Don't Forget to Remember Me

Let the Battle Begin

Coming up with chapter titles is hard, lol. Yay, another chapter! You'll finally get to meet Stefan in the next one! This story will actually begin once I introduce him, I promise! I hope you enjoy, and, as always, thanks for reading!

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As his train came to a gradual halt, Sebastian got up from his seat and slipped through the double doors, waving goodbye to the nice woman he was talking to on the way to the Square. When he drew closer to the crowded and lively area, the Octoling lifted up a hand to block the sun from his face and searched for his fellow agents.

"Hmm, they're not out here," he said to himself, "They're probably still testing out weapons."

Sebastian slightly smiled as he made his way towards Ammo Knights. Suddenly, the Octoling's feet were lifted off the ground, and he let out a startled squeak. Going into defense mode, Sebastian flailed his arms in an attempt to make his captor release him.

"H-hey, let go!"

A familiar laugh ringing in his ear ceased his frantic movements; he turned his head to the side and grinned down at the golden-haired Inkling.

"X-Xander! What are you doing?" Sebastian questioned, giggling wildly as his fellow agent spun him around.

Carefully putting the Octoling back on his feet, Xander flashed him a goofy grin, "Just keeping you on your toes! Always watch your back!"

Rolling his eyes, Sebastian playfully smacked the Inkling's arm in response. "I thought we were going to play Turf War, not train for missions!"

"Oh, Sebastian, you always gotta keep yourself sharp! How do you expect to become an amazing agent like myself if you don't?" Xander puffed out his chest as he stood tall and proud. Just then, an arm wrapping itself around the squid's shoulders caused him to flinch and yelp in surprise.

"Amazing agent, huh? Your ego is pretty huge for someone who got scared by just me touching you." The green Inkling smirked as Xander threw his arm off, a grimace plastered across his face.

"I wasn't scared, Augustus! You just caught me off guard..."

"He's just keeping you on your toes, Xander! What was it that you said to me...? 'Always watch your back'?" Sebastian mischievously chuckled as a soft pink spread over the yellow Inkling's cheeks.

"Alright, alright, you got me... Now that we're all together, let's do some turfin'!" Xander pumped his fist into the air and walked ahead of the other two agents to claim a spot for the next battle.

Sebastian was about to follow when Augustus stopped him by tenderly grabbing at his wrist. The Octoling curiously looked up at the older male, tilting his head to the side as he did.

"Yes, Augustus?"

The green Inkling nervously bit his bottom lip for a moment, "Um, I-I wanted to give you something... as a thanks for saving me and Inkopolis over a year ago." He retrieved a small gift box from his back pocket and presented it to Sebastian. "Sorry for giving it to you just now.. I wanted it to be perfect."

The Ocotling smiled up at his friend as he took the prettily wrapped present in his hands. "Thanks, Augustus... You didn't have to, though. Being your friend is the best present you could ever give me!" He sweetly laughed and looked down to unwrap the box. Once the ribbon was off, he lifted the lid up and softly gasped at the sight before him.

The golden ornament sparkled in the warm sunlight as Sebastian carefully picked it up to examine it. It looked so beautiful and extremely expensive. It must have cost Augustus a fortune...

"Do you like it?" The Inkling softly asked, worry evident in his voice.

"I love it so much. It's absolutely gorgeous... but I can't take it. This must have been a lot of money..."

Augustus quietly laughed and shook his head, "Not at all, I made it."

"R-really? Wow, this is really good, Augustus. Th-thank you..." The Octoling blushed a deep red and smiled up at his fellow agent.

"My pleasure," Augustus then took the hairpin from the Octoling, "Do you want to put it on? I think it would look best tucked behind your ear."

Sebastian happily nodded and craned his neck to give the Inkling easier access to his rounded ear. Augustus nervously swallowed and carefully placed the Golden Toothpick between the Octoling's ear and head. His hand lingered at the other's lobe for a moment before he softly traced the shape of the ear with his digits. A small giggle left the shorter agent, and he posed for the other.

"How does it look?"

Augustus felt his breath leave him as he looked at his fellow agent wearing the carefully handcrafted accessory; his voice slightly cracked when he answered, "Beautiful..."

"Hey, guys!" Xander exclaimed, running back to the duo and breaking the moment they were sharing. "I got everything set up, and I even found a fourth team member! Meet Harper! She's a Splatterscope main!"

The orange Octoling shyly waved to the two males, hiding behind her long tentacles. "H-hi, nice to meet you two."

"Hello! I'm Sebastian, and this is Augustus! I'm so glad you're playing with us!" The shortest agent flashed the girl a comforting smile, knowing all too well how she must feel being around new people. "So are we all ready to go?"

"Oh, hell yeah! Let's show these punks how real squids—and Octos—play Turf War!" Xander bellowed, holding up his hand in the air.

The other three cephalopods simultaneously brought their hands up to meet with Xander's, and they all cheered before heading to the stage. As they walked into the lobby, Sebastian looked up at the screen to see what weapons their opponents were going to play.

A Jet Squelcher, two Sploosh-o-matics, and an Inkbrush? This team is obviously composed of complete strangers. With a setup like that, no one probably knows each other.

The male Octoling then studied the names of their opponents. When his eyes landed on the last one, his heart skipped a beat. There was that name again, Stefan. Why was that name so significant to him? He doesn't recall ever hearing it before this morning. Maybe he had a dream about someone named Stefan? Or maybe this was all just some big coincidence and he should stop worrying about it...

"Sebastian?"

"H-huh?" He glanced over to see Xander looking over him worriedly.

"You good? You kinda zoned out for a minute."

"O-oh, yeah! I'm good, sorry." Sebastian laughed, tightening his grip around his Octobrush.

Xander smirked and hoisted his Dynamo Roller over his shoulder. "You're not getting nervous, are ya? Are Sploosh-o-matics really that scary?" He chuckled, barely dodging the other's ink-filled brush.

The team was then transported to one of the respawn points in MakoMart. As they emerged from their base, Augustus charged up his Ballpoint Splatling, Harper doing the same to her Splatterscope.

Sebastian gazed over to the opposite side of the stage, squinting his caramel orbs to her a better look at the opposing team. He could have sworn the only Octoling over there was staring at him, as if he knew him personally. The now yellow Octopus shook his head, thinking he was just imagining things, and prepared himself for the battle.

As the countdown began, Xander shouted out a quick booyah to hype his teammates up. "Let's do this!"

The timer finally hit zero, and the yellow cephalopods rocketed off their platform towards the middle, inking the ground along the way. This particular game of Turf War was going to be quite interesting.