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someguynamedstevewrites · 4 years

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Unwanted House Guest: Valentine’s Run - Part 5

Believe it or not, this story is based on characters created by @tamarinfrog , @searching-for-bananaflies , @cafe-cardamari , @bottledupcomic , etc.

And based on the video games Splatoon, Splatoon 2, and Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion by Nintendo.

Without a minute to spare, Arnick began by running through the Salmon Run basics with his team:

Their objective was to defeat the boss Salmonids, grab the golden eggs that they drop, and bring them to the cylindrical container known as the “basket”, usually located at the bow of the ship. To make sure the team knew what Kind of Salmonids to expect, Arnick went through the employee manual quickly to show pictures of each one. When asked by Lajni about why they were taking the Salmonid’s golden eggs, Arnick stated that he was not the right person to answer that question and moved on.

If a team member was splatted, each one of them had an emergency life preserver that could sustain them until another team member revitalized them with a splash or shot of ink. If the entire team is splatted and wiped out, Mr. Grizz initiates an emergency recall signal that pulls everyone back to the company ship so they could reconstitute themselves. However, that was to be avoided at all costs due to how it would affect their performance score and pay rate.

Arnick explained how the Salmonids attacked in waves, and the Grizzco employee’s job was to meet the egg quota set by Mr. Grizz for each one of the three waves. Lajni asked why they attacked like that, and Arnick theorized that while Salmonids were quite vicious, they couldn’t stay above water for too long before needing to return to it in order to catch their breath both figuratively and literally. Arnick wasn’t entirely sure if that was true or not, but it wasn’t like he could just go up to a Salmonid and ask them. Most attempts by Inklings to talk to them resulted in a large frying pan (the Salmonid weapon of choice) to the face.

It was agreed Arnick was going to lead the team, using the argument that he was the oldest and most experienced (and not because he was an Inkling despite Aadi claiming otherwise). With some help from Nalini, Arnick memorized the words for “bow”, “stern”, “starboard”, and “port” in Octarian so he could issue directions, and he also brushed up on simple phrases such as “Follow Me”, “Retreat”, “Hold The Line”, “Return to Base”, and others. Nalini explained to her siblings what to do whenever Arnick called out a specific word or phrase. Aadi and Lajni seemed to understand, but Arnick wasn’t too sure if they would be able to remember every detail.

After a rushed fifteen minutes of planning, it was time to get to work and Arnick and the Octo-siblings were launched to Marooner’s Bay. Arnick steeled himself for he knew there was a lot of work to do.

———————————

As Nalini flew through the air, she had a nagging thought at the back of her head. During their planning session, It was clear to her that Arnick had a very hard time with saying certain things in Octarian. But at the same time, if Arnick’s grasp on the Octarian language was so flimsy, then what was with that sudden outburst he had when they first met him? His Octarian, while foul and explicit, was grammatically correct, so why was he having such difficulty with it after that? When they all landed, these thoughts were quickly pushed to the back of her head. It was time to get to work.

<COVER GROUND!> Arnick shouted, indicating that now was the time to ink the terrain as much as they could before the first wave appeared. Nalini found herself armed with the Grizzco Blaster which quickly covered large swaths of ground with its rapid fire rate. The rapid popping noise it made with each burst of ink reminded Nalini of the sound made from bubble wrap and found it helped calm her nerves.

Looking around, Nalini could see Lajni splashing around with the Grizzco Slosher. This was her first time going out and using a weapon of any kind. She had a large smile on her face, and appeared to be having a ball as she sloshed ink around with a carefree attitude. Nalini found herself smiling at the sight, but stopped and turned away once she saw Arnick nearby.

*PSSHHOOO*

Arnick fired a shot off in a seemingly random direction and appeared to be keeping an eye on everyone; like he was studying them. His cold, steely eyes reminded Nalini of the Elite Octoling drill instructors she had back when she was in training. They were ruthless, strict, and did not accept failure. Trainees that couldn’t keep up with them were left behind and dropped like a sack of potatoes. Nalini felt a knot form in her stomach just from the thought that Arnick could be anything like them.

Meanwhile, Arnick was equipped with the Grizzco Charger: a Bamboozlr Mk 1 that had been modified by Grizzco. Unknown to Nalini, Arnick’s sour face wasn’t directed at her and the others, but because he had a strong disdain for his Charger. He thought Grizzco had gone too far in their modifications of the traditional and historical weapon. While he did have to admit that the charge speed and power output of the Grizzco Charger were impressive and useful, he would always ask to himself, “...at what cost?”

Nalini turned and saw Aadi who had gotten the Grizzco ‘Brella. He was rapidly shooting across the beached ship to cover plenty of ground and seemed to be enjoying himself. Upon seeing his sister looking his way, Aadi smiled and waved before giving her a big thumbs up.

Nalini couldn’t help but think how grateful she was that the work schedule for today included all of the customized Grizzco weapons. With Lajni or Aadi equipped with these, it would help them get used to the Salmon Runs as well as provide extra protection from the Salmonids. Despite Arnick’s quick thinking and planning, there was the still the possibility of disaster. If anything happened to her siblings, Nalini would never forgive herself. She was going to look after them and leave absolutely nothing to chance.

Unknown to her, she wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

———————————

On a small rock outcrop a ways away from the decrepit freighter that was quickly being covered in ink, three Salmonids wriggled their way to a small punch clock. One by one, they took their time cards and punched in for work. Each one then slipped their way to their respective musical instruments: a cello, timpani drums, and a DJ Turntable. They were the band known as “ω-3″ (pronounced “Omega-3″) and it was time for them to give their fellow co-workers their marching orders.

The leader of the band made his way over to his cello and took a moment to sit down. He was well in his fifty’s and couldn’t play his best unless he was perfectly comfortable. He grabbed his instrument and plucked the strings once or twice before picking up his bow and running it across. He grimaced and immediately began to tighten the strings to make sure everything was tuned properly.

*SCRRRRAAAAAAATTCCCHHH*

The band leader whipped his head around and glared at the band’s DJ. He was snickering but shrugged his flippers like he had no idea where that sudden and very LOUD record scratch came from. The obstinate little guppy loved messing with his superiors, much to the leader’s dismay.

After turning to the right page of sheet music, the cellist picked up his bow and signaled for them to begin. At the timpani drums, the percussionist Salmonid picked up two grilling forks with fresh corn on the cob attached to the ends of them and began to pound away at the drums.

*BRUM BUM BRUM BUM BRUM BUM BRUM BUM*

———————————

<GET READY!> Arnick shouted as the rhythmic drumming began to echo across the water.

Moments after he said that, a pair of bulbous eyes popped out of the water as one of the Salmonids known as a “Chum” wriggled out of the water and started to head towards the Grizzco employees. It had a crazed look in its eyes, a pair of overalls on its fish-like body, and a frying pan held in its flipper. Shortly after it came out of the water, another one popped up.

Then another...

...and another still.

<STERN!> Arnick hollered to indicate where the Salmonids were coming in from.

<I’M ON IT!> Aadi hollered back enthusiastically. It was finally time for him to show what he was made of. Since Nalini had spent so much time caring for him and Lajni, he figured it was time he returned the favor and showed that he could help out too.

*BLAM BLAM BLAM*

Aadi rapidly fired away and took out Chum after Chum. When each one was splatted, they dropped power eggs that Aadi greedily snagged and stuffed in a pack on his back. These would provide an extra bonus for him once work was finished. <HA! This is a piece of cake! We’ve got this in the bag!>

Arnick heard what he said and looked at him with a bug-eyed expression. He was about to say something before cutting himself off and then face-palming himself. The last thing the group needed was a jinx, and Aadi just had to open his big mouth.

Sure enough, a shadow loomed over behind Aadi, and he turned around just in time to jump out of the way of a much larger frying pan being held by a “Cohock”. He looked very much like a Chum, but was much, much larger and fatter. He was quite slow to move too, which only emboldened Aadi.

<MISSED ME!> Aadi teased as he blasted away at the Cohock to take him down. With still a good amount of ink left in the Grizzco ‘Brella, Aadi was feeling very confident...

...at least he was until an even bigger shadow loomed over him.

Aadi turned around and saw a massive Salmonid standing right behind him. Aadi didn’t even hear the beastly thing creep up on him, but now he was looking up at its angry and intimidating yellow eyes. It was covered in armor plated scales from top to bottom, and was biting down on something that looked like an oxygen mask for deep sea divers. It snarled at the Octoling boy and continued to march towards him.

Aadi fired away at it, but the ink from the ‘Brella just bounced right off the non-stick coating of the thing’s scales. Once it was close enough, the monster began to inflate something on top of its head. It looked like a large green trash bag with some strange markings on it. Seeing it, Aadi gulped and suddenly found his confidence starting to wane.

<STEELHEAD!> Nalini yelled as she raced towards her brother. She could see the Boss Salmonid filling the massive ink bomb on top of its head, and Aadi needed to get out of there and fast. A small school of Chum and “Smallfry” (who were too cute for their own good what with their little spoons for weapons) blocked her path, but she blasted her way through and made a mad dash to try and stop the Steelhead before her brother got to know the business end of their massive ink bombs. Even with their emergency life preservers, it still hurt a lot when splatted on the job.

But before she could get there...

*PSSHHOOO*

A long stream of ink flew above Nalini and Aadi’s heads and struck the ink bomb dead-center. The bomb became unstable as the large Steelhead looked up in terror as he knew exactly what was about to happen.

*BOOM*

With an explosion of ink, the Steelhead vanished and in its place were three, sparkling golden eggs.

<GET THE EGGS!> Arnick shouted from afar as he ran towards the two older Octolings. Aadi wasted no time in grabbing an egg and had already began heading back to the basket before Arnick could yell, <RETURN TO BASE!>

Nalini arrived, and grabbed an egg at the same time Arnick did. Each egg was large enough that the Grizzco employees could only carry one at a time. She began heading towards the egg container at the bow of the ship, eager to deposit the golden treasure. Much to her surprise, somehow Arnick had gotten there first. He dropped his egg off and then ran off without a word.

Nalini deposited her egg and thought to herself, <How did he get here so fast? I took the most direct route back!> She could see that they now had three out of the fifteen eggs needed to make quota, and then realized that Lajni was nowhere to be seen. This worried her immensely since she promised herself not to let her or Aadi out of her sight. But just as she finished that thought, a platform on the starboard side of the ship rose up with Lajni and Arnick on top of it. Arnick was sniping off pursuing Salmonids, while Lajni used her slosher to power the propeller that provided the platform propulsion. Both of them had golden eggs in their possession. The team was now a third of the way to meeting their quota.

<Lajni!? How did you...?>

<Saw a “Stinger” pop up and Arnick helped me take it down,> Nalini’s little sister said nonchalantly. Looking over the starboard edge, Nalini could see one remaining golden egg from where the Stinger once stood. A “Snatcher”, a Salmonid that looked very similar to a Chum save for different fin color, picked it up and hauled it back to the water before anyone could stop it. She blinked a couple of times as she tried to process how Arnick was able to get to Lajni so fast. And for that matter, how did he know where she was?

<NALINI!> yelled Arnick, <PORT!>

This snapped Nalini out of her momentary daze as she followed Arnick to the Port side of the ship. Arnick immediately leaped off the edge and Nalini followed suit. Before she could hit the ground, she heard the sound of tires screeching and then an engine exploding. Arnick had just stopped a “Scrapper” in its tracks. The makeshift vehicle was stalled as the Chum inside of it began to frantically try and get it moving again. Nalini knew just what to do: she dashed behind it and took it out with a few shots from her blaster. Three more golden eggs appeared and Arnick and Nalini both grabbed one.

<RETURN TO BASE!> Arnick ordered while pointing to the propeller powered platform behind them that went straight to the egg container. Nalini began to run over to it, but saw Arnick march down along the side of the ship towards the stern. Nalini wasn’t sure what he was doing, but following his order, she quickly rose to the top of the bow and put her egg in the basket.

To her surprise, the counter on the basket now showed eight eggs total. She didn’t have time to think about where they came from. She looked down towards the stern of the ship and saw a massive “Steel Eel” chasing after Aadi. Nalini wasted no time and shifted into her octopus form to swim down the ink path they set up earlier with hopes to get to the large metallic monstrosity to stop it in time. She knew if she could get to the rear of the Steel Eel where the Chum was controlling the snake-like contraption, then she’d be able to take it out with her blaster.

But once again, before she could get there, the Steel Eel suddenly collapsed and exploded, revealing three more golden eggs.

<THANKS ARNICK!> Aadi hollered back before grabbing an egg and running back to the basket. Nalini reflexively grabbed one of the eggs, but her mind was somewhere else altogether.

<What’s going on?> Nalini thought to herself as she carried another egg back to the basket, <Can Inklings split into two or something!? It’s like he’s in two places at once!> She quickly deposited the twelfth egg, but felt a strange mix of emotions inside of her. Wasn’t she supposed to be the hero to save Lajni and Aadi from danger? Was she actually getting envious of Arnick because he kept getting to the Boss Salmonids first?

Nalini didn’t have time to think beyond that as she shook herself out of her funk and immediately ran back down to the stern where she could see a “Flyfish” floating around. Piloted by a tiny Smallfry, the Ink-Seeking Missiles it could launch would make things extremely complicated if left alone.

Her brother had caught up and was now running beside her. Nalini called out to him, <Aadi! Throw a Splat Bomb into the missile container once it opens up!>

<YOU GOT IT!> he said confidently, apparently having gotten a second wind after looking petrified by the Steelhead from earlier. Once they were close enough, they could see the Flyfish open its missile launchers and prepare to fire. Nalini and Aadi both grabbed a splat bomb from their belts and tossed them at the Flyfish.

They both landed in the right missile launcher.

<Aadi!> Nalini said worriedly.

<Oops,> Aadi said with a blush, <Sorry, sis.>

Suddenly, another splat bomb flew through the air and landed in the left missile launcher.

*BOOM*

Nalini looked to her side, half expecting to see Arnick saving the day once again, but saw Lajni instead. The Flyfish crashed to the ground, releasing still more golden eggs to pick up. Lajni smiled at her siblings, <Looks like all that time spent playing Basketball paid off!> she said proudly.

Nalini felt so proud of her little sister and smiled, but then turned deathly pale as she saw a small antennae with a flashing sphere at the end of it move right underneath Lajni. Nalini instantly recognized the “Maws” that had just made its way right underneath her sister. This Salmonid was capable of eating an Inkling or Octoling whole, and the only way to stop it was to feed it a Splat Bomb. None of the Octo-Siblings had any left after taking care of the Flyfish.

Nalini had been splatted before in previous Salmon Runs, and the best way she could describe them would be “painful”. The hurt that came with being splatted can be quite excruciating depending on how someone is splatted. Nalini’s first time being eaten by a Maws left her somewhat traumatized. The feeling of the sharp teeth piercing the skin, as her whole body popped like a balloon, was something she would never forget.

Now it was her sister’s turn to know how it felt, and there was nothing Nalini could do about it. She worried that being eaten like that could scare her away from Salmon Runs, or worse. Lajni had never even been a turf war before!

As the adrenaline pumped through her veins, time seemed to slow down for Nalini. She caught every moment as, just before the Maws leaped out of the ground, Lajni suddenly seemed to trip and fall forward onto her face. Right behind her was Arnick who had shoved Lajni out of the way. With the sensation of time being slowed down, Nalini saw the look on Arnick’s face and gave a small gasp.

There was absolutely no fear on Arnick’s face. Nalini couldn’t even detect a single hint of anger or frustration. His eyes were still the same stern, strict eyes he had always had, but they were eyes of determination. His mouth was closed, showing no gritted teeth, making what he was doing seem almost effortless.

Then the Maws breached the ink-covered surface and threw Arnick into the air. Arnick was now gritting his teeth, but still showed no sign of fear. Despite wincing in pain, he still had a fierce look of determination on his face as he began to swing his body around so he was facing the toothy Titan. With a snap of its jaws, the Maws splatted Arnick whole.

<ARNICK!> Nalini screamed as the adrenaline rush wore off. Time seemed to move normally again when she rushed over to grab her sister. She needed to get Lajni away from the Maws as quickly as possible. Suddenly the Maws’ eyes bugged out as its cheeks and face began to swell. Before shoving Lajni out of harms way, Arnick had also dropped a Splat Bomb right where the Maws was about to appear. Right as Nalini got to Lajni, the Maws exploded in a shower of ink.

The three Octo-Siblings looked at the large splotch of ink where Arnick had once stood. Nalini couldn’t believe what she had just seen. An Inkling sacrificed himself to save an Octoling.

Back in the training camps, Nalini was often taught about how ruthless, selfish, and cruel Inklings could be. During test exercises, the Elite Octolings in charge wouldn’t hesitate to abandon or sacrifice the Octarians under their command if it meant succeeding in their mission. Nalini was told that there was no place for weaklings who could be taken down so easily, and that if she wanted to survive, she had to rely on herself and herself only. It was the only way she could become strong like an Elite Octoling.

But Nalini always hated that.

She and her fellow trainees were all taught that there were No heroes. There was the enemy, your comrades, and yourself. They explained to the trainees how they should never expect help or aide from any of their comrades. Above all, the mission was the top priority, and the second priority was to protect their superiors. A superior could count on a subordinate to follow their orders, but a subordinate was to have no such expectations that their superiors would ever help them. Like they were told, they were their superiors, and they were not heroes.

Nalini decided that if there were no heroes, then she would become one. Even if she was only a hero to her younger brother and sister, that was enough for her.

When Nalini first met Arnick, she feared that he would act the same as the trainers she had before. He had the same serious and stern look on his face. He had the same posture of superiority and dominance that the elites did. He also could swear, curse, and berate just as well as the Elites.

Bur he wasn’t like them at all.

He somehow was always there to help her, Aadi, and Lajni during this first outing. Compared to the Elite Octolings that were in charge of training and instructing her back at camp, Arnick was practically a beacon of selflessness and courage. He may have been crass and strict, but no one without compassion would have done what he just did. There was no doubt in Nalini’s mind now that Arnick was a hero.

And now he was gone.

<GO!>

Nalini could almost hear him barking away like usual.

Even though she had only known met him about an hour ago, she could hear his voice loud and-

Nalini looked down and saw a small life preserver floating on the ink with a Grizzco company flag attached to it. The spirit of a rather angry looking Inkling was staring at the three siblings. And he just spoke perfect Octarian.

Lajni and Aadi both looked relieved to see Arnick okay. Nalini fired her blaster at the preserver, and in the ink that splashed on it, a rather annoyed looking Arnick emerged, brushed himself off, and grabbed one of the golden eggs left by the Maws.

<If you have enough time to stand around and gawk, then move your arses and GET THE EGGS!> he said loudly with annoyance.

Lajni and Aadi grabbed the other two eggs while Nalini had grabbed one from the FlyFish. It was then that Nalini finally understood why Arnick was having trouble speaking Octarian earlier.

The trouble wasn’t that Arnick couldn’t speak Octarian...

...it was that he couldn’t speak Octarian POLITELY!

All four of them made it to the bow of the ship and deposited the eggs in time to make quota. The music that had been playing in the distance died down and the Salmonids that were still out of the water turned around and began to meander back to it. The first wave was over.

———————————

After two more waves of the Salmonids coming after them, it was finally time for a break. Mr. Grizz was VERY pleased with their performance and congratulated them all for an excellent job. Back on the company ship away from Marooner’s Bay, Arnick leaned up against the wall of the cabin for the bridge, took off his hat, and wiped the sweat from his brow. He had ran more than usual compared to past Salmon Runs of his.

Lajni and Aadi soon walked up to him with big smiles on their faces.

<YOU WERE AMAZING!> Aadi cheered.

<THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING US!> Lajni beamed.

Arnick smiled at the two of them and then made the mistake of trying to talk back, <This dumbass enjoyed helping you little brats!>

Lajni and Aadi looked very confused as Nalini walked up behind them, laughing. <I thought so!> she said as soon as she could stop giggling, <You can’t say anything politely, can you?! Not even about yourself!>

“Errr...” Arnick said with a small blush, “...no.”

“It is alright,” Nalini responded in Inklish. “Sometimes, rude talk necessary to do job well!”

Arnick looked to the side and gave a half-frown as if to indicate, “Hmmm... I don’t know about that.”

<Politely?> Lajni asked.

<I was wondering why he had so much trouble talking earlier when we were introducing ourselves,> explained Nalini, <It’s because Arnick doesn’t know the right way to speak politely in Octarian. He didn’t want to offend us before.>

<Really?> Aadi said as he turned to Arnick. Arnick gave a small nod back in response. <Ooohhhhh! Well, that’s okay! You helped us out so much on the Salmon Runs, I don’t mind if you say mean things!>

<Me neither!> chimed in Lajni, <We know you’re not trying to be rude.>

Arnick glanced sideways with a look that clearly said, “Ehhhhhhh...”

“You are good man, Mr. Stilton,” Nalini said with a smile, “Please still be taking care of us.”

Before Arnick could reply, the bear statue radio piped in and the voice of Mr. Grizz announced, “Okay folks, break’s over! Time to get some more of those eggs!”

Arnick put his hat back on and once again looked stern and serious. However this time, he was smiling too. <Okay you dummies,> he said cheerfully, <Let’s take this job and work it!>

Lajni and Aadi were still snickering when they stepped on the spawn point to go back to Marooner’s Bay.

To Be Continued...

#Unwanted House Guest #Arnick Stilton #Splatoon #Octolings #Nalini Aadi and Lajni #Salmon Run #Salmonids

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