DISCLAIMER: This collection is based off of Side Order, and thus, it will have spoilers for it! So if you haven't played Side Order, tread carefully.
These stories are set in the same universe as "The Rainbow Squids" and "Speak No Evil," and thus will share some characters, but reading them is not required. There will be spoilers for "The Rainbow Squids," primarily Captain 3's identity (though it's not really a secret at this point) and what the Rainbow Squids know, and allusions to my yet-to-be-written Splatoon 3 fic, but they should not impact your enjoyment of these stories. With that out of the way, enjoy!
Return to Order
The last thing Acht remembered was a needle piercing their skin.
They had turned their head to face the green octoling handling the needle as some anesthetic seeped into their bloodstream. As their senses dulled, the cyan circles on the octoling's visor only glowed brighter, until it was the only thing they could see.
Then, there was only darkness.
The next few events Acht could not remember clearly.
They remembered waking up in a studio, free to make whatever music they wished. Their fear living under the watchful eye of the Octarians was no more. The removal of doubts and conflict–that was why they agreed to let Kamabo Co. sanitize them.
They soon came to realize they felt nothing at all.
Their body moved on their own, and for a long time, they spent their days at the turntables, devoted to nothing but music.
It was for Kamabo Co. There was nothing else to question.
One day, they heard a song. It was after that day that the commanding voice in their head went silent. Their final command was the same command they had since they first woke up. Make music.
And so, they did.
The next thing Acht remembered was waking up in a world without color.
Feelings surged through their being, their chest clenching. What was this…?!
Acht forced themself to their feet. Even though they were wearing a visor, they squinted. Never before had they seen this much light.
There was something beautiful about it. But it also unsettled them deep to their core.
The mere feeling of discomfort unsettled them. Sanitization was supposed to remove doubts and conflicts. Why were they feeling conflicted?
They crept forward. One thing they had learned in the academy was to survey their surroundings. Branches of coral rose from the ground, yet nothing hid in it. Several buildings surrounded them, yet the doors seemed unable to open.
The only path forward in the unfamiliar world was inside the giant tower rising into the sky. Several billboards covered it, the shape unlike anything found in the domes.
They noticed one of the billboards was in the shape of a squid. With a frown, they realized they were in inkling society.
But as far as they knew, the inklings had everything. Their world was much more colorful than that of the Octarians'. What had happened to this place?
Then, they heard the sound of garbled static. They lifted their head to see teal waves emanating off the very top of the tower, a splash of color in the sea of white. They strained to listen more closely.
"Pea…Som…ne…elp…"
Amidst the noise, Acht knew that voice. But try as they might, a name failed to come to mind.
Name or not, they had to find them. That much they knew.
From there, they knew their next destination.
They stepped inside the tower. It was darker here, but their surroundings remained shades of grey. Pillars of light streamed down from above, raining down on the central platform. Water lapped at the platform's edge, sending a new wave of emotion through Acht's body.
It felt...strangely peaceful. Isolated from the rest of the world. If it weren't for the circumstances, perhaps they could stay here for the rest of their days.
Taking another step forward, that peace soon ended. Gushers of black ink spat out of the ground, white bone peeking out from underneath. In the span of seconds, bony fish were pouring out of the gushers, eyes shining red as they swam towards the intruder.
Acht gritted their teeth, dropping into a battle stance. They had no weapon. They would have to fight with nothing but their bare hands.
Some small fish rushed towards Acht first, snapping their jaws, but they easily kicked them away and strode forward. At the other end of the room was an elevator. If they could get in there...
Pain hit their feet, and they looked down to see they had stepped into the black ink. They swung their head around, searching for a place free from ink, but the bony fish had made quick work of the platform. There was nowhere left to run. Great.
Adrenaline pumped through their veins, their breathing speeding up. As the bony fish swarmed around them, they became acutely aware of the feeling that had seized their body.
Fear.
Why were they feeling these things now? It only served to get in the way.
A saying rang in their head. They had to remain calm. If they panicked, they would splat.
A lump rose up their throat, and they splat out a blob of ink at the bony fish. Yet even as marbled turquoise dripped from their bodies, they did not falter. They continued to march forward, growling and snapping their jaws.
They were almost as dedicated as every Octarian not named Acht. If they weren't trying to splat them at this moment, perhaps they would have been impressed.
Acht kicked some more of the small fish away and swung their fist at the ink-coated fish in front of them. Their knuckles stung as they were splattered with black ink, but right now, they didn't care. They had to get to the elevator.
The fish collided into its friends, sending them flying away. Yet they did not fly far, and once they recovered, they began their assault anew. The gushers glowed as more bony fish spat out onto the ground with renewed furiosity. To top it off, one of those fish was much larger than the rest.
Acht spent too long gawking at it to notice a bony fish leap off the ground, jaws primed to take a bite out of their flesh.
They raised their arm up just in time for its teeth to sink into their skin. Screaming as it tore into their muscle, warm red blood mixed with turquoise ink rose to the surface. The bony fish let go and fell to the ground, yet pain was all Acht could think about.
Their chest twisted further. They had to get out of here, but they couldn't leave this voice be.
Which left them with only one option: the elevator.
They kicked some more fish away and transformed into an octopus, skin stretching uncomfortably around their wound. Summoning all their strength, they launched into the air, turquoise ink trailing behind them. They transformed back and landed just in front of the elevator.
With the bony fish's attention turned behind them, Acht frantically opened the elevator door and slipped inside before they could reach them.
The door shut, and relief escaped their lips, slumping down next to the console. A roll of gauze materialized on their lap, and they promptly wrapped it around their arm, letting it soak up the blood dripping down their skin.
As the adrenaline faded away, they noticed, perhaps not for the first time, that their skin was now a green color instead of the peach it once was.
Huh. Why were they surprised? Every sanitized octoling had green skin.
They shelved the thought away and turned to the console. Sticky blood pulsing beneath their bandages, they pressed their hands on the console.
Dramatic Days in Orderland, v.2023-10-08, it read.
That must be a date. Last time they checked, the year was 2017. Had it really been six years since they were sanitized? Six years making nothing but music?
Ignoring the date for now, they held down combinations of buttons until a new screen appeared. From there, they could learn whatever they wanted about this place.
They were currently on the ground floor, or the foyer, of the Spire of Order. The elevator went up one floor at a time, and to progress, they had to complete one of five tasks—destroy the portals, escort the turbine tower, protect the zones, sink the infinity ball, or defeat the fleeing foe. After completing a floor, they would receive a color chip to set into their palette.
A palette was accessed through a drone. A drone Acht did not have.
They continued sifting through the data, searching for more information about this place. Without a drone, they were stuck. More stuck than they already were, that was.
Soon enough, they turned to face the elevator door and sighed. If they left the elevator, the Jelletons, as they decided to call those bony fish, would attack them. Not to mention the elevator would return to the foyer if they went to any higher floor.
So, Acht had nothing to do except listen to the elevator music. Even the academy would be better than this.
They started to close their eyes to fall asleep when they noticed something on the ground. Something blue and shiny.
They leaned forward. It was a color chip of the Mobility tone. Why was it here? They didn't have a palette.
They reached over to grab it, and at once, a vision burst into the forefront of their mind.
They hung in the corner of the classroom, sulking. They didn't care what their instructor had to say. There were better things to spend their time on, weren't there?
"...Hi."
At the sound of the timid voice, they lifted their head. A dark-skinned octoling stared down at them, her eyebrows perpetually knitted with worry despite the smile touching her lips. Thick tentacles framed her face, dark purple fading into teal. She wore a standard uniform–the same uniform everyone but they wore.
"I'm Marina," she continued. "D-did you need help?"
Why was she talking to them? "...No." They turned away. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure? ...You look lonely."
They shrank further back against the wall. What were they supposed to say?
"The instructor called you a delinquent," Marina continued, "but you don't seem that bad."
They turned to face them, yellow eyes wide. "You...want to hang out with me?"
"Y-yeah." She brought her hands together. "If that's okay with you."
They nodded, perhaps too eagerly. "Sure."
In the blink of an eye, Acht found themself back in the elevator, clutching the color chip in their hand. Not in the stifling warmth of a classroom, but in a tiny, lifeless room.
That was a memory. They knew the name of that voice now.
Marina. Their oldest friend.
Whatever was going on here, their gut feeling told them Marina was responsible. If they wanted to find out the truth, they had to find her.
But as their arm throbbed with pain, they were reminded sorely of their situation.
They were stuck. All they could do was wait for an octoling with a drone to arrive.
So, that's what they did. Wait.
They decided to look through the elevator console some more to pass the time, but once again, they soon found themself with nothing else to do. Not if they wanted to be swarmed by those Jelletons again.
Acht didn't know how long they sat there. They didn't know how long they spent pacing around the room or leaning against the wall. All waiting for something that may never come.
Then, finally, they heard a voice.
"We can sit and scratch our heads all we want, but why bother when the answers are up there? Let's get moving, Eight!"
They adjusted their headphones. The voice that had spoken was high-pitched, with a distinct Inkadian accent. Yet they were speaking Octarian. How could that be? What had happened in the last six years?
Now was not the time to think about the specifics, though. Help had finally arrived.
A/N: Behold, the Side Order stories are finally here! Of course, we're starting off with Acht. I wasn't originally planning to include stories from their perspective, but I figured it was important. Anyways, "Scions of Order" will be 12 chapters in total, encompassing 8 interconnected stories. I'll be posting these every Saturday-this chapter was just an exception since Ordertune and the Side Order art book came out today in Japan. I don't know if I'll post the first chapter of the next story, "Enforcer of Order," this Saturday or the next yet, but either way, stay tuned! In the meantime, I wonder if you can guess who the next story is about. Well, that's all from me. Branchwing, out!