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The Case of a Missing Member

Cephalobro

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May 1, 2018
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Location
Octo Valley
Leaving the Comfort of Inkopolis

The Octarian neighborhood thrives on its own thanks to the collective efforts of the Octarians that live there.
In a house in the neighborhood, there lives two brothers: an Octoling and an Octotrooper.

"Can't wait for more Turf War excitement! I wonder what new locations to battle in." a very excited Octoling named Coral talks to his Octotrooper brother and roommate.

"Now now Coral, don't go battling where there are no Spawn Points, or else you won't come back." the Octotrooper brother named Clam warns.

"You're right, surely Inkopolis has more locations to battle in. From what I remember, Flounder Heights used to be a popular place for ink battles before we made it to the surface." Coral agrees with his Octotrooper brother and remembers one of the sites for ink battles.

Suddenly, Coral gets a phone call from his girlfriend.

"Hello! How are you doing today?" Coral answers his octopus-shaped phone.

"I'm doing great, well, actually not really." his girlfriend, an Octoling named Kelp replies.

"What happened? Did your sister go missing?" Coral asks, feeling a little concerned.

Upon hearing what Coral asked, Clam began to feel worried.

"No, she's fine." Kelp answers the question.

Clam somehow heard it and felt relieved.

"So, what is troubling you today?" Coral brings up a follow-up question.

"It's about one of our notable guards, remember him? His name is Shark." Kelp brought up the name of an Elite Octoling.

"I remember seeing him whenever you and I left to go to the Deca Tower. What happened to him?" Coral brings from his memory.

"He is nowhere to be seen in Inkopolis, I asked my uncle where he was but he kept the information from me." Kelp explains the situation.

"Why did he keep crucial information from you?" Coral wonders why General Anemone would do such a thing.

"He said that it's to keep me safe." Kelp tells Coral what General Anemone said.

"Don't worry, I'll go talk to him about it!" Coral promises his girlfriend. "Anything else on your mind?"

"Nothing else." Kelp replies. "Talk to you later. Bye, my sweet cookie!"

"Bye, my honeybun!" Coral says before ending the call.

"Are you really going to see General Anemone?" Clam seems to have overheard the call.

"Off course! We can't just stand here while we have a fellow Octarian missing!" Coral responds while grabbing his Octo Shot.

"Then what's the Octo Shot for?" Clam asks his Octoling brother.

"To deal with a double agent or intruder if either seems to be the case." Coral answers.

After the talk between two brothers, Coral left the house to go to General Anemone's house. Upon getting there and knocking on the door, the Octohurler general opens it to greet Coral.

"Good afternoon, Coral!" General Anemone greets the Octoling visitor.

"Hey General Anemone, can we talk?" Coral requests the Octohurler general.

"Sure we can! Come inside." General Anemone invites the Octoling visitor.

As both come inside the general's house, photos of Kelp's parents can be seen around them. After arriving to the living room, they both sit on the couch to discuss some matters.

"I recently found out that Shark has gone missing." Coral begins the discussion.

"Kelp told you this, didn't she?" General Anemone asks.

"She did. I do feel concerned about Shark, he helped all of us when we were trying to keep enemies out of our area." Coral explains his worry.

"Okay, don't tell Kelp this as I will eventually tell her myself, but Shark has gone to a faraway city known as Splatsville." the Octohurler general explains to the Octoling.

"Splatsville?" Coral asks, a little bit confused.

"Yes Splatsville, and it's located in the Splatlands." Anemone confirms and then tells the location. "Now please don't get the idea to go there, for your own safety."

"What is dangerous about Splatsville?" the curious Octoling asks.

"It's a place of chaos, a place in which you can't trust anyone, a place where safety is an afterthought." Anemone answers.

"Then why did Shark go there?" Coral brings up a follow-up question.

"He told me that he needs to hone his sniping skills in extreme situations. If he does stay too long there, we will send some other members of the Octospartans to look for him. Splatsville is too dangerous even for a private like you." the general warns.

"Well, I'm going to help find him!" Coral insists on going to the dangerous city.

"Don't go there, my niece is going to be worried sick about you. And I started seeing you like a son to me, but if you insist, then I will tell you what to watch out for." Anemone tries to talk Coral out of it but eventually lets him do this.

"I know you are worried about me. There is a big chance that I might get homesick, but it's all these risks I have to take in order to make sure we don't leave a fellow Octarian behind." Coral explains.

Later on, back at Coral and Clam's house, Coral is packing his bags. As soon as he puts his Turf War equipment inside, Clam comes into the room.

"Please try to stay out of trouble, the fact that I won't be seeing you for a while makes me both sad and worried." Clam tells Coral how he feels about the situation.

"Don't worry bro, I will survive." Coral brings consolation to his brother while putting the last of what he intends to bring and closes the bag.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings Coral and Clam goes to see who it is and open the door.

"Hey Kelp and Ocean! How are you girls doing?" Coral greets the Octoling and Octobomber sisters at the door.

"Not great now that we discovered that you're going to Splatsville." Kelp replies, a little scared for Coral.

"Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself." Coral comforts his Octoling girlfriend.

"You're my boyfriend's brother, he would be devastated if something happened to you." Ocean mentions Clam.

"I know, but remember that we made it to Inkopolis by taking risks." Coral insists.

"Well, if you need some comforting voices, you have our numbers." Kelp decides to let Coral go on the mission to find Shark.

"I will miss this place, but more importantly..." Coral starts shedding tears "I will miss you all!"

"Shh shh shh, it's okay, you can talk to us anytime you like." Kelp being her motherly self again, talking in a gentle voice as she hugs Coral and brushes her hand on his head.

After some tearful goodbyes to his fellow Octarian compatriots, Coral leaves the neighborhood that he lives in and decides to go to Inkopolis Square one last time to see the Inkling friends he has made in the past, both to see them one last time and also to tell them that he is not going to be in Inkopolis for a while. After a final look back at the two places he used to visit regularly, the Deca Tower and Grizzco, he goes to the airport and books a flight to Splatsville. Coral hopes to find Shark so he can be sure that he will be okay.
 
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Cephalobro

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May 1, 2018
Messages
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Location
Octo Valley
The Scorching Chaotic City
Coral emerges out of the Splatsville airport, surprised by the intense heat touching his skin.

"Yikes, how is anyone able to live in these conditions?" the Octoling boy asks to no one around him in particular.

Nevertheless, he shrugs off the thought and takes his octopus-shaped phone out to check where is Shark's apartment. He looks everywhere until he bumps into a male Inkling sporting the "Wave" hairstyle and the "Loose shorts with leggings" pants.

"Hey punk, are you looking for a fight?!" the angry Inkling asks Coral, readying his fist in the process.

Coral starts backing away as he attempts to apologize.

"Nope, no fight at all, sorry about that!" the nervous Octoling attempts to get the Inkling off his back.

"No, 'Sorry' ain't gonna cut it in Splatsville." the Inkling says as he throws a fist at Coral.

Coral dodges, but the punches keep on coming.

"I don't want any trouble!" Coral exclaimed.

"Talk is cheap, Inkopolis boy!" the Inkling in front of him replies.

Eventually, Coral is cornered and tired considering he has gotten jet lag during the plane ride.

"General Anemone was right, only the tough ones can survive here." Coral says to himself, "It was so stupid to have come here."

As Coral looks away with eyes closed, he noticed that it's taking an unusually long time for his Inkling attacker's punch to land. A fin grabbed the Inkling's arm instead, preventing the punch from landing. Coral opens his eyes to notice a Steelhead separating the two. Making the Inkling run away from something he can't beat.

"Holy carp! What's a Salmonid doing here?!" Coral gets surprised at the Steelhead, but the tall Salmonid itself surprisingly understands his confusion.

"I mean, thank you for saving me! What is your name?" Coral asks his seemingly new Salmonid friend.

"Grarrararr." the Steelhead responds.

"Right, I forgot that I don't understand Salmonid language." Coral says.

The Steelhead then motions Coral to follow it.

"You want me to follow you?" the confused Octoling asks.

The Steelhead nods.

As the two walk around the city, Coral notices an apartment complex that the Steelhead is leading him into.

"So, is this where you live?" Coral asks the Steelhead.

The large Salmonid gives a "yes and no" with its fin.

"Do you share an apartment with someone?" the questions just keep on coming out of the Octoling's mouth.

The Steelhead nods yes.

Coral then shows Shark's Splatsville apartment address to the Steelhead, hoping it can guide him to Shark. But before Coral has a chance to ask, the Steelhead swipes the phone out of his hands.

"Hey!" Coral exclaims.

"Guarrrara!" the Steelhead attempts to talk to Coral, but just like last time, Coral doesn't understand a thing.

"You sound excited." Coral states.

The Steelhead then grabs Coral's right arm and charges toward the apartment with the same number as shown on the phone. It lets go of Coral and gives him his phone back once they arrive at the apartment.

"Thank you for leading me here, even though it was a little uncomfortable..." Coral thanks the Steelhead.

Before he can raise his hand to knock on the door, the Salmonid beside him slapped the door with its tail.

A sound of the lock clicking can be heard as a familiar figure presents himself in front of the duo.

"Shark! I'm so glad you're okay!" Coral excitedly greets the older male Octoling in front of him.

"Who are you again?" Shark asks the younger Octoling.

"Shark, it's me, Coral. We fought in the same army before, remember when you called me 'kid' that one time when we were underground?" Coral asks.

"Oh yes, I remember you. I will need you to come in and talk to me." Shark tells Coral.

Coral and the Steelhead go inside Shark's temporary apartment, the door behind them closes.

"Okay, we need to talk. First, why did you come to this place?" Shark asks Coral.

"Well, my girlfriend is worried about you. Actually, pretty much everyone in the Octarian neighborhood is worried." Coral answers.

"They don't have to worry, I only happened to take a longer time to get back." Shark responds. "I can see that you have some questions as well, please ask."

"So, who is this Steelhead and how did it know who I am?" Coral looks at the Salmonid beside him.

"Did you get into the General's unit list?! That stuff is supposed to be only seen by his army!" Shark angrily scolds the Steelhead.

The Steelhead frantically nods "No".

"Well, regardless, I'm not leaving Splatsville until I know you will come back to Inkopolis." Coral decides.

"If you think that, then keep watching your back all the time while walking around. This city preys on the weak, so be ready for a fight to defend yourself if needed. Or my Steelhead friend can keep you safe, either way works." Shark says what Coral needs to do. "Now if you excuse me, I have to call my wife to tell her that I'm okay."

Coral is undecided about what to do about Shark at the moment, so he decides to sit on the couch to relax after such a complicated day.
 
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Cephalobro

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Location
Octo Valley
The Scares of Being Launched
Coral looks at his phone, sometimes looking at his surroundings: Shark's cramped temporary apartment, it's definitely not an ideal vacation home, much less so when three dudes now have to share it. Coral texts Kelp about the goings-on and how he misses her already, homesickness is definitely not kind to this Octoling, but he tries his best to stay focused.

Shark comes out of the hallway, just passing by the Steelhead resting on the floor.

"Well, that was such a long talk with my wife, but you know, what can you do with Octoling women who are close to having a baby other than to be extra supportive?" the older Octoling says.

Coral looks at Shark seriously, remembering being forced to spend the rest of his childhood without a father and a mother.

"You should be there for her and your child, trust me, an Octoling being forced to grow up without either parent isn't good." the younger Octoling warns.

"I will be back before she lays the egg, that's the promise I made for her." Shark tells the younger Octoling. "Besides, we made extra sure that our little one can be safe as we both cut off one tentacle each. That child is going to have both a brother and a sister because, well, you know how Octarians have the same gender as the host they are cut off from."

To change the subject from all the serious stuff, Coral took to talk about Turf Wars.

"So does Splatsville have Turf Wars as a sport?" Coral asks the older Octoling.

"They do have that but they are more extreme, I only play it to keep my sniping skills the sharpest there is." Shark answers, "Oh, and these Turf Wars tend to happen out in the wild so much more often, so expect your loneliness to be helped only by others who are battling because there are no in-person spectators."

"Well, that's depressing now that you have told me." Coral admits that he doesn't really like battling out in the wild, the only thing that kept him from trying to leave Camp Triggerfish is the battle music that plays through its speakers.

"Okay, I can see that battling out in the wild might not be your thing, but I think you should give it a try anyway. After all, we made it to the surface by taking risks, remember?" Shark tries to remind Coral.

"Right... Well, I can't argue with that, I remember when my brother was almost brainwashed. So taking a risk where it's not serious might not be such a bad idea." Coral reluctantly accepts the offer.

"Then get ready, since we are heading into the city, and keep a watchful eye, you can't trust anybody else here. Just follow my lead and we should be able to stay out of trouble." Shark warns Coral of the danger of Splatsville.

The two Octolings head out to play a Turf War match, Shark locks up his apartment after Coral leaves, intending to keep the Steelhead to guard the important files.

While walking towards the place where Turf Wars are hosted, Coral asks Shark an important question.

"So why did you choose to stay here a little bit longer?" the curious younger Octoling asks.

"Well, I have sensed something wrong is about to happen, and well, even though we don't live in Splatsville, I need to practice my sniping skills in a chaotic setting, which is why I'm going to help protect it" Shark answers.

"Does this have to do with Salmonids appearing in the Splatlands even though there's a clear lack of bodies of water?" Coral asks again.

"That's very possible, but until the threat is identified and reduced, I won't think of leaving unless there are important matters back at our neighborhood, personal or not." Shark answers again.

The two Octolings finally reach the building that hosts Turf Wars, Coral readies his Octoshot as he follows Shark into the said building.

"Now remember, you might feel nauseous or scared at first, but you'll get used to it." Shark says as he pulls out his E-liter.

After six more cephalopods joined them into the building, they were sent into a rundown battlefield high up on the hills of a canyon. Instead of each team sharing a single Spawn Point, the members of each team have their own, floating Spawn Points. Luckily for Coral, Shark ended up on his team.

"Um, is this safe?" Coral asks Shark with a lot of uneasiness in his voice, trying his best not to fall backward on the tiny platform. "I-I m-mean, this is s-safe, right?"

"It's safe when you know how to use it, now if chumps from the opposing team keep pestering you around, just give the word and they'll become puddles of ink in no time." Shark offers to help.

Coral notices his team, Shark included, turning into their octopus and squid forms. Confused, Coral does the same. Before long, the Spawn Points point toward the battlefield and forcefully launch the quartet.

"Aagh!!!" Coral yells as he is launched by the Spawn Point, resulting in a crash landing. "Ow!!" he exclaims, before an enemy charger barely misses him, catching him by surprise.

Coral gets up and starts inking the ground, it wasn't long before an enemy Blaster starts going after him. Despite being skilled himself, the chaotic nature of this Turf War only allowed him to use the Octo Shot, a Splat Bomb would consume even more of his ink while there was no place that he could use his Inkjet.

After the battle is over, Coral and Shark headed out of the building and back to the apartment to check on the Steelhead. Coral is understandably distraught at what kind of battle he was just a part of. It was very different than the previous battles, even with weird beings appearing in them.
 
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