Leviathan shifted in his sleep, his bright purple eyes groggily opening up. Turning over to his nightstand, which was practically overrunning with miscellaneous items, he turned the clock towards himself to stare at the big red numbers on it until his eyes adjusted.

1:15. Yeah. That seemed like a reasonable time to get out of bed. He sat up and stretched, opening his mouth to let out a very satisfying yawn. He threw off his magenta bed sheets and threw his legs over the side. At first he just sat there staring blankly. His body had not yet given up the fight for sleep but he muscled his way through.

Finally standing up after a minute, Leviathan ran his hand over his tentacles. Snapping out of his almost trancelike state of tiredness, he remembered that he had a…guest, for lack of a better word. He turned his head towards the closet and walked towards it. He attempted to pull it open by reflex but forgot he had installed a clip lock on it last night. He groaned and tried to remember the four digit number he set the lock to.

"Let's see…0…8…1…0…," There was a soft click and as the lock came undone and he swung the doors open. Inside the doors was a walk-in closet with an assortment of weapons. From brushes, to chargers, blasters, and rollers, all were hung on the walls.

Was he the richest squid? No, but Turf Wars and Ranked Battles paid really well. If you won a lot of course. After glancing around the room and making sure everything was in its place, he closed the door and placed the lock back on it. Why did he even check his weapons? If that Octoling got her hands on any she would've just splatted him in his sleep.

Speaking of that Octoling, it was about time he went to check on her. Cerata was her name right? He walked to his door, unlocked it, and placed his hand on the knob. He paused for a second and looked down. Normally he wouldn't care to walk out of his room shirtless and his green boxers with Bloopers on them, but this morning probably wasn't going to be normal. If anything happened and he had to make a strategic withdrawal, he didn't want the world to see him dressed in the bare minimum.

Turning to a closet on the opposite end of the room, he opened it and grabbed a Basic Tee and his shorts before turning to exit his room once again. He slowly opened the door and peaked out. The hallway was of course the darkest seeing as there were no windows, but the rest of the lights were off as well. The sun was the only thing shining light in his home and that made him cautious.

He stepped out of his room eyeing the door to the guest room. Was Cerata still asleep? The open door and empty bed said no. She was awake somewhere. Leviathan's ears perked as he heard a slight rustling. He moved further towards the end of the hallway and quietly made his way towards the kitchen. He stepped into the doorway and paused.

Cerata was standing next to the counter, her back to him as the rustling noise was coming from whatever was in her hands. It didn't take a genius to know what she was doing. Crossing his arms he leaned against the doorway, letting his weight make just enough noise to get her attention.

Cerata jumped and turned wide-eyed, a Crabby-Cake held up to her mouth. Leviathan could only describe the face she was making as "kid caught in the cookie jar", but that's not what fully caught his attention. He was expecting to see her with her Octoling Goggles on, but instead, wide green eyes with purple highlights stared at him. His first instinct was to scan over her to see what else was different but enemy or no that would be rude. So he simply held eye contact. After about a second his brow furrowed in slightly.

"I'm sorry," Cerata said moving the small cake away from her mouth. "I-I-I was hungry, and you were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you and-"

"It's fine," Leviathan said waving a hand to silence her rant. "Eat whatever you want. I'm going to shower and then see if I could find you a way home," Cerata lit up at his words and danced on her feet in excitement.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Leviathan turned in the doorway to head to his room.

"Don't mention it,"

Fingers tapped impatiently against flesh. There was a low growl emitting across the small room as an Octoling sat reclined back with her arms crossed and her feet propped up on the desk in front of her. But this Octoling was…different.

For one, she was about a head taller than your standard Octoling. The second obvious difference was her tentacles. They weren't longer compared to other Octolings, but they were thicker. Much so to the point where you could only see one eye of her standard Octoling Goggles and barely any of the snarl she wore. The final major difference was her tentacle color. It was such a dark purple that it almost looked black.

There was the slight sound of little feet pitter pattering down the hall. Each step causing the Octoling to frown more and more. The door was slowly opened.

"Well?" She yelled out to the cowering Octarian as he entered the room. He stuttered and shuddered as his tentacle body looked left and right nervously. "Report, damn you!" The Octoling yelled causing the poor Octarian to jump.

"Um, well, we didn't…find anything…Miss…"

"You what?!" The Octoling yelled putting her feet down and slamming her fist against the desk. The Octarian jumped yet again.

"We looked all over the sector they were assigned. We didn't find anything. It is assumed that everyone was splatted and the zapfish stolen. I'm terribly sorry miss," The Octoling slowly leaned over the desk. All the rage gone from her face and replaced with a blank stare.

"Come closer," The Octoling said in a voice so calm and soothing the Octarian flinched and became even more afraid of what would happen to him. Against his better judgement he stepped forward.

"Closer," Another step forward.

"Clooooooseeerrr," A very slow step forward. At this point he was standing just on the other side of her desk. In the blink of an eye the Octoling reached over her desk and grabbed the Octarian by the head, picking him up till he was eye level.

"YOU'RE NOT SORRY YET! SORRY IS WHAT YOU'LL BE IF YOU DON'T GET BACK OUT THERE AND FIND WHAT I TOLD YOU TO FIND!" The Octoling threw the Octarian to the ground, the shaking creature backpedaling away from the angry beast. The Octoling sat back down and intertwined her fingers and rested her nose on them.

"Sorry is what any damn Inkling who messes with me will be,"

Cerata popped another Crabby Cake in her mouth as she looked over the little knick-knacks and items in the living room. He had a few pictures of him and some of what Cerata guessed were his allies. The item that got her attention the most was a little figurine of a Zapfish.

As cute as the little figurine was, it reminded her that she was surrounded by thieving little Inklings who take what doesn't belong to them. She then took another bite of the Crabby Cake, remembering she was eating the food of one of those thieving little Inklings.

With him now in the front of her mind, the Octoling turned her head towards the direction of the hallway. It sounded like the shower had stopped running. Curious, she walked over and peeked her head around the corner. The door had a bit of steam seeping from under it and was completely quiet. After a second, it opened.

Leviathan stepped out with his eyes closed, the steam from the shower flowing out around him like a mist. Cerata's eyes widened. He was…surprisingly muscular. He wasn't buff, but he was defined. The towel wrapped around his neck rubbed across his face as his body glinted a turquoise hue.

His eyes shot open, instantly locking on to hers like he knew she was staring. Caught in the act yet again, Cerata quickly went back around the corner. She wholly expected him to call out to her. Question what she was doing and probably scold her for being noisy. Instead she was greeted with the sound of a door opening and closing. She waited for a moment and after no sound was made, continued looking around the living room.

It wasn't too long afterward that the sound of a door opening echoed again. Cerata was studying the TV, flipping through channels with a curious look on her face. Leviathan stepped into the doorway, fully clothed this time.

"I'm going out to check for a way for you to go back. I shouldn't be gone long," He said barely giving a passing glance to the Octoling. Cerata gave a low "Okay" as the door was closed and she was once again plunged in silence.

She wasn't sure how she was going to kill time here. It's not like she had many options. Maybe she could do something nice for Inkay. Er, Leviathan. Yeah. She would think of something.

Leviathan trudged his way through the hustle and bustle of the city streets. If he was correct, he remembered being told that there was a kettle leading to Octovalley not too far from his location. Just down the street and around the corner in fact. This shouldn't be too hard. Just jump in, find a working kettle, and sneak Cerata back in under the cover of night. Nothing could go wrong.

Just as he was turning the corner, he cursed himself for jinxing it and stared as something had already went wrong. He was looking into a plaza. A much smaller one than where the Turf Wars are held, but a plaza nonetheless.

There was a sewer grate that, if his memory served him right, led to a section of Octovalley to the east. But the current problem was the grate was currently sealed off, and a police officer was standing next to it, seemingly writing something down. Against his better judgement, he stepped over to the officer.

"Excuse me sir?" He said looking up to the older Inkling. The cop tilted his head down to look at him. "This grate leads to Octovalley right? Why's it closed?" The cop stared at Leviathan for a second before placing his notepad in his pocket.

"This is why this generation should watch the news instead of all those Turf Wars…" The cop muttered to himself in an old 'this generation is doomed' tone. Leviathan flinched at the response but remained respectful.

"Early this morning some people found the shattered remains of an ink tank. Now that wouldn't be too bad had the ink not have been purple,"

"So what?" Leviathan asked. "Inklings use purple ink all the time,"

"True, but as I'm sure you know, Splatfest is in five days, and nobody wants any Octarians crashing the party. So as a precaution, all ways into Octovalley will be shut down until further notice," Leviathan cursed in his head. What a careless mistake he had made!

"Thank you sir. Have a good day,"

"No problem kid. Keep an eye out for anything strange, ya hear?" Leviathan simply nodded and turned to walk away. Well this was just splendid. Now what was he supposed to do? He knew the logical thing to do would be to just cash in his chips and turn Cerata over to the cops. But he had already said he was going to do something so by gosh he was going to do it.

With the inviting aroma of food suddenly filling his nostrils, Leviathan was reminded that he was hungry. He glanced around the plaza at all the available food courts, checking his pockets to make sure he had brought his money with him. Seeing that he had sufficient funds, he went to grab a bite to eat.

Cerata ran her hands over her tentacles and she let out a tired breath. She put on a small smile and looked over her handy work. Leviathan would be happy with this right? Who doesn't love a clean house? Cerata had took it upon herself to organize and clean the living room and the kitchen. They weren't necessarily dirty just…extremely cluttered.

Before her sprucing it up, the sink wasn't overrunning with filth, but neatly stacked with it. She wiped down the counters and the tables, getting rid of all the dust and grime on them. She was pretty proud of her handy work, but she questioned why she cared so much. She didn't have to do anything but wait, and here she was, wanting Leviathan to praise her efforts.

Regardless she was now sitting in a chair in a lemon scented kitchen, wondering what to do now. She turned towards the entrance to the kitchen as she heard the front door open.

"Cerata I-" There was a pause and Cerata heard Leviathan sniff the air several times. Within the second, Leviathan poked his head into the kitchen, his brows furrowed in a look of confusion. He looked at her, sitting down with one leg over the other then over the rest of the kitchen. As quick as he came, he was gone.

Had she done something wrong? Did he not like the cleanliness and the lemony fresh scent? That didn't make any sense because everything she used was found in his house. She stood up and walked towards the doorway to the kitchen, Leviathan standing in the living room across the hall. He turned to her with the same confused expression on his face.

"Did…you clean everything?"

"Yeah. Is that a problem?" Leviathan looked around the room before turning back towards Cerata.

"No it's not but…why?" Cerata crossed her arms and frowned at the ungrateful boy. A simple 'thank you' would be nice and instead she got interrogated.

"Well I'm pretty sure you keeping me here could put you in big trouble, so it's the least I can do," She responded matter-of-factly.

"Well…Thanks," He said giving her a nod and walking towards the kitchen. Cerata watched him walk by and noticed the bag he was carrying and grew curious. She followed him and caught up just as he was pulling out the contents and placing them on the counter.

"I bought some hotdogfish. I figured you were hungry and Crabby Cakes can only go so far," He said taking a container and handing it to her. Cerata slowly took the object from him and looked over it, pulling off its plastic wrapper and fully realizing her hunger that the dessert food didn't fully satisfy. "I got another one in the bag if you're still hungry afterwards," Leviathan said taking out a hotdogfish of his own.

"Thank you," Cerata whispered taking a seat at the table and slowly bringing the food up to her mouth.

"Don't mention it," Leviathan responded already taking a bite out of his. The two sat in silence, the only sound being the crinkle of plastic foil and teeth chewing food. Cerata stole a glance up to see Leviathan staring at the wall, his bright purple eyes seemed to be searching for something.

"It will be awhile before you can go home," He said out of the blue. Cerata slumped in her chair.

"Why?" There was a pause as Leviathan continued to stare at the wall.

"They found your ink tank that I had broken, so there are rumors that an Octoling is in the city," Cerata stiffened. Were they out looking for her? How long would it be before the door is kicked down and the apartment searched? "They don't believe the rumors are true, but they don't want to take any chances of an Octoling sabotaging Splatfest," Cerata tilted her head.

"Splat…fest?" She questioned. Leviathan turned towards her and she tensed. His eyes weren't furrowed into a glare or questioning her. They were just, observing her, and she didn't know how to feel about that.

"It's this big party that gets thrown every once in a while. There are fireworks, live music performances, and everyone roots for their team in Turf War that they picked, since the teams are different every time," Cerata had a few more questions but decided to ask what she felt was the most important one.

"So what? You're just going to leave me cooped up in here?" She said a childish pout on her lips. Leviathan actually chuckled at her and leaned back in his seat.

"If it keeps me out of trouble and you alive that's the plan," A smirk gracing his lips as Cerata's pouted more.

"Well what am I supposed to do all day?" Leviathan shrugged his shoulders.

"Do what a lot of lazy Inklings do all day, watch TV, or listen to the radio," Cerata slumped down sadly, looking over her half eaten hotdogfish with a sad expression on her face.

"Hey," She looked up to see Leviathan leaning forward, an inviting smile on his face. "Don't look so down. I'll get you back, I promise," He slowly extended his arm across the table, his pinky finger extended out towards her. Cerata sat back in confusion.

"What're you doing?" She asked. It was her turn for her face to shift into suspicious confusion. Leviathan was taken a back and all that confidence in his smile could practically be seen wiped away.

"Oh, uh, it's a…pinky promise,"

"A what?" with his other hand Leviathan scratched his head nervously.

"It's a squid…kid…thing,"

"Well stop it. I'm not a squid,"

"Listen, just…give me your pinky," With more suspicion gracing her face, Cerata slowly extended her hand towards the Inkling boy and he wrapped his pinky around hers. Bending his hand at the wrist, he tapped their thumbs together.

"There, now with this pinky promise, I am bound to keep it and get the job done," He said pulling his pinky away while keeping their thumbs connected. He sat back, a look of accomplishment on his face.

"That was it?" Cerata asked raising an eyebrow. Leviathan nodded. "That seemed unnecessary." He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Just go with it," He groaned out. Cerata couldn't help but find herself giggling at this odd Inkling.

"Yo Inkay! Open up man!" Cerata and Leviathan both jumped at the sudden knock at the door. They shared an uneasy glanced before jumping out of their seats. Cerata didn't know what to do and simply looked around the room in a panic as Leviathan ran over and began pushing her out of the kitchen.

"Go, go, go, go, go!" He whispered screamed to her as he pushed her into the guest room. He gestured towards the closet and very quietly said "Hide in there, and don't come out," Cerata nodded as Leviathan turned and closed the door. Cerata quickly ran into the closet and shut it behind her, scooting as far into the corner as she could.

She waited in the darkness listening as intently as she could. In the distance she could hear the door opening and a lot of voices talking at once. Her pace quickened as she hoped Leviathan had the situation under control.

She froze as the door to the room was kicked opened as an Inkling with dark blue tentacles stepped into the room. Her heart dropped at the sight of the Inkling with the same shade of blue as the slaughterer of her kind. He walked in with a huge smile on his face then leaned over the bed.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that…"A clearly annoyed Leviathan stated following the Inkling into the room. He was shortly followed by the two Inklings from the night before, both of which chuckling at his expense.

"Exhibit B!" The dark blue Inkling cried out. "This here is the guest bed, usually made neatly unless someone sleeps over, like you're darling friends!"

"Yeah? So?" Leviathan stated with a bored tone in his voice.

"So, my darling friend, if we didn't stay here last night, then who I wonder could possibly have slept in this bed?"

"One of my sisters maybe?" Leviathan stated in an overly sarcastic tone.

"Lies!" The Inkling cried turning and pointing an accusing finger at Leviathan. "Lies and Slander! Neither of your sisters would've slept in this bed! If it was your little sister, the adorable little thing would've begged to sleep in the same bed as her hero of a big brother! If it was your big sister, she would've no doubt fell asleep on the couch! Stuffing her face and watching TV!" The other two Inklings watched in amusement at the interrogation as Leviathan seemed to be getting more and more annoyed.

"She was tired and felt like the bed would be a better place to sleep,"

"More slander!" The Inkling cried a bright smile on his face. "Exhibit C!" He quickly turned and pointed a finger towards the metal breastplates on the nightstands beside the bed. "That armor is totally not the type your sister would wear! And even if it was, she wouldn't forget it when she left!"

"She didn't buy it. It was a gift from some fanboy. She didn't care about it so she forgot about it," The dark blue colored Inkling crossed his arms, closed his eyes and chuckled.

"You won't give up will you?"

"Will you?"

"The facts are all here!" The Inkling cried out. "A practically spotless house when you never clean! Not one, but two uneaten hotdogfish on opposite ends of the table! A messy guest bed and female armor that can't possibly belong to your sister! The truth is…" The Inkling threw an accusing finger right to Leviathan's face.

"You had a girl over! And you hid her…" He then swung that same finger towards the closet. "In that closet right there!" Cerata's heart dropped. How did he figure it out so quickly?! And without even trying?! That had to be Agent 3! It just had to be!

"Then check it," Leviathan's bored voice called out, making Cerata's heart feel practically nonexistent. "Prove your theories right,"

"I will!" Cerata's body felt heavy and she tensed as the footsteps approached her and the sound of the handle being gripped practically rang in her ears.

"But," everyone paused and looked at the turquoise Inkling. "Once you open the door and prove that you are in fact wrong, you're going to have to spend the entire weekend as a plaything,"

"A plaything?" The Inkling questioned. You could almost hear the smirk Leviathan put on as he continued.

"To both of my sisters," Likewise, you could almost hear the dark blue Inkling flinch.

"And if I'm right?"

"You have the privilege of being right and I'll allow you to take a pick from one of my weapons, and one of my gears,"

"Even the Inky Riders?" Leviathan nodded and the room grew silent, the two staring each other down.

"Well, if you're so sure that you want to bet the Riders on that…then maybe the closet is empty," The Inkling said removing his hand from the nob and scratching his head nervously.

"Oh? But you were so sure a second ago," Leviathan egged him as the other two laughed at the change of heart.

"Yeah well, it wouldn't make sense for you to have a girl over and she not sleep in your bed. I mean come on. Healthy guy alone with a girl over? It makes perfect sense for her to sleep in the same room as you!" The Inkling laughed as if he had just solved a major mystery on the first guess. The other two Inklings laughed and applauded at the scene.

"Mmmhmm," Leviathan muttered, a smirk on his face that was just screaming 'I know I won'. "Ya done? Cause I if you are I'd like to get ready,"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm done," The Inkling said turning towards the door. We'll be waiting outside OK? Don't take too long," Leviathan nodded and the other three Inklings stepped out. Leviathan closed the door behind him as he exited the room as well.

Cerata waited, her breath held in as the sound of people slowly faded into the distance. She was terrified. How close was she to being discovered? She didn't dare move in fear of the closet door being thrown open with that blue tentacled Inkling aiming a weapon at her. The door slowly creaked open and she tensed. She waited as soft footsteps slowly approached the door and paused. The door slowly creaked opened and she was sure she'd explode at how tense she was becoming.

"I'm headed out. Probably won't be back til late. Wait in here for a while before coming out," With that, Leviathan closed the door and Cerata let out a life's worth of breath she had been holding in. She slumped against the wall of the closet, now feeling extremely exhausted. There was no way that could've been any closer.

She found herself really scared. Yes the almost being caught by who she swears is Agent 3 was terrifying, but what she found herself more terrified of was Leviathan. He had just lied to his friend with the calmest of faces in such a way that he seemed like a pro at it. Was he lying to her? After that act and the bluff to end all bluffs, she wasn't entirely sure what he was telling her was the truth any more. For all she knew he could just be toying with her. That definitely was an option.

Sitting in fetal position in the corner of the closet, Cerata found herself staring at her pinky finger. She closed her eyes and brought it up to her chest.

And there's chapter 2. So not much happened, but a little something happened. We got to meet a special angry Octoling and we experienced Cerata's first day of hiding out in Inkopolis. Also one of Leviathan's friends figured it all out! Unfortunately for him, he second guessed himself so he walks away with nothing. Don't worry, more will be shown about Leviathan's friend next chapter.

Well again, I thank you all for reading and those who reviewed the previous chapter get a special thank you as well. Until next time.

Astalabyebye,

Bang