Deep underground, where all sounds ceased to exist. A subtle beeping echoed through an empty passage. A dark metal spherical room surrounded a metal box. A monitor was attached to the side, red text flashing.
"Err... Power lost... Estimated days until all life support ceases: 24 hrs. Attempting an emergency wakeup procedure, please standby."
A moment passed before it flashed red once more, a red triangle with an exclamatory mark popped up with small text below.
"Wakeup procedure FAILED: Manual override necessary."
Methodical footsteps crept through the silent walls.
000
"What do you think is behind this door?" A female voice called out, bouncing around the walls. She stared at the large metal vault door, too large and heavy for anyone to open. Without hesitation the girl walked up, placing a metal device filled with screws and tubing before stepping back.
"Who knows, it's one of the few human vault's we've seen," she replied. "It was buried so deep, I wouldn't have noticed it."
"Ay! (Whatever it is, I hope it's useful!)" a third voice called out.
"Be careful with that bomb, it's danger-" A loud boom echoed through the halls, cutting her off. The hinges flew off, causing the entire door to launch outward. "Frye!" she yelled.
"Sorry, Shiver!" She rubs the back of her head before rushing ahead.
"Hey!" Shiver yelled. "Wait for us! Come on, Big man! She's just gonna get into trouble!"
"Ay! (Comming!)" He yelled back. The two rushed in to catch up.
After managing to spot a blotch of yellow in the distance, they rushed to it. "You can't just rush like- that..." Shiver's voice trailed off as she looked around. They stood in a large metal room, wires, and electronic devices scattered around the area. A monitor mounted on the wall showed a flashing number, '15%.'
"Ay? (What is this place?)" The big man looked and observed the monitor.
Shiver walked over to a corner where books were scattered across the floor. She bent down, taking one of the books in her hand; after dusting debris off of it, she flipped to one of the pages. "It's unreadable, this definitely is human language."
"Ay (Something feels fishy,)" Big man muttered.
Frye snapped out of her daze, spotting a control panel, filled with an array of buttons and switches all of which she could not understand. She was about to touch something before a voice caused her to jump back.
"Frye, I swear to cod; if you touch that switch!" Shiver yelled. She turned around just in time to see what Frye was about to do. She walked over and looked at the four large tubings that were plugged into the bottom of the panel. As she hover her hand over them, she could feel a cold air flow between her fingers.
A beep startled the gang as they looked around the room, eventually landing their eyes on the monitor, '13%'
"Ay! (I found something!)" Big man called over. A door sat to the right, obscured by a strategically placed bookshelf. With the help of the others, they managed to push it out of the way.
As they walked into a spherical chamber, they noticed the four tubes coming from behind the wall into a metal box. A small screen flashed to life, displaying something they could not read. Shiver walked up to the screen, "Everyone, back up; I don't know what will happen when I press this."
"Be careful," Frye responds before the two make a reasonable distance. Shiver hesitates before pressing the screen, revealing information that she couldn't understand.
"We should have brought someone who could translate this," Shiver grumbled. Her hands hovered over two buttons, and after pressing one of them, a strange hissing could be heard before the screen turned green. Suddenly alarms started to blare as red lights flooded the area. Causing the two to panic. A number was displayed on the screen that was rapidly lowering.
"Warning: Wake Up Procedure initiated. Low Power detected: Rerouting all power to the central unit." A voice echoed through the halls, further increasing panic.
"What do we do!? What do we do!?" Frye flailed her arms.
"Aaay? (Should we make a run for it?)" Big man asked.
They watched the number decrease before hitting zero causing all noises and lights to cease. The screen flashed red once more, showing another number that ticked down each second. Shiver reread the same sentence over and over on the screen. "Come on, Shiver, remember what you learned in middle school all those years ago!" she thought to herself.
"No... power... Use roug- red latch... right side... Pull down and on? No, out." Shiver red. "Alright, I think I can solve this. She rushed over to the side where she discovered a red latch, she quickly pulled downward and out causing large amounts of steam to rush out of the chamber.
She backed away and rushed back to the group, "Are you guys okay?"
"Y-Yeah," Frye replied in a daze. The trio watched in fear and anticipation as the sounds of gears turned could be heard within the strange box. The front of the box slid open, their eyes widened at the sight. A human stood in front of them, a being thought to be long extinct after the sea levels rose twelve thousand years ago.
He was covered in probes and had a breathing mask on his face. No one knew what humans truly looked like besides a few references from statues, books, and skeletons. They knew enough to know that they were not this thin, they could see his skeleton through his skin.
They wanted to look away but were frozen in fear, legs locked in place. They watched as a shakey hand grabbed the mask, sliding it up and over his face. His hands snaked around two handlebars placed on each side of the chamber, pulling his entire body out of the machine. Probes snapped off as he stumbled toward them, one foot after the other; finally standing before them as they gulped in anticipation.
After a moment of staring, his body wavered before collapsing. Frye looked at Shiver in disbelief at what occurred. Receiving no reply, Frye did the only thing she could do at the moment: panic. "Oh cod, oh cod, what do we do? What do we do!?" She paced back in forth, placing her hands on her forehead. "We just killed the last of a species thought to have gone extinct!"
"Ay! Aaay? (Calm down! We just need to bury him and no one will find out, right?)" Big man recommended.
"Everyone calm down, he's alive," Shiver let out an exaggerated sigh, her hand grabbed his wrist.
"O-Oh, right. I forgot we could have checked that..." Frye nervously chuckles.
"Ay? (So, what do we do?") Big man asks.
"We could take them to our house," Frye suggested.
"What!?" Shiver shouted in disbelief, "You're squidding me! I already have to deal with you, I don't need another to babysit! Besides, how can we trust them, what if they attack us?"
"But this might be the last human in existence! Do you have an idea how big this is!?" Frye argued, pointing at the unconscious human.
"Still-"
"Ay? (Couldn't this like... make us money with this discovery?)" Big Man offered.
Shiver froze, slowly turning to him with a grin as her eyes narrowed. "Now you're speaking my language!"
000
Darkness surrounded the human, and strange sounds echoed through his head sounding distant yet close. A light pierced the darkness, as he adjusted his vision he noticed blurs of colors and shapes. He slowly blinked, and each time his vision grew clearer as those shapes and colors formed a room.
An aching pain shot through his head, causing him to grab it. Groggily looking around, he found himself on a blue couch. He rolled over to be greeted by two people speaking something he could not understand. It sounded like someone was gurgling water.
"Aye!" A voice called out from the back, he looked toward the manta ray that he didn't notice. What... manta ray? He blinked to make sure he was seeing correctly, and sure enough, it was still there. He focused on the two other people in the room, their eyes were locked on to his. Now that he was more aware, their appearance was offputting.
The girl with yellow hair had brown skin and a round face. Large pointed ears stuck out of the sides of her head, and all her wavey hair was bundled in a cord, revealing a large portion of her forehead. Her star-shaped pupils widened at the sight. She had a black mask surrounding her eyes, but for some reason, it appeared like it was part of her face. Her outfit was a yellow sleeveless turtleneck crop top and a shiny translucent shawl. She wore baggy off-white pants, almost as if were inspired by India. A squid-shaped charm was attached to her pants. It bore three large holes in her side, revealing her black leggings.
The other girl had blue shoulder-length hair, which covered her left eye. Her large rounded ears pointed outward. Her eyes were narrow and almost cat-like, her red infinite-shaped pupil stared at his. She had a blue translucent shawl that covered something that wrapped around her chest. An octopus-shaped charm is attached to the shawl. Her pants were low-cut black leggings with two holes on her right side shaped like shark gills. She wore shoes that were black with a red wedge underneath.
The girl with yellow hair slowly approached the boy, offering her hand to him. He hesitates for a moment looking up at her, she gives a reassuring smile. He grabs her hand, the contact confused him as it felt like skin and more similar to cartilage. As a matter of fact, now that he has a closer view of her, the yellow 'hair' was smooth almost rubbery like a tentacle. The inside of the tentacles was white, unlike the yellow outside. As he shakingly stood up, he noticed her fingertips transitioned from brown to purple.
It was clear to him that these people, they weren't human. "What... what are you?" He asked them in a dry voice.
The yellow-haired girl flinched as the blue-haired girl walked up with a roll of her eyes and spoke in broken english. She pointed at the girl, "Inkling," before pointing to herself, "Octoling."
"Inkling? Octoling?" He asked hesitantly, the way they spoke was slightly unclear with how garbled they sounded.
She nodded, "Octoling, Shiver. Inkling, Frye." She pointed at the manta ray, "Big man."
The human forced himself to not snort at the name, to not anger them. Understanding that they don't speak his language, he decided to speak slowly. "Where is... place?"
Shiver thought for a moment before replying, "Home."
Frye who was quiet during this conversation, spoke up, "Name?"
His eyes widened, "I..." He thought and thought, but nothing was coming to him. Everything he thought of felt like a messy blur, making his head hurt. "I... don't remember."
Shiver made a noise of disappointment while Frye frowned. "Sorry," she apologizes.
"It's okay," he sighs. Shiver opened her mouth but was stopped by an audible growl from his stomach.
She gives him a small smirk, "Hungry?"
He nods as she walks over to another room. Fyre meanwhile sits on a nearby chair, pulling out what appears to be a phone. He heard the sounds of the shuffling of plates. Big man continued to observe in the corner. After an awkward moment of silence, Shiver comes back with a plate of burgers.
"Here," she says, placing it down. His mouth watered at the sight, he hastily grabbed it, taking a large bite out of it. He looked over to see Frye's mouth drooling, she said something causing Shiver to roll her eyes and hand one to her which she happily took.
After a moment of silent eating, he let out a sigh of contentment. "So, you guys found me?"
Shiver glanced at Frye with a glare, "Yes, pressed button... and-" she proceeded to make a door open gesture with her hands.
The human thought for a moment, looking back at the time he spent before the vault, everything felt clouded. However, the more he thought, something slowly emerged from his cloudy mind: a door. "Wait, do you guys remember seeing some kind of door?"
Her head perked up, "A door?"
He nodded, "It was something like that." He tried to get up but fell back on the couch.
She looked at the others before turning back to me, "Too weak, rest."
He tried to argue against it but felt himself fighting a losing battle as his eyes slowly drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Frye watched his eyes shut before squealing, "I can't believe we found a real, living human!"
"Shhh!" Shiver shushes her, "You'll wake him up!"
"Ay? (So, what do we do?)" Big man asked.
"We'll give him a few weeks to recover, then we'll find this important item he wants to find," she explains.
Frye smiled, "Who knew that our search for treasure would turn out so successful?"
Shiver folds her arms while closing her eyes and chuckles, "In more ways than one."
000
"Wha- where am I?" He groggily opened his eyes, searching around the room. Bright light peaked out of the window, he squinted while shielding his eyes.
"You're up?" A voice called out. He turned his head and saw Shiver with a plate of grilled fish and soup. "Breakfast," she said, gesturing to the plate. He swung his legs around setting them flat on the floor. He rubbed his eyes, letting out a yawn.
"Where are Frye and Big Man?" he asked.
"Sleeping," she sighed. She mumbled something he couldn't understand but her annoyed tone was all he needed to hear.
"So, what's the plan?" he asked as he picked up the chopsticks that she placed to the side.
"Plan? Wake up, then go to... job," she explained before taking a bite of the fish.
"Job?" he asked.
"Make music, famous," she spoke with a prideful smile.
"You're famous?" he says incredulously, he didn't know that he was hanging out with celebrities.
"What's that mean?" she frowns.
"I mean, I didn't know you were famous. I didn't mean any offense," he hastily explains.
She was seemingly satisfied with his answer. "Want watch television?" she asks.
He nods, "Sure."
She gets up, picks up the remote, and turned it on one of the channels. It looked like your typical sitcom show with a family. He couldn't help but smile at the typical laugh track that played through the show.
The human finished his plate just as Frye walked into the room. She said something before walking into the kitchen. After a minute she plopped on the couch with cereal in hand.
"Morning," Frye said before scooping a large portion of food. Her eyes are glued on the screen while he shifts uncomfortably in silence. He couldn't help but feel out of place, here he was in a brand new world with hardly any memories speaking to a new dominant species who don't know his language; he couldn't help but feel a tinge of loneliness as Frye laughed at jokes he couldn't understand.
"Ay!" Big man walked into the room.
Shiver looked at the two and nodded, standing out of the couch. "Need to work," she said as the other followed. He continued watching the screen, not having anything else to do. Soon enough they came out wearing their outfits. "We're leaving!" Shiver called out before he heard the door opening as they all walked out. Shiver poked her head through the doorway, "Read paper, kitchen!" He watched the door shut before sighing, now he was alone for the day.
He decided to walk around the house to regain his strength. Following Shiver's instructions, he walked into the kitchen and picked up the paper lying on the table. He held back a laugh as he saw a poorly sketched-colored picture of the apartment layout. It detailed the kitchen, bedrooms, living room, and bathroom.
Now that he looks around the room, he could pictures of the trio dancing at what appears to be a festival. They all had grand smiles as people cheered in the background. Shiver held a white fan in her hand, waving it around as she danced.
As he wandered through the apartment, he spotted something that caught his attention: a picture of the trio when they were younger. He saw their smiles, it made him grimace that he couldn't remember his own.
He decided to clear his mind by walking to the kitchen, grabbing a glass of juice from the fridge. He walked back to the couch and sat down before taking a sip of the juice. It tasted like an odd mix of mango and orange. He almost choked when he spotted the three on the television, seemingly running a news channel.
They seemingly were discussing a topic that he couldn't understand. Nevertheless, it shocked him as he watch them making jokes and laughing. Something caught his attention, it was some kind of festival, similar to the one in the picture.
After it ended, it switched back to another show that he could care less about, especially since he could not understand anything. With a sigh, he shut the television off. A frown formed on his face as he looked down at his thin hands; it was better than when he first woke up, but his bones were still visible.
He took a swig of the juice before standing and began doing laps around the building to do some semblance of exercise. After around fifteen laps he collapsed onto the couch once more, grabbed the drink, and took another sip. He watched as the minutes ticked by before he knew it he was asleep.
000
"We're back!" Frye shouted as the door burst open, slamming against the wall. The plastic bag in her hand rustled from the impact.
Shiver sighed, "Frye, do you have to be so loud?"
"Sorry," she muttered. As she made her way inside, she noticed the human lying on his back with his eyes shut. She couldn't help but let out a small smile at seeing him sleeping so peacefully.
"Ay... (He must be exhausted...)" Big man says as he looked at him.
"Oh, he's waking up!" Frye whispered as she watched him stir before his eyes fluttered open. His eyes drifted toward us before he yawned, stretching outward.
"Good rest?" Shiver asked.
"Yeah," he murmured, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
He pushed himself up, "What's in the bag?"
"Food, gift." Frye said, holding the plastic bag out to him.
"Thanks," he replied as he took the bag, revealing a box of deep-fried shrimp. He took off the lid and took a bite out of one of them, sighing at the sounds of a satisfying crunch.
Frye sat down next to him, grabbing a piece out of the box before shoving it in her mouth. "I saw you on the television," he pointed out, munching on another piece.
Shiver's head perked up with a smirk, "Thought?"
He shrugged, "Couldn't understand, some kind of festival?"
Shiver frowned and muttered under her breath while covering her mouth with the same fan she had on the television. "Festival important," she said.
Frye asked Shiver something in their language, and she replied with a confident smirk. Noticing his confused look she simply stated, "Treasure hunt."
"Treasure hunt?" he asked.
"Us, hunt treasure... other job," she elaborated with a smirk.
"You're treasure hunters?" he asked in shock.
Frye smiled, "Yes."
"Is that... Is that how you found me?" he asked.
"Yes, got lucky," Shiver said.
"Technically I found him first," Frye said as she grabbed another shrimp.
Shiver flicked her fan closed, hitting it on the top of Frye's forehead causing her to drop the food on the floor. "You did not, we did."
Frye opened her mouth but was interrupted by Big Man "Ay! (Hey, are we still going to hunt for any treasure tonight? I found an interesting location.)"
Frye and Shiver walked over to him, "Yeah, well spill!"
"Ay! (It's near a nearby beach, there was some messed up technology; perhaps we could salvage it for some money.)
Shiver grinned, "Perfects, let's be on with it then!"
"Wait, what are we gonna do with him?" Frye points to the human.
Shiver looks over her shoulder, observing him poorly concealing his effort in eavesdropping. She snorted, shaking her head; "I suppose I can sit this one out. Just keep a fin out for her."
Frye pouted, "I can handle myself, y'know!"
"Sure, whatever you say," she rolled her eyes. "Just make this interesting, alright?"
"Ay! (Will do!)" Big Man nodded, motioning with his fin for Frye to follow him.
The human watched them two leave, "What's going on?"
"Treasure hunt," she explained.
"Why didn't you go with them?" he asked.
She shrugged, "Take care of you. Want to play television game?"
"Tele- oh, you have video games!?" he exclaimed.
She nodded, "Yes, many."
He grinned, "I thought you'd never ask."
000
"Ay! (Here is the area I found.)" Big Man said, pointing at the trash heap surrounding the beach. Waves crashed against the metal scraps scattered about.
"Woah, we hit a jackpot!" Frye's eyes widened. She rushed forward with excitement shining in her eyes.
"Ay! (Frye, wait up!)" he ran after her.
"Look!" she grabbed a metal device filled with wires. "I wander what this thing does," she turned it over, seeing a small red switch. Without any thought, she flicked it. The wires sparked causing her to fall to the ground, dropping it in the process.
"Ay! Ay!? (Frye! Are you okay!?)" Big Man rushed over to her. "Ay... (Shiver will kill me if something happens to you...)"
Frye sheepishly rubbed her head, "Sorry, I couldn't help it!"
The two of them walked along the beach. Rows of trash surrounded them, some the size of their hands while others towered over them. "How are we supposed to take everything? There's so much here. All we have is this sack." She took the off-white sack off her shoulders, grabbing small gizmos and gadgets.
"Ay. (I guess we have to make several trips)," he sighed. "Ay! (We got lucky that no one has touched this spot, probably because it's near water.)" As they walked passed broken machinery, Frye continued picking up trinkets that stood out. "Ay... (It's a shame, all of them are broken... I wonder how it got here.)"
"Come on, there's still a use for them! It's nothing impressive but it still can sell for some cash! Plus we can give it to historians or something," she says, crouching down and grabbing a metal box with a dial in the center. Plopping it into her sack she stood up, hoisting it on her shoulder. "This feels nostalgic, when's the last time it was only us hunting for treasure?"
"Ay... (It sure has been a while. I remember having to save your bass more than once.)" Big Man chuckled.
"Oh come on! I wasn't that bad!" Frye argued.
"Ay! (You were and still are!)" he laughed.
The two continued their banter while reminiscing. "Hey, what do you think about that human?"
"Ay! (I don't know, but this changes a lot! Who knows if there are more humans lying and waiting to be discovered?)"
"Right!?" she exclaims, starry-eyed.
"Ay... (Well, it looks like this is it)," he sighed.
"Wait, what's that?" Frye pointed to a small metal crate buried halfway in the sand while debris covered the top. She walked over, jumping over scraps. Unlike all the broken machinery, it was in perfect condition. Sure, it was dirty and had a dent, but other than that it held up. She grabbed handfuls of sand, making room so she can grab it. After a minute of digging, she grabbed it, observing it.
"Ay! (Be careful!)" he warned.
She tried to open it but to no avail. She continued to attempt to open it from every possible angle, her arms shaking before she dropped to the ground in defeat. "Why won't this stupid thing open!?" she grunts in frustration. She huffs before petulantly stuffing the box in the sack and tying it shut as Big Man watches in amusement. "Alright, let's-"
The ground trembled beneath them before collapsing. They fell downward, hitting concrete. She groaned, rubbing her head; she felt a sharp pain in her other hand. She looked over to see part of her hand submerged in water, she quickly retracted it, noticing parts of her hand dissolved in the water.
"Ay! (Are you okay, Frye!?)" Big Man's voice rang out through the tunnel. She stood up, patting her pants down before looking over at Big Man.
"Yeah, my hand submerged in water," she lifted her hand, revealing her missing fingers. "It'll grow back though."
He sighed in relief at this news, "Ay! (I suppose we should get a move on. This place gives me the creeps!)"
"Good thing I have- Oh carp! The sack!" Frye frantically looked around before spotting it floating in the water. "We need to get it back!" she rushed toward the direction.
"Ay! (Frye! Not again!)" Big Man huffed before chasing after her.
"You know I have to! It's important!" Frye chased after it, eventually catching up with it.
"Ay! (Come on Frye! There's more at the beach!)"
"Maybe, but I really want this! If only I could reach it! Could you help me, please?" she pleads.
Big Man looked at her, "Ay... (Fine...)"
The two of them followed the sack, eventually leading them to a sewer grate, stopping the sack from moving any further. "Alright, now what?" she asked herself. She reached outward but it was barely out of reach. "No good," she muttered as she stood back up.
"Ay! (I saw some old planks nearby, perhaps we could use that?)" Big Man suggested. Frye quickly agreed and followed him to a stack of wooden planks. They were worn with age as they could break at any moment; it was also thin, impossible for someone to stand on with two feet in front. He sighed, "Ay... (This is going to be a long day.)"
000
"Oh come on, how did you-" Shiver shouted in annoyance, mashing the buttons as she grits her teeth.
"You just have to get good," he laughed much to her annoyance. The two watched as the two pixelated characters clashed against each other on the screen. Shiver's character was a yellow octoling holding a large paintbrush while his character was a green inkling holding a gun similar to a toy.
Shiver blocked his barrage of attacks with her paintbrush. She was standing on a platform covered in green ink that was shot from his gun. He turned into a small squid, rushing into the ink, and swam past her before reforming into an inkling catching her off guard. He gave a swift kick to her back causing her health bar to plummet past the 25% mark.
"Agh! You must be cheating! That wasn't even fair, I couldn't do anything!" she grunted. She sprayed her yellow ink all over the ground, covering up his own. She swam in it, charging toward him; he sprayed some of his paint to prevent her from reaching him. She jumped over him at the last moment, reemerging into an octoling. The sounds of buttons rapidly clicking echoed through the room as she sent a barrage of attacks at him.
He managed to block one of her attacks before jumping through a grated platform above. Shiver grinned, "Take this!" she held a button on her controller before releasing sending a disk-shaped bomb that moved toward him before exploding, sending yellow ink around it. He jumped out of the way but his health dropped down to 30%.
He continued to shoot at her while making distance as she grew closer to him. Suddenly a rainbow-colored squid danced around the screen grabbing both of their attention. Without hesitation, the two stopped before bolting to it. Shiver jumped up, attacking the squid causing it to burst into light before absorbing into her avatar. A circular bar sectioned into 3 pieces filled up completely causing her to glow.
She pressed a button causing her to place a small tower with a ball that rapidly made yellow rings appear in a large area. He tried to run away and make it but was surprised when she jumped in front of him before attacking him with the brush, pushing him back into the ring.
He watched helplessly as the health bar rapidly depleted resulting in a game over. Shiver stood up, "Yes! Take that!" she raised her hands in the air before stopping in her tracks. "Er- I mean... It was good game," she flicked her fan open, covering her cheeks.
Suddenly the door shot open causing them to jolt. Frye stumbled into the room before dramatically falling to the floor. She gently caressed the carpet with a dopey grin on her face, "Finally! We're... we're home!" The sack dropped to the floor with a thud causing the two of them to stare at him.
"Ay... (W-We're back...)" Big Man walked passed the door, almost stumbling on Frye in the process.
"What happened?" Shiver asked, picking Frye up.
"Fell down a sewer... had to find the sack," she explained. Shiver picked it up, almost dropping it in the process.
"How... How is this so heavy!?" she grunts, heaving it over to the table. She untied it, spilling the contents all over. Picking one up, she turned it around; it was hollow beside a few wires sticking outward.
"Sorry, most of it is soaked... but there are a few good pieces," she smiled apologetically.
"What's that?" the human pointed to the white box.
"Buried... Can't open," she crosses her arms, her eyes staring at the box as if expecting it to open.
He grabs the box, and as soon as his fingers make contact, it let out a satisfying click.
"Alterna citizen registered: unlocking latches," a robotic voice called out. The case pops open revealing a small cylinder of wires dangled about in every direction. A stylized 'A' was printed on the front of the device. He stared at it, his eyes widening. Familiarity struck within him, that logo paired with the name Alterna resonated within him; yet, he could not understand why.
"Hey, you okay?" Shiver's concern tore him out of his daze.
"Y-Yeah," he stuttered out. He touched the strange device, finding a small button on the front. With a deep breath, he pressed it. The room was illuminated in a bright blue light, flicking lines danced around before everything stopped.
The trio stared at it in awe before Frye sighed, "Great, it broke too."
The human pulled the device outward, ripping some of the loose cables from the box. Shiver reached out to stop him, but as she looked into his eyes, she noticed a glint of familiarity within his eyes.
He looked at the wires in every direction, it wasn't just that name or the logo that struck him as familiar. It was the device itself, the wires, and the small components working in harmony to make it function; he knew what he must do.
He turned to the group and asked, "Do you have a garage?"
000
The sounds of shutters sliding open could be heard. "Geez, it's been ages since we've been here!" Frye spoke wistfully.
Shiver looked around the dim area, dust laced the cold concrete floor. "Please, don't remind me of the time we use THIS as a storage room for our treasure," rolling her eyes she walked over to the empty space with a fond smile.
"Ay... (It was pretty awkward to practice with all that cluster,)" Big Man chuckled, flicking a switch with his fin. As the lights flickered on, Frye sighed.
"So, now what?" she asks, spinning around to face them while leaning against a workbench made from cheap plywood.
Shiver shrugged, "I don't know, I guess we just get him what he asks for. As long as it isn't anything suspicious, I'm fine with it."
Frye hummed, kicking her legs, "I wanna know what he's doing with that thing. It seemed pretty important, but I don't know, this whole week has been weird."
Shiver laughed, "Yeah, he might be more useful than we thought."
"Ay? (Useful? You mean...)"
"No, not yet; I don't trust him enough to reveal that... maybe an unofficial member," she suggested.
"This is going to be a pain," Frye sighed.
Shiver covered her mouth with a fan, "Who said we would do it? Technically, it's his now; nothing more to it." She took a deep breath before breaking into a coughing fit, "A-Although it wouldn't help to clean it up just a touch."
The three of them agreed to help clean the place, scrubbing the floor and getting rid of the dust.
"Ay! (The question now is how are we gonna get the stuff, I don't think people would react well if someone long thought to be extinct causally shows up at a hardware store,)" he sighs.
Shiver stops scrubbing the floor, "Well, no one really knows what a human looks like besides skeletons and statues. Though it would draw attention, I suppose we should play it safe," She turns to Frye. "I have an idea. I want you to run to the hardware store on video call, then I'll translate what he says to you."
"Alright, but you owe me some burgers!" she says, wiping away some of the dirt with a wet rag. "Ugh, I hate working with water; how can something be so useful, yet wants to kill us?"
"We have rubber gloves for a reason," Shiver explains flatly.
"I know it's just-"
"Hey, when were you planning to tell me that you almost disintegrated your hand?" she cut her off.
"Huh?" Frye squeaked, "How did you- oh... I'm sorry, I didn't want to make a big deal out of it." She looked at the floor, frowning.
"Not a big deal?" She scoffed. "Frye, remember the time I went hunting for treasure in an old bunker and tripped the security system? I almost became something similar to tako sashimi. You called almost daily to check up on me and every time I would play it off. That face you made when you discovered my missing arm and leg... when you discovered that I lied for an entire week? You can't forget that. What happened to our promise after that?"
Frye winced, pausing before looking into Shiver's eyes. "I- Y-You're right... I'm sorry."
Shiver sighed in relief, "As long as you understand." A small smirk creased her mouth, "Just don't go off and break it again, okay?"
Frye grinned, "No promises."
000
Frye walked through the aisles of the hardware store, disguised in oversized sunglasses, a hat, and a fake mustache. She held her phone in one hand and pushed the shopping cart with the other, struggling to maintain balance.
Frye spoke into the phone, her voice muffled by the mask, "Okay, so the large giant saw? The one that looks like a medieval torture device? Got it."
As she looked around, people stared at her strange disguise before quickly averting their eyes. Frye shrugged off the attention and continued her quest for tools.
She reached a section filled with various saws, drills, and other gadgets. A blue jellyfish employee wearing an orange shirt approached her with a friendly smile. "Can I help you, miss?"
Frye looked up from her phone, startled by the jellyfish's voice. "Oh, um, yeah. I need something to drill holes with."
The jellyfish's eyes widened with excitement. "Ah, you mean a drill press?"
Frye blinked, struggling to recall the correct term. "Yeah, that thing!"
The jellyfish led her to a lower shelf, pointing at a box. "Here we have one of our finest drill presses! And guess what? It's currently 40% off!"
Frye's eyes lit up, hidden behind her sunglasses. "No way!"
The jellyfish nodded enthusiastically. "Absolutely!"
"Wow, thank you so much!" Frye exclaimed in her mind. She dropped the drill press into her cart and continued her shopping spree.
Shiver's voice came through the phone, breaking the silence. "He says he'll need a hammer too."
Frye scanned the aisle filled with hammers, hanging neatly on a metal wall. Her hand reached up, but as she grabbed a particularly heavy one, she lost her balance. "Uwah!" She stumbled backward, crashing into a display of paint cans.
Shiver's voice filled with concern. "Frye!? Are you all right?"
Frye groaned, picking herself up and inspecting the hammer. She shook it, and a soft rattling sound emanated from within. "Huh? Why would you need sand in a hammer!?"
Shiver sighed on the other end of the line. "Just... be careful."
Trying to regain her composure, Frye leaned against the aisle, not realizing that it was stacked precariously. Suddenly, it toppled over, causing a domino effect as shelves crashed into each other.
Frye stared wide-eyed at the chaos around her. "I... will."
Other shoppers and store employees rushed over, attempting to salvage the mess while casting puzzled glances at the disguised Frye. She sheepishly hid behind her cart, realizing her attempt at inconspicuous shopping had backfired spectacularly.
000
The human's body, no longer a sickly form stared at the trash pile in front of him as his eyes twitched. "W-W-W-What am I even looking at!?" he cried out, picking up a board of plywood. "And this!? Is that a dead blow hammer, what am I doing, carpentry!?"
Shiver stood behind him in amusement, "Good luck." Shiver turned around, leaving him to his devices. She saw Frye's expectant eyes light up.
"So, how does he like those new tools? I got him the best I could possibly buy!" Frye held out her fist in accomplishment.
"Well, he's-"
He stared at the wires, "Is that a normal hacksaw!?" She heard him cry in the distance followed by a flurry of curse words.
"He's excited," she said as her fan covered the grin on her face.
000
"That about does it..." he looked at the tangle of wires strewn across the room. Each fitting into a power tool, now that his setup was finished all he needed to do was build it. He looked at what Frye bought him along with the other junk that she found. He grabbed his only hammer, the dead blow hammer, and got to work.
Little by little, bit by bit, his hands became familiar with the tools. The more wires he crimped, the more electronic components he soldered; the more he felt at home. Even if some tools were less than desired, he managed to find ways to use them.
He thought for a moment, wondering if he was an engineer of sorts before he was frozen. He knew he was young, too young to have any meaningful job. What he did know is that he was familiar with machinery. He had hundreds of questions running through his head, the trio that had found him have been a good distraction but those thoughts never vanished. They helped him off his feet, perhaps this way, he could repay them.
For the entire week, he's been a freeloader; unable to be useful, he spent his days recovering. But now, he was back; he had a chance to repay them.
For the next week, he spent every day focusing on this project. Slowly making progress with only a few setbacks. "There we go," he muttered, wiping the sweat and dirt off his face. His knee ached from constantly being on the floor. Standing up he grinned at his handy work. Sure, it was rough around the edges, large cables from old human technology strewn across the floor, mixed with newer parts from the hardware store. But it was done, now all he needed to do was tell Frye, Shiver, and Big Man about the news.
A loud knocking startled him, "Food!"
"Coming!" he called out, walking to the door. Sliding it open, he saw the trio standing there with Frye holding a plastic bag. Grabbing it, he looked inside to see a box of fries along with a few sandwiches and sodas. As they walked inside, Frye made a high-pitched gurgling sound similar to a whistle. "Sorry for the mess, I didn't have time to clean up. But I finished it... I think."
Shiver looked at him, "Finished, impressed," her eyes sharpened with a teasing grin.
"Shut up..." he muttered, focusing on the machine in the middle.
The group walked to an isolated section of the garage where the floor was cleaner. This was not their first time visiting, they would usually come to check up on him during their lunch breaks. Naturally, as soon as they sat down, Frye instantly snatched one of the sandwiches followed by a soda.
"He said it was finished, right!?" she asked with excitement.
Shiver nodded, "Yes, he did say that... though it is messier than I thought."
"Ay... (I'm kind of nervous, it looks scary...)" Big Man muttered.
Frye took a sip, "Don't worry, it will be fine! I think..."
"No problems?" Shiver asked pointing to the machine.
"Should be fine..." he shrugged. He grabbed a sandwich from the bag, taking a bite before stretching.
"So, when will we get to see it?" Frye asked as Shiver relayed the question.
He grinned, "Now, if you want."
The trio looked at each other before nodding. They looked at him as he walked to the machine, pulling a switch with a grunt, the machine hummed to life. For arms extended outward, giving a soft blue light. He walked over and pressed a large red button, lines danced around the room before forming into a blue sphere.
Shiver gasped at the spectacle in front of her, Frye's sandwich dropped out of her hands while Big Man stared in awe. The sphere dissolved into an image of the Alterna logo. It switched to a static image of Earth with a question mark, 'Map required. Sending drones... FAILED... Connecting to satellites... FAILED... Communication... FAILED...' red warnings popped over the room.
'Attempting location of nearby bases... SUCCESS: One found. Displaying coordinates.' A list of coordinates is displayed, removing all the errors.
"This is incredible! We could use this for a lot of things!" Frye shouted in awe.
"Did good, tomorrow base," Shiver said with a pat on his back.
000
The four stepped inside the cold chamber with Shiver leading the group. "What do you think the human is thinking right now?" Frye whispered into Shiver's ear.
"Probably a lot of questions, he needs time to digest anything and has questions. Whatever this device is, it's important. Who knows, maybe we could sell it?" Shiver looks around the dark metal hall, and her nose twitches, "Ugh, this room is so stuffy."
"Problem?" The human asked in english.
"Uh," she paused thinking for a word to reply. "Smell bad."
He snorted before walking ahead, "I think there was something here, hold on."
The two girls looked at each other and shrugged, not fully comprehending what he said.
"Ay? (So, what are we looking for?)" Bigman asked. Shiver repeated the question.
"Door, I think," he responded, shining a flashlight on the walls.
After walking endlessly, they finally reach the entrance of the spherical room. The human walked around the room, trying to find clues. Now that there was no panicking, they notice more in the room that they had previously not seen before. A large metal door was placed behind a red scanner.
He placed his hand on it, but nothing happened. He sighed in frustration and turned to the others, "No power."
"What now?" Shiver asks.
"Find if there's a generator," he replies.
Shiver walks around the room, studying the walls; hollowed and unwelcoming.
The human looks at a small panel with a handle, he grabs it and pulls it up. Inside was a small lever which he flicks, flooding the area in broad light.
"Backup generator online. Warning: Power unstable. Fifteen minutes of power left," an automated voice called out through the building.
"What was that?" Shiver jumps.
"Power is unstable," he replied as he placed his hand on the scanner once more. The door slid open revealing a small room with a round disk in the center. A chair was placed right in the middle while a dangling cord hung from the ceiling.
"Ain't that convenient," He muttered. He walked up to the chair and sat down. He reached for the cord, pulling it further downward. "I need assistance."
Shiver walked up and grabbed the cord, "Where?" He bent down and pointed at a small metal hole in his head. Shiver reluctantly plugged it in causing him to wince. She immediately backed up, "Okay?"
He gave a thumbs up, causing her to sigh in relief. "Body detected, commencing. Warning: May cause pain or discomfort, will you proceed?"
"Y-Yes," He stuttered. Handcuffs and legcuffs closed around his body, preventing movement. His eyes widened in pain, letting out a gasp. His eyes rolled back before he lost consciousness.
"W-What did we just do!?" Frye screeched.
"Let's just w-wait and see what happens before we panic," attempted to calm her.
They waited for what felt like hours before the voice came on again, "Warning: Five minutes of power remaining."
"Ay, (I really hope nothing bad will happen once it's out. That IS what they said, right?)" Big man asked.
"Yeah, I believe so." She replied.
"Download complete," the voice said causing a sigh of relief from the others.
They all pitched in and carried the unconscious human back to their place. "Warning: One minute remaining," it called out.
"Oh, you have to be squidding me," Shiver mumbled. "Everyone, hurry. We have one minute!" They all scrambled, seeing their exit in the distance but with all of them carrying him, it slowed them down significantly. They scrambled up the hall and outside as they all look back.
All lights flicker off as it finally shuts down. Now all they needed to do was carry him all the way back.
000
His eyes slowly opened, revealing two familiar faces. "Shiver? Frye? Is that you?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.
"You're awake!" Frye exclaimed with a grin.
They both backed up, giving him space to sit up. "I guess I- huh?" he paused for a moment.
Their eyes widened. "Wait, I can understand you!?" They all screeched at the same time.
Words popped up in front of him, startling him. In the middle of his vision was a basic outline of a sun with the letters 'H.E.L.I.O.S.' circling it. The letters expanded revealing the full name: 'Hybrid Environmental Linguistic and Integrated Operating System.'
The letters fade before an outline of a human displayed with words, "Vital signs normal, all systems online. Welcome user."
His eyes widened, "Woah."
"What's wrong?" Frye asked.
"You can't see this?" he asked awestruck.
She shook her head.
"It's like, some kind of ai, I can see stuff about myself," he explained.
"Woah, that's amazing! What else can it do?" She asked her eyes sparkling with wonder.
"I think I can scan things, hold on- hey, Helios, what are your functions?" he asked. Text displayed, 'Primary functions: Translation, digital map (requires a visual map), Monitoring vitals, assistant, and auto-assist.'
He looked around, multiple displays detail coordinates and areas. "Do you guys have a map?" he asked.
Frye bounced up, "Uh, I think so?"
She rushed out of the room while Shiver looked at me with a raised eyebrow, seemingly out of amusement. After a moment Frye rushes back, laptop in hand. Clicking on the map program, he viewed the world map; his eyes widened at what he found. "What the..." he mumbled to himself in disbelief.
"What is it?" Shiver asked, peeking over my shoulder.
"T-This is all wrong, when did- when did the sea levels rise to this point!?" His heart started to beat quicker and he stood up, putting his hands on Shiver's shoulder tightly. "The others, there are others like me, right? Other humans? I'm not the only one, right?"
Shiver's red eyes looked into him before moving downward, "N-no, you're the first we've seen; we've labeled you humans extinct for twelve thousand years."
"T-Twelve- you're kidding, right?" His eyes grew with worry, begging for her to laugh it off as a cruel joke.
She hesitated before shaking her head, "I-I'm sorry..."
He let go and began to pace around the room, "This can't be happing. There have to be others, why would everyone just die? What about my friends?"
"Hey, calm down; we can figure-"
"Oh god, what about my parents!" He started hyperventilating.
A loud slap rang out from the room, and he looked at her in shock. "Calm down! You're scaring everyone!" Shiver shouts.
He turned his head to notice Frye made the distance between them, staring at him with wide eyes. Calming his breathing he looked at them with guilt, "Y-You're right, I'm sorry... I think I'm starting to remember things and I- I don't know what to do."
He slowly sat back on the couch with a defeated sigh. "Y-You're starting to remember?" Frye asked timidly.
"Y-Yeah, bits in pieces. I remember growing up in a facility, but I don't remember where. It was somewhere unreachable, but I don't get why I was isolated," he said while grabbing the laptop once more and staring at the map. "Do you have some kind of cord? I think I can transfer this data to my mind."
"Like what you did with the facility?" Shiver asked as she crossed her arms.
"Y-Yeah," he said, not looking up from the screen.
"What is that thing? I assume that's why you can suddenly talk to us," she pointed at the metal hole in the back of his head. Underneath, it had two USB ports.
"I think... it was something all of us had at the age of sixteen. Some kind of modification or something, I never heard of the 'Helios' program though," he thought about it, eventually shrugging it off for now in hopes of remembering later. Frye walked in with a double blue USB cable which he took, plugging it into the laptop while she assisted in putting the other end in him. He looked at her, "You guys use USB?"
She shrugged, "Yeah, a few historians dug up some artifacts which were later reconstructed or something like that. I don't really pay attention to that stuff."
He huffed, "That would have been useful to know, y'know!? It would have saved me time figuring out how to connect to your power! I use broken connection cords."
She rolled her eyes, "Now you know."
He focused his attention on the laptop, a green progress bar displayed slowly crawling towards the end. A small notification popped up, 'Alterna citizen 487 connected.'
"Alterna? There's that name again..." Shiver read the name out loud.
"I... I don't remember, it sounds familiar but my mind runs blank when I think about it," he said before stretching.
'Upload complete,' displayed in front of him. He unplugged the cord and threw it off to the side.
"It's done," he said with a stretch. A replica of a map faded into view, and as he looked around so did the arrow on the map. "Woah."
"How is it?" Frye asks in anticipation.
"It's so cool! It's like I'm playing some kind of videogame!" He gasped in amazement.
"Really?" her eyes light up in excitement.
"I mean, it's 2D; but it works," he nodded.
"You owe us for this, I hope you know? We jumped narrowly escaped the facility," Shiver crossed her arms.
"Huh? What do you mean?" he tilted his head.
"We escaped with a minute of power!" Frye elaborated.
"Wait, wait, wait! What did you think would happen if the power ran out?" he asked.
"Ay... Aay?(I don't know, the doors would have locked us out?)" Big Man questioned.
He snorted before laughing, "You think the doors would just... shut?"
"I don't know, that's what happens all the time in movies!" Frye argued.
He laughed, "Oh my god! Do you actually believe that? You watch too many movies!"
"S-Shut up!" Frye pouted.
"You can't blame us, the clock was ticking down. Anyone would react like that unless you humans are different?" Shiver asked.
"I guess..." he rubbed his head.
"Now that that's out of the way, I assume you want answers." Shiver said.
The trio proceeded to explain to me that 12,000 years ago when humanity perished, ocean life moved and evolved on land. They don't have an explanation for why they evolved so quickly, nor why water became lethal to them.
"So, you're saying we're in a place called Splatsville?" he asked.
"Yep! This is our territory, and no one can tell us otherwise!" Frye grinned menacingly while making a challenging gesture with her hands.
Something about Frye's daring personality spoke with him as he grinned, "I like your style!"
"Ay! (That's right human, and don't forget it!)" Big Man cheered.
"Hey, we've been calling you human all this time. We need a name if you don't know your own," Frye pointed out.
"That is true, it has been awfully exhausting calling you 'the human,'" Shiver pointed her closed fan at him.
"I don't really know what a good name is," he rubbed his head.
"John?" Frye suggested.
"Absolutely not!" Shiver hit her with the fan. "If he's going to be part of us, unofficially, of course, he's going to need a good name."
"Wait, you don't mean..." Frye's eyes sparkle with excitement.
"He'll be given a trial run, of course, we have SOME standards after all." She mused at him, "Now about that name, what about Riptide?"
"Riptide? Sounds like a villain name, yet it somehow suits me..." he pointed out. "I'll take it!"
"That name sounds so cool!" Frye grinned.
"All right Riptide, you think you can catch up with us?" Shiver smirked.
Author's Notes:
I haven't uploaded it in a while due to college in the fall. But that's not the point, the point is; I have been working on two other fics: this is one of them.
I have been working on this for a couple of months with other projects, so when I get writer's block, I could switch to another fic and so forth. I like making stories that are unique. I always wanted a fanfiction story based around a human joining Deep Cut, but couldn't find one. So I decided to make one that takes place one year before Splatoon 3, giving more time to Deep Cut and how Riptide fits into the story without disrupting the main events.
What do you think? Give me your thoughts so far, I think it will be interesting.