Plum opened his eyes. He found himself once again in an Inkopolis Square that he did not quite recognize. This time, it wasn't the shape of the structures around him that looked different. Now, it was the lack of structures. Most of the buildings he could recognize before were barren, some even destroyed. The Galleria was in tatters, the Grizzco building seemed to have exploded from the inside and the entrance to The Shoal was wide open, without any doors or windows. There was a crack on the giant screen of Deca Tower, though it seemed functional, displaying a peculiar logo. It had two wave shapes that formed what appeared to be a sea cucumber, and below the logo was a name that he was too familiar with: Kamabo Co.
Plum began to tremble as he looked around his surroundings, confused as to what was happening. He decided to step away from the square, wanting to find something familiar to him that was not in pieces. He eventually made it to Coral Shores Pastries, or at least, what he thought it was. The building seemed to be one of the most tattered around him. It barely had any walls or ceiling. Standing in the middle, stood a familiar figure, Alex. His back was facing Plum as he hesitantly approached him.
"A-Alex..? Is that you?", Plum called out, but Alex did not respond. He stood eerily still as Plum slowly approached him.
Plum was just about to tap his shoulder so he could look at him, but Alex quickly turned to him in a split second and quickly grabbed ahold of Plum's neck, startling him as Alex pushed him all the way to the nearest wall.
"Alex!", Plum choked as he tried to get Alex's arms off of him. He knew he was getting stronger, but he didn't remember Alex being this strong. Plum then noticed something disturbing on Alex's face. His expression seemed greatly exaggerated, with his eyes and mouth being unusually wider than an Inkling's should be.
"Help me!! Help me, Plum!!", Alex yelled at him. "Don't let me die!! Not now!!", he screamed as Alex's smile widened out of proportions and started laughing maniacally, his sanity spent. His cackles soon turned distorted as Plum noticed Alex's body slowly melting away. In a matter of seconds, Alex was now nothing but a puddle of ink, and his laughter slowly faded away in echo.
Plum tried to catch his breath from such a disturbing and frightening occurrence.
"Plum!!", called out a familiar voice to him from afar.
"Mom...?", Plum muttered as he looked around, looking at a possible direction from where Coraline's voice came from. He began to run towards that direction, headed straight to his own house. Once he made it, he saw Coraline trying to run towards him, but Lucio was on her way, trying to stop her.
"Let me see him!! Let me see my son!!", Coraline screamed desperately.
"You can't, honey, okay!? Who knows what might happen!?", Lucio yelled at her back.
"Mom! Dad! What's going on!?", Plum exclaimed as Lucio turned to Plum, still trying to stop Coraline from running off. He did not look happy.
"What the heck are you doing here!? Go!! You'll get yourself killed!!", Lucio yelled at him.
"But--", Plum was about to ask, but just then, he felt the back of his shirt suddenly begin to rip as he noticed large Octarian tentacles sprouted from his back. "What the--", he was about to say, until those same appendages seemed to grab on to something and whisked Plum away in seconds. He eventually crashed into a tree and fell to the floor. The tentacles suddenly retracted back into him as he noticed the tentacles left his shirt in tatters, since what was left of it fell straight to the floor. He now seemed to be in the forest at the top of Mount Nantai. How did he get up here so quickly?
Plum weakly stood up, until a pale green hand quickly grabbed ahold of his neck and lifted him off the ground. When he looked, Plum could see Athena grabbed ahold of him, staring at him with lifeless eyes as she choked him and walked towards the clearing of the forest. As she did, Plum could see different clothes on top of differently colored puddles of ink on the ground around him. Each color and set of clothes matched one of his friends: Annaki Flannel Hoodie and light gray ink was Douglas, Black Fishfry Bandana and green ink was Calder, Tinted Shades and dark blue ink was Rainey, and finally, Retro Specs and yellow ink was Maria. Despite seeing his friends' remains, he still noticed one was missing.
As Athena dragged Plum over to the clearing, Plum could see Leven, grabbing Moray from behind as she looked at him.
"Plum!", Moray tried calling out as she struggled to break free. Plum tried his best to do the same from Athena's grip, only to witness Leven's hateful glare staring at him as her blade penetrated through Moray's chest.
"NO!!", Plum managed to yell out as Athena tossed Plum over the edge of the clearing. Plum knew that he was plummeting towards the river that separated Mount Nantai from Octo Valley, but he did not know when he would hit the water. Everything that was circling his mind was the fact that The Kamabo Corporation took over, his friends were gone and Leven had won.
Plum quickly sat up from his bed as he woke up. A frightened scream escaped his mouth in the process as he quickly stood up from his bed, waking up Moray, who was sleeping next to him. Plum began to panic as he looked through his phone, his laptop and out his window, looking for any kind of evidence that what he witnessed in his dream was not true.
"Plum?", Moray muttered as she tried to get her brain to wake up, but he didn't seem to hear her. Moray stood up from Plum's bed and walked over to him, stopping him from doing anything else. "Hey! Plum, calm down! What happened?", Moray tried to say to calm him down.
Plum only stared at her as he tried his best to catch his breath. He just witnessed Leven killing Moray off, and yet, she was right there, standing right in front of him, wondering if he was okay.
"Plum...?", Moray asked again, but just noticed that Plum was trembling tremendously. Plum couldn't help but shed a few tears as he immediately wrapped his arms around Moray, starting to sob. Confused, Moray decided to hug him as well as she began to slowly figure out what happened. "Was it another nightmare..?", Moray asked silently.
"Y-Yes...", Plum tried to keep his sobs in as he answered.
Moray sighed silently.
"Good thing your parents let me stay another night...", she muttered as she faced Plum, trying to wipe his tears away. "Was it the same one...?", Moray asked, concerned for him.
"N-No... I-It ended differently... Leven had already killed everyone and made me watch you getting killed... Then Athena threw me into the river...", Plum tried his best to explain as he tried to calm himself down. Moray looked at Plum with sad eyes as she decided to give Plum a soft kiss, hoping it would calm him down. Plum embraced it as he kept Moray close. Moray parted from the kiss and looked into Plum's eyes.
"Everything is fine, Plum... The Kamabo Corporation is gone, everyone is fine... You can see I'm perfectly okay. It was just a dream.", Moray said to console him as Plum hugged her once again.
"I love you so much, Moray...", he told her. Moray smiled a bit as she held Plum closely.
"I love you too.", Moray replied.
The sun eventually rose up, and after eating a delicious breakfast, Plum helped Moray with her stuff and decided to spend the day at her place this time. They just left Plum's and were now headed to hers. Despite having a small smile on his face, Plum was still shaken up from the disturbing nightmare he had last night. However, he tried his best to shake it off his mind and focus on having a wonderful day with Moray. It was probably the perfect thing to do to keep his mind off of such a extravagant fabrication. All they needed to do was go past Inkopolis Square, and they were practically there.
As they did, though, Plum looked over at the Deca Tower, showing that on the screens in the lobby, a turf war was taking place. He did not mind at first, other than the fact that he could not play anymore because his Hydra Splatling was now ruined, but his curiosity really hooked him in as he saw Calder playing.
"Calder's playing.", Plum pointed out.
"Wanna go see him?", Moray asked as Plum nodded, and thus, both decided to stop for a while to watch Calder play. They later realized that Calder and Maria were playing on the same team.
Plum smiled as he looked at them play, but slowly, he began to notice something off about Calder. Instead of the thrill seeking demeanor he was so familiar with him, he looked angry and impatient, something he didn't think would come from Calder, especially from such an active and upbeat sport. A couple of times, he could see Calder mutter, or even say out loud, a few remarks, sometimes even yelling in frustration.
"Is Calder okay?", Plum asked as Moray began to notice what Plum was talking about.
"I don't know... He doesn't look too happy.", Moray replied with a confused frown as the match ended. Calder's team lost.
"Are you gonna wait for him?", Moray asked Plum.
"I might as well. This really is unlike him.", Plum pointed out as he waited patiently for him.
Plum and Moray waited for a few minutes, when suddenly, the doors to the Deca Tower slid open.
"Worthless! Sorry excuse for an Inkling! Outta my way!", Calder yelled at someone inside as he stormed off and shoving Plum and Moray away, leaving them both in shock.
"Woah...", Plum muttered as he and Moray quickly headed in and noticed the team Calder and Maria were up against, but it was not a random team. It was the Killer Whales, the team that fought the Inkling Brigade in the Splatocalypse tournament when Leven's soldiers interrupted them. The Inkling girl on the team had a visibly red cheek as she was caressing it, crying as the rest of her team tried to console her.
Plum noticed Maria run over to them.
"What happened!? I heard Calder shouting.", she asked.
"I-I don't know. He just stormed off.", Plum replied.
"Was he really angry because he lost?", Moray asked.
"Seemed so. Pretty uncalled for, if you ask me.", pointed out the Octoling boy from the Killer Whales.
"But Calder seemed to be already angry when we met here... He barely even said a word to me.", Maria pointed out right after, making Plum think for a moment.
"W-Why...?", Plum could hear the Inkling girl mutter as she sobbed. "He saved me from the green things... He saved me from the Salmonids... W-Why did he attack me...? I was just playing the game...", the girl continued. Plum noticed she had a Custom E-liter 4k scope laying next to her on the floor. Did Calder really get angry because he got splatted too many times? Maria already said he was angry before the match, so he couldn't be sure. There was only one way to find out.
"I'll be right back.", Plum announced as he ran off to go after Calder.
"Plum!", Moray called out, reluctant to follow him, but did so anyway.
After a few minutes of walking, Plum managed to catch up to Calder. To his surprise, he didn't go very far from Inkopolis Square. Either way, he followed him.
"Calder!", he called out.
"What!? What is it, Plum!? Why are you following me!?", Calder grunted, looking obviously impatient.
"What happened back there in Deca Tower? Back in that Turf War?", Plum asked.
"I'm sure you heard me loud and clear, didn't you?", Calder retorted.
"Did you seriously got mad at a poor Inkling girl because she was playing the game!? That's unlike you!", Plum continued arguing with Calder.
"Well, it's unlike you to be a dunce, cause that's obviously not why I'm angry!", Calder retorted again, still in a very bad mood.
"Then, why!? Why are you so angry!?", Plum exclaimed, starting to lose his own patience.
Calder grunted as he turned around.
"It's none of your damn business! That little fish deserved it, anyway.", Calder complained. Right then, Plum lost his patience, pulling Calder back by his shoulder.
"What the shell is wrong with you!?", Plum exclaimed as Calder violently pushed Plum's hand off his shoulder.
"Don't freaking touch me!", Calder yelled.
"You can't just get mad at someone for something they didn't do!", Plum called him out.
"You wouldn't understand!", Calder retorted as he turned around, but Plum pulled him back again.
"Calder, listen to yourself!", Plum exclaimed again.
"I thought I told you not to touch me! Did you even hear me!? Do we have to hook up the Hybrid to the microwave again!?", Calder told Plum in a mocking manner, about to flick one of Plum's tentacles, but he pushed his hand away before he could.
"Don't you dare call m--", Plum was about to say, but was interrupted by a fist that smacked him right across his cheek, knocking him down to the ground almost instantly. Did Calder just punch him? Plum held his cheek as he looked up at Calder with a shocked expression, but was met by an angry Calder once again.
"Leave me the shell alone!", Calder yelled at him as he stormed off once again, but this time, Plum did not follow him. Calder just punched him. He never thought he could get that angry.
"Plum!", he could hear Moray run towards him. "What happened!?", Moray asked him.
"C-Calder...punched me...", Plum managed to stutter.
"He what!?", Moray exclaimed as he looked at what she assumed was the direction Calder ran off to. "What a jerk...", Moray muttered, but Plum was left silent. He could still not fathom the fact that, Calder, his silly, fun loving, thrill seeking teammate, just punched him in the face without mercy.
《~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~》
Rainey was at her home, playing a bit with her little brother Skip as he was sat on the floor, but also trying to get Skip to speak. By now, he should be completely capable of speaking, and it concerned her a bit that he could still barely babble anything she could understand. She held up an Octopus toy and started to wiggle it around Skip.
"Do you like the Octopus, Skip?", Rainey asked him as he excitedly reached up for the toy as he continued to coo, not talk. "You know how to say 'Octopus', don't you?", she asked once again as Skip took the octopus toy and began to play with it, wiggling his arms up and down. "Can you say 'octopus'?", Rainey tried asking once again. Skip stood still for a while. He seemed to be thinking about it, but he only cooed and handed the toy back to her.
Rainey sighed in defeat as she took the toy from him.
"At least you understood me... Somehow.", Rainey muttered as she heard footsteps from Tallulah getting closer.
"Still trying to get Skip to speak?", she asked him.
"Yeah..", Rainey replied in a defeated tone. Tallulah sat down next to Rainey as she gave Skip a cookie.
"He's five, he should be talking back now. Maybe a few babbled words, at least.", Tallulah pointed out as Rainey let out a shaky sigh.
"Well, the doctors said he'd have some kind of learning deficiency back when he was born. I just didn't think it'd be this bad.", Rainey pointed out as she looked at Skip beginning to eat his cookie. "I wanna see him grow up like the other children, but I'm afraid that this is going to be too big of an obstacle for him..." Rainey continued, genuinely concerned as Tallulah leaned in to kiss her on her cheek.
"Then we'll help him through it. Whatever it takes.", Tallulah told Rainey as she smiled, agreeing with her girlfriend. They both continued looking at Skip play with his toys for a while longer, but as Rainey turned to Tallulah, she looked strange.
"Is so.ething wrong?" Rainey asked. Tallulah did not answer quickly, but reacted after a second.
"Hm? S-Sorry, It's just..." Tallulah tried to answer, but her gaze was taken back to the little Octoling. "It's...hard to look at him the same way after...after you told me everything... About Coral Shores..." Tallulah forced herself to answer, and Rainey now realized why she was acting strange. Suddenly, Rainey's mind went blank. She could not think of anything else. Now she could feel as if she was back when everything happened.
Then, both of them heard a knock on their newly installed door.
"S-Sorry. I'll get it...", said Tallulah as she stood up and walked over to the door. She opened the door to see who it was, and on the other side stood Douglas and Alex. "Hi! You're Rainey's friends, right?", she asked.
"Yeah.", Douglas responded.
"Come in!", Tallulah greeted them as she turned to Rainey. "Rainey, you have visitors!", she called out. Just like Tallulah before, Rainey did not react immediately, but when she did, she picked up Skip in her arms and she stood up, then looked at Alex and Douglas, who made their way into the house.
"Hey, guys! Do you need something?", she asked, confused as to why they're here.
Douglas seemed to grow hesitant a bit as he looked at Rainey.
"We wanted to see how you guys were holding up. With, uh, Ridley and all that.", Douglas explained, leaving Rainey silent for a few seconds.
"Oh, boy, I feel a big conversation coming... Uh, would you like anything to drink?", Tallulah asked. Douglas simply shaked his head.
"Anything sweet would be nice.", Alex said as Tallulah nodded and headed to the kitchen. Rainey sat down on one of the seats on the living room as Douglas and Alex did the same.
"I...I'm doing much better since then.", she answered. "I know Ridley and I weren't the closest but...it still broke my hearts to know that he was gone...especially seeing Plum so...", Rainey trailed off. She knew what Plum was feeling, but at the moment, she couldn't come up with a word that would do it justice.
"S-Speaking of Plum, how has he been holding up? I haven't seen him in a while, besides that day in the cemetery.", Rainey asked.
"From what Moray has told me, he...is still upset about it... Lately, he's been having nightmares about it and even about the Kamabo Corporation.", Douglas answered. Rainey could not help but feel bad for Plum, but as much as she wanted to let them know, she felt like she could not.
"You can't really blame him. Plum and Ridley were practically inseparable, and it doesn't help that he was his cousin too.", Alex commented.
Rainey smiled a bit as she noticed Skip was looking at Alex and Douglas with curiosity, then began to wiggle his arms as he looked up at Rainey, making her giggle.
"I'm glad you guys are looking out for us. Losing a team member like that has really taken a toll on us.", Rainey commented as Alex smiled.
"Of course! We're still friends in the end, even if we splat each other in Turf Wars withiut mercy.", Alex said, trying to encourage her.
"I know it's gonna be hard to find a replacement for him.", Douglas pointed out as Tallulah walked in on their conversation.
"I mean, it doesn't have to be that way.", she said as she gave Alex a juice box, which he gladly took and began to drink.
"Are you planning on joining the OctoSquids?", Douglas asked.
"I'm...not sure. I was never really a big fan of the sport. I just keep my Blaster for self defense. I probably even can't at this point. Rainey has a bakery to run, so I have to be here to take care of Skip. I could ask my sister if she could take care of him, but she's also pretty busy. I'm gonna have to think about it.", Tallulah answered.
"I mean, you don't have to.", Alex pointed out.
"I feel like I should, though. I know I never got to know Ridley all that well, but from everyone's reaction, I know he really meant a lot to all of you. I'm not replacing him, by any means, but it's kind of a way to honor his memory, even if I didn't know him.", Tallulah said as Rainey smiled.
"Bah bah bah bah...", Skip suddenly began to babble, making Rainey giggle.
"'Bah bah's right, Skip.", Rainey praised him with a sweet smile.
《~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~》
After spending most of his day at Moray's, Plum decided to head home. He could have enjoyed his day a bit more, if it wasn't for that sudden punch. Calder really was angry about something that probably didn't even have to do with his Turf War match, he realized that much, but he didn't think he would get so violent, especially towards his own teammate – his own friend. It startled him so much, he had trouble focusing on the conversations he and Moray had back at her place. Hopefully, he could spend the rest of his day relaxing in his own room.
Plum made it back home and was about to announce his arrival, until he could hear his mother's voice.
"You can't do that to him!! Not my boy!!", she screamed, frightening Plum. Coraline was screaming in the same way she did in his dream. He ran towards where she was, but could then hear Lucio's voice now.
"Honey, calm down! He's fine!", Lucio told her, trying to calm her down. Lucio did not sound like he did in Plum's dream at all, but it still unsettled him.
"You can't save him! You'll only kill him faster!! Please stop it!", Coraline continued screaming. From the tone of her voice, he could tell she was scared and heartbroken. For what?
After a while of audible struggling, Plum could hear some rattling. He peaked into his parents' room and immediately witnessed Lucio digging a syringe into Coraline's neck and pressing down on the plunger, allowing the liquid inside it to flow in Coraline's system.
"Let me go! Let me... Let me go... Pluto...", Coraline began to sound more and more sluggish until she fell limp on Lucio's body. He managed to catch her and immediately lay her down on their bed. The bottom of Coraline's eyes seemed to have traces of dried tears.
Lucio caressed Coraline's hair slightly as she lay unconscious on her bed, then stood up and left his room, only to be met by Plum at the doorframe.
"O-Oh! Plum, you're here!", his father greeted him, like nothing happened between him and his wife. Lucio walked over to the kitchen and headed to the fridge. "How was your day with Moray?", he asked.
"Dad... What just happened...?", Plum asked, reluctant to know the answer. Lucio only chuckled.
"What do you mean?", Lucio wondered.
"Mom was just screaming... Why was she screaming?", Plum asked as Lucio's expression changed. He now looked horrified.
Lucio then began to stutter.
"O-Oh, that! Y-You don't need to worry about that.", said Lucio as he took out a small packet of frozen meat, ready to cook it.
"Dad, she mentioned me by name. She said that you'd be killing 'him' faster. Is she talking about me?", Plum continued insisting. Lucio continued to grow hesitant as he chuckled awkwardly.
"Son, I'm telling you, there's nothing to wo--", Lucio tried to say, but was interrupted by Plum.
"Just tell me!!", Plum ended up yelling at his dad, catching Lucio off guard. Both of them stayed silent as Plum looked away. "Sorry..", he muttered.
"N-No no, I'm sorry... I'll tell you... You...You might want to sit down...", Lucio said as he left the packet of meat on the kitchen table and walked to the living room. Reluctantly, Plum followed.
Lucio and Plum sat down on the couch as Lucio seemed to grow really hesitant.
"I-I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell you this, but... I guess I don't have much of a choice.", Lucio began. At first, Plum thought he was stalling, but Lucio continued anyway.
"You already know the story of when you were born... We were minutes away from losing you, if not for my team that saved your life. We did our best to keep you alive and eliminate anything unnecessary and dangerous to your body without hurting you and, in a way, after many stressful and sleepless nights, it worked. And now you're here. That...is my perspective of the story... Your mother...did not really take it all that well...", Lucio tried to explain.
"But...she said it wouldn't save me..", Plum pointed out. "She very well knows what the OPM does and should've known it was harmless, right?", he commented. Lucio stayed silent in hesitation once again.
"That's because it wasn't the OPM that saved you... The OPM wasn't even around by that time...", Lucio unveiled to Plum, but he was more confused than ever.
"Then... what saved me..?", Plum asked hesitantly.
"Not knowing what to do, we were...desperate... We had some spare, critical parts from old machines, like...like OctoNozzles, OctoMaws and the like, and one of my superiors suggested...if the machines could regenerate a giant tentacle, maybe it could also keep you alive." Lucio answered, leaving Plum silent. "Coraline knew how dangerous the machines were before and...I was afraid she was right, and in a way, she was, but...I couldn't lose you...not so soon after becoming a father...", Lucio added.
"OctoNozzles and...OctoMaws...?", Plum repeated in disbelief, now getting an eerie sensation. He could now feel the scar on his back a lot more than he usually did. Most of his life, he could ignore it, but after this, it was now impossible for him to brush off. "Are you saying you implanted an OctoWeapon inside me...? To keep me alive..?", Plum asked. Lucio stayed silent for a few more seconds.
"Y-You could say that..", Lucio felt forced to answer. "Coraline was unbelievably scared that she would lose her firstborn so soon...especially after finding out what we were doing... She refused to see any progress, but so much anxiety...traumatized her a bit... Which is why she gets sudden panic attacks like before... She sometimes gets stuck in those days... It always breaks my hearts to see her like that... It honestly wouldn't surprise me if I was also traumatized from this experience...", Lucio commented.
Plum was in shock and in disbelief.
"Wh-What about the OPM...?", Plum asked, suddenly sounding more depressed, something Lucio was hoping he did not have to hear.
"The OPM recharges the OctoWeapon keeping you alive... The parts we used needed an extraordinary amount of energy, and the OPM helps stabalize them to prevent deconstruction...", Lucio explained.
"And when were you planning on telling me this...?", Plum asked immediately after, leaving Lucio reluctantly silent once again.
"I was hoping to not tell you, actually... I was hoping you could live without knowing something so...reality breaking...", Lucio answered as Plum stayed completely silent, trying to wrap his head around everything. "Plum, I just want to let you know that either way, me and your mother still love you...", Lucio pointed out.
"Y-Yeah...", Plum dismissed. "I-I need time to think...", he said right after and, without even looking at Lucio, he stood up and left the house.
"D-Don't stay out late!", Lucio called out, hoping he could hear him. Then sighed. "Great...", he muttered under his breath.
Plum sat down at the clearing at the top of Mount Nantai. The sun wasn't all that close to setting, but at least the view was nice. It couldn't distract him enough to keep his mind off of everything that has been going on lately. At first, he didn't want to believe what Lucio was saying was true, but after a few minutes, he couldn't deny it. And even then, he couldn't wrap his head around something so shocking for him. If his parents really have hidden the fact he had an OctoWeapon inside his body for his entire life, what else could they be hiding?
"Plum?", said a familiar voice from behind him. When he turned around, he spotted Moray holding her favorite Run Speed Tomato drink. She was smiling as she sat down next to him. "I thought you wanted to spend the rest of the day in your room.", she pointed out.
"Yeah, uh... Something came up and...I needed time to think.", Plum replied, still sounding shocked. "What about you? What are you doing here?", he asked. Moray shrugged.
"I wanted to relax a bit and, knowing you really liked this place, I thought I'd go here.", she answered.
"Did...something happen?", Moray asked right after, noticing Plum's more depressed expression. Plum sighed.
"I really don't want to talk about it...", he replied.
"Are you sure? Don't tell me Douglas came after you again.", Moray asked again, getting suspicious.
"No no, it doesn't have to do with...Douglas...", Plum replied as he trailed off. The conversation he had with Douglas when he threatened him came back into his head. He could remember almost every word of it, especially a particular sentence that, at first, he didn't consider too important, but now that he thought of it, it could lead to something he didn't want to believe.
Plum decided to confront Moray about it.
"Moray... I want to ask you about that day...", Plum muttered as Moray sipped on her drink a bit.
"That day? Wh-What day?", Moray asked, curious.
"The day we met...", Plum replied. As soon as he said that, he could tell Moray got slightly nervous, since her focus went completely into the conversation. "After that Turf War match, you could have talked to anyone else... Yet, you went straight for me... Why?", Plum asked as Moray stayed silent for a while. She chuckled a bit.
"Wh-Where did this come from?", Moray asked, nervous, but Plum did not reply, forcing her to answer. "Well, I think it's pretty obvious, Plum... You stood out to me. When we talked during the Turf War, I instantly knew you were different from everyone I've met.", Moray answered.
Plum looked unsatisfied with the answer, making Moray more and more nervous.
"Are you sure it's not because I was the Hybrid...?", Plum confronted her.
"P-Plum, don't say that.", Moray said in pity.
"Douglas once told me if I had come out as one species, you would have never bat an eye.", Plum explained immediately after, starting to sound a bit more impatient. "Is it true? Did you just talk to me because I'm the Hybrid?", Plum asked again.
"Plum, listen--", Moray tried to calm Plum down, but was immediately interrupted.
"No! Is it true or not!?", Plum asked one last time, raising his voice slightly. Moray hesitated to answer, but eventually, she had to.
"It's true...", Moray answered reluctantly and quietly, shocking Plum more. His face of disbelief screamed thousands of words. He then turned away from her.
"Isn't that great...?", Plum muttered in a frustrated tone.
"Plum, I'm sorry--", Moray tried to apologize, but Plum interrupted her again.
"I don't want to hear it.", Plum replied.
"Please, hear me ou--", Moray tried again.
"No!!", Plum suddenly raised his voice. "I've had enough for one day! I thought for once, someone loved me and didn't care I was the freaking Hybrid...!", Plum continued, his voice cracking.
Plum began to shed tears as he looked away from Moray.
"Plum...", Moray tried to speak to him one last time.
"Just leave me alone, Moray...", Plum said without looking at her. Moray wanted to try again at staying with Plum and hopefully calm him down, but she knew that the damage was already done. Tears began to run down her eyes as well.
"Okay...", she said quietly as she reluctantly stood up and walked away, leaving Plum alone. She really didn't want to hurt Plum that way, but she had to tell him sooner or later. She felt guilty to think that all she wanted from him at first was...
Suddenly, Moray felt something blunt hit the back of her head with extreme force, knocking her down to the ground. Her vision began to darken as she lay down on the dirt of the forests of Mount Nantai. She could still see her drink, now spilt on the floor and, soon after, what appeared to be an old fire hydrant, most likely the thing she was hit with. It dropped next to her, and finally, she could see a pair of feet, with the left having a severe limp. Whoever hit her kneeled down to take a closer look as she noticed the assailant's pale green skin.
"You will be a great addition...", was the last thing Moray heard before she lost consciousness.
《~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~》
Maria managed to find Ridley's workshop. She has only seen it a few times on her way to Inkopolis Square or Coral Shores Pastries, but has never quite entered inside. After having a conversation with the Killer Whales, she found out what Calder did to the poor Inkling girl on their team. Now, she was out looking for him, but not to confront him. Instead, she just wanted to calmly ask what happened before the Turf War that made him so angry. She cared about Calder just as much as she cared about everyone else on their teams, and she wanted to make sure he was okay.
"Hello?", Maria called out. After a while of searching, she found the bedrooms inside the workshop. The first one she entered was an empty one with an orange bed, quite a few machines and a mysterious shape covered by a white tarp. Clearly, this was Ridley's room. Maria's throat tightened a bit, but decided to keep looking for Calder. A few seconds later, she came across the second bedroom, and Calder was there, sitting on his bed as he stared down at a few torn pictures on the floor. It didn't surprise Maria that the prominent color inside the room was green, but she did spot a few bits of yellow around too.
Maria decided to knock on the doorframe.
"Go away...", Calder warned, not even knowing Maria was there. Either way, she opened the door slightly to enter.
"Hey, Calder.", Maria greeted him nonchalantly. It was then that Calder looked up to her.
"Maria, don't you have anything better to do?", Calder asked aggressively.
"No, not really...", Maria answered honestly as she entered his room and closed the door behind her. "I heard what happened...", Maria pointed out.
"Oh, really?", Calder asked sarcastically. "What did you hear? That I punched an innocent Inkling girl, or that I punched Plum?", he continued.
Maria's eyes widened a bit. She didn't know Calder punched Plum, and that surprised her. Either way, she cleared her throat awkwardly as she decided to sit down on Calder's bed next to him. Calder sighed.
"I didn't mean to punch her or call her names...or punch Plum... I'm just...disappointed...", Calder said calmly.
"Do you want to talk about it...?", Maria asked.
"No... I don't...", he replied, though, in a more reluctant tone. Maria stayed silent for a bit as she looked away and shrugged.
"I mean, you really don't have to. But...nothing will really change if you don't say anything.", she said.
Calder stayed completely silent, and Maria noticed the pictures on the floor. They were all pictures of Calder and Beck, his father. They were all torn in a way where both of them were in individual halves.
"That's your dad, right?", Maria asked.
"He's not my dad...", Calder corrected her. "My 'dad' is a disgusting pervert behind bars I have never met... This guy just took care of me...", Calder added, surprising Maria that he was starting to open up, despite the fact said he did not want to talk seconds prior. "He and my mom hid this from me my entire life... It doesn't help that this guy was also a criminal, making deals with all sorts of dangerous gangs... My mom told me he died in a car crash... What a freaking lie that was... Turns out he angered some guys and eventually got what was coming for him... His excuse? He wanted to take care of his family...", he continued as he gently kicked some of the torn pictures into the air. "He could've gotten a regular nine to five... I guess it doesn't matter now... Now with Ridley gone, everything's just getting worse and worse...", Calder finished his explanation.
Maria stayed silent for a bit, surprised that Calder trusted her enough to share this with her. Maria sighed silently.
"Calder... You might not believe me, but... I actually know exactly how you feel.", Maria pointed out as Calder suddenly looked at her with anger.
"Oh, do you?", Calder asked. "Then tell me: Have your parents ever lied to you? Did your dad turn out to not be your real dad? Did he get killed because of something he didn't have to do!? Did your mom hide the entire truth from you!? Did that really happen to you, Maria!?", Calder yelled at her so suddenly, Maria struggled to give Calder an answer straight away. "Freaking answer me!!", Calder yelled again, startling Maria.
Maria stayed silent for a bit, but she remained calm through all of it, and eventually spoke again.
"Calder, I'm an orphan...", Maria answered Calder, catching him off guard. Maria then began to untie the hair braid covering her left eye, then moved the tentacles out of her face, trusting Calder with one of her secrets: Her left eye had a deep and nasty scratch scar over it. The coloring on the eye was gone, meaning she was blind from that eye. "Of course I don't know how all that feels... I also don't know how it feels to be protected by a caring father, or hugged by a loving mother...", Maria elaborated. Calder immediately regretted his outburst towards her as he looked away.
"I-I'm sorry...", he apologized.
"But I did have Murdoch.", Maria continued as Calder looked at her, now willing to listen. "He has always been there for me for as long as I can remember. He took care of me, protected me; Heck, he's the reason why I'm so close with Alex and Rainey in the first place. He has been the only one so far who...really has made me feel special...", she began as her tone began to grow a bit more depressed. "When his co-workers told me he died working for the New Octarian army... I was destroyed... The only one that I could really consider part of my family was gone, just like that... I felt like trash since then... I never got to know my parents, and then I lost the only family I had that really made me feel like I mattered...", Maria continued as Calder merely listened.
"Of course, it wasn't until he showed up again with green skin and weird eyes.", she began to speak in a more ironic tone. "At first, I didn't believe it, until Alex came back with him and Athena; when he told me 'Maria... I'm so glad you're okay'... At that moment, I knew he was Murdoch... MY Murdoch. I felt...happy, obviously. I felt confused too, but...I also felt lied to... Like there was so much going on, and nobody told me... I felt like I couldn't trust anyone anymore.", Maria trailed off for a while, then continued. "I calmed down much later and asked myself if it really was worth it to even worry about these things... Sure, Murdoch left again, but he was still alive somehow... Maybe his co-workers lied to me because it would take a toll on what was left of my sanity...or maybe they just didn't know he was still alive...", Maria trailed off again.
Maria then turned towards Calder. He was now looking back at the pictures, but she knew he was still listening.
"Do you get what I'm saying?", Maria asked him, but Calder did not answer. "Trust me, I hate lies just as much as you do, but... It's easy to forget that it's really hard to tell the truth to someone, especially when they're young... They want to protect their sanity for as long as possible... I don't condone it, but... I can understand the reason behind it...", Maria continued trying to say, but Calder did not respond. Maria then picked up one of the pictures that had Beck on it and handed it over to Calder. "He may not have been your dad...but what really counts is that he was your old man... He still cared about you... That's why he was much more of a father to you than...the other guy.", Maria finished.
However, even after all that tangent, Calder did not move an inch or said a word. He didn't even take Beck's picture from Maria's hand. After a few moments of silence, Maria sighed silently and tossed the picture back on the floor. After thinking about it a bit more, realizing she probably couldn't get through him, she was about to stand from the bed to leave, but stopped herself immediately as she felt something on her hand. When she looked down, she saw that Calder was holding on to it gently, yet tight enough so he doesn't let go. Maria looked up to Calder's face, still facing the ground.
"You are special, Maria... Don't let anyone tell you otherwise...", Calder muttered, surprising Maria a bit.
"Th-Thank you...", Maria said as she blushed slightly, feeling Calder tighten his grip on Maria's hand slightly.
"Thank you so much... You have no idea how much you've helped me...", Calder commented. Maria sweetly smiled, then scooted a bit closer to Calder and laid her head on his shoulder.
"I'm glad...", she muttered.