It was weeks, or at least it felt that way, before anyone could bring themselves to open the shelter doors. The memory of the attack was still fresh in our heads. And even though we didn't SEE it, we heard it. Oh, how we heard it. The shelters could only hold so many people… Now, that isn't to say NO ONE went out in the meantime. I mean, the ones that didn't make it… their families were here. Most stayed. But many went out in search of their lost families, friends, and significant others.

None of them returned.

The surface had been unnervingly quiet after the screams died down. It scared the shit outta me. Yeah, I admit it; I'm fucking scared! Marina's been with me during the early days. I could tell this was affecting her just as badly. That carefree, joyful smile of hers slowly shifted to one of sadness. And then, nothing. It was like the lights in her eyes went out. She had been beside me when they opened the doors. I saw it. The glimmer of light in her eyes. But… it just wasn't the same. It's hard to put into words but… it reminded me of how she used to look in the photos of her Octarian Army days. Determined, but cold.

We went out together as everyone looked over the aftermath of the attack. The shelter we were using belonged to Sheldon, so a lot of us didn't have too far to run to. Why he had a shelter is a question I'll probably forget to ask later. It's not that important anyway. Inkopolis was… mostly gone. Almost all of the smaller shops and houses were wiped clean off the face of the planet. Most of the taller buildings survived, but barely. And there was this… icky, ink-like goop splattered in some parts of the surrounding area. But somehow, I don't know how, but SOMEHOW Deca Tower stood intact and free of all damage. Woo, the guys that built this sure knew their stuff! Looking around at what was left of Inkopolis Square though, I wish they did the same. We heard more people burst into tears. I turned to where the sound was coming from… and instantly wish I hadn't. I saw two people on their knees in raw sorrow clutching gear to their chest; gear, I could only guess, that belonged to a fallen loved one. I clinched my fists in frustration, and forgot I was holding Marina's hand. I wanted to apologize, but she had squeezed my hand back. I… understood and said nothing as we towards the tower.

Turns out, the tower had a built-in Bubbler and a whole lot of sensors for times like this. Sheldon says it was supposed to protect the Great Zapfish in case of an attack. I think that's sick! But it looked like GZ dipped before the attack. I ask him the obvious question. "If the GZ is gone, what's lighting the place up?" Then Sheldon, of all the years I've known the guy, gives me a one-word answer: generators. I don't think I've ever heard him speak so little. And now that I'm paying more attention to him, he just looks… defeated. The type of defeated look I've seen other peeps have when a match is so severely one-sided, they never stood a chance. The enemy had attacked with little to no warning in broad daylight, unseen by everyone in town. We couldn't fight back. We had no idea we had to fight. Had Umi not have made it in time… I shivered. Then I felt really warm suddenly. I opened my eyes, I had no idea I even closed them, to see my bestie's arms around me in a tight hug. It's like she knows what's running through my mind. I could hear her whispering 'It's gonna be okay' over and over again. I could almost feel my heart shatter but… But I needed to be strong. For both of us. "Marina," I called. She went silent. "We… need to do our best to keep it together." She said nothing for a moment before I felt her nod against my back. "So we need to figure out a plan, to fix this mess." As much as I like my best friend's hugs, this was no time for one. I didn't want to, but I pried myself away from her. She tensed up. I turned to face her and held out my hand. "You need to stand up, okay?" I never seen her stand up so fast. It shocked me a bit.

"Pearlie," she says. She grabs my hand the way those rich types shake hands. "You're amazing!" She smiles that smile that can light up an entire floor. I blush at the comment. It wasn't the first time she's said that, but I'll never get used to it. I actually should be the one saying that to her. She doesn't like to admit it, but she's way smarter than me, more talented than anyone I've ever seen. But most of that stuff…

She learned it in the Octarian Army.

I don't know what else to do but beam a smile of my own back at her. "Come on, bestie, we got time to mope later. Remember what I told you in my Team Chaos victory speech?" A bit of that familiar sparkle returns to her eyes.

"Y-Yeah! We're gonna change the world!"

I nod. "That's right! It's… not the way I wanted it to go-"

"NOBODY wanted it to go this way!"

"That's right! But we're gonna be the ones to remake the world!"

"Off The Hook?"

I try to give the most self-assured, smug look I could. "Forever and beyond!"

It seemed to make the room lighter because it felt less gloomy for everyone there. I hear a familiar set of steps from behind me, so I turn around. Sheldon straightens his helmet for some reason. It was probably a nervous tick or something. "Well, I'm not one to sit on my hands in the face of defeat either. I'll try my best to help you anyway I can." Marina was the first to speak. "We would like that, very much. Thank you, Sheldon." They started to talk numbers and tech, things that are way over my head. They seemed truly excited to rebuild and try to get everything back to normal. Hey, I'm happy for 'em. I'll have to get a scaled-down game plan from Marina later.

After what seemed like an hour, my watch says it's only been fifteen minutes, they stopped talking. I was sitting on a box looking out at the ruins, then trying my best not to let those bad thoughts run through my head. "Hey, you guys done with your nerd talk?" I poked. They just chuckled. "Yeah," Marina spoke. "We've got a rough idea what we've going to do, build-wise. Everything else we'll have to play by ear." I hopped off the box. "Sweet! You can fill me in on the deetz later. So, what should we be doing now?" Sheldon stepped forward. "First and foremost, we need to establish a headquarters which we'll do on the top floor of the tower. I already have a team moving to do just that." Marina moves to stand across Sheldon and next to me. "How we can help with that," she said, "is to go out and find any useful stuff from the wreckages." I rolled my eyes a bit. Kinda figured that would be the case. "So… scavenger hunting. Got it." I look at Marina briefly, then to Sheldon. But they both had a look of extreme concentration on their faces as they looked out the entrance. I moved to look where they were looking. It didn't take me long to realize what we saw, especially with the lack of buildings.

That. Fucking. Statue.

Sheldon spoke again, this time so cold that it sent a shiverquake down my back. "It took everything away from me, from us. I swear on my grandpappy Ammoses Shellendorf's grave…"

Please, don't do anything stupid, Sheldon.

Coelacanth News

A full search of the area shows no signs of life apart from abandoned gear and weapons. Said gear and weapons were found next to oily, ink-like substances on the ground. Our top scientists have collected samples for testing. We advise non-scientists not to make contact with the substance until it is deemed safe to do so. Leave all gear and weapons on the ground and contact a local sanitation squad for further assistance. All remaining survivors are advised to return to your shelters before dark for safety reasons.