Arc 3 Chapter 19
The group of inklings left the information station and headed back to the metro station to wait for the subway to arrive. Cassie and Cuttlefish were still pondering about the film they had watched and wondered what that human was saying. "I wonder how much longer until we start getting some answers? That film we watched wasn't a big help at all but it does support the fact that this place was built by humans...but why? Why under Inkopolis and why hasn't anyone else known about this place?" asked Cassie.
"I don't know agent 3, I've got a bad feeling in my tentacles about this place. I just hope the bucko and your friend are having better luck than we are. I'm just ready to get outta here," replied Cuttlefish.
Cassie then turned to Cleo who had plopped down on a bench. "So any thoughts?" asked Cassie.
"I got nothing. I'm just as baffled as you are. I only met C.Q. Cumber, it's not like I went sightseeing when I was down here. Maybe C.Q. Cumber has some answers. Why not ask him," replied Cleo.
"I still feel she's not telling us everything. What is she hiding and I'm wondering why she really didn't want us down here in the first place," Cassie thought herself as she headed back over to Cuttlefish.
20 minutes had passed since they left the information station and waited for the subway to return. Soon they heard the subway horn echo down the tunnel followed up by the headlights shining down the tracks until it reached the station and stopped.
"It's about time that sea slug got here, I was starting to get stir crazy," said Cuttlefish.
The doors slid open and the inklings got onboard. The door to the other car opened with the sea pig conductor crawling out to greet the group. "Well, how was it?" asked C.Q. Cumber. The inklings looked at each and turned back to the conductor.
"Well...good I guess," said Cassie rubbing her head. "Listen...C.Q. Cumber, you know more about this place than we do and I'm sure you know that it was built by humans. What can you tell about this place and what about Kamabo?" asked Cassie.
The sea pig turned his head and paused for a moment. He turned back to Cassie who was anxiously waiting for an answer. "Missy, I'm sure what to tell you. I hardly leave this train. My job is to direct it wherever it goes. I can't recall anything else before I became a conductor. All I know is to follow the instructions I was given by my employers and keep the metro running. I'm sorry but that's all I can tell you," said C.Q. Cumber.
"Oh...then I'm sorry we've bothered you. I was thinking you might have known something being down here and all," said Cassie.
"No hard feelings but I did need to give you this before I take you any further," said C.Q. Cumber as he handed Cassie a document and a map of the metro stations.
"What is it?" asked Cassie.
"A resume and a list of guidelines. Only Kamabo employees can proceed to the stations ahead but with the exception that I place you in an internship, I guess you can say. Officially you'll be placed on a trial run as I take you to the stations where you will have to complete some tests, then you can find out more about Kamabo. Oh and one more thing before we depart. Once you complete a test you will receive a Kamabo token, these tokens allow you to unlock mem cakes in the vending machine at the back of the car," said C.Q. Cumber as he pointed toward the back of the passenger car.
They looked and saw a crane machine full of mem cakes, cakes shaped like a variety of different items and characters. "Wait, I never noticed that before but what are mem cakes?" asked Cassie.
C.Q. Cumber just shrugged and left for the front car. "Good luck," said Cuttlefish as the door closed behind him. The group looked at each other again and then turned to the documentation. "Well, he said something about tests, I wonder what he meant?" asked Cleo.
"I don't know, but now I'm starting to get a bad feeling like Cuttlefish did. What do you think cap..." said Cassie as she turned and saw that Cuttlefish was fast asleep in seat snoring away. Both girls gave a look of exasperation and Cassie face palmed as Cleo shook her head. "Old geezer," she popped off before sitting down.
"(sigh) oh, captain," said Cassie as she sat next to him. "Well, I guess we'll find out what these tests are," said cassie as the subway moved and headed for the next station.
It was ten minutes before the gang reached the first station, Station A off the red line according to the map Cassie was given. Cleo removed her headsets and stretched as Cassie woke up Cuttlefish. C.Q. Cumber's voice came over the intercom. "To all passengers, we've arrived at Station A. Remember to watch your step and clear the doorway once you've exited the train. That is all," he said.
The doors slid open and the inklings walked out. "So, this is Station A," said Cassie.
"I've never been down this far, I'm curious about what's ahead," wondered Cleo.
"Lass, be careful. I'm not sure what this place has in store for us so keep your wits about you," said Cuttlefish as he placed his hand on Cassie's shoulder.
"I'll be fine captain. I defeated the octarians so I'm sure I can handle anything Kamabo can throw at me," said Cassie.
"Remember Agent 3, this isn't the octarians your facing. We don't anything about this company other than it was created by humans long ago. They could pose not only a threat to us but everyone else. Don't let your guard down just because you defeated Octavio 2 years ago," said Cuttlefish.
"I won't. it may be best you stay here captain," said Cassie. She then turned to Cleo. "So are you coming or staying?" she asked her.
"Coming of course. Somebody's gotta watch your back plus I'd rather stick with you than the old squid any day," said Cleo.
"I heard that you whippersnapper, I might be old but that doesn't mean I won't give you a good whack on the noggin for your disrespect," said Cuttlefish agitated as he waved his cane around.
The two girls continued on before Cleo got hurt as Cuttlefish's agitation resolved. "Youngins have no respect for their elders these days, just be dissin' this old homesquid," said Cuttlefish as he spouted some slang at the end before heading back to the train car. As he stepped inside, on the other side of the station an old antique looking telephone stood alone to itself. Cuttlefish peered out of the window and looked at the old phone. "Huh? Where did that phone come from," he said. he pulled off his glasses to clean them and when he placed them back on his face, the phone disappeared.
"What the... where did that phone go? Was I seeing things?" asked Cuttlefish to himself. He shook his head and sat on the bench before he fell asleep. Meanwhile, Cassie and Cleo had walked through the main entrance of the testing area of Station A where the first trial would begin. They approached what looked like a spawn pad, curious they stepped on it and the machine hummed and liquified them into ink and shot them to the next location further into the testing area.
A large chamber full of floating items, that appeared to be an assortment of objects, presumably human technology that was scattered about. A trail of floating platforms and other things lead to another large circular platform in the center of the chamber where a giant grey cube hovered in the center and slowly rotated. The cube had lines running across to form a grid-like pattern with the Kamabo logo on each side of it. The two inklings popped out of a pad at the far end of the pathway and looked around.
"What is this place?" asked Cassie.
"I don't know but I guess we're supposed to head down there," said Cleo pointing toward the platforms ahead.
The two headed through the floating platforms skipping across gaps in their squid forms until they finally made it to a small elevator that would take them down to the giant cube. When the elevator dropped the two approached another platform with a gate on it and a speaker on top. Cassie went to open the gate but the speaker screeched causing them to jerk back. "Salutations, subjects! Welcome to Station A where you are to complete the first test of the deepsea metro. As you can see a giant rubix cube has been placed over the center platform. You are to coat the entire cube with ink before the timer runs out. two more rounds will follow suit but it will become more challenging as you progress. After you complete the test you will receive a subway token where you may purchase a mem cake with it. Before you move on to the test only one of you shall enter the area. That is all. Peace out!" said the static-like voice on the speaker.
"Who was that? Test? Ony one of us?" asked Cleo.
"I think I should be the one to go," said Cassie.
"Alright but be careful, he said the test would get more challenging," said Cleo as Cassie left for the giant rubix cube. She stepped onto the platform and stared at the giant cube. "Just coat it with ink? Piece of cake," said Cassie snidely.
"Begin!" shouted the static voice again. Cassie coated the whole cube within 30 seconds leaving another 30 seconds on the timer before it ran out. "Excellent! 2 more test to go!" shouted the voice again.
"Well that was easy," said Cassie.
The cube spun rapidly clearing all of Cassie's ink. The timer started again and cassie went to shooting ink but the cube spun quicker this time and the floor under Cassie vibrated and soon dropped. Cassie yelped and squid jumped off the fallen floor. "Don't stand in the same spot for too long subject!" advised the voice.
Cassie hopped over and shot more ink at the cube. She continued this routine before the timer went out. she barely managed to complete coating the giant cube before her time was spent. "Well Done! last test!" shouted the static voice.
like before the cube cleared itself of ink. The cube moved faster and not only did Cassie have to worry about dropping floors but also electrodes that rotated around the arena shooting a beam of electricity across the floor. "I hope you won't be too shocked by the final test!" shouted the voice with a pun. Cassie was fretting as the test proved difficult. She gained her pride back and went to work away at shooting at the cube that was now spinning fast and hard to coat with ink. Cassie avoided the floors and jumped over the electric lines. Time was halfway spent and Cassie was still behind. She did her best to evade the obstacles and continue coating the cube until she fell through a floor panel. "Cassie!" screamed Cleo but the inkling agent grabbed a hold of the ledge and saw the electric line was headed toward her. She hopped and narrowly avoided getting jolted and inked the last bit of clear area of the cube as she squid jumped and shot in midflight in her biped form causing an epic moment in the last test.
"Test complete! Outstanding work! Here is your token. You may move along to the next station," the voice shouted over the speaker. The cube opened up revealing a subway token hovering in the cube with the Kamabo logo on it. Cassie grabbed it as Cleo cheered. The agent headed over to where Cleo was. Cleo rushed in to hug Cassie. "I thought you were a goner there for a moment but I knew you could do it," exclaimed Cleo as she let go. Cassie brushed herself off and turned to Cleo. "Let's get back to the station. I think you should do the next test. I really don't wanna do that again," said Cassie in exhaustion. They both headed back to the subway station where Cuttlefish was waiting on them.
Maxie was racing to save Blake while Marie attended to Serena. Maxie made her way to the next floor as she saw octotroopers move in obstructing her path to save the human and catch up with the rebel sergeant-major. "Get out of my way you stupid tentacles!" she shouted. She shot at the octotroopers not realizing that the ink she was using was untampered. When she hit the octotroopers it phased them momentarily. She growled and rushed toward them as they fired at her. She dodged and evaded their fire. The octoling got into a rhythm of fighting stances and kicked and punched the little troopers off their platforms. She quickly moved on and spotted the two at the far end of the next floor.
Blake finally came back to his senses and realized that he was being dragged by the sergeant-major. He had been temporarily stunned by the rebel that clubbed him with her octo-shot. He shook his head and spotted Maxie at the other end of the floor fighting off the octotroopers. Blake broke free from the sergeant-major's clutches once he gained back his stamina and cut a flip kicking the octoling back. Stunned by the surprise attack, though she recoiled from the blow and aimed her octoshot at Blake.
She growled at the human as he stood in front of her with a serious expression. "So...not giving up without a fight are you, fine by me but I assure you that more reinforcements are on the way," said the sergeant-major.
"I'm not holding back anymore, I'm tired of you rebels hurting my friends and taking back what doesn't belong to you. I never wanted to fight you octarians during the great turf war and I didn't want to fight you now but you've given me no choice. As a squidbeak agent, I have a duty to fulfill even if that means harming you," said Blake.
'Harming me, please. You honestly believe I feel threatened. I will break you in half fossil, like I'll break every single one of those inkstains," sneered the octoling. She fired her octoshot at Blake but he leaped out of the way and took a swipe at the sergeant-major but she countered him and launched an uppercut followed by a kick. Blake was knocked to the floor by the well-trained rebel. "Ha! Is that all you can do? I was expecting a fight," boasted the sergeant-major.
Maxie saw that Blake was in trouble and ran toward the two only to be struck in the back by an octotrooper that appeared from behind her. She yelled and fell to the floor on her stomach as she dropped her octoshot. Blake slowly got up weakened by the attack but the octoling grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him toward the ledge of the floor where the outer wall was missing. Blake was now at the edge being hung by the octoling's arm. "Seems the sergeant is persistent in saving her mate. Pity. It's a shame I have to report back to the red queen, that I was unable to retrieve the human but accidents are bound to happen, especially in a place like this. Let's see if you can survive the fall," said the sergeant-major intending to let Blake go.
"Blake...no!" shouted Maxie. She sat up and turned to shot the remaining trooper off its platform then aimed her octoshot at the sergeant-major. The shot hit her in the shoulder only to cause her to let go but Blake lost his balance and fell back on the ledge as he yelled. "BLAKE!" she shouted dropping the octoshot and rushing toward the edge to grab Blake as the sergeant-major gripped her shoulder and rushed toward the rooftop for the octoseeker to arrive.
"Blake!?" she shouted. The sergeant saw that Blake was hanging on a steel girder just below the ledge. "Blake! Give me your hand!" she commanded him.
Blake swung his body until he latched to her hand. She pulled him up to the ledge until his weight caused her to fly back with Blake still holding on. He was thrown to the floor with the octoling sergeant laying on top of him face to face, nose to nose. She quickly opened her eyes and yelped realizing she was on top of Blake as she jumped off of him. Blake sat up and rubbed his head. He then turned to the embarrassed octoling. "Thanks for saving me, Maxie. I guess that makes us even," said Blake with a half-smile.
"Well...not necessarily, you let yourself go so that...octotramp wouldn't kill me...that was a noble thing to do," said Maxie meekly as she fondled with her tentacle and still blushing.
"You're my friend Maxie and friends don't let other friends get killed," said Blake as he stood up to reach out and help the sergeant. She smiled and grabbed his hand as he boosted her up. "Now, we got a sergeant-major to stop!" said Blake.
"No Blake! You're unarmed and this is between me and that octo-witch. I need you to stay here so I can finish this," said Maxie.
"I'm not letting you fight her alone! We do this as a team, I might not have a weapon but that doesn't mean I should be out of the fight," protested Blake.
"I'm ordering you to stay here! I don't want anything to happen to you! I've done put you in enough danger and I couldn't live with myself if something were to happen," replied the sergeant.
"I can handle myself! I've been in worse situations and besides, you need someone by your side. This is my fight too, what's this really about?" asked Blake.
Maxie paused for a moment as she saw how heroic Blake was and willing to put his life on the line to make sure his friends stayed safe. "Look Blake...it's...complicated, that's all I can say, so please I need you to stay here," she said.
"Not good enough, I'm going with you whether we want me to or not," protested Blake again. Maxie gritted her teeth and downed her head wanting to express some of her feelings toward the human she admired. "Have it your way," said Blake as he started to walk toward the rooftop but was stopped when he was grabbed by the arm. "Fine, you win," she said. "I shouldn't stop you from doing your duty...it's just, I don't wanna see anything happen to you but you've proven yourself and I should have a little more faith," said Maxie as she gave him a smile. Blake smiled back and stuck his hand to shake hers.
"No hard feelings, I understand how you're concerned about me, like I am for you...now let's go get her," said Blake.
Maxie nodded and shook his hand as the two tailed the rebel to the rooftop where she was waiting to be picked up.
"Where's that octoseeker at, It should've done been here!" the sergeant-major shouted angrily on her radio.
"ETA in 10 minutes," said the pilot over the radio.
"Hurry up!" shouted the octoling.
Blake and Maxie finally reached the rooftop and spotted the sergeant-major. "Surrender! There's nowhere left for you to go!" shouted Maxie with the octoshot pointed at the rebel.
"You don't give up, do you? I applaud your persistence but I'll never surrender! Stoping me won't end this war and you, the squids, and those valley turncoats will get what's coming to you and there's nothing you can do to stop it!" shouted the sergeant-major. She fired at Maxie who took cover as well as Blake. The octoseeker was in view as the sergeant-major gunned down the two to bide time for the aircraft's arrival.
Maxie rose out of cover and fired at the rebel as she took cover and returned fire. "Blake! We can't let her leave! We need a plan and I'm about out of ink!" exclaimed Maxie.
"I'm not sure what to do, I'm unarmed," said Blake. Blake checked himself and found one last splat bomb. "Wait...I've got one splat bomb left," said Blake.
"Then let's make it count. I'll pin her down and you can throw it behind her," suggested Maxie as Blake nodded.
"On 1...2...3!" counted Maxie as she pulled up and shot toward the octoling. Blake stood up and lobbed the bomb at the sergeant-major. As he did Maxie's gun ran out of ink. "Oh, crap!" she shouted. The sergeant-major spotted the splat bomb headed for her. "Oh no you don't!" she shouted and shot the splat bomb deflecting it back toward Blake and Maxie. The two of them took cover followed by a burst of ink. The octoseeker flew in and the hatch opened. The sergeant-major rushed onboard and faced the two who took cover from the ink blast.
"Well, it's been fun! But I got places to be, ta ta! Oh and one other thing I wouldn't stay on this building if I were you. It's rigged just in case things took a turn for the worst," the octoling sneered as she blew a kiss and pulled out a detonator.
"You're not getting away that easily!" shouted Maxie as she hopped over her cover and threw her octoshot at the sergeant-major as the aircraft lifted off. "Maxie!" shouted Blake watching her run up toward the octoseeker. The octoling just gave a smug grin but was cut short as Maxie lunged and knocked the rebel down causing her to drop the detonator before she pressed the button. Maxie was on top of the rebel taking swipes at her knocking ink out of her mouth as she punched her in the face.
The sergeant-major kicked her off and she reached over to grab the detonator. "Say goodbye to your fossil boyfriend!" shouted the sergeant-major as she held it up. Maxie turned and kicked it out of her hand. The two of them got into a fierce scuffle as the octoseeker twirled around as the pilot panicked from the fight. Blake watched in horror fearing the craft would eventually lose control and his fear became reality. The pilot couldn't keep the octoseeker balanced as it flew toward the rooftop of the building. Blake took cover and watched. Onboard the two octolings were holding on to the wild ride as it spun out of control. The detonator flew in the air as the rebel caught it. Maxie lost her grip and flew out of the hatch as she screamed. "Maxie!" shouted Blake seeing his friend fly out of the descending octoseeker.
Blake ran to catch Maxie as she octo formed in the air and landed in Blake's arms. The octoseeker fell toward the ground as the turbines caught on fire. The sergeant-major screamed as she knew there was no way to escape her imminent demise. As soon the aircraft hit the ground it exploded killing the pilot along with the sergeant-major. The detonator flew from the wreckage and landed on the ground on top of the button.
Blake had the little octopus nestled in his arms. She looked up at him and blushed. She quickly hopped off and changed back to her other form. "(sigh) well...it's over, I suggest we get out of here before..." she said but just then the building rumbled, followed by a blast from the bottom of the tower. The charges detonated causing the structure to become unsound. "We gotta get off this building!" shouted Blake as the two of them stumbled from the shaking. "Look! Over there!" shouted Maxie as she spotted a scaffold elevator. "That's our fastest way, I just hope it still works," said Maxie. The two rushed over and Maxie pressed the button. The elevator lowered down but was slow paced. "Oh, c'mon you piece of crap!" she shouted banging on the panel. Soon the rebel reinforcements spotted them from the lower floors and shot at them. Blake and Maxie took cover as both of them were weaponless. The ink rocked the scaffold as it soon disconnected off the cable and dropped quickly as they both screamed on the way down as the scaffold descended but the pulleys caught the wire before it reached the bottom and got stuck.
"We gotta jump!" shouted Blake. The building rocked again from another loud explosion as the rebels scrambled out of the building realizing it was about to collapse. Blake dropped down followed by Maxie in her octo form. The two darted down a nearby alleyway before the building finally collapsed as dust and debris were shooting down the alley as the two raced to escape it. They hugged the wall at the end of the alley, narrowly escaping. Both of them bent over to catch their breath. "So, where to now?" asked Blake.
"For starters, how about we get out of the city before they find us," said Maxie.
"Sounds like a good idea, you lead," said Blake as the to of them rushed away.
Major Octsana was keeping her eyes on Octavio as he hemmed her against the ledge of the circular platform that centered in the main chamber of the staging area. He didn't take the news well of finding out that the zeppelin fleet had been wiped out by the Neo-Octarians. The major had her arms up trying to reason with Octavio before he decided to push her off the platform where she would fall to her death. "Give me one reason I should keep you around, squirt?" he asked her coldly.
"Octavio, my liege, I didn't expect the valley traitors to show up and attack the octozeppelin fleet not to mention that inkstain agent. Please my king! I won't fail you again..." she said desperately before Octavio grabbed her by the neck with his tentacle and hung her over the ledge.
"I should drop you right now! Failure is unacceptable you have 5 seconds to persuade me to spare you!" exclaimed an enraged Octavio.
"Octavio please!" she tried to shout but was struggling to breathe. "That inkstain has been dealt with and the human should be in our possession by now," she tried getting out.
"Are you sure the agent is dead and what does the red queen want with that bonehead anyway?" demanded Octavio as he was slowly dropping the major down, intending to lose his grasp on her.
"(gasp) yes, my king, I watched her fall to her doom and as for the human, the Red Queen won't tell me what her intentions are for him," she answered still grabbing on to Octavio's tentacle. Octavio gave the elite a hard look before throwing her against the platform, sparing her life. She weakly got up and rubbed her neck as she caught her breath.
"I'm regathering our remaining octozeppelins and leading the assault on Inkopolis myself! You find out who this Red Queen is and what she is planning! There's only one octopus running the show around here and won't have her ruining my plans to take over the surface! As for the fossil, make sure he shares the same fate as that inkstain agent! Now go before I change my mind and throw off the stage!" boomed Octavio.
"Y...Y...Yes, my king!" she stammered before octo forming and rushing out of sight. She ran out of the staging area just far away enough to stay out of Octavio's sight. "I won't risk facing him again, I fear I won't be so lucky next time. This ruins everything, I won't be able to accompany him during the attack on those squids. I'll have to inform the Red Queen and devise another plan to stab that octopus in the back once phase one of the operation has been completed," said Octsana as she pulled out her phone.
Minutes of talking to the Red Queen. She was displeased of the situation. "Do what you can to ensure that overgrown octopus is taken out of the game! Octavio might have spared you but I'm not so generous. Sneak aboard on one of the octozeppelins if need be and stay out of sight. Once his guard is down and the fleet has taken control of the city, stick a blade in his back and give the signal. From their report back to me and I will send you to the vault and check on their status," ordered the Red Queen.
"What of the octarian government. I'm sure they'll send their army to stop once again," said the elite.
"Do not worry about them, They'll be dealt with," replied the Red Queen. "Focus on dealing with Octavio and falling through on completing phase 1 of our operation. You best not fail me again because it will be your last," said the Red Queen.
"Yes ma'am, I'll be sure to deliver the final blow to Octavio," she said before the Red Queen hung up. "I've got a knife pointed at me from both directions, but the red queen's is bigger. Time to figure out a way of sneaking into the assault on Inkopolis. I can't allow Octavio to see what I'm planning. I'll gather some grunts who will take orders from me without questioning my directives. From there all I have to do is wait," said the elite as she left.
Meantime, Izzy was opening her eyes. She was staring at the ceiling and then looked around her surroundings. She appeared to be in a shack of some sort but it was not Cuttlefish's. She sat up and shook her head. "Where am I?" she asked. Still sore from her previous hard landing she struggled to move around and got up. She jeered and sat back on the bed. "My achy body, all I remember is falling toward the canyon below, I watched those octozeppelins get shot down but..." said Izzy as she held her head.
She soon heard footsteps approach behind a door before it opened. Izzy stared, wondering who it could be, possibly the ones that brought her their in the first place. Two octolings walked in and Izzy went wide-eyed. She quickly grabbed her hero shot off the table and aimed it at the two octolings. "Stay back!" she shouted at them.
"Whoa! Easy! We're not gonna hurt you!" shouted one of them waving her hands.
"Liars! You're octolings, what else would you..." started Izzy as she aimed her hero shot at them.
"Relax! if we wanted to kill you then we would've already done it squid!" shouted the other one in irritation.
"You...make a point but where am I and what do you want?" asked Izzy still on guard.
My name is Indigo and this is Luna," said the octoling with purple tentacles as Izzy noticed. Luna smiled and waved at the inkling agent as Izzy awkwardly waved back and gave a fake smile. "We saved your life back at the dome you were in. I assumed you were the one that took down a whole fleet of octozeppelins," asked an anxious Luna who admired Izzy for facing the octo rebels.
"Well not quite. I managed to down some of them but these other octozeppelins came out of nowhere and began shooting at the octo rebel's zeppelins. I didn't know what was going on? All I can recall is fighting an octoling elite, I met her before, back when I was captured by Camper and his gang but anyway she escaped on an octoseeker. She dropped me to the canyon below and that's all I can remember everything else is kinda blurry," said Izzy.
'They must have been the Neo-octarians. I wasn't sure if they intercepted my message or not. I caught wind of them planning something for Inkopolis. I figured it was the only way to stop them and keep them from starting a war with the inklings. You're damn lucky squid that you didn't end up being calamari. Me and Luna came back to see if the rebels were defeated or not and saw your body laying on the ground. We thought you were dead until Luna checked your pulse. We brought you back here so you could recover," explained Indigo.
"So you guys saved me, but why? You're octolings," said Izzy who was grateful but confused.
"We're not rebels if that's what you are insinuated. We're a group of outcasts, deserters and the like I guess you can say. You're at the gypsy village as we named it," said Indigo.
"Gypsy...village?" responded Izzy still confused.
"It's where we take in octarians that were disposed of out of the army or just left to find a better life, especially after Octavio's defeat 2 years ago. The army was left in disarray while others tried to get to the surface. The army split into two entities. The octo-rebels who were against the peace treaty and the Neo-Octarians who formed the peace treaty. The octarians I guess you can say are embroiled in a civil war. We're the octo-outcasts and we've tried to stay out of it but that doesn't mean we'll stick our necks out to make sure that the inklings and octarians can live in peace. That's why we've dyed our tentacles purple as a sign of neutrality," said Luna pointing at her head.
"Octo-outcasts? So you're not with the rebels, I assumed all the octarians were bad. I never would have guessed that there were some good octarians. Thank you for saving me and I'm sorry I almost shot you guys, my name is Izzy by the way," she said as she gave a grin.
"It's fine squid. I noticed you're wearing a squidbeak outfit, that was the first thing that we saw when we spotted you back at that dome. I assume you're a squidbeak agent non the less and you're here to stop the rebels and get the great zapfish back," said Indigo.
"Yeah, I'm a squidbeak agent. How did you know? And how do you know about me trying to get the great zapfish back if you're not octo-rebels?" asked Izzy who was slightly suspicious.
"(deep breath) Because me and Luna...used to be in Octavio's army before he was defeated. We faced a squidbeak agent back then but we managed to get away and fell back to our base. After Octavio was subdued and the great zapfish was brought back to the inklings. We escaped for the surface but didn't think the inklings would take us in so we decided to come to Octo canyon and formed the gypsy village and took in more octarians that left as we did," explained Indigo.
"Yeah, I'm glad we're not in the army anymore. It sucks that the rebels are still pushing Octavio's agenda though. We support what the Neo-Octarians are doing but we still wanna stay out of the war. We prefer to not shoot our own kin even though their still following orders from Octavio. We were hoping that they'd see the error in Octavio's ways and defect. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened as they're still very loyal to Octavio if not brainwashed," said Luna.
"You mentioned another agent, you must be referring to Cassie, she defeated Octavio years ago and got the great zapfish back," said Izzy.
"Well, she killed many of my friends! But I've put that behind me and looked to a future where our races can live in harmony. I don't hold anything against you but the past has still left some scars. I wish all of us saw the tyrant Octavio was back then but loyalty and fear blinded us," said Indigo.
"Well, why don't you help me stop him and the rebels. I know you don't want to fight them but how else are you going to make sure the inklings ad octarians can live in peace if you do nothing?" asked Izzy.
"We don't wanna get directly involved plus someone's gotta stay here and make sure the octarians are taken care of. Me and Luna have been scouting and making sure any rebels are dealt with and their operations are impeded through less lethal means. They may be bad but I would rather not kill any of my people, loyal to Octavio or not," said Indigo with her arms crossed.
"I understand, I guess I can't blame you. You've dealt with enough when you fought under Octavio. Well, thanks for taking me in even though I'm an inkling. If you'll excuse I gotta mission to complete," said Izzy. As she jumped off the bed she jeered in pain again.
"Hang on squid," you're not ready to get back in the fight again. I suggest you stay and rest some more. I'll have Luna bring you some food and water until you get your strength back," said Indigo as she grabbed her and laid her back on the bed.
"(sigh) I guess your right. I'll stay here until I don't hurt anymore. I don't know how I can repay you guys," said Izzy as she was grateful for their help.
"You don't have to worry about that. We don't mind at all taking care of you. Just get some rest and when you're done come out and met the rest of the village," said Luna.
Izzy smiled and laid back in the bed. "Alright, we'll be back in a little while to check on you," said Indigo as the two octolings headed out the door. Izzy was perplexed by her generous octoling saviors but wasn't sure about them. They seemed very friendly but being octolings she kept her eye out and pondered what to do once she got her strength back. She knew she still needed to get the great zapfish back. She slowly fell asleep as she laid in the shack.
It was the middle of the night and a human figure was struggling to sleep knowing that an attack on the sanctuary was inevitable. They sat up and turned to the edge of their cot. He gave a deep sigh and rubbed his forehead as he dwelled on their dire circumstances. His name was Deacon, the human that accompanied Marcus yesterday. He stood up and walked over to a drawer to retrieve his handgun. He examined it then holstered the gun. His left eye turned amber and glowed in the dark room.
"I can't stay knowing that bastard is out there somewhere, lurking in the shadows," said Deacon. "I can't let no one see me leave, this is something I gotta do on my own," he continued.
He walked out of the small building he slept in and looked toward the sky. In the dead of the night, he left for the decrepit city ruins as if he was on a mission. Meanwhile, Marcus like him was unable to sleep as he sat next to the campfire and dwelled on the possibility of an attack by their enemies. He soon stood and paced for a little while. His mind was filled with uncertainties and feared the fate of his home and the people. He decided to go ahead and talk to Deacon but didn't realize he had left.
Marcus knocked on Deacon's quarters, after a moment he didn't receive an answer so he opened the door and looked inside. "Deacon?" responded Marcus. He saw that Deacon was missing. "Deacon, where are you?" he asked. He walked to look for any clues of where his friend had gone. Footsteps could be heard running up toward the doorway as a young man rushed up toward Marcus. "Marcus!?" he shouted.
"Yes, what is it?" he asked the male.
'Where's Deacon?" asked the male seeing that Deacon was missing.
"I don't know? What's the urgency?" asked Marcus.
"One of the guard towers spotted a figure walking away from the main gate. I wanted to let you and Deacon know, should we assemble the troops?" asked the male.
"No! I don't want to alarm anyone, just have everyone on standby but don't alert them. It could be Deacon since he's missing but why would he just leave like this?" asked Marcus.
"You...don't think he's..." started the male but was soon interrupted Marcus. "Don't go saying such shit! Deacon would never..." shouted Marcus defending his friend.
"Yes, but we all know of his past, I don't wanna believe it either Marcus. I just hope he doesn't take advantage of our situation and sell us out in the end to save his own ass," said the male.
"Deacon is a trusted friend and ally. He wouldn't go back to them and he certainly wouldn't hand us over to them after he told us of why he defected in the first place. He saw them for what they were and what they were doing. I wouldn't have saved him if I knew he couldn't be trusted. They left him to die and I brought him back," argued Marcus.
The male nodded and took off to gather some men and put them on notice. Marcus looked around before leaving the building. "What's going on Deacon? You've been acting funny for the past few days," said Marcus.
At that time Flint and Stone were inside the shop welding plates on their jeep to armor it up. Flint was cutting the steel plates as Stone welded them on the off-road vehicle. Rock music was blaring on the boombox as the two of them worked. "Alright, pass me another plate," asked Stone.
"Here you go bro," said Flint as he handed it to him. "Hey! I was thinking about some other ideas for the jeep..." said Flint.
"Like what?" asked Stone as he started welding.
"how about a turret on top with a flamethrower, that would be badass, wouldn't it?" said Flint.
"Dude, that would just add weight and put a strain on the motor plus it would make it top-heavy. I don't wanna roll over in this thing and get myself killed. What do you think this is mad max," said Stone.
"Technically yeah, I thought it would be cool," said Flint.
"(sigh) right now, I just wanna get it armored before the green eyes attack sanctuary. Everybody thinks it's gonna happen soon and I wanna be prepared if it does," said Stone as he finished welding the plate. Just then Marcus ran in the shop followed by the male from before. He spotted Flint and Stone piddling with the jeep. "What are two idiots doing? What did you break now!?" scolded Marcus.
"We didn't break anything! Just doing some finishing touches on the jeep, you know before we get attacked," explained Flint.
"It's late and two should be in bed. Deacon is gone and I need the keys to the charger!" exclaimed Marcus.
"The keys should already be in it, Marcus. What do you mean Deacon is gone?" asked Stone.
"No time to explain. Just get your asses to bed and report for duty in the morning! It's gonna be a long day tomorrow," said Marcus as he hopped in the armored muscle car and cranked it up. The other male with him jumped in the passenger side. He peeled out of the shop and out the main gate to go hunt for Deacon.
The two coughed from the smoke and fanned it with their hands. "What's his problem? and why would Deacon just leave us?" asked Flint before coughing some more.
"I don't know but I guess we'll have to finish this another time. We're gonna need all the rest we can get if Marcus thinks we'll get attacked tomorrow," said Stone.
"Fiiiinnne," said Flint in annoyance.
The two cut off the boombox and left the shop to go sleep. Stone was concerned about Deacon's disappearance.
half an hour later, Deacon was roaming an empty street on guard. The moonlight lit the ground and the surroundings. He scanned the buildings watching for any movement. The rattling of a can being kicked echoed down the street from ahead. Deacon stopped and listened for any more noise. After half a minute he continued walking. He knew someone or something was watching his movement. Ahead up the street was a store and at the corner of his eye a silhouette ran inside the store. he whipped out his pistol and cautiously approached the store with the pistol drawn. His eye glowing amber was tracking movements and heat signatures revealing it to be a bionic eye.
He walked inside and started scanning. There were no traces of life been but he knew something ran in. "I know you're here," he said quietly to himself still scanning the room. He stepped on broken glass and debris littering the store floor. he managed to reach the back of the store and spotted a door to the office. The door slowly creaked open and Deacon reached for the knob with the handgun ready. He rushed with the handgun up. The room was empty but another figure across the room was watching him enter the office.
"Nothing here," said Deacon. He started to walk out but was met with a laser beam aimed at his chest. Deacon saw it and looked to see a silhouetted aiming a weapon at him followed by gunfire. He dove back in the office as bullets littered the wall. "Shit!" jeered Deacon. He got up and hugged the doorway taking shots at his assailant but they rushed out of sight. Deacon rushed out and behind a toppled shelf. "Son a bitch," he said with frustration.
he soon heard something hit the floor near him then it rolled closer. he spotted a grenade heading towards him. He quickly dove away from the blast followed by smoke as he coughed. Footsteps ran toward his position as a figure rushed him and slammed him against the wall behind them. Deacon fell to the floor and reached for his handgun only for it to be kicked away. He looked up and saw his foe reach down and grab him, slinging him across the floor. Deacon yelped as he landed on his back. The figure approached him and placed their foot on his chest.
Deacon looked and saw the figure looking at him with one glowing green eye. "Been I while Deacon, we've got a lot to catch up on," said his assailant in a rough voice. The moonlight through the ceiling shined on the figure's head as Deacon's eyes widened. "Vagrant," responded Deacon.
The moonlight revealed his assailant a bald-headed human male in his 30s. One of his eyes was normal but the other was black with a glowing green iris. He drew a pistol on Deacon and gave a smug smirk. "I thought you were dead Deacon but I guess I was wrong. You're gonna soon wish you were," the bald-headed male said coldly.
"You sorry bastard. I can't believe after all this time you would go along with their plans after what they've done. I won't let you do the same to the sanctuary and those innocent people," sneered Deacon as he attempted to get up but Vagrant had him pinned.
"Is that how you greet an old friend. You're not seeing the big picture Deacon. You're the one that left yourself for dead. Treason is punishable by death, you should know that and as for the sanctuary, they're all as good as dead," sneered Vagrant as he chuckled. Two more armed figures approached from behind and aimed their weapons at Deacon. Both of their eyes glowed green as they gazed at Deacon and gave a gargled grunt.
"Take him," commanded Vagrant. The man stepped off Deacon and walked away as one of the other figures butted their weapon against Deacon's face, knocking him out. The figure picked his body and dragged him off following Vagrant. The noise of a motor approached the store with headlights beaming down the street. An armored muscle car made a hard stop as Vagrant and the group rushed out and away from the vehicle as to not get spotted.
Marcus jumped out with his weapon shouting "Deacon! Deacon!" He ran up to the store and rushed inside but Vagrant and his guards were gone with Deacon in their possession. "Deacon!" shouted Marcus but it was too late. Another male ran into the store from out of the armored car. "Marcus, did you find Deacon!?" exclaimed the male.
"No... I fear something's happened," replied Marcus as he spotted shell casings on the floor. "Is...he..." said the male fearing the worst.
"I think he was taken, I can only assume it was the green eyes. We gotta head back to Sanctuary and warn everyone. I fear their goin' to attack us soon if they did take Deacon," said Marcus.
"But why take him?" he asked.
"To interrogate him, find out our vulnerabilities. How many of us there are, our movements, weapons... any way to defeat us," said Marcus.
They both headed back to the vehicle and left for Sanctuary to warn the militia about Deacon's capture and the imminent attack that was coming. Before Marcus got in the vehicle he looked back at the store. "Deacon, stay strong...we'll find you," he said as he got in the car. They peeled out and drove back to the walled settlement to focus on the coming battle ahead of them. Would the remaining humans survive the attack by the green eyes, still being plagued by the loss of morale and supplies and a mysterious virus that preyed upon their weak. The sanctuary was about to placed under the ultimate test of survival and how much longer would Marcus and everyone else hold out?