[Inkopolis plaza]
[POV: Third person]
A huge crowd had gathered to see Drake's interview by the Squid Sisters, who where making elaborate questions in an attempt to unmask any hidden motives from the human, mixing them up with some random questions so he wouldn't notice.
"So, mind if we start with your name?" Callie spoke into the microphone before bringing it to Drake's face.
"My name is Drake Maximiliano Forrest" he answered, to which the citizens of Inkopolis, along with the Squid Sisters, were left intrigued by the human's curious name.
"And how old are you?" now asked Marie, speaking into the microphone before giving it to Drake.
"Well if my memory doesn't fail me, I should be 20 years old" Drake answered once again.
"What do you mean by that? Are you not sure about your age?" Callie asked him, making the human somewhat nervous.
"My memory is still fuzzy, there's some stuff that I can't remember well at the moment" Drake said while scratching the back of his head.
"Well, you turned out to be quite young, we thought you'd a lot older" Marie commented with a slight mocking tone that wouldn't go unnoticed by Drake.
"I'm sorry for not being as old as you expected, and to be honest, you two don't look as old as you act" Drake countered, giving them a smirk that didn't amuse the pair in front of him.
"Oh, and by the way, how are you able to speak our language? When we first met, you were speaking in another dialect" Marie continued, barely noticing the patch on his forehead.
"That's thanks to this little thing I have up here, it allows me to speak and understand your language, though I still don't understand the written part of it" said Drake, lifting up his fringe and pointing at the patch on his forehead.
"And what would happen if you took it off right now?" asked Callie, making a gesture with her hand as if taking off said device.
"Well I'd probably stop speaking your language and also wouldn't understand you" he said, which gave the black tentacled inkling an idea.
"Why don't you give us a little demonstration?" she proposed with a malicious smile.
Drake thought about Callie's proposal for a moment while taking a hand to his forehead, only to lower it and stare at the duo. He then gave them a smirk.
"Alright... I'll do it" declared the human, taking the Squid Sisters by surprise, who expected him to refuse, and saw how Drake took the patch off from his forehead, leaving both of them completely silent.
Waiting for him to say something, Callie brought the microphone closer to the human, as if asking him to speak his native language.
"Your squeak like a squirrel and your friend looks like a grandma" was what the ancient one said, which of course, left everyone confused since they couldn't understand what he just said.
The scientists, on the other hand, were writing down everything Drake was saying, even the words he just spoke.
"Uhh... Could you repeat that?" Callie said, leaning her head to the side in confusion, to which Drake just chuckled and put the patch back on his forehead. Even though he didn't understand what she just said, the questioning tone she used was enough to let him know that they didn't understand a thing he said.
"Haha... It wasn't anything important" the ex-commander replied with a smile, making Callie and Marie look at him with suspicion.
And as time went on, the questions kept coming and going, until Marie asked what everyone was probably waiting for.
"Alright, um... Drake, was it...? I think it's time for you to answer something that's been on everyone's heads" she said, catching the human's attention.
"Shoot" Drake said, waiting for Marie's question.
"Tell us... What are you really?" Marie finally asked, making the entire audience put their eyes on Drake, who gulped in response, trying to keep calm.
"Well... I'm..." Drake left his sentence half finished, making the moment even more dramatic.
Drake turned to the audience, taking a deep breath before finally answering the question.
"I'm a human... Or as you people call us... An ancient one" he answered, causing the audience to flood the entire place with questions, as well as getting closer to it and raising their hand to catch the human's attention, even some of the scientists had joined in.
"Everyone, calm down! We have enough time for your questions!" Callie tried to make the crowd quiet down.
"We do?" asked Drake, surprised at what the idol just said, since he was expecting to answers just Callie and Marie's questions.
Oh yeah... We do..." Callie said with a cheeky smile.
Marie, on the other hand, just gave them an innocent smile, which made Drake let out a grumble and put on a serious face.
"Now, back on the topic... If you're an ancient one, does that mean that there's more like you where you come from?" Marie asked, trying not to laugh at Drake's expression.
"Well... I don't know where to find more of my people, in fact... I can't even remember if there were more people with me. There were vaults like mine all over the world, but I recently discovered that they weren't so lucky... So for the moment I can only tell you is that I'm the last of my kind..." Drake said, lowering his head with a little emotionless smile, and leaving everyone present in complete silence. The Squid Sisters were starting to feel bad for him, now possibly having the last of the human kind in front of them.
"And if you were to find your people... What would you do?" Marie asked in an attempt to break the awkward silence between them.
"Start again, I suppose... This time avoiding our previous errors" Drake answered, lifting his head back up.
"Oh, I heard that you have lots of music, is that true?" now asked Callie in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"Well yeah, we had all sorts of bands and genres" replied the human while Callie got even closer to him.
"Can you show us!?" Callie asked with starry eyes, while a great number of people watched expectantly.
"Uhh... Sure, but I don't have anything to help with that..." said Drake, earning a disappointed sigh from the cousins and the audience.
But in that moment, the human remembered something he had yet to show them... or rather 'someone'.
"Wait, I think I have an idea" he said, cheering everyone back up, especially Callie.
"Bruce" the human called, only for the cybernetic helper to materialize in front of everyone, catching the Squid Sisters off guard.
The audience was impressed to see how some kind of ball with a lens suddenly appeared on the stage.
The Squid Sisters, still on guard, stood up from their seats with their eyes glued on Bruce.
"Don't worry, it's not gonna hurt you, it's a friend" the human tried to calm the duo down, while the floating robot approached them.
"Greetings, I am D14-33-A, but you may call me 'Bruce', it is a pleasure to meet you" Bruce presented itself to the idols.
"Uhh... The pleasure is ours?" Callie said, still confused about what was happening.
"Don't lower your guard..." Marie whispered to her, to which she nodded before they both sat back down.
"Bruce, I need you to do me a favor... Connect to every speaker on this stage" ordered the human, to which the robot instantly followed his orders and floated above the group, and shortly after, some static was heard through the speakers as Bruce connected to them.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" Callie exclaimed while staring at the human.
"You wanted some of our music, right?" said Drake, just in time for his robotic helper to call for his attention.
"It is done, sir, I have connected to every speaker on this stage" Bruce said, getting a smile out of Drake.
"Perfect, now tell me... You have a music player on you, right?" he asked, the Squid Sisters now starting to understand where he was going with this.
"Affirmative, and I have more than a million and a half different songs stored in my database, would you like to listen to one of them?" Bruce asked while Drake looked at the two idols, noticing that their jaws were almost on the floor upon hearing the massive amount of songs Bruce had.
"Of course, now play... Job In The City by Red Vox" Drake said while turning to Callie and Marie with a smirk, as if telling them 'it's showtime'.
Taking everyone by surprise, music started playing out of the speakers, and a new type of rhythm had flooded Inkopolis plaza, while everyone present couldn't believe what their ears were listening to.
Nodding along to the beat, Drake noticed how the crowd slowly began to let themselves get carried away by the upbeat rhythm of the song.
And suddenly, the entire audience was cheering while they started to dance and jump up with their hands in the air, as if they were being treated to a concert by the Squid Sisters themselves, and that included SquidFire as well, Otome being an exception, since she limited herself to stay with her arms crossed and leaned against a wall, smiling while nodding along to the beat.
Despite knowing a lot about music, the idols couldn't help but be amazed at the sound of this band completely unknown to them.
Clearly, Callie and Marie had met lots of well-known bands, and heard their best songs... But this... This was something that could rival even those at the top.
After almost four minutes, the song had finally concluded, earning cheers of appreciation from the audience, including the Squid Sisters themselves.
Several members of the audience were even asking Drake to play another song before the cousins had to step in.
"Everyone, please calm down, we'll have more time for that later, until then... Who wants to make the ancient one a question?" Marie proposed, making Drake's smile vanish in an instant, remembering how the Squid Sisters said that he also had to answer questions from the audience.
And the moment Marie finished her proposal, everyone raised their hands and begged out loud for the human to choose them.
Letting out a sigh of frustration, Drake looked at the Squid Sisters, who just gave him an innocent smile. Begrudgingly, the human finally decided to put his attention on the audience.
"Uhh... Let's see... You" said Drake while choosing a random inkling child.
"Umm... Did you have videogames before the great flood?" asked the chosen squid boy.
"We did, we had lots of them... In fact, the videogame industry was one of the biggest in the entire world, I even have a few of them in my vault. The inkling that came with me can confirm that fact" Drake replied, only to see how everyone turned to look at Nary, who just waved at them with a nervous smile.
After that, everyone raised their hands once again for Drake to choose them.
This time, the human chose an inkling with pink tentacles, who jumped in place to make herself more noticeable, though taking a better look at her, she seemed to be a reporter for a newspaper.
"Is it true that when the Ancient ones come back they'll attack us to take over the world once again? We've heard lots of rumors about that" She asked with a notebook in hand to write down Drake's answer.
"I don't think that's possible, or even necessary... Like I said before, if we were to come back we would start again, but in a better way... Though if someone was to attack us, we would retaliate for sure... And also, those are just rumors, you know most of them are straight up lies, right?" Drake answered, while the inkling was writing down everything he said.
Searching for someone else, the human now chose a squid girl that was a bit further out from the rest.
"Why is an octarian with you?" she asked, while a few audience members looked at Otome, to which she looked away from them.
"She's my friend, just like the inkling... And I also promised to help her with something" Drake replied, making several people start to murmur between them.
But before they could return to asking questions, a certain sea anemone girl raised her hand, catching the human's attention.
"What's that fresh looking mask you were carrying?" she asked, making Drake think of a good answer.
"It's just something I wanted to bring with me" he replied.
"Boring!" exclaimed the clownfish living in her hair, making Drake give it a strange look.
"Can I have it?" now asked another inkling from the audience.
"No..." the human replied dryly.
"Are you selling it? How much is it?" asked a jellyfish, followed by a lot of people raising their hands to bid for Drake's mask, even Marie had raised her hand with a calm smile.
"Sorry... This mask means a lot to me, so it's not for sale, nor I am giving it away..." said the human, earning some disappointed whines from the audience.
And so, time went on, and Drake kept answering everyone's questions, some of them being almost nonsensical.
Some were too confusing, or too personal, or too obvious, like: "What's your favorite color?", "Why are you so tall?", "Can you change forms like an inkling?", "Why doesn't water affect you?", and so on, there was even an inkling child that asked him why the sky is blue.
Luckily for him, the Squid Sisters announced that they were ending the interview after some time, which made everyone freak out trying to make Drake one last question.
With a weary sigh, he decided to answer it.
And just like before, Drake chose a random inkling, this time being a teal blue tentacled girl, whose question caught him off guard.
"Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked, everyone looking with intrigue at the ancient one while waiting for his answer.
"What...? Well, I... I don't-..." But before Drake could finish his sentence, Marie cut him off, taking advantage of the moment to play a little prank on her fans, and to see how the human reacted to it.
"I'm sorry girls, but he's already taken" she said while hugging one of Drake's arms.
"Huh...?" he said in confusion.
"Huh!?" exclaimed Callie, Nary and Otome at the same time.
"HUUHHH!?" the entire audience yelled, unable to believe what Marie just said.
"Marie...! W-what...? How-...? When-...!?" Callie stuttered in shock, before the stage lights suddenly turned off.
Now back at the Squid Sisters' cabin, Callie, Drake, Nary and Otome were seen glaring at Marie, who wouldn't stop cackling with her hands on her belly.
Callie knew that Marie wasn't the laughing type, only letting out a giggle or a chuckle every once in a while, but when she did laugh, she completely loses control over her, and right now it was one of those moments.
"Alright Marie, you had your fun, you can stop laughing like a maniac now..." Callie commented, a little fed up about her cousin's behavior.
"I-I can't! hahaha...! You should've- you should've seen your faces, HAHAHA!" Marie said between laughs.
"Marie, I swear, sometimes you take your 'pranks' way too far" Callie scolded her with a frown and pinching the bridge of her nose.
"But they're funny" Marie said, regaining her composure, but still keeping a smile on her face.
"Funny for you" argued Callie, now with both hands on her hips.
"Exactly!" Marie replied without a hint of shame.
"Argh!" Callie was now fed up with Marie, pouting and clenching her fists while glaring at her.
"Alright, that's enough... If I remember correctly, you two told me I had to go meet someone, who were you talking about?" Drake asked, interrupting the two idols.
"Oh right, I almost forgot about that, if we hurry up we might get to avoid the crowd!" said Callie while opening the door, only to see the group of scientists that were following Drake at the other side.
"Oh, um... Greetings" said the one that was about to knock on the door with a nervous laugh, only for it to be shut on his face, leaving the group with a lump on their throats.
After five minutes, the scientists finally revealed the reason they came to the cousins' cabin and how they did it.
"Allow me to introduce myself... Ahem, I am Doctor Binz, chief of the department of ancient culture and technology" Binz said while bowing.
"And these my loyal coworkers" he continued, introducing the group behind him.
"Pleasure to meet you all, but I'm sorry to tell you that we're going somewhere else, so we'll have to leave this to-..." Marie tried to say, but was interrupted by Binz.
"Yes, we know you must be really busy, but we're just asking for a moment of your precious time, we promise we won't take too long" Binz pleaded, not realizing that Drake was staring at him and his niece, Jenny even started to feel a bit nervous over having the human's sight on her.
"Hmm... I don't think that's up to us" said Marie, before everyone turned to look at Drake, who was learning against the doorframe, with his arms crossed and his mask on.
Drake remained silent for a moment, before letting out a sigh and approaching the scientists, who stepped back upon seeing the ancient one approaching them.
"I don't think I have a way out of this... I have the feeling they won't stop pestering me if I don't go with them." Drake said with his arms still crossed.
"Alright... Let's go" he continued with a sigh of annoyance.
The scientists were visibly happy upon hearing those words.
"Oh, thank you so much Mr. Ancient one, this is a great opportunity to-..." Binz was interrupted by the human before he could finish his sentence.
"Drake..." he said dryly.
"I'm sorry?" asked the old inkling, confused at what the human just said.
"My name... Is Drake..." he repeated himself, still keeping his serious tone.
"Oh... Of course, Mr. Drake!" Binz said, a little nervous.
"Alright, so... Can we go now?" Drake asked.
"Yes, please follow me, and don't worry, no one's going to see us" Binz replied, making a gesture with his hand for the group to follow him.
"Wait, how did you know... Were you spying on us!?" Callie asked while Marie and her stood on guard, thinking that they had discovered their 'second job'.
"Goodness, no! We just heard you from outside saying how you wanted to go somewhere else without being seen by your fans" Binz tried to explain himself.
"That's like spying..." Drake remarked.
"We're really, really sorry about that, we just-..." The head of the scientist group tried to apologize, but was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a horde of people approaching.
"They're coming for autographs, we must go, now!" Marie advised everyone, soon after, the group of scientists, the Squid Sisters, the SquidFire team, Drake and Otome ran out of the place until they reached the streets of Inkopolis, with a couple limousines waiting for them.
"Wow! Escaping with style, aren't we?" commented Nayls upon seeing the luxurious vehicles.
"We're well-known scientists and researchers, son. What were you expecting? A van?" Binz asked while opening one of the rear doors.
"Uhh..." Nayls said, looking everywhere trying to find a good answer.
"Just get inside..." Binz finished, giving the dark-skinned inkling a serious look.
"Don't mind if I do!" he replied before jumping into the limousine, followed by everyone else, except for Drake, who turned around to look at the scientists right before he entered.
"Just one more thing..." he said.
"Sure, Mr. Drake, what is it?" Binz asked.
"You try to sedate me again... And I'm annihilating you all..." the human threatened them, entering the limousine without saying another word and closing the door.
A shiver ran down the scientists' spines, and Binz gulped before letting out a sigh.
"Don't worry, uncle. Everything will turn out fine" Jenny cheered him up, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Binz just kept silent and nodded before he and the rest of the group got into the other limousine, and proceeded to go to the building where Drake had once escaped from.
Once they arrived, one by one they all stepped out of their vehicles, staring at the research lab, and Drake being the last one to get out, remembering the first time he arrived at Inkopolis.
Without any time to waste, Binz guided them to the entrance and invited them in, the inklings were marveled at how advanced everything looked inside, But to Drake, this wasn't something to be speechless about, since he's seen other places that looked just as advanced as this one.
Every other employee inside the building was a little confused to see the new group of inklings that came in, and were even more confused upon seeing Otome, wondering what an octarian was doing in their facilities, or even in Inkopolis.
But the moment they saw the human, their eyes widened in surprise, since they weren't expecting that the ancient one who once escaped from them would willingly return.
Binz ordered the rest of his team to bring some tools and devices to work on Drake, who was gradually getting more and more nervous.
"Mr. Drake, would you kindly sit here" asked the old scientist while pointing at a nearby chair.
Following his orders, the human sat down on said chair, a few of the Doctor's coworkers arriving into the room at the same time as well as Jenny, who was carrying a few devices with her.
"And what type of studies are you gonna make on him" Callie asked as she a tray with surgery tools on it.
"Oh, nothing to worry about, just a study on his physical and psychological condition, check for any type of illnesses and maybe taking a few samples" Binz explained, catching Drake's attention.
"And what types of samples would they be?" Drake asked.
"You know... An ink sample, some hair, a liver, nail clippings, saliva, etcetera, etcetera..." The doctor went over the details so quick that Drake only understood one word out of what he said.
"Anyone brings a scalpel close to me and it's going straight into their eye..." The human warned them with a bit of panic in his voice, to which the old inkling only took a hand behind his neck and let out a nervous laugh.
"Calm down, I'm just pulling your leg, haha" said Binz before approaching the inkling carrying they tray with the surgery tools.
"Take the surgery tools away. With a bit of luck. maybe we'll get to the liver part later" Binz whispered to his ear, before returning with the ancient one.
"Alright, let's begin" the head scientist continued, earning a nervous gulp from the human.
[*cough* *wheeze* More bonus content *violent coughing*]
And as time went on, the questions kept coming and going, until Marie asked what everyone was probably waiting for.
"Alright, um... Drake, was it...? I think it's time for you to answer something that's been on everyone's heads" she said, catching the human's attention.
"Shoot" Drake said, waiting for Marie's question.
"Tell us... What are you really?" Marie finally asked, making the entire audience put their eyes on Drake, who gulped in response, trying to keep calm.
"Well... I'm..." Drake left his sentence half finished, making the moment even more dramatic.
Drake turned to the audience and took out his mask, except that it looked different this time, it didn't have a skull pattern on it, but something else entirely, something that only those knowledgeable in ancient comic books would recognize.
"We're Venom..." he answered, putting the mask on and letting the symbiote take over him, unleashing a new menace over Inkopolis.
[Venom by Eminem plays as the credits roll out]
Splatoon – The Last One
A story by EX-T96
A fan translation by MRcrunchy456
Starring
Drake – Venom
Nary – Clueless inkling
Otome – Hot-headed Octoling
Callie – Bullying victim
Marie – Grumpy grandma
Levin – Bad leader
Shara – Average Dynamo user
Nayls – Local idiot
Special guests
Craig Cuttlefish
Annie & Moe
Splat Tim
Produced by
One Guy (patent pending)
(T/N: Blame the author for this one not me)