"Octricia, please report to zhe briefing room! We need to discuss our next movement!"

I only stuff my head further into the pillow as I lay in my bunker, completely furious at what happened today. Just why the hell did Roy think it was OK to let the enemy free? If those Inklings get through, Octo Valley will be in ruins! My friends and family are all dead, and pretty soon everyone will all die! There's just so much going on that I can't even think straight right now. But if there's one thing I can get straight, it's that I should've deleted Roy's brain when I had the chance...

"Octricia? Are you zhere? Please respond! Ve are vorried you might be dead! Zhat's... hopefully not zhe case, is it?"

Man, I wish Ochtung would just shut up. He's been calling me from my transmitter for hours now! If I don't bother to show up, does he not get the hint that I'm not interested in whatever he wants to tell me? I only moan in frustration as I ignore all his other calls.

Suddenly, the doors leading out to the hallway open up. It's the Octo-Elite Splatoon... And Roy... Roy, the heartless bastard.

"Ve got vorried! Ve all zhought you vere dead! OK, maybe not me but-"
"Just shut up," I scolded at him.
"DANG! Da doc just got told!"
"All of you just shut up! Just leave me alone!"

The Splatoon gave each other worried looks, then disbanded. Of course, there was Roy. He only stood there, staring back at me. What more could he possibly want from me? I had the kindness to build him a device that makes him less of a moron, and being even more of a moron is his idea of repaying me!?

"Octricia... That's not cool," his helmet processed.
"You know what's NOT cool? YOU. You had the nerve to let go of the enemy! They'll be destroying that space station and when they do, Octo Valley will no longer be a safe haven for us Octarians. My friends and family died during the Great War, and I'm not going to relive that moment with you screwing me over!"

For a moment, Roy looked puzzled. "If they are dead, where are they now? I heard that Respawn Pads bring ba-"

I wasn't going to listen to any more of this moron's rambling. I got up and kicked him down.

"Don't you understand!? My family died before the Respawn Project was complete! If those Inklings hadn't invaded Octo Valley on that day, everyone would've been safe! BUT NO! You Inklings had to take away everything I loved and replace it with your selfish ideals without any concern of us! We were a suffering race and you still put down your crappy games and sports all over our home!"

Roy picks himself up, dusting himself off. "Don't tie me to those Inklings, you know as much as I do that I'm nothing like them."

Those words granted him a smack across the face. He fell down once again, struggling to get back up. I held him down with my leg on his chest. I pointed my Octoshot at him to make sure he doesn't move. It may be useless now, but I am damn furious right now.

"This is all YOUR fault! My family, my friends, the whole Octarian race! We deserved none of this, and now we're all suffering because of you! Did you think that having your own share was good enough for you? Did you think that we wouldn't mind if innocent Octarians died during the war? Did you ever stop to think just what kind of- Wait, why am I asking you that? YOU DON'T EVER THINK! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! WHY WOUL-"

I suddenly lost my balance and fell when Roy gushed back up. I tried getting back up, but Roy kicked me back down. He held his boots firmly against my chest. I tried getting out of the way, but there was no ink for me to swim away to. I was trapped.

"Listen to me, you little bitch," his helmet whirred, "Do you think I would ever enjoy that? No, of course not. I'm just a human who only spent a good week in the future, with little-to-no clue as to what the hell is even happening. The only guidance I ever got up until now was a bunch of gibberish talk, telling me that I'm no longer in my time. Are you truly that convinced that I want genocide?"

Before I could even reply, Roy went on.

"I don't know anything about a Great War. Lyra and her friends knew nothing about a Great War. If it happened hundreds of years ago, do you truly believe that these Inklings are bloodthirsty now? I see them kill each other every day, and yet they always hang around like best friends after the match is over. Do you call that a monster?"

"They're killing each other! Can't you see that they're all monsters!?" I yelled at him, still struggling to break free, "What are you, stupid?"

"Wrong. Just the other day, I saw a group of Inklings going into their first Turf War, and what I saw was interesting. Halfway through the battle, everyone stopped firing after someone got killed. They all ran to the Respawn Pad to check if she was OK. She told them it stung a little, but she was fine. They didn't want her to get any more hurt than she already was, so they ended the match there."

"That doesn't change the fact that they kill each other! What are you implying?" I asked him, confused about what logic he gave off.

"What I see are monsters," he admits as he chuckles for a bit, "They're monsters that would never dream of the worst happening to one another. Even the most hardcore Inklings look out for each other, sometimes even putting themselves in danger for their friends. When I look at your gang, I see the same thing too. They all focus on supporting each other, making sure nobody gets hurt. Isn't that what you are? You're the leader of a group that aims to protect all of the Octarians."

I was left rather speechless. He then lifts his leg off of me and walks away.

"To tell you the truth, that's what I used to think about you as well. On that day when you took that giant Zapfish, I was greeted with violence. I was just so mad about our first encounter that I fully believed that you were an enemy. But I used you as an excuse to label everybody else that exact same way. I felt bad for killing those that had nothing to do with this. That's why I surrendered in that kettle."

He pauses for a moment to let that sink in.

"If you want to think of them as monsters, go ahead," he beeps, "But those were the old ones. In truth, they are a new generation of friends who would be more than happy to shake your hand."

As he said that, he turns to me and extends out his arm.

"So, let's start over; Hi, I'm Roy. And I have no idea what's going on here. Please, help me out."

I feel so mad right now... But dammit Roy, you're right. I would love to kill you if that would bring back my family, but getting mad at this generation will do me no good. In fact, it would only start another Great War, and eventually everyone would go extinct.

I got up and reached my hands towards his. We each shook, and he smiled at me. I don't, however. It still doesn't help bring back my family, but I feel a little bit better, knowing that those ones were gone. Feeling at ease again, I was able to think straight. Which reminds me...

"So, is that why you let the weird one get away?" I asked him.

"What? No! I could care less about that thief! She still owes me big time for putting me in danger! I only did that because that was part of the deal."

The deal. Great, now I'm the moron for forgetting that we made that deal.

"ALERT! ALERT! INTRUDERS HAVE BEEN SPOTTED IN WEAPON QUADRANT 4! LOCK DOWN ALL ENTRY POINTS TO THE AREA AND STOP THEM!"

Well, looks like I've got another job to take care of. I was just about to dart off, but Roy grabbed me by the arm.

"I'm coming along too," he beeped, "This isn't just about the safety of the Octarians, but for everyone as well."