Splatoon: The Brothers and the Others
Sharq-Infested Waters Ahoy, Part 1
"Annnnd there!" Sharq announced, laying a cool rag on top of a stack of other cool rags. "Feel better Maria?"
Maria yawned, laying her head back on her pillow, a pile of comforting cloths drenched in water covering her forehead. She nodded tiredly. Splin sat by the kitchen counters, staring at her.
"Why is everyone feeling so sickly today? There has to be something in the air." Splin sniffed, looking around.
Sharq pet Maria on the head, which she scowled slightly at. "Sharq…"
"Sorry, thought it would help." Sharq grinned sheepishly, Maria only managing a small laugh.
Splin stared out the window. Already it was growing dark, with the sun descending, light fading steadily across the land.
"Hmm…" Splin murmured.
Sharq blinked, turning towards his brother. "What's up Splin?"
"I think we might have to find something for Maria. Medicine, you know?" Splin muttered, taking a step.
As soon as Splin made a move to the door, he smashed into the floor face first. Quickly, he switched to a squid, lazily attempting to make his way to the door.
"Splin!" Sharq gasped, picking up the smaller squid.
"I'm fine...just need to buy that m-" Splin began, then stopped suddenly.
"Splin?" Sharq asked, shaking the smaller squid.
As if frozen in time, Splin remained silent in his squid form, his tentacles retaining a straight shape. With wide eyes, Sharq poked Splin's tentacles, which did not budge. However, seconds later, his tentacles buzzed and fizzed. In complete fear, Sharq tossed Splin onto his bed, where he fizzled again, gravity grasping his tentacles once more, which fell onto the bed tiredly. As if by reflex, Splin switched back to Inkling form, laying his head on his bed's pillow, blinking his eyes tiredly.
Sharq clenched his fist, raising it to the ceiling. "Don't worry! I'll find medicine for BOTH of you!"
"Eh?" Splin arched an eyebrow, his irises flashing colors once more.
"Stay put, I'm going!" Sharq called out, dashing out the door.
From his bed, Splin watched as Sharq sprinted outside onto the hills, the sound of a squid blasting into the air. Splin frowned, glancing across the house towards Maria's bed. She was breathing steadily and sleepily, the sheets rising and falling with each breath. She was smiling in her sleep, possibly in gratitude of Sharq's goodwill.
Splin, however, could not be more bothered by this. "I didn't even tell him what to buy…"
Splin groaned to himself, laying back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. While Maria rested peacefully, Splin's inner turmoil could not be any greater.
Sharq spun through the sky, landing in the ground of Inkopolis, hitting the turf running as he made his way through the city, searching for a pharmacy. The rush of lights and motor vehicles blurred past as he made his way through.
"Medicine… Medicine… Come on, where is it?" Sharq wondered to himself.
Eventually, as Sharq passed a block, he skidded to a halt. Scanning through an open glass pane, he noticed rows and rows of pharmaceutical goods, pill bottles and other medicinal products. With a smile, Sharq entered the shop.
"Excuse me! I need a bottle of flu pills, as soon as possible!" Sharq announced.
Sharq then blinked. Inside the shop, a large Inkling garbed in a large hat with a skull insignia, a long red and black coat dropping to his knees. Behind him, two Inklings with red bandanas and striped shirts stared at Sharq, two burlap sacks extended over their backs. At the cash register, another Inkling stared back at Sharq, a fishing net wrapped around her orange tentacles.
"Uh." Sharq tilted his head.
"Quick, call the cops!" The orange tentacled one yelled.
As Sharq took a step back, one Inkling by the door pointed what appeared to be a flintlock pistol towards him. However, the orange-red colored aesthetic it had must have meant it shot ink. Sharq blinked.
"Oh...Is it National Pirate Day?" He asked.
Then black clouded his vision as he felt something wrap around his head.
Maria scrunched her face as she awoke, her eyelids fluttering gently. She took her legs and planted them firmly on the floor below, taking a stand. She yawned, looking around the house wearily, noticing Ann-Gel conversing with the Tele-Cube, blips responding to the figurine's speech. Upon turning around, Ann-Gel's face lit up, and the little statuette, albeit of that of a snail's pace, made her way across the kitchen towards Maria.
"Maria! You're awake." Ann-Gel smiled.
Maria smiled back, awaiting Ann-Gel's eventual face-to-face greeting. After waiting about a minute, Ann-Gel only just making it to the floor in the time elapsed, Maria simply walked over five steps and kneeled down to Ann-Gel.
"Morning Maria! You feeling alright?" Ann-Gel asked innocently.
"Yes, I just had a bit of a…" Maria paused, looking out the windows to the sky.
She knew about Rem. Her own daughter was using her power, and not in the greatest of ways. Yet, having the spiritual link of a thousand Japanese animes, Maria could feel...or sense...something, she was worried about her daughter. Still, she doubted that attempting to explain this to a living, breathing, orange Inkling figurine girl would make any sense.
Then she snickered to herself at that thought, clearing her throat. "Um… It's a mother's instinct."
Ann-Gel blinked. "You're worried about your kids?"
"Yes, exactly." Maria smiled, nodding at Ann-Gel.
"Rem and Ix… Sounds cool." Ann-Gel commented.
"Thank you." Maria smiled, looking about the house. "How's Splin?"
"Splin?" Ann-Gel muttered, staring back at Splin's bed.
The two stared back at the younger brother's bed curiously. Splin was stirring slightly, his eyelids fluttering ever so gently as he looked at the ceiling with waking eyes. Maria stood up, walking towards Splin slowly, a careful eye watching him. Gently and steadily, Maria snuck up to his bedside, checking over him. Splin yawned, rolling about in his bed, rustling the covers, eventually rolling over to greet Maria on accident.
"Hi Splin." She greeted him quietly.
"...Maria? Oh. You're okay." Splin murmured.
"Yeah. What about you?" She asked, placing her hand gently on Splin's forehead.
Splin closed his eyes, laying back on his pillow. "...Could be better."
"What's wrong?" Maria asked.
"I'm feeling somewhat f-f-f-f-feverish." Splin muttered, feeling a scratchy sensation bounced up and down his throat.
"I'll say…" Maria muttered, removing her hand from his head. "Your forehead feels unnaturally warm…"
"It's alright...Sharq's out and he's going to get...medicine." Splin muttered with a hint of uncertainty.
"Oh, well that's nice of him." Maria smiled.
"...I suppose." Splin muttered quietly, laying on his side.
Maria arched an eyebrow at Splin's behavior curiously. "Why, what's wrong with Sharq?"
Splin scowled. "He… He has good intentions, but he might slack off or something."
Maria pet Splin's head, to which he frowned at, but hardly argued, simply closing his eyes tiredly. Maria quickly wrapped Splin in a blanket, the younger squid quickly drifting off to sleep. With a smile, she began walking off, stretching her arms. Ann-Gel watched as she began making her way outside.
"Where are you going?" Ann-Gel asked.
"I'm going to find Sharq, tell him I'm fine, but I'll be sure to help him find something to help Splin." Maria explained with a wave of her hand.
As Maria was about to step out the door, a crashing noise and the sound of air whizzing past interrupted her stride. She stared out the window, noticing wood scraping past the grass of the hill. Maria burst out the door and stared outside, where Sharq was waving back at her.
"Hey Maria!" Sharq called out, waving his arms.
"Sharq?! What are you- Is that a pirate ship?!" Maria shouted.
Sharq grinned. Sharq was on the deck of what appeared to be a pirate's vessel, complete with sails painted with a skull, oddly enough with tentacles attached as if taken from an Inkling that had a skull, tentacles jutting from the skull. He had a parrot perched on his shoulder, a bunch of other rapscallions wearing the old pirate garb cheered behind Sharq. The ship dragged across the ground, parting grass with surprising ease. Maria could hardly believe her eyes. She had seen quite the things in her life, but this was certainly a new one.
"Listen, I'm going on a journey to find some sort of treasure or something I can use to buy Splin medicine with!" Sharq announced.
Maria blinked. "Whuh?! Wait, that doesn't make any-"
"Tell Splin not to worry! I'll be coming back soon!" Sharq waved, the pirates bursting into raucous laughter.
Maria stared wide eyed as Sharq left, the ship somehow propelling itself over the hills into the distance, bouts of cheers echoing off into the distance. Maria frowned, stepping back into the house, grabbing a Splatterscope rifle and Ink Tank, beginning to walk back out with an ever strong stride.
Ann-Gel's eyes expanded as well. "Whoa."
Turning back, Maria managed the warmest smile she could. "I'll be back soon, take care of Splin while I'm gone, okay?"
Ann-Gel blinked. "O-Okay."
"See ya!" Maria waved, slamming the door behind her, dashing off into the distance after the ship.
Ann-Gel frowned, staring at the door. Shaking her head, she made her way towards Splin slowly but surely, her pedestal clattering with the ground as she hopped towards the young brother. Looking around, she noticed both the alarm clock and the Tele-Cube. Both had Zs for icons on their screens. Ann-Gel rolled her eyes.
"Way to help me look after Splin guys." Ann-Gel sighed, staring up at Splin from the floor.
So far, Splin appeared fine, aside from the rolling in his sleep, he was absolutely fine. Ann-Gel sat on her pedestal, watching after him, the sound of wood scraping against dirt fading off into the distance.
Step by step, Maria chased after the pirate ship, switching into squid form, attempting to Super Jump. As soon as she blasted off into the sky, she noticed the absurd speed the pirate ship was moving at, which soon outpaced her Super Jump. Rolling onto the ground as a lime green squid, she continued the chase, hopping with every breath she took as to catch up with the ship. Eventually, she noticed a long, ragged rope dragging along the side. With a smirk, Maria squished herself into the earth, and launched herself again, this time horizontally towards the ship, catching the worn rope. Smiling, she began climbing up the side of the ship, reaching the deck, where she was greeted by a plethora of Inkbrushes pointed at her face.
"Maria!"
Maria turned to the side, where Sharq waved at her. Other than the parrot, his classic Takoroka Mesh, White Anchor Tee, and Banana Basics apparel did not change, but now the parrot rested on top of Sharq's cap. Maria tilted her head curiously.
"Oy? You a companion of Captain Sharq?" One of the grunts aiming an Inkbrush at her spoke up.
Maria blinked. "'Captain'?"
"Yeah! The last captain gave me his title!" Sharq announced. "Just like that!"
Maria frowned, standing up straight, dusting herself off. "Why?"
"Ah, apologies, I suppose that needs explanation."
At the sound of that voice, the crew withdrew their Inkbrushes, then stepped to the side.
"Hoy! Sir!" The others kneeled at the deck.
"Hmm?" Maria murmured, tilting her head.
"Oh, right! This guy's the former captain." Sharq said, gesturing to the side.
Maria tilted her head, staring to the side. A red flowing coat drifted in the air, a black cap with a red bandana underneath covering his equally reddish tentacles. The wind carried his coat his coat, which under normal circumstances might have looked extremely cool, but considering the amount of wind blowing past it looked more like a cape stuck in a wind tunnel. In frustration, the mysterious Inkling completely revealed his identity, the former captain pushing down his coat in frustration, stamping down on his coat with weather-worn boots.
"There goes my freakin' reveal." The former captain muttered, dusting himself off.
Maria stared at him. A jagged scar ran down the right side of his cheek, giving him a rugged appearance. Upon spying Maria, the former captain stopped dusting himself off, and began advancing towards her with a sly smirk, walking in a way that suggested an attraction. Maria began backing away in discomfort, which switched to confusion and relief once his face lit up.
"Welcome aboard, miss!" The former captain greeted her with a huge smile.
Maria blinked. "Oh. Uh, thanks?"
The former captain raised his hand to Maria in a friendly fashion. "The name's Xarius. Glad to have an extra deckhand on board."
"Okay…" Maria coughed awkwardly. "Do you… Mind if I try something?"
"What'dyou have in mind?" Xarius asked, arching an eyebrow.
Maria stretched her arms, then her legs, making sure to turn around ever so often, puffing her chest out. The pirates watched her in bewilderment, one narrowing his eyes and tilting her head. Maria finished by reaching for her toes, then stood up straight, clearing her throat.
"...Err, okay, what was that? Had a crick in your back or something" Xarius asked, frowning.
"Oh, I was just stretching… You're um...not going to comment on my figure, are you?" Maria asked.
"...I uh...huh?" Xarius asked.
"Sorry, I needed to check... It's just most of the men I've been around… Uh, so, no compliments, no date offers…?" Maria asked.
Xarius smirked. "Madam, if you're fishing for compliments, I'm afraid all you'll get from us are blank stares!"
The other pirates laughed, as well as Sharq, who did not entirely understand the laughter, but wished to join in regardless. Maria stood straight, dumbfounded.
"What kind of backwards world is this where the pirates are practically the gentlemen while the city men are flirty idiots?" Maria thought to herself, then shook her head. "So…um Care to explain how Sharq is now your captain?"
Xarius stopped laughing slowly, then coughed, grinning. "Sure, heh heh, I'll explain. Yousee, I was gettin' tired of being captain, so I decided to pass it on to littl' Sharq 'ere, seems like a pretty capable squid."
Maria laid a hand on her hip. "...Really? That's it? Just a random squid?"
Xarius shrugged. "He had a fire in his eyes. Once he stopped us from robbing that convenience store, I realized this squid 'ere has spunk. So, we're taking 'im on an adventure, he gets twenty-percent of the cut."
Maria frowned, leaning back on the railing of the ship. "...Alright. Well, what's this treasure you're all going on about?"
Sharq grinned. "Oh, that? I'll explain that one later, but for now, let's have lunch!"
"Oy, you heard the captain, escort our new crewmate to the mess hall for some chow!" Xarius called out to the crew, who cheered in response.
Sharq smiled. "Follow me, Maria!"
Sharq dashed down into an open set of stairs into the inside of the ship. Maria blinked, then shrugged, following after him, the crew filing in after her, with Xarius left on the deck.
"...This'll be a journey to remember... That squid will be the key to victory." Xarius grinned, staring up at the blue sky. "That treasure is as good as ours!"
While Sharq and Maria were off on a new quest that came straight out of the blue, Splin rustled restlessly at home, shaking back and forth. Ann-Gel bit her lip, staring up at him worriedly. She stared back at the door and Splin.
"Oh… Geez, you two better get back soon." Ann-Gel thought to herself, staring at Splin carefully.
As Ann-Gel turned around to face the door, Splin's tentacles flashed, from blue to pitch black, in a blink of an eye. He muttered something, then drifted off to sleep.
AN: So, pirates, yep. This is mostly a joke arc, but hey, that's the whole point of this story in the first place. Hey, I need to follow up on the original "adventures" formula that the original had. So… Pirates. Eh, I'm trying things out. Mostly in trying to make this bizarre and still entertaining and readable. So, if you feel like it's going too far, then feel free to slap me silly!
Anyways, with that poor explanation out of the way, let's get to those reviews. Thanks Dread Angel, Ultrapyre, write n wrong, and Dancing Mann for reviewing! Well, puberty is pretty harsh Dread. This isn't puberty to say the least though, so you're right about that. Thanks Ultrapyre, really appreciate your efforts on your story. write n wrong, thanks again, hopefully this works as an answer. And Dancing Mann, thanks, really appreciate knowing the humor is to your liking.
Alright, that's it for now, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, uh.. Something, something, arr? I guess?