because Coral is family," Orabelle hissed back.
"Aunt Octola, is there anyway to find out where Orabelle's dad is being held?" Kai asked.
"I am surprised that I haven't heard of this before hand," Octola muttered. "They must be keeping me out of the loop more then ever now... but yes, I should be able to find his holding place."
"Out of the loop?" Coral asked, now a yellow Inkling color once again. "Mom... I'm surprised that Octavio didn't..."
"Kill me?" Octola said grimly. "Same here. Upon returning to the valley, I was immediately captured and held in a cell. Octavio personally visited me sometime later, telling me that... that everyone at the cabin was killed by Octoling agents."
"We survived thanks to Aunt Taki's bubbler," Coral explained. "Afterwards, we lived in Teal Bay until moving to Inkopolis about a year ago."
"Smart woman, that Taki," Octola smirked. "Anyway, Octavio told me I had two choices: I could accept my death, or work off my 'debt' to the Octolings for my betrayal. That is when I made up my mind. If I could secretly help other Octolings accept Inklings, maybe even work on getting Octolings to merge with Inkling society, then I would do what I could. I swore my loyalty to Octavio, while promising that any Octoling I could find that questioned our motives, I would help. Of course, I still need to prevent Inklings from being down here, or else Octavio would find it suspicious."
"It must've come with some consequences, though," Kai stated. "Octavio can't just trust you again after that just out of the blue."
"I've been held back from doing certain missions and actions," Octola admitted, now on her Octo-Phone and tapping the screen wildly. "I was kept out of the Operation Dissolve, for example."
"Operation Dissolve?" the four teenagers asked at the same time.
"The acid ink Coral was struck with..." Octola flinched at the thought of her daughter getting hit by the acid ink, but continued. "Is very dangerous. It is created by fusing together Octoling ink with Jellyfish venom enhanced by chemicals. I opposed the project, but as you may be guessing, I don't have much say in anything anymore. All I can hope is that Captain Cuddlefish will stop it... before it gets worse."
"I hope so as well..." Coral muttered.
"I found your dad," Octola suddenly said. "He's being held in that structure in the distance." Octola pointed to a huge, metallic structure built into the side of a mountain.
"I'm surprised that you Octolings have that sort of tech," Mako stated.
Octola glared at that. "Just because we live underground, doesn't mean we aren't smart and adapt with our resources."
"I apologize, ma'am," Mako instantly said, earning chuckles from Coral and Kai.
"Let's move," Octola declared, pocking her phone. "Follow me, I know my way around this place very well after sneaking around a bunch. I am pretty sure I can get us there without alerting any of the other Octarians."
The journey was long, but as Octola thought, none of the other Octarians seemed to know the path systems that Octola did. They went through pipes, under structures in secret paths, and even through some abandoned buildings. Coral couldn't stop looking around and wondering just how all this was being held together or was developed in the first place. The Octolings must be very resourceful to make all the advancements they did during their 101 years underground.
"Here we are," Octola stated. They were standing outside the steel structure built into the mountain, where Coral could see a vent grate right before them. "By passing through these vents in our squid and octopus forms, we can travel through the building without being detected... just don't swim over grates pointing towards the floor."
"Additionally, we're going to need to crawl," Kai noted. "Since our inks are harmful to one another, we can't swim through ink at all in there."
"Let's go, lead the way mom," Coral stated. Octola nodded, shifting into an octopus and phasing through the metallic bars, with Coral and her friends following close behind. The ducts were dusty and dark, but light coming through the grates in the floor were enough to light the way. Unfortunately, they needed to basically cling to the wall while moving, and it was a very slow process as they weren't in actual ink, and the duct was too narrow to shift back into humanoid form. Finally, they stopped over a single grate, where Octola seemed to pull a rope out of nowhere and tied it into the grate before she fell through, followed by the Inklings.
"Dad!" Orabelle whispered, looking towards the cell.
"Orabelle?"General Bay gasped, standing up suddenly. "W-what are you doing here?"
"What's going on over there!?" a voice shouted, as footsteps sounded through the hall. Octola quickly pinned herself against the wall, and when an Octoling with black tentacles rounded the corner, a sharp blow to the head by Octola knocked her out cold.
"We'll explain later, dad," Orabelle stated. "For now, we need to get out of here!"
"Allow me," Octola said, typing on a control panel nearby before sliding a clearance card she picked off the black tentacled Octoling. The cell opened instantly, with General Bay coming out and hugging his daughter instantly.
"Climb up and slip through the grate," Octola stated. "I'll be right behind you."
"You are..." General Bay pondered, looking at Octola.
"Coral's mother," Octola replied.
General Bay looked surprised, before nodding. "Thank you for aiding my daughter,"
"Just go," Octola hissed, looking back. "I hear another one coming!"
General Bay immediately obeyed, climbing the rope, followed quickly by Orabelle. A dull thud was heard below of Octola knocking out another Octoling, and before long, Coral, Kai, Mako and Octola all climbed up the rope, and as quickly as they could, crawled through the duct in Squid and Octopus forms, managing to make it to the entrance grate and slip out in due time.
"We... actually did it," Coral panted, smiling to herself.
"Seems like I missed the party," a sudden voice said, causing them all to jump. A red tentacled Inkling was standing there in Octoling gear, holding a blue Ink Brush in his hand.
"Do you guys have mind control technology as well?" Mako asked, looking at the new Inkling with caution.
"I'm on your side, idiot," the newcomer hissed, glaring. "Agent 3 of the Squidbeak Splatoon. And I believe that you four are in massive trouble for what you have done."
General Bay stepped forward, saluting. "Agent 3, I am Agent Cyan. I take full responsibility for the events of today, and will give a report to Captain Cuddlefish myself with my daughter, as I do not know the full story myself."
Agent 3 thought for a moment, before finally nodding. "Very well, I will leave it up to the Captain on what should be done. All of you follow me... including the Octoling. She will need to be questioned as well."
"But-" Coral was about to interject. Agent 3 turned to glare at her, but Octola was already resting a hand on Coral's shoulder.
"It's ok, Coral," Octola stated. "I am more then willing to come along and get questioned."
"Then let's be off," Agent 3 ordered.
XxXxXxX
"I see," Captain Cuddlefish said, scratching his chin. "So that is the whole story."
"Seems like it," Agent 3 said. "General Bay was captured by Octolings, and these four trouble makers decided to follow after him despite knowing full well about us."
"Acid ink, Coral fighting her own mother, and a team up to rescue Agent Cyan," Cuddlefish chuckled. "I dare say that makes quite a story." Cuddlefish walked over to Coral, looking at her cheek. "Yup, that is definitely going to scar, but it could've been a lot worse had it hit you instead of just grazing you. Regardless, I believe you four should go home and rest after the adventure you just had down here."
"They... they aren't in trouble!?" Agent 3 asked, flabbergasted. "But Captain, they broke the law, a law you made yourself! No Inkling shall enter Octo-Valley, ever! The only exceptions are Agents!"
"These four display great promise in battle already, and any second later Agent Cyan was in that cell could've spelled his death if Operation Dissolve went through," Cuddlefish explained. "We might not have destroyed every vial, as one was used on Coral, so I think we still got some work to do hunting down that acid ink. Additionally, Agent Cyan has chosen to take responsibility for this one, so I am not going to press these four youngsters on anything. I'm sure these four won't be tattling about what they see or know, especially since two of them are daughters of agents already."
"I can't believe this," Agent 3 sighed, shaking his head. He let out a small sigh, relaxing his shoulders a bit. "Fine, whatever. As long as they never, EVER enter Octo-Valley again, I'm fine with it." Despite wearing Octoling goggles, a chill went down the spines of Purple Rain when he glanced at them, as if they could feel the glare that he was giving them, saying "or else".
"Octola, thanks for protecting the young ones," Cuddlefish nodded towards her. "I know Agent Blue and Cyan trust you, and I do as well... You can go."
"Mom," Coral said, pulling her into a hug. "I'll miss you..."
"I'll miss you too, but as long as I know you are alive, that is all I need," Octola looked at Coral. "Just remember, do NOT come back down... understand?"
"I won't..." Coral sighed.
Octola smiled sadly, and turned to all of the other Inklings there. "Until there is peace between Inklings and Octolings, then. I just pray that day comes soon."
"As do I, Octola," Cuddlefish sighed, smiling. "As do I."
Octola smiled, waving at all of them and rushing off. Coral sighed, wiping away a tear that was threatening to fall, as she watched her mother get smaller and smaller in the distance, until she could no longer see her.
"Right then," Cuddlefish stated, turning to Agent 3 and General Bay. "I need you two to fill out a written report, and once that is done, I'll dismiss General Bay to take the kids back to Inkopolis safely."
"Yes sir," both agents said, immediately taking the papers from Cuddlefish and getting to work. As they wrote, Coral let her curiosity get the better of her, and began wondering around the camp that Cuddlefish had set up. It was very bare, with a small shack and various plans, maps, and weapons all over the place. Coral wasn't watching where she was going that when she bumped into something, she jumped in shock.
But what she bumped into scared her even more.
A giant snow globe was standing before her, containing a giant, red octopus with a golden samurai helmet. It had piercing green eyes that was staring at Coral, sizing her up. Coral noticed a glowing green scar on one of his tentacles, the very one which was pressing against the glass, as if he was trying to reach out to her.
"Come on, Coral," Cuddlefish's voice suddenly said, as the old Inkling's hand gently grabbed her shoulder and guided her away, but the damage was already done. Octavio sat there in the slow globe, staring after Coral with a look of fury etched on his face.
"So, the hyrbid lives."
