An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 9

Author's Note: So I'm not much for writing incredibly sad stuff. Often my own emotions become tangled in my stories (which is why I like writing romances). However, as Confucius once said, "You cannot know joy, unless you know sorrow as well." That being said...WARNING: This chapter contains disturbing and depressing imagery. For those who suffer from depression, the material discussed within is not meant to be taken lightly, nor should it be. Suicide is never the answer and if you find yourself thinking suicidal thoughts, discuss it with your friends and family, or call your local Suicide Hotline. If you ever wish to talk to someone who won't judge you about something that troubles you, I'm also always available through Private Messaging or through my Skype: Polaris Vulpus Elunal. As always, I wish you all the best of luck in life and literature. -Kiba

Callie's hand began to tremble as she stared down the barrel into my eyes. I was completely stoic, it wouldn't be but a short time until Marie changed her mind. Time seemed to slow down, and every moment that passed made me realize, Marie may not change her mind. But if she didn't...I didn't envy the pressure that Callie must have been feeling.

Her torn loyalty was evident in her gaze and her shaking grasp as her finger slowly flexed, moving the trigger in and out. It was an agonizing process, but inside I knew where her loyalties truly lie. She was going to shoot me, I would die, and the Squid Sisters would be no more. I didn't want that, not because I was afraid to die, but because I couldn't bear the thought of Callie having to stay with that guilt. It was one thing to kill a random soldier, it was another to lose two friends one after another. "M-marie?" She groaned hoarsely. Her mouth felt dry from the terror at what she had to do.

"It's alright, Callie. You were right, I don't love him. He's the enemy, and even if I question why, it doesn't change that he is." She replied, nonchalantly. "Just splat him, and we'll dissolve his body into goo. Then we'll just wash him off the sidewalk and call it a day."

The dark-tentacled Inkling only shook more, the panic in her features becoming even more evident. "Callie." I whispered so only she could hear me. "Listen to me, I can get you out of this. But I need you to drop the gun."

"Make sure the safety's off." Marie reminded her. "The trigger won't pull otherwise."

"Callie, drop the gun." I repeated, enunciating it clearly. If she released the weapon, I could stage an escape, using Callie as a faux shield from her cousin's charger before vanishing again. I'd leave, but at least Callie wouldn't have to replay my death in her head over and over again.

"Callie?"

"Callie!"

"Are you going to shoot him?"

"You need to drop the gun."

"STOP!" She cried out at the top of her lungs. "Stop, please!" She sank to her knees, covering her eyes as she began to sob painfully. "I don't want to kill anyone anymore! I just want us all to be friends!"

Marie and I both fell silent. As her cousin turned to face us both, she gave a sneer. "I knew it. I knew you two planned this whole thing." She muttered, storming up to us both. "You wanted me to back out, to show that I was some weak little flower, right? Well screw you, Callie! Screw both of you! I'm not some half-wit, and damn it if you won't kill him, I will!"

Her barrel swung pointing towards my forehead as it began to rev up its pressure chamber. Just as she released the trigger, there was another rapid hiss as a stream of ink sent the gun sprawling from her hands. The purple liquid bubbled on the ground, dissolving it away along with the remains of the gun. "Oh no." I muttered, realizing what the substance was. I opened my mouth to tell the cousins to flee, but not before Callie's eyes opened wide in shock.

A small hole was pierced through her chest, leaving the sizzling fluid oozing on her torso as the unseen assailant fired their shot through her. Scooping up her gun, I turned where I thought it'd come from and began firing wildly. "Marie, get her inside now!" I demanded, easily brushing the Octo Ink from her to prevent it from burning more of her flesh away.

I hear another revving of a pressure tank, and managed to leap in the way just in time for the Octo Ink to splash harmlessly on my chest. "Callie, you'll be okay." Marie assured her as she dragged her cousin towards the shack. By this time, Captain Cuttlefish had come out to see what the commotion was.

A blast of ink sent his hat flying, causing him to hustle for cover from the monstrous assassin. Marie almost had Callie in the door when the charge shot fired again, splatting against the wall next to her and bubbling furiously. "Stop it!" I demanded to the invisible Octoling.

"No," came the feminine voice in my ear. I struck out behind me, but my arm was caught and I felt her brace it against the gun before a force struck me hard in the throat, causing me to cough on my words. "I'm disappointed in you Lusca. I taught you better than this."

The realization struck me as I tilted the gun over my shoulder and fired it, sending a small pinkish tentacle writhing on the ground, followed by a hiss of pain. "Amy…" I gasped, leveling the gun once more.

Now it was my turn to be trembling. "At least you remember something." She mused before shooting the firearm from my hand with a hip shot. "You should have known someone would come for you, Lusca." As she spoke, her foot stomped down on her own tentacle, grinding it into the dirt.

"Not you." I replied. Behind me, the aerospray was a molten mass of metal. It would never shoot again. "I didn't think you'd ever be the one to come after me."

"Not on my own choice, you're right." She hummed, walking closer towards me. I quickly took a step back from her. "But you did a bad...you betrayed our people, and for what? A couple of mindless, hedonistic, beasts? For shame."

"I know you don't still buy into that bullshit propaganda." I muttered. "We wouldn't struggle to fight against mindless beasts."

Her eyes turned towards the shack, where Marie and Captain Cuttlefish were rushing towards us, now rearmed. She leveled her barrel and fired it, sending them both scattering for cover. Changing her angle slightly, she fired at the door, slamming it shut and knocking the porch's support down to barricade it. "Like I said, mindless beasts." She retorted, as if she'd just provided substantial proof.

"You know that gun won't work on me." I snarled, stepping back from her as she continued her advance. "Octolings are immune to Octo Ink."

"Right you are!" She clapped, tossing aside her weapon before placing her fists in front of her. "Guess we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way."


Marie slammed hard against the door with her shoulder, letting out a frustrated scream. "Gramps, she blocked us in! Please tell me there's another way out!"

"Not unless you plan on exposing yourself through the window." He called back, hunched over Callie's body. "Come on, Squiddo. You're not allowed to die before your grandpa." He hissed, trying his best to stop the blood that was pooling out of the wound. "The old should never have to bury the young."

Completely conscious, Callie attempted to speak, but only managed to cough up a spurt of blood before trying to sit up, but her grandfather, even in his old age, kept her pinned tightly to the ground.

"Don't move an inch." He commanded. "That bitch managed to pierce one of your lungs. You're lucky she didn't get one of your hearts."

Marie hurled her gun across the room in frustration. "This is all that bastard's fault!" She snarled. "Callie would be fine if it wasn't for him." She crawled over to her cousin and took her hand. "I'm sorry. If I'd killed him sooner, none of this would have happened."

Cuttlefish's eyes brimmed with fury, and for the first time in his life he struck his granddaughter, causing her to look up at him in shock. "I've had about enough of your mouth, missy!" He lectured. "He has done plenty to prove himself! Maybe you didn't see it, but if he hadn't stepped in front of that second shot, you'd be lying on the ground right next to her! If you hadn't pressured her into shooting him, she wouldn't have even been out there. So stop being a plankton brain and go get some clean towels and some hot water. Your cousin ain't dead yet and if you shut up and do as you're told, she'll stay that way!"

For a moment, Marie was stunned. When at last, she regained her composure she only nodded and stood, going to fetch the things her Gramps had requested. "M-m-marie…" Callie wheezed as he also left her side, rummaging around through the cabinets for something to stop the bleeding. He was going to need a strong drink after this.


Amy swung another fist at me, barely giving me time to recover from dodging it by then lashing out with a brutal kick to my stomach that sent me stumbling backwards. Damn it, she hit me in the exact same spot Marie had. "Why couldn't you just leave me alone?" I grunted, trying to keep my distance.

"You've only yourself to blame." She whispered behind me. I couldn't believe how fast she was. A force like a cannon blasted through my back sending me sprawling into the Ink with a pained grunt. "You killed the recon team. Worse you didn't even finish the job. Well...these are the mistakes of your past cracking down on you."

Rolling over, I tried to get up but she slammed her foot down on my chest. "So, you wanted me to kill her?" I hissed, grasping her ankle tightly. "Was five not enough bodies for your taste?"

With a quick jerk, I snapped her forward on to her face, bending her leg back to keep her restrained in position. "Of course that's not what I wanted." She replied, managing to twist free before coiling her limbs around my like a serpent. As she began to tighten on my throat, she leaned closer to purr in my ear. "But I taught you to finish a job. Leave no witnesses, remember? If it's any consolation, I'm proud of you for being able to actually kill them. If you like, I'll show you how it's done with those two girls." She placed a kiss on my cheek as my vision began to go black.

Was this how I was going to die? Gripping her arm, I tried desperately to tear her grasp away from my throat, unable to appreciate the irony that this was probably what Callie felt just earlier. Managing to barely move it away I groaned. "I've picked up a few tricks since we last met." That was when I released it. Every ounce of the zapfish energy I'd contained from the Captain's assault, spread from my body faster than the blink of an eye. I clung to her to complete the circuit, causing the electricity to continue to cycle itself through our bodies. Now that I'd absorbed it, I'd repeatedly shove it in and draw it out of her, each time taking a bit of her neural electricity. I could feel my insides burning as she spasmed out of control.

There was a stabbing pain in my chest as one of my hearts failed, causing me to wheeze, but still I held on. I'd kill us both if I had to. I could see in her gaze that she was experiencing the same agony I was, but I wouldn't let her hurt Callie, not again! "Let...me...go." She winced, her chest starting to seize less and less. Now I could feel two hearts gone, and with one last desperate sigh she fell still, and I knew I'd killed her.

I cut off the circuit as quickly as I could, rolling over on to my back away from her as I gasped for air. I was dying, I could tell. The single heart that I hadn't fried pumped in my agonizing body, and I could only pray that my end would come soon to spare me from the awful suffering I was experiencing.

As my vision began to fade, I could see an emerald shaped blur, coming from the shack towards me. What was that? As she came closer, my eyes gained just enough focus to identify Marie, and despite her earlier words, she looked concerned. Picking up her charger, she held the tip of it at Amy's forehead. What was she doing? Amy wouldn't...there was a brief moment where the charger revved before a spurt of blue blood arced into the air, landing on my face.

She shot Amy, right through her temple. I closed my eyes, waiting for her to do the same to me. At last, I reasoned, this would be it. She'd be happy I was gone, Callie would hurt for a bit, but with luck she'd come to forget I even existed. At least it wasn't Callie who pulled the trigger. As my final heart began to slow its rhythm, I could see a bright jade light beckoning me closer to it.

As I approached it, I could hear strange and awful sounds. The noises were garbled and distorted, but even still I could understand them as if they were crystal clear. "In His House, He Dreams." What the hell was that?

As I emerged into the light, my head reeled in terror. A caustic light flooded over me, my eyes flowing over the alien and horrifying structures that spiraled upwards from the ground. Twisted figures seemed to slither from what I could only assume to be buildings, approaching me and lashing to me tightly. "No, no!" I pleaded, but I found that my mouth could not emit any sound other than the dialect that pierced into my brain.

The abominations began to drag me through what I now knew was water, a stream of air bubbles trailing from my lips to escape towards the surface. I clawed at the water, trying to get to safety where precious air waited for my lungs. Four of the figures pinned me to the ground, a fifth looming over me with a wicked-looking blade raised high above its head.

As the curved steel of the kris came down towards my chest, I opened my eyes with a blood-curdling scream that made Marie jump back with a start. In my pectoral, a needle protruded menacingly, the source of the pain. Taking it out, I hurled it away before looking at the still horrified Inkling. "What did you inject me with?" I demanded.

"Not poison." She assured me. "Your hearts had stopped, so I had to restart them." Her eyes sank slightly, and that was when I realized that it was the first time she'd seen me without my shirt on.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." I mumbled, scooping it up from the ground beside me and slipping it on. "What happened to Amy?"

Marie frowned. "You don't remember?"

I shook my head. My entire body was still shaking from what I experienced. Could it really have been a nightmare? "No." I whispered. "The last thing I remember was…" My eyes widened. "Where's Callie?!"

"Shhh!" Marie snapped. "She's resting."

"So...she's okay?"

The younger Inkling shook her head. "Gramps said the shot pierced one of her hearts. He tried to patch her up to the best of his abilities, but we'll have to wait through the night to see if she pulls through."

My hearts sank as I heard the news. "I'm so sorry, Marie. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Covering my face with my hands, I chuckled through the tears. "It always seems like trouble follows me, wherever I go."

"You called her 'Amy'. Did you know her?"

"Yeah." I replied, sniffling to keep my composure. "She was my mentor when I was drafted into the military. She taught me hand-to-hand combat specifically; she even used to tell me that I was her best pupil."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Marie whispered.

Her response surprised me. "Marie? Did something else happen?"

"I just...had my eyes opened is all." She stood, shaking her head and wiping a tear away. "I'm relieved you're okay. I'll let you rest now, too. I'm sorry...again. Goodbye, Lusca." As she vanished through the doorway, my head rested back on the pillow.

I wanted to ponder her strange behavior, but as soon as she mentioned my rest, I realized just how exhausting the day had been. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, praying that I wouldn't find myself in the same nightmare I had earlier.


Marie sighed, leaving Lusca's room and returning to the entrance of Callie's. The dark tentacled Inkling lay completely still, her arms folded over her chest. As Marie stepped inside, she sniffled again. The tears just wouldn't stop coming, it seemed. "Hey cos." She whispered, knowing that she was unable to hear her. That wouldn't stop her from speaking of course, she was used to talking to people who couldn't speak to her. Maybe, she mused, that's why I'm so screwed up.

Sitting beside her, she lifted up one of her long tentacles, stroking it affectionately.

"He's okay." She informed her. "Nearly gave me a heart attack the way he screamed when he woke up. I'll admit, when he told me he couldn't remember me putting down that bitch who shot you and carrying his unconscious ass back here, I was actually relieved. Part of me hoped he'd even forget the way I've treated him lately...and you."

Her tears began to rain down from her cheeks on to her sister's tentacle. Wiping her eyes with one of her arms she couldn't even begin to formulate an apology.

"You know I'm not good with these things." She finally began, her voice trembling. "I...I should have treated you better. You were my cousin and my sister. And let's be honest, you were the only friend I've ever really had." Marie paused, taking deep breaths to try to keep from bursting into sobs again. They didn't help. "We did everything together, you know? Ever since we were just little kids, it was always Callie and Marie. People never even realized that we weren't actually sisters."

She almost smiled through her tears reflecting back on their childhood. "But something happened, you know? As time went on, I stopped seeing you as my sister. You were just this...weight, that in my head was dragging me down to your level. I tried to paint myself as some sort of martyr for having to bail you out of the situations you got yourself in, when in truth I was just jealous I couldn't be in them with you anymore. I started to resent you for the all the fun you had."

Sniffling, she again wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I thought, 'My life is so unfair. I'm stuck having to babysit my cousin who should be more mature, while she gets to spend her life happy and smiling.' It was always your problem, it was never mine. When you told me that you loved him, I'll admit it hurt a lot. But even then, you tried to tell me that you would always love me, even if we fell for the same guy, you'd never come to hate me."

The stillness in the room disturbed her greatly, but she knew she had to resist the urge to burst out of there. This was important. Callie needed to hear her words, because Marie knew she'd never hear them again. "Then, I was such a bitch to you. I called you names; told you you were dumb and weak. I wanted you to hurt the same way I was hurting, to realize what it was like to lose someone the way I felt like I'd lost you. I don't know if you loved him or not, but either way I shouldn't have put the gun in your hands like that. If it had been me, maybe...I don't know, maybe I would be the one laying in that bed instead while you bawled your eyes out over me. It never even occurred to me that you lost me first. You were always smiling, but it wasn't for your benefit, it was for mine. You wanted me to be happy, to tell me that things could always go back to the way they were before."

She paused for a moment. "But you were wrong, Callie. We can never go back to the way we were when we were kids. The truth is, I'm not worthy of being your sister, and sometimes I feel like I never was. A sister wouldn't treat you the way I did, and I'm so very sorry that I made this happen to you. I'm sorry. I know that's hard to believe because I almost never say it, but it's true, I'm so very sorry, and now you won't even be able to forgive me because of my ignorance."

Standing up, the younger Inkling slung her bag over her back. "Listen Callie, I have to go. I wish I could say you were the only person I needed to talk to…" Sniffling, she looked at her cousin one last time before uttering her two final words. "Good bye."


It was a while later I found myself being shaken awake. "Lusca," the voice hissed, "Lusca get up!"

"Marie…" I groaned. "Not that I don't appreciate you visiting me, but right now I think Callie should be the one you're checking on."

"That...will prove difficult." The voice answered, revealing it to be more masculine. Sitting up, I realized that it was Captain Cuttlefish, his eyes somber and sullen. "I know you're hurting Lusca, but we have a major problem."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He took a deep breath, and I knew it was his way of telling me to brace myself. "Marie's gone."

Swinging my legs off of the bed, I was up in an instant. I stumbled a bit, unused to being on my feet as my body tried to refresh its memory. "Geez, how long have I been out?" I muttered.

"It's common after being shocked. Sometimes your spasming muscles need to recalibrate." He informed me. "It's still the same day."

"I'll find her Captain, don't worry." I assured him, wrapping the cloth around my head once again. "If she plans on skipping town, I know somewhere she'll have to stop first." Walking towards the door, he cleared his throat.

"Sorry squiddo, you'll have to go through the window. The door is still barricaded, I'm afraid." I let out an impatient sigh but nodded, slipping into the outside. "Oh, Lusca...one last thing."

"Yeah?"

"Be gentle with her. I know she's not the easiest to get along with but…"

"Save your breath, Captain. I already know." I grinned, stepping out and heading towards the hospital. I knew that Marie wouldn't ever consider leaving without visiting her mother.

When I finally got there, I walked to the counter to see the same nurse that had visited her mother before.

"Excuse me, ma'am."

"Yes sir? How can I help you?"

He scratched the back of his neck. What the heck was he going to tell her? "I'm looking for Marie Cuttlefish. I'm her new bodyguard, but I figured I'd give her privacy while she visited her mother. Is she still here? I kind of fell asleep on the job."

The nurse let out a disapproving 'hmmph'. "Not that I think you deserve it if you intend on napping all day, but Ms. Cuttlefish just left a little while ago. After all that nasty business, she needs protection, so if you hurry you may catch her."

Crap, she'd already left! "How long ago?" I demanded, taking the nurse aback by the sudden anxiety in my voice.

"Like a few minutes. What's the big deal? It's not like the busses are running this late anyway? Just look around, I'm sure she'll turn up. Damn."

"S-sorry. I'm just really passionate about my job."

"Mmhm." She muttered sarcastically. "Get out of my damned hospital before I punch you in the face like I want to."

Turning away from her, I quickly fled out into the street. The busses aren't running this late? Then where the hell did that girl plan on going? A sickening feeling of dread came over me. She never intended to leave the city. "Please, please." I begged. "Don't let me be too late."

As Marie stepped on to the docks, she tucked her hands in her pockets looking out over the sunset. It really was beautiful. The way Lusca appreciated it had seemed to make it more so for her, seeing as she had never really stopped to enjoy it before. On the rig, a ways off, she could make out glow-in-the-dark ink that some kids were using for a night game of turf war, and for a moment she actually smiled.

Walking further out, she went into the open boathouse that stood abandoned for so long. As beautiful as the beach was, no one ever really cared too much for staying on the water. She knew this would be the place to do what she came to do, and finding an old stool she stood it up and got to work.

Weaving the rope this way and that, she finally had a thick slipknot to use as a noose. She'd heard this was pretty quick somewhere, though she couldn't recall where. Slipping the rope around her neck, she took a few deep breaths. Already she could hear the news reports about her untimely death.

They'd speculate this or that, how she had slept with so and so, or such and such cult targeted her. She'd considered leaving a note, but she when she tried to write it her hand wouldn't stop shaking. Finally, she gave up on it all together. It wasn't as if she'd be missed anyway.

Her body was petrified as she tried to overcome her final hurdle. As much as she chastised Callie for being weak, she herself was very afraid of what came after. She knew this would be the last stop, the final destination. Her eyes began to water again. No! No tears! She commanded herself to be brave, for once in her life. This was what everyone wanted, it was what everyone needed.

She swallowed nervously, her foot seeking the edge of the stool. She'd only just nudge it a little she decided, so that if it didn't end immediately she'd be able to try something else. The last thing she wanted was to suffer, as much as she felt she deserved it.

As I finally arrived at the pier, my fears were realized. Marie was about to hang herself. I began to run as fast as I could down the pier. My hearts burned in protest, literally. I knew they wouldn't be able to handle much strain, but I didn't have a choice, I couldn't let her do this to herself.

"Marie, don't!" I cried out before coughing violently and stumbling over my own footsteps to fall to the ground. I scrambled to get back up. "Don't do it!" I tried to cry again, but this time it was a far more raspy sound than before. My lungs, it seemed, didn't escape unscathed either.

She turned towards me quickly in surprise, causing the stool beneath her to topple over into the water. She began to choke, one hand reaching for the rope at her neck, the other reaching out to me, as if pleading for help.

"Marie, no!" I shouted, before coughing up a spew of blood. I began to hobble towards her, but with almost half of the pier between us, I knew it would take a miracle to reach her in time.

To be continued...