I see you, Mr Rowdyruff. Keep going with Octo Colours. I love the story.

I didn't like this chapter. It crosses the line, so I've made it optional. The next chapter will have a summarising thing at the start. If you don't want to read the worst train of though I ever put to paper, go straight to where it says -Present- near the bottom.

You've been warned.

The Culus girl pulled Raaz towards her, grinning as his struggles intensified. He made motions with his fingers, trying to summon the tar, but nothing came. His breathing quickened, and he began to panic as the girl placed her hands on his shoulders and pressed herself against him.

"Do you want to play?"

"Let go of me, you freak!"

"You will want to play soon."

An array of much thinner, needle-like tentacles fanned out from the girl's back and pierced Raaz's flesh, the punctures dripping black as the needles were removed. He sagged, and the girl's arms grew into whips, the first crack falling across Raaz's back.

Meanwhile, the boy pulled Marie towards him, a disturbing grin on his face as a similar array of needles grew from his back. They shot forward, the toxins making Marie limp in his grasp. He dropped her to the ground, circling around her while fashioning the tar into a narrow bludgeon.

"We miss the feeling of breaking bones. Pity you can't deliver."

The bar fell on the back of Marie's left leg, the pain causing her to scream as best she could despite the toxins paralysing her. A deep purple bruise appeared where she had been struck, and the boy laughed, striking her again, the bar falling somewhere else every time, the bruises spreading across her body. She groaned with every hit, attempting to crawl towards the portal, but her body would not obey her.

"You're going to wish you stayed in the dream like the others."

Spears pushed themselves into her legs and arms, lifting her off the ground as if she had been crucified. The Culus boy looked lost in thought for a second before he grinned again, pulling Marie close to the ground and approaching, a different needle stabbing into her. Marie felt control return to her muscles, frowning when the pain caused by the spears worsened.

"What did you do to me?" She slurred, wincing at how loud she sounded. She was suddenly aware of the repeated cracks of a whip, and Raaz's screaming, painfully loud. The boy grinned.

"Something to make you more... Sensitive."

The cavern appeared to be getting brighter, and Marie heard things she wouldn't normally hear- her breathing, her heartbeat, the sound of her eyelids as she blinked. She groaned at the overload, tears streaming down her face. She flinched with every crack, the noise alone causing her physical pain while Raaz was beaten within an inch of his life. The sounds suddenly faded, as did her sight, and all feeling across her body. She collapsed, and was vaguely aware of being dragged back through the caverns by her legs.


When she regained her senses, Marie was suspended above the tar that had contained her and Raaz, and that currently contained a further four Inklings. Across the room hung Raaz, bleeding blue from a sickening number of gashes in his flesh. He raised his head weakly.

"H-hey there." He coughed, spitting out a blue mass. It dissipated in the sea of black beneath him. Her eyes could have been playing tricks on her, but Marie swore the tar drank the blood. "I g-guess we're on second base."

Marie rolled her eyes at his remarks, paying no attention to the fact that they were both completely nude. She turned her attention to the holes in her hands and feet. They hadn't healed- no doubt the work of the Culus- but were not painful.

Not at the moment, anyway.

"I think... Given you were a mental patient... You're taking this pretty well..." Raaz said.

"How did you know that?"

"I may have... read your mind in the... dream. Telepathic tar, remember?"

"Hmph! Rude."

They fell silent, the tar beneath them sloshing almost imperceptibly, strands of black reaching up the wall before settling into the pool again. One upwelling didn't fall back, and instead continued to grow, the Culus girl emerging from the tar. Marie glared at it. It grinned back. She walked over the tar, four tentacles vanishing beneath the surface, each probing a different location before all four converged on the same spot, raising an Inkling up- by no means was he free of the tar; it clung to him like moss might cling to a tree. The Culus girl removed the tar from his face, checking his identity before grinning. It showed the boy to Marie and Raaz.

The boy from the plaza.

"We know you've seen him before. He's still dreaming of his loving girlfriend. But..." She tore away the tar around the boy's crotch, placing her own hand around the flesh beneath. "We have hijacked his love, as we did yours."

Marie retched and turned away as the Culus began to stroke the boy, the tar tilting the pair so that they were horizontal. Marie close her eyes when tendrils of black forced her to watch, and screamed when thin, sharp tentacles pulled her eyelids open, giving her no choice but to watch the situation unfold before her. She saw that Raaz had been forced into a similar position.

Below them, the girl pressed herself against the dreaming boy, grinding against him as he dreamt of an Inkling girl, not the horror that was now straddling him, grinding against him. It leant down, forcing its tongue-along with a deluge of tar- into his mouth, continuing her ministrations. Marie felt like throwing up. There wasn't many things that she thought would disturb her more than this creature eloping with someone. The Culus girl began to bounce on top of the dreaming boy, his sleeping face contorting with pleasure. His gasps became deeper and deeper, and Marie thought it would finally be over when instead, the Culus wrenched the boy from his dream, his eyes snapping open and locking into the Culus, widening in shock.

"Don't you think we're pretty?"

She slammed down on him several times, and he was tipped over the edge, mouth widening in a silent scream of horror and pleasure. With his mouth open, the Culus took the opportunity to ram a large tentacle down his throat, the boy's scream muffled by the appendage. It emerged from his behind, and he was lifted into the air for Marie and Raaz to see.

"No, don't do it, don't kill him!" Marie begged. Raaz remained silent.

Marie gasped in shock-horror when hundreds of blackened spikes burst from the boy's skin, the life leaving his eyes as his blood dripped into the pool below. The Culus' mouth was pursed with concentration, and suddenly the boy's body came apart, a large volume of blood dropping straight into the pool while the rest coated the walls of the cavern, Marie and Raaz included. The former was wide-eyed, and remained that way even as the tendrils propping her eyes open receded. She cried, quiet, panicked sobs escaping her as she tried to forget the horror that just took place in front of her. The Culus girl tilted her head in mock sympathy.

"Oh no, we've killed another one. If only you could just summon the tar to attack us. Oh." She rose up, pressing her face close to Marie's. "You can't when you're panicking like this."

It held Marie's head in place and pressed its lips to hers. Marie screamed and tried to move her head away, but was held in place as the Culus forced its tongue into her mouth. She gagged before biting down as hard as she could, a foul taste filling her mouth as the Culus recoiled before. Delivering a hard slap to her face with a tentacle, leaving a thin cut.

"Ow, Marie? Why did you bite me?" It said in Mira's voice, and Marie just spat at it. It frowned, and Marie heard a message travel through the tar. Moments later, the Culus boy rose out of the black. The girl turned to him. "Violate her."

Marie gagged and the boy grinned. He rose up to her, and Marie leant as far away as she could.

"No, no, stop! Please no! Stop!"

Her protests fell on deaf ears. The boy's face came level with hers, and it laughed. Across the room, Raaz was also objecting, and Marie saw the Culus girl rising up to him, her fingers lengthening into blades. As Raaz began screaming, the Culus boy opened its mouth, several tongues unfolding from inside. They writhed as it leaned forward, and Marie turned her head away, trying desperately to avoid her captor. It grabbed her head, pulling her with sickening strength and prising her mouth open as she protested. Her screams were muffled when it forced himself upon her, its tongues lengthening and trailing down her throat. Marie gagged, choking as they cut of her air. She coughed ineffectually, the Culus boy laughing at her weak attempts to move her hands and breathe. Her view of the world darkened, black spots congregating at the edge of her sight and spreading over her field of blue. The boy sensed her weakening, and retracted its tongues, the appendages combining into one before being pulled back into the Culus' maw. Marie gasped hungrily, drawing air into her lungs before she was thrown from the wall, hitting the surface of the tar and rolling across it as if it were ice. Behind her, the Culus boy grinned.

"We regret to inform you, this is just the beginning."


Marie was aware of being dragged through the caves by her legs again. She was awake, but far too exhausted to do anything. Her entire body was numb and rife with cuts and bruises; the work of the Culus. She was also incredibly traumatised. The Culus had had their way with her, and she had been powerless to stop them. She had been whipped, stabbed and raped, and now they were dragging her somewhere else, undoubtedly to inflict more pain and torture on her.

The boy stopped for a moment, raising an arm to something that Marie's blurred vision couldn't see. She was suddenly lifted and thrown into a small chamber, Raaz landing hard next to her. She turned her head towards the exit, watching as the Culus sealed the exit with tar. Marie's head dropped, and she cried. Raaz crawled over to her, lifted her into an embrace. She flinched at his touch, but quickly accepted the hug, her arms reaching around his waist.

"I-I'm scared, Raaz. I want to go home." She whispered through her sobs.

"So do I, Marie. So do I."

The pair sat in relative silence, only Marie's quiet weeping providing any sort of noise for the next half-hour. Both of their heads snapped to the entrance when a bowl clattered through the tar, followed almost immediately by a second. Raaz reach out and pulled both towards them, taking care not to touch the liquid inside. He eyes it suspiciously, before he dipped a finger in one of the bowls, the substance immediately turning blue.

"It's Chroma Gel."

Marie dipped a finger in her bowl, the colourless gel becoming pale green in an instant. She lifted it to her lips and drank slowly, Raaz doing the same. They were barely halfway through the substance when the tar blocking the entrance flowed apart, the Culus girl stood in the entrance with a platter covered by a lid. She tilted her head and grinned.

"We hope you're hungry..."

Marie and Raaz backed away as it approached, sheer hatred radiating from Raaz while fear radiated from Marie. With a wave of the Culus' hand, the tar formed a table, and she placed the platter on it, lifting the lid and revealing the "meal"- the head of the boy who the girl had killed earlier. Marie whimpered. Raaz remained silent out of spite of the Culus. It tilted her head.

"What? Not hungry?" She placed a knife on the table. "We're even going to let you choose what to eat."

Never dropping his glare, Raaz stood up, limping towards the table and taking the knife and cutting out the boy's tongue. He sat down again, tearing off chunks and swallowing very quickly, refusing to let the taste get to him. The girl turned to Marie.

"You next."

Marie didn't move, instead closing her eyes and shaking her head, muttering "no" to herself repeatedly under her breath. The Culus frowned.

"You will eat."

"No, no, no..."

Her gaze remaining fixed on Marie, several tentacles emerged, one picking up the knife and cutting off one if the boy's ears, and another tentacle carried it towards Marie, who backed away to the wall of the cave.

"You will eat."

An array of thin tendrils surged forward, restraining Marie and forcing her mouth open, the ear forced inside before her mouth was forced closed. She gagged, her eyes watering as she attempted to spit it out- the Culus didn't let her. She tried to swallow, but ended up throwing up, the Culus looking at her in disgust.

"What a waste. Lucky we have another."

It cut off the other ear and forced Marie's mouth open. This time, it gave her no chances- the tentacles forced the ear down her throat and directly into her stomach, retracting before it triggered her gag reflex. She gasped and doubled over, arms folded across her belly as she coughed and spluttered. The Culus crouched down before her.

"Lesson learned? Do not defy us. Do not try to escape."

Marie sobbed in response. The Culus nodded before walking out, picking up the the platter as it went. The exit was blocked once more. Raaz shuddered. Marie sobbed.

"How?" She asked after a long period of silence. "How can you just eat that, knowing it was a person?"

"Don't think about it, swallow as fast as possible."

"But..."

"Those monsters want us to break down, like you are now. They enjoy it, by the looks of it. I won't give them the satisfaction. I'd rather die."

The pair fell silent once again, and Marie held her breath several times to stop herself crying. She then moved to the tar seal, and sat down in front of it.

"What are you doing?"

"Quiet."

Raaz watched as Marie closed her eyes, hands outstretched. She began to move her fingers, a slight ripple travelling across the tar.

"They said that we can't use the tar when we're panicking. Well, now I'm not panicking. Aaaaaand..." She yanked her hand back, an opening forming in the tar. "I'm pretty good at this."

Marie took one step outside and was immediately accosted by the Culus Golem. The blades of black she had formed dissipated when she saw it, and she screamed.

"You will not try to escape."

The golem moved faster than Marie thought was possible, its fist slamming into her stomach. She doubled over, barely able to breathe. The golem picked her up with one hand and threw her into a different chamber. She hit the ground hard, rolling and coming to a stop when she came into contact with the wall. The golem looked above her, claws raised.

"You will see what you fear most."

A single dart punctured Marie's skin, and while she pulled it out, the golem retreated, tar flowing and blocking the cavern, but not the noise. Raaz head drooped when she started screaming.


Hours later, the golem returned, throwing Marie's shaking and whimpering form into Raaz's cell. He went to her, backing off when she looked at him with animalistic terror in her eyes, instead leaving her to recover for a few minutes.

"Marie."

He got no response. He sighed and waited a while longer, counting the seconds in his head but was distracted by two bowls being pushed through the seal. More Chroma Gel. He drank some of his before moving the other bowl towards Marie. He guided her hand into it to change its colour before pulling her head onto his knees, his heart sinking when she looked straight through him. He brought the bowl to her lips, helping her drink. He was distracted again when the tar flowed aside, the Culus girl stood before them again, holding a carving knife. It threw it to the ground, where it slid towards Raaz. He frowned.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"I don't know." The girl grinned. "Improvise."

The creature left, and Raaz went to pick up the knife, but Marie held his other arm in a tight grip.

"Don't go... Don't go... Don't go..."

Reaching out, his fingers closed around the knife's handle, and he lifted it to test its weight. As he inspected the edge, he made a sickening realisation.

"Those... No..."

"What...?" Marie mumbled.

"The bastards want us to eat each other."

The next few days passed agonisingly slowly. No more food came through the seal, only a bowl of Chroma Gel twice a day. The hunger built. Marie had somewhat recovered from her ordeal, but was not showing much emotion at all. Raaz had considered beginning to cut off his fingers on several occasions, but could never bring himself to do it. However, the hunger was beginning to get to him. Grimacing, he placed his left hand flat on the ground before lifting the knife, the heavy blade falling towards the knuckle of his little finger. He was however stopped by a tentacle. He frowned, turning to the seal but seeing nothing there. He looked to Marie, who shook her head, her face distraught.

"Don't."

He had reluctantly put the knife down and gone another two days without thinking about it. He hadn't even looked at Marie in that time.

The next time he tried, he did not hesitate. The knife fell and cut straight through two of his fingers. He half-grunted, half-screamed while Marie questioned his actions, aghast. Picking up his severed fingers, he offered the larger of the two to Marie, who rejected it. Sighing, he ate both, retching as black tar seeped from the inside.

Days later, Marie had the knife, and was repeatedly tapping it against her fingers, lost in an internal argument. A resolution seemingly made, she cut a strip of flesh from her side and ate it, almost throwing up. Meanwhile, Raaz was sat at the door, slowly forcing the tar apart. Once he made a hole big enough, he slipped through, Marie quickly standing and running after him. They picked their way through the caves, not running into any of the Culus, and found the pit. It was closed.

"Naughty." A voice echoed from behind, followed by a spear hurtling towards Marie. She blocked it as Raaz collapsed to his knees, hands digging into the tar where the pit should be. A small hole began to open. Marie stared down the Culus boy, behind whom a wall of tar had formed.

"We're leaving."

"So soon? But we had so many things to show you."

"Marie. The pit's almost open."

The Culus boy scowled.

"You will not leave."

"Try to stop us."

The boy's expression neutralised.

"You wouldn't leave a friend, would you?"

The wall dissolved, and Marie cried out when Mira stared back at her, panic clear in her eyes even at this distance.

"Marie!" She screamed. "Where am I? What's happening?!"

The sister's eyes darkened, a withering glower directed at Culus. It tilted its head.

"You won't leave her, will you? You know what we'll do to her..."

His fingers became knives. While he was making threats, Marie darted forward, her own arms becoming enormous blades of black, extending forward past her hand and back beyond her elbow. She swung, screaming murder at the Culus. It merely held Mira up, forcing Marie to stop, the tip of her blade millimetres from Mira's throat. The Octoling grinned, a pulse of energy flinging Marie back as the illusion faded.

"We can't believe you fell for that."

The pair approached the Inklings, Marie creating walls of tar that the Culus just circumvented. She began throwing small sharpened chunks of black crystal at the eyeless duo, the shrapnel bouncing off them with no effect. Marie could feel her control slipping as panic kicked in, all of her efforts to stop the Culus' implacable walk failing. She screamed when Raaz grabbed her hand, pulling her into the pit as he threw a large sphere of energy at the ceiling, the Culus screaming grim fury as the cavern collapsed. Marie and Raaz fell through the portal, appearing above the ground in an old warehouse in Inkopolis. They moved out of the way of the falling rocks, the portal closing soon after. The pair lay there, catching their breath and recovering from their extensive use of the tar, not noticing the ring of armed officers around them.

"Marie?!"

She raised her head weakly, looking at the source of the voice. Corlu approached, her gun trained on the pair at all times. She gestured to the pile of rocks.

"What the hell was that? We heard screaming here about a week ago, and we've been staking the place out ever since. Then one of the boys noticed a "hole in the air", and now you reappear. What the hell happened?"

"Please..."

Corlu stopped, leaning in.

"Pardon?"

"Where is she? Mira? Where are you?"

Marie surged forward as if she were possessed, blasting a hole in the side of the warehouse and heading out, bellowing at the top of her lungs.

"Mira!"

Corlu turned to one of the officers.

"Sedate her. And him." She gesture to Raaz, who weakly raised his hands. Marie approached Corlu.

"I need to eat. I haven't eaten. Please, I need food, I need you I need-"

Two pneumatic bursts later, and both afflicted Inklings were out cold.

-Present-

"After that, they deduced that I had two distinct phases- the emotionless one you see before you, and a manic one where I operate on instinct. And have a taste for flesh."

"What about Raaz?" Vytus asked.

"I don't know." Marie said. "I used to be able to sense him because we both used the tar in the cave. The vapour's been stopping me, and even now after being clear for all this time, I can't feel him." Her dark eyes narrowed on Vytus. "Now tell me the real reason why you're here. You're not a historian, you're an engineer. Why do you want to know my life story?"

Vytus ran a hand over his face, sighing deeply.

"Remember I said it's happened again? More Inklings have gone missing?"

"Yes?"

"I lied. Only one has gone missing."

"Who?"

He closed his eyes, his head dropping.

"Callie."