“The pop-star life is adventure enough for me. I much prefer a relaxing holiday.” - Marina Ida

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Watching television with Nem-Nem was normally the highlight of indoor life. We shared a lot of moments in front of it, laughing together, commenting on how dumb the dialogue was from time to time. Even the news could be entertaining with her around.

It was evening, and we were watching a romance this time. It was about a crustacean who had fallen in love, but he was also enlisted in the army, so he needed to spend as much time with the one he loved as much as possible, eventually confessing his feelings to her.

“Thing about crustaceans is that they can be a little thick-shelled,” said Nem-Nem. “I should know. I’ve dated a few in my college days. One of them refused to ask for directions when we went out of town for a getaway, and because of that, we got lost.”

“Sounds like you’ve dated a lot,” I said.

“The single life isn’t easy, Amelia,” she replied. “Hard to find that perfect someone.”

I thought about Ace and our time at the movie theater together. I still wasn’t really sure what my feelings for him were. I liked him, and I mean I really liked him. He was always so supportive, so cheerful, despite losses. He’d always inspire people around him, and I thought it was so cool that he was able to do that.

A question popped into my mind. “Nem-Nem, how do I know if I, you know, love someone.”

Nem-Nem’s posture quickly changed. She stood up straight, turning down the volume. “E-Excuse me?” she asked. I hesitantly repeated my question and she just said, “It’s… hard to tell when you’re going through puberty. Hard to tell what’s love and what’s... “

“What’s what? ” I asked, waiting for her to finish.

She cleared her throat, blushing. “Look, um, there are ways to tell if someone is right for you, but what really matters most is if they’re there for you, if they support your decisions, and are even willing to risk their life for you. Love is a powerful thing, but… I don’t think I’m qualified to give advice on it. I’m still single, so… what do I know?”

I remember what Ace did when we first met. He had pushed me out of the way of that roller. Self-sacrificing, caring, and he was even supportive of my dream of being a turfer. I didn’t know if I should tell Nem-Nem, because I wasn’t sure how she’d react. I kept quiet about it for now, simply nodding in understanding.

Nem-Nem relaxed a bit more now that the topic was over. As she turned up the television, it suddenly switched to the news on its own, scaring us both with a loud music introduction. As soon as it died down, Pearl and Marina appeared on the screen.

“Yo, yo! Check it, y’all! We’ve got the Splatfest results in today!” Pearl exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “You ready, Marina?!”

“Always ready to win,” replied Marina with a smile.

Pearl smirked and said, “So, listen up! The results in popularity are…”

Team Old: 38.6%

Team New: 61.4%

Marina looked very disappointed while Pearl was ecstatic. Marina then said, “Can’t win ‘em all, I guess.”

“Don’t be like that, Marina!” said Pearl. “We’ve still got two more results!”

As the screen displayed the numbers, my hopes were shattered.

Team Old Normal Clout: 58.9%

Team New Normal Clout: 41.1%

Team Old Pro Clout: 36.7%

Team New Pro Clout: 63.3%

Marina seemed to share my sadness as her lower lip quivered. “So much for tradition…”

Pearl grinned and exclaimed, “Booyah! Out with the Old, in with Team New! Don’t worry, Marina. It’s not so bad. I’ll get you those new sound speakers you’ve been talking about for the past six months.”

Marina rolled her eyes with a smile. “Whatever you say, Pearl.”

Pearl paused, seeming to be thinking. “Wait a minute… Didn’t you pick Team Modern waaaaay back?” she asked. “And wait, didn’t I go with Team Retro? Something’s wrong here…”

Marina, seemingly nervous, placed her hands on the record table in front of her and spun one of the circular discs, making the screen show footage from the Splatfest. There I was, on-screen, screaming as I was shooting at Henry and splatting him.

Pearl’s eyes widened as she exclaimed, “Woah, that’s a case of Turf Madness if I’ve ever seen one!”

“I know, right?” Marina replied. “According to local sources, that’s the unsplattable inkling girl. She’s been making a lot of headlines during Splatfest.”

“WHAT?!” asked Pearl in shock. “You hear that, kids?! Unsplattable! She must be all kinds of tough!”

My stress shot up way past one hundred percent. I looked at Nem-Nem, and the moment she saw my expression, she shut off the television. Holding my head in my hands, I began overthinking, wondering how the science community would react.

Nem-Nem had a calm expression, saying, “Alright, that’s enough, Amelia.”

“But what if it gets too much attention?” I asked.

Nem-Nem then pointed out, “Don’t worry. You wear that outfit way too often. They don’t know what you look like.”

My fears went down. There was only one team that knew what I looked like, and that was the first team I officially faced with Ace and the others. The hockey-masked inkling was… scary. He was violent, and he… wait…

How did he recognize me at the museum…? He had never seen me put on the suit. Was… was he following me? He couldn’t have been, right?

I was scared. My fear of this guy intensified. What if he told more people? “Yeah, that’s her,” I imagined. “That’s the freak right there.”

Nem-Nem lightly shook me by my shoulders. “Amelia! Snap out of it!”

I looked up at her. “I’m scared,” I uttered. “There’s a kid who knows what I look like. What if he tells?”

Nem-Nem shook her head. “Nuh-uh. Don’t worry. Let me worry about that. You focus on relaxing, okay?”

Relaxing, relaxing, relaxing, how could I think about relaxing?!

Nem-Nem sighed and said, “Look, I’ll talk to David and have him find this kid. You just gotta give a description, David will find him, we’ll handle it. Might have to pay him to keep quiet, but if that’s what it takes, David and I will do it.”

My fears were immediately relaxed. I leaned into her, just closing my eyes and hugging her. “Oh, my gosh, thank you…”

“Oy, you’re gonna turn into me if you don’t stop,” she warned, patting my head.

I soon calmed all the way down, then let go. She was right. I needed to relax. This was getting to my head, and I needed to keep it together if I wanted to enjoy this week. I smiled up at her in appreciation. “I’m sorry,” I said. “Thank you.”

“No problem, kiddo,” she replied. “Speaking of kiddos, where are your friends? Didn’t you invite them over?”

I had nearly forgotten! I checked my phone. Ace had sent a text thirty minutes ago saying he’d be here soon. So… where was he? Did he get lost on the way here?

The doorbell rang, followed by, “Hey, NOOB! We’re here! Open up!”

“Rude,” Nem commented.

“That’s just Bryson,” I replied. “He’s been trying to train me recently, but…”

“Well, that’s not proper teacher attitude,” said Nem, walking to the door. She opened it up, both her and Bryson locking sights with each other. Ace and Liv stood just behind him, with Liv waving and Ace grinning.

“So, you’re Bryson?” Nem asked.

“Yeah?” Bryson answered.

“You didn’t do a very good job teaching Amelia,” said Nem, squinting her eyes. “She almost died two nights ago.”

“Tch, I taught her to the best of my ability,” Bryson retorted with a sneer. “Not my fault she’s a slow learner.”

Nem pinned him against the door, with both Bryson’s hands behind his back. My eyes widened, my mouth spurting out, “Nem, stop!”

Bryson struggled, growling, “Hey! What gives?! I try to help her and this is what happens?!”

Nem-Nem leaned in closer, whispering, “Do you know what it’s like to be someone who isn’t an inkling…? You think it’s so easy, but let me tell you something, bud . Being an anemone, I can say from experience that we have to try harder than you just to hope to compete.”

“B-But--” Bryson tried to object, but Nem interrupted.

“Inklings don’t even struggle with their abilities,” continued Nem. “I’ve had to sprain muscles just to do simple jumps and rolls when I was her age. And although my skeleton is hydrostatic and flexible, hers isn’t, so I’m assuming she has had to work harder than you to even achieve her noob status.”

Ever since I had told Nem that my friends knew my secret, she had been a bit wary. She’d often ask questions mostly about Bryson, due to his connection with Annaki. She never really trusted the bigger corporations, and she never told me why.

She let him go, letting him regain his composure after a few seconds of shock. I was worried that Nem might have been going through an episode, but I wasn’t sure if it was that or actual motherly instinct. “Y-You didn’t have to do that,” I said.

“Amelia, inklings are cocky,” replied Nem, her hand on her hip. “These guys might be the best at fighting, but that’s literally their core. They don’t even have to try. Once they grab a weapon, they’re experts with it in a matter of minutes.”

“Nice to see someone who can handle Bryson,” Ace commented with a grin. He walked up to her and held out a hand, greeting, “Nice to meet you, ma’am! I’m Ace!”

Nem-Nem smiled and shook his hand. “It’s very nice to meet you,” she replied. “I saw your performance last night with that helmet inkling.”

“He got me good, but I gave it my best shot,” Ace replied, still looking positive. “Sometimes stealth is all you need to take anyone down.”

“There’s a trick to flushing them out,” said Nem. “I’ll tell you later. For now, I’m going to start up on some much-needed baking.”

A smile spread across my face when I heard her say that. “What are you making this time?” I asked in excitement.

“Hm… That depends on the mood,” said Nem. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you know when I’m done. You kids go play.”

“Okay, Nem-Nem!” I replied.

After she went into the kitchen, Bryson asked, “So, noob , what should we do first?”

I thought about that. What was there to do besides turfing? I didn’t want to stray from the apartments, because I didn’t want to miss out on Nem-Nem’s baking when it was still hot.

Liv then asked me, “Hey, Amelia, is that a gaming console?”

I looked at the television, seeing some gray helmets and gloves and saying, “Yeah, it’s the SplatVirtual.”

During the four years I had been with Nem-Nem, life was pretty boring. Not being able to go out without her would often put me in a depressed mood, so she had decided to go out and get me a video game, along with the promise that we’d make weekly trips out, with me disguised of course.

“Is that Turf Mayhem?” asked Ace as he ran over to the rectangular console. He picked up a small cartridge. “I used to play this with Dimitri. Was hoping it’d get him into Turf War, but he just couldn’t get into it.”

I nodded as I put on my usual gloves. They were bulky, but they were very accurate. They could restrict movement on your fingers if you were touching an in-game object, making you feel like you were actually in the game.

I put on my helmet, the game starting up automatically. It wasn’t long before Ace materialized next to me. We were in a blank area, with nothing but white around us. I raised my hand, a menu popping up. “Clam Blitz or Splat Zones?” I asked.

“Hm… That’s a toughie,” said Ace. Bryson soon appeared, and so did Liv, both of them looking unfamiliar with the virtual space.

“I don’t normally play video games,” said Bryson, crossing his arms. “They tend to be unrealistic.”

That struck me as funny, because when humans were still around, we didn’t have squids that could walk and talk in human form. We probably would have seen it as unrealistic, but I didn’t want to burst Bryson’s bubble.

“I’ve, uh… never played a video game before,” confessed Liv.

“It’s pretty much like real life,” replied Ace, stretching his arms.

“Only it’s not,” said Bryson. “It’s dumb .”

“What mode, guys?” I asked, a little impatient.

“Go for Splat Zones,” said Bryson. “I wanna see what you can do since you can go squid in this game.”

Yeah…

I selected Splat Zones, a bit of depression washing over me. Suddenly, we were on the Manta Maria, a massive ship that had been decommissioned. Its wooden floor creaked beneath my feet as I ran off the spawn point.

Besides me was Ace, who had been selected by the game’s systems to be my team partner. That meant we were up against Liv and Bryson. I inked the ground below me with a Splattershot pro, then I dove into the ink.

When playing the game, the wearer’s legs would be paralyzed, part of the brain’s signals being redirected to the helmet. Only the arms were movable while walking and running were controlled by your brain’s signals. It would feel like you were actually running in the game.

Sure, the SplatVirtual was amazing in that regard, but the SplatVirtual 2 was even better, with full immersion. The user would be completely paralyzed while they were using it, giving them better freedom of movement within the game.

We could never afford the SplatVirtual 2, so we settled on just getting the first one. I’m still thankful that Nem had gone out of her way to get me such a console. I’d never seen anything like it before I was frozen.

As I alternated running and swimming to the middle of the ship, I saw the two holographic squares on the ground, indicating the turf we had to ink and keep protected from the other team. Whoever held the squared areas the longest would win the game.

I quickly fired down at the turf, inking it purple. Because I could go squid in this game merely by thinking it, I felt more like I belonged in the world. Of course, it wasn’t like I didn’t think about what it would’ve been like. There were so many advantages to being an inkling.

Meanwhile, here I was, a plain human, trying to play a squid’s game, but that wouldn’t stop me. I’d take on the world if I had to, just to find where I stand in the ranks.

“INKED FROM ABOVE!” Bryson shouted, jumping off the mast above. He had a Luna Blaster, a gun with incredibly short range, but it was very effective with one-shot splats. I didn’t stand a chance. A brief burst of pain hit me, sending me back to the spawn point.

I had almost forgotten what it felt like to play this game, because whenever I’d get hit, I’d feel the same pain an inkling felt. It would be intense, but very brief, simulating what real turf wars were like for inklings.

I swam back to see Ace fighting against Bryson. In Ace’s hands, he had the N-Zap ‘83, a weapon that was small, but powerful with its loadout, as it came with the Sprinkler and the Ink Storm.

What was the Ink Storm, you ask?

As Ace’s tentacled hair lit up, he raised both his hands into the air, a machine materializing within it. He then slammed it onto the ground, where it shot up into the air like a rocket and exploded into a purple cloud, making it rain ink.

Bryson didn’t seem phased by it, the determination in his eyes showing me that he wasn’t afraid of pain. He ran through the rain of ink itself and aimed, taking out Ace with one hit before he himself also exploded. It was just Liv and I now.

She held the Grim Range Blaster, and I groaned. This thing could be annoying if I wasn’t careful. I was beginning to feel as if the game had a sense of humor, because each weapon we received during a match would be almost seemingly random, making it difficult to plan out a strategy before the game started.

I ran at her, firing my Splattershot Pro. She raised her blaster, firing a well-aimed shot, but I quickly fired to my left and dove into the ink, still receiving damage from the blast radius. It wasn’t direct, but it still hurt greatly.

I jumped back out of my ink and fired another shot, but Liv was too quick. We both hit each other, both of us exploding in bursts of inks. I felt exhilarated, because although I couldn’t move as quickly in real life, or be just as coordinated, the game would help me. It made sure that every player was equal in speed and stamina. Reflexes, if slow, could be adjusted to natural or artificial.

After around five minutes of intense battling, the game screen popped up, declaring that the green team had won. I took off my helmet, seeing Bryson and Liv pumping their fists in the air victoriously.

I just couldn’t seem to win. Would I ever be good at Turf War in any format? It didn’t matter if it was real or virtual. I normally lost. Against the computer in the game, I was fine, but against real people…? I was jealous, I was angry, and I was sad. I just couldn’t win.

As everyone took off their helmets, Bryson said, “Even in a video game, I always win.”

Ace rolled his eyes and set the helmet down. Looking at me, his eyes fixated on something. “Um, Amelia… are you okay?”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, snapping out of my thoughts, confused.

“Your hair is, um… different,” he clarified.

My hair…? I reached up, feeling it, but it seemed fine to me. “I don’t understand,” I said.

Ace took my hand and guided me to the mirror that Nem kept in the living room. As I gazed upon myself, my blood ran cold, panic setting in. My hair was slowly changing colors. It went from red, to pink, to orange, to yellow, then to blue, then it repeated.

“Wh-What’s going on?!” I exclaimed.

I heard Nem-Nem ask from the kitchen, “Amelia? Is everything alright?”

“I… y- yeah?” I answered. I couldn’t let her see this. She’d freak!

“Almost done baking,” she called out. “You kids finish up whatever you’re doing.”

I looked at Ace with pleading eyes, and he immediately understood. Bryson, who simply watched with curiosity, folded his arms, not really concerned with my changing hair color. Liv was a little more curious, following us as Ace guided me to my room.

“You’ve got that beanie, right?” asked Ace.

I nodded, opening my door. I walked in, with Ace stepping in behind me. Looking in my closet, I grabbed my beanie and pulled it tightly over my head. “Think she’ll get suspicious if I wear my beanie indoors?” I asked.

Ace shrugged. “I mean, I wear a beret, so… it’s not too weird.”

“What would cause such a condition?” asked Liv, lifting a strand of my hair in between her fingers.

Thinking back to my most recent fight, I remembered how my arm became useless for no apparent reason. Thinking back even further, I could only remember one thing that could’ve caused it.

That Booyah Bomb messed me up somehow, and I wasn’t liking it one bit.

“Ace, do Booyah Bombs normally do anything to inklings if they survive it?” I asked.

“That’s a weird question,” he replied. “Um, I don’t think so. In fact, I hardly ever hear of inklings surviving a blast, and even when they do, nothing weird ever really happens to them, so… yeah, I don’t think so.”

“What about me? ” I asked. “I’m human . Has it ever affected other creatures before?”

Ace looked up, thinking. “Uhhhh, I think so. Now that I look back, I remember something happening to jellyfish if they manage to survive, but… they only change color as far as I know, and even then, jellyfish can fix themselves. Not sure how they do that, but they can.”

Liv looked unsettled, her eyes wide in a realization. “Booyah Bombs… normally scramble DNA. It’s why they’re so effective in splatting.”

I was now really worried. What if my hair was like this forever? Would I have to get dye to keep it a single color again? What if it got even worse somehow? “Is this permanent?” I asked.

Liv looked at Ace and asked, “May I talk to Amelia alone?”

Ace, looking a bit suspicious of this odd request, simply replied, “Sure,” then went out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Liv turned to me, admitting as she twiddled her fingers a little, “Well, I… designed it for Hector’s company, actually, and because of that, I can tell you that it shouldn’t last too long. It’s a smart bomb, and there should still be some of its nanomachines inside you.”

“Wh-What are nanomachines?” I asked.

“Tiny robots,” said Liv. “They look for anything resembling registered DNA in the respawn data storage and tear it apart within seconds. Since you’re obviously not registered in Turf War data storage, you’re still here. It might just be messing with your color pigments, because almost every living thing has them. It should still be safe, and they’ll shut down within a week.”

I was officially freaked out. There were tiny machines inside me?! No, thank you!

“Kids, come to the kitchen!” Nem-Nem called out.

Steeling my nerves, I walked out of my room, with Liv close behind me. Ace, having been waiting outside the room, saw my worried expression and took my hand. I looked at him, seeing him flash a grin, and just like that, I felt calm again. Things were a lot easier with him around. “Thank you,” I said.

“Hey, we’ve got your back,” he said, softly smiling.

Letting go, he walked up ahead of me, both of us heading into the kitchen. It wasn’t very big, I’ll tell you that. However, it was neat, clean, and it was incredibly comfortable. Nem-Nem placed a metal tray onto the table, where my eyes locked onto the sweets.

Brownies.

Although they were dairy-free, they were still amazing. Cacao trees were still very much a thing in this current age, thriving in the warm, humid climate. The brownies Nem-Nem normally made were very often soft, packed with dark chocolate.

Nem looked at my beanie, asking, “Why are you wearing that?”

“Just felt like it,” I said.

“Well, put it away,” she said. “You look nicer without it. Besides, you don’t want to have a bad case of hat hair, do you?”

“What’s hat hair?” asked Liv as she walked in, Bryson following closely behind.

“Oh, right, inklings don’t get hat hair. Um… Amelia’s hair is prone to getting messed up if it’s kept under a hat for too long, and I find it to be so unsettling that I need to brush it.”

“She brushes your hair?” Liv asked me.

I blushed, saying, “I-I can do it myself… I normally do . She only does that when it gets really bad.”

“I can’t stand it,” stated Nem. “Gets so messy.”

“D-Do I have to take it off?” I asked, hoping she’d say no.

“Yes,” she answered, my hopes dashed.

I slowly reached up, my hand trembling as I grabbed ahold of the beanie. I closed my eyes, then relaxed myself. Taking it off, I said, “Was hoping you didn’t see this…”

“Didn’t see what?” asked Nem, looking at me with curiosity. “Your hair’s not too bad right now. It’s fine.”

“You’re not mad?” I asked.

“Why would I be?” she asked back. “Not like it’s all over the place.”

Confused, I quickly walked into the living room and looked in the mirror, my hair back to its original dusty blonde color. How did…?

Walking back into the kitchen, stumped beyond confusion, I sat down in one of the kitchen chairs, looking down. Nem-Nem slid a plate across the table to me, the ceramic structure holding a brownie. Ace patted my back, knocking me out of my confusion. He smiled at me, and I smiled back, still a little concerned.

Picking up the brownie, I said, “Thank you, Nem-Nem.”

She then replied, “You’re welcome, kiddo.~”

Taking a bite, Bryson made an odd expression. It was as if he were puzzled. He seemed to inspect his food from all angles, as if wary of it. After swallowing, he said, “This can’t be a brownie. It’s…”

“It’s what?” asked Nem. “Don’t tell me you’re a critic .”

“No,” he responded. “It’s… too good.”

“They’re Nem’s special recipe,” I explained. “She’s never given it out to anyone. I hope to know it one day when I’m older, but for now, the secret stays with her.”

Nem patted my head, grinning proudly. “I’ve never met an inkling I couldn’t impress,” she claimed. “Those brownies have won first place, you know.”

Liv stared at her portion, looking confused. I asked her, “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve never had a brownie before,” she answered.

“Never?” asked Ace. “Like, NEVER EVER?”

“Nuh-uh,” she replied. “Never.”

I understood why. Where she was from, they had probably never eaten sweets like these. I could only imagine what life was like living under a dictator like Octavio. I said to her, “Go ahead, try it!”

She looked up at me, picking up her brownie and taking a bite. I could see the surprise in her eyes as she sampled it for the first time. Without saying a word, she shoved the whole brownie in her mouth, ignoring how hot it must have been.

Nem-Nem seemed pleased to have seen someone enjoy her baking so much. “So, how do you like it?” she asked?

Liv blushed, looking shy as she muttered, “It’s r-really good, miss…”

Ace, his mouth full, just gave a thumbs-up.

Suddenly, we heard the crash of thunder echoing throughout the house. Nem-Nem jumped, not expecting such a loud noise. “Oh, no!” she shouted. “Amelia, get the bucket! You know where the leak is!”

Sighing, I stood up. Storms usually happened here in Inkopolis during the autumn season, which we were already in the middle of. I didn’t want to, but I knew that if I didn’t get the bucket, the floor would become soaking wet.

I walked out of the kitchen and went down the hallway, opening the hallway closet where the bucket was kept. Taking it out, I set it down in front of the mirror, and as I did, water already dripped into it from above, the ceiling leaking.

Looking out the window, I saw the rain crashing violently down onto the ground, threatening to flood the city. Thankfully, there were many sewer drains that would keep the water from rising too high.

“I don’t know why I pay rent if they’re not going to fix that leak,” I heard Nem say as I walked back into the kitchen. “If they’re not gonna fix the roof, why should I even pay as much as I do now?”

I sat in my chair, pushing the remainder of my brownie into my mouth, my cheeks puffing out as I chewed in tasty bliss. The rich dark chocolate was often enough to make me forget all my worries, even in the worst of times. I just couldn’t help but smile.

“I don’t think we can go outside in this,” said Ace. “Rain is one thing, but… with this hard downpour, we’d explode in seconds.”

Inklings had a strange biology, one that I was forced to learn during my time here. Nem-Nem was strict with teaching me everything she could, even if I couldn’t read a textbook. She’d do everything she could to communicate efficiently with me so that she could at least get some basic knowledge into me.

Every inkling had an ink sac that was contained within a very thin skin. This skin, when penetrated hard enough, could kill an inkling with ease, but… killing them was still not easy. Although their skin was thin, it was still tough, capable of reforming near-instantly if there wasn’t any foreign liquid disrupting it, such as water or enemy ink.

I wasn’t quite able to understand the logic of inklings being weak to water, considering their ancestors had come from the ocean, but I didn’t really feel like questioning it most days. It would simply make my head hurt from overthinking.

Nem-Nem shook her head, sighing. “Looks like you kids will be staying here for tonight. These storms don’t usually let up for quite a while.”

Bryson didn’t look very amused. Walking into the living room and looking out the window, he crossed his arms, staying silent. He seemed to be upset, so I stood up and walked over, giving him a hug.

“H-Hey, what gives?!” he asked, trying to pull away.

I stepped back, feeling bad about it. “Was just trying to make you feel better about the situation...”

“I don’t do hugging,” he said with red cheeks.

I felt a little stupid after hearing that. What was I thinking? “Sorry,” I apologized. “Was just trying to help you feel better.”

As thunder crashed, he rolled his eyes. “I-It’s fine. Just don’t do it again.”

“Geez, Bryson. Can’t handle hugs?” asked Ace, grinning as he slowly approached Bryson.

Bryson eyed Ace warily. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, nothin’ ,” Ace replied. “Just, uh, gonna give a hug to my best friend .”

“Don’t you dare,” warned Bryson, squinting his eyes. “I’ll splat you right here and now.”

“With what? ” asked Ace. “You don’t have a weapon.”

“I am a weapon,” said Bryson. Ace quickly tackled him, making him cry out, “Let me go! You’re smothering me!”

Ace had the biggest grin on his face. “Oh, c’mon, Bryson! Loosen up!” he said, getting up after having given Bryson the biggest bear hug ever. I pressed my hands against my stomach as I let out a much-needed laugh. Bryson simply rolled his eyes as he got back up, a small smile on his face.

The moment he caught my gaze, he stopped smiling, his cheeks tinting red. “I am loose,” he said to Ace.

Liv, having finished her brownie, walked up to us, asking, “How long do you think we’ll be here?”

Ace rubbed the back of his neck, saying, “Storms like this usually last a few days, so we could be stuck here for a while.”

“I’m sorry, kiddos,” said Nem-Nem, walking over to the couch. “There’s some extra blankets in the hall closet. Make sure you each decide on one, and if you need to share one, then share. I’m not exactly the richest anemone.”

As Bryson and Ace went over to the closet, Liv and I sat down on the couch with Nem. Liv, looking at me, said, “I’ve never been to a sleepover before.”

“I’ve never really done sleepovers either,” I responded. “What do we even do at one?”

“When I was young, I’d gossip,” said Nem. “At a girls-only sleepover, it was always gossip. We’d talk about celebrities and guys we liked. Sometimes we’d even play truth or dare, and that would usually end up in hilarious hijinks!”

“Nem, does it get boring as you get older?” I asked. “You don’t seem to do that stuff anymore.”

Nem shifted her head from side to side, her hand twisting from side to side. “Ehhhhhh, yes and no. It’s kinda boring as you get older, but you get into more interesting things.”

“Like what?” I asked.

Nem shifted her eyes from side to side. “...Yes.”

That only confused me even more. I shrugged it off, not really wanting to push into the subject. If she didn’t want to tell me, then she must’ve had a good reason. I simply leaned against her, watching the television.

While Ace and Bryson argued over who got the fuzzier blanket, I let the sound of the rain lull me into a calm I couldn’t comprehend. I was just there, existing, the droplets seeming to echo in my mind and creating a peace that told me that everything would be okay in the end. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

I had that same dream again from before the final Splatfest night. I was underwater in the deep ocean, feeling calm and free. There was a storm on the surface, artificial lightning partially illuminating the sea beneath. It was like a fireworks show, one that was very deadly.

As for me, I… was not human. I wasn’t an animal either. I was something else, something that had just gained awareness. My body felt strange, uncomfortable. With thanks to these strange booms from above, I had awakened in a new intelligence.

Surrounding me were fish of all colors, and I couldn’t help but feel they were trying to tell me something with the way they swarm around me. I followed them, deeper and deeper into the abyss below, their bioluminescence guiding me with their pretty glow.

I could hear the cries of the hunters above growing fainter, screams becoming whimpers as I escaped the perils from beyond our wet world. We were safe down here. We were at peace here, and no matter what, nothing would disturb our sanctuary in the darkness.

But… we were wrong.

As the years rapidly passed by like blinking lights, I could feel the water growing thicker, a salty mix replacing what was once a clear purity, and with it came the leftover humans, donning the strange suits that allowed them to traverse forbidden territory.

They had found us.

I woke up in the middle of the night, covered in a fuzzy blanket.. Nem-Nem was gone, and the storm was raging outside. She must have gone to bed, I thought. On the couch were Bryson and Liv, both covered up in their own separate blankets.

Looking out the window was Ace, standing motionless. I quietly got off the couch and approached him, whispering, “Are you okay?”

Ace turned his head to look at me, his eyes glowing in the dark. Smiling, he nodded and whispered, “Yeah. Just enjoying the rain.”

I stood a little closer, looking out the window with him. Lightning lit up the dark clouds, a faint boom of thunder ringing through the skies like drums. With the gentle static noise of the heavy rain, it was calming.

Ace seemed to shiver a little, looking cold. I couldn’t help but ask him, “Where’s your blanket?”

He pointed to Liv. “Gave her mine,” he said. “I don’t need it. I can handle the cold.”

His slight shivering told me otherwise. I took his hand and guided him to the couch, confusing him greatly. As I sat him down, I placed my blanket over him and sat beside him, a bit cold myself, but content to have helped him.

Considering that inklings were possibly cold-blooded, I was a bit worried he wouldn’t be able to handle the cold as much as I could, even if I did shiver quite a bit. I just wanted him to at least be warm.

He looked at me with suspicion, noticing my shivering, but that wasn’t the only thing that caught his eyes. “Hey, your arm,” he whispered.

I looked at my arm, realizing what he had seen. “They’re just goosebumps,” I assured.

“What are goosebumps?” he asked.

Inklings… didn’t get goosebumps?

“It’s, um, something that tells me I’m cold,” I tried to explain.

Ace looked on in understanding. “Well, then you need this,” he said, shuffling under the blanket. I tried to object, but before I could, he opened up the blanket and pressed his shoulders against mine, surprising me.

I thought he was going to just give the blanket to me, but… instead, he was sharing it, helping to spread the other half of it across me. I blushed, looking the other way.

We both tucked in our arms and legs, keeping to ourselves while both staying underneath the blanket. I continued to look away, a bit nervous. Was… he just being nice? Did he like me? Was that why he shared it? Or… was he just like this? He did give Liv his blanket, so…

A loud crash of lightning made me jump, scrambling. He quickly shushed me, his finger to my lips as he pointed to Bryson and Liv, who were both stirring a bit from the sudden noise from outside.

“Don’t wanna wake ‘em,” he whispered, looking back at them. I calmed down, eventually getting tired once again.

“Sorry you guys got caught up here,” I said. “Your mom must be worried sick, huh?”

“My mom was pretty chill about it when I told her over text,” whispered Ace.

Looking at Liz and Bryson, my tired brain was eventually able to process a question, one I had never thought of before. “If inklings are cold-blooded, then… why blankets? If inklings can’t emit heat, then a blanket won’t help, right…?”

Ace chuckled and answered, “We’re not entirely like that. I remembered learning about it in school once. We can generate heat, but it’s not as much as you. We’re actually warm-blooded, but because of our ancestors, most just like to think we’re cold-blooded.”

“So it’s a rumor taken as fact?” I yawned out, my eyelids feeling heavy.

Ace nodded. “We just kinda play along.”

As the thunder crashed, I moved my hand around until I could feel his, then firmly grasped it. He looked at me, not really reacting in any form of surprise. My tired mind wasn’t registering much in the way of embarrassment. I just liked how his hand felt, and I just wanted to hold it until I fell asleep.

“You okay, Amelia…?” he asked.

I yawned, nodding, not really caring. I could feel his hand tightening its grip, giving me the sense of safety I wanted. This storm was intense, and I didn’t want to feel scared by any more lightning crashes. I was content just holding it.

We stayed still for that time, his hand being enough to keep me at peace as I listened to the rain against the windows and the crashing of the thunder. “Thank you,” I whispered.

He waited a while before responding, “No problem… Get some sleep, alright?”

I kept his hand held firmly tight as I closed my eyes, drifting into sleep, entering a much more detailed dream than before.

I crawled onto land. I had escaped, but from what, I didn’t know. I only knew that I was finally able to get onto shore without problem. Others were accompanying me, and although we were new to the land, we still had the same survival instinct.

We did what we could, setting up shelters, sharing the workload, fishing, and even creating our own economy. We were a new species, having just evolved from our primitive ancestors, but we weren’t alone out here.

There were even more creatures, ones that we never thought we’d expect to see on land. All of the ocean life was rapidly evolving, scrambling to gain dominance on the surface. We were at war for a long time, centuries, even.

Eventually, we were able to set up villages by the ocean, doing what we could to survive. We began to trade with the other creatures, eventually creating a bond, and for a short while, we were happy even becoming friends with another species that was similar to us in every way.

Over nine thousand years had peacefully passed, and we were shocked to learn that the water levels were rising to swallow us back up into the salty womb of the ocean, where we could never survive nowadays.

Then the wars began once more, with our people fighting our foreign brothers and sisters. I was a warrior, holding a brush and ready to fight head-on to keep my wife and my daughter safe. When they sent me in, I was willing to die for the cause.

I fought with all I could, taking out as many as I could, my blood heating up higher than usual. I was boiling with rage, my brush taking the lives of many, not a single hint of remorse within me. As I approached the leader, I challenged him, but…

I wasn’t ready. I was far from ready.

I was captured, having been taken far from my own home. I had been stranded on a raft in the middle of the ocean, the memory of my family keeping me going. I’d get back somehow, whether I had to return as a spirit or as a wounded soldier.

As I screamed, I awoke from sleep, the dim light pouring in through the windows and casting across my face.

Nem-Nem poked her head into the room from the kitchen, a frying pan in her hand. She shook her head, dismissing it and saying, “Geez, Amelia, maybe I shouldn’t let you eat brownies before sleeping.”

“I-I’m fine,” I said, getting up. The storm was still raging, and I felt a little frustrated, my dreams making no sense these past few nights. If I could just find a way to keep my head together… I really needed to talk to Liv about these tiny robots.

They’d go away, right…?

Bryson was on the other end of the couch, watching the television, his shades off, the beautiful blue eyes watching the screen. “You sure do mumble a lot in your sleep, noob ,” he commented.

“Sorr--”

“What did I say?” he asked.

“N-Not to apologize,” I said, remembering.

“Is it really that hard?” he asked.

I stood up, stretching myself out. “Yeah, yeah… I’ll try to remember,” I said, being sincere. I really needed to figure it out sooner or later. I didn’t want to disappoint Bryson.

Walking into the kitchen, I could smell shrimp and waffles. To most humans, I suppose it’d be an odd combination, but here, it was literally their culture. Seafood was always a part of it, and hardly anyone really cared about it.

Sitting in a chair, I saw Liv scrolling through her phone. “Hello,” she greeted, her eyes glued to the screen.

Still a little tired, I rested in my chair, leaning back. “Hi, Liv,” I tiredly greeted back. “Can we talk about that thing from yesterday?”

“What thi-- oh,” she replied, realizing what I had meant. “Yeah,” she answered.

Nem slid two plates over to me and Liv, smiling. “Here you go, girls,” she cheerfully said.

“Thank you, Nem-Nem,” I said as politely as possible.

As I took the first bite, Liv asked me, “Can you… survive in the rain?”

Looking at her, I nodded, my mouth full. “Mhm,” I replied.

“That’s so odd,” she said. “What is your biology like?”

After swallowing, I answered, “Um, meat, bones, lungs, a heart, a brain, and not much else, really.”

“Interesting,” said Liv.

After we finished breakfast, I took Liv to my room, where we sat and talked for a bit. According to her, the nanobots in my body would break down over time, but she wasn’t sure how long they’d last.

“So, is there a reason my arm stopped working during the final Splatfest night?” I asked as I sat on my bed. “It just kinda went limp. I just couldn’t move it.”

“Most likely a malfunction,” said Liv. “They have limited intelligence, and may do some wacky things.”

“Could they hurt me?” I asked, worried.

Liv shook her head. “They only look for anything resembling DNA, and most of the damage caused by them will usually be reversed on its own.”

I let out a sigh of relief, flopping onto my back. “Why would you make such a weird weapon?”

“It was Hector’s request,” she sighed out. “If he wanted to be recognized as a major brand company, he needed to at least produce one special ability that inklings could use in Turf War, so he turned to me.”

I leaned against the wall, sighing, and looking at my hands. “So, these things are inside me now, and I can’t get rid of them…”

“Uh, Amelia,” Liv said, taking a few strands of my hair and yanking them out quickly, causing brief pain.

“Ow!” I cried out. “Why’d you do tha-- ”

The strands were dark blue…

Liv, thinking a little more, asked, “What were you feeling when Bryson and I won yesterday?”

“Why?” I asked.

“Your hair is completely blue,” she said. “Last time, it was constantly shifting colors.”

Thinking back, I said, “I… felt a lot of things. I was a little jealous… maybe a little mad, and pretty upset…”

Liv then said, “Try thinking about something that makes you happy.”

Happy…? I dug through my memories, going down memory lane. I remembered my brother and I, playing on the beach. Smiling, I thought about how he’d pretend to go down when I hit him with the fake sword/stick lightly. He always tried to make me feel like I was on equal ground.

I was yanked out my memories as Liv yanked another few strands of hair. “Ow!” I exclaimed. “Hey, those take time to grow back, you know!”

The strands were back to their usual sandy-blonde color. Liv then said, “I think it has something to do with your emotions.”

“Why?” I asked, feeling beyond stumped at this point.

Liv thought for the longest time, her eyes wandering a bit and going glassy. “Now, hear me out. This is only a mostly-groundless hypothesis.”

 I steadied myself, nodding. “Uh-huh?”

“When stressed with any kind of negative emotion, inklings and octolings have the habit of changing colors. I’ve never seen you do it before, and now that you are, I’m beginning to think the nanobots have gone into a mode that I had programmed into them a long time ago.”

“And… that mode is…?” I asked.

“If an inkling survives a Booyah Bomb, the nanobots will go into Healing Mode to try and fix the inkling back up,” she explained. “It was a way for the Kensa company to stay ethical with its weapons, a sort of way to say, ‘Hey, you survived being splatted. We won’t let you keep suffering ill-effects.’”

“So they’re trying to heal me?” I queried. “But my hair doesn’t need healing.”

“That’s not what the nanobots think,” said Liv, putting a hand on my shoulder. “They probably think you’re an injured inkling or octoling, because if I’m right, your human DNA is similar to ours. We share the same appearance, which would also probably have slightly similar coding.”

“Why would they think I’m an inkling? Aren’t they supposed to be smart?” I asked.

“They’re a bit dumber than most would think,” she replied. “In fact, there’s no artificial intelligence. It’s merely a machine following instructions. They look through a DNA database of registered species and compare that to the body they’re in. Whatever’s closest, they’ll assume it’s that.

This alarmed me. If it was trying to fix me, what would happen? “Will this hurt me?” I asked, distressed.

She tightened her grip on my shoulder. “You’ll be fine,” she firmly said. “It shouldn’t do too much damage and that should be the full extent of it. I promise. They’re programmed to stop after a while.”

With her hand on my shoulder, I felt a sense of ease, wanting to trust her, and so I did. “Thank you, Liv,” I said.

She smiled, saying, “No problem, Amelia. And if it does do more than what it should, come tell me. I have a kill switch back at home.”

My fears were calmed. With Liv’s knowledge, I felt much safer. From what I was taught, I knew that octarians were smart, and I mean very smart, able to create all kinds of machinery.

And she was right. The rest of the week had passed, and there had been no more ill-effects. I had gotten some jealousy after being beaten multiple times by Bryson in the game, but my hair didn’t change color anymore.

Yet the weird dreams remained. I’d have them every night of that week, and they’d often put me in the shoes of some creature I could only assume was an inkling. The next few dreams were mostly about an inkling in different time periods. It was like I was seeing the rapid progress of civilization, and in a way, it made me a little sad.

I wondered what had happened to humanity. All of that progression… for nothing. Did they all die, or were they hiding on another continent elsewhere in large underground bunkers? I felt like I’d never truly know, and even though I wanted to be fine with it, my heart just wouldn’t let me get past the extinction of my kind.

If I died, would there be another human left? Would my brother still be alive, or was there really no one else…?

Suddenly, Nem snapped her fingers in front of me. “You’re doing it again, Amelia,” she said. I was on the couch, and next to me were my friends. Since the storm didn’t stop this week, we had been doing a movie binge.

Nem-Nem and I loved movies, and because of this, we would often go to the store and get a new one each month. Right now we were watching an action movie, but because of my own thoughts, I had gotten lost in a trance again.

“Sorry, Nem,” I replied.

Liv, who was fixated on the screen, stated, “There’s no possible way for this squid to survive that much heavy rain.”

Looking at the screen, I could tell what she was talking about. The action movie was about a ninja squid who had to defend her village from enemy octarians, but she was captured and was tied to a dead tree, forced to endure a thunderstorm much like this one.

Bryson shushed her. “Quiet, noob . This is getting interesting.”

“A lot of these movies don’t usually make sense,” I said to Liv. “It’s best to just enjoy it for what it is sometimes.”

As the inkling on-screen broke free of her bonds, she uttered a curse in an ancient inkling language, the subtitles on-screen reading, “I will get my vengeance!”

“This squid is hardcore,” muttered Bryson.

“Almost like she’s the protagonist,” joked Ace.

Ace was right. Most movies, especially like this one, had a character that could get through anything, even when it seemed bleak. I kept losing, so… I’m definitely no protagonist. If anything, it would probably be Ace or Bryson.

As the movie ended, Nem stood up and took a disk out from the movie case, getting out part two.

“Alright, kiddos. I think it’s safe to say it’s time for the second half,” she said.

“Rain’s gonna stop soon,” said Ace. “I think it’s time we headed back home.”

“How can you tell?” I asked.

“Inklings can sense when it’s going to rain,” answered Nem. “It’s a natural instinct.”

“Wait, so… you guys came here, despite knowing it was going to storm?” I asked, feeling bad about inviting them over.

“Yeah, so?” asked Ace. “We stick together.”

“I also have an umbrella,” said Bryson. “So, yeah.”

“I also knew,” said Liv.

Sure enough, just as Ace had predicted, the rain stopped, suddenly clearing up. Bryson went up to the front door, opened it, then ran out, shouting, “FREEDOM!!!”

“Couldn’t Bryson have left at any time?” I just remembered. “He just said he had an umbrella.”

Ace shrugged. “He’s been acting weird since we first met you.”

“Weird?” I asked.

“Yeah. Been a bit nicer, too, but that’s fine with me.” replied Ace, standing up. “Anyways, my mom probably wants me home now.”

“I should probably go, too,” said Liv. “I’ve gotta talk to Hector about a few things. And remember, Amelia… Don’t forget to call me if something happens.”

I assumed she was referring to our talk about the nanomachines. I haven’t experienced any symptoms for the rest of this week, so I felt safe. Nodding, I gave her a thumbs-up. “Thanks, Liv,” I said to her.

Liv, grinning, walked out the door with Ace, and as soon as Nem closed the door, she quickly walked back over to the couch and plopped down on it. She switched on the second movie disc, and it began.

As it played, my mind wandered. What would’ve happened had the nanomachines never stopped? Would I have been badly damaged? Would I have been stuck with colorful hair forever? Would anything else have happened?

Regardless, everything was back to normal, and I was happy with that. Since my week-long vacation was over, I’d be doing training with Nem-Nem tomorrow, and hopefully, I’d be able to win some turf wars and actually contribute to the team.