Inked Over Secrets: a Splatoon 2 Fanfiction

13: Stinger Gives a Speech

Within a day, Avia had gathered most of the people populating the Telepathink Camp. Cepholo himself was attending the meeting, and that alone was enough to draw many people toward the meeting.
In the center of the camp stood a small box. No curtains, no microphones. Just a box. That was where Stinger would be standing, to convince some Telepathinks to join him and fight Tartar.
First he had to get over his stage fright, though.
Now that his memory was back, he remembered  one time in the second grade, his class put on a play to honor an old human holiday, namely Halloween. They all dressed up as ghosts, jellies, devils. Stinger was supposed to be the leader of the small group of "Trick-or-Treaters," wearing a hockey mask and all black. In the end, though, he couldn't bring himself into the stage, and his rival, the Gold Dynamo guy, had to bail him out. That was one memory Stinger would not wish returned.
But here he was, alone, in Avia's hut, trying to convince hundreds of people to join his fight against a literal immortal.
Arty, using her E-liter as a walking stick to support her paralyzed leg, hobbled up to him. "You're nervous, aren't you?"
Stinger smirked. "You know me too well."
"It'll be okay. They will listen to you."
Stinger's expression darkened, and he chuckled bitterly. "It's okay that I'm basically signing innocent souls up for their death? It's okay that we're going to lose this fight?"
Arty slapped him on the cheek. Stinger stumbled back, surprise evident on his face. "What'd I do?"
"Don't ever speak like that again!" Arty whisper-yelled, but Stinger could see the worry, the fear in her eyes. She knew their chances of success were slim, just like he did.
"We both know that this won't work."
"It doesn't matter. If nobody else will take a shot, than I will, with or without you. You cannot let doubt rule you. Will you ever succeed if you don't try? Even if the outcome is the same, you chose to do more with your life than the person next to you."
Stinger laughed — this time a strong, pure laugh. "Wow, Arty. Didn't know you were such a poet. Maybe you should take my place."
Arty blushed. "Shut up. Go out and get moving."
"Whatever you say, Ms. Fancy Sentence."
"Good, Mr. Stage Fright."
With another sigh of feigned annoyance, Stinger approached the crowd of people. They parted as he came through and stood on the box. He cleared his throat and began.
"So a lot of you are probably wondering: Who am I? Why do I look half dead? Well the answers are: I'm Stinger Rayno, and I am half dead."
A few chuckles rang out, but most of the gathered cephalopods sat in stony silence.
"Gee, tough crowd," Stinger muttered, before continuing. "So the reason I'm here with you all today, is not because I want money or food, not because I want you to join the Squidbeak Splatoon, but because I need your help. As some of you may know, the gooey guy, Tartar, is back, and took me away from myself. Evidently, I escaped, but that doesn't mean he's going to lie down and think, "Oh, well I'll be diddly-darned, some kid escaped me, I'll just give up." No, he's just going to find another guy, preferably a Telepathink, and try more genocide. By the time we find him, he may have another host, or multiple if he's grown that powerful. So that's where y'all come in. If you join me, you'll help me and some friends of mine take down Tartar and potentially save Inkopolis and/or the world. If you join me, you won't just be fighting for Stinger Rayno, Artemis, Telk Jaxin, and Avia. No, you'll be fighting for yourself, your family, your friends, your beloved, and your world." Stinger took a deep breath here. "So who wants to join?"
Silence. Than one Inkling stepped up to join. Alright, we've accomplished something at least, Stinger thought, before more and more cephalopods joined, trickling in like a hole in the dam, until at least half the population stood with Stinger.
Stinger whistled. "Wow."
And then things went wrong.
"You think that numbers will aid you?" The monotonous voice Stinger and company has become all too familiar with rang out. Stinger sighed, masking his fear under exasperation, and turned to find at least forty of the remaining Inklings and Octolings standing, with blank green pupils.
"What do you want?"
"I want you to give up. In your minds, you all know it is hopeless. I am with forty of your people now, while controlling another hundred elsewhere and assuming a physical form. I haven't even gotten close to reaching my limit. This is what you all are fighting against."
Suddenly, like they were struck by lightning, all forty spasmed, and dropped to the ground. When they came back up, groaning and clutching their heads, their pupils were normal. Stinger looked around and found Cepholo, lowering his hands with a pained expression on his face. Later, Stinger would find that he used his Syncing to find Tartar in each cephalopod and expelled him from their systems. The damage was done, however. Many Inklings and Octolings started looking around nervously and muttering to one another. Some even started drifting away.
When all the commotion was dealt with, Stinger looked at his small army.
"Good enough," he concluded to himself, "Let's do this."

...
So yeah. That's that.
Honestly, by now this book is about 89% cringe. I don't know how it's still getting reads, but I thank everyone who's reading this now.
So last week, I said that the Harry Potter Fanfiction will come soon, within the week. Here are a few facts about it:

1. It's name will be Moonflowers.
2. It will take place during or close to the Cursed Child era.
3. It's coming tomorrow.

Okay bye now.