The Submerged Factory

Problems

Blocky thought twice while looking at both Mr. Dance and Bartender. He ended up sitting still. His fear of being electrocuted was crawling at his back.

"I assume you are not ready. That's fine. Unless we have a blackmailing situation going on." Bartender held his chin. He peered at both of them.

"Blackmail? What's that?" Joe asked. He legitimately wanted to know what the word means.

"Basically, when you force someone to do something for them, or else you will reveal their secrets." Bartender explained in the simplest way he could find. "I had done this with my coworkers a lot, but that's the story for another time."

Joe just laughed maniacally. He was a tiny little gremlin. "Hahaha! Children will love this word! I ought to teach them these!"

"I wouldn't call it blackmailing. It's different." Blocky squinted at Mr. Dance. How many times would Mr. Dance tortured him until he stopped. "Nonetheless, I still couldn't tell you."

Bartender nodded. "Like I said, it's completely fine." He could tell that whatever Blocky had gone through, it had something to do with Mr. Dance. He saw Mr. Dance suspiciously smiled at Blocky.

"Okay, everyone had spoken about their problems. Now, Mama Squid, it's your turn, the reason all of us are here today." Bartender said and stared at Mama Squid.

Mama Squid took a deep breath and let it out. She was actually thinking of words she should have said while the others told their confessions. Now, it was her time to speak.

" I met Squid a couple days ago. He told me things which bothered me till the rest of the week." Mama Squid moved her tentacles. She put Mr. Dance down.

"Things such as...?" Bartender was interested. As a main consciousness that never spoke to Squid on his own, he would love to hear his words when no one else was around.

"It's nothing. Important stuff, but mostly just complaining about the factory." Mama Squid raised both of her front tentacles.

Blocky got triggered by the lies. Everyone needed to know how Squid was behind their backs. "That's not true! Mama Squid, I know you well, but I never knew you were..."

Bartender jumped at Blocky's face to shut him up. He could tell Mama Squid would be heartbroken if Blocky said those words to her. "Blocky! It's Mama Squid time to speak! Whether it was a lie or not, it doesn't matter!" He turned to Mama Squid. "However, the truth is highly recommended. It's totally up to you."

Mama Squid played with her tentacles. That was the first time Blocky ever yelled at her. Mr. Dance pat her face.

"Mama Squid, do you want to continue?" Mr. Dance asked politely. He wanted to comfort her to talk.

Mama Squid bopped her head. "Yeah, please no one took offence of this. As much as I wish to be honest, I just can't. There are a lot of secrets each of us have and I want to keep mine."

Mama Squid held Bartender's shoulder. "Thanks for trying, Bartender. Even if I tell anyone, none of you can help me. I'm sure of it. If someone knows, they will end up being punished because Squid is really upfront when it comes to his secrets."

Bartender nodded. He understood her. "It's totally fine. Does talking like this help clear your mind, Mama Squid?"

"Not really, unfortunately." Mama Squid grinned. She seemed exhausted. "I do appreciate you for doing this."