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It'd been about a week since Eight escaped the metro. Her mind still flashed with frequent reminders of the events that had transpired; but at the same time, there was a slight sense of nostalgia for the swaying train and its comfortingly odd passengers.But regardless of missing it or not, she was much happier on the surface, away from all of the stress of constant limit pushing tests and being splatted by her former comrades all forced into obedient fish.Nowadays, Eight had been adapting well with the rest of the agents. Agent 4 was very friendly, and even offered a place to stay after learning that she didn’t have a place to go home to. Four’s house was rather far from Inkopolis, far enough to be just out of sight. Probably for the better, the city would be overwhelming, Eight reasoned.So there she stayed, with Four and Grim, the octoling stowaway that happened to tag along on the helicopter during her escape. While Four might think it isn’t obvious, there was a very clear connection between the two. For one, she elected that they sleep in her room instead of the guest room, leaving Sunny to take the room instead. Also… Four clearly preferred to talk a lot more with them, and Grim seemed to be much more comfortable around the inkling in return. It would make sense… The two were very close in age, of course they would get along pretty quickly, language barrier or not.Because of that, she usually just ended up having the house to herself, since Grim, Four, and her siblings were constantly engaging in so-called “turf wars”, though not the same ones she had learned in history classes. This was a sort of sport the inklings had gotten into far after the war ended.Today was one of those days. She had the house to herself once again.So she laid still in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, CQ-80 in hand, resting lazily by her side. Surprisingly the submarine-shaped hologram device did still work, she figured it would’ve lost service once it left the metro.She didn’t use it for much, though. She just used it to look up what certain words meant in Inklish, or listen to music that was recommended to her.Four seemed to have an interest in the music she was listening to as well, as if it was also a new thing for her. Eight just liked the company she offered. It helped fill an otherwise quiet room, only alive with the sound of whirring air conditioning and the faint buzz of electricity.Eight’s ear twitched at the sound of a door closing, and the sound of quick yet light footsteps was steadily approaching her door. ‘That must be Agent four and Grim,’ she mused, sitting upright, staring at the wall in anticipation. As if she knew it was coming, a hurried knocking suddenly erupted from the other side of her door.Four’s voice echoed on the other side.“Eight! We’ve got company!” Her tentacles curled tightly against her head. Company? Now, that’s a bit new. She figured four wasn’t much of a social butterfly, beyond her agent friends and Grim.Their hands curled into a fist as she opened the door, peaking just her head out. “Who has been brought here?” Her eyes scanned the hallway around Four, before focusing onto her face.
“I got a buddy over!”Four exclaimed, practically bouncing in her shoes.“She’s an old friend that used to babysit when I was young. We wanted to catch up again at my place.” She nods her head in the direction of the living room. “You should introduce yourself real quick, she reminds me of you a lot.” She winked, and scuttled off towards the living room.As Four ran ahead, Eight let out a heavy sigh, hands fidgety as she stepped into the living room behind the agent. Ugh, she wasn’t really willing to do any social interactions today… But whatever.She searched about, trying to spot their company. It didn’t take long to find them, observing a pink haired octoling sitting on the couches, staring at the walls and the artwork on it.Wait a minute… Another octoling?She didn’t think there were many above the ground besides Marina, Grim and herself. In fact… Was she not implied to have been on the surface for a long while? Even before that song..?But she seemed quite young too, couldn’t be older than 17 or so.For a while, she stood still in the doorway of the living room, eyes locked on the new person, who still had not yet noticed her presence. Four had left to the kitchen to presumably get snacks, and Grim was standing by the kitchen door in silence as well, leg shaking with a rhythmic tap.Good to see that someone was in the same boat as Eight, at least. She took in a deep breath, and walked over to the sofa, attempting to initiate eye contact at least.
“Hello?”The pink octopus’s head whipped around at the sound, eyes widened. “ GAH –!” She jumped in place, the tips of her tentacles curling up into tight coils. Eight couldn’t help but flinch as well at the reaction, yelling in return by the scream she made.“Oh Jesus–” The stranger quickly stood herself up, readjusting her clothes as her hair gradually curled back to its usual placement. “You scared me!”
The height of the octoling caught Eight by surprise, as most of the people she had met thus far were much shorter than her besides Marina. This person was just barely shorter, their eyes almost perfectly in line with one-another.Eight couldn’t help but straighten their back, chin tilting down to meet her gaze. “I-It is alright.”The octoling opened her mouth as if to say something, but the words seemingly weren’t coming out. Her purple half-rim glasses were slightly crooked, and her white shirt had small stains of dirt around the hem. The two stare at each other, the silence feeling suffocating like waves of the ocean. It felt as if with just a single stare, they were suddenly locked in place, stuck in each other’s presence like it was an obnoxiously stubborn sticker on a product.Sunny wanted to leave immediately.  “I’m back!” Four suddenly broke the silence, emerging from the kitchen with a plate and a bowl in her opposing hands. “I got a charcuterie board and some pretzels.”She placed them both onto the table.The charcuterie was a little barren, mainly composed of some meats and cheeses, as well as some grapes.“I… I give you thanks, Four.”Eight smiled with gratitude, taking a seat with her arms crossed neatly atop her legs.Thank goodness Four’s here to break things up.What even was that? She’s never met this person before, but yet… Something about her just tripped her up, giving her an uncomfortable sense of dread.Did she know her? Who is she?
The pink octoling stared quizzically at the inkling, an eyebrow raised. “Four? Since when did you go by that?”Four’s face paled a little, eyes widening, face turning away from the others. Eight briefly considered why she was seemingly flustered by that.Oh… Right, the agents are kind of a secret deal, right? Oops…“Oh yeah! T-That.” Four crossed her arms behind her back. “I-I uhhh… I told her that name as a joke, haha…”She quickly shakes her head. “You see, this is Eight!” Four gestured towards her friend, flashing a lopsided grin. “I heard her name and uh… Thought it was funny, so I wanted to play along. And it kinda… stuck…?”

Eight’s eyebrows knit, staring back and forth at Four and the octoling. It’s clearly an excuse, right? Yet… It was quite odd that Four hadn’t ever told Eight her real name. It wasn’t really that private amongst the other agents. One was Callie, Two was Marie, and Three went by Chip… It makes sense that her name was never told to anyone, given she doesn’t even know it… But Four… The octoling stares observantly towards Eight, a strange, unreadable expression on her face.Eight could feel the heat rise beneath her collar, her tentacles twisting about frantically, and there was no attempt at hiding it either. What even was this girl’s deal?!?“Eight… That’s a very weird name, yeah…” Pink clenched her mouth closed, seemingly restraining herself from saying something. But… What?Eight could feel her face going pale, prying her eyes away from the other and staring at the floor.“ Ah- ”A hand was suddenly placed onto Eight’s arm, the octoling jumping at the sudden contact. She turned around to look behind herself, realizing that Grim had walked up and took a seat next to her.
Their tentacles were curled upwards into tight coils, their ear-like fins pressed flat against their head. “It is fine name.” They murmured, their voice quiet yet blunt. “What is yours?” The stranger seemed a bit perplexed, hands raising up in a defensive posture and waving them back and forth. “My bad! I didn’t mean to offend. Lemme introduce myself…” She pressed a hand against her chest.“I’m Cait. I’ve been friends with ******* for a while, we go waaaay back. Back when I was still all tentacles.”Eight’s ear twitched at the mention of Four's name, immediately getting a sense of discomfort hearing it. She heard it full on, but yet there was this nagging urge to quickly forget it was ever spoken in the back of her mind.
‘Oh— Speaking of,” Cait turns towards the inkling. “You grew up very fast, did you? Look at ‘cha! You’re already a full grown inkling!”She jabbed an elbow into Four’s side.Four was acting aloof suddenly, her hands clasped together in a tight grip.“Y-Yeah. I guess I did, yep.” Her face screwed up sort of… Distressed like? And she was fully avoiding eye contact altogether up to this point.Eight’s expression softened, a gut-deep feeling burrowing a hole in her stomach. Obviously something’s up, but would it be strange to ask at this moment?She couldn’t just let this continue, though. There’s got to be a way they can excuse themselves for a moment. But… Her eyes darted towards Four, and then to the doorways leading out of the room.“Ah, give me pardon for the moment, please. Four… There is something I forgot to speak to you with, may we have the discussion in the kitchen?” She nods towards Four, eyes darting between her and the kitchen’s entrance.Four’s shoulders relaxed, her face settling back into its usual, slight smiley state. “Yes.”Without further elaboration, she stood up, and took the lead into the kitchen. Grim had quietly tagged along as well as Four, all three leaving the room to discuss as Cait sat alone in the room.“Four…” Eight looks to the inkling, her expression softening, voice quiet as to not enable eavesdropping. “What is the matter? You are so tense, so nervous. This is your friend, no?” She placed her hand onto Four’s shoulder, gently squeezing it. She could hear the squid’s hearts racing. Four let out a wearied sigh, tucking a tentacle behind her ear. “Um… Well-” She worriedly glanced towards Grim. Grim’s visible eyebrow furrowed, lips pressed together into a thin line. They wordlessly nod, holding onto Eight’s arm as they look up at her face.Four, shoulders now fully slumped, craned her neck to stare at the tile beneath them. “She’s not a bad person, she’s very nice… It’s just… I have very messy and weird feelings that I’m afraid to talk about. Uhm. G-Grim is… The only one that really knows everything. All I can say is that… I don’t want you to call me *******. I don’t like that name.”
Oh…
Eight felt a heavy sense of sympathy towards the statement. Within the confines of her mind, something shook free, shoulders slacking as the thought resurfaced for the first time in years.The agent wordlessly nods, taking her hand away from Four’s shoulder and holding onto their hand instead. “I’m understanding. I am the same way. I… Do not know my previous name from before I came here. I’m afraid of learning it. I do not know if I will like it.”Four’s expression lightens, looking up towards her with wide eyes. “Really?”Their mouth formed an O shape, their hand tightening in return. The octoling nods in confirmation. “Yes. Your feelings of the matter are not weird. They are very reasonable. You are free to talk about the problem with me. I do not remember everything, but I do know that I have changed s…s-sign-iff-a-gant-ly… since youth.”Her cheeks flushed a little at the most-definitely butchered pronunciation. She does not know this language well yet…Four did not hide their amusement well, covering their mouth while stifling a smile. “H-Hehehe… Um… Thanks, Eight.”
Even despite it all, they’re still just a kid; Eight mused. Yet she couldn’t hide her amusement either. “Do not make fun of me..!” Despite the warning, a light smile formed on her face, every attempt at biting it back proving useless. “I wasn’t gonna! But… Y’know… You can just say don’t , instead of do not, for a start.” Four meanwhile made no effort to resist the correction. “But you’re right, I’m sure it’s hard learning a new language! Right, Grim?” They look at their friend expectantly.Grim’s back tentacles twitched, their lips pursed and lopsided as they awkwardly nod in agreement. “Yes. Hard. You are… no good teacher.”Four gasped, hand pressed against their own chest in mock offense. “Excuse you! I’m doing my best!” The two octolings simply laughed, both somewhat attempting to stifle their giggles with a hand over their mouths. Four pulled their hand away from Eight’s, crossing their arms and puffing out their cheeks in a pout. “Ugh… You guys are jerks sometimes.” They smiled, turning away, now actually attempting to resist in showing their delight.Yet Eight could see right through their demeanor, no matter how pouty and upset it may seem, a soft giggle brushing past her lips.
“No matter, no matter.” Eight waves her hand in dismissal. “I’m glad we had the discussion. Are you okay to go back now? Is there something else? I’m listening.”Four simply shook their head. “No. I’m okay now. I’ll go out now.” They go to step towards the kitchen entrance, but halts midstep. “And… I’ll decide if it’s okay for me to explain it all to her. She’s a good friend, but it’s hard to talk about things like this. I guess… Just be patient, okay? I can handle everything.” They give a thumbs up and a wink, and make their leave through the entrance. Eight goes on to follow after the inkling, but she stops as she feels a tug on her shirt.
She turns around, facing Grim completely as they stare up at her with a proud expression.“ Thank you, Eight. I knew I had a good feeling about you. ”Grim had switched into their native language at this point. “ Then again… I had a feeling you were like us, too. ” They chuckled awkwardly. “ You know? ”Eight raised her eyebrows, then furrowed them as she frowned.“ Is it obvious? Am I…-”
Grim immediately shook their head, waving their hands panickedly. “ No, no! It’s not obvious at all! It’s more like… G-Game recognizes game, yeah? I can assure you, Four had no idea. I’m sure the other agents don’t know either. ”Eight nodded, breathing out a relieved sigh. “ I’m glad. I just… Worry about it a lot. People are very kind here, but it’s worrisome regardless. ”
“ Definitely… I understand. It takes time to adjust comfortably to others. ” Grim pats at her arm. “ Okay, that’s all I wanted to say. Let’s go. ”“Wait. One more thing. Does Four have a preference as to how I refer to, er, them?”

Grim looks down, eyes focused on nothing in particular, scratching at their own head. “ Er… Four doesn’t know yet. I’ve just been saying Four, and nothing gendered. They said it was okay to say she and her, but I want to be careful anyway, since Four said that neutral terms are fine too. ” “ Thank you. Noted. ” Eight smiled. “ That should be all I need to know, I’ll talk to Four later after everything. ”
“ Uh-huh. No problem. ” Grim clapped their hands together ecstatically, following Eight out as she walked on ahead.  Things were a little less awkward after their private conversation, but it definitely did not assist in aiding the odd stares Cait was giving Eight. In fact, it was getting worse at that point, and Eight could not shake the odd feeling that there was something deeper to it. No… There definitely was something to it, but what ?!
Four was doing everything they could to carry the conversation, but there was a very clear disconnect between them, as Cait seemed to be a little… Too fixated on Eight. She could feel the sweat rolling down her neck, worried that Grim’s reassurance from earlier was just trying to make her feel better about her appearance.Four was wrapping up a story about their siblings, sentences broken with intense laughter as if it had happened seconds ago.The others were quite amused by the story too, though Eight found it hard to concentrate and ended up feigning laughter a majority of the time.
“So after all of that, he still didn’t even have the guts to go talk to her! I ended up having to go talk to her myself, and man… I’ll never forget the look on her face!” Four concluded the story, cackling in laughter at the memory. “So basically, Cait, my siblings are still the same ol’ trouble makers you remember. I’ll have to reintroduce you guys again sometime, but I’m not sure where they are… Definitely at the square, turfing it up or looking at the shops… They’re kinda almost never here, since this place is kinda meh .”

“Hah… I’d love to meet them later! But y’know me, I can only meet so many people at once!”Cait grins stiffly.“I’m already pretty tired, if I’m honest, but I’ve had fun…”Her eyes drifted towards Eight, then to the front door, and back to Eight. Eight frowned, her shoulders tightening. They wanted to just leave, to be honest. But it wouldn’t be fair to anyone. She hated the feeling of being watched, and really wanted an out, an excuse… Anything, really.And as if her mind was being read, Cait stood up, dusting off any crumbs from her outfit. Eight hadn’t noticed it before, but there was a very strange logo on her shirt, resembling one of those extinct mammals she’s read about. The name was escaping her mind, but she’d be sure that it would come up later.“I’m gonna get some fresh air real quick, I love your house, *******, but I don’t exactly do well without air conditioning.”Four’s smile slightly faltered, but they nodded in understanding. “Of course! I’ll chat with Grim for a bit, in that case.”“Cool.” Cait gives a thumbs up. “Be right back.” She spun around on her heel, and walked towards the front door. Of course, not neglecting to shoot Eight a quick glance.
Eight knew she wanted her to follow. But did Eight want to, is the real question…With a hesitant step forward, she picks herself out of her seat and goes to follow after the Octoling, hoping to finally resolve this weirdness once and for all.So the two stood silently together outdoors, the front door directly to their sides. Eight’s shoulders tensed as she stood squarely in front of Cait, flinching a bit as the wind hit her eyes. She didn’t care to waste time, rubbing at her face. She cut right to the chase, switching to Octarian, knowing they would understand too.“So. What’s your deal with me? This staring deal has been really creeping me out.”

Cait’s eyebrows furrowed, mouth slightly agape in offense. “ D-Don’t pretend like you don’t know who I am..! I’M YOUR FAMILY. Your half SISTER?! ”She snapped back at her in Octarian as well, tightly clenching her teeth.“ Wha– ”“ -I never forgot about that awful day!” 
Cait cut off the octoling before she could get a word out, immediately reacting with aggression. 
“Y-You didn’t even CARE about me disappearing forever! ” She shoves a claw towards Eight’s face, wagging it accusingly. “ A-And despite everything, even now, after meeting me for the first time in years , you’re just going to… T-t-try and pretend we’ve never met before?! Why even s-show up back in my life?! You were completely content with being where you were..! ”Eight recoiled physically at the sudden outburst, as if a heavy weight crashed down upon her shoulders, almost stumbling back from the pressure. Hold on… Half sister?Awful day?
She didn’t care? 
“I-I’m sorry, I mean it, but I-I genuinely don’t know what you mean..! Y-You see, I–”

“I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT. I’m not going to listen to your crappy excuses, making yourself out to be a victim, or whatever you were thinking of saying to me..!”

Eight’s eyes flashed with hurt, her face hurting from a frown as she clutched her chest. “ No… I swear. Please. Just hear me out? You can yell at me as much as you want after..? ” She holds up her hands defensively with a wince.Cait did not respond, turning away from Eight, head turned up towards the sky with watering eyes. Her fists turned white at the knuckles, and they trembled intensely. Eight’s words were getting caught in her throat, mouth all of the sudden feeling dreadfully dry, yet her forehead was growing damp. Yet she forced out her words anyways, spilling as much of the truth as she could manage.“ I… I had an incident, and I don’t remember the details, but supposedly I was attacked. In the fight, I must have hit my head very hard. I can’t remember much that happened before then. There are vague, barely eligible memories, but that’s about it. ” She paused, glancing towards the other; attempting to scout out how this information was being received. By the look of things, not very well.“ So… ” She presses on regardless of the reaction.   “ I… I-I genuinely cannot remember who you are. I am infinitely sorry that I can’t offer any further explanations about this situation… ” Then they bowed, kneeling down onto the ground in an apologetic stance. “ ... Y-You’re lying to me… ” Cait only muttered, her body now completely shaking at this point.“ T-That isn’t what happened… Right? ”“ I promise you. It’s the honest truth… ” Eight hung her head further down, practically kissing the concrete. “ I would not lie about this. You can ask Four about it, and they will say the same. ” Brief silence occurred between the two, the words taking its time to sink in, seemingly.Then Cait lets out a shaky gasp, turning her head towards the ground, as a weak sob escapes her throat. “ That’s not… That isn’t… That’s not f- fair… ! ” She hastily pressed her hands against her face, balancing herself against the house’s brick lined walls.“ I-I really thought about you every day , and… And now you’re b-back… And- ”

Eight hesitantly stood herself back up, arms hung stiff in the air, unsure what to do at this moment. She could only just stand there, frozen, stuck with no way of supporting this…  Stranger . They wished they knew more about what happened, just anything, but…There wasn’t anything. Her mind was drawing a complete blank.Cait’s words just kept spilling out, every stabbing remark just absolutely thrashing Eight’s character. Yet she could not object to anything. How could she..? She didn’t know who she was before… It’s not like she could prove her wrong, anyways.Eight closed her eyes, and tightened her lips.There was nothing she could do. At least, not alone.So there clearly is one option left, right?
“ Cait .” She spoke with a confidence that only would really crop up in the most dire of times. “ Let’s talk about this with the others. I can’t speak for myself, or anyone. But… I won’t let this go unresolved. You’re hurt, obviously. And I don’t want to… Make any mistakes… ” Were those the right words to say? God. She sure hoped they were. Cait exhaled deeply, took in a long, winding breath, and let it out once more. She wiped off her eyes, looking away from the other. “ ... Fine. I’ll humor you for a bit. ”Eight couldn’t help but feel a pang in her heart at the words. But Cait’s eyes… They were a gentle, yet striking purple hue.They were much like her own.The eyes, white freckles, and her seemingly unusual number of limbs, the weird; awkward height… just like herself. It might be beginning to make sense now.They’ve definitely met before, Eight realized. More appropriately, they are undeniably bonded by blood.  “ Now , Cait, don’t you think this is a little unfair of you?!” Four exclaimed, hands pressing against their hips.
The siblings sat in mutual discomfort, refusing to look at one-another, one out of fear and one out of anger.It had fallen on the shoulders of Four to be the mediator of this conflict. They seemed just as unhappy as the two were about it. Yet when told it wasn’t something they had to do, they stubbornly declined, insisting the two had to see each other eye to eye as soon as possible.Cait grumbled under her breath, twirling a tentacle around with a green ink stained finger. “I don’t know everything. You would be angry too, if someone had left you to die without a moment's hesitation.”“Right. Now is that what happened, really?” Four stanced themselves closer, a finger pointed to her face. “Can you clearly recite the events that transpired? Because I’m feeling at least a bit of it is bull.”Cait scoffed. “You’re saying that I’m lying? I can assure you I’ve never forgotten about it, even 6 years later.” Her arms crossed tightly against her body, giving a glare so sharp it could slice up diamonds. Despite that, Four did not back away, growling in annoyance. “That’s exactly why I’m asking you about it so much..! If you’re sitting in a stew of hate for that long, of course your perception of a person would change..!” Now please, tell us what happened. As accurately as you can, please.” Sunny was so endlessly grateful that Four was as well spoken as they were. Maybe having 4 other siblings makes you good at that. She wouldn’t know. At least, not nowadays.The pink octoling groaned, shaking her head. “If you insist .” She swung her leg over the other, repositioning herself until she sat comfortably in place. “I remember it all very clearly. There was a troop of octolings that weren’t happy in their place, as well as octolings like myself who couldn’t even serve in the army or even do a thing for their society…”“It’s not like it’s bad. I loved my home. I loved my family and my neighbors. It’s just… people treat you much much differently if you’re not a perfectly able bodied being.””Like you’re just a burdening responsibility for them to handle.” She waved her hand in circles, face leaned against her hand with the arm propped up against her knee. “It’s not that they’re outright hateful, but they are just… So obnoxious… So condescending… At least, the people I knew.” She rolled her eyes into her head.“It’s. Too much. I had to get out. Besides… I hate war. I don’t want anything to do with it, even somewhat.” Four listens intently, nodding along with every point she makes.“Okay. That’s the context, yes. Go on now.”

“I’m getting to it.” She snapped, biting her tongue as she collected her thoughts.“This group was mainly built of octarians like myself, as well as some ex soldiers. They weren’t disloyal… They were just looking out for us, and refused to allow some young, disabled octarians to go alone without some assistance.” She briefly makes eye contact with Eight, lip curling back into her mouth, then whips her head away from the other, tentacles bouncing with it.“She didn’t tag along. She was a recent recruit for the army, having shown ‘resounding potential’, and grew a big-ol ego about it. She absolutely couldn’t waste the opportunity, supposedly.”She lets out a very long sigh, eyes going blank as she recalls the event.“She refused to even look at me as I left. She never wanted to hear me out, and constantly ignored me whenever I tried to talk her into reconsidering.” ‘ Did I do that? ’Eight’s expression tightened, genuinely attempting to rack her brain for those memories, as if they would resurface just like that. Ugh…“So… Imagine my surprise that I show up at your place, and lo-and-behold, my long lost b–... Sister , is there, acting as if nothing happened, after I had been practically begging and screaming for her to tag along.” Cait’s expression has fully melted away, leaving behind just a numb, blank state.“I just really… Want to know what changed your mind.” She turns towards Eight fully this time, her eyes suspiciously shiny. “Why are you so… Different now? You’re nothing like how you used to be.”  Eight’s lip curled, tensely averting her gaze, a frown wearing out her face as she just… Shrugs her shoulders. “I do wish I knew the answer.” She had moved her legs onto the couch, hugging tightly onto them. “There are few memories, but the strongest is… That song…”Four’s eyes widened, raising an eyebrow. “A song? I don’t remember you mentioning something like that…” Grim finally spoke up, after having remained silent for almost the entire argument. “Calamari inkantation?” Four stared at Grim as if they had grown another head.“You mean the song that age– I mean, Marie and Callie made? What’s the significance?”Grim looked as if you had kicked a baby right in front of their eyes. “What significance..??? Means much of everything! Surely heard the song, yes?”
Cait butted in as well. “Dude..! It’s fucking legendary..! It literally changed lives..!”
“I mean…” Four scratched at their head, biting their lip as they recall a song playing during their showdown with DJ octavio. “I… I know the sisters performed it when I was carving DJ a new one, but… I’ll be honest, I was so caught up in my fight that I could barely focus?”“I THINK I know that title, yes. Captain mentioned to me…” Eight cut in before any further interruptions could be had. “Who the hell is Captain?” Cait raised an eyebrow.“Don’t. Worry about it.” Four grumbled.Cait only raised its hands in defense. “Anyway.” Eight continued on. “If it is so life changing. I suppose I have listened to it before the injury. If I was proud of the position… Maybe the song was strong enough for the changing of my mind. My thought on life and what… what it means.” She rests her chin atop her knee. “It is hard to say.”Cait just sighs. “Yeah, that’s what happened with Marina, or so they say.” Grim only nodded in agreement.“But that doesn’t explain everything.” Cait interjects. “I’m still not done with you, y’know.”

Eight just sighs turning away. “I do not have any comment.”“You could at least try to be sympathetic.” Cait frowned. “You don’t get it at all.”

The eldest shook her head. “I am sympathetic. I do not know what happened, yes, I know you have been through much of the pain. I’m very sorry.” She closed her eyes, a tension rising in her head and pressing against the back of her eyes.“I’m unable to say it enough.”Well. Now Cait felt like the asshole. Sure, she isn’t going to give up on her anger about leaving her behind when she needed her most, but… Her story does make some sense, albeit frustratingly so.Though, she wished she knew what her sibling had been up to since she was away. But she supposed the catching up spiel should have to wait until the circumstances are... A little more favorable. Eight is still a weird name, though. That sounds like a nickname that happened to stick.But not to get too carried away… Who’s she to judge?She finally lets out a long exhale, eyelids drooping as she stares downwards to the floor. “I understand. I’ll leave this for another day. Just know that… I still haven’t forgiven anything.” “That is okay.” Eight unfolds herself off the couch, standing herself up and walking towards the hallways.“You can feel how you want. You know my feelings. Good night.” She walks out of the room, retreating to her space.Four crossed their arms, tapping their foot against the floor and turning towards Cait.“Cait. I respect Eight. Eight is a great person. I know you’re not exactly happy with her, especially with her actions when she was younger, but… From what it sounds like to me…” Four paused, staring off towards the direction Eight left to, tilting their head.“There was something definitely wrong with her. If she truly acted careless towards you, then… What could that reason be?” They spoke quietly, as if trying to make sure Cait was the only one to hear.Cait bit her lip, her expression fading. “I spent 6 years thinking about that. If I figured it out sooner, I wouldn't have been as furious, maybe.”Four reached behind their head to readjust their ponytail. “Well, I feel like it may have to do with a problem she never spoke about with you, or anyone. You’ll have to discuss it later, though. She’s not very talkative in general.”

“O-oh, me neither.” A nervous laugh escaped from the octoling. “This is exactly how things went back then, too. She’s a lot less willing to talk things out than I am. It led to... A couple fights…” Cait grabs onto her shirt sleeve, clutching onto it.“For someone with a bad memory… She kind of still is the same person deep down, I guess. Ugh . That’s so cheesy. Forget I said that.” She suddenly stands up. “Okay. I’m going home now. I’ve… Overstayed my welcome, clearly. Thank you for inviting me over, despite everything. This was an interesting experience… To say the least.” The agent couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, that’s no problem. I’m glad to see you too.”“Yeah. I’ll see you later, then.” Cait turned and walked to the door. “Call me if you need to, yeah?”Four only nodded with a thumbs up.“Cool. Bye.”The door clicked shut as the sound hollowly echoed across the room.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Eight?” Four lightly tapped against the door. “Eight, are you awake?” They spoke quietly, eyes squinted against the inky blackness of the hallway. The sound of a catchy pop song could be heard through the door, yet it halted quickly in response to the knocks.The doorknob jostled a bit as the lock clicked, and swayed open with a creak. The faint light of Eight’s room spilled into the hall, as the only thing you could see of her was her lengthy figure. “Hello, Four. Something you need?” Her voice was very gentle, whispering back to the inkling.“Hey.” Four peeked past Eight’s shoulder, looking into her room. “Could I come in? I heard your music.”
She simply nodded, opening the door and stepping aside to let them in.Four quietly moseyed in, making themselves comfortable by sitting by the edge of the bed, draping her blanket atop their legs.Eight, sitting herself next to Four, leans onto her hip and holds herself up with one arm. The other arm picks up her CQ-80, and opens up her music once again. The CQ-80 had been modified into a proper phone by this point, thanks to Marina adding upgrades. These upgrades included an advanced chat room, a music player, and a basic internet connection. Four stared at the hologram, always fascinated by the technology.It really was just like having a tv as a phone. Sure, It wasn’t great for public areas, but it definitely was good for home use.Four read a title, lips pressed into a line as they squint. “Calamari Inkantation?”Their expression lightened, a curious glint bouncing off their eyes.“You… Mentioned that the other day, I don’t think I ever properly listened to it…”They sat in a criss-cross formation.“Could you start from the beginning?” Eight stared at them, blinking. “Sure, yes.” She tilted the stick to reset the player back to 0:00, they clicked it to begin playing.Four watched the progress bar move, the sounds of Callie and Marie singing hitting their ears, and swiftly sending them back to their big showdown with DJ Octavio. They had said that the song was hard to focus on during the fight, but… listening back, every bit of the lyrics was woven in with the events in their brain. It was not the same, their live experience was most definitely different, yes…Though, this version they never knew before was just as exhilarating to listen to.  Before they knew it, Four began bobbing their head along with the beat.They felt their hearts racing with the music, visuals of the blinding stage lights and lasers filling their head, rainmaker in hand, arms trembling along as it charged with power. They recalled the sensation of flying through the air, and feeling the wind beneath their tentacles and how it made their stomach drop. The final plunge downwards, claiming victory after a hard fought battle, with sparkles, ink, and applauding cheers filling the air; the peak of their adrenaline leaving Four barely incapable of keeping it together, their body trembling with pure energy echoing within their veins. They realized their eyes were closed at this point, fully soaking in the sound, allowing their body to move on its own to move along with its harmonious chorus. And before they knew it, the song had ended. Their eyes reopened, mouth agape at their experience. The inkling’s face turned to the octoling’s, who’s eyes shone like swirling stars.The room fell into deafening silence, the both of them taking in the moment to unscramble their thoughts. “I get it now.” Four uttered, their voice sounding small.Eight nods, their unquestionably genuine smile lighting up their face. “I’m very glad. Y-You have been missing out on many of the experiences.” Four’s body sways into a lean against the shoulder of Eight. “...Marie is cool. Callie too. Yet it’s funny to think that they wrote something so… Magical?”They said with a gentle sigh.  “Marie and Callie... I would like to know them well. The two inspired me in ways they would not understand.” Eight remarked with a dazed look.“I hope this has made you feel the same.” “I think I do feel the same. At the very least, I do have some respect for the two. I didn’t really know them all that well before I joined the squidbeak splatoon.” Four confessed, scratching at their cheek as their eyes locked on the album cover displayed on the screen. “I’ve been so busy with my schoolwork, clubs, personal studies, and my siblings sometimes. Once I was free to leave the house when I turned 13, I was immediately recruited. Marie was just looking at me… And I had this instinct to follow her into the canyon. Sure, it was sketchy, but it’s strange how that worked out, huh?” “Indeed, strange.” Eight nodded in agreement.“Talking about meeting people, I am very fortunate to have met with the Marina and Pearl. They both have saved my life, and helped in saving the world. It is a great miracle.”She smiled, staring across the room with fondness in their eyes.“I will not ever forget the lovely sunshine that I saw after the smoke went away.”  Something clicked in Four’s head.“Sunshine…?” They scratched at their chin, thinking for a couple seconds. “Um, Eight, how do you feel about going by a different name?”
Eight looks to Four with a bewildered expression.“That is a random question.”
“J-Just bear with me!” They exclaim, waving their hands frantically.“You didn’t ask for Eight to be your name, right? Isn’t it a little strange to exclusively go by that without a choice?”
She frowned in thought.“I suppose not, yes.”She repositioned herself into a sitting position, knees pressed up against her chest.“I have many dabbles in the topic, but I’m not good at the names.”

“Well…”Four scratched at their head, their cheeks puffing as though hesitant. “What if I called you Sunny? Because your tentacles are a lot like a sunset.”Eight seemed to be a little taken aback from the suggestion, but not upset. In fact… She even seemed a little pleased? Her eyes were twinkling, the corners of her mouth twitching. “I like Sunny.” She mused insightfully. Four beamed with excitement. “Great! I’m glad you like it! Is it official, then?”Eight hums, rubbing at her chin.“I will try it out. I need to know how it feels.”“Awesome! I’m happy for you, Sunny!” Four giggled, rocking in place with their hands around their ankles.“Now I should think about my own name, huh? I should do this for a living..!”They joked, sticking out their tongue. Sunny held her hand to her lips.“Ah, you are considering the name change too.”She nods in understanding.“Are there many ideas?”Four paused, their eyebrows knit.“I’m not sure.”They sighed, letting go of their ankles and leaning up against Sunny’s body once more.“I don’t know what I really want to pursue for myself. I’ve talked with Grim a lot. They seem to know a lot more about this sort of thing that I do.”

“I have some experience. I am not entirely familiar of it. It was before all the moments on the train.”Sunny placed her hand atop Four’s head.“No matter. I’m giving my support where it is possible.” The inkling closed their eyes.“Thanks, Sunny. That means a lot.” They couldn’t help but laugh nervously.“I have to say, I never would have guessed. I’m glad you trusted me enough to let me know. Ah, but um. Anyways…”They sighed, and outstretched their arms in request of a hug.  Sunny quickly returned the gesture, pulling the inkling close with a tight squeeze.“Of course. Always.”

Then the two separated, and Four scooted themself back into their original spot with a sigh.“Yeah… Y-Yknow. I think I’ll experiment with it. Grim made me realize I relate a lot to being… Um. They used an octarian word that I don’t know.”Sunny blinks, tilting their head to the side.“Could that have been the word… Transgender ?”She dipped into octarian language to say the word.Four nods. “That sounds about right. What does it mean?”Their head tilted to the side like a curious puppy. “That is…  Allow me the thinking.”She scratched at her chin with a hum.“I believe it is supposed to mean… Change gender. That is about the equal.”

“Change…? There’s gotta be a proper name for it. Hang on, can you search it up?”The inkling points to the CQ-80.“Sure. I will.”She pulled up the search engine on her device, quickly rotating the joystick to type on the on-screen keyboard. Four squinted to the keyboard, grimacing.“Oh… That keyboard sucks.”

Sunny nodded and hummed in agreement. “I am good with it, but it is not very quick.”  She finally typed it in, and clicked enter. The results pulled up a website entirely in octarian.“Okay... I do not know if you can read that.”She sighed. “I will try again.” She types in a new prompt, this time typing in “change gender” in Inklish.A resource page popped up, mentioning the process of gender transition. Then, the word “Transgender” showed up a little further in the page upon clicking it.  Four nods, their eyes deep in thought.“I-I didn’t know that was a thing… Grim described it as like… Feeling wrong and uncomfortable with how others see you. They also compared it to being told you liked lemons, when you actually like oranges…”Sunny couldn’t help but giggle.“That is the interesting comparison, but it does help with the clarity. I’m thinking it is more like someone is calling you by a bad, annoying nickname, and they aren’t aware of your dislike for it.” She gently pats Four’s shoulder.“You are not having the confidence to tell them you do not like it.” She patted her own face, cringing as she squinted her eyes closed. “Apologies, it is ‘don’t’, not ‘do not’. There is much to keep track of… Hmfh.” Four laughs, nodding their head.“It’s okay! You’re learning. There’s a lot I could say about your grammar, but let’s take it one at a time.”“Ugh… I d-don’t like being incorrect. It is an embarrassment.”Sunny covered her face in her hands.“I am digressing, let us listen to more music? I’m having a song on mind. It is… How do you say? ‘Fresh’?” “Of course! I’d like to hear it!”Four grinned, nodding frantically.“Your taste has been great, I’ve been really enjoying the songs you’ve been listening to.”

Sunny smiles, and chuckled.“Why, thank you!”She cleared the search bar, and began typing in the title of the song, ‘Fly Octo Fly’.  Four rocks slowly in place, hands clung onto their hood, but then moving their hands up to their head, undoing their pony tail and letting the tentacles drape down.They sighed in relief, wrapping their hair band around their wrist.“I was getting a headache from wearing that.”

Sunny turns towards the inkling, eyeing the top of their head.“I do not think I have seen you much without your tentacles up.”  They blink, then they laugh.“Oh yeah, I suppose not. I don’t like how it looks when it’s down.”Their hand fidgeted with a back tentacle, sweeping it away from their shoulders.“I can’t leave it up forever, though. It is not pleasant.”

Sunny hummed with amusement.“I am imagining… You inklings can cut it, yes?”

Four nods quickly.“Yeah. It used to be much less popular, but after some celebrities started doing it, everyone wanted in. And now there’s way more styles than before… Hehe. What about you? Is it a little different?” “Hahahah! Indeed so!”She giggles, hand against her cheek.“Not many have cut hair, Octarians are able to multiply by the cutting of our limbs, you know? Which does mean…”She pointed to her tentacles, which had very significant scarring atop her head, along with a completely severed tentacle on her left. “This is a part of new life. T-That is… If it had not been sliced and diced up by the telephone.” “... Oh.” “Mmhm!”Sunny smiled, as if she hadn’t said possibly the most morbid way of putting that.“Poor thing, but I do not want someone to grow up in the train, either.”She sighed, dropping her head.“It is strange that this has not healed either. I’m wondering if it is because of that green stuff.”She shakes her head.“But not to be carried away. Here is the song. This is the song that Marina and Pearl played when I escaped.” Four only nodded with a glimmer of intrigue in their eyes.She clicked the joystick button, and the song began playing. Sunny’s eyes sparkled, very quickly matching her movements with the song in impromptu dance. Four couldn’t help but join in, observing and matching Sunny’s movements as best as they could. And Sunny then started to sing along.  Grim couldn’t sleep yet again, turning about in their mattress.Four had left them behind a while ago to hang out with Eight, and they had thought they would be able to sleep at this point… But the lack of their friend’s presence did not do them well. With irritation, they sat up in bed. They’ll just have to get themselves something to drink, then. Their throat was incredibly dried up by now. So the octoling stood themselves up, rubbing at their eyes and feeling bags digging into their face. Navigating the house in the dark had become a familiar route by now, even learning the spots in the floorboards that would creak underneath their weight.  Quickly, they snuck down the stairs and into the kitchen, the glass cups clinking together as they selected one from the cabinet above.They brush their long tentacle away from their face, the shade covered eye beneath immediately adjusting to the darkness. They reach for the sink’s faucet handle, slowly twisting it upwards, as a gentle water dribble becomes a tiny downpour.The cup was set beneath the faucet, and it quickly filled with water. Once they were satisfied, they turned off the water and left to return to their room.Returning up the stairs, their ears picked up on the faint sound of music, vaguely familiar to the octoling, but just faint enough to be hard to tell. Grim followed the sound, until they ended up in front of Eight’s room.They pressed their ear against the wood, focusing in on the sounds. They were met with a familiar, catchy pop song. And it was followed up with singing. But, it didn’t sound like the song’s typical singers.Instead, it sounded much like their friend’s voices?They were awkward singers, definitely, but they were very clearly enjoying themselves, falling into the duet’s separate roles.Grim couldn’t help but giggle, imagining their friends doing something like karaoke together. That’d be a fun time, yeah. The song went on, as their voices gradually adjusted, and Four’s vocals quickly adapted to the music as well, becoming more on par with the melody.They were a natural, clearly.Grim could feel their hearts beating in their ears, a chill running down their back with their voices dueting together in harmony. Now that they thought about it, they’ve never heard Four sing before. But hearing this now… It’s a wonder they haven’t heard it sooner.They shakily reached for the door knob, twisting it open as quietly as possible. They just had to see this.They peeked inside, met with the sight of Eight dancing along on the floor, and singing along with Marina’s vocals; as Four bounces atop the bed, taking over Pearl's vocals.  The song picked up, then gradually faded out, as Eight took over the vocals at this point, with Four attempting to keep up with Pearl’s rapping; albeit with an awkward delay to their timing.They also did not get the lyrics right. Like, at all.But it was still nice.The song drew to a close, with Eight’s voice reaching its peak, harmonious with Marina’s voice, as if she had been there with her.The two of them were surprisingly good at singing, even without proper training. Grim could feel envy crackling in their chest, recalling moments of being teased for singing along with their favorite songs. Recordings of themselves did not assist well in that either…It wasn’t meant to be, they decided ages ago.
They quickly ducked away from the crack in the door, quietly closing it in front of them.The two inside the room could be heard laughing, absolutely enthused by what they just did. Grim sort of wanted to join in with the two, but… Would it be weird..?They instead took a sip of their water, staring down into their cup.…OKAY. Fine, there’s no harm in at least asking. They hesitantly bring their back hand up to knock at the door, with 3 gentle taps against the wood. “Ah!”Eight’s startled shout came from the room. “You can come in..!”Four could be heard standing themselves up, their light footsteps tapping onto the wooden floors. Grim thinks they could understand that, opening the door once again and stepping inside the room.“Hello… Music?”They muttered, staring up at Eight and Four.“I join…?”Four giggles, nodding.“Seems we played our music a bit too loud! Yeah, come in Grim!”They hopped back up onto Eight’s bed, patting the sheets next to them.  Grim smiled, hurriedly running to Four’s side.“Thank you.”“O ‘course!”Four laughed, patting their shoulder. Eight nods with their hands clapping excitedly.“I am pleased to have you here.”She pulled up an ottoman from the corner of the room and took a seat. “By the ways, Four and I were in discussion, and that did lead to Four helping me with the name for me.”She smiled, unable to stay still from her excitement.“For now, I am trying out the name of Sunny!” Grim’s eyes lightened at the mention of the name, bouncing it about in their head. Sunny… It was practically a match made in heaven. Her unwavering bright and contagious positivity was like a beam of sunshine on a rainy day.The octoling nods in agreement, alternating their gaze between their two friends. “It is… Perfect.” Four’s feet swung in the air as they giggled.“I’m glad both of you liked it! It was a spur of the moment name, haha…” Sunny held onto Four’s hand with both hands, looking up to them.“It was a very good moment.”
“Ah–”They giggled, arm instinctively reaching to the back of their head as they struggled to hide their bashfulness. “You’re welcome..?!”Grim suddenly laughed at the sudden nervousness of their friend, a hand on their own cheek in adoration.“Your face red!” “H-Hey..!”Four whined, flailing a stray hand towards the tiny octopus, squeezing their eyes tightly shut and upturning their chin.“No it isn’t! I j-just don’t handle compliments well!”The octolings both giggled, Sunny placing a hand on her chest and taking in a deep breath.“Four, there is no reason to be embarrassed. You have many to be happy for.”She mutters thoughtfully. “Eh?”Four shrugs, picking at their face.“I suppose, yeah? Uhm…”They blow raspberries with their lips, staring across the room in thought. “It’s a little weird…”They began their sentence, yet drifting off mid thought.Grim tilts their head with a questioning hum.“What is?” “Well…”Four places their head into their hands, eyes fluttering closed.“On the topic of being happy, I guess I was having a hard time finding things to be happy about before joining the Squidbeak Splatoon. School is a lot, my studying has kept me from socializing much… I kind of grew up fast, so that kind of Isolated me from everyone as well.” They leaned onto Grim’s shoulder, cheek pressed against their arm. Four held onto the octoling’s hand for comfort as well.“I’m very glad I met you guys. I’m not really sure what I’d be doing by now if I didn’t meet you two. Certainly not listening to these cool songs, hahah!”Four admits, voice quieting the more they spoke. Sunny clasped her hands together, nodding understandingly.“I’m many the same! I do not know what I would be doing if I did not get here. I do feel sorrowful in leaving, I do wish I could have given a farewell.”She goes on to tuck a tentacle behind her ear, the limb curing up against her head.“But I’m not regretting it. I’m satisfied with this position currently, even if I have to learn lots about Inkopolis. The music I’m listening to is great. Very different from the octarian music, but good. Marina makes the good music too, she has a unique style.”Four laughed, head shaking in approval.“Glad we’re both on the same page there! Feels like all I know from my agent duties is octarian stuff! They were always playing the music over the speakers and radio transmissions. It’s nice to hear something else for a change.”Grim sort of tilts their head in interest, their hair flopping in front of their eye.“You two… Have the same song liking, yes? What if… Making music?” “Oh-”Four flailed their hands awkwardly.“E-Eh..? I don’t know about that..! That would be a lot… P-Plus, I don’t know a lick of music junk at all, hahah..!”Sunny shook their head in agreement.“I don’t know much of making the music as well. It is a little, how do you say… Intimidating?”She shrugged, a wince to her face.“It wouldn’t be the easy task, I think.” “In… Teemid?”Grim squints with a glaze in their eyes.“Um… Worth trying?”Sunny scratched at her chin in thought.“I suppose. I will see if Marina is able to help. She is good in many ways.” Sunny smiled fondly, looking at Four.“What are you thinking?” Four blinked in surprise.“Would that be possible? She wouldn’t mind teaching us, right..? Would that be cheating?”“Hmm?” Sunny tilts her head. “Cheating?”She crossed her legs, resting her arms atop her lap.“Being taught is not cheating.”“N-Nevermind, I’m just being silly, I suppose!”They laughed awkwardly.“I wouldn’t be against that idea, yeah…” “Delightful! I will bring up when there is a meeting with Marina.”The octoling smiled, clapping her hands excitedly.“I’m wanting to try the city. I will be coming along, when you are leaving.”“Huh-?”Four leant forward, mouth agape.“I thought you weren’t comfortable going out yet! Does that mean-”

Sunny shook her head, holding onto her shoulder and swaying in place. “The visit is not serious, no turf war.” She said, crossing her arms. “But I’m having some curiosity for Inkopolis.”  Grim laughed excitedly, hands flapping back and forth as they gleefully  bounced in place.“Will love Inko-polis! Very exciting, very fresh. Pearl and Marina news people, on TV.”They stared at the ceiling, thoughts dancing and twirling with the different sights of the city in their head.“I am happy. The city good. You will like.” “Hehehe.” Sunny’s laugh bounced in her throat, clinging onto her knees.“Now, I have no choice..!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Four squeezed their eyes tightly shut from a sunbeam poking through the leaves of a tree, extending a hand towards the source in an attempt to hide away from it.The violet colored octoling, Grim, held tightly onto Four’s other hand; a skip lightening their steps as they paced closely behind.Opposite of Grim stood Sunny, fitted together in probably the “freshest” (as they put it…) outfit she has in their closet. Mostly it’s borrowed gear; a striped sailor tee, cream hi-tops,  as well as a long yellow skirt; stretched down to her ankles.Four and Grim, meanwhile, were dressed rather casual, mainly sticking to solid colors and grey tones. Particularly, Grim had a large black beanie atop their head, both tentacles and ears tucked into it with just the front two sticking out. Their back tentacles were styled in a way to form 2 tiny backhairs, reminiscent of how inklings would wear their hair. They were also wearing a patterned mask over their face, but did prefer to leave it down when they weren’t in a public area.Four knew for a fact Grim didn’t want to stand out too much, as their appearance is generally quite striking in comparison to your average joe.The agent couldn’t help but mentally groan at the memory of the one time their friend went out with their hair loose, and then proceeded to be stopped by like 10 people that day asking about it, or assuming they were a celebrity of sorts. On the other hand, Four was completely fine with standing out, but they had woken up quite late today and just kind of… Threw on whatever was clean at the time.Now that they think about it, this shirt is probably their sibling’s? They certainly didn’t remember purchasing this Fugu tee… Yeesh. At least it’s clean.The sound of a nearby train slowing to a halt sent shivers down the octopus' spines, as Four pressed on, ever focused on the goal just in front of them.Given that their house was quite far from any civilization, Four would have to bring the others onto the train, much to their deepest dismay.Grim was much used to this song and dance at this point, but it definitely was not much easier by now. Sunny, meanwhile, hadn’t boarded a train since their great escape. Would she be okay? Four couldn’t help but worriedly ponder for their safety.They supposed there’s really not much of a choice but to find out. If Sunny was struggling, Four would be ready to try and at least distract her; like how Four’s siblings would if they were having a hard time. It wasn’t hard for them, at least not nowadays. The group made it to the station, Sunny hesitantly lagging behind as they entered. Thankfully, unlike the metro of the deep; this place was well lit, and very nicely decorated both inside and out. It did sort of detract from the “train station” feeling, which was much appreciated.However, that did not help when Sunny paused in front of the ticket check stations. Four hadn’t noticed right away, in fact; Grim had to grab their shirt and pull the cuttlefish back just so they wouldn’t run on ahead.Sunny had an odd, dazed expression, as she held her slightly crumpled ticket in hand, with her deep purple eyes locked intently on the scanner.Four frowned, noticing also a line beginning to form just shortly behind their friend; a mix of different creatures all here to just get to where they need, growing just a bit more irritated by the second.The inkling hastened to their friend in trouble, simply grabbing their wrist, and guiding it in front of the scanner as it beeps. When they hadn’t yet moved past the walls after they opened, Four pulled her past it by her wrists, situating the octoling a fair distance away from the stations.The trio stood in the main halls of the station, Grim swaying in place with their eyes averted from the tracks. Sunny had not moved much since getting past the ticket scan. “Hey,” Four leans in close, lowering their voice to a whisper. “How are you faring? Is everything okay?”She dryly swallows, hesitating a second before her lips move to speak. “I… Yeah, I will be a-alright, I think…” Her words came out much quieter than she had intended, but yet Four didn’t have any issue hearing.The pale green cuttlefish nods, brushing their tentacle away from their face. “Okay, I’m here for you if you need it.”Sunny gently nods. “Th...Thanks…”  The train ride was… Alright.If not uncomfortably silent.Four hadn’t minded the lack of talking, sometimes silent train rides could be relaxing; but it’d be honestly difficult to get at least a bit of rest knowing their traumatized friends were struggling to keep calm.They sighed. It was definitely much harder for the two of them than it was for themselves, Four noted mentally, biting the inside of their cheek.The squid ponders if there was maybe a bus route to the city instead of this, or maybe this was an opportunity to learn how to drive?Perhaps, that could potentially just become another traumatizing experience too, depending on how they are operating a car.Their nose wrinkled at the thought.Maybe until they’re old enough to drive…With a glance to the left, they’re greeted with Grim, who met their gaze in return.The octoling’s eyebrow lowered, carrying an uncertainness to their stare.Four only smiled, hand draped atop the other’s. Grim gave a tiny grin in return.To Four’s right, they turn to the veteran agent. Sunny did not return eye contact, her eyes focused on her hands, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. Her legs were crossed at the ankles, swaying back and forth rhythmically as she gently rocks in place. They considered speaking to her then. There was a familiarity to her movements, much like in the moments of four’s own stress, dealing with heavy workloads from school or dealing with 4 other siblings. A gentle tap on Sunny’s shoulder was enough to have her tense up and look at their friend with clouded confusion.  “Sun, what do you wanna do as soon as we get to Inkopolis?”

“Ah,” She raised her shoulder in a half shrug. “Er… I am not sure. I didn’t think of much.”“Then,” Four pulled their friend closer, arm wrapped around her shoulder. “I think we should check out the shoal! It’s a nice arcade place, and I think you’d like it! Besides… The shops won’t let you in yet since you’re… A newbie, who hasn’t played in any battles…”

“Heh..? For eel?” She frowned, her cut tentacle curling against her head. “Why???”

The inkling couldn’t help but chuckle awkwardly.“U-Um… I wish I could tell you... Not “fresh” enough, they’ll say.” Now that they thought about it. It was weird that they just… Straight up refuse service for those who aren't experienced in ink sports. Sunny’s mouth frowned in a slant, eyes drifting away in thought. “I… I was hoping to get clothing that would fit me better.” She said with a sigh.Four pondered this for a moment, biting their lip. That is disappointing, huh. Maybe they could go in with her? And just say ‘no, this one’s cool, actually!’ But they had no idea if that would work.“Oh!” Four exclaimed, punching into their own hand. “I know, I’ll just buy you what you like! You’ll be able to see into the shop, right? Just point out what you’d like, and I'll get it for you!”Sunny’s eyebrows raised, then they knit together. “Is that alright..? It isn’t a problem?”She then sank in her seat, holding at her own face. “I don’t think I am paying you back soon… I am unsure how to return your favors.”“Nah,” Four patted her back. “It’s my treat. You just enjoy yourself, okay?”Sunny stilled for a moment, as if in thought, then her face lightened with a smile, sitting herself upright once more. “Thank you. I will not forget.” The train’s intercom chimed with a pleasant tone, which was then taken over by the sound of a jellyfish’s voice through crackly speakers, announcing that the train would soon arrive at Inkopolis Square. Four nearly jumped out of their seat, clapping their hands excitedly as their body pressed up against Sunny’s shoulder, who only let out a small ‘huff’ in response.“We’re almost there, Sun! You’ll get to see how awesome it can be!”They got a giggle in a response, with Sunny’s hands pressed against her face as if trying to quiet herself.“I-I will!” The train slowed to a stop, as Four pressed their feet flatly on the ground to keep themselves from sliding in their seat. The pleasant tone played once more, as the speakers crackled to life once again; the jellyfish voice announcing that the train had now arrived at Inkopolis station. The trio quietly shuffled out of the train, with Four taking the lead; guiding the group off the train, amongst other passengers. Four practically sprung in place as they walked, their mind racing with all of the activities to be had in Inkopolis. The light of the sky shone down the dark staircase they were climbing; as they all made their way up to the front gate. Four then swung open the door in front of them, rushing ahead as the rest followed behind as quickly as possible.Then, as a smile cracked across their face, the inkling suddenly spun around on their heels, their arm outstretched in an introductory manner.“Well, Sunny, Welcome to Inkopolis!”  There the group stood at the edge of the square, a dark building with a white logo wrapped around its front was a familiar sight for the trio, even Sunny recalling such a thing in her imaginative endeavors within the deep sea metro.Next to it, a small urchin child sat with his phone, stacks of gem–like shells climbing as tall as he was. From the left it opens up further into the square.Sunny felt a strange rush of emotions speeding through her head as she took their first steps inside of the place. The loud booming music from every corner of the city, the uncountable number of unfamiliar faces scattered about like pigeons at a park, and colorful shops lining the right most side of the plaza; adorned with logos truly representative of the business. They could spot a few posters and murals out of the corner of her eye, seemingly hand painted by the various visitors and residents of this city, all adorned with charming, impressive, or strange artwork and messages.“Try not to pay too much mind to those, by the way,” Sunny’s eyes direct away from the artwork as Four interjects. “They can be cool, but sometimes they could have some real weird stuff on it too. Try not to be unsettled or anything, haha!” They tuck a tentacle behind their ear as they spoke. Sunny only giggled, scratching at the back of her head. “If those are the unsettling work… I think the graffiti I see on the train is more… disturbing.” “Ah… Yikes, fair enough, I guess!”Four awkwardly puffed out their cheeks. Their hands balled into fists as the squid pressed them into their own hips. “But enough of that, let’s go check stuff out! I’m sure it’s a lot for a greenie like yourself!”“My ink is red–” She could barely suppress a startled gasp as she’s suddenly pulled towards the center of the plaza, as Four pointed directly north, towards the dark advertisement-filled tower standing tall above the duo.
“That right there, is Deca tower. That’s where all of your battling needs can be met. Turf wars, ranked battles, league, and much more.” The inkling counted off their fingers as they explained.
“However, since we’re taking things one step at a time; we don’t have to rush into anything immediately, so instead…-” The agent directs Sunny’s gaze towards a small building, with large colorful arcade machines sat both in and out of the building.There, a purple inkling with long hair and a baggy hat stood there playing an arcade on their lonesome. “-Let’s take a look at the shoal. That should be a nice place to hang out while you get your bearings.” Four snapped their fingers as they bounded onwards towards the entrance. “Plus, if you’re curious, they also offer tours of the different battling stages! We can go together, you, Grim, and I-”They suddenly pause mid thought, glancing around.“Wait, where’s Grim?” Sunny’s ears perk at this, prompting them to also search around the area in search of the violet octopus. “I didn’t catch them leaving… Maybe separated in the train station..?” She hesitantly points towards the northeastern corner of the plaza.Four didn’t resist letting out a frustrated groan, tightly crossing their arms around their chest. “I’ll go look for them. Sunny, you can chill out inside,” They pointed to the front door, legs already moving as they spoke.“There’s AC, and if you’ve got some spare G, then there’s snacks too, OkaynowIgottagoBYE–”They barely blurt out as they quickly dip out of earshot, immediately picking up their pace into a light jog back towards the train station exit. Sunny took in a deep breath, nodding to herself as she walked herself into the building Four pointed to. Their skirt only grazed against the ground, feeling the pleats waving gently in the wind.As they entered through the front door, the sound of muffled techno music rises in clarity as it wafts out of the doorway.The first step inside immediately introduced her to the general atmosphere of the place. The lights were a gentle green and pink, as the place was warm with electricity, and the building smelled faintly of fried food, sugar, and greasy carpet.There were many jellyfish inside, one at the front counter, while others stood further into the arcade in their assigned positions.The carpet was a unique pink and green checkerboard pattern alternating throughout the building, but yet separated at the general seating area where there was instead black tiles, and sleek leather couches, divided up by a white coffee table. The place was generally pretty empty, save for a few jellyfish employees, and the occasional inkling child with their siblings or parents.So the octoling didn’t feel too much like a stranger in the place, for once. She opted to take a seat in the leather couches, a surprised grunt escaping from her as she noted the surprising level of comfort these brought.As soon as she settled in her spot, her ear twitched as the door opened with a gentle creak, which was a wonder as to how she even heard it over all of the music. The same purple inkling from the entrance had walked in, seemingly after something, eyes scanning across the area. Sunny could feel the heat raising beneath their collar, seeking out potential escape routes and hiding areas out of instinct alone. It wasn’t until she made eye contact with the squid, who gave her a friendly smile as soon as they spotted her, that Sunny remembered she was no longer supposed to associate them as the enemy.As quickly as she was on full alert, she settled back down into calmness.The inkling calmly and casually approached the other, the pompom on their hat bouncing along with their steps. They lean across the opposite end of a chair, directly across from Sunny.“Hi, your outfit is so so so cute!” Her voice was bright and bubbly, with just a touch of deepness to it. “Where’d you get it?” She flashed a big, toothy smile, as her amber orange eyes squinted till they were just barely open.  Sunny was definitely caught just a bit off guard with the question, stammering over her words as she came up with a response, attempting to force her grammar into place even more than usual. “I-I, er, it was a present… From a friend. I don’t know where it comes from… Sorry.”The inkling only waved her hands dismissively as she shakes her head.“No no, don’t apologize!”She exclaims, her hand falling back down to rest at her side. “I was only curious, that’s all..! It’s like, super fresh!”Then, her eyes gazed up and down, as if assessing the rest of their body.“Hmm… Though, you’re not from around here, am I right?” Sunny awkwardly bit at her lip. ‘ Shit, ’   She thinks.‘ I was figured out immediately… ’Her eyes once again dart towards the exits, noting the large red “exit” signs suspended above them. “I… I am, yes.” She could only mutter the words. “What is it..?”The octoling expected the inkling to act rude, or maybe even disgusted, perhaps even making a scene out of the fact that she was an octoling; but instead, the stranger only laughed, circling around the chair to take a seat in it.“I knew it..! I can spot a greenie from like, a mile away!” She exclaims, crossing a leg over the other. “Don’t worry, I remember my first time in Inkopolis, too! You’ll fit right in, I promise!” Ah, that’s what she meant…“My ink isn’t… Um, don’t mind me,” Sunny tilts her head with a slight frown.“I see… Well, how are you sure I’m unfamiliar with these lands?” The inkling crossed her arms, ear twitching as she noticed another jellyfish entering the building.“It’s written all over ya, and the way you speak. No offense, it’s just like… You’re kinda funny soundin’? Sorry if that doesn’t like, make any sense.” Sunny only nodded, not taking offense at all to the statement, only taking in the words with great consideration. “Don’t worry… Um. Your name is..?”She ends the statement with a rising tone, squinting an eye as she grits her teeth. “Ah-!” The stranger slaps at her own face.“Sorry again! Forgot to introduce myself! It’s Alex, spelt with an X.”She crossed her arms into an “X” shape to demonstrate.“What about you?” “Sunny,”She quickly responded with a smile, as if speaking the name alone was enough to brighten her day.“It is of great delight to meet you, yes.” “Sunny~!”Alex sang, clapping her hands eagerly.“What a beautiful name, Sunny! I’d love something as pretty as that as my name! Gotta say, I’m like, a bit jealous of you..~!”She giggles as she leant forward in her chair.“By the way… If you’d like, since you’re new here, I could team up with you for a turf battle, if you’d like! Show ya like, all the ropes and stuff?”

Sunny felt goosebumps rising on her skin as she awkwardly shakes her head.“I-I appreciate your offerings, but I want to be here to look. I don’t want turf war, do you see?”Alex nods, scratching at her head with a nervous laugh.“Forget I mentioned it, then..! Sorry, I got like, real excited at the thought of introducin’ someone to turf wars for a moment!” This girl apologizes a lot, Sunny mentally notes. She thought she was bad enough with it, but this has been practically every other sentence. It was kind of impressive, almost.She'll probably have to reassure Alex that there’s no need for such an insistent number of apologies.“I’m understanding…” She only sighed, a bead of ink sweat falling down her cheek.“I… I was here with friends, but one got lost; so um. I’m waiting here for when they are back. It may be some time. Oh, I should have went with them; thinking now…”Alex frowns, brushing her tentacle aside to lean onto her own shoulder.“Hope they’re found! It shouldn’t be too bad findin’ someone here. It’s not like this is the splatlands, or whatevs…” “No,"Sunny shakes her head. “It was only the train station; the worst that would happen is that… Um, they were put into the wrong train? But I do not–, I don’t… Think that has happened.”She couldn’t help but cringe at herself at the slipup. The Inklish language was simple enough, sure, but… She’s still working on it. “Oh god, hope not! It’s scary being lost in a completely different place than you’re s’pposed to be!” She exclaimed, scratching at her ear.“But if you say it’s likely not that, then that’s good…”She giggled with an unusual timidness in her voice. Sunny couldn’t help but chuckle just a little as well.“Yes, I’m sure it’s okay. Not to go on that, though… Um, are there... ‘Hot tips’, for this place..?”She air quotes as she says that.“Well, you’ve got an experienced friend with you, right? I’m sure they’d be like… Much more helpful than I could.”She leans back into the chair; staring up towards the ceiling with a thoughtful gaze. “All I gotta say, if you manage to find a ticket, the Crust Bucket is suuuper yummy. Rumor says; some of the dishes will increase the amount of cash you’d get, or make you stronger than usual.”She then cups her hand around her mouth as if trying to keep a secret, giggling.“It’s pretty much the truth, honestly. Just note… It’s mainly for like, battling, not for general day-to-day life. You won’t be findin’ cash suddenly in the streets, or gettin’ a bonus when you’re doin’ a job.”Sunny nods, as if genuinely considering this advice.  ‘So it’s just another thing involving battles, it seems…’ She thought, feeling a sense of disappointment wash over her. “Thank you, I will keep that on mind…” Alex opened her mouth to speak, but as she did so, the door suddenly swung open. Upon noticing Sunny’s sudden perk to her expression, she swung her head around to take a look at the entrance as well; tentacles swinging in the air with the movement.There finally entered Four, with a giggly Grim in tow, who was awkwardly rubbing at the back of their head. Their ears twitched as if they were a cat’s ears as they looked at Sunny and Alex, then raising an eyebrow.Sunny quickly got herself out of her seat, dusting herself off as she stood up.“There you are, Grim..!”She runs along to join the rest of the group, staring questioningly towards the inkling. “Where were they?”“Bathroom, supposedly.”Four replied with a huff, patting their friend’s shoulder.“They said they were gonna catch up, so there really wasn’t much to worry about, haha!”They conclude with a laugh, now shifting their gaze towards the newcomer. “Oh, by the way; who were you talking with?”  Sunny turned towards the other inkling, raising an arm towards her in an introductory manner. “That is Alex, she is liking my outfit.” She remarked with a smile.The inkling’s eyes lightened with a sparkle, as she scrambles out of her seat to meet with the rest of the group. “Hi hi, yeah! That would be me! Are you like, Sunny’s friends?”“Yep, that would be us!”Four’s laugh bubbled out of their throat.“I wasn’t really expecting Sunny to be talking with someone else on her own, I guess she’s a bit more sociable than I expected.”Their elbow jabs at Sunny’s ribs, who awkwardly laughed with a pink tint to her cheeks. Grim sort of tilts their head, opening their mouth to speak, but then closing it with a frown, glancing off.Sunny had just barely noticed the expression, turning towards Grim. She shrugs, patting their shoulder reassuringly with a hand. “ We’ll all chat later, yeah? ”Sunny spoke with hushed Octarian, just quiet enough for only Grim to hear. The other only nodded, staring back at the group, simply observing as they chatted.

Eventually, with the group getting to know each other a bit better, and Alex letting them know where to meet them, they finally left the shoal to explore more of Inkopolis Square.“I’m here all the time, playin’ Squid Jump 2! Just gimme a holler if y’all spot me!” She had said at the time. Now, Sunny found herself with her nose pressed against the clothing shop’s windows, scanning about and seeing what was in stock.Four, meanwhile, lingered only a step behind the octoling, smirking with mild amusement as Sunny stared with unwavering intrigue. “I didn’t know they have octarian gear here…”She pointed at a purple t-shirt with square Octarian text, which also came with octopus wristbands. “I was thinking that was… taboo?” Sunny only slightly whispered to herself, glancing at Four.“Oh, yeah that.”Four only nods, adjusting their ponytail with a tongue sticking out in concentration.“That had always been around, as far as I know. I have a set myself, so I can get that for you if you’d like?” Sunny nods quickly, looking back to the store.“I’m wanting nearly everything.. But that is too much?”Four blew a raspberry with their tongue, waving their hand dismissively.“Don’t worry about the price, I’ve got a lot of G on me. I’m not looking into saving for anything either, so you’re free to ask me for pretty much anything.” “For eel?” Sunny turned back to the Inkling in astonishment.“Thank you! In this case… I like the pink stripe… the octo shirt… and the… Colorful one!”She points to a pink easy stripe shirt, an octo tee, and a takoroka windcrusher. “Oki doki!”The inkling winks with a big thumbs up, quickly departing into the shop.Sunny felt the impulse to turn away, suddenly concerned with coming across as a lurker.While turning away, her eyes fixated towards their ever silent friend, Grim, who was enjoying themselves a mocha drink from the Crust Bucket. “ Grim, you got anything you wanna do once Four and I have wrapped up here? ” Sunny asks in Octarian, her arms crossed around her back, with her tentacles curling and swaying rhythmically side to side.Grim delayed their response, due to having a mouthful of their drink and needing to swallow it down.“ I really wanna battle. I’ve been ready all day to do that! ”They responded with a grin, swiping a bit of mocha off their face with their sleeve.“ I just got my hands on the octobrush, and I’m really excited to try it out! Seems fun. I liked the inkbrush, but it’s a bit rough on the shoulders. ” “ Inkbrush, ey? I used that a few times… Fun weapon! ”Sunny recalled the various tests she went through via the DSM. Plus, the training she received when serving in the military. She doesn’t remember it much, but they’re sure it’s internalized by now.“ I get what you mean by that; though. I’d be a little tired after using it for the first few times, but you do get used to it. ”“ Yeah! I’m sure you’re familiar with Octobrushes too, but yeah… I’ve picked it up recently, and when I was testing it out it definitely felt a lot better than inkbrush. ”They sigh, pressing their hand against their hip.“ I’ll have to get used to the new kit, though. I kinda liked splashdown, as rough as it can be, hah. ” “ Kit? ” Sunny’s lips pursed as she curiously stares towards their friend.“ What’s that? ”Grim raised their eyebrow with a small chuckle. “ Oh, uh. They’re the sub weapon and special weapon combo that your weapon comes with. Octobrush has autobomb as its sub, and inkjet as its special. ”Sunny gasps suddenly.“ Oh, is that what it’s called? I was always just handed whatever I needed to get the job done. It wasn’t always specific to the weapon… ”The violet octoling nodded in understanding.“ Yeah, you can’t really change it either. But… There’s other versions of the weapon; like the one made by Kensa, where they change the kit it comes up with. If I remember right… Kensa made a brush that had suction bomb… ”Grim takes in another long sip from their drink, eyes glued to the sky in thought. “ And a special I can’t remember. It might be Tenta missiles? Don’t quote me on that, please. ” “ Ah… Sounds like an intense weapon, I’m sure that’d win lots of matches. ”Sunny mused, coming to the conclusion of not wanting to be on the opposite side of that weapon.Then again… Who wants to be the victim of a Tenta missile user? Certainly not her, that’s for damn sure.Sunny also noted that Grim… If you let them, was quite the talker. If they were better at inklish, she’d be certain that it would be impossible to talk over them.The thought, strangely, put a smile on her face. It’s nice, having friends who can just endlessly ramble on about what they liked. It’s nice to just listen, sometimes.

It wasn’t meant to last, though; with Four exiting the store with a single bag in tow, holding it up to Sunny, beaming. “Here ya go!”Sunny turned towards the inkling with sparkling eyes, her mouth slightly agape as she reached for the bag.“Thank you, Four! You are awesome!”She thanks the cuttlefish, giggling as she holds it close to her chest.
“Of course! My treat.”Four only crossed their arms, with their chest puffed out.“Oh, by the way.”Their posture gradually shifts back to its standard position, somewhat hunched down.“What were you and Grim talking about?”Grim’s top tentacles twitched, pointed in the direction of Four. “You notice?”Their head tilts to the side.Four nods quickly.“Yeah, only by the corner of my eye though.”“Ah, okay.”Grim’s head straightens back up as their hands clasped together.“Not much. Only weapons… I talk about the Octobrush, Sunny listens.”They gestured towards Sunny as they spoke.The octoling in question shook her head in confirmation.“Yeah…” “Cool! Okay, now that we’ve got this all worked out…” Four began, turning towards Deca tower.“Sunny, wanna watch some matches?”They jabbed their thumb towards the lobby, elbowing Grim in the process, who straightened up quickly with wagging and swaying tentacles."Yes! Please watch! Will be fun!"Grim exclaims, nearly crushing their drink cup in excitement. Sunny stares up to the glimmering tower, her arms fidgety as she considers the offer."As long as it's just watching, sure... Why not?" She concludes, crossing her arms with a faux confident nod.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

And so, Sunny agreed to only watch them do some battles, with four stating they should begin with a few turf war matches to “warm up” with. She wasn’t sure what to expect going into this, but she sure wasn’t expecting to be handed a drone, maneuvering it around as she stood on the sidelines. It was a neat little thing, with a small camera on the device, and a large screen on the controller. After being given a quick lesson on its use by a staff member, she had her sights focused on her friends as they spawned in. The drone automatically panned across the stage, with an overlay with text reading: “Mode: Turf War”, with “Ink the most turf to win!” directly below that. On the bottom right, the stage’s name was “Port Mackerel.” The stage itself seemed sort of tight, but yet she recalls training here once before. The crates offered great flank and coverage opportunities.‘ A fine arena, ’ She thinks.The team all emerged from the respawn pad, shaking their heads as red-orange ink droplets flew off from their faces. Grim hefts their new, lightly used Octobrush onto their shoulder, smirking as they stare out towards the battle field.Four meanwhile, equipped with a bright orange N-Zap, stared towards the drone with a cool smirk.She quickly takes a glance to the other teammates;A long haired inkling with a pair of pink Dapple dualies, and another inkling with spiky hair holding a Heavy Splatling.The splatling user only stared ahead with a confident grin. On the other hand, the long haired inkling twirled her dualies in her hands, adjusting its grip to make sure they were comfortable.Now wait a minute… That looks a little like Alex! The same outfit, too, with her bobble hat and pink striped shirt… It’s undoubtable!‘ Huh! ’ Sunny thinks as she hums in amusement. ‘ What a funny coincidence! ’The screen then snapped to another camera on the opposite side of the arena. The other team adorned with cyan ink emerged from their respective respawn pad.This team was kitted out with a Splat Charger, a Carbon Roller Deco, a .52 Gal, and a Tri-Slosher.A fairly even match… Should be interesting.Ready…The teams brace themselves.Grim gets into a running start position. Sunny bit her lip in anticipation.GO!The orange team immediately starts firing, covering their turf with their weapons. The splatling was very careless with their coverage, making sure to cover at least some of their turf, but clearly just wishing to get to the center already. Meanwhile, Grim has already taken a running start out of their base, leaving behind an ink trail with their Octobrush as they weaved in between the multi-colored crates, quickly making their way towards the enemy’s turf.Sunny opted to keep her drone on the octoling, curious to see what the game plan was. They were running as quickly as their short legs would allow, which was surprisingly quick. She noted the run speed up badges stacked on their beanie on screen.Then at the same time, they both spotted cyan ink by their feet, Grim quickly halting their sprint and swimming back in their tracks. Their enemy was quick to initiate combat, tossing a burst bomb towards the octoling, who was quickly forced out of their ink.In a panic, Grim started frantically swinging the Octobrush with all their might, whilst the Carbon attempted to weave past their ink, slamming their roller against the stained concrete in retaliation.And all in an instant, both of their bodies burst apart in the opposite colored ink in a worthless trade.As if on cue, the opposing Tri-slosher showed up in the spot of their battle, cleaning up after their mess.Sunny only sighed, taking her drone away to focus on Four, ear twitching from a frustrated shout as Grim respawns.Four was quite the thorough painter, even making sure to get any blank spots in the corners and various gaps of fire.She noted their special was already almost ready, the Tenta Missiles. Four kept on moving, painting through the left flank path, being as generous with their ink as they could.
Then, their eyes started to sparkle, tentacles shaking as if being hit with a heavy wind, and their ink practically glowed against the sunlight. In an instant, they pull out two large Missile launches, stocked full of soda bottles of ink. They take aim… And fire.Missiles showered out of the launcher, scattering about the sky as they trained onto their assigned target. A few seconds passed, and in the distance, explosions could be heard.A distant yell dissipated into the air, then an elimination marker appeared on screen.Dang, lucky!Four quickly pumped a fist in the air in victory, and proceeded along their way covering ground as they went.Four only continued on their turfing spree, quite particular about getting every little thing. So Sunny decided to switch to focusing on Alex now, curious of her playstyle.Alex was quite quick on her feet, making sure to paint around her, but quickly running into the center as soon as she could. She was in the middle of painting a sponge for a future escape route when she was suddenly flanked by the .52 Gal. She shouts as if startled, and rolled away towards the right, further moving herself into the direct center. She shot straight towards the shooter, dashing closer while just evading their gunfire. The .52 was unable to keep up with her movements, being downed almost immediately.She sighs a breath of relief, continuing onto her painting, before placing a beakon right in a nice hidden spot in front of her. Then she continued onwards, sneaking through crates and keeping hidden in the shadows (and ink). Sunny noticed a charger’s beam from across the stage was hovering near her, and she nearly shouted for Alex to watch out, before realizing that there was no way for her to hear. Then she notices Grim moving past her, zigzagging their pattern as the laser starts swaying back and forth in an attempt to keep up.Seems this charger is inexperienced, thankfully for Alex and Grim.She only chuckled with amusement seeing the way the line bounced around the clearing.She quickly refocuses onto Grim, curious to see if they make it to the charger in one piece.As they do, Grim narrowly dodges a strike from the changer. As they approached their perching spot, they tossed in an auto bomb, causing the charger to swim away from it, body glowing within the ink.With a panicked leap, they jump away onto the left path of the map. However, they fumbled the leap. Grim. now situated right behind then goes in and starts swinging.The charger suddenly twists their entire body around to directly face their attacker, and fires, splatting them instantly. Ouch… Grim could only say as their spirit gets dragged back towards the respawn pad.Sunny sighs, shaking her head. 
‘You win some, you lose some.’
She reasoned.
‘Could’ve done well to notice they were holding a charge, too.’
She couldn’t help but mentally criticize their technique, brain filled with memories of weapon information and skills.Back to Four…Four was closing in on the inner area, but was quickly targeted by the splat charger as well. In addition, Sunny noticed the Tri-slosher closing in as well.Clearly uncertain of how to deal with this, Four began retreating, firing back towards their nearest opposer.However, their weapon just wasn’t quite cooperating and practically curved around the Slosher user as if their weapon just decided to not work with him at that second. When all hope seemed lost, suddenly a bright orange beam rushed past him, but it wasn’t the charger’s beam.They turned around to spot their teammate, the heavy splatting user, who finally got their stingray. They were now making quick work of both opponents at once. The slosher was caught off guard and immediately taken out, but the charger had the foresight to move, just barely out of the reach of the ray’s slow turning.However, the stage is quite narrow, and all it took was being blocked by the forklift, driving in their path at the wrong time.Soon enough, they also went down.Four exclaims an approving “Booyah!” to their teammate, who only nods approvingly in return.Four proceeded on with painting, who quickly got to their second round of missiles, firing towards the remaining two opponents.Sunny switches back to Alex, seeing that she had survived the charger from earlier, maybe she snuck away successfully. She was now breaching into the enemy’s territory, the sound of ink missiles to her right giving her the heads up that someone was near.Tucking herself into another corner just out of sight of everyone, she places another beakon.As she went on to sneak off, a point sensor’s markings wrapped around her feet, immediately exposing herself to everyone in the fight.She quickly swims off the direction she came, turning to look towards the source of the point sensor. It was the .52 gal, slowly painting towards her.Alex quickly rolled herself away from the attacker, realizing quickly they both outrange and out damage her. She tucked herself away behind a crate, opening up her map and frantically clicking onto her spawn point. She starts to charge up for a super jump, a pause… The .52 is getting closer… Yet she narrowly escapes just before they start to fire.The opponent only sighed, continuing on painting and destroying her beakons as they spotted them on their map.Unfortunate. At least she survived, though. And she’s very close to getting her special too.Going back to Grim, maybe this time they’ve learned that rushing in with no plan doesn’t always work out…Grim had super jumped to Four’s  spot, the two exchanging a nod as Grim pressed on ahead once more.They immediately run head first into the .52, the octobrush bouncing away from the contact. They couldn’t help but yelp as if startled, and immediately threw down an autobomb and started swinging.It seems the .52 also was caught off guard, sluggishly swinging around to face them and beginning to fire. At this point it seems their aim couldn’t get it together, barely missing most of their shots.It seems finally, brute force had won this battle, the autobomb exploding just as Grim splats their foe. They sigh in relief, finally. A splat.The octoling ducked into their ink, recovering their ink tank. That last battle really set them back a lot.“LET’S GOOO!” Four suddenly shouts from nearby, jumping happily in place that their friend had finally gotten a kill.Sunny couldn’t help but laugh, a hand pressed to her face with a laugh of amusement. It was very sweet how supportive Four could be for their friends.The inkling ceased their cheering and continued on painting, climbing onto the crates with the forklift’s ramp, only to notice the charger was right on their level.Quickly, they began to assume an evasive stance, but arrows started to surround their feet as Alex’s name flashed beneath them.Oh no… Not now!Uncertain what to do, Four begins to run towards the charger, hoping that their body will be enough distraction from their super jumping teammate.The charger kept firing, barely missing their shots as Four began to swerve and jump around their beams. The backliner’s inexperience was showing once more, all to the advantage of Four.Four threw an autobomb, the robot slowly crawling towards the Charger as they swam off, glowing as they held their charge.But they did not jump away, they leapt into the air instead, pointing their charger straight towards Four. Four couldn’t see it coming as they suddenly exploded into ink, thanks to a perfect shot directly to their face.Ouch…But, it seems that the autobomb did well to tide the situation over to the orange team’s side.As it began to swell up, the charger scrambled to try and escape its blast as it exploded, taking them down with it as they croaked a dismayed cry of defeat.Alex landed, rolling to the side with a dodge roll, but immediately realizing no one was there, thanks to Four’s sacrifice. She makes quick work of covering any painted ground, placing beakons in different hiding spots of choice.She noticed the splatling on her team was using them, making sure to place them in better backline positions for them.A minute has passed, and the battle was practically neck to neck the entire time.
Alex did not go down once, being a master of evasion and stealth. She was on top of keeping the beakons down and opening the door for her teammates' recovery.Grim was still just as reckless as ever, but those beakons helped a ton for the many many times they’ve run straight into the line of fire and paid the consequence for it. At the very least, they were still getting plenty of trades and doing well to distract the opponents as the rest of the team would come in to clean up after them.Four was good with keeping a supportive role, painting over the holes left behind, keeping missiles at check, and occasionally splating the trespassers.The one that really carried the whole match though was the splatling. They were incredibly skilled, keeping most of team Cyan in check with well placed bullets.They were a chronic map checker too, so each time one of their sprinklers would hit one of the enemies, they were right on their tail. They were incredibly skilled, only really going down 2 times from the charger, who outranged them. The last few minutes passed, and the battle was still as heated as it started. At the last few seconds, Four decided it was enough to cease their painting and just go all in on the opponents. They pushed and pressured them inwards with their autobombs and missiles. When the Tri-slosher attempted to surprise them, they were quick to evade and take them down before much damage could be done.Alex kept right on their tail as well, dodge rolling and attempting to be a nuisance. The charger was pointed right at her, attempting to take her down. The rolls proved to be too overwhelming as well, especially followed up with another autobomb from Four chasing them out of their place. Grim burst past the two front lining teammates, screaming “ THAT’S MY JOB! ” as they ran straight up to the Carbon Roller. The roller attempts to throw a burst bomb, but they were too careless with their ink earlier. Instead, they opted to try and crush them beneath their weapon’s weight.This time, Grim strafed sideways and barely breezed past the weapon’s line of destruction.They hastily swung their brush, and the roller was quickly overwhelmed and taken down.Alex started to glow as her special activated, pulling out what resembled a batting toy filled with gacha-pon subweapons, all filled with suction bombs that would be drawn out as they fired.She starts making it rain with suction bombs, scattered across the enemy’s base as they stick to the floor, walls, sides of crates, the forklift, and near the remaining enemies.10.9.8.7.6…One by one they all explode one after another, bringing forth a wide spread of explosions, covering the ground, walls, and most importantly, the enemy team. The team was quickly overwhelmed, unable to stand in a safe spot not covered by a suction bomb. One tried swimming away, one backed off, and the other started to strafe in place. Yet all one by one they too went down with the bombs, a full wipeout following suit.5.4.3.2.1.The battle ends, caution tape filling the screen as every player pauses in place. The map shows an overwhelming ratio of orange to cyan filling the screen, like sand in a low tide beach.Sunny cheers, bouncing excitedly in place as she watches Judd and lil Judd make their judgment.Though, it probably wasn’t even necessary. The winner was clear.
Judd raised his arm, an orange flag waving proudly in the air as Orange claimed their victory.“That was excellent!”Sunny exclaims, running up to the victorious team. Four and Grim were excitedly high-fiving each other, jumping in place as Grim excitedly shouts. “Awesome! Awesome! So awesome!”Alex ran up to Sunny as soon as she spotted them, grinning wide. “You were watching that? I was wondering who was flying that drone! Hope I was like, real impressive!” She laughed, holding her face.Sunny smiled earnestly, nodding along to her words. “Yes, yes! You were quite impressive. Your dodges were very good, and the beakons were very assistive. You and the heavy splatling made the good team!”“What about me?” Grim shouts, running up to Sunny as they push past Alex, who makes a startled yelp. “Was I good? I got splats!” Sunny could only giggle, crouching to their level. “You did great!” She ruffled their fins as they yelled in protest. “You were quite careless, though! But it does well with the distracting of the other team, so that does count!”Four walks up to Sunny as well, smiling wide enough to show their gums. “I know it’s a little cheap, but those missiles did well against them, right?”Sunny nodded in response. “Yes, I would be quite intimidated if put up against you.”She suddenly felt a strange, pit-in-stomach sensation as the words left their mouth.
Maybe her former comrades felt that way too.
Feeling a little short of breath, she steps backwards a little from the group as she stands themselves upright.That’s… Right.It never really crossed their mind until just now, that this little kid was probably the last thing many had seen before… Permanently retiring .Her entire body shook with a cold chill, climbing itself up their spine.How could someone be so young, yet…?It’s not like she blamed them for it, no. She blamed war itself. Four didn’t know what they had done until it was done. But yet they did it anyway. Regardless of awareness, innocence, whatever; they still…Killed them.“Sunny?”
Alex’s voice cut through her thoughts, grounding her back into reality.She stood in front of her, tapping gently against Sunny’s arm.“S-Sorry.” Sunny shook her head, waving her hand dismissively. “I wasn’t paying attention, don’t worry.”Alex swayed side to side, arms now crossed behind her back as she started up at the octoling. “If you say so! The splatling is still here, if you wanna chat with them as well? You mentioned them being a great teammate!” Alex turned around, pointing across the lobby at the spiky haired inkling packing up their weapon in a backpack carrying case.Sunny blinked towards the inkling, lips pursed as she awkwardly shrugged. “I’m sure they have got somewhere to go. I will not.”Honestly? She’d really rather not interact with people right now.“That’s a-okay! I’ll go and say you said hi, at least! That’s okay, right?” She smiled, amber eyes glittering in the light.“Sure…”Without another word, Alex skipped off towards the heavy splatling user, as Sunny crossed her arms.Four walks up to Sunny, and they hug onto her arm, swaying in place. “Sun? Why’d you go silent suddenly there? Did I say something?”Yes? No… Kinda.She didn’t know what to answer. Instead, she shook her head, moving her arm to hold onto Four’s hand and giving it a comforting squeeze.“I’m okay.”Grim frowned, pointing at Sunny with a pouty expression as their fins flattened against their head.“ You’re lying to us. You look sad. ”The octoling spoke in octarian, hugging their weapon close.“ You say don’t worry, but you’re making me even more worried. ”Sunny only stared sadly back at Grim, shaking her head.“ I’ll survive. You kids just have fun, okay? ”
And she smiled, letting go of Four’s hand, and walking past the young inkfish, out of the lobby and into the elevator.The  two both look at each other, frowning.Four tilts their head, crossing their arms as their eyes move between the exit and Grim.“Can you tell me what she said?”Grim sighed, gesturing for Four to follow as they walked to the locker rooms, Octobrush hoisted up on their shoulder.“Said to play. I don’t want to. Worried.” Four nodded in understanding, following shortly after Grim as they dipped away quickly towards their locker, opening it, picking out a galaxy patterned weapon carrying case and tucking away their gun. Then, they zip it up and tuck it beneath their arm.Grim simply just put the octobrush into a case, putting it back into their locker, not wishing to carry it with them for the time being.The two quickly departed to the elevator, leaving Alex behind.Yeah.Yeah…That’s right, Sunny was friends with the agents.And…The agents… Weren’t always seen as great people from her side of the story.Of course, she’s well familiar with the consequences of war.She was a soldier too, and while they were never quite willy-nilly with violence, there was still some bloodshed involved in the field. It’s basically a rite of passage.More than anything, she was a pawn in part of protecting what was left, and even striving to one day reestablish their rightful spot on the land, forever escaping the dimly lit underground.Sunny wasn’t a stranger to the action of ending one’s life.Unfortunately, she’s gotten plenty of practice with getting numb to the idea of death in the metro, too. Maybe that’s why it never quite hit her, the reality of the situation, until she actually stopped to think about it.It sickened her that she couldn’t help but see them as numbers rather than people.Maybe it’s because of the fact that she didn’t know them at all.Maybe it’s the fact that she hardly remembers life before becoming the Agent 8.Maybe she just didn’t care.Sunny kicked a tiny aluminum can away from their foot, as it rolled down the alleyway she stood in. The taste of smoke hit her tongue and nose, while the sound of the townspeople’s excited chatters quieted to just a gentle background hum.It’d been a little while since Sunny left behind Deca tower, leaving them with time to just… Think.They didn’t really know if Grim and Four actually continued playing.Knowing Grim, probably not. That kid could be stubborn if they wanted to be.Her mind cut between vague, incomplete images of faint fuzzy memories of a time long past.A bright, yet mechanical glow, illuminating her hometown. The flicker of delay between each of the lights as they turn on, one by one. Stood still in place, fidgeting in place as the world around her woke from its slumber, up one by one. “ The glow of the sun brings forth a new day.
Although it was fake, it is what you make
of that reality with what you say. ”Sunny whispered the words to herself, fishing into her skirt’s pockets and pulling out a small notepad and pencil.She flipped it open, scribbling down the words she spoke, followed with a small doodle of the sun in the bottom right corner.Poetry was good for pulling together her vague memories. It almost came naturally to her, but she wondered if she had time to pursue her practice in the midst of training and battle.An army’s hard fought battle against a small team of one.Oh, how humiliating that an army of elite soldiers was so easily taken down…Not just once, but twice? By two different young, inexperienced soldiers? Ones who barely even picked up a gun in their life? What were they feeding the inklings up there, huh? Is that the power of hope? To keep fighting till you persevere?Till the day is won and you can go back home to a happy life?If that’s the case, no wonder she decided to come up here, too.She wondered what it was like down there. Maybe Grim would know.Grim hated their past life, too.It just wasn’t fair to subject the kid to that kind of topic, though.It was best for Grim to finally live out their dreams on the surface.To live, to love… And to lose. Like any young kid should in a comfortable life.Unshackled completely by military propaganda, and the sirens of looming wartime ringing in both ears.Sunny only slightly envied the unique opportunity.But, enjoying the true sunlight and its comforting warmth as an adult wasn’t so bad either.She quietly released the breath she didn’t realize she was holding, tentacles swaying as the wind began to pick up.I guess what she was thinking was simply just that the circumstances of each of their lives were unfortunate.And Sunny couldn’t deny that all of them were just standing around with blood stained hands, including herself.

“Sunny.”The octoling twitched towards the source of the voice, a small violet octoling meeting her gaze.“Oh, Grim.” She relaxed, crouching down to their level. “ Hey. Sorry for departing like that. I just needed… Some fresh air. ”Grim shook their head, holding onto Sunny’s arm. “ Nevermind that. Hey. Are you upset at Four? ”Sunny’s eyes widened as her face twisted into an expression of bewilderment.“ No, never. Why? What gave off that impression? ”Grim frowned, fins twitching towards Inkopolis square, mulling over their next words carefully. “ You looked so sad looking at them. ”“ It’s… ”Sunny’s shoulders tensed up, redirecting her gaze away from the octoling as she bit her lip.“ Not like that. ”“ Then… ” Grim leaned their body back in front of Sunny’s line of sight. “ What is it? You can tell me. I’ll get it, probably. ”Sunny shakes her head, slowly standing herself back to her full height, looking down at the younger octoling with a pensive sigh.“ I’m not going to burden you with my own adult issues. You need to worry about enjoying life on the surface. That’s what you really came here for, right? ”Grim frowned, shaking their head and clenching their fists tightly, lightly bouncing in place as they spoke.“ I’m not going to enjoy it as much if you’re upset about something! Just talk about it, please? ”“ Grim, no. It’s not your responsibility to listen to me, it’s simply my responsibility to resolve my own issues in my own time. I will live, okay? ”Sunny began to walk away towards the alleyway’s entrance.Grim grabbed Sunny’s arm as tightly as they could, yanking her back in place as she gasps, startled.“ No! Who will you even talk to anyways?! I’m the only person you know that would understand everything you went through! ”She ripped her arm away from the teenager’s grasp, her expression going icy cold. “ GRIM . ”Sunny’s voice suddenly raised, even dropping a few octaves in the process.“ I am NOT about to vent my deepest fears, conflict, and anger to a god damn 14 year old kid. That is NOT fair for you, regardless of anything going on. Stop pestering me on it, please . ”Grim fully shut up at the words, turning away from the other as they swallow down the lump in their throat.“ I’m sorry. ”Sunny immediately regretted her words as soon as she saw Grim’s face debilitate.Her expression softened and she lowered herself to her knee to pull the other into a hug.“ No, I’m sorry. I know you just want to be supportive. I’m so so sorry for yelling at you. I don’t know what’s wrong with me… ”Grim shakes their head, wrapping their arms around her in return as their breath shakes. “ I was just being annoying again… My fault. ”“ No! No… It’s not true, you’re not annoying. ”Sunny held one hand to the back of their head, with the other hand on their back. She ran her hand against their back in a soothing motion.“ You’re incredible, Grim. Don’t ever forget that. I enjoy your company. I’m just… Really not feeling well, and I need a little space. ”Her eyes dart back and forth between the space surrounding her, watching for anyone else that might be close enough to hear their conversation.“ I… ” She closed her mouth, hesitating.“ The truth is, I’m scared… And angry at the world. Things feel unfair. But I’m not going to get into that now. Like I’ve said… You don’t deserve that. ”Grim could only nod.“ I hope you feel better soon, Sun. ”She closed her eyes, tightening the hug around Grim.“ Thanks. I’ll try my best. ”