Notice: All characters unless stated otherwise are 18+, on top of that, there won't be any horny shit written in this book.

     Tanya wakes up from Kat's constant shaking. Feeling groggy and still tired, she forces herself to sit up. Kat stands up and walks over to the kitchen as Tanya scans the walls, suspicious of if it really is morning. Tanya gets off the couch and walks into the kitchen, "What time is it?" Kat opens the fridge and responds, "Its 5 in the morning, Caroline will be taking you to the docks in about an hour from now."

     The tired inkling rubs her eyes and takes a seat as the octoling begins to prepare a meal for her. Not much happens between the two, as Tanya sits in a tired silence. Tanya briefly looks over at Kat, who's turning a steamer on and frying something on a pan. Tanya could feel herself slowly fall asleep, but the sound of an opening door awakens the sleepy inkling as Caroline walks into the kitchen and takes her seat.

     No words were said between the three. Caroline seems to be too tired or grumpy to start anything, Kat is concentrated on making a meal for the three of them, and Tanya is too nervous and tired to try and start a conversation. The clinking of plates brings the attention of the two at the table to Kat. She sets down a plate in front of the two of them and one of the empty seats.

     On the plate is simply rice and cut up fish, with nothing too special done to the rice. The fish is an appetizing orange color. Kat sets down a cup of coffee next to each plate and opens a drawer, placing a fork and spoon beside the plate. She takes her seat as Caroline takes her fork and spoon and begins to start eating. Tanya picks up her fork and stabs one of the bits of fish with it. The bits are all varying shapes and sizes, some being big while others small. Tanya stuffs the bit of fish in her mouth. The fish's meat is soft and slightly salty, with the fried crust of the fish being crunchy and salty alongside a hint of spice. Tanya starts eating the rest of the meal alongside the rather bland rice, occasionally stopping to take a sip of her coffee.

     Not after too long, Caroline finishes her meal. She takes her utensils, plate, and cup, and sets them down in the sink. The tall and grumpy octoling quickly makes her way to the bathroom. Tanya finishes not too long after and does the same, with Kat joining her. Now fully awake due to the caffeine of the coffee and the enriching meal, Tanya plops down on the couch. Kat joins her and the two start waiting for Caroline to finish her shower.

    After a little while, Caroline exits the shower wearing her octoling armor. Kat gets up and rushes into the bathroom to start her shower. Caroline takes a seat in the recliner while Tanya stares at the roof, lost in thought. Not too long later, Kat exits the shower and motions to Tanya that she can take her shower. Tanya stands up and walk over to the bathroom. She shuts the door behind her and started to strip down.

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     Feeling clean and refreshed, Tanya exits the bathroom and enters the living room. A grumpy and stern voice calls to her, "C'mon Inkling, we need to go." That voice belonged to Caroline, Kat's older and very hot sister. Caroline walks out the door and Tanya follows her as they walk back to the elevator that brought them here. Caroline hits a button with the letters "GF" on it, and the Elevator begins to ascend.

    Caroline hands Tanya a cloak, "Wear this, it would be a headache having to deal with all the octarians yelling and throwing shit at you. I don't want to have a headache before 10." Tanya does what she says and doesn't question it, not wanting to possibly piss off the very grumpy octoling. She flips her hood up to cover her face as the lights on top turn off and on, signaling that they are moving up.

    The elevator stops ascending and the doors open revealing a fancy lobby. At the reception desk stands a female octoling donning a very neatly kept red suit. The sharply dressed octoling gives a slight wave to Caroline, and she responds with a quick glance. As the two leave the building, Tanya could hear the octoling in the red suit sigh in disappointment.

    The moment Tanya exits the building, her body is hit with a breeze of freezing air. She observes where she is, and finds herself to be in a massive, underground city. With buildings stretching far and wide. Far away, she can spot a massive crater emitting a blue light that fills the cave with a blue hue. The buildings close to her seem to be important, as they are made using concrete and metal. Far to her left and right, she can spot some other building that seem to be made from sheet metal. As she observes her surroundings, Caroline pipes up, "Welcome to New Octavia, the only city in the Depths."

    Caroline glances at her, and lets out a sigh, "C'mon, we gotta hurry." She starts walking down a path and Tanya follows her. Tanya goes to ask a question but Caroline cuts her off, "We're gonna meet up with a guy I know that can explain the sterilized for you, We needed to wake up early or else we wouldn't have had time." The two stop in front of what seemed to be a tram station. A sign on a reception building nearby spells out, "Welcome to Goldfish Station."  They enter and Caroline walks to the reception building, "Wait here, I'm gonna go get you a card."

    Tanya glances around the station, observing the architecture. The station is very open, with only a reception post colored orange for desk workers and a passageway with turnstiles. Caroline comes back with a blue card in her left hand and a red one in her right hand. "I've only gotten you the day pass It'll last you until midnight." She hand Tanya the card and continues speaking, "I would get you a permanent pass, but its likely you may not come back." 

    A bead of sweat rolls down the side of Tanya's head as fear stabs her in the heart. Caroline walks over to one of the turnstiles and puts her card up to the card reader, walking through and rotating the metal bar. Tanya does the same and the two continue walking towards the tram car that pulled into the station. Caroline and Tanya enter the tram car and take a seat. The doors close and as the tram speeds to its destination, Tanya falls asleep.
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    The tram car speakers system come to life and awaken Tanya, "Now arriving at Lionfish Station." Tanya rubs her eyes and glances around the empty tram car as it comes to a halt. The doors open and Caroline stands up, motioning Tanya to follow. Tanya and Caroline exit the tram car and walk out into the station. It seems to be the exact same, apart from the reception desk being colored a darker orange.

    Caroline and Tanya walk out of the tram car station and onto a concrete path. Tanya pipes up, wanting to break the silence, "So uh, why are you taking me to see this guy?" Caroline gives a monotone response, "You helped save my sister, I'm taking you here so you have a better chance at survival. It'll be better than just getting sent to die."

    Tanya could feel her face warm up as she turns slightly yellow, "O-Oh uh, thanks!" Caroline sighs, "Don't worry about it." The two continue walking for a little bit, before arriving in front of a fancy house. Caroline rings the doorbell, and a male octoling appears. One long blue tentacle rests down the middle of his head. His skin is paler compared to most, and he is wearing a light blue shirt covered by a doctors coat and with black dress pants to match. "Come in Caroline, I also assume this is the inkling you were talking about?"

    Tanya is struck with a feeling of nervousness, and the Male octoling seems to notice, "Don't be afraid, I'm just a doctor for the nearby hospital. I could care less if you're Inkling or Octoling, just as long as this hive is cleared out." With Caroline already waiting inside, and the Male's reassuring words, Tanya flips her hood down as she steps into the building.

    The house is warm and cozy, with the floors being a shiny and beautiful orange wood and the walls adorned with a slick and smooth white color. The kitchen's tops were made with what seemed to be granite, matching with the wood and contrasting the walls. The kitchen also contained what you would normally find in one, apart from the fancy stainless steel fridge.

    Tanya walked into what she would assume to be the living room. There were three orange couches facing the TV. Caroline was sitting at one of them. "Feel free to take a seat, I will be with you shortly. Would you two like anything?" The Male octoling spoke, Caroline shot a reply back, "Some more coffee would do, the coffee you have here does a better job at waking me up." The octoling narrowed his eyes, "I had a feeling you also came for the coffee."

    Caroline raised her arms in defense as Tanya sat down next to her, "Not confirming nor denying." The male chuckled and entered the kitchen. After sometime he came out with a tray containing three mugs of coffee, placing one in front of the two girls and one down for himself. he sets the tray down on the table and speaks, "My name is Jason Palmer, I already said this but I'm a doctor working for the Coral Reef hospital. I also occasionally assist a friend of mine in researching the biology of some of the Sterilized down here."

    He clears his throat and continues, "Tanya, You have little knowledge of Sterilized, correct?" She nods back, "Then allow me to explain it for you. Knowledge of the sterilized is hard for the public to remember, thanks to some effects of the brainwashing devices used. Children understand it much better as they are young and haven't been touched by Octavio." He chuckles a bit, "Ah! But I'm getting off topic. The sterilized are almost carbon copies of the Octarian species, with the few noticeable differences being color and how hostile they are to us. Their bodies are made up of a ink-like substance that turns normal ink into this substance. There's no official name for it as of now, but most refer to it as "Sterile Ink."

    He takes a sip of coffee, "This ink, however, doesn't work exactly like our ink. Rather than forming how ours does, it acts like a bunch of little beings that work together to form a sterilized. Of course, thanks to the liquids nature, it wouldn't be able to hold itself together with just ink. So the Sterilized ink touching air produces a membrane that encapsulates and allows the Sterilized to form into what its ordered to become. Stabbing Sterilized would be effective, as the ink dedicated to forming this membrane is special, and it would bleed most of its ink with an effective strike.

    He leans forward, "However, Sterile ink is more dangerous than you think. It works similar to being shot with ink. You lose sensation on that part, and too much ink paralyzes you. After being hit, you're hit with a sort of poison. One hour after contact, You'll feel nauseous, then you get dizzy and pass out. During this time, the sterile ink will try and turn you into a zombie-like sterilized. We can still save people during this process, But anything after five hours will mean that the patient is beyond saving."

    He sighs, "Stabbing them would be more effective had their ink not been so infective. So for now most stick to using Ink-based weaponry. Crossbows are an option, but the wind down here can reach speeds high enough to make them ineffective. Ink-powered Projectiles are also effective, but expensive and complicated. The projectiles are not too hard to manufacture, but the weapons are a pain to maintain and create. Blasters, Chargers, Rollers, and things like those are the most effective, but are hard to keep up. Stuff such as Octoshots aren't the best, but are easy to maintain."

    He leans back into a more comfortable position, "I don't follow weapon manufacturing too often, someone like Katilyn would be better at explaining. Other than that, are there any questions?" Tanya thinks about any she would have, but can't come up with any. She shakes her head, and Jason hums, "Alright, I would love to chat more, but I have work soon." He reaches for his empty mug, but Caroline picks it up instead. "Allow me to, you should get going. It's already Five Forty-Five." Jason's eyes widen, and he quickly stands up and picks up a bag, "Shit! I didn't notice! thanks Lin!"

    Tanya was so concentrated on his lecture that she didn't notice her coffee was even finished. Tanya places her mug on the tray Caroline was holding. The Elite walks into the kitchen and washes the mugs out. Tanya asks a question, "Who's gonna lock his door?" Caroline dries her hands with a nearby towel, "I will, he gave me a spare key to use for whenever I feel the urge to drink his coffee."

    Tanya narrows her eyes at Carol, who laughs in response, "That's just what I use it for, he trusts me enough with his house to give me a key, that's all." Tanya chuckles and the two walk out the front door, with Caroline locking it behind them. The two begin their way to the tram station, and enter through as another car comes to a halt. Tanya quickly flips her hood up as several Octarians come through, on their way to their destinations. Some are wearing what seems to be military gear, while others are in more casual clothing.

    Tanya and Caroline board the Tram car and take a seat as it once more fills up with passengers. The tram moves along the tracks, transporting its passengers to their destinations. It occasionally rocks and shakes, startling some awake. Tanya stares outside the windows, allowing her to witness the stunning view.

    Buildings stretching as far and wide as she can see, illuminating the dark underground with their many lights. The blue crater light had seem to grow into a marvelous light, no longer a dull glow. The blue light illuminates the crater, somewhat mimicking what day would look like on the surface.

    The sight was beautiful, it felt to Tanya as if she could stare all day. The tram car announcer's voice snapped Tanya back to reality, "Now arriving at Orca Station." Tanya returns her gaze to the floor in front of her as the car comes to a stop. Both her and Caroline step out of the Tram and begin to once again walk to their destination.

    The city's paths are illuminated in a blue light, with yellow streetlights shining their dull light to aid visibility. The city's residents wake up to a new day, shops are switching their signs to open and some residents can be seen talking on the sidewalks or walking to their destination whether its work or simply just walking.

    Caroline starts to talk, bringing Tanya's attention to her, "I saw you were staring out the window like a child, wasn't the view amazing?" Tanya nods and she continues, "That crater is filled with a unique grass that glows brighter as it comes closer to day. Researchers are still coming up with theories on how it could work, and there are no answers so far. That grass has been named 'Time Grass' as it glows brighter the closer it is to noon, and stops glowing when it reaches midnight."

    Hearing about this grass amazed her, and Caroline chuckled, "You must really be interested in the stuff down here, huh? A lot of people down here have a knack for science, so you would probably fit right in." The two arrive in front of a large concrete building. Caroline clears her throat, "This is it, You're going to be taking down that hive or its your life down the drain. You'll get a squad of five and some gear to help take down the sterilized. I'll let the commander brief you."

    The two enter and are greeted by the front desk. Caroline flashes a badge and the front desk nods. Tanya follows Caroline into an elevator that takes them to the third floor. Caroline nudges Tanya, "Just gonna warn you, some octolings may not like you as much. A lot of octarians no longer care about hating inklings, and some even feel some degree of respect for your kind. There are still ones that hate you and would probably want your head on a stake. Just keep that in mind."

    Tanya nods, and the elevator doors open. Caroline walks out of the elevator with Tanya right behind her as they walk down a hallway. They stop in front of room 3-D and the octoling beside Tanya opens the door. Within the room contains twenty-four chairs and a white board with a desk carrying a microphone. There are two octolings standing at the back, while four octolings dot the chairs.

    Two male octolings seem to be chatting to each other a row away from the front. One has a slight tan and a tentacle style similar to Jason, replacing the calming blue with a bright red. The male next to him has a large and similarly red Afro with a much darker skin tone. A female octoling is sitting two rows behind them. She has four tentacles all curling at the ends and her skin is tan.

    What caught Tanya's eye, however, was the other female. Her dark purple tentacles were similar to the previous females tentacles, with the difference being how her tentacles were messier and not as curly. Three stalks of dead kelp drooped down the sides of her head. She turned around to reveal familiar chipped and damaged shades.

    Caroline walks to the back of the room and begins to chat with a male octoling wearing a hood and gasmask. The octoling with damaged shades motions Tanya to sit by her. Tanya sits down, hoping to prevent making a scene. The octoling starts to speak, "So, you're here as well Hero Squid." Tanya nods and narrows her eyes a little, "Thought it would be a good nickname, names Cherep but you probably already heard." Tanya nods and she starts again, preventing Tanya from saying anything, "I gotta apologize for when we first met, I didn't know you were the one to save Lin. A lot of people down here respect her for how kind she is and how effective most of the stuff she made is."

    She rests her elbow on the back of the seat, "She's made a water filter that turned a lot of the murky water into something easier to clean, and she's helped develop numerous weapons that most octarians use to defend themselves with." She smiles a bit, "But less about Katilyn, briefing's going to start."

    As if on cue, the man in the mask clears his throat, the noise muffled by the mask, "Listen up. Today you're going to be sent to clear out a hive. The objective is simple, You're going to be taken to Outpost Zeta where you will receive an ink bomb that can wipe out the hive. Once you do, you will make your way to the hive and clear out any sterilized you may see. Stab the bomb into the hive, and allow it to detonate. Once that's done and over, we'll send a squad in to help get you extracted. Any questions?"

    The Male octoling with a Mohawk raised his hand, "Sir, what the hell is an inkling doing down here?" The masked octoling sighs and starts to speak again, "Private you better show some respect. She's here to act as your leader's Second in Command." Tanya nervously sweats at the thought of being the second one to order people around, much less a squad member that doesn't like her. "Sir, with all due respect, Why is she the Second in Command?"

    What Tanya assumed to be the commander snapped back, "She is your Second in Command because neither of you have proved you can be in that position, any more questions?" The Mohawk Octoling angrily huffs. The octoling with the gasmask on continues, "Good, Time for you all to move out. There's a Transport Bike waiting outside. Godspeed soldiers."

    With that, everyone except for the three octolings by the board stood up and began to leave. Cherep was the first to the door, followed by Tanya. Tanya threw her hood up and followed Cherep to the elevator, where the octoling pressed the button to call it. The other three octolings arrived, with the two males chatting away and the occasional glare from the mohawked octoling.

    The elevator arrives and the males stop talking, boarding it along side the rest of the squad. As the elevator descended, the ranked private male shoots Tanya a glare. Tanya simply stared back with a bored expression,  visibly pissing the octoling off. Before anything could happen, the doors open revealing the garage.

    Within the garage was what seemed to be some sort of tank, transport truck, and motorcycle hybrid. The back of the bike resembled a transport truck with its large cover, the back wheels were instead treads, and the front part was motorcycle-like, being only big enough for one seat. Behind that one seat was a small window, enough to provide view of the front. All in all, it seemed to be big enough to transport a full squad. To their left was what seemed to be the quartermaster, where they would get their weapons and gear before heading to the outpost.  And dead ahead were two doors that marked the restrooms.

    Everyone walked out of the elevator and went to their own places. Cherep visited the quartermaster, The mohawked octoling went to use the rest room, and the other male and unnamed female began to inspect the bike. Tanya moved over and opened the door to the restroom, going inside to do her business.

   After washing her hands, she leaves the restroom and heads for the quartermaster. She walks up to the desk and rings the bell. Shortly after, a small octoling appears with orange tentacles appear. Her tentacles were long and dirty from what seemed to be oil. She was wearing a button up mechanic's shirt and blue jeans, both dirty from oil.

    Her eyes sparkled, and she spoke with an odd southern sounding accent, "So your the inkling Kat told me about! I was expecting you to show up!" Tanya backs up a little from how energetic she seemed. The octoling scratched the back of her head, "Hehe... sorry about that. I just like meeting new people. Anyways I got some gear for you!"

    She pulls out a modified Splash-O-Matic from under the desk and sets it down. The barrel is longer with a handle on the front, and the front handguard was replaced with a foregrip. A plastic stock was also added, with rubber on the back for better grip. Tubes ran across the barrel, and a pressure meter was added.

    She smiles wildly and starts to explain, "This is a modified... Splash-O-Matic it was called? Anyways, I changed it quite a bit, wanna hear?" Tanya nods and her eyes seem to sparkle, starting a very long rant, "So, I took one of the many laying around and added a lighter and quicker version of the charge from a charger. I did so it only took one or two well placed shots to kill. The issue is that the barrel is too short, meaning shots were weaker than I wanted, and the thing came with quite a bit of recoil. So I extended the barrel or more damage, and added a foregrip and rubberized stock for help with recoil control. Another issue is that the charge system is too expensive and complicated, so I opted for an Air pump system. When your in the field, make sure to keep an eye on the pressure gauge and pump it when its too low! Pump it in the red for extra damage, but be wary as the weapon leaks all the extra air. The Weapon can also switch back to its standard firing mode, there should be a switch above the grip that you can flick"

    Tanya picks up the weapon and notices how heavy it is compared to an average Splash-O-Matic. She checks above the grip and finds the switch. There are three icons, one being a long straight line, another being three short lines, and the last being a crossed out sign. Tanya begins to walk away, but noises from the octoling stopped her, "W-W-W-Wait! You forgot your tank! And your Heroshot thing!" Tanya walks back and takes the tank off the counter, Slinging it onto her back. She takes her Heroshot and stares in confusion. "We added some magnetic rails to your weapon and tank, You can just align the two rails and your weapon will stay on no matter what! ...As long as you don't do anything too insane."

    Tanya nods, "Thanks, and you are?" The octoling takes a saluting position, "Its Gin Ma'am!" The inkling chuckles a bit in response, "Hey, as far as I know I'm not your superior." The octoling glowingly smiles, "You saved my best friend, as far as I know you've earned my respect!"

    Tanya smiles a bit, and gets yelled at by Cherep, "Hey! We're about to leave! Get on and get ready." Tanya waves goodbye and turns around, climbing into the back of the transport bike. She sits down on one of the seats and faces towards the other female octoling that was joining them, joining her armed squad.

    Despite the questionable relationship she had with her squad, Tanya felt as if she was prepared to face whatever came.

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wtf this chapters too long

eh whatever I had the energy.

jokes aside, let me know of any issues with the chapter. whether its weird writing or a misspell

Minor Edit 7/18/21: Added a few words specifying that the squad was armed, don't mind it. Also updated word count as Wattpad is a petty bitch about word count.

~4506 words