Mako's Message: Hi. Been awhile, huh? I admit, this wasn't my first choice of stories to post, or even work on. But, like with Free and the release of Kick-Ass 3, this is an idea I've had in my head for awhile and with the upcoming release of the Octo-expansion this was something I was going to have to write now or never.
That said, obviously this is short and I haven't spent a lot of time on it. But I have ideas to expand this into more of a story. So if you like it and want more, Favorite, Follow, and Review.
Hope you enjoy.
Marina was very lucky, all things considered. Firstly, was she able to escape from Octo-Valley with Pearl after the Squid Sisters goodwill concert. She'd heard rumors of others making their way to Inkopolis, but she hadn't seen, or even heard of, any other Octolings in the city. It sometimes made her wonder if it wasn't just intimidation all the times she'd been told she'd be killed by the Inklings if she went to their city.
She'd never felt like she was in any danger though.
Then again, by the time she came the Inklings were trying to make peace with the Octolings and Octarians…
Secondly, not only had Pearl been willing(perhaps naively so) to help her come to Inkopolis with her, but she'd let her stay with her and help her find a place to stay; which involved Pearl dropping an absurd amount of money out of her own pocket.
Pearl seemed happy to do it though. Excited even. And once they'd found a place, Pearl had spent a surprising amount of time there, despite having a nicer place of her own.
And then, to top it all off, their shared love of music lead to them playing and singing together, to performing at amateur events, to a few paid gigs, to selling an album, and finally achieving enough fame that they were hired on to take over Inkopolis News when the Squid Sisters left to pursue personal projects.
All said and done, she was happy with her life and how things had gone for the last two years.
However, she did miss seeing other Octolings.
It was an odd sort of homesickness. While her life in Octovalley hadn't been bad, per se, it was… oppressive. But just seeing others like herself around would be nice.
"Now let's see which stages we have for Ranked Battles!" Pearl said, with a wave of her hand towards Marina.
With a scratch of her record, Marina cued up the next area.
"Arrowana Mall! Hey, we should head over there later," Pearl said.
"I know!" Marina said, clasping her hands excitedly, "The Stuff-a-Plush there just got the new Squidmon kits!"
Their commentary on the stages was only half paid-promotion. Marina really did want to get to that store before they sold out. Shame she'd probably have to deal with a huge crowd now. One day she'd be told these things and be able to act on them before she had to promote them. One day.
Another scratch and Pearl announced, "Humptrack- Humpback Pumptrack!"
"I think that's a new record for you," Marina said with a smirk.
"Shut it you," Pearl replied, "Remember! Holding the center is the key to victory!"
Marina shook her head, "How many times do I have to flank you before you learn the power of the side routes?" She turned to look into the camera with a long suffering expression, and as she did her eyes passed over the screen showing what was being broadcast. Normally she just took a quick glance to see if her tentacles were still in place and how many fans had gathered outside the window, but as her eyes skimmed across it something caught her eyes.
She didn't believe it was what she thought it was. It couldn't be. But the longer she looked, the more convinced she became.
"Uh...Marina? The League Match stages?"
Either ignoring or un-hearing, she stepped around her turntables and approached the screen.
As she got closer she couldn't stop the hope and joy from bubbling up inside her as she couldn't deny what she was seeing any longer.
"Marina?"
She had to see this with her own eyes. She turned and dashed to the window, slamming into it and startling the two boys on the other side. The object of her attention turned their eyes away from the big screen on the tower and towards her. Their eyes met.
Marina shrieked with excitement, frantically waving before tearing across the studio, flinging open the door and sprinting down the hall to the exit. Bursting out into the plaza she turned her eyes to the alley across from the studio and found her target.
A target who seemed to be slowly recovering from the apparent shock of being spotted and looking for an escape route.
In mere seconds Marina had covered the distance between them and slammed into them, wrapping her arms around them in an exuberant hug. The octoling she'd abruptly brought into the spotlight and assaulted with affection seemed to be having a panic attack and desperately trying to escape, but Marina didn't seem to notice as she whirled her around and gestured to the buildings around them, "Welcome to Inkopolis!"