Inked Over Secrets: a Splatoon 2 Fanfiction

Epilogue

20 years later...

Argen and Mauri Rayno were immersed in a game of tag around Skipper Pavilion. Their giggles could be heard from across the stage.
Meanwhile, their parents smiled.
"They're so happy," Artemis Rayno murmured.
"Yeah. And so are we," Stinger responded.
Arty looked at him sideways. "Is that true for you?" She asked softly.
"Sometimes I get the familiar urge to play a Turf War, but yeah, it's true. What about you?"
Arty smiled. "I couldn't be happier," she said.
Sixteen years ago, Stinger had defeated Tartar, but with a cost. His army rushed him to the nearest healer in Cepholo's Site, as it was now called, and he made it through the night. However, he couldn't stand up for a week, and the overexposure to water had permanently washed out his tentacles; they could no longer change color, or have color at all. Meanwhile, Arty, from running up the hill without her cane, had fully paralyzed her leg. These two injuries stopped Stinger and Arty from ever playing Turf Wars ever again.
But they were okay. They had each other.
Ten years after the war, Stinger and Arty were officially mates. Two years after, Mauri and Argen were born. Both Inkling-Octoling hybrids (inktoling is the term btw), and both completely oblivious to what their parents had gone through.
But maybe that was for the better.
Stinger felt a tug on his shirt. "Daddy?" He looked down and found himself staring into Mauri's piercing mint eyes, so much like his own. "Where did my name come from?"
"Why do you want to know?" Stinger asked.
"Well... a lot of kids at school have been asking about my name," she said shyly.
When Stinger looked at Arty, he saw that it was time.
"Sit down," he said, before calling Argen over.
He sighed. "Many years ago, your mother and I were involved in a war against a villain named Tartar."
"Like the mayonnaise?" Argen interrupted, wrinkling his nose."
"Yes, like the mayonnaise," Stinger allowed himself a small smile before continuing. "He was... powerful, to put it simply. He took over my mind and almost ended your mother's life. However, with the help of some good friends of ours, and an army, we eventually beat him once and for all."
"Who were those friends?" Mauri asked, always striving for knowledge.
"You know them. Avia and Telk Jaxin were our closest friends. There was also a man named Cepholo, who... passed away," Stinger said, wincing at the memory. "But that's not important at this time. You want to know why you have your names, correct?"
The children nodded eagerly. Stinger continued.
"Long before the war started, my memory was washed by Tartar. However, it eventually came back, when I was on the brink of death, and with it came the memory of my rival. His name was Auru, a Gold Dynamo user. His name was very close to Aurum, the ancient Latin word for gold, so I figured you, Argen, could be named after Argentum, Latin for silver."
"And Mauri, you were named after yet another friend. Mauritius was a nervous trainee who approached me during training to ask if she should go to the long-range or close-range, as she had Glooga Dualies. We (being Arty, Avia and I) had a small chat with her, and helped her out."
Stinger looked at Arty. "And, according to your mother, she helped me come back to life after almost drowning myself along with Tartar." His eyes glasses over at the memory, then returned to normal. "It seemed only natural that I repay her in one form or another."
The two were silent for a while. Then Argen jumped up. "Wow, you were in an actual war! So cool!"
"Not as cool as you think, son," replied Arty.
Argen shrugged in that aloof way of his, and dashed off.
Mauri was quieter. "I'm sorry about Cepholo, and the war."
Stinger leaned down. "Hey, you don't have to be sorry. There was nothing you could've done. Plus, it brought your mother and I together."
"Love can be found in the strangest of places," Arty chimes in.
"I guess that's true..." Mauri murmured still looking downcast.
"Hey, cheer up. I'll show you my old Charger, if you want," Arty said. "And later, we'll bring you to see Aunt Avia and Uncle Telk."
"Mauri brightened immediately. "Thank you!" She said before chasing after Argen, wanting her toy Splattershot back.
Stinger and Arty chuckled, looking at their happy children, before sighing, content with how things are.
Secrets were uncovered, battles were fought, and people were lost. But in the end, it was all worth it.

:)
And that concludes Inked Over Secrets.
Time for a few special thanks:
Thanks to voomy1 , once again, for supporting this story from beginning to end. If you like my work, please be on the lookout for a collab I'll be doing soon with her, Iym_Voyd , and @rukaiyagumra (sorry if I didn't write your name correctly). It will be a sequel of their Young Love story, so please check that out as well.
Big thanks to my parents for supporting me in reading and writing.
And, of course, HUGE THANKS to you, the reader! You have made this all possible. The funny, the happy, the sad, the cringey moments of this story we're all thanks to the support I got from each and every one of you.
Thank you all so much.
But wait, there's more!
Next week, I'll be doing an 'extra scenes' kind of thing, where I list scrapped ideas and various other stuff to do with this story.
Also, remember the edits I did a while back? Well I have more.

I started this story as a 12-year-old. Now, I'm a 12-year-old writer.
Thanks again! See ya!