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What does one do when they lose everything?
When the world has taken all they had, and left them as just a shell of who they once were.
When all you’ve done has led to pain.
All you’ve created to dust.
Do you give up?
Or do you create anew?
Create life?
Create art?
Creation is an art.
Life is an art.
And in this city of color, just one life can make a work of art.
“Huff…huff…”
One hand in front of the other…
”Agh!”
Ink dripping from my hands as I slip…
Hands grasping at flat ground.
The top.
The struggle to pull myself up.
The sun…
”…”
I’m alive…
The octoling laid there for a while, eyes open, seeing the sun beam down on them, but not quite able to feel it. They can feel it’s presence. It’s there. But it pays no attention to them.
The blue above them mixed with fluffy whites. The blinding yellow when attempting to stare into the suns direction. The green of the ground below them much like their own…but fuller. Full of life…”The surface…”The octoling gently ran their hands across this strange green ground, feeling individual blades of whatever this was flow gently through their claws. They noticed however that their claws were leaving behind ink, a teal green ink. Upon examination, they had been worked raw. The skin stripped away from the climb up to the surface, leaving ink to seep out onto their fingers and palms. A few pieces of whatever this green stuff was had also stuck to their hands as well due to the ink. They tried so hard to remember stories of what anything was. What these new things they have found on the surface were. They vaguely remembered the name of the sun. But other than that, they were on their own. Had it been their choice, they would have stayed down in the underground. It was familiar, it was safe. But they couldn’t. It had become unsafe. Something happened. Almost like a shockwave. A cry that rang out through the metro and shook it to its core. It cracked the walls and water began to leak inside. But the cry had also awoken them from their comatosed state. They suddenly felt able to move again, to think, to act. And the first thing they thought was to leave. Before they were buried even further under the metro and it’s collapsing rubble. Now here they were, clothes muddied and torn, hands rubbed raw, unaware of this new world they found themself in. They were alone. Helpless. At the mercy of whatever was out there. Curious as to what this world looked like, on a much closer inspection, the octoling reached up and removed their shades from their head. Almost immediately did they regret this as a new feeling suddenly flooded their dulled senses. It overwhelmed them, caused them to rub at their eyes furiously, and ultimately put their shades back on. However their vision still remained blurry. They gasped at the sudden sensation of something running down their face, and when they touched it, they realized it felt like the water that had leaked into the metro. They were leaking water in response to this feeling. Deciding to keep their shades on, they stood up and looked around. Curious as to where exactly they were. They could see just below them more pavement like in the metro, almost as if it had made its way here as well. Across the ground, they could see a mix of what looked to be purple and yellow ink. Maybe a battle occurred here? There was a few small buildings that were taped up, the glass too smudged and dirty to see what was inside. Especially from afar. Wanting a closer look, the octoling took a step forward. Only to be met with nothing beneath them and cause them to fall forward.
*thump*
They fell a few feet before colliding with the ground, face meeting cold pavement much like the kind in the metro. When they pulled themself up, they noticed a crack in the lens of their sunglasses. They also noticed ink was now dripping from one of their knees. Standing back up and adjusting their glasses and hat, they looked around. Those same abandoned buildings now closer. Close enough to touch. Approaching one, they wiped away the dirt from the glass and peered inside. But all they were met with was just a room full of boxes.
Is this it? Is this the promised land?
The octoling vaguely recalled the many times they had heard of the promised land over and over again. It rang in their head almost as much as their music. Almost as much as the cry that forced them out of the metro. The descriptions they’d heard. Over and over again. The promised land, a world of life, and talk of the city of color.
Is this the city of color? If so…it feels almost like some kind of…joke.
“Hello?”That sound cut through the quiet air. The octoling spinning around, to be greeted with another person. They stood there, a good distance away, the bright colors of their clothing shining in the sunlight. Brown boots, white shirt, pink jacket, pink hat, yellow star attached to it. They looked…she looked…”Colorful…” “Hm?” The girl tilted her head curiously only to realize what the octoling was talking about, looking down at her own jacket.”This? You like it?” She asked.The octoling nodded. “Aw! Thank you!” The girl said with a bright toothed smile, “You understand me?”They nodded again. “Wow…I haven’t met an octoling that understands Inklish here before!” The girl said as she stepped forward. But once she noticed the state the octoling was in, her smile faded, instead washed over with a look of concern. The sudden speed at which she ran towards them nearly startled them. They could barely react when their hands were grabbed and lifted up. “Oh no! Look at you! You’re hurt! And covered in mud!” The girl said as she examined them closely, “Here, sit.” They didn’t know why, but they very quickly followed the command, plopping down on their butt. “Here…I don’t have much on me right now but…” The girl began as she pulled a small rag from her pocket and began to gingerly wipe away at the mud and ink around their hands.The octoling simply stared at them the whole time, curious as to who this was. Even stranger, she sounded familiar. But she didn’t look familiar…The girl must’ve noticed their staring, as she looked back and smiled warmly. Her whole presence, her smile, her look. It felt so welcoming. “I’m Callie by the way.” She said extending a hand out to shake, only to quickly facepalm herself when she realized her mistake, “What’s your name?”
“What’s your name?”
”Whats your name.”
“namenamenamename-“
”Your name is Ahato Mizuta.” The cold distant voice stated. Bright white lights shined down on them, illuminating their body in the chair. The room smelled sterile, with the slightest tinge of rust. They could taste it on their tongue.
“You have chosen to go ahead with the sanitization process. This process has wiped you of your memories of your past life. Any traces that may remain are considered a side effect and should be ignored.”
They didn’t know where the voice was coming from. Looking ahead, all they could see was a machine attached to a pole in front of them.That is until they realized that it was the machine talking to them.
“Your purpose is to create tracks that will be played for test subjects throughout their time in Kamabo.”
Looking down at their arm, they could see a needle attached to it, a tube running through the needle with a strange green liquid inside.
“Do you comply?”
“Hello?” The octoling looked back up at Callie, who was staring at them with a worried expression. “You okay?””Ahato.””Hm?” “My name.”“Oh!” Callie giggled and held the rag out to Ahato. “Nice to meet you Ahato.” Ahato stared at the ink and mud stained rag, extending a hand out to grab it and wipe their knee, which they could see was now causing ink to run down their thigh. “You too.” Callie then sat back and examined the octoling curiously. “You know, you don’t look like a soldier.” “Soldier?” Ahato asked. “Did you not defect from Octavio?” All these words were confusing to Ahato. What was Octavio? Or a soldier? They didn’t think they were a soldier at least. Or maybe they were? Or are? All they could manage was a simple head shake. “Huh…okay.” Callie said, clearly in thought, “Where did you come from then?” “The metro.” Ahato answered bluntly. “Metro?” Callie questioned, sounding even more confused now. Before suddenly her eyes widened in realization, “Oh! We had another octoling come from there! Maybe you two know each other?” Ahato never remembered seeing anybody in their time in the metro. They mostly spent all their time in a daze locked in their own little room secluded from everything. “No. Never saw anyone.” Ahato answered. “Hm…okay…” Callie said rubbing her chin before she brightened again, “You should come with me! We have somewhere safe where you can get your wounds treated! And we should probably hurry before they get infected…”
Wounds? Oh.
They had completely forgotten the injuries they had sustained during their climb to the surface. They couldn’t even feel them really. But they would also like to keep their hands. “Whaddya say Ahato?” Callie asked.
Can I trust her?
The octoling looked up at her, that genuine smile, those soft golden eyes, that tenderness…But still, there was something inside them that was hesitant. Almost like a gut feeling. An inherent distrust.
What if it’s a trick…what if I end up locked away again…
The girl held out one of her hands.“I promise. You’re safe now. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
Maybe it was the way she spoke. Maybe it was the fact they hadn’t seen another person in what’s felt like forever. But in that moment, all that distrust they felt wilted away. “…Okay.” ——— “We’re almost there.” Callie said, “Once we make it, I’ll be able to cover your hands properly! And maybe Marie still has some tea! If she’ll let us borrow it…Do you drink tea?” “Tea?” Ahato questioned as they followed close behind the girl. “Oh! Have you never had tea before?” Callie questioned as she turned around to walk backwards and stare at Ahato, “I’m not the biggest fan but my cousin Marie looooves it. It’s basically just water but you put a bunch of leaves in it to make it taste funny.” “hm,” Ahato acknowledged with a nod, “I’ll take tea.” To them, it sounded a little weird, even if they didn’t fully understand what words were coming out of Callie’s mouth most of the time. But they’d be up to try it. “Alright! Woah-“ Callie began before suddenly bumping into a ramp, “Oh. We’re here!” Climbing up the ramp, while Ahato simply just walked around to get up it, they followed through a small archway that eventually led through to what looked to be a small wood building. And stood just outside of it was a robed figure with their back turned. “Marie! I’m back! And I’ve got company!” Callie announced, quickly dashing towards the other person. When they turned around, Ahato was able to get a quick look before Callie had dove into them, spinning them both around in a hug. “Woah! Hehe! Easy cal!” The girl said setting Callie down with a smile, “We got more defectors?” “Mmm…no.” Callie said as she walked back over and put a hand on Ahato’s shoulder, “Meet Ahato! Apparently they’re from the metro!” When the girl turned around, she seemed caught off guard by the sight in front of her. Her eyes widened and she jumped back, almost startled. “Uh…does it talk?” The girl asked hesitantly. “Yes.” Ahato answered bluntly. “Uh. Good.” The girl said, however their tone didn’t really seem to sound very “good” Getting a good look at the girl now, Ahato could see the resemblance to Callie. They had the same beauty mark and same facial structure. But there was a clear contrast. While Callie had much warmer tones of pink and black, this girl had much colder tones of grey and green. Not the same shade of green as Ahato themself though.And their voice…it also sounded familiar…much like Callie’s. But they just couldn’t put a finger on it. “Well…nonetheless. You’re still from the underground.” Marie said as she pulled back one of her sleeves and extended it out to the octoling, “I’m Marie Cuttlefish, “temporary” leader of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, Nss for short. And we’ve moved away from our usual strike teams and more towards the rescue and aid of octarians that defect from Octavio and help them in their transition to their new lives above ground.” “That was my idea.” Callie said stepping forward. Ahato reached out to shake Marie’s hand, however, once they grabbed her own, the inkling immediately pulled away, wincing in pain. “Ah! What the?!” Marie yelped, wiping her hand with her sleeve, getting Ahato’s ink on it. “What? What’s wrong?” Callie asked as she rushed to her cousins aid. “I dunno…it’s this ink. It felt like it was…burning?” Marie said as she examined her hand. “Huh…you aren’t hurt are you?”While the two girls talked, Ahato found themself looking down at their hand. Once again leaking ink, however when they touched it with one of their claws, it didn’t hurt them.
Hm…
”Woah. That looks bad.” Marie said stepping closer, and snapping Ahato out of their thoughts, “Come inside. We’ll wrap your hands. Plus we’ll have to make sure they don’t get infected.” With that, Marie went towards the cabin, opening the door and stepping inside. Callie quickly followed, waving a hand at Ahato, signaling them to follow. And so they did.
Sisters together, they make a team.
Familiar that they seem.
Their voices soft and trained.
But their presence doesn't remain…
In my mind I find I think.
Perhaps our paths combine.
Somewhere in my prime.
Ahato examined their bandaged hands, faint green stains bleeding through as they clenched and unclenched them. “How’s it feel?” Callie asked as she gently handed them a cup with a strange brown liquid inside. Ahato didn’t quite exactly know how to answer that. “…The same?” Ahato answered as they took the cup. “Well, you didn’t exactly react when we used the disinfectant. I always hate that part.” Callie said as she sat beside them.Just then, Marie walked into the room holding some clothes. “Alright, here’s some spare clothes from Callie’s wardrobe. You two look about the same size so they should fit.” She said as she handed them to Ahato, “Now I’m gonna be leaving. Callie, you good to stay with them for the night?” “Yep!” Callie said with two thumbs up, “We’ll be just fine!”Marie nodded then, but before she turned to leave, she gave one last look to Ahato. It was a curious one, like she was deep in thought. “You need anything, just ask Callie.” She then said as she quickly turned around and headed for the door, shouting behind her as she did, “And welcome to the surface!”
…
”Alright! I’ll show you where the bathroom is so you can change and get cleaned up!” Callie said as she quickly hopped up from her spot. “Alright.” ——— A white t-shirt and pink sweatpants. Not exactly their style…but they weren’t gonna complain. They’d taken their hat off, but we’re still nervous about taking their shades off considering what happened last time. They weren’t outside so…maybe it would be okay?They looked at themself in the mirror. The first time they’d been able to see themself in…a long time probably. Slowly, they raised their fingers up to their shades, and removed them. Eyes closed for a moment before opening them slowly. The sight that greeted them was…themself. Their eyes…untouched. Not afflicted. And they couldn’t help but stare. And as they stared, the walls around them slowly transformed, wood turning to rusted metal. Mirror shattered, floor dirty and grimy. They looked at their environment through the mirror, the smell of copper flooding their senses and leaving its taste on their tongue. And when they looked back at themself…they were normal. No green skin, no dead tentacles, no black tipped claws. They slowly reached a hand to touch their face…”Ahato!”They turned back to look at the door as it opened just a crack. “You okay in here?” Callie asked from the other side of the door. Ahato turned back around to look in the mirror, only to see everything was back to how it was before. Green skin, dead tentacles, black tipped claws. But those eyes…”…yeah.” ——— “You comfy?” Ahato adjusted themself on the cot, a large comforter thrown on top of them and two large pillows on either side of them, leaving them in a cocoon of cushions.“…I think so.”“Good!”Callie hummed happily, walking over to the sleeping bag on the floor and slipping inside in her swim form.“Tomorrow. You and me. We’re gonna have a lot of fun together.” Callie burbled out in her swim form, “We’ll go up to Inkopolis! There’s plenty of stores there where we can get you some new outfits of your own!” “Inkopolis?” Ahato questioned. “Yeah! It’s a big city! The cornerstone of Inkadia!” Callie explained.
The city of color…
one of Ahato’s tentacles twitched slightly at the thought. “…Can’t wait.”