Wolfgang exited the dimly lit room. He saw Taylor leaning on the wall across from the door. Taylor got off the wall after noticing that Wolfgang had left the room. Wolfgang then cracked his neck. "So you ready for your tour of HQ or what?" Wolfgang asked with a slight bit of enthusiasm in his voice.
Taylor let loose a deep breath before fixing his posture, "Yeah, I guess. I'm might as well be ready."
Wolfgang's face grew a slight smirk. Wolfgang then put his hand on the upper back of Taylor before patting it gently. "That's the right attitude to have, now let's get to it." The two began walking, with Wolfgang taking the lead and explaining basic and boring details about the Mafia that Taylor wasn't paying attention to. Taylor was too focused on processing what was going on. Taylor was not okay; instead, he was terrified. But he was going to put on a brave face in the meantime. The two approached a set of stairs, and Wolfgang led Taylor up them; they were one of those circular sets of stairs that you couldn't see the top of until you were at the top. Wolf and Taylor got to the top and weren't phased by what he saw, but he was intrigued when Taylor got to the top. He approached Wolfgang, who was one meter ahead of him. He then made eye contact with Wolfgang and asked, "Wait, I thought you told me this was a mafia,"
"It is," Wolfgang replied while walking a meter in front of Taylor while still retaining eye contact, "It's just we allow a bit of creativity here...I think at least,"
Taylor's jaw didn't drop to the floor or anything but what he saw caught him off guard. Wolfgang just shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes while having a grin on his face. The two continued walking forward through what looked to be some sort of gymnasium that schools would have, except it was more significant. This seemed incorrect to Taylor; however, he didn't know the norm for criminal organizations, so he didn't speak up. Suddenly a flying circular object appeared out of nowhere and was heading right at Taylor's head. Wolfgang took a giant leap up and caught the thing before it could collide with the noggin of the recruit. Taylor didn't even notice what had just happened, Yet naturally, he felt perplexed to see Wolfgang holding a discus-shaped piece of scrap metal in Wolfgang's right hand. Wolfgang focused his eyes on the person who threw it. He noticed the person who was usually running it had vanished. Wolfgang realized the person who threw it was walking over to him with a neutral expression on her face. She was female inkling with green tentacles, Black jean shorts, and a baggy light green t-shirt with a flat blat cap on the top of her head. She looked up at Wolfgang and then made eye contact with him before speaking up. "So you were paying attention; it's good to know you have our back,"
"I'm not one to turn my backs on one of my allies; you of all people should know Meringue," Wolfgang replied with a chill smile and a heroic tone; he then took a glance over at Taylor, who had zoned out again during the tour. Taylor looked at Wolfgang and then directed his attention at the Female Inkling, who he presumed was called Meringue, due to how Wolfgang had addressed them. While looking at them, Taylor noticed that she was an Inkling and not an Octoling, and the first thing that came to his mind was that this was the Octo Mafia, and there was an Inkling in it. He asked the two of them in a rhetorical matter, "Wait, what? Why is there another Inkling here; I thought that this was the Octo Mafia,"
Meringue became agitated by his comment; she balled up a fist in her left hand before grasping onto Taylor's hoodie and aggressively whispering. "Look in the mirror, bud, cause it looks to me that your some weak ass inkling that's ready to get their ass kicked." She was ready to drop the gloves before Wolfgang intervened. "Woah, It's your first day, and you're already picking fights? And with her, are you asking for your ass to get beat?"
Taylor didn't see the problem with what he had said, resulting in him shrugging his shoulders and tensing up. Instead, Meringue's angry expression turned into one of disgust. Wolfgang was scratching the back of his neck; he let out a nervous chuckle before breaking the tension by speaking up, "If you haven't met him already, his name is Taylor; he is our newest recruit."
"Yeah, I know," Meringue scoffed before crossing her arms, "He was the dumbass I found head first in the gutter. Guess the boss pitied him, eh." Taylor put his finger up as if he had something to say before redacting it afterward a second. He wanted to comment about himself being found in a gutter, But, unfortunately, he didn't remember anything.
"Either way, I'm giving the guy a tour of the place before we assign him a job, common courtesy considering we don't get many recruits your age," Wolfgang replied in a reminiscent way as an attempt to inflict a wave of memories on Meringue.
"Yeah, Considering we both joined at fifteen. Both of us coming from different circumstances," Meringue added on with her pessimistic attitude almost vanishing as a wave of nostalgia swallowed her mind. "It's been... seven years since then. I guess time does fly."
"It does, that it does, but those days never come back; all you can do is remember." Wolfgang then focused his eyes on Taylor before looking back over at Meringue. "I should probably get going, though. Gotta make sure rookie here gets his fill from sightseeing." Wolfgang lightly tapped Taylor on the back before walking forward towards the exit on the other side of the gymnasium. The two did not say a word to each other throughout the short walk to the door. They eventually exited the gym, with Wolfgang leaving first. He led Taylor to a door that was across the hall. Taylor entered and was presented with a colossal POP noise.
...
It was cold; My teeth were chattering, my feet felt like ice cubes, I was freezing. I wished that this cold would go away. Yet it didn't; the winds kept howling, the snow kept falling, Ice kept forming. The environment seemed to defy me, going against what I felt. I wished that this would end. I tried to picture a tropical paradise. All I could think of was Antarctica. I felt hopeless. I looked to my right, and I saw nothing. Finally, I looked to my left and saw a human-like figure. I couldn't make out their face...were they even there. Why were they approaching me? My heartfelt something; could it be a fire of hope burning, or is it telling me to get away from this suspicious figure? I tried to move, but I couldn't; my muscles were giving up? I collapsed, feeling the cold, sharp rocks on my body. I guess this is my end. Either nature will get me, or this figure will end me, or are they here to save me?
Taylor awoke in a lab of sorts, barely conscious on the floor. His vision was blurry, but he could make out two scientists and someone who looked familiar. He noticed that each scientist had a different color lab coat, one white and the other grey; they both appeared inklings.
"Do you think he's dead?" The scientist in the grey coat asked the other scientist in a concerned tone
"I'm not sure? Hey, Buddy, are you dead! Don't speak if you are," The other scientist replied with a snarky tone. Then, a slap could be heard, "Ouch, what was that for, sis."
"Don't be an ass," The scientist in the grey lab coat replied in a repulsed, "God, no wonder why dad left." Taylor's vision then began to clear up. He put his left hand on his forehead and bent his right leg at a forty-five-degree angle before lifting his upper back at a thirty-five-degree angle. Next, he noticed the two scientists, one with pink tentacles in a ponytail and a grey lab coat and the other with a white lab coat and purple spiked tentacles, and Wolfgang in a white room with shelves attached wall beakers and test tubes on said shelves. Wolfgang offered his right hand out to Taylor. Taylor grabbed ahold of it and was pulled up to his feet. Wolfgang then walked away to explore the lab a bit. The two scientists looked over at Taylor, and both breathed a sigh of relief before bowing their heads and speaking out. "We're sorry about knocking you out. We didn't think a party popper could do that much damage nor knock someone out." The two had spoken as one; however, they kept facing the ground. The one in the grey lab coat would introduce them. "
"It's, it's okay," Taylor replied with a confused expression visible on his face.
The two had spoken as one; however, they kept facing the ground for around thirty seconds. Finally, the one in the grey lab coat would introduce them. "I apologize, I go by Gracie, and my brother goes by Stephahn; We're twins. We're part-time scientists and full-time failures."
"That's cool," Taylor responded in a disinterested tone, "Do either one of you know why I was on a mountain." The twins both sank to their feet. They knew that they screwed up, but they didn't realize how bad. Then it clicked for Taylor; he knew that he had made himself look like a fool, "Just forget I said anything, I'm Taylor, and I now know that it was just a dream." A sigh of relief came from the twins; they then went back to having proper posture. Wolfgang then approached the group after surveying the lab.
"I wish we could stay, but we are skint on time," Wolfgang stated while approaching Taylor, "We have one more place to drop by,"
"Thanks for dropping by," Stephahn commented.
"We apologize for the party popper and not being able to show you around." Gracie added, "Shame that the guy in charge wasn't here; otherwise, none of this would've happened. Either way, make sure to drop by here when he is around."
"Will do," Wolfgang replied while exiting the room; Taylor followed suit. However, Taylor was not a fan of the whole party popper to the head. He did not enjoy the dream he went through either. Yet was there a purpose to it, and was it even a dream, to begin with? Or was it something else altogether?
"So you're telling me, that person was a convict at fifteen, sent to a maximum-security prison at seventeen, broke out of said prison at nineteen, and now she's a part of the Octo Mafia?"
"Yeah, She's a rebel, A gun for hire, glad we don't have to deal with her during turf wars."