OctoSquids (Splatoon story)

Prologue

20 Years Ago...

It seemed like another normal day in the canyon of Octo Valley. Since Lucio started working for the Octarian Army, he had been told to patrol in the same spot every single time: kettle #16C, set to be a sentry to protect a Zapfish, Inkopolis' main source of power. He was not sure what was the plan to use these, but the commander of the army, DJ Octavio, wanted to get back at the Inklings for leaving the Octarians underground to rot. At least, that is all what Lucio knew. Most of his days, he was by himself to guard the Zapfish, but just looking at it in its glass container, trembling to its whiskers, he could not help but feel sorry for it. He never really agreed with Octavio's extreme methods. But he did not want to be left in the shadows by the Inklings again, either. He wanted a truce. Unlike most Octarians, Lucio was an Octoling. He was practically identical to Inklings! But since he did not have the confidence to tell the commander, he was stuck here, keeping a poor, innocent creature hostage. Octavio would have him punished if he said anything, anyway.

One day, while he was patrolling by himself, he heard an unusual noise coming from a short distance away. He aimed with his specialized Octarian Ink Weapon to the direction he heard it. "Who's there?", he called out. "Show yourself!". After a few moments of silence, Lucio approached a possible hiding place behind one of many wooden crates scattered around the area. He looked behind it, but found nothing. Almost disappointed, Lucio relaxes his position, only to turn back to see a young Inkling girl tapping on the Zapfish's glass container.
"So here's where they've been taken...", she muttered. A bit startled, Lucio aimed his weapon at her.
"Hey! Get away from it!", he yelled at her, making the girl back away.
"S-Sorry, sorry!", she pleaded. "Please don't hurt me!". Lucio simply approached, making sure she did not get near the Zapfish.
"You shouldn't be here.", he told her. "How did you even make it down here? There are Octarians everywhere!". The girl looked like she was about to answer, but stayed completely silent, simply staring at him.
"You're not like the other Octarians.", she pointed out, leaving Lucio confused.
"What? Of course not, I'm an Octoling.", he answered, but realized he was trailing off. "Answer the question!", he demanded again, pressuring the girl with his weapon. After a moment of hesitating silence, she answered.
"I read about the Great Turf Wars not too long ago... I wanted to see an Octarian for myself since I've never even heard of one.", she said.

Lucio stayed silent in disbelief. A generic, young Inkling like her wanted to see an Octarian, to the point of risking her own life to come down to the Valley. Was she really that curious?
"Do you have a name?", she asked all of a sudden. Lucio was taken off guard that he struggled to answer.
"L-Lucio.", he gave her his name, making the girl smile, despite being aimed at by his weapon.
"It's very nice to meet you! My name is Coraline.", she replied instantly. Coraline... Sounds like an amazing name. Coraline suddenly turned back to the glass container. "So it really was the Octarians that stole the Zapfish!", she said, but she did not sound angry. She sounded more fascinated and confused. Lucio's general instincts began to kick back in.
"H-Hey! Don't touch that!", he ordered her again, but she only turned to him.
"Why are you all doing this?", she asked. "Capturing an innocent creature like this?". Merely looking at Coraline's face made Lucio feel more and more guilty. Then, she stood with a sudden and serious vibe. "I think I know what's going on..", she said as silence engulfed the conversation for a few moments, then pointed at him accusingly.

"You're not actually working for them!", Coraline exclaimed confidently, making Lucio feel like a fool for being intimidated by an Inkling girl.
"W-What..? No!", he corrected her, making Coraline feel slightly bad for how confident she sounded. "I do work for them, but--".
"But what, then?", Coraline interrupted him.
"But...", he trailed off, hesitating to answer her question. She said she read about The Great Turf Wars, yet she wanted to see an Octarian. No hate, no discrimination, no prejudice, no nothing. She was just genuinely curious about his people. "I don't really agree too much with everything we've been doing.", he said to Coraline, a bit unsure if he should continue. "I don't want this... Honestly, I don't think that Octarians will make it too far with so much violence.", he continued either way as he approached the glass prison the poor Zapfish was stuck in. "All I want is a truce. For Inklings and Octarians to live normally in peace. No more wars... No more conflicts...", he said as he then turned to Coraline. "You know?", he asked her for reassurance.

She smiled.
"Oh, I know.", she replied. "What I didn't know was that there are Octarians as compassionate as you! The ones I came across on my way here weren't too friendly. Other than that, I understand you perfectly.". This placed a smile on Lucio's face.
"Thanks, I guess.", he said to her, thankful.
"I have one question, though." Coraline pointed out. "If you really believe so much in what you say, why not just leave?", she suggested. "Inkopolis is a great place to start again.". Lucio's smile faded away in moments.
"I would love to, but I can't...", he said as he looked down. "He won't let me...", he showed how afraid he really is of the commander of the army. He had more power than any other Inkling would ever believe.
"I see.", she responded with a frown, then gave Lucio a small smile. "Well, you look lonely. Maybe I can keep you company for a while?". Lucio thought it was such a bold request, since another Octarian, or even Octavio, could pass by at any time, but seeing how confident Coraline was, he decided to have her stay just a bit longer.

Present Day...

"Off The Hook really knocked it out of the park, didn't they?", said Ridley, Plum's cousin, as he was talking to him.
"I know, right? I didn't expect them to dedicate an entire podcast on me.", he replied, still baffled to this day.
"You should feel lucky, Plum. After what you've been through, you deserve it.", Ridley said to Plum, trying to give him more encouragement than he already had, making him smile.
"Thanks, Ridley.", he said to him. Ridley returned his smile, then remembered something.
"Oh, right! You remember when you told me you could only play Turf Wars with Octolings, right?", he asked, with Plum looking at his cousin a bit confused.
"Yeah?", he wondered, waiting for the reason Ridley brought this up.
"Well, it just so happens that I will be one of the lucky three Octolings who will get to be on the Hybrid's team!", he exclaimed with happiness. That happiness was then reflected on Plum's face.
"Nice!", he said. Ridley began to laugh with excitement.
"Yeah! That, and it also happens that Calder will be with us too. You remember him, right?", Ridley added.
"I think. He lives with you, right?", Plum asked.
"Yep! That's him!", exclaimed Ridley. "Who knows!? Maybe we can form our own team together!". Ridley's and Plum's conversation was suddenly put to a halt as Calder approached Ridley.
"Hey! We're up! We should go now!", he said, letting them know the next round of Turf War was about to start.
"Right!", said Ridley as Calder ran off with an Octoling girl following behind; most likely their fourth teammate. Ridley turned to Plum. "Come on, Plum!", he said as he ran off to follow Calder. Plum smiled as he watched his cousin. His smile faded away as he then picked up the weapon that was next to him: a big Hydra Splatling, courtesy of his parents. He first made sure everything looked functional and approached the gate that would take him to the Turf War stage. He took a deep breath as he gently closed his eyes.
"Please let this one go smoothly...", he muttered under his breath as he opened his eyes, now with a look of determination and a confident smile. He ran through the gate, ready to play the sport he loved very much.