Cerata stayed in the closet for what was probably longer than what was truly necessary, but she was afraid she'd open the door and she'd have four weapons pointed at her face. She eventually built up the courage to poke her head out and was greeted with an empty room.

She let out a sigh of relief and stepped further out of the closet. She glanced around the room and cautiously stepped into the hallway. The apartment was dark, as Cerata hoped it would be. She closed the door behind her and wondered what to do now.

Well, maybe she would do what Leviathan suggested and watch TV. But first, she was going to go get her hotdogfish.

The echo of heavy boots rang throughout the hallway. Octarians of all forms stepped out of the way of the rampaging Octoling. Those unfortunate enough to either not notice or not get out of the way in time found themselves roughly shoved to the side. The Octoling charged forward, a quiet anger written on her face. She turned a few corners before coming to a door and pounding her fist against it.

"Open up! Open up this instant!" There was an annoyed groan from the other side of the door.

"And if I say no?" The Octoling snarled at the response and her fist tightened.

"Then I'll will kick down this door and so help me I'll-"

"You'll what?"

"I will kick your lazy octopus ass! Ever since DJ Octavio was defeated by that accursed Agent 3 you've spent all your time in that damn room! Come out of there and answer my questions!" There was silence on the other end and when the voice spoke it was closer, like it was standing just on the other side of the door.

"You are forgetting I outrank you Octameri…"

"I don't give a damn! You were the one who organized the mission so open up and tell me-" The door was cracked opened and a hand shot out, grabbing the Octoling by the throat and lifting her off the ground.

"You need to learn your place Octameri…Less something bad happen to you…You understand?" The Octoling only coughed and choked as her hands clawed and gripped at the hands around her throat. "Do you, understand?" A single red eye glowed in the darkness of the room. Struggling to get enough air in her lungs to respond, Octameri choked out a

"Yes sir,"

"Good girl. Now…leave me be," Octameri was dropped to the ground, coughing and trying to get air back into her lungs as the door slammed closed again. Once she had enough air in her body, she turned to give a glare towards the door. Thatprick.

"You there!" She yelled pointing towards a random Octarian as she stood to her feet. "Get me my gauntlets! I'm going out,"

"Come on, Inkay! Put your game face on!" Leviathan smirked at his friend and shook his head.

"It would be easier to remember mine if you weren't always wearing yours Shiro," The usually blue tentacled Inkling chuckled as he spun his splattershot in his hand.

"Gotta infect people with the smile bro,"

"If you two lovesquids are done, I'd like to get to the spawn point so we can start," Another Inkling with a golden weapon looked back at the Inklings behind him.

"Relax Kelp. We can handle these guys without their help. Let them do what they want. Love wins right guys?" The Inkling girl turned towards Shiro and Leviathan and gave a wink, her brush resting on her shoulder.

"You know it Lyra! Isn't that right Inky-winky" Shiro said turning back toward Leviathan and making kissy sounds and faces. Leviathan shoved Shiro with his weapon and rolled his eyes.

"Very funny guys, but don't underestimate the opponent. You never know when they'll surprise us," The rest of the group nodded and began walking forward. "Alright, you know the deal. Lyra, you draw their fire being the fastest. Kelp, you cover as much ground as possible and bombard them with Inkstrikes. Shiro, you're on front lines to splat as many as possible and watch over Lyra," The group nodded, all with smiles on as if they already won.

"And what about you, oh glorious leader?" Kelp asked as they prepared to step into their destination.

"Like you have to ask," Lyra chuckled as a dark smirk crossed Leviathan's mouth.

"Well it doesn't get much harder, than when you face the charger. Whip out my snipe, aim down the sights, and BOOM!" Leviathan jerked his weapon as if he just fired it. "Get splat a martyr," The group chuckled as they prepared to step into the light, Kelp getting the last word.

"That's what I like to hear,"

Cerata sat munching on her food as she scrolled through channels. There was some sappy soap opera on, advertisements to stores she'd never get the chance to go to, and a bunch of news reports. And honestly, she was getting tired of hearing the word 'fresh'.

But with nothing else to do, she simply continued flipping channels, barely registering anything on any she passed. One channel managed to get out the words 'Turf War' before she passed and it caught her attention. She knew of the Great Turf war, but there wouldn't be a documentary on how the Inklings stole the zapfish would there?

Turning back she noticed that there was not, and instead there were two news reporters looking down over some type of mall. The camera then zoomed in on two sets of four Inklings, one set being yellow, the other a bright pink. Was this some type of game? She might as well see how it played out.

The camera once again scanned over the two teams as a timer began to countdown from 3. Right before it hit zero, Cerata noticed something. The Inkling in the back of the yellow team had bright purple eyes, identical in fact to Leviathan. But, Leviathan had turquoise tentacles. But now that she was making comparisons, this Inkling looked exactly like Leviathan save for his tentacle color. He was even carrying the same weapon Leviathan had the night before.

She pried her eyes away from the Inkling to look at his team and sure enough, the other three, save for the one to one of the sides, held weapons she had seen his friends carry. That had to be the same Inkling. But, how? Can they just change their tentacle color at will? That's absurd. That makes no sense.

Those thoughts were disrupted as there was a bang and suddenly ink was flying everywhere. Covering the area in the two colors, the teams moved towards the center. Once they converged, the ink didn't stop. This was ridiculous. Didn't they know that that was dangerous? Was this some type of sick blood sport? These Inklings were going to kill each other over a game? As soon as she thought that, there was a cheer as a charger went off.

"Ooooh, and a beautiful snipe from Inkay! Plucked his opponent clean out of the sky!" One of the reporters shouted.

"That he did Chuck. That he did. Saved his teammate in the process as well," The camera showed the Inkling girl giving Leviathan a thumbs up, him returning it from his sniper's nest. She quickly began running forward again, swiping her brush to spread more yellow ink across the field.

"Yes, Leviathan prides himself on being a team player. He will give off a perfect location if it means keeping his teammates alive," Keeping his teammates alive? This was some type of blood sport! These Inklings were putting their life on the line all for the sake of some game! And they were celebrating! Leviathan held a bright smile as his team pushed forward, a cheerful "Booyah!" ringing every time he sniped a person who approached his teammates. These Inklings truly were creatures of war. They didn't even care about the life of their fellow squid!

"Uh oh, it seems that Zachary of the pink team has had enough of Inkay's shenanigans!" The announcer cried as an Inkling approached Leviathan's spot. Hearing the sound of an Inkling transformation, Leviathan quickly turned around to see a Kraken charging his location. Panicking and with nowhere to run, Leviathan began shooting rapid bursts at the approaching monster squid in an attempt to keep it at bay. Lacking the appropriate fire rate to do that, the Kraken approached undeterred.

Growling at his poor luck, Leviathan opted for another poor choice. He turned to a squid, falling through the grates he stood on. Determined to splat him and not completely thinking this plan through, the enemy Kraken followed falling through the grates and attempting to turn back towards the way he came.

Cerata clasped her hands over her mouth. The grate they were standing on was over water! What was he thinking?! The Kraken managed to stick itself to the wall next to the grate and attempted to climb his way back out. Leviathan on the other hand was having none of that. As quick as a flash he whipped out his snipe. The Kraken turned back into a small squid on the wall and Leviathan fired, inking the wall in a bright yellow. Unable to swim up that stream, the enemy Inkling began to fall into the water with Leviathan. They both hit the water and there was a hissing sound as they dissolved.

"Oh! And refusing to go down alone Inkay finds a way to drag his opponent down with him!" The announcer screamed out as the surrounding crowd cheered at the display. Cerata jumped to her feet. She just watched the person who promised to keep her safe die. These Inklings…These Inklings were insane! How is their population so high when this is their favorite past time?!

The camera shifted back to both of the spawn points, an angry looking Inkling emerging from the pink spawn point and a cocky looking one from the yellow. Cerata was very confused. Even more so as the yellow Inkling rubbed his hand over his tentacles like Leviathan did. Was he still…alive? How? What was this madness?! Looking closer at the other players as the camera shifted, Cerata noticed that even the Inklings that Leviathan splatted were still running around in a desperate attempt to cover ground. So, they weren't in any real danger? Well how was that possible?! That couldn't be right. Maybe it wasn't water, but something else. They would've been dead if it was water. She had a lot of question that she was going to demand Leviathan answer when he returns.

But for now, she was going to see how this played out.

"Woooomy! Today went well right guys?" Lyra called to her friends as they began to exit Booyah base.

"You said it! The only thing that would make this better would be food! In fact, to a restaurant!" Shiro called pointing his finger forward, his tentacles returned to their dark blue.

"I'm feeling pizza. Anyone else feeling like gettin' pizza?" Kelp asked looking over the group.

"I could go for some pizza. What about you Inkay? You joining us?" Lyra asked nudging her shoulder against Leviathan as they walked, his turquoise tentacles once again hanging down, and his Kelp Splatterscope resting on his shoulder.

"I guess I could go for some pizza. I'm really hungry," He said lightly nudging Lyra back. "But I probably won't stay the whole time and I'll probably get a to-go," Shiro jumped back and through his arm around Leviathan's neck.

"Aw, come on Inkaaaay. What, you got a hot date tonight or something?" Leviathan rolled his eyes at his friend.

"What's with you thinking I have a date? I'm a single guy just like you,"

"Suuuuure you are. I bet you have chicks just lining up outside your door, waiting for that special ink of yours,"

"Shiro! Gross, we're thinking about getting food here!" Lyra called out chuckling at the Inkling she called friend.

"Whatever girl. I ain't ashamed. This be man talk! Right men?" Shiro said gesturing to the other two Inklings in the group.

"I think I'd prefer to stay out of this one," Kelp laughed.

"If you are going to be gross I'll just go home," Leviathan laughed as Shiro sniffed with fake sadness.

"Ouch. It's always painful to be the misunderstood one," The entire group laughed.

Cerata was still in the living room. The Turf War program had ended and she found nothing else on the TV entertaining, so she opted to listen to the radio. The first voice she heard was the sound of the Squid Sister and she practically hissed. Changing the channel, she continued to look for decent music. Besides the first song, it all seemed…pretty good.

The original plan was just to turn on some music and lay down on the couch, but by the time she reached the couch to sit down, she found herself swaying. Her foot tapped on the ground and her head bobbed to the beat. What the heck was this? She was not the dancing type and she was fighting the urge to swing her body in ways she never had before. She tried to sit back down and just listen but resistance was futile.

She found herself dancing and swaying to the music from the little box. There was something about the vibe of the music that just made her want to move. And move she did. Her body twisted and turned as she spun around the room. She felt so free!

There was no way she could put this feeling into words, but she knew she enjoyed it. So she continued to dance. She twisted and turned with a silly grin on her face, trying to memorize the lyrics as her body absorbed their sensations.

She danced for she didn't know how long and just enjoyed the different songs that played. After a long while of dancing, she heard the sound of a key being placed in the door. She froze and stared at the entrance of the room as the sound of the door opening barely sounded over the music.

The door was closed and Leviathan stepped into the living room. He grew wide-eyed for a split second before he grew a nervous smile.

"Having fun are we?" He joked as Cerata looked down. She was just wearing the black shorts and tank top that was usually worn under her armor. But along with this she was really sweaty, and the garments clung to her body more so than usual. She also found herself panting heavily.

"Maybe," She gasped out between breaths. Leviathan chuckled and moved towards the kitchen. Cerata wiped her forehead and followed close behind.

"I brought some pizza. Hope you're hungry," Yes she was, but she had questions that needed answering.

"But first, I want to ask you something," Leviathan raised an eyebrow as he set down the plates and opened the pizza box.

"What did you do today?" Both parties were a bit confused at the statement. Cerata thought she couldn't come off as more stalkerish and Leviathan wondered why the heck she cared.

"I went to Booyah Base and did some Turf Wars with some friends?"

"And what is a Turf War?"

"It's a game,"

"A game where you kill people?!" Leviathan was taken aback by the outburst and visibly recoiled. "I knew Inklings were bad creatures but I never imagined that they would find enjoyment killing each other!"

"Alright, first off, lower your voice before you get us caught. Second, watch what you're saying before this 'bad creature' goes back on his word and leaves you to the cops!" Leviathan whisper shouted at the Octoling, offended by her words.

"How do I know you aren't lying about not turning me into the cops in the first place? You found it so easy to lie to your friend earlier!"

"I did that to keep YOU alive! You think I just go around spitting lies back and forth for no reason?!" Leviathan hissed taking an angry step towards the Octoling.

"If the tank fits!" Cerata hissed back mimicking Leviathan's step forward. Leviathan angrily pointed a finger up at the Octoling now standing directly in front of him.

"You listen and you listen good. I have been risking my neck keeping you here. I bring you food, I keep others from finding out you're here, I look for you a way home. If I wanted you dead, I have plenty! Of weapons I could've been splatted you with!"

"And why haven't you? Enjoying the sensation of splatting your fellow Inklings instead? Your entire species is so…savage!"

"Where are you getting these assumptions?!" Leviathan almost screamed.

"I saw your Turf War broadcast! You Inklings are barbaric! Murdering each other for sport! It's…it's…"

"Not true!"

"You're lying again!"

"It's a game!"

"That's sick!"

"Listen, if you watched the whole broadcast, then you would have seen that I got splatted a few times myself, and I'm still alive,"

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing! It is a harmless, game! No one gets hurt, no one dies. Everyone walks away fine," There was silence in the small room as the two stared each other down.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"Why do you think I'm such a liar?!"

"Because that's what Inklings are! Liars and thieves that think the zapfish belong to them!"

"That's because it does!"

"You filthy liar! Octavio told us how you stole the zapfish from him!"

"Stole? Octavio is the reason we have the zapfish!"

"…what are you talking about?" Leviathan took a deep breath and gestured for Cerata to follow him. She complied but still with an angry scowl on her face. Leviathan took her to his room. Cerata would've taken the time to look around seeing as she was in here for the first time, but she had to keep up the dominating glare less she be dominated.

Leviathan dug through the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a thick book. He began flipping pages, traces of annoyance and anger still apparent on his face.

"And what is that?" Cerata asked a bit of annoyance in her voice as well.

"A history book," Was the response she got. Leviathan turned the opened book towards her and glared.

"Read," Cerata returned her glare before snatching the book away. She broke her eyes away from his and looked down.

"The Great Turf War was a great dispute over land. Rising sea levels caused major complications between the Inklings and the Octarians. The Inklings held the majority of land while the Octarians had position of the majority of the zapfish, a creature that emits a massive amount of energy. Though the Inklings were in possession of a few, the Octarians had more, as well as the Great Zapfish, a more ancient version of the zapfish with greater power. See you guys are thieves!"

"Just read it,"Cerata scoffed before continuing.

"Though the Great Zapfish was a source of great power, the Octarians could not survive off it alone. In a desperate attempt to get some leverage after the Inkling's victory in the Great Turf War, DJ Octavio approached Captain Cuttlefish with an offer. One last one-on-one show of skill. If he won, he would take back all of the land the Octarians had lost. If he were to lose the battle…he would turn over the Great Zapfish to the Inklings…"

Cerata turned the page and there was a picture of DJ Octavio in a humanoid form swinging an Octobrush at an Inkling Cerata figured was this Captain Cuttlefish character. Octavio's opponent was swinging a different brush at him. "After Cuttlefish initially turned down the challenge in response to not wanting to put the once good friends on even worse terms, Octavio insisted that this would not be a bad decision and challenged Cuttlefish. Still honoring their previous friendship, Cuttlefish spared Octavio's life," Cerata stared at the next picture. Octavio was walking away from the group, Cuttlefish with a sullen smile on his face.

Cerata just stared. These were photographs. Therefore, things that actually happened. But…Octavio said…She continued reading. "After handing over the zapfish, Octavio returned to Octovalley. What happened upon his return is unknown, but rumors of revolt spread quickly…" Cerata just stared at the book. This had to be some sort of elaborate lie. This couldn't be true. Octavio told them that an Inkling stole the zapfish.

Cerata's head was spinning. This was too much. Her head was spinning and she was so confused. She placed the book down and began walking away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Leviathan growled.

"I need…I need a minute…" With that, Cerata retired to the guest room.

Leviathan sat on his couch, munching on some chips and watching highlights from that day's Rainmaker sessions, hoping to see his face somewhere on one of the reels. He looked towards the clock hanging on the wall. 10:37. Cerata had been in her room for 5 hours and he hadn't heard a sound. Well, he did show her that everything she knew was a lie, even if she was being rude about it.

Regardless, he felt obliged to go check on her, making a quick stop to the kitchen first. He grabbed a slice of pizza from the box and warmed it before heading to her room. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door with his knuckles.

"Hey, can I come in?" There was no answer. He knocked again and paused. "I'm coming in," He announced. He pushed open the door to be greeted with darkness. He flipped on the lights and saw Cerata sitting in the middle of the bed, hugging a pillow with her face in it and knees to her chest.

"Hey," Leviathan whispered slowly approaching the bed. "I brought you some pizza. I know you're hungry," He didn't get an answer. He sat on the edge of the bed and placed the plate in front of her. He sat quietly, not sure how to approach a conversation at this point. She seemed extremely distressed. But he had to show her. He would put up with being called a liar in his own home. "Penny for your thoughts?" That was a stupid thing to say and the silence that followed was proof of that. What was he even thinking.

"Why?" Leviathan perked an ear as Cerata spoke into the pillow.

"Why what?"

"Why are you still trying to be nice to me?" Cerata muttered. Leviathan paused and looked away.

"I'm just a nice guy. Plus I can't just leave you in here and starve yourself,"

"But I called you such horrible things…" Leviathan chuckled and rested on his arm.

"It's fine. I've been called worse before,"

"It's not fine…All you've done is help me and help me and I return the favor by not only insulting you but your entire race,"

"I told you, it's fine. You only knew what Octavio told you,"

"But you knew the truth," Cerata called out, shooting her head up from her pillow to look at Leviathan. Leviathan flinched as her eyes were puffy and red with tears still flowing from them. "For all you knew I could've been an Octoling trying to steal the zapfish that rightfully belongs to your people. So why? Why didn't you just splat me back in the alleyway?" Leviathan thought for a second before looking away.

"I couldn't. You looked so scared and innocent…like you really needed help. What type of person would I be not to try to help you get home?"

"A smart one,"

"Well it's a good thing for you I'm nice and dumb," Leviathan chuckled as Cerata sniffed. She suddenly lunged at him, clinging to his shirt instead of the pillow and cried into it. Leviathan put his hands up not quite sure how to handle the sobbing girl.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I called you all types of names and accused you of being something you're not when I'm the horrible creature and you've been so kind to me! Everything I grew up knowing pointed to you being a liar and I was scared you were lying to me and just so stressed about never getting back to Octovalley and restless from being inactive for so long that I sort of just targeted all of my frustration to you and I-" Leviathan shushed her and patted her head.

"Hey, it's ok. It's ok. You know how you can make it up to me? Eat. Get some food in your system and stop crying," Cerata let go of Leviathan and sat back up, rubbing away tears and still sniffing.

"You really are too nice..." Leviathan responded by poking his tongue out at her, which she did as well. Cerata turned towards the pizza in front of her and picked it up taking a bite.

"There you go. There's more in the kitchen if you're still hungry," Leviathan said getting off the bed. "And…you need to shower," Cerata looked down and back up at Leviathan.

"But what will I wear afterwards?"

"Hmm…that's a good point," Leviathan said placing a finger on his chin. "Tell you what, tomorrow morning you take a shower, and while you're getting clean I'll wash your cloths," Cerata blushed and frowned at the idea.

"That's kind of embarrassing…I can't do that…"

"Well I'm not having you stink up my apartment. It's a safety hazard since Lyra has the best sense of smell I know and she shows up randomly with the others," Cerata pouted and took another bite of pizza.

"Fine," Was the sole reply.

"Good. I'll see you in the morning. Good night Cerata,"

"Good night Leviathan. And…thank you," Leviathan smiled at Cerata, giving a "You're welcome" before closing the door behind him.

Yet another chapter down! Wow I'm getting these things done fast. They don't seem rushed to you guys does it? I hate when a story jumps from one major point to another so fast your head spins, which is why I try to take my time with the scenes.

So with this chapter, we see the angry Octoling Octameri is not highest on the sea food chain, Leviathan/Inkay hangs out with some friends and gets a few Turf Wars done while Cerata chills at his place questioning how civil the Inklings are. In all honesty I wasn't sure how to write the argument scene. But I tried to picture it this way, your life is on the line and the one person in a sea of enemies you think is kind enough to help goes around killing others for the lols and is an excellent liar, can you really trust that?

I know that getting splat is like dying in this world, and Inklings do find enjoyment in having Turf Wars(and I do as well), but for a race that has Inklings in such a negative light already and don't understand the technology behind the spawning systems in the Turf Wars would just see it as barbaric fighting where you're actually killing people.

Then there's the history book. Everything I put was actually based on the actually lore of the game, minus the zapfish bet between Cuttlefish and Octavio. I don't think any of the sea scrolls tell how the zapfish got into the Inkling possession, but I do know that the Inklings almost lost the Great Turf War because they couldn't be bothered to get out of bed in time and only won because of a cord coming unplugged or something like that on the Octarian side. So there's that.

Wow this is getting long. Guess I should wrap it up. Next chapter Leviathan goes to meet two special people and gets a surprise for Cerata. Also Octameri will see something that gets those evil ideas flowing. Fun fact, her name is from Oct, from octopus, Meri, which means 'sea' or 'ocean' in one language and 'fierce' and 'intolerant' in another. Also 'a' because it's more feminine. So yeah, there's that.

Again, I thank you all for reading and a special thank you to the reviewers. Until next time.

Astalabyebye,

Bang