A/N: What you are about to read can happen to regular people. People like you or me. This chapter comes with a warning of self-destruction and isolation. This is from a natural progression of always having others around, whether be it people or inklings in general, to none at all. And bear in mind, he is the last of his kind. So please keep all that you have read up to this point in mind and heed the warnings. Happy readings.
Edric takes a deep breath while watching the show now. The final splatfest battle was nearing its end and both he and Lucky ended up watching it, with popcorn right between them. But the popcorn was now empty before they heard the buzzer and a winner was announced.
"Oh man…Callie isn't going to like this," Edric sighs, sitting back in his couch.
Lucky smiles over to him. "We might get lucky. She might only ask us to give some pity congratulations."
Edric chuckles once. "I would let her stay over and serve her until she's okay."
"Commitment," Lucky quips, giving a tap to his nose.
Edric sighs. "It will be feeling like something is changing now. Now let's go wait by the phone," he says getting up and Lucky giggles and follows him.
It wasn't just one thing that changed and it wasn't just the two girls. First, the girls ended up becoming too famous at this point and it was almost like they didn't have any room for anything personal, even their own time. Callie took her chance at doing a solo record which ended up topping the charts. Edric would end up seeing her on so many shows and then becoming an actress of which he asked Hai to take recordings of just in case she wanted to see where she changed if looked at down the line. After Callie, Marie even did her own solo record and went down a different line. She started to show off the songs on her record at concerts, music shows, and becoming a theater star. But Edric also saw another problem. It was happening again from when the splatfest finished. The two girls didn't have as much personal time or even being together. But he couldn't fault them. They had careers and were moving on from it all.
Edric then lost his job at the studio since it wasn't needed all that much and they wanted some fresh hires for a new simple news show. While he was able to catch glimpses of them, it was very fast and hardly any time to talk, sometimes minutes, and catch up. But seeing their schedules and jobs keeping them away, he decided to let it be. He couldn't be that much of an anchor to them if they are traveling and something needs to happen. But when he chose that, everything else started to fall in place.
The second was that X became a little more reclusive and a trainer for all the recruits in her roller and splasher, leading the charge. He could have sworn he was seeing a military commander from her. But that means she wasn't as much around everyone. Spending her time training, doing a few games, and then heading home. And the only time he saw her was the club when he needed to head there.
The third was that Lucky was soon called out by the captain. Seems that he had a mission to do with her and Lucky seems the most available. Edric couldn't really stop her as he didn't even try, knowing how much can be at stake with an agent mission. He has only cleaned her room once after that and never went in again. The facility never being so quiet.
But the last thing that happened seemed to cement his position in the world. Caveira started to need more time at the office to handle the club and even spend more time at her home to catch her sleep. At times during the weeks, Edric would come by and give her some food and drinks, but it only allowed a few minutes to catch up. She even informed that she was keeping his account with the team alive so he doesn't have to worry about work anymore and he can easily live off of it if he lived as minimal as possible. Which he wasn't a stranger to. Out of every month since Lucky left, he only saw her twice a month to sleep with him at the facility. Then the next three months became one. Then none.
At this point, Edric ended up being so bored, he started to fix up the facility to make it more like a home at that time. Small fixings such as human and inkling sized chairs and tables. But after another month of the inkling form of his going unused, he put the inkling sized furniture away. Then he tried some home improvement to even ask Hai to look up old human home improvement tips and steps. He knew he shouldn't have brought up such an old thing, but it seemed to make him more comfortable when he did finish. But the retreat away from the city took its toll. He only rarely went into the city and it was only for food and supplies which didn't really make a dent in his account. Other than that, he never saw the other signs of what he was doing, becoming so blind to just be comfortable. He even started smiling a lot more than usual, being happy and carefree where inklings who talked with him would notice something wrong. But they couldn't say anything because as quick as he was into the city, he was just as quick getting out. His old fame was never brought up at the sight of him halfway through this all.
Now, he just ended up doing some gardening. Starting small in a square meter-sized box, but his mind slowly slipped and wanted more to do. So he took over almost all of the clearing available to plant and do his thing. Looking over and scrutinizing every little detail and asking Hai for all kinds of old advice it can find in the human database, finding it was tougher with inkling advice and doesn't take into account for humans.
But after so long apart from the inkling world, Caveira herself wondered what happened to Edric. Rarely did she see him. She half expected him to jump out of someone's bag and try to hug her or just drop off some food and drinks. But then again, she hasn't been visiting him either. Being so busy with the club and how members keep coming up wasn't helping. Every part, even with managers, had to be dealt with through her. X only took so much load off since she is a trainer and not a paper pusher. She only handled recruits so that took off the hiring process. As for her, she would either go straight home and fall asleep, only to get back up and go straight to work. An endless loop for her and having only one day off in the week for everyone to relax. Her mind tugging at her to go someplace, but her body was weak enough to just fall asleep again. It was only when X started to question her about Edric did he come to mind again and realized she should have gone those off days. So, taking a few days off for herself, she went to his place, but couldn't shake the feeling that something was up if Edric, one of their best members, hasn't been seen by any one of the team.
Caveira sighs as she stood in front of the facility doors as the front doors close behind her. The smaller ones in front of her opening up and she slowly gasp as she saw the state of the place. The place was pristine and set up in such a way, it almost felt like home for no inkling…but a human. Looking around, she saw books on a shelf with possible human writing on the spines near a large table and even Hai's lab turned into a computer and playroom when she spies a regular computer sitting nearby. Still walking through, she can hear music coming to her ears. But it was so unfamiliar and sounding like what Edric would speak if there was no translator in place. Something with a catchy beat if the instruments were the only thing she can hear. Caveira starts to follow the main source of it and comes across many boxes opened up and mostly having dried food goods inside, ready to make into a meal. She then passes by a picture on the wall and stops to look at it. Her eyes widening as she sees it wasn't one of the inklings or even Edric, her, or any inking she knows. It was only humans she could not make out. Hands went to mouth in shock as she stared at the large group photo of humans wearing white coats and rugged outfits.
Cavveira starts to pick up the pace after seeing that. More human books were left on the tables with no inkling lettering in sight. Her ears following the music and lead to another door before it slides open for her. "Edric…" she slowly says, seeing the state of it all. Her eyes catching the area first and seem to be the side area outside. The trees covering the area, but enough of a clearing where freshly turned dirt laid in blocked off section. Plants growing almost to her height with garden supplies waiting nearby. Her eyes then trail over and look towards the one she was looking for. Her eyes tracing over his rugged outfit similar to what the humans wore in the photo as garden tools hung off his work belt. Dirt on his leggings and arms as he dug into a bare patch of the garden. An outcropping on the wall showing it was an Hai projection device with playing a video of a still photo with some humans on it that look drawn or animated and music playing around it. Now seeing that the human music is coming from it, she starts to tear up. "Edric…" she calls a little louder.
Edric digs the spade a little deeper than intended and slowly turns his head to look at her. His face marred by dirt and sweat, but looking clean-shaven as ever. "Caveira…? Wha…what are you doing here?"
"Me? What…what are you doing?" Caveira points out, gesturing to him.
Edric looks to the garden and seems to be coming up with a good answer. "Well…I have to get the soil right for the ginger and…"
"No!" Caveira interrupts, catching that tone of his. "Not the garden. You. What happened to you? And…the place? It's filled with so many…"
"Human stuff?" Edric asks back and gets a small shaky nod from her. "Oh. Guess I was getting somewhat bored. So I asked Hai to bring up some old stuff. Then, as I built the place up, cleaned up the old ink paint, I thought to myself that I should at least honor those guys who were with me at the time. So I guess you saw the picture too. Really, it's nothing too bad. You?" he asks almost nonchalantly, picking up the spade again and looking at the hole left behind. "Dang it," he mumbles, patting the dirt and making sure it's straight.
"Edric…what happened to you?" Caveira tries to ask, tearing up. "Wait…you…aren't watching the games. Hai…" she spoke up and Hai's projection comes up in front of the video on the wall. "How long has it been since Edric last watched a game?"
Loud metal screeching sounded out that scared the birds away in the trees nearby. "Four months, two weeks, six days, and eight hours."
Caveira gulps, knowing the answer to the next question. "And any inkling broadcast?"
Another loud metal screech scared away any critter. But Edric didn't seem bothered by it as he kept gardening. "Four months, one week, five days, and one hour."
"Oh. Is that how long it was?" Edric asks himself in some surprise. "Amazing what you can do with old footage and videos," he says snapping his fingers and the music started up again. Caveira now catching that it is human and it's from his time. "Guess I got bored. There wasn't anything of note after they left. Then I thought, Hai has all the old data of human life. He must be able to access and play it. So lucky me. And then I thought about the place and one thing led to another," he says, smiling at her. One that Caveira saw as the worst thing right now. A smile that even those two would kill her for it. Edric has resorted to smiling no matter what, even if it was hurting him when she looks at his eyes and sees how much light he had behind it. "If you want, I got some good food leftover in the fridge. You can have those."
"Edric…you shouldn't be living this way. Don't you see what you're doing?" Caveira argues and he hums.
Edric then slowly looks at her. "Is it stuck in the past again after finding nothing of note with inklings after so long?" he asks bluntly and makes her take a step back at his bland tone. "Caveira, it has been dead quiet around here. Lucky is gone on that mission and hasn't been back, X has been doing who knows what, Callie and Marie are out on their new lives, and you are busy with work with the team. Frankly, I don't want to disturb or, in Lucky's case, get her in trouble with whatever it is they are doing. Everyone is out there living their own lives and I am stuck here after so long. So I thought, let's find something. It started with cleaning the place. Then the furniture. Then the paint. Books. Food…picture. All done by me and with basic stuff to do it. With everyone so busy, I didn't want to be a bother. This is the best way to do it as I felt like it does need sprucing up."
"Edric!" Caveira yells and makes him jump back onto his ass as he stares in shock at her. Already the video has changed without them noticing and Hai has left to even turned down the volume. "You…they would kill me for this. This exact reason. You think everything is fine, it's not. I'm sorry…I'm sorry I wasn't able to come over. But you shouldn't have locked yourself away like this just because you didn't want to bother anyone. Please…can we go out…go and enjoy ourselves? Please?" she sobs, tearing up heavily.
Edric stares at her for a long while before humming and tossing the spade into the garden. "Sure. Wherever you want."
"No…whatever you want. You deserve that much," Caveira interrupts and sobs.
"To be honest, I haven't been into town that much. Just picking up food and supplies to keep the place and me going. Kinda helps when I still have access to money from my team account," Edric explains, looking away troubled now.
Caveira sucks in her breath harder when she heard that. "Let's…maybe just walk…and see where it takes us."
Edric tries to smile at her shaking form. "Okay. Come on," he says heading back inside and she follows, almost unable to stand now.
Caveira was in shock most of the time as she sees how Edric reacted to everything. His inkling disguise bracelet sitting with the keys like it was part of his daily routine to get out is troubling enough. And when they did get out, she found he was walking aimlessly and sometimes asked questions about what was what and whether did some places moved or what the new ones were like. Each question punching a hole in Caveira's heart to see him so secluded like this and not knowing the world anymore. The only thing they mostly got was the first place they ever went out for lunch for all that long ago. Edric seems to eat as regularly as ever, but Caveira could not get through hers. She was breaking up as she saw Edric couldn't help himself and started to act normal like nothing ever happened between them or even giving him his own time of what she wanted to eat and do. It was as if that moment when he broke down after getting the club together was happening all over again or, worse, when she first met him. Each moment and action she saw he would do was heart-wrenching to her to where she could barely take another step without him asking her something.
Her mind raced on how to handle this and quickly thought to the VR machines. If any turf wars could help bring him out of this, it would be all the better. So she took charge at that point and asked if they can head home as she wanted to keep her skills sharp from his training machines. Such a lie to her that it was making her skin feel clammy and to see him readily agree like it was nothing was even more hurtful to her. As they got back, she saw the state of the machines were as clean as ever, but she can tell they weren't as used by how cold it felt to her.
Upon entering, she immediately asked for a turf war with another team. Her heart broke almost to the end when she saw how he fought. It was just like when he did his first-ever match. He didn't employ nearly as much strategy as her or even use as much of his secondaries. No. He just went through the hoops and objectives while helping her get more of the ground. But it wasn't even as much of a fight with her. The game became too easy-going and he was mostly on the back ends of the fields, making sure to paint it all while she kept the team busy. One match was all it took to cement her thoughts on it. He had become like he was back then, but with even less enthusiasm. Caveira couldn't speak to him for some time afterward as she ended up on the verge of crying. Edric, seeing something was wrong, called off the simulation and it was only a few seconds for their bodies, but felt like hours to one particular inkling.
"Edric…please…call again. And call everyone. Do this and I will stay with you for the nights here," Caveira seems to almost plead.
Edric looks at her in some wonder before walking out to grab the old squidphone that was left on the desk of Hai's room. With his first one being Callie and getting no answer out of her, only a voice message. Marie ended up being the same result. Lucky's number didn't seem to exist, but he could attribute that to her mission so no fault there. X however immediately picked up at first ring.
"Took you a while. Where have you been? It's been quiet here," X asks, some chattering going on the background.
"Hey. Sorry. Caveira wanted me to call everyone I guess to reconnect but most of the others are busy or disconnected in Lucky's case. You are the lucky winner," Edric almost laughs.
"That's such a barefaced laugh if I ever heard one," X says bluntly. Edric stopping his laughter and hears footsteps. Looking behind him, he can see Caveira looking shamefully to the ground, tears streaming down her face. "It's almost sounding like you went full-on selfish over there. Get out more. Visit more often. Heck, at least stop by to give Caveira a morning kiss. That would cheer her up. And really, stop being such a lying happy go lucky person. You can't pull it off like other inklings around here. You tend to wear it outside once others talk to you," X advises.
"…right…" Edric says slowly as he stares at Caveira. "Yeah…is Caveira taking some vacation time?"
"Duh. It's how she came to see you," X huffs.
"Okay…thanks," Edric thanks as he starts to hang up.
"Don't be an idiot," X replies.
Edric sighs and bends down to the inkling's height and slowly pulls her head up to look at her. "You…want me to stay at your place during your vacation?"
Caveira stares at him in shock before taking a big sniff. "Yeah," she chokes out, rubbing her face. "I would like that."
"Come on. Hai can take care of things here," Edric says changing into an inkling again and takes her hand. Caveira sniffing like crazy and trying to get herself under control, hoping that this would work as a start. Even his little pull made it better as he was leading her.