The New Squidbeak Splatoon
In celebration of the announcement of Splatoon 2, as well as the Nintendo Switch, I decided to get back into Splatoon after a long period away and was inspired to write this story. A deeper retelling of the events of the game, but with some twists to keep things fresh. I hope you all enjoy reading Chapter One: The New Squid in Town, where we'll meet our main characters!
Chapter One: The New Squid in Town
Inkopolis Tower: Orange Team Lobby
Inside the famed landmark of Inkopolis, two teams were preparing for their first matches of the season. The Blue Team was currently in their own lobby, going over their strategy for the upcoming match. But things were not so smooth with the Orange Team, who was currently in a state of panic.
"What do you mean Ray cancelled?!" An Inkling girl asked her team's captain, Ian, who sighed and rolled his eyes as he hung up from the phone call he had just received. "Just what I said, Lala." He informed her. "Ray said his brother's sick, so his mom is making him stay at home to help take care of him."
The girl, Lala, let out a furious groan as she roughly pulled on her tentacle bangs. "But it's the first game of the season! How the heck are we supposed to find a replacement on such short notice?!" She demanded, tapping her foot impatiently. Off to the side their other team member, Becca, winced at the other girl's loud voice, covering her ears in annoyance.
"I don't know, but we'd better think of something before you rupture your ink sac!" She suggested, returning to the maintenance of her weapon, a Kelp Splat Charger. Ian, who used a Rapid Blaster, silently agreed with her before turning his attention back to Lala, the team's Roller specialist. "Look, I'll go see if I can talk to Judd and get him to delay the game a bit. In the meantime, you head out and find someone to play for Roy. That's all we can really do at this point if we don't want to forfeit."
Lala huffed but nodded, running out with her bucket hat falling to her back; her tentacles didn't change colors, as orange was their natural color. She bolted from the tower, wishing (not for the first time) that they were allowed to lay down ink in the plaza so she could get around quicker. Her green eyes scanned the busy crowd, looking for anyone that she recognized from any of her previous matches.
Bullet Shrimp Terminal
"I told you mom, I just got into town." Said an Inkling boy with turquoise tentacles ending in specks of purple and orange eyes, his "hair" styled into a ponytail. He looked up through his glasses at the Inkopolis tower, where he could see two large, strange statues that seemed to be some sort of animals. "You said the house is near the plaza, right? I'm gonna take a look around before I head over... No, don't worry, my phone's fully charged. Yeah, I'll call you if I get lost... Yeah, okay. Bye. No! Bye!" He ended the call, a bit louder than he'd meant to, as several people around were looking at him oddly. He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck before heading to the plaza with his head held low.
Seth looked around the busy town plaza, as dozens of Inklings and jellyfish crowded the area in their hurry to get wherever they were going. He spotted a group of stores he could recognize from his sisters' description; the Booyah Base. He spotted the prawn who owned the shoe shop, Shrimp Kicks, bobbing his head to what he assumed was whatever music was playing, while the owner of the Jelly Fresh shirt store, a jellyfish, seemed to be taking a look at his merchandise.
Next door he could see the girl who owned the headgear joint, Cooler Heads, showing a set of headphones to a pair of Inklings. The weapon shop, Ammo Knights, had a "Closed" sign on the door, but he could see a short crab tinkering with a Charger.
Across the street, he saw the tv station where they apparently filmed the local news. A large tv screen mounted on the building was showing a place referred to as the Pirahna Pit, the site of an upcoming match. The game was apparently set to be a Tower Defense round. Just after Seth turned away from the screen, two young women appeared on it.
"As we mentioned a moment ago, however, the Orange Team has encountered a snag and the game has been delayed by 15 minutes." Spoke a chipper girl with dark tentacles. The other girl, who seemed much more laid-back, glanced over at her. "And that was about five minutes ago that they announced the delay. Clock's ticking, Orange Team!"
"Wonder what the holdup was?" Seth heard a girl ask her friend as he walked past them. "Who knows. I heard they got that spazzy girl on their team, though. It's probably her fault." Her friend replied, rolling his eyes. The girl clicked her tongue quietly. "Tch, her? No wonder they're having problems."
Elsewhere in the plaza, Lala sneezed roughly as she turned a corner. Wiping her nose, she muttered to herself "Oh no, body. You're not getting sick now, too!" She huffed as she looked around, running in place in her impatience. She scratched at her head. "Come on, who have I asked already?" She thought as she continued running. "Tony, no. Marge, no. Sean, Clara, Bridget, no no no..."
So caught up in her thoughts, Lala wasn't paying attention as she accidentally plowed right into someone, sending them both crashing to the ground. She rubbed her head in attempt to sooth the pain. "Ouch, man..." She grumbled, glancing at the boy she had ran into, who was doing the same after adjusting his glasses. "Hey, sorry about that! Are you okay?" She apologized, hopping to her feet and offering a hand. He looked up at her and nodded, accepting the help and brushing off his shirt as he stood. "I'm fine, it's alright." He assured her. "What's the rush?"
Though she smiled upon hearing he was fine, Lala's previous panic immediately returned at the question. "I gotta find a replacement!" She shouted, not realizing how loud she was being. Seth tilted his head curiously. "A replacement? For what?"
She pointed at the Inkopolis Tower. "My team's about to play our first match of the season, but one of our guys couldn't make it!" She explained, and Seth understood. "So she must be on the Orange Team the news was talking about." He thought to himself.
"I see." He said, picking up his bag. "Yeah, no wonder you're in such a panic. I heard that there had been a delay." Seth grimaced as a memory came to mind. "It sucks when that happens. I had something similar happen to me once back home - Someone cancelling at the last minute, I mean."
Lala nodded, but froze and looked at him. Seth froze as well, finding her sudden silence unnerving. "Do you do Turf Wars?!" She asked hopefully, clasping her hands as if in prayer. Seth offered a awkward smile. "Uh, s-sort of?" He offered. "Just some local tournament stuff back in Reefside. Nothing too ma-!"
"CAN YOU JOIN OUR TEAM?!" Lala suddenly interrupted, with all the volume of a Killer Wail. Seth would have winced at the loudness, but was more distracted by her request than anything.
"W-what?!" He asked, not sure he heard her right. She grabbed his hand and hopped up and down desperately. "Please, please, PLEASE join my team!" She repeated her invitation. "Just for today, is all! Pleeease? It won't take long!"
Seth looked at her helplessly, finding it difficult to ignore her rather pitiful expression. He had to get home to his family, didn't he? And he hadn't been in a Turf War for a couple of months. And even then, he'd never played Tower Defense; all they ever had back home was basic Turf Wars arenas him and the other locals had cobbled together. "Look, I'm sorry..." He said with a heavy sigh as his eyes lowered.
He glanced back at her face, and saw her sad eyes once again. There was a pregnant pause, during which he realized he had started to hold his breath. Letting out the air, he managed a small smile. "Then again..." He continued, and Lala froze in response. "... I do have some time to spare."
Lala's expression slowly shifted from "completely broken" to "excited beyond all belief". "Oh thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" She squealed eagerly, picking Seth up in a bone-crushing hug (or it would have been, if Inklings had bones). "Ouf!" Seth gasped, surprised by her strength.
She grinned wildly as she released him, allowing him to drop back to his feet. She took his and and pulled him along, running as fast as she could. "Come on, it's this way!" She told him as he struggled to keep up, holding onto his glasses. "By the way, what's your name?!" She asked, looking back at him as they ran. Seth blinked in surprise, realizing that they never did introduce themselves.
"Seth! What's your name?" He responded, now catching his footing better. He grinned a bit, getting caught up in the excitement.
The girl smiled back. "Lala!" She answered. "Nice to meet you, Seth!"
Well, there's Chapter One down! Next chapter will be Seth and Lala's first match together, so I hope you're all looking forward to it! It'll also include a description of both characters usual outfits, so you'll have a better idea of what to imagine. I wanted to focus on characterization for this chapter.
For anybody who's curious about my other stories, they're still being worked on, so don't worry. I'll be honest, most of the delay is just laziness on my part, but I also was having trouble with OpenOffice messing up my files. Switched to using a different program, so... fingers crossed! I really do appreciate everyone's patience! So until next time, thanks for reading! Until next time!