Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

It’s been almost a year since the 2nd I.N.K.T invasion. Comrade Black has been sucked into a black hole, and he was never seen again. As we see Comrade Black swim across the endless void of space, it seems that this is the end for him, as he approaches Raydia. Wait…Raydia???

We zoom to the large city of Chroma. Many buildings are painted different colors, some are painted purple, some are painted orange, one building is painted brown, but the raydians seem to like it. Just right next to that brown building, we see a sandwich shop. The door opens outwards, and we see a strange, blue colored Blob holding what seems like a paper bag with what looks like a sandwich inside. Except that's De Blob, cheering happily.

Blob: He heh!

Blob gives a side eye emotion, as he is preparing to bounce towards that building that was just painted red a couple minutes ago. He jumps and lands on the building, immediately covering it in blue. Blob bounces around to each building, as the raydians down below cheer him on, and Blob eventually drops by to some sort of store called: “Skate It.”

He enters through the door, with a small jingle playing. As the door closes, Blob takes a deep breath as he approaches the front counter to find he almost gets run over by Zip, zooming around the store with grace, and speed. He stops at the front counter and greeted Blob.

Zip: Hi Blob! Need something? New roller skates? Used roller skates? A quick race down the block?

Blob: Uh...

Zip: Blob, you can say what you want. Arty has been teaching you how to speak English, right?

Blob: Yeah! I...was..just kinda stunned a little..

Zip: Don’t worry! I am here by your side. So, have you come here for a reason?

Blob: I was looking for some…paint.

Zip: Well I have just the thing for you!

Zip reaches under the counter and pulls out a colorful paint can, and pushes it towards the edge of the front counter.

Zip: Here you go! This is a brand new color that Arty just created. It’s called “Maroon.”

Blob peers at it with glowing eyes, as it's a new color he hasn’t experienced before. Zip pops open the paint can to see a shiny layer of a new coat of paint. Blob immediately puts his finger into the bucket. The color quickly flows through his body, as the paint decreases inside the can. Once Blob was finished, he looked at his body. It felt…different to see himself in something other than his base colors.

Zip: Well, what do you think?

Blob clenched his fists in excitement. “Arriba!” Blob exclaims.

Zip: I’m glad you like it. Oh, The Prof wanted me to tell you someth-

Blob is gone before Zip asks the question to Blob.

Zip: ..I hope Blob got the message right...

—

Blob jumped and bounced across each building across each building once more, painting the buildings with a nice, shiny, maroon color. As he reaches the top of the buildings, he slams down to the ground with incredible force, covering the granite floor with nothing but maroon paint.

Blob looks around the city landscapes, seeing what he has accomplished today. He chuckles to himself, and glances over at the manhole cover, and quickly aims for it..and slams down to enter the sewers.

At this certain moment, there seems to be some sort of fighting match going on. Two raydians are battling it out, using a fury of kicks and punches. One of those raydians has a red headband with the Color Underground logo on it, which is none other than Bif.

Before the other raydian can make his first move, he instantly gets squished by Blob, disrupting the current match going on.

Blob: Sorry!

The raydian is startled, stumbling a couple times, before he eventually falls down on his face. Bif steps in and says:

Bif: What the hell, Blob!?!

Blob: Hehe..sorry..

Bif seemed a little timid at Blob’s response, as Bif was prepared to improve his skills, but Blob just HAD to interrupt.

Bif: You know, you and I can go for another sparring match. Are you in?

Bif always wanted to challenge other raydians for a fist fight, even if he won most of the time. Especially Blob, as he was a good practice target for him, even if Bif couldn’t hit him 60% of the time.

Blob: No..thanks! I just wanted to say hi to you.

Bif: …Yeah. Well anyways, Prof told me something earlier. Something about...you.

Blob: ???

Bif: I don’t recall what he was saying but he wanted to meet with you.

Blob: Alright! See you then.

Bif: Wait- Blob!

Blob was yet again gone, before Bif could finish his statement.

Bif: What am I going to do with my opponent…

—

Blob wall jumped out of the sewers and busted his way through the manhole cover, which landed him in a different part of the city. As he climbed out, he saw a crowd of people watching over a brick wall. Blob seemed interested and slid over there to check it out.

Raydian 1: Wow…it’s so beautiful.

Raydian 2: I can’t believe my eyes.

Blob was having trouble looking at the art with all the raydians blocking his view. As he pushed them aside, he peered at the art and saw what looked like..a bowl of fruit. It seemed that someone was going through their previous paintings, which was none other than Arty.

Arty: Heya Blob!

Arty was walking towards the painting, carrying a bag which contained art supplies, so whenever she needed to paint something, she would just find an empty wall.

Blob: Hi!

Arty: I like the new color you put on today! chuckles

Arty peered over the new buildings that Blob just colored. Arty liked painting things, but even after two years, Arty still preferred specific color choices.

Arty: I just wish that center building was a shade of Indigo..

Blob: Huh?? Errrggh..

Arty: Oh! I didn’t mean to upset you Blob..I just like things my own way, but it's up to you.

Blob was still skeptical about Arty’s decision, with his arms crossed over one another. Blob opened his mouth to try to explain something, but something else has interrupted him..

growl...

Blob was hungry, as he can tell from his stomach emitting a large growl. He took the sandwich out of the plastic bag, unwrapped the paper, and took one, huge, bite-

Arty: The Prof wanted you urgently.

Blob was a little saddened, but Blob needed to see the Prof. Blob wrapped up the sandwich and dropped it back in the bag and waved goodbye to Arty.

Blob: Blobwa!

Blob gained momentum and began to bounce around the buildings again. Arty didn’t have time to say goodbye, as she needed to fix the artwork she painted on the brick wall.

—

After a couple minutes of bouncing and coloring everything Maroon, Blob finally arrives at the Prof’s laboratory, which was on the first floor of what seemed like an apartment building. Blob knocked once on the door.

There were a series of rattling and scuffling that seemed suspicious for a couple minutes to Blob. Come to think of it, Blob hasn’t seen The Prof ever since the last I.N.K.T. invasion. Was he ok? Blob thought.

The door opened to a sudden surprise of The Prof, standing right in front of Blob.

The Prof: Welcome Blob! I have been expecting you.

Blob: Hey!

Blob rolled into the Prof’s laboratory, which was a variety of machines with fancy screens. The Prof was really stingy about Blob touching anything, so he decided to make everything secure by using a voice recognition program that only the Prof can activate.

The Prof: I wanted to speak to you about something.

The Prof went over to his supercomputer while Blob sat down on the floor, taking the sandwich out the bag, then the wrapper, and took a big bite.

Blob: Mmm...

The Prof: Blob, I want you to stay focused. Here.

The Prof tapped a couple keys on his keyboard and brought up a picture of one of his satellites. It looked like a normal picture, but it had a weird speck of black right in the bottom left corner.

The Prof: I was watching my live feed of my satellites recently and I came across this strange black speck on the far left. I thought it was some sort of space junk, but..it didn’t look like space junk.

Blob was still eating his sandwich, nodding to what the Prof had to say.

The Prof: I zoomed in and saw that it looked like a leg…and I have been speculating…could it possibly be..Comrade Black?

Blob spit out his sandwich.

The Prof: I don’t even know how he came back from that black hole he was sunk in, but he must have gotten out of there somehow. But even if it isn’t..

Blob: Errrrrrr...squints face

Blob despised Comrade Black. He wanted to make everything devoid of color, and became a gigantic puppet master on his friends during the 2nd I.N.K.T invasion. He didn’t want to do this again..

The Prof turned to him.

The Prof: Blob, this isn’t the time to get angry. I doubt that he will land in this city, and even then, we have you on our side.

Blob was still angry about the situation, but began to calm down a little.

Blob: Bloba...

The Prof: swings back to Blob, putting his hand on Blob's head We will discuss this over dinner tonight. But for right now, don’t focus on it right now. Promise?

Blob was still concerned about Comrade Black returning back to Raydia. But he had to focus on the present, as the Prof said.

Blob: facing the Prof Promise.

The Prof: I’m counting on you Blob, if things go horribly wrong.

Blob nods. He turns around, rolls to the door, and leaves.

The Prof: I'll see you at dinner tonight!

Blob waves back, but he still has a feeling in his blobby heart, that things could go horribly wrong. He decided to just shake it off and jumped off to paint the buildings once more…

—

Chapter Text

Night begins to approach. As the bright yellow moon rises up into the sky, we see down below the buildings of Chroma City, each colored with Maroon. Some windows of each building are still glowing yellow, in a messy pattern of some sort. On top of one of the buildings, we see a small figure, laying down, covered in the shadow of midnight.

The figure slowly gets up. It takes a while, as his arms are shorter than they used to be a couple years ago.

???: Ugh...where am I?

The figure looks left. Then it looks right.

Its attention is promptly directed toward a glowing light on the corner of one of the buildings. The sign, which felt like it had been glowing forever, read: “La Nourriture des Rêves.”

Some chuckles could be heard outside the door to the restaurant, and the figure knew where he was.

???: Looks like I’m here. But I’m not ready just yet.

The figure quickly darts, jumping across each building with elegance and grace, getting further and further away from Chroma City…

—

Inside the restaurant, it is bustling with lights, food, and lots of Raydians. Multiple tables are full, but one table seems to stand out…

Bif: And then I was like BAM! makes fist motion in the air and he was down.

Arty gasps. “Was he ok?”

Bif: I think so.

Arty: Well that was really violent of you Bif. Didn’t you use any of your paint-fu on him, to make it slightly less painful-

Bif: Arty. It’s supposed to be a fighting cage for a reason. Even if I used my paint-fu, it wouldn’t matter that much because he was throwing hands at me even before the match began.

Arty: I know, but you could have at least had some self contro-

The Prof: That’s enough, you two. Arty, sometimes you will have to fight, even if it means saving yourself.

Arty: I know Prof!! It’s just...I..

Just then, the waiter approached with five plates, all on one tray.

Waiter: Alright! Your food is ready messieurs!

The waiter started to hand out the food plates one by one.

Waiter: The Spinach Ravioli for Arty! Spaghetti with Meatballs for Zip! Turkey Lasagna for Bif! Caprese Salad for Prof! Pepperoni Pizza for Blob!

The Prof: Thank you!

Everyone at the table was excited for their dishes, they all haven’t eaten at the restaurant before, so it was a new experience for all of the Color Underground.

While Zip was slurping up his spaghetti and Bif was slicing his lasagna like a cake, Blob just stared, unblinking at his plate of pepperoni pizza.

Arty: Is something bothering you Blob?

Blob: Uh..Hrfgghh…

Arty: You can tell me anything, Blob. We are all here for you.

Blob: It’s..just I was thinking about..what the Prof said earlier..

The Prof looked up with a startled look on his face.

The Prof: Blob, there is no need to fear. Even if that spot was Comrade Black, you can take him down.

Bif: Yeah! Blob, I saw you take down Inkies within a blink of an eye. I know you are capable enough to take Comrade Black down.

Zip: I mean you only beat him like two times, so third times the charm!

Blob was starting to feel a little better, knowing that his friends are by his side if anything goes wrong.

Blob: Aw…Thanks..

The Prof: You should probably eat your slice, its getting cold!

Blob turned his attention back to the pizza slice. It looked so delicious now, as Blob began to ease his stress by taking one huge bite.

—

After the dinner night, Blob decided it was best to head back to his tree to rest up for the night. He said goodbye to his fellow friends and vanished after he bounced on top of the restaurant.

Blob was making his way back home until he finally made it back to the forest. He rolled across the green grass to make it to his favorite tree.

But, when Blob eventually found it..

Blob: Harragaff????

The tree that Blob always slept on has been turned to nothing more than the shade of grey. Blob was disappointed, but there was something off about who did this..

Blob came up to the tree to paint it Maroon, until he saw a strange figure in the dampness of the forest. Blob couldn’t see what it was. He rubbed his eyes to see it more clearly, but by then, the figure disappeared.

Blob couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was something watching him, seeing his every movement.

Blob: Herferagawah….(makes tired expression)

Blob couldn’t think about it right now. He needed to get a good nights sleep, to get ready to paint the city again tomorrow.

Blob climbed up in his tree, took a deep sigh, and slowly closed his eyes until he fell asleep…

—

The figure reappeared just a minute later after Blob fell asleep, quiet as a mouse. Once he got next to the tree that Blob was sleeping in, he whispered some words..

???: Just you wait, Blob. Tomorrow, you will regret sending me through that black hole. I.N.K.T never dies.

The mysterious figure leaves the tree, and disappears into the darkness. Only time will tell when he starts to wreak havoc on Chroma City..

Chapter Text

Blob was feeling quite terrified as he was sleeping. Sweat drops started to form across his face, as if he was having a bad trance. Or, was it someone that came up to him…?

As the sun rose over the dampness of the palm trees, a small beam of light glowed across one of Blob's eyes.

Blob shot his eyes open, blinded by the sunlight.

Blob: Eh…

Blob slowly got up and began his morning stretch routine. He crossed his arms across one another, reaches his arms to the sky above-

Blob: AFEGRAWHA?!?!?

Blob lowered down his arms. The arms were as white as bleach. It felt like he had just washed himself with water, but that was not the case.

How could this happen? Blob thought. He was unmistakably the dark color Maroon yesterday. There must have been someone who did this..

Blob jumped out of his beloved tree and raced toward the city of Chroma, expecting to be greeted to a bright and colorful city.

Blob looked over the city with sheer horror and despair.

It happened.

All of Chroma City was blank. There wasn’t a single dot of color, not even the trail that Blob made yesterday was there.

Blob swiftly raced down to the city to see at least some signs of his friends. Are his friends gone too…?

—

Blob had a terrible feeling in his gut as he rolled past all the white buildings towards Zip’s shop, “Skate It”. Blob knew that it would come, the reckoning of Chroma City.

Blob: Herfergher..(makes concerned emotion)

Blob finally made it to the shop, only to see a sign on the door. It read: “Closed due to violations of the I.N.K.T Corporation.”

I.N.K.T Corporation. Those words sent a shiver down Blob’s spine. Except he doesn’t have one.

After reading the text of the sign, Blob knew what he had to do. He rolled a few steps back..

Made another side eye emotion…

Blob: …Sorry Zip.

And slammed open the doors to the shop. Glass shattered everywhere, some on Blob’s body. He didn’t seem to mind though.

The shop looked as pale as white skin. Everything in the shop has been emptied, presumably by the Inkys.

Blob rolled around the shop, hoping to find at least some sort of note, paint, or anything that could be useful to Blob.

Blob: Zip?

Blob opened the cabinet below the front desk, and saw nothing. He tried multiple cabinets, all empty. It was hopeless.

Blob: Zip..

As Blob was about to roll back to the broken doors, Blob remembered something!

Flashback begins..

It was 2 months after the 2nd I.N.K.T invasion. Blob had returned to Chroma a couple of weeks ago, and was hanging out at Zip’s shop again, seeing the new paint colors Zip had in stock.

Blob was looking through all the drawers and cabinets behind the front desk until he saw this strange handle facing the ground in one of the drawers.

Blob pulled on it. Hard.

Zip saw that Blob was struggling with something.

Zip: Blob, do you need any help?

Blob: Arfeghgetta..

Zip: Let me have a look.

Zip looked down into the drawer and saw the handle sticking out. He turned around back to Blob with a smile on his face.

Zip: That handle you were pulling is my secret compartment. I usually keep my extra secret stuff in there, just in case.

Blob: Blahfurgatuwa?

Zip: Oh, it opens by pushing the handle downward.

Zip turned back around to look in the drawer, gripped the handle, and pushed the drawer away from him.

Zip brought out a paint can and closed the compartment by pulling it towards him.

Zip: This is one of my rare paints. It’s called, “Suspicious Green”. You are welcome to try it Blob, but it’s not that easy to find!

Zip hands the paint can over to Blob. Blob, being curious, but having some logic, decided to pass on it.

Blob already had orange on his body, so it felt like he didn’t need a new color change after the events over at Prisma City. Only for some special occasion, where Blob needed to use it.

Flashback ends..

Blob opened all the cabinets again and found the handle hidden below. He pushed it open and found all the rare paint cans that Zip had found. Blob picked up the first paint can and it was labeled “Dandelion”. Blob tore open the seal and dipped his hand into it to suck up all the paint.

The color was soon surging through his body. It felt..new to Blob, as it was going from his arms to his ears.

The paint can was shortly empty, with Blob in his new color, he felt like he could paint the entire city again. But he still missed his friends..

Blob excitedly busted down the doors of Skate It and prepared to jump high onto the building.

POW!

An ink bullet just fired at rapid speed. Blob saw this coming and nearly missed it. He looked to the right and saw a spikey Inky. The Inky started talking smack to Blob.

Spikey Inky: Good to see you again, doesn’t it?

Blob made a determined look on his face as he charged through the Spikey Inky at rapid speed. It was soon defeated, and it was nothing else but a small puddle of ink.

Blob: He heh!

Blob felt a small sense of victory, knowing that with his determination, and his skills, he could stop I.N.K.T. once agai-

???: FIRE!

Two ink bullets were heading straight to Blob. Unfortunately, Blob wasn’t paying attention to his own surroundings. They were approaching closer and closer until eventually..

POW!

They struck.

Two Spikey Inkies run over to the scene, hopefully to see Blob being inked so they can kidnap him.

Spikey Inky 2: What?!?!

Spikey Inky 3: That’s..impossible..

What the two inky’s were staring at was a pool of ink, meaning there was no sign of Blob.

Spikey Inky 3: I told you should have taken those shooting lessons with the general.

Spikey Inky 2: But it wasn’t my fault! I am an expert at scoping things down.

Whilst the two inky’s were bickering at the ground below, something was pulling Blob’s ears..

Blob: Hey! Stop it! My ears are part of my body too!

Blob was flying??? Wait, no. Blob was just being pulled by some sort of robot, eye catching in color. It also has a lot of scratches. Perhaps it is..

Pinky: Blob, you could have died down there! Now, there’s something I want to tell you urgently, but we can’t do it here.

Blob: COULD YOU AT LEAST PUT ME DOWN FIRST?!?

Pinky: ...No.

Pinky eventually flew away, with Blob still bickering about the pain on his ears.

—

Chapter Text

As the day went by in the blank town of Chroma, more and more things started to reappear as they did before.

On the gray road below, there is a small crowd of Inkies circling a fellow Raydian who is holding some sort of paintbrush..

Raydian: Get back! All of you! swings paintbrush frantically

One Inky steps in and knocks the paintbrush out of her hand. Then, the Inky stomps on the paintbrush, breaking it in half.

Inky 1: You think that small little paintbrush will help? Ha!

The Raydian stood in silence, trembling in the fear of the multiple Inkies surrounding him.

Inky 2: Alright, enough teasing. Let’s wrap her up.

The Inky takes a syringe out of his pocket, with a long, metal tip.

The Inky jabs the syringe into her, inflicting a sharp, everlasting pain on the Raydian. It wouldn't be long before the syringe slowly starts to suck the color up. The Raydian feels like she can’t move, with her breath disappearing in an instant.

After what seemed like forever, the bright red color that the Raydian had was soon gone. The Inky pulled the syringe out, and the Raydian fell down on the smooth, gray pavement, unconscious.

Inky 2: That will teach her a lesson.

A very fast zoom is heard from above. All the Inkys look up.

Inky 2: Huh? I felt like I heard something..

Inky 3: faces toward Inky 2 Maybe it’s just those ink jet planes that have been flying over the city.

Inky 2: I could have swore that it was something else-

Inky 1: That’s enough, Inky #274. Let’s keep moving forward.

The Inky walks away from the scene, and the others follow him. Inky #274 briefly glanced at the sky again, and then ran up to his group of other Inky’s, leaving the Raydian behind..

—

Towards the sky above, Pinky is still carrying Blob by the ears as she speeds down through each gray building. Blob was still bickering about the pain on his ears, except even louder this time.

Eventually, Pinky approached a tall building and dropped off Blob, finally relieving the pain on his ears. Pinky floated down to the top of the building and peered over.

Pinky: I think we are safe. For now.

Blob didn’t focus on Pinky’s words, as he was desperately stroking his ears to rid the pain he had to endure.

Pinky: faces Blob So, about your friends…

Blob: Wait..how did you get here? I thought..the Prof stored you away for repairs..

Pinky stood silently for a couple of seconds.

Pinky: ..Let’s not focus on that right now. Now, back to what I was saying, about your friends..they were kidnapped.

Blob widened his eyes in shock. His friends..the ones he relied on for help..the ones who were always there for him..were captured. But by who?

Pinky: I think that Comrade Black has something to do with this. Especially since they taught you so many things in the past..

Blob: Hrgffa…covers face with hand, in shame

Pinky floated towards Blob, to comfort him.

Pinky: Blob..this is no time to cry. What is most important is saving your friends. I know you can do this!

Pinky was right. If Blob saved his friends over at Prisma City, he could do it again over in Chroma City.

Blob looked back up at Pinky, with a sudden determined look in his eyes. He clutched both of his fists in revenge, to hopefully save his friends once again. It won’t be an easy task however…

Pinky: Good. Now, lets go find them-

At this moment, Pinky’s flasher on her body started beeping. Someone was calling her.

Pinky answered, and it brought up a mini screen on her chest. Blob stared at it in mystery, wondering who could be calling them at this moment.

The screen flickers in static for a couple moments, with a face appearing in and out between each jolt of the static.

It looked familiar.

After the screen stopped flickering, the body in the picture looks rather old, with a white beard of some sort and monocle on his eye. Oh, thats..

The Prof: Is this thing on..?

Blob: Prof!

Blob grinned in excitement, rolling towards Pinky to hug the screen, but to little avail, with spots of dandelion spreading all over her robot chassis.

Pinky: Ew..

The Prof: Blob, I need you to catch what I’m saying right now, because I don’t have much time..

Blob backed away from Pinky to overhear what the Prof had to say next.

The Prof: Zip, Bif, and Arty are all captured at different points in Chroma City, and from where they were, I think you can find them.

Blob: Got it!...I think.

The Prof: The thing you need to look out for is the ink they shoot at you Blob.

Blob: Huh?

The Prof: I’ve been studying the ink ever since Inky’s came into my house to snatch me. Apparently the ink they use is now even stronger than before.

The Prof holds up a piece of paper, with some simple drawings for Blob to understand.

The Prof: That ink you were almost blasted with before, it could make you feel heavier, and it will take longer to wash it off. So you have to stay away from that ink at all costs! slams paper down on the table

Blob nods.

The Prof: If you need any help, you can communicate with me through a gift I brought for you. Show him, Pinky.

Pinky automatically opens a compartment on her back. Blob rolls around to the back of Pinky’s rear, to see..a flip phone?

Blob picks it up, confused on what it’s supposed to be. Blob looks at it at all angles, still interested.

How am I going to use this thing.. Blob thinks. He eventually found the front of the flip phone, and flipped it open.

A small jingle played, then it went over to the home screen. There were so many functions and features that Blob felt dizzy as he looked at the small icons on the tiny screen.

He closed the flip phone, and put it inside his body for keeping.

The Prof: If that flip phone starts to ring, you will need to open it to answer. You got that?

Blob nodded once more.

The Prof: Alright, I have to go now. I’ll call you later for any more updates.

The screen blips to a blank screen and Pinky regains consciousness.

Pinky: So, you heard what the Prof had to say, right?

Blob understood. He turned back to the blank city and only had two things on his mind: to save his friends, and to stop Comrade Black once, and for all.

Blob rolled over the edge of the tall building focused on the sewer cap, just far enough where Blob could see it.

He readied himself..and then..he jumped.

Blob slammed all the way down to the cap at high speed, and soon enough, the cap popped open, and he disappeared into the sewers.

Pinky leered over the tall building one more time, to see Blob’s splat of paint on the manhole cover.

Pinky: I hope he’s going to be okay..

—

Chapter Text

The Sewers. A place of small corridors..and a strong stench of mildew.

As Blob rushes down to the slippery floor below, an Inky is suddenly below him. Just before the Inky could notice, Blob slams down on him, leaving only a small pool of ink on the floor.

Blob glances up to look at his surroundings. He looks left. He looks right.

Blob: Hrgf…

And then Blob notices the smell.

Blob: Hmgh..!

Blob covers his nose to hopefully get rid of the repulsive scent, except Blob doesn’t have a nose, and he just covers his hands on a part of his mouth.

As the stench still lingers, he decides to go left, and rolls on the greasy floor. Pieces of trash can be seen on the sides of the floor, each getting more and more disgusting as he goes along.

Blob eventually turned a corner and found a whole group of Inkies. He quickly hid behind the adjacent wall, whilst peering over the group of Inkys, who are currently having a conversation.

Inky 1: So, what have you been up to?

Inky 2: Oh! looks down Just..nothing..

Inky 3: You’re hiding something, aren’t you?

Inky 2 begins to blush a little, embarrassed at the situation he has landed himself in.

Inky 2: Well..there’s this someone..

Inky 4: WHO IS IT ALREADY?!?!?

Inky 2: frantically combusts out words I like Arty ok!?!

All the Inkies suddenly glared at Inky 2. Inky 2 felt really embarrassed at what he just said, on how he, out of all living beings, could be attracted to Arty.

As soon as Inky 2 could give some reasoning, Blob appeared from the corner.

Inky 2: Hey, look at that! points to Blob

All the Inky’s focused their attention on the figure.

Inky 1: Uh oh..I don’t think he was happy with what you just said..

Inky 2: What makes you say that?

Blob rushed towards the Inkie’s and splatted them each with a devastating colorful blow. The whole battle scene took less than a blink of an eye.

All that was left was small ponds of ink. Blob looked back at the pools of ink and had a very furious look. He clenched his fists in anger.

Blob: Grrr…

Blob had no time to give his anger out right now. He needed to save Bif first.

Blob promptly rolled out of the scene, with nothing but drops of sewer water enveloping the pools of ink left behind..

—

Just a couple meters away, metal clashing and sounds imitating a punch can be heard faintly from where Blob was just standing.

In the boxing cage, multiple Inky’s lie on the floor, defeated by a bright orange Raydi- I mean Bif.

As Bif was retightening his headband across his forehead, he looked down at the motionless Inky’s.

Bif: Guess they couldn’t handle the Bif-cake. smirks

Footsteps begin to be heard, seeming to come towards the boxing cage. Bif looked back up and saw a very large shadow creeping below the double doors. As soon as the doors swung open, Bif had a very serious look on his face.

From a distance, it looked like a large Inky. Seems easy enough, Bif thought. It wasn’t until the Inky took a few more steps before Bif saw the true picture of this large Inky.

The Inky had huge muscles, with each arm having thick biceps. It had a six pack ripping at his stomach, which was as tall as Bif. The thighs were jacked as well, ready to kick someone in the jaw.

Bif gulped in fear. This Inky was bigger than him, stronger than him, and even cooler than him. How was Bif going to beat this Inky 4 times his size?

The Inky started to walk even closer to Bif. It gradually picked up its walking speed for each step that it took. As Bif raised his fists up to his face in a blocking position, The Inky landed a giant punch right in the middle of Bif’s arms, barely missing his face.

Bif flew all the way back towards one of the metal walls of the boxing cage. He slammed into the metal grate at full speed, then slopped down to the mat floor. His arms layed on the floor below, being bruised from the forceful punch he just took.

Bif lifted up his arms as he saw them bruised and scratched from the metal grate of the boxing cage.

Bif: Heh. It’s going to take more than that to knock me out.

As he slowly stood back up, fixed his headband, and lifted his fists up in anger. Bif now had a serious look on his face, ready to just kick someone in the face.

Bif: Now, let’s see what you got..

Bif stuck out his hand, imitated a come at me! motion, and then, the Inky dashed forward to make another punch, whilst Bif was doing the same.

Both were unsure on who would be the clear victor however. It all came down to who dropped down first…

—

A couple minutes later…

Blob has finally reached the entrance of the fighting arena, after taking out more than a dozen Inky’s along the way, give or take.

He stood at the double doors, focusing his entire attention on them.

Blob: I’m coming for you, Bif!

And in a blink of an eye, he rolled into the double doors, making them fly open with ease. And the first thing that Blob saw was the boxing cage, where Bif was about to collapse on the injuries he sustained from the Inky.

Large Inky: I’m amazed..you are still standing up after all this time..

Bif: I..don’t..need..your pity points..

Large Inky: I think you deserve it. Now for your other reward-

The large Inky spotted Blob in the distance, standing just a couple feet away. Bif also turned around to see who came through the doors.

Large Inky: And who are you?

Bif: Blob! What are you doing here?

Blob had no time to explain. He rolled towards the boxing cage to take back Bif. But the large Inky knew what he was doing.

He blocked his way ahead of Bif and began to punch the mat floor, furiously, to surely knock Blob into the air.

And just then, Blob flew up a couple feet into the atmosphere. His back hit the roof of the boxing cage, and then fell all the way down onto the mat, hurting both his back and his face in the process.

Bif saw this as a perfect chance to strike the large Inky where it hurt the most. As the large Inky was approaching Blob to pump him full of ink, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck.

Large Inky: Ow! That hurrrrrr….

The large Inky slowly fell down to the ground, but the problem was that Blob was right in front of him!

Blob slowly began to stand himself up, not knowing that a large Inky was about to crush him.

Bif ran beside the Inky and picked up Blob just before he was about to get crushed like a pancake. At this moment, the Inky has fallen flat on the soft foam mat and has fainted completely, but it wouldn’t be for long before the Inky starts to regain consciousness.

Bif placed Blob back down.

Blob: Erfgh..huh? Bif!

Blob hugged Bif, as if he hadn't seen him in years. Bif was a little awkward at Blob hugging him however, since Bif didn’t do “hugs”.

Bif: Listen..pushes him away I appreciate the sympathy..but we have to go, like NOW.

Blob: Right.

Bif and Blob escaped the boxing cage and out through the double doors. The large Inky laid there, motionless, waiting for its blood to come back up to its small and colorless brain..

—

Blob and Bif ran through the sewers at a fast pace, taking out leftover Inky’s that weren’t defeated by Blob. Finally, Bif found the ladder leading to the exit, and they both climbed out of it.

The sewer cap popped open, flinging it up into the gray sky and landing on the concrete road. Bif got out first, then Blob.

Blob: Ahhh! stretches arms

Blob was relieved from the stinky odor of the sewers and now into the fresh air that awaited him for so long. Bif wasn’t that impressed however.

Pinky spotted them at the top of the building.

Pinky: Thank god!

Pinky lowered herself all the way down to the concrete floor, to meet with her friends. She approached Bif, holding out her hand to simulate a handshake.

Pinky: Nice to see you again, Bif!

Bif was reluctant at first to shake Pinky’s hand, but he reached out his arm anyways.

Bif: Good to see you too, Pinky.

As they both touched hands, Pinky soared towards the sky, which Bif did not expect.

Bif: WOAH, what's going on?!?!

Blob looked up in shock, terrified to see Bif dangle from a large distance to the hard concrete floor. He was stretching his ears due to the stress of Bif falling.

Pinky: I’ll come back to you soon! I just need to bring Bif back to where the Prof is.

Blob: Arfghwa?

Pinky: Ok, Bye!!!

And Pinky was gone. Just like that.

Blob’s phone started to ring.

🎵ring, ring, hello moto…🎵

Blob took it out of his body and opened the flip phone, just like the Prof said earlier. He held it up to his ear.

Blob: ..Hello?

The Prof: Blob! You are okay! I was beginning to get worried about you, I lost your location while you went down the sewers, and I thought you were..inked.

Blob: I..found..Bif.

The Prof: Oh, you finally found him? Splendid! I bet that Pinky is taking him back to me, correct?

Blob: Yes..

The Prof: Alright! That should be one of the Color Underground members down. Remember, you have two more members left to save. You know who they are, right?

Blob: Yes…

The Prof: Great! I’ll tell you where they are being held. But I reckon you go with Arty first, she is being held stationary in a factory.

Blob: Are you sure, Prof?

The Prof: Yes, I’m sure! Now, I have to go, Inky’s just appeared at my doorstep again. Look for a factory that makes TV’s. That is where Arty should be. See you then!

Blob: Wait, Prof-

The phone switches to a light static. The Prof was gone, for now.

Blob closed the flip phone and absorbed it into its body. He peered over all the buildings around him, and he noticed one behind him that he can gain momentum out of.

Blob: He heh..

Blob made another side eye emotion, got himself ready, and..slammed into the building behind him, and leaped over the giant architecture.

Arty’s next, Blob thought. The one who carried the artistic side of the Color Underground. And the one Blob liked the most.

He blushed at the thought of it. He quickly shook the feeling off.

—

Chapter Text

As Blob was bouncing around each of the tall buildings, splashing them with color, he still couldn’t get that thought out of his mind. About Arty.

Arty.

Her luscious looks..her beautiful hair..her soft smile..it meant the world for Blob. He felt like the happiest Blob when he met Arty. Arty was-

SPLAT!

..Blob face planted on the building right in front of him. He was too mesmerized in Arty that he hurt his face on the smooth glass of the window pane.

He began to slope all the way down, still dizzy from hitting his head on the window pane.

Blob landed on the concrete with a forceful splat, and color bursted across the ground, leaving a nice shade of dandelion.

Blob got up, after hurting his face(twice) and began to look around once more.

Blob: Hmm..

Blob scratched his head, feeling puzzled about what he had to look for. A TV building.. Blob thought. He didn’t know exactly what a TV building looked like.

As Blob rolled around, stopping occasionally to find a building that looked familiar, he was starting to feel tired.

Blob: Hgrfeah…

Blob’s eyes starting to droop, and his arms started to relax, which Blob couldn’t control because he was so tired. He needed to find Arty, but he didn’t know where..

A thick layer of fog was then heading towards Blob, and he started to drift off to sleep..until he started coughing.

Blob: cough cough

Blob started to cough more heavily, until he realized that he was breathing in smoke. He shot his eyes open and looked up to see where the smoke was coming from. And it appears to be from a factory.

Blob swiftly made his way towards the factory, hoping that it's the TV building he was looking for. He still felt a little tired though.

—

The TV factory both on the inside and the outside is gloomy, both with color and emotion. Inside, we see rows and rows of conveyor belts, each belt having a different, incomplete television that is still missing some parts.

Inkys line up on each conveyor belt, with each one assembling a different part of the television, one by one. Out of the crowd of Inkys, one seems to be different, wearing black and white clothing, and a hat with the logo of I.N.K.T Corporation. It also seems to be losing its shade of green..

An Inky general survails the factory, carefully watching over each Inky, making sure the parts fit right and that there are no mistakes. But he partially focuses on the different one, which he shouts her name:

General Inky: INKY NUMBER 43!

She looks up.

Arty: It’s..Arty.

The general Inky approaches Arty, baton in hand, ready to hit her once again.

General Inky: swings baton, hitting Arty in the back of the head I SAID, INKY NUMBER 43! YOU DISGUST ME..

Arty had never felt so much pain before, with the searing pain from her head only to be covered with ink. As a result, her color begins to fade away with each hit.

General Inky: NOW, GET BACK TO WORK! quickly turns and walks away

Arty didn’t have the confidence she used to have. Although she was capable enough to fight back with her painting skills, she lacked the confidence to take on a single Inky. And now, she was here. Making televisions for her enemy.

Arty: whispers Blob...Bif..Zip..Prof..I’m sorry..

—

Blob follows where the smoke is coming from(while holding his breath), and at last, he stops and faces toward the factory that awaited him.

Blob glanced up the tall building, with a huge sign reading: “I.N.K.T Video and Production”.

Blob: Looks like this is the place.

Blob looked back down and got ready to bust down the doors, concentrating on them. He turned one of his arms back, to give him a boost..

???: Um..

When Blob heard that voice, he immediately turned stiff. He turned around to the right, and then the left. And then he looked behind him.

Business Inky: Listen, if you could just move out of the way-

Blob swiftly took the Inky with his hands, and squashed it to his body, making the Inky splat into a small puddle of ink. The ink drooled over Blob's body, making him feel disgusted.

Blob: Bleugh..!

There was one thing that didn’t disappear though. The clothes that the Inky has been wearing has not been reduced into a puddle, and was just laying on the floor in front of him. Blob picked them up in amazement.

Blob: Woah…

Although Blob didn’t wear any clothes and never felt the need to, he was still amazed by the common suit and tie that the Inky was previously wearing. As Blob was staring at the clothes, an idea popped into his head.

Blob: He heh..

Blob slipped on the suit and tie, overlapping it over his body, whilst struggling to get the arms in the sleeves. After a couple minutes, he was perfectly disguised..except the fact that his face was still the color dandelion.

Blob marched towards the building with confidence, and busted down the doors with his hands. He felt like he was responsible, tough, and classy at the same time.

And then came the reality. When Blob entered through the door of the building, he saw a very gray lobby with only a couple benches scattered across the room, and a host podium with an Inky at the end of the hallway. Blob felt a little timid for breaking in, but he slowly walked(or at least, tried to walk) towards the stand.

After countless minutes of Blob attempting to walk forwards, he reached the podium, with his arms placed down on the front counter.

Inky Receptionist: Hello, what brings you in today?

Blob: Um..

Inky Receptionist: Well, what are you waiting for? Speak up already!

Blob: Do you know where..Arty is?

The Inky thought hard for a moment, then shook her head in dismay.

Inky Receptionist: Sorry, I don’t know who you are looking for. Unless you are referring to Inky #43?

Blob: ..Yes?

Inky Receptionist: Well I guess she did a lot of work today-Wait! Who are you exactly anyway?

Blob tensed up, fearing that he might get caught.

Blob: Uh..

He looked around the lobby, trying to find something to describe himself off of, and only found three benches. Feeling more anxious, Blob turned back to the Inky.

Blob: Inky #3..?

The Inky stared at Blob in the eye, suspicious about his claim.

Inky Receptionist: Inky #3, eh? I thought you worked someplace else.

Blob: sweating, profusely I’m...new?

Inky Receptionist: Hmph. Likely story…

The Inky reaches below the counter, and picks up a huge binder that is dropped on the counter with a big PLAT! The Inky opens the binder and flips through the pages swiftly. She then plops open a section of the binder.

Inky Receptionist: Inky #3..Oh! You do work here.

Blob: I..do?

Inky Receptionist: Yes, of course!

Blob: ..Cool!

The door to the right of the host podium opens with a stale beeping sound.

Inky Receptionist: Now, points to door GET TO WORK.

Blob: gulp

Blob awkwardly walks to the door to the right of him, still jittery about the conversation he had with the Inky. He did look good in the suit though, even if his color was starting to bleed through it.

—

As Blob walks through, the door slams shut behind him, startling Blob. He quickly ignored it and began to take off the suit he was wearing, now that he was finally in the factory.

Blob was looking at his surroundings, taking in the entire factory around him. There were huge gears and long conveyor belts spread all across the factory, that it felt like a maze to Blob after a while.

Blob picked up the pace and urgently started to roll across the pathway, to seek out Arty. As he rolled by, he saw thousands of Inkys, all in a straight line, assembling one part at a time..it felt monotone.

As Blob was inspecting all the Inkys whilst rolling, he noticed a very strange Inky. It looked thin in shape, had a hood over its head, and it was the only outlier in the vast row of Inkys.

Blob stopped, rolled back a couple feet, and leaped from the sidewalk onto the platform, covering the ground in dandelion in the process. Blob rolled to the strange Inky.

Blob: Arty...?

It turned around and widened its eyes.

???: Blob..?

They both looked at each other, staring only into their own eyes. It felt as if the entire world had gone silent between them.

???: Blob!

The Inky fell into Blob’s body, hugging it very tight. Blob felt surprised at the action, until the hood started to fall behind it, revealing Arty’s face.

Arty: Blob.. cries I’m so sorry..

Blob hugged Arty back, noticing what Arty has been through ever since she was captured. It felt very softening to see Arty back in Blob’s hands.

As Blob and Arty finished hugging, there seemed to be one small, tiny problem.

General Inky: WHAT.

Blob and Arty faced towards where General Inky was screaming at them, from the sidewalk Blob had jumped off earlier.

General Inky: THE.

Blob needed to act fast. He took Arty by the hand and rolled toward the edge of the platform, ready to leap from it again.

General Inky: FU-SPLAT!

Blob landed right on General Inky, leaving nothing but a small ink puddle below him. He quickly rolled towards the exit with Arty leading behind him.

Inkys have started to appear to stop Blob’s way, but he took all of them down with ease, and eventually made it towards the exit door, slamming it open.

Arty caught up with Blob, still catching her breath from all the running she did.

Arty: Thank.. pants heavily you..

Blob: Anytime! holds a thumbs up

Just then, an Inky was sprinting behind Blob, readying his baton to ink Blob!

Arty: Blob, look out!

Arty began to sprint towards Blob, moments before disaster. Blob didn’t realize the Inky behind him, and before he could turn around, Arty grabbed both of his arms and took him down to the floor. The Inky missed, tumbling down to the carpet.

Whilst Blob was on the floor, he happened to look straight at Arty, which Arty was looking straight at him. Blob noticed the intimacy between Arty, and it made him have..feelings for Arty.

Blob: Herughf..blushes

Arty: Um..you seem to be blushing..

Inky: stands up I’m not done with you!

Arty rose up, feeling this sort of confidence within her. She turned back to the Inky, narrowing her eyes down, ready for a beat down.

Arty: Blob..takes out paintbrush from her hair Go.

Blob: But Arty-

Arty: peers over shoulder I said GO!

Blob hesitates, but begins to roll out the door. As Blob looks back at Arty, he only thought if Arty would be ok..

—

Blob went out the double doors, disbelief in his eyes. I mean, Arty didn’t even like violence, so why did she plan to take out an Inky in the first place?

Blob thought long and hard about the situation Arty was in. Arty did tell him that he needed to go. But what if Arty was inked again? It made Blob feel even more stressed about her.

And then..the doors busted open.

Arty walked out, paintbrush in hand, and little spots of ink. She looked like she walked out of a crime scene.

Blob: frantic Arty! Are you ok-

Arty put up a finger on Blob's mouth. Blob was baffled at the expression she had on.

Arty: I’m fine, Blob. I..can handle things myself too.

Arty dropped her finger and put her arm around her chest, anxiously.

Arty: It’s just..I never thought that violence was the answer. Well, until you saved me from that factory.

Blob: Huh?

Arty: holds up paintbrush When I smacked that Inky to the ground..it felt..satisfying. I guess the Prof’s right.

Arty sticks the paintbrush back into her hair.

Arty: turns to Blob Thank you Blob, for saving me back there..

Blob: holds a thumbs up Anytime!

Arty chuckles. Blob always liked her chuckles, it felt like she was new again.

A faint whirring sound began to catch Blob’s hearing. It must be Pinky again!

Arty looks up to see the pink robot, flying rapidly across the sky. And it also seems to be flying towards her.

Arty: raises hand up Hi Pinky-

Pinky suddenly grabs Artys hand and flys off.

Arty: WOAHHHH!!! looks down BLOB, HELP!!!

Blob just proceeds to stare up at Pinky and Arty, both in the air. Blob didn’t realize that he had to Pinky something, but the gaze that Arty had..it felt special to Blob.

🎵ring, ring, hello moto…🎵

Blob realized his phone was ringing again! He took it out of his body and flipped it open.

Blob: Hello?

…

Silence.

Blob: Hello??

???: Hello, Blob. Nice to see you again.

Blob’s eyes widened in shock. His facial expression was entirely blank, as if he just saw a horror movie. Worst of all, he knew who was on the phone. It was none other than..

Comrade Black.

Comrade Black: Now, about that recent break in my factory...he hah..

—

Chapter Text

Blob felt his heart sink down to the black, concrete pavement below him. Although this wasn’t the first time that Blob had heard his voice, it felt that Comrade Black was now stronger..at least while he was on the phone.

Blob regained his consciousness after taking a deep breath and he tightened the grip on his phone, anger displaying on his face.

Blob: Where’s Zip?

Comrade Black: Oh hoh! Shouldn’t you be apologizing for what you did to my factory?

Blob: I said-

Comrade Black: You know Blob, you should be apologizing for..everything.

Blob ignored his response and raised his voice.

Blob: I said…WHERE..IS..ZIP?

Comrade Black: ..Hmph. You are really pushy..if you want to know where Zip is, I’ll tell you. But, on one condition..

Blob: I don’t give a BLICK about the condition, just tell me where he is right now or-

One of Blob’s ears pops up. Blob notices, and he slowly puts the phone down, just to stare at the corner of the building one block down.

He paused for a little while, hearing a faint rolling sound approach the corner..like if someone was skating down the pavement.

Before long, to a surprise, a blue Raydian popped out of the corner, just for a split second. He had goggles on his head and a worried look on his face. That’s when Blob realized it was..

Blob: Zip.

That was not all however, as behind the raydian were three Inky jetbikes going maximum speed, which Blob only saw in a blink of an eye.

At that moment, Blob slammed the flip phone shut, put it back in his body, and proceeded to gain back momentum by hopping onto the gray buildings, dyeing them the color dandelion in the process.

—

Although the fast pace was normal for Zip, it felt really stressful when he was being chased by Inky jetbikes that were faster than him. One screw up, and he is toast.

Zip, mumbling: How am I going to shake these Inky’s off..

Zip looks around to spot at least some sort of opening, some detour that the Inky’s wouldn’t follow him. But it was to no avail.

Every single detour he thought of, the Inkys jet bikes could just squeeze through. Even if the detours were smaller than him. He kept thinking about it, going around each gray building again and again..

Zip, thinking: Oh man, what the hell am I going to do..

As Zip was distracted with his thoughts, what he didn’t realize was the large crowd, full of Inkys right in front of him. Zip being Zip, it only took him a couple seconds to realize-

SLAM!

...That he slammed into one of the barriers conveniently placed right in front of him.

Zip felt dizzy, his vision going cloudy.

Zip: Augh...

His vision blurred in..

Inky Leader: Looks like we finally got a catch.

..And blurred out.

Inky Leader: Now, this color makes me sick. Hand me the syringe..

When Zip eventually regained his vision, it was too late. His eyes began to roll back, in horror. It felt like his heart was being pierced with multiple skewers. His arms and legs felt like jelly, with more of the color disappearing from his body.

Inky Leader: Almost finished..

All Zip could do at that moment was to scream, but he can’t even do that. His mouth was just wide open, pretending to scream.

He had lost hope..

..Then splats of color started to appear out of thin air, like it was some sort of color explosion. Was it..Blob?

Blob: Zip? Zip?!?!

Zip couldn’t hear from what was happening..from what he had gone through. On one side, Blob was relieved to see his friend again, but on the other side..Zip didn’t look like his cheerful self.

Blob: ZIP?!?!? ZIP!!!!!

Blob shaked Zip’s body and looked deeply into his eyes, with his body gray from what happened earlier.

It took Blob a few seconds to know what he had to do to bring his friend back.

He immediately picked up Zip, placing him on his head, and rolled at maximum speed back to where it all started..where Zip has put his life on the line.

—

Flashback, 1 year ago...

While Chroma city was still under construction after the 1st I.N.K.T invasion, there was still some places that seemed to be irreparable. Especially that one shop standing right there, in the middle of a record shop along with a cafe.

Zip can be seen sitting on the pavement along with Blob.

Zip, facing towards Blob: Y’know Blob, I had a dream one day that I would run a skate shop..

Blob faced back to Zip, interested in what he had to say.

Zip, continuing: That shop you are looking at Blob..it used to have some sort of history. It wasn’t well known when I.N.K.T took over, but rumors say it used to be a skate shop as well..

Blob, confused: Afergh?

Zip: Yes, Blob. A skate shop. A place where you go and buy roller skates. sighs I guess it’s only a rumor though..

Zip picks himself up from the ground and waves goodbye to Blob. As Blob sees him rolling out, Blob feels a little bad for Zip, about his dream fading farther away from him.

A few minutes passed while Blob laid on the pavement, staring at the sky above him when one of his ears popped up. Blob lifted himself off the ground with dismay. Something bad happened..

—

Throughout the vast array of trees that were just springing back to life, some trees were still gray, and one of them had an implant of Zip’s face on it.

Zip laid on his back, in pain, rubbing both of knees from the injury he had gotten.

Zip: Ow..

Zip gently mounted his feet onto the gray grass below him, and soon he started to roll around the gray trees, hoping to clear the way. Zip stops for a second more to rub his knees again, and soon after, he spots something shiny on the ground..

Zip peeks down at the sparkling item, interested.

Zip: I wonder..

A figure darts quickly behind the trees, out of Zip’s sight.

Zip bends over to identify the piece.

The figure darts again, this time emitting a shuffling sound.

Zip looks back, frantic. “Blob?”

Zip glances around him, seeing if something is there. He goes back to his place and picks up the object.

It looked like some sort of weirdly shaped key.

Zip: A key..I wonder what this leads to.

Sounds can be heard from a bush behind Zip, which prompted him to swiftly turn towards the bush. Zip stood in place, questioning what was in there..

Zip rolled quietly, taking small rolls in the grass.

The sounds from the bush were becoming quieter while Zip was rolling closer. It felt..soothing to Zip?

Zip: Oh...?

Blob, behind a tree: Zip?

Zip turned around, panicked, but was also relieved at the same time.

Zip: Oh!...Blob, I didn’t see you there-..?!?!?

Zip’s face was frozen in shock, as he saw something drip down to Blob’s face..

Zip: B-B-B-Blo..Bbbb-bbb..

Blob: Hegh?

Blob began to look around; left, right, up-

...

It all happened in a few seconds, and while both cannot remember what happened in the forest of gray trees that night, they still had it within their hearts.

What was most important though, was that Zip had a key. A key..to his lifelong dream.

—

Back to where Blob was rolling as fast as he could(and defeating many Inky’s), he began to lose his color bit by bit.

The dandelion hue was fading away with each SLAM and POW that it made Blob look lighter and lighter.

Finally, after lots of rolling and splattering, he makes it to Zip’s shop again.

Blob: Hang on, Zip!

He busts down the other glass door, because Blob being Blob, he liked it because it made him look cool.

He rolled towards the desk and jumped over it, carrying Zip in his hand now.

Blob pushed open the hidden cabinet behind the front desk and searched for paint cans that matched Zip’s color.

“Gecko Green, Prism Purple, Magenta..” Blob thought as he picked up each can.

Blob: Come on..where is it?!?!

Blob picked up the final can in the drawer, and it read in big bold letters:

Ocean Blue.

Blob: That’s it!

The front doors slam open, startling Blob as Inky’s start to pour into the store.

Blob pops the paint can and soaks Zip hand’s into it. It didn’t seem to be working.

Blob, whispering: Come on, Zip?!?!

The Inky’s were starting to notice the sounds coming from the desk. And they also seem to be conversing with each other..?

Inky #8: Okay, who is going to go with me to capture Blob?

Inky #5: Ooh, Ooh! I can! raises his little arm

Inky #8: Ugh..fine. #5, let’s go.

Inky #6: But I also wanted to go-

Inky #8: Shut up, #6.

Inky #6: But-

Inky #8 & #5: SHUT UP.

Both Inky #8 and #5 go behind the counter to, hopefully, capture Blob.

They turn around the corner..

Blob: ..Please...Zip..

And their ink guns are pointed at the creature.

Inky #8: FREEZE!

Inky #5: YEAH, FREEZE!

Both of the Inky's look at each other in confusion.

Inky #8: I’m supposed to say that, you know.

Inky #5: Well I said it first!

Inky #8: No, I said it. You just copied me.

Inky #5: You are the one copying me!

While Blob was starting to panic from the thought of being inked, something gripped between his body.

Blob: ???..Zip?

Zip: HRGAH!! throws Blob towards the Inky’s, causing them to dissolve

Blob was thrown against the wall with immense strength, causing Blob to startle a little bit. It felt like Bif’s strength..

Blob looked back at his friend, and they both nodded.

They turned their faces toward the crowd of Inky’s.

Blob & Zip: Let’s finish this.

—

Both Zip and Blob were standing in front of the splattered store, admiring it in its disorganized manner.

The different colors of Ocean Blue and Gecko Green and the addition of multiple ink pools makes it look like a mess. But to both of them, it felt like raw beauty.

Zip: Blob..thank you for saving me. I really mean it-

Blob took Zip in his hands and hugged as hard as he could. Blob felt so happy that all his friends were back..but it wasn’t over..

Blob’s flip phone started ringing again, still hugging Zip.

🎵ring, ring, hello moto…🎵

He took the phone out of his body and flipped it open.

Blob: Hello?

…

Silence, again.

Blob: Hello?!?!

A light static starts to become audible, and after a few short seconds, it fades.

The Prof: Blob! Is that you?

Blob: Yes, it’s me Prof! I just got Zip and-

The Prof: Listen, you need to get over to my laboratory as fast you can! I already sent Pinky over to pick you guys up.

Blob: Why, Prof?

The Prof: Because-static..I…you..hrfghhhh..

The call disconnects.

Blob puts the flip phone back into his body.

Zip: Was that the Prof?

Blob: Yeah..he needs us over at the laboratory ASAP.

Zip: How are we even going to get there in time-

...

Both Zip and Blob disappeared..at least from the ground.

Looking up at the sky, an old friend finally returns with no surprise at all to the both of them.

Blob, screeching in pain: OW!! OW!! OW!!!!!

Pinky: It’s good to see you guys..again.

Zip: Hey, thanks for the pickup!

Pinky: Anytime, Zip.

Blob: CAN YOU PLEASE STOP PULLING ME BY MY EARS?!?!?!

Pinky: ..No.

Pinky proceeds to zoom away at full speed, this time making Blob’s experience worse than ever.

Even then, Zip would have probably got the same treatment. But he’s a kid, which is why Pinky is holding him by the arm.

—

Chapter Text

Pinky zooms over the buildings, whilst keeping a tight grip amongst Zip and Blob-

Blob: AUGHAUGHAUGH!!!!!

At this point, Blob felt like his ears had been crushed by a rock, as they started to swell up. Zip, being the kid however..

Zip, closing his eyes: Mmm...that breeze..

As both of them were being carried, Pinky began to worry about the Prof. It was only mere seconds for when Prof sent out her to rescue both Blob and Zip. Is Prof ok? Pinky thought..but only for a couple of seconds before-

???: FIRE!

Multiple shots of ink are fired towards the air, which were attempting to hit Pinky. She acted at the last moment, moving multiple directions to dodge the bullets.

She peered over at who was firing them. It was, of course, more Inky’s.

Inky Captain: Aim carefully...and FIRE!

The Inky’s shot another round of ink bullets from some sort of gun..

Pinky proceeded to sway back and forth to avoid Blob and Zip to be inked again, but Blob and Zip didn’t pay attention, as Zip was still enjoying the breeze whilst Blob was still bickering about the pain on his ears.

Pinky speeded up, as more and more bullets were being shot. As a result, Pinky began to lose focus..

Pinky:tilts her head Grab onto my arms!

Zip clutched Pinky’s arm, but Blob didn’t in time, due to the pain.

Pinky positioned his arms to her back, and started to charge a boost, hopefully to get out of the predicament.

Her hand springed open, causing Blob to quickly latch on Pinky’s arm, with one of his hands soothing his ears.

Pinky, shouting: HANG ON!

Within a split second, beams of light radiate from Pinkys arms and she takes off with momentous speed, avoiding all the Inky’s altogether.

Blob and Zip hang on for dear life, the immature Raydians they are.

—

Through the gray colored buildings and the splats of paint on the ground, a building seems to be on flames a couple miles away. Small pieces of metal and tin shower out of the doorway with flames of fire escaping.

Worse of all, someone was in that building.

Prof, backing away: Get back! BACK!

A shadowed figure stood tall before him. It was hard to tell due to the darkness of the room, but the fire seems to be burning more and more..

???: It’s..nice to see you again. Professor.

A flare lights up its stance. Nothing reflects onto it, other than his metal eyelid..

The Prof was motionless, laying on the ground as burn marks and scrapes cover his body. His levitation ufo is gone, and worse of all..he knew what was standing in front of him.

Without hesitating, Prof let the words come out of his mouth.

Prof: GO AWAY....YOU BALL OF GOO!

Comrade Black grins devilishly.

Comrade Black: You should call me by my real name, y’know?

He silently walks, each step embraced by the wooden floor below him. The room seems to be shrinking as Prof walks back further and further, into the abyss of fire.

His back shuttered the metal wall, which sent a chill in his back. He couldn’t run any further.

Comrade Black grins. “Looks like he is finally ready to give up,” he thinks. He reaches out his arms, eager to claim himself a successful capture. All he needed left to do was to capture Bl-

CRASHHH!!!

The door broke open and went hurling towards the wall. In a split second, Comrade Black barely dodged out of the object, grabbing Prof with him as he stepped towards the side. He looked back at the entrance until he realized..

The fire was gone. And it was replaced by this heavy smog..it didn’t feel real at first.

Comrade Black squinted his eyelid to see what or who busted down the door. Blurry at first, readjusting..

Red.

—

Red is the one of the primary colors that signifies empowerment, rebelliousness, and frustration.

Blob’s stomach growls. . .

It also means hungry.

Comrade Black stands there, taking in what he is seeing right before him as the fog starts to clear off. He’s here? I thought I got rid of him.. Comrade Black realizes. Whatever, it was just what I needed-

SPLAT!

A ball of red paint was flung aside Comrade Black, scarcely missing him. He jolts his eyelid in shock as he sees Blob’s expression.

He was furious.

Blob gradually rolled closer and closer to Comrade Black with a menacing aura around him. The things he did..the people that suffered..the entire chase was all coming to an end. It was going to be over soon.

Blob paused right in front of him, towering over the small black image, ready to make any move possible to defeat this little dark man. He was so focused on him that he didn't realize..paint was dripping on the floor, its sharp red shining on the pavement like if a murder has happened.

Blob: Urgh…

Blob started to feel the side effects after a while, because of the rising heat of the room. Blob raised his hand to his forehead, feeling a little lightheaded.

Blob: “I..too..hot..-----”

As the world started to tilt around him, he soon found his way onto the floor, which he didnt notice for a while. Blob was too hot..

...The last thing Blob saw before he faded away was Comrade Blacks eye, perking up with villainous intent.

..It’s over..

–-

Chapter Text

Falling..falling..falling. That’s what Blob dreamt of in his unconscious state, right when he was about to defeat Comrade Black. He was so close..and he just had to faint.

He's covered in nothing but darkness. He could do nothing to get him out of this state.

He rotated his body in the bottomless pit, his eyes barely open to see a glimpse of anything. Black. More Black. Grey. Black. Pink.

Wait...

Grey?

Pinky, muttering nervously whilst shaking Blob: Come on, Blob, wake up..!

Blob slowly lifted his eyelids. Pinky was directly staring at him, a worried expression on her face. He immediately shot his head up, his eyes glancing at numerous positions. He looked back down and noticed his body wasn’t red anymore. It was a clear, almost translucent type of pigment. Comrade Black must have dumped water on him...

Blob shot his head to Pinky urgently.

Blob: Where’s Prof?

Pinky’s expression hesitates a little, her robotic head and eyes bowing down. She speaks in a quiet tone.

Pinky: ..Profs not here right now.

Blob: What do you mean Prof is not here right now? Didn’t you step in and save him-

Pinky tilted her head away, having some deep emotion that couldn’t look Blob straight in the eye. How was she going to tell Blob that she..she..

Blob: Pinky...

Pinky peered her eyes over, her body still staying in place. She nodded quietly, letting Blob know that she was listening. Blob could feel it..the feeling of frustration..and the failure that she couldn’t save Prof in time. The failure of both of them being caught. The failure to save at least everyone...

Blob clenched his fists slightly, the water beading through his hand. He slightly lowered his eyes, his facial expression reacting with the pitting feeling in his translucent gut.

Blob: Pinky..it’s not your fault. I..got a bit overboard on taking out Comrade Black too. All I wanted was to save them..all of them.

Blob rubbed his grey arm in guilt..he wanted to take the blame for failing too. The failure of being a nuisance. Blob clears his throat with a subtle cough and continues speaking, now stuttering out of stress.

Blob: I...I think it..it’s my-

Pinky, silently: I...forgive you.

Blob stood there, aghast. His ears perked up a little. Pinky forgave him that quickly?

Pinky: You were..going to admit that it was your fault, right, Blob?

Blob tensed up a little, his body jittering. He silently nods. Pinky lightly lifts her eyes, now in a forgiving type of mood. She twists her head smoothly and gravitates towards Blob slowly.

Pinky: How about..we admit that we aren’t wrong? About all of this?

Blob stares deeply into Pinky’s robotic eyes in comfort. The same feeling that Pinky has..it starts to mimic in Blob slowly but surely. Blob’s hands seem to lean towards Pinky’s ever so gently. He holds them gracefully..the cold metal of each of the fingers sends shocks up his body.

Blob: I..think that would be nice.

Pinky gets the remark and gracefully holds each other's hands. The coldness they share creates a glowing warmth between them. It felt like it was saying that..maybe they can work this out. Perhaps it will be alright.

But the imminent question remains..how were they even going to get out of here in the first-

???: Hey! Blob! Pinky!

Blob and Pinky quickly snap out of the moment and turn over to who was causing the commotion, albeit a little hindering towards both. The cell window, which is blocked by a thin metal grate, shows a segmented face of someone familiar.

Blob: ..Bif??

Bif: Yeah, yeah. I know the drill. We’re going to bust you out of here in a couple. Arty should be distracting the guards and-

Blob, bewildered: Wait, wait wait! How are you guys still alive?

The cell door swung open with a heavy amount of force. Zip was standing by, rolling over to hug Blob. He spun around him, Blob being a bit dazed.

Zip: Ahhhah! Blob, you’re still alive! I thought you were-

Blob, still bewildered: Zip! You were still-

Arty: All of us are still here.

Arty slowly walked into the grey prison cell, tucking the paintbrush in her hair. She smiled as she walked by to Pinky, rubbing the top of her robot head. Pinky hummed in satisfaction.

Arty: We couldn’t obviously forget about you.

Blob: But-

Arty: Blob, we have our ways of not getting caught by I.N.K.T. You know us! We’ve been through this like twice already-

Blob: Okay, okay...I get it. holds both of his hands up defensively.

Blob looks around the prison cell, now gathered with his previous friends. He genuinely smiles...

Blob: Seriously..thank you.

Each of the Color Underground members responded in their own way of showing promise and joy. Arty let out a smile. Zip had a gleeful expression on his face. Bif had a slight smirk through the window.

Blob raised his hands and clenched his fists once more, now more determined than ever. He raised his facial expression to be rebellious.

Blob: Alright, let’s take it all back!

The underground members nodded in agreement, Zip shouting a “YEAH!".

—

Stuck. That’s all the Professor could think about now as he only stared at Comrade Black hiding behind a glass window. His body was grappled with silver chains hung from above whilst dangling over a rounded ink pool.

The little hovering device he always wears is currently being experimented on, leaving the Prof’s small legs exposed to those behind the glass window. At least Blob couldn’t see it..again..

Comrade Black glares back at the “Pants Engine” as two similarly sized repair inky's, covered in grime, work meticulously as one cranks the bolts on the body and another fixing levers in the cabin.

Comrade Black, a bit impatient: Grr...how long is this going to take??

Repair Inky: Just a couple mins’.

Comrade Black huffs out of annoyance, taking a quick look at the Prof. The Professor seizes that opportunity to have a little chat, his face perking up a little.

Prof: Struggling, comrade? Seems like you’re pretty impatient.

Comrade Black caught the remark, his ego bolstering a little.

Comrade Black: Shut up!

Prof smirks a little. Well, it looks like I’ll be here for a while then..it's pretty lovely, isn't it?

Comrade Black flicks his head back around, ignoring the Professor’s comments. “Is it done yet?”

Repair Inky: In a couple mins’.

Comrade Black silently growls, his metallic eyelid lowering in frustration.

Prof: You know...I could help you fix that. If you wish. small chuckle

Comrade Black, raising his voice: Never!

Prof: Hmm..okay. But I’m always here..stuck..dangling over a realllly deep pool..

Comrade Black, now shouting: Stop talking!

The Prof sways his body a little, swinging himself in an oval-shaped rotation. He whistles out of boredom, smirking the whole time, making Comrade Black appear more frustrated as he stares at the repair inky’s.

Comrade Black, gritting his non-existent teeth now: Is. It. Done?

Repair Inky #2: In 2 mins’.

Comrade Black wanted to explode on both of them, scold them for being lazy and unforgiving. Shout at them to work faster, or they would lose their jobs. He hesitated a little though, peeking at the professor, who was...really calm. Stupid Prof..he’s going to get inked soon enough..but..why isn’t he scared? Comrade Black falters his furious expression a little, showing a bit of weakness..and maybe some-

Repair Inky: All ready, boss.

Comrade Black snaps out of that trance and back to his monotone expression, a hint of ferocity. “Show me it.”

The repair inky finishes rubbing the panel with a microfiber cloth, leaving a polished glare towards the control panel. The hovering device looked brand new, with the primarily bright orange color on the outer body duller and a more glossier gray. New levers were also installed to be designed explicitly for only Comrade Black.

Comrade Black gleefully rubs his tiny hands, his body begging to try out all the new added features. He steps towards the machine, heaving over to enter, before quickly adjusting himself in the memory foam cushioned seat. He grips both of the adjusted levers, which are specially made for his short height.

Comrade Black: Heh..heh..perfect. Utterly perfect.

He lifts both levers up slightly, the device rising slightly in sync. Comrade Black’s eyelid perked up devilishly...

Comrade Black: Get ready, Chroma. Because of today...I’m taking it all back. All of it.

—

Chapter Text

“Hey! Let go of me..please!”

A fellow Raydian struggles as they pull away towards the capturer, who happens to be just another average Inky. He had a snarl on his face as the pleas got towards his stubby head.

“Help! Help me..help..he..l..”

The raydian slows down, their words slurring as they get more exhausted. It feels as if their color is draining by some sort of vacuum.

They soon drop to the floor, revealing the blue-filled syringe proudly gripped upon the Inkys stubby hand. It oozes blue color among the tip, dripping down to the black concrete.

Inky #247: Tch. Such an annoying twat.

Inky #247 walks along the rest of the pale street, checking for any more Raydians with even a speck of color. But all he sees are Graydians, the ones that catch a memory just years before. Round, grey suits that they can barely move in- perfect for crowd control.

Inky #247, grabbing his walkie-talkie: All good here, general. No more color in sight, over.

A slight pause ensues, before hearing the static, husky voice.

Inky General: Well done, 247. You will be rewarded soon.

The inky smirks, eager to head back. “Got it, over.” He hitches his walkie talkie back on the waist of his utility belt, before turning around and walking back. He stretches his limbs as he progresses, the plump body molding to his positions.

Inky #247: Ergh..eh..crack ahh..that hit the spot..

vloop

Inky 247 shoots his singular eyelid open, out of fear. What..where did that come from? he thought. He quickly twists his body behind him, seeing what caused that piercing feeling. Like if someone shot a thin, obscure line through his gut.

Inky #247: huff huff..

The aftermath of it was too much for him to come by. With his body trembling, he grabs his walkie talkie again. “This is Inky #247, I..I need some back-backup on Cavalier Street, I-I..repeat I need some backup on Cavalier Street.”

He frantically looks around at everything, his shakiness never subsiding. It’s just a normal street..part of his duties. But that drives him even more towards the break of anxiety. He presses the talk button again, his palm almost going numb.

Inky #247: I repeat, this is Inky #247, I need some backup on-

A splat of purple appears outside of his eyesight towards a far building. 247 doesn’t dare to look, his mouth trembling. He just stares at the walkie talkie now..rethinking his life.

Inky #247: BACKUP! I NEED BACKUP! HELP-

A shadow appears under his frail body, and it is soon covered in purple. The ink remains spread across the curb of the sidewalk. And along next to it..is Blob. His expression shines through, revealing the deep anger within his body, albeit only briefly seen.

He jumps towards each building, hopping alongside it towards where the Prof is captured by Comrade Black. The tower stands among the many grey rectangular/triangular buildings as it resembles more of a dome-like atmosphere. He will get it back. All of it.

..But what about his friends?

—

A couple hours earlier..

A swarm of Inky’s crowd behind, their faces etched with fury as the Color Underground flees away from the grey prison. Various shouts can be heard, some remarks that some consider to be ‘anti-colorist’. But the group keeps sprinting(or rolling) all together.

Pinky slightly closes towards Blob while speeding through the uniformity of the grey buildings slowly growing to life by the color purple. She puts a couple words together.

Pinky: Hey Blob?

Blob peers over with one eye, listening.

Pinky: I..I just wanted to say thank you. No matter how many times I tried to protect you in the past, the amount of fun we had as a team..it was all worth it.

Blob slightly eases up at Pinky’s words. Certainly she would at least told him before, but it was a bit pleasant seeing Pinky like this. Especially when they were just as close earlier-

Bif: Cut the flirting you two! We need to get the Prof.

Pinky’s normal, sassy attitude flared up back at Bif, but all that was left out was a quiet ‘mmf’ sound of disapproval.

Bif: The issue is on where to find him..he could be anywhere in this whole city!

Zip: Maybe he’s probably in that huge building up there?

Zip points to a tower that mimics a sort of tower with a dome top.

Bif slightly looks at Zip, the tower. Then to Zip again..then the tower.

Bif: That’s..too obvious.

The Color Underground, almost simultaneously: IT ISN’T!

Bif is a bit awkward after the whole outburst, yet still manages to keep the same statement that was planted in his mind. Bif wasn’t exactly the brightest..

Zip keeps spectating the area, briefly looking behind him to check if the Inky’s were still following them. They seem to be trailing further and further down. Zip puts up a small smirk. Seems like we lost them.

As he continues rolling down, a glint of light beams out of nowhere, his eyes reacting to the direct contact. His facial expression falls to a guarded expression.

Zip: Something's up ahead. I'll distract them.

Arty: Wait, Zip! You’ll-

Zip, protective of his statement: I’ll be fine Arty! You only focus on getting Blob there!

Zip zooms out, the roller skates on his feet at a quickening pace towards the questioning shiny machine, his figure becoming smaller and smaller. Arty lingers her expression for a bit longer..until he darts away. The rest of the Color Underground turns a corner.

Meanwhile, Zip; the youngest out of all of the group and also the most playful, attempts to go as fast as possible to knock down the standalone metal machine. His expression turns to rebellion, the eyebrows perking up to a scowl while his mouth into a sly smile as he sees the Inky’s guarding the mysterious metal machine.

Zip: Hey blots! Stop this!

Zip jumps from an impressive height, the weight of his legs shifting towards his feet. He slightly bends them..and delivers an impressive kick to the machine, making a big sizable dent in the front. Steam starts to rush out, panels start to fly, and just before it could get worse..it did.

—

BOOOOOM!

The ground rumbled underneath the remaining members of the Color Underground, the slight wind blowing beneath their backs. As much as the burst of smoke looked majestic and thrilling, they had to continue on.

The Inky crowd behind them had started to grow again, the form of it resembling a tsunami, eager to swallow the little color stains. It shrieks in slurs and hate speech that even makes Arty look terrified of the thing behind her.

So much so that Bif starts to notice.

Bif: Arty? Are you okay?

Arty had her face slightly slanted to the concrete below her, her expression a bit disillusioned. She clenched her teeth not in frustration, but in fear.

Bif: Arty! Listen to me!

Arty briefly glanced over at Bif’s running form, before glancing back at the floor again.

Bif: We’re going to get through this, I know that all of us can.

Arty tilted her head from the words that Bif said. He’s Bif, the guy who uses force to get through mostly everything. The arguments she had with him about smashing through walls to get his way. Why is he even saying this? Is ‘getting through’ just his way of pampering me so I wouldn’t react?

Bif: Especially you, Arty.

Arty slightly adjusts her head back, gazing into Bif’s eyes again. It felt like a sort of understanding, something that Arty can’t even begin to comprehend from him. The deafening sound of all the slurs and chants from behind seem to tune out subtly, all because of him.

Bif gives a small smirk, which quickly corrects to a knowing grin. Like he knew all along, how Arty wasn’t always the sensitive person when it came to facing the I.N.K.T. How she can flourish through her own ways alongside her love of painting.

Arty took a deep gulp down her throat. She gazed down at the ground beneath her again, seeing the texture differentiate by the tiniest bit, even if it was to distract her from the thoughts circling her mind. A quick look back..and she stops.

Bif had to do a double take on what the hell Arty was doing. “Arty! What the fuck do you think your-”

Arty shot a rather determined expression, the frown on her face blowing down Bif’s expression right off. A gleam of light seems to shine through her pupils, indicating that..she will. No, she is. Arty slowly took out her paintbrush from her curved back, and gazed at the inky swarm that was just up ahead.

She showed a slight look of unease from how big the crowd was, her feet shuffling uncomfortably. All this..by herself. It makes her throat feel a bit stiff as the crowd gets closer and closer and-

Bif: I’m not letting you fight.

…

Bif: Without me.

He stepped up not in front of Arty..but beside her. His arms were raised up in his normal fashion, the red headband swaying by the minimal amount of wind that was left. The swarm of inky’s gets closer.

Arty gave a last look at Bif, a small smile creeping across her face. Bif looked back and reflected on her look. She almost let out a chuckle..about all of this. On what’s happening, right now.

They gaze up at the Inky crowd as the shadows overlay their bodies, readying..and then begin their ballistic rampage. No questions needed.

—

As both Pinky and Blob continue their frenzied dash towards Comrade Black’s lair, Pinky couldn’t help but look behind her to reminisce about the other members. They have given..everything towards Blob to protect him. Granted, she was part of the group as well, but only up until after Blob saved the world from a gray landscape. But even then..it felt joyous to be part of this adventure.

She slightly uplifted her pixelated eyes to show a brief sense of content, followed by a determined look as she continued defending Blob.

Blob, hopping from each building: Pinky! Can you get me in there?

Pinky focused her attention at the thin tower, analyzing any sort of entrance that Blob could get into.

Scanning..scanning...ding!

Pinky: Second floor vent, Blob. You might want to shrink a bit though.

Blob understood her words and jumped from one more purple-colored building, flinging towards a grey fire hydrant.

The hydrant burst into jets of water, the paint melting off of his body. His body slowly shrunk after each second under the blasting pressure of water, until he was around the same size as a yoga ball.

Blob shakes his body as water flung everywhere, looking expectantly at Pinky when he's done. His eyes dart towards the vent.

Pinky: Once you’re in there, there should be an elevator to take you to the top. Might need to fight your way out.

Blob, his hands slung behind his head: Pinky..I know how to do this.

Pinky: It doesn’t matter if you’ve done this twice already. The height of this tower freaks me out a bit.

To her defense, the tower does seem tall under them.

Blob releases his hands and lets them fall down to his sides, rolling the make believe joints a bit for preparation to infiltrate the building.

Pinky: I’ll hijack into the computer systems so that the color will be available to you. They probably got labeled elevator levels, so you should be able to tell where it is.

Blob nods, ready to pounce and demolish the base. He tilts his back, does a side-eye motion, and leaps towards the wall. His body swooshes against it, sliding up towards the vent.

He outstretches one of his arms to unhinge the vent, and slips in undetected. The vent closes behind him, echoing the grating sound via the boxy vents.

His eyes pop up, adjusting to the dark environment. “I’m coming for you Prof.”

—

“Aooouuugh..AUUUGH!”

Sparks flew across Prof’s body as he was being electrocuted by one of Comrade Black’s bodyguards, their expression unwavering as they stood by. The flat, black suit with thin white stripes cover their bodies, exactly as sinister as they stood out to be. All they are doing right now is following orders.

Comrade Black: Now, I’m going to ask you again ‘Prof’. Where is Blob?

The Prof was not in the greatest shape to even speak right now. His coughing throughout each aftershock was physically taking a toll on him. “Blob..is wherever you think he is.” He tried to let out a smirk, but it vanished as another devastating shock landed towards his back, the metal ends digging deep into his brown color.

Comrade Black: I said, where is he NOW. That dangerous ball of paint has escaped my prison, and you might have something to do with it.

Prof: I regretfully have to cough say that I can’t speak on Blob’s half. Blob has his own way of doing things, and as much as I get to tell...

Comrade Black was getting more and more furious over the attempted stalling from Prof. Anything he tries to ask him, is met with a boring, monotonous response for him. It was driving him nuts.

Inky Bodyguard: Uh..I don’t think this is working. Do you want me to- ACK!

The bodyguard was suddenly struggling from his leader pulling him by the suit collar. It was horrifying to see his leader develop his expression into a deep scowl, an imaginary type of chokehold among his neck. It was a slight form of relief however as Comrade Black reached for his extended stun gun before shoving him away.

Comrade Black swiftly dashed towards Prof, a menacing way that made his hostage flinch. He stuck the gun barely near his neck, the metal tip making Prof shiver a bit.

Comrade Black: Yes..or no. Do you know WHERE Blob is?

Prof practically felt a drop of sweat roll down his body, a phantom type of feeling of the drop falling down to the concrete floor. His mustache was frizzled, no longer stooping down, among the brink of death towards..towards a..towards a dictator. A very stupid dictator, in fact.

Prof, trembling: I..I know where he is.

Comrade Black’s face doesn’t light up, and instead just asks another question, his tone still dark and foreboding. “Where. Is he?”

Prof gulped, the lump protruding out of his throat. “He’s..”

—

The elevator hums as the metal shaft makes its way up towards the upper floor. The sound of tiny droplets can be heard as Blob shakes himself off from the leftover ink he still has on him. Ergh..didn’t expect that. Blob thought to himself. Maybe he should’ve not paid attention to that sandwich..

As he makes his way up, the silence is overbearing in the gray metal box: making Blob appear very uncomfortable. But he tries to suppress those feelings, knowing he has much more to face. He keeps reminding himself that this is nothing different other than the two separate times he defeated them. But it keeps nagging in mind in a sort of uneasy way, like a knife that dulls in his tender body.

Okay, Blob. Keep it together. This is just like the exact time that I saved this place a couple years ago. I’ll get Prof, then I’ll-

Ding.

The elevator stopped, the steel doors opening to a couple Inkys who appear to be women. The hair style they all have appears to be around the same, the muted blonde and ruby colors matching towards their essence of a rather stereotypical woman employee. They crowd into the elevator, chattering as they pressed a button for a lower level than what Blob wanted.

Damn it.. Blob thought while practically sticking himself to the ceiling of the elevator.

Small beads of sweat radiate around his face, primarily towards his forehead. The shaft was making its way down, the seconds ticking by painfully before the doors finally opening again. The lady Inkys rush out, their chattering quietening as they shuffle away.

Phew-aoh-aoha! Blob faceplants onto the cold floor of the elevator. He lifts himself up, shaking off the fuzzy feeling. Then..he had a moment, how to get to the Prof faster.

He stretches out his purple arm and looks for a sort of trap door, something to get him physically on top of the elevator. The slight feeling of a kind of heavy plate made Blob smirk.

The trapdoor swings out, Blob jumping out onto the top. The thick cables jostle a little due to his weight, before stabilizing. He looks up, rolling his arms to prepare.

Glip..glip..glorp..

Glorp..

...

SPRING!

Blob flings himself all the way up, predicting what floor he needs to stop at. His gut feeling knows where to find him. Looking back at each unopened door, he grips the floor ledge at the last minute, pulling his body up with ease. He grips both sides of the unopened doors and smoothly opens the steel slabs, the office becoming more visible.

Comrade Black: That..huff should teach you a LESSON!

Comrade Black throws down the stun gun in angered exhaustion, the hollow steel ringing with piercing sound. He takes a couple of extensive breaths, his facade slowly easing in as he finally gets the Prof to shut up.

Comrade Black: Now then..how can I tell him that his ‘favorite’ professor is dead?

He glances slightly at the elevator door, finally seeing Blob. But this time..the expression that he saw was deeply horrifying. His eyelid went fully open, the robotic pupil twitching slightly under the heinous aura that filled his office. Blob slammed his way into the office, staring only at his mortal enemy.

Blob wasn’t furious, or angry, or even plain mad. He was raged.

Prof: B..b..Blob..cough, cough

Blob immediately focuses his attention on the injured Prof, his body in perilous condition. As he rolls over in a desperate manner and crouches down, Blob could see the several burn marks tattoo his brown skin, some darker than others. Every time that Prof got shocked, he felt a part of his heartily mood fade away. But..it was still slightly there. He could feel it.

Prof: …Please-

Blob: I got this Prof. Just hold on a little longer, alright?

Prof slightly retracted a bit, before giving a slight nod. Blob raised up and faced Comrade Black, full of fury. Now..he was viciously angry.

For Comrade Black..he felt even more intimidated upon Blob’s presence. But he was prepared for this. He slowly backed away, his fear still imminent on this face, until it completely flips into a sinister nudge in his eyelid, flipping onto the modified “Pants Engine”.

As he gripped the handles and raised them up(the chassis moving along with him), his nubs slightly hovered the dual red buttons on each handle. With a satisfying press, the body started to enlarge, showcasing two large blasters that have been deliberately installed.

Within seconds, the blasters started to shoot globs of ink. Blob narrowly dodged them as he still had his groove on.

Comrade Black: Ha..hah! You like this, Blob?! This is what..ack..you..get!

Comrade Black had more trouble controlling the blasters than he thought. Blob was too dexterous, the ink barely missing his color facade. With each splatter of the ink, the office that was once a haven for him was an urban mess. He was starting to get too impatient.

Comrade Black: Ha..ack..DAMN IT! WHY CAN’T I CATCH YOU!

Blob darted forward suddenly, preparing to implant Black for good. Blob had a blazen fury on his face, in which he was finally able to find an advantage point. But..

Clunk!

What..?

Blob slid off, the purple color dripping off as he launched backwards. The line of paint was unmeasureable–a small, glass round dome covered the Pants Engine as a shield surrounding Comrade Black.

Blob: !!!

Comrade Black, his grin appearing again: Like the new look Blob? I had this installed all by myself, in case any of your paint got onto me.

Blob flinched slightly, a small struggle added onto defeating him. The glass shines as it displayed its durability of being able to withstand any type of liquid that would pose as harmful to him.

But..wait..he’s seen this before. Like..breaking into something. Into glass.

He reaffirms his knuckles, suddenly darting forward with the color gliding off his body. His speed was immeasurable, almost like he was being serious for once.

Comrade Black at first was smug about his new dome, seeing Blob attempt to break the glass. Little did he know though, was that Blob had suffered through demolishing buildings, tanks, airships, turrets, and so much more that he can possibly remember. So when his punch landed with the sturdy glass..

dddddddbbbbbb…

…

…

crack..crack..

..That it started to fold under pressure.

CCCCSH!

A small, uneven hole has rounded Blob’s hand. The blades jagged into his wrist, yet he can still move it.

“Eh…eh…EHHHHHHHHHH!?!?!”

His entire body jumped, literally. And it was starting to go fuzzy. He immediately jumped to reprimands, his last hope.

“Blob..please don’t hurt me! We’ll go away, I swear! I’ll pack up my things and I’ll tell all the Inky’s to report back to headquarters..! Just let me get my..my..gulp.”

…An open palm was hovering over his face.

“...Uh oh.”

The hand barely missed his body and went on to slam the machinery, covering it into a deep purple. It molded around the chassis, the mounds sporadically gaining full cover. Comrade Black tried to release the dome around him, but to no avail since the buttons were already covered by color.

Comrade Black grew desperate and moved the handles backwards, attempting to get free. The glass crinkled a bit more, the engine revving as it takes it’s maximum strength. Then…a satisfying pop sound is heard, as the Pants Engine tumbles all the way back, towards the orbital glass windows that surround his office.

Comrade Black: Ourghourghourghourgh-AHHH!

The glass shutters underneath, a jolt coming across Comrade Black’s body. At that moment, he felt like he was going to die. Like if the glass..shattered into a million pieces..

…

CRASH…!

“...Oh..shit!”

He toppled down..all the way down..

..and Blob didn’t even go over to look.

He knew..that he was gone. That no matter how much that piece of filth can control over his land, the one thing that can never be retrieved is his righteousness. It’s what drives him towards making Chroma a place to stand together. To bond arms, to join forces…anything that drives him towards the defeat of his enemy.

For all of his friends, and the citizens of Chroma, he silently thanks them in his head; he retreats back to the Prof to pick him up in his arms.

At this point, Prof has already been unconscious. But..Blob doesn’t mind. He’s just exhausted from all the struggles he had to endure. Blob gives a slight look of sympathy for his teacher, a hint of a genuine smile on his face.

It may be the only time he has seen him like this.

Blob, his voice quietening: Prof..let’s get you home.

A rare glint in his eyes passes away as he gravitates back toward the elevator.

—

The Aftermath…

What happened to Comrade Black was just as Blob thought it was. After Blob and Prof left the narrow skyscraper, he was found rustled underneath some bushes, the purple giving away his location. He proceeded to climb out, peeking his head over.

“A..uuh!”

He faced plants on the pavement below him, the surface splattered with purple paint. His body was clearly a mess; it’s something that he never has experienced before. His body felt all tingly inside and out–like he felt humiliated.

It wasn’t helping that his modified pants engine was also shattered among repair: the buttons were misplaced and sprung and the internals smoked up into toxic fumes.

But he didn’t care. He knew that he had to escape. Otherwise Blob would catch him again, or worse: the Color Underground.<

What he didn’t expect while he looked up to gaze at his surroundings was a whole crowd of Raydians: all personally back to their normal, cheerful selves. The stew of different shades and hues created a misorganized, yet an aligned palette that screamed of unity.

All of them were angry.

“W..wait..please-”

Raydian #1: Yeah buddy..let’s get you back to where you actually belong.

Raydian #2: I like my city painted, not covered.

The two Raydians dragged him out by the stubby arms, the purple fading away among the grey pavement. Cheers erupted from the Raydians parading around him, many with their fists pumped up and carrying symbols of resistance such as ribbons and flags.

…After being paraded all over the city amongst hundreds of thousands of people after being defeated by his worst enemy, there was only one thing that was waiting in store for Comrade Black.

…

…

Prison.

BRRRNNGH!

Comrade Black stares out of the bars of a grey prison, the same as Blob got trapped in. While the grey area may be comfortable for him, it feels different now. He can see the buildings slowly coming back to life, his frustration growing..yet depleting.

squeak

The small flap on the door opens, a letter sliding in. Comrade Black turns around, his interest slightly peaked. The letter seemingly looked fine to him: just a bit of tan but he can tolerate it.

His stubby hand slightly reached the envelope on the floor, handling and flipping it to read the label. It’s from Blob.

Ack..! Him?!?! Comrade Black thinks, his metal eyelid scrunching. At first, he is very skeptical about opening it, but..it seemed tempting. But it also seemed so stupid. Him, opening a letter from his worst enemy, the person who stopped him not once, not twice, but three times!

Comrade Black fumes in frustration, his brain keeps telling himself to not open the letter..but he sighs as he gives in. He raises his head adjacent to the flap and peels open the seal.

splurrt

“I..e…”

He blinks once, looking around his body. What is that..yellow?

…

“AUUUURRRAGHHHH!!!”

Comrade Black stomps the letter in pure fury, the yellow paint getting everywhere on his feet. He slows down as his energy depletes, his body panting. The exhaustion creeps over..as he slumps down into unconsciousness.

—

To be continued…