𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐓 ⸻⸻ [SPLATOON]

i.┊the girl from inkopolis

the girl from inkopolis

chpt. 1

⸻⸻⸻⸻ alterna : future utopia island

TEST SUBJECT number 17,480 wandered the snowy plains of Alterna, the remains of what used to be her stretched and torn black test subject top slightly ruffled by the cold, chilly air. She had just escaped from a test subject-filled laboratory, and now that she finally had the chance to breathe in fresh, clean air, she was happy.

    "Your tentacles are growing back," a voice squeaked, the sound of their footsteps gradually getting louder as they crunched through the snow.

17,480's pale-skinned hand touched her head in response and her fingers ever so delicately brushed over the short, yellow-lavender tentacles that grew from her scalp.

"That's good..."

    "I was afraid they'd never grow back..." 17,480 admitted, turning to face her octoling friend, Shell. The octoling's tomboy-ish styled purple-brown tentacles billowed in the icy wind, the cold shivering its way down her spine. She wore what 17,480 used to wear before they escaped to the snowy lands of Alterna: The common, black test-subject outfit, along with black boots equipped with steel heels and matching latex gloves. The rest of their test-subject escapee friends wore the same thing, but with some modifications.

    Shade, #18, changed his appearance almost entirely. He had found some old, torn up gear in a trash pile and threw it on–including some fancy teal-tinted glasses and an octopus-shaped earring.

Regret, #8, had been forced into warmer clothing by 17,480 and Shade, to keep her warm and healthy; ...She constantly neglected her mental and physical health ever since they escaped hadn't been the same ever since she lost her child.

Frisk, #6, found an old sweater, and Shell, #0, decided to keep her look.

    17,480, on the other hand, wanted to change everything about her. The Octarians tortured her, did terrible, unspeakable things to her, and she didn't want to have anything to remember them by. She ripped out the earring-like tag that had her number imprinted on it from her ear (and, yes, it was painful), dug through countless dumpsters, cut open trash bags, and rifled through clusters of rubbish.

    "You're rockin' that look, though!" Shell commented, hugging her arms closer together to warm herself up. "Super badass!"

    17,480 giggled at this, a lavender blush spreading over her cheeks. She hadn't felt this good... since before the whole test subject thing; though she couldn't remember what had happened before the whole Kamabo Co. nightmare; it was all just a hazy, pain-filled blur.

    Even the medications they gave her couldn't stop the pain from remembering it all. All she had was a jagged, patched-up scar on her forehead and her still-slightly lavender tentacles.

"I just wish that I could remember what happened before all of this," she started, her eyes tracing the faint outline of a large rocket ship in the distance, vines, and moss coated the outside, making it seem like it was fuzzy. Oddly enough, some part of 17,480 wanted to touch it, to feel the soft, fuzziness of the textures. "I want my memories back."

Her octoling friend sighed, scooting closer to her. Shell's hands were still tightly clung around her elbows. "I don't remember much, either, but I remember when we first met..." A soft smile made its way across Shell's face. She closed her eyes as if savoring the memory. "You were so determined to escape at first– '#0! We have to escape to the mainland somehow! I know I don't belong here!'

"'#0! We gotta go! Look, there's an opening!' '#0! Stop licking my hand, the door's open!'" She chuckled at the last bit, opening her eyes back up. "You were so courageous and brave, so strong-willed."

"You bet I am," 17,480 replied, bumping her friend playfully with her hip. "and look where I got us now."

"Well, you weren't wrong, that's for sure." The purple-brown inked octoling agreed, nodding. She gazed back out into the horizon, watching the sun slowly ascend towards the white, puffy, clouds. Shell smiled again, and this time, it was a genuine, full-on smile. She was pleased. "Hey, 17,480?"

"Yeah?" the said inkling rose a brow, albeit not taking her eyes from the horizon.

"Do you think you're that girl from Inkopolis we heard about in the Metro?" Shell turned towards 17,480, her words laced with curiosity and a hint of sadness. The yellow-lavender inkling paused, chewing on the inside of her cheeks as she thought.

"It would explain why I'm not like you and why I can't remember anything..." She said, now anxiously biting the tips of her nails.

"But we don't know anything about her, or what she looks like; we're just assuming things and probably jumping to conclusions. And I know you wouldn't do any of those things that that girl has done... I mean, marrying at age 15? That's quite young if you ask me..." Shell wedged her foot into the snow and started digging her heel into the dirt. "I know you wouldn't do any of those things. You're too smart. Too sophisticated, too nice."

17,480 didn't know how to respond to such a comment, so she just shrugged her shoulders, puffing out her cheeks; however, the stories of The Girl From Inkopolis reminded her of herself– she was brave and she was courageous, just like her. She risked her life for other people that she loved, just as 17,480 did.

Maybe one day they would get to meet each other.

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word count: 892