Chapter 9 – Glass Ink
Tela grumbled curse words under her breath as she tried her hardest to scrap off the mould growing in large lumps on the attic floor, her latest job in a line of back breaking chores given to her by Mr. Cuba.
It was only the second day working for the fashion business owned Jellian and already she felt like quitting. Sora had offered her some money when he had discovered why she had to leave early this morning, but Tela out-right refused to accept the cash. She was too proud of an Octoling to accept anything without earning it first.
The scrapper slipped and Tela growled as she nearly face-planted the floor into that horrible vile stuff. Honestly… How did Mr. Cuba allow his store to get in such a state?
"I wonder how Sora's doing? To think I could be watching him right now…"
The reason why Sora's friends had come over so late last night was to inform him of a special announcement made by the Squid Sisters about the Turf Wars.
Everyone knows that each Squid are issued an ID card when they first join the Turf Wars games. The more points you earn in battle, the higher your level is. The level cap had been 20, but now it has been raised to 50!
Obviously, this had caused much excitement and hype among the Inklings. So, Sora and his squad were spending the whole day doing Turf Wars, determine to kept their statues as one of the best squads in the games.
On a side note, Tela was surprised to find that Sora's friends knew she had been secretly pretending to be a boy. The fact she was wearing PJ that didn't exactly hide her female assets didn't help. According to Ryu it was obvious, whenever they knew she was an Octoling or not was still unknown and Tela had no desire to tell them otherwise.
Tela wished she could go and watch the others play in the matches, no doubt every Inkling in the whole city would be there. Everyone that is, apart from her and Mr. Cuba.
"Urgh…" Tela screwed up her nose as she finally managed to scrap the last of the mould off into the bin. The smell was disgusting, like damp sweaty socks left out to fester.
Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to take part in the Turf Wars matches… but you need to be able to change the colour of your ink to do that, and Tela was pretty sure Octarians did not have this ability. Maybe? It wasn't like she could try it out without risking her life.
"Woo Kid! Nice job."
Mr. Cuba appeared behind the started Octoling and whistled. "It almost as clean as the day I bought this shop 25 years ago!"
"Anything else Mr. Cuba sir?" asked Tela sweetly while less then sweet thoughts about the Jellian bounced around her head.
"Nope, that's it for today. Here… a little sometime to tie you over till the end of the week." Said Mr. Cuba as he handed the surprised Tela some cash. She looked down at the coins in her hands before looking up with a genuine smile. It wasn't a lot of cash (150) but it was something.
"You're get the rest at the end of the end. Now why don't you go buy some lunch and watch the Turf Wars? That's all you Inklings seem to care about anyway, not that I'm complaining since it's good for business!"
Mr Cuba winked and then made his way back down the stairs towards the shop floor. Tela looked down at the coins in her hand again and then squealed with delight. So many possibilities were open to her now, there was enough cash for Levi's present AND enough left over for herself! So exciting!
The streets were less crowded then usual as Tela made haste towards a certain shop she had seen before during one of her visits to the city. Calamari Freeze Fresh!
As soon as she arrived, Tela pressed her face against the cool coldness of the display window and felt her mouth water at the sight of row upon rows of delicious looking ice-cream.
As quick as a squid in ink or in Tela's case an Octopus in ink she made her way inside and rushed to the counter. A minute later she stepped back outside again with the biggest grin on her face, a wafer cone piled with two large scoops of mixed berry flavoured ice-cream.
Tela licked at the frozen treat with feverish delight as she strolled down the pavement towards the Turf Wars Lobby, hoping to catch a battle of involving her friends.
Her friends… A warm pleasant feeling blooming inside of Tela's chest, making her feel light as a feather and glowing with happiness. She never had friends before, all the other Octarians were too busy following the selfish whims and desires of DJ Octavio.
The Lobby was packed to the brim with Inklings as it came into view. Their chattering filling the air with words of excitement as Tela made her way to the teleportation pad that would take her to the stands overviewing todays stages.
Once Tela and her ice-cream made it safely to the other side, she began to make her way along pushing past Inklings and Jellians alike as she tried to find a seat. Finally, after 10 minutes of stepping onto people's toes and apologizing constantly she found a seat and sat down, her eyes glued to the stage below that was in the process of having all the ink cleaned up for the next match.
As she waited and licked the small dribbles of melting ice-cream, Tela thoughts went back into thinking what it would be like if she could join in a Turf War match.
She could imagine the anticipation and eagerness as she joined up with a party of eight, being split up into a small group of four as they teleport to the stage while clutching their weapons ready for use. Her tentacles sporting a vivid new colour. The sound of the whistle indicating the match as everyone leaped into action, ink spraying everywhere. It would be glorious!
Then the next question would be, what weapon would she use? Tela's has had bad experiences with long-range weapons like the Octo-Blaster. So maybe a melee weapon? Something similar to what Maya and Naya, the pink sparkly Inkling twins use, the Carbon Roller.
What about… an Octo Brush? It was similar to the roller weapons plus it would be easy to handle… yeah… She could totally see herself using a brush weapon. Leaping behind unsuspecting opponents and hit them hard with a good splattering swat!
Tela stopped herself with a little shake of head before her fantasy could process any further. It was pointless thinking about something that could never happen, she'll only upset herself.
A loud whistle cracked through the air, causing the stadium noise level to drop as every face turned with expectant looks towards the stage, Tela included as she quickly stuffed the last of the wafer cone into her mouth.
The pumps started to move and puff out steam on both Respawn Pads as they came to life, one glowing yellow and the other neon green. Then four squids matching their respective colours appeared on the pads, idly floating on top as their eager eyes looked around. A second later the Inklings stretched up to turn into their humanoids forms, all clutching their weapons and shaking the excess ink from their tentacles.
Tela's eyes widened with surprise before leaping up to her feet with a yell, her hands in the air as she screamed with delight. Sora and his friends stood waiting in one corner, their tentacles now a brilliant yellow.
"SORA! GO GET THEM!"
Tela knew that the Inklings wouldn't be able to hear her scream among the mass of noise of the stadium. So, you can guess how pleasantly surprise she was when Sora stood up straight and looked around with a curious expression before looking up. His eyes went wide as they connected with Tela's, a huge grin appeared on his face as he waved a hand in the air before giving a thumbs-up. The Octoling smiled back as a blush formed on her face, the beating of her heart becoming more noticeable.
To think a few months back, if someone had told her she would in love with an Inkling the Octoling would have laughed and called them crazy. Yet here she was… without a doubt, she knew she loved him. Maybe one day in the future, she would have the courage to let Sora know just how deep her feelings for him really were.
Another whistle sounded as both teams sprang into action, yellow and green ink went flying everywhere. The crowd cheered loudly at the first splattering of the match, a poor green Inkling crushed brutally by one of the twins Carbon Rollers.
As usual, Sora's opposition stood no chance against the skills of himself and his squad.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Tela! You're finally home!" gurgled Levi in delight as Tela stepped through the front door. The little Octopus slithered from the sofa and stopped in front of her older sister, her little tentacles reaching up to indicate she wanted to be picked up.
Tela obliged, bending down and lifting Levi up in her arms and pressing her close to her chest in a 'I really miss you' kind of hug.
"Well if it isn't Tulip!" crooned Janjan as she came into the room holding a tray filled with cups of steaming tea and platters piled high with sandwiches.
"It's a good thing I went overboard with the sandwiches eh lassie loo!"
Tela helped Janjan set up the platter on the little table in the living room and then they all made themselves comfortable, little Levi curled up on her sister's lap.
"Are you staying tonight?" the small Octopus asked after swallowing the mouthful of her sandwich. Tela paused in the motion of taking a bite of her own sandwich and looked down.
"I'm staying till tonight, then I'll be heading off again."
Levi pouted and looked down with narrow eyes, the half-eaten sandwich lowered down away from her face. Tela notices her sisters' change in behaviour instantly.
"Hey come on, It's for a good reason! I need you to trust me on this Levi ok? I know I haven't been around lot lately but… I'm…" Tela trailed off as she looked away.
What could she say to her sister? Tela always had this great grand plan of hers, where the Octarians would win against the Inklings and be able to live in peace on the surface.
Yet thanks to evidence that had come to light, she couldn't allow that to happen. So, what was the plan now? The only thing that came to mind was to… well. Revel herself.
Could Capt. Scuttlefish really be right? Would the Inklings accept her if she came out in the open?
The answer to that question would never be answered unless she was willing to find it. All that left was the timing and manner on coming out in the opening.
"Tela? Are you ok?"
Tela blinked out of her self-induce daze and then looked down to see Levi staring at her in concern.
"Yeah… just thinking about stuff you don't need to know." She smirked as she ruffled the top of Levi's head, causing her to protest.
Janjan had a slight mischievous smirk when she lowered her cup of tea from her lips.
"I'm guessing it's about a boy, right Tulip?"
Tela spluttered as she turned bright red, her wide eyes darting towards the old Octoling in the manner of someone who had been caught doing something they shouldn't be doing.
"Wha-what? I… Janjan! Don't, don't be r-ridiculous!"
Janjan smacked her knee as pearls of laughter burst from her mouth. Levi looked between her highly embarrassed and red-faced sister, and the crazy laughing Octoling who was spilling her tea without a care.
"O-oh… Oh Tulip dear! I may be an old dried-up Octoling known far and wide as Crazy Old Janjan… but even I can recognise a love-bite when I see one!"
Tela flinched as her hand automatically went up to cover the bruise on her neck, her blush intensifies as her heart-rate sped-up.
"You have a boyfriend Tela? Can I meet him?" asked Levi eagerly as Tela looked down at her in alarm.
"B-boyfriend!?"
Tela flushed as she turned her head away quickly. It was true Sora had confessed that he liked her, and vice versa. Yet he hadn't officially asked her out, or does he already considered them to be a couple?
Why was having a relationship so hard and down-right confusing?
The happy light atmosphere in the room suddenly shattered as repeated loud bangs rang through the house. Someone seem to be at the front door and they were knocking as if the devil kraken himself was after them.
"Were you expecting someone Janjan?" said Tela slowly as she began on edge. Something didn't feel right as she hugged Levi closer to her body, the little octopus buried her head under her t-shirt as she shivered in fear at the loud bangs which seem to be gaining in velocity.
Janjan went pale as she clamoured off the sofa as fast as a woman her year could. Her body twitched and shook as she made her way to the window, pulling the curtains back to peer into the darkness of the cavern.
"Janjan?" whispered Tela, feeling alarm and somewhat scared by the older Octolings behaviour.
"Why my Octo stars… it's a platoon from Octavio's army. I don't understand…"
Tela felt alarm as she quickly leaped to her feet, walking over as fast as she could to peer through the window at the platoon of soldiers that were indeed at their front door. She recognises the one banging at the door, it's Commander Lucia the Octoling she used to serve under.
Levi started to cry in fear underneath Tela's top.
"Why are they here? There has to be a reason for this awful racket they're making. Honesty…" tutted Janjan shaking her head in disapproval. She went to move towards the door but before she could have taken anymore then a step, the door flew off it's hinges and landed on the landed with an almighty bang.
Janjan squeaked in alarm and anger at the damaged caused as Tela took a step back, her arms cradled the shivering lump under her top as she stared wide-eyed at the scene.
It what was going on!? Then a terrible thought drifted in her mind… were they here because of her? Was it to do with her terrible performance in the military? Surely… they weren't going to punish her for that. They would have done so by now… right?
Commander Lucia stepped over the threshold with a calm expression, as if knocking down doors with such force was something as common as taking a stroll in the park. Her cool eyes locked onto Tela's who swallowed nervously, her heart speeding up with a tight insufferable sensation, as if something bad was going to happen.
Janjan looked towards the invading Octoling with anger filled eyes.
"Who do you think yeh are!? Tramping along my property as if it's ya own!?" the elderly Octoling snarled as she brandished a fist.
Lucia simply gave Janjan a bored look before focusing her attention back on Tela.
"It's been a long time since we last saw each other… right Tela?" Lucia took a step forward as she pulled her Octo-Sniper from behind her back and leaned the nozzle against her shoulder. Tela trained her eyes on the weapon as she felt the dread grow, she was right about them being here for her.
"I've heard you're been busy with your free time after being kicked out of the military. Have you been enjoying the Inklings company?"
All colour drained from Tela's face as she quietly gasped, realising the situation is a lot worse then she originally thought. Janjan gave her a strange look before stepping forwards.
Quick as a flash Lucia had the point of her sniper aiming directly at the old Octolings face, Janjan opened her mouth in silent horror as shock filled her face. Then to Tela's utter amazement, that shock turned to anger as Janjan smacked the sniper away with such speed the movement was almost invisible.
Janjan cackled madly as she whipped up the walking cane she always carried with her and swung it towards the commander who dodged quickly to avoided the hit. The other Octarians who had been standing in the background roared their battle cry.
"You need to leave… NOW!" yelled the old Octoling as Tela flinched at her shout.
"Leave these sorry excuses for Octopuses to me Tulip dearie. I may be old but I wasn't considered the best melee combat specialist in my young days for nothing!"
Even though she didn't want to leave Janjan behind, she had little choice as she sprinted out of the room towards the back door. She casted a quick glance behind and smirked as Janjan walloped two Octarians across the face at the same time, sending them reeling back as purple ink spurted from their gaping surprised mouths.
Tela wrenched open the back door and raced across the rocky terrain as fast as she could, her chest heaving as her breath came out in short gasps.
How could she have been so stupid? She should have been more careful when going to Inkopolis, one of them obviously had gone to spy and caught Tela in the act. Now because of her carelessness… she had put both Levi and Janjan in danger.
She could only hope the crazy old Octoling survived the fight. She would never forgive herself otherwise.
The ground in front of her suddenly burst in a shower of small rocks and dirt, multitude of pink and purple tentacles stretched out towards to tangle her in their tight grip. Tela could have kicked herself for her mistake, the Octarians wouldn't have stormed a house without setting up an ambush at the possible chance of escape.
Levi slipped to the ground as Tela's arms were pulled harshly backwards, in that one second of madness making her grateful that Octarians didn't have bones.
"Run Levi! Get away fro-!?"
Levi gave a squeal of fear as she watched a large tentacle wrap itself around her older sister's mouth, cutting her off. The little Octopus seem to get the gist of it though, as she quickly zoomed away petrified. Tela felt relieved that the Octarians didn't seem to notice or care about her sister's escape.
"Well, well, well…" cooed a familiar voice as the Octarian soldiers pulled Tela around, her whole body ensnared. Her eyes grew wide in surprise as Commander Lucia stepped forwards, Janjan was being dragged behind her by another Octarian.
Tela felt some closure at the many marks that covered the Commanders skin, obviously not escaping unscathed from Janjan's attacks. The old Octoling herself seem to be surprisingly ok.
"Did you really think you could escape from your crimes by allowing an old lady to fight your battles? A traitor AND a coward it seems."
Tela muffled something as she kicked her legs out. She went to turn into her Octopus form, yet when she did the tentacles trapping her instantly went tighter to the point it became hard to breath. They were crushing her!
Then the Octoling gave a gurgling cry of outrage as she was suddenly crammed into a glass jar that had mysteriously appeared into Commander Lucia's hands. She tried to turn back into her humanoid form, but the glass wouldn't break and she only ended up hurting herself as she grew in the tiny space.
"DJ Octavio is expecting you Tela. He isn't happy with your fraternization with the enemy. Mission accomplished squad, it's time to head back."
Fear bubbled up inside as she banged her tentacles against the glass knowing full well it wouldn't break, her eyes glaring viciously at Lucia as she gurgled in rage and panic. If she had gained the attention of Octavio then most likely she was facing the worst-case scenario. Death.
Commander Lucia gave the glass jar a hard shake while laughing at the pain she was causing to the trapped Octopus inside.
"I'm so looking forward to what DJ. Octavio has in plan for you!" smirked Lucia, then she looked behind her and nodded at the Octarian holding Janjan.
"Let the old dried-up hag go… She's of no concern to us despite her unnatural fitness. Just dump her back where you found her. Oh, and knock her out for good measure, I don't want the old biddy following us."
Janjan hissed with rage and feebly tried to kick out her legs, but her capture simply laughed as he spun on his heels and marched back towards the house with eagerness on his face at the prospect of knocking her out.
Tela let her muscles relax, allowing her body to slither down and slump at the bottom of the jar, her eight tentacles laying flayed around. There was no point trying to fight, she would only end up hurting herself.
No… what Tela needed did to do now was wait… wait for an opening to make her escape. Levi would be fine, Janjan will ensure that. Hopefully.
She watched the scenery go by as they travelled through the vast cavern towards whatever destination they were heading to, yelping in pain every now and then when Lucia decided to give her jar prison a shake. She was surprised how calm she was being despite the building fear inside, the panic trying to claw its way out like a desperate animal.
"It was one of my scouts who saw you by the way. How pleasantly surprised I was when I discovered what you had been up to."
Tela looked up in surprise. Apart from the viscous shaking, Lucia hadn't spoken a word to her in nearly half an hour.
"I admit I've had a grudge against you for quite a while. You had shown such promise during rookie training and yet… you failed me. You made me look like a fool despite the high hopes for you that had vocally expressed to others. I don't like being made a fool… not at all."
Tela didn't respond or made any sort of movement, only her eyes narrowed at the Commander.
"Both you and I know how this is going to end. Especially since it involves DJ. Octavio's most hated enemy, but don't worry…"
Lucia lifted up the jar so that Tela stared straight into her face, the Commanders eyes filled with a sick twisted kind of joy.
"You don't die alone… I wonder how fast both of you will dissolve in salt water?"
Tela took a sharp intake of breath as her eyes went wide in shock, her body quivering at the meaning of the words. Her means of death was obvious, and who was this other person sharing her fate? Another traitor?
She knew it wasn't Janjan as they had let her go, and she knew it wasn't Levi or else they would have captured her too. So who could this other person be?
Commander Lucia and her marching squadron finally arrived at their destination. Tela's heart fell with a painful thud when she recognised the place, a dance club.
Not just any dance club, the home of DJ. Octavio which happened to be the whole of the cavern world they had travelled to. Flashing platform floated above a large chasm so deep you couldn't see the bottom, large tentacle like structures covered in speakers twisted and turned everywhere, thousands of them.
As they travelled further in, Tela finally caught her first glance of the Octarian boss himself. He sat within his large floating DJ Booth, spinning the disk tracks with his wasabi sticks to create a strange loud noise that really shouldn't be classed as music.
Then something caught the Octoling's eye as she realised there was something else in the room, something that DJ. Octavio was too busy laughing and gloating at, hanging in a glass circular cage whose chain came from the high ceiling.
Tela pressed her tentacles against the glass as she gurgled loudly in shock and disbelief, fear and horror worming its way up to fill every inch of her being.
Capt. Scuttlefish glanced down from his cage and gasped, his angry and shamed expression changing to mirror Tela's own.
"Tela? That be you lass!?"
DJ. Octavio turned towards where his old friend was looking and began to laugh again, slapping his wasabi sticks against the turn-tables.
"Commander Lucia! I see you bought the little traitor, excellent! Now the party can really begin! LET'S PUMP THIS UP!"
Lucia smirked as another glass cage suddenly lowered down from the darkness, the chain rattling causing the glass prison to swing wildly. It stopped a few inched off the floor, it's door swinging open with a hiss.
Commander Lucia gave the glass jar one last shake before unscrewing the lid and grasping a couple of Tela's tentacles with a painful grip. Tela gurgled loudly in anger as she was pulled from the jar and then shoved into the cage. She turned back into her humanoid form as the cage door shut with a bang, a click indicating it had locked.
"LET ME GO!" she screamed as she pounded against the sheet of glass, knowing full well her words were pointless. No one would heed them. Why would they?
DJ. Octavio sneered as a large robotic hand attached to his booth moved towards Tela who felt her jaw dropped. His booth had hands!?
The large hand gave a flick of it's metallic wrist, slamming its fingers into the girl's cage and sent it swinging wildly. Tela gripped her stomach as her body flung to the side through the force, the spinning making her stomach churn horribly.
"That's enough yah blasted sea dog!" roared Capt. Scuttlefish as he banged his cane against the glass in anger, the tapping sound catching everyone's attention.
Strangely enough, Octavio looked conflicted for a split second before plastering back his grin as he turned around.
"Naw… you're just mad Scuttlefish. I finally have the upper tentacle here. As soon as that blasted Agent of yours comes to rescue your pathetic self, I'll have all three of you THROWN INTO THE SEA! Inkopolis will finally be mine, and all those worthless Inklings will be banished to live underground. Let's see how they like it! Then the party can REALLY start!"
DJ. Octavio ordered a few Octarians to stand guard at the cages as he and the rest left the platform, most likely to celebrate what they thought was an easy-to-come victory.
"I be sorry lass…" mumbled Capt. Scuttlefish as he wearily sunk to the floor, his large eyes filled with disappointment and sadness.
"I let me guard down… hundred years hasn't slowed me old ship mate down. Octavio…"
Scuttlefish slumped even further down to the floor of his cage as he shook his head. Tela felt sorry for the old Inkling, the subject of his old broken friendship was obviously still hurtful to him. She wondered how much it would hurt her if she and Sora became bitter enemies… the thought made her shudder.
Sora… how long would it take before he realised what had happened? Capt. Scuttlefish disappearance will be noted first, as Agent 3 he must have regular meetings with him. Would he not realise she was missing too until he came to rescue Scuttlefish?
No.
Tela couldn't allow that to happen, it's what Octavio wants. She has to figure out how to get Scuttlefish and herself out of these wretched cages and take out the guards below.
Tela carefully scanned the whole area, twisting her body around in a full circle and trying to memorise as much details as possible. Scuttlefish raised an eyebrow at her odd behaviour but Tela simply shook her head as the old Inkling opened his mouth to say something.
She couldn't tell him that she was trying to think up an escape plan, not with the guards here. Scuttlefish however… seemed to have got the gist of what the Octoling is doing, his large eyes glanced at the guards with a calculated look before gazing at Tela again with a slight nod. Then he began to look around the vast cavern of DJ. Octavio's home.
There has to be a way out of this…
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Fours day they have been trapped in the cages… four whole stinkin' days… or maybe it was five? Time was hard to keep track of when you're trapped in a glass contraption that's suspended high in the air inside a vast cavern with no sunlight from the outside world.
All that time Tela and Capt. Scuttlefish had tried to come up with a plan of action, discussing their ideas in hushed tones in the two minutes of privacy as Guards swapped shifts every six hours.
That was one aspect to keep note of… the two-minute window.
On the second day of imprisonment, Sora had come to rescue them… or rather to come rescue Scuttlefish since Tela doubt the Inkling even knew she was captured too by Octavio. She along with her prison mate had listened to the commotion, fear and worry at the possibility that Sora would be captured too.
She felt an odd mix of relief and sorrow when DJ. Octavio came storming in, hissing and growling in that floating booth of his. According to his seething rants, Sora had retreated. The rescue mission had failed.
There has been a few more attempts, but all seem to have ended in failure. One particular rescue mission garnered great interest from Tela, when instead of the guards shouting 'Agent 3 is here!' instead they had said, 'Those damn Agents!"
Damn Agents, not Agent. That could only mean Sora had others with him. This piece of news was quite astounding at first, until Tela realised she was being stupid. Sora is Agent 3. Three. There was obviously an Agent 1 and 2.
At the first chance she got, Tela had inquired about them to Scuttlefish who seemed to suddenly perk up.
"Arrr! They be me granddaughter's lass! They had re-formed me ole' Squidbeak Splatoon in order to guard the great Zapfish!"
The old Inkling had said this simple statement with such pride that Tela couldn't stop herself from smiling warmly at her friend. Unfortunately, the conversation could not continue when the next guards came in to take over.
Tela woke up to the sounds of screeching metal as the guards transferred her daily tray of food, the lumpy grey mass tasted as good as it looked. She had refused to eat it at first but by the third day Scuttlefish had convince her otherwise. How was she going to escape with no energy?
"It be times like this lass when I wished I had stowed away some of me Crabby Cakes in my pockets. I've survived the horrors of war but this gruel will be the death of me I swear! Arrr…."
Tela nodded glumly as she poked at the pile of jelly-like goo, what she wouldn't do for a kelp burger right about this. Being trapped in this Octo forsaken cage and unable to move for so long had almost pushed Tela to the brink of insanity, there is this feeling like an itch that cannot be scratched no matter how far you reach.
Then a horrible thought wormed its way to the front of her mind… if she had worked it out right, today would be Levi's birthday. She was missing her little sister's special day, all because of some stupid Octarian who thought he had the right to cause all this destruction and war.
Capt. Scuttlefish seem to notice the sudden behaviour change in the Octoling, lowering the spoonful of mush back to the tray as he raised a concern eyebrow.
"Yeh be ok lass?"
Tela looked at the old Inkling before looking down and huffing.
"I'm as fine as a Octoling in a cage can be… I'm just… it's my little sister's birthday today… I should be with her, and yet I don't even know where she is or if she's ok. Levi's a smart girl so I'm sure she's fine but… I worry. I can't help but worry… I'm supposed to protect her…"
Understanding flashed across the old Inklings face as he continued to gaze towards her sadly.
The old Inkling went to open his mouth to say something but was stopped by the loud commotion near the entrance away from them. The guards in front of their cages suddenly sprang into action as they raced towards the noise. Tela and Scuttlefish glanced at each other, knowing perfectly well what was going on.
It seemed the Agents of the Squidbeak Splatoon have launched another recuse attempt. Only time will tell if this one turns out to be successful, or a failure like the others…