The Descent

Mei-Lin scribbled excitedly on her sketchbook, taking in the sights around her. Just like her companions, she was astounded at what they found under the kettle, DJ Octavio besides them chuckling with amusement.

While Octo Valley looked interesting from the outside, the domes that were buried within were even more of a sight to behold. Large enough to contain at least four city blocks, the steel-lined walls were covered with facades of a blue sky, alongside a massive light source welded into the ceiling acting similarly to a miniature sun. All around, much like the structures from above, various landmasses lay suspended in midair with seemingly no supports, a collection of fragmented streets and floating skyscrapers filling the space. There was even a winding train track that snaked through the entire dome, with a train chugging along the tracks even despite the laws of gravity, adhering onto the tracks upside-down in various places.

"Wow…" Mei-Lin breathed, frantically sketching the scenery before her. "In all my life, I've never seen such sights…"
"You and me both." Cobalt agreed, "This is all rather radically different from Inkopolis, I kinda like it!"
"Gahaha! I did say it was cool as heck!" Octavio boasted, moving along a path. "Follow me, I've told my troops to park my ride just up ahead, we'll be able to get to the breach that way."

Looking down the ledge nearby as they walked, Cobalt looked around curiously at the view, eventually noticing a particularly large landmass a few kilometers wide. His eyes widened when he noticed various inklings in the far distance dressed in the Agent garb they saw earlier, battling what appear to be giant severed tentacles with eyes and a mouth. Mesmerized, he stopped in his tracks to witness the battle before him.
"Hey Cobalt, what's the holdup? " Katelyn began, before noticing what he was watching. Realizing that two of his escorts have stopped in their tracks, Octavio turned back to remind them of their task, before also noticing what they've been watching.
"Yeah, that's the action I've talked about earlier." Octavio said, motioning them to follow. "Strange sight, I know. We'll be passing by them in a moment's notice, just keep going."

The path swiftly terminated onto a set of floating metallic platforms. DJ Octavio moved onto it with our heroes following suit, before the platform began drifting towards the giant landmass seemingly without any form of propulsion. Soon, the platform parked itself close to the island, and the group leapt off onto the landmass itself.

A couple of the sentient tentacles immediately noticed the unfamiliar presence among them, and hurriedly turned towards the Agents that were still shooting ink at their direction. "CIVILIANS! Hold your fire!" One of them cried, and the sound of gunfire ceased almost instantly.
Chris immediately looked around with an awkward look on his face. "Oh. I don't suppose we're interrupting anything, are we?"
"Not really!" One of the Agents shouted back from behind a short brick wall. "Agent 1 and 2 told us already there was going to be a couple of non-agents passing through this area. Move along as soon as you can though, my trigger finger's feeling itchy."

Katelyn looked curiously at the collection of sentient tentacles before her, all talking amongst themselves now that the battle was temporarily on hold. Presumably those were the Octarians Octavio mentioned earlier, but it was surprising to her that there were so many different variations of one race. There were some simply composed of only one or two tentacles riding on what appear to be hover carts, some with only one eye and excessively round, there were even ones that look less like traditional octopi and more like giant misshapen birds with giant tentacles for wings being carried along by tiny propellers.

Eventually the nearest Octarian out of all of them, which was a small sentient tentacle being held aloft by a small metal cap with propellers, finally noticed Katelyn ogling at them and looked back with a puzzled stare.
"…what's with the look?" he asked, turning to the inkling, "Never seen an Octocopter before?"
"Oh, sorry." Katelyn replied, slightly embarrassed. "I've never seen Octarians before in general, actually. I thought every Octarian would resemble Octavio or something, but to think there's such a major difference among everyone here…"

"Well ya better get used to it, that's just how Octarians roll." Octavio interjected, walking up to the Octocopter. "But besides that… Is my ride ready?"
"It's parked just south of here, sir." The Octocopter replied, "Oh and um…."
"What is it? Spit it out, Jerry."
"We did as you asked, and contacted Eliza on the situation. But…" The Octocopter named Jerry looked around while a nervous expression began to show on his face. "Sir… do we really have to ask HER of all people? It's just that…"
"I wouldn't have asked her if I had the choice, ya know." Octavio groaned, "But she's the only Octoling available on hand right now. My tentacles are tied."
"Well, you're the boss."

Chris listened to the conversation between Octavio and the Octotrooper, puzzled at who or what the two could possibly be referring to. Eventually assuming that Octavio would likely give an explanation later, he simply shrugged.
"So anyhow…" Jerry said, turning to the group of inklings before him. "I'll lead the way. Octavio's vehicle isn't that far, but seeing as you guys are new to Octo Valley…"
"We'll take up on your offer then." Mei-Lin nodded, fidgeting as she edged away from the puddles of ink all over the floor. "Let's go." With that said, Jerry flew ahead as our heroes along with Octavio followed, and shortly after the sound of battle restarted behind them, flecks of ink flying in every direction.

"You guys seem very fond of fighting." Cobalt remarked, looking at Jerry. "Has it always been like this for you guys?"
"As far as I remember since Octavio's been the head honcho, yeah." Jerry replied, "Could be even longer, Octarians existed ever since written history, so I heard."
"Hmm. I do like fighting a lot as well. I've been an avid Turf War enthusiast before the whole….thing with Splatfests happened. It's pretty much why I'm here."
"Just like most of the Agents here, huh?" Jerry chuckled, "Funny that you're not part of them, you seem like the sort that would be back there fighting us."
Cobalt simply shrugged from that remark. "Eh, I suck at following orders. I don't like being told what to do, instead I just go with whatever floats my boat."
"Huh, kinda like some of my colleges."

"Alright, here we are!" Octavio exclaimed, as the group stopped near what appears to be a giant spherical DJ booth. "I can take it from here, you best get back to your duties, Jerry. It sounds like we're being thrashed back there."
"Right away, sir!" the Octocopter replied, before speeding off back the way they came from.
"So…" Katelyn said, looking around. "I don't see any kind of vehicle. Where is it?"
"Oh, it's right here! Behold!" the aged octopus said, spreading his tentacles wide as he gestured towards the DJ booth. "My pride and joy! We'll be taking this to the breach!"
"That?" Katelyn asked, looking perplexingly at Octavio. "Is that even a vehicle? It doesn't look very…mobile."
DJ Octavio climbed onto the DJ Booth, before looking at Katelyn. "Oh, don't let its freshness fool ya, it's a vehicle by all rights! Now…"

Octavio began to twiddle with a few dials and started pressing a couple of random buttons on the booth, before finally turning one last dial. To the team's surprise, the DJ booth began to lift off from the ground, propelled by a jet of green flame spurting out of the bottom. Turning towards the inklings, the booth then extended a pair of giant iron fists from the sides, before one thrusted an open palm at them. From atop the unusual vehicle, Octavio motioned them to hop on.
"Well, whaddya waitin' for? We ain't got all day!" He said.
With some trepidation, the group got on to the metallic arm, before the hand withdrew back onto the unusual vehicle. A few seconds passed as the inklings clambered into the flying booth one-by-one, finding something to hold on to once they got on.
"To think I'll end up riding in a flying DJ booth. Dad'll never believe me." Chris laughed, shaking his head. "Never a dull moment, eh guys?"
"Oh, it's about to get better!" Octavio cried, hammering a few buttons. "Strap in boys and girls, we're going DOWN!"
"Huh? Wait wha-"

Before Chris could reply, Octavio's vehicle flew straight up into the air, before abruptly turning around in midair and plummeting down into the abyss, flying into a tunnel at the very bottom of the dome. The inklings hung on for dear life, all of them trying hard not to be flung off from the breakneck speed.

"So, squiddos!" Octavio asked cheerily, turning briefly to his passengers. "Whaddya think of Octo Valley so far?"
"I'll get back to you on that. Once I…*urp*… stop seeing three of you…" Katelyn groaned, looking a bit off color than usual, much like the other inklings barely able to hang on to the vehicle. Even the normally boisterous Cobalt has a cross-eyed expression while being pinned to the back by the velocity, and Mei-Lin has outright passed out, with a dizzy Chris holding on to her by the waist. Around them, rock formations and the occasional slab of metal flew by at ludicrously fast speeds.
"Oh for... alright then, I'll take it down a notch." Octavio grumbled, twiddling a button, the DJ booth levelling and slowing down to a gentle descent. "Where's your sense of fun?"

No longer being pinned to the back wall, Cobalt slid down the chrome paneling with an audible squeak, before he got up to look around at their current location. Upon close examination, the objects they were passing by were the remains of a maintenance tunnel, with various bits of limestone and marble lining the ruined structure. The masked inkling also swore that he could hear techno music being played from various distant locations, the different tunes blending together into an incomprehensible mess.

"It's very different from Inkopolis, but it does hold a certain charm." Cobalt said, rubbing the back of his head. "All these structures that don't make sense, all those Octarians, the fact they seem to consider fighting a day-to-day routine and all that…"
"I agree." Katelyn replied, talking towards half a meter to the left of where Octavio was driving. "I'm particularly interested in those Octarian types, it's always fun to meet new people."
"Oh you don't know half of it, squiddo!" Octavio said, cackling. "Plenty of Octarian variants out there. There's your standard Octotrooper, there's Octocopters like Jerry, Octoballs, Octosnipers, Octobombers, Octostrikers…"
"What about Octolings?" Chris asked, letting go of the comatose Mei-Lin and propping her on the wall gently next to him. "You mentioned those talking to Jerry."
"Ah yes, Octolings. You guys'll like 'em, they're the Octarian equivalent of inklings actually. Cuttlefish's Agents in particular never shut the hell up about them. It probably helps that every last one of the Octolings enlisted in my army are all ravishingly beautiful ladies! Gahaha!"
"Is… there a particular reason for that?" Katelyn asked, raising an eyebrow.
Octavio looked around the cavern as he pondered that question, before shrugging. "Hmm, I honestly forgot the reason. Though I vaguely recall a drunken bet I made with Captain Cuttlefish back in the day. I think 'amazonian band of badasses' came up in that conversation somewhere…"

Suddenly, what sounded like a phone chime resounded from Mei-Lin's backpack. Noticing that the owner was still unconscious, Katelyn went to rifle through the bag herself, before pulling out the Agent headsets they bought along earlier, the ringtone coming from a speaker on the side. She briefly checked the side for any buttons to answer the call with, before putting it on.

"Umm, hello? Can you hear us?" Marie's voice came through the speakers.
"Yeah, we can hear you loud and clear!" Katelyn replied, adjusting her headset for a more comfortable position. "What is it?"
"Okay good, just making sure the equipment's working." Marie said, "Just gonna make a quick explanation, we'll be able to talk to you guys while you wear these headsets, so keep 'em on while you're down there. If the need arises, there's also a camera feature in case we need to look at something."
"Seems convenient." Chris said, taking one of the headsets and slipping it over his own ears. "Cobalt, get yours on as well. So…" he said as he tapped the side of the headset. "Is there anything else that we need to know?"
"Just one…I think." Callie's voice replied, "I think Gramps told us that it sometimes acts oddly around high energy signatures, so when you guys get to the bottom there may be some amount of interference from the power plant."
"Oh right, we should've mentioned." Marie continued, "Looks like our suspicions are correct, the power plant is SERIOUSLY far into this Sector 0, you guys may need to stick around overnight down there. I do hope you all bought sleeping bags or something."
"I'm okay, and I think everyone else here's prepared as well." Cobalt remarked, "Though I gotta say none of us expected such a wild ride down here. Mei-Lin's conked out."
"Wait, that geeky-looking friend of yours is unconscious?!" Callie exclaimed, "Octavio, I did tell you that not all of us like rollercoasters, right? I mean, I like rollercoasters but even I can't stand death plunges!"
"Oh good grief, don't remind me Callie." Marie groaned, "Just imagining it makes me sick…"
"Blah blah blah, I already eased up for these lil' hipsters!" Octavio chuckled, "It's not my fault that you guys aren't as hardy as we are, we're used to this sort of thing!"
"What?! Come here and say that to my face, I dare you!" Callie shouted back.
"Can't! I'm on a mission here, remember? GAHAHA!"

"Heh. I guess this sort of banter occurs a lot." Cobalt said as the inklings began listening to Octavio arguing with the Squid Sisters.
"Yeah. I don't really see them as being once sworn enemies though." Katelyn remarked, "This feels more like a casual family argument."
"I…don't really get it. But okay."

After a bit of bickering between Octavio and the two popstars, the flying booth finally reached the bottom of the deep shaft, and touched down onto rocky terrain.
"Ugh…. Let's not do that again. Please." Mei-Lin groaned, still recuperating from being knocked out. Katelyn was besides her trying to support her weight as she walked.
"Ah, maybe I'll make the trip back up slow once y'all are done with your mission." Octavio replied, but not before adding "maybe" under his breath, looking around with a concealed look of glee.

After a short walk from where they landed, the group abruptly stopped as Octavio froze in his tracks. In front of them, a ludicrous pile of rubble composed of rock and bits of machinery blocked the tunnel ahead of them, a distant rumble permeating the air. Every now and then, the pile emitted bits of dust as the music from above echoed into the tunnel.
"This is it." Octavio said, turning to the inklings. "This is the breach. Once you guys make it out of there, we'll start the rescue proper. Until then, we and Cuttlefish's Agents will make sure all this doesn't fall on top of ya."

Chris stepped forward to examine the rubble, before noticing that there were four gaps in the rock, each one barely large enough for a small squid to squeeze through. Tapping on the rock a few times, Chris turned back to Octavio. "Hmm, are we doing this alone? Even with the Squid Sisters being our eyes and ears, I can't help but think it might be insufficient."
"I thought about that." Octavio replied. "I've enlisted the help of one of my Octolings to assist you all. She's good at her job, but…"
"But what?" Cobalt asked, intrigued. "Shouldn't be a problem, I've had all kinds of teammates in the past."
"Is that so? Well, if you insist! Eliza, come on out!"

"As you wish, milord." A cool female voice replied. A woman stepped out of the shadows, eyeing the inklings before her. She bore a similar appearance to inklings, aside from four jet black Octarian tentacles protruding from her head tied in place with what looks like seaweed, and a noticeable purple outline underneath her eyes, one of which was covered by an iridescent purple visor. She was dressed in what looks like a form-fitting black leotard and combat boots, complete with a set of steel armor worn over her chest and waist, as well as a singular steel padding over her right arm, which was slinging what appears to be a black and chrome equivalent of a Splatterscope. To top off the strange appearance, one of her head tentacles around the back extended far longer than the others, and was wrapped around her entire body all the way down to her left ankle.

"Just gonna say," Octavio said, turning towards his DJ booth. "I'm REALLY sorry in advance. I'll let Eliza take it from here!" With that, Octavio immediately took off towards his vehicle, and quickly flew off, the whirr of his vehicle quickly disappearing into the distance.

"Huh. Wonder what's bothering him so much." Cobalt said, turning to the Octoling. "Octavio wasn't kidding when he said all the Octolings in his army are beautiful women though. Huh."
"Spare me your lustful thoughts, inkling." The Octoling named Eliza replied, staring at Cobalt with a look of disdain. "My sexual preferences extend only as far as other Octolings, nothing more."
Cobalt was taken aback by that remark. "What? I don't even remember trying to flirt with you!"
"Romance in unnecessary in the battlefield. Your allies are important, but having sentiments towards one above all others will simply act as a hindrance. Keep it quiet, civilian!"
Cobalt could only stare at the Octoling with a bewildered look that simply says: "Is this person for real?"

"I'll… take it from here." Katelyn interjected, walking up to Eliza. "So… I'm Katelyn, this is Cobalt, Mei-Lin, and Chris. Nice to meet you, Eliza!" Katelyn then proceeded to extend a hand to shake, but Eliza simply looked down at her hand, and back at her without a single word. Katelyn simply withdrew her arm, slightly disappointed.

"So…" Mei-Lin said, looking awkwardly at Katelyn before turning to Eliza. "Why exactly did Octavio ask you to help us?"
"Octavio personally chose me to escort you inklings, because I am the only Octoling that knows what lies beyond the breach, being the most recent of 94 survivors total that escaped Sector 0. The four of you shall be under my jurisdiction, even if it costs me my life." Eliza replied coldly, turning to meet each inkling in the eye briefly.
"I see." Chris said, "But um… is it really necessary to be so serious about it? It's just…"
"Save your breath." Eliza snapped. "Now… you there, the one with the Octoglasses."
"W-what? Me?" Mei-Lin blustered, pointing to herself.
"Yes, you. You're coming with me, I can tell from your body language you're the weakest out of the four, therefore I shall personally escort you. Any objections?"
"Oh…I…" Mei-Lin looked to the ground, a forlorn expression on her face.

"Enough talk, we're wasting time." Eliza walked up to the pile of rubble, with Mei-Lin hesitantly following after her. Moving a few rocks aside, the Octoling revealed four distinctive holes in the rubble far apart from each other, before motioning Mei-Lin to come towards the biggest one of them all. She then proceeded to transform into a miniature octopus, and slipped into the cracks.
"Well…" Mei-Lin said quietly, turning to the team before looking back at the opening. "I'll be…seeing you all later then." With that, she disappeared into the entryway after the Octoling.

The remaining three inklings stared at where Eliza was earlier, at a complete loss for words. Cobalt was the first to break the silence.
"UNBELIEVABLE! The nerve of that woman!" Cobalt yelled, "I've had my fair share of obnoxious teammates, but that BITCH takes the cake!"
"Yeah! She's so freakin' blunt with Mei-Lin too!" Katelyn agreed, equally irate as Cobalt was. "What the hell's the matter with her?!"
"I agree with you two, that Octoling's a piece of work." Chris grumbled, "But she's right about one thing, we're wasting our time standing around like this. Let's go."

The team stepped forward, but then without warning the rubble began to tremble, not before the tunnel entrance that Mei-Lin and Eliza entered collapsed in on itself. The three stared at the sight, a feeling of dread hanging in the air.
"Well, that would explain why we were supposed to split up." Chris remarked. "Looks like we're going to have to go our separate ways, like it or not."
"I suppose you're right." Katelyn said, walking towards one of the entrances. "But…how are we supposed to get out then?"
"I'm sure those guys back there oughta work it out somehow." Cobalt said, "See ya on the other side then." With that, he turned into a squid and hopped into an entrance, the rubble sealing up the pathway behind him.
Katelyn briefly looked towards where Cobalt disappeared, before stepping up to the remaining two entryways. With a sigh, she turned into a squid as well and vanished into the pathway, a slab of metal falling onto the entrance.
"That's it then, huh?" Chris said to himself. "Well… wish me luck."

With that said, Chris entered the remaining crack in the wall, and the entryway sealed itself shut. Not long afterwards, the tunnel shook even more, and a large pile of debris fell from the ceiling, utterly blocking all means of leaving, an eerie silence thick in the air.

AN: If this seemed like it took longer than usual, I apologize. IRL stuff came up, and I had to take the time to recover. But here we are!
So I got another question to ask you readers. Would you say that some characters get less screen time than the others even when they're supposed to be in the spotlight? I get this nagging feeling that Chris might not be characterized enough...