Here it is. The last chapter. I have been waiting for this story to finally be done so I can finally work on the next story that I already have an idea on what it will be about :D.

And a new character will be introduced in the next story. But all you guys will know for this one... is that the next story I make will follow after the final chapter of this story. ;)

Anyway, here goes. This oughta get interesting.

the next day*

"Hmm... now, I wonder what the next day will bring me." Redd thought as he stood around, wondering what to do today. He was in the middle of Inkopolis Square, and other Inklings and Octolings just walk by, doing their own thing.

"Oh! I got it!" Redd exclaimed as he snapped his fingers. He turned into his squid form and super jumped away.

It took him a little while, but eventually, he made it to his destination. It was a bakery. The title of it was "Brooke's Bakery". It was a nice use of alliteration, at least in Redd's opinion.

"I wonder how Aaliyah thinks of her new job." Redd thought some more. He felt happy that his shy friend was able to get a job about something she enjoys. When he went inside the bakery, his eyes caught onto someone on the other side of the counter.

There stood Aaliyah, with a short sleeve pink shirt that had the bakery's name on it. Her other new clothing was small, white shorts and some lavender shoes. She also had an apron on her. It was hot pink, and, like the shirt, it had the logo on it.

She put a container of 6 vanilla cupcakes, with pink icing and rainbow sprinkles, on the top of the counter, where a male Inkling customer was waiting.

"Here are your cupcakes, sir." Aaliyah said with a big smile.

"Thank you, miss. Have a good day!" The Inkling said as he grabs the cupcakes and walks away. Aaliyah responds by giggling and waving to the Inkling.

"Hey! Aaliyah!" Redd greeted as he walked to her. Aaliyah got surprised by him coming.

"Redd! Hi! How are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm doing fine. How is that new job coming along for you?"

"Pretty good. I'm enjoying it very much!"

"I'm so happy to hear that." Redd said with a smile.

"I really am." Aaliyah replied. Redd winks and smiles.

"Oh, um... you're gonna have to buy something or leave. Sorry, it's a rule. My boss will be mad at me if he finds out..." Aaliyah admitted.

"Oh, okay. Can I have a couple brownies?" Redd asked.

"Couple? Um... how much is that again?"

"It's only two."

"Ohhh. Um... sure." Aaliyah said.

"You're not good at math, aren't you?" Redd asked with a sheepish laugh. Aaliyah puffs her cheeks and glares at him.

"L-Look, t-the orphanage didn't have enough money to send all of us to school," She exclaimed, "So... I don't know a lot of stuff, especially math, ok?"

"I'm just messing with you." Redd chuckled. Aaliyah giggles awkwardly.

"Anyway, I'll get your brownies." She said. She looked under the counter she was standing at, where it displayed many different baked goods that were already made like cake pops, cookies, etc.

Eventually, she found a few brownies already made. Aaliyah smiled as she grabbed a pair of pliers and a small plate. She put 2 brownies on the small plate using the pliers so she doesn't get her hands messy.

"Okay, here you go, Redd. I hope you enjoy." Aaliyah said with a small smile.

"I bet I will! Thanks, Ali!" Redd thanked with a huge grin. Aaliyah managed to giggle at that nickname.

"When did you come up with that?" She asked.

"Yesterday. It seemed nice." Redd replied.

"Well, I think it's pretty cool." Aaliyah complimented. Redd took a seat at one of the tables and put the plate with the brownies on the table.

"D-Do you like the brownies? B-Be honest." Aaliyah asked nervously.

"I'm about to find out." Redd responded, and then he took a bite of the brownie. He grinned widely.

"Tastes amazing." Redd exclaimed happily.

"Hee hee... cool." Aaliyah giggled.

"I mean, I like chocolate. I don't remember the last time I had a brownie." Redd laughed.

"Kinda like me when it was my first time eating a cinnamon roll in a long time as well." Aaliyah said.

"I mean, for me... it wasn't really too long." Redd reminded.

"Oh, ok. That's understandable." Aaliyah responded.

"Hey, why are you suddenly talking?! Focus!" A deep male voice yelled, making Aaliyah flinch.

"R-Right away! S-Sorry, Redd. I gotta get back to work. Can we talk another time?" She asked.

"Of course. We got all the time in the world." Redd replied with a small chuckle. Aaliyah thanked him before focusing back on her work, as another customer comes to order a sweet treat.

Redd, meanwhile, just focuses on eating his given brownies.

*a few minutes later*

Business was a bit slow, but it was getting by fast.

"Hey, Redd. Can I get you anything else?" Aaliyah asked.

"I'm good, but thanks."

"You sure. We have many different baked goods here."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah! We have cookies, cakes, ice cream, pie, custard..."

"Pie?" Redd asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"You want a slice of pie?" Aaliyah asked her best friend.

"No." Redd exclaimed, almost snapping. This made Aaliyah get a bit confused and scared at the same time.

"S-Sorry. I didn't mean to yell." Redd apologized.

"It's fine. I didn't mean to get you angry. I'm sorry..." Aaliyah said, feeling pretty guilty about herself.

"Aaliyah. Stop being so hard on yourself." Redd said.

"But... isn't the bad stuff about me true?" Aaliyah asked.

"No. It's not." Redd replied bluntly.

"I-I... I appreciate that, Redd..." Aaliyah said quietly.

"No problem," Redd responded, "And also, thanks for the brownies! I really enjoyed it. I'm gonna be at Octo Canyon. After all, I need to be there in case there's an emergency."

And no one notices the abrupt sentence.

"Okay, well... have fun." Aaliyah said as she waves. She gave Redd the check, and he pays a certain amount of coins while signing his name on the receipt.

"And here's a tip." Redd said as he gives a couple extra coins. Aaliyah seemed surprised.

"O-Oh. Y-You didn't have to." She said.

"Oh, but I disagree! Anything for a great friend like you!" Redd insisted.

"Thanks..." Aaliyah mumbled. Her voice was too quiet to be heard.

"Anyway, I'll be somewhere if you need me." Redd said, and then he left. Aaliyah just waves until she couldn't see him anymore.

*scene change: Octo Canyon*

Redd was once again hanging out with the Squid Sisters. There was close to one Octarian attack right now, but it didn't appear. Guess some of those lowered leveled Octarians are afraid of Agents 3 and 4.

"Oh, and by the way... Mia is coming soon! I guess she's really ready for some training as an agent!" Callie reminded, "But... I do wonder if she's late or not. She said she was getting something."

"I guess she's really living back to Inkopolis after she saved Agent 8 from the Metro." Marie complimented.

"Yeah... she worked a lot as an agent. Same here, both of us were pretty strong." Redd said as he twirled his Hero Shot around a bit.

"Oh yeah! Back then, Agent 3 told us that you guys are so dang strong because your ancestors were in the Great Turf War!" Callie said, "I mean, Gramps was in there, and he once said he might've recognized some of those people!"

"Yeah, that's true." Redd replied.

"He did tell a couple stories. Not a lot that I remember from it, though." Marie said.

And then, a yellow Inkling emerged from the manhole. It was Mia, in her Hero gear, and she was holding a pie.

"What took you so long?" Marie asked.

"Long lines." Mia replied.

"Ooh! Is that a pumpkin pie!" Callie squealed. Redd had a mixed emotion of anger and surprise.

"Pie...?" He mumbled.

"Yep! Everyone can have their own slice, and we can save the other half for another day!" Mia said with a smile.

"Well, I guess we should go get some plates!" Callie cheered. Marie just chuckles at Callie's happy tone.

*a few minutes later*

Paper plates were brought. Mia brought a knife to cut the slices. Four different slices were made.

"Thanks, Mia! This'll be so good!" Callie cheered.

"Yes, Mia. Thanks for the pie. We appreciate it." Marie added.

"It's no problem at all." Mia said with a smile. And the Squid Sisters immediately start eating their pie slices. Mia got one for herself, and she had the other slice on another plate for Redd.

"Okay, Redd. I got one slice for..." Mia started, but she saw Redd with a blank expression.

"Ugh... Redd... you do need to let it go." Mia huffed.

"I'm never gonna forget something like that. Not after what that stupid dessert tried to do." Redd exclaimed. The Squid Sisters seemed confused by Redd's outburst. They knew he didn't like pie, but they were surprised to see him blame a dessert on something.

"Seriously?! I'm upset about it too, but why are you taking it too far?" Mia yelled.

"Because I can! If you haven't noticed, that's why I want to forget my bad memories each day!"

"You're overreacting, Redd! You can't just blame a dessert for that!"

"It's true though! It managed to haunt my memories forever!"

"Just eat the pie! I'm being grateful for you all, it's the least I can do!" Mia shouted. Redd just growled and took out his Hero shot, covering his pie slice in red ink.

"I'd rather ROT than eat some piece of garbage like this!" Redd insisted.

"What is going on? Redd's acting weird..." Marie thought.

"Why can't you just... AGH! You don't have to ruin it! It's just pie!" Mia yelled.

"And that's the reason they're gone! Because of it ALL!" Redd shouted back.

"Wait. Who's gone?" Callie asked innocently.

"Just let it go! I know it's hard, but PLEASE! Just give pies a chance!" Mia begged. Redd threw his Hero Shot on the ground, startling everyone.

"AFTER EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED BACK AT THAT TIME?! NO FREAKING WAY!" Redd screamed.

"Redd?" Marie asked.

"EAT PIES, I DON'T CARE! I'M GONNA SURVIVE!" Redd ranted, "YOU CAN EAT AS MANY AS YOU WANT, I DON'T CARE! SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED TO THE ONES I LOVED BECAUSE OF THAT STUPID DESSERT, AND I CANNOT HOPE TO LOSE ANOTHER ONE! MAYBE SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN TO YOUR LOVED ONES IF YOU EAT PIES IN GENERAL!"

Redd took the pie and threw it over the edge. Then he turned into his squid form and left Octo Canyon.

"Aaaaaaagh! I can't. I just can't!" Mia groaned. She stomped over to a wall and just lowered her head.

"What. Just. Happened?" Callie asked.

"I've never seen Redd act like that before. Not even once." Marie added.

"He's usually courageous and kind. But he acted angry and destructive right there." Callie explained.

"I need to go check on him to make sure he's ok." Marie said, and then she left Octo Canyon as well."

*scene change: near the entrance to Redd's apartment*

Marie knocked on the door a couple times.

"Redd? Are you okay in there?" She called out. No response. Luckily, Marie knew Redd had a spare key under his welcome mat, so she used that to get in. When she went inside, there was nothing inside. Just the living room and everything else, but the lights were off.

"Redd? Reeeeeeedd?" Marie called out, her hands circling over her mouth. She noticed Redd's bedroom light was on. She opened the door. What she saw was surprising.

One of the posters were bent, and there was a hole in the wall. The bed had no pillows, or blankets. Not even the sheet was on it. Redd was sitting on the bare mattress, his hat covering his face. Marie also noticed that Redd was shaking.

"Redd? Honey?" Marie asked. When she got closer, she heard Redd making sniffling sounds. Is he... crying?

Yes. He is.

"Redd!" Marie shouted, getting the red Inkling's attention. His face was red in anger. His emotion was a mixture of sadness and anger. Mostly anger.

"Are you... ok?" Marie asked.

"No." Redd snapped.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"That won't make it better. I don't want to tell anyone about my past."

"You can tell me, Redd." Marie insisted. Redd slammed the mattress with his fist. But Marie knew Redd was just angry and didn't mean that to get her to leave. But she did jump a little.

"If I tell you what happened... you promise you won't tell anyone?" Redd asked, "You can't tell Callie, you can't tell Pearl or Marina... you can't tell anyone about this. Just keep it between me, you, and Mia."

"I promise I won't tell a soul. That is, unless you want me to tell someone." Marie said with a smile. But Redd didn't smile back.

"Okay, so when you heard me say 'loved ones'... I was talking about my parents. They were the best people in the world," Redd explained, "And along with Mia, they'll never replace the people I love the most in my family. And then... came the incident a week after me and Mia's birthday."

"What happened?" Marie asked.

"That one week after mines and Mia's... it was my mom's birthday. And instead of a cake, they purchased pumpkin pie," Redd continued, "I didn't like pie in general, so my parents insisted me to have it. I kept on declining, and they grounded me... but I still had to eat the pie. So instead I crushed it. My parents yelled at me, and I yelled the sentence I regret the most. 'I wish I didn't see you two.' And I just went to bed for the rest of the day, saying good riddance to that pie."

"And then what happened?" Marie asked kindly.

"The next day... they died." Redd replied. Marie gasped at that.

"I'm so sorry for your loss." She apologized.

"Don't be. It's my fault for saying that sentence anyway." Redd exclaimed.

"How did your parents... die?" Marie asked again.

"All I heard is that they were struck by lightning. Even though it wasn't raining last night." Redd responded. Then he hid his face, whimpers being heard.

"Redd... it's gonna be okay." Marie said softly.

"No. It's not okay, Marie," Redd snapped, "Because of me, they are gone. I never even got the chance to say 'I love you' before they passed away."

"That's so sad." Marie said, feeling bad for him (NO DESPACITO MEMES PLZ).

"Can you please leave me alone now? I want to deal with emotions on my own." Redd demanded.

"Redd..." Marie sighed. She wrapped her arms around Redd, hugging him. But Redd just pushes her away.

"I'm not like Aaliyah. Hugs do not make me feel better." He exclaimed.

"Listen, Redd. I want to make sure you're alright," Marie explained, "I understand the loss of your parents affected you, I really do. Just... take some time to calm down. I did went Callie went missing. Can you... at least try?"

"Just leave me alone. Please. This left a huge hole in my heart." Redd begged.

"Okay. I'll be back at home if you want to talk." Marie said, smiling a tiny bit, hoping that Redd would smile back. But Redd just lowered his head, too broken to do anything.

Marie felt so bad for him. All she can really try to do is help.

But what will it take for Redd to feel happy again?

Author's Note: And that, folks, leads up to my new story coming soon ;). This is the tiny backstory of Redd and Mia that people have been waiting for. Anyway, Stay Fresh! And be hyped for my next story... AND SMASH. :D