The group found themselves in an odd situation. They were now being confronted by a group of five in white and black robes, all carrying various octoling and inkling weapons. And to make matters even worse, Maize was sleeping as hard as a rock, with leftover purple ink coating his face and glasses that were dangling carelessly off his head, and ECO's hands were full, carrying him and this odd egg shaped object they found in the hideaway's basement. The only good thing to this was that these odd followers had thankfully given a long rope as an alternate escape route.
"Hand it over," one of the robed figures demanded, holding their hand out, and their other hand armed with a splattershot pro.
"Hand what over?" Marie responded, her Luna blaster being aimed firmly for their head, ready to splat them in a heartbeat. Octoronia was making sure that none of the other robed enemies tried any sneaky tactics.
"The egg! Give it over now… or else," he pointed toward ECO. The mechanical octoling groaned, wondering how they were going to get out of this situation, but these clearly were the worshipers after this egg, indicating that it was indeed the important item in question.
"Or else what?" Octoronia smirked, seeing all weapons immediately get raised up and aimed at them.
"Or else we leave you down here to rot!" the robed figure spoke. He seemed to be the one to handle leading this small group of followers. However Marie was noticing something that did nothing but make her nervous. The weapons that the enemies were carrying were loaded with thick looking black ink, same for the ink tanks on their backs.
"Heh, well… in that case I guess, we have no choice," Marie lowered her weapon slowly before she went toward ECO and took the glass case under her arm.
"Wh-what?! Marie, you're going to just give it over?!" the robotic octoling asked in shock, she and Octronia terrified. Marie smirked.
"Hah! Of course not," she said, whipping her Luna blaster off her side and firing behind her. A green burst of ink hit the robed figure in the chest, and they were immediately splattered into a puddle of green ink.
"You sneaky angler! Now you've asked for it!" the other white and black robed figures began to arm their weapons. Octoronia took advantage and grabbed the one close to her, knocking their weapon out of their hand, and then she got behind them, using her free hand to turn the follower into an inkling shield.
"Wa-wait! Don't shoot-" the worshiper got blasted by the black ink by the three other followers, but was not splattered. He instantly fell unconscious, like the black ink was unable to splatter anyone.
"…oh no…" Octoronia gasped upon just seeing the effects of this black ink. She looked over to the other agents.
"Don't let it touch you!" Agent 4 screamed. Marie was confused, wondering what was wrong as she fired, splattering another one of the robed figures. The last two remaining began to open fire, spraying black ink at her. She blocked some of the ink with the glass chamber of the egg. However, she got hit in the leg by one of the stray splotches of black ink, and suddenly she felt all sensation in her leg vanish.
"Oof!" the white squid collapsed onto her side. She could not move her leg. It was all too scary to her. Before any more could hit her, ECO got in front of her, catching some of the blasts of black ink for her. Her chest light turned red in anger.
"What is th-this stuff?!" Marie fearfully asked. She never had seen ink do this to her or any other squid before. The robotic octoling had left Maize beside the hideaway to make sure the sleeping inkling was not harmed.
"It's oil refined in a special way mixed with salt! Be careful, it is very lethal!" ECO explained quickly. This salt and oil mix was not safe. It did not splatter inklings or octolings, but still caused harm. If the oil came into contact with any skin, the person hit would begin to lose all feeling in that area. After a few shots, they would fall into unconsciousness until it was cleaned off. and if it was not cleaned off within a few hours, the one hit would inevitably die.
"Knock it off!" Octoronia blasted the other two robed figures with purple ink. They got splattered easily. They were not able to take out ECO, as luckily the oil was not harmful to robots. Every one of the robed worshipers had been defeated, and the inventor octoling had one unconscious and captured now, thinking they could maybe get some information out of him. Everything had calmed down from there.
"Those worshipers are very serious," ECO commented while trying to clean the oil off Marie's leg. Already the Squid Sister was feeling a lot better with it being brushed off the best the mechanical octoling could do. Marie looked at the egg again. This glass it was held within was pretty tough, as it had withstood the fall quite well.
"So Octavio was telling the truth…" Marie muttered, wondering why she felt so afraid, looking over to Maize. He was just happily slumbering away. He appeared to be having a great dream. Agent 2 let ECO take the egg before she got back up.
"Now we have a way out," Octoronia chimed up happily. The odd worshipers had left the rope in place of the broken ladder, but there was a big problem. They had to carry out the unconscious worshiper, Maize and the egg, and somehow simultaneously climb out themselves. It was a challenge that was tough as nails, but they could do it.
"I'll carry Maize," Marie volunteered. Since the unconscious worshiper was heavier, it would be better for ECO to carry him.
"I'll hold the egg," Octoronia said, taking the egg from the white inkling. They both had the same thoughts, that this egg was somehow terrifying. The robotic octoling decided to explain it to them once they got out of the hideaway, but she was aware of how it continued the trend of forcing fear into the bodies of those who held it. They were aware it was going to take a few hours to get back to Octo Valley.
The day had went on in Octo Valley. The sun was beginning to set, and at the moment the two elders were at another game of checkers, patiently waiting for the return of the agents they had sent on this very important mission.
"How on earth do ya keep doin that?" Captain Cuttlefish asked. He had just got four of his checker pieces jumped over by DJ Octavio again. Even if the octopus, being trapped in a snow globe, could not touch the pieces, the elder squid happily moved them where told. Sadly he never figured out strategies and planning to checkers at all.
"Gramps! We're back!" Marie's voice rung out. Captain Cuttlefish smiled, getting his cane and standing up. Both he and DJ Octavio were confused by what they saw. Marie was carrying a sleeping Maize bridal style in her arms. Octoronia was carrying the egg in her hands, while ECO was just dragging the worshiper along behind her, not caring about any damage the creepy follower suffered.
"Err… good job, squiddos?" Captain Cuttlefish unsurely congratulated them.
"Did something go wrong?" he added, seeing Marie carefully place the yellow inkling on the ground, noticing that some drool had gotten on her disguise. She tried to brush it off, greatly annoyed by it. Her disguise already was covered in purple ink splotches and oil residue. She did not need it any more damaged than it already was.
"No more than the usual. As in everything," the Squid Sister answered, Octoronia approaching DJ Octavio and holding the egg.
"…we helped them get the item," she flatly stated, DJ Octavio looking her over. She rung some bells, oddly, but he never recalled recruiting her into his army before, but he could sense the hatred emanating from her.
"Yes… this is the item that my old army confiscated from those followers. However from what my researchers told me when I had them look at it, this item is thousands of years old," DJ Octavio exclaimed. He had not just blindly tossed it into his hideaway entirely out of fear. He had actually had this egg inspected, and reports showed that it was ancient.
"…was one of those researchers named Octyn?" Octoronia requested an honest answer, referring to her now deceased father. If the timeline was correct, her father was still a part of the Octarian Research Division and should have had a hand in the egg's examination.
"Indeed… I presume you were his little blobbie?" the former army leader claimed.
"Yeah," Octoronia nodded. She was always the pride of her father's heart. She never knew her mother, and once she started showing an interest in inventing of her own, which led to ECO's creation, her father could not have been any prouder. Marie was updating her grandfather on what had occurred during the mission, while Maize continued sleeping. ECO was tying up the worshiper so he would not escape, in case he woke up and made an effort to escape.
"…I have nothing I can say, because from here on, you want to hear things like 'I'm so sorry', and 'I had no idea', specific things like that…" DJ Octavio regained that very angry intense gaze he always had that could pierce anyone.
"But I am not a different octopus than I was before, and I have no regrets for anything I do," he added. That seemed to make Octoronia snap as she raised one of her legs.
"Uh oh," Octavio's snow globe got kicked hard, being knocked off the pedestal, sending the ball of mostly plexiglass crashing onto the ground, toppling and rattling along. She had actually wound up kicking it toward the slumbering Maize, watching it crash into him. She covered her mouth in shock at what she had just done, and everyone was looking at her.
"I'm glad I invested in plexiglass…" Captain Cuttlefish sighed, going over and picking up DJ Octavio's snow globe. The octopus inside was upside down, his eyes spinning. The inventor octoling was holding her leg in pain.
"Ow…" Maize groaned in pain as he sat up with a bruise on the side of his face, seeing everyone else, "H-hey… what happened?"
"You blacked out," Marie simply stated before helping him up, trying to make sure he was alright. He was able to stand on his own. That hard hit had finally woke him up, he fixed his glasses tiredly.
"I'm sorry, guys… I'm leaving. ECO, help them out with whatever they need, please," Octoronia said, handing the ancient egg over to Marie before she stormed off. Anger and sadness was surging through her heart. ECO felt horrible seeing how wound up that Octavio got her sister, but let her go just so she could calm down.
"What should we do with this egg and the worshiper we captured? I mean, if it's as old as Octavio says, then are you sure this is an egg anymore? It practically looks like a rock already," Marie requested, wanting to know what they should do. She had no idea on how they should handle this and did have a little guilt for taking someone prisoner. Maize fixed his glasses, coming over and taking the egg from Marie. That same fear emerged once again in him, he did his best to suppress it and not let it take over.
"…this shouldn't be near Bondi. I'll handle watching it," Maize volunteered not, wanting to let this egg anywhere near Callie or her son.
"Oooooogghhh…" a long painful moan rung out. They looked at the robed figure who awakened to find out his hands and feet were tied up. ECO came over and ripped his black and white hood off his head. What they found underneath was shocking.
"Well, this is a sight for my old sore eyes," Captain Cuttlefish admitted. There was a purple inkling underneath the robes. However the squid had no tentacles, but just the small stubs like the one Maize had from his one tentacle being bitten off. But to make matters even more disturbing, all three of the big sharp teeth, which were normally in the mouths of all squids, were gone, leaving only the tiny teeth behind in his mouth.
"I think I'm gonna lose my lunch," ECO claimed.
"Do robots have lunch?" Marie quirked, wondering if the mechanical octoling even ate anything or had the need to.
"I'm tied up again?! That's the third time this week!" the angry purple squid shouted, flopping around in his bindings. Maize kept the egg close, not wanting to lose it. He watched Agent 5 go over and help prop the purple squid up against a nearby wall.
"Are… are you alright?" Marie hesitantly asked, wondering why this young squid was missing all the features that any squid normally had. With no tentacles, this meant he no longer could move around in his squid form, and without big sharp teeth, a lot of foods became unavailable to him to be consumed, since the smaller teeth were not nearly as strong.
"What are you talking about?! I'm tied up, and I got shot by my fellow worshipers! I'm not alright at all!" he continued shouting. Most of the oil had come off of him while being dragged along. ECO grabbed his head.
"Calm down or else we'll gag you," she ordered. He huffed, seeming to calm down to the situation.
"Who are you?" Maize asked the first question of probably a hundred. The worshiper had a smirk.
"I'm Violet… just Violet. I have no last or middle name," he answered, introducing himself as Violet, the worshiper of this anonymous entity that was starting to sound even more threatening each time the Special Squid Services heard of this entity.
"What happened to your tentacles?" Marie wanted to know. She could not live with herself if she had both of her tentacles gone. Her friend already was crippled in squid form. She hated to imagine what it was like not being able to put the form to use at all.
"And your large teeth?" ECO added.
"All of us have no big teeth or tentacles," Violet responded. This confused them all. Captain Cuttlefish was trying to make sure DJ Octavio was alright, though Octoronia snapping had sadly ruined their game of checkers.
"So… you're a bunch of injured worshipers?" Maize questioned. It sounded like Cornell all over again, offering pain eliminating medicine to crippled inklings for free labor, and it still sounded horrible.
"We're not injured! All of us volunteer to have our tentacles cut off and our teeth ripped out. It proves our dedication to them," Violet rambled. Marie now felt sick to her stomach. ECO's chest light turned yellow in surprise. Maize had no idea how to take this other than declaring it insane. Letting someone rip out any inkling's strongest teeth and cut off a few of his limbs, and to know that this was an entire cult's doing, was horrifying.
"Wh-what? Who? Why would you do it anyway? There is nothing worth entire body parts! You can't even move anymore as a squid…" the Squid Sister stuttered. The purple squid shook his head and gained an eerie grin.
"That is the whole idea! I resent being a squid! To this day, I am no squid! I'm a human!"