Pirate Wars: Prelude

Splatoon: Off the Hook, Off to New Donk City!

This is a one-shot that crosses over Splatoon with Mario, starring the best girls, Pearl and Marina~. It's canon to the Gameverse, but this one-shot is confined within itself, so all you'll need to know is that the Inklings live in the same world as Mushroom Kingdom. I've always wanted to make a story with these two, and the inspiration for this comes from this GIF on deviantART.

Off the Hook, Off to New Donk City!

The skyscrapers of New Donk City were slowly rising from the sunny horizon. Within only an hour, the Manta Maria would arrive at its destination. "YAHOOOOO! Time to get funky in New Donkey!" Pearl rapped, throwing up rock-and-roll signs at the bow of the ship. "Can you believe it, Marina? Our first live performance away from home!"

Seated on a garden chair, her dark-skinned partner twiddled her teal fingers. Her lips curved in a frown and her eyes couldn't bring their selves to look at the horizon. "HEY!" Pearl shot her face into Marina's, causing the Octoling to fall back in the seat. "Why are you still afraid? For the last time, no one's gonna care that you're an Octarian."

Marina pushed herself into a flip to get out of the seat, then helped herself up to pick the chair up. "I know, Pearl, but I've read stories about the outside world. People are still hating on Goombas, Koopas, and other people all because of Bowser and other warlords. What makes you think they'll be ready to accept me? The Octarians were forced to live underground for 100 years, never setting foot on the surface, let alone leaving Prism Island. All because of the horrible things Lord Octavio did. What if that news reached the outside world?"

"Yeah, I get it, already," Pearl rolled her eyes, "but now you're the first Octoling to do both. And if anyone's got a problem with you, I'll splat them, simple as that."

"Heh heh... that really wouldn't help our case."

"Well, it ain't my fault if they don't like my best bud." Pearl slapped her friend's back. "But come on, who could possibly be afraid of you? You couldn't hurt a fly."

"Heh heh..." Her friend's encouragement earned a teal blush on Marina's dark cheeks.

It had been about two years since Marina wandered her way to the surface of Prism Island, undetected by Inkling border guards as she found an exit on Mount Nantai. Ever since hearing the Squid Sisters sing "Calamari Inkantation," their vocals echoing to the underground, Marina aspired to be a singer. Of course, she knew the only way to realize her dream was to take her chances on the surface.

It could only be luck that she would encounter Pearl, an aspiring Inkling rapper who was practicing her singing while hiking up the mountains. Marina desired to impress her with a demo she created, and she succeeded. But to Marina's shock, Pearl was born to the richest family on Prism Island. The kind of family that would never accept a filthy Octarian, the race that desired naught but the destruction of Inkling culture. Marina was able to lie about her race; even with her poor vocabulary, her inability to speak the proper Inkling language, Pearl passed it off as, "'Guess that's country girls for ya~"

Marina was surprised she was able to keep up the lie for so long. After all, race aside, the two were total opposites. Pearl was bright-skinned, dressed like a princess to compliment her wealth, and had a vulgar tongue to compliment her fiery, strong personality. Marina wore rather tight, revealing clothes that showed off her dark-brown skin, though despite seeming so open, she was shy and timid and could barely maintain eye contact. It was a natural demeanor to take when you're pretending to be of a race who despises your own.

Fortunately, Marina didn't have to keep up the lie. After a year of singing with Pearl, the truth was leaked about her origins, and Pearl accepted the truth with an open heart. Even Inkopolis began to open the boundaries and welcome friendly Octolings into their culture. Still, even though things in their town had changed for the better, the grander Mushroom World was a different story. Even though their world was diverse with a hundred different sapient species, there was still discrimination. Lord Octavio, the corrupt ruler of the Octarians, was considered among the likes of King Bowser or King K. Rool. Bowser's actions caused people to hate the Koopas and even Goombas, and K. Rool's actions inspired hatred for the Kremling race. Even the Boos were sort of frowned upon because of the diabolical King Boo, though his reputation had improved after the creation of the Last Resort, currently the largest hotel in the universe.