Farris and the Octarian Blast

Chapter 10: Stomper

I was hoping, by some miracle, that the last areas in Beaker's depot would give me some clue as to the whereabouts of Synthia, but my search was ultimately for naught as none of the areas gave any indication of her location. I did, however, catch a glimpse of someone in one of the areas, but since I was down below where they were standing, I couldn't shout up to them or see who they were, and by the time I got to where they were, they had gone. I was afraid I might just have been seeing things and that they would never let go of her until I actually went out of my way to save her. I didn't know where she would be, though. My only real guide was Marie, and she was more focused on saving Inkopolis than Synthia. I had to just roll along with it. I was just hoping that, at some point, I could try to save my dear friend soon.

Finally with all the areas clear and the Zapfishes collected, the Boss Kettle in Beaker's Depot opened up. Other than Synthia's disappearance and subsequent search that did not go well, I actually kind of enjoyed the areas that were here. A lot of Octarian weaponry was being stored here, and I brought as much as I could back for Sheldon to work on his weaponry for me. He had a new set of Hero Dualies that were ready to go for me to use in this next fight. I got ready to rock and roll.

"How are you doing, Farris?" Marie asked me as I picked up my weapons.

"Depends, honestly..." I said. "Physically and mentally, I'm fine. Emotionally... eh?"

"Well..." said Marie. "Hopefully we'll get both the Zapfish and Synthia back after this next fight. You've done well so far, Farris, even with your friend going missing, you've stayed in it."

"Thanks," I said. "I'm just trying to find some sort of answer at this point, and this may be just the time to do it."

"Mhm," said Marie. We approached the Boss Kettle together. "Good luck, Farris. I'll be in touch, as always."

"Thanks, Marie. I'll be back soon," I said.

I went into the boss kettle and into the next stage. Once again, the stage was set for a fight. This time the area was less open, with a raised surface in the middle taking up most of the arena, and a road below it that looked to be some sort of safe area. I jumped right down and looked around my surroundings. Once again, the Zapfish was right in front of me, surrounded by Octarian ink. I was feeling good and ready to get going, but then I noticed something - no, someone - in the distance. They went in and super jumped into the arena with me. When they did, I saw exactly who it was...

"Sy... Synthia?" I said as I looked on.

There was no doubt about it - it was Synthia who I was looking at - but something was definitely different about her. She had on a pair of shades that had lights flashing in a pattern. She wasn't even willing to talk. She just walked up to where the Zapfish was and got sucked up by the subsequent tentacle coming out of the ground.

"NO! Synthia!" I said as I about tripped over myself trying to run over to her aid. I had to stop myself, though, because stepping in that ink was going to lead to death. The Octoboss emerged from the ground - a giant cube with a face on it, whose eyes glowed in the dark, and its face covered in Octarian ink. There was no sign of Synthia coming out as the cube shouted with a robotic voice:

"I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!"

I nearly got knocked over by such a loud introduction. "HOLY FREAKING...!!!" I shouted.

"Oh gosh... Farris, are you okay?" Marie said in concern.

"Yeah, I'm good," I replied as I regained my balance.

"Wait... I know this guy!" said Marie. "It's the Octostomp! We saw this guy back when Octavio first emerged as a threat."

"Octostomp?!" said Sheldon. "I thought Agent 3 took him out a long time ago!"