Ascension (Part 1)

It was absolute chaos. Crumbling rocks falling every which way, magma hissing furiously as the team ran for their lives.
And the tremors. Each shockwave stronger than the last, as if a tremendous monstrosity was awakening beneath their feet.

"Faster! FASTER!" Chris yelled desperately, sidestepping a boulder that was mere moments from flattening him. "We have to get out of here, or we're screwed!"
"YOU DON'T SAY?!" Cobalt shouted, stumbling over a crack in the ground briefly.

As the combined group of inklings and octolings filed into the freight elevator shaft, the ground beneath them cascaded once again from the upheaval, throwing them off balance. All around them, bits of rock and dirt rained from the sky, as an ominous creak of metal under stress echoed up and down the shaft.

"CHRIS! HEADS UP!"

A shadow appeared in Chris's path, followed by a forklift. He quickly ground to a halt as the corroded vehicle landed on the reinforced platform, the machine breaking apart from the impact instantaneously as if it were made of paper. Instinctively, he shielded his eyes as metal pieces flew every which way, shrapnel embedding itself into the walls and the floor.

"Oh crap, OH CRAP!" Katelyn yelled, ducking down to avoid the deluge of shrapnel. "I don't wanna go out like this!"

A rush of heat burst from behind them, the group ducking to the sides of the gateway for cover. Magma crept around a corner in the far distance of the cavern, slowly consuming the walkway as it rose higher and higher.

"You can't be serious..." Cobalt groaned, looking upwards. "If the falling crap doesn't flatten us, that lava's gonna cook us alive! What are we gonna do?!"

"We'll have to buy some time… the shutter! Close the shutter!" Mei-Lin shouted, noticing a button next to the gate and hammering it with her fist. There was no response however… "No… no! Close, close!"
"This isn't good, the motors must be damaged!" Clarence exclaimed, looking up at the mechanism in the door. "We will have to close them manually!"

"If we can do it in time, that is." Chris said, facing Heather. "You guys know this place a lot better than we do. Your call?"
"Huh?! Um…" The octoling looked around, surveying the area. Her eyes quickly settled on the giant motors lining the sides of the freight elevator. "Alright then, me, Morgan and Clarence will get the freight elevator moving. Looks like the remote controls are busted, so we'll need to hotwire the elevator manually to get us up. It'll take us some time, so the rest of you, yes you too Anna, get that shutter closed so we can rule out 'getting fried' on our list of ways to go. Got it?!"
"Wait, I can help you all out with getting the elevator working." Eliza protested. "Why are you telling me to help the inklings?"
"I'm still getting used to these new arms, I'm not much help in a physical situation. And well, looking at these inklings, something tells me it'll take 'em too long to get up to the shutter mechanism. You get me?"
Seemingly realizing what Heather was suggesting, Eliza nodded. "I understand."

As the Under-Sea-Dogs made a beeline towards the sides of the elevator, Eliza turned to face the inklings behind her.
"No time to explain, whichever one of you is proudest of their arm strength, squid form now!" She commanded.

Cobalt was the quickest to oblige, flopping to the ground. "Okay? Where are you g-"

That was before Eliza quickly snatched Cobalt from the ground, lobbing him straight at the shutter mechanism above them like a boomerang. The unfortunate inkling smacked face-first into the wall, groaning weakly as he peeled off the surface and collapsed on top of the dusty mechanism, tentacles still twitching.
"Pffft…" Katelyn snickered, "I should try that out myself sometime."

"There should be a lever up there labelled 'Manual Release'!" Eliza shouted upwards at the dizzy inkling. "Pull it!"
"Alright, alright! Geez…" Cobalt grunted, clutching his head as he switched back to inkling form. Spotting a rusted lever sticking out of the device, he gripped onto the handle, and pulled as hard as he can. The lever creaked slightly, but barely moved.

"Hurry up, Cobalt… we can't dawdle here!" Chris yelled, noticing that the magma in the caverns beyond has risen considerably, and is mere moments from reaching them. Even from a distance, he could feel the heat radiating from the molten rock like an intense sunbeam.

"Frickin'… BUDGE, DAMMIT!" Cobalt yelled. With a determined grunt, he firmly planted his feet down as leverage, before using his entire body weight to wrench the lever backwards.
The rusted mechanism creaked in protest, but eventually the lever gave way. As Cobalt fell backwards from the sudden movement, the shutter quickly fell and slammed shut, moments before the magma finally reached the doorway, the lethal hazard bubbling ominously from behind the shutter.

"You guys owe me for this, alright?" The masked inkling picked himself up from the ground, still seeing stars from the impact. "Urrgh… I'm not a Splat Bomb, you didn't have to throw me!"
"My apologies…" Eliza bowed her head. "It was a desperate situation, I had to improvise."

Another shockwave shook the elevator shaft, momentarily throwing the group off balance yet again.
"At any rate, we're still not out of the woods yet." Chris said, eyeing the octolings in the distance. "Are they done? I'm not sure that shutter will hold for long!"

"Easy for you to say! I'd like to see you perform impromptu engineering with unfamiliar limbs while in the middle of an earthquake!" Morgan yelled, fumbling a handful of wires. "Ugh…. Just gotta… there we go! I'm set!"
"This motor's also set to go!" Clarence declared. "Heather, ready?"
"Gotcha! Alright, on the count of three, jolt 'em simultaneously! One… two…THREE!"

There was a deep rumbling noise as the freight elevator shuddered and started ascending. As the team relaxed ever so slightly, a thought occurred to Cobalt as the adrenaline began to wear off.
"Say…" He said, approaching Heather, who was trying to keep the wires in her hand steady. "I just remembered. You managed to get to this place before we could… how'd you manage that?"
"Teleporters. Our vehicles had recall functions, just in case." Heather didn't even turn to face the masked inkling, too engrossed in keeping her arms steady. "If you're thinking that we could've used that to escape, well… you guys DID trash 'em pretty badly."
"Oh. Well, just wondering out loud. I mean, isn't there this saying that when there's an emergency, you shouldn't use the-"

Abruptly, another powerful tremor shot through the entirety of the power plant, this one rocking the elevator shaft rather badly. Unfortunately, it would seem that it took out something important, as all three of the freight elevator's motors suddenly sparked and whined pitifully, the platform coming to a dead stop.
"…lifts." Cobalt finished meekly, feeling judgmental eyes on him. "…Crap."
"COBALT, YOU COLOSSAL JINX!" Katelyn yelled. "Of all the things you had to say!"
"It's not my fault!" Cobalt retorted.

Suddenly, a crackle came through on the inkling's headsets. Mei-Lin picked up the call, and was greeted by a familiar and gruff voice, alongside the distinct whirr of rocket boosters.
"…ah, there we go!" Octavio's voice issued through the speakers. "Guess it really was a matter of distance!"
"DJ Octavio?" Mei-Lin replied. Immediately, the Under-Sea-Dogs snapped to look at her in response to the name. "E-erm… what's the matter?"
"What's the matter?! C'mon, the earth's shaking, everything's tumbling down, it's it freakin' obvious?! Ahem…" The sound of boosters seemed to decrease in volume, as Octavio seemingly came to a dead stop on his DJ booth. "So, got a status report?"
"We're on our way out of Smokestack… but the freight elevator's broken down! We're trapped down here!" Mei-Lin replied desperately. "If we can't get out of here… we're…"
"Freight elevator… ah, I getcha." Octavio's voice said, the sound of dials being turned issuing through the headset. "Alright, you guys better find somewhere to hide! It's time for my daring rescue scene!"

Chris, listening to the call, realized what was going to happen next. "Everyone! The sides! NOW!"

As the inklings and octolings all ran to the walls of the elevator shaft, a deafening screeching noise echoed from above, followed by a rain of rubble and debris. Not too long after, a particularly large blur fell towards the center, stopping just mere moments from crashing onto the platform. A shower of scrap metal and boulders followed right after, but bounced off harmlessly on what appears to be a forcefield.
As the smoke cleared from the commotion, DJ Octavio's booth was revealed, hovering a few feet above the freight elevator. Mechanical fists at the ready, the vehicle let loose a few punches, demolishing the remnants of the falling objects that were about to land on top of the group.
"Gyahahahaha, I still know how to make an entrance!" The octarian leader laughed, looking rather proud of himself before he struck a pose atop his booth. "DJ Octavio on the house, baby!"

"L-Lord Octavio! It is an honor!" Clarence exclaimed, immediately kneeling before him. Morgan and Heather did the same, eliciting a look of surprise from everyone else.
"Erm… did you need to be so formal?" Katelyn asked.
"Be quiet! You're standing before the leader of the octarians!" Clarence replied tensely. "He's-"
"Eh heh… We're already acquainted, you know." Katelyn smiled awkwardly. "If the octarians topside are anything to go by, you don't need to be so uptight."

"Huh, I guess that means these octolings must hail from here!" Octavio said, turning the DJ booth to face the Under-Sea-Dogs. "So… um, you heard the inkling, get up from the ground already, you're embarrassing me!"
"Y-yes, my lord…" Morgan replied reluctantly, picking himself up from the ground along with his friends.
"No need to address me as 'Lord' anymore either, I got tired of honorifics like that a long time ago…" Octavio grumbled, twirling a wasabi stick absentmindedly. "So…. any details on these octolings, might I ask?"

"Allow me to answer that question." Eliza said in a stern voice, putting up a stoic expression. "Before I escaped Sector 0, they used to be part of my squad."
"Eliza?! Oh…. Right, right, nice to see that you're safe." Octavio replied, a nervous look forming on his face. "Okay… I guess as former squadmates, you are well acquainted with them?"
"Anna, why are you talking so-" Heather began, but immediately stopped herself as Eliza eyed her with a knowing wink. "Ooooh, I see. This is gonna be good…"

"Yes, I am certainly acquainted with them." Eliza continued, "These three are part of a peace-keeping group known as the Under-Sea-Dogs, a team assembled to watch over the domes of Sector 0."
"Ah, I see. So they're guardians, in a manner of speaking." Octavio nodded, keeping his composure. "They won't hinder the operation?"
"We have already taken care of that." Eliza replied with a straight face. "They are willing to listen to me, since they are my precious friends. Thus, they are solely on our side, and can be trusted to assist in the rescue operation."

"Okay, I guess that makes it-" Octavio paused midsentence, as ALL of what the octoling said registered in his head. "….erm, did you just say they were your precious friends?"
"Yes." Eliza replied.
"You."
"Affirmative."
"The octoling that once hogtied and hung an octostriker on a phone pole with his own tentacles just because he hit on you."
Eliza couldn't keep her stoic composure anymore, and instantly bust out laughing. "Y-yes…. Hahahahaha! Oh, oh man, your expression! That was worth it…. PAHAHAHAHA!"

DJ Octavio looked at the laughing octoling before him as if she had spontaneously grown a second head. All around him, the inklings as well as the other octolings also began to laugh alongside Eliza, mostly at his utterly bewildered expression.
"…Well, this is surreal. A-anyway, I guess we don't have to worry about any speedbumps in the operation."

Another tremor rocked the elevator shaft, and suddenly the freight elevator creaked ominously, as it began to tilt on one side. Realizing that they were in the middle of an escape, everyone present snapped to attention.
"Woah! Guess we can discuss your sudden change in personality once we're on solid ground. Everyone, on board! We're ridin' us out of here!" Octavio launched the metal fists on his DJ booth, palms outstretched to let the group climb on.
"O-oh man, I can't believe we're riding in our leader's royal throne!" Heather exclaimed as she climbed into the vehicle alongside everyone else. "What an experience…"
"Urgh… it's an experience, alright…" Katelyn groaned, her face going pale as she immediately recalled what happened the last time she and her friends rode in Octavio's vehicle. "You're not forgetting this. For all the wrong reasons…"

"Alright, everyone! We're blasting outta here, FULL FORCE!" Octavio yelled, his tentacles turning dials and flicking levers as he did so. "Hang onto something, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!"
With a mighty roar, the jet boosters underneath the flying DJ booth erupted, the vehicle blasting off at breakneck speeds as it quickly ascended. Whatever screams the group issued from the sudden acceleration were drowned out by the shrieking of metal, as the entirety of the freight elevator finally gave way and fell apart around them, the pieces falling into the abyss down below.

"So… how's the express ride out of Smokestack? Fast enough for ya?! GAHAHAHAHA!"
"Limbs… not working… I think I'm glued to the floor. Hey, is any one of you gonna help me up or what?"

The inklings disembarked haphazardly from Octavio's DJ booth, and onto what remained of the power plant's roof, still dizzy from the abrupt ascent. As they looked around, they realized that the rest of the plant appears to have crumbled into the lava far below, with only the support struts rooted onto the cave ceiling holding it all up.
The octolings on the other hand didn't far that much better. While Eliza seemed to have been mostly unaffected by the ride, the members of the Under-Sea-Dogs weren't so lucky, and are stuck in various states of vertigo from the trip. Heather was the most unfortunate of the bunch, pinned to the floor by the sudden acceleration and stuck waiting for one of her teammates to peel her off the metallic surface.

"Oh gods… I think I… *urp* don't feeling so good…" Cobalt groaned, tumbling onto the roof as he disembarked. "I think the world's still spinning…"
Katelyn followed shortly after, collapsing on top of Cobalt into a messy heap. "Agh… S-sorry! Which one's you? There's five of you right there… Bleugh…"
"At least… I didn't pass out this time…" Mei-Lin moaned, cradling her head as she stumbled off, leaning onto a nearby vent for support. "Everything's… blurry…"

As Chris looked back at the DJ booth, barely making out Eliza picking up Heather through the stars drifting past his vision, he shook his head vigorously in an attempt to throw off his dizziness. It seemed to work somewhat, as his vision began to clear and stopped doing cartwheels before him.
"Okay…" He mumbled, trying to face Octavio as the seemingly unaffected octarian leader did a few test scratches on his turntable, "We escaped the immediate danger… but now what do we do?"
"The tremors aren't stopping. But at least we don't have to worry about a potential volcano." Cobalt had managed to untangle himself from the heap and crawled to the edge of the roof for a good view at the wreckage far below. "Doesn't look like the lava's rising any higher."

"We don't have time to stand around." Eliza interrupted. "If Octavio's here now…"
"Oh right! Marie told us that Octavio was supposed to come here to pick us up out of Sector 0, right?" Katelyn said, dusting off her dress. "So does that mean the rescue operation's about to start?"
"Well, given the sudden earthquake, we kinda had to get on with that part of the plan ahead of schedule." Octavio briefly looked up at the vents rooted in the ceiling with trepidation. "I wouldn't be surprised if my guys are running ragged right now. We were supposed to just come in and pick up the trapped octarians, but the domes falling apart on us before we even started were definitely not part of the plan."

"T-that's right!" Heather shouted, as Clarence helped her up to her feet. "Sir, I request that you allow us in assisting with the evacuation! As the guardians of Sector 0, it is our responsibility!"
Octavio turned to look at the octoling, a knowing look in his eyes. "What, you think I'm gonna say no to that?"
"Oh… That's not what I…"
"Just get on with it! With the urgency of the mission and all, any extra hands are welcome!" The octarian leader turned to face the inklings as well. "That goes to the four of you as well. If any of you also want to pitch in, I'd gladly take it!"

Mei-Lin turned to face her friends, each one also exchanging glances at one another.
"So… are we doing this?" She asked.
It was a foolish question to ask. As Mei-Lin looked closely at everyone else, it was clear to her they all had the same idea already. As the team walked up to the vents, they split up and positioned themselves from the vents they came from, preparing to climb back up towards where they originated.

"I guess that means I'm going with Heather back to that stronghold." Cobalt said, facing the octoling in question. "Need a boost?"
Heather nodded, climbing up into the vent with his assistance shortly after. The masked inkling followed after her, jumping before gripping onto the ladder within the vent.
"Alright , see you guys on the other side!" He said, before disappearing from view.

"And… there he goes." Katelyn turned to face the vent that led to the Civilian District, seeing Morgan jump up to the opening and slowly climbing up the ladder. "Eliza, are you coming with me or what?"
"Me?" The octoling sniper seemed puzzled for a brief moment. "You're already reinforcing Morgan for the rescue mission, I don't have to come with you…"
"No, not that, silly!" Katelyn immediately went to grab Eliza by the arm and half-dragged her towards the entryway above her. "There are two people that I believe REALLY want to meet you. So you're coming with me, alright?!"
"W-wait, what?! Shouldn't we at least consult Lord Octavio on the-"
"No excuses! This is a family matter!"

As Katelyn half-forced Eliza to follow her into the Civilian District vent, Clarence began to climb up the vent into the Grand Library, pausing halfway to look at Chris in the eye.
"Come on, we should not waste time." He said.
"Go on ahead." Chris replied. "I'll catch up with you."
"If you say so…"

"He's right… we shouldn't just stand around here." Mei-Lin said, as she watched Clarence climb up the ladder. "What's on your mind, Chris?"
"Well…" Chris said, turning to face Mei-Lin. "Katelyn's gone and dragged off Eliza. You don't have an escort back up through Sector 0, so if you want to come with-"

"It's… It's okay." Mei-Lin interrupted. "There's something I want to do in Low Tide Park. Alone."
"...are you sure about this?" Chris replied, shocked. "It could be dangerous."
"…I have to do it. It's for my sake." Mei-Lin said forcibly. "Chris. Do you trust me?"

Chris was caught speechless for a moment. There's no mistaking it, Mei-Lin's posture was no longer hunched in pain like before, and while her eyes betrayed her nervousness, there was an aura of determination that definitely wasn't there before.
He sighed. Nothing he said would likely change her mind.

"Alright." Chris reached for the ladder, but not before turning to face Mei-Lin one last time. "Just… promise me one thing."
"…what is it?" Mei-Lin asked.
Sighing, Chris turned away, refusing to make eye contact. "Stay safe. Please."

With that, Chris quickly climbed up the vent towards the Grand Library, catching up with Clarence. Mei-Lin looked down on the ground, deep in thought.
"Ah, teenage drama! Seems like it happens all the time, especially with Cuttlefish's Agents!" Octavio laughed, abruptly interrupting Mei-Lin's train of thought. "Though I must admit I never tire of seeing two people being awkward towards each other."
"Everyone's gone now…" She said. "Can you take me up to Low Tide Park? I wanted to accomplish something there alone, but…"
"I'm sure another express ride's entirely fine. Hop on." Octavio replied dismissively, preparing to take off on his DJ booth. "So… you ready to go?"

Mei-Lin reached for the bandages wrapped around her abdomen, meticulously undoing the bindings before letting them fall from her body, the stained bandaged drifting over the railings and into the lava far below. The wound underneath has fully healed, her exposed flesh no longer stained by auburn ink.
"…Yeah. Let's go."

The first thing Cobalt noticed when he climbed out of the vent was that his surroundings were dark.
Extremely dark.
In fact, if it weren't for the fact that he could barely make out Heather trying just as hard to see right in front of him, he could've sworn he'd gone blind.

"Gah, can't see a thing!" He grumbled as he got up onto his feet. "What's up with that?"
"Smokestack's collapsed, remember?" Heather reminded him. "There's no longer any power being fed into the fortress. I bet it's the exact same all over Sector 0."
"Wonderful." Cobalt groaned, rifling through his pockets. "Oh for- Of all the times I forgot my phone. Where's a flashlight when you need one?!"

"Heather? Heather! Is that you?!" A distant voice cried out from the blackness. "Oh thank the gods! I'm glad you're still alive!"
"There's still someone here?!" Heather yelled back. "What the blazes are you doing here?! This whole place is coming apart at the seams!"

"That's the thing! Just a few moments ago, this squadron of octarians came down here, accompanied by inklings of all people! They said they were here to rescue us…"
"Yeah, I know about that part. Shouldn't you be evacuating like the others?!"
"Well… almost all of us are accounted for, except for three people. I'm aware you were returning to Smokestack some time ago, but there were two octolings that still haven't come to the evacuation point! I volunteered to come back down here to find the unaccounted octarians, but the lights all went out as soon as I came into this room!"

"Alright! I'll see if I can find a flashlight!" Heather scrambled towards the nearest wall, feeling around in the dark with her hands. "I'm sure I stashed one around here somewhere…"
"You sure you know where everything is?" Cobalt asked, stumbling over a familiar looking wrench thanks to the darkness.
"Course I do! This is my part of the testing chamber, I know this place like the back of my tentacles. Ah… there we are."

As Heather flicked the switch on the flashlight on, the beam immediately landed on an octocopter that seemed to be approaching them in the dark, likely the source of the voice earlier. As soon as he laid eyes upon Heather, he paused mid-flight.
"Erm…" The octocopter mumbled, as he looked at Heather, then at the masked inkling behind her, and back again.
"What?" Heather replied, confused. "Yeah, I changed a bit. Long story."
"Uh… huh. You changed, alright…" The octocopter's eyes seemed to pop out as they slowly trailed downwards. "Wow."
"H-hey, don't stare at me like that!" Heather spluttered, her face flushing instantly as she instinctively covered her body with one of her longer tentacles. "I'll explain how I ended up in an octoling's body later! Any clue where those two missing octolings could be?!"

"Hold up." Cobalt interrupted. "Are those two absent octolings named Tai and Aussie by any chance?"
"Y-yeah, I think so." The octocopter turned to face the masked inkling nervously. "How come you know their names already?"
"We're… acquainted. I think I have an idea where they might've gone. Quick, follow me!"

"HEY! Don't go running ahead into dark places when there's an earthquake going on! Disaster Awareness 101, dammit!" Heather yelled as she bolted after Cobalt into the darkness with her flashlight in tow, with the octocopter hovering not far behind the duo.

As Katelyn emerged from the trapdoor on the ground, it didn't take long to hit her that something horribly wrong has happened to the civilian district.

The soft light from the fallen bulb has gone out completely. What seemed like a serene shanty town before now lay partially in ruins, flashlight beams dancing every which way in the far distance. With each upheaval that shook the dome, screams echoed throughout the cavern, intensifying in volume with every tremor. Even from very far away, their frantic voices can be heard all the way where Katelyn emerged.

"The district… no…" Morgan was shaken. His eyes were affixed on the giant bulb that now lay inactive before him, a fallen stalactite impaled into the glass. As Eliza climbed out of the entryway herself, a similar look of shock befell her as she looked around at what she once called her home, now moments from crumbling apart into nothing.

"They're still evacuating… Looks like Lord Octavio was right." Eliza remarked, looking at the silhouettes in the far distance that were illuminated by the beams of light. "...we don't have time to stand around! Let's move!"

As the team advanced upwards along the spiral path, Katelyn saw firsthand the devastating effects the tremors had on the village, as she went past several shanty houses that have collapsed or crushed by fallen rocks. Noticing a couple of the houses were also violently stained with fuchsia, a dreaded feeling began to gnaw away at her gut.

An inkling Agent went past the team, two distraught octotroopers running closely after him. Noticing him, Morgan hollered to catch his attention, stopping the Agent in his tracks.

"W-what are you doing?!" The Agent sputtered, clearly just as shaken as the civilians he was escorting. "I can't stand around! The whole place is coming down on our heads!"
"I'm sorry, I'll make this quick." Morgan quickly replied. "Have you perchance seen an old looking octoball and this small octotrooper child?"
"I-I'm sorry, I don't know!" The Agent looked around in panic. "Listen, everything's happening so fast, I was too busy trying to get this whole operation over with! You can't expect me to remember every octarian that's managed to get to the UFOs off the top of my head!"
"Then what about your headset?!" Eliza cut in, unexpectedly pushing past Morgan with her teeth gritted in desperation. "Radio in, tell them if they've seen anyone that goes by Timmy or Granny!"
"R-right…" Intimidated by the unusual looking octoling in front of him, the Agent fumbled for his headset, muttering into whoever was listening in on the other end.

"G-Granny?!" One of the octotrooper civilians interrupted. "I think I know where she's gone."
"Where?!" Katelyn shouted, facing the octarian. "Is she safe?!"
"I think I overheard someone saying they saw her running back to her house! But… I haven't heard the others mention her since…"
"T-they just called back." The Agent muttered, looking worriedly at both Morgan and Eliza's expressions. "No octarian that went by those names made it to the evacuation point. They might still be out there somewhere, or…"

Morgan instantly paled. Without another word, he immediately ran towards the direction of Granny's house, pushing past the other evacuees and various Agents in the process.
"Thanks for the info… get out of here as fast as you can!" Katelyn quickly thanked the Agent, turning to face a shaken Eliza with a determined look. "C'mon, we gotta catch up with Morgan! We'll save those two!"

"If there's still anything left to save…" She thought to herself as she followed Morgan, with Eliza in tow. Noticing the octoling's distraught expression, Katelyn decided not to voice her worries out loud.

"I'm telling you, I wasn't seeing things! You saw it happen too, right Mark?"
"Y-yeah…? I think so…?"

Chris pushed the lid on the entry hatch open, the first thing he heard as he touched solid ground being John speaking frantically to a puzzled Clarence. Hearing the entry hatch slam shut behind them, the two Agents and the octoling turned to face him.
"There you are." Clarence said, motioning Chris to join him. "It would appear something's happened to the Pawn while we were preoccupied."

"What?" Walking past the assembled group, Chris stepped out into the darkened basement archive just beyond, trying to examine the remains of the mysterious creature that they had defeated some time before.
Only, there were no remains to be seen. Where the body of the monstrous machine that almost ransacked the Great Library was, now lay a misshapen mound of metallic dust. Even as he watched with surprised eyes, the glimmering particles seemed to slowly corrode into a rusty brown before his very eyes.

"I swear! Right after that earthquake hit, that thing just came back to life all of a sudden!" John exclaimed, "Only, that bit with the glowing emblem just detached from it and flew up the stairs! After that, whatever was left just crumbled into pieces!"
"Did you see where it was going?" Clarence asked. "If that monster did somehow revive itself… we're in big trouble."
"I-I dunno, it happened so fast." Mark replied. "That pod thing that came out of it looked pretty knackered though. It can't have gone far…"
"Ugh… Stuck down here for two weeks, forced to fight some weird-ass monster, then an earthquake happens, and now we gotta worry about that THING being somehow still alive and kicking." John mumbled. "First thing I'm gonna do when I return to the surface is to go home and take a LONG nap. Screw this place!"

Chris paused to ponder to himself for a moment, thinking back to how the Pawn seemingly devoured all the residual energy that was in the entire building with just one gulp. If that mysterious machine is indeed reactivated somehow, they cannot allow it to escape into Octo Velley. It would appear their escape plan would have to be postponed for the time being…
"We got no choice. We'll have to track it down." Clarence said, beating Chris to the punch on vocalizing his opinion. "So, it went up the stairs?"
"I believe that's what he said." Chris interjected, only now noticing the tremors around him were considerably weaker compared to back down in Smokestack, but there was still an ominous creaking of metal echoing somewhere far above them. "Hmm… I reckon we've got ample time to deal with that thing before we leave, but we should still be cautious."
"Captain Cuttlefish already told us they're sending a UFO to pick us up." Mark said. "It shouldn't be long until it arrives. Let's get out of this basement."

As the combined group navigated the maze of fallen crates and flickering displays, eventually reaching the stairway leading out of the basement archives, Chris immediately noticed drag marks along the walls that weren't there before. Whatever created them had to most likely be moving at a particularly high velocity.
"Looks like it left in a hurry." Chris said absentmindedly. "Reckon it knows the whole place is coming down on us?"
"…It's a robot. How would it know what self-preservation is?" Mark replied, puzzled.
"I dunno, it was awfully lively for a robot." John said. "Guess whatever made it stuffed an AI in it or something."

Going up the stairway, the team suddenly heard a muffled female voice in the distance, calling out to them.
"Hellooooo? Agents? I can hear your footsteps! Your ride's here! Come on out already!"

"That's gotta be it! HEEEY! We're down here!" Mark shouted excitedly, leaping up the steps two at a time.
"H-hey, WAIT!" John yelled back, arms flailing as he attempted to catch up. "THE FRONT DOOR! LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN!"

The two Agents reached the top of the stairs, spectacularly tripping over the uppermost step and faceplanted in tandem, sliding a few feet from the basement stairway. Chris walked out shortly after, smirking internally at the sight of the two inklings groaning in pain on the ground, while an unfamiliar elite octoling stared agape at their unexpected entrance.
"Uhh…. hello? My name's Rachel…?" The octoling commander introduced herself. "I'm one of the two octolings in charge of the rescue operation. You two can still talk, right?"
"Never mind how I'm doing…" John groaned, his face still flat on the dusty floor. "Is the door…?"
"Relax, if I didn't act on intel that was relayed to me, I wouldn't have gotten a job as a soldier in the first place. I've jammed the exit wide open. See?" Rachel replied with amusement, pointing backwards at the main entrance. The reinforced door is being held open with what looks like a cheap store brand doorstop.
"Oh thank the gods." John didn't get up from his position, presumably too relieved to move.

"Pardon the interruption, but I believe we have more urgent matters on our minds right now." Clarence said, pushing past the group and meeting the octoling commander eye to eye. "Rachel, is it? You wouldn't happen to have seen something fly out of this stairway, have you?"
"O-oh!" The octoling commander seemed to be taken aback at the sight of Clarence, flushing ever so slightly. "Um… I don't think so, but I definitely heard a loud bang as I approached the Grand Library. Is there a problem?"
"There is. If you have been informed of what has transpired here, you should be aware of a machine known as the Pawn that we and these two Agents were forced to confront. I can't say for certain, but we believe it might still be alive, and still in the general vicinity. We can't let that creature escape this dome!"
"Wait, you mean that thing that sucked out three Zapfish's worth of energy all in one go? That's definitely not good... I still couldn't believe it when Octavio relayed it to me." Rachel fumbled through her equipment pouches, withdrawing something that resembled a portable scanner. "Okay, I should be able to track it if that thing is emitting such a high energy signature. Let's see…. It is-"

The octoling commander's eyes abruptly widened in shock. She quickly looked up from the display, staring into the darkened ceiling.
"Oh crap! That monster! IT'S RIGHT ABOVE US!"

Alarm spread instantly throughout the group. Realizing what was coming next, Chris and the others immediately vacated where they were standing, as something far above them seemed to loosen its grip and plummet straight towards the group. A long crash swiftly followed, a violent shockwave shaking the very foundations of the library and causing some of the already crumbling stairways and floors to collapse into rubble. Right at the same time, a shriek of white noise tore through everyone's communication devices, the unholy sound disorienting everyone's senses.

As the dust from the aftermath lingered in the air, a piercing blue light seemed to shine straight through the cloud. The all too familiar serpentine body of the Pawn revealed itself as it bellowed, sweeping the swirling dust clouds aside, and the monstrosity's gaze fixated solely on a dumbstruck Chris.

"THE EARTH… IT TREMBLES. CHAOS… IN THE AIR… I RETURN…FROM THE BRINK…" The Pawn's voice crackled through everyone's headsets, its words piercing through the thick blanket of white noise. "FACE ME… CHILDREN OF THE SEA!"

The tremors are affecting the entirety of Sector 0, but none of the domes are comparing to Low Tide Park in severity. Already falling apart due to a lack of maintenance, the buildings crumbled instantly as showers of metal plates and sky panels landed on them, tumbling down like a house of cards in a stiff breeze.
Right before the power station that led to Smokestack, a trail of fuchsia ink can still be seen trailing from the door all the way to the nearest cliff side, although it was already slowly fading away by the minute. It was all that remained of Eliza's most recent rampage against a gang of octarian ruffians, the outcome seemingly fatal to the latter.
But had an observer stepped up towards the edge and peered down the cliff's edge, the trail would have told a different story. Not far down below where the landmass ended, the ruffians in question were dangling precariously on a hook, tied up in place by the ropes they bought with them and laying suspended from the deadly drop far below them.

"The sky's falling! Everything's comin' down on us!" One of the tied up octotroopers yelled hysterically. "Oh gods, have mercy on us!"
"Quit kicking like that, you're gonna make us fall!" Another one shouted, his eyes pointed straight down. "I can't even see the bottom…"
"Why did I ever agree to this business… I never would've joined up if I knew this was gonna happen to me! I miss the civilian district…"
"Bob! Big Al can hear you! Be quiet!"
"Blergh… don't argue so loudly…" A third octotrooper groaned, having the misfortune to be tied upside down. "All my internal liquids are going to my head…"

"THAT'S ENOUGH! ALL OF YOU, QUIETEN DOWN!"
All three octotroopers immediately stopped their squabbling, looking at the octobomber they were all tied to. Big Al was glaring back with a look that could've easily stopped an inkstrike midflight. Withering from their boss's glare, the octotroopers fell silent, shivering from the prospect of their inevitable demise.

Another tremor shook the dome, and this time a particularly large stalactite was dislodged from the ceiling. Crashing onto a floating island in the distance, a piercing boom echoed throughout the dark space as the stalactite made contact with it. Before the octarian's very eyes, the island rapidly disintegrated before their very eyes, fractures appearing every which way before it all came apart, and taking all the buildings and park attractions built on the island with it. As the pieces of rock and the withering park attractions plunged into the darkness, they never even made any sound.

"Enjoying the view, boys?" Big Al grumbled in a pragmatic manner. "To think… these old stomping grounds of ours were our paradise once upon a time. Now, it's all coming apart at the seams. To think I believed once upon a time it was a living…"

The octobomber sighed, and his underlings looked at one another. It was unusual to see their boss acting in a retrospective manner.

"…it's truly a surprise how much can change in the span of a day. Humiliated by that octoling, left hung to dry by that harlot, now the world's coming apart all around us." Big Al said, as he watched the rocks fall past him. "To think it would all end like this. Inconceivable."

The octobomber looked up towards the cliff's edge, sneering in a tired manner.
"And now YOU'VE come back here. What, are you here to gloat or somethin'?"

The octotroopers tied to him followed their boss's gaze out of curiosity. Standing right above them, Mei-Lin was staring straight back down, an indescribable expression on her face.

"…"

"I can't believe playing the part of operator had to be so tough! Arrgh, I'd much rather be doing shifts in Walleye Warehouse than this!"
"Keep it together, Callie! We definitely can't afford to fail our Agents down there!"

The mood in the operating room is a frantic one. Callie and Marie were running from console to console, juggling between processing the chaotic deluge of radio chatter coming in on practically every channel and consoling the Agents that were on the verge of breaking down from the stress. Captain Cuttlefish assisted by ogling the console that was reading the declining condition of Sector 0 in real time, barking occasional orders that the Squid Sisters relayed to the Agents, but even between the three of them they were spread dangerously thin for the operation.

"Blistering barnacles! I hadn't had to work this hard ever since I was drafted as Captain back in the Great Turf War!" Cuttlefish grumbled loudly, eyes darting from reading to reading. "Blasted earthquake, picked a bad time to intrude, it did!"
"Sorry we made you help too, Gramps!" Marie apologized, looking up from the console. "We got our hands full keeping the Agents' morale high. We can't watch EVERY screen at once!"
"Well, I demand compensation after this mission!" Cuttlefish replied, tapping his cane. "Ten crabby cakes!"
"Five."
"Seven!"
Marie snapped her fingers. "Deal."

"How's the recon team doing so far?" Callie asked, "If Octavio's pulled through, they should be out of that geothermal plant by now."
"He's pinged back already. They've split up to assist the rescue team." Marie clarified. "Hopefully we'll see them soon among the returning Agents."

"Well, they better get on with it. They don't have much time left." Cuttlefish said, eyes narrowing at the console display. Specifically, at a slowly declining number.

Sector integrity: 54%... 53%... 52.5%...
Collapse imminent…

AN: The original chapter is too long, so it has been cut in half. Expect the other half by tomorrow... or at least within the week!