Happy 8th Anniversary Splatoon!!!!!!

It occurred to me that I could just use Splatoon 3's native character creator to make my OCs, a.k.a. my versions of each of the agents (which are based on the canon versions but deviate based on my own experiences with the story modes), so that's what I've done. I also created a little bio template to give a brief overview for each one, before giving a longer bio in text for anyone who is interested in them.

So! If you are interested, please head below the cut to learn about Captain Cora "I was sent in to single-handedly eliminate a bunch of octarians when I was 14 in actual war and I did it but I didn't fully understand what I signed up to do at first and ended up horrified by my actions and severely traumatized and put off war & war games forever but I still want to try to change things from the inside to make the world better and atone for my actions from when I was 14" Sepio.

Cora lived a pretty normal, and honestly privileged, life until the age of fourteen. She lived outside of the city, sure, but it was because her parents made enough money to have a custom built home out in the countryside among beautiful scenery where they could avoid the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy all sorts of comforts while other people actually took care of said scenery they were enjoying. Cora never really wanted for anything, except for the city life that her favorite CDs and magazines came from, the ones where her favorite shows and movies were produced from. So when she turned fourteen, she packed her things and hopped on a train and left her privileged life behind. (Albeit with a credit card that her parents could top off at any time. Again, privileged.)

Cora was thrilled to get to the city. She didn't have a set plan for what to do once she got there, although she was excited to participate in turf war and had dreams of becoming an idol herself. You see, Cora didn't always hate war games; like many inklings, she found turf war to be exciting to watch and wanted to participate, and she headed straight for Ammo Knights as soon as she arrived to see what she could get. She had her heart set on an Aerospray RG, and got it as soon as she could; she named it "Ol' Faithful" immediately, even though it wasn't old at all, being brand new. That didn't matter much to Cora; calling it Ol' Faithful made it (and by extension, her) sound cool. She was living her TV dreams.

With her parents money, she got a nice little apartment. She won turf war battles. She was glued to the TV every time the Squid Sisters were on Inkopolis News and she practiced dance routines and her singing in her apartment. She was living her dreams.

And then one day, shortly after the Squid Sisters reported that the Great Zapfish had been stolen, a strange old man caught Cora's eye and beckoned her down a sewer grate.

The man was Cap'n Cuttlefish, and he led Cora into Octo Valley. Cap'n Cuttlefish explained to to Cora that the Great Zapfish (as well as all the little Zapfish) had been stolen by the Octarians, and that only the Squidbeak Splatoon could fight them. But the Squidbeak Splatoon was gone except for him, and he was too old . . . but that was where she came in. She could do it! She had The Look in her eye. He knew she could do it. Cora was pretty good at turf, if she said so herself, and the Zapfish being missing was a big deal. Both Callie and Marie had seemed pretty sure of that. And Cuttlefish needed help, and Cora wasn't one to deny someone help. So she agreed, suited up, and headed into the canyon.

But here was the problem: Cuttlefish hadn't lied. But his perspective was a biased one. The deeper Cora went into the canyon, the more suffering she saw. The domes were falling apart. The Octarians didn't have enough electricity to maintain them, so they hadn't stolen the Zapfish out of malice, but out of necessity. And the Octarians weren't just Octotroopers and other strange beings -- there were Octolings, too, no different from Cora, and the Squid Sisters. They spoke a different language, sure, but they were people. And they were suffering. They were living underground, in suffering conditions, while Cora and so many other Inklings were living a privileged life above, and here Cora was, invading their home and destroying them and what little they head, ripping away what little hope they had away from them, just because some old man told her to, when she didn't even have the full story, when she just agreed without a second thought . . .

She beat DJ Octavio, and got the Great Zapfish back. She got to meet her heroes, Callie and Marie, Agents 1 and 2 respectively. And then they put DJ Octavio in a tiny, cramped snow globe for his crimes.

It was the most grotesque thing Cora had ever seen in her fourteen years of life. Callie and Marie seemed to find it hilarious. So did Cuttlefish, mocking his adversary. Octavio could barely move inside it, though. Cora went home that night, but she couldn't sleep. She could vomit, and she did, but she couldn't sleep. So the next night, she returned to the valley, and when she was sure Cuttlefish wasn't around, she deactivated the snow globe and opened it.

"GYAHAHA! What's this? You want an encore?" DJ Octavio boomed.

"No! And keep your voice down!" Cora looked over her shoulder, but the door to the cabin didn't open. "I just -- it wasn't right, where they were keeping you. So I'm letting you go."

DJ Octavio snorted. "The Great Zapfish Caper Remix feat. the Renegade Agent, is that it?"

"No." Cora did her best to glare, even as her palms broke out in a cold sweat. "Leave the Zapfish alone. We need it, too. We can find another way to fix the energy crisis in the can--"

"We?" Octavio loosed another booming laugh, and Cora winced. "The Squidbeak Splatoon cares about the Octarians now? Best joke I've heard in a century!"

"I do. So I'm asking you, as a favor for me letting you go -- don't steal the Zapfish again. Okay? And I -- I'll try . . . I'll try to make things better in return."

Octavio shook as though holding back laughter. But finally, he said, "All right, little revolutionary. I won't steal the Great Zapfish. You have my word on that. I won't steal the Zapfish. Now get going! It's past your bedtime!"

Booming another earth rumbling laugh, Octavio zoomed back into the canyon. And, comforted at least by the thought that she wouldn't be responsible for the Zapfish going missing again, Cora made her way back to her apartment.

But freeing Octavio didn't fix her. She still had a hard time falling asleep, and staying asleep when she did; disjointed, broken nightmares of fighting Octarians haunted her, exploding tentacles flying everywhere as she mowed them down in wave after wave. Her appetite was fleeting, and it was hard to get herself to swallow when she tried to force it down. Many days she felt too tired to get out of bed, and as consequence she would at times go weeks between showers. Ol' Faithful sat gathering dust in the corner, along with her CDs, her dance clothes, and the TV. During Splatfests, she covered her head with her pillows to try to block out the sound of the Squid Sisters performing in the plaza.

The worst part, Cora thought, was that she didn't know how she could keep her promise to Octavio. How could she fix it? She didn't know the first thing about how to bring electricity to the canyon. She didn't know anything about electrical engineering. She doubted Cuttlefish or the Squid Sisters would listen to her about letting the Octarians up from the canyon, either; when she'd so much as suggested they not keep Octavio in the snow globe, they'd insisted imprisoning him was necessary. (And they were furious that he'd been let out, and though she'd said it wasn't her, she was a poor liar she could tell they knew it. She also couldn't muster the will to feel bad or scared that they knew. She couldn't muster the will to feel much of anything nowadays, except ill and exhausted.)

Time passed like this for about two years. Two years of doing the bare minimum to keep herself going. Two years of not leaving her apartment very much, only to get groceries from the 24-hour convenience mart down the street. Two years of talking to her parents just enough so they wouldn't demand she come home, and avoiding calls from everyone else.

But then the new hosts of Inkopolis News -- Off the Hook, Cora thought they were called -- reported that the Great Zapfish had gone missing again, along with Callie from the Squid Sisters. And then Cora's phone rang.

"No," Cora told Cuttlefish. "I can't. I won't -- I can't go back there. Not again."

"Marie is handling the Zapfish situation for now," Cuttlefish said, his voice placating. "She has a new recruit. There's actually something unrelated I'd like your assistance with investigating, if you'd be so kind."

A new recruit. Cora's mouth tasted sour, and not just because she hadn't brushed her teeth in three days. Was the new recruit another fourteen year old kid? Was the new recruit only given half the story, not told the situation they were being thrown into, the suffering people they were attacking?

"I'm worried some people might be hurting," Cuttlefish added.

Cora sat up on her bed, and ran her dry tongue along her sticky teeth. Her mouth really did feel like cotton.

"Tell me what it is first," she said.

Cuttlefish told her that there were people who had disappeared around the Octo Canyon area. He didn't want her to fight anyone, he said -- he wasn't asking her to go to war against the Octarians or anything. But he just wanted to see if they could find any missing people. He added that fresh air was good for the heart and lungs, and also the mind, and that exercise like walking released endorphins, and that was where Cora interrupted him to say she'd be there before she hung up. She recognized an excuse to get her out of her apartment when she heard one. And part of her wanted to blow him off out of spite. But if there were people missing, she couldn't leave them. So she took a shower. She brushed her teeth. She threw a cape she'd found sitting out by someone's garbage over her clothes since the cape was clean and her clothes were not, grabbed Ol' Faithful, and headed out to meet Cuttlefish by, but not in, the Canyon.

He was ecstatic to see her. She couldn't say the same, but she mustered a little lip twitch that she thought maybe could pass for a smile. He rambled on about how Marie and Callie had been doing in their solo careers, and how Callie was currently missing but he was sure she was fine, just off on one of her "whimsies", and other such topics. Cora only half listened. It was actually nice, being outside and exploring the canyon. It actually made her feel a little angry, that he was right that the fresh air was nice. Who was he to be right about that?

But there wasn't much time to ruminate on it. As they rounded the corner, an Octoling agent ambushed them. Cuttlefish started barking orders, but though she had brought her weapon just in case, Cora wasn't there to fight. But the Octoling, seeing her weapon, thought otherwise; the Octoling had an Octoshot of her own, and before Cora could drop her gun the Octoling had raised her own, and Cora had no choice but to defend herself.

As fortune would have it, their battle didn't last long; something else attacked them and dragged them down, down, down, deep beneath the sea, and into a subway system.

Despite the horrors that befell Cora in the Deepsea Metro -- specifically having part of her head sliced open and filled with ooze that stripped her of her free will until she got her head cracked open a second time so the ooze could be poured out so the sanitization didn't take effect -- overall, the experience was a positive one for her. During her time away from Cuttlefish, Cora learned about the the Metro and Kamabo Co.; she learned that there were residents of the Deepsea that used the Metro as one would use a normal subway, but also that Kamabo Co. sanitized octolings, ran experiments on them, used them and oppressed them while they were helpless to do anything about it. That they had been languishing beneath the sea, with no one to help them, all this time.

It was horrible. It made her feel the same sense of horrible despair and sick that she had felt in Octo Valley. But she was there now, in the Deep Sea Metro. She was there, not to wage war, but to investigate. To do something. And then she got a distress signal, from someone else who was also trying to help . . . and she did do something. She destroyed the blender, and she saved the Octoling's -- Agent 8's -- life, along with Cuttlefish's.

When she woke up among Cuttlefish, Agent 8, Pearl, and Marina . . . though she was wounded, though she had technically gone through more trauma . . . for the first time in two years, Cora felt hope. She had made a positive difference this time. Not as much of one as Agent 8 had, to be fair, but she had still helped. She hadn't hurt anyone this time, at least, not under her own intention and willpower. She hadn't been the same monster she had been two years ago. She had done something good. She had done something right. And she could do it again.

Cora returned home. It took several days, but she got all of the trash out of her apartment, did all of her laundry, cleaned all the filth. When her apartment was in order, and she was showered and in clean clothes, she went to the Inkopolis Square studio to thank Marina and Pearl for all they'd done, and to introduce herself properly.

"Yo, no need to thank us. We live here, too! Last thing we need is for this place to get blown out," Pearl said.

"I'm just glad we were able to make it in time," Marina agreed. "You were pretty timely with your help, too! Without you, Eight and Cuttlefish wouldn't have made it out of the blender."

Cora did her best to smile. "Thank you. I still really appreciate what you did. And I hope, if anything like that ever happens again . . ."

"We're not gonna let the world end." Pearl winked, and clicked her tongue with finger guns at Cora. "Count on it."

With Pearl and Marina's support (and friendship) secured, Cora made her way back to Cuttlefish. She officially reenlisted with the Squidbeak Splatoon, though on the condition that they recalibrate their goals.

"The Great Turf War ended a long time ago. But there are people suffering here and now, people who need our help. The people in the Deepsea Metro, and Octolings who want a better life. We should focus on helping them, not hurting. If there's a situation where there's no choice but to fight, fine -- but we shouldn't have that be our first choice. We should aim to help, not hurt."

To his credit, Cuttlefish was on board. Working with Marina and Agent 8 had opened his eyes. Unfortunately, while Cuttlefish and Callie were on board, and Marie was willing to let things go either way, there was a new member with a strong opinion.

"That is the lamest shit I have ever heard in my life," Agent 4 said, not even bothering to look at Cora as she juggled her dualies effortlessly in the air. "No wonder you got kicked off the squad."

"I didn't get kicked off; I quit," Cora ground out.

Agent 4 snorted a laugh. "Sure, Three."

Regardless of Agent 4's objections, Cuttlefish approved the plan. And when it became apparent that Cora and Reed (for that was Agent 4's real name) could not be in the same space for more than three minutes without a fight starting, endeavors were made to keep them apart as much as possible. (Endeavors were also made for Cora and Marie to spend little time together, albeit these endeavors were never acknowledged; Marie had lost respect for Cora after Cora freed DJ Octavio, and Cora lost respect for Marie for Marie's attitude toward the Octarians. Their relationship never recovered, particularly since they are both the stubborn, grudge holding type.)

For the next five years, Cora worked hard to assist Octolings who wanted to move to Inkopolis. She reached out to her parents for help, and her parents -- ecstatic to hear life in Cora's voice for the first time in years -- helped fund a night school in Inkopolis to help Octolings learn the Inkling language, to help them take to life on the surface more quickly. Cora also set up a partnership with Ammo Knights to use Shel-drones to send supplies to fixing the infrastructure down to the Canyon and Valley, for those who wished to stay there instead, under agreement with Octavio that he wouldn't just use the supplies to wreak havoc on Inkopolis.

"There are Octolings living here now, too," Cora told him. "You wouldn't want to hurt them, right?"

Octavio laughed. "Loosen up, little revolutionary. I'm not gonna spin up any war crimes right now. I kept my word before, didn't I?"

Cora scowled. "You took the Zapfish again. You waited two years, but --"

"No, I didn't," Octavio said. "I took Callie, and she took the Zapfish. It's different, see?" Another booming laugh erupted from him at the look on Cora's face. "Pay attention to the words people say, little revolutionary! Words are important!"

"I'm not 'little.' I'm eighteen years old --"

"And I'm over one hundred. You're little."

And so it went. It wasn't perfect. It felt like there was always more to do. But for five years, Cora felt as though she was putting good in the world. And that was reason for her to get up each day, for her to shower and brush her teeth, for her to be able to eat. It didn't fix everything -- she still had to take sleeping medication if she wanted to sleep peacefully, she saw a therapist twice a week, and on Marina's advice she retired Ol' Faithful for a brella instead, because a more defensive weapon made her feel less reluctant and guilty to use it than a shooter type did -- but it helped.

Shortly after she turned 21, Cuttlefish retired and named her the new captain.

"You've the one who's changed this whole outfit for the better!" he said. "If anyone deserves to be captain, it's you."

"Plus Callie and Marie are too busy, right?"

"Well . . ." Cuttlefish stroked his chin sheepishly. "Mostly it's the thing I said."

Of course, things didn't progress without their hiccups. The Great Zapfish went missing for the third time, and Cuttlefish jumped to blaming Octavio for breaking the treaty. Likewise, when Octavio's octotroopers went missing at the same time, he blamed Cuttlefish for simultaneously breaking the treaty. And all of this landed Cora, the Squid Sisters, and a new agent Cuttlefish had recruited -- the new Agent 3, now that Cora was captain, and older than both Cora and Reed had been when they were recruited, a request Cora herself had made to Cuttlefish years earlier -- exploring the depths of Alterna. In the end, Cuttlefish was dried out, but they stopped Mr. Grizz from transmogrifying everyone into mammals, so it was at least a net good for the Squidbeak Splatoon, in Cora's opinion.

(Though the fact that Grizzco continued to operate even after Mr Grizz's demise . . . that was something to deal with another time, particularly since taking down Grizzco meant going through Reed. And while Reed was everything Cora hated bundled into a single person, she was also a one squid army. Cora was no slouch, but Reed was hazard level max.)

There was always more work to be done. And some days were still much harder than others. Seven years had passed since her initial crusade into Octo Canyon, and yet Cora still had to consciously try to smile. But she was doing better. She was doing so much better, one day at a time. Sitting in her comfy clothes, in her clean apartment, with her headphones on watching music videos and enjoying a big bowl of chocolate ice cream after a long day of hard work as Captain of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, helping those who needed it any way she could.

This is peace for her.

the splatsville catalogue (a splatoon mandela catalogue au)

after driving humanity to extinction (almost six world wars is an impressive feat!) gabriel and the alternates rest, figuring their work is complete. when they awake, they find that a new species have taken the place of the humans, and have managed to mimic their old society and mannerisms almost perfectly -- the only difference being their desire to play strange ink games all day. this, very obviously, makes gabriel angry, that after all of the work he did it just got undone by the rise of what he considers to be a more disgusting, slimy version of the human race.

he starts to send alternates back out, but the death rate from MAD goes from 97% to 1%. the techniques he used against the humans dont seem to ever work against these strange creatures, so he goes back to the drawing board. everyone has a breaking point, right?

(information about the characters and a B&W version under the cut)

Eve “M0N0CHR0MEANG3L” Ika (Victim One) a splatsville-born octoling who makes music under their stage name “M0N0CHR0MEANG3L”. often works shifts at grizzco to earn extra cash, but can be found participating in turf wars on the weekend with their trusty flingza roller. their friends would describe them as “weird and loud”, but if you were to only listen to their music you would think they were quiet and reserved. most of eve’s fans wouldn’t even know it was them if they bumped into them on the street. they view professor hagfish as a parental figure and role model. thinks their last name is ironic due to being an octopus, not a squid.

design wise, they are a slightly modified version of my octoling that i play as in splatoon 3

Professor Hagfish (Victim Two) a vampire squid inkling of mysterious origin. used to be the head scientist at kamabo co before it was destroyed during the events of splatoon 2: octo expansion (which in this au, tartar -- and later mr grizz as well -- was controlled by gabriel in his attempt to take out the cephalopod race quickly). now works at splatsville high school as a biology teacher. they only allow themselves to be called “professor hagfish”, and nobody knows if they have a first name. they refuse to share where they came from with anyone, but due to their strange green scars on their face and neck students have spread rumors that they worked at kamabo co and/or they are an alternate.

spoiler alert: those rumors are both correct.

design wise, they are this au’s version of my main splatoon character, who was based off of the outfit i used in splatoon 2

Captain Three (Victim Three) an inkling from inkadia and captain of the new squidbeak splatoon. rarely speaks to anyone, even her friends, but would get hit by a train if it meant it saved their lives. she is a high-priority target of the alternates due to her status. hasn’t slept in days, both due to the fact that she has probably never had a normal sleep schedule in her life and because she spends every night fending off the alternates that inevitably break into her apartment. gets dragged around by agent 8 to document the alternates and post them online

Hachi “Agent 8″ (Victim Four) an octoling who grew up in octo valley. defeated commander tartar and kept him from killing everyone with assistance from popular idol duo off the hook (who have since gone missing). moves to splatsville and starts the splatsville paranormal society, where she and captain three (who is only really there for moral support) investigate alternate and other weird sightings over livestream. she and three have garnered quite a large following worldwide by the thrill-seekers that are inklings and octolings, especially after alternate sightings and deaths start to ramp up in splatsville. although their first mission is to have fun and provide spooky content to their fans, their second mission is to try and figure out what happened to off the hook.

📖+ Fashion Model Agent 3. Let's see what you decide to do with this! (@braveheartsquid)

('Bout time I answered this)

Ever since she was a young child, the Inkling known as Tanya Hokai has always been interesting in going down runways, showing off clothes, things like that. So when she finally got her chance to start strutting her stuff down runways at the age of 16 years old, she definitely didn't look back. Sure, she occasionally participated in Turf Wars like she did during her younger years, but that was RARE nowadays due to the fact she was swarmed by fans each and every time after a Turf War! Though when the Great Zapfish had gone missing, her modeling gigs were becoming more and more rare due to power slowly becoming more and more limited across Inkopolis. And on her way to one such gig, she had noticed Captain Cuttlefish sticking his head out of the sewer grate that led to Octo Valley.

Unfortunately letting her curiosity get the better of her, the fashion model followed the Captain down the sewer grate; Captain Cuttlefish explaining everything that was going on and how the Octarians were responsible for the disappearance of the Great Zapfish. At first, Tanya was going to decline the offer of becoming Agent 3, but the more she thought about it... She eventually agreed to becoming Agent 3. Though less for the sake of Inkopolis and more for the sake of her modeling career being at risk. However, the more she battled the Octarians and the more Zapfish she saved, Tanya found herself becoming more and more excitable fighting the Octarian menace until eventually... She was fighting for more than her fashion career. She was fighting to defeat the Octarians. She was fighting for the sake of Inkopolis!

Sure, she was more than happy to save her modeling career, but after that fateful day...

Whenever duty calls, Agent 3 never hesitates to put on that Hero Suit and cape of hers and rush to Octo Valley to take out Octarians...

don’t you let me go | pearlina proposal fic

[Marina’s done her research on how to propose, and has been rehearsing everything in her head for months. Sometimes, when Pearl isn’t home, she stands in the mirror and practices, watches her own face, and feels really silly. But she wants to do this right. She has the ring. Now she just has to take the plunge.]

A note to future readers: I wrote and posted this during the final splatfest before I could find out the results or how it will impact everything. This piece takes place post-final splatfest but it's pure wish fulfillment. Plain and simple.

[Crossposted on ao3.] [Story title from here.]

☆ Reblogs appreciated! ☆

------

After the splatfest ends, Pearl and Marina pass out for at least twelve hours. At the studio, they change clothes by touch because they can barely keep their eyes open, scrub makeup off, smile only with their eyes because their cheeks hurt so bad, and hold each other up as they stumble to the car. At home, they stagger in and shuck off their shoes. The bed catches them as they fall. Sometimes, they sleep curled up together, sometimes Pearl sprawls out so wide that Marina has to nudge her over to her side of the bed, sometimes Marina sleeps on her back like she’s dead and Pearl wakes up just to check for her breath.

In the morning (or afternoon), Marina is usually the first one to rise. She takes a shower, brushes her teeth, stretches her sore muscles, and gargles some warm salt water. Pearl snores loudly, but only after splatfests. Her vocal cords rattle in her chest. Marina pulls the covers down and crawls back into bed to wait.

Pearl wakes eventually, but it’s slow, like she’s rising from the grave. Marina knows she’s close when she starts muttering. Then, she twitches, first her fingertips, then her arms, then her legs, then she rolls over. Her eyes flicker open eventually and the first thing she sees is Marina, peering at her with exhausted but bright eyes. Pearl usually tries to say something, but her throat is in shreds and Marina shushes her.

Pearl showers. Marina sits in bed with the blankets pooled in her lap and checks the news on her phone. It’s always splatfest related. Marina quickly gives up trying to learn anything new about the world, content that it didn’t end in the last fourteen hours.

Pearl emerges in a shirt down to her knees and with her hair pulled back. She angrily sloshes salt water around her mouth while she’s standing there, because she hates that she has to do it, but she knows that Marina will shame her if she doesn’t. After she brushes her teeth, they have breakfast.

Today it’s eggs. They don’t talk as Marina scrambles them. Pearl pulls bits and bobs out of the fridge to dump in—mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers—and she blitzes them in the food processor because she’s too tired to handle a knife. The eggs end up good if a little mushy and they eat quickly.

They don’t talk for the first twelve hours. Vocal rest is important, but it kills Pearl a little. They have to communicate by writing or texting. Marina’s handwriting is careful, exact, while Pearl’s is loopy and messy, quick scribbles because she’s impatient. She stomps around now that she’s awake and she often takes to the studio, where she slams her fists against the keyboard in an attempt to compose. No vocals though. She never really gets very far.

It doesn’t matter who won the splatfest, not really. They don’t talk about it and, at the end of the day, it’s just a festival, more for Inkopolis than for them. It’s just their job to create hype.

And create hype they do. Their voices need days to recover and their bodies are sluggish. Marina never wants to wear another pair of tights again and she always swears them off (only to begrudgingly tug them back on as soon as they get to work on Monday), while Pearl declares that she’s done with jumping. Her knees are weak, like rotten wood, but, soon enough, she’s bouncing around like nothing happened.

They spend the day by themselves. Marina likes the quiet and Pearl can’t stand not being able to talk to Marina. So, they do their own thing. Marina sits in a rocking chair and reads, glasses perched on the end of her nose, while Pearl attempts to compose, attempts to play a video game, or succeeds at online shopping. They don’t need a popcorn machine, but she orders one anyway, along with a couple heating pads and Marina’s favorite brownie mix.

Then, that evening, they go out together. Sometimes bowling, sometimes to an arcade, sometimes to dinner at a little hole-in-the-wall place that Pearl found online. Today, because it’s the day after the final splatfest, there’s a carnival in a field on the outskirts of the city. Pearl hugs close to Marina’s back as they ride out on the motorcycle, and, once they get there, vocal rest comes to an end.

Pearl hops off the bike, stretches her arms over her head, her cropped hoodie riding up to give Marina a beautiful look at her freckled stomach, and yells, “I’m gonna eat until I throw up!”

Her voice cracks in the middle and she breaks off to cough once she gets it out. Marina laughs and puts her hand on the small of Pearl’s back as they begin to walk. “Just don’t throw up on me.”

Pearl gives her a huge grin. “Then stay out of my splash zone.”

Marina shakes her head, but she can’t help but smile in return. Surreptitiously, she unzips the pocket of her leather jacket and sticks her hand inside, just to make sure that the small box is still there.

+++

This has been coming for a while. Marina’s done her research on how to propose, received a lot of unwanted advice from anyone who saw her with the ring (namely, the jeweler, a man on the train, and Callie, who squealed so loud that Marina had to fake an illness to get out of a recording session later that evening because she couldn’t hear out of her right side), and has been rehearsing everything in her head for months. Sometimes, when Pearl isn’t home, she stands in the mirror and practices, watches her own face, and feels really silly. But she wants to do this right.

She didn’t know when she was going to do it. She never planned that far—just knew that it needed to be after the final splatfest. After all that stress, all that performing, all that pretend fighting. When they were flying high on a job well done, a tradition properly brought to a close. That was the perfect time. The ending of one thing, the beginning of the rest of their lives.

She’s been carrying the ring around for weeks now, just in case. She didn’t want Pearl to find it and she was open to seizing an opportunity, even if it went against her post-final splatfest instincts. She was really winging this whole thing, had been since she crawled out of Octo Valley and took a chance on a small little inkling with dozens of piercings who wanted to start a band. It’d brought her this far, her instincts, her gut, her trust in Pearl. Who was she to look the right moment in the face and say no?

But, that never came. Instead, things went according to plan. They sang their lungs out and danced their feet off. Marina went stage blind and Pearl almost slipped off the edge a few times. They finished strong and they brought all of Inkopolis together by dividing them. And now, they’re here.

This is the night. The lights are bright, a multitude of colors that flash and dance across their skin. Pearl’s rings catch the light and she jabbers excitedly as she points out all the junk food. She pulls Marina by the hand from stand to stand and begins to rank all of the fried food on a tastiness scale that only she understands. Marina follows along and gives her opinion on funnel cake, fried mac and cheese bites, corndogs, spiraled potatoes. All the while, Pearl glances at Marina with something behind her eyes, something that Marina can’t place. It’s not bad—in fact, it warms her through, but it almost makes her falter a few times.

After they down a few slices of pizza and share some fried ice cream, they set their sights on the rides. Pearl beelines to a large saucer and it makes Marina queasy to see it spin like that (among other things). She bows out and sends Pearl on by herself.

While alone, she tugs the box out. She doesn’t dare open it. She’s looked at it enough already: a small, simple silver band, etched with P + M. It’ll match Pearl’s other jewelry, won’t be too conspicuous, and she knows that Pearl isn’t a fan of gems or sparkles. She prefers the bluntness of silver, the glint of a thick band under stage lights.

Marina takes a deep breath, holds the box between her hands like a prayer, and tries to give herself the strength to do this. This amazing, crazy thing. This thing that will ensure that things never have to change. This thing that will guarantee that they’ll always be together, no matter what.

+++

They ride a swing ride, one that flies them in a large, leisurely circle. Marina, overcome, flings her arms and legs out like a child and Pearl lets out a chiming, free laugh. She copies Marina and, together, they yell wordless joy as they go in circles. After, a few people recognize them, and they pose for a couple pictures. Pearl, always hungry for the camera, flourishes her arms out. Marina, more subdued, makes sure that her high-waisted skinny jeans are angled just so, and puts her hands on her hips.

They go back to food after that. Over a heaping plate of fried mushrooms, Pearl looks out at the crowd, at all the couples and the children and the siblings, and her eyes are shining with all the lights. Marina swears she falls in love with her all over again right there.

“Are you going to miss it?” Pearl asks after she swallows down a mushroom. Marina, unsure, makes a confused sound. “All the splatfests,” Pearl clarifies.

Marina considers that. Will she? It was something new to look forward to, something she did only with Pearl, and staying up all night writing the announcements and the results every month were some of the most peaceful, reassuring moments of her life. Pearl is quieter and softer when she’s tired, and they shared their first kiss during one of those all-nighters. Worn down, exhausted, they merely fell together that night. One second, Pearl was leaning her head against Marina’s shoulder and the next she was looking up at her with slightly parted lips. They kissed like gravity, like it was inevitable, and, after, neither was sure who initiated. They stared at each other and it was like terminal velocity. Suddenly Pearl was in Marina’s lap, shoving her cold hands around Marina’s face so she could pull her closer. Marina wrapped her arms around Pearl’s back and pulled them flush. She swore she could feel all three of Pearl’s hearts, racing each other in a rat-a-tat rhythm.

“A little,” Marina answers, once she realizes that she’s been contemplating the question for a few too many beats. Her face is warm at the thought of that first kiss and Pearl peeks at her with a coy expression that says that she knows exactly what Marina was just thinking about.

“Things change,” Pearl continues. A flash goes off as someone takes a picture of them and Pearl glances up just in time for another to go off. She scowls in their direction, ever the protector of their private moments, and the poor teen scurries off. Then, she turns back to Marina and grabs her hand, rubs her thumb along her palm. “But you’ll always have me.”

+++

Marina almost chickens out. There are multiple opportunities, but she doesn’t take them. Instead, she allows herself to be dragged around the carnival. She examines the rides with a critical eye, taking them apart in her mind to figure out how they work, and points out a few interesting pieces of mechanics. This makes Pearl smile fondly and shake her head. She squeezes Marina’s hand. “So cute when you’re geekin’,” she mutters, and Marina shoves her lightly.

They ride a few more gentle rides, including the carousel. Pearl climbs on top of an ostrich and lets out a loud whoohoo! as soon as it starts moving. Marina, on an accompanying zebra, forgets herself for a second, because the sight of Pearl so carefree does something pleasant to her insides. She smiles to herself and when she looks it up its to Pearl beaming at her, leaning all the way back with her hands wrapped around the pole. It takes all of Marina’s combined will not to lean over and kiss her right there.

Eventually, eventually, the evening is coming to a close. They snack on a few more fried desserts, share a funnel cake and lick powdered sugar off their fingers. Pearl doesn’t barf, not even after riding a few more spinning rides, and they decide to close things out on the Ferris wheel. Marina gazes up at it and she feels a stone form in her stomach because this is it. This is the moment, isn’t it?

Her whole body feels like it’s working on a different frequency as she climbs on next to Pearl. Sher nerves sing, her hands shake, and her leg bounces. Pearl, mistaking the twitchiness for nervousness, places her small hand on top of Marina’s. Marina, with her hands vice gripped around the safety bar, merely grimaces at her.

They sail around a few rotations, staring off at the bright lights of the city, gazing down at the carnival and all the people below them. Pearl points things out, clearly trying to distract Marina from her anxiety, and Marina tries to pretend to be interested as she fumbles around with the zipper on her jacket pocket.

The Ferris wheel stops at the top. Marina nearly chokes on her own tongue as she gazes out at the dark sky in front of them, illuminated by the soft glow coming off the city. She feels like she can see forever.

“Marina...”

Everything slows down. Marina turns, hand fisting around the box in her pocket. She looks and Pearl is watching her with wide, terrified eyes. It makes Marina let go of the box.

“Pearl?”

Pearl shakes her head and grabs Marina’s hand. “Sorry, I was just enjoying the moment. Look, I have something...”

Pearl digs around in the pocket of her white shorts. Marina feels her whole body come back online then. The seat is jiggling as Pearl’s boot drums against the floor and Pearl’s hand is warm, hot almost. Just there, Marina can see a band of skin on her stomach as she shifts to get better leverage.

“You little shit... Get out of there! Ah! Got it! Okay, sorry.” Pearl smiles a little shyly and it’s the first time Marina’s ever seen that expression on her face. She looks... She’s glowing with the lights and with the blush on her cheeks and Marina literally can’t get her mind to keep up with all this.

“Look.” Pearl takes a deep, stabilizing breath. It rattles out of her chest, catches just there, and she swallows thickly. “I know this is sudden, but I can’t take it anymore.”

Pearl holds her hand out. Between her fingers, there’s a small gold band, the same color as her eyes, with a single, small stone affixed, flush, in the metal.

Marina’s mind crashes to a halt. Her perfectly rehearsed speech, her best laid plans, all leave her. All that’s left is the warm summer breeze and Pearl, looking at her with the most vulnerable expression Marina’s ever seen. It’s devastating to see.

Pearl takes another deep breath. This one comes out a little cleaner, free of all the cobwebs of nerves now that she’s got the ring out. “Look. I love you. So fuckin’ much. I love you so much it keeps me up at night sometimes... And I love it! I love waking up and seeing you there! And watching you play with your hair! And the way you tap your pencil against your lips when you’re thinking! And the way your brow furrows when you’re concerned! And the way you touch things you don’t recognize, all careful! And the way you love machinery! I love watching you discover new things about Inkopolis, and I love that I’ve been by your side this whole time! I just... I love you! And, Reena... I wanna keep loving you.”

Marina’s body takes over. Dumbstruck, she fishes into her jacket pocket, tugs the ring box free, because she can’t believe this. “Pearl...” It’s all she can manage. She holds the box out and Pearl’s brow wrinkles as she looks down at it.

Marina watches as Pearl computes everything and she recognizes the instant that it hits her. Pearl’s eyes widen and she looks up with a mouth that slowly widens into an excited gasp. “No fuckin’ way!” She darts forward, grabs Marina’s face between her hands, and kisses her. It blazes through them, from Pearl to Marina, and Marina can feel the ring’s shape against her cheek as Pearl pulls her closer. Marina’s body relaxes, her stomach releases from its complicated pretzeling, and she allows herself to be swept up. The seat sways under them as Marina pushes back, slides her hands along the bare skin of Pearl’s stomach, and Pearl laughs against Marina’s lips as she brushes against a sensitive spot. Marina, emboldened by the laugh, merely deepens the whole thing. She feels Pearl’s lips part, just there, and she almost loses herself.

Below them, a few people let out a few whoops. A woman yells a loud congratulations! and Marina pulls away, suddenly aware that they have an audience. Pearl lets out a small keening noise at the interruption but then seems to come back to herself. She grins up at Marina, unabashed, and waves over the side, to the delight of their onlookers.

“Is that a yes?” Marina asks. She feels like she’s being lit up from the inside, like she could sail up and live amongst the stars in the sky.

“I thought I was asking you!” Pearl cries, face split in two by her brilliant smile. She has tears in her eyes, Marina realizes, and it makes her chest jump.

“Yes,” Marina says simply. It’s all she can manage. After all that planning, all that rehearsal, and that’s all she has to say. “Yes,” she repeats. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”

+++

As they climb out, equipped with two new rings, the ride attendant gives Pearl a high five. Marina, giddy, overcome, can’t help but lean close as they walk away. A few people snap pictures but neither of them care.

“That was perfect. How’d you do it?” Marina asks as they walk toward the parking lot.

Pearl, knowing that she’s been had, merely grins up at her. “I might’ve bribed the dude running the ride. I’ll never tell.”

Marina lets out a chiming laugh. Pearl squeezes her hand and presses as close as she can while walking. Together, they head home.

Together, they head into the future.

This is a chance to go off abt ur ocs or any of them,go feral I wanna hear.

((Hey don't mind me just chugging my I love u Pais juice hgdhcjkd))

Jay is the Sokka of the group. He's a stupid clown man who tRIES SO HARD but the other two just kinda laugh and don't rlly take him seriously at all. He doesn't mind though, he actually loves it! He was never allowed to be like that at home. His parents were rich and influential, they wanted him to become an x rank master. He had to train every day and was never allowed to have fun or friends, which is why he ran away on his 15th birthday. He doesn't miss his family, because he found one - his real one - in inkopolis.

Rose is the 'mature' one of the group. She likes clowning around with Jay, but sometimes she's tough and stern like Mikey. She's autistic, and her special interest is botany, so she loves anything and everything to do with flowers. She used to be a high ranked official in the Octarian army. She ran her own battalion, and was known for being a ruthless killing machine. However, one day, everything changed. She was there; at the battle of agent 3 vs octavio. The mind control was broken. She could have escaped. But she didn't. She tried to pretend she was still an emotionless machine, but it didn't work. She couldn't stand by and watch as she hurt innocent people. Eventually, she was found out, and as punishment her mind was wiped and she was thrown into the metro. Everyone in octo valley thinks she's dead.

Mikey is the hothead of the group. He's icy and cold, refusing to rely on his fellow agents and shouldering his burdens alone. He's got a bit of a temper too, prone to outbursts and huffs. He's hard to read. You can't blame him, since he hadn't had it easy. His parents abandoned him with a neighbor when he was born, not leaving a trace of themselves behind. She homeschooled him, and due to his rural upbringing, isn't the best around people. He gets frustrated easy and doesn't like being challenged, so he gets in fights a lot. Him and Jay especially. He wouldn't admit it - not in a million years - but he cares for his fellow agents. Maybe he'd even consider calling them...friends. well, more like annoyances, but he's fond of them. Unless Jay opens his big ol' mouth.

Jay's Nonbinary and likes woman, and he eventually starts dating Rose, who's Trans bi. Classic 'Friends to lovers' with plenty of good slow burn, mutual pining, and a very exasperated Mikey. Speaking of him, he's homoromantic, but doesn't have any crushes at the moment. He tries playing matchmaker for those two idiots- key word 'tries.'

Stay for Tonight

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: F/F Fandom: Splatoon Relationships: Pearl/Marina, Inkling/Octoling Characters: Pearl (Splatoon), Marina (Splatoon) Additional Tags: Fluff, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

There was something about keeping secrets that made them so exciting. There was something about this specific secret that, although hard to keep, was especially exciting. When they finally had the courage to grace the world with Off the Hook, things went better as planned. Marina was accepted into society, and they both became popular almost overnight. But the constant dread still clung to them like glue, even if they had no intention of showing it.

Based off of @vanillavagabond ‘s lovely art, which you can see here!

Cross-Posted on AO3. Feedback, kudos and reblogs are appreciated! 

i.

There was something about keeping secrets that made them so exciting.

There was something about this specific secret that, although hard to keep, was especially exciting.

Pearl and Marina have been lovers for a long time, all in secret from the world. No one knew, no matter how tempting it was to tell them, and they managed to keep it hidden very well. Don’t get them wrong, they wanted to be open about their relationship; but there were too many potential consequences.

While it did add to the thrill, there was still fear deep in the back of the girls minds. This fear was similar to the one they had when they first met, when Pearl first found Marina after she ran away from home in a fit and Marina had done the same to escape Octarian society. They were only secret friends then, scared of what would happen to both of them if one were to find out they befriended the enemy. A constant, tugging anxiety that they could be caught any second.

When they finally had the courage to grace the world with Off the Hook, things went better as planned. Marina was accepted into society, and they both became popular almost overnight. But the constant dread still clung to them like glue, even if they had no intention of showing it.

Even if Marina was accepted, tension between Octarians and Inklings still continued, and the disappearance of The Great Zapfish and pop star Callie of the squid sisters only fueled the flame. Rumours started that Marina was a spy, and while she tried to ignore them, she still got questions every day from persistent paparazzi about it (thankfully, every time, Pearl was there to chase them off). Pearl got her fair share of questions, too, often accused of being a traitor, helping the Octarians, or even kidnapping Callie herself. She took this better than Marina did - she didn’t care what they said or thought - but they were still annoying, nonetheless.

Their idol status was no help either. There were no rules or regulations about them dating, it had happened before with previous idols after all. But this still didn’t make them any less nervous. What if they did get into trouble for it? They didn’t care if they lost contracts, but they were worried about the stress potentially tearing them apart. The girls were also two different species. How would the public react, to an Octoling and Inkling in love? Two sworn enemies? Only time could tell, but they were afraid of what they would be told.

Yet, despite this, keeping such a secret was exciting. It felt them with a sense of adventure. The risk filled them with adrenaline, and just made things seem so much more thrilling. That didn’t mean they weren’t careful, though.

So in the end, they still tried to keep quiet. No matter how hard or painful it was.

ii.

The night of a Splatfest concert is always exhilarating. Everyone got competitive when participating, but the concerts always brought everyone together in a magical way. The lights were always beautiful, the music went on for hours, and there were even fireworks. When Inkopolis learned they would be returning, hosted by their new biggest idols, everyone was ecstatic and talking about it for weeks. Everyone knew that these new Splatfests would be different, but had hope it would still keep its extraordinary feeling.

Marina knew nothing about these events, however. She had never even heard of them before Pearl told her the exciting news. This made the Octoling especially nervous - so many things could go wrong. This wouldn’t be their first concert, sure, but it was their first time being part of such a big portion of Inkopolis culture.

She sat in the soft teal chair of her dressing room, staring intently at her mirror. Marina was anxious. Anxious enough to have gotten herself ready hours prior, to leave herself time to get ready emotionally. And here she was, for the past hour, trying to calm herself down. She felt like she was going to explode. She never had this problem with previous concerts, but with the recent news about the missing Zapfish, who could blame her?

She inched close to the mirror, looking herself dead in the eyes. Her eyes were so different - her pupils were sideways. Her mask didn’t stretch across her face, instead they were separated and almost looked like makeup. She was no inkling, she never will be. The octoling’s orbs almost looked like glass. She completely lost focus on her mirror.

Marina felt like there was a rock in her chest. Her mind felt floaty. It was like television static at full volume.

What if everyone decided they hate me?, the nervous voice in her head began to speak.

Will they boo me? Will they cancel the Splatfest last second? Can they even do that? What if Judd and Lil Judd go missing too? What if the zapfish is needed for the concert? What if Pearl hates me now? Oh god, I can’t ruin this for Pearlie. What if she never wants to see me again? What if - What if what if what if what i-

The sound of someone bursting open broke her from her trance. The octoling realized she was no longer looking at the mirror, but her hands. She was trembling. Her breathing was heavy and slow. How long was she sitting like this?

“Marinaaa!” Shouted a sing-song voice, followed by a door closing. “We’re up in 30 minutes - Oh.”

Pearl stood at the door as Marina turned to her, slowly lifting her head. Pearl instantly knew that face. Marina only made that face when she was on the brink of tears. The octoling sat up, attempting to make herself presentable.

“Hey, ‘Rina,” Pearl took a few steps forward. There was a gentleness in her voice, which was rare for her - something no one else but Marina would ever hear. “Marina, are you okay?”

“I-I,” Marina stuttered, “I...I don’t know, Pearlie, I..” The words just couldn’t come out of her mouth. Even if she tried, the waterworks were already starting.

Pearl, now in front of her partner, put a comforting hand on Marina’s shoulder. “Marina,” She stated, pausing to get her attention.

Marina hiccuped and looked Pearl in the eyes.

“Is this about the whole Great Zapfish thing?”

The octoling sniffed and nodded. Pearl took a step back. Marina knew she was in for a pep talk.

“Well, ‘Rina!” The inkling began, “Ya know they don’t really care that much, right?”

“B-But all the news…” Marina quietly said.

“Yeah, that’s just gossip! No one listens to that kinda stuff! No one even noticed until we got news of it. It coulda been gone for days before anyone knew.” The inkling continued. “And even if they did care, you shouldn’t care!”

“Oh, w-well..”

“I know you aren’t bad, I’m not bad, neither of us are bad! So who cares about them?”

Marina smiled, just slightly, just enough for Pearl to notice. Something about her partner’s pep talks always eased her nerves, even if it was only slightly. While she didn’t feel completely great, she felt good enough to go on stage.

“That’s what I was looking for! The prettiest smile in all of Inkopolis AND Octo Valley!” Pearl said, pulling Marina out of her thoughts. Her smile grew, and then felt the Inkling’s arms around her and being pulled close in a comforting embrace.

The world seemed to be at peace for just a moment. The inkling was still standing while she was sitting, giving Pearl the rare height advantage. Not that the octoling minded, because she buried her face in the crook of her partner’s neck. Marina began to steady her breathing, matching it to Pearl’s calm one. She embraced the other’s smell, too. Vanilla with a hint of strawberry. It was welcoming. It made her feel at home.

“Will you be fine out on stage?” Pearl whispered, as gently as she could muster.

Marina inhaled. “Yeah. I think so.” She replied. It was the first sentence she actually spoke since Pearl arrived.

“Do you want me to try and delay it a few more minutes?”

“N..No, I... think I can do this,” Marina pulled back, but Pearl kept a comforting hand on her’s. “Thank you, Pearlie.”

“Anything for you, rockstar.” The inkling said with a wink.

Marina blushed and looked away, just as one of her tentacles wiggled and wrapped around Pearl’s wrist.

The inkling looked down and snickered. “They’re doing it again!”

Marina’s eyes trailed down to Pearl’s wrist and she felt her face heat up even more. Pearl broke into laughter and pulled away.

The octoling covered her face, trying to hold back laughter and ultimately failing. “I can’t help it! They have a mind of their own!”

Marina felt like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders.

iii.

The inkling and octoling couple stepped off the stage with a wave, ready to let the next few bands perform for the Splatfest. Crowds were gathered around the tower, dancing and laughing. Firework were being set up. Everyone was cheerful and having the times of their lives. As soon as they were sure they were out of sight, they were hand-in-hand.

Pearl practically dragged Marina back to her tour bus, albeit a bit sluggishly. The two were clearly tired; their legs were sore, their eyes and throats burned.

Upon entering, Pearl let go of Marina’s hand and threw herself face down onto the closest couch with a loud “WHUMP”, followed by her own “PPBTBTBTBTBHTHTHB”.

“That was really fun, Pearlie! I can’t believe I was so worried before…”

The inkling lifted her head. “What’d I tell ya? Nothing to worry about, ‘Rina,” she replied, then flopped back down.

Marina smiled and sat herself down next to Pearl, carefully moving her legs onto her lap and lounging back. The octoling stared at the ceiling, listening carefully to the distant, muffled beats of the Splatfest concert and the ink-battles happening nearby. Something about them soothed her thoughts, drifting her off to her own little world.

She didn’t realize she was falling asleep until she felt weight being lifted from her lap as Pearl stood from the couch. She sat up and blinked.

Before she could register where Pearl was going, the inkling was leaning towards her. Their faces were so close, Marina could feel her partner’s hot breath on her chin. That was certainly unexpected, but not unwelcome.

“Hi.” Pearl whispered.

“Oh...Hello,”

Pearl held Marina’s zipper, tugging it upwards. “Heeeeeeyyyy,”

“Hey,” The octoling hushed, blushing hard and smiling at the other’s antics.

The two stared into each other’s eyes for what felt like eternity, waiting for the other to move. Marina couldn’t remember if they locked the door or not, but she didn’t care.

The two leaned towards each other at the same time, closing their eyes and kissing each other softly. It was long, but sweet and passionate. They finally pulled apart and there was silence for a few seconds before they broke into a fit of giggles.

“What’s so funny?” Marina snorted.

“I-I don’t know! You’re just…” The inkling puffed her cheeks and pouted. “You’re cute!”

“Aww, Pearlie, you’re cute too!”

“N-No!! I mean, yes! I am! But,” Pearl sputtered, shuffling herself onto Marina’s lap.

The octoling tensed for a second, confused, before relaxing and wrapping her arms around the inkling’s waist and peppering her neck with a few kisses

“But?” she said, burying her face in Pearl’s shoulder.

“...I ‘dunno. It’s just…This is nice.”

Pearl sighed and draped her arms over her girlfriend’s shoulder.

“I kinda don’t want stuff like this to end, I guess,” She continued.

The octoling pulled back and kissed her partner’s forehead. “Me too…”

They sat in silence, simply holding each other and occasionally kissing, for what felt like hours.

Moments like these didn’t happen often between these two much anymore, with their busy schedules and lack of alone time. But when it did, they cherished it, forgetting all the problems in the world. Their burdens were almost nonexistent. They were together, they were happy, and they planned to keep it that way. Marina hummed to the distant music playing over an ink battle, rubbing Pearl’s back and letting her girlfriend melt in her arms.

The sound of someone pounding on the door made them both jump and scramble off of each other. Pearl fell on the ground with a loud ‘THUD’.

“Girls? Is everything alright in there?” shouted a voice on the other side.

Marina held a hand out for the inkling and helped her up just as the door opened (she couldn’t believe she forgot to lock it, oh god, they could’ve been caught-).

“Yep! Everything’s fine and dandy here. Nothin’ to worry about.” Pearl chimed, completely unfazed by the sudden interruption. Marina nervously played with her tentacle, avoiding all eye contact and trying her hardest not to blush.

“Hmph. Well, stage rotation is in 10 minutes, you all better get out there soon.” the man, presumably their manager, grumbled.

“Yes, sir,” the duo said in unison.

As soon as he was gone and out of sight, the two looked at each other and laughed.

“He almost caught us!”

“That would have been so embarrassing! How would we explain ourselves?”

“We would’ve been in so much trouble!”

Their laughter died down and they both began to get ready as fast as they could. While they were a bit shaken, they managed to be as excited and lively as ever.

That was the thing about secrets.

THE WISDOM OF LEE SQUIDLY

CHAPTER 1

Lee Squidly has been called into  action. Callie has gone missing and according to Marie he’s her only hope in finding her. There is a lot more going on in Octo Canyon than Lee truly knows but Is he up to the task when he is uncertain of even his own feelings?

A new journey of discovery awaits our hero as he comes to realize what the true meaning of the relationship between the Squid Sisters is, and what they mean to others..

Lee, Things are worse than I could imagine, and only you’ve got what I need. Put the nice kid act on hold for five minutes and climb the fence of Inkopolis Plaza. There’s no one there from 6:00 to 6:05 so no one will see you. Go into the sewer at the far end and follow these instructions to get here. I’ll tell you more when you arrive. Marie Calamari Octo Valley was the homeland of the Octarians but the subterranean world was only part of the lands belonging to the Octopus race. Further relegated to the badlands of the world for losing a war they’re still paying for to this day, they made settlements within a deep gorge they dubbed Octo Canyon. Entering via the world’s sophisticated system of interconnected piping, a lone Inkling boy by the name of Lee Squidly arrived in Octo Canyon. He found himself in a small settlement with a solitary individual to greet him. “Well look what the catfish dragged in,” she said, her back turned to him. Clad in traditional robes and clutching a rather fetching looking paper parasol in her hands, she spun around to face him. “I’m glad to see you got my message. I know you’re a little star struck right now but your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you.” She struck a pose that was all too familiar to the youngster and proclaimed, “I am in fact Marie, yeah, that Marie of the Squid Sisters.” Her introduction was met with silence. “You’ve never heard of me, for eel?” Her special guest could only answer her theatrical dismay with a quiet sigh and a noticeable drop of his shoulders. Lee replied, “Marie, we’ve known each other for 2 years, we beat an alien invasion together, along with other things.” “Actually,” a cute, childish voice began. Unclasping himself from a magnet attached to a pair of shoulder straps secured to Lee, a pint sized, blocky robot balanced itself on Lee’s back and shoulders as he faced the idol. “To be more specific Miss Marie, you and Master Lee have actually been acquainted 1 year, 11 months, 13 days, 7 hours, and approaching 44 minutes.” Dryly clicking her tongue, Marie closed her umbrella and queried, “Just as annoyingly levelheaded as ever, and I see you brought your robot along?” Lee didn’t know where that came from but he gave a nod as the robot waved his tiny clamp hand in greeting. The Inkling answered, “Yeah, when I got your message Mooky insisted on coming along.” Mooky explained, “There was a great level of urgency evident in the words of your request Miss Marie, and to call Master Lee so far away to Octo Canyon it must be something of great importance.” “You don’t know the half of it,” Marie commented, “I guess that means now’s as good a time as ever to tell you what’s up.” She opened her mouth to speak but then stopped herself, hesitating, taking a moment to recollect her thoughts before trying to speak again “Where do I even start,” she finally managed to blurt out. It was surprising to Lee to see her let out frustrated groans and fidget with her parasol; he knew Marie as someone who always knew exactly what to say. The beginning ended up being the best place; “The Octarians have become super aggressive lately, they’ve even stolen the Great Zapfish.” Lee replied with a gasp only for a thought to quickly don on him, “Wait a minute, doesn’t the Great Zapfish get stolen every other week? I mean, you told me he just kind of wanders off on his own sometimes to.” He remembered a detail that stuck with him all throughout the last two years. “Wait a minute, is your grandfather having you do that whole thing with DJ Octavio of scaring Inklings and Octarians from fighting each other?” He could never forget their bizarre partnership of making an anti-indoctrination scheme in hopes of preventing another catastrophe like the Great Turf War. “Because if you brought me here for that, you know I don’t like fighting at all.” “It’s not that at all, Lee,” she grimly replied, “I don’t know for sure just yet but I think they intend to keep him this time, no backsies.” Even though she expressed genuine worry Lee contemplated if that really was a bad thing. He had read a news article for a Current Events assignment that scientists in Inkopolis were researching development for alternative forms of energy. The hope was that they would no longer have to cruelly rely on Zapfish for all of their power needs. Maybe this could be the catalyst to push for that? He then considered if even just for a little while, The Zapfish could be left in the care of the Octarians. Maybe that would help with their crippling social and industrial problems—maybe. He didn’t have long to think of this as Marie proclaimed, “And I have a suspicion that DJ Octavio might be involved in this too.” “His majesty,” Lee’s jaw fell open. “For real, h-how,” was all he could think to say. “For real,” Marie confirmed. He was unable to believe the Octarian monarch would truly do something this sinister to provoke an actual conflict. Even Mooky couldn’t believe it, he calculated, “That is absurd; the odds of DJ Octavio genuinely inciting such a crime are 955 to 1.” Lee silently concurred, being able to testify to the good character of the king. Unfortunately, Marie hadn’t the answer to that question either, “I don’t know.” The look on her face gave away how equally troubled she was by the thought of his betrayal. “The last time I saw him wasn’t acting like his crazy old self anymore, he’s acting… crazy.” The situation was immensely perplexing. Hoping to find some sort of answer, Lee looked over his shoulder at Mooky. The butler robot could only offer an uncertain shrug of his free arm. Even he was unable to process this. Marie interrupted their wordless exchange of confused glances, “But that’s all far out of my mind right now.” That was definitely most confounding yet; considering there could very well be an international crisis at hand. Whatever was troubling her had to be catastrophic. “It’s why I called you here, Lee,” her eyes remorsefully closed as she took a deep breath then let it out, finally revealing, “It’s about Callie.” His heart grew heavy at the mention of her and he grew wearier still as Marie relayed the story to him. “We were going home to visit family but when Callie didn’t show up I rushed back and found our apartment totally ransacked and covered in Octarian ink.” Lee peered down at his feet with a grimace as his insides did a wet flip, unable to forget the memories of being in that same situation himself years ago. “The ink was different though; I knew it came from those native to Octo Canyon as opposed to Octo Valley.” She cleared her throat and finished, “And that’s why I need you. I need you to search for Callie.” “M-Me,” Lee gasped, taken aback by her proposition. Before he could question her decision, Marie placed her hand on her hip in exasperation, wondering, “Yes you, what, do you don’t want to do it?” Lee quickly shot back, “No I do, I do, I do, I really do.” His doubtful mind plagued him with questions though, causing him to ask, “But what can I do? I dunno much about Octo Canyon except it’s a big place, wouldn’t you rather call the whole Agency to come look for her?” Mooky interjected, “Is it not obvious Master Lee?” It really wasn’t to him, and was even less so as he listened, “Your unique bond with Miss Callie makes you more knowledgeable and understanding of her various traits and behaviors better than anyone. If anyone is qualified to find Miss Callie lost in a crowd it is you!” “I- I can,” Lee stammered unsurely, unaware that he even had that trait or if it was true at all. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Marie couldn’t help but hold her hand over her mouth as she let out a quiet laugh. “Hekhek, your robot knows you better than you do.” He was certainly caught between a rock and a hard place; who was what was up for debate. This faith they both had in him to find Callie though– Lee stuttered, bit his teeth, and his eyes shifted from side to side, trying with all he had to think of how to explain to them what he was feeling. He couldn’t so in the end he sighed, “If that’s true than all right, I’ll do whatever I can to help find Callie.” She let out a sigh of relief, “Good, good,” the troubled squid sister breathed. Lee was curious about the state of her own health but wasn’t able to hold onto that thought as Marie said something that left him aghast. “It’s dangerous to be going around Octo Canyon so you’re gonna need a weapon, especially when you find the ink stains that kidnapped Callie. Do me a favor when you do and tear them limb from limb—from limb from limb!” Lee’s look of disbelief was only matched by Mooky’s. Confused, the boy muttered, “E-excuse me?” Marie said nothing in response so Lee firmly returned, “Marie— we don’t even know what’s going on here; we can’t just go around splatting Octarians willy-nilly.” Marie still didn’t answer, only offering a stern look while crossing her arms. He couldn’t believe it; he didn’t want to believe it, especially since he always knew her and Callie as such strong advocates for Octarian rights. The two just glared at each other until Marie finally answered, “Really?” She tapped her parasol against the ground, “What if you find the terrorists that kidnapped Callie, what are you gonna do then? Just wave your little finger at them?” Using the word terrorist was pretty extreme and considering the involvement of the kidnapping of The Great Zapfish that was quite a strong likelihood. Lee knew this but he kept in mind that more needed to be known. With that, he reiterated, strong and firm, “I’m. Not. Going. To. Fight. Anyone. Especially not any Octarians.” Marie could only give in to his desires, “Suit yourself then,” she said with a disapproving shake of her head. “You know, Lee, I figured if anyone would jump at the chance to be Callie’s knight in shin-ink armor it’d be you but I guess I was wrong about that to.” Lee pulled his head back when she said that. Her words were quite harsh, even for her, but he said nothing in response. Meanwhile, Mooky detached himself from the magnet on Lee’s back and slid onto the ground. He said, “Master Lee, while I am fully supportive of your aversion to violence I must remind you that we are not aware of the very real dangers that may lay ahead. We must have self-defense and that is why I was sure to bring this!” The boy let out the sharpest gasp as he watched the knee-high butler unveil his .96 Gal Buster. It was always his favorite weapon to bring into Turf Battles; both in Ranked Squad matches, and in regular everyday Turf Wars. It looked so immaculately maintained despite the fact he hadn’t so much as looked at it in months since his accident occurred. His stomach ended up in knots and his throat went dry as the last memories he had of using it flooded his brain. He really wished he could’ve gone without seeing it ever again. Ruefully though, he took the weapon from Mooky and secured it to his arm. With a grumble, he muttered, “I’ll take it, but I won’t use it.” Approaching them, Marie handed Lee a two-way radio and a wireless earpiece. “Here, take this, don’t expect to hear much from me, and if you find something important keep it short and sweet because who knows who’s listening.” As he affixed the earpiece over his ear and Mooky jumped up onto his back, she presented a slip of paper to him. “Also, I need you to look for these three people; I’ve got them looking for Callie to. I want you to meet up with them and use whatever they’ve found for the search” The names on the list were familiar to Lee, “No way, they’re here to,” he gasped. “That’s right,” Marie confirmed, “Now, time is of the essence so get going already; scat, scoot, skedaddle and all that.” The uncertainty in his heart wouldn’t leave him though, especially when he thought of his last encounter with Callie. “I don’t know what I would do or say if I found her though.” “What,” Marie wondered. “We kinda talked a little bit ago, and she said I should be doing other things for myself and not doing things others tell me to do.” That talk they had really stuck in his mind. All Marie had to offer in response was a bewildered twist of her face as she asked, “Huh, what are you babbling about?” She then let out a huff and tapped her finger against his chest, “Look, I don’t care what kind of lover’s quarrel you two had! Callie is in danger, and right now you’re the only squid I have hope in that can help!” “L-lovers’ quarrel,” Lee repeated in embarrassment, shying away to palm at his chest. To drive the urgency home, she stomped her foot and said, “I need you to stop worrying and over thinking things– basically not be you for once and just get out there and find her!” Lee pursed his lips and raised his brow. He knew full well how blunt she was and how comfortable she was saying whatever she had to say but he really didn’t like the way she callously insulted him again and again. This was for Callie, he reminded himself, not for Marie. Sure they may have had their talk but this was a matter of Callie’s wellbeing, he couldn’t and wouldn’t just abandon his best friend. He held up his hands to show his compliance, “Okay, okay, I’m going, I’m going.” He turned around and set off with Mooky in tow and his .96 Gal Buster strapped to his arm. In the silence of the trek away from Marie’s encampment the true weight of the worries in his mind and heart began to set in. He wondered to himself what could’ve happened to Callie. He only saw her mere days ago. What became of her in that time? Is she all right? Is she safe? Is she scared? What would she say when she saw him? What would he say? Whatever it was, he was on his way to find out. Callie, I promise I’ll find you.

Plot: Canyon Conquest - Prologue Part 4

((This story takes place during the Squid Sister Stories. Which is 9 months, after the Final Splatfest. Fynn was feeling melancholy since the new year had started. Just what made him down in the dumps?))

Team Pinkognito (Fynn, Angela, Maye, and Dewey), Team Sky Splash (Skyla and Scorpia), Mysti, and Tundra belongs to me.

Eimie belongs to @eiden-squid | @marchant-girls

Overtime, Fynn’s mobility and combat is improving since the first day of training. Each day, he recieved a heavier set of ankle weights from Tundra. As always, Fynn followed her instructions by walking in a patient manner around the dojo.

After perfecting his slightly toned ankles, he’s feeling as light as a Carbon Roller when he took them off. It feels weird at first, but it didn’t take long for him to move around freely. He was feeling quick and nimble as a result. Now that the first session is done, he stick to his usual regiment. 50 pushups, 50 situps, 50 squats, and a 5km run around the dojo. After he was done with his set, Tundra and Fynn began sparring on the battlefield.

“C'mon, don’t tell me that’s all you got?” Tundra was wielding a Classic Squiffer for battle. She looked down on Fynn, who is on his knees and covered in teal ink.

“Haa… ha.. Not even close..” Even though he’s taken so many beatings, he still smiled up at him. Fynn slowly got up on his knees, still gripping his Wasabi Splattershot. “Again..!!” Fynn lets out his battle cry and charged in, guns blazing.

Tundra readied her charger and aimed at Fynn’s head. She might have lost her eye, but it doesn’t mean that she’s out of commission. She fired her weapon and… she missed!

Fynn had swiftly moved to the right and managed to get behind her. He dropped in a Splat Bomb near her feet.

“Oh, man..!!” She was too late for to escape from the blast. Luckily, she survived the inksplosion from the Splat Bomb. She was about to recover, until Fynn had trapped her. A cunning tactic to flush out the enemy and finish the job. She’s rather impressed than surprised.

Fynn looked down at her with his Splattershot in his hand. “Yield, now.” He demanded. He could splat her in any moment.

Tundra looked around to see that her weapon had fallen out of her hands and she’s unable to move in his own ink. She sighed in defeat and held her hands up. “Ya got me. I surrender.”

“Not falling for the same trick, again.” He still has his finger on the trigger. He was tricked the first time when Tundra had swept him off his feet, causing him to lose his balance.

“Shoot..! Thought it would’ve worked a second time..” She had been toying with the new disciple for a month and a half. It’s about to time to end today’s session. “I mean it, this time. I, Tundra shall admit defeat. Now, can you help me up?” She asked, extending an arm.

Fynn lowered his weapon and reached out his hand to Tundra. He pulled her up with a bit of strength left. He was completely drained from today. “So, that’s it for now?” He panted, lightly. He was wondering how long has he been cooped up in this dusty old dojo? After every session, he felt homesick. He really misses his girlfriend, Eimie and the rest of his friends and family.

“You’re worried about your friends, eh?” Tundra can read him like a book. She glanced over to see the calendar. Today’s July 5th and it's 11:00 pm, which is close to Fynn’s 20th birthday. “Since you’ve improved well since the beginning, I guess I’ll let you go for a few days.” She’s got some other errands to run while he’s away from the dojo.

Fynn’s eyes lit up when she said it. “F-For realsies?! I can return back to Inkopolis?!” He’s not sure if she was joking or not. Definitely not.

Tundra nodded happily. “You’re free to go for the time being. I got some other things to attend to." She walked upstairs to her own room. She looked back at him and said: "Hurry along, now. It'd be best to return home and rest.” She waved goodbye to him and proceed to take a nap in her room.

Several minutes later, Fynn was returning home from Octo Valley with his stuff in tow. It's already nighttime and everyone's either asleep or enjoying their evening. Once he made it home safely, he noticed a certain purple squid on the rooftop. She seemed very sad and lonely, which made Fynn worry. ("Eimie... please forgive me for leaving you....")

Eimie was about to get back down until she had noticed the random squid who is super jumping to her on the rooftop. Hopefully, it doesn't disturb the other neighbors. She was startle at first until she saw Fynn, right next to her. "F-F-Fynny..?!" Eimie stared up at Fynn, shaking like a leaf. It's been a month in a half since Fynn was missing. Not only Eimie was worrying about her boyfriend, but Team Pinkognito's Angie, Maye, and Dewey. Without warning, she hugged him tightly. "W-Where on earth have you been?! We were worried sick..!!" She began to sob.

"Shhh.. It's okay.. I'm here now... I'll explain this til' morning.." Fynn wrapped his arms around her waist and shushed her. It didn't take long for Eimie to calm herself down from the uncontrollable sobbing. All it matters is that he returned back to Inkopolis for the weekend.

Once the sun raises on the horizon, Fynn got plenty of good sleep with Eimie. For some odd reason, the nightmares were gone after each training session with Tundra. Now, Fynn was sitting by the dinning room table and he was face-to-face with Eimie. She was waiting for an answer from Fynn after so long.

"If you're wondering about my disappearance, I was out in Octo Valley. I met a pro battler like me who knows more about mobility and endurance. Her name is Tundra and she's my personal trainer at her own Battle Dojo. I've been training for at least a month in a half. Soon, I'll be finshed for a couple of months. It's a good thing, I got here in time to see you." Fynn smiles for a bit until he stared down at the table. "I'm sorry for making you and my friends worry like this.."

Without warning, Eimie flicked him on the forehead, causing Fynn to cover his forehead in pain. "You just don't go off without telling me, dork.." She couldn't stay mad at him after his explanation. She kissed the bruised spot on his forehead to make it feel better. "How about I make you some breakfast? You seemed starving from the training." She walked over to the kitchen to fetch some pancake mix, bacon, and eggs.

"I have been eating fruit because I'm staying fit." A little fattening wouldn't hurt him. He'll just burn off the calories during a light jog.

A few moments later, Fynn was feeling satified and refreshed after breakfast. It's great to have a girlfriend who can cook, as long as Fynn cleans the entire apartment room with ease. Fynn was sitting on the couch, reading all the birthday wishes, not to mention the "please come back safe" messages from his friends. He scheduled a meeting at his place in response. He sent the same message to both Sky Splash and Kriller Bees.

Once he was done with his phone, he noticed Eimie was about to leave. "We're you heading off too, babe?" Fynn asked, feeling curious. Before he left Inkopolis, he'd noticed that Eimie went off to see Eika.

"I'm going to stop by the grocery store and pick up some food and drinks. Just in case if your friends show up." Suddenly, Eimie gave him a kiss on the lips. "It won't take long, Fynny. Don't go anywhere~" Who knows what would happen if Eimie starts to worry again.

Fynn did some summer cleaning around the apartment while Eimie was out to buy some groceries. It's been an hour or two to make preparation for their arrival. As he was about done with cleaning, he heard a light knock on the front door. He spun around and made his way to the door. "I'm coming!" He said, before unlocking the door and opening it. Suddenly, he was immediately glomped by another pink inkling with a straw boater hat.

"Ohmygosh, you're back!! I've been trying to reach you, but you didn't answer and..." Fynn's teammate, Maye blurted out quickly. She was later, shushed by her twin brother; Dewey.

"Calm down, sis. He's not dead or anything." Dewey's gaze was focused on his captain. "Seriously, Fynn. Where on earth have you been? As a captain like yourself, you shouldn't just leave without an explanation. Everybody knows that."

And then, there's Angie with her roomate, Mysti. "The other two are arriving, shortly. Unfortunately for Dawn and Hanzo, they're both busy at the moment.. And Hunni's team aren't going to make it because they're already training for the tournament.." Behind Angie, Mysti was standing there and looking over her roommates shoulder. The Mimic Octoling seems to be a bit concerning about Fynn's health.

"I'm relieved, you're alright..!" She stepped closer to him and checked for any scars or injuries. She noticed that Fynn's face still has a bit of dirt from outside. ("There's no mistaken it.. He must've been training hard.. I know someone who would do such a thing...") She rubbed her chin until she looked up into Fynn's gaze. "There are no major injuries on your body. That's good."

Fynn was rather exhausted after each session. During training, he didn't whine or complain and he takes it easy on his own pace. "Of course, I'm alright. There's no need tp worry about me. Noow then, let's all sit down and I'll tell you what really happened." Everyone including Fynn sat down on either the couch or the floor. Before Fynn could confess, there was another knock at the door. He quickly opened the door ro reveal his cousin, Skyla and Scorpia. "Hey, cousin! Scorp! Come sit with us. I was just about to tell you my story." He went back to his seat.

"Where the hell were you for the past few weeks!? Dawn, Aunt Cherry, AND Uncle Ray were worried sick about you!" The tiny inkling sat down with the rest of them. She had already signed the applications for the fall semester and she has gotten the word from Angie.

"......" Scorpia leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. During Fynn's absense, she got a new mask from the new Galleria as a present from her sister, Azalea.

And so, Fynn explained why he was gone. He met a teal-colored inkling at Arowana Mall while Fynn and Dawn were out shopping. He accepted her as her new disciple and began training at her Battle Dojo in Octo Valley. He's been working hard for a month in the half, until he came back to Inkopolis to spend some quality time with the gang for the weekend.

I see.. So, that's why you kept this to yourself? And what about your nightmares that Eimie me mentioned about..?" Angie said, still worried about him.

"I.. kinda forgotten all about that during training. I slept well, I ate well, and there's nothing wrong with me." Fynn shrugged. He stopped worrying about himself and others, just his main purpose. "So, there you have it. I've been improving for a month in a half I couldn't bare the thought of letting my teammates down.. No, everyone down.." He lowered his gaze.

Everyone remained silent for a while until Skyla walked up to Fynn. She planted a light and painless jab to his cheek. She looked up at her cousin and smiles. "You really are an idiot by heart, but you're my idiot. There's no need to worry about us. Whatever training you're doing, don't lose faith." Skyla has known him for 6 years when he started moving in with his aunt, Naomi.

"Sky's right. You're still stronger than you think. We'll be there to support you." Scorpia took off her surgical mask and smiles. She's not worrying about revealing her scar on her mouth.

Next up is the Berri Twins. Dewey stepped up to face Fynn. "I've always been frustated because of you. But you're a great addition to the team. I hate to admit it, but I respect you."

Maye nodded, ethusiastically. "I couldn't thank you enough for treating me for ice cream after my rejection, about a year ago. I'm happy to have you as our captain!"

Last but not least, Angie and Mysti approached to Fynn. "You're not a burden to everyone. You've done so much for the past year. You don't need to worry about us, all the time. If you're feeling down, please tell us. Because that's what friends do.." And with that, Mysti nodded happily with her.

Fynn was moved by everyone. He's been worried about his dark past for a while. Angie was right about one thing, he has friends to support him and guide him in the right direction. "Everyone.. Thank you.. You don't know how much this means alot to me.." Fynn was about to shed a tear, but he dried up.

The heart-warming moment was interrupted when his girlfriend immediately opened the door with some groceries in her hand. She looked very shocked and frightened.

"F-Fynn, everyone, You've got to see this!" Eimie cried, reaching for the remote to the TV. She flipped the channels until she found the Inkopolis News.

"Eimie.. What's going o-" Fynn stopped his sentence when he saw there's no Great Zapfish on the tower in Inkopolis PLaza. It's been captured again. But they were far from over. Everyone was questioning about Callie's disappearance. Once the news is over, everyone went silent again.

"M-Missing..?!" Mysti gasped. She knows who is behind all of this. The Mimic Octoling has heard about her kind's attempt at stealing the Great Zapfish once. She's got a bad feeling about this.

"W-What happened to Callie?! I thought, she was going to do a fan meeting at Starfish Mainstage..!" Maye panicked, a bit.

("This can't be happening.. At a time like this..?!") As a former agent like Fynn, he used to defend Inkopolis during situations like this one. Now that the Great Zapfish is missing again, they'll lose power for good. He needs to find Tundra and fast. Maybe, they'll investigate the problem and inform a Squidbeak Splatoon member. If only Agent 3 was here.

"E-Everybody, remain calm!!" Eimie stood in the middle of the group. "We still have generators, in case of emergency. For the meantime, I brought snacks and drinks over. Ain't that right, Fynn?" She looked around to find Fynn, but he vanished without a trace. Eimie's heart felt cold. "F-Fynn..?! Fynn..!!" She cried out, but he was long gone.

The group searched for Fynn as well, still no use. He must've snuck out to find help while Eimie was talking. "Oh no... Where did Fynn go, this time...?" Angie said, worrying about him even more.

Fynn rushed out of the apartment, heading straight towards the Plaza by bike. The situation is starting to take effect. Some of the lights began flickering on and off until the flickering stopped. He must head back to the dojo, before it's too late.

A few moments later, Fynn arrived at the Battle Dojo and he came to a screeching halt. He quickly stepped inside of the dojo and Fynn froze in place. The entire dojo is trashed and covered in fuschia ink. That ink is color is coming from the Octarians. ("There's no mistaken the ink.. It's from the Octarians.. I need to search for Tundra..") Before he could go up the stairs, he heard an eerie and cute giggle from afar.

"Lost, little rat?" A female voice filled Fynn's ears. It wasn't long until one Octoling approached to him with an Octoshot in her hand. If Fynn could see through her new shades, her eyes were filled with inklust. Suddenly, the other three soldiers have surrounded him.

"Okay.. What's going on..?" Fynn looked around to see the 4 Octolings that are aiming at him. Could they be out for revenge from 2 years ago?

"I'll ask the questions here, punk!!" The black-tentacled elite barked at him, causing Fynn to silence himself. "Tell us where Unit-237 is or we'll start splatting you to bits. We've already found your location during your so-called training." She has her finger on the trigger and ready to shoot if he tries to escape or not answer to her question.

Today's been a huge mess for him. There was no Great Zapfish, no sign of Tundra, and worst of all, no escape. The four elite have cornered him in all directions. ("So much for a pleasant weekend from the dojo.. Without my gun or roller, I'm screwed... Unless, I need to think carefully and fast..!") His memories came rushing back to the ankle weights training. Maybe, he could juke them out and outsmart them without his weapons. Fynn's sufficient training with Tundra will be put to good use for odds like this.

To Be Continued...

Splataclysm! - chapter 2

(Hey so uh remember that really weird bizarre Splatoon AU that I was writing for some reason? Well I decided to keep going with it, and in honour of Think Outside The Love Square Month it’s gonna have like every rarepair under the sun in it)

(AO3) (chapter 1)

Marinette had always got along well with Tikki, ever since she had moved to Inkopolis such a long time ago. Over the years the two of them had become close friends, almost like family. That was exactly what she needed right now anyway.

“Still no sign of Nino,” she said once Nath had left the store, dropping her welcoming smile immediately. “I’m starting to think maybe everyone’s right. The pressure got to him and he ran away or something.”

“What are your instincts telling you?” Tikki asked.

Of course she would say that. Tikki was always trying to nudge Marinette into figuring things out for herself, rather than simply telling her all the answers.

“My gut tells me he’s in trouble,” she admitted. “He was perfectly fine! Running Shrimp Kicks with Wayzz and earning a huge profit, battling with me and Alya and Adrien in his spare time for fun… he wouldn’t just leave and go back home without telling us! It’s been a month and we still haven’t heard from him – I’m getting so worried! Something must be wrong!”

“Then maybe it’s time to do something,” Tikki said.

“But what? Where do I even begin? When I told the police they just laughed at me, saying it’s common for Ranked Battle pressures to get to squids enough for them to run away without telling anyone.”

“Maybe it’s not the police who you need to talk to. Maybe it’s someone who will take your concerns seriously, who understands what it’s like to worry about a danger that no one else will listen to.”

Marinette wrinkled up her nose. “You can’t mean Captain Fu, can you? That old guy living down the drain? He’s so old his brain is falling to pieces. Talking about Octarian invasions and stuff. He’s paranoid.”

Tikki shrugged. “I’m just saying talking to him might help.”

“Well, I guess I’ll try…”

“Oh, and that’s not all! I’ve got a little something for you.”

Marinette couldn’t help but smile. Any time Tikki said ‘And that’s not all!’ it meant she was about to offer Marinette a new weapon – something more unique and powerful than before. It happened to her a lot, since she won so many battles these days.

Tikki pulled out a red and black Shooter type weapon. “This design is so new I’ve never even sold one of these before, but I think you’re ready to wield it. It’s called the Hero Shot.”

Marinette took it in her hands. It felt much like holding a good old Splattershot, though it looked a lot more futuristic.

“Decent stats all around,” Tikki continued. “I think that would suit a jack-of-all-trades like you. Unfortunately you won’t be allowed to use it in Ranked Battles or Turf Wars without adjustments.”

“Why not?”

“It has three different types of Sub Weapons that can be switched out at any time. That would give you an unfair advantage over your opponents.”

“Then what am I supposed to use this for?”

“Perhaps for whatever Captain Fu decides you should use it for. And for getting back Nino.”

Marinette frowned. “Are you saying… you think the Octarians kidnapped Nino or something? And that Captain Fu’s right about them?”

Tikki shrugged. “It’s merely a possibility. You should talk to him about it.”

A possibility? A low one, surely. Marinette had never even seen a real Octarian in her life before, only pictures in her school textbooks about the Great Turf War a hundred years ago. If they really were still a threat, then surely more people would be saying so than just some lonely old man who had lost his marbles? Why should she trust him?

She trusted Tikki, though. Tikki’s advice and weaponry had led her to victory in countless battles. She wouldn’t have a rank of S+ without her.

Sighing, she said, “Fine, I’ll go talk to Captain Fu. But I’ll take everything he says with a pinch of sea salt.”

Tikki nodded. “Good, Marinette. Let me know if that weapon comes in handy.”

“How much does it cost?”

“This one’s free.”

She blinked a few times. “What?”

“Completely free. Think of it as a gift for reaching rank S+. You’ve earned it.”

“Tikki, thank you so much! I’m going to go try it out in the shooting range right now!”

She ran out of the back of the store, taking her new Hero Shot with her.

Adrien poked Plagg in the side. “Plagg! Wake up!”

“Shush, I’m on my break,” Plagg muttered, turning over on his crate. “Next match doesn’t start for half an hour.”

“It’s not about that! It’s about something else!”

Plagg sat up and yawned. “Well if it’s not about judging matches then why are you bothering me about it?”

“What can you tell me about Captain Fu?”

Plagg shrugged. “He’s an old sea turtle living in a shack in Octo Valley, and he fought in the Great Turf War. Now let me go back to sleep.”

“Wait!” Adrien turned and glanced at the drain leading to Octo Valley, just a few steps away. “I’ve had a thought, and it’s a bit weird, but… do you think he knows what happened to Nino? I’m just worried Nino got taken away by Octarians or something, and…”

“What are you asking me for? Go ask him!”

“But I don’t even know him! And you’re even older than he is, right? You surely know things about Octarians too?”

“All I know is that they’re slimy and weird.”

Adrien sighed. “Look. I just saw Marinette Dupain-Cheng going down the drain to Octo Valley and that got me thinking about Octarians, and Captain Fu, and Nino’s weird disappearance, that sort of thing. Do you think she knows something important about where Nino’s gone? Is that why she’s going to Octo Valley? It’s Marinette so it must be something important!”

“Just ask her yourself.”

“I can’t! She’s a rank S+, she’s the most elite and fresh of all squids! She doesn’t even bother with Turf Wars anymore!”

Plagg rolled his eyes. “Nino was friends with her, and he was friends with you too. If he could talk to Marinette then so can you. Anyway, have you quite finished yet? I was in the middle of a nap and I’d like to continue it.”

The large television screen in the middle of Inkopolis Plaza suddenly lit up, ready for a news report. Adrien looked up to see the famous Squid Sisters on screen. What were they doing there right now? Surely it wasn’t time for them to announce the new battle stages yet, was it?

“News flash, news flash!” Mireille said, with barely restrained excitement in her voice. “The Great Butterfly, usually residing at the top of Inkopolis Tower, has vanished!”

“How did someone manage to steal something that big without anyone seeing?” Aurore muttered under her breath.

“The Great Butterfly was used to power the city, though. What are we gonna do without it? Will we lose power?”

“Don’t cause a panic, Mireille, I’m sure it’ll be fine. We’ve got other butterflies we can use in the meantime.”

The screen behind them switched to a blurry picture of a flying saucer.

“It might have something to do with this UFO,” Mireille said. “It crash-landed near the city not too long ago. If anyone has any details about it then please put in a report.”

“And please don’t panic. Everything will be fine.”

“I think that’s it for now. We’ll be announcing the battle stages soon, so be on the lookout. Until then…”

The two of them put their arms up in their signature pose and sang in unison, “Stay fresh!”

The screen went back to showing advertisements. Adrien turned back to Plagg, who had managed to keep his eyes open long enough to watch the news report.

“Do you think Octarians stole the Great Butterfly? Does it have something to do with Nino?”

“Just go ask Captain Fu about it already!”

“Alright, I will…”

Adrien walked off and stood in front of the grate on the floor that led to Octo Valley. He had seen Captain Fu pop his head out of here occasionally, trying to trick passers-by into listening to him rambling. Fu was weird, that was for sure. He was the opposite of fresh. But did he know something useful? Marinette certainly seemed to think so, and there was no squid around fresher than her.

Trying not to think too hard about what he was doing, Adrien turned into squid form and dropped through the grate.

The drains took quite a while of whizzing through the ground to reach Octo Valley, a large mountainous region just beyond the outer limits of Inkopolis. It was quiet and cold up here. At least the view was something to marvel at.

Adrien jumped out of the drainpipe to see that Marinette herself had only just arrived – she must have been going fairly slowly. She was looking around in wonder. On the path not too far below them was the small shack where Captain Fu was said to live. Smoke was coming out of the chimney.

Adrien was not sure whether or not he wanted to say something to Marinette and drew attention to himself, but he didn’t need to. She must have heard him.

“Adrien? What are you doing here?”

She had turned to face him, frowning slightly. Huh, so she remembered his name. Surely she must have faced so many opponents in battles before, yet she remembered Adrien?

“I’m looking for Nino,” he said.

“Oh, you too?” Relief flooded her face. “So I’m not the only one who thinks he’s in trouble!”

“And there’s just been a report that the Great Butterfly that powers the city has gone missing – I think that might have something to do with it!”

“So the Octarians are trying to take things away from us? Maybe Captain Fu isn’t so crazy after all…”

“Should we go talk to him?”

Marinette nodded. “Tikki suggested it to me. She even gave me this special weapon, look. It’s called the Hero Shot.” She held up a red Shooter with black spots on it. “Looks like one of those insects, doesn’t it? Ladybugs?”

“Aren’t those extinct?”

She shrugged. “Maybe there are still a few left. Plagg’s still here after all, isn’t he? All the other mammals have been extinct since before the start of the Mollusc Era.”

She knew about all that? Adrien had studied world history a lot considering his father was very strict with his education, but most squids in Inkopolis did not usually care about such things. Marinette, though… she was fresh in more ways than one. No wonder Nino said he had a crush on her.

But wait. If Nino had a crush on Marinette, and she was searching for a way to get him back…

“Is Nino your boyfriend?” Adrien asked before he could stop himself. Marinette stared at him, puzzled.

“No, is he not… is he not yours?”

Adrien shook his head. “No, he’s just my friend, I’ve already got someone I – uh, I mean… I’ve already…”

Whoops, he hadn’t been supposed to tell anyone about his special someone. If news got to his father about it, he’d probably be in so much trouble he would have to leave Inkopolis. No, he would have to wait until his father went back to the countryside before he could properly tell anyone. Until then it was just a secret.

Marinette didn’t seem to care, though. She turned back towards the valley and said, “I guess we’d better go talk to Captain Fu now.”

“Yeah, you’re right…”

The two of them walked down to the shack together. They didn’t even need to knock on the door before a shaky old sea turtle emerged, striding right up to them and staring up at them with his beady eyes.

“Octarians!” he said in a gruff voice, whacking his walking stick on the ground. “They’re up to no good!”

“Er, yes,” Marinette agreed, nodding, though she took a slight step back. “That’s why Adrien and I are here. Our friend Nino went missing a month ago and–”

“No doubt they kidnapped him,” Fu said. “They’ve been looking for squids to experiment on.”

“Experiment?”

“Yes, trying to figure out how to make super-soldiers in order to invade our lands and force us back into the sea! And they needed more power, so they took the Great Butterfly too. Just heard about that on the old television. That UFO people have been talking about, that’s got to be Octarian stuff too. Nasty creatures!”

He shook a fist in the general direction of the valley.

“So,” Marinette said, “do you have any tips on how we can rescue Nino? And retrieve the Great Butterfly, of course.”

“It’s going to be dangerous. The Octarians live underground in what they call “kettles”, and you’ll have to explore their world without getting caught or splatted by their toxic ink. That’d kill you permanently. I’ve got some old armour that’ll help, if you want. And a radio so that I can still stay in contact with you no matter where you go, ‘cause I don’t have one of those telephone thingies.”

“Yes please, that would be useful.”

Fu shuffled back into the shack and returned with two sets of armour, one red and one black, and two walkie-talkies. Marinette put on the red armour and Adrien took the black.

“There, now you look like real warriors!” Fu said proudly, standing back and admiring them. “I can just tell you’re going to do a great job! And since you’re going to be secret agents, you’ll need codenames. Of course we could call you Agents 3 and 4, but…”

“Who are Agents 1 and 2?”

“That’s classified. Anyway, your mission is so special you ought to have fresher names than that. How about… hmm… well, you look like a ladybug with that spotty gun, and you’re just giving off cat vibes to me. So what about Ladybug and Black Cat?”

“Ladybug sounds amazing!” Marinette said, clutching her Hero Shot tightly.

“Black Cat…” Adrien frowned. “What about Chat Noir? I like the sound of that better.”

“Alright then, Chat Noir,” Fu shrugged.

“Thank you.”

Adrien looked down, trying so hard not to think about it, but… Chat Noir was the nickname he had been given by that certain someone, his beloved squid who he couldn’t tell anyone about yet. He did not know how long it was going to take to rescue Nino, nor how difficult it would be, so perhaps having this nickname be a reminder for him would make him feel a little better. Give him strength. After all, strength was something his beloved had a lot of…

“So, are you ready to go?” Fu asked. “It’s better you get going as soon as possible, and I’ll help you out by radio along the way!”

“Wait… now?” Marinette sounded a little alarmed. “But how long will this take? Should we go back to the city first and tell someone that we’re–”

“No, this mission has to stay top secret! And there’s no time to waste – the Octarians could be creating super weapons right this instant! There’s a grate leading down to their first kettle just down that path there – hop in and get going. Remember – splat any Octarians on sight, and don’t let them splat you or you’ll die for good! Now good luck, buckos!”

He pushed them both in the general direction of the first kettle entrance. It was a circular grate that simply went straight down into the rocky ground underneath, leading to who knew where.

Marinette, the fearless S+ rank legend, simply hopped in without another thought. Adrien took a deep breath, steeling himself, reminding himself that he was very good at splatting opponents with his Krak-On Splat Roller, and these Octarians probably wouldn’t be very good at fighting anyway considering that Turf War was an inkling sport. It was going to be fine. They were going to save Nino.

He jumped into squid form and followed Marinette down the grate.

“Rose, it’s just not fair! Nath whined, leaning against the side of Inkopolis Tower with a drink in hand, trying to look as fresh as everyone else around here seemed to be. “I’m just so bad at Turf Wars – even when my team wins, it’s never because of me! Splattershot Jr. is so not my weapon. I think I’ll have a go at using a Roller type weapon, just like you.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea!” Rose said. “Rollers are so much fun!”

“Do you have any tips?”

Rose shook her head. “I’m not very good either, but then again I don’t really battle very often.”

That was true. Out of all the battles Nath had participated in recently, Rose had only been there for two of them. How did she deal with being so casual about it? Battling – and especially being fresh – was a way of life! Not something to be treated like a simple hobby!

“I guess I’ll ask someone else for tips then,” he huffed. “The other day I ran into someone called Marinette, and she offered to help me, so…”

“Don’t count on it,” came a voice from somewhere to the side.

Nath looked to see Alya Césaire standing there, close enough to hear their conversation. He knew about her, though he hadn’t formally met her yet. She was a rank S+. Just like Marinette. Such a legend that Nath almost dropped his drink when he realized that she was actually speaking to him.

“Why not?” Rose asked.

“Marinette’s gone,” Alya muttered, folding her arms. “So has Adrien. They’ve vanished, just like Nino did.”

“Are they okay?”

“Who knows? Maybe they just got sick of it here and ran away. People do that sometimes.”

“Oh no! I hope they’re alright!”

“Yeah, I hope so too. I just wish they’d bothered to say goodbye…”

Nath knew he should probably join in the conversation, but the idea of talking to a rank S+ was too overwhelming to even contemplate. At least when he’d briefly spoken to Marinette the other day he hadn’t known who she was, since he had barely just arrived in the city, but now…

No, it was too much. He wasn’t fresh enough to talk to someone like Alya. Neither was Rose, actually – what was she doing, having a conversation with an S+? There was no way something like that was allowed! Nath avoided the conversation and sneaked away as quickly as he could.

Once he was a safe distance away he burst into Ammo Knights. Tikki looked up at his dramatic entrance, somewhat amused.

“Can I help you?” she asked in that annoying, motherly tone.

“I want a Roller type weapon,” Nath said. “You told me to come back when I’ve got more experience and know what I want, right? Well I want a Roller.”

“Alright,” Tikki said. She pulled one out from behind the counter, one even bigger than Rose’s. “Here’s a Splat Roller. It has Suction Bombs as its Sub Weapon, and Killer Wail as its Special – or ‘Shocking Riff’, as people are calling it these days after Jagged Stone used it in his concert. Anyway, you use Rollers by–”

“I know how to use it,” Nath said, snatching it off her. It was much bigger than he had realized, wider than he was tall. “How much does it cost?”

“1000 coins.”

Phew – he had that much money. He swiped his card through the machine before she could even say anything, then ran off with his new Splat Roller to test it out in battle.

Oh boy. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.

Alya was in his team.

This was not a drill. This was not a joke.

Alya Césaire, THE Alya Césaire, was actually on his team for this Turf War.

“You okay?” she asked him as they assembled on the spawn point of Bluefin Depot, a battle stage that looked like an abandoned train station above water.

“Yeah… I’m…”

“It’s okay, I’m not that good at Turf Wars,” she said. “My rank S+ is because of Ranked Battles only. So don’t think of me as some kind of celebrity or something, because when it comes to this, I’m no better than average.”

Nath nodded, hoping he didn’t look too starstruck.

The other team assembled on their base too, and Nath had a look. There didn’t seem to be anyone he knew in particular – oh, except the daughter of the mayor of Inkopolis.

“Chloé,” Alya growled, her eyes narrowing.

“You don’t like her?”

Nath bit his tongue but the question had slipped out before he could stop it. He had heard stories that Chloé Bourgeois used to be a spoiled brat, using her riches to bribe people into throwing matches just so that she could win, but supposedly that had all passed now. Rose had said Chloé was very nice these days. But then again, that was Rose. She was nice about everyone.

Alya looked back at Nath. “Let’s just say… I won’t respect her until she starts respecting me.”

Nath was about to ask what that meant when the signal played for the match to begin. He quickly slammed his Splat Roller down on the ground and began running forwards, inking purple turf in a wide path. Alya ran ahead with her .96 Gal weapon and his other teammates began spreading out from the base too.

Bluefin Depot was annoyingly rickety, and one wrong move would send you spiralling down into the water below. Nath was finding the Splat Roller clunky and hard to manoeuvre, and it took him quite a while to reach the middle of the stage. Alya and Chloé seemed to be ferociously shooting at each other, ignoring everything else that was going on and not even bothering to ink turf. Did they have a rivalry or something? Apparently that happened with people sometimes.

In any case, it was better to stay out of it. Nath continued running around inking turf, trying to stay safe, and whenever anyone came near him he repeatedly whacked the Splat Roller on the ground to fling enough ink at them to splat them. He had seen Rose doing that and it seemed to work pretty well. Maybe this weapon wasn’t too bad, right?

Except that it was. His team lost the match, and he only inked around 350p. Even Alya had done better than him, and she hadn’t been trying at all.

He Super Jumped straight back to Ammo Knights and stormed in. “Tikki, I need a new weapon! This one’s too hard to manage!”

“How many battles have you tried with it?” she asked.

“Well, one… but…”

“Then try some more. Every weapon takes a while to get used to. With some more practice you’ll be able to figure out what works and get the best out of it.”

“But it’s so annoying! This weapon has terrible range and it doesn’t have enough stealth to make up for it! And it’s hard not to ink over turf that your team’s already inked, so you can’t get many points! And–”

“Keep trying,” Tikki said firmly.

“Ohhhh, fine. But I hate this weapon. It’s useless.”

“Why didn’t you test it out in the shooting range first before using it in battle?”

“What, that old place? It’s not very helpful. It doesn’t give me a real sense of a battle situation.”

Tikki sighed. “If you say so.”

“Anyway, fine then, I’ll keep using the Splat Roller for a while. But if things don’t improve then will you please sell me another weapon?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

Nath left the shop again, feeling frustrated. Was this how every newbie started out? Surely not! Maybe some people were just naturally fresher than others. He just wished he could be one of them.

Future Plot: The Price We Pay - Chapter 2 - Anger

(( Agent 7, Calypso, Telemachus, Sarah Phenoyne, and Kitzeh belongs to me

Jacar (mentioned) belongs to @son-of-joy  

Blueshift belongs to @myzzy

Depiction of Marie belongs to @agenttwo 

Camille (mentioned) belongs to @

Nebula belongs to @agenttwo and @myzzy ))

For the next few years, I've been isolating myself from Inkopolis, and I went to Octo-Valley for a vacation. The only few people I know there are the only ones I trusted to keep me hidden from the public.

My Octoling Rival, Sarah Phenotyne, actually offered her hand in marriage. I accepted it, but didn't work out after just a year. In the end, I have an inkatarian daughter that visits me once a week. This was because I kept complaining to her about how Marie and Blueshift are together, and the only thing she understood was that I was still in love with Marie. And that lead to the divorce. It was also because I still considered her a rival more than a wife, but we did make amends when Kitzeh was born.

When I decided to return to Inkopolis, the first thing I did was approach Blueshift at Inkopolis Cafe without Marie around. I'll never approach Marie in the way I was going to approach Blueshift -- I just didn't have the heart to tell her what I thought about this.

Afterward, I found myself dating my arch-enemy from Leviathan, Calypso. And you would later know that this relationship would bring about Telemachus, but that's a different story that I'll explain later.

And years later, I will do one thing that I will regret towards Marie's new family.

Inkopolis Cafe, Inkopolis Plaza - Inkopolis - 7:30 PM

Agent 7 meets with Blueshift during the closing hours of Inkopolis Cafe, he had two cooks from Alexandria District that once worked at the diner. Agent 7 sent a message to him an hour earlier just in case Blueshift requests a delay. Luckily, Blueshift managed to arrive wearing casual clothing rather than his agent attire; he still wore the visors.

Agent 7 was at a table booth with his favorite tea: ice-shaken hibiscus tea with a teaspoon of melted raspberry sorbet, two teaspoons of ginger ale, pomegranate pearls, and a mint leaf. He has been in this table booth before; He has met with many people there. He didn't bring his green military coat, so he looked like he never aged.

"Mr. Sevenstar... It's been awhile," Agent 7 welcomed suspiciously,"How's Mrs. Sevenstar and her child?"

"How did you know?" Blueshift sat down with him, ordering a small meal.

Deep inside Agent 7, there was something building up; it was full of jealousy and hatred. He treated his hibiscus tea like an alcohol, using it to stave off the envy. He tried to reply without showing any hostility; though, it's still hiding inside. He made a half-lie.

"Agent 0 -- I mean Jacar -- has told me about her." Agent 7 took a sip of his ice tea. "I believe she's your child to? What's her name?"

"Nebula," Blueshift replied.

"Nebula..." Agent 7 is looking at his drink. The two cooks Agent 7 brought to the cafe came in, serving them their meals. "I have to confess that I've seen her at a preschool. I have to say she has her mother's eyes and a part of your ink hair."

"Yes, she does." Blueshift began eating his meal.

Agent 7 mocked him with a quote from an ancient book dating back to human civilization.

"I hope she'll be a fool...," Agent 7 quoted jokingly, "...that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."

Blueshift found it a bit rude. "This is my daughter you're talking about."

"My apologies," Agent 7 continue drinking his tea and eating his meal.

"You know, I didn't expect you to be this friendly," Blueshift wondered, "I thought you would be upset."

"No, no, no, I am really fine. Things have changed." Agent 7 kept two fingers hidden and crossed. "But I'm glad you're concerned about me. This isn't the first time we had conflicts."

"I can hardly remember them, but I can't really call them conflicts." Blueshift felt something unusual about Agent 7 mentioning it. "I can recall a fight between us in Mahi Mahi Resort."

"That was Leviathan's doing, taking advantage of my jealousy. Every time we went on missions and such, I would always hold a grudge towards you for building a relationship with me. In the end, I was willing to do whatever it took to keep Agent 2... I mean Marie safe."

"Well, you have done so very well," Blueshift commented.

When their meeting is over, the cooks cleaned up and closed the cafe. Agent 7 dismissed the cooks, having them leave him and Blueshift in Inkopolis Plaza.

"I hope we meet again... And I hope it's the same with Lee, Callie, Robin, and others. I've met their children in their preschools, but I had to stop for a few reasons." Agent 7 takes off his flat cap and dusts some things of it. "I interacted with them as an uncle and a friend, but yeah..... it felt wrong."

"I can tell." Blueshift was looking up at Inkopolis Tower.

"This city has changed too much for me..... my friends had changed too much..." Agent 7 looks down, but then looked at Blueshift. "Oh, my apologies, I..." Agent 7 clenched his hands into fists.

"It's alright, I know how it feels," Blueshift responded.

"And there's one more thing I need to say." He soon let out his anger with just one shout. "I just wished Marie was with me, not you!" He turns into a squid and super jumps away.

"Huh!? Wait, 7--!" Blueshift is now alone in the plaza.

About 12 years later...

Agent 7 would be leaving most of his duties to what's left of his Splatoon. He can trust in them in managing the Alexandria District. For now, he's going around Inkopolis, giving speeches, lecturing to college students, and, most of all, teaching the young in their schools. One of the those

But there is one school that Agent 7 would be staying at as a teacher, Seaside Hill high. There, he bumps into Marie's and Blueshift's daughter, Nebula, in the hallways. Next to Nebula is her cousin, Camille, daughter of Lee and Callie, and together they're Inkopolis's new idols, the Neo Squid Sisters.

Agent 7 meet Camille earlier, and they got off the wrong foot or, in Camille's case, the wrong leg. He had no time to share some burns with Camille, he's saving up his built up anger so that he can channel it towards his job as a teacher.

In fact, Nebula and Camille have Agent 7 as his world history teacher and literature teacher for the year.

World History Class - Seaside Hill High - 10:15 AM

Agent 7 wrote his name on a large white board and welcomed his students.

"Welcome, class, my name is Jason Gatz-Ling Cassius Jr. You may call by the names Gatsby and Sev." Agent 7 kept a calm posture, and he can see Camille look bored already. "And I can see a few familiar faces and a lot of new faces. I'm quite new to this school."

After his 3-minute introduction, he gave out his syllabus for the students to read. For the rest of the time, Agent 7 gave a brief lecture on what he's going to teach in this class.

Hours later, he did the same in Literature class, but there, he asked Nebula to stay for a while.

Literature Class - Seaside Hill High - 1:45 PM

Agent 7 leans back in his teacher's desk. He gave Nebula a calm but hostile look; she wasn't phased. She did notice there was something when Agent 7 took his hat off: three claw marks on one tentacle.

"There is a reason I'm keeping you here, Miss Sevenstar." Agent 7 takes out a booklet. "I'm assigning you something to do: a 5-page report on Inkopolis's first annual Youth Folk-Singing Contest."

"I think I can handle that," Nebula replied.

"But your deadline would be in only a week." Agent 7 then added requirements. "You'll be limited to 3 sources. The booklet has a list of the source you will not be allowed to use, a list of people you are to mention, and a biography of two retired celebrities. If you don't finish it on time, I will deduct points from assignments I'll give you in the next few months."

Nebula didn't like the sound of that, but she's willing to complete it. She had no fear of Agent 7 since she isn't aware of his relation with her mother. She nods and leaves the classroom.

"I didn't say you're..... nevermind." Agent 7 sounded aggressive when he said that.

After school, Agent 7 heads back to Alexandria District to relieve his built up anger. He can be seen at a gym, fighting the bust of Blueshift. He was using a bamboo kendo blade to beat up the bust.

Gymnasium - Alexandria District - 5:00 PM

Agent 7 is delivering slashes and thrusts, chipping off small pieces of the bust. He kept beating at the bust until his kendo blade losses it’s durability to the point of breaking. Agent 7 got close to the bust and was about to punch it with his fist, but he's stopped by the interruption of an adolescent inkling -- his apprentice.

"Agent 7?" An auburn inkling entered the gymnasium. "... Am I interrupting something?"

"...Oh, Uhm..." Agent 7 knocks the bust of Blueshift over. "No, I was about to end my training. Is there something you need, Justinian?"

"Well, there's this girl that I saw the other day." Justinian stepped closer. "She was with this other girl I believe you but heads with days ago, and..."

"What? Just tell me." Agent 7 stretches his arms and relaxes.

"The girl's' name is Nebula." Justinian saw Agent 7 glare at him. "I made my first impression..... but I got nervous..... her cousin intimidated me..... and I need help asking her out because... I'm.....in love........ with........her....." Agent 7 is now intimidating him.

"You better be careful with a Sevenstar, Justinian." Agent 7 turn his back on his apprentice. "They would say they love you, but in the end, if you don't take action, then someone will swoop down from space to take her!" Agent 7 anger is rising back up. "Girls like Miss Sevenstar are liars and whores!" He picks back up the bust of Blueshift and throws it at a wall, breaking apart.

Justinian stepped back. "I... I think you're wrong!" Justinian glared.

"What?" Agent 7 was taking a few deep breaths.

"I think Nebula is innocent! And I want her to love me the same way I will love her!" Justinian sounded confident. "I'm willing to risk to anything to win her heart!"

Agent 7 was still glaring at Justinian, but he looks down and smiles. He chuckled. "Okay..... I'll help you, but don't come crying to me when she gets picked up by another whether they be another boy....." Agent 7 leaves Justinian in the gymnasium. ".....Or a girl being your love rival."

Runaway Tyko

As a child one doesn't usually notice how cruel the world can be. Or you are at least ignorant to its trials until suddenly you fall victim to them.

Tyko had always grown up in her brothers shadow, it had never been a problem for her. At least until the other young Octarians realized that compared to him she was nothing and began to use this against her.

"What do you have?"

"You can't change form as well as he can!"

"Useless!" "Useless." "Useless!"

Their chants were unforgettable. And the once cheerful child was now driven to realize life wasn't fair. If she wanted to be noticed, she had to work for it. In order to surpass her brother the young octoling would have to do something as unforgettable as the taunts now haunting the back of her mind. And there was the perfect something she had in mind.

Later that evening Tyko began to hatch her plan. Once she was sure her brother was sleeping she began to get changed. Unfortunately he wasn't as out as she had hoped.

"Ty... what are you doing?" Groggily he rolled over, rubbing his eyes and yawning wide. "It's sleep -" Another yawn forced him to stop for a moment. "-time!" His eyes began to flutter open before a hand pushed his head back down.

"I'll sleep in a bit... go back to bed Jackie." The response was quick and evasive but apparently enough for the boy as he nodded slowly and let his head back down to rest on his raised arm.

Once she was sure he was fast asleep once more Tyko stood up and gathered her things. Some snacks, camping gear, and a few things for self defense. "I'll be back... later. Maybe." Her faint whisper barely audible over her brothers snoring. With a sigh she left the room. As soon as she stepped outside her mind began to doubt, until it remembered the harsh words of the other children. 'No. I have to.' She thought with a firm nod. 

Small feet carried the young octoling in a journey, one that led her to an abandoned kettle. The rust around the edge made her flinch as her hand rested on the cold metal. It hadn't been cared for in ages. Satisfied with what she had found Tyko jumped in. Reforming on the other side of the kettle, things still clutched at her side, her eyes darted around. 'This'll work.'

Swallowing down her fear she tried to remember what she had heard. "If... an octoling severs a tentacle..." As she spoke one hand rummaging through the bag pulled out a knife. "It will grow .... into a new Octarian?" Her eyes grew wide as she stared at the knife. It was just a rumour... there was no guarantee it would even work...but anything was better than what she had been through.

The shriek that then pierced the darkness of the dome echoed off of every surface.

Elsewhere an octoling shot out of bed, sweat pouring down his face and heart racing. "Ty?!" His eyes darted to the left. Nothing. Then the right. Where was she?! "Where are you Tyko..." Drying his forehead, Jackie could feel tears begin to swell at the corners of his eyes. He had a terrible feeling something awful had happened. And so he waited, hoping she might come home. 

But the hours turned to days, the days to weeks and before long she had been gone for a year. Jackie's hope had almost completely vanished at this point. If someone was missing for that long in Octo Valley, they were gone for good.

So when he heard whispers of an octoling climbing out of a kettle with scraped knees and the back of her head wrapped tightly in bandages that continually dripped a thick inky red he got a little excited. And extremely scared. 

"Tyko?!" Barrelling through the crowd his voice echoing over the crowds. He was worried he would even recognize her... they both would be fully in control of their forms. All the same his hand waved high above his head. "Ty, is it you?" When his eyes finally caught sight of her he froze. It was Tyko. And she looked terrible. Tears swelling in his eyes he shoved the remaining Octarians out of his way. 

"Hey Jackie..." Her voice was weak, and sure enough her head was wrapped up and her face looked tired beyond belief. But what surprised him the most was behind her. Two little octotroopers. 

"Where did you go?" He went forward to hug her only to find the unarmed troopers blocking his path, shaking as they stared wide eyed. 

"I ... can't say." With a swift motion of her hand they stepped aside. "I'm sorry." A squeak escaped her as her brother finally clamped her into the tightest hug ever. "But... I'm not useless now... right?"

Unable to choke back the tears anymore, Jackie shook his head furiously. "You were never useless Ty. Not to me."

Author Notes: precious little octos and their less than average lives. I have read this so many times I want rid of it now haha geh -falls over-

LEE SQUIDLY’S DRIVE Part 1

“Huff,” was that Lee Squidly’s 10th or 11th sigh in the last minute? He was completely unsure as he absentmindedly rocked back and forth in the office chair he kept at his work desk. The chair’s quiet creaking and the hum of his operating computer were the only sources of stimulation for his senses as time seemed to witter away tick by tick. He leaned forward, resting his chin on his desk as he gripped a single random pen among many he kept bundled in a wire cup. He lifted it, then dropped it, letting the writing utensil bounce in the cup. Getting bored of that quickly he shook his mouse to wake his computer out of sleep mode, hoping he could find something to do there.

Squidtube had been left open on his internet browser, maybe there he could find some degree of satisfaction for his boredom. He ended up settling on gameplay commentary by one of his favorite Squidtubers. The only trouble was he had already seen this video twice in the last three days so it didn’t hold his attention for long. It was back to just gazing at his idle computer screen  with no purpose-- what got the normally active, energetic teen so out of sorts?

After a pause he found himself reopening a program he had closed out mere moments earlier; his primary VoIP service. He could message anyone, he had as many contacts as a telemarketing directory but he found himself opening a conversation with one in particular.

PrivateCallie

message last seen over 2 months ago

Seeing that made Lee slide his arms onto his desk, and drop his head on top of them. Who should happen upon the scene but the Squidly's pint sized robot butler, Mooky who watched his master with a worrisome frown. "Master Lee," he began, approaching him with a tray containing a single glass of chilled water. "My sensors indicate that you are beginning to show symptoms of stress; please hydrate and let us find a means to calm you down."

Looking down, Lee tried to explain, "I'm not stressed, Mooky," that look wouldn't fade from the little robot's face as he said, "I'm just—thinking about things."

"Are you missing Miss Callie again," Mooky quizzed, nearly making Lee drop the perspiring glass as that question caught him off guard.

He could only stutter out, "Well uhh—you see—what I mean is--"

Nobody knew him quite like Mooky did so he exclaimed, "Master Lee it is not healthy to pine after Miss Callie in such a way. I understand you experience the feeling of love around Miss Callie but there is no need to feel stress over her absence. You must understand and support Miss Callie in her endeavors of her career and realize that as your friend she will make time and effort for you when scheduling permits her to. You can not let your feelings of worry turn into possessive obsession."

Lee tried again and again to interrupt but found himself silenced as Mooky refused to stop trying to give him perspective. Once the butler bot finished he was left with nothing to say in response, even in his own mind. He tried to reason, "Come on Mooky I'm not getting obsessed, I promise!"

Was he, or wasn't he? He reasoned with himself that he knew of her busy schedule, and he was happy for her that her solo career was going so well. She was showing talents for things she had only mentioned passing interest in before. He was happy, he truly was—or was he? He hadn't seen her ever since those fateful few days down in Octo Valley; her earring dangled freely, reminding him of her every single time.

I just miss my friend, he reasoned to himself, wanting to say it out loud but finding himself unable to. That's all he wanted it to be; he missed talking to his best friend like they used to. Even though anyone would be mistaken for thinking so, given how bored and uneventful his life seemed at a glance he really had quite a lot going on. I want her to see the new shorts mom got me, that I've been learning how to dance, that Mama Paige is gonna teach me how to drive, and about all the Yo-kai I've been meeting. And not just him, he had so much to talk about his friends and family; his mom color dipped her hair, one of his friends got a new hairstyle, one was forming a new squad, one got themselves a new hat, and one of his friends got kicked out of their house by their parents.

Regardless of his deeper feelings for her that he wore on his sleeves what mattered most to him was that someone he comfortably called a best friend was now almost completely absent from his life. Thinking more about it, with how much he owed her for all the wonderful things she did for him—most of all he wanted her to see that he was all better now and back to normal.

He wanted to see her so she could see him.

Thinking of that, Lee pushed himself out of his seat and began to walk past Mooky, "I think I'm gonna go out for a walk, I'll be back later, Mooky."

As he was leaving, the tiny servant advised, "Do not be out too late Master Lee, and remember you are to take your anxiety medication in exactly 3 hours, 23 minutes, and 55 seconds."

"I will Mooky, I will," Lee said, tucking his hands into the pockets of his shorts.

LEE SQUIDLY’S NEW GROOVE

After a long, agonizing recovery of performing the Charge Shot, Lee Squidly has given up on Turf Wars– leaving him with virtually nothing going on in his life.

That will all turn around when a chance encounter, watching family friend Coral dance ignites an interest in Lee he never imagined he would have.  What will he learn from her? And what will Coral learn from Lee?

See a new chapter begin in Lee’s life, and see what new challenges he gets ready to accomplish before the events of Splatoon 2

Co-starring @yundarigods​‘ Coral and featuring her big sister, Faviidea

Word count: 4,454

  “–And then I said to her ‘If you think I’m gonna pass up a deal like this just because the translators are getting all flustered than ‘alors vous avez une autre chose à venir’!” Janine concluded a story in which she recounted one of her many dealings in the world of television 

Her tale was met with hearty, uproarious laughter, “AH HA HA, HAHAHAHAHA, oh Cod, Janine, no one ever pulls one over on you.” The laughter came from Faviidea; a friend of Janine who welcomed the older woman into her modest apartment for a friendly chat. She slapped her knee and laughed so hard she nearly spilled the wine glass full of drink she clutched in her hand. 

Janine confidently replied, “Ohh you better believe it,” she took another sip of the zesty beverage in her own glass. She had brought two things with her to meet Faviidea that day; one was a bottle of fine cider given to her by one of the foreign television producers she met during that meeting. The ingredients were grown, processed, and bottled at the producer’s private farm. “Isn’t that right Lee,” she gestured to her son, whom she had also brought along to the meeting. 

“Heh-eh,” Lee chuckled nervously, “Trust me, you can’t.” If there was anyone who knew how difficult it was to fleece his mother, it would be him. He sat on the cloth love seat beside her; quietly listening in on the conversation.

Faviidea felt concerned though; he seemed to come without any entertainment and listening to two old ladies talk and drink couldn’t have been very exciting. She tried to involve the youngster wherever she could but still asked, “Are you all right Lee, this isn’t too boring or anything, is it?” 

He shook his head, “No Miss Favii, I’m fine, really.” Neither he nor his mother said but he came along on his own accord as he didn’t have much else to do. Ever since recovering from his accident he stopped playing Turf Wars so Sundays without Squad Practice became rather humdrum. He got his weekend homework done as soon as possible and his friends were usually too busy on Sundays to meet him.  

It was rare for Lee Squidly to have nothing to do.

Faviidea rolled her eyes at being called ‘Miss’ but she said, “Well, all right then. Anyway, so this happened to me the other day; I was at work and this customer—“ 

Her story was interrupted by the sudden opening of the apartment’s front door. “I’m home, Favii,” a voice came from just out of eyeshot. 

The Inktoling woman readily greeted, “Welcome back Sis, come on in, we got company!”  

“Ohh-ohh, we do,” the new arrival questioned apprehensively. 

Encouraging them, Faviidea answered, “Yeah, come and say hi.” There was a brief pause thereafter, and the three cephalopods took notice of someone just barely peeking around the bend of the entrance to the room. 

When it seemed like she confirmed the identity of their guests, the younger sister of the household walked in. “Ohh, hi Janine, hi Lee,” she greeted with a sincere smile and a happy wave to both of them. 

“Hi Coral,” they both said; Janine smiled and waved with her fingers before taking another sip of her drink, and Lee waved with his whole arm. 

Coral’s shoulders dropped slightly as she let out a little sigh, glad and relieved that it was the Squidlys; close friends of her family that came to visit. 

Faviidea summoned her with a wave of her finger, “Come sit with us, have a drink.” 

Janine nodded, “Yeah Sweetie, take a load off.” 

“I’m sorry Janine,” Coral respectfully declined, “But I need to practice so I was just going–.” 

“–Ohh that’s right,” Faviidea interrupted with a snap of her fingers. She remembered; “You’re gonna be dancing for the Spring Equinox Festival, right?” 

Lee and Janine remembered that the arrival of Spring and Fall were celebrated by Octarians as it signaled the cycling of crops farmers could grow in Octo Valley. 

Confirming, Coral nodded, “Mm-hmm, I don’t want to disturb you so I’ll just practice in my room and–.” 

Once again she was interrupted by Faviidea who giggled and brightly suggested, “Jee jee, hey I got an idea, why don’t you show the Squiblys what you’ve been working on?” 

This intrigued the mother and son but Coral seemed reserved about the idea. Her eyes went wide and she nervously peered off to the side, stuttering, “Umm—well—uh-huh—umm, Favii, I don’t think that’s a very good idea.” 

Faviidea clicked her tongue and replied, “Come on, why not?  You perform all the time.” Despite her sister’s coercion, Coral just stood there, tapping her fingers against her purse and shifting her eyes from one side to the other. She never told Faviidea but she was only relaxed in front of crowds because she had practiced day in and day out long before she appeared on stage. That way she could do her dance routines even in her sleep. 

Janine proposed, “We’d love to see it; have you ever seen an Octarian dance before, Lee?” 

“At school, a long time ago,” he answered, barely able to recall the memory. “I wanna see, but if you’re too nervous, you don’t have to.” 

He was being considerate of her feelings which made Coral smile but Faviidae still urged, “Just trust me, they’ll love it.” 

“Well,” Coral inhaled deeply then exhaled in a long sigh, “Huu—okay, I’ll do it!” She gave into her sister’s urging. On her retreat to her room she called out, “D-don’t go away, I’ll be right back,” and left to prepare. 

A short time later Coran returned; this time adorned in a beautifully designed kimono. Janine whispered to Lee that the style she wore was traditional to Octo Valley and different from the kind seen in Eastern Inkopolis. She also mentioned that the way she wore the garb and how she tied the belt was absolutely picture perfect. Coral gave her cell phone to Faviidea to connect it to their small speaker dock so she could have music to dance to.

With that; her impromptu recital began. Old timey Octarian acoustics guided the Inktoling as she rhythmically twisted and turned. With her feet covered by the long garment it looked as though she was gliding along the carpet while she fluidly waved and swayed her arms. 

Every part of her moved in perfect harmony with the music. From every tilt of her head down to the most minor movement of her fingers and toes, the music flowed through her. Lee’s and Janine’s eyes were glued to her; they were captivated by her performance. They were especially taken aback by a shift in the melody that cued Coral to produce a pair of paper fans from within her sleeves. They seemed to come out of nowhere which baffled the mother and son but made Faviidea candidly smile. 

She incorporated the fans into the remainder of her dance; swinging and waving them about and fluttering with them as she danced about. 

Her performance soon came to a close with a finish that made Lee and Janine lean back and go silent until Faviidea put her glass down and began to clap for her sister. They joined shortly after; Janine stood up and applauded while Lee whistled and cheered. Faviidea encouraged, “Way to go! That wasn’t so bad, was it?”  

“No,” Coral breathlessly smiled from ear to ear, “No it wasn’t.”  She brushed one of her tentacles out of her face; more out of breath from nerves as opposed to tiredness. She nodded to Lee and Janine, “I hope you two will come to the festival, I’ll have my dance perfect by then.” Next, she said to her sister, “Well uhh,  I’ll be in my room for a little bit.”  

Faviidea answered, “No problem,” and watched with a satisfied smile as Coral practically bounced with exhilaration back to her room. When she left, Faviidea returned to the conversation with Janine, “So anyway, here’s what happened, I was–.” 

Her words droned into nothing in Lee’s head. He just sat in awe, still seeing Coral dancing in his head; he was still utterly captivated by her performance. Unable to get the vision out of his head, he suddenly got an idea; an idea he NEEDED to act upon. 

He stood up, interrupting, “Miss Favii, can I please use the bathroom?” 

In response, Faviidea’s lip curled in irritation; she didn’t like that he kept calling her ‘Miss’ but he was polite so she put it out of her head. “Sure, it’s down the hall,” she instructed, excusing him from the conversation. He followed her directions but took a detour to another room along the way. 

Without thinking he opened the door to the room, barging in without knocking and called out, “Coral!” 

“Eek,” the Inktoling shrieked, quickly whipping her head around as she covered her front with her arms. Her kimono was slipping down her body so she tried to grab it while desperately blathering, “Lee—get out—please!” 

Suddenly realizing what he did, Lee sucked in his breath and babbled, “Eee—I’m sorry—I’m—I’m—!” 

“Just close the door and let me get dressed,” Coral ordered, holding her garment with one hand while trying to cover up as best as she could with the other. Lee did as he was instructed, shutting the door to let her have privacy, and to take time to fully comprehend the idiocy of his actions. 

Moments later, he heard her voice; “Okay Lee, you can come inside now.” Slowly, timidly, he peeked in. He saw her kimono neatly hanging on a hook attached to the outside of her closet door, and Coral, herself, dressed in a long terrycloth robe, sitting at her vanity table. 

Before Lee said anything else he profusely apologized, “I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t mean to, I should’ve knocked, I didn’t—please don’t tell my mom!” 

Coral halted him by holding up her hand. She sweetly reassured him, “Lee, it’s okay it was just an accident, I won’t tell your mom or anything.” She knew he didn’t have malicious intent so she wasn’t mad. After he relaxed, she asked, “So what’s up? Want to show me more of that game you’ve been playing?” Even though Coral didn’t particularly like video games she did like watching Lee since he got so excited about them. She quite liked this one about ghosts that he was currently obsessed with. 

“Actually there’s something I wanted to ask you,” he had something else in mind. 

“Ohh, what’s that,” she was genuinely curious; she couldn’t imagine what he could want from her of all people. 

Lee didn’t hesitate, “CAN YOU TEACH ME HOW TO DANCE,” he blared out his request with all the excitement he had.

Thinking that she was hearing wrong, Coral squeaked, “Kuh—what?" 

"Please Ma'am, I want to learn how to dance,” Lee repeated, the sparkle of wonder not leaving his eye as he restated his request. 

Coral couldn’t believe it; sure she did love to dance, it was one of her greatest passions, however she doubted how good of an idea this would be. She suggested, “I don’t know, wouldn’t you feel better taking a class from an actual instructor? Also, don’t call me 'ma'am’." 

"No way,” he replied, not wavering for a single moment. “Just—watching you was really really amazing, you’re so good, I umm– I-I want to learn how to do that kinda stuff, too!” He couldn’t completely explain it, especially without stuttering due to his brain being unable to catch up with his mouth. Lee wanted to learn, pure and simple.  

Tapping her finger against her cheek, Coral murmured unsurely, “I dunno, I never taught anybody before.” She had never even entertained the idea of giving dance lessons. Not only that, she had her hang ups about people watching her when she wasn’t fully prepared to be seen.  

Despite her reservations she knew he wouldn’t take no for answer, unfortunately. He really wanted this, and he wanted her help to make it happen. Coral couldn’t help but smile at that so she answered, “You know what, sure, I’d love to teach you to dance." 

Lee couldn’t help but squeal in delight, as silly as it was, he was so excited! "Thank you, thank you, thank you, I promise, Ma'am I’ll try really hard!" 

In response, Coral rolled her eyes and shook her head; "Stop calling me Ma'am,” she said under her breath. He was being polite but she didn’t like being called that; it made her feel old. Putting that aside, Coral picked her phone up from her vanity desk and sent a text message to Lee. “Meet me at this address tomorrow and we’ll get started on your first lesson." 

After a quick skim of the directions and time, Lee said, "I’ll be there!” With that, the joyful boy left, his feelings of exhilaration lingering about in the room. It gave Coral a strange sense of anticipation; one that bewildered her for the rest of the night. 

The following afternoon, Lee arrived at his destination, lucky enough he had been there previously. It was Madame Tiidae’s Dance Academy; Coral’s family was friends with one of school’s dance instructors so without a class going on she gave Coral access to one of the classrooms. 

He greeted Coral who he found stretching at a ballet bar mounted to the wall. “I’m sorry I’m late, Ma'am,” he groaned, "I met a friend at the train station and I kept trying to tell them I had somewhere to be.“ The sounds of his soft steps on the sprung floor bounced all over the empty room as he approached his teacher.

She replied, "Lee, don’t worry about it, you’re actually a few minutes early—and don’t call me 'Ma'am’.” After he set his backpack down, Coral took a deep breath and reminded, “Like I said, I never taught anybody before so please, be patient with me, all right?" 

Lee simply smiled, "You’ll do great, I know it!” He had so much confidence in her which put Coral a little bit at ease, “Now, what can you teach me first?" 

Tapping her finger against her chin, Coral realized she hadn’t actually planned that, much to her dismay. In her mind, she quickly began to cobble together what could loosely be described as her lesson plan. "Let’s try—some basic exercises to uh—see how you are at this—kind of thing." 

First was a simple test of stepping in rhythm to see how he could follow a beat. Coral was confused at first when he giggled and asked, "Is this the part where we start kicking?” She didn’t understand but none-the-less she clapped her hands and had him follow her timing. 

Surprising to her, he kept in step, and even adapted well enough when she changed the speed. “Good job,” she praised, “Let’s see if you can follow these steps; watch me closely.” She performed a short series of steps for Lee to mimic. “Need me to show you them again,” Coral asked before stepping back. 

“No,” Lee said, looking to be deep in thought, “I think I got it.” He showed by mimicking her movements exactly. 

Coral nodded approvingly; then she gave him another set of steps, then a second, and a third, each increasing in the number of motions to remember.  Lee managed to do them all without stumbling once. 

"Wow,” Coral gasped while engaging him in another exercise. She was wagging her index finger, counting a beat while Lee followed with steps she instructed him to perform. “You’re a pretty fast learner,” she said eagerly. 

Lee exclaimed, “Kinda, I just pay attention real well.” He gave a laugh as he mused, “Heh-eh If I could take notes then I’d be totally set." 

As nerdy as he suddenly realized that was, Coral still thought it was funny. "Fee fee,” she laughed, holding her hand over her mouth, “Well, dancing is a bit too 'hands-on’ to be taking notes.” She stepped toward him, placing a hand on his shoulder. She said, “If there’s one problem though—that I think we should work on– it’s that you’re too stiff."  Though nervous to give her critique, Lee wasn’t upset by it. She continued; lifting his arms to loosen him up, "Dancing takes your whole body so you gotta move everything!" 

Lee gave her directions a try; beginning to move his arms along with his feet. The constant movement of multiple things was a bit too much for him, and it caused him to lose balance, nearly tripping. "Woop, oop,” Lee fumbled, catching himself. “Sorry,” was all he could say. 

Coral stepped in, “Don’t worry, you’re fine,” she comforted, pushing him up by the shoulder to help him regain his stance. “Let’s try this,” she suggested, positioning his arms so he held onto hers, and she held onto his. “Do the steps with me and feel how I move my arms,” she instructed, beginning to move. Lee did the same, looking down for a moment to prevent from stepping on her feet but Coral proposed, “No, no, no, don’t look down, look at me. If you keep looking at me,” she suggested, “You’ll pick up the cues better." 

"Gotcha,” Lee replied; a slight surprise to Coral that he was following her directions so willingly and keenly. 

As she moved and swayed with him she commented eagerly, “You’re picking this up really fast, are you sure you’ve never done this before?" 

Lee sucked in the air and his cheek while his lip curled into a lopsided smile. He said, "Actually—when I was a kid my mom and I took dance classes together." 

"Really?" 

"Yah-huh,” Lee nodded, “It was a lot of fun, heh-eh, I guess I kind of always wanted to do it again.” Memories came back to him of how much he enjoyed that time in his life with his mom. 

Coral also commented, “You’re pretty quick on your feet to." 

Mumbling for a moment under his breath, Lee revealed, "Well when you have to run away from stuff as much as I do, you gotta be." 

Coral couldn’t help but furrow her brow and puff out her cheeks at hearing that. “Right,” she grumbled; cruelly reminded of how much her friend dealt with bullying.  

She couldn’t understand; Why would people mess with such a sweet kid like him? Another thought came to her, But then again, my sister always said the same thing about me. 

The thought of the bond they shared caused her annoyance to fade only for them to be interrupted by the door to the classroom opening out of nowhere. A tall anemone girl peeked her head in and gasped, "Ohh, Coral, you’re here?" 

Looking back toward her, Coral turned and answered, "Hi Sandy and yeah I am, you said I could use this room." 

"No I didn’t,” she mumbled before fishing out her phone from her purse. Lee and Coral watched as she scrolled through something before letting out a frustrated grunt, “Ahh shoot, I did, sorry girl but I forgot I had a class today and they’re coming in five minutes." 

"What,” Lee and Coral unintentionally replied together; knowing the other classrooms in the dance academy were booked for the time, their lesson was prematurely over. 

Coral knew she couldn’t be mad at her friend; use of the room was a favor after all. Her friend was also a bit of a scatterbrain so this wasn’t the first time she made a promise without completely thinking it through. Coral said, “It’s fine, it’s fine, well Lee, I guess we’ll have to take this up some other time." 

He looked at her dissapointedly and was about to voice his displeasure when Sandy said, "I’m surprised, I thought you were teaching him from square-one but—say, did you finally decide to take my offer to represent the school for the city’s couple’s dance competition?!" 

This caught Lee off-guard and was confusing to him but Coral rapidly answered, "Oh no, no, no, no way; I’m just teaching him is all.” Though he still had a lot of questions, Lee nodded; confirming the extent of their involvement together. 

Sandy gave a defeated shrug, “Well suit yourself,” she sighed, “Still, take this flyer and think about it won’t ya?” She took a piece of paper from her purse and handed it to Coral. As she and Lee collected their things, ready to leave, Sandy offered a parting thought, “Besides, anyone taught by you will dance like they’ve done it their whole life." 

As they were leaving, Lee skimmed over the flyer and asked, "The dances for this are the Waltz, Tango, the Foxtrot, and the Cha Cha; can you teach me them?" 

He looked at her hopefully, only for Coral to enthusiastically reply, "Of course I can." 

Lee gave a laugh, "Heh-eh,” and returned to studying the sheet of paper, “Well, if you entered this with somebody you would totally win it!" 

While appreciative of his confidence, Coral explained, "I don’t think so, I love to dance, but I’m not really a competitive type."  

"Me too,” Lee agreed, “But I feel like—I feel like I really wanna—.“ He paused to think, only for his face to completely light up. “Ma’am, I think we should enter,” he finally just blurted out. 

Taken aback, Coral gulped, “W-what, and don’t call me ma’am,” she mumbled. 

He reasoned, “I just feel like we should enter, I feel really-really confident about it,” more certain than he had been in a lot of things in his life. He punctuated his excitement by tightening his fists and looking at her with a twinkle in his starry eyes. 

Holding her hands onto her purse and having a skeptical look on her face, Coral breathed, “I don’t know I just don’t think it’s a good idea." 

Lee could only pout, he had a feeling he knew why she couldn’t, "If you don’t want to, I understand, I mean if you wouldn’t wanna dance with an amateur who’d make you look bad, I get that." 

Coral gasped, he was being self-deprecrating yet that wasn’t the case at all. "No, no, no,” she said, “It’s not you at all—it’s me." 

"Huh, how could it be you when you’re amazing at this,” he wondered. 

Her hands fidgeted, and she tried not to look him in the eye as to avoid answering the question. How could she explain to him how massively self-conscious she would be under such circumstances? The thought of other people; judges, professionals, and people who probably danced longer than her watching her, and having to worry about possibly making her partner look bad—it made her knees shake. 

Finally, she explained her feelings as best as she could, “Just thinking of all those eyes on me, it makes me really nervous." 

She watched Lee’s head bob slightly, he seemed like he understood. He replied, "Well—I would be nervous too so hey, we could be nervous together!” Coral couldn’t believe her ears; that was so silly but it was one of the single sweetest things someone had ever said to her. 

“Fee fee,” she silently laughed, covering her lips with her hand. That didn’t stop her from doubting the idea; she had other problems she needed to address. “Even then, I- I wouldn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable dancing with me." 

"Huh?" 

"In a lot of partner dances you have to be close with your partner, like, touching-close." 

Lee merely shrugged, "Well if that’s what you gotta do than what’s the problem?" 

He’s not getting it, Coral thought, How innocent is he? 

She struggled to explain, "Well, you see, I–,” her hand hovered over her chest; there was one other major hang-up she had about herself besides her talent and that was her body. Her sister always joked that all the growth that should’ve gone to her height went to ‘other places’ and it internally and externally caused her grief her whole life. All the comments she got and stares; there were many times when she frankly felt ashamed about herself.

Lee was so nice; he never made comments or seemed to notice her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable, and she didn’t want him to start. "-I just don’t want you to feel weird around me, okay,“ she repeated. 

He gave her a look like he still didn’t understand, and he really didn’t. "Well if it makes you uncomfortable, I don’t want to force you to but I promise if we did I’ll work really hard, I’ll practice the steps every night, and I’ll listen to everything you say! I wanna do this real bad,” he shook his fists as he said that, “So please Ma'am, gimme a chance, please!" 

He really does want this, Coral thought; gazing into his eyes and seeing a burning fire in them. It was radiating so strongly that she felt her heart begin to quicken, and strangely her inhibitions about herself were slowly but steadily fading as well. It was so weird; he was a teenager but he was showing enthusiasm akin to a small child—like her when she was first learning to dance as a young girl. 

She loved to dance so much and maybe; if she could pass that love onto him, this would all be worth it. 

"You’ve really got me in a bind here, Lee,” Coral rested her hand on her hip and smiled, “But okay, for you, I’ll give it a shot." 

He was so elated that he breathlessly gasped, "You mean it?! Ohh thanks, Ma’am; I promise I won't dissapoint you!" 

Coral’s lip quivered and her eyes squeezed shut as she let out a grumble within her throat. "I know you won’t, but before we start,” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. If they were going to see each other more often, there was something that needed to change.

She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek, imploring, “Will you please stop calling me 'ma'am’?" 

Her pink lipstick lingered on his face; strongly framed by the changing color of his flushed skin. "Ye-Ye-Yes, I’m sorry, Coral,” he stammered, fastly giving into her whims. 

“Perfect,” Coral chirped happily, glad that 'ma'am’ business could finally be put to rest. She playfully fluffed his hair and said, “We’ll get started tomorrow, text me when you get out of school and we’ll start practicing." 

Lee stammered, "Ye-yeah, YEAH,” though he was still flustered, he was ready and raring to go, to learn to dance and compete with Coral. 

As for Coral; she had a long way to go with her bashfulness, but she was glad someone like Lee understood her.