CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
They slept on the beach by the ocean, together. The sky turned red. The sun turned young. Memories were stirred in the Squidinator. Memories of coming ashore. Impossible. That was...that was so long ago. Before he'd even been the Squid God. Back when he'd just been a squid. The king of all the squid, granted. The greatest squid of them all...darkness. He remembered darkness. He was swimming in it. Then he heard that voice again, the voice that never truly left him...
"I feel like I'm home."
"I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming this, I'm dreaming you."
"Of course, but isn't it nice to talk again?"
"Why are you still in me? What's the point anymore?"
"Why do you think you came here?"
"What are you saying? That Chloe and I walked to the beach because I subconsciously wanted to wake you up again?"
"Well, yes, that's pretty much exactly what I'm saying. But maybe it's just a coincidence. The one thing you can never forget is that you are not human, you will never be human. You act like Chloe is the same as you are? She's not. She's nothing compared to you, a child. Less than three hundred years old..."
"She was with us in space, she remembers all that..."
"Yes, yes, good point. I'm not saying Chloe isn't interesting. I rather like her myself. But she is still very much human. She wasn't born at the bottom of the ocean like we were..."
"I wasn't..."
"You were. You've been born many times, but that was the first birth. You remember it, so it is true. You remember the ocean. You remember when it was the world."
"I do. I don't know how but...I remember how it felt. I remember being a squid. A real squid. I remember the ohter creatures, the strange creatures. I remember growing larger, more powerful. I remember...portals?"
"Yes. We grew. We ruled the sea. But then we found out there was more. Land. At first it seemed like an impossible nightmare world. Outside of the water? How could there be life! It seemed like a nightmare world. But the ocean was ours, and we grew bored. We wanted the land too. So we clawed ourself out of the sea and made ourself a God. The Squid God. And we forgot the sea, because we wanted the whole world..."
"I remember. And now...I want to swim again. I want it so bad."
"Then do it! You have my DNA still in you. Transform. Become squid once more. Embrace what you are..."
"But Chloe..."
"She will live forever, you'll see her again."
"The portals. I remembered portals. Deep under the sea. I remember swimming through them. I remember going to other places. What were they?"
"I remember that too. We were just young then, but we found something. The source. Of our power. Yes. I haven't thought of this for a very long time. There are portals to other worlds beneath the ocean. Portals that can make us stronger."
"That's...that's why I'm here, isn't it? Those portals have answers. If they're even still there...I don't remember much about them..."
"We took what we needed from them. Swam in other seas. Bathed in power. Came back. Conquered. We hid them from the world. But yes they're still there, deeper than anyone but us has ever been. Things that powerful never go away."
"We must find them."
"You're thinking like me now."
"I am you."
"You are."
He woke. He felt panic at first. Like he couldn't breathe on land. Chloe was still sleeping by him. He stroked her hair to see if she was real. He hand was already changing. Turning to a tentacle. His squid features were returning. He was the Squidinator again, truly now. No, he was more. He was squid, not human. And squid had to swim. He whispered goodbye to Chloe and frantically threw himself into the sea.
He was home.
"I feel like I'm home."
"I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming this, I'm dreaming you."
"Of course, but isn't it nice to talk again?"
"Why are you still in me? What's the point anymore?"
"Why do you think you came here?"
"What are you saying? That Chloe and I walked to the beach because I subconsciously wanted to wake you up again?"
"Well, yes, that's pretty much exactly what I'm saying. But maybe it's just a coincidence. The one thing you can never forget is that you are not human, you will never be human. You act like Chloe is the same as you are? She's not. She's nothing compared to you, a child. Less than three hundred years old..."
"She was with us in space, she remembers all that..."
"Yes, yes, good point. I'm not saying Chloe isn't interesting. I rather like her myself. But she is still very much human. She wasn't born at the bottom of the ocean like we were..."
"I wasn't..."
"You were. You've been born many times, but that was the first birth. You remember it, so it is true. You remember the ocean. You remember when it was the world."
"I do. I don't know how but...I remember how it felt. I remember being a squid. A real squid. I remember the ohter creatures, the strange creatures. I remember growing larger, more powerful. I remember...portals?"
"Yes. We grew. We ruled the sea. But then we found out there was more. Land. At first it seemed like an impossible nightmare world. Outside of the water? How could there be life! It seemed like a nightmare world. But the ocean was ours, and we grew bored. We wanted the land too. So we clawed ourself out of the sea and made ourself a God. The Squid God. And we forgot the sea, because we wanted the whole world..."
"I remember. And now...I want to swim again. I want it so bad."
"Then do it! You have my DNA still in you. Transform. Become squid once more. Embrace what you are..."
"But Chloe..."
"She will live forever, you'll see her again."
"The portals. I remembered portals. Deep under the sea. I remember swimming through them. I remember going to other places. What were they?"
"I remember that too. We were just young then, but we found something. The source. Of our power. Yes. I haven't thought of this for a very long time. There are portals to other worlds beneath the ocean. Portals that can make us stronger."
"That's...that's why I'm here, isn't it? Those portals have answers. If they're even still there...I don't remember much about them..."
"We took what we needed from them. Swam in other seas. Bathed in power. Came back. Conquered. We hid them from the world. But yes they're still there, deeper than anyone but us has ever been. Things that powerful never go away."
"We must find them."
"You're thinking like me now."
"I am you."
"You are."
He woke. He felt panic at first. Like he couldn't breathe on land. Chloe was still sleeping by him. He stroked her hair to see if she was real. He hand was already changing. Turning to a tentacle. His squid features were returning. He was the Squidinator again, truly now. No, he was more. He was squid, not human. And squid had to swim. He whispered goodbye to Chloe and frantically threw himself into the sea.
He was home.
