Splatoon: The Brothers and the Others
Painting the Town Red (and Blue) | Omega Chapter
Splin and Sharq landed in the plaza, shaking off the landing, switching from squids back to regular Inklings, staring up at Inkopolis Tower. The plaza was bustling with activity, Splatfest banners hung everywhere, Inklings walking and talking left and right, the shopkeepers from the Booyah Base staring out, the Squid Sisters performing live on a pair of trucks. The brothers made their way through the plaza, Inkbrushes strapped onto their backs.
"Dude, this place is bustling! Who knew so many people here knew what Pokémon were before us?" Sharq asked, taking in the sights.
"I kinda doubt anyone does, don't see too many people talking Pokémon." Splin said, pointing over to a crowd of people.
Most of the plaza was too self-absorbed with watching the Squid Sisters perform, much to their delight. Callie and Marie spied the two in the crowd, and gave them a knowing wink, before twirling around onstage, the crowd bursting into cheer.
"I'm pretty sure most of them are just here to root for their favorite Squid Sister." Splin said, walking towards the tower.
True to Splin's observation, most of the Inklings were busy going fanatic over their favorite pop stars, though a select few were taking advantage of the Splatfest subject by posting Pokémon fanart everywhere. Splin whistled, feeling for his Inkbrush on his back.
"You ready Sharq? I doubt that as soon as we begin, we won't leave until Splatfest is over." Splin said.
"You got me there, I'm going to play until Splatfest ends, and I'll keep playing until the end of the night!" Sharq chimed excitably.
"Let's not get too hasty, we still need to work out things at home, Sharq." Splin told his brother, turning around to face him.
Splin was greeted by a blank spot, no one to be seen. Splin frowned, looking over at the tower. Sharq was already inside, waving at Splin from underneath the Great Zapfish, whose whiskers were sparking and brimming with electricity. Splin sighed, staring up at the Great Zapfish.
"You see what I have to deal with here?" Splin scoffed.
The Great Zapfish could only blink, but it did so in an amused fashion, almost as if to poke fun at the brother. Splin shook his head slowly, then began his trek to the tower, joining his brother, the two leaving the bustling celebrations out in the plaza and entering the tower. Splin and Sharq inspected the tower's insides, entering a room lit with blue and red holographic images rotating around them, the door shutting automatically behind them. Splin reached into his pockets, taking out a sizable Gamepad.
"It's weird how Inkopolis has you carry these things around everywhere. They're handy...but at the same time clunky." Splin commented, fiddling around with the controller.
"They're fine! After all, how else would we be able to jump around in Turf Wars?" Sharq argued.
Splin glanced at Sharq. "Just Super Jump? I don't see why carrying these around to Super Jump matters, Sharq."
Sharq smirked. "What about crashing into things on accident?"
Splin raised his index finger as if to make a counterargument, then lowered it. "...I suppose that's one reason. Be sure to log in as well."
Sharq nodded, reaching into his pockets, also pulling out a Gamepad. The two of them clicked on an icon of the two Pocket Monster stars of the Splatfest, now waiting to be transferred to a match.
"Hey, see you on the other side." Sharq said, patting Splin on the back.
"Definitely." Splin told him. "Don't think I'm going easy on you just because we're brothers."
"Don't worry! I was thinking the exact same thing." Sharq grinned.
The two laughed. Both of them shifted into squid form, waiting...and waiting...and waiting…but nothing happened. Thoroughly bewildered, the two stood up and inspected their surroundings. The red and blue pictures on the wall were frozen. Sharq went over at tapped at the walls.
"That's strange…" Splin muttered, looking down at his Gamepad. "Wha- Connection error?! What?!"
True to Splin's words, the Gamepad screen was entirely black, with the words, "Connection error" displayed in white.
"Gah! The one time we decide to participate in a Splatfest." Splin groaned.
"It could be worse." Sharq tried reassuring him.
Splin sighed. "Yes, it really could be. But that doesn't excuse the connection issues."
"Hmm." Sharq hummed, looking down at his Gamepad.
All of a sudden, two new icons appeared on their Gamepads. A solitary plain icon with only two colors; black and white.
"Hey Splin, I think they fixed the connection!" Sharq exclaimed.
Splin frowned. "Err...Sharq, I doubt it. Maybe it's just another glitch in the system, we should wait until they-"
"Boop!" Sharq said, tapping the icon.
"Wait, Sharq, no!" Splin said, reaching out.
Outside, the celebrations of the Splatfest were still blooming with festivity. However, that would all soon grind to a halt when Inkopolis Tower exploded. Okay, maybe that was an overstatement, it was more like the Great Zapfish fell off its perch and needed to crawl back up.
"Is everyone okay?" Callie asked the crowd.
The crowd murmured and fidgeted among itself, but other than that the reception was positive, nodding heads in the crowd and cries of triumph heard among them. Callie sighed, looking up at the Zapfish.
"Marie, is the Zapfish going to be alright?" Callie asked her cousin on the other truck.
"The Great Zapfish just fell from the top of Inkopolis Tower." Marie stated.
"Yeah, is it okay?" Callie asked.
Marie frowned, glancing over at the Great Zapfish. Already it had begun coiling around the tower, reasserting itself and relaxing contently.
"I...guess. Although I am worried about the people who could've been inside." Marie told her cousin.
Callie gasped. "Oh no, you're right! If people were inside, then...then..."
"Who knows what could've happened?!" Marie said, staring at the tower.
In actuality, Splin and Sharq were having a "grand old time" being tossed around, bouncing from one place to and fro. Their faces scrunched up with joy (nausea) at the events! One second they swore they were in Walleye Warehouse, the next they felt them being catapulted above Inkopolis, blinking in and out.
"What- Is- Even- Happening?!" Sharq asked between teleports.
"Sharq- Why'd- You- Press- That?!" Splin asked angrily.
After a while, the two stopped teleporting, and ultimately ended up reappearing in a dark space, with no one else around, the two floating about in the darkness, the two standing out like a pair of lightbulbs.
"Did it stop?" Sharq asked.
Splin sighed, attempting to take a step forward, only finding that there was no ground beneath his feet. Sharq floated around, his cap drifting away from him. Sharq squeaked, "swimming" after his hat, taking it back and placing it snugly on his head. Splin noticed the brothers' Gamepads floating nearby, reaching out for them. Splin took his own, scanning the screen's contents. The Gamepad displayed rapid lines of code running across the screen.
"Oh, great." Splin sighed, letting the Gamepad fall. "We're stuck in some alternate dimension space with no way of escape."
Splin glanced over at Sharq, who was currently fiddling with a Splatendo 3DS game system, (buy the New version today to use amiibos, totally not an ad) to which Splin merely gaped his mouth at.
"Whoa, wait, where'd you get that from?! Voice?!" Splin asked incredulously.
"Nah, I brought it with me." Sharq told him.
"...Why?" Splin asked.
Sharq looked around the dark space they were in. "In case something like this happened so I wouldn't be bored."
Splin bit his lip. "I'll give you that one."
Splin and Sharq simply rotated in space for a while, until Sharq perked up suddenly.
"Splin! Take a look at this." Sharq offered, raising the system.
"It's alright Sharq, I'm not feeling it." Splin said, pushing the system away.
"No, take a look at the top screen!" Sharq said.
Splin sighed, deciding to appease his brother. Shifting into squid form, he began gently swimming over to the system, scanning the screen.
"If." Splin read. "...What about it? You have a new game, that's pretty cool."
Sharq shook his head. "No, this isn't my game, look."
Sharq reached at the back of the system, popping out a game cartridge. Splin stared at it for a while, then glanced at the screen. "If" was still displayed on the screen. Sharq popped the cartridge back in the system, then looked straight at Splin.
"This could be our ticket out of here!" Sharq said.
"Come on Sharq, does that make any sense?" Splin asked.
Sharq smiled, putting his hands on his hips. "Does THIS make any sense?"
Sharq gestured to the entire dark space they were in. Splin sighed, then nodded.
"Alright, fine, try and see if you can get us out of here then." Splin said, boredly sitting by.
"Can do!" Sharq declared, then tapped on the screen of the 3DS.
For a minute, nothing of substance happened. Splin pondered whether or not he was dreaming or insane during that minute, when suddenly the two could feel something grabbing at their feet. A vortex of sorts formed underneath the two, dragging them in.
"Oh no." Splin gasped.
"Aaugh!" Sharq yelped, waving his arms as if to swim away.
The brothers tried in vain to escape the pull, but it was no use, and the two were swallowed up by the vortex.
For the most part though, the brothers remained alright, though their landing on the other side was less than pleasant. The two shot out of a pond of sorts straight onto grass, the two coughing up water that burned their Inkling respiratory systems.
"Bleegh. Aw, that smarts!" Sharq coughed.
"Gah…" Splin groaned, standing up.
The vortex also spat up the twos' Gamepads and 3DS, the electronic devices landing on the grass next to them. Inkbrushes followed next, the brush heads plopping down on top of the brothers, who blew bristles out of their faces, taking the brushes off their heads.
"Did we finally reach a Turf War?" Sharq asked, picking up his Inkbrush and 3DS, stowing away the latter, doing the same with his Gamepad.
"I don't know what we reached Sharq." Splin said.
The two looked around. All they could see was a pond surrounded by trees. Splin seemed skeptical about the whole ordeal, but nonetheless took his Gamepad and stowed it away, carefully brandishing his Inkbrush.
"Sharq, let's go. Maybe we can find some sort of other vortex that'll spit us back up in the right place." Splin said, turning to Sharq.
"Um, Splin, hold on, you might want to look at this." Sharq offered, taking out his 3DS.
Splin shook his head. "Honestly, I don't want any of what that thing has to offer after the last time."
"But I really think-" Sharq began, also showing the 3DS screens to Splin, red and blue dots on the bottom screen.
"Just drop it Sharq, I'm just going to try to find a way home." Splin said, turning back around, two Inkbrushes pointed at him. "Um."
"Halt, trespasser!"
Two Inklings, one male and one female, both with red tentacles stood in the way of Splin, brandishing Inkbrushes. They wore bandanas across their foreheads, regal armor with baggy shirts and pants underneath. They glared at the brothers.
"Interesting...how could members of the blue kingdom have breached the barrier?" The female pried. "Their choices of armor are rather unintelligent, judging by the lack of plates."
The brothers looked down at their clothes, then stared up at their heads, blue tentacles.
"Whoa, wait, huh?" Sharq stammered.
"'Blue kingdom'?" Splin asked. "Hold on, we don't mean any harm!"
"Yeah, well, I mean, Splin's on the Red team." Sharq said.
"...Not helping, Sharq." Splin sighed, to which Sharq shrugged at.
"Enough playing around. We don't know how you managed to get so close to us, but it doesn't matter. You Nohrian scum always try this, huh?"
"'Nohrian'?!" Splin asked, backing up.
"Oh, so that's what the little dots were!" Sharq said, showing Splin the 3DS again.
Splin glanced at the 3DS screen. Face down on a two dimensional plane, two blue dots stood next to each other, with two other red dots imposing on the blue dots. Splin backed up, the dot on the screen following his movements precisely.
"...And that's three times I screwed up today." Splin groaned, lightly smacking his forehead.
"Hmph. You have five seconds to leave unless you want to taste the end of my blade!" The male red tentacled Inklings shouted.
"But those are Inkbrushes." Sharq pointed out.
Splin froze. The red Inklings looked down at their Inkbrushes, then grit their teeth.
The red tentacled Inklings' glare sharpened. "...Well, we promise to make this as painless as possible."
With that said, the red tentacled Inklings advanced on the two brothers, who froze, raising their Inkbrushes for defense. The red Inklings fought ferociously, swinging and slashing at Splin and Sharq with no mercy, the brothers trying their best to block the strikes with their own Inkbrushes. Splin yelped suddenly, a lucky swipe cutting into his left arm somewhat, the cut glowing red.
"Splin!" Sharq gasped.
Sharq stepped in front of Splin, blocking another attack with his own Inkbrush, then pushed the red Inklings back, the brothers backing up cautiously. The red Inklings stared the brothers down, both sides breathing heavily.
"You two aren't bad." The male red Inkling smirked.
"Please, we mean no harm, let us go!" Splin exclaimed, Sharq nodding.
"Nice try, but we're not so easily fooled!" The other red Inkling shouted. "You Nohrian scum are just going to attack as soon as we let our guard down, we're not falling for your tricks!"
Splin sighed, raising his Inkbrush, ignoring the pain in his left arm, ink dripping somewhat. "I don't want anyone hurt. Please..."
The red Inklings stood firm, their eyes closed. The two then opened their eyes and rushed towards Splin and Sharq, Sharq standing next to Splin, both defensively holding their weapons, terrified that this would be where it would all end. It may have been that way, had it not been for a force defending the two. Out of the blue, another person jumped in between the red Inklings, standing in the middle of the four, blocking them. The red Inklings halted, everyone in awe of the intrusive defender.
"Stand down, Hoshidans!" The person called out to the red Inklings.
"Ah! Lord Corrin, you must assist us, these Nohrians-"
"Are harmless. Why are you attacking peaceful men?" The figure asked.
The brothers took a closer look at the figure. He had white tentacles with a messy yet pleasant look to them, with thin white and black armor covering his entire body, a blue cape wrapped around his side and back. The Inkling didn't wear anything on his feet, strangely enough. The Inkling in white glanced at Splin and Sharq, their eyes narrowing, brown pupils staring straight at them, making them somewhat nervous. However, upon seeing them, the Inkling's gaze softened.
"Stand down." He told the others, smiling. "They're alright."
The Hoshidan Inklings hesitated. Finally, they sheathed their Inkbrushes, bowing respectfully to the white tentacled Inkling.
"Our apologies, Lord Corrin." They said.
"No need to apologize, I know you were just trying to defend Hoshido. You can return to your posts, I'll take it from here." He told the two.
"...Yes sir." The Hoshidans replied, walking away.
The white tentacled Inkling then turned to the two Inklings, smiling warmly. "If anything, I need to apologize to you two."
"...It's alright." Splin said, walking away.
"Wait, where are you going?" Corrin asked. "You never introduced yourselves."
Splin froze, rubbing his arm. Sharq stood in front of Splin, grinning.
"My name's Sharq, and this is my brother, Splin!" Sharq introduced himself.
Splin nodded, rubbing his arm a bit. "Thanks for helping us back there."
"No worries. Although I have to ask, what are you doing out here at this time of night?" He asked.
"It's a long story...and we'd hate to impose on you." Splin said, flinching at the feeling of something grabbing his arm.
Splin turned around, noticing the white tentacled Inkling inspecting his arm.
"You're wounded." He commented. "We need to help you."
"Ah? No, Sharq and I need to leave...we need to find our way back home." Splin said.
Sharq pouted. "Splin, since when did you become so stubborn? C'mon, he has a point, we need to get you fixed up."
Splin bit his lip, glancing at the new Inkling, who nodded. Splin sighed, lowering his shoulders in defeat.
"Alright, I understand." Splin told him.
"Great, let's go. I know a place where we can get you treated." The white tentacled Inkling said, lightly pulling Splin away.
"Hold on, we never got your name!" Sharq pointed out.
The white tentacled Inkling turned back at the two and smiled. "Ah, right. My name is Corrin. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Splin nodded. "Nice to...meet you."
"Hmm...from the looks of you, it doesn't seem like you're from around here. You must have quite a few questions, huh?" Corrin asked, to which Splin and Sharq nodded.
"Honestly, yes. I don't even know where to start." Splin said.
"Don't worry, all will be explained in due time. For the time being, we should retreat to my castle, I know a few people that could help with your injury." Corrin said, walking away.
"You have a castle?" Sharq asked, following him.
"Mm-hm. Follow me." Corrin told the two.
Splin and Sharq followed Corrin around, the three eventually reaching a glowing circle in the grass.
"Here we are." Corrin told them.
"Err..." Splin tilted his head. "What?"
"That's your castle?" Sharq asked. "Smaller and more...glowy than I would've thought."
Corrin chuckled. "Not exactly. This is more of an entranceway."
"...Oh, does it have to do with teleportation at all?" Splin asked.
Corrin looked shocked. "Yes, how'd you-"
"Experience." Splin sighed.
Corrin grinned. "Well then, I hope you're ready."
The spot in the ground began to glow brighter, the light rising. Splin sighed, adjusting his headphones, the three vanishing in the light, the light fading behind them.
The three found themselves elsewhere when the light faded. Splin and Sharq reopened their eyes, the two instantly marveling at the sight. The three stood in a large elegant castle grounds, trees pink with cherry blossoms surrounding the paths built around multiple buildings, Inklings and, surprisingly to the brothers, Octolings as well, all dressed in battle garb walking around.
"...Is this...the Great Reef in the sky?" Sharq asked, awestruck.
Corrin smiled. "No, but thank you for the compliment. Welcome to my castle."
"I'm having difficulty wrapping my head around this." Splin sighed.
"All in due time, Splin. I believe we should patch you up first." Corrin said, walking out to the middle, where a large tree with a house built on top laid. "I'm sure I have some bandages or vulneraries somewhere..."
"Master Corrin! You're back!" A voice called suddenly.
The three of them turned around, where a pink tentacled Inkling stood, smiling at them. She had clear blue eyes and wore a maid uniform of sorts, a small light blue brooch worn under her neck.
"Felicia! Just the person I needed to see!" Corrin exclaimed, waving her over. "We have an injury that needs to be patched up."
Felicia raised her hands to her mouth in shock. "You're not too hurt, are you Corrin?!"
"No, not me, but he does." Corrin said, pointing to Splin, who waved nervously. "Would you mind taking care of him please?"
"Of course, I live to serve." Felicia said with a light smile, making her way over to Splin.
She reached behind her, taking a staff of sorts. Raising the staff, she pointed it towards Splin, where it shone brightly, Splin's cut fading in the light. Splin stared down at the cut in surprise, looking over his arm to check if he had any side effects.
"Incredible..." Splin murmured. "How...?"
"That was amazing! Thanks for healing my brother!" Sharq smiled.
Felicia beamed. "Well thank you. It's my job to be helpful."
The brothers turned to Corrin with a bit of respect. Corrin smiled lightly.
"Hey, you two must be tuckered out from that. We could shelter you here if you like." Corrin told the two.
"Really? That's awfully generous of you, thanks." Splin said, rubbing the back of his head.
"It's the least I could do." Corrin said, hand by his side. "Though I am curious...I'd like to know a little bit about where you two came from in return, if you don't mind."
"Gotcha!" Sharq exclaimed.
Corrin nodded. "Thanks. Feel free to rest...well, anywhere."
Splin and Sharq looked around the castle grounds, then stared up at Corrin.
"This place works strange, I have to admit." Corrin told the two, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "We can't build houses here. You're free to rest anywhere, though."
"...Okay." Splin said, looking around.
Splin then spotted Sharq resting on grass, taking in the skies of dusk.
"So let's get this straight...Inkopolis Tower malfunctioned, transporting us to some sort of mystical kingdom world of Inklings and Octolings embroiled in some sort of Red and Blue war?" Splin stated.
"Seems like it." Sharq told him.
Splin sighed. "That's one way to spend Splatfest I suppose."
The two brothers stared up at the sky, the two surprisingly drifting into sleep in the grass, waiting for whatever would await them the next day.
AN: This chapter was originally intended to be a celebration of the initial release of Fates in America running tandem with the Pokemon Red vs. Blue Splatfest, plus a side joke on the connection problems I suffered in doing so. However, I was pretty darn late… There may be a few spoilers from any and all games referenced, so be warned.
Anyways, moving on to reviews like always, thanks Dread Angel and Ultrapyre for reviewing! Glad you liked that chapter Dread Angel, always a pleasure. Ultrapyre, I understand where you're coming from, truth be told most of my ideas are pretty much being derived from inspiration and hype nowadays, but I'll be sure to start generating more ideas as time flies.
Well, thanks again for reading! This is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, off to work on the alpha chapter!