AN: Thanks for joining me this month for a month-long celebration with drabbles galore. I know there were some days I failed to get the drabbles up for you all but I finally got caught up and here we are. Sorry if this drabble isn’t the end of this specific story. I’ll get it done as soon as I can 🙂 thanks for reading and I look forward to what the future holds.
Sedi’s heels clacked upon the sheet metal flooring of the warehouse as they ushered Benji and Gunther inside, the pair’s eyes wide as they gazed upon the inner workings of this building completely blended into the skyline. Inside was a domed arena, with a catwalk surrounding the glass for observers. And standing at the platform entrance of the dome was a familiar squid, a narrowed glance falling upon the newcomers as Sedi fell in line at his side.
“What are these two doing here?” Cale asked, trying to mask the disdain in his voice. The last time he’d seen Gunther…the meeting ended on a sour note. “I thought you said you were going to gather agents for this test.”
“You wanted skilled fighters who could really make these weapons shine right?” Sedi hummed with a knowing grin as they gestured towards the silent Benji and flaring Gunther. “These two can do just that. I’ll be teaming up with them.”
Cale frowned at the Cuttlefish’s words but soon relented with a sigh, motioning towards Benji. “It is good to see you well Benji. We’ve missed you at the agency.”
Benji nodded at the acknowledgement but found himself pushed backwards as Gunther marched forward towards the former partner of a certain Squid he adored.
“What’s that look for jackass? Acting all high and mighty. You lot are the ones that invited us and you’re going to treat us like trash? Screw you!” He hissed through gritted teeth as he raised a threatening finger to the inventor, Cale staring down the outstretched limb with that same amount of disdain as before. These two…were not going to get along. “Don’t think I don’t know what happened with you and Atlas. How you and your damn agent friends trapped her like a wild animal. When all she wanted was to be free.”
“You mean treated her with the intent to help her with her flareups?” Cale asked though he knew exactly what Gunther meant. “We did that to protect her.”
“Protect her my ass. You wanted to find a way to fix your fucking mistakes so you’d feel less guilty about what you did to her,” Gunther snapped back, fangs bared as he saw Cale’s expression twist at the accusation. He felt like he was winning the war with this squid…if not for Sedi stepping between them with a gentle push back towards Benji’s side. “I don’t want to have anything to do with this guy. Come on Benji, let’s bail. Even having the opportunity to rub this in Lily’s face seems not worth it anymore.”
“Oh I think you’ll tune will change momentarily,” Sedi cooed with an acknowledging glance beyond the pair, both Gunther and Benji unable to catch onto what was happening before two pairs of arms were suddenly around their chests, engulfing the squids in unsuspecting hugs. “Good Evening you three!”
Gunther flailed at the unwelcome embrace, the pair of arms pulling him tightly into the grasps of a familiar Octoling with a wicked grin. Wes hummed in the Squid’s ear, forcing an array of curses to echo within the warehouse. “Hey there Gunny, aw did you miss me?”
“Get off of me!” Gunther howled as he tried to wiggle out of the shockingly strong Octoling that held him in place. “Benji, get this guy off of-Benji?!”
Gunther went pale as he turned his wide eyes towards Benji’s position, the poor sniper a puddle of jello in the embrace of a familiar two-toned Inkling. Atlas was grinning ear-to-ear as her cheek snuggled up against her captive’s, Benji’s cheeks brighter than her red tentacles. Despite his situation, he didn’t flail or try to push away. He did however note the burning jealousy of Gunther’s gaze upon him as he realized who was there with them.
“These two aren’t operatives,” The second of the Octotwins, Zane, stepped forward from the shadows to line with the others, not bothering to join into the snuggle fest that was going on at either side of him. “What’s going on?”
Gunther’s eyes narrowed at the question before forcing Wes off of him, his attention back on Sedi and Cale at the end of the platform. “Yeah start talking! What’s going on?”
“We’re going to have ourselves a little showdown to test out some new weapons and to test out the teamwork of our trio of operatives here that’ll soon be joining teams on the frontlines,” Sedi explained with a gesture towards the dome behind them. “Wes, Zane, and Atlas will pair off against myself, Benji, and Gunther for a battle royale.”
Atlas beamed at the announcement as hugged Benji tighter in her hold. “You mean I get to play with Ben-Ben?! Oh this is the bestest day ever! I get to play with Ben-Ben!”
“A-Atlas, too tight-,” Benji got out between breaths as Gunther turned towards them and marched to their side.
“Hey wait a minute – what about me?” Gunther asked with a raised brow towards the squids enjoying themselves. “You forgot about lil ole me already?”
“Of course not Squiggles!” Atlas cheered as she then dragged Gunther towards them and threw both Squids into a bear hug – the once furious Gunther now a grinning mess as he held tight to his two favorite Squids. “I get to play with Ben-Ben and Squiggles! It’s a dream come true!”
“You mean we finally get to face off properly on the battlefield?!” Gunther cheered along with a smirk. “That means I finally get to beat the Great and Powerful Atlas?!”
Suddenly Atlas released both Squids, her eyes narrowed as she stood there with a pout on her lips. “Nuh uh, no one beats the Great and Powerful Atlas! I’m gonna win!”
“Oh yeah, in your dreams,” Gunther’s competitive nature matched the woman’s as they both stood toe-to-toe, tempers flared while the rest of their team looked on with mild interest. “Get ready Princess, you’re going down!”
“Aw it’s great to have the gang all back together again,” Wes cheered as he slipped next to Benji and tossed an arm over his shoulder into a small embrace. “You ready Ben-Ben?”
“I-It’s Benji,” he whispered under his breath, unable to shake off the Octoling as his friends were locked into a betting match to prove who truly was the bestest Squid around. All the while Zane moved over to Sedi and Cale with a raised brow.
“You sure this is a good idea?” Zane asked aloud, Cale remaining quiet as Sedi nodded along with a smirk.
“We’re all going to get a great workout in and these new weapons are going to get a run for their money,” Sedi announced with a wink. “This is going to be the bout of the century. Just you watch!”
*~Part Two End~*
*~Mae's Corner~* 