It's no surprise I like writing this character. I've had characters, including the star of this side story herself, reference her backstory, but I figured it'd be fun to delve a little deeper. Be prepared for some angst and bad character decisions.

Runt of the Litter

Chapter 1

Waking up…Age 12

I can't see anything…it's…dark…wait, I just have my eyes closed…

I barely open them to see I'm floating in a tank.

What's this green goop on me? Oh well…

A square piece of class is lowered in. It's a girl. She has red hair, blue eyes, somewhat pale skin…Oh, this is me.

"Alright…she can recognize herself." A voice said. "She's ready. Let her out."

Suddenly the tube drained. I was then lying on the bottom.

"Stand up please." The voice said. I could see him now. He was an Octoling like me, but he wore a lab coat. Must be a scientist.

I stood up. Then soapy water came showering down, washing off the goop that still clung to me, then a rinse cycle, then air blew in, drying me. The glass then came down and I was asked to step out. Two Octotroopers came in and clothed me.

"Alright…Group Member Number 008…Cassandra." The scientist said. "Your name will be Cassandra."

"Okay." That name sounds nice.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

"Honestly, I feel a little tired." I yawned. "Can I go back in the Tube?"

"Go back?!" Another voice said. It came from a group of female Octolings. "We've been waiting a week for you to come out!"

"A week?" I was surprised.

"Yes, your development slowed a bit because there was a small glitch. Nothing to worry about, I'm sure." He assured me. "Besides, you can't be an Elite one day if you sleep in the tubes."

"Well, can't you wake me up when I'm an Elite?" I asked.

The group of Octolings started snickering at my comment.

"Okay, I take it back. I like her." One said.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"These are the subjects who came out of the same Tube you did." The scientist told me. "They'll be your sisters."

"Sisters?" I was surprised to hear. "Awesome! What are your names?"

"I'm Clair." One said. "This is Chloe, Catherine, Carly, Carla, Casey, and Cynthia. Well, it's nice to finally meet you."

I walked over to them and they greeted me with hugs.

"Your batch will be called…C-Group." The scientist told us. "Easy since your names all start with C."

"That's dumb." Clair commented.

"Alright, now you're to be deployed to basic training." He told us.

Some Octotroopers came out to lead us to basic training. We started following them.

"So you think we'll become Elites?" Chloe asked.

"For Sure!" I boasted. "After all, we were created to be the best soldiers we can be. And we will be the best! All of us!"

"Yeah!" Catherine agreed. "We'll be Elites! All of us!"

Later…

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

We were given told to punch the air every time the instructor gave us the signal. I guess hand-to-hand combat would be important sometimes, but is there a point when the ground is covered in either our or enemy ink the majority of the time? It's not like both sides run out of ink for very long anyway…oh well. If this is what it takes to become an Elite, then so be it. I'll do whatever it takes!

"All right, take five." The instructor told us.

"So what fields do you think we'll excel at?" Casey asked.

"What do you mean?" I wondered.

"Like, sharpshooting, hand-to-hand, close quarters splatting, etc." She listed.

"Well, hand-to-hand looks interesting." Catherine said. "Maybe I'll excel in that.

"If we're going to be Elites, shouldn't we be the best in everything?" I pointed out.

"That's not untrue." Clair remarked.

"That's my Clair!" I pulled her in.

"Your Clair?" Carly tilted her head. "You aren't an older sister, we're the same age. If anything, you're the little sister."

"What?!" I was surprised by that suggestion.

"Well, you did come out last." Carla pointed out. "Also, Clair did take charge more often in the week we were waiting for you."

"Hey, it ain't my fault there was a glitch in the system!" I defended myself.

"She's right." Clair agreed with me. "Don't fault her for something she couldn't control."

"Thank you." I nodded my head.

"Hey, anything for my little Cassie!" She smiled.

"I'm really going to be the little sister, aren't I?" I groaned.

"Yup!" Chloe snickered.

"Eh, whatev's." I shrugged. "That just means I'm the adorable one."

"That's the spirit!" Catherine applauded me.

"So adorable!" A giddy voice behind us said.

We turned to find a black-haired Elite with an eyepatch.

"What?" Her attitude completely changed to a more edgy one.

"And you are?" I asked.

"Lieutenant Sasha." She introduced herself. "And if you want to become Elites, you have a long way to go."

"How so?" I asked.

"Dodge!" She immediately pulled out an Octoshot and began firing at us.

I managed to dodge a few of those shots, but I mostly got hit.

"If that were enemy ink, you'd be dead, Private." She coldly said.

"Why are you singling me out?" I was confused.

"Because you were the only one who got hit." She pointed out.

She was right. I turned to find the others managed to dodge all the shots.

"N-no fair!" I pouted. "I was much closer."

"Doesn't matter." The instructor came back. "Either way, you'd be dead."

"Laaaaame." I groaned.

"It's okay; we'll wait for you to get cleaned up." Clair told me.

"Oh no, you won't!" The instructor told us. "Drop and give me 20! All of you!"

We immediately started doing pushups. Best not to make these two angry.

Two Months Later…

"Go! Go! Go!" Our instructor wanted us to hustle throughout the obstacle course. "This is your final test before you rank up! Move like you've got a purpose!"

We hurried through the obstacle course, which wasn't easy. Ink kept flying at us as we had to dodge large, spinning rollers, and Flooders. What didn't help though was my sisters seemed to almost be breezing through it while I kept getting hit by ink shots and almost got splatted a few times.

"Great work, Catherine!" The instructor applauded her when she made it to the final platform. "Stunning work, Chloe!"

Almost there…almost there…Alright! The final jump! I flew through the air, the finish line within my reach and I stopped going forward. I started falling downwards. I didn't make it. My gear splatted me before I could fall to my death.

"AAAAAaaagh!" The respawn was slow and painful. "Ugh…"

Finally it ended.

"Failure." The instructor shook her head. "Absolute failure."

She walked away.

"You alright?" Catherine asked me.

"That…was awful…" I replied.

"How'd you fail?" Casey asked.

"I…I don't know…" I wasn't sure. "I-It was just a fluke. I'll get it next time."

"Yeah." Clair looked me in the eye. "Don't give up. One day, we'll all be Elites."

I nodded, determined.

One Month Later…

"Test Failed." The instructor said. "Again."

"Geez." Carla said. "It shouldn't be that hard."

"I know, right?" Carly agreed. "How many times is she going to fail the course?"

"Again!" I shouted. "I want to go again!"

"Sorry, but that's it for today." The instructor told me. "Can't waste power.

"Y-you'll get it eventually." Clair said. "I'm sure."

"I know I will!" I assured her. "One more time!"

"Five minutes until lights out." The instructor told me.

"I can do it!" I told her.

"…Fine." She reluctantly agreed. "But if you don't make it within the time limit, you could die."

"I can do it!" I shouted.

"Then go!" She pointed me to the starting line.

I hurried over and begun the test again.

I had most of it memorized now. It was just the last bit that had me messed up.

Alright…dodging the ink and dodging the rollers. Soon enough it was the final few jumps. At that point, the power for the course cut out. I was a little hesitant.

"It's do or die, private!" The instructor at the finish line told me.

"You can do it!" Clair said, standing next to her.

I got to the final jump. I readied and leapt through the air. Closer…closer…Yes! I touched down at the very edge of the finishing platform and…I started losing my balance. I was falling backwards. Clair caught me at the last second.

"Failure." The instructor said.

"No, she passed." Clair said. "She landed on the platform. That means she passed. Losing her balance happened afterwards and doesn't count."

"…Fine, pass." The instructor reluctantly agreed.

I was walking over with Clair before the instructor stopped me.

"Just know this, rookie." She said. "If it weren't for your sister, you would've died…a failure."

I just ignored her and caught up with Clair.

"I passed, didn't I?" I asked. "I lost my balance. So what? What was her problem?"

"She has a point though." Clair agreed with her? "You would've died had I not stepped in. If you're going to be an Elite, you're going to have to learn to pass without us around to help you."

"Geez, Clair." I was surprised by her tone. "What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing." She told me. "I'm just trying to help you."

"You've got a funny way of showing it…" I mumbled.

"Because it took you a month." Clair heard me. "We slowed our training down to give you a chance to catch up. What's going on?""

"You think I know?" I looked at her. "I have no idea why you breezed through it while I had so much trouble."

"Well, figure it out." She told me. "We can't wait on you forever."

"Love you too, sis..." I groaned.

"Cass," She stopped me. "I don't hate you. I'm sure the others don't either. We're just concerned and a little frustrated."

"I'll get better." I assured her. "A small fluke won't stop me. I'll be an Elite one day…count on it."

We walked back to the barracks for some rest. The pods may be comfy, but they're cramped. Well, I'll get a room when I'm an Elite anyway, so I can tough it out.