"Alright, love. I'm gonna be headed out soon," Inkay said wrapping an arm around Cerata's waist. He pecked her lips as she pouted and let out a groan.

"I really wish that you'd take the gauntlets with you…" She whined, causing Inkay to chuckle and kiss her again.

"I told you, this is all just a ploy mission. To calm the nerves of the public a little. I'm sure the guy responsible is back at his base by now."

"I'm still worried." Inkay only smiled at her.

"I'll be fine. I promise. Now do you know if the kids are up yet?"

"If they are, they haven't left Luca's room yet," Cerata said as Inkay took a step back.

"Well I guess I'll go wake 'em up and tell them I'll be gone for awhile," Inkay said as he began walking to his children's room. He knocked on the door and waited for a response. When he got none, he figured they were both still asleep. He gently pushed the door open to see his children asleep. Luca was resting his head on Cereza's shoulder as she had an arm around him and her head resting on his. Her mouth hung open as they both took slow, calm breaths.

Inkay smiled and approached the bed, gently shaking them both up. The hybrids looked up with the same drowsy eyes and Inkay chuckled.

"I'm gonna be out of town for work awhile again. Wanted to see you before I left."

"You won't be gone for too long, will you?" Luca asked as he sat up, rubbing his eyes to look up at his father.

"Nah. I'll be back in a couple of days," Inkay said rubbing Luca's head and kissing his forehead. Luca smiled and laid back down. Inkay leaned in to do the same to Cereza, only to have her spring up and wrap her arms around his neck in a tight embrace.

"I love you, daddy. Be safe, okay?" Inkay smiled and hugged his daughter just as tightly.

"Of course. I can't let anything happen to me when I still have to look after you two." Inkay's smile turned into a smirk. "Especially with you bringing this new boyfriend around the place." Cereza colored and moved back from her father.

"Daaaaaaaad," she groaned with a pout. Inkay laughed again and kissed his daughter's forehead.

"I'll be back before you know it, love." He said as he turned and exited the room. Cereza kept her pout towards the door for a moment longer before it broke into a smile. She raised her hand to her mouth to cover a large yawn and laid back down. She closed her eyes and shifted a bit towards her brother. All was still for awhile before she lightly pressed her foot against his back.

Luca responded with a loud groan expressing his discomfort and returned to silence. After a few more seconds Cereza lightly kicked him again.

"Cereza, cut it out," Luca groaned trying to avoid the foot and get back into a comfortable position. Still curled in a comfortable little ball, Cereza alternated which foot she kicked Luca with. "Stop it!"

"No. Get out of bed," She said continuing her onslaught.

"How are you gonna kick me out of my own bed?" Luca questioned with obvious annoyance in his voice.

"Because I don't have a date I need to get ready for." Luca shot up with a panicked expression.

"Oh crap! What time is it?!" He said lunging for his phone lying on his nightstand. The device read 7:52 and had only had twenty-one percent of battery left. "Crap crap crap!" Luca chanted throwing his legs over the bed. He quickly plugged in his phone and ran to his closet. Cereza didn't open her eyes but chuckled at her brother as he scrambled around the room. "Sis! You gotta get up too!"

"What? Why?"

"You gotta help me pick something to wear!" Luca said as he began digging through his closet. Cereza stretched and rested her head on her arms, opening her eyes just enough to see her brother and smiled.

"Not to be rude or anything, but isn't she blind? I doubt she cares what you put on," Cereza baited. Luca froze for a moment and pushed himself deeper into his closet.

"Well…yeah but…others are gonna see me with her…and she has quite the fanbase for her singing. I don't wanna make her look bad by being seen with me…"

"Oh, you're too cute!" Cereza said pulling Luca back into a tight hug.

"Hey! You're supposed to be helping! Not hugging!"

"I can do both!"

"Sis!"

Sebastian laced up his shoes and grabbed his jacket. He put it on and took a deep breath before exiting his room. He began walking towards the stairs already expecting a certain door to open.

"Well you're up early, brother," came the voice of his sister. Sebastian stopped and turned towards her.

"I could say the same to you, sis."

"Hm. Yes you could, but I'm wearing a T-shirt and underwear while you're walking around with sneakers on." Sebastian silently stared at Senia. "So where are you going?" Sebastian took a deep breath before speaking.

"Well, I was gonna surprise you when I got paid, but since you're bent on ruining it, I actually found a job. That doesn't involve singing, I might add." Senia went wide eyed, earnest surprise on her face.

"Oh. Well…I honestly didn't think you were looking," she said. "I'm sorry for being so suspicious."

"It's cool. I may have gotten suspicious too. When I eventually noticed." The two chuckled at the joke. "It'll probably keep me busy all day though, so you think you can not burn down the house while I'm gone?" Sebastian smirked at Senia and she smirked as well.

"You insult me brother." Sebastian chuckled again and started heading towards the stairs. "Hey," Sebastian paused and turned back towards his sister. "The job…it's not working for father….is it?" Sebastian's smile dropped.

"No. Of course not." Senia let out a sigh, bringing her hand to her chest then smiling again.

"Good. Have a good day then." Sebastian let out a 'hmph' and continued down the stairs and out the door. Senia grew a wide smile as she turned to prepare for her date.

"Agent 3. Agent 4. I see you're both doing well," Apalo said, arms crossed behind his back as he looked at the Inklings entering the room.

"As well as we can be giving the circumstances," Agent 3 replied. Agent 4 let out a distressed sigh as an agreement.

"So where are Agents 1 and 2?" 4 asked.

"They're already on the airplane waiting for you. Along with your weapons and some extra armor. There are investigators at the sight, so living supplies are waiting there." Agents 3 nodded and the group began walking. "Remember: Two day investigation and return right home. Be sure to mention anything suspicious you find while there."

"Sure thing, boss," Agent 3 said. "Hopefully we'll find something helpful on finding out who did this." Agent 3 remained silent as they continued forward. Soon after they reached the door to the hangar and paused.

"Good luck agent. Be sure to make it back safely." Agents 3 and 4 saluted Apalo, who did the same. The agents stepped out and Apalo returned the way he came. The two could already hear the hum from its engines before they were even at max power.

"You sure you can handle the city on your own?" Agent 3 asked stopping short of the plane. Agent 4 smiled and gently punched Agent 3's shoulder.

"You underestimate me, my friend. I can handle anything short of a war. Though I like to think I did pretty well in the last one," 4 smirked, causing 3 to smile.

"Okay, I'll give you that. I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Be careful my friend." 4 said giving his old friend a fist bump.

"And to you." Agent 4 returned the way he came as Agent 3 stepped into the jet.

"Good morning, 1 and 2. How are you both?" Agent 3 asked as he entered the seating area. Agents 1 and 2 turned towards him as he walked in. Agent 1 gave a smile while Agent 2 nodded.

"Too early for this shit." Agent 2 griped. Agent 3 sat down across from the two as the intercom clicked on.

"Good morning agents, this is your pilot speaking. We will be taking off shortly. Please remain seated until we are in a stable altitude. I'll tell you when that height has been reached and you'll be free to move around the cabin. We shall arrive at our destination in a few hours." The intercom clicked off and the engines began powering up.

"So what's the city going to do for news time?" Agent 3 asked.

"They have this new duo doing them while we're out on 'business'. They're called 'Off the Chain', or something like that."

"'Off the Hook', Agent 1."

"Yeah! Off the Hook. They're pretty good, I'll admit."

"Our catchphrase is better though." Agent 3 chuckled as Agent 2 stared out the window. They were beginning to rise into the sky. Agent 1 began to look into her lap and keep her head down. Without even looking, Agent 2 began patting her cousin's shoulder. "You're going to be fine, 1," she said with a bit of a smirk. Agent 3 was confused for a moment before realization hit.

"Oh yeah. You're afraid of heights, aren't you?"

"Please don't mention we're up high!" Agent 1 said squeezing her eyes shut.

"Oh don't worry. We're aren't that high yet. We're just jumping off the building," Agent 2 teased with a wicked smile.

"Marieeeeeee!" Agent 1 wined hitting her cousin's shoulder with her fists. Agent 3 leaned back and smiled. At least the ride there will be entertaining.

Luca walked up the walkway to his friends' door. He stopped just outside of it and swallowed. He ran his hands over his tentacles again, making sure they were tied back properly. He smoothed out his plaid purple and green button up shirt and patted down his khakis, making sure his shirt was tucked in neatly. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He reached forward and rang the door bell. It echoed inside the house and it remained quiet for a moment.

"Who is it?" Came the dainty cry of Senia.

"I-it's me, Senia," Luca responded. A giggle came from the other side of the the door.

"Oh joy! You're right on time!" Senia said, her voice accompanied by the sounds of locks coming undone. When the door opened, Luca gulped again. Senia had her tentacles in a style where one rested in a coil on her head and the other curled around her face and draped down pass her collarbone. She wasn't wearing her usual frilly style of dress and instead she wore a white blouse that drifted down to a black checkered skirt that stopped just above her knees. She brought her hand to her mouth and giggled again. "I hope the silence means you like how I look." Luca swallowed and shook off the stun he honestly should've been used to by now.

"O-of course! You look as beautiful as ever…" Luca trailed off with a strong blush. Senia smiled and took steps forward.

"Awe, thank you Luke," Senia said reaching her hands forward. She cupped his face and ran her hands up his head. She traced her fingers up and around how he had his tentacles before trailing the opposite way and letting them trail down his chest and too his hips, Luca shivering under her touch the entire time. "Oh? Could you have dressed up for me even though such a thing is wasted on someone like me?"

"I mean…I'm gonna be seen with you right? You have a singing reputation and I don't wanna make you look bad if someone sees me dressed like a slouch with you…" Senia's hand returned to her mouth as her giggle turned into a full on laugh. Luca blushed harder as Senia's laughter hit a peak before calming down.

"Look at you. Earning good boy points before the date's even begun." Senia's smile grew predatory as she pinched the edges of her skirt and lifted just slightly. "Surely you must know good boys get rewarded." Luca wanted to respond but the words were lost in his throat as he stared between the girl and what she kept barely out of sight. Senia giggled again and dropped her skirt, wrapping her arm around his.

"Seriously though Luke, let others think what they will. They aren't the ones dating you so just dress comfortably next time, okay?" Still blushing furiously, Luca muttered out

"O-okay."

"Great! Well then, shall we be off?" Luca, with a sudden charge of bravery, intertwined his fingers with Senia's. Senia smiled widely, which caused Luca to do the same.

"Yeah. Let's go."

Dao sat alone in a dark room, surrounded by beakers and medical equipment and other devices he didn't know by name. He was sitting in the middle of the room on a metal medical bed in only a pair of Octoling shorts. He hated being in this room. It was always so lifeless. So dull. So cold. God he hated the cold. The metal pressed against his butt was freezing and showed no sign of warming up. When was that old man getting here?

As if summoned by his thoughts, the door slowly slid open, revealing the shiny eyes of the person he thought about. Dao grew a wide fang-filled smile while his eyes curved to a cocky look. The person responded with narrowed eyes and walked over to the side of the room to a table filled with liquids of various colors. He grabbed a few conical flasks and walked over to the table on the adjacent wall, setting them down gently and turning on a computer.

"So," Dao started. "What's the news, doc?" The figure's eyes narrowed once again but he didn't express his annoyance. Instead the sounds of the computer booting up chimed throughout the room. The figure hurriedly typed his commands onto the the keyboard and a small hum began emitting from the device. He began uncorking and pouring the contents of the flasks into a large cylinder device hooked into the left side of the computer. With more tapping of the keyboard, the liquid was mixed and churned until it turn into a nearly translucent jell.

The cylinder itself began to spin slowly, keeping the mixture from solidifying too much. The hum died down to a barely noticeable purr of the computer's mechanics as the figure walked to the first table again.

"So on a scale from one to ten, what are the odds of it working this time?" Dao questioned.

"The odds are as slim as always. Regardless the sooner we land on the percentage of success, the sooner we can move on," came the low voice. The figure opened a drawer and began digging through it. "It's not like genetic modifications suddenly becomes easier." Dao smirked and leaned back, resting on his arms.

"You're supposed to be a genius, right? I thought you would have had an epiphany in your sleep or something." The figure slammed the drawer shut, having grabbed the items he needed.

"Silence! It's not that simple," he scolded walking towards the table. Dao shrugged, looking at the older male as he unwrapped and tore off a strip of medical tape.

"I know, I know. The bags under your eyes show how hard you're working." The figure scoffed as Dao held his arm out. The figure wrapped the tape tightly around Dao's upper arm, almost to the point of deformation. Dao twitched but didn't comment. The figure turned back to the table holding the computer, prepping the syringe that he pulled out alongside the tape. "I mean, I don't wanna sound unappreciative or nothing, so yeah. Thanks for working so hard and all." The figure said nothing. He simply filled the syringe with the newly made liquid. He then sprayed a large volume of it on a large microscope slide in another machine on the opposite side of the computer.

"Hopefully this combination of RNA and proteins will react positively to your DNA," the figure said calmly.

"I still don't really get the difference between DNA and RNA, but if the RNA is what's killing me then hopefully you get it right this time." Dao chuckled at the glare the figure sent his way over his shoulder. The figure took a deep breath and ultimately gave Dao the back and forth he wanted. The machine moved erratically as a small nearly invisible needle came as close to the liquid as possible.

"Hopefully. Once we perfect it we won't have to bother kidnapping any more and move on." Dao hid the disappointment from the studying eyes watching him. Instead he gave a smile and a question.

"And then I'll be truly perfect, right?"

"Close. But if I can manage to edit your DNA to match that of all your siblings…that would make you perfect." The figure turned away and brought his hand up to his mouth in thought.

"Gonna be hard to get DNA from all my siblings, ain't it?" The figure looked at Dao with determined eyes.

"The grave cannot keep me from what I have planned." Goosebumps spread over Dao's skin at the threat towards death itself. A loud beep sounded out as the machine rumbled to a halt. The figure turned towards it as it uncovered itself. There was significantly less of the liquid than when he put it in, but that was expected. Taking the syringe, he withdrew the liquid and walked back towards Dao. "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Well, my fingers are on the verge of going numb so I'll say yes," Dao joked. The figure took steps forward as Dao held out his arm. The figure placed a needle onto the edge of the syringe and flicked it a few times. He held Dao's wrist and injected the needle right below his palm. He slowly injected the concoction with Dao's fingers constricting more and more as it began flowing through his veins.

"Well?" the figure asked. Dao stretched and bent his arm as if testing out a new limb. He smiled and looked up at the figure.

"Feels good to me-" Dao's arm suddenly snapped downward. He grabbed the middle of his forearm and brought it up to further examine the limb. The veins started becoming visible around two inches from the injection point. Dao's fingers all moved around and snapped independently. Dao grit his teeth in pain as he eyed the concoction slowly making its way up his arm. His arm began bending at right angles in the concoction's wake. Inklings and Octarians didn't have bones, but there was a limit to how their bodies were supposed to stretch and bend, and that limit was surely passed. The figure merely let out an annoyed 'tch'.

"Your DNA rejected the injection. It's attacking every cell contaminated with it." Veins up to Dao's elbow were now visible and his arm bent in such a way that the back of his hand was in his armpit for a second before bending a different direction. "Quite violently, I might add."

"Now you have jokes?!" Dao screamed between groans of pain and heavy breaths.

"Calm down. This is why we cut off the circulation to your arm," the figure said as he calmly walked over to the first table again. "It's not like this sort of thing hasn't happened before." Reaching into the bottom drawer, the figure pulled out a large axe, the steel glinting in the light from the room. Dao screeched on the table as his arm continued to twist and snap.

The figure unceremoniously shoved Dao onto the floor. Dao barely noticed the change in his location as his focus was squarely focused on the pain in his arm. The figure slammed his foot on Dao's arm, just above where it was taped down. With a twirl of the axe, he raised it high over his head. He brought it down with extreme precision, severing the limb right where the top of the tape ended.

Dao howled in pain as he grasped the nub where his arm used to be. The severed limb continued to spasm and crack on the floor next to him until it managed to expel the injection from its system. Electric blue liquid stained the floor as Dao's breathing slowly calmed down.

"Another failure. I'll have to go back to my calculations…" The figure murmured to himself. He turned his back to Dao and began typing on his computer again. Dao rolled over on his stomach, pushing himself up to his feet with his remaining arm. "You know the routine. No strenuous activity for awhile, inform me if your body reacts further to the injection, and if you feel strange for any reason let me know." Dao stood up and let his eyes travel from his arm laying on the floor to the spot it used to be attached.

He sent the same signal that would normally cause his hand to clench into a fist. Of course there was nothing where his fist would normally be and his fingers only twitched on the ground beside him. He could already feel the ghost limb feeling coming on. The figure walked from the computer and picked up Dao's severed limb. It leaked blood and the remainder of the injection and seemed to be melting.

"I'll be taking this to study. Possibly figure out why your DNA rejected the injection as harshly as it did." It was disgusting. Seeing a piece of his body falling apart like a wax doll on a hot sidewalk. But it could worse. That could be all of him instead of a severed part of him.

"Well, be sure to let me know what you find out," Dao joked, shrugging his shoulder. The figure simply placed the arm under the machine on the right of the computer and began looking through a microscope.

"Indeed. You are dismissed." Dao placed his hand on his hip. The shoulder of his remaining arm moving enough to show he expected to do the same with both arms. He growled and exited the room. On his way out, he looked at the nub and let out a growl. Man this was annoying. Walking around without an arm was gonna be a pain in the ass. He placed his hand on the nub and focused. Focus. He just had be like his brother.

The door behind him slammed open. He jolted up and turned around to see the very displeased eyes of the figure glaring down on him.

"I said, 'no strenuous activity! Obey commands!" He yelled. Dao withered and nodded furiously as the figure growled. "If you can't follow simply commands, then maybe you aren't fit to rule." The figure slammed the door shut and Dao relaxed. His eyes furrowed at the figure's words though. Of course he was meant to rule. Who else was he gonna get to rule? That wimp Lucius? Fuck that. He was gonna be top dog of this hierarchy and he was gonna make sure Lucius wasn't even a factor. One way or another. He walked off with a large fang-filled smile on his face.

Sebastian plopped down on a chair, letting out a tired 'whew' as he took the cap off his head. He raised his hands up and began pulling at the rubber gloves on his hands.

"That was so cool!" He jumped at the voice and looked up at the girl looking at him, eyes sparkling in fascination. She was joined by another girl and a boy. Sebastian looked between all of them, a nervous blush and smile crossing his face.

"Yeah! How did you manage to save us, and wipe all of them out?!" The boy asked. Sebastian chuckled and avoided eye contact with the entire group.

"Heheh. It wasn't that hard. I mean, I hadn't used my special so all I did was spam bombs near where I thought you guys were."

"But that doesn't explain how you splatted nearly all of them immediately afterwards!" The second girl cheered.

"Yeah man! That was amazing! We could use someone like that on my Turf War team!" Sebastian continued to smile nervously and shook his head, holding his hands up and shaking them too.

"Sorry guys. I don't really do Turf Wars. I just do this for the extra cash." Sebastian scratched his head and started looking away again.

"Turf Wars give great money too! Especially if you kick butt like you did to those Salmonoids. You'll get paid tons!"

"Sorry. I'm still not interested." The group let out a loud sigh before perking back up again.

"You can at least still do this with us right? With you on our side there's no way we can lose!" The first girl said. Sebastian blushed again and twiddled his fingers a bit.

"S-sure. I'll be doing this a lot, so,"

"Great! Let's exchange numbers!" The second girl said, pulling out her phone.

"Mine too! We can make a squad out of this!" The guy said. "My name is Cody, by the way," he added.

"Oh, and my name is Sireen," the first girl said pulling her phone out.

"And mine is Tendra. It's a pleasure to meet you!" The group exchanged handshakes and numbers while Sebastian smiled.

"My name is Sebastian. It's great to meet you all."

The group chatted on the boat ride back to shore and more on their way to their boss, Grizz. Once grouped in his shop, the squad walked up to the wooden bear statue. It shook for a moment before a grizzly voice began emitting from it.

"Wow! That was amazing, kid! You truly got what it takes to make it in this business! A true profreshional!" Grizz praised Sebastian as he scratched his head sheepishly and his new teammates smiled at him. "So whaddaya say kid? Feel like going another round?" Sebastian looked at the squid kids surrounding him with hopeful eyes and grew a confident smile.

"Sure. Let's do it."

"So Luke. What majesties do you have planned for today?" Senia bumped her shoulder against Luca's as he blushed. The hybrid ran a hand over his tentacles and chuckled.

"I don't know about majesties, but I don't wanna ruin the surprise either." Senia pouted and crossed her arms.

"We've already been walking for awhile now. How much further do we have to go?" Luca's shoulders slumped. Already this date may have been spiraling downward and it had barely started.

"It's not too far. If I knew how to drive we'd be there already…" It was Senia's turn to giggle. Luca looked over to see her giggling softly into her hand.

"Are you really worried about something like that? I enjoy walking. It's easier to keep up with what's where when I'm taking my own steps rather than when I'm in a vehicle. For example," Senia looked straight ahead, gesturing forward to make Luca look the same way as well. "There's a crosswalk approximately forty meters ahead of us, correct?" Luca didn't know exact measurements from sight alone, but there was a crosswalk coming up.

"Y-yeah. How'd you…"

"I've been out walking this far before. I memorize every path I take." Without a warning she latched herself onto Luca's arm, sliding her hand down his limb until she intertwined her fingers with his. "Speaking of, I've never actually been on the other side of the crosswalk, so you're going to have to be my eyes for now." She smiled up at Luca and his blushed consumed his entire face.

"O-of course. It'll be my pleasure." Senia brought her free hand to her mouth and giggled again.

"Luke, you're so adorable." Luca felt his heart beating in his chest and turned forward. The two exchanged small talk as they walked. Luca was in charge of calling out stores in their vicinity so Senia could check them out if she wanted later.

Soon enough, Luca pulled them to a stop. Senia, still wrapped around his arm, tilted her head. She could feel this uneven pulse exuding from the building in front of her.

"Well, we're here."

"And where is here?" Luca walked forward and Senia could hear the glass doors slide open. Cold air pushed around her form and the soft hum of music came from all directions.

"It's a little place called Octave Studios," Luca started. He looked away as if she could see his ever growing blush as he continued. "You're always singing for someone else, so I thought coming here would be fun for you. You could maybe hear some new singers and get inspirations for your music." He looked down to gauge Senia's reaction to see her staring forward blankly. Her eyes held no indication of her thoughts and her mouth was in a flat line. "Was…this not a good idea?" Worry laced Luca's voice as he thought he might have messed up somehow.

"How…thoughtful…" Senia started walking forward, now solely holding onto Luca's hand instead of his arm. She took cautious steps that made it look more like she was gliding, testing the area in front of her to make sure she didn't run into anything. Her tentacles wrapped around her eyes as her hand stretched a small ways ahead of her. Her head was tilted down slightly, her ears searching for a sound that caught her attention most. She followed it, dragging Luca along for the ride. Luca was just amazed she didn't bump into anyone or anything to try and stop her.

Eventually, she came upon a set of display headphones. A slow rhythm coming out of them as they rested on their stand. For the first time in awhile, Senia released Luca's hand and reached for the headset. She placed them over her ears and all other sounds drowned out immediately. The headphones made the wearer unaware of their surroundings as the store's background music and all background chatter was replaced with the music coming from the speakers. She moved one side away from an ear to speak.

"Do they tell you the artist?" She asked Luca.

"Oh, yeah." He took her hand and guided it to a spot below the stand. "If you press here it'll tell you the singers in whatever is playing." Senia pressed the button and the information she looked for came from the speaker. She smiled. She took the headphones off and just held them, running her fingers along the smooth surface and the cushions of the ear pads.

"I'm sorry, Luke," She said softly. Luca tilted his head.

"Sorry? For what?" Senia gently placed the headphones back where she picked them up and turned towards her date.

"I honestly thought that you'd just take me for a walk around town, and a fancy dinner," She said, a bit of nervous embarrassment in her voice. "But…you actually thought of somewhere to go I would like, so…I'm sorry for misjudging you…" Luca smiled, hand returning to rub his tentacles.

"It was nothing. Honestly I thought that you would've came here before. It's kind of a popular hangout place. They get all the new singles before everyone else." Senia shook her head, hands clasped in front of her as she turned her head to better capture all the sounds around her.

"You don't mind if we stay here a bit, do you?" She asked, running a hand gently on the headphones.

"No, of course not. We can even buy you a CD you like." Senia brought her hand to her mouth again.

"Heh. Heheh. Would you believe I don't even have anything to play it on at home?"

"Really? Nothing?" Senia shook her head with a smile.

"Not a single thing. Every song I know was either taught to me at the restaurant I sing at or I learned while staying with father." Senia's smile faltered and Luca was quick to try and bring it back.

"Well we can stay as long as you want to. Just find some songs you like and we'll see what's recommended based on that."

"Hm. You're sweet Luke." Senia placed a hand on the side of Luca's face and brought him close enough to peck his cheek. Luca raised a hand to his cheek and smiled as Senia went back to listening to her music. Her face was solemn but she seemed to glow in the lighting. Luca couldn't help but to smile brighter at the sight.

"Attention passengers, prepare for landing. We have arrived at our destination. Repeat, prepare for landing, we have arrived at our destination."

"Oh thank god. I don't know how much more I can take." Agent 1 said with a bit of unease in her voice. Agent 2 snickered as Agent 3 smiled. They waited patiently for the plane to come to a complete stop. 2 and 3 calmly rose from their seats while 1 all but bolted towards the exit. She jumped down the stairs three at a time and took a deep inhale and stretched out her arms.

"Land, sweet land! I'm so happy-" Her voice caught in her throat as she looked around. The remains of a city seemed to stretch far into the horizon. Buildings that once touched the sky now scattered about brick by brick. 1's arms drooped and her jaw dropped at the carnage and the thought of all the lives that must have been lost.

"It's so much different hearing about it than actually seeing it," 2 said slowly stepping off the plane. "It's just….so much more nothing than I could actually imagine." 3 stepped off the plan and growled. This used to be a city. People's homes. And now, there was nothing. Nothing but ruble and dust. He stepped off the ramp and his shoe sank into the ground just slightly. He crouched down and scooped some dust with his hand. He let it slip through his fingers and rolled it around with his thumb. It was a somewhat shiny grey, rough, and made 3 raise an eyebrow.

"Concrete?" He asked to no one in particular, causing 1 and 2 to look at him.

"Very good observation Agent. But not just concrete. It's a mixture of concrete, steel, and rebar. In other words, that dust used to be a building." The three looked towards the voice to see a tall, thin male Inkling walking towards them. He wore a white lab coated covered in a coat of grey dust. He wore a surgical mask and had his green tentacles tied back as most males do. "Don't be alarmed. My name is Seph Mollu. Head forensic scientist of Agent Branch 2B. Pleasure to meet the three that started it all." The Inkling gave a short bow and the three agents gave their greetings.

"Have you found anything here?" 3 asked. Seph didn't say anything at first. Instead of speaking, he turned and began walking the way he came.

"Please follow me, agents." The agents looked between each other before obeying. Seph spoke. "I'm sure you noticed from your flight, but we are in the heart of what used to be Squidville. It's been eradicated to the point that you can park your jet where what used to most likely be a four way intersection."

The agents all held back a gasp. They didn't really know they were at the center of the city. They had closed the curtains on the plane to spare 1's sanity, so they just assumed they landed near the edge of the city. Seph continued.

"Our team have mostly being collecting data and blast residue from the immediate area. We arrived here with a search team for survivors but…it's quite obvious that no one could have survived this." Not too far off, bright yellow tents were scattered around with busy Inklings and Octarians scurrying around.

"So you've set up base here?" 3 asked.

"Yes. Most of the blast debris can be found in this concentrated area. It is easier to set up here and do all our research."

"So what would you like for us to do?" 2 asked as they began walking through the camp. Scientists could be seen bringing in debris and testing materials while other eyed the agents out of the corner of their eyes.

"Honestly there's not much for you to do. You can join the scouts in looking for something that might provide some intellect. If you want you can go explore the outskirts of the city instead. We've been fanning out and of course have yet to get that far. Some buildings on the edge are still intact, albeit collapsed. You might fine something."

"Then that's what we'll do," 3 stated. Seph turned towards the three, cheeks pushing up his mask in a smile.

"Wonderful. I'll take you to your quarters first. You can rest up before you go and get settled or whatever you prefer." The agents looked between each other before all looking at Seph.

"We'll leave immediately."

"Luca darling, I told you that you didn't have to," Senia said, finger running over the headphones wrapped around her neck.

"No, but I wanted to. You enjoy music so much, I thought you should be able to listen to it without having to sing it yourself," Luca ran a thumb over the back of the hand he was holding and Senia smiled.

"But I'm sure it was definitely expensive. How much did it and the music player cost?"

"Just a couple hundred coins. It wasn't much, I promise." Senia lowered her arm and slowly swung the hand holding Luca's at her side.

"Well it was a sweet gesture. Thank you."

The two walked and chatted, Luca telling stories of him and Eden from when they were younger and how his first Turf War went with his family. Senia shared tales of her and Sebastian, with a few mentioning her older brother. The two stopped at a fast food place and picked up some hot dogfish. They sat down and chatted more. They started sitting across from each other but Senia eventually made her way next to him.

"So Luke, have you come here often? You seemed to have already had an order in mind." Luca chuckled.

"Yeah. Cereza used to bring me here a lot. They serve really good ice cream, and Fridays they have this contest where you can get a free meal if you guess that week's mystery flavor."

"Oooh, that sounds like fun. Did you ever guess correctly?"

"A few times. Usually the mystery flavor was white, but if you looked close enough you could see a tint of another color so Cereza and I would try and use that for a clue." Luca smiled at the memory then looked over to Senia. He then felt bad admitting the advantage he had over her.

"Oh? So like if it was strawberry flavored it'll have traces of pink in it?" Luca blinked a few times.

"uh, yeah actually."

"How observant of you. As a child I wouldn't look anywhere close enough to see such details." Senia admitted. "So tell me Luke, what's your favorite color?"

"Um…my favorite was always blue." Senia twirled her straw around in her drink, listening to the rattling of the ice as they bumped into each other.

"I was never really a fan of blue. Especially dark blue. It was always…cold. And lonely. I much rather prefer a bright color. Like orange." Senia leaned forward and took a sip of her drink as Luca stared at her confused.

"But…I thought…"

"You thought I was born blind?"

"You mean you weren't?" Luca asked, eyes slanted in a look of sadness and pity. Senia slowly shook her head as she continued to stir her drink.

"That…birth defect Sebastian and I mentioned," she started. "My body didn't handle it well. So it took my sight." She took another soft sip of her drink. "It also has a hand on why I never got any bigger. A terrible thing really." Luca opened his mouth but wasn't sure what to say. 'I'm sorry' seemed kind of condescending in this situation. He reached out and took the hand that rested at her side in his. Senia grew a small smile.

"So why doesn't it affect Sebastian like that?"

"Luck of the draw I guess," Senia answered. "Though by that logic, Sebastian being alive would be luck." Clearly interested, Luca scooted a bit closer.

"What do you mean?" Senia removed her hand from her straw and rested it in her lap, leaning closer to Luca.

"Don't tell him I told you, but Sebastian wasn't expected to live more than a year." Luca's eyes widened as Senia continued. "Meanwhile I was born perfectly healthy. So father invested a lot of time with me. Teaching me various things while Sebastian was left in the background expected to just keel over at any point. But he never did. He just grew and grew, father still paying him just enough attention to keep him alive. Meanwhile my teachings getting more and more extensive up until the defect took my eyesight away."

Luca's eyes narrowed. What a shitty parent! No wonder Senia hates him so much. Luca didn't even have a face for the guy and he hated him. He could feel this hatred for this unnamed person and Senia must have sensed it by how she gently ran her thumb over his hand.

"Did he just give up on you too?" Senia flinched for a moment.

"He might as well have. He never cared for us. I wasn't even aware of Sebastian's existence the first few years of his life. He was just using us to live out his dreams. He just keeps up with us enough to keep his shadow looming over us. We can't leave it because he's the only supplier of our medication." This entire situation was very confusing to Luke. He had so many questions regarding her father that he was having trouble narrowing it down.

"So were his lessons bad?"

"Oh they were the worse," Senia sulked. "I still have the occasional nightmare about them…but I would rather not talk about them. Especially here. Besides, what's a nightmare to someone my age?" Senia smiled off the conversation, but Luca still had a bit of seething in his system.

"Where was your mom during all this?" Senia seemed displeased that Luca didn't take the cue to let the subject die, but indulged him in an answer.

"I've never had a mother. It's as simple as that." Luca's eyes narrowed at the comment as Senia finished her drink and placed the cup on the table just loud enough to cause a distraction for Luca. "Well, then shall we get going?" Luca agreed and they both grabbed their plates and left.

"This is as far as I can take you. It gets really unstable from here," the Octarian driving informed the agents.

"Thanks for the lift, Freddy," 2 said hopping out of the side of the land rover. She slung her Hero Scope over her shoulder as she exited. 1 hopped out of the opposite side with her Hero Roller slung in a similar fashion.

"Don't mention it. I'll be back around 2200 to come pick you up. If you want to come back sooner just radio in and I'll get the message."

"Affirmative." 3 said as he exited the vehicle as well. He had an E-liter leaning on his shoulder and the trio shared a nod with the Octarian. He drove off slowly as to not sling any dust on the Inklings. The agents looked forward to the series of fallen buildings in front of them. They started with about a story or two high and rose the further from the blast zone. The three glared forward at the ruble with 2 taking steps forward first.

"Alright team. Fan out then curve back in. Stay within proximity of each other and report everything you find. If anything moves, radio in and do not engage until we group back up. Ready?"

"Right," came the unified response.

"Alright, move out!" The agents turned into their squid forms and shot forward in three different angles. 3's stare remained focused as he soared through the skies. He reverted to his humanoid form and braced for impact as 1 and 2 disappeared behind the buildings. He kicked up a small cloud of dust as he landed. He wiped the brunt of it off the visor of his helmet and began his search. There was less dust here as a result of the buildings not being completely destroyed.

It was deafeningly silent, with only the shifting of the dirt in the wind making a sound. 3 poked his head in buildings not collapsed enough to be considered safe and searched some safer. If he didn't know any better, he'd think these were just a bunch of rocks and boulders instead of the remains of a city. The further he got from the blast point the more the buildings actually resembled buildings. Another thing he noticed were the splotches of black dust scattered throughout the area.

The wind would only shifted the top layer of said dust and never truly remove the layers beneath. 3 eyed each splotch as if trying to recognize something from them. Finding each spot stretched and spread differently, he simply considered them more of the buildings.

He entered one such building and found all of the shelves of what was once a store blown to the side. His eyes narrowed as the sand once again shifted as he entered. Crystals of grey and black mixed into the air as he walked. Even here he found those spots of black littered about. There were none of these black spots near the blast zones. Curiosity peaked, he knelt down and scooped some into his hand. It was a much finer substance than the grey dusk, moving smoothly between his thumb and fingers. He continued to eye and press against the substance.

He singled out a grain and squeezed it between his nails. He brought it as close to his eyes as possible and looked for any clue on what the substance was. When his nails broke the grain in two, he could've sworn he saw a hint of color.

"Agents 1 and 3. Come in." His thoughts were broken as he reached up to press a button to begin communication. He scooped another handful of dust to study.

"Agent 1, here."

"Agent 3. You find something, 2?"

"I think it's more of a realization more than anything. But I want your opinions on it."

"What is it Agent 2?" 1 asked. 3 simply listened as he continued to fiddle with the dust.

"I'm sure you've seen all the black patches scattered around, right?"

"Yeah. There are a lot of them."

"Well, I had the thought, 'why are there none near the blast zone?' And as I continued, it came to my attention that more buildings are still intact. Albeit with holes blasted in them." 3 continued to listen while trying to split another grain to see what color lied inside.

"What are you saying 2?"

"I'm saying, things are more intact the further away from the blast zone they are. And I don't know if you guys noticed, but the further we get, the darker and more abundant the black spots are. So what I'm thinking is that near the blast zone…people were completely erased, and these black spots are what's left of those that weren't."

3's eyes widen as he let all the dust in his hand fall back to the ground. He shot up and looked around. It was as clear as day now. Walls near where the black dust rested also had this dark shadow on it, most likely from where the poor Inkling or Octarian was crouched or blasted into it. 3 stared wide eye from spot to spot as he could almost see the black dust making bodies, stretched and horrified from their oncoming deaths.

1 and 2 discussed something over the communication line but 3 didn't hear them. His mind was rattled trying to figure out how. Inklings and Octarians were mostly liquids. How were their remainders turned into ash? What manner of weaponry could do such a thing? They turned to liquids upon death. Such a sudden death such as an explosion going off would result in the masses getting splatted if anything.

3 ran outside, still trying to get to grips with the situation. It seemed like the number of black marks had multiplied since he went inside the building. It was like 2 said before, seeing it was completely different than hearing about it. He found himself overcome with this sense of both anger and fear. What could he do to prevent this from ever happening again? What could he do to prevent this from happening to him?

He dropped to his knees, dropping his weapon to the side as his brain was overcome with questions he just didn't have the answer to. He sat there, hands shaking as the wind blew gently around him, carrying the dying screams of thousands. His fists tightened and his eyes darted around. How? How? HOW?!

"And to think, this was just the warning." 3 flinched. His blood ran cold before heating to a boil. His fingers dug into his palms as he began shaking. He didn't know if it was mostly fear or rage but he knew it was one of the two. He slowly looked over his shoulder, eyes immediately looking at the speaker.

"You," 3 seethed as the wind whipped around again. Yellow tentacles swayed in the wind as green eyes looked down on 3.

"I bet you're smiling under that mask to see me, aren't you? Admit it, you're happy to see me!" The Inkling gave a wide smile and shifted on his feet, feigning nervousness. He was standing on a stray beam from a collapsed building, high up but still surrounded by taller debris. Agent 3 heard more voices, but he drowned them out. They were a buzzing distraction in the back of his head. He reached up and removed his helmet, throwing it to the side as he moved his body to stand. "Whoa. Well that's not a smile at all," the Inkling said frowning and crossing his arms.

On 3's face was a look of rage. His fangs were bared and his body seemed to tense as his tentacles were engulfed in turquoise flames. His eyes focused solely on the Inkling in front of him. His hand wrapped around the base of his weapon as he stood.

"You hypocritical...insane...monster...How? How could you do something like this?!" The Inkling looked down unimpressed by Agent 3 before a smile crept on his face.

"I pressed a button." Agent 3 didn't know when he started running, but he was sprinting towards this man, this thing that held all of his hatred at the moment. He rolled into squid form and shot into the air. At the peak of his jump, far above the Inkling, he unleashed a volley of suction bombs, the explosives raining down beside him as he pulled out a large packet from his jacket. He crushed it within his fist and his tentacles burst into flames again. With a roar cry, Agent 3's body began swirling with ink. The ink swirled around his body before converging on the fist he held over his head. A loud ding sounded as his fist began to glow and he began a sped up decent towards the ground, surrounded by his bombs.

The bombs landed around the Inkling first, latching themselves all around the part of the building the Inkling stood on. They all flashed in warning as the Inkling looked up and smiled. The suction bombs exploded right as Agent 3 connected with his splash down. The ground shook slightly at the explosions went off and turquoise filled the area. When the ink cleared Agent 3's eyes widened. His fist sat in the palm of the Inkling as the last of the ink sprinkled on the ground below. Green eyes looked into purple with a victorious smirk on his face, and turquoise tentacles on his head.

"My turn." There were a few creaks and cracks before the remainder of the building began falling apart. The two Inkings began falling, 3 still staring at his opponents tentacles to notice the free fall. He did notice when the Inkling spun him in the air, and his back slammed harshly into the ground and the Inkling stomped on his arm. He cried out in pain as the Inkling rolled off his arm chuckling, walking away from the downed Inkling. "Poor, poor, little agent. Haven't you learned by now-"

The Inkling was suddenly struck up side the head with a blunt object. The Inkling rolled away from his attacker and turned around, holding his head. Agent 3 stood, fangs still bared as he grasped the nozzle of his E-liter. His right arm dangled at his side, two purple blotches near his elbow where the Inkling stomped on it. Just to complete the scene, part of the building behind him crumbled away, causing him to disappear behind a cloud of dust.

"You got to be kidding me," the Inkling cursed. The smoke stopped directly in front of him and he took a step back. He saw 3's eyes before anything else. This burning shade of purple peering through the smoke. The agent struck, swinging his E-liter like a club towards the Inkling. The Inkling dodged the swing, and then the next as 3 swung relentlessly.

The Inkling ducked under a swing and shot his foot into 3's stomach. He winced and grabbed the limb with his right hand and swung his weapon again. His charger slammed into his opponent's jaw, throwing him off balance enough for 3 to push him to the ground. Pinning him down, 3 moved his right hand to the Inkling's neck and moved his grip right beneath the scope of his weapon, fully planning on impaling the Inkling on the edge of his gun.

The Inkling dodged the attempt on his life, the barrel of the gun embedding itself in the ground next to his head. He shot a palm forward, slamming 3 in the chin before tackling him. The two wrestled along the ground, a flurry of punches and kicks. Eventually, 3 was thrown off his opponent as he shoved both legs into his chest. Inkay was hurled backwards and into a wall.

When he opened his eyes, he was met with a shining fist. 3's face was slammed with a splashdown powered fist. His head crashed into the wall behind him as a swirl of turquoise coated it. The Inkling pulled back his fist and 3 fell to his knees. He hit the ground as his head rung and his vision blurred. With a smirk, the Inkling turned around and began walking off.

"You'd think you would learn by now," he mocked.

"I'm….not done….yet…" 3 growled, clawing at the ground to try and get some balance.

"Yeah. You are. You can't beat me. You have no chance. Even with their help." There was a gun shot and the Inkling sidestepped a blast of white ink. He looked over his shoulder and smiled at his attacker. Agent 2 cursed under her breath at missing. "Nice try. But you'll have to try," the Inkling ducked under a roller, raising back up to grab his attacker and threw her against the wall over agent 3. She let out a yelp as her back slammed against the wall and a scream as it collapsed over with her. She groaned as she rolled over and pushed herself up over the parts of broken wall.

"Harder than that. Well then, now that the gang's all here, I guess I'll formally introduce myself." The Inkling took a slow bow, twisting towards all present. 3 was still struggling to push himself up as 1 rose to her feet and held her weapon tightly in her hand.

"The name is Lucius. And today, I'll show you just how beneath me you all are."

So this chapter is kinda long. Hope you enjoyed it!

Honestly it was gonna be even longer. There were a lot of scenes I wanted to place in it but decided it would be better to save them for the next chapter.

So we have a small look into what the figure is trying to do with a serum. I've dropped a bunch hints about a bunch of things so I hope you're catching them all.

Senia's also inching out more information about her past, along with Sebastian. They'll be a bit more of that next chapter. Also Sebastian got a job at Salmon Run. That'll be touched upon a bit.

And I know I mentioned Cereza and Matzuo would be mentioned in this chapter, but the scene with Dao came out longer than I expected. That just means more of them next chapter.

And I'm sorry for referring to the villain as 'the figure'. It's just no one has had a reason to mention his name. It'll happen eventually. Until next time,

Astalabyebye,

Bang