Senia laid in bed with her phone squeezed in her hand as the sun shined its warmth over her. She had not gotten a wink of sleep last night. Her dreams were usually her place of solace as of late, but the nightmares returned full force. No matter how hard she squeezed her plushy, her mind was still ravaged with thoughts of Luca leaving her for Sebastian. Her father's voice rang in her ears and her head pounded.
Broken. Incomplete. Time wasted. One use.
Senia gripped her phone tighter and her fingers dug into the fabric of her night gown. She wanted to call Luca. She wanted to see him and solidify that they were still together and stable. God, she wanted nothing more than to be stable.
Maybe she should pick something captivating to keep his attention? No... As fun as his reactions were, Luca clearly is more of an emotional lover. Maybe cuddles and a movie? No…he'd feel bad because she couldn't really watch the movie. No matter how many times that she stressed it was fine he would always talk to her instead of enjoying himself.
Hindrance. Failure.
Senia clenched her head and balled herself up. Her pulse quickened and her mind's eye gazed at her with an indifferent face. She tried her best to replace them with her older brother's gaze. Eventually his voice was replaced, and the eyes turned gentle. Her pulse slowed as she started to calm down. Another voice rang out. Then another. All calling out to her with various hostility.
Puny. Soft. Mute. Worse. Fragile. Shattered.
Meat.
Senia screamed.
She screamed and clutched her head, digging her nails into her flesh as she tried to find some relief to the voices in her head.
"Senia?! Are you okay?!" Sebastian screamed as he burst into Senia's room. Senia shot up, the voices gone completely silent as she looked over the scared expression of her brother. The voices were then replaced by her own.
Traitor. Thief. Backstabber. King.
Senia took a deep breath and let it out slowly, letting her tentacles wrap around her eyes as she took a more relaxed position. "I'm fine, brother. Just had a…nightmare, is all," she said. Sebastian looked over her with worried eyes and a weak smile.
"Oh. What was it about?" Senia was quiet for a moment as she juggled the proper answer.
"Him," she hissed, and Sebastian slunk a bit.
"Oh…do you wanna talk about it?" He asked. Senia shook her head and pulled her covers back over her.
"Not particularly. Honestly, I think I would prefer to just go back to sleep," Senia said as she turned her back towards the door. Sebastian hesitated for a moment and moved a bit further into the room.
"Are you sure? We can work on what we're going to do with-"
"Leave me alone, brother!" Sebastian withered at the outburst and the small semblance of a smile evaporated from his face.
"Oh…okay…sorry." Sebastian slunk out of the room, closing the door behind him. Senia wanted to feel bad for her brother. She hadn't yelled at him since they began living together. Despite her best efforts, every movement he made just urked her that little bit more. She clutched her pillow against her chest and buried her face in it. Her body was shaking, and she wasn't sure what exactly it was from. She needed to calm down. She needed a release. She needed Luca.
She reached beside her bed and felt around for her phone. She ran her finger over the smooth screen of the device and thought of what she would say. Should she bring up Sebastian? Should she pretend she didn't know? Every question made her heartbeat faster in her chest. Every thump in her torso grew more and more painful as she squeezed the device. She closed her eyes and whispered to her phone.
"Open messages of My Darling"
Outside her door, Sebastian was on the verge of tears himself. He was finally beginning to strengthen his relationship with his sister and now it was falling apart. All over some dumb kiss he had not even meant to initiate. Sure, it was the most calming and safest he felt in years, but it didn't compare to the sheer terror of the aftermath. He couldn't risk losing Luca. He took out his phone and looked at it. Luca hadn't messaged him. He bit the inside of his cheek as he juggled with the idea of messaging him first. He swiped his phone unlocked and began the message.
Luca watched as his family flocked around Callie. They all buzzed and moved to different spots, keeping the wounded star occupied. Despite the constant movement, Cereza had yet to release Callie's hand, serving as a mini translator for the Inkling. Luca's shoulders slumped. He hated seeing his aunt like this. It was more of a mental strain on his head and he needed an escape. He needed relief. He needed…His phone to stop vibrating. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. He had a message from Senia.
Hi Darling! You wanna spend some time together today?
Luca's heartbeat just a little faster at the message. Maybe spending some time with Senia would relax him a bit. He moved his finger to make a reply. He wondered if Senia had a place she wanted to go, or if she was fine with him picking a place. He froze when another message came through.
Hey, Luke. Sorry about what I did. Can we talk for a bit?
Luca stared at the screen of his phone. Two messages that basically said the same thing but had two entirely different meanings. His head darted between whether he should respond or not, and if he did to who. If he responded to Senia, then he would be ignoring Sebastian. He didn't want his friend to believe he didn't care for him anymore. On the contrary, he really wanted Sebastian to be okay. But responding to him was still iffy because Luca didn't know how to handle talking to him. He had devolved into a crying mess and then kissed him. How was he supposed to respond to that? If he said it was fine, then Sebastian may start thinking that he was interested in guys. Which he was not…he didn't think…But if he reprimanded Sebastian about it, it would make the whole dynamic between them awkward since the smiley Inkling's feelings were now out to dry. Not to mention how dependent Sebastian seemed to be on Luca.
The hybrid let out a groan and placed his head in his hands. He had no clue what to do, and he felt his family had enough grief at the moment to bother them with his problems. He had to figure this out on his own. His phone vibrated again, and he tensed in response. He brought the screen to his face to see what new message he had received. Or maybe he could.
Hey Buddy! Your first de-stresser is gonna be later today. Think you can meet me at the training center at liiiiiike six? See you then
Kelp adjusted the hood over his head. Of course, he heard about Callie's situation, but he couldn't be distracted right now. He had to focus on his mission. While Agents 1 through 3 were out of town, he had been digging deeper and deeper into Inkopolis' underbelly. He had found a lead that there was a hidden bunker that could be related to the kidnapping. The plan was to scope out the place with Inkay, but there were two things wrong with that:
One, there was no way Inkay was in the right headspace. He'd be full avenge mode if he got his hands on someone who was remotely related to what happened to Callie.
Two, he was most definitely going to spend much of the day with Callie, and the rumors were that they constantly move the base. He had to act now, and he didn't have the heart to drag Inkay away. So alone he went.
He moved towards a building used for shipping supplies to Octo Valley. The building itself seemed busy and active enough considering the state of panic Inkopolis was in, but that wasn't his main target. There was a building about a block down. Abandoned of course, the building at a passing glance was just that, but looking closer it seemed more stable than the buildings around it crumbling. Kelp walked past the building and pretended to pay it no mind. He stopped a bit away across the street and sat at the bus stop a decent way away but close enough for him to watch the building without suspicion.
He checked the bus schedule when he sat. The bus should arrive in around fifteen minutes. He had ten to scope the building out as much as possible before heading in. This part of town virtually empty save for one or two lost souls bumbling around with bottles wrapped in a paper bag in their hands. Eight minutes pass and no movement inside the building. Kelp rises and moves towards the building. He squeezes in the space between it and its neighbor building. The splintered wood poked at his body and threatened to rip his flesh. The buildings split and gave him more wriggle room as he came around the back yard. Nature had retaken this part of the city as there were more weeds and foliage than stone and concrete.
Kelp moved to the back door; the rusted bronze knob rattled at his touch but ultimately refused to open. The strangest thing was that there was no keyhole in the door to unlock it from the outside. Judging by how the wood peeled and the door frame was cracked and splintered, Kelp figured he could easily kick the door down if need be but chose against it in case there were people inside. He studied the outside of the building, groaning in annoyance at how all the windows were firmly shut unlike all the surrounding buildings.
This just gets more and more suspicious… Kelp thought to himself. He heard the bus pass by on the street and waited until the low rumble of its engine disappeared. He looked up at the roof and thought it may have a way in. He reverted to his squid form and did a small enough jumped to reach it without careening too high in the air. He landed on the roof with little problem and eyed the structure. It looked well made enough until he noticed a small dent in the roof. He moved over to it and moved some tiles out of the way. The wooden frame was not fully repaired, and it may be a tight squeeze, but his squid form should be able to fit through. He took a deep breath and reverted again, shimming inside and into the attic.
Kelp landed with a soft thud and froze to make sure that was the only sound made inside the house. When none other came he rose to his feet and made his way out of the attic. The opening to the second floor was broken, so Kelp had to repeat the drop down again in order to exit. His landing caused a cloud of dust to scatter and spin around. He eyed the dust covered halls, ignoring the dust glistening in the sun beams as he looked for signs of activity. The inside was in much more disarray than the outside. The doors were either hanging from their frames or missing entirely.
The next set of stairs were in a similar, but not as serious state of disarray. Kelp slowly made his way down them, the stairs creaked and groaned in protest with every step. Once he reached the bottom Kelp noticed something. There was dust everywhere still but there seemed to be a thinner layer leading from the front door deeper into the house. Kelp followed the trail the best he could, and it led him to a wooden door. Again, this door was put in recently. Though the paint was peeling, the frame fit perfectly. There was even a rubber stopper under the door to keep anyone from squid forming under it.
Now Kelp knew something was up. He placed his agent helmet over his head and took out his splattershot just in case he came face to face with something less than welcoming. He took a deep breath, almost regretting it at the amount of dust he inhaled and took a step back. He took a big step forward and kicked the door in. A loud crash echoed through the house and he pointed his splattershot into the darkness. All was quiet. The light flickering in from behind him showed another set of stairs leading down into a basement area. Kelp slowly made his way down. The basement had dirt floors and nothing of major note inside. Which made it even more suspicious that the door leading to it was the only up kept one. Knowing better, Kelp took out a couple of Splat Bombs. He dropped them down in various places of the room and they all went off. Now completely covered in bright orange ink, Kelp noticed a kettle tucked away in the back corner.
Most civilians weren't aware of the Octarian's knowledge of turning items invisible until covered with ink, so that would make a perfect way for none-agents familiar with the trick to stumble into a trap. Kelp prepped himself mentally. Tapping a few buttons on his helmet, he sent his coordinates back to HQ. He switched on the record function on his helmet and made his way through the kettle.
When he popped out the other side, he was met with nothing but darkness. He fiddled with the side of his helmet and turned on the night-vision. The green hue of his goggles showed a small dirt room with the only thing besides the kettle he entered from being a hatch poking out of the ground. He approached the hatch cautiously, keeping his weapon pointed towards it. Kelp looked around and made sure he was alone before placing his weapon down and attempting to open the hatch. He placed his hands on the top and struggled a bit before it moved an itch. Eventually, he got it to spin and managed to pull it open. He picked up his weapon and investigated the hole. He saw a ladder descend deep down through the passage. Taking a deep breath, he followed it even further down.
Luca looked over the room. Callie had nodded off and Cereza remained at her side, gently stroking her hands. Inkay and Marie had left a while ago, and Cerata stood next to Luca against the wall. The room was silent except for the steady beeps of the hospital equipment. Cerata pushed herself off the wall and ran her hand over Luca's shoulder.
"Cereza, honey, I'm going to head out. Don't give the nurses too much trouble, alright?" Cereza nodded and Luca watched his mother leave. The room fell back into silence for a while. Luca's eye's gazed to the clock, to the walls, to the window and mostly his sister's back. She was unmoving as she held Callie's hand, and this time it was her to break the silence.
"You can go on if you want," she said. "I know you're just trying to keep me company. I probably won't leave Callie until the doctors kick me out." Luca watched his sister for a moment before he stood up. He walked over to her and ran his hand over her shoulder, much like his mother did him.
"If you need me just call, okay?" Cereza nodded and Luca gave her shoulder a soft squeeze before exiting the room. Luca walked quietly out of the hospital and pulled out his phone.
Sure. I'm on my way
He paused at the train station and looked over the message. He took a deep breath and pressed send as he stepped onto the train. He considered again to text Sebastian or Senia but decided to wait until his head was a bit clearer. He pushed his way past the many bodies going about their day, all clattering about what happened to Callie, and how Inkopolis wasn't safe anymore. At the back of his mind among the clutter, a little voice said maybe he shouldn't meet a complete stranger to "de-stress". Unfortunately for the little voice of reason, he was too stressed to listen.
"Where the hell is Dao?" a voice growled. Red eyes glared through the halls; fists clenched at his side. His footsteps thundered.
"A failed subject, no doubt," a voice spoke into his ear.
"Don't start with me, Tartar. I'm not in the mood." A bluish green blob small enough to fit into the palm of someone's hand slithered out of the figure's collar and whispered in his ear.
"I'm starting to think that my knowledge was wasted on you. You are proving yourself to be more of a hindrance than any actual assistance."
"Oh, please. As if you would be able to do anything without me. Your entire plan was thwarted by two upcoming pop stars. Their music isn't even as good as the cousins."
"Their music skills are irrelevant!" Tartar screeched from the tiny microphone it used as a mouth. "What is important is that we are making no progress! None! Even with my DNA samples and your mutations, nothing is staying stable! How do you plan to rectify this?!"
"Patience, Tartar. You've waited 12,000 years apparently. What's a few more months?"
"Years if I rely wholly on you…" Tartar muttered returning into the figure's cloak. He growled as he pulled out a mask. It was a complex item with a vortex of color swirling around the left of its face to lead over his forehead to his right eye. Contrasting it was pure black leading from the right of its face to the bottom leading to his left eye. He placed the mask over his face as he reached the end of the hall.
"I really must punish Dao for forcing me away from my work," the figure growled. He pushed opened the door and walked into a large room, which immediately went up into cheers and applause at his presence.
"The messiah has graced us with his presence!"
"Is it time to shed light onto the darkness of the world!?"
"Bless us with your knowledge!" A sea of bodies dressed in purple cloaks dawning masks that only swirled in rainbow cheered as the figure slowly moved towards the center of the stage. Once he reached the middle, he held up a hand and the crowd immediately silenced.
"Greetings, my loyal followers. I have decided to host this meeting myself for this evening." The crowd visibly shook in anticipation but remained quiet. "I must prevent the shining light of our cause from dying out, and thus you all must be enlightened to what is going on. I shall take questions from you my children." As if they had practiced this situation, out of the sea of people only one spoke, and the rest turned towards them awaiting their question.
"Are we still on the path to enlightenment?" the voice called out.
"Of course. If you have all been following my teachings, then there is more than enough room for you in our new world." Cheers and applause exploded throughout the room. "This world is weak and impure. We struggle for land as an astounding 80% of the very planet we live on cannot sustain us. In fact, merely submerging in it leads to death." The leader raised his fist to his head before slamming it to his chest. "This is even more proof of how we as a species have strayed away from what's right. Our great ancestors were born, grew, even thrived in the sea! Yet are bodies of sin can't withstand it's purifying waves without falling apart." The crowd erupted in an orchestra of wails and cries.
"And if that disgrace isn't a big enough blemish on our society, the savages known as Salmonoids taints the purity of our oceans with their filth. This cannot stand." The crowd once again went into an uproar of cheers and growls. "The voice of the great ones speaks to me. The giants that walked the Earth while our ancestors roamed the oceans!" The crowd went into a sea of stomps as The Leader threw his head back. "Their knowledge flows into me, and with my guidance we shall not only gain enlightenment, but we shall evolve into creatures of perfection! Our bodies will soak in the purities of the seas as our society soars above the clouds!" The room itself shook and quaked under the stomps and the cheers of the crowd.
"Nothing shall stand in our way!"
Inkay and Marie bounced ideas and theories on who was behind everything, where the base of operations could be, and was there anyone they knew smart enough to both build a set of goggles as well as rig them to explode like they did. Both trails came up missing, leading the two to frustratingly head in to scan the data for any leads.
"I'll check for any Octarians adept with technology. Especially any proficient with micro-tech and security measures," Marie said sitting in the desk at her replacement office, fingers already typing away at her keyboard.
"I'll start getting sign-ins and outs of faculty members. See if there was anyone who signed into our section who could have fiddled with the mask." Inkay said already turning to head out of the room.
"I'll keep you updated best I can on anything I find," Marie called out to him.
"Same here." Inkay closed the door behind him. His and Marie's eyes narrowed in determination as they went off on their separate goals, the same thoughts went through their heads:
"Rest well, Callie. We're going to find who did this, and we are going to make them pay."
With the hatch closed above him, Kelp continued down the steps, aware of the metal bars and walls leading down. Once he reached the bottom, he immediately pointed his weapon down the hall that greeted him. He noticed that his surroundings were made of some sort of metal, and despite his best attempts, his footsteps refused to remain quiet as he moved forward.
Not far into the hall, the lights switched on and he had to shield his eyes as he turned off the night vision. The halls were bright and beige, reminding Kelp of a hospital. Eyes now adjusted; Kelp continued forward. There didn't seem to be anyone in view of him yet, meaning that the halls must have had a motion sensor in them. It took a moment of waiting for something to happen before Kelp began to move.
His shoes lightly echoed with every step. It was the only sound in the area, leading Kelp to be extremely cautious. Kelp approached the door closest to him and pressed his head against it. He listened for any movement and when he heard none, he twisted the giant valve and pushed it open. He was greeted by another dark room and glanced around. Like the hall behind him, the lights turned on when he stepped further into the room.
A waiting room? Kelp asked himself as he looked around. The room did in fact seem like the standard waiting room. A few tables thrown about and chairs lining the walls. There were TVs hanging on opposite walls so something could be watched from any seat inside. Why is there a waiting room here? Kelp asked himself. He would have combed through the room, but it was extremely bare. No magazines or anything were on any of the tables and it was very clean.
Kelp backed out and closed the door, eyeing the one across the hall. He stepped over and opened it as well. A practically identical room laid before him with no noticeable change. He closed the door and moved to the next room to find the same thing.
Are all these rooms waiting rooms? He asked himself. Instead of checking every room in the hallway, he decided to just head towards the one in the far back. He moved towards the door, but as he prepared to open it, there was a series of stomps and cheers.
"Power be to our messenger! He shall sculpt our bodies into perfection!"
What the fuck? Kelp pressed his ear against the door and listened in. There were two voices inside muttering similar sayings as a further voice spoke from seemingly a recording. He kept mentioning a new era and purities and things that no doubt was being said by a cult leader. Did Kelp stumble upon a cult meeting area? That doesn't quite explain why there were so many waiting rooms with only one being in use. Was there a similar room layout to the previous ones? The noise did seem slightly distorted. Kelp backed off and returned to one of the previous rooms. Closing the door behind him, he approached the TV and noticed that it only had an on and off button. He clicked it to be greeted with a similar sounding voice from the occupied room.
"I am honored to have you all show up here today. I am sure the great ones smile upon you. I wish you safe travels back to your moment of rest. While you await your transport back to the city, are there any brave maidens who would like to volunteer for a head position in our new world order?" There were a few cheers and screeches from the crowd as the masked figure on stage stepped closer to them. He eyed the crowd and his hand rose to signal out three. Barely able to contain their excitement, they stood from the crowd and made their way on stage. The figure approached them and gestured to their masks before moving his hands to the crowd.
"Remove your masks and show the crowd the faces of future queens." The members without hesitation obeyed, removing their mask and showing the crowd their faces. Kelp leaned in to get as close a look as possible and to make sure that his helmet could also pick up the faces of the volunteers. Two of them were Octolings that looked in either their late teens or early twenties. The third was an older Inkling maybe mid-thirties. All of them beamed as they looked over the crowd.
"Rejoice! For these brave souls shall help pave the road to perfection!" The crowd cheered as the ringleader motioned the volunteers to bow at the crowd.
This is insane…
Luca walked down the hall of the training facility, counting down the rooms until he would reach the desired one. He glanced at the panel reading 213 and slowly pushed it open. The inhabitant didn't seem to notice him as he made his way in. Dao was already stretching with his back to the door. Luca cleared his throat and Dao turned around with a smile.
"Hey there. Glad you decided to show up," Dao greeted rubbing his hands together. Luca placed down his bag and looked over Dao. He had not expected to see Dao shirtless, and even less did he expect to see how jacked he was. He stood around like a he was a super soldier and it made Luca feel so small in comparison. "Honestly thought you'd flake on me." Luca didn't say anything. He simply moved closer and shook the Octoling's hand. His eyes wandered over to Dao's left hand and felt silly for thinking something was wrong with it before.
"So, what do you have planned for today?" Luca asked. Dao smirked and walked over to his bag and pulled out two wooden staffs. Dao threw one at Luca who failed to catch it and let it fall clumsily to his feet. "We're going to fight with sticks?" Dao let out a laugh and threw his head back.
"This is supposed to destress you. No offense, but us fighting would only stress you out more."
"Oh. Then what are we going to do?" Dao walked over to the wall and pressed a few buttons.
"We're going to hit things, of course." Near the center of the room, two training dummies spawned, and Dao made his way over to it. A bit relieved, Luca approached the dummy and raised his weapon. He had practiced on these types of training dummies before, but he had never hit any of them. He brought his weapon down and it was immediately rebuffed. He fell flat on his butt as his staff slid across the floor. He let out a disappointed growl as Dao walked over to help him up.
"Your form is all wrong," he instructed. "If you're gonna swing from the top, stand like this." Luca watched as Dao spread his legs and raised the staff over his head with both hands. He brought it down like lighting to smack the top of the dummy, causing it to shake and ripple like a burst bomb exploded next to it. "Like that. You try." Luca looked at his trainer and then to the dummy before he retrieved his staff. He tried to mimic the pose done before him and brought down the staff as best he could. The staff rebuffed again but this time only one of Luca's feet left the ground as he stumbled backwards.
"Not bad kid. You may end up being a natural. Try again." Luca walked back up to the training dummy. He placed both hands on his weapon again and repeated the process. He whacked it a few times, each time the dummy swung more and more. His footing becoming more rooted and firmer. For the next few hours, Luca would be swinging at the dummy and watching Dao do the same. He learned how he should twist his wrists, how to angle his body, and even how to do a wide sweep with one arm.
"Alright, alright. Now, for the destressing part." Luca paused, already running out of breath.
"What else are we gonna do?"
"It's simple, really. Just pretend that this dummy, is whatever you're frustrated with." Luca paused and looked between Dao and the dummy. For a moment Sebastian's face flashed over the dummy, but that wasn't right. His grip on the staff loosened and it became slack in his hands. Then Senia's face took its place, and his stance broke entirely. He was indeed frustrated. But at what? "Come on, surely you're mad at something. What about that Inkling kid that squid jumped away from you?"
"Sebastian? No, h-he's my best friend. I'm not mad at him at all…"
"You don't sound sure," Dao said, circling around Luca. "There has to be something upsetting you," he whispered over Luca's shoulder. Even from a distance Luca felt his left ear heat up under his breath. "Something that's made you angry."
"N-no, I- "
"Did that kid say something to you?"
"No, he- "
"Did he do something?"
"No, no,"
"Girl you like keep shooting you down?"
"She doesn't- "
"Mommy and daddy not giving you enough attention?"
"My parents give me-!"
"You came here today because something is bothering you, right?"
"Yeah, but-"
"Then who is it? Who has you so upset?"
"I'm upset at myself!" Luca screamed bringing the staff down again, hitting the dummy hard enough for it to pop and send an echo throughout the room. The room fell into silence that was only interrupted by the odd noise of the dummy responding. Luca's hands shook around the staff as his shoulders rose and fell. Dao moved forward, leaning over Luca's left shoulder and extended his arm towards the respawned dummy.
"Go ooooon." Luca locked eyes on the dummy, raising the staff up and swinging again.
"I'm such a shitty friend!" He cried, rapidly attacking the dummy. "Sebastian's my ONLY friend, and I've been avoiding him all day. All because I'm too scared. Scared of what'll happen if I respond. I haven't talked to Senia for the same reason, even though I promised her I'd be there for her. I feel like I'm betraying her and I'm still too cowardly to even try!" His swings became wilder and erratic. "I even keep my sister at arm's length a bit. She's so good at reading me and sharing her emotions but, I'm always hiding how much her attention means to me." His swings slowed until the staff was resting at his side. "I'm upset I don't know how to share these feelings I have right now. I'm upset I'm scared too…" Behind him, Dao stood with a large Cheshire smile just observing.
Agent 2 and 3 were becoming increasingly agitated. Nothing they found got them any closer to any of their goals. Inkay squeezed the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. The only Octoling that specializes in tech is stationed elsewhere save for one. But I know she was too busy working on custom stages and concerts to have time to mess with the mask."
"I suspected her too, but all I found was more of an alibi. She hasn't signed into base for months. All of her info and updates have been from off site." Inkay shifted through his computer a bit more.
"Should I even bother scanning for any Inklings?" Marie looked over to him. "You're right. The vast majority of Inklings wouldn't know how to handle anything that wasn't a weapon." He let out a loud groan and leaned over the back of his chair. "Where is Kelp? Maybe he has some ideas we aren't seeing."
"I actually don't know. I haven't really checked anything or seen him since I woke up from the explosion. Wait…" There were a few taps on her computer. "He sent a location update about an hour ago." Inkay looked over to her with a hint of confusion.
"Why? Well, where is he?"
"His helmet sent a pinpoint location before turning off that function. He may be sneaking into somewhere he thinks may find him via his GPS."
"He went somewhere dangerous?!" Inkay shot up, practically bulldozing over to Marie's computer to see what she was talking about. There was no way this idiot decided to go off on his own against who knows what.
"I don't know. All I know is his last location was somewhere near the docks and loading bay on the edges of Inkopolis. Somewhere underground according to these coordinates."
"Call him! Get him on the phone! Put him on the phone! I want him on the phone right now!"
Kelp recorded as much of the video as he could, and after it being obvious the leader wasn't going to remove his mask, he decided it would be a great idea to move on. Maybe rushing the room, he heard the voices come from would be the best course of action. Maybe he could get more info on what was going on. Get some answers. He moved to exit the room when his visor was partial covered by an incoming call signal. Stepping further back into the room, he pressed a button and answered.
"Hel- "
"Where the hell are you?" Kelp visibly flinched at the hushed rage coming into his ear.
"Some kind of underground cult base."
"A cult?! Kelp get out of there!"
"There doesn't seem to be many people here. I can probably find more info on the group that injured Callie."
"It's too dangerous Kelp! You have no backup, and no guarantee how fast backup can arrive."
"I'm just on the docks, surely. It wouldn't take that long- "
"Kelp!" With an angry huff and an eye roll, Agent 4 returned Inkay's annoyance and frustration with an equal level.
"Fine, look, I'll head back to the main entrance. It's the house above the coordinates I sent. I'll stick around in case someone tries to leave. Just get here quick." Agent 3 let out a relieved sigh before responding.
"Affirmative. Just turn on your location ASAP." Inkay looked at Marie, already walking backwards towards the door. "Give me an update on his location as soon as he's back online."
"You got it."
Kelp turned off the call and took a deep breath. He made his way out of the room and started going towards the exit. He got roughly two steps when he froze in place as he heard a door open.
"There's someone here!"
"An intruder!"
"Get him!" Without hesitation, Kelp turned and chucked a suction bomb towards the voices and sprinted towards the exit. Stealing a glance back, one person ran back into the first room while the second gave chase. The bomb stalled him for a moment, but he was right on Kelp's tail. Kelp pressed a button on his helmet turning his location back on. He shot a few streams of ink ahead of him to see if he could create a quicker escape route. The ink immediately evaporated, and he cursed under his breath.
"Stop right there, vile creature!" his pursuer yelled. Kelp reached the ladder and looked back just in time to dodge a knife thrown at his head. The weapon clanked against the metal wall and Kelp turned back towards his attacker. The assailant took out yet another knife and aimed to stab Kelp between the eyes. With movements practiced countless times before, Kelp raised his arm and blocked the assailant at the wrist. A quick punch to the torso and a kick behind the shins and the attacker was disarmed and on the floor. Kelp turned and began climbing as the attacker slowly tried to get back to his feet.
Meanwhile Inkay had just exited the building when Marie called him.
"What happened?" he asked.
"You're gonna need to come back. And..you're gonna need a helicopter."
"What?"
Kelp was more than three fourths of the way up before his attacker was even back on his feet. He was curious why the second didn't come after him, but it was most likely to sound some alarm or something. It was strangely quiet, however, and Kelp chose not to question it as he reached the top and the hatch. He turned it to unlock it and pushed but nothing happened. He was extremely confused on why it was so heavy and stole a glance behind him to see that his pursuer was now climbing the ladder. Getting the best grip and footing he could, he pushed as hard as he could on the exit again.
"Stop! Don't open that!" The attacker yelled. Kelp paid him no mind as he continued pushing. The door moved up, opening a good four inches at once. In its place, water rushed into the tunnel. Kelp let out a scream as the rushing liquid splashed over his leg. He lost his balance and stumbled a few bars down before he could grab a bar again. The attacker screamed as a flood of water fell over his body and fell back to the bottom of the ladder. Again, they got up relatively quickly and once again began climbing.
Kelp's mind was racing on what was going on right now. Why was there so much water above them now? Why wasn't that guy staying down after all that water fell directly on him? With the now furious person returning and a watery grave above, Kelp head an idea. He got his footing back and did his best to press himself as close to the wall as possible and pushed. Again, the hatch opened after a struggle and the water rushed in. Kelp was protected in his safe area, but the water itself washed over his attacker who once again let out a scream. For a moment he seemed to be trying to push through it but again, the water pushed him back to the floor. When Kelp heard the thud of him hitting the floor, he closed the hatch again.
Kelp looked down to see the slowly dissolving Inkling shakily reach into his pocket. He pulled out a syringe and with the last of his strength, stabbed himself in the torso with it. Before Kelp's eyes, the dissolving inky mess that was his body solidified, and much slower than last time, he returned to his feet.
"You gotta be kidding me." Once again, Kelp's pursuer started climbing towards him. Kelp pushed open the hatch again, this time it only slowed him down as he continued forward. Kelp watched as the attacker climbed towards him faster and faster like a beast possessed. He reached up and grabbed Kelp by the ankle.
"Got you!" In an instant, Kelp swung his hand down and imbedded the attacker's own knife into his wrist. The attacker screamed again in pain surveying the damage the knife did to his wrist as watery green ink poured out. He looked up to see Kelp holding his Hero Shot directly between his eyes.
"I have, a weapon," Kelp said sounding surprise and disappointed that his pursuer either didn't realize or forgot that fact. He pulled the trigger and sent a stream of ink into his attacker's face. This time he fell to the ground with a loud splat. Kelp slowly made his way down and looked over the body. It still seemed relatively stable considering it was laying in a puddle of water. With being unable to go up he decided that his first idea was the best. He started making his way to the door.
"Your quarters are this way, ladies," the masked figure said as he escorted the volunteers through the halls. They all looked around in wonder as they moved. For a few moments they would look at the guide and open their mouths as if to ask a question on to second guess themselves and keep the silence intact. The figure's helmet let out a small beep. He pretended to rub his head in order turn on a screen inside his mask. A small screen showed a cult member rapidly typing. Words appeared in the figure's line of sight and his eyes narrowed over what he read:
Intruder on transport vessel 4. Co-pilot in pursuit. Detached and moving towards resting place for worst case situation. Awaiting further orders.
Absolutely livid.
His pace quickened, his followers followed with hushed breath to keep up. He reached a door and opened it. "Here is your space, ladies. I shall return momentarily to make sure you are properly settled. For now, I have some urgent business to attend to." The three ladies awed at how lavish and beautiful their room was. It was a large, circular room with three King sized beds spaced evenly around it. The walls were evenly decorated with paintings separated by the three areas. On one there was abstract art, colorful and fluid, painting a picture of imagination and wonder. On the second was tassels and paintings of Inklings and Octolings as if they were royalty, giving the section a sense of nobility and status. In the final section vast landscapes of land, sea, and sky surrounded the bed, giving a taste of adventure and travel. They were so enamored with it all they didn't notice the figure locked them inside.
In a haste, he raised his hand to his mask and spoke into it. "You are well aware what measures you should take if you fail to capture and detain the intruder, correct?" He hissed. The response came immediately.
"Yes sir. Preparations are already being prepared and one of the triggers is on my person, sir."
"Good. Do not, fail me."
"Yes, sir! For the kingdom!"
"For perfection." The figure cut communications and let out a growl.
"Something going wrong again, old friend?" Tartar teased.
"Not this time. There's no way whoever it is can leave now."
Kelp slowly pushed opened the door and watched as the person inside seemed very focused on the screens in front of them. So focused in fact it was easy for Kelp to sneak behind him. He grabbed the figure's head and slammed it into the keyboard in front of him with enough force to knock them unconscious.
"Alright. Let's see what we have here." Kelp moved the body over to the side and began looking at the desk. There was a keyboard and a set of controls surrounding its entirety. He had no idea what they controlled but he fiddled with the keyboard until something popped up. They were maintenance instructions for some sort of machine? He was a bit confused but decided it was important. He pulled out a jump drive and after a moment of struggle he found a place he could place it. A few clicks on this and it would pull any salvageable info for Agent 2 to go through later.
Another call buzzed through his helmet and he quickly picked up. "Kelp, do you have any idea where you are right now?"
"I told you, beneath some shady house at the edge of Inkopolis," Kelp said shifting through to the computer to see if he could figure out what the controls were for.
"Yeah, that's what you told me. That's not the truth." Kelp raised an eyebrow and clicked a file he thought was interesting and waiting for it to load.
"What do you mean?" The file came up and his eyes widened as it revealed what Inkay meant.
"You're not under ground, Kelp. You're under the ocean." Before Kelp's eyes were the status conditions on the machine from earlier, more detailed in showing it being one massive submarine, which would explain why all that water rushed in earlier.
"Damnit all," The figure muttered.
"And what is it now?" Tartar asked.
"Files are being removed from the vessel."
"And how bad is that?"
"Mostly irrelevant. Driver's are to memorize pickup, drop off, and rest locations. The only files are on what errors mean and how to fix them. The fact they're being downloaded means that both pilots are captured, thus dead. We'll have to either double holding size of the remaining vessels or work on making a new one. But…. Since he wants files, so badly," the figure began typing on his keyboard.
"What are you doing now?"
"Simple. They want information, I want to get rid of some agents. I think I can work something out."
Kelp was in full panic mode. How did he end up under water in a submarine?! How the hell was he going to get out? Was he going to have to drive it? Were there others here?
"Agent 4, are you there?"
"Agent 3, where are you right now?"
"Two agents and I are in a helicopter hovering over your coordinates. Is there any way you can resurface that thing?" Kelp hesitated, and took a deep breath, looking over the controls and the information on screen.
"I think I may be able to figure something out- "There was a loud siren and the screen in front of him changed. Kelp jumped and looked around to see the masked person he knocked out awake and holding what most certainly was a self-destruct button.
"For the kingdom." Kelp shot him. The panic was back in full force. Why didn't he kill him from the beginning?! He mashed some buttons trying to change the screen but every button he pressed on made the screen flare the message System locked Out. Heading to final resting place.
"Agent 4? Agent 4 what's going on?! Marie says you're sinking fast!" Kelp's eyes frantically looked over the screen, showing a small image of the submarine sinking into a ravine. His brain was thinking fast. He was now locked out of the system so there was no way to keep it from sinking or changing course. He couldn't just leave because the outside was nothing but water and there was no way any Inkling could survive being submerged in-
He looked at the now dead cult member. He rushed over and searched the corpse for what could be his last hope at getting out of here alive. Sure enough, he found a syringe on the cult member and looked it over. He had no idea what it was, nor did he have any guarantee that it worked the way he thought, but if he stayed here, there was a one hundred percent chance he would die. If he tried to leave without it, it was a one hundred percent chance he would die. If he left with it, well, he didn't know the percentage of survival or the percentage of it working, but it was more than zero, right?
Cod, he hoped.
He grabbed the jump drive from the computer and rushed down the hall. He ran into the nearest room and rushed into the nearest table. He turned it on its side and quickly kicked two of the wooden legs off. He grabbed them and rushed down the hall.
"Agent 3, are you still above my position?"
"We are. Are you resurfacing?"
"I hope so." Making it to the ladder, Kelp looked down over the corpse he left there. It was starting to dissolve, and he didn't know if it was from simply not being alive, the contents of the syringe running out, or the puddle of water it laid in. Kelp climbed the ladder with the chair legs and syringe in his hands as carefully and quickly as he could. Once he reached the top, he pushed the hatch open and propped the legs together to hold it there. Water rushed around him like a curtain and his heartbeat quickened in his chest. "Agent 3…be ready to attempt to catch me."
"To what?"
"And if this doesn't work…Tell Lyra and Wakame I love them."
"Agent 4? What're you doing? Respond! Kelp!" Kelp silenced his helmet. He wanted full focus on the possibly suicidal task at hand. But that cult member was able to survive being doused in water, right? That means he should be able to do the same…. right? He looked at the syringe in his hand. Possibly the only way he would be getting out of this alive. He braced himself and plunged the syringe into his chest.
As soon as the liquid started to flood into his system, he felt like he was expanding, like his body was going to explode from the inside. He made sure to push through and inject every drop of the concoction he could. By the time it was all injected he felt like his entire body was bloated. He tried to shake off the blurriness in his eyes and make a clean jump into the literal sea of death before him. Deep breath. Concentrate. Pray to whomever will listen.
He changed to his squid form and charged up. He mustered as much strength into this squid jump as he could. Aiming to slip through the curtain of rushing water, he jumped.
There was a large splash followed by silence. Then a burning. Oh, cod the burning. Kelp was certain that jumping into an open flame would burn less than this. His system was so flooded with pain signals he lost control of his form. His body spasmed and shook in its Inkling form as he struggled to get a bearing on his surroundings. When he finally managed to see straight his mind was being assaulted in its own way. Swimming through ink was so simple. You knew which way you were going, which way was up, and which way was down. He had an idea which way gravity was pulling him. But here, in this void, it was just him in the darkness. The direction he thought was up was clearly down as he saw the submarine sinking further and further away from him. He tried to simply turn one-eighty degrees and swim that way but as soon as he wasn't facing the submarine every direction blurred together from the pain clouding his vision. The swelling from his body made his movements heavy and slow.
He wasn't even sure if the concoction worked. For all he knew he was dead, and this was his hell. With a painful expansion from the inside and an excruciating burning on the outside, Kelp willed himself to turn back into a squid and swam as fast as he could, super jumping whenever he could build the strength to.
"Agent 2? Give me an update on 4's position," Agent 3 said hanging out the side of the helicopter. He leaned over and skimmed the watery abyss for any sign of a vessel coming to the surface.
"He's coming up at an angle of 80 degrees. Move to southwest around five hundred and thirty meters and you should be right over his exit point."
"Five hundred and thirty meters southwest, move into position!" Agent 3 called to the pilots.
"Yes, sir." Agent 3 kept his eyes to the water, hoping that whatever situations Kelp got himself into, he can get himself. He waited with bated breath as Agent 2 kept updates on how close he was to resurfacing.
"He's getting closer. Two hundred and fifty meters. Two hundred meters." Inkay strained his eyes. He didn't see anything yet. "He's slowed down….one hundred and eighty meters. One seventy. One sixty-five." The hell is he doing? Come on Kelp. "One sixty. One ten." At this point the pilot and co-pilot were also trying to spot something in the water. "Ninety. If he's in a submarine, you should be spotting it soon." Inkay shaded his eyes with his hand leaning out of the helicopter. Still nothing. Wait, there was a speck moving towards the surface. But it couldn't be.
Kelp at this point could see nothing but a dark blue. He was forcing his body to move on its own because he couldn't make the conscious effort. The dark blue of the ocean was slowly fading into a void of blackness. His body stopped moving, the pain too great to continue. So, this was it. His final run. It was a shame he couldn't get the jump drive back to base. Maybe it would have something useful on it. He tried to will his eyes to work but they couldn't make out anything.
"Twenty-five meters. Twenty-six meters. Agent 3 he's sinking!" Agent 3 didn't know what was going on, but if the ocean wasn't playing tricks on him, he could vaguely see Kelp in the depths of the water swimming. A few months ago, he would've chalked it up to his imagination, but there were reports of Inklings washing ashore only partially dissolved and he would be damned if he let his friend end up like that.
"What weapon pouches are on this thing?" Agent 3 yelled to the copilot.
"We have Killer Wails and Stingrays, sir."
"Prep me a Stingray!"
"On it, sir!" The copilot did as he was told as Inkay reached into his pocket and pulled out a few rags. Grabbing an orange one, he removed his helmet and tied it around his head. The copilot handed him a Stingray pouch right as his tentacles turned from turquoise to orange. He crushed the packet in his hand and wasted no time summoning the weapon.
"Hold me steady!" He yelled charging the weapon and firing it into the water.
There was muffled whirring sound and suddenly kelp was hit by a beam of orange ink. He opened his eyes and the void of black was replaced by a vacuum of orange. Inkay? The beam increased in ferocity and Kelp was in a strange spot where his body was feeling relieved and tortured at the same time. But it gave him enough focus to move and point towards the beam. Gathering up a bit of strength, he put it all into a squid jump.
Inkay held the beam steady, not entirely sure if he was hitting his target, but refused to move until the weapon ran itself dry. He quickly moved it to the side and looked out into the water. Kelp shot out of the water, leaving three sets of wide eyes looking at him. Inkay leaned towards his friend as he reverted to Inkling form midair flying towards him. Inkay recoiled. Was it really Kelp? He almost missed his opportunity to grab him in his shock but managed to get a hold of his wrist. Kelp was slack in his grip and Inkay panicked at how easily he pulled him into the helicopter.
"Oh, my cod…" the copilot muttered, taking a few steps away from the two.
"Fly back to Agent center hospital, NOW!"
"Yes, sir!" the pilot responded, curious but focused on his job.
"Grab me a towel, some rags, something!" The copilot took a moment to respond before frantically looking for something. Agent 3 turned back to his friend. Kelp looked horrible. His body shook and convulsed, and he looked so thin that it looked like the wind would break him. Inkay was scared to touch him. His hand stood up and shook like it was trying to find something to hold on to. Inkay gripped onto Kelp's hand and shuddered.
"In…ka..."
"Quiet man, we're gonna get back and we're gonna fix you up, okay?" Inkay said wondering what could turn Kelp into this. His hand practically disappeared inside Inkay's and his fingers jerked and spasmed frantically trying to return Inkay's grip. His hand felt…. bony…which only confused Inkay more for the obvious fact Inklings didn't have bones. Despite Kelp being borderline unresponsive, Inkay could feel something in his hand resisting his squeezes and keeping Kelp in shape. There was a hard pulsing with the beat of his heart like something was actively being pumped through Kelp and Inkay had too many questions to answer.
The copilot came back with some towels and Inkay did his best to get as much water off him as possible without applying too much force. Looking over the shaking, deformed body before him that was his friend, Inkay was terrified. His look alone made him scared to go near him from just how abnormal it was and fear of causing him more agony than he was already in. But he never let go of his hand. He wouldn't let him go until he was certain he would get better. He didn't want Kelp to investigate on his own and he sure as hell wouldn't go through this alone.
What ever this was.
As the twitching slowed, Kelp's hand slowly tried to return Inkay's grip.
"I'm gonna stay right here by your side, okay, man? We're gonna heal you up and get whoever did this to you."
"Number 3? What's going on?" With tears burning at the edge of his vision Inkay had forgotten he was in a call with Marie.
"Marie! Have emergency medical personnel ready at the agent hospital!"
"Shit, working on it now." Marie's voice faded as Inkay returned his attention back on Kelp. "This is agent 2 requesting immediate medical personnel at landing dock 2B at Agent facility Alpha, repeat, medical personnel at landing dock 2B facility Alpha.
"We're going to make it through this, Kelp. We always do."