There was a single uneasy moment, before the fight started and after Alanis had said her piece, where Tori's mind was occupied by sheer terror, mixed with a bit of frustration. It didn't do much good for her to know that they had come so far and would be stopped when escape was, quite literally, within sight.
And it definitely didn't help that out of the five of them, Jake was injured, and there were only three weapons between everyone else. No matter how they looked at it, they were severely outnumbered. Tori picked up Jake's weapon as Pip helped to drag him backward a little, and it started.
The entire portion of the hall became a total mess almost immediately, with ink flying in every direction. Tori tried to act as a shield for Michael and Shelly as best she could, but there was so much ink in the air, and she couldn't be everywhere at once. She tried to focus most of her attention on Shelly, since she couldn't move around as much.
Luckily for her, Michael was doing a pretty good job dodging shots, despite how awful the visibility was. As he darted around, occasionally attempting to get closer and go on the offensive, Shelly was aiming at the biggest threats on the battlefield and felling an Octarian with every shot. To Tori's relief, she started with the longest-range attackers, the ones who had the greatest chance of hitting Jake.
Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Michael to take a couple hits, and while the effects were mostly mitigated by his occasional dipping into his own ink, Tori could tell he was slowing down. Shelly's aim was just as good as before, luckily. The near-solid mess of ink flying through the air was thinning fast, and soon, the only Octarians left were Lilac and Alanis. Shelly had tried to shoot the two of them down already, but both focused entirely on dodging rather than trying to attack with their brethren.
Neither made an attempt to move at first, but no one let down their guard. Shelly trained her weapon on the two of them, with Tori standing partly in front of her. Michael was off to one side, and Pip hesitated for a moment before leaving Jake where he was and stepping in front of Michael. They had a standoff on their hands.
Lilac scoffed at the sight. "I still can't believe you two are standing with them."
"Save it," Alanis growled. "There's no convincing them. Only punishment."
Jake groaned. Tori spared a look back at him before turning back towards the scene in front of them. "We're leaving."
"Not yet you're not."
And she charged. Shelly tried a shot, but Alanis dodged swiftly. It grazed Lilac, who jolted into action and charged as well.
Alanis tossed her weapon aside and launched herself at Tori first. She barely had time to raise her hands in a defensive gesture before she was upon her. Alanis darted around Tori, hitting her with a constant flurry of fists. Michael tried to aim his weapon, but before he could, Lilac had showed up too. She wasn't on the same level as Alanis by any means, but she was skilled enough to keep Michael on his toes. He had to defend himself before he could try to help out Tori.
Pip watched the fighting, unsure of how to intervene, but Shelly quickly dropped a Burst Bomb at Michael's feet. The explosion startled Lilac, and Michael tried to fire at her, but she recovered quickly and leapt out of the way.
Alanis, meanwhile, was raining punches and kicks on Tori for all she was worth. Tori was doing a pretty decent job blocking her, but the occasional hit still managed to slip through, and man, did it sting. She wouldn't be able to keep it up for much longer.
A patch of blue ink appeared on Alanis' forearm, and she dodged back, quickly ducking into the purple-coloured ink that still covered the room. As they watched, Lilac did the same.
There wasn't a sound. The hallway was eerily quiet, and everybody's senses were on high alert, waiting for something to happen.
A minute passed, then two. There was no sign of movement yet.
Michael turned to Shelly. "You think it's safe?"
Shelly was forming a reply when Alanis jumped out of nowhere with a loud scream, and landed right on top of her. She landed a few quick punches before jumping up, darting behind Michael, and whipping out the same glass container she held before, poised over his head.
Shelly had a shot charged and was about to fire when Alanis tilted the container very slightly. A drop of the solution came out, and where it hit Michael, a bit of steam rose. There was a quiet hissing noise, mixed with a grunt of pain.
"Drop it," Alanis growled. Shelly gave her a glare, but allowed her E-Liter to fall to the ground. A moment later, Lilac rose up and put Tori in the same position.
"This seems awfully familiar," Michael muttered.
"Save your breath," Alanis hissed. "And drop your weapon, too."
With a flick of his wrist, Michael tossed the Hero Shot away. Tori followed suit soon after. The two weapons fell near each other.
"Lilac," Tori murmured. "You can still stop this."
"Like hell," Lilac replied. "Stop trying to convert me, Tori. It's not gonna work." To drive the point home, she dripped a bit of the solution onto Tori's arm. She winced in pain.
Shelly stared at the two pairs, unable to do anything.
"I already said you wouldn't leave here," Alanis spat. "I mean it this time. There isn't a damn thing any of you can do to stop me."
Tori shot a pleading look over at Jake, but although he looked a bit better than before, he wasn't in any shape to save them again. They were too far away. He simply stared in horror at the five figures in front of him.
"Here's what we'll do," Alanis instructed. "You're going to follow us back into the facility. You're going to surrender any secrets you might be withholding, and you will not resist me one bit. After that, we'll do with you what we please."
No time was spared for theatrics or maniacal laughter. At her command, Alanis started to lead Michael back into the facility, undoing all of the work they'd done so far.
Then, out of nowhere, she exploded into blue ink. A frustrated screech could be heard as Pip stepped forward, holding the two Hero Shots. She stumbled a bit from the ink still sticking to her body, but she'd done what she needed to. Tori used the distraction to jam her elbow into Lilac's stomach, causing her to drop the container, and shoved her away quickly.
Michael sprinted back to grab Jake, hauling him over one shoulder, and all five of them ran toward the exit. Shelly picked up her E-Liter along the way. One by one, everyone started making their way through the kettle that led outside.
Tori went last. As she did, she saw Lilac stalking toward her, shouting incoherently. Her face was set in anger.
Tori hoped that she would've been different since Alanis was gone, but there was no such luck. She could only say "I'm sorry" before she left.
{asterisks}
She popped out of the kettle at the other end. "Come on!" she told the others. "I don't know if they'll chase us!"
They sprinted away from the kettle, running far away from the facility they had escaped from. They Super Jumped occasionally, and after some time, they found themselves back by the kettle that led to Inkopolis.
Finally, the group stopped. Everyone dropped for a rest, glad to be able to stop moving for a bit.
Tori made her way over to Jake. "How are you?" she asked worriedly.
"I've been better," Jake said with a hint of a grin. "But I oughta be fine. I just look like hell."
Tori returned the smile, though there was the slightest hint of tears in her eyes.
Jake raised one hand to stroke her cheek. "C'mon," he whispered. "Don't be like that." He pulled her in, gently kissing her lips.
Tori's eyes started to water again, and tears stained her cheeks as she kissed him back. It was the first time she'd done it since they'd entered the facility, she realized, and she couldn't stand to let him go just yet.
Michael watched the scene with a little smile of his own. "They seem happy," he said to no one in particular.
"Mhm."
He jolted, suddenly realizing that Shelly was next to him. She was staring as well.
"Gotta say, I'm a little jealous," Michael commented. "They seem to have something really special."
"Is that right?"
"Mm. I wonder what it might be like to-" He cut himself off. "Shelly? What's up?"
She had a stony expression on her face, as if she were thinking hard. After a moment, she looked at him.
Shelly tried to think of some good words to say in this sort of situation, she really did, but nothing came to mind.
Instead, she took hold of his collar with both hands, and pulled him in for a kiss of her own.
Michael's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. It took some time, but his eyes eventually fluttered closed, and he began to kiss her back. He wasn't the most skilled, but it still felt like fireworks going off in his mind. He could barely believe that he was actually kissing her.
Shelly was in much the same boat as he was. Neither wanted to be the first to pull away, so the kiss continued for nearly a minute before it ended naturally. They came apart, panting, and stayed in a close embrace.
"Shelly, I-"
She cut him off with a finger over his lips. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you…"
Michael got a goofy grin on his face. "Are you kidding? I feel like I could fly."
Shelly got a small smile to match his. "Wanna go out somewhere?"
He kissed her lips again. "Of course." He took her hands in his and couldn't stop a chuckle from escaping his mouth.
Jake had one arm around Tori, and they both watched the scene with a little smile. "They're pretty cute together."
She hummed in agreement. Pip came to sit next to them, and Tori put another arm around her shoulders. "What are you gonna do, Pip?"
She thought about that. "Hmmm… I don't wanna hafta stay with you guys. I think I'll try and live on my own for a bit."
"Is that right?" Tori asked. "Stepping out of your comfort zone, hm?"
Pip nodded in response. "And I really wanna try these Turf Wars."
Tori grinned. "They're a ton of fun. You'll love 'em. Talk to Sheldon and he'll hook you right up."
Pip turned to her with a face-splitting grin. "Thank you, Tori. A lot."
Tori tousled her tentacles a bit. "I'll give you our address, 'kay? If you ever need help, we'll give you whatever you need."
Jake mumbled an assent, and Pip hugged Tori tightly.
It looked like things were ending pretty nicely after all.
[A/N] That was the longest story (in terms of chapters) that I've written in a long time, and it feels pretty good to know that it's finished.
So, what's next? Well, as usual, my current projects can be viewed on my profile. Specifically, the Fire Emblem story I just started, Grand Hero? Battle, is something I'll be keeping my eye on. I also have one or two more stories in the works, but that's the one I'm gonna be focusing on for now.
Thank you all for coming along for the ride.
