Inkopolis Square was full of Inklings, all dancing to the latest tracks by Off the Hook, the latest Inkling pop sensation. It really was just another Splatfest, if you thought about it. The crowd featured two colors specifically: pink and green. This Splatfest's theme was squids vs. octos. This one was special because it was the 1st anniversary for Off the Hook's first Splatfest, which made it even better than others.

In the midst of the crowd was a mixed group of cephalopods. They, too, were enjoying the Fest, but on a different level. See, this was their first Fest together, as a group of friends.

The first in age was a (typically) yellow Inkling girl 17 years of age. Her name was Elaine, and she had tan skin with blue-green eyes. She was mild in temper, and was seen as the leader, probably due to the fact that she was the oldest, or maybe because she towered over everybody with her crazy height.

Second oldest was Keven, a shorter, more plump Inkling boy. He typically kept his tentacle hair a nice, light blue color, and his eyes were the deepest brown you'd ever see. His skin was also darker, but not too dark. He was more shy than your average Inkling.

Aileen was next in importance, or notability, rather than age. See, she was the only Octoling in the group. Her tentacle hair was pink normally (and currently was due to the Fest), and she had pale skin littered with freckles. She also wore glasses covering her deep green eyes. Oh, and she was 14 years old.

Josiah was extremely noticeable. His tentacle hair was a lime green, making him as much of a beacon as possible. He didn't care, though, and went on as if he didn't notice. His eyes were a deep blue-green, more recognizable than Elaine's, and his skin was slightly pale despite having a lot of sun within the past 15 years. He also harbored a secret crush on Aileen for as long as he could remember. One thing people knew about him was that if he was mad, you wouldn't know 'till it hit you.

Finally were twins Brianna and Benny. They had dark chocolate skin and orange tentacles. They were virtually identical, down to the tentacle haircut, despite having largely different personalities. They were both 13, being the youngest in the group (and Square, as Inklings most often gained the ability to turn into a kid form at the age of 14 rather than 13).

Off the Hook began performing their final number when the group decided they were about to leave. They quickly headed over to Crusty Sean's before he closed up shop before they left. Finally, they left the Square, and headed home.

"I can't believe it's already over!" Aileen expressed as they left the Square. "I was having too great of a time for it to be over already!"

"Aw, cheer up," Kevin commented. "There's always next Splatfest, ya know."

"Y'know, I'm more concerned about whether my team won or not," Josiah stated. "I mean, this would be, what, my 5th loss this year. I certainly don't want last year to repeat itself."

"Hah!" Aileen snorted. "You only wish it was your team! My team's gonna win!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah! I'll even bet on it! If I win, you buy me dinner at any restaurant I choose."

"If you do the same for me if I win, then it's a deal!"

"Deal!"

Aileen and Josiah shook on it. The group was quiet for a few minutes.

"Hey, I got the new Super Splat Bros. the other day," Kevin said. "You guys wanna come over and play? This entry, we can do 8-players on any stage we want!"

"This is the one for the Splatendo Swap, right?" Brianna questioned.

"Yeah, that one." Kevin replied.

"Shell yeah! I've been waiting to try it ever since that amazing reveal!" Brianna said enthusiastically. "I have the money to buy it, but the guy at the store said I wasn't 'fresh enough' to enter."

"Well, see y'all tomorrow. 10 AM work for you guys?" Kevin asked.

The group unanimously agreed and split up, for the most part. Elaine went her own way, Kevin another, Brianna and Benny a third, and Aileen and Josiah a fourth.

"I'm so glad that I'm welcome in this group," Aileen said while the two slowly sauntered down the street. "Thanks for introducing me, Josiah."

"Oh, no problem. I remember when I first met all those years ago, I loudly asked why your eyes were so different than mine. I didn't know that your slight genetic differences like that would make it so hard for you to find friends, ya know? Crazy how people still hold grudges like that over something that happened at least 100 years ago. Glad you finally fit in somewhere."

"Josiah…do you think…well…"

"What?"

"Well…I've been thinking lately…"

"C'mon, you can tell me."

"Well…would it be okay if you and I were in a relationship…" Aileen trailed off.

Josiah stepped back, shocked.

"Oh…I was hoping your reaction would be different." Aileen quietly said. "I-"

"No, my reaction has nothing to do with our differences. I've been thinking that exact thing for as long as I can remember!"

"R-really?"

"Yeah! I was hoping sooner or later, you'd figure out or I'd muster up the courage to ask you on a date."

"Wow. Had no clue you liked me back."

"Well…we should probably go on a date to get things started, even though we've known each other for most of our lives. I was going to go shopping for some games tomorrow. I know it's not much, but perhaps you could come along. I know how much you like Super Mussel, and you still haven't played Super Mussel Odyssey for some reason. Perhaps we could get you your own Swap to play it on."

"Really? Oh, that would be awesome!" Aileen quickly hugged Josiah.

Eventually, they reached their houses, which were conveniently right next to each other.

"Well…" Josiah started. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow…girlfriend."

"That sounds nice…boyfriend." Aileen threw it back at Josiah.

The two of them entered their houses for the night.


Josiah woke some time in the night to a loud sound from outside. He looked out his bedroom window, which looked out on the street, and he didn't see anything. He then heard faint helicopter noises far off in the distance. The weird thing was that even the Inkopolis police department didn't fly helicopters this late at night. He raced outside to see if he could get a better look or even hear it better. A few moments later, after the sound grew louder, Aileen rushed outside, too, looking up at the sky.

"You heard it, too?" she asked.

Josiah nodded his head, eyes focused on the dark night sky above. Off in the distance, probably 2 to 3 miles away, there was a helicopter, which seemed to grow closer. After a few minutes, it was there, and stopped nearly directly overhead, about 200 feet in the air. Josiah strained his neck to see if he could see any markings on it. More and more people on his street rushed out of their homes.

A few seconds after the helicopter stopped, a bright spotlight shone down on him and Aileen. Then, if shut off, only being on for a few seconds.

Josiah turned towards Aileen, and right as he was reaching for her with his hand, he heard a shot from somewhere above, and felt instant pain in his right arm. He heard Aileen gasp, and looked down. His arm from his elbow down was gone. His stump was dripping green ink on the ground. He suddenly felt extremely light-headed, and collapsed on the ground. All around him, people were running like madmen, trampling anybody in their path, attempting to get to safety. He looked up into Aileen's face just when a dark figure appeared behind her. He tried to warn her, but couldn't get out the words. The figure slapped a hand over her mouth and put her in a headlock.

"You will come with me with no resistance and your friend lives. Understand?" the man said. Aileen nodded.

The man grabbed a rope that seemingly appeared out of nowhere and the two of them were pulled up out of sight. The helicopter flew away, leaving Josiah alone in his slowly growing puddle of ink.


Author's Note:

Hey, guys! This is my first ever fanfiction, so any and all constructive criticism is extremely helpful. I've been a Splatoon fan for well over a year at this point, and have enjoyed seeing other fans work on their own creations. Now, this story is by no means cannon. There are cannonical characters, sure, but the story is not cannon.

Thanks for the time reading this bit. I'm going to attempt to update every Sunday, but since I'm getting close to some finals in school, this may not work out for the first few weeks.

Anyway, I hope you're enjoying this so far as much as I am writing it! I've been tossing this idea around in my head for a few months now, so I'm glad it's finally down!

Again, thanks! If any of you would like, I am looking for a cover for this fanfict. If you're willing, I'd love for any reader to make me one. I will most certainly credit you, don't worry about that.