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According to the standard dictionary, "Desert" would be synonymous with abandonment, uninhabited, defect, or a dry wasteland.
Such words would fit this terrain as the wind carried its particles across the land.
So how would that explain a skinny, bearded 'old man in a ponytail with bulging brown eyes in a red Hawaiian shirt, blue jorts, and a pair of leather shoes with holes exposing his toes standing across Walker having a stare-off?
Speaking of Walker, he's rocking a new haircut, giving him a cleaner look with his plain black t-shirt, baggy sweatpants, and slip-on shoes.
The silence between the two continued until the elder stuttered out.
"Th-th-the Oc-Oc-Oct…" He straightened his back and spread his arms with his proclamation,
"The Octarians are coming!"
In response, Walker's mind wandered off with one question in mind as the wind blew his new haircut.
"How did I get here?"
Earlier
There he was with his messy flop of hair, sitting on a bar stool with a small backrest and armrests in a bathroom in front of a row of scissors, knives, hair tools and a mirror.
In front of the mirror was a shirtless Shiver holding her right elbow as she held a straight razor with its blade resting at his left cheek as she looked him in the eye.
Despite remaining seated, Walker struggled not to look below Shiver's eyes as her gaze held intense focus.
There were two reasons he couldn't move. The first is the outfit, composed of only a Sarashi chest wrap revealed without her shawl and the tight leggings, at least in his eyes. Because of that, Walker looked elsewhere best he could to avoid offending his benefactor.
The second reason was the blade of the straight razor resting on the left side of his head.
As he looked at the blade, he could feel the force of Shiver's grasp on the razor before a swift motion, shaving a part of his hair without letting a drop of ink spill to the relief of Walker as he sighed.
"Eyes up front~!" Walker opened his eyes to find Shiver's face close to the point their noses were touching. She watched him widen his eyes before giggling as she backed off to put down the razor on the assembly of tools behind her.
"You know any icebreakers?" Shiver suddenly asked, still searching among her tools.
"Cake- what?" Walker sputtered as he shook his head from staring at her ass.
"Well, you wouldn't want to feel uncomfortable, would you?" Shiver explained as she plucked a pair of scissors from the row. "Besides, I'm sure you have some questions for me." she offered as she turned back to Walker, looking up.
"Questions like why you took a homeless guy into your home?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Well, yes." She answered as she walked over to inspect his hair. "I took you in because you seem… interesting. An Inkling and a Small Fry eating a meal behind a studio for tranquil isolation. Most in the city would gather with others for their means. But, enough about me, sadly. I want to ask about you next."
"If you wanted to ask me, why here?" Walker asked as Shiver brushed away his bangs, gaining a clearer view of his green eyes.
"'Why' indeed." Shiver purred as she held a handful of hair. "Why would I bring the person in question to my home after disarming him of his weapons alone with me, with an entire arsenal to use should you choose to play… rough?" she snipped the hair as the tentacle fell to the floor.
"...Fair enough." He accepted as Shiver snipped the rest of his bangs to a shorter length, exposing his eyes more clearly.
As Walker delved into his thoughts, only the sound of snipping entered his ears in the silent room. He felt the Octoling's hand caress his head, holding it with her fingertips as she cut the shoulder-length appendages at the sides.
Whenever he saw Shiver walk around him, he would catch snippets of her attire that he couldn't help but peek at.
A bandage wrap tightly hugged her chest to her frame as she walked with her exposed midriff, showing off her curves down her waist. The same went for her leggings which appear skin-tight as they reveal more of her figure as her hips swayed with each motion, highlighted by the three slashes on her thigh, resembling shark gills.
He blinked as he dragged his eyes away from her rather captivating appeal as his eyes made their way upward and noticed three shark tooth-shaped earrings on her right ear. Eventually, his gaze led him to her red eyes shining against the light giving the impression he was looking into a pair of rubies which allured him most as they shifted in each direction.
His thoughts were distracted as the sound of humming reached his ears. Shiver continued to cut his hair, leaving a long lock of hair remained on his left while he felt less weight on his right.
"All done on this side." Shiver chirped as she faced his gaze. "Do you feel better?"
"My head feels cooler now on my right." He described as he looked at the mirror in front, seeing his hair imbalanced as his head tilted to his left.
Shiver giggled as she moved to his left from behind and held his head. "Do you have any reasons for staying in Splatsville?" she asked as she snipped his hair.
"Hmm…" Walker wandered off in his thoughts, processing what words to use for her question while staring at himself in the mirror.
"Sanctuary."
"What?" She asked after a snip.
"Sanctuary." He repeated as he continued to stare. "It's another word for refuge. Though thinking back, it wouldn't be a sanctuary when you've been living homeless for five months, wouldn't it?"
Shiver paused before continuing her cutting. "...Does that dissatisfy you?"
"...I don't think so," he answered while listening to the snips. "The people here can be rough, a lot. But no matter how often burning frying oil gets thrown at me, I always return to the one thing I know about them."
Raising a bemused eyebrow, Shiver asked, "And that is?"
"Well…" Walker smiled, "They're people. Simply people."
Pausing shortly, Shiver laid her scissors as she combed his hair into her hand.
"Care to elaborate?"
"No."
"Reason being?"
"Don't feel like it."
"Can you at least tell me about your weapon?"
"Well… to start, they called it the Alto Crux, and it was a family heirloom predating my birth. That was all they told me whenever I asked where they got it. The Alto Crux is a modified stringer with a 5-round burst-fire mechanism," Walker explained. "But it's still a prototype left untouched after an incident."
"And that incident is…?"
"Not telling."
"Because?"
"Don't feel like it."
"Hmph! Keep your secrets then," Shiver pouted. "I'll get them sooner or later."
"With enough effort, I think you can pull it off." Walker supported as Shiver paused.
She looked in the mirror to see him keeping his smile before shaking it off to her task.
With one last snip of her scissors, she grabs her brush and dusts off the hair on his smock cape. She gives one last look before giving a nod of approval.
"There, all finished." she sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off her body with a small towel.
Walker looked in the mirror in his new hairstyle above his green eyes. Currently trimmed neatly above his ears, his bangs only covered the top of his eyebrows as the strands formed a clean cut from ear to ear.
"Well? What do you think?" Shiver prompted as she crossed her arms next to her trash bin filled with excess tentacle hair. "I thought a Mush-cut would suit you nicely. You look cleaner now because of it."
"My head feels so much lighter right now!" Walker looked at the sides of his head in the mirror. "And cooler!"
"Good." She nods as she hands him a towel. "Now, you need to take a shower."
"Why's that?" He asks as he receives the towel.
"When was the last time you bathed?" Shiver raised her eyebrow.
"Five months ago," Walker answered with a straight face before blinking twice. "Oh."
Shiver disposed of Walker's green cargo pants in a garbage bag, tying it up as he walked out of the bathroom to her right, wiping his steaming head with a towel in a new set of clothes.
"Thanks for the help, Shiv." Walker thanked. "Admittedly, I still feel awkward you had to clean my… you know."
"Of all the things to feel awkward about, me washing your underwear?" Shiver bantered, crossing her arms with a raised eyebrow as she leaned on the kitchen counter behind her.
"Well, how would you feel if someone personally washed yours?" Walker exasperated.
"Would you wash mine~?" Shiver purred as she pointed her chin while holding her right elbow.
Walker rubbed his nape as he responded, "Well, if you asked, maybe I- hey, wait a sec!" he pointed at her.
She sputtered, "You're so easy, I swear." she laughed as she waved off.
"Oh, come on!" He pouted as he hung the towel by his neck before noticing the bags behind her. "You need some help with those?"
"Hmm?" She looked at the bags before turning to him, "Oh no, I got it."
"Anything I can do then? Considering you're willing to take me in and all." He asked as he scratched his head.
"Well…" she rubbed her finger below her mouth before snapping her fingers and pointing to the set of boxes behind her. "Maybe you could help me prepare lunch? I need to make up for my absence earlier."
"Absence from what?" he asks as he walks over to the chopping board.
"We were supposed to meet up for some… activities we planned after our live session earlier. Frye was excited for the gig too." Shiver sighed, unaware of Walker pausing from grabbing the knife.
"...Was that my fault?" Walker whimpered as he pointed at himself.
"Wha- no, no, no, no!" She assured him, "I chose you over them- no, wait, that's not what I mean- I-" She quickly calmed herself with a sigh as she faced Walker. "Let me explain it to you as best I can. I had a choice whether to help someone in need or to leave them be and meet up with my friends. I chose the former and, in turn, bear the consequences."
"But still, I'm-"
"-not responsible for something beyond your control. Besides…" Shiver comforted him as she cupped his left cheek with a smile. "What's, done is done. We take what we could learn and move on."
Walker raised his hand to hers on his cheek, only to drop it mid-way to nod.
"Now start working." Shiver smiled as she lowered her hand. "Those two could be here any-"
*DING DONG!*
"...-Minute." The two turn to the front door.
"...I'll just finish up…" Walker grabbed the knife and started to chop and eats a carrot stick while Shiver walked up to the door.
Unfortunately, he was unaware of Bud staring intently at the stick in his mouth.
The door opens to reveal Shiver in her chest wrap, her eyes widening in front of the people at the door.
"Big Man, Frye!" Shiver gasps as the door fully opens. "Look, I'm sorry about the gig. I should've called you guys and-"
"Shiver, it's okay." Frye forgave. "The gig was a bust. The guy who sent that text was some old guy yapping about his son."
"Ay ay. (That man kept talking about his son as he drank beyond six bottles. I wonder if his son meant that much to him. )" Big Man added, "Ay… (I hope his son's alright though.)." he sighed before perking his head as he looked past Shiver.
"So yeah, that happened." Frye finished as she sniffed the air. "Are you cooking something?"
"Well, originally, we made some boxes so I could make up to you guys for earlier," Shiver explained. "We can probably eat them now that you're here."
"We? You didn't make it yourself?" Frye caught as she tilted her head.
"I had some help preparing everything."
"Bud, knock it off!" Walker exclaimed as a ravenous Bud lashed at him with red eyes, watering mouth snapped his teeth at his partner with ferocity, pushing him back against a wall and exposing him to the doorway.
Walker squeaked at Bud and chomped to his left, forcing Walker to turn his back to a window.
With his back against an open window, he glanced back, finding the ground five floors down.
He turned around to see Bud's gaping chompers before feeling the wind in his new haircut as he fell out of the window.
"Oh shi-!"
"He's probably finishing up by now." Shiver shrugged as she crossed her arms, playing with her hair. "So, is there anything else I missed?"
Frye scratched her head, wincing as she thought. "Well…"
"Ahem."
The trio flinched at the cough as Big Man and Frye partway to reveal a short buck-toothed goggle-wearing horseshoe crab in a military jacket and boots.
He straightened the red scarf on his neck as the hallway lights reflected on his yellow-green binocular goggles.
"Onaga Frye," He began as she blinked. "Manderyu Toshu, Manda Tarokizaemon Munekiyo," Big Man points to himself at the mention of his title and full name, respectively. "Hohojiro Shiver," he looked directly at Shiver as she returned the greeting.
"You know who I am, but I am Sheldon, the proud owner of the Ammo Knights brand across Splatsville and Inkopolis." The horseshoe crab introduced himself with a bow, shining the light reflected on the shell on his head. "Going straight to the point, I know of your other business. Therefore, I wish to hire your services."
He pulls out a tablet and offers it to Shiver.
"I want you to find this man. For he has something that belongs to my family."
Shiver's eyes widen at the screen as Frye and Big Man huddle to her and view the content.
On the screen was an innocent face of a tanned Inkling with green eyes and orange hair.
Above the picture were four words with his name below the picture.
"Walker…" Shiver whispered, gaining the two's attention.
Their attention shifted when they saw a certain number below the name.
[Wanted: Dead or Alive]
[$100,000,000]
Walker fell from the sixth-floor window of Shiver's apartment before hitting back-first at someone's balcony.
"Oh, shi-!"
*SMACK!*
"Ow, my back-!"
*SNAP!*
"Son of a bi–!"
*CRACK!*
"Right in the a-!"
*BOINK!*
"No, no, no, not the di-!"
*BONK!*
"Mother Fu-!"
*SPLAT!*
Walker face-planted on the ground, twitching.
Bud arrived carrying some slip-on shoes before laying them next to his partner.
He then put the shoes on his partner's feet, wearing his new socks from Shiver.
After neatly rolling up his sweatpants' pant legs, Bud went to Walker's head and lifted it.
Bud slapped Walker's face.
"I have fallen!" He exclaims before popping his neck. "And I CHOOSE NOT to get up!" He states as he blinks with blurred vision as it clears.
Suddenly, he finds an old guy staring at him from the sewer grate.
Back to the Present
"AGAINNNNNNNNNNNN!" The old guy screamed, snapping Walker out of his flashback.
"Oh, uh, hi… Did we do this before? The ol' noggin' ain't what it used to be." The man scratched his head.
"The screaming or the flashback?" Walker tilts his head.
"Anywho," he ignores his comment, "The name's Cuttlefish. Senior Advisor to the New Squidbeak Splatoon, at your service!" He introduced himself while posing with a peace sign.
"Right, nice to meet you, sir. You may call me Walker." he greeted respectfully.
"You got a look in your eye. One I've been looking for!" Cuttlefish hummed.
"W-What look?" Walker asked worryingly.
"You heard about the Great Zapfish from Splatsville, right?"
"The one that disappeared?"
"Indeed, it's been 'squid-napped!' And you can bet your bottom sand dollar it's the Octarians back at it again!" Cuttlefish exclaims.
"The who? And how do you know?"
"Those Octojerks were behind it! Both times!"
"Wait, it got kidnapped twice!? And you didn't answer how!"
"I've been keepin' an eye on them even though I'm technically retired. With big eyes like these, there isn't much that can escape me!" He stared at Walker with two big blinks.
"...I can see that."
"Anywho, they still made off with the Great Zapfish. And now we've got to get it back, right?"
…
…
A lone tumbleweed rolls across the two as the wind fills the silence.
"So, uh…" Walker's eyes drift away from the senior before turning back to him, "How much is the pay?"
"Oh, it's…zero…but you might save the world. You're in, right? RIGHT?!" Cuttlefish begs on his cane.
"...Sure, I'll bite." Walker shrugs as he seals the deal with a handshake.
"Excellent!" Cuttlefish slaps into Walker's handshake before posing as he points at him. "Starting today, you are Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon! And would you look at that! You're already in your brand-new Hero Suit!"
"Wait, what?!"
Walker was perplexed as he looked down to find himself wearing a bright yellow jacket and shoes with blue accents. He reached his ears to find a pair of white headphones on his head. He looked behind to find a digital waterproof backpack indicating the level of ink contained.
"When!?" He demanded as he examined his suit, "When did you do this!? I mean, it's comfy, but when!?"
"Oh, your little agent buddy here did it for me." Cuttlefish motioned to Bud jumping, trying to bite his cane. "Shame I'm fresh out of Hero suits. The lil' scamp's, a salty one, eh?"
"You'd be surprised." Walker nodded his head.
"Now, where was I? Oh, right!" Cuttlefish pointed his cane to the crater's center, "Let's get those Octojerks, bucko!"
Midway to the crater's center, Walker gets out of a kettle, shaking any residual ink.
"You're pretty handy using that Hero Shot. Are you Pro-ranked?" Cuttlefish began.
"More like I have experience. Had to learn fast out there in the desert." Walker replied as they walked.
"Bandits?"
"Among others." Walker shrugged, "'Got kidnapped five months ago and had to get out. Busted others out too, but we went our separate ways."
"Had a rough time, huh?" Cuttlefish stopped as Walker held Bud in one hand and aimed with the other.
"Guess so!" He threw Bud at a ball of Fuzzy Ooze.
Bud Swallowed the whole ball, expanding his stomach until it shrank with a burp as the ooze vanished into thin air.
"That little monster's got quite the appetite," Cuttlefish commented. "Ate two Fuzz Balls and still has the munchies."
"Yeah, he's always had that." Walker agreed. "But he's good company to have, that's for sure."
"Hehe, I can see that." Cuttlefish laughed as they kept walking. "By the way, where did you find him, Agent 3?"
"The same night we slaughtered a hundred," Walker answered.
"Hehe…" Cuttlefish chuckled, "You're joking, right?"
Walker kept walking until he went far from Cuttlefish, unaware of his slowed pacing to a stop.
"Right?" Cuttlefish asked until Walker faced him with a raised eyebrow.
"You coming, Cuttlefish? We're almost at the center!"
"H-Hold on a sec, whipper snapper!" Cuttlefish hurried over as Bud stopped next to his partner. "I need to make a call! Those Fuzzy Octarians you picked up on your scanner are freakin' me out!"
"So you're calling for backup?"
"What else?" Cuttlefish fished out his reliable communicator from his pocket and tuned the dial after raising the antenna. "Check, check! Cuttlefish here, over. Do you copy?"
The static from the communicator shifted to an unfamiliar voice.
{Agent 2 here. Over.} A lax female voice responded. {Wait-Gramps? Is that you? Where are you?}
"Your granddaughters are agents?" Walker sent a dubious stare.
"It's not a family thing if you're wonderin', Agent 3." Cuttlefish turned to his communicator as he answered. "We've spotted Octarian activity in the Splatsville crater. We require-"
{Agent 1, this is Agent 2.} Agent 2 cut off Cuttlefish, much to his dismay. {Gramps wandered off again. Over.}
"Agent 2, I did NOT wander off!" Cuttlefish exclaimed, unaware of Walker's hearing, who turned to the sky. "And again, we're requesting-"
{Well, what are we waiting for?} A cheerful voice replied to the other agent. {Let's go collect him!}
{Find the coordinates of their location.} A serious voice ordered. {He'll wound up into trouble if we stay put.}
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Cuttlefish demanded, ignorant of the increasing volume of music.
"Um, sir?" Walker was alarmed as he looked to the sky.
{...Roger that, captain.} Agent 2 affirmed. {Stay fresh!}
The communicator went silent as Cuttlefish took it off his ear. "...Did they just hang up on me?!"
"Cuttlefish!" Walker yelled as the electronic music grew louder.
"Huh?" Cuttlefish looked up to find a rocket flying through the sky. The rocket shifted into an orbital mech as it started to crash. "The Octoking… It's DJ Octavio!" Walker turned to the senior, who ran to the crater's center.
"Wait, who!?"
The Octoking slid on the rock wall, reaching the edge of the center as the music dropped the base. Inside the cockpit, an Octoling in his Octo form with an X-shaped scar on one of his tentacles plays on a turntable with wasabi sticks while wearing safety goggles and a camera-strapped hard hat.
"Gyah ha ha!" Octavio howled a boisterous laugh. "I've finally found you, Cuttlefish!"
"Thar he blows!" Cuttlefish points to the Octoling inside. "Give us back the Great Zapfish!"
"After you give me back my troops!" Octavio accused. "I know you're behind it!"
"Like I'd fall for a trick like that! I know all your tricks since the Great Turf War, you dastardly Octopus-!"
"Hey, uh, guys?" Walker cut off Cuttlefish and garnered both his and Octavio's attention. "Can you, maybe, hold off your rivalry or whatever it is for a few minutes?"
"And why should we?" Octavio asked, raising his eyebrow.
"This is my first day on the job!" Walker attested, raising his voice as he exaggerated with hand gestures. "I just got this job four hours ago, and, for the record, I have several questions!"
Walker rambled about the many questions plaguing his mind that ranged from the Great Turf War to the relationship between the two seniors, the giant mech, and so on.
As he yattered away, Cuttlefish glanced at Octavio, who did the same.
"Truce?" Cuttlefish hinted.
Octavio parks the Octobot with a set of car keys before exiting the cockpit. "Truce." he nods as he heads over to them.
Unknown to him, a puddle of Fuzzy Ooze wraps a tentacle around the Octobot's leg and crawls up to the cockpit.
"So, let me get this straight," Walker begins with hands together, palm to palm up to his nose. "You two personally knew each other before this "Great Turf War" occurred and been enemies since."
"Mhm." Cuttlefish nods.
"After the Great War, you took it upon yourself to watch over Octo Valley, where you then found Agent 3 and fought against Octavio here," he gestures to the arm-crossed leader on his right, "Who stole Inkopolis Plaza's Great Zapfish."
"Guilty," Octavio admitted with a tentacle raised.
"But after defeating him, you then went off with Agent 3 for a research trip two years later, only to find yourself in a hidden subway system separated from Agent 3, and teamed up with the two Octolings who attacked the both of you."
"Agent 8s, yes."
"But while that was happening, Octavio escaped his snow globe cage to then kidnap Inkopolis Square's Great Zapfish and while he was at it, brainwashed Callie, your granddaughter who is also Agent 1, and fought her cousin, Marie, A.K.A. Agent 2, who took command in your absence and acquired Agent 4 into the New Squidbeak Splatoon."
"To be fair, Callie visited us willingly before the whole brainwashing thing," Octavio added. "She mostly visited to get away from the fame. But I let her be since she was making my troops happy."
"She does give off that kind of vibe." Cuttlefish comments.
"Indeed she does." Octavio agrees. "It was one of the reasons why I convinced her to join my army after a couple of performances we did. That was when the whole brainwashing happened."
"Right." Walker continued. " Back on topic, you were defeated by all three when Marie used her "heavenly melody" to free Callie from the brainwashing and used a modified Rainmaker to defeat you."
"Mhm." Octavio accepted.
"Meanwhile, with Cuttlefish, he and the Agent 8s were collecting the "four Thangs" with the help of Inkopolis Square's group, Off The Hook, who guided you throughout the subway. But after collecting them, you three were about to turn into a tentacle shake until Agent 3 kicked down that machine you guys were in and made your escape through some vents."
"Agent 3 also got the brainwash treatment, but that was for a short while," Cuttlefish added.
"But then you guys got out when a giant statue of a human emerged from the bay and prepared to fire a giant laser to destroy the whole Square. Only Agent 8s stopped it, and then you all went back home and met up with Agents 1, 2, and 4 and formed the New Squidbeak Splatoon under the leadership of Agent 3, who got promoted to captain while you retired, became the senior advisor, which brings us to now."
Walker inhaled deeply before asking, "Did I forget anything else?"
"Nah, you hit the nail," Octavio confirmed. "But I still want to know what happened to my troops! They all went missing three months ago, and I haven't seen them since!"
"The Great Zapfish went missing two months ago," Cuttlefish added, unaware of Walker's eyes widening. "If you didn't take it, then… who?"
"Who's piloting the Octobot?" Walker alerted as they turned to him, pointing past them.
Behind them, the Octoking spun its giant fists while aiming at the three.
"Wait, I parked it!" Octavio defended, "How is it-"
The Octobot fired its fists at them, leaving cracks on the platform as they stopped drilling. The cliff collapsed, causing the robot to teeter over the edge, crashing onto the cracked platform.
The dust settled as the three remained unharmed.
Walker sighed in relief, "Well, that was another easy adventure."
"No, wait, no, no, no, no-!"
"Nononononono-!"
A surge of Fuzzy Ooze emerged from the cracks and converged with the fallen Octobot, covering its entirety.
The ooze pulled down the Octobot, destroying the platform as all three fell into the hole.
The three screamed into a free fall as an ooze tentacle wrapped around Cuttlefish.
"Agent 3. Help me!" Cuttlefish pleaded as the tentacle dragged him down into the darkness.
"Cuttlefish!" Walker and Octavio gasped as they fell.
As Walker fell, he turned back and spotted three figures above the hole,
An Inkling, a Manta Ray, and a familiar Octoling.
The back of his head bumped into a rock before anything else could happen.
As he fell, he could've sworn he saw Shiver about to jump in before his mind faded into unconsciousness.
Thus begins the tale of Walker. I will admit that this chapter took me a good… three months? Making dialogue interesting can be, yeah. But it was worth it.
I saw how popular the first chapter got after checking the stats. And I was surprised at how well it received. For real, I wasn't expecting that. Thank you, guys, so much for reading this story!
I won't be holding an SEQ-ment since there aren't any questions in the reviews. So feel free to ask if anything tickles your fancy.
Also, I need to make an announcement.
I may stop writing Pokemon RTG since I lost the drive to make it. I don't know if I may delete it or just leave it be. The whole plot I had in mind to make that story may have been too much for me to handle. I am sorry to those who enjoyed reading it, but I hope you can enjoy this work I am doing.
On another note, I considered making 'omakes' for WLS. Let me know in the reviews if you want to see them.
That's all for me now. Thank you all for your time.