Time-and-space.
It's more than a liner progression of cause to effect, the timeline can branch out into multiple realities and endless possibilities. There's much to explore and see for ourselves in the vast realm of the multiverse, an endless universe of universes with all the infinite possibilities.
Welcome, travelers. I am an Observer, one of your guides through this multiverse. Now follow me into this bizarre reality as the question is asked: What If?
Years ago, in Dimension #8052011, a maniac kidnapped an aspiring champion for his plan to realize his wacked dream of an Anime Island of anime women with the Inklings, Squid folk, and their ink as the fuel for his scheme. And this was just as the city of Inkopolis was about to host its annual Splatfest for that year.
A brave band of heroes led by a meme-loving man and a mentally-disabled Italian raided the island and battled the madman after discovering what was going on. And after a lengthy battle, the heroes were victorious and the lunatic known as Francis was defeated, but this victory was not without a cost.
In the midst of the battle, an Octoling named Desti, the leader of the Splatfest Octoposse team, was killed. And as the madman Francis was in the hour of defeat, the Inkling named Meggy was drained of her ink and she transformed into a human. Many months later, the human SplatSquad team emerged victorious in the Splatfest tournament.
But in a new reality, what if Francis held off on his plan a little longer, allowing Meggy and her team to compete in the Splatfest, what if they went up against the Octoposse and the Inkling girl's pink-tentacled Octoling rival... Desti?!
We shall now dive into this branched timeline and visit Inkopolis, on Splatfest Day.
It is time...
-May 25th, 2019, 11:28 A.M.
-Inkopolis, Splatfest Locker-
"Let me hear you roar." Saiko said.
The nervous blue-haired girl looked into her tall friend's eyes, hesitating for a short period. Then she said as loud as possible, "I'M TARI AND I'M GOING TO KICK BUTT TODAY!"
"A little louder." The anime girl encouraged.
Tari screamed.
"Is that all you got?" Saiko facepalmed.
Splatting sounds filled the locker, accompanied by a scream. Fishy Boopkins ran as Mario fired on him with his Splatling Splattershot. The Italian was wide-eyed and his mustache was cartoonishly big, which was normal for the mentally-challenged plumber.
"Hey, hold-a still!" Mario yelled, "Mario needs his target practice!"
"AHHH, NO, LEAVE ME BEEEEEEEE!" Fishy Boopkins wailed.
"Leave him alone, Red. Let's give poor Boopkins some space."
Meggy stepped forward, coming to the Spike's defense. Mario dropped his weapon and lowered his head with a sad moan, but his friend pat him on the shoulder. "It's okay, Mario." Meggy told the plumber, "You'll have all the time to splat opponents out there in the arena today once we're ready."
"Yeah, don't go after Boopkins for target practice, buddy." SMG4 agreed.
"Hey!" Luigi piped up, "Where's Bob?"
Everyone looked in the lockers, finding the Garo in question as he was reading a magazine with the picture of a voluptuous bikini-clad anime girl on it. Bob looked up from his reading item with annoyance at the group.
"Go AwAy!" He said, "I'm HaViNg SoMe BoB tImE!"
"Sorry to bother you, Bob." Meggy said, "But the match will be starting soon."
"LOL, eXcEpT I wOn'T bE oUt ThErE sHoOtInG iNk At YoU, eSpEcIaLlY sInCe I dOn'T kNoW Sh*T aBoUt SpLaToOn!"
"You'll be in the plaza, rooting for us." Luigi told the Garo.
"Can you get out of that locker please?" Meggy asked.
"I'm EnJoYiNg SoMe QuAlItY 2D AnImE GiRls AnD I lIkE hAvInG mY PrIvAcY! SCrEw YoU!"
Just then, the bell rang and an Inkling voice sounded over a loudspeaker: "All Splatfest players to the arena at once, this is not a drill. It is time for the match to begin, all Splatfest contestants to the Splatfest arena now!"
"That's-a us!" Mario exclaimed, the plumber grabbed his Splattershot, "Let's-a go!"
"Good luck out there, guys!" SMG4 encouraged.
"YEAH!" Saiko hollered, "YOU GET OUT THERE AND KIIIIICK AAAAASSSSS!"
Meggy, Mario, Luigi and Tari wasted no time in getting to a Spawning Pad. A light flashed at their feet and, in seconds, they were warped out of the lockers and into Walleye Warehouse, the main arena for the impending Turf War match of the tournament.
-11:30 A.M-
-Walleye Warehouse, Inkopolis-
"IT'S TIME FOR THE LATEST ROUND OF SPLATFEST!" The voice of Marie of the Squid Sisters blared over a microphone from the announcer's booth, "WHO'S READY?"
Callie was seen atop the booth, pumping her fists and yelling, "Yeeaaaaaahhhhhh!"
Marie looked at her cousin, who got back down and took the microphone. "For this match, on the right corner, we have... TEAM SPLATSQUAD!"
A jumbotron lit up above Meggy and her team's head, showing the SplatSquad symbol.
Meggy waved.
"And opposing them on the other side of the field, we have TEAM OCTOPOSSE!" Callie announced.
With that, all eyes turned to the other end right as another jumbotron lit up, showing a purple Octoling symbol right above a pair of Octolings, some of whom Meggy and her crew knew all too well. Desti stood at the front, wearing her trademark hoodie, with her three blue-haired Octoling teammates right behind her.
"WHAT?" Mario cried.
"We're actually dealing with them?!" Tari exclaimed.
"Just relax and remember our training." Meggy said in an assuring manner, "We got this, guys!"
"Y-Yeah!" Luigi quipped, "L-Let's-a just remember our training and stay calm!"
On the other end of the field, Desti smirked. "I can't wait to cream those losers." She said with a sneer, "Just look at Meggy, looking all confident. She'll be whining in defeat very soon."
Judd the Cat stepped up onto the edge of a shipping container with flags in hand, the tension in the air was peaking, the suspense too much for anyone to handle. "ARE YOU ALL READY?" Callie yelled.
"Oh yeah!" Meggy whooped, "Bring it on!"
"I was born to take her down." Desti sneered on the other end.
"Yahoo!" Mario whooped.
"Game on!" Tari pumped her fist.
"LET'S-A F***ING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Luigi howled.
"Alright, then let's go!" Marie declared.
Callie rang the gong behind her and Judd raised the flag. Go time! A horn blared and Meggy raced down the service ramp into the warehouse, letting loose with her weapon, spraying ink everywhere with her team following close behind, splatting up the arena as they went.
"Looks like the SplatSquad's getting a head-start!" Callie announced.
"They have fifteen percent of the territory and they seem to be doing well thus far." Marie chimed in, "And it seems the Octoposse's taken 10 percent of the turf, we'll see how these two teams fair against each other when this match gets blazing hot."
"Mario, Luigi, flank 'em!" Meggy ordered, "Tari, ink 'em up good!"
"Here-a we go!" Luigi raced off past a stack of crates.
"Oh boy! Mario's going to kill some b**ches!" Mario said with a mad grin, the plumber ran off to ink some turf and splat any Octoposse members he ran into.
"Let's do this!" Tari piped up with a smile, she was ready to kick some butt.
Meggy splatted a shipping container and morphed into squid form, racing up the side and right onto the platform, shooting more ink until the area was covered in yellow. She heard a sploosh beside her and turned just in time to see Desti coming her way.
"The team captains' courses have collided, now we have a full battle that is about to make this match the most extraordinary one we've seen in Splatfest history!" Callie blared with excitement.
"Whatever happens here, the crowd's gonna be on the edge of suspense and we're wondering who will come out of this on top!" Marie said.
Meggy and Desti circled each other, locking eyes intensely with the Octoling smirking at the Inkling and Meggy stared at her with a scowl in her face.
"I've been looking forward to this after you humiliated me the last time we fought on the battlefield, Meggy." Desti said, "You really made me and my team look bad then and now I'm going to restore my dignity."
"You shouldn't have taken my weapons, Desti." Meggy told her.
"Cheating is a legitimate strategy, I said it before and I'll say it again, Squid-head."
"I'LL MAKE YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH ONCE AND FOR ALL, OCTO-FREAK!"
"The only freak in town is you, unable to come out on top in a single Splatfest for, what, two years running? This is where I make you leave town as we take our turf, the Octoposse is ready to take this championship in the bag."
Meggy fired on Desti and the Octoling fired back, the Inkling leaped out of the way, morphing into her squid form and diving into her orange patch to dodge Desti's attack. Meggy leaped out and kicked Desti in the face, taking her by surprise. The Octoling morphed into octo-form and dashed away, trying to avoid Meggy's next attack.
"You're not escaping so easily." Meggy gave chase, leaping off the shipping container and splatting up Desti's purple ink trail with plenty of orange. She ran after Desti, who fired back at her. Meggy side-stepped, leaped and flipped to avoid the incoming pelts of ink fire.
The orange Inkling cut around a shipping crate, swam up the edge and then leaped off the platform in front of Desti's path. Meggy fired at the pink-haired Octoling, splatting her in the face. Desti exploded in a puddle of ink, her soul flying away to the spawning pad.
"WHAM!" Callie cried, "Meggy Spletzer gets the jump and the unstoppable leader of the Octoposse is sent back to home base as the SplatSquad takes the lead in the match. It looks like they've gotten 75% of the arena with the Octoposse taking 20 percent so far. Just how are they so good?"
"It would appear they've been training extra hard for this tournament..." Marie commentated, "Ms. Spletzer has been making good use of her abilities and the other team members are full of quite the surprises, especially with the likes of humans such as Mario."
Meggy regrouped with Mario, Luigi and Tari in the middle of the warehouse, the area was covered in orange ink everywhere with a few patches of purple from when the Octoposse had taken the turf for a time. "Good work, guys!" She said, "We got 'em inked, let's keep this up and this match will be ours."
"Oh, mama mia!" Mario remarked, "Those crazy Octos are gonna get their asses beat soon and I can't-a wait, but-a Mario's linguini detector is-a acting wonky for some reason."
"Is that because we're about to give you a real hard time now?"
The SplatSquad turned, finding themselves surrounded and held at Splattershot point by Desti and the other Octolings as they stood atop the surrounding platforms overlooking them. Desti was smirking in a nasty manner.
"You guys are in so much trouble." Desti chided, "Thinking you got a chance against the unstoppable Desti and her Octo team, you may have skill, but we're far formidable and more intelligent than any of you. You, Mario, you could have been a valuable team member. But it looks like that potential is out the window by this point."
"Watch out, guys!" Meggy warned, "This might be about to get rough and messy!"
"LET 'EM HAVE IT, GIRLS!" Desti yelled.
"MRS. OBAMA, GET DOWN!" Mario pushed Tari out of the way and ran off with a yelp, the Octoposse opened fire and Luigi ducked behind a stack of crates which had a Squid Sisters billboard on it. Meggy quickly morphed into squid form and made her way to the top of a platform right as the Octoling team splattered their spot with purple ink.
"Dang it, we missed!" An Octoling yelled.
"I'm sure we'll get 'em." Another Octoling pat her comrade on the shoulder.
"HEY, THEY'RE OVER THERE!" A third exclaimed.
The Octolings wheeled around right as Mario leaped over the platforms towards them. "TASTE THE RAINBOW, MAMAF***ER!" He yelled.
The plumber drew a roller with rainbow colors and brought it down on one of the Octolings, splatting them away. He then hopped over to another team member and knocked the Octoling off the platform with a kick. Desti facepalmed; she could not believe that her team was getting it handed to them by some fat Italian human and his friends.
"YAH, YAH, YAH!" Luigi hollered. He leaped down next to an Octoling, catching her by surprise. He crouched down, emitting a green glow and then unleashed his special move, knocking down the Octoposse member with one blow.
"Hasta la vista, veemo!"
Desti turned around and yelped in shock, finding herself face-to-Splattershot with Meggy, who'd snuck up behind her while the Mario Brothers were knocking out her team.
"Oh dear!" The Octoling gulped.
POW! Meggy fired, splatting Desti away. The Octoling's soul flew back to the spawning pad along with her team.
Meggy and her crew sprayed orange ink onto the spot they previously had, taking back their lost inch of territory. They made a dash around the other crates and shipping containers, inking up as much turf as they could, taking more territory for themselves while the Octoposse launched desperate counterattacks now and again, trying to take them out.
A buzzing noise sounded from above.
"We have a minute left in this match and the SplatSquad has 84% of the Walleye Warehouse covered with not much territory left for Team Octoposse!" Callie said with excitement, "Ooooh, what's going to happen now, looks like someone's in trouble!"
"The Inklings and the Octolings' rivalry goes all the way back to the days of the Great Turf War and nothin' much has changed since..." Marie added, "But with humans in the mix on the SplatSquad, things seem to be crazier for the Octolings, especially if we're looking at the likes of Mario and his brother Luigi and that Tari girl with the robot arm we're looking at here."
"One minute left!" Meggy told her friends, "Hear that song playing over the loudspeakers? It's now or never, no time to horse around. Keep the Octoposse busy and don't let them take our territory, no matter what! We got this and we're so close, I can't thank you enough, now let's finish this!"
"We won't let you down, Meggy!" Tari saluted.
"Mario's so good." Mario nodded.
"Yeah, go Weegee." Luigi pumped his fist.
As one, the SplatSquad sprayed as much orange ink around their turf as possible, covering the warehouse. "Now Or Never" blared over the loudspeakers as the timer ticked down, filling the air with dramatic suspense as all eyes were on the warehouse, who was going to take this match and emerge victorious by the end?
Desti was watching from atop a crate and clenched her fist, unaware that a round ghostly figure with a camera was watching. She was not about to lose this round, she couldn't.
"You got another thing coming, Meggy." She said, "HIT 'EM HARD, GIRLS!"
The Octoposse charged, going right for the Mario Bros, Tari and Meggy. The four friends saw them coming and prepared themselves, focusing their firepower on them as hard as they could while making sure a single Octoling didn't claim their turf.
The Octolings attempted to take as much SplatSquad turf from Meggy and her team as possible, firing on them and trying to wipe them out, but the gang was tough and they splatted each and every last Octoposse member off the field.
Again and again, the Octo team attempted to take the turf, but their efforts were for naught. As the time hit its last seconds, Desti told her team to pull back, realizing how useless her attempts had been.
She had underestimated Meggy, she'd underestimated her prowess and her friends!
BZZZZZT! The timer blared, the countdown at zero.
"That's the game!" Callie yelled.
"It's time to see the results!" Marie said.
Judd reappeared on the nearest shipping crate, the SplatSquad and the Octoposse looked up, eager to see the results. The warehouse was covered in so much orange as well as some traces of purple in the mix, the match had been intense and massive. And now...
"And the team who had the most turf and is taking home the victory is..." Marie announced.
'C'mon.' Tari thought.
'Mama mia.' Mario thought.
Judd raised the orange flag, followed by the flag showing the SplatSquad's symbol.
"TEAM SPLATSQUAD!" Callie yelled.
"YES, WE DID IT!" Meggy leaped in the air, punching her fist.
"Yahoo!" The Mario brothers whooped.
"Oh my gosh!" Tari exclaimed, "YIPPIE!"
"Um..." Desti approached Meggy, "Good job, I suppose... that I... owe you an apology?"
The Octoling extended her hand. "No hard feelings?" She asked.
"No hard feelings." Meggy said.
She shook Desti's hand, their rivalry settled for the time being. Confetti rained down upon the arena and Meggy rejoiced her victory with her friends, sharing hugs and whooping excitedly. They'd accomplished something amazing together and there was no doubt that their friends were happy.
Meggy couldn't help but feel very proud, knowing that she was finally going home a Splatfest champion, her dream fulfilled. But this was not over, there would be another tournament in the future and Meggy couldn't wait to succeed again. She would train again, train harder for the next Splatfest and come out on top once again, just like today.
But even then, nobody knew what was coming.
A few days later, on a cloudy morning, a television activated with a news bulletin message appearing on the screen, followed by the sight of an Inkling news broadcaster in a studio.
"This is just in." The Inkling said, "Inklings across Inkopolis have been vanishing with Splatfest Champion Meggy Spletzer as one of them, all Inklings have been warned to stay indoors and no got outside. Whatever is going on, this mystery must be dealt with."
And somewhere else in the shadows of a sinister hideout, a chameleon watched the TV with a chilling grin upon his face. He changed the channel, the TV showing footage of an orange Inkling girl wearing a beanie chained up in a cell right next to the famous manga artist Axol himself, Meggy Spletzer...
The End