Splatoon: Number's Game
Chapter 8
"Come on, 8, let's go! The next Turf War is gonna be starting soon!" Alex called, waiting just outside of the loading dock. He heard some frantic shuffling on the other side of the door before 8 came out dressed in her new gear.
8 came out timidly wearing black sweatpants with a purple stripe to match her current hair color, along with red and white sneakers, Alex's denim jacket with a black crop top underneath, and a white bandana tied around her head.
"Wow… That looks really good on you." Alex said with an approving nod. 8 rubbed her arm awkwardly but smiled appreciatively.
"Come on. They're waiting for us. You remember the rules?" Alex asked. 8 nodded again and tapped her fingers on the grips of her dualies.
"Alright, let's get to the transport pod then." Alex said, gesturing for her to follow. She walked alongside him as he led her through the doors into the waiting bay for the next Turf War.
They entered into a small concrete room with a circle in the center, painted in red and black to indicate not to stand there. Two other inklings, one boy and one girl, were waiting inside already, resting against the walls. Alex nodded to both of them.
8 looked at both of them awkwardly; she didn't say anything to them and they didn't say anything to her either. A buzzer suddenly began to ring, and a red light turned on. 8 clung closer to Alex, nervously waiting and watching.
The floor painted by the circle opened up at the center, revealing a platform full of orange paint. The two other inklings dove into it in squid form just as an automated voice said: "Please depart for Morray Towers."
"And we're off." Alex said, smiling comfortingly at her as he hopped into the paint himself and disappearing. 8 took a breath, composing herself before doing the same.
She rushed through a swirling pathway of ink before appearing alongside the others on top of a spawn point. They stood on a tall tower looking out over a set of ramps leading down to a central area. 8 could just make out their opponents on the other side.
"3…2…1… GO!"
A horn rang out, and 8's teammates all began to rush forward, covering the floor in front of them in ink as Alex had told her they would. 8 jumped down too, following Alex and helping him cover the territory in orange ink.
"The other team's color is blue. Fire at anyone with that color." Alex instructed. 8 nodded in understanding, and they made their way downwards together covering the territory in their color.
As they made their way towards the middle, 8 could see the battle ensuing between the members of their team and the members of the blue team. Alex rushed forward with his N-ZAP, stepping in right away to help his team take control.
8 took a moment to assess the situation, looking at different ways to enter into this shootout. She found a path to the side and decided to take that. She created a pathway for herself out of ink and climbed up a wall, immediately seeing a blue octoling boy with a sniper in front of her.
8 walked forward, shooting him with her dualies. Before he could react, he exploded in orange ink. 8 watched as he was carried back to the spawn point before covering more territory in ink. Right away, 8 now understood how this game was played.
"Booyah, 8! Keep it running!" She heard Alex's voice encouraging her from somewhere in the distance. 8 grinned and continued onwards.
8 felt a stinging sensation on her back. She turned around and looked up, realizing that a member of the other team was firing down at her from atop a ramp. She rolled out of the way to the bottom of the ramp, throwing a bomb before retreating.
"Stay back and guard the area. I'm gonna see if I can make my way up," Alex said, pulling out two rocket launchers and firing them off before swimming upwards. "Keep your head on a swivel!" He shouted back to her.
"Don't worry, girl, I got you." The inkling girl on her team said, tapping her on the back with the scope of her sniper rifle before swimming back up to a higher perch spot. 8 swam to the center to keep watch.
Immediately, she caught sight of two inklings making their way across the center pad from the other side, trying to sneak into the orange territory. 8 could tell that she wasn't going be able to do much in this situation, but she rushed towards them anyways.
8 swam over to attack them from behind. She shot at them, immediately grabbing both of their attention. They both turned around and fired back. Despite being overwhelmed by their ink, she was still able to splat one of them before being splatted herself.
She yelped out in surprise and pain as her body was briefly overwhelmed by a stinging feeling. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she was back at the spawn point on top of their territory.
She was gonna have to be more careful with this…
"Aw man, I think we overdid it. At least, I definitely feel I did. My legs are so sore." Alex said with a chuckle, sitting down next to 8 on a bench and handing her a drink that he'd bought for her.
8 looked at him with an amused expression, taking her drink and sipping it. Alex chuckled a bit, beginning to eat from a plate of fries that he had bought for himself.
"You did a good job today, 8. You catch onto this stuff quickly. Did you at least like the Turf Wars better than the Salmon Runs?" Alex asked with an amused chuckle.
8 nodded her head emphatically, making Alex laugh.
"Haha, yeah, I thought you would! Well, I'm glad. And hey, now you've finally got some pocket cash for yourself. Winning Turf Wars is a good way to get some change." Alex pointed out with a chuckle.
8 nodded in agreement, smiling happily.
Alex opened his mouth to say something else, but felt his phone vibrate. He opened it up and read the text that he had received. His expression changed, becoming more serious. His eyebrows furrowed, and he sent a quick response.
"Hey, um, 8, you might wanna reach out to 3. I have something I need to take care of tonight. Let me call her and let her know you'll be bunking with her tonight." Alex said, getting up and making the phone call.
8 watched Alex walk off with a worried expression, wondering what the problem was…