~Derp~ I lay on the bed, eyes tight shut. "Sleep. Sleep." I sighed in exasperation. "The one time I can't sleep!" I sat up, turning my head to look at Ssundee, who slept on beside me. I smiled. He looked so peaceful when he slept. Normally his features were tight with irritation, or anger, or slack with fear and desperation. Now though, he slept with a small smile on his face. I chuckled quietly as he snuffled in his sleep and cuddled up to my arm. I tried to gently pull it away but it was stuck. I shook my head slightly and lay back down again, facing Ssundee. His quiet breaths tickled my face as he exhaled and made my nose itch slightly. "Please don't make me sneeze." I muttered to myself. I didn't want to wake Ssundee up. I could hear muffled snores coming from the other rooms. There was a glass of water on the bedside table. I stared at it, lost in the reflections and curves of moonlight that rebounded and filtered through it. Despite my intentions of staying awake to watch over Ssundee, the sounds of his gentle breathing and the peaceful night sounds from outside eventually lulled me to sleep.

***

I was awoken by a noise that wasn't peaceful. Anything but peaceful. I sat up, looking at the water. (Here comes the Jurassic Park reference!) In the distance I could hear vibrations rumbling through the night...like giant footsteps. The water rippled and shook with every thump; it got worse and worse till the water slopped over the rim of the glass. My heart pounded in my chest as I sat there, petrified, as the noises got louder and louder. The room started to shake. I twisted round and shook Ssundee awake. "What?" He mumbled, still half asleep. "Listen." I hissed. The vibrations had stopped. Ssundee frowned, his blue eyes clouded with confusion. "What is it Derp?" I sat there, frozen as I waited. Ssundee sat up too, his head tilted to one side. Then we both jumped in shock as a howling shriek cut through the night. I could hear our friends in the other rooms cry out and Sky's voice telling us to run. I turned to Ssundee. "What was that?" He was breathing fast; I could hear his heart thumping in terror. "I-I don't know-" I was cut off by another piercing shriek and the windows shattered. I shot off the bed and was over by the door before Ssundee could move. "C'mon!" He swung his legs over the bed and I grabbed our discarded weapons. I threw his iron sword to him; he caught it deftly by the hilt. "Let's go." I opened the door into the corridor and saw Jerome run past, hefting Betty up onto his back. He stopped and gestured for someone to follow him. Mitch appeared, running wildly. Jerome ran on as he skidded to a stop at our door. "Guys you've gotta run! It just smashed our room in!" "What?!" Ssundee replied. Mitch paused, gasping for breath. "It's a giant squid!" "We've handled them before-" Mitch cut me off mid-sentence, a wild look in his brown eyes. "This is unlike anything we've ever seen! The only chance we have is to run and pray it doesn't find us..." Then he ran on. I turned to Ssundee. He nodded. I smiled, gripping my sword hilt. Then we ran out into the corridor just as the roof collapsed inwards on us.

~Ssundee~ I heard the roof collapse behind us and stumbled; dust billowing up in clouds around us as Derp's running form clouded over into a dim sillohuette. "Derp!" I heard something crunch and I tripped; something pinning my legs to the ground. "Help! ANYBODY?!" It was silent; the sound of fading footsteps growing fainter and fainter till it disappeared completely...I waited, my head pounding as I struggled to get free. I froze as I heard a rumbling growl. Then a huge, and I mean huge, tentacle crashed down next to me, the ground cracking beneath its weight. Talons slashed out of the skin and nicked my flesh. I cried out and withdrew my arm. It was silent once more. Then the tentacle slowly lifted upwards and grasped the metal girder pinning me down. It dragged it off and I rolled over so I was staring up at it on my back. I gasped. A monstrous squid toward above me. It's tentacles were thicker than a jungle tree-trunk and those talons looked like they could gut a T-Rex without any problems. It's immense, mottled body loomed over me. The top half of it was half shrouded in mist; what I could see of it wasn't winning any beauty contests. A gaping hole with huge, serrated, jagged canines stuck out at odd angles was obviously its mouth. I watched as rivers of saliva travel down its body till they dripped off onto the ground, creating lakes below it. I back-pedalled furiously away from the monstrosity as it heaved itself forward; it's tentacles slamming down into the earth below them, causing craters to appear. Suddenly it plunged downwards.

I realised it had folded it's tentacles below it so it was 'kneeling' in front of me. My eyes stretched wide in terror as the gaping black hole smashed downwards, creating a sound like 3 thousand pairs of gnashing teeth. I stood up shakily as the squid's murky black eyes glared at me. There was a moment of tense silence where the squid eyed me hungrily; it was the predator...and I was the prey. Then it opened its mouth again and roared. The sound deafened me and the air rushed out of it's jaws, blowing my hair back off of my face. Then one tentacle flopped weakly towards me, before the talons slid out and the squid swiped at me. I dived out of the way. I cried out as I hit the ground; I definitely heard something crunch. As the squid dragged itself towards me, one tentacle raised to strike, I heard a shout of defiance from somewhere behind me. "HEY FISHFACE!" The squids black eyes slid over to the side, glaring at something...or someone. "Derp." I croaked. I couldn't breathe. The sheer terror and fear I was experiencing had restricted my lungs and throat. I was literally dying of fear. "PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE!" The squid growled. I twisted round so I could see Derp. He stood in the centre of the wreckage from SkyBase, everyone assembled behind him. I saw Sky, his sunglasses smeared with dust and grime, gripping his gold sword. Ty stood next to him, his headphones slightly askew and his T-Shirt frayed and ragged at the edges. Jerome stood behind them, his hackles raised as he growled silently. Mitch was beside him, one hand on his bow, the other reaching for his quiver; slowly drawing out an arrow. To his side was Husky, Kermit and Jason. The fact that they were willing to fight...for me... I somehow found the strength to stand. I turned to face the squid, slowly walking backwards away from it until I stood beside Derp. He handed me my sword. "You dropped it." "Thanks." I saw him smile.

Then Sky walked in front of us, standing before the squid. I could see the first streaks of dawn sunlight streaking the sky as my friend raised his sword and yelled, "It's time to fight! To battle SkyArmy!" We ran forward and the squid drew back its tentacles, ready to slice us to ribbons with its talons. I saw Sky take Ty, Mitch and Jason to the squid's left side and attack. I took Derp, Jerome, Husky and Kermit to the right. Suddenly I glimpsed a flash of red and saw Captain Sparklez join the fight. I hacked and slashed at the tentacles, trying to wear them down. I saw Derp leap up and grab one of them, sticking him sword into the muscle and dragging himself up it. "Derp!" He looked down, his teeth gritted with the strain of holding on. "What?" I jumped to the side as Jerome swung his axe into a tentacle and took off a talon. I looked up again. "Be careful please!" He grinned. "Please Ssundee, careful is my middle name!" I frowned. "No it isn't." If Derp had a free hand he probably would've facepalmed. "It's a figure of speech!" Then he carried on up the squid's side, leaving a trail of bloody stab wounds behind him. I whipped round as a tentacle came towards me. I darted forward and slashed at it, rolling underneath the flailing limb as it searched for me. I stood up again and stabbed my sword into the tentacle, hoping to deaden it. It had the complete opposite effect. The tentacle with my sword in it, and me holding the sword, jerked up into the air. I hung on for dear life as the limb writhed around in mid-air, before flicking me and my sword off of it. I slammed into the squid's side, my sword embedding itself in the skin. I looked up. Derp was staring down at me, his head cocked to one side. "How'd you get up here so fast?" I grinned. "I took the Tentacle Express."

He shook his head and grabbed my arm, pulling me up. I found myself on what I could only think to be, the top of the squid's head. Slimy skin spread out for 20 chunks or so in every direction. "Woah." I saw Derp gouging a bloody hole in the skin, which led to the skull. "No wonder the squids don't like us, if we're stabbing holes in their heads." Derp looked up, flashing me a sarcastic smile before returning to his arduous task. I walked carefully over to the edge of the squid's head and stared down. Below us our friends looked like ants, hacking away at the squid's tentacles and talons. "Ssundee!" The squid jerked to one side and I lost my footing. Just before I fell, I felt a pair of strong arms catch me round the waist. "You have a knack for putting yourself in danger don't you?" I wriggled round and saw Derp smirking. I grinned. "Good job you have a knack for saving me then." He grinned back and let go of me. I saw he'd gouged a hole to the squid's skull. "Ouch. That's gotta hurt." "This'll hurt a lot more though." He jumped down into the hole and drove his sword into the white bone. I clutched my ears and Derp grimaced as the squid screamed. The sound was deafening; it made my legs shaky and I couldn't breath. Derp wrenched the sword out. I froze as I felt the squid shift beneath us. "Uh oh." It started to fall, it's tentacles crumpling underneath it as it collapsed. I started to slide towards the edge. "Derp...Derp!" He looked up and ran over, grabbing me just as the head slammed into the ground. There was a moment of weightlessness when we were suspended in the air, then we crashed back down to earth...and I can tell you one thing. Squids are not soft.

~Derp~ I grabbed Ssundee and held on to him tight as the squid crashed into the ground. I felt my feet leave the ground, then we fell back down. I looked at Ssundee. He was unconscious. He had a few cuts and bruises, but he'd be ok. I grinned, then stood up, turning round. I saw the rest of SkyArmy approach us out of the clouds of dust that had been stirred by the squid's 'landing.' "We did it!" I saw Sky grin back, then his expression turned to one of terror. "Derp, behind you!" I whipped round just in time to see a jagged talon slice across my face. I cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Our friends tried to run forward to help us, but the squids tentacle had wrapped around us, trapping us. I tried to stand, but I was losing blood fast. I turned to Ssundee. If I died...he would die too. And I couldn't let that happen. I shook his arm. "Ssundee, wake up." He opened one eye blearily, then shot upright when he saw me. "Derp! You're hurt! How did you-" I passed out. (Sorry that POV was short doods!)

~Ssundee~ I stared in shock at Derp as he lay on the ground, blood gushing out of the gash on his face. I picked him up bridal style and gently carried him over to the tentacle. I stared up at it. It's top was a good few chunks above my head. "Sky?! Mitch?! Anyone?!" "Ssundee!" I saw Sky's head appear above me. "Dood, you ok?" I nodded, fatigue numbing my legs. Sky held out his arms and I lifted Derp up a bit higher so he could take him. "Be careful with him." Sky nodded. He knew how much Derp meant to me. Sky disappeared for a moment, then reappeared. "Ok buddy, grab my hand." I took a running jump and leapt up, clinging onto Sky's hand. He heaved me up over the tentacle, my fee scrabbling at the it, trying to find purchase on the smooth, slimy skin. With a grunt Sky pulled me up the last bit and I clambered up and over. "Thanks." "No problem." Sky replied, breathlessly. I nodded and ran over to Derp. Husky was digging through a chest a few chunks away, trying to find a healing potion. I knelt down beside Derp and stared at his motionless face. His eyes were closed. My stomach clenched as I remembered the dream I'd had where he'd died for me. I shook slightly as I bowed my head. It started to rain. Thunder and lightning crashed in the distance.

A single tear ran down my face as I saw the rain wash away the blood, revealing a long gash in Derp's face. "Only Seto can heal this." I started at Ty's voice. Sky stared at him. "Seto's gone." Ty smiled. "I know where though." I stood up. "You know?" He nodded. "Yes." I looked down at Derp as Husky brought over a healing potion. "He'll be alright after this, but if we don't get him to Seto, this could affect his sight and mar his facial features." "I don't care what he looks like. I love him either way...but he wouldn't want to be blind." "You love him?" I turned to Jerome. "Yeah. Got a problem with that?" He didn't reply. I watched as the gash slowly shrunk and lost the angry red tinge. Now a pink, knotted scar stretched across Derp's face. His eyes slowly opened. "W-what happened?" I looked at him sadly, trying not to cry. He sat up. "W-why can't I see properly?!" I helped him up. "Derp." He looked at me. I choked back the sobs. "You're blind in one eye. We need to go find Seto. He's the only one who can heal you." Derp stared at me. "I-I'm blind?" I nodded. One side of Derp's face was normal. The other was mostly knotted scar. His crooked eye was milky white with the scar running through half of it. His other eye was filled with fear and worry. "What am I going to do?" "Don't worry Derp. I'll protect you." I hugged him, blinking back the tears furiously. "We're gonna be ok Derp...I-I promise." But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't block out his stifled sobs of anguish and despair that tore through my heart like a knife through flesh. "We're gonna be ok..." I didn't know who I was trying to convince more. Me or him...

(A/N: HOLY BUDDAH APPLES! I FINISHED IT! XD Plez leave a comment or a review and remember to slap dat like button! Stay awesome ma doods! 😎 Squeaks! 😝...Man I'm exhausted. I just wrote dat all in one go! It's worth it for you guys though! I'm probably gonna go pass out now, lol. Not really! C yah round! XD)