An Inkling of Sympathy Ch. 4

Author's Note: Hey readers! Chapter four, now complete. Let's see if we can keep this ball rolling a little longer. My roommate Fano has generously agreed to do the art for the cover of the story, but we'd really like your support while he does! On November 13, 2015 (tomorrow for those of you reading as I update) at 7:30pm CT, we'll be streaming on his Twitch (FanoBelmont). During that time, the two of us will be also doing a Q&A segment, where you can ask us any questions you like about fanfiction, art, or Splatoon in general. While I can't post a link here, you can follow our twitters at KibaElunal and FanoBelmont. Thanks again for all your support, please leave a review, I love reading them! -Kiba

As Callie and Marie stepped out of the shack, Marie quickly threw her arms around her cousin. "Thank you for finally coming to your senses!" She exclaimed cheerfully. "For a moment, I thought I'd lost you."

Callie put on a weak smile that was not nearly as genuine. "Of course not. You're my cousin. I'd never betray you, least of all for an enemy." Her words, while cheerful were not greatly heartfelt. "So, how did you know where I was?"

"Because I know you so well." Marie teased. "If someone's hurt, you can never stay away for long. It's like some sort of super power you have. You can always tell if someone needs you."

Those were not the words Callie wanted to hear. Instead, they drove another spike into her chest as she struggled to resist looking back at the cottage. "I suppose that is true." She laughed along. "So what songs should we do for the concert?" She was hoping to quickly change the subject.

"I don't know." Marie admitted, giving her cousin a slight amount of relief. "We at least managed to get through 'Barracuda' so we'll probably need to mix it up a bit. What about 'The Tide is High'? Keep with the general genre."

"That could work." She agreed. "Maybe we should do 'The Current' right after, just to add some variety to the theme."

"Mm-hm." Her cousin muttered in response, and it was then that Callie realized she'd been keeping an eye on the door their entire conversation.

"Marie?" She asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Sorry." Marie quickly apologized, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I just keep expecting him to bust out of the shack with Gramps' head or something."

The pink-garbed popstar covered her mouth in horror. "Marie! Don't say things like that. Gramps is more than able to take care of himself, besides Lusca would never do something like that, especially after he saved his life."

"Lusca?"

Callie swore under her breath. It wasn't often she used such language, but in this case she felt it necessary. "Yes, Lusca." She whispered.

"So you two are on first-name basis now?" Marie questioned, the anger in her voice evident. "Let me guess, you let him massage your tentacles too! Heck, next thing you know, the two of you are probably going to end up..."

"Shut up, Marie!" Callie snapped, causing her cousin to look at her in shock. "I'm...sorry." She immediately apologized as the silver-tentacled singer took a step backward from her. "I didn't mean…"

"Oh my God, it's really happening." She whispered, causing Callie to become puzzled. "I can't believe it."

"Marie, I'm sorry I yelled. It's just…"

"You love him." She interrupted. "Don't you?"

"Wh-what?!" Callie blurted, her cheeks matching her dress. "Are you out of your mind? We literally just met yesterday! Of course I'm not in love with him!"

"Yes, you are!" Marie argued. "And you're going to quit Squid Sisters for him! You don't even care that he's going to kill me or Gramps, so long as you can be with him."

"That's crazy talk Marie, and you know it!" Callie protested. "I swear to you, wholly and genuinely, I am not in love with him, not even a little. We are friends, but that's all he means to me."

"Sure it starts that way…"

"No! It doesn't." She interrupted. "You and Gramps are family. Even if I was in love with someone, if they ever were to hurt you or Gramps, that love would be gone. Nothing comes between Squid Sisters and nothing comes between our family! Not one, not the entire Octoling Army, not an entire country of cute guys." Her tears began to roll down her cheeks. "You're all I have Marie, how could you ever think I'd leave you?" She sobbed, as her cousin stood there watching.

Marie knew she'd made a mistake with her accusations. It had just been a stupid dream; she felt so foolish having let it affect her like this. Wrapping her arms around her cousin, she pulled her tightly to her chest. "I'm sorry, Callie." She apologized. "I was out of line. Will you forgive me?"

"There isn't any crime you could ever commit that I wouldn't forgive you for." Callie replied, causing a chill to run up Marie's spine.

She fell silent after that, not sure what to say to her cousin. Their newsbuilding was just around the block, and upon their arrival they found a plethora of police cruisers waiting for them. "That's weird." Marie commented. "We haven't even done anything to those late-nighters yet."

"Do you think someone is hurt?" The other asked, her empathy starting to bleed through again. "I sure hope it wasn't someone we know." As they walked through the entrance, immediately they found themselves surrounded by police officers. "Maybe it's just a security check?" Callie whispered to her cousin, as they all leveled their weapons at them.

A smaller officer wriggled his way through the firing line to stand before the two of them. "Callie and Marie Cuttlefish?" He asked.

"Yeah. What's going on?" Marie demanded.

"The two of you are hereby under arrest." He replied, holding his hand to signal another officer to fire his weapon. A large net was cast over the two of them keeping them bound tightly with no chance of slipping out. "Anything you can and will be used against you in a court of law." He explained, launching into a reading of their rights.

"Wait!" Callie called as they were being dragged away. "Why are we under arrest? We didn't do anything!"

"Treason." The man growled. "Take them away!"

Just as Marie was about to open her mouth, Callie squeezed her hand. "No. Don't say anything. When we get into our cell, we'll call Gramps. He'll handle this, okay?"

When Marie and Callie were placed in the back of the police car, a camera flash got their attention. The Police immediately chased away the reporter, but the cousins knew that it wouldn't be long until the both of them made the front page, bound in the back of a cop car on their way to jail.

As it sped away down the road, Callie looked back to see Judd watching them both as the arresting officer shook his paw. "No." She whispered. "He wouldn't have…" Already the tears were welling up in her eyes. Judd soon turned and left, leaving her broken hearted before sinking into the seat for the long ride.


I flexed my newly formed fingers. They'd grown back far swifter than I'd ever imagined. Perhaps since all of my tentacles were removed, the regeneration was going faster. I'd never heard of any Octoling losing all of them at once.

Weakly getting to my feet, I sauntered over to the desk pushed against the wall. I couldn't really understand what Cap'n Cuttlefish meant by his instructions. Do as I was told? By who? The Octoling Military was, for lack of a better word, sloppy in their organization. I doubted they even knew I was missing.

Either way though, I knew I didn't owe these three any loyalties anymore, not after they locked me away. With the Captain, I may be able to garner enough sympathy to plot my escape. Finding a sheet of paper and a pen, I began to write down a list of components.

During my stay here, it seemed like the Captain didn't have any advanced sort of technology, so perhaps I could trick him into giving me the parts I need for a transponder. Double checking my list of materials, I hobbled over to the door and banged on it. "Captain! Captain, are you there?!" I shouted.

After a brief moment, his voice came through the door. "You know I can't let you out, Bucko."

"I know, but I forgot to mention something. A few years back, Octarians started placing trackers in their members. They made us implant these weird things in our bodies that send off a signal." There was a pause at the door, and I knew he was listening. Good, my lie was able to convince him. "Listen, I know you probably don't trust me, but I really do care about Callie. I'm slipping a piece of paper under the door. I need you to get me these parts from an electronic shop so I can fry the sucker. The last thing I'd want is for the Octarians on your doorstep."

"Alright." He finally replied, allowing me to release the breath I'd been holding. "I'll get these for you. You, however, are not allowed to leave the room. Understood? I've got a guy that will get me the supplies, so I'm not budging from my post here."

"That's fair." I answered. Just as I was about to head back to the bed, feeling pretty confidant, I heard the phone ringing, as well as a faint ringing in my room. My eyes went to the receiver that was plugged in at the wall, hidden behind the end table. Really? They'd left the phone in here?

When the ringing stopped, I quickly crept over to it and lifted it from the receiver. I placed my ear against it, making sure to keep silent so I could hear the conversation. "Gramps! Something terrible has happened." Marie's voice came across the line.

My blood began to run cold. Was Callie injured? Cap'n Cuttlefish seemed to have the same thought. "What's wrong Marie? Are you or your cousin hurt?"

"No, nothing like that Grandpa." Callie's voice came this time. "We're sitting in booking at Inkopolis Jail. They're charging us for treason!"

"How did this happen?" He demanded. "I'm coming there now!"

"No!" Callie immediately barked, causing him to give pause. "No Gramps, you need to watch you-know-who. We can't risk him escaping. We'll go to trial in about a week. Our attorney should be on his way. Marie and I can handle ourselves until then."

"She's right Gramps. He's the real threat. We'll prove our innocence...well relative innocence...and be out of here in no time." Marie agreed. "It's not like treason is a hard case to beat, considering what we do in our free-time. Oh! We have to go Gramps, the guard is signaling us. Goodbye."

"Good luck girls. Don't forget I love you." The Captain whispered over the line, before with a click it was hung up. Before I could even hang the phone up, the door suddenly burst open, causing me to drop it clumsily. "Oh good, you heard everything." He muttered quickly, running to me and hanging the phone up before standing me on my feet.

"Good?" I asked confused as he went over to the desk and took a key off his neck. Placing it into the lock, he turned it first one way, than another. With a hiss, the desk separated revealing an old set of armor and some weapons.

"Listen up soldier, this is vital." He called, grabbing the armor and tossing it to me. "Callie and Marie say they're okay, but the truth is their attorney isn't coming."

"What?" I asked, catching the small pistol as he continued to throw the equipment to me over his shoulder. "What are you talking about, Captain?"

"I don't know how it works with the Octarians, but in our society 'treason' is not a minor accusation. What those girls don't know is that there isn't a trial for a 'Treason' charge."

I shook my head confused as I caught an ink grenade before realizing what it was and gingerly setting it on the bed. "Then what's going to happen them, exactly?"

The Captain took a small box and walked over to me, holding it in his extended hand. "They'll be shipped to Guanoctamo Bay." I looked at him puzzled. "You know...Squitmo?" I shook my head. "Ugh. Look boy, it's the harshest prison top-side. Don't they teach you boys anything?"

"We need to get them out."

"No shit?" Cap'n Cuttlefish stated. "I just thought I was giving you weapons and armor for no reason at all."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You want me to go in there and break them out?"

"That's right. Look, it's been almost a hundred years since anyone's seen war up here. Other than me, you're the only one here with military training, and I'm sorry to say, I'm gettin' a little too old to keep doing this sort of thing. So you're gonna go and get back my granddaughters, or else I'll gladly send you there in their place. Understand?" His eyes didn't have the same gentleness before. Now they were replaced with a burning fierceness that made me quickly take the box he was offering me. It was the glare of a Grandfather protecting his grandchildren.

"So what would you like me to do? I doubt that they'll just let an Octoling waltz in there. Not to mention that with this armor, I can't even camouflage." I opened the box revealing a small badge that read 'Squidbeak Splatoon'. "What is this?"

"That's my old badge. Believe it or not, I was like you once Sergeant. My friends and I fought hard and fast to protect our way of life when the Octarians betrayed us." I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up his hand to stop me. "As I've said before, I don't hold ill will against your ilk. Actions mean more to me than any sort of species or racial bias. I'd have loved for things to end peacefully with us sharing the surface, but Octavio did not give me that option. But now, you have a chance to make things right. If you rescue my Granddaughters...well, I'll consider you a member of my Splatoon. Understand?"

"Yes sir." I answered, carefully taking the badge and tucking it into my pocket. "I'll get them out." I could feel a lump of pride in my throat. I would get them both back. "I'm sorry to say, that still doesn't give me an 'in'. Not to mention that breaking in would probably require the death of quite a few Inklings. Are sure you're okay with that?"

"That gun I gave you isn't a normal one. It's charged up with a special ink. Specifically, it's Zapfish Ink."

I looked at him stunned. "Zapfish make ink?"

He chuckled. "Not naturally, they don't. Point is, spray that on someone and they're body hits the ground like a sack of crabby cakes. They'll be back on their feet in a few hours later, but that's going to be your way in. Sadly, this isn't a stealth mission, it's a break out. And use that gun sparingly, once your tanks empty, that's the end of it. That armor will protect you from walking in the Ink."

Slipping it on, I was surprised by how well it fit. "Where did you get this stuff anyway?"

"An old friend of mine by the name of Ammoses Shellendorf. Absolute genius at weaponcraft, even if the poor sod did kick it before his time." He nodded towards the door. "Anyway, time's wasting. You need to get a move on."

"One second." I answered, grabbing the cloth from my old clothing and wrapping it around my head. "If people see an armed Octoling, we'll have even more trouble than we do now. Better them to think I'm a rogue Inkling."

"That's using the old mantle. Good luck Sergeant."

"Yes, sir." I replied before taking off, leaving the old Captain in his empty cottage, praying that he'd made the right decision.


Callie and Marie sat in their cell before the more impatient one gave a sigh. "Ugh, Callie how long until our lawyer gets here?" She whined. Even Callie had to admit they'd been in there for a long time.

"I don't know." She whispered.

At about that time, I made my way into the police station. Just as the desk clerk looked up, a quick spray knocked him out of commission. Now people were starting to freak out. One of the squids in the containment cell began banging on the metal box as the officer watching him went to draw his gun. A slosh of zapink and he was on the ground, writhing in what I imagined was pretty painful. "Hey!" A voice called as an officer swung his baton at me.

Sloppy. In the military, we were far better trained. Catching the baton with one hand I struck him in the throat with the butt of my gun before firing point blank at him. They really should learn to keep their mouths shut.

Running further down the linoleum coated hallway, I came to a directory showing off the complex interior of the jail. That's when I realized I could be running around here for hours and never find the girls. I needed to find a guard who was still conscious and get the info out of him.

As if on cue, I heard the sound of loud footsteps stomping up behind me and with a quick movement, I avoided the splurt of toxic ink before wrapping my arm around his throat. Pressing my foot against the back of his leg, he went down to his knees as I held the gun to the side of his head. His hand went to his radio, but I quickly growled. "Don't even think about it. The Squid Sisters, where are they?"

He paused nervously, trying to get a glimpse of his attacker with a futile struggle. One tightened grip on his windpipe calmed him down. "Alright." He grunted. "I'll tell you." Loosening it slightly, I waited for him to answer, but instead he just shouted into his radio. "Get the Squid Sisters in Self-Containment Ward Isolation D! We have a break in! I repeat, all hands to the Squid Sisters, we have a break-" I didn't let him finish before pulling the trigger and dropping the crumpled flesh to the ground.

Well, at least I'd know where they were now. Rushing towards Isolation Ward D, I took a brief look at my Ink Tank. Crap, only three fourths left. I was burning through it fast.

Alarms began to sound as Callie and Marie looked towards the door of their cell in shock. "What is that?" Callie whispered, barely able to keep her voice steady.

"I don't know." Marie replied, in a similar tone. Both girls jumped when the door suddenly swung open and six armed officers grabbed them both, shoving them out despite their protests and questions.

"Suspects are secure. I repeat, suspects are secure! Do you read me Alpha Team?" One of the officers called into the radio. All that came in reply was static. "Alpha team, do you copy?!"

Pzzt. "Girls. If you can hear this, don't worry. It'll all be okay."

"God, he took out Alpha team." The officer whispered to himself. Holding the radio up to Marie, he snarled. "Call him off! Now!"

"Me?" Marie asked in shock. "I don't know who that is!"

"Bullshit! He's here for you, so he obviously knows you. Now call him off, before I call you off. Understand?"

"She's telling the truth!" Callie interrupted. "We don't know who that is, if we did I swear we'd tell you."

The Police officer just held his weapon to her face before staring into Marie's eyes. "Give the order now, or else I'll shoot her first." He hissed before pushing the transmit button.

The silver tentacled one took a deep breath before shakingly calling out. "Hey, whoever you are...please stop trying to break us out. We don't want any trouble, and if you keep going they're going to hurt Callie or me or both...so please, just turn yourself in and stop." Her eyes went back to the cops who nodded, shoving Callie to her cousin's side before giving the signal to his men to keep escorting them.

"Alright asshole, you heard your bosses. Stop this attack or else I'm going to bring the full might of the law down on you."

There was a pause for a moment as I contemplated how to respond. "Is what she said true?" I asked. I could feel anger starting to burn in me as I quickly blasted down an incoming enemy.

"Every word." The harsh reply came.

"Tell me your name."

"Lieutenant Daniels. Now how about you give me yours, save me some time on the paper work for your arrest."

"Well, Lieutenant Daniels...just know, I'm coming after you first." With that, I threw the walkie talkie over my shoulder on to the unconscious splatoon of officers. Activating a point marker I had picked up from one of them, immediately he lit up on my radar. He would pay for that threat.

Officer Daniels felt a slight tingling until he looked down to see the signal from his own radar giving off the pulse that informed him he was being tracked, and it was then that a cold chill ran through his body. "Get them to Isolation D, now!" He barked at his men, making them move even faster. He began to walk towards the other direction. If it was a fight this bastard wanted, it was a fight he'd get.

As soon as the door slammed shut behind them, the cousins shared a look of concern. Neither of them had recognized the voice over the radio. "Who do you think it is?" Callie whispered. "It sure wasn't Gramps...not that he'd do this anyway."

"I don't know." Marie answered, looking towards the plain white door that stood almost invisible in the small cell. There wasn't even sunlight filtering into the room. "Maybe one of Gramps' old war buddies?"

Her cousin shook her head. "No, he was far too young. It could be one of their kids, possibly. Maybe he owes Gramps a favor."

"But then, why would he not surrender when we told him to? That doesn't make any sense." She paused for a moment in thought before sliding down the wall to the ground. "We're in deep trouble aren't we, Callie?"

I rushed down the hallway, following the tracker's signal. He was getting closer now, even if he was further from the girls. I knew they should have been my first priority, but as far as I was concerned this son of a bitch had it coming.

Just as I took a step into the next hallway, a high-pressure blast of ink narrowly missed my head. "Damn it." The man, whom my radar labeled as Daniels, hissed. Already, he was taking aim with another Splattershot Scope, customized for the Police specifically. I quickly ducked out of the way of his second shot rushing towards him.

I fired a burst of the electrified Ink at him, but he too moved with an unnatural swiftness. I recognized the techniques he was using, this man was the real deal. Just narrowly avoiding a third shot, I leveled my pistol at him but his barrel struck down at mine, pinning it towards the ground. "Ex-military?" I asked with a grunt of frustration.

"Five years in the Inkopolis Militia Unit. You see some crazy shit down at Walleye Warehouse after hours." He hissed back as he too struggled against my force. "You're pretty well trained yourself."

"Necessity will do that for you." I retorted, my other hand releasing my pistol to snap down on his barrel thus throwing him off guard. WIth a quick flick of his wrist however, both of our weapons slid from our grip before he landed a fierce punch across my cheek.

Thus, our melee began. For every strike he got on me, I answered in kind with one of my own, and I knew I didn't have long until the first few Inklings began waking up. "Was it 'necessity' that made you kill all of my men?" He demanded with a roar, lashing out with a fierce kick towards my chest.

"No," I replied, blocking his strike before shoving him hard to the ground, "but that's what's going to make me kill you." I stepped towards him, but he quickly scooped up the Zapfish pistol and took aim. As the electric ink flooded over me, I felt a slight tingle then, darkness.


The Squid sisters sat quietly in the room as they heard the guards chattering nervously outside. "Sounds like our rescuer has them a little freaked out." Marie commented, struggling to hide the grin on her face. Whoever this guy was, she liked his style.

"I don't know, something about this whole thing seems a little fishy. We could have just waited for trial. I'm sure our lawyer would have gotten us out of this mess. We still don't know what evidence they have on us for treason." Callie replied.

"Hey! Shut up in there!" One of the guards barked, causing her to immediately fall silent.

"Hey we're just as freaked out as you are!" The silver-tentacled singer snapped back, going to the door. "It's not like we know who the heck this guy is! Besides, you don't even have proof that we are traitors, so why don't you save yourself the trouble and let us go."

The guard wheeled on her, his eyes full of rage. "Let me tell you something." He hissed under his breath. "My daughter is about six years old. Every year for Squidmas, all she asks for is the new Squid Sisters album, and every year I buy it for her. The fact that a pair of Octoling scum like you have taken their place will not garner any sympathy for me. You made the mistake of impersonating two of the most beloved people in Inkopolis, and you're not getting away with it!"

Now the cousins were really confused. "Octoling? We're not Octolings you moron! Don't you have eyes, we're obviously the real deal!"

"Don't waste your breath, we found one of your tentacles in the limo to the concert. And that fake 'power outage' to prevent them from finding out you don't have the same voices? Please, give us some credit. We're not that stupid."

Realizing what had happened, Marie snarled in anger and returned next to her cousin. "This is all your fault." She growled. "If you hadn't brought that bastard here, we'd be sitting pretty back in our home."

"It didn't feel right." Callie answered meekly.

"Well does this feel right?!" Marie snapped at her, causing her to flinch. "We're in jail because of that damned idiot, and now everyone thinks that we are Octolings. Once Gramps' friend busts us out of here, we're going back to the shack and we're coming clean about everything to the public. Everything!"

In truth, Callie's guilt had been eating at her the whole time. She felt guilty that it was her actions that got Lusca sick, she felt guilty for locking Lusca away, she felt guilty for having almost killed his people, she felt guilty for the way her cousin felt, and now she felt guilty for the two of them being in jail. "Ok." She responded, putting her face in her knees as tears began to fall down her cheeks. Right now, there was no one Callie hated more than herself.


Lieutenant Daniel's eyes widened, and he began to choke before coughing up a small blue spray of blood. I'm still not sure how it happened. The only thing I remember is getting shot, followed by standing there above him, coated in a thick blue fluid. In my hand was the Squidbeak Splatoon badge, it's one shining edge now soaked in his blood. The sharpened point of the shield had been drug across his throat, and it was then I realized what I'd done.

I sank to my knees, grabbing the quickly fading officer by the front of his shirt. "Why?!" I demanded of him. "Why did you have to do this?" My eyes began to tear up. This was the last thing I wanted, another death on my hands. I began to shake him, the life now gone from his gaze. "Why?" I repeated. "Why did you have to threaten her? She didn't do anything to deserve it except for being kind hearted, and yet you threatened her life! How could you make me do this to you?!"

I let his uniform slip through my fingers, only for his torso to land with a sickening plop in the pool of blood that was forming beneath him. I didn't want to leave at that point. I realized now, I could never be a normal person. I was always going to be the cold-hearted killer DJ Octavio wanted me to be, no matter what crazy schemes or trades I tried. But instead of accepting my punishment, I shoved my feelings down. The girls were still in danger, and I knew it.

Leaving the evidence of my rage behind, I continued to Isolation D, where the final hurdle presented itself. The six units still waited before the door I assumed to contain my charge, and immediately I set into motion.

With a flurry of strikes and shots of ink, I'd taken out half of them before with a click, the gun registered as empty. "Callie, come look at this." Marie whispered to her cousin, watching with great interest as the masked man continued to pummel the police officers into submission.

As one of the remaining three leveled his pistol, I grabbed his wrist and flipped him over my body, using his surprise to disarm him before my foot went to his throat, choking him. I managed to shoot the pistol from the second's hand just as the first one's struggles died down. Taking my foot off of him, I rushed the third, just as he raised his weapon, only to get him in a headlock that cut off his air as well.

All the while, I kept the gun trained on the second one. No one else would die today, I assured myself, but as long as the gun was on him, he wouldn't budge. As the third fell limp in my arms, I dropped him to the ground before walking up to the second and smashing him hard over the mantle to knock him out. Noticing that Marie was watching through the window, I sighed. "Are you two alright?"

"We're fine." She promised. "Just please, get us out of here."

I nodded, grabbing a set of keys from one of the guards and quickly unlocking the door to the cell. As it slid open, Marie immediately pounced on me, pressing her lips against mine. I was stunned for a moment before carefully pushing her off of me. My eyes went to Callie who was still sitting on the floor, her head tucked in her knees.

"Sorry," Marie apologized embarrassed. "I just wanted to thank you for the rescue. Let's get out of here."

"Don't." I muttered to her, walking past her to where Callie sat. "Callie?" I asked, causing her to look up at me in surprise. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." She replied, though I knew it was a lie. I helped her to her feet, carefully. Seeming to realize my lack of belief she explained. "I just have a lot on my mind right now. I feel like I've hurt and betrayed a lot of people."

"We can talk about that later." I promised. "Right now though, we have to go." As I led the two of them towards the exit I heard Marie give a huff.

"Callie always gets the cute ones." She muttered under her breath.

To be continued...