An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 14

Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry it took so long to release a new chapter. I've received some mixed feelings about the whole Cthulu reveal. Some of you love it, others not so much, but I promise you that while there are elements of Lovecraftian horror, things will continue to switch back and forth between 'reality' and 'aberration'. That being said, at the end of February, 2016 I will be attending Anime Matsuri in Houston, TX. If you're interested in meeting me or my friends, send me a PM. I hope you enjoy! -Kiba


As we fell, Marie and I quickly shifted back into our bipedal forms, landing with a harmless thud only to realize that Callie is not with us. "Guys!" She whined. Up above, Callie was dangling by the seemingly painful manner of one of her long tentacles. Her flailing was also not doing her any favors as she swung helplessly from the grate some hundred feet up.

"Does this sort of thing happen often on your missions?" I asked Marie.

"Try every time. Literally, every single time. I keep telling her to not transform until she's about to hit the ground, but she says she likes to feel like she's floating," she replied before cupping her hands over her mouth. "Agent 1! Just transform before someone notices you!"

"I'm almost ashamed I never have before."

"Eh, it happens. I don't think she's ever been caught like that. She's just lucky I guess...in more ways than one." The last part added from Marie was obviously pointed at me, but I just shrugged it off as Callie landed beside us with a splat, obviously embarrassed.

"Sorry." She murmured through her blushing cheeks as she walked forward from the entrance. After a few paces she stopped before turning back to us. "Erm...where are we supposed to go?"

"Excellent question." I replied, touching my transponder once again. "Did you catch that Captain?"

"Yep. Head 5 klicks South and rendezvous with Sheldon there. I already got him on the horn and explained what's going on, so he should have the weapon you need."

"He says Sheldon is waiting for us that way." I answered, gesturing with my hand. "There's a town over that direction, so it's entirely possible that's where he is. Keep your disguises up. If they pick you as Inklings we'll have to fight our way through an army."

"Why do Octarians hate Inklings so much?" Callie wondered, following into step with me as we proceeded towards our destination. "I know Gramps said we had a rocky relationship because of this Cthulu thing, but if no one else knows about it, why do they still hate us?"

Walking past a phone poll, I quickly ripped off a flyer and passed it to her. As her eyes scanned the sheet, her smile waned until it was a sad frown. "What does it say?" Marie asked.

"It's propaganda." I interjected. "Inklings are viewed as predatory and mindless. No offense. Most don't actually believe that, but it's hard to go against what we do know. We're stuck underground without electricity and you're not. If we go above ground, we get attacked or worse. Is it so difficult to see why we may hold a grudge?"

"If we do defeat Cthulu, do you think that we could let the Octarians come back again?" The older agent asked hopefully. "If we told everyone on the surface…"

"They'd throw us in prison again." Marie interrupted with a scoff. "Don't be naive Agent 1. You can't undo history. Our people are too far apart now to ever bring us back together."

Callie fell silent, looking to me hopefully for some sort of rebuttal, but sadly I couldn't come up with one. Instead, I strayed slightly closer to her and slid my hand in hers. I wanted to tell her that I believed it was possible, but she'd see right through my lie. It didn't stop me from wishing that it was.

She showed her appreciation with a gentle squeeze of my hand as we entered the city's limits, revealing it to be a series of rounded kettles embedded in hollowed out caverns. It was hard to believe I was back here. It'd been so long, even before I was captured. The city was, for the most part, silent.

"Wow." Callie gasped, her eyes sparkling as she spun, looking all around. "This is where Octarians live? It's so cool!"

"Don't be fooled, it's still every bit as dangerous." I whispered softly. "Patrols come from there, there, and there every hour." I pointed to the corresponding alley ways."

"How do you know that? Have you been here before?" Marie asked.

I smiled slightly. "You could say that." I replied, walking to a nearby kettle and placing my hand against the grate, I slowly moved it out of the way so we could just barely slip through. "Coming?" I asked.

They looked at one another confused before entering one by one, Callie gripping in the darkness to find my hand again. "What is this place?" She whispered, unable to see anything in the pitch black.

"My house." I replied, causing her to stop suddenly, tugging on my hand in the process. "It's okay. The only people here are us. Sometimes my Mom comes over when she wants space from Dad."

That assurance did little for her as Marie bumped straight into her back with an 'oof'. "Callie, why did you stop?" She hissed.

"But Lusca...I thought you said...you didn't…"

"Have family?" I asked. "What do you call it when you get shipped off to the military against your will for ten years? I never really wrote home or even visited. After being indoctrinated, my father seemed ashamed to even be with me, so I wrote it off as a weak will and went about my life."

"That's so sad." Callie murmured, ignoring her cousin's protest.

I simply shrugged, placing my hand on the door and pushing it open slowly. Inside a dim bulb swung from the roof revealing a rather dusty shop with small electronic parts scattered about. As the two girls came inside, their eyes scanned the inner walls of the small area.

"Wow. This place is insane," Marie commented, running her fingers over the derelict machines that rested on the shelves. Radios, TV's, stereos, almost any electronic device that could be thought of was here. "Did you build all of these?"

"No, most of them are scrap from the parts I've had to use to repair others. I doubt there's a single machine that still functions in here."

"Then, why are we here?" Callie's voice was uneasy. Was there something here that was making her nervous? "I thought we were supposed to meet with Sheldon."

"We are." I replied. "I know a shortcut." The room was beginning to become very hot. Understandable, since there was no air conditioning down below like there was on the surface. Beads of sweat began to form on my forehead and when I rubbed it with the back of my hand, I noticed a strange brown patch on it. Wiping it off on my pants, the three of us continued forward, but behind me I could hear them whispering to one another in hushed voices. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" They both cried together in unison, causing me to look to them both suspiciously. After they didn't say anything more, I turned away from them and continued walking towards the back of the shop. Looking at the point locater strapped to my wrist, I could see myself, Callie, and Marie walking through the shop. But behind us was a fourth dot.

"Down!" I cried, turning and firing quickly. Both girls hit the deck, as I began to rapidly fire at our pursuer. She just stood there, coated in ink and unharmed. That wasn't possible though, this ink should burn through anyone. Instead, she simply shook herself, causing the ink to fall around her in a wide puddle.

I was stunned by what I saw. It was a small child. She couldn't have been more than six or seven years old with dark purple and green tentacles and piercing violet eyes. Despite her innocent look, however, I felt a feeling of dread come over me. She was in danger! Her arms stretched out towards me, as if she were asking me to pick her up in the air, but as soon as I went to take a step, Callie and Marie rushed me from both sides, jerking me to the ground. The little girl began to sink into the ink, calling me towards her as I struggled beneath the grip of the two women. "Lusca, stop!" Callie cried, but I continued to squirm.

"Let me go! I need to...get to her!"

As I continued to struggle to get to a girl that no one else could see, Marie looked at her cousin in concern. "What do we do?" She muttered, the rage in my eyes building beneath the smeared symbol on my forehead.

Callie took a deep breath and removed her hands. As soon as she released me, I went to get up, but as her hands went to my cheeks she easily kept me in place as my heart rate began to slow. She looked deep into my eyes with her own, a somber worry flooding their gaze. "Please, Lusca. There's no one there. You need to get control of yourself," she whispered. "We can fix you, but we need your help. Please, don't let this get to you."

"Callie... " I muttered back, just as Marie's fist crashed down on my face causing me to cover my nose with a cry of pain. "Ow! What the Hell, Marie?"

"Fixed." She stated plainly, standing up as Callie clambered off of me. "Now then, the faster we get this done, the faster we can fix lover boy's mind. Let's hustle." As she walked away, Callie frowned, helping me to my feet.

"I'm sorry, Lusca."

"Ow." I groaned, tenderly touching the sore spot on my face. "Don't be...it's not your fault she's crazy."

She frowned, biting her lip nervously. "I'm not sure that's true."


Agent 3 slid down the hill she'd coated with Ink, easily blasting away Octarian forces around her. These guys were amateurs. They couldn't even begin to get close to touching her with their ink. Almost immediately, she scolded herself for her lax nature. After meeting Lusca, it was apparent that some Octarians were actually much more skilled than she would have presumed.

"Agent 3!" A voice buzzed in her ear, causing her to stop for a moment. Putting her gun over her shoulder, she fired straight behind her to hit the Octoball that was sneaking up on her. "How goes your advancement? Are you beginning to get close to the Octostamp?"

"Mmhm." She hummed cheerfully, arming a seeker and tossing it along the ground. With a series of beeps, it locked on to the hiding Octarian who thought himself safe before homing in on him and exploding in a cloud of ink.

"Excellent work. Way to be, Agent 3! Now listen up Squiddo, Lusca wasn't kidding around when he explained how dangerous this mission is."

The lazy Inkling nodded her head in understanding, until a giant shadow loomed over her. "Umm…" She began, turning to see the gigantic war machine looming over her. On the front was the gigantic face of an Octoling. It's entire body was comprised of a gigantic metal cube and as it slowly lumbered towards her, she wondered how in the world she hadn't heard it approaching behind her. Had she let her guard down?

Captain Cuttlefish had heard that 'umm' before. It was the sound that she was in hot ink, but from where he was there wasn't much he could do. "You alright Agent 3?"

The only response he heard was the sound of ink being splattered all over the place. Meanwhile, Agent 3 leapt to the side, just as the enormous block hit the ground with earth-shaking force that nearly knocked her off her feet. A nova of ink splattered around him towards her, but she managed to quickly fire a spray of her own ink that protected her from it. Seeing her opportunity, she sprayed up it's side and quickly swam to its back where an exhaust port waited.

Pulling the pin on an ink grenade, she tossed it into the pipe before siphoning her ink to propel her to safety. With a boom, smoke began to billow out of its back, causing the thing to jerkily spin in confusion. This was her talent, the only thing she felt she could claim as her own. Her skill made her valuable for only one thing: being an unstoppable force of war. There was a click in her headset as it switched to the next track.

Tonight, my head is spinning. I need something to pick me up! I've tried, but nothing is working. I won't stop; I won't say I've had enough! Tonight, I start the fire! Tonight, I will break away!

A smug grin crossed her features as the thing's shadow fell over her once more. It was mid air, but she knew what to do now. With a flash, she vanished from where she stood, causing the thing to hit nothing but empty ink as panels crumbled away from its side.

Break! Away from everybody! Break! Away from everything! If you can't stand, the way this place is, take yourself to higher places!

Aiming downward, she propelled herself up and over the thing's back. Another exhaust port! As she landed on it with a thud, she shoved the nozzle of her weapon in and flooded it's compartment with the destructive and sticky liquid. With both ports blocked, there was only one more thing to do.

At night, I feel like a vampire! It's not right, I just can't give it up! I'll try to get myself higher, let's go! We're going to light it up! Tonight, we start the fire! Tonight, we will break away!

The machine lurched beneath her, sending her straight towards a sea of violet Octarian Ink. If she fell into that, it'd be the end of her. She quickly sprayed a small spot beneath her, and angled to dive straight in with a light splash. She could feel the Octoarian Ink burn her skin where she brushed against it, but she was grateful to have not been drowning in it. As she came up for air, again the thing was right above her going for a body slam.

Break! Away from everybody! Break! Away from everything! If you can't stand, the way this place is, take yourself to higher places!

Tears began to stream down her cheeks. This was the end for her. She wondered how long it would be before her parents realized she wasn't there. Someone new would come along and take her spot in Splatfest. That was when Lusca's face appeared in her mind. She wouldn't give up, not until she could defeat him!

Dropping a seeker, she kicked it hard, skidding it across the ground and smearing a path of ink. She immediately, dropped and swam faster than she ever had before through the ink before she found herself bursting out into the light.

If you can't stand, the way this place is…

Turning back, she saw the splayed mechanical legs of the device. She began to spray her ink deep into the mechanisms to gum up the movements. It wouldn't be getting back up anymore.

Take (take)

Climbing up the the things back, she found the entrance hatch to the cockpit.

Yourself (yourself)

Grasping it, she ripped it open to see a horrified Octoling looking up at her.

To higher places!

Tossing a grenade inside, she immediately slammed the hatch shut, standing on it. After a few moments of desperate banging beneath her feet, a tremor followed by the oozing of her viridian green ink from the hatch's sides preceded the final words of the song.

Take yourself to higher places!

Spinning her gun skillfully, she tucked it back into her holster before pausing her soundtrack. Placing her fingers to her ear, she paged the Captain. The world around her was eerily silent, the screams of the Octoling still fresh in her mind. "Agent 3? Are you alright?"

"It's done."

As the radio cut out once more, Captain Cuttlefish shuddered. That child was almost nightmarishly frightening. Once again, he questioned the wisdom of bringing her on board, but he couldn't deny that she obtained results. "Way to go, squiddo," he replied in a shaky voice. "We've got another mission for you if you're ready. It's going to be even more of a doozy than this one. If you want to go home and rest, I'll understand."

Steph considered it for a moment. Her chest rose and fell, struggling to catch up with the physical exertion she'd just spent destroying the mechanical monster. "Lusca…"

"He and Agents 1 and 2 are still on their own mission. I'm afraid it's much too dangerous for you to…"

She immediately cut him off. "No rest." Switching off her radio, she drew her gun and began spraying herself a path through the field of half-melted corpses to get to her next objective. She wouldn't stop, not after she destroyed a hundred Octarian War Machines. He may see her as a kid, but she wouldn't cease until he acknowledged her as a fellow soldier.


As the three of us went through the shop, I could still feel the intense pain from Marie's strike. How close had I come from diving headfirst into that puddle of ink? More importantly, who was that young girl? She looked a little like an Octoling...Inkling too. Was she something in between? The possibility sent my mind reeling as my gaze went to Callie. If an Inkling and an Octoling could mate then, could we also…

"Callie, I think it's time to punch him again." Marie called from behind me. "He's got that look on his face."

"What look?" I growled. "This is my normal face!"

"He's fine, Marie," Callie huffed as she tightened the grip on her roller. "I'm still not convinced that you should have hit him."

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Please don't talk about me like I'm not here." I interjected.

"Look Callie, I get that you like him, but you have to realize that he's not in control anymore. We need to control him before someone or something else does. Besides, his brain is spread through his whole body, remember? Punching him in the face isn't a huge risk of injury."

"That doesn't mean I enjoy it!"

"Lusca, please...calm down," Callie pleaded, pushing open the entrance to the tunnel before immediately shutting it again with a surprised squeal. "We can't go down there."

"Why?" Marie demanded, walking over to it and opening it. Inside the entire tunnel was pitch black. "Ugh, Callie come on! Grow up."

"What? What is it?" I asked.

Callie's hand nervously rubbed her shoulder as her eyes fell to her feet. "Callie is scared of the dark," Marie explained, "which is silly, because she's supposed to be an adult!"

"Don't be like that." I retorted. "Everyone's afraid of something."

"Not me," Marie replied. "I'm not afraid of anything. You don't seem to be afraid of much either, so I guess that just leaves one of us. I'd like to point out that Agent 3 is almost half your age and she's doing just fine, Callie. So grow up so we can finish this mission or whatever."

"I-I'm sorry." Callie stammered. "I d-d-don't think I c-can." My heart went out to her, truly. She looked as if she were about to cry.

"Do you want Lusca to lose his sanity?!" Her cousin demanded.

"Of course not, but…"

"Then stop being a cry baby and get in the tunnel! Every second that passes is another step closer to him losing control again, and if you stop now then you may as well be saying that you don't care."

"That's not…"

"Look at it this way! If you 'love' him like you claim to, then you'll do it for him. It's as simple as that. Are you willing to put your own personal feelings aside to save his life? Because if you're not, then you don't really love him."

"That's enough, Marie!" I snapped, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. "Can't you see you're hurting her?" Tears had begun streaming down Callie's cheeks as her legs trembled beneath her. "I know you're concerned about me and I appreciate that, but don't take it out on Callie because you know that I don't love you!" There was an unsettling silence that drifted over the three of us. In Marie's eyes there were many emotions blended together. I could feel her rage and sorrow mixing inside of her and I kicked myself for not having seen it sooner. Even still, I couldn't stop myself as I clenched my fists. "You are not the only one here who is hurting! Do you think she doesn't know what's at stake here? She was listening to Captain's story, same as you!"

"Lusca, you don't have to…"

"No Callie! I'm not going to just let you get bullied into…"

"That's enough!" Callie snapped, causing me to wheel about in surprise. She sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "She's right, okay? You nearly killed yourself last time because we were in danger. The entire reason we're here is because you saved both of our lives while I did nothing. I can't do nothing again. We can't keep getting lucky. This isn't about whether or not I can be brave enough to go in the tunnel. It's about whether or not I can risk my life to save you."

"That is no one's fault," I argued. "You can't just be expected to make a big decision like that. I was forced to do what I did. We have other options now!"

She shook her head fervently, her tentacles swirling behind her head. "No, we don't. We've already almost lost you multiple times. Your sanity is weakening. What happens if you get to a point where even if we beat this thing, you don't come back? I can't bear the thought of that."

"Then get in the tunnels!" Marie interjected.

"Marie, I told you she doesn't have to…" BAM! Callie's fist slammed hard into me, sending me stumbling back. "Callie?"

"Give him back!" She snapped. "You're not Lusca, so give him back to me."

"Callie, I'm fine! I'm not going…" BAM! Another punch that brought me to my knees from the force. She wasn't holding back at all.

"You're lying!" Callie argued. "Lusca would never act like this! He wouldn't just let me give up on him because I was scared! The real Lusca would push me to be brave and tell me that I could do it. He wouldn't tell me to back out, ever! I don't know who or what you are, but you're not the man I love!" Turning away from me, she nodded to Marie. "Stay here and watch him. I'm not sure if he's back or not, but I'm going to go check the tunnels. Maybe Sheldon has something that can help us."

"Callie!" I called, but she turned and delivered a fierce kick to my jaw.

"If he tries to move again, take his gun and tie him up." She instructed, causing her cousin to nod in understanding. With that, she took a deep breath and transforming into a squid, she dove into the darkness.

After a few moments, Marie turned back to regard me. Sitting on the ground beside where I lay, she reached into her pack and pulled out a small square of fabric before pouring a foul smelling chemical on to it. "Hold still, you're bleeding" she instructed, moving her hand closer to place it against my cheek.

I let out a hiss as it touched my cut. "It burns."

"Don't be a baby," she argued, "it'll get infected if I don't clean it and the last thing I want is another person to visit in the hospital." As she pulled it away, she placed a small bandage over it. "There. I may not be a nurse, but I'm not too shabby at cleaning up a wound."

After a brief moment, I muttered, "Thanks."

"So, care to tell me what that was all about?"

"What?"

"That whole speech you gave. Look, I know that you're still all there right now, because insane Lusca would be talking to imaginary friends and blasting away with his gun. You're still lucid, so you may as well come clean."

"You let Callie beat the crap out of me, knowing that she was wrong?"

"Oh, she wasn't wrong," Marie yawned, "you're not acting like yourself. Besides, after all that shit talking, you deserved a good butt whooping. But don't try to change the subject. What's going on in that mantle of yours?"

"Look, you've been acting strange since we left the shack. You're upset about something and I'm just…"

"Worried that I'd take it out on my cousin?" she finished. "I suppose that's fair. It's not like I have a shining record of emotional stability." She lifted her hat off of her head, running her hand through her silver tentacles to slick them back. "Look, I'm not mad about you and her. Truth be told, I've been expecting it, remember?"

"Then, what is it?"

"You left me, Lusca."

"What?"

"I know that kiss supposedly didn't mean anything, but it doesn't change how a young woman's heart works. I'll be the first to admit that I genuinely enjoyed it and that for me it meant quite a bit. I fell asleep with you in my lap but when I woke up, you were just gone. You didn't even say goodbye or anything."

"I'm sorry, Marie. I wanted to let you sleep. I didn't think…"

She held up her hand, stopping me. "It's alright. You don't have to pretend to like me, Lusca. I can see it in your eyes. When Callie kissed you before we left, and told you she loved you, your eyes said you love her too. Not to mention that I've tried to kiss you a dozen times, and every time you've given me a lecture on why it would never work. But for her, you just let it happen. Like I've said before, she always gets the cute ones."

"I don't know," I teased, "Agent 3 is pretty cute. I think that counts."

"Shut up," Marie giggled. "Look, what I'm trying to say is...if you do end up changing your mind and you want to date Callie, don't worry about me. I've made my peace with it. So don't feel like you have to shelter me from my emotions. Even if we're not together, it's more important to me that I don't lose her...or you."

"Is it true what you said? About not being afraid of anything?"

"Of course not," She answered. "I'm afraid of losing my family, which sorry for you, includes yourself. What about you?"

"To be honest, this whole Cthulu business frightens me. How could Octavio do this to us? I can feel the insanity in the back of my mind, just slowly chipping away until it breaks through. Every time it's different. First I thought Callie and Gramps were monsters trying to kill me. Then I thought you two were plotting against me. Now I'm seeing children who aren't even there. It worries me because I can't help but wonder if any of this is real. Are you even actually here talking to me or are you and Callie both dead and I'm just sitting by your corpses rambling to myself? I'm not able to distinguish what's real or imaginary any more and that scares the absolute shit out of me."

Marie said nothing in reply. She just placed her hands in mine and gently kissed my cheek. I flashed her a reassuring smile, but my eyes couldn't help but to glance over her shoulder at the small and frightened girl from before, huddled in the corner and looking at me with her piercing violet eyes.


Callie's tentacles glowed slightly in the tunnel as she cautiously made her way through it. "This is for Lusca." She reminded herself, over and over again. Just then, a cockroach scurried across her foot, going towards her leg before she quickly brushed it off with a surprised squeal. "I hate the dark!" She cried out in frustration. Up ahead, however, she could see a faint golden light at the end of the tunnel. The exit!

She quickly ran towards it, taking in deep breaths as she worked to escape what she was certain was her worst nightmare given form. Reaching the exit, she burst through the tunnel, but instead of being back in Octo Valley, she was standing on a large round platform with waves crashing into the sides of it.

Around the edge were large stone pillars like one would see in an ancient parthenon. They were ornately carved, some of them still bearing the tops that bridged them together, while others were cracked and worn away. The most shocking thing, however were the two suns that stood high in the sky, illuminating a hooded figure dressed in bright yellow. Its robes were tattered, flowing on a breeze that Callie could not feel.

However, she reasoned, there must be one. For in the air, from seemingly far away, she could hear Marie's voice singing softly. The melody was absolutely haunting; certainly not a song the two of them had ever sang together. She began to panic, turning back to find the tunnel's entrance was gone as the words swirled around in her ears and her mind.

"Along the shore the cloud waves break,

The twin suns sink behind the lake,

The shadows lengthen

In Carcosa.

Strange is the night where black stars rise,

And strange moons circle through the skies,

But stranger still is

Lost Carcosa.

Songs that the Hyades shall sing,

Where flap the tatters of the King,

Must die unheard in

Dim Carcosa.

Song of my soul, my voice is dead,

Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed

Shall dry and die in

Lost Carcosa."

Swallowing nervously, she drew her roller, turning back to the figure that stood, unable to be seen beneath its flaxen hood. Stepping closer, the song continues to echo around her as the figure finally seems to take notice of her presence. Stepping closer to her, its gloved hands reach up and pull the hood back, revealing a nightmarish skull shaped as a pallid mask.

Something deep inside of Callie screams to her to run as fast and as far as she can, but she finds her legs are frozen in place. Looking down, the same marble that made up the stones had begun to climb her legs, transforming them before her eyes. Soon it was up to her waist, heading to her neck. She let out a blood curdling shriek before all fell silent, once again.


To be continued...