Wow, it's been a while! Sorry about that, I had some stuff to deal with, including writers block. I kind of feel that this chapter was a bit rushed, but upcoming chapters will have a lot more development to them. In the meantime, enjoy this new chapter of Just When I Thought You Couldn't Get Any More Weird! Stay fresh~


"Morning Michelle, you're here early." LX said.

"I know right." I agreed, looking around Inkopolis. "To be completely honest, I don't know why I'm here this early." Something wasn't right. Inkopolis seemed a little off. I know it's usually bustling around this time, more or less, but it was only 7 A.M. I decided to let the feeling go, it was probably nothing.

"What's wrong?" He asked me, looking a bit concerned.

"Oh, it's nothing." I answered. "I'm just a little tired probably."

He chuckled. "Too tired to do a quick turf war?"

Oh, he wants to do this already? Time to put him in his place. "I think that sounds like a challenge."

"It is a challenge." He said as he walked up to me and rested his arm on my shoulder. "Unless of course, we get put on the same team. There's that too."

"Even then," I responded, "I'll still ink more turf than you."

He patted my back. "Then let's get going! We'll see what happens after that battle dojo fight."

"I'm still calling that mine cheap!" I snapped. "I would have won that!"

He rolled his eyes as we entered the main tower. "Sure you would have. Now do you wanna use the clothes you're wearing right now?"

I shook my head. "As if I'm gonna be using these. These clothes have such horrible stats." As much as I really like the look of the clothes I'm wearing right now, they have some pretty bad stats. That goes for almost everything that looks nice. I think I gave more money to Spyke for upgrading my slots and rerolling than I have given money to Sheldon, Crusty Sean, Jellonzo, and Annie put together. "Let me just go to the locker and change. I'll be out in a sec."

"Alright." He told me. "I'll be waiting for you inside." He turned around and went into the waiting area.

As I walked over to the lockers, my mind was racing for some reason. There wasn't anything going on at the moment that would make me feel like this. This was just a friendly battle. But still, something really feels off. I can't exactly pinpoint what is making me feel like this, but it's a little unsettling. Whatever, if I get my head in the game maybe it will go away. Hopefully.

I got my clothes on and headed back to the waiting room where LX was waiting for me. "You ready Michelle?"

I chuckled. "You know I am. But let's see if we're partners or rivals."

"I already asked Judd for us to be on the same team." He told me. "It would be good practice for us to learn our strategies from each other."

There was some banging behind me. I turned around to find Judd hitting the machine that controls the turf wars. "Mew... (This infernal machine keeps bugging out on me...Aha! There we go.)" He turned to the eight of us. "Meow. (Alright, it's going to be you four against you four. The map is going to be Urchin Underpass.)"

LX nudged my shoulder. "Heh, here we go again huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "I think Judd is making me play on that map on purpose." I looked at Judd and I saw him slightly chuckle. "See, look! He did choose it on purpose!"

"Haha, I'm sure he's just trying to get you used to the map." He suggested. "And besides, it is in the map rotation. You'll have to get better at the map some time or other."

"Whatever." I simply said. "Let's just get this over with."


I stood at the respawn area, next to LX and my other teammates, waiting for the horn to go off. But...I just can't shake this feeling at all. It's getting ridiculous. "Hey L."

He turned to me. "Yeah Michelle? What's up? Still nervous about this map?" He asked, obviously joking but having some genuine concern behind it. Weird combination.

"Do you have this odd feeling?" I asked him. He tilted his head in confusion. "Like, do you feel like something is off? Like something doesn't belong?" I explained to him.

He looked around. "Well, maybe. The atmosphere of the Plaza felt a bit off, but not by much. Did that help?"

I sighed. "Not really, but I'm glad I'm not the only one. Thanks."

He nodded. "Yeah, no problem. Now let's win this alright? Gotta get me a little bit of money after my spending spree, haha."

I chuckled. "Maybe I should not try my hardest then aha!"

"You better not!" He said, laughing.

There was a loud horn that went blaring through the arena. My teammates went off, shooting their guns at floor, already getting to work spreading our color ink.

"Hey, go on ahead guys, I've got the base!" I called out. Wait. Oh my god, why did I choose the rapid blaster? I hate this one. Well, whatever. I'm gonna with this bad gun and-

"Meow! (Michelle!)"

I turned around to find Judd running at me. "Yeah, what's up Judd?"

"Meow! (You've got to stop fighting now! Tell the others to stop also!)"

"Hey, hey! Calm down and tell me what happened." I told him, trying to relax him.

"Meow! (There was a malfunction with the breakers! The arena is completely shut down!)"

It took me a second to realize what he was implying. "Wait, you don't mean..."

"Mew! (Yes I do mean! Respawn is down! Everything is down! Quick, go tell the others!)"

I went on my watch and flipped through my teammates. LX was in way too deep, I can't tell him yet without risking myself getting hurt too. My other teammates were still capturing mid, okay. I super jumped straight to them.

As soon as I landed, I called to them. "Hey you guys! We have to stop shooting! Respawn is down!"

"What? Why, what happened?" One of them said.

I ran towards the enemy base. LX wasn't too far away. "Power outage! I'm going after LX! Tell the others and try not to get shot. "

Crap. Crap crap. I hope nothing happens to him. Please, just let him be okay...

I swam through my color ink to find LX shooting near the fenced area. "L, stop shooting!"

He turned to me. "What's wrong?"

I ran to him. "Just stop! Respawn isn't working right now!"

He put his gun down. "That's not good. Alright, let's just head back before-"

Nononono. It couldn't have been... I turned around to find an inkling standing on the higher platform. I knew that sound came from a Nozzlenose. I look at LX to fink that he had been shot in his side. "L, no! Are you okay?! Let me see if you're okay?!"

"Why are you worried if he's okay?" The inkling asked. "He'll just respawn right back." Inkling came behind him and whispered in his ear. "No way, really?... Er.." He pointed at us.

"It's okay, I-I'll take care of him, just get b-back okay?..." I said, my voice shaking a bit. I looked into L's eyes. "You okay? I'll make sure I get you to a hospital."

He shook his head. "Michelle, it's okay."

I shook my head, saddened and enraged. "No it's not! You could die!" I started to cry.

He picked up his hand and wiped a tear off my face. "Really Michelle, it's okay. Can you get off of me a sec?" I did what he said, and he stood up, apparently unfazed by what just happened. He put his finger through his sweater. "I told you I like baggy sweaters. The shots grazed through me. I'm perfectly fine."

I saw that it did appear that the shot did graze him. I went up to him and hugged him. "Oh my god, I'm so happy you're okay! But we should check if you didn't actually get hit."

He turned around. "No it's okay, I'll just change when I get to my locker."

"No! We're going to check if you're okay!" I yanked at his sweater.

"Michelle!" He snapped. "I said...it's...okay!" He said, struggling to keep it on.

In the end, I won, and his sweater was finally off. "There. Now was that so hard? Now let me see if you're okay..." As I checked his side, I noted how different he looked with his sweater off. Wow, he was so thin, and he had a small figure. He must be really fit if he can maintain that size. "Looks like you're fine, just like you said. Now come on, let's head back." I said as I turned around. I looked back to find that he wasn't following me. "Hey, what's wrong? Still in shock that you almost got shot? Aha!"

He still had his back to me, and he put his head down. "Are you happy?"

What? What was he talking about? "Happy about what?"

I heard him sigh. He started to undo his hairband and let his tentacles fall. He put his hand in his hair and ruffed it up a bit. He finally turned around, and when he did, I was speechless. "About this."

He looked so different with his hair down and his hair in the style of a girl. Or rather, I should say that he is a girl! "So... You're a girl then? Is that what you're telling me?"


I opened my eyes. Why did that have to happen? All I can think about was LX showing me that he was a girl. So that's what he was hiding from me all this time. Maybe he had a good reason. But that doesn't explain why I'm a little annoying. Yeah, he lied to me, but he had a purpose, right? Right?

"Oh, you're finally awake Michelle." I heard from behind me.

I turned around to find my mom looking over me. "Hmm, yeah, morning mom."

She chuckled. "Morning? Sweetie, it's one AM. You slept right through that show you wanted to watch. Luckily for you, they're showing it again right now. The TV is still on."

No, it couldn't have been a dream right? "Hey mom, is it still the 17th?"

"Well, it's technically the 18th, since it's one in the morning, but yeah, it was the 17th a little over an hour ago. Why?"

"No reason." Damn, so it was a dream. Ugh. Why would I think he's a girl anyway? In my dream at least. "Hey mom, I'm gonna go to sleep again in a bit, I just wanna be on my computer for a bit."

"Alright honey, it's no problem." She said smiling. "Just don't make too much noise because everyone else is asleep, including me soon. Night Michelle."

"Night mom." I went up to my room and closed the door softly. I lifted up the screen on my laptop to find that it was on sleep mode. I seriously need to turn it off so it doesn't mess up my battery. I logged in and went to my messenger app. Of course everyone is offline- Wait, there was one person on. LazyExample. What's he doing on so late? "Hey, what are you doing up so late?"

It took him not time to respond back. What are you doing up so late?

I just woke up! I typed. I paused for a second. And stop laughing! I know you're laughing!

Oh, you're good. Okay okay, I'll stop laughing. And what made you wake up at this hour? Bad dream?

Yeah, bad dream.

Tell me what happened. If you don't mind, at least.

I sighed. I dreamed that the power at the tower went out and the respawn mechanism wasn't working. You got shot, but it grazed you because of those big sweaters you always wear.

Well, everything turned out good. What was the problem then?

I continued to type. I forced your jacket off to see if you were okay and it turned out that you were actually a girl.

There was a slight pause, before I could see that he was typing again. Haha really? So the shock woke you up then.

Let me ask you. I didn't press enter yet. How can I word this without being too blunt? Are you really a guy, or a girl? Wow, way to go on not being too blunt me.

I suppose that question would come up. He said. I saw that he was still typing. I'll answer that question no problem.

There was a long pause. I saw that he wasn't typing anymore, but he was definitely still online. Well?

Haha, oh right, you wanted an answer. I'll answer you with a cup of coffee tomorrow morning.

No way he was gonna do this to me right now. Are you serious?

Absolutely. It will be fun hanging out. Just try to get some more sleep okay? I still care about you. Night Michelle.

He went offline right after that. No, I needed something. Something else for him to answer. Wait! L, are you still there?

He came back online. Yeah?

I blushed and got nervous. You like me a lot, don't you?

Yeah, I do like you a good amount. Still thinking?

Maybe. Nah, not maybe. That date went amazing. He's amazing. I definitely want more. More of that. More of him. No never mind. Yes, I totally want to go out with you.

Haha awesome. I'm really glad you made up your mind. I'll see you tomorrow so we can talk about things. Goodnight Michelle.

Night L. I typed right before I closed my laptop. I went to my bed and got under the covers without changing. So, I ended up saying yes to him. We're officially going to go out now. I closed my eyes. I'm glad... He's really cool, and there's no doubt that he likes me too... I've got to get some sleep, long day tomorrow...


"Ughhh... Stop looking so happy.." I mumbled.

"Oh, Michelle. You... look like you didn't sleep." He told me. "I got you a coffee. Just drink up and you'll wake up some more."

I took it from his hand as I sat down across from him. I put my head down on the table. "Thanks."

It's too early. 6 AM is way too early for me. I should have agreed on a time last night before he straight up called me at 5:30. I hate the sun, and I hate everything that looks happy. At least I have a coffee to drink.

"So, let's get down to business." He started.

I lifted my head up and took a sip of my coffee. "AH, HOT! Dammit!" That seriously hurt... "You didn't tell me it was still hot!"

"It's coffee." He simply said. "Coffee is hot."

I laughed my pain off. "Haha, anyway, what business are you talking about?"

"What do you wanna talk about first?" He asked. "My gender or your love for me?"

I stared at him. "I see you holding back your laugh! Be serious! And take off your shades please, I'd like to see your eyes."

He smiled. "In due time." She simply said. "Well, since you didn't answer, I guess I'll answer your question. But first," He continued, "What made you ask?"

I was taken aback by the question. Why did I ask him that? I trust him, no doubt. "That bad dream I had just made me question things. I'm still shaken up by the whole 'you almost dying' thing."

LX nodded. "Completely understandable. Hell, I'd probably do the same in your shoes. Well, here, I'll tell you my gender, since you're wondering." He started to unzip his jacket in front of me. "Does this answer your question?"

I looked at him. It kind of surprised me that he was thinner than I expected him to be. But then I noticed something "You…You're a girl!"

She chuckled a bit. She undid her hair and let he tentacles fall down. She took off her shades to reveal that she had a bit of make-up on; not too much, but enough to see that she was in fact wearing some. "Yeah, surprise you much?"

Even her voice seemed more soft and feminine. "Well… obviously. I just can't believe that…all this was a lie."

LX sighed. "Look, I know that this must be hard for you, but nothing really changes. We're still friends right? And there is a good reason why I was acting like a guy."

"Let's hear it then." I said, a little mad.

"Back when I started to do ranked battles, no one would take me seriously, just cause I was a girl. I would get the wins, but when I told everyone that I would make it to the highest rank, a lot of people laughed." She said, with sadness in her eyes. "So I pretended I was a guy so no one would laugh at me. Everything went great! I did what I wanted, and it felt great. I planned for everything to go back to normal."

Interesting story, if I must say. But things still aren't adding up. "Why didn't you?"

She shook her head. "I honestly don't know myself. But I guess it was because I met you." She explained. "I mean, who isn't going to get a little mad to see someone once and never see them again because they weren't real?"

I scratched my head. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

"Are you mad?"

"I'm not mad, just…" What was the word I was trying to look for? I wasn't mad or anything. But I wasn't happy either. "I'm just surprised. But you're right, no matter what, we're still friends, and I trust that everything we've said to each other was real."

She nodded. "It is, I swear."

I sighed, relieved. "That's great. Wait a minute…?"

"Yeah?"

Maybe it was just a saying. Surely everything we said wasn't true. It can't be. "Does that mean that you still like me?"

She laughed. "Haha, yeah, of course." Her eyebrows picked up a second. "Oh yeah, I didn't answer you that last time." She stuck her hand out. "My name's Lexi. Now you know for sure."