Hi! Thanks for reading my story! I never expected to get as many views and visitors as I have. I definitely appreciate that. Also, to you who have clicked "favorite" or followed this story, thank you sooo much. You guys are a big motivator to me to keep writing as quickly as I can. I know I've been publishing new chapters pretty quickly (at least for me, I can't speak to anyone else's pace) but I have a few events coming up, and I don't know how much I'll be able to write these next few days/weeks, so I'll try to get some chapters completes, but no promises to continue at the same pace for the next little bit. Thanks again!
This time, when Orange's alarm went off at 5:15, he woke up and started getting ready immediately. He had managed to find a few hours of sleep, but they were full of dreams of giant Octarian monsters lunging at him and Cap'n Cuttlefish. The Octarians in his dreams were distorted, as he had never seen one. Not a single tentacle of one had been seen during his lifetime. Sitting at the end of his bed, a long, black bag with a shoulder strap held Orange's Splatterscope, as well as a few other small items he had thrown in that either could be helpful or sentimental. He didn't know whether he would be gone for months or years straight, or would be able to hop back and forth from Octo Valley and Inktopolis, so there was a rapidly written note to his parents explaining what he was doing.
Sneaking out of his room as quietly as possible to avoid waking his parents, Orange set the note on the ground outside of their door, grabbed an apple from a glass bowl sitting on the kitchen counter, and slipped out the door, locking it behind him. Adrenaline pumping through his body made Orange want to rush down the stairs, but he took his time, carefully stepping on each stair to avoid unnecessary noise. When he finally reached the ground level, he raced down the short street between his apartment complex and the main plaza of Inktopolis, and over to the grate. He didn't see Cap'n Cuttlefish anywhere, despite the small ink-splatter print watch on his left wrist displaying 5:58 am. Finally, right as a little beep-beep-beep was emitted by the watch, Orange saw Cap'n Cuttlefish appear around the corner, leading, for some reason, to the main housing area. Why would he be coming from that direction? Orange wondered.
Then the reason became obvious; following behind Cap'n Cuttlefish, with a smirk on her face, was Pink. Orange felt his face become flushed with anger, and prepared to yell at Cap'n Cuttlefish as soon as he got closer. Taking a few calming breaths, Orange composed himself. He didn't want to make a bad impression before even starting to combat the Octarians. "Why did you bring her along?" Orange whispered furiously, just quietly enough to only let Cap'n Cuttlefish, not Pink, hear.
"I just thought it might be a good idea. Now, come along, it's time to get you guys geared up." Cap'n Cuttlefish lifted up the grate and slid down a short slide, followed by a fuming Orange and a still smirking Pink, obviously thinking she was going to beat Orange again. The slide ended in a long, low corridor, barely lit by bioluminescent patches of moss growing between the wall bricks. It seemed to go on about 100 yards, before ending in a ladder leading out of sight, presumably into Octo Valley. Water dripped from the ceiling into small puddles on the roughly bricked floor, reflecting the light from the moss. The group walked towards the ladder, splashes echoing off the walls. Orange made an effort to kick extra water backwards towards Pink.
After descending the ladder, Orange had to blink a few time to adjust to the bright sun. He had never known that just outside of Inktopolis, there was such a large valley. Cap'n Cuttlefish must have noticed Orange's confused face, because he explained, "That tunnel uses similar technology to the kettles. Though it only seemed like you walked a little bit, you've really traveled over 50 miles. I don't know who made it. I only found it because I was working on the construction crew to renovate the plaza. We were drilling to build a sewer when we ran into that."
By now, Cap'n Cuttlefish had led the two teens across a small, open area to a cluttered hut. Orange glanced around, and saw that it seemed like they were floating in a secluded area inside a ring of mountains. Several structures of concrete and metal floated around the island they were on, seemingly suspended by magic. "Wait just a minute, and I'll get you your stuff," Cap'n Cuttlefish said as he started walking towards the hut. Several clanking and dragging sounds emanated, and he reappeared, pulling a large trunk. "Now, Orange, you seem taller than Pink. I don't know who this'll fit." He held up a strange looking outfit, glowing a bright blue in places. There was a pointed headpiece, large shoes that looked like they were designed for running, and a gun and tank combo Orange had never seen before. They looked… strong. Orange didn't know why, but he felt somewhat in awe of the weirdly shaped uniform.
"Let's see," contemplated Cap'n Cuttlefish, "I think I'll give this to you, Pink. You don't have a gun with you, so you can use that one." The glowing suit was placed into Pink's hands, and she started putting it on. "Oh, and for you Orange, I have this." With a flourish, Cap'n Cuttlefish procured another suit, very similar, but with bright yellow lights instead of blue ones. Orange pulled it on excitedly. He felt like, in this suit, there was no way any Octarians would get in his way. He was unstoppable.He ran around a bit, feeling his hair tentacles flying behind him. Nearby, Pink was testing out her gun, firing it at the ground by her feet. Cap'n Cuttlefish leaned against the wall of the hut, which Orange assumed was his house, observing Orange and Pink with a small smile.
"Ok, let's get serious," Cap'n Cuttlefish chided.
"Sorry," both Pink and Orange responded. Orange glared at Pink.
"Follow me," Cap'n Cuttlefish called as he led Pink and Orange to a strangely shaped metal structure. It was like the very top of a dome, with a tube leading out of it and metal grating covering a medium sized hole in the top. "This is a kettle," Cap'n Cuttlefish explained. "As you know, when you are in squid form, you can slip through grating like this. The way you use a kettle is that you slip through the grate, then are teleporting, through a network of tunnels like the one you took earlier, to your destination. On these kettles, the tunnels are extremely compressed, such that you seem to get to your destination immediately."
Orange eyed the kettle nervously. What if it breaks? Will I be stuck in the tunnels forever? However, on the outside, he just nodded, not wanting to seem nervous. Pink, too, was nodding at Cap'n Cuttlefish. She, however, seemed far more certain than Orange. I'm not going to let her have a better impression than me. "So when can we go in it?" Orange asked.
"Well, this kettle leads to an old, abandoned city," Cap'n Cuttlefish started. "There might be a few things that could tell us where the Octarians have gone, or even some Octarians themselves. Your head gear contains a mic and speakers so I can contact you while you're in the field, as well as a camera so I can see what you're seeing."
"Are you going to train us?" Pink asked, somewhat shakily. Orange was pleased to know that she was scared too.
"I'll let you know what to do as you go," Cap'n Cuttlefish reassured them. "Now get going!"
Pink and Orange slowly walked towards the kettle, and, standing on it together, changed into squid form and dove into the tunnels, and their first challenge.