Chapter 9: Buried Past

Jack poked his head out of the bedroom, looking around for Cici. When he saw the coast was clear he carefully closed the door and sat on the bed, putting the tape into an old VHS player before turning the television on.

"Cici, I'm sorry. But I want to know how to help you." He pressed play before sitting down on the bed as the video started. The screen lit up to show a shaky camera before it started to focus.

"What are you doing?" A pink inkling with long glittery tentacles smiled and tilted her head

"Making home movies." A male voice replied, "You never know when you will catch a great moment"

"Who are these guys?" Jack wondered as he kept watching.

"Alex, you are seriously gonna record all of these?"

"Yeah, I don't wanna miss a thing… Like catching my Honey bun, Cecilia. You can't pronounce your name, can you?"

Cici glowed pink and smirked as she tossed a teddy bear at him. The camera quickly dodged

"Hey, come on, Honey bun!" The camera ran to Cici and a pink Inkling wrapped his arm around her and kissed her cheek.

"Heh, you are so corny" She kissed him back.

'I wonder who this guy is. And Cici is like a different inkling… here..' Jack tilted his head. 'Cici looks so happy here.'

"Maybe… but I think it's true… Anyways we should go. We are gonna miss out on all the fun."

"The fair isn't moving anytime."

"But all the good prizes. I can get you another fluffy plush. I know you LOVE them"

"I do, but still…"

"You will start pouting and I'll get sad…."

"Fine, fine."

"Great!" He took her hand and they ran off to the fair.

Jack nodded. 'Pouting does seem like Cici. But it makes her look cuter.' The video cut to the next clip.

"OH MY GOD HOW?!" Cici looked at the camera.

"Pure skillzz" Alex chuckled.

"You are cheating…" She pouted.

'Aw. Pouty Cici.' Jack thought and smiled.

"Am not!"

"Anyways here you go another for your dorm." He handed her a pufferfish plushie.

Cici happily took it and hugged it, "It's soo soft!"

"Hehe totally cute…"

"Shuddup…." She glowed pink and puffed her cheeks.

"But it's true!"

"Humph" She stuck out her tongue.

"Come on, next one!"

"I won't lose this time"

"Hehe we'll see"

"She seems so happy." Jack smiled. "What happened?"

The video cut off and went to the next scene of them walking across a street.

"This was so great. You seem happy… Like a hatchling in a toystore." Alex showed the bag of plushies.

"Hehe, whatever yo-"

"WATCH OUT!"

The camera was dropped as a loud metal crunch was heard and a car speed by.

"ALEX?! ALLEEXX?!" Cici's frantic shouting and sobs echoed as the camera filmed the sidewalk and the sky sideways.

Jack's eyes went wide as he covered his mouth with his hands. "No..."

The camera clicked off to another video, "So as a requirement… we are gonna keep rolling this tape for Cecilia and Alex… Since he was fond of her… I guess I'll secretly film this." An old voice said, belonging to the old pufferfish, Tina.

"The poor dear… She hasn't eaten a thing in a while… not even from her parents… She just locked herself in her room. Her color has faded so much… "

An elegant lady sat in a chair, "I tried to clean her room and put the stuffed animals away in a chest. She went into the chest… I was only trying to help my child…."

'Poor Cici…' Jack sighed sadly.

It skipped and a man sat with the lady, "I worry about her now. She seemed to be knocked out most of the time…. She said something about seeing Alex in her dreams. So she just spend the day sleeping… She lost the perkiness and her emotions she once had...her lovely glittery pink dulled to a pale light green. "

"Honey, I think we should see a therapist…."

"Yes… I shall book one"

Another skip happened and now the camera was showing Cici trying to sew a doll and becoming frustrated.

"Poor thing… she has been trying this the whole day… She is speaking more but she seems so hollow."

"Cici…" Jack looked sad as a tear fell from his eye.

Cici tossed the messed up doll and tried again.

The video skip again. Cici was sleeping in her parent's lap.

"She talks and functions normally… She just sleeps… while doing most of those things."

"Yes… I haven't seen her awake for some time now…." Her father petted her mantle, "But if she will be healthy again... I'll be okay with this…"

"I promise… to eat more… I'm sorry for worrying you, father…." Cici muttered

"Yes, it will be sometime before I can get used to this"

Jack wiped his eyes before turning the tv off. He sat in silence for what seemed like hours before getting up and freezing when he saw a certain green squid standing in the doorway.

She stared at the tv and was shaking.

"Um...this is a dream?" He slowly backed away from her.

"...why… I trusted you…" Cici was crying as she stared at the TV.

"I...I'm sorry...I...didn't know…" He felt a pain in his chest. "You...trusted me? Cici...I'm so sorry...Really…"

"...I hate you…" Cici turned and ran toward the door of the bus.

"Cici, wait! I'm sorry!" He got up to run after her. "Please!"

Rain was pouring down heavily on Callie, Adstrum, and Marie as they approached the door of the bus. Marie was shielding herself with her parasol while Adstrum was trying to cover Callie with his jacket, but was unsuccessful. As Marie reached toward the bus door it quickly opened before Cici bolted out, tears streaming down her face.

"What the hell?" Adstrum turned and saw her run off.

"What happened?" Callie asked concerned.

"CICI! WAIT!" Jack's head popped out of the door. "I'M SORRY!" He had a terrified look on his face. "I'm sorry…" He looked at the two idols and the jacket wearing inkling, seeing Marie with her arms folded.

"What did you do?" Marie glared at Jack.

"I...I…" He slowly backed away into the bus. "I...saw something I shouldn't have…"

Adstrum raised an eyebrow before getting a disgusted face.

"You didn't watch her tape did you? In front of her?!"

"Tape?" Both Callie and Adstrum said at the same time.

"Ye-...yes…" Tears welled up in Jack's eyes.

"That tape was… of her boyfriend's death…" Marie put her hand over her eyes and shook her head.

Callie and Adstrum's eyes both widened before Callie turned around and bolted after the green squid. "CICI!"

"What?" Adstrum stood there in the rain shocked. "Boyfriend...death?" He pondered for a moment. "That explains a lot now."

"...I'm an asshole…." Jack buried his head in his knees. "I'm an idiot...I'm an idiot...I'm an idiot…"

"Yeah, you are. Don't look through a woman's stuff." Adstrum got on the bus and bonked him on the head with his fist. "Stupid."

"Nevermind that! She is mentally unstable! Who knows what she's gonna do?! We need to go after her… It's gonna rain harder soon. Too much rain will kill us"

"My mentality isn't right either." Adstrum replied. "Callie will get to her long before any of us do." His eyes widened when he heard the last part. "WHAT!?" He bolted off the bus before stopping a few feet from it. "Which way did they go?!"

Callie ran through the town in the direction she saw Cici run, frantically looking around for the small green squid. "CICI! COME BACK!" She stopped under a tree, looking around before noticing a figure standing in the road. "CICI!"

Cici stood there standing out in the intersection. She just stood there blankly and her colors were completely bleached.

Callie sprinted out from under the tree and ran up to Cici, grabbing her and pulling her to the tree. "Cici. Are you okay?" She saw the dead expression on the small squid's face.

"..." She was blankly staring.

"Cici...please answer." Callie shook her. "It's me. Callie." She pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry. I should have suspected Jack would get curious. He's always been like that. We tell him not to check out that Octarian base but he does it anyway." She tightened her hug on Cici.

"...I killed... him..." She blankly muttered.

"Who? I mean...no...no. You didn't kill anybody. Did you?" Callie asked confused and worried.

"I….killed… Alex… I didn't…mean to..."

"Oh, no sweetie. No. Don't think that way. I'm sure you didn't kill him...whoever he is." Callie tried to sound reassuring.

"..." Tears ran down her blank face.

"Oh, Cici." Callie hugged her tighter. "Please come back to the bus so we can talk about this."

She just blankly stared into space.

"C'mon...We can't stay out here." Lightning flashed across the sky as the rain started to come down harder. "We have to get back now." She gently picked Cici up and started running back to the bus.

"CALLIE!" Adstrum yelled as he stood at the entrance of the bus. He retreated into the bus when the rain started coming down harder. "Why'd you pull me back inside?!" He turned to look at Jim.

"I wasn't going to let you stand out there in the rain and die." The middle-aged urchin replied as he honked the bus's horn, trying to help Callie find the way back.

"I'm sorry...I'm an idiot…" Jack muttered as he sat in a booth, his head hanging low.

Thunder clapped in the distance as a flash of lightning danced across the sky.

"I'll go out and look for them!" Marie ran to the front of the bus.

"NOT WITHOUT ME!" Adstrum yelled as he stepped toward the door. As soon as they approached it a loud banging came from it.

"OPEN THE DOOR! QU-QUICK!"

"CALLIE!" Adstrum and Marie both said as they scrambled to open the door. When it did the long tentacled squid stepped on the bus, shaking with a shivering squid in her arms.

"I f-f-f-f-f-f-found h-h-her." Callie's teeth chattered as she walked more into the bus.

"Oh, I'm so glad you are safe." Adstrum sighed in relief as he helped her inside.

Callie handed the shivering Cici over to Marie. Callie's color was dull and grey, her pink marks having turned white.

"Um...are you okay?" He asked as he noticed her tentacles.

She stood there for a bit and wobbled. She seemed about ready to collapse. "I feel like laying down." She fell into Adstrum's arms.

"Let's get you to bed, okay?" He smiled and helped her to the bathroom.

"Cici? Are you okay? Flash once for yes, do nothing for no" Marie shook her.

Cici didn't respond.

"Then we are going to the hospital tomorrow, okay? Let's get to bed now..." Marie took her hand.

Cici just ended up getting dragged to Marie's room.

"I'm sorry...Cici, I'm sorry…" Jack muttered as they passed by, his head in his arms on the table.

Cici didn't look at him.

After helping her brush her teeth Adstrum helped Callie into their bedroom. "You think you need help getting your pajamas on?"

"N-NO! I-I can d-d-do that by m-myself." She chattered in response. "J-just go g-g-g-get me a hot w-w-water b-bottle."

"Okay." He nodded and ran out the door. Callie slowly got herself dressed in her usual magenta pajamas, finishing up just as Adstrum returned with the hot water bottle.

"Thank y-you, A-A-Addie." She smiled and took it from him before slowly getting into bed.

"You're welcome, beautiful." He smiled and tucked her in. "Need anything else?"

"I'm g-g-good." She smiled before closing her eyes. "Just...need sl-sleep."

"Oh...okay." He nodded and walked toward the door. "Good night, Callie."

"Good n-night, Addie."

He turned the light off and walked into the main area, seeing Jack still wallowing in guilt.

"I'm so sorry...Cici, please forgive me…I wish I didn't watch that tape…" He said between sobs.

"Yeah, well who let their curiosity think for them? You stupid dumbass." Adstrum walked up and smacked the back of Jack's head. "Good luck trying to get sleepy to forgive you." He rolled his eyes before laying down in the booth opposite of him. "Now go upstairs. I don't want to hear you whine all night."

He saw Jack get up and go upstairs, his head still hung low and still muttering. Adstrum laid in the booth until his eyes closed, his mind drifting off to slumber.

Author's note: Wow, a quicker update this time. Why? Because I'm trying to get this story updated once a week now. A regular update schedule. Hallelujah!

Welp, here it is. Cici's past. Or at least why she sleeps all the time. Apikachua wrote all of Cici's tape moments, so thank her for this chapter. The rest of the chapter was both of us.

Alright, thank you The Bowser Monster, Lil Judd, Ashanti, Noodle Doodle, Agent 7, and SpikedFruitPunch for leaving reviews.

Well, I apologized anyway, Lil Judd. And thanks. Glad you think the fic is great.

Thank you, Ashanti. It was an okay birthday. And you're welcome for the response.

Glad you think so, Noodle Doodle. Also, I like that name.

Glad this fic has helped you through dark times, Agent 7. You're welcome. Also, you left a great review. No need to be nervous.

Alright. Thank you all for reading and I will see you next update next week. Leave a review if you want, but stick to the rule. See ya all next time!