Hey, what is UP ladies and gentlesquids? It is I, Anti-Harmony, here to grace my readers with a new story.
Yes, it is unfortunate that I could not continue my first story, but I do not want to disappoint my readers, and followers, by not posting anything, so here you go! I really hope this goes somewhere in the future.
Now a couple things (You guys can skip this if you want really). I will do the same thing I did last story about humanizing Octarian 'regulars' (ie. Octotroopers, Octobombers, Octosnipers, etc). Thank you to one of the guest reviewers for enjoying what I did with them! The last thing is that I will have a different OC for this, and he goes something like this.
Name; Samuel Veniss. Race; Inkling. Looks; four, messy navy blue tentacles that reach his chin, lightly tanned skin, dull yellow eyes.
Samuel will be the main character in this story, and anyone else that is not from the actual game is a side character. That's all of it. Enjoy!
It was such a beautiful morning for the residents of Inkopolis. The sun was beaming down on the Inklings from above, the sky being dotted with cirrus clouds. Even though the sun was almost constantly shining, the temperature stayed within the range of 78-84 degrees. It was only 9 in the morning, so there was a lot of room for change, but the Inklings like to think that the whole day would be as perfect as the morning was.
The big screen on the building in the center of Inkopolis' hotspot, Inkopolis Square, turned on, and and Inkling and Octoling popped up on the screen.
"Ya'll know what time it is!" The Inkling, Pearl, shouted, waving her arms with excitement.
"It's Off the Hook, coming at you LIVE from Inkopolis Square!" Pearl's Octoling partner, Marina, was noticeably less animated, but she still had the same excitement in her voice as Pearl when speaking, as well as sounding a bit timid. At the sound of hearing the Inkling-Octoling duo, the Inklings in the square turned their attention to the big screen, with some deciding to record the two through a window into the broadcasting room.
"Check it! For all you turfers out there, here are the Turf War battle stages!" Pearl jerked her thumb to the monitor between herself and Marina. The timid Octoling set her hand on one of the records of her mixer and gave it a quick spin, revealing the stages for the Turf Wars that day. The stages were set to be Wahoo World and Port Mackerel. "Apparently Crusty Sean sells his stuff at Wahoo World too." Pearl stated, getting Marina to jump slightly.
"Oh, PLEASE tell me he takes cash. I'm all out of tickets!" She whined, and unbeknownst to her, that got a lot of reactions from the Inklings watching.
"Alright, here are the Ranked Battle stages!" Pearl's shout got Marina back on track and she spun her record again. The stages were Arowana Mall and Mako Mart. "Ooooh, MakoMart! My family's personal shoppers got groceries from here!" Pearl announced, then looking at the Octoling she asked, "Did your personal shoppers do that, too?" Marina just looked a tad bit confused and answered in the most logical way possible.
"Um...what?"
"Anyway! Here are the League Battle stages!" Marina swiftly got back to spinning her record, and the stages were revealed. Starfish Mainstage and New Albacore Hotel. "Yo, Marina! I saw a jellyfish riding around on the inside of a Baller in the hotel's pool!"
"Are you sure it was a Baller? I thought it was a regular beach ball!" The monitor suddenly switched to an advertisement, showing a Salmonid, the job and its description, and the reward. "Oh! Grizzco is hiring Inklings for Salmon Run!"
"Our last gig went so smoothly, Marina!"
"Yeah, which was kinda surprising, considering we worked a Salmon Run shift instead of rehearsing!" The monitor changed again, this time showing a male Inkling with four, messy navy blue tentacles that went down to his chin, lightly tanned skin, and dull yellow eyes. He was wearing a streetstyle cap, a firewave tee, and red sea slugs. The Inkling was holding a skateboard under his arm, and behind him was a skatepark, Blackbelly Skatepark. "Oh oh oh! Emanuel Nevis is going to be skating at Blackbelly later today, at 3 pm! Don't miss it!"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Marina! That guy has some serious moves. I'd like to meet him in person, maybe pay him to give me some lessons." Pearl looked very excited to see Emanuel perform, and so did Marina. Emanuel was a very popular skateboarder who never wanted to go pro. Apparently, he wants to just show his skills by doing little performances for whoever would watch, which would happen to be almost all of Inkopolis. "Ah! That's all the time we got folks!" Pearl hopped off of the chair she was sitting on and Marina pushed her mixer to the side. "Until next time!"
"Don't get cooked...Stay off the hook!" The Inkling Octoling duo ended the broadcast with a pose that some may be familiar with. It was the pose the Squid Sisters did when they were still doing morning broadcasts. After the pose, the broadcast shut off, and the Inklings in the square went on with their day.
In the Blackbelly skatepark, Emanuel Nevis sat on the top of one of the ramps, skateboard resting next to him. The Inkling was silent, enjoying the sun on his skin and the slight, occasional breeze that would come through. Finally, after a couple minutes of this, he sighed.
"Going around with a fake persona is not as great as I imagined it to be." Emanuel, or Samuel Veniss, shook his head and placed his elbow on his knee, head resting in his palm. "I mean, sure, people won't swarm me every chance they get. But acting as if I was a different person really gets to me. Why did I decide to do this again?"
"Because we both agreed that it was what would be best for you in the long run." The sudden input from behind him caused Samuel to jump slightly. The skater turned his head and saw an Inkling girl, his childhood friend, Clarissa Rye. Clarissa had long purple tentacles, going down to her lower back, jade green eyes, and healthy pale white skin. She spread her arms, a gesture that she wanted a hug from her childhood friend. Samuel grumbled and stood up, embracing Clarissa like she wanted. "That's better. Could do without the grumbling though."
"Well, what did you want me to do?" The boy asked, separating himself from her.
"I mean, a nice 'Hey Clarissa! Long time no see!' would have been appreciated. Maybe a kiss as well?" Clarissa smirked, clearly trying to mess with Samuel. His response was to deadpan, not at all amused. "Come on Sammy, lighten up! You know I'm just yanking your tentacles." She walks passed him to his skateboard, which Samuel affectionately named 'Mako'.
"Hey hey hey, no touchy!" Samuel immediately goes over and snatches his board before Clarissa could do anything. "I have a performance at 3, and I want this baby in top condition."
"What's the point though if it's just going to get scratched up anyway?"
"That's only if I grind, and I don't plan on grinding today. I use a different board for that stuff anyway, this one's just for flips and all that." The Inkling boy has 2 skateboards. One of them, Mako, is used as a 'display board,' basically around just to make him look fresh, but he still uses it from time to time in performances. The other one, Chowder, is used for anything you would use a skateboard for, including getting down and dirty in the mud, sand, or dirt.
Samuel put Mako under his arm. "I'm feeling a bit hungry. You up for something to eat?"
Clarissa's eye's lit up and she bounced around a bit. "Free food? You know I would never pass up on that opportunity!" Samuel sighed and moved a hand through his tentacles.
"Sure, okay, but don't get too much. I need at least some money left to get through today." Samuel's request was casually waved off by Clarissa.
"Yeah yeah, I got it. No need to get your nips in a twist."
"Shut up." The pair then made their way to Inkopolis Square, both of them eager to get something into their gut.
Once they got near the square, Samuel changed his clothing a bit. He now wore a black hoodie with the hood up to hide his hair, and blue contacts so no one noticed his eyes. He didn't have to worry about the shoes, since he knew plenty of other Inklings that wore red sea slugs. Samuel also had to hide his precious skateboard just outside the square, because if he carried it with him, people would instantly notice it was him, or Emanuel as they know him as, disguise or not.
"Don't worry baby, I'll be back for you." Samuel promised Mako, and he could have sworn he saw a small tear come from the board. He brushed it off though, since he knew skateboards can't actually cry...or can they? "Okay let's stop that now." He said to himself, shaking his head.
"You ready yet Sam? I wanna be able to eat something, preferably this year." Clarissa impatiently called out to him. The Inkling sighed for the third time that day.
"Coming!"
The two entered the square, greeted by the sight lf multiple Inklings wandering around, going in stores, or just hanging out with friends and family. On the opposite end of the square, there were two alleyways on either side of the area leading to different locations. On the left was the Salmon Run that Samuel heard so much about, and on the right was a subway station, but no one dared to go down there.
"Hm?" Samuel cocked an eyebrow in slight confusion. Near the Salmon Run, there was an Inkling covering their face with an umbrella, and they were wearing a kimono. They seemed to be standing on top of a sewage gate. "Who is that?" Samuel wanted to get a closer look, but before he could, the umbrella moved just a smidgen to the side, exposing the Inkling's eye. They were looking right at him, and once they saw he was looking back, they dove into the sewers. The skater blinked a couple of times, trying to get a grasp of what happened.
"Samuel!" Clarissa called out to him, already in the square, and looking really annoyed. "Hurry up!" Samuel stared at the sewers for a few moments more before jogging over to his friend.
"Sorry Clarissa. I thought I saw something a bit weird, but it was just my eyes playing tricks on me." He pointed to a restaurant further into Inkopolis Square, called Lil Johnny's. "Wanna eat there? I heard they serve really good food." Clarissa looked at the shop for a few moments before nodding, deeming it satisfactory.
"Yeah, sure. I better get extra for what I had to put up with from you, mister."
"Maybe. I mean, remember all those other times I waited for you when we were younger? One time, you held me up when I was waiting for you so we could go to that one park. I ended up waiting an hour before we could actually get going, all because your hair 'wasn't to your liking'." Samuel smirked once he saw Clarissa blush in embarrassment. "Ah, so you DO remember!"
"S-shut up!" Clarissa let out a small 'humph!' and turned her head away from the boy, who was now openly laughing at her reaction. "Let's just go!" And she stormed off toward the restaurant.
"W-wait for me!" Samuel got control of his laughter and went after her. 'I am going to check out who that was, and where they went.' He thought to himself, thinking of the Inkling from the sewers.
The Inkling wearing the kimono with the umbrella was pacing around by the sewer pipe leading to Inkopolis Square. Her tentacles, which are light gray, are tied in a large bow on the right side of her head, with the ends wrapped around to the other side and curling up slightly at the ends, along with a bang swept to the left of her face. She also has a faint green tinge at the ends of her tentacles. She has large, downturned eyes with gold irises and light brown pupils in the shape of a plus or a ninja star. This Inkling's name is Marie, and she is one of the two girls that made up the Squid Sisters.
"That was Emanuel Nevis, right?" Marie stopped pacing and sat down on the bench against the outside wall of Cuttlefish Cabin. "Why would he try to hide himself from the public? Oh wait, he could just be doing what me and Callie had to do in order to get around easily. He is pretty popular after all." She took a glance down the path to where hidden kettles were, with the kettles leading to an Octarian infested area, but also a zapfish. 'And Callie...'
A longing look came into Marie's eyes. She missed her cousin, her best friend. Callie was basically a sister to her, and it would stay that way no matter how annoying she managed to get. However, Callie was squidnapped earlier that week, along with the Great Zapfish. No one really knew who or what did it, but she was positive that it was the Octarians. Marie wants to take back the Great Zapfish and save her cousin, as well as get some well deserved revenge, but...she can't do it alone. She needs help.
Marie thought that if she scouted around long enough that she would find a capable Inkling in Inkopolis Square. However, no one has caught her eye in the four days that she has been doing it, until she saw Emanuel Nevis walking into the square. He met all of the requirements for an Agent thus far. He was athletic, mechanically inclined, had a fast reaction time, and apparently, revealed from an interview a few months after his debut, he can fight really well. Marie was certain he could rescue her cousin and the Great Zapfish, now all she had to do was lure him down the sewer pipe without drawing attention to herself.
Suddenly, she started to hear the sound of banging against a metallic object...and it kept getting closer. "From the pipe!" Marie realized, quickly taking cover behind the cabin and out of sight from whoever came through the grate. They sure were making a lot of racket for being in squid form though. She wondered why that was?
"Gah! My head!" That voice, it sounded so familiar. "I knew should've stayed in squid form."
'Emanuel? He came down?' Marie couldn't believe her ears. She was ecstatic! 'I have to introduce myself.' Marie came out from behind the cabin and saw...
"Emanuel! I'm so glad you came."
A few minutes earlier
"So Clarissa, what would you like to eat this fine morning?" Samuel asked his friend sitting across the table from him. Said Inkling was looking over the breakfast menu, clicking her tongue at every option she didn't enjoy. Finally, she picked her head up.
"Just a sandwich, no tomatoes, mayonnaise, or ketchup." Samuel nodded at her choice and was about to call over a waiter, but Clarissa's phone went off and stopped that plan. "Hold on one second Sam." Clarissa said, getting up from the table and going to the window before answering her phone. A few minutes later, Clarissa came back, looking worried. "I have to go, family emergency back at home. Sorry Samuel." Samuel waved off her apology.
"Hey, it's okay. If it's a family problem, I understand. I hope everything's okay." She smiled slightly, thankful for Samuel's sympathy.
"Thanks. Maybe we can do this again some other time?"
"For sure! Just hit me up with a call or a text and I'll see what I can do." Clarissa nodded at Samuel's suggestion and walked out of the restaurant to go home. The remaining Inkling stayed in his seat for a bit longer before getting up to leave. "I guess I should investigate where that Inkling went." Samuel left the restaurant and approached the sewer gate.
"Meow (Hello, Inkling)." Samuel turned behind him and saw a decently sized black and white cat with a noticeably smaller cat on his stomach. "Meeeeow (You're interested in who went down there, yes)?" The boy blinked, unsure of how exactly he can understand what the cat was saying, but then nodded anyway to the animal's question.
"Yes, I saw another Inkling go down there. Do you know anything?"
"Meow, meoooow (Just that she told me whoever spots her and wants to go in after her has all the right in the world to do so. She awaits you on the other side)." The cat swished its tail before going silent. Samuel looked down at the grate separating him from the, apparently, female Inkling, and sighed.
"Guess I should go now. Nothing ventures, nothing gained." He slipped through the covering by turning to his squid form and he hit a flat surface about 10 feet from the top. He went back to his human form and took a few steps forward. "I'm supposed to walk the way there?" No later had he said that, there was a steep decline and he lost his footing, causing him to release a surprised and fearful gasp, and send the skater straight down to Cod knows where.
The journey was long and painful, he had to admit, and the boy had felt no amount of relief as great as what he felt now once he exited the pipe. However, Samuel's exit was not at all pleasant. Once free from the death trap, he fell out backwards and slammed his head against the cold, unforgiving concrete of the new area he was in.
"Gah! My head!" Samuel's hands immediately went to the back of his head, holding the injured spot in no small amount of pain. "I knew I should've stayed in squid form."
"Emanuel! I'm so glad you came."
'Wait what? Who's what?' The voice was behind him, so he had to turn around to see who it was. The first thing he saw was unique light grey hair, edges fading into a lime green. Then he saw her eyes...wait this girl is wearing the same thing he saw on the other Inkling. But...
"Marie?"
Oh SNAP! Samuel and Marie meet face to face in this first chapter, and these two will most definitely share many experiences together.
Next chapter, Samuel is introduced into the Agent business and entertains the masses with his skating skills. I really hope you guys enjoy this one. Until next time!