Rallying Cry

The blizzard hasn't let up much since the trio had left Cooler Heads. With some effort, Cobalt and Chris with Katelyn leading the way trekked through the snowy streets of Inkopolis, the howling gale blowing behind them, buffeting their snowcoats and rattling their ears. They passed by a few civilians that were also out on their daily rounds, though there weren't a lot given that the snowstorm meant that any workers were allowed to stay at home, so the select few were mostly shoveling snow out of the streets.

"You sure this is the way?" Chris finally asked, looking around as they entered another alleyway. "This place seems rather far away from any Turf War locations."
"Mei-Lin's always lived far away from any Turf War locations." Katelyn replied, shaking some snow off of her coat as the wind died down within the alley. "Believe it or not, she's always lived near a marketplace down by Sharkfin Streets."
"Sharkfin Streets?" Cobalt repeated, "Hmm, wasn't that the place where a building once collapsed? It was all over the news. I can't imagine anyone wanting to live there after that."
"Well…pretty much." Katelyn rounded a corner, thinking about it. "Mei-Lin willingly moved in one of the apartments over there. I'm certain she likes the peace and quiet, as well as the convenience."

They passed through out of the alleyway, and into the entrance of the marketplace. No longer exposed to the elements, the three inklings took off their snowcoats and shook any remaining snow off.

Quite unlike the streets outside, the marketplace which was situated indoors was full of life. Civilians of various age and species were wandering within a maze of a stalls, each one with a shopkeeper selling various products.
"Fresh fish!" An eel manning one stall shouted. "Freshly caught off Saltspray Rig! Still alive and lively!"
"Vegetables and fruit!" A fully grown inkling said to the crowd, "Picked from Kelp Dome! Free of preservatives and insecticides!"
"Condiments and spices!" an elderly anemone yelled, "Imported from the proud workers of Bluefin Depot! A wide variety is available!"

"Wow, never been to a marketplace like this myself." Chris said, looking around. "It's…rather backward. But there's a certain charm to it."
"I don't think I've ever seen ocean products that aren't frozen-packed." Cobalt looked at a nearby tank full to the brim with various kinds of fish. While many creatures of the ocean had evolved to dry land and settled themselves, many others stayed the way they are and still treated the ocean as their home, that is until they were unceremoniously caught by fishermen. "Why are some of these fish still alive? It feels a bit immoral to keep them in glass tanks like this."
"I asked Mei-Lin about that once." Katelyn replied. "Something about how they are fresher that way than the frozen stuff in supermarkets, or something. She knows a lot, that girl."

The three rounded another corner, passing by another fish stall. Larger specimens of fish too big to fit in the tanks were placed on a huge pile of ice cubes, the stench slightly overwhelming to the boys.
"Don't think I ever asked properly, by the way." Cobalt said, adjusting his gas mask to keep out the nearby stench. "What's your relationship with that Mei-Lin girl?"
"Oh, Mei-Lin?" Katelyn replied, "Well…I suppose she's kind of like a sister I never had. Or rather…one that I liked anyway. We've known each other since we were hatchlings, and I've always been there to take care of her when she's feeling down. I might as well be the only friend she's ever had, come to think of it."

They rounded another corner, an entire column of stalls before them selling more conventional goods, such as various electrical appliances.
"'Only friend'?" Chris said, puzzled. "Why is that the case?"
"Well, Mei-Lin's a bit of an odd case." Katelyn began to elaborate, "She's not like your average Inkling. Compared to the rest of us, she's very withdrawn. Prefers to read books and draw stuff rather than go out with the rest of us and play Turf Wars and the like." The inkling frowned as she recalled something not particularly pleasant. "When we were kids, the other kids tend to pick on her, calling her names and stealing her sketchbook, mostly. I had to defend her from the others whenever that happens." Katelyn shook her head and smiled. "Well, I like to think I love everyone equally. Guess that makes me an oddball too! Ha!"
"Nah, I think it's good to be a bleeding heart." Cobalt replied, chuckling through his mask. "We just don't have enough of those in Inkopolis, I'd say."
"You forgot the part where she tried to splat you permanently back there?" Chris asked, perplexed.
"Oh…." Katelyn groaned, "Yeah, about that. I really need to apologize properly for that whole ordeal. I just wasn't myself…"
Cobalt simply shook his head. "Nah, I'm used to death threats by now, comes with the territory of being a level 50. Being at the top just isn't all it's cracked up to be, honestly."
Katelyn could only reply to that with a confused giggle.

The trio finally reached the opposite end of the marketplace. Passing through a few underground tunnels, they reached a back alley with the only features being cardboard boxes and various wrapped up newspapers in bundles stacked high to the ceiling, and a singular iron gate covering an elevator, with a snoozing eel security guard manning a desk next to it.
"Excuse me…?" Katelyn asked, walking up to the security guard. "Mr. Yaoyu?"
The security guard shot up with a start. "Huh? Wha-?" He looked down at the three inklings before him. "Oh, hello Katelyn, *yawn*, here to see Mei-Lin again? Bought some friends too, I see."
"Yeah, I am. Listen…has she come out at all since I've left?"
The guard shook his head. "Nope. It's only been you round here for today. Saw you come in and out, and that's it, and here you are with two more inklings."
"Okay, thanks Larry. Can you open the gate for us?"

The eel named Larry nodded his head sleepily. "Yeah, okay. Just… gimme a sec." With a hand, he lightly tapped the gate next to him, and alarmingly the iron gate fell right off the wall and onto the floor with a loud *CLANG*, causing the boys to jump. Upon closer examination, the gate wasn't even bolted to the wall, but was gently propped there with two insecure and rusty screws barely holding it up.
"Here you go." Larry said groggily. "Have a nice visit….and all that…" With that the eel guard instantly flopped over onto his desk and began snoring loudly.

"He must not get that much activity." Chris said, stepping over the iron gate and into the elevator.
"Presumably the job pays well, though." Katelyn replied, "Lucky dude. Gets paid a hundred credits an hour just for snoring at a desk all day."
"Whatever pays the bills, I suppose." Cobalt shrugged, and entered the elevator as well.

The elevator was proving to be much more of a hassle than Cobalt and Chris had expected.
"Man, how old is this elevator?" Cobalt said, staring at the floor number lights which were stuck at 1 for at least a minute. "I think we've barely went up at all! Can't we have at least taken the stairs?"
"What stairs?" Chris asked with a straight face.
"…oh." Cobalt went back to looking at the floor number, which flickered slightly, and then the number 2 lit up. "I'm not even going to ask about safety regulations. As far as I know they might as well not have fire extinguishers. Katelyn, how long do we have to wait?"
"Mei-Lin lives at the 10th floor." Katelyn clarified. "Guess we'll be here for a while."

Cobalt grumbled audibly, and decided to sit on the floor. As he did so, the lift creaked ominously, and Cobalt instantly froze from his position.
"Don't worry. I don't think they've had any accidents involving the lifts." Katelyn looked around at the flickering lights. "…yet."
Chris thought about sitting down as well, then he noticed the floor was stained black with a layer of dust and grease, and other unmentionables. A cockroach wandered from a corner of the lift, stepped onto the grease, and seemingly fainted instantaneously. He decided to settle with leaning on the side of the wall instead. Above him, the number 3 lit up, signaling their slow progress.

"I don't think I ever asked." Katelyn began, looking at Cobalt and Chris. "What about you two?"
"Huh?" Cobalt replied, perplexed. "About what?"
"You two seem fairly close as well. I'm just wondering…"
Chris crossed his arms and laughed. "Oh…it's nothing special, in all honesty. We're Turfing buddies, and that is pretty much it, really. I'm the strategist and Cobalt gets things done."
Katelyn raised an eyebrow. "That's it? Seems rather generic."
Cobalt laughed loudly at that remark. "Oh, it's not just like that. But I'll agree, when it comes down to it we're just another two inklings in Inkopolis that like to Turf."
"And when I said he gets things done," Chris continued, "I mean that he completely ignores whatever plans I have cooked up and just jumps right out to do his own 'strategy'. Which usually involves a kamikaze attack, intimidating the opposition, roundabout ways of getting into places, or all of the above."
"What?" Cobalt retaliated, "It worked for me almost every time, doesn't it?"
Chris only responded by slapping his forehead and muttering a few incomprehensible words of frustration.

"That being said though," Cobalt continued, "I've known him for gods-know-how-long. When we used to be kids, we'd sit around, planning what gear we will have, our aspirations, the works. I still remember the time we used to have pretend fights out on the streets."
"I helped him pick out the gear he's wearing now, too." Chris said, looking at Cobalt's mask. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him wearing anything else ever since."
"Well, if it works, I'll take it." Cobalt replied, "I'll take utility over appearance any day."
"That'd explain the fashion disaster appearance." Katelyn said, chuckling. "Though with Turf Wars now stopped… what are you guys going to do now? All that work for nothing."

"Oh, it most certainly won't be 'for nothing'." Cobalt said in a determined tone, his expression stiffening. "Once we're done with this visit, I'm going back to Inkopolis Tower, and see if I can get the doors open. I've come too far to just give up on my career."
"That's not going to work, I told you." Chris replied, shaking his head. "We'll need to tackle this problem from the very source."
"…guess I'll have to listen to what you have to offer, because I have NO IDEA what you mean by that."

Cobalt turned to Katelyn, which was listening. "I know this doesn't concern you, but…"
"Actually…" Katelyn said, approaching the boys. "I might not be able to speak for my friend, but I know whatever caused Inkopolis to become like this must have caused Mei-Lin to become so withdrawn. I'll do anything if it means it'll get her back to her smiling self, I'll promise you that. If you two have any idea on what to do, I'm all in."
Chris simply smiled. "Sounds like we have our first volunteer, Cobalt. Looks like Crusty Sean was right about that net thing."
"That's perfectly fine by me! Welcome to the party, Katelyn!"
"IT'S SETTLED THEN!" Katelyn cheered, holding out her hand. "Group cheer?"
Chris shook his head. "That can wait. If we can, we'll recruit Mei-Lin too. No Turf War team is complete without 4 people, after all."
"Totes agree on that! Hmm…I think we're almost there."

Right on cue, the lift stopped at the 10th floor, and Chris and Katelyn walked out of the lift and into a hallway with a series of doors and a view of the snowscape outside. The snowstorm hasn't let up one bit since they've started their trip from Inkopolis Tower, but the structure appears to be sheltered from the buffeting winds.
Cobalt followed them, jumping up from his position. The lift creaked very loudly in response, and as Cobalt's eyes widened, he leapt right out of the elevator, just as it finally gave way and the lift fell down, the emergency brakes shrieking loudly as it reached the bottom with a distant bang.
"…huh, what?" a faraway voice said from the open elevator shaft, "…oh. The elevator's back down. Ah well." The sound of snoring began to creep up the elevator shaft as the doors closed behind them.
"Like I said." Katelyn turned to Cobalt which was staring at the closed elevator door with utter disbelief. "No accidents. Yet."

Unlike the slow crawl that was the elevator ride, getting to Mei-Lin's apartment was a lot faster. After a short walk to the other side of the hallway, Katelyn stopped in front of one of the doors which were situated furthest away from the elevator.

"Hmm…" She examined a nearby mailbox, which appear to be filled to bursting with various pieces of mail.
"Is that a mailbox?" Cobalt asked, looking at the metallic box with curiosity. "Who even uses those anymore? We've got phones for that now!"
Katelyn didn't answer him, withdrawing a paper clip from her pocket, and began to fiddle with a keyhole to the right of the mailbox. After a few scratching noises and a few clicks, the mailbox flew open and a large pile of paper burst right out of it, seemingly more than the tiny little box was able to physically hold.

The female inkling frowned. "Hmm… she must not have checked her mail at all." Ruffling through the pile, she found a few letters with her name on it, and sighed. "Mei-Lin… seriously."
"Did you just… pick that lock?" Chris asked, with a puzzled look on his face. "I thought you said you take care of her, not loot her stuff."
"Well…" Katelyn sighed again. "Look, I know what you're thinking, but I'm no burglar. That girl can't take care of herself, I kinda have to be able to check what she's up to at any time in case something bad happens." Searching through the piles of mail, she began sorting through them, tossing a few useless fliers and junk mail aside into one group and leaving a few letters that looked significant into another pile including the ones from herself. "Hey, Cobalt. Think you can help me throw the useless mail away for me? The recycling bin's on the other end of the corridor."
"Sure." Cobalt gathered the haphazardly placed pile into both his arms, and ran towards a blue bin situated on the other side of the corridor.

"I just realized something." Chris said, looking at Cobalt's retreating figure. "Cobalt scared Mei-Lin so hard he outright KO'd her. Won't having him around make it worse?"
"…you got a point there." Katelyn replied, starting to open one of the letters which appears to be an official letter involving Turf Wars. "But honestly, I think what she needs right now is a good hard shock to wake her up." She looked at Chris, a thought occurring to her. "Didn't you say you met Mei-Lin, or something?"
"Yeah I did. Poor girl looked outright pathetic, I just couldn't bring myself to shoot her." Chris turned to Katelyn. "…no offense."
"None taken. Hmm, maybe she'd be calmer around Cobalt if you're also around."
"Who'd be calmer about me?" a voice asked behind them. Chris turned around and Cobalt was already standing there.
"Wow, that was fast." Katelyn said with a surprised tone. "That was a pretty long corridor."
"Well, it's not like I have too much trouble with long distances." Cobalt adjusted his shirt slightly, and tapped it. "Run Speed Up, remember?"
Katelyn rolled her eyes. "Pros…"

After Katelyn finished reading the letters, she carefully replaced them back inside the mailbox, and locked it. The latch closed easily with a simple *click*.
"Okay then, I'll try and talk to her." She said, turning towards the doorway. "You two stand back a bit."
With that, she knocked on the door lightly, and awaited a response.
"Who's that?" an exhausted female voice resonated from behind. "Go away. Whatever it is, I'm not interested."
"Mei-Lin, it's me." Katelyn replied, her hand on the door. "Please, could you open up?"
"I don't want to come out, Katie! Please, just leave me alone!"
Katelyn pursed her lips a bit, before turning to Cobalt and Chris, and then looking back at the locked door.
"…Listen. I've bought some people here with me. They wanted to see you." Katelyn paused for a bit. "…You know them. One of them spared you during that Turf War match."
"Remember me, Mei-Lin?" Chris pitched in, standing next to the door. "Let us in. We're here to help you!"
There was a brief silence from the other side, the sound of rustling cardboard can be heard.
"…leave me be." Mei-Lin's voice finally said. "I just can't do Turf Wars. I can't do ANYTHING. Just let me rest in peace, please. I just want to be alone!" With that, whatever sounds from the other side fell silent.

Cobalt looked at Chris and Katelyn, expecting someone to speak up. "…Well, don't suppose you guys got a plan B?"
Chris groaned audibly. "…no. I don't think I've thought this far ahead. Sorry, I can't help here."
"OKAY, GOOD! I'll take it from here!" He replied loudly, and Chris looked at Cobalt alarmingly, and quickly turned to Katelyn.
"Katelyn, don't ask me why. You MAY want to stand back. Like now."
"Huh?"

Mei-Lin sighed and turned in her bed. She had expected Katelyn to return to attempt to get her out, but she wasn't expecting that nice guy back at the Splatfest to show up right at her doorstep.
"Why would he even come here?" She said to herself. "Someone as fresh as him doesn't deserve to show pity towards me. He's got no reason to come here."
She stared at the ceiling at a while. The silence is deafening.
"…I should eat something." She muttered to herself, getting up.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang. Mei-Lin instinctively turned at the source of the sound, which came from the door.
"W-what's going on?" Mei-Lin turned her head everywhere, trying to find a hiding place. There wasn't one nearby she could see, everything was coated in shadows.

Another loud bang followed, and the door hinges literally shook.

The inkling began to panic, as an uncomfortable memory began to surface.
"No. No!" Mei-Lin was backing away from the door in fear. "You can't be here! Please…stay away!"

A third bang resounded, this one tearing the door off its hinges. A cacophony of voices came from outside.
"Cobalt, WHAT THE HELL?!"
"What, I got us in, didn't I?"
"Not like that! This is no different than breaking and entering!"
"You lockpicked that mailbox, I don't think you have much say in this. Just saying."

Mei-Lin looked down at the being that had busted her door down. A giant squid stared at her from the floor, a dark blue color which dripped from its body and leaving a trail behind it. This was a creature she was all too familiar with, and had recurring nightmares about.

Suffice to say, she was more than just a little upset.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mei-Lin visibly snapped, grabbing cardboard boxes and various books, and began lobbing them at the Kraken's general direction. At approximately the same time the squid reverted to normal, a masked inkling forming and instantly getting pelted by thrown objects.

"Ow, ow!" Cobalt cried, flailing slightly from the barrage of items. "Stop, stop! I'm not here to hurt you, I just wanna talk!" Behind him, Chris and Katelyn ran in as well, also getting hit by the thrown objects.

"MEI-LIN!" Katelyn screamed, getting hit by a dictionary to the forehead. "Listen to me!"

"NO! NO! GET AWAY!" Mei-Lin toppled over, dragging herself backward and looking around frantically for more potential projectiles. "STAY BACK! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Oh to hell with this." Cobalt said, boldly stepping towards Mei-Lin while she scrambled backward, until she hit the opposite wall. Reaching out, he held her by the shoulders and shook her hard. "Calm down! You're just hurting yourself!" Behind him, Katelyn was frantically looking at Cobalt and Chris from one to the other, unsure on what to do.

Mei-Lin struggled in his grip, frantically trying to hit him with her fists and kicking his own legs, the blows bouncing off of him pathetically. Her eyes rolled around in panic, desperately trying to find some manner of self-defense, and landed on what appears to be a kitchen knife that's been dislodged onto the floor as a result of her tantrum. Snatching it, she held out the sharp object in front of her, and Cobalt instantly let go of her and jumped backward.

"Woah woah woah, easy there!" Cobalt shouted, holding his own hands out. "…Chris, help me out, I'm not sure what to do here!"
"What did you think was gonna happen?" Katelyn shouted. "What were you thinking?! She's scared of you, for crying out loud!" She turned to Mei-Lin, the knife in her hand shaking unsteadily. "Mei-Lin… please. Drop that."

Mei-Lin didn't reply, shaking her head and continued pointing the knife at the trio. Her breath was unsteady, her pupils were sharpened.

"…"

Chris looked at the scene before him, deep in thought. No one spoke up, the atmosphere has become quite straining.
"…Mei-Lin." He said, choosing his words carefully. "I know you don't want to do this."

Her eyes darted at Chris. His gaze was steady.

"I understand fully how you feel. You feel that you're the worst inkling there is in existence right now. The bottom of the barrel. That you don't deserve to be alive at all."

The knife blade lowered by a fraction. Her face seemed to slacken slightly.

"I don't believe that for a second. Even someone insignificant has something that makes them shine like the sun. And well… let me put it this way: if you truly are rock bottom, there really is no other way but up. Trust me, I've been there before."

The knife in Mei-Lin's hand shook even more. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

"…why?" she asked, her voice wavering. "Why are you being…so nice to me?"

"Do I need a reason to?" Chris simply replied, looking at Katelyn and Cobalt. "When a friend of mine is down, it's just natural to help them up." He extended a hand towards Mei-Lin, a calm expression on his face. "After all… that's what friends are for, right?"

The knife dropped on the floor with a clatter. Mei-Lin's arms dropped to the floor, and she looked at the inklings before her, her expression uncertain. "…friend?"

"Yep! Friends!" Katelyn repeated, more cheerful than before. "We're all supposed to look out for each other! I'm nobody's friend if I don't get to lend them a shoulder to cry on every now and then, don't I?"
"…as well as search through their mail every so often?" Cobalt added.
"…did you really have to bring that up?" Katelyn snapped at Cobalt. The masked inkling simply laughed.
"I'm telling ya, you're no role model to the other kids!" he replied, "I'm just saying it as it is!"

Mei-Lin chuckled slightly to that, a smile blossoming on her face.
"Is…that so." She said, wiping the tears in her eyes away. "Guess I'll allow it… for once."
"IT'S SETTLED THEN!" Katelyn cried, running at Mei-Lin and giving her a strangling hug. Chris quickly withdrew his extended hand in surprise before Katelyn's form ran right into it. "We're friends forever! Nothing will tear us apart, ever again!"
Mei-Lin could only respond by patting Katelyn in the back gently. Looking at Katelyn, than Chris and finally Cobalt with some trepidation, she sighed with content.

"Everyone… thank you."

AN: I...uh... yeah.
Typing that was draining to me. I've had experience with dealing with depression in the past, both others, AND myself. Guess it's the same rule with presumably every fanfic ever, "You write what you know".

Well, I'm fairly certain I STILL couldn't get emotional scenes down pat. I feel like I'm getting better though.