Eagerness of the Underdog

"So, you're certain the weapons lab is this way?"
"Yeah…*yawn* I think so. Just stick around, alright?"
"Ehh. If you say so…"

Cobalt shrugged his shoulders and looked away from the octoling, surveying his environment as the two walked down astride a series of ruined corridors. It has been a couple of moments ever since he had woken up and continued his journey deep into the bowels of the fortress, and now that he had the time to ponder his situation, he realized that it had been quite the stroke of luck he happened to have met possibly the only octarian in the entire base that didn't want his head on a stick. With his surroundings bare and dull, it occurred to him that had he been still alone, he could've gotten lost in the barracks with no way out.

The masked inkling's attention turned to Tai, the octoling humming to herself dismissively as they rounded another corner. While Eliza was about as tolerable as a cactus and dressed the part of a seasoned commander, Tai seemed like the exact opposite compared to the ice-cold sniper. Her tentacles unkempt and ragged alongside her extremely bored expression gave her the appearance of someone that only just got out of bed, and indeed Cobalt remembered having to actually shake the octoling awake, which didn't end particularly well.

Passing by another pile of fallen rubble, Cobalt realized that Tai had stopped in her tracks, and was now staring straight at him.
"You know…" She said with a look of concern on her face. "You've been giving me that look for a while now. Can't say that I like it."
Cobalt was perplexed. "Um… what?"
"It's that look you've got there. That 'I really don't want to be with this oh so attractive lady any longer' sorta look, you know?" Tai clarified. "Don't suppose you'd tell me why? Last thing I want is to be shot in the back."

"Oh… right." The masked inkling grumbled. "Well, remember when I mentioned we had another octoling hanging around that's supposed to be escorting us through this place?"
"Hmm… Think ya did. What's she like?"
"Let's… just say she's the most unpleasant woman I've ever had the misfortune to meet. I mean, she's a looker, but…" Cobalt groaned loudly at the recollection. "Ugh… screw it. I think you get the idea."
"Well, whoever she was, she can't be as bad as Aussie, I'd imagine. Thanks for the clarification though." Tai replied, turning back towards the corridor as the duo resumed their trek.

"Aussie? Was that the name of that other octoling you were talking to yesterday?" Cobalt asked. "Friend of yours?"
"If by 'friend of mine' you mean 'superior commanding officer', then yeah." The octoling replied. "Course, it's not like I'm loyal to her or anything. If I were, I'd be down there sifting through rubble like the rest of the soldiers around here rather than spending quality time with you."
"Well, she certainly sounds pleasant." Cobalt chuckled, his voice laced with sarcasm. "I can't really see someone like myself following her. Why haven't you left yet?"

The two passed underneath a ceiling that was heavily damaged, a crack exposing a set of steel chrome pipes within. One of the pipes were bent in an unusual angle, its contents spilling out on the floor as water droplets trickled steadily from the fracture. With a huff, Cobalt jumped over the puddle while Tai simply walked around it, mildly amused at Cobalt's energetic attitude.

"Ehh… Well for starters, it's not like I can go anywhere, even if I wanted to." Tai continued, turning towards the masked inkling. "Believe me, I've already searched the place countless times. There's no way outta here except for that hole in the cavern ceiling, and considering our luck I'd imagine that's been sealed off. Even if we had the machines to fly up there, we won't be able to get out without causing the whole thing to collapse on top of us."
"Yeah, it is definitely sealed off. It's where I came down from." Cobalt replied, "I'm not leaving yet though, so I'd rather worry about the whole leaving thing later."
"Well, there is another reason, I'll admit. If I left, who's gonna make fun of Aussie for me? She's a lot of fun to play with, so I'd be even more bored without her to muck around with. You should've seen her reaction when I tampered with her goggles one day." An impish smirk descended upon the octoling's face as she recalled the memory. "Priceless."

Simultaneously baffled and unable to believe what he was being told, Cobalt could not help but let out a confused laugh.
"Is that octoling REALLY your commanding officer?" He chuckled.

Reaching a set of stairs, the duo began descending down the stairs, passing by dusty direction signs and cracked windows as they did so. Halfway down the stairs, Cobalt hopped on to the banisters at the side of the stairway, sliding down the rail with an audible 'wheeeee'. Shrugging dismissively, Tai proceeded to follow suit, until they reached the bottom.

"I forgot to mention something else." Tai remarked, brushing herself off as the two got up from the floor, "Me and Aussie, we're like the only two octolings down here, but we don't belong here. Well… sort of."
"Come again?" Cobalt replied.
"Yeah." Tai looked around, eventually noticing an eroded sign with 'Weapons Development' mounted on the wall, and walked ahead as she motioned the masked inkling to follow. "I honestly forgot how long ago it was, but DJ Octavio assigned us to scout out some old ruins within Octo Valley, something about working overtime, I forgot the finer details."
"I assume that it didn't end very well…" The masked inkling guessed.
"Pretty much. Ground opened up, swallowed the two of us, now we're here. Gods, I can't even remember how long ago that was, we could've been here for months! Still…" The octoling smirked, "I never even HEARD of a Sector 0. It was fun exploring this crumbling base, even if it was for a while. Though, I gotta say the folk around here are… odd."

Passing by a series of plexiglass doors, Cobalt was briefly preoccupied with peering into some of the doors they passed by. He could barely make out brief flashes of immobile tentacles and chunks of scrap metal, at least the doors that did not contain rubble beyond. There were even rare glimpses of strange monstrosities beyond the doors, which sent a shiver down his back.

"Odd?" Cobalt asked, turning to the octoling.
"I'm guessing because things haven't changed much for them, the local octarians still seem to carry some kind of hierarchy system." Tai clarified, "I don't know much about history, but I'm sure we've quashed that tradition sometime after that whole Great Turf War thing. Cultural diversity, and all that."
"Ehh…" The masked inkling tapped the side of his head. "Your point?"
"Well, in layman's terms, you're like more important the more limbs you have. Apparently for octolings like us, we got arms, legs, and well…" Tai briefly fondled her head tentacles, "…these, that makes eight. We're basically the queens of this part of Octo Valley."
Cobalt rolled his eyes dismissively. "Sounds stupid."
"I know, right?!" Tai exclaimed, throwing her arms out in exasperation. "So Aussie just ends up telling me to behave nonstop and show some discipline, all to keep these guys from going nuts, and I swear she gets more stressed out by the day. If I'll be honest, I think being stuck in this place is starting to get to her, BIG time."

"Hmm. Sounds bad." Cobalt briefly checked over his shoulder, making sure nothing was following them. "Don't suppose I could do anything to help?"
"Nah. I'd say this would be mostly between me and her to deal with. But…" Tai eyed the weapons holstered by the sides of the masked inkling, "Say we do run into her, give her a bit of trouble for me. I'd say fighting an angry inkling should get her to snap out of it."
"Now you're talking my language." Behind his mask, Cobalt flashed a smile.

"HEY, TAI! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU WANDERED OFF TO?!" An irate voice yelled, travelling down the corridor.

Both Cobalt and Tai turned simultaneously towards the source of the sound, and noticed a shadow creeping down the corridor behind them, the shade suggesting a being slowly getting closer.
"Aw, crap. Speak of the devil…" Tai grumbled, looking around and noticing a distinctive lack of cover. "This place isn't really ideal for a fight. I'll stall her. You go hide somewhere."
"Hide? Where?!" Cobalt whispered back. "I don't see any hiding spots!"
"Hmm…" The octoling looked around, her sights eventually settling on a pile of boxes, with a small shoebox placed in plain view on top of the pile. "I think I got an idea."

From the stairway, an imposing figure reached the bottom of the stairs, eventually coming into view as she stepped under a flickering light, revealing the figure to be another octoling. Much like other octolings, she was dressed in standard combat garb and had a set of goggles covering her eyes. This particular specimen however sported a set of jet black tentacles atop her head as opposed to the standard beet red, as well as a set of seaweed tied atop her head. All in all, the spitting image of elites within the octarian army.

The elite octoling stepped into the corridor, immediately noticing Tai with a shoebox tucked under her right arm. With a huff, she briskly stepped forth towards her, meeting the other octoling face to face.

"There you are! I was looking for you!" The elite octoling yelled. "What are you doing down here?!"
"Chill out there, Aussie!" Tai replied cheerfully. "Did you wake up with another knot in your panties or something?"
"I DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS KIND OF ATTITUDE!" Aussie yelled back. "We have a duty to see to these stranded octarians! I can't just let you wander down here willy-nilly messing around! They've been clamoring for you up there, and I can't just shut them up now, can I?!"
"Well, these guys made it on their own for like… ever." Tai shrugged, "I'm sure they can stand a few minutes away from lil' ol' me, ya know."
"I will not be hearing excuses, ESPECIALLY from my direct subordinates, you hear me?!" The elite octoling screamed, causing Tai to flinch. "You are getting in line or by the GODS I'll-"

Aussie's gaze abruptly met the shoebox in Tai's possession. She took off her goggles, revealing a set of eyes with crimson irises narrowing with suspicion.

"Tai." She said flatly. "What's that you have there?"

"Oh! Umm…" Tai replied, her eyes swiveling about nervously. "This? I… I just found it lying around, exploring down here. It's nothing that you'd be interested in, honest!"
"Hmm… You're not being yourself." Aussie's voice was ripe with suspicion. "Open it."
"Um…" Tai looked around. "What did you say again?"
"I SAID, OPEN IT!" Aussie cried, "If you won't do it, I'll do it myself!"

Without warning, the elite octoling snatched the cardboard box out of Tai's hands. Before she could react, Aussie reached down and flung open the lid, revealing…

A set of pristine black boots.

"Oh." Aussie said flatly. "Combat boots? That's unusual."
"Ah, dammit Aus!" Tai groaned. "I noticed your boots were getting worn down recently, so I was looking for a new pair all this time! You just had to go and ruin the surprise, didn't you?"
"R-really? Umm…" Aussie stammered. "Well. That's… rather nice of you. Sorry."
"That's good to hear. Still…" Tai fluttered her eyelashes at her commanding officer. "I oughta make it up to you for all that trouble. Maybe… we can share a room tonight and I could keep you… Com. Pa. Ny."

"Oh, GODDAMMIT, TAI!" The elite octoling yelled, flailing as if she was desperately trying to forcibly forget a horrifying mental image. "I had to listen to your STUPID innuendos all the way here, and now you're coming on to me?! To your commanding officer?!"
"What? What's wrong with being bunk buddies?" Tai replied, an innocent expression on her face. "Sharing a room every once in a while isn't that bad, right?"
"I- I don't even… GAH!" Aussie threw up her arms, running back the way she came. "To HELL with this, I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now!"

With that, the elite octoling swiftly vanished up the stairway, one last frustrated scream echoing down the corridor as she went. Looking at the sight with a bemused expression, Tai turned her attention to the pile of boxes.
"Well, that went well, didn't it?" She said. As she did so, the largest box in the pile shuddered, and a dark blue squid popped out of it, reverting into Cobalt in the process.
"Quick thinking there." The masked inkling replied, "Where'd you learn that trick with the shoebox?"
"Let's just say… a couple of friends of mine taught me that one." Tai simply replied. "Though Aussie also knows about it, so I had to improvise."
"Still, I think we should get moving." Cobalt remarked, turning back towards the way they were supposed to be headed. "I get the feeling that she's not going to be distracted for very long."

As the two continued on their way however, they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of boots loudly clattering on the floor. Abruptly turning around, Cobalt was unpleasantly surprised as he spotted Aussie running back down the stairs, about to turn at their direction.
"Wait, Tai! I forgot to tell you to-"

A few awkward seconds passed as the elite octoling stared at Tai and Cobalt standing together. The duo exchanged looks of dread, as Aussie stared agape at the sight.
"…um…" Tai muttered, "Oh. Oh crap."

"TAI!" Aussie cried, shocked. "What… what is the meaning of this?!"
"Ah. Um…" Tai raised a hand, trying to muster a thought. "It's not what you think. This is… a REALLY long story."
"This… what… I don't even…" Aussie seemed too dumbstruck to be able to speak, her temper rapidly flaring up as she raised both fists in front of her. "Tai… how… how COULD…"
"Erm… so there I was one night…."
The elite octoling was visibly quivering from head to foot in rage. "I… after ALL that…! You…! YOU…!"

Then, unexpectedly, her arms flopped to her sides. Like a switch has been flicked, Aussie stopped shaking, and looked down on the floor.
"Umm… Commander?" Tai looked worriedly at her commanding officer. "Are you… are you still there?"

"Heh. Ehehehehehe…HAHAHAHAHA!" Aussie suddenly threw back her head and laughed, causing Tai to recoil. "Oh, Tai! Dear sweet Tai! You're just… UNBELIEVABLE!"

"Eh... Aussie?" The octoling was unnerved at her commander's abrupt shift in personality. "Are you feeling alright there?"
"ALRIGHT?!" Aussie laughed hysterically. "HOW COULD I BE ALRIGHT?! Here you are, consorting with the intruder I presume arrived when those alarms went off, not doing a THING! And that is after ALL those little moments where you HAD to refuse to cooperate with me, just INFURIATING ME to the moon and back, making ALL these stupid jokes and innuendos, releasing all those prisoners without my consent back then, banging on the side off my room OVER AND OVER…"

"I uh… think she's pissed off." Cobalt flatly remarked, as Aussie continuously spouted a growing list of offenses that Tai committed that seemed to grow more absurd as she went along.
"You think?" Tai replied, raising an eyebrow.

"…then after you had the nerve to COME ON to me, I see you here, playing about with INKLING SCUM!" Aussie finished, a smile stretched to breaking point with stress on her face. "Oh, dear, sweet, innocent Tai! When I took you under my wing all these years ago, I never thought you'd be this much of a handful! Honestly… I'm starting to think just reprimanding you isn't enough now! Maybe I should personally… Pun. Ish. You." The elite octoling punctuated the last three syllables softly, licking the edges of her lips with anticipation.

Tai cringed as she shivered at the remark. "Oh man. That three syllable thing is NOT as funny when I'm at the receiving end."
"I'm guessing this is the part where I'm supposed to intervene?" Cobalt said, withdrawing his weapons and glared at the commander. "You did say that I should probably fight her."

"Oh, wow! And now I've learnt that Tai was plotting with this inkling to ASSASSINATE ME!" Aussie's eyelid twitched as an aura of murderous intent began emanating from her. "This day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?!"
"Actually, it's more like he's fighting you to relieve you of some of that stress." Tai remarked nervously. "I'm sure you won't mind if he loosens a few knots off those knickers, right?"

The octoling withdrew an octoshot from the side of her belt, slowly taking aim at Cobalt. A few tense moments passed as the two were locked in a standoff.
Then unexpectedly, she replaced her octoshot by her side, and clapped twice.
"On the contrary… I'm in no mood to handle this inkling." Aussie said, "SOLDIERS! Assemble!"

To Cobalt's bewilderment, octarians suddenly began streaming out from every door, vent and opening behind the elite octoling, flooding the corridor until every inch behind Aussie was literally occupied by a soldier, numbering in the hundreds at least. They stopped at a certain distance from the commander however, likely sensitive to the aura leaking from her that seemed to be clouding up the air. The atrocious amount of octarians caused their various cries to pile up into an incomprehensible mess.
"We're here, great commander! What are your orders!"
"What's going on? Isn't that the other octoling?"
"Why is there an inkling here of all places?!"
"Are we being betrayed?! I don't want to believe it!"
"Get your ass out of my face, I can't see!"

"Oh… crap." All of Cobalt's bravado instantly drained at the massive crowd as his arms flopped meekly to their sides. "Well… there's the army of angry octarians I was expecting. I didn't expect this many though… this could be a problem."
"Okay… time for plan B." Tai said, turning her head at Cobalt.
"Erm… what's plan B?" Cobalt asked.
"What else?! RUN LIKE HELL!" Tai yelled, turning 180 degrees on the spot and charging off into the distance.
Cobalt was unprepared for the impromptu strategic retreat, stumbling on the spot before running full pelt after the octoling. "Eh- AGH! WAIT UP!"
"Well whaddya waiting for, soldiers?! An invitation?!" Aussie yelled enthusiastically, "AFTER THEM!"

As Cobalt and Tai ran away from the commander as fast as their legs could carry them, Aussie immediately ran after them with the army of octarians in hot pursuit, though given the amount of soldiers squeezed into one space it was less an army of battle-ready octarians but rather a writhing pile of tentacles being shoved haphazardly down a tight corridor.
Reaching a fork in the road, Cobalt and Tai nodded towards each other and split up, running in opposite directions. It didn't have the intended effect however, as while Aussie chased after Tai while cackling like a madwoman, all of the octarians chased after Cobalt instead, save for a few stragglers that went after their commander, possibly out of pity.

"OH COME ON! Are you kidding me?!" Cobalt yelled in exasperation, running for dear life.

As Cobalt rounded another corner with a wall of tentacles in hot pursuit, his headset began ringing. Reaching up to it, he pushed a small button on the side and answered the call.

"Morning, Cobalt! *yawn*" Callie's drowsy voice answered him. "How's your…day…? Uh…"
"OH HEY! GREAT TIMING!" Cobalt shouted back, "I COULD USE A LITTLE HELP HERE!"
There was a slight clatter as Callie seemingly recoiled from the microphone before she picked it up again. "Okay, two things. One, there's no need to yell, I'm still half-asleep over here. Two, WHY DO YOU HAVE FIFTY DOMES WORTH OF OCTARIANS AFTER YOUR TENTACLES?!"
"It's a long story!" Cobalt briefly spun round and fired a brief salvo of dark blue ink behind him, the substance coating the floor and walls, hoping to slow down the deluge of octarians. He was answered with multiple bursts of fuchsia ink utterly nullifying his efforts. "Okay, I was hoping that would work. Any ideas, lady?!"

"Shoot! Don't just put me on the spot like that! Um…" Cobalt could hear some frantic background chatter as Callie spoke to a few people nearby, before she returned to the microphone. "Okay, bit of a problem. Octavio said that unless you have no choice, you have to refrain from killing any of them. We're also supposed to rescue any octarians we find down there, so I reckon you'll need to shake 'em somehow."
"I don't see any hiding spots." Cobalt paled. "That leaves…"
"Yep. Just run like your car's on fire because it crashed into a camp fire near Camp Triggerfish and the nearest hose is like a mile away."
"That's… oddly specific."
"Call it personal experience, if you will." Callie sounded mildly guilty as she said the words. "But don't worry about that. For the time being, LEG IT!"
Cobalt briefly looked over his shoulders, and his dread went up by another notch as he noticed a tidal wave of fuchsia ink being fired from the mass of pursuers and landing mere inches from his footsteps, most likely emboldened by his failed attempt to slow them down.
"Well, you don't have to ask me twice…" Straining his legs to their limits, the masked inkling picked up his pace, determined to not be splatted by the barrage that seemed to put the past absurdities he encountered in Turf Wars to shame.

Reaching a large open space, Cobalt spotted a locker situated close by. With not a moment to lose, he quickly jumped in and hid, just as the swarm of octarians burst out of the corridor after him and stopped, losing their target.
"He's gone!" One of them said, "Where'd he go?"
"He can't have gone far!" Another replied, "Not many places to be hanging about in the Testing Chamber! Fan out!"
"We'll stand guard right here!" An octotrooper near the entrance announced. "That inkling's not getting out this way!"

As Cobalt watched the octarians spread out and began patrolling the general vicinity, nursing his cramped legs as a result of the pursuit, a crackle rang in his headset before Callie's voice came through.
"You feeing alright there?" She asked, "Gotta say, I'm impressed by how fast you can run."
"Urgh, not like I'm going to do that again anytime soon." Cobalt grunted, rubbing the back of his leg. "But never mind that, did one of them just mention that this is the testing chamber?"
"Yeah… didn't Eliza say the entrance to Smokestack is supposed to be somewhere in here?" Callie said, "But with this many patrols…"

Cobalt watched as an octotrooper passed by the locker he was hiding in, holding his breath as the soldier paused right in front of the locker. Watching as the octotrooper looked around suspiciously at his vicinity, he exhaled a breath of relief as the soldier shrugged dismissively and resumed on his patrol.
"No good. There's way too many of 'em." Callie continued, "Looks to me you'll need to be careful with how you're approaching this one. How are you with your sneaking abilities?"
Cobalt internally groaned. "Again? Alright then…"

Making sure that no other patrols were passing by, Cobalt cautiously opened the locker, closing it behind him as silently as he could. Crouching low, he noticed a nearby desk to hide under, switching into squid form and quietly dragged himself under the tight space. His eyes narrowed as he saw an octoball roll past behind him, cutting off his entry point with a trail of fuchsia ink.

Noticing two octotroopers slowly trundling past on their vehicles in front of him, Cobalt slithered out from underneath the desk as they passed by, switching back into normal in the process. Taking care to avoid stepping into the trail being left behind by the octotroopers, he crouched down on all fours and tailed the soldiers, taking care to peek around every crossroads in the maze of workbenches and cabinets to ensure that there wasn't an approaching octarian, switching into squid form and squeezing himself into the nearest tight space available whenever there was.

This arduous stealth procedure continued for a few tense minutes, before eventually the two octotroopers he was following passed by a wide open area occupied by various machines that wouldn't look out of place in a factory. To Cobalt's relief, it seemed that the makeshift workspace was entirely devoid of any octarians. Finding an opening, he wandered away from the soldiers, hiding behind a large machine that seemed to be partly under construction.

"Right, so far so good." Cobalt thought to himself, surveying his surroundings. "Now where's that entrance…"
Edging around the machine for a better view, the masked inkling spotted a large tangle of cables extruding from it that to his pleasant surprise led to a rather conspicuous hatch on the floor with a 'power supply' sign riveted on it not entirely far from his position. There was however, one octarian in the way that was between him and the hatch, seemingly busy tinkering with the machine he was using as cover.
"Just one of 'em between me and the exit. Seems about my level." He thought. "Alright, I can do this…"

As carefully as he could, Cobalt began tiptoeing out from his hiding spot, sneaking past the unwary octarian. Upon closer inspection, this particular octarian appears different from the rest, being an octotrooper with two tentacles whose body appears to have been haphazardly painted black, with a tool belt draped around its body.
Unfortunately, the masked inkling had yet to learn to watch the floor when he was supposed to keep quiet. His foot scraped past a wrench discarded on the floor, the tool making a scraping sound.

Cobalt flinched, turning to look at the octotrooper. It perked up, but fortunately for him didn't turn around to take a look at him.

"Hmm? Someone there?" The octotrooper spoke with a woman's voice, a rustic accent prevalent. "Didn't think that anyone'd be visiting good ol' me."
"Erm… I'm just passing by." Cobalt replied sheepishly. "I'll just be on my way."
"Really? You don't sound like any of my buddies. New to the labs?" The octotrooper said, "Name's Heather. Heather of the Under-Sea-Dogs. Pleased to meet-cha."

"Under-Sea-Dogs? Sounds like a familiar name. I can't remember where I've heard it from though." Cobalt took a few cautious steps towards the hatch, making sure not to alert the octotrooper.
"Seriously? You've never heard of us? You must've been living under a rock!" Heather laughed, tossing aside a screwdriver before picking up the wrench on the floor, all without looking away from the machine. "We're basically the ones that keep watch over Sector 0 from any intruders. Not like I ever get any thanks for keeping watch for enemy threats though. All that praise I'm supposed to have goes to those two octolings. I mean, seriously? One of them just constantly runs off somewhere to snooze it up!"
"Mmhmm." Cobalt was uninterested, focusing hard to not make his footsteps too loud.

"Funny story, now that I mention it." She continued, picking up an acetylene torch and a welding mask before welding a few parts together. "Just yesterday, I saw this inkling plummet from the sky. If ya can keep a secret, I'm thinking that if I could be the one to splat that intruder, maybe I could be the one that can have all that limelight to myself. I mean, I used to be pretty darn popular around here, until those two octolings showed up. Then everyone just ignores me just to kiss their boots, I just spend all my down here nowadays, tinkering with my pride and joy."

Cobalt paused midstep. The fact that this particular octarian knew of his presence even before he entered the base wasn't something he could ignore.
"So about those…intruders." He said, choosing his words carefully. "Would your friends happen to know anything about them?"
"As a matter of fact, yeah!" Heather replied enthusiastically. "I got some other buddies down here. Morgan, Clarence, and… well, that's pretty much my friends in the Under-Sea-Dogs. I've been told that they've seen inklings all around where they've been keeping watch as well, so we cooked up this plan. We'll be the ones to be cornering 'em and splatting 'em, so that we'll be the ones with the recognition! Honestly, I'm tired of all this 'if you have fewer tentacles you're less deserving of attention' system, I'd love to do something about it! We've all agreed on that."

"That's… interesting." Cobalt was hoping that Callie was listening, but he couldn't confirm it without Heather realizing he was bad company. He opted to attempt to keep her focus diverted. "So… what's that machine you got there, anyway?"
"Oh, this?" Heather hammered on the machine, smiling with pride. "This here's my personal ride! Most octotrooper hovercrafts are pretty darn slow, but I've upgraded this baby so that it can fly! Oh, and even better, check out these here plates on the sides! I've salvaged some of the rubble from the outer walls of the fortress and used it to make some additional armor. I can snap 'em shut in front of me, and when that happens nothing ink-based is getting through, not even an Inkstrike would faze 'em! I've been trying to iron out some faults with anything that just ignores 'em altogether though, so I infused some shock absorbers into the mix as well. It's a partial success, I still have this issue with overheating when those kick in, but that's what I'm trying to work on right 'ere."
"Well, that's certainly intriguing. I'll just let you get on with that project then." Cobalt remarked, not really listening past the first few words as he finally reached the panel on the floor. With a few cautious steps, he proceeded to hop in, the inkling quickly disappearing down the shaft beyond.

"Okay, that'll do for now." Heather put the finishing touches on her machine, and closed the lid on the side, before looking around. "Ya know, thanks for bearing with my ranting, I was aching to have someone to talk to. I don't think I actually asked what your name was though. What is…"
The octotrooper looked around puzzled, realizing there was no one else around. Frowning, she began looking around at where the source of the other voice was, before noticing the panel swinging shut, stopped short by the cables protruding from it.
"What in the… I definitely didn't imagine that." Heather remarked. "Who was that?"
"HEATHER!" An octoball rolled around the corner, hopping restlessly on the spot. "Thank goodness, you're not hurt!"
"Slow down, compadre!" The octotrooper asked worriedly. "What's the problem?"
"Haven't you heard?! There's been an intruder! An inkling of all things! He's escaped down here, and we've blocked off all the possible exits to make sure he doesn't slip past us!" The octoball explained. "But we haven't found him yet! Have you possibly seen or heard anything suspicious?"

Heather slowly looked around in thought, eventually her gaze turned to the panel, and where it led. A few seconds passed, before she put two and two together.
"…SON OF A-"

AN: Well, that was quite an ordeal. For the ones that have been wondering where I've disappeared to for the past three weeks or so, my university education's started up a few days after I finished my last chapter. Suffice to say, I am not having a particularly pleasant moment with it, so delays were had.
It's outdated news by this point, but I've heard that the very last Splatfest has ended. It's a shame I had to return to Australia for my education before it started, I could've participated. But more to the point, with all Splatfests ended, doesn't that make this story rather pointless? Ah, I suppose that there's still the various issues occurring in the story to deal with.
Oh, and for the select few noticing a couple of familiar faces that technically don't belong here, there's a reason for that. Tai and Aussie aren't actually my characters, but rather ThePizzaLovingTurtle's which I pretty much snatched without his permission but he's okay with it anyway so that's fine. Admittedly though that presents an interesting challenge where I want to strictly abide to their preset personalities for the sake of maintaining a reference, and yet trying to make it so that those unfamiliar of the fact would not find their presence out of place. It is something I spent quite a few hours mulling over and constantly reiterating, but I'm happy enough with the result.