SPLATOON: The Octarian Race

Chapter 18- Plans and Decisions Made

Before the meeting assembled, Kira rushed over to Naoto and tapped his shoulder repeatedly as she was out of breath. "Kira? What's wrong with you? Why do you look so tired?" Naoto asked. "I found out…" Kira whispered into his ear. Naoto had a shocked expression face as he heard what he told her. "What…!? No way…Eliana was our enemy? Master, Yuka and Oliver just recruited her as a member or something?" He asked her again. Kira nodded. "It would seem so…the dose Yuka gave to Eliana to regain her consciousness is actually a dose to make her forget her memories before joining the race…I heard Oliver and Master talking about it in the lab." She responded. "But…Eliana isn't a bad person…but now that we know that she's been gone for days without that dose, she must've regained her memories which makes her an enemy again." Naoto said as he put his hand on his chin as he was thinking. "It's not her fault. She was our enemy the whole time. We just brainwashed her. We should've never associated with an inkling in the first place. I don't get why Master wanted her though." Kira said back. "Let's keep this quiet. We don't want to spoil things that other members like Jakob and Flynn aren't going to believe. Otherwise we might get in trouble." Naoto thought as he looked at the light blue octoling. Kira nodded silently. "Meeting. I repeat, all members assemble in the main hall for a meeting." Yuka said to all the speakers in the building. "...That's our cue. Let's go." Naoto said as he and Kira walked out of the room and towards the main hall.

As all the members came to the hall, Naoto and Kira noticed that there was an  unfamiliar octoling girl right beside Master. "Master, who is that?" Naoto asked. "Not right now. I will explain it all." The black octoling responded back to him. The light pink octoling girl left the room silently. Yuka and Oliver were standing beside each other as they held papers in their hands. Few seconds later, Flynn and Jakob came into the room along with Lenard. "...The intruder…!" Kira gasped. "Perfect timing, number 4 and 5. Let's start the meeting, shall we?" Master said again. Lenard was silent as he looked at the black octoling. Flynn looked at Kira and Naoto who were staring back at him. "Flynn, Jakob. We thank you for bringing number 8 back." Yuka said. Most of the members except Flynn gasped in shock as they looked at the white inkling. "Number 8? I thought Eliana was our number 8!" Kira said. "You see, we will explain everything. Our number 8 is this male inkling. After the Great Turf War ended about two months ago, we took this inkling back with us. He was one of the great warriors that opposed us, so we decided with him, we can form the strongest cephalopod the entire Inkopolis has ever seen. Then, we'd take back Inkopolis from the inklings and octarians shall rule it all." Oliver explained. "What…?  Then how did we get Eliana?" Naoto asked. "She entered our facility while we were experimenting with this white inkling. When they tried to escape, the white inkling only made it out. Eliana is the only one who fought us. She had a strong will; almost as strong as him. So after we finally defeated her, we decided to take her as our newest number 8 which we introduced to you all officially three weeks after." Yuka added. Naoto, Kira and Jakob had confused faces. Flynn remained silent as he knew everything the entire time after reading the test papers. "Then…the intruder was the original number 8 in the first place?" Jakob asked. "Precisely. We just have not seen his identity under his black sweater." Master answered. "Then aside from all of that aside, what happens now…?" Flynn asked. "...Hmm. Take a rest. It's been a few days since you've all gotten some rest. No more missions for tonight. Take number 8 to the lab. We shall continue his examination. You are all dismissed." Master said. Yuka and Oliver took Lenard from Jakob and Flynn. Lenard had a serious face as he didn't say a word to Flynn before leaving along with the two octolings. Jakob left the room without saying a word back to Flynn as well. Naoto, Kira were folding their arms at Flynn. "Guys…sorry." Flynn said. "You better be. Because now we're as aware as you have been since you went looking for Eliana." Kira said. "How did you find out so soon?" Naoto asked the green octoling. Flynn made sure no one was in the room with the three of them and took out the test papers Lenard gave him. Naoto and Kira looked and read them in shock. "So it is true…" Naoto said quietly. "Where the fish did you even get this?" Kira asked. "As I was looking for Eliana, the intruder who was known as Lenard, told me the truth about everything as he stole this the past week from Oliver. Although…I made a tough decision on myself since knowing all of this could kill me and Eliana, I didn't want it to happen. So Lenard handed himself over in place of Eliana." Flynn said in frustration. "And…you're okay with that?" Kira asked again. Flynn's eyes widened as he heard her say that. "You seem close to that intruder the way you explained all of this. You chose to save Eliana and bring back the first number 8? I can't believe it…" Naoto said disappointedly. "Yeah…the three of us were close friends. We all hung out in Inkopolis for days, which was a dream I always wanted. But I knew all dreams had to come to an end. So…I had no choice." Flynn said as he left the room quickly without saying anything else. "Wait, Flynn…!" Kira called out. Naoto shook his head at her. "...Let him. It's his decision. However, things for the three of us will change if he decides to leave the race." Naoto said back to her.

Flynn locked himself in his room and just stared outside the window. His lights were off as he stared outside Octo Valley. The clouds in the sky formed rain. "...Why me? Why do you trust me?" He asked himself as he held out his hand. The hero charger appeared in the palms of his hands, but his hands were still shaking. Flynn wished that the question he asked went to Dalia. "...Because, I know you're important to her." A female inkling's voice said. Flynn was startled as he heard the voice so he turned around and saw Dalia staring at him. "...Dalia…" He started. The yellow inkling went up to him. "Why are you…crying?" Dalia asked him as she wiped the tears that remained in his eyes. "...Because…I let you die…I can't forgive myself for doing that…and also being entrusted with a special weapon of justice I don't deserve. Eliana, Lenard and I were friends. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I didn't. I did it for my own good and now they both suffer. I'm so shellfish. It's probably the last thing I wanted to be." Flynn asked her. Dalia put her hand down and turned around. "I gave you that weapon because I want you to make the right choice and correct your mistakes. To my greatest enemy, I wished we were friends too. Didn't I mention that?" Dalia asked with a small smile. "..." Flynn couldn't say a word as he looked down at the charger. "So go. You can still make things right, Flynn. You promised me…" She said. As Flynn looked back up, the yellow inkling wasn't there anymore. "Right…" He said to himself as the charger disappeared in his hands. He opened his door and ran out of his room and down the stairs beside Yuka's room. Yuka saw him run outside her room and she had a worried expression. "...Flynn…" She said quietly as she turned back into her room. Yuka was looking at the light pink octoling who was sitting on a bench while waving her legs back and forth. "Wh-o…w-was…that…?" The little pink octoling asked. Yuka shook her head. "...It's no one. Can you practice with a charger?" Yuka asked her back and she changed the subject. "...S-Sure…" The pink octoling responded quietly again. Yuka had a frustrated face as she helped the pink octoling up.

As the sun started to set in Inkopolis, Eliana went out of the abandoned church and back to the train station without Camille.
I told Camille to go back. I'm planning to go and save Lenard myself. This time, I won't let Master, Yuka, or even Flynn stop me.
She took a seat as she got onto the train. As she stared at the window she saw a familiar face across from her. Eliana saw Ren who was staring at her while folding his arms. "R-Ren?" Eliana asked as she noticed him. The blue inkling noticed her. "What? Oh, it's you…what the heck are you doing here?" He asked her as well. The two remained silent for about a minute until the train started moving. "Um…you know, Lenard-" "Got taken. Right?" Ren answered. "How'd you know?" Eliana asked him. Ren made a disappointed face. "...Because…I saw that he was taken by that octoling friend of yours. I also know about Dalia as well. I'm sorry, but I couldn't bear helping Lenard." Ren replied. "Why didn't you? Is it because you two don't get along?" "No…you probably don't remember, but Lenard and I were best friends but we stopped. Since that day…" Eliana remembered what Dalia told her about Ren in the afternoon. 
Dalia told me that Ren changed after the Great Turf War ended. Maybe that day also had something to do with Lenard…oh what am I thinking? That's Ren's business!
"Sorry! I didn't mean to ask. If it's personal, then you don't need to tell me." Eliana stuttered. Ren shook his head. "Nah. I'll tell you because maybe you can help. It's been bothering for me for a while but anyways…I'm sorry for what I said earlier. Including that you're our leader. I know that those two are special to you and I couldn't help." Ren apologized. Eliana focused her attention back at the blue inkling. "It's alright, Ren…but…don't address me as leader. I'm just myself. I'm like all of you. We're all friends and allies. But…now that I'm starting to remember everything, why did things change for you and Lenard?" Eliana said and asked. Ren turned to the window. "...I'll tell you tomorrow if you really wanna know. I gotta get off at the next stop." He said as he got up from his seat. "Next stop, Moray city station. Next stop, Moray city station." The conductor from the speakers said. "Ah…okay. Mind meeting me at the plaza?" Eliana asked. "Sure. Later." Ren responded back as he left the train. Eliana continued to wait for her stop when the train moved continuously. As she got off, she walked through the alleyway back to Lenard's house. The door wasn't locked, so she opened it and locked it from the inside. Eliana remembered how the past days she spent with Flynn and Lenard in the house, she caught herself smiling. However, it slowly faded as she sat on her bed and untied her hair once again.
…I hope Lenard's safe…and about Flynn…I can't bear to think about him right now…but if he chooses to stand in my way, I guess the friendship we shared is known as make-believe.