*3 years ago*

Within the small compound of Walleye Warehouse, the terrain was covered with color, but it looked different....standing out from the ink entirely. The color stayed stationary on the ink below it, with its deep red appearance......and just then....more color began to spill on the battlefield.

The color was spread on the ground in an even wider radius.....and not that much later, an Inkling girl fell onto her back and laid on the inky floor. Her throat was sliced open, and from inside, drained the colorful liquid that spread through both ink colors, which soon everyone began to realize the other color to be nothing but pure, fresh blood.

Within the live footage, the squids from Inkopolis Plaza screamed in horror as more and more blood began to cover the area, and within a matter of seconds, an Inkling boy was slashed across his face before getting his heart pierced by a mysterious cephalopod.

Within the plaza, Callie and Marie watched the live massacre, completely speechless. They heard yelling from the distance, then looked at the plaza down below to see police squids charging towards Deca tower.

P Squad: WE HAVE A BREACH!!! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!!!

Within the small warehouse, 7 of the participating squids were laying on the ground lifeless.....with only a single squid left remaining.

The Inkling girl was on her knees in disbelief as tears flowed down her eyes. She was sitting directly in front of an Inkling boy, seeing his color from his eyes fade completely.

Blood ran down the Inkling's face, and she slowly reached over and grabbed the inkling boy as her hand continued to shake.

Inkling girl:......................A-Atlas......

~~~
*end*

Dawn stood up with the paper in her hand, and continued to look at the words......feeling her body slightly tremble.

~~~
"You are very unique, and you stand out from a crowd, and that's what I love about you"
~~~

She finished the note.....and even though she was completely unaware, one of her tears fell down onto the note, which made her notice her nonstop crying. She used her arm to wipe the tears from her own face, letting out a small sigh.

Dawn: (............it's always........me....I ruin everything...........)

Dawn turned around and saw Rose still on the couch, and it looks like she hasn't moved a muscle....still hearing slight sniffles from her. She looked at the note once more and walked over to the couch, sitting down while looking away from the Octo as well.

Dawn:..................looks like the both of us........experienced..........the same thing........

Rose looked over at Dawn and saw her looking down at the note, and the Inkling delicately rubbed her own thumb over the paper, then looked at her from the corner of her eye.

Dawn:.............hey...........

Rose:......

Dawn:........I have another.....question.

Rose:.....*tiny nod*........

Dawn:............do you have any....faint memory........of what happened 3 years ago?........

Rose folded her hands together and slightly looked away from Dawn, thinking to herself a little before shaking her head at the her, and Dawn simply responded with a understanding nod.

Dawn:......makes sense......a lot of Octolings don't know about it........

Rose:.....*tilts her head*

Dawn:.......3 years ago.......Inkopolis Plaza was raided by a masked criminal............they snuck their way into the battlefield and slaughtered 7 of the 8 Inklings within their attack during a ranked match....

Rose:..........

Dawn:.........I........was the only Inkling..........that survived that day.....and.......everyone around me.....was murdered.......to this day......I still haven't recovered from that incident........most idols and Judd try to keep it as a secret incident that most new squids and octos nowadays don't know about. Inkopolis plaza got more and more empty as days passed.....because most of the cephalopods who saw the incident.......put down their weapons and refused to play turf ever again due to the traumatic scene.....

Rose:.........

Dawn:..........I'm guessing you believe that us Inklings moved to Inkopolis square because it was a new hotspot, huh?.......because it was "more fresh"?

Rose:.....*nod*......

Dawn:.....no..........we were forced to abandon Inkopolis Plaza......Inkopolis square has much higher security and protection for us........all because.....of that one damn day.........

The two sat in silence.....and Dawn looked down and away as Rose did the same. The simple sound of Dawn's ceiling fan echoed through the room, and with a single huff, Dawn stood up, catching Rose's attention.

Dawn:.......give me a second.......

Rose saw Dawn walk away to her bedroom, but from her distant vision, Rose noticed Dawn fold up her previous note and slide it into her pocket, which made her mind go blank, but her body warm up, feeling her heart pump faster and faster knowing that Dawn kept the note instead of throwing it to the side as usual.....

Not that long later, Dawn walked out of her room while holding an object in her hand. Rose sat puzzled until the Inkling sat down next to her, then held the object out towards her.

Dawn:..........you wanted to get to know me..........so here.........

Rose hesitated, but then reached over and grabbed the object from Dawn. She looked at it and noticed that it was a picture frame, containing an Inkling girl and Inkling boy smiling at the camera........Rose raised one of her hands and gently poked the glass with her finger, showing her pure innocence which only made Dawn roll her eyes.

Rose's attention was mainly drawn towards the small and adorable Inkling girl. Her tentacles were green and she had beautiful orange eyes. She wore a simple shirt and shorts while having her arm wrapped around the Inkling boy.

Rose:........

Dawn:...before you ask........yes, that's me.........from 3 years ago.......

Rose: *looks at Dawn*

Dawn:................uh.......

Rose:........*confused*........

Dawn:......what? Did you think I looked fucked up, pale, and scarred exactly like this when I was younger?

Rose........*nods*..........

Dawn:...first of all....go fuck yourself.....and second.....obviously not.....this is.......I-It's........what depression......does to you, Rose..........

Rose stared straight at Dawn with a look of concern.....and without warning.....she began to slightly lean forward and extended her hand in the process towards Dawn's tentacles, and when she touched one, she slightly felt on her ruffled and rough, uneven strands of her that led up to her bangs, but before she could continue further, Dawn glared and simply slapped Rose's hand, making her whimper and quickly pull it back.

Dawn:.......stop with the touching....last warning.....

Rose:......*apologetic nod*......

Dawn:...*sigh*...........anyway....I dyed my tentacles.....black is not my natural color.......duh....I'm not telling you WHY I dyed them though......*looks away*........remember.......I'll only let you dig so far in my life....

Rose:........

Dawn:.........what?....

Dawn saw Rose slowly shift her eyes back and forth between her and the picture. Even though she was confused at first, she began to notice what specifically Rose was looking at, which only made her slightly embarrassed.

Dawn:......okay.........yeah I get it, I get it....

Rose: *looks at Dawn*......

Dawn:........turn around......

Rose raised an eyebrow at Dawn, but once she saw the Inkling's serious glare, she responded with a nod to show that she understood, then turned her body around to face away from Dawn.

Rose heard Dawn out a long sigh, and as she waited she tapped on her thighs to find a way to occupy herself in the meantime, waiting and waiting......until...

Dawn:........go ahead......you can look.....

Rose slowly turned her body and felt her heart pump from anticipation. She completely faced Dawn, then what she saw was the Inkling looking directly back at her, and from what Rose noticed, Dawn looked exactly the same......almost, at least.....when she saw Dawn's eyes.......she noticed her unique difference.

Suddenly, Dawn's left eye, instead of being her normal blue, was now orange and vibrant, but when Rose looked at Dawn's right eye, she noticed her Iris was not orange to match her left counterpart.....but it was green.....a very neon green that looked dead.......and....infected.....

Dawn:........yeah.........I wear contacts.......

Rose:.......*pointing at her green eye*

Dawn:......I'm not telling you...I already said I'm only letting you dig so far....

Rose:........

Dawn:......

Rose:.........

Dawn:........are you gonna react, oooor?

Rose:.........*tilts her head*

Rose saw Dawn get a little embarrassed and frustrated at the same time, making her pinch the bridge of her nose.

Dawn:...........t-this is.....fucking.........ugh......talking to you is so damn annoying sometimes..........I always have to play the "guessing game" because you can only respond with expressions and noises.........

Rose:......*looks down*......

Dawn:.....but....it's not your fault.....I obviously know that........it wasn't an insult towards you........just.....myself...

Rose thought to herself after Dawn's statement, and soon later, the Octoling let out a tiny blush as a calm smile formed on her face. She reached in her pocket and pulled out her spare notepad that she showed Pearl and Marina earlier, and when she started fresh, she clicked her pen and wrote down her own words, then followed the casual routine of handing the note to Dawn.

~~
Well, you are really good at the guessing game. Most struggle to understand me.

I'm sorry that I have to make this difficult for you though.
~~

Dawn:........uh........thanks?.....also...

Dawn crumpled up the note into a tiny ball, then flicked the paper directly at Rose, hitting her forehead and making her flinch with a whimper.

Dawn: I already said "it's not your fault". you're apologizing for literally nothing, stupid.

Rose huffed at Dawn while rubbing her hand, and she looked at her to see nothing but a pure look of disappointment.......but not that long later, Dawn was in her inner thoughts, reminding Rose's note from earlier, and she took a deep breath, slouching on her couch.

Dawn:.........I'm guessing you're not gonna play in the next splatfest after this yourself, huh?.....because of your friend.....

Rose:........*nod*...

Dawn:.......today is the last day, so we should honestly just go out and at least have some fun-

Dawn quickly froze in her statement and slammed her mouth shut as she stood up as quick as she could, remembering the plan from Off The Hook, but when she turned over towards Rose, she saw her looking at her and tilting her head, and Dawn quickly looked away and waved her hand up and down towards Rose, coughing slightly.

Dawn:....n-never mind......forget everything I said.

Rose saw Dawn's body slightly shake as she continued to avoid eye contact, and Rose let out a tiny smile as she began to write in her notepad again, but longer than she usually does.

She eventually stood up and walked over to Dawn, tapping her gently, however Dawn still didn't turn her head to face her, but Rose noticed her body shaking much more than before.

Dawn:....what?.....

Rose walked a bit closer to Dawn and very delicately wrapped her arms around the Inkling from behind, making Dawn jolt and tense up, but as Rose held her closer, Dawn turned her head to the side and glared straight at Rose from the corner of her eye, gritting her teeth in the process.

Dawn: get off of me! I seriously just told you not that long ago to stop touching me, Rose! I already gave you a warni-

Just then, Dawn felt a soft piece of paper touch her cheek and saw Rose tapping her cheek with her notepaper, then Dawn mumbled in annoyance with slight hesitation, but she soon felt Rose slowly move from behind her just as she grabbed the note from her.

~~
"Dawn.....I have something I want to say"
~~

Dawn stood silent when she looked at the note, then slowly averted her eyes up at the Octoling. She saw Rose simply look into her eyes and noticed a nice peachy blush form on her cheeks, which made her skin crawl slightly, so Dawn looked away a little, but still forced herself to look back at Rose, fighting with her own actions.

Dawn:....o-okay...........why aren't you, like.......doing anything?.....

Rose:......*tiny smile*......

Dawn:.......this.............t-this is.....the part...........when you write, or something...........why are you just........staring at me?.............

Rose took a deep breath and slowly raised her hand up, making Dawn more confused and uncomfortable as she saw the Octoling wrap her own fingers around her scarf, then slowly pull it off of her neck, showing her scar to Dawn once again. She folded her scarf and gently placed it down onto the couch, and with pure silence as more nerves crawled through Dawn's body, she saw Rose look at her once again and properly stand in front of her, folding her hands as they hung below her waist.

Dawn:..............Rose?......

Her chest slowly began to rise, then fall, showing another deep breath that Rose took in front of her, indicating her own nerves as well, but even though Dawn could tell, she still saw her compose herself and remain calm with a beautiful gaze that showed no symbolism of harm or betrayal......and from that....it healed Dawn's own nerves.......and made her body feel more loose and free......moving on its own as she simply looked at Rose, feeling an unknown emotion she hasn't felt in a very long time.....but she couldn't tell what specific emotion it was.......some form of Joy?......interest?.............or even...Hope?.....

Rose:...............Dawn......

Dawn's eyes widened greatly.....after hearing the Octoling's voice for the very first time.......even though she knew she should be in complete and utter shock.....more than she already was...and tense beyond belief......she felt completely at rest.......as if her voice sent her in a daze........and the only thing she could do to respond was gently grip onto the note a little tighter.

Rose:....ever.....since......the day we met....

Dawn:......

Rose:......I knew......that you....are....just......l-like me.....

Dawn saw Rose slowly approach her, then gently reach out towards her, and even though she slightly felt her nerves return.....they easily slipped away....when she felt Rose's gentle touch.......sliding on her arm and grabbing onto the long sleeve of her shirt, then gently held her hand with her other, sliding Dawn's sleeve up and revealing her pale forearm.

Dawn felt the slight embarrassment flush into her body, expecting Rose to show a sense of disgust towards her...or sadness to show pity.......but when she looked at Rose, she saw her eyes fixated on her arm, showing all of her very long and dreadful scars leading from her wrist up to her elbow.......and unlike the rest of her body......these specific scars did not symbolize her previous agent experiences and battles........but rather her dread and depression.....showing the pain and suffering she inflicted onto herself from  so long ago.......

Rose:............you're........broken.....

Dawn:...........

Rose:.....your eyes.....show the sense of.......guilt........but.....you don't hide it........unlike......

Rose gently let go of Dawn, stepping away, and Dawn didn't see no bad or pitiful sense in Rose's gaze.....but rather........a look of empathy......and she saw Rose grab the collar of her shirt, pulling it down to show Dawn her neck scar that traced down to her chest, showing a bigger scar than before, looking like the exact same color as Dawn's green eye.

Rose:........me........

She let go of her shirt and Dawn saw Rose's body shake a tiny bit, and when she looked at Rose's face, she noticed a tiny drop of blood that was seeping from her mouth......

Rose:.......you're...not alone......I-In my....eyes..........you are what.......makes me feel.......bonded......safe....happy....I don't want to lose....this.....feeling.......

Dawn:.......R-.............Rose.......

Rose:............I'm........s-sorry.....about...

Rose let out a cough, then she took a little breath, and Dawn noticed her breathing rate increase, showing more blood that seeped from both edges of her mouth, then drenched down her cheeks.

Rose:........hurting you.........a-annoying you...............r-ruining your.....life more......than before.....disappointing you............

Dawn:.....Rose..............Stop....

Rose: I..........I just...........wanted....to get closer..........I wanted you to....battle with..........me for.....this last night.....but I was too scared to ask....so I abandoned my...p-plan.....and instead wanted to......stay home............I just......knew you needed to hear....h-hear it.....from.....my mouth.....better......than...t-than.....a..piece of...paper.....

Dawn felt her heart beat faster than before......and her body deeply began to tingle from the inside as she saw Rose cough once again and more blood began to flow from her mouth than before, dripping off of her cheeks and falling down to hit the ground.

Dawn:.........Rose......no.... J-Just-.......

Rose:...after....t-today.......we....won't be........t-the...the.......s........sa....same....

Rose let out a really loud cough, covering her hands over her mouth and Dawn saw blood gush and seep through her fingers, and her heart pumped way faster than before....hearing it through her own body.

Dawn saw Rose fall to her knees and hold her mouth with both of her hands, coughing uncontrollably as more and more blood fell from her face and dropped down to the ground.

Dawn: ROSE!!!

Dawn saw Rose stutter within her breaths, and her hands shake uncontrollably, looking up at her, and from what the Inkling noticed....is Rose's gentle smile remain on her face....fighting through her pain more and more.....and making Dawn's heart beat faster, and for an odd reason, the Inkling felt her body move on its own.....just as she saw her vision get slightly more blurry....

Rose: and.....I want.....to...cherish......every......single moment........I have with....the...one I......truly......admire.......

Dawn: ROSE, PLEASE!!!

Dawn unknowingly quickly kneeled down and grasped Rose while panting in front of her, and she saw blood seep more and more out of her mouth....she noticed her hands on Rose's shoulders firmly...and for a slight minute...Dawn once again noticed a tear fall from her own face, then fall down in between her and Rose, falling into the puddle of Rose's blood.....

Dawn let go of Rose after noticing her own reflection within her blood, backing away slightly and feeling on her own face to feel more tears fall down her cheeks.....

Dawn began to hear constant ringing within her own ears....shifting herself away farther from Rose as her breathing became even faster, feeling as if her heart was trying to break out of her own chest........she used one hand to hold her chest and another to cover her own mouth as her tears began to build up once more......uncontrollably breathing nonstop at a very unhealthy and anxiety-driven state......

Dawn didn't know how to react when she saw Rose gently pant as well....holding her own chest......then used her hands to wipe her blood from her face, looking at her palms to notice how much damage she did to herself....which only made Dawn take her own hand off of her face and place it on the ground, then push herself up slightly, just as she noticed Rose looking at her........

Dawn stayed silent, but quickly got up and ran away from Rose into her own room, shutting the door and locking it behind herself really aggressively, making her room slightly shake as Dawn then grasped her chest with both of her hands instead as she slid back down to her knees and rested her forehead on her door.

She panted faster and faster by the second, and saw her hands shake more than before. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, feeling her body quivering until she heard a loud thud, a thud that made her eyes open and turn her head. Her breaths became slightly slower when she noticed the object that fell onto the floor when she aggressively shut the door, seeing it shine her own reflection back at her.

From the floor, Dawn noticed an E-Liter, dented and scratched up, laying near her. She noticed it fell from the shelf she previously put it on, and from its presence, Dawn slowly began to calm herself down. Her anxiety began to dim as she felt her heart slow down, but slowly pump more and more fluently at a steady rate.

Dawn:.............(what is wrong.......with me?......)

Dawn stood up slowly and walked over towards the E-Liter....looking down at it and kneeling to pick it up gently once more.

Dawn:.....(the last........time I remember ever.....having a reaction like that....to anything was............when I confessed..)

Dawn held the E-Liter with both of her hands and looked at it, noticing the little engraving in the weapon, spelling out "property of agent 8"......

Dawn:.....(to her....)....

Within her own reflection, Dawn saw herself....her orange and green eyes...and she only thought back to her sight of Rose, and hearing her speak for the very first time......she gently raised one of her own hands and felt on her own cheek.....feeling the cold trail that her tears left behind, making her grit her teeth in slight embarrassment.

Dawn:....(...s-she.....didn't see me cry......did she?...............)

Dawn shook her head in annoyance and held the E-Liter with one hand, using her other to pinch the bridge of her nose as she began to pace back and forth in her own room uncontrollably.

Dawn:...(what the hell was I even...w-why....did I even act...t-that way?....I just.....what type......of games is she......playing?)....

Dawn panted slightly and stared at her bed, then felt tears began to roll down her face again, making her wipe her face quickly while grumbling to herself.

Dawn: ( No!..Not again with this crying bullshit!!.....I'm just getting too fucking open with her!!....I just want this splatfest to be over already for fucks sake!!........).....

Dawn stumbled slightly from her embarrassment of making herself look like an idiot around her room, then slouched on her bed.....looking at the E-Liter in her hands.....

Dawn:.....what am I doing?......

She gently shook her own head after covering her face with her own hand. She groaned, but then heard Rose's voice echo within her mind, making her slightly tense up, even feeling the Octoling gently touch her from behind.

~~
Rose: and.....I want.....to...cherish......every......single moment........I have with....the...one I......truly......admire.......
~~

Dawn:...*sigh*........I'm.....gonna highly..........regret this.........but.....after tonight.......

Dawn leaned down and grabbed the E-Liter, then tightly clenched onto it, closing her eyes......

Dawn: everything.......ends..........

~~~~~

Rose let out a tiny little cough and watched some blood fall into the sink before her. The Octoling stood in Dawn's kitchen, drinking from a cup of water to rinse out the blood from her mouth and spitting into the sink. She panted slightly and gently rubbed on her neck, then closed her eyes as she turned off the water faucet and wiping her face, showing only a tiny smile.

She walked over to the couch after cleaning up her blood from the ground prior, then grabbed her scarf, and just as she wrapped it around her own neck, she saw Dawn emerge from her own room with a FireFin facemask on her face and without putting her blue contacts back in, she kept her orange and green eyes respectively showing, only confusing Rose slightly.

She looked in Dawn's hand and noticed an E-liter along with a combination of a bandana, a cap, and a pair of shades. And from her other hand, Rose saw Dawn's Tentatek Splattershot.

Dawn:.........don't ask......shut up...and stay still.......

Rose saw Dawn toss her Splattershot on the ground, and the Octo simply began to raise her hands to her chest slightly as Dawn placed the E-Liter on the table, then grabbed the bandana firmly with two hands after tossing the cap and shades to the side as well. Dawn stood in front of Rose and aggressively wrapped the bandanna around her head, making Rose slightly whimper, and for Dawn to roll her eyes.

Dawn: I said stay still!...

Dawn tied the simple knot and grabbed onto the cap, pushing it onto Rose's head, then placed the shades above her eyes, taking a second to look at her confused state, giving it a shrug.

Dawn: it'll do.....

Dawn picked up her Splattershot once again and hooked it on her back, and while Rose was completely confused on what was going on, Dawn shook her head as she walked over to the E-Liter once again.

Dawn: look!.....tonight is the last night you're ever participating in a damn splatfest from my knowledge!.....

Rose:......

Dawn: you said you wanted to "cherish every moment you had with me" like it was some weird fairytale, right? So stop acting so clueless and let's go splat the shit out of some dickheads!

Dawn saw Rose's eyes light up in an adorable way, and even though she felt her own body get slightly warm from Rose's appearance, she fought herself deep down and glared at her, pointing directly at her.

Dawn: I only have 2 rules for tonight...........

Rose:....*nods*.......

Dawn:....one......stay near me at all times and make sure to keep the shades on!...

Dawn picked up the E-Liter and walked over to Rose, holding it out towards her. Rose stood in shock at first, but then slowly held her own hands out and grabbed the E-Liter from Dawn, feeling it's rough metal once again, and from the side of the E-Liter, Rose noticed a fresh piece of duck tape that was placed onto it, as if it was covering something.....

Dawn:.....I know.....you don't have your own E-Liter to use tonight......so I'll let you borrow this one...........which leads into my second rule for tonight.....

Dawn leaned very close to Rose and looked her straight in her eyes, glaring through her shades.

Dawn: if anything.......happens to this E-Liter........and I mean ANYTHING...I will make your life a living hell for the rest of your days.........do you understand?..............protect it with your life........

Rose:......*nod nod nod*......

Dawn:.........this isn't a rule.....but I have one last thing to say.....

Rose saw Dawn move away from her, and begin to walk past her. The Inkling's menacing appearance was definitely a threatening and fearful sight, but from Rose alone, she still felt the calm and gentle, even protective nature of Dawn flow from her body and give off a warm radiance, something that Rose felt deeply and made her body only tingle, seeing through many negative remarks.

Dawn:....f-from what happened....earlier.....we don't speak of it..........e-ever.....

Rose:.......*tiny smile*.......

Dawn heard scribbling from behind her, and before she could turn her head, she felt Rose gently tap her cheek with a note from
Behind, surprising Dawn with her speed, but regardless, making her grab the note and read it.

~~
"I understand. We can write about it if it makes you feel more comfortable." :)
~~

Dawn: that's not what I mean-.......you know what.....whatever.......

Rose let out a gentle giggle, and as she followed Dawn, seeing her open the front door and walk outside, eventually following her out after doing her a favor and turning off her lights, she saw Dawn gently shake her head as she closed her door and locked it behind them.

Dawn:..........(......sorry Pearl.......I know you're gonna kill me........

~~~

*Extra story art*

Rose and kiiicho_ikas Oc