Splatoon: Unnamed [AU]

Chapter Three

The salmonlings were aiding their fishier kin in destroying part of the city. They set buildings on fire, stole from shops. They broke windows and terrorized civilians. It was horrifying to watch, and Rain found himself feeling guilty for wanting this.

The captain stared down at the phone in awe, "They're real." She said under her breath.

It seemed Eight had enough of watching in frozen terror, as they turned off their phone and looked out towards the city where the smoke began to billow and pour into the sky.

Rain nodded, "Mhm, and they're dangerous too." He stated.

Captain Three rose to her feet, "We have to do something." She said with a hint of terror in her tone.

Eight nodded in agreement, standing up and grabbing their hero dualies from where they had been set down against the cabin. Rain sighed a little, he'd have to deal with those salmonlings again. Rain didn't let his fear show, he knew Three would tease him for it if he did. He hated being this way, he wished he could be as brave and uncaring as Eight was. They never flinched in the face of danger, they were swift and agile, precise too. They were so skilled, and confident in a way Rain could only dream of becoming. Rain had played turf war with Eight before, and they were pretty fierce with their glooga dualies. Rain couldn't even get near the octoling in a battle, let alone get close enough to splat them. Rain had believed and followed the "fake it until you make it" strategy for years, but day after day it felt more like he was putting on a confident front to mask his insecurities. Rain found his hero roller leaned up against the cabin, next to where Eight's weapons had been located. He picked up the lightweight roller and felt a little dreadful as he adjusted to the feeling of it in his hands. The hero roller was basically just a splat roller with some small changes and modifications, and although he had experience with both the hero roller and the splat roller, lightweight rollers weren't his style. Rain much preferred his Kensa dynamo roller.

Rain walked over to the others, looking down upon Inkopolis with an ever growing pit in his stomach. He attempted to force the feeling of dread down, but he couldn't help it. He put on a confident smile and followed Three as she led the two through the grate and towards the city. Rain couldn't help but feel uneasy.

The city was a wreck, or, at least the part the salmonids had targeted. It was near the water of course, where the road met the sea and hung over the shallow green water. Rain had been this part of the city before, but only once to get to a doctor's appointment he was inevitably late to.

Fires still burned, the usual blue sky had turned hazy and thick like it was foggy. Rain coughed a little as the bitter smoke entered his lungs, and he squinted through the haze to find any sign of the salmonids or those dreaded salmonlings. The captain was a little ahead of him, with Eight by her side as they examined the damage firsthand. There was broken glass all over the sidewalks, and he saw bent stop signs and car parts all over the road. The group took caution not to step on anything sharp or dangerous. It was eerily silent, and the pit in Rain's stomach seemed to grow colder and larger every quiet moment. This wasn't the usual boring quiet he was used to, this was full of tension thicker than the haze that hung low in the air. He longed for someone to say something to break it up, but his ears weren't treated to such a relief.

The group passed a turned over car, smoking still, but with the flames put out. He saw no civilians here, but in the distance he could make out flashing lights through the haze. As they approached, red popped out of the fog, a welcomed eyesore against the thick white haze. He soon realized that the fire department had already come to put out the fires and rescue injured civilians. The salmonids were nowhere to be seen, and Rain didn't know whether to be thankful or disappointed.