¡WARNING! Very mature. A new company recently set up shop in 2nd Inkopolis. It is known as AquaTek, a group of scientists devoted to finding a formula for Inkling-safe water no matter the costs. A great idea leading to a revolutionary breakthrough...
Sheldon was dead. Sheldon is dead, Sheldon is dead, Sheldon is dead. Sheldon will always be dead. Sheldon is dead, SHELDON IS DEA-
She fell to the ground, clutching her head. Laura felt sick. The urge to vomit plummeted upwards as she wheezed and dry tears squeezed out her tightly clamped eyelids. She coughed, a fit so violent she soon found herself spitting up blood. She had bit her tongue. She put forth a desperate wail as she let out a heavy, choking cough and bile dripped out of her mouth and onto the pavement.
Footsteps pounded on the ground somewhere behind her. Then, a voice.
"Laura? What are you doing here?"
It was Tack. He's a friend of Cynthia's that moved in with her when they left the 1st Inkopolis together.
"Laura? Are you oka-" He begins to ask, but suddenly stops. He stifles a gasp. "What the hell happened here?!" Laura didn't respond. She couldn't respond.
Sheldon was dead. Brutally murdered, his body mutilated, his entrails piled up in the middle of the square. His members hung by threads off of light poles. He didn't deserve this.
This would stay with Laura for a long time, if she ever managed to forget it one day.
"Tack!" She called out desperately. But he was gone.
Yet, someone was there with her. She could feel their presence. Then, an arm wrapped around her, lifting her to her feet. Arm wrapped around her shoulder, the newcomer guided her away from the scene.
"Miss, it's going to be OK. Take a deep breath." They had moved over to a bench just outside the town square. They sat down. She wrapped her arms around the newcomer and pressed her face into his shoulder, squeezing tears out as she wailed. He patted her on the back.
Eventually she stopped shaking. Drawing back from the newcomer and wiping her eyes with her sleeve, she turns to him. "Why Sheldon?"
He turns to her. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. The name's Nathan. I'm a Mass Murder Detective. That night at the splatfest, I decided to take a closer look into this 'AquaTek'. And I must say, I was shocked when I came here contemplating the info I had just found, only to look up and see this level of carnage. This is more brutal than any mass murder I've seen in the past."
He looks away from her. They sit there for awhile. He suddenly turns back to her. "You were at that splatfest, weren't you?"
Laura only nodded. Stifling a sob, she lay her head against his shoulder. "Did AquaTek do this?"
"Most likely."
Laura stares blankly ahead, a tear trickling down her cheek. "I-I can't believe he's gone."
Nathan stood up. "If I may ask, what's your name, Miss?
"It's Laura."
"How much do you know about AquaTek?" He ventured. She looked up at him.
"Not enough."
"I don't know much either. But I probably already know too much," Nathan mutters. "If I keep digging deeper, there's a chance I'll end up like Sheldon." At this Laura gasped.
"Be careful then," was all Laura said.
"There's no telling as of now who did this to Sheldon," Nathan said, "but I believe AquaTek has something to do with this. At the very least, they know who did it."
He stood up. "Miss Laura, if you don't mind, I'm gonna go check out the crime scene. I would like you to remain seated here, if that's alright." Laura nodded. Nathan then proceeded to walk away in the direction of the town square.
She sat there.
Ten minutes later, Nathan still hadn't returned. Minutes that lasted forever turned into hours that lasted even longer. Each fleeting moment lasted an unforgiving eternity, just out of reach, never able to be reused, a mere thing of the unforgettably painful past.
She tried closing her eyes. The sound of static filled her ears. She saw Sheldon's face smiling back at her. His smile. Just his smile. Everything faded away. Only his smile remained. The same smile his decapitated head bore as it rested atop a pile of his own flesh and organs. The same smile that would never leave her. It would haunt her deepest nightmares forever.
Eventually Nathan came back to find Laura curled up under the bench, tears streaming down her face.
After that, under Laura's directions, the detective led Laura back to her apartment. "Do you need anything? Absolutely anything? Don't be afraid to ask," Nathan said. Laura simply shook her head no. He walked out and shut the door behind him.
Laura trudged over to her bedroom. To her surprise, Cynthia was in there. "Cynthia?" She said hysterically.
"Oh. O-oh, hey there, Laura!" She stuttered. A tear dripped down Laura's cheek as she laughed. Hysteria had finally gotten to her. "Where have you been, Cynthia?" She managed to wheeze out.
"Oh nowhere, just kinda hanging aroun-"
"Sheldon's dead." Laura said, suddenly ceasing her hysterical laughing. Cynthia took a step back, astonished. "What?!"
Laura suddenly reeled over, as if to throw up. Cynthia guided her to the couch, where she slumped down. She looked as if she was having a hard time even staying awake. Her eyes were dull, void of any emotion. She was shaking, and her skin was pale white. She curled up in a ball on her couch, hugging her knees.
"Sheldon is dead."
Suddenly, the door flew open, and in stepped Murch. "AND I KNOW WHO DONE IT!"
Laura suddenly jolted up, as if she had just been woken up from a nightmare. "Really?!"
"Yes! But first, I need to introduce you all to a little friend o' mine."
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An Octoling with green skin, a black shirt, white cap and headphones walked in. She wore red visors similar to the ones worn by the Octolings in the army.
"Hello..." she spoke in a raspy, drawn-out voice.
She looked at Laura, devoid of emotion. Suddenly, she shrunk back shyly, huddling in the corner of the living room. She was looking at the TV, which was on. It no longer showed a static-filled screen. Instead, Off The Hook was playing. Pearl and Marina were talking about someone. An image of someone flashed on the screen.
An image of Dedf1sh.
Allegedly, she was well known for remixing popular songs. Her latest remix was Splattack!.
Cynthia was amazed. "You're a FAMOUS music artist?!" At this, Dedf1sh nodded shyly.
Murch, impatient as he is, finally climbed up on the couch. "LET'S GET TO THE POINT!" He yelled. "'F1sh, tell them what you know."
