"Sienna! Get back here!" called an older voice as a young, orange tentacle Inkling threw herself into the air, coming down hard on an Octotrooper with her Dynamo Roller, laughing heartily as it splatted under the weight of the motorised Roller weapon.
As she landed, the young Inkling girl threw her head up with a smirk, her orange eyes gleaming as she tossed a Sprinkler behind her to cover her immediate space. The girl wore Colourful Headphones, a White Striped LS (long-sleeved) shirt and Gold Hi-Horses on her feet.
"Three O'Clock!" called a young male's voice, a young boy throwing a voice in Sienna's direction that popped open to her right creating a wall of ink.
"A Splash Wall!" the girl commented, the boy nodding.
"It won't hold for long, so do as the Cap'n says and get back here!"
The Inkling girl, Sienna, looked to the boy with blue tentacles tied up into a double tail, the typical Inkling Boy hairstyle. He wore White Arrowbands, a pair of white glasses strapped to his face with an adjustable band, a Baby Jelly Shirt, and Blue Biker Boots. His weapon of choice was the Jet Squelcher.
"You're always the same, aren't you Ginger?" called another female voice, the orange haired Inkling looking to see a green haired Inkling with dark skin and green eyes. She wore a green Takoroka Mesh cap, an Urchins Jersey, obviously a fan of the Urchins baseball team, a pair of Oyster Clogs adorned her feet. "I understand that you're enthusiastic, but the Cap'n is trying to make sure we survive. I have to wonder if you're not trying to get splatted out there. There's no need to be so reckless. Tell her, Gorman!" she stated, looking at the Inkling boy.
"Well, um, yes, quite right." Gorman responded. "The four of us are trying to make it to safety, and that's just not going to happen if you are throwing yourself at the enemy ever so willy nilly. Now, if you'll excuse me, the Splash Wall has given out." he said as he pointed his Jet Squelcher at the oncoming troops. While the Jet Squelcher didn't have the best fire rate or damage, it had enough range to make up for it. Not only that, but the green Inkling girl had stepped forward aiming with her Kelp Splatterscope. It was just like a normal Splat Charger, but with bits of kelp built into the body and a scope attached for more precise aiming. This did leave her vulnerable however.
"Don't let the good Cap'n down now, Gorman." Jade teased as she fired at the oncoming enemies, the Octotroopers making their usual warped gonk noises as they communicated with one another, an entire Splatoon descending on the Inklings, Sienna preparing her Roller, more than happy to steam roll anything that got close.
It didn't take long however. So long as the trio was careful, the Octotroopers were too slow to do any real damage, though getting caught by their ink did hurt.
Jade scanned a row of jagged, broken, crumbling buildings looking for the Cap'n of their squad. It was he who insisted that the four of them stick together as per the old, established rules. Turf Wars, a past time of Inklings for thousands of years, were to be fought four on four. They were always for fun. Getting splatted was never fatal as you would always respawn at your team's camp. However, if you thought the Octarians had any intentions of playing fair, you really had to have been living under a rock these past few years.
The Octarian's attacked in waves, destroying the respawn points, when the Turf Wars became real, Inklings stopped changing colour. There were no more teams, just a species trying to wrap its tentacles around a sliver of hope, desperate to survive.
"Cap'n!" Gorman called. "We could really do with a hand."
High above the young trio, an older Inkling stood atop a building, he had lines around his weary, purple eyes. He sported a purple Short Beanie, a Camo Zip Hoodie and a pair of plain black boots that were said to be fashioned after those Octarian troops wore. This was a lie, obviously. The Octarians didn't wear clothing. Not in the traditional sense as the Inklings did. The closest might have been the devastating Executioners who were said to wear black, full tentacle body covers.
He was The Cap'n of this crew. This Inkling had taken it up himself to make sure that the three below him were kept safe, that they were to survive this wretched Great Turf War and see the next generation of Inklings live long, bountiful lives.
The wind blew and the realisation that this fourth Inkling was on the battlefield caused warning alarms to go off amongst the Octotroopers, their warped garbled gonks becoming more synchronised and focused. The saucer flying around them began to circle the Cap'n, lighting up like Inkopolis during a Splatfest.
"You've got to be squidding me!" the Cap'n groaned, his eyes narrowing as he held out his weapon, the N-Zap '85 and fired on the saucer before super jumping from the building and landing next to the trio below.
"Whoa, Cap'n!" Sienna beamed as the older squid landed. "Just what on Earth set them off?"
"That would be me, I'm afraid." The Cap'n responded, his voice gruff. Much like Inkopolis and the world beyond, the War had changed the Cap'n. He used to be more outgoing like Sienna, more adventurous and romantic. It was why he allowed the younger Inkling to join him on his journey, why he chose to protect her along with Gorman and Jade.
"What? Why?" Jade asked, holding her Kelp Splatterscope over her shoulder. "Just how long have you been doing this? Fighting in this pointless turf war?"
"Long enough…" replied the Cap'n, rolling his neck. If squids had any bones he'd be cracking his neck, but rolling out the muscles for the fight ahead loosened him up a bit.
"Long enough, with that old weapon?" Sienna teased. "You are old, aren't you Cap'n?"
"Hey, watch your mouth you little brat!" Cap'n responded trying to sound not too pleased with Sienna's cheekiness. "This weapon is a classic. Reminds me of my younger days. Well, actually, I suppose the '89 model is closer to what I remember, but you take what you can get out here on the battlefield. No room for being picky."
"So, Cap'n…" Gorman started. "What is the plan here exactly?"
"Fantastic question, Gorman!" Cap'n responded. "You see…" he began, then looked to the Octarian forces. "Come and get me!" he growled, taking shots at the Octotroopers, swimming through his ink splatter to get up close to the enemy and blast as many as he could.
"I hate this plan!" Jade groans, moving to get higher ground, splatting as many as she could, needing to take a break to let her ink recharge.
"The Cap'n just makes this stuff up as he goes along, doesn't he?" Gorman asked, putting some distance between him and some oncoming troops.
"Maybe so! But it's kind of fun, isn't it?" Sienna called, charging through Octotroopers with her Roller. "It's all crazy out here anyway, so why fight it?"
"Um, Sienna. We are fighting the crazy!" Gorman called. "Or did you forget that?"
"You know what I meant!" Sienna contested, turning to face Gorman.
"No, I don't." Gorman yelled back. "Nothing about this is fun. Inklings are being rounded up and splatted on a daily basis. Everyone we have known and loved are gone. And they aren't coming back.
But no, you go on and be greedy and in this for yourself."
There was a silent tension, the expression on Sienna's face changing as she looked to the ink around her, the mixture of purple, orange, green and blue.
"Sienna!" yells Jade as an Octotrooper sneaks up on the orange tentacled girl, the barrel of its turret cart right in the young Inkling's face. Sienna's face turned a shade of green as the Octarian gonked at her, but then suddenly exploded in a splatter of green ink. "Guys! You need to keep it together!" Jade scolded, lowering her weapon as she stared at the two. "Keep it together and fight for what we've lost. Don't let it be in vain!"
The Inklings nodded before getting back to the task at hand, meanwhile The Cap'n had inked his own path forward, grasping the barrel of the N-Zap '85, he ran right into a brigade of Octotroopers that began to spread out and move around him. It was hard to believe that long ago the Inklings and Octarians were friendly races who shared the same land and sky, but that was a thought that the Cap'n had to push from his mind as the new patrol flanked around him, and as the Cap'n pondered his next move, a new voice filled his ears.
"You… shall…die… Cap'n!" it said, the voice unknown to the older Inkling, whose ragged eyes watched as a Shielded Octotrooper moved toward him.
"Proper speech?" Cap'n questioned. "Since when are Octarian's like you capable of that? You lot are just grunts."
"We have… had decades… to study… and learn… Cap'n!" it answered, its slow and deliberate voice still containing some of the warped garbling of the previous batch. "Long… long have…we known. Long have…we understood. But now. Now we… have the… power! Octarians will rise…! Inklings will fall! Soon you… will know… our pain."
"Never!" Cap'n responded. "We Inklings will fight until our last breaths. Octarians have never won before, and it will be over my splatted body that they start now!"
"That is… the intention…" the Shielded Octotrooper responded. "Our numbers… and weapons… are greater… our technology… is superior. Inklings are… insignificant! Octarians will… hunt… capture… splat. Right now… Octarians are evolving… we are… regaining our… lost time. The Inkling race… will perish."
Like Sienna before him, the Cap'n was now facing down the barrel of an Octotrooper blaster with nowhere to run. The Cap'n tried to swallow, to think. Even if he transformed, he'd be splatted before he could swim past them and back the other way, the hum of the Octrotrooper's mobile turrets filling Cap'n's head. He felt movment behind him, the younger Inklings had made their way through, Dynamo Roller, Jet Squelcher and Kelp Splattershot in hand.
"Cease this activity!" the Shielded Octotrooper commanded. "Surrender and you may yet survive."
Cap'n said nothing, the Octotrooper's speech pattern had become normal, and he'd shiver if he had a spine at what that could mean.
Sienna watched the Cap'n. This was ludicrous. There was no way on Earth that the Octotrooper's would allow them to live, but not only that, Cap'n wasn't going to just take that order with no rebuttal, was he?
"You'll forgive us if we don't quite believe you, won't you?" Gorman asked. "You've been sending waves of your armies after us and every other Inkling. Your ships circle day and night everywhere in sight from our towns to our public playgrounds. What reason do we have to believe that you would allow us four to survive?"
"New information suggests that you would be useful?" the commanding Octarian responded.
"For what? To whom?" the Cap'n asked.
"Negative. That information is classified. You Inklings will cease aggressive activity towards the Octarian race and come with us."
"And if we refuse?" Sienna asked, revving the motor of her Dynamo Roller.
"I do not believe I need to spell out the alternative little child." it responded.
"I didn't think you would either. Gorman, let 'em have it!"
"Heh. My pleasure!" the blue tentacle squid responded as a large missile suddenly appeared on his back. "INKSTRIKE!" he yelled, the missile launching into the air, the Cap'n and the other Inklings using the momentary distraction to get away from their would be captors as the missile landed, creating an Ink Tornado that splatted those who got close to it.
"Find them! Find them!" ordered the Shielded Octotrooper. "Failure is not an option! The Inklings must be apprehended!"
"Find them!" echoed the troops in the garbled voices as the Octolings swam to safety. "We shall find!"
Two of the Octotroopers opened their turret casing, releasing metallic creatures that burst forward, yellow lights flashing and immediately began eating the ink that was splattered as they moved.
"Squee-Gs!" Cap'n called as the Octotroopers followed the Squee-Gs, spreading out and covering the terrain with their weapons. "Mind yourselves!"
As the patrol fanned out, Jade took her chance, transforming back into her humanoid form and sighting down the barrel of her Kelp Splatterscope, adjusting it against her slightly as it charged, firing as an Octotrooper came into her line of sight. Splat! went the Octotrooper, but the sound of the Splatterscope had caught the attention of others who were now focused on capturing Jade by any means.
"Under attack! Seek! Capture! Splat!" they warbled, unleashing more Squee-Gs to cut off Jade's path, forcing the Inkling to swim upward, getting a quick stream of ink on a nearby building, leaping into it and swimming in her green squid form, desperately trying to get away from her assailants.
Gorman watched from afar as Jade made her escape to the rooftops, a wave of tension running through his body. He had to help her somehow. While the rooftops might have been safer for her, and a the best place for her weapon, she'd run out of ink eventually, and may the Great Zapfish help her if the Octotroopers figured out how to get up to her.
"Gorman! Watch it!" Sienna called out, bringing Gorman back to reality, the blue tentacle squid boy adjusting his White Arrowbands before leaping to one side for safety, trying to gain distance between himself and the Octotroopers.
"Thanks, Sienna!" he called, the orange tentacle girl smirking.
"I owed you one, now focus!" she responded. "We'll get to Jade. But not if you end up splatted."
Sienna spun around, raising the Dynamo Roller high and swinging it down, thrashing at her opposition, but it didn't seem to matter.
The numbers didn't seem to be getting any lower, and the Squee-Gs were now en masse, eating up every bit of ink they threw down to try and separate themselves from the Octarians.
"Cap'n!" Sienna called. "Where are you?!"
The Cap'n was waiting. In the heat of confusion caused by the Inkstrike that Gorman had launched earlier, the Cap'n was now sitting in an ink puddle behind the Shielded Octotrooper as Octarian troops ran, or scuttled down alleyways looking for him, only to be met by his protoges weaponry.
The Octarian troops were learning though; Squee-G deployment cutting off his crew from gaining any ground, some Octotroopers now even giving the others a chance to use their secondary weapons as sheer force of numbers made things like the Sprinkler and Splash Wall utterly useless.
Four Inklings against an army of Octotroopers. The Cap'n had to end this now, and slowly he climbed from the ink and back into his humanoid form, grasping the barrel of his N-Zap '85 as he pointed it at the exposed back of the Shielded Octotrooper.
"I advise against such an action, Cap'n." it started before Cap'n could even think about pulling the trigger. "Even if you splat me now, it will not save them."
"You're going to destroy us all anyway, so what does it matter when you do it?" the Cap'n growled, tightening his grip on the handle of his gun.
"Negative." the Shielded Octotrooper started. "As previously stated, you will come with us. New information suggests that you will be necessary."
"I think I'll take my chances in the gravel, thank you?" Cap'n responded, about to pull the trigger when a shrill cry filled his ears. "Jade!" he called out.
Up on the roof, Jade now found herself cornered by a enemies known as Octocoptors, Octarian troops who could fly while shooting balls of ink at a slow pace. Jade was surrounded by them. They weren't doing enough to splay the Inkling girl, but their attacks were certainly hurting her. Dropping her Kelp Splatterscope, she yielded.
Back on ground level, Sienna and Gorman had also conceded, the Squee-Gs had them backed into a corner with Octotroopers looming over them. The Dynamo Roller and Jet Squelcher hit the ground.
"Do you see now, Cap'n?" came his enemy's taunting voice. "Your weapons and tactics are useless. You will comply, Cap'n. Lower your weapon and come with us."
The Cap'n snarled, his eyes narrowing in anger as he reluctantly lowered his gun.
"Fine! But if you harm a tentacle on those kids, I will end all of you. I promise you that!"
"Your threats are meaningless. You have lost! You will come with us now."
The Shielded Octotrooper led the way as one of the Octarian flying saucers lit up, a yellow beam shining down, the Inklings being led to it, their faces looking exasperated, exhausted, defeated and humiliated.
"I'm sorry you lot." Cap'n said through an angered breath. "We will find a way out if this though, I promise."