Splatoon Manga: CybeRun

Chapter 39: Destruction Of A Timeline

⚙️Chapter 39: Destruction Of A Timeline

The Squidbeak watched as the factory blew up behind them. Several of the faculty had been successfully evacuated, and were currently standing outside. A few citizens had been standing there watching, the rest having fled from the destruction. Bobble was slowly coming to, and N35 and C5 were outside with the Squidbeak as well. Although they were beat up, they were still functioning. Herald sighed as the factory crumbled to nothing.

"There went my family's passion...our love and appreciation for machines and our job...never thought it would come to this, but I suppose it's a lesson to never let your passions get taken too far," he muttered.

Flip could hear him as he spoke, and remembered when she first joined the Squidbeak. The Hero Exam, the corrupt traits brought on by Athena and her group...and how that tied in with her. She was a passion trait herself, and she couldn't let it corrupt her into an obsessive, bothersome creep. She approached Herald and stood beside him, but made no eye contact.

"I'm sorry we had to do this...but I think it would be better if this city never ended up like this in the first place," she said.

"I suppose..." Herald sighed.

Flip turned back towards the Squidbeak, who were saying their last goodbyes to Bobble and the others as the trio left. Rider sighed as she approached.

"Well. I guess you've proved your worth once again. I know I should stop suspecting my teammates of being lackluster, but..."

"It's okay. You're the leader, and even though you shouldn't abuse your power, you have a reason to be concerned over your teammates. I get it," Flip replied before Rider could finish.

She patted his shoulder and he simply looked away, not smiling but still understanding her words. Everyone else may have been injured, but that didn't stop them all from coming in for a group hug. It felt great to know that things were okay after such a stressful mission. The Idol 4 had a right to call this and Exam, even if they'd unknowingly out the Squidbeak in great danger. Speaking of the Idol 4, the group still had to inform them of this when they got back.

It wasn't the Idol 4's fault, was it? For putting them in this situation? They'd sort it out sooner or later anyway, so for now it was just a thought. The group separated from the hug and watched the other creatures to make sure they were all okay. The factory workers had minor injuries, some of the staff was unharmed, and there appeared to be no major casualties. The Squidbeak would feel bad for killing innocent people, especially in a world where they didn't even belong.

Regardless though, it seemed like their work here was done. The Squidbeak looked at the damaged factory and the ruins that were left, though it was still ablaze, sparking, and leaking water from places. The group would fix this if they could, but...considering their situation and health status (they were still injured), it would be better to rest up and heal before attempting any more dangerous things. That being said, it was probably about time for them to leave.

"Well guys...we might have "saved" this place, but that doesn't stop L1-V3 from getting to us in the past," Rider stated. "We still need to figure out just what caused this timeline so we can stop it."

"I think I have an idea of what might've happened..." Flip said. "But I'll tell you later. We need to let this place rebuild itself and establish a new ru-"

She froze mid sentence, though the other Squidbeak members' eyes were still on her. A sudden realization had come speeding in, and hit her with the force of a train boosted by meme music.

"Wait...this place doesn't have someone to run it anymore!" Flip exclaimed.

"I don't get it," Gloves said nonchalantly and confused. "Wasn't that the point? L1-V3 was still evil to her citizens even though she did what she thought was best."

"We might have destroyed L1-V3, but we've also destroyed this whole society! Dear cod, how come I didn't see this coming?!" Flip replied, becoming increasingly panicked.

"What do you mean, a "whole society" exactly?" Emperor asked.

"L1-V3 ran this whole city, the power, the rules, EVERYTHING! Now that we've killed her..." Flip started.

"The citizens won't be able to live properly!" Prince finished. "They have nobody to help them when things go awry!"

"If there are power outages, they won't be able to manage the power!" Goggles added, now catching on.

"What will happen if there are thieves or rebellions? Troublemakers or crimes?" Nana worried.

Rider understood it all now. Even as a leader himself, he'd overlooked the outcome of their battle.

"Those robots followed L1-V3's orders...and with both her and them basically gone..."

"We have to get back to the machine, NOW!" Hachi commanded.

The Squidbeak said no more as they ran to their machine to get this all fixed as quickly as possible. A few of the citizens looked at them strangely and/or with confusion, but the Squidbeak hardly paid attention. As the familiar buildings became a blur, they focused on their path back, and only that. They used landforms and other structures that they remembered to locate the machine, which, upon being found, was luckily still in good shape. Their legs and lungs burned, but they were here now, and there was no time to waste.

Everybody except Hachi scrambled to get in as best they could without hitting any of the buttons inside the machine on accident. Hachi then went around the machine, looking for the dent to put in the power source. He found it in a few seconds, and put the electricity crystal in as best he could to fit the shape. Once he was sure it was secure in its spot, he entered the time machine with his friends, and the door was firmly shut behind him.

It was time to go home.