Chapter Two: Lets Get Kraken
Hello there! Sorry for the wait. I usually try be about 2 chapters ahead of what I've got posted in case of emergencies, so that's part of the reason its been a week or two after my first chapter. Well, enough about me. Enjoy!
Raven opened the door to her one story home and poked her head inside. "Mom, I'm home!"
"How was your walk?" her mom called back from one of the bedrooms.
"It was fine. I brought some friends over to stay the night!" Raven walked into her house, taking off her shoes and putting them in a basket by the door. The rest of the team followed suit, putting their weapons and weapon cases next to the basket as well. A small thump was heard, followed by the sound of quick footsteps as Raven's mom walked into the room.
"Oh, hi!" she said cheerfully, "We weren't expecting guests! Sorry it's a mess in here."
"No, it's okay," smiled Scarlet, "Believe me, this is spotless compared to my room!"
"Mom," said Raven, "This is Cass, Scarlet, Natt, and Laurel. They're a couple of friends, and they're gonna stay the night."
"Well, it's nice to meet you!" Raven's mom smiled warmly, shaking everyone's hand, "You can call me . Or Mrs. Malus. I don't care which!"
"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Lacee," Natt said, a broad smile on her face.
"Well we'll be in the basement if you need us," Raven said, leading the team towards a door.
"Okay, dinner will be ready in an hour!" Mrs. Lacee walked towards the kitchen, while Raven opened a door and lead the others down a dim stairway.
"Wait," said Natt as they headed down the stairs, "Why didn't your mom notice the bruises on your arm?"
"She's nearsighted, and didn't have her glasses," Raven explained, "More than likely, she'll notice at dinner."
"Oh." Natt continued to follow the human.
The basement was unlike any basement the Inklings had seen. It had a stone floor, but near the middle of the room was a red shag carpet, on the border of which sat some dark purple sofas, all crowded around a television set with a collection of DVD's on either side of it. Blankets and pillows were strewn on the couches, and a few remotes sat on a side table stationed in between two couches. A white light overhead provided adequate lighting, and in an unused corner of the basement sat a washer and a dryer. "Hm, cozy!" said Cass, looking the place over.
"Yeah, I watch a lot of movie marathons here. Star Wars are my favorite." Raven smiles, plopping down on one of the couches.
"Ooh, I love Star Wars!" Natt gushed, joining Raven on one of the couches, "Episode 28 has gotta be my all-time favorite!"
"But there's only 9 episodes," said Raven, "Now that gives me a clue as to where y'all come from."
"But we already told you we're Inklings and a Sharkling from Inkopolis," said Cass, sitting on the floor. Scarlet and Laurel took up the remaining purple sofa that wasn't already occupied.
"Right, I remember that," said Raven, "But that could be anywhere: Another planet, a different dimension, somewhere in the past or future-"
"You watch a lot of sci-fi don't you?" asked Laurel with a smirk. She jutted a thumb towards Natt, "You'll get along great with that one then."
"Here, tell you what," Cass smiled, "Since we both have questions about each other and where we come from, we'll play truth or dare."
"Ooh, I love this game!" said Natt.
"Same here," grinned Laurel, "I'll go first!"
"Okay," said Raven, a smile growing on her face, "Truth or dare?"
"Dare all the way!"
"I dare you to….do 5 one handed pushups!"
"Not the best dare, but I accept!" Laurel dropped to the floor and quickly did the pushups, retaking her seat on the couch afterwards. "Okay, Natt: Truth or dare?"
"Uh…. Dare!" Natt said.
"I dare you to dump a slosherfull of ink on your head!"
"I accept!" she smirked, "Can I use your slosher, Scar?"
"Yeah, lemme go get it!" Scarlet ran to the stairs and thumped her way up.
"Whats a slosher?" asked Raven.
"It's like a bucket," Cass explained, "But it's designed to hurl massive amounts of ink at once. Its great for covering turf, but I don't usually use it."
Raven was about to ask another question, but was interrupted when Scarlet came down the stairs, holding several objects. She dumped them beside the couch that her and Laurel had been sitting on, and tossed Natt the slosher. "Right, here goes nothing!" Natt chuckled.
She moved to an area that wasn't covered in carpet, made a swirling motion with the bucket, and upended it over her head. Dark purple ink gushed out, covering Natt and a large portion of the floor she was standing on. "Wooo!" she cheered, the ink dripping to the floor as she brushed it off. As she walked back to the couch she spotted Raven's incredulous look, and tried to explain. "Oh, don't worry. That ink'll disappear after about ten minutes. Now where were we?"
"I-I think it's your turn," Raven stuttered. She was positive that the 'slosher' Scarlet had was empty before Natt even touched it. So where did all of that ink come from?
"Oh, right!" Natt said, "I'll do you then. Raven: Truth or Dare?"
"Truth, I guess."
"Okay, um…" Natt paused, thinking, "What do humans transform into?"
"Well, if you're talking real life, then nothing." Raven said, "Why, do you guys turn into something?"
"Oh, that's interesting," said Laurel, "Nearly every sealing who looks like a kid can turn into something."
"Really?"
"Yeah, watch." Laurel quickly morphed into a light purple shark, and wiggled herself under one of the pillows on the couch. A second later, Laurel turned into a kid again, holding the pillow tightly with her arms.
"Wow," Raven gaped, unsure of what else to say.
"Hah. if you think that's impressive…" Scarlet gave her team a mischievous look, and they all knew what to do. They quickly turned into squids (and a shark) and began flopping around, making little squish-squish noises as they did so.
"Oh my gosh," Raven looked to be on the verge of squealing, "Y'all are so adorable!"
Cass' squid looked confused, as if to say 'Really?'
"Can I touch you?" she asked a purple squid, Natt. As she approached the squid, it hopped away towards the puddle of purple ink and swam inside. "Dang, how deep is that stuff?"
"Deeper than it looks, that's for sure," grinned Scarlet, walking up behind the human and startling her, "Tell you what, that depth makes it a great spot to hide a stash of money or Halloween candy."
"Cool," Raven breathed.
"Dang right its cool," Natt poked her head suddenly out of the ink, surprising Raven and making her stumble back. The purple inkling laughed and held out a hand. Scarlet grabbed it, and pulled her friend out of the puddle.
"Let's get back to our game, shall we?" Scarlet asked, walking back to the couch area.
"Yeah sure," Raven and Natt went back and sat down on the couches. Cass and Laurel were still in squid/shark form, but both could fit on the couch now so it was no big deal. "So whose turn is it now?"
"I guess I can go," Scarlet shrugged. "Cass: Truth or Dare?"
Cass morphed back into a kid and put the still-shark-Laurel onto her lap. "I'll take truth I guess. Ask me something Raven wouldn't know though. That is the whole purpose of this game, right?"
"Sure," said Scarlet, already thinking of a question, "What are Turf Wars?"
"Is reading minds common in inklings as well?" Raven joked.
"Yea," Cass said sarcastically, "That and laser eyes."
"Yeah, totally," Natt caught on, smiling.
"Anyways, back to answering the question," Cass sat back, adjusting the flopping shark on her lap, "Turf Wars are a sport us sealings play for fun. We play on different stages, and the goal is to ink up as much area as possible in what, 3 minutes?" she looked to her teammates for confirmation.
"Yeah, 3 minutes," Scarlet confirmed.
"I thought so," Cass continued, "Anyway, there's also another team of the opposite side of the map that is trying to cover turf with their own color of ink as well. Whoever has the most area inked wins!"
"So what happens if you encounter someone else on the battlefield?" asked Raven, "And how can ya tell who is on what team? Y'all are different colors!"
"Oh, the spawn point changes everyone's tentacle or fin colors to match their teammates, and it varies with each match." Natt explained.
"And if you encounter another teammate on the splatterfield, you make 'em go splat!" Cass smiled.
"Wait, y'all kill people on the other team?" Raven gasped.
Cass promptly turned red, "Oh, uh, n-not like that! Unless they have quick respawn, whoever we splat will respawn in a few seconds. They'll do it in less time if they have the ability I mentioned."
Raven let out a sigh of relief, while Scarlet smirked. "Alright, Cass," she said, "Ask someone truth or dare!"
"Okay! Truth or Dare, Raven!"
"Um, we'll go with truth."
"Why were those guys beating you up in the alleyway earlier?"
"That's… actually a very good question." Natt tapped her chin and looked at Raven, waiting for her answer.
"Ah, well," Raven scratched the back of her neck, "Those guys like to pick on the nerds and geeks of our school. Like, beat them up in a corner and steal their rare collectibles or money, only to sell the collectibles online later. So, I've been pranking them in retaliation." She smirked.
"Sounds like a cheesy young adult fanfiction, I'd say," Laurel muttered. She had turned back into a kid during Raven's response, and her tall frame was now sprawled across both Scarlet's and Cass' laps. Scarlet promptly smacked Laurel upside the head.
"You're being rude, Laurel," she said, "Raven, please continue."
"Okay," the human said, confused. "Anyway, for a while, they never suspected it was me until they saw me setting up for one of my pranks. Even when they knew for sure it was me, they would never really beat me up like they did today, ya know? They would just make threats and look menacing."
"Yeah," Scarlet nodded, "But whaddya think made them retaliate like that all of a sudden?"
Raven shrugged, "Heck if I know. And besides, if they hadn't cornered me, I wouldn't have met you all!"
"Huh," smiled Natt, "Now that's the kinda thinking I like!" The two girls fistbumped and Laurel sighed.
"So, what now?" asked the Sharkling.
"I dunno," shrugged Cass, fiddling with Scarlet's slosher.
"Ooh, I know!" said Natt, running off the couch and towards the items Scarlet had brought in from upstairs. "I can show you my Hero Roller Replica!"
"Your what?" Raven asked curiously.
"My Hero Roller!" Natt unzipped the case and whipped the large weapon out, setting it on the floor next to her. Standing and kicking the case off to the side, the picked up the inkless roller and gave it a test swing. Raven leaned back.
"Woah, watch it!"
"Whoops, Sorry," said Natt. Without jumping, she gave the roller a flick and set it on the floor. She walked forward a bit, and dark purple ink coated the roller portion. She quickly lifted the roller and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm not really going to roll this thing around right now. It's literally designed to cover as much area as possible."
"Looks like fun," Raven grinned, "Can I try?" Natt shrugged and handed the roller to Raven, who had gotten up off of the couch. As soon as Raven accepted the weapon, she gasped, and the roller thumped to the floor. "Holy Crap, that thing is heavy!" she looked at Natt, "How do you even lift this thing?!"
Natt shrugged, "This roller is actually pretty light and fast. The Carbon roller is lighter, but at least my Hero Roller isn't as heavy as the Dynamos."
"You mean there are heavier paint roller that people actually use?!"
"Yeah," Natt took the roller back.
"So what other weapons do y'all have?" asked Raven.
"Oh, I have an Octobrush," said Cass, removing the mentioned weapon from its case.
"That is the biggest paintbrush I have ever seen." Raven gaped.
"Yeah," Laurel agreed, "I use the inkbrush, which is like Cass' brush, but its smaller and faster."
As each teammate showed off their weapon and explained to Raven how the weapon works, they allowed the human to try each one. Raven ended up favoring the slosher, as it was the smaller weapon, and she could easily maneuver with it unlike the brushes and roller. "Raven!" her mom called from upstairs, "It's dinner time!"
"Be right up, Mom!" Raven called back, setting the slosher down on a coffee table with a thump."Thanks for letting me try the weapons- I just hope this ink dries up before my mom comes down here and gets the wrong idea." She grinned as she surveyed the multi-colored splotches and stripes of ink all over the garage floor.
"Yeah," Scarlet grinned back, "It'll dry and fade within the hour, don't worry."
"Alright, let's go!" Raven led Team Paintstrike out of the basement.
In case you guys couldn't tell, this was the best way I could think of to explain stuff to Raven and the Team. Sorry if it seemed a bit cheesy but it's better than paragraphs of explanations and lengthy backstories, eh? I also tried to give Raven a southern accent, and I'm sorry in advance if I happen to offend anyone/make the accent seem too much.
Anyway, I'll try to spice things up more in the next chapter. Be sure to review if you have any suggestions!
Have a great day!
~Calamari-on-Gallifrey