~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn: you don't understand....

Callie and Marie stood across from Dawn as she wore her Agent 3 uniform and cape, clenching her hero shot and holding in tears. Marie slowly walked over to Dawn and reached her hand out to rest on Dawn's shoulder.

Marie: 3....calm down...

Dawn: DON'T TOUCH ME!!

Dawn slapped Marie's hand and backed away from the two, not being able to hold in her tears any longer and they began to flow down her face. Her body began to tremble and she dropped her hero shot, wiping her eyes and sobbing.

Dawn: Do you understand the pain I had to go through!? The things I've seen!? I still have nightmares every night from my experiences!!!.....

Callie/Marie:......

Dawn: every time I tell you guys....you both shrug me off and say "you'll be fine after a couple of days"....DO I LOOK FINE TO YOU!?

Dawn sobbed more and more as her legs shook rapidly. The two cousins looked at each other in concern, and Marie managed to build up the courage to slowly walk back over to 3, attempting to comfort her once again.

Marie: 3.....we....didn't know this stuff affected you this hard....

Dawn: this hard?.....THIS HARD!? Why do you two not care!? AGENT 4 AND 8 ARE DEAD!! IT'S ALL MY FAULT!!

Marie:......

Dawn: you two didn't even seem to care about them....do you know how much they meant to me?.......is that how you're going to react when I die?....is that what you two truly see us as? Just disposable garbage?

Dawn violently ripped off her hero cape and threw it at Marie, kicking her hero shot over to her as well. She turned around and walked over to the grate back to Inkopolis, leaving the two speechless.

Dawn:......I'm done......I don't want to do this anymore.......don't talk to me...ever again.

Marie: 3, wait!!

Dawn ignored Marie and hopped into the grate, leaving the two alone just to stare at each other in silence, holding her ripped and torn cape...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rune: Dawn?....Dawn!

Dawn slowly opened up her eyes and looked around to notice that she was in the Café, sleeping on the job. She looked up at Rune to see him holding a tray of danishes and looking down at her.

Rune: you alright?

Dawn:.....

Dawn stood up slowly and walked past Rune, not answering his question and heading out to the main counter, looking around and not seeing Shade anywhere at all, but she saw Shadow walk out from the back room, placing down a bag of coffee beans in a lower cabinet.

Dawn: Shadow.

Shadow: sup.

Dawn: where's your sister? I need a break.

Shadow: she's not here. She's at home taking care of some.....business.

Dawn:....*sigh* well, I'm going on break regardless.

Shadow: you can't. Since sis isn't here, we need all the hands we could get.

Dawn:......my fucking cod....what type of business is Shade even taking care of?

Shadow:.....don't worry about it...just go to work and clean something...I don't know...

After some silence, she simply walked away and shook her head in annoyance, but then she heard the door to the Café, looking over and seeing an Octoling girl quickly stumble into the main lobby, catching Shadow's attention as well.

Shadow: Rose.....wow, this is the first time you've been late to work in like, months.

Rose: *quickly runs over and clocks in*

Shadow: the hell made you oversleep?

Rose reached into her pocket, but then her heart sunk and her skin turned pale, noticing that she left her notepad at home. She quickly began to look around, and Shadow already knew what she was looking for, making her sigh and open up a cabinet under the counter, pulling out a notepad with a pen that was titled "Rose's emergency notepad".

Shadow: here.

Rose took the pad and began to scribble on it, but while she was writing, Dawn began to sink into her thoughts, Staring at the Octoling and noticing that Shadow already knew how to react to Rose's situation.....she knew that Rose had that problem....but for how long? Dawn just found out about it yesterday.....she remembered back to the scar that she saw on her neck, seeing her rip off the note and hand it to Shadow.

~~
"I lost track of time because I was watching Top level games yesterday. I apologize"
~~

Shadow:....hm...oh yeah, the Celestial squad did play yesterday, huh?

Rose: *nods*

Shadow: yeah, I forgot you love that team. They had a eventide strike game, right?

Rose: *nod nod*

The Celestial squad, a beautiful and amazing squad that had skill and strength. Rose completely loved the squad with a passion, being their biggest fan for sure, and even going out of her way to watch every single game they've ever played, watching their amazing grace of fighting, which would leave any cephalopod speechless.

The whole entire team consisted of Octolings, 2 girls and 2 boys, but the girl who mostly caught Rose's attention was a 20 year old Octoling girl, a very talented and strong girl known as Lyra who currently is ranked #4 in solo, #5 in duo, and #3 in squads, being right behind Scarlett in strength.

Lyra used an E-Liter and was a very quiet girl, a girl that Rose views as her role model, which is why she uses an E-Liter, and even finding out that she was pretty skilled with it herself, working on her skills day and night to be like her, and even sometimes participating in eventide strike games.

Eventide strike games are games that take place during the late evening and night, with the stages getting illuminated by pure light and beauty. Most people don't participate in them, but it's an amazing way to rank up and show the world your endurance for maintaining your stamina from battling all day and night.

Dawn watched Rose give Shadow an apologetic bow, then start to walk into the back room, and all Dawn did was stare at Rose a little, that was until Shadow snapped her fingers to make Dawn shake a little and focus back on her.

Shadow: you gonna stand there? There's some customers that still need help ya know.

Dawn stayed silent and didn't respond to Shadow, she instead just walked into the back rooms herself while sliding her hands in her pockets and letting out a tiny sigh.

Dawn: (....I'll just go back to sleep....)

————————————————————

A boy's eyes slowly opened after a long slumber, all he saw was the ceiling above him and noticed the warm blanket that that was gently placed on him. He felt a slight urge shoot up from his side as he tried to lean up, using his hand to hold onto his side while pushing himself, feeling bandages that were wrapped around him.

Shade: you're awake!

Shade walked into the room with an adorable smile on her face, carrying a wet rag, which the boy only assumed she was going to put on his head to sooth him. Shade looked at the boy and saw him look down at his hands, noticing his sharp Octoling fingers, but not all of them were sharp, only a few, and the other few were flat and soft like Inkling fingers.

The Boy had long green tentacles that would hang down to his waist; his eyes were a beautiful shiny cyan blue and he had a giant scar that went across his chest. His tentacles had suction cups on the inside and outside of them, and he had a black line between his eyes like an Inkling.

Shade: me and my sister found you collapsed and bleeding in our bathroom. There wasn't enough time to call an ambulance, so I just patched you up here.

The boy didn't respond to Shade, and he instead slowly pulled the blanket off of himself, looking over at the Tv that was on and playing the news with Pearl and Marina.

*Tv*

Pearl: after our maps and modes rotation, I'd like to say a single thing, Rina.

Marina: what is it Pearlie?

Pearl: just recently, a new squad has been actually dominating the competition and showing their true potential; an unknown squad that no one has ever seen or heard of before.

Marina: they must be a new squad then. What's the squad's name?

Pearl: apparently they're called "The Archdemons squad"

Archdemons....the second the boy heard that name....his eyes widened and Shade noticed his sudden change in emotion. The boy quickly tried to stand up and move closer to the Tv, but he let out a little grunt, holding onto his side and falling onto his knee, forcing Shade to run over to him and aid him.

*Tv*

Marina: Archdemons? Huh.....yeah, I've never heard of the squad before. Are they new?

Pearl: they were apparently JUST added into the splat leaderboards like, a week ago, and they've been completely destroying anything in their path.

Marina: who are they exactly?

The Tv flashed and showed the boy a squad consisting of 4 girls, 3 Octolings and 1 Inkling. The members of the team wore devil horns as their headgear along with Kensa clothing and shoes. The boy looked at the Octoling girl that was tall and merciless; she had long blue tentacles with white eyes, and was holding a normal Jet Squelcher.

Pearl: the leader of the squad is known as Luna from what I've heard. Her heart is as cold as the frozen wastelands along with her glare. She is amazingly strong, so strong in fact that she can lift a Dynamo roller and even swing it around with one hand as if it was an ink brush!

The second girl was an Inkling girl that was much shorter than everyone else, like, really short. Unlike Luna, the girl had a smile on her face as she stared at the camera while holding onto her Inkbrush.

Pearl: the Inkling is known as Mercy, someone who packs hell of a punch when she's on the battlefield. I've never seen any type of speed unlike hers, quickly rushing down her opponents, and even catching them off guard by sneaking up on them and splatting them from behind.

The third girl was an Octoling girl that was the same height as Mercy, but she looked much younger, holding her dualie squelchers with a nervous, yet cute expression on her face.

Pearl: hmph, if we're gonna talk about big names, it might as well this this young one right here.

Marina: young?

Pearl: yup. The girl's name is Elenor, and she's definitely smarter than the average cephalopod. The girl uses the regular dualie squelchers and knows what to do for every situation thrown at her, yet she's only 14, being the youngest Octoling to make it up in the charts like this, making me believe she was just born with natural talent.

The last girl.......was the girl that shook the boy the most......she looked completely different from any Octoling in existence.....her tentacles were pitch black....her eyes were pitch black with white pupils.....her skin was very dark, grey, and dull.....making her look like a zombie of some sort....she looked so...abnormal.

She had cracks on her dry and decaying skin that surrounded her eyes, as if the ink inside of her wasn't keeping her body fresh and moisturized. She was holding onto a Kensa Sloshing Machine like it didn't even matter to her, and that was enough to make the boy shake in silence from her.

Pearl: the last girl is pretty damn mysterious, I'm not gonna lie.

Marina: what's her name?

Pearl:..............Violet.

The boy sat in silence......staring at the Tv and watching the Archdemons squad go from rank 700, to 660, to 519, to 468.....He quickly grabbed a nearby remote and shut off the Tv, making Shade whimper a little.

Shade: awe, why did you do that? I was watching that.

The boy looked over at Shade, and tried his hardest to stand, but fell back onto his knee; Shade reached over to his hand and gently grabbed it with a worried look on her face.

Shade: h-hey now...don't push yourself.

The boy's eyes widened and it looked as if something shot through his body very quickly, just by touching Shade, which caused him to look her dead in her eyes as if he was surprised, and all that did was make Shade look away from him with a blush forming on her face.

???:......you........

Shade:.....I-I-I-I.....yes?.....

???: what is your name?......

Shade: oh, I didn't expect you to move this fast!....m-my name is Shade!

???:.....I see.....

The boy let go of Shade, and used all of his strength to stand back up on his own two feet, looking over to a window that showed the beautiful outside world with clouds slowly flowing through the sky with super jumping Cephalopods shooting through them.

???:.....they're progressing faster than I thought......this is bad.....

Shade: (he was staring into my eyes! Oh my cod, oh my cod, oh my cod! I can tell that he feels the same way, he totally does!)

Shade stood up as well and twiddled her fingers a little in embarrassment, looking at the boy who was paying no mind to her now.

Shade: s-so it's only fair, right?

???:.....pardon?.....

Shade: *blush* Y-Your name! That's all I want....yeah...y-yeah, your name.

The boy stayed silent, but then slowly turned his head towards Shade, looking back at her as his Cyan eyes glistened in front of her, which only made her almost die from a heart attack.

Knight:........my name is Knight.......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An Inkling girl walked all by herself down the reef. a short Inkling girl with a blue sapphire eye and a green emerald eye, with unique long tentacles that were pretty sloppy and messy. The girl's hair was pure white that faded into blue and green respectively. The girl was holding onto a simple lunch box and strolling her way past all of the cephalopods who were too focused on the upcoming splatfest to notice her.

Making her way down the sidewalk until she approached a simple Café, taking a deep breath and letting it out before opening the door and walking in to smell the amazing scent of coffee which relaxed her body and made the Ink inside of her flow very calmly and fluently.

Walking through the Café and adorably approaching the counter to see an Octoling girl who was leaning against the counter while playing her video game, not even noticing her, which caused the girl to sweat a little with nervousness, then reach over to a bell that was on the counter, gently touching it to catch the girl's attention.

???:....Um......e-excuse me......

Shadow: eh?...uh....oh, it's you.....um...yeah, I forgot your name.

Mona:.......m-my.....name is Mona.....

Shadow:....what?

Mona began to sweat more and clench onto the lunchbox a little tighter, feeling many more nerves creep through her inky body. Mona was known as a very calm and gentle Inkling girl, so calm in fact that her voice never raised above the explosion of a burst bomb. The girl was very, very, very quiet when she spoke, so much to the point where she barely spoke to people because they could barely hear her.

Mona was a very self conscious Inkling girl who would usually start to freeze up and shiver after the attention of a simple squid or Octo was averted onto her, sweating drastically and shaking like she was freezing cold, but it mostly happened when people would ask her to repeat what she said.

Mona: I.......I.......

Shadow simply rolled her eyes at the Inkling, sliding her video game into her hoodie pocket and looking on the side of Mona to see a brown bag that hung from her shoulder that was completely empty, which made Shadow raise her eyebrow at Mona before leaning on the counter.

Shadow: I guess you just finished delivering your mail huh, mail squid?

Mona: o-oh yes.....I....didn't.......have that much mail.........today.

Mona looked away from Shadow, knowing and being embarrassed of the fact that everyone around Inkopolis knew her as the "mail squid", the Inkling who'd walk from apartment complex to complex, delivering mail to squids and Octos after receiving it from mail Jellies. She only accepted the job because of.....certain reasons.....but it was enough for her to muster up the courage to do so.

Shadow:......where's your partner?

Mona:..........he quit......

Shadow: what?....

Mona:.....he....q-quit.....

Shadow:......sheesh girl...you really gotta speak up more because I still can't hear ya.......

Mona:......*points*....I-

Shadow: yeah I know, I'll get him.

Shadow walked into the back room and Mona adorably stood there silently while looking down at the ground and holding the lunchbox a little closer to herself.

She heard footsteps soon later, causing her to look up and feel her body rush up with delight after seeing him. An Octoling boy with red eyes and orange tentacles, looked straight at her and instantly could tell who she was, making him walk over to her while keeping his hands in his pockets.

Rune: Mona?

Mona:.....h-hi.....

Rune: hey. I didn't expect you to be here this early, so I'm guessing you barely had any mail to deliver?

Mona gave Rune a cute nod and saw him look down at the lunchbox she was holding onto, which only made him reach under the counter and grab onto a cup, then start to walk over to a brewing machine to start up a nice coffee.

Rune: One Marine Maroon on the way.

Mona and Rune have known each other after quite some time, even striking a nice little deal with each other. Almost every day, Mona would make Rune a nice lunch for him to eat on his break while he made her a nicely creamy and sweet Marine Maroon Coffee.

For some odd reason, Mona only liked Rune's Marine Maroons....and she could never understand why, considering that she comes to the Café almost every day, Shade, Shadow, Conner, Rose, and even Dawn know who the hell she was, and they've all made her Marine Maroons before, yet......It was Rune's that made her feel warm and safe.....something he did while he made them....something that she couldn't describe.

Mona:.......I.......I hope.......you like it.

Even though Rune wasn't that close to her, and she wasn't speaking loudly whatsoever, including the fact of the brewing machine doing it's process, Rune simply grabbed some creamer while glancing back at her while responding to her statement.

Rune: I'll eat it regardless. All I ate yesterday was a granola bar, so I could use a meal.

Mona always felt a bubbly feeling rush through her body when Rune responded to her. Despite everyone else not being able to hear her when they're standing right in front of her, Rune could hear her just fine, never making her repeat herself one bit.

The only reason for this is because of Rune's childhood, telling Mona about his training with his adoptive mother, adapting to his environment in the underground with Conner by his side, being confined within quiet and loud places all the time, which adapted his sense of hearing, allowing him to pick up on little noises around him, making it impossible to sneak up on him while he was perched with his splat charger in a match.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*flashback*

Inkling boy: Don't you dare talk down on me!!!

The Inkling boy slapped Mona across her face, making her fall on the ground and whimper in pain. The Inkling stood above her while clenching onto a paper contract, looking down on her helpless body.

Inkling boy: are you fucking stupid or something, Mona!? You are MY girlfriend, and will forever by my girlfriend, which means you are gonna fucking sign this damn contract!!

despite her lack of skill, Mona still loved to play Turf war, mainly playing with her boyfriend  at the time, who would mostly force her into the games and hit her if she didn't get a splat that she properly deserved.

A forced contact is usually something that actually quite often, mainly with some form of abuse being involved, and Mona wasn't an exception, forcing a contact is pretty illegal within Inkopolis, but unless you have actual proof that the contract was forced, it was impossible to get out of without getting branded as a betraying  squid.

If the leadership of Turf do find out about the forced contact, the one who inflicted such force will be branded with their own special tattoos that represented their cruel and disgusting motivations.

Being stuck in the relationship with the boy for 3 years has really effected Mona, knowing that there was nothing she could do to save herself from any situation. She looked up and saw the boy pull out a sharp needle, a needle that was used to blood brand the contact by pricking your finger and stamping it.

Mona, already covered in scratches and bruises, whimpered even more as she saw the boy slowly approaching her with the paper in hand, looking straight into her eyes and making her lock up entirely, seeing hell straight through his eyes.

Just before the Inkling could do anything, the two heard footsteps slowly approaching them. The boy looked up and saw Rune walking by himself, tossing up and down a rock that he randomly picked up from the sidewalk.

Rune: well that was just rude, huh?

Inkling boy: fucking Pit-Dweller....get the hell out of here before I-

Just then Rune chucked the rock straight at the boy, hitting him before he could even finish his sentence, making him fall back onto the ground and pass out. Rune walked up to the boy and took the contract out of his hands, ripping it to shreds before letting out a sigh.

Rune: not in the mood today....

Rune looked back at the girl, seeing her looking back at him. He walked over to her and held out his hand at her, to which she slowly took, not breaking eye contact with him.

*End*

He saved her skin that day for sure, if he didn't show up and eliminate that situation so quickly, things could've been much worse. even helping her stand up and move on to a new supportive life.

Rune: I won't be able to go on break right now because Shade is out, so I-

Shadow: hold it.

Shadow looked down at her phone just as a notification popped up, confusing Rune, but then she waved him away with her hand.

Shadow: you can go. Shade said she's coming in soon.

Shadow sighed as she slid her phone in her pocket and slowly walked back into the back room, sliding her hands into her hoodie and rolling her eyes.

Shadow: I'll tell Dawn that so she can stop sleeping on the damn napkins.

Rune watched Shadow walk away, then let out a tiny shrug and slowly placed Mona's Marine Maroon , then Mona adorably handed him his lunchbox. He took it and walked around the counter to go on a little break, allowing Mona to waddle behind him and the two sat down at a booth together within the lobby.

Rune opened up his box of lunch and saw a nicely made sandwich with a bag of mini Hydra Chips along with a strawberry Tentatek juice box.

Mona: I-I.........saw.......Rose on squidstagram.......and Dawn......

Rune: oh yeah, the shit that happened.....it definitely..*nom*...was violent.

Mona:......I......hope.......this doesn't get out of....hand....*sip*......

Rune: you look happier than usual today?

Mona: *tiny smile* b-because I did it....

Rune: what exactly?

Mona: I-I'm rank "B minus" now.

Rune:  looks like my shitty training is actually paying off....*nom*

Mona: it's not.....bad training......

Rune: it definitely is.

Mona: *shakes her head*.....n-no....I like the training.

Rune: you're never gonna change my mind, but.....I appreciate it, Mona.

Meanwhile, Dawn walked up to the front counter and leaned against it, relaxing much more now that she was on break. She looked over towards Rune and Mona.....seeing the blush on Mona's face, which only made her sigh a little.

Dawn:......she's gonna get herself killed.....

Dawn looked down at one of her tentacles, seeing a golden toothpick piercing straight through it, touching it and gently rubbing on it to make it shine.

Dawn:............just like.....8........

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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