Chapter 14

Lord Octavio wasn't happy. If the crossed tentacles and the angry scowl on his face weren't enough to clue anyone in on that, the fact that he was currently yelling at one of his generals in front of his advisors and his young daughter should have been a pretty big hint about his current mood. He had no reason to be joyous at the moment, given that his day had been full of bad news. First octarians from one of the lower domes had brought back a half-conscious Orion, the pilot of the great octoweapons, and news of the Octonozzle's destruction. And now his most trusted general had come with more problematic tidings.

"What do you mean you don't know what the machine is for," he demanded, causing Odette to shrug.

"Exactly what the phrase 'I am uncertain as to what the machine being constructed will be used for' means, my lord," she replied in a tired tone of voice. "My scouts had to retreat due to a group of inkling security guards. There were too many for Octavia's platoon to fight off."

"Does it really matter what that machine does," one of the king's advisors wondered aloud. "The inklings built it, which means it is bad news for us. Ergo, we should destroy is as soon as possible. Send an octostriker to blow it sky high."

"It's not that simple, idiot," another one snapped, conking the first advisor on the head. "Suppose it's manufacturing poison. It'll leach into the ocean and the next thing you know we'll have to worry about mutant sharks running around snapping all of us up."

"Aside from that, an octostriker is too noticeable," Odette pointed out."We're barely pulling off the nighttime octostriker attacks as it is. Cuttlefish's agents seem to want to keep this war a secret from the rest of inkling kind for some reason. If we're going to announce our presence, we'll need to do it in a way to disable Inkopolis."

"So what do you two propose then," the first advisor cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "Since you two seem to have all the answers!"

"Silence!"

At Octavio's words, the bickering ceased to a halt. Briefly, the leader of the octarians looked around the room, glaring at his advisors and general. His gaze then moved to Odette, who was rigidly standing at attention.

"What exactly do you propose, General Atramento," he asked in an impatient tone.

"My squadron can easily infiltrate the inkling settlement," Odette replied, glancing downward as Oda toddled over to her side, the little girl giggling to herself. "The vast majority of the population is old and frail, and more importantly there is no weapons shop. It will be easy to sneak through and reach the machine. Orion also has developed a few canned specials for our use, modeled after ones we found in the valley. Those will prove to be most useful to us if Cuttlefish's agents decide to try and ruin our plans."

"Excellent. Now, what's your plan of attack?"

The octarians continued to discuss their latest plot, unaware that they had an unwanted visitor. It was extremely rare for any intruders to get this deep into the inner sanctum of the underground civilization, but on this occasion, they had such an intruder. It was, of course, Agent Alpha. The curious black tentacled cephalopod had been sneaking around the main octarian city ever since her fight with the Octonozzle, and in the process had uncovered several interesting tidbits of information. This newest one, however, was the most troubling. A large-scale invasion of one of the many inkling settlements? That was worrisome, to say the least.

"Great," Alpha groaned to herself. "I'm too far underground, I'll never make it to the surface in time. Someone else is going to have to stop them...and unfortunately, I know exactly who that's going to have to be…"

"So what exactly is Splashtown like, anyway," Dash asked as he looked out the window. The light blue inkling, along with Quinn and Langston, were currently sitting in a bullet train, speeding towards the northern settlements. Once some of the zapfish had been returned, the train lines had been one of the first things to be restored. They were of vital importance, both for allowing quick travel across the continent and the transport of materials.

"Oh, it's just your average little town, a population equal to that of one of Inkopolis' train stations when it isn't rush hour." Even though she was obviously joking around, Quinn had a fond smile on her face as she spoke. "Most of the citizens there are elderly, it's like having a whole bunch of grandmas and grandpas. I'm actually the first inkling from there to turn fourteen in about six or seven years, and the next one is in four years when my little brother hits the big number."

"Wait." Langston blinked before staring at his friend. "You've got a brother?"

"Yeah." Quinn nodded absently as she took a bite out of her tuna sandwich. "He's quite the annoyingly endearing squid, too. My best guess is that he'll probably be all over us once we get to my house."

"Now arriving at Splashtown Station, All passengers who are getting off, please get ready to disembark."

"Aw sweet! We're here!" In her excitement, Quinn shoved the rest of her sandwich into her mouth and bolted out of her seat. "Come on guys! Let's go!"

Langston and Dash looked at each other before sighing.

"Well...she's certainly eager," Langston muttered before grabbing both his own suitcase and that of their friend.

"I don't blame here," Dash replied with a shrug. "I mean, she hasn't seen her family in months. It's not like they're as close as ours are."

"Come on guys! Hurry up!"

"We're coming, just be a little patient!" The light blue inkling sighed before glancing over at his masked friend. "Guess we better get moving before she drags us there."

The two boys hurried off the train and headed over to Quinn, who was impatiently waiting by the station's exit. Upon seeing them, she grinned and pushed the door open before heading outside. Her excitement was contagious, as the other members of the trio felt grins crawling onto their faces as they walked out of the station. No doubt the other passengers on the train were a bit surprised at their eagerness. After all, most of them were not here for some pleasure trip, instead having come here to work on the hydroelectric power station to the north. Langston and Dash hadn't been completely thrilled about that aspect of the trip, but having Quinn tag along certainly made things a lot more appealing.

"So this is where you grew up?" Dash looked around at all the admittedly plain, drab buildings that dotted the landscape. "Looks kind of boring."

"Dash!" Langston rolled his eyes and socked him in the shoulder. "That's rude! I happen to find this place charming, in a rustic sort of way."

"Or maybe you find it charming cause your girlfriend's home is here," the light blue inkling muttered, just loud enough for his masked friend to hear. Langston's eyes widened in shock, and frantically the teen shook his head. What was visible of his expression practically begged Dash to not give his secret away.

"Oh hey, they fixed the slide!" Quinn, completely oblivious to the semi-private conversation between the two boys, darted over to a small playground near the station. Sure enough, there was a shiny new slide there. "I can remember back when this thing was super grungy and had a few rough patches and holes in it. Made for some real fun rides down it let me tell you."

"I can imagine…" Dash muttered awkwardly, causing the girl to laugh.

"You two probably think that I'm crazy, calling something like that fun," she said knowingly. "Around here there's not a lot to do, so we learned how to make our own fun with what we had. You'd be surprised how much you can do even out in the boonies."

"Like what?" Langston sounded genuinely curious as the younger teen ran back over to them.

"Back when I was younger I did a lot of exploring. I knew the beaches and forests around here like the back of my hand. There were a bunch of good places to go and hide when I needed some time by myself." She pointed at a small clump of trees nearby. "For example, there's a cave that leads to the beach near those trees. Most inklings don't even know that it's there."

"Wow." Dash darted over to the trees to take a look. Sure enough, just like Quinn had said, there was a small opening in the rocky hill. The air flowing out of it was salty, and if he listened closely the light blue inkling could faintly hear waves crashing against the rocks.

"You were right," he exclaimed upon running back over to the others, causing Quinn to laugh.

"What, you doubted me," the black-tentacled cephalopod asked in mock offense. "You wound me Dash."

"H-hey, I didn't mean it like that!"

"She's pulling your leg Dash," Langston said with a sigh, causing Quinn to giggle.

"..." Dash sighed. "Of course she is…"

"Aw, don't be like that," the black-tentacled girl said with a grin. "I'll show you all over the place. There's a rock formation nearby that looks like a dragon, we can go there!"

"Perhaps another time," Langston suggested. "Shouldn't we head over to your house first, Quinn?"

"Oh yeah! Come on, it's this way." Quinn set off in a steady trot down the street, waving to a few of the older inklings out and about. The two boys looked at each other before shrugging and heading after her. A few of the cephalopods gave them curious looks as they went about their business, but the pair weren't too bothered by it. They were used to being stared at back in Inkopolis. Instead, they were more focused on the surrounding town, and all its whimsical little quirks. Most noticeable were different colors of ink smeared everywhere, and surprisingly a fair amount of it was red. When Langston pointed it out to the others, however, Quinn had merely chuckled and waved his concerns aside. She didn't seem to be worried about it that much, so the boys did their best to shrug it off.

Eventually, the trio turned down a side street, moving away from the main street in the city. This part of town was more of a residential neighborhood than a business sector. Houses lined the quiet roadways, and trees dotted the landscape. It lent a tranquil atmosphere to the place, a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle the boys were used to. One such house, which had a copious amount of red ink, was the one Quinn appeared to be heading to.

"Sissy!"

Suddenly a red blob fell out of one of the trees and landed on top of Quinn's head. Closer examination revealed it was a squid with bright green eyes. His joyful voice was rather high pitched, typical of a child. It seemed like this sort of entrance wasn't unusual for the boy, since Quinn didn't seem to be at all surprised by it.

"Harley, what were you doing up in that tree," she asked, causing the red squid to giggle.

"Waiting for you," he chirped before flopping over onto Dash's head. "Who're these people sissy?"

"I'm Dash, and that's Langston," the light blue squid replied. "So you're...Harley?"

"Yep!" Harley hopped back over to Quinn. "Sissy, are they your boyfriends?"

"W-what?" Quinn - along with Langston - both flushed scarlet. Dash merely grinned and shook his head.

"Sorry Harley, but I've got my eyes on someone else," he said before glancing slyly over at Langston. "Now, Langston on the other hand-"

"Not another word from you," the masked inkling grumbled, covering Dash's mouth with his hand. Quinn looked at the pair in confusion, while Harley let out another laugh. He then flopped down onto the ground and headed towards the house.

"Come on, come on," the young inkling called over his shoulder. "Mom's making krill! Yummy krill, tasty krill, delicious krill!"

His older sister let out an amused chuckle, which only grew louder as she caught sight of the confused looks on her friends' faces.

"Was that squid...red?"

"What was that all about," Dash inquired, staring after Harley. "He just came out of nowhere."

"Nah, he's bright green," Quinn joked before laughing. "Just kidding. That's my younger brother Harley. He can be kind of...childish at times. And yes, he is red, a little red terror. It's hard to believe that he's ten at times."

"There is no way that kid is ten," Langston said with certainty as the trio entered the house. A mouthwatering aroma hung in the air, making more than one of their stomachs grumble. Quinn grinned before kicking off her shoes.

"Mom," she called, "I'm home!"

"Quinn!" An excited voice drifted out from deeper in the abode, and soon the sound of footsteps filled the air. A middle-aged inkling appeared in a doorway, her sunny yellow tentacles matching the grin on her face. That same smile only grew wider as she caught sight of the black-tentacled inkling.

"My baby is home," she cried before sweeping Quinn up in a hug. "I've missed you so much, sweetie!"

"Ack!"

Both of the boys let out a chuckle at the expression on Quinn's face - a cross between panic and a cry for air. It didn't last long, as her face quickly morphed into a mock glare. Her mother eventually let go of her daughter.

"And who are these fellows," she asked, crossing her arms as she studied them.

"Masky is Sissy's boyfriend," Harley announced as he flopped into the room. "And Dash is Masky's wingman."

"W-what?"

"Eh, I wish…" Langston mumbled, his words masked by Quinn's louder outcry. Dash, meanwhile, laughed and picked up Harley.

"I like this little guy," he announced, causing the red squid to grin and hop up onto his head.

"Of course you do." His dark blue companion let out a sigh before looking over at Quinn's mother. "Neither of us are Quinn's boyfriend, Mrs. Inkdancer. We're just friends who were heading out this way and decided to make the trip with her."

"Oh, call me Autumn," she said with a wave of her hand. "Most everyone does. It's nice to meet you, though admittedly I am surprised to see someone so young coming here - aside from Quinn of course."

"We're reporting for our guard shift at the construction site up north," Langston explained as the teenagers kicked their shoes off and ventured further into the house. "Ever since the zapfish went missing the House of Hundred's been asking inklings to go and guard the power plant in case whoever took the zapfish tries to sabotage the site."

"Mmhm." Dash nodded absently as Harley flopped off his head and turned into his somewhat developed kid form. The child ran ahead of the group, no doubt heading for the kitchen to get some food. "That power plant's our best bet at curbing our reliance on the zapfish. But if it gets destroyed we're screwed."

"I guess they expedited the construction then," Autumn mused. "That plant's been under construction since before Jonathan and I moved here, but I never heard of any major progress being made."

"I can guarantee that," her daughter added with a slight grin. "I explored all over that place when I was little. It's super cool, but nothing ever really ended up changing over there. There's been some cool stuff I found there."

"Wait, you've been exploring that place? I thought I told you to stay away from that place."

"Eh heh heh…" Quinn grinned sheepishly as her mother glared at her. Suddenly her phone rang, breaking the silence. "Oh, excuse me I've got a call to take."

Before her mother could lecture her any further about the dangers of exploring abandoned construction sites, Quinn made a break for the door. Autumn watched her go with a sigh before shaking her head.

"Remind me to lecture her later," she muttered with another sigh. "I told her not go near that place…"

Quinn let out a relieved sigh as she collapsed into a chair on the front porch.

"That was a close one," she muttered before digging into her pocket. Pulling out her phone, the girl answered the call. "Hello?"

"Greetings, Agent 3."

"...how the kelp did you get my number, Alpha," she demanded, lowering her voice to a whisper and quickly glancing around to make sure that no one was eavesdropping. This was not the type of conversation to have out in an open, public place after all.

"Quit being snippy," the other black inkling snapped in response. "I'm not enjoying calling you for help either. Listen, there's an octarian invasion force being sent to a northern settlement called Splashtown. Now, if you weren't aware of it, and I doubt you are - "

"Oi! I grew up here! I know everything about this place."

"So you're there already? That makes things more convenient." Alpha let out a sigh before continuing to speak. "In that case, the octarians are going to attack the power station that's being constructed in three days. You might want to stop them."

"No, really?" Quinn's voice dripped with sarcasm. "I can't possibly see why I would want to do that. And tell me, oh high and mighty one, how come you aren't just taking care of this yourself? You hate working in groups. Could it be that you actually are able to realize when your charger isn't enough?"

"Don't get the wrong idea, Agent 3," the older girl replied flatly. "The only reason why I'm not handling this myself is because I won't be able to get to Splashtown in time. Consider yourself lucky I'm asking you to take care of this instead of calling up Omega and Delta."

"Meh. I sure don't feel lucky hearing that from you. And by the way, just who are you anyway? The only other black tentacled inkling I've heard about was a girl named Nyx, and she's supposedly dead."

Alpha paused for a minute, long enough to make Quinn wonder if she had hung up on her. When she finally spoke her voice was much quieter than normal.

"...I'm no one special. Just stop the octarians. Hopefully, I won't see you later."

With that, the older agent terminated the call. Quinn stared at the phone for a minute, her hands clenched into fists. She took a few moments to calm herself, doing her best to make it appear like nothing was wrong and that she hadn't just gotten her vacation interrupted.

"Okay, let's review," the teen mumbled aloud. "An octarian invasion is coming, they'll attack tomorrow, and I get to be the lucky girl to stop it completely by myself. Joy…"

Filler chapters can be a pain to write sometimes. Between this and a bunch of troubles in my non-online life, I had a lot of trouble getting this chapter done. Hopefully, the next one won't take as long - I only have a few more weeks of school and action-packed chapters don't give me as much trouble for some reason.

As always, thank you for the reviews, follows and favorites. They're always appreciated.