Splatoon Manga: NightRoad

Chapter 22: Encounter

⭐️Chapter 22: Encounter

Goggles and Rider were still far away from the Shadow monster, but they knew now they couldn't go back. The two of them had begun to get hungrier and hungrier, the pickled plums Goggles had brought didn't help at all. They had at least gotten back on to the correct path, though. Rider was tiring, but Goggles kept his usual happy mood.

"Goggles..." Rider groaned.

"Yeah?" Goggles replied, not taking his eyes off the path ahead.

"What if...this isn't the right path?" Rider said, tired and grumpy.

"Aww, I wouldn't want to think of it like that!" Goggles smiled, trying to cheer him up, though he too wondered the same fact.

"But then all our efforts will be worthless..." Rider turned to look at Goggles. He was desperately trying to not fall asleep.

"Oh don't you worry, I'm sure we're onto something! Let's keep going!" Goggles said, pointing ahead of them.

"Mmmkaaay...."

And so, the two continued onwards, doing their best to stay alert. There really wasn't much to do except walk, and that's what Rider hated. It was so boring...At first, the trees and nature seemed great, but being exposed to them over time had gradually just made them more repetitive and used to.

"Hey wait, who's that?"

Rider looked up as Goggles pointed.

Up ahead, Goggles had spotted a hooded figure, walking all by himself.

"Let's follow him! Maybe he knows the way out!" Goggles whispered.

"Are you sure about this? This person could be dangerous!" Rider whispered back. While he was glad that someone else happened to be in here, he remembered that he still had to be on his toes.

"Oh please, we've been in crazier situations before!" Goggles smiled.

"Ugh, fine. Whatever.

And so the two started following him.

"Wonder where he's going." Goggles said.

"Dunno. Maybe he lives here." Rider wasn't entirely into the conversation, but hey. It passed time.

"What kinda house would you need to live here?"

"A sturdy one, probably"

"How would you get food?"

"Hunting? Farming?"

"I can hear you two!" The person up front growled.

"S-sorry!" Goggles said, and let this stranger walk a little further ahead to give him space.

"Is it just me, or does he look familiar?" Goggles said to Rider once he got his space.

"Yeah...he does..."

Rider thought. Where...how...who...

"Why does he look so familiar?" Goggles asked, scratching his head. The two didn't even bother catching up at this point, lagging behind at the slowest pace.

"Yeah, that tentacle cut sure seems like something I've seen before...."

"That dark hoodie..." Goggles examined it.

"Those...shades..." Rider looked at his head. His heart rate sped up.

No way...

Goggles began to worry.

"Uh, Rider? Is that...that shadowling from earlier? The one that looks like me....?"

The figure stopped in their tracks.

Rider stopped as well, and stared in horror. It was.

"Yup." He said.

Pitch turned around and saw them.

"You." He growled.

Goggles and Rider gulped, exchanging worries glances.

-----

Gloves was literally ready to eat a rock at this point. They had a trail, sure, but it was taking soooo long to get there. Why did they have to use stalking?

"Flip. I'm getting bored. Why can't we just walk behind them? Or better yet, WITH them?" Gloves said, clearly upset about their current situation.

"Because you'll blow our cover, or spoil our mission! We don't know if we can trust this person yet! What if it's a shadowling?" Flip responded.

"Relax, we have the weapons to deal with it, and you know what Hachi said, 1v1!" Gloves made sure that he was correct on that in the back of his mind, in case Flip was about to prove him wrong.

Flip groaned quietly.

"I know, but...there's probably a better option. Now come on, let's go-"

And the two dashed to the next tree.

"Okay, but this could continue on for who knows HOW long." Gloves said, still annoyed.

"Sometimes it's worth it in the long run, Gloves. You sure are impatient." Flip grumbled, though she had to admit, sometimes she was a bit impatient too.

"I just...want this to be over!"

"We all do, trust me. I know it's hard Gloves, but-go!gogogo!"

The two dashed to the next tree.

"I know it's hard, but you have to bear with it for now."

"But I can't! Why can't we just get the battle over already and get over there?!"

Gloves was ready to just...run up to the person, any second now.

"Well ONE, we don't even know whose counterpart this shadowling is, if it even IS a shadowling, and TWO, we don't even know if this is the right way out or not!"

Gloves groaned in frustration, Flip had to calm him down.

"And we can't dash ahead because?"

"They'll see us." Flip replied in the calmest way possible at the moment.

"And we can't run around them and dash ahead because?"

"I see literally no other path that would let us go around them. The bushes are too thick, and I think I hear water in another direction."

"Ugh! Why can't we just try?!"

Gloves was getting more frustrated by the moment. Why couldn't they at least SEE first?!

"Because-go. Go now."

They dashed to the next tree.

"Because I've said it already! We need to-"

"That's it, I'm going to find out who this person is."

"Gloves, wait no!"

But it was too late. Gloves had run up to the figure already.

"Excuse me, but could you tell me where exactly you're headed?"

The figure stopped, recognizing Gloves's voice.

They turned around.

It was Heise.

-----

Emperor had finally gotten to a medium, peak shaped rock.

"Perfect, you're halfway there." The voice said.

It was lying, it wasn't actually going to lead him out of the forest...exactly...

But Emperor didn't know.

"Okay? Where next?"

"There should be a trail of pebbles if you walk further down the path ahead of you. Follow it and you'll be out."

"That easy?"

"Mhm."

Emperor was VERY suspicious, but since he figured he might as well be even MORE lost at this point, he continued on anyway.