Chapter 3
The first thing that Quinn registered upon waking up was that she was warm. Now, this was an odd and strange thing since the temperatures outside had to have been pretty chilly. Next to register was the apparent softness of her surroundings. Where on earth was she? The ground certainly could not be this comfortable. Dark gray eyes slid open, vision hazy as they adjusted to the light.
She was in what appeared to be a small bedroom, painted a pale blue and decorated with light orange and yellow accents. It wasn't exactly Quinn's color scheme - greens and browns were more her speed - but complaining about that wasn't really high on the girl's priority list. She was in a shelter, though whose home she was in was a mystery to the girl. Someone had to have brought her here, and judging from the bandages covering parts of her limbs they had taken care of her wounds.
"Wha…" Quinn trailed off in bewilderment, not sure how to react.
"Oh good, you're finally up."
Quinn twisted around to face the door, spying a blue tentacled inkling boy leaning against the door frame. A replica of armor jackets, pants, and a pair of red sea slugs covered his body, while a gas mask hid his face from the world. The only thing that could be seen underneath it were his blue eyes, which were focused on Quinn.
"I was starting to get worried you were hurt worse than I thought and that I'd have to take you to the hospital," he continued, walking into the room and sitting down on a chair that Quinn had missed in her first initial look around. "So, how are you feeling?"
"Um…" Quinn blinked a few times. "I...I guess I'm doing okay. But who are you, and where am I? I thought I passed out in a back alley."
"I'm Langston, and yes, you did pass out in a back alley," Langston replied with a slight shrug "I stumbled across you and didn't want to just leave you there so I took you to my secondary apartment."
"Secondary apartment?" Quinn's mouth dropped open in shock. Just how rich was this guy for him to be able to afford not one but two apartments? Was he some kind of millionaire or something?
"Yeah, I used to live here but then I moved in with some friends since I got too lonely by myself," Langston chuckled in response to her stunned expression. "I still kept the lease up in case I needed a place to go to get away, and I figured you wouldn't want to wake up in a house full of messy boys. They aren't neat like me, unfortunately."
"Um...yeah, I probably would have been a bit surprised to say the least…" She trailed off awkwardly as the older teen continued to laugh for a few minutes until he finally managed to calm his chuckles.
"So what even happened to put you in that condition? You looked like you had gotten mugged, um…"
"Quinn," she replied quickly, frowning at the memory of last night. "I ran into some jerk named Ryker or something like that when I was in Ammo Knights the other night. He and his goons roughed me up pretty good before he strangled me and literally threw me out of the shop."
"...oh geez...that's not good…" Langston's eyes widened. "That's really not good…"
"Yeah, I know it's not good. I mean, he caused me to pass out," Quinn said indignantly.
"No, it goes beyond that." Langston stood up and walked over to the window looking out over the city. "Ryker's got a pretty big reputation here in the city. Most people know him as 'Ryker the Terrible'."
"Ryker the Terrible?"
"Yep. He's got the shortest fuse out of anyone in this city. Sometimes it seems like just breathing sets him off and when he's in one of his moods there's no telling what he'll do. He's even attacked his own teammates during ink battles in the past just because they make what he considers a bad play. It's frightening how much anger he has."
Quinn flinched, recalling how easily the teenager had gone from just cruel words and firing ink from his gun to physically assaulting her. It was a terrifying memory, yet at the same time it ignited a flare of anger deep within her. Right now, despite her fear, the girl wanted nothing more than to hunt Ryker down on the battlefield and teach him a lesson.
"Normally he hangs out with a group of his buddies. Usually, they go along with his taunting provided it doesn't cause lasting physical harm," Langston continued, studying the girl before him. "Liam can be just as cruel as Ryker if he gets pushed far enough, Zane's more of a tactician than a fighter, and then Dash is usually the nicest out of the four. I'm surprised he didn't try to stop them last night."
"One of them did," Quinn mumbled, thinking back to the light blue inkling that had voiced his displeasure over her treatment.
"That was probably him then. Overall he's not a bad guy, one of my friends actually. You're safe around him. The others though...I'd steer clear if I were you. Make no mistake, if Ryker runs into you again he's not going to treat you well. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to hunt you down. From what it sounds like you stood up for yourself, and he sees that as a challenge."
"Great…" Quinn sighed and got out of the bed, beginning to pace back and forth by the wall. "I've been in the city for less than forty-eight hours, gotten attacked by a crazed lunatic and his goons, been hurt, and still haven't found a place to stay or buy food or anything like that."
"You don't have a place to stay?" Langston sounded surprised. Quinn shook her head in response.
"I was going to look for a hotel after going to Ammo Knights and then stay there until I could find a permanent residence."
"Hm…" Her companion thought for a minute before rummaging around in one of his pockets and pulling out a key. "Why don't you stay here for the time being? Like I said, I don't live here, I just keep the rent up in case I ever need it. Seems like it'd be a shame for a perfectly good apartment to stay empty, and you need a place to stay anyway."
"Um…" The black tentacled inkling blinked a few times before looking at him suspiciously. "And what do you get out of this exactly? I appreciate you trying to be helpful but why go to such lengths for a girl you don't know?"
"Guess it does seem strange, doesn't it?" Langston's tone grew wistful as he spoke, his gaze returning to the window. "When I first came to this city an older inkling named Kai took me in. He was one of the freshest inklings this side of the plaza, and he hung out with a complete rookie like me. I don't know what prompted it but he took me under his wing and taught me everything I know about ink battles. I just want to help someone out similar to how he helped me, that's all. I'm not going to do anything harmful or inappropriate to you, if that's what you're worried about."
"...you promise?"
"Cross my hearts or hope to be splatted," Langston replied with a slight grin, making an x-shaped motion over his chest. Quinn continued to look at him suspiciously. It was rather odd for him to be so friendly to a stranger. But his intentions seemed sincere, and if he had any ulterior motive the boy hid it well. If Langston truly had no intention to harm her then she would be a fool for turning him down, yet at the same time it was foolish and not exactly safe to trust someone that she had known for so little time.
Given that she had walked to Inkopolis instead of safely waiting for the train, however, it couldn't really be said that Quinn was one for doing things the safe way. And all of Langston's actions thus far seemed to prove he meant her no harm. After all, when the girl had been unconscious she was helpless. It would have been easy to steal her belongings, kill her, or do other such unsavory crimes.
"Deal." Langston smiled at her response and dropped the key into her hand. "Do I have to pay you rent or anything?"
"Nope, like I said even though I own the apartment at the moment I don't live here," he said as he walked towards the door. "Maybe later if you want to live here full time but not at the moment. I'll let you get settled in. I left my contact information on the table so feel free to call if you need help with anything."
"Um...okay? Thank you!" Quinn called after him as he walked out the door, shutting it behind him. The girl was left alone in the apartment, and after a few minutes, climbed out of the bed to explore her abode. It was a well furnished place, with a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. Judging from how large it was, the rent had to be pretty expensive. Just how rich was her mysterious benefactor to be able to afford not only this place but also another apartment as well?
Perhaps it was best not to worry about that right now. The important thing was that Quinn now had a place to stay in the city. Scarcely had that thought occurred to her did the teenager realize she had no idea where exactly in Inkopolis she was. Come to think of it, she had no idea where anything in Inkopolis was located.
"Well, guess I better start exploring this place," she said to herself as she changed into her turf war gear and picked up her gun and ink tank from where they were lying on the table. It appeared that Langston had fixed the damage they had incurred the night before, yet another thing she owed him for. Slinging them over her shoulder, the inkling darted out of the apartment, heading for the great outdoors.
Several inklings gave her strange looks before whispering among themselves as she walked down the street. Quinn paid them no mind, instead focusing on Inkopolis Tower. It loomed into the sky right in front of her, the base hidden by several buildings. No doubt she was close to the plaza, and with an excited grin the girl headed towards it. Perhaps exploring could wait until later. After all, there was an opportunity for her to do turf wars!
Quinn broke into a run in her excitement, a childish look of glee adorning her face. Finally, her very first turf war! What kind of opponents would she face? Would they be strong? Newcomers like herself, or seasoned veterans? What stage would it be on? These questions, and more, swirled through her head.
Soon the spaces between the buildings began to widen, and then suddenly receded altogether to open up into the plaza. Quinn continued to charge towards the tower, only to crash into someone.
"Oof!"
"Ow!"
A pair of twin thuds echoed in the air as Quinn and whoever she had run into fell to the ground. Groaning, the black tentacled inkling shook her head a few times to clear it.
"Ugh...sorry about tha…oh cod…" Catching a glimpse of who she had run into, the girl trailed off. Sitting on the ground in front of her, a stunned look on his face, was the light blue inkling from Ammo Knights, one of the ones that Ryker had hung out with. What was his name? Quinn wasn't sure, but if he was there then the other three couldn't be too far behind. And if they were there then surely they'd torment her again, much as they had done the night before. That was the last thing Quinn wanted, and fearfully she scrambled to her feet before taking off across the plaza.
"Wait!" Behind her she could hear the boy scramble to his feet and chase after her, but she didn't stop running. Frantically she looked around for a place to hide, only to notice a sewer grate to the right of the plaza. Was it ideal? No, of course not. What sane inkling would want to hide in the sewers of all places? It probably reeked of rotten ink and was infested with rats and bugs. Not exactly a fun place to hang out, but right now it was her only option.
"I'm going to regret this later," Quinn muttered before taking a deep breath and diving towards the grate. The teenager shifted into a squid in midair, slipping through the flimsy barrier and into the sewers below. The smell hit her like a ton of bricks, but surprisingly enough the place appeared to be clean. The area was semi-lit with small lamps that did little to purge the darkness from the area. Dirty water coursed along concrete channels, with narrow pathways raised up above the deadly fluid. Quinn wasted no time running into the darkness, not sure if her pursuer would follow her.
It reeked to high heaven, the smell making the young girl cough and gag as she ran. Her escape was not as stealthy as she would have liked, for if he was chasing after her the boy would most certainly hear all the noise she was making. Realizing this, Quinn clamped a hand over her mouth in an effort to stifle the noise, slowing to a stop to try and listen for any sounds of pursuit. Nothing, save for her somewhat labored breathing, echoed in the concrete cave. It appeared that she had made her escape.
"Phew...that was way too close for comfort," she mumbled to herself before looking around with a sigh. "Now I just need to figure out how to get out of here. There's got to be a manhole somewhere...at least, I think so anyway..."
That, in fact, was Quinn's biggest mistake. Although she had managed to escape the boy, down in the sewers she had no way of knowing where exactly in the city she was. It was especially unfortunate that the sewers underlying the plaza area only had a few manholes that led to the surface, and none of them were near her. But the teenager had no way of knowing that as she resumed trekking through the sewers, albeit at a much steadier pace than before.
"Where on earth am I?" Quinn wondered aloud about fifteen minutes later, not having come across a manhole or any sign of life so far. It was rather concerning, really. What would happen if she got stuck down here forever? Would anyone find her body? How would her mother and brother cope with losing another loved one after her father's death so many years ago? What would Langston think when the girl he had helped mysteriously disappeared? And Yusei, Flora, and Fabio, they seemed nice and friendly? Would they ever wonder what had happened to her?
As those questions swirled through her head, Quinn rounded the corner only to bump into someone. Paling the girl jumped backwards, peering into the darkness.
"Who's there?"
"Ugh...lousy ten armed idiots can't even watch where they're goi-wait a minute! It's you!" The figure stormed out of the darkness and thrust an accusatory finger in Quinn's face. "You're the inkling that attacked me out by that old hillbilly town!"
With that, the octoling tackled Quinn, pinning her to the ground.
"You know how much trouble I got into because of you?" The octoling, whom Quinn dimly recalled was named Octavia, demanded in an outraged tone. "You're dead meat once I drag you back to the army you inkling scum!"
"Uh, yeah, no thanks!" Quinn shoved the girl off of her and scrambled to her feet, taking off into the darkness once more. Octavia snarled and began chasing after her, angry curses echoing in the air. It would appear that the octoling was just the tiniest bit upset over the result of their previous encounter. Given her threats, getting caught probably would end up with Quinn dying at some point, something the girl wasn't too keen on.
Well, at the very least this confirmed that what happened on the way to Inkopolis wasn't just some fever dream. Octolings really were still alive, though at the moment Quinn would have much preferred them to be extinct. Octavia was catching up to her, the cursing and angry threats growing louder as the soldier started gaining ground.
"Got you!"
"No you don't!" Octavia tried to tackle Quinn but the girl twisted out of the way at the last moment. Her pursuer fell to the ground with a dull thump, instantly springing back to her feet and charging down the tunnel. Quinn didn't waste the opportunity and continued to flee, not trusting her ability to fight a highly trained soldier in such narrow confinements. But at the same time she could not keep on running forever. Sooner or later she would have to stop and take a break. The question was would the black tentacled inkling lose the octoling before that had to happen.
Suddenly a slight glimmer of light caught the girl's attention, dark eyes squinting to try and make out the details in the darkness. There, up ahead, where the path appeared to split, was a small cone of light flooding into the tunnel. That could only mean one thing: there was a manhole. As crazy as Octavia appeared to be, chasing Quinn around under Inkopolis, surely she'd not dare to go into the city itself. That would be foolish beyond measure.
Her mind made up, the inkling made a beeline for the light, not daring to look behind her for fear it would cause her to trip and lose her balance. If she fell here there would be no second chances, Octavia would surely get her. That'd be bad news for sure.
Fortunately, that didn't happen, the inkling miraculously managing to keep her footing during her run. Light trickled down into the darkness as the teenager neared the manhole, providing a bit more illumination to the area. It was warm and inviting, a promise of fresh air and perhaps a chance of escape. There was no hesitation in Quinn's actions as she shifted into a squid and jumped through the grates. Perhaps she'd emerge in a dangerous part of the city, but that was much preferable to being turned into calamari by the enraged octoling pursuing her.
Behind her, Octavia reluctantly came to a halt, snarling furiously.
"I'll get you one of these days, inkling scum!" With that last threat, the soldier turned on her heel and stalked off. Up on the surface, Quinn let out a sigh.
"Well, at least she gave up on chasing me…"
"Who gave up on chasing ye, lassie?"
"Gah!" At the creaky, unfamiliar voice Quinn whipped around, hand flying for her gun. Standing there was an old man, hunched over almost double at the waist. Eyeballs bulged out of his head to the point where they almost covered up the markings surrounding them, and a wizened old beard covered the lower half of his face. His tan skin was all wrinkled and sagging off his bones, a few scars marking it here and there. A military uniform, all tattered save for the smart blue cap perched on his head covered his body, and to complete the ensemble he was clutching an old-fashioned bamboozler like a cane.
"W-who are you?" Quinn skittered backward, raising her gun. "Stay back, I'm warning you!"
"Easy bucko," the man replied, a somewhat large grin appearing on his face. "I am Cap'n Cuttlefish, leader of the esteemed Squidbeak Splatoon! What be your name, lassie?"
"Quinn…" She trailed off, eyeing him suspiciously. At the moment Cuttlefish appeared to be nothing more than a crazed loon, certainly not a war hero. Besides, according to all the history books the Squidbeak Splatoon had been disbanded after the Great Turf War anyway. Even if he truly was the captain of that heroic group, it was nothing more than a title now.
Sighing, Quinn turned her attention to surveying her current surroundings. It was a rocky place, scraggly plants and grizzled grass sprouting up from cliffs and parched soil. Tall spires loomed out of a deep valley that ripped through the ground, their bases hidden by thick blackness. The ravine wound its way towards the distance, its true length unable to be perceived. Nearby was a ramshackle and rundown hut if it was even that at this point. A decrepit shelter at best, and probably the place Cuttlefish lived.
"What even is this place?" The black tentacled inkling turned to look at Cuttlefish. "Where are we?"
"This here be Octo Valley, bucko." His voice was somber as he spoke. "Over a hundred years ago we soundly defeated the octarian menace and forced them to retreat into that chasm over there. I've been keeping watch over it ever since to make sure they don't try anything."
"Octarians?"
"Aye." Cuttlefish nodded gravely.
"So then they do exist...I really did run into them back at Splashtown and in the sewers just now," Quinn mumbled to herself. "But wait, that means Yusei was wrong...is he just misinformed or something?"
"Huh? What're you rambling on about Quinn?"
"I walked to Inkopolis from Splashtown, my home," she replied, waving a bit dismissively. "It's a long story, the details of why I walked aren't important. But on the tracks, I encountered a group of octolings. I don't know why they were out there-"
"You encountered a group of octolings? Tell me everything bucko, immediately!" Cuttlefish instantly yanked Quinn into his shack and sat her down in a chair before starting to pace back and forth in front of her. "I knew those eight-tentacled slimeballs would try to do something sooner or later. Probably looking for more zapfish."
"Literally all I know is that they were doing some sort of scouting mission," the teenager replied with a rather awkward look on her face. "One of them snuck up on me but I caught sight of her. We fought and I managed to wrestle her gun away from her but it didn't do much so I ended up using brute force to knock her out. After that, I hid so the other octolings wouldn't find me, and didn't come out until they left."
"Hm...you say you won a fight with one of them and escaped?" When Quinn nodded Cuttlefish quit his pacing, turning to look at her. "How much experience do you have in fights, bucko?"
"None, I haven't even done a turf war yet," Quinn replied, running a hand over her splattershot jr. "Got kind of sidetracked by something…"
"Well, Quinn, you seem like you know your way around a battlefield regardless," Cuttlefish began rooting around in a closet before pulling out a weird looking suit and some sort of black and neon yellow gun. "How'd you like to join the Squidbeak Splatoon?"
"Um…" Quinn frowned, looking at him suspiciously. "...why exactly should I do that? I mean, yeah, the octarians are messing around. But they haven't really done anything yet."
"That's where you're wrong lassie." Cuttlefish shook his head and began pacing again, a grave look on his face. "They have done something. What do you know about the zapfish theft?"
"Zapfish theft?" Quinn looked and sounded extremely confused. The zapfish had been stolen? Since when? She hadn't heard anything about that during her travels, and something like that would have been big news and spread like wildfire. But yet nothing, not even a rumor of a theft, had reached her.
"Aye, the zapfish, including the Great Zapfish, have been stolen, and I know those rotten octarians did it." Cuttlefish scowled, glaring out the window at the valley. "I'm sure they took them to try and cripple inkling society so they can attack and take the land for themselves. No one believes me when I say that, though. They all think I'm a senile old fool!"
"But you!" Quinn yelped as Cuttlefish suddenly thrust a finger in her face right in the middle of his monologue. "You have that look in your eyes that I've been searching for! I have no doubt you'd be a great soldier! So what do you say, Quinn? Will you join us?"
This was a rather sudden proposition, and Quinn quite honestly was taken aback by the old inkling's bluntness. Naturally, the girl was inclined to refuse his offer, but something in her hesitated. What would happen if she refused to help, and then the octarians attacked? Would she die? What about her family? It was clear that the octarians were interested in Splashtown for some reason. If they attacked, everyone there would be defenseless, including her mother and Harley. The thought of her family getting hurt, more than anything else, was what influenced her decision.
"I'll do it," the black tentacled inkling said before reaching out to grab the suit and gun. "What's my first assignment?"
"You're sure?" Cuttlefish blinked in surprise.
"No, I'm not, but this isn't something I can just ignore."
"Woo-hoo! Finally, another one! Hooray!" Cuttlefish broke out in a raucous celebration, causing Quinn to roll her eyes and sigh. For some reason, the old man appeared to be a bit too excited about the prospect of Quinn working with him.
"Uh…this isn't that big of a deal...wait, what do you mean by another one?" In her frustrated confusion, the full meaning of Cuttlefish's words had taken some time to fully register. When they did, however, they left the girl confused. Other ones? Were there more inklings that had gotten roped into working with the former Squidbeak leader?
"You heard me, bucko," Cuttlefish replied, gesturing to where three other hero suits were hanging on the walls. They were identical to her own, save for being blue instead of yellow. "You're not the first one I've recruited. There is, in fact, five others. Agents 1 and 2 are members of the primary squadron, though they usually can't go on missions. The other three form up the recon squadron. They scout areas, make notes, and provide support for agents in the field as needed."
"Enough talk though!" The black tentacled inkling jumped at her new leader's sudden shout. "Get changed and get out there Agent 3! Time's a wasting and we have zapfish to save!"
"Ah...yes sir." She scrambled behind a partition and quickly pulled on her hero suit before running out the door. "I'll get right on it!"
Another chapter is done. As always, reviews, follows, and favorites are appreciated. And since I'm out of college for the next few months I'll be able to write more frequently now too.
Review responses
BlueTornado3275: Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you think the story is interesting. Hopefully you like this latest chapter too.