An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 5

Author's Note: Hello again everyone, I hope you're enjoying the quick updates as much as I am. Just a quick reminder, I will be having my Q&A as well as Fano's art for the cover on Twitch at 7:00 PM CT, today on Friday, November 13th, 2015. It's a livestream, and it'll be going on for a couple of hours most likely, so drop in and out if you like. The name of the Twitch Channel is FanoBelmont, and if you'd like a link you can find it at my Twitter: KibaElunal or FanoBelmont. I'm already working on Ch. 6, so don't worry, it'll be out soon! Enjoy! -Kiba


As our group ran down the hallways of the jail, I came to a stop just before the deceased body of the late Lieutenant Daniels. The girls stopped as well. "I don't understand," Marie said, "why are you stopping?"

I said nothing, unable to look upon my sin, and yet also unable to look away. "You killed him, didn't you?" Callie asked behind me. Silently, I nodded. "Why? You told us earlier that you'd knocked everyone else out."

How could I explain to her the reasons for my crimes? "Isn't it obvious?" Marie asked. "Clearly, the guy was too much of a challenge. He wouldn't have killed him if it wasn't absolutely necessary. Right?"

I nodded once more, though it was a lie. It's true, I killed him out of necessity in that case, but deep down, I knew I'd have killed him anyway. I'd entered that hallway looking for blood, and I'd found it. She stepped over the body easily, only to look back at the two of us.

"Look? See, it's alright. Just keep going, and we'll head back to Gramps. He'll know what to do about all of this. He's the one that sent you right?"

"Yes." I admitted, staring at the wide eyes of the officer. Callie went past him next, to stand by her cousin before looking at me expectantly. There was a glimmer of fear in her eyes that hadn't been present when she'd known who I was. But now, I felt if it were needed, I'd get no mercy from her. Even though my heart was pounding out of my chest, I leaned closer to the body.

"What is he doing?" Marie asked, but Callie shushed her.

Reaching out with my hand, Callie quickly grabbed my wrist. "Don't touch him." She stated, in a surprisingly commanding tone. "You've done enough as it is, there's no reason to disgrace him further."

"I…" I began, unable to finish my thought. Instead, I tugged my hand from her grip and continued what I'd planned to do. I closed his eyes and plucked the badge from his cold chest before placing it in my pocket. As I stood up, Callie intercepted my path.

"Who are you?" She demanded. "I don't know anyone who is such a mix of coldness and warmth. You close his eyes, then loot his body? I don't know whether to comfort you or slap you, so just who in the world are you?"

Over her shoulder, I could see her cousin waiting expectantly for the answer as well, but I just shook my head. "It's not important. Whoever I was...that's not who I am anymore." I replied. As cryptic as it was, it was the truth. I wasn't an Octoling Soldier, I certainly wasn't an Inkling. I wasn't anything.

"Oh screw it! I'm taking off that mask." Marie growled, walking towards me hand outstretched. I quickly grabbed her wrist, twirling her and pressing it up into the small of her back. I couldn't let them remove the mask, not yet.

"No." I stated plainly. "It doesn't come off."

"Ow, ow, ow, okay!" She whimpered. "Just let go of my arm, you're hurting me."

I released her from my grip, heading forward towards the door. The longer we were together, the greater my chances of discovery. Maybe Cap'n Cuttlefish would let me go after all this. With any luck, I'd be long gone before he revealed who I was to them.

"Excuse me." Callie said, tugging on my sleeve. "If you can't tell us who you are, can you tell us why you came here? Are you a friend of Gramps or something?"

"Sort of." I answered. "You needed help. I owed you one, so I helped you. That's all there is to it."

"Owed us one?"

"Don't worry about it. What's important is your safe now."

"Follow up question: why did you break us out? I mean, our lawyer would have bailed us out of that mess. You didn't have to tear apart the police department. I mean, not that I mind." Marie quickly added.

I turned to look at the two over my shoulder. "You didn't know?" I asked.

"Know what?"

"There was never going to be a trial. No doubt they told you there was to keep you complacent. You don't get tried for treason, you simply get sent to the harshest of prisons."

Callie gasped. "You mean...Squitmo?"

"The same." I assured her, stepping out of the door and into the light. Alarms were still blaring, yet somehow the dark streets were empty. I was shocked by how long they'd been in that cell. Thankfully, the electric ink lasted alot longer than expected. "You two head back to your Grandfather's cottage. I'll throw them off your trail."

Just as I was about to make a bolt for the sewers to return home, Marie stopped me. "Wait! Please, just come back with us. I'm afraid." I could see by her gaze that that was a lie, but still she batted her eyelashes and tried her best to look helpless.

Callie, as usual, could scarcely tell. If I were to refuse, she'd really dislike me. "Fine." I surrendered. "But as soon as the cottage is in sight, I'm leaving."

"Thank you!" Marie chimed, immediately turning and leading the way back. Afraid, my beak. "I know Gramps called you, but have you actually ever met him?"

"Only just the other day." I replied.

"How did you know him?" Callie asked, and I quickly decided to change the subject.

"Are either of you hurt? I heard over the radio that the Lieutenant roughed you up a little."

"We're tough." Marie assured me. "Nothing we can't handle.

It did not go unnoticed by the other that I dodged her question. "Good to hear." I commented, quickly taking the lead ahead of Marie. I opted for silence, thankfully it was respected. As soon as we came in view of the shack however, Marie suddenly gripped on to my wrist, tugging me towards it. "N-no! Let me go."

"Oh don't be such a baby!" She sang playfully.

"Marie, maybe you should…"

"Why? If Gramps called him, he'll be wanting to see the person who saved his granddaughters, right?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't want to. We shouldn't…" Her words trailed off as Marie opened the door, both of them becoming stunned. "Oh no."

Our eyes all fell to the open door that led into the room I'd stayed in. "He's gone." Marie snarled, storming over there. "How in the world did he escape?"

"Maybe your Grandfather let him out?" I suggested, but immediately Marie jabbed her finger in my face.

"Don't be absurd, he'd never do that."

Callie frowned, looking down at the empty bed. I was curious what she thought about the fact I wasn't there. "Bring...him...back." She finally muttered.

"Sorry?" I asked.

"Great idea, Callie!" Marie clapped before turning back to me and hugging my arm tightly. "Please, Mr. Big Strong Stranger. Our prisoner escaped, go get him back for us."

I immediately pulled away from her. This lovey-dovey side of her was starting to creap me out. "Look, my work is done. I wasn't even going to come here."

Callie was in my face in an instant. "Let me tell you something! The man that escaped that room," she growled, pointing towards the door, "is incredibly dangerous. Not just to Inkopolis, but to the both of us. If Gramps assigned you to get us out safely, then you've yet to do your job."

Her words cut like a knife. "Do you really think this man is that dangerous?" I asked, my eyes narrowing.

My question seemed to catch her off guard as she broke eye contact with me. "Yes." She finally muttered. "He's an Octoling Soldier. It's his fault we were thrown in prison in the first place. It was a mistake for us to spare him, I know that now."

"Then you'll never see him again." I assured her, trying to hide the sadness in my eyes.

"Not good enough." She countered. "You are not to kill him. You have more than enough blood on your hands for one day. Bring him back here, I'll take care of him."

"Fine." I muttered, clenching my fist tightly. Turning away from them both, I slipped outside. I'd only taken a few steps outside when I heard Marie's footsteps coming up behind me. "What are you doing?"

"I'm coming with you, duh."

"No, you're not. Stay here with your cousin."

"Ha! You wish." She chuckled. "Callie could use some alone time for a bit. It kind of seemed like something was weighing on her in the slammer."

"You'll draw attention to us." I tried, hoping to convince her to leave me alone.

"More than having your head wrapped?" She asked. She had me there. "Sorry, I'm afraid you're stuck with me. So, where to?"

I looked back at the cottage. In the window, I could see Callie sitting in the empty room, staring down at the bed. I wanted to have some alone time myself, but that wouldn't be possible with Marie trailing me. "The Docks." I replied. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like some time to reflect on today. It's still kind of a shock for me."

"The docks? Well, alright. I mean, you're the professional here, not me. The least I can do is keep you company, I suppose."

As we began walking down the road, she tucked a beanie over her tentacles and put on a pair of shades. An ample disguise if any, I figured. Already the day had grown cold, and the sun dipped low on the horizon.

We were nearly halfway there when she asked, "So, what's your name?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Well, I get you don't want to share who you are, but I need something to call you. I can't call you 'Mystery Guy', it's just weird. It's like you're a cheesy comic book hero or something."

That actually managed to draw a chuckle from me. "I suppose I am something akin to that. At any rate, I think 'Mystery Guy' suits me just fine. We'll just stick with that for now."

Her shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "Whatever floats your boat." She answered, playfully turning to face me. "So, got a girlfriend?"

"Now you ask?" I taunted. Again she shrugged. "No." I surrendered. "No girlfriend. No friends or family to speak of either, before you ask."

"It's like you can read minds." She teased, looking towards the large rig that rested on the ocean. "You know, Callie and I used to play Turf Wars over there when we were younger. Gramps called it 'training' but in truth, we always loved coming home covered head to toe in ink. It took our minds off of our parents."

"Ah, sorry about that. I'd almost forgotten." I whispered. "How awful is that?"

She tilted her head confused. "So you know about my Mom and Callie's parents...that's interesting. You must know us pretty well then?" Suddenly something occured to her. "Oh God, you're not like another relative are you?"

"No. Nothing like that." I replied, causing her to give a sigh of relief. "That'd have made things really awkward, huh? I mean, no more awkward than you kissing a random man you may or may not have ever met before."

"So we have met." She mused. "You wouldn't have said that otherwise."

"That's a pretty big leap." I laughed, finally getting to the pier and walking towards the ocean. I was surprised that I was enjoying our talk as much as I was. "The ocean is so peaceful. It's hard to believe it's my first time seeing it."

"R-really?!" She exclaimed in shock. "You must not be from Inkopolis then."

"Narrowing it down?" I asked, realizing that she was constantly informing herself of clues towards my identity.

"I'm getting there." She replied with a soft smile, the sunset coating the surface of the water in pinks and oranges. "So this is where you wanted to come to relax. I can understand your choice, it's absolutely beautiful."

"Yeah." I commented, taking the sight in.

She cleared her throat. "This is where you say something like 'Not as beautiful as you'."

I shook my head. "Marie, you really, really don't want me to do that."

"Why? Was your face burned with acid or something?" She asked. "Are you super ugly? Because if you are, that's a real deal breaker. Talk about leading a girl on."

"No, it's just terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future." I answered with a grin. "Besides, haven't you ever heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder? I mean, in my opinion I'm about a 6, but that's neither here nor there."

"Well, at least you have a cute personality." Marie pointed out.

"You should really learn to stop flirting with people you don't know. It'll end badly for you." I shot back. "Besides, you haven't known me for very long. How do you know you'd even like me, much less be interested in me?"

"Ha! You're such an arrogant jerk." She laughed, slapping my arm. "What makes you assume that I'm interested in you?"

I held up my fingers and began to count. "You constantly flirt with me, you constantly flirt with me, and you constantly flirt with me. Did I miss anything?"

"Just this." She smirked, before leaning forward and placing another kiss on my lips. Placing my hands on her shoulders, I once more pushed her back from me. "What? What's wrong?"

"Marie, stop. Please. You may not know who I am, but I do. And I know what you'd think of me when you found out."

"No, you don't." She laughed.

"Yes, I do!" I snapped, causing her to flinch. "I'm sorry. I'm just really hurting right now, and I'm positive that this isn't good for either one of us." She thought about it for a moment before nuzzling against my arm. "Marie…" I groaned, turning to scold her again.

"Tough luck. You're comfy and it's cold, so you'll just have to get used to it." She muttered grumpily. "I get it, you know?" She added, her head not moving from my arm. "Callie's always been the cute one, and I've always been the bitchy one. That's just how it worked out for us. The fans love it, it really separates them from one another." The thought tickled her and she let out a slight chuckle. "Can you believe there's a Team Callie and a Team Marie? It's like we're cheesy romance novel characters. But yeah, I get it. Why would anyone prefer to be with the bitch, when the cute, nice one is right there next to her?"

"You could always change." I suggested, before immediately regretting it. What an awful thing to say.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." She mused. "I mean, it probably wouldn't do me any wrong to be a bit nicer. But at the same time, I see the way people try to take advantage of Callie's naivety. She's a sweet girl, but she's pretty gullible sometimes. Like this guy you're supposed to be looking for; she's probably bawling her eyes out over him right now. Despite the crap she fed you about being a menace to society, I think she honestly just wants to see him again, even if that means seeing him bound and gagged, you know?"

"I wouldn't have guessed. She spoke with such passion."

"That's one word for it." Marie laughed. "But the point remains: you like her more, he likes her more, it's a common thing. I guarantee you in polls, I'm probably around 35% and she's all the rest. I don't feel like doing the math right now."

"65."

"Shut up." She sighed. "But it's true. You get used to being the unwanted one after a while, I guess I should just accept it."

I took a deep breath, unsure of what to say to her. "I don't think you're unwanted. I can tell that Callie relies on you a lot. Maybe that scares you. Maybe that scares her, but either way, the two of you make a good pair. It's not about being wanted or unwanted by dozens of guys. It's about unity. Something I fear, I'm not much equipped to talk about."

"You know 'Mystery Guy', you make some good points." Marie replied. "That actually does help. I never really thought of Callie as relying on me...well, not that she consciously did. To be honest, lately I've worried that she hated me. I blame her for a lot of stuff, but that's because I want her to realize that her happy-go-lucky attitude doesn't fix everything. That's not how the world works, and there are bad people in life."

"People like me." I agreed, before she tightened her grip on my arm.

"Don't say that." She whispered under her breath. "Don't ever say that."

"Why not?" I asked. "It's true."

"So you killed that one guy...you've killed lots of guys, I'm sure, and on top of that you killed him for a good reason. He would have killed you given the chance, and you know he threatened to kill Callie and me."

"Actually, I really haven't." I muttered, losing myself in the rolling waves. "He was the first person I ever killed. As for a reason...not really. I intentionally went after him. When I heard he'd threatened you two, I just...snapped. I knew that if we crossed paths, neither of us would leave until the other was dead, and despite how much I hate myself for it now, back then I wanted it more than I've ever wanted anything."

"That's some deep shit." Marie mumbled sleepily. WIth a yawn, she flopped over into my lap, spreading herself out. "And if you complain again about being used as a pillow I'll punch you in the face."

I chuckled, and despite myself, I gently ran my hand through her tentacles. As she felt it, she just smiled at me, and I couldn't help but feel that we'd finally managed to connect with one another. "I'm really sorry." I finally said, breaking the silence again.

"Why?" She asked.

"I can't say." I sighed, my own secret keeping me from being able to utter it. "Just...know that I am, okay?"

"Alright, I believe you." She replied, just a small buzzing noise came from her pocket. "Oh, that's probably Callie. Before we left, she gave me her phone in case she needed to contact us." She flipped open the pink cell phone before putting it up to her ear. "Hey Cuz, how's it going?" After a few moments, the expression on her face slowly began to sink. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." She whispered. "How do you know?" Another pause. "Callie, I've got to go. We'll be there soon."

"Is something wrong?" I asked, just before she grabbed me roughly by the front of my shirt. Before I could move an inch she ripped the mask from my face, revealing me for who I was. "Marie, don't!" I cried, but it was too late. She loosened her grip, dropping me to the ground. There was a mix of anger and hurt in her eyes.

"You son of a bitch." She muttered, clutching her fist tightly. "I cannot believe you did something so low. You fucking lied and deceived us again. You're lucky, I don't fucking drown you here and now."

"Marie…"

"No! You don't get to utter another damn word. You're going back to that room, I'm locking you away for good, and we are never going to utter a word about this ever again." She growled. She grabbed me roughly by the arm, and while I knew she was so angry I could easily escape, instead I followed behind her willingly. "I...I just...I can't fucking believe you." She kept muttering to herself.

"I told you so." I whispered.

She stopped wheeling on me. "What the fuck did you just say?!"

"I told you so. I told you, the instant my mask was off you wouldn't like me."

"Oh, you think? Let's do a quick recap, shall we? Not only did you lie to me about not having killed anyone before, but you let me pour my whole heart out to you, all while you were probably laughing your fucking ass off! Does that about cover it? No? Well let's keep going then. You tried to give us the slip, again, while Callie sat in that room worried sick about you! And the worst, the very worst fucking thing, more than anything else, is that you actually were dumb enough to let us take the fall for your shit in the first place! If it wasn't for your damned tentacle in the Limo, none of this would have happened. I can honestly say, without a shadow of a doubt, that right now the whole world would be better off if you were dead. No let's get back to the damned cottage, before I decide to splat you myself."

I couldn't be sure through my watery eyes, but I thought that she was crying too. "I didn't lie." I managed to choke out for a brief moment. "He really was the first person I've ever killed."

"Oh?" She asked, in mock concern. "Boo-hoo. I'm a soldier for the Octarian Army, I've never killed anyone, this is all so hard." Her sarcasm tore at me, but not as much as the next part. "I will never believe a damned thing you say. And once we get back, Callie and I are going to talk about the best place to dump your body. If you have any requests, keep them to yourself. For all I care, we can just let you rot to death in Gramps' shack."

"Marie," I called to her, reaching for her arm but she spun and struck me hard with a right hook that sent me to the ground.

"Shut the fuck up! Don't say my name again, ever! I fucking trusted you, and you betrayed me. I have always been right about you, and thank fucking God, Callie has finally seen you for what you are, because you'll never be able to cover this up."

As I slowly came to my feet, she shoved me forward, following me to her Grandfather's shack. When the door opened, Captain Cuttlefish lit up to see me. "Ah, there's the triumphant hero! Welcome...back?" His voice trailed off confused as he saw the look on Marie's face. She began to drag me to the room, but before she did I slipped from her grip.

She was ready to hit me again, but stopped as I reached to my waist pulling out the blood stained badge and setting it in front of him. "I'm sorry." I whispered to him. "I don't deserve to be a part of your Splatoon." After that, I brushed past Marie, our eyes meeting briefly before I went into the room and shut the door behind me.

Sitting in the chair, not having moved from the spot, was Callie. There was a plastic bag on the bed with a bunch of electronic equipment scattered around it. "Gramps said he got this stuff for you." She mumbled. "Is this why you were trying to leave?"

"If you're going to yell at me, do your worst." I offered. "I deserve every bit of it, so please, don't hold back."

She took a deep breath before rising to her feet. "You lied to me, Lusca." She muttered.

"Yes."

"You tricked my Grandfather into buying you parts, so you could build a communicator."

"Yes."

"You would have contacted the Octarian forces, just to receive orders on how to escape, isn't that true?"

"Yes."

She stood right before me now, her dark tentacles covering her eyes. "You came back here, having deceived my Cousin and I both. You played on our emotions. You killed an innocent man. You put my entire family in danger and you even got me thrown in jail."

"Yes."

"Why?" She asked. "Why on Earth would you do something like that?" Her voice was shaking as she tried desperately to make sense of it all. "We treated you well, didn't we? We didn't hurt you or torture you. We planned on letting you go, so you could live, even if you couldn't power our concert, at least you tried!"

'Yes." I whispered again.

"Then why?!" This time, her voice was much louder. "I thought you were one of the good ones...I thought I could trust you, Lusca. So why?"

"I can't tell you why!" I suddenly burst forth. "I can't tell you why, because I can't even admit to myself the reason why. because if I ever pause for even a moment to look at myself, I become so disgusted with what I've become that I honestly do wish you would have pulled the trigger on me! Every cruel and hateful thing you've said to me, all it does is make me wish I was back home underground! Then every time you give me that look," I began, her eyes looking deep into mine, "that look right there, it makes me hate the person I was. But the truth is, the reason why is so trivial to you and your cousin that it doesn't matter if I say why, because even if I did, you would both overlook it. I'm just a damned Octoling, so why the hell would anyone care about me anyway? Isn't that right, Callie? I'm so dangerous, and I can't be trusted. I could never be trusted."

Now I was fully crying, walking past her and shoving everything to the ground. I laid down, covering my eyes with the back of my hand. I could hear the weight shift back into the chair as Callie sat down again. "It's not because you're an Octoling." She whispered to me. "That's not it at all."

"It sure seemed like it. I'm just an Octoling Soldier. I'm dangerous not just to the public, but to you and Marie. It was my fault you were locked away. You know now, it was a mistake to give me sympathy." I gave a muffled response. I heard her stand, walking towards the door. It was happening; I was alone now. I heard the lock engage, but after a moment, I jumped when a weight fell on to the bed beside me, a soft long black tentacle draping over my neck as a pair of arms wrapped around me. "Callie?"

"Shhh." She shushed me gently. "Just listen for a moment, okay?" When I remained silent, she continued. "I'm sorry for those mean things I said. I didn't really mean them. Honestly, Mr. Octoling, I just wanted you back here, safe with me again." I turned my head to face her, only to see that she too was crying. "It was selfish of me. Truly, it was. So again, I'm sorry. I realize you probably blame me for everything that happened, just as we've been blaming you. But the truth is...hic…" She covered her mouth as the tears came harder. "It is my fault. All of it...hic...It's not your fault Mr. Octoling. I know you're trying so hard." She began hiccuping like crazy as her body urged her to choke on her words. "So please...hic...forgive me? Pretty please?"

The pleading in her voice was desperate to an extreme. I reached up with my hand and gently brushed a tear away from her cheek. Again, my heart was torn in two. How could I possibly go back to my life now? I knew I could make her stop crying. All it would take were three little words. Instead, leaning closer, I gently whispered into her ear, "No."

To be continued...