Apologies if this seems a bit poorly put together, I really wanted to put out a new chapter, and both of the chapters I were/was working on weren't long enough for me. So I put them into one longer chapter to save me a lot of time and frustration. Thanks for reading!

Three weeks ago…

I scouted out the town square. My orders were to figure out what squids did on a day-to-day basis. From what I had gathered, they had 'turf wars', which are like nerf wars except you can't cheat much. At least, that's what I knew. I still needed to figure out how one participated in them and what the rules were. Luckily, I had the rest of the week to figure it out. At least, what I could figure out. They had no idea, so I could always make something up. I jumped down into an alleyway and snuck to the back of the building. I opened the door and crept in.

"Who's there?" a voice called out. I hid behind a crate. Footsteps crept closer as I heard a blaster's safety click. I stood up.

"Hello there." I put my hands up.

"Who are you?" The creature asked as he pointed the blaster at me.

"No need for threats. And the name's Gabriel."

"What are you?" It asked, lowering it's gun.

"I'm what you call an ancient."

"Impossible, they went extinct over twenty thousand years ago."

"Not all of us." I put my hands in my pocket.

"My name's Sheldon. I own this shop."

"Interesting. Can we meet somewhere after the shop closes?"

"Sure. Come back here in two hours."

"Alright, see you later." I walked out.

Two hours later

I walked back through the door. Sheldon was waiting at a table with two chairs at it. I sat in the one opposite of him.

"So, what to you want to know about Inkopolis?" Sheldon asked.

"First of all, so I can truthfully finish my mission, what's a turf war?"

"It's a game we play. Two teams of four fight each other with non-lethal ink blasters while trying to cover the field in their color ink."

"Alright, so that's my mission complete. Anything you want to know about me?"

"How many of you are there?"

"About a hundred of us. We live quite a distance outside the city in a mobile base that we call 'The Elephant'. Anything else?"

"How do you know our language?"

"After a while, I figured out bits and parts of it. I eventually practiced it enough that I can speak it fluently. Most other humans only speak English."

"Ok, that's all I want to know."

"Hey, you mind if I stay here for the rest of the week?"

"Sure. Can you help clean up, though?"

"Yes I can." This was the beginning of a good friendship.

Four weeks later

I woke up and checked my revolver. It was in the same condition as I left it days ago. Battery pack fully charged and the cooling charge ready for five quick-cools. Somewhat used, but intact enough to be usable. Placing the gun on my desk, I turned on the tv.

"The western districts of the city are under attack by Octolings. All citizens are to arm themselves or evacuate the city. Local police and the Elite Squids are holding them off for now." I put the holster on my belt, put the gun into the holster, and ran to Sheldon's. I put my hood up as I rushed out the door. When I arrived, Sheldon was handing out weapons to the people. He looked up to me and nodded. I ran to the western districts.

When I arrived, Octolings had taken a few miles of the city. Police were scattered thin throughout the area, and the elites were defending the police station. I jumped down, landing behind an abandoned barricade. I drew my gun and ran toward the station. When I arrived, the Octolings were closing in on the building. A few Inklings were injured, with a medic tending to one behind the wall of a destroyed building. Behind a concrete barricade, several inklings were crouched, with one popping over it every once in awhile to fire at the octolings. I raised my gun and took a handful of them out. I rolled behind cover once they started firing at me. Whenever a gap was created, I moved forward and took a few more of them out. They started retreating. I ran after them, firing my gun as I ran. I took out more of them. Eventually I was forced to take cover again. I looked to the station and saw a few elites running towards my cover. I got up and fired away at them, hitting my target each time.

"Who are you?" One said, firing her gun at them.

"A better fighter than you." I vaulted over the barricade and ran to the next one, looking to them. "Not gonna stand there, are ya?" I aimed my gun around a corner and fired more shots. I was joined by a squid with black tentacles. An octoling shot my hood off, but I didn't care.

"You're him!" She said.

"Who?" I asked, getting behind the cover.

"The person that saved me a few days ago!"

"I guess so." I got out of cover and, switching my gun to full auto, blasted at the octolings. They ran. I stood up and looked around. "Everyone alright?" I asked them.

"Yes." an inkling with whitish-green tentacles said.

"What are you?" Callie asked.

"I'm what you call an 'ancient'."

"I thought you were extinct." Marie said.

"We're not dead yet." I said. "Just hiding in the shadows."

"Then what're you doing?" a third with blue tentacles asked.

"Me?" I looked at him. "I'm going into the light." I looked at the retreating octolings. "Now let's finish this fight." We chased the octolings out of the city, just as the military arrived. Before they could talk to me any more, I climbed a building and once again ran across the rooftops. I went through the window into my apartment and stayed there for the rest of the day. I watched the news, which finally confirmed that I was real. I decided to finally come out of the shadows. But not before a good nap.