Shattering the Stars

Rushing and Blushing

FINALLY! Man, I'm so excited to finally publish this chapter. Here I introduce you all to the characters belonging to a good friend. I hope you all go and read his story, it's pretty good and very cute! Anyways, now the Splatoon tag for this fanfic will make sense! OH, and also, now the story has a cover!!! I hope you all like it, and enjoy!
-Jooostan

Shattering the Stars
Chapter 12: Rushing and Blushing

The early morning sun drenched the land in a soothing, warm light. There was a slight breeze drifting through the dense, bustling city, its inhabitants chattering away without a care in the world. On the outskirts of the metropolis stood a fine, reputed art academy, a couple of students rushing to class as the first bell rang. However, in the vast lot separating the two main buildings of the campus, a little turf war was raging on.

"AAAHH!!" Ink splattered along the wall as someone ran to hide behind it, a boy, wearing a large gas mask. He huffed, his stunted breath fogging up his eyepieces. He waited urgently for his friends to join him behind cover, away from the enemy forces.

"FREDDY!!" A girl screamed, diving for the wall and joining her friend. She ducked out of the way of the ink blasts and reformed behind cover, panting. Brushing her purple hair away from her eyes, she stared down at her friend with an annoyed rage. "Why'd you just dip, huh?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I panicked, alright? You know me!" Freddy replied meekly, peeking out from the wall to see what else was going on. He quickly pulled back, a little overstimulated. It took him a second to notice that his other teammates weren't present. "Wait, where's Amy and Crystal?"

"I dunno! They were right behind m- Oh there they are," the purple gal pointed across the parking lot, seeing her friends rush ink a wall and climb up to hide on the above ledge. There was a small, measly alcove that gave the pair a little bit of room to breathe.

"Okay, good, we're all here. Violet, do you still have your armor?" Freddy turned to his friend, but she quickly scoffed at his words and put on a sassy expression.

"Look around us, Freds!" Violet gestured to the lack of their team's ink along the playing field. "Do you think I have it charged?!"

"R-Right, sorry... I just know we had a plan and all..." Freddy retreated into himself at Violet's harsh attitude. He thought for a moment that she had managed to get some ink along their turf, but apparently he was wrong. Looking down at his weapon, the trusty, custom E-Liter he so cherished, thought about his options. "I mean... I still have my special!"

"And it's Baller, you dork! What's that gonna do?" Violet didn't think Freddy's ability would be very helpful with the four of them pinned down. Baller had a good history of being useless, at least in Freddy's hands.

"Well, actually, I had an idea-" Freddy smirked under his mask, then turned to shout towards his other two friends. They were still hiding up above, Amy occasionally using her Dualies to counter some of the incoming ink. "Amy! Crystal!"

"Huh? Yeah, Freddy? What is it?" Crystal peered over the edge of the metal grating, keeping as low as she could so she wouldn't be an easy target. She couldn't really fight back at the moment, her weapon specializing in close-range combat.

"Uh, oh! Remember when we were doing Rainmaker here a while back? When we planned out those distractions?" Freddy knew he was reaching a bit, calling back to a match that had happened over a year ago, but he always remembered it vividly. Using his mask to help focus, he had a layout of the area in his head and mustered up an idea. It had the off chance of working out, if everything worked out.

"Yeah, why?" Crystal asked from afar.

"Didn't we lose that match?" Violet asked Freddy, equally humored and confused.

"Well this is different, alright? Shush," Freddy frowned at Violet's remark, then turned back to shout at his friends. He was coming up with the strategy on the spot, but it felt like it had some merit, at least to him. "Okay, well, this time I'll be the distraction! Violet can signal you when it's time to attack! Alright?"

"Whatever you say, Freddy!" Amy yelled as she reached to pull Crystal back further onto the platform, away from the ink sailing by.

With a deep breath, Freddy activated his special, having just enough ink around the arena to do so. Encasing himself in the plastic ball, he rolled out of cover and into the open, the enemy inklings taking notice right away. They concentrated all fire on Freddy just so the Baller wouldn't burst, nearing them as his timer counted down. It'd be too late for them to realize it was a trap, and right as the Baller exploded, three of the four enemy teammates were splatted at once.

"Go, now!" Violet shouted to Amy and Crystal, the two agents immediately jumping from the ledge and onto their turf. They quickly finished off the last member of the team, leaving the entire arena theirs for the taking.

Freddy raced up onto higher ground and parked himself with his E-Liter, using his careful sniping skills to keep the enemies at bay from a distance. Violet, always confident with her Undercover Brella, kept her finger on the trigger, letting the ink fly. Lastly, Amy and Crystal worked their magic, the inseparable pair keeping each other safe with the far reaching Dualies and the close-up Octobrush. Liquid soared through the air like a whimsical melody, the group's confidence rising with every second. It'd been some time since they had worked together in tandem so effortlessly, but when they all had the same goal, fate almost seemed to be on their side.

Three seconds remained, then two, then one! Then finally, the buzzer screamed, ending the match and both teams ceasing their assault. It was finally over. Back on the metro, the opposing forces waited as the judges tallied up the score, trying their best to hide their eagerness to receive the results. Judd and Lil Judd paused for effect, until suddenly the senior of the two prevailed, signaling that Team Inkstrike had won.

"BOOYAHH!" Amy shouted with joy, dropping her Dualies and jumping into the air. Pride flooded in like a tsunami on the team, cheers and excitement going around as the other team just grumbled at their loss.

As Team Inkstrike left the train station and reentered Deca Tower, Violet, feeling a little generous on this particular day, struck up an offer with her friends. "Hey guys, I was thinking... When we get to town, since we won and stuff, how about a couple of drinks at the Crust Bucket, on me?" She wore an odd, but welcoming smile as the others thought about it. Breakfast was just an hour ago, but what harm could a few drinks do to their appetite.

"Really? You, Violet, are paying?" Amy knew how much Violet loved to spend, mainly on things just for herself, so hearing that she'd treat the rest of the gang to food was cause for suspicion.

"Yeah, I am, what of it?" Violet raised an eyebrow, talking with sly, knowing smirk. "I'm feeling... uhm, what's the word," She put a hand to her chin. "Oh! Charitable. I'm feeling charitable today, so I'd take the offer while it stands if I were you."

Amy, Crystal, and Freddy all shared a glance, before returning their eyes to Violet. The purple-haired inkling just grinned, completely aware that her friends wouldn't pass up the opportunity for free drinks. They all just smiled as they left the lobby, walking out into the brisk, cool air blanketing Inkopolis Square. Friendly faces were seen all around, Team Inkstrike being a little on the popular side of the media spectrum.

The whole team eagerly waited in line at the Crust Bucket, Crusty Sean, the owner of the food truck, working hard to serve each and every of his customers. He whipped up various foods branded with some rather silly naming schemes: Shwaffles and Seanwiches. Nobody really minded, though, as the food tasted wonderful, and even came with some hidden benefits for those skilled enough to tap into them.

"Hey, what's kracken, you four? What'll it be?" Crusty Sean knew Team Inkstrike well, as they were frequent customers to the truck. Violet casually walked in front of the others and pulled out her wallet.

"Four of the usual drinks, please," Violet said, digging around in her bottomless pit of a wallet. "I'll be paying up front, this time, got it?"

"Maybe a Galactic Seanwich for us to share?" Freddy inched up from behind and asked Sean quietly. Sean simply looked over at Violet.

"Freddy!" Violet snapped, wearing a nasty, angered expression on her face. She didn't want to use too much money. Another look back at her friends forced her to reluctantly at the Seanwich to the order, forking over another pile of coins to pay for the entire meal. Amy and Crystal beamed with happiness, thankful that Freddy of all people had the courage to ask.

"Alright, peace!" Crusty Sean put together the order in no time at all, waving goodbye as the team left to sit at an appropriately sized table to feast. Violet grumbled at the amount of money she was forced to spend, but secretly, she enjoyed seeing the looks of joy along her companions' faces.

Amy, Crystal, Violet, and Freddy all sat down at a table and splayed out their drinks and food along the metal surface. They each took their favorite flavors and set the huge sandwich at the center of the table to tear apart as they so pleased.

"Ah, this..." Crystal sighed as she took a sip of her drink. "This is nice."

"Yeah," Amy smiled.

"Mhm," Violet and Freddy said simultaneously.

For a while, the whole team just sat out in the open at their table, enjoying the weather while it lasted. Apparently a storm was coming later that night, so the bright, just slightly cloudy sky wouldn't last forever. A few birds chirped as they flew near the large sandwich, the group needing to shoo them away if they got too close, just in case they tried stealing their food. They were crafty like that. Regardless of the nuisances, the four enjoyed the day, the solitude away from all the other inklings a breath of fresh air.

The air itself started to pick up, in fact. A couple of trashed newspapers floated through the wind before another gust came. With the strengthened breeze, a few of the napkins on the table with the sandwich were stolen by the wind, flying away and across the vacant street. Amy, Crystal, Violet, and Freddy all looked to each other before quickly putting their fingers to their noses.

"Not it," Violet said first, as if she was prepared.

"Not it," Amy followed.

"N-Not it!" Freddy was the most worried about being dead last in the little competition. All that remained was one more.

"Huh? Wha-?" Crystal saw that she was the only one not with a finger on their nose, meaning only one thing. "Oh, crap!" The octoling blushed at the sight of all her friends looking at her expectantly before she scooted from her chair with annoyance. "Why am I always last? I can never have good reflexes, can I?" she whined, standing up and taking her drink with her.

"Sorry, nothing personal," Freddy said bashfully.

"Gotta be ready for it," Violet added.

Crystal said nothing as she went to gather up all the scattered napkins. She bent down and picked them up one by one, until the last few were caught up in the wind again and flew further down the street, landing right by the mouth of an empty alleyway. With a groan, Crystal followed, knowing her friends were notoriously messy and would need all the napkins. She grabbed one, but her senses went on alert, her ears picking up something rustling around in the alley before her.

"What the-?" Crystal mumbled as she took a cautious step forward, trying to see what had caused the noise.

"P-Poyo?" A little creature said, its body colored very similarly to Crystal's own hair.

"AH!" Crystal leaped back with a start, dropping her drink and falling to the ground. She instinctively started to scoot away from whatever her eyes had landed on, but one closer look at it caused all her fear to wash away.

The creature was a round, stout, pink little fellow, with large, adorable blue eyes, glistening like the ocean. It looked distressed, just as cautious about Crystal as she was of it. For a moment, it stared, until quickly hiding, tending to something just out of sight.

"Crystal?" Amy called out, having heard her girlfriend's shout. "Is everything alright over there?"

"Uh, guys?!" Crystal shouted, standing on her feet and ignoring her spilled drink. Her interests were far too invested in whatever she had encountered in the alley, slowly sneaking further in to check it out. Something about that little creature resonated with her.

"Hey, Crystal? What's going on?" Freddy joined Amy and tried to find Crystal, equally worried. They caught up with their octoling friend and tapped her on the shoulder, bringing her out of her trance. "Hey, what happened? Why'd you scream?"

Crystal just pointed to the alley, the sound of a trash bag falling out of the nearby dumpster validating her worry. Amy and Freddy slowly snuck around, Crystal right behind them to investigate, wondering what the matter could've been. What they found was almost hallucinatory, Freddy nearly fainting at the sight. It wasn't a dream. It couldn't have been a dream.

On the ground laid a tired man, clad in a deep but vibrant green, a sword and shield on his back. Next to him sat two unconscious men, both beaten up and wounded. They were overalls, their shirts red and green respectively. On their heads were little white emblems, those being the letters of their first names. Finally, there was a little, purple fairy, trying to heal the green fellow in the overalls.

"Poyo..." The pink creature said dejectedly.

"Is-Is that... Kirby?" Freddy asked, coming out of his delirium, recognizing the pink creature from all the video games he played.