Yes, I finally got a new chapter up for real! I feel so happy! Now to pay off the $3,000 debt...

I * I * I * I

It was a new day in Inkopolis, and already the daily splat was on. Ink covered nearly the entire surface of Flounder Heights. It was a casual turf war, played for fun. Both teams made their way back to their respective SPAWN pads after hearing the verdict. Judd had just made his call on the match with the blue team winning the round. Right before a lone straggler followed the others out of the map, she looked to her left. Several buildings away, Pat and Loorea sat down under Pat's umbrella, observing the ongoing match.

Kathleen gave them a summary of how this worked, using the ink to claim land and how the pads respawned an Inkling after the splat. After the second repeat of the explanation Pat had a solid grip on how this sport worked. He kept the comparison to the FPS games the humans had to himself, not wanting to waste the time on something that probably would never become popular here.

Pat glanced at Loorea sitting next to him, looking for a reaction. He personally was never one for sports outside of NASCAR, something he enjoyed watching when he was younger. "I guess it's fun." He finally admitted. "I wouldn't be able to tell for myself."

"I might try myself." Looked over, intrigued to say the most.

Pat sighed, taking his umbrella as he stood up. "I still don't see how any of this could of happened..." He stopped, holding back a sneeze. Loorea watched as he stretched along his way across the rooftop. "I just… I dunno."

A superjump nearby caught their attention, both not used to the alternative way to get far, especially for the human. Pat walked back to where Loorea was, pulling the oversized hat over his head. The Vinkling stood up next to him, waiting to see what he would do next. They didn't stay still for long, when suddenly, a loud crash resounded behind them, causing Pat to jump.

"Relax, it's only me." Kathleen reassured them, stretching after the jump she made. She waited for Pat to recover from his surprise. "So what did you think of the match?"

"It's... something we didn't have." He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Our weapons kept people dead… for good."

"Well, at least you get an idea of what we do for fun, given that you probably had your own thing you did." Kathleen said, tying a shoe.

"Yeah, but it's... creepy how your culture developed to be so similar to ours." Pat almost shuddered. I can't tell if I would be more or less uncomfortable if everything was different or not. He thought to himself. "I... I still don't know what to think."

Pat turned to make departure off the roof, moving down a stairway that led to the top floor. Kathleen followed him down silently, while Loorea changed form and hopped onto Pat's shoulder, causing him to wince for a moment before she eased up on her grip. When they entered the elevator, Pat turned away from the others to hide a sniffle, yet he wasn't as discreet as he had hoped. Kathleen and Loorea both looked to Pat, seeing how his condition was the same as before.

"Pat, are you..."

"I'm fine." Pat got out as he rubbed his eyes.

Kathleen was unconvinced, eyeing him silently before coming to her conclusion. "Alright, we're taking you somewhere, you're concerning me."

Pat looked at her like she was kidding. Her expression didn't change whatsoever, and his sense of dread grew the longer they waited inside the elevator. "You're serious about this, aren't you?" He felt his heartrate pick up the pace from under his coat. Loorea hopped off of him, sensing how off balance he was becoming.

"I can't just let you blow yourself out when I'm with you." Kathleen assured him.

"But... I'm human, how could you possibly... and if I were to see a doctor, no, anyone for that matter then it's over. I-I'd be shipped or poked and-"

"No one will poke you." Kathleen confirmed impatiently, slightly frustrated at Pat. The door opened just after she uttered those words, granting exit. Pat hurried out, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his coat as he hurried out of the building. The girls quickly followed behind him, in attempt to calm him down.

"Pat, wait up and listen. This is a friend of my family, I'm certain you can trust him if we go for just a quick visit." Kathleen reasoned with him.

"What's so bad about a doctor?" Loorea asked, confused. Both squids were on either side of him, as he made his way along the sidewalk. Some of the more keen eyed people would have stopped to look at Pat, it wasn't for Loorea standing out more.

"Nothing... I just can't do this..."

"Well, I suppose that you shouldn't have a problem making a left turn if it's nothing." Kathleen smirked, as she texted Callie where they were headed. A small nudge from her signaled Pat to turn to the right. He didn't get the chance to voice his protest, being silently shushed by Kathleen. Loorea giggled at the scene as she followed them.

"Are you going to tell me who this friend is?" Pat asked.

"Nah, but he'll like you two." She led on with a wink, gesturing at the two of them.

At this, Loorea had a confused look to go along with Pat's mix of suspicion and fear. They both shared a look, trying to figure out what exactly Kathleen had meant. They continued on through the street, until they reached what they assumed was their destination. Pat found it uncanny how close the place was to what looked like a lab. Pat shuffled nervously as Loorea rang the doorbell. The building looked welcoming on the outside, but he had no good view of the inside.

I * I * I * I * I

A middle aged inkling stood over a coffee pot, waiting for his 11am boost that he usually relied on at this point in the day. Anyone off the street could describe his appearance as that of an average looking squid. He was casually waiting for the final part of his usual morning routine to finish brewing. The first sip was taken when he heard the doorbell ring. He looked to his calendar, not expecting any visitors this week other than the one visit yesterday. He made his way to the door, straightening up his counter and table before going to greet the visitors. He opened the door, presently surprised to see a familiar face.

"Oh, I didn't think you were paying a visit, Miss Sighly. I thought you were on break from your... hobby."

"Sorry Inko, something came up, and I thought you might want to have a look yourself." Kathleen leaned up against the door frame, nodding to Pat and Loorea.

"Oh, guests! Do take a seat." He stepped aside, allowing them in. He sipped his coffee before turning to the trio on the couch. "Oh, Vampyroteuthis infernalis, I wasn't expecting this." He declared after he observed Loorea, almost bowing in greeting. Inko took a seat, captivated by the girl. "It's been some time since I saw one of your kind."

"Thank you."

"Y-you speak Latin?" Patton asked, still unsure of this whole situation.

"Splatin? Of course, studying biology involves some dabbling in that. It's good to know what we all came from, after all." The professor said without shifting too much focus off Loorea. He wrote down notes, like any good scientist would be doing. "Do tell, you can still glow, correct?"

"What?"

"Bioluminescence, can you glow?"

"Prof, you're confusing her. Heck, what are you talking about?" Kathleen spoke out to him on all of their behalf.

Inko looked up from his notebook, being confused before realizing how far ahead he was getting. "Oh, my apologies. I've never had a chance to have an interview like this with one of your kind. There are just so many rumors and speculation."

"Yeah, I can." Loorea comfirmed, shifting in her seat. The ends of her tentacles, two spots on her head, and where nails on a human woud have been lit up. She blushed under the attention, as she quickly stoped the glowing.

The professor quickly scribbled down the what he saw. "That's good, amazing even." Curiosity got the best of him as he reached over and pulled out a plastic container from a little cooler next to him. He passed the green bottle to Loorea. "Here, tell me what you think."

She looked it over before taking a drink, after what looked like a single sip the bottle just emptied out like that. "What was that?" Loorea asked, looking satisfied from the drink.

Inko looked her over. "Ink…" He gulped, taking the bottle back from her. "Pure, unfiltered ink…"

Silence fell over the four in the room. Everyone looked at Loorra and the bottle in Inko's hand.

"Well, I think you'll like this..." Kathleen broke the silence, trying to the subject to the reason they came.

Pat sat there listening to this exchange, fidgeting with his umbrella in his hand. He spent the majority of this time holding back a sneeze. He lifted the hat slightly up, enough to get a look at the Inkling. He didn't look like the kind that held any will to anything, yet Pat couldn't bring himself to say anything.

"Well, what's the problem?" The professor asked, looking at the human with keen interest, slipping his glance to Loorea now and then. Pat relented, pulling off the Bobble Hat. The professor sat there, trying to make sense of him. He skipped several pages of his notebook, leaving a few blank. "Are you… a new species of urchin?"

"Uh... no." Pat answered.

"A seriously tall anemone?"

"An-what?"

"An anemone, well, that isn't you." He scribbled some more on his paper. He leans close to him, inspecting every detail. "Definitely not."

Pat looked to Kathleen and Loorea, silently pleading for an explanation or help. Kathleen just silently nodded to reassure him.

"Well... I'm ancient..." He began. He slightly eased up slipping out a sneeze. Inko looked him over, stopping eye to eye. "Blueshot eyes, nose running, I see."

"Uh, you see what?"

"Zaldin." He muttered, not minding what Pat asked. He muttered to himself as he got up and went over to a cabinet in another room. The others waited for him to return. Pat heard shuffling sounds coming from the cabinet. To his relief, the man came back with a pill and glass in his hand, having expected a needle of some kind. "Take this." He said as he handed the pill and glass to him.

Pat eyed the pill before swallowing it, not bothering to wash it down with a glass. He had a sense of panic wash over him for a moment, though it gradually washed away as he felt his head clear and eyes become less stressed.

"Hey..." Pat blinked, feeling better from the pill. "That's pretty good. But uh, what was that?"

"You caught Zaldin, an old disease that most anyone has built up an immunity to it. However, you don't appear to have had one." He scribbled more on the notepad. "How... you said ancient."

"Oh, yeah I did." Pat acknowledged his slip up sheepishly.

"Huh, when you mean that you are referring to..." He looked up, and a look of recognition slipped onto his face as he connected the dots. "That should be impossible, the newest remains we found were dated to be long before the Great Turf War. How did you last so long?

"Well, it's some explanation..." He looked to Kathleen and Loorea, hoping for some help. Kathleen gave him a nod, while Loorea was twiddling with her spikes.

"He knows… he knows what I do." Kat assured him.

She went on to explain what happened the last few days, with Loorea joining in here and there. Inko wrote down some notes he gathered about humans that he picked up from Pat's indirect explanation. He sat there pondering for some time before saying anything. "That is quite the story."

"You're, not going to question that?" Pat asked him.

"I've known Kat long enough to know when she is trying to pull something over someone's head." He turned to the girl, who put her hands up defensively and shrugged. "Besides, I can't explain how you are... you."

"Well, I'd like an explanation of that myself."

Inko chuckled, his eyes wandering around into blank space. "Perhaps if you do feel open to it at a later point, we can have a fine talk about you and your kind. There's a wealth of knowledge to be discovered."

"Sure," Pat mumbled, brushing the idea off. "Anyway, is that pill supposed to be enough for me?"

"No." The man replied, his concentration returning to him. "Do come back tomorrow, just to see if anything improves or gets worse. I'll keep this between us until you change your mind." It was nice to meet you... mister..."

"Pat, Patton Matthews." He finishes for him.

"Professor Inko Denarious." The cephalopods and human gave their farewells and began to depart. Pat situated the hat over his head readjusted his coat, slinging his umbrella over his shoulder.

He followed Kathleen and Loorea down the street. He suddenly heard a slipping sound behind him. He turned to see a little strangely colored jelly look at him before sliding down an alley. He spun back toward the other two, not knowing if he should say anything about it or not. He decided against it, since it probably wasn't a big deal. He ran to catch up with the others again, heading back to the apartment.

"So uh… what was that in there… with the whole ink drinking and such?" Kathleen asked Loorea. "I've never seen that before."

"Well it tasted good." Loorea kept along without skipping a beat, not realising how morbid that statement was.

"Well, I at least have nothing to worry about." Pat said, chuckling to himself. He suddenly stoped, feeling his sides before remembering he left his bags and canteen back in the apartment. Kathleen and Loorea both stoped, looking at him in concern. "I'm fine, got my umbrella."

They carried on their way back to the apartment. Pat noticed how Kathleen stayed some distance from Loorea, but said nothing of it.

"See, I told you that wasn't going to be bad." Kathleen said when they stoped at a light.

"Ok, so he wasn't as bad as some I've seen, but I'm still not going to waltz up to anyone." Pat muttered. "But I suppose he's ok."

"No real problems, I thought you were going to be 'oh so horrified' or something." Kathleen taunted, leading them along the street.

"That's real quality comedic gold right there." Pat muttered

"Good then, I believe that means I can trust Loorea to be able to get you back there while I'm visiting family then."

"Wait what?"

"Me?"

"I'm just going up to visit with my family for a day. The two of you can't get into too much trouble for one day, can you?" Kathleen opened the door for the two of them.

"No." They both awnsered heading into the building. Pat stoped and looked, noticing how overcast it was getting. "I'm… still uneasy about this whole thing though…"