“Pop's great and all, but I'm gonna go with rock here!”

----------------

I sat in an octarian prison cell with Ezra sitting beside me, and although she was just part of my mind, I was at least glad to have some semblance of company.

Henry had gone through a complete breakdown, screaming at Ophelia, asking her questions. She was eventually able to calm him down, but he was still most definitely unsettled. Eventually, I was brought back here, with Henry staying quiet the entire time.

“I’m sorry,” Ezra said quietly.

Laying down on the small mattress in the cell, I sighed. She was trying to help, she was trying to help, she was trying to help. “It’s okay,” I said, trying to keep myself from thinking too much about it. “At least I know my brother’s safe… kinda…”

I heard faint footsteps growing closer, louder, up until Ophelia opened the door, stepping into the cell before closing it. She stared at me with her cold eyes. “You couldn’t leave it alone, could you?”

I sat up on the mattress, staring back at her. “You’ve been keeping his real identity a secret from him.”

"You could've left it alone, but nooo, you had to dig, dig, DIG for all the secrets you could find!” she shouted at me. “I would've helped you reunite with him, but now you've ruined EVERYTHING! He can never trust me again because of you!"

“How would you have helped me?!” I replied. I stood up, casting aside my fear of her. I had just remembered that she was the one responsible for all this. I held out the arm where she had injected Ezra into me. “Is this how you would’ve helped me?! I’m hurting people because of you! I’m having nightmares every night because of you! And now my brother doesn’t even remember me because of YOU!”

“You think I had a choice?!” she screamed at me, making me step back. She didn’t look very stable, as tears were flowing down her cheeks. She bared her teeth, looking at me in disgust. “I lost my lover! I loved him, but you and your stupid obsession with finding him led him to hate me! I was gonna bring you two back together! It was the only way it could go smoothly!”

I stayed quiet this time, thinking back to when she’d injected me with Ezra. Did she really think that she was helping me this whole time? “And when I lose my memory, what then?” I asked her. “I don’t want to be with my brother and not know who he is…”

“He was going to die if I didn’t do what I did,” she responded. “You would’ve died too, eventually… You’re so… fragile, just like him, aren’t you?” she asked me. She stepped closer, making me press back against the wall. I kept my brave face on, knowing this woman was insane and would probably get a kick out of seeing my fear.

“Don’t touch me,” I warned.

She stopped short of my mattress, looking at me coldly. She wanted to hurt me and I could see it in her eyes. She knew she couldn’t, however, because Henry would know. We could only stare each other down for now.

“Ophelia…”

Ophelia turned around, seeing Henry at the door. She stepped aside as he walked up to me. As I stood up from the mattress, I looked up at him, seeing my reflection in his visor staring back at me. Why didn’t he ever take off that helmet?

“This is a weird experience,” he said. “I don’t remember a thing about who I used to be.”

I clenched my fists in fear and frustration. What if he could never remember me? “Mark, I--”

“Don’t use that name,” he said. “I’m not Mark, not in my mind. I don’t know who I am other than Henry.”

My chest ached from that statement and I tried to fight back the tears that were caused by it. “I’ve been living life without my big brother for four years… I’ve been looking for you… Please, try to remember me. Why else would you choose Henry as your name? That was Dad’s name! You remember something, so don’t lie to me!”

He stared at me in silence, making my hopes dive low. 

“P-Please?” I whispered in tears, looking up at him. “I want my big brother back…”

He placed a hand on my shoulder, gripping it tightly. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t try remembering.”

That sentence gave back my hopes. I buried my face in his chest, hugging him tight. I could tell he wasn’t expecting this, his arms raising up in surprise. After a few seconds, he slowly lowered them again, returning the hug.

We stayed like that for several moments before he finally pulled away. If he hadn’t, I would’ve stayed that way a lot longer. Turning to Ophelia, he stared for a small while before saying, “We’re taking her back home. We can’t keep her here.”

“You’re not in charge here,” said Ophelia. “I’m doing what’s best for us, and to do that, she needs to be here.”

Just when I thought Henry wouldn’t lay a finger on Ophelia, he grabbed her arm and stared her in the face with the most menacing tone I’d ever heard from him as he said, “We’re taking her back home, Ophelia. I’m in charge because she’s my sister and I decide what’s best for her!”

Ophelia looked back at him with a mixture of anger and fear. “Y-You’re out of control!”

“You did this to me!” he shouted. “You made me like this!”

I was certain these two would fight, but Ophelia backed down, surprisingly. “Y-Yes… I’m sorry…”

“And I don’t hate you,” he said. “I am upset with you though…”

Ophelia looked at him with her face twisting into desperation. “I was just--”

“It’s fine,” he said, stepping back. “I just need to think, but after we take Amelia back home.”

So they did…

It was quiet on the way home, with neither Henry nor Ophelia saying a single word. I’d look up at him on occasion, wondering if he’d ever remember who he used to be. It was safe to say that I’d have my work cut out for me. I’d need to do everything I could to help him remember everything.

When I had finally gotten home, Henry left with Ophelia, telling me he’d come see me regularly when he could. What was considered regularly to him? I could only hope it was at least weekly…

When he left, I felt that familiar loneliness again, knowing my brother was no longer beside me. I clenched my fists, trying to keep my emotions in check as I approached the door to home. Opening it, I went in, and to my surprise, Nem was on the phone, tears staining her cheeks. “You’re gonna find her, David! She’d never just vanish like that!”

“N-Nem-Nem?” I spoke up.

She turned her head, and the moment she did, she said, “I’ll call you back,” before hanging up and running over to me. Before I could react, she wrapped her arms around me in a hug. “Oh my cod, where were you?!”

What should I say…? “I, uh, f-found my brother,” I replied.

She moved me back a bit, her hands still on my shoulders as she looked at me in astonishment, her tears from earlier still present. “Wh-What?! Your brother?!” she questioned. I nodded and she smiled, hugging me tightly yet again. “Oh, that’s great, Amelia!”

“C-Can’t breathe,” I commented, the anemone hugging me too tightly.

Nem-Nem quickly loosened her grip. “Sorry! I was just so worried! When I saw you weren’t in your bed this morning, I quickly sent out calls all over. I called Ace, Bryson, Olivia, David, everyone!”

“S-Sorry,” I said. “I hope you’re not mad…?”

“Amelia, I could never be mad!” she said. “A little frustrated that you went out without telling me, but not flatout mad!”

“Where are the others?” I asked. “You said you called them all?”

“They’re all looking for you,” said Nem. “I’ll send them a text letting them know you’re okay.”

Ouch, the guilt… “I’m sorry for not texting you,” I said.

As Nem tapped out the message on her phone, she asked me, “So, how was it? Is he safe? Where is he?”

“He’s safe, he’s in… another city,” I said, lying and pushing myself deeper into the pit of guilt.

“Well, you should invite him over, don’t you think?” suggested Nem. “I’d love to meet him. Oh! I could set up a little party! I could make a few sweets, get something nice cooked up for a big dinner. We’ll invite everyone.”

Oh no.

“Y-Yeah, that’d be great,” I said. “I’ll see if I can ask him… Hey, uh, Nem-Nem, could I head to my room? I’m pretty exhausted…”

“Oh? Um, alright,” said Nem, looking a little confused, but she nodded her head in understanding. “You go on ahead.”

I at least didn’t lie about that part. I was exhausted . It had been very late when I had found out Henry was my brother. I had stayed up since. I couldn’t keep my eyes open much longer as I entered my room. Before I fell into bed, I saw Ezra standing by it.

“What are you doing?” she asked. “You said you’d help me.”

“Y-Yeah,” I said. “I’ll find Marina… a-after this… I’m gonna cra--”

It was too late to even finish my sentence. I crashed, plopping onto the bed facefirst, falling into a deep sleep, the deepest sleep I’d had in months.

…

I wished it wasn’t, because the dreams returned. I felt consciousness returning to me, but I didn’t wake up in the present. As with the other dreams, I woke up in the past instead, but something was… different. I didn’t… feel like a squid, not like how I did in my other dreams…

I felt human…

We were in a chapter of inkling history, long forgotten, my people hunted...

I woke up to harsh sunlight shining through rotten wooden planks that had been boarding up a dusty window. It was a new era. We had awoken years ago from our cryopods built by the American government. I had been lucky enough to have had a rich father, but I wasn’t lucky enough to have woken up someplace nicer.

When I had first woken up, the base had been ransacked, but our pods had been left unscathed. With dozens of other humans, we had explored, wandering out into the desert, and we had found that we weren’t the only ones inhabiting this planet. One by one, we had been taken down, narrowly escaping each time, our group getting smaller and smaller.

Creatures who looked like us were now hunting us, and now… it was only me left. I was only sixteen, unable to fend for myself without any sort of weapon. All I had was the beret my father had left behind before he was taken. It was all that I had left of my family.

I looked out the window of the dusty, old shack. These creatures were so strange, but over the years, the eldest of us had learned their language through study and interrogation, and it was a dark interrogation indeed. They were like us, but they were squids and octopi, calling inklings and octolings, both working together to kill us.

The squid we had captured before had been forced to teach us, and I… couldn’t say that I didn’t pity him. He hadn’t expected us to exist. He had been simply trying to do his job. He had been a sheriff, and we had been considered a threat. Sadly, the adults had killed him after we had learned enough of their language.

As I peered through the dirty glass, I could see a few inklings walking by, both of them wearing hats much similar to what cowboys used to wear. It was strange to know that they were going through a similar history compared to humans. We were in some sort of wild west-like era.

“Yer gonna get us killed one day, Brayden,” said an inkling.

The other inkling, with dark skin and deep-blue eyes, replied, “I reckon I will, but that ain’t today, now is it?”

“Ya almost pissed off the mayor!” said the first inkling. “If she finds out you’ve been--”

“Shut it,” said the blue-eyed inkling. “Head back to the office. I’ll meet ya back there in a bit. I’ve got some business.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said the first inkling, walking away. “But think about what I said.”

When the first inkling left, I began panicking when I noticed that the blue-eyed inkling was heading towards the shack I was hiding in. I needed to get out of here, but there was no other way! Could I push past him?!

As he approached, I silently debated until he was at least five feet away from the door. I took flight out of the flight or fight options. I slammed my shoulder into the door, crashing it open, but it didn’t phase him. He didn’t even flinch. He knew I’d been hiding in it.

Drawing quicker than a snake’s lunging bite, he fired off rounds of ink pellets, the hard impacts blowing me back like a ragdoll. These weapons were too powerful for us to fight. Although they were ink, the sheer force at which they fired was enough to knock any human down.

I cried out in pain, a sting coursing through my chest and stomach. As I fell onto my back, I curled up, bracing for more hits from his weapon. “Please, don’t shoot me!” I shouted in his language.

“It talks,” he said, pointing his strange pistol at my head.

“I don’t wanna die!” I shouted! “Please, leave me alone! I won’t hurt anyone, I swear! I’m harmless!”

“Tell that to the three dead sheriffs and their mourning families,” he said. “As the new sheriff, I’m takin’ you in and we’re gonna have a nice little chat, ya got that, faker?”

“Y-You’re the faker,” I replied. “You’re pretending to be just like us.”

Without warning, I was kneed in the head, knocking me unconscious, and after what seemed like a brief moment, I awoke tied in rope. I was in a bare cell, the dark-skinned inkling leaning against the corner of it. As he tilted his hat up, deep, blue eyes staring at me, he smirked.

“Where are the others?” he asked. “Where are they hiding?”

“I don’t think there are any left…” I muttered softly, my gaze glancing downwards. I was the last human…

“Lies!” he shouted.

“It’s true!” I shouted back. “You killed all of the others, you monster! You took them, tortured them, then killed them!”

“You’re the last one, huh? How can I believe you?” he asked, approaching me. “How can I be sure… that they’re not hiding somewhere, waiting to kill all of us?”

“We c-can’t fight you…” I admitted. “Your weapons are foreign to us and your speed is above ours!”

“Didn’t stop your kind from takin’ us by surprise with shovels and pitchforks,” he said. He crouched a little, our eyes meeting. I couldn’t help but whimper in fear. Was I going to die here? Was this how my life was going to end? By torture?

“Please, lemme go!” I begged. “I’ll do anything! I’ll stay far away from here! I’ll find my own place! Just don’t kill me! I don’t wanna die! I don’t wa--”

“Ain’t no way we can,” he said. “You know this. You know what the price is for crime. You’re clearly smart enough to know that. You expect me to just let you go? You expect me to do that when the citizens of this town are demanding justice for the spilled ink of our brothers and sisters?”

“Y-You killed my dad…” I said, crying. “You killed him and now I have no one! Why is that not enough?! I’m the last one! I’m all alone!”

He kept looking me in the eyes, thoughts probably rolling through his mind as he stared. Eventually, after a long silence, he asked me, “You tellin’ me you represent your whole kind? You really are the only one left?”

I nodded, tears streaming down my cheeks. “Y-Yeah…”

“Bein’ part of the Annaki clan, I suppose I know what that’s like,” he said. “I’ve been representin’ my family my whole life. We were meant to be rebels, meant to overthrow tyranny. That’s all we’ve been good for. Now look at me. I’m a sheriff. I enforce the law for the enemy, the exact opposite of what my family would’ve wanted. There may be good people here, but our current government is oppressing us. I’m a failure.”

I stared at him, listening to his story, his words helping me take my mind off my own problems. He leaned back, his hands behind him and supporting him as he looked up at the ceiling. He said, “I’m the only one left, I think. We lived in a dark age, persecuted by Enperrials, an enemy clan. They grew bigger while we were taken out one by one. I don’t know if there’s any more of my clan left… Now, I work for the enemy.”

“S-So, maybe you could let me go? It’d be an act of rebellion, right?” I asked in hope. “I-I can help you! We can run away and look for them! I can learn how to fight! Just teach me, please! I don’t wanna die!”

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Just… offering words of comfort before your execution. You’re a creature beyond our understandin’, so I want you to know that there’s at least someone who can understand you before you die.”

I was scared. I didn’t want my life to end. “Please… Y-You hate Enperrials, right? Betray them and let me go! Y-You can do that, right? Do it for your family? I want to live for mine!”

He looked me in the eyes, then let out a heavy sigh as he stood up. “Look, you know what? I’ll think about it. I’m already in a safe position. Saving your behind would put me in jeopardy. I can’t exactly sympathize with you either when your kind slaughtered innocent inklings.”

I looked down, hopes low. “Do you at least know what they did to my dad…?” I asked hushedly.

“We buried them out in the middle of the desert,” he answered without hesitation. “We’re no stranger to the death of creatures other than inklings.”

I closed my eyes, droplets from my eyes hitting the ground. The pain in 

my chest ached as I thought more and more about it. “If and when I do die, will you bury me with them?”

He stayed silent for a long time before saying, “Yeah, we will...”

A day later, I was brought before a firing squad out in the center of the desert town. Weapons similar to rifles were aimed at me. They were going to give me a slow and painful death, as their ink pellets wouldn’t immediately kill a human like me.

Inklings and octolings were all gathered around, cheering for my upcoming death. I wept at my fate because I could do nothing about it, my body bound to a wooden pole by rope. A female inkling walked up to me, looking at me with sympathy, and with a sad look, she held up a blindfold.

“Sorry for what you’re going through, stranger,” she said with a soft voice. “It’s okay to cry, okay?”

“I don’t wanna die!” I pleaded through choked words. My tears were dropping at almost the rate of rainfall. “I don’t wanna die!”

After she blindfolded me, she patted my shoulder before leaving. I could hear the guns being loaded, their clicking warning me of an impending death.

“Ready!” shouted an inkling.

This was it…

“Aim!”

This was my end… and no one would remember me or my kind…

“Fire!”

Six gunshots went off, the sounds of screaming ringing in my ear, but I didn’t feel a thing. Did they all miss…? W-Was I already dead? A scream confirmed that I was still alive. “Th-The squad!”

“Sheriff Brayden?! What in cod’s name are you doi--?!”

One final gunshot went off, my blindfold came off, and there he was, the lone, dark-skinned inkling with eyes of blue. “Sorry if I cut it a little too close,” he said.

Ten years later, Brayden and I walked into an old city. My identity was disguised, my face hidden under a black hat and a black bandana. Brayden looked back at me and asked, “Are you ready?”

“Enperrials aren’t gonna be too happy,” I said. “Imagine, every single Annaki coming here. They’re gonna blow a gasket.”

“All thanks to you and that talk,” he said. “I keep looking back to that day. If I didn’t listen, you would’ve been six feet under and Annaki would’ve been considered nothin’ but a myth.”

Thinking back, I remembered being really scared. I honestly believed I was going to die that day. Being the last of my kind, humanity would’ve been wiped out right then and there. I needed to find others. I just had to keep going until…

Until…

Until…

Until…

Why was I so nauseous?

I woke up in a cold sweat. I was back in my own body, my own time period. My mind was going over multiple concerns from that one dream. “Humans were hunted…?” I said to myself quietly.

“Oh, you didn’t know?”

I sat up, seeing Ezra by my door. “You never told me?”

“You didn’t ask. You didn’t need to know,” she said. “Better for your mental state.”

“Tell me everything,” I said. “Please.”

“Do you really want to know?” she replied. “Fine. Humans were indeed hunted. It was common way back then, but inklings and octolings liked to cover their tracks, pretending it never happened.”

“Why?” I questioned. “What good is there in slaughtering humans?”

“Honestly, there’s a lot of good,” she said. “It kept everyone safe. Humans would’ve wanted their home back. No one could allow that to happen. You wouldn’t understand.”

I stared at her in disbelief. “Do you realize what you’re saying?!”

“I’m fully aware of what I’m saying,” she said. “You know what your kind has done before. They can do it again if left alone without intervention. Sure, inklings and octolings didn’t know what humans could do back then, but the killing was still justifiable. Acting in self-defense, the creatures of today were merely protecting their home from these strange lookalikes.”

“But what about the good ones?!” I asked. “The good people who wouldn’t hurt anyone?!”

She looked at me with what I could only translate as pity. “You’re too young to understand, Amelia. To keep peace for those you love, you must fight, even if it means bloodshed.”

“That’s not true!” I responded. “I can live just fine with Nem-Nem, Ace, Bryson, Liv, and all my other friends! I haven’t done anything in my right mind! Sure, Bryson’s sister was a victim, but only because you gave me Turf Madness!”

“Doesn’t mean you won’t do anything in the future of your own free will,” she said to me. “You have so much emotional baggage inside you that you’re a ticking time bomb. Look at yourself, Amelia. You’re trying to fit in with inklings when you yourself should’ve been dead long ago. Humans don’t know when to quit because they’re like weeds. They always somehow manage to stick around, even when they’re not wanted…”

…

I crumbled. That hurt me bad, real bad. “Why can’t I just…”

You can’t,” said Ezra. “You should’ve taken my offer. Then, maybe, you could’ve been happy. You’re spoiled, thinking you belonged here. I don’t want to make you cry, but if I have to lend you some sense, I will do it. While you have the potential to be a good person, inklings won’t always let you prove yourself.”

“If you had a body, would you have killed me…?” I asked.

She rested a hand on my shoulder, suddenly being right by me. “It’s complicated. I see everything in your head, so I know what you’re capable of. You’re very angry, very scared, very sad. You’re angry at your parents, you’re scared of dying, and you’re sad because your brother doesn’t remember you. Even without Turf Madness, you’re on the brink of snapping. You don’t know it yet. You don’t realize what you could do the next day. Nem-Nem wouldn’t understand.”

“Wh-Why wouldn’t Nem-Nem understand?” I questioned, my vision getting blurry from tears.

“Because she’s not a human,” Ezra replied. “I’m the only one who does understand you because I am you, and I was willing to change you, to make you something better. You refused out of fear. Should you accept my offer now, I’d end all your pain. You’d never have to worry about fitting in ever again.”

“And I’d forget everything,” I hushedly replied. “My brother, my parents, my old life.”

“Poor human… always clinging,” she whispered in my ear. Some days, she felt too real. “I’m here for you whenever you need me.”

These doubts, these limitations, these hidden emotions, they scared me. Was I really a monster? Inklings were capable of so much destruction, and yet humans were meant to die for their crimes?

“Remember what you’ve said to yourself before,” whispered Ezra. “Different world, different morals.”

“...Y-Yeah,” I confirmed.

We sat there in silence for the next hour. No talking, just… enjoying each other’s company. My mind would occasionally go to my brother, but Ezra would help to clear it again, having some bit of control over my head. I was… okay with this. She sensed my worries, and she was trying to keep me from stressing out.

Then, as I was about to start scrolling through my phone, I heard a light tapping on my window. That wasn’t possible… Our apartment was on the second floor. I turned my head to see multiple pebbles hitting the glass, confusing me.

Then, a rock hit it, causing it to crack. That made me panic. I quickly put on my beanie and I opened the window as fast as I could and poked my head outside, looking down. It was Wreckage, holding up a few more rocks in her hands.

“BRAND!” she shouted. “GET DOWN HERE!”

“What’s going on?” I asked. “Please, you’ve gotta be quiet. Nem-Nem will hear.”

“What, I can’t talk to a friend?” she asked me. “C’mon! I wanna take you somewhere! You’ll like it!”

I looked at my alarm clock. It was already seven at night. I didn’t think Nem-Nem would approve of me going out this late. I turned to Wreckage and said, “I don’t think so. Not tonight.”

Wreckage gave me a look of disapproval. “Hey, what’s with you? Live a little! Don’t worry! I’ll getcha back before Nem knows it!”

I wasn’t sure why, but… I was curious. “Where would we be going?”

“It’s a surprise,” she said. “C’mon. You afraid of the big kids?”

…

Screw it.

Well, I was a teenager… and it was apparently normal for some inklings to rebel at this age, and Wreckage did say she’d bring me back before Nem knew I was gone. Plus, I had just woken up, so there was definitely not going to be any sleeping for me, right?

So, I snuck out. Wreckage didn’t seem to be mad like before when she had first found out I had been hanging out with Bryson. In fact, she looked really excited, a near-constant grin on her face as she led me out by the docks.

As we approached a large warehouse, I could hear thumping coming from inside, a heavy bass pounding against my eardrums. Cod knows what would happen if I stepped inside. “Is this… what I think it is?” I asked.

“Hell yeah!” she replied.

...Hell?

“Isn’t “Hell’ a human word?” I questioned.

"I may not look it, but I like human lore,” Wreckage replied. “They're crazy! I did my own research and found out they believed in this awesome place called Hell where only the baddest of the bad get in. They even made songs about it! Been practicin' one!"

Wreckage was into human lore? That was surprising. “I didn’t know you were into humans.”

“Definitely!” she said. “They’re… different, and it’s great! If I ever met a human, I’d freak!”

Really…?

“Funny thing about that,” I said.

Wreckage grabbed my hand before I could say anything, the excited inkling pulling me up to a door on the side of the warehouse. Taking out a key and inserting it, I had the feeling my ears were going to hate me after this experience.

Upon opening the door, a wave of sound hit me that rattled my entire body like I was a maraca. My bones felt every vibration from the heavy strum of a bass guitar and the wail of an electric guitar. Inside the warehouse were both inklings and octolings, all centered around a stage. Wreckage flashed me a huge grin before pulling on my arm. “C’mon! I gotta introduce you to the crew!”

“The crew…?” I muttered under my breath.

As she led me backstage, I could see an octoling and an inkling, both of them males. The inkling was pale and seemed to have a red buzz-cut style while his eyes were a stone gray, yet they were still so full of life. He wore pretty much the same ripped-up Rockenburg getup as Wreckage, almost like he was copying her. He smirked upon seeing me, the inkling punching the arm of his octoling companion to get his attention.

The octoling was tanned, and he seemed to have a feminine hairstyle, with long tentacles hanging from his head. In his eyes were pools of cyan, which paired well with his light-blue t-shirt and blue shoes. Oddly enough, I couldn’t seem to recognize the brand they all were. But, then again, looking back at Wreckage’s behavior, she hated brands, and so I assumed the others were the same way.

“Ayo, Wreck, you know what you just brought in?” asked the octoling, looking at me in suspicion.

My eyes went wide, and he seemed to understand. “It’s a brand,” he said instead. “Look at that gear.”

“Pfft, yeah, I did,” Wreckage replied, patting me on the back. I chuckled nervously as I rubbed my arm. I was in very strange territory here.

“H-Hello,” I greeted.

“Yo. Name’s Riff,” said the inkling. He then gestured to the octoling. “This is Bang. I lead guitar. He does drums.”

“Riff? Bang?” I questioned.

The octoling held up a pair of drumsticks. “Bang Bang is how my beat goes. No time for words, just feel the flow. Crashin’ cymbals, poundin’ drums. Play ‘em ‘til my hands go numb. You got me?”

“I--... yeah?” I replied unsuredly.

“Close enough,” he said.

“What’s a brand doin’ backstage?” asked Riff.

“She’s new to the stray scene,” Wreckage answered. “She’s gonna join us on stage!”

I was caught off guard by that statement. “Wait, what?!”

“Yeah!” shouted Wreckage. “You’re pretty new to partyin’, and I don’t think I’ve ever invited you to one of our music sessions, so I decided you’re gonna sing with me!”

“I can’t sing!” I responded.

“You kiddin’ me?! Wow, neither can I!” she screamed in excitement.

What?!

“What do you mean you can’t sing?!” I asked her. “You said we’d be singing!”

“Our band alternates between singers. I do the screaming for their heavy metal songs. And then our friend, Guava, does the more elegant and traditional stuff,” she answered.

…

…

…

Wait a minute…

Brain processing…

“Guava?!” I spurted out.

“Yeah, she’s a killer vocalist,” confirmed Wreckage.

I looked in Bang’s direction. “Then, that means… you’re Guava’s boyfriend?”

Bang raised a brow. “Someone’s been doin’ a little digging into matters that ain’t theirs.”

“S-Sorry,” I said.

“The hell’s goin’ on?” asked Wreckage.

“N-Nothing!” I replied. “It’s just… a long story, okay? I can’t explain it all right now…”

While Bang gave me an annoyed glare, Wreckage just shrugged her shoulders. “Eh,” she said. “We need to get out on stage anyway. The crowd’s waitin’ fer us, and you guys know how wild those people can be.”

“What, you want us to go out there without Guava?” asked Bang.

“Hey, if she ain’t here, that’s her problem, not ours,” said Riff. “We’ve got plenty of songs that won’t require her voice.”

Bang squinted his eyes, not looking amused at all. “Fine…”

“Don’t worry. She’ll show up sooner or later,” said Riff. “She’s tough.”

Wreckage grinned as she picked up a red electric guitar. She then grabbed my arms and pulled me out onto the stage, where I was met with a dizzying amount of camera flashes. It was a good thing my beanie was on…

Wreckage walked up to the microphone with the biggest grin I’d ever seen, one that was mischievous. “ARE YOU STRAYS READY TO REBEL?!” she screamed, eliciting a massive roar from the crowd. The two other band members came out, playing a small, rhythmic tune. Bang went towards the drums, sat down, and complimented that tune with a beat that was undeniably exciting.

“WE ARE STRAY INK AND WE’RE GONNA BLOW YOUR MINDS!” screamed Wreckage, and the crowd roared out yet again, even louder this time.

Stray Ink? Interesting band name…

“AYO, WRECK! WE’RE GOIN’ NUMBER SEVEN!” shouted Bang.

And then, to my surprise Wreckage’s voice became incredibly distorted, low, growling, and then she let out something similar to the roar of a lion. My ears were assaulted by the sudden noise, making me clasp my hands to my ears.

“MAKE SOME NOISE!” she screamed. “DON’T FORGET WHAT THEY TOOK FROM YOU!”

What kind of song was this…? I could hear Bang’s constant drumming and Riff’s guitar notes getting higher and higher, and while they would, Wreckage would just scream strange phrases centering around anger. This was nothing like any other music I’d ever heard before. This was… a cacophony of noise, one that was barely organized as far as I could tell. The “song” went on for about five minutes before Wreckage suddenly handed me the microphone.

“ALRIGHT, STRAYS!” screamed out Wreckage. “I WANNA INTRODUCE YOU TO A FRIEND OF MINE WHO’S HARDCORE, AND TONIGHT, SHE’S GONNA SHOW US JUST HOW BAD SHE CAN BE! ARE YOU READY, BRAND?! I WANNA HEAR YOU SCREAM!”

“M-Me?! I can’t scream like that!” I shouted.

Wreckage gripped my arm, a glare coming from her. “You’re standing in front of the baddest crowd to ever grace this city. We are STRAYS, you got that? I know you’re scared, but you can’t be afraid of what you can do! All of us, inklings, octolings, we’ve got that screaming spirit!”

“But I literally can’t do it!” I objected, now extremely worried.

“You can,” said a familiar voice. Standing behind Wreckage was Ezra, staring at me. “It’s okay.”

She soon vanished after, and I tightened my grip on the microphone. “S-So you want me… to scream?”

Wreckage answered me with the biggest grin I’d ever seen on her face that night.

I was very uncertain. I didn’t feel any different when it came to my voice. Would I really be able to scream like any inkling or octoling could? I was frozen for a moment there, lost in thought, until I stepped forward to the front of the stage, my mind now made up. I’d at least try.

As I slowly raised the microphone to my face and heard the rhythmic beat coming from Bang’s drums and Riff’s guitar, I could feel a sudden heat coming from the top of my head. Riff’s guitar progressively went higher and higher in notes, and Bang’s hits were getting faster and faster.

I inhaled, readying my lungs, and then, I let everything I had out, my own ears deafened by my own scream as I exhaled. It was loud, with violent gurgling at a high pitch. The crowd, to my surprise, was pushed back by the sound waves, inklings and octolings struggling to stand their ground.

By the time I had expelled all the air from my lungs, there were many inklings and octolings on the floor, getting up, dusting themselves off as they grinned. A few began to cheer, the noise of the crowd slowly getting louder until they were all screaming in excitement.

Wreckage took the microphone from me, looking ecstatic. “HELL YEAH! You never told me you could do a wail like that!”

I gave a nervous smile. “G-Guess I didn’t know what I could really do?”

After a few more songs, we all went backstage. Thankfully, Wreckage didn’t ask me to scream anymore after that first one. Bang had been looking at his phone for well over an hour while another band had been playing on stage. “She should be here soon,” he informed us.

“What the hell’s she been doing?” asked Wreckage. “She’s never this late.”

“I was held up by some wannabe punks,” said Guava as she entered the backstage room. She was almost completely covered in ink that obviously wasn’t hers, someone’s green clashing with her purple. The moment she saw me, mouth twisted into a scowl. “What’s she doing here?!”

“What’s up? The fresh meat?” asked Wreckage. “She’s new around here, so… thought I’d have her on stage with us for a bit.”

“That fresh meat is the one who messed up my face!” shouted Guava.

I stepped back, suddenly seeing Bang stand up. “Ayo, WHAT?!” he asked in anger.

“I-I can explain!” I stammered. “P-Please, don’t rush to conclusions!”

I was immediately picked up and pinned against the wall, the taller octoling’s face full of fury. He held up a fist. “No explanations needed…” he said in a menacing tone.

Panicking, I screamed out, “B-Bryson’s trying to help you, Guava! He’s been looking for you!”

Guava, still looking angry, said, “Better start explaining, or that face of yours is gonna get just as messed up as mine did.”

“H-He wants to meet with you!” I said as quickly as possible. “Says he wants to fake your death so your dad will leave you alone!”

“Oh, please. I don’t believe that for a second,” she said.

“You’re his big sister!” I screamed. “You’re supposed to care about him, right?! He cares about you! Otherwise, he… he’d leave you for dead in our last fight!”

“Let her go,” Guava commanded.

Bang instantly let me down, and just when I thought I was safe, Guava pinned me to the wall instead, a sinister smile on her face. “You think you’re so smart, huh…?” she asked me. “You can’t fool me. My family’s been wanting me out of the picture for years, and why? All because I love someone from the wrong side of the tracks.”

Guava jostled me against the wall, the back of my head receiving a jolt of pain. “W-Wreckage, don’t let her kill me!”

“Yo, Guav, you wanna explain what’s goin’ on?” asked Wreckage.

“This punk isn’t what you think she is,” said Guava. “She’s a fraud, and she thinks that just because she knows my little brother, she can manipulate me!”

I remembered back to when Guava had knocked my helmet off during our ranked match. She… must’ve seen my hair. And that inkling boy I assaulted would’ve seen it too! Not again… I didn’t wanna have to tell David. He was furious the first time!

“C-Can’t you just ask him?!” I whimpered, a little dizzy. I could feel something wet dripping down the back of my head, something hot, making me worry about potential damage to my head. “P-Please, he needs you! He looks up to you! You hurt him when you left! He kept wondering if he did something wrong...”

Guava went quiet for a while, then let me go. As she stepped back, I fell to the floor, landing on my hands and knees. I looked up, seeing her as she crossed her arms and said, “You’d better not be lying, or the next splat you experience will be your last. You understand me, shrimp?”

I quickly nodded. I didn’t want her to get angry again. Although I felt like I could take her on with Turf Madness, I couldn’t bear to think of the consequences. I don’t even think Bryson had really forgiven me yet. Sure, it seemed like it, but I definitely didn’t hear him say the words.

Plus, she was still a pro. I had obviously caught her off her guard when my abilities had suddenly improved within such a short instance. There was no doubt in my mind that she would be wary, anticipating my moves with careful planning. She probably would’ve taken me down with no problem at all.

As I was about to stand back up, Bang walked up to me and kicked me hard in my side. “You’re lucky we had a personal spawn point for her.”

I rolled onto my other side, groaning in pain as I questioned, “Y-You guys have personal spawn points?”

Wreckage helped me onto my feet, shooting a glare at Bang. “Yeah, we do,” said Wreckage. “Everyone in our band has one. Hell, GUESS WHO ILLEGALLY MODIFIED THEIR GUITAR TO BE A PORTABLE SPAWN POINT!”

…

“You?” I guessed.

“HELL YEAH, I DID!” she shouted. I had to admit, portable spawn points were becoming more and more commonplace.

“That actually sounds pretty neat,” I said. “You seem to like altering things a lot.”

“Yeah!” she replied. “And GUESS WHO ILLEGALLY MODIFIED THEIR GUITAR TO SHOOT INK!”

I--

…

“You?” I guessed again.

She suddenly picked it up and struck a chord, a soundwave of ink flying outwards from it. I was… very impressed, actually.

“How are you able to do that?” I asked.

Wreckage grinned. “Oh, just some street squid know-how I hang out with on the weekends. He taught me everything I know about modding. And guess what! That’s not all!”

“Not all?” I repeated.

She suddenly hoisted the guitar over her shoulder, the neck facing back and the main body facing forward. “THAT’S NOT ALL! GUESS WHO ILLEGALLY MODIFIED THEIR GUITAR TO DOUBLE AS AN INKZOOKA!”

“Exactly how many times have you illegally modified your guitar?” I questioned.

“YES!” replied Wreckage as she struck three chords of the same note. For some reason, it was very familiar to me, but I couldn’t figure out why. The moment she did, the bottom of the guitar’s body opened up, a small pipe sliding out.

My eyes widened, and just when I thought she was about to fire it, a small spurt of ink fired out instead. She seemed to have a confused expression on her face. “Eh?”

“Had a feeling you’d try to show off your guitar again,” said Riff. “I took the liberty of emptying it before you could trash another place.”

“Oh, yeah,” muttered Wreckage, standing up. “Thanks, babe.”

“Uh-huh,” replied Riff.

“Babe?” I queried.

“Riff’s my boyfriend. Met him back when my ex decided to cheat on me with some cold, heartless bi--”

“Wreckage, yer language. We may be older, but she ain’t,” said Riff.

“Oh, yeah, he’s pretty responsible around kids, too. Has a whole bunch of siblings,” Wreckage bragged.

…

“Were you about to say another human word?” I asked, recognizing it. Mom had once used that word when she had been in an argument with Dad.

“How’d you know that?” asked Wreckage. “Thought I was the only one who knew around here.”

“Uh… I also like human lore,” I excused. I’d have to tell her later, but not here…

“Oh, sweet,” she said.

“Wait, how did Riff know that word?” I asked.

“Taught him everything I know,” she answered.

Riff nodded in confirmation. “That human song, too… we’ve been practicing it for a while.”

“We found some music sheets a long ago,” said Wreckage. “Human language is tough, but luckily my dad was a researcher. Taught me everything he knew. I miss that old guy…”

“Sorry to hear about that… I miss mine, too,” I said in sympathy.

“No kiddin’?” she said, patting my head.

“You two gonna shut it?” asked Guava, sounding really annoyed. “Why’s she still back here? Go tell Bryson I’ll wait for him at our old hangout.”

I nodded quickly, fearing her wrath. “Y-Yeah, I’ll tell him. Old hangout.”

“By the way…” said Guava. “Next time you try to find me… don’t. I don’t tolerate trash like you.”

I nodded again, and Wreckage helped me get back home at around three in the morning. Well, at least it was before Nem could find out, right? Wreckage patted me on the back, flashing another grin. “You’re always welcome with us, despite what Guav said,” she said.

“I dunno,” I said. “She scares me a lot.”

“Oh, please, Guav’s just like you and me. Another stray, and I dig your vibe, kid. Dunno why, I just do. It’s like you’re out of this world or somethin’. We don’t see that very often.”

I smiled softly, really appreciating her words. “Wreckage, one of these days, I’m gonna tell you a story that’s definitely out of this world. Just… not now. I’m really tired now.”

“Hah. Must be all that screamin’,” she said. “And you’d better be givin’ me an entire novel, cuz I like that kinda stuff.”

I thanked her, she patted me on the back, and then I walked up the stairs.

As I approached the door, I heard the familiar voice of Ezra. “You’re gonna go find Marina tomorrow, right? To help me find my own body?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “I promise.”

“You’d better,” she said. “I’m running out of time. We’re both running out of time, and you know what I have to do.”

“Yeah…” I said quietly.

I picked up the mat in front of the door, but… there was no key underneath like there usually was. Where in the…?

“You really think I wouldn’t notice this time?” asked Nem as she opened the door. “C’mon, Amelia… Get inside. We’ll talk in the morning.”

Sigh…

“Thanks, Nem-Nem."