#marjani

           Amber glanced back and forth between her three teammates, slowly processing the fact that Felicity and Marjani were wearing dark purple Team Night Owl shirts while she and André had bright yellow Team Early Bird tees. She looked to André as if he could say anything that would help the situation, eliciting little more from him than a defeated shrug. “Dammit!” she hissed under her breath before raising her tone, “We didn’t join the same team?!”

           “I thought Lissy was gonna tell you guys we were joinin’ Night Owl!” protested Marjani, turning to Felicity with a flummoxed look. “N-no!” cried Felicity, “I-I just asked which team you were joining! I didn’t know you wanted me to tell the others!” “André, I thought you were going to tell them to join the same team as us!” argued Amber. André folded his arms and shook his head. “All I did was suggest we should join Team Early Bird,” he countered, “Not on me to communicate that to them.”

           “But I–!” Amber began to object, only to be cut off. “–André’s kinda right, Cap,” interrupted Marjani, crossing her arms with a scowl. “Hey, now,” interjected Felicity, putting her hand on Marjani’s shoulder gently, “I mean, it’s not really worth arguing about, right? So what if we’re playing for different teams tonight? It could be fun!” Amber sighed. “No, they’re right,” she accepted, “It’s my bad. I… completely failed as captain. I got distracted by everything and totally forgot to make sure we were all on the same page.”

           Felicity bit her lip and looked down at her feet. “Oh…” she murmured. “No, no, Felicity, I didn’t mean it like that!” Amber reassured her teammate, “There’s… I’ve had some other stuff on my mind lately.” “Like?” asked Marjani. “It’s… personal,” Amber hesitantly explained. “And you didn’t tell us?” Felicity added. “It’s kinda private,” retorted Amber, “Look, the point is, if I were a better captain, I’d be able to compartmentalize all this, but I’m not, and I’m sorry.”

           “Not much to be done about it now,” sighed André, “But… not like it’s the end of the world.” “Yeah!” agreed Felicity, “We’ll play for our teams, see who wins, and be back together before you know it!” “Yeah, I guess it could be fun,” Marjani reluctantly agreed, “Plus, we get to play with other people for a change.” André nodded, unfolding his arms. “Change of pace might even do us some good,” he added, “Let’s get down to the plaza and find out who our teammates are.” “R-right,” stuttered Amber, nodding. She walked past André and headed down the hall toward the stairwell, the others following after her.

             André scanned the plaza as the group arrived back at their destination, furrowing his brow as he did. The Inklings present were dividing up into groups and meeting their new teammates for the Splatfest beneath numbered signs dotted around by the Splatfest’s staff. Most of the Inklings had already been assigned to their teams, but a few were still in line at a long table located near the central Inkopolis Tower, where several older Inklings sat with ledgers that listed every registered participant and which team of four they would be playing alongside.

           The Outcasts got in line and waited as the Inklings ahead of them found out their respective teams’ numbers. André tried not to sigh as he got to the front of the line and produced his Turf War ID wordlessly. “André Dorado…” mumbled the coordinator sitting before him as she read the card, “Why do I feel like I’ve heard that name before?” “Just imagining, probably,” replied André. “No, I definitely…” the coordinator murmured as she looked up to André and squinted upon making eye contact.

           After a moment, she gave up trying to recognize him and looked back down to the list. “André Dorado… Team 21,” she finished simply. “Thanks,” replied André, heading off in the direction of a sign looming over the crowd with a yellow “21” printed on it. “Marjani Kulevya,” said Marjani as she stepped forward, placing her Turf War ID on the table before her.

           “Is that with a ‘C’ or a ‘K’?” asked the coordinator, adjusting her glasses before inspecting the ID card. “Ugh…” Marjani scoffed, “A ‘K.’” The coordinator pursed her lips and flipped through the alphabetically-sorted list to find Marjani’s name as quickly as possible. “K… Kulevya… Marjani Kulevya, Team 37,” she replied, “…Hey, if you don’t mind me asking, are you related to–”

           “–The Turf War DJ?” interrupted Marjani, “Yep. My little brother.” “That’s gotta be cool,” the coordinator said with a smile. “Yeah, I guess,” Marjani replied nonchalantly as she headed off toward the sign with a purple “37.” Felicity stepped forward stiffly and presented her ID. “Fe–” she started before clearing her throat, “Felicity Quinn.” The coordinator checked her ID thoroughly before flipping through the ledger to find Felicity’s name.

           “I’m… not seeing it…” she replied, “There’s no entry here for that name.” “Wh-what?!” panicked Felicity, “B-but there m-must be some kind of m-mistake! I got m-my official Splatfest Tee and everything, see?!” Amber put her hand on Felicity’s shoulder from behind and stepped forward next to her friend. “Try looking under ‘O’Bryne,’ ma’am,” she suggested. “A-Amber!” exclaimed a stunned Felicity quietly. The coordinator flipped through to an earlier page. “Ah, there it is,” she said as she spotted it, “Felicity O’Bryne… Why the difference?”

           “Qu-Quinn is my mother’s maiden name,” stammered Felicity, “I-it’s, uh… it’s complicated. I-I must’ve forgotten th-that my registration uses my father’s surname…” “Says here you’re in Team 37, Miss Quinn,” read the coordinator, “And, I’m just curious, but you were Callie’s backup dancer during the opening ceremony earlier, weren’t you?” At this, Felicity beamed. “You r-recognized me?!” she asked excitedly. “Of course, it was the opening song!” replied the coordinator, “You were great!” “Th-thanks!” Felicity blushed as she smiled before turning around to head off toward her team’s sign.

           “Miss, don’t forget your ID!” the coordinator shouted after Felicity. “Oh! Right!” Felicity yelped as she rushed back over to the table to grab her ID before leaving again. “Wait a sec…” murmured Amber to herself, “Wasn’t Marjani also–” “–ID, please,” continued the coordinator, jolting Amber out of her thoughts. Amber placed her ID on the table wordlessly. “Amber… Amber…?” the coordinator furrowed her brow in confusion, “Miss, this… doesn’t have a last name on it?”

           “I know,” replied Amber, “Just look it up under that.” The coordinator flipped to the first page. “I’m not seeing anyone just named that,” she said, shaking her head, “I… I’m not sure I can help you. This is a real ID, right?” Amber sighed. “Are you sure it’s not under that?” she asked, “Maybe it’s at the very beginning or end of the list?”

           “Hey!” interjected another voice from the next line over, getting Amber’s attention. She glanced over before looking away, squeezing her eyes shut. Standing nearby with her hands on her hips and a cheeky grin on her face was none other than Caroline Humboldt, the captain of André’s former team, Spice Splat.

           “Try looking under ‘Blaine,’” she suggested. Amber glared at her furiously, her eyes widening in a combination of rage and surprise. The coordinator did as Caroline suggested, flipping to the next page of the ledger. “There it is, Amber Blaine, Team 21,” she tapped the page lightly as she spoke, “But why does your ID–” “–Don’t ask,” interrupted Amber, snatching her ID off of the table and walking toward the “21” sign. “What, no ‘thank you?’” asked Caroline casually, following after her. Amber whipped around, pointing her finger in Caroline’s face.

           “How did you find out about that?!” she seethed, gritting her teeth, “That’s not on my ID for a reason!” Caroline backed away slightly and held up her hands, her smile waning. “I read it on your official Turf War registration,” she replied sincerely, “I read up on you, Marjani, and Felicity when I found out about André’s new team, before our first match, to get a feel for what you three girls are like.” “You have no right!” hissed Amber angrily, turning around and walking away.

           “No, actually, I do have the right; it’s public information, after all,” retorted Caroline nonchalantly, putting her hands in her pockets and following Amber, “One responsibility of the captain is to learn about the enemy team. Usually, I leave the specifics to Moruga, but I like to know who I’m going up against. ‘Know your enemy, know yourself, and you will not lose a thousand battles,’ right?” “Ugh!” Amber grumbled disgustedly, glowering at Caroline as she continued.

           “What I don’t get is why,” continued Caroline, “Moruga and I looked into the name, thinking we might find something that would explain why you don’t want people knowing about it, but we didn’t find anything. Like, at all.” She quickened her steps to keep up with Amber’s increasing pace, the latter clearly annoyed with and trying to escape the older squid. “Why would you not want to be associated with a name that doesn’t have anything associated with it anyway?” she asked.

           “Because if I could have my way, I wouldn’t have it at all, but legally, I have to keep it!” retorted Amber angrily, “So don’t you dare go looking into it again!” “I don’t get it, you got some kind of beef with your family?” asked Caroline, “Look, you know that if you’ve got issues, you shouldn’t keep them bottled up, right? Talk about it with your team, you’ll feel better.” “I don’t want to feel better!” snapped Amber, “Now quit following me!”

           “I’m not following you, I’m just making small talk since we’re going to the same place,” Caroline corrected her. Amber stopped and squinted at her senior in confusion. “The same… what?” she asked. The red-tentacled girl pointed over to the sign for Team 21. Amber followed Caroline’s pointing to the sign itself, seeing André already waiting there, with Moruga Oaxaca, Caroline’s stone-faced right-hand man, standing right next to him. They seemed like they were practically ignoring each other, avoiding eye contact with their arms crossed.

           Amber looked back to Caroline in horror. “No…” she murmured, “No way… How… how did we…?” “When you’re in Turf War as long as I’ve been, you get some strings you can pull,” Caroline explained, “I got two of our teammates swapped with each other. Right about now, Marjani and Felicity should be meeting up with Jolokia and Butch.” “You… I cannot believe you!” exclaimed Amber, “You bitch! First you go digging into my private life, then you get us stuck together for the Splatfest?!”

           “Calm down,” bellowed Moruga sternly. “Don’t you tell me to calm down, you were probably in on this, too!” shouted Amber, “You rigged our coddamn Splatfest teams to scramble us together?!” “Amber!” rumbled André, finally breaking his silence, “…Let them say their piece.” “Not you, too!” growled Amber. Caroline stepped around Amber casually and looked her junior in the face. “Just relax,” she calmly started, “Look, Moruga and I’ve got some catching up to do with André, and I wanted to see how you play.”

           “You… what is it with you wanting to know more about me?!” asked Amber. “It’s my job as a captain,” retorted Caroline, “You should be doing the same, since this is going to give you an inside look at how Moruga and I play Turf War. I’m curious as to how you operate. I want to see you captain.” “Wait, what?!” asked Moruga, unfolding his arms and stepping forward. He walked over to Caroline and looked her in the eye.

           “Well, it’s not gonna be me,” argued Caroline simply, “I do enough of that, I want a break.” “Are yuh sure abou’ dis, Caroline?” asked Moruga, “I mean, me or André, I’d understan’, but Amber’s a tyro captain, a rookie. She’s got de leas’ Turf War experience of all of us; she’s only a captain ‘cause she made her own team.” Caroline smirked back at Moruga. “All the better for her to learn, then,” she countered, “Besides, Splatfests are just supposed to be fun, right?”

           Moruga sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. “Fun is one thing, but we also picked a side. Dey’re gonna be countin’ on us to pull our weight and give it all we got,” he argued, “Yuh think we’ll be juss as effective wit’ her givin’ orders instead of yuh?” “Trust me. She’ll be fine. One team of four isn’t going to sway the outcome that much. If Team Early Bird loses, it won’t just be because of us,” replied Caroline, “We’ve got a unique learning opportunity right now, Moruga, the kind you don’t get outside of Splatfests mid-season, and I don’t want to waste it.”

           Moruga was silent, but stared Caroline in the eye disapprovingly, knowing that his captain wasn’t going to back down, not in time for them to get to their first match. “…Fine,” he finally acquiesced, “But I’m keepin’ a close eye on her.” “That’s the spirit, crabcakes!” rejoiced Caroline, patting her teammate on the back as he sighed. Amber simply shook her head in sheer disbelief. “What is wrong with you?!” she asked, “I didn’t even say I wanted–”

           “–Well, it’s already decided,” interrupted Caroline, “Honestly, guys, stop taking it so seriously. Let’s get out there and splat some turf for Team Early Bird!” She turned to look at André and grinned. “And you, big guy,” she continued, pointing at him lazily, “You have got to tell me all about what you were doing for a year before you came back.” André sighed, but smirked. “If you’re trying to make it just like old times, Captain,” he muttered, “We can’t just go back. You know that.”

           “Whoa, what?” asked Amber, shooting a look at André, “You call her ‘Captain?’” André realized what he’d said and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Sorry,” he apologized, “Force of habit.” Amber shook her head and breathed in and out deeply, trying to process the situation. “But you just said…” she grumbled, “…Alright, whatever, we’ll do it your way, Humboldt. When’s our first match?” “Dat’s up to yuh to find out,” replied Moruga, having turned and walked a few steps away from her and Caroline, holding his hands behind his back. “I’ve never even been part of a Splatfest before,” protested Amber.

           “Clearly,” replied Caroline with a patient smile, “All you gotta do is listen for an announcement on the–” “–Teams 44 and 21 at Kelp Dome in ten minutes,” a voice blared over a loudspeaker before continuing to name other teams whose matches were coming up, “Teams 44 and 21, Kelp Dome in ten minutes.” “That’s… us,” muttered Amber reluctantly, “We know anyone who’s on Team 44?” “No clue,” replied André, “Won’t know until we see ‘em at the tower.” “Well, that makes a quick strategy meeting a little more screwed,” sighed Amber.

           Moruga simply huffed and crossed his arms quietly. “Got something to say?” asked Amber, shooting her interim sniper an irritated look. “Unpredictability is intrinsic ta Splatfests,” Moruga replied, speaking loudly and clearly to ensure he was heard, “It’s supposed to be part of de fun dat yuh don’t know who yuh gonna go against before de match.” Amber sighed and looked down at her feet, putting her hands on her hips. “Then I guess all we can do is figure out what we’re gonna do,” she accepted.

           “And that’s part of why I got the teams set up the way I did,” explained Caroline, “This way, Moruga and I have weapons types that you’re just as familiar giving orders to, a Charger and a Splatling. Just think of us like we’re Marjani and Felicity.” “I am not like Felicity,” interjected Moruga, “She is a vain child who does not recognize her own potential.” “Wonder how they’re doing,” muttered André, “You said they’re with Jolokia and Butch, right? Sure that was a good idea?” “They’ll be fine,” replied Caroline, grinning at André, “I can’t wait to find out which one they’re gonna pick to be captain.”

           “We’ll find out later,” replied Amber, “For now, we should get to the tower, we don’t have long before the match.” She turned toward Inkopolis Tower, adjusting the bag carrying her weapon on her hip, and set off before stopping briefly to turn back and look at the others, who were simply watching her. “Are you guys gonna follow me or what?” she asked. “Of course,” replied Caroline, “Aren’t we, boys?” Moruga sighed again before fixing the strap on his Charger’s bag so that it sat even more tightly on his shoulder.

           André took a few steps forward before stopping next to Moruga as Caroline followed after Amber. He looked down to Moruga, who reciprocated André’s uneasy glance for a moment before looking back ahead awkwardly and breaking eye contact as he began to follow after the girls. André sighed and hefted his Roller bag on his shoulder, shaking his head as he plodded behind the others, catching up in a matter of moments.

             “So… Caroline arranged for us to end up on teams together?” asked Felicity in confusion. “Yes, she wanted to–” Jolokia was interrupted as she started trying to explain her captain’s actions. “–Ugh, that fuckin’ bitch!” snarled Marjani, “What, did she think she was bein’ funny or some shit?” “Marjie, language,” Felicity reprimanded her teammate. “Squirt’s right,” added Butch, “Youse don’t know what da boss is like.”

           “I know she thinks she’s better than me!” retorted Marjani. “She is bettah den youse!” argued Butch. “Oh, yeah? And how do you know, Mafia Boy?” growled Marjani, puffing out her chest as she walked up to Butch, putting her finger on his chest in an attempt to intimidate him despite being a few inches shorter than him. “Marjani, please don’t bring that up,” pleaded Jolokia. Butch gritted his teeth and looked down at Marjani, tilting his head enough that he was now looking at her over the top of his 18K Aviators instead of through them.

           “‘Cause she’s da boss, and youse ain’t,” he replied threateningly, “And she put us on da same team ‘cause she trusts me ta be da boss while she’s away teachin’ your boss a little respect.” Jolokia took a few steps forward. “Now, hold on, Butch,” she protested, “Caroline didn’t say anything like that to me.” “I thought it was obvious, ain’t it?” asked Butch, “She wants me to captain–” “–With less years in Turf War than me?” Marjani disputed the boy’s assumption, “Yeah, right! I’m the Splatling user, just like her! If anyone’s gonna be captain, it should be me!”

           “Now, Marjani, I’m not sure that’s–” Jolokia was interrupted once more. “No, let’s just put it to a vote!” Marjani interjected, “That’s how you guys work, right? I vote for me!” “An’ I vote fuh me!” replied Butch. “Oh dear…” Jolokia hung her head as she shook it, “Well, then, I vote for myself, as well. Both of you are clearly too hotheaded and inexperienced.” “Wha–?! JP, I thought you’d have my back on dis!” protested Butch.

           “Great, now we’re at a stalemate,” replied Marjani. She stepped back from Butch and turned to look over to Felicity, who had been quietly avoiding the argument the whole time. Butch looked in the same direction as he realized what she was thinking. Jolokia looked in the same direction with a worried expression. Felicity shrank back as the others watched her expectantly. “Come on, Lissy, just vote for me, at least you know me!” Marjani urged her teammate with a smirk.

           “I-I… uh…” Felicity stammered. “If you know her, den you know she’s not captain material,” insisted Butch, stepping forward, “Come on, squirt, I’m obviously da one who should be in charge, right?” “Don’t pressure her!” countered Jolokia, stepping over to Felicity and placing a hand on Felicity’s shoulder, “Just ignore them, Felicity. Vote for who you really think is best suited to be captain. Or perhaps you’d like to lead us? If you want to, I’ll support it.”

           Felicity blushed as she tried to think of what to say. “Lissy? Come on,” Marjani repeated herself, pushing past Butch. “Zip it!” snarled Butch, stepping forward again. “Both of you, enough!” retorted Jolokia, stepping between them and Felicity as if to shield her from them, “Let her choose on her own!” Felicity looked between the three of them, clearly distressed from the responsibility of being the deciding vote. Marjani and Butch simply harrumphed and crossed their arms, almost in synchronization.

           “I-I think…” Felicity started. “Yeah?” Marjani and Butch both smirked as they watched her intently. “I… um…” Felicity stuttered, “Well… I…” Jolokia shot the other two a fierce, protective look as she waited for Felicity’s answer. Felicity looked down at her shoes, trying to come to a decision. She squeezed her eyes shut. She sighed as she realized that it would not be so easy for her to make a decision that would make everyone happy.

             Amber sighed and wiped the sweat from her brow as she and the others exited Inkopolis Tower for the third time. The Splatfest matches were in full force, and Team 21 had yet to win a single one, despite the combined experience of André, Caroline, and Moruga. Amber could feel their eyes on her as she tried to maintain her composure, knowing full well that with the amount of experience between the others, it was her own lack of skill as a captain that made her solely responsible for their three defeats thus far.

           While it was no different from the usual matches of the Outcasts, even with the team’s sniper and Splatling user replaced with ones of greater skill than Marjani and Felicity, the stress weighed heavily on Amber, and feeling as though Moruga and Caroline were constantly judging her every action made the losses sting even more than usual. She breathed heavily, turning to the others as another team of four passed by them to enter the tower.

           “It’ll be okay…” she tried to reassure herself quietly, “We’re just not used to being a team yet…” Caroline yawned and stretched. “I blame our team,” she stated nonchalantly. Moruga raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms behind his back, entering his usual rigid stance. “How so?” he asked irritably. “I mean Team Early Bird,” replied Caroline, interlacing her fingers and putting her hands behind her head, “We’re a team made completely out of squids who hate staying up late, and we’re playing in the middle of the night.”

           “Think it’ll get better as more Early Birds wake up and join the morning matches?” asked André, folding his arms. “Not if dey keep goin’ de way dey are,” retorted Moruga, glancing at Amber. Caroline shifted her gaze between her three teammates and sighed. “Amber, let’s go get some drinks at the café,” she suggested, clearly hoping to diffuse the tension, “You guys want anything? My treat.” “Grape soda,” replied André simply. “Coffee,” added Moruga, “Black.”

           “Got it,” replied Caroline, putting her hand on Amber’s shoulder as she began to turn around, “Let’s go.” Amber moved her arm slightly to brush Caroline’s hand off her shoulder dejectedly as she turned to follow her red-tentacled senior. André uncrossed his arms and glanced over to Moruga. He sighed as his teammate refused to look in his direction, maintaining his position as if he were guarding the ground on which he stood.

           “So…” André started awkwardly, “How’ve you been?” Moruga looked at André quizzically for a moment before resuming his forward stare. “Fine,” he replied simply. André nodded slowly as he looked away from Moruga. “We, uh…” he cleared his throat before continuing, “We haven’t seen each other since then. Other than that match a while back.” Moruga was simply silent, unable to think of something to say, though his expression betrayed that he was putting forth his best effort to do so. “I suppose… I didn’t really try to see you guys again,” continued André, “I’m partially to blame for that.”

           Unsure of how to continue, André simply looked to Moruga, who was still staring straight ahead, as if he was ignoring his teammate. “You know, you could at least look me in the eye, Moruga,” he added. Moruga huffed and shifted his stance so that he was now facing André, looking up into his teammate’s eyes. “Better?” he asked frankly, though with a hint of venomous sarcasm in his voice. Andre gritted his teeth, his mouth curling into a slight snarl, before he finally took a step forward and looked down to Moruga.

           “Dammit, Oaxaca, what the hell is your problem?!” he bellowed, “Here I am, trying to reconnect with you as a friend, and you won’t even look me in the eye without being asked to! I know things aren’t the same as they used to be, but will you at least try to pretend that we’re supposed to be friends?” Moruga furrowed his brow and squinted angrily.

           “My problem?” he asked incredulously, standing his ground, “My problem is dat we have been followin’ de orders of a complete rookie and have not won a single match yet! An’ in spite of all dat, yuh are tryin’ to make small talk like de entire last year never happened!” “You think I don’t know that?!” retorted André, “I know we can’t go back, but we can at least try to move forward instead of leaving these bridges burned!”

           “We can’t just forget what we did to yuh, André!” argued Moruga, “What I did to yuh! Not a day has gone by since den dat I haven’t regretted votin’ against yuh! It seemed like de most logical thing to do at de time, of course, to sacrifice de one for de good of de team, but it was just de opposite! I was throwin’ away a skilled player, all because we were lettin’ our worries and emotions about our reputation get in de way!”

           He let out a guttural sigh before continuing. “Butch has proven himself to be useful, but it’s not de same as when we had yuh! We ignored our friendship wit’ yuh and voted yuh off de team like it was easy for us!” he ranted, “I should have tied de vote wit’ yuh, and instead I destroyed what we had as friends and teammates and made yuh quit Turf War for a year! How can yuh not hate me for dat, André?!”

           André was taken aback my Moruga’s sudden outburst before furrowing his brow in confusion. “Wait, Moruga…” he murmured quietly, “Did you just say ‘tied the vote with me?’” “Yes, of course,” replied Moruga, “I should have tied de vote wit’ yuh. Do yuh not remember? Caroline said dat if de vote was split two-and-two, we would count it as bein’ in your favor and keep yuh on de team.” “I remember,” André confirmed, “…And you wouldn’t have tied the vote with me. I didn’t vote to stay on the team.”

           “Wha… yuh… wait, what?!” asked Moruga, his eyes widening in surprise, “What do yuh mean, yuh didn’t vote for yuhself? Dere were three votes against yuh and one for. Are yuh sayin’ dat yuh…?” “Voted against myself, yeah,” replied André, “The one vote for me to stay wasn’t mine.” “But den, if it wasn’t yuh, who…?” Moruga’s voice trailed off as he smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand and sighed. “Jolokia…” he murmured, “Of course, it must have been her… Even now, she still carries a torch for yuh…”

           “Moruga, the vote never mattered,” said André, “I probably would have left the team even if all three of you had voted for me to stay. You guys were never sacrificing me for the sake of your own reputations. I had to take one for the team, and you know that. But I knew that if I voted for myself, Jolokia would tie it, and then I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to leave. And now I can’t even look her in the eye without remembering that I broke her heart. So, you tell me: Why would I hate you for voting the same way I did?”

           Moruga sighed again as he processed what André had just revealed to him. “For a year… an entire year…” he muttered, “I thought we were responsible for destroyin’ yuh. For makin’ yuh quit Turf War entirely and cuttin’ off all contact wit’ us.” “I took a year off because I thought that I should distance myself from the sport,” replied André, “I wanted to keep playing, but I thought maybe it would be for the best if people forgot about me for a while. I quit wearing my Takoroka Mesh and told people to stop calling me ‘the Kraken’ so that maybe they wouldn’t be so quick to recognize me when I came back.”

           “Why would yuh do dat to yuhself?” asked Moruga, “We were a good team, André. Statistically speaking, one of de best. We should have stuck togeddah, reputation be damned!” “I know, and I wanted to so badly, Moruga,” agreed André, “But I also didn’t want to risk action being taken against us. If we tried to fight it, we risked the League forcing us to do what happened anyway; tearing us apart because of what others thought of us. This way, it was my choice. And I chose to live with it.”

           Moruga relaxed and dropped his arms. “An entire year…” he mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief, “I’ve wasted an entire year thinkin’ yuh hated me…” “I don’t blame you, Moruga,” replied André, “I never even tried to get back in contact with you guys, even after the dust settled. But now you know the truth, so…” He took a step forward and held his hand out. “Let’s try again,” he started. Moruga took his old friend’s hand with a grin and shook it.

           “How’ve you guys been, Moruga?” asked André. “As of late, we could be bettah,” replied Moruga as he let go of André’s hand, “We had to cancel a match last week ‘cause Jolokia came down wit’ somethin’. Yuh know how delicate she is; gets sick very easily.” “I remember,” replied André, smirking as he and Moruga looked away from each other and began to scan the plaza, watching for Caroline and Amber’s return.

           “Butch has been a handful,” continued Moruga, “He’s been gettin’ later and later for practices, always helpin’ his uncle wit’ who-knows-what. We try not to pry, but we’re worried for him. We think his uncle wants him to take over de family business, and we’re not sure what dat is.” “Hm,” André quietly acknowledged Moruga’s comment about his successor, “And Caroline?” “Yuh’ve seen for yuhself,” said Moruga, chuckling, “Same old girl as always. Unflappable, dat one. Even to a fault, I’d say.”

           André smiled at this as he spotted Caroline and Amber returning from the café, refreshments in hand. Before the two were within earshot, André turned to Moruga and lowered his voice. “Listen, Moruga, between you and me…” he whispered, “…Could you tell Jolokia that… that I’m sorry?” Moruga looked his friend in the eye and nodded. “She needs to hear dat, I think,” he said, “I’ll let her know.” “Thanks,” said André simply as the others arrived.

           Amber handed André his grape soda as Caroline held out Moruga’s coffee for him. André nodded in gratitude as he took the soda, engulfing nearly the entire bottle in his massive hand. “Careful, it’s hot,” Caroline warned Moruga as he took his coffee. “And de night is cold,” he quipped back, “Just de way I like it.” “You sure seem to be in a better mood, crabcakes,” murmured Caroline with her usual grin, “You two kiss and make up yet?”

           “Somethin’ like dat,” Moruga confirmed quietly as André’s soda hissed upon being opened. “Drink up fast,” Amber advised, “Our next match should get called pretty soon, I think.” There was a moment of silence as André and Moruga recalled where they were and what they were doing, having forgotten the Splatfest around them in the heat of their discussion. “Any second now…” Amber muttered, her already-shaky certainty waning. The awkward quiet resumed for a moment as the four of them each sipped their refreshments expectantly.

           “Teams 21 and 37 to Hammerhead Bridge in ten minutes,” the loudspeaker finally cut through the noise of the crowd of Inklings around the teammates before repeating itself, “Teams 21 and 37, Hammerhead Bridge in ten minutes.” “That’s our cue,” sighed Amber, raising her drink semi-confidently with a half-smile before her eyes widened. She looked up to André as a realization dawned on her. “A-André…” she stuttered, “Wasn’t Team 37…?!”

           André looked over to the purple “37” sign across the plaza to confirm what Amber was talking about, spotting the four members of Team 37 heading toward the tower. “Yeah, looks like it,” he sighed as he turned back to Amber, “The others. We’re going up against our own teammates.” Caroline raised both of her arms as high as she could excitedly. “Woo!” she shouted, “I was hoping this would happen! This is gonna be interesting!”

           André smirked and chuckled. “Moruga’s right, you’re as unflappable as ever,” he said. “He said that about me?” asked Caroline, turning to her right-hand man, who rolled his eyes and avoided her suggestive smile, “Have you boys been talking about us behind our backs?” “Only in passing,” André interjected, eliciting a disappointed pout from Caroline. “Guys, can we stay on track here?” asked Amber, “We are going up against our own teammates. This is… I mean, this could be–”

           “–All in good fun, of course,” interrupted Caroline, “Come on, let’s get going. I’ve got a good feeling about this one.” She picked up her Splatling’s bag and headed off in the direction of the tower before stopping. “Ah, wait,” she mumbled to herself as she turned around to face Amber, “Lead the way, Captain.” Amber sighed as she picked up her own weapon and walked past Caroline, trying not to shoot an angry glare at her easygoing teammate as she did, Moruga and André following behind.

             As the four rose out of the spawn point at Hammerhead Bridge, Amber surveyed their surroundings. The clear night sky was lit by a bright nearly-full moon, which was accompanied by fireworks going off on either side of the bridge, launched from small boats below. “Whoa…” she whispered, her voice barely audible as she marveled at the sight, “I’ve never seen this view at night…”

           “I’m surprised you can with those Tinted Shades,” replied Caroline, “If you took th–” “–Not a chance,” Amber snapped pointedly, “I’m not giving up Last-Ditch Effort.” Caroline simply shrugged. “Alright, if you say so,” she conceded, “I guess everything else with that is too expensive.” “Are you saying I–?!” Amber started, before catching herself and biting her tongue, “Never mind. Let’s just get ready for the match.”

           “Three!” a voice spoke over the loudspeaker system. “That was fast,” muttered Caroline, “It’s almost like you have a sixth sense for these things.” André cracked his neck and tightened the grip on his Roller. “Two!” the announcer continued. “My timing was off back at the plaza,” replied Amber, “I just get lucky sometimes.” “One!” the announcer called out a third time. “Ladies,” growled Moruga, “Focus, please.”

           “Go!”

           The team charged forward from the starting point. “Moruga, I want you on the upper path going straight down the middle!” barked Amber, “Caroline, take the right! André, drop to the lower path and get to the center! I’m taking the left and then I’ll join you!” “You got it, Cap!” said Caroline, giving a short salute as the teammates spread out toward the positions Amber had commanded.

           As Amber reached the end of the pathway she had taken, isolating her from her teammates, she could see that Jolokia and Marjani had already gotten to the center of the field in the lower area, inking it just as André arrived from the path he had taken. Moruga was lagging behind, unable to move quickly across the grates without being able to ink and swim along them in his squid form. “Marjani, get behind cover!” commanded Jolokia. Marjani quickly ducked behind a wall as André flicked his Roller in her direction, trying to catch her with his ink.

           “Your Inkstrike is ready! Fire on their right path!” continued Jolokia as she dodged André’s assault, pointing to direct Marjani, “Felicity, I need some cover fire down here!” Marjani fired off an Inkstrike as Felicity took aim at André. “Crap!” Amber dropped down to the lower area to try and back up André, only to be too late as Felicity released her shot, splatting him instantly. Marjani’s Inkstrike touched down on the end of the right path just as Caroline reached it, splatting her and sending her back to the spawn point with André.

           “Yes!” Amber could hear Marjani celebrating her minor victory over her senior Splatling user, “Finally!” “No, no, no, no!” Amber sprayed ink madly in front of herself as she tried to evade Felicity’s continued shots, “Come on, Moruga, where are you?!” She inked a pathway up the side of one of the support towers in the center area and swam up, just in time to see Moruga get splatted in front of her, covering her in the other team’s purple ink. Wiping her eyes clean, she had just enough time to see Butch swing his Inkbrush a second time, this time into her to finish her off.

           Moruga shook his head as he stepped off of the spawn point. He wasn’t used to being splatted as much as he’d been that night, and it wasn’t getting much easier to shake off the sensation. André and Caroline had already headed back toward the center to try and hold off the other team. “I’m gonna have to have a talk wit’ Butch when dis is over about how hard he hit me just now…” he mumbled to himself before stopping as he heard something behind him. As he turned back around, he saw Amber, on her knees with her weapon dropped on the ground in front of her, her arms wrapped around herself, and trying to halt her shaking and stifle her crying.

           Moruga took a few steps toward Amber. “Dere will be time for dat later, Amber,” he barked sternly, “Come on, let’s get back out dere.” “I-I can’t!” Amber sobbed. Moruga took a deep breath and bent over to pick up Amber’s weapon. “I-it doesn’t matter wh-who I’m on a team with!” Amber wailed, “I-it’s always the same! Every s-single time! I-I can’t win! I can’t be a c-captain! Moruga, please! J-just take over! I c-can’t do this!”

           Moruga held Amber’s weapon out to her. “Dat would be de easy way out,” he replied strictly, “On yuh feet. It’s not over yet.” Amber ignored Moruga’s outstretched hand as she continued bawling. Moruga took her weapon in his hands and began to inspect it more closely. “Yuh know, dis thing has fascinated me ever since we first looked into yuh Turf War registrations,” he mused, “Yuh are a rookie from out of town, but yuh own an Octoshot Replica. Dis weapon is only awarded to de best players. How did yuh get one wit’ no record to speak of?”

           Amber sniffled and stood up. “I-it was a hand-me-down from my teacher…” she muttered hoarsely, “He wanted me to have something to remember him by when I came to Inkopolis, so he gave me his old weapon…” “Yuh mentor was a high-rankin’ Turf War battler?” asked Moruga curiously. Amber nodded. “One of the best,” she murmured. Moruga furrowed his brow and curled his mouth into a slight frown.

           “Tell me somethin’, Amber,” Moruga said as he looked his stand-in captain in her eyes, “Would dis mentor of yours be proud to see yuh as yuh are now, turnin’ on de waterworks mid-match? Would ‘one of de best’ be glad to see his student actin’ like dis?” Amber sniffled and shook her head. Moruga held her Octoshot Replica out for her again. “Make him proud, Amber,” he instructed. Amber took her weapon from him and sighed.

           “I-it’s no use, though,” she whimpered, “No matter what I do, it seems like things always go wrong. I thought I understood the different kinds of weapons and the players who use them, how to take advantage of those and how to beat them. B-but every time, things somehow go wrong right away and we still lose. All my training… it was for nothing…” Moruga slung his Splatterscope onto his shoulder with its strap and put both of his hands firmly on Amber’s shoulders, gripping them just a little more tightly than was comfortable for her.

           “I see many flaws in yuh strategies, Amber, but dose are problems to be solved by experience, one by one. De one ting dat sticks out to me is dat yuh play as though yuh live on borrowed time,” he pointed out, more gently than he had been speaking up until then, “What is it dat yuh are waitin’ for? What has yuh so worried about where yuh’ll be when de clock runs out? Instead of focusin’ on de end, fight like you must hold de line for all eternity, and den yuh will muster de strength to do so.”

           Amber took a deep breath and sighed again. After a few moments, she held her weapon up firmly in her hand. “O-okay,” she stammered, the confidence in her voice slowly returning, “Change of plans, then. Moruga, I want you where I sent Caroline originally, on the right side. I know it’s not ideal and doesn’t give you good coverage of the left, but try to hold them off from there. I’m going back out there to give new orders to Caroline and André.”

           Moruga nodded and transformed into his squid form in synchronization with Amber, taking off through the ink as Amber performed a Super Jump to Caroline’s location. Seeing Amber heading her way, the veteran girl charged up her Mini Splatling and protected the area where Amber was set to land, casually splatting Marjani in the process. Amber landed next to her and immediately opened a barrage of fire on Felicity just above the two, splatting her temporary opponent.

           “Caroline, I need you up above on the grates!” shouted Amber urgently, her voice filled with resolve, “Keep as much of this area inked as you can! I’m going to cover Moruga’s blind spots on defense!” Wordlessly, Caroline smirked in understanding and ducked into her squid form, swimming up the side of a nearby wall and onto the upper path. “André!” shouted Amber, “What’s your location?” André swung his Roller at Jolokia, who dropped into her team’s ink and beat a hasty retreat, giving the giant squid a chance to ink the area.

           “Over here!” he bellowed in reply. “Focus on survival and turf coverage, not splats!” yelled Amber, “Build up your special and Super Jump to me!” André nodded and planted his Roller on the ground in front of him, dashing forward to cover up the purple ink of the opposing team. “Alright, Amber,” Amber whispered to herself, “No one gets through. No one gets through…” She took aim at Jolokia as the Slosher user neared her, out of Moruga’s range, the two of them each trying to cover the same turf.

           “I can’t get close…” she muttered to herself, looking around, “Where’s André?” As if on cue, her larger teammate crashed down just behind her, landing on both feet with a snarl on his face. “Kraken’s ready!” he shouted, sweeping his Roller horizontally over Amber’s head to try and fling ink in Jolokia’s direction. “Not yet!” barked Amber, “I need you to save it!” “Save it?!” asked André skeptically, “What for?!” Amber scanned the field as Jolokia retreated from the two and spotted Butch headed toward them, his Inkbrush on the ground.

           “Moruga, take aim at Butch!” shouted Amber across the field to the sniper. Moruga did as he was told. Butch noticed the laser sight from his senior’s Splatterscope dancing about his feet as Moruga tried to get a lock on him and simply laughed. “Hah! Not today!” he shouted before turning his gaze back to Amber and André. Butch’s tentacles gleamed in the dark of the night as André sidled up next to his teammate. “Watch it!” bellowed the latter, preparing himself to transform.

           “I said not yet!” repeated Amber, “Wait for it!” Butch raised his Inkbrush and began to transform into his squid form, growing in size and becoming a large purple Kraken. Amber watched closely as Felicity and Marjani closed in on the central area with Jolokia. “Whenever you’re ready!” insisted André as he and Amber backed up. Just as Butch’s Kraken form neared the two, Amber took a deep breath as time felt like it was slowing down. It was now or never.

           “Now!”

           André wasted no time tapping into his Kraken form, swelling to a massive size that dwarfed Butch’s counterpart. He immediately swam forward, roaring loudly through the waves of yellow ink crashing around him as he neared Butch. Just before the two could clash, Butch suddenly felt his power waning, and transformed back into his normal bipedal form, his 18K Aviators sliding down his nose slightly in surprise.

           “Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!” he shouted as André crashed right through his position before he could get his Inkbrush on the ground and flee. “Butch!” cried Felicity as the ever-evasive Inkbrusher was unexpectedly splatted. “Get as many of ‘em as you can, André!” cheered Amber, covering turf around the central area as André began to pursue the others, “Moruga, you got your Killer Wail up yet?”

           “On your mark, Captain!” replied Moruga. “Let ‘er rip!” replied Amber, “Use the angle you’re at to cut off their escape and pick off anyone you can!” Moruga did as he was told and activated his special weapon, producing a Killer Wail, a large megaphone-like construct from within the ink around his feet and placing it down in front of him, aimed toward the small ramp out of the center area that the other team would have to use to elude André.

           A moment later, the Killer Wail sprang to life, blasting a wave of sound straight in the direction it had been pointed. Marjani froze up as she found herself trapped between André and the sound wave, being splatted by the former just before his special ran out. Felicity and Jolokia scattered in two other directions to try and escape the onslaught. Heading away from the direction of Moruga’s Killer Wail, Felicity climbed a wall onto the upper path, only to be greeted by a quick barrage of ink blots from Caroline’s Mini Splatling.

           As Jolokia fled André’s pursuing Roller, now opposite Amber’s position, she realized she was now briefly alone with all of her teammates splatted. Glancing to her left, she suddenly found herself being hit by a blast of ink from Moruga’s Splatterscope from her left side. An explosion of yellow ink splattered around the ground where she’d been standing as she was sent back to the team’s spawn point.

           “They’re all down! Now’s our chance!” commanded Amber as the team inked turf in the direction of the opposing team’s base, “Caroline, if your Bomb Rush is ready, save it for when they get back! We need to keep them on the ropes and on their toes now that we’ve got the advantage!” The battlefield quickly began to turn yellow as the team pushed forward, the line roughly separating the two sides moving forward all across the map as Team Early Bird pushed forward.

           “Here they come!” Caroline called out, spotting their four opponents making their way back onto the field, the charge led by an ornery-looking Butch. “Everyone, get ready for round 2!” shouted Amber, “Don’t give them an inch!” All of a sudden, a loud whistle rang out through the battlefield. “No need!” replied Moruga, lowering his Splatterscope with a smile, “It’s over.” Several of the eight squids all breathed a collective sigh of relief, Amber in particular falling back and simply sitting in the ink as she panted.

           “Amber!” said Caroline as she dropped down from above, “It worked! Getting all four of them splatted at once gave us enough time to turn the match around. We just won by 3%!” Exhausted and relieved, Amber began to uncontrollably giggle as she realized how far the team had managed to push into the Night Owls’ territory. “Grouping yourself together with André as bait and having Moruga get Butch to waste his Kraken,” continued Caroline, “That was ballsy! I love it!” Moruga and André regrouped with the team as their four opponents all joined them.

           “Aggh! Butch, what is wrong wid youse?!” cried Butch, throwing his head back as he placed his hands on either side of it as if to squeeze it in some form of self-punishment, “Youse let da Kraken getcha dis time!” “Man, I told you I shoulda been captain!” insisted Marjani. “Oh, hush, Marjie!” retorted Felicity, “That was the first match we’ve lost so far, and it won’t be the last. Jolokia’s been a good captain.” “Thank you, Felicity,” replied Jolokia, “I’m not used to this, so it’s reassuring to hear that.”

           André breathed a sigh of relief as he hefted his Roller up onto his shoulder. “Not bad,” he rumbled, “Not bad at all. It was risky, but you made the right call at just the right time. I had no idea what you were thinking, but your gamble paid off.” He reached his free hand to Amber to help her stand up. She took it and let him pull her to her feet, ignoring the ink dripping off of her clothes. “Thanks, André,” she panted. Caroline waded through the ink to give Amber a hug. “I told you that you could do it, girl!” she exclaimed, “I said I had a good feeling about this one!”

           Amber sighed as she reluctantly reciprocated Caroline’s hug for a few moments before they separated. “Yeah, you did,” she muttered, unsure of what else there was to say. She turned to the other team. “Nice to see you guys,” she said, “Good game.” “The same to you,” replied Jolokia, “You seem to be coming into your own as a captain nicely.” Amber quietly smirked, trying to hide her smile. “I had some help,” she muttered sheepishly.

           “Eh, fuggedaboutit,” retorted Butch, having calmed down, “Give yourself at least a little credit, eh, rookie?” Amber smiled as she glanced over to Moruga, who calmly nodded at her, struggling with himself to maintain his stoic image and avoid returning her infectious grin in full. “Alright, guys, it’s about time for us to clear out for the next match,” interjected Caroline, “Good luck out there, Night Owls. We’ll catch up with you guys after the Splatfest is over.” The two teams separated, heading back toward their own spawn points to return to Inkopolis Tower.

           “You’re getting better at this, huh, Captain?” mused André, fighting the fatigue in his rumbling voice. “Looks like it,” replied Amber quietly, “I guess I just… needed someone to have faith in me. Maybe… I can be a captain after all.” “I sure hope so,” Caroline chimed in, “It’s the whole reason I wanted you to take charge from the start, so we could draw out some of that potential.” “Watch yourself, Humboldt,” Amber warned her, smirking at her senior, “Keep it up and someday I’m gonna be a better captain than you.”

           Caroline simply laughed in response. “That’s the idea,” she agreed, “Turf War’s barely any fun when no one can give me a run for my money. You’ve still got a ways to go, girl, but you’re finally on your way, so don’t you dare give up.” “Be careful what you wish for,” Amber cautioned her, “‘Cause you’re gonna regret wanting to make a rival out of me someday.” “We’ll see,” Caroline asserted, “But for now, let’s just have a little more fun, huh?”

           Amber nodded and sighed contentedly as the team arrived at their spawn point. The Splatfest was far from over, but somehow, through all the chaos, pain, and heartbreak that had happened thus far, one small victory had turned everything around, and Amber had discovered a new vigor that would keep driving her to the end of the festival. She knew that time would tell if she would have the mental fortitude to maintain this resolve through the hard times no doubt lying in wait for her beyond the Splatfest, but she would put everything she had into holding that line as though the end would never come.

 SPLATOON: THE OUTCASTS

EPISODE END

             André opened the door to the bedroom in his apartment, sighing as he flicked the light switch on. As the Splatfest had gone on into the night, the four members of Team 21 had eventually gone back home to catch a few hours of sleep before resuming their matches the next morning, playing through the day into the following evening and only stopping for quick meals. The results for the Splatfest had been announced later that night at the closing ceremony, and while Team Early Bird had ultimately lost the competition, André felt a sense of fulfillment from having participated.

           He set his Roller bag down on the floor, sat down on his bed, and began undoing the laces on his large Tan Work Boots, eventually removing them and the socks underneath. The feeling of the cool air in his apartment against his worn, tired feet was something he looked forward to every day. He exhaled deeply again as he flexed his toes, stretching his feet in ways he’d not been able to during the long day of matches he’d just endured.

           He reached down and grabbed his custom-sized Splatfest tee from the bottom, removing it and leaving himself shirtless on his bed. “Hope Moruga remembers to talk to Jolokia…” he muttered, “…Wish I could figure out what to say to talk to her myself, though.” He breathed deeply and sighed again as he turned and laid down across his bed. “Finally,” he whispered to himself, “Peace and quiet. No more noise.”