SCENE I: REBIRTH

CHAPTER I: ROUTINE

I can't stop in the open or I'm done for!

This thought drives me forward as my Splattershot sprays in my hands to ink a green path to safety. I dive head first into the smear of green even as a high-velocity ink spray impacts near me, desperation making me zigzag under the ink towards cover. More ink sprays splat shockingly close to me as I evade and as I reach something solid to get behind, my body rises out of the ink at a foot-first slide. Another stream of ink impacts near my head, spraying my face with burning residue as I push my entire body behind cover, pulling myself into a ball to avoid further sprays. My face hisses from hostile ink and I force myself to control my agony, gritting my teeth and trying to stay in cover as best I can.

As if noticing my cowering, two more ink sprays impact on top of the cover I'm behind, splattering purple ink over the top to run down in droplets. I only notice this when some of the ink drips onto my left arm, forcing me to crawl in pain towards the far end away from the ink. As I crawl further and find a spot not covered in hostile ink, I relax my body and quickly look around. It's hard to focus through the pain but I'm still able to note with annoyance that my ally is still charging up the ramp a few meters away. She was doing her best to dodge the attempts of an enemy attempting to splat her with the ink thrown off his Roller.

The battle is no contest, my ally immediately returning fire with her Splat Dualies once she finds an opening and exploding her assailant into a green puddle. She continues her rapid advance up the hill as I shake my head when another Splat Charger shot takes her off halfway up the ramp. Her body explodes into a puddle of purple, her angry spirit ejecting back to our spawn point. It's a clear enough message that I shouldn't follow her example, my body instinctively pressing back against cover as more ink streams splat against my cover.

To emphasize my lack of escape, more sprays of ink start smacking into the concrete around me to paint the entire area with purple, offering me no chance of escape. Another shorter groan of frustration escapes me as I go for my earpiece in my left ear, tapping a button to turn in back on as I try to figure out what to do next. "That was reckless. I thought we agreed on both of us rushing together?" I say with a smirk before grimacing at the loud crackle of feedback from the link, my grimace staying as the feedback is followed by an angry voice. "You dived behind a wall, you coward! I had no cover so I had to keep moving forward! If you had kept moving forward too, we'd have pushed further up!" my ally shouts into the feed, my hand touching my face and coming away covered in purple ink. I growl to myself as I respond sarcastically, "Well, taking ink fire so early wasn't my idea. I'll wait till you get back and we'll stick with the plan. Just be sure to have something to get behind this ti-"

That's all I get out before a roller splats me against the cover, my mind so distracted that I didn't see him appear from the ink surrounding me. My inkling spirit ejects and is sucked back to the spawn point, an exhausted sigh escaping me as I shake off access ink from my eyes. How did I not hear it coming!? Am I that stale!?

My ally is nearby and turns towards me with a look of irritation, having barely moved a few steps from the spawn point. I ignore her and instead take out my squidphone to see the timer, frowning when I see the map display. Time's almost up. We aren't winning this. My ally does the same with her own squidphone but her conclusion is different as she rounds on me with angry eyes. "Come on, we still have time for one more try!" she shouts at me, moving swiftly towards me and pushing me towards the enemy's turf but as I'm shoved forward, I blurt loudly, "Why!? We won't make it far enough to win-"

"At least try!" she shouts in retort, giving me a rough shove forward before rushing past. All I can do is groan in annoyance as I follow her charge down the ramp while spraying green ink as we go. We barely get to the bottom of the ramp before a Splat Charger shot takes her off, followed by a quick second shot to my head before I can dive away. Two purple ink puddles mark our passing as were forced back to the spawn point and as we rise out of the spawn point together, rough hands shove me onto the inky ground. I land face first with a splat of ink, quickly rising up on all fours and spitting out the ink that entered my mouth before turning my head in her direction.

She doesn't look like she cares that she shoved me onto the ground and is about to charge back into the enemy's turf when the final whistle sounds to end the match, her response to throw down her weapons in disgust with a roar of frustration. I already know what's coming when she turns to me with a snarl on her face. "This is your fault! We had them and you just had to get inked on the way up!" she shouts while pointing an accusing finger at me, my response to wipe my tongue with my fingers to get the taste of ink out of my mouth. I cough a few times before spluttering, "Yeah, that's...true...but...you getting splatted...on the way up...the right side ramp...didn't-"

She cuts me off by growling loudly through her teeth with a look of growing fury. "I don't want to hear it! We're going again! Get it together!" she shouts at me, picking up her Splat Dualies off the ground and storming off as I cough to clear out ink. Green globs splat against the ground as I wipe my mouth with a hand and move to a sitting position with a sigh, taking time to enjoy the small moment of solace. My head points upward to watch clouds drift by as I breathe deep breaths in frustration and despair. Just another live ink drill...glad that's over.

Seconds is all I get before someone's shadow looms over me, a familiar face of brown skin and green eyes blocking my view with a look of neutrality. "That was reckless, even for you. What happened back there?" my opponent states in an even tone with warm yet cold eyes. I respond by looking straight ahead and answering groggily, "Not my plan...not entirely...it seemed like an alright plan until you inked me during it..."

She offers me a hand to help me up but I wave it away lazily, lolling my head back towards the clouds and deciding to lay down for a moment. She immediately starts analyzing my performance to my annoyance, stating with a stern tone, "Even a moving target is an easy target in the open. You know this. Did you forget everything we taught you?"

What little neutrality I have is bled away with her words, my face becoming an irritated scowl as I sit back up and focus on her. I hold her gaze only for a moment before looking to my left in angry defeat, giving her a grim nod in reply. There's concern in her voice as she proceeds with her review. "Is something wrong? You don't seem like yourself today. You were cowering behind that cover like when we first started training together and you aren't a new recruit anymore."

I close my eyes to think and exhale through my nose in frustration before answering, turning my head back to face her and forcing myself to meet her gaze. "I'm not sure...maybe there's something wrong and maybe there isn't...I hope nothing's wrong but I don't know...all I do know is that we're going again-"

As soon as the words form, my opponent shakes her head no in response and commands, "No. We've already trained the maximum ten hours today. We can't go on and I won't break with our orders." Her tone is gentle but firm and I smile sadly to her in response, breaking her gaze and dipping my head forward with another sigh. I can't shake the glumness as I state, "Tell my ally that since she likely won't listen to me after this match...like every other time she's been defeated...I can tell her if you want since I did-"

A nod is the only answer I get followed by my opponent walking off without another word. I get a view of her long hair tentacles and the Splat Charger on her back as lay back down and try not to think about our defeat. I'm getting sick of losing...but at least they're on our side...I guess...

I try again to enjoy the momentary solace but another familiar face breaks the moment with their toothy grin, pale skin and magenta eyes. I give my opponent an amused look and a light chuckle before he can say with a grin, "Wow, I wasn't expecting that splat back there. I thought you'd dodge and shoot me point blank instead of being turned into wall art."

I respond with a grunt of affirmation mixed with embarrassment. How can anyone stay mad with his aura of positivism? "Yeah...well…I have to give you a break sometimes, Whinter," I say jokingly, causing him to wince at me using his name. He gives me mock seriousness in his reply. "Hey, remember? We're supposed to use code-names during live ink drills," he blurts but I continue to smile at him anyway and sit up to show him I'm paying attention. "We aren't in a live ink drill right now," I respond sarcastically, Whinter grinning his toothy smile and laughing as he sits down in front of me with a thunk of gear and a splat of ink.

This close up, I'm reminded of how much taller he is to me but his grin makes him feel more approachable. "Alright, Kosh. You have a point," he says in jest, causing us both to share a laugh as we break the rules together. The humour is short lives because he pats me on the left shoulder, my body flinching slightly at the sudden contact. "You feeling OK? I'm not used to seeing you make those mistakes during a drill and I'm pretty sure Clementine noticed it too-"

I do the same as I did with Clementine and groan in annoyance, shaking my head and sighing mostly to myself as he removes his hand. When I mess up, everyone notices. You think I'd know that by now. Turning back to Whinter, I shrug my shoulders in reply to his look of concern and stretch my arms slightly from sudden discomfort before responding. "Well…to be honest…" I start to say as I put a hand to my shoulder, moving it around a few times to test the tenderness. I'm definitely feeling the 10 hours of training now.

"To be honest?" Whinter persists, my hand leaving my shoulder as I give him a grunt of annoyance and try to put my thoughts into words. I can't help but hear the venom in my voice when I state to him, "Why is Six partnered with me again!? Can't we just swap partners or something!? She's always so aggressive with me and always rushes ahead without a plan! And we both know its just with me and not the others! Every time I'm teamed with her, we fail miserably yet she persists with her hardheaded assaults! Have you ever seen her yell at someone during a drill when it isn't me!?"

I let out a groan of frustration as Whinter's hand moves back to my shoulder, my body flinching again but not as bad as before. We've had this talk before! The answers are always the same! Before I can turn my frustration into anger, Whinter chuckles lightly, surprising me with his odd reaction and making me look at him demanding an explanation. "From what I've seen? Scurry just doesn't take defeat well. Clementine has similar tantrums when she was called a burden on the team until she gained more field experience. Scurry just needs more experience in the field." he explains in an even tone but I laugh at the ridiculousness of the notion, retorting loudly with, "You really expect her to magically change into a new inkling!? Really!?"

"No, not magically. It's more a choice under the right conditions," Whinter retorts calmly with a grin, my head shaking as I groan again at the ridiculousness. The right conditions!? We've been at this for 3 months! "Elaborate on the 'right conditions'! What do I need to do to make her less of an angry inkling girl!?" I blurt to him, Whinter opening his mouth to respond but closing it for some reason. I notice the same thing within seconds, someone hobbling towards us in my peripheral vision and my head turning to the right to get a good look at who it is. My face moves to surprise as we both rise to our feet in unison and stand at attention, Cap'n Cuttlefish hobbling towards us with a purpose to his stride. He doesn't come out to our drills unless it's important. When he finally hobbles close enough, he greets us in an old voice filled with amusement and command. "Having a good sit after a day of inking each other? Please, don't get up. The way you young inklings run about is tiring just to watch."

Neither of us sits down as we move to a resting posture to wait for the Cap'n to speak, the Cap'n chuckling at our antics as he focuses on Whinter. "Ah, Whinter. I remember when I first met you. You didn't say much then either until I mentioned the Squid Sisters," he states with amusement, Whinter chuckling nervously from my left while I stand in silence. This was before my time. "Yeah, memories...but you still haven't told us why you're here, Cap'n," Whinter states clearly, the Cap's expression moving from friendly to grim acceptance as he changes back into a commanding figure. "I need the Agents to help me with an important matter...something you aren't going to like...I need to know that you'll do as I instruct regardless of what it is."

Both of us respond with affirmation without thinking while trying to hide our growing excitement, the Cap'n nodding with a grim smile at our response. "Good. Listen closely. This mission is top secret and for Agent's ears only," he begins, our faces lighting up further at the words. A top-secret mission for us? Sounds like something to break up the monotony. I straighten my posture further in excitement and judging by the widening grin on Whinter's face from a glance, he's as on-board with this as I am.

The mission briefing we receive soon after dampens our enthusiasm significantly, my posture relaxing a fraction as I hear what he has to say. "I need you to escort Sheldon as he delivers Octavio in his prison via his vehicle to a checkpoint in the octarian territories. He will be picked up by octarian leadership and released into their custody. Once this is done, you will evacuate the area immediately. Is this understood?"

His words lack any sort of emotion but I'm stunned by the briefing, unable to speak and my face visibly shocked by the demand. Looking over at Whinter, he shares my reaction exactly. My mind starts racing with the implications of our mission, anger starting to form swiftly from the outrage. Free Octavio!? He nearly killed Whinter and Clementine, tried to invade Inkopolis, stole the Great Zapfish twice, kidnapped and brainwashed Callie, and wants to splat inklings everywhere!... And we're just letting him go back to his own territory!?-

Whinter responds first with resignation, affirming glumly as I quickly say the same with similar glumness. It became clear to me that we had already decided and the Cap'n sighs to us both before giving us a sad smile. "I know I'm asking much of the Splatoon. Octavio has done such terrible things and deserves harsher punishment then simple imprisonment but if we're to maintain a truce between inklings and octarians, he must be returned to them-"

Whinter interrupts the Cap'n, something he never does, by stating boldly, "The girls stay here." My head slowly turns towards Whinter with surprise at his sudden outburst, both me and the Cap'n focusing on him. All the Cap'n can reply with is a confused "what" as Whinter clears his throat and clarifies his claim. "We're leaving Marie, Callie, Clementine, and Scurry here. Kosh and I will handle this," Whinter states evenly and with conviction, surprise becoming mixed with panic on my face at his claim and his calmness. Just Whinter, Sheldon, and I escorting the most dangerous Octarian in inkling history...by ourselves!? Sounds dangerous and stupid!-

"Leave them on call in case things go bad," I hear myself interjecting, Whinter now taking his turn to be surprised at my sudden outburst. Whinter takes the outburst in good humour and responds with a toothy grin that's more for show then happiness. "I was getting to that but I'm glad to see we're on the same page. Hi, five!" he exclaims, causing me to shake my head with an amused groan and a broad smile as I slap his hand quickly.

The Cap'n coughs slightly from my right, both of us losing our amusement and standing back to attention as the Cap'n states, "You leave tomorrow. Get what rest you can and check your gear. Sheldon will prepare Octavio for transport and I suspect that the octarians will try to free him prematurely in transit. You're to prevent that from happening but remember, this is not a combat mission. Keep incidents to a minimum if you can." The Cap'n groans slightly as he dismisses us and turns to hobble away, likely not hearing the 'yes Cap'n' we both say.

Whinter and I are left standing in the green ink and after a few seconds, I decided to take a seat just to make my body do something to cope with the shock. Whinter sits down next to me a few seconds later, likely just as shocked by our current assignment as I am. No words are spoken, each of us alone with our thoughts before I finally turn my head to look at him and try to break the tension with a forced smile. His bright smile and sunny disposition are replaced with a grim expression and hollow eyes staring straight ahead. "Well, so much for ink drills," I say to him grimly without meaning to, my face trying to keep the fake smile despite the dark mood but eventually succumbing to despair.

He doesn't laugh and I don't either.