“Look, I’m not saying nothing should ever change. I just want to protect the balance I’ve found in my life.” - Marina Ida

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“Hurry up, newbie!”

Three days into my training, and I was exhausted. Bryson had very reluctantly agreed to train me when asked by Ace. Bryson seemed to see this as an opportunity to get back at me for making him lose a match for the first time.

I was running as fast as I could, wielding my dualies. We were in a massive warehouse, completely empty, so it was easy for us to practice here. Bryson had set up multiple cardboard cutouts of Turf War celebrities, and I was supposed to ink them all within three minutes.

Bryson had heard from Ace that I couldn’t go squid, and so Bryson was very harsh on me for it, saying that if I couldn’t embrace my ‘squid nature’, then I’d be forced to train my legs. How I wish I could go squid…

“Move those legs, newbie! I want you inking that next target in three seconds!” shouted Bryson. “Don’t make me come over there!”

I quickly aimed my dualies, firing blue ink at a cutout of who I assumed was Marina, a member of a singing duo known as Off The Hook. As I was running, I could hear Ace talking to Bryson.

“How’d you reserve this warehouse?” asked Ace.

“I didn’t,” answered Bryson. “It’s my dad’s. He’s got connections with Kensa, remember?”

“Oh, right,” replied Ace. “Sometimes I forget you’re rich. That’s kinda weird, cuz I still see you doing turf wars.”

“I don’t do turf wars for cash, bro,” said Bryson. “I do it for the spotlight.”

“C-Can I stop running?” I timidly asked, running out of breath.

“NO!” answered Bryson. “Keep your butt moving! This is what you get for not going squid!”

“I’m sorry!” I shouted, running faster. My legs were screaming at me to stop, but I didn’t want to face the wrath of Bryson .

Ace ran beside me, grinning. He seemed to run so effortlessly. “You seem pretty tired. That’s kinda odd,” he said. “I’ve never met an inkling who got tired so easily. You’ve only been at this for an hour so far.”

“O-Oh, really?” I asked. Did inklings not get tired as easily as humans? Made sense, I supposed. “I, uh, must not have slept well.”

He mouthed, “Okay,” silently, still running. In fact, in what looked to be some kind of display to show off, he went up ahead of me, leaving me in the dust.

As I inked another target, he asked, “Yo, Amelia. Wouldn’t we be able to get this over and done with if you just went squid and swam to the targets?”

What…?

I shook my head. “I, uhh, I’m really bad at it.”

“Oh, c’mon,” said Ace, a sincere smile on his face. “Every inkling can change into a squid. That’s our base form. It’s literal muscle memory.”

These questions were a little concerning. I just ignored it. Up ahead of me was a pile of wooden crates, with more targets on top. I looked at Ace, then asked, “Uh… C-Could you help me up?”

Ace stroked his chin, then said, “Alright. Only for you, though.”

Was… was he pitying me? I didn’t like the sound of the tone in his voice. Maybe I was just paranoid. He cupped his hands together, letting me step on them. He then lifted me up and onto a crate. I pointed my dualies at the targets, and then I fired.

After splattering them with ink, I turned to climb down, then jumped back as I saw Ace on the crate with me, saying, “Yo!~”

I fell back. Ace, with quick reflexes, grabbed onto my beanie to try and keep me from falling, but… I fell back anyway, my weight being too heavy. I landed on my back, pain surging. “Ow,” I muttered, trying to register what had happened.

I looked up, seeing Ace holding out his hand. I took it, and he just stared as he pulled me up. “Yo, Amelia. I’m no expert, but… that doesn’t look natural.”

I then realized, seeing my beanie in his hand. I felt the top of my head. My hair had been exposed. I quickly grabbed the beanie back from Ace and put it back on. “Y-You saw nothing!”

Ace looked at the beanie, then looked into my eyes. There it was: judgement. He looked down, then sighed. “Continue your training for a bit. I’ll talk to you the first chance I get, okay?” he asked, his eyes looking back up into mine.

There didn’t seem to be any ill intent. Whenever I looked into Ace’s eyes, there was always something in them that made him seem more genuine than the other inklings.

After a half-hour of running, I had finally inked the last target, collapsing onto my hands and knees. Looking up, I saw Bryson, shaking his head with an unapproving look. “You scrub ,” he insulted. “I guess you don’t want to be the best.”

“I do!” I managed to choke out, my lungs burning. “I’ll do anything to be the best!”

I was suddenly kicked in the side, falling over. Bryson pointed his umbrella at me. “You’ve got a lot to learn, soldier. No one makes Bryson lose and gets away with it. I’m going to make you cry and beg for mercy, you got that? The world is tough, and you need to be tougher . By the end of the week, you’ll be ready for Splatfest.”

I nodded, finally catching enough air. I could see Ace behind Bryson, checking his phone. His eyes caught a glimpse of mine, our gazes meeting for a second before he looked at Bryson and said, “Wanna wait outside for a bit, Bry? I wanna talk to her.”

“Why? We’re training,” said Bryson.

“Just wanna get her on the right chapter,” said Ace. “I’ll buy lunch.”

“Alright,” Bryson replied. “Crusty Sean’s?”

Ace nodded. “Mhm.”

Bryson walked toward the door, and as soon as he had walked out, Ace knelt beside me, tilting his head as he stroked his chin in deep thought.

I looked down, feeling caught. I didn’t want to meet his eyes again. Although they were genuine, I still felt the judgement. I felt like he was the one who’d decide my fate. He could tell anyone he wanted, and that scared me.

He looked down at me and sat down, his legs crossed. “Amelia.”

I receded, leaning away from him a little. “Yeah…?”

“C’mon, newbie…” He put his hand on my shoulder. In that instance, I felt a sense of reassurance. For as such a short time as I’ve known him, I’ve never really ever seen him act mean, rude, or even aggressive.

“Amelia,” he softly said. “Please tell me what’s going on…?

He had caught me. I don’t think I could’ve been able to come up with any other excuses. “Please, don’t tell,” I whispered, scared, tears building up in my eyes. I didn’t want my dream to end this soon.

“Don’t tell them what?” he asked, sitting down, his legs crossed.

“I… I’m not an inkling,” I admitted, my hands clenched into fists. “I’m fake.”

Ace stroked his chin some more. “You might not be an inkling, but you’re certainly no fake,” he said, smiling softly. As I looked up at him, my vision blurry, I almost broke down.

I reluctantly took off my beanie, revealing my hair. Ace looked at it with interest. When he pulled his hand away, he held a loose strand in between his fingers, holding it before his eyes.

“Not exactly a fashion trend, but it could work,” he said. “Wanna explain what this is?”

“It’s… called hair. Real hair. Not like squid hair,” I explained.

“You’re one of those things, aren’t you?” he asked. “What are they called…? Mammals?”

I slowly nodded. “I’m a human.”

“A human?” Ace repeated in bewilderment. “But that’s impossible. You’re supposed to be--”

“Dead,” I finished for him. “I know.”

“How?” he asked.

There was no word for cryopod in the inkling language, so I had to explain it somehow. “Think of a coffin,” I said. “Now imagine that the coffin freezes you when you go inside. I was put in one, and I slept, for ten thousand years.”

“Sounds a little hard to process,” said Ace. “You look like me,” he said, reaching out his finger to poke my nose. I flinched a little, not expecting that. “I don’t see why I should be worried about this. You’re keeping this a secret from me when it’s not even a big deal? You’re no monster.”

I was surprised. He was so understanding about it. “You won’t tell?” I asked.

“You don’t want me to?” he asked back. I shook my head and he smiled. “Then I won’t.”

I sighed in relief, feeling like a huge load was lifted off my shoulders. I couldn’t help but smile. Things were looking up. Now all that was left was to get back to training with Bry---

“Hey, Ace, isn’t Crusty Sean’s closed because of---” Bryson stopped and stared at me, noticing my hair. “Ugh… You messed up badly on that form,” he said. “ Not fresh.”

If this was seriously how inklings would keep reacting to my human features, why did I even bother keeping it a secret? I threw my arms up in disbelief. Ace chuckled, then said, “Yeah, Amelia, you need to get it together.”

At least Ace was willing to play along for me. I was thankful for that. Bryson, however, wasn’t laughing. “Geez… Noobs ,” he insulted. “I want that fixed by Splatfest,” he said. “I will not have some student of mine fail the most basic of functions.”

“I’ll work with her on it,” said Ace. “You don’t need to worry.”

Bryson huffed. “Hmph! Anyways… You wanna try a different place? I think Crusty Sean’s is closed today.”

As they talked, I scrolled through my squidphone, trying to get some more info on the Splatfest coming up. This would be my very first one, and I wanted all the details. From what I could gather, the Toni Kensa company would be watching this one, offering to make the most skilled inkling the next fresh face of the brand.

Toni Kensa was a world-famous fashion designer who had a flair for the unique when it came to weaponry. When he was only sixteen, he had developed the Booyah Bomb, a special attack that came with the Kensa Splattershot Pro, a rival to another Splattershot Pro developed by the Forge company.

Bryson grabbed my arm without warning, quickly pulling me up. “Get up, newbie! We’ve got a lot of turf to ink! No breaks!” he shouted. “Wait, actually, you know what…?”

“What?” I asked.

“I’ve decided I’m going to help you with your shifting,” he said. “You’re either going to go squid, or die trying, and we’ll do it by the time Splatfest starts.”

Ace looked at me, then said, “Uh, Bryson, maybe you shouldn’t--”

“I know what I’m doing,” said Bryson. He rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks turning a hint of red. “I, uh… used to have the same problem.”

Ace shook his head. “I think we should lay off that.”

“Ace, don’t,” said Bryson. “I have a duty , and it’s to get this girl into shape. The others will wipe her out if she goes into battle untrained.”

Ace looked at me, and I looked back, both of us with concern on our faces. Ace then asked, “Bryson, do you trust me?”

“That’s a dumb question. Of course I do!” answered Bryson. Ace took him aside and walked away from me, the two whispering. I was deathly afraid. Ace took it well, but Bryson was unpredictable. I didn’t know how he’d react.

“WHAT?!”

Oh boy.

“Impossible,” he said, walking over to me, looking me over with a judging look on his face. “Humans can’t be that smart. This goes against everything I was told!”

“We are!” I replied.

“My brother Jacob is a researcher of both Teuthology and Anthropology,” stated Bryson, stamping his foot. “There’s no way he’d tell me a lie. He said so himself!”

Anthropology, of course, was the study of humans, and Teuthology was the study of early cephalopods and how they came to be inklings. I looked down, very nervous.

“Look, Bryson,” said Ace, taking Bryson’s hand and pressing it to my forehead. “I can confirm she’s the real deal. Her temperature is way higher than any inkling’s, even when we’re sick, we don’t come this close.”

Bryson quickly pulled his hand away, looking at me as if I had the plague. When he saw the hurt in my eyes, he sighed. He looked at me, studying me, his eyes taking in every detail, especially my hair. “Okay,” he breathed out, his hands folded together. He pointed both index fingers at me and asked, “Are you here to conquer our world?”

“What?! No!” I answered. “Why would I do that?”

“Well, obviously , your kind is extinct, or at least, supposed to be, ” he answered. “It’d be ideal for you to try something sneaky when no one expected it. Why else would you be disguised ?”

“Because I don’t want some scientist trying to dissect me!” I countered. “I’ve seen it on television, how your scientists act! Nem-Nem even told me that could happen!”

“Nem-Nem?” asked Bryson, an eyebrow raised.

“I… She’s a sea anemone,” I explained. “She doesn’t want me to reveal myself. I was lucky enough to be able to tell Ace, but I didn’t expect for you to find out!”

“Oh, wow,” said Bryson. “Do I really come off that way?”

Ace facepalmed. “Bryson…”

“What?!” Bryson asked, both arms in the air in question. “I can be trusted! I’ve kept your secrets!”

“Don’t forget, Bryson, she just met you,” explained Ace. “She doesn’t know you’re a nice guy under all that… personality.”

Personality…?

“Well, I’m offended ,” said Bryson, turning away and crossing his arms with a “ Hmph!”

Ace couldn’t help but smile and laugh. I saw him try not to, but he just couldn’t stop himself. He put a hand on Bryson’s shoulder. “Bryyyyson,” Ace said.

“Whaaaaaat?” replied Bryson, an annoyed tone in his voice.

“You want a sundae?” asked Ace. “I’ll get you all the toppings. C’mon. You know we’re sorry. Plus, I literally found out seconds before you did.”

Bryson’s eyes went wide, looking at Ace with disbelief. “What? You know how much cash that is? Don’t try to cheer me up like that .”

Ace wagged his eyebrows. “ C’moooooon. It won’t be any trouble. I didn’t need the cash anyway. What am I gonna do, buy doubles of my gear? I’ve even got all the ability chips I need for Splatfest.”

It seemed that Ace’s smile was infectious, because Bryson began smiling as well. “Fine. Apology accepted,” he said. Then he turned to me, a serious look on his face. “But that doesn’t mean I'll go easy on your training, noob . I will use all I have at my disposal, because you forget, I’m rich , and that means I can rent out any place I want as long as I pay the cash. If you can’t keep up with me, then forget about becoming a pro.”

“And don’t forget to have fun!” added Ace.

If I were an inkling, I’d probably splat myself just to get away from his wrath. I stood up. “So, here’s the things you need to know about me,” I began. “I’m still a human, so I have bones that can break, muscles that can bruise, and I can run out of breath if I run for a long time. I could end up… you know…”

“So?” asked Bryson. “Just tie yourself to a spawn point.”

“I… can’t,” I replied.

“What do you mean you can’t? ” asked Ace, his arms crossed, the inkling now with an expression of concern on his face.

“The spawn points in turf wars don’t recognize me as any creature it can reconstruct,” I explained, disappointment in my tone. “If I’m ‘splatted’, I’m gone forever.”

Ace walked up to me, then put his hands on my shoulders. “Then why are you participating in a game where inklings are splatted every minute?”

“Because I really love the game,” I answered, looking up at him. I didn’t realize it until now, but he was slightly taller than me. I wasn’t sure how that made me feel, to be honest.

“You’re telling me that you love this game so much, that you’d risk a permanent splat? ” he asked, his eyes judging.

I looked down, avoiding eye contact. He was going to do what Nem-Nem did and keep me from playing. “Mhm,” I answered quietly.

I didn’t expect what happened next. He suddenly pulled me into a hug, my cheeks going red as I blushed. What was going on?

“You’ve definitely got inkling spirit, even if you’re not one!” he exclaimed.

I was confused. “You’re not going to stop me from playing?” I asked.

“Not at all!” he said. “If anything, Bryson and I will just teach you everything we know. Besides, remember when that blaster hit you? Couldn’t do a thing. We’ll just make sure you’re covered.”

Bryson looked at Ace and said, “Now that you mention it, my brother does have an old set of gear he said I could use if I felt like it. He’s outgrown it. It should be about her size.”

I couldn’t believe this. My mind was having trouble handling that fact that I may have found my best friends for life. These inklings were willing to stick by me, even Bryson was offering gear. I couldn’t…

Ace saw my face. “Woah, are you crying ?” he asked.

I clenched my hands into fists and nodded. It had been the first time since I slept in the pod that I had people my age to hang with, to share secrets with, to joke with. I never thought I could ever find friends like this here, especially with my secret.

He laughed and let go of me. “Don’t do that. I’ll get you a sundae, too!”

That only made me cry even harder.

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After having dried my tears, I took Ace up on his offer, and after, we went to Bryson’s place, and believe me, it was just as intimidating as he was. In the southeast part of Inkopolis, there was one building that stood above all others, and it was the Annaki company building.

As we went in, Bryson guided us across the lobby and into the elevator. After getting in, Bryson pressed the button for the top floor, the elevator starting its ascent. From the speakers, I could hear the song from my dream.

“What song is that?” I asked.

Bryson sighed and said, “It’s Calamari Inkantation, by the Squid Sisters. Geez, I knew you were a noob, but I didn’t know you were uncultured as well.”

“I’m sorry,” I replied. “It’s just that Nem-Nem and I listen to older music most of the time.”

“This ‘Nem-Nem’ sounds boring,” he said. “Don’t worry. Stick with me, and you’ll be the freshest kid on the block.”

When the elevator door opened, we exited into a large room with very fancy furniture, wall decor, and other things. Up on the wall was a flat screen, showing the news, but it didn’t really look like news to me, because all I saw were segments about gear.

On the opposite wall were picture frames, many of them in black and white. I looked to Bryson and asked him, “Who are these people?”

“My ancestors,” Bryson answered. “And they were all number one at one point in their lives. As for me, I intend to be number one throughout all of history. ”

“Wow,” I said. “Your family must be proud.”

Speaking of which… An older inkling stepped out of the elevator, with dark skin and piercing orange eyes. Wearing a black suit and holding an umbrella, he was almost like Bryson. Bryson stared at him with… fear?

“What’s a common creature doing here…?” the older inkling asked, his eyes glancing over me. I felt like he could see right through me with those stern eyes. It was like looking into the eyes of a judge who knew what you had done, and was about to deliver your sentence.

“Edward, please,” Bryson quietly said.

“Hmm?” The inkling known as Edward looked up at Bryson. “Was that… whining?”

“No, Edward,” Bryson quickly answered, looking down, pushing the tips of his two index fingers together. “I’m sorry, Edward.”

Edward looked at me, then looked at Ace, who waved. “You, I know,” Edward said to Ace. Edward then looked at me and asked, “What rank?”

“S rank!” Bryson blurted out. What?!

Edward scoffed and said, “She doesn’t look like S rank.” He then noticed my shoes and asked, “What are these?”

“Uh, Kensa, sir,” I muttered, looking away. His eyes were piercing right through me, and I didn’t like it one bit. There was this aura about him that made me want to hide. Who was this guy…?

“Hm…” Edward got onto one knee, inspecting my shoes. “Well, you don’t have terrible taste… It’s average at best. If you really are S rank, I expect to see you do well in Splatfest.”

He looked at Bryson and said to him, “Well, I guess you weren’t wrong. I’ll believe it for now. Just make sure she doesn’t touch father’s things. You know how he gets.”

Bryson kept his gaze downward. “Yes, Edward.”

Edward’s expression changed from one of seriousness to one of sympathy. He stood up, walking over to Bryson, then put a hand on Bryson’s head. Bryson still looked down, staying still.

“Bryson,” said Edward, making Bryson jump a little. “You know why I’m hard on you.”

“Yes, Edward,” said Bryson.

“Bryson. I only do this because you’re supposed to be the next big thing,” said Edward. “You haven’t lost a single match so far. For that, I’m proud.”

I flinched at that statement. I had made Bryson lose, but I’d keep it a secret for him, at least. I could feel the guilt eating away at my stomach. I suspected that this was one of Bryson's brothers, and they must have been important enough for Bryson to be treating them with such fear and respect.

Edward looked at me once more, the obvious suspicion in his eyes that I wasn’t really S rank. He was right, though. “Anyways,” he said to Bryson. “I can’t stick around. I only came to get my keys. I need to test some new weapons, so I won’t be back until nine, maybe ten. Annaki scientists are always getting on my back for rushing to finish early.”

After grabbing his keys off the table in the center of the room, he walked out the door, his eyes darting to me before he closed the door. I felt a shiver run up my spine. As soon as I was certain he was out of hearing range, I asked, “Who was that?”

“My oldest brother,” said Bryson, taking off his beret, one tentacle hanging down the side of his face. “He expects a lot from me. Because one of my brothers took a different career path, it’s up to me to carry on the family legacy. My brother has already reached number one status, and he’s retired, so now he’s got me on a strict training schedule.

I didn’t expect to hear any of this. Bryon really wasn’t who I thought he was. Ace put a hand on Bryson’s shoulder, and I couldn’t help but say, “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry, noob?” Bryson said, quickly picking his usual personality back up. “I don’t need sympathy from you.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that. No wonder Bryson was so hard on me. His own brother was hard on him . Bryson was just doing what his brother had taught him. “Yes, sir,” I said, quickly adopting the attitude of a turfer in training, smiling.

“So,” said Ace. “You’re giving her the suit, aren’t you?”

“Maybe,” said Bryson. “It’s normally reserved for those in X rank. If you were a regular turfer and tried to buy this, they’d turn you down.”

“What suit?” I asked, a little confused.

“It came out about a month ago,” said Bryson. “A suit that’s supposed to be revolutionary. Kensa’s been struggling to keep up with it, too.”

I was still confused. “What’s so special about it?” I asked.

“It has two main ability slots,” said Bryson, smirking. “It was only recently approved by the Squid Research Lab, being the first of its kind.”

“That sounds… like cheating,” I commented.

“All’s fair in ink and war,” said Ace. “I don’t mind it. If it gives me a challenge, I welcome it.”

“Besides,” said Bryson, “all of that tech is gonna be transferred over to regular gear before the end of the year, so everyone is still on equal ground.”

Inkling technology never ceased to amaze me. When my dad was still alive, he was obsessed with technology as well. In fact, he was very interested in biotechnology and bioengineering, and so was my brother, Mark.

He’d discuss theories with dad centering around how some sea creatures were able to extend their lifespan, like the Turriptosis Dohrnii, also known as the Immortal Jellyfish, a creature that can reverse its own age when it’s threatened or harmed in some way.

Dad was probably too obsessed with it, honestly… There were nights when he’d stay up and mutter to himself, writing down things in his notepad. Sometimes, my brother would even stay up with him, both of them talking about how immortality could be implemented.

I think that, because we were nearing extinction, my dad was desperate to do everything he could to create the technology needed with the funding from the Japanese president. Of course, he never succeeded. If he did, I wouldn’t be here.

As for my brother, he wasn’t interested until he started reading dad’s books when he was ten. I was around five years old at the time, so I could never really remember how he acted when he wasn’t obsessed.

If my brother were with me right now, he’d be around nineteen years old. So… that meant he was fifteen when we went into the pod. I just wished I knew where he was, or at least had a hint if he was okay.

“Amelia? You’re spacing out,” said Ace, waving a hand in front of me.

I blushed, embarrassed. “O-Oh, Sorry!”

“It’s cool,” he said. “Ready to try on the suit?”

I nodded, a little excited to see how it worked. Bryson walked in from another room, holding a wad of something gray, with two white stripes going down the middle. He tossed it to me, and I caught it.

“Is there a restroom where I could change?” I asked.

Bryson pointed to a hallway. “Down there, last door on the right,” he said. As I passed by, he also gave me a helmet and boots. “Take these, too. They’re part of the main outfit.”

I nodded and went into the restroom. After struggling to get in, I looked in the mirror, seeing a gray, helmeted figure look back at me with a red visor. I couldn’t see my face inside, so I guess the anonymity was a sure thing. The suit, although it was skintight, was comfortable, the fabric stretching as I moved freely. My boots, however, I especially liked. They were a bit big, but they had this amazing gray and white color scheme, fitting the rest of my outfit.

As I walked out, I could hear Ace and Bryson talking in the main room.

“What? I can’t!” said Ace. “It’d be weird, you know?”

“Why not?” asked Bryson. “Dude, this kind of thing doesn’t really happen very often.”

I walked into the room, asking, “What kind of thing doesn’t happen very often?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” said Ace, smiling as he rolled his eyes. “Just, uh, things.”

“Things?” I asked.

“Yeah,” said Ace. “Things don’t happen very often.”

...What?

“Okay?” I said. “Um… How do I look?”

Ace gave a thumbs up. “Lookin’ fresh! Though, I’d probably choose a different color scheme.”

“This was before they were thinking about colors,” explained Bryson. “Most prototypes don’t go for looks, so it's just the final product that does.”

To be honest, seeing out a red visor didn’t do much for my vision. “Do I really need this helmet?” I asked. “It’s kinda hard to see out of.”

“Did you turn it on?” asked Bryson.

Turn it on…? I felt around the helmet with my hands until I found a switch in the back. Upon switching it on, the redness faded away, making it much clearer. “Oh! This is much better!”

“It’s supposed to be based off of Cuttlegear’s tech,” said Bryson. “Took us a long time to reverse engineer it.”

“What’s Cuttlegear?” I asked.

“Cuttlegear is a brand company that sells military armor to both inklings and octarians,” explained Bryson. “They take no sides, even though the majority of their company is made up of inklings.”

“That doesn’t really sound right,” I said. “But, then again, dad used to say it was the big companies that were to blame for everything. I never really understood how they were involved, though.”

“So, how exactly did your species die?” asked Bryson.

“Bryson, dude, don’t,” said Ace, putting a hand on Bryson’s shoulder.

“No, it’s fine,” I asked. “Um… How do I say this…? We did it to ourselves,” I said.

“How?” asked Bryson.

“A horrible weapon,” I answered. “A weapon far worse than anything I’ve seen inklings make.”

“Impossible,” said Bryson. “How can one weapon destroy an entire species?”

“I know it sounds impossible, but…” I tried finding a way to explain it to him. Dad tried to explain the science of it to me, but I could never understand it fully. “From what I remember, they were nuclear bombs, and they were so powerful, that after they exploded, there’d be something left behind called radiation, which could still kill people within the area.”

“That sounds… scary,” said Bryson. “Why would you make that?”

“Bryson,” warned Ace.

“No, it’s fine!” I answered. “I didn’t make it. I could barely understand it. All I know is that they used it on the…” I’d never heard of a word for the antarctic in the inkling language. “The south pole of the planet. There used to be ice there.”

“That’s weird,” said Bryson.

I shook my head. “Enough about that. I want to train. This topic is starting to make me miss my old life.”

“Sure, Amelia,” said Ace, looking glad to get off the subject. “Why don’t we continue our training?”

“Sure!” I explained, excited to try out this gear. As we walked out of the room, I couldn’t help but asked, “Won’t your brother find out you took the prototype if he sees me in this armor?”

“Oh, yeah,” said Bryson, stroking his chin. “Darn… How do we fix that?”

“I can think of a way,” said Ace with a smirk. “You guys up for some inking?”

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On our way to the warehouse, we had encountered Liv, who had overheard our conversation on redesigning the suit’s color scheme. From what she had told us, she was apparently a fan of fashion, and wanted to help.

Inevitably, we did let her in on my secret, and even though she was surprised, we had all agreed to keep it a secret. Apparently, helping her up at that turf match put me in a positive light in her eyes.

As we walked into the warehouse, Liv asked me, “So, why hide from the others, but let us know?”

“Nem-Nem told me I was supposed to keep hidden because the inkling government might want to dissect me,” I answered. “As for you guys...“ I smiled. “I trust you.”

Liv, sighing, rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, I know a lot about keeping secrets. Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”

“Thanks, Liv,” I replied.

“It’s no problem at all,” she replied. “Now then… Let’s start inking!”

Ace had put the suit on a mannequin and had placed that mannequin in the center of the warehouse. He wanted to make a game out of it for some reason, a reason I probably couldn’t understand. I felt like it was just in his nature to act as if life was a game.

Liv had given us tanks filled with a special kind of ink. It was inkling ink, but after being converted through some kind of process, it became resistant to the air microbes that normally ate away the ink after a turf war. “Okay, guys! You ready?” she asked.

I held my dualies up in indication, Live pulled out a brand new blaster, Bryson readied his umbrella, and Ace… he was holding a monster of a weapon. It was a Hydra Splatling, the most powerful of all splatlings, capable of splatting an inking within a single second.

From any human’s perspective, it looked like it was a completely original design, but upon inspecting it further, one would find that it was partially made up of pieces from a fire hydrant in the base. The cylinders were a shiny metal, and the way it spun and whirred made me shiver.

I’d do anything to wield such a thing, to feel its power and mow down any pathetic turfer who dared to cross my path, slowly climbing the ranks until I reach the very top! I would become Hydra Queen, and all of life would tremble at my awesome migh---

Amelia, snap outta it,” said Bryson, snapping his fingers in my face. “ Noob . Stop daydreaming. You’re not even ready for the Hydra yet.”

“How did you know?” I asked, surprised.

“It’s every turfer’s dream to try out a Hydra at least once ,” he answered.

“Not mine,” said Liv. “I’d rather use a combination of tactics with my weapons. Going in using brute force with a Hydra has a lot of risks. Plus, I think this blaster is way nicer. Just got it today. I’ll name it Blast Cap!~”

Bryson looked at Liv and said, “Don’t act like such an octarian.”

Liv laughed in a weird way that made me curious. “Oh, gosh, yeah. Those darn octarians,” she said.

“Enough yappin’ guys!” said Ace. “Let’s let loose!”

Liv, Bryson, and Ace all let loose with their weapons, and so did I. There was only one thing I couldn’t help but notice. We were all using different ink colors. As we pelted the mannequin, I could see the suit being doused with a rainbow of red, blue, green, and yellow.

When it was finished…

“It looks… fresh?” said Liv, questioning herself. “Not one of my better ideas. The idea seemed good on paper, but…”

The suit was very mismatched, with all four colors clashing like nobody’s business. In essence, it was kinda like a strange postmodern art style. “Think your brother would recognize that?” Ace asked Bryson.

“I don’t think even the inventors would recognize it,” replied Bryson.

“So, what do we do now?” asked Liv.

“Test run?” Bryson suggested.

“Test run,” we all agreed at once.

As soon as we agreed, we all headed out to Deca Tower. Heading into the tower, the colorful lights popped up as usual. We quickly selected the area. This time, we’d be doing a turf war in Mako Mart.

...Wait, what?

Before we were transported, I asked Ace, “Why Mako Mart?”

“Are you kidding?” asked Bryson. “It’s essential for learning the differences between high and low ground combat. Always try to stay on the high ground. If you can, you’re sure to win.”

As we appeared on the metal spawn point, I wasn’t surprised to see that all the customers were moving elsewhere. Me and Nem-Nem shopped here all the time, and so, when I was lucky enough, I’d get to see a turf war from another part of the store.

Across the stage, I couldn’t see our opponents. The shelves of food were in the way. I simply readied my dualies and hoped for the best. “Okay,” I said to myself, taking a deep breath and exhaling. “This is where my training pays off.”

“Good luck, noob ,” said Bryson.

I just took it as a compliment and replied, “Thank you. You, too.”

“I won’t need it. I make my own luck!” he said as my phone beeped, the match starting. He jumped down and inked the side of a shelf of breakfast boxes and swam up to the top, gaining high ground immediately.

Ace held his Hydra Splatling and immediately inked the turf green before us, giving us an easy advantage already, but this was only a small fraction of a much larger store. “You go to the right,” he said. “I’ll ink the left.”

I nodded. I then turned to Liv and asked her, “Wanna come with me?”

Olivia smiled and readied her blaster. “Sure!”

As we ran, I noticed three things. One, there was a sale on ice cream, two, I probably shouldn’t focus on ice cream, and three, Liv wasn’t swimming through the ink. Instead, she was running beside me.

I actually felt grateful for that, knowing she’d stay next to me. This boosted my morale a bit. As we went down an aisle, there was an inkling up ahead, fully clothed in what looked like a motocross helmet, a red ski jacket, and trail boots. The visor was closed, but I could feel his rage as he jumped, lifting his roller high, ready to fling ink from it in our direction.

I quickly jumped back, and so did Liv. She fired her blaster, catching him in its short-range explosion. Noticing that he had taken damage, he dove into his own ink as… an octopus .

“Liv, that’s an octarian!” I warned. “Be on your guard!”

I had never heard of octarians participating in turf wars. From what I knew, they were the enemy of the inklings, and they were scary smart. Liv looked at me, then shook her head. “We’ll be fine. Just continue the match as normal.”

This confused me. Why was she so casual about this? Nevertheless, she was my friend, and so I took her word at face value. I nodded, trusting her. She had obviously known more than me about this. How much she knew, I wasn’t sure, but I’d trust her all the way.

“He’s swimming up the shelves,” she said. “We need to get up there.”

“Well, then go squid,” I said.

“No,” she answered.

“Why not?” I asked.

“This is the perfect opportunity for you,” she said, looking back at me with a smile. She ran over to the shelf, then motioned for me to come over. “Climb on me! I’ll lift you up! We’re gonna help you learn how to use high ground to your advantage.”

I really liked this idea. Grinning, I ran over, climbing. She helped push me up onto the top of the shelf, where I stood up and ran at the octoling as soon as I saw him. He looked at me, holding his roller with only one hand. How was he so strong? I could never hold a roller like that.

He pointed it at me, then said, “You’re going down, scrub.”

Something about that statement made me tense up. Regardless, I held up both my dualies, trusting Nem-Nem’s weapon. I hit the roll function, the dualies dragging me forward within splatting distance. In order to dodge, he… backflipped?!

He had performed a backflip at the last moment, landing on another shelf. He lifted his roller and flung ink at me as he swung his weapon back down. The ink hit me, and I was knocked back, covered in purple ink. He jumped once more and swung downwards again, flinging more ink at me.

When he figured out I couldn’t be splatted, he stepped forward. “What is this…?” he asked.

He looked at his roller. “Faulty equipment, maybe…? No matter,” he said, raising his hand, a splat bomb materializing. “This is more than enou--!!!”

A flurry of ink hit him from the side. Before he could even turn to look, he had exploded into our team’s ink. I looked to my left to see Ace, grinning. “Beware!” he shouted. “I am the Hydra Kiiiiiiing!”

Fresh.

I stood up, then waved at him. He waved back, shouting, “Booyah!”

Booyah?

Bryson, from enemy territory, shouted back, “Booyah!”

Then it hit me. I remembered now. This was a popular thing for turfers to say when they’ve either scored a victory or are just having a fun time. I shouted back at Ace, “Booyah!”

He gave me a thumbs-up, then continued his slaughter, raining down ink from above with his hydra.

I spotted an inkling below me on the ground and aimed my dualies, firing at her. She hadn’t even seen me, and so, as a consequence, I was able to splat her, taking her down. I shouted once more to Liv, “Booyah!”

Liv, however, didn’t shout back. She seemed too preoccupied with an enemy. After hitting an enemy inkling with a direct blast and splatting him, she finally shouted back, “Booyah!”

This was good. I was having a good time, we were winning, and I finally felt like a decent competitor. Bryson was right. Being up here definitely made a difference. Throughout the match, I’d rain down ink with my dualies from atop the store shelves, snagging easy victories.

There were still times when I had encountered the octoling. He was easily able to keep up with Ace and Bryson, dodging their attacks and splatting them in return at times. He was so nimble with the roller that, at first, I thought it was a carbon roller, a more lightweight model.

However, upon closer inspection of his weapons, I noticed that it was a Kensa Roller. Those were an expensive kind, and medium weight, meaning they weren’t too light, but they also weren’t too heavy, either.

As I looked over to Liv, I could see she kept down below. It was an odd tactic, one that I didn’t really understand. Didn’t Bryson want us up here? I got on my hands and knees and reached my arm down. “Liv! Up here!” I exclaimed, grinning.

Liv took my hand and I pulled her up. She was… incredibly light, actually. I guess it kinda made sense? These inklings were always so fast and flexible. It’d only make sense if they were light, too, but then… how could she lift me up?

Some more science I didn’t want to go into. Dad tried to teach me. He really did. I just couldn’t understand biology or physics like my brother could. It made me wonder who dad was more proud of. Shaking my head clear of the thoughts, I held up my dualies.

“See where the octoling went?” I asked.

“Don’t have to focus on him alone,” said Liv, her back against mine. She also appeared to be on the lookout for others. “There’s other opponents, too.”

What was her deal with this? She seemed to want to ignore him. “You okay?” I asked. “Do you know him?”

She shook her head before firing off her blaster, taking out an inkling below us. “Octolings compete here all the time . It’s normal.”

“But they’re the enemy,” I said.

“Sometimes an enemy can still be a person,” she said as she took out two more inklings.

What did that even mean…?

I shook my head, ignoring it. My phone finally beeped, and from I could tell, we had completely covered the field. My first taste of victory made me breathless, and from what I could tell, this would only be the beginning!

As I hugged Liv in excitement, my eyes caught a glance of the helmeted octoling. In my mind, he was looking right at me, but I couldn’t exactly tell, because the visor was covering his face. My victory mood soured a little, intimidation taking over.

Something told me this wasn’t the last I’d see of this guy.

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As I was sitting across the kitchen table from Nem-Nem, eating dinner, I couldn’t help but think about the octoling from earlier. An enemy was behind that visor, yet Liv said octolings competed all the time.

Have they just been hiding under our noses the entire time? How long have they been doing this? I did know one thing, though. Something was going on behind closed doors, and I wanted to find out what it was.

“You okay, kiddo?” asked Nem-Nem before taking a bite of fish from her fork. “You seem down, but from what you told me earlier, you won.”

“I’m sorry, Nem. It’s just…” I didn’t know how to tell her.

“It’s not that boy, is it?” asked Nem-Nem.

This surprised me. “What? Why would it be Ace?”

“I don’t know how puberty affects humans,” said Nem, “But I do know how it affects inklings. Boys can be pretty clumsy going through it, and they can do stupid things.”

“Nem, what are you talking about?” I asked. “It has nothing to do with boys.”

“Sorry,” replied Nem-Nem. “It’s just that I’ve been through some ups and downs with guys at your age. A lot of them got me in trouble, wanting to act like a cool kid.”

“Well, Ace isn’t like that, and we’re not even… you know. We’re just friends,” I said, looking down at my food. Tonight’s dinner was fish fillet. Considering the world was made up of aquatic life now, the idea of them eating other fish, even if those fish weren’t as sapient, confused me. Then again, different world, different morals.

“I’m just worried,” said Nem-Nem. “Don’t want your heart getting broken.”

She really did care about me, and there were times where I wanted to call her my mother, but I was always afraid she’d reject my view of her. Four long years of doing everything together, and yet I was still afraid.

“Thanks, Nem,” I replied. “I appreciate the concern.”

“Always welcome,” she answered, smiling.

The doorbell rang, prompting Nem-Nem to stand up from her chair. “That must be David,” she said.

David was the archeologist who had found me in my pod, stating that I was extremely lucky to be alive. Today was the twenty-seventh, which was when he normally visited every month. When he had first found me, he couldn’t understand me, and I had been very scared of him.

He did everything he could, eventually luring me out with food. I had been starving at the time, my body having not taken any energy in ten thousand years. It was some kind of chocolate bar, which, oddly enough, prompted me to wonder later how inklings were able to invent recipes so similar to what humans had made.

I had stayed in a tent for the next few days while he talked on the phone, trying to find anyone he knew and trusted enough to take me in. That person was Nem-Nem, and I haven’t left her care since.

When he had introduced me to her, I was very hesitant, terrified of her looks. I had thought she was a monster, but…

I had been really wrong about her… I still feel guilty for that.

When Nem-Nem opened the door, I saw him, with his grayed tentacled hair and green eyes. His hairstyle was a little unique, with just one long tentacle bit going down the back of his head. Everything else was flat, almost as if there wasn’t anymore hair, looking as if it was shaven. It’s hard to explain when it comes to squid styles… I could never really understand it myself.

“Ah, Nem-Nem!” he said, smiling, his tired eyes still full of life. “My friend. We have much to talk about.”

“Come on in,” said Nem-Nem, stepping aside.

After he walked in, he spotted me as I was cleaning my plate at the sink, his smile vanishing, his eyes making him look very thoughtful. “Ah… Nem-Nem. There’s something I think Amelia should have.”

“You brought her a gift?” she asked.

“You could say that,” said David. “Not the word I’d use, but… close.”

After I put my plate away, I walked over. “Hello, sir,” I greeted. Nem-Nem had taught me to respect the older inklings, as they had a lot of experience. To me, though, it was just like my mom teaching me to respect the elderly.

“Amelia,” he said. “Come take a seat,” he said, walking to the couch. I sat down, and he sat next to me. “Amelia… What do you remember right before going to sleep?” he asked.

That was an odd question… “I remember my dad,” I said.

“Anything about your brother?” David asked.

“No,” I answered. “He went in before I did.”

“Ah, I see,” he said. He cleared his throat. “Amelia. Ever since I had found you, I had gone back and forth to the site for short periods, doing my own research on my own time, having never entrusted the secret to anyone. This trip, having been my fourth trip, I had found something that caught my eye while I was trying to clear the area of debris.”

“What did you find?” I asked, intrigued.

“Paper, with a language I can’t understand,” he answered, reaching into his pocket. He pulled it out, and upon seeing the writing, I could instantly notice the English language on it.”

“May I…?” I asked, holding out my hand.

He nodded, handing it to me. “But, of course. You’re probably the only one here who can read it.”

As I looked it over, my heart sank.

Amelia, this is Mark. I don’t know how to operate your pod. You were supposed to wake up when I did, but it’ll be okay. If your pod opens while I’m gone, stay where you are. I found someone who will help us. Stay safe, please.

Oh, God. He was alive. He was really alive. My eyes went blurry with tears. “Where did you find this?” I choked out, trying to keep myself together.

“It was underneath some vines near your brother’s pod,” he said. “It must’ve been covered up somehow over the years.”

“This is a note… f-from my brother,” I said, shaking a little. I clenched the paper tighter, my chest hurting. He was alive. He had found someone, but who? And why didn’t he come back? “How long ago was this written…?” I asked.

“You’d be surprised if I told you,” he said. “This kind of paper is made by the Enperry company, a company I work with , and I know it only went into stores six years ago.”

My heart nearly skipped a beat. He had found the inklings. But… if he did, why haven’t I found him yet? In all of Inkopolis, I have not once seen him within my four years here! “H-He’s alive,” I stammered. “I know he is!"

But wait. What about the vines. I looked at David and asked, “But, how could the vines on his pod grow so quickly?”

David chuckled. “As an avid gardener myself, I can tell you that these kinds of vines can easily grow twenty feet or more a year. They’re very popular on this island, too. Doesn’t take too long for them to overrun the place.”

So, from what I know now, my brother might still be alive, and I needed to find him. The only problem was… where do I look?