"Hello?"

"Hey there beautiful,"

"Heheh. Hi handsome. How's work?"

"Stressful. Sorry, I'm going to have to stay in late. Some things have come up," A sigh came through the phone as the voice responded.

"Yeah I sorta figured. Is it really bad?"

"Well…we don't know yet…But…be on your toes,"

"Alright. But be careful,"

"Of course. I love you,"

"I love you too," Inkay hung up his phone and let out a sigh.

"She seems calm about it," Kelp said as he walked besides his childhood friend.

"She's cool under pressure," Kelp chuckled as Inkay placed his phone in his pocket. The two were walking along the more concluded area of Saltspray Rig. They wore their Agent outfits and had their weapons in their hands. Inkay carried an Eliter Scope with an Octoshot Replica on his hip. Kelp's weapons of choice were a Custom Blaster and a .96 Deco.

"I wish Lyra was like that. She tends to get really worried when I have to pull late days. I get home and she's still up worrying about me and won't go to sleep until I comfort her," Inkay chuckled as he turned towards his friend.

"I would think you would like someone like that,"

"Oh I do. But I hate to make her worry. Makes me feel bad, ya know?" Inkay nodded and turned his head forward.

"But enough about family. So what exactly are we looking for again?"

"Anything that can be a clue to what's happening. Suspicious person, strange ooze…another body…"

"Pleaaase, don't let it be another body…" Inkay shuddered with the image of the decaying Inkling girl coming to his mind. Kelp chuckled as the two continued forward. They looked high and low for anything out of the ordinary. It took awhile, but finally something caught Kelp's eye.

"Are you sure this is the right way Wakame?"

"One Hundred percent. Trust me, we're almost there," Wakame said as he led Em and Cereza down the street. The sun was preparing to go down and was gracing the land with the last rays of sunlight for the day. Wakame had mentioned a party that was apparently happening and was currently leading the way.

"Knowing you this is probably some type of swinger party. I swear if something sketchy goes on at this thing," Em growled at Wakame. Though her demeanor screamed she didn't want to go, she had dolled herself up for a fun night. Her tentacles were hanging loosely over her shoulders as she wore a tight black dress. Cereza simply wore what she wore to the Turf War.

"I promise you it's not that kind of party. What do you take me for? I'm not that bad! Though it is a party that will most likely get the cops called so, watch your drink at all times,"

"You best be joking Wakame," Cereza said a bit wary now as the Inkling boy scratched his head. She was about to comment on his silence when Em suddenly stopped, causing the other two to stop as well.

"Hey! Look over there!" She said tilting her head across the street. On the other side was an Octoling male. He had his emerald tentacles hanging loosely around his head as he stood tilted fixated on a vending machine as if he had never seen one before in his life.

"Whoa, a guy Octoling. Haven't seen one of those in awhile," Cereza said trying to adjust her position to see some of his face.

"Well, aside from Malcolm from class, but that guy's a prick," Wakame shrugged. Em and Cereza both stared at the Octoling boy as they chatted among themselves.

"What do you think he's doing?" Cereza asked.

"I don't know, but he's staring at that vending machine like it stole his soul or something,"

"You think that's his natural color? Or did he just change em?" Wakame rolled his eyes at his friends' shenanigans before speaking up.

"If you two are so curious, maybe one of you can stop being so creeperish and go talk to him," Both girls looked back at him, Em with a furrowed brow and Cereza with a raised one. Both were quiet for a moment before Cereza spoke.

"You're better at talking to strangers," Cereza said gesturing towards the boy with a smile.

"Exactly. So you need the practice,"

"What?" Em turned Cereza around and began pushing her towards the boy, stopping at the edge of the road and gesturing for Cereza to continue. Cereza let out a soft groan before looking towards the boy. She looked both ways before crossing the street in a light jog. She slowly walked closer to the boy, stopping just short of noticing distance to give her friends a nervous glance.

Em gave two thumbs up as Cereza took a deep breath. She took a few steps forward and put her hands behind her back.

"um…Hi there," Cereza called out. It took a second before the boy pried his eyes from the machine too look at her. Cereza swallowed as bright gold eyes locked onto her's. A low "Hello" coming from the boy as he didn't bother to turn his body towards her. Becoming more and more nervous under his gaze, Cereza turned towards the vending machine.

"S-so, why are you staring at this thing so intently?" She asked, hoping her voice had the playful tone she hoped. The Octoling turned towards the machine again, pointing towards a bag of chips stuck between the stand and glass of the machine.

"I put in my money. But it didn't give me my food," He said turning towards and tapping the glass. Cereza chuckled. She felt a lot calmer without his eyes on her.

"Oh yeah. Some of these machines around here do that a lot," Cereza said with a smile, unknowing that the boy was now watching her. She reached into the pockets in her shorts and pulled out a few coins. She looked over the machine once before placing her money in and pressing the button.

The boy looked back at the machine, expecting his chips to continue their fall. Instead, the gummy fish started falling. He was a bit confused until the gummy fish fell on top of his chips, both falling within reach at the bottom. The boy reached down, pulling out his chips and Cereza's gummies.

"Thank you. Here's yours," He said offering her her food. Cereza looked at it before raising her hands.

"Nah. You have it," She said with a smile. The boy gave her a confused look.

"But, you paid for it with your money," He stated, confusion evident on his voice. Cereza giggled and smiled up at him, putting her hands behind her back.

"Think of it as a 'nice to meet you' present," The boy looked at the gummies then at Cereza, a smile finally forming on his face.

"Thank you. What's your name?" Cereza locked eyes with the boy, a small blush forming on her cheeks from the smile on his face.

"My name is Cereza. It's nice to meet you," She did a small courtesy as he placed the bag of gummies in his pocket.

"It's nice to meet you Cereza. My name's Matzuo. Thank you for the gummies," He did a small bow as Cereza giggled at how formal he was.

"Don't mention it," Cereza's name was suddenly called, both Matzuo and Cereza looking over to see Wakame tapping his wrist as Em rolled her eyes at him.

"Sorry, my friends and I are on our way to a party. But, maybe we'll meet again sometime?" Cereza said stepping towards the road.

"Maybe,"

"Well, it was nice meeting you Matzuo!" Cereza called as she looked both ways before running back to her friends. She let out a deep breath as she and her friends began moving forward again. "So? How'd I do?" She asked Em with a big smile.

"Next time, try not to spend your money," Em said wrapping her arm around Cereza. The two laughed as Wakame rolled his eyes and smiled with his friends as they walked off. Matzuo watched the trio leave until they were completely out of sight. As soon as they were, he headed the opposite way, opening his chip and reaching inside.

No sooner had he starting chewing the first chip, his phone vibrated violently. He stopped in his tracks as he pulled the device to his ear.

Luca stood in front of the door to his house. He didn't like what was going to be inside. No matter how fast he ran, he just didn't go fast enough to catch the six o'clock train home. So instead he had to catch the seven thirty train. Thus, the time was around eight, and he was late coming home. Now, he would've called and explained the situation, but of course his phone had died on him. What are the odds right?

So inside the house he was sure his mother would be positively furious at his tardiness. Well, he might as well get the punishment over sooner rather than later. He opened the door and standing practically right in it was his mother.

He gulped and stood deathly still, as if any sudden movement would worsen his punishment. Cerata simply stared down at her son with her bright green eyes in a glare he couldn't quite read. They both stood quietly for a moment before Cerata spoke.

"So. Where have you been?" Luca slowly closed the door behind him, averting his gaze from his mother.

"I found a new friend and kinda lost track of time. But I swear we weren't doing anything bad! We were just…hanging out and talking…" Cerata let out a "mhmm" as she looked over her son.

"Well I can't say I didn't see this coming. It was your first day of Turf Wars," She said with a sigh. "But don't make this a habit! At least call me if you're going to be late," Luca apologized and pulled out his phone.

"Sorry mom. It died on me…"

"Well make sure that you call me before it dies next time," She said with a serious look on her face. It melted into an excited smile. "So, how was your first day out doing Turf Wars?! Was it fun? Tell me about this friend!" She pulled her son into a hug as he blushed at the action.

"Yeah it was really fun. I'm more exhausted than I've ever been in my life though," He said with a smile. "And he was pretty cool. He showed me this really great restaurant, and he seems pretty nice,"

"well I'll have to meet him some time,"

"well, he said we could meet again tomorrow and hang out,"

"Sounds wonderful,"

It's your undress rehearsal.

So take your clothes off.

Show me how you show off.

It's your undress rehearsal.

You're the main attraction.

Lights, camera, action.

"Well I can't say the place doesn't look like fun," Em said as she looked over the mass of people dancing around. The party was in a two story house on the outskirt of town. Lights flashed a variety of colors as all species danced, chatted and simply had a good time. Maybe a little too much fun,Cereza thought as she noticed a few people on the roof of the house either bobbing to the music or dancing, drinks in their hand regardless.

"Yeah, a friend of mine is hosting this thing. His parties can get really wild," Wakame said leading the two girls through the crowd. "Ground rules though: Don't go upstairs. Haven't been upstairs to one of his parties, but I know you're not interested in what goes on up there. Try to stay close to each other. And if anyone offers you something to drink, don't drink it unless you saw them pour it,"

"This isn't our first party Wakame. We know how to handle ourselves," Cereza giggled as they reached the front door.

"I know, but I don't want anything to happen to my best friend. You on the other hand can get ran on," Wakame said giving Em a smile as he placed his hand on the door knob.

"And you can go fuck yourself," She retorted with a smile of her own.

"You'd love to see that wouldn't you?" Wakame pushed the door open and the music almost knocked the trio off their feet. Though the music and party were going strong outside, the inside was much worse. Upon walking in, the trio immediately saw a girl being held up doing a keg stand. Cheers doing their best to come out over the music as it practically shook people. Beer pong could be seen in the back and some people ran by clothed in the bare minimum and dripping ink, so a pool was likely in the back.

"Wakame! Buddy!" The trio turned towards what he thought was his name being called to see an Inkling boy walking towards him. Though the sun had been down for about an hour, the boy had a pair of sunglasses over his eyes and his dark blue tentacles tied back. He wore a predatory smile as he had a girl clinging to each arm.

"Ryland! What up my Squid?" Wakame said walking up and shaking the boy's hand.

"Doing what it do with no curfew. So Wakame, this is Star, and Mercy," Ryland said gesturing to the yellow tentacled Inkling holding on to his right and the pink tentacled one on his left. His head shifted to the girls standing behind Wakame and his smile widened. "And who are these two?" Em crossed her arms and gave the squid boy a glare while Cereza stepped further behind Kelp.

"These are my friends. Cereza. And…that bitch," Em smacked the boy in the back of his head with a glare but didn't bother giving Ryland her name. Said boy chuckled at the display before shrugging.

"Well mi casa, su casa. Be sure to have fun. Shake a tail fin, throw a drink back, cut loose, do whatever. We ain't stopping until the cops show up," With that, Ryland threw a wave towards Wakame and his group and headed upstairs.

"It just…it doesn't make any sense…" Marie said into her headset. "I run it again and again and yet nothing happens. It should break down, melt, dissolve if only a little but nothing. It just…floats there…" Marie turned towards the object of her distress. On the table before her was a jar containing a large tentacle. Marie hated that they had to further mutilate the poor Inkling girl, but they needed to find out what was going on.

The tentacle sat in a jar of water. Water! It should not be able to do that! It should be gone! Marie even tried dipping it in a variety of different ink colors. The thing just let it all slide right off of it. Marie rubbed her eyes, trying to focus on the voice on the other side of the line.

"I know that if we figure out why, this could be revolutionary to the survivability of both Inklings and Octolings Callie, but if it takes all these people disappearing like this, perhaps it's better if it all just stops. Plus it, kinda kills off Turf Wars…" A small beep resounded in Marie's ear as she reached over and checked her phone. "I'll talk to you later Callie. I'm getting a call from Agent 3," Marie clicked a button on her headset, switching the call over. "Hey Agent 3. What's up?"

"Agent 4 and I found something by the Rig. It's uh…It's not good,"

"Ok, should I send a team over to pick you up?"

"We're gonna stick around a bit longer. But uh, send the team over to pick up another body,"

"Oh no…"

"Yeah. We'll stick around until they get here and then look for more clues,"

"Gotcha. I'll send them right over," Marie hung up and let out a sad sigh as she punched in the coroner's number.

Cereza sat at the table, eyeing her slightly intoxicated friend dance. The Octoling girl swung her hips to the beat of the music as people cheered her on. Cereza was a little buzzed herself, but she liked to keep a clear head. Though she liked to go out and dance, she wasn't one for these large crowds. They were never her thing. She got really nervous with groups, and this was a really large group. Wakame had took a few drinks and disappeared to who knows where so she sat, glad the music had died down, and watched her friend have fun and make a slight fool of herself.

A few Inklings and Octarians offered her a drink and a dance but she politely refused. Some chose to chat her up and start a conversation the best they could over the loud speakers. While some were rather nice, others were of course douchey and almost caused Cereza to simply get up and leave. She checked her phone, seeing the clock read 10:59.

She typed in her password and sent a quick good night text to her little brother, making sure it had a lot of huggy emotes and hearts in the message. Picturing the angry-ish blush that would no doubt cross his face at his sister's affection caused her to smile down on her phone as she pressed the send button.

"Sending a love text to your boyfriend?" Cereza jumped at the new voice, the music seeming to quiet down enough so that it was still loud but you could actually hear someone talking to you. She involuntarily shrunk back at the sight of Ryland taking a seat next to her. He had apparently abandoned the other two Inkling girls and had set his sights on her.

"No. Nothing like that," She said turning away from him, hoping he would get the message she wasn't interested.

"Well it has to be someone special for you to be smiling like that," Ryland said scooting a little bit closer. Cereza responded by trying to scoot further away.

"And why do you care?" Ryland laughed lowly and took off his shades, revealing a bright set of amber eyes.

"Just trying to start a conversation. Ya know, since you're not out there dancing. Why aren't you dancing by the way?" Cereza groaned inwardly as the guy didn't take the hint.

"Because I don't want to dance right now. I'm tired,"

"Then have a drink," Cereza turned just in time to see Ryland holding a red cup practically right in her face. She eyed the cup, then him and her brows furrowed. Wakame's words ringing in her head. Don't drink anything you didn't see them pour.

"No thanks. I don't accept drinks from strange squids," She answered, her tone taking a more hostile air to them from being messed with.

"Come on beautiful. You're not dancing, you're not talking, you're not drinking. What was the point of you even coming out tonight?"

"Just to hang out with my friends,"

"Well they seem to be having a good time without you," Cereza didn't respond. She only let out a scoff as she continued to watch Em dance. "Come on, live a little,"

"I am living. My way, with my rules. And I don't want your drink,"

"Just one drink and a chat, and I'll leave you alone, scout's honor," Cereza looked at the boy out of the corner of her eye as he smiled at her with his bright Amber eyes glowing. She stared at him for a moment before giving him a smile.

"Well, if you swear it'll make you go away…one drink," Ryland's smile widened as Cereza took the cup. His face shifted to confusion as she sat it down on the table behind her. "Oh I'm not drinking that. If you want me to drink so badly, bring me a Fruit Punch mix, a few ice cubes, and a cup. I'll pour it myself," Ryland looked at her a bit dumbfounded as she turned her head back towards Em. After a second she looked towards Ryland. "Well? Off with you," Ryland chuckled before downing the drink meant for Cereza before standing up and walking away.

Cereza chuckled to herself as Em's dancing got more and more unbalanced. Soon she had collasped on the couch and began ordering her new fans to bring her this or that. It wasn't long before Ryland returned carrying the requested drink items. He smiled as he popped two ice cubes out of the ice tray and into an empty red cup, mimicking the action into another cup. Cereza watched him carefully, choosing to pick up and pour the drinks herself. Ryland raised his cup with a smile.

"To a good time!" Right as he was about to bring his drink to his lips, Cereza grabbed it, replacing it with hers with a smirk.

"To you going away," Ryland looked down at his new cup, then at Cereza as she took a small sip of hers. His smile returned as he down his with a throwback of his head. "Wow. You can go away now right?" Ryland chuckled as he leaned in closer.

"But we still have to chat, Cereza," The hybrid girl rolled her eyes and turned away. "So how old are you?"

"If you must know, I'm 24,"

"Seriously? You look a lot younger than that,"

"And you're still trying to make a move? Are you a pedophile?" Ryland chuckled.

"I didn't say that young, beautiful,"

"Stop calling me that," She suddenly snapped. "I don't need your empty compliments. I'm sure you tell everyone that," She returned her head forward and took another small sip of her drink.

"Trust me, I don't" Ryland answered with a smirk as he watched Cereza slowly consume the liquid. Cereza tried to ignored the next few questions as she sipped her drink. Em had tired herself out and was now entertaining her new fans with some story.

Cereza took another sip of her drink, the ice now dissolving from the warm drink. It tasted a bit different. Must have been from the ice watering it down. She took another sip, noticing a bit of a salty taste. It was subtle enough for Cereza to chalk it up to simply her imagination and she continued her drink. She finished the drink and turned towards Ryland, being sure to look him dead in the eyes.

"I've had my drink, you've had your conversation. Can you…please…leave me alone…now?" Cereza suddenly felt a slight sting in her head. It started as a soft poke but steadily increased in pressure. It died down quickly but seemed to mess with her senses on its way out.

Her eyes blurred and sound slurred as she tried to focus. Looking around, everyone seemed to be moving increasingly slower. She looked towards Em, preparing to call out to her friend. When she opened her mouth, nothing came out. Instead it seemed like Em was getting pushed further away. She, along with the people around her, seemed to fade into the darkness.

Now in a panic, Cereza turned around, about to see if Ryland knew what was going on. Her eyes widened as things seemed to begin to shred into the depths of the dark behind Ryland.

"What's the matter?" Ryland asked concerned, leaning in as worry encased his eyes. "Are you not feeling well?" Ryland's body seemed to fade away as well as his eyes stayed behind to stare at her. They blinked and too disappeared into the darkness. Cereza stared wide-eyed as even the space around her fell away. She got this feeling that she was falling. Further and further before in an instant, the feeling reversed.

Her breathing became panicked as she felt like she was getting raised higher and higher. In the distance, she noticed two specks of yellow getting closer and closer. Once close enough, she realized that they were a set of eyes. Bright yellow eyes watching her in the darkness.

"Look at you. Finally having a good time?" A voice called over the still slurred music coming from the darkness. The eyes watched her as she continued upward, curling around as if the owner was smiling. Cereza continued looking around, trying to find some type of explanation for what hell was actually going on.

More colored specks were in the distance, revealing themselves to be couches as Cereza got closer. From beneath, Cereza could see that people were sitting on them. She prepared to call out to them, but the voice caught in her throat as one person looked over the couch and down on her.

It laughed darkly, the voice echoed around the slurred music as the beat slowly became more coherent. In the seat, as well as all the others, were different color variations of Cereza. As she passed, they reached out for her, grabbing and stretching as if trying to stop her ascent. Some managed to get a hold of her arms or legs but she quickly slipped out of their grip, cut marks left behind where their hands once were.

She held her arms to her chest in fear as she was once again in a blank section of the darkness. The eyes returned along with colored circles that moved towards them with the beat of the music and a set of fangs of an Inkling/Octoling appeared beneath the eyes in a wicked smile. The newly made face ascended with Cereza as a low chuckle seemed to come from everywhere.

"Feels like it's laced. With some type of acid," The music slowly sped up, the eyes and mouth getting bigger as Cereza felt she was speeding up as well. "It's a bad check. You wish you never cashed this," The colored circles pulsated in the form of an Inkliod figure within the darkness, Cereza's tentacles whipped harshly around her head from the G-Force of her ascent as her eyes widened, and the tentacles of the giant stretched out and waved in all directions.

"Shoulda took the advice the old bastard gave ya,"The darkness disappeared with a pulsating color, showing that Cereza was high within the cloud, before her a giant Octoling silhouette still pulsating colors to the music. "Cause not even Major Lazer can save ya!"

Still continuing her ascent, Cereza noticed that something was falling towards her. A lot of somethings. A lot of Cerezas. They passed her at insane speeds, Cereza looking over her shoulder to see them falling towards the house the party was being held. Looking back upward, she noticed her parents house. Not slowing down a bit, she slammed into the front door, waking up in her bed in her old room with a startled gasp.

She looked around before stepping out of bed, rubbing her face and head as she felt a cold sweat run over her body. She walked to her mirror, looking up and going wide eyed as she saw her reflection. Her fangs were gone, replaced with regular teeth. On her head, her tentacles were missing as well, replaced with thin, purple strands of…something…was it fur? Like Judd had? Behind her, the wall slowly morphed until the eyes and mouth were back, her seeing them in the mirror. She turned around and looked as the smile widened.

"Hello there Cereza. I'm Mr. Mary Jane," Cereza turned and ran towards the door, pushing it open and running as fast as her legs could carry her. The walls slowly grew taller as the face appeared on each one. The hallway seemed to stretch on forever but Cereza continued. She ran faster and faster, trying to reach the door on the end. She pushed it open and didn't stop, stepping out of the house to fall out of the sky and towards the ground.

She fell faster and faster towards the house, a calm feeling enveloping her as she got closer. Right as she was about to reach the ground, something grabbed her, and pulled her back up.

Inkay and Kelp sat patiently, Inkay studying the body while Kelp tried his best not to look at it. "So how long do you think she's been there?" Kelp said as he stood with his back towards the scene. He didn't want to catch a glimpse of the poor Octoling girl again.

"I don't know. Inklings and Octolings usually revert to ink after they die. I'm not even sure how people begin to understand how long somethings been dead," Inkay ran his hand along the sand beside the body, rubbing the grains between his fingers to find that they seemed to be surprisingly dry considering how close they were to the water. "The worst thing about this situation is we still don't know what's going on and how to stop it," Kelp let out a sigh and stretched.

"We'll just have to stay vigilante and keep our eyes ope- 3 LOOK OUT!" Inkay looked up as Kelp dived for him. Kelp rolled his friend out of the way just as a large stream of purple ink shot where Inkay's head was. The two trained agents quickly jumped to their feet, turning their weapons towards the direction of the sneak attack.

In the distance, a figured stepped forward, clad in all black body suit with a mask designed in the Inkling variation of the tragedy mask. In his hand was a weapon neither Kelp nor Inkay recognized, but it was no doubt a charger. The figure took a few steps forward and paused, tilting it's head at the two Inklings.

"Drop your weapon! Drop it!" Kelp screamed as he pointed his blaster at the figure. The figure simply stared as it righted its head, slowly tapping its weapon against his leg.

"Are you the one who did this?" Inkay asked, his charger aiming for the mystery assailant's chest. The figure held its head down, as if in shame before slowly shaking it.

"It's only going to get worse…before it gets better…" The figure said. Both Kelp and Inkay narrowed their eyes in confusion but didn't let their attention waver. The figure suddenly pulled out another weapon, pointing it towards the Agents and preparing to fire.

Reacting quickly, both Inkay and Kelp fired their weapons. The E-Liter shot landing directly in the figure's chest as Kelp's blaster exploded in its face. The figure stumbled and was pushed back. Kelp and Inkay subconsciously lowered their weapons and looked out towards the person as they weren't splatted. Instead, the person charged forward.

Caught off guard, both Inklings stumbled. The figure jumped forward, placing its knee in Kelp's face and backhanding Inkay with its second weapon. Inkay rolled, pulling a Burst Bomb from his tank and throwing it towards his attacker. The attacker dodged under the bomb and rushed Inkay again. Inkay pulled out his Octoshot Replica and began firing. The figure bobbed and weaved, taking a few shots but continuing forward.

The attacker swung its weapon forward, pointing it towards Inkay as the Inkling's eyes widened. There was a shot of turquoise that knocked the weapon from the figure's hand. It stopped his charge as he looked towards where its weapon was now rolling across the ground. He looked over to be greeted by Agent 4's fist to its face. The figure stumbled a bit as Kelp clipped his weapon back on his side. Inkay stood and regrouped with his partner, looking over as the assailant righted itself.

"Please tell me you have a plan," Inkay said pointing his weapon towards the enemy.

"Well, weapons don't seem to work, we'll just have to beat him down and drag him in," Inkay looked down at the weapon grasped in his hand and shrugged, clicking it to his side and raising his fists like Kelp. The figure rolled its neck before staring for a moment, eventually hanging its head down.

"I don't want to do this. And I don't have time for this…you're both just…in my way,"

"In your way? In your way for what?" As an answer, the figure ran forward. Inkay and Kelp both threw a punch from opposite sides as their attacker continued. In a quick twist, the attacker deflected both attacks, Inkay's with his right arm and Kelp's with his left leg. Continuing the twist, it punched Inkay in the face with its left hand and kicked Kelp in the chest with its right leg. Both agents were sent flying as the assailant landed and continued forward. Groaning and rolling to get to his feet, Inkay came to the realization of the figure's target.

"He's going for the body!" Inkay said running after the figure. Kelp rose to his feet clutching his chest as he followed Inkay. The figure skidded to a stop next to the body, turning towards the two Inklings, causing them to come to a stop as well. Ever so slowly, the figure pulled out what looked like a Splat Bomb. Instead of one color, it seemed to swirl every possible color before flashing white a few seconds and returning to the swirl.

"What kind of bomb?…" Kelp said going wide-eyed at the item. The figure held it towards the body and tilted its head.

"...Stop struggling…go home and just…enjoy life…while you can…" In seemingly slow motion, the figure dropped the bomb, and everything was consumed in white.

Cereza groaned as she sat up, the cold wind blowing against her face as she rubbed her head.

"Ugh…Wha…where am I?"

"You're on the roof," Cereza's eyes shot open but it didn't help focus her eyes. Rubbing them and blinking them a lot finally corrected her sight as she realized she was in fact on the roof, looking down on the party that seemed to have slowed down quite a bit.

"What?! But!…H-h-how did I get up here?!" She screeched scurrying further away from the edge, her breath quickening as she began to panic.

"I brought you here," Her eyes snapped to the voice and her own caught in her throat. Looking back at her were the bright gold eyes of Matzuo. He slowly smiled as her face began to heat up.

"But! But! W-what happened?! Why did you bring me here?! Why don't I remember anything?!" Matzuo gave a nervous smile as he raised his hand to his head.

"I don't know all the details, but I know I walked in to see some guy carrying you upstairs. You seemed completely out of it, so I followed and uh…"

"Oh my god…" Cereza said going wide eyed. Her eyes quickly narrowed as this aura of anger enveloped her. "That bastard drugged me! But I was so careful! I don't…and he…" The aura of anger slowly died down as tears came to Cereza's face. "He…he…"

"He didn't do anything," Cereza looked over to the Octoling boy as he gave a comforting smile. "I got to him before he could and I brought you up here. I figured your friends were somewhere around, but not really knowing them, I just thought I'd watch you until you came to your senses,"

"Wow, um," Cereza wiped her eyes, stretching and adjusting her legs before looking back at Mitzuo. "That's really nice of you,"

"Well, you seem like a really nice person. I couldn't let someone take advantage of you like that," Cereza smiled at Mitzuo as he returned it and looked over the people below.

"Thank you," Mitzuo turned towards Cereza again as a small beep rang out. Cereza jumped at the sound before chuckling nervously and reaching for her phone. Her eyes widened as she looked over the locked screen.

2:48 A.M., twelve texts, and twenty calls. Her eyes widened as she unlocked her phone and scanned over the texts. Each one was a worried message from either Wakame or Em, them becoming increasingly desperate. She pressed dial and began called Em, placing the phone to her ear.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" The Octoling girl immediately screamed into the phone. "WAKAME AND I ARE WORRIED SICK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Cereza smiled to herself at her scolding before trying to calm her friend down.

"I'm ok, I'm on the roof,"

"THE ROOF?! BACK AT THE PARTY?!"

"Oh? You guys left?"

"OF COURSE WE DID! WE LOOKED ALL OVER FOR YOU AND YOU WERE NOWHERE SO WE STARTED LOOKING OTHER PLACES! WE'RE HEADED BACK, JUST STAY PUT!" Cereza chuckled softly as she looked over to Matzuo.

"No, don't worry about it. I'm on my way home, I'll just meet you there,"

"You sure girl? We're headed back now we won't take long,"

"I'm sure, headed back now,"

"Well….we're still coming. We'll meet you halfway," Cereza chuckled more and smiled. It was nice to have friends concerned about you. So nice.

"Ok, I'm headed back now. And Em,"

"Hm? What is it?"

"I love you,"

"Ugh. You too stressful," Cereza playfully scoffed, a wide smile on her face.

"Rude! I said 'I love you!'"

"Yeah I love you too, just get your butt over here!"

"And tell Wakame I love him too!"

"Nuh uh. I'm keeping all of it to myself," Cereza and Em both laughed as Cereza stood up.

"Ok fine. I'll tell him myself when I see him. See you in a bit," Cereza hung up, smiling brightly to her phone before turning her smile to Matzuo. "Care to walk me home?" Matzuo tilted his head a bit before standing as well.

"Oh, um. Sure. Yeah. It'll be my pleasure," Cereza flashed a toothy smile before taking the Octoling by the arm, leading him inside and down the hall. The top floor was overrun with passed out Inklings/Octarians, some severely under-dressed. She kept her eyes forward as she traveled the hall, stepping down the stairs still clinging to Matzuo's arm.

As she reached the bottom floor, a voice caught her ears. She glanced over to see Ryland standing next to the couch, talking to some Inkling girl. She narrowed her eyes as Matzuo noticed the shift in her mood.

"Are you ok?" Cereza turned towards Matzuo and gave a smile.

"Yeah, completely fine. But can you give me one second?" Before he had a chance to question, Cereza unhooked herself and jogged over to Ryland. "Hey you," Ryland turned towards Cereza, standing up as she approached.

"Oh, hey there. What's up? Your uh, boyfriend came and got ya. You had one too many it seems," Ryland confidently said. Cereza gave the boy a smile before leaning in.

"Oh that wasn't my boyfriend. And I doubt that was the cause," Ryland looked at the girl confused for a moment, but his smile widened as she wrapped her arms around his neck. There was a sudden pain in his tentacles as Cereza grabbed them. She held her head back and with a swift yank, pulling Ryland's head back as she shot hers forward.

Cereza sent a headbutt into Ryland's face so hard his shades shattered and the Inkling boy fell backwards on the floor, clutching his nose as it began to bleed. Face now contorted in rage, Cereza stepped forward, slamming her foot down on Ryland's family jewels as the lingering crowd looked on in shock.

"If I so much as hear your name again, the next time I see you, I will rip those tentacles off your head, shove them up your ass and pull them out through your eyes! Creep!" Cereza stormed off as Ryland rolled on the ground in pain. Demeanor returning to a happy playful, she reconnected her arm with Matzuo's and gave the shocked Octoling boy a smile.

"Well? Shall we be off?"

Hello hello. How's everybody doing? Don't have much to say this time. This chapter focused mostly on Cereza whereas last chapter focused on Luca, both involving them meeting new people. Luca met an Inkling and was informed of his blind sister. This chapter Cereza met an Octoling boy that saved her from being date raped. Also if you're wondering how that happened, the drugs were in the ice, which is why Ryland downed his immediately. So Cereza slowly sipping hers allowed the ice to melt and the drugs to set in. Nothing's safe. Especially not when you make Cereza angry.

We also see Inkay and Kelp get roughed up a bit. But, what happened to them after the explosion? You'll just have to figure out next time.

Speaking of next time, more characters get introduced, we get a better look at what that bomb did, and someone gets involved on the disappearances.

Anyway, I thank you all for reading, and special thanks for those who reviewed the previous chapter. Until next time,

Astalabyebye,

Bang