Chapter 11
The reward of Amber's mission came as a shock to the agents. Each one of them had different, widely varying reactions. Amber wasn't even sure how to feel by the end of it.
Callie seemed distraught and wanted to help Marie right away. Ika was more firm though and simply grimaced, keeping Callie from running off. And Cap'n… he looked almost 10 years older.
Amber noticed something about the old squid. He held an air of confidence and mischief, along with kindness and patience. Without it… his old age was shown, bare and grief-filled, almost like everyone else Amber had met.
Cap'n turns to the group of three and says, with a voice laden with sorrow, "I believe it would be best to leave Marie to her own devices. Let her cope with this sudden revelation in her own time."
Callie opens her mouth, obviously ready to argue, but Ika just squeezes her shoulder gently. Callie looks to him and he just shakes his head. Callie seems to deflate as she nods, her posture slumping over.
Amber shifts, obviously uncomfortable, then meekly says "Maybe we should just do another mission. Get our own minds off of things?"
Everyone turns to her, and Amber shrinks under their gaze. The idea was stupid, wasn't it? Kami, she should've kept her mouth shut. If only she hadn't brought that cape here. If only she hadn't helped the octoling-
"I believe that is a wonderful idea, young lady." Amber looks at Cap'n in surprise, who seems to be smiling. He claps his hands against his cane and says "We shouldn't let grief get in our way of helping others. If Marie needs time, then we'll work twice as hard to ensure she can get her rest without worrying about her own duties!"
Everyone seemed to be at a loss of how to react, but then Ika smiles and nods. Callies perks up a bit, tears still in her eyes, but a hopeful smile on her face. Amber was the only one not smiling, wondering why her idea was accepted.
Cap'n glances at her, then turns to his grandchildren. "Go ahead and get ready, you two, I need to speak with Amber here." Callie and Ika nod and walk away, Ika giving Amber a comforting glance and a nod as he leaves.
Amber doesn't react, as she was focused on the old inkling walking to her. Amber shifts around once more, obviously uncomfortable. She opens her mouth, ready to speak, when Cap'n lifts his cane into her face.
She stops, startled, and Cap'n gives her a serious look. "Don't try, youngin'. This is a talk that needs to be done."
Cap'n lowers his cane, then walks closer. Despite his short stature to most inklings, he managed to still be around the same height as Amber. He looks her dead in the eye, and Amber squirms a bit. What was this about? She did something wrong, didn't she?
Suddenly, the Cap'n smiles. He puts a comforting hand on her shoulder and says "I saw that look in your eyes when you suggested your idea. You regretted speaking, and then you regretted your previous actions, correct?"
Amber's eyes widened and she didn't respond, but that was all Cap'n needed. He nods, then says "Don't ever doubt your own good actions. Helping that octoling was the correct move, despite all we have taught you."
He puts his cane down, both hands on top, as he smiles at her once more, his eyes showing it more than his mouth beneath the beard. "It is the government that keeps the octolings from desiring peace. Never are the citizens at fault. I am proud of you for realizing that."
Amber blinks, uncertain how to respond. Then, after a moment of stunned silence, Cap'n says "Now then, we have a mission, correct?"
Amber seems to break out of her trace and she nods, a smile on her face. "Yes. Yes we do!"
Cap'n laughs boisterously and says "Alright lassie! Go and make me proud!" Amber nods fervently and runs off, ready to get herself ready. Even in the darkest of times, one needs to shine bright so that no one may fall into despair. Cap'n smiles, seeing this in the orphan his family now considers one of their own.
Amber runs across the rooftops of one of the bigger underground cities. This one looked more modern, with skyscrapers and larger buildings within a massive dome. Despite the buildings' sizes, none of them seemed close to reaching the sky on the screens high above.
A hearty laugh echoes within her headset as she hears "Alright squiddos! Let this old timer show you what he can do!"
Amber laughs loudly, something she could do in this bustling city. She smiles, looking around. There were far more octoling citizens within the city than the desolate towns she frequented so often. It was no wonder, though, considering this city held one of the greatest pieces of octoling culture, only known through history books on the surface. The Great Colosseum.
Amber knew the name was something from another ancient land dweller culture, but it didn't stop the spectacle the octolings held within it. Massive arena fights between two teams, a flurry of melee attacks and lightning fast reflexes, it called for a spectacle never seen before. The octoling Champions, while not trained to fight ink weapons, were some of the greatest close-range fighters ever seen within any land.
Of course, Amber knew they wouldn't be a problem if she faced one. A quick shot with her near-perfect aim and her trusty gun and they would be down for the count. Plus, she wasn't going that way. She was making her way to the Wuzei district, a part of the city that held heavy Calamarian influence.
The sound of feet hitting the rooftop comes to her ears and she turns to look at what it was. She smiles when she sees Ika running alongside her, his brush strapped across his back. The same sound is registered, and she sees Callie on her other side. Amber smiles even wider, then she jumps high in the air.
Amber laughs in delight as she flies across the wide gap between buildings. Crowds of octolings were below her, oblivious to the action happening above. Amber grins, holding her gun tightly, as she sees Ika and Callie laugh and join her.
Soon, the trio began springing across the rooftops, quickly making their way to the Wuzei district. It wasn't long before the modern flare of the city became the bustling and bright colors of modern Calamarian culture. Bright reds and intricate arches and gateways made for a sight rarely seen in the modern world.
Sadly, they couldn't sight-see for long. They needed to hurry to their destination. This time, they were heading to the arena, one that once again held an Octoweapon. Their mission: destroy it.
The sounds of the city fades into the background as they reach the outer area. Here, the octoling residents and shops thinned out until only bleak, gray military buildings were left. Met with the sudden, oppressing quiet, the city's roar turned into a dull murmur in the background, the agents couldn't find it in them to laugh.
They slow to a tense walk as they approach the arena. They step beyond the gate boundaries and look around. The whole area was covered in ink, with little else to be seen. Well, there was the rubber duck, but Amber didn't think much of it.
"Wait, a rubber duck?" Amber turns to Ika, who was frowning in suspicion. He walks to the rubber duck, his shoes squelching against the thin layer of ink on the ground. He picks up the duck, shaking the ink off in the process, and his frown deepens. Suddenly, his eyes widened.
"Shit! Get down!" Just as he yells this and he makes his own ink trail to hide in, the ground begins to rumble. Callie instantly reacts, making the spot bigger and joining Ika in hiding. Amber stumbles a bit with the shaking, then jumps into the red ink. She peers across the arena from within, and she can tell Ika and Callie are doing the same.
The arena begins shifting, platforms rising and ink rails connecting to each other from previously hidden devices. Soon, the arena looked more like a turf war ground than an arena. But, that wasn't the end of the changes.
The rubber duck suddenly sinks into the ink, and the octoling ink puddle explodes outwards. The agents had to flee their hiding spot in order to avoid the life-threatening splatters. They turn around, and Amber sees why Ika was worried.
A massive machine erupts from the ground and is lifted into the air by four Octocopters. It looked like a big, blue shower head, but beneath it was the main machine. It was mainly a mechanical disc, two red lights up front that seemed to be its eyes, along with two arms with three-pronged claws.
Ika slowly rises up, as do the other agents, and he says "That's an Octo Shower. Be careful, that thing is loaded with artillery." Amber gulps, then nods. She can tell this isn't like the Octostomp at all.
The Octo Shower lets out some sort of high-pitched shriek and charges forwards. The agents duck to the side to avoid the attack, quickly turning around to keep their sights on the Octo Shower. Ika points up to the Octocopters and says "Take the Octocopters down! If they stop flying, we can damage the Shower!"
Callie and Amber nod, and they quickly get to work. Amber lifts her gun and tries firing at the Octocopters, but they swerve out of the way, not only dodging some of the bullets, but also using the Octo Shower to block the others. Amber curses; she needed a better way to hit them.
Callie already seemed to be working on that part. She runs to a nearby ink rail and she jumps on, riding it to the top. She jumps off and raises her roller with yell, just as the Octo Shower was turning towards her. She prepares to bring her roller down, only for a sharp pain to hit her stomach. The Shower backhanded her with ease, and she flew to the ground, rolling across it and hitting a wall.
Ika's eyes widen and he yells "Agent 1!" She groans and sits up, supporting herself with her roller. She waves him off and says "I'm fine. We just need a way to hit those Copters!"
He watches Callie a bit more, just to make sure she was fine, and then he nods and turns his gaze back to the Octo Shower. His eyes shift around the arena, searching for a possible way to hit the Shower. Bouncing wouldn't work, Callie's attempt with the ink rails proved that. Shooting won't work. Neither will single attacks, not this time. He needs a way to both distract the Shower AND hit it fast.
As he is searching, Amber suddenly shouts "Woah! That's a charger!" Ika snaps his gaze back to the Shower and sees that, yes, it had a charger in its 'hands' now. A red laser-light hits Ika's stomach and he frowns. He quickly spins around, creating an ink circle around himself, and waits, crouched low and ready to move.
The Shower hisses, then lurches as it fires the charger. Ika quickly turns into a squid and swims to the side, narrowly avoiding the lethal shot. He rises up from the ink and begins looking around again. As he does so, he yells "Keep it distracted! I'm going to try and find a way to hit those Copters!"
Amber and Callie nod, and then they begin running at the Octo Shower. With Amber firing from below and Callie, much more carefully this time, trying to hit it from ink rails, it kept the Shower quite preoccupied. With that time, Ika was able to finally formulate a plan.
It took him a bit, but soon his eyes looked at some chains by the entrance gate, ones that would be used to chain up the gate so the repairmen can do work without being disturbed. Ika grins, his plan formed, and he runs towards the chains.
"Agent 4! Incoming!" Ika turns around, wondering what the warning from Cap'n was for, and his eyes widen. The Octo Shower seemed to be getting tired of this game and pulled out a splatling gun. He quickly dives to the side, taking cover behind one of the many pillars that appeared when the Octo Shower did. He flinches slightly as he hears the pellets fly, ramming against every metal platform and every pillar possible, trying to hit some target. It sounded like wasps, agitated and angry, hunting down the disturbance that came to its nest. That sounded like what him and the others were doing, Ika muses.
Once the pellets die down, he quickly stands up and runs once more. The Octo Shower hisses behind him, but it didn't seem to be directed towards him. He quickly grabs the chain and loops it around his arm, forming a large bracelet of sorts made of chain links.
He runs back, watching as the Shower fires its charger once more, Callie barely moving away from the shot and ducking behind cover. Ika sees Amber near him and he slides to a stop next to her. She looks at him quizzically as he unravels the chain. "Nice to see you 4, but what's the chain for?"
Amber frowns as Ika tells her the plan, and her eyes widen in surprise. She grins widely, Ika smiles, and Cap'n chuckles in their headsets. "Well now, is that your plan? Splendid!"
Suddenly, Callie yells "I need some help guys!" Ika looks out from behind the pillar, and they notice Callie was backed against the wall, the Octo Shower dangerously close. Ika growls, his eyes narrowed, and he slams the chain into the ground, creating a piercing echo of metal against metal. "Hey! Over here!"
The Octocopters look at him, which causes the machine to turn as well. With that momentary distraction, Callie quickly goes behind another pillar and disappears from their sight. Ika, his hand gripping the chain, looks at Amber and nods. When Amber nods back, Ika yells "Distract it Callie!"
Callie rolls out from behind the pillar and raises her roller with a yell. She brings it down as the Octo Shower looks towards her in apparent surprise, blocking the ink with its metal body. As this happens, Ika smiles widely and pulls out a can. Despite the strange container, the inside held a special ink that allowed the usage of a special. Ika had a specific one in mind for this occasion.
He turns to Amber and says "Super jump up there, and hold onto this chain. We only have one charge for this, so this is our only chance!" Amber nods, grabbing the chain. Once it is in her grasp, she turns into a squid and charges up. Ika, the chain wrapped around his wrist, holds it tightly, tensing himself for the launch. After a moment of silence, Amber super jumps into the air.
They fly high above the Octo Shower, Ika holding on tightly and his eyes never straying from the Octo Shower. As they approach the peak of the jump, Ika goes over his plan one last time in his head. "Normally a splashdown will have little effect on the metal hull covering the Octo Shower, but with this boost Amber will give me by throwing me downwards using the chain, we may just pick up enough speed. If not to destroy it, then to at least ground it."
Nodding to himself, he prepares the splashdown orb in his other hand. The special, glowing ink coalesces in his left hand, his right still gripping the chain tightly. Now directly above the Octo Shower, Amber reverts back to her humanoid form. She holds onto the chain tightly and yells "Get ready!"
She pulls on the chain, yelling in exertion, and Ika can feel himself get lifted up. He reaches the apex of his climb, and then Amber yells out "Here comes the pain!" With that battlecry, Amber spins around midair, pulling the chain and Ika down. She lets go of the chain and Ika rockets to the ground, his figure blurring with speed.
Mid-descent, Ika activates the splashdown orb. The orb doubles in size, its power waiting to be unleashed. His speed doubles and his figure blurs even more, an indistinguishable streak of red in coming down from the sky. The Octo Shower looks up, and then, a deafening explosion hits their ears.
The red ink flies high into the sky, and then it comes crashing down, a wave upon the malevolent vessel beneath it. The ink washes away the magenta-colored octoling ink left by the Shower, leaving a sea of red on the arena. Ika slides across the ink, sliding to a stop next to a pillar, then standing up, watching the Octo Shower.
It was on the ground, the Octocopters nowhere in sight. The Octo Shower's metal joints groan with its movements, the lights of its 'eyes' flickering rapidly. The tentacle controlling the machine emerges, the red ink on it like blood. It flails a bit, then pops, leaving the Octo Shower lifeless. It wasn't long before it fell apart as well, the metal pieces crashing onto the arena in a heap of useless junk.
Amber walks over to Ika, whistling at the destruction caused. "Man, that was awesome!" Ika nods, smiling, but then says "Maybe, but I'd rather only fight one death machine, thank you very much." Amber giggles at that, making Ika's smile grow.
Callie quickly runs to them, the zapfish in her hands, and she says "Mission accomplished!" Amber jumps up and cheers, but Ika wasn't smiling anymore.
Just then, their headsets activate and Cap'n says "Don't celebrate just yet squiddos. That battle caused quite the comotion, and multiple enemies are quickly reaching your position! If you head for the rooftops now, you should be fine."
Ika nods, and he turns to the two girls behind. They nod as well, needing no words between them. They quickly run out of the arena and jump onto the buildings, quickly retreating to the bustling city, and then home.
A single octoling, flanked by a few octoling guards, kneels down. He rubs his finger across the red ink, ignoring the burning sensation. He ficks the ink off and stands. He sighs, then says "What do you think, my liege?"
Heavy footsteps are heard behind him, and the octoling's blood red eyes flash with amusement at the obvious anger in the stride. The footsteps stop, and the octoling glances over.
The heavyset body was filled with tension, his muscular arms crossed. "I think it is time we begin our plan."
The first octoling nods, then turns and to the octoling troops behind him and says "Get the squad ready! It is time to initiate the final stages of our operation!" The troops salute him, yelling "Yessir, Octavius sir!"
Octavius nods, then turns back to the large inkling. "Any thoughts, my liege?"
At first, the octoling didn't say anything. Then, he turns around and stares at Octavius, directly into his eyes. It was those eyes, those shifting and anger-filled eyes, that Octavius could never fully understand. Those emerald eyes, tinted with a ring of red, flash rage. "It's time to tear down the agents that dare stand against me."