An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 18
AN: Hey everyone I know that this has been pretty hectic lately. Some of you are enjoying the Lovecraftian aspect, some of you not. For those of you who don't, I'm sorry to say that it will be carrying on to the end of the series which is rapidly approaching. Either way, I hope that you continue to read and give me feedback, I appreciate it even if it isn't positive so please feel free to leave something behind. If you like it, a favorite and a follow go a long way, if you don't tell me what you don't like so I can improve. I'm always eager to receive criticism. Thank you again for all of your support. -Kiba
Callie and I sheepishly rose from the bed, following Sheldon back to the living room. "So, while you two have been…talking...I decided I'd pour through Grandpappy's notes to see if there was any information there. Unfortunately, Lusca, our hypothesis was indeed accurate. She's pregnant."
"Pr-pregnant?!" Callie squealed in surprise. "B-but that would mean that she…"
"Not exactly," he replied, flipping a few pages in the thick tome before holding it up for our inspection. "He mentions a prophecy located in a book he calls the 'Necronomicon' that contains detailed information about most of the Great Old Ones: dead or alive. It states that if Cthulu is ever killed, he can be awoken. However, when you awaken him, he still must be born into the world, so for his vessel he chose his daughter: Cthylla."
"That's creepy," she uttered with a shiver.
I grasped Callie's hand comfortingly before asking, "How do we know for certain that Sil is Cthylla? I mean, how do we know that she isn't just a...pregnant Great Old One other than Cthylla."
Sheldon frowned, scratching his cheek. "That's...not going to be an answer you like hearing."
"What do you mean?"
"The Yellow Sign is far more dangerous than we first feared. It's not just the Crest of Carcosa, it is a Great Old One. Specifically, his name is Hastur and he is Cthulu's half-brother. Now, bear with me for a moment, because this is going to be complicated. Cthulu threatened to destroy Carcosa, which is a distant dimension outside of space and time that is ruled over by Hastur. In order to save Carcosa, Hastur placed his essence into the mark, using it to manifest as a mortal and to combat Cthulu. He managed to seal Cthulu away from Carcosa, barely saving it, but it resulted in his death. However, prophecy says that if Cthulu is killed and is to be reborn, Hastur's mark selects someone it feels will be easily manipulated."
"Sorry?"
"Shh," Callie hushed.
Straightening his goggles, Sheldon continued his explanation. "See, before he died, Hastur was Cthylla's god-father. When Cthulu dies, his role is to shepherd her to her prophecy and to give birth to him once more. Needless to say, being killed changes his mind on the matter. Cthylla is still his half-niece, so he still wishes to care for her. It's entirely plausible that the reason she is drawn to you, and vice versa is because of his influence on your mind." Finished with his explanation, he shut the book with a heavy thud and a grin. "Apparently, Hastur was more of a father to her than her actual father: thus, her name for you." He also uttered another thing under his breath.
"Can you repeat that?" I asked, looking to Sil, or Cthylla, I reminded myself, I could see her eyes closed as she lay doubled over in pain. What sick twisted sort of being would choose his own daughter as his vessel? Sheldon snapped his fingers in front of my face, causing me to cast him a perplexed look.
"Do not get attached," he warned ominously.
"Why not?" Callie asked, sitting beside her head to stroke her tentacles from her face. "She's sweet and adorable."
"Cthylla is mentioned a few times in the text. She may be your hindbrain's niece Lusca...but she's also destined to be Hastur's wife."
Time seemed to freeze as his words ran through me like a freight train. After a moment, Callie began to giggle, then she burst into laughter, unable to control herself. Clutching her stomach, she fell off of the sofa onto the ground, tears forming in her eyes. "It's not that funny, Callie," I grumbled.
"It's hilarious! That's like...the fourth person who is romantically interested in you now? And she's like five!" She began to cackled again just as Sheldon interrupted.
"Actually, she's ancient. Aeons old, really."
Callie sat up wiping her eyes as she tried to control her fits of laughter. "S-sorry, it's just so funny!"
"I fail to see how," I protested.
"Don't you get it Lusca? That's why she attacked Marie and I any time we tried to get close! She wanted you all to her...self…" her words trailed off as something occurred to her, her eyes going to the unopened room. "I hope Marie's okay."
"It's very important," Sheldon interrupted, "that your feelings be kept under wraps for the time being. Chaos makes Cthulu stronger, and believe me, we already have enough to contend with."
"Which is why we were looking for a weapon, right? You said you thought you could remake the one your Grandfather used," I quickly added, trying to change the subject before Callie became too upset.
"In theory, yes. See the way Cthulu is killed...or rather is banished...is by exposing him to a high concentration of vibrational energy at varying frequencies."
"Ooh, ooh, ooh! Like a guitar?" Callie asked excitedly.
"Sort of. You're on the right track. It's a song. If we use a modified version of my Killer Wail, we can blast him back to the Abyss where he belongs."
"That's fine and all," I agreed, "but what about Cthylla? We can't just…"
"Do NOT get attached," he reminded me again. "As far as I know, the song only banishes Cthulu, but don't think for one moment that because she's sweet and loving right now that his daughter is not every bit as destructive as he is."
"Let me get Marie, she needs to hear this," Callie declared, walking to the door, but Sheldon quickly stepped in front of her, blocking the entrance. "Sheldon?"
"It'd be better if I did it, Callie. Remember...chaos brings power."
With a frown, the popstar nodded solemnly. As Sheldon cracked open the door, he paused, opening it a bit wider before poking his head back out. "Erm...bad news…"
"What is it?"
"She's gone."
"Damn it! Again?!" I snapped, Callie and I running to grab our disguises before Sheldon quickly cut us off.
"Sheldon, that's starting to get annoying," Callie growled. "We need to find her."
"No, we need to focus on the problem we have here. If she left, that's all the better because she's removing the chaotic feelings she has from Cthulu's presence. I care about Marie, too, Callie, but that's not what's important right now. The entire world is at stake."
"But...we can't just…"
"Look, here's the plan. I'll begin work on the weapon. With the tools and weapons your Gramps has around here, it won't be hard for me to synthesize one. We can send one person out to get Marie, the other needs to look after Sil."
"I'll go," Callie declared.
"Wrong. Lusca should be the one to go."
"Are you serious?" I argued. "Why me?"
"For starters, this is your fault."
"My fault?!"
"You're the reason she flipped out like she did. The Yellow Sign's madness was amplified by the thin fabric of existence below Octo Valley. If you reign yourself in, you'll be the one to snap her out of it. Not to mention that I don't want you near Sil any longer than is absolutely necessary. If Hastur gains a greater control on your mind, there's no telling what you'll do."
"Yes, but...I mean...won't this just make it worse if I go?"
"Only if you kiss her," Callie blithely muttered, before giving a sigh of surrender. "But he's right, Lusca. You always seem to be able to bring her out of a funk. You find her, I'll stay here and watch over Sil." I opened my mouth to protest again, but her hand reached out to grab mine. "Please. For me? I promise, I will take good care of Sil. I won't let Sheldon do anything until you get back, okay?"
As my eyes met her golden ones, my head slowly bobbed up and down. Her touch was so calming that I was surprised by how quickly I'd agreed. Putting my disguise on, I nodded to them both, leaving the shack to find Marie.
I was not surprised, when again, I found her by the docks. Thankfully, this time, she was not dangling from a rope, but simply sat there, staring out over the ocean as the salty sea air blew through her tentacles. "Marie?" I called, causing her to look over her shoulder at me with a smile.
"Hey," she replied in greeting, before falling silent to return to her gazing. Lowering myself next to her, I felt a strange sensation coming from her. She seemed almost tranquil. Happy, even.
"Are you alright?"
"Shh," she interrupted, "don't spoil the view with noise."
I quietly nodded, simply looking out over the ocean. It was beautiful. Once again, just as it had before when we had our talks here, the sun was setting painting the normally crystal blue water a fiery orange.
"Nice hickie."
It took me a moment to register what she'd said, but I just gave a chuckle. "Thanks," I replied. "It was a gift."
She rolled her eyes before jabbing me playfully in the side with her elbow. "A gift for what?"
"The hickie I gave her, of course."
"For once, you make the first move? I can scarcely believe it to be true," she teased, the smile never leaving her face. "Lusca, I'm really sorry about what happened down there."
"Don't be. None of us were in control of the things we did. Cthulu apparently feeds on chaos. You, Marie, seem to have a lot of it."
She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm complicated," she replied. "I've kind of embraced that by now. Even still, I shouldn't have put you or Callie on the spot like that."
"Actually, I'm glad you did. I don't mind arguing as much as you may think. Sometimes it's healthy to hear what you want to ignore. Callie and I talked about it, and now we've moved past it."
"Just like that, huh?"
"Yep. Water under the bridge."
"What about me?"
"We argue all the time. It's a constant cycle of 'water under the bridge', though at this point it's more like 'water over the dam'."
She shook her head. "Don't you ever get sick of dealing with me? I know I would."
"Sometimes," I admitted honestly, "but with those times also come the good ones."
"It's been a week, Lusca. How can we have bad and good times? Surely you don't have an opinion of someone formulated in only a week complex enough to pick out the good and bad."
"It was less than a week when I saved you the last time we were here," he explained. "On top of that, the talks we've had on this pier have really helped me as well. What I'm trying to get at is when it comes to my friends Marie, I'm glad to count you among them."
Marie sighed. "Yeah, some friend I've been. I've been trying to break you up with Callie for the last two days. I even tried to kill my own cousin and when that didn't work, I was tricked into trying to kill myself...again."
"But you also stopped me from jumping into the pool of ink after Sil. Or when you tried to protect me from the Carcosans. You comforted me when I was drowning in guilt after killing that police officer. Don't think I've forgotten you dragging my sorry carcass back inside after the fight with Amy either. You're not a bad friend Marie. You're just...complicated."
She chuckled before falling flat on her back to look up at the sky, her legs dangling off the end of the pier. "Complicated is a good word," she agreed. "Bitchy is a better one. Bipolar, maybe."
"More like tsunder-"
She socked me in the face. She wasn't trying to hurt me, but she made sure to shut me up before I could finish the sentiment. "I swear if you call me that again, I'll turn you to chum."
"Yeah, yeah. All right," I surrendered, tenderly stroking my chin.
"Tell me something, Lusca."
"Okay. So a mollusk and a sea cucumber are in a bar and…"
"Smart-ass."
"What do you want to know?"
"Do you really like Callie?"
"Of course."
"You like her?"
"Yes."
"You like like her?"
"Is there a point to this?"
Marie closed her eyes, resting her head on her hands. "Well, I suppose I could give you my blessing then."
"Your blessing?"
"Callie and I have had a pact for a long time. We're not allowed to date anyone without the other's blessing. That's just the rules, sorry."
I chuckled. "How many times have these rules actually come into play?"
"Just you."
"Right," I laughed. "Well, your blessing means a lot to me. Thanks."
Her golden eyes opened as she stared upward at the clouds, seagulls soaring overhead. "Seriously though, Lusca. If you hurt Callie, you know what'll happen, don't you?"
"Something equivalent to being strangled by my own tentacles?"
"To put it simply, if you break her heart, I'll break you."
I nodded in understanding. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure where we are right now. I don't know if we're serious or casual or together or not. It's all so up in the air and this whole Old Ones business isn't helping at all."
"Well, as your best friend…"
"Giving yourself that title now, are you?"
"Shut up. As your best friend, I recommend finding out where you want to be first. So, Lusca, where would you like to be in this relationship, hmm?"
I considered it for a moment before laying down on the pier as well, hoping to find some inspiration in the sky, too. "Love is complicated."
She smirked. "Ah so you love her now?"
"Really? Going to tease me in the middle of our heart felt talk? That's what this is has come to?"
"Of course, I'm your best friend."
I nudged her playfully. "You're Callie's too, you know? So...does that make me your best friend?"
"Nope."
"Oh really?"
"Yep. My best friend is Judd. He doesn't judge." I opened my mouth to protest before she quickly added, "Me. He doesn't judge me. Don't you dare think about being a smart ass again."
"So, what should I tell Callie?"
"Tell her the truth. You have feelings for her and you want to be with her."
"But what about the whole Octoling and Inkling thing? Shouldn't I take the danger to her into consideration too? What if they decide to throw you both in prison again because they think you're Octolings in disguise?"
Marie thought about it for a moment, tilting her head slightly to the side. "I think, she'd be willing to take that chance. Besides, we could always just keep you disguised. With your mask on, we'll just tell everyone you're our ninja body guard. Hua!" She gave me a playful chop to the chest.
"I'd much rather be a pirate."
"I will seriously kill you."
"Sorry." After a brief silence between us, I spoke up. "We know what...or who, Sil is."
She turned her head to regard me. "Oh?" Meeting her gaze, the seriousness caused her expression to sink. "It's not good, is it?"
"'Fraid not. She's Cthulu's daughter: Cthylla."
"Original."
"It gets weirder."
She laughed. "Weirder how?"
"She's pregnant." Silence. "With Cthulu." More silence.
"I can't wait for this to be over and done with."
"THere's more."
"God! How can there possible be more?"
"The Yellow Sign means that a Great Old One is basically manifested in my body. His name is Hastur. He's her half-uncle and Cthulu's half-brother."
"Welcome to the family, I guess?" She teased but I still remained quite. "Something else?!"
"Hastur is in an arranged marriage with Cthylla."
She took a deep sigh. "I swear, you have to be attracting all these women on purpose. There's no way it's all just accident and happenstance."
"I'm not even that attractive," I agreed. "My personality is nothing spectacular."
"You're a great kisser though."
"Do you even have a comparison?" Another punch to my face shut me up quick as I hissed. "Ow. Okay, fine. Sheesh. Thanks for the compliment."
"Is Callie mad?"
"About Cthylla?"
"About me."
"No. You know Callie. She gets mad, then she gets worried. The worry far overtakes the mad. The way I see it, no harm, no foul. If we head back to the shack, we can make it before dark and then Callie can stop being worried. Once this whole Cthulu thing is finally put to rest, then we can sit down together and have a nice long talk about everything."
She sighed, standing up and offering me her hand to help me to my feet. "Looking forward to it."
Steph shivered in the chill of the cold, tugging her vest closer around her small body. Night had begun to set and she had finally managed to make it out of Octovalley. Clambering up the pole beside her house, she swung into her room, landing smartly with a thud.
Immediately, she heard footsteps rushing towards her room and with an insane speed, she managed to shed her armor and gear, stowing it into a duffel bag and shoving it under her bed, before sitting on her bed innocently as the door came crashing open to reveal the frame of her mother and father. "There you are!" Her mother cried, rushing beside her to hug her tightly. "We were so worried about you!" A lie, Steph knew, but she just remained silent, not saying a word.
"See, told you the kid was fine," her father grumbled, taking another swig of his drink. Her mother glared over her shoulder at him.
"How can you say that? Who knows what could have happened? She could have been kidnapped or murdered or seriously hurt and we wouldn't have even known because you refused to call the police!"
"Why would I call the police? She leaves the house all the damned time!" As the two of them began to bicker excessively, Steph's heart sank. This was how it always was. With a yawn, she rolled away from her parents as their argument travelled back and forth like a whirlwind, carrying them out of her room and down the stairs to drown their problems with a bottle.
Quietly, Steph walked to her door closing it before fetching the radio once more from the bag. Twisting the knob on the top it let out a crackle of static before she held the button. "Hello?" She asked, her voice soft and meek.
After a brief moment, Lusca's voice spoke back. "Hey there, Agent 3. How are you doing? Did you get home safe?"
She paused for a moment, clutching the radio tightly as she pondered what to say. She wanted to tell him everything the way she had told the Captain. She wanted to explain that nothing was okay and that she'd never be all right. Instead, she replied with a shy, "Mmhm."
"That's a relief. I'm sorry we can't be more help to you Agent 3. We've had a few mishaps on our side, too. I promise we're going to get Captain back."
"Okay."
"Hey. Steph?" She nodded, before realizing he couldn't see her head and quickly adding another affirmative to indicate she was listening. "I'm proud of you, squiddo. I'm glad to be on your team."
Her hearts thumped roughly as what little words she had suddenly were choked in her throat. It took her a few seconds before answering. "Really?"
"Of course. What you did today was amazing. I didn't think anyone could take on an Octarian war machine by themselves, but you did. I can honestly say that we are all impressed. The Captain's faith in you was not misplaced."
Behind her tears, Steph wore a big grin that she couldn't explain. Her parents had never taken an interest in her skills at Turf War. Never had they found pride in her accomplishments. She couldn't help but feel silly that a stranger telling her he was proud of her was what it took to make her cry tears of joy.
"Still there Steph?"
"Yes," she gasped, drawing her knees to her chest. "Thank you, Lusca. And don't worry, I'll keep fighting. There's more warmachines that need to be defeated, right?" It was the most she'd ever spoken to him, but somehow the words felt right.
"Are you up to it? Don't push yourself any harder than you have to, okay? The worst thing that could happen for us is to lose you."
Steph smiled, again, wiping her face with her hand to remove the leftover remnants of her tears. "I think you would still be able to rescue the Captain without me," she replied meekly.
There was a pause for a moment. Had her radio gone out? Checking that everything was working, she nearly dropped the thing when suddenly his voice crackled to life once more. "That's not what I'm concerned about. The Captain wouldn't like anyone being splatted on his behalf."
"Right," she answered shakily. "I'll do my best."
Just then, the door to her room burst open again. How had she not heard her parents argument stop? "Who are you talking to, huh?! Give me the radio and go to bed," her father growled snatching it from her grip.
"W-wait, don't…" she started before there was a loud clap and the harsh sting of her father's slap across her cheek. Immediately, she fell quiet her eyes lowering to the ground as she nursed her wound.
"Better," he snarled. "Now shut up and go to sleep. And if you even think about sneaking out again tomorrow, you'll regret it."
As the door to her room slammed shut, Steph sniffled, clutched her knees and rolled on to her side to stare out the window. She knew the punishments coming her way if she disobeyed, but Lusca, Callie, and Marie were all counting on her. Captain Cuttlefish, too. Someday, she swore, she'd become a real secret agent. The other agents would be her friends and they'd stick up for her when her parents were nasty and mean.
Closing her eyes, Steph began to fall asleep. In her dreams, she saw the many adventures that awaited her for the day she finally found her place amongst the rest of the Squidbeak Splatoon.
The fierce yellow eyes of the creature that had once been Major Miranda flowed through the subterranean excavations. Its fingers ran along the dripping stones that lined the old sewer, scraping long claws into the brick and mortar with a terrible hiss.
That was when it picked up the scent, the unmistakable stench of the eldritch Crest of Carcosa that had transformed her into what it was now. "Lu...sca…" she rasped, tapping on the brick deliberately with each step.
Every time her fingernail would tap a brick, it'd puncture a hole straight through it, causing the stone to wither and decay around it as it shuffled along. Its goal was clear: it was to serve the Yellow King and to ensure the vessel's will was lost. Hastur demanded obedience and the fact that his vessel had resisted the need to kill and consume Miranda was proof enough that he did not have it.
Lusca's scent still flooded the air around it, more than enough for tracking to the point that the creature found it almost suffocating. That was when it heard the sounds of something approaching and quickly crouched low to the ground, its body fading away against the brick to remain hidden.
A vagrant Octarian whistled to himself as he pushed a ragged cart along an offshoot pipe of the sewer. As the wheel squeaked from the excruciating strain of moving, he found himself wondering how many rats he could catch that night for dinner.
He hadn't gone far past the creature when it emerged from the shadows. Long black tentacles writhed hideously from its back, eager to make a sacrifice to its God. With a fierce hiss, the man turned, just barely in time to see the tentacles wrap about him holding him tightly in them as if a child holding a small creature.
He made muffled shouts of protest, trying to escape from the thing's deathgrip, but it simply smirked. Fangs slowly slid from their sheaths along the tentacles, embedding in the man's body. As it began to squeeze, tighter and tighter, the man's screams grew louder, unable to escape as his bones were snapped. He was slowly crushed, a torture equivalent to ripping off a bird's wings. The force expelled his blood into the gaping maws of the creature, causing the tongues inside to slurp noisily and eagerly.
"Meow."
The creature paused, turning slowly to gaze upon the small, chubby, cat that stood fiercely behind it. With a low growl, the creature flung the now exsanguinated corpse into the sewer and turned to face him.
"Meow." (Cease thine mission at once.)
With a series of clicks and hisses, the creature slowly approached the cat. "You do not command me Ptar-Axtalan!"
"Meow," Judd replied sternly, not even blinking. "Meow, meow, me-ow." (Wrong. I am an Old One and as such an inferior being such as thou owes me respect and tribute. Continuing to disrespect me will be unfavorable for thouself. Stop chasing the Sign, or I will be forced to step in and end this myself.)
"You will not interfere here. You are unable to. You know that if you were to reveal your true form, it would simply drive those who observed it mad. Your idle threats mean nothing."
Judd sighed before with a quick whip of his tail, a slice of air slashed straight through the tentacle of the creature, causing it to fall with a bloody plop to the sewer floor below where rats began to feast. "Meow?" (Are my threats so idle now?)
"My Master will hear of this...transgression. You fear him as I do," the creature hissed in pain, able to feel every gnawing tooth that embedded into the flesh of the tentacle beneath it. "I swear to you Ptar-Axtalan, if you do not step aside, the wrath of Hastur and the Byakshee will befall you."
Judd's eyes narrowed, his tail swishing angrily behind him. The insufferableness of the abomination was beginning to wear thin on his patience. Finally, with another quick lash of his tail, a second tentacle was torn from its body. "Meow? Meow, meow-meow. Meeeow. Meow, meow nyan." (Foolish beast. Do you truly think The Leopard That Stalks The Night fears the Byakshee? They are like gnats attempting to harm an elephant in the way they throw themselves pitifully against me. I warn thou again Feaster From Afar, abandon thine task for the Sign and the girls. They are under my protection.)
The creature let out a cackle. "You think you are capable of combatting The Great Dreamer? You?! A lesser Great Old One? He will chew you up and spit you out as if you were cud."
"Meow. Meow, meow meow, me-owmeowmeow. Mew meow nyan. Hiss." (Funny, that's what he said the last time I helped to seal him away. Tonight, I will take my leave instead of another one of your tentacles, but remember that regardless of who your master is, he will not save you from my wrath. He still must follow our law. Hiss.)
With that statement, he turned away from The Feaster From Afar, leaving it to swat at the rats in frustration and anger to prevent them from consuming its now regenerating arms. Judd, whose true name was Ptar-Axtalan, had taken this cat's form when it stumbled upon his world almost thousands of years ago. Seeing Cthulu's wrath in the thing's memories, he arrived himself to shepherd the new population of the world. Thankfully, his plan worked. They put him in charge of determining the events of organized conflicts, no matter how big or small, and it was a job he took very seriously.
When Turf Wars were the way of the world, he guided heroes to victory and villains to defeat. When Cthulu woke again, he offered his assistance to the Squidbeak Splatoon to send back into the nether. When the Octarians betrayed their allies, it was he himself, the Leopard That Stalks the Night, who emerged from the shadows underground, unplugged the war machine, and watched as the tide of battle turned quickly upon the betrayers.
He knew it was odd to develop such feelings for the mortals as to protect them, but he enjoyed observing their quips and quarrels. It was bad enough that he'd made the mistake of assuming that Octavian had replaced them with spies, but after watching them, he felt even worse for his judgment. The new Crest-Bearer was not like his predecessor, as brilliant as Amoses was, yet his heart still intrigued him.
Normally, he'd have stayed out of such incidents as the one unfolding before his eyes, but he knew that the time was coming now where he'd have to interfere, otherwise the entirety of the world would be destroyed, along with his entertainment.
As he clambered out of Octovalley, he made his way through the streets, the lamps lighting his path though he had no need of them. Leaping on to the pillow, he curled up into a ball and slept. Unlike his kin, when he dreamed, he still kept watch.
To be continued...
