I, Snowy The Sky Wolf, do not own Splatoon, or any of its characters.


The Zapfish is a creature held in high regard. It provides power and light to both the communities that utilize them - the Inklings and the Octarians - however, there is a limited supply to their population.

The Octarians, who have seized many of the Inklings' prized Zapfish, have a strange method of storing said generators; they store them on high altitudes. Perhaps this method allows for a more widespread power usage.

According to the most recent article in the Inkopolis Daily News, it is said that all the stolen Zapfish have been recovered except for one… The Great Zapfish. Officials and various spies say that the mythical Great Zapfish is being held captive in a secret and extremely dangerous location.

However, the location may not be as secret as it seems…

"I promise… to always protect you."

Supotca's sobbing decreased slightly as she processed his words. Her mind was only focused on the death of her parents at that very moment.

"...A-Aoiko-"

"We have to find a way out of here," Aoiko explains. "We couldn't have been going around in a circle this whole time. There has to be an exit."

The Octoling girl didn't reply.

"Let's go, Supotca."

"W-wait," The upset girl hesitates.

"Yeah?"

"D-do you mind… Helping me with something?"

Some time later, the two were now outside of Supotca's former home, with the Octoling sitting on the ground near the flower patch and Aoiko picking and arranging the plants into a bouquet. He set the bouquet in front of the door.

"Thank you…" Supotca whispers.

"It's the least that I can do," Aoiko states in a monotone voice. "Even though I've never met them, I'm sure that they were great people."

The Octoling nodded, rising from her spot near the flower patch and unsteadily walking away from her home, away from her past.

"L-let's go then."

Aoiko watched the Octoling walk away before stealing a glance towards the house, the bouquet of flowers sitting idly on the cold, stone step.

He knelt down by the flower patch and carefully picked a single red rose, one that he had left there intentionally.

Spinning the rose around in a spiral by the stem, Aoiko stared at the petals for a moment before tucking it in his bag and catching up with Supotca.

Thank you for taking care of her.

But now… It's my turn.

"Aoiko…"

No reply.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm trying to find somewhere that leads to higher ground, like a cliff or something," Aoiko explains, not making eye contact with the girl. "Since we're underground, it would make sense to go up."

Supotca silently nodded despite the fact that Aoiko didn't see her.

"Here," The Inkling announces, pointing towards a rise in the road and following that direction. It seemed almost like a curved stairway to the stars.

"Aoiko," Supotca began to say. "What's life on the surface like?"

"It's pretty cool," Aoiko replies. "The sun, and I mean the natural sun, comes up everyday and makes everything bright."

"Isn't your family worried about you?"

"I'm sure that they are, but considering how long we've been down here, they might think that I'm dead."

"But you're not."

"Yep," Aoiko turns to Supotca, smiling. "Looks like I'm not dead yet."

Supotca gave him a concerned look; Aoiko was acting strange. "You have a long time before death can get you, Aoiko."

"The same goes for you."

Supotca cut off the conversation from there. She disliked the topic of death; even though it was very common down in the Octarians' world, she still wasn't used to it.

"Stop," The Inkling held out an arm in front of the Octoling, stopping her in her tracks.

"What?"

"Look," The Inkling waves a hand in front of him, provoking her to glance in that direction.

In front of the path was a portal. It was similar to a portal from the Octarian army, but it seemed to be unguarded, had no protective door, and no control panel.

"A portal," Supotca whispers. "Where do you think it leads to?"

"Who knows. My prediction is that it only leads to one location, since there doesn't seem to be a control panel around here."

A beat. Aoiko turned his head to obtain eye contact with the Octoling.

"And that location may be higher ground."

Supotca hesitated. Is he really that desperate to get out of here that he'll take the risk of a portal taking him elsewhere?

Aoiko directed his attention back to the teleportation device. "Even though we don't know where this leads, it might be an adventure. But I'm not going until I get approval from you."

Supotca blinks. "Have you gone crazy, Aoiko? Like you said, who knows what might be on the other side. We might teleport ourselves right into the Octarians' main headquarters, where they'll imprison and kill us!"

"I take that as a no," Aoiko shakes his head, his voice somewhat shaky. "Let's turn back and find another road."

"I haven't said no yet, have I?"

The boy glanced at Supotca. His usually alert and upbeat eyes were now glazed over in a form of uncertainty.

"Despite of all the risks that we run by going through that portal, I'd be willing to deal with those risks."

Because I trust you.

Aoiko's expression lightened slightly, with a smile curving up on his lips. "Thank you, Supotca."

"You're welcome… I guess."

"On the count of three. Three, two…"

"Wait."

The Inkling paused his count. "Huh?"

Supotca shyly held out her hand to him. "This is a one time thing, okay?"

His smile grew brighter as he grasped her hand.

"Three…"

"Two…"

"One…"

"Jump!"

The duo dashed and launched themselves through the portal, disappearing to wherever the teleportation leads. Only one thought occupied Supotca's mind in those seconds of anticipation.

His hand is warm.

Supotca had clenched her eyes shut during the trip; she hadn't noticed her arrival to the new area until Aoiko had shaken her out of her trance.

"Supotca. We're here."

Her vision was met with the sight of pitch dark surrounding the entire area. Herself and Aoiko were standing on a platform that was mysteriously lit around the edges. The platform had a path that extended upwards.

"You might not want to look down."

Disobeying his recommendation, the Octoling instantly looked down past the platform. The bottom was unseeable.

"Ack," Supotca shivers, shying away from the ledge. "There's no railing…"

"Yeah," Aoiko agrees. "And it looks like the portal was one way, too."

She glanced behind herself to find thin air over the end of the platform. "You're kidding me."

"Looks like forward is our only option."

Supotca noticed that her hand was still bound to Aoiko's. Loosening her grip and releasing his hand, she took several steps forward.

"Let's go then."

Aoiko smiles. "Sounds good to me."

The path ahead, although shrouded in darkness, looked almost like it was a stairway to heaven.

"This is getting pretty steep…"

"That's a sign that we're getting closer to the surface. Be careful, Supotca."

Supotca and Aoiko continued to climb up the path, which had gotten slightly narrower and obtained an uphill incline.

The surface… Supotca directed her vision upwards, scanning the continually uprising road. Aoiko is taking me to the surface. But, after we arrive to the surface, what will I do then?

"Supotca?"

"H-huh?"

"Are you alright?" Aoiko asks in a concerned tone.

The girl focused back towards the ground. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."

A sudden loud roar echoed throughout the valley, along with the blow of a train whistle. The sudden noise almost made Supotca lose her footing.

"Don't fall," The Inkling warns.

"I'm trying not to!" Supotca shouts in irritation, regaining her footing on the platform.

"Looks like the path widens up ahead. Let's hurry and get there as soon as possible."

"Right behind you, Inkling."

"You're back to calling me Inkling?" Aoiko laughs.

"It's just a nickname! Besides, you are an Inkling, aren't you?!"

"I am," The boy says, agreeing with her statement. "It's just that sometimes I don't appreciate…"

Supotca's eyebrow rose in confusion as she stared at the Inkling. "Don't appreciate… what?"

Aoiko didn't answer.

"Aoiko?"

"Supotca, take a look at this."

She turned her attention away from Aoiko and quickly spotted a large machine that was similar in shape to a household light bulb.

"What… Is that?"

"I don't know," Aoiko replies, reaching out to touch the surface. He quickly retracted his hand upon receiving electrical shock. "Ouch. Don't touch that."

"It looks like there's something inside," Supotca says, slowly creeping closer to the protective shield. Inside of the sphere was a creature similar to a yellow catfish, with its whiskers connected to wires. "Isn't that a… Zapfish?"

"Yes, that's a Zapfish," The Inkling confirms, unsheathing his splattershot. "Should we break it out?"

"How is that even a question? Of course we should!"

"I mean," Aoiko starts to say, turning his head towards Supotca. "This Zapfish might be powering a lot of the Octarian land. They'll lose a ton of power."

"Who cares about the Octarian land?!" Supotca hisses, glaring at the Inkling. "I sure don't!"

"If you say so. Stand back."

The Octoling took a few steps back as Aoiko took aim at the sphere.

"Here goes nothing."

A small click resounded in Supotca's ears before she saw rapid fire of blue ink being projected at high speeds towards the bubble. Only a few shots were required before the bubble shattered, surprising both the Inkling and the Octoling. The lit edges of the platform faded away as the power from the Zapfish was lost.

A bright flash of light then burst out of the broken light bulb, the prisoner inside now revealing its true form.

"The Great… Zapfish?!" Aoiko whispers harshly upon sight of the discovered creature. Floating in front of the duo was a large serpentine figure, with long, spiral whiskers and strange eyes. The mythical beast stared at its rescuers, the gaze in its eyes unwavering.

"That's the Great Zapfish?!" Supotca shouts, taking another step back out of surprise.

"Supotca-"

The ground beneath Supotca's foot began to crumble. It was a cracked, unstable portion of the platform's edge.

"Watch out!"

"Wha-" Supotca looked down towards her feet, but didn't have a fast enough reaction time. Her foot slipped off the ledge.

Gravity immediately took its course as the girl began to fall into the bottomless depths below, her screams consistently rising in pitch.

"Aoiko!"

The Inkling's blue eyes widened in shock as he helplessly watched her dive to her death.

"Supotca!"

Out of complete impulse, Aoiko launched himself off the ledge, following the Octoling in her descend downward in an attempt to save her. One hand still held his splattershot by the handle.

In less than a second, the two were completely swallowed by the depths of darkness. The Great Zapfish flew itself in a spiral around the platform before descending down the path with them.

Their deaths were practically inevitable.


PLOT TWIST! What have I done... xD

Next time on Beneath Inkopolis... Supotca and Aoiko both fall to their deaths in the darkness below! Did they survive?! Maybe they did... Or maybe they didn't... Stay tuned!