Splatoon: The Brothers and the Others

Nostalgia Trip, Part 1

Inkopolis. Breathtaking views, the freshest place on the planet, home of the Turf Wars!

It is certainly a thought that crosses every squid's mind at least once. Many far and wide remember the great city of Inkopolis by a similar code. Inklings, humanoids with the ability to swap into squids whenever they feel the need, populated the surface where they had founded the great city. Whether it is the ever popular (at least for now) Inkopolis Plaza, the grandest building known the shining retail paradise that is the Booyah Base, or the freshest pop stars of the century, the Squid Sisters, Inkopolis has it all for everyone.

But alas, with every shining diamond of a story, there is always a smudge on the bottom. We begin our tale with a pair of two, young blue tentacled Inklings, standing in front of a desolate park of what appeared to be water slides. I am sure a few of you are familiar with where this is heading.

One adjusted his pair of Designer Headphones that laid on his head, sighing to himself, kicking at the sidewalk he stood on boredly with his Crazy Arrows that stuck to his feet. The other one, standing close by with his Takoroka Mesh attached to his noggin and his Banana Basics firmly tied to his feet stared in awe with the same brown eyes his companion to the side had. The two of them shared various similarities; the same tan skin color, the same brown eyes, and the same Anchor Tees. Though, the one wearing headphones wore a black variations whereas the other one wore a white version.

While his friend gawked at the water slide park long since abandoned, the one in black opened his mouth as if to say something, then hesitated. Glancing around quickly, a look of confusion crossed his face. Reaching over, he tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to swivel around.

"...Sharq." The one wearing headphones piped up finally.

"Yeah?" The Inkling known as Sharq responded, blinking curiously.

Taking another gander around them, the Inkling wearing headphones cleared his throat. "Does any of this seem…Familiar to you?"

Sharq hummed, tapping his foot on the ground repeatedly. "...No. I mean, it's not like we've been to this ink slide park before, right Splin?"

Splin bit his lip, eyes staring every which way suspiciously. "...Actually, yeah."

"Hmm?" Sharq blinked, looking around.

"Sharq, think about it." He spoke up, looking around. "Doesn't this seem familiar at all?"

Sharq pursed his lips. "...Well, you said that today we could go wherever I wanted to. So, I thought checking out this-"

"No, I mean…" Splin frowned as he flusteredly adjusted his headphones. "Okay, so, you know how déjà vu works, right?"

Sharq blinked once. "...Yeah? Is that where you remember things that you like?"

"That's nostalgia." He muttered, looking around. "Although, that does also seem to be the case. Come on, you don't remember anything? Is this a dream?"

Suddenly, Splin began glancing to and fro, reaching around the air suspiciously. With a frown, he reached towards his right arm with his left and pinched. As a stinging sensation poked at his arm, he realized that perhaps he was not dreaming after all. Either that or his dream was just too potent of an illusion.

"Ah." Splin murmured, looking around. "I suppose. Though whether or not that is the case, I think we should leave."

Sharq pouted at him. "What? Splin, c'mon! I'm your brother, just this once?"

"We've definitely done this once before. I'm not willing to do it again." Splin shook his head.

Already beginning to walk away from the ink slide park, Splin gestured for Sharq to begin following him. Frowning, Sharq started walking next to him, albeit reluctantly. As they walked, the older brother began glancing behind him, pursing his lips. After about approximately thirty seconds of walking, he immediately shook his head and turned around, sprinting back for the park.

Splin paused and spun around, mouth gaping wide. "Sharq, no!"

"I can't help it man!" He laughed, arms flailing in front of his face as he sprinted. "Just one slide! One slide then we'll- Whoa!"

Stumbling over a pebble, Sharq kicked away at the sidewalk, attempting to regain balance. The rock flew off into the air as he spun his arms in circles. Eventually, he managed to stop his flailing and stand perfectly still, sighing to himself as he stopped. Behind him, dashing along the exterior of the walls surrounding the ink slide park, Splin eventually halted just behind him, gasping for breath.

"Sharq…" He shook his head between inhaling. "No. We're staying away from the ink slide park, alright?"

With a frown, Sharq tilted his head towards his younger brother in hopes of appeasing him. "Please?"

"No!" Splin spoke up, reaching at Sharq's shoulder, "Look, I know it might seem fun, but I bet someone's going to get hurt-"

"Ow!" Sharq muttered, brushing Splin's hand off. "You shocked me!"

Splin blinked, taking his hand away. "Oh, sorry. Static electricity?"

"I guess…" Sharq muttered while he rubbed his shoulder. "You worry too much Splin. Look, what's the worst that could happen?"

Creak.

"Eh?" He muttered, glancing towards the side.

The brothers watched the slides. Multiple rusted amusement rides swayed back and forth dangerously, the copper coating peeling off by itself. After standing for who knew how long, each slide began tumbling down with a thunderous crash, shaking the foundations of the park. Splin just stared blankly as a sheet of metal skidded up towards them, grinding to a halt on the floor.

"...Oh." Splin frowned at the piece of metal as if it had just failed him.

Sharq bit his lip. Ears perking up, the older brother could just barely hear the sounds of sirens closing in. "Sorry."

Shrugging, the other brother began walking off, away from the decayed, destroyed ink slide park. Sharq watched as red and blue lights flashed off of the surfaces of buildings, eventually turning around to accompany Splin as he walked through the sidewalk through Inkopolis.

"...Hey, Splin?" Sharq spoke up from behind him, jogging to catch up with him.

In a irritated, monotone voice, Splin simply responded with, "Yes?" as they passed by several buildings.

"Shouldn't we...I dunno, start running?" His brother spoke up, looking over his shoulder occasionally as if a cop would come chasing them at any moment.

A single sigh escaping his lips, Splin turned back towards his brother. "Sharq, listen. If this is going down the route I think it's going, it doesn't matter what we do. I think it's best we just keep walking and forget that ever happened."

Sharq blinked in surprise. "How are we supposed to forget that? Won't we get arrested or something?"

"Yeah, we should have." Splin thought to himself, shaking his head, turning back to Sharq. "Try not to dwell on it. Uh, did you want to do anything else today?"

"Well…" Sharq smiled, tapping his chin. "Maybe a Turf War?"

The younger brother just grimaced and adjusted his headphones. Before either of them could say anything, the two felt something squishy beneath their feet.

"Hm?" Sharq blinked, glancing down at his feet.

Kicking away at the ground, the two realized that they were standing in a blue puddle of ink. The liquid swirled around their feet, for some reason.

"...That's unusual." Sharq commented, tapping the goo with the soles of his feet.

Before Splin could agree, he could feel something weigh down in his hands. Glancing towards his palms, he yelped in shock as he looked back at a Tentatek Splattershot. Looking down at his chest, he realized that his Black Anchor Tee was covered by a Retro Gamer Jersey, the both of them having come from seemingly out of nowhere. Turning back to Sharq, he realized that his brother was now holding onto a Krak-On Splat Roller with a black odometer attached, the number displayed being a zero. Sharq's shirt was also covered, with a Camo Zip Hoodie. The both of their tentacles were dyed a light-green.

Sharq stared at his roller curiously, until something seemed to flash in his eyes. "Oh. Now I remember."

"Huh?" Splin spoke up in curiosity.

"The ink slide park...Splin, it's all flooding back to me!" Sharq exclaimed, though a cheery expression crossed his face. "This is awesome!"

Splin gave him an incredulous glare. "Wh- What?! That doesn't make any sense! How is this good?"

His brother adjusted his Takoroka Mesh still stuck to his head. "Well, we can do things all over again, Splin! Not a lot of people get that chance, you know."

"Wait a minute. If we're doing things all over again…" Splin glanced ahead. "...Ari."

"Are you two losers ready...TO LOSE?!"

Sitting on the right spawn-platform of Saltspray Rig, the two brothers stared in awe at the egomaniac across from them. Past a set of boxes in a lower sub-area to the oceanic arena was a full fledged squad of Inklings. They all had red-orange tentacles. Three of the squad members were females, and they all looked practically identical, wearing Paintball Masks, White Tees with the name, "Ari" emblazoned on it with dashes between the three letters, and Cherry Kicks. Standing in the middle of the group was a solitary male, wearing a Paintball Mask, a Varsity Jacket, and Yellow Seahorses. The male had a terrific smirk on his face as he and his squadron posed in a dramatic sense. The male held a Splattershot Jr. in his hands while the others hid their weapons as they posed.

"Oh yeah." Sharq hummed as the both of them stared at the bizarre group. "I forgot they had those masks on the first time we met."

Another frown crossed Splin's face. "Peculiar...perhaps I am dreaming?" Walking out of the spawn-point, Splin leaned over the side of the platform and yelled, "Hey, Ari!"

The mention of his name caused both him and his companions to freeze. "...How did you idiots find out my name?!"

"We know who you are, idiot." Splin shot back in irritation. "We don't have time for this. Just get over here so that you can lose and so we can go home."

"..." Ari seemed speechless for a brief second. However, his speechlessness was nothing compared to his unbridled passion, or in this case, cockiness. "Ha, ha? Is that a challenge?"

"No it's a statement telling you to lose so we can leave." Splin muttered under his breath.

"A challenge it is!" Ari shouted, removing his Paintball Mask. Somehow, his Jungle Hat managed to stay on within the mask. "A one on one battle, to the death! You losers are going down!"

Splin just snarled in indignation. Suddenly, Sharq gripped him by the shoulder and pulled him aside, walked off to the opposite end of the platform and smiled at the others, attempting to find privacy. Which hardly mattered because any conversation at that distance would probably be deafened by the wind. Sharq set his Krak-On Roller down at the side and crouched; Splin did the same with himself and his own weapon.

"Alright Splin, this is like some time travel stuff. Except with less dinosaurs." Sharq explained, glancing at the water and the sky. "What's happening?"

"...No idea." Splin spoke up, looking around. "Sharq, I just wanna get this over with."

Sharq frowned, looking over to the side, where Ari was raring to fight, giving one of his companions his weapon. "What if you cause a paradox or something, though?"

"...I mean, it would've happened earlier if you had tripped." Splin pointed out.

Sharq "aahed" in understanding as he took up a seat on the steel floor. "Well, what are you going to do? You're not going to actually going to fight him, are you?"

"...I have something in mind." Splin spoke up, walking off.

Sharq watched him cautiously. From the left of their base, a path led down to a set of boxes stacked in the middle of a rectangular platform. Splin began advancing towards it, staring straight ahead. On the other side, a rather jubilant Ari waved to Sari, Rit, and Bas respectively as he made his way down. The two of them walked to the end of the path leading down towards the lowest segment of Saltspray Rig, then dropped down, the metal rattling below their feet.

Ari walked forward, cracking his knuckles. "Heh heh. I'm all for a challenge or two, but a simple fight works too."

Splin hardly said anything and just walked forward, putting up his fists. The action seemed to make Ari laugh, the orange Inkling advancing forward with an air of confidence. The two readied their fists, with their family members watching from above. With one swift move, Splin jabbed at Ari's chest, which he scoffed at, blocking it with ease. The attack was light, yet a hint of satisfaction crossed Splin's lips.

"Hah!" He smirked, guarding against the blow. "Useless!"

With a single blink, Splin stood up straight and crossed his arms and glared at Ari almost expectantly. Ari arched an eyebrow at him with a wicked smile working its way across his face. Moving in quickly, Ari raised his fist, ready to collide with Splin's face. Both of their relatives, Sharq and Sari, cringed immediately, covering their own eyes in worry.

"...I...er…"

Out of confusion and curiosity, the two of them removed their hands and tentacles from their faces. Ari's fist remained frozen in the air, seemingly just about to collide with Splin's face, who turned away in expectation of the blow, his eyes shut. Opening one eye carefully, he watched the older, orange Inkling carefully. His expression morphed to that of shock.

"...Rival?" Ari smirked suddenly, his fist still gravitating dangerously close to Splin's face, whose eyes opened in a surprised yet satisfied fashion. "Goodness. I was not expecting this. Come on another offer for a quest, perhaps?"

"...Knock it off Ari." He muttered, pushing the punch out of the way. "We have a situation."

As the squid in blue explained, Sari, Rit and Bas stared curiously from atop their metal perch, whispering to each other. While they were relieved that Ari did not completely destroy the smaller Inkling, it was certainly an odd change of pace from the two punches that flew earlier. Joining them on the lower platform, Sharq sat in between them on the boxes, kicking his legs back and forth.

"...and that's the gist of it." Splin finished, rubbing his forehead as if it would help him comprehend the situation somewhat better.

Ari nodded in response. "Interesting. Has all of this been reoccurring since this morning?"

"Pretty much." Splin grimaced as he glanced at seagulls that passed by overhead.

"Except without any of the fun parts." Sharq frowned with a shake of his head. "C'mon, not even one slide?"

He shuddered at the mention. "I don't think I'm ever going back to an ink slide park ever again."

"How absolutely bizarre!" Ari commented, puffing his chest out with a smirk. "Sounds like an adventure to be had! Allow me to join you in this quest!"

"Quest?" Splin repeated as Ari nodded in affirmation. "Actually, Ari, I was just planning on getting home-"

Ari clapped with glee. "A tale of a return! This will be perfect! Where to next?"

Sharq pursed his lips. "I dunno. We kinda just showed up here just from walking."

"What? How drab. There's gotta be something else more…" Ari tapped his chin, looking around.

A strange gurgling noise caught the trio's attention. The three Inklings looked around for a brief moment before catching something in the corner of their eyes. Turning to the left, the group walked over towards the edge of the platform. Peering over the edge, they noticed a bizarre looking whirlpool. Unlike normal whirlpools, this one in particular flashed vivid colors as if a bucket of paint was dropped into the ocean and spun around.

"Glorious." The egomaniac finished, rubbing his hands together.

The Bate Brothers stared at each other for a brief moment. The two of them engaged in a silent conversation, bobbing their eyes in different directions, many of them gesturing towards Ari. As if reaching a mutual conclusion, the two of them nodded simultaneously, then turned back to him, who stood excitedly.

Splin cleared his throat. "Ari, that's a-"

"Great idea! Throw me in!" Sharq cheered, a sparkle flashing in his eyes.

"Will do!" Ari winked with a smile.

It all happened so quickly that Splin could hardly register it. In an instant, Sharq morphed into a blue squid and leapt into Ari's hands. Carrying the squid over his head, Ari heaved with all his might, hurling Sharq like a cephalopod boomerang. Except, unlike a boomerang, Sharq splashed down into the whirlpool and did not return. Splin stared on in horror.

Before he could say anything, Ari began lifting him as well. "It's your turn- Oof, I believe turning into a squid will make you lighter, you know? So turn into a squid."

Subconsciously, he shrunk into the form of a blue squid, only then realizing his folly. "No, wait, Ari, don't- AAGH!"

Launched into the sea, he hit the vortex and spun about dizzily. He managed to blurt out something about Ari and how he was a jerk. But mostly just sounds akin to drowning. Turning back towards his subordinates, who stared back at him in terror as if he were a murderer, he just waved politely, backing over the edge of the platform. Letting himself fall backwards, he shouted in triumph just before hitting the water, leaving his three companions on the platform.

"..." Sari stared at the water in disbelief.

"Dibs on his stuff?" Bas spoke up all of a sudden, her blue eyes twinkling hopefully.

Rit immediately smacked her upside the head as Sari continued to watch the water swirl.

"Something's happening. Something strange." She pondered unsurely. "I'm not sure what, but Ari, you'd better come back in one piece."

She reassured herself of this, repeating it in her head to herself as the other two females began to bicker, watching as the whirlpool dissipated into nothing.

AN: Anniversary things were never my thing. I was late for the Metroid 30th anniversary with my sketch, and I just barely made it in time for my own story's anniversary.

I'm amazed that such a small idea, based around a bunch of silly small episodic stories of nonsensicality evolved into a fully fledged squid plot. I wanna thank everyone who took the time out of their busy lives and schedules to read these stories. It's really just fantastic on how much of a dream this feels like. It sounds like something a much more famous person would say, but from the bottom of this writer's heart, I wanna thank you all.

But I also have to specifically thank the reviewers of just hours ago. Thanks Dread Angel, Ultrapyre, and CathyMirii for reviewing!

I'm happy to see that the cameo inclusion went swimmingly, Dread Angel. Glad it fit decently enough.

Apologies for the oddness of the situation, Ultrapyre. I'd thought that the whole dreaming scheme would be a bit of a nice nod to an earlier chapter, but I can see where you're coming from. I'll be sure to review the chapter contents more carefully in the future.

Finally, thank you CathyMirii. Perhaps I will write a backstory for Seamond, seeing as he IS one of my real amiibo names along with Ann-Gel, though I may have to work on all of the several other characters' backstories first. I'm glad that I was able to provide a story worthy of your time.

Thanks for reading, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, see you next time.