Chapter 12 ~ Embrace for the Truth

Octavio gave a deep sign as he scratched at his tentacle that peeked underneath the helmet he wore. The sounds of the crashing waves against the cliff whose edge he stood at did nothing to calm the raging feelings inside.

"Why hello handsome!"

Octavio turned around in surprise, then blinked as a slight blush dusted his cheeks when he realised who had spoken to him.

"Felica? What are you doing here?" asked the tall Octoling as he turned away from the edge of the cliff that overlooked the ocean. He had been staring into its depths while brooding.

"Oh… just thought I'll come and see my favourite Octoling male of course!" smiled Felica, as she swiped one of her pink tentacles to the side, brown eyes twinkled merrily that were framed with the typical Inkling markings.

"Favourite Octoling male? Please… I'm the ONLY Octoling male." Huffed Octavio with pride, puffing out his chest as he posed heroically.

"None of the other males have been able to control their humanoid forms like I can!"

"Really? Yet all the females can do it." Said Felica as she giggled cutely, she moved to stand next to him.

Octavio huffed and crossed his arms as he tapped his foot. "Yes… well. We ARE different from you Inklings you know. Things work… differently, that's all."

"Hmmm…" the Inkgirl leaned towards the Octoling and gave him a nudge with her shoulder. Then her playful expression turned serious.

"You're not worried, are you?"

Octavio looked at Felica in surprise, then turned his head away to stare at the ocean once more.

"Aren't you?" he whispered, his eyes wide as they continued to stare at the large moving mass below them. Felica looked surprised before slowly smiling as she placed a hand on the Octoling's shoulder.

"No… no I'm not."

Octavio snapped his head towards her, his eyes narrowed with confusion and disbelief.

Felica smiled warmly as she continued. "Because I know you and Scuttlefish will come up with a solution to this problem. You two are amazing when you work together, sometimes it makes me wish I had a best friend like that."

Octavio blushed heavily as the Inkgirl gently took his hand with her own.

"I believe in you Octavio. I always have…"

The Octoling smiled for the first time that day as he gave the small hand in his own a small squeeze.

Got to get away… think think THINK!

A loud bang followed by a gush of blue ink arched over her head but Tela, who knew what Sora was trying to do leaped over the puddle of ink and continued to run as if the Octo Devil himself was at her heels.

The Octoling had no choice but to lie to Sora, if Octavio thought she was on their side then… she dreads to think what could happen to her sister. She really had no idea if she was being watched by an Octo-Stealth, and really didn't want to risk it.

More ink shots rang through the air but Tela used her training to dodge and roll out of the way, one shot hit her arm however and the Octoling cried out in surprise as the blue ink stuck to her arm.

There was no way she could dodge forever…

As Tela raced down the path, she charged into the moving mass of Inklings and Jellians walking up and down the streets. The walkers cried out in anger as the Octoling pushed them aside, making herself a harder target for Sora by staying in the middle of the swarming crowd. There was no way he would risk shooting her among this mass.

Then came another problem, how the Octo-hell was she going to get back home? No money means no ticket for a train ride back, which means she had a LONG way to walk before she could even reach the grate to get back into Octo Valley.

Then Tela shouted out in alarm and pain as someone slammed into her side, sending her flying to the ground as the surrounding Inklings instantly stopped in their walk to rush back in alarm. The glasses she wore fell off and skidded across the floor due to the force of the hit.

"Is this really necessary?"

Someone landed on Tela's back, an arm pressed against her head as a hand twisted one of her arms around to her back.

"I really hate causing such a scene." Muttered Ryu as he shook his head down at the bewildered Octoling. "I don't understand why you're doing this, but I'm afraid it stops now."

The Inklings started to crowd around them as they muttered, a mixture of concern and curious expressions looking down at them. Tela gritted her teeth in anger, she refused to go down like this! Not until Levi was safe where she belongs!

Tela shifted into Octopus form, earning a collective gasp of shock from the crowd before turning back quickly and spinning around to punch Ryu in the face.

As the spectacled Inkboy reeled backwards in shock, Tela leaped to her feet and threw herself into the crowd, pushing stunned Inklings aside as she tried to put as much distance between herself and her pursers.

The feeling of unease grew with every step she took. It didn't help that she hadn't heard or seen Sora for a while, was he waiting to ambush her? She like to think she had managed to lose him, but such a thing was foolish to believe in.

After five minutes of constant running down various streets and roads, Tela finally slowed down as she entered a darken alleyway. The light in the sky was quickly fading as it slowly became night, yet the noise and crowds of the city dwellers continued strong.

While trying to ignore the sharp pain in her chest, Tela made her way further into the alleyway and slumped to the ground between two large dumpsters, her back leaning against the wall. She remained silent as she tried to caught her breath… her heart pounding like crazy from all the stress and excitement, her arm where she had been shot was starting to throb slightly with pain.

"Ah… this completely sucks…" hissed Tela as she cringed at the sharpness in her chest that seem to worsen with every intake of breath. She was starting to feel unwell as dizziness and fatigue overtook her body, her eyes began to become hazy and unfocused.

It was then she realised that, apart from the drink in the morning… she hadn't eaten in days. The lack of food and stress she had been experiencing was starting to take its toll on her body.

"S-stupid! How could I be so stupid!" Tela scolded herself as she tried to stand up, but her legs refused to cooperative as they wobbled violently and then collapsed upon themselves. As much as she hated it, she needed to rest.

"DAMMIT!" she yelled with frustration. With shaking hands, she pulled off the hat she wore to hide her Octoling tentacles and threw it to the side. Then slowly with a wince of pain, she peeled off the fake Inkling mask and tossed it aside, the stick-on mask was starting to irritate her skin.

Then she froze as she heard footsteps... someone had entered the alley way and was heading towards her.

Tela began to panic as she franticly scanned the area around her for an escape route, she tried to get back on her feet but once again collapsed. The Octoling simply didn't have the strength for it, her arm that had been hit began to throb painfully.

Tela gave-up and slumped back against the wall while clutching her bad arm, her breathing became heavy as she closed her eyes. What was going to happen to her now? More importantly… what was going to happen to Levi when she doesn't come back for her? Octavio did promise no harm would come to her if she kept her end of the deal, which she had.

The footsteps grew closer, then stopped when they reach Tela who kept her eyes closed. She knew full well who those footsteps belong too, there was no need to look.

Her eyes flew open in alarm however, as something soft and gentle touched her injured arm. Sora was kneeling in front of her, his hand slowly wiping away the blue ink covering her arm with a look on his face akin to regret.

"What are you doing… aren't you going to splatter me?" She asked in a dead voice, her amber eyes staring straight into Sora's own forest green ones with curiosity. The Inkboy was greatly confusing her, she had betrayed his trust and friendship. He should be splattering her, not comforting her.

Sora smiled at her sadly, Ryu who stood behind his friend glanced between the two with a sombre expression.

"Why did you do it Tela?" Sora simply asked, his hand moving from her arm to rest on her shoulder. Tela blinked at the question… then her face screwed up as all the emotions and traumas of the last few days came pouring out, she started to wail miserable into her hands as fat inky tears began to flow over dry tear tracks from before.

"I d-don't want t-to do this a-any m-more!"

Sora and Ryu reeled backwards in alarm, their eyes wide as the Octoling before them broke down.

"I'm j-just a stupid Octoling who can't do anything! I'm s-sorry! I'm so s-sorry!"

Ryu blinked before a sudden sharp look came across his face, he placed his chin in his hand while the other rested on his hip.

Tela choked on her own tears in surprise as Sora pulled her into a hug without warning. He wrapped his arms tightly around her as the Octoling cried weakly into his shoulder, overwhelmed that the Inkling had the heart to comfort her despite what she had done.

"I see…" muttered Ryu as his head started to look from side to side rapidly, as if looking for something. He must have found it as his face suddenly darken, his deep purple eyes focused on something the others couldn't see.

"I'll be right back."

Sora turned to look at his retreating friend. "Hey Ryu!? Where are you going!?"

The green tentacled Inkling paid no attention as he suddenly dashed away. The sky-blue tentacled Inkboy gave a huff of annoyance before turning his attention back on Tela who was clinging onto him tightly, her face still buried in his jacket.

"What am I gonna do with ya huh? You're worse than a kid, honestly…" Sora said in a slight playful tone as the Octoling sniffed. Tela pulled away slightly and rubbed at her eyes, she still didn't understand why Sora was acting this way.

Sora glanced down at her injured arm and frowned, that look of regret coming back on his face.

"I didn't mean to shoot you… I was just trying to trap you in my ink. Guess that plan of mine failed big time…"

He's apologizing? For hurting her? Why is this Inkling so Octo-damn confusing…?

"I don't know what's going on here Tela…" Sora asked as he leaned back, he didn't remove his hands which remained on the Octolings side.

"You have no idea how I felt when that slime ball Octavio showed me that clip of you falling to your death… It was like… someone had ripped out my heart in the most brutal of ways. I… I said I'll protect you, and I failed."

Tela blushed as fresh tears began to flow. "S-Sora…"

"When Ryu phoned me up and said he had met you on the train, I didn't believe him. How could he if you were dead? I came here only to see that you really were alive… only to watch as you help the Octarians steal back the Zapfishes…"

Sora looked up, that familiar look of fear and uncertainly back on his face.

"Tell me the truth Tela… all that time we spent together, the time you told me you like me… was that all a lie?"

Tela leaned further back and look away, fresh tears appearing in her eyes.

"No…" she whispered with a slight whimper. "It wasn't a lie… at the time… I did like you…"

The Octoling looked up just in time to see a pained expression on the Inklings face. "You did like me?"

Tela took a deep breath, there was no point denying it anymore.

"Yes…" Slowly, she lifted up her un-injured arm and placed her hand on Sora's chest.

"I don't like you anymore Sora… I love you. I love you so much it hurts… and betraying you like this? The pain is unbearable!"

The Inkboy had suddenly gone stiff at the Octoling's confession, his face in a state of shock with his eyes wide. Tela leaned forwards so that her face was buried in his chest, she breath in his scent as she tried to hold back the new fresh tears threaten to come out. Sora didn't move a muscle as she continued to breath in, his scent calming the raging storm of emotions inside her.

The quiet of the alleyway broke as a loud click made both Sora and Tela jump, then Tela gasped in horror and threw herself back when she realised where the noise had come from. The salt-water filled black collar around her neck! She had completely forgotten about it, Octavio must have activated it when she failed to turn up.

This was further confirmed when the collar started to beep. Tela gasp and began to claw at her neck in desperation as white cold fear flooded her very being. Sora looked in alarm and shouted at Tela to stop, he grabbed her hands to stop her from causing further damaged to her neck as purple ink began to dribble from the marks she had made.

"What are you doing Tela!?" shouted Sora as the Octoling continued to cry and thrash in order to escape his grip.

"I'M GOING TO DIE!" yelled Tela in pure fear as Sora pinned her against the wall in order to stop her from thrashing around.

All her senses and rational thinking flew out the window, Tela couldn't even think straight as she went to bite Sora in order to get him to let go, the Inkling yelped in shock as he avoided her sharp fangs that had gone for his arm.

"T-Tela STOP! What's gotten into you!?"

His question was answered as the black collar around the Octolings neck cracked slightly, a dribble of saltwater seeped out and dripped into the girl's neck.

Tela suddenly started to hyperventilate as purple ink began to gush where the water had landed. Sora, now realising what was going on, held on tighter as he tried to calm the distraught Octoling.

"Stop! You need to calm down. Tela please!" begged Sora as he pressed his body against the squirming Octoling, trapping her fully against the wall so she couldn't move.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" shouted Tela, ignoring the Inklings words as a new terrifying thought occurred to her. If the collar exploded, Sora would be caught in the blast too.

Suddenly all the blind panic and fear melted away as Sora grabbed her face tightly and smashed his lips against hers in desperate kiss, she stopped struggled and simply stayed still as her mind tried to process what was going on.

"Ahem…" coughed a voice.

Sora broke the kiss and stared wide-eyed at Ryu who stood smirking, a small Octarian struggling to get away from his grasp. Tela didn't move an inch as she stared at Sora, then at Ryu.

"I really expected better restrain from you Sora, I know you desire the Octoling and all but do you really-!"

"Shut up Ryu!" hissed Sora angrily, cutting across his friend. "Get over here and look at this damn collar. Do you think you can get it off?"

The Inkboy pushed up his glasses as he walked over hastily, he shoved the small Octarian that Tela recognised to be an Octo-Stealth towards Sora and bent down to take a closer look.

Tela stayed still as the Inkling began to prod and poke gently at the item. Would Ryu really be able to get it off in time?

"This isn't good…" muttered Ryu in concern as he felt around the collar, he hissed slightly as he accidently touched the saltwater seeping from the crack. He turned his head towards Sora with a determine look.

"There's no way of getting this off without shattering it."

Sora starting to panic as Tela simply looked to the ground, after all this… she was still going to die.

"But…" began Ryu as he stood up. "We might just be able to save her life if we submerged her in a large pool of her ink and then break the collar. We'll have to get her out quickly afterwards though."

The spectacled Inkboy took back the small Octarian and then gestured towards Tela.

"I need you to change into her colour and ink-up a large puddle, quickly now. Time is something we cannot afford to waste at this moment."

Sora nodded as he moved swiftly towards a silent Tela, his eyes full of determination as he quickly bent down and grabbed the Octoling by the shoulders. With one swift movement, he bent his face towards Tela's neck and lick a drop of purple ink.

Tela shivered at the sensation of the Inklings tongue on her neck, a heavy blush forming despite the situation they were in, moments later she watched as Sora's sky-blue tentacles turned to a brilliant shade of purple.

The now purple Inkboy stood up and pulled out his Scattershot Pro, within seconds he had inked a decent sized puddle around Tela. Ryu stepped away a few good steps to avoid the purple sprays, he turned to look at Tela who was watching Sora with a dazed expression.

"Tela!" said Ryu, catching the girl's attention. "I need you to trust me ok? Go into Octopus form and let Sora break the collar before it explodes. It will hurt, I won't lie… but it should save your life."

As much as she didn't want to do this, Tela trusted the Inkling and can only hope this plan of his worked. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and turned into Octopus form, her small body submerging in the ink that Sora had produced for her.

Tense seconds faded by and just as Tela was started to wonder why Sora hadn't done anything yet, she felt hard pressure on the collar. The next thing she knew was terrible pain as the collar snapped in half and released its contents, the seawater swirling around and spreading fast in the ink.

Something grabbed Octoling and yanked her out of the Ink before the seawater could do any further harm, where the substance had touched now burned terribly.

Yet despite the pain, she was alive… SHE WAS ALIVE! Tela could kissed the Octo-Gods if she could, and it was all thanks to Sora and Ryu.

The one who had pulled her out of the ink puddle happened to be Sora himself, who stared down at the Octopus in his arms with a look of fear and alarm.

"Tela! Are you o-!"

Tela didn't give the Inkling a chance to finish his sentence as she quickly turned back into her humanoid form and kissed him hard, her arms wrapping around his neck tightly. Sora responded immediately by wrapping his own arms around her to pull her closer, his head tilted to the side to deepen the kiss.

"Really now!? Do you two think you can keep it in your pants for 5 seconds while we discuss this!?" yelled Ryu as he shook the Octarian to prove his point, his eyes glared at the pair of them.

Tela and Sora broke apart and turned as one to stare sheepishly at Ryu.

"Cool your inkjets dude." Muttered Sora as he hugged the Octoling even closer in an almost possessive grip as he rested his chin atop the girl's head. Tela felt comfortable tucked away in the Inklings arms and felt her eyes grew heavy, the throbbing pain of where the water had touched her began to dull slightly. Her ink kept dribbling slowly down from the many wounds littering her body and slowly staining Sora's cloths and skin, but the Inkling didn't seem to care.

"I'm not the one who needs to cool down." Said Ryu staring pointedly at his friend before shaking his head and smiling.

"I found this little guy spying on us from the rooftops, I had some suspicion that we might not be alone after Tela's strange betrayal and reluctance to say anything."

"You're right." Smiled Tela gratefully, finally feeling some sense of peace after all the suffering she had been through. With the Octo-Stealth under capture, Octavio wouldn't know what had transpired. The little Octarian was properly the one who triggered her collar to activate.

"I had no intention of betraying you guys… you have to believe me."

Ryu nodded in understanding. "I believe you, but I need you to tell us everything that happened after your supposed death. Start from the beginning."

Tela gave a yawn and snuggled deeper into Sora chest. "Ok, it all started during the fight between me and Lucia who use to be my commander…"

For the next half hour, all three sat in the darkening alleyway as Tela told them everything. From the ambush that led to her capture alongside Scuttlefish, the escape from imprisonment and the fight with Lucia that led to her falling from the platform.

She explained how Octavio had her sister in captivity and had threaten her life along with hers if she didn't do as the Octarian commanded, hence the collar device filled with sea-water.

Ryu and Sora didn't interrupt at all during the Octoling speech, though the sky-blue Inkling did occasionally tighten his grip. When she had finally finished speaking, Tela closed her eyes and gave a deep inhale of breath, all she wanted to do right now was sleep… sleep sounded so nice right now…

"Right…" said Ryu as he pushed up his glasses. "I guess this matter falls into the hands of the Squidbeak Platoon now… right?"

Sora nodded his head slightly, his chin still resting atop Tela's head. The Squidbeak Platoon? Ryu must mean Agents 1,2 and 3.

"Wait til I get my hands on that slimly no-good Octarian…" Sora growled, baring his fangs slightly. Tela startled slightly from her half-sleep and tried to look up at the Inkling, surprised to hear such venom in his voice. It wasn't like him to sound so… angry…

Putting that aside though, Tela couldn't help but feel… contented for now. She no longer had to do what Octavio told her to do, and Sora didn't consider her a traitor… at least, that's what it seems like by the way he was curled around her in a protective embrace.

All Tela had to do now was get Levi back, but first she needed to rest and recover from the injuries she had sustained over the day. Levi isn't going to be rescued by a nearly dead Octoling.

"Hey…" spoke up Tela, catching both Inkboys attention. "I'm glad we managed to sort all this out but… I'm… really REALLY hungry and tired. Can I go?"

"Are you squidding me!?" snapped Sora suddenly, hugging Tela even tighter. "Like I'm just going to let you go wandering off after everything's that happened!"

"Then what do you want me to do!?" snapped Tela back as she pushed the Inkling hard in the chest and then leaned back to glare at him.

"Stay with me!" yelled Sora as he abruptly stood up, Tela gasped as the Inkling bent down and scooped her up so that he carried her bridal style.

"H-hey! Put me down!" yelped the Octoling as she blushed heavily at the position she found herself in.

"Honestly…" muttered Ryu as he watched the pair bicker while trying to hide a hidden smirk.

"Why don't we head to my old flat to rest for the night? I still have plenty of food stocked away… I'll be taking this little fellow with us, see if I can learn some information using… ah… less then pleasant methods." Ryu grinned evilly down at the Octarian who gulped and began to shiver. Sora stopped arguing with Tela and looked up to his friend with a nod.

"Good idea." He agreed as he began to follow his friend out of the alley way towards the main street. Tela's eyes widen with panic as they got closer to the street which, despite the late hour was teeming with passing Inklings and Jellians.

"W-wait! My hat, I can't go out there looking like this! Put me down Sora! Now!"

"Urgh… you're such a girl." Smirked the sky-blue Inkling as he gently placed the Octoling down on the ground. Tela wobbled slightly on her feet and had to be supported as she walked back and scooped up her hat, her fake mask would be a problem since the thing had landed on the ground. The sticky side covered in bits and grime from the floor.

"No ones going to attack you for being an Octoling you know, Inklings aren't the only species that live here in Inkopolis." Said Sora, his arm wrapped around the girl's waist to support her. Tela looked at him with uncertainty.

"He's right." Agreed Ryu, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

Tela glanced at the two, then down at the hat clasped in her hands. First Capt. Scuttlefish and now Sora? Would the Inklings really accept her that easily? The Octoling looked up into Sora's smiling eager face and slowly nodded.

"Fine." Muttered Tela as she stuffed the hat in the front pocket of her jacket. Then she swallowed hard as she moved to the end of the alleyway and took a step onto the busy streets, Sora right beside her with an encouraging smile.