It was abnormally windy, the cliff was steep, and the writer was exhausted both physically and mentally.

Yet he climbed, and climbed, and climbed…

Until finally, he reached the top.

And there it was. A glowing cartridge for the game Splatoon 2.

He grasped it, and light engulfed the canyon as the writer was filled with a renewed interest in Splatoon as a franchise.

And finally, as tears streamed down his face, he looked up and screamed at the heavens:

I

FUCKING

LIIIIIIIIIIIVE

Time passed rather quickly as Max continued to try and adjust to life with a girl in his home.

It… wasn't going well, to say the least.

Mostly because she didn't seem to understand that you're supposed to sleep in your own room. Not with somebody else.

Oh, he tried to keep her out.

He locked the door to his room, though he was uneasy about the fact that if a fire started, she wouldn't be able to get to him. But at that point, he was desperate.

Turns out, Octolings are super inventive, and Koral had already mastered the ability to make and use lockpicks. So he would wake up in the morning with a dangerously-undressed girl next to him in bed.

It wasn't good for his heart to say the least.

Plan B: Catch her in the act.

He stayed up all night. She never opened the door, so he could never catch her.

Thinking that perhaps he had achieved a small victory, he fell backward and collapsed onto his bed, asleep.

He woke up later in the afternoon with Koral in his bed again.

!?

Plan C: Oh-how-he-hoped-to-avoid-this

While Koral went out to spend time with Marina, who had become something similar to a Big Sister, Max set traps in his room.

Strings that were set up to trip her, while also setting off Max's alarm clock, were among the different traps that were set.

Additionally, he had intentionally thrown things over the ground… or rather, he had cluttered up the floor strategically.

It was now hard for even Max to get through his room without knocking something over.

So, after locking his door, he went to sleep.

You can probably guess what the result was.

The traps were completely untouched, and Koral was snuggled comfortably into his bed.

Max had forgotten that Koral was a bit of a badass, capable of going into Turf Wars while wearing heels.

Reluctantly, Max gave up and eventually just allowed Koral to sleep in the same bed as him, so she no longer had to sneak into his room.

It didn't stop him from nearly having heart attacks whenever he woke up with her face uncomfortably close to his.

Despite Marina's best efforts at teaching Koral the language and various slang that Inklings have. Koral and the Inkling language did not go together.

Max opened one eye as Koral entered the apartment. Max had chosen today to just laze around on the couch, so Koral had gone out with Marina to try out Ranked matches.

"I am come back!" Koral said awkwardly. "Boo-yes!"

"Snrk…!"

Not only did she mess up her opening sentence, but she had said "Booyah" wrong, and in the wrong context as well.

"Ah, it's 'I have come back'" Max corrected her through his snickers. "Also, you don't have to use 'booyah' in every sentence."

"Ah! Very sorry!" Koral said, even more awkwardly now. "Very fresh!"

Max snickered again.

Koral ended up getting mad and pouted for the rest of the day. Since then, she's become very quiet.

Instead of talking, she's now apparently mastered basic hand signals.

"Huh… I guess it would make sense for you to be good at those… since you were once part of the Octarian military…" Max said out loud.

Max still had to interpret her meanings, since he didn't understand sign language too well, and Koral only used basic signs anyway. However, Max ended up knowing her well enough to understand her almost perfectly, even without words.

Mind you, it was mostly because her emotions were always easy to read thanks to her facial expressions. You could tell when she was happy, upset, proud, and so on.

So, despite the ever-present language barrier, life got a little bit easier.

Max didn't know why Koral ignored the sponsorship.

Perhaps it was because she simply didn't care, but it was her choice to make.

The company card remained on the table, untouched for quite a while. Koral received a few more offers as she continued to rise through the ranks of Turf War, but she threw them all away. All except the first one, which was admittedly, the best one of the bunch.

Max had asked her about it, but she always ignored the question no matter what he did.

Max was admittedly a little jealous, but in the end, he hardly cared about having a sponsorship. It just meant that he would have to pose for a few pictures and get paid a little more if he won in Turf Wars.

So, in a way, he could understand Koral's choice in the matter.

Though, as he eyed the paper for the latest rent on his apartment, he did wish that he was in a better spot financially.

Koral was a monster on the battlefield.

Inklings had a black line in between their eyes, and their ears were pointy. Octolings, however, lacked this black line and their ears had more of a curve to them, while also pointing down a little.

Luckily enough, these changes were subtle enough that nobody noticed them. But they were still there, so when Koral became incredibly popular to the point of obtaining a nickname…

"Dude, she's like a Kraken!"

"A Kraken? You mean that old Special Weapon?"

"Yeah! There's like, nothing you can do if she starts running at you!"

"A Kraken, huh… I dunno, it doesn't feel like it fits her."

"Hm… you're right. How about… the Cthulhu…?"

"Ooh, how creepy…""It's not creepy! It's cool!""We know, we know! We're just messing with you!"

And thus, the Cthulhu was born.

Koral didn't mind the nickname. In fact, she actually embraced it, thinking it sounded cool.

Meanwhile, Max thought that the nickname was fitting. Especially when he saw her during Turf Wars.

She really was a bit of a monster on the field.

She had no main. She was proficient in pretty much every weapon. Sheldon even hired her to test out his new prototypes for some extra cash, and she even helped him with the designs and blueprints.

In fact, she even seemed to enjoy listening to his long, drawn-out explanations about each weapon. Nodding along with a big smile on her face.

She selected her weapons based on what she felt like using, and what the stages were…

She had achieved an almost 100% victory-rating, even after playing everyday.

Max watched as she sniped someone through the Ultra Stamp, waiting for the brief moment when the large hammer was lifted up before blasting the enemy Inkling to high-heaven with a Charger.

If she so much as touched some Dualies, she became completely untouchable. Give her a Roller and she would use her godly stealthing abilities, and by the time you see her, you would already be splatted. Give her a regular Splattershot and you'd be splatted the instant you enter her range.

Blasters were a death-sentence to anybody who dared to approach. Gatlings were an unending torrent of Ink. Brushes gave her full maneuverability throughout the stage, and Buckets provided assaults that are impossible to fight back against.

I mean, it wasn't too surprising to Max. She had cleared through all of the Deep Sea Metro's tests, as well as defeated him while he was brainwashed and pulling out all the stops.

And she did all of this in heels.

Koral had suddenly asked Max to go down to the Deep Sea Metro and grab some of her things from the train. She had apparently just remembered that in the rush to leave for the surface, she had forgotten some important items.

So, he went in and boarded the subway, immediately making his way past the many passengers to the back of the train, where she had apparently stayed during her journey.

"The seat at the very back…" Max muttered as he walked on over.

His eyes widened, though he couldn't say he was too surprised.

This was to be expected. She was an amnesiac who wanted nothing more than to see the surface.

Sitting untouched, was a stack of old Inkopolis magazines.

Looking at the seat, he wondered how anybody could sleep there. He was told that her ability to sleep anywhere no matter what stemmed from her having slept quite a lot on this train. But still… there were no blankets to be found, and the seats were far from comfy.

She must have simply curled up in her seat and remained perfectly still, dreaming of Inkopolis even as she slept in an uncomfortable position.

Biting his lower lip, he quietly picked up the magazines and sat down, awaiting his next stop.

Despite all of her badassery, Koral had her soft spots.

For one thing, Max had noticed a few sleeping habits of hers that he found… dangerously cute.

Whenever she slept, she would always curl up into a ball, as if trying to take up as little space as possible. It was clear where this habit came from, but it was still heart-melting.

On top of that, she would occasionally make grunting and moaning noises when she sleeps, signifying that she's having a dream. Usually she would simply twitch her arms outward briefly, kind of like Li'l Judd whenever he's sleeping.

This, however, also applied to nightmares.

If she had a nightmare, she would twitch more often and let out small whines. Usually, she would end up clinging to Max in the middle of the night during these times.

Max always did wonder what her nightmares were about… but he didn't know how to ask a question like that.

"Wait, you guys reproduce by cutting off tentacles?" Max asked.

Both Pearl and Max were staring at Marina and Koral with similar expressions of surprise. Marina laughed as she stared at their dumbfounded faces, while Koral twirled one of her tentacles in a sort of embarrassed way.

"Wouldn't you know this, Max? You've been working with the Captain against the Octarians for quite some time, right?" Marina asked.

"Ah, well… I guess I didn't really pay too much attention to that…" Max replied sheepishly.

"Then let me explain." Marina said as she lightly twirled one of her tentacles, drawing both Pearl and Max's attention to it.

"Octarians primarily reproduce Asexually. This is done by cutting off one of our tentacles, which then grows and becomes one of those single-tentacle Octarians that you saw a lot during your battles." Marina explained.

"You mean the ones that ride on those small machines and fire slow-moving balls of ink?" Max asked.

"Yup. They typically aren't very smart, though." Marina explained, "But, sometimes they'll start growing more intelligent and split into two tentacles. Then, though it doesn't happen all the time, they'll sometimes grow into and become Octolings."

"So… does that mean you were once an Octotrooper?" Pearl asked.

"Oh, no no! Those types of Octarians can only produce Asexually, but us Octolings do have genitals like Inklings, so we can reproduce sexually as well." Marina explained, her cheeks a little red.

"Whoa… so could you…" Pearl started to ask.

"Reproduce by cutting off a tentacle? Yes, but I won't! It'll still be painful, you know!" Marina exclaimed.

Koral was nodding her head profusely while clutching her tentacles endearingly.

"Ahaha! Sorry, sorry!" Pearl laughed.

"So… Octolings can still…" Max started to think as he stared at Koral.

His face turning red for a moment, he quickly banished the indecent thoughts from his mind.

Rent.

Octarians were never Max's archenemy. His true archenemy was paying rent on time.

Mind you, he had recently stopped going to Turf Wars as much, so if anything, his lack of funds were solely his own fault.

Koral, on the other hand, was obsessed with the sport.

He was certain that she had more money than him, but he wouldn't dare to ask her to help pay rent. She was the ultimate form of a foreigner, being a completely different, though remarkably similar, species.

But still…

"This is pretty bad…" Max muttered out loud as he stared at his "Final Warning" notice.

Luckily, if he spent the entire day playing Turf War, and hopefully winning more than losing, he should be able to scrape by.

"Hey, Eight? Wanna go play some Turf War together?" Max called out.

Almost instantly, Koral was at the door, jumping up and down in her excitement.

"Really? You will battle the Turf Wars with me?" Koral spoke in her broken Inkling-language.

"Yup. I'm feeling a little competitive today." Max said as he put on his shoes and started walking towards the door.

Koral noticed him put his Final Notice on the table and tilted her head in confusion, pointing at the paper.

Understanding that she was asking about it, Max sighed. "Ah, don't worry about it, it's nothing." He lied.

Koral may have a severe case of amnesia, though partly resolved thanks to the Mem Cakes she got in the Deep Sea Metro, but she wasn't born yesterday.

She could tell by Max's easy-to-read expression that the piece of paper he had just set down was important somehow, but she didn't know why.

So, she planned to take a peek at it later.

After they got back home, tired from all of the Turf Wars, she saw Max dump the paper in the recycling bin.

So, while he wasn't looking, she snatched the paper out of the bin and hid it in her room until later.

So, the next day came, and she went to Marina to ask what the paper was.

She was… decent, at reading and writing in the Inkling language. Unfortunately, her "decent" skills at the language were insufficient when it came to understanding what this paper was.

So, she gave the paper to Marina and asked her to translate it for her. She could understand the Inkling-language perfectly if spoken to her, but she couldn't speak it well herself, or read it, or write it very well.

But she was surprised when she saw Marina's smile change into a concerned frown.

She understood why after Marina explained it to her.

It had never occured to Koral that Max's residence wasn't something he had for free. She was originally a soldier, so she understood that taking care of yourself and somebody else would cause one to have a tougher financial situation.

She had been freeloading off of him this whole time.

How could she be so stupid?

She ran out the door, despite Marina calling out to her, frustrated at herself and mentally beating herself up.

She had been too drunk on the feeling of freedom that Inkopolis gave her.

She remembered it like it was yesterday.

She defeated Agent 3, and in her concern for his well-being, she bandaged his head as he laid on the ground, unconscious.

Then, the elevator stopped moving.

She saw a long, long ladder that led upward.

It was so tall, it seemed to symbolize her long journey to get here.

So, after untying Cap'n Cuttlefish and hoisting Agent 3 onto her back, she started to climb.

"It's right there…" she thought.

"Inkopolis…" she thought.

"The place I dreamed about… the place I've been told about…"

And finally, she reached the platform at the top, and opened the hatch.

Immediately, she was hit with a gust of cool air.

It felt… different. Different when compared to the artificial air and breeze created in the facility.

It felt invigorating. It felt nice. It felt… fresh.

And as her tentacles flapped in the wind, she looked out at the sunrise.

She had done it.

She had made it.

Her fight with Agent 3 had been one of the toughest fights she had ever fought. Even compared to covering the entirety of the statue in Ink was easier in comparison thanks to Marina and Pearl's support.

She had heard so many stories about Agent 3. How he had heroically saved Inkopolis, even though nobody knew about it. How he had fought and defeated D.J. Octavio, and unleashed the beauty of the Calamari Inkantation.

And she had won against him.

Though, he WAS brainwashed at the time.

Agent 3… no, Max was the greatest person in the world to her, even more than Marina. He was her hero, her ideal.

Koral stared at her Golden Toothpick as she ran, remembering her fight against the Inner Agent 3. Her mental ideal of the unbeatable Agent 3.

It was hard. She lost countless times.

But eventually, she won there as well.

She was ashamed to think that she had been dragging him down all this time.

She wanted to show her gratitude. Max had, after all, literally saved her and Cap'n Cuttlefish's life before they were literally blended into paste.

She dashed into Max's apartment. Judging by the seemingly empty apartment, Max was likely elsewhere right now.

The card for her sponsorship was still on the table.

"The least I can do is help him live comfortably, even with me here…"

End

Once again…

I. FUCKING. LIVE.

*Breaks through the dirt with a single fist, clambering out of the ground like a zombie*

God, it's been a while, man…

(ONE YEAR AND THREE MONTHS SINCE THE LAST CHAPTER, ALMOST FOUR MONTHS, which, by the way, I am fully deleting that. This fic is gonna be… well, one rating down.)

I… don't have a good excuse. I'll be completely honest.

I lost interest in Splatoon as a whole.

I don't know why, but it just felt harder and harder to keep writing this chapter.

I went through a total of TWENTY-FIVE rough drafts for this chapter! And that was a long time ago!

But nothing seemed good. I didn't like what I was putting out there and I was NOT writing these characters the way I wanted them.

On top of that, I was getting new interests. Yugioh was the one that blossomed at the time, and it's still going strong. Fate/Stay Night has catched a massive amount of my attention, and all in all, it just felt like I was forcing myself to do something I didn't want to do by writing this fic.

I put numerous updates in the reviews, as well as in my account's bio, but other than that, I was just… not having a good time anymore.

I wanted to write other things for other franchises. I wanted to reinvent myself a little bit as a writer.

You might notice that my writing style is a little different, hopefully improved, by now.

This chapter was a bunch of short sections of moments, which isn't going to be all too common after this. It's my apology to you guys by giving you guys multiple pieces of new content.

I will be COMPLETELY honest again.

[YOU MIGHT WANNA PAY ATTENTION FOR THIS PART]

I likely won't be updating this fic often. I have another account that I am also writing fics on, and while my interest in Splatoon is coming back, I still have a bunch more now.

But I promise I will work on it more often.

Now then, time for a little fun-fact on my headcanon for the world of Splatoon:

Octolings and Inklings are still, inherently, Cephalopods. Therefore, I do not believe that they reproduce in the same way as us Mammals. Like real-life Octopi and Squids, I believe that (In the case of Octoling sexual-reproduction), they basically lay eggs. They give birth to eggs that hatch into little baby Inklings/Octolings.

Can Octolings and Inklings reproduce TOGETHER?

...we'll have to discuss that topic, another time.