Splatoon: The Drafted Squid

Wakey Wakey

She laid flat on the grass by the extinguished fire pit, looking...dead tired. The four of the humanoid squids stared down at the unconscious commander. Her long tentacles were still beaten and chewed as if they had just been dragged under a conveyor belt. The tan vest she wore was splashed with a corrosive violet and a fading blue, her eyes shut blissfully.

"Basically, she was looking great." Phish muttered, crossing his arms.

"Phish, give me a hand." Ophi called out, raising the slack arms of their commander using her own.

Arching his eyebrow, he stared at her somewhat reluctantly as she slung about the unmoving Inkling, their other two squadmates watching them curiously. "...Er."

Shooting an incredulous glare at Phish, Ophi gave Phish a glare that definitely meant something along the lines of, "Get the shell over here", albeit much more politely. Adjusting his tie bashfully, Phish walked over through the short grass. Making his way over to the pair of female Inklings, he took the left arm of their commander carefully, the both of them dragging her over towards the tent while the other two watched.

"I never asked for this." He thought as he glared back at them, the two walking back, pretending as though it were nothing to worry about.

Sneaking a quick glance into the insides of the tent, Ophi hummed. "Wow Phish. Did you clean out the weapons tent?"

Phish repeated her glance into the test. Within the folds of the tent, the fabric stretching across was mostly barren, the only indication of there any being any weapons in the there being a few drops of multicolored ink. However, with a grimace, Phish realized that his own sleeping bag would be due for a cleaning. Hoisting their fallen commander inside, they maneuvered carefully around the ink left in the tent, eventually setting her down on a clean patch of fabric.

Frowning, Ophi stared down at her. She murmured softly and incoherently in the midst of her impromptu slumber. "Hey, why don't you step outside for a bit?"

"...You just asked me to carry her here and now you're asking me to get out." Phish muttered with a glare.

Ophi shook her head. "Someone's going to have to examine her injuries. By that, it means looking her up and down, glancing at her skin…"

She let the words hang in the air for a while. A grimace grew on Phish's face. "Oh."

"Mm." Ophi nodded in response, waving towards the entrance of the tent. "I'd recommend getting some air and I'll just do the rest."

Pursing his lips, Phish stared at her with a frown. "...Are you a doctor?"

Ophi shook her head with a smile. "No, but I am female. I'd think I'd be able to give a better diagnosis. And not bleed from the nose from seeing skin."

"That's a myth." Phish said while crossing his arms.

"You can never be too careful." Ophi shrugged with a smile, which quickly shifted into that of a frown. "But seriously, get out."

Ophi's shift in attitude was all that he needed. With a curt nod, Phish turned around and stumbled out of the tent, taking care not to step in the multi-colored ink that laid around the room in drying puddles. As he left the folds of the tent, sunlight streamed in from the clouds. Glancing over towards the extinguished fire pit, he noticed a pair of Inkling teammates staring up at the clouds, speaking to one another as they laid facing up. Rinse pointed at each cloud nonchalantly, probably describing the weather patterns, while Portic laid at his side, nodding nervously each time he pointed as if he were brandishing a gun.

All the while, Phish took the time to stare down at his shoes. A grimace etched in his features, he realized that the Slip-On shoes that he had purchased just before the draft took effect was doused in green, violet, and blue. Raising his foot, he shook the shoe, the color still sticking to his footwear.

"Great." He muttered, lowering his foot back down on the grass.

"Wow man." A familiar, feminine voice commented next to him. Phish turned towards his own sleeping bag, where an Inkbrush stuck out like a sore thumb. "You really should have worn socks."

Phish rolled his eyes and turned towards the knapsack. "Mai, come on."

The sleeping bag rustled in place until a violet tentacle popped up, connected to a face with violet pupils. Mai yawned, stretching her right arm over the side of the sleeping bag. "What's up?"

"Our commanding officer was just brought in. She's knocked out. Everyone else is probably dead. An army of octopuses is heading to splat us all." Phish spoke as he glared at the head poking out of the sleeping bag. "It's not looking great."

Mai's head did not seem to mind much and just shrugged from within the folds of the sleeping bag. "Is that it?"

Sighing, Phish folded his hands together. "Mai, you're probably exempt from their wrath, but we on the other hand, are screwed."

"Ah, but are you?" She suggested with a smirk, bobbing her eyebrows up and down. Phish's own eyebrows twitched in response, and not in a friendly way.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure we are." He sighed with a shake of his head. "Unless you have one of those spare Octoweapons around."

Mai's eyes hardened in response. "...Nope. Those things aren't exactly reliable, you know."

A brief image of the laser that nearly shredded him and Ophi crossed his mind. "I wouldn't say that."

Mai scoffed and took a precursory glance around the field at the other Inklings which remained staring up at the clouds. "I never understood how those things worked. They run on electricity and that is it."

Phish sighed and stared out at the grass fields. "Hm."

Mai frowned as she stared up at the Inkling's face. Phish had his eyes on the knolls opposite to the camp, as if expecting a full scale attack to erupt at any moment.

With a smirk, she raised her arm out of the bag and smacked him on the leg. "Hey, don't sweat it, Phishy."

"'Phishy'." He repeated with a bitter glance towards the head poking out of his designated bag of comfort.

"With any luck, they'll just pass over you guys." Mai spoke with the calmest voice she could manage. "I mean, what's a squad of four to an army of thousands?"

"...Are you on my side or not?" Phish asked, fiddling with his tie irritably.

With a shrug, the Octoling began to lower her head back into the recesses of the bag. "I'm on no one's side."

As her head vanished into the bag, rustling both the knapsack and the grass below it, Phish leaned on the side of the tent and covered his head with his hands, all the while with a mutter under his breath.

"But between you and me," A violet octopus head popped back out of the bag, startling Phish, "If you don't want to get splatted into a puddle on the ground, then I'd recommend trying to find more squids to help."

"Where?" Phish interjected, throwing his hands up into the air. "I have no idea where to find any other troops. We were literally told that we were one of- If not the last line of the defense for Inkopolis!"

As he finished, he gestured towards a green tower behind several miles of grass and dirt. Eyebrows arching up, Mai followed Phish's hand, eventually taking notice of the tower. It was hardly a remarkable piece of architecture at the moment. It was practically a green skeleton, surrounded by several smaller bony buildings yet to be completed. Yet at the top, against all odds, there was a shining light, a beacon of sorts that glowed even in the bright crack of day.

Pursing her lips, she then glanced up at Phish's face. The Inkling that stood by her was young. Yet over the course of about a day, he had survived several close encounters that should have left him sprawled out in the grass. Here he was, talking straight to his enemy, with stained shoes and brown eyes that looked as though they were on the verge of breaking.

Mai reached out and pat his leg as reassuring as possible. Phish lowered his hand and gave a strange look at the Octoling, who simply grinned in response. "No one ever said war would be easy, Green Feet. But, for what it's worth, I think you'll make it out alright."

Phish shot a glare down to his shoes and grimaced at the stains. "...Sure."

As he looked back up towards the Octoling, he noticed that her head no longer poked out of the sleeping bag. The knapsack rustled slightly, causing the Inkbrush sticking out to drip. Unlike before, the bristles were turned away from the bag, lime ink left on the brush dripping and drying out the grass instead of his "sleeping quarters". Phish stared at the sky for a solid minute, watching the same clouds as his comrades.

Eventually, as Phish spotted one that resembled some a tidal wave, (Portic shouted something along the lines of "Booyah!" as it rolled by) the tent flaps shuddered, and out came Ophi, who wiped sweat off of her head as she walked out. Phish turned to greet her, and to that extent, so did Rinse and Portic, who nearly trampled over one another just reaching the tent.

"How's she doing?" Portic asked curiously.

"Well, she's bruised from head to toe, has a bunch of cuts, and there's a nasty red welt under her helmet." She inhaled sharply through her teeth, practically mimicking everyone's morale with the sound of the air whistling.

Phish bit his lip. "...Not great, huh?"

Then, out of seemingly nowhere, Ophi smiled. "Until I placed her in a puddle of ink. She's healing rather nicely now that she's bathing in her color."

"Oh, right." Phish muttered to himself.

Inkling regeneration may be confusing-

"It is confusing." Phish spoke up once more, startling the rest of the Inklings.

Ophi tilted her head in confusion. "What is?"

"Uh, it's nothing" He spoke up immediately with a shake of his head. "So, she's perfectly fine?"

The female member of the crew folded her arms and shot a glance in the direction of the insides of the tent. "Well, she's only been lying in the puddle for about a minute…"

Suddenly, the sound of someone choking emerged from the tent. Immediately, everyone turned towards the insides worriedly.

"...Did your treatment work last time?" Rinse asked with an eyebrow cocked.

She pursed her lips and crossed her arms behind her back, leaning back and forth unsteadily. "This was...this was my first time trying it."

The four of them stood there in silence as splashing noises and more coughing emanated from the tent. Without a second thought, the whole of them began to rush into the tent like Phish and Rinse switched into squid form and charged in. None of them were sure what to do or how to treat her, but regardless of the finer details, they would stop at nothing-

To stare at her as she bathed in a pool of blue ink.

She was still fully clothed and multiple cuts still laid on her skin, but she appeared serene as she lounged in the ooze as if it were a bathtub. Despite her relaxing situation, her green pupils stared at the grass outside with a morose nostalgia as she felt her fresh scars, which seemingly vanished from her neck and face as she bathed. She held her right hand by her neck and her left in front of her face, a glob of blue dripping from her mouth. Then, with shock evident in her pupils, she noticed the other squids crowding at the entrance, each stacked on top of one another as they stared at her.

Portic frowned as he eyed her sitting in the ink and landed on the thin floor of the tent. "Aww, man, what a letdown."

Ophi gave him a glare. "What's that supposed to mean?" Turning back towards their commander, immediately the squadron dispersed into a much less cluttered and much more organized group of four, with Ophi at the helm. "Er, how are you feeling, commander?"

"...Mm." She murmured, blinking at them slowly.

"I think she's still recovering from the shock." Ophi muttered to the others.

Phish leaned his head back. "I thought you said you weren't experienced in medical training."

"I'm not!" She exclaimed with a frown. "It's just- I'm guessing, okay? I'm testing-"

"...Calm down." A much gentler voice graced them all.

Out of surprise, the entire Inkling squadron ceased their squabbling and redirected their gazes towards the other Inkling. A battered helmet, covered in scratches as well as dollops of fuchsia ink laid at the side of the blue ink. Even as the commander attempted to brush her tentacles back, she winced considerably and would lean back in the ink each time she did. Phish had to remind himself that this was their commander sitting in front of them.

They were royally screwed, he thought to himself.

Of course, his commander started to speak. "...It's not looking good, is it?"

Her voice was trying so hard. Unlike the day before where she was willing to take on the world with her troops, she seemed much less enthusiastic to go busting octopus heads. As he watched her frailer movements, Phish noticed her effects she had on the rest of them. It was just subtle movements, but everything, from the way she talked, the melancholy way she stared at them, it was rather overwhelming. He swore he could see tears threatening in Ophi's eyes.

"No, it's perfectly fine. I'm sure if we just waltz up to them and ask them to forgive us, this will all blow over fine." He thought to himself, all the while thanking Cod that he did not blurt that out like last time. Instead he shook his head.

She sighed once and sank back into her puddle, leaving just her head exposed. "I'm sorry. Had I known about them, I wouldn't have been so hasty."

"So…" Ophi murmured, a sinking feeling emerging, "The others…"

"If I'd have to wager a guess, only a small percentage of them got to respawn." She sighed, shaking her head. "We only have a handful of points in Inkopolis, and most of them were ruined from previous attacks. Not to mention, to conserve our energy, we'd have to shut most of them off."

"They're gone." Ophi concluded with a sickened expression.

With a weak pound on the floor of the tent the commander gritted her teeth. "They had stronger leaders...we were all gone before we knew what hit us."

"'Leaders'?" Phish thought to himself, glancing at the other two male Inklings. The same worried expression flashed between the trio, no doubt thinking back towards the rather unstable Octoling that had encountered the night before.

"Cod, I feel awful." She choked back a sob, a drip of blue slowly falling down her chin. "I failed them."

The squadron was not sure how to respond. For a moment, everyone turned towards Portic hopefully. Said Inkling glanced at the others incredulously and shot them looks as if to say, "What the heck do you want me to say?!". Nevertheless, the four turned back to their lounging commander who sat back in the puddle, her eyelids fluttering and tentacles drooping.

"...I know. Not great news, huh?" She smiled sadly, "If you want to leave, I won't stop you. Not like I could in this condition."

She gestured towards her miniature lake and gave a short laugh. The three males simultaneously stared at one another, faces fixated with unease. With an offer like that, how could one refuse? The especially anxious grin on Portic's face signaled that he was probably ready to hightail it towards the horizon and never look back.

"No."

Just then and there, everyone's plans shifted. Out of surprise, all sets of eyes in the room gravitated towards a necklace wearing Inkling whose hazel eyes glistened hopefully.

Even their commander appeared as though she were taken aback at the sudden outburst, eyes growing as wide as one who was just shot. "...Wha-"

Ophi shook her head again. "No! I-I mean, we can't!"

On that instant, Portic chimed in. "Ophi, I don't wanna be that guy, but I'm pretty sure you're having a delusional meltdown."

"Well, um, then so are you!" She pointed towards the squid lounging in the azure sludge, thoroughly startling the rest of them. "We can't let them just roll over us! If we give up, then what about the rest of them back home? We're not just fighting for ourselves, you know, we're fighting for our family! Our friends! Are we just going to go home and say, 'We tried' while an army advances on us?"

Phish scowled and pivoted towards her. "So what, we'll just run towards the enemy with sticks?"

"Phish!" Ophi shouted at him, the other two squadmates shuffling away in discomfort.

"That's enough!" The commander's voice rose.

The argument ceased almost as soon as it had started and the rest of the Inklings spun towards the female in the pool. She was glaring at them, but her emerald irises had a specific target in mind. Gaze landing on Ophi, immediately it became a staring contest between females, much to Ophi's discomfort.

"Sorry commander." She glowered down towards the floor.

"Don't be." The commander smiled in response, much to the others' surprise. "What's your name again, miss?"

"Um, Ophelia Coddlin." She admitted with a quick bow.

"Heh." She closed her eyes. "Feel free to call me Sumera…if only we had more like you...maybe the western front…"

Ophi blinked once and gawked at the other female. "Commander?!"

"...Mm." She hummed peacefully, leaning back. "Go find the western front, commander."

She then promptly smacked the back of her head on the soft floor, her hand dangled next to her face. She continued to soak, albeit unconsciously in the goop. The other four standing by had gaping mouths and shocked expressions.

"...I…" Ophi murmured slowly, attempting to raise a finger.

Portic's gaze hardened considerably. "...Well, I suppose that only leaves one thing left to do." As soon as he finished, he waltzed over to Ophi, gripped her arm, and raised it high. "All hail the new commander!"

Swiftly, Ophi retracted her appendage and rushed over towards the other female. Placing her ear by Sumera's chest, she listened intently, a sigh of relief escaping her lips as she stood back up. "She's fine...she fell back unconscious."

"That's our commander! Quick thinking!" Portic grinned with a gesture directed towards Ophi.

"Don't call me that!" Ophi snapped suddenly, the other Inkling backing away. She sighed, massaging her temples. "I'm sorry, it's just...I need to get some air."

After she finished that, she headed for the grass outside, brushing past the three other Inklings. As she walked out, Portic perked up, following suit with a brisk jog. Rinse and Phish shared a cursory glance outwards, then, with a grunt, Rinse walked out as well, leaving the remaining troop in the tent with the other Inkling. Now alone with their unconscious commander, Phish fidgeted with his tie as he stared at her ungraceful pose on the floor. Looking around, he began walking towards her around several other colored puddles until he was right above her.

Reaching down into the blue resting spot, he reached at her right hand, submerged in the ink, and dragged it out, placing it by Sumera's head and bit his lip. "...Yeah."

Finished with that, he sprinted out of the tent and stopped directly outside as the inviting glow of sunlight showered upon him once more. In the distance, he noticed the three other Inklings speaking in a small huddle on the grass. Quite a few choice words were tossed around, a lot of them being shrill squeaks from a distraught Ophelia, to which Portic made several jabbing motions. As always, Rinse just remained silent. Phish swore that he could notice a bird nesting in his head.

He blew air out through his teeth then leaned on the side of the tent and stared down at the sleeping bag. "It's a mess, huh Mai?"

The sleeping bag did not respond, much to his surprise. For a moment, he thought that Mai had fallen asleep-

"Yeah." Mai spoke up, leaning on the opposite side of him.

Phish jolted up into the air a short distance and landed by his knapsack. "What the- Mai! What are you doing out here?!"

"Getting fresh air." She yawned, waving at her face. "It was stuffy in that old bag."

"...Oh, whatever." Phish rolled his eyes, brushing off his shirt. "Although, you might want to go back. They could see you, you know."

"First off, you ain't the boss of me." She yawned, leaning on his shoulder with her elbow, all the while with a stare at the preoccupied Inklings in the distance. "Second of all, those guys are super oblivious. Heck, if I wanted to, I could probably pick each one of 'em off right now."

Phish rolled his eyes. "Fine."

"You doubting me?" Mai arched her eyebrows.

"...No." Phish shook his head quickly.

All of a sudden, Mai reached at Phish's side, where he had her Octoshot holstered. Without warning, she aimed it forward, one eye shut and the other set on the targets. Phish bit his lip, reaching out for the ink weapon.

"Bam." She stated simply, bouncing the gun barrel as if she had fired a bullet of ink without pulling the trigger. They were perfectly fine. She turned towards Rinse next after "assassinating" the other two. "Bam. Bam."

Finally, she tilted the Octoshot straight behind her towards Phish's face. She then took the time to bend backwards, her face facing his. Reaching up with her free left hand, she poked Phish's nose. "Bam."

Scowling, Phish's eyes began narrowing. "Ha."

"Eh, don't worry." She spoke up as she reached across him, depositing the Octoshot by his side. She straightened up, looking less like a noodle. "You'll get better. Might even get as good as yours truly."

"Oh, joy." He spoke in a monotone and shook his head at her. "Murder."

With a wink, Mai walked back towards the sleeping bag. "You know it, Phishy."

Switching into a violet octopus, she hopped back inside of the comfortable portable cushion. Phish sighed, then stared back towards the other Inklings. It appeared as though they had finished their discussion and were headed straight towards him with varied facial expressions.

Ophi stopped in front of him, the other two waiting on either side of her. "Alright. Well, Portic, Rinse and I have been talking. I'll be frank, I don't like our odds."

"I'm sure we can take them." Portic smirked with a newfound pride. "After all, we have our new commander can lead us to vic-"

The "new commander's" facial expression grew sour. Rinse reached his arm over and smacked Portic's arm.

"Uh, well, you know." Portic frowned and rubbed his arm, shooting a short glare at the more intimidating Inkling. "We agree that if that didn't work, we'd go west and see what that whole 'front' thing was about."

"'Front thing'?" Phish tilted his head questionably.

Rinse walked forward. It was as if a boulder was ready to speak. "There could be other remaining Inklings."

"There 'could' be?" Phish repeated yet again.

He nodded in response. "If the Octarians have not reached them yet, that is."

Ophi nodded with him. "We're packing up for it, just in case. We'll wait for Sum-" She hesitated. "...The commander to wake up first, of course, but if there is another 'front', we'll need to get going. We're going to need to get all of the help we can get...if you'll help, that would be great."

Yet another "what if". Phish was starting to get somewhat sick of those. "What if" we manage to survive, "what if" there are other Inklings, "what if" this, "what if" that. Quite frankly, it was more of a matter of, "Just let me not die right now". Of course, the only way to ensure that would be to fight a bunch of octopuses. He did not know how to fight. He certainly did not want to fight.

But he was getting tired of all of this second guessing at the moment.

Standing up straight, he adjusted his tie, and stared dead straight at Ophi. "When are we heading out?"

By her side, Portic grinned in response, giving him a silent thumbs-up. Rinse gave yet another curt nod. Ophi stared at him, her eyes glistening and her mouth smiling brightly.

"As soon as she wakes up." Ophi said, walking up to Phish slowly. He did not expect the hug that came soon after. "Thanks Phish."

Phish scowled. They were probably going to die on the way there, but to heck with it. "You're welcome."

AN: Thus the journey for assistance begins.

Thanks Lean for reviewing! Thanks for the short words of support.

Thanks for reading, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, see you later.