(in-universe) [NO HACKS] [EIGHT’S PALETTE] [30F] —————————————————————— The elevator buzzed as it reached the floor 30 of the Spire of Order. “Yo, Eight. Looks like it’s the top floor. You’ve already beat Order ten times though. You’re a natural!” exclaimed Pearl confidently. “Marina, are you getting the usual reading?” asked Acht cautiously. “Actually, no,” said Marina. “My computer won’t work. All I see on my screen is the number four for some reason, but I’m sure it’s just a glitch.” “Hmm,” muttered Acht. “Be careful out there, Eight.” Agent 8 nodded and clutched her Octo Shot, ready to go. Stepping out of the elevator and into the birdcage-like thing that took her to the platform, Eight realized halfway through the ride that the floor looked different. It was dark, lit only with the dim glow of screens playing footage of an Inkling splatting Rival Octolings. And Order wasn’t there. She stepped onto the floor and saw an Inkling with short hair, Hero Dualies, and an army jacket standing with her back to Eight, watching the footage. The Inkling, wearing a mask like the Parallel Canon bots Eight had fought, turned around. “Welcome,” she said. Eight felt a wave of terror wash over her just from one word of the Inkling’s voice. “Who…who are you?” she said in timid, Octarian-accented, Inklish. “Oh, that’s simple,” replied the Inkling. “I am the forgotten. 404. Formerly Agent 4 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon.” Eight shook in her Order Boots. “F-Four?… This isn’t you! We’re friends, remember?!” shouted Eight. “Order must be h-h-hypnotizing you! You can still snap out of it!” 404 stepped forward. “That’s where you’re wrong. No one is hypnotizing me. Nothing is controlling me. I do this out of my own free will,” said 404, moving her mask just slightly so Eight could see half her face, with half a crazed grin and a red eye with the New Squidbeak Splatoon logo somehow emblazoned in it. Eight froze, too scared to speak or move. “Now, since you’ve made it up here, I should answer one of your questions,” continued 404. “You’re wondering about the Parallel Canons. Why you haven’t seen them for a few runs. They’ve been up here with me. Watching. Waiting. I’ve trained them to be my own army.” The Parallel Canons lined up beside 404. “You’ve made a great effort, but you will fall today, lowly Octoling. You seem to be an anomaly,” said 404. “But, unluckily for you, I am the executioner of anomalies.” The red spotlight turned off so that all Eight could see was the glowing, soulless, red eyes of 404’s mask. Inside the elevator, Pearl, Marina, and Acht tried desperately to help. “I can’t hack the speakers, so we can’t sing Ebb and Flow to help Eight!” panicked Marina. “There’s another song overriding it,” said Acht. “It sounds kind of like Octoling Rendezvous…” started Marina. “And also like…Calamari Inkantation?” finished Pearl. With a look of terror on their face, Acht stood up and said, “Inkling Rendezvous.” The only thing providing light was 404’s mask and Eight’s ink from her Octo Shot, which 404 was rapidly covering up. She splatted Eight from behind, and in Round 2, her Parallel Canons decimated Eight. “Eight’s being overwhelmed by that crazy Inkling’s attacks!” shouted Pearl. Marina tried to hack rapid-fire to no avail. In Round 3, Eight was drenched in ink and barely able to fight, giving 404 the opportunity to point her Dualies at Eight. “Four, please don’t do this,” begged Eight. “Please.” “You are the enemy. You should be eliminated,” said 404 coldly. And with that, she splatted Eight. The song ended and so did the battle. And 404 pulled off her mask to reveal the same face as the old her, Agent 4, but with those red, glowing, battle-crazed eyes, a smirk like she had just won a war, and no regret for the fact that she just splatted her old best friend. GAME OVER
help not me writing an entire fanfic for just one fight- also chill it’s not blood it’s just red ink
