Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was dark. So dark, she could hardly see her arms in front of her face. That was fine; the stars would guide her. The stars, immutable and eternal, lay along the well worn path; They were not bright enough to light the way, but bright enough to be visible themselves.

At first, she walked slowly along the worn, beaten path- feeling her way along where her eyes could not help her. Then, she realized she could swim, and so she did. She effortlessly rose above the path, and gracefully jetted from one star to the next.

Each star was a tiny red light in the darkness; small enough to hold in the palm of her hand. When she reached one, it would glow bright, so bright, for just a moment, before it would fizzle out, and she would swim for the next one.

The path below her had now turned to a dark, sandy seafloor. Mostly, it was empty, save for herself and the stars. Occasionally, something else would come into view- a building, or perhaps a machine, or something she did not recognize, buried in the sand. She swam around it, following the stars, and the objects disappeared in the dark water behind her.

She had to follow the stars. They would lead her to where she needed to go. She would follow the stars, and all would be well. All that mattered was the stars.

But then there was something else. A terrifying rumble filled the sea, and she panicked. She darted for something, anything- she hid under the nearest bit of debris she could find. The rumble got louder. Then things crashed down from above; huge things. She did not know what they were.

She peeked out from her shelter, and was blinded and deafened- a mighty CRACK rang through the air, and all she could see was white. It only lasted for a moment, but even when it was gone the afterimage of a jagged bolt remained in her vision. Then there was another, and another. The ceasless crash of the heavens falling to earth. Then, she heard it- that monstrous groan of steel ripping apart and falling.

She knew what would happen next. She knew she must flee- the next star was right there. But she could not. She had lost control of her body. Against her will, she crawled out from her shelter and watched helplessly as that huge, metal thing fell down on top of her. If she could just get away, she would be safe. If she could just move, she would be safe. But she could not move. All light left as the thing came crashing down to crush her.

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Inalynn Voltra woke with a start. Her skin was grey and clammy, her breathing was fast and shallow, and her cranial arms flailed wildly. Her vision was blurred from tears, and the world was a confusing and frightening blur of color.

“Hey, hey! You good?”

Gradually, her vision sharpened and focused. In front of her was Tayella Strong, her squadmate and best friend for years. Ina’s breathing slowed down, and she collected herself. She nodded, and Tay made a warm smile. That always made Ina feel better. As she calmed down, she blinked the tears out of her brown eyes, her skin tone returned to it’s normal light-beige hue, and her mantle shifted to her natural ink color, a muted lavender.

She was lying on an old, stained mattress, heavily worn and used by numerous octopi over many years. It was slightly too big for the cutout in the concrete wall that was her bed., and thus bent up at the ends. On the other side of the curtain was a small railing to prevent her falling out onto the floor in her sleep, and past that was a small dormitory room featuring a closet, several tables, and various miscellaneous items scattered throughout; A small book here, a spool of wire there. The overhead light was dim, only barely enough light to see by. A small seed oil lamp sat in the middle of the table, in case someone needed more light.

“Had that dream again, huh?”

Ina nodded. It was nice to have somebody that just got her. She looked up into Tay’s vibrant green eyes- Far more vibrant than even the healthiest young shoots, framed by skin the color of good soil and a mantle dyed the bountiful gold of the sun. Tay chuckled at her gaze.

“I know I’m cute, but we really need to move, Ina. We’re already late.”

Ina checked the clock by her bed It was 2:49; Just fifteen minutes until the next hoverferry at 3:00. She needed to stop sleeping in. The two octolings stepped out into the dorm, and Ina quickly donned her uniform before the two shifted their ink color to agricultural green, shut off the lights, and bolted out the door.

Ina and Tay were privates in the Agricultural branch of the Octarian Woodwinds section, 2nd division, Alpha Company, Sweet Potato Splatoon, Squad 3. Sweet Potato Splatoon currently held 53 troopers in total, divided into 6 squads of 8 and one partial squad of 5. Each squad was assigned a dorm room in the same building, for convenience. Unlike most Octarian Splatoons, Sweet Potato Splatoon did not have permanent squad leaders- instead, Captain Kelly would temporarily grant a given squad member leadership only when she felt it was necessary. Seeing as they were primarily a labor unit who never saw combat, Kelly felt SPS squads didn’t really need to be able to operate autonomously, preferring to individually give each member assignments herself.

Ina, like all Octolings, had been enrolled in pre-elementary training at age 3. She hadn’t been particularly impressive, and didn’t manage to quality for elementary training proper until age 8. At that age, she’d been sent to Beaker’s Depot, where she frequently performed below expectations. Her combat performance in particular was abysmal (something she was beaten for every quarterly review). Still, her ability to repair and maintain machinery was decent enough, and when her class grew onions, hers was one of the better ones. She was deemed competent enough to be assigned to the agricultural sector. Since then, Ina had remained a private, lacking the drive and ambition needed to climb up the ranks. Tay had performed much better in school, yet was still considered menial because of her inclination towards trouble and disobedience.

The two were expected to be diligent workers, to ensure a steady food supply to Octaria, and, most relevant at the moment, to show up to work on time. Although the route to the local ferry dock was short, they would really have to leg it to catch the hoverferry- the rest of the squad had left a good 10 minutes ago. The two of them flew out the door and down the stairs of the dormitory complex they lived in. This, of course, brought them to the elevated catwalks above the streets in Dome H37.

Even months after Operation Everlasting Sunrise, Ina couldn’t help but stop and stare at the digital sky above. Right now, it was set a brilliant orange fading into purple, with white clouds lit up by the imaginary sun below the horizon. When she first saw that sky, she had bawled in joy. Even now, she felt a tear forming in her eye.

If only she could stare at that sky forever. Without her duties calling her away. Without being reprimanded for idleness.

Without the sinking feeling in her gut telling her that the inklings might soon take it all away. Several other habitation domes had already lost their skies, going back to the endless darkness they’d all been born into.

She pushed that thought aside. It wouldn’t happen. The Great DJ wouldn’t let that happen. Everyone would get their skies back, and the future would be glorious.

“Hey, hey! Brass to Ina! Come on!”

Right, right. She had places to be.

The two of them ran across catwalks, down into the street, and towards the hoverferry station. They ran through market square, where the artisan class hawked various miscellanea. No time. They ran past numerous dormitory buildings, a forge, and central command office. Ina winced as she looked at the time on the big clock- already 2:62. Just two minutes to get there!

When they turned the last corner, their hearts sank- the ferry was already steadily rising into the sky. They both screamed and waved their arms, but it was no use. They’d missed it. Ina paled, and Tay collapsed to the floor.

“Carp… Captain’s gonna give us shell for this.”

To conserve power, the ferry schedule had been reduced to once an hour. If they waited that long, they might be charged with dereliction of duty. They had little choice but to walk all the way to dome A3. Ina helped Tay to her feet, and the two resignedly started the long walk of shame. Some of the people they’d passed on their run shot them disapproving looks, having guessed their tardiness. They tried not to think about it. It was a relief when they reached the edge of the dome; they hopped in one of the inklines surrounding the dome’s circumference and swam around the edge until they reached the kettle station. There was a security checkpoint here, manned by a squad of eight bored-looking soldiers. They quickly waived Ina and Tay through, and then the two of them hopped into the kettle opening. They shot through the pressurized kettle tunnel at breakneck speed, only to pop out the other end, only to have to swim through another inkline to enter another kettle, and so on and on.

They passed through five domes before they managed to reach A3. Inside, the towering stack of farm platforms ran all the way to the dome’s ceiling, imposing as ever. Each one was a disc almost half a a mile in diameter, suspended on countless, enormous concrete pillars and steel support struts. At the base of the structure was a small collection of buildings which served as this dome’s command hub. Next to those buildings was the only elevator in this dome. It was essentially a fenced platform and counterweight set inside of twin elevator “shafts” which were actually just sets of rails running up to the top of the dome, leaving the whole system very exposed. The elevator had many sets of controls- one on each floor of the farming terrace, and one in the box itself. There was also a spiral ramp that led around the structure for moving heavy machinery, and as a back up in case the elevator went down. (this could happen quite easily; as a security feature the whole elevator system would instantly shut down if even one set of controls was damaged.)

Ina and Tay gave themselves a moment to catch their breath before running for the command station at the base of the structure. The rest of the squadron was already moving towards the elevator. The two of them looked at each other, and briefly considered following their squad and pretending that they knew what the assignment was… until they felt their tentacles suddenly go stiff with fear. They slowly turned around, and looked at a very cross-looking Captain Kelliana Tracer.

“You were not present for Role Call.”

Ina gulped. Tay shakily asked for permission to speak.

“Granted.”
“We, uh… missed the ferry?”
“Why.”
“Because, um… we, er I, sorta...”

SLAP!

Tay stumbled back from the impact, and fell on her rear. Ina visibly jumped, and remained perfectly still.

“Ina. Tay. Are you aware that Commander Copper herself is observing us today?”

Both grunt’s eyes widened in shock, and their tentacles involuntarily paled in fear.

SLAP!

Ina fell to the ground alongside her comrade.

“KEEP YOUR SATURATION WHEN ON DUTY!”

both girls apologized and quickly stood up, forcing their cranial arms back to standard agricultural green.

“Do you think it reflects well on me when two of my splatoon are absent for role call?”

…

“ANSWER ME!”

“no, Captain.”

“Is this behavior an appropriate way to honor the great Octavio?”

“no, Captain”.

“Do you think it is appropriate for such behavior to go unpunished?”

“...n… no, Captain.”

It was then that Captain Kelly gave her signature “smile of unspoken doom” as the splatoon called it. Her face looked nothing but calm and serene, but even someone who hadn’t served under Kelly could feel the sheer depth of rage behind it. Both girls gulped once more.

“Because you missed morning meeting, I will relay your assignments to you. You will join the rest of your squad on layers 5 through 9 for inspection and weeding duty. You will then report to leader Jay on level 3. Several of the lights have been reported as malfunctioning. You will repair all of these. You will have this done by 7:32, at which time you will report to me at the command station.”

“Yes, captain!”

“And you will be given reduced rations for one week.”

Ina paled again, and Tay opened her mouth to protest.

SLAP!

“DO NOT SPEAK BACK TO ME!”

“yes, captain!”

Kelly gave the two one last sneer.

“Go.”

The two didn’t need to be told twice.

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They ended up staying in dome A3 long after the rest of their squad had left. They missed the ferry home; Captain Kelly had dismissed them just in time for them to see it fly off without them. They were forced to swim back home again.

Ina wanted to go home as soon as possible, but Tay insisted on making one quick detour. It was to a small shrine not too far from home. A shrine to Octaria’s old gods; Gods they’d worshiped long ago.

The shrine was small, nestled in between two larger apartment buildings, and featured a small brass statue featuring a goddess. Tay said her name was Mathilde. She was placed on top of what used to be a fountain, before it had been shut off to conserve water. There were only a couple other people here, mostly elderly octolings who worked in simple jobs not involving much labor.

The shrine was surprisingly clean. Not many people still cared about, or even knew the old gods, but those few who still did were very devoted. Tay was one of them. Ina, personally, didn’t understand why anybody would bother- if the gods were so great, after all, then why was Octaria trapped underground?

Ina had asked Tay about this once. As Tay said a quick prayer, Ina recalled that conversation.

“...Tay, why do you care about the old gods? All my schoolteachers said that the gods are just old superstitions.”

“That’s because the schoolteachers are trained to dismiss any power that isn’t the brass.”

“But still, why bother? What does this accomplish?”

“You’d be surprised. The gods may not make themselves obvious, but they still intervene in our lives in little, subtle ways that you’ll miss if you aren’t looking.”

“The schoolteachers say you’re just attributing any fortunate coincidences to the gods.”

Tay simply grunted dismissively. Ina, however, was not done questioning her.

“Doesn’t it make more sense to devote yourself to Lord Octavio? He’s the one who led us into the domes at the end of the Great War.”

Tay smiled smugly.

“And the gods helped him do it. They guided him to the domes so that he could guide us.”

“And if the gods are so great, why didn’t they help us win the Great War?”

Tay hadn’t had an answer for this. Even so, her devotion remained unshaken.

Back in the present moment, Tay finished her prayer and lightly jostled Ina back to attention. Time to go home.

When they finally reached their dorm, the rest of the squad was quietly chatting. The chatter stopped dead when they noticed the others, and they all looked away self-consciously. Ina, teary-eyed, hungry, and exhausted, climbed straight into bed and collapsed. Her cuts and bruises flared up every time she moved. She hadn’t even taken off her chestplate. She started softly crying, careful not to be overheard over the music player sitting on the main table.

Before long, she heard somebody else climbing up to her hole in the wall.

“Mind if I join you?”

It was Tay, naturally. Ina quietly grunted to confirm, and Tay climbed on top of her. (Technically, that kind of physical closeness wasn’t allowed, but many dorms ignored that rule as long as no higher-ups were watching.) It was comforting, having somebody else’s weight on her, Ina thought. She was happy to spend the rest of the night like this, to try and forget her troubles for just a little while. The idle chatter of the rest of the squad had started back up, and it mixed with the quiet music from the player to form a pleasant sort of white noise, preventing things from feeling too empty.

...Tay was very soft.

Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted; one of the other squadmates was speaking outside the curtain. It was Viola.

“Psst- hey, you two. Did you hear the news?”

As always, Tay took care of the speaking for her. Ina appreciated that.

“What news?”

“The concert! It’s mostly still a rumor, but word on the street has it that Lord Octavio’s planning a big victory concert!”

At this, Tay practically jumped up and tore open the curtain (shoving Ina’s face into the mattress in the process).

“WE GOT THE INKLINGS?”

The rest of the room shushed her, and Tay winced- both from embarrassment and from the injuries she’d just re-aggravated.

“sorry.”

“Ah, well, no, not yet… but we’re gonna! Rumor has it that they’re gonna bring the menace right into the concert and kill’em during the performance!”

“Wha- really?”

“...well, it’s like, just a rumor, but… Like, I know somebody who says she knows somebody in the Brass, and she says they're already prepping the concert hall!”

“Holy carp, that’s cool! We haven’t had a big concert since Sunrise! Ina, what do you- Oh, carp! sorry!”

Tay took her weight off Ina’s head, and Ina gasped for breath after being smothered in the mattress.

“So, when is it?”

“I haven’t heard an exact date, but supposedly it’s gonna be in just a few weeks. They’re calling it “Operation Angler!”

Tay and Viola continued chatting for a little while, before Ina decided to interrupt with her own thoughts.

“Is all this really worth the trouble? Getting tickets isn’t exactly easy for grunts like us.”

Viola responded quickly.

“Bite your tongue! This is the most important concert in the history of Octaria!”

“That’s what they said about the Sunrise Concert” Ina replied sullenly. “I didn’t get to see that one in person- I just watched a recording.”

At this, Tay gasped.

“Oh, Cod no!”

Ina scoffed. “I mean, does it really make any difference? You hear the same music either way.”

Tay looked appalled.

“Bite your tongue! It makes all the difference in the world! A recording just isn’t the same!”

Ina still looked unconvinced, so Tay took matters into her own hands.

She pulled Ina off the mattress and held her face right up against her own. Ina suddenly felt very warm- she was painfully aware of Tay’s hands on her cheeks, and Tay’s sharp green eyes pierced her soul. Her skin unconsciously started to flush blue with blood.

“Inalynn Geothrudulus Voltra, I will personally see to it that you see this concert in person, come hell or high water.”

Oh, clamn. She was serious about this.

“We’ll work double duty if we have to! We are getting those tickets!”

The thought of working double duty instinctively sparked a sense of fear and revulsion in Ina’s hearts, but as she looked at Tay’s steadfast determination, all her concerns seemed to melt away.

“Don’t you even think of backing out of this, Ina! Swear you’ll work with me! Swear we’ll see that concert! Whatever it takes!”

It took Ina a moment to find her voice.

“I, uh…”

“Swear on The Great DJ’s honor!”

“on the… the gr… wh…”

“Swear!”

Ina’s hearts were beating faster than any synth beat she’d ever heard. The fear she felt would be overpowering if it were not for this… other… sensation she felt when her face was so close to Tay’s. A part of her wanted to shut her eyes, but a bigger part declared that doing so would be sacrilege.

“I… uh…”

Ina gulped. There was no getting out of this, was there?

“I, Inalynne Geothrudulus Voltra, swear on… on the honor of the greatest of all disc jockeys, may… may he d… dubstep my face in should I falter, that I…

Tay, seeing her hesitation, led her through the rest of the oath.

“That I will do whatever it takes to get into the greatest victory concert of all time, and have my mind and soul blown open and changed forever!”

“That… That I…”

Ina gulped again. Now or never, she supposed.

“That I will do whatever it takes to get into the greatest victory concert of all time, and have my mind and soul blown open and changed forever!”

Tay’s smile was almost blinding. She pulled Ina into a hug, and now her face was almost as blue as her mantle.

“YES! NO REGRETS, BABY!”

“SHHHH!”

“sorry.”

As Tay continued the hug, Ina’s various cuts and bruises flared up again. Somehow, she didn’t mind much.

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The weeks after that seemed to pass by in a blur. Before long, the concert was officially announced and titled. It would be called the Great Anniversary Concert of Glorious Octarian Supremacy, or the Supremacy Concert for short.

Even on reduced rations, Ina worked harder than she ever had before. Every time she started to slow down, Tay would remind her of her vow and keep her moving. (It helped that Tay occasionally stole extra rations to keep her motivated. That was awe-inspiring in and of itself- Ina couldn’t imagine herself doing such a thing.)

Even Kelly seemed impressed… probably. Ina really hoped she wasn’t just imagining that.

Each night, when she got back to the dorm, she was exhausted, and dropped into bed immediately. Frequently, Tay would serve as her weighted blanket. The rest of the dorm didn’t mind, so long as they didn’t make any weird noises. Ina wasn’t sure if this helped her sleep or not- Being so close to Tay didn’t used to make her hearts beat quite so fast.

All was not well, of course- the Inkling Menace continued her horrible work all the while. More domes had their zapfish stolen, and more and more facilities had to go low-power or shut down altogether. Eventually, even Ina’s own sky was shut off, returning her to the world of Darkness she’d known from birth… But that didn’t phase her. She knew that once the menace was finally ended, Lord Octavio would launch operation Everlasting Sunrise 2, and all would be restored to glory.

Their performance was rewarded. In addition to their standard pay, Ina and Tay managed to earn a small bonus each week, which they carefully saved up. When they finally had enough, the two of them applied for the Supremacy Concert ticket raffle. After that, all they could do was wait. Tay prayed for good fortune regarding the tickets. She did think it was a little selfish to pray for such a thing, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime event that, according to Tay, Ina simply could not miss. As for Ina herself? She simply stewed in anxiety. This made her feel ill, which affected her performance at work. She was reprimanded for this, of course.

Finally, one night after Ina had stayed late trying to repair a particularly troublesome sprinkler, she got home to find Tay standing at the door waiting for her. Despite her best efforts, Tay was unable to hide her beaming smile, and from that, Ina quickly guessed why she was waiting. The two of them laughed and embraced, and joined in with the rest of the squad to celebrate (they’d all gotten tickets, too).

That night, Ina felt more hopeful for the future than she’d felt in a long time.

Of course, it didn’t last.

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A few weeks before the concert, Ina and Tay were working on one of the Autotillers on layer 7. The autotillers were large robotic rototillers which operated on a modified version of the Industrial Squee-G AI. They were based on the Industrial Squee-G frame, as well, giving them a similar appearance. The biggest differences were that the autotillers had far more powerful drive motors, to help push them through tough soil, and in place of a scrubber system they had a series of strong tilling blades for shearing dirt. To use them, operators would ink the soil they wished to till, and then set the autotiller loose; A simple and convenient way to till one part of a field while leaving the rest untouched.

This one in particular, however, when moved into position, would start moving for just a second or two, before making uncomfortable noises and shutting down. Normally, this sort of job would be done by one of the splatoon’s more mechamusically inclined members- usually Ori and Sprocket. Unfortunately, Ori had recently lost an arm in an unrelated accident, and Sprocket was busy with the main sprinkler control system.

Truth be told, Ina and Tay were not at all qualified for this job; the smart thing to do would be to ask one of the other A3 splatoons for assistance, or perhaps to send out a request for a DJ. Unfortunately, Captain Kelly wanted this repair job on her own personal record- so, lacking available qualified candidates, she simply assigned the two members who had been most generally productive in the past few weeks.

And so it was that the two grunt workers were currently scratching their heads in confusion, trying to read blueprints that were far beyond either girl’s understanding.

“Do you think maybe it has a bad motivator?”

“Could easily be the glubwoofer instead...”

“Maybe if we move the main synth beat down to a D Flat?”

“...how would we do that, exactly?”

“...no clue, sorry.”

They were sitting on top of the tiller machine- It’s outer plates had been removed, but it was otherwise intact. Not knowing what else to do, they had thoroughly scrubbed all of the components clean (or at least, those they could reach easily), and that hadn’t fixed the problem.

“I still think there’s maybe just a rock in the drive system we missed.”

“Ugh. I don’t wanna check that again.”

“Got any better ideas?”

“Not really… these diagrams might as well be written in Inklish for all I can read them. Like, seriously, what the shell is a 5 pole harmonizer? ”

There was, in fact, a rock in the drive system they had missed. It was not the cause of the machine’s malfunction. And so, they kept on working… or, more accurately, idling about the machine and trying to guess what each part did. As the day went on, the girls started to become anxious. At the end of the day, they would need to report their progress at the stand-up meeting. If they had to report to Captain Kelly that they had gotten exactly zero work done in a full day… better not to think about it.

“Um, maybe this wire’s in the wrong spot?”

“What makes you think that?”

“I mean, something has to be wrong, right?”

“Well, where do you think it should go?”

“Maybe… here?”

As the two of them randomly connected and disconnected parts, they periodically tried re-starting the machine to see what changes had been made. Most of the time, nothing happened. At one point, they did manage to identify the main motor for the tiller, which gave them quite a fright, but other than that, they accomplished little. As the day came to a close, the two started to panic. Leaving a mess like this would only make Kelly more angry. Ultimately, they were forced to conclude that they could not repair the machine, and would have to report as much to Captain Kelly.

“...But we can’t just leave it like this! There are parts and cables everywhere! If Kelly sees this, we might not get any rations at all next week!”

“Um… maybe if we can just get it the way it was when we started?”

And so, consulting a manual that neither girl understood, the two of them tried to re-assemble the machine they’d steadily deconstructed over the course of the day. When they were confident they had all the parts in place, they powered it on again, hoping that against all odds, they had somehow fixed the problem. They knew it wouldn’t work, of course, but what else could they do?

“Well, here goes nothing…”

Tay pulled the main power lever, and stood back as the thing booted up. It played that familiar jingle most Octarian machines played on startup, ending in the onward motif, of course. Then, it remained still for just a moment… before it started to move. The two watched on in astonished disbelief, before one of them dared to speak.

“Wait, is it actually…?”

“It… It’s following the ink trail I left!”

“Ina… Ina, I think we did it!”

“Oh my cod, we did it!”

The two then proceeded to hop around and squee with pride and jubilation, before they jumped into a hug. They were now officially super soldiers. The respect this repair would earn them would be considerable, and they knew their futures were bright. The massive machine, unaware of their display, steadily drove forward, it’s enormous tilling blades churning the soil before it.

“Wow, look at him go!”

“I’m proud of you, Auto!”

“...hey, Tay?”

“I just can’t believe we really did it!”

“...Tay?”

“yo?”

“is it supposed to be flashing orange like that?”

As a matter of fact, they had successfully fixed the problem. The machine simply had dirt clogging up some of it’s crucial connection points, interfering with the electric signal. All they had needed to do was disconnect and clean some of the cables.

...However, in their rush to put the machine together before end-of-day stand up, they had made a critical mistake. They hadn’t forgotten to connect anything, mind you, nor did they plug any of the cables into the wrong sockets. The machine’s builders had cleverly welded on various little key-shapes on the ends of the cables to prevent this from happening (an innovation that their superior took all credit for).

Rather, they had connected something they weren’t supposed to; the machine’s main sensor apparatus.

If you are familiar with the Industrial Squee-G, then you are probably aware of the machine’s most notable flaw- a flaw that would only be partially fixed with the MK 11 several years after this story. The flaw in question is, of course, the machine’s… overenthusiastic attitude towards cleaning. The Industrial Squee-G has an advanced array of sensors allowing it to detect even the tiniest amount of not just ink, but any hazardous materials or organic contaminants, leaving the surface underneath spotless.

Trouble is, from the Squee-G’s point of view, people count as organic contaminants.

Several of Octaria’s most clever and devoted DJ’s had long since been working on this safety hazard, but trying to convince the AI that some contaminants were OK had proved… challenging. This made them incredibly difficult, logistically, to use, as the entire area had to be evacuated before a Squee-G could be sent in.

The most practical solution found so far had been to make a smaller Squee-G which lacked the physical means to cause any serious damage. This worked for the most part, but the “Safety Squee” didn’t quite have the same mmph to it, so to speak; it lacked the power to clean up the most severe and hazardous messes. (It also kept tripping people when it rammed into their legs, meaning it wasn’t actually quite as safe as advertised.)

So, then, why were the users of the autotillers so callous with their machines? The answer is that the DJ responsible for the autotiller had found a surprisingly simple workaround to the machine’s behavior: Unplug it’s eyes. Without it’s main sensor array, the autotiller is only able to detect ink immediately in front of it through a secondary sensor (in this case, tuned specifically to ink.) Thus, the reason why autotillers do not attempt to “decontaminate” their handlers is because they cannot see said handlers.

Some of the readers may be wondering why, exactly, the autotillers have this sensory apparatus at all, if it isn’t meant to be used. The reason is the Octaria’s general lack of material resources and general belief in recycling. Rather than build new units from scratch, higher ups preferred to repurpose existing machines. In this case, that meant converting existing industrial Squee-G's into autotillers by replacing the cleaning rig with a tilling rig, and supplying a much stronger drive motor set. The higher ups also wanted to be able to convert them back if necessary, and so it was decided to leave the sensory apparatus in place for convenience. To prevent accidents, the commander responsible for this order sent a memo to all splatoon captains that the sensor system was not to be plugged in- something Kelly quickly relayed to her most mechamusically inclined subordinates and then forgot about entirely.

The point of all this being that although they hadn’t quite realized it yet, Tay and Ina had just set loose a bull shark in a kiddie pool.

When Tay looked at the machine again, it’s behavior did seem notably different. It had left the neat square pattern it was in before, and it seemed to be moving faster than it did before… and was it just her, or was it moving straight towards…

“TAY!?”

Ina had now backed up several meters, and the autotiller had left the ink path it was meant to follow.

Tay, beginning to feel worried, also instinctively stepped backwards. The Autotillers spinning array of soil blades suddenly looked a lot more threatening. As the autotiller continued to advance towards her, Tay watched in growing horror as it chewed right through a wooden fence, spitting out huge wood splinters in all directions… and yet, she could only slowly back away. She was caught in a sort of panicked trance, seemingly instinctively trying to move slowly to avoid notice. Some part of her knew that this wasn’t working, and it was flooding her mind with alarm bells.

...It suddenly occurred to Tay that there were no spawn pads set up in this dome. They were expensive to maintain, after all, and why would simple farm laborers need such a thing?

Just as she started feeling soil particles hitting her face, Ina grabbed her hand and forcefully yanked her out of the way. The trance was broken, and Ina screamed a single command at the top of her lungs.

“RUN!”

As the two took off, the machine’s main motor roared in apparent anger as it pursued them. The pair were initially able to gain a sizable lead, as the autotiller had to churn it’s way though almost two feet of dirt and soil wherever it moved… until the machine realized it could raise it’s tiller blades into the up position, at which point the overpowered drive motors that normally pushed it through the dirt now raced forward at terrifying speed.

Even at a full sprint, Ina and Tay were only slightly faster than the mechanical reaper on their tail. The octolings tried to use terrain to their advantage, as they’d been taught in their combat classes, but the autotiller simply ripped through anything in it’s path. Their only hope was to escape to the elevator, where it hopefully couldn’t follow.

They pushed and shoved their way through a thick plot of wheat, hoping to loose the monster on their tail. When they emerged from the other side, they saw, to their horror, two other squads, oblivious to the approaching danger. The most they could do was scream out a warning as they flew through their work area- earning confused and angry shouts when they carelessly trampled the new bean shoots being planted. When the neighboring wheat plot was mowed down, however, and an enormous steel catfish with spinning razors for teeth, roaring like an angry tiger shark, emerged from the greenery, they put the pieces together pretty quickly. Everyone present scattered among a chorus of panicked screams.

The machine, on emerging from the dense brush, had briefly lost track of it’s current targets, and upon finding a whole gaggle of walking goo-stains, found itself unable to single just one of them out. Whenever it got close to catching one, the contaminant would rapidly dodge in another direction, and it would loose focus, latching on to the next potential target it spotted. This continued until it found one particular target that was slower than the rest…

...and when Inalynn heard one particularly desperate warble, she turned in horror to see one of the cut-tentacle octotroopers had been singled out. Without strong running legs like an octoling, it was practically a sitting duck.

Moving without thought, Ina whirled around backwards and ran towards the autotiller. With grace rather uncharacteristic of her, she scooped up a sickle and hurled it at the machine like a shuriken. Fate was on her side, it seemed, as it landed straight in the machine’s main robotic eye- This stunned it just long enough for two other octolings to grab hold of the trooper and drag it away. One of them shouted a command at her as they dragged their fellow soldier away:

“Keep it distracted! We’ll evacuate the others!”

When the autotiller recovered, Ina was now it’s closest target.

“INA!”

Tay had briefly lost her in the scuffle, and quickly rejoined her best friend in running for their lives. Ina quickly relayed the order, and the two of them fell back on their training to lead the machine on a wild goose chase. When one of them started to get tired, they would dart into cover while the other tried to grab the autotiller’s attention. This worked for just long enough for a couple other octolings to join in, making things quite a bit more manageable. Somebody- one of the male octolings from another squad- had taken charge of the situation and acted as squad leader, making life much simpler for Ina and the others. If there was anything Ina was good at, it was following orders.

And so, under the direction of their new leader, five Octolings played an elaborate game of hot-potato in which the “potato” was the attention of a 2-ton hulking robotic catfish trying to murder them. Once somebody else had caught the things attention, the former target would back of and catch their breath, waiting until they were called for again. This worked well, for a while, but they could only stall for so much time; Octopi were not built for endurance, and it wasn’t long before the squad started to tire.

Thus, it was to everyone’s relief when another trooper ran in and called everyone to the elevator. The temporary distraction squad directed their game of cat and mouse in that general direction, until the elevator was in sight- at which point the squad all broke formation and made a mad dash for it.

Ina was the last one holding the autotiller’s aggro, and she was exhausted. Even with safety in sight, she could feel herself slowing down. Everyone was calling her forward- if she could just make this last push… She dropped into octopus form, and gathering as much strength as she could, launched herself straight into the open elevator. Even before she was in, their squad leader had activated the controls, sending them up and out of harm’s way… or so they thought.

There was a flaw in the leader’s plan- he hadn’t considered what would happen after the elevator started moving. The autotiller did not simply stop when the elevator started to rise up- instead, it kept chugging forward, until it’s tiller blades ripped that floor’s elevator controls to shreds. The elevator jolted to a sudden stop, and everybody on board simultaneously paled in terror as the metal monster kept moving.

“It’s gonna break the elevator rails!”

and it did. In a last-ditch attempt to clean up the escaping contaminants, the autotiller tore right through one of the four steel rails making up the elevator shaft… and then right over the edge, where it smashed through the next one. With it’s support rails bent out of shape, the elevator platform tipped to the side, and all it’s passengers helplessly slid into the simple fence gate. Ina in particular would have flown right over the edge if Tay hadn’t managed to grab her arm just in the nick of time. The others instinctively grabbed hold of the safety fence as the elevator platform tipped fully sideways, clinging above a drop over a thousand feet. The autotiller smashed into the ground below, smashing a supply shed under it’s considerable weight, and finally rendering itself unable to chase down helpless contaminants.

Tay hauled Ina back on board, and the terrified squad held their breath in anticipation. In a moment of clarity, their leader took control of the situation once more.

“Everyone, we’re going to jump back onto the farm platform one at a time!”

One by one, each octoling carefully climbed into position, and leapt for the safety of the stable concrete structure in front of them. As they did, their momentum sent the elevator swinging backwards on the single cable now holding it aloft, and the rest had to wait for it’s momentum to slow down before they could make a jump for it. The hearts of those still on board hammered in their chests, hoping against hope that the elevator cable would hold just long enough for them to all get off. When at last, the impromptu squad leader jumped off, everybody immediately collapsed from fear and exhaustion, and most of them broke down sobbing. Tay and Ina fell into each other’s arms, and Ina actually blacked out.

When she came to, Tay was holding her protectively, face frozen in terror once more. When Ina looked up from Tay’s arms, she paled in shock and fear. Captain Kelly was looking down on them. Ina had believed that she’d seen the full extent of Kelly’s rage before this point. She was mistaken.

She passed out again.

Chapter Text

It was dark. So dark, she could hardly see her arms in front of her face. That was fine; the stars would guide her. The stars, immutable and eternal, lay along the well worn path; They were not bright enough to light the way, but bright enough to be visible themselves.

At first, she walked slowly along the worn, beaten path- feeling her way along where her eyes could not help her. Then, she realized she could swim, and so she did. She effortlessly rose above the path, and gracefully jetted from one star to the next.

Each star was a tiny red light in the darkness; small enough to hold in the palm of her hand. When she reached one, it would glow bright, so bright, for just a moment, before it would fizzle out, and she would swim for the next one.

The path below her had now turned to a dark, murky seafloor. Mostly, it was empty, save for herself and the stars. Occasionally, something else would come into view- a ruined apartment block, a crashed saucer, or some other thing she did not recognize. At one point, she passed by the smashed remains of an autotiller, which made her freeze in fear until she realized it wasn’t moving. She swam around it, following the stars, and the objects disappeared in the dark water behind her.

She had to follow the stars. They were her guide and purpose, and she must trust them. All that mattered was the stars.

But then there was something else. A terrifying rumble filled the sea, and she panicked. She darted for something, anything- she hid under the nearest bit of debris she could find. The rumble got louder. Then things crashed down from above; huge things. Massive chunks of rock and metal and things she could not name.

She peeked out from her shelter, and was blinded and deafened- a mighty CRACK rang through the ocean, and all she could see was white. It only lasted for a moment, but even when it was gone the afterimage of a jagged bolt remained in her vision. Then, it happened again. Her vision went white, and then gradually came back, leaving a bright, glowing scar in her field of view- a jagged line which remained visible as an afterimage even when all else had gone dark again.

She crawled further under the bit of debris she was hiding under. Maybe this time, it would go away. Maybe this time, the stars would save her.

The ground shook, and then it split open. Her shelter tilted and fell into the growing chasm on the sea floor. Just as it shifted, she darted out and fled the growing maw below her. Where could she hide now?

There, in the distance! The next star! It’s red glow beckoned her. She flew through the water as fast as she could, trusting entirely in the star. Just a little further! She reached it, and then it vanished. What now? There was nowhere to hide! The ground still shook, and the growing chasm was spreading closer and closer.

In a panicked daze, she looked everywhere for the next star. When that red glow finally caught her eye again, she rejoiced- but only for an instant. The next star was in the chasm below her. How could she go down there?

The sea roared and raged around her, and then she saw it- that massive chunk of steel and stone falling from above. If she did not move, it would crush her. With no other choice, she swam down, down into the chasm after the light. As she did, the sea became calmer, and the rumbling quieted. This star, rather than fade out, grew brighter, enveloping her in a soothing red glow. The stars had led her to safety at last.

But what of the huge things, coming down on her from above? She looked up, and they seem to have been caught on the edges of the canyon she was now in. Would they break through and crush her anyway? She anxiously stared at them, trying to judge whether or not she was finally safe… and as she did, she failed to notice the huge arm reaching up for her from below. It caught her completely by surprise; It’s suckers latched on to her body before she saw it, and wrapped around her. Panicked, she tried to squeeze free, but the arm held her too tight. It pulled her down, down, and in the darkness below, she saw the gaping form of an enormous beak, red light emanating from within.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ina woke in a start, and then there was pain. Her whole body was sore, and many of her injuries had not fully healed. She groaned and hissed as she settled back down, trying not to agitate anything further. Tay, already awake, quickly turned to her, briefly wincing as she did.

“Had the dream again?”

Tay said this in OSL (Octarian Sign Language), of course; She could not speak aloud as her radula (or tongue, if you prefer) had not yet healed. Ina waited a moment before responding.

“They’re getting worse.”

Rather than say something else, Tay simply pulled Ina into a hug.

The pair was currently settled in a high security dormitory, awaiting their investigation and trial. The two had been charged with treasonous incompetence, and had been transferred to Dome P-7. The cell they were in was only just tall enough for Tay to stand in without stooping (Ina was a little taller, and frequently bumped her head on the ceiling), and featured a bed carved into the bare concrete wall, a simple latrine, a speaker and camera in one corner, and a secure-type air circulator designed to prevent slippery octopi from squeezing through and escaping. The only lighting was dim, red emergency lighting. The cell had no storage facilities, due to the fear that somebody might hide something within, so their equipment was currently scattered on the floor. The cell also smelled oddly metallic- Ina wasn’t quite sure where that smell was coming from.

She winced again when Tay accidentally rubbed one of the welts on her back. Their captain had been charged with overseeing the initial punishment. Even now, Ina involuntarily paled at the memory.

The pair’s embrace was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. It was Gallia Mercury, their temporary security overseer (and another member of Sweet Potato Splatoon). When Captain Kelly had been tasked with overseeing the pair on watch, she’d delegated the duty to the member of her splatoon she perceived as most diligent. Given the general lack of available labor, she was also acting as their night guard; She was currently stationed just outside their cell.

“Hey- we need to leave in about five minutes. Be ready.”

While the two were technically detained and awaiting trial, the agricultural corp could not afford to loose any amount of labor, as many of their splatoons had been reassigned to military in recent months. Thus, rather than spend all day in the cell, they were led to work, under careful watch from their overseer.

Reluctantly, they crawled out of bed and got dressed. A few moments later, Galli unlocked the door and let them out. As always, the walk to the ferry station was quiet and uncomfortable. The two had long given up trying to make conversation with her; Her glare silenced them every time they tried.

Eventually, their long and oppressive march came to an end, and they stood in line for Role Call. Ina, Tay, and Gallia now formed their own separate mini-squad at the end of the line. They had been given a nickname: Parole Squad. (Technically, “Bail Squad” would be more accurate, as Ina and Tay had not yet been properly sentenced. Even so, everybody knew they caused the incident, and the pair were treated as though they had already been convicted.) Though the others tried to act normal, it was impossible to miss the way the others averted their eyes.

Role was called, and the parole squad was assigned to soil tilling duty, seeing as the dome was down an autotiller. Same as the last week or so. With heavy hearts, the two made the long trek up the spiral ramp around the farm superstructure (seeing as the elevator was still broken and would likely not be repaired for some time.)

The work was exhausting. Although the Dome’s climate control kept the environment at a stable and ideal temperature, Ina and Tay quickly found themselves spilling hot ink out of their funnels as they painstakingly weeded and hoed row after row of soil. The two switched between hoeing and pulling out weeds, though it didn’t seem to help them at all.

Galli operated right next to them, working both jobs: she would first go over a row pulling any and all weeds, and then go back over again with the hoe. She seemed to be able to work harder than Tay and Ina combined; not that it stopped her from admonishing the parolees whenever they stopped to catch their breath.

Were it not for Galli’s own panting, and the trail of hot ink down her back, Ina might have suspected she was actually a machine disguised as an octoling. Ina also noted that, given Galli’s light blue base color, the ink staining her clothing looked disturbingly like blood.

Far worse than the exhausting labor, of course, was the silence. Tay had always been chatty, and was used to talking to her squadmates as she worked. Ina rarely had much to add, but she liked listening to the conversation. After the incident, however, nobody would speak to them. The few times somebody tried, Galli all but chased them off. Ina did not understand why this was necessary.

Did Galli hate them for what they had done? It was hardly their fault- they had been given a task far outside of their skillset, but she did not dare to voice this objection. Not after what had happened to Tay when she had said the same. Ina tried to read Galli’s expression discretely, through the corner of her eye, but she was made of stone. Her face betrayed nothing, and her cranial arms were unnaturally still.

Ina looked up at the digital time readout in the sky, and quickly wished she hadn’t. It was 4:24. Role call had been at 3:32. She had not even been working a full hour. Ina quickly started calculating how much time she had left. Since she and Tay weren’t allowed to go anywhere else anyway, they had been given an extended 9-hour shift, starting at 3:32. There were 64 minutes to an hour, and 16 hours in a day. She had a little more than 8 hours left (including two half-hour breaks), before she would be allowed to go back to her cell. The trip would take about 48 minutes, so she’d get back to the cell at around 13, if she accounted for Daily report, breaks, and the like, giving her about seven hours before she had to do it all again next morning, if she had her math mostly right.

...Ina felt a tear rolling down her cheek. She didn’t know how long she could take this.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Galli barked at her for slacking. With a soft whine, she took up the hoe again and tried not to think about how much time she still had left.

-------------------------------------------------------

Somehow, time passed. It crawled by, so slow that Ina was at times certain it had stopped altogether, leaving her trapped in a permanent state of work, but it passed by. What made things even worse was Captain Kelly. The first few days after they returned to work, she would periodically surprise them with sudden checks. If she thought they weren’t working hard enough, she would scream at them. Fortunately, this only lasted a few days, before Kelly went back to her usual habit of spending the entire work day cooped up in her office.

A week or so in, Ina settled into a sort of mindless trance, in which she was barely conscious enough to keep working. Isolated from her peers, and working such long hours, this became the only way she could survive. Her work efficiency dipped, of course, but after a week or two, even Galli started to become a little less strict. She no longer yelled at the pair for working too slowly, unless they were close to stopping altogether, and would sometimes look the other way when one of Tay’s friends snuck over during break to speak with them. These conversations were short and hushed, and everybody involved continuously looked over their shoulders for signs of Kelly. Fortunately, she never appeared.

Mostly what was said was route- How are you doing, what happened, etc. Fortunately, the few people who spoke with them this way agreed that Ina and Tay shouldn’t be blamed for failing something they hadn’t been trained to do, though they would not dare voice that opinion with the rest of the splatoon, lest Kelly decide it was insubordination.

After a couple days, the conversations drifted away from the incident and towards the only other thing of note currently going on: the upcoming Victory concert. There were few concrete details, but rumor had it that the planning committee was struggling to put everything together on time. Even so, whenever they spoke about the concert, the air became electric. Listening to the details, even Ina briefly forgot about her impending doom and, despite herself, dreamed about what it might be like to attend. Then break ended, and she remembered that her ticket had been confiscated, and her soul sank right back down into the depths of despair. In time, Ina became numb to the pain, and stopped listening to the conversations during break.

Tay changed, too. After a couple days more, she became uncharacteristically silent. She would still talk with the others during break, but she no longer spoke to Ina unless spoken to, and then her reply would be short and to the point. She would stay up late at night, too. Whenever Ina asked, she merely said she was thinking. What was more, Whenever they weren’t working, Ina started to notice Tay staring at her whenever she thought she wasn’t watching. This, of course, sent Ina into an anxious spiral. Had Tay decided that Ina was to blame for the incident? Did she hate her now? Ina wanted to ask, but did not dare to do so; She wasn’t sure she could bear to here the answer.

This continued for several days. The tension in their cell steadily rose each night, until at last Ina could bear it no longer.

“...Tay?”

“Yes?”

There was a long, uncomfortable pause as Ina built up the nerve to speak.

“Why don’t you talk to me anymore?”

“huh?”

There was another pause.

“We used to talk at night, but you don’t talk anymore.”

Tay took a moment to respond, as if her mind was elsewhere.

“Have I not… Shoot, I’m sorry Ina, I’ve just been… thinking.”

Again, there was a long silence, broken only by the quiet hum of the air system.

“I’m sorry.”

“huh?”

There was another pause. The silence was so thick, you could have cut it with a knife.

“Do…”

“...Do you blame me?”

“...what?”

“For… for everything?”

Tay was finally snapped out of her trance. She turned to Ina with a horrified expression and pulled her into a tight hug. The relief Ina felt in that moment could not be put into words.

“Oh, DJ no, Ina! I could never blame you! This was as much my fault as yours- and really, it isn’t either of our faults! It’s all Kelly’s fault!”

Tay continued to sooth Ina’s fears for some time. She spoke rapidly and with great distress, as if to make up for her silence. When Tay finally ran out of things to say, she hugged Ina tighter, for what felt like hours. It wasn’t anywhere near long enough.

In time, Tay loosened her grip, just a little.

“Ina… did you really think I hated you?”

Ina gave only a sheepish warble in reply. Tay tightened her grip once more, and Ina melted into her embrace. They remained like this for a good while- neither knew exactly how long, as neither had the presence of mind to look at the clock during all this. They would probably feel the lost sleep at work tomorrow.

Tay broke the silence once more.

“Ina, I’ve been thinking.”

“So I’ve gathered.”

Tay couldn’t help but chuckle at this. She then took a deep breath. Ina noticed that her demeanor seemed uncharacteristically nervous.

“Ina… do you remember the promise we made?”

“To serve Octaria with dilligence, honesty, and-”

“No, Ina, the other promise. The one we made to eachother.”

What? What other promise was she…

…

...oh. Perhaps she blamed her after all.

“I… I’m sorry, Tay. I’m sorry I broke the promise.”

There was silence, and Tay took in another breath. Her mantle paled, and Ina could sense her jittering with fear and anticipation.

“...Technically, you haven’t broken it yet. The concert still isn’t for another two weeks.”

Was that quite right? When was it originally scheduled, again? Had it been delayed?

...Never mind all that. They couldn’t go.

“Tay, our trial isn’t scheduled until after the concert. We can’t go to things like that unless we get cleared.”

“...You sure about that, bae?”

Hearing Tay call her a nickname like that set Ina’s hearts fluttering, but she still didn’t quite grasp what she was getting at.

“Tay, They’ll never let us attend like this. You know Kelly would never give us clearance.”

“Who says Kelly has to know?”

What…

...oh.

...Great DJ help her.

Ina’s eyes shot open and her mantle bleached almost pure white as she finally processed exactly what Tay was suggesting. She pulled out of the hug in shock and alarm.

“T… T… Tay, that’s… That’s defying an order from the Brass! That’s practically TREASON!”

Tay quickly moved to shush her.

“Ina! Not so loud!”

Ina’s hearts were now pounding, and her breathing was fast and shallow.

“Tay, how would that even work? We’d never get past security!”

“Actually, I’ve been talking to Lore about that. He used to work in circulation maintenance, and he mentioned an air duct passage we might be able to slip through…”

“Tay, how… you can’t say that! If Kelly heard you say that, she’d practically- no, no practically about it! She’d kill us! She’d chuck us in the compost processor and turn us into fertilizer!”

“That’s why we gotta be real careful about this, Ina. I have a plan ready… mostly...”

“Tay, no! How would we even get out of here? Galli would- shuck, what if Galli hears us! She’ll report us to Kelly, and then we’re dead! Oh cod, oh cod…”

“Shh! Ina, focus!”

“But-”

“SHH! Ina, I’ve already thought this through.”

“But Galli-”

“Ina. Do you think Galli likes being our guard 16 hours a day, 8 days a week? She got a ticket to the Victory concert, too, you know. And to be honest? I don’t think she feels our treatment is justified, either.”

Ina’s hearts were still beating their way out of her chest, but she kept listening.

“Here’s the plan: Lore will take Galli’s place the week of the concert. Then, on the night of the concert, Lore conveniently forgets to lock the door. We all sneak in through a carefully mapped route, and then as soon as we’re done, we book it back here before anybody notices we’re gone. Make sense?”

Ina took a moment to process this. It did seem like it might work, but… Oh, cod, there was so much that could go wrong.

“What if Galli refuses the switch? You know how dedicated she is!”

“I don’t think we need to worry about that. In fact, Lore already made the offer. She did refuse, but… have you noticed how she’s been kinda absent-minded lately? Staring off into the distance? I think I even caught her staring at her ticket once.”

...she had been doing that, hadn’t she?

“Lore’s gonna make the offer again soon, and this time I don’t think she’ll turn him down.”

“But Tay, what about the cameras?”

Tay smirked dangerously. “Ina, don’t you remember? Lore and I were in a security technologies class together for a little while. I think we know just enough to accidentally make the cameras go on the fritz… and So long as we’re back before anybody notices, I don’t think anybody’s going to investigate it anyway.”

“But… But what if we get caught? What if somebody sees us?”

“Ina. Very few people are going to be paying attention that day. Everybody’s either going to be on their way to the concert, or watching the broadcast from home. Plus, Outside our home dome? Most people have no idea who we are. The larger community knows there was an accident involving an autotiller, but it’s not like the Brass put out posters with our faces on them. If somebody sees us, but we act natural, I don’t think they’ll get suspicious.”

“But… but what if they do?”

“...Then that’s just a risk we’re going to have to take.”

There was a long pause as Ina processed all this. She kept glancing at Tay, then averting her eyes, unsure what to think.

“Ina, you swore on Octavio’s honor, didn’t you?”

...She had done that, hadn’t she?

“But… But surely a swear shouldn’t count for breaking the law!”

“Ina, do you really think our punishment is Just? We’re in here just for obeying orders!”

It was impossible to miss the resentment in Tay’s voice. And she was right to be resentful. Kelly’s actions were a clear abuse of power, no? A good captain wouldn’t give her troopers an order they weren’t trained to complete, then punish them for failing.

Ina sat in thought for a little longer. Tay’s steely gaze was hard to look at directly.

...There was no getting out of this, was there?

she took a deep breath.

“Ok, I’m in” she wavered.

-------------------------------------------------------

The next few days were absolute hell. The dull monotony was still there, and the days dragged on even longer… only now, instead of spacing out and falling into a mindless trance, Ina spent all day panicking about the plan. With nothing but time, She could only imagine all the ways this could go horribly, horribly wrong. She imagined the jeers and scorn of her squadmates, should they be caught, and all the cruelest punishments they could possibly receive. She would have backed out of the plan the very first day, if she were not too terrified to even hint at it for fear of being overheard. Every time Galli shouted at her for slacking off, Ina jumped a foot in the air and only barely stopped herself from whimpering. When they got back to the holding cell, Ina tried to back out, but Tay wouldn’t hear it. Not that it really mattered; Ina knew that if she stayed in the cell and Tay got caught out alone, she would probably receive the same punishment anyway.

Her nightmares got worse, too. Now, instead of drifting down that dark road, Captain Kelly was chasing her… and the dream always seemed to end in her being eaten. Cuddling Tay proved to be very helpful in this regard… and with each passing night, the two got a little more… intimate. Just to help calm her nerves. It was inevitable, really, without any other squadmates present to ruin the mood or tell them to keep it down.

Tay would take the lead, always careful to gauge Ina’s response and not push her too far, too fast. At times, this didn’t calm Ina’s nerves so much as replace her anxiety of the plan with a very new, fresh anxiety… but, to be honest, she liked this new anxiety quite a bit better. It gave her something else to think about during the long work day, and soon she found herself blushing every time she glanced at Tay. It did not help that whenever Tay looked back at her, she gave a wry, knowing smile; a silent promise of more to come. A couple times, this went on right until Galli knocked on the door to tell them to get ready to go.

What really got to her was the time Tay snuck up behind her one day, hugged her, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Ina stammered in response… and when Galli shouted at them to break it up, her voice cracked. It was impossible to miss Galli’s face blush blue, or the pink tinge towards the tips of her tentacles.

...Galli hadn’t overheard what they were doing at night, had she?

The day after that, Lore approached their squad during break. Ina shrank down to the ground and paled- Tay had to kick her to snap her out of it. It was crucial that she acted naturally. Ina tried her best to hide the anxious glances towards Lore and Galli as they talked. When Lore left, Ina’s hearts sank. She was sure Galli had refused a second time… So imagine her surprise when two days later at Role Call, Kelly announced that Lore would temporarily be taking over as their overseer. Working under Lore was… nice. Instead of shouting whenever she slacked off, he gently tapped her on the back and reminded her she needed to keep working. He even chatted with them during breaks, which was a refreshing bout of social contact.

The days still dragged on forever, of course.

Finally, after an eternity of waiting and her most sleepless night yet, The day of the concert arrived. At Role call, the entire splatoon was restless, and Kelly scolded several workers for bouncing in place. Very little work got done that day. From the section near the edge where Ina was tending to the rice paddies and goldfish, she could see some of her splatoon mates chatting instead of working. She idly stood for a moment, longing to join them and hear the conversation… but ever since the incident, most of the others still treated her like she didn’t exist.

She was suddenly jolted from her thoughts when Lore screamed at her.

“WHAT THE SHELL ARE YOU DOING? GET BACK TO WORK, SLAG!”

Tears in her eyes, Ina turned around in a panic, looking to lore for an explanation in his sudden shift in demeanor. He only shoved her in response. Tay, meanwhile, was hurriedly pulling weeds as though her life depended on it.

“GET TO WORK!”

Ina crouched back down into the rice paddy, scouring the shallow water for anything that didn’t belong. What had caused this sudden shift? She had her answer a few minutes later, when another voice reached her ears.

“Glad to see somebody’s doing their job.”

Chills ran up Ina’s spine. It was Kelly. Why was she here? Kelly rarely left her office during work hours. Did she know? Had Lore ratfished them out? With pounding hearts and shallow breath, she picked up her pace to near frantic levels. Lore, without stopping his own work, handled the conversation.

“Of course, Captain.”

Kelly let out a long, exaggerated groan.

“I swear… One big concert, and suddenly everybody thinks today’s a free day. So far, I’ve caught three other squads slacking off!”

Lore silently kept working, knowing that Kelly was venting and would interpret any response as mouthing off. Kelly opened her mouth to say something else, but then paused, noticing one of the other squads lost in conversation. She clenched her fist and gritted her beak.

“Speaking of slacking off…”

She stormed off towards the other party, blissfully unaware of the impending danger. Ina could only work in silence, for fear of her own well-being.

“Keep an eye on those two!” Kelly yelled as she left. It wasn’t long before Ina heard shouting coming from the other work site. Those poor octolings. She briefly looked up at Lore, who was working next to her. He briefly pulled a small device form his pocket: It had only a single large button.

“Coleo, Neptune and I use these pagers to warn each other when she leaves the office. Clever, huh?”

...yeah. Ina didn’t want to think about what might have happened had Kelly caught her and Tay in particular slacking. She meekly signed out a thank you in OSL.

“Maybe I’ll see if I can get a couple more for you two- you know, for the future, when the whole incident thing blows over.”

Ina appreciated that, as well as his confidence that the incident would, in fact, blow over. If only she could say she felt the same way...

The next hour or two were spent in a state of frantic alarm, but when Kelly didn’t reappear, the adrenaline started to leak out of their systems, and they had to slow down. By the time break hit, they were barely working at all. A couple other octolings briefly joined them during break period for a short bit of conversation about the upcoming concert. Oddly enough, Ina felt almost normal that afternoon; She very nearly forgot her precarious status and impending trial.

Once the rest of the splatoon left, however, and Ina, Tay, and Lore were left alone to work a few extra hours, she gradually remembered everything; Including, of course, exactly what she planned on doing that night. That oh-so familiar sense of unease and anxiety returned to her. She felt sick to her stomach, and her hearts beat just a little too fast for her liking. By the time her shift ended and she was escorted back to her cell, Ina’s breathing had become shallow and her mantle started to pale. Were it not for Tay’s comforting arm around her shoulders, she wasn’t sure what she would have done.

-------------------------------------------------------

Once Lore left them inside, Ina collapsed into Tay’s arms in tears. Tay immediately moved to a more comfortable position, and started massaging Ina’s back.

“...do we really have to do this?”

“Yeah, I think we do. But we should wait just a little bit for everything to die down first.”

The two were silent after that. Ina kept checking the clock in the cell- If someone had told her a week or two ago that time could pass by even slower than it did during parole shifts, she might not have believed them. She started counting the seconds in each minute just to make sure time wasn’t actually standing still.

When the clock finally hit the agreed upon hour of 13:45, Ina wasn’t sure if she’d rather keep waiting.

“A’ight. Go time, Ina.”

Ina audibly gulped in response, and her mantle paled.

Now or Never.

Chapter Text

Tay hesitated before putting her hand on the door handle, and Ina watched her in anxious trepidation. This… was going to work, right? Lore hadn’t forgotten to unlock the door, or gone back on the deal?

Sure enough, the door swung open with… actually quite a lot of resistance, but that wasn’t because it was locked; it was because the door was very heavy, poorly balanced, and moved on rusted hinges. Even so, Tay managed to push it open, and the two of them warily peeked out from the cell. The old metal walkway was empty in both directions, and poorly lit. the main overhead lamps had been turned off, and the sky panels were powered off, hidden by the vast blackness above them, and the stale, metallic smell of their cell gave way to the stale, dusty concrete smell of the domes.

The high-security dormitory block they were stationed in was a large concrete building whose rooms were all disconnected from each other. To access the cells, a large metal catwalk wrapped around the building such that the front and back provided access to the various cells, which could be repurposed as either prison cells, living quarters, or vaults depending on Octaria’s needs at that moment.

As Ina and Tay stepped outside, Ina winced at the sound of her footsteps on the metal mesh below her. They quickly closed the cell door, which made a frightening noise as they did so.

“Welp, no turning back now.”

Ina wanted to protest that technically they could absolutely turn back now, but she kept silent.

In any case, she needed to focus on the plan. As discussed, the cameras which aimed at their cell had been disconnected, but that was just two of them. To manually disconnect every camera on the way out would be, frankly, ludicrous. So, instead, Ina and Tay needed to make their way into the building’s camera station and then manually meddle with the camera recordings.

Trouble was, the camera station was on the ground floor, while they were on the 5th.

It would be impossible to get to the ground floor without being spotted by one of the building’s many cameras. Fortunately, that wasn’t necessarily a problem. Under normal circumstances, a team of octolings would be stationed in the camera room with a list of all the currently occupied cells in the building, carefully monitoring all activity. However, according to Lore, the soldiers normally stationed there all had tickets to the concert- and rather than find another octoling replacement, the camera station was currently manned by a single octotrooper. The octotroopers, of course, were not nearly as intelligent as the octolings they were cut from, so rather than trying to explain to it who was permitted to go where, it had simply been told to send an alarm if any cell doors were opened.

Thus, in theory, the pair could simply walk down the catwalk and to the station unobstructed.

Once Tay had checked she had everything she needed (a light, a map of the domes, and a chalkboard with some additional instructions on it), The two of them marched down the catwalks in military form, doing their absolute best not to look suspicious. (they were wearing standard armor as an extra precaution; Somebody who caught a quick glimpse of them might assume they were on a standard patrol.) The pounding of Ina’s hearts made it difficult to keep rhythm, as they were going much faster than the march rhythm she’d been trained to use. According to Lore, the catwalks should be deserted, but what if? What if they turned a corner and came face to face with a security team?

Her thoughts were interrupted when the two of them heard the sound of an octocopter around the corner. They both froze; They had no way of knowing what instructions it had been given. It was probably just a regular dome patrol, not privy to the permissions checklist of any specific building, but what if? Tay and Ina glanced at eachother, and both decided to turn around and march the other way, just to be safe.

When they reached the side of the building, they marched down the many, many sets of stairs, and finally set foot on the ground. From there, still in parade formation, they marched back around the side of the building, and towards the security office near the front. Here, they stopped a moment, building up the willpower (and trying to shrug off the guilt) for what they were about to do.

Ina gulped. This really was the point of no return. If ANY of Lore’s information was wrong, they would be caught here. If that happened, spending the rest of their lives on degreaser duty was the kindest fate they might face. They could very well be executed, or given to the salmonids in exchange for power eggs. The lone octotrooper mobility device parked outside the station was a good sign, but again, what if? What if there was even one other octoling in that office, or, for that matter, just a higher level cut-trooper?

Tay, sensing Ina’s hesitation, turned to her and whispered.

“remember your promise, Ina. Whatever it takes.”

...Was that promise really worth this?

Before she could dwell on this further, Tay moved to kick open the door. Ina felt her hearts rise out of her chest as her mantle bleached in fear. Frantically, she started repeatedly signing “no” in OSL, but it was too late; Tay was moving now.

SLAM!

Inside the security room, a lone octotrooper jumped back, startled and frightened by the sudden noise. It looked on Tay in anxious confusion; It’s shift wasn’t supposed to end for several hours yet. Had it done something wrong? It’s fears were compounded when this strange octoling started shouting.

“Hey, brainless! What are you doing?! We need an SVC power cable NOW!”

The octotrooper, unable to properly vocalize in full octarian, gestured wildly in a mix of simplified OSL and the few words it could pronounce, trying to explain that it was on guard duty. Tay, however, would have none of it. She shouted aggressively, not giving the trooper any chance to think or explain.

“Don’t talk back to me, malform! We’ve got repairs to do STAT, and if you don’t go get it, I’ll report to your overseer for insubordination!”

The octotrooper paled and anxiously gestured to the cameras it had been told not to leave. Tay took another step towards it.

“We’ll take the cameras, scrub! Now get lost!”

The octotrooper stepped back, glancing at the cameras, Ina, and Tay. It was still unsure if this was right. Was this not going to work?

Tay ramped up the pressure and growled. She stepped right up to the octotrooper and leaned right in it’s face.

“Are you challenging me?”

The octotrooper stepped back, shaking it’s head… or perhaps body?

“Are you defective?”

The octotrooper rapidly signed no in SOSL.

“Then. Get. Lost.”

Having gotten the message, the Octotrooper darted out of the building as fast as it’s stubby legs would allow, jumped on it’s mobility device and sped out of sight. Ina had only just enough presence of mind to step out of the way. Once it did, Tay collapsed to her knees, panting from fear and exhaustion.

“Oh, cod… I didn’t think that was gonna work!”

Ina stood in an anxious paralysis for just a moment, before running over to Tay. Ina placed her hand on her shoulder to steady her, and the two emotionally recovered from that ordeal. They spent a minute or so before Ina broke the silence.
“...Did we have to bully him like that?”

Tay turned her face away, her tentacles figiting with guilt.

“I… don’t think it would have worked otherwise.”

Tay paused a moment.

“...It… he’ll be fine.”

Tay then stood up, slowly and carefully.

“C’mon. We don’t have much time.”

Ina nodded, and stood watch as Tay carefully deleted the last few minutes of camera recording, disabled a select few cameras, deleted the alert mentioning the physically disconnected cameras, and otherwise covered their tracks. When she was done, Tay tapped Ina’s shoulder, briefly frightening her.

“A’ight. Let’s go.”

The two octolings quickly checked for observers, and then ran out into the darkness.

----------------------------------------

The streets in dome P-7 were deserted, something for which Ina and Tay could not have been more thankful. Even so, they were hardly safe. Octocopters patrolled the skies, looking for anything out of order. What was more, most of the other buildings had their own cameras, mounted on the various walls, bridges, and underpasses along the way.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t be seen at all- unlike some of the central domes, P-7 did not have a single cohesive camera system. Instead, each building had it’s own independent setup, and each building’s crew was largely meant to oversee their own security. In theory, a determined higher up could request the camera data from each building and track their movements, but the sheer time and dedication required to do such a thing would mean nobody would try unless they already suspected something. Ina and Tay were banking on the hope that if they returned back to their cell quickly enough, and hid enough evidence of their escape, nobody would bother questioning the other facilities camera systems in the first place.

Of course, they were also hoping and praying that nobody who checked these other systems recognized them. They shouldn’t- their case was relatively minor, in the grand scheme of Octaria, and thus information about them would have been deemed too unimportant to brief anybody not directly involved, but there was always that nagging voice in the back of Ina’s mind asking “what if?”. As a result, they were keeping an eye out for cameras, and trying to stay out of sight as much as possible, just in case.

...oh, cod this was such a bad idea why was she doing this she was going to be caught and-

Ina froze. Tay froze with her. That sound was unmistakable; the propeller blades of an octocopter. Ina looked around in a panic, before Tay grabbed her hand and dragged her into a stack of pallettes somebody had conveniently left lying in the street. The octopi squeezed into the tiny gaps in the palletes as best they could, their boneless bodies squishing and flattening into the tiny space. Ina felt her clothing snag on the old wood and winced as a small sliver was embedded in her mantle. Cautiously, they peeked out into the street, looking to see if the danger had passed.

The octocopter lazily flew around the corner, looking half-asleep. As the main lamp was powered off for the night, The octocopter had a large searchlight attatched to it’s helmet, aimed down at the ground. It casually scanned the area, not noticing the two octolings squeezed away in the pallettes sitting off to one side. When it passed, Ina and Tay breathed a sigh of relief, crawled out of the pallettes, and took a few moments to pull bits of wood out of their flesh before moving on.

As they moved forward, they found there were not so many octocopters as they had anticipated, and those they did encounter didn’t seem particularly alert. That was surprising, to say the least; Considering the ongoing war with the Inklings, and the many, many recent intrusions, Ina and Tay would have expected this to be quite a bit more difficult. Naturally, this thought made Ina question yet again why she’d agreed to do this.

Admittedly, there were currently no zapfish or military items of interest in P-7, so it wasn’t a high-priority target at the moment. (This dome was presently powered entirely by backup power sources, primarily salmonid power eggs.) Most of the Octarian forces were likely concentrated around the central domes… including the Grand Stadium where they were currently headed. Ina’s breath hitched a bit at the thought, but it was way too late to back out now.

When the two reached the edge of the dome, they found the Inkline waiting for them. They hopped in and swam around the edge of the dome to their desired exit: a ladder leading up into one of the cave tunnels connecting the various domes.

They could not use the kettles, as they had done in the past: most of those were guarded by security checkpoints, and right now they must not be asked for their details. These older tunnels, however, were winding and numerous, and it was difficult to maintain a guard on all of them. Rumor had it that there were a number of tunnels the Brass wasn’t even aware of. As Ina and Tay ran through the tunnels, stumbling here and there on the uneven floor, the downside of using these quickly became apparent: they were long. Very long. Before they’d gone far, Ina and Tay’s run had slowed to more of a brisk walk, and even that they struggled to maintain after a while.

The tunnels were dark, too. Without the small electric Lantern Tay was carrying, they would have been unable to see a thing. As they’d planned beforehand, they kept their hands on the right side of the tunnel to avoid getting lost. There were a couple of forks in the road, and they had written down the directions they needed to take for this first connection: Right, Right, Left, Right, Left.

“...you’re SURE you have the directions right?” Ina asked for the third time.

“Yeah, I made sure of it” Tay replied, double checking the little chalk slate she’d carried with her. It had a clear plastic cover to ensure she didn’t accidentally erase the directions while holding it.

It was to Ina’s great relief that she started to see light around the next corner. She was a little afraid that they’d taken a wrong turn and gone down, down to who knows where? When they moved on, they briefly checked for guards; there were none. Then, they moved out onto a small cliff on the edge of the dome. This dome’s sky was mostly black, but one panel was powered on; it sported a readout detailing the time, and that this was Dome H5. That was good- they’d expected to come out here. Tay looked around for any sign that they’d been seen, and then the two shimmied down the ladder and into the dark streets below.

Once they dropped down, they quickly ran forward, looking for this dome’s Inkrail track. When they turned one corner, however, Tay stopped running, and Ina, who was looking to her left at that moment, ran right into Tay and knocked both of them to the ground.

“Carp, I’m sorry!”

when Tay did not immediately respond, Ina anxiously checked her. She was looking straight ahead. Ina followed her gaze, and her tentacles quickly dropped limp.

Ina and Tay had planned to ride this dome’s inkrail around to another cave system that would take them to B3. After that, they would have to figure out a path to S1, where the Victory Concert was soon to take place. Unfortunately, when they climbed down, they quickly found that this dome’s Inkrail system was shut off.

This would be a significant problem. There was no way they could run all the way around the edge of the dome; That would take too long. However, if they cut through the middle, they would dramatically increase their chances of discovery.

Ina and Tay stood up, and silently discussed their next moves in OSL. Although Ina was reluctant, Tay insisted that they had to just do their best to cut through unnoticed. Thus, Tay shut off her lantern, and the two ran forward in a well-practiced jog.

Dome H5 was quite large, as far as domes went. It was also all but abandoned. Aside from the occasional headlamp octocopter they hid from, they did not see anybody. The bases of the tall, bare concrete buildings were splashed red by the dim emergency lights on either side of the street; further up, the buildings rose up, up into the darkness such that Ina could not tell where they stopped. Despite the palpable tension in the air, all was well until they turned one particular corner, and came face to face with a patrol squad; two octolings turned to face them in surprise.

“Hey!”

Ina and Tay froze, and their mantles paled.

“What are you two doing!?”

Tay started to stammer a response, but could get nothing out but “Uh”, “um”, and “I”. Ina involuntarily stepped back, her mantle rippling in fear.

“Show me your ID!”

This was it. Game over.

Ina had known that this was a bad idea. She’d tried to tell Tay as much, but Tay wouldn’t hear it. Now, they were both about to pay the price. Would this squad execute them on the spot, Ina wondered?

No, probably not. They would be publicly put on trial, shamed before all of octaria. Ina was on the verge of tears imagining the boos and jeers they would face, walking up to the chopping block in chains. Her family would be shamed forever, and would forever carry a stain from her actions. They would ask her “why? Why would you do this?” Why had she done it? To go see a concert in person? Was that really the best reason she could muster?

She was about to fall to her knees, tearfully confessing everything, when she was interrupted.

“Oh, for cod’s sake, Myra! You can’t let off even on THIS DAY? The biggest day in our nation's history?”

Ina looked up in confusion. One of the other squad members was bickering with the one who had called out to them. Ina idly hid behind Tay as she looked on in anticipation.

“I- They’re not supposed to be here! They’re violating-”

“Violating Curfew? Lyra, Lyra, have you forgotten that CURFEW WAS SUSPENDED TONIGHT?”

...what?

“I… We don’t even know if they’re registered inhabitants of H5, and-”

“and what? What are you going to do? Arrest them for being lost? Do you think that’s going to win you brownie points with the brass, Lyra?”

Lyra took a moment to respond.

“It- It’s our duty to-”

“Oh, for cod’s sake, Lyra, shut up! Look, you’re scaring them! That is not our job! Do these look like Inkling agents to you, Lyra?”

The other octoling turned to Ina and Tay.

“I take it you two got a little lost on the way to concert?”

Shakily, Ina and Tay nodded.

“See? They’re fine! You two are gonna want to go to kettle 643, that’s due east of here until complex 289, where you’ll take a left, and then a right at 307. If you see the shrine with the three naked ladies holding hands, you’ve gone too far. From there, you’ll follow the blue lights until you get to Kettle 12, which should lead you pretty much straight to the ticket checks. You got that?”

Ina and Tay shakily nodded again.

“Good to hear it! Have fuuu—uuun!”

The octoling sang that last line as she waved them off. Ina and Tay smiled, and turned to leave, intending to follow their directions just until they were out of sight before figuring out a new plan. However, Lyra had other ideas.

“And where the shell do you think you’re going!”

Ina and Tay jumped, and dread settled in their guts. Meanwhile, the other made an angry grimace at her patrol mate, her mantle turning a dark and angry maroon.

“Lyra, what is it now?”

“We haven’t seen their ID’s! Protocol says we’re supposed to report and name all individuals we find for good documen-”

The other octoling facepalmed before interrupting.

“Oh, that does it. You need to experience something other than your job, Lyra, for once in your life, and I think I know just the thing! We are going to that concert!”

Lyra stepped back, shocked and appalled.

“We’re assigned to-”

“NOBODY CARES, LYRA! You know what...”

The other Octoling, whose name Ina and Tay still didn’t know, trailed off and grabbed her radio and called the rest of her squad.

“Hello, hello Darlings! Vivian speaking! What say we hold a little vote, hmm, darlings? Shout “Aye” if you want to abandon your patrol duties tonight and go see the concert! You know, the big one! The most important historical event any of us are likely to ever witness before the conquest of the surface! The one that we all agreed we were super bummed out to be missing!”

Ina, Tay, and Lyra were all equally taken aback by this octoling’s sheer brashness. Not only had she uttered such a thing out loud, she had one it over radio, where any monitor could have intercepted it. What was even more shocking was that shortly afterwards, five voices responded with “Aye!”, and one with “We were already gonna ditch you guys and go anyway.”

...Taken aback was too weak a term. Ina, Tay, and Lyra were dumbstruck, their beaks uselessly hanging open.

“Well, I think that settles it, then. Everybody meet up at Kettle 643!”

When she put the radio down, Lyra immediately moved to protest.

“Ah, ah ah! Lyra, darling, you heard the vote!”

“but-”

“No buts, honey. We have a concert to attend.”

She turned to Ina and Tay.

“Say, how bout you two tag along? That way you won’t get lost again!”

Having no other choice, Ina and Tay nodded and fell in line.

“Name’s Loelle, by the way. What’s yours?”

the two undetected fugitives hesitated a moment.

“Oh, don’t be shy.”

Tay answered first. She figured that just her first name wouldn’t be enough to give them away. After all the incident had been more or less confined to Sweet Potato Splatoon.

“Ah, I’m Tay, and this is Ina.”

Ina gulped and nodded along.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Loelle- oh, I guess I already said that. Sorry! I get a bit scatterbrained sometimes!”

Loelle made an odd gesture in which she lightly hit her head with her fist, winked, and stuck out her tongue before proceeding onwards. Lyra glared at the two, and then at Loelle, before following. Ina and Tay were hesitant to follow, but Loelle called them along.

“Oh, you two are adorable! Come on, she won’t bite.”

“...I’m thinking about it.”

“Shut up, Lyra” she muttered in her sing-song voice.

As Loelle took the lead, Lyra grumbled and followed, and Ina and Tay awkwardly followed, keeping their distance. Before long, they discovered that Loelle was incredibly chatty, asking them all sorts of questions about their personal lives.

Of course, both Ina and Tay recognized the danger in this. Tay did the talking, as usual for them, and kept her answers as minimal as possible. When Loelle asked what the two of them did, Tay responded that they were in agriculture. Ina, of course, immediately realized the mistake; If Tay gave away too much information, that could lead to them being identified later on even if they weren’t caught now. When Loelle asked what dome they worked in, Ina lied and told her A4 before Tay had the chance to answer. Tay looked at her in confusion, briefly, before catching on.

Next, however, Loelle asked which splatoon they were in. Ina briefly stumbled in response, and then rapidly tried to figure out an answer. If they said “Sweet Potato Splatoon”, they might be discovered as liars, since SPS operated in A3… but making up a splatoon name might be even worse. Maybe there was some way to brush off the question, and…

“Sweet Potato Splatoon!”

Cod Clamn it, Tay! Ina kicked her, causing her to stumble a bit. Fortunately, Loelle didn’t notice, Idly telling Tay to “Watch your step, hon”, though Lyra looked at them suspiciously. Ina did her best to ignore her gaze. This was bad. Lyra was probably going to look up their splatoon details after this, and if she did...

“Oh, that is such a cute name! Who’s your captain?”

Oh, cod! Every question, Ina could feel that executioner’s blade coming closer. It was all she could do to stop herself from hyperventilating. Suddenly, Ina’s eyes shot wide open in shock, fear, and revelation: Loelle was her squad’s interrogator! Ina had been so terrified of Lyra, she’d missed the true danger entirely! Before long, she’d squeeze every last detail out of them- everything the court needed for maximum conviction! Ina looked around nervously. Were they being monitored? Was Loelle’s radio on? Oh, cod, everything she said was being recorded in meticulous detail! What could she possibly say?

“Ugh, I’d rather not talk about her. She’s kind of a bitch.”

Oh. Oh, that was clever. She’d have to praise Tay for that later.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I know the feeling. My current captain’s pretty cool, but back when I worked in recycling my captain was the WORST! She was always yelling at us, and grilling us for our numbers, even when she never did any of the work herself! Come to think of it she had a HUUUGE chip on her shoulder, I think. She got moved around a lot, and I rather think that her own superiors didn’t like her much.”

This was good, Ina realized. The more Loelle talked, the less they did.

“It got so bad, that our squads actually stared assigning watch to keep an eye out for Big Bad Kelly.”

All three of Ina’s hearts skipped several beats.

“...what?” she asked, involuntarily, realizing her mistake immediately afterwards. So this was her trap, huh? Ina would have chuckled if she weren’t so terrified. Just when she thought she’d gotten away, she was reeled right back into the frying pan.

“oh, yeah. We all HATED her! The day she got transferred, we all threw a party! Even the new Captain joined in! Ah, I miss that splatoon… I still try to keep in touch, but it’s hard when we’re all scattered. We got broken up see, after… well, there was a bit of an accident.”

Loelle trailed off after this, apparently lost in thought. Loelle was an excellent actor, Ina realized. To think that she’d actually though she could sneak past Octaria’s iron clad security system and live. Ina looked to tay, who’s mantle was nearly solid white at this point.

It was obvious now. They weren’t going to the concert. They were being taken to the killing domes, where traitors and enemies were disposed of. Loelle had lied about the directions. What could they do? Should they run? The two looked at each other, silently discussing in that way only the closest of friends could, when four more octolings turned around a corner behind them, all armed. Welp, there went that idea.

“Oh, there you are! I was wondering why we hadn’t met up yet!

“Eh, we stopped a bit to chat. Who are these two?”

“Oh, this is Ina and Tay! They’re from the woodwinds. They got a bit lost on the way to the concert, so they’re coming with us now.”

One of the other octolings laughed.

“I can hardly blame ya! These domes are a maze!”

“Wow, you look terrible. Is everything alright?”

Ina winced as yet another cruel hook latched into her metaphorical flesh. This security squad was a well-oiled machine no fugitive could ever hope to escape. Was there any point in fighting this? Should they just confess now and get it over with? Tay stammered out a response as best she could.

“We’re fine!”

“...really? You don’t look fine. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Ina hesitated a bit, forcing the color to come back to her mantle.

“We, ah, just got a little cold is all, heh!

Tay’s weak chuckle did not help her sound convincing.

“…should you guys really be going to a concert like this?”

To Ina and Tay’s surprise, Loelle spoke next.

“Patella! This isn’t just a concert! This is the victory concert! Surely, they can tough out a little cold!”

“But aren’t we gonna get it?”

“We’ll deal with it afterwards! When they beat the Inklings we can all afford a day or two off, anyhow!”

“Ugh, fine, but I’m keeping my distance.”

And so, with Loelle and Lyra in front and four troopers behind, Ina and Tay marched on to their impending doom. When they reached the kettle, two other octolings were waiting.

“Took you long enough. Who’re those two?”

after another introduction, the octolings, one by one, hopped into the kettle, with Loelle waiting until everybody else had already gone.

“Well, go on” she said, still in that sing-song voice, as if she wasn’t taking them straight to hell.

Tay moved over to the Kettle, gave Ina one last, worried glance, and dove in, flying off elsewhere. Ina gulped. Now it was her turn.

“Mother of Pearl, what is with you two? You’re acting like you’re about to die, for cod’s sake. This is a party! Act like it!”

Ina wanted to scream. To shout. To yell. To ask Loelle how she could do this. How she could keep up the act when everybody involved knew the jig was up. How she could act so friendly when she was leading her to be dishonored, disgraced, and executed.

Instead, Ina gave a weak smile, and then dove into the kettle. She felt herself flung along the modified Inklines at incredible. Speed. She hardly had any time to contemplate her life, and the choices and events that had occurred to bring her here. Cod, if only she hadn’t figured out how to get that autotiller running again; If only she’d managed to talk Tay out of this suicidal scheme of hers…

Before long, she felt herself fly out the end, and squeezed out the kettle’s narrow opening. She expected to see the capture squad at the ready, all armaments pointed right at her. Instead, they were idly chatting among themselves. Tay was anxiously waiting, showing just the tiniest bit of relief when Ina came out. She ran over, and Tay took her hand. If they were going to suffer and die, at least they could do it together.

Another loud whistle interrupted their thoughts as Loelle plopped out, dusted herself off, and strode up in front of the party in that confident yet playful way that invited even the most suspicious to trust her utterly. That same aura of friendliness that had dragged Ina and Tay to their doom.

“Well, shall we?”

The rest of her squad moved onward. Oddly enough, they did not even attempt to move into formation. Frightened and confused, Ina and Tay followed behind, knowing the others would kill them in a second if they tried to run. When Ina looked up, she saw that this new dome’s sky wasn’t shut off, as she had believed at first glance. Instead, it showed a vast, starry night sky above, with even a few clouds visible.

Ina also noticed that the emergency lights here were quite a bit stronger than usual, glowing blue rather than red.

Then there were the voices. They were quiet at first, but as the party proceeded, the sound of octoling chatter became louder. Was this the audience for the trial? There were so many voices…

The thought of being tried before so many octolings caused Ina to shrink in on herself. She looked to Tay, finding that her significant other was… actually handling herself quite well. The color had come back to her mantle, and her crown tentacles were now moving in a slightly more relaxed manner. Ina could only wish she had that sort of confidence.

“Hey, this is the way to the concert, right?”

Ina jumped to see three more octolings joining them from another street. Extra security for their escort? Observers come to mock and jeer? Why had they joined in on the ruse that they were going to a victory concert and not a public trial?

“That’s right! Isn’t it exciting?”

Loelle’s voice remained as full of energy as ever. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement. Was she that excited to see her put to death?

“C’mon! This way!”

Ina’s attention was drawn to the other side, where more octolings ran in from another path. They were laughing and whispering to eachother in excited voices. Then another group joined in, and another, and another; before long, the party had transformed to a crowd, all excitedly walking down the pre-lit pathway.

Ina jumped as she heard an octocopter fly ahead, and was briefly shocked to hear it speak before she realized it was carrying a speaker.

“All citizens are required to keep moving in an orderly fashion. No pushing or shoving will be tolerated. Any disruptors of the peace will be dealt with harshly.”

Before she could ruminate on this, Loelle breifly grabbed her, making her jump in fear and surprise once more.

“Gosh, you’re jumpy. You don’t get out much, do you? In any case, Stay close, kay? Wouldn’t want you to get lost in the crowd.”

...That seemed like a surprisingly small amount of security for a prisoner transfer. half the troopers surrounding her didn’t even have weapons. The way this was being handled was almost like…

...like they hadn’t been found out after all, and Ina had been worrying herself over nothing. But how could that be? Loelle had mentioned Kelly by name; Surely, she couldn’t have just coincidentally run into somebody who had previously worked under the same captain she had, right?

Ina looked to Tay, expecting her brave face; the one she put on when she was frightened, but needed to reassure her. Instead, she was trying to hold back laughter.

...oh.

Ina flushed blue as she finally realized that no, she hadn’t been caught, and that she’d been making a fool of herself for no good reason. Tay must have realized this first. Tay spoke to her in OSL:

“Finally figured it out?”

That smug grin she wore wasn’t helping. Ina narrowed her eyes and frowned pointedly, which only made Tay snicker harder.

“The look on your face was incredible.”

...Thanks, Tay.

Of course, Ina didn’t stay upset for long. She couldn’t. It was impossible. She hadn’t seen a crowd of people this excited since… well, ever. It was as if some invisible electric current was flowing through every person in the dome, including herself. Ina felt anxious, but it was… different, somehow. In stead of sinking into her gut and making her feel sick, this anticipation seemed to fill her chest like a balloon, and made her feel light as air.

The crowd reached another kettle, where octoling after octoling funneled through. There was a guard set on this kettle, but they weren’t even checking anybody’s ID; They were mostly just trying to make sure only one person went through at a time. To her left, Ina saw a hoverferry take of with a number of octolings, and another one land in it’s place. Another speaker-bearing octocopter flew overhead.

“Please proceed in an orderly fashion. Avoid causing any disturbance, and Keep your tickets on hand.”

...oh carp.

Ina turned to Tay, who had just had the same revelation. They had no tickets. Now what?

They needed time to form a plan, so at Tay’s direction, the two intentionally slipped back from Loelle’s squad (sorry, Loelle- she did seem quite friendly once Ina had realized she wasn’t out to get her), and broke from the crowd into an alleyway for a moment to catch their bearings. Once they were confident nobody was watching, they ran around another corner, hid behind a couple of crates left lying around, and began speaking in OSL.

“Now what?” Ina asked.

“Lore mentioned there was a side passage in S1 leading to the duct system. He said you could get there from B3.”

“How do we get there from here?”

“let me see…”

Tay grabbed her map of the domes, and figured out their next moves. She grinned once she had.

“Looks like it’s actually just the next dome over. Not much farther to go!”

The two of them then carefully slipped off into the darkness, briefly passing through another crowd before hopping into the inkrail lines towards another exit. It was just a tunnel, but it was manned by two guards. Ina stopped and turned to Tay to make a new plan, but to her shock and horror, Tay kept going ahead. She’d been emboldened by that last incident, and decided to try and bluff her way through.

When she approached the guard, she simply said “My friend and I forgot something in B3”. The guards raised an eyebrow, but apparently didn’t feel like questioning them, and waved them through. Tay motioned Ina to follow her, and led them into the tunnel.

Once they were out of hearing range, Ina spoke to Tay in a whisper.

“Are you crazy? That was dangerous!”

“I don’t think it was, actually. In situations like these, confidence counts for a lot.”

They entered Dome B3, again without incident, and quickly made their way along the dome wall until they reached the cavern Lore had mentioned.

It was out of the way in a small courtyard behind an office building, hidden behind a couple boxes that looked like they’d been sitting there for years. There was a camera in the courtyard, but it was unplugged. The tunnel entrance in question was a crack in the wall, so thin that at first glance it was hard to tell that it was a tunnel at all. It was clearly a natural cave, carved by water rather than octopus hands.

Ina anxiously watched as Tay took a deep breath, removed her metal chestplate (Ina blushed at the fabric band underneath), and squeezed in. Tay struggled to pull herself through the razor thin gap, but in a moment she was out of sight.

“Is it safe?” Ina softly called after her.

“I think so, yeah; it gets a little wider past the entrance.

Ina took a deep breath of her own and squeezed through. The gap was only slightly wider than her beak, and she occasionally had to tilt her head sideways at an uncomfortable angle to pass through. She felt the rock walls squeezing her head. A sharp flake of rock scratched her mantle, making her wince, but she pushed through.

As Tay had promised, the tunnel did get a bit wider further in, but she still had to crawl through rather than walk normally. The cave moved upward at an uneven pace, occasionally winding left or right, and in a few spaces it dipped down briefly, but ultimately the tunnel moved steadily upwards. It was incredibly tight and claustrophobic, but octopi are naturally attracted to tight spaces; thus, Ina’s anxiety about the crawl, even in pitch darkness such that she had to navigate entirely by feel, was manageable.

Finally, after one particularly tight squeeze through a passage Ina had been nearly certain was too tight to get through, she tumbled out of a crack in the wall into a maintenance tunnel. Again, the crack in the wall was hidden by a couple conveniently placed barrels. Ina stood up and dusted herself off. There were a couple small tears in her clothing after that little adventure, but they were small enough that they might not be noticed at a glance. She turned to Tay, and blushed as she noticed the larger and more substantial tear in Tay’s own shorts. That… they might have to ask Lore for a needle and thread to patch that up after this, just to help cover their tracks.

In any case, Tay took out her chalk slate one more time, and the pair briefly confirmed their directions. They were about to run off, when they heard the sound of an OMD engine, and so they hunkered down behind the boxes. Sure enough, a single cut octotrooper rolled by on it’s mobility disc, not suspecting in the least that anybody was hiding nearby. Once it passed, Ina and Tay took off towards a ventilation duct nearby. Carefully and quietly, the two crawled through the vents, following the directions as written down earlier. As they crawled, the sound of quiet, yet excited chatter steadily built up in Ina’s ears. They proceeded steadily and stealthily, until they passed one particular vent hatch…

Carefully, Tay moved into position, and pushed it open. It took more force than she was expecting; Tay pushed, pushed until the vent hatch violently swung down. Both octopi winced and held their breath, but nobody seemed to have noticed the noise. Once they’d calmed down, Tay carefully crawled to the opening, checked for observers, and hopped down below. Ina swiftly followed.

They were in a small alcove, again hidden by a conveniently placed box that Ina was beginning to suspect was not there by coincidence. The two dusted themselves off, and quietly ran out into the stands.

Nobody noticed two more octolings join in the back row; everybody was too busy talking amongst themselves. Ina and Tay took their place in the stands, and hugged one another. They’d made it… somehow.

“We did it, Ina! We’re at the Victory concert!”

Ina simply nodded. For most of this trip, she still hadn’t been entirely sure that this would be worth all the risk, but now that she stood here, the energy was… She’d already used “electric” to describe the energy in the crowd on the way to the stadium. Now? It felt like the whole dome was on fire… but in a good way, if that made sense.

As Tay turned to look towards the dark, unlit stage in the center, Ina stared at her comrade a moment longer.

Maybe everything would work out after all.

Maybe everything would be OK, one way or another.

Suddenly, the lights around the stands dimmed, and from the concert dome’s speaker system, she heard an announcement.

“All citizens will now be quiet. The Grand Concert of Octarian Victory is about to begin”.

Chapter Text

“All citizens will now be quiet. The Grand Concert of Octarian Victory is about to begin”.

As the lights dimmed, the deafening chatter of thousands of spectators across the dome seemed to snuff out like a candle. Ina and Tay quietly looked at each other with glee, and turned back to the darkness in the center of the dome.

The seating was positioned in a ring near the top of the dome, around a deep abyss that went down so far that Ina could not see the bottom (not that she had a great vantage point from which to do so). She could hardly see the other side, either- this dome was HUGE! It had to be almost twice as big as her work dome. The digital sky above displayed a typical starry night pattern, save that the time and date readout was nowhere to be seen. From the darkness below, a number of small red lights blinked into existence, and gradually grew brighter as they rose up from the depths.

When the lights rose out of the pit, they rushed out over the crowd with astonishing speed. Ina hadn’t realized they were moving so fast! The lights, of course, were some kind of remote control drone which darted about over the excited crowd, before rushing back to the center of the dome and settling into a calm, slow circular motion around the center. As they did, another set of red lights rose up from below, this time revealing themselves to be the edges of a large, circular stage, on which several octoling silhouettes stood motionless, kelp fronds visible in their mantles.

The drones stopped circling, and shone bright spotlights on the stage platform. The troopers on board didn’t react at all. Ina was sure she would have winced at the sudden light, had she been up there. That lack of discipline was why she was just a grunt, of course. To become more than just another faceless private, one had to be worthy. Lazy layabouts didn’t get promoted. Only the most noble and virtuous, those who exemplified everything Octaria stood for, were selected to rise above the rest.

...so then why was Kelly a captain?

Ina put that treasonous thought out of her head just as numerous screens flew out of the abyss and settled into position over the stands, such that they didn’t block the view. They powered on, one by one, showing a close up of the stage.

For a moment, there was absolute stillness. No sound, no movement. Then, from somewhere down below, a beat stirred to life. Huge mechanical tentacles rose from the depths; their suckers were actually enormous speakers, from which the beat was produced. Various synths and instruments joined alongside the drumline to form a new melody; one Ina had never heard before. She audibly gasped when she realized what this was: a new, never-before heard track from Turquoise October themselves!

She couldn’t stop herself from bouncing slightly to the beat, earning a quiet chuckle from Tay. Then, just after a brief lull in the beat, the elite dancers on-stage started their dance. It started so suddenly, that Ina was caught off guard; in just a split second, the performers instantly transitioned from completely motionless to a whirlwind of synchronized backflips and spins, earning a cheer from the audience. The acrobatics on display were incredible. At one point, the tireless troupe even backflipped on top of one another to form an octoling pyramid! Ina couldn’t imagine herself doing anything of the sort. The elites were truly something else.

After a minute or two, the acrobatics died down and the dancers started a more conventional series of synchronized steps and twirls. It was still more than Ina could do, probably. She and Tay sat back in their seats, and enjoyed the music together. Ina was startled at one point when she felt Tay take her hand. Unsure how to respond, she only looked at Tay awkwardly and blushed, eliciting another giggle from the latter.

When the song’s final note faded out, the dancers reverted to being completely motionless, the spotlights faded out, and then the platform they were on sank back into the darkness below. As it did, another, smaller platform rose up, and the lights flared back on to reveal none other than the Octarian high council. Ina gasped in shock; she’d never seen them in person before. They represented the eight branches of Octaria’s Government: The Brass, Beats, Woodwinds, Strings, Synths, Keys, Bass, and Guitars. These were the eight most powerful people in all Octaria, save only for Great DJ Octavio himself!

The council was arranged in an octagon formation, each one facing a different section of the dome’s audience. The platform they were standing on started to slowly spin. The light drones rearranged themselves such that one spotlight shone on each council member, plus a backlight that shone in the middle. All but one of the spotlights dimmed, and the great and honorable high commander of the Brass took a step forward. Ina, like the rest of the audience, instinctively rose from her seat and bowed her head in submission, until the High Commander of the Brass called for them to be at ease.

“Citizens of the Great Empire Octaria” he began. “Approximately 100 years ago, our civilization was nearly wiped from the face of the earth.”

he paused for dramatic effect.

“Our hated enemies, the inklings, were frightened by and jealous of our nation’s power and ingenuity. They were not content to share the surface, and all of it’s resources and splendor. Instead, they systematically slaughtered our people, destroyed all we had built, and forced us into the depths of the earth.”

A chorus of boos and jeers rang out from the dome. The High Commander stood silent for a moment, before raising his hand to quiet the audience.

“The inklings believed us destroyed utterly. They believed that, shut in our holes, we would quickly starve to death and wither from lack of sunlight… but we survived. For what the inklings failed to realize is that Octarians inherently posses a much greater intelligence, and a far, far greater capacity to adapt and overcome. Since that day, we have not merely survived, but thrived! We have created the not only the most technologically advanced society this world has ever seen, but the most efficient society this world has ever seen. We have grown great and powerful using only what we had available- resources which the wasteful and frivolous inklings above would not even consider worth using in the first place. The inklings could not have adapted as we did, for we are the superior species!”

The high commander again gestured to the stands, and a deafening cheer rose to life. Again, the high commander allowed it to ring out for a few moments, before raising his hand to quiet the dome.

“And yet, all is not well. If we are this world’s superior race, then why are we down here, while the enemy lazes about in the sun above us? This is, of course, because of the inkling’s insatiable appetite for oppression. During the operation of glorious sunrise we courageously entered enemy territory and took their zapfish- those divine vessels of power which have since allowed us to grow and expand in ways not seen in generations. With even a small portion of the power the inklings have available to them, we have more than doubled our manufacturing and agricultural output!”

...hang on, really? Hadn’t Kelly said that agricultural productivity was unacceptably low? She’d gone on for 20 minutes at morning meeting a few days ago about how the entire splatoon should be ashamed of their performance.

“The inklings, of course, could not tolerate this. Though we took only a fraction of their power, this proved enough of a slight against them to wage war against us once more. Thus, the inkling menace has breached our homes again and again to take from us everything we have achieved. They mean to take our newfound productivity away from us! They mean to take the food right out of our mouths! They mean to take our very sky from us, and cast us into darkness a second time!”

The commander paused for another series of boos and jeers. After quieting the stands, he made a deliberate, wry smirk.

“Fortunately for them, we won’t need these digital skies much longer.”

huh?

“Tonight, you see, we gather here to celebrate the single most important event in our nation’s history. For starting tonight, we are done hiding away in the dark.”

...hang on, what was he talking about?

“you are no doubt aware that we in the brass have been working hard these past few months. Harder than anybody else, perhaps. We have fought to keep our nation safe from those who would tear us down and eat us alive!”

as he spoke, more platforms carried motionless dancers from down below, dozens of light drones flying up alongside them.

“We have not merely responded to invasions after they occur, but proactively struck back at the enemy! In fact…”

The high commander of the brass paused for dramatic effect once more, as one particular platform, smaller than the rest, carried just one figure up from the darkness. This figure looked different from the others; Rather than an elite performer holding a pose, they were actively looking about, and appeared to be… tied to a pole?

“I present to you... the enemy commander himself!”

The light drones flashed on the tied-up figure with full power. He flinched, blinking rapidly as his oversized eyes tried to adjust to the sudden light. A deafening roar arose from the crowd, louder than anything before. Ina actually had to cover her ears.

She looked upon the captured enemy with interest all the same. This was the enemy commander? This was an inkling? He seemed so… old, and kinda pathetic. His bulging eyes looked comical, his tentacles were small and pale, and his mantle was so withered, it took on the same inkless color of his body. And the look on his face… Whenever Ina imagined the enemy, she imagined a hateful scowling form whose eyes glowed with rage. When she looked on the captured figure, all she saw was fear and sorrow.

He looked like… well, he looked like he was about to be scolded by a furious captain Kelly.

It was… shocking, to say the least. Ina’s first instinct was to feel bad for the old man, before she remembered who he was and why he was here. It was good that he was so frightened. He deserved this.

But then why did this feel so wrong?

The High commander of the Brass spoke again, and Ina forced herself to stop thinking treasonous thoughts and listen.

“Behold Captain Craig Cuttlefish- The scourge of Arowana Castle! The very captain who orchestrated the campaign to steal our zapfish! The campaign to cast us back into darkness!”

The high commander’s voice somehow rang out over the deafening chorus of jeers ringing out from across the dome. Ina wasn’t sure how.

“Look on this worm! See how pathetic he is? The old fool’s half senile! This lousy limpet and his band of brigands are all that keeps us from what is rightfully ours! And now, he is entirely at our mercy!”

The high commander allowed the cheers to continue for several minutes before raising his hand again.

“And it won’t just be him for long.”

the light drones hovering over the still dancers started to power on. Even now, they were so still, Ina had forgotten they were there.

“It is my personal pleasure to announce…”

He paused, and smiled.

“The single most important event in our nation’s history! To announce…”

He paused again.

“That RECLAMATION DAY HAS COME!”

...oh. The tidal wave of sound crashed over Ina like, well, a tidal wave. She could only stare, jaw hanging limp.

Reclamation day? RECLAMATION DAY? TOMORROW?

Reclamation day, the long-awaited day when Octaria would finally leave the domes behind and take back the surface from the Inklings? The day that everybody jokes is “always 10 years away”? The day that society had been working towards since before she was born? THAT RECLAMATION DAY?

Ina turned to Tay, who was equally gobsmacked. This couldn’t be real. It… it couldn’t possibly be here. Entire generations had lived and died here only dreaming of this day, and here she was, seeing it announced in person!

And to think she and Tay had almost missed this! Tay was right- this had been worth it! Her mind had been blown open!

The roar from the stands carried on for what must have been half an hour before the high commander tried to speak again. Even he could no longer quiet this crowd.

“At first light tomorrow, the Octarian Army will rise from the darkness and wash over the hedonists above! The surface will be ours! We shall make the enemy feel our suffering eightfold!”

At this, another beat powered it’s way into existence (again, one Ina had never heard before), and the dancers started to move. It was mesmerizing, and yet Ina could hardly focus on the dancing.

Reclamation day!

Did that mean she would get to see the surface herself? Would she get to lay in real grass under the real sun? With so much power and space, would she get extra rations from now on?

What if she could finally be free of Captain Kelly! What if she could live and work without a cruel overseer hanging over her neck!

At that thought, Ina was suddenly reminded of the invisible weight on her back; her upcoming trial for treasonous incompetence. The thought poured ice water on her enthusiasm. Would she even get to see the surface? What if she was found guilty? Suddenly, the deafening roar of the crowd sounded far, far more sinister; a jeering jury, screaming at her with hatred and contempt.

Ina turned to Tay, who was still cheering and jumping to the beat. She couldn’t bring down Tay with her. Ina did her best to mimic Tay’s enthusiasm- to forget about her troubles for just one night. She forced a smile on her face, and, lacking the energy to do anything else, simply pumped her fist to the rhythm.

The song and dance continued for some time, and though Ina wasn’t able to completely put aside her worries, she was at least able to shove them in a metaphorical closet, where they were (mostly) out of sight and out of mind. When the song ended, The dancers all struck a pose and returned to motionlessness as the floating stages sunk back down into the darkness. This left only the high council and the enemy commander in the air.

The high commander of the brass again started speaking. Ina briefly wondered if he was about to call her out specifically and sic the entire dome on her and Tay, before dismissing that as ridiculous.

It was ridiculous, right?

“Truly, these are grand times for Octaria. I imagine all of you are already dreaming of your new lives in the sun, as we in the high command have been for some time. And, on that note, I should like to give my fellow council members a chance to speak. Please Rise and Bow before the Wise and Honorable High Commander of the Woodwinds.”

The entire dome again rose and bowed as the High Commander of the Brass stepped back into formation, and the commander of the woodwinds stepped forward. The light drones above them dimmed and brightened respectively, such that the main spotlight was now above the Woodwind commander.

“You may be seated” she began.

Ina was, once again, briefly afraid that she was about to list her face and crimes for all Octaria to see, but instead she started prattling on about food production and output. Most of it went over Ina’s head- she had started zoning out the moment the Woodwind high commander started talking. On some level, she knew this was disrespectful, and that she really should pay attention- especially since she was part of the Woodwinds sector herself.

It was for exactly that reason, however, that Ina had heard the High Commander of the Woodwinds speak before. Never in person, of course, but over video feed. For all her grace and benevolence, she could talk on and on and on without end; Her Grace, the Wise and Honorable High Commander of the Woodwinds could spend an hour to convey information which could easily be summed up in a few minutes.

Ina briefly forced herself to listen for a little while, and found, to her surprise, that her talk was almost the complete opposite of what it usually was. In all her past lectures, Her Grace had chided the agricultural sector for insufficient production, emphasizing again and again that if they didn’t meet (or exceed) quotas, they were disappointing all of Octaria. She had, on many occasions, spent over 4 0 minutes describing hungry soldiers struggling to keep up with their patrols, hungry production workers who let quality control issues slip by, and starving inkblots asking why they had to skip dinner that night.

This time around, Her Grace’s spiel was nothing but praise, talking about how the agricultural and aquacultural forces of Octaria were the most diligent anywhere on earth, and how they could feed their entire nation using a tiny fraction of the land and resources other species needed. She even encouraged the other branches to match woodwind diligence out of respect and gratitude.

Ina couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow when Her Grace mentioned that the agricultural department had met nearly all of it’s quotas this past year. That wasn’t what she said at the quarterly State of the Woodwinds Address two months ago.

Ina wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about this sudden change in demeanor.

When Her Grace finished her lecture, the entire audience seemed to collectively sigh in relief. She’d taken nearly three times as long to speak as the High Commander of the Brass. As she finished, more floating platforms rose up from below, carrying more motionless dancers. Another new song debut started as the dancers worked their magic, and Ina turned to Tay and opened a conversation in OSL.

“Is it just me, or did she seem a lot more flattering than usual?”

“I guess she can’t afford to kill the mood. If it really is Reclamation Day, then they probably don’t want everybody to remember feeling guilty or upset.”

“I guess so”.

“That and she doesn’t want to look bad in front of the other branches.”

Ina couldn’t help but giggle at that.

“Just think- Reclamation Day, Ina! Can you believe it?”

“Honestly, I think I might be dreaming.”

“Want me to pinch you?”

“Nah. If this is a dream I want it to last as long as it can.”

this time, both girls giggled, before turning back to the dance. When it ended, another member of the council took their turn to speak. This time it was the Efficient and Fastidious Commander of the Synths.

“With the capture of the zapfish, energy production has more than tripled. With the loss of the zapfish, energy production has dropped to near former levels. With the conquest of the surface and the capture of many more zapfish, energy production is expected to rise to new levels previously unheard of. Glory to Octaria.”

He stepped back. The other council members were still for a moment, before they started to look to him in confusion. One of them moved as if to whisper something, and then the Master of the Synths nodded. For a moment, the council looked as if they were starting an argument, before eventually, more platforms carrying dancers floated up from the depths, and the council returned to their previous formation.

Ina turned to Tay in confusion.

“...did he just give the shortest speech I’ve ever heard in my life?”

“I think so, yeah. His speech at the Sunrise concert was at least a few more sentences, but I guess he’s just always direct and to the point.”

“...Why can’t her grace be like that?”

“I know, right?”

As before, the dancers moved to dance, and another song played. This time it was one they’d heard before, but it was an old favorite, so the audience hardly minded. When the song ended, the Great and Noble Commander of the Keys stepped forward, and began his spiel about manufacturing. He had only just gotten started, though, when the Commander of the Brass interrupted, stepping forward. His light drone powered on, and the Key Commander’s light drone faded out, leaving him blinking in surprise.

“Citizens of Octaria!” the commander of the Brass began. “Before the reclamation can begin, there is… one more matter which needs to be addressed”.

The commander of the Keys, it seemed, didn’t take kindly to the interruption. Though his own mic had powered off, he rushed over to the commander of the Brass and started arguing, his voice coming through over the Brass commander’s Mic.

“Dude, you can’t just cut me off like that!”

The Brass commander briefly stopped his dictation to reprimand the Commander of the Keys. He turned away from the mic, but his voice was still audible.

“Quiet, you! You’re embarrassing your section!”

“I’M embarrassing my section? You just shut me down in front of everybody! You always do this!”

“You- look, I’m sorry, but you-know-who’s showing up sooner than expected!”

“Oh, please! The garrison can-”

“Shush, they can all hear you!”

The mic shut off, and the two bickered for a moment before the Commander of the Keys angrilly stomped back to his position on the octogon. As he did, the Commander of the Brass relayed a few instructions on his pocket communicator before his mic and light drone turned back on.

“Citizens of Octaria!” he re-started. “Before the reclamation can begin in earnest, there is… one more thorn in our side which needs to be dealt with.”

“A thorn in our side which apparently can’t respect proper scheduling” he muttered under his breath. Was he aware the mic picked that up?

“You are no doubt aware that a certain… demon has plagued our efforts since the Day of Sunrise. A demon who- “

The commander of the Brass briefly flashed an angry crimson in his mantle and checked his communicator. When he did, his eyes opened wide.

“Shit, fuck! Kill the Lights!” he yelled.

Suddenly, the dome went dark. Ina sat stunned, trying to figure out what had just happened. The commander of the brass had been referring to the demon, and then…? She turned to Tay to ask in OSL, but it was so dark she couldn’t even see her comrade. She heard a number of other audience members whispering, but did not dare to do so herself.

After a couple minutes, a new light rose up from below. Ina gasped as she saw the Great Zapfish itself strapped down to a large floating platform. A handful of light drones shone a dim spotlight over it, just enough to make out it’s silhouette. Occasional flashes of electricity from the thing’s whiskers illuminated it’s face. The zapfish’s large eyes appeared blank and expressionless, and where it could, it gently undulated It’s long body.

Ina stared at the great zapfish, feeling a sense of awe. It was huge! That her nation had managed to capture such a beast filled her with pride. This beast, more so than any other zapfish, represented Octaria’s future- If what she’d been told was true, the great zapfish alone could power several dome’s worth of industry.

Ina suddenly felt Tay tapping her shoulder. She instinctively looked over to her, but could not see her in the darkness.

“Look over there!” she whispered.

It took tay a moment to figure out where Tay was talking about, but when she did, she saw another light. It was faint, at one end of the dome, in one of the upper tunnels.

To Ina’s surprise, the light jumped down, and onto a long floating platform. From here, Ina could see it a little better. There was somebody standing there- an octoling, under a light drone… except, it didn’t look like a normal spotlight. It looked more like the octoling themself was glowing.

...no- they WERE glowing. There was no light drone. How!? Ina strained her eyes to look closer. She saw the octoling in question had very long tentacles, and she couldn’t quite make out their suckers…

...wait.

Ina’s jaw dropped, and her hearts briefly seized up in fear.

That was no octoling. That was an inkling- and not just any inkling.

She was looking at the Demon of the sun herself. Even from this distance, a part of her wanted to run… but more of her wanted to see this.

Ina was caught off guard when the screens floating above the audience powered on, showing a closer view. Looking at her, Ina was transfixed.

Everything was so different about her. The clothes she wore didn’t seem to resemble anything she’d seen before. Her black cloak covered a bright yellow set of armor- but where the armor peeked through, she could see various small lights built into her gear.

The lights on her gear, however, were far less interesting than the light of her mantle. Looking at the close-up, Ina saw the color patterns on her mantle seem to… shift. Blotches of lighter and darker orange seemed to flow across her skin, occasionally breaking up or joining into larger spots. Ina wasn’t sure how to describe it- it was like her mantle itself was a screen. Lighter spots of orange seemed to float up from her tentacles like bubbles against the darker orange background.

Even the way she moved seemed different. Her movement wasn’t rigid and structured the way Ina her had been taught to move; Rather, she seemed to flow forward with each step. The demon kept looking around anxiously, but she didn’t seem to see the cameras currently watching her. When Ina saw her face, her heats pulsed with fear. Her steely gaze froze Ina in place- for a moment, Ina thought the demon could see her through the camera, but she turned away again, and Ina let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

After a moment, the Demon ran off screen- the cameras took a moment to follow her, and had to zoom out to better track her. Ina anxiously watched the screen to see where she would go next, before she suddenly remembered she didn’t have to- the demon was right there, in plain view. Ina’s tentacles waved in fear, anxiety, and excitement- never in her life did she think she would be in the same dome as the Demon herself.

...She was safe, right? The demon wasn’t going to come over here, was she?

The demon, for her part, made for the edge of the platform she was on, and then stopped for a moment. Another platform rose up from the depths, illuminated by the faint red lights on it’s edges. The demon hopped on, and proceeded. This happened a few more times before the next platform failed to appear, and those behind her sank down into the darkness. The demon was now stranded.

Ina was confused for a moment. Had… had they just caught the demon? Surely it couldn’t be that easy. If it were that easy to catch the demon, then how did she steal so many zapfish? Was there something here Ina couldn’t understand?

The demon, for her part, appeared unfazed. She stared intently at the zapfish, seeming to calculate something… and then she crouched down in swim form. What was she doing, exactly?

When Ina saw the demon’s mantle swell up, she stared in disbelief.

No. Nobody could super-jump that far. Was she stupid?

...but she did. Like a rocket, the Demon soared through the air clear across the dome, and landed gracefully on the platform in the center.

...did that just happen? Was Ina hallucinating? The demon could FLY?

Suddenly, Ina froze as fear flooded her body. If the demon could jump that far… how far could she jump? Could she make it clear from the center of the dome to the stands? Was Ina in striking range this whole time?

A part of her wanted to run- to hide, to cower in fear, but a bigger part couldn’t bear to take her eyes away.

The demon stood on the edge of the platform for a moment, before taking a step forward. Suddenly, that other squid yelled out something. Ina had forgotten about him. His voice was shockingly strong- as a light drone illuminated the enemy captain, Ina couldn’t see a microphone… and yet, she could just make out his voice even from the stands. It certainly helped that his voice was the only sound she could hear, but Ina was impressed nonetheless. She couldn’t hear well enough to make out what he’d said, though, although she probably wouldn’t have understood it anyway.

As the demon turned towards the enemy captain, Ina suddenly saw lights power on above the zapfish. Then, a beam from above captured the zapfish and sucked it up into the platform above. Except, as the Dome’s lights powered back on, Ina saw that it wasn’t just a platform.

It was a floating vehicle armed with cannons, giant fists, and sporting a stage where…

...oh cod.

That was him. Piloting the craft was none other than the Great DJ Octavio himself! Ina, and the rest of the audience stood up as Octavio let out a hearty laugh as Octavio’s most famous work blared from the speakers.

“Gya ha ha!”

Octavio shouted something in that squid language, apparently talking to the demon. In response, she hissed and snarled, her mantle now rapidly alternating between bright bright red and white. Octavio piloted his mech up and addressed the audience.

“PEEPS OF OCTARIA! HOW WE ROLLIN’ TONIGHT!”

The audience screamed and cheered in response. All the fear Ina had felt earlier was gone. Now, she was pumped!

“I ain’t gonna waste yo time, seeing as the Brass Commander already gave y’all the deets… We’re ‘bout to hit the surface!"

As the audience screamed and cheered, Octavio piloted his mech towards the top of the dome.

“Course, to do that, we need an exit route, don’t we?”

Octavio’s wasabi sticks whirred across the discs at his DJ table as his mech pulled back it’s enormous mechanical arms and… Punched the dome’s Roof? Ina looked up in shock as she felt the vibrations even from her seat.

SLAM! BLAM! The DJ’s mech repeatedly pounded the ceiling as cracks started to appear in the very top of the dome. Huge chunks of rock broke from the ceiling and fell down into the darkness below (though, thankfully, none of them fell on the audience). The demon was not so lucky; she darted back and forth, dodging massive spires of rock that threatened to crush her like a bug.

Octavio paused a moment, and then, with one final, resounding BOOM, His mech’s fist smashed right through the dome’s ceiling. As it fell, moonlight- real moonlight!- flooded the cavern from a tunnel above. Ina stared in disbelief. This was real moonlight- and, since moonlight was actually reflected sunlight, that meant this was her first time seeing real sunlight! If she thought her mind had been blown open before, what was happening to her now?

The Dome’s skyscreens (at least, those that hadn’t been punched to smithereens), still showed that starry night pattern… but now, the stars were pulsing to the beat. The audience was going wild! This night continued to shatter Ina’s expectations about what was even possible!

“WHAT SAY WE FLY UP THROUGH THIS HERE HOLE AND GO KILL THE INKLINGS?”

Somehow, the cheering grew even louder. Octavio waved to the audience as he waited for the cheer to die down before speaking again.

“But first…”

He piloted his mech back down towards the demon, who stood defiantly on the pile of rubble currently sitting on her platform. Her mantle still flashed red and white, glowing so brightly that it reflected off the rocks she was standing on.

“Forgive me if I’m wrong, but last I heard, we got us a little pest problem.”

The screens above the audience switched cameras, showing a close up of the Inkling menace. Her face was twisted into an animalistic snarl. She hissed like an animal, too- She was trying in vain to catch the mic and camera drones currently flying around her head. Ina jumped when her massive hooked tentacles flew towards the camera, and the display briefly cut to static before switching feeds. She’d actually managed to catch one! Ina watched in shock and a small amount of horror as she saw the demon… shove the camera drone into her mouth and bite it into pieces. Was she… was she eating the camera drone? Were all Inklings this feral?

The demon spat out the metal shrapnel and let out a gutteral roar of challenge. A drop of saliva landed on the camera, causing many in the audience to recoil in revulsion. If this was the enemy, then no wonder they’d been too savage to share the surface.

“GYA HA HA! Couldn’ta said it better myself!”

He then switched to the squid language, and shouted something at the demon. Then, his mech pulled back a fist, and the fight started in earnest.

The demon jumped out of the way as Octavio’s mech’s fist smashed through the rock she’d been perched on with terrifying power. Octavio punched again, and again, and again; the demon kept just one step ahead, ink missiles nearly grazing her body. Even the dome’s screens seemed to feel the vibrations, as they occasionally broke into static. Before long, pieces of the platform were being smashed, debris falling down, down into the darkness below. The demon was rapidly running out of ground to stand on. When Octavio’s fists stopped for a moment, she took a moment to recover… until a beam of pure sonic ripped from the mech towards her, forcing her to dive out of the way. Ina winced from the noise even in her seat; the way the demon’s fins folded back to cover her otoliths suggested the sound was even more intense for her.

When the beam stopped, Octavio’s mecha fists reared back to smash the platform once and for all… and he did. The demon toppled backwards from the impact, and collapsed to the ground. As she did, the crowd roared with applause. Ina looked over to see Tay cheering with everybody else… but Ina couldn’t find it in her to join.

Something was wrong. There was a dark, sinking feeling in Ina's gut. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew something was about to go catastrophically wrong.

As Octavio reared back a mechanical fist to enact the killing blow, Ina winced… and then the hit never came. The fist weakly slid off it’s launcher and fell, dangling limply from the mech. Octavio looked stunned for a moment, before he started furiously fiddling with the mech controls. As he did, the dome’s screens all broke into static, and Octavio’s beat stuttered and cut out. The audience sat apprehensive, unsure what was going on.

After a moment, the beat came back… or at least, that’s what Ina thought at first. However, it took only a second or two for her to realize that this was something different.

Something entirely different.

This was… Ina had never heard a song like it. It was free flowing in a way totally unlike the rigid and structured ochestral pieces she’d heard up until now. How could she describe it? She didn’t have the words to do so. As though caught in a trance, Ina started bouncing her head to the beat, feeling it in a new way she’d never felt before.

When the melody kicked in, Ina started- The lyrics were in that squid language! A part of her instantly tried to block out the music, but too much of her was enthralled. Though she couldn’t understand the lyrics, She could understand the vibe behind them, and that vibe was freedom.

Then, a squid appeared on the dome’s skyscreens. Her face was pressed right up to whatever camera she was casting from, and so it appeared huge in the sky; Even octavio looked small now. She muttered something in squiddish, and then the floating screens above the audience showed her face, too. Her bright golden eyes stood in stark contrast to her jet black mantle, and like that of the demon, her mantle seemed to pulse and move rather than holding a solid color like an octoling.

Ina stared at the Inkling through the screen- for a moment, it felt like the inkling could actually see her; like she was looking at her, specifically. She began to speak, shouting something in that incomprehensible squid language. Ina couldn’t understand it, of course, but the tone of her voice, and the expression on her face… She didn’t sound angry or disdainful. She looked… Ina couldn’t place it. Was she begging for mercy?

Another voice rang out from the speakers- this one calmer and more measured. The squid on the camera was pulled back, and a second (or perhaps third, counting the demon) Inkling appeared on screen. This one had a light grey mantle, but it didn’t look old or weak at all. The mantle pulsed with spots of green that rippled across her skin like bubbles in water, and a faint glow made her look almost ethereal. Even the underlying grey seemed to ripple with slight variations in tone, alive in a way she’d never seen on an octoling.

When this squid spoke again, she spoke in Octarian.

“People of Octaria! You don’t have to live like this!”

Ina was taken aback, shocked by an Inkling speaking her own language. She heard DJ Octavio shout something from the distance, but she couldn’t make it out- his mic was cut off, and he was drowned out by the music.

“Your government is lying to you! You work and slave away all your lives, and for what? Are you just gonna keep working all day till you die?”

the black squid (whose tentacles, Ina could now see, faded into a vibrant pink), interjected again, now also speaking Octarian.

“We don’t have to fight! The surface welcomes you with open arms!”

...what?

“Up here, nobody can tell you how to live your life! You can do what you want, when you want, how you want! You can be free!”

But that- the surface is where the enemy lived! They hated all Octarians!

“You could live the same way! You don’t have to spend your whole life following orders!”

without orders, what would she even do?

The two squids went back and forth like this for a few more moments, before They ran a few steps back, and started their own dance- dedicated to the people of Octaria, they claimed.

They sang along with their backing track, and danced a series of moves which, while not particularly spectacular, flowed freely and lively in a way that starkly contrasted with the organized and coordinated moves the Octarian dancers used. Of course, what really hooked Ina’s attention was the music. She wanted to curl into a ball and block it out of her ears. She wanted to openly sing and dance and celebrate a freedom she didn’t have. What was this feeling? Ina felt anxious in a new way- one she hadn’t felt before. It wasn’t the lingering dread of an upcoming punishment, but it wasn’t the happy, bubbly excitement she’d felt on the way to the concert, either.

It felt like her soul was trying to break free of her body; like it needed to break free, or it would be smothered and wither away. Like something had to change. Like she had to go far, far away… but where?

Suddenly, Ina was standing somewhere else. There was grass beneath her feet, and a bright sun above her. Not the digital sun she was used to- the real deal. She wasn’t sure how, but she knew it to be true.

All around her were fields- not stacked in a tower, but spread out as far as she could see. The crops were vibrant and healthy, and seemed to glimmer in the sunlight. There was a shed nearby- not made of cast concrete, but of old stone bricks and wooden planks. Far, far ahead of her, there was a vast expanse of blue- not the sky but something else… could that be the sea?

Octolings were all around her- not hard at work, but running through the fields with smiles on their faces and not a care in the world. Octolings who knew no one would condemn them if somebody caught them slacking off. Octolings who knew they could go wherever they wished. Ina looked down, and saw that she was not wearing standard issue laborer’s garb, but a flowing white dress that flowed in the breeze as though it were alive.

Ina was pulled out of her Trance as Tay shook her violently, and gestured back to the center of the dome. That old squid, the enemy captain, had broken free of his bonds, and was now jumping and cheering, and a new platform had emerged from the dark. The demon was standing upright once more- wearily, but standing all the same. The song must have given her a second wind. Octavio shouted something in the squid language, and the demon roared in challenge once more. They started their dance again as the other squids continued their own performance.

Octavio launched missiles and sonic beams, but something was off. Where before, the demon had barely managed to scramble out of the way of attacks, now she dodged gracefully, and Ina could have sworn the attacks were slower than before. Octavio yelled something and, once again, destroyed the demon’s platform piece by piece with the two fists on his craft;apparently, he’d managed to fix whatever bug prevented him from firing them. This time, however, the demon had other ideas. When the next fist pulled back in preparation to fire, the demon, rather than dodging, crouched into squid form, and her mantle swelled with ink. When the fist rocketed towards her, she super jumped over it- and right onto the great DJ’s mech! Octavio was blindsided as the demon landed right on his face.

The two of them proceeded to squabble with the controls, and the mecha flew erratically and randomly. It zoomed this way and that, at one point crashing into one of the giant tentacle speakers. It Slipped for a moment, before flying back up, and resuming it’s chaotic spin- the two riders still fighting all the while. Then, the craft launched another fist. At first, Ina was confused, since the target was still on the mecha itself- had it been launched by accident? Then, time slowed down, and Ina could only gasp in horror as she watched what happened next. The fist, instead of flying forwards towards nothing in particular as she would have expected, started to curve back towards the mecha.

DJ Octavio didn’t seem to notice; He was too busy trying to pry the demon inkling off his face. The demon, for her part, currently had her beak firmly embedded the Great DJ’s mantle, latched on like a lamprey. When he finally managed to throw her off, he looked up and saw the fist rocketing towards him. For a split second, Ina saw only pure terror in his eyes… and then the fist hit.

There was a sickening CRUNCH, and, for a second everything was still. Then, the mecha’s repulsor drives sparked, and the craft fell. Down, down, it went, into the darkness below. Countless people screamed in horror, Tay among them. Ina, for her part, couldn’t move, frozen in fear.

At that moment, all the screens fizzed to static, and then faded out to black, along with the lights and music. The dome was left in near darkness, save for the light from the hole in the top. More screams rang out as the audience panicked.

Tay shook Ina violently once more, trying to elicit a response, but Ina was too dumbstruck to respond. The darkness and silence stretched on for what felt like hours, before one shout rang out above the rest.

“SOMETHING’S COMING BACK UP!”

This shook Ina out of her stupor, and everybody crowded up against the front of the stands to try and see. There was an extraordinary amount of pushing and shoving. Finally, Once she managed to climb up on top of somebody, Ina managed to see it- a single orange light flying up out of the darkness.

“He Survived!” somebody shouted. “The Great DJ won!”

But then the light came closer, and Ina saw what it really was. She gasped- not in shock or horror, but in awe, as the great zapfish flew up out of the darkness and hovered in mid air, sparks of electricity illuminating it’s body. Since when could that thing fly!? It’s massive size seemed even larger than the mech it had just been inside of, hovering above the void like some sort of god.

And standing on top of it’s head was the demon. Her armor was visibly damaged, her cloak torn off. She was even missing an arm, Ina realized, but she was standing proud all the same. For a moment, the zapfish held still in mid-air, and the demon seemed to stare at her specifically. Then, The zapfish started moving again. The demon briefly lost her balance and nearly fell off, but she caught herself.

The zapfish circled around the dome once, with terrifying speed and power. Ina ducked as it flew over her head; She could feel the electrical discharge as it passed over her. Then, it flew back towards the center of the dome, grabbed the old captain in one of it’s whiskers, and rocketed up, up, and away out through the hole Octavio had punched in the roof.

Then, there was darkness and panic once more. Ina hardly noticed; She only stood there, slack jawed.

A handful of octocopters flew over the crowd carrying speakers.

“All citizens will remain calm and wait for further instructions. Do not leave the performance hall! Repeat, Do not leave the performance hall!”

At this, Tay snapped back to reality. They needed to get out of here. If they were discovered, who knows what the consequences would be? She grabbed Ina, and pulled her back through the vent they’d entered from.

Their journey back to Dome P-7 was quiet and uneventful. Neither of them spoke. They kept an eye out for any patrols, but encountered none. When they got back to the building they were housed in, they quickly ran into the camera room. The octotrooper they’d chased out of here was nowhere to be seen. Tay quickly hacked into the cam system, and changed the camera facing their door’s setting to “disabled”. That would explain the lack of video footage, while still being a reasonable mistake, she hoped.

Then, they went upstairs, plugged in the camera, entered their cell and closed the door.

Chapter Text

It was dark. So dark, she could hardly see her arms in front of her face. That was fine; the stars would guide her. The stars, immutable and eternal, lay along the well worn path; They were not bright enough to light the way, but bright enough to be themselves visible in the darkness.

At first, she walked slowly along the worn, beaten path- feeling her way along where her eyes could not help her. She frequently tripped on the odd bit of debris she could not see, or on a large crack in the way. At times, the path grew so uneven that she had to crawl to move forward without falling. Then, she realized she could swim, and so she did. She effortlessly rose above the path, and gracefully jetted from one star to the next.

Each star was a tiny red light in the darkness; small enough to hold in the palm of her hand. When she reached one, it would glow bright, so bright, for just a moment, before it would fizzle out, and she would swim for the next one.

The path below her had now turned to a dark, sandy seafloor. Mostly, it was empty, save for herself and the stars. Occasionally, something else would come into view- a building, or perhaps a machine, or something she did not recognize, buried in the sand. She swam around it, following the stars, and the objects disappeared in the dark water behind her.

She had to follow the stars. They would lead her to where she needed to go. She would follow the stars, and all would be well. All that mattered was the stars.

But then there was something else. A terrifying rumble filled the sea, and she panicked. She darted for something, anything- she hid under the nearest bit of debris she could find. The rumble got louder. Then things crashed down from above; huge things. Rough, broken chunks of steel, concrete, and skyscreen tumbled from the heavens, smashing anything unfortunate to lie below them.

She peeked out from her shelter, and was blinded and deafened- a mighty CRACK rang through the air, and all she could see was white. It only lasted for a moment, but even when it was gone the afterimage of a jagged bolt remained in her vision. Then there was another, and another, all while tons of steel and skyscreen continued to fall from above.

She knew what would happen next. She knew she must flee- the next star was right there. But she could not. She had lost control of her body. Against her will, she crawled out from her shelter and watched helplessly as that huge, metal thing fell down on top of her. If she could just get away, she would be safe. If she could just move, she would be safe. But she could not move. All light left as the thing came crashing down to crush her.

...except, it didn’t. Instead, another mighty CRACK was heard, and all she could see was… Pink? And Green?

And as the ringing of her otoliths gradually subsided, was that… music she heard?

It was. It was unmistakable. As her vision cleared, Lyrics she could not understand rang clear through the water as though it were air.

Ya, Weni, Marei, Mirekyarahire, Juri, Yu Mirekerason...

the dark ocean was now lit up in a myriad of colors she’d never imagined. Bright, brilliant light filtered down from above, and broke into pinks and greens and oranges and every other color under the sun.

The sun… is that what that light was? It was so much brighter than the stars. By it’s light, she could see the whole of the ocean. She could see the great yawning chasm in the seafloor opening nearby. She could only just make out the faint star at the chasm’s edge.

The stars! She needed to follow the stars! She could hardly make them out in this brilliant light, but she spotted one right above the chasm.

Another mighty rumble echoed through the sea- massive chunks of debris were still raining from above. She needed to move fast. She zipped across the sandy sea floor, nimbly dodging the falling rock, before reaching the star. Like all the others, it disappeared in her grasp.

The great chasm opened up underneath her, leaving her open and exposed. The noise was deafening; The roar of the ground rending in twain, the sharp, painful cracks of light, and the song… the song that somehow overshadowed every other noise she could hear.

The stars! She needed to follow the stars! The next one lie in the very chasm itself, where even this brilliant light struggled to reach. She moved to dive down towards it… but then she stopped.

...Why? Why did she need to follow the stars?

What was she saying? Of course she had to follow the stars! The stars would save her!

Save her from what?

From this! The noise! The lights! The falling, crushing stones! If she didn’t follow the stars, she would be crushed!

She dove down into the chasm, where the next star waited for her. When she reached it, another appeared deeper in. She moved to chase it… but stopped cold. As the chasm widened, the light from above shone deeper and deeper into the chasm.

It illuminated an enormous suckered arm reaching for her. A greenish scar glowed along the back of the tentacle as it snaked it’s way towards her. Below that was another one, and another, all surrounding a gaping black beak. If it caught her, it would end her.

And the star was leading her right to it.

Had… had the stars betrayed her? What else could she do but accept her fate? Where else could she go? There was nowhere else to run, except…

...except back up.

Back up towards the sound.

Back up into the light.

With the arms and maw fast approaching from below, She hesitated no more and darted up, up and away. Out of the chasm, the lights and colors were nearly blinding, and even now the rocks rained down from above. But she had to keep going.

She felt, more than heard, the thing behind her. It would kill her if she did not escape. She flew up out of the chasm, jetting faster than she probably ever had. She reached the chasm’s edge. Fallen debris littered the ground. She briefly considered hiding here, waiting for the thing behind her to go away… but then what? What would she do? Follow more stars into the dark? Ridiculous. There was only one way she could go. Straight up.

Up towards the sound. Up towards the light. Up towards the sun. She dodged falling rock and debris as she rapidly descended towards salvation. She did not know what awaited her above; only that it was the only path she could take. The light grew brighter and brighter and brighter; Swirls of pink and green and orange and colors she had not yet imagined surrounded her until they enveloped her entirely.

And then there was only white.

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Ina woke up gradually, such that she could not remember exactly when she’d done so. She lay in her cot in Dome H37, Tay curled on top of her. She checked the clock; it was 2:03. Still a solid chunk of time before she needed to report to A3 for work.

In spite of this, there was nobody else in the room. The rest of the splatoon had left already.

It had been two weeks since the disastrous victory concert. The Great DJ Octavio had gone missing, and the remaining government had been scrambling to keep everything under control between power failures, two collapsed domes, and a massive spike in insubordination across all Octaria.

In the wake of all this, any matters deemed trivial had been dropped altogether. This included Ina and Tay’s trail for treasonous incompetence, so they were now officially off the hook.

If only that meant things had gone back to normal.

Ina and Tay were still considered Pariahs by the rest of Sweet Potato Splatoon, with only a few exceptions. The rest of their squadmates went to great effort to avoid them if possible, such as by leaving for work early.

Ina didn’t move until Tay started to wake up. Her mind went back to the dream she’d had. After the concert, her dreams had actually become more frequent, occurring nearly every night… but now, instead of ending in some gruesome fate, they always ended ambiguously. Ina had never actually seen what was up above her, as she always woke up just before she breached the surface. It was frustrating.

More than that, though, Ina had become generally restless. Ever since the concert, Ina didn’t sleep quite as late as she used to, and she was sleeping less overall. She was also having trouble relaxing the way she used to; Even during her free time, she felt like she needed to be doing something, but had no idea what. She had taken to constantly pacing around the room during off hours, something the rest of her squad didn’t much appreciate, and she had been banished out to the exterior walkways several times. For the time being, Ina anxiously awaited the moment when Tay would wake up and get off her so she could get dressed. It felt like they were lying there forever.

Ina used to enjoy doing nothing. She used to be happy just lying in bed, particularly if Tay was also present. Now? Her mind flew this way and that, trying to stave off boredom that came so much more easily now than it used to. Despite her best efforts, her mind kept drifting back to the concert… and in particular, to that… vision, for lack of a better word. It had only lasted a few seconds, but she remembered it so clearly. The sun. The grass. The old stone shed. The white dress. The sea.

The sense of freedom the vision carried with it.

She couldn’t get it out of her mind. She mulled over that memory again and again.

Eventually, Tay finally stirred to life. She moved unsettlingly slowly, peeling herself off Ina to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She climbed out of the bed so that she could yawn and stretch, as there wasn’t quite enough room for that in the bunk.

If Ina was now restless, Tay had become more lethargic, sleeping in later and taking longer to get up. Her mantle was also duller than it had been before, and her eyes not quite as vibrant as they had been. Ina had asked her if she had taken ill, but Tay insisted she was fine.

As the two got dressed, Ina spoke. She wanted to ask about that vision- she wanted to know if Tay, or anyone else for that matter, had seen it. She’d tried to bring it up a couple times before now, but she hadn’t managed to get the words out. Might as well try one more time.

“...Tay?”

“Yeah?”

“Um… about the concer-”

“stop. I… I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“...ok.”

Another failure. Maybe it was for the best. Had she really seen anything at all? Was her memory playing tricks on her? Was she going crazy? These and many other questions bounced around in her head, unanswered. She could almost physically feel the weight of so many. But she would bear with them for now.

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The two of them left for the hoverferry without incident. Thankfully, none of their splatoon mates were on board when they got on, so it was just the normal uncomfortable quiet they experienced on the ride, rather than the soul-sucking tension they would feel otherwise. When they arrived at dome A3, they quietly stood off to the side, avoiding the others, until role call.

Ina and Tay had been back to work for about a week now, after a sort of unofficial week off during which high command struggled to regain some semblance of order. Kelly put them under Galli again. Since they’d come back to work, Kelly had either assigned them under Galli or Lore every day. That was fine; it kept them away from the others and their pointed stares and whispers.

The first few days back, Kelly had been unusually active, hounding every group to make up for lost time. Ina couldn’t be more thankful that Lore had managed to get her and Tay in on the pager system.

Lore’s pager system was elegant and simple. Every member of the group had a little buzzer in their pocket. Pushing the button on it would send a buzz to every other buzzer in the network. Each user had a unique ID made of a sequence of long and short buzzes. To send a message, users would buzz out their own ID, followed by a few simple codes to track Kelly’s behavior. Three short buzzes for “She’s staying in this area”, two short buzzes and a long one for “She’s moving somewhere else”, and two short and two long for “she’s moving towards another pager holder’s location”, followed by the ID of the person she was moving towards, for example. By remembering the relative location of each pager holder and their ID, it was possible to crudely track Kelly’s movement. It had taken Ina a day or two to memorize the system, but now that she had it was very difficult to be surprised by her commanding officer.

After a week, Kelly was starting to slow down a little, spending less time on the field and more time in her office. This should have been a relief, allowing Ina to work at her own pace. Instead, it just gave her more time to simmer in the increasingly chaotic whirlwind of thoughts trapped in her head. The hours seemed to stretch on for days, every second stretching towards eternity while her mind raced between one thought and the next. Ina felt like she was drowning, and not just because she was nearly waist deep in a rice paddy.

Ina watched a goldfish swim past her, carefree and blissfully unaware of it’s eventual fate as somebody’s dinner. She thought again of that vision. Every time she closed her eyes, she swore that she could feel a cool, salty sea breeze, hear the cries of seagulls, and feel the warm light of the sun, the real sun, on her back. Every time she opened them, she was wrenched back into the still, dead air, stale, musty smell (even in the agricultural domes), and sterile lamp she’d always known. The silence of the domes seemed to press in on her from every side, choking her with monotony.

…

…

She hated this.

Ina tried to push that thought out of her mind. This was her life. Her purpose. It was everything she had ever known, and everything she would ever know.

...But that reasoning only made things worse. Every time she considered the future, of spending the rest of her life tending crops in this rusting tower, she felt something inside of her die just a little bit more.

“Hey- quit slacking!”

Ina started as Galli reprimanded her, and quickly got back to work. Or, at least, she tried to. What was the point? She would work tirelessly day in and day out, but for what? Forcing herself to work was agony. Even when she tried her hardest to focus on work, her performance was dropping considerably; It was impossible for Ina to stop spacing out.

Tay, for her part, just gave a noncommittal grunt and made no noticeable effort to move any faster.

It wasn’t just her and Tay, of course; everybody seemed to have been hit hard by the concert. Ina had even caught Galli staring off into the distance, though she wouldn’t dare say as much. Galli’s repremands, too, came less often now, and her hearts weren’t really in them anymore. Before long, Ina was back to dragging her feet… and despite the group moving like molasses, Galli didn’t bother to reprimand her or Tay again.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When her shift finally ended, Ina, Tay, and Galli had barely met half their work quota for the day. Once upon a time, Ina would have been terrified by this prospect; What would Kelly do to her if she failed so drastically?

Now, though? Five other teams had failed to meet their quotas, and after a week of threats and beatings, even Kelly’s once bottomless rage seemed to be tapering out. Rather than address all five failed teams individually, she called them all to her office door and berated everybody at once.

Ina was surprised how little she cared. Kelly’s harsh words washed over her like a waterfall over a stone, fading into little more than white noise. Even the threat of beatings hardly moved her now; she’d been slapped three times this week already, as had many others in Sweet Potato Splatoon, and for once it hadn’t changed anyone’s behavior. It certainly didn’t help that Kelly’s beatings were getting shorter now- not because of any change of heart, Ina suspected, but because Kelly had grown exhausted by giving out so many.

As wave after wave of screaming washed over her, Ina thought again of the vision. The cool wind, the deep blue sea, the gulls, the endless sky.

She wanted to see it. She wanted to see it all for real.

Ina startled herself at that thought. How would that even work? Reclamation day had been postponed indefinitely. Nobody could see the surface now. Without the king, nobody was leaving these rusted domes unless…

Ina’s thought was stopped when a rock hit her face.

“VOLTRA! YOU WILL RESPOND WHEN HAILED!”

Panic spilled into Ina’s body as she realized Kelly had addressed her directly- and that she’d ignored her commanding officer. She quickly looked at the others to try and guess what she was supposed to respond to, but found no clues- only a dozen frighted stares from octolings equally unsure what to do. With no other options, Ina quickly guessed the appropriate response.

“Yes, captain! I’ll work harder from now on!” she shouted, giving a quick salute.

Her stomach dropped when Kelly snarled in response.

“...VOLTRA, WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?”

Oh fuck.

“I, um… ah…” she stammered.

Ina froze as Kelly stormed forward, grabbed her by the chestplate, and slapped her across the face. Ina breifly saw stars as Kelly shoved her to the ground. Ina instinctively scuttled backwards, bracing herself for more. Kelly’s eye twitched with rage, and then she roared.

“GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY SIGHT!”

Nobody needed to be told twice. Ina and the others bolted away in a blind panic. Kelly stood and watched for a moment, her breathing heavy, before she screamed in frustration, stormed into her office, and slammed the door behind her.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. Ina was still breathing heavily on the ferry ride back. Even Tay had been briefly forced out of her malaise, standing near Ina and checking her for signs of further distress. As frightening as being singled out was, Ina was mostly glad to see a little bit of life in Tay’s eyes again. Ever since the concert, she’d just been so… empty.

When the ferry reached the relevant stop, everyone on board stepped off and made their way to the mess hall. Ina and Tay stepped in line as the familiar scent of rice, seaweed, and mushrooms blended together into a stale, earthy smell.

It was sickening. Ina could have sworn that the mess hall never used to smell this musty. For most of her life, this scent had made her instinctively salivate, but now she wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible. Ina sighed, closed her eyes, and the scent changed. For a moment, just a moment, the stale scent of rations became the fresh scent of ripe fruit and the sea. She opened her eyes, and the staleness came rushing back like the tide.

Ina started to wonder if she had gone well and truly insane.

Her thoughts continued to spiral around that vision again and again, until a tap on the shoulder pulled her back to reality.

“Ina, it’s our turn.”

Ina breifly looked around in a daze before realizing she’d reached the chef’s counter. The Chef manning the station gave an annoyed scowl as Ina blushed, realizing she hadn’t chosen which meal option she wanted. Ins stammered a moment, before quickly choosing the item on the top of the list: a basic bowl with rice, seaweed, and mushrooms. The chef grabbed a bowl off the belt behind her and irately shoved it into Ina’s hands; Ina quickly thanked her in OSL and scampered to the nearest table.

Ina and Tay ate in silence. Despite the sickening scent around her, Ina gobbled her dish down like a wolf eel, and then waited in anxious silence as Tay slowly, slowly started to pick at her own food. It was unsettling to see Tay eating so slowly; Before the concert, Tay had always had a voracious appetite.

Ina winced as, halfway through the bowl, Tay set down her chopsticks and pushed the bowl towards Ina.

“I’m full, you can have the rest”.

Ina looked anxiously at Tay; her tired expression made her hearts sink.

“...are you sure? You haven’t been eating much lately.”

“I couldn’t eat another bite if Kelly tried to shove it down my throat.”

Ina made a quick chuckle. Tay said nothing. After a moment’s hesitation, Ina took the bowl and ate the rest, just so it wouldn’t go to waste. After that, Ina stood up and took the bowls and chopsticks back to the dishwasher’s station, before motioning for Tay to follow her back.

Tay sighed as she dragged herself up to her feet and trudged after Ina. The two of them started the trek back to their dormitory, which was thankfully only a couple blocks away. They passed that old shrine on the way; Ina paused, to see if Tay wanted to stop and pray, but she just kept walking forward as if she didn’t know it was there. The sinking feeling Ina felt in response had started to become almost routine at this point, but there was little to do but follow.

When they got home, a few other octolings briefly paused their conversation and stared. Tay grunted and meandered over to her cot, and flopped in without a word. After a moment, the other octolings resumed their conversation, but in hushed tones that suggested Ina was not permitted to join in. Ina breifly sat down on her own cot, before deciding to get up and head to the shower building a block or two away.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naturally, she got lost in thought again in the shower. The timer ran out and the water shut off before she could properly finish, so she had to quickly wipe the remaining soap off with a towel and leave the stall, mentally cursing herself for making the same mistake as last time.

When Ina returned to the dorm, the others made a pointed effort to ignore her, and Tay was lying face-down on her bunk. Ina, not knowing what else to do, Lay down in her own.

It didn’t last long. Ina knew she couldn’t sleep. Not with her thoughts racing the way they were. That vision… she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Lying in her bunk turned to sitting there, turned to anxiously looking at Tay.

Did… Did Tay see the vision, too? Was Ina insane? The anxiety on the matter welled up in her chest until Ina couldn’t take it anymore, and hopped off her bunk. She quietly shook Tay awake.

“...Tay, can we talk?”

“mmmph…”

“Tay, please? I need…. I need to ask you something.”

Tay slowly lifted her head, turning a disgruntled and grumpy eye to Ina- an Eye which Tay was struggling to keep open. Tay lay still for a moment, before sighing and forcing herself upright. Ina made a small smile, and signed thank you in OSL, before leading Tay out to the balcony outside the dorm room.

The two leaned over the railing in silence for a little while as Ina tried to figure out the best way to word her question. Tay, for her part, blankly stared out at the city around them. In spite of the anxiety churning inside her, It was nice to just… exist around Tay like this. Simply being near Tay gave her a sense of comfort, even if it wasn’t as strong as it used to be.

Ina and Tay used to stand out here and talk more often, particularly when Ina had first transferred to Sweet Potato Splatoon. It was nice to spend time away from the others. They’d done it a little less often in the buildup to the concert, but that was just because Tay had been chatting with the splatoon more.

Then the autotiller incident happened, and after that...

“...So, you wanted to ask something?”

Oh, right.

Ina hesitated a moment, trying to find the words…

“Um, so at the concert-”

“Stop.”

“huh?”

Tay scowled.

“I told you, I don’t want to talk abou-”

“Did you see it too?”

Tay paused for a moment, trying to process what Ina had just asked. Her eyelids lowered, and her voice became more frustrated.

“...Yes, Ina. I saw the concert. Did you forget that I dragged us out there?”

“No, that’s not what I-”

Ina paused again, still not having found the words. Tay waited a little bit for a response, before rolling her eyes and moving back to the dormitory. Ina panicked, knowing she couldn’t let this slip past her again.

“Did you see the ocean?”

Tay paused, her hand still on the door handle.

“...what?”

“At the concert, when that… squid music… started, I…”

Tay turned to face Ina, her frustration beginning to turn into confusion.

“For a moment, it… it was like I wasn’t there, at the concert, but…”

“…”

“...I saw… I saw the surface! I saw the sun, and I felt the breeze, and I saw the ocean! I could smell it, too! I…”

Ina took another moment to find her words.

“It was beautiful. It was like nothing else I’d ever seen, or felt, or smelt, or…”

“...And ever since that moment, I can still see it every time I close my eyes! I can smell the seasalt, and feel the cool breeze and sun on my skin! It’s not like the dome lights, it’s warm in a way I can’t describe, and…”

Ina trailed off as she looked up at Tay, whose facial expression had turned to a mixture of confusion and fear.

“Ina, what in cod’s name are you talking about?”

“I…”

...Ina stared at Tay intently. She looked for any sign of comprehension. Any sign of recognition. Any sign that Tay understood.

She saw nothing. Tay hadn’t seen the vision. She was crazy after all.

The two of them stood there for a while longer, before Tay muttered something about spore sickness and stepped inside. Ina stood in place for a while longer, as a deep, heavy feeling settled in her hearts. After a moment, she rubbed her eyes, and her hands came back wet. When had she started crying?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After that, the days went by in a haze.

Wake up. Go to work. Half-heartedly dig trenches and drop seeds. Go to mess hall. Eat. Go to shower hall. Shower. Go home. Pace around the perimiter of the building until she became to exhausted to move anymore. Lie in bed awake for another hour or so. Rinse, Repeat.

At work, Tay moved in a sort of zombified stupor. On many occasions, Galli or Lore needed to shout at her to stop her unconsciously doing something wrong. On one occasion, she dumped a full box full of seeds into the wrong plot, and then had to fish them all out. On another, she tried to harvest rice with a shovel. She couldn’t be more thankful for that pager Lore gave her; she shuddered what would have happened had she not been warned before Kelly’s rare checkups. After work, Ina found herself walking circles around her dormitory building, lost in thought. That vision… It was all she could think about now.

...She couldn’t take this any longer. She was insane. She couldn’t…

...Ina had to leave.

She had tried to push down this thought so many times, but to no avail. This life… she couldn’t take it any more. She had to leave. To run. To see the sun even once in her life.

With each passing day, the urge to escape became stronger and stronger. She was being crushed to death by darkness.

On one particular night, when Ina was sobbing herself to sleep, Tay took notice. She gently placed her hand on Ina’s shoulder; Ina turned to face her, and Tay quietly spoke.

“...hey, you good?”

Ina gave her a blank stare, her eyes red with tears.

“...yeah, I guess that was pretty obvious, huh.”

Tay stood by Ina’s bunk in awkward silence for a minute or so before continuing.

“Um, Ina? I… Look, I understand the last time we talked was… I kinda brushed you off, with that whole… vision… thing, but I think…”

Tay paused again.

“If you need to talk, or vent, or-”
“Can we talk now?”

“Wha-”

Caught off guard, Tay nervously looked around the room. The rest of the splatoon was in bed, several of them grumpily eying the pair.

“...let’s go outside for a bit.”

Tay helped Ina to her feet, and the two quietly left the room. While it was past curfew, it was unlikely anybody would bother them so long as they stayed on the steel catwalks circling their building. The dome’s sky was pitch black, as it had been for a week or two even before the concert. Faint red lights illuminated the silhouettes of the city around them. There was no sound to be heard, save for the footsteps of the two octolings.

The two of them leaned on the railing, and a long silence passed between them. It did not help Ina’s confidence. Before the concert, there had been an omnipresent, unspoken understanding between the two. Just being together like this was worthwhile all on it’s own. Now, she felt judged. Like she had to somehow defend herself, but could not find the words. The look on Tay’s face was… unreadable. Ina had no idea what Tay was thinking.

Ina almost wanted to give this up and try to go back to bed… but she could not ignore the bubbling need inside her. She needed someone else to understand. To see. To feel this need to escape with her.

When Tay finally broke the silence, Ina quickly interrupted.

“So, are you gonna-”

“I need to leave.”

“…what?”

“I…”

another pause to find the words she needed.

“I… need to go. I can’t stay here, it’s… It’s killing me.”

Tay scowled.

“Then why did you drag me out here? If you didn’t want to talk, then-”

“No, not like that! I didn’t mean out here on the railing, I meant…”

Ina took a moment to find more words, then gave up and broadly gestured to everything.

“I… I can’t keep working like this. If I see that rusted terrace one more time, I’ll…”

Tay’s expression softened, and she nodded in understanding.

“...yeah. Now that I think about it, we should have applied for reassignment ages ago. In fact, I kinda feel stupid for only thinking of that just now.”

Tay turned to Ina with a soft smile.

“How bout this: tomorrow after work, we’ll take a detour to the coordination office and-”

“NO!”

Tay stepped back in surprise. She hadn’t expected Ina to shout.

“I… wh- Ina, you just said-”

“I don’t want reassignment, Tay. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life mopping floors, or on an assembly line, or making soup, or any other menial, monotonous job they might give me. I want… I want to be free! I’m sick of this rusted darkness, and these crumbling caverns! I want…”

…

“Tay, I need to go to the surface.”

If the silence had been stifling before, now it was suffocating. Ina’s breath hitched as she waited for Tay’s response.

Tay took a second or two to process what she’d heard. Then, her eyes widened in horror, and her mantle and skin paled.

“Ina… do… Do you realize what you just suggested!?”

“….yeah.”

Tay looked around in a panic, desperately hoping they hadn’t been overheard.

“Ina, if anybody else heard you say that, they’d…”

“…”

“Ina, you need to stop this. Now. We’ll go to the coordination office tomorrow, and get a fresh start in another dome. You just need a change of scenery. You’ll feel better when-”

“And then what!? Scrub dishes every day in the dark? Maybe climb rusting scaffolding every day to put yet another patch on a barely intact building that’ll ultimately just fall down anyway?”

“Ina, keep it down, someone might-”

“I refuse to die down here, Tay. I refuse to spend the rest of my life waiting in darkness for some fabled reclamation day that will never come.”

“Ina, that would be-”

“desertion.”

The two of them were silent for a few minutes after that. The weight of saying it out loud seemed to chill the air around them. When Tay finally tried to speak, Ina spoke over her once more.

“Ina, you-”

“I’ve made up my mind about this, Tay. I’m going to get out of here, no matter what… but…”

Ina looked down and grabbed her upper arm.

“I… I don’t want to leave you behind, Tay. You’re the one thing in my life I don’t hate.”

“Then don’t go! We can make things work-”

“Are you happy here, Tay? Do you think I haven’t noticed you sleep ALL DAY now? You’re the only person in sweet potato whose numbers are worse than mine. You’re basically a zombie now! Do you really think reassignment is going to fix any of that?”

Tay stood in silence, eyes unconsciously moving this way and that as she thought. In time, her facial expression seemed to gain just a little conviction before she looked back up at Ina… or at least, Ina hoped it did. Her tentacles were no less anxious, though, twisting and writhing this way and that.

“Ina… do… do you even have a plan to get out?”

Ina couldn’t help but blush.

“well.. um… It’s not a complete plan, but…”

…

“...but I think I have the slightest inkling of an idea.”

Chapter Text

The next few weeks went by in a blur. The work was still grueling, and Ina was still unable to focus, but her new sense of anxiety kept her mind busy while the hours slowly ticked away.

In fact, after her conversation with Tay, Ina found herself considerably more productive. Having a specific, concrete goal in mind; believing that the work she was doing would actually achieve material results for her, made it far, far easier to focus. Because of this, Ina was able to volunteer for more difficult jobs, and even stay overtime a few days.

Kelly was suspicious, naturally, but by not talking to her directly, and instead asking Galli for volunteer work, Ina was able to net herself extra rations and tokens that could be traded for other items. Tay wasn’t able to push herself quite as far as Ina, but it seemed the talk had shaken her out of her funk, too. She now worked much more dilligently, earning a few more tokens of her own.

Neither octoling stayed late today, though. As soon as she and Tay were released from duty for the day, they hurried to the ferry and back to the station. From there, rather than the familiar route back home, they turned the other direction and made for the inkrail system around the edge of the dome. From there, the two parted ways. Tay traveled to the artisan’s block in dome R-2, taking the extra tokens and rations she’d managed to acquire with her. Her goal was to start the process of trading for the various materials they would need for the plan; Bags, firestarters, medkits, and the like.

Ina, on the other hand, traveled to the central domes. Her destination was the hall of common knowledge.

Her objective was to study the maps of the domes, and find the best possible exit.

As she climbed out of the kettle exit, a disinterested guard asked for her ID. She briefly provided it.

The few moments where the guard checked her proved harrowing. Ina had to remind herself that she wasn’t actually doing anything illegal; she had a right to be here. After a minute, the guard lazily waved her through to Command Dome 3.

Finding her way around the unfamiliar dome was… difficult, but once she built up enough nerve to ask for directions, Ina found herself standing in front of the hall in question. The building was huge, easily taking up more than eight times as much space as her own apartment block. It was also lavishly decorated, with a carved stone octopus carefully guarding the entry doors. Ina couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated, but she steeled herself and stepped inside.

As she stepped into the entry hall, a squad of bored-looking guards called for her to stop. She started to panic.

“I- I was just”-

one of the guards signed “Silence” in OSL, and then he started patting her down. Once that was done, he stepped back and spoke.

“Purpose for visiting today?”

Ina tried to speak, but the words would not come out.

“I- I was…”

The guard waited impatiently for a little while, as Ina struggled to figure out what to say, or to say anything at all. Eventually, another guard interrupted

“For rust’s sake, just mark her down as learning history or something, we have a game to get back to.”

The first guard opened his mouth to retort, but his harsh expression fell before it was spoken.

“...ugh, whatever. You’re here for histories.”
The guard pulled a small green chain out of the bag on his hip, and wrapped it around Ina’s wrist, then locked it with a small padlock.

“Don’t try to take this off.”

Ina stood motionless, an octopus caught in a searchlight. She couldn’t move any muscle at all, such was her nervousness.

“Well, go on.”

The guard had to shove Ina forward before she finally got the idea. Blushing, she awkwardly trotted through the entry hall and into the second set of doors. When she passed through, she stopped again- this time, in awe.

Ina’s eyes grew wide as she took in the hall of open records. Even from the foyer, she could see shelves- wooden shelves, even- full of scrolls. Actual paper scrolls. Ina hadn’t seen paper since her elementary school days.

She continued standing there for some time, before a voice from behind her made her jump almost twice her height in the air.

“Can I help you?”

Ina spun around to face her new assailant. She was an older octoling with large round glasses (a rare privilege in the domes; she must be high-ranking) and a burgundy kimono (an even rarer privilege). Ina instinctively bowed down in respect, before the figure before her motioned for her to rise.

“First time here, I take it?”

Ina nodded.

“What are you looking for?”

Again, Ina was too nervous to speak. The octoling in front of her started tapping her foot impatiently.

“uh, I… um…”

The octoling before her started signing in OSL, her cranial arms twisting and writhing to convey the meaning. Her main arms were still folded in a way that somehow conveyed impatience and understanding at the same time.

“If you can’t speak, perhaps you can sign?”

Ina nodded, before signing back.

“I need to look at maps.”

The octoling before her raised an eyebrow.

“You know you’re wearing the wrong band for that, right?”

Ina froze, and involuntarily paled. She stumbled and stuttered, a thousand “Um”s, “I”s, and “Uh”s dropping from her mouth. Her hands awkwardly meshed and twisted together, and her eyes darted every which way. The robed octoling rolled her eyes, turned, and started walking away, motioning for Ina to follow.

“Eh, who gives a shit. It’s a stupid system anyhow.”

Ina stood for a moment before quickly stumbling after her guide.

“Names Miriam, by the way.”

“Inalynn.”

Miriam nodded and continued onward in silence for a time. The two passed through a hallway, before she spoke.

“So, what in particular are you looking for?”

Ina took a moment to respond. Miriam was still facing away from her- for whatever reason, that made it easier for Ina to speak.

“I, uh… I need a comprehensive map of the domes.”

Miriam stopped moving, and Ina bumped into her. Still facing away (and without loosing balance), Miriam spoke again, a suspicious undertone to her voice.

“What for?”

“I, Uh…”

…

“I’m considering asking for reassignment, and I want to look at the other areas I might be stationed.”

Miriam stood still for a little bit longer, before she started walking again without warning.

“I see” was all she said in response.

Ina quietly followed, relieved that she’d thought up a believable lie. The two passed through a few more hallways, before entering a large room whose walls were lined with a mix of wooden and steel shelves, containing scrolls, tablets, and chalkpads. There were several large tables in the middle of the room, most of which had maps spread across them. Despite the staggering size of the room, only three other octolings were present.

Miriam casually beckoned her onwards, strode towards one wall, and grabbed a number of scrolls off the shelf before rolling them out on one of the larger tables.

“I don’t actually have a full map available here, but I do have maps of most individual domes, so you should be able to piece together what you need.

Ina thanked her in OSL, before sitting down at the table. She pulled the nearest map closest to her, and looked at it with growing fear and confusion as she realized she had no idea what she was looking at. Miriam stood by her side, and took notice.

“...You DO know how to read maps, right?”

Ina’s mantle answered for her, her arms paling and curling in a way that broadcast her distress and embarrassment. Miriam rolled her eyes.

“No worries, I’ll help you.

Ina thanked her in OSL, to embarrased to respond verbally.

“So, what exactly are you looking for?”

Ina’s mantle paled again, and Miriam looked at her impatiently.

“You have no idea, huh?”

Ina’s mind raced. How was she supposed to respond to this? “Oh, could you please tell me the quickest and easiest way to desert the domes, pretty please? And while you’re at it, could you please tell my higher-ups and every security overseer that I’m trying to commit treason? Thank you!”

...Cod, why hadn’t she planned for this? What was she expecting to find here? She didn’t even know what questions to ask! Ina turned to miriam, whose expression seemed remarkably impatient.

Miram sighed.

“You came here because you wanted to be reassigned, right? Why don’t we start with the sort of job you’d want to be doing.”

“Uh, yeah. Sounds good.”

Better play along for now. Hopefully, Ina could stealthily figure out which questions to ask before her time here was over.

“so, where are you stationed at now?”

“Uh, Agriculture. A3.”

Carp, why did she say that? Might as well give away her serial number and entire work history!

“And I’m assuming you don’t want to work a similar job?”

“Oh cod no.”

Miriam chuckled at that. A good sign, probably.

“Believe me, I know the feeling. In that case, what sort of things are you good at?”

Oh fuck.

Ina froze and paled once more. What the hell was she good at? She was a total screw-up! Her combat skills were non-existent, she couldn’t cook to save her life, and worst of all, whenever somebody started talking music theory, all the noise around her started turning to static. What could she possibly have to offer to another squad? Forget that- how was she supposed to survive on the surface? What was her plan after deserting? Throw herself at the first Inkling she saw and beg for mercy?

“You’re not the type to think things through, are you?”

Once again, Ina’s body betrayed her thoughts, and Miriam could see exactly what she was thinking. Ina averted her eyes, tensing in anticipation of the reprimand she was about to receive.

Miriam sighed.

“You know, you’re real lucky I don’t have anything particularly important to do right now, because it looks like you need a lot more help than you realized.”

Ina instinctively turned and started apologizing, but Miriam raised her hand and silenced her.

“I’ve seen cases like yours before. Some whimpering private winds up here, desperate for a career change, and then suddenly starts to doubt themselves the moment they actually get asked what they want to do.”

Ina’s tentacles dropped lifelessly from shame. She looked up at Miriam, and was surprised to find a warm smile on her face.

“Fortunately, it usually turns out said privates are far more capable than they realize.”

Ina looked on in anxious confusion as Miriam sat next to her.

“To start off, what’s your combat performance like?”

Ina’s tentacles immediately drooped, telling Miriam everything she needed to know.

“I see. I guess that rules out any brass positions…”

Miriam pulled out a small slate and chalk stylus from her dress, and scribbled out a quick note.

“Why don’t you start by telling me what your typical workday is like?”

Ina hesitated a moment, before looking down in thought.

Her typical workday?

“well… um, It varies a lot day by day.”

“That’s good, actually. If your job varies a lot, that probably means you’ve picked up a lot of different skills.”

“Eh? I dunno…”

“Why don’t you describe a few specific days you’ve had recently.”

“Um… Well, most days, I just wind up weeding or plowing fields all day…”

“Basic manual labor experience is applicable in a wide range of potential assignments.”

“Eh? But aren’t most jobs way more complicated?”

“Not as much as you’d think… but what else do you do?”

“Um… well, sometimes Kelly has me fix the irrigation systems.”

“you work with plumbing?”

“Oh, uh, not really… I just do basic field irrigation, not like pipes in buildings.”

“hmm… I suppose that’s fair, although I have to wonder if the two are quite as different as you think.”

“...are they?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never done plumbing before.”

“huh.” Ina had never thought about irrigation like this before. She sat in thought for a moment, before Miriam called her attention again.

“What else have you done?”

“Um, well, I also monitor plant health and soil quality, so…”

“So you’re good at knowing how read outputs from detailed systems, no?”

“Uh, not really? I just know what a plant looks like when it’s sick.”

“That’s detail-oriented analysis and observation. I imagine a plant is much harder to read than a dial, no? And you mentioned soil quality- how do you determine that?”

“Uh, I take a sample, and then wet it. By running it through my fingers, I can see if it’s got too much sand or clay. After that, I do a PH test to determine soil acidity- It’s nothing complicated, I just mix some of the soil in water and put in one of those testing strips. There are a couple other things, like testing the bacteria, but that mostly gets done by Otto.

“See? You’ve got basic chemistry skills. It’s true that the exact process will vary from job to job, but if you could learn that sort of process once, I’d bet you can do it again.”

Ina couldn’t help but smile a little at that.

“We could go on and on like this, but let’s get back to the main subject. You said you wanted a career change- what sort of thing would you like to change to?”

Ina nervously thought for a moment. What she wanted was to escape Octaria and leave for the surface… But she couldn’t say that, of course. In fact, she’d gotten rather sidetracked- she wasn’t here to look for a new Career, she was here to look for the quickest available exit route. The unexpected confidence boost had certainly been nice, but Ina needed to steer the conversation back towards the right direction… without Miriam realizing what she was really after. How to do that…?

...Ina DID really want to desert, right? Maybe a career change wouldn’t be so bad?

No! Ina remembered her vision; the sky, the sea, the birds. she couldn’t stay down here after that, she had to see it all for herself. She would escape this hellhole or die trying.

Ina thought for a while before responding. One of the other octolings in the room coughed, briefly reminding her that she and Miriam weren’t alone, but the others all seemed quite focused on their own matters, so there was no need to worry about them.

“...um, I… I was actually wondering what sort of industries are present near the edges of Octaria.”

Miriam paused a moment and blinked before responding.

“...near the… edges?”

“Uh- um, uh, you know, so I know which jobs to, ah, avoid.”

“avoi-”

Miriam narrowed her eyes, and her tone of voice lowered considerably.

“...shouldn’t you care a little more about the nature of your new job then where it’s located?”

Carp. Now how should she proceed?

“I, uh, I just… really don’t wanna be like right next to the end of the domes.”

“...and why not?”

“Um, because…”

C’mon, Ina, think!

“...Because I don’t wanna be near the demon!”

Miriam raised an eyebrow.

“I… I just, um… I was near an attack, and I… I would just feel a lot safer knowing that I wasn’t near an exit route.”

Miriam furrowed her brow again, now speaking in a deadpan tone.

“And you want me to point out the exits to the domes, so that you know which areas to... avoid.”

“...yeah.”

Miriam remained silent for a long time, and Ina’s tentacles started to nervously coil and twist. She felt guilty about making up an encounter with the demon… about lying, but she needed an excuse.

“...I’m sorry for your experience, but the demon was ultimately able to penetrate even the deepest, most secure domes. Being further from the fringes of our territory wouldn’t make you any safer… and I think you know this.”

“I, uh, I know, but…”

C’mon, Ina, think of something!

“It would just really make me feel safer!”

“That sort of inkling logic won’t help you at all! What you feel is not reality!”

“I… If I’m gonna make a big transition like this, it needs to be a good fit for me! I don’t want to live in a place where I’m constantly on edge!”

“What you want isn’t what’s good for Octaria! You have to think of the empire first!” Miriam hissed.

“Then why are you helping me change jobs at all?! Why not just let me wither away to nothing in those cod-forsaken dirt disks until I just fall down and can’t be bothered to get up again?”

“I-”

“You think I haven’t been serving Octaria? I’ve spent my whole life doing that, and for what? Wasn’t the whole point of this to get ready for reclamation day? Wasn’t that what we were all sacrificing for? Wasn’t that the reason we all put our heads down and worked ourselves to death for generations? Well reclamation day came and went, and look where we are now! We’re still here! What do we do now? What are we working towards now? What is the point of all this now? I can’t- I can’t just keep doing this forever! I can’t keep dying inside like this! I need to see the-”

Suddenly, Ina cut herself off, realizing she had very nearly confessed to planning desertion… and then she realized she had been shouting, and that everybody else in the room was now staring at her. Ina’s tentacles froze, then dropped limp as she slowly, sheepishly sunk back into her chair, quietly wishing that the floor would cave in under her.

Miriam, for her part, looked stunned, sort of staring off into space at nothing in particular. She remained silent for some time, her eyes darting around randomly. She looked down for a moment, her jaw still hanging slightly open. It was some time before she quietly muttered something in response.

“...what IS the point?”

The two were silent for some time afterwards, as the others in the room awkwardly turned back to their tasks and pretended they hadn’t heard anything.

In time, Miriam regained her composure, and turned to Ina once more.

“You said you wanted a position away from the dome entrances?”

“...uh, yeah.”

“In that case, I suggest you avoid domes M5, R2, R20, L9, and P7. All of those have well known entrance points from the surface, so the inklings are likely to invade from there. Dome P7 in particular also has a lesser known entrance hidden away behind storage building P7-209- or so I’m told, anyway. Apparently, it’s a little crack in the wall which would be difficult, but possible, to squeeze through. The scouting team responsible apparently checked out the area it leads to, and it doesn’t seem to let out near any inkling hideouts… but I suppose you’d better avoid it all the same, just to be sure.”

“Uh, yeah, right. Thanks.” Ina briefly moved to leave her chair, before Miriam interrupted.

“And as for where you SHOULD seek reassignment…”

Huh? Oh, right. Ina sat back down.

“If you want a change of pace, There’s a number of things you could do. I might suggest looking at a mess hall position- those tend to be a little more laid back. Alternatively, you could try for a maintenance position. Plumbing and water treatment in particular might be a good thing to aim for, since you’ve already got experience with pipes and basic chemistry skills.”

“Huh. Thanks.”

Ina had never considered doing something like that before. Of course, she wasn’t going to request such a reassignment, she was still dead set on seeing the surface. Once she got there, though… Perhaps the skills she’d learned down here in the domes might be more useful than she realized.

…except how would she get to apply those skills? What if the inklings shot her on sight? Oh carp, Ina had barely thought this through at all. Maybe she could just cover her head with something just to get her bearings up there, and then eventually leave for somewhere else? Ina knew from her history classes that inklings weren’t the only race up there. Obviously, that was the case; Octaria regularly made trade with the salmonids, after all. Even so, Salmonids weren’t the most… approachable bunch, and Ina knew little to nothing about who else might be up there.

...Eh, she could cross that bridge when she got there. Better to die having seen the sun than to spend the rest of her life withering away in the dark.

Ina was a little disturbed how casually she accepted that possibility, but she did not change her mind. Her vision, her dreams drove her onward more surely than any whip Kelly might wield. She had to go, and that was that.

Ina’s train of thought was briefly broken as Miriam gently tapped her shoulder.

“It looks like I’ve given you a fair bit to think about, so I’ll leave you for now. I suggest you talk with the reassignment committee further, but if you want more advice in the future, I’ll be here. At least, for the near future, anyway…”

Miriam stood up and stretched.

“When you’re done, don’t bother trying to put these maps back- you’ll inevitably sort them wrong. I’ll put them away later.”

Ina thanked Miriam in OSL as she left the room. Ina stayed a little longer, just to put her thoughts in order. Overall, today had actually gone very well. She’d not only discovered an ideal exit route, but learned a little more about herself as well, and all without tipping anybody off that she planned on leaving the domes. Ina was quite proud of herself for that.

After a moment, she stood up and stretched herself, before making her way home.

------------------------------

When Ina got back to her apartment, she immediately stepped out onto the catwalk outside the apartment and waited for Tay, as they’d agreed. Ina waited for some time- to the point that she started to get worried something was wrong, but Tay eventually made her way up to the door. Ina smailed, and Tay weakly smiled back. She briefly put her things in the apartment before returning out to the balcony, and then the two of them made their way to a lesser used spot to speak.

“Did you get everything we needed?” Tay asked, slightly bouncing in anticipation.

“Yeah. I got bags, rations, firestarters, water bottles, and even a couple knives. Getting those was… an ordeal.”

“I can imagine… Thank you, Tay.”

Tay looked away from Ina, her tentacles writhing nervously. “Did you manage to find a way to… you know?” It’s ok if you didn’t, the whole thing was a pipe dream any-”

“Yeah, I did! It turns out slipping out might be way easier than we’d realized!”

“And nobody suspects a thing?”

“Nope!”

Ina was beaming with pride. Tay, however, only frowned deeper, her tentacles contorting in a way Ina wasn’t used to seeing on Tay. Ina wasn’t sure she liked it.

“Ina, do we… are you really sure you want to do this?”

“Is… Is something wrong?”

“No, I just…”

Tay took a moment to find the words she needed. Her eyes darted rapidly from one direction to the next, pointing everywhere except at Ina.

“...Ina, if we try this, there’s no going back. Everything we’ve ever known is down here, and we have no idea what’s up there. For all we know, there’s an Inkling death squad ready to take us out the moment we set foot on their turf, and that’s assuming we even make it out to begin with! If you- er, we get caught, who knows what they’ll do to you!”

Caught off guard, Ina took a step back… but she quickly regained resolve.

“That’s just a risk we’re gonna have to take.”

“But- But do we really have to? You could still ask for reassignment! There are plenty of new things to try down here! I don’t-”

“No!”

Startled, Tay stepped back. Ina blushed at her sudden bluntness and sheepishly apologized.

“I, um… I’m sorry, but… No. I’ve thought about this for a long time now, and I can’t stay down here.

“But why!? Why do wee need to do this!?”

“Because I’m dying down here, Tay! Because every day I feel myself wither away just a little more! Because if I spend the rest of my life down here, It would just be wasting it! Because there is nothing else left for me!”

Tay’s tentacles drooped, and she stood still for a moment before seeming to reach a sort of glum acceptance.

“I… I guess it can’t be helped then.”

Ina smiled. “We leave tomorrow night.”

“T- Tomorrow!?”

“There’s no reason to wait any longer. You said you got everything, right?”

“Y- Yes, but…”

“Then we’re all ready to go. Waiting longer would only make this harder on us.”

“I…”

“…”

“...Ok.”