“WE WALK AWAY FROM EXPLOSIONS WITHOUT EVEN LOOKING AT THEM!” - Pearl

---------------------------------------------------------------

“That’s it, Amelia. Keep walking,” instructed Nem-Nem.

We were at the Tentatek company building, and I had been practicing my balance for two whole days. When Nem said she was going to train me, she meant it, and it was hardcore for someone like a human. I was expected to jump through hoops, walk on thin pipes, jump from platform to platform, and do all of the above with expert aim.

It was impossible, or at least, I thought it was at first. For some reason, I had been able to grasp the concepts quickly, and it wasn’t long until walking on thin pipes was second nature to me. Walking along one casually, I aimed my dualies at holographic targets.

Pulling the trigger, I splatted many who ran at me with fair ease. Nem watched me like a hawk, her gaze seeming to pierce through me. It wasn’t long until she jumped up onto the pipe and pulled out an N-Zap. I immediately held up my dualies to her face, both of us looking into each other’s eyes. She lowered her arm, and so I lowered mine.

“Good reflexes,” she commented. “But there’s one problem.”

“What?” I asked.

She drew her N-Zap back up again, catching me off guard and firing directly into my visor. “Don’t lower your defenses for anyone ,” she said. “Not even me . Inklings are cruel. The only reason they’re on top is that they had tenacity, willing to fight even each other to create a crude hierarchy.”

“Why are they like this?” I asked her.

“No clue,” she said, shrugging. “It’s not my business.”

I then remembered that I needed to join up with Ace and Bryson for casual turf wars today.

“Hey, um, Nem? Could I go meet with my friends?” I asked.

She nodded. “I’ll take you to the square, then I’ll head home. Be back by eight.”

I nodded, and as we jogged to the square, I could feel pride. I was getting better, and it was all thanks to her, and even though I was still far from inkling-good, I was still content. I could do things I couldn’t before in my life. 

Running was a little easier after doing it for the past two days, and I felt good about it, feeling accomplished. I couldn’t wait to show Ace how my skills had improved. I wondered what he’d think about it. Would he be proud of me?

As soon as we reached the square, Nem patted my head and wished me well before heading home, then I ran over to Deca Tower, spotting both Ace and Bryson. Bryson seemed to be a little laxer today, his face simply having a neutral expression instead of the usual disgusted one.

Panting, I said, “H-Hey! Sorry if I’m late. I’ve been training with Nem!”

Bryson waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t care. It’s only casual turf wars today, at least for now. I still wanna get your rank up later.”

“Why do you suddenly care about her rank?” asked Ace. “Last I checked, you didn’t care. In fact, you didn’t even want her rank to rise up.”

“Things change,” Bryson replied. “Just… I’m curious.”

“About?” I asked.

“Um… It’s nothing,” he quickly dismissed. “Go to the lobby and change into your suit so we can get going.”

In agreement, after I had swapped out my gear for the suit, we all stepped into the center of Deca Tower, and Ace hit the randomizer. The holographic screen glitched as it went through a variety of different places. Inevitably, it landed on one, and this… was a map I didn’t recognize. It was… a nearby beach, near an amusement park called Wahoo World. Before I could ask anything, I felt us warping, my body’s muscles tensing up. I closed my eyes, the bright lights nearly blinding me.

When it all stopped, I could hear the ocean. Opening my eyes, I noticed that we were on the spawn pad, and it was surrounded by sand. Were we actually going to play on the beach? Looking up, I could see that there wasn’t a single cloud, and the blue of the sky was rich in its color.

Next to us, the ocean looked clearer than what I had seen during my Salmon Run with Ace. It must’ve been the salmonids that caused the water over by that strange building to turn green with the sludge that would trail after them as they walked.

But here, the ocean was bluer, prettier, the water sparkling in the sunlight and making me want to go swimming. But… I wasn’t here to swim. I was here to enjoy a turf war. Looking around, I saw the enemy spawn point across the beach, and between us were two large wooden forts with wooden platforms around them, acting as towers, ramps, and bridges.

Bryson gritted his teeth, the tentacle side bang down his right side on his face turning red. “ She’s here?”

“Who?” I asked.

“My big sister,” said Bryson, definite frustration in his voice.

I looked to where his gaze was pointed, and I could see our opponents across the beach. One in particular caught my eye, standing in front of the others. She must’ve been the leader.

She had Bryson’s dark skin tone and had a ponytail. Long twin tentacle bangs hung to her shoulders as well, and upon her face were tinted shades, giving her a mysterious vibe, and accompanying that style were her white and pink striped tank top, gray sweatpants, and dark brown motorcycle boots, but what stood out about her most was the weapon in her hand.

It was an older weapon, the Bento Splat Charger . While it had become obsolete, there were still many die-hard fans that just couldn’t part with it.

Bryson gripped his weapon tightly, the poor umbrella creaking under the stress of his clenching hands. “Traitor,” he growled.

“It’s alright, Bryson. We can settle it in Turf War,” assured Ace.

Bryson simply stared at her. Noticing, she whispered to a pale inkling with a mohawk hairstyle next to her, and as she did, the inkling nodded in understanding, looking serious. 

“What?” I asked.

“That’s Team Fruit,” answered Ace. “It’s been said that they’re beyond the X rank, in a class of their own. This is the second time I’ve seen them, and from what I remember… we’re gonna be slaughtered. That’s their leader, Guava.”

I was puzzled. “Guava?”

“Not her real name,” said Ace. “They all use codenames to fit the theme.”

I looked at Bryson, seeing his fingers tap on his umbrella nervously. His expression had a look of determination, as if he were about to go through a rite of passage. “My pride is on the line… This traitor left the family for the octarians.”

“Octarians?” I asked. “Why would she do that?”

“Her boyfriend,” Ace whispered into my ear. “He’s an octoling. Bryson’s dad didn’t approve, and so she just ran away. Bryson never talks about her.”

I see… Bryson had a sister he had never mentioned, and when she left for her boyfriend, he must have felt devastated, considering most inklings’ feelings towards octarians. I looked at him, seeing conflict in the expression on his face. This was so sudden, I wondered if he could handle himself for much longer.

I had the strangest feeling we were forgetting something, though... “Do we have a fourth with us?” I asked.

“R-Right here,” a timid voice answered. I turned around to see a shorter inkling with a bowl-cut, looking up at me with pink eyes. He wore a purple and pink ski jacket with a large collar, black shorts, and white, knee-high winter boots. In his hands was a Luna Blaster Neo, the newest model.

He didn’t really look like he belonged out here. His appearance was much like Dimitri’s, a younger kid. If this inkling went up against Team Fruit, I had a feeling he’d be massacred, and I really didn’t want to see his feelings get hurt.

I looked at Ace and asked, “Can we really do this?”

“I don’t mind,” he said, revving up his Hydra, the barrels spinning with an eagerness to them. He grinned at me, giving me an assured feeling.

Holding up my dualies, I looked at the kid and asked, “Is this your first time?”

“W-Well, I’ve p-played a few times…” he answered shyly. He avoided looking directly at me as he said, “I’m k-kinda okay at it…”

We were doomed.

As our phones beeped to start the match, the smaller inkling immediately ran out there, and panic mode set into me. I ran alongside him, spraying the sand with light blue ink. Bryson, fueled by rage, ran past me at a frightening speed.

Guava, who Bryson had approached, had a smug grin on her face as she raised her arms up, as if in surrender. Watching her do nothing as Bryson rushed towards her made me feel uneasy. I knew there’d be a pummeling, but for who…?

As quick as a flash, she pulled up her Bento Splat Charger, firing with quick precision right in Bryson’s face, splatting him. She smirked and said, “Sorry, lil bro.~ I guess I’m still the better turfer. Shouldn’t use your anger like that.”

Seeing me and my new inkling friend, she speeded towards us, her Bento raised. I quickly did a dodge roll, avoiding the shot. The younger inkling’s face suddenly turned serious, and he blasted the ground with ink with his Luna Blaster Neo as fast as he could, alternating between running and swimming.

He was fast, and so was she. With every shot she made, he’d quickly dodge and send back a blast, making her do backflips. Eventually, she dove into her team’s ink and swam back to get more space in between her and him.

I got up and joined the fight, jumping onto a platform and running along a bridge. Pointing down, I pulled the trigger and felt the rhythmic propulsion of ink spurting out from the dualies. This was power and adrenaline, and it made me feel ecstatic.

Dodging my blasts and his at the same time, she’d occasionally fire back. We just couldn’t hit her. But then, Bryson came back, lunging onto her back. There was the fire of enragement in his eyes, the crazed squid ready to deliver justice as he saw fit.

“Guess who charged his special on the way over here!” he said with malice, his tentacled hair lighting up in light blue flames.

Try as she might, she couldn’t shake Bryson off of her. “You wouldn’t dare! ” she angrily screamed.

He was using the Splashdown.

Bryson leapt off of her shoulders, straight up into the air, ink swirling around his fist. He then came back down with that fist, speeding with intense force, sending sand and ink flying everywhere. When the inksplosion cleared, she was gone, having been splatted.

I leapt off the bridge and landed into a roll, getting back up next to him. “Are you okay?” I asked.

“Stay out of my fight, noob ,” he growled, pushing me gently away. “She’s had this coming for a long time, and I’m gonna make her suffer the entire game.”

He then ran off towards the enemy spawn point. The younger inkling who was with me earlier had chased some of the other team members around, toying with them and using his blaster to easily take them down whenever he wished.

So this was another expert player, going up against a team who was rumored to be in a rank beyond X, and he was beating them senseless. Meanwhile, Ace and Bryson had teamed up, with Ace placing ink mines around the spawn point to prevent Bryson’s sister and her team from escaping the wrath of the Hydra and the Undercover Umbrella.

It wasn’t enough, however. Two could still get through and back out into the field, only to be hunted by the new inkling. He seemed to have no concept of mercy, his face in a totally focused expression. He had the eyes of someone who had seen combat many times.

How was this shy inkling able to get over his bashfulness to fight in Turf War? It didn’t seem natural. Then again, this could’ve been a case of Turf Madness, but I wasn’t too sure. He didn’t have that crazed look. He was calm, confident, as if he had done this hundreds of times.

Suddenly, I was hit from behind. As soon as I was hit, I performed a dodge roll to quickly get away, quickly turning around to see the pale inkling Guava had whispered to before the match. He was holding a Sploosh-o-matic, a weapon meant primarily for inking turf quickly.

But that wasn’t what I needed to be worried about. He had suddenly activated his special, pulling what looked like a massive speaker out of nowhere. My eyes went wide in realization. This was the Killer Wail, a banned special weapon, and he was using it on me .

I quickly ran and jumped out of the way, the speaker blaring out a massive, physically-seen soundwave that matched his team’s color. It caught the new inkling in its path, splatting him, and I turned to the cheater who had snuck the Killer Wail into the match.

Most weapons were supposed to have been modified and fitted with what were considered to be more ethical specials. I rushed him, and he smirked, jumping back while firing his Sploosh-o-matic.

It was getting difficult to dodge, and although I could utilize dodge rolls, I couldn’t always get out of the way, getting hit every so often. Meanwhile, I just couldn’t get him . He was too fast. It was exciting, making my heart beat faster. Over the course of a few seconds, I felt like the temperature was rising, my body feeling like it was on fire.

Losing all conscious thought, I lunged at him, sending an elbow into his stomach. He stumbled back and climbed up some platforms and onto his side’s wooden fort. Climbing after him without missing a beat, I was ready to destroy him.

Chasing him through the fort, I could hardly touch him. It was difficult, but my rage kept me going. I could feel my body burning, but I didn’t care. As he exited out the other end and down the bridge, I followed, eventually catching up and hitting him with my dualies.

He was prey.

My opponent was gone in an instant, exploding into ink, but I wasn’t done yet . I could see that the enemy team had eventually overcome Ace’s mines and had gotten back into the game, and I couldn’t have that happen. I climbed up to the top of the wooden fort, firing from above, using height to my advantage.

I was then hit in the side, one of the opponents having swam up here to take me out and to secure the enemy team’s win. I quickly aimed and fired, but he dodge-rolled, wielding dualies of his own. My first action was to get in close, performing my own rolls without the use of my dualies. Thanks to Nem, I was becoming a natural at this.

While he still hit me in the chest as I closed in, I was unsplattable, and I was going to take advantage of it, no matter the pain, no matter the cost. I rolled towards him and ended up with my dualies right against his chest.

He let out a shout that was quickly silenced by my weapons.

Running out of the fort, I had decided to join the fight up close. If I could withstand the pain of the weapons, I could win. This ill temper of mine was our ticket to winning, and I wasn’t going to waste my newfound instincts. Jumping down, I went after one with a Splattershot Pro.

While he was able to hit me, the monstrous rage in me seemed to lighten the pain. I attacked with my dualies, the ink colliding with him and taking him out. From behind, I could hear the Sploosh-o-matic. That cheater .

I turned around and ran towards him, rolling to dodge his fire, then rolled again to reach him and pull my triggers once again. Taken out once again. I stood up, this fire within my seeming to be unquenchable. I needed more. I needed to hunt them down .

But…

It all ended when I was hit in the head from my right with high-pressured ink from the Bento Splat Charger. I could feel the full force, knocking me onto the ground. My vision went blurry, and I could see doubles of everything. My fighting spirit was gone, just like that.

As the heat left me, the pain from all the previous weapons had suddenly caught up to me. I groaned, unable to move. Hearing footsteps, I tried to get up, lest they hit me again, but as I was about to get off my knees, I was hit again.

“You’re that girl, aren’t you?” asked Guava. She chuckled, then said, “You’re lucky you can survive these, but you must be in so much pain , huh?”

I then heard Bryson tackle her, followed by the sound of his weapon splatting her. I slowly stood up, my body in a lot of pain. I was sure I’d have bruises. “Thank you,” I said to Bryson.

Bryson didn’t even answer, rushing to the enemy spawn point instead to continue his endless assault on his sister. Ace ran up to me, then put his hand on my shoulder. He asked me, “Hey, what was all that?”

I shook my head, saying, “I don’t know. I just felt frustrated because I couldn’t hit that guy.”

Ace rubbed his chin. “Weird... “

“What is it?” I asked, looking at him.

“It’s… nothing,” he said. “Just a thought. Anyways, what now? You wanna go celebrate? It looks like we won this one.”

I then felt a small hand tug on my hand. It was that smaller inkling from earlier. His cheeks went pink as he timidly said, “Y-You guys are pretty good. I’m Berry! C-Could I hang out with you all?”

Ace walked over to him and patted his head. “We’d love to, buddy, but what about your parents?”

“Berry Lancet, you get over here, right now .”

That voice… was so familiar. Looking over to where it had come from, my blood froze, my eyes widening as I saw him, the inkling from the television before my Turf War career had started, the one known as Doctor Scalpel.

The pale scientist was wearing a white lab coat and black, leather shoes. His hair, the mismatched assortment of white and black tentacles, writhed as if they were suddenly in pain. He pushed up his wireframe glasses and sighed, his gray eyes staring at the younger inkling. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was looking at me.

“C-Could I stay out a bit longer?” asked the shy inkling named Berry.

“No,” he harshly answered. “You know how I feel about this archaic sport. To see my own son participating among the mindless brutes is a disgrace .”

Ace rolled his eyes, keeping his mouth shut. I could tell he had quite a few words he wanted to say to this guy, but knew better than to start a fight. Berry looked up at me with pleading eyes.

“Does he have to?” I asked, drawing Scalpel’s attention.

“That voice,” he said. “There’s not as many… fluctuations to it as most inklings would have. The most peculiar accent. Are you foreign…?”

I was stuck, trying to find an answer. He could see through my pronunciations in the inkling language. I’ll admit, I was never good with it, feeling out of place.

Ace suddenly blurted out, “She’s from another continent. She’s been living here for four years, so she hasn’t fully caught on to the language here.”

He was a life-saver.

Scalpel tilted his head, tapping his foot. “I see… Berry . Get over here, now .”

Berry flinched, and I could hear his faint whimpering as he left my side and walked over to the scientist, but suddenly, he turned back and asked me. “C-Could I register?”

“Register?” I asked.

Ace walked over, having already pulled out his phone. “Waaaaay ahead of ya, buddy.”

Berry happily tapped his aqua phone against Ace’s, both phones beeping as info was exchanged.

Ace looked back at me and gave a thumbs-up. “You go back home, bud, alright?” he said to Berry.

Berry nodded and said, “Th-Thanks, d-dude!”

Scalpel grimaced at the use of slang. “Ugh … Must you? You’re better than this.”

“Sorry,” whimpered Berry, running to his creepy father’s side.

My eyes met the scientist’s, and he suddenly smirked, saying, “Hm… Another continent , huh…?”

I was sweating. Did he know already?! No, no, Amelia… Gotta keep calm… I nodded and said, “Yes. Your city is amazing. Mine isn’t as… fun?”

His smirk went away, the scientist pushing his glasses up again. “Hm… I suppose I could let my son interact with you every once in a while, but if he is harmed in any single one of these games, you will suffer for it. Do I make myself clear?”

I quickly nodded, scared of this creature. He looked down on Berry, the scientist’s nose twitching in disgust. I assumed he didn’t think too highly of Turf War, especially if his own son was playing in it.

“Come along, Berry. You have your studies waiting,” he said, walking away.

I could hear Berry whimper as he followed, “B-But I’m not good at math…”

“Hush,” Scalpel replied. “It’s for your own good.”

As they went out of earshot, I quickly sighed in relief. “Oh, my gosh… You think he knows?” I asked.

Ace patted my shoulder. “Nah. You’re covered from head to toe. There’s no way he’d known. That suit’s really useful.”

Bryson came running up to us, growling, “That traitor ran off with her half-baked team!”

“Those rumors must’ve been just that: rumors,” concluded Ace. “There’s no way they’re above X if we were able to beat ‘em. Then again… those guys weren’t the same inklings I saw with her last time.”

I raised a brow. “You mean, that’s not her original team?”

“Something tells me she ditched her crew,” assumed Bryson. “Just like how she ditched her family .”

“You wanna talk about it?” I asked, trying to be sympathetic. Considering Bryson was helping me find my brother, I wanted to help him as well. “I’m here for you.”

Bryson looked at me, seeming to contemplate my question. “Uh, I…”

Ace gently punched Bryson in the shoulder. “ C’mon , my dude. She’s willing to listen.”

“Yeah,” agreed Bryson. “You’re right.”

And so, we went back to the square, where Bryson had explained the whole thing. Before Bryson could even reach his human form, he was basically just a young squid, walking on underdeveloped legs and really fearful of the chaotic world of today. His older sister was a prodigy, having risen through the ranks and gaining approval from most of the community.

But then, she introduced her boyfriend. No one knew he was an octoling at the time. Everyone just thought he was a regular inkling, and even her father approved of him. But then, after months of keeping quiet, the inkling had revealed his true colors, having been caught on camera stealing prototype gear from the Annaki company.

That was when his sister was forced to come clean. She had been working with the octarians, and her boyfriend was revealed to be an octoling. How she had gotten so involved was never quite explained. All Bryson knew was that she had left him at a time when he was most uncertain in his life, having normally looked up to her. To have her image shattered like that was devastating to him, and for weeks, he had cried at night, wondering what he did wrong.

“I’m sorry,” I said to him. “I had no idea.”

Bryson sipped from his soda, looking away from me and over to Ace.

“He still has dreams about it,” Ace commented. “I remember because he was sleeping over at my house one night and woke up crying.”

Bryson slammed an elbow into Ace’s stomach. “Too much information,” grunted Bryson.

“Hey, it’s okay,” I said, reaching out a hand to touch his shoulder. He leaned away from it, finishing his drink and tossing it into a nearby can.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, a hint of red in his cheeks. Was… he blushing? He suddenly shook his head and said, “Well, check out who decided to show up. Where were you earlier?”

Confused, I turned around, seeing Liv. She looked into my eyes with a sense of urgency in hers.

“Can we talk?” she asked. “Alone?”

I nodded, excusing myself as politely as I could, with Bryson simply shrugging it off. As Liv led me out of their hearing range and down an alleyway, she said to me, “I have an update on your brother.”

“Where?!” I asked, my own excited breath fogging up my visor. I growled, taking it off. “Ugh… sorry, this stupid helmet is annoying at times.”

“I had to do some digging, but with help from an old teammate, I was able to pull up some files on him,” said Liv with a smile. “Mark was brought into Octo Valley four years ago, but I can’t seem to find out what had happened to him. There was something about him being asked to share his knowledge, but after that, it’s hard to find out where he went after.”

“Is he still alive?” I asked.

She nodded. “I’ve found nothing saying he isn’t, as his name is still in one of the more recent files that detail his work.”

Wait… what?

“His work?” I asked.

“He helped the Octarian Research Center, allowing them to use his DNA,” explained Liv.

I suddenly remembered what Henry had said during Splatfest. “Do you remember what I told you a while back about that helmeted octoling?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yeah, why?”

“He wanted my DNA, saying something about making humans from scratch,” I said to her.

“Odd,” she muttered, a puzzled expression on her face. “Do you know where he is?”

I shook my head. “I haven’t seen him since the Splatfest.”

“I can try to find him,” assured Liz. “Don’t you worry, okay?”

I nodded and said, “Thank you. I’m very grateful.”

Liz smiled softly and replied, “You shouldn’t be…”

Confused, I watched her walk back to where Ace and Bryson were.

I put my helmet back on, then I followed her back to the table, leaning against it. “So, um… what now?” I asked.

“Bryson’s still a little peeved,” replied Ace.

“I think I’m just gonna go home,” said Bryson, walking away. I felt a little bad that he had lost track of her after the match.

“Me too,” said Ace. “I promised my mom that I’d help her today with her shopping.”

“What about you?” I asked Liv.

“I’m gonna go see what I can do about that favor you asked me,” she replied, smiling.

Ace gave her a curious look, but simply shrugged and walked off, saying, “Well, I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Don’t get into trouble, alright?”

And so, as everyone left, I decided I’d hang out in the square for a bit, and as I did, my eyes… just couldn’t help but wander towards a familiar grungy-looking building. Mr. Grizz’s Salmon Run business…

I remembered what that transporter had said earlier when I had stepped on it with Ace. It said that it recognized my genetic material. If it did… was my brother involved? I wanted to find out, so I stood up and went to the one place I never thought I’d go back to.

Of course, there was one problem…

The entrance had been sealed off with a sturdy, metal gate, and I didn’t have any tools. There had to be some other way in… If I couldn’t get in, I couldn’t find out the mysterious nature of this place.

Walking around the building, I found that there was a wooden door on the back with a rusty handle. Reaching for it, I was worried I might set off some hidden alarm. To my surprise, the handle broke right off, the door opening up with no resistance whatsoever.

Some security , I thought. Going inside was like walking into a dump, with junk littered all over the place, I was forced to walk over strange trinkets and gadgets scattered all over the floor. Every time my foot hit something, I would freeze, afraid that someone might hear me.

Finally, I made my way to an area of the building that looked familiar, the spawn point .

Stepping onto it, my phone immediately beeped. Pulling it out, it said what I had always suspected that it had said when I had first gone on a Salmon Run.

Genetic Material Identified.

Unlike the first time, I didn’t seem to warp anywhere, and… I didn’t know what else to do with this information. I broke in here for what , exactly? What was I even thinking?

“You okay?” a voice spoke from seemingly nowhere, startling me. I turned around, seeing Henry, his helmet on as usual. How did it get repaired…? I suppose the spawn points would recreate fabrics as well, or at least somehow obtain them through some special means that I didn’t know about.

“I’m not going with you,” I stated. No matter what he had offered earlier, I had this bad feeling in my gut about it.

“You don’t have to,” he said calmly. “I see you’ve found some of your kind’s tech.”

“ My kind?” I queried. “Last I checked, this was inkling tech.”

“The stuff you see in Turf War is inkling tech,” he explained. “This piece is from waaaaay back…”

“How do you know that?” I asked. “It looks exactly the same.”

Henry walked up to me, looking down at me. “Do you trust me?” he asked. With him being taller, I was intimidated, stepping back in a twinge of fear.

“Please, don’t get too close,” I warned.

“Amelia,” he said to me. “Do you trust me?”

“No,” I obviously answered. I didn’t know how he thought I would ever trust him.

“Good,” he answered. “Though, I was hoping for a yes.”

“Why?” I asked.

“I wanted to show you something,” he said. “It’s something that would help you understand your kind better.”

I… was curious. Whatever he was getting at, I couldn’t tell, but this curiosity of mine, it kept me wanting to learn more. “Show me,” I said.

He pushed through a pile of junk and moved past me, walking over to a counter. Upon it was the bear-shaped radio I had heard Mr. Grizz speak through before. Henry picked it up and turned his visor to face mine. “Mr. Grizz, as you can probably tell, is the owner of this place. Everyone knows by now, but what hardly anyone knows is that Mr. Grizz never existed.”

I was speechless, befuddled at his statement. “But I heard him through the radio,” I said.

“This isn’t a radio, Amelia,” he said to me. “It’s an artificial intelligence. Inside this ‘radio’ is a bunch of wires and circuits that make up a digital consciousness. While this place is closed, he becomes inactive, recharging, sorting through the data he’s gathered.”

“What does that have to do with my kind?” I asked. “There’s no way we could make something like this… right? He sounds too real.”

Henry chuckled. “If only you knew what humanity was capable of besides destruction. This is an old relic. Believe it or not, a human helped to restore it.”

“My brother?” I asked, stepping closer.

Henry patted me on the head, being taller than I. I didn’t appreciate the gesture. He said to me, “Maybe, maybe not… How many humans do you know?”

“There was only one who supposedly survived alongside me,” I said. “He's my brother, and… I know you’re the enemy, but…”

“You really want to find him, don’t you?” he asked. I nodded, and he sighed. “Alright… I can take you into Octo Valley, but I want something first.”

“I’m not giving you my DNA,” I blurted out.

“I don’t want that,” he said. “Not for now, at least. Later in the future. For now, I want you to do something that’s a little hush-hush, okay?”

I hiked an eyebrow. “What?”

“There’s a concert this weekend,” he said as he looked under the speaker. “It’ll be at Starfish Mainstage, and I can get you a backstage pass if you’re willing to give a message to a friend of mine.”

“Is this some kind of… octarian intelligence I’m handing over?” I skeptically asked.

He chuckled again, this time a little louder, as if he were trying to hold back a bigger laugh. “No, no,” he assured. “It’s just a note. A small ‘hello’ is all. I haven’t seen her since she helped me a while back.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a letter, handing it to me. I carefully took it, holding it gently. “What’s her name?” I asked.

“Almost afraid to tell you,” he said with a laugh. “There’s a lot of inklings who love her music. Her name is Marina, and she’s actually helped a lot of us. She no longer works with us, but… I’m still thankful that she was willing to try and help me.”

I slowly took off my helmet, looking into his visor, my own face reflected back at me. I was a bit surprised that he said it was Marina, the famous singer from Off the Hook, but something else surprised me even more. He sounded… sad. “You’re not a bad guy, are you?” I asked.

“Not everything’s black and white, Amelia,” he softly said. “You’ll fully understand that later on in life.”

“...Okay,” I responded, nodding, my eyes looking down at the letter. “A lot has happened today in such a short time,” I said to him. “First, I find out Bryson has a sister, then I find out my brother’s alive, and then you come along.”

He put the speaker back, saying, “Funny how life works like that. There’s a big adventure for everyone . Sometimes you look for it, sometimes it looks for you.”

“Why were you so intent on getting my DNA?” I asked. “Why do you want to recreate humanity? If you guys have my brother’s, then why do you need mine ?”

“Reasons beyond your understanding,” he said to me. “I promise, I will explain to you after you give Marina that note. When you’re finished, meet me by Deca Tower the next night. I’ll be waiting, and I’ll take you to find your brother.”

After the talk, he had left as quickly as he had arrived, and after leaving the building, I decided to go home, hoping Nem-Nem could make things a little better, but when I got there, I heard arguing.

As I entered through the front door, I heard them in the kitchen. Apparently, David had decided to visit, and he didn’t sound very happy…

“You are supposed to be responsible for this child!” he shouted.

“David, I can’t just keep her cooped up forever!” Nem-Nem shouted back. As I stepped closer, the fight grew more intense.

David replied, “You can , and you will , or you risk losing her! My job is on the line, her life is on the line, and you let her go because she wants to go turfing ?! Have you gone insane?!”

“You don’t know how she feels!” argued Nem. “ I’m the one taking care of her! You’re never around! How dare you tell me how to take care of my daughter !”

“What in the…?! Are you mad ?!” he asked. “She’s not your daughter! She’s a human! She’s nothing like us! She’s nothing like you ! I should’ve known you couldn’t handle her!”

That was it. I barged into the kitchen. “Leave her alone!” I shouted.

David’s eyes opened a little wider when he saw me. “Amelia!”

Nem-Nem looked at me, then at David, then back at me, saying, “Amelia, weren’t you playing with your friends?”

“Things came up,” I said, steeling up my voice. “Don’t talk to her that way,” I said to David. “Th-That’s my mother.”

David rubbed his forehead, exhaling in a sigh. He said to me, “Amelia, you need to stop going out there. You are risking your own life every time you do this.”

“I don’t care!” I yelled. “I don’t want to stay inside! I need to find my brother! I want to have friends! Why can’t I do that?!”

“Amelia, this is a ridiculous dream ,” he said. “Nem had told me everything. I thought I could trust you both to keep this quiet, but now that there’s an inkling that could potentially endanger this secret, I can’t accept that. You’re staying here , and that’s final .”

“No, it’s not!” I dared to blurt out. There was some kind of fire within my chest, and I felt like it was going to burn a hole through me. “I’m fine on my own! I’ll keep wearing a disguise!”

David shook his head, a frustrated glare aimed towards Nem-Nem. Nem asked me, “Amelia, could you please g-go to your room?”

I wanted to stay. I wanted to defend my case. “I… can’t,” I dared to say.

“She doesn’t even listen to you,” David said to Nem, which I took great offense to.

“I-I do,” I said.

“She usually does listen,” said Nem. “But this situation, I understand. We’re not just going to stop.”

“I have literally had to pay out of my own pocket to keep some brat quiet!” argued David. “Do you know how pathetic that was?!”

I was getting desperate. “Please, David! Please, just listen for a second!”

David folded his arms. “Well? Defend yourself.”

I took a deep breath, then said, “I just want a life, and staying inside isn’t living. I might as well be dead like the rest of my…”

David continued watching me, expecting me to continue.

“It was very lonely,” I weakly said. “I wanted friends, and now I finally have them! You want me to just cut myself off from them?!”

“And what of your obsession with Turf War?” he asked. “I can’t just let you keep competing. With you being unsplattable, it’s impossible for someone not to notice!”

“B-But I have a suit!” I countered. “It’s a full-body one! It has a helmet and everything, and no one can see my face!”

David shook his head. “And if the helmet comes off in the middle of a match, you’re done for . The government will be all over it! You’ll be dragged away, Nem-Nem will be left alone , and you’ll have no one to blame but yourself! ”

I tried to think of an argument, any argument, but… I couldn’t say anything to defend my case. He was right. My heart dropped to the bottom of my chest, my feelings sinking low. I looked up at him, my eyes getting blurry with tears. I tried to hold them back as best I could, but…

Tears began to stream down my face. I had messed up badly, and I didn’t even figure it out until recently. “It’s n-not fair,” I choked out. “I don’t wanna stop, but I also don’t wanna leave Nem all alone!”

David’s expression softened. “Life isn’t fair, Amelia. You should’ve learned that fact the moment you woke up from the pod.”

I felt a hand on my shoulder, a firm grip reassuring me. Looking up, I saw Nem-Nem, who was looking at David as she said, “I made her do it.”

David stared at her with disbelief. “Did she not ask for this?”

“Well, she did, but… I was going to anyway,” she replied. “When you came to me with her, I was… skeptical. I hadn’t looked after a child since…”

I stared expectantly, wanting to hear her finish, but she continued, saying, “I was very hesitant to keep her under my watch, but after she had run off during her first month here, instinct just struck me. I searched frantically for her, and when I found her, I don’t know what hit me, but when I saw her crying, I had become attached.”

“And how did this influence your decision?” he asked.

“As I saw her grow more and more over the next four years, I felt pride,” said Nem. “I could see that she was becoming enamoured with Turf War, something that I was just as obsessed with in my younger years. I felt like I could share with her my old passion. She’d become my legacy .”

Her… legacy? She really did see me as her daughter, so much that she had let me do this, something that she had loved years ago, but… I still wondered…

Why did she quit?

David had a serious expression. “And you expect me to let her keep doing this, just because you want a second chance through her?”

“It’s not a second chance for me,” said Nem with a soft smile. “It’s a second chance for her to live a normal life. Sure, she might not be like you or I, but… she doesn’t deserve to be kept prisoner. David, the stories she’s told me of her life before, it was so… depressing, with no kids her age, only one brother to keep her company, and two parents who were constantly fighting.”

David’s seriousness began to fade as she continued on, his expression replaced with what appeared to be pity.

“I know you wouldn’t take her from me, David,” she said softly. “You know how much this would affect her. You know how it would affect anyone . She’s not some animal. She’s a child , David, my child.”

“You’re endangering her,” David muttered, trying to keep on track, but then he finally conceded. “F-Fine…”

Nem pulled David into a hug, with him looking at me as she did. He still had doubts, and I could tell. It was too obvious. “I’m sorry,” I said, hoping he could forgive me.

David gently pushed himself away from Nem’s hug, saying, “Don’t. I’m only letting this happen because I have no one else I can trust with you. I’ve known Nem since we were your age, but don’t take advantage of that fact. I’m still very much against what you’re doing.”

I sheepishly nodded, feeling guilty. I really loved Turf War, and Nem-Nem seemed to be in full support of my dream so far. David, however, seemed to be worried, the stress obviously cracking down on him.

“One day you’ll understand,” he said to me. “I’ve seen the science community toss aside ethics time and time again in the pursuit of advancement. You do know I care for your safety, don’t you?”

“Yes, sir,” I responded.

“Good girl,” he said. “Well, I… suppose I should get going. My wife’s waiting for me at home and I promised I’d cook dinner tonight. It’s our anniversary, you see.”

“Sounds fun,” I said, trying to be as polite as possible.

He patted my head, then said goodbye to Nem-Nem, and before he closed the door behind him, he looked at me and said, “Stay safe, Amelia.”

I nodded in response, and when the door closed, I sighed in… I don’t know, relief? Depression? David had said a lot of things, and one of them kept nagging at me…

She’s not your daughter! She’s a human! She’s nothing like us! She’s nothing like you !

Just like that, I had felt out of place again. I… felt like I was desperate to hold onto a dream, like hands hanging onto a rope, and I was slipping. Would the world ever know about me and accept me? Would Ace even consider going out with me if I asked him? These inklings, they were like humans, but David acted like they were water and fire, both completely different from each other. I didn’t want to think about it, but I couldn’t help myself.

Arms wrapped around me, and Nem-Nem asked me, “You okay, kiddo?”

I gently pushed her away, my hands raised chest-level, partially folded. “I’m too different,” I quietly said.

Nem’s expression was one of empathy. She kneeled to talk to me face-to-face. “Amelia, don’t listen to what anyone tells you. I know you’re going through a lot of doubt, but I can safely tell you that you’re no different from any of us.”

This pain in my chest throbbed. It was heavy, and I could hardly speak. I had to force myself to say, “I don’t even look like you. You said you consider me your daughter, but… we’re nothing alike.”

Nem shook her head. “Amelia, don’t think about what David said. He doesn’t understand his own world, a world where all sea creatures came onto land and created a thriving society where we could live together in peace. Sure, you and I may be considered different from inklings, but has that ever stopped us from living life before…?”

I shook my head, trying to keep my tears from coming out and failing. Nem’s hair glowed a beautiful purple as she pulled me into a warm hug. Laying my head against her chest, the pain slowly went away.

“You wanna know something, Amelia?” she asked.

Staying in her grasp, I replied, “What?”

“You act just like I did when I was your age,” she said. “I had the same feelings of doubt, an anemone in an inkling’s world going up against them with little-to-no support from my parents. Grandpa Nema saw promise in me, and he taught me everything I’m teaching you right now.”

“Really…?” I asked.

She patted my back and said, “Yep... Carry that torch high. Because one day, I’ll be gone, and you won’t have me to defend you. I want you to be strong, and I want you to be proud of yourself for the tenacity you wield.”

I wasn’t perfect, and even though my confidence kept faltering, I couldn’t let that stay for long. That was part of growing up, I guessed. When I thought about it, Nem was completely right. She wouldn’t be around forever. Even though spawn machines were meant to bring back inklings, it could only work so well on other creatures.

Scientists had thought about tying inklings to them at a young age, then letting those inklings progress through life. Theoretically, if the inklings were at an age where their bodies could fail, the spawn point could possibly bring them back, turning back the clock to the age where they registered on the machine, becoming youthful again.

However, there were a lot of ethical dilemmas that came attached with the theory, such as the possibility of the revived inklings losing their memories. If information from the old brain couldn’t be contained in a younger one, it could very well cause problems in the future.

Immortality was most likely attainable, but an inkling would have to be able to accept the risks of forgetting who they once were and starting all over again. For creatures like Nem-Nem, the spawn point could only replicate them a certain number of times a day, and sometimes there’d even be some genetic differences. If Nem died, they might be able to bring her back, but… at what cost, I didn’t know.

Because of these differences between creatures, the government wanted to hold off on making it a reality until all creatures could be properly reassembled. They were going to go ahead and just do it, but after an uprising of jellyfish, anemone, and crustacea, a law was passed for experiments to only become publicly available after it had passed testing on all creatures. Immortality was so close, yet so far away. But for now, I’d have to learn to defend myself and handle my own emotional distress, for the future.

And hopefully, I could find my brother after I helped out Henry.