Chapter 9: It Echoes to Her

The group was supposed to head out tomorrow. Everyone was fast asleep in Kira's house except for Kira herself. The inkling crept downstairs in her gear, hero roller replica in it's bag, her inktank, and a rations supply.

I need to do this on my own... She told herself. It's safer this way. I don't want Chili or Mint getting hurt again. The horrible memories that must resurface when they go down there is terrible to say the least.

Kira approached the door knob, but retracted her hand and looked back at Chili, fast asleep on the couch and a bowl of spicy chips on his stomach.

She sighed quietly and moved the chips off his stomach and puts a blanket over his body, watching the inkling peacefully sleep his night away as she provided the best comfort for him. As a final goodbye.

You're going to fucking kill me the next time you see me... She looked back towards the door and then back at Chili. You know, If you see me again.

She opened the door quietly and looked at Chili one final time.

Keep Kari safe for me, Chili. She needs the company.

The entrance to the metro was far scarier and much more desolate and destroyed than she last remembered it being. The train destroyed, the challenges destroyed. Everything was gone. The echoes within her heart and soul grew louder as she carefully made her way towards the main platform to The Heart. No back-up, no comfort, nothing to remind her of home. Except one thing.

Kira pulled out a golden heart locket from out of her shirt and opened it up to see a picture of her and her friends; Chili, Mint, her and Akari all on the Ferris wheel at Wahoo World. Chili, for once, smiled in the picture and enjoying his time with his friends.

A few tears fall onto the ground as Kira hid the locket in her shirt. As she knew far too well that would be the last time she would see his smile. The last time she was ever going to see her friends happy.

The chambers screamed at her from the darkness to come closer. The lighting started glowing purple and led her down a dark tunnel, with walls scribbled in ancient tongue, watermarks, moss and what appeared to be dried blood. Kira removed the roller from it's bag and clutched it tightly as she headed in, shaking and looking left and right every second she was in there. Every little sound scared the piss out of the poor inkling as she progressed farther and farther in. But what she saw next baffled her

Entering a place known only from what she got from a broken sign, as Platform X91, her immediate response was to ink some areas to see if anything would notice her. But all was quiet in the platform.

It was freezing beyond belief. Kira was lucky she brought her hero jacket for the cold and slipped it on, inspecting the areas. The platform she was on had seven different tunnels: Two on each side, two in front of her, and one behind her. The area was falling apart and the darkness just seemed to surround her. But one single bright LED light hung above her and lit the entire platform up. She could see the abundance of dust particles just from the light.

Alright... I'm here... Just like you asked. Now what am I supposed to do?

The light overhead flickered and Kira raised her roller for a swing, on edge and ready for a strike. A tap from behind and on the shoulder. Kira screamed, spun around and punched something in the face.

"GOOD FUCKING COD KIRA!"

"Wait... Chili?!" Kira's eyes widened upon seeing Chili right behind her. "What the fuck are you doing here?!" She yelped. "When I left, you were dead asleep on the couch!"

Chili's arms were folded and he scowled. "All the more reason to come down here and get you." He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "Kira, you're a fucking disgrace."

She rolled her eyes at the inkling. "Yeah Ye-" She cut off upon seeing something...off about Chili.

"Say, uh, Chili? Have you noticed how much greener your eyes looked before you came down here?" Kira pondered as she inspected the inkling, who was now sweating.

He's nervous. Something tells me something's off here. I'm going with my gut instinct, but just to be sure, the one test to see if it's him.

She found a bag of spicy chips in the broken vending machine and pointed to them. "Do you like these?"

He made a disgusted face and Kira's eyes widened. "YOU'RE NOT CHILI!"

The figure grinned as it revealed itself as a shadow parasite. "You've gotten better at telling us apart from your friends. I'm not going to beat around the bush anymore. It's time you come with us. Our leader wants you.

Kira gave him the bird. "Tell your leader he can kiss my ass! I'm not going anywhere with you fuckers!"

The area began to flood with shadow parasite Octarians and Inklings. Surrounding Kira and attempting to trap her in a sticky black ink.

The inkling, without a second thought, flunk aquamarine ink forwards and splatted a few octarians in the process. Kira was not going down without a fight.

"Bring it on Shadow Shits!"

Chili woke up in the living room to see Akari worried sick and searching for her gear, following behind her was Misery and Mint, both with bedhead and tentacles all over the place.

"Akari?" He asked with a groan. "What the hell are you doing?"

Akari grabbed Chili with surprising strength, making him yelp. "Kira's gone!"

All eyes widened and Mint gasped. "She knows better than to go to the metro alone now!" They commented.

Akari sighed and adjusted her pilot goggles. "She must have left when we were all sleeping. I don't know why in cod's name she would do something as crazy as that.."

Misery felt a knot forming and tightening in her stomach. "Guys... I'm afraid to say this, but I think Kira is in much more trouble than I thought."

Chili raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Kira might have been captured by the parasites again..."

Kira yelped and struggled to get free. Her upper body, arms, and legs were trapped in the ink and her roller was confiscated. "No! My roller!" She kept trying to pull away from it but soon found herself trapped and unable to move. Despite the fight she put up, she was outnumbered and now was at the mercy of the shadow parasites.

The figure who disguised themselves as Chili grinned. "Looks like you'll be coming with us after all, Surface Dweller."

Kira's ears dropped and she was freed hoisted up by two shadow guards. "You're not going to get away with this!" She whimpered and yelped as she was tossed into a cage. Her wrists were bound by cuffs and her legs bound by the black ink.

I can't believe this is happening again! Oh cod... Oh cod... I have to get out of here and get to the others and warn them about-

"Ah. I see you have our guest of the hour."

Kira's eyes widened upon hearing the familiar crackled voice and seeing the strange green and black mixed goo dripping onto the ground. "Y-You can't be alive... You just can't..."

It grinned at her. "Oh but I am."

End of Chapter 9