[A/N] Here it is, the promised sequel! I can't gauge how good it'll be compared to the original, though. Umm… yeah, that's all for now, I guess. If you found this story first, then check out the original, Colour Blends, if you actually want to know what the hell is going on.

Protector

It had been a month since Tori had returned to live with Jake, and so far, all was well. They were living happily, and having a lot of fun together. They had even been able to inform most of the area about Tori, and even though most of the Inklings were shocked at first, she was now able to go out in public. Even the police were okay with her, although it took a bit of convincing that she wouldn't cause any harm. Everything seemed perfect.

And it was too good to be true.

They were just sitting down to dinner when Jake got a chill. His head snapped toward the door. "Tori. How long has it been since you last used a weapon?"

"Umm…" Tori thought for a moment. "Coming up on two months now. Why?"

"Do you think you could still fight well?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Well, get ready, then."

Jake retreated into his closet and returned with four weapons; his N-ZAP '89, Custom Dual Squelcher, Jet Squelcher, and Tentatek Splattershot. He tossed the Splattershot at Tori, who caught it in surprise, placed the Jet Squelcher on the ground, and hoisted the N-ZAP and Dual Squelcher in his hands.

"Jake?" Tori asked, scared. "What's going-"

"Ssh!" he interrupted. He then shouted at the door, "Whoever's out there, identify yourself and you won't have to get hurt!"

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the door exploded inward in a flood of purple ink. Tori, realizing what was happening, jumped in front of Jake to shield him from the blast.

Once the debris cleared, they could see the cause of the explosion; a small fleet of Octocopters, led by three Octobombers. Behind them, a few Twintacle Octotroopers on hovering scooters were poised to attack.

"How did you get here?" Jake asked, without lowering his weapons.

One Octobomber hovered forward a ways. "That is not of your concern. We have come for the girl. Give her to us, and you may keep your life."

"What's your business with her?" Jake asked. "Her home is here. She isn't going with you creeps."

"Our orders have come directly from our king," the Octobomber replied. "We have been instructed to deliver her to him. Refuse, and she will be taken by force."

"We aren't going down without a fight!" Jake shouted, and began to shoot at them. Tori stood in shock for a moment before she began to fire her weapon as well.

The Octarians instantly sprang into action, but it didn't do them much good. With the combined force of the three weapons, and Jake and Tori's considerable skill, the Octarians' numbers quickly dwindled from close to twenty-five, all the way down to a single Twintacle Octotrooper in a matter of moments. The Octotrooper, realizing that it was fighting a losing battle, quickly tried to jet back to Octo Valley.

Jake discarded his N-ZAP to grab the Jet Squelcher and give chase while Tori followed him, trying to restrain him. "Jake! We already routed them! Let it go!"

"NO!" Jake yelled, desperately attempting to shake her off. "I'M NOT LETTING THEM HURT YOU! YOU AREN'T LEAVING ME AGAIN!" He quickly fired at the Octotrooper with his Jet Squelcher. His aim was good; the hovering device on the scooter broke when the ink hit it and the Octotrooper fell to the ground with a pathetic scream.

Jake finally shook Tori off of him, jumped to the ground and caught up with it as she followed. When he reached it, he quickly destroyed the scooter with a couple of shots from the Dual Squelcher. He grabbed the Octotrooper by one of its tentacles and pressed the weapon up against its head. It gave a tiny whimper.

Tori caught up, too. "Jake! Stop! What are you doing?!"

He pushed the Squelcher further into the creature's head. "I'm not letting them take you away from me! I'm not letting it happen again!"

"I got that, but calm down! They're all gone! We need to bring this one back to the apartment."

Jake finally looked in her direction. "What for?"

"It can answer some questions for us. Isn't that right?"

The Octotrooper looked between the two, scared, before giving a quick nod.

"See?" Tori asked. "Now come on, let's take it back to the apartment."

Jake got up, not releasing his grip on the Octotrooper or the weapon, and began to walk back to their home, with Tori at his side.

When they returned, he finally loosened his grip on the Twintacle Octotrooper and let it fall to the ground. He locked the door so it couldn't run away, and lowered his weapon, though his hand still twitched.

"Alright," he said. "First of all, how did you get here?"

The Octotrooper glared at him before replying. "We flew here, directly from the valley. Only Octolings can get through the grates, and one of them would be recognized in an instant."

"How did you know Tori was here?"

"We had a renaissance Octocopter keeping watch on her since she returned to the valley. We wanted to see that her time away hadn't changed her." Tori paled slightly and shivered. She hated the idea that she was being watched.

"Why?"

"We were originally under the impression that she had been captured, and wanted to make sure it didn't happen again. But it appears that we were wrong. When she returned here, of her own accord, our king requested that we bring her back, by force if need be."

"Okay, but you must have tons of Octolings in your army. Why does Tori matter so much to you?"

"The king can't stand the idea of any of his troops going over to the enemy. He wanted her to answer some questions when she returned."

Jake looked at Tori worriedly. She decided to ask a question. "How did you get orders from DJ Octavio? I thought Agent 3 took him down." Jake mentally kicked himself for not thinking to ask that.

"He escaped," the Octotrooper said simply. Tori drew a sharp breath. That wasn't good. "He's probably planning to take the Great Zapfish again. But if the topic comes up, you didn't hear it from me. You got any more questions?"

Jake and Tori looked at each other, then back to the Octotrooper before shaking their heads.

"Good," it said. "Because I have a question for you two. …How am I gonna get home?"

Jake's eyes widened. They hadn't thought of that.

"Well, we can't keep him here," Tori said.

Jake suddenly had an idea. "I got it! Tori, you know your way around Octo Valley, right?"

"…No, not really," Tori replied. Jake turned to the Octotrooper. "Do you?" he asked. It nodded.

"Perfect," he said. He gathered up the four weapons that he brought out to fight the Octarians and retreated back into his closet, returning with only two; an Aerospray RG and a Splattershot Jr. The Octotrooper gulped.

Jake, seeing its look of worry, said "Don't worry, I'm not gonna splat you. Tori, take this one, please," and handed Tori the Aerospray. "C'mon," he said, walking out the door. Tori and the Octotrooper followed.

When they got to the ground floor, Jake immediately went to work inking the ground with his Splattershot Jr. Tori, understanding his idea, started doing the same with the Aerospray. After a moment, both of their tentacles were rippling and shining, signaling a charged special weapon.

Tori reached up and patted her tentacles. "This is pretty cool," she said.

"Don't get used to it," Jake replied. "Now, when I say the word, you're going to use your special. The Aerospray comes with an Inkstrike, so you'll have ten seconds to choose a spot in the surrounding area to fire it. When it does…" He turned to the Octotrooper. "You are going to hold onto the thing for dear life as it takes you back to Octo Valley. I'll give you a Bubbler so you don't get splatted. Sound good?"

The Octotrooper started to protest, but Tori shushed it. "Do you have a better plan?"

"Great," Jake said. "You ready, Tori? Three… two… one… GO!"

The Inkstrike appeared on Tori's back. The Octotrooper climbed aboard, held on with one tentacle, and used the other to select an area in Octo Valley that it knew. Just as the Inkstrike was about to take off, Jake activated his Bubbler and slapped the Octotrooper on its back, transferring the special to it.

They could hear the Octotrooper's scream as it landed, but the only ink they saw came from the Inkstrike, so it looked like the Octotrooper made it back safely. Tori breathed a light sigh of relief before grabbing Jake's collar and dragging him back up to the apartment. "We need to talk."

Jake yelped in surprise and pain. "Ow! Watch the clothes, Tori! This is my favourite cardigan and I can only buy the one!"

He stopped his protests quickly as Tori dragged him into the apartment before releasing him, slamming the door, and shouting at him angrily. "What the HELL was that about?!"

"What? What are you talking about?" Jake asked, confused.

"When those Octarians were attacking! They were gone! We took them down! That Octotrooper was the only one left, and you went absolutely ballistic trying to splat it! What the hell's wrong?!"

Jake stuttered for a moment. "I-I… just wanted… to protect… you…"

"They can't hurt me, though!" Tori retorted. "Their ink doesn't touch me! I'm an Octarian, remember? You're the one who was in danger!"

"I wasn't really… thinking… straight…" Jake replied. He couldn't stand Tori yelling at him, and tears started running down his face, silently.

Tori scoffed. "Damn right you weren't!" Noticing that he was crying, she calmed down a bit. "Look, Jake. I appreciate the gesture, and it's good knowing that you'll always be there for me. But… Jake, I love you, and I don't want you to just throw your life away for me. I… I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Promise me that you won't do that again."

Jake brushed away his tears and looked into Tori's face. "…I can't promise that, Tori."

Now, it was Tori's turn to cry. "Why?" she asked. "Why do you want to die for me? I wouldn't be able to s-stand it if I lost you… Why can't you just promise me that you'll stay safe?"

"Because I can't let this happen again," Jake replied softly. "I'm not going to let anyone take you away from me. And I know just the way to do it, too. I'm gonna take him down."

"Who?" Tori asked, already knowing the answer.

"DJ Octavio," Jake replied. "Your former king. I'm gonna do what Agent 3 couldn't do. I'm sorry, Tori, but I'm not letting anything happen to you. And I think this is the only way. I'm not letting those Octarians take you away."

Tori instantly shook her head. "Nope. Nuh-uh. No way. That is exactly what I just told you not to do. I am not letting you fight Octavio. Especially not by yourself."

Jake dismissed her arguments entirely. "My mind's made up, Tori. I'm sorry, but you aren't convincing me otherwise. I need to make sure that you're safe."

"But why?!" Tori asked pleadingly. "Why do you need to try and take down Octavio? Why can't you just leave it to Agent 3? Jake, please, I'm begging you, put yourself first for once! The king isn't someone you can just waltz in and splat, he's the leader of the Octarians for a good reason! It's not something that just anyone can do-"

"Then it's a good thing I'm not just anyone," Jake said.

"What do you mean?" Tori asked.

"I have you," Jake said with a smile. "And as long as I have you, I have someone to fight for. I won't let myself lose as long as I have that."

The way Jake was speaking, it was hard for Tori not to believe him. She finally gave a grudging nod. "Alright, fine. But be careful."

Jake grinned at her. "Don't you worry. I'll be fine."

[A/N] Chapter 1 is finally finished, so here you go. Spot the plot I'm gonna be plagiarizing next, win a prize.

By the way, I've received a couple of suggestions to maybe write a lemon featuring these two. I've only tried my hand at a lemon once before, but I'd like some feedback Do you guys think I should do it?

And can someone PLEASE tell me whether I'm supposed to say "pleaded" or "pled?" I don't know and it's driving me insane.