Splatoon: The Brothers and the Others
Dream Tour of a Lifetime
Sharq snuggled into what he thought was Maria, finding comfort in her soft tentacles. He yawned, slowly opening his eyes. He blinked, staring across a blank plane of white, nothing else in sight. Slowly and steadily, he switched from his squid form back to an Inkling, looking around curiously. He began walking aimlessly, looking to and fro, a hum constantly on his lips.
"Hmm. This place is pretty empty." Sharq observed.
"Yeah, tell me about it." Ari spoke up. "Rather optimal for my training, though, wouldn't you agree?"
"Huh?!" Sharq gasped, turning around, spying the orange tentacled teenager standing across from him with a grin.
"Aha! Dream rival! This is perfect!" Ari pounded the open palm of his left hand with his fist, smirking.
"Oh! A dream? That's what this is?" Sharq commented, staring about the white space they were currently in, "That makes sense."
"Indeed!" Ari smirked. "The perfect battleground to test my skills! Rival, unsheath your roller, let us commence battle!"
"Roller? Right now?" Sharq asked, raising his hand. He blinked, staring at a fully sized Carbon Roller. "Whoa!"
Turning around and reaching at his back, he felt a glossy surface. Feeling around it, he realized it was the perfect shape and size to be an Ink Tank hooked up to his back. Patting his shoulders, he felt the green straps of said Ink Tank to be attached as well. Blinking, he smirked, turning to Ari, raising the roller.
"I mean, I guess if it's a dream, sure!" Sharq smirked. "I've been wanting to battle like this for a while! Have some fun, you know?"
Ari nodded. "I agree. This is the perfect time for me to test my skills and get my mind off of my romance issues!"
"...Yeah!" Sharq halfheartedly agreed with a confused nod.
"Alright, shall we then?" Ari smirked, reaching behind him, taking a Carbon Roller of his own out. "I wish to practice in this dream, then apply it to reality."
"Okay! That sounds fun!" Sharq grinned.
Ari smiled. "This projection of my rival is so lifelike. This dream battle will be one to remember!"
As Ari thought this, he raised his roller, Sharq mirroring his stance. The two grinned in the white space, despite the dream realm being somewhat odd and the encounter less than normal, they pushed its oddities to the ends of their minds. All one their minds was the glorious contest of battle against one another. Gripping the roller handles, they charged at each other, the rollers dripping orange and blue respectively as they dashed, grinning happily.
Splin frowned as he walked. This was about the fifth time since he had grown ill that he's seen this barren wasteland. Well, wasteland would be a long shot, as on his way through this dream realm, he swore he saw a pair of capped men in karts, a blue hedgehog traverse the landscape, and other squids playing in orange and blue. Then, as he made his way through, he thought he saw them again. Only, this time they were familiar faces.
"Hyaaaaah!" Ari yelled, bringing his roller down on Sharq, which Sharq blocked, shivering somewhat under the weight of the other roller.
"N-Nice attack!" Sharq grinned, pushing Ari off of him, "My turn!"
Sharq smacked Ari with the side of his roller, sending the other Inkling flying. He yelped, spinning in the air, bouncing around the white arena.
"Wow!" Sharq grinned, "Does that count as a home-run?"
Splin watched from a distance, shaking his head. "Fever dreams."
Splin began walking off while he assumed the other two were whacking each other with glorified building brushes when he heard someone dashing up behind him. Blinking, he turned around, blinking in surprise.
"Willie?" Splin asked.
Willie, in all of his hardly mentioned glory, stood a few centimeters over Splin, (about an inch) grinning. Splin backed away a bit, then sighed in relief.
"Fancy seeing you here, Music Man!" Willie spoke, adjusting his glasses. "Guess you could say I've got you on my mind, eh?"
"...Willie, that was…" Splin sighed, shaking his head.
"Eh, I gave it my best shot." Willie shrugged, "Hey, where's your headphones by the way? I might just have to call you 'Man'."
Splin reached at his head, grasping nothing but his tentacles. He then reached for the back of his neck, finding nothing there either.
"...I fell asleep without my headphones. Hmm. Wouldn't expect a dream to apply sense." Splin muttered.
"Guess that's attention to detail, huh?" Willie grinned, leaning on nothing.
"What are you doing here anyways?" Splin asked.
"You know, I fell asleep? How else?" Willie told him, "I was tired...and...exhausted from work."
Splin eyed him curiously, Willie glancing away absentmindedly as a result, scanning the white area aimlessly.
In reality, Willie was asleep on his apartment bed. An irritated looking Zip, the shadows from her Sporty Bobble Hat covering her face. She had her arms crossed in frustration, the bed sheets covering the two from head to toe for reasons that should not be disclosed in a "T" rated story.
Willie blinked, staring at Splin, a bead of sweat dripping down his face in spite of himself. Splin simply shrugged, beginning to walk off.
"Okay, well, I suppose if it's my fever dream, anything can happen." Splin said with a shrug, walking off.
Shaking his head, Willie began walking alongside Splin as they traversed the dreamscape, two other Inklings sparring in the distance unbeknownst to him. At least until one of them smashed into the ground next to him, dazed from the impact.
"Whoa…" Sharq said, stumbling about, shaking his head to relieve the dizziness. "That was fun! I'll be right-"
Sharq turned around, spying the other two Inklings in the realm of dreams. He began grinning upon spotting his younger brother.
"Splin!" Sharq cried out, running up to his brother, tackling him to the ground.
"Gah! Oh Cod, I'm being attacked!" Splin gasped out in shock.
Willie watched as Sharq smothered his younger brother gleefully, shaking his head. "Here I thought I could be amorous… But Shadey really takes the cake."
True to his observation, Sharq could not stop rubbing his cheek up against Splin's shoulders. Splin, blushing terribly, got up and pushed Sharq off of him.
"Sheesh, my fever dream's version of my brother hugs tighter than the real one. Calm down there Sharq." Splin muttered.
"Sorry Splin," Sharq said, smiling, "I just haven't seen you in a while since I've gone on that pirate ship adventure!"
"Pirate ship… Yeah, I'll bite." Splin muttered. "What's this 'pirate ship' you mentioned?"
Sharq tapped his chin. "It's this whole adventure for treasure me, Maria, and Xarius are on! We're going to get enough gold to build a hospital to cure you!"
"...That actually sounds somewhat believable." Splin blinked. "You said Maria was with you?"
"Yeah. She and I fell asleep on the ship, we're riding the waves as we speak bro!" Sharq said, leaning on Splin's shoulder."
"Man, sounds like you two have been having a great time." Willie whistled, "Wish I was there."
"I've been home sick. Although you should probably… Huh. For a subconscious collection of mind images… You seem pretty sentient." Splin muttered, looking from Inkling to Inkling.
"Well, obviously." Ari said, running along with his roller dripping orange behind him, "Only the best for my mentality."
"...Hmm." Splin muttered, closing his eyes, "We can't possibly be… Are we?"
"We're all asleep at the same time? Cool!" Sharq grinned.
"How does that work?" Willie arched an eyebrow, looking around. "Is it like a man bond type of deal?"
Just then, an Inkling with pink tentacles flashed into existence, landing on the ground with a squeak. Sitting cross legged on the ground, a full SQUID GIRL attire on her person. Everyone stared at her, to which she shrunk to under their gazes.
"E-Eek! I'm s-sorry, I didn't mean to i-interrupt! Oh, wake up wake up wake-" She quickly panicked, vanishing in thin air.
"...Okay, well, Aqua's little visit clearly rules out the guys only rule." Willie pointed out with a chuckle.
"Oh yeah. Why haven't we been seeing her around lately?" Splin muttered to himself.
"Perhaps she's intimidated by the fact the one who had flirted with her has a partner now. Talk does get around quickly." Ari smirked proudly.
Sharq blinked, staring at Ari. "You have a partner?"
Ari glared at Sharq, his eye twitching. "Remember?! She pecked me on the nose, then on the cheek!"
"...Oh! ...When did Tai kiss you on the cheek?" Sharq asked.
"She just did okay!" Ari shouted.
"Whoa! Ari, you actually HAVE a girlfriend?" Willie asked with a grin, "Dang, I thought you were kidding!"
Ari blushed in indignation, glaring at Willie. "What makes you think I was joking?!"
Ari continued ranting on his love affairs, attempting to get the other Inklings to believe him, which was a great deal of difficulty as he continued dodging Willie's "Where does she live?" or "What does she look like?" questions, Sharq watching the two with an interesting only a young squid could have. Splin on the other hand stared at the white expanse above, below, and to the side of him, his eyes closed.
"How is this possible? Are we all really asleep at the same time? Are we sharing a collective consciousness?" Splin wondered.
You tell me.
Splin blinked, staring up at the sky, which again, was nothing but a blank palette. "Voice, what's going on? Why haven't I heard from you lately, either?"
Classified! You should find out for yourself, learn by doin', amirite?
Splin frowned. "Aren't you helpful."
"Hmm." Splin muttered, staring at the three, Ari still attempting to explain his romance endeavors.
"...She's a cunning girl, she and I are still in a bit of a standstill." Ari finished, crossing his arms.
Sharq smiled blissfully. "That's great! When are you two going on an actual date?"
"Dude, I don't see anyone going to the trouble of challenging YOU to test your compatibility. Pretty farfetched." Willie grinned, "I should know, in all the time Zip and I were together, we never had anything like that happen."
Just then, the space shook a bit, Willie looking somewhat frazzled after the minor tremor of sorts that disrupted the dreamscape. He shivered, causing the other boys to stare at him in confusion.
"Oh geez. That's uh… Zip's calling me." Willie chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, "I uh… I'll catch you all later!"
With that said, Willie blinked out of existence. Splin and Sharq shrugged, waving to where Willie previously was, Ari smirked, looking from each one of the other Inkling brothers.
"So, you two ready for a second round?" Ari asked, slamming his roller on the ground with a grin.
"...Uh, sorry Ari, I think I'll retreat to my own dream. If that's even possible." Splin said, a fist placed under his chin in thought.
"I need to see how Maria's doing, and if we're close to the treasure yet." Sharq explained, beginning to walk off.
"Aw, come on!" Ari pouted, "This is the only time I get to- Ahem, this is the only time I can allot for practice! If I can perfect my skills in a dream, it'll be much easier for me in reality."
Splin glanced away, frowning. "Sorry."
"Yeah, I need to help Splin get better… Sorry." Sharq told the teenager.
The two brothers began walking off, Ari scowling behind him. Sighing, Ari planted his roller into the ground irritably. The cracking noise that resulted had them all freeze. From where Ari had planted his roller into the ground, a crack growing in size from the initial impact. Ari gulped. The two brothers' reactions, judging by their facial expressions, ranged from a reflection of Ari's nervous mien, that would be Sharq, the other shrugging it off, sighing. The crack burst open, revealing a great hole, which began consuming the boys.
"Here we go again." Splin sighed, shaking his head.
"Ari, what did you do?!" Sharq shouted, the vortex growing louder into a wail.
"I didn't know this place was this fragile!" Ari protested.
That was all they could manage to say before they were swallowed by the vortex. The vortex, after devouring a group of young Inklings, took a napkin from seemingly nowhere, wiping its nonexistent maw.
The three Inklings found themselves sliding through a dark passageway, the glow of light a mere suggestion as it dimly lit the tunnel, increasing in brightness only as they slid through. Eventually, they reached a circle in the earth, which glowed. The three slid right up through the entrance, blinking. They found themselves in Octo Valley, the sky a duller blue than normal. Though, aside from the coloration of the sky, something was a bit off.
"Agents A, B, C, and D?"
At the mention of their code-names, the three Inklings flinched, scrambling and shifting their heads. Cap'n Cuttlefish stood in front of his makeshift shack, accompanied by a large Splatoon of other Inkling squids, most garbed in advanced Hero gear, neon greens and black numbering large among the crowd. However, among them, a select few appeared to be garbed in regular clothing in stark contrast to the rest of the crowd.
Attempting to appear dignified, Ari simply smiled and cleared his throat, "Uh- Hmm? What is it?"
Cap'n Cuttlefish sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head, waving the three off. "Ah, nothing. Just go back to your usual roles, urgh…"
The three glanced at each other, then shrugged, retreating back into the pipe, leaving the Octo Valley behind.
"What do you think that was? A meeting maybe?" Sharq suggested as he slid alongside his brother.
"Perhaps. The ways of those Inkling agents are rather odd. …Although, this IS supposed to be a dreamscape. Maybe it was some collective delusion of our imaginations?" Splin hypothesized.
Ari shook his head. "No. My version of Octo Valley would be much more dignified, less riff-raff."
"I feel like I'm missing out." Sharq sighed, shaking his head.
"Maybe we made the right call. After all, who knows what could've happened? One of them could've transformed into some eldritch abomination." Ari proposed, glancing back at the light of the open manhole.
Splin blinked. "These references…"
The other two stared over at Splin curiously. He shook his head, blinking again and again.
"Sorry. Just thinking around." Splin coughed, staring away.
"Don't worry Splin, when I get treasure, I'll be sure to help you with your sick brain too!" Sharq smiled.
Splin frowned. "Gee thanks, older brother."
"No problem!" Sharq beamed, patting Splin on the forehead.
"Hey, wait, if we're returning from the pipe, does that mean we'll come out the-" Ari began.
The hole in the white space of the ground spat out three Inklings, who bounced around the white space wildly. Ari yelped as he felt himself fall into yet another hole next to the one he was previously sucked into and expelled from, thought this one was considerably larger, and instead led to a brighter light rather than a dark void, Splin and Sharq tumbling about the empty dimension of sleep.
Ari woke up with a start, gasping for breath in the middle of night. Sleeping in a bed next to him, another Inkling stirred, groaning somewhat.
"Ari, if you want to start your midnight monologue, please be quieter this time…" Sari sighed under her bed sheets.
Splin and Sharq fell through yet another tube, Splin frowning. Sharq switched to his squid form and swam in freefall aimlessly.
"This is practically the norm now, isn't it?" Splin sighed, shaking his head. "Good grief."
"Well, look on the bright side! If this is normal, then there's not much you can get surprised by, right?" Sharq told Splin, reverting back to Inkling form, his cap slowly drifting off of his head during the fall.
"...I suppose you're right. Still doesn't help this is the umpteenth time something bizarre has happened." Splin sighed, shaking his head.
Soon afterwards, the two noticed the tunnel seemed to be coming to an end, a dim light illuminated at the end of the tunnel. The two left the endless tunnel, traveling through a starry sky. The dim light of twilight illuminated an eerie looking graveyard, blank tombstones littering the grass.
"...Eee. This is creepy." Sharq muttered.
"If we get jumpscared by a skeleton or something, I want you to pinch me as hard as you can Sharq. The last thing I need on my conscious is fright." Splin sighed.
"But you hardly ever get scared Splin! Remember Shalloween?" Sharq told him.
"That skeleton was too friendly. The man on fire was life threatening at the most." Splin explained.
"Hmm." Sharq hummed.
The two landed on the grass, which was surprisingly soft compared to the landings they had to endure most of the time. Sharq's Takoroka Mesh landed behind him, which the older brother picked up quickly and placed on his head. Splin quickly attributed to the fact they were in a dream, and began walking through the graveyard, Sharq following closely behind him. They walked through the graveyard, staring at the gravestones. Eventually, they began to take shape, some of the tombstones engraving names into themselves. Sharq took it upon himself to read one of them aloud.
"'Danny',... Huh." Sharq read.
Splin continued. "'Jonathan'... How puzzling. I don't believe I would know any of these people."
"...Maybe we stumbled into someone else's dream this time?" Sharq suggested with a shiver.
"If that's the case, I think we should tread lightly." Splin muttered.
Sharq nodded. The two continued through, silently reading other names that would spoil games and series that could entice angry mobs to run me down for doing so. Eventually, they found one last tombstone at the head of the cemetery. Two Inklings stood in front of the slate, one kneeling down with her hands on her face, the other staring at the stone solemnly. Gulping Splin began edging away, Sharq doing the exact opposite, walking up to them.
"Sharq!" Splin whispered frantically, "This could be some sort of funeral, you might be bothering them! Even if it is a dream, who knows how angry they could be."
Sharq gave Splin a reassuring smile, then continued walking closer. Splin frowned, gritting his teeth, then quickly began advancing to catch up with him. Soon he found that he and Sharq were already behind the two, the sobbing Inkling having quieted down a bit.
"Um, are you okay?" Sharq asked carefully.
In shock, she raised her fists, turning about swiftly. The brothers yelped, both defending themselves with their arms, (and to an extent their legs) when she paused mid swing. Maria, tears still streaming down her face, stared at the two in surprise.
"S-Splin? Sharq?" She asked in an uncharacteristically meek voice.
"Maria?" The two asked at once.
"I'm sorry!" She shouted, pulling the two brothers into an embrace. "Y-You scared me."
The two brothers blinked. Maria's apology certainly took the breath out of their mouths. Behind her, a tall, familiar figure stared back at them, chuckling ever so slightly.
"...Um, Ix, right?" Sharq greeted Maria's other child.
Ix gave an awkward wave towards the brothers as his mother glomped the two, dressed in a suit of mourning for a bit of an obvious reason. A sadness in his eyes betrayed his friendly smile. Splin and Sharq blinked. Ix made a bit of a point as to point with his tentacles, nodding his head sadly. The two stared past Ix at the gravestone. Upon reading the plain inscription, they stared towards each other, nodding solemnly.
"Rem." They read.
"...I'm sorry." Splin muttered.
"Yeah." Sharq looked at the dirt.
Ix nodded, walking off into the distance. Before the other two could comprehend it, Ix faded into the shadows, a squid silhouette vanishing into the grass. Maria suddenly loosened her grip and glared at Splin.
"That tears it. As soon as I wake up, I am going to do everything in my power to help Sharq. I can't lose anymore people in my life." Maria told Splin, tears drying up, a few dripping down her face still.
"Uh, Maria, I honestly don't think I feel that sick-" Splin began, but Maria would not hear any of it, standing up.
"Come on Sharq, we're waking up." Maria told Sharq, standing up, dragging Sharq along.
"Uh, okay! Bye Splin! We're going to wake up, I guess?" Sharq said, waving to his younger brother.
Splin blinked, watching as Maria dragged his brother into darkness, the two vanishing. Silently, he stared in confusion, sighing, shaking his head.
"...I don't think I can say much on your behalf, I didn't know you well, but you were Maria's daughter… So…uh…" Splin muttered, staring down at Rem's supposed dream tombstone. "...Sorry for...your demise?"
"Don't sweat it squid." Rem told Splin, standing next to him with a grin, her multiple tentacles patting him on the shoulder.
"Wait, what?!" Splin yelped, turning to Rem in bewilderment.
Instead of Rem, he met the orange tentacles of another Inkling altogether, a worried Ann-Gel staring down at him. He recognized the feel of his bed sheets and mattress, as well as the dawn light streaming in from the hole in the roof. Splin blinked, light flowing through the hole in the roof. He yawned, which was all he could manage for a "good morning" to the little amiibo standing above him.
"Oh, geez, you're alright." Ann-Gel sighed in relief. "Dude, you were spazzing out in your sleep, what were you dreaming about? I was just about to ask Tele-Cube to bring out the defibrillators."
At the sound of that term, Splin blinked, staring down across from his bed. Raising the electrical revival devices in the air, Tele-Cube sat, sheepishly retracting its metallic appendages into its cubic shell. Splin breathed a sigh of relief, sitting back on the pillows, closing his eyes.
"H-Hey, wait, I wanted to wake you up for breakfast! Don't fall asleep again! Splin!" Ann-Gel cried out.
Too late. Splin was already sound asleep yet again. Ann-Gel scowled, then sighed, hopping off of Splin's bed. The Tele-Cube retrieved its defibrillators, nudging Splin suggestively, hoping to awaken the boy.
"Nah, just let him sleep. He's probably exhausted from being sick or something. I don't know how real Inklings work." Ann-Gel admitted with a shrug.
Unsatisfied, Tele-Cube managed a huff, before once again stowing its defibrillators away, the two leaving Splin to explore the dreamland once again.
Meanwhile, Sharq was waking up from his nightbound endeavors, yawning as the scent of the sea drifted past his nose.
"Oy, Captain! Can you give me a hand with something- Hey! Gettin' down here quickly would be nice!" Xarius' voice rang out.
Sharq shook his head, switching from his blue squid form back into his Inkling form from the previous position last night, stretching. Sharq patted down his hat, and began descending the top of the ship's mast, seagulls flocking about the mast and sails lazily as he left the mildly comfortable wooden perch. As soon as he made it on deck, Sharq noticed Xarius sitting by the mast with a hint of annoyance in the air around the former pirate captain.
"What's up Xarius?" Sharq greeted.
"Mornin' captain. Now, I'm not usually one to diagnose fevers and all the like, but Maria… She's taken the ship's wheel and is rather determined to get to that treasure. A wee bit more than I am for the liking, to be honest." Xarius admitted, rubbing the back of his head.
"Well, what's wrong with that? Isn't it a good thing for us to be continuing on?" Sharq asked.
"Take a look at the water by the starboard." Xarius pointed out.
Sharq turned. A crest of water was being pushed up, rushing past the wooden ship. Sharq blinked, becoming slowly aware of the speed the ship was travelling at.
"We must be accelerating five knots a second at this point. I swear, that woman…" Xarius shook his head.
Sharq stared up at where he presumed the ship wheel was. Maria was at the head, staring ahead vigilantly, the ship inexplicably speeding up to match her attitude at the moment.
"...Well, I guess we'd better hold on tight then." Sharq commented.
"Mhm." Xarius muttered.
The ship swerved through the sea, a blur in the blue as it moved forward, regardless of any common sense whatsoever.
AN: Apologies for the delay, I had a bit of important business to attend…to… *pushes birthday gifts to the side* Maria's off captaining the ship, cameos in the dream world, and other stuff, only on Nintendo Wii U. Or something.
Reviews are like the sea. Except not at all. Thanks write n wrong, Ultrapyre, and Dancing Mann for reviewing!
I'm glad you could understand that the pairing wasn't happening, write n wrong! Ultrapyre, yes, alarm clocks in this particular universe have always been a somewhat off. I still haven't really figured out this whole "Shared Universe" drama, but I suppose we'll just have to hope for the best, eh? Dancing Mann, no offense taken! Heh heh. :3
Thanks for reading once more, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, off to pratice my Pokkén Tournament skills, see ya.