Deep inside the cavern beneath the waves, a small hissing sound could be heard from the air pocket formed eons ago. No inkling would have anticipated the strange evens that were about to unfold.

Momentarily, a capsule opened to reveal a girl not much larger than an average inkling. Her eyes, glowing like emeralds, fluttered open suddenly, and looked carefully at the surroundings. Her body tested itself calmly, hands fiddling, legs stretching, arms going round in circles in an attempt to shake off the dust of many years locked away forcefully in storage. Her hair, falling down to her feet, had not stopped growing; this she found as she looked at her reflection in the unfortunate excuse for a mirror; the glass of her cage.

Above her was a skinny hole, and the night sky held a great blood-red orb within it. It was a lunar eclipse, and the moon shone in a deadly colour.

Breaking down suddenly, she smashed the cage to bits, angry, though she did not know why. So many questions ran through her head that at long last she simply laid down and slept, awaking to the sound of birdsong.

She heard the birds, and a sudden hope filled her body. If birds could live, surely she could as well, if only she were to find a way out. Using a piece of glass to cut her hair, she trimmed it until it stopped at her feet instead of dragging everywhere. Surely, long hair may come in useful, and if not it could be cut off. She tasted the water experimentally, and found it to be fresh. She gulped down enough to make a normal person sick, then decided a bit too late to exercise some patience and moderation. Lifting herself, she found that above her was a tunnel to the surface, not far away; but unfortunately, she was too short to reach it.

Turning to her water source, she realized it connected to a larger body of water. The surface was only a few meters away; surely, if the tunnel was short, she would be able to swim her way up!

With a graceful leap, her body embraced the water and began a steady stroke towards the world above. Though for about three meters the waterway went down, the rest of the journey was a path straight up. Her head breached the surface, and with a heavy gasp, she struggled her way to a small islet in the center of the lake, where a tree stood. The lake was minimal, but it would serve her well. The water dripping away from her clothes in the mid-morning sun, she found herself so exhausted that she yet again fell asleep.

The lake was placed within a dense forest, and as the day wore on the girl was lucky to find herself within the only spot in which the sun shone constantly. Her breathing regulated itself as it got accustomed to the new oxygen levels, and her body recovered from a lack of proper nourishment. The water had done wonders, and she now began to feel rejuvenated - more so than she had in thousands of years. She wondered where people where now. Perhaps they had found another planet, or by chance figured out how to sustain themselves indefinitely upon those many ships sent into space in hopes of survival. The chaos, no matter how wild it was, was over. If any humans remained other than her, they were either very primitive in lifestyle or simply didn't exist at all on this planet.

She awoke again, and with a rub to her eyes and a rapid blinking, she found that she had slept much longer. She stood up and stared at her shadow, estimating the time.

"Around 1400 hours, year; 14122, day; Thursday, Weather; clear. Restoring memory..." her superiors had taught her to speak this way. Though they never spoke in a similar manner, she did not care. By now, they were gone, and she could live without having to retake the planet, as they had hoped.

...wait, what? Where did that thought come from? She thought, unsure. Maybe years of living in an underwater cave had finally gotten to her...

Suddenly, a rustling in the underbrush signaled the approach of another life form. With a deep breath she dove into the lake, and finding a place upon the other edge to hide, she made it her mission to stay there, unnoticed.

Three life forms approached, of startling description. Each appeared to hold a form quite similar to that of herself, but their heads bore tentacles instead of hair, and each bore a different bright colour. They talked rapidly in a strange yet familiar language, and the girl watched their every move as she drew information from her head.

Whispering to herself, she stated, "Species; Unknown. Derives similarities from homo sapiens and Cephalopods. Ink based. Gender; One female, two males. Language used; Japanese, Okinawan dialect." She was proud of her ability to pick up on even the slightest hints towards their nature and being able to recognize a language upon hearing a single word. She watched them, and using hints from their mouths and beak movement, she was able to pick out their conversation.

"Are you sure about this, Donver?" a smaller male inquired, looking to his larger counterpart. The large male simply laughed and brushed his way through the trees.

He replied with a simple statement. "When has that old coot Cuttlefish ever been sane when he said there was a danger of something? Remember the whole shenanigan with him trying to convince you the Octarians were invading?" The smaller male looked down at his feet, and the female patted his back gently. It appeared she favoured him over the large boy. The human was not surprised, by the feeling she was getting from the boy. He almost seemed different somehow. His beak was wrong, and she was careful to watch his movements. They seemed more stuttery and mechanical, almost broken, and every footstep left an impression upon the earth.

Momentarily, the female began to speak. "Surely, Donver, you can't mean to seriously have Iko touch the water?" she stared, terrified, at the water, as if it would kill her. Surely, these creatures needed water to survive! That was a basic necessity of life!

"Come now, Kala! I wouldn't put you in danger, would I?" he replied, staring deviously at her.

She backed up, but the human caught her whispering, you'd hurt Iko, though...

As the group approached the lake, she sat nervously in her corner. The three merely stared for a while.

"Devil's Pond sure is quiet, huh?" Iko said, staring fearfully at the lake.

"I don't care," Donver said angrily. "I just want to prove that water is harmless. We should stop being scared witless and touch it."

"I don't think this is a good idea..." Kala interrupted, but the two boys ignored her. Suddenly, with a violent push, Donver shoved Iko into the water. After a few moments the small creature came struggling to the surface, ink dripping away from his tentacles. He gasped desperately, and the human realized that the poor creature was dying.

With a swift dive, she swam beneath the struggling child, and pushing with all her might, she managed to hold it above the water, though only her wrists breached the surface. With a few kicks to keep herself afloat, she swung both her arms towards the shore and sent the boy flying. She swiftly swam around and caught her breath.

"What the..." Donver muttered, as ink dripped from Iko, who seemed to be desperately fighting for his life. She had made a huge discovery. Apparently these new-world creatures lived off of ink, not blood, and water harmed them. Of course, since ink spread in water, it was understandable; but it was still frightening. It seemed these evolved squid produced ink, as if humans could produce water and blood in large amounts. She refocused her senses, and decided she ought get a look at these creatures close up.

Swimming swiftly, she prepared herself and did a dolphin leap, breaching the water and twisting her body to look directly at the creatures. They looked shocked, and she could clearly see the similarities and differences between them. They appeared quite harmless, and Iko seemed to be healthy enough to stand, so she left the lake and moved on, eager to discover what else lay in store.