#7 - Sanitized

Lifeless

6 years later

And that's how I got Sanitized. I blacked out shortly after that, and when I came to I was in a workroom with a DJ mixer. 

But that's where the problems began.

I just felt a little off at first, but I didn't think much of it. I remembered what that Octoling told me to do, so I began to make a song. I didn't really know what I was going for, but at the end, I was pretty happy with #0 - Shell. And I was really surprised at how fast it was! It was as if I had the ability to hyperfocus with this strange "Sanitization".

However, it was nowhere near smooth sailing after that.

I'm not entirely sure how long it took me to make #1 - Progress, but when I was done with it, I had that odd feeling again. I knew that something was wrong. I was...in the zone, making music, which was what I wanted, right? But I knew it was wrong, it felt more like a trance...

But I ignored my thoughts. After #1 - Progress, I made another song called #2 - Ripped, and then another called #3 - Bitter, which I just never used. At this point, I wanted to stop. I had to stop. Something was very wrong.

I tried to leave. The door was locked. There weren't any windows. My CQ-80 was useless, I couldn't call for help. 

I was trapped.

I wanted to leave. I wanted to leave so badly. But I couldn't. I had to... I had to make more...

I fell back into the trance once I returned to my desk, and made #4 - Dunno. I couldn't control myself. I made #4.5 - Departure, then a more lively version called #5 - Thirsty, and then another one called #6 - Frisk. I couldn't leave my own head, I couldn't-

Next, I made one called #10 - Alive, with lyrics to give the test subjects hope, but the Telephone took it despite my explanation. Well, no one's gonna believe you're a good person if you do nothing to help anyone! My seventh song was...we'll get back to that later.

After that, the reality of what was happening finally hit me. I was losing my free will. I poured all my emotion into a song: #8-Regret. I regretted my decision. I regretted my decision so much. I should have never tried to leave Octo Canyon.

And then the Sanitization numbed my mind. I felt like I was asleep, and whoever was making these songs was...something else. I tried to break through, but once I did, Kamabo found out. They strengthened their control over me by giving me a set of strange Hypnoshades, and my mind was locked away once more.

After that, I made more songs: #9 - Party, #11 - Above, #12 - Awake, #13 - Shade, and #14 - Crush. But the whole time, I had a horrible, looming sense of dread. And I couldn't do a single thing about it.

And finally, I succumbed to the deadly cyan ink. 

I couldn't breathe, I wasn't hungry or thirsty anymore, I felt...

Dead.

Next, I made #16 - Salty and a few others. I kind of screwed up the names and numbers, though, so...there...isn't really a #15, 17 or 18. After that, I made #19 - Bless, a warning song with a hidden message. Finally, Kamabo approved it, and I stopped making warning songs.

However, the final song, my masterpiece...

When I made #20 - Finale, I thought I was done. Maybe they would finally let me free. Maybe, just maybe... But no matter what I said or thought, I couldn't leave.

And on top of that, do you know what that scrap metal box did to my absolute best creation...?

He took it from me, never to be used. Never.

He didn't use it. Just...took it. There was no good reason to. It wasn't even a warning song. But I didn't care. What would I do? Take the disc back? I couldn't leave the room at all. I hated him. 

But...

There's nothing...

And now, finally back to the Forbidden Songs. Now I remember why Kamabo took my memories of Sanitized and my other song, Alive. They were both warning songs, so I played them in every test chamber for two hours until Tartar stopped me. Well, I'm pretty sure he stopped me...I still don't really remember it, but he must have.

 They made me delete those songs and took my memories of those two hours. 

I felt hopeless.

And finally, I was forced to remix an Inklish song called Splattack! before my album was complete. I had reached the end of my career, as well as my limited freedom. When they finally had no use for me and no need to keep my thoughts intact, they turned up the power of my Hypnoshades, and I slipped into the dark abyss...

And that's where my story should've ended.

Should've.

The Telephone was destroyed...and then an Inklish song called Calamari Inkantation started playing throughout Kamabo Co. 

After so long, I finally felt free again. I took off the modified Hypnoshades.

Finally.

For the first time in years, I could freely walk through the Deepsea Metro without the Telephone's control. The Octolings wandered through the halls, acting as if they hadn't been Sanitized for who knows how long. Then I realized that they probably had no memory of the Sanitization. I don't remember much about the time before I was Sanitized. I only remember the name I came up with for my DJ name, Dedf1sh. 

But that's because it's the only name that anyone calls me around here. If only I could remember my real name...

Without thinking, I pulled off my hat and set it down. I think it meant something to me, but after so long, I couldn't remember why. I'd always hated the gray colors anyway. 

But enough about Kamabo. I was leaving this place. All these years in the Deepsea metro were just too many.

I gathered a few things and prepared to leave.

~~~

I waited at the Deepsea Metro central station. Finally, the train pulled up. I got on and greeted CQ Cumber. "Hello, 27!" he chittered. "I assume you've heard the news about the test stations?"

"Yes," I replied. "Is it true that the Sanitized are trying to destroy the Deepsea Metro?" I asked. "Sadly, yes," C.Q. answered. "We've had to block off most of the test stations, excluding the ones that don't have Octarians of course. But there has to be a reason for you being here. I assume you'd like to go somewhere?" "Yes," I admitted. "Can you take me to the Kamabo exit?"

"I was expecting that," C.Q. mumbled. "But I guess I'll have to let you out. After all this time, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't. How far do I need to go?" he asked.

"Just to the Diaphragm Phase," I said.

C.Q. slithered back to the front of the train. Half an hour later, I arrived. I saw a pink Inkrail for the next phase, so I changed it to Sanitized ink and swam to the superjump Launchpad. I jumped to the Peristalsis Phase. I saw a white platform, so I stepped onto it and it brought me to the Spinal Phase Inkrail. But it was too quiet as I rode through the empty area. The Octarians were missing, which was probably the work of whoever had destroyed the Telephone. I changed the Inkrail from pink to cyan again and swam to the next phase.

The Spinal Phase.

The last phase.

I had escaped.

I stepped onto the elevator. As I rode the elevator up, I noticed that instead of the normal Kamabo elevator music, a song called Low Tide was playing. It was a nice reminder that Kamabo would hopefully be gone soon.

And there it was. For the first time in years, I could see the blue sky.

But even though I knew that I was free of Kamabo's Sanitization, I could sense that something was wrong...

~~~

Author's note: Hello, hello, hello readers! Friendly reminder to vote on my chapters if you like them!