"Inklings In Need"
Hope was like a light.
Without it, there could be no hope in the darkest of places. Even with the dimly lit torches, darkness covered the dungeons, leaving the uncertain humanoid squids imprisoned behind the bars of their cells to fester in the shadows as they awaited the grim fate that had befallen their friends.
Paulter, a bright orange Inkling boy with glasses, sat near the corner with a pink-haired Inkling girl named Jena, who sported a sleeveless dress. Neither of them were alone, even with the many other scarlet, lavender, indigo, and white Inklings who were trapped as they were.
Light chatter filled the dungeons, with a couple prisoners, mainly newcomers, pondering how they would make the best of the situation. Others were formulating escape plans, and some were accepting the grave reality that there was no way out. Nervousness accompanied fear, fear accompanied sorrow, which always intermingled with hopelessness.
Both Paulter and Jena recalled what life was like before they were brought to the island, they knew of Inkopolis from the days before the kidnappings and the rise of that insane lizard's Anime Kingdom.
Initially, when the abductions began, Paulter's family underwent a major lockdown with Jena's family following suit, and stayed indoors until one nightmare led to another. As the invasion started, Paulter and Jena fled among the other squids who were seeking safe haven away from the unfolding chaos.
For a few years, the both of them found refuge in a village on the edge of the Splatlands near Splatsville. However, their luck changed when a greedy landowner tipped off a pair of Octarian mercenaries about Paulter and Jena's presence.
The rogue Octos wasted no time in capturing them, and, the next thing they knew, Paulter and Jena were being shipped off to the island alongside other Inklings who'd been misfortunate.
It had been days since they arrived, and they already knew of the horrors that unfolded here. Jena dreaded what would happen after that madman had used the Ink Zuccers to drain every last ounce of her ink, and she knew what had become of the other Inkling girls.
On Paulter's end, he knew there was a strong chance he would die, depending on how much ink was drained from his body in those machines.
"Do you know when it will be our turn?" Jena asked him, speaking in the softest whisper.
Paulter coughed. "I don't know." He replied, "He... He doesn't have a specific list of Inklings to dump into the Zuccers. It'll probably be days before they come to get us, compared to how long it took until that bastard finally found us. All that matters is that the day of judgement has passed, our fate has already been decided, and it's all in Francis' hands."
"The servants of Hell have claimed us..." Jena's voice was more grim than ever.
"...and we are at the Gates of Damnation." Paulter added with the gravest of nods.
Both Inklings fell silent, going deeper into their thoughts without another word, and they resigned themselves to their inevitable fate. Just then, the prisoners heard a creaking noise, as if the door had opened.
Perhaps the guards were back to inspect the captives once more. Or maybe, Francis was here to drag an Inkling off to the Zuccers.
A pair of Boos wearing anime-style ninja hats floated towards the cell containing Paulter and Jena, who stood slowly, prepared for the final steps towards their shared doom. One Boo carried a key, and he looked at the prisoners... with regret in his eyes. Everyone heard a familiar sound, like someone swimming in ink, and a green squid swam into the dungeon area.
The Blooper-like creature shape-shifted, turning into a dark-cloaked figure with a hood over his head. The figure stared at Paulter, Jena and a pair of the Inklings who were with them, studying the prisoners quietly.
"We must be fast..." The mysterious Inkling said, "The guards will be back to select the next Ink Zuccer subjects, and Francis will be passing by to see the occupant in the room beyond."
"We're here to help." A WeaBoo told the imprisoned group.
Relief washed over Jena and Paulter in moments. After the last few years of terror and disaster, there was plenty of hope left in the world. Paulter heard whispers of a resistance fighting back against Francis' forces in certain regions, and he didn't think a rebel unit was operating here.
The first Boo inserted the key into the lock, and twisted it until the door to Paulter and Jena's cell opened, with a white-colored Inkling boy sporting trimmed hair stepping out first. The hooded figure took the key from the Boo, then he began unlocking a few more cells, just before a cloaked individual with yellow eyes made an appearance.
No questions were asked, even though the Inklings were perplexed. One red-haired female Octoling in jeans and a T-shirt stepped out, and was surprised when the mysterious cloaked Inkling took her hand and kissed it.
"A shame that Octolings aren't exempt from the nightmare..." He said, "Fortunately, you don't have to endure the same fate as those you shared the dungeons with."
"Hurry..." A Boo whispered, "The night is fleeting, but Francis' factory never sleeps."
"We can't take everyone." The cloaked, yellow-eyed entity said softly, "I don't know how long the security system will be in hibernation, and covers will be blown."
"Damn, Bob." The hooded Inkling nodded, "But we should get as many people out as we possibly can."
The first Boo turned to Paulter and Jena's group, and told the prisoners to follow him and his companions. With that, they made their way towards the door that led out of the dungeon, leaving a handful of Inklings and Octolings behind in their cages with the promise that their saviors would come back for them.
Everyone slowly filed their way through the door, with the squids and octos cautiously following the rebel Boos, the mysterious Inkling rebel, and their cloaked, yellow-eyed accomplice, wondering where they were going.
As they left the room behind them, the group came to a stop near the foot of a flight of stairs that twisted and ascended upward, leading to the upper floor of the Anime Palace. That wasn't where the group was going, and their saviors knew it. The one in the eerie cloak pulled out a a peculiar-looking gun from his pockets, and he aimed at the stairs before tapping the trigger.
The sound of popping and crackling bounced off the walls as a beam of energy emerged from the tip of the weapon, and a light illuminated the hallway. Eyes were briefly shielded to avoid blindness, and when they looked, the prisoners fought to hold back a collective gasp.
From the energy dispelled by the gun, a vortex had taken shape, a portal of swirling matter that led the way to an unknown location. The gun, a pistol variant, was a portal gun.
"Follow..." The hooded Inkling gestured.
He and his other hooded partner stepped through the swirling wormhole, with the Boos following, and the prisoners obeyed curiously. Paulter and Jena were among the first to go through, and the walls of the palace dungeon vanished in an instance, replaced by the smooth rocky face of a cave.
Paulter and the others looked around, seeing a tropical beach waiting outside the cavern, and the smell of a bonfire reached their ears. The yellow-eyed entity pulled out the portal gun once more, aimed at the portal, and tapped the trigger.
The portal vanished, leaving everyone in the cave. Paulter turned, seeing a green-haired Inkling in a red shirt polishing a machine gun with a sword in his belt. Two uniformed humans accompanied him, with one sporting a black beard and a scarred eye while the other sported a mustache.
"Make yourselves at home." The Inkling said in a Russian accent.
"Name's Bob." Bob said to Paulter.
"I'm Paulter." Paulter extended his hand, and made sure to be careful when he saw the blade protruding from the sleeve of Bob's cloak.
"Welcome to the Resistance." The hooded Inkling quipped.
"Thanks for getting us out." Jena said, and she locked eyes with the mysterious squid, "Um, I don't believe we caught your name."
The figure pulled back his hood, revealing a tan face with green tentacles and purple eyes. "My name is Alex Maker..." Alex introduced, "I've been laying low since the kidnappings, and I've spent the last few years protecting refugees and launching hit-and-run attacks against Francis' forces in the Mushroom Kingdom with the resistance. That guy there is Alexsey Moskovin."
"Hey, don't forget us!" The mustached man exclaimed, "Swagmaster696969696969696969 and Christopher Gordman! Guard extraordinaries, veterans of war, soldiers of freedom! We're going to raid that palace, kick anime ass and munch on pingas noodles... and we're all outta pingas noodles!"
"You know what he's talking about." Chris Gordman told the group, sounding a little exasperated, "But first things first, we need to plan things out, and then we'll make our move and take down that bastard..."