Max sat stiffly in the metal chair. After appearing in the squid palace pool with Colin, the guards separated them for questioning. Still, Colin was able to sneak him a message before he disappeared down the hall. 

That was four hours ago, and Max still had his hand wrapped tightly around the piece of paper in his hand, not daring to open it. He knew how these things worked. They were probably watching him through the one sided mirror, waiting for him to panic. Well, he wasn't going to panic. He'd show them how tough he was. 

The steel door opened and Max let out a little squeak of fright. His face reddened and he looked down as the two squid guards entered. His heart started to beat faster as all the stories his father had told him about the squids came rushing back. He tried to push it aside as they sat down across from him. 

"So" The first started. Max didn't look at him but smirked a bit at how derpy the squid sounded. How funny that was actually true. 

"So, uh, sorry for forgetting about you" the squid went on, sounding genuine and sincere. "We've just been so busy lately-" 

"We got caught up in a game of cards" The other one said, actually sounding normal. "it was supposed to be quick, but then stewart here wanted to start playing strip poker, and things got a bit out of hand" 

Max slowly looked up at them skeptically. They couldn't be telling the truth, could they? From all the stories his father told, no squid was smart enough to even know how to play cards. Let alone a different version of poker. 

"So, yea" The first said, blushing blue in the way squids do. "You're free to go" 

Max blinked. They- they weren't serious. Were they? 

"Yeah, just go" The second said. "We're not gonna hold you for anything. We've all messed up with those stones before" He chuckled. 

Max stood up unnerved and walked toward the door. He never took his eyes off the squids, even as he pulled the door open and walking into the hall. He bumped into Colin almost immediately. 

Colin grabbed his arm quickly and hurried them down the hall. Max tried to pull away, but his grip was like a vise. 

"Let go" Max whispered "What do you think you're doing!?" 

"Getting you out of here in one piece" Colin hissed back. "Did you read the note?" 

"No, they were watching me" Max said "Through the mirror"

"The mirror is fake. We have them in there for the prisoner to literally reflect on what they did" Colin said, rolling his eyes. "But you didn't read the note? Why'd they let you go?" 

Max shrugged "I guess they thought you were just training me" 

Colin stopped talking for a moment before nodding "yeah, you do kind of look like a squid" he said. Max looked at him like he was crazy. 

"I do not" He started to argue. Colin quickly put his hand over Max's mouth. Two guards walked past them talking to each other, but not paying any attention to Colin and Max. 

"You do too, and don't try to say otherwise" Colin said "at least not until we're out of here" He looked nervously around. 

Colin waited for the guards to pass before pulling Max down the hall again. To Max it seemed like a maze, with all the winding hallways and rooms, but Colin led him down them as if he grew up in them. 

"Where are we?" Max asked suddenly. Colin didn't answer and kept pulling him down the hall.

"Colin, where are we?" Max asked again, digging his heels into the ground, stopping them both. 

"We're in the palace" Colin snapped "The squid palace. Its where you brought us, so why are you so surprised we're here?"

"Because I've never been here" Max said "You took the stone right before we escaped. YOU brought us here" He stuck his finger accusingly at Colin. 

Colin glared, but did not fight back. He let go of Max and started walking again, but at a slower pace. Max followed behind at a distance. The further they walked, the grander the palace seemed to be. The carpets became softer, the walls a richer blue, and the emblem of the squids appeared more and more often. The trident was on everything from doorknobs to the wall papering itself. 

Eventually Max started to notice the pictures on the walls. The first was a painting of a squid wearing a crown walking out of the ocean onto a beach. Behind him, floating in the waves, were other squids. As he walked down the hall, Max started to notice the squids in the paintings took on more human like qualities. Ever few paintings or so the king seemed to grow a new feature, something more human. Eventually, the paintings turned to photographs. The photos were of warriors, other squids in fine jewelry or clothing, or of squids wearing the royal uniform which to Max looked like a wet suit but fancier in some way, and tighter fitting. 

Max stopped in front of the most recent photo. It was taller than him, and was hung grandly on the wall. In it, the squid king and queen were surrounded by about nine squidlings of varying ages, with the oldest in the middle front. He was just as tall as the squid king, and looked almost exactly like him. Max scanned the photo, and noticed the queens arms didn't look right. 

"The royal family" Colin said. Max jumped surprised.

"They had eight daughters, and three sons" Colin continued. "The oldest, Eric, the crown prince. Each of the daughters was named after one of the human oceans, while the eighth was named after the kingdom, Atlanti. The other two sons perished. They were twins, and were being moved to an apprentice position with one of the royal scientists. Both were keen on learning, one was extra fond of how the hybrids were created. Their transport was attacked by some recruits from Sky's army. They and their entire guard were slaughtered. All the valuables were stolen, and the documents the twins were being read taken as well. They were four, and the youngest of the family." 

"What were their names?" Max asked, after a moment of silence. 

"They didn't have any yet" Colin said, "Too young. Many squidlings don't make it past the age of five, so parents, even royal ones, tend to not name them in hopes it'll help them survive. The two princes were only called the princes. One went by the nick name Princy, only because of how demanding he was" Colin let out a sad laugh. "Always being scolded, and trying to push the blame off to his twin"

"Why aren't they in the photo?" Max asked, staring again at the photo in front of them. Colin shook his head.

"Twins aren't usually something squids like" He said "They're seen as bad omen. That something bad will happen to that family. To acknowledge the royal family had some, well, that's just as bad to some people"

Max stopped for a moment. "what if it wasn't Sky's army that attacked them then" 

"That'd be impossible. I-" Colin started before he was interrupted. 

Down the hall, a door opened. The chatter of a meeting was heard for a moment before the doors closed again. Standing just outside the now closed door was Eric, wearing the full crown and suit, and he was staring straight at them. 

~~~

A/N whoa, it's been a while but I finally got this out! Tell me what you thought of it please! I'm trying to get into writing every day again, and it's been pretty hard. From roommate drama (I'm in college) to just studying (again, College) and everything else in between, it's been hard.

Oh! I've also got a boyfriend ^~^ just for an update on myself if anyone was interested. 

SO, what do you think will happen next? What are Creed and ANgel up to? What about the rest of the kids, it's been a while since we saw them. And what happened with Crystal last chapter?! and why doesn't Colin have an awesome suit like Eric?

Guess it'll be another month or so before we find out. 

But... Until then....

SEE YA FOXES!