Shiver woke to find herself in a waking nightmare.
Ripped away from the dark depressing safety of her sterile home she had been thrust into the teeth filled maw of the cold uncaring world beyond its walls, teeming with danger and those intolerant towards the disgraced. The noise, the discourse, the veritable thousands upon thousands of odd eyes that she could feel leering at her at every angle silently judging her. She had always adored the unfettered clamor of Splatsville, but now it was all too much for her.
She wanted nothing more than to crawl back into the darkness where she belonged and hopefully finish her soon-to-be-a-best-seller novel before the holiday rush kicked in.
Groggy, disorientated and sick to her stomach, Shiver could only watch in quiet disbelief as her friends (a word she's debating whether or not she can still call them as after this) dragged her across the city against her will on a pair of roller skates they'd put on her when she was unconscious. She hung slack over Frye and Big Man's shoulders, arms splayed out to the side like some ironic facsimile of a crucifixion, paraded around along the hot concrete to their well intentioned but woefully misguided whims.
"Frye, Big Man, please, take me back home and let me wallow in my own misery! I don't belong out here, the air is poison!" Shiver pleaded feebly to her captors, her voice quivering with fear. The glare of the afternoon sun bounced off the mirrored windows of a nearby building and reflected towards her exposed eye, causing her to cringe as spots filled her vision "Ack! The light! It sears my supple moonlight pale flesh like an egg on a teppanyaki griddle!"
"Oh, hush now, Shiv. You're being melodramatic like you always do," Frye rolled her eyes. "Big Man and I are doing this because we care. We're not going to stand by and let you throw away everything you've ever cared about over some Octarian mumbo jumbo, because that's what best friends do. Now, kick back and relax because you're about to have the bestest, most awesome all-about-you day out on the town!" She concluded with an energetic fist pump.
"Ay, ay, ay, (Heh heh. Er, I wanna go on record and say that I was completely against this from the start,)" said Big Man, a nervous smile plastered on his mug. "Ay, ay, ay. (But you know how determined Frye can be when she has a plan.) Ay, ay, ay. (It may look bad but her hearts are in the right place.) Ay, ay, ay... (I get that the methods behind your abduction was a little heavy handed, but...)"
"Don't defend her misdeeds, you wouldn't do this to an animal! What she has done is seal my doom, and you are complicit in this most grievous of crimes, Big man!" Shiver accused, causing the ray to wince at her heated words. "If either of you truly care then you'll let me return to my new life as a reclusive writer so I can finish turning out the novel of the century!" She attempted to struggle but found out she couldn't even lift a finger, feeling little more than a dull numbness plaguing her limbs. "M-my arms, my legs!" she gasped in panic. "Why can't I move?!"
"Ay, ay, ay (Oh, that's probably the acute muscle paralysis you're suffering from after Frye tagged you with a dart laced full of eel toxins,)" he replied. "Ay, ay. (Sorry about that, by the way.) Ay, ay, ay. (I hope you didn't have too much tea earlier because you're not gonna be moving for a while.) Ay, ay, ay. (Try and hold it in until your motor functions return.)
"You darted me?!" Shiver rebuked, sending an icy glare Frye's way. Suddenly it all came rushing back to her, Frye had used her newly found irrational fear of bananas to put a dart in her neck when she was distracted. It was insidious just how cunning she could be sometimes. "You promised me you'd never do that again after what happened the last time!"
"Ay? (The last time?)" Big Man raised an incredulous brow, staring disapprovingly at Frye. "Ay, ay? (Frye, you tagged her before?)"
"...Pfft, w-what? Heh heh," Frye nervously laughed it off with a less than convincing smile on her face, her forehead perspiring with the taste of a liar. "Come on, Big Man. Shiver's cuckoo in the coconut. How can we trust what comes out of her mouth when she's already made it clear she's suffering from insanity? Besides, Shiv, you looked like you needed a nap anyhow."
If looks could kill Shiver's cold indignant glare would have turned Frye into stone.
"Anyway, where to, first?" she asked.
"I have a suggestion," Shiver interjected.
"Anywhere other than your house," Frye sharply retorted, causing Shiver to pout.
"Ay, ay, ay, (I dunno about you two, but this abduction has me in the mood for some spicy curry,)" suggested Big Man, salivating at the thought of savory, spicy stew.
"Curry sounds like an excellent idea!" Frye exclaimed, looking positively giddy. "And we both know how much you like spicy stuff, Shiver. Fortunately for y'all I know just the place that can whet our appetite. It'll be a great start to this little fun-filled outing full of good natured cheer and the occasional bout of mischief."
"Don't I get a say in any of this?" Shiver griped, frowning.
"Not really, no. We're having mandatory fun today on your behalf," Frye answered a matter o'factly. "Look, you've been wound up ever since your little tentacle time with Tres got exposed on the air-"
"That was an accident!" Both Shiver and Big Man defended, but Frye continued unabated.
"-And no other Octarians have been willing to tell us anything important about the suckling to help you out of your funk that you are just bent on suffering through alone. It's been a pain in the butt for everyone on the team.
I don't care what anyone says or thinks about you because of this nonsense, and I sure as shell ain't gonna stand around and do nothing while you swim past the reef. If I have to write down everything I love about you into a notebook and violently cram it down your peer's throat to let them understand how much they should cherish you I will take the time out of my day to do it. Heck, I'll stream myself doing it to get the point across if I have to."
"Ay, ay, ay, (You know she'll do it too if it weren't for the law,)" added Big Man. Hearing all that was heartening but equal parts miserable for Shiver. She could never truly hate her best friends, but they didn't know just how out of their depths they really were.
"We should really turn back. You don't understand how grave the matter of the suckling is," Shiver gulped. "If you care this much about me to pull off these kinds of shenanigans, then I'm telling you this because I care about you guys."
"We don't understand anything about the suckling any more than we did when we learned about it," said Frye. "Sides, I think we can handle whatever comes our way. We're Deep Cut, we helped beat a capitalistic bear bent on saturating the Earth with his fuzzy ooze!"
"B-but what if we get caught? I mean, we're famous celebrities after all," Shiver reasoned, trying to swing the conversation to her favor.
"Already got that covered!~" Frye sang, pointing to her inconspicuous outfit consisting of a white beanie, thin crop top that looks a tad too tight for her voluminous chest and faded blue khakis. She then gestured over to Big Man who had on a backwards ballcap, a pair of mirrored aviator shades and crocs on his feet. "And don't think we forgot about you."
Shiver's eyes followed Frye's hand over to her less-than-fashionable set of threads. In her hazy panic she hadn't registered that, apart from the roller skates she was gliding around on, they slipped a thin polyester jacket onto her, and an offset visor hanging off the side of her head. As far as disguises went this was far from their best, but seeing as no one was calling them out they were clearly working by some miracle of ignorance.
"Seriously, did no one question the roller skates?" Shiver asked, her tone filled with incredulity.
Big Man shrugged, "Ay, ay, ay. (People thought they looked pretty fresh on you.)"
"It was my idea and it makes it way easier to drag you around without drawing too much attention to us," said Frye, sounding especially proud of herself for coming up with such an ingenious idea. "Especially after what happened the last ti- Er, I mean, they do look really fresh on you, Shiv."
"This would be the part when I applaud you for your uncharacteristically high level of forethought, Frye. But I can't because of the muscle paralysis!" Shiver snapped.
"That'll wear soon, don't fret none," Frye waved it off. "I didn't dose you with that much toxin. At least, I'm pretty sure I didn't... Anywho, onward to fun time!"
"Ay, ay! (To fun time!)" Big Man parroted enthusiastically.
"Oh, joy..." Shiver could only groan in dismay as all her warnings and pleas were disregarded so casually before being dragged over to the main square.
The influx of wandering citizens only grew denser the further they descended into the city's heart, the claustrophobic nature of it serving to amplify Shiver's unease.
Just when Shiver thought things couldn't get any worse, the flapping of wings drew her attention to the murder of crows that flocked about nearby. They'd all congregated along the length of the street perched atop lamp posts, signs and the roofs of buildings. Her hearts began to pound wildly upon their wicked appearance, her pitiable form reflected off all their glassy ebon eyes, eyes full of contempt for the disgraced Octoling.
"Oh no..." Shiver whispered beneath her breath, her pupil's shrank to pinpricks at the sign of the first omen. "It has already begun..."
"Huh, lotta crows out here," Fyre casually remarked, noting the sudden coalescences of crows gathering by the square, unperturbed by their presence.
"Ay, ay, ay, (You're right. They must be migrating or something,)" Big Man presumed, brushing off the curious phenomena as little more than a part of the natural cycle of things. Ignoring their squawks, both Frye and Big Man failed to pick up on the ominous message they delivered with each chilling caw.
"Graaah! Shiiiiiii... veeeeeeer..." the crows called out hauntingly, their terrible shrieks like nails on a chalkboard. "Graaah! Shiiiiiii... veeeeeeer... Deeee' Vk' Aaaaaa!" One by one they each begin to caw and squawk in an irregular cadance, hounding her, reminding her of her crime in a cacophony of mocking noises.
"Shiiiiiii... veeeeeeer! Graaah!"
"Waaah! Deeee' Vk' Aaaaaa!"
"Shiiiiiiiveeeeeeer! Graaah! Deeee' Vk' Aaaaaa!"
"Ay, ay, (Sure is nice out today,)" Big Man commented offhandedly, oblivious to the mounting sense of existential dread dawning upon Shiver's visage.
As they continued down the street they crossed by a nutty looking blue leg hermit crab dressed in a shoddy yellow raincoat sitting all by his lonesome on the edge of some grungy streetside watering hole. Despite it only being the afternoon he was already sloshed as evident by the small collection of bottles beside him on the countertop, a half drank bottle gripped tightly in his lesser claw.
Something about the hermit crab was clearly off.
His shell was worn down and dull, covered in barnacles, holes and other detritus from years of neglect. A large scraggly beard hung down his face looking more like long strands of dried seaweed than anything resembling facial hair.
Then there were his eyes. He was blind in one of them, severe cataracts from old age had rendered them milky white and useless. The other seemed to still work but was glazed over, likely an effect from his overindulgence on liquid happiness, but also from some form of madness. He was an individual who had seen far too much in life and it had left him dim in the attic.
But once the trio crossed him he immediately turned to face their direction almost as if something had possessed him to do it. In that instant, his drunken stupor cleared up and he became unnervingly lucid. With a wrinkle of his long whiskers and a sniff, he narrowed his eyes into a glare that was directed solely at Shiver. There was something twinkling in his one good eye, a glimmer of recognition, and not the good kind.
Shakily, the hermit crab raised his greater claw up and directed it at her before opening his crusty jaw to scream, "CUR-SED! CUR-SED! WOE TO THEE, CHILD OF ILL DEEDS! WOE BETIDES THOSE WHO ART EXPOSED TO YER WICKED PRESENCE!" he bellowed derangedly, his voice bitter and full of salt as he repeatedly slammed his bottle down on the bar counter in a raucous display that disturbed the other patrons. "CUR-SED! CUR-SED! CUUUUUUUUR-SED!" he continued to shout, causing Shiver's eye to twitch uncontrollably.
"Ugh, it's that old crazed hermit crab by the bay, Fillet O'Scuttler," Frye rolled her eyes. "Looks like that cantankerous coot is harassing the locals with his drunken antics in the middle of the day, again. Listen to him ramble on about nonsense."
"Ay, ay, ay, (Don't make eye contact, do not engage. Just keep moving,)" said Big man, hurrying them along as more and more omens continued to bedevil Shiver throughout their journey.
Televisions on display would temporarily lose their picture and turn to static as she passed on by, the words 'De'Vk'Aa' blinking sporadically on screen in a ghostly font before returning to normal. Mirrors and windows cracked or even outright shattered as her reflection swept by, causing nearby passersby to jump in fright at the suddenness of it. Eventually, the omens got so wild and outlandish that it began catching the attention of Frye and Big Man.
"Hey, Big Man... Is it me or is there something weird going on?" Frye raised a brow, nervously observing the square. It was hard to put her finger on it, but there was some kind of disturbance in the air that made her feel uneasy. She had originally surmised it was merely Shiver's own anxiety bleeding over to her that caused her to feel that way but now the unease was beginning to take on a life of its own.
"Ay, ay, ay, (Now that you mention it, I'm getting that strange tingly sensation on my back when I start to sense trouble,)" replied Big Man, rubbing at his chin. "Ay, ay, ay. (Splatsville's always been chaotic, but now I'm sensing a different kind of chaos.) Ay, ay... (Something is off...)"
"Guys, I'm being completely serious this time!" Shiver squeaked, looking positively mortified. Her eyes darted wildly to and fro in a panic. "Y-you have to take me back before it's too late!"
"Shiver, I told you already, no one is going to recognize yo-" Frye attempted to assuage her fears, only to have Murphy's law rear its ugly head at the worst possible time.
Nearby, a lone dark skinned Octoling was minding his own business when his genetic memory began flaring up out of the blue. Instinct immediately grabbed hold of him and his jovial attitude took a massive left turn. He dropped the bags he was carrying and entered a feral stance where he began sniffing at the air like some predatory beast. He had caught a whiff of something unpleasant, it tickled a part of his brain that doesn't get used very often, if at all.
After some time sniffing around his eyes landed on Shiver's disguised form. Recognition gleamed in his eyes as his sclera turned a deep purple and tentacles curled and unfurled frenetically in response. He raised an accusing finger and pointed it towards Shiver as he let out an unholy screech that sounded like a combination of guttural hisses and aggressive clicking, causing a scene and alerting everyone around him to the presence of 'the deviant.'
"Hssssssssssh! De'Vk'Aa! De'Vk'Aa!" He exclaimed, causing every Octarian within earshot to immediately stop what they were doing and turn to face the trio's direction with mixed expressions of shock and disdain. The Octarian's swiftly descended into mass hysteria in the presence of 'the deviant,' wreaking all manner of havoc along the square and beyond. Panic quickly swept over the citizens of Splatsville who took advantage of the situation to stoke the mayhem, even if they didn't necessarily understand why.
"De'Vk'Aa!?" A trendy looking Octoling standing mere inches from the group screamed and without even a moment of hesitation ran over to the nearest railing and leapt over into the spillways below. Frye and Big Man could only watch in abject horror by what they just witnessed and the audible splat sound that followed, his wispy soul floating away into the sky moments after.
"De'Vk'Aa?!" The Octoling boy running the local snack bar shouted as he was mid-way through handing a large tray of food over to a hungry Inkling girl with eager outstretched hands. In a fright, he tossed the tray forward, covering the unfortunate girl in a supreme nacho platter, double battered onion rings and a medium cola before retreating in, slamming the shutters down with a noisy rattling clang and quickly slapping a 'closed' sign over the front.
"Can I at least get some napkins?" the Inkling girl asked. Upon request, the shutters to the snack bar opened briefly and a massive napkin wad collided with her. There was an audible 'floompf!' as she was smacked at with all the force of a cannonball, knocking her off her feet and sending her flying back as she skidded to a halt along the ground. "Thank you..." she mumbled muffledly.
Across from the trio, a gaggle of budding Octoling schoolchildren whose class just so happened to be on a field trip around the square began to bawl, much to their classmates' confusion, as their Octoling teacher frantically tried to quell their wailing to little success. In the end she opted to merely hover over them and shield their eyes from 'the deviant' as she herded her class away from the group, but not before shooting a nasty look at Shiver.
"Shame on you!" she decried as she left.
Nearby, an Octoling family could be seen enjoying the many firsts that come with raising a child. Their little developing larvae, an adorably pudgy pink little thing no older than a year of age with inky spittle dribbling down the corner of her mouth, sat in her stroller making gurgling sounds as she tried to form her very first word, much to the palpable delight of her parents.
"Ba... da..." the child babbled, not enough to make a complete word but enough to understand what she was trying to say.
"Honey, I think she's about to say her first word!" The mother exclaimed excitedly as she and her spouse leaned closer to the stroller, nervously anticipating their child's first word.
"Da... da..."
"Daddy. Come on, my little jellybean, say daddy. Dad-dy," the father enunciated, steadily coaxing his daughter along through phonetics as his eyes shined with pride. "Say it with me, dad-dy."
"Da... da... De'Vk'Aa!" the child spoke in a squeaky yet chilling tone, her eyes narrowing to a piercing gaze as she pointed an accusing tentacle towards Shiver. Both her parents turned as well, hissing threateningly towards the group as they grabbed the stroller and slinked away from the square, never breaking eye contact until fully vanishing into the crowds.
As if things couldn't get any stranger with the Octolings, the Inklings, caught up in all the excitement, joined in on the rioting without so much as a second thought.
"Whoo! Riot!" An Inkling boy shouted and in the heat of the moment ran over to a nearby mailbox where he proceeded to tear it straight out of the concrete it was bolted on and effortlessly chucked it through the window of the building next to him like it was a beachball. There was a loud crash, glass was sent flying all over the place as he and several others began looting it. He came out shortly after, happily yelling, "yeah, books!" before bolting from the scene of the crime, a tall wobbling stack of hardcover encyclopedias in his grimy little hands.
By then a mob had formed, they surrounded a taco truck. They began rocking it back and forth in a frenzied trance, attempting to topple over it all the while the poor proprietors within held on for dear life as ingredients and various kitchenware were flung about haphazardly. Eventually they had successfully managed to tip it over, landing with an earth shaking thud.
A particularly mischievous and wily Inkling girl leapt onto the taco truck and crawled into it, intent on making off with the truck's contents. Judging by the sound of struggle there was a bit of scuffle but she ultimately left victorious with her spoils, covered in condiments happily yelling, "yeah, books!" before bolting from the scene of the crime, a tall wobbling stack of hardcover encyclopedias in her grimy little hands.
And to top off this catastrophic carnival of chaos, several bolts of lightning arced from the clear blue sky, striking the ground closest to the Deep Cut in rapid succession. Thunder boomed on the horizon, an ear piercing whine filled the air shortly after before lingering into a dull crackle. Blinding light enveloped them as they huddled together in trembling terror, watching the white hot lightning etch a burning message into the ground that glowed with fiery embers.
'De'Vk'Aa'
"What in the name of summer melon chutney is happening?! There's something supernatural going on!" Frye cried, utterly baffled by the sudden turn of events.
"A-ay, ay! (Guys, I'm scared!)" Big Man hugged the group tight, his voice quivering with fear as the chaos unfolds all around them.
"It's happening!" Shiver screeched, shrinking low to the ground as could with useless limbs. "This is what I was trying to warn you two about! But you beautiful fools didn't listen to me! You didn't listen!"
"How the heck were we supposed to know that we'd incur the wrath of Heaven?!" Frye shot back, knitting her brow in frustration. "It's not like there's an informational pamphlet for this!"
"Ay, ay, ay! (Shiver, we literally have no frame of reference!)" Big Man added. "Ay, ay, ay! (This is an outside context issue!)"
"How did they even know it was you? You're practically a different person," Frye asked.
"They don't need to know who I am, my kin can detect the lavender scent of shame wafting off me in a crowded plaza. That's all it takes," Shiver admitted, turning her head away. "I reek of peppermint disgrace and sandalwood dishonor!"
"Ay, ay? (Is that what they all smell like?)" Big Man asked, earning himself an annoyed look from Frye. He chuckled nervously at Frye's indignance, a sheepish grin forming on his face. "Ay, ay. (Right, not important.)"
Frye brought up a hand to her face and sighed, it looked like she was gonna have to think on her toes if the bestest, most awesome all-about-you day she had planned was gonna be salvaged somehow. "Big Man, grab onto Shiver and let's book it. We can't stay here while it enters a state of emergency."
"Ay, ay, ay? (Well, where are we gonna go?)" Big Man scratched his head as a flaming tire rolled past him.
"Somewhere with a little less rioting," Frye suggested, tightening her grip on Shiver's arm. "Hold on, Shiver. This day isn't over yet!"
"Just take me back home!" Shiver cried before being thrust once again into the gaping teeth filled maw of a cold uncaring world.
Eventually, after a half hour of nonstop running, Deep Cut found their way over to Hagglefish market, an open air wet market that was positively overflowing with all manner of goods foreign, domestic and even exotic. Vendors from all around shouted enthusiastically at any and all passersby that crossed their way or made eye contact with, proudly advertising the fresh quality of their wares or enticing them with great deals.
"I... I think we... should be okay here," Frye said between breaths, wiping the sweat off her glistening brow. "How... How're you doing, Big Man?" Big Man didn't say anything as he was hunched over panting heavily, reeling from exhaustion after running for far longer than he would like to. Instead, he gave her a loaded fin's up that told her everything she needed to know about his thoughts. "Cool... cool... How about you, Shiver?"
Shiver didn't say anything just like Big Man, only it wasn't from exhaustion. She was frozen in place, staring into space having passed out from extreme shock.
"...Shiver?" Frye waved a hand in front of her face, eliciting no reaction from her. Concerned, she did everything she could to get her to wake up; snapping, tugging at her tentacles, pinching her cheeks. Nothing worked. Out of curiosity, Frye traced her friend's gaze up and over to the big sign that was hung up along the main path of the marketplace.
It read:
'123rd Annual Banana Appreciation Day!'
"Happy Banana Appreciation Day!" An excitable Inkling girl wearing a tall overexaggerated chiquita banana hat greeted the trio.
"Yeah, bananas! Whoo!" An Inkling boy hollered, his shirt emblazoned with the phrase: 'I Heart Potassium' across his chest.
Frye facepalmed herself so hard it left a red handprint on her face.