#IiTTW

[splattershotsundae]

Ink is Thicker Than Water --- Chapter 1: I predict a riot

SQUID SISTERS: FOUND ALIVE! Callie and Marie were found at 1:00AM at inkpolis plaza fallowing the attack of the mechanized weapon upon the city. The sisters were relocated to a hospital where they are in stable condition. They were unavailable for comment, but it has been suggested that they may return to work by the end of the week.

OCTARIANS EXIST, BUT FOR HOW MUCH LONGER?

Shortly after the terror ended, police were approached by an anonymous Octarian official who requested aid in the unearthing of roughly 160,000 individuals from a devastating cave-in. The cave-in is thought to hold about one quarter of the entire species' population, and the course of action as of yet is unknown. The Octarian official was detained; and was unavailable for comment.

OCTARIAN LEADER IN CRITICAL CONDITION

At 1:45; the Mustard Hill Hospital admitted an Octoling who was later discovered to be the Octarian Queen; Master of Ceremonies Ophelia Lunulata. When admitted she was found to have many of her organs filled with ink, though without any internal bleeding. Suspicions rise that it may not even be her ink at all, however DNA results have yet to return. She has yet to awaken, and the cause of her injuries is unknown. Doctors believe that if she does not recover somewhat within 48 hours she may pass away within the week.

It was a few days after what people were calling ‘the attack’, ‘doomsday’, and many other fitting and exciting titles which sounded as though they were out of some sort of movie, and Bato was sitting at the dining table, watching his mothers in the kitchen doing the dishes.

He’d felt so helpless lately, what with his leg in the shape that it was, Hachi was far away, and he wasn’t sure if she was alright. These worries, mingled with Stacey’s offer to become an agent, overwhelmed him. He’d barely been able to sleep at night.

Just then across from him his mother’s phone began to ring, and he was unable to help getting his hopes up as he pulled the phone over and looked at the number. “Mom! It’s an unknown number, can I answer it? It might be Hachi!”

“Okay sweetie, go ahead!” She called over her shoulder.

He nodded his thanks, then lifted the phone to his ear and cleared his throat. “Ahem, Euthis residence, how can I--”

“B-Baaaatooooo!”

He froze, eyes suddenly brimming with tears. “Hachi!” He exclaimed. “Are you okay? How are you!?”

“Bato, Bato they...” She sobbed. “They’re beating us and killing us!”

"They're.. they're what!?" He demanded, attempting to stand, but then falling back into his seat with a wince.

"Th-They were beating us, but now they're k-killing us!!!” She explained. “They keep detaining more and more o-octolings, and the guards hurt u-us for any reason they could, but l-last night they killed one of us, and I don’t think it’s going to-to stop!”

“Hang on.” He said, then pulled the phone away from his ear long enough to shout; “MOM! Get ready to leave!”

“Got it!” She called, then sprinted around the corner and toward the hall, Tanya on her heels.

“B-Bato, they started blaming the other prisoners, the real prisoners, the murderers and thieves and worse, but even they think what’s happening is wr.. is wrong...”

“And they’re right.” He said firmly. “We’re coming, we’re going to get you out of there.”

“H-Hurry.” She said. “I-I managed to get a guard’s phone, and… and the other prisoners are going to break our form stabilizers off, and then throw us over the wall. I’m not going to get far!”

“Stepmom!” He called. “I need help getting to th--”

“Is ‘Achi ‘urt?” Oz interrupted.

He yelped and turned to see the elite octoling right at his side, gaze firm and unyielding. “… She’s in trouble.” He replied. Sometimes he’d forgotten that Oz was still living here, in the past few days he’d taken to moping on the couch for hours on end.

Evidently now was not one of those times. In a flash, Oz had grabbed his arm and hoisted him to his feet, taking care to support his bad leg. “Ya ain’t goin’ witout me.”

“… Okay.” Bato agreed, beginning to limp toward the entryway.

“Bato?” Hachi asked. “Bato do I hear Oz?”

“Yeah.” He replied. “He’s coming too. We’re all coming to get you. We… We’ll...”

She sniffled loudly. “B-Bato, I have to go. William s-says this place is ‘Wolfe Jail’. P-Please hurry...”

“Wolfe Jail, got it.” He said. “W-Wait, who’s William?”

“One of the prisoners.” She explained. “… B-Bato, you’re my best friend, and… and… I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

His breath caught. "... Y-you've been a great friend too." He stammered, then cringed as the phone beeped in his ear. ‘Call ended 4:07’ “Shit...”

Leah came around the corner, slipping on her jacket. “I’ve got the keys, where are we going?”

“Wolfe jail.” He said, handing her phone back to her.

“’Ow’re we gettin’ there?” Oz asked.

“Oh not this again with the car thing...” Tanya gently bemoaned as she stepped up with her 52. Gal. “Just don’t… worry about it, maybe you should just stay here, we can explain when we get back.”

“Nah, ya can’t talk me outta it.” He said firmly. “’Sides, someone’s gotta carry this dead weight.” He continued, then scooped Bato up in his arms with a grunt.

“H-Hey!” He yelped. “Careful!”

“We don’t have time to argue.” Leah decided as she flung open the front door. “Sweetie, can you explain what’s going on on the ride over?”

“Yeah.” He said, wrapping his arms around Oz to keep himself from slipping. “Stepmom, can you navigate?”

“On it.” She agreed, taking point as they raced downstairs and piled into their car.

The drive was frantic and full of explanations. Bato filled his mothers and Oz in on what Hachi had told him, about how much danger she’d been in, then talked to Oz about how cars worked, and about why he should buckle his seatbelt.

“Tha ‘seat belt’ chafes.” He complained. “Do I really gotta wear it?”

“Yes, it’s to keep you safe just in case we crash.” Tanya said.

“Tha’s a fuckin’ option?” He realized with a brief note of panic.

“Wait, look!” Bato exclaimed and pointed out the window. Down the sidewalk an octoling was running as fast as they could, tentacles streaming out behind them. “We have to be close.”

“Take a left turn!” Tanya said, and the car swerved into the turn lane to make it before the light changed.

Ahead of them a long low building stretched, surrounded by multiple layers of barbed fences, which weren’t stopping streaks of purple from hurling over the walls. Octoling after Octoling landed and started running. All of them looked exhausted, battered, bruised. It made Bato’s stomach churn.

“They don’t look so good...” Leah murmured, her grip on the steering wheel tightening. “C’mon sweetie, please be alright...”

Another purple streak shot though the sky, but this one was… lower. An octopus landed, and reverted to humanoid form, chest heaving with heavy breaths, tentacles torn and mangled. “There! I see her!” Bato exclaimed, rolling down his window. “HACHI!” He shouted.

She looked up at the shout, and started limping toward them as the car pulled to a stop. Bato flung open the door, and then his arms as he pulled her into an embrace. She shuddered and sobbed as they held each other tight, and Bato felt his own eyes brim with tears. “It’s okay…” He breathed. “It’s okay, I got you...”

“Close the door and buckle up kids, we’re going home.” Tanya said, looking over her shoulder.

Hachi looked up, then wiped her eyes and sat down in the middle seat. “Thank you...”

“Of course we’d come get you.” Bato said as he closed the door.

“Alright, let’s go.” Leah said as she started to turn the car around.

“WAI, STOP!” Oz shouted.

Leah instinctively slammed on the brakes, causing everyone to lurch in their seats.

"OW!" Bato yelped. "What!?"

Oz flung open the door and leaned outside, tentacles gripping the frame. “OANA! OANA GET IN ‘ERE! QUICK!”

There was a moment’s hesitation, and then a blur of movement as an octoling dove headfirst into the car, and Oz slammed the door shut behind them. “Okay, ya can go now.”

“OW!” Hachi yelped, pulling back as Oana fell on her knees. “… Hey Oana.”

“Hello traitor.” A tingle went down Bato’s spine as Oana propped herself up, and her eyes met his. He remembered her, from the science facility in the domes. She worked security, but this was the first time he’d seen her face. She had sharp eyes, the color of cold steel, which bore into him as she assessed him. “… I’ve met you...” She said.

"Indeed we have." He grimaced. “You two know her?”

“She does some a tha drills for tha barracks.” Oz said.

Oana turned, then looked him up and down. “… Do I know you?”

Oz frowned a little. “Oz. Oswald Croft? Tha… Ya know, tha lovable… goof?”

“… Oh… You.” She grimaced.

“Oana was it?” Tanya said. “Please sit down, it’s safer that way.”

Hachi scooted a bit closer to Bato and patted the empty space next to her. “So what did I miss?” She asked.

Oana swooped her tentacles and sat down in the empty space, leaving the entire backseat awfully cramped.

"1&2 are both still alive." Bato said. "And Ophelia woke up briefly, but they're still don't know for sure if she's going to recover or not."

“Ophelia might be okay?” Oana asked abruptly, sitting up straighter.

“Well, not yet.” Oz said. “Apparently she’s been through a lot. But ‘ey, ‘migh not make it’ is better than ‘is dead’.”

Hachi frowned. “… I don’t know, is it? All of this is her fault…”

“Of course you’d like it if she died, you traitor, our queen means nothing to you.” Oana huffed.

Hachi gripped Bato’s hand, and he held it back, giving her a compassionate look.

After a long pause, Oana continued. “Where are you taking me?”

“These squidlin’s ‘ave been keepin’ me safe from tha pryin eyes a tha police.” Oz said. “Since Ophelia’s shut down, nobody’s protectin’ us from em, so we gotta ‘ide out where it’s safe. Fer us, tha’s this squidlin’s ‘ouse.”

“They smell awful.” Oana concluded.

“They really do.” Oz agreed.

“… Oana, I know you’re hurt too.” Hachi said after a moment. “Tanya can take a look at our wounds, she’s been trained, she knows what to do.”

“Tanya?” She asked.

“That’s me.” Tanya said, raising her hand.

“She makes good food.” Hachi added.

“A chef /and/ a medic?” Oana asked skeptically.

“My stepmother is a jack of many trades.” Bato said.

“Step… mother?” She asked.

“Here we go again...” Tanya sighed, and got to explaining.

“Welcome home Hachi.” Leah said as she opened the front door, stepping aside to usher everyone inside.

“Thank you Leah.” She replied, smiling from ear to ear.

Bato chuckled and leaned on her for a bit more support, his leg was killing him. “H-Hachi, can you get me to the couch…?”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” She said, helping him toward the living room.

“Ugh, this place smells even worse.” Oana said, wrinkling her nose as she crossed the threshold. “Shift after shift of squid stink… A cacophony to the nose.”

“You’ll get used to it, I’m sure.” Leah said. “I’ll go get the first aid kit, you all get settled in.”

“Gladly.” Oana said sarcastically.

“Ya’ll get used ta it.” Oz said, flopping into the armchair and propping his legs up on the armrest.

“You seem to have perked right up...” Bato commented as he left himself sink into the couch.

He paused. “Well, now I ain’t alone in this shitty place.” He said. “I got ‘Achi an Oana ta keep me company.”

“… Sure.” Oana said, apprehensively sitting down on the couch.

“Got the first aid kit.” Leah announced, handing the plastic container off to Tanya.

“Good, Hachi, let’s get you fixed up.” Tanya said, kneeling down in front of the couch, which only a slight cringe.

Hachi paused, then turned in her seat and lifted up her shirt. “The cut on my back popped again...”

“Again!?” Bato asked, sitting up. “You still have that!?”

“It’s hard not to when stuff keeps hurting me...” She grimaced. “I’m so lucky it’s not infected… I think.”

"Someone is going to answer for this..." Tanya muttered as she began to clean the wound.

“As much as I would love that, I have a more pressing question.” Hachi said. “… Do we have Oranges? I’m starving.”

Leah blinked, then laughed. “Yes, yes we do, I’ll go get some sweetie.”

“Thank you!” Hachi smiled.

“Wait wait wait...” Oana said. “How do you just… have food?”

"We don't get our food on a day-by-day basis--or, shift-by-shift," Bato explained.

"Then how /do/ you get it?" Oana asked.

"We buy it." Tanya explained as she moved to treat a cut on Hachi’s shoulder. "From markets and such?"

"Um.. They don't have a currency system down there, Stepmom." Bato said quietly. "Or markets."

"Who is mark-it?" Oana asked.

"It's not a 'who'," Bato explained, "A market is a building where they keep lots of different kinds of food, and inklings can go into these buildings and exchange our currency for that food; that's why we can have several days worth of food in the house at once."

"Doesn't it go bad just laying around?" She grimaced.

"Some of it does." He replied with a small shrug, "But we have ways of keeping it good longer."

“Alright Hachi, here’s the oranges, all nice and peeled.” Leah said, coming back in with a small plate, piled high with orange slices.

“Thank you…!” She said, immediately digging in.

Tanya chuckled. “Okay, I think I got all of them, let me know if they get worse, and take it easy, alright? You’re safe now.”

“And thank you too.” She said around an orange slice.

She just chuckled again and moved on to help Oana.

Bato smiled as he surveyed the room. The atmosphere in here had become so much more relaxed than before. Hachi was home, Oz was lounging, Leah was sitting at the kitchen table and watching with a smile on her face, Oana was… here, and he hardly knew her, but she didn’t seem harmful, just.. confused, and passionate about her people and queen, as she had every right to be. He glanced back at Hachi, enjoying her food, and basked in how happy he was that she was safe. She was home.

“Hey Hachi?” He said. “I’m going to go on Skope and tell the others that you’re okay. Want to hang out in my room with me?”

She looked up, then nodded, mouth full of orange.

He smiled at her, then looked down at his leg. “… I’ll hold your oranges if you help me get there.”

She swallowed, then held out the plate. “Deal.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and stood, limping down the hallway while Hachi supported him the best she could. She wasn’t too much better off than him he realized, but they would both heal. It would be okay.

Together they entered his room, and carefully sat down on his bed. “Have I said how good it is that you’re back yet?” He asked.

She chuckled and nodded, leaning back against the wall. “Thank you for saying it again. I felt so alone, even though Oana was there.”

“You actually know her?” He asked, gingerly pulling his laptop onto his lap.”I thought she just recognized you from… well… Stuff.”

She sighed and closed her eyes. “We were childhood friends, but she was the child of another elite and after a while she started to act superior to me… and well, yeah. I guess now we don’t get along.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He said, booting up his laptop. “If you want to make amends, you could try while she’s here.”

“… We’ll see.” She replied.

“That’s fair.” He said, then booted up Skope. Immediately he was bombarded with notifications from his squad’s chat. He opened it and found that Simon and Toda were talking quite a lot.

S: Jill says she might come on, but she wants a little time to herself too, which I totally get.

T: yeah, absoltly

B: Hey you two.

S: Bato, there you are.

S: Take a look at this.

S: [link]

He frowned and clicked on the link, which took him to a local news site. They already had a page about the prison break that they’d just been at… and sort of helped with. Apparently Hachi and Oana had been lucky, as the prison reported that ‘octolings had been killed in the riot’, and claimed no octolings managed to get away. However, the cameras in the facility were allegedly and conveniently broken. He grimaced and got back to the chat.

B: I was there.

S: Something tells me this is only the beginning.

S: Wait what

T: Wat

B: Hachi was there

B: She called my Mom right before it happened.

S: Oh no is she dead?

B: No, she's not

B: They lied about that in the article

B: She's alive

B: She's here

T: thnk judd

B: Yeah

B: We found her and another Octoling, one named Oana

T: dd they see u?

B: We don't know

S: You picked up another Octoling? Is she trouble? Does she know who we are?

B: She knows who I am; she recognized me from when I was down in the domes

B: I don't know if she would know about you three

S: I'd ask if we can trust her, but I'm not sure how much I trust your capacity to trust people.

B: Yeah, no, I understand

B: ... Though I'm not entirely sure either, to be honest.

"... Do you think we can trust Oana?" He asked Hachi, glancing at her again.

Hachi gave a long pause, then sighed. "... I'm... I don't know... She sounds loyal to Ophelia, which means that she���s not on my side. Don’t get me wrong though… I’m glad Oz picked her up, I wouldn’t want her to die… You know, I’m a little surprised he came with you guys to come get me.”

“He missed you a lot, even though he… knows you killed Orion.” He admitted. “I tried to lie and say I did it so he wouldn’t be mad at you but… I was tired and slipped up.”

She paused. “… He really cares about me, huh?”

“… Yeah, I think he does.” He agreed. “Maybe he can help you keep Oana safe.”

She nodded. “That’s a good idea.”

He nodded, then looked back at the computer.

S: ... Looking back, you said she was alive. Is she ok?

B: ... She's hurt.

B: They've been beating the Octolings they had detained

B: And they recently started killing them, and blaming it on the other prisoners.

T: siht...

T: that explans the 'broken camras'

B: That's why there was a riot, it was a distraction

B: Some of the prisoners were throwing Octolings over the prison walls so they could escape

S: That's just wrong.

S: This is all just wrong.

S: I don’t care what happened to us, this is real fucked up.

B: Yeah...

B: I don't know how many others managed to get away

B: None of them looked very good though...

S: if we werent so deeply involved I would say we go and make sure it doesn't happen again

S: but... We're in way too deep. Who knows what would happen if people found out everything we've done the past few weeks.

B: I almost don't care, to be honest... but you're right.

B: We're sort of stuck right now

T: cold we talk 2 the aegents?

B: I'm not sure if they're really in any position to do much right now either

B: Or condition.

S: if we don't want to draw attention to ourselves we should keep our activism for their rights at a minimum.

S: I don't like it, but we can't get dragged into this.

S: and we're not in much better condition either.

Bato sighed aloud.

B: Yeah, you're right...

T: yeah...

"What?" Hachi asked him.

He shook his head a little, "I just wish there was something we could do for the other Octolings too, this is all so wrong... But as it is, we're pretty stuck right now."

"... You're helping me, and Oana. And Oz... You’re probably way above average in this city.” She said. “Maybe I can still live a moderately long life before they find me.”

"They won't find you." He said firmly. "And if they do, we won't let them hurt you, or take you again."

"... Thanks for trying to be comforting." She said with a sigh. "I don't really believe that though. I wouldn't let anybody hurt you while trying to get to me..."

He glanced at her again, frowning a little. "I'm not going to let them get to you. Whether I get hurt or not."

"Fine, then we'll have to fight them together." She replied.

He paused, then slowly nodded. "... Together."

S: People are -still- trying to get in to interview with Callie and Marie in the hospital seriously just leave them alone.

T: good rgief

B: Can't say I'm surprised... but yeah, they need to recover.

B: ... But Speaking of the agents...

T: yea?

B: I was talking with 3 after we got back that night, and she was talking about how her job was going to change

B: How it would still be about protecting the people, though the difference would be /which/ people.

B: I told her I wanted to help them, once I could walk normally again

B: She didn't seem opposed to the idea, but she wanted me to really think about it first, and to talk with you guys about it.

S: Weren't we... just talking about something...

S: Something about being too involved in things?

S: Like just today, and almost two weeks ago.

S: Is it pointless for me to even try

B: I'm not saying anything for sure, it was just an idea

B: She did talk about how I might not be able to go back once I started, it was part of why she wanted me to think about it.

B: But... I do still want to help

B: Especially after what happened this morning.

S: So you want to be a vigilante.

B: Yeah, I guess I do.

S: It's not going to be like the movies.

S: You're going to get yourself killed.

B: The past week and a half has presented the danger just about as well as anything could; believe me, I know the risks.

S: And you're going to jump right back in

S: Do you understand how crazy you sound?

B: They're killing them, Simon.

B: And it's not like they're all more Orions, there are Octolings just as innocent as anyone up here on the surface

S: I

S: ... Stacey would still have your back, right?

B: The way she talked about it, it sounded like she still intended to do her Agent work

B: So, yeah, I'm pretty sure she would.

"You want to be a Siren?"

He blinked and looked up, seeing Hachi reading over his shoulder. “… Yeah, I do.”

"... I'll get you a mask." She said. "No, I'll /make/ you a mask. There’s tech in there that would help you out there on the field."

"Make one?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. It's not like I'm just going to be able to pull one out of thin air, and I want you to have the best! Something worthy of an Elite!" She said with a grin. "Isn't that practically what the Sirens are?"

"Yeah, I suppose they are," He agreed with a smile.

Hachi gave a sigh. "Ah Elites. Snotty little bossy-pants that are good at what they do."

Bato chuckled a bit. "Indeed."

"Hm..." Hachi paused. "When I put it like that there's no doubt that's what the Sirens are."

Bato considered it, then shrugged a bit. "I guess so." Then frowned as more messages popped up on screen.

S: Plawse fjon't do it

S: Listen too EM

T: simon?

B: Simon...

S: If you doit Jill’s goin to wantto and

B: ... It's not a for sure thing, Simon.

B: It's just talk right now.

T: nd tehy mihgt sat no ven f we d dcid 2

T: jsut cause 3 sida yes dsoent mean 1 nd 2 wil

Bato sat back and sighed as a ‘Simon is typing’ message popped up and lingered for a while. Maybe he should have just gone behind their back and accepted Stacey’s offer without telling them. Then they all wouldn’t worry.

S: Look, unless things escalate even further... just leave it alone for a month. Please.

S: It's too soon.

B: Okay. We'll leave it alone for now.

B: We still need time to recover from all of this, and it's a big thing to talk about.

B: You're right, it's far too soon.

S: Thank you.

“Screens above, make up your mind!” Hachi said. “Are you going to do it, or not?”

He paused. "I'm going to do it; just as soon as I can walk normally again, I'm going to contact either Stacey or Callie, and ask to become an agent. But I'm not going to ask the others to do it with me."

Hachi thought this over. "... Hm... That means I still get to make you a mask, right?"

He smiled. "If you still want to."

"Pfft, to be honest I was going to make you one before you said you were going to be a Siren, you're stuck with it." She smirked.

He chuckled. "Well, if you insist." He said jokingly.

"Ok, first off, do you have gigabytes and megabytes and stuff? Is that how memory is stored on computers up here?" Hachi asked.

"Yup." He nodded. "That's how it's stored up here."

"Ok good!" She said, sitting up and getting into geek mode. "One terrabyte should do it for at least your first mask, and everything you'd put on it over time! We're also going to need steel plating, would that crabby friend of yours be willing to let some go you think? I think I saw some underground. Right, and copper wire-"

He smiled and propped himself up on his pillow as he listened to her and gave her feedback on what he’d like. She was so passionate about this, so excited. He felt lucky to be a part of it.

This story is a sequel! If you are lost, You should start with You’re a Skwidd Now!

Bato, Toda, Leah and Tanya are Knitter’s characters

Hachi, Oswald, Oana, Simon, Jill, and Orion are Shuckle’s characters.

Splatoon belongs to Nintendo.

Please consider liking or reblogging if you enjoyed, it’s nice to know we’re doing things right.

Shuckle has a patreon if you would like to provide additional support!

[<PREV] [INDEX] [NEXT>] (Coming soon)

[splattershotsundae]

IiTTW update

(Hey guys! Just a quick update before the new arc’s prologue, Tumblr is being buggy and glitching up the apostrophes and quotation marks on the dashboard post when there’s a Keep Reading, so we’re going to put the whole chapter under the Keep Reading instead of having the preview above it, so you don’t have to deal with the demonic-looking results of having random characters at the beginning, end, and in the middle of every sentence.

Thanks for understanding! ~ Knitter)

[splattershotsundae]

Ink is Thicker Than Water --- Prologue

Chapter is under the cut because Tumblr is bugging out on us.

It was about 5 in the morning by the time they finally got back to their apartment after the Octomaton’s attack on the city, and Bato was leaning heavily on his inkbrush in order to stay upright. He was going to need so many painkillers over the next few days, maybe even weeks.

“We’re home!” Leah called softly as she pushed open the front door, Tanya’s arm wrapped around her shoulders.”

“Welcome back!” Stacey called from the living room. As they rounded the corner, they found her lounging on half of the couch, television on to the news, a borrowed laptop open to social media, her Cpod blasting music into her earbuds, and papers strewn about her with notes scrawled everywhere. “It’s been quite a night, hasn’t it?” She asked.

“Yeah...” Bato agreed, flopping onto the couch next to her, briefly watching as Tanya seated herself next to the dining table.

“You all alive?” She asked, pulling out one of her earbuds and muting the TV.

"Yeah, we're all alive, thank Judd," Bato replied with a small nod. “That’s uh… That’s a lot of paper.”

She grimaced. "... I had to keep busy. I was going crazy man."

"Yeah, yeah, I can't blame you." He mumbled, nodding again.

"You told 1&2 I'm ok, right?" She asked, looking back at the TV.

"Yeah, they know you're alright," He reassured her.

She gave a small nod. "Good. Don't need them worrying about me, they need to focus on themselves… They… are still alive, right? The news has been vague.”

He grimaced. "They... didn't look so great when we saw them, but yes."

Leah carefully stepped forward as to not crunch any papers."So, wait, this '1&2', are they... Tanya said that she saw you kids with two people that looked like the Squid Sisters before she passed out, are they the other two 'Sirens'? And what happened with the robot? Did you find it before it started tearing up the city? Where--"

"Leah, dear, for goodness' sake, slow down." Tanya said with a small chuckle, glancing at Stacey. "If you couldn't tell already, we waited until we got back before we decided to grill him for the details."

"Ah. That sounds tedious." Stacey commented. "But the true identities of 1&2 is their decision to reveal, you know? I can't go telling everyone who they are and all that... It's disrespectful. I would drop it if I were you."

"Right, of course," Leah nodded, making a motion like she was zipping her mouth shut.

Bato paused. “Actually, when was the last time you checked on Oz?”

"... Oh goodness!" Leah squeaked as she turned and sprinted toward the hall. “I completely forgot!”

“He must be starving.” Stacey noted. “He’s been in there all day.”

He frowned. “Is it a bad idea to have him out here while I tell you what happened? I mean, the Octomaton's been destroyed, but..."

"Let’s be frank, at this point there’s not much he can do." She replied. "His government is in shambles, he can’t hide, domes sound like they’re collapsing, he has nowhere to go... Don't give him any silverware and I think we'll be ok."

He nodded slowly, "Alright then, no silverware. Got it."

Just then Oz staggered into the room with Leah in tow, scanning the room with a grimace. “… Where’s ‘Achi?” He asked, voice raspy.

“That’s a very good question.” Stacey said. “Sit down, octo man.”

“Don’t ya take tha tone wit me, squidlin!” He exclaimed, leaning against the wall. “Ya can't just keep me prisoner like tha... and suddenly go an patronize me. Whatever it is yah want, I'm... I'm not tellin ya. Now where’s ‘Achi."

Bato’s ears drooped. “… The hospital took her and wouldn’t let her go. There’s nothing more we can do tonight, she needs medical care.”

“THA’S SHIT THERE!” Oz hollered, then started coughing.

“I’ll go get you some water.” Leah said as she started to head to the kitchen. “And some food. Stay right here.”

Oz grimaced and side stepped one step to the right.

“Wow, what a deviant.” Stacey shook her head. “Bato, I’m dying, please fill me in on what happened.”

“Well… it’s a bit of a long story. Obviously we didn’t stop the octomaton from breaking loose.” Bato said.

"I mean, I was starting to figure..." Stacey muttered, casting a glance at the TV. “Did you meet up with Sheldon? He got interviewed for the news and he said he helped ‘some inklings’ take cover when the plaza was taken over.”

“He’s alright? Thank Judd.” He sighed in relief. “But yes, we went to him because his grandfather was in the army, you know, there might have been something nearby. We were… way more on the nose than we’d expected, we dug through a bit of the wall and found the robot’s eye.”

“Well, you were more accurate than we would have liked, huh?” She asked.

Bato nodded, casting a brief glance at his mother as she came back in to give Oz some water. “ Yeah…  They set off some bombs to keep us trapped inside, but we decided we’d… have to assassinate Ophelia if we wanted to stop this.”

Oz did a spittake. “YAH WHA!?”

“They didn’t kill her, I saw it on TV.” Stacey said. “Right? She’s in the hospital now?”

Bato nodded. “It was only a plan. We didn’t end up shooting her. We went up onto the roof to take a shot though, and… well, she wasn’t in a good spot, so Hachi shot at uhh Agent 1-- In the leg! She wasn’t trying to kill her- just incapacitate her before the Octomaton could activate, but we were too late.”

Leah came back in, holding out a plate with two Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches to Oz. “Eat up.” She said softly.

“… Tha fuck is this?” He asked.

“Try it.” She smiled, then pulled a chair in from the dining room so she could sit and listen.

Oz huffed and grudgingly sat on the floor to eat.

Bato took a deep breath and continued. “Well, turns out the Octomaton’s been… dead for a while now basically. That song at splatfest? It woke it up just enough to drain it’s power over and over again.”

“I should have seen that coming, the two of them are extremely clever when they want to be...” Stacey said, then looked toward Tanya and Leah. “… I know you two have figured it out, please, keep it quiet.”

The two moms shared a quick glance, then nodded in agreement. "We won't tell anyone." Leah promised. "It's their secret, not ours."

"I'm still going to have to tell them about this...” She added. “They're not going to like that you know."

Leah nodded a bit. "Well, if there's something we can do to put their minds at ease about it, we would be more than willing to oblige."

"We'll have to see what happens..." Stacey mused, then glanced back at Bato. "So who's tentacle did they chop off to put in that machine? They had to revive it somehow."

Bato paused, "They... didn't. Ophelia ordered Orion to get into it and power it himself. He tried to refuse, but she played some sort of weird music and it made him a little more... compliant... it made them all act weird though, not just him; Hachi knelt down and said something strange when it started playing." He heard Oz take a sharp breath, and it put him on edge.

"What did she say?" Stacey asked, sitting up straight.

Bato frowned, thinking back. "... She said... um... Hail the... Hail the Octobot King."

Stacey swore. "Of course she did… That was one of DJ Octavio's songs, the previous ruler of the Octarians. Ophelia is his direct decedent. He wasn't near as persuasive as her... So he had to make his music extremely so. It sort of puts people, especially octarians, into a sort of trance."

Bato frowned, gripping the arm of the couch. "Yeah, that's sort of what it looked like; Hachi didn't seem to realize what had happened when the music stopped."

"It's sort of classified, most of them have no idea it exists." Stacey said slowly. "But what happened then?"

Bato took a deep breath, then continued. "Once Orion was pulled into the machine, it reactivated, pulled Ophelia inside, then burst from the ground and went on a rampage. We made sure 1&2 were okay before we went after him, and we splatted Orvokki in the meantime. She’s gone.”

Oz stood up again, shoving him in the shoulder. "WHERE IS ORION!?" He demanded.

He grunted, then pushed back. “Back off and let me finish!”

"Where is he!?" Oz demanded, grappling his arms. "What did ya do ta him!?!?"

He met his eyes, then sighed. "... He's dead, Oswald."

Oz froze, going rather pale. "... Ya... Ya gotta be tuggin' my tentacles..."

He shook his head slowly. "No, I'm not. He's dead… Inside that machine… it was... fucked up. Simon, Jill and Toda, they managed to knock that thing over… but it attacked me and Hachi and pulled us inside. By the time we found Orion, he was too far gone to leave, that machine did things to him."

"No... no no.... no..." He said, averting his gaze. "’E.. ‘e can't be dead… ‘e was a jerk but ‘e was my friend!"

Bato felt a twinge of guilt, Hachi’d been Orion’s friend for a while too, hadn’t she? He really hadn’t thought about how this could… impact someone. He had to stop this from getting worse. “… He would have killed me if I let him go. He stabbed me in the leg with Ophelia’s scepter. It… I threw it back… and… it was much more fatal when it reached him.” He said, deciding that he wanted to take the brunt of this, not Hachi.

“… Ya MONSTER!” Oz said, then slapped him across the face using one of his tentacles. “YA ASS’OLE, AN MURDERER!”

“Bato!” Leah yelped, running forward and grabbing Oz around the waist and trying to pull him away.

“STAY OUTTA THIS!” Oz shouted. “THIS AIN’T YA PLACE, E AIN’T YA FRIEND!”

“Let go of my son!” She grimaced.

“She didn’t have a choice!” Bato said. “He was going to kill me!”

“She!?” Oz asked. His grip loosened, and Leah was able to pull him away, stepping quickly between the two of them.

Bato frowned. That hadn’t lasted long. “… Alright… Hachi did it.”

“A… Achi? ‘Achi did it?” Oz said, baring his beak. “An ya still left ‘er alone!? Ya made ‘er kill ‘er friend an then left ‘er wit a buncha nasty squids!?”

“No, Oz. It was her choice, she did it to save me... And he wasn’t her friend. Not anymore.” He said firmly. “… Can’t you see? He… He held her down while Ophelia punished her, he left her to die up here, as the octomaton he hit her, sending her flying down the street, there was no compassion there. I left her because I had to. I swear I want her back too, and… we will. We will get her back, but… Orion tried to kill her, and me. Don’t be mad at her for fighting back.”

Oz stared at him, stifled a sob, and slowly slumped back to the floor. “… Ya makin it fuckin’ ‘ard.”

“… I’m sorry.” Bato said after a moment.

“Ya wha now?” Oz snapped. “Yah ain’t. Don’t even tell me tha!”

“I’m sorry that you’re hurting. That you’re in pain.” He continued. “It’s… been real rough, and this isn’t helping anything.”

Oz… slowly averted his gaze and didn’t say anything, though his chest was heaving as he held back obvious tears.

“Bato…?” Stacey asked. “Lemme talk to you for a second, lean this way on the couch.”

He paused, but then did as she said. “I’m listening.”

“See, the world as we know it has… changed. Forever.” She said. “But despite all of this, I think my job as an agent hasn’t changed; I’m supposed to protect the people. What’s changed is the people I have to protect. It’s not going to be simple. We could use the extra hands.”

He paused, then met her gaze. "... I can't speak for the others, but as soon as I can walk normally again, I would like to help however I can."

"You sure?" She asked. "It'll still be dangerous, and you might not be able to go back once you start. Take a good long look at the past week. Do you want that sort of thing to be your life?"

"... Whether I agree or not, there's a good chance we won't be left alone, isn't there. At least some of their higher-ups know about us, and depending on how this mess is settled..." He trailed off.

"You do have a point; you might not have a choice as to whether or not you get involved... but I'm not asking you to pick right now. Talk to your friends, get a good long rest, give it some actual thought. You know where to find us." She said, patting him on the shoulder.

“1&2 did already call me 4, so there’s that incentive.” He pointed out.

She rolled her eyes. “I said give it thought!”

“I will, I will.” He reassured.

She nodded, then looked back at the TV. “I’ll be out of here as soon as I can, my father could really use me back, monetarily and emotionally.”

“Yeah. I’ll make sure my moms drop you off soon.” He said.

"Question is what to do with him." She said, jabbing a thumb in Oz’s direction.

He briefly glanced over, frowning. "... I'm pretty sure he's not in the right state of mind to be left on his own."

"No kidding." She muttered. "I doubt he'd like to go back into the dryer either."

He thought for a moment. "... We’ll have Hachi here soon eventually anyway, Oz can’t be too much more work.”

“Uh huh.” She said skeptically. “Okay, I need to sleep, it’s what, six in the morning or something? I’ve been up all night, and you have too.”

He sat up a little straighter. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.” He said. He couldn’t stop thinking about Hachi, all alone...

“You’d be surprised.” She chuckled. “Hey Leah? Tell your son to get some sleep.”

Leah laughed. “Bato, go get some rest. It’s been a long night.”

“But...” He pouted.

"Come on." She said again, one eyebrow raised as she gently took his hand. “Everything will seem better tomorrow.”

“Everything will seem real tomorrow.” He groaned, but stood anyway, and let his mother lead him to his room and helped him get into bed.

“If you need any help getting up when you wake, just holler, okay?" She said quietly.

"... I really don't think I'll be able to sleep." He muttered. “It’s just so much...”

"Alright, well, just rest at least, okay?" She said as she pulled the blankets up over him and tucked him in. She sat down on the edge of the bed and lightly stroked his forehead like she used to when she was young. It felt like so long ago. "You've grown so much... Where did my little baby go?" She murmured.

"Probably somewhere around bluefin depot," He replied quietly.

She gave him a sympathetic look, leaning down and kissing his forehead gently before going back to stroking it. She hummed a moment, then began to sing softly, words in another language, that she’d learned fairly well by ear.

He’d missed her voice, he’d missed this, a relic from a time when he had very little worries.

She continued, reaching the part of the song with inklish lyrics. "Come by the hills, to the land, where fancy is free~ And stand where the peaks meet the sky, and the loughs meet the sea~ Where the rivers run clear, and the bracken is gold in the sun~ And the cares of tomorrow can wait, 'til this day is done~"

Before he knew what had happened, he fell asleep. The cares of tomorrow could indeed wait…

until he’d gotten some sleep.

This story is a sequel! If you are lost, You should start with You’re a Skwidd Now!

Bato, Leah and Tanya are Knitter’s characters

Hachi, Oswald, Stacey, Orion, and Ophelia are Shuckle’s characters.

Splatoon belongs to Nintendo.

Please consider liking or reblogging if you enjoyed, it’s nice to know we’re doing things right.

Shuckle has a patreon if you would like to provide additional support!

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