Everything was white......from head to toe......Clover.....she opened her eyes slowly.........she looked around.....and saw the endless void of the white abyss that surrounded her.....she felt her own body and felt no nerves whatsoever......her body was numb.......she felt nothing....

Just then, before her eyes, Clover saw the void around her erupt with a burst of energy. Everything composed around her and the whiteness began to fade from her once it extracted, showing her a now pure area of a midnight blue plain.

She looked down, noticing that she was stepping on water, and could see her own reflection within the water and the beautiful moon that shined above her, reflecting off of her inky tentacles.

She heard the sound of water running gently and smoothly before her, making her look up and notice a large water fountain before her......she stood for a second as if her body was still frozen......but she eventually made her way over to the fountain, hearing the sounds of her own feet against the water she was stepping on.....

She approached the fountain and looked into the water.......seeing nothing at first......but once her reflection fully manifested in the water, she saw the water ripple on its own, showing her the back of a woman.....an inkling woman.....nothing was shown of her besides her beautiful, long and elegant hair.......

She stood above the fountain, and she brought her hand down, gently touching the water, which made it ripple once more........and made the woman disappear, but before Clover could speak, she heard a radiant sound shine from behind her, which made her turn her head and see a flower bloom from the water below, which confused her.

She kneeled down and used her hand to feel onto the petals, noticing the flower to be a Violet.....but instead of it's normal purple appearance, it was black.........slightly blending in with the dark blue surrounding her.......

Clover:......a......Violet?......

Just then, Clover barely had enough time to completely process her situation before the entire area bursted with another gust of energy, and it felt as if her body was getting dragged away from the flower, but with her final glance, she saw one petal on the flower.......turn white......

Clover:........

~~~~~~

Angelica: C'mon! Hurry hurry!!

Adina: I'm sorry!!

Adina, the maid inkling for the scar clan, quickly ran over to Angelica with a bucket of cold water and handed it over to Angelica. The blacksmith reached into the bucket and grabbed a cloth within it, squeezing the excess water out before turning towards Clover to place it on top of her head.

To Angelica's surprise, she saw Clover's eyes slowly open before her, which made her drop the cloth as she saw the Inkling let out a tiny groan, and even Adina stood still at the sight, starstruck, which almost made her drop her bucket of water, but she luckily caught it before she could make a mess, letting out an embarrassed blush as Angelica leaned over and hugged Clover with a joyful smile spreading on her face.

Angelica: CLOVER!!

Adina: t-thank goodness...

Clover:.......geli.....ca..........what........

Angelica: you were asleep for a whole week! And I-

Clover:.......t-tight.......

Angelica was confused at first, but once she looked clearly at herself, she noticed her hug was squeezing Clover's body a little too firmly, which made her chuckle a little before letting go of Clover, but only after she gently helped her lean up from her bed, making her sit up and look down at her blankets that covered her legs.

Angelica: heh.....sorry about that.

Clover:..........where.......am I?..........

Angelica: oh, you're at the scar base! Considering that you're a normal inkling, it took a bit longer to completely heal you up as much as possible.

Clover:.......Sho.....is she.......alright?.....

Sho: hmhm! You know I am!

Clover looked up from her blankets and saw Sho smirking as her one hand was placed pridefully on her hip, showing her bright smile towards the Inkling. When Clover looked on Sho's body, she noticed Sho's severed arm was covered up by a black, thick fabric completely, and her lost eye was covered up as well by the same fabric.

Even though Angelica wasn't hugging her anymore, she still felt the slight squeezing tenseness against her stomach, and with a confused mind, slowly raised one of her hands and felt on her shirt that was provided to her, feeling a tough fabric that seemed to be similar to Sho's under her shirt.

Angelica: your internal organs were damaged quite horribly, but thanks to some healing, it stopped your blood from constantly leaking out of your body.

Clover:.......

Angelica: the fact that you survived the battle as a normal cephalopod with no especial streams or strength enhancements is amazing! Haha! You truly are special, huh?

Clover let out a little sigh as she adjusted her body in her bed, turning to the side and placing her feet on the floor. She struggled at first, but with some help from Angelica, stood up and slightly shook her head.

Angelica: hey, take it easy. You just woke up, remember? Don't strain yourself....

Clover: I know.......I just need to....check with Shadow.........I hope.....she's........

Angelica: *smiles* she's alright. She's speaking to Rose at the moment *gasp* oh right! Rose told me to send you her way along with Sho when you two woke up!

Clover:.....w-why?.....

Angelica: she uh......she wanted to speak with you guys......but I'm not sure on what exactly.

Sho: hmhm! Alright, let's find this flower!!

Angelica: she's not a flower, Sho. Rose is the core leader of the scar clan.

Sho:.....s-so we're not going flower hunting?

Angelica giggled at Sho before walking over to her when Clover let go of her. Clover tried to get her proper footing, and was helped by Adina in the process while Angelica patted Sho on her head and began to walk out of the medical room.

Angelica: c'mon. I'll take you guys to her.

Adina supported Clover and the three walked along with the blacksmith. They walked down a long corridor together, and all Clover could do was look slightly at Angelica who was humming a gentle tune before she looked right back at her.

Angelica: what's up?

Clover: I don't understand.....why are you here?.....shouldn't you be at the gear clan empire?....

Angelica: I should be, but I live here now! Isn't that awesome!

Clover: wait....what?....

Angelica: you defeated our core. Within this world, if a core is challenged and defeated, an "empire binding contract" will be formed. The clan that beat the core will now have official rule over them.

Clover: S-So Shadow......beat Gage?....I'm so relieved.....thank goodness....

Angelica:....uh....well maybe I should've worded my statement better.....Shadow didn't really......beat Gage....

Clover:........what?....

Angelica: she lost to him......but....then the scar clan broke into the gear empire to save Shadow after hearing about the battle. Gage didn't fight back.....he surrendered....and I honestly still don't know why.....near the end of the battle.....he seemed like a completely different guy......

Clover:.......where....is he?

Angelica: *shrugs* haven't seen him.

Clover couldn't help but look away from Angelica and down at the ground as they walked into an elevator. Sho hummed to herself as the doors closed and they moved downwards, and all Clover could think about at that state was the Gear Clan Core himself.

She remembered his howl of anger that echoed through the most distant areas of his empire to reach her ears. Even though his voiced seared with anger, his face was a mixture of concern and aggravation. She didn't specifically know why the boy yelled in such a way, completely snapping from his more calm and collective demeanor, but she didn't try to think on it too hard.

The four waited a little longer before the doors opened. Clover let go of Adina and stood up on her own properly, taking slow steps, but eventually managing to walk at a decent pace while Adina walked behind her with a worried face, making herself ready to catch her if need be.

The four walked over to a large pair of doors, and Adina along with Angelica, both stayed back, gesturing the two to enter the room.

While Sho had a smile on her face, Clover's face was more blank and lost, but she mustered up the courage to open the doors and walk inside with Sho, seeing Shadow standing in front of Rose's desk, covered in bandages as well.

Rose: what the hell were you thinking, Shadow?......You seriously almost got yourself killed.......

Shadow:.......

Rose: why on earth would you do such a thing?

Shadow:.......I......

Shadow was lost for words, and her sign of embarrassment and sadness overtook her slightly, making her refuse to make eye contact with Rose at all. Rose shifted her attention to Clover and Sho, and she glared at Clover specifically as Sho simply waved at her,

Sho: hi flower lady!

Rose:........Clover........do you understand what you've done!? All you needed to do was keep your mouth shut and get your sword from their blacksmiths! Nothing more!

Clover:.....

Rose: and you disobey my orders by starting a clan battle with Gage? Do you even know how lucky you are that you SURVIVED!!? You lost 30% of your blood from that battle!! If you lost anymore, you would've died!! Gage held back against you all! If he truly was ruthless, he would've slaughtered all of you without a single doubt in his mind!!

Clover:........I didn't have a choice.....

Rose: what do you mean? I gave you a simple task an-

Clover: it doesn't matter! I refused to allow Gage to disrespect his empire like that! I met his blacksmiths, and I've seen the reactions of many people when Gage walked through the empire. They all looked scared of him, and I needed to understand WHY!!

Rose:......

Clover: I'm stuck with the scar clan until my contract is done!! Did you expect me to sit around and do nothing!? No matter what, I'll do my best to help you guys in anyway that I can!! It's the least I could do!! I didn't want to leave his empire in vain without someone stepping up to him, dammit!!!

Rose sat in silence and stared at the Inkling, seeing her determined glare towards her, which made her think, but eventually lower her head and let out a long sigh.

Rose:........listen........you're just lucky because now we have an expansion on our clan........we own the gear empire now.......so this......is still a benefit for our success in taking down Yufine......we now have resources and two very skilled blacksmiths on our side now......and also......

Rose looked at Sho, seeing her looking all around the room in amusement for no specific reason ever, which made her roll her eyes at the girl.

Rose: a new scar member as well.....

Sho: *gasp* I'm a member now!? Yes!! Now I can spend more time with leaf! We should have bunk beds and be roommates for sure!

Rose: no.....you're getting your own room.....

Sho: huh!?

Rose: shut it. I still need to discuss with you later on a deeper topic anyway. I never got your name.

Sho: o-oh! *smiles* My name is Sho! Nice to meet ya, Flower lady!

Rose: alright, let me just lay down some ground rules then. As you already know, I'm the leader of the scar clan....I give orders, and you follow them, understood?

Sho: *salutes* yes ma'am!

Rose:.....unlike other clans.....we don't really have an "empire"....it's just a facility here.......but it's much more relaxing here than anywhere else, so feel free to relax when you need until your wounds fully recover. Same goes for you, Clover.

Clover: s-so.....are you mad at us...or?...

Rose: of course I'm mad....if Gage didn't surrender, I would've killed you without hesitation.

Clover:......

Rose: but......this feat is something that I never thought we'd achieve....so at the end of the day.......yes, you did some stupid bullshit.....but the bullshit you did greatly benefited us beyond belief.

Clover: oh....well thank the great zapfish we won....

Rose: the main enemy was that robot apparently. Gage gave me the information....and now I need to figure out how to get in touch with Stone clan.....

Clover: is it because of Gear Clan's material shortage?

Rose: yes......how did you know?

Clover: Angelica spoke to me about it.....my sword was made by the last bit of their materials.......

Rose:.....I see.........

Clover saw Rose look at her slightly, as if she was going to suggest something to her, but she saw her look away in regret, then use her hand to wave away the two cephalopods.

Rose: you two are dismissed....leave me be....

Clover: wait!

Rose, with an annoyed sigh, turned her head back to look at Clover, and even though her skin was pale due to her blood loss, she still stood strong and tall before her.

Clover:......I want to see him.........

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

Through a silent and dark domain, an Inkling boy walked down a hallway by himself, hearing nothing but the sounds of his boots pressing constantly against the tile floor.

The boy felt a cold and stinging flow within the air around him. It gave him a slight burning sensation on his skin, but it wasn't enough to inflict any damage. He opened the doors at the end of the hallway to see an Inkling girl standing out on a balcony on her own. The girl was leaning on her railing just as the boy walked up next to her, leaning over the railing beside her and catching her attention.

???: Ronan.....

Ronan: Misty........you wanted to speak to me?.....

Misty, an Inkling girl with long, white tentacles and green eyes, looked over at the Raven boy, watching his own pet raven perch itself on his shoulder. Her skin was abnormally gray due to her exposure to her toxins, and she wore a heavy coat to cover her body as much as possible.

Misty: It seems my serum wasn't enough......the robot still failed in her mission......

Ronan: did you expect her to succeed?

Misty:......you never explained.....what were you specifically aiming for?.......

Ronan: intel......I could care less if that piece of scrap metal failed.....I knew she'd fail to kill Biki......

Misty: I see....she seemed to be too caught up in her own image of killing the girl......she became selfish.....

Ronan: she was just a push towards Biki so I could see her mother once again......her capabilities.....

Misty:......why do you care so much about this girl?......

Ronan:.....that's none of your concern......all you need to know is this girl is as dumb as a rock, but is stronger than the average stream........

Misty:........

Ronan: if I fought her at this time.....despite my strength.....I'd be killed.......

Misty:.....I see.......

Ronan: she has many tricks up her sleeve, tricks that even she doesn't know about......so it's best for me not to jump the gun here......

Misty: so the robot was a test?.....a sense of pure manipulation?.....

Ronan: she's hated Biki for years......so she was a perfect candidate to die by her hands......well.....actually...someone else took the robot's life.......

Misty: who?......

Ronan: a girl who's been hanging around Biki for quite some time......her name is Clover.........and she's not a stream......well.....to her knowledge......

Misty:......what do you mean?

Ronan: she was the last remaining survivor of Yufine's ambush within Inkopolis......a mission to draw out Luna's daughter.......

Misty:....mm......I've heard of that....a normal Inkling surviving an onslaught of flames and blood....I've been doing my research......

Ronan: she's doing nothing but achieving greater heights......but she's limited.....she's not a stream user....so she can't use especial streams.....gain access to a Sumi weapon......or manifest a Kilu or Kanshi.....

Misty:....you don't know that for sure.....

Ronan:......

Misty looked at Ronan a bit more before turning her head back and looking down onto her empire. Misty was a core, the core of the Venom clan, a very brutal and merciless clan that spread chaos and plague within the regions.

The air around Ronan felt humid and stingy only because of the clan's 24/7 exposure their toxic and lethal air that was in their environment. When Cephalopods entered the domain, they would die in a matter of minutes from the toxins if they didn't have any form of protection.

Most Inklings and Octolings walked around with masks covering their mouths, and even their whole faces. Misty didn't wear a mask, and it's because of her immunity to her toxic environment after exposing herself to it for so many years.

Ronan didn't wear a mask either, and it was also due to his high resistance to poison due to his black purple ink raven wings that were coated in his own form of poison. When he looked down at the empire below along with Misty, he only saw a mere blur of the empire from the corruption of the air.

Misty:......I've been studying her on my free time......that marking around her eye......I couldn't find the clan within my research....but I know she's definitely something else......so far I just haven't put my finger on it.

Ronan gave Misty a simple nod and turned his head away from the empire, letting out a little sigh as he closed his eyes.

Ronan: I won't doubt your theory, so I'll have to wait and see for myself.....

Misty: what's your next course of action?

Ronan: I wait.........Yufine will find Flower clan......She's getting closer and closer by the minute.....

Misty: the clan that holds an Archdemon within.....I see.....

Ronan: for now......

Ronan looked up in the sky after opening his eyes to see a Raven soaring through the air near him, then dived down towards him, flapping it's wings as he held out his arm, allowing the bird to perch itself on top of it.

Ronan: I'll continue my research until I can strike once again........

Ronan saw the bird jump off of his arm and land on the balcony railing. The boy pulled out a tiny rolled up sheet of paper and walked over to the Raven, using a tiny string to wrap the note onto the bird's leg before giving it a nod.

Ronan: go....deliver this to her.......

The bird gave Ronan a nod and spread its wings once more, flying up and away as Misty watched it go away next to him, and when she looked at him, she saw his marking around his eye, his Kilu.

His Kilu was a stiff swaying line that spread out in multiple directions as if they were branches of a dying tree, slowly glowing with his purple purple ink.

Ronan:........I'll make sure she dies by my hands........I'll do whatever it takes to guarantee it.......

~~~~~~~~~~~

*Extra story art*

Clover by Fireghost647

I recommend you check out his story on his page as well to read his amazing characters and world building aspects.