Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Neo sat in his room, surrounded by a void of darkness. The only light came from the monitors of his PC, each piece of color coded music focused on his eyes. He rarely went out into the city and if he ever did it was to grab groceries. Despite Splatsville being the capital of turf wars, Neo simply lived here because he didn't need a file of identity. This was an anarchist town. If he didn't get involved in anything, he could be alone.

Neo sighs as he presses the save button on the music file. Still missing something… he thinks to himself. Just then he heard a knock at the door and a ring from his phone. He walked over to the door and opened it a little, peaking out of the crack. Nobody. He opened the door fully and picked up the bag that was left on the ground. The sunlight shone on his pale, turquoise skin as the navy blue veins became more apparent with the tightened grip on the bag. The quickly walked back into the void of darkness, closing the door behind him. Day 435 of my life up on the surface… Neo thought to himself. Day 15 since the last time I went to get groceries… and Day 7 of working on the same quarter of the song. Neo sighed and sat back down in front of his computer, placing the bowl of take-out Udon to his side. Neo is a sanitized, genetically modified inkling to put simply.

Born and raised in Inkopolis and then kidnapped at the age of 10 and sanitized. He spent multiple years in the Kamaboko cooperation, spending most of his time as an analyst for the sanitization operation. After somehow regaining his memories and overdriving the dummy information injected into him, he fled the underground metro, taking samples and DNA tests along with him. After finally settling in Splatsville, he started to isolate himself from the population. He streamed most turf wars from his computer and dedicated most of his time to making music. Scientific music.

Chapter Text

One of the only memories Neo has managed to keep hold of is one of his parents. He doesn't remember much of the details, only one of the comfort and joy they brought him. They were his comfort, his paradise. But one day, he looked around and they were nowhere to be seen. The memories between paradise and loneliness was something he wanted to recover.

Neo sat in his room, typing away on his computer. It was day 436 of his life up on the surface. At first, time moved rather quickly as his body had to adjust to the time. Deep underground, there was no access to the sun. Nowadays, time is moving rather slowly. He took a sip of his drink as he pressed play on the music program.

“...” Neo sat there as he listened to the sample. After only a few seconds he pressed pause and leaned back into his seat, sighing. “....this isn't workinggg…” He mumbled quietly as he looked at his phone. “...the equipment I ordered isn’t here… right when I need it too…” he sighed before standing up and walking over to the fridge, his back slightly hunched over. He hummed the melody of his song as he grabbed one of the seafood cup ramen noodles. He swiftly poured some water into the kettle and started to boil it. 

As he waited for the water to boil, he looked out at the city through a small opening in the curtains. He watched the Inklings and Octolings out in the town square, eating together and laughing without a care in the world. He couldn't help but smile as a few kids ran around, playing together.

Must be nice… Being part of the community… Neo thought to himself. I shook his head before walking over to the kitchen again. He was about to pour the hot water into the preserved food when he heard a loud knock on the door. Neo jumped in surprise and slowly looked to the door.

….Probably a… wrong address kinda situation… He thought before proceeding to pour the water in. Neo jumped again when he heard the same loud knock. He sighed and put down the kettle. He grabbed a black mask and put it on before he slowly walked over to the door and opened it very carefully.

“...Can I help you…?” Neo asked a bit hesitantly. He looked out to see who it was but was greeted by someone's arms crossed over their chest. He raised his head to see a blue haired inkling. He seemed rather… irritated. He raised a brow and looked down at Neo.

“So you're the guy who never leaves the apartment complex… huh.” The inkling said with a bored tone.

“...did you need something-”

“This package.” He says, pointing at a brown cardboard box on the ground. “It's been in front of my room for days. I just noticed that the package’s address is for yours.” he says flatly.

“Oh… Thanks.” Neo looks at the package. He reaches and grabs the package, barely getting it past the small opening of the door. 

The inkling just stares at him, unamused. But when he looks down at Neo’s hands, his expression changes a bit. He stares at Neo’s turquoise skin as the blue veins in his hands pop out from his grip on the package. “Hey-” Before the inkling could mention it, Neo shuts the door. He just stands there, eyes slightly wide.

Maybe staying inside all the time isn’t the best way to avoid suspicion…. Neo thought to himself. He sat back down at his desk and set the package on the ground. "I'll open it later..." Neo said to himself. He booted up one of his favorite games, Needy Streamer Overdose. He didn't exactly like how you have to help this girl out with everything because she can't do anything herself. He actually found it rather pathetic, but wasn't exactly allowed to talk. He can't cook, can't interact with people, and doesn't have the damn energy to do chores. he sighed and sat back into his chair.

"What am I doing...?"