After my long long long hiatus, it's finally here.
Chapter 19 ~ One Blank Too Many
The room was large and filled with a variety of things, with one side looking like a normal bedroom for a small child with a small bed with steel-blue covers, a small cabinet and an assortment of toys.
The other side however… looked like a study, with a child-sized desk, a blackboard with complicated writings, a huge bookshelf crammed with many books and a cabinet full of stationary supplies.
Yes… the room was indeed interesting… but it had a cold feeling to it. A very cold feeling.
A small inkling child no older than 7 sat in the corner of the room, her tentacles and skin were a bright purple colour. She was throwing a ball against the wall and catching it, a lonely and bored look in her pink eyes. Eyes that strangely enough, didn't have the black markings that all Inklings have.
She continued to bounce the ball and catch it until she missed, startled by the sounds of the door sliding open.
"Have you finished the work I assigned you Usagi?" asked Morida, walking up to the child.
Little Usagi nodded her head at the figure and pointed to her desk where a large workbook sat. "I finished all of it Sir."
Morida nodded slowly and walked over, picking up the book and flipping it open. Usagi watched him carefully, a guarded look on her tiny face.
The figure read the contents of the book for a few more seconds before snapping it shut loudly, making Usagi flinch with a sudden look of fear.
Morida placed the book back down before turning towards the small trembling child, a smirk on his face. "I'm glad to see my hard work is paying off young one. As promised… you may have your father for an hour."
Usagi small face lit up with delight as the figure smirked and strolled to the door, leaving the room without another word. Minutes later the door opened again, revealing a blank emotionless Octavio.
"Daddy!" squealed Usagi in delight as she rushed towards her father who made no acknowledgement of the girls' presence. This didn't seem to phase the child at all as she grabbed his hand and began to pull him towards her bed.
"Sit down sit down!" she laughed happily. "I have lots to show you!"
Octavio sat down and stared straight ahead, remaining still and silent. Little Usagi raced off giggling madly before bringing back a small sketch book, she clambered onto her father's knee and sat down, swinging her legs as she opened the little book.
"Look! I drew pictures of us!" she giggled, holding up the book towards her father who made no attempts to look at it.
The page showed two colourful figures holding hands, one much smaller than the other.
"See? It's us! I've been practising lots and lots so I could show you!" Usagi chirruped happily, then proceeded to flip through the rest of the book. Eagerly showing off each and every drawing, not being affected at all by her father's emotionless state.
This continued on for an hour as Usagi fetched various objects from around the room, clearly having the time of her life.
Eventually her father stood up, signalling that time was up. Usagi gave a sad whimper before walking over and hugging her father tightly.
"Don't worry Daddy… next time I'll work even harder so you can stay with me even longer!"
There was a slight shift in Octavio's blank face. Then slowly, his left hand began to raise towards the girl's head. Usagi gasped in shock as the hand touched her head and looked up before bursting into tears.
It was the first time in her life that Octavio had touched his daughter with his own free will.
Ryu kept a safe distance as he tailed the twins, his mind in a whirl. The Inkboy had tried to contact Sora but for some reason his phone had no signal and was pretty much useless.
He soon noted that it wasn't just him with the signal problems, nearly every person he went by was complaining loudly of having no signals on their phones.
"Something isn't right… but what?" Ryu muttered as he watched Maya and Naya stop outside an alleyway.
The mystery only deepened as more Inklings began to arrive where the twins stood, all sporting identical blank expressions.
"It's like they're all waiting for something…" Ryu muttered to himself as he observed them carefully. More and more Inklings began to arrive, but the last one was different from the others.
While the others wear causal clothing, this one was in a bizarre outfit almost like a lab coat, his tentacles slicked back and yellow yet his pink eyes were void of emotion just like the others.
The scene of the blank eyed Inklings standing around reminded Ryu horribly of a horror film he had watched a few months ago with Sora, made worse when a few more Inklings in a similar state joined the group, making it grow larger.
Ryu clicked his tongue and pulled out his phone once more, trying to call Sora again, only for the sound of buzzing to be heard. He blinked in surprise and tried again… same result.
"Of all times for my means of communication to fail me… utterly preposterous!" he grumbled, shoving the phone back in his pocket with a look of annoyance.
If he couldn't contact his best friend, he'll just have to hunt him down instead.
Ryu pushed his glasses up with a finger and turned around, only to come face to face with a blank eyed Inkboy who grabbed his arms in a tight grip. He tried to shout but a hand suddenly clamped over his mouth.
The lab coat Inkling walked over while pulling out a syringe and removing the needle cover. Not a word was said as Ryu's arm was held out and his sleeve rolled up.
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"Hurry up already!" Callie snapped angrily, her roller hovering over Octavio who simply grunted as he walked, being flanked by Marie and Sora who had their weapons trained on him.
Tela looked agitated as she walked ahead with Cuttlefish who was silent, his face expressionless.
Callie nudged the elderly Octoling with her roller, causing him snap. "I'm going as fast as I can! Learn some respect young lady!"
"Respect!? You don't deserve any after what you've done!" Callie snapped back.
"Calm down Callie." Marie said simply as Tela and Cuttlefish glanced back.
"Aye lass, losing ya cool ain't going ta help this here situation."
Octavio glanced at the elderly Inkling before sighing in defeat, before causing alarm for everyone as he shrank down. Callie was about to bring her roller down, thinking he was trying to escape before suddenly gasping in shock.
Everyone gasped in shocked in fact when Octavio grew and shook the ink from his tentacles, now standing before them in humanoid form and looking like an octoling version of Cuttlefish.
"Is this better?" he asked annoyed. "I shall be able to walk a little faster."
Cuttlefish stared as he fully turned around. "Well raise me sails… I haven't seen ya like this since the days we were friends… what went wrong old friend?"
Everyone glanced curiously at Octavio as he suddenly glared, his eyes filled with hate.
"As if you don't know!" he snapped. "How about the time you ordered my people to exile and sent your lackies to finish me off!"
Tela blinked in surprise as Callie looked outraged. "What!? Grandad never did that!"
"Me Granddaughter be right!" Cuttlefish exclaimed, looking equally shocked. "I would never order such a thing!"
"I know what I saw…" he growled, his eyes now filling with genuine pain. His expression made Tela suck in a breath.
"The two Inklings said they were sent by you… if they weren't then…"
Something in the old octopus's expression seem to shift, like a cross between deep thinking and shock. Tela watched him curiously and wondered what was going through his head, she didn't have long to ponder this when Callie's voice seems to cut through the silence.
"Hello? Big weapon ship heading for Inkopolis? Let's get a move on guys!"
Marie nodded. "Indeed… we can have this talk later."
The group began to proceed again along the rocky terrain, the dingy shack that belonged to Cuttlefish came into view.
Everyone's attention seems to shift to Marie when she received a call on her phone.
"Sheldon?" She answered before nodding as she listened. "Perfect… just place it next to the shack, and try not to break it. Thanks."
Callie cackled as Marie ended the call. Tela looked between the two in confusion before a loud sound caught her attention. Everyone looked up only to see what looked like a flying truck? A large glass container looking suspiciously like a snow globe dangled below it.
"Is that…?" Octavio muttered as he looked up.
"Your new home! Looks roomy right?" Callie laughed as she shoved Octavio forwards slightly. "Now get moving!"
Tela frowned and leaned close to Sora. "They're going to imprison him in a giant snow globe?"
The Inkboy smirked and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Apparently so. Pretty cool though right?"
"Aye… Callie and Marie, you two lasses go on ahead and try to evacuate the city. Sora will join yeh after we've secured Octavio." Cuttlefish ordered as he stroked his chin. Sora let go of Tela and aimed his splattershot Pro right at the elderly octopus with a smirk.
Tela frowned as she turned towards Cuttlefish. "Aren't I going to join them?"
"No lass, I need yeh here to help me watch him." He jabs his thumb at Octavio. "Last thing we need is his friends freeing him when he's unguarded."
Tela sighed and nodded, makes sense even if she didn't like it.
"Sure thing Granpa!" Callie giggled as Marie nodded before the pair went dashing off towards the grate leading back to the city.
Octavio glared at Sora as he approached. "All right you shrivelled piece of calamari… get your tentacles moving."
Tela watched as Sora pushed their prisoner towards the giant snow globe now on the ground, once secure the door was closed and locked.
Tela blushed as Sora then walked over towards her. "Stay safe ok?" he smiled.
"I should say the same thing. Don't do anything stupid, please?"
He chuckled before leaning close and pressing his lips against hers. Tela closed her eyes and leaned closer, trying to put as some emotion into the kiss as possible. She really wanted to go with Sora and met up with the others, one part of her wanted to go in order to find Levi. She only hoped her sister was safe and well.
Sora eventually broke the kiss and cupped her cheek with a warm smile. "I love you."
She blushed as her heart skipped a beat. "I love you too."
He grinned before stepping back and dashing off towards the grate, his girlfriend watched as he jumped before changing into squid form and disappearing.
"Don't worry lass, those three are the best of the best. Yeh have nothing to worry about." Cuttlefish smiled as he sat down in a chair next to his shack.
"Now then lass… why don't yeh take a seat and I'll explain some more to yeh about yeh parents, Ollie will be able to help this time."
Octavio glared but didn't object.
"R-Really?" She gasped. Finally… she'll learn the truth and hopefully shred some light on this mystery surrounding her family. With a chair taken from inside of the shack, Tela took a seat Infront of the elderly Inkling.
"It all started with me brother Inka and Janjan, the two whelps almost instantly fell in love the moment they met."
Octavio surprised Tela by actually chuckling. "I remember that… those two couldn't keep their tentacles off each other. Remember when we caught them at the back of the building Craig?"
Cuttlefish chuckled and stroked his beard. "Aye Olly, we made them do what was it… hundred push ups for slacking on the job and making out instead."
"Those were good times." Octavio nodded with a sigh.
"Aye… until the war broke out of course." Cuttlefish said gravely. "It broke me heart seeing those two fight each other."
"Hold on… if my grandparents were fighting, then how did they end up married and having my mother?" Tela asked confused, remembering the photos from the album.
Something changed in Octavio's expression as he shifted around. Cuttlefish didn't notice as he grinned.
"Simple lass, after a few weeks of the war young Janjan appeared out of da blue at our home. Began to explain that she was still in love with Inka and wanted to be with him."
Tela frowned. "She abandoned the military just like that? Didn't anyone go after her for treason?"
Cuttlefish opened his mouth to talk but Octavio beat him to it. "Of course not, I gave Janjan permission to leave."
Tela and the elderly Inkling both looked at him with a mixture of shock and disbelief. He stared back and started to shuffle around looking uncomfortable.
"What? I saw Janjan like a younger sister and the war broke her heart. I… didn't like to see it, not after what happened with…" he trailed off and looked away, his expression filled with pain.
A silence followed this before eventually Cuttlefish coughed, looking slightly uneasy and something else that Tela couldn't put her tentacle on. "Anyways me lass… from that moment on, Inka and JanJan lived in this here shack. They had a private wedding after the war was over and eventually had yeh mother. Lela Cuttlefish."
The elderly squid chuckled as his face cracked with a warm smile, it was obvious he was thinking back on the past. "My niece was the cutest little landlubber I ever set me eyes on."
Tela swallowed hard. "But what happened? Why did mom end up living in the underground if my grandparents were living together on the surface?"
Octavio silently looked at his old friend, the expression on his face was hard to read. Cuttlefish himself sighed softly and pulled his hat from his head, his eyes closing in regret.
"Around when yeh mother was still a wee lass, probably no older than your sister, Inka went off on a mission to investigate some disturbance to the south… he never came back lass. Me brother vanished without a single trace."
Tela sucked in a breath before slowly looking down. Poor Janjan… I don't know what I'll do if Sora disappeared like that…
"Your mother… she started to blame the Inklings… blamed me for her father's absence. She believed we didn't do enough to find him, didn't care enough to find him. The poor lass took it harder than her poor mother. The moment she gained her humanoid form she took off to the underground to live with the Octarians."
It was slowly started to make sense now, bit by bit.
"Janjan of course moved underground to keep a close eye on her wayward daughter. That my dear… is how this tale goes. Lela met your father and eventually had you and Levi, the rest… I'm sure yeh know how that ends."
Tela slowly hugged herself and sniffed. "All this time… and nothing was said. All the times Janjan could have… and she…"
Octavio seemed to be in deep thinking, an alarming look of concern on his face. He went to open his mouth to say something before a loud buzz made them all jumped.
"Bzzzt! ! We're in serious trouble!"
"Sora!?" Tela gasped as she jumped in, her heart pounding. Serious trouble? The thought made her panicky about what the ink was going on in the city.
"What yeh mean sonny, explain." Cuttlefish said, trying to stay calm.
"Some of the civilians suddenly starting to attack us and the others, it's a warzone out here! Marie and Callie sent out a broadcast to get people to evacuate but people are being pinned down and… R-Ryu? What are you… wait no. NO! STOP!"
Tela gasped as the call ended. "Sonny? Come in. Sora? Sora!" Cuttlefish yelled as he tried to make contact and no luck.
"That's it I'm going in." Tela growled as she began to head towards the grate. No way was she going to sit on her ass and do nothing after hearing that.
"Good luck lass, and… be careful."
She nodded before jumping into the grate in Octopus form. When she reached the city, she realised Sora was right… it was a warzone. Ink of all colours splatted the ground in and there as Inkling attacked Inkling, other marine creatures such as fish and Jellyfish fled in fear and confusion… and the screams of terror. It all bought back terrible memories.
Her communication device suddenly buzzed, indicating someone was trying to contact her. "Sora? Tell me where you are!"
However… the voice that answered her wasn't Sora, or Cuttlefish. It wasn't the Squid Sisters either.
"Hello? Can you hear me? Please respond whoever this is. I repeat, please respond!"
"Who is this?" She demanded before dodging to the side as an Inkboy tried to shoot her with a strange looking Splattershot.
"It doesn't matter who this is, just listen alright? I don't have much time. You need to get to the radio tower near the centre of the city. Now!"
The blank eyed Inkboy attacked Tela again, causing her dodge roll to the side. "The radio tower? And why should I listen to you?"
"Can't you see what's happening you idiot?! These people are being mind controlled and the only way to free them is with a certain specific radio frequency. Now get your stupid ass to the radio tower NOW!"
Tela flinch and quickly kicked the Inkboy away from her, taking note that he showed no pain. Just that same unnerving blank look in his eyes.
"Mind control? What the hell is going on here!?" Another blank eyed Inkling ran over with a roller. Not really wanting to hurt them, Tela broke into a run.
"GET TO THE TOWER YOU MORON!"
"Fine, but if I find out you're messing with me I'll-"
The communication gave a loud buzz before going silent as the call ended. What was all that about?
And the mind control… is that really what's going on here? Yet as Tela looked around as she ran, seeing the streets in utter chaos as people attacked each other the idea was becoming more believable.
Her thoughts went over to the White Suits that attacked her earlier during the fight with Octavio, they were Inklings too with the exact same expressions as the ones here.
But what did it all mean?
Tela skidded around the corner and saw the radio tower up ahead, wondering if the Squid Sisters were still there after making the broadcast. However, something made her skid to a halt as not one but two very familiar Inkgirls in glittery pink dresses blocked her path, their rollers raised.
"Maya! Naya!" She gasped before sighing in relief. "Thank goodness you're ok! We need to… guys?" Tela felt her heart stop as the twins walked towards her, noticing the blank look of their eyes.
An elderly Inkling who looked strikingly familiar to wandered into the lab, soon spotting Usagi typing away furiously at a computer.
"I've managed to buy us some time, not a lot… you better pray it's enough."
She snorted, not slowing down the furious rhythm of tapping on the keyboards.
"It'll be fine. The girl is slow I'll admit but I think she'll come through for us in the end."
He chuckled and walked over.
"I have to admit my friend, putting a loophole in the formula like that? Genius. Utterly genius."
Usagi smirked, her grin identical to Octavio's.
"I was taught by the Master himself, and as with all Masters… they often get surpassed by their students."
The elderly Inking chuckled and leaned against the table.
"It's nearly over isn't it?"
Usagi finally slowed down and looked at her friend.
"For this chapter it is… as for the rest of the story… I'm afraid it's only the beginning."