Chapter 3

22 2 3
                                    

Mona followed Jake to his apartment, a few blocks away from the Square. When they entered, Jake slammed the door. He was obviously stressed.

"Jake, do you need to talk about it?"

"No. No, I'm fine," Jake muttered.

"Jake, spill it."

"Fine. FINE. Turf War is how I make a living, Mona. I pay rent with the money I gain! But now that Kensa's taken control of the SPAWN pads, I have to spend that money to make money. Give some, make some, give some, make some. It will continue until I don't have enough to sustain myself. It's a never-ending cycle where there's no chance of me winning. Now there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of Turfers living on the street. With no job, and no purpose."

"And that's not all it is. For me, Turf War is more than a sport. It's a life. I don't-" Jake's voice dropped. "I don't know what to do without it. I don't know who I'll be without it."

Mona sat by him. "I know it's hard. But don't suffer alone. We'll get through this together, alright? We can keep this apartment yours, with the money I have from volunteering at Sheldon's." Sheldon, famous weapons dealer and overall geek, couldn't piece together all those weapons on his own. Mona often volunteered to help him, and in return, Sheldon paid her and gave her access to his Testing Room, where Mona practiced on the dummies there. It wasn't Turf War, but it was close enough. Sheldon even let her stay in the cluttered office by the Testing Room on most nights.

"Mona, I can't let you do that."

"It's okay. I have a place already."

"You mean you have a cramped old workspace."

"It's home."

"You know you can stay here. Especially if you're going to help me pay rent."

Mona sighed. "Yeah. I know."

...

Not long after that conversation, Mona said goodbye to Jake and headed back to the Square. But tonight, she felt like she needed some time away.

Night trips were almost routine for her. She often found herself in need of comfort that no one, not even Jake, could give her. The darkness was the only thing that could help her in those times.

She decided to walk to the Manta Maria, a dormant ship she often found herself drawn to. It was a long walk without the SPAWN teleportation, but it gave her more time to think by herself.

Half an hour later, Mona arrived at the boat-turned-battleground. She saw, to her dismay, the SPAWN pad, tinted red with the Kensa logo swirling in the middle. She continued, and made her way over the wooden planks and to her favorite spot: the bowsprit, the pole attached to the front of the ship. She edged her way across the bowsprit and sat down at the edge, looking across the restless sea. Just her, the stars, and her thoughts.

Mona took off her Patched Hat and held it close to her hearts (cephalopods have more than one heart). This was when she could be herself, when there was nothing to hide.

So this was when she let the negatives fill her head.

Immediately, in her mind's eye, she saw a darker, ghostly version of herself swirl around her.

"Hello again, Mona," leered the inner demon whom Mona had named Buia.

"Hey, Buia. What negative thoughts do you wish to share tonight?"

"Oh, Mona, too many to count. Like the fact that you're a big fat HYPOCRITE. You tell your best friend - and your only friend, I might add - to not suffer alone. Yet here you are, sitting under the night, alone!" Buia crowed gleefully. "And while we're on the subject of Jake, I can't believe you actually said 'we'll get through this together'! You don't know anything about how he feels, because you're a defect, a misfit. Even that Lyze weirdo noticed it too, he was just too polite to say so!"

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right." Mona whispered quietly.

"Oh? Feeling submitting tonight, are we? Well, why don't you submit to logic and just die? It'll be easy; you're not wired to a SPAWN pad. All you have to do is-" Buia started miming losing her grip, waving her arms around like a chicken. "Oops! Would you look at that, I slipped. Guess I'll say goodbye to this miserable life!" She stopped miming now, and lowered her voice. "That's it. That's it, Mona. That's all it takes. One simple action, and we'll both be free of this wretched world."

For a moment, Mona considered it. It would be easy as that, wouldn't it? But she hardened her resolve.

"No."

Buia looked at her. "No? Really? Why?"

"I believe I'm here for a reason." Mona's quiet voice was strong. "And until I find that reason, I will keep holding on."

"UGH, spare me the righteous speech. When will you learn that you should just accept the facts?"

"Not tonight."

"Fine. I'm out. But I'll come back. And if you want to reconsider-" Buia's grin grew sharp. "You know where to find me."

With that, she popped out of Mona's vision.

She sighed, and looked across the lapping waves. She really hoped that she was right, that she was here for a reason. Or else this was all for nothing.

She sat down and hugged her knees to herself, as she watched the waves gently toss and turn. Eventually, she quietly climbed off the bowsprit, and fell asleep to the rhythm of a rocking boat.

Shadow in the Glass: a Splatoon 2 FanfictionWhere stories live. Discover now