Farris and the Octarian Blast

Chapter 11: Squid Bonds

On the way back to Octo Canyon, I ended up telling Synthia about the New Squidbeak Splatoon, since it would've been the best explanation for why the Octarians would have wanted to kidnap her. She was surprised by what I had accomplished and saw how much I had grown in the past few days since I've been working for Marie. We kind of joked about how the letter I got wasn't that much of a sham after all and that I would be set for life after this, but I had to tell her about the secrecy of the society and how Master probably wouldn't understand anyway. She understood me and said she'd keep it secret as well.

We got back to Tentakeel Outpost, where Marie waited for the two of us.

"Farris! Synthia!" she said cheerfully. "It's good to see you back again."

Synthia went up and introduced herself personally to Marie. "Farris told me about the society," she said. "I'll make sure I don't say anything."

"Thanks, Synthia," said Marie. "To be honest, I'd understand if you said something about the Octarians to your friends. They were your captors, after all."

"Yeah..." said Synthia. "To be honest, I don't really remember much after I got captured. All I remember is them giving me a pair of shades that messed with my head. It didn't... feel very pleasant."

"I was afraid they were going to do more," I said to her. "The fact that the shades were all they did to you puts me at ease."

Marie seemed to turn away for a moment, almost like she was remembering something.

"What's wrong, Marie?" I asked.

Marie looked at me with a sad face. I could tell something came to her mind.

"Can I talk to you for a bit, Farris?" she asked.

"Um... sure," I said.

"Synthia, you can just wait here if you want," said Marie.

"O... okay," said Synthia.

Marie led me to the lookout in Tentakeel Outpost. We both looked out together. The sun was about to go down. It must have taken all day to find and rescue Synthia and take care of the Octarians in Beaker's Depot. I was beginning to get a little tired.

"Farris," she said to me. "I want to thank you again for all you've done so far."

"You're welcome," I said. "I'm glad to have an opportunity to help out."

There was a short pause. Marie was definitely not acting like herself. She seemed to be mourning again. I wasn't sure what she was thinking about, but I had an idea.

"I think it's about time..." she said. "to tell you my other purpose in asking for your help."

I looked over at her. I knew exactly what she was going to say. "Go on."

Marie hesitated for a moment. I could tell she was struggling through this. "When we met..." she began. "I told you I was searching for the Great Zapfish..."

"You did say that," I said.

"Well..." she continued. "I'm afraid that's not the whole truth."

"Hmm?" I said. "Oh... you mean your cousin?"

"Yeah," said Marie. "You probably heard it on the news. More than just the Great Zapfish, my cousin Callie vanished on the same day. I don't know if it was the Octarians, but I have a feeling..."

"Hmm..." I said. I had known about Callie's disappearance the entire time and figured she was leading up to that. Marie must have known how much I knew, and just wanted to get a monkey off her back.