Discord: /C7CaQzCfKQ

"Augh! My mouf- it burns!" Frye's cries echoed out from the base. Shiver watched her fan her mouth in a futile attempt to contain the raging beast in her mouth.

"It's not that bad, come on," Shiver shook her head, turning her attention to Riptide who tirelessly dragged a support beam across the ground.

"Come on, guys! Can't you be useful!?" he huffed out, letting the metal beam crash to the ground.

"What's wrong? You seem to be doing just fine on your own," she pointed out, irking him. She sat on the ground, legs crossed and book in hand.

"You do realize we are deep underground, right? One wrong mishap and this place will collapse." The newly half-dug-out space was filled with construction equipment, wheelbarrows, support beams, and concrete. "How did you steal all this equpment anyways?"

"You mean borrowed?" Shiver smirked as she turned the page.

"Yes, yes, borrowed," Riptide waved his hand, motioning for her to hurry up.

"The construction company that helped prepare Splatfests left their equipment out. They won't notice if a few of their equipments go missing for the time being!" she howled with laughter.

"I honestly don't understand how you can 'borrow' something so big without being noticed," he inwardly sighed, securing a cable around the support beam.

"Who cares! Does anyone haf any ice cweam or somefing!?" Frye continues to wail, fanning her mouth while pacing around the room like a headless chicken.

"No ice cream for you, remember our deal? Just drink some water," Shiver looked up from her book. Getting up, she grabbed a cup from a nearby dispenser and filled it up.

"Hey! I don't remember agreeing on that!" Frye shouted, yanking the cup from her hand, and chugging it down. Big Man stared at the duo with weary eyes as he sighed.

"Ay... (Aren't you being too harsh on her?)" he asks.

"She'll be fine, she's been through worse," she shrugged him off.

"Hey, I thought you- ow! I thought you said water was harmful to you?" Riptide asked while accidentally stubbing his toe on the wheel of the crane.

Shiver nodded, "Typically, but we use a denser water called heavy water. It's a substitute for water, doesn't harm our thin skin as much and we can drink it."

Riptide hummed in acknowledgment while operating the machine. Sparks flew as he began to weld the metal while the others watched. "It's really amazing, this place is coming together!" Frye commented after calming down, wiping the remaining water off her mouth.

"It's only been a week, I need sleep..." Riptide moaned.

"You'll do fine," Shiver pats his back before walking away. "Alright, we got to leave for our job."

"Alright, I'll be here... working by myself," he sighs. He watched as they shuffled out of the room with the hope that Shiver trips on a rock. He muttered, shoveling rocks out of the way to make room for another support beam.

000

The desert winds blew across his body, kicking sand into the air. A fleet of small drones followed behind him as he stared into the distance. "Alright Helios, work your magic," he pointed out. The drones hissed to life, darting about in random directions. A small map formulated in his vision, quickly expanding with each drone.

"Pretty impressive toy ya got there..." a voice behind him said. He spun around to see Charys smirking at him with a weapon of sorts slugged over her shoulder. Her long black tentacles grazed just above the sand they stood in.

"C-Charys!? What are y-you doing here!?" he asked in shock.

"Wha? Didn't expect me or somethin'? Ya know, the Splatslands are dangerous, right?" she tilted her head, her smirk turning into a grin revealing some of her sharper teeth.

"Splatlands? Is that what this place is called?" he gestured to the desert around them.

She chuckled, "Yeah? What else would this be? 'nyways, ya don't have a weapon, how do you expect to survive without being splatted? Not everyone is friendly here."

"Splatted?" he asked.

"Wha-" she recoiled before frantically waving her hands, "Yer tellin' me that you don't know what splatting it? Have you been livin' under a rock!?"

"Err... Kinda?" Riptide rubs the back of his head causing her to bark with laughter.

"O-Oh my cod! Ya really have no clue, do you?" she continued to laugh hysterically, placing her hands on her stomach. "You get more interestin' by the minute mystery dude, well if you don't have anything to protect yourself with, I'll help ya out."

"You'll do that? It would mean a-"

"If I get some kind of payment outa it," she winks.

"Of course," he mumbles.

"I ain't some charity, just doin' what I gotta do," she shrugs. "The world is cruel, which means we gotta be crueler."

"That's... a pretty interesting saying."

"Right?" she grins, "I've been tryin' to find something that would sound fresh. Anyways, 'bout that payment?"

"Well, I believe what I'm looking for will be enough."

"'N that is?" she raised her eyebrow in intrigue.

"A human base," he grins under the mask. He felt a hint of satisfaction seeing the Inkling's eyes bulge out.

"Wha- how!? There is like, nothin' here?" she spreads her arms out.

"Yeah, usually not; but these human bases aren't always visible at first sight," he folds his arms in, smirking at her. Getting to the desert wasn't easy, slipping out from Shiver's watch was difficult; the only time he could was when she was at work, leaving him to his devices.

"And how do know that? You seem to know these things, yet ya don't know anythin' about these lands or have a weapon. Quite suspicious, mystery dude," pointing her weapon at his face, she glared at him, causing Riptide to put his hands up.

"Woah, woah, woah! C-Calm down," he pleaded, putting his hands up in mock surrender.

"Just Squidding... 'Nyways how exactly are ya gonna-"

"Base uncovered, unlocking: please standby," Helios spoke. A latch clicked, and the surrounding sand shuffled out of the way, revealing a hatch.

"Wha- how!?" she stared at the hatch in awe. Like a moth attracted to a light, she walked toward it. "It's been sittin' here this whole time!?" she asks, circling and studying it, occasionally prodding at its exterior.

"Apparently..." Riptide muttered under his breath, joining up with her. With the twist of his hands, the hatch opened; he cringed as it squeaked. "Ladies first?"

"Yeah, not happenin'," she peered down the dim whole, a metallic ladder leading downward. With a sigh, he grabbed onto the rungs; thankfully, it stood to the test of time, showing no wear. Charys followed, looking up at the gradually shrinking light. Her breath became shakey, refusing to look down as they took the painfully slow descent.

Nothing but complete silence took them, only interrupted by the occasional breath and clinking of metal as the hands touched the cold ladder. "Geez! How long is this, do ya see a bottom!?"

He squinted his eyes, seeing a shadow come into view. "Uh, yeah. We're close, maybe another minute or two."

"How did ya find a human bunker outa thin air? I don't understand!" she huffed.

"I thought you were used to finding these things?"

"What!? No!" she shouted. "I mean, sure I look for human artifacts. A small metal portrait of a human at worst and a book or some kinda machine at best, but never a human bunker!"

"A small metal portrait?" he asks.

"Oh yeah, there's hundreds of them. Small disks made from metal with a human on it, some are made from copper too."

"You mean coins?"

She paused, "Coins? That what you call 'em?"

"Uh, yeah... I guess," he mutters, inwardly slapping himself.

"Y'know, people say that those humans were gods that they preached. I think it's a load of carp. I think they just loved their faces too much and sold hundreds of 'em."

Riptide emitted an airy chuckle, not bothering to stop his descent. Once the two reached the bottom, he jumped off; grabbed the backpack off his shoulders, and set it on the ground. Charys watched as he took out a flashlight, and flicked it on.

"For you," he held it outward, which she quickly snatched, pointing it to the hallway.

"You sure you don't need that?" she asks.

"Nah, I have night vision. I just carry one in case Deep- I mean, someone else comes."

"Whatever you say, dude. Let's see what they have for us," she walked across the hall, shining her light on the metal floor. Unlike the previous vault, it showed no signs of decay.

"I think the powers still on."

"What? What do ya mean!? I can't see anythin'!" she points her flashlight around the area.

"Yeah, but everything looks well kept, like an... automatic maintenance system?" he suggested. "We should check if this place has power-"

"New biological entity detected: turning off power saving mode, please standby."

Lights flickered on, bathing the hall in a dim light. Dirt and grime stained the halls where two doors stood, causing a pit to fall in Riptide's stomach. Charys glances at Riptide which he returns before she hoists the weapon over her shoulder, "Well, after you."

"Yeah, yeah," he sighs, pushing the door open. The duo stepped into an empty room, torn posters plastered on the walls. A black office chair lay behind a reception desk with office decor scattered around.

"What do ya think happen 'ere?" she asked, turning off her flashing before handing it to Riptide.

"Probably some killer robot or something," he smirked, resulting in a slap to the forehead. He picked up a folder filled with old documents, faded medical diagrams, and rough sketches of synthetic body parts, all dated back from before the flood. His eyes narrowed when he saw a logo in the corner; it was not Alterna.

"What's that?" Charys leaned over, studying the paper.

"Some medical stuff," he shuts the folder, placing it back on the desk. "Nothing to worry about."

"It's eerily quiet-" a crash interrupted Charys causing her to jump. "What was that!?"

Two cylindrical robots rolled up, unfolding their bodies as they stood on two feet. Glowing eyes darted around before beeping and rolling away. Riptide sighed behind the desk, "We should probably avoid that thing."

"Yeah, no squidding..." she sighs.

000

Riptide watches Charys pull her weapon, before standing up. "What are you doing!? You're gonna get us killed!" he hissed.

"Trust me," she whispered back before peaking around the desk. Holding it vertically before pressing a button, causing the plastic ridges to whirl to life. After a moment she swipes the weapon vertically causing the purple ink to fling off into a stream on the floor.

"Congrats... you made a mess."

"Shut up 'n watch," her eyes roll before stepping into the ink, sloshing underneath her feet. His eyes widened as he watched her turn purple, melting into the pool.

"C-Charys!?" he cries.

"Shh, 'm still 'ere!" she shushes as a squid head pokes out. Not an inkling head, but an actual cephalopod peering at him. Her skin was slick, matching the ink and its color perfectly. She glides across the ink, reaching the edge before reforming into her human self, clothes and all. A small water balloon forms from her hand as she leans into the hall before swiftly throwing it. Ink splats across the floor, electricity sparks before a small explosion erupts from the room.

"What the hell was that!?" Riptide screaches across the room.

She turned around with a smug grin, "A modified burst bomb."

He holds out his hand, "Wait- wait- wait! First off, what is a burst bomb? Second, how the hell do you modify a water balloon!?"

"Don't know what a water balloon is, but to answer yer question, it's a sack filled with ink. Second, ya just need to modify yer Splatana to process the ink in a different way."

"Don't know what that is but okay!" he gives a thumbs up before walking toward her.

"Ya know, I was joking about the livin' under a rock thing..."

"Whatever you say," he mutters glancing down the hall. "How'd you do that by the way?"

"Do what?" she paused.

"Turn into a squid? Your clothes just vanished too! None of it makes sense!" he cries, dramatically throwing his hand in the air.

"Well, that confirms you ain't an Inkling or Octoling. Ya don't even know simple concepts, you really were isolated, huh?" arms wrapped around the weapon as she takes practice swings with her weapon, splashing ink on the ground. "Well, it's gonna be a mystery from now on. A girls' gotta keep her secrets 'n all that, besides ya can't have all th' glory 'n steal all tha' mystery 'round you!"

"First, your accent came out there in the end. Second, you don't get to pull that girly play now. And thirdly, I can just ask someone else."

"Well, first, screw you. Second, screw you. Third, try 'n ask why their clothes vanish and reappear without lookin' like a creep."

000

"There's somethin' here!" Charys calls out. Riptide trudges through the dense ink with hefty breaths.

"Can't you... Can't you slow down for a second? There's no clean floor to stand on, and I think this ink is irritating my skin!" he pleads. Once he catches up, he grabs onto the wall in a hunched position. "Finally... I made it!"

"Took ya long enough..." she mutters. "'Nyways, there's a keypad on this door. Can't you like... hack it or something?"

He deadpans, "I'm an engineer, not a hacker."

Charys grunts as she stares back.

Riptide coughs, elaborating, "I could try and bypass it, but I have a feeling that they have a sensor or something; it could trigger an alarm."

Sighing, Charys peers at the ceiling, spotting an air duct. "I could go through that."

"No, it's too high. You can you my tool though," he explains while his hands rummage through his pocket.

"Nah, we don't need it," she says, flinging ink on the wall causing some to splatter on Riptide's skin.

"Really?" he sighs, whipping the residue from his face, leaving a faint tingling behind.

"Sorry," she says unapologetically before turning into her 'squid form.'

"You expect me to believe you can slip through the vent cover."

"Yup!" she says before swimming up the wall. His jaw dropped when her body fazed through the holes in the vent.

"H-How!? You know what, I won't question it. You realize I won't be able to contact you right!?" he shouts at her.

"I know! I'll be careful too!" her voice echoed through the vent.

000

Charys doesn't know how to feel about this situation. One thing she knew was how suspicious Riptide was, not that she thought he's someone malicious, but there was too much mystery behind the guy. Never in her life did she think that she would go into a human vault, needless to say; she was thankful.

"Alright, what do we have here?" she looked around, spotting a button by the door. As she walked over, something that shimmered in the light grabbed her attention. With a glance, she picked up a small metal device. It was a glass tube with metal coils running through the interior; when she clicked it on, heat began radiating off of it.

"Hey, do you see anything?" Riptide called through the door.

"No, one second!" Charys yelled back. Quickly switching the device off, she shoved it in one of her pockets before pressing the button. The door hisses, giving off steam before lifting.

"What took you so long?" he asked, stepping out. With each step, the ink imprints itself onto the metal surface.

"Nothin'! Let's just get a move on," she motions before adjusting her pocket.

As the two delve further into the place, they notice how bare the place is, lacking any human corpses or machinery. Charys' hearts beat rapidly out of her chest as a sinking feeling formed in the pit of her stomach.

"Wait!" Riptide called out, catching her attention. She followed his hand which led to a camera in the corner of the room.

"What is that?" she asks.

"Security camera, just don't let it see you."

"Ah, then it'll be easy," she huffs before grabbing her weapon.

Riptide groaned as she inked the floor, slipping into it, and splashed the camera with a single swoop. The camera jerked before shutting off, leaving us alone.

"See, it'll be easy-"

"Warning: Camera offline. Sending repair drone."

"Well, that's not good," Riptide looks around for any semblance. "We'll just have to go and hope we don't come across it."

The two rushed across the room, into another hall stuffed with boxes of machinery. Charys' eyes sparkle with a grin as she peeks into one of the boxes. "Oh, my cod! This is amazin'! Look at this stuff, so many parts!"

Riptide looks in amusement, watching half of her body deep in the box. "You're gonna store all that?"

Halting, she turns her head, "Don't ruin my fun, 'sides, I can come back later. Won't stop me from takin' a few things though."

Riptide took a deep inhale "You sure love human artifacts, huh?"

"'Course I do. Human history is important, plus I get to turn this junk into useful resources. These lands are unforgiving, y'know?" she lifted herself out of the box before shoving it in her bag. "It'll do for now."

His eyes trailed the item before averting. "Say, everyone I met here has been interested in humanity; why is that?"

She looked at me, "Our entire lives are built around humanity; why wouldn't we?"

"W-Well, I just wanted to know, y'know? I g-guess I'm not used to it all," he muttered, looking at the ground.

Charys looked at him curiously before moving closer, "My ma is into humans, to be honest; I think she rubbed off on me. She can look at a relic and go on and on 'bout theories of why it was made. I wonder what it would be like if I got to meet one, it has always been a dream of my mas." She chuckled, "I can already hear the questions she would ask."

"Ah, I see..." he shifted his posture before turning his head to the door. "We should move on."

"Uh, I guess," she shrugs walking to the door. "We just gotta be careful, who knows if we will run into-" a thud interrupted her as both turned their heads toward the noise. She peaks her head, spotting a group of four-legged robots patrolling the halls, clicking as its joints snap into position. The one in the front had silver paint flaking off it, while the two red ones followed before splitting off in nearby directions.

Riptide grabbed her shoulder before she had the chance to spring to action, looking her in the eye. Charys lowered the Splatana and watched as one of the machines passed them. With a sigh, the two slip past and into the next room.

000

"Riptide, over here!" Charys beckons him over. Riptide rushes over to see a pillar tower over them, wires strung up from the ceiling attaching to the base. A cylinder plugged into the center of the pillar, glowing a subtle orange.

A holographic keyboard and mouse flickered in front of Riptide as he stared at the screen. He shook the mouse causing a screen to light up, displaying a map of the desert. Blue dots littered the map in various sizes.

"This is... are these human bases!? No way, imagine all the loot we can get!" Charys' eyes sparkle while jumping up. "Riptide, we'll be famous! Riptide?" her grin lowered. Riptide stood next to her, staring at the screen while gasping. He clenched his chest before turning away.

"Riptide? What's wrong? Yer scarin' me," she put a hand on his shoulder causing him to jump.

"Wha- Charys? I-" he stumbled, putting a hand on his mask. "It's, nothing; I just... give me a moment."

"Uh, yeah..." she stepped back, sitting next to him. His breathing grew steady, finally sat down beside her.

"Th' hell was that?" she asked.

"I don't..." he pauses before holding out his hand. "Can you give me storage unit, please?"

"I- the metal stick thingy?" she asks, to which he silently nods. "Right," she walks up to the pillar, pulling on the cylinder from its resting spot. She hands it over to Riptide before sitting back down.

"Thanks."

"So, you want to-" a blare of an alarm interrupted them.

"Warning: Intruder identified, please lie on your stomach with your arms at your side. A security robot will come and collect you," the voice spoke followed by loud banging on a nearby wall.

"Run?" Riptide asks.

"Run," Charys nods. The two bolt out the doorway into the nearby hall. Mechanical clicks, whirls, and hydraulic pumping were rapidly growing louder. Heavy footsteps shook the ground, as the mechanical four-legged machine sought chase once more.

"Th' shell 's tha'-" A beam of light shot beside her face, sending debris in the air. Charys scrambles backward with a yelp, peering through the dust. A cylindrical robot rolled up, pointing a gun at its back. "Come on, even more!?"

She jumps upward as more robots roll up as sirens blink onward, casting an ominous red hue over the entire building. Riptide, in a panicked mindset, grabs her by the arm, pulling her with him. They pick up speed as more metallic footsteps echo through the halls.

Laser beams shoot in every direction, shaking the entire structure. "Where is the stupid exit?"

"Over there!" Charys points to the large open metal door, "Just a bit further!" She detaches herself from Riptide, turning into a squid and diving into the ink, effortlessly gliding across.

"After this, I deserve an explanation!" she shouts ahead.

"I-" a laser grazes his arm, causing searing pain to run up it. He hisses as he breaks into another sprint, his lungs burn up with every intake until he feels his heart stop. The entire floor was covered in ink from when they first entered.

Looking behind him, two dog-like robots are charging full sprint with a silver one in front. Four red LEDs lit up like a cat in the middle of the night, it lacked any neck and appeared always hunched over. Riptide focuses his attention on the messy floor and sprints forward.

As his feet sink into the ink, he feels heavy resistance as he lifts his leg back up, almost falling in the process. They grow close but he doesn't look back; instead, he focuses his attention on Charys who is already across and ushering him over.

He forces his muscles to move as ink splashes on his face, irritating his skin further.

Eventually, he made it, running toward the double doors and past the desk. Metal scrapes against the floor tiles, sending a shiver down his spine.

Charys jumps onto the ladder with Riptide following close behind.

000

Sun beams on the duo's faces, obscuring their vision.

"Finally, we made it!" Riptide huffs out, bent over with his hands grasping the sand.

"That was... something," Charys sat beside him before looking around at the baren wasteland in front of them. Her hand reaches into her pocket, grabbing the metal tube from her pocket. "Well, at least I got somethin' outa it."

Riptide's eyes widen at the sight, grabbing it from her hand.

"Hey! What the shell are ya thinkin'?" she yells before attempting to grasp it.

"Don't you know how dangerous this is? If this thing overheats, it will expload."

"And how do ya know that?" she asks, snatching it back.

His legs lock into place, standing stiffly. "Er, well-"

"Well well, look who it is," a new voice cut him off. His head turned as Chrys scoffs.

A group of five stood in front of them, all of them wearing masks around their faces, all holding guns. Four of them held what looked like golden airbrushes. Riptide almost snorted at the bizarre sight of them attempting to look intimidating while pointing comically large airbrushes at their faces. The fifth guy who was different, held a silver machine gun that screamed 'leader.' Unlike the others, he lacked the mask showing a smirk that screamed 'ego.'

"Great, just what I needed. If it ain't Cetus and his gang on morons," she sighed, crossing her arms. "Doncha have anythin' better ta do?"

"Don't be like that, you seemed to have found some pretty fresh items. You don't mind if I swoop in and... grab it?"

"Ya, no thanks."

"Listen here you little-" his eyes bulged out before he broke into a coughing fit. The rest of his gang stared at him awkwardly.

"Hey man, you okay? I told you that you should have worn that dust mask," one of the members sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Shut up! Can't you see I'm trying to look cool!?" he roared out. "How am I supposed to look like the boss if I don't look different?"

"I dunno, wear a different mask?" another asked.

"That's not the point!" he placed his hand on his forehead.

"What is the point then?" Riptide asked as everyone's head turned toward him, realizing there was someone else with them.

"And who are you? Some kind of bigshot?" he quirked his eyebrows.

"Nah, just some rando off the street," he rubbed the edges of his mask. "Anyways, we finished here; but, we're keeping this stuff."

"No you don't! You better hand it over, or else-"

Riptide let out a snort, "Or what, you gonna paint us to death?"

Charys looked at him like he was crazy, "The hell 'r ya thinkin'!?" she hissed between her teeth.

"Shiver, Frye, you owe me for this..." he muttered before standing up. He thought back to a conversation he had with Shiver and Frye.

"Listen, you can't just be all peaceful, sometimes you'll encounter some truly unruly people. When that happens, you have to convince them that you're more of a threat than they are. Meaning, that you have to work on your villain laugh, it'll make people back off from you... most of the time."

"And the rest of the time?"

"You'll just have to act and punch 'em where it hurt!" Frye chimed in with air punches.

Riptide opened his eyes before laughing, "BWAHAHAHA"

Charys along with everyone else jumped before squinting at him. The corner of her mouth along with her eyebrow twitched rapidly.

"You think these puny devices will stop me? You're more foolish than I thought! If you truly believe you can kill me, be my guest! Just know, it's your death sentence." He spreads his arms outward in a dramatic fashion.

He watched as the gang tensed in anticipation. A second passed, then two, thirty, then a minute. With each passing second, their faces morphed from anticipation to confusion.

"'s somethin' supposed ta happen?"

"I-It'll take a second."

Cetus sighed, "Screw that! Everyone, fire-"

Charys' eyes widened as hundreds of black circular drones whizzed passed them, their green lights pointing toward Cetus' group.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he chuckled. "Now, you can leave us alone, or we can do it the hard way."

Cetus grunted in frustration before turning away, "Fine, we have better things to do! Don't think this changes anything!" The other members followed him into the horizon.

"The shell did I witness?" Charys stared, awestruck. She looked at him, taking a step back, "Thought those were just camera drones"

"Pft, yeah. These are just camera drones," he said while placing his hands on his hips.

"Yer a moron, but whatever. You still owe me an explination on what happened back there."

Riptide looked on the ground, "Fine... when we get back."

"Works enough for me."

000

Riptide sat at the corner, shifting at the wooden chair pressed against his spine. Charys sat on the other side, sipping away a drink with a noticeable slurp. She stared back at him, rhythmically tapping her leg.

"So, what you're sayin' is that yer scared of old human photos because it reminds you of yer past or somethin' like that?" she asks, staring back at him.

"Yeah, something like that." He shifts under the weight of his half-truth half-lie.

She pauses before a sigh escapes, "Gee, you sure have it rough. Yet you hunt for human artifacts, it doesn't make sense."

"Yeah, I wish I could give out more than that," he huffs. To be honest, he was getting sick and tired of keeping everything under wraps. He made a promise with Shiver, Frye, and Big Man along with himself. He knew he couldn't but everything else screamed at him to tell the truth, yet his mouth remained shut.

"Keepin' secrets ey?" she let out a teasing grin, displaying her sharp teeth. As soon as he opened his mouth to refute, she held her hand toward his face. "Don't worry, I understand. I an't trynna get into yer stuff, just means you interest me more."

"Means I'm special?" he teases.

She snorts, "Nah, just weird. "Call me sometime, maybe we can find more human artifacts together or somethin'. Just remember ta bring a weapon next time." She grins, taking out a sliver of paper and writing what he presumed was her number.

He stuffed the picture in his pocket before she walked away, flicking her tentacles out of her eyes. He continued to watch her silhouette disappear into the crowd before letting out a "huh."

He noticed an inkling woman in a small stand selling ice cream to a group of younger Inklings and Octolings who has still solid colors on their skin. His eyebrow raised as they giggled and ran off with ice cream in hand. The girl smiled before eyeing him walking up, giving a wave.

"Heya, what do you want?" she said as she grinned.

"Uh, can I have one chocolate and one strawberry, chocolate-mint, and vanilla, please?"

"Coming right up? The other ones for your friend?" she asked, taking a scoop of strawberry and plopping it on top of a cone.

"Let's just say it's a bargaining chip."

She said nothing more, handing over the cones.

000

The door slid open, and not a second later he heard angry footsteps stomping rapidly to the halls. A tan fist came flying at him, inches in front of him.

"Give me a reason not to send you flyin' through the stratosphere," Frye threatened.

Riptide looked around, "Where is Shiver and Big Man?"

"Fighting Salmonid," she sighed dejectedly.

"What?"

"Right, we didn't get to that part. You'll find that out later. Point is, we played rock paper scissors, and I lost. I shoulda totally won, but of course, Shiver won! Now I'm here while those two get to give a good ol' Salmonid beatdown."

"Sounds rough," he said, sliding past her.

"Yeah it- wait! Don't try to get outta this!" she rushed in front of him once more. "Give me a reason, just one!"

"I have I cream," he shoved the strawberry cone in front of her chest.

"Deal," she instantly responded, yanking the cone from his hand.

The two both plopped on the couch, Riptide silently watching her eat. After she finished she grinned, "Still telling Shiver though."

"Wait, I have a deal!" he pleaded.

"Oh?"

He took off the mask, placing it face up next to him. "You do realize you broke shivers 'punishment' right," he said, putting air quotes around punishment. She froze, "How about if you don't tell Shiver and Big Man an expiditions, I'll give you as much ice cream as you want. Or any food, really!"

Her head perked up, "You will, awesome! On one condition: gimmie the other two."

Author Notes:

I'm back, this chapter was putting me through the ringer. I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter, especially with things going on in my life like college. The next chapter may take a while, but I'm happy for now. With I finally got to write Charys, I loved writing her more tomboyish and delinquent attitude, and of course, her accent is a joy. When I first introduced her last chapter (2.) I had trouble with her design but a lot of it was inspired by Frye's original concept art. As for Cetus, I wanted to write this goofy minor antagonist who tries too hard to look cool and cocky. You will get to see more of him later, trust me. As for the facility and what happened back there, you'll just have to find out later :)