Inkay groaned as consciousness slowly returned to him. Along with it was a strong ache throughout his entire body. It was an annoying throb that made him squeeze his eyes shut and attempt to will the pain away. This only seemed to make the ache attack with avengeance. Thus causing him to groan a bit louder.

"Marie! I think Inkay's waking up!" The voice caused Inkay to stir more, his eyes fighting their way open and immediately becoming overrun with a bright white. Blinking the brightness away, the white turned out to be a ceiling, the pureness of it becoming corrupt as two blurred images came over it. The blurs turned out to be Callie and Marie, both wearing expressions of overwhelming joy.

"Callie? Marie?" Inkay choked out. His throat seemed painfully dry and the sound came out hoarse. At the sound, both Inkling women enveloped Inkay in a tight hug. He let out a pained yelp and groan at the affection, the Squid Sisters quickly releasing him.

"Sorry, we got excited," Callie said with a smile. Inkay let out another pained groan before fighting to sit up on his arms. It seemed that the more he moved, the worse the ache got. It didn't surprise him, but that didn't mean he liked it. Finally propping himself up, the sheets that covered him fell to his waist, causing his bare chest to be exposed to the cold air, his body visibly shivering.

"What…what happened?" He groaned. His head suddenly had a pulse of pain, causing him to once again wince. He made the mistake of trying to rub the pain away, immediately crashing to his bed as soon as his arm came from beneath him.

"We were hoping you would be able to tell us," Marie said crossing her arms.

"Don't ever scare us like that again! The coroners came back with you and Kelp in sheets! We thought you were dead!" Callie said with a huff and a pouting glare. Mention of his friend and ally, Inkay once again tried to move.

"Kelp? What happened to him? Is he ok?" He once again tried to sit up. With a bit more struggle, Inkay propped himself up. Marie gently put a hand on his bare chest and eased him back softly until he once again laid down. Inkay once again shivering and a bit of color tinting his cheeks.

"Since you woke up, we're guessing Kelp will soon. But you shouldn't move too much. You're body was…" Marie paused and looked at her cousin, the two exchanging disheartening glances like neither knew how to approach the subject.

"My body was what?" Inkay said, suddenly very anxious to remove the sheet to see if there were any abnormalities with his being. "A-and what about the body we found by Saltspray Rig?"

The mention of the other body caused the two cousins to look back at Inkay, Marie's fist tightening ever so slightly while Callie nervously rubbed her arm.

"When the coroners got to you…there was no body…" Callie started. "There was just a bus sized crater on the beach pooling water with you and Kelp not too far off to the side,"

"And when they found you…" Marie continued. "You're bodies were…deteriorating…" Inkay went wide eyed. His mouth becoming increasingly dry at the thought. His body was falling apart? He raised his hands to his face, both limbs shaking slightly. Was his body still deteriorating? "It was like nothing we've ever seen," Inkay tore his eyes from his hands and looked over to Marie. "The coroners tried to move you and everything just…drooped. Like you were melting…"

"The doctors brought you and Kelp both to the lab as quickly as they could and immediately starting to try and fix whatever was wrong with you. But, with them not even knowing what was wrong with you, time wasn't on friendly terms with us…"

"But…they fixed it…right?" Inkay's voice quivered as fear set in. Marie and Callie gave a soft smile to calm him. It honestly did more than they could imagine for his state of mind.

"We believe so. We've been monitoring you for awhile now and the deteriorating does seem to have stopped. Hopefully there's not a delayed response and it flares up again," Inkay visibly relaxed at Callie's explanation, a calm sigh leaving his lips. He slowly opened his currently dim purple eyes towards the Squid Sisters.

"So, what did they do to stop it?" The glance the two shared was not settling. Marie sighed and turned back towards Inkay first.

"When we tried everything else, we really had to, um…bet all our chips, so to speak…"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Well…We tried medicine and all types of treatments but nothing worked. The deterioration was beginning to severely affect vital organs, and if we didn't do something, those would have stopped working. So we…hooked you up to a respawn point and…splatted you,"

"YOU WHAT?!"

"We didn't know what else to do! We were out of all other options and a doctor pointed out that the main body was falling apart like when an Inkling falls in water, so maybe if we splat you, your body would return to normal when you respawn. Of course there were objections and a back and forth but we were running out of time. But, at least it worked, right?" Marie gave her signature smile, but it was obviously forced and was overrun by the worry she tried to hide behind it.

Inkay took a deep breath. His hand found his face again as he gently tried to massage away the migraine trying to fight its way into his skull. A hand gently rested on the one at his side. Inkay looked down to stare back into the worried eyes of Callie.

"Inkay, what happened out there?" Inkay turned his head to the ceiling, trying to piece together the night before. Bits and pieces flashed in his minds eye, none of which were particularly pleasant. He played it all in his head before relaying the information to the original Agents.

"There was this…person. They were dressed in all black, and carried two weapons Kelp and I never seen before. He came to dispose of the body's remains and he did it with…some type of Splat Bomb that swirled all types of colors and exploded white. I remember this intense burning and then waking up here," The Squid Sisters shared another glance. This one was filled with fear and worry. They returned their attention towards the wounded Inkling and prodded further.

"Did they say anything?" Inkay sat for a moment before weakly nodding.

"Yeah…yeah he said something about I should go home and 'enjoy life while I can'. And that…it was only going to get worse before it got better," A chill ran down the back of all those in the room. Silence grew until Inkay broke it with a groan. "Everything aches,"

"Better than everything being gone," Marie retorted, causing Inkay to let out a pained laugh of approval. "Well…Callie and I are glad you're okay. We'd love to stick around and baby you some more, but we have to go and do the morning Inkopolis News Time," Inkay's head shot up towards Marie with such speed both Inkling girls jumped. Inkay stared wide-eyed in mute horror as if Marie grew another limb out of her forehead.

"Morning? Wait…what time is it?"

"Almost eight A.M.," Callie answered. Inkay shot up, sitting up once again with disapproving looks from both Squid Sisters and disapproval from his body as well as a surge of pain shot throughout him, it going ignored for awhile.

"Eight A.M.!?" Inkay shrieked before the pain caused him to fall back on the bed. "You mean I've been away all night?! Cerata has to be so worried by now!" Inkay rolled over, preparing to attempt to get off of his makeshift bed. "I gotta go call her," Gloved fingers once again found their way to his chest as Inkay looked up to the half lidded golden eyes of Marie. Her brow furrowed as she was a bit more forceful with pushing him back down.

"What part of 'you shouldn't move too much' didn't you understand?" Inkay didn't have the strength to really fight back, but he had just enough to voice his complaints.

"But I have to-"

"Lay there and get some rest. We'll call and tell Cerata what's going on and where you are on the way to the office," Callie said as Marie crossed her arms and Inkay let out a sigh.

"Alright. Fine,"

"Good. Now, try to get some rest. We'll come to check on you later," Inkay nodded and closed his eyes, the Squid Sisters looking over him a moment more before heading towards the door.

Cereza slowly let her eyes flutter open. Sleep was steadily being replaced with consciousness and the hybrid stretched all of her limbs. A soft yawn exited her maw before she rolled over to see the body that laid beside her.

Em's sleeping face was always so adorable to the hybrid girl. Em's emotions seemed to always be either excited or angry, so the calm and relax visage sleep brought the Octoling was always an interesting sight for Cereza. Her eyes weren't wide and examining or furrowed and burning. They were just calm as Em took long, slow breaths through slightly parted lips.

Cereza smiled at her friend as thoughts of the night before came back to the front of her mind. After the ordeal at Ryland's, Wakame and Em both did meet Cereza and Matzuo halfway, and both of her friends were practically in hysterics. Em practically knocked her over with a hug while Wakame bombarded her with questions, her giving a genuine smile the entire time. After they calmed down a bit, she explained everything that had happened and then officially introduce Matzuo and his involvement in the night.

Both of her friends thanked Matzuo profusely, him seeming to not be used to the gestures. The group chatted a bit before Matzuo went off his way while Cereza and co went their own. Em immediately bombarded her with questions on whether she 'tapped that' or not. She of course flustered with her friend and denied it, causing Em to prod further. Wakame was too busy being angry and disappointed in himself for allowing such a thing to happen. Cereza continued to try and convince him otherwise, but he simply wouldn't agree with her.

He walked Cereza and Em home, giving the hybrid a tight hug and another tsunami of apologies for what she went through. Cereza gave him a gentle hug back and a smile before dismissing the subject. The two girls went and took quick showers before meeting up in Cereza's bed to discuss the positives of the party that they remembered. Also Cereza wanted to tell Em about her 'fresh' dance moves.

It wasn't long before the two fell asleep, and now they were here, Cereza sorta creepily staring at her friend's sleeping face. After the rare scene was etched into her mind, Cereza carefully rolled over, reaching for her phone sitting on the nightstand beside her bed. Her smile brightened a bit as she noticed she had a good morning text from Wakame.

Good morning beautiful. I hope you slept well with no nightmares or anything. I want to apologize again for last night. I should've been more vigilant and kept an eye on you. Just wanted to check in since I was up. Text me back whenever you and the harlot wake up too.

Cereza rolled her eyes at how he addressed the other member of their group. Aside from that, a warm feeling spread through her chest. This was so nice. Having people worry about you. Having people care. She knew Wakame pretty much since they were stage ones, but he didn't become close or that caring honestly until they were both final stages. And Cereza didn't know Em even existed until around five years ago. And now she would do whatever it took to keep her little group happy.

She rolled on her back, closing her eyes and resting her phone on her chest. She thought back to the first meetings and the ones after that led to the ties that bonded them together now. The warm, happy feeling spread throughout her as she reminisced. Her mind then wandered to other times, though she chose to push those away and bring the thought of the Octoling boy to the forefront of her mind.

Maybe he could be another chain in their link. Her hand holding her phone to her chest raised to her lips and she gently bit down on one of her knuckles. Another friend. Her smile grew under a blush as thoughts jumped around inside her head. The thoughts led her back to one thing she had to do, taking her hand from her mouth and unlocking her phone, Cereza opened up messages and prepared to send one to her little brother.

Luca dreamed of bluish white eyes and an angelic more he reached out for it, the further away it seemed to get. Soon the owner of the beautiful features was fading as Luca began waking up. He did his best to shoo off consciousness as he chased down the dream. Unfortunately, the vision escaped with the assistance of a few buzzes.

Groaning at the lost of a good dream, Luca rolled over, reaching for the cause of his disappointment. He picked his phone off the nightstand and looked over the screen. A sigh escaped his lips at seeing the early morning message from his sister. Well, he wasn't getting back to sleep. Might as well see what she wanted. He swiped his screen, unlocking it and looking at the message.

Good morning little bro! Hope you have a great day today! Remember to smile. ;D :x

Luca stared blankly at the text for a moment before simply responding with 'Good morning sis'. He placed his phone on his nightstand where it was before and sat up. And instantly regretted it. Everything was aching from him Turf Warring so much the day before. He groaned and thought about just laying back down until everything didn't hurt. But then he remembered he had agreed to meet Sebastian again. Well he was stupid enough to not get his number, so he couldn't cancel, and simply not going would have been beyond rude.

Luca rolled out of bed and did his best to stand. It was a chore, but he managed to do it. He walked over and pulled some stuff out to wear. He picked a loose fitting shirt and jeans as to not constrict his already stiff and aching body. He walked down to the first floor to see his mother already dressed.

"Good morning mom. What' going on?" Cerata looked up from the phone and gave her son a smile.

"Good morning Luca darling," She walked over to her mixed child and pulled him into a hug. "Something's happened with your father. It was a…work related problem," Luca went wide eyed and looked up at his mother, fear evident on his face.

"Is dad going to be okay?" Cerata smiled and rubbed her son's tentacles.

"Yes, I'm told he's fine. I'm just going to go check on him," Luca visibly calmed down. The relaxed composure of her son calmed Cerata down as well. "Do you have any plans today? Gonna go Turf War some more?" Luca shuddered at the thought of more physical activities and shook his head.

"Not today. I'm just gonna chill with Echino a bit and then hang out with my new friend," Cerata nodded before finally releasing her son and stepping back.

"Ok. Well I'll be home kind of late. But I want you home before eight! Ok?" Luca nodded as Cerata smiled. She handed her son some extra money and a kiss on the forehead before heading to the door. Luca smiled to himself as his mother left and he prepped to go to Cooler Heads.

The trip was uneventful and most of it went by in a haze of Luca mentally complaining about how his muscles hurt. He finally arrived at the shop and pushed the door open, a small bell chiming to signal his entrance.

"Welcome to Cooler Heads, where compared to your freezer, we are always Cooler…Oh, hi there Luca," a deadpan sea urchin said to him. The urchin was a stage four, his head covered in spikes that currently reached out further than his limbs did. The spikes started out pitch black before turning into a variety of colors towards the edges, only showing one of his eyes..

"Hi Echino. What's up?" Bluish green eyes lazily stared to the side as Echino gestured to the counter.

"Mom's out for the day. Asked me to watch the store until she got back. I'm sort of glad today's been kinda slow. I'm not really good at doing multiple things at once," Luca chuckled at the younger male as Enchino slowly grew a small smile. "I'd love to hang out with you today, but Moe doesn't want any non-costumer visitors while he and mom are out," Luca groaned at the mention of the clownfish, never really being fond of him.

"Darn, well maybe some other time?"

"Of course. Not like I'm ever doing anything else. Ooo, but bring some Super Sea Snails would ya?" Luca rolled his eyes at the little glutton before smiling.

"Sure. Just for you buddy," Echino was practically drooling at the thought of his favorite treat. With a disappointed wave, Luca stepped out of the store. He looked around to see if there was something he could do while he waited. Now that he thought about it, he didn't even set up a meeting time with Sebastian. He could be waiting here for a long time.

He let out an aggravated groan. Why was he so bad at planning? As he glanced around trying to find something to kill time, he noticed Sheldon's store had a sale on chargers. Images of his dad expertly using an E-liter flashing through his mind. Could he be that good one day? He reached in his pocket, checking how much extra cash he had from his games yesterday. Looking over the price and how much he counted, he had just enough for a Splatterscope.

Cereza was currently sitting at the breakfast table, Em sitting across from her suffering from a headache from a hangover. The Octoling girl would break away from her meal to lay her head on the table and whimper lowly. Cereza giggled softly everytime before continuing her breakfast.

Other than that, the two girls sat in silence. The only noise being made being the occasional clink of spoon connecting with a bowl and teeth chewing food. This was without a doubt one of their more quiet mornings. Usually Em was able to hold a conversation, even when hungover. But between her groans of pain, she was thinking of making sure that a hangover was the least of that Ryland guy's problems. Normally Cereza would notice the anger burning on her face, but today, it was being confused with pain.

Cereza's phone let off a little jingle, causing a giggle to escape the hybrid's throat as a pained grunt came from the Octoling due to the loud noise. Cereza picked up her phone, scanning over the notification before smiling to herself, unlocking and quickly tapping at the device.

"And who is that?" Em questioned, already having an idea. Cereza's face colored and she gave a smirk.

"No one. Just Matzuo," Em replied with a long 'ooo' while wiggling her eyebrows at her friend.

"And what are you two talking about? Making dating plans?" Em's smile grew wider while Cereza's blush grew more obvious.

"Of course not. We're just…going to lunch and the movies," Much to her head's protest, Em sat up in excitement. Her hands clasped together as she squealed her approval of her friend's plans.

"That sounds like a date to me! How are you not excited?"

"Because I'm freaking out!" Cereza playfully shouted. "I have never been on a date! I don't even know where to begin! What if I embarrass myself? You know I end up doing that too much. And you said yourself that sometimes I exert too much energy," Cereza's eyes went wide as she placed both hands on her cheeks. "What will I even wear?" Em reached across the table, taking one of Cereza's hands in her own.

"Girl, you know I got you,"

Luca stepped out of the training room, not very proud of his accomplishments. He was barely able to hit the targets, even with the scope, and those targets were holding still. If he wanted to hit his eventual rivals in future Turf Wars, he was gonna need a LOT of practice.

He was currently resting on the steps of the Turf War building. Looking out over the sea of people wandering around. His thoughts were scanning over every match he had watched his dad play. How'd he shoot so straight.? His movements were minimal yet the results were max. Maybe he could ask his dad to give him some pointers.

"There's a thinking face if I ever saw one," Luca jumped at the voice as he turned to see Sebastian standing over him, smile plastered on his face. The first thought that crossed his mind was 'was him popping up on him gonna be a common occurrence?' Luca grew a smile not too different from his new friend as he stood up.

"Well I have a little something on my mind," He said giving the Inkling boy a fist bump as he rested his Splatterscope on his shoulder. He tried to rest it as smoothly as his father did his E-Liter, but the weapon's weight slid off his shoulder, causing him to stumble in order to keep it from hitting the ground. Sebastian chuckled at his clumsiness.

"Don't we all. So, I see you got yourself a new weapon," Luca tried to laugh off his embarrassment as he righted his weapon.

"Yeah. I wanted to practice a charger like my dad," Sebastian let out a 'hmph' as he looked over the hybrid boy.

"Must be nice having that father son bond," Luca's smile faltered at the tone Sebastian's voice took, even though the boy's smile didn't budge an inch. Luca tried to resist the urge but curiosity got too much for him.

"Are you not on good terms with your father?" Sebastian simply shrugged before changing the subject.

"Are you a game boy? We can go back to my place and play a few," Without waiting for a response, Sebastian turned around and presumably began walking towards his home. He paused and looked over his shoulder. "Come on. It's not too far. And if you're lucky, you'll get to see Senia," The Inkling gave a suggestive smirk before turning around and continuing to walk.

All of his actions only made Luca more curious about his friend's father's identity. He slowly stepped forward and walked behind the boy in deep thought and silence.

Inkay laid in the same bed he had been in all day. He had been drifting in and out of sleep with occasional visits from a doctor or two. The ache in his body was mostly gone now and he could move more freely without regretting the action. Right now he was awake but was resting his eyes. You can only stare at a white ceiling so much before you go insane.

The door to the room opened and Inkay glanced towards it, expecting another doctor. When he was greeted with the worried glance of his wife, he shot up onto his elbows.

"Cerata? What are you doing here?" The Octoling practically ran to her significant other and threw her arms around his neck. He of course returned the gesture and wrapped an arm around her waist in a tight hug.

"You think I'm gonna get a call saying my husband, and father of my two children was hospitalized and I not show up?" She pulled back just enough to look into those beautiful purple eyes she loved so much. She let her hand trace the back of his head and rest on his cheek. "I'm so glad you're okay,"

Inkay raised his free hand to rest on hers. He returned her smile and rested his forehead against hers, staring into the most beautiful shade of green this world has ever seen. Cerata smiled and out of force of habit, and because she wanted it, pressed her lips against Inkay. It was a slow, caring kiss that put them both at ease. Cerata cupped Inkay's cheek as he gently ran his thumb over her knuckles.

Lost in the moment, Cerata was now sitting on the bed next to her husband. The only reason she wasn't in his lap was in fear he may still be in an unstable condition. Pulling apart, they once again rested their foreheads on one another and simply enjoyed the embrace. This was their favorite anytime position. The closeness and the beautiful eyes of the other always served to relieve all stress.

"So what kicked your butt? I heard even Kelp came back all banged up," Inkay sighed, moving his hand from his wife's side to her leg. He explained what happened to him and his partner the night before, Cerata listening intently the entire time. When he finished, everything was quiet. Cerata slowly pulled herself up from Inkay, dusting her legs off with a challenging smirk already on her face.

"Alright then. Next time you go out on a mission, I'm going too," Inkay's eyes widened as he quickly shook his head.

"Oh no. No no no no. We can't both go out on missions. Especially one as dangerous as this. What about Luca and Cereza? If something happens to both of us-"

"Nothing is gonna happen," Cerata laughed. "We're both going to be fine. We've trained for this. Besides, I've had to sit out for two pregnancies and only work on the political stuff while they were growing. I'm long due for some action,"

"It's too dangerous. Kelp and I both could barely land a finger on the guy,"

"Which is why you need me. Need I remind you that I won every training challenge we had?" Cerata's challenging smile turned into a cocky one as she rested her hands on her hips and leaned a bit. Inkay sighed and rolled his eyes as Cerata chuckled at the action.

"No you do not need to remind me. But I still don't know if you should,"

"That's ok, because I'm not asking. Besides, you're comparing you and Kelp to you and me? You may have known Kelp longer," Cerata leaned in, placing a hand on the opposite side of Inkay's body and walking her fingers up Inkay's still bare chest as her smile turned seductive. "But you and I have chemistry," She let her index finger glide under Inkay's chin, guiding his mouth towards hers but didn't actually kiss him.

Inkay felt his cheeks heat up. Along with other body parts. She always knew exactly what to say and how to say it to make a simple sentence agonizingly sexy. He couldn't help but return her smile with a smirk of his own.

"Why do you have to make everything in my life so hard?"

"We both like it that way,"

"This is where you live?" Luca looked at the two story brick building they were now standing in front of. It was a lot bigger than his own house and seemed to glow for some reason. Sebastian nodded and stepped up on the porch. He leaned over towards a large frog statue by the door, opening it up and pulling out a key. He placed the key in the door and unlocked it before putting it back. Sebastian walked in, guiding Luca behind him.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Sebastian said gesturing to the place. He guided Luca to the living room while the hybrid looked around. The place was practically spotless, with countless knick knacks and do-dads littered about. There were a few pieces of art on the walls here and there, but never a picture of family. With a place this big, Luca expected at least one family portrait. Alas, there were none.

"So do you and you sister live here with your parents?" Sebastian walked to the TV and plopped to his knees and began searching through the drawer underneath it.

"I live here with my little sister and big brother. Dad practically lives at work," Sebastian answered without looking back. He moved to placing cords where they needed to be behind the TV.

"What about your mom?"

"Who?" Luca was silent at the statement. Did Sebastian not know his own mother? That had to be rough. He silently stared as Sebastian worked on the TV.

"So what do you want to play? I have Super Squid Bros for SquiU. Or we can play Super Squid Bros Melee on the Octocube if you're one of those people. Or we can play something else entirely if you would prefer," He looked back at Luca with a smile as the hybrid thought it over.

"We can do the SquiU one. I like it better," Sebastian smiled as he set up the game. Connecting the controllers and gesturing for Luca to sit anywhere, he prepped up the game.

"Alright. Let's settle it in Squid Bros!" The two played several rounds of the game, each becoming more and more salty as this or that happened. But the room was still filled with lighthearted fun and playful banter. They were at it for about an hour and a half before the phone rang. Luca turned towards Sebastian but the Inkling didn't move any muscle that didn't affect the game before him.

"You gonna answer that?"

"Give it a second," After about the fourth ring, a voice came through a speaker.

Call from: Father

Luca straightened up at the voice, and if he was looking at Sebastian, he would've notice that the Inkling's smile faltered greatly. By the time Luca looked at him, he had righted it if only slightly. Sebastian set his controller down and stood up. Luca studied his face and found it obvious that the smile he wore was incredibly forced.

"Yeah I'm gonna go get that. It may take awhile, so, you're welcome to play, uh, anything else you want, so…yeah," Sebastian power walked to next room over. The refrigerator seen in the door gave off the room Sebastian disappeared into as the kitchen. Luca sat staring at the doorway for a moment before turning his head towards the TV. Sebastian hadn't even bothered to pause the game.

Luca's thoughts traveled back to Sebastian's father. The man had to be a terrifying individual for Sebastian to react like that. Was he an abusive father? His dad was always kind and if anything too heroic. He knew that abusive parents were a thing but for some reason he didn't expect one to be so close.

He originally planned to just wait for Sebastian to return, but the call lasted longer than he thought. He scooted further and began looking trough the other games that the boy had. He had found one that had caught his attention when something else stole it away. It was a sound. A beautiful sound.

He turned towards the kitchen and noticed it wasn't coming from there. So where was it coming from? He stood to his feet and began wandering around, playing a game of Hot and Cold with the sound until he could pinpoint it. He reached a set of stairs, noticing the sound was coming from upstairs. He looked around to see if Sebastian was returning, and when he saw he hadn't he began the trek upstairs.

Once he reached the top, his theories of the origin of the sound were confirmed as he heard the voice accompanied to it. An angelic melody that practically had him in a trance.

"I must become a lion hearted girl. Ready for a fight. Before I make the final sacrifice."

He walked passed a few doors before coming to the one that the music was coming from. It was a large room to say the least. This room alone was about three times the size of his room back home. A scan around it showed that though it did have a bed and what seemed to be a closet, it was mostly filled with musical instruments, the one currently being played was a large piano on the back wall. The piano had multiple levels. The owner of the room sat with her back to the door, her fingers expertly dancing over the keys. Currently, the owner's fingers only worked on the bottom levels.

"We raise it up, this offering we raise it up,"

Slowly and hypnotically, the owner's tentacles moved out and upward like a show was about to begin before playing the upper levels, her music picking up in pace.

"And in the spring, I shed my skin. And it blows away with the changing winds. The waters turn from blue to red, as towards the sky I offer it. This is a gift! It comes with a price! Who is the lamb, and who is the knife? Midas is king, and he holds me so tight, and turns me to gold in the sunlight!"

The song coming to a close, the tune slowly died down as the singer's tentacles slowly returned to their sides.

"Cause this is a gift,"

Luca found himself staring as the figure slowly moved their hands to the lap, their tentacles slowly moving up and wrapping around their head once again. Luca took in every movement the figure took as she straightened up, looking forward and possibly contemplating their latest performance.

"Heheh. Don't you know it's frowned upon to spy on a girl in her room?" Luca froze as the person spoke to him. At first his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, trying to find a reasonable excuse. But of course, none came. Slowly, Senia, turned in her seat to stand. She wasn't facing the door, but her voice seemed to project directly towards it. "Well? Are you coming in or not?"

Luca's mind had been scrambled by the two sentences. He tried to form a coherent apology yet somehow his legs worked better than his mind as they moved him forward. Senia began walking towards the entrance to her room, stepping around the table and over miscellaneous objects. She stopped about halfway to the door so Luca stopped a bit in front of her, words finally being able to escape his throat.

"How do you know I'm not a burglar or something?" Ok, probably not the best set of words, but they came out. Senia raised a dainty hand to her lips and giggled, returning it to rest in front of her other on her dress.

"Well, I heard you when my younger brother brought you in. I know he's still on the phone with father, and I heard your footsteps when you started coming up stairs. They matched the ones from when you came in," Luca was amazed if there wasn't a simpler reason and she hadn't just made that up. But she had to be making it up. No one can hear that good. Right?

"Is that really how you know?" Senia giggled again, the sound now etched in Luca's memory.

"Well when you can't rely on your eyes, your other senses have to make up for it," Luca simply looked on in awe. Then his mind registered something she said that didn't add up with his current knowledge.

"Wait, Sebastian told me that you were his little sister," Senia's shoulders slumped as she let out an annoyed sigh. She brought a hand to her head and rubbed her temple as if the statement gave her a headache.

"I swear, he always…by 'little', he means physically. I mean I'm not exactly the tallest Inkling. But age wise, I'm older than him," It was true, Senia was pretty short. The top of her head barely reached Luca's chin.

"So, how old are you?" Senia giggled again as she looked at him with a smirk.

"It is also rude to ask a woman her age. But, since I'm in the prime of my youth I guess I can tell you that I am sixteen years old," Two years older than him? Wow. "And in case you're wondering, Sebastian is fifteen," For the umpteenth time, Luca stared on in awe. Awe suddenly turned to another type of interest as he scanned over her body. She was barefoot and wearing a loose fitting white night gown. He looked over her form about three times when she crossed her arms. "You wouldn't happen to be staring at me, would you?" Luca grew several shades darker and averted his eyes, the fact that she couldn't see whether he continued or not flying over his head.

"O-of course not! I was just…admiring your room…This is your room right? It could be a music room," Senia seemed to pout a bit before resting her hands in front of her again.

"No no. This is my room. All the instruments in here are mine. I've of course mastered them all. I simply love making music," She emphasized the words by doing a small twirl where she stood, ending it with a bright smile. "Do you play any instruments?" Luca shook his head before realizing once again that she couldn't see his gestures.

"No. I'm not the musical type,"

"Well I'm sure if you learned, you and I could make beautiful music together," She intertwined her fingers and brought them to her face, Luca swallowing at the statement before trying to calm himself.

"I'm sure your music would be a lot more beautiful without me. I-it already is,"

"How kind of you to say. I don't mind either way. I like being watched," Was it getting hot in here? Or was it just Luca? "I may not be able to see, but I can feel people's eyes on me. It gives me this sense of pride. People with this gift are willing to use precious moments of their lives to use it on me," Luca looked over this angelic innocence in front of him and his heart fluttered. She seemed to be taking the best of everything. She didn't seem to have a negative thought in her head. The white dress she wore and the white of her tentacles seeming to only prove her purity. "Oh silly me. I haven't even introduced myself," Senia took the edges of her blouse and gave Luca a short curtsy. "My name is Senia. What a pleasure to meet you," Snapping out of his trance, Luca hastily gave a reply.

"My name's Luca. But, my friends call me Luke," Senia's hand came to her mouth as if slightly surprised.

"Luca? As in son of famous Leviathan and Cerata Luca?" Of course his parents' reputation proceeds him. He gave a small yeah as Senia grew a large smile. "Oh, what are the odds?" Senia stepped forward, completely bursting the bubble of his personal space and causing him to step back. She extended her hands so both hovered over both of his cheeks, pausing before smiling innocently. "May I? Hearing only does so much, but this gives me the best 'picture' of you," Luca's could feel the heat rising to his cheeks again as he stuttered out a yes.

Senia's smile widened as she slowly placed her hands on Luca's face. Her touch was gentle, yet calculated. Quick but not rushed. Her caresses over his face were so soft he wouldn't know she had actually started touching him if he wasn't looking directly at him. Her fingers daintily ran over his chin and up his cheek. Over his nose and out to his ears. The smile on her face was replaced with a neutral expression, as if she was really focusing.

"I can call you Luke, right?" She practically whispered, the sound sending a shiver up Luca's back.

"S-s-sure," Senia got even closer, stretching to run her hands over his head and to the tentacles tied to the back of it. She ran her fingers over each one, gently squeezing occasionally before moving to the next one. An occasional twitch or whimper would escape Luca's mouth as her small hands caressed over the sensitive parts of his tentacles. He could swear that either time he did either of the things, she would return to the spot and apply just a little more pressure.

If the physical assault wasn't enough for his senses, Senia's face was right before his, her practically pressed up against him as his only option was to stare at the tentacles covering her eyes. He could shut his own, but that just made every one of her butterfly touches scream out more and he'd lose control if that kept up.

And the smell. She smelled liked peaches, and the fragrance over ran his nose the longer she stayed so close. His senses were being completely overrun by everything this girl was doing.

Finally, her fingers brushed over the tip of the last of his tentacles, running back down towards his head and cupping his cheeks. Thinking it was over, Luca found himself wrong as further down her hands went, fingers tracing over the contours of his neck. Her left hand stayed there while her right traveled further down, resting on his chest as her head turned down towards her limb, a smirk crossing her face.

"My my. Your heart is really beating isn't it?" She asked playfully. Luca's face heated up as his heart rate increased even more. "Are you nervous? Or, have you just never been touched so much?" Luca was reduced to a stuttering mess, unable to form a coherent sentence or even move away from the girl's hands. He stood rigidly as the delicate touches of the Inkling in front of him made his mind go numb. Her face turned upwards towards him, the tentacles concealing her eyes moving away, Luca immediately getting lost in them.

Senia's left hand moved further up, once again cupping his cheek as her right hand remained over his heart. Senia's smile softened as she seemed to lean even further into Luca's personal bubble. His eyes were stuck staring into hers as his body stood rigid.

"Would you like to see me?" Any coherent word that may have been trying to find a way out in Luca's head was immediately shattered. His eyes widened as Senia seemed to be leaning in towards him. He was positive that if his heart was to beat any faster, he would keel over where he stood.

"Ahem," Luca's head snapped to the door with such speeds that if he had bones they probably would've snapped. In the doorway Sebastian stood, arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe with a smile that screamed 'I got you.' "When I said 'you might even get to see Senia', I didn't think you'd take it so serious,"

"When I didn't acknowledge your presence, I thought that would've been enough of a cue for you not to make yourself known," Senia said, her tentacles returning to her eyes as she slowly dragged her fingers off of Luca. A huge wave of disappointment washing over him.

"And what exactly do you think you're doing sis?"

"I was just teasing and having a little fun. It's not like we have a lot of guests over," She said innocently.

"Well don't tease my friend. I'm sure he has enough on his plate," Senia's smile said she had a retort to that, but she didn't say anything. Luca stood frozen, not exactly sure what to do in this situation. "Come on Luca. We can continue our game," Luca finally moved, glancing over to Senia before back to Sebastian.

"R-right," Senia slowly clapped her hands together twice

"Goodbye Luke. Come and see me again sometime," Face completely flushed, Luca held his head towards the ground as he passed Sebastian.

"Y-yeah. Sure," Sebastian watched as the boy scurried passed him before looking back at his sister. The two stood in silence for a moment. Just standing there. Sebastian let out a 'hmph' before pushing himself off the doorframe and closing the door to Senia's room, Senia chuckling as she turned to find an instrument to play.

Callie and Marie, or currently Agents 1 and 2, moved through the hallway, currently looking over new papers that came up regarding the disappearances. They walked to a certain door before pausing. They stacked the papers together before pushing the door open.

It was a large room with a circular table. Though the room was large enough to seat a lot of people, the only other person in the room was an older Octoling male sitting on the far end. His tentacles seemed to be graying only slightly as he laid his head in his hands.

"Ahem," Agent 2 made their presence known and the Octoling raised his head, slowly opening his eyes and showing the dull red glow of them.

"Mr. Apalo sir. You requested us?" The Octoling sat up, sitting straight in his seat as he nodded slightly.

"Yes. I've heard about what happened to our two best agents. Tell me, are they okay?" Agents 1 and 2 both nodded, 1 speaking up next.

"Yes sir. Both Agents 3 and 4 have stabilized and are currently resting. We are trying to find out what could have possibly damaged them the way they were," Apalo slowly nodded and closed his eyes.

"And if the report I read was correct, both Kelp and Inkay explained that their weapons seemed to have no affect on the attacker?"

"Affirmative," Apalo rubbed his eyes and his head as he took a deep breath.

"I tried so hard…"

"What was that sir?"

"I didn't want to get involved much with the secret agents, as secrets don't bode well for keeping a good eye with the public, but if our best agents are having trouble, it seems I have no choice," Apalo stood up, his eyes now burning a bright red.

"It's too dangerous to waste time and sneak our way around this. I will gather a force and publicly join the investigation,"

And yet another chapter down. How are you all enjoying the story so far? Hopefully a lot.

So Inkay and Kelp almost died it seems. And a drastic measure is all that kept them alive. Shows that sometimes you just have to roll the dice and hope it comes out right.

In Cereza's story, she seems to be preparing for a date with the Octoling boy Matzuo. It also shows that she cares really deeply for her two friends, and seems to hold her little brother up on a pedestal.

As for her little brother, he got to play a few games with his new friend Sebastian, as well as get toyed with by Sebastian's older little sister. I'm sure he wasn't expecting anything that happened.

And finally, Apalo will be joining in on the investigation. You guys from Octo Colors will remember Apalo as the red eyed bad guy who turned good at the end of the first story to help lead the two species to peace. He's chosen to risk riling up the public so that they can be aware of the things going on. What do you guys think of that?

Everything happens for a reason, and little things you may have overlooked may come back in the future. I like to drop hints at what the ending will be as I go along.

Anyway, next time, we'll see how Cereza's date goes, Inkay is released from the hospital and gets a visit from Apalo, and Luca gets to know a little more about both Sebastian and Senia.

Also my senses are saying a lemon may or may not be involved in one of those stories. Unless you guys would prefer I leave it out. Voice your opinions in the reviews.

Thank you all for reading, and a special thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter(and pointed out my mistakes. I am a human prepping to go back to college so things are getting hectic). Until next time,

Astalabyebye,

Bang