Chapter 10
Cephalon HQ…
"Well, that'll be a blow to moral…" The girl on the radio said.
"Moral? Hah! All this proves is that that guy was a poser who wasn't as great as he was built up to be!" DJ Octavio laughed.
"Didn't you build him up though?" She asked.
"Can it! If I wanted sass, I would've gotten that cousin of yours." Octavio grumbled. "Now get on the radio and tell those hipsters to scram or else!"
"Right." She grabbed the speaker and tuned the dial until she could hear the agents' voices.
"Run! Leave now and never come back, or else!" She threatened. "Hello? Can you hear me? Hellooooo?"
"Well?" Octavio was getting impatient.
"Connection's on the fritz." She explained. "We'll just have to try again later."
"Eh, no probs." Octavio assured. "We've got a lot more in store for them."
"Ooooooooo…" She was getting interested. "What'cha got in mind?"
"An eager volunteer who's been rebuilt, upgraded, and itchin' for a rematch!" Octavio hinted.
"Can you give me another hint?" She asked.
"Fella's got lips for days, girl!" Octavio told her.
She thought about it for a second.
"Can you give me another hint?" She begged.
"Y'know what?" Octavio seemed annoyed. "I'm just gonna let this one be a surprise."
"Aaaaaawwww, I hate surprises" She whined. "Just tell me nooooooooow!"
"No." Octavio doubled down.
"Come oooooooooooon!" She wasn't giving up.
Octavio facepalmed.
"This is gonna be a long day…" He groaned.
Cuttlefish Cabin…Sarah's POV
"Wha-? What happened?" I asked, having just woken up. I noticed I was pretty bandaged up.
"You got messed up pretty bad." Marie explained. "Luckily, you got some help."
I could see a figure at the door. I turned to see Otis standing there.
"O-Otis?" I asked. "How'd you get here?"
"Li'l Judd told me he saw you go down a manhole next to Ammo Knights." He explained. "I went down here, found Marie, and she explained everything."
"You left out the part where you assaulted me." Marie quipped.
"And I was kind of hoping you would too…" Otis mumbled.
Marie gave him a punch in the shoulder and they shared a little chuckle. I couldn't help but smile too.
"…So what happened after I blanked out?" I asked. "Last thing I remember was being in horrible pain and then…you saved me, didn't you?
"Yep." Otis answered. "Most of those Octos got caught in the Splashdown. The others weren't hard. That Elite was a pain in the beak, but she got splatted quickly."
I tensed up when he mentioned her. I hope it hurt when that witch got splatted.
"A heads-up for if you see her again." Marie said. "Be prepared for her droning on about how pathetic you are if she has the advantage, groveling at your feet if you overpower her, and for her to take every chance she can to hurt you."
I actually hope I see her again. I want to see her groveling, telling me she's sorry before getting splatted.
"She does have her limits though," She added. "Threaten her enough to a point and she'll know not to mess with you."
"I guess I should head out and splat some more Octos then," I concluded.
"Not in your condition, you're not." Marie said. "You're still injured from your encounter with the Octolings."
"But the boss kettle-"
"Is taken care of." Marie interrupted. "Otis fought the boss while you were out of commission.
"You did that?" I asked Otis. "Was it hard?"
"Yeah," He told me. "But I managed to beat him."
"Wow…" I was impressed. "Does that mean…?"
"Yep, your big brother is an unofficial agent." Marie said. "He'll cover for you until you're back in fighting condition."
"Huh…" Was all I could say.
"So what was the boss anyway?" I asked. "What'd you fight?"
"A big guy called the Octo Samurai." Otis told me. "He held the biggest Roller I've ever seen."
"Cool!" It really was. "I bet you had a Roller duel!"
"Yeah, we did! He must've been some big shot celebrity or something." Otis added." There were fangirls there, it was televised, and there was an announcer girl too. I swear I heard her voice before though."
"Aw man!" I whined. "That sounds so cool! All I fought was a giant toaster oven."
"A…what?" Otis was confused. "Did you say a toaster oven?"
"Yeah, I don't know what was lamer," I added. "The boss, or Marie's horrible bakery puns."
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Marie lied. "I don't make puns."
"You liar!" I shot Marie a dirty look.
"Well, anyway, it's getting late." Marie changed the subject. "I suggest getting some rest."
"Can we eat first?" I asked.
"Better you get some rest." Marie suggested.
"But I'm sooooooo hungry now." I whined.
"Let's get something, Marie." Otis agreed. "I haven't eaten anything since breakfast this morning."
"Alright, I'll order pizza." Marie conceded. "And some drinks."
"Yessss!" I did the best victory pose I could while still lying down.
25 minutes later…
Otis and I were digging into a large pizza, enjoying every bite. Even Marie grabbed a slice before heading to wherever she goes when she's not here.
"I still can't believe Marie was also a secret agent the whole time." Otis said.
"You sound like you know a lot about the Squid Sisters." I noted.
"Sis, I've had to use a lot of restraint to keep myself from geeking out this whole time." He told me.
"Why?" I asked "You a fan?"
"Are you kidding?" Otis was getting excited. "I've been a fan since coming to Inkopolis two years ago!"
"Really?" I wondered. "I've never heard of them."
"Eh, I don't blame ya." He admitted. "We are kind of cut off back at home."
"Can you tell me about them?" I asked. "I'd hate to be one of those un-fresh squidkids who hadn't heard of anyone famous."
An excited grin appeared on Otis's face. I immediately regretted asking.
"The Squid Sisters were the best!" He almost yelled. "I have all their songs downloaded! I can share some if you want!"
"Calm down, boy." I told him. "I said 'tell me about them,' not 'geek out'."
"Right, right." He agreed. "They're pop stars who did Inkopolis news back in the day."
"Like Off the Hook does now?" I asked.
"Yeah," Otis said. "But I like them a little more."
"I'll need to hear some of their songs to compare." I told him.
"And I'll help you download some." He reassured.
"So what happened to them?" I wondered. "I only see one of them."
"They got so big, they outgrew Inkopolis news." He explained further. "Since then, they've been focusing on their solo careers. Marie's been putting on solo concerts, appearing on music shows, and she even started a career in theatre while her cousin, Callie, had been appearing on TV shows."
"Did you have a favorite?" I was curious to know.
"Well, Marie's wit always gets a chuckle out of me, but I was always on Team Callie." He admitted. "I just liked her energetic and upbeat personality more. She always seemed to look on the bright side of things"
"You crushing on her? I leaned forward with a smile on my face.
"Wha-Sarah!" His face was red. "Don't be ridiculous!"
"That wasn't a no." I teased.
"You're unbelievable." He said.
He wasn't wrong, but he didn't deny anything I said either. I just chuckled.
"Wonder where Callie is…" I said.
"We'd all like to know that." He told me. "She went missing a few days ago."
"What!?" I was shocked to hear that.
"Didn't you hear? He seemed confused. "It was all over the news."
"I may have been preoccupied at the time…" I admitted.
"Your lack of an attention span aside," The Cheeky Squid said. "I'm more concerned with how Marie's been holding up. She and Callie were always close. With her missing and with the Octarian business going on now…"
"Yeah…" I said. "She must be taking it pretty hard. We should ask if she's okay."
"It'd probably be best not to." He told me. "It's probably a sensitive topic for her."
"Alright." I agreed. "Well, I'd better get some rest now."
"Wait!" He stopped me while grabbing a beakbrush and paste a bag. "Before getting the pizza, I ran to the store to get these. I don't know where your apartment is, so…"
"How thoughtful." I complimented.
"Now open wide." He said, aiming the beakbrush at my mouth.
"O-Otis, I can do it myself!" I said with an annoyed look.
"Come on, don't be such a baby." He teased.
"You're treating me like one now!" I told him.
"Come on." The brush got closer. "I used to do this all the time when we were little."
"When we were little! I moved my head away.
"Come on."
"No!"
"Come ooooon."
"Noooooooo!"
We continued for about five minutes before Otis won. I'll never forgive him for that.
