Splatoon: The Brothers and the Others
Painting the Town Red (and Blue) | Alpha Chapter
Maria breathed in a sigh of relief, taking in the fresh evening hill air. She sat on top of the hill, watching the red and blue fireworks explode, releasing colors that sank to the earth from he sky and such from a distance, enjoying the show as it went on through the evening. After a while, the show stopped, letting the colorful firecrackers to fizzle off into the ground. Assuming the Splatfest was soon to be over, she walked through the grass towards the little wooden house on top, relaxing on her bed the only thing on her mind. Reaching the top, she stood in front of the doors to the house, and opened them casually, entering the house. Closing the doors behind her with a swift yet gentle kick, she yawned, flopping down on the bed. Shortly after letting herself fall on top of the luxurious bedsheets, she heard a rustling noise. Glancing to the left, the two Pocket Monsters from earlier were snooping around the kitchen, digging their heads into the refrigerator and counter cabinets.
"Hey!" Maria shouted, getting the two's attention.
The orange dragon snapped around. "Rrr?"
"Those aren't for you." Maria told them firmly.
Charizard peered down at its maw. Enclosed in his jaw's grip were a few leftover burgers, still wrapped up in paper. The dragon smirked at Maria, the both of them knowing what was about to happen.
"No...!" Maria scolded it.
Without warning, Charizard snapped its jaw shut, swallowed the food, and let out a light belch, heat blowing out of its mouth, as if to taunt Maria.
"Why you…" Maria shook her fist at the dragon.
Charizard began to what Maria assumed was laugh. The Blastoise standing next to him nudged him lightly, glaring at the dragon as if to scold it as well.
"Blast." The turtle muttered, much to the dragon's displeasure.
"Rawr!" Charizard sneered, visibly irritating Blastoise.
Maria couldn't understand what they were saying too well, but by the looks of the two tensing up, they weren't happy with each other. Maria huffed, got off her bed, then stood between the two, pushing them back with her hands and tentacles.
"Hey, break it up!" Maria urged the two, who merely slammed their heads into each others' faces, gristling fiercely.
"Blastoise!" The turtle shouted, spurring on the dragon.
"Rrrrraaa!" The dragon roared.
Maria struggled somewhat on pushing the two apart, then felt them both leave her grip. Charizard swooped high towards the ceiling, grappling Blastoise, the two flying up and out of the house, making an atrociously huge hole in the ceiling of the house. Maria grit her beak, walked out from the kitchen and stared at the ceiling, watching the two battle it out in the skies. Worriedly, she looked around the house. Ann-Gel hopped behind a lamp, hugging the back as if it might protect her, while the Tele-Cube just laid on the counter, dormant. Maria took a quick look at the Tele-Cube, skeptically looking around. Finally, she decided just to tap it, the cube lighting up.
"Okay, what do I do when a dragon and a turtle begin fighting?" She asked quickly.
The cube made a whirring sound. On its screen popped up a picture of a red and white ball being tossed at small picture of the two creatures.
Maria folded her arms. "...I don't follow."
The cube shifted to a loading screen where three dots began flashing in and out. The cube came back with an animation of a box being packed. Maria sighed, looking out at the sky. After a while, a "ding!" snapped her out of her spectating. Laid out on the table next to her were four red and white spheres, black lines splitting the colors into two sides, a white button in the middle.
"Hmm…" Maria stared at the spheres reluctantly, grabbing two of them. "You sure these will work?"
A nodding face appeared on the cube. Maria stared down at the spheres, sighing.
"If you say so." Maria said.
Maria then made her way to the back of the house, running out onto the roof via staircase, Maria shoved open the trapdoor, standing triumphantly on the roof. Charizard was currently ferociously swinging Blastoise around, Blastoise dizzily hanging on. Maria took very careful aim, then tossed the balls towards them. The spheres collided with Charizard, harmlessly bouncing off.
"What?!" Maria shouted in surprise, watching the spheres just fall.
The balls fell and wobbled on the ground for a while. Maria groaned, assuming they were defective, then ran into the house. However, out of her sight, the spheres began to shake for a while, growing in size, until they opened, releasing a burst of light.
Maria made her way through the house, picking up a Splat Charger weapon, then ran outside. Upon leaving the house, she noticed the Pokémon battling it out on the ground, blasts of water and jets of fire being shot from all angles. Maria glared, taking aim at the two.
"I don't want to splat these animals, but you leave me no choice!" Maria though, aiming towards the Pokémon, when something blocked her sight.
"Grrr!"
Maria looked up from her Splat Charger. Standing in front of her was an orange dog of sorts, black stripes and cream colored fur decorating the animal. Behind that animal was yet another animal, an orange fox of sorts with six tails. Both of them yipped and barked at Maria, pushing away her Splat Charger. Maria backed away, staring down at the little animals, unsure of what to do.
"Ah-" Maria frowned, looking over to where the larger Pokémon were.
Scorch marks and grass drenched in dew littered the hills, blasts flying up from farther away. Maria groaned in frustration, almost throwing the Splat Charger down. She stared at the Pokémon for a while, sighing.
"Where did you two come from?" Maria asked softly, trying hard to keep her composure at the tiny animals.
The two four-legged animals dashed off around the house. When they came back, they had the spheres Maria had thrown in their mouths, each nudging the spheres gently.
"Huh…" Maria murmured, picking up the spheres.
She gave one of the spheres an experimental tap. The sphere opened up, red light burst from the sphere, cloaking the dog in red. Maria gasped, watching the red light retreat with the dog back into the sphere. She tapped the sphere again, releasing the red light once more. The dog reappeared in a blink of light, yipping at Maria excitably.
"This is new…" Maria commented, staring down at the spheres, placing them in her pants pockets.
Maria then rushed inside of the house, the two four-legged animals following after her extremely closely, Maria tapping the cube again.
"I need an explanation." Maria told the cube, raising the red and white spheres.
The Tele-Cube laid dormant for a moment, three dots signifying a loading screen popping in and out. Finally, a thin beam of light began assembling something from the counter up, a red device of sorts with the sphere emblemized on the top of it popping into existence. Maria eyed the device carefully, picking it up, then stared at the cube. The cube gave Maria a flat thumbs-up. Maria frowned, then tapped the red device, the device growing into a flat screen. On that screen at the top, the name, "Pokédex" was inscribed with miniature pictures of the two Pokémon standing next to her underneath. Maria bit her lip, tapping on the picture of the fox.
"'Vulpix, the Fox Pokémon.' So that's what you are?" Maria asked the little fox.
Despite the several language barriers between the species, the fox nodded happily at Maria. Maria smiled at the fox, then turned to the dog, looking down at the Pokédex screen. She tapped on the dog.
"'Growlithe, the Puppy Pokémon.' Pokémon, hm?" Maria murmured. "Informative. But I still don't have an inkling-"
A rimshot went off in the background, bewildering the little Pokémon. In the corner, Ann-Gel could be heard groaning, the alarm clock on the brothers' dresser making a low beep similar to a sigh.
Maria glanced to the sky, confused, then shook her head. "Of what I should do here. I know that these...capsules can contain these...Pokémon, but I still don't quite understand how to use them."
The Tele-Cube's screen shifted once more. A scene of two Pokémon battling was shown, with one Pokémon drastically weakened by a blow from the other one. Once the Pokémon was weakened, one of the red and white spheres was tossed at it, a black arrow and the word "Pokéball" labeling it in a freeze frame, encapsulated the Pokémon, the ball shaking once it hit the ground. After it shook, an audible clicking noise was heard.
"Wait, I have to send these poor things after those behemoths?!" Maria gasped, glancing at the two small Pokémon by her feet.
The Vulpix tugged on Maria's shorts, glancing out the door with a hint of impatience. Maria looked out the windows of the house, blasts of fire and water still running rampant among the hills. The Growlithe stared at Maria, a determined look on its face saying all Maria needed to hear.
Maria could only sigh. "...Are you sure?"
The two little Pokémon yipped their approval. Maria nodded solemnly, taking the Pokédex and stowing it away in her pockets. Looking at the kitchen countertops, she took the remaining Pokéballs. She then began to leave the house, the little Pokémon following after her. As soon as she touched the earth outside, she looked towards Inkopolis, somewhat worriedly. The light of day was already beginning to vanish.
"...Splin and Sharq haven't gotten back yet. They're usually home by now…" Maria thought to herself, staring across towards Inkopolis.
Maria then felt more tugging, the Pokémon impatiently and ineffectively dragging her towards the spot where the battle was raging on. Maria sighed, nodding, glancing at Inkopolis one more time before she began sprinting towards the area of conflict. She eventually caught sight of the two, Blastoise finally back on solid ground attacking Charizard with torrents of water, Charizard retaliating by flying around, firing at Blastoise with, redundantly, jets of fire.
Maria took out the Pokédex, then looked through, miniature sprites of the Pokémon coming up onscreen. Maria tapped each one, curiously reading through.
"'Moves'?" Maria muttered, scrolling through. "'Hydro Pump'...'Flamethrower'..."
Maria stared up from the screen at the Pokémon. Observing their attacks, she realized that the "moves" described were the Pokémon's attacks. She looked at the Vulpix and Growlithe by her feet.
"...I can only imagine what you two can do." Maria muttered, her little companions barking and yipping.
Maria then turned away from them to watch the fight. She noticed it becoming a little too close for comfort, as what she assumed to be a Hydro Pump attack was launched their way. Quickly, Maria switched into squid form and shoved the two small Pokémon and herself out of harm's way. The Growlithe backed up in shock from Maria's sudden transformation, eyeing her curiously, Vulpix doing the same.
"Guess we all aren't exactly 'normal', huh?" Maria giggled.
Vulpix lightly pawed Maria, Maria closing her eyes as to keep out the paws from poking them, switching back to Inkling form, lightly pushing Vulpix away, whom began whimpering somewhat.
"I'm fine." Maria reassured the Vulpix. "The question is...how are we going to pacify these two?"
Maria, Vulpix, and Growlithe gawked at the titantic Pokémon, who seemed to be at a standstill. Charizard growled, rushing straight towards Blastoise, which Blastoise responded with a quick burst of water. Leaning towards the left, Charizard's wing was somewhat grazed, the dragon grimacing at the attack, but charged forward regardless, picking up Blastoise again and taking off, flying towards Inkopolis, the two comically battling in midair, Maria watching the two go. Maria sighed, then looked down at the two small furry friends she had by her side, the two staring at Maria, curious as to what to do now.
"Hmm…" Maria hummed, a lightbulb flashing above her head.
She reached into her shorts pockets, taking two Pokéballs, then pointed them at the two.
"Erm...go inside?" Maria asked the two.
Despite her awkward wording, the two yipped happily. Maria tapped the buttons on the spheres, the spheres enlargening, red lights bursting out from the centers, enveloping the two, then retreated back into the Pokéballs, taking the two with them. Maria stowed them away in her pants, then shifted into squid form, Super Jumping off towards Inkopolis.
"Looks like I'll have to stop this. I can't let anyone get hurt. ...Huh, sorta reminds me of my agent days." Maria thought as she traveled through the sky.
Maria chased after the two behemoths, all of them heading towards Inkopolis.
Meanwhile, Ann-Gel sat at home on her pedestal. She hummed to herself, looking absentmindedly in all directions. After a while, she sighed, falling back.
"This was much more fun when I had someone to talk to." She said, playing with her plastic tentacles.
The alarm clock made a chime.
"Someone who isn't a sentient household object." Ann-Gel groaned.
The clock made mocking beeps imitating Ann-Gel's tone of voice, the two stubbornly "huffing".
AN: Okay, the first parts of the very late Splatfest chapters are finished! I finally got off my lazy butt and decided to actually post two chapters in the timespan of two days! Hooray, I put off important work to update a story on the Internet!
I mean, that's gotta count for something, but in the meantime, let's count reviews, shall we? Thanks Ultrapyre and Dread Angel for reviewing! Apologies Ultrapyre, hopefully next time I can write a reference you'll get, but in the meantime, here's more dimension breaking stuff. Dread Angel, I highly recommend Fire Emblem Fates, but I'd also recommend playing other games in the series as well, maybe Awakening or something, but it's your call!
Thanks for reading, like always, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, time to check on my ancient-as-time dog!