Splatoon: Hero of the Inkhänder Chapter 1, a splatoon fanfic

Knight's Code, And How to Break It

Here's the start of a new story I'm writing based on Splatoon but with a bit of a twist. This story is basically what I came up with after seeing the Knights vs Wizards Splatfest and all the amazing art that came out of that thing. So I thought "hey, this would be a cool idea" and so I began writing. Took me several weeks to write just this one chapter, but hopefully it's good. Of course, I don't think every chapter will be this long, but they definitely won't be short either. Anyways, enjoy my new story!

Note: I changed a few plot elements to better fit some ideas I have. These plot points aren't too big and the changes aren't too drastic, but they are noticeable if you've read the story beforehand.

Disclaimer for the whole story: I don't own Splatoon, only the story and any OCs in it that I happened to make.

It was a stormy night, the wind howling. The rain poured down like hail stones, and circular ripples covered the flooded ground as the rushing water pelted onto the mud. The hard rainfall made billions of splashing and "thud" noises, and the dirt road was now a flooded, mucky mud slide. The trees tilted slightly from the high winds, and the rain fell diagonally across the landscape. The night was only illuminated, very barely, by the moon, and the night sky was a mix of pure black darkness and the small highlights of navy and dark blue light that surrounded the moon. Thunder bellowed in the distance and lightning lit the sky in the few seconds it struck. One figure, one man, trudged through the mud slide, his hand covering his face as he soldiered on against nature's powerful forces. The rain pelted his sleeve like bullets, and his boots were starting to stain brown on the bottoms. The pitch black darkness of the night helped cover his face, which was also covered by a hood. He was tall, muscular and a well built man. He wore a large, thick cape made of some leather that concealed most of his body. He seemed to have some things attached to his back, but what they were were unidentifiable in the darkness. Finally, one of his heavy steps found a hard surface, still covered in a thin film of water. The hard and heavy step made a small splash, and he stood on a cobblestone path. The man looked up, his light brown eyes reflecting the moonlight and staring at the staring at the wooden bridge towards him, one that ended at a stone gate guarded by raised iron bars. The wooden bridge overlooked a large moat that appeared to be overflowed with rain water, with broken leaves, branches and some murky looking water flowing violently through it. The man took several steps back, before breaking into a desperate run. The wooden gate began to crank upwards, and as it became more vertical, the water started to flow downwards, cascading down the bridge. The man rested his arm against the wood surface and slid down the door, using the water to get past friction a bit before leaping off, landing onto a cobblestone path and rolling several feet before large wooden doors slowly slammed shut. The man huffed a heavy sigh before getting up, brushing himself off and marching on. A large creature with tentacles on its head approached. It had four large legs that it stood on, and had glowing green eyes that shone in the rain. The man stood back a bit, reaching to his back, and the creature reared its hind legs before releasing a humongous roar that echoed across the path, and the hood and cape the man wore shook. The man drew a sword from his back, the rain dripping from the blade. The beast gnarled its teeth and made a low, threatening growl before charging at the man head on…

"So, the squid is here…" Octavio muttered to himself. His long maroon-red tentacles adorned his head in a messy but elaborate fashion, decorated with green "X" marked scars. The large gold-plated samurai helmet made him look fearsome, with the gold metal designed to look like the fearsome octopus that represents his species. The helmet was often one of the key features many people knew about him, and was often a trait that was always used first whenever people described him. His light green eyes contrasted to the dark purple shade of color under his eyes, making him appear angry and radiating a hateful atmosphere from his stares alone. He wore a long black cape that dragged along the ground, with the interior being crimson red and the exterior being pitch black. His clothes, unlike his helmet, weren't armored and he wore quite a fancy looking and regal suit and tuxedo, which were also black with parts of the suit being a nice dark shade of green. The clothes he wore had intricate and carefully created designs around these green parts which were on his collar and outer parts of the suit that folded out. His tuxedo was pure black and he had a dark red cloth belt tied around his waist. A long but very skinny sword was sheathed in a gold decorated sheath and was kept on this belt. This man, very tall and well built, especially for someone like him, sat on a dark throne. Above him was a carved statue carved from the wall, a statue of an angry octopus and its tentacles curled in a menacing way. The windows of the throne room were covered in water from the heavy rainfall, and you could see the lightning strikes due to the high location of the throne room in his castle. Octavio drank a small glass of Octarian wine with a hint of wasabi, a classic mix that he enjoyed on nights like this. However, this night was different, as a mortal enemy was quickly cruising through his castle, probably slaughtering all the minions that stood in his way. Finally, he could hear the footsteps of his foe rush in, and soon Octavio was face to face with his enemy.

"So, you are this Cuttlefish I've been hearing about, a descendant to the ones who battled me originally all those years ago, sending me down to my grave where I always laid until my rightful return. I'm assuming you've come here to fulfill your duty that the King has given to you, am I correct?" Octavio asked the man who walked in. The man wore a leather cape and coat, covered in small blotches of magenta Octarian ink.

"Octavio, for the sake of the people of the Calamari County and its people, I must put an end to your reign of darkness and the suffering you have cause for everyone. Release the Great Zapfish, and surrender, it's all over." the man said. He sounded young, but not too young, perhaps a younger adult. The man, Cuttlefish, looked above Octavio's throne to see the Great Zapfish wrapped around a large stone tentacle protruding from the ceiling.

"Suffering? I am revered as a king, the lord, the savior who will save the Octarians from their oppression. Why do you think I keep coming back every time one of you pathetic, annoying and bothersome squids come and kill me? There's my followers, my people, who want me to rule. It only shows my destiny, to eradicate your species from existence so no one else may suffer as I and many others have. It is far from over, little squid, and you know it."

"Your followers are those whom you have controlled over the years, manipulated so they do your bidding. You aren't a savior, you're a tyrant, a monster. Genocide of my species won't change things in the past, it will only make things worse in the future!" The man threw off his cape and hood to reveal himself. He was a young man, with beautiful light brown eyes. He had his tentacles tied into a ponytail, and sported a much smaller beard than Octavio. He wore a dark tan colored chestplate and underneath it some tan clothing. He had silver armor for his left forearm and a leather sleeve to protect his right arm. He wore black fingerless gloves, and his dark swampy-green pants had some knee armor, finally with some nice thick leather boots.

"Perhaps you perceive me as a monster. But I will not allow you to kill me once again Cuttlefish. Today, at the start of this century, I will begin my long awaited reign for power. Today, I take everything you Inklings hold dearly to yourselves just as you have taken everything from us! I will use your own creations and needs against you, to destroy you. But enough of my babble, face me like a warrior!" Octavio took one hard chug of the wine before tossing aside the glass, which shattered on the red carpet that decorated the otherwise bland stone floor of the throne room. He stood up, and Cuttlefish got into a fighting stance. Octavio drew his long sword, almost as tall as him, however, he did not start swinging. Instead, a large pillar of pink ink appeared over and crashed over him, before it rose and took him away from the spot. Cuttlefish was shocked, and suddenly heard a loud noise as the ink pillar appeared behind him, and the pink ink crashed as Octavio appeared and swung his sword several times, nearly catching Cuttlefish with fatal blows. Cuttlefish ducked and blocked, nearly escaping death.

"Did you think it was going to be easy? How hard do you think it was for your ancestors to fight me all those years ago?" Octavio taunted, swinging his long cape aside and opening it, revealing three stalks of wasabi aimed at Cuttlefish. The spicy stalks launched themselves at the squid, who dodge rolled out of the way. Behind him, he saw a fiery explosion erupt. Octavio swung downwards, and Cuttlefish blocked with his sword horizontally above his head before moving aside and trying to land a strike on the tall Octarian. Octavio swung at Cuttlefish's feet, making him backflip to avoid the strike before swinging at his chest. The Octoling spun the long sword swiftly to his side, scratching the rug leaving a path way of cuts. Cuttlefish backed up slowly as his tall foe approached steadily, and soon without warning Octavio started attacking, swinging to Cuttlefish's neck, then attempting to stab his chest and abdomen before trying to strike the legs in several swift blows. Cuttlefish duck to avoid the head swing before spinning out of the way of the second and third attack. Cuttlefish managed to parry the last three strikes to his legs and countered, swinging upward diagonally with his sword. Cuttlefish managed to slice a gold metal tentacle from Octavio's helmet and also managed to nick him in the shoulder, but Octavio summoned three explosive balls of ink, forcing the squid to leap back to avoid the blast. Cuttlefish pulled out some projectiles of his own and threw a couple of bombs filled with ink, which exploded and covered the Octoling in green ink. Octavio hissed in pain, the bomb's ink burning into his skin and clothes. Octavio summoned yet another pillar of ink, and teleported behind Octavio to fire more wasabi stalks, and Cuttlefish was caught in the fiery blast, knocking him back onto a wall. His sword, the one his family has used to fight Octavio for years, was knocked out of his hands. Octavio kicked it away, the weapon sliding across the stone area of the throne room where no carpet was located.

"Finally, you screw up. Is this where the Inklings lose, is this when I finally start my empire and spread my own Octarian influence across this land?" Octavio asked, although Cuttlefish knew he wasn't expecting him to answer. Octavio swung down with his sword and Cuttlefish quickly used his left forearm armor to block the sword. Despite it being armor, the sharp blade dug into the metal and managed to cut his arm, and ink was bleeding from the cut, dripping down his arm and toward his elbow. Octavio kicked Cuttlefish in the stomach, and the Inkling grunted in pain, but he managed to pull out another bomb and throw it into Octavio's face. The Octoling shouted in pain and started throwing curses here and there, grasping his burning face. Cuttlefish used this opportunity to rush to his family weapon and grab it. His sword was now fully charged with green ink, shining brightly and illuminating the area around him in a bright green light that contrasted from the darkness of the rest of the throne room and the night outside. Octavio saw his enemy, fully armed and ready, and filled with anger and pure hatred boiled up over the years, Octavio charged at full speed. He didn't hesitate, swinging his sword and spinning around, dodging Cuttlefish's attacks while furiously striking back and retaliating. Octavio stabbed Cuttlefish in the shoulder and successfully got his shin, but Cuttlefish threw more bombs to distract the octopus while he laid in some good hits with his sword. The sword cut into Octavio, green bioluminescent ink pouring into his wounds. All he could see was hate, and all he could feel was searing, unbearable pain. But Octavio waited so long to come back, he couldn't stop now. Octavio leapt up into the air, before raining hundreds upon hundreds of flaming wasabi stalks down on the Inkling. Cuttlefish swung and spun his sword, deflecting them all and cutting a few so they didn't hit him. All over, flames erupted in the throne room, smoke billowing from the red and orange lights. Octavio crashed downwards and created an explosion of magenta ink, which hit Cuttlefish and knocked him over. He wiped some of the opposing ink off of himself before having to dodge several more balls of exploding ink and extendable metal fists that created colorful blotches and craters on the wall. Now, the whole room was lit by the flames from earlier, and Cuttlefish stood his ground valiantly as the Octoling advanced, teleporting over and over using pillars of ink as travel, throwing wasabi fireballs, metal fists, and explosive ink. Cuttlefish managed to slice at Octavio and damage him whenever he was attempting to teleport again, and soon into the fight he found out he could deflect the fists back at the octopus to knock him to the ground. Octavio, battered and beaten, could see he was starting to lose. That sword, it was too powerful for his current form.

"Little squid, we end this fight now and forever, allow me to show you true power, and show you who the lord of this castle is!" Octavio shouted ferociously, and summoned waves of magenta Octarian ink to crash on top of him, and the gallons of ink that he summoned absorbed into his skin, growing his size and changing his form. He summoned the Great Zapfish towards him, pulling it into the waves before consuming it. Now, Octavio was a large, hideous beast, a giant octopus with long, thick tentacles, a sharp beak that could cut through even the hardest rocks and metal, and the large boulder shaped eyes stared right into Cuttlefish's soul, with only one goal: kill.

"What the shell…" Cuttlefish thought to himself. Octavio released a terrifying roar that echoed around the room before slamming his tentacles outward, smashing the ceiling and opening the throne room up, located high above the ground. Their battlefield was larger now, and Octavio threw all he could at the Inkling.

"You're right Octavio. This ends now. Die MONSTER!" Cuttlefish exclaimed bravely and charged, swinging his sword and creating waves of ink projectiles that slammed against Octavio's skin. The beast let out terrifying roars and screams as it rained all hell on its foe. Lightning crashed in the background and thunder roared in the sky, and the two enemies threw everything they had at one another. Octavio large wasabi bombs and fireballs, slamming his tentacles down at Cuttlefish in attempts to crush him. Cuttlefish dove out of the way while swinging his sword to create large, powerful ink waves that deflected the bombs back towards the octopus, who would scream as the fiery explosions erupted at his face. Cuttlefish threw more and more of his own bombs, creating small explosions of ink that burned onto the flesh of the octopus. Octavio tried to stab Cuttlefish with several powerful jabs of his massive gargantuan tentacles, and Cuttlefish slid and rolled away, slicing a few with his sword as he did so and watched the limbs drop lifelessly. Octavio released a large ink flood onto the broken throne room, flooding what was left and overflowing the place, the excess ink flowing off the edges and down onto the rest of the castle. The powerful currents created by this swept Cuttlefish from his feet, and Cuttlefish used his shield to ride the currents to his enemy, where he leapt off and proceeded to hack and slash at his enemy before having to leap back onto his shield, nearly avoiding Octavio's sharp beak. Finally, Cuttlefish threw three bombs into Octavio's right eye, blinding him before leaping up and shoving his sword right between the octopus' eyes. Octavio let out one beastly scream before exploding into a large ocean of ink that cascaded like a waterfall off the ruins of the throne room. Cuttlefish, brushing off the excess magenta ink off himself, walked over to the defeated Octoling, who returned back to his old form. The Octoling laid against a pile of stone rubble, with some small flames still dotting the room here or there. Octavio looked up at his enemy, his eye terribly bruised and nasty cuts, slashes and gashes marking his whole body.

"D-do what you came here to do, little squid...but remember, this isn't the end…"

"It never is, Octavio. Even I know that." Cuttlefish agreed, and stabbed him in the heart, darker colored ink flowing from Octavio's chest. Octavio went wide eyed before the life from his eyes faded into nothing, and he slumped backwards lifelessly. Cuttlefish pulled his sword out of his body, and picked up the dead Octavio and his hooded cape, putting it on and walking away. As he walked past the multitude of halls and rooms he fought past to get there, he could see the remaining Octolings shaking their heads, wondering what was happening. They were all now free of Octavio's control, and soon enough they put two and two together the instant they saw Cuttlefish and the dead lord of the castle. Cuttlefish left the castle entrance, where a young female Inkling waited for him patiently. She smiled, tears flowing from her eyes as she hugged the hero tightly. The two shared a small kiss before walking away from the site, admiring the beautiful sunrise that welcomed them. They watched the the sky as the Great Zapfish flew out of the ruins of the throne room and off to Inkopolis, where it resided. The Octolings abandoned the castle and soon, it started to crumble, lost of all the magic that its lord had given it. Strangely, nothing was left, not even a single piece of brick left behind. All that remained was a peaceful mountain plain as the sun rose slowly, the dew in the grass shimmering in the light. There was nothing left, and now an era of peace had begun once more...

City of Inkopolis, 100 Years Later…

"Haa! Ugh, aah!" An Inkling girl exclaimed. She swung a stick around in an intense duel with another Inkling, a boy. The two were outside in a flat, grassy area in the large castle gardens, training in combat with two sticks so they couldn't harm each other. Well, much.

"Ow! Hey, I thought we were just training and having some fun, not trying to actually attack each other!" The Inkling boy exclaimed, rubbing his elbow. He had blue tentacles tied into a ponytail, had bright blue eyes and light skin. He wore a small short sleeve black jacket with turquoise patterning over a silver chestplate that shone in the sunlight, with hardly any scratches and scrapes. On his arms was some silver metal armor to protect his forearms, and he wore a long pair of tan pants and a pair of leather boots. His name was Drew, or as his friends called him Blue for the blue tentacles he had.

"Don't be such a baby, the point is to get some strikes onto the opponent. Toughen up a little, will ya?" The girl told him. She had bright orange tentacles, with two long ones that reached to her knees on the sides of her head. Her tentacles had a dotted pattern of darker orange-ish-brown spots and the shade of orange got darker the closer it was to the tips, which reached a little below her knees. She wore a light brown shirt with a thick tan stripe going down the middle. She wore pants she cut to be shorter to be at her knees. The ends there were slightly frayed and worn from the knife she used. She also wore a pair small black shoes that looked fairly old and worn as well. Her name was Reika, or "Orange", a nickname given to her by Drew despite her numerous protests.

"I'm not being a baby…"

"You totally are, Blue."

"Reika, this isn't a fair fight, you've got a stronger and bigger stick than I do! Every time I block an attack of yours, my stick feels like it's going to snap in-" Just like he was going to say, Reika swung her stick at his chest, and Drew blocked the attack, only for his stick to snap in two, hardly stopping the blow as it hit him on his chest and knocked him over.

"Cod, are you okay?" Reika asked, kneeling beside Drew, concern written all over her face.

"Ow...I'm fine. Like I was going to say, my stick was going to break."

"Sorry. Maybe I should have taken the weaker stick." Reika said, chuckling nervously as she reached out her hand and helped Drew up off the grass. The two picked up their swords, encased inside leather sheaths, and started to walk back inside the castle. Drew held open the large wooden door, motioning his hand inside.

"Ladies first." Drew said with a smug smirk. Reika just elbowed him playfully and he laughed. Reika just sighed and shook her head, smiling at her friend.

"Blue, you don't have to do that when we've known each other for this long."

"I know, I know, I was kidding. So, how's the knight training going for you?" Drew asked as they walked into a fancy hall with several paintings decorating the walls while a lavish red carpet covered the floors.

"Eh, pretty good. Gotta say, it's really hard and tiring, but I'm proud to do it."

"Heh, yeah. Can't believe my father forced me to get some combat training when I'm sure I wouldn't even be in a fight. I've never even seen my father fight anyone before, so I don't see the big deal. Not like he's going out into a battlefield."

"Hey, you never know Blue. When you become king, something might happen where you'll have to fight in a war to protect your kingdom." Reika mentioned.

"True. But...I don't know. Being the prince stresses me out enough, but if I was king…" Drew shuddered at the thought. Reika already knew how stressed her friend could be, especially when he tries to follow closely in his father's footsteps.

"Hey, that's like several years from now. Besides, when I become a knight, I'll be right beside you and you know I would do my best to protect you." Reika told her friend, who smiled. It was a small, calm smile, one he gave whenever he was relaxed and felt at peace. Suddenly, a guard came running down the hall at top speed, his armor clanking as he ran.

"Sir! The King, he wants to see you now! Says it's urgent!"

"Of course it is...I'll see you later at the ceremony Orange." Drew told her, and he quickly followed the guard away down the hall, while Reika turned around and walked the other direction, feeling slightly lonely as she did so.

Later…

The soon-to-be-official knights stood in an orderly line, where the Captain of the Royal Guard stood, his hands resting on the hilt of his sword. In front of them was the King himself, standing on the makeshift wooden stage and speaking to the crowd below.

"Greetings, citizens of Inkopolis! As your king, I am proud to be present in this wonderful time of the year. A time of great weather and another year of peace, and even better, some younglings get to join the higher ranks, protecting us all and serving this kingdom well." The King announced, and the crowd cheered, pumping their fists into the air or clapping. Loud cheers of excitement echoed around the stadium, and it made the soon-to-be knights smile and wave. Today was a happy day for everyone.

"I will repeat the Knight's Code, a pledge of loyalty and allegiance sworn by countless others before you. Repeat after me, newcomers, and keep these wise words close to you as you keep your weapon close to you in battle." The young Inklings listened, and nodded in understanding as they heard each point be made with the highest amount of emphasis.

"Honor your King and those who are above you with utmost respect."

"Understand your duty to protect and serve this kingdom, and do not run from your duty."

"The promises that you have made as part of your covenant with this kingdom are to be kept.

Betrayal to this kingdom and your ruler is the biggest crime you could ever commit."

"These are the three main points the Knight's Code emphasizes. Remember these three points everyday, and remember that all of us, even me, count on your work every day, every month, every year. Now that I recited the Code, I am honored to knight each and every Inkling here, and I'm honored to be protected by such skilled individuals. Step forward, my soldiers, and receive your blessing." The King ordered in his calm and deep voice, and everyone stepped forward. One by one, the King knighted them with his very own sword, a fancy sword that reflected the sunlight, the hilt encased in gold and the handle of it wrapped in leathery cloth. The Inklings kneeled before their ruler, and eagerly received the blessing before being handed their armor and weapon. The King was knighting them from right to left, and Reika was at the back of the line all the way over. On the stage was Drew, who waved to her. Reika smiled, and turned around just as the king arrived to her. She kneeled down and felt the King's sword lightly tap her shoulders and head, before being told to stand up. The King gave her a warm smile before a guard beside him handed her the armor and sword she would be wearing and carrying with her.

"Citizens, these are the knights that will protect you, and I put every part of my trust and respect to these Inklings who have worked this hard to protect this kingdom and make it better everyday. Cheers, for our knights!" The crowd began to applause once more, some showering flowers onto the stage, while trumpets sounded in the background, blaring loudly. At the corner of her eye, Reika could see Drew applauding softly and quietly, before slipping away with several guards following close behind.

"Reika...Reika...Reika…" Reika could hear her name being repeated softly, the voice so soft that if one made even the slightest noise, the sound could lose the soft whisper. She found herself surrounded in darkness and thick ominous fog that clouded the area around her. Reika swatted the fog away, which appeared as if it was trying to escape her hands and arms as she swung them around and blew it away. Soon, the fog separated and formed a distinct path, one where the pitch black ground suddenly formed a dirt road. The dirt road was blank, with a few stones and pebbles here or there, and maybe small grass growing just barely in a few places. Reika walked down the path, guarded at the sides by fog so thick and dense that she couldn't possibly see anything past it. As she walked down the path, Reika heard the voice once more.

"Reika...Reika…"

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" The girl asked, with no clear response given to her.

"The path...it guides you to the future...don't go back...don't look back…"

"What? What do you mean this path leads me to my future? And what's behind me…" Reika turned around to see a hideous figure in the shadows. It trudged forward slowly, dragging it's right foot behind the left. As it got closer, Reika could see the figure's identity.

"D-Drew? Wh-what's going on?" Reika asked, but no answer. What she saw next absolutely horrified her. Drew's lips had been torn off, revealing his beak, sewn together by metal wire that cut through it. The sides of his cheeks seemed to be ripped open to make his mouth appear bigger, and dark blue, nearly black ink seeped from the holes in his teeth made by the wires. One of his ears seemed to have a nasty, infected bite mark on it, and a piece of his head was missing, revealing his brain. His clothes were torn and weary, and his arms swung limply at his side. His right leg looked battered and broken, and Drew had bloodshot eyes that stretched wide. His eyelids were gone, and his nose had a large hole in it that also bled ink.

"B-Blue? Blue, you're scaring me...please, what's going o-" Reika was interrupted as Drew suddenly lurched forward and broke into a full on sprint, reaching his arms out and screaming a horrific cry. He forced his mouth open and the wire cut through hit beak, leaving nasty gashes and gaps in his teeth where the wire was. His broken jagged beak looked menacing, and by instinct Reika began to ran.

"Oh my cod, oh my cod!" Reika repeated as she did her best to run away from the zombified looking Drew, close behind her. She looked back to see he was right behind her, and Drew swiped one arm, clawing at her cheek and cutting it. Reika held her wounded cheek, and could feel ink bleed from it as she strafed out of the way of another attack. Reika turned around quickly and landed her foot on Drew's stomach before pushing him to the ground where he rolled in the dirt like a tumbleweed. Not bothering to watch him attempt to stand, Reika ran down the path, and kept running, listening to the voice from earlier telling her not to look back. Suddenly, the fog stopped her in her tracks. The path ended, blocked by the fog, and by now Drew had gotten up and was once again charging at her.

Just when she felt there was no way out of this situation, Reika heard a faint sound from above. She looked up to see a sword falling directly in front of her, landing on the ground perfectly vertical, embedding itself in the dirt. Reika pulled the simple metal sword out and held it in her hands, taking a stance as Drew arrived. Drew skidded to a halt, observing his opponent before screeching horrifically and charging at her, arms flailing around wildly. His screams seemed to echo in the fog of nothingness, and Reika closed her eyes and took a deep breath before starting to swing. She sliced once, twice, three times, before stopping. Drew stopped right in front of her, looking like he was okay and all in one piece. Then his left arm fell to the ground, followed by both sides of his body above his waist before his legs fell to their knees and fell forward, a small fountain of ink flowing out and making a small puddle at Reika's feet. Her sword was stained in Drew's ink, and she dropped it, the sword making a few "clang" sounds before stopping.

Suddenly, she could hear screeches and animalistic roars. In the distant, a swarm of monsters from the air swooped down to attack her, their vicious mouths opened wide. These creatures were like nothing she's ever seen before, and they dove with diligent speed, long tentacle arms with suction cups lined with spikes outstretched towards her.

"What the-AAAAHHHHHH!" Reika screamed, raising her sword quickly and swinging it aimlessly at several of the monsters. She beheaded the first, which simply crashed beside her, and bisected two more before stabbing another upside the head. She managed to cut down a few more beasts before being overwhelmed, and suddenly the multitude of crazed rabid animals turned to vapor, and she cried out to the darkness before being fully consumed by the fog.

She felt as if she were falling down an endless pit, a pit of loneliness and nothing that lead nowhere. She was falling from the sky, and felt lightheaded and limp. Her body twisted and turned in the air slowly, the dark pitch blackness returning. No fog, no crazy zombified Drew to haunt her. Reika thought the falling would never end...until she woke up and found herself in a grassy field. The field was all shades of bright green, and colorful flowers dotted the landscape like a rainbow, contrasting from the green of the countless blades of grass. The grass felt soft in her hands, and Reika stood up, seeing a dirt path ahead a few feet away.

"Oh cod, not another path. What's going to be at the end? More monsters and undead Blues? No way I'm going down there…"

"Follow it. At the end is where you must go, where you must end up after a long journey ahead, for the destination is the end of all ends if you refuse to go." Another, different voice told her. This one was more deep and gruff.

"Who are you!? GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Reika shouted to the voice, but no one answered. She sighed, and walked down the dirt path once more. As she made her way down, the sky began to grow darker, and the clouds looked more and more ominous and menacing every footstep. Finally, thunder roared, lightning struck in the distance, and rain poured down heavily. The dirt path started to turn to mud, and she could feel herself struggling to trudge through the messy terrain. She covered her eyes with her arm from the rain, and surprisingly the water didn't feel bad against her skin. Just then, a flash of lightning struck, and the bright light blinded her temporarily for a few seconds. Reika got her vision back, only to find an extremely tall man in front of her, wearing a regal outfit and a fancy extravagant cape. He had a long, skinny sword sheathed on his waist, and the night covered his features.

"Who are you?" Reika demanded, her arm still covering her face. Surprisingly to her, the man replied.

"Hello, Cuttlefish."

"W-What? U-um...I think you've got the wrong person, my names Reika..." She answered. The lightning strikes that happened occasionally gave enough light for herself to see his face and body. He looked much older than she was, but he seemed somewhat handsome and formal. Something about him though, she didn't like. Reika didn't know what it was, but she just had a feeling that there was something about him that were far less than good. Something ominous and unsettling about his presence disturbed her.

"Hm. I can feel something radiating off you...a certain power that's so familiar…I can feel it resisting with the aura around us, the atmosphere that's around me..."

"Wh-what? What are you talking about?" Reika asked, absolutely confused.

"You don't feel it yet? The dark power, the pitch blackness of the aura that's in the air we breathe? I can sense it coming, and I know you can sense it too. I am soon going to return, and when I do, I will become lord of my dark forces once again, and I shall rain chaos and hell upon your kind. Fear me Cuttlefish-" Before Reika could react, the man sped up to her in supernatural speed, and she felt a sharp pain in her chest. Reika looked down to see his hand embedded into her chest, which was bleeding heavily, the ink pouring down with the water from the rain. Reika could feel ink from the deep reaches of her body well up in her mouth before pouring out like a waterfall. She could feel his fingers wrapping around her heart.

"For hell will arrive once more, and I will burn your species and everything associated with it to the ground!"

"Wai-" Reika begged, but the man closed his fist quickly and scrunched her heart, killing her as she fell limp to the ground…

"NOOOOO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Reika screamed at the top of her lungs. She did everything she could think of, kicking and flailing her limbs around, even switching rapidly from squid form to humanoid form. She could feel warm arms wrap around her, trying to calm her down and stop her from fighting back.

"REIKA!" Someone shouted, and she stopped. She looked up, and her vision cleared to see Drew right beside her bed, holding her in his arms tightly. She could easily tell he was worried by his facial expressions, but Drew also had called out her real name, which he never did unless he was being serious.

"B-Blue? What happened?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. I came over to your barracks with some cake, and your fellow knights here told me you were going all crazy and rolling around in your bed while making whining noises. I tried to wake you up and then you went full on 'kill mode'." Drew explained. Reika stayed close to him, feeling somewhat safer in his arms. There was a moment of silence before Drew began to speak.

"Bad dream?"

"Y-yeah. Terrifying and strange."

"Terrifyingly strange?" He asked.

"I don't know, closer to 'strangely terrifying'. I never felt fear like that, and come to think of it, I don't know why I got so scared...I'm so confused and-"

"Hey, it's okay. You're safe now." Drew whispered softly.

"Th-thanks Blue." Reika told him, and they both just stayed there, silently and feeling awkward in the moment. "You can stop hugging me now." Reika told him, and Drew backed away, scratching the back of his head. He was blushing slightly, and watching him look a tad embarrassed put a smile on Reika's face.

"Sorry, heh, just wanted to make sure you're okay." Drew said, smiling nervously.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Reika yawned and stretched before hopping off her bed and walking out of the barracks, Drew following close behind. "So, what you been up to lately?"

"Well, not much. Oh yeah, my father said something to me that's really important, and that I really shouldn't tell anyone, even you." Drew replied. The last part definitely sparked Reika's curiosity, who wanted to hear more.

"So...if you aren't supposed to tell me, then why did you mention him telling you not to tell me?" Reika asked, and Drew just shrugged.

"I don't know, you would have asked what it was anyways, and besides, I would have told you regardless, because what I'm about to tell you, you can't tell anyone else, got it?"

"Yep, this mouth will be shut and stay shut!" Reika said confidently. Drew smiled, liking her enthusiastic attitude.

"Okay, so basically my father said the Octarians are talking to him about the Zapfish and how they need it. However, my father is hesitant because of the rough history we have with them."

"Makes sense. But why do they want the Zapfish?"

"They need it to rebuild apparently. They've been talking to him about peace relations, and it's been hard because the Octarians want some of their land back and all that."

"Huh. So...what is he going to do?"

"He doesn't know yet. Honestly, my mother said it's been stressing him out for the past few months now."

"Months!? Wow, that's just...wow." Reika exclaimed, shocked to find out how long this occurred.

"Yeah. You promise not to tell anyone, right?"

"Of course. Besides, who am I going to tell anyways when you're the only person I talk to?"

"Good point. I'll see you later Orange." Drew said, waving to her goodbye while he walked away with several guards, all armed and ready to defend him. Reika just stood there in front of the barracks, watching him disappear.

"What are you standin' there for soldier? It's time for trainin'!" The Captain of her barracks said, smacking her back and startling her. She let out a small surprised "eep" from her mouth, making the Captain displeased.

"Reika, only little dainty defenseless girls say 'eep' when they're startled. You cannot show fear to the enemy, or they'll use it against you and overpower you! You want that to happen?"

"No sir…"

"Good. NOW GO TRAIN!"

"Yes sir." Reika mumbled and sulked off to the training grounds, where she practiced her sword skills on dummies with multiple other knights. The Captain was behind them, shouting comments and orders.

"Come on men, IS THAT ALL YOU GOT!? CAUSE I'VE SEEN A FEEBLE OCTOTROOPER STRIKE HARDER THAN YOUR SAUSAGES OF ARMS COULD! STEP IT UP!" The Captain shouted at the top of his lungs.

"FASTER MAGGOTS, FASTER! WHEN THE ENEMY IS FASTER THAN YOU, YOU STRIKE FASTER UNTIL YOU'RE THE FASTEST, YOU UNDERSTAND!?"

"YES SIR!" They all shouted in union. The sounds of wooden training swords being whacked against dummies full of straw and old clothing or dummies of wood filled the air, and the soldiers trained hard in the heat of summer. Reika was slashing at her dummy, trying some new tricks she made up while fighting Drew in the castle. The Captain took note of this and watched, before walking over to her.

"What the shell do you think you're DOIN'!?"

"Uh, fighting?"

"What kind of technique is that!?"

"It's something the Prince and I made up while fighting in the castle…" Reika mumbled, and the Captain took both of his index fingers and made a high pitched whistle that got the attention of everyone. All the knights stopped their endless cycles of striking their targets and turned to look at Reika and the Captain.

"Reika, show these men what you've been doing!" The Captain ordered. Reika was nervous, not really liking the attention that was being given to her right now.

"Are you su-"

"SHOW THEM!" The Captain affirmed quite loudly, and Reika proceeded. She sliced and struck her dummy with several swift blows, aiming at multiple areas of its body. Unlike the other soldiers who just mindlessly swung and hit the targets in the same boring moves, Reika always changed her strategies, and when she trained on the dummy, she always imagined that the dummy was Drew, and that he was fighting her like at the castle. Once she felt she was finished, Reika stopped and let out a long sigh of relief.

"That...was embarrassing." The Captain said. Reika wasn't surprised, considering she was sort of doing her own thing rather than the boring repetitive attacks he told her to do.

"Sir, I was just trying to improvise and-" Reika felt his hand slap across her face, sending her tumbling to the ground. She clenched her cheek and writhed in pain, looking up slightly at the menacing Captain.

"No excuses! When I give you orders, especially for training, you shut your trap and just do it! Understand!?" The Captain shouted to her face. Reika held back hot tears that were attempting to force themselves out of her eyes, and she felt absolutely embarrassed and humiliated in front of her fellow comrades.

"You are all dismissed!" The Captain told them all, before turning to Reika "And YOU, I expect you to follow my orders from now on, understand!? I don't need some stupid runt disobeying my commands!"

"Y-yes sir…"

"GET OUT OF HERE!" The Captain ordered at the top of his lungs, frightening a flock of birds nearby, which took flight and flew away from the terror. Reika picked up her training sword and stumbled off, tears flowing down her cheeks as she silently cried back to her barracks…

1 Month Later…

It has been a long, painful month for Reika. Constantly, she woke up early at the crack of dawn thanks to the Captain's loud rambunctious voice, constantly doing muscle-aching exercises and training non-stop in combat. The food she got was okay, definitely not the same standard as the food she used to get back home or in the castle when she visited Drew. Whenever she wasn't training and being shouted at, she was either being smacked around or getting stuck in boring, day-long patrols around sections of the kingdom, often not returning to her barracks until late at night. Her Captain seemed to be a large chunk of the problem, berating her heavily at what he thought were her failures, and occasionally giving her a hard slap or punch to remind her to follow his orders whenever he considered her to be "insubordinate". Finally, near the end of the month Reika and her fellow comrades were assigned to certain jobs around the kingdom. Reika's job was to protect the King's Hall of Treasures, a section of the Castle dedicated to things valuable to the King. He kept everything in organized displays, with heavily armed guards patrolling the area around the clock. She finally wore the official armor, and her tentacle color would temporarily be blue, like the rest of the knights that served under the King. Reika did occasionally see Drew walk around and the two occasionally spoke to one another briefly, but the King always reprimanded him and told him not to speak to her during her job, which was fair. She liked the job, appreciating the fact she wasn't slapped around anymore, but the armor she wore often made her hot and uncomfortable, and the constant walking and standing around drove her nuts.

"Well, at least I'm doing my duty for the King and this kingdom. This job is just as important as everything else, I'm sure." Reika told herself constantly, although she was slowly beginning to think otherwise. Today, she walked by a part of the Hall of Treasures she usually walked by in patrols. The items looked strange and unique, but one item always struck her eye every time she patrolled the area in the few weeks she's been there. It was a beautiful looking sword, the sunlight shining many beautiful rainbow colors on top of its silver scratchless blade. The hilt was wrapped in a leathery cloth and the bottom was a small silver orb that shined in the light, showing off her reflection. The most notable thing about the sword however, was the strange bright green tentacle wrapped around the blade tightly. A few days ago, she wanted to find out why it was here.

"Hey Carl" Reika asked, tapping a fellow guard on the shoulder to grab his attention. He spun around, waiting for her question "What's that sword that's sitting right there?" Reika asked.

"Oh that? That's the legendary Cuttlefish Inkhänder, or as many other people call it, the Octo Slayer, or the Octopus' Bane, or- you know what, I'm sure you get it. It's the sword that people of the Cuttlefish family used to defeat Octavio, the dark emperor of the Octarian Empire. The story goes that a man named Craig Cuttlefish, the recent descendant to the Cuttlefish family line was appointed by the King of that time to kill Octavio, who was causing chaos and committing mass genocide to Inklings everywhere. Cuttlefish just marched up to Octavio's castle and the two duked it out. Rumor has it it lasted a whole night, and that both men were on the brink of death, but in the end, Cuttlefish won."

"Huh, cool story. But, if it's his sword, why is it here?"

"Because Cuttlefish for some unknown reason was exiled by the King, and they took his sword to make sure he didn't start some dangerous rebellion. No one knows where he is today, and it's speculated that the Cuttlefish line pretty much ended."

"That sounds...sad. I mean, imagine you save a whole entire kingdom from destruction, only to be rejected and despised by those you saved."

"Heh, well that happened a hundred years ago. Nothing you can really do about it now." Carl told her, before walking away. Reika stood there for several minutes, admiring the sword, watching the light that reflected off the beautiful, magnificent blade. The tentacle wrapped around it looked like it was the tentacle of some real person, and that it was alive. However, Reika assumed the tentacle was just there for show. Nevertheless, it amazed her and she thought out of all the valuable trinkets and treasures the King owned, this was by far the best one.

"Reika, let's go!" Carl shouted down the hall, reminding her about her job.

"Oh, right! Sorry, I'm coming!" Reika replied, rushing down the hall as fast as she could. Now that she knew the story behind the sword, she couldn't help but admire it even more.

Elsewhere…

"Please, let me go! Let me go, I didn't do anything wrong!" A young Inkling girl, age 14, pleaded, being dragged by several magenta cloaked men. The mysterious men dragged her to an altar, where several symbols and shapes were surrounding a circle, all drawn in a dark reddish-brown chalk. More figures surrounded the altar, and the main cloaked man stood before it, beckoning the others to bring the girl closer. The figures muttered and repeated phrases in a language unknown to her, and the cloaked man before her removed his hood, revealing a grown male Octoling with a skinny horseshoe moustache and a short beard. His tentacles were dark maroon, and he had menacing greenish-yellow eyes that seemed to glow in the dark room, which was only lit by several candles that burned, the wax creating a strange scent in the air. His robe was different, a dark purple with a gold octopus symbol on his collar.

"Wh-where am I? Where's my mom and dad?" The little girl asked. The man, with an emotionless frown, answered.

"You are at an altar, where we praise the dark lord, who we shall rise again with the fresh stains of Inkling blood. For the spell to work, I needed a family of Inklings, a mother, a father, and their child. Your parents have already shed their ink for the spell, and their bodies are right here on the altar." The Octoling told her. Only then did she realize that her parents sat there, dead and gutted like a fish, their ink draining from their bodies and staining the stone floor. Their soulless eyes stared up at the ceiling, and their faces showed that of pure horror.

"M-Mom? D-D-Dad?" The inkling girl muttered weakly, tears cascading down her face like a waterfall. The man walked up to her, and put his hand on her shoulder and took her hand with his, walking the girl over to the altar.

"Do not fear, your parents did not die in vain. Rather, they sacrificed themselves to a great cause, whether they knew so or not. You will join them, as it is the only way…" The man told her, and he dragged the girl towards the altar. She didn't know where she was and she knew she was in danger, so the girl did the best she could to escape, punching, kicking, and flailing her arms around wildly to get her captors away. She made a run for it, however her attempt was foiled when one of the figures pulled out a small dagger and slit her leg with it. The girl cried out in pain, rolling across the floor and clutching her gushing wound. Tear marks stained her cheeks, and she cried louder and harder as she realized she would not escape, not in her condition. The figures all got on top of her, and they dragged her forcefully to the altar, where they slammed the girl on top. She could see both parents to her side, facing away.

"HELP ME! HELP ME ANYONE, PLEASE! PLE-" The girl screamed at the top of her lungs. The figures went straight to work, tearing her clothes off until she was naked and tied her to the altar with rope. She continued to squirm and scream, and the main Octoling pulled out a long dagger from his robe, stained from the girl's parent's ink. The cloaked figures around him held the girl down to restrict any further movement, and the man prepared to slit the girl's chest and gut open, revealing the organs out for all to see. She screamed much louder, shrieking like a banshee. The girl began to kick, forcing more cloaked figures to hold her legs down. The man continued the process, slamming the dagger down forcefully, stabbing her heart. The girl somehow screamed louder than before, but this did not deter the others. He struck down again at her second heart, and she began to quiet down, but still screamed with all her might. Finally, he struck her third and final heart, and the screams really began to die down. The girl still muttered and mumbled for help, the flow of tears slowing with the decibel levels of her voice. Finally, the man pulled out her ink sac before cutting it open, pouring her innermost ink on certain areas of the altar before pouring it all over her body. She was silent now, and made no movement. The figures and the man started to chant Octarian phrases softly, before growing louder and louder. Soon, the altar started to crack, with ink flowing into them and flowing out to more areas and symbols. The ceiling was open, and dark ominous clouds began to swirl around the building. Lightning struck from the dark, pitch blackness of night and into the building through the broken open ceiling. It struck the altar, and several lines of fires were created, creating a trail that lead to several large torches. The torches went alight, glowing a devilish green color that brightened the dark room only slightly. Suddenly, from the girl's body a long pillar of thick magenta ink burst forward towards the clouds and into the sky. The dark silhouette of a tall man could be seen in the pillar, and soon two arms exploded out the sides. They could hear evil laughter, before the pillar of ink stopped and exploded, blasting all the figures aside and covering them in the ink. Their bodies rolled around the ground, and once they stopped, they stood up, squinting and hoping the spell worked. The man from before looked up, covering his eyes with his arm and squinting. There, standing before him, was a tall cloaked man with a large samurai helmet with gold decorations.

"Lord Octavio, you return! Our suffering can end, and your rightful reign on this Earth can continue once more!" The man exclaimed happily, raising his arms up, before bowing on his knees. The rest of the figures did the same, and Octavio stood before them all, glaring at them evilly.

"Indeed it has, Luda. However, my power is low, and I am weaker than how I once was. Kill more Inklings, give me more power from their screams of pain and their spilled ink. I must regain my power once more, my loyal subjects."

"Yes master, we shall do as you command." The Octoling said, bowing before his leader. He then turned to the hundreds of cloaked figures, and raising his arms and outstretching his hands to them, he spoke and chanted several magic words. Suddenly, the cloaked Octolings all began to change form, growing larger and becoming more beastly. Their beaks became sharper and longer, their legs mutating into muscular clawed feet and their arms into thick tentacles that curled and writhed around unnaturally. They grew large wings, and their cloaks were torn to shreds as they changed from monstrous people to true monsters, beasts of the night. They roared and growled viciously and began to act more like wild, untamed animals.

"Go! Kill for me! Spread my influence once more and tell the Inklings that I have returned! I want it to be made known that I have risen, and that nothing will stand in my path of reconstruction. Reclaim what was once mine, conquer for the Octarian Empire!" Octavio ordered, and they all screamed and roared before flying out of the large hole in the ceiling by the hundreds, spreading across the land in the darkness of night…

"Coddamnit!" The King exclaimed angrily, slamming his fists on top of a table, shaking the things that were sitting peacefully on the surface. With him were the closest of his royal guards, all heavily armed and ready to react to any hostile gesture to the King. Also with them were several Octarians.

"I understand your displeasure, but-"

"But what!? I only agreed to the peace between our races and handing over Zapfish to you so these things don't happen! Where did the attacks occur!?" The King angrily demanded. He grabbed the collar of an Octoling man dressed in a dark blue and light violet garb with a dark purple robe and a golden octopus to connect it around his neck.

"Five villages in the outskirts of Inkopolis were attacked, no survivors from my knowledge. I sent my men there, and they couldn't find any living souls." The man said calmly, and the King threw him to the ground. The man's guards, several Octarian knights in magenta armor with long silver spears stood back into a guard stance, aiming the tips at the King. The King's royal guards prepared for a fight as well, drawing their swords and spears. However, the Octoling man calmed his knights down, giving them a simple hand gesture that signaled them to stand down. He quickly got up and brushed himself off before speaking.

"I understand your anger, but this is something that was to be expected, especially when his insane followers still exist in our world. A shame we never fully disposed of them." The man said in an emotionless tone.

"Then those monsters that attacked those villages…" The King muttered in slight fear. The Octoling remained emotionless and eerily calm.

"Yes, it signifies the return of Augustus Tenta Octavio, the 'Octarian Lord of Darkness'. I'm sure he has returned from the dead once again."

"What do I do now though? Doesn't he have some magical control over all Octarians?"

"Yes, that is apparently one of his many supernatural abilities recorded over the years. As for what to do, I suggest you do your best to repel his attacks. But do not try to find Cuttlefish or any of his kind."

"Why do you suggest that?"

"Your ancestors exiled him, did they not? He won't be useful, and if anything he will just cause more disarray and problems in your mission to make peace with us Octarians. This is your only chance to make amends between both of our species, we should not ruin it. That's why, no matter what, no one is to take the Inkhänder. Besides, if you play this smart, you can defeat Octavio without even needing to have a warrior use the Inkhänder. If my assumptions are correct, Octavio won't be at his full power, not without gathering the souls of the dead, those that his beasts and minions slaughtered. All the Inklings that died because of him give him power, their suffering and anguish only makes him and his hate stronger. If you manage to prevent such attacks like last night's from occurring once more and confront Octavio in his castle, this should all end swiftly and quickly."

"That actually sounds like a good plan...I'm sure I can pull it off. I'll try to deploy my troops and spread them throughout the Kingdom to avoid further attacks." The King said confidently.

"Sounds good. I shall head out now, these times are becoming quite dangerous by the second. I will see you later perhaps?"

"Yes, maybe later. I'll be sure to send more Zapfish to your villages."

"Thank you, you're all too kind." The man answered, bowing politely. He nodded to his guards, who began to escort him out the room. Before he could leave though, the King stopped him and asked him one more question.

"You said you were new but you knew what was going on right? So uh...what happened to the other men who used to visit me? I was shocked to see that they have been replaced..."

"Ah them...they haven't been replaced, they're just caught up in other endeavors. I'll be sure to notify them that you were worried for their safety."

"Thank you. Be safe." The king said gratefully.

"As shall you." The man replied. As he exited the city surrounding the castle and arrived into the woods beyond the plains that surrounded the city, he arrived to see a group of Octolings making a pile of other Octolings, who were dead. The pile was leaking magenta ink, and the man merely stared at it before looking up and speaking to one of the other Octolings around the area.

"The plan worked. Bury the bodies here and dispose of them." The man ordered.

"Yes sir." The Octolings quickly went to work, grabbing large shovels and digging a hole beside a very large tree. The bodies were people the man immediately recognized: they were the Octarians speaking to the King before about peace between them and the Inklings. Of course, to convince the King to prevent Cuttlefish or any relatives of his from intervening, he needed to kill the Octarians proposing peace. Even if he didn't need to, he would have killed them anyways just because they were traitors to Octavio. And no man could ever betray Octavio and live to tell the tale. He walked away, hearing the sounds of the shovels penetrating the earth in the distance, before raising his arms and opening a portal that lead to the castle. He went through, his magenta armored guards following closely behind, and the portal was soon sealed behind them.

Reika was standing beside the sword once more. The sword was lying still on its beautiful display case, resting on a red pillow outlined in gold string, which rested on top of a dark wooden pedestal. It was amazing to admire, and she loved standing there all day long, no matter how tired her limbs got from staying in the same stance for several hours. However, as much as she loved standing by the sword and watching it, over the past few days she's been hearing things. They were faint noises, what almost sounded like voices, but she mostly ignored them. After all, many people were in the castle, including other guards, maids, and castle staff, so it wasn't uncommon to hear conversations from other people. However, since last night, when she heard about the monster attacks on the villages, she's been hearing fully understandable voices. The voices were female, but she never understood a thing the faint voice told her other than the fact it mentioned the one who called himself Octavio, the one from her dream. She shuddered at the mere mention of that dream in her head, but Reika needed to keep her cool, especially in this line of work. But as the hours went by, she began to daydream and would see faint visions of random things, like a stormy night, then an ominous castle, and even a sword fight. She didn't want to suspect anything strange, but she felt like the job of standing still for several hours straight was starting to drive her mad.

"Hey...you.."

"What?" Reika asked to no one in particular quietly. She heard the voice once more, but it was more clear now.

"Yes, you. The one with the long blue hair. I'm talking to you."

"W-who are you?" Reika asked quietly. Carl, the guard who was usually with her, stared at her awkwardly. She could tell that her talking to herself was creeping him out slightly, but she didn't care that much.

"I'm here to ask a favor...a BIG favor...I need you to take that sword. The world is depending on you, kid." The voice was female, and sounded like the voice of a young woman.

"What? You didn't even answer my question and you're telling me this? Do you even know how much trouble I'll get into just by touching it?"

"I know that you'll be in huge trouble, but there's not much time to explain everything right now. All I need you to know is that you need to get that sword and get out of there."
"B-but why me?" Reika asked curiously. She needed to know why, because without a valid reason, stealing something like this from the King could result in possible death.

"Because...I'll explain later. Just do what I said. Trust me." The voice said, almost pleading but not quite. The voice then stopped talking to her, and Reika just stared at the sword. At the corner of her eye, she could see Carl taking a few peeks at her, probably suspecting something was up.

"Should I do it? Should I really follow what this girl is telling me? I mean...this could have some serious consequences...I...I don't know...but maybe I should...she said the world was depending on me, right? But then again, I don't even recognize the voice…is it really worth it?"

"Come...here…" Reika heard, and she felt like she was losing control of her mind, and she could feel the sword calling out to her, like it was begging her to come take it.

"Hey, you okay? You've been talking to yourself so I didn't know-" Carl asked Reika, but immediately noticed that she was reaching for the sword on display. "What are you doing? Get your hands out of there!" Carl warned. Reika didn't respond.

"Don't make me do this. Get away from the sword." Carl demanded, drawing his sword from his waist. Reika grabbed the sword's handle and picked it up, before taking it off the pillow it rested on and holding it in front of her face. That's when she felt like her thoughts were coming back to her control, and she realized what she was holding in her hand.

"What the- I-I didn't mean to-" Reika tried to tell Carl, who was starting to lower his weapon when she was interrupted by the sword, and the tentacle wrapped around the blade unraveled itself and wrapped itself around Reika's arm. It tightened and she could feel the tentacle's strong grip grasp her arm. This startled her, and the movement made Carl raise his weapon once more, pointing his sword at her.

"What's going on!?" He demanded, but Reika just shook her head in disbelief

"I-I don't know! Help me get it off!" Reika told him. Suddenly, other guards noticed and ran to get a superior.

"Hey, put that down!" Another guard ordered. Judging by the fancy epaulets and a few designs on his armor, he was a higher rank than the other regular guards around the area, and must have been the current superior.

"Sir, the sword, its stuck on her arm!" Carl shouted, and the superior and a few of his fellow guards went wide eyed. That's when the King came rushing into the room with his royal guards, all heavily armed and dangerously skilled at combat, perfect for guarding his life. The King looked at Reika and the guards around her, before staring in disbelief at her arm, which still had the tentacle wrapped around it. He could see the sword clearly, and already knew what just happened. WIthout warning or any further thought, he followed the advice of the Octarians from before.

"Guards, seize her! Don't let her escape this castle!" The King ordered, drawing his own sword. The royal guards, already armed with their lances and swords, did not hesitate or question the order. They flanked Reika, coming at her from all directions.

"Oh cod...I can't possibly get out of this…" Reika mumbled, and she ducked to avoid having her head taken off by one guard's lance, before blocking two other's sword attacks. She rolled out of the way of another guard, who tried to slam an axe down at her position, and she quickly leapt out of the way of another sword swing. She nearly had her ear taken off from another lance when she finally started to fight back. Reika didn't even think about fighting back, it just sort of happened. She sliced at a guard's leg and downed him, but decided not to kill him. Two more guards with lances tried to spear her from afar, but she managed to get past them thanks to quick reflexes and knocked both weapons from their hands before kicking them both to the ground. He guard with the axe was much larger than her, but this didn't stop Reika from getting him at his legs, bottom torso and back. He kneeled down, to the ground, dropping his axe to the floor. Reika climbed on top of him from behind and slammed the bottom of her sword onto the back of his head, knocking him unconscious. He tipped over like a fallen tree, and Reika rolled forward, luckily avoiding another guard with a lance and tripping a guard that tried to run at her from the front. She quickly got to her feet, and noticing the King and his royal guards were now left, she knew immediately that she was outmatched.

"You there! Surrender immediately, and your consequences for stealing the sword will be lowered." The King demanded, raising his large sword at her. His guards took a fighting stance, and they each advanced on her position in an orderly fashion, probably using a strategy they used often in procedures like this. Reika wanted to run, her mind was constantly telling herself to move her feet, but her body responded to this by going back in to fight. She batted away a royal guard's lance, and clashed with two swordsmen, their swords pressing against each other. The royal guard's expressionless masks didn't reveal any of their actual faces, and they all seemed terrifying to her. Reika tripped one of the swordsmen by sweeping her feet across theirs, and one knocked into the other, tripping over each other and tumbling down. Reika had no time to celebrate, because she could feel the presence of more guards behind her. Nearly getting speared in the back, Reika spun out of the way and grabbed the long stick area that didn't make up the long sike at the end, and with one hand she was wrestling with the lance guard as he tried to stab her. Reika slid underneath the lance like a limbo stick, appearing on the other side and swinging the Inkhänder at him and cleaving his shoulder armor. The sword managed to get past his armor and cut into the guard's skin, the wound quickly starting to leak out ink. Another guard swung his flail around in circles, gaining momentum before throwing the chain at Reika, the chained ball wrapping around the blade of the Inkhänder. The guard pulled it towards him, ad Reika tripped and fell to the ground, now sliding across it as he dragged her across the floor, trying to smash her into pillars and displays.

"Be careful! That's valuable! No, please don't hit that!" The King said, praying in his mind that none of his valuable treasures would be trashed in the chaos. Several guards tried to stab and spear Reika as she slid across, and multiple times she needed to roll out of the way or simply just do her best not to get killed. Reika finally caught her foot on a pillar, and with all her strength she pulled the sword towards her. The blade managed to cut the chains and rend the flail useless now, and seeing that she was still outmatched as more royal guards approached, Reika finally gave in and ran out of the Hall of Treasures. Down the halls, she can hear an army of footsteps stampeding towards her, the guards in all areas in heavy pursuit. All the ruckus of their footsteps shook the castle halls, and Drew emerged from one of the rooms, his face full of confusion. He stopped a guard running by, wanting to find out what was happening.

"Hey, what's going on? Did something happen?" Drew asked, and the guard stopped.

"Yes my dear sir, a guard at the Hall of Treasures stole the Inkhänder from a display. The King ordered all guards to pursue on sight immediately." The guard explained. He seemed to be in a hurry, constantly taking short glances at the crowded hallway.

"Wait, that weird looking sword? Which guard stole it?"

"I don't know sir, all I know was the guard managed to fend off a small portion f the royal guard as well as fend off several others. We are currently trying to pursue her."

"Her? Wait...you don't mean…" Drew wondered, and suddenly the look of horror came to his face, as he just imagined who could be the culprit. His face became somewhat serious, a thing that usually didn't happen.

"Get my seahorse, I'll be joining the chase." Drew ordered. The guard, who seemed to be bummed out that he couldn't join the others in the chase immediately, followed the orders, albeit reluctantly.

"Yes sir, I'll do that right away. Shall I inform your Father?"

"No, I'll inform him later. Just get my seahorse."

"Yes sir." The guard nodded and ran off, while Drew ran down the hall to get ready to join the mass of guards helping with the chase for the thief.

Reika was running through town, rushing past the large crowds of people that often gathered in the streets of Inkopolis City, the city that surrounded the King's castle. Behind her, shouts from the guards could be heard, as well as a few screams of shock from any townsperson pushed out of the way. Reika weaved her way past a few busy vendors, leaping over a cart full of fruits and tipping it over. The ensuing mess delayed the guards, who halted in front of the spilled fruits and the tipped cart. She needed to get out of the town, because there were even more soldiers patrolling the streets of the town, all of whom probably heard the message of a thief.

"Ugh, why did I take that sword? What was a possibly thinking, being this stupid!? Of course they're going to chase after me. This day just keeps on getting better and better…" Reika scolded herself, and that's when she skidded to a halt, right in front of a wall of guards, all armed.

"On the order of the King, you are to surrender. Your status as a knight will be taken from you, and you will be tried for several crimes. Do as I say, and this can all go smoothly." The guard in the front, most likely a officer, said. Reika just stood there, looking at her surroundings. There wasn't much, barring several buildings that made up this town square. She could see some skinny rope that was attached to the buildings, with small banners hanging from them. She also saw a small stone, roughly the size of her palm. None of the soldiers around her were archers, and they all had close range weapons with them. Thinking quickly, or not really at all, she knelt down to the ground. The guards were confused, but the officer assumed she had surrendered.

"Good choice, you vile thief. Apprehend her, and bring her to the King." The officer commanded, and two guards stepped forward to grab her, when Reika quickly grabbed the stone off the ground and hurled it in front of her. The stone soared through the air before slamming against the helmet of the officer, ricocheting slightly off it. He fell backwards, his body limp, and the soldiers all just stood there and watched in shock as it all happened. While they were distracted, Reika ran over to a building and began climbing on top of a stack of crates and barrels, reaching a second floor of a building.

"Hey, the traitor's getting away! After her!" By now, the soldiers that had blocked her path had seen her attempt to escape, and now tried to surround her. Reika grabbed the rope, swinging the sword and cutting it at one end. She then leapt off the wall and swung past the guards, nearly missing the blades of several spears that were thrusted upwards. She swung to another building, and then cut the rope and swung over to another, before letting go and landing. Now that she was a good distance away from her enemies, Reika continued to run. By now, townspeople began to clear the area, not wanting to be caught in the middle of the chaos.

"Ugh, why did I listen to that stupid voice? If I had just not been stupid, I could have kept my job, like any other sensible, normal person...oh cod, there's more…" Reika thought, and she saw several more soldiers coming her way, some of them cutting through several city blocks to try to cut her off. Suddenly, Reika felt something whizz past her ear, and on a wooden barrel in front of her, she could see an arrow made of solidified ink had embedded itself deep into the wood, splintering it.

"Carp, they've brought archers!" Reika exclaimed in her mind, and ducked to avoid another arrow. She spun to the right to avoid three more arrows that landed on the ground beside her.

"Wow, who knew I'm great at dodging stuff?" Reika muttered to the air, and continued to run, having to get out of the way of several dangerous arrows flying at her. Reika found a wooden barrel lid with a nice large metal ring for a handle. She grabbed it as she ran past, knowing that it could help her survive for when she arrived at the gate. After several minutes of running, dodging arrows and more soldiers, she reached the front gate. The front gate was a large iron gate that was a section of the large wall that surrounded the town. On both sides of the gate were open, roofless watchtowers where a night, fires would be lit to light up the wall. Archers would patrol the top looking out for any signs of enemy attack. But right now, the wall and the watchtowers were crawling with several archers, all with bows in hand and aiming at her. The instant Reika got within firing range, she held up the barrel lid as ink tipped arrows flew through the air. She could hear hundreds of them whizz past her head, and she even managed to bat some away with her sword, much to her surprise. Behind her, the soldiers were still in pursuit, now on seahorses, which would easily outrun her.

"Come on men, shoot her!"

"We're trying, sir! She's still managing to push through our defenses!"

"Then try aiming for a change! You don't train all day for nothing, do ya?" The archers pulled back their strings and released another swarm of arrows, which rained down on her heavily. The blue color of the ink arrows seemed to imitate heavy rainfall in a tropical storm, but this rain was deadly. Any of them that hit her could potentially end her life right then and there, and so she had to be careful. Several arrows had managed to pierce through the temporary shield that was the barrel lid, but they weren't able to reach her. A seahorse was tied to a post near the gate, and Reika quickly rushed under the gate where the archers couldn't shoot her. She soon got onto the seahorse, which panicked slightly before Reika soothed its nerves and calmed it down. She then cut the rope that it was tied to, and kicked it so the animal would jolt forward into a full sprint. The seahorse rushed past the city wall and into the fields, and behind her, Reika could see the archers turning around and aiming.

"Fire! Don't let her escape!" She could hear, and soon a whole volley of arrows came raining down on her once more. She turned the seahorse towards a more wooded area, hoping the trees and their maze of branches would block some arrows. Her plan did work, however she felt a searing pain as one arrow embedded itself on the back of her lower leg. She winced in pain, and the ink seeping in felt horrible.

"Faster! Ha!" Reika commanded, and the seahorse ran faster, trying its hardest to escape the arrows as well. Another arrow hit Reika's shoulder armor, getting stuck there, however it didn't pierce her skin. Suddenly, she could hear the sounds of more seahorses in the back, and she took a small glimpse behind her to see a squad of calvary, armed with bows and swords, running after her. An arrow hit her arm, getting past the armor and cutting her. She could feel the small wound bleed but ignored the pain and the feeling of ink sliding in the space between her armor and skin. Two soldiers managed to catch up to her, swiping at Reika from both sides with their swords. She ducked, and knocked one off with a powerful swing while the other managed to get her right leg, leaving a small gash in the leg armor. Now, she was starting to feel pain all over from the wounds, but still, Reika pushed on.

"Oh good, you're alive." A female voice, the same one from before that asked her to take the sword, began to speak to Reika in the midst of all this chaos.

"Why are you talking to me now!?" Reika exclaimed, much to the confusion of the soldier riding alongside her.

"Sorry, something came up and I got busy. Glad to see you did my favor. Now, I can see you're in quite the predicament…"

"'Predicament' is a bit of an understatement, don't you think? And how can you see me?" Reika asked, right as she swerved her seahorse to the right and slammed against the soldier riding next to her, knocking him and his seahorse to the ground where they rolled like a bowling ball, gathering up a small dust cloud.

"I'll explain that to you after, IF you stay alive long enough. But first, I have to help you stay alive and get out of there. If you've ever been outside the city, you'll know that Inkopolis Field is surrounded, for the most part, by a large forest. To your right, there should be a large tree with a strange deformity that makes it look like a...let's just say it looks like a big tuna."

"What!? How the shell am I supposed to know if a tree looks like a tuna!?"

"Just look for a really weird tree that's huge, okay!?"

"Alright, heading there now…" Reika sighed, and turned her horse around to her right, and she looked around constantly, observing each tree closely.

"Tree that looks like a tuna...tuna...I could really go for some- no, stop it! You're about to die, focus Reika!" Reika scolded herself, before nearly getting headshotted for the hundredth time by another arrow. Reika finally found a large, very strange looking tree and she kicked her seahorse so that it broke into a full sprint towards it. The woods were deep and thick, with bushes, shrubs, and of course trees covering every inch of ground. Low lying branches served as dangerous in Reika's case, because if she were to get knocked down by any of these branches, her pursuers would definitely have her head by the next minute.

"Okay, where to now?" Reika asked weakly.

"Alright, go straight until you find a small tree that has vines wrapped around it, then run to the left and maybe weave around the woods until you find a lake with a small waterfall. The tree should be noticeable, because the vines have these beautiful lime-green flowers that smell lovely."

"Okay...I didn't need that extra detail" Reika coughed a bit and covered her mouth with her left arm. When she moved it away from her mouth, she saw some blue ink dripping off the armor "but that's fine." Reika finished.

"Hey, be honest with me kid: do you think you'll make it?" The voice asked. She seemed to sound worried, and Reika really thought about it. What if she doesn't make it? She could already feel the ink bleeding from her leg and arm wounds and sifting around between her skin and armor. Her armor was hot in the summer heat, and she was starting to sweat. She felt awful right now, and she really didn't know if she would survive. What would Drew think? Would he even know?

"I...I don't know...I might not make it…" Reika answered honestly. Suddenly, the parts of the Knight's Code the King read aloud during the ceremony began to replay itself in her head.

"Honor your King and those who are above you with utmost respect."

"Understand your duty to protect and serve this kingdom, and do not run from your duty."

"The promises that you have made as part of your covenant with this kingdom are to be kept.

Betrayal to this kingdom and your ruler is the biggest crime you could ever commit." All Reika could hear in her head were those three points, over and over and over again like a broken record player.

"Ugh...why do I keep hearing that? Is it because I broke every point there all in one day?" She asked herself. There was a silence on the other side, the voice hadn't said anything for a while, and before she could wait for the voice to speak back, she saw another arrow whizz past her head and land on a tree trunk in front of her. Reika had her seahorse go faster, trying her best not to get struck down by heavy branches. She could hear angry shouts and orders from the soldiers chasing her, and then another arrow came flying from nowhere and struck her seahorse in the neck. Blood spilled out of the seahorse as it panicked and cried in agony, before slumping over and making Reika fall. She quickly got her foot out from under the dead seahorse's body, and she ran the rest fo the way, weaving past and stepping around meticulously around the maze of trees and plethora of plants. The dead leaves and fresh grass crunched below her feet with every step she took, and she heard the shouts from the soldiers become louder and louder. They were getting closer, and would soon catch up.

"Ugh...armor...so uncomfortable…so heavy…" Reika muttered weakly, feeling like the armor suddenly weighed more than it did. Thinking fast, Reika started to pull pieces of it off her body, tossing them aside on the forest floor. The stained, heavy, and damaged armor landed softly, and now Reika was in just her undergarments, which consisted of a bra and a pair of shorts, both of which were black. She kept running, ignoring the searing pain of her wounds. She found the tree, and ran past it to the left, wandering around. Finally, she reached the lake with the small waterfall as the voice said, but no one was there.

"Hello? I...I came like you said…" Reika said out in the open weakly. Behind her, she could hear the seahorses halt to a stop, and the soldiers got off, approaching her from behind.

"Stand down. There's no point in fighting us all, not in your sorry state."

"Heh...funny you mention that...I feel fine, really I do, just a little cuts…" Reika said, chuckling nervously. She swiped the Inkhänder at the lead soldier in the front, who stepped back and dodged it. He then slashed at her, cutting across her open stomach. Ink started to pour from the deep gash, and Reika held her wound, which felt hot, and the pain unbearable. She could feel tears beginning to form from the corner of her eyes, but she still pressed on, fighting back and attacking the soldiers the best she could. However, they easily overpowered her, and the lead soldier was right: she couldn't fight them in her sorry state. One soldier managed to cut her back, another got her other leg, and the lead guard managed to get her right shoulder and side of the head. Reika fell to her knees, the Inkhänder still wrapped around her arm and stuck in her grip.

"Let go of the sword, and let's make this quick." The lead soldier demanded.

"Can't...it won't come off." Reika answered, spitting out ink towards him, which landed on his cheek. He glared at her, wiping the ink off before punching her across the face.

"Perhaps it won't come off when you're alive. Let's try when you're dead." The lead soldier nodded, and the other two began to kick and punch Reika, who just laid still on the ground and took the hits. Finally, he gestured his hand for them to stop, moving her body aside with his foot so her chest faced upwards toward the sky. Reika had a small smile on her face, feeling like she helped someone. But the thought of dying like this, a horrible, embarrassing death, lingered in her mind...it didn't matter now. No one was here except them, no one was coming to save her.

"Aren't you going to *cough cough* ask if I have any last words?" Reika asked the soldier.

"Pfft, a criminal scum like you doesn't deserve the privilege to speak their last wish. You will die, a criminal and a forgettable low life. Goodbye." The lead soldier said, and Reika closed her eyes and went unconscious from her heavy wounds, and the lead soldier prepared to drive his sword deep into her chest. That is, until one of his guards was hit in the shoulder by a small sword. He screamed in pain, scaring off a few birds from the trees. He landed in the shallow, feet-deep waters of the lake, when suddenly long blades of underwater grass stretched from the water, wrapping around him and pulling him down deeper. The soldier could only scream for less than a second before all that was left was a faint imprint of blue ink in the water, his armor, and his sword. The lead soldier and his companion were on high alert, scanning the trees around them.

"Who's there!? Show yourself, cowards!"

"Very well." A female voice replied, and a green ball of ink launched at his fellow soldier, hitting him in the chest. A large blotch of green ink now stained his chestplate, and he scrambled to his feet, albeit weakly, arming himself with a sword. It didn't matter, because soon his knees were shot by two arrows, and he fell to the ground. A spike made of earth rose from the place he was lying, stabbing through his chest and splatting him. The lead soldier was now left, and he looked back to see that the sword near the lake that took out the first of his troops was now gone. He had little time to react before someone swung that sword at him, and he efficiently blocked the attack. His assailant was a young girl, not as young as the one he was chasing after. This one had some sort of black eye protection that glittered in the sunlight, and she wore a pink uniform. She was quite skilled with a sword, easily keeping him at his toes. He managed to sweep his feet from underneath her and trip his opponent, and he smiled victoriously as he prepared to deal the final blow. However, the girl smiled, and it was only then that he realized there was another, but it was too late as long vines wrapped around his body, squeezing him tightly. He dropped his sword on the ground, and the second attacker emerged from the woods, a young girl, around the same age as the pink one. Both were Inklings, although this one had gray tentacles with some green tips and highlights while the other had black with pink tips and highlights. The second attacker wore a mask that covered her mouth, and she wore a green outfit.

"Unhand me, you fiends!"

"I will, in just a second. But first…" The green Inkling leaned in, close to the soldier's ear.

"Tell the King I'm going to borrow that sword and that girl for a bit, okay? Thanks." The green Inkling whispered. The vines loosened, and the lead soldier was dropped to the floor. He grabbed his sword, pointing it at her, his mind filled with violent thoughts. However, she didn't seem the least bit frightened.

"I'm gonna gut you, you witch!" He shouted in fury, only for a large plant with a big, purple head and white spikes engulfed him, swallowing the lead soldier whole before licking its lips with its long tongue. The green Inkling petted the plant creature, touching the smooth surface of its head.

"Good boy. Now, be a good chomper and go bring that bad man to the King, got that?" The green Inkling asked, and the creature burrowed itself into the ground before digging away, leaving a path of disturbed dirt along the forest floor. The green Inkling then ran over to Reika, who was still unconscious and now had a small pool of orange ink forming beneath her body.

"Is she dead?" The pink Inkling asked.

"No. I don't think so. Come on Callie, let's take her to our home."

"Alright." Callie, the pink Inkling, answered, and carried Reika while she followed the green Inkling through the forest, leaving behind the lake...

Phew, that was a lot. Regardless, I'm quite happy with what I wrote so far. If you noticed, I did hide many references to things I like in this chapter, including other video games. Actually, there were some Castlevania inspired elements put into this chapter, since I love the series. I wonder if anyone can find all the references? Anyways, that's all for now. Be sure to leave a review!