Scarlet ink; a Coroika AU

Practice.

(This story takes place around the Splat 2 era, before the Splatlands was popular. Most of this story will be told from Bobble Hat's perspective. She lives in a small apartment complex closer to Inkopolis Plaza, and lives alone with the exception of her pet seacucumber, Wiggle. I am, ofc, also using the heterochromia headcanon. Deal with it. :P)

Its almost noon in Inkopolis Plaza, likely the busiest time of the day. There are countless faces out and about, just chatting or getting a bite to eat... or waiting for their teams to show up for practice. Bobble Hat just happened to be the latter, sitting on a bench in front of the battle lobby, facing the shops and Grizzco. She had expected Goggles to be running a bit behind, but for everyone to be missing was a bit odd. Headphones and Specs were never this late. She put in some cephlo-pods and listens to the Squid Sisters to pass the time...

Eventually, she's snapped out of her trance as she hears footsteps quickly approaching. She looks up suddenly, and a wave of relief washes over her. Her teammates were finally here!

Or... at least one of them.

"Sorry, sorry! I might overslept a little bit!" Goggles managed between pants. He looked like he had just run a marathon, but still kept that goofy grin on his face. Once he's a few feet away from Bobble, he bends down, hands on his knees, and attempts to catch his breath. Bobble laughs at Goggles' antics, and gestures for him to sit next to her. He happily accepts her offer, and slumps down on the bench beside her. A few minutes pass before he finally catches his breath. "Are Specs and Headphones here yet?" He asks, still a bit winded. Bobble shakes her head. "Nope!" Goggles seems to breathe a sigh of relief. "Whew... that means I'm not cooked!" He lets out a soft chuckle and rubs the back of his neck nervously.

They decide to wait a little longer for their other two teammates, conversing with other familiar teams as they passed by the bench. The last group they saw was none other than Team Yellow-Green, Rider's team. Little did they know that this casual conversation would be the last one they would have in a long time...

"Riiiider!" Goggles jumps up from the bench, aiming for Rider's pants. Rider instinctively grabbed his belt, holding up his pants against the attack. "Stop thaaaaat!!!" Rider yells back, swinging his Dynamo roller, quickly and accurately covering Goggles in a thick layer of ink. Goggles falls back into the bench, laughing his ass off. He wipes his face, and Bobble helps him back up. "Awh, you're no fun Rider!" he pouts, crossing his arms. The rest of Team Yellow-Green is snickering behind Rider, who shakes his head, but can't help but crack a smile. "Yeah yeah, something like that." He looks up, then notices half of Team Blue is missing. "Hey, where's Specs and Headphones?" He asks, pointing to Bobble and Goggles. Bobble looks up, and with her usual dorky smile she answers. "No idea! Maybe they forgot?"

Rider's face falls almost immediately. Something is wrong, he can feel it. It wasn't like Specs or Headphones to just go AWOL for no reason, especially without letting their team know beforehand. Specs was the leader for crying out loud! It's not like him to just no call no show to a practice session. Something is wrong...

"That's not very likely..." Rider says. Goggles detects Rider's sudden change in tone... and that worries him. Now he's nervous too, which in turn alerts Bobble. "Did they mention anything yesterday about running late or... any change of plans, really?" Rider asks, hoping they maybe just forgot. Goggles shakes his head, denying anything was said at all. "Not that I can remember." He says. Rider seems agitated with this, grabbing him by the arms. Goggles felt fear... not for himself, but of whatever Rider was worried about. Something felt off... unsettlingly off...

Rider holds Goggles for only a few seconds before realizing that he was probably jumping to conclusions, and he lets go and takes a deep breath. "...I'd check on them. It's... probably nothing, but..." He trails off. Goggles nods.

They end up sending a text.... waiting a few minutes... then calling.

Once. It rings... no response.

Twice... no response.

Three times... nothing.

They wait.

Four times... still nothing.

Five... straight to voicemail.

Goggles and Bobble exchange a glance. They both know what they need to do...

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They quickly take the subway to where Headphones lives. She lives in an apartment complex on the outskirts of town. It feels like time slows to a crawl on the ride there...

They finally reach their destination. Goggles and Bobble step off of the subway and start walking toward Headphones' place... then speed walk... then a dead sprint. They get to her apartment in record time... hoping for their friends' safety...

They race up the stairs to the second floor, only to find the door slightly ajar... and the lock busted in. Goggles looks over to Bobble, his face pale but determined. They stand outside until they hear signs of life... and struggle. They hear some voices they don't recognize... and three that they do. Without thinking, Goggles pulls out his only means of defense, and kicks down the door...

Both his and Bobble's hearts sink at the scene before them... they had arrived just moments too late...

(Word count 903. This is just the beginning...)