molalom

[molalom]

"No shucking clue,,, heh." He smiled weakly as he took the kit and opened it, taking the tweezers out and getting to work on plucking the whiskers off him. "... I don't have that much of a baby face, do I?"

"Am I seeing things, or are you starting to grow little whiskers? It's like you're a baby Zapfish or something!"

Moray looked at Nautalie in confusion and felt his face. "Oh cod..." She was right. He could feel a couple tiny stray hairs poking out from above the corners of his upper lip.

"... how bad is it?"

[molalom]

"Guess so... In the meantime,,, you don't happen to have a pair of tweezers on you, do you? The whiskers make my face itch..."

"Am I seeing things, or are you starting to grow little whiskers? It's like you're a baby Zapfish or something!"

Moray looked at Nautalie in confusion and felt his face. "Oh cod..." She was right. He could feel a couple tiny stray hairs poking out from above the corners of his upper lip.

"... how bad is it?"

[molalom]

"That's not what I meant! I mean..." He took out one of the mem cakes he had gotten from one of the tests they did earlier. He had been avoiding going too deep into this memory for a while, but he couldn't run from the truth of it now... Moray took a deep breath and let himself relive it.

"For weeks, I'd been sick with this,,, fuzzy ooze? And it got to the point where I had to be rushed to the ER to get all my ink flushed out..." As Moray spoke, his beak quivered and a burning lump formed in his throat. "ughghghgh,,, I'm already getting all clammy just thinking about it." He pressed his hand against his chest. For a moment, he could almost feel the bristle of bear fur, even though he consciously knew it wasn't there anymore. "This one Inkling came up to my room,,, and they showed me this treatment they were working on with some scientist..." He shook his head. "Anyway, what I'm trying to explain is... I still gotta go through with it,,, the treatment, or the fuzz will come back,,, guess it's already starting to..."

"Am I seeing things, or are you starting to grow little whiskers? It's like you're a baby Zapfish or something!"

Moray looked at Nautalie in confusion and felt his face. "Oh cod..." She was right. He could feel a couple tiny stray hairs poking out from above the corners of his upper lip.

"... how bad is it?"

[molalom]

"Am I seeing things, or are you starting to grow little whiskers? It's like you're a baby Zapfish or something!"

Moray looked at Nautalie in confusion and felt his face. "Oh cod..." She was right. He could feel a couple tiny stray hairs poking out from above the corners of his upper lip.

"... how bad is it?"

[molalom]

((ooc: how things are going in the rp))

[molalom]

"Mom..." Moray fidgeted with his hands and looked down at one of the mem cakes he had gotten.

The clearest memory that the little trinket brought back was from when he was about thirteen years old. It was 2-something in the morning and he couldn't sleep... he wandered down the hall and stopped outside the door to his mother's bedroom. He could hear crying... He knocked on the door. Silence. It took his mother nearly a minute to answer. When she opened it, she hugged Moray tightly. He could hardly breathe, but he hugged her back... She whispered over his shoulder, "Am I doing this right?" and he couldn't come up with an answer. Moray just assumed that this was about Dad. Things were definitely a lot quieter since he left... but there was still that nagging feeling that if he had just been less of...

Moray snapped out of it and returned to the present, sniffling a bit. "Sorry, kinda zoned out there. Were you saying something?"

"Happy hatchday!" Nautalie said, handing Moray a pair of Octoling shades. "May or may not have looted this from one of the guards when I was looking for ya. Technically, your birthday was yesterday, but it's not like you would've known 'til I said it, heh!" Her big goofy grin weakened somewhat...

He took the sunglasses and held them up in front of his face. It was a little too dark to wear them, so he simply put them alongside his mem cake collection. "You okay, Nautalie?"

[molalom]

"Happy hatchday!" Nautalie said, handing Moray a pair of Octoling shades. "May or may not have looted this from one of the guards when I was looking for ya. Technically, your birthday was yesterday, but it's not like you would've known 'til I said it, heh!" Her big goofy grin weakened somewhat...

He took the sunglasses and held them up in front of his face. It was a little too dark to wear them, so he simply put them alongside his mem cake collection. "You okay, Nautalie?"

[molalom]

"I have a..."

Moray paused to think for a moment before saying, "Clearly you know more about me and this place than I do right now, so I guess I'll follow you. Lead the way, Nautalie..."

"Moray!" Nautalie gasped and sprinted over to the Inkling wandering aimlessly through the corridor and humming a tune to himself, hugging him with tears in her eyes. "Oh my cod, I've been looking all over for you! Are you hurt? Your clothes are definitely ruined, but I don't see any marks on you... Cod, I'm so glad you made it out okay!"

"Are you talking to m—Guh!" The sudden glomp made him flinch and push them off. What kinda crazy person just runs up to somebody and grabs them? He looked the stranger up and down. "Yeah, I'm fine,,, I guess?"

[molalom]

"Look, I... don't know who you are or who this Cyclone person is,,, assuming that they are a person. I just kinda,,, woke up here? And I'm gonna be honest, you're kinda creeping me out."

"Moray!" Nautalie gasped and sprinted over to the Inkling wandering aimlessly through the corridor and humming a tune to himself, hugging him with tears in her eyes. "Oh my cod, I've been looking all over for you! Are you hurt? Your clothes are definitely ruined, but I don't see any marks on you... Cod, I'm so glad you made it out okay!"

"Are you talking to m—Guh!" The sudden glomp made him flinch and push them off. What kinda crazy person just runs up to somebody and grabs them? He looked the stranger up and down. "Yeah, I'm fine,,, I guess?"

[molalom]

Moray stared blankly at the other Inkling. "T-teks... ninjas... what are you talking about?"

"Moray!" Nautalie gasped and sprinted over to the Inkling wandering aimlessly through the corridor and humming a tune to himself, hugging him with tears in her eyes. "Oh my cod, I've been looking all over for you! Are you hurt? Your clothes are definitely ruined, but I don't see any marks on you... Cod, I'm so glad you made it out okay!"

"Are you talking to m—Guh!" The sudden glomp made him flinch and push them off. What kinda crazy person just runs up to somebody and grabs them? He looked the stranger up and down. "Yeah, I'm fine,,, I guess?"

[molalom]

"Moray!" Nautalie gasped and sprinted over to the Inkling wandering aimlessly through the corridor and humming a tune to himself, hugging him with tears in her eyes. "Oh my cod, I've been looking all over for you! Are you hurt? Your clothes are definitely ruined, but I don't see any marks on you... Cod, I'm so glad you made it out okay!"

"Are you talking to m—Guh!" The sudden glomp made him flinch and push them off. What kinda crazy person just runs up to somebody and grabs them? He looked the stranger up and down. "Yeah, I'm fine,,, I guess?"

[molalom]

"Heyoooo 1337~! I gotchu a li'l somethin'!" Static entered the extraction chamber with his hands behind his back, waiting until the automatic door shut behind him to show off the surprise. "Check it! A new specimen for the project! Captured this Inkling myself."

"... stored in a Grouperware container?" The elite Octoling tilted her head.

"Convenient, is it not? Air tight and preserves [SLANG_NOT_FOUND] seafood with none of the smell!"

"Leave it here, and I'll examine it."

The two did their work running mild tests on the unconscious squid for a while.

"Not exactly an ideal subject for XA3, but..."

"Oh, well I meant to get the girl one, but then the lights were busted and..."

"I didn't finish. We found the Octoling you encountered earlier. He is with the Commander as we speak. It wants him for the project."

"The squid here did mention having a significant other he was searching for... must be the Octoling."

"I'll search through the boy's memories for something we can use. After that, see if he's worth reaching the Promised Land. We will need more material if Kamabo Co. is to resume full operations."

"You got it, dude! More material? No sweat! I'll [ERROR] plenty of it before you can say—" BZZT! "Errr... Yes ma'am." Static was still twitching from all the shocks. What did that stupid—BZZT!—INCREDIBLY USEFUL helmet even want from them?

"If you make a fool out of yourself out there, you and your former colleagues will be terminated. Success is your only option."

Static saluted and about-faced toward the exit before proceeding to make his leave. Meanwhile, 1337 looked the Inkling up and down and pressed some buttons on a control panel.

"Initiating memory extraction procedure."

[molalom]

"I, uhhh,,, okay!" He began running and swimming in Nautalie's direction, shooting at any noise that wasn't her voice. Although Moray couldn't aim for shit without any light, it might at least somewhat deter the two's foes...

There was no telling how close he was to Nautalie or to safety, but he had to keep going. Moray threw another Angle Shooter directly in front of him to keep track of the distance between him and any obstacles, continuing on when he didn't see or hear it hit anything.

All of a sudden, he felt something gripping his shoulders.

(@molalom): "Ughghghgh, we're so going to get caught... the two of us stick out like sore tentacles around here."

"It's fine, man! I'm telling you, the Deepsea's totally stuck in the 80's, so we'll blend in perfectly with the disguises I got us! Would the internet lie, Moray?"

The neurotic Inkling opened his mouth to answer Nautalie's question, but she shushed him. "I think I hear something."

The two silently drew their weapons, scanning the (presumably) empty train station and listening for any sound out of the ordinary. Right now, all that could be heard was the buzz of old fluorescent lights hanging above them and the low creaking of the metal walls as the water outside pushed against them. Nautalie's mind couldn't help but wander to the idea that they were basically in a discarded can, surrounded by the open ocean, waiting just out of sight. The pressure of the depths started to weigh down on Nautalie before they forcibly pushed the thought away. Since when were they claustrophobic?

Nautalie looked over to Moray. Surely if she was feeling uneasy down here, then he'd be absolutely losing it. He kept a stern look on his face, but it wasn't enough to hide that spark of fear in his eyes... knowing him, though, that was just to be expected. Poor guy.

There was that noise she heard again, echoing throughout the station. Were those... footsteps? She gripped the handle of her brush tighter, bracing herself for a fight...

[molalom]

That robot creep wouldn't be able to keep Nautalie in their clutches for more than a second as Moray threw an Angle Shooter out, the marker-like sub ricocheting off the wall and hitting the Octoling directly in the head and knocking off their balance for a moment. The mask spun around, disorienting them long enough to drop the Inkling.

"What the [FILTERED]?! Who in their right mind uses a..."

>RECALIBRATING STABILITY LEVELS...

"All cool! I'm chill. Resuming operations. Project XA3 will be brought to fruition."

"Yeah right, like that's happening! You better tell me where my—" The lights flickered out, leaving everyone in pitch darkness. "—boyfriend,,, is..."

Some awful dial-up sound rang out from the direction of that masked Octoling. "Again with the stupid lights?! Bogus."

>THERMAL INK VISION ENGAGED.

"HAH! Sucks to be you!"

Moray shook his head, trying to get the distressing sensation of that noise out of his ears before crying out, "Nautalie?!"

(@molalom): "Ughghghgh, we're so going to get caught... the two of us stick out like sore tentacles around here."

"It's fine, man! I'm telling you, the Deepsea's totally stuck in the 80's, so we'll blend in perfectly with the disguises I got us! Would the internet lie, Moray?"

The neurotic Inkling opened his mouth to answer Nautalie's question, but she shushed him. "I think I hear something."

The two silently drew their weapons, scanning the (presumably) empty train station and listening for any sound out of the ordinary. Right now, all that could be heard was the buzz of old fluorescent lights hanging above them and the low creaking of the metal walls as the water outside pushed against them. Nautalie's mind couldn't help but wander to the idea that they were basically in a discarded can, surrounded by the open ocean, waiting just out of sight. The pressure of the depths started to weigh down on Nautalie before they forcibly pushed the thought away. Since when were they claustrophobic?

Nautalie looked over to Moray. Surely if she was feeling uneasy down here, then he'd be absolutely losing it. He kept a stern look on his face, but it wasn't enough to hide that spark of fear in his eyes... knowing him, though, that was just to be expected. Poor guy.

There was that noise she heard again, echoing throughout the station. Were those... footsteps? She gripped the handle of her brush tighter, bracing herself for a fight...

[molalom]

"Yeah, when I get to rehearse for it!" When Moray's attention returned to what was up ahead, he grimaced and aimed his weapon, ready to shoot.

A small group of Octotroopers drove in on their tiny artillery vehicles, closing in on the two Inklings. Moray fired at them to slow them down, only for a second wave to come in.

"Low on ink... gonna need you to cover for me."

(@molalom): "Ughghghgh, we're so going to get caught... the two of us stick out like sore tentacles around here."

"It's fine, man! I'm telling you, the Deepsea's totally stuck in the 80's, so we'll blend in perfectly with the disguises I got us! Would the internet lie, Moray?"

The neurotic Inkling opened his mouth to answer Nautalie's question, but she shushed him. "I think I hear something."

The two silently drew their weapons, scanning the (presumably) empty train station and listening for any sound out of the ordinary. Right now, all that could be heard was the buzz of old fluorescent lights hanging above them and the low creaking of the metal walls as the water outside pushed against them. Nautalie's mind couldn't help but wander to the idea that they were basically in a discarded can, surrounded by the open ocean, waiting just out of sight. The pressure of the depths started to weigh down on Nautalie before they forcibly pushed the thought away. Since when were they claustrophobic?

Nautalie looked over to Moray. Surely if she was feeling uneasy down here, then he'd be absolutely losing it. He kept a stern look on his face, but it wasn't enough to hide that spark of fear in his eyes... knowing him, though, that was just to be expected. Poor guy.

There was that noise she heard again, echoing throughout the station. Were those... footsteps? She gripped the handle of her brush tighter, bracing herself for a fight...

[molalom]

Moray squinted, trying to find the source of those footsteps, but the echo made it almost impossible to discern the direction. Best case, it was Cyclone out there and they could go back to the surface, but the best case scenario never happens. Not without him having to go through a world of hurt before then...

Come on, Moray, get a hold of yourself. Can't save him if you're stuck in your head again...

After what felt like an hour of anticipation, (though realistically it was more like two minutes), a set of tentacle-shaped shadows flickered on the walls of the far side of the platform, marching closer...

And then... a voice:

"How do you do, fellow squids?"

Moray stammered something unintelligible before clearing his throat and saying, "Totally rad... dude...!" Cod, he hated improv.

(@molalom): "Ughghghgh, we're so going to get caught... the two of us stick out like sore tentacles around here."

"It's fine, man! I'm telling you, the Deepsea's totally stuck in the 80's, so we'll blend in perfectly with the disguises I got us! Would the internet lie, Moray?"

The neurotic Inkling opened his mouth to answer Nautalie's question, but she shushed him. "I think I hear something."

The two silently drew their weapons, scanning the (presumably) empty train station and listening for any sound out of the ordinary. Right now, all that could be heard was the buzz of old fluorescent lights hanging above them and the low creaking of the metal walls as the water outside pushed against them. Nautalie's mind couldn't help but wander to the idea that they were basically in a discarded can, surrounded by the open ocean, waiting just out of sight. The pressure of the depths started to weigh down on Nautalie before they forcibly pushed the thought away. Since when were they claustrophobic?

Nautalie looked over to Moray. Surely if she was feeling uneasy down here, then he'd be absolutely losing it. He kept a stern look on his face, but it wasn't enough to hide that spark of fear in his eyes... knowing him, though, that was just to be expected. Poor guy.

There was that noise she heard again, echoing throughout the station. Were those... footsteps? She gripped the handle of her brush tighter, bracing herself for a fight...

[molalom]

Moray gripped the edges of the bathroom counter as he stared himself down in the mirror, fighting to get his breathing and heart rate under control. "C'mon,,, you can do this. You saved the whole world before, this is nothing...!" He shook his head. "Okay, so what if you didn't actually do anything consequential? Cyclone wouldn't have made it without you... well, without Eight, but still!" Sigh. "He'd do the same for you... even if he'd probably do a way better job... cod, he's amazing...ly stubborn, that is! You can get all mushy about it after he's safe and sound."

During that little self-pep talk, his pet sea snail had crawled up onto the Inkling's shoulder, extending its proboscis to nuzzle and lick his cheek.

"... Love you too, Sneil,,, Pikachu... whatever the shell I'm calling you," Moray said with a smile as he gently scratched the snail behind the eye stalks, which boggled with joy. "Keep an eye on Mom for me, okay?" He walked out and set Sneil down in its tank. "'Bout time I started wearing the pants in this relationship. Hang in there, Cyclone... I'm on my way."

With that, Moray fetched his ink tank and Jet Squelcher, and he made his exit, ready as he can make himself be for the dangers ahead. He sang to himself along the way to keep his fear from crippling him.