#super heroes of inkopolis | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sick-ada · 6 months ago

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Also it’s not a part of the ask game, but what are ur oc’s thoughts on the idols! Like opinions on DEEPCUT/OTH/SQUIDSISTERS!!! And do they even listen to their music or do they prefer some of the non-idol splatbands?

OK SO IM GONNA SPLIT THIS INTO LIKE. PER EACH IDOL GROUP BC I LIKE TO ORGANISE THIS STUFF. warning this is long

the squisters:

proto is basically the third squid sister, even if they don't perform. they do a lot of the management, the advertising, organise stuff, the works. they do less of it after splat1 as they all start to drift apart, but they like the squid sisters in the "we are literal sisters" sense rather than just the music sense

as musicians, flora and bola don't really like them. they represent the tastes of wider inkadia and the more well-off parts of inkopolis, which is not at all what flora and bola are about. as people... it depends. in the canon where flora is agent 4, she's kind of indifferent to them. marie hands him a military grade gun and he didn't have hearing aids at the time so she just decided "yeah okay i'll start doing violence, whatever" and doesn't really care about saving callie or whatever. literally does not find out about it until later, when he finds out the hero headset work as hearing aids. bola doesn't trust them at all, but they're more focused on openly antagonising proto than on agents 1 and 2. HOWEVER.... there is also an au i wanna do more stuff for, called the odd1out au, where marie/callie swap and so do flora/bola. bola and callie work together to rescue marie, but it's less of a "you gave me a gun so sure i'll shoot people whatever" situation and more of an exchange: bola helps callie do this and she has to help them take down/generally harass Squidforce. bola's very abrasive as opposed to flora being very accepting and uncaring as agent 4, so they kinda force callie to grow and recognise a lot of the biases she's been carrying from craig (e.g., callie assumes bola is an octarian bc they're an octoling, makes a comment along the lines of oh aren't you glad you deserted them, and bola refuses to come back and help until callie comes and apologises (they also punch her in the face for that)). so in that au, callie kinda grows on bola and therefore flora too, once she comes to hang out with them to help w the squidforce stuff. marie is... rockier. after getting rescued, she's pretty bitter that callie is spending more time with someone she perceives as an octarian, the group that fucked her over, than with her own cousin. this is amplified when the eights join the leftovers, cause then she's hanging with Actual Octarian Soldiers, and bubbles being a sniper/scout means that marie has no place in the group. basically bc callie grew while marie didn't they grow apart and the leftovers don't really like her, and fully resent her once it comes out what proto and the squisters did in splat1 and she sides with proto over callie.

uh anyway i got carried away there. CB and bubbles' opinions change as they get more of their mem cakes, as they dont get them all the first time around and have to go back later for them. before, they're like "theyre famous ig? idk im trying to Survive here" but after they're like Oh Those Guys Caused A Large Amount Of Our Problems since they were directly responsible for causing the famine + desertion that was a catalyst to bubbles' parents abandoning him and CB getting Unethical Scienced on to make her a supersoldier. theres a reason they fight Inner Agents 1 & 2 rather than Inner Agent 3 and it's not just that proto is a weak ass fighter

pluto gives not a single shit. none. not one. levi (lil buddy, Leviathan's Flight Over Verdant Pastures, horrorboros, i need to mention them more) likes the squid sister's music well enough. would listen to it on the radio but wouldn't put on a playlist of it. doesnt really care about the people either

Off The Hook:

proto hadn't heard of them before octo expansion, and honestly doesn't super like either of them? they make a bad first impression on CB & bubbles, and therefore a bad impression on OTH, since the eights have the radio before meeting 3 and craig in this au. they never really recover from it bc theyre kinda rude in general and dont make a massive effort to redeem themselves to OTH. indifferent towards their music.

flora and bola absolutely idolise OTH, since they run the announcements for the underground inksports scene rather than the official squidforce stuff (big inspiration from @worldsewage's stuff), which is what the two of them frequent. they like OTH for the same reasons they dislike the squisters; they represent the same parts and aspects of inkopolis culture that the leftovers do. they get closer with OTH thanks to the connection through CB and bubbles post-OE, and are even trusted to run the announcements for OTH while they're on tour! fun fact: off the hook concerts are probably one of the main contributors to flora's deafness. guy who did not wear hearing protection to the concert of "woman who destroys shit with her voice" and suffers the consequences

CB & bubbles are super close with OTH, since they're the first people they met other than each other after waking up without any memories. marina was also the first person to speak to them in octarian, which was the only language they could understand at first. they care for each other and they're great friends, CB and bubbles don't help the other leftovers with covering the announcements bc they go on tour with OTH, and even perform with them a couple times!

pluto has never heard of them and neither has levi. rip!

deep cut:

proto doesn't like them bc they're getting in the way of the NSS' goals in alterna. theres not really any redemption at the end, cause deep cut don't decide marie should be their boss in my au, they instead decide to side with pluto who also doesn't really give a shit about the NSS. doesnt listen to their music

the leftovers squad all likes their music, but flora and bola do like to play up the whole splatsville vs inkopolis thing whenever they're brought up since they're loyal to inkopolis. all in good fun tho. maybe if they get famous enough theyll do a collab w deep cut or smth i need to figure out where to put them in my lore. CB and bubbles never meet them i dont think

pluto likes their music, levi LOVES it. in alterna, though, theyre all "i want the treasure and will absolutely fight you for it" rather than fanboying (fangirling? fansalmoning?) over them. meeting them more as equals since they're both splatsland bandits trying to make a living. they do a lot of teamups post-alterna, though more in the banditry sense than the music sense. levi absolutely gets all of their autographs

#sorry this was Long #i got a little carried away #i really like the odd1out au i think its cool #cicadasks

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turboautismrobot · 1 year ago

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hey guys... would anyone wanna commision my friend @inkopolis-hero? they recently opened comms and their art is super nice looking!!!! they'll draw you a new icon! or maybe youre looking for cool art of your splatoon oc? they can draw that for you!!!

theyre also indigenous and intersex and autistic and adhd and DID system + another fuckload of shit so thats also a super neat reason to support them too!!

theyre not on tumblr a lot (their twitter is @/sodasl0shr) but heres their form, their discord is @/inkopolishero if anyone is intrested contact them there!! they have 3 slots open :]

heres some very cool art from them also!!

#comission #comissions open #splatoon #splatoon 3 #splatoon art

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mailperson · 9 months ago

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Brief side order review and thoughts:

Visual presentation: A1, on par with octo expansion

Gameplay loop: very addicting, very rewarding, a liiiiiittle on the easy side though. I think more obstacle or objective diversity would go miles, shortly into playing you’ve kinda seen the extent of the possible challenges you can face. Most blatantly it needed more boss variety pretty badly. Still something that’s very easy to want to 100% though. Unlike splat2’s hero mode I actually want to play this through with every weapon.

Story: Really fun characterization, but that’s kinda it. Not a BAD story but it’s just kinda whatever. If the Alterna single player campaign had more individual character moments it’d be about equal with side order in terms of depth. Octo Expansion kinda takes the lead here in terms of best splatoon campaign story by virtue of not relying on familiarity with the cast for the sake of familiarity which pretty much all the other single player campaigns (save for splat1 hero mode) do.

Overall: Absolutely worth a play. It’s different for splatoon, but it’s something that has me really optimistic for the dev team’s future if they expand upon what works here. Kinda wish they’d take the philosophy that created all the interesting and fun ideas for the solo campaigns and use it improve the multiplayer modes lol. They genuinely could get away with releasing a super beefed up and expanded version of this same concept as a splatoon spin-off game.

Misc thoughts: Inkopolis square is about as disappointing as Inkopolis plaza as a DLC hub, arguably more so due to reusing Murch and Donny. Additionally I wish the replica skins were actually skins and not locked to the vanilla kits for their respective weapons. Side Order very good but also tragically all the neat parts just leaves me wanting so much more elsewhere.

#splatoon 3 #side order #game thoughts

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varian-wonder · 9 months ago

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"GREASE IS THE WORD"

Splatoon x Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies Soundtrack PT 1.

THE SONG FICS BEGIN (I'm gonna try to make it non-cringe and not have them sing every line and not take every line from the song... I promise lyric changes aren't to be cringe :3)

Trace arrived to Inkopolis again after defeating Octavio with fresh eyes. The Great Zapfish is back and despite the grueling few months or so she was challenging the DJ, she was back to the surface with a smile.

She had just bought some near gear as her hero gear was on job only and as she finished putting on her jacket she headed out of her apartment.

"I solved my problems and I see the light! We gotta loving thing we got to feed it right," She was singing her her trusty hero shot, sadly she had to use the replica in ink battles but she still loved it so. "There ain't no danger we can go too far! We start believing now we can be who we are. Grease is the word!"

Trace raced off to the lobby wearing a hand me down jacket from Marie. The idol's name was embroidered on the back.

"Is that Tiny Trace?" A inkling in the plaza muttered

"In Marie's jacket? Susan's going to flip! I've got to go tell her!" Another muttered before getting up

Around Trace in the lobby of cephalokids they were hyping eachother up.

"Grease is the word! It's the word that you heard! It's got groove it's got meaning!" Chanted the lobby with Trace joining in with equal enthusiasm. "Grease is the time! It's the place! It's the motion! Grease is the way we are feeling!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Addison was packing up with Marina. After hearing the Calamari inkantation they were freed... but not everyone was. And the army wasn't fond of defectors. Addison looked at the older octoling for some guidance.

"We take the pressure and we throw it away! Conventionality belongs to yesterday," Marina put her hand on Addi's shoulder with a smile.

"Yesterday?" Addi repeated confused

"There is a chance that we can make it so far. We start believing now... that we can be who we are..." Marina grabbed her bag and Addi followed suit before sneaking out.

They started their way to Mount Nantai, Addi looking back on Octo Canyon quitely remarking to herself, "Grease is the word..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Callie and Marie came back to Inkopolis under alot of paparazzi. They had just helped defeat DJ Octavio and had helped Cuttlefish recover. Lights were flashing all over their eyes. Marie leaned into Callie and muttered to her cousin, "I forgot.. I hate the spotlight; let's hurry up." Marie covered her eyes with her hand squinting.

Callie smiled at Marie and went to assure her, "It's fine! Let's just go grab some burgers!" The cousins tried to push their way through the crowd but people were following super close, "Grease is the word! It's the word! That you heard! It's got groove. It's got meaning!" The crowd said in unison. "Hey Callie! Where you going so fast? I just have a few questions-" One reporter was cut off my the cousins running into their apartment and slamming the door closed. "This is a life of illusion..." Marie huffed as Callie went into the kitchen to search for food, "wrapped up in trouble... laced with confusion." Marie said softly. She walked over to the window as the paparazzi was clearing, "What are we doing here?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Grease is the word~! Woah! It's got groove it's got meaning!" The inkling girl packed the final book into her bookbag and stared at her scholarship at Inkadia University. She ran out grinning, jumping off her steps as she ran towards the train station at the end of town. "Happy last day of summer dipsticks!" she said to her friends while she was running. "Bye Zera!" Grease is the time! It's the place! It's the motion! Grease is the way we are feeling!

"Woah~!" Zera jumped down the steps of the train station, her sneakers contrasting with her school uniform. Grease is the way we are feeling. Grease is the word, is the word that you heard! "The way we're feeling~" She ran towards the train as it was nearing time to depart. Making it on just as the doors closed behind her. She sat down and grabbed a photo of her younger self and her older sister smiling after Zera's spelling bee.

"I'm on my way Tracey"

#vari talks #vari writes #splatoon #splatoon 2 #splatoon hero mode #callie splatoon #marie splatoon #agent 3 #agent 4 #agent 8 #marina splatoon

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maria-slice · 11 months ago

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Are splatoon agent ocs popular here? I hope so. Here’s my Captain Three.

It’s not mentioned in any of the slides, but-

2006 Rookie is Bigender and uses he/she pronouns

2011 Rookie is a Trans girl and uses she/her pronouns

2015 Rookie is Agender and uses any pronouns

Their bio/backstory is below the under cut.

Team Naika(not officially named that yet) is a group of friends that usually cosplay and act as characters from hit video game CoroCoro Cup(Coroika basically) in turf battles for fun. The team consists of Donnie, Agatha, Makoa, and Rookie. One day, the young team dressed as the ever popular S4 for a battle at Arowana Mall, ever ready to have a good time. (Donnie as Skull, Agatha as Mask, Makoa as Aloha, and Rookie as Army).

The unfortunate thing was they were paired with, at the time, the top of the top S+ Rank team, Team Vigor(18-20). A team that was very competitive and seemed to despise fun and anyone that wasn’t them. So to be paired with a team that was just there to cosplay and “not take the fight seriously” pissed them off. Right then and there Team Vigor decided to show Team Naika a real and unforgettable fight. Team Naika, not expecting an onslaught of ink, bombs and sprinklers, were experiencing stress beyond belief and unfortunately repair.

What was discovered during this fight is that Special weapons paired with high levels of stress can cause ink creatures to permanently be in the “Special State” and constantly regenerate ink to trigger special weapons. It was later found out that when this is triggered, the limiter on the weapon fuses the Special weapon’s “special ink” to the users ink sac, permanently attaching the current special weapon to the user. (This condition would later be called Special Shock.) Team Naika was in such a state of pain and exhaustion due to ink regeneration and still being attacked by Team Vigor, three of the four teammates splatted and were unable to respawn. The unslpatted teammate, Rookie, remained unwillingly because of her Special Weapon, the Kraken. Due to the functionality of the Kraken, it kept constantly healing Rookie and kept her in a state of uncomfortable numbness. At least until the ambulance and paramedics came.

That 4 v 4 at Arowana Mall was a tragedy that swept Greater Inkadia for weeks and still has residents shook. Team Vigor was banned from playing Battles or Rank, for how long is still a topic that is talked about. Some say it’s for life and some say a decade. No one knows. Team Naika were all hospitalized and said never to be able to function normally ever again until Sheldon, owner of Ammo Knights, invented the four wearable limiters.

This limiter would lessen the user's ink supply, thus stopping the “special state” effects. But this solution did not come without cons. While wearing the limiter, the weapon’s limiter should be popped off. Which means no Special Weapons(obviously), no Sub Weapons, no regenerating ink naturally, no walking on grates unless you want to fall through, and no transforming into a squid which means no super jumping or swimming in ink. Even though the young team had this new cure, the injuries inflicted on them from Team Vigor landed them at least 2-3 weeks in the hospital’s care. Except for Rookie. Despite the onslaught of attacks and blows he faced, he came out of it without a scratch. More than likely due to the Kraken’s “special ink” in him.

Although not physically scared, she wasn’t feeling the best emotionally or mentally. With her friends still in the hospital she stopped going out and fighting in turf battles and only went out during early mornings and late nights. One of these mornings, he stepped and fell through an open sewer grate trying to get to one of Inkopolis Plaza’s many vending machines. This sewer brought him to a hidden valley. Upon getting up she was met with Cap’n Cuttlefish being attacked by some Octotroopers. Without thinking, Rookie grabbed the nearest weapon, the Hero Shot, and saved the old squid. Cap’n Cuttlefish thanks him, recruits him into the New Squidbeak Splatoon, and then Hero Mode happens.

#splatoon #splatoon 2 #splatoon 3 #splatoon oc #splatoon agent 3 #splatoon captain 3 #splatoon agent ocs

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valkavavaart · 1 year ago

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6. Which artists inspire you right now?

19. Favourite character(s) to draw?

6. Which artists inspire you right now?

anyone here fuck w takopi's original sin bc taizen 5's art style is kind of making me insane right now like. the characters are so like squishy idk how to word it but i really like how they look

the art in hero complex specificially idk what about it but im like. its so cute i really like it. the characters r kinda bouncy n expressive n i like it a lot. (<- insane) (entirely unrelated note but i havent read ichinose-ke no taizai yet but they look cute. thats it thats all i got.)

akiakane and aida iro's colouring / compositions specifically i fuck with & they motivate me a biiiit more to try stuff with my colours? namie also is an inspo for like colours & all that and i like namie :)

OTHER artists i rlly like UM UMMMM (<- can talk for hours) inkopolis ... staysocky ..... starrysharks ........ chippychime .......... i want to be brief but just know (why do my links keep fucking up tumblr do you hate me be honest

their styes... art insp :) i love how like soft n round inkopolis' art is and the other artists have rlly rlly neat & fun styles & colours too and im like GRAAAAHHHHHHHH i love colours bro

19. Favourite character(s) to draw?

ummmm UMMMMM (frantically going through my recent art to see if theres anyone ive been drawing super consistently)

i dont know if i have a character specifically i like drawing rn. i always default back to hatsune miku, nazuna nito, ganji gupta, or my ocs charun & quinn. my bugs. my guys.

#vivi yells

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mollusc-era · 2 years ago

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dj paul headcanons :)

i have been thinking about him so much and like i've held off on sharing doodles of him because i felt like they wouldn't make sense without all of the thoughts in my head but like i made this blog so i'd start posting my splatoon doodles more SO. might as well get the ideas out there

he's an orphan, kind of? its a lil complicated but like, essentially. grew up in the domes of octo canyon in an orphanage. for what limited resources they have in general, octarians have some pretty nice orphanages etc. it's almost more communally raising kids than anything else, there's a fairly large population of adults that can't reproduce, after all (tentacle octarians. referring to the tentacles.) could go on about the concept but for this the most important thing is that paul doesn't have many familial ties

...hence why he left the domes at such an early age. right after splat 2's hero mode ending, as it often goes. his main motivation was music, to find new influences and inspiration out in the world, as the domes were far enough underground that getting media from the surface was hard.

marina knew him back before either of them left octo valley/canyon! she tutored him occasionally, which was like. a big deal. marina was obviously known for her smarts, and paul was definitely selected because he was seen to have lots of potential

after leaving the domes, he almost immediately tracked down marina. he knew she left and was likely in inkopolis and kind of just showed up and hung out with pearl and marina for a while. marina introduced him to the rest of sashimori + knew of them through pearl. paul being pearl's replacement "vocalist" was something that happened without her knowing until paul left

pearl and marina may not have been ready to take care of paul, but sashimori was definitely a good pick. those are his parents :)

taichi was less involved w/ the whole paul thing for a while compared to karla and ryu-chang. he was under the impression that paul was going to sing with his voice for a long time and the "tiny and awful" comment came after paul tried singing for him

dj is his title. like dr or mr. not elaborating on this (at least not here)

he has a special interest in linguistics. starts off with just the amount of phonetics he needed to know to start playing around with ancient samples in the songs in splat 2, but over time he's gotten super into it. unfortunately this kind of means that he is aware of just how many human languages there were and that he currently has no way of translating any of them

murch is one of his oldest friends and probably his first friend on the surface (marina doesn't count.) they've become super close over the years. paul does get friend discounts he is using that fact to more easily farm ability chunks. sorry

dynamo roller main. how does he carry the thing? good question. (this is in splat 3 times though like hes ~15 for this one not 10)

he will be tall at some point. watch out!!!

#dj paul #meta #<- not necessarily but i dont wanna make a separate hcs tag #splatbands #sashimori #i have more. some of them i just did not want to share bc they're a surprise others r just. well this post is already long #follow for more paul. my friend

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pezcado-official · 2 years ago

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Part 5 of cephalopods divided um not much else to say

T was walking down into the deep sea metro with about 200 more octolings it really easy considering 99% of the population of splatsville is now octolings because of theories inklings have gone bad. "Hey Octavio I got a few more octolings surprisingly there aren't alot of inklings anymore" T said "That's strange oh well any way we made the first part of your hero suit called the octoling head set it will allow you to hear us talking to you go head and put it on" Octavio explained. T put on the the head set. "Yo yo yo testing testing T can you hear me!" pearl yelled through the head set."Yes I can hear you just fine pearl. T said " Hey T you should probably get to grizz co so you can get some golden eggs as a power source now. Marina said "right" T said as he walked out of the subway T arrived at grizz co "Hey grizz can I borrow a few golden eggs by a few I mean 1000" T told Mr. Grizz. "Sure but you have to get them with your salmon run team where are they you four are my best workers" Mr. Grizz said " They were all inklings there gone now" T said sadly "I'm not gonna send you out there alone get more co workers and ill let you go" Mr. Grizz explained. T went back to the deep sea metro and was able to get 3 other octolings that were good at salmon run the thing is those 3 were only professionals every other octoling was a part timer whilst T was eggsecutive VP. T knew he have to work a lot of shifts to get that many golden eggs. "Okay octolings while T and the others are out getting golden eggs were going to steal the great zapfish from Inkopolis and take it back to our base in octo canyon." Octavio explained The octolings went to inkopolis in the dead of night to steal the great zapfish a few hours earlier though a group of inklings were waiting for the octolings to strike. "Pass him over here 3" Pez yelled. Agent 3, Agent 4, and Pez were playing catch with small fry during the stake out. "Waaaablaghf" small fry said as he flew threw the air. "Octolings AHOY and they're stealing the great zapfish!" Cuttlefish said through the captain's headphones but the captain couldn't hear because he was asleep Pez soon realized the octolings and super jumped to the tower. Pez hid as the octolings took the zapfish off the tower Pez followed the octolings to octo canyon until he was stopped by an octoling.

#salmon run #pezcado #pez #splatoon 3 #mr grizz #agent 3 #agent 4 #inkling #octarian #dj octavio #octoling #little buddy #marina #pearl

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sailorsplatoon · 7 months ago

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Aaaaand here comes chapter one! From this point on I'll be posting weekly every Saturday. I'd like to quickly say thank you to everyone who showed me support on the prologue, it means so much! I'm very excited to post the first chapter!

Read it on ao3!

(Fanfic under cut)

Acht didn’t leave the elevator. Pearl, Marina, and Agent 8 did, but not Acht. All of them had lives in Inkopolis Square, but if Acht left the Memverse they knew exactly where they’d wake up. They’d rather not think about it.

In less than a day, all three of them came back. Marina said the color palettes had parts of souls in them, which meant that they needed to take each one to the top of the spire and reconfigure it so that the person could get their soul back.

Eventually it became routine. Go up the Spire, fight Smollusk, reconfigure the palette, go back down, repeat. There was only one palette left now, besides the one in the last locker that they still needed a key for. Someone by the name of Agent 4. It didn’t really matter to Acht who’s palette they were reconfiguring. Part of them never wanted to finish. Because that would mean they didn’t have anything left to do here. Then they would have to leave. They thought that maybe Marina wouldn’t notice if they just stayed there forever.

But it didn’t matter what Acht thought. It never mattered what they thought. Up until a few weeks ago, they didn’t think at all.

Eight walked back in the elevator after beating the 20F boss, it was Parallel Canon again. He was quieter than usual. Though, it was kind of hard to tell what was normal Eight quiet and what was not good Eight quiet.

“Yo, Eight, you alright? You got super freaked out in the middle of the fight,” Pearl asked, hovering closer to the agent.

“I know why that boss is so familiar…” he said in a quiet voice, “That’s Agent 4.” There was a long heavy silence in the elevator, interrupted only by the ding of reaching the next floor. Neither Eight nor Pearl went out. Agent 4’s location had been unknown for some time now, though no one seemed to make an effort to find them. Everyone had assumed that they would turn up after reconfiguring their palette, so there was no need to fear. Well, up until now.

“I was worried that was the case,” Marina muttered back. “But we can’t be sure. There are a ton of enemies in the Parallel Canon boss fight. Maybe one of them is Agent 4, but maybe they’re not. And even if they are, we’ll reconfigure their palette and save them.” Eight just nodded and walked out onto the floor.

****

Eight opened his eyes. He was out of the Memverse. He’d beaten Smollusk again and reconfigured Agent 4’s palette. He had to make sure Four was okay. He dove into the grate leading to Octo Canyon. If Four was anywhere, they’d be there. Pearl and Marina saw him from their studio across the square and followed close behind.

Sure enough, Agent 4 sat on the bench outside Cuttlefish Cabin, wearing one of the helmets Marina used to send people into the Memverse. It was connected to a laptop that sat a few inches away.

They seemed paler, almost grey. But no, Eight was just being paranoid. They were fine, they had to be fine. He rushed up to them and yanked the helmet off of their head. The first thing he noticed were large scars patterned along their face, as if they were burned. Four didn’t do or say anything, they just stared. He took them by the shoulders and shook them lightly. Maybe he could snap them out of it. Agent 4 jerked, but still didn’t look at Eight. Rather than make eye contact, they swung their fist at Eight’s temple. They had enough force to launch him back towards the grate right as Pearl and Marina came out, almost ramming into the two of them.

“Eight, are you okay?” Marina said, helping him to his feet.

“What the hell is going on with Agent 4?” Pearl shouted as Four stood up, gripping their Hero Shot. Eight quickly did the same with his own weapon, ready to protect Off the Hook from the oncoming attack.

“Something’s not right. Part of their soul must still be in the Memverse.” Marina pulled her laptop out of seemingly nowhere and began to type something in rapidly. Shots of ink flew by as Eight tried desperately to defend his friends without seriously hurting Agent 4.

“But wasn’t that supposed the be fixed when we reconfigured the palette!?”

“I thought so but— oh no.”

“What is it, ‘Rina!? Spit it out, what’s wrong!?”

“I think Order was able to fully greyscale Agent 4.”

“So what do we do!?”

“If we can get them back into the Memverse we might be able to use it to restore their memories, personality, an everything else. It worked for Acht with their sanitization, we can only hope it will work for Agent 4 too.”

“Okay great, how to we do that?”

“We need to get that helmet back on their head!” Marina pointed at the helmet that had been sitting on the ground.

“On it!” Pearl drew her dualies and jumped in to help Eight fight as Marina dove for the helmet. Just as she reached it, Agent 4 set off their special weapon, tenta missiles. She rushed to Pearl and Eight, opening her Bella for cover. The shield broke under the massive amount of ink, but the three of them were only hit with stray splatters and not the full force of the missile.

Marina handed Pearl the headset and she dodge rolled behind Four, slamming the helmet on their head with an excessive amount of force, knocking them to the ground. It lit up, confirming that they had successfully entered the Memverse.

The three of them just stood there for a moment, breathing, trying to process what had happened.

****

The elevator doors slid open. But the person who entered wasn’t Eight, Pearl, or Marina. Acht jumped in surprise. One of the enemies from the Parallel Canon boss? Why were they here? And where were Eight and the others? They’d mentioned this boss might be someone they know, what did they call them, Agent 4? It didn’t seem like they were looking for a fight, so Acht didn’t bother trying to stop them. They clicked the button for the thirtieth floor.

“This elevator only goes up one floor at a—” the elevator lurched and began to crawl upward. Acht watched as the numbers moved along. 1… 2… 3… 4… that wasn’t supposed to happen. How was that even possible? They must have hijacked the system somehow. Maybe they had special access?

Acht had never gotten a close look at the enemies in the Parallel Canon fight before. They could now clearly see that they wore the same outfit as Eight, except they had a mask with nothing on it but two glowing red eyes. Acht could just reach up and take it off if they wanted to. Maybe Parallel Canon, or… Agent 4, wouldn’t notice. As they slowly stretched their hand toward it, Agent 4 grabbed their wrist, preventing them from taking the mask.

Guess not. They let go of Acht’s wrist, letting it fall back by their side. They didn’t seem hostile at all. But they were still going to the top floor. What would happen when they made it to Smollusk? If they were under it’s control, then certainly nothing good. But they weren’t going to let Acht stop them easily. Even if Agent 4 didn’t want to go to 30F, they’d have to. They didn’t have a choice. Acht knew that feeling all too well. They couldn’t just stand by and watch.

Acht smashed their hand into the emergency stop button and the elevator screeched to a halt. They were at 27F now, way too close for comfort. The doors slid open. Agent 4 turned and stared at them for a moment before reaching over to press the 30 button again. Acht took their turn grabbing their wrist, not letting them reach the console. They punched Acht in the throat, causing them to stumble slightly, letting go of their arm. Agent 4 moved back over to the console, but before they could press a button, Acht kicked their torso, sending stumbling through the elevator doors and out onto floor. They ran after them, planning to throw Four off the side of the stage. If they could get them splatted, they’d respawn in the Order Sector and the elevator would go back down.

Four grabbed them by the collar, throwing them into the cage. Before it began moving over the floor, Acht grabbed their ankle, pulling them in as well. It was strange, now that the two of them were cramped together in the cage, Acht could clearly tell that Agent 4 smelled of citrus. Why would that even happen? They didn’t have time to think about it because both of them were about to be dropped over the stage.

They landed with a thud and Jelletons began to swarm them. Or rather, they began to swarm Acht. Four was one of them. Before the situation could get anymore out of hand, they continued this trade off the two had been in by grabbing the inkling’s collar and hurling them over the edge. Acht watched them get splatted by the boundaries of the stage and quickly followed, leaping over the edge themself. As they did, they couldn’t resist the urge to flip off the Jelletons.

The two of them respawned moments later in the Order Sector. Eight, Pearl, and Marina were waiting there. Acht would have explained what happened to them, but before they could Agent 4 kicked them hard in the stomach, sending them flying into the lockers. They prepared to be hit again, but Eight and Marina were holding Four back. They thrashed rapidly, trying to get away. Pearl, now back in her drone form, flew over and offered Acht her handle to help them up.

“Whoa, Acht, what happened?” Pearl said, lifting them from the ground.

“They came in the elevator and tried to get to the top floor. I figured if they really were being controlled I shouldn’t let them reach Smollusk.”

“Thank you, Acht. I don’t know what we would have done if they made it to the top,” Marina said, still trying to restrain Agent 4. “I also don’t know how we’re going to get them to stop fighting us.” As Marina spoke, Eight grabbed Four’s mask and ripped it off, hurling it as far across the Order Sector as he could. It made a clinking sound as it bounced away, getting lost somewhere among the coral. The moment the mask was off, Agent 4 stopped thrashing. Marina and Eight let go, but stayed alert, ready for them to attack again. They just stood there, staring into the nothingness.

Acht got to see their face for the very first time. They had freckles everywhere, on their nose, their cheeks, and their forehead. Their eyes were big and round and bright red. It was interesting that the only thing that had color after greyscaling was their eyes. Despite wearing a blank expression, Acht could tell they smiled often. They had no evidence for this, Four just had that look to them.

“So… what now?” Pearl asked, hovering over to Agent 4.

“We see if the Spire works the way I planned it to. We give Four their palette and take them to the top. Then once they reach the top floor they should be themself again.” Marina looked worried. The only person who had actually tested the Spire was Eight, would it really work for Agent 4? Acht had their memories back, yes, but they never actually ascended the Spire, they just helped Eight. Simply being in the Memverse was enough for their mind to be restored. So if Four’s wasn’t, how much would it take for them to be back to their old self?

“And what if it doesn’t work?” Eight almost whispered. He was worried, this was the second time someone he cared about had been mind controlled by some big villain. What if he couldn’t save them?

“Then we’ll just have to figure something else out. I’m not letting Agent 4 stay like this, we’re going to help them.”

“So who’s climbing the Spire? Four or Eight?” Pearl asked.

“Both! We’ll have Four be the one to clear the floors, but if something goes wrong Eight will jump in and help them out. Pearl will go with Four and act as their drone and help them through the Spire when Eight doesn’t need to. I’ll help out with my hacks and Acht will operate the elevator. Is that okay with everyone?” Marina explained, looking around for the others’ approval.

“That works for me. As long as they don’t beat me up again.” Acht tried to maintain their apathetic demeanor. In truth, they were afraid. Reconfiguring this palette would mean leaving the Memverse. They were not at all ready to face the reality of their sanitization. But staying here meant they had to watch Four face the reality of their greyscaling.

It was so easy before to believe that they weren’t a real person. They were just another part of a boss fight in this messed up digital world, not someone with a personality and memories. But now they had a face.

“Let’s go,” Eight muttered, already making his way to the Spire. He did not like any of this at all. He'd rather be done with free-will-threatening adventures.

Pearl armed Agent 4 with their palette and they followed Eight. Acht watched carefully to make sure they didn’t try to take the elevator straight to the top again.

Floor 1F was relatively easy. All Four had to do was sink two ∞-balls with minimal enemies attacking them. In exchange, they’d get a main range color chip. They cleared it relatively quickly and returned to the elevator.

“So… are they okay now? They kinda still seem not themself.” Pearl waved a robotic arm in front of Agent 4’s face. They didn’t react at all.

“Right now they only have one color chip, it’s going to take way more before we start seeing any change,” Marina explained. “Let’s see… assuming that they get one color chip each floor, subtracting boss floors since you don’t get color chips from those, that would mean they’d have about 27 color chips by the time they reach the top. So if one percent of 27 is 0.27 and 1 divided by 0.27 equals 3.70, then each color chip would be about 3.7% of them returned. However, this math is faulty as the number of color chips gained changes for each ascent of the Spire. Maybe they wouldn’t gain any color chips for a floor because they went to a vending machine corner and didn’t buy any chips. Maybe they do a floor that gives them double chips. Maybe they buy three chips from the vending machine. It’s impossible to get an exact number, but 27 is a safe ballpark estimate. Regardless, we likely won’t be seeing any changes for a while, but I’m sure Four is feeling them. Hopefully.”

“You’re such a nerd and I love you for it.” Pearl’s words made Marina blush. They never tried to hide their love for each other. Acht was happy for them but did not need to listen to them flirt every five minutes.

****

Agent 4 had completed 5F. They cleared it relatively well, choosing to take on an actual floor rather than go to the vending machine. On the elevator to the next floor, they finally spoke in who knows how long.

“Why?”

That was it. Just the word “Why”. They didn’t say anything else, their mouth barely moved when they said it. It was almost worse than them saying nothing at all.

Why am I here?

Why is this happening to me?

Why is it so much easier to just give up when all I want to do is keep going?

Why do I sometimes not want to keep going?

Why does it feel so comforting at times and so painful at others?

Why won’t you save me?

Why did you ever try to save me?

Why?

Acht couldn’t think about it anymore. The endless list of things that they could have meant by that made them feel sick.

It only got worse from there. After 10F, Agent 4 started crying. And they didn’t stop. At 15F they hunched down on the floor and had a panic attack. They started talking more on the ride to 16F.

“Am I real?”

Everyone just looked at them for a moment before Marina jumped in, saying, “Yes, you never weren’t. Everything here might be digital but your mind is very real, and you have a physical body too.”

“What if I’m like this forever?”

“You won’t be, we’re gonna take you to the top of the Spire and you’ll be all better!” It was Pearl who spoke this time.

“How do I know who’s telling the truth?”

“We would never lie to you. We care about you,” Eight said. He seemed like he might start crying.

“It broke me.”

“Me too.” Acht did not make eye contact.

****

By 20F, Four was responding to their name and seemed capable of independent thought. Their color was returning too. They still didn’t remember who Eight, Pearl, or Marina were, but they seemed able to fully recollect their time helping Marie save Callie. But at 21F they sat next to the vending machine with their head buried in their knees. They didn’t say anything. They weren’t even crying. Or maybe they were, Acht couldn’t tell. At least none of the bosses had been Parallel Canon. Did that boss fight even exist anymore?

After waiting about 15 minutes at 21F, Acht walked out onto the floor.

“I think they need some alone time,” Marina said, beckoning them back into the elevator.

“Marina. I know how this feels. Trust me, the last thing they need right now is to be alone.” Being alone made it worse. The emptiness caving in on you, begging for you to let your mind go blank, pleading for you to give up; it was torture. They were making progress, they were getting better. But if they let the fear take over now then it was all for nothing. They needed someone there to pull them out of their spiral.

Acht crouched down next to Four and put their arm around their shoulders. They were so warm, it felt like hugging a heated blanket. Four just sat there for a second. Then, they lifted their head from their knees by the slightest amount and peered over at Acht.

“I’m not the greatest at this. Emotions aren’t really my thing. Yet, I guess. I don’t know.” Acht wan’t sure what to do. This was all very awkward and new to them. “What I’m trying to say is, I’ve been where you are. It’s scary, I know. But if you let fear win then you’re not going to get any better. And sometimes it’s hard to know if you even want to get better. And it takes a long time, I’m still recovering, but you’ve made so much progress so fast and you can’t give up now. Please don’t give up now.”

The floor was silent for what felt like forever. Then, finally, Four spoke.

“I won’t. I promise. Thank you.”

#dedfour #acht x agent 4 #watch the sky with you #splatoon fanfiction #agent 4 #agent 4 side order #agent 4 splatoon #acht splatoon #dedf1sh #ahato mizuta #side order

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epic-and-kitty · 2 years ago

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i spent far to long trying to make this look good but here they are!

Captain Xero and his confidant (and totally NOT girlfriend) Zee!

I'll make a more complete story for them later, maybe a whole fic with the chokehold the have on my brain, but I'll have the basics of their relationship under the cut so I don't choke up anyone's dash

Quick tw for depressive thoughts and lightly implied parental abuse

Xero met Zee after he snuck off to one of the early levels after Octavio's defeat. She had been stationed there right after the defeat, just to make sure the Agent didn't come back. However, after looking a very tired Xero in the eye, she just couldn't shoot him. Hell, he didn't even go through the level, just found a spot near a spawn point and sat down, looking down into the infinite abyss below, toying with his hero head set.

She decided, against all her training, to sit down and talk to him, and Xero let her know everything going on in head.

Xero was a very shy and sensitive kid, he had honestly not wanted to be an Agent, but he couldn't just leave Inkopolis in trouble. He had gone through all the levels splatting as few octarians as possible (a move which Zee had heard her comrades call him a coward for) because he hated the thought of hurting them.

After he saved the Zapfish and Cap'n Cuttlefish, he had tried to go back to being a normal kid in turf war, but eventually he broke down to his father and told him everything.

His father had had no problem with him fighting the octarians, but upon hearing Xero showed them as much mercy as he could, he became irate and Xero had to escape to Cap'n's cabin for his own safety.

Ever since then Xero had been thinking about how he fit into the world, or if he even fit in at all.

Realizing that Xero needed to get distracted from these sorts of thoughts, Zee challenged him to a impromptu turf war ("Don't worry," she assured him, "I'm hooked up to a respawn point so you won't actually perma splat me if you shoot me! If you can, that is"), which he cautiously agreed to. By the end of the turf war, he still looked upset but much less so than before.

As he turned to leave, Zee told him if he ever felt upset again, just come find her and she'd play turf with him again, or just talk or be talked at, if that's what he needed.

She never expected him to take her up on that offer, but he showed up a few weeks after and challenged her to a match. And the next week he wanted to talk. And the next he just needed a shoulder to cry on. And eventually, he didn't come for a distraction, he wanted to hear how her day had been.

They visted almost every day eventually, and Zee grew to see him as a friend. Eventually he came up to tell her that the Cap'n wanted to take him on a mission farther away than normal and it might be awhile before he could visit her again.

"Don't worry about it, I'll be right here to beat your butt in turf war when you get back!"

She only expected him to be gone for a week or two, but once a month had passed with no contact, she began to worry. Even when Octavio escaped and stole the Zapfish (and Callie), she was more worried as to why Xero hadn't returned than about the new Agent rumored to be coming after them.

But she was still stationed where she had always been. No new Agent ever showed up

No old Agent 3 did ethier...

It wasn't until almost half a year later that she noticed activity around the surface spawn point.

And when she finally got there, she saw a very familiar figure pop up.

She ran to that spawn point, even super jumping up there so she could tackle Xero to the ground, noogieing him and telling him off for being gone so long.

Her lighthearted attack stopped when he glanced up at her with a fresh, puffy green scar around his eye.

It took awhile to calm her down from flip-floping between genuine worry and an urge to kick the bass of whoever did this to him, but once he calmed her down, he sat he down and told her everything.

Getting captured, Kamabo Co., meeting a strange octoling, saving that octoling and Cap'n from getting smoothied...

Getting captured again by that stupid phone and...and why he has that fresh scar...

Zee listens, horrified at what had been happening to her comrades underground.

Xero assures her he's ok, thankfully it was an only temporary affliction, then he asks her something strange.

People seem to have it out for Octarians, and he's worried about her being alone in an abandoned dome, the octoling he rescued is already staying with that new Agent she has heard about.

And his sisters- err, Agents 1 and 2 - have bought him his own apartment, far from his father so he has a permanent safe place to stay, but it's far to big for one squid so... if she didn't mind, would she come up to the surface with him? To Inkopolis?

Of course she says yes, she had been planning on asking him when he came back anyway.

It's at this point, after Zee has collected everything she wants to take with her and they're about to enter Inkopolis via Cap'n's old sewer grate, that they realize they never told each other their names.

It's probably for the best, Xero says, since he changed his recently, to separate himself from his father and all...

"Anyway, I decided on Xero for myself, what's your name?"

"It's Zee. Nice to meet you, Xero"

"Likewise, Zee"

And then they head off into the sunset and eventually realize they're in love and everything is good and nothing hurts, yaaaaaaay!

If anyone has any specific questions about them, I'll reblog this to my Splatoon side blog @thingsmysplattershotjrtoldme where you can ask away to your hearts content ❤️

......does anyone want to know about the silly little ship I have with my male Agent 3/Captain 3 and the rival octoling he became friends/partners with?

#Splatoon #Oc Xero #Oc Zee #Agent 3 #Captain 3 #Rival octoling #That took over two hours to type help me #Also the drawing is them right before Xero becomes Captain 3 #And yes they are wearing promise rings #Or at least the inkfish equivalent #Hope you guys like this wall of text !

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inklingleesquidly · 7 years ago

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The Wonderful Splatwoon: Operation 004

INKLANTIC INCIDENT

Lee and Janine star as Wonder Inkling, the ink-tastic mom and son duo charged with defending Inkopolis from a mysterious alien invasion. Using ancient technology containing the heroic souls and power of over 100 wonderful heroes, this super powered duo saves the day!

Word Count: 5,182 words

“Commander, you aren’t going to believe this, our intelligence has returned the discovery of the century about the alien menace!”

“Well what is it? Out with it man!”

“It’s best to read the findings for yourself, Commander; you wouldn’t believe me even if I told you.”

“Sweet Squidmas… have they literally been under our noses this entire time?”

It was a rare occurrence to see Inklings out to sea. Social taboos have steered them away from being surrounded by water, let alone submerged in it. Despite that, far far off the eastern coast of Inkopolis, something dangerous and frightening lurked in the water. This extraordinary situation called for the Inkopolis Defense Force's most extraordinary weapon to brave the waters to reach it.

Swimming through the inky darkness was none other than the super powered duo of Wonder Inkling. Protected by their CENTINEL-suits from the ever-increasing pressure and chilling temperature of the water surrounding them, they made their way toward their target.

There it was; some sort of positively gargantuan machine shrouded in the darkness of the deep sea. What was it? Was it some kind of ship? A fortress? Could it actually move? How big was it exactly? At first glance it could probably cover more than half of Inkopolis. Whatever it was, Wonder Inkling boldly made their way toward it.

Finding a way inside the massive structure could’ve been a challenge but by profoundly good fortune, Wonder Inkling managed to find some sort of grated exhaust port. It was small, just barely big enough for them to squeeze their Squid forms into. Whether it lead to somewhere dangerous was uncertain but it was the only avenue they could find inside.

The journey through the hull in the cramped confines of the tunnel felt like it took hours to complete but the super powered pair eventually reached the structure’s interior. Secretly former Freshest Inkling of the Decade, Janine Squidly entered first. Falling in, she shape shifted back into her Inkling form in a battle-ready stance, set to meet any hostile party welcoming their entry.

Following behind was her son and sidekick, Lee Squidly who landed nowhere near as gracefully as his mother. He misjudged the drop from the ventilation hole to the floor and landed with a clumsy splat.

Janine helped her son off the ground while he regained his Inkling form and tried her best to scan the pitch-black interior. Though it seemed like there was no immediate danger she still spoke in a hushed whisper. “Wonder Inkling reporting in, we managed to infiltrate the enemy vessel.”

A commanding voice sounded off in their earpieces, “You made it in? Great job Wonder Inkling!”

An informative voice said, “We haven’t a clue what technology the aliens are using so it was too much of a risk to send a ship or a submarine down to investigate. Good thing it seems like you’ve arrived undetected.”

There was a stern voice, “We will do our best to support you from our station in Kalmato but it would take approximately 40 minutes to get a battle carrier within range,” they grimly revealed. Janine knew in the time of their employment with them that was relatively quick. In the recent months of attacks that had been carried out by the alien menace in both Inkopolis and the subterranean land of Octo Valley the I.D.F. had gotten faster at scrambling their forces.

Janine replied, “We’ll do the best we can to ensure you won’t have to send any troops." She had grown weary of the danger that so many men and women in the I.D.F.'s personnel put themselves in when it came to confrontations with the aliens.

The commanding voice quickly shot her desires down, “Keep in mind Wonder Inkling; our mission is to investigate the mysterious structure and to ensure its destruction by any means necessary. Something of that size could spell doom for all of Inkopolis and more so we must all be prepared to take action.”

“Roger,” Janine regretfully replied, knowing the stakes that were at risk. The alien's attacks were already swift and largely went without notice until they began. At first it was believed this was wholly due to the mechanical, robotic nature of the invaders but now they knew there were other forces at work.

They had taken to the world’s oceans; settling in the deepest darkest depths that no Inkling, Octarian, or any creature would dare to tread. It became abundantly clear how they were able to maneuver about the planet without detection and attack without warning. Just how long have they been anchored in the sea? How many of them sat in their ocean’s trenches? What unimaginable war machines lurked in the planet’s waters? Now was time to answer those questions.

“We’ll be monitoring your progress via our Sandfly recorder." That was a microscopic mobile camera they used to track their movements. According to Lee the perspective it gave made it look like they were characters in a video game. "We'll also be tracking your vital signs through the alien machine via your CENTINEL-suits,” the informative voice further revealed.

“Of course,” Janine answered, “We’re beginning the mission.”

The commanding voice warned, “Be careful and good luck Wonder Inkling.”

With communications ended, Janine's demeanor shifted when it came to talking to her partner. "Okay Honey, it's time to go to work and see what we're up against."

"Y-yeah," Lee replied with a timid stutter in his voice, clinging to her waist. His eyes darted from side to side, the unusual extreme silence and utter darkness was more frightening than anything. His knees wobbled and his hands shook as he said, "Mom, do you ever think it would be better if I just—sit out on these missions and stop getting in the way?"

Janine paused in bewilderment at those words, despite the severity of the situation they faced that was startling to hear. "Sit out? Get in the way? Lee, what are you talking about, you're the one who wanted to be a super hero more than anything." She very carefully peeled him away from clinging onto her and kneeled down. With her hand on his shoulder she asked, "What's wrong Honey, we've won every battle we've fought so what could be the problem?"

She couldn't see it but behind his Wonder Mask, Lee refused to look her in the eyes. He was unable to answer her questions either; he was so mincing in his mind as he thought back to their previous operations. What stuck out the most for him was how much of a liability he was as opposed to an asset. He couldn't shake all those times he stumbled and fumbled about while his mom did all the legwork. He remembered her maneuvers at Hammerhead Bridge, how he rushed without thinking at Kelp Dome, and how he froze and couldn't move at Mt. Fujitako. He finally managed to eke out, "I just think you'd be better off doing this alone without me."

There was something deeply troubling her son. If it was obvious to anyone in the world it was Janine. She stood up straight, her hands on her hips, and a perplexed frown on her face. She said, "We'll discuss this later, right now I need you to pick your head up and be brave, Honey, there's no telling what we're up against." She wanted nothing more in the world than to ease the woes that made him so weary but now wasn't the time or place.

Taking him by the hand, Janine dragged Lee along for the first few steps but he soon started to match her pace. There was no turning back now so Lee timidly complied, "Y-Yes Mom." The investigation was underway.

Whatever purpose these long hallways filled added to the mystery; there was no lighting and they were so small and cramped that Janine had to hunch over to not bang her head on the ceiling. The lack of ventilation made the air supply extremely inadequate but lucky for them; the technology of their CENTINEL-suits allowed them to see in darkness and function just fine with insufficient oxygen.

Lee didn't say it but in his mind, he half-expected something to attack them in these creepy, sterile corridors. They were in the invader's territory so they could come from anywhere; from the walls, the ceiling, from behind, or even ahead of them-- but there was nothing. If not for hearing each other's breathing and footsteps then there would be absolute utter silence.

More questions began to surface. How long was this trek through the winding halls in the belly of this machine? It seemed never ending. Was it even operational? It had to be as something was keeping it floating just above the seafloor. Were there any occupants? For the longest time, Wonder Inkling found no signs of life or activity until...

They came upon something more unbelievable than they could've possibly imagined. After squeezing their way through a thin, seemingly out of place crevice in the wall, Lee and Janine found themselves in what could only be described as some sort of factory. They watched complex machinery run blocks of raw, metallic looking material along assembly lines. Watching from afar, they saw the material be cut, molded, processed, and formed into familiar shapes; the foot soldiers they had fought in previous encounters across Inkopolis.

While Janine gawked at the scene with stunned amazement, Lee was visibly dismayed. "This—this is impossible," he quietly breathed, "There's no way this could work like this." He was no expert on machinery and thermodynamics but he knew well enough to explain, "For these to run and produce no heat and barely any sound, it's physically impossible." The machines really were whisper quiet, and the seeming lack of any kind of emissions made him as confused as he was fascinated. Above all else he had to say, "Not even the most well-oiled machines are capable of something like this."

Janine readily agreed, "It's definitely strange, we should try and take a closer look." She peeked up from their vantage and saw some kind of crane lifting and dropping robots into a chute. "Let's try and see what's down there."

"Down wha'--," Lee tried to say only to be grabbed at the wrist and made to jump along with his mom. At the peak she gripped onto the crane and waited until they were square over the chute before dropping in. Where it lead them nearly caused Lee to scream if not for his mom swiftly covering his mouth, muffling his cries.

As far as the eye could see in this massive room were rows upon rows of the alien's robot forces. There were so many packed so tight that they must've numbered in the hundreds. Worst of all were the mass produced numbes of the giant battle machines that took everything they had to defeat. Neither said a word, Lee looked up into his mother's eyes and even through her mask he could see she held the same worries as him. They were basically caught in the center of a hornet's nest that at any moment could awaken and the swarm would be upon them—or so they thought. Confusingly, not a single one of them in sight were active. Proceeding with caution and uneasy steps; Lee clung to his mom as they continued the investigation.

As they went from one end of the huge room to the other, they found an exit that lead deeper into the alien's stronghold. As they moved they were unaware that something had caught sight of them.

More corridors connected that giant robot storage room to a whole new room; this one lined with what appeared to be screens, and button filled consoles. "This looks like some kind of control room," Lee breathed in wonder.

Janine reminded, "Be careful not to touch anything, we could--," she suddenly paused, a feeling of unease shooting through her body. "--There's something here!" Her reflexes went into overdrive as she scooped Lee in her arms and leapt into the air. The fierce clang of metal on metal proved her instincts were on point as they turned back to find one of the alien robots in the room with them.

Turning around, they got a good look at the mechanoid; it was spindly and seemed to lack any significant amount of armor plating. They realized quickly that it was quite fast as it yanked out the bladed weapon it smashed into the ground and leapt and bound across the room.

Janine ordered, "Lee get ready to fight, remember to stay close to me."

"Okay," he answered, detaching their custom made .96 Gal and .96 Gal Decos from his back and tossing one to his mother.

They engaged what Lee was only able to describe as a guard sentry. They stuck together as Janine instructed but the robot proved to be as wily as it was crafty. It bobbed and weaved at incredible speed, outmaneuvering the shots from their weapons. It even managed to outpace Janine’s keener aim, and put them both heavily on defense. It swiped at them multiple times with the bladed weapon but luckily their maneuvers were just as fast and synchronized. Together they would flip, roll, tumble, and shoot in perfect synchronization—but nothing would hit their target.

Janine took a mere moment to re-strategize, "Lee, this thing is moving too fast to hit, let's see what we can do with Unite Kraken!"

"Wha—already?" It felt like no time at all, and she already wanted to break out the big guns?

Her reasoning couldn't be argued with, "We don't have much of a choice, now come on!" Following her orders, the two smacked hands together.

In a blinding flash of light, they fused together, taking on the mighty four armed Unite Kraken. With their forces combined, Unite Kraken seemed to fair better in matching strengths with the sentry. They juked and jived around each other, exchanging swings and blows at lightning fast speeds. Unite Kraken managed to get one good smack with its tentacles, but just as it struck the guard sentry it countered. The robot swung its weapon—revealing that it could break apart into multiple segments. All of them flew forward, cutting Unite Kraken right in half, separating Lee and Janine from each other.

The unthinkable parting of Unite Kraken sent the two halves of Wonder Inkling careening apart. Janine rolled across the floor while Lee's body smacked the hard metal. He managed to keep his wits about him and claw at the floor in order to stop his momentum from making him slide away. Lifting his head up to survey the scene, he caught sight of the guard robot setting upon Janine. Oh my stars... Before he could even think of acting, Lee's eyes caught sight of something he hadn't noticed in the chaos of the fight. On the hilt of the robot's weapon was some kind of trigger, and it was beginning to race toward Janine with its finger clasped around it.

"MOM, LOOK OUT!"

Lee screamed at the top of his voice. He knew she heard him, he knew she would act but the fear and uncertainty made him leap to his feet and race to the scene. Everything that occurred seemed to happen in slow motion; Janine whirled around, raising the .96 Gal Deco she clutched in her hand just as the robot arrived within range and raised its weapon high above its head. Lee ran fast and faster, certainly faster than what was thought possible for his CENTINEL-suit but he knew if he didn't somehow intervene then something would happen to his mother. The red suited sidekick wasn't going to let that happen.

Without sparing a thought, Lee collided his weight into Janine, shoving her aside. She was out of danger but Lee didn't think of himself or of the robot who swung the weapon down and squeezed the trigger in a lightning fast instant.

KA-BOOM

Janine whirled around to be met with an utterly horrifying sight. She watched a blinding flash of light explode from the sentry's weapon, blasting her son clean off his feet. In that moment it felt as though her heart stopped and she couldn't breathe as she watched his body helplessly be thrown through the air.

"LEE!" Janine screamed in horror, racing to catch him before he could hit the ground. Unknown to her, the robot sentry was slumping forward, unmoving, inoperable. It was currently out of power, completely vulnerable to attack—but Janine didn't attack. She caught her son's body and clutched it for dear life. "Lee! Lee!! LEE!!!" She repeated again and again in utter distress.

Surveying the extent of the damage dealt to her partner made her sick to her stomach. Despite the constant reminder of the invulnerability of their suits, his had been shredded by the explosion. A huge portion of his abdomen was exposed, revealing a sickening display of heat damage done to his skin by the explosion. Even part of his wonder mask had disintegrated, leaving his eye exposed wide open in an expression of shock. She hadn't even that moment to be ill as she watched his exposed eye fall closed and his CENTINEL-suit fade away as well. "Ohh no, Honey," she gasped. This wasn't good; this meant his consciousness was fading!

Janine collapsed to her knees and carefully set Lee's body on the floor. She touched her hand to his portion of the wonder pendant resting on his bare chest. She begged, "No no no, you can't-- Lee, you've got to stay with me!" He gave no response. She then placed her other hand over her first, as if trying to resuscitate him. She willed him to awaken, "This isn't happening, it's not happening, please Honey, please, please get up!" When he didn't respond to her again, she sucked in her breath and hugged him close to her. Maybe the half of the wonder pendant on her chest touching his own would awaken him? That's what she hoped but Janine just shuddered as she whimpered, "C'mon Baby, get up, please, I'll do anything, you've gotta—you've got to, please, I can't do this without you!"

In her grief she was unaware of how literal that statement was as her own suit began to fade away with the onset of his unconsciousness. Even though she was now made exposed and powerless by the loss of her CENTINEL-suit, she didn't care, she practically pleaded now, "I need you—I need you—please Lee!"

Her focus was so completely on him she failed to notice the alarmed voices of the Inkopolis Defense Force officers ringing in her ear.

The commanding voice pleaded, "Wonder Inkling respond, what happened to you?"

The informative voice sniveled, "Something's wrong, one of you is—is--," they couldn't even finish their thought.

Hearing that tore Janine's heart even further, "It's Lee," she cried. "I didn't— we got separated, and then—I don't know what happened, he took a hit for me, and it was just--," she was beside herself trying to piece it all together. In the end she conceded, "It's all my fault, all mine, I let this happen to him, I let my son get hurt so badly protecting me, I couldn't protect him!"

While her distress was building more and more the informative voice instructed, "You have to get out of there, you can't become Wonder Inkling unless both halves are fully conscious!"

The stern voice chimed in desperately, "We can't win this war without you!" There was the sound of a fist slamming as they continued, "Those eggheads will probably find some way to work around the loss of your kid but if something happens to you than we're finished!"

"How dare you!" Janine fired back in a rage. Her arms and hands continued to shake as she held Lee for dear life, snarling under her breath, "I don't care about this war or what happens! My son...," she looked into his unflinching face, his eyes remained closed, his mouth still slightly agape. "I don't care about anything except my son," she blubbered, burying her face in his neck.

It was as though none of them seemed to understand her as the three men, and many more voices began barking a stream of orders, pleas, and attempts at reasoning with her. The situation only became graver as the security drone began to reactivate. The LEDs on its body glowed bright and it moved about—aiming to finish the job it started with them.

The commanding voice bellowed, "Wonder Inkling there's nothing you can do! You need to leave and find a way out now! The mission's over!"

"No, it's not," Janine simply said, drowning out the screaming in her ear and the mechanical noises emitted by the robot as it hopped about in a display of intimidation. She rose to her feet, refusing to let go of her son's lifeless body. A look of powerful determination etched into her face as she said, "Nobody puts a Squidly in a corner. This mission isn't over until we win." Paying almost no mind to the robot, Janine looked at the face of Lee once more, the voices going quiet as they listened to her.

She sounded so calm, so natural as she conversed with her child as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "You just need a rest don't you Honey? I've seen you take harder hits before, I know you're a tough little survivor, mommy's little hero, but I get you've done more than enough. Don't worry baby, Momma will handle the rest."

Nobody with the Inkopolis Defense Force knew what to make of this and none understood what she was trying to do as she shifted Lee around, propping his body on her back. She said, "We're almost done Sweetie, I promise, just a little more, okay? I just need you to hold on for a little longer. I tell you what—once we get home I'll make your favorite dinner, how does that sound? Some smoked salmon with buttery egg noodles and veggies sound good?" He offered no response but she smiled none the less. "That's a perfect dinner for a hero isn't it? Just hold on Honey, we can do this just like we always do, just like always."

Even though she was depowered and weighed down by her son draped across her back, Janine faced the robot bravely. "We can do this Sweetie, we can beat this, I know we will, just hold on a bit longer for Mommy." The robot rushed toward them with its weapon raised. Janine dashed forward, ready for whatever may come, all the while she shouted, "Just hold on, Lee!"

What happened next, no one knew how or could explain why but just as Janine was about to clash with the sentry a bright flash of light burst from the wonder pendants around hers and Lee's necks. The robot slashed its weapon through the flash—only for it to be caught midswing by none other than Janine. Lee had mysteriously vanished but she was back as Wonder Inkling. That was far from all though, her wonder pendant was whole!

As the IDF operatives commented; it should've been an impossibility. All of their best technology, their best scientific research, their best attempts at understanding the ancient device, none of it could bring the two halves together but the Squidlys somehow made it happen.

Without uttering a word, Janine held the monster in place by its weapon and fired rounds from the .96 Gal Deco stuck to her ankle, blasting it away. There was nothing to guide her, nothing to inform her, but somehow she knew what to do next. She stood tall and slammed the back of her fist against the completed wonder pendant.

Something extraordinary was activated, "It's—It's—It's the Unlimited Form!" The informative member of the I.D.F. support revealed, "The ancient humans called the Wonderful Ones had a trump card that allowed them to tap into amazing levels of power, letting their strengths unite into something truly unbelievable." They watched as this change manifested in the alteration of Janine's suit and mask, ended by a powerful, ethereal glow surrounding her.

Continuing to act on whatever was this mysterious force motivating her, Janine gripped the .96 Gal Deco in her hand and raised it. “UNITE… SHOOTER!” The I.D.F. operatives all gave a unified gasp as a mass of green colored energy swirled around her weapon before constructing into the shape of a giant handgun that took her arms and whole body to hold.

“This is for Lee,” she growled before pulling the trigger, firing four giant bullets of green energy into the sentry. Each bullet hit its mark, destroying the robot piece by piece until finally—it exploded in a burst of fire and shrapnel. Janine turned away from the explosion; aiming her weapon forward she silently declared, “Stay with me just a bit longer Honey, we’re almost finished.”

Janine proceeded to cut a massive swath through the alien fortress. The ammunition used for Unite Shooter seemed endless as she fired with reckless abandon. The bullets pierced the machinery, and the force of immobile robots. Nothing within her sights was safe from the furious vengeance burning within her heart, not even the hull of the craft which the bullets tore through like paper.

Seawater began to fill the inside of the invader’s machine, slowly at first, then steadily, and then a rush. The torrent of water flooded it all. Every piece of machinery was drenched; including what was used to keep the craft afloat. One entity forced its way out by puncturing a hole just big enough, and began to rush its way to the surface. Where there should have been two, the sole squid that made up Wonder Inkling left the ruined alien leviathan to sink to the ocean floor.

The battle was finished.

The return of Wonder Inkling to the Inkopolis Defense Force base should've been met with victorious joy and celebration but instead there was sorrow and remorse. Janine shuffled into the compound protectively holding Lee's body close to her. None of the present IDF operatives spoke a word as she walked past them, finding an empty bench within the wide room and gingerly set his body down. The distressed mother took one step back before dropping to her knees and lowering her head, oblivious to the numerous supporters that began to crowd around her.

The most decorated of the soldiers, the owner of the commanding voice stepped forward to place his hand on her bare shoulder, "My condolences, Miss Squidly," he said. "Be proud of your son for seeing the mission to the end and coming away a hero to millions," he suggested with heavy sympathy.

"stop talking like he's gone," Janine muttered, not turning to acknowledge him, "He's right here, he'll be just fine."

An older squid in a lab coat, the one who had the informative voice told her, “Miss Squidly, you’ve got to understand, the second that blast hit his vital signs went kaput, your boy, he’s--.”

Janine repeated, “He’s fine. I’m a mother, I know that better than anyone.”

It didn’t seem like she was going to listen but the soldiers all knew the inevitability of being in war, particularly one grim looking crawfish in a general’s uniform. His stern voice glumly said, “We’ll be sure your boy has a proper burial just like a real soldier.”

Swinging her head around, Janine snapped her teeth at them, “Don’t you dare touch him!” All of them took a step back in reflex, not wanting to imagine what she would do. Turning back to face Lee, ever so gently cupped his hand in her own, her whole body quivered and shook against her will as she squeezed his hand.

Lee, they don’t know you the way I do, they don’t know how strong you really are. Please, your Mommy’s brave little hero, and I need you to wake up. Please Lee, please… I need you.

She was losing all of the strength she had to hold herself back. The longer she held his unmoving hand, the weaker she became. Suddenly— a miracle happened.

There was a twitching within her grip. She loosened her hand and felt the digits fidgeting about before readjusting to cup her palm. Her head lifted up and she lost her breath as Lee’s body began to animate. His body trembled as he weakly rose up to greet her.

“Mom?” Lee mumbled, “Did we win?”

There was no containing her joy and relief, “Ohh Lee,” Janine nearly screamed into his ear as she threw her arms around him and squeezed what little breath he had out of him.

Meanwhile the commanding general gasped, “That—that’s impossible.”

The stern soldier marveled, “How did you survive that blast—we thought you were dead, son!”

“Dead?” Lee repeated over his mother’s gleeful, appreciative mumbling. “That explosion did hurt a lot, I even passed out from the pain but that's it. Didn't anyone check my pulse?"

Pecking at some sort of tablet computer the informative scientist shuttered, “Your vitals, they all flat lined, we saw it, we saw it!" They would later find out that the scanners used to monitor his vitality were damaged beyond repair in the attack. It was no wonder they thought he had perished. What couldn’t be explained was how the two merged together and in doing so, they completed the wonder pendant. It was completely absurd but some theorized that even in an unconscious state, Lee had such a powerful desire to aid Janine that it allowed them to unite into something stronger than even Unite Kraken.

That would all occur later, for now the mood in the room went from mourning to celebration as the IDF personnel honored Wonder Inkling's victory. Janine paid none of it any mind, she was too busy hugging and embracing Lee out of sheer joyful relief.

This lasted until the commander spoke, "Well with you two just fine we've still got our edge, and with the wonder pendant whole again we can maybe understand it better and turn the tide of this war in our favor."

Janine heard this declaration and she was not enthused to hear it. "Are you insane?!" She wheeled around and stomped her foot defiantly, "Are you joking? Do you think I would be willing to put my son through that kind of danger again? I've had enough," showing further defiance she yanked the chained pendant off of her neck. Holding it at arm's length, she declared, "Get someone else to be your super heroes, we're finished with this." She punctuated this by slamming the pendant down upon the table she laid Lee on.

Gingerly, Lee took the device and wondered, "Mom, maybe we shouldn't be so hasty?" The question became was this the end of Wonder Inkling?

To be continued...?

#splatoon #nintendo #wonderful 101 #wonder inkling #super heroes of inkopolis #lee squidly #janine squidly

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