Tabani stifled a cough and tried to ignore the smell. It was worse than most smells she had encountered but the real problem was how difficult it was to breathe. At the same time though, she couldn't help but recognize Lord Octavio's brilliance, leading them through the sewer system to bypass Inkopolis' defences. The inklings even foolishly used signage in the sewers, making it easier to navigate, and Octavio seemed to know exactly where to go.
"Not much further," he whispered. "A bit more and we'll reach the Assembly Hall."
"And ultimate victory," someone else said.
Octavio's eyes glimmered. "Yes, ultimate victory. And when I get back to the domes, I'm going to get rid of the whole Ravalda. They've done nothing but spread confusion and disloyalty in my absence. They serve no use to the Octarian people.
Tabani grinned. Good, the Loyalists would be the only ones left, with Lord Octavio leading them again. She wondered if Octavio would be as harsh with his own daughter but that didn't matter. She was sure Lord Stonefeller could arrange something regardless of which way it turned out. After all, once the inklings were conquered, nobody would be able to doubt Lord Octavio or the Octarian Empire, again.
—-
"Back up, back up!"
Avrika's calls were finally heeded as the Octarians and inklings retreated. The cannons remained stubbornly rooted in place, coughing again as they fired their metal rods at the giant crabs. One of them finally fell, taking three in the chest while the fourth glanced off its shell. The second one got speared in the leg and once in the middle, but the others failed to penetrate sufficiently.
Avrika fired helplessly into the eyes of the coconut crabs storming their position, ripping apart anyone who got within reach, swiftly and mercilessly, with their huge claws and multiple arms. Their tough hides meant that even hammers, though they would penetrate, wouldn't deal cripping damage unless it hit somewhere vital.
The cannons positioned either side of them fired into their flanks, felling at least eight of them, but they kept coming, spreading out to let their smaller brethren and Salmonids through, and Avrika could see a growing golden glow behind them.
"Here come the Goldies!" One of the inklings cried out.
Avrika didn't know what a Goldie was but the reactions of the inklings were enough to tell her that they were to be taken seriously.
A squad of the Guard managed to break through to the giant's legs and began hammering on one of them until it broke and the crab nearly fell on them. It tried to swipe them away with their spare limbs but they got out of its reach and climbed onto it's back.
The cannon nearest to Avrika fired another shaft, this one obviously not at full power, but it was enough to pierce the crippled giant's head as a well placed shot struck it between the eyes and just above the mandibles. It let out one last gasp before it went limp.
That was when the Goldies appeared.
Avrika nearly froze when she saw them and instinctively fired her ink rifle into their midst as they swarmed against them, crashing into their broken lines with mindless ferocity, flailing their pans wildly.
Kalisha and Aishi both had shields made from these same types of pans, and their octoshots were overall more effective against the Salmonids than the ink rifle Avrika had borrowed but even they were getting overwhelmed as the three of them were forced back slowly but surely against the relentless tide of these fast moving and ferocious creatures.
In many cases they simply crashed their whole bodies into their opponents, knocking them down and running over them. People who had been reserving splatbombs reserved them no more, tossing them into the Salmonids' midst and splatting them by the score, but like their simpler brethren before them, they just kept coming, more and more of them, and the line was in great danger of being overwhelmed.
The squad on the back of the felled giant fired into the Goldies as they passed them by, as if atop a rock in the midst of a fierce current. The goldies ignored them.
Others climbed on the harpoon trucks, trying to turn them into their own makeshift islands amidst the sea of angry Salmonids, firing down on the Goldies as they neared. Other trucks drove away to try and escape.
The reserves were forming another defence line between the Goldies and the aid stations, but that would only protect the aid stations, it wouldn't contain the breach.
"Up here!"
Pearl reached for Avrika with her hand, standing on the back of one of the harpoon trucks. She took it and let herself get hauled up, followed by Kalisha and Aishi.
They flinched as the cannon fired, straight into the mass of Goldies, spearing half a dozen of them. Everyone else began firing into the unending tide.
Along the line, everyone was being forced to fall back as the Goldies threatened their flanks and rears, abandoning their barricades and forcing the breach ever wider.
"I hope there's a plan!" Pearl called out.
"The reserves will have been committed by now." Marina assured her. "Don't worry, Pearl, it's all going to work out. We haven't lost. They can't have much left!"
Pearl grunted and fired her short weapons into the tide. The Goldies were ignoring them and driving straight towards the –.
Avrika's hearts stopped. They weren't going for the aid station; they were going towards the nursery!
"NO!"
Avrika fired into the Goldies as they passed by, willing the rifle to shoot faster, harder, but it was hopeless, she couldn't stop them! The stream just kept going and going, arrowing towards the doors of the nursery.
A chorus of deep, horned blasts echoed amidst the chaos. At first, Avrika thought it was coming from the bottom of the cavern, about to unleash some fresh horror on them all, but it wasn't.
A trio of the Guard's supply trucks came roaring down from the far rear, blasting their horns, with Three riding in the back of one of the trucks, along with many others wielding ink weapons.
The large trucks ploughed into the stream of Goldies, sending them flying in a spray of ooze. Then they began driving directly against the stream, three abreast. Their bumpers broke skulls, tires flattened bodies, leaving a trail of mangled corpses in their wake and reducing the stream of Goldies to a trickle.
Everyone cried out with renewed vigour and the reserves began to push against the tide of enemies trying to force through the salient in the lines, killing the few Goldies left behind by the trucks and ganging up on the crabs.
Callie was in the fray now, leaping into the midst of the enemy and scattering them, her tentacles flinging crab and Salmonid alike through the air while her rollers and feet crushed everything around her.
A giant crab came at her and grabbed her rollers but Callie swung her long tentacles up and brought them down like a pair of hammers on the crab's head with a heavy crash that killed it instantly.
Dropping her ruined rollers she found a Steelhead, grabbed it by the tail, and began swinging it around like a club, crushing and swiping aside her foes before using it to beat another Steelhead into submission, then tossing the corpse into a dense cluster of enemies.
Three's makeshift bulldozers ploughed on, reaching the crabs that had lagged behind and blasting through them. Though they were more robust than the Goldies, they were still no match for the heavy trucks as they continued on through to the barricade line and beyond, their passengers firing on anything and everything as they went.
On the far side of the battlefield, the breach there had already been contained, and the lines were reforming as the stream of Goldies ended and only regular Salmonids were left, in rapidly dwindling amounts.
Callie stood on the line, replacing some of the barricades which were quickly occupied by friendly troops. The lines between Guard and Octarian Army were gone. Now everyone filled in the line however they arrived at it. The wariness and distrust between the two forces at the start of the battle no longer existed.
The last Flyfish hovered forward and opened its missile boxes, ready to fire, when a harpoon speared through the small, round cockpit, killing its pilot and causing the whole machine to crash to the ground.
The last of the enemy behind their lines was finished off and the defence reformed. The crabs were no longer coming at them but seemed to be trying to form new lines. Three did not let them, instead, sending her growing collection of trucks to smash into their ranks.
Callie charged down the slope followed by her guards, Pearl and Marina, even Avrika herself started running down the slope with them. Then, the whole army let out a fierce cry and leapt over their own barricades to start storming down the hill, shooting and crushing anything in the way.
What crabs remained tried to run but while they were tough, durable creatures, they couldn't match the speed of an army of vengeful cephalopods.
The trucks came to a stop to avoid running over their own army, and their passengers disembarked, joining the charge down the hill until they reached the water's edge.
"Let them go," Callie commanded. "There could be ambushes waiting under the water."
Nobody objected. The enemy was gone, everyone was tired. For the moment, the battle was over. At last.
Avrika wanted to just collapse right there and lay on the cold, blood, ooze, and ink splattered ground, but she had a stronger desire for something else.
She trudged back up the slope, passing shattered crab carcasses and Salmonid bodies that made sizzling noises as their own toxins dissolved them. She glanced at the trucks that may have just saved the battle at its most critical point, their suspension partially broken and some of their tires had also burst.
"I suppose we will have to worry about our water being contaminated for a while."
She should have been more concerned about that than she felt, but she was honestly just so exhausted that she couldn't bear to think of it as anything other than tomorrow's problem.
She reached the barricades where medics and corpsmen were recovering the wounded and dead. It was a grizzly task and they seemed to be going about it with a kind of numbness that came with exhaustion. Many of them were wounded as well. It was a reminder that, though the battle may be over, the aid stations would be busy for a while yet.
Lady Sever was sitting on the back bumper of the truck that had been her makeshift command post. She looked as tired as anyone else and her body was stained with ooze, probably from when the Goldies attacked. She looked up as Avrika went by and the two shared a weary smile between them but no words. What could they say?
After another few minutes of walking she finally reached her destination.
A splatoon's worth of troopers surrounded the door to the nursery. She recognized a few of the Councillor's bodyguards among them.
The armoured doors parted and High Mother Morilla Voda peeked out. She appeared disturbed as she looked at each of the troopers before her. None of them were clean, all covered with ooze, ink, and blood to varying degrees.
The High Mother spotted her and frowned. "Ambassador Betanuss?"
Avrika bowed her head. "High Mother. I wanted to see if my daughters were alright."
Voda gave her a pained expression. "Everyone is fine. Nothing got through."
"I want to see them," Avrika said in a more forceful tone. It wasn't the sort of way one was supposed to talk to the High Mother, but Avrika didn't care. She needed to see her girls.
Showing great patience that never seemed to manifest in the Ravalda, Voda sighed. "Child, I know you're worried, but if you see them now it will only mean another painful separation. Besides, you're filthy and –."
"I've brought them."
A voice, so sweet and familiar that Avrika's hearts skipped a cycle. A new figure emerged from behind Voda with eyes that shone like the full moon. In her arms she carried two little octoling girls, both of whom gaped when they saw her.
"Mama!" They both cried, and their feet started running before they had even been let down.
Avrika fell to her knees and cried out in joy as she opened her arms and took her little girls into them. All exhaustion left her, her soul soaring high as she embraced her precious daughters for the first time in months after she had been unfairly ripped away from them. She took in their sweet scents, caressed their chubby little faces with her tentacles, and felt their weight in her arms.
"My babies!" She cried. "You've both gotten so big!"
She looked up at the takenam who had brought them and, choking a little, she asked, "how did you know?"
She knelt down and tenderly caressed Avrika's cheek. "I'm your mother; how could I not know?"
Tears that had already welled up in Avrika's eyes finally came streaming down her face. She was too choked up to properly express her gratitude but Summer Betanuss just smiled knowingly.
Voda sighed. "Just make sure to clean them thoroughly afterwards. We don't want them to get sick."
Summer smiled. "Thank you, Mother."
—-
Everyone winced and groaned softly with every movement of their limbs, some of them bleeding lightly from their funnels, a result of dehydration and being forced to expel so much ink. Even Four felt like she'd been pushed to the limit of her endurance. Some of the walking wounded had also joined them, with a myriad of their own injuries ranging from missing limbs to at least one of their number missing an eye.
No one complained about how dry and gross the ration bars were as they partook of their first meal since the battle had begun. Four imagined one of her mother's wholesome home-cooked meals as she nibbled on her own bar. She could almost taste the juicy zest of boiled eel on her tongue. She couldn't ignore the touch of homesickness she felt.
All in all, Gamma-Three had done well this day. They'd held their ground almost until the end when the giants and Goldies had come at them at once, but they'd kept them contained and taken their line back. That final charge down the hill after just holding their position for so long had been one heck of a rush. The cost of it all hadn't been as high as she feared but it was more than she'd hoped. She wondered how she might have been able to do better, but honestly, after such a brutal fight, she decided it would be more mentally beneficial if she were thankful things had gone as well as they had, whether she believed it or not.
Next to her, Mia took large bites of her own bar and chewed them thoroughly. She occasionally rubbed her arms, still reddened from the maw's stomach acids. She had recovered from her shock after a few minutes and joined them during their rotation in the reserves and then again when it had been their turn back in the lines.
"Holdin' up alright?"
Mia flashed green. "Ah'm okay. Tired is all. That was a heck of a workout."
Four couldn't help but grin at her nonchalance, whether it was real or not. It made a few of the others smile too.
They were all facing the same direction, up the incline to where the nursery was. Ambassador Betanuss' reunion with her daughters had echoed through the whole cavern and that had encouraged other mothers in the Octarian Army to go up and have reunions of their own. The cries of joy and delight that resulted had done wonders for everyone's weary spirits. It made everything feel like it had been worth it.
Callie had just reappeared in the cavern after going home briefly to have her injuries tended to and probably to have something to eat, though it was clear she hadn't slept yet. Her eyes were almost half lidded and her tired smile as she checked on the Guard and Octarian Army units made that painfully obvious.
Four frowned as Callie's head snapped towards the bottom of the cavern.
"Who's on the defence line?" Someone asked. Four still had yet to learn the names of all the new people in her splatoon.
"Zeta Company," Foame replied. "Maybe they were the least tired."
Four strained her otoliths to hear. She couldn't physically see all the way down the slope of the cavern from where she was, but when she saw Callie begin to walk briskly in that direction she knew something important had to be going on.
She stuffed the rest of her ration bar into her mouth, grabbed her splat dualies and took off after her.
Below, the reestablished barricades were being separated and all of the troopers were holding their weapons tightly. Zeta Company had switched to their hammers.
Through the parting made in the barricade, some inklings entered, but they were not from the Guard, they were wearing Coast Guard uniforms and they were escorting a quintet of naked crabs.
Four arrived on the scene just as they stopped in front of Callie.
"We found this lot trying to escape through the caves," the inkyar in the lead reported. Four didn't know how the rank structure of the coast guard worked, but the epaulettes of his jacket showed two thick bars with a single narrower bar between them.
"And how was it on your side of the caves?" Callie asked.
"Not boring. About two hundred Salmonids came out and tried attacking our ships. Fortunately we were ready for 'em, but it was quite a fight. Since they already knew we were there we went inside to see if we could hit 'em from behind. We ran into this lot swimming for their lives and figured it would be better to bring 'em back here instead of taking 'em back to Inkopolis. Unless I'm mistaken, there is no Consortium Ambassador to the Octarians."
"There is not." Callie looked the crabs over but none of them looked back. "Did you find anything on them?"
"Nothing. We've got people looking around just in case. We did find their staging area. Quite a mess, I'll tell ya'." He looked around him and saw the piles of dead bodies, ink, sludge, and blood. "Not as much as here though, I guess..."
His voice petered off and his eyes locked in Four's general direction. Behind her, large groups of other Guard troops approached, including Mia, and Foame. He glanced back at Zeta company and his mantle flashed briefly with shame and regret.
"Don't feel bad," Callie said softly. "This isn't your fault."
The officer cleared his throat, professionalism taking over. "We have plenty of medics aboard the ships if you need them. I could get 'em here in ten minutes. For the worst ones, we might be able to call in helicopters from Inkopolis if you can get them up to the surface."
Callie smiled gratefully. "Yes, we could really use as many medics as you can spare. Some people to help with coordination would be good too."
"I'll get a message out right away, but first, what should we do with these prisoners?"
Callie made a half turn. "I believe that is her decision."
Lady Sever appeared with some of her staff officers, glaring intensely at the crabs.
Callie bowed her head. "Ma'am, I believe these crabs are the ones responsible for leading the attack, or at least for the smoke. If the Coast Guard keeps looking I'm sure they'll find their equipment."
Sever took a few steps towards the crabs and crossed her arms. "Who are you?" she asked in Inklish.
The crab in the lead bubbled angrily. "We don't answer to squishies like you. You will get nothing from me."
Sever's tentacles curled slightly inwards. "Do you expect us to treat you nicely after what you have done? If you cooperate then we will not kill you, but we will do anything and everything we can think of to extract from you every piece of information you have to offer and we have some very skilled interrogators.
"I took an oath!" The crab shouted. "There is no word for it in your language, but it is a solemn oath that cannot be broken, and as long as I draw breath I will not tell you anything and neither will they!"
He shoved his inkling guards aside and made a run at her. Said guards raised large, tethered hooks to catch him, but before they had a chance, Callie intervened. In a single, swift motion she bent at one knee and brought her hand down on the crab, slamming him into the ground.
The crab coughed and Callie let out a soft hiss. "We'll see about that."
She picked him up, his limbs flailing in mid air, then put him into her mouth and brought her beak down on top of him. The crab, suddenly realising his situation, tried to fight back, slapping at Callie's face with what limbs he had free, but his claws couldn't reach back enough to hit her.
Four saw Callie's battered mantle flash before there was a terrible cracking sound and the crab screamed in pain.
"I think she's asking you to talk," Four called up at him. "Might wanna' listen to 'er. She's not in the best of moods right now."
"Never! No amount of torture or bribe can make me talk! I am of the great Carcinus order! I cannot be broken! I cannot be –."
His voice died, and the cavern echoed with a horrible crunching eyes went huge and he managed a bubbly gasp as his body went rigid. Blood dripped out of Callie's mouth then another crunch followed and the crab went limp. The crunches continued as Callie quickly and noisily chewed the crab up, ripping off his claw arms before she began spitting out bits of shell and other hard pieces onto the ground in the midst of the other crab prisoners, who looked on, horrified – apparently too horrified to look away. Even Four, who had seen Callie kill and eat a crab alive before, was disturbed.
Finally, Callie sucked out all the meat from the claw arms before discarding them like empty wrappers. "Unless the rest of you want to end up as dinner, I suggest you cooperate and tell the very kind Octarian investigators what they want to know as best you are able." She wiped her mouth on her arm, leaving a bloody blue smear before she turned around and walked back up the slope.
Sever gave some orders and a group of Octarian troopers advanced on the crabs. The Coast Guard then took a few nervous steps back, letting them take charge of the prisoners.
Mia hefted her hammer and tapped it in her hand menacingly. "Maybe we oughta' tenderise 'em first. Wouldn't wanna' give Callie an upset stomach."
"Maybe we should break all their arms too," someone else suggested. "Wouldn't want them to hurt the Octarians for being nice."
The crabs were mercilessly taunted and jeered as they were escorted up the slope. One soldier struck the rock next to them with their hammer with a crack, making the crabs flinch, and earning a cruel cackle from all assembled. It made them come off as a little nasty.
But I guess I felt the same way after the first few times some octolings tried to kill me.
Four hoped this would not extend to the good crabs they had back in inkopolis. The Guard hadn't seemed to react particularly strongly to Callie's actions, but maybe they weren't feeling terribly sympathetic with how many of them had been eaten or ripped apart.
The same could not be said for the Coast Guard who were white as sheets, shocked by Callie's method of persuasion, too shocked to utter any protest of the prisoner's treatment.
Four let out a weary laugh. "Kinda' hot, right?"
The Coast Guard stared at her but Four just chuckled and left. They probably thought it was crazy but she didn't care; she felt better. She needed a bit of a laugh, and the smirks she got from some of the others in the Guard told her she wasn't the only one.
Wow, she thought. Maybe I'm a little messed up too.
—-
Marie winced as the medics applied the last of her bandages. She really thought that others deserved more attention than her, but the medics insisted that her condition was actually worse than severed limbs.
A temporary aid station had been set up in the nearest warehouse. They were still dragging people in from the collapsed base, alive and dead. From what she'd been able to gather, roughly as many people had been killed by falling debris as all the other causes. Only a handful of the nearly three-hundred crabs in the base had been recovered alive and they were in rough shape.
"Alright, you're all done," the medic told her. "Your ride should be here soon to take you to the hospital."
Marie grimaced. While the injuries were hardly superficial, not to mention all the toxins her body was fighting, she didn't want to put herself in such a vulnerable position right now without anyone she knew. "Do I really need to go to the hospital?"
"Yes." The medic's tone brokered no argument. Marie had to give him credit for his level of guts. It wasn't easy to talk that way to someone more than five times your size.
As she waited for her ride, Vella, Clearsky, Marsh, and Scylla emerged from the tunnel.
"Nice to see all of you are okay."
Scylla smirked and walked up to her. "Could say the same 'bout you. Can't believe you fought that thing one on one."
"I can't believe a monster like that was under the city," Marsh added. "Mom's gonna' lay a hard boiled egg when I tell her what happened."
Marie sighed and looked at her bandaged arms. Blood was already starting to stain through. "She won't be the only one. I have a lot of people who are going to rake me over hot coals for getting this injured and poisoned."
"Poisoned?" Vella asked.
"Just the ooze from the Salmonids getting into my wounds. That queen was a tough customer. I imagine you two will be heading back to the domes soon."
"Once we compile a report," Clearsky replied. "Have you heard anything?"
Marie flashed red. "Not yet. Don't worry though, those crabs are literally going up against a whole nation. They won't win."
"But we have a limited number of weapons," Clearsky said under her breath. "And there are the army units and workers away at the port."
"It will be fine," Marie reassured her. "Callie's there and so are Three and Four, and there's the whole Guard backing them up. All this attack will succeed in doing is inking the Octarian Empire off."
Clearsky but on a brave smile. "I suppose so."
"And having a common enemy should convince some people that working with the Octarians is a good idea. The NSF and IS are definitely convinced by now."
"Ms. Sansea", someone called from the front doors. "Your ride is here."
Marie sighed wearily. "Coming."
To the octolings, she said, "give my regards to Octavia and Callie."
She stood, ignoring the protests from her joints and tired muscles. She felt incredibly lethargic, and a bit light headed. "Scylla, I'll probably see you soon."
"You just look after yerself before ya' keel over."
Marie sighed and headed towards the door. It was only when she reached the door that she realised she didn't have any hallar with her.
Well, I'm only going to the hospital and there can't be that many able to handle someone my size. They'll find me.
The cold breeze was a mild shock but also a bit refreshing. With all the toxins and infections her body was fighting right now she was quite warm.
Wish I could get something to eat; I'm starving after all that effort. She hoped she wouldn't pass out in the coach on the way.
As the coach started to move, she asked the driver, "where we going?"
"Inkopolis General, they told me. Bit of a drive but at least you know you'll be gettin' the best care available."
Marie groaned softly and tried to think of ways to stay awake. She checked the pockets of her gi and was surprised to find them intact. They were full of splat bombs. She wouldn't have been able to use them herself during the battle because of the finesse it would take someone of her size to fill them, but she could have easily handed them out to the others if they needed them. That had been the plan at least, but in the heat of the moment she'd forgotten about them.
Marie turned the coach's TV on and switched it to a news station. Maybe there had been some development with the Assembly or some reaction to the battle. The Guard travelling through the city certainly hadn't been subtle. With their numbers swelled with recruits from the countryside and the adult volunteers attached to the support companies, so many people moving together was going to get noticed.
Inkopolis News was talking to a sociologist about how the effects the Greater Bastion was having on society in Inkopolis and how it might be threatening the unity of Calachora.
Marie huffed and focused on trying to fill the splat bombs. It was a fairly delicate operation but it helped focus her and occupy her mind. She couldn't allow herself to fall unconscious until she got to the hospital.
"We interrupt this interview for some breaking news!" A news anchor suddenly interrupted.
Marie sighed inwardly. Did they just now learn of the attack?
"The Assembly has just been taken hostage by a group of Octarian raiders."
Marie jerked and her full attention snapped to the screen.
The screen switched to footage of the Assembly Chamber, showing a handful of octolings in tattered winter gear and Octavio with his tentacles wrapped tightly around Orvenii.
Adrenaline seeped into Marie's veins and her mind started to work furiously.
"Driver, head to the Assembly Hall!"
The driver looked back at her, confused and startled. "Hang on, I'm not supposed to be here as a taxi; you're going to the hospital."
"I'm the only one who can deal with what's happening at the hall. If I don't fix this it'll be a complete and utter disaster. Either you take me there or I'll walk there myself!"
"Okay okay, we'll go we'll go!"
Marie went back to filling up the splat bombs, but with urgency, a plan forming in her mind. She was tired, poisoned, and hungry. She didn't have much energy left to give. Whatever she did it would have to be quick. If she could just take out Octavio and free Orvenii, that would make things much easier for whoever responded afterwards.
"Can't believe they found him so easily. We always knew they'd probably find him eventually, but I can't believe he'd do something this stupid after we let him live."
It was not a mistake she would repeat.
Author's Notes:
The Guard is exhausted, Callie is exhausted, Marie is exhausted and poisoned! And yet they just can't catch a break!
You may have noticed that both Callie and Marie tend to get a little nasty after they've been in their "Berserker states", not to mention how hungry it makes them. Marie only had to use hers briefly but Callie had to do it over a more extended period. But Marie still has another problem to solve and Callie isn't done dealing with problems either.