???: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CLOVER!!

Clover stood in shock from her three friends, standing in front of a birthday cake and smiling at her.

Clover: Sophie....Atlas....Noah....you guys didn't have to......

Atlas: awe c'mon! We had to throw a little surprise party for our number one leader and squadmate!

Noah: *nod nod* three hundred splats in 2 weeks.....that's a new record. You truly are a dynamo master.

Sophie giggled and ran up to Clover, hugging her deeply and snuggling into her as Atlas walked over and gave her a fist bump. Noah grabbed a knife and began to cut the cake as Clover looked at him....smiling so deeply....feeling pure happiness rush through her body.

Atlas: at this rate, we'll be pushing through to the championships!

Sophie: make sure to save some splats for the rest of us, Clover!

Clover: I wouldn't have made it this far without you guys. It was a team effort.

Noah: well, all teams have their shooting star, ya know?

Atlas: we'll stick with you every step of the way, even through your toughest times in life.

Sophie: exactly! We're swift and nimble to the very core! We rush through ink and splat some more! Everysquid has their temper tantrums, and why is that!?

Noah/Atlas: because they faced the phantoms!

Pure bliss was what flowed through the Inkling girl at the moment....her body was warm and at peace....her mind was at ease....she smiled.....looking at her friends sharing a laugh together.....then they all looked at her, extending their hands out to her and smiling.....then, it all faded to white.

~~~

Clover's eyes slowly opened up to see a beautiful horizon of water, noticing that she was on a train. She looked over to her side and saw Shadow sitting next to her and crossing her arms while paying no attention to her. The two began their journey to the Gear Clan empire by using a very unique traveling system.

A system that was known as the Sailfish Railway system, a very futuristic mode of transportation on a train that had no boundaries. The train created rails of it's own wherever it could to travel across terrain such as dirt, grass, rocky roads and even the ocean itself.

Clover looked in her lap and saw an Ink Tank that was laying on top of her thighs, showing golden Ink within it, and deep in the ink, she could see a creature within it that was sleeping. The creature looked like a very tiny squid that glowed a little in it.

~~~
*A couple of hours ago*

The two were packing up to get ready to go on their journey, and just as Clover put on her jacket, she saw Shadow hand her an Ink tank. Clover was confused by the tank, then took it while looking at it.

Shadow: don't ask.....just wear the damn thing and keep it on you....if worst comes to worst.....open the tank...

Clover:.......

~~~

*present*

Clover smiled at the tiny creature and placed her hand gently onto the Ink tank. She noticed all of the cephalopods that were on the train and could already tell that they were stream warriors as well, whether that be from their voice, from their structure, or even from scars left over on their bodies.

Shadow:.....listen....

Clover:.....

Shadow: whatever you do, don't draw too much attention to yourself. Since you stated that you're a non stream user, you're just a simple girl and you don't belong within these regions. That birthmark will save us the trouble of people automatically finding out you're a normal squid....we're getting in, getting your sword forged, then leaving. Stick with me, got it?

Clover:....Will they let us in?....

Shadow:...Hopefully....but I doubt it....

Clover: why?...

Shadow: because we're scars. Almost every clan knows us and despises us. We are a rebellious clan, the ones who accept the fallen streams who abandoned their old clans and wanted to start fresh.

Clover:...so....would if they don't let us in then?.....what do we do?

Shadow: I don't fucking know. The easiest way to get into a clan empire is if you're a core.

Clover: what's a core?...

Shadow: a core is a leader of a clan. Almost every single clan has a core, and they are the ones who built the empire from the ground-up. Empires are made from the core's imagination. Their subconscious allows them to manifest a whole empire physically based on their emotions and who they are as a squid or Octo.

Clover:....

Shadow: when an empire is made, the Core's heart gets extracted from their body and turns into a kingdom stone. A kingdom stone is hidden within the empire because if it is destroyed, the Core will die and their empire will crumple to dust.

Clover:.....oh...

Shadow: that's why I said don't draw any attention to yourself. Because if the Gear Clan leader finds out about you, he will be way too suspicious.

Clover: *nod nod*.....

Shadow: good....looks like this is our stop....

The train began to slow down and announced the domain location to them, and Shadow stood up along with Clover. Clover followed Shadow out of the train and the second Clover stepped off, she was met by the sound of clanking under her. She looked down and saw that she stepped straight on a giant piece of metal, and when she looked forward, she was taken aback.

She saw the giant field of metal....metal everywhere. There was metal as a sidewalk, metal as the distant wasteland, and she even saw metallic flowers....which made her mind go blank after she began to follow Shadow.

Shadow: this is the outside domain of the Gear Clan. Every single clan has a different outside domain that leads into their empire, because...*points* if you look ahead.

Clover looked ahead and saw giant metal walls in the distance, metal walls that were tall, but they didn't tower over the whole empire because she could see a gigantic structure that stood above the walls, with a staircase leading up to it.

Clover:.......woah....

Shadow: that's the Core's residence....also....

Shadow looked back at Clover one last time and put her finger over her own lips towards her, glaring deep at her.

Shadow: just pretend you're a stream...don't tell anyone anything about you, got it?

Clover:....yes....

Shadow: alright then.....well....let's get going....

Within the blink of an eye, Shadow quickly and swiftly dashed away, leaving nothing but a scratch on the metallic surface, completely amazing Clover with her speed.

Clover:....holy scrap, she's fast.....

Clover looked at the far distance, then looked at her body, letting out a tiny sigh to herself. She began to swiftly run, then she turned into her squid form, charging up ink before shooting off into the distance. Clover soared through the sky as she looked ahead and saw Shadow who was at least a complete mile ahead of her, and while Shadow continued to pace away, Clover began to descend back down to the ground until she landed on her feet, letting out a little breath and looking ahead of her to see the empire still decently far away.

Clover: how far did I go!? An inch!?

Clover let out a tiny groan and turned into a squid once more, charging up ink and shooting off again, and when she soared through the sky once more, she didn't even see Shadow in the distance anymore, making her sigh and see the metallic wasteland pass her by from below.

Clover:.....this is gonna take a while....

———

Back at the Scar Clan base, Wyatt sat on the couch and played video games all by himself as the morning sun shined through the window and into the large common area of the base.

A elevator door opened from behind Wyatt, and he looked behind himself to see an inkling boy walk into the common space. The boy had pure white tentacles and eyes that were completely purple. He wore a white sweater and he slowly opened his mouth to eat a scoop of oatmeal from a bowl that he was holding.

Wyatt: Yo, Zero!!

Zero: Wyatt...

Wyatt: dude, where the hell have you been!? I haven't seen you in like, 2 months dude!

Zero walked over to Wyatt and looked around the common area, taking a seat in a nearby chair instead of sitting on the couch with Wyatt. He ate more oatmeal and let out a tiny sigh as Wyatt mashed buttons ferociously.

Zero: I was completing a trade with Tundra clan....

Wyatt: a trade? Did it go out well? Usually Tone is the one who gets trading missions.

Zero: they refused.....

Wyatt: *mash mash* as expected. Wanna play?

Zero:.....I'm alright...

Just then, the elevator doors opened once more and Tone walked out while letting out a loud yawn, rubbing her eye as Selena walked in as well while munching down on a morning apple.

Tone: mornin-*GASP* ZERO!!

Selena: not so loud please....

Tone dashed towards Zero and jumped at him with a smile. Zero looked at her and calmly lifted his finger, catching Tone in a purple aura before she touched him, levitating her and making her laugh as he spun her with a calm smile.

Zero: it's nice to see you as well, Tone. And you, Selena.

Selena: *nibble* indeed....

Just then, Zero's smile slowly faded from his face and he let out a tiny grunt in concern as he placed Tone back down with his inky aura.

Tone: what's up?

Zero:.......she's really gone.....isn't she?....Rose informed me about her demise while I was at the Tundra region......

Tone:....oh....*looks away*...yeah, Citrus.....she....

Selena: the new clan that just rose up recently. Rose sent her to investigate it when you left.

Zero: Neon clan?

Selena: *nods*

Zero:.....I see.....*sigh*....I truly hope she rests well.....and she still aids us in spirit...

Zero looked over to the other end of the common area to see a nice set of chairs and beanbags, but past that was a beautiful window that lead outside. A lake was covered slightly by stepping stones that led into a table and chairs placed apon a layer of planks above the water.

Zero:.....

*Flashback*
*2 months ago*

Zero walked down into the common area while gently twisting his battle gear around his wrists, getting ready to head off on his mission. He looked over and saw the night moon shining and reflecting from off of the water out from the large window as an Inkling girl sat on one of the chairs outside.

Curious, Zero walked over to the window, which actually was a sliding door, grabbing the handle and pulling it open, walking along the path of stepping stones until he approached the girl, seeing her looking up at the moon with a smile on her face.

Zero: Citrus....

Citrus: oh! Zero! Sorry, I kinda zoned out for a second.

Zero: it's alright....

Zero sat down and looked up at the stars with Citrus, folding his hands on his lap as he did so.

Zero:....is something on your mind?

Citrus: *shakes her head*.....a little but I'm mostly just admiring the beauty.....

Zero:....I see.....

Citrus: Rose is sending you out again, huh?

Zero: indeed, she is.....

Citrus: *giggles* you always talk so formally towards everyone.

Zero:...I-I apologize....is that a bother to you?

Citrus: nah. I can see you in a tuxedo wearing butler who works at a very formal restaurant. You'd be walking around like "meh! Hello madam, may I interest you in some squiddy cakes?"

Zero: *tilts his head* but squiddy cakes aren't sold at formal restaurants.

Citrus: *snickers* I know, but you know how much I love my sweets!

Zero: *tiny smile* that is true.

The two had a slight bit of silence for a moment and while Citrus looked at the stars once more, Zero looked down at the water below them, seeing Lilly pads and glow flies build the beautiful environment in front of  him, keeping him stuck in a trance.

Citrus:.....Zero....

Zero looked over at Citrus, but she didn't look back at him. He saw her eyes looking up at the stars still, but with the calm and delicate ink flowing through her, he could sense a pure will coming from her immediately, which made him even more curious than before.

Citrus:.....do you mind if I ask you something?

Zero:.....not at all.

Citrus:.....do you truly think our clan is doing the right thing?.......

Zero sat there, completely shocked from a decently deep question from someone like her. He quickly snapped himself back to reality, then he slowly opened his mouth to answer her.

Zero:....I do....

Citrus:.....

Zero: our clan has a lineage of pure hearts and blood. We all care for each other unlike other clans. You are kicked out of your clan mainly because of the movement of your heart. We do not fight for just our clan, we fight for every clan.

Citrus:.......

She sat there....completely silent.....then she averted her eyes over to Zero and smiled gently. She felt as if a weight has been lifted from off of her chest at that moment, making her relax her body a little as Zero continued to look into her eyes.

Citrus:....I'm glad to hear that....

Zero: are you experiencing a problem at the moment?.....

Citrus:......*shrugs*.....Not anymore....you put me at ease...When you get back, do you want to share s'mores with me and my friend? *smiles* she'd love your company.

Zero:.....*tiny smile*......I'd love to.

*End*
*present*

Zero stared at the window, but he only got snapped out of his trance by the loss of weight from his hand. He looked down and saw that his bowl of oatmeal was completely gone along with his spoon, causing him to look over and see Tone eating while playing videogames with Wyatt.

Wyatt: STOP SHOOTING ME!!

Tone: DIE!!

Wyatt: I'M YOUR TEAMMATE, DIPSHIT!!

Tone: Oh snap......DIE, DIE, DIE!!!

Wyatt: WHY ARE YOU STILL SHOOTING ME!?

Zero placed his hands on his lap and let out a deep sigh just as he heard the elevator doors open again. He looked over and saw an Inkling girl with grey tentacles that faded into gold, along with a pair of beautiful angel wings that were folded on her back, but unlike a normal purity white ink that an angel possesses, her wings were grey as well. The girl was covered in scars and had an eyepatch over her left eye, looking miserably at the environment around her as she tightened bandages on her arm to stop the bleeding from her former injuries in her last mission.

Tone turned her head and saw the inkling, smirking and standing up on the couch while she had a metal spoon from Zero's oatmeal still in her mouth.

Tone: EVA!!!

Eva: shut it....where's Rose?

Tone: she is!-

Eva: anyone except her can answer my question.....

Selena: she's out at the moment...

Eva:....*tsk*....fine....I'll just come back later.

Tone: c'mon girl! Chill with us!

Eva: I really hope you choke on that damn spoon with that loud mouth you have....

Tone: do you really think that me!! The all mighty Ton-*HACK* *COUGH*

Wyatt: god dammit....

Eva rolled her eyes and left the room while Tone held on her neck and began to cough greatly from choking on her spoon. Wyatt stood up and helped her while she was freaking out, and Zero watched Eva leave the room, but couldn't shake a weird feeling that he had, causing him to stand up and walk out of the room, following Eva down the hallway, seeing her adjusting her bandages with a frustrated grunt coming from her.

Zero:....Eva...

Eva stopped in her tracks and let out a sigh, turning around and allowing Zero to see her scarred face and dull skin more closer than usual.

Zero: you've been losing a lot of blood...your skin is more pale than before....

Eva: what's your point? Did you just stop me to simply point out the obvious?

Zero reached down and grabbed onto Eva's arm, wrapping her bandages for her and gently tightening them for a comfortable fit for her. He looked up at her, but then saw her pull away her hand in pure disgust.

Eva: what do you want?

Zero: all I'm asking Is for you to take care of yourself. Even though you do not associate with us that much, you're still a viable member to the clan. I don't want you to lose your life like Citrus did.

Eva: Citrus died because she was obviously weak, Zero. Do you really think I cared for her in the slightest!?

Zero: she cared for you though, did she not?

Eva: did I ask her to? Definitely not. She can rot in hell for all I care.

Zero wanted to open his mouth to speak once more, but then he automatically sensed Eva's presence behind him......hearing her aggressive grip on her pocket knife, but he did not flinch in the slightest.

Eva: don't talk to me as if you know me........I'm pure blooded warrior.....so don't associate me with you scars...I'm here to do my job..........we will never have this conversation ever again.....if it gets brought up.....I'll make sure to kill you......

Zero:..............with the condition you're in........you wouldn't even land a scratch on me.........

All he heard from Eva was a simple grunt of annoyance as she clicked her pocket knife back onto her and walked off aggressively. Zero stood in the middle of the hallway all alone, sliding his hands in his pockets and letting out a long sigh.

Zero:......(I sensed a new presence when I went to Citrus's room earlier......a new scar perhaps?.....)

—————

With one last super jump, and a loud cry of exhaustion, Clover finally landed in front of the gates of the Gear clan empire, coughing and wheezing while sweat ran down her face like crazy. Shadow crossed her arms at Clover as she stood near the gate, raising her eyebrow at the girl in dissatisfaction.

Shadow: you're already exhausted?

Clover: I JUST HAD TO SUPERJUMP LIKE, TEN MILES!!

Shadow: looks like you need to work on your stamina....

Shadow turned around and began to walk over to the empire gates, then she was halted by two security squids holding up their spears at her.

Guard 1: halt!!

Guard 2: what is your purpose here!?

Shadow: just here to get a weapon forged, then we'll be out of your tentacles.

Guard 1: state your name!

Shadow: the name's Shadow.

One of the guards walked over to Shadow and wrapped his hand around her head, bringing their foreheads together until they finally connected, which confused Clover as she stood behind them while wiping her forehead from her sweat prior, but then she heard the guard let out a disgusted grunt and quickly shift his head away from Shadow's.

Guard 1: You're a scar!! How dare you show your face around here!!

Shadow: *shrugs* worth a shot...

The two guards glared at shadow and thrusted their spears at her until they almost touched her neck, but shadow didn't flinch whatsoever at them, instead she just simply looked back at their ugly faces.

Guard 2: get out of here!!

Guard 1: no scar is allowed beyond these walls!!

Shadow: welp, let's go back, Clover.

Clover: what!? We're giving up that easily!?

Shadow: we can't get past those walls. Rose will figure out a different way to get you your weapon.

Clover: that means I have to jump all the way back?......

Shadow: yup, have fun.

Just as Shadow was going to dash off, she was stopped by a cheerful and gentle voice near her. She noticed a nice girl casually walking along while holding onto a nice box of pizza, smelling it and smiling to herself.

???: Gage is gonna love this pizza! It's his favorite!

Shadow:....Gage?.....wait a minute....

Clover: what?

Shadow: hey!

Just then, Shadow walked up to the girl to get a better look at her from the distance. The Octoling girl had mixed skin and light purple tentacles with a very unique heart-shaped suction cup on her front tentacle along with beautiful light blue eyes. She had a very cheerful and prideful smile on her face as she stared straight at Shadow when she caught her attention.

???: Hiya!

Shadow: you said the Core's name....you know them?

???: of course I do! He's my bestie!

Shadow: so you're a gear clan member?

???: nope! I'm just a me clan member!

Shadow: -_-....what? Look, are you a gear clan member or not?

???: Nope!

Shadow: then what do you mean "share this pizza with Gage"? You wouldn't be allowed to pass the walls.

???: we are a part of the Core Clan Club together!

Shadow:........you're really starting to piss me of-

Clover: wait!

Clover ran past Shadow and look at the girl, making her smile straight at her while giggling a little. Clover could feel Shadow's murderous intent, so she quickly pointed at the girl and shifted the conversation to them.

Clover: you said Core Clan Club right? That must be some secret organization?

Shadow: *rolls her eyes*

???: sure is!

Clover:....so you're a core?....to a clan?

???: yup!

Shadow: that is absolute SeaHorse Shit! There's no way that this weirdo is a Core!

Clover: Shadow!

Shadow: look at her! Her aura, her prowess, her appearance in general. There's no way that she's a core.

Clover:......what's your name?

The Octoling girl smirked and pointed to herself while maintaining her cute smile, giving off a radiance of pure life and happiness towards the two.

Sho: my name is Sho! And I'm a-

Just then, the Pizza box that Sho was holding in her hand fell to the ground and her pizza fell out of it, getting all over the ground, making her stand there in shock, getting on her knees and shaking in disbelief.

Sho: Nooooooooo!!

Clover:......

Shadow:......

Sho: the pizza!! It has silver rock germs on it now!!

Shadow: see what I mean?......there's no way that someone like THAT is a core.

Clover was frozen for a second, looking over at Sho to see her slowly pick up a piece of splattered pizza and look at it before licking it and nibbling from it. Clover looked at Shadow and gently placed her hand on her own chest towards her with a gentle smile.

Clover: well, I believe Sho.....

Just then, Sho stopped eating her floor pizza and looked over at Clover, seeing her calm and kind gaze towards the mean Scar clan member, which made her eyes glisten green for a slight second....Sho grabbed two pieces of floor pizza and walked over to Clover while chewing on another piece that was in her mouth already.

Sho: *chew chew* you believhe meh?....

Clover: I don't see a reason not to.

Shadow: you can't be serious...

Sho:...*gulp* I gave you my name! I want your name now!

Shadow: my cod....

Clover: *smiles* my name's Clover.

Sho: huh....hm.....*gasp* do you want pizza, Leaf!!

Clover saw Sho offer her the splattered slice of pizza and she gently pushed her hand away and shook her head at the jumpy Octo.

Clover: I'm alright, but thanks for asking.

Sho: Leaf makes me feel nice! Do you wanna join me and Gage in our pizza party!?

Clover: oh.....with a fresh new pizza, right?

Sho: I'll get a million pizzas!!

Clover: then I wouldn't mind that.

Sho: yes! Gage will be happy when he meets you!

Shadow: regardless of a pizza party, we're still on a mission. We need a weapon forged for Clover.

Sho: she needs a bang bang thingy!? I can take you!

Sho quickly stuffed the remains of pizza she had in her mouth, then grabbed Clover and Shadow's hands, rushing back over to the gate and standing in front of the guards with a smile.

Guard 1: oh, Miss Sho...

Sho: hiya!

Shadow:.....

Guard 2: if you don't mind us asking...why are you bringing these two outcasts into our walls?

Sho: pizza!

Guard 1:....mm....should we-

Guard 2: we can't deny.....or Gage will be....displeased....

Guard 1:.....I suppose...

The two guards moved their spears and large gates opened up in front of them, shocking Clover as Sho kept a nice smile on her face from the view. She dragged the two inside while the guards waved at her before the gates shut behind them.

Shadow:....who the hell are you really? There's no way they'd let anyone past their gates like that....

Sho: Sho!

Shadow: I know! I asked who you really are!?

Sho: Sho!!

Shadow:......*sigh*......

——

*chapterly art*

*Sho made by ShoblobXD