Chapter Text
After a long day of blobs, brutal Octolings, and the last of my sanity being ripped away, Marie and I slumped over outside yet another screaming tea maker. I took the opportunity to puke up my guts all over the concrete. Whatever Octarian boots were made of, they were not designed to be slammed into one’s stomach if said person were to de-arm you. Or maybe they were. Who knows?
Marie tossed me a juice bottle, which I gratefully chugged until there was a solid risk of me losing that too. “Don’t drink too much,” she advised belatedly. I turned my head to glare at her.
Not helpful.
“Anyway,” the lime Inkling continued, “It’s late and we’re both worse for wear. Let’s try to get some rest.”
I raised an eyebrow, recalling what happened last time we let our guard down to rest in this area. “Aaaaand if Jerkie McAwful comes back?”
Marie hesitated, frowning, before she conceded, “Good point. I guess one of us should stay awake? Sleep in shifts?”
I’d been on the edge of a conclusion for a while now, but this pushed me off the cliff. “You’re not used to being the person that runs the show, are you?” She blinked at the suddenness of the statement as I added, “You’re not used to being the one who makes plans. So when you come up with one, you look for all the ways it’s flawed, and then hastily come up with another idea, even though the first one was better. I’ll bet any money I have that you did think of sleeping in shifts, but second-guessed it.”
Marie stared at me, her mouth slightly open. “How did you know?” She stuttered.
I shrugged. “I do the same thing. It’s the reason I usually get arrested.”
With some effort, Marie managed to ignore that last bit, and instead replied, “Well then. You want first sleep?”
I nodded gratefully and sprawled out on the concrete, dead to the world within seconds.
••••••
”Yo, Gav! You’re never gonna believe what I found!”
“You say that about the most believable things in the world.”
“Seriously this time!”
“Alright. Fine. But if it’s boring, I will throw my Splatling at your head, Kris.”
“Deal deal deal! I swear, you are not gonna be disappointed. This is gonna change your life!”
“Like that piece of toast that looked ‘exactly like Darth Inker’?
“No, no, way better! It’s- it’s- just come see!”
••••••
I awoke to a deep chill seeping into my skin. It was nearly pitch-black out, with only the dim glow of a half-moon to illuminate Marie’s standing form. I trudged to sit next to her. “Wanna swap out?” I offered quietly.
Marie nodded, the fading light revealing the exhaustion etched into her face. “Thanks, Gavin. Don’t sit. It only makes you more tired.” She dragged herself over to my old spot and curled up, leaving me to take her place. In moments, she was fast asleep, the rest she so desperately needed coming easily.
I leaned against a wall and looked around, Hero Shot gripped tightly by my side. Normally I would prefer my Heavy Splatling, but I figured it’d be better to be able to instantly take out the threat so I had time to warn Marie of the impending attack. Since that was my entire job.
A flicker of motion to my left caught my eye, but I pretended not to notice it, hoping to let the person think they were in the clear enough for them to lower their guard. The silhouette lowered their Slosher, and I lunged, one hand ripping the bucket away from her grasp, the other pressing the muzzle of my Shot to the forehead of-
A wide-eyed child. “Stand down!” The Octoling whispered. “I’m here to warn you, not attack you!”
I tossed my head towards her discarded Slosher. “Then what’s that for?”
The girl rolled her amber eyes. ”In case something like this happened and the Psycho Sister was the one who was on me.”
Solid logic. I ignored the ‘psycho’ comment and questioned, “What are you here to warn me about?” As I did so, I lowered my Hero Shot, which now felt very much inaccurately labeled.
The Octoling pressed her lips together. “Whatever you did to anger DJ this much, you’re in over your head. Syrella’s a demon on the battlefield and you won’t beat her. And she never gets assigned to a mission and fails. Today her mission was to stop you at all necessary cost. Tomorrow, it’ll be to kill you.” The kid stared at me, in an attempt to drive home her point.
I had another question for her. “Syrella…? You mean Jerkie McAwful? Robot-Girl?”
Beautiful name for a beautiful murderer.
“Yeah,” The Octoling girl nodded. “I’m quitting the Octarian Army. I’m going to Inkopolis tonight, and I wanted to warn you on my way. Seriously. You will die if she wants you to.” With that, she scurried off into the darkness, leaving me to contemplate my impending death.
I had a few options here. I could keep trying to find Callie, and die of cancer. Not ideal. I could also keep trying to find Callie and get murdered by Jerkie McAwful. Even less ideal. Or I could keep trying to find Callie and get murdered by a lab-reject mutant tentacle blob somewhere along the way. Still not great.
You may have noticed I didn’t list going back to Inkopolis as an option. That’s because it wasn’t. I refused to leave Aori behind. She was all I had left in the world. And I would do anything for her. Anything to get her back. Including die.