Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hello, this story is going to be very long. So, let’s not waste your time, okay? I don’t want you reading 20 chapters only for you to decide you don’t like it. I want you all to know what you're getting into before you make a commitment like reading this. It’s a lengthy story after all.

Firstly, I am a new writer. WAIT NO DON’T GO! Look, I know you have no reason to trust me yet, but I promise you that I will make this story good. Maybe even one of the best. Honestly, it’s up to you to decide whether or not that’s true. (Note from the future: I think that my writing skills have gotten way better because of this story, so thank you all for clicking and joining me on this writing journey) As of right now, this story features complicated characters all with their own motivations and character flaws. If you choose to read this story, expect serious moments where characters make massive mistakes that drastically impact the story. This story has its comedic moments, but it takes itself very seriously. Excluding original characters, characters such as Marina, Marie, Pearl, Callie, Agent 4, and Agent 8 will all undergo significant character growth. (That’s almost the entire main cast!)

Next, I like my ideas to be based in some form of logic. Here’s a random example: Science tells us that squids and octopi cannot breed, therefore Inklings and Octoling hybrid babies are not possible. Although cross species love is permitted in this story (you read the tags, you already know what’s gonna happen), it can’t result in love babies. They would have to adopt. Now I know this may be weird since Splatoon already defies so much logic, but a story without a solid foundation to stand on is going to fall flat on its face. The only time this rule is violated is when the Octarians start doing their thing. They are so much more technologically advanced than us that it might as well make some things look like magic. So, feel free to get pissed about that stuff but I’ll typically dismiss it as Octarian science bullshit. Still, I’ve only really got one moment planned where that’s gonna happen… so don’t worry.

Finally, this story is going to take a while to write. I'm a college student so updates might be slow (although, those of you reading this for the first time will have a lot of catching up to do). Luckily, I’ve already got almost EVERYTHING planned out. So, be prepared for lots of foreshadowing, poetic moments, and things coming full circle. I really love using Chekhov’s gun in my writing. So once I load that gun, expect it to fire sooner or later. And while I do appreciate and love to get comments and/or feedback, they are not necessary. Thanks y'all!

Note: This first chapter is mainly setup with some deviation from the original story. This story is not just a copy in past of the Splatoon hero mode and Octo expansion.

I do not own Nintendo nor do I own Splatoon 1, Splatoon 2, or Splatoon 3.

All rights reserved.

- - -

As the bus pulls over, a voice chimes in over the intercom. 

“Final Destination. Now arriving at Inkopolis Square. We thank you for choosing Squid Tracks and we hope you will ride with us again.”

As I stand, I reach for the ceiling in an attempt to stretch. An overnight bus ride really leaves one’s muscles feeling tight. I hurriedly grab my bag and take off towards my new life. Stepping off the bus, I look inside my bag for my wallet and phone. I just want to confirm that I wasn’t robbed while I was napping on the bus. Seeing everything in order, I make my way into the busy Inkopolis Square.

The world seems to rush around me. Squids buzzing from shop to shop. Jellyfish standing at street corners without a care in the world. Cars zooming by. Turf war matches being streamed on the jumbo screens. All these sensations filled me with this overwhelming urge to yell.

“MY NEW LIFE STARTS NOW!”

People are staring. Ah beans, I’ve caused a scene again haven’t I?

Luckily, the crowd dismisses my outburst as the sound of DJ scratching cuts through the air. Everyone turns to face a large TV attached to the largest tower. After a quick tune, two people dressed in fancy clothing pop up on the screen. 

“Y’all know what time it is!”

“It’s Off the Hook coming at you LIVE from Inkopolis square!”

Ah, they must be idols. I never really understood idol culture, nor did I really care since we didn’t have any idols in my hometown. Despite this, the pair still manages to capture my attention.

“Check it, here are the regular battle stages... Uh, why is our producer freaking out? Read the teleprompter Marina!”

“Oh uh, r-right!”

The tall one, evidently named Marina, looks shocked.

“THIS JUST IN. The Great Zapfish has… disappeared?!”

“Wait, like for reals? I feel like I’ve heard this story somewhere before…”

“There’s more! Pop superstar Callie of the Squid Sisters has gone missing!”

“What?! NOOO NOT CALLIE!”

Despite the short one’s more expressive reaction, Marina seems more distraught by all of this information. The Great Zapfish being missing is worrisome and all but she looks downright terrified.

“Marina do something!”

“Oh, I, uh, of course! I’ll put together a search part-“

“Eh- whatever, I’m sure they’ll turn up at some point. In other news…”

“But Pearl, shouldn’t we form a search party?”

This catches my attention. If a search party to find the Great Zapfish is formed, I should help out. I may have only just arrived here and don’t even have a place to stay yet, but this city is now my home. Plus, I might be able to make some new friends. 

“And that’s all the time we’ve got! Until next time.”

“Don’t get cooked… Stay off the Hook.” They finished in unison.

I wonder if I could ever become a celebrity like that? Maybe I could become a famous pro turf-battler or maybe I could become a world renown detective or secret agent! What if…

My mind continued racing through the countless possibilities, only stopping once I noticed someone staring directly at me. 

I look to my immediate surroundings to confirm that this person is, indeed, staring at me and not some other squid standing next to or behind me. Now, my mother always said not to talk to strangers, but she was also against me coming to the big city. And since I’ve already disappointed her once today, I might as well go for broke!

I approach the stranger and, upon further inspection, realize that it was a girl. A really pretty girl. Oh, how wonderful. This can only lead to trouble. Pretty girls in shady places always lead to trouble! At least that’s what dad always said.

As I got close, she disappeared into the sewer beneath her. I know I shouldn’t talk to strangers, nor should I follow them into alleyways or sewers. But come on… it’s not everyday I catch a pretty girl staring at me. Imagine the possibilities! On one hand, this might be some kind of trap. Maybe she was a lure to get me into the sewers so that her gang could harvest my organs, squidnap me, or maybe even kill me! On the other hand, pretty girls make my heart beat fast and my brain go dumb.

Naturally, I dive in after this girl. 

- - -

Popping out of the sewer, I prepared myself for anything: a sewer monster, an ambush, even a pit of death. I was not prepared to be met with sunlight and a massive canyon. As she stood with her back turned to me, I could only wonder… ‘What's with this girl?’

“Hey lady! I don’t know where you got your manners but it’s generally considered rude to stare at someone and then run away like that.”

“Hmm, the Octarians...”

She turned to me, leaving me at a loss for words. Holy carp, she’s even more beautiful up close!

“Hey, you showed up. As soon as I saw you aimlessly wandering around the Square, I knew you were the one.” 

“I’m Marie. I know you’re probably a bit starstruck, but I need you to get over it. Yes I’m THAT Marie…You know? From the Squid Sisters?”

…

“Never heard of you.”

…

“WHAAAAAT?! For eel ?”

“Look, Miss… Marie was it? I literally just got to the city a little over an hour ago. I was ‘aimlessly wandering around the Square’, as you put it, because I was trying to figure out what I should do. Considering that, how do you expect me to know some niche idol girl in a kimono from some B-list band? What do you want from me anyways?”

“B-list!? Wow, you obviously aren’t very cultured… but I suppose you’ll have to do. See, I’ve got this little thing I need help with. By now you’ve heard that the Great Zapfish is missing. But in truth, it’s been squidnapped by the Octarian menace! How do I know this? On the surface, I may just look like an absurdly talented pop star, but in truth I’m Agent 2 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, a secret society of heroes who save the world from Octarians!”

In my mind, only three words were processed: Agent, Secret, and Heroes. These words were then calmly interpreted as: holy crap, I can be a secret agent and do hero work and become famous. This is fresh as hell.

“OH SHELL YEAH! Count me in.”

“Hold on hotshot, I haven’t even finished explaining yet.”

“I don’t need to hear the rest. I want to be a hero!” 

“It’s not that simple, I need you to RESCUE the Great Zapfish back from those slimy Octarians. It’s not some silly hero game. You will be a soldier on the front lines RISKING your life. These are real, life or death, missions.”

That shut me up. Deep in thought, I considered my options. On one hand, I live out my heroic fantasies. On the other, there's the possibility of death without respawning.

…

“Sooooo… I’ll take your awkward silence as a yes. Welcome aboard! You are now Agent 4 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon.”

“Don’t just decide for me!” 

“Here. I brought you a brand-new set of hero gear. Catch.” 

She tosses a yellow jacket, a pair of headphones, a set of shoes, and a gun at me. I catch the headphones and jacket while the shoes hit the floor with a thud and while the gun misfires on impact, covering the adjacent ground in yellow ink.”

“Watch it! That thing could have shot me!” 

“Oh please, your ink color is already yellow, it’s not like it could’ve hurt you. Now hurry up and get changed, you have a mission.”

I grumbled lightly as I went into the nearby cabin to get changed.

- - -

After sliding the hero gear over my current set of clothes, I emerge from the cabin to find the girl staring out over the canyon with a teary look in her eyes. She wipes her eyes quickly as she notices me approaching. 

“Look at that, it fits like a glove! (Not bad for an old hand-me-down). Now let’s go tear those octarians limb from limb from limb from– you get the point…”

She clearly wants to pretend that she wasn’t just crying, so I’ll do the same and get a start on my new life as a hero.

“So where am I headed?”

“Follow the path down into the canyon. Oh yeah, the entrances to the Octarian realm are invisible, so you’ll have to ink them to reveal them. By the way, you’re not gonna need your bag. You can leave that here.”

“So you can steal my stuff? Sorry Miss Marie, but I’m not here to see if I can trust you with my precious belongings. I’m here for two reasons.

1. To be a hero
2. A pretty girl needed my help

Notice how that list doesn’t include getting robbed by the aforementioned pretty girl?”

She just stares at me, unimpressed, before sighing.

“Fine, whatever floats your boat. Now get a move on, we’ve lost enough light already.”

Walking down the rocky canyon path, I began my new life as Agent 4.

Chapter Text

So, something I've decided to do is name every chapter after a real song! Since Splatoon is a world based heavily in music, I thought this would be a fun way to recognize that. I don't recommend listening to them while reading though. These are just songs I like that also have a name that fits the chapter.

- - -

My first encounter with an Octarian was shocking. In a world with walking jellyfish and talking squids, a walking tentacle shouldn’t be that surprising, and it wasn’t. However, when the first thing the walking tentacle did was shoot at me, I was caught off guard. That’s how I learned about my respawn points.

I don’t know if those things can respawn like us Inklings, so I hesitated when splatting my first Octarian. Marie helped me through it, assuring me by saying that it was him or me. I made the connection between splatting Octarians and splatting Salmonids back home. Instead of killing a person, it was more like swatting a bug. That made it easier. With that, I continued on with my missions.

Apart from that, the missions weren’t too difficult. Find a kettle, splat everything inside, grab the zapfish, and get out. By the third zapfish, I was on a roll! These missions only took a few hours each and I was only splatted a few times. Each time I was shot, my hero gear was left with distinct, Octarian pink stains. The color was like nothing I had ever seen before. Although we have pink ink on the surface, this stuff looks… brighter? It’s shinier too. At a glance, anyone could tell that this ink isn’t normal.

Overall, I was doing fine apart from being tired. The most annoying part was carrying my backpack through everything. I definitely regret not leaving it behind, but I refuse to give Marie the satisfaction of admitting I was wrong to bring it. Though, it’s not like I could just leave it somewhere and come back for it later, it has everything I need inside it: my phone, all my identification, spare clothes, and the money I had saved up to this point. If this thing got stolen or lost, I would be screwed!

- - -

I exit the third kettle and hand off the zapfish to Marie. She’s been mostly quiet during my missions, only speaking to give me advice or warnings.

“Hey, do you see that big kettle over there?” 

Marie points down into the canyon. 

“Yeah, why isn’t that one invisible like the others?”

“That one’s a boss kettle. If you treat it the same as those first three missions, you’ll get hurt. I don’t know what’s waiting for you in there, but it will be dangerous.” 

“I’ve done fine so far, I’m sure I can handle it.”

“Just don’t get sloppy in there Agent 4.”

I nod and make my way back to the canyon and into the boss kettle. The inside of this kettle is… warm. I would even say it's boiling, way hotter than the rest of the kettles. In response, I take off my hero jacket so I don’t overheat. I’m standing on a platform with a respawn point and a launch pad. Staring out from the ledge, I can see that this kettle has one other platform: a large circular island in the middle of the room surrounded by boiling water. The zapfish is just sitting out in the open with a large puddle of pink Octarian ink beneath it. 

“Maybe they are letting me have this zapfish?” 

Marie chimes in through my headphones.

“Don’t be so naive. Agent 3 went through something similar 2 years back… a big room like this means you're in for a big fight.”

“Like a boss battle? Is that why it’s called a boss kettle?”

“Oh so you do have a brain in there.”

I decide to ignore her comment and instead super jump down to the arena. 

As I hesitantly approach the zapfish, a massive tentacle shoots out of the enemy ink and grabs the poor creature. From the tiny puddle of Octarian ink emerged a massive machine. It roars a battle cry.

“What the fresh fuck is that thing?”

“Watch your language 4. According to my grandfather’s notebook, that's the Octo Oven. It’s one of the great Octobosses. It says that it raises the temperature of its surroundings drastically. Be careful not to overheat.”

I ran up and began covering it in yellow ink. One of the oven doors opened. I stared at it curiously as an odd face stared back.

“Is that Octarian made out of… BREAD?”

“Agent 4 watch out!”

The ‘bread’ shot out and smashed against me. I went flying backwards, my shirt now stained with Octarian ink. All the air shoots out of my lungs as my back slams against the wall of the kettle. I promptly fell into the boiling water. Thankfully, I splatted before receiving any major burns. 

“Ow. Would it kill you to warn me a little sooner next time?”

“No need to get sassy Agent 4. Just focus on beating this thing.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?”

“Look for a weak point. Once you find it, abuse the heck out of it until you beat this thing.”

“There was an exposed tentacle on top of it when it first appeared. Is that a weak point?”

“Probably. Climb up there and take it out.”

I sigh as I jump back into the battle. The Octo Oven was covered in ink resistant metal. However, the bread was climbable. Whenever the bread shot out and got jammed, I took the advantage and scaled the oven. Splatting the tentacle was child’s play compared to that. After the third round of scaling the oven and splatting the tentacle, I finally finished the Octarian off. Before leaving the room, I collected the Zapfish and re-equipped my hero jacket. 

“What a joke, I can’t believe I got splatted by that thing. UGH, now I’m covered in enemy ink and… DAMNIT, my shirt is ruined.”

“You got lucky. Had the oven not jammed, you wouldn’t have been able to climb it. Now get back to base. We’re done for today.”

Jeez. Would it kill her to give me even the slightest amount of praise? I sigh, partly from exhaustion and partly from being sick of her carp. 

“Yes ma’am.”

- - -

After a while of walking, I realize that something feels off. I give myself a once over notice that my bag has a massive hole in it. Quickly searching through my belongings, I realize that everything is gone.

“Oh no no no, NOOO! My bag! I had everything in this! When did this happen?”

“Probably when you got hit by the Octo Oven.”

“I need to go back!”

“NO! Don’t turn around, I don’t want you out there at night. It's too dangerous.”

I’m shocked by her drastic change in tone. Begrudgingly, I obey her orders and keep making my way to the cabin. 

I know that I am in a worrying situation. Where am I gonna sleep? What will I eat? I mulled it over in my head, and with no other option, I asked for help.

“Hey Marie, would it be possible for me to sleep in the cabin?”

With a flat voice, Marie responds. 

“No.”

“What! Why not?”

“Nothing is stopping the Octarians from coming this far. If an Octarian sneaks up here while you’re sleeping, they might squidnap you. (Just like they did to Cap’n last time.)” 

“B-But I have nowhere else to go!” 

“That sounds like a you problem.”

You’ve got to be kidding me. I bust my ass for 8 hours and THIS is how she repays me? Fine! It’s fine... I’ll just sleep on a park bench or something. Hopefully, fate smiles upon me and it doesn't rain tonight. 

Reaching the cabin, Marie was standing there waiting for me, a smile on her face. I don’t return her smile.

“Good work today Agent 4.”

“Eight hours of working together and I think that's the first nice thing you’ve said to me.”

“You look like a mess.”

She chuckles as she snaps a picture of me. Turning the screen to face me, I see that I’m covered in pink ink… I look like I just fought a pack of Salmonids with nothing but my tentacles. At least I’m really going to be able to sell the idea that I’m homeless.

“Great. Can’t wait to go out in public looking like this.”

…

“By the way, I have work tomorrow. A busy girl like myself can’t be here every single day, you know?”

“So?”

“So… I can’t be here. And if I’m not here, then you’re not here. Understand? You don’t have enough experience to run these missions on your own. I’ll lock the manhole tomorrow so nobody sneaks in or out. Let’s just meet back up in two days... Now go change out of your hero gear and then find someplace to sleep. You look completely worn out.”

As if on cue, my exhaustion comes back in full force. No, scratch that, I am ten times more tired than I was earlier. Time to go find a park bench I can sleep on. 

I never made it to a park bench. Last thing I could remember was the smell of Hamburgers and the sound of two voices…

“Yo… is it just me or did this homeless dude just pass out in the middle of the street?”

“This isn’t good. He looks like he’s in pretty bad shape.”

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

The newscast from this morning left me very worried. Pearl seems to think that everything will turn out fine. That’s only because she doesn’t know what happened. What REALLY happened. 

It's just like two years ago, when my people, no, when the Octarians stole the Great Zapfish. The Inklings only got it back because the Squid Sisters were able to sing that heavenly melody… but this time, Callie of the Squid Sisters is missing. It must be connected to the Octarians. I just know it is! I need to do something, but what good could I do? I’m not a soldier anymore. I won’t be of any help…

“Marina! Are you even listening to me?!” 

“Huh, oh! I’m sorry Pearl, I was just lost in thought.” 

“Jeez, as I was saying… I think we did a damn good job for our first day. You agree, yeah?”

“I guess.”

“You guess?” 

“It's just, during the Splatcast this morning, I was so nervous. And then when the breaking news came on I froze up and-”

“Don’t sweat it Marina, you were fantastic. Believe me, the fans love you already. Now, what’s really got you so distracted?”

“I, oh, uh, don’t know what you mean...”

“Oh come on. Don’t play koi with me. I’m your best friend! I can tell when you’re lying to my face. There's something-”

Pearl is thankfully interrupted as our boss comes into the room.

“Marina darling, may I speak with you in my office?”

- - -

Miss Shy-Ho-Shy, my boss and former producer of the Squid Sisters. She’s legendary for discovering the Squid Sisters’ talent and turning them into sensational icons of Inkopolis. She's the reason the Squid Sisters existed. If it weren't for her, I likely never would have heard that heavenly melody and would still be stuck serving Octarian army. I’m forever grateful to her. Unfortunately, she probably wants to reprimand me for freezing up during today’s show. Just from imagining her yelling at me, I can already feel tears beginning to form.

“Miss Shy-Ho-Shy, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to freeze up like that. I- I was just so nervous and worried about what people would think of me t-that I got lost in my own head and then…”

“Marina, it's quite alright. I am not mad at you.”

“Y-you’re not?”

“Of course not dearie. Plenty of idols have made mistakes before. I can’t be mad at them for that, we’re all bound to make a few mistakes here or there.” 

“Y-yeah…”

“But that's not what this is about. I wanted to discuss the brilliant idea you came up with during the Splatcast.”

“B-Brilliant idea?”

“Why of course darling! Don’t you remember? Shortly after the Great Zapfish was declared missing you immediately came up with the most wonderful of ideas.”

“I- I did?”

“You did. You suggested forming a search party. And so, I want you and Pearl to gather as many Inklings as possible and form a search party to help with finding Callie and the Great Zapfish.”

“But what about the Splatcast?” 

“Oh, don’t worry about that dear. Without the Great Zapfish, all turf war matches are suspended. That way, if the power to a respawn point goes out, no one is in danger. As a result, the Splatcast only needs to cover critical news. I can handle all that nonsense while you girls organize that search party.”

“B-but I thought that the search party wasn’t a good idea? Pearly dismissed it so quickly…” 

“Oh sweetheart. You can’t always go along with what Pearl says or does. You are so full of fantastic ideas, sometimes you need to do what you think is best. Do you think you could do that for me?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Oh darling, you don’t have to call me ma’am. Just Shy is fine. Now, you are dismissed until the Great Zapfish returns.”

Stepping out of her office, I stand frozen and stunned. 

That went differently than I expected. Miss Shy-Ho-Shy, or I guess it's just Shy-Ho, always amazes me with how kind she is. Anytime I expect her to get mad or blow up in my face, I’m met with nothing but a kind smile and encouraging words. It’s too bad the search party won’t work. If the Octarians actually stole the Great Zapfish again, then no normal search party will be able to find it.

I sigh as Pearl jogs over towards me.

“So, what happened?”

“Miss-, er, Shy wanted to talk about what we would be doing whilst the Splatcast is suspended.”

“Suspended? What? Why?!”

“With the Great Zapfish gone, there won’t be any turf wars for us to report about. So, she wants us to work on a different project while she handles the news.”

“And did she specify what that project was or are we freestyling this?”

“She wants us to gather as many Inklings as we can and form a search party.”

“Fresh! That was your idea right?” 

I nod my head in surprise. Is Pearl actually fine with this? But she’s been looking forward to this Splatcast gig since forever ago?

“Makes sense. The faster we find the Great Zapfish, the sooner we can get back to the Splatcast. Not that I don’t want to find Callie! I just think the Great Zapfish is a higher priority.” 

Or, maybe she only sees it as a means of getting back to work sooner. Well, what did I expect from Pearl? I chuckled lightly.

“Pearlie! You shouldn’t say things like that!”

“Yeah yeah, I know, I'm horrible. Anyways, you wanna head back home? It is gettin’ pretty late.”

Just before I answer, my stomach rumbles. A smile spreads across both our faces before we both break into laughter for a long while. Finally catching my breath, I manage to speak.

“Can we get pizza on the way back?” 

“Nah, Splatfest law says we gotta get Hamburgers. They’re objectively better.”

“Fine…”

- - -

After grabbing our take out order, Pearl and I knew we had to leave quickly. Although we are still new to being idols, many people have already begun to recognize us. As a result, it didn’t take long before a mob of people formed outside the restaurant.

“Ah shit, I didn’t think a crowd of fans would form up this quickly. Was hoping we’d have a few more weeks before this started happening everywhere we go.”

“I thought you loved the spotlight?”

“Oh for sure. I was born for the spotlight! It's just a pain to not be able to go anywhere without getting swarmed. Being famous is much more enjoyable when we’re at concerts or Splatfests than it is out in public, ya know?”

I reach into my bag and pull out two brand new sets of clothes along with tinted sunglasses. 

“Well it's a good thing I came prepared, right?”

“Wait, are those disguises? When, why, and how do you know my size?” 

“Well, I bought them last week when we went shopping for our Splatcast outfits. I knew that paparazzi was a big deal for celebrities, so I thought that a pair of disguises might come in handy. And I was right! Regarding your clothing size, I just guessed based on your relative body mass size and height to determine your relative waist index. Then I-”

“Ah shit! Don’t go nerding out on me! You’ve already said enough!”

- - -

With these new disguises, Pearl and I walk out the front door and nobody is the wiser. It’s so fun to be hiding in plain sight like this. I feel like some sort of spy behind enemy lines.

“Wow, these disguises are so useful! We should probably go buy mor-”

I bump into somebody. Although I’m fine, this squid fell to the ground. I didn’t hit them that hard, did I? No, I'm certain that with how lightly I hit them, there's no way I could have generated enough force to knock them to the ground like this.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I’m going. Are you ok sir?”

The squid doesn’t respond to me. Uh oh. Are they alright?

“Yo… is it just me or did this homeless dude just pass out in the middle of the street?”

For once, my military training can be put to use. I hastily give the Inkling a field examination. The poor cephalopod is covered in foreign ink stains. This suggests he was fighting, likely for a prolonged period of time. His physical exhaustion would make sense if that's the case. It's a miracle he made it this far to begin with.

“This isn’t good. He looks like he’s in pretty bad shape.”

“Check it, this dude’s covered in weird ink stains. Maybe he was attacked?”

I look back at him, this time paying even closer attention to the ink that dots his skin and clothes. I instantly knew where it came from. It’s the very same ink that I used up until two years ago. But why would he be covered in Octarian ink stains? Was he fighting with the Octarians? Naturally, I can’t mention any of this to Pearl. 

“Possibly, they don’t look like any of the colors used in turf war.”

“No shit, that's cuz that isn’t a color used in turf wars.”

If this guy has been fighting with Octarians, then he’s not safe here. Octolings will be hunting him, and if they can get to the Great Zapfish then they can get to him. He’s not safe out here, especially like this. 

With that, I made my decision. I lift the boy over my shoulder and begin walking back to the apartment.

“Woah! Hold on now, what are you doing?”

“Well we can’t leave him here, can we?”

“Uh, yes we can! Why should we help this squid? We don’t even know who he is.”

Maybe Pearl is right. We really shouldn’t get involved in the affairs of a stranger. Besides, what if I’m overthinking this? That might not even be Octarian ink. This could just be a huge coincidence. But what if it isn’t? He’d be killed out here.

~sometimes you need to do what you think is best~

A new wave of determination surges throughout me.

That's right, I know this is the right thing to do. I just need to do it. If he’s actually covered in Octarian ink, he's in danger. But how can I express that to Pearl without giving away my secret?

“Because… it's going to rain tonight?”

It might not be the best excuse in the world, but at least it was true. Plus, rain can be fatal if you stay out in it for long enough so that's reason enough to help him out, right? 

“Oh come on ‘Rina. If I let you take him in, he’ll NEVER leave! First he’ll say he’s homeless, then he’ll ask if he can continue living with us until the day comes where he can support himself. But guess what! That day never comes. After all, who would ever want to leave when you live with two famous idols? And to top it all off, I'll be the one who ends up paying his living expenses. I don’t want to do that. So how about this, let's just drop him off at some homeless shelter instead?”

Quit being so stubborn Pearlie! 

Another thought crosses my mind. If by some chance these are Octarian ink stains, he might know where Callie and the Great Zapfish are. If that’s the case, we have absolutely no choice but to take him home. It’s for the sake of Inkopolis. Sorry Pearl, even if you’re right and this guy ends up being bad news, it's worth the risk.

“As if that would be a problem. Pearl, your family is full of billionaires! Not to mention that you are one of the idols for the freshest place in all of Inkopolis. You are already rich beyond comparison. Money is not an issue here. Besides, If this guy decides to never move out, you can literally buy a new house and leave him behind.”

“That sounds like a waste of money.”

“That's rich coming from the same girl who wears a crown nearly every day… Pealie, I promise you that if he ends up being trouble then I will handle him personally. Since I’m the one who knocked him to the ground, it's my civic duty to make sure he’s ok. Now can we please just help him?”

“Ugh, fine! But if he ends up being a creep, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

“Thank you Pearl. I would pull you into a hug but my arms are already full.”

“Don’t sweat it. Now come on, let’s just go home before we pick up any more homeless inklings.” 

Pearl and I continued to talk about the unknown squid on the way home. By some miracle, presuming this squid isn’t a creep or squidnapper, Pearl agreed to let him live with us as long as he needs.

- - -

Yep, Four is a lucky squid. His luck will run out much later down the line, but for now let's just enjoy it.

Chapter Text

- - -

“The fuck you mean he’s still sleeping? It’s half past Eleven! He’s been sleeping for 13 hours.”

“You’ve slept longer Pearl. Need I remind you of the day after our first ever concert?”

“Don’t even start. This is my house, so we go by my rules.”

Ugh, who’s making all that noise? I can feel someone’s breath on my ear. Leave me alone… I just want to sleep…

“Hey piss head, WAKE THE FUCK UP!”

My ears feel as though they had just been victim to several train horns all firing off at the same time. I instantly shoot up out of a bed(?) screaming, first in pain, then in confusion.

“AAHHHHH! What the hell was that?! Where am I?! Who are you people?!”

“Dude! Relax, nobody here is gonna hurt you. Not unless you give me a reason to.”

I take a moment to locate myself. I recall seeing these two on the news yesterday. Their names were… Marina and Pearl? I’m in a bedroom, presumably inside their house. Did they kidnap me from my park bench last night? No… now that I think about it, I don’t remember ever finding a park bench to sleep on. But ugh, my head is ringing, how the hell is she so loud?

“You say that yet I’m bleeding from the ears over here!”

“Oh boo hoo, want to cry about it?”

Oh she wants to push my buttons?! Two can play at that game pipsqueak. 

“No. I want to know what the shell I’m doing here with a news reporter and her pint sized pet.” 

“Pet?! Why I oughta beat the-”

“Um, maybe I can answer your question?”

Choosing to ignore the child sized rampage that's attacking my leg, I gave my full attention to Marina.

“So, uhm, hi. It’s nice to meet you. I'm Marina and that’s Pearl… but you probably already knew that… Anyways, I ran into you by accident and knocked you unconscious. And, since it was going to rain, we decided to take you home with us.”

“Despite being a total stranger, you took me back to your house?”

…

“Do you have any sense of self-preservation?! I could be a murder!”

As I said that, Pearl pulled out a set of dualies and pointed them straight at me.

“Well piss head, are ya? Do ya kill people for a living?”

“No! At least I don’t think you could call me a murderer… Do Salmonids count?” 

Putting her dualies away, Pearl laughs.

“Nah, but what kind of situation led you to fighting Salmonids?”

“A festival back in my hometown... What made you two think it was a smart idea to take a stranger back to your place?”

Marina speaks quietly, as if she is embarrassed by the question.

“I was worried. You looked like you had just been attacked and I thought that, well, if we just left you there, whoever attacked you would come back… assuming the rain didn’t finish you off first.”

Oh. That’s a worrying thought. I never considered that there might be Octarians in Inkopolis. Shelf that idea for later. 

“Besides, you passed out because I ran into you. That means if you got hurt from being passed out, it would’ve been my fault. That makes you my responsibility.”

I uh… what? My face glows yellow at the mere thought.

“Aha! Look at his face Marina! He’s blushing. He IS a pervert! Let’s kick him out!” 

“What? No, I'm not a pervert! You try hearing a beautiful girl say that to you without blushing a little bit. It’s impossible not to blush.”

“B-b-beautiful?!”

“Ah, this one has big balls, Marina. Too bad they’re just an easy target.“

She kicks me square in the gonads. I double over in pain, ending up laying on the ground. This has got to be the worst morning of my life. I manage to croke out a sentence.

“What happened to not hurting me…?”

“Oh relax, there’s no permanent damage so no harm done.”

Marina laughs at the two of us. Pearl joins in, and, despite my own pain, I laugh too. This whole situation really is quite ridiculous. So we all sit there, laughing together until finally our curiosities outweigh our laughter. Marina speaks up first.

“What's your name?”

I don’t know what to say. I debate telling them my real name before quickly dismissing that idea. The last thing I need is these two calling me something THAT embarrassing. I’ve had plenty of nicknames over the years, but only one name makes sense in this context. 

“Call me Four.”

Pearl gives me an unusual look before responding. Marina only seems to fall into deep thought from my answer.

“That's a… weird name.”

“It’s a nickname pinkie. Let's just say my real name is weird so I only ever go by nicknames. Four is the only thing I’m known as here in Inkopolis, so that’s what I’ll go by for now. Enough about me, is it alright if I ask about you girls?” 

“Go for it kid. But we’re the freshest idols in all of Inkopolis. How could you not know anything about us?”

“Give me a break. I only arrived in Inkopolis yesterday. I saw you two on the news but that’s all… What exactly do you two do?”

Marina finally seems to leave her thoughts before she answers me. 

“Well then I guess formal introductions are an order. As you know, we are Marina and Pearl. Together we form-”

“Off the Hook yo! We’re the best pair to ever take the music world by storm, fo show!”

“On the side, Pealie and I host the Inkopolis Square Splatcast and Splatfests. Although with the Great Zapfish missing, those jobs are currently on hold.”

Pearl interrupts.

“Now, back to you. Did you come all the way to Inkopolis intending to be homeless or was passing out on the street not planned?”

“Not planned. I had a bag full of clothing and cash but it was… stolen.”

“Is that how you got so beat up?” 

“I guess you could say that. That money was going to be used for renting an apartment while I looked for a job… And while I found a job, my boss wouldn’t let me stay the night. That’s when I was wandering the street and ran into you two. You both know the rest better than I do.”

Pearl and Marina share a look before Pearl sighs. Marina turns back to me.

“Four, if you have nowhere else to stay, why not live here with us? We have plenty of space, plus, we could use the company.”

I notice that Pearl looks obviously unhappy at the suggestion but that she does not object. Either way, there’s only one answer I can give.

“If I’m being honest, I want to say yes. But… it doesn’t sit right with me. I don’t want to impose myself onto your lives. So while I appreciate the offer, I’m alright.”

Both of them look at me with shocked expressions. Marina seems almost upset. 

“Are you nuts?! What do you mean you're alright? You aren’t alright, you aren’t even meh. It sounds like you have no money, no place to stay, nothing to eat, and not even a change of clothes! Pearl and I are offering you a place to stay, free of charge. You’ll get free food, clothing, and housing! How can you say no to this offer?” 

“She’s right ya know. Any normal guy would jump at the chance to live with us. You’d be passing up the dream of many squids.” 

“I realize that, but at the same time, we still barely know each other. Besides, I’ll be alright for a while.”

“No you won’t! What if you get attacked again?”

“They were just robbers. They already took everything I have. They won’t going to come after me again.”

Doubt clearly spills across Marina’s face. Did she not believe I could take care of myself? Or did she doubt my story about being robbed? No, if she knew I was lying then she wouldn’t offer me a place to stay. 

Pearl leans over and whispers something to me.

“Look Four, its no use arguing with her when she gets like this. Just accept the offer.”

I whisper back.

“Why are you both so insistent about this? We are complete strangers.”

“Marina is the one who wants to keep you, ask her, not me.”

Taking a moment to weigh everything in my head, I come to a reluctant conclusion. 

“Fine. I accept your offer Marina.”

Like a Splatmas tree, Marina's face lights up. Her smile is infectious, quickly spreading to Pearl and I.

“Really? That’s fantastic! I promise you, we are all going to have so much fun! We'll have so much to talk about.”

Pearl exits the room as Marina continues gushing about all the activities we can do. Did she just say a rap battle? 

Before long, Pearl returned with soap and a towel. 

“Here, take this shit and get your ass in the shower. I can’t stand another minute of you smelling like spoiled broccoli. The guest bathroom is down the hall, third door on the right. Marina, do you think you have a sweater that will fit him?”

Nodding, Marina left the room.

“Now get your ass cleaned up, it’s almost noon for cod’s sake.”

Ah beans. Do I really smell that bad? A simple sniff if my armpit confirmed that I smell like a rotten barrel of fish. I’m SO glad that the two most famous people in Inkopolis Square get to see me like this. Ugh why me?

- - - 

The bathroom was much bigger than I am used to. A separate bath and shower… A set of speakers to listen to music… Woah, a mirror the size of a giant Inkling! How rich are these girls? 

I turn on the shower and undress as the water warms up. Checking myself out in the mirror, I take note of the many ink stains that I’ll have to scrub out of my skin and tentacles. As I step into the shower, a familiar tingling sensation covers my body. While not fatal, spending extended amounts of time in cured water such as this can make your skin itchy. 

I didn't notice the sound of the door opening as I was too focused on using the soap to wash away my dirt and grime. The pink ink stains were going to be much harder to get out.

“If only I had never taken off my hero jacket. I would’ve never gotten covered in so much ink.”

…

“Hey, I’m hanging a sweater for you on the door. Sorry, but I don’t have any leg wear that will fit. You’ll have to wear the shorts you had on earlier.”

“Ok, thanks Marina!”

The door shuts. 

I finish up with my shower after spending nearly 20 minutes scrubbing the ink stains from my skin and tentacles.

- - -

I am famished! It makes sense. I haven’t eaten anything since my breakfast snack on the bus. Pearl tells me that I can help myself to anything in the cabinets and fridge. Grabbing some noodles from the cabinet and some meat from the fridge, I knew exactly what to make. Within the hour, I had cooked up 4 servings of spaghetti and meatballs. 

“Oy! Marina! Pearl! I cooked us some lunch!”

Pearl sprints into the room and grabs a plate while Marina follows shortly after. 

“Thanks Four, but you didn’t have to do this for us.”

“Holy shit! This is delicious! My cooks back home can’t even make a meal this good.”

Pearl begins to scarf the spaghetti down at a dangerously fast pace while I watch Marina take her first bite, curious as to what she’ll think.

“Woah! You’re right Pearl. This IS delicious. Four, where in the world did you learn to cook like this?”

“I’m glad you both like it. My family owns a restaurant so my parents taught me everything I know.”

“Yo for real? Dude, send me your parent’s numbers! I just know my dad would pay good money for a meal as good as this.”

“I would, but my phone was stolen. And before you ask, no, I never memorized their numbers. Besides, they’re pretty mad at me so I doubt they would want to hear from me right now.”

I dropped the subject. Now is the time for food, not talk. Joining them, we all share our first meal together.

“Hmm, I didn’t do too bad for an improvised lunch.”

- - -

As I am finishing my second helping of spaghetti, Pearl enters with the plainest outfit I have ever seen.

“What's with the getup?”

“This? Marina bought me a disguise to hide my identity when I’m out in public. Otherwise we get swarmed by fans everywhere we go. Not that you would know anything about being famous.”

She smiles smugly.

“Where are you going Pearlie?”

“Well, since Four here is moving in with us, I need to go report it to I.T.C.H. Though it's more like B.I.T.C.H.”

“I.T.C.H.?”

“It means Inkopolis Tourist Conversion Housing. Essentially when a new squid settles into Inkopolis, a landlord, such as Pearl here, is responsible for submitting documentation to I.T.C.H. with a photo of the squid and their name. They’ll register you in their database and use that information to help organize Splatfest themes based on the demographics of a given region.”

Marina says as Pearl snaps a photo of me with her phone. 

“Speaking of, I need your name. Your real name. No way are they gonna accept a nickname.”

Trying to dodge the question, I reply with a question of my own.

“Wait, is this really necessary if I’m only staying here for like a week?”

Pearl just chuckles as Marina turns to me and speaks very calmly.

“Four, you agreed to live with us. Sorry but I’m not letting you move out anytime soon, especially now that we know you can cook. There's no takesies backsies.” 

…

“Wait, are you being serious?”

A part of me wants to give myself a pat on the back for securing free food and housing for the foreseeable future. However, another part of me feels guilty. Oh well. I can’t turn back now.

“Oy piss head! I’m still waiting on that name.”

Improvising on the spot, I write my name on a napkin before folding it up and handing it to Pearl. 

“Don’t look at this. Just hand it to whoever needs my name and be done with it.”

“Only if you cook dinner tonight.”

“Deal.”

With the napkin in hand, Pearl left, leaving Marina and I together. Alone. Ah carp.

- - -

Why go by Four instead of revealing his real name? Well, many stories give the character a real name right off the bat. However, Four is a character that I want you readers to get to know better before we know who he is. As a result, his backstory and name will remain hidden until we better know who he is. Also, giving Inklings and Octolings human sounding names just doesn’t make sense. They are a completely different species!

For most of the story, most other characters will refer to Four as Four. Some characters will be exceptions but it will make sense as to why that is.

Chapter Text

- - -

With Pearl gone, the atmosphere feels awkward, and not in the cutesy, romantic way. Marina and I are just sitting here, occasionally looking at one another but not speaking. My mom would say that being able to enjoy someone else’s company in silence is a good thing, but there is nothing good about this situation. So, I stand up.

“Is it alright if I explore a bit?” 

“O-of course. In fact, how about I show you around?”

I nod. At least we're doing something now.

“Ok. Which room would you like to see first? There's the game room, the office, the music studio, the library, the bedrooms, and obviously the kitchen is where we ate lunch.”

“Did you say game room?”

“Yeah, we call it the game room but it's more of a central conglomerate. It's the room we’re in right now.”

I look around. It looks exactly like a normal living room with a couch, a fireplace, and even some windows looking out at Inkopolis city. What games could you even play in here? Poker?

“You call this a game room? It looks like a normal living room.”

A rare smirk crosses Marina’s face.

“Oh really, and what about now?”

She presses a button on the wall. The room instantly bursts into movement. The windows are blocked out as metal screens slide into their place. The ceiling lights are dimmed out as lightstrips power on, rapidly flipping through all the colors before settling on familiar shades of green and pink. Surround speakers begin to pop out from hiding places all around the room. The most astonishing part was the massive TV that floats up from the floor, along with a plethora of games and video game consoles. I am stunned.

“What do you think? Pretty awesome right?”

I could only mutter one thing.

“You guys are filthy rich.”

“You’d be surprised. When you build it all yourself, it's pretty cheap.”

“Marina, you built this? Like all of it? On your own?”

“Yep! Well, Pearl helped me buy some of the stuff, but I was the one who put it all together.”

She says it so nonchalantly that I fail to find the words to respond. This girl has to be some kind of tech super genius to pull this kind of thing off. How did she even-

“Is it not cool?”

She looks nervous, as though all her confidence was thrown out the window. Quick! Brain say something nice!

“No no no, quite the contrary. It’s just that this is so awesome that I don’t think I could ever come up with words to match it. This is incredible, no, you are incredible. 

Her face turns bright teal as she seems to get even more nervous than before. Shit, too nice, I didn’t intend to flirt with the poor girl.

… 

“So how’d you do it?”

Marina lights up like a birthday cake.

“I’m so glad you asked! You see, I had to program the lights all on my own, which was a pain because I had to learn a completely new programming language to do that. But it was worth it because now I can program all the lights in the house whenever I feel like it. For the metal screens, I used piston motors to control cranks that set the screen high. As a result, we can have the windows only partially covered if we want to. The speakers were super easy, I just attached them to remote controlled dollies and hid them all around the room. I press the button and the dollies simply move into the correct position! As for the floating tv… that one is going to have to remain a secret.”

I am amazed by what just happened. Not only did she gain all the confidence of a boss Salmonid, but she seemed so thrilled to be talking about her work. Yeah, I might not have understood the majority of what she said, but she was so enthusiastic that I couldn’t help but be entranced. It’s only after she stares at me that I realize she’s waiting for my response.

“A secret huh?”

She giggles in response. 

“Sorry if I was boring you. Pearl never likes it when I talk about these passion projects of mine.”

“Don’t worry about it, you looked like you were having fun so I was too.”

I internally facepalm. That sounded embarrassingly cheesy. Unfortunately, I can’t stop the words coming from my mouth. 

“I actually found it really interesting, even if I couldn’t understand most of it. Seriously though, it's like you became another person. One moment you’re all quiet, then the next you’re talking more than a chatty horseshoe crab. It was cool.”

“T-Thanks! If you don’t mind, I'll come find you next time Pearl refuses to listen to my ramblings.”

I simply nod. What did I just sign myself up for?

- - -

The library is up next. Marina showed me many of her books, from her literature to her physics textbooks. As it turns out, Pearl had an embarrassingly large hoard of manga. Now, I have a new stockpile of ammunition of which I can make fun of her with. Apart from the manga collection, the library was just that: a library.

Up next, the music room. Walking in, my eyes were immediately met with multiple laptops that have music software pulled up, a pair of microphones, and multiple guitars that sit on the wall. 

“And this is where we practice our music for concerts.”

“Wait, so you don’t actually record your music here?”

“Nope. We record all of our vocals in the same building as the one we do the Splatcast in. Recording all of our stuff in the studio means we don’t have to worry about noise complaints. I'm sure you noticed that Pearlie can be very loud.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask about that. Has her voice always been so loud?“

“It's been that way for as long as I’ve known her.”

“And how long is that?”

“Exactly? Two years ago, starting from last weekend.”

Moving around the room, I inspect the guitars hanging on the wall. The dust on them shows that they clearly haven’t been given any love in ages. I pick it up and begin to tune it.

“Oh, do you play guitar?”

I nod my head and kept tuning. 

“You are full of hidden talents. What else are you good at?”

“Um, not much really. I could say the same thing about you! But…I’m really good at battling and turf wars. Does that count?”

That clearly got her attention.

“Really? What rank are you?”

I give an anxious chuckle.

“Well, about that… see, I was never able to come to Inkopolis that often. So I never played enough matches and make it past C-. The only times I visited the city were always to sub in for my friends when they were down a teammate. I know that isn’t the most impressive thing in the world, but I still have the bragging rights to say that I’ve never lost a match.”  

“So what rank were these friends of your?”

“The last time I subbed for them they were climbing up the S ranks.”

“Really?! That’s incredible Four! So did you come to Inkopolis so that you could finally go pro?!” 

I sigh, remembering the drama that unfolded only days ago that led to my abrupt departure for Inkopolis.

“The short answer is no. If I'm honest, that idea never even occurred to me.”

“You totally should! It pays a full salary that can compete with that of an idol if you are good enough.”

“I already have a job. You're not seriously suggesting that I work a job and go pro, are you?

“I am serious! If you decide not to then that’s your choice, but I think you should at least consider it.”

“Maybe… There we go.  All finished. “

I run my hands through the guitar’s freshly tuned strings. I begin playing, feeling my way through the chords. My fingers find their way into playing the short tune that’s been stuck in my head all day today. It feels familiar, yet somehow alien. I must’ve heard it somewhere I’ve been recently.

Marina seems interested in it too. Well, interested might not be the best word to describe it. It’s more like she seems surprised to hear it. Maybe she knows it? Before I can speak, she beats me to it.

“That’s an… interesting song you’re playing.”

“Yeah, it’s been stuck in my head all day but I can’t figure out where it's from. Do you know it?”

Marina seems to panic over my question and answers astonishingly quick.

“NO. NOT AT ALL. NEVER HEARD IT BEFORE. IN FACT, I DIDN’T EVEN REALIZE YOU WERE PLAYING MUSIC.”

…

Ok? Maybe that’s enough of the guitar. I don’t want to make the poor girl freak out any more than I already have.

Setting the guitar back on the wall, I decide that I’ve seen enough of the music room. I gesture towards the exit so we can go tour one of the other rooms, but Marina doesn’t move an inch. As the minutes pass, I sit there silently, letting her work through whatever was clearly on her mind. Suddenly, she checks her phone and sighs.

“So, I was thinking... It’s almost 3. If you're up for it, do you want to put the house tour on hold and go on a tour of Inkopolis Square instead?”

“As in right now?” 

“It would have to be. If we leave any later, you won’t have enough time to cook dinner for Pearl.” 

“What’s this? A mere mortal dares to doubt my cooking skills?”

Her smile returns as she chuckles at my joke.

“The only thing I doubt is the possibility of you making a quality dinner in less than half an hour.” 

She’s not wrong. The best I could probably do in that amount of time is sauteed salmonid. But that would mean that the sides might end up botched since I would have to cook everything at the same time.

“If we leave now, we might be back by 6 or 7. The latest we eat dinner is usually around 8:30. That's your timeframe.”

I nod my head in agreement and she flashes me another smile.

- - -

As opposed to leaving through the front door, Marina, who has already changed into disguise, takes me to the roof of the building. Up here are a couple of chairs and a launch pad. Looking out towards the city was truly spectacular.

“Dang. What a great view. I feel so… tiny in comparison.”

“Yep, that's what it's like here in Inkopolis.”

She lets me continue marveling at the city before finally getting back to business. 

“The Square is only a short walk from here, but I wanted to show you this. Introducing our freshest and fastest way of getting around.”

She gestures towards the launch pad behind her. Laughing at her sudden change in demeanor, I respond.

“Marina, I know what a launch pad is. I used them back at home.”

“So you have, but never one like this. Have you ever wanted to super jump somewhere but it’s way too far out of range? Introducing the super launch pad! Using technology developed by me, you can now travel to the otherside of Inkopolis in only a moment!”

“Wow, you’ve even got a whole sales pitch?”

“Yes! The super launch pad is the most recent invention by yours truly. Buy it now or your money back, guaranteed. Users might experience torn muscles, nausea, motion sickness, death, or a concussion. This product is not yet rated….”

…

“You’re joking, right?”

“Mostly. Those are only theorized outcomes with a very low chance of actually happening. I’ve never once experienced any problems using this baby.”

Marina smiles proudly as she looks at her death trap. I, on the other hand, begin to feel fear. Before I can protest, she’s already setting our destination in the launch pad. She demonstrates how to use it properly by going first, but she launched herself so quickly that I never even saw when she turned into her squid form. Trying to follow her example, I quickly shot off towards Inkopolis Square.

- - -

Ugh, I think I’m feeling some nausea from the launch pad. That or I’m just not used to the city. Speaking of, Inkopolis Square is not nearly as lively as it was yesterday. Every third shop seems to have no power, none of the jumbo screens are turned on, and everything simply feels way quieter. Marina seems surprised at this.

“Well, it might not be what it normally is, but here we are! Welcome to Inkopolis Square. If there’s anything you ever need, you’ll be able to find it here.” 

“It’s so crowded.”

“It’s not as bad as it could be. With the Great Zapfish gone, none of the regular battlers have much of a reason to be here aside from checking the daily shop restocks.”

“The shops restock daily?”

“Yeah! All the shops that sell turf war gear switch up their products each and every day. It keeps things fresh. Follow me, I’ll show you what I mean.”

She turns and starts walking towards a large galleria of shops on the left side of the square.  I give chase after her so as to not get separated. 

“Ye Olde Cloth Shoppe? Marina, you’re not buying me clothing are you?”

“Don’t worry about it, you can pay me back someday if you really care that much. This store is run by my friend Jelfonzo so he’s sure to give us a great deal. Fair warning though, he’s a bit… I think you’ll just have to meet him.”

And with that we make our way into the store. The place is filled to the brim with shirts, pants, bracelets, belts, and rings. I can’t help but feel like a kid in a candy shop. Walking up to a shirt on the wall, I brush my hand across the surface.

“Wooaah. It’s so soft. It feels like my hand is touching the fluffiest pancakes in the whole world.”

As I reach for another shirt, a squishy blue hand intercepts my own.

“Halt trespasser. Mine store is closed with the Zapfish missing. I hereby request of thee that thy leave.”

“Oh, there you are Jelfonzo.”

Marina lifts up her shades, giving the blue jellyfish a warm smile. 

“Doth mine own eyes deceive me? Marina, it’s delightful to be seeing thee. Mine store is always open for thee.”

“Great. Do you think you could help get some clothing for Four here?”

“Marina, this squid doth not possess nearly enough freshness to be of this store.”

“Please? Won’t you do it for me?”

Marina gives him puppy dog eyes. Something which makes me feel bad for the poor jellyfish. I’m glad I’m not the intended target of this attack. If she ever pulls this trick on me, I’ll cave in a matter of seconds. Jelfonzo doesn’t seem like he’s doing much better. He sighs after only a few moments.

“Fine. I shall permit it only this once. Followeth me.”

Marina gives me an encouraging smile. Jelfonzo leads me to a back room where he takes my measurements. He disappears for a few minutes before returning with multiple shirts and pants.

“Tryeth these on.” 

I changed into each of the many outfits and inspected myself in the mirror. They all look incredible, but inspecting one of the shirts reveals a terrifying reality, the price. All my joy is quickly replaced with worry. I change back into Marina’s super soft sweater, which I am definitely not giving back to Marina, and emerge into the shop’s main room. Marina greets me with a smile.

“So, do you like the outfits I picked out?”

“You chose these? No wonder they were so fresh. But there is one problem… These shirts cost 25,000 coins each which is way above my price range…”

She gives me a sly smile.

“It's not above mine.”

Before I can protest any further. She simply hands a card to Jelfonzo.

“We’ll take everything.”

“Marvelous, thou hast madeth an excellent decision.”

Marina turns to me, the look of victory shining like stars in her eyes. I can only sigh from knowing that I’ll be indebted to my new housemates for decades if this keeps up.

“How do you ever expect me to pay you back if you keep doing so much for me.”

“Cooking is all it takes. So if you want to call it even, make me food every now and then for the rest of our lives. Deal?”

I blush at the hidden meaning behind her words. Marina doesn’t seem to realize the underlying implications of her last statement so I ignore them. No matter the perspective, that’s clearly a deal weighed entirely in my favor. I indicate that I accept her deal with a nod. 

“No, you have to swear on all three of your hearts.”

“Fine, cross my hearts and hope to die, I swear I will cook food for you as reparations for your actions.”

Jelphonzo returned only moments later with everything in a bag. 

“Here art thy robes. I thanketh thee for shopping here. Please, leave with the utmost haste as the store hast closed.”

Taking the bag, Marina and I exit the store as asked. I can’t help but feel guilty as the weight of the bag rests in my hand. Marina doesn’t notice as she turns to speak with me.  

“Pretty fresh right?”

“More like extremely expensive. But yeah, it’s fresh.”

“I'm glad you agree. Let’s keep moving, we’ve got plenty of more stores to see.”

- - -

We attempted to get into two other clothing stores, called Headspace and Shella Fresh, with no success. Both were locked. In fact, every time we tried entering a store, it ended up being one of the few that was closed. The only other real store we got into was the food market, where I picked up supplies for dinner.

Marina insisted we visit Deca tower, the battling central in Inkopolis Square. It was also closed for obvious reasons. Still, it seems like she really wants me to try battling. I don’t know if I will be able to while I’m an agent, but if I've got free time, I might give it a try.

The final location Marina led me to was a studio nearby a giant yellow food truck. Apparently this is where she and Pearl record the Splatcast. However, before we could step inside, a mellow chime, much different from the DJ scratching from yesterday, played all throughout the Square.

The Jumbo screen above Deca Tower quickly sparked with life as two Inklings appeared on screen.

“Good evening darlings. My name is Shy-Ho-Shy and this is my guest, Marie. You likely know her as one of the famous Squid Sisters from Inkopolis Plaza. Now, let's begin the emergency update Splatcast.”

I stare at the screen in confusion. Why is she up there? I know she said she was famous but I didn’t think she actually meant that she was THIS famous. Am I cursed to only meet Inkopolis celebrities? Who am I kidding, that's not a curse, it's a blessing. My thoughts are interrupted as Marie speaks.

“In regards to the Great Zapfish, nothing’s changed. And there’s been no update on the mysterious reappearance of the 4 zapfish from last night.”

“I’m afraid there’s been no news about the location of Squid Sister Callie either.”

Marie seems to flinch hearing that name. It’s only then that my brain starts connecting the dots. 

Wait a minute. Marie is actually famous because she was one of the Squid Sisters. Callie, who was also one of the Squid Sisters, is currently missing... Callie went missing at the same time as the Great Zapfish. If Marie is an agent who fights against the Octarians and the Great Zapfish… Oh fuck. Did the Octarians kidnap Marie’s sister? That would explain why she was crying yesterday. Whatever the case may be, Marie is currently on camera, pretending to be ok when she definitely is hurting on the inside. 

“Speaking of Callie, are you alright Marie? I know you must be worried.”

I can sense the incoming disaster.

“I-I’m doing fine. I’m not worried, I know that Callie can handle herself, wherever she might be.”

“You don’t need to lie to me Marie. I’m worried about you, and so are your fans. There’s no need to put on a brave face for us.”

“I SAID I’M FINE.”

“Marie, please be honest with me.”

“JUST DROP IT! I DON’T WANT TO- I DON’T- I-I"

...

"I just want to see her again.”

Everyone in the Square is watching with troubled expressions. I’m not surprised by Marie’s sudden outburst and I can’t blame her for reacting like that. Marie is having her mask ripped off, revealing to the world how she really feels.

Tears begin to flow from her eyes as she devolves into a sobbing mess. Marina and I continue to watch as Marie flees the studio. 

It’s not long before she rushes out the door in front of us. I don’t even realize that I started chasing after her.

“Four?! Don’t just run off!”

- - -

Emerging from the pipe leading to the canyon, I finally caught up with her.

There, looking out into the canyon, sits Marie with tears still openly flowing. As I step forward, she notices me. She doesn’t even try to hide her tears.

“Agent 4?”

We simply stare at each other for many moments.

“Go away.”

I won't. No matter how rude she’s been to me, nobody deserves to suffer alone. Instead, I sit down next to her in silence as she continues to cry. I try to focus on the sunset in order to remain calm. I wait until she’s ready to speak. Finally, through her many tears, words begin to escape her lips.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For everything, 4. I dragged you into this mess with the Octarians… I have been nothing but mean to you, and then I left you out dry when your bag got destroyed. I shouldn't have needed to hire you for this…I should be able to save the zapfish on my own, but I just can’t.”

“It’s ok Marie, I understand.”

…

“I’m scared.”

I turn to face her. Her face is stained with dried tears. 

“For your sister?”

“She’s my cousin… We grew up together, she’s my best friend. Everything I could ever ask for in a sister.”

I nod and patiently wait as she finds the words to finish.

…

“She was squidnapped with the zapfish… and I-I’m scared that we might not get her back. ”

…

“I-I should’ve told you sooner. I don’t really care what happens to the zapfish. I just want Callie back.”

More tears start to fall down from her face. I reach out my hand and wipe them away as she continues to cry.

“Marie, I understand. If you need help to rescue your ‘sister’ then I'll willingly offer my support in any way I can. Even if it means splatting every Octarian between us and Callie.”

“R-really?”

“I promise you, we will get her back no matter what.”

She suddenly wraps her arms around me in a hug, staining my sweater as she cries onto my shoulder. I can only hug her back and assure her that everything will be ok.

…

“Thank you.”

- - -

After an hour of crying in my arms, Marie’s tears had run dry. And, after assuring me that she would be able to make it home on her own, I was left alone in Inkopolis Square. 

Ah beans, I completely forgot about Marina. I just ditched her like an asshole… and after she was so nice to me. Wait, how am I gonna get home? 

I look around the Square, completely lost as to which way to go.

“Yoooo, dude whatcha doing all the way out here on your own? Did ya miss me that much?”

I turn around to see who is speaking but am met with no one. Confused, I look downwards only to be met with a smiling Pearl who waves up at me.

“Pearl? What are you doing here?”

She holds a file up to my face.

“Check it, I just finished getting your file submitted to B.I.T.C.H.”

“It took you that long to get it submitted?”

“Pfff, anything involving the government is slow as a seahorse. So what’s going on? Where’s Marina? And why do you look like you just got rained on?”

“I uh, don’t know where she is. I’m hoping she went back to the apartment but she might be somewhere around here.” 

“So she ditched you? That’s not like Marina at all.”

“No, other way around actually.”

For the second time today, Pearl kicks me in the balls. As I’m lying on the ground in pain, she pulls out her phone and calls someone.

“Yo, Rina?… Yeah he’s with me… Yeah, he’s alright… Marie? No, why would she be with him?… Oh… Alright, I’ll bring him back… Yep, see you at home.” 

Turning back to me, she smirks.

“Jeez kid. You really can’t stay away from celebrities, can ya? Was Marie doing alright when you split up?”

“She was as well as she could be. She cried a lot though.”

“Ahhh, so that's why you’re drenched. Did you enjoy it?”

The smug look on her face says it all.

“I don’t like what you're insinuating pinkie.”

“Get used to it piss head.”

We bickered all the way home, laughing the entire time.

- - -

“Pearl, Marina! The food is ready!” 

I watch as Pearl runs in, eyes sparkling and mouth drooling. 

“This smells delicious! Now hurry up and give me a plate!”

As Pearl steals something from the fridge, Marina walks in and scoffs at me. I really made her worried when I took off without saying anything. She's been giving me the silent treatment all evening.

“Before I serve you both your dinner, do mind if I say a few words to commemorate our first dinner together?”

“Make it quick, I’m starving over here.”

“Then I’ll start with you Pearl. I wanted to thank you for letting me into your home. You seem like such a fun person and, even if you do tend to end up hitting me, I truly enjoy our banter. I look forward to becoming good friends. I probably won’t be the perfect roommate, but I want to do right by you. So if there's ever anything I can do for you, let me know.

“Aw thanks kid. You can start by handing me some grub.”

Turning to Marina, I get nervous. Her irked stare makes me doubt myself. There's so much that can be said, but I know what must come first.

“Marina. I want to apologize. It was wrong of me to ditch you like that. After you did so much for me today, I should have been more considerate towards you. I'm sorry. But, I want you to know that I had so much fun with you today, both in exploring the house and in shopping in Inkopolis Square. And that I want to continue spending time with you… as friends of course! Er, sorry…”

The anger across her face is replaced with surprise and then a blush. Actually, a blush spreads across both of our faces, which sends Pearl into hysterical laughter. Marina doesn’t respond. Instead she runs out of the room. Pearl only falls deeper into laughter as I begin to panic. I guess it was too much to expect her to forgive me so quickly.

“Relax dude, she’ll be back in a second. She’s just grabbing something for ya.”

As if on cue, Marina entered the room with a box in hand. 

“I-I accept your apology Four. B-but please, n-next time don’t leave me alone.”

Her face glows a bright teal hue as she hands it to me, a new phone.

“I-I know you lost your old p-phone. A-and when w-we got s-separated, I h-had no way to c-contact you. S-so please take this.”

Something is clearly wrong. From what I’ve experienced, Marina rarely stutters over her words but right now she can barely form a sentence. A quick look into her eyes reveals that she’s trying to hold back tears. I pull her into a hug causing the floodgates to open.

“Awww, Rina! Come here you two…”

Pearl joins in on the hug. We stay like that for a moment, until Pearl’s stomach growls.

“ALRIGHT! Enough with the sappy carp! Can we eat now?”

I laugh as I hand them both their plates.

“I present to you both, baked Salmonid with grapefruit salad.”

“Yooooo! This looks tasty! … AND IT TASTES EVEN BETTER THAN IT LOOKS!”

- - -

Wow! This is the first long chapter of many yet to come. I had a lot of ideas here that I didn’t want to get rid of nor move to another chapter. 

Fun fact, we aren’t even half way out of the opening act of this story. (I do not envy those who choose to binge read this book once it's completed.) (Note after finishing the opening act of this story: you aren’t even a quarter of the opening act. Have fun.)

It probably wasn’t obvious but the song stuck in Four’s head was the Octarian tune, Onward. It’s the leitmotif associated with the Octarians that Four hears when he rescues a zapfish.

If there’s anything you’re confused about, let me know!

PS - If you can guess the reason I named the chapter this, I'll answer any one question regarding the story.

As of 11/24/2022, nobody has guessed the reason I named this chapter correctly. The challenge is still going on.

-Veckle (10/28/2022)

Chapter Text

- - -

Coming through the familiar pipe to Octo Canyon, I am but inches away from someone’s yellow face.

“Greetings. You must be Agent 4. It is wonderful to meet you. ”

“Ah!”

In my shock, I ended up punching the fellow in the face, sending him flying. My eyes are immediately assaulted by the horseshoe crab’s ‘unique’ appearance. Dear cod, this has got to be the nerdiest looking fellow I have ever seen. He’s wearing a boy scout outfit and is using what looks to be a pair of binoculars as glasses. He even has two large buck teeth! 

“Oh cod! Are you ok? I didn’t mean to punch you in the face. You startled me.”

“No no! It’s quite alright. I am undamaged. The fault lies with me. I suppose I was rather close, wasn’t I?”

“I’ll say, I thought you were some strange kind of Octarian from up close. Not to change the subject, but have you seen a female squid with white tentacles anywhere around here?”

“Do you mean Agent 2? She should be back from a scouting mission momentarily.”

“Scouting mission?”

Last we spoke, Marie and I had agreed to let me handle all the missions in case she got too emotional while in combat. I can't help but worry that something might have gone wrong.

“I should go make sure she's safe. Do you know which way she went?”

A voice calls out behind the two of us.

“Cool your jets Agent 4. I’m not in any danger.”

Spinning around, I’m met with Marie. She’s dressed in an agent outfit similar to my own, holding what looks like a glowing, modified version of the standard charger. 

“So Sheldon, did you talk his head off about the semantics of tuning and balancing all the new weapons? Or did you specifically wait for me to get back so you could bore both of us.”

She teases the crab, now identified as Sheldon. 

“Weapons?”

“Oh you haven’t seen them yet? Well, I thought that your hero shot wouldn’t be versatile enough for each mission, so I asked Sheldon for help. He’ll bring us some extra firepower. My new charger here is an example of that. By the way, Sheldon, this charger performed well beyond my expectations.”

“Of course it did! It came from the best arms dealer in all of Inkopolis!”

Sheldon looks down at the hero shot in my hand.

“WOAH, is that the P-90 model hero shot? I’ve never seen one up close before! I’ve only heard about their remarkable fire rate and range. I always wanted to make a shooter based on the same model but I could never get the nozzle tightness or the ink consumption to an acceptable level. Except for this one time where I swapped the ink tube with a direct input tank but I’m pretty sure that’s not legal for Inkopolis battling. Oh sorry! I just really like weapons…”

I chuckle at the crab. 

“It’s quite alright, I have a friend who can get just as passionate. You can talk as long as you want.”

“Not if we want to get any work done. Sheldon, show him the goods.”

“Right. It’s in this crate over here. Let me just get this op-”

Before he can finish, I toss splat bomb and blow the crate open. Sheldon gets caught up in the explosion, ending up covered in yellow ink.

“Ah beans, my bad Sheldon. Are you ok?”

“I’m alright, my shell can protect me from almost any attack.” 

Gesturing towards the remains of the crate, Sheldon draws attention to the arsenal of weapons. 

“Now these babies are what I call the hero weapon set. Although they aren’t much different from some of the weapons used in turf wars right now, these weapons can be enhanced using any power eggs and sardinium that you find in the field. Once fully upgraded, they will make you unstoppable! Plus, thanks to Agent 2’s scouting, we have more data available about the enemies you will be encountering in each mission. I can use that data to offer my expert opinion about what weapon would be most useful. Now as for your armor, I have a few working ideas as to how I can improve it, but I need to give those ideas more time to test.” 

Marie interrupts him.

“Alright you two, enough chit chat. Agent 4, you have 5 missions to get through today so we can’t waste any time.”

“Yes, you're absolutely right. Agent 4, might I suggest the Hero roller for this first mission? I need some data regarding its calibrations so this seems like a perfect opportunity.”

I shrug. Who am I to judge if he wants some data from this? Grabbing the hero roller, I start off towards the first mission.

“Agent 4?“

I stop and look back towards Marie.

“Be careful out there.”

- - -

“I’ve got to say, I am loving these new weapons.” 

As I admire the dualies in my hand, I hear the chatty crab speak up through my headphones.

“Well, thank you Agent 4! I pulled an all nighter to get all of these done in just one day. The dualies were especially difficult as the weapon is still quite new. But after a quick refresher in jet propulsion and field dynamics, it was…”

I tuned him out. Not that I wasn’t interested, I just needed to focus on getting back to the cabin.

With Sheldon's new weaponry and Marie’s scouting report data, I was able to clear all of today's missions in only a few hours. After things had gone quiet, I decided to strike up a conversation with now more friendly Marie.

“Hey Agent 2, you there?”

“Yeah 4, what’s up?”

“I wanted to ask if you're doing alright?”

“Give me a second.” 

While waiting, I am confused as the sounds of Marie and Sheldon arguing echo through the headphones. A second later, I hear a loud WACK. Marie returns directly afterwards.

“Sorry about that, I just didn’t want Sheldon listening in on this.” 

Ah, I get it now.

“I’m doing mostly fine… ok that’s a lie. It still hurts, especially after yesterday. But I can confidently say I'm doing better thanks to you.”

“Ok, I understand you’re doing better, but I think it was pretty reckless of you to go out on a scouting mission alone.”

“It was necessary for your sake. As we go further into Octarian territory, these missions are going to get more and more dangerous. I would prefer it if you didn’t get hurt. That’s also why I asked for Sheldon’s help.”

So, she went on a dangerous mission with no backup, because of me? I am racked with guilt. I would feel horrible if something happened to her while I wasn’t there.

“Well, I’d prefer if you didn’t get hurt either. Would you please not go on a scouting mission like that again? At least, not without me there with you.”

“Wooow, that’s a smooth line. Did you steal that one from a movie?”

“Marie, I'm trying to be seriAAH.”

I faceplant into the ground, hard. Groaning from the pain, I question what I tripped over. Looking around, I can't seem to spot anything. So I tried blasting the area in ink. Sure enough, another kettle revealed itself.

“Agent 4 are you ok?! What happened?!”

She sounds worried. Dusting myself off, I take note that I’m not injured. At least, there’s nothing that’s going to leave any permanent marks.

“Yeah, I'm ok. I just tripped, that’s all. In other news, I found another kettle. Think I should give it a go?”

“There’s still a few hours before sunset so it’s up to you. Though keep in mind we haven’t scouted this area so you will be going in completely blind.”

“Fine by me.”

Dualies in hand, I dive into the kettle squid-face first.

- - -

The kettle shoots me out somewhere unique. Unlike all the other missions, where there was only one zapfish, this one has eight tiny zapfish that are spread across the room. Suddenly, an Inkling popped out of some of the nearby pink ink.

“Agent 2? It looks like I'm not the only Inkling trying to save the zapfish. There's someone else down there…”

“An Inkling? Hold on, do not engage! Stay hidden and describe what they look like to me.”

I duck down behind one of the nearby walls, confused by the order. Wouldn’t it be best to team up with this Inkling?

“Uh, ok… She’s a female. She looks like she's in her early to mid twenties? She’s got a wicked pair of glasses on…”

“No! Describe her tentacles! Are her suckers on the inside or outside of her tentacles?”

“They're on the outside. It looks pretty fresh if you ask me. Why does it matter?”

“Because that means she’s an Octoling, not an Inkling.”

“Octoling? What’s that?”

“Oh brother, do you know nothing of history? Octolings are our scummy Octarian counterparts. They’re smart like us, can transform like us, and they fight like us.”

“But, I thought that Octarians were just those tentacle things… am I-I going to have to kill them?”

It's the last thing I want to think about. I understand it's my job as an agent, but ending a sentient creature, no, a sentient person’s life is not something I was prepared to do today.

“Relax, they can respawn like us. If you splat any of them, they are sure to respawn back at their headquarters.”

Thank the humans for that. With my initial fears quelled, I draw a connection between this and a certain sport Inklings like to participate in. 

“So like a turf war?”

“You really don’t know your history, do you? This is what turf wars are based off of. Now quit being such a goof and give ‘em hell.”

Despite being supposedly more intelligent than the other Octarians, the Octolings were all pushovers. They fought clumsily, made many rookie mistakes, and were unable to splat me even once. The most notable attack they formulated was when three of them tried to ambush me at once. One well placed splat bomb later and it was just me and the last zapfish.

“That was easy. Suspiciously easy.”

“You forget that us Inklings have the luxury of having turf wars as a sport. I doubt they have anything like this underground. Those Octolings likely had much less combat experience than you do. The elites are where you’ll really start to have trouble.”

 “Alright, I’ve got the zapfish. I’m heading back now.”

- - -

When I arrived back at the canyon entrance of the canyon, I was greeted by a smiling Marie and an unconscious Sheldon. Jeez, Marie had to have hit him pretty damn hard if she managed to knock a crab unconscious. I don’t envy him. 

As we waited for Sheldon to awaken, Marie began to relentlessly tease me about my lack of history knowledge while also teaching me. 

“...Great cod, do you even know why we originally went to war?” 

“Was it… over the Great Zapfish?”

“NO! Well, sort of. That was one of the reasons but not the MAIN reason. We went to war over land disputes caused by the rising sea levels.”

Suddenly my phone buzzes. A smile crosses my face once I realize Marina sent me a message.

DJ Hyperfresh: ‘Hey Four, the search party is wrapping up. If you're done with work, do you want to meet up for dinner?’

Ah yes, the search party to find Callie and the Great Zapfish. Pearl mentioned it to me yesterday during dinner and asked if I wanted to join in. Apparently the idea gained a lot of traction after the world saw Marie’s meltdown yesterday. I felt guilty about declining, but considering the fact that I am actually rescuing both Callie and the Great Zapfish, that guilt didn’t last.

Marie snags my phone and reads the message out loud. 

“Oh, so that's how it is. You never told me you had a girlfriend.” 

“Marie, I swear to cod, if you don’t give me back my phone…”

She smirks, running away while typing out a message.

“You didn’t deny it!”

“Well I do deny it. We’re just roommates, friends at best.”

“You live with this girl? Damn, and here I thought you said you had no place to go. You really are a smooth operator.”

There's no reasoning with this girl. Instead, I try to take my phone back by force. We proceed to play a game of cat and mouse, waking up Sheldon in the process.

“Huh, what happened?”

“Evenin’ Sheldon. I hope you slept well?”

Marie stops running while she speaks to the crab. Using this opportunity, I snatch my phone from her clutches. Checking through my messages, my face drops.

Me: ‘Shore thang bb. Can’t w8 2 sea u 2nite.’ - 8 minutes ago

DJ Hyperfresh: ‘Four? Are you ok?’ - 7 minutes ago

There’s one message from Pearl. Oh no.

MC Princess: ‘I’ll kill you kid.” - 3 minutes ago

Panicking, I quickly respond.

Me: ‘I’m so sorry Marina! A coworker took my phone. Getting dinner sounds fun. I’m assuming Pearl is with you based on the death threat I just received?’

Sighing, I turn to Marie and give her a soft chop to the top of head. She merely starts laughing. I open up the contact creation menu and hand her back my phone.

“Is this some subtle way of getting my phone number? How romantic.”

Despite her teasing, she still entered her contact information. That's a funny name, Marie Cuttlefish.

“Alright, you better get going. Don’t wanna keep your girlfriend waiting.”

“Marie. Fucking stop please.”

- - -

Arriving early at the meet up location, a local food truck called the Crust Bucket, I grabbed a table as I waited for Pearl and Marina to arrive. As I scrolled through my phone, I laughed when I noticed that Marie changed my background to be a photo of herself and another girl, who I’m assuming to be Callie. Is this from when they were the Squid Sisters?

I wondered if it would be possible to restore all my old data. If not my data, then maybe I can at least get my old phone number back.

“Four! You grabbed us a spot to eat, great job man!”

Pearl sits down at the table along with Marina. I thought Pearl would be mad at me considering her last message was a threat on my life.

“Of all places we could’ve chosen to eat at, why here?”

“Oh the food here is fantastic. I promise that you are going to love it! Crusty Sean has the best food in Inkopolis Square.”

Despite Marina’s assurances, the menu consisted of nothing but deep fried food. After discussing our orders, mine was the Crusty Seanwich with a Main-Saver Lemon drink, Pearl hands Marina some tickets before speaking.

“Hey Marina, do you think you could wait in line for us?” 

She nods, grabs the tickets, and jumps into the ever growing line of customers. I give Pearl a questioning look all while she stares at me down. I hope this isn’t about the text messages…

“Is something the matter Pearl?”

“Yeah, I just have something that's been eating at me for a little while…”

She narrows her eyebrows, making the atmosphere grow tense.

“Why do you wear your tentacles like that?”

Despite having only known her for two days, I should’ve known better than to expect Pearl to be so predictable. Of course she would ask the most random question out of nowhere. Truly an agent of chaos.

My tentacles, which are all slicked backwards except for a lone rogue tentacle that hangs slightly to the side of my face, are styled in a way that is meant to be convenient. All I do is make sure they stay out of my face by pushing them back after every shower. I know some Inklings that spend multiple hours a week styling their tentacles, but that always seemed like a waste of time. They could’ve spent their time doing fresh things instead of trying to look artificially fresh.

“It's easy to do. Why does it look bad?”

“No! Not at all dude. Marina and I think it looks kinda cute. We’ve never seen a guy use anything outside of, like, 4 different styles. It’s fresh!”

“Well let me turn the question around on you. Do you only wear your tentacles short because they would extend all the way to the ground otherwise?”

“What? No! Of course not!”

“Surrrreeee.”

I don’t believe her for a second. Her eyes are trying to avoid me at all costs, an obvious tell that she is lying.

“...It was Marina’s idea to style my tentacles like this. Before, I had it styled as this ugly ponytail. One day, Marina showed me this trick to shorten my tentacles without cutting them and now I’m rocking this look like a queen.”

Pearl sighs.

“But, Marina’s tentacles are even more impressive. She has some rare condition that makes it so she can’t change tentacle’s colors from being black, so she has to dye the tips of her tentacles each time she wants to try rocking a new Splatfest color. Don’t even get me started on how she switched her tentacles to be inside out. I’ve tried asking her how she did it but she will never give me a straight answer.”

“Inside out?”

“Yeah, you know how her suckers are facing the wrong way? No clue how she did it but it looks hella fresh.”

I look over towards Marina, who is still waiting in line. She notices my gaze, smiles, and waves. Meanwhile, I make one key realization. Marina’s tentacles aren’t inside out, she just naturally has her suckers on the outside. 

Marina is an Octoling.

“Ah fuck.”

- - -

It’s difficult to describe hairstyles and such, but I’ll just come out and say that Four has Prince’s hairstyle from the Splatoon manga. They both have yellow as their natural color and main dualies so it fits very well. In fact, if you really want to know what Four looks like, look up a picture of Prince from the splatoon manga, make his eyes red and get rid of the piercing. Boom, that's Agent 4.

Marina doesn’t actually have some rare condition that prevents her from changing her ink color. She can actually change it just like any other Octoling can. The reason she doesn’t change her tentacle color from black will be discussed later when the properties of ink are discussed.

-Veckle (10/29/2022)

Chapter Text

- - -

Something is wrong. Throughout all of dinner, Four was completely unresponsive. He never spoke, nor did he take a bite of his food. Pearl complained that he was wasting her meal tickets to no avail. He refused to speak no matter what we did. Even as we headed back to the apartment, he only followed us with his head pointed towards the ground. It worried me.

When we arrived home, Four immediately went up to his room. Pearl and I were left confused downstairs. At first, I tried to let go of my worries. I figured that Four needed time to himself. However, my curiosity soon got the better of me. I had to know, why did he shut down like that?

“Did something happen between you and Four while I was in line?”

“I don’t think so… We were just talking about the way we style our tentacles when, out of nowhere, he just stopped talking. I tried asking him what was wrong but he just apologized and told me he had to think about a few things.”

“Was he thinking about changing his hairstyle?” 

I surely hope not, his current style suits him so well.

“Hell if I know. He never told me what he was thinking about, just that he was thinking.”

I stood up and began my way towards the bedrooms.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

“I want to talk to him. If he's got something bothering him then he can at least share it with us. We’re friends, friends share things with one another.”

“Go ahead and try it, Rina. I already did but failed miserably. If you manage to get him to open up, I’ll owe you a trip to the Arctic Pal-ice.”

I recognize a challenge when I hear one. The Arctic Pal-ice is my favorite ice cream place in all of Inkopolis. It’s not uncommon for Pearl and I to make bets that result in either going to the Arctic Pal-ice or Quick Cakes, Pearl’s favorite cake store.

“I accept your conditions. And when I return, you better be ready to pay up.”

- - -

I knock on the door to Four’s room. For a moment, it’s silent. I’m about to knock again but the door opens, revealing Four. I caught hints of shock mixed with worry on his face before they are replaced with a half smile.

“Four, are you doing alright? You've been quiet since dinner. I'm worried. Pearl’s worried too.”

“I, uh, I’m fine. Just thinking about something important.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He stares at me for a moment before sighing.

“It's probably best that we do.”

He invites me into his room. Looking around, it’s still organized quite well. On his desk I see the bag of clothes we purchased yesterday and my sweater is resting on his bed, neatly folded up. We both sit on the edge of his bed. While looking at him worriedly, he only keeps his eyes pinned on the carpet. He sighs. 

“Okay, where to begin? First, I suppose I should give you an explanation. It’s about my job… but this is something that you cannot tell Pearl. I’m only telling you because… we’ll get to that.”

I nod.

“I… know who took the Great Zapfish. It was a species known as the Octarians.”

I don’t speak, only letting him continue. I had considered the possibility that he knew about the Octarians the day we found him, but this only confirmed my suspicions. The implications run through my head. 

So he was covered in Octarian ink. But why? Was he caught up in the Octarian attack when they stole the Zapfish?

“These past few days, I’ve been working to retake the zapfish. But today, I ended up encountering something I didn’t know about.”

That wasn’t something I had anticipated hearing. If he already knew about Octarians, what could be so shocking as to make him shut down like this? That’s when a scary thought crossed my mind: Octolings.

“Marina, if I ask you a question, can you promise to be honest with me?”

I already know what he plans on asking. I try to speak, but fear blocks my voice. The only thing I can muster up enough courage to do is nod. However, even that movement was shaky.

“Are you an Octarian?”

The room goes quiet…

The sound of rain begins to tap against the window. It’s strange, despite the roof above us, it feels like I’m still getting rained on. 

In my head, I’m panicking. He’s going to hate me. I thought that I could put everything behind me when I came to live up on the surface but no. It’s all over. I’ve been found out and now I’ll have to go back down there and be miserable.

Suddenly, a set of arms pulls me into a hug.

“W-why are you-“

“Because you’re crying.”

I am? Oh, I am. I didn’t even notice. 

“B-but I’m a… we are supposed to be enemies.”

“Marina, we aren’t and never will be enemies, we’re friends. Today I learned that Inklings and Octarians used to be friends. You are proof that we still can be.”

I look into his eyes and notice that the worry from earlier has been replaced by kindness. I can feel my hearts racing from the closeness between us.

“But what about the stolen zapfish? My people have caused you so much trouble.”

“So?”

“Aren’t you mad?”

“No. I’ve got nothing to be mad about. You’ve done nothing wrong.” 

“But I used to be a part of their military. I did so much-

“Marina, you left those things in the past, right?”

I nod.

“Then it’s ok. You’re not my enemy Marina.”

I hold him tighter and continue to cry.

“P-please… don’t tell Pearlie.”

“I won’t. Not if you don’t want me to.”

…

“Marina, talk me through what you’re feeling.”

“I-I was scared you were gonna be mad at me.”

He sighs, taking a moment to think before responding. 

“At first, I didn’t know how to react. Parts of me worried that you might be a spy sent to infiltrate Inkling society, but parts of me didn’t want to believe it. That’s why I pulled away from you two during dinner. I needed time to process. But seeing you like this, I realize that there’s no way you’re my enemy. You’ve shown me more kindness than anyone else since I arrived in Inkopolis. Me! A strange guy you picked up off the side of the road!”

I chuckle softly. Hearing his voice calms my nerves. 

“Y-You're not that strange…”

“Yeah well, I realized something thanks to you. Octarians may have stolen all the zapfish, but that doesn’t make them evil. They're just… out of options. I hope that, one day, Inklings and Octarians can be friends again, just like you and me.”

In those few words, this guy, who I’ve known only a few days, has changed my whole world. No longer will I fear who I once was. No longer will I reject my history. No longer will I hide who I am. Actually maybe that last one isn’t such a good idea…

As I look into his eyes, I feel sparks between us. Does he feel it too? His smile melts away all my worries. He listens to me when I talk passionately about my work. He apologizes when he makes me angry. He accepts me despite knowing what I truly am. I think I- I think I’m starting to fall-

Suddenly there’s a knock at the door.

I quickly pull away from Four. My face feels hot, as though someone lit a fire on my cheeks. My hearts are pumping so fast that it feels like my chest is about to explode. Oh cod I can’t stand it!

Reaching for my sweater, I use it as a makeshift towel to dry my tears. Not a moment later, Pearl opens the door.

“Hey is everything alright in here? I heard yelling.”

“Uh, yeah we’re fine! We were just talking about what had him worried.”

“Aw fuck! I’ll go grab us some umbrellas.”

“Just grab my splat-brella. It’s larger than a normal umbrella anyways.”

“That’s a great idea!”

Suddenly, Four interjects.

“Where are you going?”

“W-w-well, Pearl and I are going to get ice cream. You can join us if you want.”

My heart rate accelerates even more at the thought. Me and him (along with Pearl) sharing an umbrella? 

“Sure, it sounds fun.”

—-

Walking through the rain, splat-brella in hand, was nerve wracking. Being in such close proximity to Four has me feeling all sorts of embarrassing things. Luckily, Four wasn’t focused on me. 

Four and Pearl bickering as usual. It’s so interesting how they always manage to insult each other without ever going too far.

“Come on dude. Not even a hint as to what it was about? You can’t just clam up like that and not expect me to be curious.”

“Hmmm. Let me think about it. No.”

He’s teasing her. I laugh quietly so as to not interrupt.

“But you told Marinaaa...”

“Because unlike you, Marina doesn’t hit me whenever we talk.”

“What was that? Why don’t you say that when you’re not hiding behind her then.”

“No, because I know you’ll just hit me.”

“You’re coddamn right.”

Now I can’t contain my laughter any longer. It spills out and, soon enough, the other two quickly join in. 

That’s when I accidentally launch the splat-brella’s shield. It flies away, leaving the three of us laughing in the rain. Our laughter only grew stronger as we got wet. 

We all took off running to the ice cream store. As we race through the rain, we jump over puddles and small streams of water. Quickly, we reach the Arctic Pal-ice before the rain brings us any pain.

Ah sweet delicious ice cream, I can’t wait to eat you. Pearl is the first to order, followed by Four, and finally me.

“I’ll take 2 scoops of birthday cake with sprinkles and whipped cream.”

…

“I’ll have two scoops of mint and chocolate.”

…

“Hi! May I please have one scoop of chocolate, one vanilla, one mint, and one peach?”

Four seems baffled by my order.

“Are you sure you can finish all that?”

“Kid, believe me when I say she’s ordered WAY more before. She loves ice cream.”

“Pearlie!”

“So, hypothetically, if I needed something to bribe her with. Ice cream would work?”

“Four?!”

“Now you're thinking! But why just stop at bribes when you can pay off any sort of debt with an ice cream cone!”

- - -

The ice cream was delicious. By the time we were headed home, the rain had long since passed. Although I was tired, Pearl was clearly not ready for bed. She suggested that we all watched a movie and that brings us to now. 

“You’re too late Zipcaster-Man! I’ve already rigged the bombs to explode in 5 minutes!” 

Some old superhero movie is playing. As I sit between Pearl and Four, I am slowly falling asleep.

At some point in the movie, Pearlie must’ve shifted into her Squid form, which I grab and happily use as a stuffed animal. 

The last thing I heard was the sound of someone taking a photo. 

- - -

Hey everybody! So I want to talk about Marina. Yes, Marina has developed a crush on Four. Now I know that this might seem like it happened very quickly but let me explain myself. To do so, let’s answer these questions. 

• Why does she develop feelings so quickly?

• Why Four?

• Why not Pearl?

Why does she develop feelings so quickly?

First of all, these characters are not emotionally stunted. They are able to easily recognize how they feel about someone. As a result, Marina doesn’t ever go through a phase of “Huh, I have this warm feeling for him but I don’t know what it is.” No, she's an adult who knows what it means to have feelings for someone. 

So, she’s able to immediately recognize her feelings for someone. In this chapter, thats exactly what happens.

(Despite growing up a prodigy engineer who didn’t get to experience much outside of working, she still had crushes and such when she was younger. Come on guys, she wasn’t some kind of loveless robot.)

Why Four?

In the span of only a few days, has done what no one else has. As Marina puts it, “His smile melts away all my worries. He listens to me when I talk passionately about my work. He apologizes to me when he makes me angry. He accepts me despite knowing what I truly am.” Four makes Marina feel safe. He makes her feel important by listening to her. He makes her feel valued by taking the time to apologize to her. But most importantly, he was exposed to Marina’s greatest fear and didn’t reject her. In fact, he went as far as to say that he believes Inklings and Octolings could someday live together in harmony.

I don’t know about you, but if I had someone do all that for me, I would fall head over heels for them. Even if I had only known them for a few days, it wouldn’t matter. The heart wants what the heart wants. 

Why not Pearl?

At this point in the story, Pearl and Marina are the best of friends, however, at the moment there are some clear hiccups in their relationship that are preventing it from going any further. 

Firstly, this story is still very early in Splatoon 2. This means that Pearl and Marina’s relationship hasn’t had time to grow stronger as a result of the Splatcast. 

Secondly, whenever Marina “nerds out”, Pearl really doesn’t listen nor care about what Marina is talking about. As a result, Marina feels as though there is a slight barrier between the two of them. 

Finally, Pearl has no idea that Marina is an Octarian. And, although we know that Pearl wouldn’t hesitate to accept her, Marina doesn’t know that. She’s still scared that Pearl might go crazy and hate her! 

 As a result of these factors, Marina only has a deep admiration and respect for Pearl as both a mentor and as a friend. 

 Here’s some comfort for you Pearlina fans. If Four never came into the picture, then Marina would quickly fall for Pearl the moment Pearl accepted her despite Octarian identity.

PS: JEEZ, there's been a lot of crying in these past few chapters. Sorry if that's a little repetitive. I’ll tone it down.

-Veckle (10/30/2022)

Chapter Text

- - -

As I wake up, I feel the warmth of something pressed against me. Or is that the warmth of someone pressed against me?

My eyes quickly shoot open. As I look around, I slowly begin to recall the events of yesterday. Marina being an Octoling… Pearl being a nosy little bug… Oh, and I can’t forget when an asleep Marina grabbed me and used me as a stuffed animal. How did that happen?

I focus on remembering the events of last night. I was so exhausted from yesterday that I was struggling to stay awake for the movie, partially because I wanted to watch it and partially because Pearl threatened to draw on my face. Trying to conserve some energy, I switched into my squid form. Then it happened: I wanted some popcorn, ended up getting too close, and Marina grabbed me. 

Marina was barely awake at that point. I know she wasn’t fully conscious of the situation because she called me Pearl. Speaking of Pearl, she only escalated my embarrassment by taking photos. Obtaining blackmail as she called it. 

Looking over, I see a white squid snuggled up next to me. It doesn’t take a genius to infer what happened. Pearl tried to help free me but ended up getting trapped as well. I break free from Marina’s loose hold, and after carefully swimming apart from the napping duo, I shift back into my humanoid form. Time to make breakfast. 

Let’s see here, we’ve got cereal, pancake mix, waffle mix, and some fresh fruits. Well, cereal is boring and therefore, out of the question. And without any eggs or sausages, that leaves me with making either pancakes or waffles. 

Truly a debate for the ages. Which is better: pancakes or waffles? Wait a moment, I don’t think there's enough waffle mix to feed three people anyways. 

I quickly rush about the kitchen, lighting the stove, grabbing the milk, mixing the batter, and pouring the pancakes. As I wait for them to turn the perfect golden hue, Marina walks into the kitchen with the most peculiar of hats.

“Good morning Four, what are you cooking? It smells wonderful.”

Marina yawns as sweat drops from my face. Can she… can she not feel the extra weight lying on her head?

“Uhhh, morning Marina… I’m making pancakes.”

“Oh, Pearl will be excited to hear that. Have you seen her?”

I chuckle.

“Yep, I’m looking right at her.”

I say as I gesture towards the top of Marina’s head. Upon it sits a small white sleeping squid who is reluctant to wake up. Marina, confused by what I meant, runs her hand through her tentacles. As she does, she knocks the tiny squid to the floor.

“Ow ow owwww. Hey! That hurt! I’ll-”

She pauses. 

“Do I smell pancakes?”

Pearl goes from upset to ecstatic. Talk about a one-eighty attitude change. 

“You betcha. And your timing couldn’t be better, the first batch is officially complete.”

Pearl's eyes seem to literally sparkle.

“Could you put mayo on mine instead of whipped cream?”

…

“What the fresh fuck did you just ask?”

“Can. You. Put. Mayo. On. My-”

“No, I heard you. I just- what's wrong with you?”

Marina roars with laughter.

- - -

Once again coming through the sewer, I am less shocked when my face is only inches away from Sheldon’s.

“Morning Sheldon. Could you do me a favor and stand a little further away from the pipe from now on? I’d rather we don’t end up lip locked.”

“I apologize Agent 4. Though for your information, I had no intention of kissing you. I am simply fascinated by the way cephalopods can travel through grates like that. Having to walk through the sewer is very unsanitary, so if I could find a way to mimic you squids then I would be saved a lot of showers.”

“Riiiight. Anyways, is Marie here?”

“Well, she finished scouting the boss kettle a little while ago. She came back with that information, but decided to scout some of the missions in the next zone.”

I sigh. I had hoped that our conversation yesterday would’ve been enough to dissuade her from doing anymore solo missions, but I guess not. I suppose while waiting for her to get back, I might as well chat with Sheldon.

“Say Sheldon, how did you get so good with weapons?” 

“Well I’m so glad you asked. Well you see, when I was a little crab, my great grand-crabby, Ammoses Shellendorf, introduced me to the wonder of weaponry. Gee willikers, that must’ve been 25 years ago?”

Twenty-five years? Just how old is this crab?

“Anyways, when he passed away, he left me his weapon shop. Ever since then I’ve been working in the arms dealing business.”

Great scallops, this is just leading into another history lesson isn’t it. I’m sorry Sheldon but I would literally rather go to war than continue this conversation. In fact, I think I will.

“Interesting story, anyways I’m gonna get started. Sheldon, can you run communications until Marie gets back?”

“Sure thing! Gosh I’ve always wanted to do something like this.”

Grabbing the suggested hero roller, I make my way towards my first mission of today, the boss kettle. The walk is filled up with Sheldon’s advice about upgrading weapons, which I actually listen to. Using his tips, I upgrade the hero roller before the fight.

Entering the boss room, I notice it’s the same layout as last time, only not nearly as hot. 

“Alright Four, this boss won’t be like the one you first fought. According to Marie’s report, you’ll be facing the Octo-samurai.” 

“So is that a special type of Octoling or what?”

“Uh hold on… no. According to Captain Cuttlefish’s notes, he’s actually a standard Octarian but he has more limbs than most. It says that he wields a dynamo roller and… rides a unicycle? Hold on, there’s no way that last one is accurate.”

As I super jump down to the central platform, I am forced to watch as a massive tentacle ascends from a puddle of Octarian ink before snatching the zapfish. From the puddle emerged the largest Octarian I have ever seen… riding a unicycle.

“Holy moly! This guy is on steroids!”

“Just for my curiosity, is he actually on a unicycle?”

“Yeah, he’s got tiny legs peddling it and everything.” 

I quickly pulled out my phone and snapped a picture. Taking advantage of the moment, the samurai launches towards me, forcing me to dive out of the way.

“Holy carp he’s fast! This guy isn’t messing around.” 

“And we shouldn’t either. Dodge his attacks and fling ink back at him. If he’s actually using a dynamo roller then be careful, you’ll be at a range disadvantage. But that range comes at a cost, he’ll be slower than you are. Find the openings and splat him all the way to next week!”

I’m not used to actually receiving useful information. Sheldon is actually awesome! He’s way more helpful than Marie.

Taking Sheldon’s advice I dodge and weave until I find the perfect moment to attack. The Octo-samurai might be strong and agile, but his attacks are slow and extremely telegraphed. Reading his movements, I managed to get the final hit off. 

“Booyah! We did it! Sheldon, thanks for the advice! You really were a huge help.”

“Are you sure you’re done? Typically bosses need to be beaten three times before they are finished.”

“Nah… I splatted him, he should be long gone…”

A sudden noise behind me catches my attention. As I turn around, I am met with the Octo-samurai’s roller rapidly approaching my face.”

“Ah beans.”

SPLAT. 

I wake back up at the respawn point, frustrated. Ah fishsticks! How did he come back?

“Uh Sheldon? You were right, the bastard is still kicking, or peddling in his case. Got any idea why he’s still alive? It seems like he respawned, but Marie told me that only Inklings and Octolings could do that.”

“Uh hold on. Respawning respawning respawning… aha! I found it. According to this here book, Octarians with three or more limbs possess the necessary amount of intelligence to have a spirit. This spirit allows certain Octarians to respawn after being splatted. That’s incredibly interesting!”

“So this big guy is intelligent? Fantastic…”

“Don’t worry Agent 4! You’ve already splatted him once, two more times shouldn't be that difficult.”

As I re-enter the arena, the Octo-samurai smirks at me? He smirked at me? Oh that’s it, you’re going down you big red bastard!

- - -

As I arrive back at the cabin to drop off the zapfish, Sheldon greets me with a wave. Marie sits there as well, looking unhappy.

“Great work Agent 4! You wiped the floor with him.”

Now it’s my turn to smirk.

“Yeah well, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you Sheldon. You were a great help.”

And he really was. Sheldon’s tips helped me plan out when to dodge Octo-samurai’s attacks and when to counterattack. I honestly think I’m starting to feel a kinship with the chatty crab. I pull up the picture of the Octo-Samurai and show it to him. Sheldon and I both laugh at the hilarious looking Octarian.

“Oh my goodness. He looks so goofy on that little unicycle. How in the world did you manage to take him seriously?”

“I don’t know, man. But when a 300 pound octopus on a unicycle comes flying towards you at mach 8, I think the only thing you can do is take it seriously.”

We both laugh some more before Marie wacks us both on the head with her umbrella.

“Aw, don’t you two seem to be getting along just wonderfully. However, I don’t remember giving you permission to fight the boss without me!”

Why is she being so condescending and mean? We beat the boss and rescued the zapfish. It’s not like anything bad happened.

“What’s wrong with that? I thought we did a fantastic job.”

“What’s wrong is that you had no backup! Sheldon can’t go through kettles to come rescue you like I can!”

“As if I would need rescuing.”

“Did you forget what we’re up against? We are fighting OCTARIANS! They’re the worst of the worst! The scummiest amongst all scum!”

I don’t speak, only processing her charged words. 

“What would’ve happened if a squad of Octolings ambushed you during your battle? You’d be without backup, facing both Octolings and a boss. They would kill you without hesitation. That's just the kind of thing they would do!”

“You make it sound like Octarians are evil.”

“Do you remember nothing of what I told you yesterday? They killed so many innocent Inklings during the Great Turf War! They’ve stolen the Great Zapfish, twice! And now, they've gone so far as to kidnap my family. Don’t you see it? Octarians aren’t just evil, they’re the most heinous, vile species to ever walk the face of this planet!”

…

I stand there in shock. Marie’s typically calm demeanor has been replaced, no, killed by a fury of anger. I don’t know what to say.

So, this is what had Marina in tears yesterday. This deep rooted hatred of Octarians. As an Octarian, it makes sense that she would be this scared. It’s an ugly hatred with no remorse or understanding for the other side. I think I’m scared of it too.

My distress must have been visible, for as quickly as the rage appeared on her face, it vanished. Leaving only a calm yet frightening girl behind.

“I’m just so angry at them. My entire life, I’ve been told stories about the great turf war by my grandpa, about all the friends he lost while fighting the Octarians. And ever since Callie was taken… I’ve been scared I’ll lose her forever. And now I’m scared that I’ll lose you too.”

“Marie, it’s ok. We understand.”

She suddenly bursts towards me, pulling me into an embrace. Sheldon only chuckles while watching the two of us. I hesitate to wrap my arms around her, still in shock at her earlier words. Marie, I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but someday I’m going to make you change your mind about Octarians. I promise. 

I break out of the hug after a few moments, noting that Marie seems much calmer now. Without saying a word, I nod to Sheldon and head down into the canyon.

As I made my way through the missions, things were awkward. Sometimes Marie would try to start up a conversation but I couldn’t focus enough to maintain them. Occasionally I would get splatted, resulting in her saying I was getting sloppy. 

I’m not angry at her. In fact, I understand why she has those feelings about Octarians. Her family was stolen. Considering the state of Inkopolis, Marie probably holds the most common viewpoint about Octarians. A scary thought crosses my mind. If it wasn’t for Marina, would I feel the same way as Marie?

I fight the many conflicting thoughts as I hand off the next zapfish to Marie.

“You know, if you keep fighting so sloppily, we might have to call it a day.”

I sigh. I’ve been taking a lot longer on these missions than I should and I’m getting splatted way too often. I just can’t seem to focus.

“Maybe we should.”

Marie gives me the rare smile. The kindness in that smile is in stark contrast to the hatred that was on display earlier.

“Ok. How about this then? Let’s end today here and instead of working tomorrow, we can meet up for lunch?”

I just want to get away from here. I need time to think.

“Okay. That sounds good. Text me the details later, I’m going to head out.”

“Alright then. See you tomorrow Agent 4.”

- - -

The way home was a slog.  In the span of a few hours, everything has suddenly become much more complicated. I don’t want to think about it but her words won’t stop repeating in my head.

~ They’re the most heinous, vile species to ever walk the face of this planet!~

Reaching my room, I collapse onto my bed. I’m barely an adult, I’m not qualified to deal with this stuff. As I drift to sleep, I wonder if mom was right. Maybe coming to Inkopolis to find her was-

~ ~ ~

I heard the final bell ring, signaling that class had ended for the day. I quickly packed my bags and headed for the school parking lot. 

I waited, and waited, and waited, but she never came. I decided to find her myself.

I checked with her homeroom teacher, only to find that she wasn’t there. I asked some of her classmates if they knew where she was, only to receive shrugs and apologies instead of answers. The only thing left to do was to go back and wait.

As I walked back to the parking lot, I heard something coming from nearby.

“You must think you’re so special. Giving everybody the silent treatment all the time!”

…

“If you don’t want to say anything then I’ll just make you scream instead!”

“please. don’t hurt me.”

I recognized that voice. It was hers. She was here. I quickly followed the sounds of confrontation until I was met with a mean looking boy and a frightened girl.

“Oh! So she can speak. To bad princess, you took-”

“GET AWAY FROM HER!”

I rushed towards the boy, ready for a fight. He turned to face me before getting punched in the jaw. The boy, surprised to be suddenly hit, ran away crying.

“Are you ok?”

She nodded.

“thank you ace.”

I smiled at the nickname. It was something she’s called me ever since she could first speak, and it's something I rarely ever got to hear.

“I’m glad you're alright! You had me really worried for a second there.”

She didn't respond, not that I expected her to. I mostly carried all of our conversations anyways.

~ ~ ~

My eyes drift open to the sound of my phone buzzing. A message from Marie, the last person I want to hear from right now. Maybe I should cancel tomorrow, I don't want to deal with this…

I shoot up and throw my pillow at the wall in frustration.

“What am I even doing?”

This doesn’t feel like me at all. What happened to the guy who can never say no to a pretty girl? Where’s the squid who never stopped fighting for my beliefs? For my friends? For my family?

Digging deep into my soul, I push out something that I hadn’t expected.

“You know what. FUCK THIS, AND FUCK YOU WORLD.”

I slap myself across the face, hard. It stings but it’s exactly what I needed. I can’t let something like this get to me. My dad would tell me to do my best and to listen to myself. It's the best advice I've ever gotten!

“If you want to bring me down then I’ll just have to bring you UP!”

I have no idea what that might even mean, but it motivates me. 

“Just try and stop me! I’m unstoppable! I do what I want, when I want, where I want!”

Seriously, I think I am just muttering random nonsense. Why do I feel so pumped up?

“I’ve got this.”

…

“BOOYAH!”

The only thing that responds is silence. That’s fine. I’m used to carrying conversations on my own.

- - -

Marina and Pearl arrived home shortly after my ‘recovery’, groceries in hand.

“Ayo, what's up Four. We got some stuff for you to cook.”

I quickly rush over and grab the bags from the two of them. What kind of guy would I be to let them continue carrying them?... probably whoever I was an hour ago.

“My my, such a gentleman. Your momma raised you right.”

Pearl teases me but I take it as a compliment. My mom DID raise me right. And now I’ll pay her back by being the gentleman she raised me to be.

“So what's in these bags?” 

“Well, aside from general groceries, Pearlie wanted to see if you could make dumplings from scratch. I figured we should ask you before buying the ingredients, but you know Pearlie…she insisted we try to challenge you.”

“Can ya do it?”

“Pfff, who do you take me for? Dumplings are child’s play for a cook like me.”

I got lucky. Pearl and her infinite lack of cooking knowledge, did not know just how easy dumplings are to make. Now, had she asked me to make something like farfalle, or bow-tie pasta as my mom calls it, I would’ve been screwed. I’ve never been good at garnishing my food, let alone my home-made pasta noodles. 

“I’ll have them ready in 20 minutes.”

“Twenty minutes? Whoa fucking fast!”

“You learn to be fast when working in a restaurant.”

“Can we help?”

I look over at Marina, surprised at her offer. Her face is shaded a dark shade of teal. 

“With dumplings? Yeah, I suppose you can.”

I write down a list of ingredients before pulling out my phone to calculate how much is needed for 3 people. Adding that information to the paper, I hand it to Marina.

“If you could add those ingredients to a bowl and mix it until we get a thick batter, that would be great? Pearl, why don’t you give her a hand.”

I go about cutting the meat and boiling the water as Marina and Pearl disagree about who gets to stir. I chuckle as the two girls finally agree to take 2 minute turns. By the time the meat and water are ready, so is the batter. 

“So what’s next?”

“Well, we have to create the dumplings by wrapping the batter around the meat and twisting the top. Then we boil them for 5 minutes and they’ll be done.”

As I instruct, I grab some of the meat and wrap it in the batter, twisting the top to seal the dumpling shut. Setting it on a plate, I gesture towards it for dramatic effect.

“Tada!”

“Neat!”

Pearl instantly got to work on creating the dumplings. Marina, however, seemed to be having some trouble. 

“I-uh don’t get it… The twisting part is confusing me.”

She looks embarrassed. I smile in response, remembering how I used to ask my parents for help when I was confused. 

“Here. Let me show you.”

Taking her hands into my own, I slowly went through the motions of how to properly form the twist, just like my parents had when they were teaching me. It’s only then that I realize the distance between us. I jump back, trying to put as much distance between me and her as possible. 

“S-so um yeah. T-that’s how you understand, I-I mean that's how you do it. Do you think you understand?”

She only squeaks out a yes.

In an attempt to get away from the awkward situation, I turn to check on how Pearl is doing. But, instead Pearl is standing straight up on the counter, eye level with me. A smirk ever present on her face. I burst into laughter.

“Heyyy, what’s so funny?”

“The fact that you have to stand up on the counter to be at eye level with me.”

- - -

So, I had a choice between forcing Four to be a downer for a few chapters or letting him do what feels natural by finding his own dumb way to motivate himself. Obviously, I chose what felt natural for his character, digging deep within himself before giving the world the middle finger. After all, ain’t nothing gonna break his stride.

Also, Sheldon slowly became a bro over the course of writing this chapter. I don’t know how it happened but the fucker grew on both Four and I. 

PS: Happy Halloween Everyone

-Veckle (10/31/2022)

Chapter Text

- - -

I stare at my phone, unsure if I’m in the correct place.

Marie Cuttlefish: ‘Meet up at Plaza Café at 12:30’ - yesterday

Standing outside the very café, the time reads 12:20 pm. I hadn’t planned on being early, but I’ve never been to the Plaza so I gave myself some extra time in case I got lost. Taking the super launch pad was ultimately the best way to get here quickly, but I didn’t think I would land directly in front of the café. Marina really made this thing accurate. 

So here I am, 10 minutes early, waiting on the sidewalk in a part of the city that I’ve never been in. I feel out of place…

Me: ‘Hey, I got here a bit early. Are you here yet?’

Marie Cuttlefish: ‘Sorry, I’m a little bit behind schedule. I’ll sea you in a bit.’

I sigh. 

That’s actually good news. Despite my new found determination to change Marie’s mind about Octarians, I have no idea how I’m going to go about changing her perspective.  These extra minutes will give me time to figure out what I’m going to say to her.

The whole situation is strange. I’m an Inkling who’s job is to fight Octarians, but I also am trying to make my boss see that Octarians aren’t actually the bad guys. And I’m doing all this for my friend, an Octarian, who wants to live peacefully on the surface.

How the carp did all of this happen?

“Hello Agent 4! Glad to see you made it.”

Unexpectedly, I’m face to face with the crab who knows nothing of personal space.

“Oh, hey Sheldon. I didn’t realize you were coming.”

“Of course I would come! This is a team lunch after all!”

“Wait, so you're an agent?”

Sheldon seems to depress into his shell at the question.

“No. I am officially the head of the Tech team. So while I am not an agent fighting on the front lines like you, I am still helping rescue the zapfish by providing you with upgrades and gear.”

“Fresh.”

My earlier thoughts regarding Marie creep back into my mind. Maybe Sheldon can help? He doesn’t seem to dislike Octarians.

“Well, I’m actually glad you’re here. I’m a little unsure about how I’m gonna talk to Marie.”

“Could you clarify please? What are you going to speak with her about?”

“You know how she talked, well more like screamed, at us about how much she believes the Octarians are evil? I think, no, I know that she's wrong about them.”

Sheldon looks at me with an unreadable expression.

“And do you possess any evidence to support such a claim?”

“I do, but I’m not sure if I can show you. She wants it to be kept a secret…”

The crab looks surprised.

“She?”

“Can I trust you Sheldon? Can I be sure that you’re not going to try to hunt someone down because of their species?”

”Agent 4, I promise you that I am trustworthy. I don’t hate Octarians like Agent 2. Actually, I admire their brilliant scientific minds. Their technology is so innovative that I can only wonder what they could accomplish if they had more resources- I’m sorry. I’m getting off track… now please, show me this girl.”

Hesitantly taking out my phone, I find the picture of Marina cuddling my squid form that Pearl sent me. Although it's embarrassing to share, it's the only photo I have of her.

“Here’s your evidence.”

Sheldon only gives me a questioning stare, as if to say, I want to ask why you have this but I also don’t want to invade your privacy.

“Your shop is in the Square right? I’m sure you've at least heard about Marina before.”

“Yes, I am well acquainted with her. In fact, I was the one who made her splat-brella, well the splat-brella was actually her original idea. She sold the idea to me, I marketed it, and now we have companies like Tentatech mass producing them. She’s quite ingenious. But she’s also a kind and considerate girl. That’s some valuable evidence you met.” 

“Valuable? I don’t think I-”

“Four, let me offer you a suggestion. If you want to show Marie that Octarians are not the evil people she thinks they are, you’re going to need to do two things. The more immediate of the two being rescuing Callie.”

I nod. It makes sense. With Callie squidnapped by the Octarians, Marie’s anger must be at its peak. If Callie is rescued then she might begin to calm down.

“After that, maybe introduce her to the ‘evidence’ to help her see that Octarians aren’t all that bad.”

Everything clicks into place in my head.

“Sheldon, you're a genius! A socially awkward genius!”

“Thanks? And you’re a great shot with a fierce batting style.”

…

“Was I not supposed to return the compliment?”

I smile at the crab and he smiles back, we both start laughing. I can tell that is the beginning of a good friendship.

Ten minutes later and I finally catch sight of Marie. The familiar set of white tentacles along with a girl dressed almost entirely in green were easy to spot in the crowd. Her outfit isn’t too dissimilar to one of those disguises that Pearl and Marina usually wear. 

“Hey. I apologize for being late. You wouldn’t believe the morning I had. It was Ink redibly chaotic.”

I release a very tiny laugh at the bad pun.

“No worries Marie. Sheldon and I were having a good talk while we waited for you.”

“Oh? Don’t leave me out. What was it about?”

Sheldon and I lock eyes. We both know that this conversation has just entered a dangerous topic. 

“Well you see Marie. Agent 4 was curious about the hidden mechanisms that allow the hero weapons to be upgraded. I was just explaining to him that-”

“Yeah nevermind, I’ve heard enough. Let’s go get some food.”

When Marie isn’t looking, I give Sheldon a fist bump, or at least I tried to. He somehow missed my fist and ended up lightly punching my chest. Improvising on the spot, I return the gesture.

Walking into the cafe, I am immediately bombarded by the smell of coffee and the sounds of many different species conversing. I follow Marie as the three of us enter the line of people ordering. I look at the menu, noticing the expensive prices. It’s then that I am reminded of the blite of my existence: money, of which I have none.

“Ah beans.”

“What’s wrong? Not a fan of this kind of food?”

“No. Look, I know I have only been working for a few days, but could I get my payment in advance?”

“Heh, you wish we got paid.”

My eyes go wide.

“...what?”

“This is a volunteer job. We don’t receive a salary, or anything really.”

“And you never thought that it might be a good idea to mention that?!”

“No? I figured you would just make money from something else. That’s what the rest of us do.”

I grumble in response.

“I guess I’ll be going hungry then.”

She stares at me for a moment before a devious grin spreads across her face.

“If you don’t have any money, I can pay for you… but that means I’m ordering for you too.”

Great. She’s either ordering something obscenely expensive or something off of the status effect menu. 

“Fine. But I’m counting this as payment for all my hard work so I don’t owe you squat. Now if you excuse me, I’ll go grab us a table.”

I wander away from the line, finding an empty booth in the corner. A couple of minutes later, Marie and Sheldon joined me. Handing me a drink, Marie’s devious smile returns.

“This one’s for you. Enjoy~”

I’m not sure I like how she said that.

“What’s in it?”

“That's a surprise.”

I sigh. Both Sheldon and Marie watch me with eager eyes as I take my first sip. 

It tastes familiar, almost like the physical embodiment of a creamy shade of yellow, but I feel… energized? Oh. I know what this is. No doubt about it, this is from the status effect menu. So that’s why she seems so smug.

This drink is actually something that I used to make as often as possible. Mom used to say I was addicted. It explains why she wanted to order for me. I’ll play along.

I immediately down the entire drink.

“Wow, that was still scalding hot. After that stunt you’re sure to be the talk of the town.”

“That pun didn’t even make sense.”

Sheldon sighs.

“With the right context, it makes perfect sense. What you just drank was a Chatty Mocha. You see, there are drinks in this cafe that are somewhat similar to the equipment drinks sold in Inkopolis Square. The main difference being that instead of improving gear chances for a temporary amount of time, they affect an attribute of the person who drinks it. I’m sure you can guess that the Chatty Mocha makes a person more talkative.”

“Wait! You got me something from the status effect menu? That’s no better than drugging me!”

Marie bursts out laughing. Of course I was only joking. Drugging me and giving me a status boosting drink are very different things.

“I didn’t mean to say that.”

Sheldon chimes in.

“Yes, well, most people tend to say whatever they're thinking about while under the Chatty Mocha’s influence.”

“One time, I gave it to Agent 3. She ended up talking about how much she loves the Squid Sisters for an entire hour. Before that, Callie and I didn’t even know if she COULD talk, let alone if she liked us.”

“Sooo, is this like a form of hazing towards the new agent?”

“You can call it that, but it’s also a way to let us get to know you. Speaking of… Agent 4, starting with your name, why don’t you tell us about yourself?”

A devious idea crosses my mind.

“My name? Well it's Nobody, just Nobody. I hail from a distant country across the sea. I came to Inkopolis in search of my wife who, last I heard, believes me to be dead.”

Sheldon seems taken aback while Marie continues with a reply.

“Wow, that sounds like quite the story. I never would’ve guessed that you’re married.”

“So you’re from overseas? That’s interesting. I’ve never met an Inkling from the other side of the ocean.”

“Yeah, well you still haven’t. I stole all that from a book. None of it is true.”

The pair gives me a surprised expression.

“HUHHH?”

I begin to laugh. The look on Marie’s face makes playing dumb totally worth it! Sheldon only scratches his head.

“I knew that sounded familiar...”

“Sorry… I knew what you were up to the moment I tasted my drink. Apologies Marie, but your plan isn’t going to work.”

“But we saw you drink the whole thing? There’s no way you’re not feeling extra chatty right now.”

“Eh, maybe a tiny bit. I’ve spent so many years drinking chatty mochas that I’m practically immune. If you wanted it to work, you’d have to double, maybe even triple the amount chatty powder.”

Marie gives me another devious look while Sheldon is trying to tell me to stop using his hands.

“…and I probably shouldn’t be telling you this. Look, of you do give me any status foods in the future, tell me first.”

Sheldon shifts to a look of amusement while Marie’s face falls into mild disappointment. She sighs.

“I’m sorry for giving you a status drink without your knowledge…”

“I wasn’t angry, but I’ll gladly accept your apology. Next time you want to know something about me, just ask.”

Sheldon suddenly speaks.

“So, what is your name?”

“Just call me Four. That’s what my friends in Inkopolis call me.”

“You go by your agent number? That’s boring.”

Surprisingly, Sheldon gives a retort in my stead.

“So says the squid with the last name Cuttlefish.”

- - -

The food was delicious. 

We made a group chat for our agent business. Marie shared some of her experiences as an idol, I shared some details about my cooking skills and, to their surprise, my limited amount of turf war experience. They assumed that I had been battling for years, to which I corrected them. Towards the end, Marie and I managed to slip Sheldon a Chatty Mocha which ultimately led to him talking about the time he accidentally burned down his store. He explained that he had to re-open in Inkopolis Square because the Plaza refused to “let a fire hazard like Sheldon burn down the neighborhood”. Why would he ever think it’s a good idea to test a flamethrower indoors? 

All in all, lunch was fun.

Since I don’t know the way back to Pearl’s apartment from the Plaza, Sheldon kindly guided me to the Square. We talked a little bit about turf war and battling before we split up.

As I walk back to Pearl’s apartment (or I guess it's more accurate to call it home), I consider what to do with the remainder of my day. Either I stay home and take the rest of the day off or I see what Pearl and Marina are up to. Scratch that, I actually already know what they're up to. Right now, they are out searching the city for Callie and the Great Zapfish. 

Would it even be a valuable use of my time to join a search party when I know they aren’t going to find anything?  

But wait, Marina should know that the Octarians stole the zapfish. I told her so myself. So then she must know the search party is pointless. And yet, she’s still out there, desperately searching for Callie and the Great Zapfish. How can I possibly go home when she’s out here giving it her all? 

With my mind made up, I dial Marina’s number.

…

…

…

“Hello?”

“Hey Marina, where are you right now?”

“Oh hi Four. Right now we’re in the Inkopolis Bay Area. Why? Did something happen?”

“No, nothing bad. I just thought I would come help out with the search party if that’s alright with you.”

“Oh! Of course it’s alright! I would love, I mean, we’d love to have your help. Pearl and I, that is…”

“Great! So how do I get there?”

“Well, we just took the launch pad. I can send you the address and you should be able to make it here in only a few seconds.”

“Alright, I’m about 10 minutes from the apartment so I’ll be there in a bit.”

“Fresh! I’ll see you then. Bye.”

“Yep, bye Marina.”

- - -

I used the walk home to think. 

I thought about the Great Zapfish. I don’t know how much further I have to go before we’ll find it nor do I know how much longer the city can last on the power of the few normal zapfish that I’ve already rescued. I need to save them before it’s too late.

I thought about Callie. A girl who I’ve never met, yet she is important to Marie. What do the Octarians want with her? Are they torturing her? Is she even still alive? I don’t know. However, every moment I waste could mean a moment that she’s suffering or worse.

I think about Marina, my friend. She knows she won’t find the Great Zapfish in Inkopolis, yet she still works tirelessly to find it. Compared to her, I’ve been lazy. Hell, yesterday I took off early simply because my mood was slighted.

I can’t spend any more time messing around. Starting tomorrow, I will pour all my focus into my agent work until Inkopolis has been saved.

… 

I finish entering the address Marina had sent me. Launching off of the rooftop, I soar higher into the sky than ever before. The trip lasts a few seconds longer than the others, leaving me feeling disoriented and a little queasy after I land.

Looking around, I’m impressed. Around me are maybe 20,000 or more squids, all diligently searching the streets. At the front of the pack, I spot Pearl giving orders. I find it particularly interesting that she’s only making use of her naturally loud voice to be heard over the massive crowd. 

As she finishes barking orders, I squeeze my way through a shoal of squids until we’re within speaking range.

“Sup.”

She responds without even looking at me.

“Yo, you another fan? Look, I appreciate your support but now's not really the best time.”

“Wow pinkie, and I came all this way just to offer a helping hand.”

“Look buddy, I don’t know who you think you are but-”

As she faces me, we just stare at each other. Her face quickly goes from anger to recognition and finally excitement.

“YOOO! Piss head, it's you! What are you doing here?”

“I just told you, I’m here to lend a helping hand.” 

“Good shit! We can use all the help we can get. Well, I’m doing fine. Marina is the one that needs all the help. Follow me.”

She starts off towards the beach, where there is a large teal tent sitting away from all the chaos. Pearl heads inside, gesturing for me to follow.

“Ay Rina! Look who decided to crash the show!”

There's only one person inside the tent. The Octoling turns away from the large stack of papers she's working on to face the both of us with a joyful expression. 

“Four! Thanks for bringing him here Pearlie.”

“Yep!”

Pearl gives me a slap on the back before turning and heading back out to direct the thousands of busy squids.

“So what did you need help with?”

“Oh well, about that… First, I have some good news! Although we haven’t found Callie or any missing zapfish, we have found three other missing persons. So I’ve been filling out the paperwork regarding where they were found and which search party found them, but I’ve been falling behind on organizing groups together.”

“It’s a long shot, but you wouldn’t have happened to find a girl with orange tentacles and red eyes, did you?”

She looks at me quizzically.

“I’m sorry but we haven’t found anyone like that. Is a friend of yours missing?”

“No. Don’t worry about it. I was just wondering.”

She hands me a stack of papers and a map.

“Do you think you could choose a group leader from this list of people and select a location for them to search?”

“Can do. Do I hand it off to Pearl when I’m done?”

“Precisely.”

I watch as she turns back to focus on the paperwork in front of her. Turning to my assigned chores, I spend my time working through a couple of groups before making the hand off to Pearl. As I come back, I get distracted seeing Marina so focused. Minutes pass of me watching her work. Suddenly, she turns to speak to me.

“F-Four? I-I can’t help but n-notice you're staring at me…”

Her entire face is tinted slightly blue-greenish. I stumble over my words due to being caught off guard.

“Oh sorry. I was just enamored by you- I mean I just thought that you looked- Sorry. What I meant to say is that I’ve never seen you so focused. It’s different from when you talk about your engineering stuff. I like seeing you like that. It’s inspiring.”

Her face erupts into a blushing mess. Feeling the heat emanating from my cheeks, I know that I’m not doing any better.

Cod damnit. I was enamored by her? REALLY? That sounds like, no, it WAS blatant flirting! Of all the ways I could’ve phrased that, I said it was the one way that could destroy our whole friendship. This whole conversation is a train wreck.

I manage to slowly calm myself down while Marina only seems to be getting worse.

“N-n-no it’s alright. I-I’m glad to hear you say that… I-if you w-want, you could w-watch m-me record music s-sometime…”

She phrased it as more of a statement, but it was definitely an invitation. She watches me, waiting for an answer.

“Yeah, that sounds like fun.”

Marina is ecstatic, perhaps too ecstatic. Her entire face brightens even further, covering every inch in a vibrant teal glow. I can almost see the heat radiating off her. Suddenly, as if in a trance, she begins to fall backwards.

“Yay…”

She says softly as she descends towards the floor. Acting hastily, I reach out and catch her before her head hits the ground.

“Marina! Are you ok? What happened? Woah you’re burning up!”

…

Her seafoam green eyes dart around rapidly, as if she was woken from a dream.

“Marina… are you alright?”

A moment passes where she stares at me, teal and green still covering her face. This position could easily be misconstrued. I am supporting her full weight with my arms, preventing her from hitting the ground. Our faces are close, too close.

Of course, that’s when Pearl walks in. Oh shit.

“Yo Four, you got the next list- WOAH!…”

A moment passes where we all stare at each other, unsure of what to do or say. Pearl, unsurprisingly, speaks up first.

“Should I lock the door on my way out?”

Marina jumps out of my arms.

“Pearlie! NO!”

At first, I try to resist the urge to laugh, but as I consider how this must look from Pearl’s point of view it only gets funnier and funnier. Eventually, I break into laughter so strong that I fall over.

“So are you gonna tell me it’s not what it looks like or am I actually interrupting something?”

“Nah don’t worry. Nothing was happening, right Marina?”

Marina seems too embarrassed to say anything. Pearl turns her attention to focus squarely on me.

“Her silence isn’t helping your case, piss head.”

I don’t know what to say, so I don’t say anything. In response, Pearl sighs.

“Fine. Marina, switch with me. I’ll handle the paperwork while you rally the troops.”

Marina objects.

“But its-”

“No buts. Switch with me, NOW.”

With a defeated grumble, Marina grabs a megaphone and leaves the tent. I’m now alone with Pearl, and for the first time, I might actually be scared of her.

Pearl checks to confirm Marina has left by peaking her head out of the tent before turning back to me. Instead of a murderous stare, I’m met with the giddy look of a kid who just woke up on Splatmas morning.

“Great! Now that she’s gone- woah! Relax dude I’m not gonna kill ya.”

“I, uh ok? So, you're not mad at me?”

“Nah, it’s damn near impossible to piss me off dude. You’d have to either hurt Marina or trash my house. And if I’m honest, that looked like quite the opposite of hurting her~”

She wiggles her eyebrows at me suggestively. 

“Oh shut up… tease me all you want but it wasn’t like that.”

“Suuurree it wasn’t.”

- - - 

Lying in my bed, I’m already half asleep when I hear my phone’s messaging app ring. Reluctantly, I force my eyes open and check my phone. 

“Ah that’s bright!”

Looking over my recent messages, I’m surprised to see that the sender was none other than Marina. My thoughts rush back to earlier today. After the search party had finished for the day, things between us weren't awkward but they weren’t comfortable either. Luckily we had Pearl to run interference.

DJ Hyperfresh: ‘Hey, are you still awake?’

Me: ‘Yeah’

DJ Hyperfresh: ‘Can we talk?’

Me: ‘Sure, what’s up?’

She doesn’t respond. Confused, I go back to my attempt at sleeping. Suddenly, I hear a soft knock on the door. Oh, so when she said she wanted to talk, she meant literally talk .

Hopping out of bed, I throw on a shirt before opening the door. Marina greets me with a smile. She’s not worried, nor does she seem scared. 

“Make yourself at home.”

She giggles. I watch as she wanders around my room before sitting at the end of my bed. I choose to continue standing. 

“Is everything alright? Look, if this is about this afternoon then let me just say that I’m seriously sorry. I shouldn’t have been-”

“No. Please don’t apologize to me, I’m not angry. Besides, this isn’t about that. I wanted to talk about… you know.”

She gestures towards her tentacles.

“Ah. Okay…”

Oh. This might be a heavy conversation. Late night conversations ALWAYS lead to talking about something heavy.

“Can I feel your tentacles?”

…

“Marina I… what?

“S-sorry, that’s probably a weird question to ask.” 

“N-no it’s fine! I just wasn’t expecting that sort of question, is all… May I ask why?”

“I’m curious about all the things that make us different! Pearl only ever let me touch her tentacles when I first helped her style it. But, back then I was too focused on doing a good job that I never took the chance to examine them… now she hates it when I try to touch her tentacles. Something about ‘messin up ma flow, yo’.”

I chuckle at the imitation, as does she.

“Besides, you said I could come to you whenever I wanted to talk about things…” 

I let a small grin overtake my face. The fact that she actually came to speak with me makes me happy. 

“If you want to feel my tentacles, go ahead.”

She smiles. As I sit down next to her, we face each other. As she places a hand on my head, I lean into her touch. It’s soothing to feel someone run their hands through my tentacles. Then I feel her pull.

“Youch!” 

She quickly removes her hand from my head.

“I’m sorry! Are you ok?”

“I’m fine, just, be more gentle please? I’d rather still have all six by the end of this.”

Marina nods in response before continuing to play with my yellow tentacles. After a while, she seems satisfied. 

“It’s interesting. The number of tentacles on our heads match the number of tentacles we have in our swim forms minus four.”

“Wait, so do you only have four tentacles on your head?”

“Yep! See? One, two, three, four.”

She points to each tentacle on her head as she counts. I watch with intrigue before responding.

“Anything else you wanted to look at?”

“Yeah! Can I touch your face?”

I sigh, shutting my eyes in preparation for the most painful cheek pinching imaginable. 

“Go ahead.”

The pain never comes. Instead, I feel her finger gently brush across the surface of my mask. I open my eyes and am met with our faces being inches apart. 

Sheldon prepared me for this. So, despite the surprise and embarrassment at being so close, I don’t shy away. I might be blushing a little bit but who wouldn’t? 

Marina doesn’t even seem to be aware of my existence as she traces the circles around my eyes. She whispers to herself.

“It feels like an extra layer of skin…”

“Do your eye thingies not?”

She giggles at my comment. 

“Feel for yourself.”

She grabs my hand and moves it towards her face. It’s soft. As I swirl my fingers around her eye masks, they feel a little rubbery but not too different from my own mask.

We both sit there, neither one of us wanting to move. How is she not embarrassed by this? The moment is broken when we both simultaneously yawn.

“I’m sorry for keeping you awake Four.”

“Don’t worry about it. I enjoy talking to you.”

Her face flushes teal. She stares at me like a squid in the headlights of a Salmonid Scrapper before responding.

“I enjoy talking to you too.”

We talked a while longer but Marina soon left me alone with my thoughts. Most of which were regarding the girl’s unusual behavior today. It’s like there's no pattern to what she finds embarrassing and what she doesn’t. 

- - -

It’s 3 AM, I’ve been writing this chapter all day. (Note from later: 3 AM is nothing. I later post chapters at 5 AM. Unfortunately, I’m bound by a bet to not change the chapter title.)

Here’s some notes! 

Four is not an oblivious idiot. He was already suspecting Marina had some kind of feeling for him. However, the last scene serves as a cute scene while also making Four doubt that Marina is crushing on him.

Marina on the other hand just got too distracted by her curiosity to even register Four’s presence. 

-Veckle (11/2/2022)

Chapter Text

 - - -

I wake up to the sound of my alarm. It's seven in the morning, just after sunrise. I yawn as I force myself out of bed.

Typically, I don’t wake up this early, but if I’m going to rescue the Great Zapfish and Callie as soon as possible, then I need to start taking my agent work more seriously. Meaning, starting today I am going to make some changes to the way I handle everything. From now on, I need to start early in the morning and work until dusk. I also need to get all of my weapons upgraded as soon as possible. More importantly, I need to take these battles far more seriously.

I scold myself at the thought. All this time, these missions have felt like one big game. As a result, I’ve been treating them as such. I won’t let this continue. Between the amount of time I’ve wasted observing every nook and cranny of Octo-Canyon and the number of times I’ve been splatted because I either wasn’t paying attention or wasn’t taking the fight seriously, I haven’t been living up to what I could be achieving. 

When I started being an agent, I saw this as a chance to be a hero like in the movies. I wanted to have fun on these missions, but now I realize that this isn’t the time for being a movie hero, it's the time to be a soldier.

Though, considering how much I’ve been screwing around, I’m surprised the Octarians have only managed to splat me a handful of times. A devious thought wanders into my head. 

I wonder how badly I’ll kick the Octarian army’s asses now that I’m going full anarchy battle tryhard?

Using the new Squidbeak Splatoon group chat, I let Marie and Sheldon know my plan.

Me: ‘Hey guys, I’m going to be coming in earlier than usual today. Marie, if you want to get me scouting data then you should head in now.’

Marie Cuttlefish: ‘Wow, Four actually being responsible. Is this for eel ?’

Me: ‘You’ve used that same pun a couple of times now. Get new material.’

Marie Cuttlefish: ‘Ouch, harsh. How many missions do you want me to scout?’

Me: ‘I don’t know. Do you think you could keep scouting ahead the whole day while Sheldon handles the comms?’

Marie Cuttlefish: ‘You know I don’t like the idea of you doing these missions without backup.’

Me: ‘Please? I promise I will be careful.’

Marie Cuttlefish: ‘Fine, but no doing boss kettles without me. And Sheldon will let me know the minute you start getting careless. When that happens, I’m heading straight for your position and pulling you out of there. Are you reading this Sheldon?’

Marie Cuttlefish: ‘Is he even awake?’

The Weapon King: ‘Yes, I am awake. I can handle the communications if that’s what Four wants.’

Marie Cuttlefish: ‘Alright, I’ll be at the canyon in a little bit. Give me an hour to finish the first scouting mission.’

Marie Cuttlefish: ‘And Four, please be careful.’

Me: ‘I will. That's a promise.’

With the others on board with my plan, I head downstairs to cook myself some breakfast. Considering that anything I make will be cold by the time Marina and Pearl wake up, I have to cook something that’s tasty warm or cold. Using some strawberries, tasty creme from the fridge, and the last of the pancake mix, I make crepes.

They turned out fantastic. I can only wonder how they will both react when they taste this heavenly breakfast. Unfortunately, I’ll never get to see it. Seeing as they have no idea that I planned on leaving early this morning, I hastily write them a note.

‘Dear Pearl and Marina,

I had to get to work early today and won’t be done until it gets dark. Good luck with the search party.

You’re friend,

-Four’

Content with the way the message turned out, I leave it behind next to the crepes. The sixty minute mark was fast approaching so I took the super launch pad to the square.

The square itself was completely empty, save for me. I guess not waking up early is just something all us Inklings do. But that begs the question, why was Marie awake?

The thought is left behind as I drop into the grate that leads to Octo-Canyon. Plopping out of the other side put me, unsurprisingly, face to face with a crab. Does he not understand the concept of personal space?

“Sheldon, I want you to know that if you keep doing this, I am going to start hitting you like I did the first time we met. Only now, I will be doing it on purpose.”

“I don’t understand. What am I doing that has you upset?”

“You’re too close!”

“Oh, I’m sorry Four.”

I swear, this guy just never learns does he? 

Marie arrives to hand in her scouting report moments later. She waves at me while I only give her a silent nod. Without saying anything, she turns to scout out the next kettle. Sheldon immediately gets to work analyzing the mission data. He reads through the data so quickly that I find it hard to believe that he actually understood what he read. Not a minute passes before he tells me to grab the hero shot and head off to my first mission of the day.

Before leaving, I offer him a fist bump as if to say ‘we’ve got this.’ Sheldon, who must’ve associated this with a chest tap due to yesterday, softly tapped my chest. I laugh and return the gesture before heading deep into the canyon.

- - -

As I went mission to mission, the only things Sheldon would mutter were sounds of shock and bafflement. I haven't been performing any flashy or cool tricks to warrant such a reaction. No. What impressed him was my speed and efficiency. 

I’m focused on the battles, clearing wave after wave of enemies without wasting a single shot. I have already cleared 3 missions without one drop of Octarian ink touching me. I won’t let them hit me. 

It’s exhausting to do without any sort of break. When fighting anarchy battles, my friends always took 30 minute breathers between matches that allowed us to keep going. Now, the only breather I am getting is when I hand off a zapfish to Sheldon, but those only help to temporarily regain my stamina. 

Marie is impressed by the rate in which I am completing missions. I’m only slightly behind her pace, with her scouting two missions ahead of me. I’m still worried about what might happen should she break down while in the field, but I must yield to her decisions. If she wants to help, then she is going to help whether I want her to or not. 

Currently, she should be scouting the first mission in the next sector. Speaking of scouting reports, this next mission is supposed to have Octolings. Part of me is hoping that the Octolings are better trained than last time. If they aren’t, I am going to blow through this mission.

As I dive through the sector’s final normal kettle, I am met with the sight of 8 mini zapfish spread across a room. Yep, it’s just like the last Octoling mission.

As I lay eyes on an Octoling soldier, something slips into my mind. She reminds me of Marina. How can I- I shake the thought from my head. I can’t think about her right now.

I go though the mission as normal, splatting each Octoling before they know what’s happening.

As I near the 8th mini zapfish, a bomb lands at my feet. Thinking quickly I kick the bomb and dive backwards into my ink. Re-emerging, I ready myself. Four Octolings stand on the ledge above me, all with eager smiles covering their faces.

I immediately recognize that these aren’t the standard Octarian troops. Three of them are wielding different weapons from the standard shooter: one brush, one slosher, and one charger. The Octoling standing at the front of the pack brandishes a standard Octarian shooter. She looks different from the rest. Unlike the Octoling’s standard red tentacles, hers are black like Marina- no don’t think about it.

“You four want to tango? Come on! Let's dance.”

“Winre abba etse no Inkling.”

I don’t know what she said, but I recognize a threat when I hear one. Sheldon then feeds me a warning.

“Careful Agent 4, that’s an elite Octoling. She’s sure to be especially skilled.”

“Great, I’ve been waiting for a challenge all morning.”

Acting quickly, I toss a bomb at the slosher wielding Octoling. The bomb lands in her bucket, splatting the poor girl. I wish I could say I intended to throw it in her bucket, but in truth, I just got lucky. Still, I feel like a badass. 

The three remaining Octolings immediately sprang into action.

The charger was my first target. She has to be. If she manages to get into a position where I can’t reach her, I’m toast. Unfortunately, the brush was quick to get between myself and the charger. 

“Looks like you want to be next huh?”

Without a word, the brush starts to lob ink in my direction. Thinking quickly, I slide a curling bomb beneath the soaring ink. I swim after the bomb in the ink trail it creates, refilling my ink tank in the process. The girl dodges the explosion of the curling bomb but it’s not prepared for my sudden appearance. I splat her with my hero shot.

The elite seems ticked off by how easily I dispatched of her two teammates. She fires her weapon towards me in an attempt to draw my attention. I merely toss an auto bomb to stall her as I try to figure out where the charger went.

Suddenly I hear the sound of a powerful rifle firing. On instinct, I change forms and drop into the ink at my feet. A quick line of pink ink flies directly over my head. Now standing in enemy ink, I shoot at the ground to regain my footing. 

The trail of ink left by the shot shows precisely where she’s hiding. She picked a good location, one outside of my potential throwing range. Unfortunately for her, my splashdown is ready.

Super-jumping into the air, I aim to land just next to her position. I see the surprise in her face at my sudden launch. She points her weapon at my intended landing position, ready to shoot me the second I hit the ground. Well, she’s about to be in for the shock of her life.

I crash into the ground creating a massive explosion of yellow ink. Checking around, I see the Octoling’s spirit floating away.

Good, that just leaves the so-called elite.

As I approach, she backs away from me until she is against a wall. Is she scared? I never intend to scare my opponents, but splatting her entire team must have shattered her confidence. Oh well. 

I toss an auto bomb. My plan is that, with a wall behind her, she will be forced to come towards me or else she will be splatted. She tries to get away from the bomb but it blows up before she is completely out of it’s range, knocking her to the ground.

Her weapon slides to my feet. I pick it up, without it she is no threat. Suddenly, the entire room goes dark. 

“Sheldon? What’s going on?”

“Uh hold on, it looks like the Octarians are suffering a power outage due to the loss of so many zapfish. Be careful not to get splatted Agent 4, the respawn points will be offline.”

Everything is dark. But, thanks to the glow of the nearby mini zapfish, there’s just enough light to see what's around me. Especially the elite Octoling, whose shades are emitting bright red light. 

The girl looks frightened. She’s vulnerable, yellow ink covers her to the point where a single drop could splat her. I raise my weapon. Her frightened expression shifts to one of pure terror.

Then, she’s gone. In her place is someone else: Marina. Covered in yellow ink, the same terrified expression plasters her face as she stares at me. I look in horror at what is in front of me.

I blink to check my vision. When I open my eyes, Marina is gone and I am once again staring at the elite. I can’t do it. I can’t splat her.

Then a new, scarier thought creeps into my mind. The power’s out. If she were to be splatted now, would she respawn? If she doesn’t, I would be a killer.

I was *this* close to killing someone permanently. The shock leaves me wide open to an attack, but the girl doesn’t move.

Using the elite’s weapon, I shoot a small puddle of pink ink on the ground. I then toss the weapon over the edge to insure it can’t be used against me. She simply continues to stare.

“Heal in this puddle of ink.”

She doesn’t move. 

…

“You are not makings any sense.”

So she can speak Inkish. It’s not perfect, but at least it’s comprehensible.

“You fight withs us. You take ara surgetrouts. Yet you want to spare me?”

I don’t need to argue philosophy or morality with this girl. Instead, I turn to go grab the zapfish.

“Wait!”

I turn back to her, curious as to what she could possibly want to say.

“What ish youra name?”

In my head, I debate telling her. It couldn’t hurt if Octarians know what to call me.

“They call me Agent 4. And you?”

The Octoling hesitates for a moment, processing my words.

“Agent 4. My name is Cordelia. Da sha re tamme uy deretar han Octarians. I shall not forget this act of mercy. But I shall be the one to defeat you and save my people.”

Grabbing the zapfish, I find a smirk crossing my face. 

“To do that, you’ll have to cover more than just the bottom of my shoes in pink ink.”

She doesn’t try to stop me as I leave.

—-

“Great work Agent 4! Next up is the boss.”

I don’t respond, only handing him the zapfish.

“You’ll be fighting the great Octo-stomp. One of the original great Octo weapons. For this fight, I recommend taking the hero dualies.”

“Oh FUCK yeah.”

I love the dualies. Not only do they shred everything in their path, but they make dodging enemy attacks so much easier. My second favorite is a tie between the hero charger or hero roller, two weapons I also seldom get to use.

“Woah, watch the language Agent 4.”

Turning towards the girl with white tentacles, I rub the back of my head in embarrassment.

“Oh. Hey Marie. I didn’t realize you were back. If you’re already here then I’m gonna go humiliate this boss.”

“Hold it.”

“I haven't even started moving yet.”

I whisper that to myself since I’d rather avoid getting whacked on the head.

“You’ve been going rather quickly through these missions. Why don’t you take a break?”

“I’ll be fine. I’m not tired.”

Not being tired was a lie. Although I’m not overly exhausted, I am certainly drained of energy. It’s as if I’ve only got half a tank of ink left before I become totally wiped out. But, that means I’ve still got a lot more work to do before the day is over.

Marie comes up and places a hand on my face. Her hands are soft… 

I lean into her touch, enjoying the gentle and soothing feeling that it leaves on my face.

“You’re worrying me… take half an hour to rest. You deserve it.”

I sigh. It’s only 1 pm. If I keep at the rate I’ve been going, I should be able to beat the boss and finish 4 more missions before the end of the day. That would be 10 in total which is good enough. I suppose a 30 minute break wouldn’t be too bad.

“Fine. But in exactly thirty minutes I’m going to take down that boss.”

“Good. Now let's bring you over here to lie down.”

She gestures to a couch on the outside of the cabin. I follow her and do as she instructs. However, as I begin to lay my head down I feel something soft and warm. 

As I look up, I see Marie smile down at me. My face erupts into a blush. 

I’m currently laying in her lap. Ok. 

Wait no, not ok! What the shell is happening?

“Say aahh.”

My brain feels like it’s short circuiting. All I can do is comply with what she asks.

“Aahh?”

Before I can process what is going on, food is thrusted into my mouth. 

Mmh, tasty.

“You like it? I made it myself.”

“I-yeah! It’s good. Is this fried calamari?”

“I guess you weren’t lying when you said you were a cook. You know your stuff. I’m r- eel -ly impressed.”

“You r- eel -ly need more fish puns.”

She suddenly grabs my phone from my pocket. Not again!

“Woah you’d better not be-“

“Relax. Just immortalizing the moment.”

She opens the camera and snaps a photo of the two of us. Then after a moment of fiddling with it, she hands it back to me.

“Enjoy your new background.”

It’s us. In the photo, there’s a smile on her face and confusion on mine, but we both look happy. I think I might let this one remain my background for a while.

We stay like this for a while; neither one of us moves or speaks. In an instant, the thirty minutes had reached its conclusion. Sighing, I pull away. I came here to save zapfish, not spend time with girls.

Time to go kick this boss’s ass.

—-

This boss room was different from the last two. There’s still a single circular island surrounded by water. But now there seems to be an outer ring around the island that sits lower than the center. 

Wasting no time, I launch myself into the arena. I’m once again forced to watch as the boss rises from a puddle of ink and snatches the zapfish.

“It’s a giant box.”

“Yes, and it will flatten you if you're not careful.”

The boss charges directly at me. Using my dualies, I easily dodged out of the way before turning around to face it.

It’s just sitting there, flat on its face. Is this some kind of joke? Not willing to waste the chance for a free attack, I ink its side and swim up. 

“Hello there giant, obvious weak point. How are you doing today?”

It doesn’t respond.

“Well I’m sorry to hear that. Unfortunately your day is about to get much worse.”

I say before unloading a full tank of ink into the tentacle. The Octo-stomp recoils, knocking me off the top. 

I watch as the Octo-stomp changes, covering itself in metal armor. I debate with myself about how I could get past its armor until I notice a buckle on the thing’s face. 

“Marie, do you think shooting that buckle will take care of its armor.”

“A buckle on its face? I don’t know. Probably?”

Great! So now I have to shoot at its face while it charges at me and then dodge at the last possible second. It’s a dangerous plan but it could be worse.

The Octo-stomp moves slower thanks to the extra weight of the armor. It makes breaking the buckle while dodging his attacks easier than I anticipated. As he falls on his face once again, I make a path to swim up his side.

“Why hello again. Fancy meeting you here Mr tentacle. Say, is that a new hairdo? It’s the BOMB.”

Dropping a splat bomb on the tentacle, a painful looking explosion occurs causing the Octo-stomp to once again recoil and knock me down.

“Ok. What’s next?”

The boss’s face suddenly triples into a line of three. As armor surrounds all sides of the boss, I realize it’s going to be much harder to dodge.

“Ah beans. I just had to ask.”

I spend most of my time running away. The only chance I have to break the buckle is when the Octo-stomp walks up and tries to jump on me. In those moments, I fire off as much ink as I can before quickly dodging backwards to be out of its path.

Finally, after a long game of chicken, the buckle breaks. Then it’s a short waiting game until the boss falls on its face. Climbing up the side, I greet the tentacle one final time.

“I think we should see other people. It’s not you, it's me! And by me, I mean you. I just think that you're annoying. Sorry, not sorry.”

And with one final splat, it’s over.

“I thought you were taking things more seriously today?”

“Well excuse me for struggling to take a giant block with a face seriously.”

…

“Agent 4, I want to thank you again for all you've done so far.”

“Thanks? Where’s this coming from?”

“I’m saying it because it’s been long overdue. But, I suppose I should also give you a full explanation of everything leading up to your recruitment.”

“Is now really the best time?”

She seems to ignore my question.

“When Callie was young, our grandfather, the Cap'n, recruited her to be the first member of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, giving her the title of Agent 1.”

So Callie is an agent! Woah, wait a minute. What kind of guy recruits his own family? Well, maybe I shouldn’t be too hasty to judge. Maybe it was circumstantial, like she randomly stumbled upon his secret agent operation and chose to join.

“She later came to me and told me everything. So, I wanted to help her and begged gramps to bring me aboard as Agent 2. This was long before we became the Squid Sisters, so we were often able to handle everything on our own. But as we grew more and more popular, it became harder to keep up with our New Squidbeak Splatoon assignments. Then, two years ago, the Great Zapfish was stolen. But, as the Squid Sisters, we had too many responsibilities. We failed to perform our duties as agents. Ultimately, the Capt’n had to hire a kid to rescue the zapfish. That kid is Agent 3, I think I’ve mentioned her to you in the past, she’s short and doesn’t talk that often but is otherwise quite kind if not a bit moody. Anyways, she went about rescuing all the zapfish and saving Inkopolis.”

…

“Callie and I felt guilty about our lack of involvement in the situation, especially since a 14 year old kid had to fight in our steads. In the end, we had to make a hard choice. Disband the Squid Sisters so that we can focus on being agents or quit being agents and continue being the Squid Sisters… Two impossible choices… my presence here should be enough to let you know which one we went with.”

…

“So, Agent 3 and Cap'n Cuttlefish, that’s our grandpa’s name, went out on a long mission saying ‘we won't be back for a while’ and all that carp, leaving me to protect Inkopolis. But then… Callie…and I couldn’t…but then I found you.”

…

“Thanks for everything Agent 4. We'd be totally sunk without you.”

“I can never say no to a pretty girl.”

“Oh shut up you corny cheese head.”

Suddenly, the transmission seems to turn staticy, as if a foreign entity had forced itself onto our frequency.

“Lea... No... LEAVE NOW!”

“Huh? Who's there? If you get in our way, Agent 4 will mess you up!”

And then it was silent.

- - -

After the adrenaline of the boss fight wore off, my fatigue slowly began to catch up with me. However, I didn’t let that stop me. The missions took longer than they should have, and as a result I only completed 2 missions in sector 4 before sunset. But getting more done is better than quitting.

As I walk home, I am forced to fight the urge to pass out on the ground. It’s just like my first day in Inkopolis all over again. However, unlike my first day in Inkopolis, I have 2 friends waiting for me to come home. I have to make it back so they won’t worry. 

Just…

a little bit…

further.

Opening the front door, my legs finally give out. As I drop to the floor, I hear someone worriedly yell my name.

I can’t sleep yet, not while they’re still worried about me.

“I’m ok, just tired.”

“Tired? You look like hammered shit. Ugh and you smell like it too. What the hell happened man?”

“Oh, you know. Fighting a war. Saving the world. Cuddling with a Cuttlefish. Just normal things.”

“Oh cod he’s delusional. Come on, let's get you to bed. ”

I feel Pearl attempt to lift me but I only fall back to the ground a few moments later.

“Ow.”

“Shit, I’m sorry dude. Marina! I need some help with Four.”

“Four’s back? Oh dear, what happened?”

The last thing I feel is being lifted into a strangely familiar set of arms.

- - -

I started writing this chapter, then it got late. Then it became 5 AM and I said fuck it we ball. All in all, I had a lot of fun writing this one. 

Anyways, hope you enjoyed the first 10 chapters! We made it so far and yet we’ve not even scratched the surface of the main story.

Hell yeah this story is gonna be so cool.

-Veckle (11/4/2022)

Chapter Text

- - -

My alarm blares loudly, forcing me awake. My whole body screams in defiance, begging me to go back to sleep, but I can’t. I need to finish rescuing the zapfish as soon as possible. Maybe then I can start looking for her.

My muscles ache from soreness as I attempt to sit up. It’s then that I notice the putrid smell radiating from somewhere nearby. Sniffing my armpit, I realize that it's coming from me. Damn, I smell nasty. Did I even shower yesterday?

Opening my phone, I shoot a quick message out to Marie and Sheldon.

Me: ‘Same plan as yesterday. I’ll be there in about an hour and a half.’

Nobody replies to my message. Maybe they’re still asleep? I decide to go shower while I wait for a response.

Considering how tired I feel, maybe I should take a cold shower to try waking myself up? Tossing my clothing into the hamper, I step into the freezing water.

“Cod! That’s fucking cold!”

I sit in the water, shivering my ass off. I’m already slightly used to cold showers since I would occasionally be forced to take cold showers back home. However, those showers were never this fucking cold!

Slowly, my body adjusts to the cold water nipping at my skin. By the time I got out, I started to actually enjoy the feeling. 

Now fully awake, I dress myself in some of the clothes Marina bought me before heading downstairs to make breakfast. Surprisingly, I’m not the only person down here. Sleeping in the game room is Pearl with a controller in hand. The TV is dimmed, showing that she hasn’t touched the game in a while. I decide to leave her be.

I check my phone while heading into the kitchen. 

Marie Cuttlefish: ‘And here I was hoping to sleep in.’ - 15 minutes ago

Marie Cuttlefish: ‘I scouted your next mission yesterday so you can start right when you get here. Just be careful.’ - 14 minutes ago

Good to know. That means I am just waiting on Sheldon.

Me: ‘I will. Sheldon, how long until you get there?’

The Weapon King: ‘I can be there in 45 minutes at the earliest. It's a bit of a walk to the canyon from my shop.’

Me: ‘Alright, I’ll see you then.’

Taking this information into account, I start making a quick breakfast. With the groceries from the other day, I make three omelets. One for Pearl, one for Marina, and one for me.

It slightly irks me to know that they will be eating a cold omelet but there’s not much else I could make. Well, oatmeal is an option but it tastes horrible cold. Suddenly Pearl walks in.

“Jeez, do you have to be making such a racket in here. Some of us were fucking sleeping.”

“Sorry Pearl. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

She takes a moment to stare at me as a concerned look passes across her face.

“Dude… are you sure you should even be moving around? You could barely stand last night.”

“I’ll be fine, I was just tired, is all. Besides, I can’t skip work.”

“Your boss must be a real slave driver. I hope the pay is worth it.”

I laugh at the statement while Pearl only looks confused. Cod, I really need to find a way to make some money. 

Handing Pearl an omelet and a bottle of mayo, she mutters a thanks before drowning the meal with white condiment. How can she stomach so much mayo? We both start eating. With her mouth full of food, Pearl speaks.

“Whash ya jawb anywaysh?”

Thinking quickly, I dodge the question.

“Why? So you can come harass me while I’m working? Yeah no thanks.”

She swallows before speaking.

“Your loss. It's not everyday that a famous idol comes to visit you at work.”

I pretend to scoff at the idea.

“Pff. I see enough of you as it is.”

She laughs.

“Oh I wasn’t talking about me. I meant ~Marina~ You’d love to have her come visit, wouldn’t ya?”

I blush. I almost had forgotten about the ‘incident’ from two days prior but it’s clear that Pearl hasn’t. Trying to escape the conversation, I make an excuse.

“I’d love to stay and chat, but I’ve got to go.” 

“Oh suurree you do. Come on man, you can just admit it. You would be over the moon if that happened.”

…

“Why are you so adamant that there's something going on between us?”

“Ain’t it obvious? Cuz you two GET each other. Like, totally get each other! Look, I’m her best friend. I love her more than anything else in the world-”

“Even more than mayo?”

“Ok, maybe not anyTHING, more like more than anyONE else in the world. But that's besides the point. Look. What I’m tryna say is that I know when someone’s good for her. And you… you're good for her! Like, ever since you showed up, she’s been a shit ton more confident! And that’s not all-”

“Look Pearl, I’m not so sure if you understand what you’re saying.”

“Oh I know damn well what I’m saying. I’m trying to tell you to ask her out on a date shit for brains.”

The air between us freezes as I process what she just said.

…

“You want me to ask Marina out on a date? I mean, I think she’s attractive and all, but we’ve only known each other for a short time.”

Pearl only stares at me with a doubtful expression. 

“Besides, you brought me into your home and… ya know? I just- it feels like I would be taking advantage of everything you’ve done for me. I couldn’t.”

“Bro… that's the stupidest fucking excuse. Look, I promise you that it's fine! I’m the one telling you to do it!”

Checking my phone, I notice that there's only 5 minutes left until Sheldon said he’d be at the canyon.

“Look, can we talk about this later? I really need to get going.”

“Ugh fine…. But this isn’t over.”

As I leave the kitchen and head to the roof, I think over what she said. 

Honestly, I had never considered asking Marina out. Hell, I’m not even sure what my feelings are towards her. I mean, everything about her is great! She's kind, beautiful, and incredibly smart… 

Oh. Maybe I do like her? 

But then there’s the fact that she’s a completely different species from me. How would that even work? UGH. I can’t think about this now. 

Clearing my head, I get into the mindset for battle.

- - -

Sliding through the other end of the grate, I am pleased by the fact that Sheldon’s face is not the first thing I see. Instead, the chatty crab is a few feet away, staring at me with a curious expression. I’m grateful that he seemed to take yesterday’s conversation about personal space into consideration.

“Sup dude. How’s it hanging?”

“Oh I am quite alright. But you… you look nearly dead. Are you sure you’ll be able to handle today’s missions?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me. We should focus on rescuing Callie and the Great Zapfish. The faster we get them back, the better.”

“If you say so. Just please be careful Four, fatigue can have a massive impact on how one performs on the battlefield.”

“Yeah yeah whatever... Now how many missions do I have left before the boss?”

“Well, if every sector has six kettles and one boss kettle, then you should have 4 kettles left before the boss. Currently, Marie is scouting out the 5th kettle of the sector. Do you want me to stop her after she scouts the boss or will you be doing the same number of missions as yesterday?”

“Same as yesterday.”

Forgoing the attempt at giving Sheldon a fist bump, I lightly punch him on the chest and he does the same. It’s become our own way to show our friendship.

Changing into my hero gear, I grab the hero charger before heading down into the canyon. As I make my way through the previous sectors, I notice that the power has been cut in each one. I figure that, without as many zapfish, the Octarians can’t power the locations further away from their base.

My body aches as I push onwards. 

The first two missions aren’t easy. Between battling a large number of enemies and fighting to keep my body moving, it’s a struggle. Luckily, I’m given the hero charger and hero blaster. They allow me to keep my distance from the Octarians and avoid getting hit.

The third mission has me using the hero brella, a weapon that I am not overly familiar with. The mission starts off smoothly enough, requiring that I avoid some flooders and splat some Octocopters. The brella’s shield came in handy, allowing me to avoid moving too much while not getting hit. It’s a relief for my tired body.

Near the end of the mission, I am forced to shoot a propeller on one end of a platform before running to the other end and jumping onto the adjacent platform. As I land, an Octosniper appears. Acting quickly, I raise my brella’s shield to block its shot before I begin returning fire. I nearly splat the trooper when I feel a shot smash into my side. The impact knocks me off my feet and sends me tumbling over the edge.

SPLAT.

As I respawn, I fall over in pain. Despite my injury being gone, the spot where I was shot still screams in pain. After the pain fades, I stand and think over what just happened.

There were two of them? Damn it! I need to pay better attention to my surroundings. 

Making my way back to the platform with the Octosnipers, I prepare myself. As the first Octosniper appears, I quickly toss a splat bomb at the creature. After it splats, I quickly turn my attention towards the second sniper. 

Seeing the red line pointed directly at me, I open my brella’s shield and block the shot. I immediately begin returning fire while taking note that there are multiple Octotroopers ahead of me. 

Once the Octosniper was down, the rest stood no chance.

- - -

“Nice work out there Agent 4. Next up is another mission with Octolings. Now, Marie’s report notes that some of these Octlings are elites wielding chargers. So I recommend that you-”

“I’m taking the hero charger.”

I left no room for argument in my declaration. Sheldon seems surprised.

“Four, I really don’t think that's the best idea. If Octolings get up close then you would be in danger.”

“Then I’m taking the charger AND the dualies.”

“You want to take two weapons at once?”

Sheldon seems shocked at the suggestion.

“Is there something wrong with that?”

“I- well, how do you suppose you’ll carry them?”

I think about it for a second before an idea strikes my mind. 

“What if we make a weapon holster that I can put my dualies in when I’ve got my charger out? And another one so I can keep my charger on my back while I have my dualies out? Like those things that knights from movies put their swords in!”

Sheldon seems mystified at the idea. Suddenly, he rushes into the cabin. Over the next five minutes, I hear hammer wacks and drills buzzing. When Sheldon reappears, he hands me two small holsters that appear similar in shape to my dualies and one large holster with long straps.

“Here you go! The two small ones attach to your legs and can be used for easy access to your dualies in a moment’s notice. The large one ties around your back and stores your charger!”

“Woah… Sheldon, this is incredible! How’d you do this so fast?”

The crab lets out a laugh.

“It comes with being the best weapon’s craftsman around! Now go give them a test drive. I am dying to see how well they work.”

With a nod, we exchange soft blows to each other's chests before I head back into the heat of battle.

As I enter the last normal kettle of the sector, I can’t help but feel excited. These Octolings will never know what hit them.

Inside the kettle, I’m not surprised to see eight mini zapfish spread across the room. I slowly make my way through, splatting all elites with the charger and switching to my dualies whenever anyone gets close. I feel unstoppable. Grabbing the eighth zapfish. I turn to leave.

“Stop. Do take no further steps from where you are Agent 4!”

I ready my weapon, turning to see who spoke to me in broken Inkish. Standing on the ledge above me is the same elite Octoling from yesterday.

“Ah… your name was Cordelia right? I’m glad to see you’re alright.”

Her face shows contemplation as she takes a moment to translate my words.

“Shut your beak Inkling! I am here to be bringing a stop to you. I challenge you to a duel.”

“Fine. But when you lose, don't get angry at me. You’re the one who wanted to get your butt kicked.”

She scoffs before jumping down from the ledge. As she stands, she readies herself for a fight. In response, I drop my charger to the side and pull out my dualies. Even though my body reacts painfully to intense movement, I am prepared to push through it to achieve victory.

We stare at one another, neither one of us wanting to make the first move. While I’m thinking of all the possible ways I could win, she throws a splat bomb at me. 

Before the bomb hits the ground, I kick it right back at her, hitting her in the chest. She recoils backwards onto the ground. Taking advantage of the opening, I toss an auto bomb to take her out. However, before the bomb explodes she rebounds to her feet and dodges out of the blast radius.

“Nora suer de fa. Not bad Inkling.”

I don’t respond. At times like these, I can’t lose my focus by making trash talk.

She begins firing her weapon towards me. In response, I ink the nearby wall and swim up. My body is screaming at me to stop. 

“Running away?”

She begins to chase, falling directly into my trap. As she reaches the wall, I toss two auto bombs behind her, trapping her. She attempts to spray the wall with ink so that she can swim up and escape, but I jump from the ledge over top of her.

Raising my fist into the air, I surge all my power into it. With the splash-down started, a smirk crosses my face.

As I crash down into the ground, I catch a glimpse behind her glasses before she is splatted. Her eyes hold disappointment. Not in me or in the fight, but in herself. 

I look around, confirming to myself that she was splatted and that I had won. Abruptly, the pain of slamming my body into the ground hits me like a truck. Falling to my knees, I rest there for several minutes while I let the waves of agony pass. I hear Sheldon’s voice through my headphones. 

“Agent 4, you need to get moving before more show up.”

Despite the torturous feeling, I manage to pull myself together.

- - -

The pain slowly subsided as I walked back to the cabin. While handing off the zapfish to Sheldon, he let me know that I should use the charger for the boss mission as no other weapon will be able to reach high enough. I reluctantly handed over my dualies before heading off to face the boss. 

Marie tried to stop me, recommending I take a break first but I refused. 

“I’ll take a break after this boss is dealt with.”

Seemingly content with that answer she let me go.

The inside of this boss kettle is vastly different compared to the usual boss rooms. The middle island is covered in elevated platforms with boost pads on their walls. I try to strategize about how I can best utilize these platforms, but without knowing much about the boss, the strategies are only half-baked at best. 

The pain returns as I squid jump onto the island. 

Once again, I am forced to watch as a tentacle ascends from a puddle of ink and grabs the zapfish. The boss rises out of the ink soon afterwards.

“Holy hell, it can fly?”

Marie responds.

“Correct. Meet the Octo Shower. You’ll need to shoot down those Octocopters that keep it airborne to get at its weak point. Good luck Agent 4.”

I nod at nobody in particular before taking aim at one of the flying Octarians. As I release a fully charged shot, the ink sails towards the target before falling back to the ground.

“Ah beans, I need to get to higher ground don’t I?”

“Yep. I saw pillars around the arena. Climbing them should get you close enough to land a shot. You can try using those boost-”

The Octo Shower suddenly fires a high powered shot directly at me. I attempt to dodge but the shot hits me directly in the stomach, sending me directly to the ground.

I try to recover, but my whole body is screaming to stop. Before I can stand back up, the Octo Shower shoots me again.

SPLAT.

“Agent 4?! Are you alright?!”

Marie’s voice rings in my ear. I don’t respond, instead only cursing to myself. That really fucking hurt. 

I take the time to recover before launching myself back into the battle. Luckily, the boss doesn’t notice me land. I create a path up a wall and sneakily make my way up it. By the time the boss sees me, I already have lined up the perfect shot.

BANG.

The boss suddenly falls as two of the Octocopters that were keeping it in the air splat. The last one struggles to keep the boss up, but I quickly take aim from my tower and splat it too.

Falling to the ground, the Octo Shower’s tentacle is completely exposed. From my position on the pillar, I splat it without a second thought. It writhes in agony before three new Octocopters lift it into the air. Without wasting a moment, I take aim and shoot one. 

As I start charging my second shot, the Octo Shower begins to drip ink beneath it. The drips quickly grow into a rainstorm of ink. The boss immediately rushes towards my position at a breakneck speed. As I try to dodge out of the way, my leg gives out, dropping me to the ground. Moments later, I’m screaming in pain as enemy ink pours over me.

SPLAT.

Opening my eyes, I grit my teeth. My head is spinning and my body is pleading with me to stop. 

As I launch myself back down to face the boss, I recognize that Marie said something. However, I couldn’t understand a word of what was said. It’s as though her words passed straight through my head. 

Everything feels dizzy.

I sneak around to a different pillar. As I try to swim up, I suddenly lose my grip on the wall and fall. Slamming my back on the ground, I gasp out in pain. Shakily, I force myself up. 

The Octo Shower then spots me and begins to take aim. Hiding behind the other side of the pillar, I notice one of the boost pads. An idea suddenly comes to me and I shoot the wall with ink. After fully charging a shot, I dive into the pad. It launches me up above the pillar where I fire a mid-air shot. 

I hear two distinct pops before the Octo Shower slams into the ground. Hell yeah! Two in one. 

I toss a splat bomb at its exposed tentacle, splatting the immobile boss for a second time. 

As three new Octocopters raise the boss into the air, I drop down from the platform to hide my presence. The boss, confused by my disappearance, begins to charge up another shot.

I plan my next move as the boss continues searching for me. My strategizing comes to an abrupt end as the sound of a shrieking laser echoes throughout the room. 

“Shit, this thing has a string ray?”

The laser sweeps about the room, quickly closing in on my position. I hide behind a wall but it's no use. The laser pierces through the wall and cuts me in half.

SPLAT.

I cry out in agony as I respawn. My entire body feels like I was just ripped apart before being sewn back together. 

It fucking hurts! GYRAHH! Please… just make it stop. 

The minutes seem like hours as I continue to scream. Eventually, I am forced to catch my breath. The pain doesn’t subside, yet I force myself to my feet and think about my next move.

Checking the respawn point, my fears are confirmed. Zero lives left. If I am splatted one more time then that’s it. I’ll be dead forever.

I stumble towards the launch pad, scared out of my mind. As I reach it, I freeze from fear. If I screw up, it's all over. Strangely, I begin to think about why I’m fighting. What am I trying to protect? Why am I risking my life here? 

I remember the words my father once told me.

~ ~ ~

We were walking home when I turned to speak to my father. The man who had just saved my life.

“How come you weren’t scared?”

“Amberjack… Of course I was scared. Salmonids are tough as nails.”

I stared at my father in disbelief. 

Moments ago, I had been squidnapped by a Salmonid. 

It was all my fault. My parents repeatedly said that I should stay inside until the Salmonid invasion was contained… but I didn’t listen. I just wanted to play in the park. So, snuck outside and ended up being captured by a lone Salmonid.

My father had noticed my absence and went looking for me. When he found me, I was being dragged away towards the ocean. With nothing but his bare hands, he rescued me.

…

“But then how did you face it?”

He kneeled down to look me in the eyes.

“I was scared to fight, but I was also scared to lose you.”

I continued staring at him, confused by his words. 

“But how can you fight when you’re scared?”

He sighs. 

“...Let me tell you an Ebb family secret.” 

He took a moment to formulate his words. A look of kindness mixed with worry was imbued in his eyes.

“One day, you will be forced to fight against impossible odds. It might be to defend your home… or to protect those you care about, like your mom and I, or even your little sister… You’ll be up against an enemy that you can’t turn your back to. An enemy who is probably much stronger than you.”

I nodded, carefully listening to his every word.

“When that happens, you will probably feel hopeless. Like you’re doomed to fail no matter what you do… If that ever happens, you can simply utter one magic word to steel yourself. That way, even when continuing feels impossible, you can rise to meet any challenge. After all, nothing is impossible as long as you try.”

“So what is it? What’s the magic word?”

~ ~ ~

“BOOYAH!”

I launched myself towards the battlefield, adrenaline pumping through every muscle of my body. Pushing through the pain, I start fighting.

The Octo-shower roars as it charges up another sting ray. Thinking on my feet, I rush towards a boost pad. As the attack fires, I use the boost pad to launch myself over the laser and on to the pillar, nearly avoiding the attack. As the boss continues firing its laser at the lower level, I charge up a shot and take out an Octocopter.

One down.

The boss finishes firing its sting ray. Turning its attention towards me, a bright red laser shining directly at me. I fire off a second shot.

Two down.

I start targeting the final remaining Octocopter. Just as I’m about to release the trigger…

BANG. 

A heavy shot crashes into my stomach. I’m knocked to the ground. I try to stand, to get out of the way before another shot fires and kills me for good… 

…I can’t do it. My body has completely shut down. I can only lay and wait, dreading the moment where the Octo Shower finishes me off.

I’ll be honest, this isn’t how I expected my life to end.

My mind slowly replays every memory of my life. It comforts me, seeing all the times people have loved and cared for me. Mom, Dad, I’m sorry I let you down.

…

No. I can’t accept this. I need to move…. my legs won't respond. COD DAMMIT I SAID MOVE! 

I push myself upwards, my stomach crying in pain as I do. I reach for my charger and-

BANG.

…

…

…

I wasn’t hit. Did it miss me? 

BANG.

I force myself to the edge of the platform, dropping into a puddle of my own ink. Looking to my left, I see the boss explode into a green light before a zapfish appears. 

“FOUR!”

I watch in confusion as Marie rushes over to me. What is she doing here? Was she the one who beat the Octo Shower?

She pulls me into a hug. I collapse in her arms as the adrenaline leaves my system.

“I’m so glad you’re alright. I was so scared! I didn’t think I would make it in time.”

She hugs me even tighter, tears running down her face. I’m not sure how long we stay like this. My brain can barely even form a coherent thought. Suddenly, she pulls away, leaving me struggling to stand on my own.

“Sheldon, we need you to come pick us up.”

The last thing I remember is the pain from my head slamming against the ground.

- - -

I’m not sure what’s going on, nor do I know how long ago I woke up. All I know is that I’m in a truck. A flying truck. 

I try to sit up but my stomach throbs in disapproval. Marie rushes over to me once she notices I’m awake.

“Take it easy! You shouldn’t be moving around with that injury.”

As I look down at myself, I notice that I’m covered in bandage wraps. Worryingly, the wraps along my stomach are stained a dark yellow color, presumably from me bleeding ink.

“Where are we?” 

My voice sounds raspy and strained.

“We’re in Sheldon’s truck. He’s flying us back to Inkopolis so we can properly treat your wounds.”

“Don’t bother. I’ll be fine.”

“How can you even say that? You nearly died out there! You took a charger shot straight to the-”

Before Marie is finished, she is interrupted by someone speaking through the overhead speakers. The voice is strange, as though it’s been flipped somehow.

“¡ʞɔɐq ʞool ɹǝʌǝu puɐ ʍou ǝʌɐǝ˥ ¡oפ”

Marie drops our current conversation, recognition replacing her anger. She rushes to put on a nearby headset. 

“Hello? Are... Uh... Are you holding the phone upside down?”

“Ugh... I totally was.”

“CALLIE?!”

“Um... Nope, this is definitely not Callie! So just...leave. It's dangerous here! And it's not safe at all!”

“Ummmm... Don't those mean the same thing?”

“WHATEVER! JUST GET OUT OF HERE! I'm not calling again!”

“W-wait! Don't go! CALLIE?! CALLIE! PLEASE DON’T GO!”

I can’t see her expression as she’s turned away from me, but the pain in her voice was clear as day.

“I... I can't believe it. Could Callie really be working with the Octarians?”

She sounds shaky. Unsure of how to answer her question, I choose to give her a different sort of reply.

“We will get her back. I made you a promise after all.”

…

“I know.”

Turning towards me, a fire seems to have been lit under her.

“Now lay back down! You need medical treatment! Especially if you’re going to do any rescuing.”

“Marie! Please! Put down the needle. I’ll be fine with a few days of rest!”

I beg for her to stop, but she inches closer. From near the front of the truck, I hear Sheldon call out.

“Agent 2, if Agent 4 insists that he is alright, then we should leave him be. We both know that he can handle it.”

Marie sits silently for a second, probably trying to find a way she can convince me to visit a hospital. After a moment, she sighs.

“Ok... But no missions until you’re healed.”

Well, I suppose that's the best deal I’m gonna get.

“I can live with that.”

“And you need to promise me you’ll stay in bed.”

“Yes MOOOMM.”

She giggles at my joke. 

“So where should I have Sheldon drop you off?”

- - -

By the time I reach the house, the sun is just beginning to set. I limp my way towards the couch, one arm leaning on the wall for support while the other clutches the wound on my stomach. As I let myself drop onto the couch, a wave of pain shoots through my body. 

Ah fuck… that hurts. I know I got hit pretty hard but… AGH.

Another wave of pain surges from my wound as I lay on the couch. Deciding to distract myself, I turn on the TV and begin to scroll through the channels. As I finally find one I like, I hear the front door open.

“Yo! Four, is that you? Yooo dude wassup? We didn’t think you’d be back until late- HOLY FUCK!”

Pearl rushes to my side, her face painted with worry.

“DUDE! What the fuck happened? Are you ok? Oh my cod you’re covered in your own ink!”

I try to sit up but Pearl holds me down by the shoulders.

“Hell no! Lay your ass down and stay still. Marina, don’t just stand there!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Marina rush over. Her face is panicked and distressed. 

“Oh my gosh! Four! Are you ok?”

After looking me up and down, Marina reaches out to touch me but pulls back after I flinch.

“Hey. How was your day guys? Better than mine I hope?”

Neither of them laugh. Instead, Pearl gives me a light slap which sends ripples of pain down my body.

“Ow! Ok, I’m sorry! I’ll admit. Not the best time to make a joke.”

“OH, YA FUCKING THINK? Tell us what happened right now!”

I debate on how I can word this. Well, Marina knows that I’m fighting the Octarians but Pearl… she’s completely out of the loop. Moreover, neither of them know that I’m actually an Agent. I could try lying… no.

“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you that.”

Surprisingly, despite her face showing signs that she clearly wants to, Pearl doesn’t complain. Instead, she sighs.

“Fine. Keep your secrets then.”

I watch as Pearl shares a look with Marina. Their eyes lock for only seconds but I can see them having a silent conversation.

“I’m gonna head out and grab some medical supplies. Marina, take him upstairs and get him cleaned up. He’s dripping ink everywhere.”

She gestures towards the yellow stains seeping their way into the couch. 

“Oh shit. Sorry about that. But don’t worry, I can clean myself up.”

Marina suddenly interjects.

“No! You’re hurt and need help. Just let us help you.”

I stare into her eyes. A mixture of worry and care stares right back at me.

“Okay.”

“Good. Now, we need to wash your wound and replace your bandages. These ones already need to be changed.”

She immediately takes charge of the situation which surprises me. Woah, since when has she been so… confident?

My face glows bright yellow as I remember Pearl’s comment from this morning. 

- - -

BAM! So much just happened in this chapter. I had so much fun writing this one so I hope you enjoy it. 

So, about Four. Yes, I dropped his name in this chapter. Officially, his name is Amberjack Cephalo Ebb. 

Why did I name him this? 

Well, he’s named after the yellow amberjack, a fish with a bright yellow stripe. His parents named him this due to his bright yellow/gold tentacles. I suppose his entire body was technically yellow as a baby but I digress. The last name, Ebb, means the movement of the tide out to sea. This represents the story that Four will undergo throughout the story of Doubled Agent. Just like the tides, Four will grow and change as the story progresses. The nickname Ace comes from his initials!

Why is he embarrassed about his name?

Well, he’s named after a fish. Even in the world of Splatoon, that's pretty weird. As a result, he was often bullied or harassed for his weird name. Eventually, he just stopped going by it. The flashback in this chapter takes place before he quit going by his name.

Speaking of the flashback, you could technically call the salmonid invasion a Big Run? I don’t know if I would though. After all, the excessive Salmon runs are what cause Big runs in Splatoon 3, and we’re only in Splatoon 2. Instead, I would say that this was the Salmonid festival. A yearly event in this story where Salmonids come ashore to fight the land walkers of the Splatlands and be eaten. After all, it's part of Salmonid culture to want to die in combat and be eaten. So why wouldn’t they try to invade inland to achieve this goal?

What else is there to say? Oh, I guess it's worth mentioning that Inklings don’t have blood and instead bleed their natural ink color. 

Also, the reason Four was able to tank a charged shot without being splatted was because of the hero gear. You could call it plot armor but it was actually literal armor. Remember how Sheldon mentioned that he had a few ideas as to how he could improve Four’s armor way back in chapter 6?

Hope y'all enjoy.

-Veckle (11/5/2022)

Chapter Text

- - -

Coming home to find Four covered in his own ink left me too stunned to move. As I stared at him bleeding on the couch, I was scared, terrified as the memories from the Octarian army flooded back to me. 

Luckily, Pearl was there to save the day, like she always does. She jumped into action while I could barely hold myself together. But Pearl was there, she helped Four, but she also helped me. 

With her help, it wasn’t long until I was at Four’s side doing everything I could. It hurt to watch him wince in pain at my touch. Leader have mercy… he was covered in more ink than when we first found him. 

Pearl and I both knew I’d have to be the one to treat him. It only took one look at one another before Pearl was out the door to get more medical supplies. Although we have some one hand, it won’t last long enough to treat something this serious.

Four and I are left alone together. 

On one hand, I’m freaking out over the fact that we’re together, alone . I’m blushing just at the thought- FOCUS! I need to be helping him, not freaking out over a crush like some dumb preteen schoolgirl!

I watch Four cringe from pain as he tries to stand. I rush to his side. 

“Stop it Four! You’ll only make things worse by moving on your own. You have to let me help you… Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. I can drag you upstairs as you are, or you can turn into a squid and let me carry you.”

He blushes at my words before shifting forms. Holding the yellow squid in my arms, I blush at the closeness between us.

 “G-Good. I’m glad y-you’re choosing the easy way.”  

With him in my arms, I make my way upstairs, careful to not cause him any pain. Bringing him to the bathroom, I lay him in the bathtub. My heart shatters as I see yellow ink leaking from his tiny squid body.

“Ok, turn back.”

He does as I command, shifting into the form of the humans that predated us. I begin to slowly unwrap his bandages. Instead of blushing at his shirtless chest, I only stare in anguish.

Four’s stomach possesses a deep and fresh wound. It looks like a puddle: deep, dark, and murky. I can still see where there’s tiny amounts of Octarian ink left over from whatever hit him. It doesn’t look fatal, but it will certainly leave a scar. Just by looking at it, I can tell it must hurt immensely.

What could’ve caused this?

“Four…”

He turns his head away to avoid my gaze. In response, place my hand on his face and turn it back towards me. However, he keeps his eyes focused on the corner of the room.

“Four, look at me. Please?”

I speak to him with concern. His eyes slowly shift to meet mine. In them I can see fear, worry, and embarrassment.

“Four, what happened?”

…

“Please? You know you can tell me anything.”

He sighs before opening his mouth to speak.

“I… I’ve been fighting the Octarians nonstop over the past 2 days. I was pushing myself so that everyone’s lives could go back to normal. But, my body gave out on me during a fight. Then the Octo-shower pointed his gun at me.” 

He points his hand outwards like a rifle before recoiling back like he fired a shot.

“Bang. I ended up with this nasty mark.”

“T-the Octo Shower?”

“Yeah. It’s this big flying thing that rains down ink. Or it was… It’s gone now.”

My mind fills with dread. The Octo-shower was only a prototype when I left. MY PROTOTYPE. As in, the upgraded version of the Flooder that I designed. I can’t help but think that this is my fault. 

“That… I’m sorry. I was supposed to design him to be tough…”

Four’s eyes nearly explode out of his head.

“Holy carp! You built that thing?!”

Please don’t be mad. Please don’t be mad. Please don’t be mad.

“Yea… I figured ‘what’s tougher than a flying tank?’ but I never thought it would come back to haunt me.”

“Shit… sorry but it’s scrap metal now.”

I laugh at his apology. Of course he wouldn’t be mad at me…

“It's sweet of you to apologize, but I’d much rather have you than it. Besides, I only designed it. I never finished working on it… now let’s get you patched up!”

I step away to grab two rags and some disinfectant.

“Here, bite down on this.”

I say, handing him one of the rags. He places it in his mouth while I cover the other rag in disinfectant.

“In advance, I want you to know that I’m sorry about how much this will hurt. Please just bear with it. We need to clean your wound or else it will become infected.”

While he lays in the tub, I place the rag on his wound. As I do, he bites down hard but otherwise stays silent. I wipe the rag up and down his wound, slowly cleaning off the pink and yellow ink stains. As the true wound is revealed, I am horrified at what I see. The ink vessels around his wound have seemingly mixed with the pink ink. As a result, both yellow and pink ink seem to be bleeding from his body. 

I continue wiping him down until most of the ink has been cleaned away. As he flinches from the pain, I start talking to distract him.

“You know, I think it’s brave... Fighting to rescue the zapfish like you do. I wish I could be that brave…”

He doesn’t respond, only wincing as I continue to clean his wound. I don’t know if he’s actually listening to me but I continue speaking.

“But… when I came home to find you like this, I was scared. I was so scared.”

I finish wiping his wound. We lock eyes for the moment, staring at one another.

I want to ask him, no, tell him, ‘please, don’t scare me like that again.’ Yet, in his eyes I can see that he already knows. 

I turn away, leaving to grab bandage wraps from the medicine cabinet. We don’t have a large supply, but this should hold over until Pearl comes back with more.

Returning to his side, we once again lock eyes. A deep blush covers his face as we do. As I begin wrapping him in bandages, he speaks.

“I’m sorry.”

I feel the guilt in his words.

“Four… This isn’t your fault.”

…

“But it IS. It IS my fault. I got careless and then I got hurt.”

Four’s words are laced with the embers of anger, anger directed at himself.

“You can’t blame yourself.”

“Yes I can! I never shouldn’t have gotten hit! I’m so stupid!”

“No you're not. Everyone messes up sometimes.”

I attempt to reassure him, but the embers seem to only grow.

“Well I shouldn’t. I can’t. The fate of Inkopolis is resting in my hands and I screwed up?! Hero’s don’t screw up!”

“But you’re pushing yourself too hard. You said it yourself, your body gave out on you.”

His tone rises even further.

“I have to! I have to push myself! I’m the only one who knows the truth. I’m the only one who can stop them. Yet here I am! Sitting in a bathtub, ink dripping from my stomach!”

“Four, even hero’s need to take breaks.”

“And what happens during those breaks Marina? People continue to suffer! How can I stop when-“

My composure breaks letting all my emotions free. Now we’re yelling back and forth.

“How can you stop? How can’t you stop?! Don’t you see what this is doing to you?”

“Who cares what happens to me!”

“I CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU!”

“The sooner I get this done, the sooner everyone else’s lives return to normal! YOU CAN GO BACK TO BEING AN IDOL WITH PEARL!”

“I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK TO BEING AN IDOL KNOWING ANOTHER ONE OF THE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT GAVE THEIR LIFE SO THAT I COULD BE HAPPY!”

His eyes go wide as I quickly place my hands over my mouth. We stare at each other, neither one of us saying a word. Tears are held prisoner behind my eyes, but they’re trying to escape into my face.

…

“Marina…”

The tears break through and are now freely flowing down my face. I can’t help it. Four puts his hand to my face and wipes away my tears.

I’m practically begging him when I speak.

“P-please… promise me you will put yourself first before helping others. I- I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you too.”

Our eyes stay locked, red staring into green. Their warmth is so full of concern and care that the moment feels almost magical.

“I promise.”

He shakily stands, pulling me into a deep embrace as I continue sobbing uncontrollably. 

“I-idiot. Y-you're gonna make your wound worse.”

He makes no effort to lay back down. I feel his hand brush through my tentacles in a comforting manner. We sit like that, enjoying eachother’s warmth. The thought of losing him makes me pull him closer, but he winces back in pain.

“Four! Are you ok? I’m so sorry!”

I quickly lay him back down in the tub while he laughs before cringing in more pain.

“Ow, I'm ok, it hurts to laugh.”

“Don't worry me so much, you doofus.”

I laugh away my tears before a silence lingers between us. I use the moment to finish applying his bandages.

“Sooo, how did you survive a charger shot?”

He deeply contemplates something. He takes minutes to answer before finally opening his mouth to speak.

“My boss gave me special gear when I became an agent. That stuff really can take a hit before I start to feel anything.”

I stare at him in disbelief.

“Wait… you’re an agent? Like one of THE agents? Like the same kind of agent as Agent 3? The one that took down the entire Octarian army single handedly? You’re that kind of agent? Wait… IS THAT WHY YOU RAN AFTER MARIE? IS SHE YOUR BOSS? SO THEN WHAT ABOUT-”

I’m interrupted by him putting a finger to my lips.

“Slow down there Marina. Firstly, yes. I’m officially known as Agent 4. Secondly, also yes… Marie recruited me the same day you both found me.”

Oh. My. Goooshh! It all makes so much more sense now. It’s literally been so obvious. 

“But now, a question for you. How'd you draw the connection between me being an agent and Marie being my boss?”

“Well, she’s an agent right? I saw her at the battle between Agent 3 and DJ Octavio.”

“DJ Octavio?”

“He’s the leader of the Octarians.”

I watch him digest this bit of information. His face shifts between a look of confusion and interest.

“I-is he actually a DJ?”

I laugh before responding.

“Yeah! He even mixes his music by grinding stalks of wasabi.”

“Oh cod, I can’t wait to see that.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to reschedule that music concert because you’re not seeing him in your current condition”

“Yeah, yeah, I know… Marie ordered I take bed rest for several days.”

Oh thank the stars! If he went out trying to fight the Octarians in his current condition, I would have a heart attack. Now where was I?

“Good! Alright, so during the battle, the Squid Sisters showed up to cheer on Agent 3. They sang the Calamari Inkantation and… it changed my whole world. Suddenly, I realized we aren’t so different. Sure, we might be a different species, but we all sing, we all dance, we’re all just people!”

He nods in agreement, to which I smile.

“If it weren’t for the Squid Sisters, I don’t think I would have ever come to the surface… But yeah. It doesn’t take a genius to realize Agents 1 and 2 are Callie and Marie. How else would they have known about Agent 3’s battle?”

He doesn’t respond in a way I’m expecting.

“Is their music really that good?”

What is this blasphemy I am hearing?

“Four! What you’re saying is heresy and I won’t stand for it! You’d better have a good explanation for yourself.”

He takes a deep breath before talking.

“Ok. But promise you won’t be mad?”

“No can do. Not when it comes to the Squid Sisters.”

“Even if I’ve never heard their music?”

There’s a moment of silence between us as I take a moment to digest his words. How is that even possible? Their music is famous worldwide!

“Oh you poor lost soul.”

Quickly pulling out my phone, I open my playlist. 

“Uh Marina?”

“Shush. Get ready to become cultured.”

Clicking play, the sounds of the Calamari Inkantation suddenly fill the bathroom. I cheer and dance while he watches. 

- - -

Four and I continued to listen to the Squid Sisters’s music for nearly half an hour before Pearl got home with the extra medical supplies. Once she found us, she joined in on the fun. Unfortunately, the bathroom became too cramped and we had to take the party elsewhere. 

I grabbed Four and the three of us made off towards his bedroom. Sure, it doesn’t have stereo systems like Pearl’s or my room, but it’s better if Four rests in his own bed. 

Pearl brought in her portable mini speaker. We all spent the next hour and a half listening to the Squid Sisters and ridiculing Four for his lack of knowledge.

“Wait, that’s Marie?!”

Disbelief crosses his face.

“Cod for the last time, yes! Its like we didn’t just listen to an entire fucking album. I can’t believe you met one of the Squid Sisters and you aren’t even a fan…”

I assume Pearl must be referencing when Four chased after Marie a few days ago.

“But I just… huh.”

I laugh at his expression. It can only be described as complete and utter bafflement. Pearl and Four continue bantering as I watch.

“It’s hard to picture her doing anything but yelling at me.”

“How the hell haven’t you heard this stuff before? You’re not secretly 14 or something are ya?”

“No… why? Do I look 14?”

“You look like you could be anywhere from 14 to 20 my guy.”

I look at Pearl with a confused expression. Four is clearly not 14 nor is he a child. Is she just trying to get a rise out of him? But now I’m curious… How old is Four?

“And you look like you’re anywhere between 14 to 14 and a quarter.”

“Oh you did not just go there!”

My curiosity gets the better of me and I end up interrupting.

“So how old are you?”

“As of a few weeks ago, I’m officially 18. What about you two?”

“Well, I turned 18 last month and Pearl turns 21 on Splatoween.”

“Hell yeah, Scorpio gang!”

Four remains silent while I laugh.

“I suppose that makes us both Gemini then, right Four?”

He only gives us a confused look.

“What’s a Gemini?”

“Oh come onnn! You don’t listen to the Squid Sisters. You don’t know any human astrology. Next you’ll tell me that you've never listened to any of our music!”

Sweat starts visibly forming on Fours face as he stays silent. Unfortunately for him, Pearl notices this and begins to pester him.

“Four…?”

“Yeaaaa, here’s the thing…”

“No. Fucking. Way. You’ve met three famous singers and you’ve never listened to a single song by any of them?! Ya know, if you weren’t half dead, I’d be smacking your ass silly right now.”

“To be fair… I came to Inkopolis from the middle of nowhere. And you two aren’t exactly world famous yet.”

“Yet? You’re just trying to score brownie points.”

“Nooo! I don't need to hear your music to know you two can do it.”

I blush at his words.

“Aw Four! That’s the nicest thing ever!”

I pull him into a big hug.

“Awk! Marina! Please be gentle! I’ve still got a gaping hole in my stomach!”

I quickly let go and apologize profusely, a subtle blush dusting my cheeks.

“So dude, wanna hear some of the songs we’ve got?”

He yawns.

“Eh, maybe another time. I’m worn out.”

I understand why he would be tired. Having done nothing but fight in intense battles for the past two days straight, he must be drained.

“Aw man… you sure? I mean we got some killer tunes that might wake you up!”

“Pearlie, I think we’d better let him get some sleep.”

“Fiiine. See ya tomorrow morning piss head. Oh, and don’t worry about breakfast, I’ll make it!”

Pearl leaves the room.

“Can she even cook?”

I laugh, remembering the time she tried baking a cake. The whole thing was burnt and she replaced the frosting with mayo.

“Not anything edible…  I’ll keep an eye on her to be safe. Goodnight.”

I’m about to leave when Four grabs my hand, stopping me.

“Wait Marina, I need to ask a favor.”

I’m blushing at the sudden contact.

“I-uh sure! I mean, what do you need?”

“I… want to contact my parents. To let them know I’m alright! Well, as alright as a guy with a hole in his stomach is… but since I don’t remember their phone numbers I can’t.”

He holds out his phone.

“I tried to restore my old phone data but I’m not very tech savvy so it didn’t work… Do you think you could try getting my old data back?”

“Of course! Do you remember your Splatter account info?”

“I remember my username but not my password…”

“I can work with that.”

“You can? Great! It’s Ebb n Flowing, no spaces with the E and F capitalized.”

“Alright! I’ll see what I can do.”

- - -

The morning was chaotic. From Four waking us all up by screaming due to a burst of pain from his chest to Pearl setting a bowl of cereal on fire, I couldn’t catch my breath. Ultimately, I had to call in some help.

“Hello! You’ve reached Ammo Knights. This is Sheldon speaking.”

“Hey Sheldon, it’s Marina.”

“Marina?! This is a great surprise! Is this perhaps a social call?”

“Unfortunately not, I need your help.”

“Oh! Of course! I’ll help with anything you need! I’m in your debt after all.”

“How good are you at taking care of injured people?”

A moment of silence passes before he answers.

“I can manage.”

“Do you think you could come over and take care of my friend while Pearl and I go out to work? He’s hurt badly and I don’t know who else to ask.”

I really don’t have anybody else I could ask. If anyone found out Four was living with us then things would get… chaotic. Sheldon is the only one who can keep a secret and thus, the only one I can ask.

“Well… the store is closed with the Great Zapfish missing so I suppose I can do that.”

“Thank you so much Sheldon! How soon can you get here?”

“I can be there in 15 minutes if you want.”

“Yes please!”

“Alright, goodbye Marina.”

“See you soon.”

As I went and put out another fire started by Pearl, the doorbell soon rang. Opening the door, I was met by a horseshoe crab that was way too close for comfort. Pearl seems confused at his presence.

“Ayo… who invited the nerd?”

“Pearlie! Don’t be rude!”

Sheldon laughs.

“It’s good to see you too Pearl. Have your dualies been treating you well?”

“You know it!”

With a smile, Pearl heads back into the kitchen while I lead the crab up to Four’s room. Opening the door, Four greets me with a wave.

“Hey Marina, you don’t have to worry about me, I’m feeling way bette- SHELDON?!”

“Greetings Four. I figured I would find you here. How is your wound treating you?”

I look between the two of them. Four points at Sheldon with his mouth agape while Sheldon holds a neutral expression.

“Wait, you two already know each other?”

“Yeah! We’re friends. What are you doing here man?”

“Marina said she needed someone to take care of an injured person. I figured you could use a hand after yesterday's… ‘accident’.”

The crab looks at me cautiously as he says that, as if he’s trying to hide something.

“You don’t need to beat around the bush, I already told her everything.”

“You did WHAT?”

Sheldon looks between the two of us. 

“But I thought we were supposed to keep it a secret?”

“We are. Don’t worry though, she's the only one who knows…”

Suddenly, Four’s face turns to one of dread.

“But please don’t tell Marie.”

“I won’t. She would kill you, and I much prefer you alive rather than dead... But out of all the people in Inkopolis, you told the single Octarian. I see that as a little ironic.”

I hesitate upon hearing his words.

“Hey! Marina is perfectly trustworthy-”

“You already knew I’m an Octarian?”

They both turn to me. Sheldon seems almost proud of himself.

“How could I not know! Between your lack of a mask and outward facing suckers, there was no mistaking you for an Inkling.”

Panic sets into my voice.

“Please tell me you’ve kept it a secret!”

“Of course! If I disclosed personal information such as that then you might be in some serious danger. There is still a lot of prejudice against Octarians and I’d rather not lose a genius engineer to such trivial things.” 

Hearing that, I breathe a sigh of relief. Seeing the time on Four’s bedside clock, I realize that Pearl and I need to get to the search party as soon as possible.

“Ok. If you two are alright here then I’m going to grab Pearl and head out. Sheldon, message me if you need anything.”

Suddenly, the fire alarm rang out through the house followed by extremely loud and vulgar profanities.

- - -

Today is the last day. So far, we’ve searched every other section of Inkopolis except for this one. If we don’t find the Great Zapfish or Callie today then that’s it. It will be all left in Four’s hands. However, we’ve been searching for almost a week now and many people have given up. As a result, fewer Inklings showed up to help search, leading to me finishing my tasks early.

With nothing else to work on, I use my extra free time trying to restore Four’s old phone data. 

As I power on the phone, I’m met with something that I’m not sure how to feel about. Four’s background is a picture of him laying on Marie’s lap. 

I didn’t realize they were so close.

But how close are they? Clearly their relationship must go beyond the simple boss to employee… I wonder…

I know I shouldn’t go snooping through his phone, it’s his phone after all. But the temptation is killing me! No! I can resist it. 

Going through his phone is something an overprotective girlfriend would do. I am NOT some overprotective, jealous girlfriend who lets her emotions control her. Hell, who even says I’m jealous? I’m not jealous! Jealous over what? That she’s on his lock screen and I’m not? Hah! That’s ridiculous.

I sigh before drooping forward. I’m jealous…

Jeez, I really need to get a grip.

After plugging his phone into my laptop, I go to Splatter’s data restoration web page. 

Ok, time to hack his password. Lets see, first I can run a web wide search for any accounts on similar websites with the same username. Then I can run my test code…

“Hey Rina, whatcha doin?”

“AH!”

Jumping from the surprise, I nearly knock my laptop off the table. Turning around, I see Pearl snickering to herself.

“Pearlie! That's not funny! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

She only grins at my complaint.

“Oh come on, it was pretty funny. So answer the question! Whatcha doin?”

She gestures to the improvised hacking set-up on my screen.

“Well, Four wants me to transfer his old phone data into his new one. So right now, I’m just trying to hack his account password.”

“Let me give it a shot!”

Pearl pushes me to the side before she begins typing away at the keyboard.

“Uh Pearl, I’m not sure if that's such a good-”

“Got it. First try bitches!”

“What?! Let me see that!”

I stare at the screen as it says ‘Importing Data’. A clear indication that Pearl’s login attempt was successful. I’m dumbfounded.

“How?”

“His password was 12345678.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. He told me he forgot it… How does someone forget a password that simple?!”

Pearl smirks as she turns to me.

“Maybe he’s just a bigger dumbass than we thought. Now, what do you say?”

“Thank you Pearlie, you were a huge help.”

I pull her into a big hug. 

Although I would’ve been able to figure out such a simple password in only a few minutes, she saved me some time. Plus, I’ll never give up an excuse to hug Pearl. She’s just so adorable!

As we pull apart, the screen flashes green, signaling the data transfer has finished.  

“Yooo, you thinkin what I’m thinkin?”

“Pearlie, no. We shouldn’t snoop through his personal life.”

“Oh come on Rina! I know you’re even more curious than I am! Just a little peek won’t hurt.”

I can feel the angel and devil arguing on my shoulders. On one hand, it’s not right to go through his personal life. But on the other hand… we hardly know anything about him, not even his name! A tiny peek won’t hurt.

I give into the temptation and pick up his phone. Unlocking it reveals a completely new background. In it sits what looks to be a family of 5 squids. 

The oldest looks like a man in his early 40s. He has short yellow tentacles and red eyes. The woman next to him, who is likely his wife, has long orange tentacles with eyes equally as red as the man’s. In front of them stand a trio of kids. 

The small yellow one on the left seems young, maybe 8 or 9 years old? They don’t possess a humanoid form so it’s impossible to determine their gender from a glance. 

On the right stands an oddly familiar girl. She has a set of long orange tentacles that hang down her sides like her mother, along with red eyes to match the rest of the family. The shiny gloss of her skin tells me that she’s probably still new to her humanoid form, meaning she must be about 14 years old. Why do I get this odd feeling that I’ve seen her somewhere?

Between the two of them stands a boy roughly 16 years of age. His yellow tentacles are slicked backwards except for a lone rogue tentacle that hangs slightly to the side of his face. His red eyes hold a familiar kindness that almost calls out to me.

“It’s Four! This must be his family!”

“Really? Yoo let me see!”

Pearl grabs the phone from my hands and stares at the picture.

“Huh, the dude looks almost identical to how he does now-”

Suddenly, the phone begins to ring. The caller ID reads, “Mom”.

Pearl looks at me with a mischievous glint in her eyes. 

Oh no. 

“Pearl, don’t you dare answer that.”

Before I can stop her, Pearl clicks the answer button and puts the caller on speaker.

…

It’s silent for a moment until-

“AMBERJACK CEPHALO EBB. YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE MISTER. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I’VE TRIED TO CALL YOU?!  YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR YOURSELF! RUNNING OFF TO INKOPOLIS AND ONLY LEAVING US A NOTE?! IS THAT HOW MUCH YOU LOVE US?! YOU THINK THAT ALL WE DESERVE IS A NOTE? I RAISED YOU BETTER THAN THIS!”

Pearl and I lock eyes. Oh carp, she sounds furious! Despite this, Pearl responds casually.

“Uhhh, ma’am. Sorry to disappoint ya but the owner of this phone isn’t here right now. But we could give ‘em a message if ya want.”

‘Mom’ immediately switches from a voice of anger to one of kindness.

“Ah beans… I am so sorry for yelling at you like that. Are you a friend of my Ace?”

“If Ace is a dude with red eyes and yellow tentacles that can also cook killer pancakes, then yes.”

“Ah wonderful! I am so glad he’s made a friend in Inkopolis... Now I don’t want to talk your ear off but could make sure he gives me a call soon? I need to speak with him. I’m sure you can imagine, but it’s quite important.”

“Fo show! I’ll make sure it's the first thing he does when I see him.”

“Alrighty then. Have a wonderful day.”

The call then disconnects. 

Pearl and I sit there in silence for a minute, processing everything that just occurred. We just spoke to Four’s mother. Four’s mother just called him “Amberjack Cephalo Ebb”. Pearl then bursts into uproarious laughter.

“Holy shit! HAHAHA his name is Amberjack! Its fucking Amberjack Cephalo Ebb! He’s named after a fucking fish! HAHAHA No wonder he didn’t want me to know what his name is! That shit is hysterical!”

- - -

VOILA.

I think this chapter turned out pretty good! It took a lot of rewriting but I figured it out in the end. When I first wrote this chapter I had Four write a letter but then I realized I had already planned it to be a phone call so I had to rewrite some stuff.

Also, there was originally more romance stuff in this chapter but I realized that I have just been neglecting the Marina POV chapters. She is a crucial character to the overall plot so I need to develop her more and I figured that with Four stuck in bed for a little while, I can focus on Marina! 

So, expect a lot of Pearl and Marina and less Four in the next 2 maybe 3 chapters. It all depends on how long I feel like Four needs to be bed ridden to logically heal his wound.

Speaking of his wound, don’t forget that Marina noticed something was weird about it. A tiny yet significant detail.

I'm curious, how am I doing with Marina as a character right now? Does she feel consistent? Does she feel real? She’s a very important character so it’s important that I write her with care.

-Veckle (11/8/2022)

Chapter Text

- - -

The search party was a total failure. Pearl and I switched places, leaving me, of all people, in charge of directing everyone. At the end, we had a meet and greet with fans to thank them for all their help. We called it a day pretty early since we had a long walk home.

Of course, I couldn’t focus on actually working after that phone call.

“Well shit, you think we’d find something in a place called ‘Found Harbor’ but no dice.”

I don’t respond due to my thoughts controlling my attention.

I have so many many questions. Why did his mom call him Ace? What reason did Four have to come to Inkopolis? Why did he only leave behind a note for his parents? How close is his relationship with Marie?

“Do you think his entire family says 'Ah beans’?”

I said it without even realizing. 

“The fuck kinda question is that?”

…

“Hello? Marina? Are you in there?”

Pearl snaps her fingers in front of my face, pulling me out of my daze.

“Huh. Oh! Sorry Pearl, I was just lost in thought.”

“About fish boy?”

She’s called him that no less than 13 times since finding out his name. I sigh in response.

“I’m just-”

“Curious, yeah I know. I am too, if I'm honest.”

This surprises me. Not once during our time together has Pearl ever expressed the desire to learn about someone’s past.

“There’s a hell of a lot of questions surrounding him. But, it’s not like he’s going anywhere. We might as well just wait until he’s ready to spill the beans.”

Maybe she’s always been curious about others? But rather than forcing them to speak, she waits for them to tell her. Is that what she’s been doing with me? Hmm…I’m not sure, she’s never been the patient type.

“You’re right. That’s pretty good advice Pearl.”

“Thanks, I got my moments.”

We continue walking. I’m not familiar with this part of Inkopolis as I’ve never had a reason to come to the shipping district. However, the nearby turf war stage might result in me coming here more often for the Splatcast. 

Further and further we walk, but this area seems to drag on forever. There must be a launch pad or subway nearby that we can take.

Pearl speaks.

“So… the studio finally opens back up tomorrow.”

“Oh, is the Splatcast being broadcasted again?”

“Nah, Shy told me that it's just the music part that’s up and running. She said we could use it if we want. I’m thinking we go record a song… Maybe drag Fish along?”

Ignoring the fact that she referred to Four as Fish, I’m conflicted about the idea. 

“I’m open to making a new song, but Four’s injury is really bad. He needs to stay at home. Why don’t we just work from the music room at home? We can workshop a new song there and then record it at the studio later.”

“Working from home? That sounds like a blast! We can sleep in, take video game breaks, or even have food whenever we want!”

I laugh as she bounces up and down in her excitement.

“So what kind of song were you thinking about doing? Something fast and upbeat? Or what about something slower and bittersweet?”

“Nah. I wanna let you take the reins for this song.”

Take the reins? Like she wants me to plan out the song? To be the center vocalist? The very thought has me panicking.

“What?! No! I can’t do that!”

Pearl gives me a reassuring smile.

“Sure ya can!”

“But Pearl, you’ve always been the lead… I don’t think I’m ready.”

I’m not ready at all. I have no idea what to even sing about. She chuckles before continuing.

“I call bullshit. You’re definitely ready.”

… 

“How are you so sure?”

“Well, you’ve been WAY more confident than ever before.”

“I-I have?”

“Totally. This past week you’ve really been shining! I mean, look at the facts. You lead a search party, you took care of an injured guy all on your own, and you’ve been flirting with said guy all week! That shit takes courage.”

I immediately blush at her words.

“P-P-Pearlie! I haven’t been flirting with him.”

“Suurre you haven’t. You’ve been ogling him instead!”

Ogling? I haven’t been ogling him! Besides… if he has feelings for Marie then I doubt I even stand a chance. She’s just so beautiful and such a great singer. Plus, they’re both Inklings and I’m an Octarian… why would he ever choose me over her?

“..and I want you to- hey Marina! Stop spacing out!”

“M-my bad. What were you saying?”

“I was saying that you’re gonna do fine. Just keep being confident and everything will turn out A-O-K!”

“Was that about Four or the song?”

She laughs at my question.

“Why not both?”

…

“But what if things turn out badly?”

“HAH! As if you could make a crappy song. You’ll do fantastic.”

“I wasn’t talking about the song.”

“Oh.”

…

“Marina… I’ll be honest with you. Things might go badly. That’s just how life is sometimes. I mean, nobody expected the Squid Sisters to break up, but it happened. But aren’t you happy that they got together in the first place?”

Her words land. If I spend too long thinking about what might go wrong, then I might miss out on something wonderful, even if it’s not forever.

“I… never thought about it like that.”

“Yeah? Well use that confidence of yours and make some moves girl!”

“Right!”

…

Pearl seems frustrated.

“Ya know what, fuck this walk. It’s taking too long. I’m calling in the helicopter.”

“You sold the helicopter, remember?”

“No I didn't?”

“Yes you did. Remember, you told me that the city complained about having a helicopter on our roof so we had to sell it.”

“I lied.”

“...Whyyyy?!”

“Cuz you kept trying to take the damn thing apart!”

- - -

The helicopter got us home rather quickly, in fact we made it home just as the sun was setting. As we were landing, Pearl pointed to something on the roof.

“Yo Rina. Look, a fish out of water.”

Given the smug look on her face, I know it must be Four. I’m initially theorizing that he probably is just showing Sheldon the super launch pad. Maybe Sheldon got curious and begged him to see it? Of course, that begs the question of how did Four get on the roof when he is injured? Did he let Sheldon carry him?

However, my theory is dead wrong.

Instead, my eyes were met with Four, in a massive suit of power armor, and Sheldon, who has replaced his nerdy binocular glasses with a pair of tinted shades, sitting on the roof’s lawn chairs while drinking juice from coconuts. 

As we approach, a low but driven feeling of anger takes control. What does he think he’s doing?! He should be in bed.

I can’t help but say something crude.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing Four?”

Pearl starts laughing at my use of profanity. The word felt foreign in my mouth and I don’t think I liked saying it. Four only looks to me in shock and horror.

“Whoa, Marina?”

Sheldon doesn’t say anything, instead opting to curl in towards his shell. I demand answers.

“Why are you on the roof?! You should be in bed!”

“It’s ok! Really! Sheldon gave me this power armor and it lets me move around without actually having to move! See?”

He tries to stand up but I jump into action and prevent him from doing so.

“No no no! Stop trying to move, you’re going to hurt yourself! Sheldon, get him out of that stupid armor off right now.”

Sheldon scurries over and begins sliding Four out of the armor. I inspect its craftsmanship. This baby is a work of art! I’m feeling the strong urge to disassemble it and see how it works, but I can’t. I have to focus on Four right now. 

I sigh.

“Turn into a squid, I’m going to carry you back down to your room where you are going to stay until you are finished healing.”

“Ok… can I finish my drink first?”

If looks could kill, my glare would’ve just evaporated half of Inkopolis. He caves under it and shifts into a squid without a word. As I pick him up, I turn to the typically chatty crab who has remained oddly silent.

“Sheldon, when I told you to look after him, this isn’t what I had in mind.”

“I apologize but might I say that I only did what you asked and met his every want and need. He said he wanted a new set of bandages, so I gave him a new set of bandages. He said he was hungry so I brought him some food. He said he wished he had a robot body, so I gave him a set of power armor.”

“I don’t want to hear your excuses. Thank you for your help today but please leave. I need to have some choice words with Four.”

As Sheldon drops his head to leave, I can only release another disappointed sigh before heading down to Four’s room. Sheldon, for your sake, pray he’s not injured any further. 

Looking down at the yellow squid in my arms, I ask him.

“Are you ok?”

“I feel fantastic actually. Sheldon was doing a great job of changing my bandages and applying medicine to the wound.”

“Medicine?”

“Yeah. He had this weird quadro-copter drone thingy that pointed some lasers at my stomach and took a scan. Then it flew off for about an hour and came back with some medicine! Isn’t that just so cool?”

It certainly sounds amazing, but right now I’m more full of concern for Four than I am interested in Sheldon's drone. Laying him down on the bed, he shifts back into his humanoid form. Inspecting him, I see his bandages were just recently changed. But I can also see spots where pink and yellow ink is starting to seep through. Hopefully the wound isn’t starting to open back up. 

“Four… having some medicine doesn’t mean you can jump into a massive suit of armor and start walking around. Look at yourself. Your wound is bleeding ink again. You promised you would take better care of yourself.” 

His eyes widen as he looks at his stomach before his expression switches to one of guilt.

“You’re right… I’m sorry Marina. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

And with a simple apology, any semblance of anger disappeared from my body. All I was left with was concern.

I sigh once more, grabbing his hand to give him a reassuring squeeze.

“It’s ok. Just be more careful in the future.”

He gives me a nod.

“I’m just happy your-”

Pearl suddenly bursts into the room.

“Hey ~Amberjack~”

Four’s face instantly turned to dread.

“…your mommy wants you to call her. She misses you sooooo much.”

She says it in a babyish tone. Four blushes hard and immediately throws a pillow over his face. Through the pillow, I hear his muffled voice.

“Cod damn it mom.”

To Pearl, this was the best reaction she could’ve hoped for. She starts laughing so hard that she soon falls to the ground. I merely watch as she begins to roll from side to side. Are those tears?

Still on the ground, Pearl speaks through her chorus of laughter.

“Hey ~Amberjack~, ~Amberjack~ guess what!”

“Pearl, literally anything else is better than calling me Amberjack.”

“Guess what ~Amberjack~.”

His head drops and hangs in defeat.

“What?”

“Nothing! I just think your name is funny to say.”

“For the love of-”

“Though it’s a weird name, even weirder than Four. What kinda person names their kid after a fish?”

Four throws his pillow at Pearl. Still on the ground, she uses it as a head rest.

“Like the girl named after a shiny sea rock has any room to speak.”

“Oi! At least my name sounds cool!”

He laughs.

“Well, I guess now you both know the reason I go by Four. The truth is I just have an embarrassing name.”

Pearl pauses at his words before standing up to face him.

“The truth huh? And what’s the truth behind that injury then?”

…

“I was wondering when you were gonna ask that…”

Four seems deep in thought. Meanwhile I’m freaking out. I completely forgot that Pearl doesn’t know how he got injured! I can’t do anything to help though.

“I don’t suppose you’ll believe that it was an accident at work?”

Pearl fakes a laugh.

“Yeah, nah. Tell me what actually happened.”

“Well… here’s the thing. I can’t tell you the full story. But I’ll try to share what I can.”

“It’s better than nothing I suppose.”

…