Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jay had a mission. A very simple but very important mission. Tell Sheldon that she saw a salmonid in Inkopolis. She meant to do it before she went on the tour with Callie and Marie but she forgot, and she doesn’t have Sheldon’s number. Well she used to but he send her one too many walls of text and she wound up blocking him. So now she has to go all the way to Ammoknights on a saturday, all the way to Ammoknights! Okay it was for a good reason though. Jay hoped it wouldn’t take too long, she was planning to meet up with Alex and Kiaria so they could go bowling since Alex was finally able to walk again and wanted to try normal things, also so they could all catch up and just spend time together like friends do. Finally she arrives, and pushes her way into the building.

“Hey Sheldon, you got a sec to talk? There’s something I saw that I think you’ll want to know about.” Jay says as she enters, Sheldon had just finished kitting out an Inkling with their first new weapon, level 4s were so cute like that, so excited to run into battle with their shiny new toy. Jay remembers when that was her, she giggles a little at the memory. The inkling rushes out with excitement, still wearing the white headband and cream basics, must have had their heart set on the new weapon first. Now that his business transaction is complete, Sheldon turns his attention to the agent that has just entered his place of business.

“Ah! Agent Four! Welcome, it’s good to see you again! I haven’t seen you in my store since you bought up the rest of the weapons on the catalogue, you really had to make sure you had ALL of them. Can’t say I blame you though, plenty of Squids and Octos love getting kitted out and having as many options as possible! Now you said there was something you saw that you wanted to talk to me about, and I would be remiss if I didn’t consider the concerns of one of the Squidbeak Splatoon’s finest agents! Though to be fair there also aren’t that MANY agents of the Splatoon so I’m not really sure there’s much distinction to be made in terms of your individual skill levels since you’re all quite capable-”

“SHELDON!” Jay shouts, to get him to just stop fucking talking for five fucking seconds . Jay had forgotten just how talkative Sheldon could be, she hadn’t had to interact directly with him for some time. She just couldn’t believe how LONG he could talk for, if she hadn’t interrupted her she could’ve wound up not being able to meet with her league team afterwards like she planned to. They didn’t have any BIG plans, just gonna go over a couple strategies before Jay had to run to meet Alex and Kiaria. But fortunately, Jay isn’t above interrupting the weaponsmith. In fact she’s prepared to do it again should he start running his mouth a second time.

“R-Right, sorry, important thing, I will try and refrain from talking your ear off.” Sheldon blushes a little, he was truly trying to get better at not just bombarding his co-workers and customers with more words than they can stand, bad for business and bad for morale. He gives Jay a smile and plops on a nearby seat, offering one to her as well. “Talk to me, what’s got you so concerned that you’d come into Ammoknights instead of bringing it to Marie or Callie to deliver to me?”

“Well… It’s… the Salmonids” Jay was hoping that Sheldon would scoff, she was hoping Sheldon would laugh, she was hoping Sheldon would brush off the thought and simply say there was nothing to worry about and that it was more than under control. Sheldon’s demeanor darkened and he sighs softly. This was not the reaction Jay hoped for, and all it did was make her that much more anxious. She scoots forwards on her seat a little, wanting to hear his next words as clearly as she possibly can.

“The salmonid situation is… complicated.” Sheldon leans towards a shelf and pulls one of his notebooks off of it and starts flipping through the pages. Many sketches of Salmonids, as well as what look to be reports from Inklings and Octolings who had done Salmon Run shifts and had first hand experience with them. “A year or so ago, they were of no concern really… they were far enough away from Inkopolis not to even think about, plus with Grizzco in operation, the Salmonids weren’t able to migrate further than they already had… but something happened in the past year that changed that.”

“What happened?” Jay looks worried, she really didn’t know what to say in this moment, she just really hoped that Sheldon had some kind of answer for the problem, like he was working on a super weapon to defeat them, and the only thing he needed was time to complete it… surely worst case the Splatoon could BUY him some time to finish such a weapon… right?

“Some of them got bold. Started attacking Grizzco boats, stowing away… kidnapping Inklings and Octolings to try and evolve… of course that didn’t work since Grizzco is equally as equipped, if not moreso, than the Splatoon… so they were able to get them back, and fend off the stowaways… but the fact is, for a time, Grizzco had to keep its doors closed while they sorted out the issues… a couple months may not seem like much, but it allowed the Salmonids to get closer… the sea levels are falling again, more land becoming available… but not enough… the Salmons want it all for themselves.” Sheldon sighs again, looking down at his notepad, then over to another one, his grandfather’s notepad, from the Great Turf War.

“What are you saying Sheldon?” Jay asks softly, trying not to sound worried but failing miserably because of how concerned she is. She just wants some answers and she hasn’t even told him what she saw yet, but surely it won’t be good when she does given how he’s reacting now. She’s worried that maybe it’s too late and all hope is already lost… but surely that can’t be true, there’s no way they’ve reached the point of no return already.

“I fear… the ‘Last Great Turf War’ is going to become… ‘Great Turf War One’. Because we’re going to have to defend our homeland from an army of Salmonids… an army that is quite familiar with fighting Inklings and Octolings no less… I’ve been working on creating weapons to fight the salmons more effectively, but Mr. Grizz is stubborn, only wants to use HIS weapons… so most of my weapons are only theoretical…” Sheldon flips through his notes more, trying to see if he can find anything useful.

“Sheldon.. I think… I really need to tell you what I saw then… I think I should’ve told you a while ago now actually.” Jay feels bad about not bringing this up sooner, but at the time she had JUST started dating her long time crush, forgive her for having her mind elsewhere at the time. But now is not the time for regrets, now is the time for action. Jay wastes no time, taking a deep breath and just saying what she needs to say before her nerves get the better of her. “I saw a Salmonid… IN Inkopolis park… it was just a Smallfry, and it was by itself… but I saw it. I SPLATTED it when it tried attacking me…”

“...Oh dear… the threat is much closer than I realized. You said just the one? That’s actually good, means we might have enough time to prepare… Jay, thank you for telling me, I will relay this information with my contacts in Inkopolis security, we will do everything we can to prevent it from becoming a full scale invasion… but, Jay, as an Agent of the Splatoon… be ready to fight if we need you.” Sheldon sighs and puts his notebooks back on the shelf, but he does give Jay a soft smile as well, trying to reassure her.

“Always will be Sheldon. Just… Why now? Why of all times would they be in Inkopolis NOW?” Jay asks, wanting to understand what could possibly have the salmons attacking the city now rather than sooner. Grizzco had reopened ages ago and was operating as normal, so she wondered what it was that was letting them into the city.

“...I have a theory, and it’s not a nice one, but it IS one I’ve had for quite some time… it’s… the destruction of Kamabo. While they did a ton of harm to any Inklings or Octolings or even Octarians that fell in, they also did a lot of GOOD in terms of keeping the Salmonids at bay, since any that got too close were simply shot down by sanitized Octo Snipers… without Kamabo in place, that’s a gaping hole that Salmonids can now just swim right through.”

“Shit… Alex and Kiaria aren’t going to like that at all.” Jay scoffs, angry that the place that had caused so much pain and suffering for her family could’ve possibly been part of keeping her new home safe. It wasn’t worth the tradeoff in her mind, she’d rather have to fight to defend her new home than have had her family hurt… but now she has to do both.

“Yes, precisely why I would like to keep that little tidbit out of their ears for as long as possible, at least until they’ve had some time to recover mentally from the ordeals they’ve faced. Which brings me to one more thing, if you could speak with Kiaria and get her to come in it would be very much appreciated, I’ve been working on some experimental armor, it has ink jets built into wrist canons to create a brella-like blast of ink from each wrist, but it can be shifted to fire like a blaster instead as well! It should be highly resistant to all forms of ink as well… but the unfortunate thing is, it’s based on Null Armor that she salvaged from Kamabo, which means it currently only fits HER body. Hopefully I can fabricate something less rigid in the future for use as Hero gear for the entire Splatoon, but for now I just need her to come in so I can test the prototype!”

“Huh, I am not going to remember a single detail about what you just said but I’ll be sure to tell Kiaria you wanna see her! Is uhm… is there anything else I can do to help right now Sheldon? Anything at all to help prepare for facing the Salmonids?” Jay stands to get ready to leave, but she still looks at him and waits for him to confirm that he’s said everything he needs to say before she leaves.

“No, no… for now, just keep living your life. If things go well, you likely won’t even need to think about this anymore. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, hopefully this will all be a soon forgotten memory. Now go, I know you must have other plans today, I will keep doing what I can to keep Inkopolis safe.” Sheldon smiles and nods, giving her the okay to leave.

“Thank you Sheldon… for everything…” With that, Jay turns and leaves the store. She isn’t entirely sure how to feel about what happened, about what she learned. But what she DOES know, is that she’s goddamn Agent Four of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, she isn’t going to let some stupid fish take over HER home. Especially because it holds her new friends, her new family, and a little of her old family as well. Speaking of new friends, she sees her team sitting at a table near Crusty Sean’s food truck. She pushes down her worries and goes to greet them, Jessie, Allie, and Malina, her team, and her friends.

Chapter Text

Alex and Kiaria got a text from Jay, her “quick meeting” with her team was running far longer than expected. Jay just asked them to meet her in Inkopolis square and hopefully them being there would be enough to yoink her away so they could actually do the things they planned to, like bowling. Now to be fair, Jay loved her team, they were like her extended family! But she also had an obligation to her actual family. That being her cousin and her cousin’s fiance. That was something Jay was very excited about as well, ever since hearing that Alex was planning to propose she’s been doing everything in her power not to spill the beans. Wait what was going on? Oh yeah Jessie was going over strategy. For being a shy Octoling, she was surprisingly talkative and energetic once she was comfortable.

“Okay so if they take the tower and you’ve got your special charged, hold on to it until we can make a push, alright Malina? We don’t want a repeat of last time” Jessie says as she glares at Malina and then the both of them chuckle softly, rolling their eyes at their own antics. “But actually though, if we’re all splatted, fall back until we respawn. We’re stronger as a unit. This isn’t like Rainmaker. When Rainmaker was the tournament mode it was all just grab and run, but this requires more strategic thinking.”

“Jay, I still can’t believe you went from the Clash Blaster, arguably the most overpowered weapon for Tower Control, and are now just using the Kensa Pro. Like yeah it’s got some good power but really?” Malina chuckles and playfully nudges Jay’s shoulder with her fist, Jay chuckling as well and rubbing the spot where Malina had nudged her.

“I wasn’t having fun with the Clash! Isn’t that part of why we’re doing this too? To have fun? Well I have more fun playing with the Kensa Splattershot Pro than I was having with the Clash Blaster.” Jay shrugs, not really sure what else to say about it. She really did enjoy the Kensa Pro more than the Clash, she found she got more splats with it too which is always satisfying. She did have to learn a bit about aiming to be really good with it but it worked out in the end since she has so much better range with the weapon than she did before with her old one.

The group banters back and forth a little more, poking fun at each other’s weapon choices while also laughing and smiling. They’re good friends so they’d never actually be upset over a weapon choice, unless that choice was actively hurting the team. However even then they’d probably lean towards wanting to help that person get better with the weapon and offering to help them practice with it. However before they can get very far with said banter, an Octoling with a ponytail, and an Inkling with an interesting scar over her right eye begin approaching the group. Jay gives the two a smile and a wave, planning to introduce them to her team, but unexpectedly, Jessie stands quickly upon seeing them, and bows to the Octoling that approaches.

“C-Captain Ida!” Jessie says while remaining in the bow. Everyone else at the table exchanges a confused glance in response to this since they’d never seen Jessie do anything like this before. Then again, she’d also never met Kiaria before so that is likely the exact reason why.

“At ease.” Kiaria says with a smile, gesturing for the other Octoling to rise. She was happy to know someone who recognized her had made it to the surface safely, she had always been worried about what had happened to those who’d followed her into the rebellion. “I haven’t been ‘Captain’ for quite some time now, but it's always good to see a familiar face on the surface, what’s your name, soldier?”

“J-Jessie Ma’am! Jessie Lamonds. I was under your command when the Calamari Inkantation was performed, and I followed you into the rebellion.” Jessie may have been given an ‘At ease’, but she was still standing straight when addressing Kiaria, there was a level of respect and possibly admiration there as well. It’s easy to tell that Jessie thought highly of Kiaria.

“Ah yes I remember! I see you’ve grown your tentacles out a little as well since then, probably why I didn’t immediately recognize you. You and Takeshi were integral to us having any hope of success… speaking of Takeshi, do you know what happened to him? Last I remember I ordered him to evacuate and then I got captured.” Kiaria asks with a look of worry, only she does a good job of hiding it so only Alex and Jessie are able to pick up on it. Alex is able to notice because she knows Kiaria so well that she can tell when her lover is upset by something, and Jessie can tell because it’s a similar look to what Kiaria would have any time the rebels were under siege and needed to evacuate.

“Unfortunately I do not know… the rebels were scattered a bit after your capture, but we did our best. I think I heard he was trying to unite the factions but my group was small and we made a break for the surface when the chance arose.” Jessie looks down a little, almost like she’s ashamed of herself for abandoning the rebellion, even though it seems Kiaria won’t be upset by it. Jessie has wrestled with that thought for a while, what might’ve happened had she stayed? She’ll never know will she?

“Well, it’s good to know you’re safe. Octavio is… likely not going to be an issue if the intel I have is anything to go off, so I don’t think there’s much to worry about anymore since the loyalists won’t actually have him actively controlling their minds with the hypnosis.” Kiaria smiles and puts her hand on Jessie’s shoulder to reassure her, Jessie looks up and smiles softly, feeling relaxed and put at ease with her choices.

Jay clears her throat in a not so subtle way, which results in Jessie and Kiaria realizing they’d completely forgotten about the entire reason they were here and they both blushed sheepishly, Jessie a little harder than Kiaria however. Alex had gone and grabbed a couple seats for herself and for Kiaria already however, so they were all able to take a seat and actually talk like normal people now.

“S-Sorry about that.” Jessie blushes a little as she brushes the large tentacle out of her face, allowing her to properly see everyone in the group again. She could easily get that tentacle trimmed down but she likes having it so large, it’s something that’s uniquely hers.

“Don’t worry about it, now! Introductions!” Jay smiles, clapping her hands together and getting the attention of everyone around her. Then she smirks as she points at her cousin and her cousin’s fiance. “This is my cousin Alex, and her smooch partner Kiaria.”

“JAY!” Alex blushes fiercely and shoots her cousin a death glare, prompting both Jay and Kiaria to giggle in response. Alex crosses her arms and frowns, she’s not actually upset but she’s playing it up because of how dramatic her instinctual reaction was.

“Don’t let her work you up Lexie, she’s just trying to be funny.” Kiaria smiles and kisses Alex’s cheek, allowing the Inkling to calm down a little. Alex takes a deep breath, closing her eyes as she does to allow it to calm her entire body. 

“Y-Yeah, you’re right Kia, thanks.” Alex smiles back at Kiaria, the Octoling rubbing her lover’s head a little to drive home the point that she’s okay. Alex has been a little more on edge recently and Kiaria has been doing her best to make sure to help her realize everything’s okay and she’s not in danger anymore. It’s a process but it’s worth it for her love.

“Wait wait wait… I’m sorry but… LEXIE?! ” Jay interjects, a little dumbfounded at the nickname that Kiaria has given Alex. Also with a little snicker as well because she herself never even called Alex that, and they grew up together! Though that could easily be a good thing too, since it means it’s something that’s unique for Kiaria to refer to her as. 

“We’re getting off topic.” Alex interrupts before any further questions can be asked or answered, turning the focus of the group back to the original intent, they’d gotten sidetracked again somehow. “Alright Jay, you were going to introduce us to your team and then we were going to head out.”

“Right! Right of course! Alright well… apparently Eigh- I mean… Kiaria… you know Jessie already.” Jay points at the Octoling with a large tentacle hanging in front of her face and a somewhat similar ponytail to Kiaria’s own poking out the back of her head. The Octoling in question waves at Kiaria and Alex upon attention being drawn to her, smiling softly and trying not to cause another scene.

“H-Hi! Uhm…” Jessie looks at Alex with weary eyes, almost like she’s not sure if she should trust her. But her old captain seems to… that should be good enough for her, but her weariness has kept her from harm more than once. She was ready to make a move at a moment's notice if need be.

“This here’s Malina! She’s deadly with a roller, and lethal with everything else too!” Jay states proudly as she points over to the other Octoling on her team, she’s got a more basic tentacle style, just a little longer. No ponytail or any single tentacle that’s larger than the rest. She rocks the look though, making it her own with a yellow to magenta gradient that you wouldn’t think would work, and yet it totally does.

“Hey! Nice to meet you!” Malina gives a little salute wave, she wasn’t part of the rebels and Kiaria can confirm that just by looking at her, but, she did also defect from Octavio’s forces and come to the surface, and really that’s all the Rebels hoped to achieve anyways.

“And finally, we have Allie!” Jay smiles while pointing at the only other Inkling in the group aside from herself. Only to find said Inkling has fallen asleep. “Oh, oh dear… Malina did you keep her up all night again?”

“Wh-What no of course not!” Malina looks offended by the accusation, but a simple eyebrow raise from Jau changes her tone completely. “Y-Yeah… I kept texting her… b-but! She texted me first! I just didn’t realize what time it was!”

Jay just sighs and facepalms, prompting Alex and Kiaria to giggle a little. Malina is blushing and Jessie is covering her mouth to stifle her own giggles as well. Jay really can’t believe how completely wrong this entire meeting has gone, and yet it’s going about exactly as perfectly as she could have possibly hoped for too.

“You know what? This is fine, this is fine… it works out actually, because Kiaria, Alex, and I… well we’re all supposed to be heading out anyways. In fact we probably should’ve left by now anyways.” Jay rationalizes, trying to make light of the situation despite how royally fucked up it is compared to how it was supposed to go.

“We should be going yeah… we might have to change our plans a bit too since I think the bowling alley is gonna be a bit packed now.” Alex says as she holds up her phone, Squitter was open and there was a post about spotting the Squid Sisters at said bowling alley.

“Awe man, I wanted to go bowling!” Jay complains, but she stands and grabs her bag, signalling Kiaria and Alex to do the same. Surely they’ll come up with an idea for something to do together somehow. Hopefully one that doesn’t involve obscenely large crowds. “Alright, I’ll see you guys next sunday for Practice!”

Jay waves her team goodbye, and then heads off with Alex and Kiaria, probably back to their apartment to play video games since it’s a classic fallback that never gets old. Alex and Kiaria hold hands as they walk, Jay just puts her hands in her pockets. The awake members of Jay’s team eye the three of them as they walk away until they’re out of sight.

Chapter Text

Kiaria and Alex wave Jay goodbye as she leaves, having already given her a goodbye hug as well. Alex smiles and puts her arm around Kiaria’s waist, watching her cousin walk off to the end of the hall, and finally into the elevator. Once they couldn’t see her anymore, they closed the door to the apartment, locking it behind them, and heading back over to the couch where they sit together and just relax after an eventful day. Jay had somewhat gotten her wish, Alex had a video game that had a bowling mode, so at least she could PRETEND she was doing the thing she wanted to.

“That was fun, it’s always good to see Jay… and I’m glad she’s doing well.” Alex says as she leans her head onto Kiaria’s shoulder, ignoring the fact that her severed tentacle is drooping over her face now. Kiaria notices Alex’s damaged tentacle flopping over into her field of view and brushes the short length of tentacle behind her lover’s ear, allowing it to be out of sight and out of mind.

“Yeah, it was nice of her to give up time with her team for you. I could really tell you needed more time with your family as well, I’m glad she’s around for when I’m not able to be with you.” Kiaria turns her head and smiles at Alex, leaning down and kissing her Inkling partner’s head softly, putting her arm over her shoulder as well and pulling her closer. She took great comfort in knowing her lover was so loved, that she was surrounded by people who cared about her, and that above all, she was receptive to that love. Alex was blessed, and Kiaria was overjoyed that her partner had such a support network, especially because she needs it right now and is able to draw on it.

“Yeah, she and I were pretty inseparable when we were kids. We supported each other. It was a little hard saying goodbye when I moved away, but she was still so excited for me… I can’t believe we both wound up in the Splatoon though, like what are the odds of that happening?” Alex chuckles as she reminisces about her past with her cousin and the various shenanigans they used to get into together. She’d been so focused on her developing relationship with Kiaria after escaping Kamabo that she hadn’t given enough attention to her cousin. She’s glad that her partner knows the value of family, she’s glad she’s able to rebuild a proper connection with her cousin. 

“I can tell by the way you two talk, it’s like no time has actually passed for you two. You just catch up, then pick right back up where you left off. I’m a little jealous to be honest, Marina and I still struggle to even begin talking about our past. Though to be fair, we also had vastly different experiences than you and Jay had growing up.” Kiaria comments as she reminisces about her own past, how her experiences were so dramatically unique to her, and yet she’d found the more she talked with those around her, the more she would realize that a lot of them understood her pain. Octolings were unfortunately not granted the same luxuries as the Inklings were growing up. Kiaria remembers being indoctrinated at a young age, being lead to believe Octavio was a benevolent leader, and that he would always want what’s best for her. Then she was Hypnotized to ensure that thought process stuck in place. 

“Yeah I suppose. But with you and Marina, there’s the whole… “you not having your memories” part. That is bound to throw a wrench into things. I mean, if I had gone through an event that had made me straight up FORGET Jay was family, that would make things super awkward when I realized the truth. So maybe you just need to give it more time… time for that “Awkward truth” to settle down.” Alex smiles softly, leaning over and kissing Kiaria on the cheek to try and comfort her partner. She doesn’t know exactly what she’s going through, but she does understand the pain of not being able to reach out to someone you care about. It’s a bit of a balancing act between your own desires, and understanding what is best for the person you care about.

“Yeah I guess… there’s also the issue of… I still don’t really have the full picture…” Kiaria pauses for a second, looking over at Alex with an expression that conveys she needs to talk about something heavy, something that’s weighing on her. But there’s also regret involved in her expression. Alex can tell this is something that will be a hard subject for both of them. Kiaria doesn’t want to put any undue stress on Alex, but she also knows that Alex wouldn’t want her facing this burden on her own. She gives a little hopeful look with her eyes, wanting Alex to allow her to continue.

“If you need to tell me something… tell me.” Alex smiles reassuringly and holds Kiaria’s hands, rubbing the tops of them with her thumbs. Though her putting her hands in Kiaria’s is more for her own sake truthfully. It helps ground her in the moment, so no matter what is brought up, if Alex feels overwhelmed she has something connecting her to right now to recover. It’s a trick her therapist taught her, it helps when her anxiety starts getting the better of her.

“Okay… just… hold on one second…” Kiaria says solemnly before getting up and walking to the bedroom, the door is left open to show she isn’t hiding anything, though Alex can tell she wants to do this part alone, so she sits and waits patiently. After about a minute, which was filled with rummaging noises from the bedroom, Kiaria returns. She sits down again and holds one of Alex’s hands, but her other hand is occupied by something, but Alex can’t quite make it out.

“What’s that Kia?” Alex tilts her head like a curious puppy, trying to get a better look at the object in her partner’s hand. Kiaria is a little hesitant to reveal it, her expression one of pure uncertainty. But after a few moments, she does open her fingers and present the object to Alex for inspection. Alex gasps a little, a noise Kiaria had certainly not expected to hear. “Woah! Where did you get that?”

“I… Well… truthfully, I don’t entirely know where it came from originally. But, it was inside of my locker in Kamabo… which I came across during… well you know when.” Kiaria’s expression is dark as she delivers that revelation, she knows Alex presently has about as much trauma surrounding Kamabo as she herself does, if not more. If nothing else, at least Kiaria’s damage can be covered by a shirt. But she doesn’t expect Alex’s response, she’d been prepared for Alex to start hyperventilating, to panic, something horrific that would confirm that this is something she should figure out on her own, but instead, Alex focuses on the amazement at the object itself, allowing her Kamabo related traumas to be brushed aside for now.

“Oh. Well, maybe we can figure out how you got ahold of it together! But I think you should know something.” Alex has a soft smile on her face, she seems excited about the object, almost like she recognizes it, which actually she does. It’s something with deep personal significance to her, and she couldn’t wait to share why. “This looks a lot like something I was gifted years ago when I was very young! I think it was one of the local craftsmen from back home, they told me it would help guide me to success. I never really bought into that notion, but Jay seemed to. So one day I actually gave it to her, since I figured if she believed it would help her, she might try a little harder to reach that success.”

“W-Wait… you’re saying this is something from… your past?” Kiaria looks between Alex and the object, the golden object that looks like an oversized cake pop that had the skewer poked through a little too far. She then holds it up where it would sit on Alex’s head if she were to wear it, right next to her left eye. She smiles a little and blushes softly. “Heh, if nothing else, it does suit you.”

“Oh come on Kia!” Alex blushes hard and playfully pushes Kiaria’s arm away, giggling a little shortly after. Then she gets an idea, and sneakily takes the golden toothpick from Kiaria’s hand, then quickly pins it up into the band holding the Octoling’s tentacles in a ponytail. The giggling faded out and was replaced with a deep blush. “Woah… it REALLY suits you though” 

“N-No way!” Kiaria blushes hard as well before quickly taking it out of her ponytail. She didn’t feel right wearing it, not yet anyways. It felt too heavy, but not literally. It was light by design. No, it was a mental weight that was associated with it, something she had to overcome, but, she didn’t seem to know when or where that trial would come from. “I… don’t feel like I should be able to wear it yet, I don’t feel like I’ve earned it.”

“What’s holding you back? It looks so good on you!” Alex smiles at her lover, trying to comfort her and remind her that her past can’t get to her anymore, and also that it’s okay to express everything about herself that she likes. But she isn’t going to press the issue beyond this, she knows better than to turn something so simple into an argument. She’ll do what she can to support her partner, but she won’t mindlessly walk into aggression in search of that.

“I’m not sure, not yet… maybe if I like… put it under my pillow or something… maybe then I’ll understand” Kiaria keeps inspecting the object in her hand, hoping that the explanation for why she had it would pop out to her, but of course, nothing is ever that easy. She wasn’t even certain of her own conclusions about it, it felt like something she should understand but she couldn’t quite place it. She felt drawn to it, yet afraid of it, she couldn’t put her finger on why this was the case.

“Well if you think that’ll work” Alex chuckles softly, holding Kiaria’s hand tightly and smiling. The idea of Kiaria putting that object under her pillow while she slept to try and understand it made no sense, but, she understands that she can’t seem to understand the object at the moment and is trying desperately to come up with a solution. “If I can do anything to help, just let me know, okay?”

“Of course, thank you Lexie.” Kiaria smiles and hugs Alex, who quickly returns the gesture. Kiaria gently strokes the back of Alex’s head, and Alex idly plays with the tentacles in Kiaria’s ponytail. The tentacles occasionally curl around Alex’s fingers causing the Inkling to giggle a little, and then after a few moments, they finally pull back out of the hug.

With that, Kiaria sets the toothpick on the coffee table, shares a quick kiss with Alex’s lips, and then the pair of them settle in and turn on the TV. They don’t really watch anything specific, just enjoying the content that’s provided to them by the various channels they paid for with their cable subscription. They were probably one of the few surviving customers of cable TV, but they enjoyed the ability to just put something on the TV and watch it. 

Eventually, Kiaria falls asleep, her head leaned against Alex’s shoulder as she softly snored. Alex simply smiles and kisses Kiaria’s head, before picking her up and carrying her to the bedroom. She lays her lover down on the bed and tucks her in, and then goes to clean up the living room, folding up the blanket they’d used and putting away the game console they’d been using while Jay was over. Finally, as she was about to head to bed herself, she spots the golden toothpick on the coffee table. She picks it up and inspects it, finding that it is indeed handcrafted, she admires the work that went into shaping and moulding it to get the correct design. She then decides it’s better it isn’t left on the coffee table and carries it back to the bedroom, setting it down on Kiaria’s bedside table, leaning down and kissing her fiance's forehead before walking around to her own side of the bed and climbing in, getting under the covers and closing her eyes to start drifting asleep.

Chapter Text

“Ya weni marei mirekyarahire, Juri yu mirekerason, Kire hyari yoriherahe nyurahera, Nunnyura unera yurawera nyimerani”

The lights fade in, the battlefield awaits, the hero is nearby with her unmatchable traits. 

The dust settles as the music plays, a lone Octoling stands, her weapon is raised.

The air grows cold as each believes they are the one, the time is now the battle is begun.

Agent Three leaps down from the platform she stood upon, pulling a splashdown canister off her belt and activating it as she superjumps into battle. Her lone opponent is a single Octoling, but one who looks just as determined as Agent Three ever was to achieve her goals. The Octoling knew better than to be within the radius of Agent Three’s Splashdown, Three realizes she’s dealing with more than a common soldier, this would truly be a showdown.

Kiaria raises her Octo Shot and charges Agent Three, firing ink all around to trap her so she can’t just roll out of the way. She feels like she’s done this before, but she shrugs that thought aside and charges in. Agent Three counters by throwing out an Autobomb and pulling an Inkjet canister off her belt, Eight knows she’s only got a few seconds to make her move, and she does it! She manages to break Three’s armor before she can activate the special, and the Inkling is forced to retreat and recover, superjumping back to the platform she stood atop before.

Kiaria quickly moves out of the way of the autobomb and just lets it explode harmlessly far from her, inking as much of the battleground as she can before Agent Three returns. It doesn’t take long for Kiaria to sense Agent Three readying to rejoin the battle, and sure enough, a Splashdown is activated in the air above Kiaria, who’s just barely able to roll out of the way of it. Three begins firing on Kiaria immediately, throwing out an autobomb as well to try and corner her. Kiaria throws out a bomb and uses the turf she’s covered to swim away and escape while also refilling her ink tank. She remains mindful of the fact that Agent Three could spot her at any moment, so she’s always ready to spring out and fire again.

Agent Three, now realizing that the Octoling is hiding in the ink, pulls out a Bubble Blower to try and force her out. But Kiaria was expecting this. She emerges from the ink from right behind Three, and fires on her before the Inkling is even able to react to the sudden change of control. Within microseconds, her armor is broken again and she’s forced to retreat a second time. Kiaria doesn’t celebrate, she knows this isn’t over. Three seems just as determined as Kiaria to win, she knows she has to try something different if she wants to beat the Octoling. This time, she changes her tactic, no superjumping in. Instead she hacks the controls of the platform she’s on and pulls tentamissile canisters off her belt, she can’t get splatted  if she’s far enough away to not be shot at.

Two bombs later and Three is forced to retreat further to respawn again. How did she not see this coming? No matter, Agent Three has another ace up her sleeve. And by ace, I mean she has a near infinite supply of Splashdown canisters. She randomly superjumps around the battleground in an attempt to corner the Octoling and splat her. Kiaria knows the pressure is on now, Three is pulling out all the stops so she has to match the intensity.

Kiaria does her best to turf around her while keeping her ink tank filled, using what cover she can to avoid getting hit by the splashdown barrage that Agent Three is unleashing. She manages to avoid them, just barely though, and then once Agent Three is no longer jumping around the map, Kiaria goes in for the attack. But she got arrogant, she assumed she had this one in the bag and got sidelined by an autobomb, breaking her armor. Agent Three takes advantage of the fact that Kiaria is damaged, and fires a flurry of shots towards the Octoling, splatting her very shortly after the shots are fired.

Kiaria wakes up in a cold sweat with a soft but audible gasp. Her hands patting around her body as though she’s not convinced she’s all in one piece, she can even feel a familiar idle burn on her back. The air feels still and cool, but her body is far too warm for how cold the air is. She needs to calm down before she’s able to properly process anything. She takes a couple deep breaths and calms her mind, but something is pulling at her. Slowly she turns her head and she sees it… the golden toothpick, just sitting on her nightstand… what could it mean? Was it related to her dream? Her dream had felt so real… it reminded her a lot of the hazy memory of fighting Agent Three the first time they’d faced off before she fell into Kamabo. But she doesn’t remember Three having THAT many special attacks… maybe it’s something more? 

This isn’t the first time Kiaria’s had a nightmare like this, in fact she’s had them ever since escaping Kamabo. But ever since finding that toothpick, they’ve been so much more vivid, no longer are they simple flashes of her past. No. Now they’re detailed ordeals. They feel so much like reality. Typical dreams are a bit more weird and when you think back on them you NOTICE how weird they are, but these ones could almost be mistaken for an actual event. The only thing that keeps it from that is the fact that it doesn’t fit in the timeline at all. Normally when Kiaria had a nightmare like that she’d get up and get something to drink like a glass of water or something in an attempt to clear her head, but something’s different now. Something is drawing her to go back. Something is telling her she can win.

“Maybe… if I win… I won’t have these nightmares anymore…” Kiaria says to herself softly before grabbing the toothpick off her nightstand and holding it close, she was sure that it would help her win somehow if she did this. It was now or never, she was going to finally understand why this thing was so important, or at the very least, defeat her inner demons. She lays her head back down and closes her eyes, she doesn’t really even drift asleep, rather, the dream takes her. She can hear the opening notes of the Calamari Inkantation all over again.

Kiaria found she was having a little more difficulty with the bubbles than she anticipated, Three was being a little more slippery than before, rolling into the bubbles to avoid being shot. Kiaria has to wait out the first set of bubbles and wait until Three was bringing them out again. She waits, and her patience pays off, as when she charges in all she has to do was throw a splat bomb, it impacts the bubble that Three just made and, since it’s an instant explosion, Three’s armor is broken once again with just a couple extra shots. 

“Just two more to go, c’mon Kiaria, you can do this!” Kiaria motivates herself and grips the handle of her Octo Shot a little tighter. She’s figured out Three’s pattern, she knows what she has to do… it’s just a matter of doing it without getting too cocky. Three’s attacks followed a very specific pattern, so all she has to do is follow that pattern. The main difficulty came from the random variables relating to where Three jumps into the battlefield. Fortunately this particular part of the pattern doesn’t involve that. She feels the slight tug on her form as Tentamissiles lock onto her, and she knows it’s go time.

She swims forwards through her ink, coming as close to the platform that Three stands on as she can and throwing a bomb up onto it. She then quickly dives into her ink to refill her tank as quickly as she can while swimming around a little bit to avoid getting hit by tentamissiles or stray autobombs, she has a limited amount of time before the damage of the first bomb wears off. Fortunately, Three decides it’s a great idea to float her platform closer to the Octoling. Kiaria smirks as she leaps from the ink and yeets a Splat Bomb right at the Inkling agent, once again breaking her armor and forcing her to retreat.

Finally, it was time for the Splashdowns again, and this time, Kiaria was more than prepared. She inked a path for herself and was already in position when she noticed Agent Three ready to jump in. She Swims to one side of a power coupling cylinder, and Three’s first splashdown lands on the other side of it. Then as Three leaps to try and repeat the splashdown, Kiaria swims to the side that Three was just on and once again, Three’s Splashdown is met with nothing. Three has one final Splashdown before she has to recharge, so she tries one last time. Just like the last two times, Kiaria outmaneuvers her, and she’s left with no choice but to fight her one on one. 

Kiaria smirks, having thrown out a splat bomb to corner the inkling, she swims up fast and wastes no time firing on the Inkling agent, intent on winning the fight. Three doesn’t just sit and take it of course, she fires back, causing the Octoling’s armor to break first. But, Kiraria presses on. Just when it seems like Agent Three is about to take the win, when Kiaria is one shot away from exploding into ink, Kiaria fires a blast of ink right into the Inkling’s face sending the Agent backwards with broken armor once more. She’s won the fight!

Kiaria’s dream fades, and then it shifts. She’s back in the metro, central station to be specific. She doesn’t remember how she got here. But she sees her locker, it’s sitting open, and all that sits inside is the Golden Toothpick. She would question why her locker is here, since before it was buried deep inside of the facility, but she feels drawn to the object sitting in her locker so rather than ponder why it’s here, she simply walks towards it. She leans down and picks up the Golden Toothpick, looking it over a couple times, and then pinning it into her ponytail with a smile. The fight is over, her inner hero has been defeated, she feels like the freshest Octoling ever! Then the Metro starts to fade, the world around her going dark, but Kiaria doesn’t feel worried, in fact, she feels like this is a good thing. The start of a new chapter.

Slowly Kiaria wakes once again, it’s still very late at night and she should still get more sleep. But, notably, the golden Toothpick is now lodged in her ponytail like it had been in her dream, and like how Alex had put it earlier. Kiaria giggles quietly to herself, she’ll have to tell Alex that her dream self is a real jerk. But for now, she should really try and get some more sleep, so she pulls the toothpick out of her ponytail, then undoes the band holding her tentacles together, letting them fall free, setting both of these objects back on her nightstand. 

Kiaria then turns and scoots a little closer to Alex, pulling her fiancee into a soft hug. Alex purrs quietly, it seems she really likes the embrace. That’s good, because after that ordeal, Kiaria could use some happy cuddles with her wife-to-be. She knows they’ll have a ton of their own challenges to face, but now their goal is to face whatever the world throws at them together, rather than on their own. No more getting captured and dragged into evil facilities bent on world domination. From now on, whatever happens, they do it together.

Chapter Text

Pearl had just gotten home after a long day of recording at the studio. She was releasing an album of solo hits and she was working overtime to try and get it done. Marina was initially unsure how she felt about Pearl doing this on her own, but when she realized how much it meant to Pearl to be able to, she tossed aside any worries. She wanted to make sure her Pearlie was happy after all! But now Pearl was home, and she was exhausted. She hangs up her coat, along with her bag, and immediately walks into the living room. She quickly sits her butt on the couch so fast it makes a “pff” noise. She flips on the TV and lays her head back, not really paying attention to it, she just wanted some background noise.

Marina enters the room shortly after, having heard Pearl come in and knowing she’d have had a long day, given it’s about ten o’clock at night and she left around seven in the morning. She simply sits next to Pearl and smiles. The short Inkling took notice of the taller Octoling’s presence and quickly perked up a little, smiling wide and sitting up properly. Marina opens her arms to invite a hug which Pearl quickly accepts, smiling contently in her partner’s arms.

“Seems like someone’s had quite the day, did you get all the recording you needed to?” Marina asks Pearl softly while stroking the tentacles on her head, helping her relax after a long day, occasionally pressing a kiss to Pearl’s forehead as well to ensure she feels loved as well. Pearl appreciates it a lot and purrs softly as she nuzzles her head into Marina’s hand.

“Mmm, most of it. Producer thinks it’s a great idea to do remixes in the same album, but with re-recorded vocals to make them more unique. He thinks it’ll help sell more copies… all I know is, my vocal cords are sore and my body is tired.” Pearl sighs softly, massaging her neck a little from the aforementioned soreness of her vocal cords, followed by a gentle yawn. She’d been so focused on getting her recording done that she hadn’t stopped to rest her voice.

“That sounds like a lot of work, but I’m so proud of you for getting it done Pearlie! You’re gonna rock the socks off of everyone!” Marina smiles and continues gently stroking Pearl’s tentacles. She knows it helps calm the small Inkling, so she makes sure to do it whenever she seems stressed. Plus, she had to spend the entire day not seeing her, she’s taking advantage of having her home and showering her with affection now.

“I’m just glad to be home ‘Rina, I feel like I could sleep for the rest of the month!” Pearl dramatically throws her hands into the air to emphasise her point, drawing a giggle from Marina, and eventually resulting in the both of them laughing lightly. Their giggles fill the room with the sounds of joy and it helps Pearl relax properly and finally enjoy actually being home with her partner.

“Well I’m glad to have you home!” Marina smiles, giving Pearl a proper hug now, which Pearl graciously returns with a big dumb grin on her face. They hold the hug for a few minutes, not wanting it to end. Sadly though, all things must come to an end, and they pull back out of the hug. Marina strokes Pearl’s face softly, then gets an idea. “Well, now that you’re home, why don’t I make us some food! I’ve found a new recipe I’ve been wanting to try out and now seems like the perfect time. It’s a shrimp stir-fry!”

“Oh! That sounds really good actually! I’d love that ‘Rina!” Pearl’s stomach growls almost on cue as she’s reminded that food exists and she would very much like to consume some. She’d been so consumed with her work that she hadn’t even had lunch, and now it was evening and her body was demanding sustenance. The fact that it was nearly midnight also didn’t help, she’d not eaten for nearly the entire day, she was borderline famished!

“Alright! I’ll go get it started then.” Marina gives Pearl a quick kiss on the lips before standing and heading to the kitchen, ready to cook up some delicious consumables. She starts by getting veggies out of the fridge, and then getting some shrimp out of the freezer, trying to remember which spices she needs as well as she gets everything set up.

Pearl turns the volume of the TV down so she can listen to Marina cook, enjoying the sizzling sounds the food makes as it's cooked, and the smells that waft through the air making her mouth water with anticipation. She knows it’s gonna be a damn good meal. Marina starts humming a tune, the tune to Ebb and Flow, which Pearl finds herself also humming along to. This was one of the first songs they had worked on together so of course they would remember it fondly.

Marina dances idly as she cooks the food and hums the tune, adding in the ingredients while occasionally referencing her phone where she’d saved the recipe. She adds some spices and some teriyaki sauce to the mix to add to the flavor, making sure to cook the vegetables and the shrimp evenly so it all comes out perfect. She can hear Pearl humming along and she smiles, happy to know Pearl is listening to her work on dinner. 

After roughly half an hour, Marina is finally done cooking the stir fry, and has set to work getting it plated, putting whatever doesn’t fit on the plates into a container for later consumption. She then sets the dishes out on the table, complete with utensils, and finally she calls out to Pearl to let her know it’s food time.

“Pearlie! Dinner’s ready!” Marina’s voice rings cheerfully as she puts away the spices and sauce, leaving only the dishes she’d used to cook the meal with out, as they need to be cleaned before they can be put away, and that can be taken care of after dinner.

Pearl basically teleports into the room, her hunger making her yearn for the delicious flavor of food on her tongue. She smiles up at Marina and notices the table is set already and she goes and sits in her usual spot, being joined shortly after by Marina. They don’t share any more words for the moment, just giving each other one more quick kiss before quickly starting to dig in to the meal.

“Mmm, this is so good ‘Rina! You’ve outdone yourself!” Pearl compliments Marina on her cooking, smiling and very much enjoying the flavour, it’s got the perfect mix of shrimp, vegies, spices, and sauce. She’s making sure to eat slowly enough to savour all of the flavors, while also doing it quick enough to satisfy her hunger. Her fork stabs into another helping of shrimp and veggies and she brings it to her mouth, making her moan lightly from the delicious flavour.

“I’m glad you like it Pearlie!” Marina smiles and blushes a little from the praise of her Inkling partner. She’s very happy the meal turned out so well, especially since she’d never made it before! If she was to make it again, she would probably add a little more sauce, hers is just a little dry, but only slightly. 

They continue eating in relative silence, not wanting to let the food get cold as they munch down their meals. Unsurprisingly however, Pearl is the first one done, as she was the hungrier of the pair, but Marina isn’t far behind her. They both wipe their mouths clean and smile at each other.

“Mmm thank you for the delicious meal ‘Rina, you spoil me sometimes!” Pearl giggles and blushes softly, feeling very grateful for her Octoling partner and all that she does for her. She wouldn’t be nearly the shining star she is today if it wasn’t for Marina, Off the Hook is how both of them made it big. Pearl doesn’t feel like she owes Marina some great big repayment for it, but she does feel a deep personal connection to her, a deep personal connection she’d felt since they started getting to know each other. 

“You’re welcome Pearlie! And of course I spoil you, you’re my special squid after all!” Marina blushes and giggles as well, pulling Pearl into another hug, which Pearl is of course very quick to return. The pair of Cephalopods simply relax and enjoy each other’s embrace for a moment as they let their stomachs settle after having eaten such a full and delicious meal.

“Alright, since you made dinner, it’s only fair I clean up.” Pearl smiles as she stands, quickly pecking Marina on the lips before turning and heading into the kitchen to clean up the mess, expecting a pile of pots but being surprised that there’s only one primary pot used, and a handful of dishes that were used to mix things together. She isn’t going to complain though, and she gets to work washing them. Sure they have a dishwasher, but sometimes she likes to do it by hand, helps her relax and take her mind off the stress of the day and focus on something more domestic.

“Alright, I’m gonna go get ready for bed then, see you there when you’re done!” Marina smiles and hugs Pearl from behind as she does the dishes, then she heads upstairs towards the master bedroom. Pearl smiles to herself and gets back to work quickly. She may want to join Marina in bed soon, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to half ass the dishes. She’s gonna make sure they’re fucking spotless. She scrubs and scrubs and makes sure that she uses enough dish soap. Then it eventually comes time to rinse and dry them, she makes sure to get every spot of soap off the dishes, and making sure they get dried efficiently. Once she’s done with that, she drains the sink and puts the dishes away in their appropriate spots.

“Ah, that’s done, good!” Pearl smiles and wipes her brow, then she heads up the stairs to the bedroom. When she enters it she finds Marina sitting on the bed with her reading glasses on, nose deep in a book about Inkling history. Pearl, of course, giggles at Marina’s obsession with the history of Inklings. She would never judge her for it, Marina came from a place where Inkling history was probably not a common thing to learn, she just found it funny since the book she was reading was one often used in Junior High level classes about world history, and the thought of Marina as a Junior High student made her giggle.

“Oh hey Pearlie! I take it you’re done with the dishes now?” Marina smiles and marks her place in the book, folding it closed and setting it on her nightstand. Pearl nods in response and goes to get changed for bed. She slips out of her day clothes and into a fresh set of silk pyjamas, making sure they sit properly on her body, and then she walks back to the bed and joins Marina in it.

“Today was a good day ‘Rina, and I can’t think of a better way to cap it off than spending the night with the girl I adore.” Pearl smiles and kisses Marina softly, Marina of course kissing back tenderly while stroking Pearl’s tentacles again.

“Well, I can think of something that might be better.” Marina smirks lightly, her hand trailing down Pearl’s body and making the Inkling blush. Her hand lands on Pearl’s hip as she takes off her glasses and pulls Pearl in for a passionate kiss with a bit more than just lips. Pearl eagerly kisses back with just as much passion, feeling Marina’s other hand find its way to the top button of her pyjama top.

“Oh… y-yeah you’re right… that is way better…”