Cereza's eyes creeped open and she sat up from the bed. She stretched the soreness from her muscles and rubbed the sleepiness from eyes. She looked over expecting to see the face of her best friend lying beside her. Instead, she saw not only an empty bed, but sheets she wasn't familiar with. She blinked once and her mind wondered to how there was almost a different body laying there beside her.

She stepped out from the bed to stretch her legs, noticing in the mirror how the oversized shirt teasingly rose up her thigh but not quite enough for any wondering eyes to see what was lingering beneath. Her face turned a deep shade of fuchsia at the thought. Normally she wouldn't have given her image in the mirror a second thought, but if Matzuo were laying in the room, would the image excite him? Spur him into repeating the events of the night?

She shook her head, dislodging the thought and returning to reality. Nothing had happened last night. Her blush strengthened at how much she tried to make something happen, but nothing did.

Cereza had never really made out with anyone before. Maybe just a sort of heated kiss, here or there but she was all over him last night. Yet, he stopped them. He pulled away and asked if she was okay and like a dam all her bravado sort of washed away. She wasn't and was seeking a distraction. He held her and told her he wouldn't push that farther until she was okay. Honestly, that kinda made her want him a bit more. He didn't just want a pump and dump. He cared for her and her wellbeing.

In hindsight, Cereza was a bit proud and embarrassed at her making the first move. Em would definitely have a field day if she found out. Cereza never had much of a libido, but thinking back to the way he caressed her back, and the way his stomach and chest felt under her fingers, she bit her lips. He was surprising muscular and had no issue moving her from off him to beside him. Oh Cod, she had straddled him! She buried her face in her hands and tried to shake off the heat radiating from her face.

Last night she wanted him. She was depressed, in her head, and at the moment, Matzuo was a beacon. He was kind and caring and even when she was almost literally throwing herself on him, he wouldn't push that boundary until she was ready. The night before, she was disappointed and possibly even more depressed at his denial, but now, standing in the sunlight just her and her clear thoughts, his denial was a great thing. She wasn't ready, and she'd keep her imagination and the disappointment that came with it to herself.

The memory of his mouth on her neck and her caressing his tentacles flashed through her mind and she shuddered. She was going to need a cold shower later. She gathered her clothes, ditched the shirt into the hamper, and dressed herself, keeping her imagination to a minimum. Once fully clothed, Cereza stepped out of the room and walked down the hall towards the living room. Her still bare feet stepping over the fluffiness of the carpet. She reached the living room to immediately be greeted by gold orbs and a smile.

"Good morning, gorgeous. I hope you were comfy last night," Matzuo greeted from the other side of the island. Cereza blushed and muttered out good morning and walked over to him. She crossed over into the kitchen area and Matzuo stood up straight to greet her. She leaned in and kissed him, pressing a hand on his chest. Something deep inside her told her to deepen the kiss, but despite that calling she pulled away, leaving it as a simple good morning peck.

"So what're you doing?" Cereza asked looking down at the dice veggies on the cutting board in front of them.

"Prepping to make some omelets. I figured breakfast would be a good way to start the day," he smiled at Cereza and returned to the task at hand.

"I didn't take you for a chief," Cereza smirked.

"Gotta get food somehow, right?"

"Mind if you get some help, or are you one of those personal space artists?"

"I never said I was a pro, or anything." The two laughed and Cereza walked to the other side of the kitchen to gather the rest of the ingredients, and the two began making breakfast together.

Luca woke up with a groan and rolled over to grab his phone. He didn't have any new messages, not like he was expecting anything. He sat up and stretched, already plotting out how the convos later today would go. He got out of bed and headed downstairs. The lack of the smell of breakfast showed that his mom and dad were still out.

He looked around the darkness of the bottom floor and listened to just how loud the silence was. It was moments like these that made him grateful that he wasn't an only child. When he was little Cereza always kept him company on mornings like this. They'd make breakfast together, Cereza of course doing the bulk of the work, and she'd throw this giant blanket over the two of them and they'd watch cartoons to their hearts' content.

Luca smiled at the memory and made a mental note to remind Cereza of those days. She would get a kick and probably cheer up a bit hearing it. He looked around the empty house that, with the memory of companionship fresh in his head, seemed even emptier than before. Figuring that he didn't want to be alone, he started getting ready to go over to the siblings' house. He popped something light into the toaster for a quick breakfast and prepared to head out.

"Any luck on your side?..." Cerata asked. Marie, very aggressively, crushed an empty can of Kraken energy drink against her head before continue to type on the screen.

"Not a damn thing…" she groaned. "Every time I think I'm getting close the password changes. It's constantly rearranging or shifting or at one point it just kept me from getting in all together…"

"I'm also not having a good time. I've even reached out to some old contacts. No one is familiar with any of these symbols. I don't recognize them as any language from any species, either above ground or subterranean. I even contacted scientists studying Salmonoids and nothing from them comes close to what we have here…" Marie continued typing a bit longer before the screen buzzed, the words on it flashed red a moment, and Marie let out an even louder groan as she squeezed the bridge of her nose.

"Can you call Inkay and see if he can some help us, yet?" Marie pushed away from her desk and stumbled over to her bed. "I need a nap," she said as she collapsed face first into her comforter. Cerata glanced over the three books she had open and let out a sigh, reaching for her phone to call her husband.

Wakame looked through the window at his father. Throughout the night there had always been no less than three doctors monitoring, prodding, and analyzing any changes in him. Twice they had to temporarily remove him from the ink bath because he had began coughing up a blue liquid, which was interfering with his air flow. They had to remove it for cleaning before setting him back into the tank. Wakame saw doctors taking samples of the blue gunk, but not being an agent, none gave him any updates on anything. All he could do was sit and watch them do their job.

So watch he did. He tried to get some sleep but it evaded him. All through the night he watched as doctors and nurses got on and off their shifts, at most giving him an acknowledging glance. At worst giving him a pitying smile. He looked over his shoulder at his mom and Inkay. Honestly if he didn't know about their past with each other he'd be upset at how close they were. Luckily Lyra was asleep during each coughing fit. The stress knocked her out cold. Inkay was currently asleep next to her. Even in rest his face was contorted angrily.

Wakame turned back to his dad. He still looked…there was a word for it…skeletal? But not as bad as he had before. Not too long standing there contemplating there was a phone going off behind him. He heard some shifting then the groggy voice of Inkay answering.

"Hello?" Silence for a bit before Inkay gave an agreement, said his "I love you's" and hung up. Wakame heard the older Inkling moving towards him but made no effort to acknowledge him.

"You gonna be alright here with your mom?" Inkay asked giving the young adult a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I can take care of her," he said. Inkay nodded and looked towards Kelp.

"I gotta go meet up with Cerata. If you need anything, call me." The older male turned and began walking off.

"Gotta go find the bad guys?" Wakame said. Inkay paused. There was a growl in his voice that conveyed a message Inkay immediately picked up on. His fists clenched at his side he responded.

"Yeah, gotta go find the bad guys."

Senia laid in bed, clutching the doll Luca had given her and tried to think of a way to at least get him to talk to her. She desperately wanted to contact the hybrid boy, but after two days of no response she didn't think she could handle further rejection. Plus if she bombarded him with texts and calls he might find her too clingy and be even more put off with her.

She heard her brother's footsteps pass by her door. The boy had also been moping around the house, but he didn't have the decency to remain in his room like Senia did. The thought of Luca choosing Sebastian terrified her and just knowing the source of her ire was taking up air around the house irked her just a bit more.

She sat up and waited for the thud of Sebastian's door closing. She wasn't hungry in any way, but common survival knowledge knew she had to eat something. A day without food was bad enough and if Luca wanted to meet she couldn't risk fainting on him. She stood from her bed and began making her way out of her room. She moved towards the stairs and came to a sudden stop. Her eyes widened in surprise and she started down the stairs eagerly. Food forgotten, she moved towards the front door and threw it open.

Luca stood there like a deer in headlights, frozen with a hand raised to knock on the door but caught before he could. Senia gave a wide smile as she stood before the boy she was desperate to see.

"Luca!" she called excitedly. "I wasn't expecting you here." Luca chuckled a bit, suddenly nervous at being caught before he could even knock. Just how good were her ears?

"Yeah, I decided last night I needed to swing by."

"Well, what do I owe this pleasure?" Luca nervously ran his hand over his tentacles.

"Well, actually I came to talk to Sebastian. We have some…things we need to discuss."

Senia heard a small snap, barely audible and ultimately ignored as she continued to give Luca her full attention.

"Se…bastian?..."

"Yeah. I don't know if he told you, but…some things happened between us and I wanted to talk to him."

"I see…" Senia said just a breath above a whisper. Luca opened his mouth to say something that might brighten the sudden grimace on her face but flinched. She was clearly upset, and Luca had gathered when she was feeling something she didn't want to share she'd cover her eyes with her tentacles. She didn't this time, and instead stared blankly ahead, eyes locked onto Luca's. What kept him locked in place was how…emotionless the stare was. There was always a light or glimmer of something in her eyes, but at this moment, Luca couldn't read her even though he felt she was staring directly into his soul.

"Luca?" The voice managed to pull Luca from his stupor and bring his eyes up. Sebastian was standing at the top of the stairs wearing a blue robe and shorts with his signature smile nowhere to be found.

"Hey, Sebastian. Can we talk?" The look of abstract horror on Sebastian's face all but told Luca he was going to get turned down. Sebastian looked to his side and rubbed his arm, struggling to bring a smile to his face.

"Um, sure. We can talk. Are you coming in?" Senia turned towards Sebastian and the Inkling boy flinched.

"I was kinda hoping we could go for a walk. Easier to keep the thoughts moving if my legs are too."

"O-okay, sure. Just let me put on some shoes and get my hoodie." Sebastian disappeared down the hall and Luca turned his attention back to Senia.

"Senia, I-" Senia looked over her shoulder at the hybrid and he flinched again. Without saying anything else she started walking away, heading towards the stairs. "Senia, hold on!" Luca called after her. He reached to grab her shoulder but without even addressing him she sidestepped his grip and went upstairs. Luca was a bit taken aback at how fast she strayed away from him and only watched as she disappeared above the stairs.

Already planning his apology, Luca waited for Sebastian to come back down. He returned sporting his blue hoodie with a pair of shorts barely peaking out from beneath. He nervously approached the hybrid and gestured towards the door.

"Welp, let's get walkin'," he said, trying to ease the tension and calm his anxiety.

"Yeah, let's."

"Ow! Ffffffffuck!"

"Subject's regenerative properties can be sped up at will. Regenerating consciously instead of having the body work on its own seems to be mentally and physically taxing on the subject."

"It fucking hurts, jackass! That's a shit ton of nerves just getting shoved back into place!"

"After the regrowth of lower limb from below the knee downward a total of seven(7) times over the course of ten(10) hours, subject still has the energy to yell profanities." The red eyed figure placed the pen he used down on his notes. A silent rage in his eyes as he turned a blank, uncaring face towards Dao. "Again." In a few quick motions, the figure lifted an axe and brought it down right beneath Dao's knee. Dao cried out and struggled against the chains holding his wrists back.

"Ooowww, fucking hell…" the boy groaned, his breathing short and rapid matching the beat of his heart.

"You clearly weren't using these before from how late you were. Now will be an excellent time to measure just how well you took on the regenerative powers," the figure said jotting down a few notes and moving a camera and a microscope towards the severed leg. Dao took a few deep breaths and squeezed his eyes shut. With a groan that grew into a scream of pain, Dao's leg began growing. The figure watched as before his eyes cartilage and veins stretched out to be wrapped in muscle before being covered in skin. The skin was a noticeable shade paler than the rest of the limb. A change the figure and jotted down after the fourth dismemberment and regrowth.

Once the limb was fully regrown, the figure took it by the ankle and behind the knee, stretching and compressing it to test its flexibility.

"The regrown limb seems to steadily lose flexibility when regeneration is rushed." He released Dao's leg and returned to his notes. "Not only is the regeneration progress slower overall than to subject eight's, it takes more time to regenerate appendages to full capacity. Theory: regen is not strong enough to shrug off fatal wounds. Regeneration would take too long to properly heal organs during battle. In order to make organs return to one hundred (100) percent capacity, subject would most likely have to completely destroy target organ and let it fully regenerate over time. Useless in a life-or-death situation as subject would not be able to defend itself long enough to heal. Unless it could create a defensive cocoon of some sort."

"Look, I said I was sorry! I won't be late again! Can't I just go back to my room and we do blood tests and samples again?" The figured glared at Dao and made slow moves towards him. Hand sliding along the table to grasp at the handle of the axe.

"I would have been able to run more tests on the samples I had gotten previously, but instead I had to dance around for the masses in order to remain on schedule because someone wasn't where he was supposed to be. So I'm getting ahead by getting a surplus of great samples and your limbs would be great pieces to look over. Now, again." Another swift motion and Dao found himself thrashing against his chains as his leg was once again severed. This time above the knee was where the axe came down.

"fucking hell," Dao groaned through clenched teeth. With some heavy breathing he let out a scream and forced his leg to regrow. A bright sheen of sweat glistened over his torso, and his bloodshot eyes rolled into the back of his head. The figure walked up and pried Dao's eye lid open, shining a light at the pupil seeing that it was already extremely dilated. Dao winced at the light in his eye and turned his head. The figure jotted down a few more notes. "Stop it…"Dao muttered. The figure looked over the regrown leg and noticed the paleness spread to the newly decapitated part of the leg.

"Quality of the regen seems to be shared throughout the body. If subject regens the same limb repeatedly and suddenly loses a different limb, the different limb's replacement will be of the same caliber as the original limb's at that point of the regeneration. Would be beneficial if we can isolate the DNA strand from subject eight and try to fully replicate it in the DNA of subjects one and three. Fix any abnormalities." The figure picked up the axe and crossed to the other side of the table. "Again." With the same deadly precision as before the figure brought down the axe, causing Dao to wail out in pain again.

"Stop it!" Dao cried as he trashed about. As he thrashed, the figure watched in actual amazement as instead of the stretching and reassembly of flesh he'd seen numerous times before, the severed limb oozed out a dark purple. It seemed to crawl along the table as Dao panted and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. The ink took shape and solidified into a makeshift limb with a pointed end.

"Fascinating," the figure muttered. He raised the axe and brought it down only to have it clink and chip the blade ever so slightly. The figure took more notes. The documentation was now his actual focus as he quickly and quietly wrote down his observations and moved around the room. He gathered equipment and began looking at the new crystal-like appendage under a microscope.

With as close as an examination the figure could muster, he saw that the leg was beginning to grow again, though in a much slower process. The figure walked up to the side of Dao. The Octoling's head was struggling to stay up. The figure opened Dao's eyelids. The Octoling's eyes were rolled into the back of his head before they managed to focus on the figure. The figure released Dao's eyelid and returned to his notes. Subject seems to actually be able to encase missing body parts in a crystallized ink in order to stall for the regeneration to properly go through. Subject is barely conscious so this may be a last ditch effort for survival. Theoretically, if the subject is placed in mortal peril, it will encase itself in the crystal in order to regenerate to full health without being disturbed. Further testing needed to know the extent of this defense.

"You may leave," the figure said suddenly as he turned to leave, still writing away in his notes. While he drifted in and out of consciousness, the chains around Dao's wrist snapped open. He tried to roll onto his side but instead fell off the operating table. He hit the cold metal floor with a loud thud as his encased leg clinked against it. He pushed himself to his elbows and tried to get the world to stop spinning. The only thing preventing him from just falling asleep where he lay was the risk of the figure continuing his experiments if he found him still in the operating room. Pushing his exhausted body further, Dao rose to a standing position and made his way out into the hall.

He had a difficult time telling the walls from the ceiling, and his balance was off. Walking with a crystal peg leg didn't help his situation either. He felt weak and drained. He had never had to regen so much so quickly. He just needed to get to his room. Find some food and sleep this all off.

It took a while, but eventually he managed to reach his quarters. If his eyes weren't blurred he would have seen his newest captivate flinch at his entrance. Her wrists shook in their chains and she looked up as if trying to see her captor through her blindfold. Either way she was ultimately ignored as Dao stumbled towards a mini fridge in the corner of the room. Much to his dismay, it was empty saved for a few meds and blood samples.

Resigning to just sleep off his hunger, Dao pulled himself onto his bed and closed his eyes. His body had started to go numb and the world spun around him. His head lolled to his side as his unfocused eyes rolled in their sockets. There was a small sniff and suddenly his eyes locked onto his prisoner. He rubbed his eyes, trying to get them to focus. He looked at her again, his pupils shifting from circles to a dumbbell shape.

He rolled on his side, eyes never leaving her body as she hung chained to the wall. He approached her, moving along the floor like a bottom feeder until he sat on his knees directly in front of her. He placed his hand on her stomach, getting a flinch and a shiver in response. Memories of a previous action flashed through his head. The disgust turned delectation and the surge of energy that came after. Would that happen again? Would it be different? He dug his nails into her stomach, causing her to wince and try to pull away. He was so exhausted. He needed to sleep. He needed energy. He needed…

His pupils thinned as he grabbed her with both hands by her waist. She struggled and tried to pull away as he pulled her closer. As if in a trance, Dao opened his mouth and bit down.

Sebastian walked besides Luca in silence. The walk had been keeping his thoughts moving, but no words were coming out of either of them. He hadn't even looked Luca in the eye yet and the hybrid was just as distant. He just needed something to break this darn silence!

"Soooooo…" the sound coming out of Luca's mouth was an immediate regret to his prayers.

"Soooooo…" he echoed.

"You kissed me." Sebastian swallowed and ran his hand over the back of his neck.

"Listen, Luke, it was an accident. Spur of the moment type deal. I'll never do it again. I'm sorr-"

"No, no. You don't need to apologize. I'm sorry I sorta ghosted you these past couple of days. Was really immature of me to just avoid the situation like that."

"I'm still sorry. I shouldn't have…stolen a kiss like that…" There was a bit of a silence before Luca pointed out a bench and suggested they take a seat. They sat down trying to articulate their next choice of words.

"I…I'm glad I can relax you so much, and that you even feel that way towards me a little bit." Sebastian braced himself for what would come next. His nails dug into his pants leg and he took a sudden interest in the concrete. "I really appreciate you as a friend, but I don't see you in a…romantic light." The hybrid's cheeks colored ever so lightly and he looked away. "I don't think I see guys like that at all…" Sebastian let out a deep breath and his smile returned to his face as he looked at Luca.

"Don't worry, it's perfectly cool. I…honestly didn't know I did until you came along." The two locked eyes and Sebastian quickly raised his hands in front of him. "Listen, this is really awkward and fully my fault, so I apologize and completely understand your feelings." Luca nodded and gave a smile of his own that slowly died out. Sebastian tilted his head as Luca's shoulders dropped and he took a deep breath.

"I…also wouldn't feel right about it since…I've…been dating your sister…" Sebastian's eyes widened in shock and Luca braced himself for anger, or rage or any sign of hurt from what could be seen as a betrayal. After silence prevailed, he opened his eyes to see Sebastian staring blankly at him. "Are you mad?" Sebastian stood stock still before a smile creeped on his face.

"Now I really feel bad…no wonder she's been avoiding me since I told her." A small laugh escaped his lips.

"Wait, she's been-"

"I guess I should've seen it coming. I bet she didn't run away after she kissed you." A bigger, less forced laugh escaped his mouth. "It's so obvious! How did I not see it sooner?" Luca simply watched the Inkling laugh until he couldn't help but laugh with him. When the two calmed down Sebastian looked at Luca with a wide smile.

"So we cool?" He asked, raising his fist up to Luca. The hybrid returned the smile and gave a "We cool" before bumping his friend's fist.

"Whew. That's good. Hopefully now things can go back to normal."

Cerata opened the door and gave Inkay a tired smile. The Inkling stepped in and gave his wife a kiss as she closed the door behind him.

"I'm guessing intel isn't going that well," he said looking over Marie sprawled out over a blow-up mattress.

"A firewall we can't get past and a language we don't understand. We've been at it all night and we're basically still where we started," Cerata said between yawns. She returned to her position between the books while Inkay glanced at the computer and immediately came to the conclusion he probably wouldn't be able to help in that regard.

"What's this language you need help with?" Inkay asked sitting beside her. Cerata showed him the copies of the language she had written down and he titled his head.

"Yeah, I can see how these would give you trouble. They look…familiar and foreign at the same time. Like a language you studied in high school but forget about when you grow up,' Inkay said.

"I still remember all the languages I learned in school," Cerata taunted as she gave her husband a kiss on the cheek. She stepped over the notes and books and moseyed her way to her things.

"Heading out?" Inkay asked.

"Need to stretch my legs. Think of this as your tag-in. I'm going to visit Shellendorf and see if anything there looks like it can be a clue." The Octoling waved her goodbye and exited the room. Inkay glanced over to the sleeping Marie who snored softly to herself and let out a sigh.

"Better get to work, I guess.

Senia sat in her bed, staring at the ceiling and thoughts a complete one-eighty from the morning. Luca had chosen Sebastian. Sebastian. After all they had been through. All that was said. He upped and betrayed her. Her heart ached and it took all her focus for the tears that threatened her eyes to not spill.

Was she truly unworthy? Unable to be loved? Destined to always be replaced by something better? She gripped the fabric on her bed in her fists. She wouldn't accept that. Not anymore. All she had done for that traitor, all that she endured, and he does this? Her mind shifted to her older brother. Surely he didn't know Sebastian was going to do what he did. If he found out, would he also take Sebastian's side? He had up to this point cared for her and Sebastian equally, but at the same time they had never really butted heads with each other. Who's side would their caretaker take? Who's the favorite sibling? Who was unworthy.

"Sebastian," Senia growled out loud, digging her nails into the bedsheets. She sat up with a determined look in her eye. She would not roll over and let her happiness be taken away. She's lost a sibling before. What's another?

Her head snapped to the door when the sound of laughter came into the house. The front door shut and she rose to her feet. Luca said something and Sebastian laughed. The sound made her blood boil. She laid down and tried to shut it out, but the conversation seemed to be getting louder and louder until it reached right outside her door.

"Have fun! I hope it goes well!"

"Yeah, me too!"

There was a knock on the door as a set of footsteps walked off. Senia expected it to be her brother and squeezed her eyes shut while she buried her face in her bed. It was quiet for a moment before the knocking came back. Perfectly willing to rip her brother a new one, she shot from the bed and walked towards her door with malicious intent. She swung the door opened and froze.

"Luke?" She asked, a bit still off put but face holding that unhappy visage.

"Senia, I know it's short notice, but you wanna go on a date?" The Inkling girl went wide-eyed and simply stared forward.

"What?"

"Yeah, I know I haven't really been in contact with you lately, so I figured we could go somewhere fun. As an apology." Senia was quiet.

"What about Sebastian?" Luca's cheeks colored and he ran his hand over his tentacles.

"We talked it out…we're going to remain friends. Plus, we don't have to sneak around anymore. He knows we're dating." Senia glanced over to the wall connecting her room with her brother's.

"Oh…" suddenly all the thoughts she had seemed like they came from a different person. The places her mind went were…

"So, is that a no?" She turned back in Luca's direction.

"Well of course it's a yes! But I must look abhorrent! You must give me time to freshen up!" She said turning back and moving into her room. Luca laughed a bit and followed her in.

"Senia, you look fine."

"I know you're just saying that because I can't check for myself," Senia said giving a coy smile at Luke. "Besides, 'fine', is not 'good', and I want to look good if we're going on a date." The two joked and laughed as Senia prepped herself.

Meanwhile, pressed against the door with a small smile on his face, sitting on the floor was Sebastian. He took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh.

"Must be nice."

Cerata reached the museum, paid her ticket, and started moving through the lobbies. She could have flashed her badge and gotten in for free, but what the heck? Might as well support the sciences.

She looked over old vases and ancient art Inkling civilizations past. She paid close attention to any symbols or things that might have been a word or related to the things she had seen. So far nothing looked even remotely similar and she took a deep calming breath to take a moment to appreciate the exhibits.

Cerata found being surrounding by all this history comforting and enjoyed walking through them. She looked at pictures of ancient cave paintings done by Inkling ancestors, and took the moments after realizing that the symbols that were present on them didn't match the ones she was looking for to enjoy them for what they were.

Eventually she ran out of exhibits with nothing but a slightly clearer head, and thus a more exhausted mood. She let out a big yawn and glanced over to a different section of the museum. She doubted she'd find anything useful, but ultimately decided to look around in the human section.

She looked at the skeletons in various poses and wondered if the humans presented died in those positions or were they set up in order to make it more interesting for the onlookers. The exhibits here were mostly human bones on display with different panels explaining some of their history and possible some of where they were found. She wondered what type of creatures these humans looked like. Were they brightly colored or monotone? Scientists believed they were primitive from their skull structure so they might have been animalistic. Probably squabbling like children over little things like coloring cave paintings wrong or not having the best rock or something.

As she chuckled a bit at the thought, she noticed something. Well, she thinks she did. To confirm she jumped clean over the little barrier meant to keep her away from the exhibit and got as close as she could.

"Ma'am! You can't do that! Step away from the exhibit!" cried one of the workers. Cerata continued to ignore them as she squinted to try to make out what she could. She took out her phone and scanned through the images she took of the unknown language. Sure enough, the symbol showed up sporadically around. "Ma'am!" Still ignoring the poor worker, Cerata crossed the barrier again, furiously typing on her phone.

"Hello?"

"Were humans known to have written language?"

"What?"

"Human language, is there anyone who studied the language that humans spoke?" Cerata stormed, excitement at the idea of progress pumping through her veins.

"It's widely accepted that humans spoke gibberish. I don't think anything has been completely translated. I can look in our directory to see if anyone has any data you can use."

"Thanks, please hurry and get back to me," Cerata said as she hung up the phone.

Cereza walked through the hallways of the hospital. She gave a bright greeting to all the nurses and staff as she made her way back to Callie's room. She called ahead of time to see how long it would be before Callie could eat solid foods and the answer...wasn't what she hoped. So Matzuo and her went out and got some fruit to make her a smoothie. His idea. She smiled to herself before she entered the room.

"Hi, Callie. I'm back." The singer turned her head towards the door, the nurse tending to her mimicked the action. "Oh, hi," Cereza said as she waved to the nurse.

"Hi. I'm sorry, only certain personnel are allowed in this room."

"Oh, I have the pass," Cereza said as she reached in her purse and pulled out her ID. The nurse walked around, checked the ID, then the papers on her clipboard.

"Alright. Sorry about that. She just got her bandages replaced. I have a few more things to check then I'll be out of your hair." Cereza nodded and the nurse returned to her duty. Cereza watched her buzz around like a bee, the smoothie slowly making her fingers go numb. She watched Callie's face and wondered, would she have been able to see Callie's face? How bad did the explosion mess her up? Did she even still look like Callie? She shuddered at the thought and focused on the now. It didn't matter what she looked like. She was still Callie, and she would still get all of her love and support.

Hello, everyone!

I hope you're all doing well. This chapter is a bit shorter than my usual ones, but I felt like this was a good stopping point for it. I hope you enjoyed all the interactions this chapter and I would love to hear your ideas on where the plot is gonna go from here.

So Senia and Luca are back together with Sebastian giving his support, Matzuo and Cereza are innocent being who seem perfect for each other, Callie is making a recovery, and Cerata seems to have found a clue to what the language is. But, who or what would be using the language of humans, and why would they bother? Just a new section of the puzzle!

Stay safe out there, everyone and until next time,

Astalabyebye,

Bang