The Inkopolis Games
Chapter 1 – A New Beginning
(Nyanki)
Several curious chatters emerged through the crowds of thousands and thousands of Inklings and Octarians. Though the long dragged out war is supposed to be over, many of the Inklings stayed in their own separate group while the Octarians stayed to theirs, each group murmuring something most likely negative about the other.
"Ahem!" A voice coughed, silencing the crowd. "Listen up here, you silly disrespectful kids!"
He paused, waiting for everyone to direct their eyes towards him. The old man glanced towards a massive red, eight-legged creature who glared in response, folding his two tentacles in embarrassment and quickly darting his eyes away. The man chuckled before returned to the crowd, holding a wrinkly yet firm hand in the air.
"Inklings! Octarians! The dragged-out violent war we've been fighting is finally over!"
Several claps and shouts of approval rang throughout both groups, their suspicions and distrust easing off. Pleased, the man waited for the cheering to die down before continuing.
"For centuries, Inklings and Octarians have been at each other throats for power. That's no more as we now both live on the surface together!"
More cheers erupted from the crowd.
"Let's remember this day with a celebration! Let's celebrate with a feast of delicious, mouth-watering, taste bud-sizzling, crabby cakes!"
Curious murmurs and whispers rang out through the crowd, earning a chuckle from Octavio, leader of the Octarians. Of course he would laugh, though the latter sees him now as a friend, the octopus just can't feel the same.
Cap'n Cuttlefish, rolling his eyes, cleared his throat, regaining the crowds' attention. "Alright you whippersnappers!" He growled. "You may not love em' as much as I do, but that's beside the point. Tonight, we will celebrate this new era of peace!" He yanked one of Octavio's arms, receiving a glare from the large Octarian as he held it in the air.
The large crowd burst into cheers of joy, Inklings and Octolings giving handshakes to one another, hugs without disgust, and friendship blossomed throughout Inkopolis, once a city of only Inklings and Jellies, now a city for all kind.
The old Inkopolis has fallen and a new era of peace has definitely arrived.
Completely above the crowd with a perfect view of everyone and everything, the silvery light of the moon reflecting off of my Skalop brand Squidvader Cap, I chuckled to myself, munching on a rice ball.
"So those two goofballs really did manage to do it." I thought to myself, gazing up towards the moon. "Interesting."
Finishing the last of my snack, I wiped the leftover bits of rice on my cheek, leaping off the tower, sliding down its smooth, slick rails to the ground. Everyone else, however, was too busy eating their butts off to notice me, enjoying every scrumptious meal except the crabby cakes.
"At least the Cap'n will have more to himself…" I thought to myself, smirking.
"Attention! Attention again, everyone!" Cuttlefish announced, removing his Legendary Cap, an item only the greatest at Turf Wars could receive. "As a boost to this ceremony, my beautifully talented granddaughters, the ones you all know as the Squid Sisters, we'll be performing a song with the hip DJ Octavio!"
Both Inklings and Octarians roared in excitement, their screaming increasing as the two pop singers with Octavio behind them stepped up, waving at their crazy-obsessed fans.
"Are you ready for freshest, most inktastic party ever?" Callie shouted, striking a pose.
"Are ready to dance like there's no tomorrow?" Marie continued, also striking a similar pose.
Octavio said nothing, but that didn't stop both groups from erupting into excitement and chaos. With a headache forming, I placed a hand against my forehead.
"Ugh!" I groaned to myself. "If there's one negative thing about us together, it's that everyone here is louder than a whale's mating call!"
"Ugh!" I heard someone groan, clearly as irritated as I am.
"I know right?" I replied, directing my attention to the annoyed inkling boy behind me. "This party's the worst."
He nodded in agreement, thankful to find someone else who shares his opinion. "That and I don't get why everyone's in love with the Squid Sisters…or that monstrosity wearing the giant hat."
I stifled a laugh, shaking my head. "Don't let the Octarians hear you say that! You'll start a whole nother' war with that negative attitude."
He rolled his eyes, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I guess you're right. What's your name by the way?" He asked, extending a hand.
I hesitated before reaching forward, shaking the latter's hand. "...Nyanki."
Immediately, he released my hand and bent forward, releasing a bunch of laughs. Some people glanced towards us, curious, but soon turned away, easily distracted with the music performance.
"Nyanki…Nyanki!" He repeated, tears coming out of his eyes. "That sounds like the name of an adorable baby kitten!"
I rolled my eyes. This isn't the first time I've received this sort of reaction from someone. Truth is, my name's not even Nyanki, it is something far, far worse than that…
"Yeah, yeah," I groaned, playfully punching the latter. "It's a silly name. Are you gonna tell me yours or are you gonna be stuck in an infinite laughing loop forever?"
He wiped the rest of the tears from his eyes, grinning. "My name's Jet."
"Nice to meet you, Jet." I said. "Sorry you're not enjoying this totally inktastic, fresh party. I'm not either, and unfortunately," I added. "We probably won't see each other again."
"W-Wait what!?" He exclaimed, genuinely astonished. "Is it because I made fun of your name?"
"Ha ha!" I laughed. "No, it's just because…" I dashed behind him, tapping his shoulder before running up the side of the wall, jumping off of it. Timing my landing perfectly, I bounced off the other wall as soon as it made contact with the bottoms of my shoes, continuing this pattern until I successfully landed on the roof of Cooler Heads, the only place to get the freshest of headgear.
"…I'm pretty stealthy!" I finished, turning away with a satisfied grin from the astonished look on his face.
"Today's a big day, indeed." I thought to myself, running across the rooftops, my feet light enough to cause little disruption for those inside. "But they didn't announce the two heroes, the main reason why I came to that loud celebration in the first place."
I put my jog on hold, gazing back towards the moon.
"Something weird is going on...and I'm gonna find out what it is."
(Nori)
Fireworks rose up into the sky, bursting into loud, crackling sparks. Gazing out the window, I slowly sipped my lemon tea, the liquid burning my tongue a bit, letting out an exasperated sigh afterwards. I leaned against the wall, setting my steaming cup aside and wrapped my tentacles around my legs.
"Well, here it is." I thought to myself. "The day where we're all enemies no longer. But why do I feel so down? We're all finally going to get along with each other."
"Nori! Yo, Nori? You in here?" A voice called. "I'm back!"
I rolled my eyes, sipping more of my tea. "Yeah, Jet, I'm in here."
A few moments later, he burst into my room, panting, a big stupid grin plastered to his face.
"What are you so giddy about?" I asked, twirling a bit of my inky green hair around my finger. "Was the party that great?"
He shook his head, taking a seat next to me. "No, no, no! That party was awful! Too much singing and everybody was loud, and Octavio, that big Octo dork was there, and Cap'n Cuttlefish was making everyone eat crabby-"
"OK, OK!" I interrupted, waving my hands frantically. "Just get to the good part already!"
He blinked before shaking his head. "Right, right…" He paused, awkwardly fumbling around with his fingers.
I rolled my eyes again, sighing.
This isn't the first time Jet's forgotten what to say. He's so loud and rowdy, I wonder how his brain functions properly enough to where he can remember his name!
"Oh, I remember now!" He beamed, clasping his hands together. "I met this really weird Inkling girl! She was able to jump from the ground to the roof off of walls within seconds! I couldn't even see her!" He exclaimed, eyes glowing with amazement. "She was just a pink blur…"
"Huh…" I murmured, stirring my tea, now drinkable. "Describe what she looked like."
"Well, she was wearing a Skalop hat…that's all I can remember."
"Seriously Jet!?" I exclaimed in disgust. "What are you gonna do if you get lost one day? Tell people that you remember living in a building?"
He tapped his chin a few times, glancing up at the ceiling. "I really can't remember! There were a lot of flashing lights and she was so fast!"
"Fine, fine." I said, waving my hand. "It doesn't matter anyways. Where's Trigger?"
"Ditched him at the party." He grinned, running a hand through his hair. "Got too bored waiting for him to catch up."
I shook my head in disapproval. "Jet, you know Trigger's probably freaking out about you right now."
"Yeah…" He mumbled, crawling up to me. "I know…" He stifled a yawn, resting his head my lap. I couldn't resist smiling as I removed his Inkline Short Beanie, gently stroking his head.
"It is kind of good though, huh?" The latter asked, eyes closed. "Guess we have nothing to worry about anymore."
"Right…" I slowly directed my attention towards the window, the fireworks still exploding into the sky, one after another. Jet climbed up, now curled up in my lap against my chest like a cat. Next to me, my iSquid vibrated several times, most likely frantic texts about the latter's whereabouts from Trigger.
"Yeah." I thought to myself as I texted the Trigger back. "We have nothing to worry about anymore...but why can't I stop worrying?"
Author's Note:
End of chapter one! Here's to hoping that The Inkopolis Games is a much better read than A Change in Heart (my first story I personally disliked).
Please let me know how you feel about this story squid kiddos! Stay Freeesh!