"THAT'S what you wanted for Squidmas?" scoffed a middle-aged green inkling. "You think I can just BUY people?"
"But-"
"Junko, something tells me you're never gonna make it as an ink battler."
That was earlier this morning. Presently, Junko was shuffling things around in her locker, with another inkling next to her.
"We NEED a full team of four! Can't my mom get her friends' kids or something?! We've been on our own as a duo for TWO YEARS!" The 16 year-old inkling, light green like her mother, began her rant about the lack of teammates, and how she has to beat her greatest rival.
"Junko." called the other inkling.
"Yes Moon?" she answered.
"I promise I'll get us at least one new teammate for Squidmas." said Moonlight, the full name of Junko's friend. "I'll find the best there is!"
"REALLY?!"
"Anything for you."
Junko squeezed her friend, shouting "THANK YOOOOOU!" and pulled away muttering "I hope no one saw that."
As soon as the girls parted ways, Moonlight quickly went into a panic. "Saying no to her is so hard…Now I have to find some kid that's hopefully up to her ridiculously high standards!"
Not long afterwards, a blue octoling nervously fumbled around the streets, visibly confused and even scared. He felt his head spinning as he spiraled, feeling like he was lost at sea.
"Are you okay? You've been blocking the line to the café for the last 10 minutes." said Moonlight, startling the octoling.
"M-Miss, do you know um…How do you feel about criminals?" he asked nervously.
Moonlight was nothing short of confused, and the look on her face with her wordless response showed it. "Explain?"
"I lost my captain! I got on the wrong ship when we were running away from the Splatoon!"
The girl was so confused. "Splatoon? What's that?" she thought.
"I'm stuck here until she finds me, but I don't know anything about cities!" he added.
"I don't exactly have a way to help..." replied Moonlight, sympathetically. "Who are you, by the way?"
The octoling smiled softly. "I'm Surge Bluebernard– A sea guy in-training!"
"I'm Moonlight Wells, I can at least buy you something from the shop."
"That'd be nice."
The two went into the café. While Moonlight ordered a rather sophisticated and elaborate drink, Surge got a few chocolate chip cookies. "So, do you do anything for the holidays?" asked Surge. "Nothing notable, just what most families do." said Moonlight.
Surge's eyes lit up. "Like decorating your ship, not killing your enemies and giving candy canes to guys at ports?!" he asked.
"I was thinking about decorating the tree, buying presents for people and singing carols." replied Moonlight, trying to keep an open mind about this strange boy. Surge was equally confused by her answer.
"Moving on…Have you ever agreed to someone's ridiculous request because you love them too much to say no?" asked Moonlight with a face that could be described as deranged, and as expected, the octoling said "No."
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" yelled Junko, who had quietly slipped into the shop after seeing Moonlight with this mysterious octoling boy. Moonlight wasn't fazed though. "Junko, are you…jealous?"
Noticing the fact her face began to heat up, Junko looked away. "I just wanna know who this boy is!"
"He's Surge, poor thing lost his ship and ran into me." replied Moonlight.
"I'll excuse you GHOST-EYES, you look a little too gay for girls anyway!" scoffed Junko. Moonlight was quick to cover her mouth. "Don't say stuff like that!"
The purple inkling looked at Surge hoping he wasn't going to be mad, while Junko kept glaring at him. "Why can't she? It's true, actually." he spoke up. "I'm just offended by the fact she called me ghost-eyes. Are my blue eyes that spooky?! But doesn't Moonlight have blue eyes too?!"
Junko wanted to escape her friend's grip to act on her usual violent tendencies. "The difference is her blue eyes are pretty! Yours look like you died!"
"They're literally the same colour!" sighed Moonlight.
An inkling girl with short red hair with an inkling boy with golden slicked-back hair in yellow jackets were eyeing the area right outside the building.
"Damn, why the hell are those Boltrain crooks here on a day like this?!"
"As if you were doing anything interesting, 4."
"Shut up Neo! You're a stupid little girl!"
Such intimidating figures, yet such mindless banter.
Surge's eyes widened in fear when he saw them. "Hey girls, t-this was a nice talk and everything, but I think I gotta go!"
"Go where? Aren't you lost?" asked a skeptical Moonlight. "W-Well, I think my number one haters are nearby!" sheepishly laughed Surge.
"We'll beat em' down!" smirked Junko, causing Surge to look at her with innocent eyes, smiling. "Does that mean you really do care about me and don't think my eyes are ugly?"
"Oh HELL NO! I just wanna act on my violent urges! What are their names?!"
Surge couldn't exactly answer, he couldn't trust these random squids he just met with the one thing he had to keep a secret. If he told them, they'd definitely turn him into what those two are really a part of.
"Uh…Maddison and Jake?" he answered, hoping it sounded believable. "And what do they look like?" asked Junko. The blue octoling knew he just backed himself into a corner.
"Junko, I think we should instead focus on protecting him from being hurt by those people." cut in Moonlight.
"Thank the great octo lord!" sighed Surge.
"Come on!" groaned Junko.
"I don't want you getting hurt. Besides, I just got a message that my mom is inviting you over for our Squidmas party right now!" smiled Moonlight.
That was great news to Junko. "SWEET! GIMME FIVE!"
"Ahem." Moonlight directed her friend's attention to Surge. "We can't really leave him on his own."
"What?! We aren't the boy's parents!"
"I know, you goof. But still, I don't think he has anything to go, and he even told me he's a sailor and not used to cities."
Junko sighed in annoyance. "Fine, I'll catch up to you two." The two gave her a confused "Okay." before leaving.
"Never gonna make it my ass." she thought, having a quick swig of coffee on the side of the road. "If I don't make it, I'll be useless! If Moon doesn't find us another teammate, we won't be able to do anything competitive. Ugh."
She crushed her cup and aggressively chucked it into the nearest trash can.
"Oh, look who it is." scoffed an inkling boy with magenta tentacles.
"Beacher…" growled Junko.
"Still haven't cut the wild animal act yet, Junko? Maybe there's a reason why people avoid you." he said in a tone that could be read as either condescending or completely straight.
"Shut up…SHUT UP!" She got her fist going, but he stopped it. "I'm doing great in ranked with my newly-acquired third team member." snickered Beacher.
"Oh yeah, WHO IS IT? YOUR SISTER?!"
"...Yeah actually."
The two glared at each other, Junko aggressively thought of another insult but Beacher just shook his head. "I don't have time for the likes of you. Goodbye."
"THAT'S RIGHT! TO HELL WITH YOU AND YOUR DIRTY TEAMMATES!" shouted Junko.
Meanwhile, at Moonlight's house…
"This place is huge, if I were my captain, I would've robbed the place." thought Surge.
"Who's this?" asked the inkling's mother. "Surge." replied Surge, a bit nervously. "Nice to meet you! What do you guys say to a little errand?"
"I MADE IT!" shouted Junko.
"Junko! How about while Moon and I finish with the cookies, you and Surge take a 10 minute walk down the street to buy us a Squidmas tree?" smiled the mother, handing them 10,000G. They didn't exactly have a choice, so off they went.
"That Surge looks an awful lot like that one guy from the newspaper…" though the mother.
The two young cephalopods got their shoes on and walked out the door. "They really put me with the idiot." groaned Junko.
"So what's the tree for?" asked Surge. "Decorating and putting stuff under, no shit." sighed Junko. "Where else are the presents going tomorrow?"
"In your ship?" answered Surge.
"What ship?"
"You don't have a ship?!"
Junko shook her head. "It's as if you're a pirate or something…" she muttered.
"Oh no, I'm not a pirate! Just a sailor!" laughed Surge with a big grin. "Just an innocent guy who delivers cargo!"
"Hmm." thought Junko. "You almost look intimidated."
"M-Me? N-No w-way! Why are you so mean to me anyway?!" chuckled Surge.
"From what I know of you, you're a passionless freak who's unsurprisingly lost his way. Working as a sailor delivering cargo, come ON! THAT'S what you're doing with your life?! Please! You're never getting far with a life like that!"
Junko's words left the octoling silent for a moment. Her face was filled with some kind of passionate rage that made him struggle to reply. "That's not the whole story." he said, calmly. The inkling similarly fell silent for a moment.
"Then answer my simple question, Surge– What's your deepest desire?"
"I want to battle."
Though she'd never say it out loud, Junko was impressed by his answer. "Could he be the one I've been looking for?"
By the time they got the tree and hauled it home together, silence filled the space banter once filled. "What's up with you two?" asked Moonlight. While Surge went ahead to put the tree where Miss Wells wanted it, Junko stayed behind to whisper something to Moonlight.
"That octoling…I can't help but be a bit intrigued by him." she whispered.
"What do you mean?"
"He's hiding something and won't tell us, but my gut's telling me it'll reveal everything."
Before she could respond, a newspaper Moonlight's mother wasn't finished with caught her daughter's eye. "Hey, that boy looks familiar…"
The paper read:
WANTED! "CAPTAIN ASTRONAUT" AND HER PRESUMED SON "SATURN'S ARROW" OF THE BOLTRAIN PIRATE CREW! 1,000,000G REWARD, DEAD OR ALIVE! 500,000G REWARD FOR OTHER CREWMATES!
According to The New Squidbeak Splatoon, this highly dangerous pirate crew have been committing horrid acts of vandalism and thievery. They've been active for eight years, but it seems arresting them is a highly difficult task. That's why we ask the public to help catch these wild animals. They're going to kill us all.
Surge, who seemed calm on the surface, took the paper from the girls' hands. "News sources like this make me sick to the stomach." he muttered. "It's always about protecting the so-called innocent souls on land."
"Surge, what's going on?" asked Moonlight.
"The Boltrain crew formed to survive against the harsh authorities of Octo Valley, and all we get is an oyster full of lies."
"Who's we?" asked Junko.
Surge looked at them, suddenly losing his composure. "I have my own simple question– If your friend was called a criminal, but all he is is a guy trying to survive with his fellow outcasts, would you call the cops on him?"
The green inkling couldn't help but feel the need to protect Moonlight against him, since he began spouting crazy talk out of nowhere. "...What are you saying?"
"I'm no sailor, you two. I'm THE Saturn's Arrow."
"Yeah, you looked pretty similar to the photo on the paper." replied Junko, a bit calmly.
"JUNKO ARE YOU OBLIVIOUS?!" whisper-shouted Moonlight.
"Not at all. I think the Boltrain crew is hella cool, actually! Are you guys seriously not criminals or whatever?" asked Junko, curiously.
Surge shook his head. "Somehow, the media is twisting everything! It's that stupid Squidbeak's fault! Those haters from earlier were actually two of their agents clearly looking for me! Saturn's Arrow is the name I use to protect my identity."
"How strange…" said Moonlight.
"Does that mean you were lying about your passion?" asked Junko, becoming a bit more serious.
The octoling shook his head again. "I've always dreamed of becoming a star battler, but it's kind of impossible when you're living on a ship…"
Junko grabbed his wrist and ran out the door. "SWEET! LET'S TEST OUT YOUR SKILLS! YOU GOTTA WEAPON SURGE?!"
"I have a roller!" replied Surge, wondering what the heck was happening.
"WAIT FOR ME!" called Moonlight, running behind them to the lobby.
At the lobby…
"It's Squidmas Eve and almost the evening, so we aren't gonna be embarrassing ourselves against tough guys!" said Junko, as the signal for the start of a battle began.
"We're gonna be fine-"
Junko saw Beacher, and quickly corrected her F-word.
"We're fucked."
"GOOD EVENING, RAINMAKER FANS! THIS BATTLE IS A SHOWDOWN BETWEEN THE UP-AND-COMING TEAM LUMINESCENCE AND THIS TEAM CALLED TEAM DOWNPOUR! LET'S GIVE IT UP FOR LUMINESCENE'S BEACHER, SERENA AND HARBOR!" shouted the announcer.
While everyone cheered, Junko and Moonlight quietly went Boooooo!
"AND DOWNPOUR WITH JUNKO, MOONLIGHT AND THE BLUE GUY!"
"BLUE GUY?!" shouted Surge. "DON'T CALL ME BLUE GUY!"
For Luminescence, Beacher had his S-Blast 92, Serena had an Octobrush, and Harbor had a Carbon Roller. On Downpour was Junko with an inkbrush, Moonlight with an E-Liter and Surge with a Krak-On Splat Roller.
"THERE'S THE RAINMAKER, SO LET'S GO! IT'S A THREE-ON-THREE ON FLOUNDER HEIGHTS! …For some reason."
While the girls shot out of their spawns and rushed to the objective, Surge shot out and crash-landed on the ground. He quickly got back up on his feet, and followed his team, who were battling Harbour, Luminescence's newest member, for the rainmaker.
"KYAHAHAHA! DEAD!" she cackled, splatting Junko. "DEAD! AHAHAHAHA!" she repeated as she got Moonlight from below. Surge couldn't get close at all, since Beacher was right behind him, and killed him as expected.
"FUCK!" shouted Junko, rushing right back. Surge followed her after Moonlight quietly instructed him to back her up. Junko rapidly swung the brush from side-to-side, ambushing the other team and killing them all. Surge took the rainmaker. "Lost your way?" smirked Serena, ready to get Surge's ass with her Octobrush.
"CARP, HOW DO I USE THIS THING?!" thought Surge. "Uh…TAKE THIS!" he shouted in an attempt to look confident while firing a shot he missed really badly.
"Just as I thought, you're just some new kid-" KABOOM!
The rainmaker's shot exploded and killed her. "DON'T LET THAT BRAT GET AWAY!" shouted Beacher, chasing Surge down the map. "This is easy, the crew often steals heavy stuff like this!" thought Surge as he broke through the checkpoint.
Being a sniper on higher ground, Moonlight got to watch the events unfold. "YOU GO GUY!" she cheered. "KILL EM' ALL!" shouted Junko.
Before he could get to the enemy team's base, Beacher trapped him on the nearby wall and pointed his blaster to the octoling's head.
"You little shit, thinking you're going to be the one who gets Junko to the big leagues. Your reign of terror ends here, and you'll leave this place feeling regret, shame, and you'll remember the name Beacher Shore." he whispered, grinning crookedly.
Of course Surge was terrified, but this wasn't much compared to things his crew had to face. "You're a scary guy, you know that?" he smirked. "Too bad I got THIS!" Surge blasted his face with the rainmaker, sending Beacher right back to the spawn, and allowing Surge to gently place the golden weapon on Luminescence's base.
"AND THE BLUE GUY SLAM DUNKS IT ON THE BASE! THAT MEANS TEAM DOWNPOUR KNOCKS THEIR LONGTIME OPPONENTS OUT!"
While Surge and Moonlight partied around the heights and the other team sulked elsewhere, to Junko it felt as if time had stopped. Her goal had many complex components, but one of the centerpieces was winning against her greatest foe…And that's what just happened. She drowned in the feeling of pure euphoria, yet nothing about this felt real– But it was.
Surge felt something a bit similar, the first step of his own goal was to battle against people and win– And that's what just happened. For a short moment, he actually dreaded leaving town to continue his adventures on the high seas.
"Not bad. I don't mind the occasional surprise." thought Beacher as he quietly left with his team.
"Guess you got what you wanted." smiled Moonlight, turning to Junko.
At the end of the day, Surge declined the offer to stay at Moonlight's and found a small abandoned shed to sleep in. "I don't want to risk getting them into legal trouble." he thought, looking at himself with the camera he had. "Not that I'm very recognizable without the pirate getup."
He opened up a book with a pen attached to it. The front said "Diary" in Octarian.
I got to BATTLE! Yeah you heard me– BATTLE! I hope Astra never comes and finds me so I can be on Team Downpour forever! Though I will never get how these city folk celebrate Squidmas…Like why do they decorate dead trees? Even if I'm separated from Boltrain, I still plan to give the local port guy a candy cane! AND THEN I'LL BATTLE! OCTAVIO BLESS THIS CITY!
He closed the book and slid it under the pillow before laying on his back. He could hear people singing Squidmas songs in the streets, and the faint sounds of various holiday films on residents' TVs.
Meanwhile…
"That's odd, I'd expect him to be around that area. Saturn's Arrow is known for his sweet tooth." said an inkling wearing a weathered looking hat.
"The kid's a pirate who rarely touches dry land. I think it's only logical to assume he could be literally anywhere, wandering aimlessly." said an octoling.
"Don't outsmart me, 8."
"It's difficult not to, captain."
"GUYS! CALLIE IS MAKING MARIE DRESS UP AS SANTA CLAUS!" shouted a younger inkling voice. "COME SEE!"
"Captain, take a break for five minutes and enjoy Squidmas for once. We all think you shout too much about nothing intelligent."
"8, we're talking about dangerous sea criminals! If I didn't send out Neo with that idiot 4, we would've got the boy!"
Quick outro notes: This is the first story I've ever posted! If I had to sum up this chapter in one word, it'd be "Demo." It was a simple introduction to how our story begins and a bit on the weaker side, with only spicier chapters to come…Thanks for reading, and lord teach me how to write good fight scenes!