Acrilic rammed his beak into the glass and shattered it. The invisible ink forced Pastelli to change into her squid form. She giggled as she swam away only to be caught in Acrillic's webbed tentacles. They two changed back to their humanoid form. Acrilic was carrying her bridal style.
"Gotcha. You let down your guard…" He kissed her forehead.
"Okay, you caught me." She laughed, "What are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to get my revenge on you… "
The couple walked off somewhere. After a while, Jazzy and Chizel walked in through the door. Everyone took a plate and sat around the table.
"Hey, what's the big new Char?" Jazzy asked, "Ya seemed so excited on the phone"
"Well, Captain heard about you guys," Char began, "and thought it would be wise to let you all join in missions."
"SERIOUSLY?!" Leon grabbed her shoulders and shook her
"Y-yes." Char moved back a bit and patted his hand
"Opps, sorry…"
"Captain said we should go see him tomorrow." Char looked over at Dylan who was quietly looking at the computer screen, "Dylan? Is everything alright?"
"I-I need to ask you guys something… Have you… ever seen something like me before?" Dylan gripped his arm, "There isn't… a single… human, left is there?"
Every squid looked at each other. They didn't know how to make him feel better. They just couldn't put it into words. He sank into his seat even more. Suddenly, alarms went off. Marigo ran into the room.
"There is something quickly approaching." Marigo ordered, "I'm going to need everyone to stay put do not-"
A fireball blowing a hole in the wall interrupted her. Cauldern growled at them as Marigo took out her weapon. Dylan jumped and dove under the bed.
"What did you do with my sister?!" Connie shouted from Cauldern's back
"Your sister? Do you mean the Octoling wearing a hoodie?" Marigo suggested, "She's in critical condition… You keep blasting us and our life supports on her may fail."
"Y-you, you're lying!"
"Don't believe me? I can stop the machine, by voice command. You really want to test me? Look, you seem reasonable… Let's calm down and talk, okay? I will bring you to your big sister, when you come down from that… thing."
Cauldern's ears folded back at that comment. She growled at her. Connie slowly climbed down. She wiped her face with her long sleeves. Marigo knelt down and held out her hand.
"Come on, let's go see her." Marigo spoke softly as Connie wrapped her tentacle around her finger
Cauldern's ear flickered and she ran off somewhere. Meanwhile, everyone followed Marigo into a room. The Octoling was hooked up to an IV drip and an oxygen mask. Connie ran over to her bedside.
"Chompie! Wake up!" Connie shook her sister's arm,
There was no response. The other squids and Dylan peeked from the door.
"Wake up! I'm sorry I came looking for you! Please wake up!" Connie bursted into tears as she tightly held her sister.
"She is just sleeping...We have no interest in killing Octarians… unless you make us…" Marigo sat down, "She was already heavily injured and ill when she arrived. She refused our help and food, until she finally collapsed. This is kinda concerning… What exactly is happening to you Octarians?"
"Ever since King Octavio returned from his failure attempt for energy. A lot of Octarians have been dying… There just wasn't enough power to keep people healthy. Farmers died off so food started to become scarce. So our kingdom became so weak. One day, a group of male Octolings and their emperor stormed the palace. They killed the king and took control of our kingdom."
"They.. What?!"
"Yes, they managed to secure a few zap fish and they started producing food. They told us that if we wanted food, we would have to follow under them. Chompie agreed to work under them. I have no idea, what she was doing for them. I just knew she was very tired and brought back some food for the both of us. She would always eat in her room."
"She lied… She wasn't eating anything." Marigo replied, "Can you tell me what her job was this time?"
"Umm, I-I don't really know… She just told me that Maggie and Mary was going to watch me for a bit. She promised she would make me all of my favorite dishes when she got back. I-I didn't know she would end up like this..."
Dylan walked closer to the tiny crying octopus. Connie flinched as he picked her up. He gave her a hug.
"...Are you sick too?" she asked, "You are very warm."
"No… but I get that a lot." Dylan answered
"You are a funny looking Octoling…"
"What? I'm not an Octoling… I'm a human."
"Hue… Men? What's a hue-men? You do seem nice… So I guess you aren't as mean as Inklings are..."
"Hey! That's speciest…" Leon whined
"Says the species that sent Octarians to their doom…" Connie muttered from Dylan's shoulder.
Char bit her lip and lowered her ears. A soft knock on the door and muffled yelling interrupted everyone's thought. Mary opened the door and walked in.
"Marigo." Mary greeted
"Mary." Marigo walked up to her
The room was tense, as the sparks seem to fly between the two. Nobody dared to say a word as they approached each other. They were just inches apart.
"It's been quite a while, wouldn't you have some tea with me?" Marigo smiled
"You haven't changed a bit. Of course, I will" Mary giggled.
"WHAA!" Maggie's jaw dropped as Cauldern held her by her lab coat, "You two know each other?!"
"Of course, we are rivals after all. Cauldern, you can put Maggie down now."
"But… she's-" Jazzy stuttered
"An Octoling and I am an Inkling?" Marigo rolled her eyes, "Yes, I am very aware of that fact. Doesn't mean, I have to hate her. That would be irrational."
"Assume you all must have question for us?" Mary asked, "You always serve tea when you want to talk."
"You know me so well… " Marigo placed a cup in front of her, and poured some tea into it.
"Relax Maggie. She wouldn't hurt us. We are safe here. Come, have some tea with us."
"If you say so… but if they do anything-" Maggie put her Octoshot away.
"Cauldern will feast on every last one of them."
"It… eats… squids?" Leon turned white.
"Yes, that is what she is designed for… or at least she was" Mary took a sip of the tea, "She won't attack unless I tell her to. She doesn't need to eat though, she burns for energy, watch."
Mary crumpled some paper and tossed it to Cauldern. It burned up into nothing as it made contact with her body. Mary noticed Dylan. He quickly darted behind Char, and Char stood in front of him. Dylan began shaking behind her.
"I figured you would be here. I am very sorry about threatening you. You must have questions for us too, yes? Maybe I could help you, if you can help us."
"Of course! You Octarians found Dylan right? Are there anymore of him?" Char beamed,
"... There are not… I am sorry… Strong earthquakes damaged all the pods that were found in the underwater ruins. The occupants all drowned. You were the only one alive."
Dylan just stood there. He fell to his knee as his tears fell to the floor. He held his head.
"I-I am the only… one…" Dylan sobbed, "Everyone… I knew… Everyone, I've loved…"
Char tried to comfort him. Leon put his hand on Dyan's shoulder. Dylan hugged Char tightly as he cried into her shoulder. Leon hugged him too.
"I am sorry…" Mary replied, "Your race may have perished, but please… You are our only hope to keep our race alive. So please… can you tell me how your race got energy?"
Dylan stayed quiet for a bit as he took deep breaths. He got up and walked to Mary.
"Can… you take me to the place you found me?"
"What?"
"I-I need to see it for myself… I need to say… goodbye. One last time..."
"Understood, I'll take you there." Mary smiled as she wiped the tear from his eye.
-Author's Note-
Eddguy: I guess you are right, but I wanted go about this by in a different approach. In this story, I wanted it to be all about how Dylan bonds with the inklings/Octarians. It wouldn't be much of an adventure story. Also it is kinda my first time writing a romance story too. I'm sorry if it gets boring or if starts to suck... I am learning... and clearly out of my element (I think...)
Well, if there is anything I should fix, let me know. And don't be afraid to tell me what you think, thanks for reading!