Crumbling Earth, Scalding Flame

DJ Octavio was, to his delight, pleasantly surprised from how things have developed.

Looking down from a scaffold of steel stacked several stories high, he could see the entire cavern stretch out before him. From where he was all the way to the entrance of Sector 0, multitudes of inkling agents and his own octarian soldiers have scattered all around the open area, now that their hours-long labor has finally concluded. Some have gathered into groups and have begun sharing banter, while many others found themselves nearby flat surfaces to curl up and rest, the fatigue from working overnight catching up to them.
The entrance itself was no longer obstructed by rubble, in fact the aged octopus has a clear view of the dimly lit tunnel just beyond, along with a few openings widened by mining sticking out of the sides. Welded steel girders lined the walls of the tunnel beyond, supporting the deteriorating structure. It wouldn't be strong enough to last indefinitely, but it would most certainly keep the tunnel mouth open for several hours, more than enough time for the upcoming operation.

Turning round, he could see Captain Cuttlefish talking to a few of his agents, while not far back Callie and Marie were fiddling with the communications console. While he wasn't as paranoid as his old friend, Octavio was still somewhat skeptical that the inkling captain would agree to assist him with the rescue operation in the first place without some manner of payment, so it was a relief that he was wrong. Coming to the conclusion that Cuttlefish's granddaughters likely had some part in his selfless decision, the DJ decided to make a mental note to thank them later.

"Looks like everything's ready." Octavio remarked, beckoning towards the captain. "What say we get this show on the road?"
"Hmm, what was that?" The aged squid mumbled, glancing at Octavio before looking back at the Agents. "Sorry squiddos, gotta cut this chat short. You lot better get into position, alright?"

The Agents saluted briefly, before running down a nearby ramp to rejoin their fellow comrades. Seeing them off with a wave of his hat, Cuttlefish turned to face the octarian leader.
"I was a little preoccupied right there." The elderly squid remarked, walking alongside Octavio, "All my Agents are pretty tired out, none of them are used to working overnight like this."
"Eh, it's not like my lads are faring that much better." Octavio replied, passing by a dozy octocopter that was barely able to keep himself aloft, "Brings back some fond memories, eh? Remember back when we had to work that overnight shift at… where was it again…?"
"Oho, that old guard tower just outside Inkopolis, of course!" Cuttlefish chuckled briefly, "We were desperately trying to keep ourselves awake, and…"
"…we rewired the intercom to play some of my early mixtapes on full blast!" The old octopus guffawed loudly at the recollection. "It kept everyone in a mile-wide radius awake! GAHAHAHA!"
"It was worth the yelling we got once our shift ended." The aged captain was barely able to conceal a mischievous smirk under his beard. "It's odd though, I don't think Ol' Bossy was angry at us because of the noise pollution…"
"Ah, what does that old coot know?" Octavio shrugged his tentacles dismissively. "He knows nothing of real art!"

"Hey Gramps, are you and Octavio done swapping old war stories yet?" Callie interjected, looking up from the console.
"Hate to interrupt, but we just got confirmation from that Eliza lady." Marie said, putting down a headset. "She's on her way towards Smokestack with Mei-Lin. Those five should be converging on the geothermal plant anytime soon."

"Oh, is that so?" Cuttlefish cleared his throat before speaking. "Alright everyone, we'll need to start the briefing for the next phase of the operation! Octavio, I'll need you to get the octoling commanders in charge of the octarian forces here to meet me in the briefing room. Agents 1 and 2, I'll need you two to spread the word among the other Agents, let them know that phase 2 will be kicking in soon."
"Roger-dodger!"
"Got it, Gramps."
"Alright, old friend. I'll let 'em know."
"Good! If none of us have any questions, we'll meet up in the briefing room in 5 minutes." Captain Cuttlefish announced. "Let's move out!"

As the Squid Sisters and the octarian leader split in separate directions, Captain Cuttlefish looked around briefly as he watched them leave him behind. Making sure they were out of sight, the aged squid went off down a nearby ramp himself.
"Right then…" He muttered to himself, "I'm sure my grandsquids wouldn't mind if I… 'inspected' the pantry for a while..."

"So everyone's here, I take it?" Octavio asked, looking around the base of operations. Admittedly, it was only a corner of the cavern cordoned off with two sets of curtains with a singular rickety table in the middle, but it gets the job done regardless.

"Seems about right!" Callie replied, glancing sideways at Marie and Captain Cuttlefish (the former was staring suspiciously at the crumbs displace on the latter's beard). "What about the octolings in charge of the octarian rescue forces?"
"That would be me and Beth." An Octoling Elite replied, saluting across the table alongside her fellow commander. "My name's Rachel, pleased to meet ya. I don't suppose I could have an autograph...?"
"Rachel!" The octoling named Beth scolded.
Rachel averted her gaze back towards Octavio, somewhat flustered. "…sorry."

"Looks to me the crew's gathered around!" Cuttlefish remarked, trying not to make eye contact with Marie, "I'll let you have the table, Octavio."
"Alright then." Octavio began. He withdrew a rolled up piece of paper and unfurled it across the table, revealing a rough map of Sector 0. "So as we all know, the objective of this operation is to rescue whatever survivors are still trapped down within Sector 0, a task that will be running parallel to the recon squad's expedition to the Point of Power down within Smokestack. While Eliza and those other kids get on with their task, we will be diverting our efforts into getting those trapped octarians outta there."

"We've gotten ourselves a few markers to make things easy to understand." Cuttlefish said, piling a bunch of seemingly random junk onto the table. Within the pile, there was a bunch of used soda cans, plastic bottles, metallic bowls, a handful of old chess pieces and a singular half-ground wasabi stick.
"Here, the soda cans represent my forces, while the plastic bottles represent Cuttlefish's forces." Octavio explained. "The bowls here are UFOs, I'll get into detail on them later."
"Wait, what about that one?" Callie interrupted, pointing towards a crumpled magazine nearby. "What does that represent?"
DJ Octavio glanced briefly at the magazine, before a drop of cold sweat immediately rolled down his head. The cover was featuring a picture of a scantily-clad octoling woman displayed in what could only be described as a provocative pose.
"Oh…that." Octavio nervously mumbled, casually picking up the magazine and lobbing it outside the curtains. "That's irrelevant."
"Okay…?" Callie watched as a small handful of curious agents just outside picked up the magazine, a myriad of hushed voices and stifled laughter quickly following afterwards.

"So…anyway." Cuttlefish continued, "Thanks to the reconnaissance done by those squiddos, we now know the situation involving the octarians down there. While the situation involving their stance on inklings weren't as bad as I had expected, I'd expect that we would still be met with considerable resistance if they see Agents running about."
"This is where we come into play." Octavio said, having quickly regained his composure. Grabbing the pile of soda cans and plastic bottles, the aged octopus placed them neatly on the map. "While Cuttlefish's Agents would not be a pretty sight to them, seeing an organized squad of octarian soldiers should put them at ease."
With a few tentacles, Octavio moved the soda cans onto the markings representing the military complex and the civilian district. "Of course, we only have to do this for two locations. The trapped octarians are mainly situated in the military fortress, as well as the civilian district dome. The Grand Library dome is deserted aside from Cuttlefish's trapped Agents, and Low-Tide Park is completely empty, so we won't need to send any octarians over there."
"Octavio's forces will explain the situation to the trapped octarians." Cuttlefish said, picking up a few plastic bottles and placing them alongside the soda cans. "Once we have the all-clear, we'll swoop in and assist with evacuation. With our combined efforts, we should be able to clean out Sector 0 in only a few hours at most."

"Alright, then how do those fit in all this?" Marie asked, pointing towards the collection of metal bowls. "You mentioned something about UFOs."
"Ah right, thanks for the reminder!" Octavio replied, lifting the topmost bowl and placing it on top of one of the soda cans. "Getting everyone out of Sector 0 is the tough part of this mission. The only way out from those domes are through the ceiling, since the kettle transmission system for those domes have long since been broken down. We've managed to commission some spare UFOs though, so those should get the job done."

"UFOs?!" Callie exclaimed, interested. Walking away from the table, the Squid Sister peeled back a curtain, and saw a convoy of octarians escorting a series of flying saucers, each one the size of a small van. Equally interested, Marie also joined in for a closer look.
"Erm… I'm not seeing a lot of 'em." Callie remarked, stepping away from the curtains. "How are we going to fit all our Agents in there, AND the octarian civilians? They all look pretty small to me…"
"That's where octarian ingenuity shines, Agent 1." Beth interjected, "These things are much bigger on the inside than the outside. One of those can house up to a couple hundred octarians alone. The ten we have should be more than enough for the job"
"Wait, you've ridden on one of those?!" Rachel exclaimed, glancing at her fellow octoling. "I didn't think you'd have the guts!"
"It's not bad." Beth shrugged, "Not sure why the interior smells like old cheese though…"

"I believe we can also charter a UFO to pick up the Agents in the Grand Library, so that leaves the recon squad in Smokestack itself." Octavio grabbed the chess pieces and placed them onto the part of the map representing the power plant. "Unfortunately, the only way down into the power plant itself is through access hatches from the domes surrounding it, so we won't be able to drive our UFOs down there."
"That… doesn't sound good." Marie remarked. "Got any ideas?"

Captain Cuttlefish and DJ Octavio looked at one another, before the latter eventually spoke up. "There IS one method. Since Low-Tide Park is deserted, we've decided that it would be the best place to perform an excavation. We'll drill an entirely new tunnel from the bottom of the Park dome, all the way down into Smokestack itself. I'll personally handle this part of the operation myself, I've made some adjustments to my DJ booth so it can do a bit of hands-on mining."
"But sir…!" Rachel interrupted, showing an expression of concern. "Isn't that dangerous?!"
Octavio faced the elite octoling, giving her a reassuring nod. "If you're worried about my wellbeing, don't be. The shields oughta be more than enough to stop any debris from the mining operation from squashing me flat."
"An extra tunnel might affect Sector 0's integrity though." Beth added. "Rescuing the recon team would have to come after the civilians have been evacuated."
"That is the plan, of course." Cuttlefish replied, "We'll just have to hope we don't hit a snag in the process."
"That's not particularly reassuring…" Rachel mumbled under her breath.

"Alright, now!" Octavio shouted, facing everyone else around the table. "If there are no more questions, I'd like everyone to get into position! Beth, Rachel, let the octarians know the plan, and get those UFOs prepped!"
"YES SIR!" The Elites simultaneously replied, saluting before running out.
"You heard 'em!" The aged sea captain exclaimed, turning towards Callie and Marie, "Agents, spread the word! We'll stand ready for when Octavio's forces give the all-clear!"
"Got it, Gramps!" Callie replied.
"We'll also let the recon team know about the plan." Marie added. "C'mon Callie, we gotta jet!"

As the Squid Sisters left the briefing room as well, only DJ Octavio and Captain Cuttlefish remained. As Cuttlefish prepared to leave as well, he briefly paused with one hand on the curtain.

"I must say… you're quite impressive." Cuttlefish remarked. "Even if it's just to rescue four inklings and one of your octolings, you're willing to jump into the fray yourself for the sake of your own race. Not many can claim that."

"Why exactly are you surprised?" Octavio simply replied. "I've done it once before, remember?"

Cuttlefish nodded, before leaving the room. "…True. True."

If one were to glance at the remains of the Smokestack Geothermal Plant, it would still be fairly easy to surmise that once upon a time the landmark was an architectural miracle. A gargantuan complex of steel and concrete, the building lies suspended from just a few meters away from the half of the dome it was housed in, all the way down to the bowels of the earth. While the structure was technically still incomplete, with unfinished walls and rusted construction equipment littered here and there, the faint sounds of groaning pumps and hissing steam was indicative of the efficiency of octarian engineering used in the construction, with the automated mechanism still active despite years of burial and lack of supervision.
At the very top of the structure, a series of power cables snaked around a support pole, before they split and redirected into four access ducts welded to the ceiling. Traces of power still lingering within the wiring, a faint hum can be heard emitting from the wires as they transported power to every corner of Sector 0.

One of the access ducts briefly shuddered, before feet kicked open the hatch covering it. With a grunt of effort, a certain masked inking climbed down a few rungs within the vent, hanging on to the lowest rung for a moment before dropping down onto the structure, his feet making a metallic clang as it made contact with the surface.

"Huh. Looks like I got here first." Cobalt remarked, briefly assessing his surroundings. Taking a deep breath, he immediately gagged at the heavy stench of sulfur permeating the air, despite the gas mask on his face "Okay… *cough*, I guess I'll just wait here…"

He didn't have to wait very long. Only a few moments after his arrival, another vent shook briefly before Katelyn fell from it, the inkling landing onto the roof on her arms and knees.
"Oww…" Katelyn groaned, before looking up and noticing who was standing before her. "Cobalt! You're alright! I thought you're…"
"I dunno what you think I've gotten myself into, but I'm standing here, aren't I?" Cobalt remarked, his eyes trailing towards Katelyn's skates. "Dig the new footwear you got there, by the way."
"Yeah, well it's not very good at climbing down ladders with." Katelyn dragged herself up from the floor, shrugging off the pain from the impact. "Where's Mei-Lin and Chris?"
The masked inkling simply shrugged. "Still waiting on 'em. Reckon they should be on their way here."
"Mmhmm…"

Curious at her surroundings, Katelyn stepped over towards the handlebars at the very edge of the roof, and peeked over the edge. From her vantage point, the cave seemed to stretch all the way down into the earth, until it seemed to abruptly stop at a glowing orange pool at the very bottom. Unexpectedly, she was also met with a sudden blast of scalding hot air, causing the inkling to quickly withdraw her head in shock.
"Magma?!" Katelyn exclaimed. "I don't even want to imagine falling down there…"
"You don't say." Cobalt replied, wiping a bead of sweat off his neck. "The sooner we get out of here, the better."

"I think we can all agree on that." Right on cue, another vent cover clattered to the floor as Chris emerged from above, the inkling dusting himself off. "Good to see the two of you are still hanging in there."
"Ditto." Cobalt replied. "So that leaves Mei-Lin…"
"…and that octoling…" Katelyn finished, her face falling. "Oh… I completely forgot about her."

Chris sighed as his gaze directed upwards towards the vents. "Yeah… me too. It's just…"

"I don't even want to think about her." Katelyn said flatly, her fists clenching. "That woman… she's…!"

"…still mad at her, huh?" Cobalt remarked.

"Of COURSE I am!" Katelyn yelled, angered. "The way she was treating Mei-Lin and the rest of us! What kind of high and mighty slimeball does she think she is!?"

"Woah, easy there! She's not even here yet!" Cobalt raised his palms in self-defense as he backed away a few steps. "You can take out your grievances on her once she shows herself! I'm not having any part in this!"

"That's…! NNNNGH!" Her eyes half closed in barely suppressed rage, Katelyn faced away from Cobalt. "If that octoling's done anything to Mei-Lin, I'll-"

"If you have a problem with me, take it up with me directly." A voice interrupted. "Criticizing a person behind their backs is an undignified move."

Cobalt watched as Eliza emerged from the very last closed vent and leapt down in front of Katelyn. Sensing the atmosphere getting tense, he wandered close to a pile of cement powder close to his position, preparing to duck down.

"You…" Katelyn grumbled, staring daggers at the octoling sniper. "Where's Mei-Lin?"
"Your companion's climbing down after me." Eliza began. "She should be-"

Abruptly, whatever the octoling had in mind was interrupted as Mei-Lin unexpectedly fell out of the vent like a ragdoll, crumping on the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. Noticing this, Katelyn immediately ran to Mei-Lin's side as everyone else in the vicinity stared wide-eyed in shock.

"MEI-LIN!" Katelyn exclaimed, cradling her friend in her arms as she gently lifted her head from the ground. "W-what happened to you?!"

"U-urgh…" Mei-Lin groaned. A stain of auburn was growing on her undershirt. "K-Kate…lyn…?"

Lifting up the inkling's garments, Katelyn could see a nasty bruise leaking a steady stream of liquid from her abdomen. "You… you're injured! How did this happen!?"

"...attacked…" Mei-Lin mumbled weakly. "…oct…E-eliza…"

"I…" Katelyn was struck dumb at her friend's grievous state. Laying her down gently, she immediately went for her Inkbrush and pointed it straight at Eliza.

"Katelyn!" Chris yelled. Close by, Cobalt immediately huddled down and hid behind the sand bags.

"Alright, I HAD it with you!" Katelyn bellowed, her rage coming forth. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"She… she told me she was alright!" Eliza retorted, backing away from the Inkbrush. "I…I haven't expected this…"

"Put your weapon away! We can't fight among ourselves like this!" Chris tried to reason with Katelyn, but his words fell on deaf ears.

"Some escort you are! YOU'RE THE LOWEST!" Incensed, Katelyn looked as if she was about to murder the octoling before her. "I shouldn't have trusted you! By the time I'm done, you'll be-"

"Wait…! K-Katelyn…"

Alarmed, Katelyn turned to face the floor. Mei-Lin was upright, clutching her side in pain.

"M-Mei-Lin, don't get up!" Katelyn was aghast. "In your state, you can't-"

"Please…don't…" Mei-Lin tried to get up on her feet, but fell forward instead. "She…"

"W-what?" Katelyn watched as Chris ran past her and helped Mei-Lin on her feet. "What are you talking about?"

"She saved my life!" Mei-Lin spluttered forcibly, clutching onto Chris's shoulder. "Please… I-I don't want to see the two of you fight…"

Arms falling to her side, Katelyn stared at the pained Mei-Lin with an expression of disbelief. Seemingly in a daze, she looked back at Eliza, then back at Mei-Lin. Closing her eyes, she gritted her teeth in frustration.
"…dammit! You just had to put me in a position like this!"
Reluctantly, Katelyn replaced the Inkbrush behind her back, forcing herself to stay calm. A few moments later, she opened her eyes, glaring at Eliza.

"I won't lie." She said, "The way you treated Mei-Lin when we first met. If… we weren't on this mission, I would've definitely fought you right then and there. I cannot tolerate my friends being hurt, no matter what."

"…" Eliza didn't reply, still mildly shocked by Katelyn's aggression.

"I don't know what happened between you and Mei-Lin while you two were alone. But… you saved her from danger. I'm still mad at you, but I can't overlook that." Katelyn looked away absentmindedly. "…Thanks."

Eliza watched as Katelyn walked away and leaned onto a nearby railing, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. Acknowledging her attempt at an apology, she gave a slight nod in her direction.

"…it has been a long time since I've been thanked by someone." Eliza remarked, letting a few moments pass before composing herself. "Mei-Lin needs immediate medical attention. If we don't take care of that wound on her side, your friend isn't going to make it very far through the plant."
"You don't say." Chris interjected, trying to lay down Mei-Lin onto a nearby wall. "Got any clue where we can find first aid?"
"This area is still under construction. A place like this should have medical supplies nearby on hand in case of an accident." Eliza turned to face Katelyn. "Katelyn, I'll need you to look for a first aid box. I'll need one with bandages, sterilized gloves, a sponge and stabilizing gel. Can you do that?"
"…oh! On it!" Without a second to lose, the inkling immediately rushed off, scouring the roof for anything usable.

"Stabilizing gel?" Cobalt remarked, emerging from his shelter of cement bags. "Never heard of it…"
"Not surprising. This kind of wound only shows up on inklings that don't transform very often." Chris explained. "Her body's breaking down due to excessive trauma. Apart from halted regeneration, weakness and loss of motor skills, this wound will slowly spread until her body loses consistency and collapses entirely. I can see why Eliza looks so concerned."
"Oof, sounds rough." Cobalt said, examining the patch of auburn underneath Mei-Lin's hand. "Have you seen this kind of injury before?"

Chris didn't speak up for a few short moments, trying to keep Mei-Lin's hand steady before replying. "…Only one another time. A long time ago."

"Hey, is this what you were looking for?" Katelyn interrupted, returning with a small box emblazoned with a red cross.
"Yes, that's it." Eliza replied, accepting the box. "Chris, help me get this parka off of her. I need room to work."

"Oh…! Um…alright." Chris muttered, slightly embarrassed as he went and undid the buttons on Mei-Lin's parka. Carefully slipping off the coat, Chris folded it neatly before setting it aside Mei-Lin's limp body, which was sporting a long-sleeved plain black shirt underneath the parka.
"Wearing long sleeves all the way down here? Yeesh, and with the parka to boot." Chris mumbled, carefully rolling up the sleeves on Mei-Lin's shirt. "Are you trying to cook yourself alive?"
Mei-Lin didn't have the strength to speak up, but she responded with a weak smile regardless.

"Good." Eliza said, putting on the sterilized gloves from the first aid box. "I'll take it from here, stand back."

The team watched as Eliza went to work, sponging off any excess liquid around Mei-Lin's wound, before patching her up with the medical supplies. As Katelyn watched while the octoling applied the stabilizing gel on her friend's injury, Cobalt noticed a growing expression of guilt on her face.
"Something bothering you?" He asked, with a look of concern.
"…Yeah." Katelyn said softly. "I feel bad that I have to just stand here and wait while Mei-Lin's life is on the line. I almost attacked the one helping her right now, to boot."
"Don't worry about it, the feeling's mutual." The masked inkling grunted. "My job's to beat up any bad guys that come our way. If you ask me to patch someone up, I'd probably get myself tangled up in bandages."
"Pfft… you probably would. Still…" Katelyn turned to face Cobalt. "…you think I might be a little overprotective?"
Cobalt simply shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe a little."
"…right." Katelyn went back to staring at her injured friend, lost in thought.

"Okay, this should do for now." Eliza said, fastening the bandage in place as she finished up the first aid. "Can you stand?"
"N-ngh…" Mei-Lin groaned, leaning on the wall for support as she tried to get up. "…Kinda."
"Good. That stabilizing gel needs time to work however, so you cannot transform while it's doing its job." Eliza turned to face the rest of the inklings. "I do hope none of you would mind walking on your own two feet."
"Eh, I'm used to it." Cobalt replied. "I found some stairs just over that way. I'll go on ahead, scout out the place."

"…sorry. Am I being a burden again?" Mei-Lin muttered as she watched Cobalt run off in search of the entrance. "Because of me…"
"It's alright. As long as none of us are in danger, we'll put up with it." Chris reassured, slinging one of Mei-Lin's arms over his shoulder as he carried her. "C'mon, we gotta move before we lose Cobalt."
As the two slowly hobbled after the masked inkling, Mei-Lin smiled softly at the remark.
"…Thanks."

As Eliza went to pack up the first aid box, Katelyn went over to pick up the parka on the floor. Turning to face the inkling, Eliza then noticed the skates she was wearing.
"…hmm? That footwear…" The octoling muttered.
"…Oh, these skates?" Katelyn replied, "What?"
Eliza stared at the skates for an extended period of time, before shaking her head. "It's…nothing."
"Huh…" Katelyn ignored the octoling's remark, stowing the parka away in her backpack before skating after the group.

"Have I… seen them before…?" Eliza muttered under her breath, following closely behind the inklings as they entered the geothermal plant.

"*kzzzt* Hello? Can you *kzzzt* hear me?"

As the group descended down the dimly lit and heavily rusted stairs, Chris reached up to his headset to reply.
"Is that you, Marie?" He replied, adjusting his headset. "You're breaking up a bit."
"Actually, we're together *kzzt* this time!" Callie's voice answered, somewhat marred by static. "Is the gang all there? How's everyone *kzzt* doing?"
"We're all here. Mei-Lin though… she's hurt." Katelyn replied, "She can't transform in her state, so we have to go on foot for now."
"That doesn't sound good." Marie remarked. "Listen, we're here to let you know that *kzzt* we're set with preparations on the rescue operation over here. Just thought we'd relay the *kzzt* plan to you before you go too far down."
"Alright then, spill it." Chris replied. "What's the plan?"

As the team was informed of the course of operations, Cobalt rounded a corner on the stairway, before noticing that some of the pipes up ahead had split and were spilling steam onto their path. With a sigh, he examined where the pipes lead, before noticing a valve tucked away in an isolated corner further down.
"Path's blocked!" Cobalt yelled back. "I'll go on ahead, clear a path!"
"Alright, just be careful!" Chris echoed back. "We'll wait here!"
Switching into squid form, Cobalt carefully slipped under the jets of scalding steam, eventually reaching the bottom of the stairs. As he switched back to normal, the masked inkling reached for the valve, closing off the flow of steam above.
"That oughta do it." Cobalt thought to himself. "Now I just need to- hmm?"

Something attracted the inkling's attention. Close by, he could hear a few voices emitting from a vent, the cover long since rusted off. Curious, Cobalt switched back into squid form, quietly crawling into the exposed shaft.
Following the sound of the voices, Cobalt eventually reached a spot that seemed to extend above a room further down, the sounds coming from there. Sliding forward for a closer look, he could barely make out three octarians in the shadows, conversing.

"…really! What's gotten into the two of you?!" One of the octarians shouted in a familiar rustic accent. "It's like someone went and sucked the enthusiasm outta ya with a straw!"

"Wait, I know that voice… that's that Heather character, isn't it? How'd she get here before us?" Cobalt thought to himself. Squinting, he could indeed make out Heather in the room, along with two other octarians he couldn't recognize.

"I've known ya for a long time, Morgan." Heather continued. "And I've never seen ya so out of it! Weren't you the one that wanted to bring glory to the Under-Sea-Dogs the most?! I don't think I've ever seen Clarence look this concerned either! Can both of ya tell me what's going on 'ere?"

"I still am, Heather!" Morgan argued, flinching uncomfortably. "It's just…"

"Just what? Inklings are our enemies, aren't they?!" Heather waved a tentacle around the decrepit room. "Have you forgotten already? The reason why we have to fight for our lives in this junk heap every day, scrounging for resources like a bunch of bottom-feeders is because they forced us down here!"

"We are aware of that." Clarence replied solemnly. "But, we've adapted and changed to this subterranean environment. Surely the inklings must have changed over time during our absence…"

"And how are you so sure of that?"

Clarence stayed silent for a few moments before speaking up. "There was… a rogue monstrosity in the Grand Library. When I fought that beast, the inkling prisoners distracted it, even when they are unable to do anything and would have most likely perished in battle. Unusual behavior, for what are supposed to be our enemies."

"I concur." Morgan added. "One of the inkling invaders passed by the civilian district. When I chased her down, she stopped fighting back after some of her projectiles landed close to civilians. The inklings we know from those old stories didn't care about collateral damage, far from it."

"Tsk… So what if we have some odd ones out of the bunch?" Heather retorted. "Have you forgotten what happened to Anna!?"

Morgan visibly flinched from the name, something Clarence seemed to notice. "Heather… you promised not to bring her up."

"I didn't want to either, but it seems like the two of you have forgotten about her!" Heather was practically yelling now. "We've still got her equipment lying around in the lockup! Timmy still thinks she's on a long trip from home! I… I just don't think I can keep lying to that kid about how she's…"

"ENOUGH!" Morgan bellowed, distraught. "I understand…"

An atmosphere of sorrow seemed to linger over the octarians. Even Cobalt was considering backing out of eavesdropping, but he steeled himself to continue listening.

"…I'm sorry. I got ahead of myself." Heather apologized. "I just can't forget about 'er…"

"We all can't. It's okay." Clarence reassured. "It's like we used to say: 'We are the Under-Sea-Dogs.'"
"'Even in rain, in sleet,'" Morgan continued with a wry smile.
"'Or amidst the rising flames of war,'"

"'Our spirits are linked, no matter what.'" Heather finished. "Yeah… I forgot about that lil' oath. Thanks, guys."

There was a shuffling of feet as the octarians embraced in a group hug. After a while, they broke apart, standing back where they were.

"So… what were you suggesting earlier?" Morgan began. "The inklings were coming here?"
"Exactly." Heather replied. "The one I was tailing slipped past me, just to go down the shaft that led here. Yours was headed towards the bulb that also comes here. If the pattern is consistent, then the one Clarence was tailing WANTED to go to the basement in the Grand Library to get here."

Morgan seemed shocked. "You don't mean-"
"Most likely. They were coming here to Smokestack Geothermal Plant. Our home base." Clarence finished, his gaze slowly trailing upwards. "For all we know, they could be here already…"

"Oh crap." As Clarence glanced suspiciously at the vent, Cobalt immediately crawled back a few inches, staying out of sight.

"We'll need to stop them before they go any further and get to our sanctuary at the bottom. Only way down to where that is would be via the freight lift…" Heather continued, coming up with a plan. "We'll need to intercept 'em right there."
"You don't mean…" Morgan began.
"Oh, quit yer bleeding heart, Morgan! We won't splat 'em if you're so certain they're not going to cause a ruckus!" Heather grumbled. "How does beating them to an inch of their life sound?"
"Not much better, but it sends a message regardless." Clarence quipped. "I'm okay with it."

"That's all I need to hear." Cobalt thought to himself, as he made his way back.

"I was wondering where you went. Sheesh!" Chris grumbled as he watched Cobalt crawl back out of the vent. "I got a little worried when you weren't replying to my comms."
"It was a reckless move." Eliza scolded. "Splitting off the group like that. It better be worth the effort."

"Well, it was." Cobalt retorted, switching back to normal as he cleared the vent. "Found some octarians down there, seems to be the Under-Sea-Dogs ones that have been tailing us throughout Sector 0."
"Wait, what? How'd they get here before us?" Katelyn asked, puzzled. "I thought I lost the one chasing me!"
"My question exactly. Could it be they know a faster way down here that we do not?" Chris mused. "It might even be our ticket outta here. Hmm…"

As the other inklings pondered among themselves, Mei-Lin noticed Eliza also deep in thought, but with an oddly pained expression. Noticing that the numbness in her legs seemed to be fading, she split off from Chris and walked up to the octoling sniper.
"Is…something wrong?" Mei-Lin asked.
"Under-Sea-Dogs… Strange." Eliza muttered. "I have a vague memory of hearing such a name…but where?"

Before she could think any harder about the name, however, the group was interrupted by an intercom blasting feedback throughout the entire factory, causing everyone's ears to ring from the noise.

"OW, OW! I should've turned down the reverb…" Heather's voice issued through the speakers before the sound of cranking dials can be heard. "*ahem* This is the Under-Sea-Dogs speaking! I know y'all can hear me, inklings!"
"What the heck?" Katelyn exclaimed, looking around.
"I must commend y'all for getting this far!" Heather continued, "No thanks to that high and mighty Octoling traitor you have with you…"
"…" Eliza simply glared at the speaker in the corner, as if her gaze would cause it to spontaneously fall off.
"But you'll be going no further! From here on out, it's a test of skill and aptitude! Now…"

A hidden panel on the wall seemed to slide open, revealing a series of stairs leading downwards. A sign bolted just beyond read "Freight Elevator".
"No more tricks or games!" Heather's voice finished. "We'll be meetin' ya in the freight elevator! We'll see if you ragtag inklings can keep it together! WHAHAHA!"

"What does she think she is, some kind of cartoon villain?" Cobalt remarked as the intercom cut out, staring at the stairs. "'No tricks'. Pfft, NOW I'm suspicious."
"Not like that's ever stopped you, has it?" Chris asked, in a monotone fashion.
"….you read me like an open book." Without a second thought, Cobalt immediately sprinted down the stairs, reaching the bottom in a matter of seconds.
"NEVERMIND, that octarian's telling the truth!" Cobalt's voice echoed from below. "I can see the elevator just up ahead!"
"Heh. Never change." Katelyn remarked with amusement, climbing down the stairs step by step carefully on her skates.

As Chris advanced wordlessly after Cobalt and Katelyn, Mei-Lin stopped briefly in her tracks to face Eliza, a thought having occurred to her.
"Hey… um…" She mumbled, looking at the octoling's agitated expression with a face of worry. "Whatever that octarian said… are you…?"
"It's alright. You know this isn't the first time I've been called out like this." Eliza simply replied. "Come, we must make haste. The end of the mission is at hand."
"…okay."

Despite what Eliza said, as Mei-Lin watched the octoling run down the stairs, she cannot help but feel a gnawing sense of dread that had nothing to do with the pain in her abdomen.

"...I don't like this. We're…getting into another unavoidable fight…" She thought to herself as she followed the team down the bowels of the earth step by step. "Will…we be truly be alright?"

As she advanced down the steps, feeling the temperature rise around her, she felt frightened, realizing that she cannot think of a comforting answer.

AN: Welp, so much for keeping it regular. Perhaps I should stop placing deadlines on myself and write whenever I feel like it.
I'll never be used to writing situations involving severe tension. Wonder how much of it would've come off as angst for the sake of angst? I certainly do not want it to seem senseless...