Chapter 2
"I'm not ready I'm not ready I'm not ready!" Amber yelps as another blob of ink flies overhead. Amber takes aim at her assailant and unloads her tank on him. The inkling dodges to the side, disappearing behind a crate. Amber runs off before he could get another chance to attack.
Amber hears the tell-tale click of a gun ready to fire and looks to her side. She barely processes the enemy aiming at her before a wave of orange ink slams into them. The inkling pops and returns back to her spawn point.
Ika lands where the enemy once was, his eyes darting around the area. "You doing good Amber?"
Amber just nods, looking around nervously. That was one enemy down, but the one from before could still be here. She didn't want to get jumped. She doesn't like this!
Suddenly, a splash is heard from a nearby puddle. Amber screams and fumbles with her splattershot, aiming it where she heard the noise. An enemy inkling jumps out of the green ink, their roller raised in the air.
Amber yelps and pulls on the trigger instinctively. The recoil knocks her over, taking her breath away. She looks up, then notices the ghostly squid disappearing into the air.
Ika grins as he lands next to her, looking at the squid. "First kill. Nice job Amber."
Amber just grins widely at the older inkling. Ika smiles down at her, then helps her back up. An explosion is suddenly heard and they look towards it. Ika frowns when he sees a tornado of green ink fly into the air. "I'm gonna check that out. Be careful Amber!" With that, Ika runs off, brandishing his massive brush.
Amber gulps as she is suddenly left alone. She shakes her head, steeling her gaze. There was no time to be afraid, she has to move forwards! She runs towards the enemy base, painting as much of the ground around her as possible. She also keeps a close eye out for enemy inklings.
After a few moments, she finds herself in a more open area. There was orange and green ink splattered everywhere. Amber looks for any enemies, then jumps into a trail of orange ink.
She maneuvers quickly swims across the open area in her squid form. She reaches a wall and slowly rises out of the ink. She was at the side of the open middle area of Walleye Warehouse. According to her map, there was a ramp behind her that leads to the enemies' base.
She rises from the ink completely, running towards the enemy base. Once she passes the uninkable ramp, she begins painting again, replacing the green ink around her with orange ink.
Amber frowns and slows down, cautious. She was uncontested for a while now. Even if she was taking a side route, those should be looked over, at least according to what Ika said. Where are the enemies. Deciding to take it safe, she paints the area in front of her. Then, instead of swimming forwards, she waits.
After only a second or two, a beam of green ink flies into the small area she was in. Amber's eyes go wide and she clamps a hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She instantly falls into her ink, not wanting to get caught.
She watches through the ink, her squid eye's able to see through it, as an enemy walks into the small area. They were wearing a half face mask and a bulky jacket. In one hand was a long sniper rifle, and in the other was a burst bomb.
The enemy looks around, wondering where the intruder went. He looks at the orange ink around him. He curses his gun's bad ability to cover turf. Then, the music playing over the intercoms change. He looks up, then fires a beam forwards. As he moves forward, he mumbles to himself "One minute left. No point in searching now." He runs down the ramp and disappears around the corner.
Amber raises from the orange ink, her heart pounding. She lowers her hand, watching for the enemy sniper. She breathes out a sigh of relief, then turns around and begins painting again.
Amber turns the corner and runs out of the constricting hallway. She looks to her left and notices the enemy spawn point. She didn't see anyone, and she figured she had maybe 45 seconds left. She runs forwards and begins painting again.
Then, at around 30 seconds, she hears a ding. She frowns and turns around. Her ink tank had a flashing red light on it. What was that for?
Then, Amber hears a sudden exclamation of surprise. Amber jumps and turns to the enemy spawn point. The roller from before was respawning and noticed her. Now she was running forwards, eager to take Amber out.
Amber steps back and aims her gun, but the roller disappears over the edge. Shit, what was she going to do now?!
"AMBER!" Amber turns and notices Ika running at her. He then shouts "USE YOUR SPECIAL!"
Amber's eyes widen immensely. "W-What?!" How did he know about her ability?! No, now things are going to go wrong!
Ika frowns as he notices Amber freeze. What the hell was she doing? Then, he notices the roller coming down from above her. His eyes widen and he realizes he couldn't help her.
The roller raises her weapon, then brings it down onto Amber. She doesn't utter a word, her wide eyes the only sign of her surprise. She feels the immense pain on her back, then suddenly, nothing. She gets a sense of weightlessness, and then she reappears at her spawn. She blinks, then shivers in disgust. That was horrible! Is that really how respawning feels like?
Then, a whistle is heard throughout the area. All the firing stops as Judd, the judge of the turf wars, calls them all back. Amber just picks herself up and follows her team back to the lobby of the battle center.
Underneath Inkopolis is a massive pipe system, just above the old metro system. This pipe system brings the battlers in turf wars to and from the Battle Tower. The reason this worked was that the pipes used a special kind of 'universal ink' and propellant systems to make swimming quick and easy for all.
Amber pops out of the pipe and looks for Ika. She then notices him waving at her, a smile on his face. She walks over and looks over to the screen where Judd was showing the results. The bar at the bottom wavers, and then fills up with each teams' ink, showing the results.
The enemy team sighs in disappointment and Amber's other two teammates cheer in victory. Amber grins widely at the results. Ika smiles down at her, saying "First battle and you won it. Nice job Amber!"
Amber blushes at the sudden praise, her grin shrinking to a shy smile. "I never could've done it without you Ika."
Ika just shakes his head and says "No way! You definitely won that on your own power. Besides, you only died once in your first match! I died three times in mine!"
Amber just smiles at the praise, deciding to just take it. Ika then ushers her to the door and they leave the room.
They stop at the lobby on their way out to pick up their rewards. Amber looks at her hand in awe. She just got 2000 coins from that one battle! How in the world is the inflation not sky high with this kind of money being given out?!
She decides to voice her question to Ika as he takes his cash. He looks up in thought, then says "Well, I guess even with the extra cash being given here, we also have a massive abundance of food and other supplies. Inkopolis does have really big market and manufacturing areas, taking up a third of the city I believe. It balances things out." Amber just nods.
The two walk out into the city once more. Ika breathes in deeply, and then exhaling loudly. He smiles, hands on his hips, as he looks at the city. "This place is beautiful, isn't it?"
Amber nods, her mind in an awe-filled trance. The city, even though she's already seen it, was still breathtaking. The colors, the people, the abundance of joy and excitement. Amber would never want to leave this place.
"Hey Amber." Amber looks over to her companion in curiosity. Ika looks down at her, then says "If given the chance, would you protect this city?"
Amber raises an eyebrow at the odd question. She shrugs off her surprise, thinking it just another quirk of Ika's. But then… she thinks about the question seriously.
She looks out over the sea of inklings, all chatting and smiling and having an amazing time. She watches as one inkling, crippled and obviously different, is helped by a group of others. She smiles in joy, and a bit of sadness, at the amazing comradeship and kindness displayed in this city's citizens.
Amber nods, knowing her answer. "Yes, I would. This place is incredible, and the citizens are so kind. I would want to make sure anyone could come here, and keep this place a haven for all."
Ika looks at her with an odd look. "Is that so?" He smiles, then walks forwards. "Nice to know." He waves for her to follow, and the younger inkling quickly catches up.
Amber walks beside Ika and notices that they were leaving the square. She looks up at the black-haired inkling and says "Where are we going?"
Ika smiles and says "We're going to a restaurant. You need some food after all that, right?"
Just as Ika finishes speaking, Amber's stomach growls loudly. Amber blushes a deep red and Ika laughs loudly. Amber frowns, then says "Ignoring that, I just met you. Why would you take me to get some food?"
Ika just smiles and says "I like you kid, you've got a lot of talent. In fact, you remind me of Callie when she started turf wars."
Amber's eyes widen in surprise. Her, similar to one of the Squid Sisters?! Impossible. Ika notices her disbelief and just grins. "It's true. Back when we first started, she was shaking like a leaf. Despite that, she did some amazing work with a roller gramps gave her. She toughened up, and now, is one of the most talented fighters in the league."
The older inkling looks down and says "I really want you two to meet. I think you'd be quite good friends."
Amber's eyes widen even more, before a massive grin breaks out on her face. "Really?!" Ika just nods, chuckling at the young inkling's enthusiasm.
Amber fantasizes about meeting Callie. She was such a bundle of energy, and so kind! She even managed to take all of Marie's sarcasm!
Amber's excitement dims as she thinks about this. Marie always seemed rude and sarcastic, but always protective of her younger cousin. Amber never knew what to believe about the older cousin. But now, she had a family member right here to answer her questions.
Amber looks at Ika and says "So, what's Marie like?"
Ika looks at her, then says "Well… hm. Let's just say that in our little trio, she's the serious one. She keeps us in check and makes sure we don't do anything TOO reckless. Of course, she still loves to have fun, but she's much more reserved about it."
Amber takes in the information eagerly. Marie seemed so different to Ika and Callie. The siblings are so energetic, while Marie is calm and collected. It was hard to believe they were family, if not for the odd synergy those two dynamics made.
Ika suddenly taps her shoulder and points in front of them. "There it is." Amber looks up and notices a big building with the words 'Jelerico's Seafood Emporium'. The building was light blue and white, giving it a stark difference to the rainbow/gray colored buildings around them.
Ika turns to her and says "We'll grab a quick bite, then go to the store. You still need groceries right?" Amber nods her head, confirming the thought.
Ika grins, then says "Come on, time for you to taste Inkopolis food." Amber nods eagerly, her energy reignited by the prospect of trying something new. The two then go inside the restaurant.
Amber sighs in content as they leave the restaurant. Ika smiles and says "Liked it?" Amber just nods with a small smile on her face.
Ika then says "Come on, one last stop before you head home." Amber nods, remember their conversation from earlier. It was time to get groceries.
The two lapsed into a comfortable silence as they move to the restaurant. Ika kept glancing at his younger companion. She was a talented fighter, that much was certain, but something was up with her. No one would notice when just hanging out with her, but the way she froze when he told her she had a special, it wasn't normal. No one, not even the most timid or scared individuals, ever froze upon having a special.
Then again, he also noticed her fiery and defensive personality. She seemed eager to please, for both herself and others. With that kind of personality, he doubted she would tell him her issues. He had trouble just joking about her not doing well without him.
He sighs, looking forwards again. He'd just have to observe her behavior and see if he can discern her reason for not using specials. He pushes the thoughts to the side as he notices Arowana Mall in front of them.
Amber also notices the mall, then says "That's the mall, right?"
Ika nods, then says "Well, guess this is where we part ways."
Amber looks at him in surprise, not expecting that. "What?! But why?!"
Ika smiles and says "I have other things to do today. Besides, I'm sure we'll see each other again."
Amber frowns, then nods sadly. She had grown to like the older inkling and his goofy attitude. He brought an air of excitement she's never felt before.
Ika notices her somber look and smiles at her. "Hey, don't be upset. Like I said, we'll see each other again."
Amber looks up at him, then does something unexpected. She stares at him and says "Promise?"
Ika blinks at the sudden, and slightly childish, response. He smiles and nods. "Promise."
Amber smiles in satisfaction and Ika grins with her. He turns around and waves as he leaves. "I'll keep an eye out for you kid! Have fun in the big city!" Amber nods and waves back. Soon, Ika disappears into the sea of people.
Amber lowers her hand, suddenly feeling very lonely. She sighs, then turns to the mall. She walks over and enters.
It only takes a few minutes for her to grab the things she needed. She leaves with three bags of food and she begins making her way to her new home.
She quickly finds herself at the apartment complex she has already become familiar with. She enters the building and goes to her apartment. She enters and sets down all the groceries she got.
She takes them out and puts them away. By the time she was done, she realized just how tired she was. She takes a deep breath, and then she walks over to her room. She takes off her shoes and falls onto her bed.
She looks up at the ceiling, thinking about her day. She met the sibling of the famous Squid Sisters and started turf wars. Funny how this started as a simple quest to get groceries. She chuckles, turning on her side and closing her eyes. "What a day."
-Author Notes-
Gonna be honest, I have no clue how inflation works. I took my best guess on what I've learned and how I THINK it works, so I'm sorry if it isn't accurate. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!