Splatoon: The Brothers and the Others
Migration Relocation: The First Part
Spyke's one eye narrowed into a sour glare. "Waste of one good rug if you ask me."
"We'll buy you a new one," Lalai affirmed soothingly as she stared skywards, "We just need to wait."
Spyke waved at the smoke irritably. The bonfire between the four burnt vividly, the tassels of the rug burnt and smoking up into the air. Above them, the jellyfish scuttled and shivered as they pushed each other as they fled from the smoke, causing the entire mass around the plaza to shift. Small holes opened up in the "ceiling" above as they scurried away from the smoke. They scattered to and fro, circling just around it, creating waves in their formation as they wiggled.
Spyke sat by, tapping the asphalt by the fire with two fingers in an irregular rhythm, glowering at his rug. Sharq and Dosio sat side by side and across from Lalai, who was fixing her tentacles. Her tentacles were draped gently upon her lap, each one noticeably dirty. Every now and again, a camera flash would envelop the campfire for a split-second, then revert back to a dimly lit asphalt pavement, much to the irritation of the group. In the darkness, Lalai looked like literal squid beacon. Her agent clothing shimmered even in the dimness, everything from her headset right down to her shoes lit her up like a firefly.
Dosio stared at the floor, rested his chin on his two hands and scowled. "So, about the Octarians..."
Lalai's agent gear flashed pink momentarily as she snapped to attention. "Hm?"
"...How long have they been living down there?" Dosio questioned, disturbance evident on his face, "In our sewer...uh...system."
Lalai smiled, stopped fixing her tentacles, then faced him and asked, "You really don't know?"
"No," Dosio shook his head sourly, "I hardly know what's happening now! I've been...I've been distracted."
Lalai winced. "I see."
Sharq gazed at each of the other Inklings and sighed, "Speaking of distracted... Level fifty? You must have been grinding at it for days!"
"If I missed out on this war underneath us," Dosio murmured with a shiver as he glanced around at the jellyfish, "I probably deserve this break."
Lalai frowned. "What do you mean?"
Dosio sighed and stared up at the sky. "Nothing. Sharq's right. I've been at it for too long, and that's gotten me almost nowhere."
Sharq blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh! Sorry, that's not what I-"
"It's not important anyway." Dosio shrugged, then suddenly turned back to Lalai. "How long has this war been going on?"
Lalai bit her lip, then glanced down at her lap. She began to count her fingers while both Dosio and Sharq watched closely. She counted five, then five again, and began to count faster and faster, fingers flashing like bullets. Dosio's scowl eventually changed to a face of mystified astonishment as Lalai finished. She looked up and rested her hands on her lap.
"About a hundred years," Lalai explained with a slight smile, "Give or take a few."
Dosio placed his two hands on his face. "...You don't look like you're one-hundred years old."
Lalai suppressed a laugh, settling for a giggle. "No, man! I'm just a modern agent. This dates all the way back to the Great Turf War at least a hundred years ago."
Sharq tapped his chin. "Great Turf War? Sounds familiar…darn my memory!"
Amused, Dosio rolled his eyes. "Memory ain't the only thing you need to get checked."
"Ruuuuude," Sharq complained.
"Might've heard of it once or twice before too," Dosio explained as he pushed Sharq to the side.
"That's a surprise," Lalai rolled her eyes, "Anyone else I talk to think it's some new event or prank."
"Is it?" Dosio asked and arched an eyebrow.
Lalai's smile faded and was replaced with a look of extraordinary disappointment. "No."
Dosio scowled. "Ah, sorry. Explain to the guy who doesn't do anything other than Turf."
Sharq folded his arms and tilted his head. "Hold on, it's a little fuzzy, but for some reason, also sorta familiar. I'm sure Splin talked about it before."
"Do you want the short version or the long one?" Lalai inquired with another sigh as she peeked at the ceiling again, "Wow, they're really scared of that."
Sharq and Dosio sat up straight and stared directly at her. "Short version," the two requested simultaneously.
Lalai shook her head. "What is wrong with our city?" she asked as she stretched her arms into the air, one in front of the other, "No one cares about anything but pop star drama and who has the better win rate."
Sharq and Dosio adopted faces of confusion. Lalai simply blinked at the odd stares she was given.
"It's another long story," Lalai explained.
"Start one story at a time, then," Dosio stated plainly as he leaned towards the fire, "The Great Turf War?"
"Okay." Lalai gazed down at the dying, weak blaze and took a deep breath. "About a hundred years ago or so, we, the Inklings, and the enemy, the Octarians lived in peace and harmony. That would come to an end when it turned out the tides somewhere around..."
Lalai paused, pursed her lips, and glanced up again with a frown. She tapped her leg back and forth repetitively, with concentration thick on her face. Nearby, Spyke grimaced, staring down at her finger tapping. His own, bony finger had begun to tap in the same, irregular, extraordinarily fast rhythm. Curious, the rest of the group turned around and stared, much to Spyke's displeasure. He scowled and quit tapping, as did Lalai, and glared at her stationary hands.
"Sorry, I know I said that this would be the short version, but..." Lalai grinned sheepishly, "It's a little complicated."
Dosio rolled his eyes and rambled, "The Inklings and the Octarians fought, we won, something, something revenge. "
Lalai nodded in surprise. "Nevermind, that's right. Give or take a few giant Octoweapons, some Inkling agents, and the Squid Sisters."
Sharq had on a surprised look. "Whoa, the Squid Sisters were agents?"
Lalai, Spyke, and Dosio stared at him in silence. Another camera flash enveloped the darkness, to which Dosio responded with some choice language.
Sharq beamed and nudged Dosio with his elbow. "Joking, man. Hey, I can remember...some things!"
"You're annoying sometimes, anyone ever tell you that?" Dosio complained.
"Aww," Sharq beamed, "You and Splin would get along!"
Dosio grimaced and scooted closer to the fire. He held both of his hands carefully in front of the flame, a scowl on his face. Sharq gave him a light smile and did the same, moving closer to the fire. As soon as Sharq moved closer, Dosio stopped what he was doing and shook his head in disbelief. Sharq simply grinned back.
"How long have you two been friends?" Lalai asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Since today," Sharq and Dosio announced with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
Lalai stared at the odd pair. "Okay."
She returned to peering at the fire.
Just then, Dosio shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. "Yeah, yeah. Anyone know why's it so cold down here, anyway?"
"Might have to do with them," Lalai spoke and pointed up to the ceiling, "The jellyfish are blocking out the sunlight."
"Great, the Turf Wars are cancelled and it's freezing," Dosio muttered bitterly and shivered again.
Sharq pat him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Hey, it could be worse. We could be stuck in the middle of a blizzard."
Dosio glanced around the plaza and at the jellyfish restlessly. "You think we could…open up that manhole, then?"
Lalai arched an eyebrow. "What's that mean?"
Dosio rubbed his arms together in front of his chest as he shuddered. "You said something earlier about the Octarians in the sewer system. How many could you fit down there?"
"Octo Valley," Lalai corrected, "And I didn't put them down there- Where are you going with this?"
"We should drain them all." Dosio looked upon the jellyfish irritably, "Like a whirlpool."
Lalai's eyes widened. "And what's THAT mean?"
"Oh yeah, why can't we just do that?" Sharq blinked and surveyed the plaza, "I bet we could fit a whole bunch of these guys in Octo Valley!"
Lalai stared at the other two incredulously, then shook her head and held up one finger. "Okay, first, seriously? 'Drain them'? What are you thinking?"
"Hey, I've had a long day!" Dosio barked and crossed his arms, "Besides, it's always good to have a backup plan! Right, Sharq?"
"Yeah!" Sharq pumped his fist in the air. "Like ours!"
Dosio arm's suddenly fell slack. "Aw, ship."
Lalai waved him off and held up two fingers. "Second, I'd rather not get anyone else involved in civil war and natural disasters. There's been civil unrest in Octo Valley for a while."
The Inklings scooted closer to her, careful of the flame. "Civil unrest?"
"There's been a…" Lalai pursed her lips and tapped the floor distractedly.
As if noticing, Spyke stopped and stared at her. Sheepishly, Lalai retracted her hand and rested it in her lap with an open-tooth grin. With a shake of his head, Spyke went back to rhythmically tapping the asphalt, but with his eye now fixated suspiciously on Lalai.
She cleared her throat and spoke up, "There's been an accident," she mentioned, "A lot of Inklings and Octarians are still down there, helping each other, organizing teams..."
"I thought everything was peaceful down there?" Sharq inquired.
Lalai frowned and muttered, "It's hard to explain. Other agents like hanging out in Octo Valley and that usually causes a few altercations. There's the instability of some old home kettles," Lalai continued, "There are also tons of rebel factions, Sharq. That's not even mentioning the giant robot flying around…"
Lalai paused when she noticed the blank stares Sharq and Dosio gave her.
Unamused, Dosio stated, "A robot."
"Since when are there rebels down there?" Sharq asked.
Dosio shut his eyes. "Why is- Why is that worth more than the giant robot?"
Lalai shook her head. "I'd love to show you, just to explain, but it's really not worth going down there, trust me. Cap'n Cuttlefish called me down there because of that, a few other plans, and because…"
Lalai suddenly cocked an eye around them, much to the bewilderment of the group.
"Hold on!" She whispered excitably.
Lalai flashed a smile, stood up, and did a little pose, puffing her chest out and holding her arms behind her back. The Inklings and the urchin stared at her, each dead silent.
"I'm Agent 3, of course!" Lalai proclaimed with a smile.
Everyone present just stared. The silence was broken as a few of the jellyfish began to snap pictures, effectively blinding the group with the glare of flash photography. Lalai beamed while the others simply gawked at her.
"Why is everyone in this city so weird?" Dosio asked, leering at Sharq.
"Well, I'd say it's- Hey!" Sharq protested and pushed Dosio away, much to the other's amusement.
As she blinked the dots out of her eyes, Lalai sat back down bashfully. "So, yeah, I needed to get down there quick."
Sharq tilted his head in curiosity when almost immediately, his face lit up. "Oh! That's what Pela meant by-"
Almost immediately, there was another period of prolonged silence between the group. Sharq blinked, then frowned, and looked from person to person in utter confusion. Across from him, Lalai's face had flashed a cherry tint. She had hunched over as if she had just been socked in the gut, with her hands planted on the sides of her face in shock. Dosio, on the other hand, stared at Sharq with nothing but a blank face and a head shake of disapproval. Meanwhile, mute in all of this, Spyke peered up at the ceiling, narrowing his one eye up at the jellyfish, and muttered something about snail thieves.
"Oh," Sharq said lamely, his shoulders deflating, "Uh…surprise!"
"Oh. My. Cod," Lalai whispered, mortified, as she hid her face behind her tentacles, "You- She- She wasn't supposed to to…"
Dosio rolled his eyes, and Sharq cleared his throat and glanced away. "Ooh, my bad."
Lalai shook her head rapidly, only stopping after a few seconds, when she cleared her throat. "This is…" she glanced at Sharq and brushed the tentacles out of her face, "What did she say?"
Sharq pursed his lips. "Um…am I allowed to tell you that?"
Lalai nodded curtly and gazed at him in dead seriousness. "Please."
Sharq stared at Dosio, then at Lalai, took one deep breath, and finally spoke up, "Well, she did look…sad, y'know?"
Lalai's shoulders sank and her tentacles began to droop low by her side. Sharq paused and kicked back by the fire respectfully. Suddenly, Lalai nodded at him, wrapping her arms around her legs as she sat.
"Oh, man," Lalai muttered to herself.
Sharq began slowly, "Um, about you and Pela…"
Instinctively, he turned to Dosio. In response, Dosio simply sighed and gave him a reluctant shrug.
"We're gonna be here a while, anyway," Dosio told him as he laid back on the asphalt.
Dosio settled on his back and arranged himself on the blacktop, resting his head uncomfortably on top of his arms. As he rested on his side, he stared up at Sharq. With a scowl, Dosio pointed back across the fire to the pink Inkling firmly. Sharq smiled and gave him a nod.
Sharq turned back towards the fire. "Is everything okay between you two?"
"Okay," Lalai repeated the word with plenty of uncertainty, "Yeah. It's just…" She folded her arms over her lap. "We've both been working at our own pace for so long. We don't have a lot of time to talk to each other anymore."
Sharq nodded in understanding. "Mm-hm."
Lalai gazed up at the gaping holes in the jellyfish sea above them. "Pela's been busy at her restaurant, I've been busy with my agent work. We can't ever seem to find a moment to really do anything anymore unless it's helping each other out with our work or...we just don't get to do anything together anymore," Lalai muttered as she gave Sharq a long, hard stare, "As sisters."
"Uh-huh." Sharq nodded again faster.
"I guess we're just drifting apart," Lalai finished as she shrunk into a small pink squid and stared up at the sky through the holes, "That's just...how it is."
Sharq looked at her pitifully. "Aw. How long has this been going on?"
Lalai switched back into an Inkling as she laid back on the ground. "...Ever since I became an agent?"
The group sat deep in thought as the rug continued to burn. The fire ate away at the last of the carpet on the floor while the rest laid discarded, reduced to smolder and ash. Spyke glared at the remnants of the rug and hung his head low.
Sharq broke the silence as he spoke up, "It sounds like you're both trying your best."
Lalai's eyes narrowed at the ceiling and balled her hand into a fist. "What if my best isn't good enough?"
"Hey." Sharq waved to her with a worried look. "Don't think like that."
Lalai scowled at Sharq. "I can't shake this feeling, Sharq. It's like there's some sort of force field between us," she muttered as she rested back on the floor, "And I'm usually good at breaking those."
Sharq's shoulders dropped low. "Lalai…"
"Married to your work, huh?"
The two Inklings turned towards Dosio. He eyed them tiredly as he lounged on the asphalt, his Splash Goggles lying lazily dangled around his neck.
"Yes," Lalai affirmed with a nod.
"So, you and your sister work twenty-four-seven. Neither of you get a break?" Dosio inquired as he tapped the ground with his shoe.
Spyke glared at his shoe vehemently. As soon as Dosio picked up on it, he began to tap faster with a sadistic grin on his face, much to the irritation of Spyke.
"Hey, don't think I forgot about that Cod-awful re-roll you did for me a while back," Dosio told him with a grin.
Spyke rolled his eye and muttered, "Inklings."
Lalai sighed. "We do have a few days off, but-"
"A few?"
"My schedule is sort of what you'd call 'flexible'," Lalai muttered.
Dosio laid on his side and stretched. "Elaborate."
"Dosio?" Sharq asked with a curious stare.
Lalai huffed and crossed her arms indignantly. "Three."
Dosio leaned in with one of his hands cupped behind his ear, putting his head precariously closer above the fire. "Three what?"
"Three weeks," Lalai admitted as she leaned across the fire as well, "And I usually have those three weeks booked."
"For what?"
"More work."
"What kind?"
"Important receptionist work."
"You're a receptionist too?"
Lalai sighed and rested one hand on her face. "It's complicated."
"How?"
Round after round, Dosio fired off question after question, one after the other ranging from all sort of tidbits about Lalai's job. Clear and precise, Lalai answered every question fired at her without missing a beat. While the two asked and answered at the speed of sound, Sharq and Spyke just looked on in awe and boredom respectively.
"Time of day?" Dosio asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Morning to afternoon," Lalai stated firmly.
"Yeah, alright." Dosio leaned back.
Sharq tilted his head. "So, what'd you find out?"
"That she...works too hard," Dosio muttered with his fist under his chin.
Sharq nearly fell over on his back. Scrambling back up, he sat up straight and gawked at Dosio for a solid ten seconds. Dosio frowned back at him, eyebrow arched. The fire continued to burn what was left of the rug, reducing it to nearly nothing but cinders and near-microscopic burning bits.
"Is that it?" Sharq asked with a bewildered expression, "What the heck does that tell us?"
Dosio nodded. "Yep, she works too hard. She should use all of those breaks to visit her sister."
There was a prolonged silence lingering in the air. Everyone present, including a few jellyfish, stared down at Dosio with inexplicable, confused faces.
Dosio's face scrunched up. "Oh, come on! You were the ones who were like, 'Let's sit around this burning rug and wait'-"
At this point, Spyke reacted with an obscene hand gesture behind Dosio's back. While surprised, the other two Inklings coughed absentmindedly and ignored him.
Lalai shook her head. "No, that's great advice. But I still have so much to do during those off days, like-"
"Let me stop you right there and ask you one last question. By definition, those are your days, right?" Dosio asked.
Lalai nodded at him. "Yeah, but keep in mind I still have to perform errands, like checking Callie's driving progress, or helping Marie out with the holiday stuff, or-"
"Don't."
Lalai blinked in surprise. "But I-"
Dosio shook his head and glared at her. "Don't help them out. Take some time off for yourself. And your sister," he announced firmly as he lounged back on the cement.
Lalai pursed her lips. "I don't know…"
Dosio shrugged and placed his Splash Goggles firmly on his face. "Then have fun drifting apart from her."
Sharq gawked at him incredulously. "Dosio!"
"I'm just saying. It ain't healthy devoting yourself to your work and…" Dosio trailed off, "Never stopping to take a break. Even when you really need to."
Dosio stared down at the fire in silence for quite some time, as did Lalai. Sharq looked to each of the Inklings. A worried frown grew on his face as he glanced at each of his friends.
Suddenly, Lalai looked up from the fire, and gave them a small smile. "You're right."
Dosio glanced up from the fire. "Hm?"
"We really haven't gotten together to do anything in a long time," Lalai stated as she looked Dosio dead in the eyes, "You're absolutely right."
Dosio nodded. "Mm."
"I mean, there's still the expedition and the buttload of packing that needs to be done but…" Lalai sighed and beamed, "After this is all over, I'm definitely visiting her."
Dosio stared at Lalai for quite some time before resigning with a sigh. "Guess I'm taking a break too. Y'know, if this plan works?"
The group glanced towards Sharq, who sat idly by, staring up at the jellyfish. Dosio snapped his fingers, but to no avail, as Sharq continued to stare in a trance.
"Sharq?" Dosio waved at his face.
"Yeah!" Sharq asked, sitting straight, finally turning to him.
"Since we're still sitting here, shouldn't we finally tell Lalai the plan?" Dosio asked.
"Oh, the plan!" Sharq hopped up in place.
"Yeah, the thing we should've told her like, five years ago," Dosio muttered, "Can't forget that."
Sharq smiled, "That's what the fire is for!"
"Huh?"
Sharq reached down and tapped the blacktop near the fire with a grin present on his face. "What, did you think we'd just be sitting around this fire all day for no reason?"
Dosio, Lalai, and Spyke nodded at the same time in response. Sharq just smiled and looked back up at the sky.
"Don't worry, I've had this all planned," Sharq explained and pointed at the ceiling, "You see that?"
The group peered their heads up at the ceiling and gasped. The hole in the expanse of jellyfish had grown exponentially. Sunlight streamed through the circle and into the pit, and the sky was uncovered, the thin trail of smoke from the carpet streaming up into the air.
"Thanks for starting that fire, Lalai!" Sharq cheered.
Lalai blinked and shielded her eyes. "Um, no problem."
Dosio stared into the sun in a trance. "How did she-"
He spun to Lalai. She whistled innocently as she stowed away a lighter in her pants' pockets, only giving Dosio a shrug in return. "It always helps to be prepared."
"Prepared for what, arson?" Dosio asked, "Nevermind that, how did you know this would work?"
"No one likes breathing in smoke, so it was a cinch!" Sharq announced, pumping his fist up in the air.
Dosio blinked. "You made a fire to shoo away the jellyfish because they don't like smoke."
"Yes," Sharq stated in a matter-of-factly voice.
"That's really stupid," Dosio commented with a scowl.
Sharq shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry tough guy, it was either that, or try to swim up the jellyfish."
Dosio shuddered. "When you put it like that…"
"Okay!" Sharq beamed, "Now, we can all Super Jump out of here, over the barrier, and enter the Squid Sisters' studio from the back! It'll be easy! Once we're in there, we'll just start Inkopolis News, broadcast across Inkopolis, and persuade the jellyfish to leave!"
"Sounds like a plan," Lalai nodded.
"Whatever. Beats sitting down here." Dosio admitted, switching into a squid.
Sharq grinned. "That's the spirit!"
Following his lead, Sharq shrunk down into a squid, as did Lalai. The three squids pointed up at the sky, tentacles trembling.
"Ready?" Sharq asked aloud, "One, two-"
"What about me?" Spyke inquired.
The three squids sitting on the ground glanced over at the urchin.
"Oh," Sharq spoke, "Spyke."
Spyke glared down at the squids while he sat upon the remains of his carpet. His one eye and emotionless frown stayed patient as Sharq waddled forward in his squid form.
"Um…you can stay put?" Sharq suggested, "Does that sound alright?"
Spyke remained silent and stiff. As he continued to glare down at Sharq emotionlessly, Sharq simply hopped away, rejoined the trio, and shot off into the air with a burst of ink. The two other squids launched into the sky as well, leaving Spyke to sit on his ruined carpet.
"...Seriously?" Dosio asked Sharq as they jet off into the sky.
Sharq rolled his eyes. "You make the plan next time."
"Y'know what?"
"What?"
"I will," Dosio nodded firmly.
"Good!" Sharq cheered, "It's settled."
The urchin watched the three squids bounced away, eventually vanishing over the barrier. Spyke then glanced down at his rug and sighed. Smoke no longer rising into the air, the jellyfish closed over the urchin and draped the plaza back in a dark veil.
Spyke leaned to the side. "If they manage actually fix all'o this, I'm quittin'."
Judd's head poked out of a nearby pile of jellyfish. "Meow. (I'd purr-frain from making bets you can't keep.)"
"Maybe," Spyke muttered and pushed a jellyfish to the side, "Or maybe I'm just bloody sick of Inklings."
"C'mon, you cowards!" Pela screamed as she flailed about, "Fight me!"
Nearby, Zip pursed her lips and glanced down. "Pela, I think you can stop now."
"No way! I can…!" Pela strained in place for about a full minute to no avail, "Ah, great."
Willie groaned, "What'd you think would happen when you decided to hit these jellyfish?"
All three of the other Inklings were caught in the grasp of the jellyfish. Several angry eyebrow jellyfish surrounded the trio, binding them back-to-back. Pela strained, feebly attempting to smack the tentacles wrapped around them with her frying pan, her arm forcibly constricted to her side. The streets of Inkopolis laid underneath piles of jellies aside from the minuscule circle that the trio sat in. The jellyfish around them made bubbling noises and pointed at Pela occasionally. Despite their angry eyebrows drawn on, they watched Pela uncomfortably.
"Enough of that! Willie, help me get us out of this!" Pela ordered.
Willie bit his lip. "I dunno Pela, it's gonna take a while with this spoon you gave me."
He demonstrated by lightly smacking the jellyfish tentacles using the wooden spoon in his right hand.
"Gah," Pela complained, "Zip?"
"Pela, we can't move, we can't escape," Zip switched into a squid only to flap fruitlessly in the grasp of the jellyfish, "All we can do now is face the music."
Pela scowled. "And set the precedent that they can just walk over us?"
Willie shouted, "They just did!"
Pela kicked at the jellyfish surrounding them. "Get your tentacles off-a me!"
The jellyfish glared at her.
"What is wrong with you people? You order without paying, you wrap us up like we're presents-" Pela shouted at the jellyfish.
"Oh, Squidmas is soon," Willie muttered, "What to get..."
Zip smiled. "Aw."
"For me, of course." Willie winked.
Zip rolled her eyes.
"What next, huh?" Pela shouted, "Are you going to torture us too?"
The jellyfish glared at her. Again.
"Ugh! It's like you don't understand anything I'm saying at all!" Pela provoked, furiously slapping the tentacles with her pan.
The jellyfish-
"Wait, Pela." Willie bit his lip.
"What?' Pela asked loudly.
Willie cleared his throat. "Let me just try something. Hey!"
The jellyfish stopped glaring at Pela silently and turned their heads up to glare blankly but angrily at Willie. The crowd began to pile in closer and closer.
"If you want, I'll- I'll cook for free for every single one of you! How many of you like fish?" Willie asked the crowd.
Pela's straining only increased. "I'm the boss here, Willie!"
"Calm down, I'm not actually going to give these guys free food!" Willie shouted in response.
"Shh!" Pela shushed him.
The jellyfish continued to stare and crowd around the three mindlessly. Zip switched back to Inkling form, her legs dangling and ready to kick. Pela growled in irritation, keeping a close eye on Willie regardless.
"Let's see...let me try something else. Hey! All of you look like...water balloons that a five-year old would make..?" Willie stammered.
Zip arched an eyebrow as she scanned the crowd, then her eyes lit up. She cleared her throat and screamed, "Yeah, you losers! You're- Um...you look like walking, blue, pimples?"
"...The shell are you two talking about?" Pela asked.
Zip blushed yellow and pouted at her boss. "I'm at a loss for words. That was the best I could come up with."
"But why?"
Willie pointed with his finger as best he could towards the jellyfish. "That's why."
Pela scowled and surveyed the mob of jellyfish. Her gaze softened, albeit not by much. Amidst the jellyfish, the jellies just continued to stare at them without any other emotion other than absolute bewilderment. A few of the jellyfish turned to one another, wiped their eyebrows off, reached down to the floor to snatch one of the markers still left, and re-drew eyebrows over their faces. Legions of jellyfish surrounding the Inklings now sported confused brows sketched in marker.
"They don't understand you, me, or Zip. They literally can't." Willie muttered, "They're just doing whatever they want."
"Oh my Cod," Pela murmured as she sank in defeat, eying the jellyfish with disdain, "Now I just feel stupid."
Willie swallowed and remarked, "So...anyone know how to speak jellyfish?"
"Ship, ship, Coddam it." Pela cursed to herself miserably.
Zip looked over her right shoulder pitifully. "Pela?"
"Wait a minute...you still went into my restaurant and ordered food. You still ordered, you still have to pay," Pela spoke, her head hung low.
Zip nudged Pela's shoulder with her head. "It's okay, Pela. We can- Um."
One of the jellyfish hopped up to the trio curiously. The three Inklings stared at the jellyfish, each one of them thoroughly confused. The jellyfish swiftly reached inside of its shirt and pulled out a small sheet of paper.
"What does he want?" Pela asked with her head still facing the ground.
The jellyfish lightly pushed the menu in front of Zip's face. Scrunching up her face, she scanned the paper, then turned to Pela.
"He has a menu," Zip announced, "Oh Cod, he's circled all of the items ag- Ah!"
Several other jellyfish surrounded the trio, all armed with paper menus. The tentacles around them suddenly squeezed, effectively choking the Inklings.
"Agh!" Willie yelled, "Stop that!"
Zip squeaked like a toy. "I think they want more food," she explained.
"No," Pela shook her head.
They were promptly squeezed once again. Willie and Zip looked as though they were explode, whereas Pela continued facing the ground, numb to the strangling grip the tentacles had.
"Pela, I reaaaaaally think you should listen to them," Willie added as his face had taken on a purple tinge, "Please?"
Zip nodded excessively, "We'll do it, just, somehow tell them-" she coughed as her entire body was squeezed, "Ow, ow, ow!"
Pela stayed silent and shook her head. "No...no! That's- that's-"
"Pela? Just-" Willie choked out his words, "Just tell them we'll do it!"
"That's BULLSHIP!"
Immediately, the tentacles were scattered in the wind. Jellyfish were blown back, as did the Inkling couple. Taken off-guard, Willie and Zip switched into squids while they were launched through the air and landed in the jellyfish. Slightly dizzy, both peeked out from the jellyfish.
"Oh, whoa!" Willie shouted as he leaped out of the way with Zip by his side.
He and Zip dove into the jellies. As soon as they breached the surface of the jellies, they felt themselves lift up into the air, the feeling of gravity vanishing beneath them. With shouts and screams, the two were launched up on top of a tidal wave of jellies traveling fast across the ground. The two Inklings clutched both each other and the jellyfish they rode upon tightly as they rushed past buildings and structures.
As the rode, Zip noticed several other Inklings peering at them from the safety of their windowsills or rooftops. Managing a smile, Zip attempted to wave. "Hey there- Bwaaagh!"
Unfortunately, in doing so, the both of them began to slip off of the jellies.
"Brace for it!" Willie yelped.
The two Inklings landed on the asphalt and watched in horror as the wave of jellies began to crash down. Holding each other for dear life, they tensed and curled into two squid balls on the ground.
"Hyah!"
Before the wave could collapse on top of both of them, there was a tremendous clang. In front of them, Pela stood hunched over, her frying pan pushing back against an unfortunate jellyfish's head. To the sides of them, jellyfish poured past and hit the ground like slabs of gelatin. The jellyfish rushed past until the wave eventually reduced to a few stragglers falling over one another.
Satisfied, Pela dropped the other jellyfish and laughed. "You understand that, huh?"
"Pela…" Willie blinked and stared down at the jellyfish.
Pela sighed and let herself drop to the ground. "Phew."
The other two Inklings stared down at her. She stared at the jellyfish in front of her with an exhausted expression. Willie pushed a few of the jellyfish out of the way, leaving two empty spaces to the sides of Pela. He and Zip promptly took a seat around Pela and gawked at her, much to Pela's amusement.
"...What?" Pela asked with a small smile as sweat dripped down her face, "You impressed? Fallin' in love with me or something?"
"That was awesome," Willie stated, grinning from ear to ear.
Zip, on the other hand, continued to stare at her, completely awestruck. "You blew up. We all did."
"Zip, my sister's a secret agent," Pela mentioned as she reached into her pockets and pulled out a small, glass pyramid filled with liquid, "I didn't believe her when I said I might need these, but…"
"That's the smallest Splat Bomb I've ever seen." Willie marvelled at the small glass object.
"We can admire it later. Let's go," Pela told them as she stood up and began to climb over the jellyfish.
Willie jolted up. "What?"
Pela stopped in the middle of climbing over the wall of collapsed jellyfish and shot a look at him. "You didn't think we were done, did you?"
"Could I use a free day now?" Willie protested.
"Willie!" Zip protested as she nodded towards Pela.
Willie sighed. "Coming."
"These jellyfish aren't giving up unless we make 'em," Pela shook her head, "And something tells me your friend's gonna need some help with making that happen."
AN: I could joke again about taking a long time, but...nah.
Thanks R.C.D., Guest, and write n wrong for reviewing.
R.C.D., you spoil me with compliments. While it's certainly subjective, I'm glad you seem like enjoying the story so far. I'm also considering what you said about ending this story. If this gets to 100 chapters, I might need to end this whole Bate Brothers shenanigans, either only for this story, or for all stories entirely. I will admit, I'm unsure of how long I can keep this up! Still, for the time being, thanks for reviewing.
Also, now that you mention it, it really did seem a little like Dynasty Warriors. Good thing I stopped referencing so rapidly, otherwise that would be a thing. Probably. Probably not.
Y'know, I dunno why, but I still haven't received my advertisement check from Nintendo yet, write n wrong. Meh, must be a delay. In all seriousness, I have enjoyed Mario Odyssey. It's a fun game.
Guest, I'm unsure of who you are, but I'm glad you're keeping up with the story. Hope it's not too much of a strain on your eyes!
Thanks for reading, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, see ya in part two!