The Big Run - Part 1
You are watching the Anarchy Splatcast, live with DEEP CUT
Shiver tapped her fan down as per usual. "Listen up! It's going down… Repping the Splatlands, we are Deep Cut!"
"Anarchy Splatcast, we're live, yada yada." Frye continued. "You know how this goes."
"I guess it's too late to go to the bathroom…" Big Man frowned.
"Anyway!" Shiver suddenly exclaimed. "We have very important news!"
"What?" He feigned cluelessness for the camera. "What's so important?"
"It's a very important update!" Frye shot her fists upward. "It has to do with the fate of Splatsville!"
"The fate of Splatsville!? Aw, man, now I really wish I went to the bathroom…"
Shiver gave the camera an earnest look. "Don't go into a panic, but I need you to listen. This is very important, so follow our instructions carefully."
"Tonight, very serious events are gonna go down and we need all hands on deck." Frye continued.
"Oh, yes, because tonight…" Big Man continued.
"Tonight…" Shiver said. "Everything changes."
"Eeeverything changes."
"Yes… tonight… we will be invaded by-"
"Our next concert, baby!" Frye again shot her hands upward. "Shiver, Frye, and Big Man, up on stage, bigger and better than ever, ready to rock the fuck out of Splatsville!"
Shiver tapped her fan down. "So get your anarchy on, Splatlands, because tonight will be a party so destructive that not even the best of us will-" She was interrupted as the Splatcast briefly fizzled out.
The three of them all noticed, looking ahead. "Alright, what the hell? I was really into that line." She continued.
Frye groaned. "Crew guys, get your shit together."
"Hold on, is… is our feed actually being inva-" Big Man tried to ask.
The Splatcast again cut out and was replaced by a single-tone error screen, followed by a warning screen that was accompanied by a terrifying Emergency Alert System alarm.
Emergency
Emergency
Finally, the Grizzco Industries logo came on, taking up the entire screen. Its image glitched fairly often as it fought with the Splatcast feed for control.
Warning from Grizzco Industries:
Emergency Order
Big Run Imminent
As the alarm finished, the familiar radio voice of Mr. Grizz took over everyone's screens. "I should have figured that I could not rely on your typical generic news channels to report on this important news, but that's why you're all lucky you have me instead. People of Inkadia and the Splatlands, listen up. Your cities are going to be invaded."
A distorted video with an overhead view of a Salmonid army, marching forward on land somewhere, popped up on screen.
"As you may or may not know, I've been following Salmonid activity for a long time. I've studied their behaviors and their patterns closely, and their capacity for aggression has only grown tenfold, so trust me when I say, the signs of an incoming Big Run are clear. They have already started to push forward onto land and currently have almost the entirety of their forces. This is not a joke, or a drill, or whatever you may be thinking. Their attack will be sudden, and from directions you will not expect. If you want to survive, you will need to listen to my warnings carefully."
An overhead shot of Splatsville then appeared, followed by a feed of a Salmonid army marching somewhere in the very same Splatlands. "People of Splatsville? I'm especially talking to you. Due to the careless, lawless nature of your desert, you are not prepared for a Big Run. And the Salmonids know this." Next, the same feed showed a bird-eye-view shot of Cohozuna, who unleashed a roar so powerful that the camera shook. "The invasion on your city will be more concentrated, and you will swiftly be overwhelmed if you do not take action. If this happens, your city will crumble in a night and none of you will be able to do a thing about it. From there, the Salmonids' power and strength will grow, and it will only become easier for them to invade other cities. Do not mistake my words. This is everyone's fight, and I now ask of you, every single able-bodied individual, to go to your nearest Grizzco Industries facility so that we can quell the invasion. Your world's fate is now in your hands."
Then, just as suddenly as the hijack happened, the feed casually returned to the Splatcast, with Shiver, Frye, and Big Man all sitting there, stunned. Subtle sounds of panic could already be heard from outside the studio.
Shiver gulped nervously. "Ummm… about that concert?"
"MY MOM!" Big Man suddenly knocked down his TV as he ran away in a panic. "I HAVE TO CALL MY MOM!"
Frye got up and ran after him. "Big Man! Calm down!"
Shiver gave one last worried look at the camera before the feed cut off.
A helicopter flew over the city of Splatsville as word about the incoming Big Run spread, and more and more panic began to spread throughout the streets. Syd Lachman, however, remained largely unaware of what was going on; In fact, she was actually having a pretty decent day. She felt like she was adjusting to Splatsville a bit more, she was now friends with Sally, and she still had Johnny and the ever-lovable Chase around in her life, who was still by her side, bouncing as he always did. She had of course noticed some of the panic throughout the city, but had dismissed it as typical Splatsville nonsense, and instead chose to focus on her own business, which was currently waiting for her cake at the cake shop.
She casually tapped her foot until the shop owner walked over and set the box with the cake inside on the counter. He sighed. "Tell the poor sucker who's birthday or whatever you're celebrating, I'm sorry it had to be now."
"What? I'm not celebrating a birthday. I was just in the mood for cake." She opened the box and collected some of the frosting with her finger. "Mmm." She then leaned down to feed some to Chase, who happily licked the frosting off her finger.
"Just getting a last meal, then?" The shop owner continued.
She looked at him. "What the fuck? No. I'd hardly consider cake a meal."
He shrugged. "Well, enjoy it while you can, either way." He walked away.
"Jeez, aren't you a cynic?" She muttered as she closed the box. "C'mon, Chase."
Chase bounced and followed her as she headed out. She carried the box the whole way down the sidewalk, up until she noticed a lonely teenage girl who was crouched against the wall, sobbing to herself.
She stopped in front of her. "H-Hey, uh… you ok?"
The girl sniffled. "I'm too young to die…"
Not knowing what she was talking about, but immediately assuming the worst and feeling bad, she glanced at her box before she held it forward. "Hey, uh… do you want some cake?"
She looked up at her. "W-Why?"
"Well, I just thought that, you know, you could use some cheering up. I think it's always good to remember that… the world spins on. You know? The world isn't endin-"
Upon hearing that, she started sobbing harder.
"Ok, ok!" She held the box back and awkwardly kept walking. "I suppose I could've worded that better." She muttered to herself.
From there, she kept walking, remaining as unaware as a butterfly of the impending doom and gloom around her until she got a call. Pulling out her phone and seeing that it was Johnny, she quickly straightened herself before she answered. "Hellooo?"
"Syd, are you ok? Where are you?"
"Oh, I just left the cake store. I told you I wanted some."
"Nothing's happened where you are yet?"
She awkwardly looked around. "I mean… there was a girl that was acting weird, but otherwise, just the usual noise."
"I think you should come home, quickly."
"Oh, uh…" She blushed. "You… really wanna see me that badly? Or do you just want cake that badly?"
"You, please."
She blushed harder. "J-Johnny, I… I-I didn't know you thought that highly of me. I don't… Wow, I don't know what to say."
"What? Syd, didn't you see the news?"
"No. Again, the news are a bit too chaotic, so why would I pay attention?"
"I don't know how long we have, so please, come home! There's going to be a Big Run soon."
She paused. "…A big what?"
Lieutenant Grant Johnson Addresses Big Run Concerns
"I know there have been a lot of concerns about a potential Salmonid invasion on our city, but I can assure you, the public currently does not have anything to worry about." The Inkopolis Police Department officer spoke on Johnny's TV. He was visible standing on his podium behind his microphone stand, and was completely surrounded by press, who were all pointing cameras, lights, and microphones at him. "Not only is the whole of our Department dedicated to protecting all of our citizens, but our personnel are cooperating with KRAKEN forces and are monitoring all possible entrances and exits to the entire city, including in the sewer system. It is not confirmed there will be a successful Big Run at this time, this has all been overblown."
Syd, Johnny, and Sally were all listening in Johnny's living room; Syd and Johnny were on the couch, where Syd was curled up, while Sally was pacing.
Syd turned the volume down. "Ok, great, so we don't actually have anything to worry about."
Sally looked at her. "That's for Inkopolis, dumbass."
"Ok? What's the difference, smartass?"
"How little do you pay attention? Inkopolis has law enforcement, they actually have defenses, whereas we here in the Splatlands kinda sacrificed all that when we decided to tear down the oppressive and go the anarchy route."
"We have no law enforcement or regulation of any kind here." Johnny added. "So no police, no military-"
"We're completely defenseless. It's why Mr. Grizz is asking us citizens to go work with him to quell the invasion."
Syd felt a lump in her throat as the situation fell on her more and more. "There's- It can't just end like that, though, I mean… What if someone comes to help us?"
Johnny suddenly grabbed the remote and leaned forward, turning the TV volume back up. "Hold on, I actually think they're addressing that."
Indeed, a moment later, they could hear a reporter off-screen asking the same question they were thinking. "Lieutenant Johnson, does KRAKEN or any other military branch have any plans to protect Splatsville in the neighboring Splatlands?"
"Uhhh…" Johnson looked down. His facial expression held nothing but doom and regret for that particular question. "No comment on that… No comment."
Johnny sighed and turned off the TV. "Yeah, we're fucked."
Syd stared at the screen in disbelief. "So… that's it."
A long sigh escaped Sally's mouth. "Could be."
Syd now found herself staring ahead at nothing, with her eyes trained on the blank TV without actually paying attention to it. Anger began to build up in her… She was just starting to feel at home here. She was just starting to feel like she might actually have a place here. Then, the city of Splatsville just had to come up one last time… and throw a baseball as hard as it possibly could at her crotch. The question was… for what? Was this city cursed or something? Was the universe just toying with her at this point?
After bringing her gaze down as these thoughts ran through her head, she turned to look at Johnny, who silently looked back at his own somewhat distressed look, even if it was more hidden. That single look was enough to nearly send her into a panic attack, and she abruptly stood up. "Alright, guys, this has been fun-"
"Fun?" He stood up as well.
She walked over to locate and grab some of her things. "Yep, we certainly had adventures here. I'll, uh… treasure them forever. If I survive."
"Woah, woah, hold on." He followed her. Sally trailed him from behind. "We don't know for sure that this is the end, Syd."
"I dunno, this sounds like a lotta doom and gloom to me." Syd grabbed a duffel bag and started packing up her clothes.
"Welcome to Splatsville." Sally nonchalantly grabbed a beer can and opened it.
Syd briefly stopped to shoot her a glare.
"Syd." Johnny put a hand on her shoulder. "What are you doing?"
"What do you think I'm doing? I'm getting the hell out of here."
"Where? Where are you gonna go?"
"I… I guess my old home in the junkyard. That place has always served me well. Well enough for survival, at least."
Sally, who was now drinking her beer, sighed. "If the city falls, that place will become Salmonid turf as well."
"Then I'll figure it out." She kept packing the small remainder of her clothes and started walking around the apartment to look for other things she might need.
"Syd." Johnny kept following her. "Please stop, and think."
"Why?" She stopped and turned to face him. "Why would I want to stay? Why would you want to stay?"
"Because we still have a fighting chance to save this place. It's why Mr. Grizz is hiring to set up defenses. We'll go to him, and we'll fight the Salmonids off."
She scoffed a bit. "Johnny… it's not like this city has done anything for us. Has it? Why would you want to save it?"
"Because I'm one of the idiots who lives in it! Look around. This is our home. I am a resident of Splatsville, and like it or not, you are too. We have memories here… adventures. I'm not gonna just throw those away like they're nothing."
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, give me a break." She briefly turned away from him, but again turned back to him as he grabbed her arm.
"Syd. You don't have to go. Come on. Would you prefer saving the city… or going back to the same junkyard that you were wasting away time in?"
"You could come with me, you know… We could go somewhere else." She looked him in the eye, and then even looked back at Sally. "All of us. We can take Chase and leave. And we can still have… plenty of adventures. Can't we?"
Neither of them responded. Sally looked down as if she was considering it, but after a moment, she just kept drinking her beer.
Syd scoffed again. "Seriously? We're seriously gonna risk our skins for the city of chaos, of all places?'
Sally shrugged. "It's not ideal…" She looked at her. "But it's home."
Johnny glanced back at her, smiled at her, and looked back at Syd, awaiting her decision.
Syd stared back, feeling like she was slowly losing her mind. She had absolutely no interest in really risking her life for this city… but… for her friends? If they weren't gonna leave with her… then…
"...Fine." She pulled herself from Johnny's grasp. "Fine. But I better not live to regret this."
"You won't. I-I mean, you will. I mean, you'll live, but you won't regret it, though."
She sighed. "So, uh… what do we do now, then?"
Grizzco Industries
"Here we stand at the end of times as we know it." Mr. Grizz's terrifying radio voice said. "This is not a task for the faint of heart. I don't work with babies. Today, some of you may be babies. But when you walk out of here and into the heart of battle, you will be men. Fully grown cephalopods. If you prove to be any less, your city will fall like a god damn hay stack blown down by a gust of wind. There will be no whining. There will be no complaining. Here, you will be beaten into shape, and it will be under my rules. My leadership. Because your society abandoned you. While I'm here, let me remind you of something. If this city does fall, it will be no one's fault but your own, letting Splatsville get to the state that it's in. Your very existence now hinges on all of you. Do you understand?"
A group of potential Grizzco workers for the Big Run was lined up in the Grizzco Industries building like soldier trainees in a stationary drill. "Yes, sir." They all replied, largely out of sync.
Mr. Grizz's statue itself was on a cart that was being pushed back and forth by a Jellyfish intern. "What was that? I didn't hear you."
"Yes sir." They all replied in better sync, louder this time.
"Good. Because I'm not messing around, and the Salmonids won't be either. They will attack in large numbers, directly from the sewers and the surrounding desert. The more concentrated attacks will be coming in on set locations in the city. Most of you will be stationed there. So before we get you there for the big fight, we need to make sure that each of you are ready to face the Salmonids. Whether you've worked for Grizzco before or not."
Syd, who was standing next to Johnny and Sally, looked down somewhat. She had, indeed, worked with Grizzco before, and it was an experience she hated. She was absolutely not in a rush to do it again. She sighed deeply.
A moment later, the Jellyfish suddenly pulled the cart toward her. "Looks like I'm boring some people already." Mr. Grizz spoke up as the cart was positioned in front of her.
She looked at the radio. "Oh, no, I-"
"If you don't want to be here, I suggest taking your sorry ass back home and waiting for the end. Hesitant people are only going to slow us down." He paused. "In fact… you, in particular. I remember you. It wasn't long ago. You got tripped up at Cohozuna's arrival and nearly ruined that whole job."
Before Syd could respond, Johnny sighed as well. "With all due respect, Mr. Grizz, that was our first job with you. That's why we're here, isn't it? To get better?"
"I'm sorry, who are you?" He remarked.
"They're both with me, Grizzy." Sally spoke up. "Remember? They were fill-ins for one day, you can't have expected her to perform perfectly. And I can assure that we will, uh… perform perfectly from here on out."
"...For all of our sakes, you'd better be right." The Jellyfish kept pushing the cart along as Mr. Grizz kept speaking. "Time to live up to my words then. Time to shape you all up into soldiers. With the best method I know."
"RrrrAAHHH!" The sound of a Chum shrieking loudly could be heard as the dummy balloon Chum, with its tongue sticking out and arms outstretched for attack, appeared from the ground and lunged forward.
One girl screamed dramatically at its sudden appearance, but everyone else kept up what they were doing: practicing their aim and strategies on various Salmonid dummies around the small metal island in the bay they stood on, which had apparently been converted into a new training ground by Grizzco Industries.
"I've known that the Big Run was coming for a while." Mr. Grizz would explain to a few people, now being pushed around on a new cart by the same bored Jellyfish servant. "It's why I whipped this place up. It's still not perfect, but it'll do. Now, get back to work. I'm not paying you for chit-chat."
Syd looked around at the various people that were now training, working as hard as they could on Mr. Grizz's practice scenarios. People were fighting off waves of dummy Salmonids and practicing old and new strategies on simulated Salmonid bosses, something that already reminded her greatly of her recent Salmon Run experiences she had gone through. She briefly looked downward and sucked in a breath, swinging and stretching her arms randomly as she fought off those memories, before she kept looking around, silently watching and examining to see which strategies were the most efficient. It didn't seem to be anything that she couldn't handle with some practice, which did give her some relief, but the more she looked around, she… noticed something.
Much to her confusion, just like in an ordinary Salmon Run, one of the main goals of this practice appeared to still be collecting eggs from the Salmonids and taking them to the central basket. She squinted her eyes. Was it just a part of the training? Was it used to practice people's cardio or something?
She kept watching until she saw Johnny come up and place his own fake eggs in the basket. He panted and wiped himself off, taking a small break as he leaned against the basket wall, hunching forward.
Seizing the opportunity, Syd walked over to him. "Hey. What're… you all collecting the eggs for? Seems a little redundant if the goal here is stowing off an apocalypse, doesn't it?"
He looked at her and shrugged. "Dunno. Figured it was just a part of the training, you know, used to practice our cardio or something."
She rolled her eyes. "Just… seems a little random."
He then stood up straight, doing some quick stretches. "I'm sure Mr. Grizz knew what he was doing when he set this place up. Believe me. Dude knows things."
She folded her arms as she looked over at the cart with Mr. Grizz's bear statue on top. "Yet, we don't even know what he is."
He glanced over as well. "True, but, now's probably not the time to question it."
She then turned to stare at Johnny instead. "…You are way too relaxed about this."
"What do you mean?" He looked back at her.
"I dunno, the world's ending, we're all gonna be fish food, and you don't have a care in the world. How do you do it?"
"Of course I care, Syd. I wouldn't be here if I didn't. I just… take this one step at a time, is all. One foot in front of the other, without worrying about the future too much."
She sighed. "That's how I was living before I… ran into you… now I'm…" She leaned against the basket as well, folding her arms. "It feels like it's just been one bad thing after the other since."
"Hey." He turned to face her fully. "You can't mean that."
"Yeah, I do."
"No, hey." He pulled her so that she was facing him fully as well, holding her arm. "Are you seriously telling me that in the time I've known you, you don't have a single happy memory here?"
She didn't respond, staring into his eyes.
Johnny raised an eyebrow, awaiting her answer.
"I didn't-" She sighed. "-Mean it like that… Of course I have some good memories here…"
"Some really good ones, right?"
"...Yes." She admitted.
"Then why isn't it enough? Why can't those be your anchor? I've told you, several times at this point, there are still good times to be had here."
She kept staring into his eyes as she listened to his words. For that moment, one sweet moment, she fully believed him. Although in the moment, it wasn't really Splatsville as a whole she was thinking about, it was him… His deep eyes, his gorgeous dark skin, his long flowing hair, his caring warmth, his comforting presence… In this moment, she felt more connected to him than ever before. She started leaning toward him, ever so slightly. "…I think you might be too good for this shitstain of a desert."
He shook his head, although he didn't break eye contact. "I'm just another guy trying to do my part in this place."
Her hand tenderly reached up to grab onto the net on the basket. "And what is your part?"
He shrugged slightly. He was slowly leaning in as well. "Survive. Thrive. With people like you."
The space between them was almost broken as they leaned forward more, and more… "And… what's so special about me?" She almost whispered.
"Are you kidding?" He replied, with his voice almost as quiet. "You're Syd Lachman. From that day I met you in that junkyard… from the moment we sat together on that tower… the way you fought, the way you talked, the way you cared for Chase, the way you… lived… there was… something about it. Something new. Something fiery."
Her hearts were racing more and more, and she was almost drooling through her mouth that was open ajar. "I think you brought that fire out in me."
"Maybe I did." He smiled and slowly closed his eyes.
She was about to close her own eyes and grab his shoulder when at that very second, a loud alarm attacked their ears, startling them both. She grimaced and leaned away from him.
"Defensive positions, everyone." Mr. Grizz announced over the loudspeakers. "And I do mean everyone. There will be no slacking for the arrival of a King Salmonid- only life or death."
Of course, a massive Cohozuna balloon was rapidly blowing up at that moment from just outside the training ground, and its roar blasted through the area from the same loudspeakers.
Syd rolled her eyes. "Oh, for fucks sake… seriously?"
As the Cohozuna balloon continued on its path forward, with a light inside that allowed it to glow, everyone stopped what they were doing to engage it.
Johnny had apparently already moved on from their moment at the snap of a finger, and grabbed his weapon as he walked to join everyone else. He briefly stopped to turn to her. "You coming?"
She stared at him, somewhat hurt. "…Yeah, give me a second."
He ran off to join the fight, and Syd just stood back as she watched in bewilderment. She was still the only one here who just did not give a shit about this silly training gig, and as she looked around, she saw every breathing person in the area grab their weapons to charge at 'Cohozuna' all at once. She watched as they trampled each other like, ironically, Salmonids would, each trying to claim the last shot for themselves, or get the most fake eggs, or whatever they wanted to accomplish out of this. She stood where she was, pondering if she even still wanted to get involved, until… ultimately, she took another step back and leaned against the basket once again, watching the chaos.
She watched as a few moments later, a couple Inklings ran past her. "Hey!" One of them stopped to face her. "What are you doing!? Help!"
She glanced at the balloon before she turned to him. "You know, I'd rather just watch the fire burn on this one."
"Mr. Grizz is gonna detract our final score if we don't all participate-"
"Just leave her, let's go!" His friend tried pulling him away.
Regardless, he walked by Syd to aggressively bump her shoulder. "Lazy bitch!"
Syd glared at him, extremely irritated, as she now reverted her attention to watching them collect some fake eggs to use against Cohozuna.
Once they had their eggs locked and loaded, they ran back down the same path in the opposite direction. This time, Syd stuck her leg out to trip him.
"Guh-!" He faceplanted on the ground, dropping his eggs.
"What the hell!?" His friend stopped to face her.
She lowered her leg. "Oops."
He helped him up, and he angrily held his bleeding nose, recollecting some of his eggs as he glared right back at her.
She smirked at him this time, as he decided to save this for another moment and rush back into action. She watched as, just like the others, he rushed headfirst into the fake battle with clear intentions of being the best. She stayed in this same position until the Cohozuna balloon retreated to its starting point, turned off its internal light, and folded back up.
"The Cohozuna has retreated." Mr. Grizz announced. "But not because you injured it. Because you bored it half to death. What are you all doing? I need you all focused on unleashing hell on these things. Otherwise, we're all gonna lose. You hear me? I'm detracting a big load from your overall score until all of you learn. And I mean all of you."
As several of the trainees looked around and muttered to each other in disappointment, Johnny and Sally both looked in Syd's direction, able to tell she was the one who sat it out. She looked down and turned away.
They weren't the only ones to notice. More and more people were noticing Syd and just how little she was doing. More and more people were glaring at her.
"Here comes another wave. Get back to work." Mr. Grizz continued as another legion of Salmonid balloons appeared.
This time, Syd moved around some more just to pretend like she was doing something, but she was still just wandering around, watching everyone go into tryhard mode around her. Some people were even getting frustrated, apparently upset they didn't have a higher score. She glanced at Johnny and Sally, who were also focused on their training, and sighed.
Then came break time. Mr. Grizz gave his last announcement for the time being, and gave everyone 15 minutes before the next wave would appear.
Syd took the opportunity to plop down and take a seat near the island's edge, staring out at the bay and resting her chin on her hands. It was at this moment, more than in most recent times that she just… wanted to return to her old home in the junkyard. Away from all the noise and all these assholes that now surrounded her.
Maybe she could get Johnny to go with her, and hey, maybe even Sally. They could make a home for themselves and never look back. She knew she could convince them to do it eventually. What did they have to lose in this city, really?
As she pondered this, the same Inkling who had fallen onto his face before approached her from behind. "Enjoying the scenery?"
"Yep." Syd replied nonchalantly.
"All on your lonesome?"
She sighed. "You wanna hit on me, go someplace else."
"Oh, don't you worry. Nobody in their right mind would wanna hit on a lazy shithead like you."
She turned back to look at him, noticing that he wasn't alone. He was accompanied with several other angry trainees, and they all had a bone to pick with her.
"I bet no one on the face of this entire planet even loves you." He continued as he got closer to her. "Probably a sad lonely girl who never got taught manners. Hell- I wouldn't be surprised if you got raised by the Salmonids themselves. I bet you'd prefer to live with them."
She silently clenched her fist as she stood up. "Keep talking shit. I'll show you what one can do."
They all laughed at that, as the two of them angrily stared each other down.
"Oh, no…" Johnny looked over as he noticed the situation.
"Ooh, drama." Sally folded her arms.
"Why don't you show me?" The guy continued. "See if you can even make my nose bleed again before I stomp on yours."
She shoved him. "Back off, dipshit."
He laughed in response. "Looks like my words cut you deep-" He suddenly punched her. "How's it all feel!?"
She recoiled and held her own nose for only a moment before she retaliated with her own punch. In the ensuing back-and-forth brawl, she could only do so much as everyone ganged up on her, handicapping her. She screamed and struggled against them as one of them grabbed her Tri-Stringer.
"Hey! Let go of tha-" She watched as multiple trainees grabbed it and started breaking it apart. She growled loudly. "FUCKING SHITHEA-" She tried shoving one of them off, only to get punched another time. And another time. And another time.
"Hey, stop it!" Johnny and Sally tried to stop them, but they too could only do so much as Syd was beat on.
Syd tried her best to fight back, but only lasted another moment or so before she was promptly shoved into the bay.
Later
Grizzco Industries
After recovering from being splatted, Syd was now laid down on a metal table where she blankly stared at the wall, now bruised and bleeding in multiple places as she silently wheezed to herself. If it wasn't for Mr. Grizz himself stepping in and ordering everyone off of her, she probably would've been straight up killed in that confrontation… and there's nothing she could've done about it. Hence, she was left here, absolutely defeated and furious.
Johnny came over with some pain medications for her. He sat down on the table's edge as she handed her the pill bottle. "Here you go, Syd."
Syd silently and slowly took the pills, swallowing a couple.
Sally came over next, with Chase in her hands. "And here's your little buddy."
Chase bounced off of her hands and onto Syd's lap. Syd stared blankly at him, petting him somewhat.
As Sally stepped back and stuffed her hands in her pockets, Johnny stayed right there for her friend. "Tough day, huh?"
"You're telling me…" She muttered as she rested her head again, staring up at the ceiling. "This city is just shit and misery and it isn't worth saving…" She finally admitted to them out loud.
He shook his head. "You can't mean that. A few bad apples doesn't represent the whole tree-"
"Oh my god, not the corny-ass-bad-apples whatever." She covered her face.
He sighed. "Look, just… rest it off. We're not gonna make you stick with us at Grizzco, I just… want you to be ok."
She looked at him. "So you're going to stay and you're going to keep training."
"Why would we stop? I'd rather be prepared."
She finally sat up. "…We can still just leave, you know. All of us. We don't have to stay here and get mauled to death-"
"Syd…" He sighed.
"I'm dead fucking serious, Johnny." She looked him in the eye. "It doesn't just have to… end like this."
"It won't, Syd. Look, how about I take you home? I think you need some real rest."
She sighed and instead looked down. It took a moment for her to respond. "…Fuck it. I'll just go alone. You two can keep training…" She stood up.
He did as well, concerned. "You sure you don't need anything else from us?"
She hesitated another moment. "…No." She started walking toward the door.
Seeing how odd she was acting, she again stepped toward her. "Syd, I think I should come with you-"
"Just let me walk, and think!" She suddenly snapped.
He backed up, a little hurt. Syd headed out the door as the two of them watched.
Sally folded her arms. "Dang. Just around when I was starting to like her."
Johnny just sat down in disappointment as he rubbed his hands together, thinking as well.
Elsewhere
As the Splatsville population focused on their training, the very real Salmonids were making their own preparations. They now held nothing but focus and determination for the coming invasion.
Cohozuna himself had just slid onto land from the bay, blankly staring ahead at the distant outline of Splatsville. He was unmoving, uncalculating, just… waiting. Waiting for his next sign.
Soon enough, he was joined by Horrorboros, whose snake-like posture slid onto land and rose his head. "Preparationsss are ssset. Our children… they are ready."
He didn't otherwise move as he responded. "Good. Will there be resistance?"
"Ssso far… none have crossssed usss. They ssseem unprepared. We are prepared. Are you ready?"
"I am ready. But I am too big for the coming plan."
"Then sssit… and watch. It will not matter. They will not sssee thisss coming. What we ssseek… Judgement. Judgement will come."
Cohozuna slowly nodded. "Judgement. Salvation. Freedom. Freedom from the big one."
"Freedom from the big oooonnneee…" Horrorboros nodded before he effortlessly slid back into the sea.
Syd and Chase walked down the streets of Splatsville, randomly and without destination. She had quite a bit of thinking to do before she could consider going back home and resting like had been requested. It seemed that there was very little chance of this situation working out in her favor… so what was she supposed to do? Was she really going to back to the junkyard by herself and watch Splatsville burn?
She knew one thing, she didn't want to stay and fight for it. Especially if it was just going to lead her to a painful death, and this recent incident had sealed that deal. She gave one last sad look around, as her realization hit her like a truck… no matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise…
There was nothing for her here. This city and the people in it were cursed.
She looked back down at Chase. She couldn't read his mind, with every thought in that mysterious little brain of his, but she knew what he wanted. He wanted to stay… and she was going to have to pull him along against his will if she wanted to keep him. A wave of guilt washed over her as she realized this. "…Come on, Chase."
Chase still followed her loyally, no matter what. Perhaps he would come along with her either way, she didn't know. She just knew that he'd be upset about it. So would Johnny… and so would everyone else she's leaving to die in this hellscape of a city.
She kept walking on, thinking carefully about it, before she noticed something: She was stepping into shallow water. She looked down, confused, before she looked around at the street. The area around her was slowly flooding, and more people that surrounded her were starting to notice.
She kept speed-walking forward so that she could get out of there before the water started to flood too much, all the while wondering where it was coming from. There was no signs of rain, no nearby bay, not even a fire hydrant. She kept speed-running and looking around desperately, when her gaze was brought up to the sky. It was the weirdest thing she had ever seen, but… the sky was slowly turning red. In the distance, seven rings that had been subtly forming in the clouds had only become more visible.
"What in the actual god-damn fuck?" She kept moving, extremely unnerved. This was some straight-up Armageddon shit going on. Chase just followed as he always did, splashing around in the water, which started to become deeper and deeper.
Salmonid growls then filled the air. She paused as she looked around, looking in all directions. It wasn't long after that she noticed the source of the flood; the surrounding manholes were leaking intensely as sewer water steadily gushed out, lifting the manhole covers off. The growls only got louder as Syd watched, eyes wide.
She had hoped to never confront the Salmonid army ever again… but now, she had no choice. The invasion had begun. Pouring from the sewers was an army of Chums, Smallfries, and eventually Cohocks, coming out from several of the nearby manholes. A Cohock roared loudly as his brethren charged forward, head pointed at the sky.
The pedestrians that were in the area collectively screamed as they were attacked by the onslaught. These fishes were more aggressive than she previously imagined, and were going for the kill. Syd turned around in circles, watching in a panic as multiple people were dragged into the sewer water and mauled.
The water that was surrounding her only got deeper, and some Salmonids were getting closer to her, with her now in their sights. She reached for her trusty Tri-Stringer, only to remember… it was broken. She was defenseless.
She whimpered in panic, looking down at Chase. "On my shoulder!"
Chase obediently leapt up and held onto her as Syd ran in the safest direction she could see. Before she could get far, more Salmonids turned a corner as they too noticed her, blocking her path.
"Oh, shit-" She desperately leapt up onto a car to escape the ever-rising water levels and the incoming onslaught. An army of Chums followed her, starting to climb up and jump on. She kicked some of them away, before super-jumping over to another car to get away. She started jumping along the car-tops, slowly getting away, before she started to realize just how dangerous all of these streets were suddenly becoming. There was a growing number of Salmonids as far as the eye could see, leaving her and other pedestrians with no good way out. She looked down to watch as some Chums and Cohocks continued giving chase, closing in on her like zombies. Whimpering more and more in fear, and seeing no other choice, she morphed into her squid-form and super-jumped into a nearby skyscraper, smashing through the windows into the lobby.
Cut by the glass, she groaned in pain as she rolled to a stop, turning back into her humanoid form. Holding one of the nastier cuts she had sustained, which was now bleeding, she desperately crawled toward and sat against a wall, panting. Sheer terror now filled her veins. Even if she had decided to stay and fight these things… this was too much for her. Splatsville really was doomed.
She was left with no time to rest as the Salmonids that saw her enter this building continued closing in, smashing their way through the windows. Some sewer water outside now splashed inside alongside them.
Syd screamed in fear as she got back up and rushed for safety, running down the building's lobby and locating an elevator. She desperately slammed on the up button and stopped to wait, before she looked behind her. The Salmonids were still chasing her and were closing in fast. Instead, she ran into a nearby stairwell where to her fear, yet another batch of Salmonids were already climbing up from the basement. She screamed in fear as she ran up the stairs, occasionally using small super-jumps to boost herself up as she did, as the relentless army chased her from below, like an incoming wave of pure destruction.
She smashed her way through the door on one of the higher floors, stopping to pant from exhaustion for a moment. She couldn't rest, however, she could still hear them coming. Thinking quickly, she located a random table from nearby to shove against the door, swiftly doing so, but even this wasn't enough. They were already breaking through the door.
She was almost crying from terror at this point as she ran down the hall and through the offices, hearing the door break down behind her. Tears actually were falling down her cheeks by the time she reached her next dead end, still hearing the Salmonids ravenously search the floor behind her. There was no other escape… she needed to escape through the window.
She awkwardly jumped up and down as if she had to pee, locating a good window to jump from as she hyped herself up. She had done this before, when she jumped from the collapsing building with Johnny and Shiver. She just… had to ignore how absolutely terrifying that was for her. She took quick, strong breaths in her poor attempt at deep breathing. "H-Hold on, Chase."
Chase gripped onto her tightly as she morphed back into her squid-form and built up a strong super-jump. Salmonids were breaking into the room and were in the process of running after her when she blasted out the window, finally landing on the roof of another building.
She rolled to a stop before she was left on her back, staring up at the red sky. She sighed in intense relief, taking a few moments to recollect her thoughts.
When she eventually got back up, re-confirming her safety, she finally allowed herself to really study the new situation, as she walked up to the roof's edge and looked down at the destruction below. The streets she had just escaped were more and more flooded, and a tornado siren nearby was blasting through the city, alerting everyone to the starting invasion.
She stared down at the scene below her. A part of her, a small part of her, still wanted to help… but there was nothing at all she could do here. Looking at the city sky-line, she braced for another super-jump and blasted off in the direction of Johnny's apartment.
The whole city hadn't been invaded yet. It was a few select unlucky parts in the south part of the city that were now being hit, but the parts that were, were taking it hard. Despite Mr. Grizz's warnings, no one had expected the sheer number of Salmonids that were pouring out of the sewers.
Syd had quickly found her way back to the safe areas of the city and made it back to Johnny's apartment in one piece… physically, at least. Mentally, she wasn't so sure. She took one look at the apartment… and with her mind made up, immediately went to start packing up her bags once again. Chase leapt off her shoulder and relaxed as she frantically did so. She wasn't going to stay in this city another god damn second longer than she had to.
She was in the process of packing the last bag of all her things when the front door abruptly opened. She immediately turned and looked in fear, terrified that the Salmonids had somehow followed her.
"Syd?" Luckily, it was only Johnny, who frantically stepped through the apartment as he searched for her. "Syd!" He stopped as he noticed her.
Syd was standing there, engaged in an awkward defensive position, slowly calming down after she noticed it was just him.
He noticed her situation: Her wet shoes, the cuts on her, and how sweaty she was. Chase appeared quite wet as well, even if he was more relaxed. "Oh my god- Are you ok? Did something happen to you?" He walked up to her.
She didn't respond, still trembling.
"C'mere." He pulled her into a hug, which she did nothing to resist. He even pet her hair somewhat. "Whatever happened, you're safe here. You're safe with me and Sally."
Syd started tearing up. She wanted to believe it… but she had already seen the truth. No one in Splatsville was safe.
He eventually broke off. "Maybe you should bunker down here for a while. Until this is all blown ov-" He finally turned to notice the bags she had been packing. "Hold on. Where are you going?"
She looked him in the eye. "I-I don't know… Probably just back to the junkyard, still."
"Syd, no. There's not going to be anything for you there. We will fight this invasion off, I promise y-"
"No, no, I don't wanna hear it, Johnny." She desperately shook her head. "I can't fight this. I'm leaving."
He stared at her, with sorrow in his eyes. "So… Just like that… our time together is over, then?"
She paused. After a moment, she suddenly reached over and grabbed both of his hands. "C-Come with me."
He kept staring. He didn't know what to say. "I…"
"I-I don't care if this is sudden, I-" She squeezed his hands. "I like you, Johnny. M-Maybe more than like, actually. I don't want to leave you. At all. But I can't stay here. C-Come with me. Just come with me. Please. W-We can find a place to stay, and w-we'll be safe, and we can grow old together, and w-we can be happy together, and- I- I- Just- I don't want to lose you… Please… Please."
Now he was just straight-up at a loss for words. He stared her in the eye, visibly more shocked than when he had heard about this invasion in the first place.
She knew that look in his eyes. "…You won't go…"
It took him another moment to find the words. "…I can't… Syd…"
She started crying. "Please. I'm begging you. I don't want to be alone again."
He shook his head. "Nobody does. But I'm home here."
"Please. Please." She was crying harder, squeezing his hands as much as her own strength could allow.
He had no idea what to do. Awkwardly, he slowly leaned his forehead against hers, and she did the same to him, with tears running down her cheeks and onto her shirt.
Johnny's next words, a few quiet moments later, only stung deep. "…If you're going to go, Syd… go. I can't and won't control you."
She just rose her head and looked him the eye.
"But I'm not going anywhere." He told her. "I'll die right here if that's the result. But I… I hope you have a good life. I hope you and Chase both do."
She remained frozen there, feeling like her hearts were crushed.
"...Bye, Syd." Johnny stepped away to grab some things.
Syd stared ahead blankly all the way until he heard the front door close once again. Finally, giving a glance around, she confirmed to herself that… Johnny was gone. He left her here. He actually left her…
Sorrow and regret filled her. She wanted to follow him and apologize. She wanted to undo what just happened. But now, all she had the strength to do was sit down on the bed, where she kept crying to herself, covering her face and leaning forward.
She spent several moments crying, sobbing to herself as Chase slowly approached her to see what was wrong. She stopped somewhat, removing her hands and looking down at him as she felt him touch her leg. She sniffed as they stared at each other. He still didn't fully realize that he was going to be taken away from Splatsville yet again… and that hurt her hearts even more…
Regardless, she eventually stood up, finished packing, grabbed Chase, and took one last look around the apartment. She was probably going to look back at her mere two months in this apartment with fondness after all, she realized. Deep down… she didn't want to leave at all.
…But she had to. Making her final choice, she headed out the door, and began her desperate journey away from Splatsville.
Grizzco Industries
Grizzco was now in a frenzy from the Salmonid strike that had arrived earlier than predicted. A digital map on the wall in one of the facilities was now showing a map of Splatsville and where the Salmonids had already struck.
Big Run fighters were running back and forth in said frenzy. Their screaming voices blended into the crowd, even mixing in with the sounds of helicopter blades as a helicopter took off from the building's roof.
The same Jellyfish that was carrying around Mr. Grizz's statue was pushing his way down a hall. "Alright, alright, settle down everyone." Mr. Grizz announced after a moment, with the voice turned up as loudly as possible. "The next chopper for team 28 is leaving in 2 minutes, so get on it and get out of here."
Johnny was pushing his own way through the crowd as he rushed to find Sally. "Sally!?"
"I'm here!" Sally casually held her arm up, waiting by the wall for him. She faced him as he located her and walked up. "Syd really stayed at home, huh?"
He paused, hesitating. "…She left."
"Left?"
"Yeah." He rubbed his forehead, looking around. "This was too much for her, I guess."
Sally's eyes actually held some disappointment, even if her response remained as cold as she could keep it. "…Huh. Tough luck, then…" She folded her arms and leaned back against the wall.
They both turned as Mr. Grizz's cart was shoved past them, briefly stopping before them. "You two. Stop lollygagging around. I'm putting you on team 33, your chopper leaves in 10 minutes. You'll be heading toward the Undertow Spillway, the Salmonids have some particularly nasty hordes coming up near that place. Get to work." He was pushed along yet again.
"Undertow Spillway?" Sally asked. "What do the Salmonids want with that old place?"
"Let's just not question his orders right now." Johnny replied.
"I'm already just going with the flow here, Johnny, I was just curious. That place is abandoned and there's nothing there, it's only used for ink battles, isn't it?"
Johnny didn't respond, his mind still stuck on his last conversation with Syd.
"Johnny." She leaned forward and shook his arm. "You really don't think the Spillway is a weirdly specific place for the Salmonids to target?"
"I don't…" He paused yet again. "I don't know."
She rolled her eyes and walked over toward the lockers. "Whatever. Let's just get this shit over with. Death will be quicker that way."
Johnny hesitated one more moment, looking down at the ground, before he followed.
The Junkyard
Night was falling by the time Syd and Chase arrived at the very same place where this whole adventure had begun almost two months ago. It remained more-or-less the same as it always had: Apparently no one had been by here, so none of the things that Syd had left behind were stolen or even moved, and the only signs of any change was that a fair amount of sand had blown around everything and not been cleaned.
As they approached the site of Syd's old tent, Chase took one look around and suddenly turned to run away.
"Chase!" Syd reacted quickly and grabbed him. "No. We have to stay here. At least for now."
Chase sadly looked up at her. He pointed his fin in the direction that they came, in the direction of Splatsville.
She had to fight herself from tearing up. "I know this stinks… just… please. We need to lay low right now."
He stared up at her, blinking.
She sighed. "If I set you down, are you gonna try to run?"
He paused before he slowly shook his head no.
"Ok." She set him down.
He paused yet again, took another look at the tent, and turned to run again.
"Dammit!" She grabbed him yet again, and, holding him with both hands, got on her knees as she faced him. "Listen to me, Chase. I made some big sacrifices today… and I did it for our survival. Ok? For me, and for you." She was unable to fight back some tears as she talked. "I cannot lose you too. You are… You are…" She stuttered as her voice broke. "…the only thing I have left. You're the only creature left in my life. So please. Please."
Chase couldn't understand every one of her words, but in this moment, he could understand her pain, and slowly, at the very least, fell into a more neutral state. He reached his fins down to touch her arm, comforting her.
She cried softly as she held him close to her chest, petting him. He reached to touch her more as he clung onto her as best as he could, sighing softly.
Eventually, they broke from this position and returned to the tent. Syd looked around at her old stuff before she slowly moved to wipe some of the sand off of everything. Chase just laid down nearby, staring somberly at the sky.
After getting everything as cleared off as she could, Syd took her own seat and looked up herself. The strange red tint in the sky had remained, mixing in with the black of the night. She curled up, hugging her legs.
Moments passed as they enjoyed this silence, or at least tried to, as Syd's exhaustion really started to kick in. It was definitely time for bed. She rubbed her eyes. "…Chase." She called one last time.
Chase got up and went over to her, with nowhere near the same enthusiasm as he usually showed, and she took him into the tent. She again held him close as she got into her sleeping bag, laying down with him and curling up. "…Good night, Chase."
Chase responded with a yawn as he curled into her chest, and they rested together.
To Be Continued
