Chapter Text
Coming out of their spawner, Three once again surveyed the stage, though they were quickly interrupted by a tap on the shoulder. Glancing to their right, Kaori nodded at them, before starting to gesture with her left hand.
She pointed at herself, before pointing forward, curving her hand to the right. Then, she pointed at Three, before repeating the same motion, but this time curving to the left.
We'll go straight down to the middle, then I'll take left while you take the right?
Kaori nodded.
Divide and conquer, got it.
Three said as they gave her a thumbs up, before jumping into their spawner to prepare for the initial launch.
Upon landing, Three quickly followed Kaori's trail of ink, letting her set the path forward with her faster weapon.
It was only upon hitting the halfway point to the center that the two diverged paths, Three firing off a blast from their brella to the left, before jumping down into the lowered side area.
Inking a fair portion of the enclosed area to ensure good movement in the event of having to retreat, they headed towards the raised block in the center. Their special was almost charged, and they wanted to be prepared to vacuum up any potential threats to their team.
They launched their canopy towards the other team's side of the stage, preparing to take space.
Then the whistle sounded. The match… was over?
Wait, what? What's going on? The match had barely even begun, why did the whistle sound?
Lowering their weapon and looking around, they spotted the other two players behind them, looking just as confused as they were.
Better meet up with the Captain. Err, Kaori. Figure out what to do from there.
They walked over towards the right of the stage, hopping down a short ledge that separated the center from the side.
That was when they saw exactly why the match just ended prematurely. A medic had already jumped into the stage, and they were squatting beside someone sprawled out on the ground. The match must've ended because one of the players had a medical problem.
Wait, I don't even see any ink from the other team. And if the other two on our team were just as confused as—Oh, fuck!
They rushed over to the scene. Sure enough, the person on the ground was none other than Kaori. Her unique looking splattershot was lying not far from her, likely dropped as whatever had happened brought her down.
Stay back kid!
Three froze, they had forgotten about the medic when they had laid their eyes upon the Captain's unmoving form, limbs uncomfortably sprawled about the ground.
Three swallowed, a lump in their throat.
Will she be okay?
they asked, worry clear in their voice.
You with her?
The medic asked while they rushed to look Kaori's body over, checking for any signs of what might be the cause of the issue.
Yeah, we queued together,
answered Three. She's…
They paused for a second, trying to find the right words. She's a close friend.
Well go ahead and grab her stuff, also call her parents if you can, we're probably going to have to take her down to the hospital.
Three's breath hitched, another wave of worry washing over them. They walked over, taking another worried glance at Kaori before picking up her unique Splattershot.
Don't worry, looks like she passed out from exhaustion,
the medic said as they went to check her heart rate, It's just to be on the safe si—shit, she's got no pulse!
The medic scrambled to grab their handheld radio and nearly shouted into it.
Squad 84 to Base, we need an extraction from the Turf stage on Hammerhead. Patient looks to be a 15 to 16 year old female octoling, no pulse and not breathing. No visible trauma, but there's this weird patch of skin on the side of her face that looks to be stained by something green.
Inktoling.
Three blurted out without thinking, in an attempt to correct the medic's description of Kaori. And she's 21, not a teen.
Unfortunately for the sake of correctness, the medic had already dropped the radio as they proceeded to perform some kind of maneuver that Three didn't quite understand.
Finally, another medic jumped in. And it didn't take very long for their confusion to become apparent.
John, that skin patch sure is weird looking,
the new medic started, but, you said we had an octoling down. How could you have missed the obvious tentacles of an inkling?
Well excuse me your benevolence, o' right honorable Olivia Takowasa, for prioritizing the condition of the patient over a preliminary radio report.
The medic apparently named Olivia scoffed. I already told you to fuck off on that spiel, John. And put your all into it; our patient is somebody quite well known.
She leaned in further, I would sure hate for word to get out that she died because of your continued inadequacy.
Three froze at the mention of death, their breath growing unsteady.
I'll get the extraction request confirmed and give any necessary corrections to your lackluster comms to base.
She then turned to Three. Hey squid, are you with old greenie here?
Three took a second to respond, as they shook. Y-Yeah. We queued together as friends.
The medic—Olivia—looked them over from top to bottom, seemingly sizing Three up. She chuckled a little before speaking further.
Ah, new recruit. Was it just you two or is there another one of your… teammates back at the lobby waiting for you?
Three's eyes went wide, though they didn't say anything.
Wait, what?! Does she know about the splatoon?!
Oh, don't worry; the cousins and I…we have some history, you could say. I owe them for pretty much saving my life.
She winked when she finished speaking.
…Just how much has the splatoon done?
Anyway, get back to them stat and let them know. I'm sure all of you want to be ready for ol' Number Three here when we get her to the hospital.
Giving a quick nod, Three obliged as they went to regroup with their spawner, given how the match was very much over. But as they walked off, one more thing was shouted at them.
And don't forget her shot there in your hand, it's a real one-of-a-kind piece!
Having returned to the lobby, Three was caught off guard by someone grabbing them off to the side.
Three! What happened?!
It was Callie, and like Three, she was panicking about whatever it was that just happened to the Captain.
I… I don't know! She was fine when the match started! We split up shortly after that point as planned, so I didn't see what happened at first!
I saw it on the screen,
said Callie as she pointed towards a large television hanging on the wall, she just froze up all of a sudden when she got near the edge, and then like a few moments later she just collapsed!
Her other arm shook a bit before she continued.
The live feed was cut right after, so I don't know what happened after that.
Three took a deep breath in an effort to calm themselves down.
She wasn't visibly hurt,
they recalled, but the medic said something about her not breathing and… that she was lacking a pulse.
They decided to not mention the misidentification of the Captain's age and species, or the banter between the two medics that resulted from it.
Callie screamed in reply as she grasped Three by the shoulders, What?! Where are they taking her?
They said they'd be taking her to a hospital!
Which one?!
Callie shook Three a little with each word she spoke, as some kind of extra emphasis.
T-they didn't say which! They just said ‘the hospital’!
Callie let go of Three and grabbed her phone, quickly starting a call to someone, though they didn't know who. But that made itself apparent quite quickly.
Marie! We've got an emergency!
It was pretty clear that Callie was panicking over the situation; perhaps she was looking for Marie to help keep things calm?
It's Kaori! She collapsed and they were saying she wasn't breathing and didn't have a heartbeat and she's being taken to a hospital but I don't know which one or how they're taking her or if she's gonna be okay or—
Okay, she's really panicking hard. She seems way more upset than when we found Mr. Cuttlefish all…dried up and dead?
Three did not expect to hear what they did next.
Shut up for a moment Callie!
Oh, that was… uh, loud. I could really hear Marie even with the phone right up to Callie's ear.
I… Um, we're at the little lobby annex in the neighborhood,
she seemed to reply to Marie. Yeah, Three.
Sounds like Marie's trying to get an overview of the entire situation right now.
The interrogation by telephone continued, from what Three could tell.
U-Uh, um…
And it seems Callie is getting overwhelmed here. Should I step in and do something? But what can I even do to help?
Three decided to at least try something to help Callie, even if it was only a little bit. They slowly reached out towards her, and brought their hand around her back and towards the shoulder. Then Three gently rubbed the area, basically the same thing that the Captain—Kaori—had done for Three only a few days ago.
It worked. Callie visibly relaxed, as she started to get her responses in order.
It was just a regular turf war battle. On the Bridge. Yeah, the same one like old times. Wait, where? The same one from when she came back all messed up? Okay, we'll be there as soon as we can!
Callie put her phone away, before turning to Three.
Hey, did you happen to pick up her stuff?
Three held up Kaori's unique Splattershot in front of them. Yeah, I've got her weapon. I didn't see an ink tank though, and I don't know what happened to her spawner.
Okay, good enough. We gotta go now!
Three nearly fell over as Callie started dragging them out of the lobby, not even giving them a moment to understand what she had just said.
Three wriggled in her grasp, failing to free themselves. Ack! Callie! It's not like my legs are broken!
Sumi followed behind the two, scurrying as fast as a smallfry could.
Stopping by the road, Callie unceremoniously let go of Three, who fell on the ground and let out a sharp hiss of air.
Standing up and regaining their balance, they shot a glare at Callie.
Did you really have to drag me out here?!
They complained as they dusted themselves off.
Instead of any response, Callie was fixated on looking down the road for something, and… flapping her hands around a bit while she was at it?
Oh. She's stressed out and panicking…
Three sat there, trying to think up a way to maybe help her calm down, even just a tiny bit.
They were beaten to the punch however, Sumi having started nudging against her leg to get her attention before hopping up and down in place, as if beckoning her to pick them up.
Callie didn't seem to notice, to both Sumi and Three's disappointment.
Three sat there for a second, before scooping the little salmonid up into their hands.
Hey, Callie?
They gently called out.
Hey,
she replied somewhat half-heartedly.
They quickly stepped in front of her, I think Sumi here wants some attention.
Three raised their bubbly companion up to face-level, but it took a moment before Callie replied in any form.
Ah—I need to kuh… keep watching f-for Marie.
Three gave a quick nod of understanding. I can keep watch for you while you spoil Sumi. I think it'd help your nerves. If you don't want to, that's fine. Just putting the offer out.
Callie didn't get a chance to respond before Sumi took matters into their own fins. Before Three could even realize, their tongue had extended out and made contact with the side of her face.
Gently, they brought their tongue upwards, before returning it to their tiny maw.
Three let out a small laugh, before turning Sumi around to look at them. They were rewarded with a face-licking of their own.
What is it with you and licking folks, huh?
Sumi let out a warble before bouncing back around and chirping a couple of times at Callie. And they were met by her characteristic giggle, albeit quieter than usual.
A tiny smile formed on Three's face as they heard the giggle.
Now we're getting somewhere. Thanks, Sumi. Best buddy I could've ever asked for.
It took what felt like an eternity for Marie to arrive.
Three was gently stroking Sumi's back while Callie stroked under Sumi's chin when a familiar looking car pulled up alongside them. Marie stepped out from the driver's seat before walking around the car and towards Three and Callie, greeting them with a weakly moving wave.
Marie's here,
Three spoke out, punctuated with excited chirps from Sumi. They held a hand up and their best buddy bounced into their palm.
Marie made her way to the other side of her cousin, gently placing a hand on Callie's shoulder as she sat down on the curb beside her.
Hey Cal,
she spoke softly.
Hey,
replied Callie, followed by a sniffle.
The two shared a moment of silence before pulling each other into a soft hug.
For a moment, Three felt as if they were being watched. They thought they saw a momentary flash of green off to their side, but saw nothing as they turned around to look.
The street and the area around them were empty, save for Callie and Marie.
Speaking of…
Their hug having ended while Three wasn't looking, Marie gently guided her cousin to the rear door of the car and helped her into the back seat.
Three,
she called out, take the front seat.
They promptly obliged, setting Sumi down as they opened the front door before climbing into the seat.
The bubbly smallfry followed suit, hopping into the car after Three had gotten seated.
Likewise, Marie sat down in the driver's seat and started the engine as Three finished securing their seatbelt.
As they sat there, Three could only hope.
Please be okay, Captain…please…