...What are you? Where are we?

Lost in a cyclic confusion?

Is freedom just an illusion...?

Sanitised abomination throws a punch at me, but I catch their hand and Ink punches their face. Ink and shockwave send them away with the delayed sound of breaking walls. I look around, barely holding balance and desperately gasping for air with each heavy breath hurting me with anger that screams to get out. More is teleporting in, surrounding me. I knew this would happen. One way trip back to hell. Everything hurts, my head is shaking, I can't feel my fingers. Adrenaline and ink circle in my veins like burning gasoline. My heart is pumping pure, unfiltered rage and insanity, pushing this broken wreckage I call a body to its limit. My cause is naive; my will is strong. And my voice is very - very angry.

I've said something. Like a battle cry or mocking. And one of them steps up closer than others. Bare feet, free movement. I recognise him...They called him V2. One of my corrupted and fucked up iterations. He pointed to me, saying something and slowly curled around me with his long back tentacles dragging on the floor, while his tentacles on the head ignited.

With defiance I spat out blood and wiped it off from my mouth diving in this violent exchange of words with no meaning. They sound so pale, hollow and fatigue. Like a white noise to my ears. But I understand one thing - I'm not the one who's talking with him.

Unexpected strong shake and blurred voice make me blink. And now I'm staring at the filled shopping cart handle I hold. Confusion instantly goes away, I look at Raymora with embarrassment.

"Dinnae sleep in a middle of a wee shopping spree, laddie. Splatoween has not yet started"

She faintly smiles and shakes her head with a judging look. Don't judge me, you whiptail swimmer mechanic! I'm not used to standing in lines, especially that long. Should've gone to a less crowded store. Still, that wasn't typical hallucination. I don't remember anything like that. Was that a vision, imagination affected by my condition? N-no; must not think about it. Makes me uncomfortable and weird. Silly me, falling asleep in the middle of Mako Mart. And today is so called Splattoween holiday aka Helloween minus snow and pumpkins. Locals already wear 'scary' costumes: kids to cool fresh and raid homes for candy. Adults - to look sexy...and rain homes for candy with kids. A day to unite all species except jellyfishes. Those genderless workaholics have no understanding of fun. Or so it seems to me. Splatfest will begin at 22:00. Hm, my first Splatfest to attend...

Argh, still can't toss that trip out of my mind. Uh, what to do. Oh, how about supply check? Gonna make sure we've brought everything. Let's see…

A dozen of salmon eggs, milk, distasteful green - check

Small box of chocolate - check

Booze for Green Terror - check

Money to actually buy all this - check

Condoms and energy drinks - check. I'm scared to imagine why or for what Erin needs even more energy, she doesn't know what to do with her own! Maybe I should build a big wheel, connect it to the generator and let her generate some tax free electricity for the house? Nah, she'll just assume that's my way to say 'you're fat, deal with it' and break me in half. Female logic never changes...

Warden rayling keeping me on the leash, as girls asked - check. Ugh, speaking of logic: they still don't trust me being all alone in the wild. Are they jealous of something? I'm still a dog on a leash. The only thing that changed is my master

PTSD, second personality and nightmares, a͞k͞a̴ r͡e͠s̴i̕de͟n͞ts͞ ̶óf ̨m̷y̧ br̴a̴i̕n̸ i͢n͘c͏l͠ud̵in̨g hu̢m͘an̵ ́m͏i͢n̛ded p̸us̶s̢y̴ ͘in̸ cont̛rol r̀oo̕m͝ -̵ ̵check. I love you too, Asshole. DO͞N'T!̸ ͢Y̷ou͘ f͡uc͞ki̛n͡g da̵re..̨.

*later*

Finally reaching that familiar sign of safety - apartment door. Rymora follows me like a happy puppy, non stop muttering something in her native language with an excited vibe. I unlock the door, step….in the fuck's name happened here? Things on the floor, shoes all over the place, torn letter envelope; Erin's room is closed with muffled sounds coming out. And no one is greeting us. I don't like the looks of this mysterious chaos already. We begin investigation by slowly looking around and exchanging sights with Rymora - she's confused just as I am. I decide to peak in the quest room, but find even more questions along side with surprise sparking on my face - Lena is sitting on the edge of the coach dizzying if not shell-shocked, with a bag of ice on her nose, strapped around her face with duct tape and a vague trace of blue blood coming from her covered nose on her mouth…In any other situation I'd laugh over the hilarious way to hold the ice, but now I'm actually scared a bit. Who did all this? What kind of monster managed to defeat HER?! D͡o ͝no͡t ̛in͜fl̸át͏e ͜an̸ ȩlȩp͞ha̛nt from ̧a͘ ̛fly͢.̴ Ì ̸di͠d͏ i̷t̕ ̨on̢ce,́ ot͢h͡ers ͝c҉a͞n d́o too͡

"Uh…S-somebody tell me I'm hallucinating right now. I'm right, am I….? Am I? ….походу нет. "

I mutter in disbelief, worried. T-this has to be a delusion! But unfortunately, it's very real and troubling. Delusions does not reply back with moan, holding her head with a hand. 'Fear is weakness leaving the body. Doubts are destined for the weak. Cold head and determination to live another day is the only way out of this fuckung mess' - That old quote from my days as a human waste just came to mind. I hear Raymora knocking on Erin's room door, saying something charming in her own language. Or maybe she's swearing like a shoemaker.

Okay, just to be sure. Mate, Slap me - argh. B̀èt̷ţer?͡ Rrgh, nope! Still seeing the same. I return in the corridor, take my shoes off and partly clean up. I find a paper list and slowly pick it up with interest. Nothing on one side, on other - oh. It's a letter.

Happy Splatoween, my little squid! Are you staying fresh and celebrating with friends? You never told me about that girl you live with. I hope you're happy...I really do. I write these letters and I know you read them, but you never write back. I know you still hate me and wish to be left alone. It's my fault everything happened….I'm a bad fish! I've ruined our family, your childhood. I don't ask forgiveness. I just want you to have a happy holiday.

Signature in the corner: 'Sincerely with love and sorrow, your mother'.

Now I understand why she desperately avoids any mentions of her mother and be rather to do anything else than think about her. Sounds like a business I should not peek my tentacles into...But I think I know what happend: Erin got the letter, got so pissed off, she wrecked the place and sent The Green Terror herself to chill up. Less̸i̕o̸n̷: ͢ne͏ve͡r ùnd͢ere͏st҉imat͏e̶ ath͞l̀eti̡c sl̸utş. She isn't. Welp, let's see if I can do something about it. I'̨l͝l̕ pu͡t ̴a ̵c̸andle͏ ̛f͢o̧r̢ y̛ou̴,͟ ̶s҉uic͟ide h̢um̕a̕n.

I walk to the locked door with Raymora standing there not knowing what to do. I point out a kitchen direction over my shoulder and tell her to fetch some tea and wait there. Once she's gone, I close my eyes for a moment and with a sigh knock

"Erin, it's me. Can you open the door?"

A faint lock clicked from the other side and moments later the door opened. And here I reach a new level of 'now I've seen everything'. She stands before my eyes in a seducing bunny suit ripped straight from playboy magazines: translucent stockings, white ears on black tentacles with traces of natural ink color on the tips, white and cotton-fluffy tail reinforcing already sexual buttocks. Latex on her torso smoothly emphasizes all the bends of her body. A sight to conquer any man...except details that ruin the mood and give up her ruined mood: A sheaf of faux white fur just above the chest were ruined by tears coming from her cheeks and red, wet eyes. She tried so hard to look stunning, and now she's crying. But one little thing sets me off more than her tears - she's smiling with a spark of excitement in her eyes.

"Rick!"

...and her painfully familiar tone of happiness and excitement she uses all the time. I couldn't react properly and she's already ramming me with a hug. Oh, сука...quite a strong one! My hands wave forward by inertia and squashing my bone challenged spine, but moments later I react and hug her in return. On one hand I should ask her if she's ok and want to talk about what happened. But my guts - o͜r͡ ̀rat͜h̕er͏ ͝M͞E͏ ͝a̸nd sel͞f̛ ̴prese̶r̛va̴ti̢on i͢ns̕t̴i̛nc͟ţ - suggest me to take a diffrent aproach.

"I see you prepared a suit. And it looks lovely on you! Going in a raid for candy, aren't you?" I ask with a fake giggle, smiling and trying to look cheerful. She raised her head and smile

"Trick or treat, octoboy!"

I gently wipe off her tears, looking at her smile. I know she's hiding her true emotions. She probably knows that well, that's why she...rrgh, hugs so hard. I won't drill into her personal life; I won't ask why she only opened the door to me. I. Will. Endure. Ye, I'm the multi tool hooker, walking sex dispensing weeping jacket and bla-bl-bla. In my book it's better than being trapped alone in your own life time prison and slowly going insane, dying from starvation in the environment where everyone wants you dead or worse. I hate drama. I hate getting caught up in drama. Do ͠I ̴lo̢ok̵ ̷l̵i͜k͘e̡ ̴I'm͝ çom͘p͡l͘aìn̸ing o͝r moc͟k̡in͠g͠? ͏Ju̡s̕t ̸D҉O͠N'̴T̨. P͡i̛ss he̴r off. But if that mean I can flip off my ptsd and help someone - sign me da fuck up.

I made a decision. I pick her up as some kind of princess. She gasped with a surprised look, staring at me. I say quietly

"Ok. Here's what we'll gonna do - You calm down a bit, we'll go say hi to your ryling friend #1 in this apartment, drink some tea with Lena and discuss what happened here. Sounds good?"

She smiles and touch my cheek with her hand, rubbing it

"You're too kind" She giggled a bit with a sigh. "Is helping others your hobby?"

I was about to put her on bed, but that question stops me, looping inside. Helping...others? Uh. If you count ending their misery as helping, then I guess she's right. Ki͏l̨l̵i̧n͡g̷ ̵=̧ helpin̷g? ̧You͡,̵ ̕huma̡ns,͡ aŗe͘ ͠w̵ei͟rd.͝.. No idea what fly bit me, but now I've seemingly turned into the embodiment of wise and respected grandpa calming down naughty kids. I don't show it but they have no idea how super fucking weird this feels! But it's pointless to deny - I care about Erin - Oh, ̷I w̸on̸d͞e̵r w͜h̷y… Shut your pervert mouth, would ya!

Clocks are ticking. Tick-tack - tick-tack. Splatooween is closer with every hour. Erin is back to normal, Lena got her first aid, prepared tea supply is depleted. Raymora is on her way home with some sweets as compensation for this unexpected situation. But I think she understands that our celebration is ruined. I got used to that, but them - I doubt it. But since no one wants to take the situation under control, I do it myself.

I've been convinced to take a seat on the coach, have a drink and vent all shit out. Any normal person would call this a good thing to do, act as a MAN! Pff...we're talking about human looking evolved fish with ruined moods. I call this awkward and weird. Uuuuugh͠,̶ ýo͞ur ͡c̴ut̨e ̀a̡n͏d r̵oma̢n̴tic ͠e̛n̷vi̡ron͢m̷e͝n̢t ͢is͟ ̷b͏ooo̡o͞r̀i҉i͟i̢ii͢i͠ņǵ! I ͝wan̛t TUR̨F!͜ ̕I ͏w̛ant to ̕sṕl̢at̛ s͝h̵i̢t̀!҉ ͘Wa͞it͝ìn̸g ̷i͝s̵ ̸a͡ c͞yan̢i̶te. You'll get your dose of high octane action soon. Now shut it, I'm working!

"So, Lena. How about we start with you"

She turned her face to me with unease, thinking with pout lips shifting from left to right, twirling the mug in her hand.

"Uh...Where should I start...Ah, to shell with ya'll."

She took a long sip, dividing the mug contents by half. Then she stares at the mug, as if she stares in the mirror with sorrow on her cheeks.

"I've been orhan for as long as I can remember. Adults said one day someone just left me near the orphanage door in a food basket, covered in old ragged rags. Was my mother homeless and did this to give me a chance for a better life? That's...what I believed in…"

She shrugs with a pause. Me and Erin remain silent. Probably a minute later, she continued.

"I never had friends there, always had a feeling like I'm not belong among others, like I'm wrong. I was bullied, made a scapegoat and by the age of 16 I decided to run. Made my journey all the way from New Sardine to Inkopolis-"

I feel an inner urge to interrupt her with surprised facial expressions. I can't resist it, I feel curious myself.

"N̨e͠w͘ Şa̸rdi͜n͠e?! ̵Th͟at̨s̵ i̵ts̡ t͢he ҉o҉th̡er̀ ̶s͠íde̷ ̕of͠ ͘th͝e G͝reat Sea!͟ H̨ow̨ ͠did͠ y̶o͠u.̛.̷"̡

"I didn't run unprepared, you know. Part time jobs and planning did the trick. Now if you don't interrupt me again, I'll continue."

I visibly zipped my mouth with a tentacle and after girls muffed giggling she continued. Go̵od ͢p͞uppy͝, h͡é-he-̷he….Shut it!

"I made my way into Inkopolis and got kidnapped by octolings" She raised her hands and shook her head as a short pause, making me raise my eyebrow with interest.

"I admit - that was on me. A wrong fish in a wrong place at the wrong time. Then things got fast and dirty: I got dragged into one of their bunkers - cities in Octo Canyon, got imprisoned and interrogated in 'medium style'. What happened next I describe only as a real lucky chain of events. I managed to escape, somehow bumped into squid sisters on their agent duty...Honestly, I didn't even care about their popularity or idol status. I was glad for rescuing me. That's how I became agent 3, got this apartment and a chance in my life."

She finished off the drink in her mug. My mind compares her story to all interactions we had, her words I remember. Many things start to make sense now. But there's still a gap that requires explanation. And right now I have a perfect moment to ask a question.

"I see, bu~ut that doesn't explain why you hate them...And octolings."

Erin raise a finger: "I thi-"

"No, I'll say it myself, Er" Lena interrupted Erin's attempt to do something. Seems like she's about to say something really nasty.

"Things went from good to worse real quick, but it was too late to say no. I've meet with legendary capinal Cuttlefish and after that they send me right into the suicide mission with no training. 'Help us save Inkopolis' they said. At the start it wasn't that bad - remote outposts and training grounds with minimal resistance. I was a good Turf fighter too, so I was confident about myself...Right until I witnessed the first sights of octarian society." Her eyes lock on me with a cold stare of disgust.

" I was shocked and terrified when I saw it with my own eyes. How you, males males, really enjoy abusing your power and treat girls around you like slaves and frontline meat. Brainwashed by goggles and propaganda. I managed to shut off the goggles on one girl…-"

Her face twitched with creeps. Remembering all this brings her discomfort. An͝d ̵I fee͞l ͢sham̶e̴ fo͝r ̵our ͢spęci͢e͢s̸.̛

"...I still remember her confused look, that dizzy movement and horror on her face when she looked around, only to find her splattered bodies and me. Just a minute ago she was one of the soldiers with all focus on following the orders. and now its a terrified innocent octoling, crying and sitting on the knees begging for mercy. I...I need a drink."

I slowly fill her mug which depletes real quick. Erin remains completely silent, but her face tells everything one needs to know - she feels sorry for her friend. Lena continue to uncover her past:

"...And from that moment each day got harder and harder. Not only because I was tasked with more and more difficult tasks alone...I-I knew that I'm going against hypnotised slaves with no choice, but to obey and fight. It's kill or be killed, no splatting, no respawns and evil smirks after getting opponent's face divided in

half by Inkzooka. I splat them - they die in agony and suffering…."

She looked at her hand with frightened eyes and negatively shook her head.

"You know the rest - propaganda multiplied my efforts and turned me into some kind of cthulhu, I defeated and captured Octavio - single tentacle mind you! Two years later I met Er as our new agent and trained her. Also I started to notice an influx of octolings. I disliked them, even felt paranoid from time to time. To make things worse quite a lot of them recognised me; they were afraid. But there were some brave ones. They...thanked me for shoving them the truth and liberating them. Was it because I broke the chain of command, stopped brainwashing and forced them out of their tin can bunkers? I never wondered to ask, always felt awkward to even hear them treating me like a hero after all I've done. As for Callie and Marie…" Heavy sigh and another pause. Then she looked me in the eyes and, uh...

"My limbs are drenched in innocent blood; I stole their zapfishes to cause desolation and chaos. This invisible war turned me into a monster they wanted despite, An idol of hate to unite the revenant in society and keep that sweet warm King throne. And squid sisters took all glory for themself. Public talked about mysterious agent 1 and 2 doing their work to protect us, while in fact they never helped me in fights, never done missions for me~"

With every sentence she became more and more aggressive, focused and cold as an iceberg trying to contain the volcano within itself. Her voice is starting to crack like a broken gauge meter, going faster and louder at an alarming rate. Please don't kill me for that...

"...into this war I won for them! All they do is yelling commands with smart ass mugs of their faces and spend their sweet ass time under the sun…. Soon, after I recaptured Octavio and saved that stupid Callie from her hypno shades obsession by breaking them to shell she got kidnapped LITERALLY EVERY SUNDAY, both of them called me for the meeting. I arrived at the place, thinking they finally want to apologize for not helping me at all or discuss something important."

Then she slapped her knee with frustration, her already unstable tone exploded with curses. I keep it quiet, cus at this point she can role play 'doom' with me being a demon! .͞..̧So ̶st̢ress̕ed, ͝you'͟r͘e̕ ̕makiņg͝ ref͘ȩrenc͠e҉s ̛a͘g͞a͏in͜?͢ ̴Si͢g͞h̡

"I've found them making out! Just like that! The whole point of this cod damn meeting was for two lesbians so I quote: 'Reward our favorite agent with what every squid desires most'. Call me unfresh all you want, but tell me this first: Since WHEN every kid, teen and adult in this COD. DAMN CITY wants to have a private hour with you, you spoiled, ungrateful rich bitches?! You made me even more self-contained, traumatized me indirectly and gave me alcoholism!"

She bent her arms, clutching shaking from angry fingers with a mug surrendering by crashing in her hand. Any random passing fish wound calls her insane right now.

"Fuck. Them. Both. That was the last straw and I left the Splatoon. Did they care if I cried alone, how many times I had depression from nightmares and why I'm acting more and more like a violent monster octarians saw in me?! No!"

She stands up and tosses the mug right into the wall with obvious results, then aggressively proceeds to pick up her jacket, wallet and footwear. I...am speechless. She throws an angry stare at me

"Happy now, Rick?!"

"...Uhh….W-where are you going?"

"In Plaza to get wasted! And beat the squid shit out of someone that isn't you!"

I'm out of words, blinking with open mouth as she jumps out of bed, yell at the wall and then stare at me for a moment with death intent readable in her movement. But then she grinded her teeth with anxiety and took her clothes off right in front of me with speed and rudeness, as if those shorts and old home T-shirt were to blame. She completely ignores me and Erin while she change clothes and loud and angry door slam on her way out. She's decimated me without laying finger.

"..It's my fault." I finally squash some words from myself and get up. "͏..͞.̛I̢'m gonna ͟g͘o͝ ta̷lķ ̀t̡o̧ h͏er"

"No!"

I only take a step off the coach and already receive a push forward from squid latching on my neck with her two tentacles wrapping around it with a strong choking grip. She's dragging me down on the floor like jockey, while I grab her tentacles and try to remove her, painfully gasping for air.

"A-a~iir-agghr!"

"Weeee, squid domination!" For fuck sake girl, what's the deal with your mood swings?! My face burns and I fall back on the couch with my back slightly bouncing off. Erin shifted on my chest with unholy haste and turned back to human form, staring at me with slight giggle

"Your face is so red and cute)"

"Maybe because you tried to c͢h͟o͡ke͟ me and now squeaking on my l͡uǹg̶s with your ass!? , I'd appreciate having some ribs right now…"

I wheeze at her with anxiety. She blushed more with a single 'oh' and raised herself up a little. I calm down and ask:

"What was that just now? One of your highlights of crazy behavior?"

She giggles and corrects bunny ears on her head.

"M~maybe" The way she stretches that first sounds like flirting. I semi close my eyes with visible disappointment, but she continues..

"Seriously tho, Lena needs some 'me time' to vent. She'll be fine."

"...can't say the same about unfortunate victims of dating her fists of fury."

And we both share a moment of silence. She lies on me, turning back to squid form. It's odd to see her in black color with bits of natural yellow on the tips of her tentacles, but that's how ink works. I look at the ceiling, thinking...out loud or not.

"̷.̨.̸.Why͡ ņo̵t ruįn ̴t̵he ̡h͡ol͡i͢da̵y s͞p̸i̕r͡iţ be͏y̡ond͞ rep͘ai͢r ̢b͡y ́h͞ear͘i̷n̕g ̧s̷ome͢o͞ne͘'͡s e̵ls͢ę ͡t̛r̨ag̴i͢c backstory͏…Ruin yourself, mate. First Raymora, nowLena. What next? We gonna make Erin cry again by asking her backstory? Oh, that's a really good idea, Asshole!"

"W-well, I only share it with close friends. So if you're willing to listen.."

She replied awkwardly and quietly. Wait, how did she- oh, Fuck! I blush in shame and cover, realizing that I just talked out loud. After which I turn my head to her, unsure what to say. Shall I listen to her or it's enough skeletons in the closet for today? With a heavy heart I ditch the decision to her:

"I leave the chose to you"

"Ok then. It all started when I was only 12. I had a good childhood, loving parents but then puberty came in and things got unfresh. You know how it goes: 'ancestors' talk squidshit, you want to be the freshest kid around and you have emotions instead of brain. I made a bad company, began to miss school. Gosh, we did all sorts of naughty things back there - stealing, bullying, painting walls, convincing adults to buy us a drink - you name it! But, our demands were getting bigger and we started venturing to Plaza for more mature types of entertainment. First sex, drugs, we even managed to get caught in gang fights."

"Sounds like a dream life?" She faintly smiles but it quickly shatters as her tone dive down

"It had consequences I blindly ignored. My grates and school reputation took a blow, I was brought back by the enforcement department(aka police) couple of times; I came home in late hours and my relations with parents sinked hard. Quarrel, swearing, yelling and blaming each other. And then, out of nowhere they divorce. I felt like I'm living in a vacuum. How did it happen? Why I can't see my dad anymore? But after talk with my grandma - Great Zapfish bless her soul - I came to horrific realisation: I've entirely missed the growing divide in my parent's relations. I started to blame myself, thinking I'm the culprit that caused it.

By the court verdict I was left with my mother and it was a devastating experience for both of us. I kept my contacts with my father, he's doing just fine and we're on good terms. But my mother...Despite all my attempts to do something about her depression I've only made things worse. She blamed everyone, even herself; got hooked up on food and those TV serials. She looked less and less like my mother. I was angry at her and went breaking bad as a stupid way to punish her - same old company of bad squids, more drugs, alcohol and new experiences. I've found out that I like girls just as much as I like boys and that only doubled the fun we had. I knew this was wrong and I should focus on studying, but I was already trapped in that loop of pleasure.

And then my grandma passed away.

It was like a really cold shower while you're sleeping. It snapped me out, turned off something in me. I stared at the mirror with disgust. What kind of pathetic child I am? And my mother - she's even worse. She developed a passion for drinks ands, quitted her job and started disappearing in Plaza just like I did once. That moment I remember what dad used to tell me, cut off my tentacle and tossed it in her face, packed my things and went to live with dad. Ever since then I have never met my old friends again, never took any drugs or stepped in Plaza. I've changed...not without help of course. Affection to drugs and illegal substances were replaced by lust for-"

I interrupt her

"W͢e̶ get it. Continue."

"Right. Around that time I've got in contact with Marie or more like stalked her through the drainage system and got recruited as Agent 4 - yay! And then-"

"͝L͏et͜ ͝m͞e gues̸s̡, ̡if ̛yo͘ù d͟o͏n'̴t͜ mind int͞e̶r͢rùp͘tion"̶

Rude. And she discontentedly puff out cheeks, crossing her arms. But̡ ẃi͠t̶ho̷u͢t̕ a̧n͟y repl͘y͘,̕ ͜s͢o̶ I'̸lļ ̨take͘ it as ͜y̧es̕:

"But you were hooked up and had no will to keep yourself in check. So instead of doing your cod damn job, you spend time acting as traveling free of charge squid slut with desire to degustate all pesky toys you can find. It spread the rumors, but no one took notice cus we were too busy getting extinct by Green Terror and Salmons. Lena caught you red limbed, and trained you into a solid shell raising agent that still could not defeat Octavio when he escaped and captured Callie in order to brainwash her like other females in our freedom sucking society. But thank cod - the agent 3 herself did your job just fine…did I miss anything?"

"...um, nope. That's pretty much it!"

She finished with that honest happy smile of hers. Talking about mood swings. She just had to relive her past, talk about her mother and now she's turned back to normal in under a second?! Lucky me: crazy ass got adopted by even more crazy girls. Why do I feel strange relief?

*Meanwhile somewhere in Inkopolis. Point Of View - Helena*

Time - 23:32. Inkopolis Square shines in distance louder and brighter than usual with Squid Sisters and Off The Hook doing their usual crossover splatfest concert. Streats felt empty and quiet. She could've stayed, shrug it off, stretch smile on her face and save the holiday. But breaking her nose and this open talk about her past as a kid with no knowledge of love, treated as expendable pawn by idols made her too irritable and lustfull to vent some personal hate on someone. So she did what hero would do - an unwelcome and judged, but necessary action with a emotion burst. In any other day she'd just grab the pan and beat Rick until she calm down or someone stop her; but here's the funny thing - she could not do that anymore. They decided to be friends and she didn't care about this whole 'A copy of a human mind controls my body and I'm kinda brain dead myself' situation. He look like an octoling, act more or less like a good fish and speaks fluent inklish - more than enough for many sealings this days. It was a step in direction she should've taken months ago, when she decided to take him under his wing. But it's better late than never

Unlike the majority the of ink-capable population, Helen marched in Plaza, taking occasional sips from a bottle and keeping her headphones up and running with trusty mp3 player and rap, written by one famous team - Sea Lords. Don't let that name fool ya, it's just another bunch of assholes from rank X - the very top of the competitive ladder almost exclusively filled with the most toxic squids dancing on the edge of the knife. For them Turf War lost all fun or meaning as a game. It's a war for ratings, money and superiority over others with no tactic being too dirty...as long as their reputation, money and manager can hush up some 'not exactly legal' things.

Knowing all that she still liked the song. She thought it was something inspirational, motivating. She even singing along some of the lyric when no one were watching with half sober tone, joy and rhythm pleasuring her ears:

Don't need perks when I rank up dude, my

Roller swinging both ways, like a goodbye


If that went over your head, this won't

My charger never misses - It just don't

If unfreshies want advice from a god

I'll give 'em hint a runnin'-gunnin' splat bomb in the jaw


I used to be a non believer just as well

Till I took a look in the mirror and I saw myself

And then I realised I was on another level

Obligatory Hell's conductor reference - METAL.


Fists clenched and I'm gonna ink punch ya

I'm drenched in it, after I'll splat ya

From my head to my toes I'm all covered

Rattle with what's left of your teammates and ego

I'm one shell of a sucker - ink - puncher

Won't rest till I send ya'll to respawn

Super Jump away I'm coming to hunt ya

Burying your victory-


(Autor's note: had to improvise with lyric separation here)

Even with headphones she hears the distant roar of multiple beasts, rapidly approaching. She went quiet and passively turned around only to see a group of bikers driving past her, probably a gang or just enthusiasts having fun. She notes them in her mind and continues her walk of loneliness. Just like before she ignored any and all contact with sealings passing by: minor conflicts motivated by racism and envy towards inklings, drunk bastards, loud youth. Eventually, when she tossed aside an empty bottle in just one district away from Plaza, her partly drunk mind saw something on the wall.

Fresh in both senses, graphite on the black wall of the firefighter department. She wouldn't even pay attention to this typical shenanigan of whoever did this, but the image was something out of ordinary, intriguing enough to make her stop for a minute and take a closer look. It was an image of white crowd full of humanoid silhouettes with strings attached to them and the Turf War HQ tower with no Great Zapfish on it. The strings go up and warp themselves on the top of the tower. Below the crowd is the message written in octarian language:

Man have failed.

The theories disproven.

NPC is our inevitable existence...

...

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