Splat Force: The Gifted; Chapter 1

(Thx for the feature ^^)

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W E L C O M E ! ! !

This is Nomad here, and today is the day. Today is the Amino premiere of the first chapter of my new Splatoon series, Splat Force: The Gifted.

Before we begin this, there is just one thing I want to clarify. To understand this story. It's best if I explain this. This story does not take place in the main Splatoon continuity. I know this doesn't need pointing out but throughout this story, some events take place that wouldn't work in the main Splatoon universe.

I also want to give you guys a heads up, a lot of these chapters are gonna be long ones, so if you aren't a fan of a long Chapter based series, then this series may not be for you.

With that being said and done. Here it is folks. Enjoy!

(This Chapter has been Remastered)

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(Chapter Hub)

C H A P T E R 1 : A D I F F E R E N T W O R L D

2 0 Y E A R S A G O . . .

Peace has been lost. The entire world was on high alert. Up in the sky was a bright purple light growing closer and closer to the planet. Eventually, the worst announcement possible was made.

"The following message has been transmitted at the request of your local space station. The glowing object in the sky has been identified as a meteorite. It is heading towards the planet at an alarming rate. This could be the end of life as we know it. We have no time to-"

All TVs around the world crashed and went black, alongside any other broadcasting devices. All electricity in the world went out like a burnt-out candle. The city of Inkopolis went silent. However, the silence was shortly overrun by the booming cries of the citizens.

"What is happening?!"

"We're all going to die!"

"Mommy, I'm scared!"

The cries of everyone was getting worse and worse by the second. It didn't help that it was too dark outside for them to even know where they were. Sure, there was the occasional small light source, but even those were being covered by the chaos.

Ink-kind had never expected or even experienced anything like this before. The meteorite was now just seconds from entering the atmosphere. However, something strange was going on with it. Cracks were beginning to form on it's surface with a strange energy coming out of it.

The cracks opened slowly as the meteorite started entering the atmosphere, ing the clouds. It got close enough that the cracks were now visible from the ground below. The whole world stopped what they were doing and looked up to the sky. The meteorite was just about to hit the surface when all of a sudden...

B O O M ! ! !

The meteorite blew up. The energy hit the surface and began to spread all around the planet as fast as it could, merging with the earth's atmosphere. The light was enough to knock the world unconscious. From that moment on, the world had completely changed.

P R E S E N T D A Y . . .

The strong warmth of the sun wiped out the coldness of the nighttime as it shined over the colour filled wonder of Inkopolis, alongside any town or city that was close by.

It shined through the windows of the houses on Morray Lane, a road located in Bluegill Town. Inside one of these houses laid a young man resting under the covers of his nice, warm bed.

B E E P , B E E P , B E E P ! ! !

The Male Inkling slowly opened his shaded eyes and steadily reached out to turn off his alarm clock.

"Ugh... here we go.."

The young Inkling groaned as he got up from his bed. As soon as he stood up, his long, silver hair covered his face. He groaned before putting it into a top knot.

K N O C K , K N O C K! ! !

"Zane? Are you awake honey?"

Called out the voice of an older woman.

"Yeah Mom, I'm awake! I'm just getting changed!"

Zane replied as he put on his grey sweater.

"That alarm has been off for half an hour, Zane!"

Mom called out, sounding rather moody.

"You seriously need to set an earlier alarm, you've missed your school bus!"

"Again?! Come on that's the third time this week!"

He sulked. The day had only just started for Zane yet he already had a clear image of how it was going to play out.

His mother signed heavily over his son's laziness.

"Just, go down and make breakfast. I will drive you there..."

She told him before stomping down the stairs.

Zane quickly put on a dark grey shirt and charcoal track pants. He then put on a light bomber jacket and was quick to realize that the tags hadn't been taken out yet, something he took care of with ease using a trusty pair of scissors. Lastly, he put a gold and silver twisty headband on him, something ed down in his family.

After getting changed, he opened his door and walked downstairs. Zane picked up an empty bag that lay at the far left of the stairs, next to the washing basket. There was a faded label on the bag that had his mother's name:

'Property of: Selina Miller'

Zane walked into the kitchen with his bag and quickly finished packing away a couple of folders and a packed lunch. Afterwards, he placed the bag in the living room.

Zane quickly walked back into the kitchen and poured Mem Cake cereal into his white bowl. He put a small spoon into the bowl and picked it up, taking it to the table. He ate his breakfast as he watched The Squid Sisters' News Of The World on the house tv.

The topics at hand weren't all that interesting. All that the iconic music due talked about was what was trending on social media, such as the freshest new clothing or the newest number one hit in the charts that week or the newest movie that was released, nothing caught his eye.

"Zane! Come on, you're going to be later than you already are!"

Selina called out, becoming more anxious with the lack of time he had left.

"Coming, Mom!"

Zane called back, rolling his eyes as he started to finish his breakfast. In a flash, he ran over to the kitchen, putting the bowl in the dishwasher before heading outside.

Zane walked towards his mother's car, all ready for school. He got in the car and put on the seat belt. Selina entered the car and sat in the driver's seat.

"You've got my folder right? Because I don't want to have gone out of my way to find my old bag for nothing."

"Yes Mom, I've got it with me. You don't need to be over-cautious about me!"

He answered, mumbling the last few words under his breath.

Selina frowned.

"I know everything I say gets stuck in your head but, you've only just moved into Inkopolis three weeks ago, I'm sure it's going to take time to get used to the all-new surroundings. I know you miss your friends back in your old school-"

"What friends?"

Zane interrupted abruptly.

Selina frowned at her son's comment.

"I'm aware your educational life hasn't been the easiest because we can't seem to stay at one place at a time. Hopefully, your father has secured a long term job, maybe could allow him to spend time with us."

She said with a sigh.

"Just because you don't see us that often doesn't mean we want you to feel bad about yourself-"

"Then why not deny those job offers? What's the point in getting so comfortable here if we are just going to move in a couple of months?!"

He questioned in frustration.

"Because those job offers will grant us more money for us. Hopefully, a VFX artist is enough for your father. Maybe this could be the end of our moving troubles."

She said in an attempt to make the conversation more optimistic.

"We do love you, Zane, with all of our hearts. I just wish we could all be a happy family again. If we both end up busy all the time, maybe you could meet up with Emily during the weekends? It's been a while since she's seen you and I'm sure that Uncle Oscar and Aunt Kyle would also love to see you!"

Unfortunately for Selina, this was the end of the conversation. Not long after, she drove past the open gates of Barika Academy, a school that was based outside of Inkopolis City, only four minutes after the registration bell had rung.

"Do you want me to sign in for you?"

Selina asked.

"No, I think I can handle myself."

He assured her as he got out of the car.

"I love you..."

She said, to her dismay, he was already gone by the time she said that. She somberly drove away from the school premise.

Zane walked through the reception doors and approached the elderly Sea Anemone who sat at the counter.

"Excuse me, I'm a late student and I wanna sign in please?"

He greeted, hoping that this was only a quick process.

"Of course! What's your name, darling?"

She asked him, preparing to sign him in through her laptop.

"My name is Zane."

He answered, not making eye as he thought it would make it awkward.

"Okay, Zane. What's your surname?"

She also asked whilst typing his name down.

"Miller, Zane Miller."

He answered back, he still tried not to give her eye .

"Ah yes, right this way please!"

She said as she walked out of the office and into the main hall. Zane sighed as he followed along, he knew the humiliation of walking in late was coming and he accepted it.

Both Zane and the Sea Anemone Woman both walked towards the science block. Upon entering, they entered a small entrance room with stairs leading to the next floor. They both turned to their left and through another door, leading to a small corridor. They both entered through the first classroom door to the right.

"Sorry to bother you sir, but this student from your form has just arrived late. Do you have anything to say to sir Zane?"

She asked, making his day already worse.

"Sorry I'm late sir... I overslept."

He said hesitantly. Some of the class start giggling and one even tried to mimic him under their breath. To Zane, it felt like the walk of shame.

His form tutor gave her a nod as she walked out of the room before glancing at him.

"Now then Mr Miller, always to go to sleep early, that way you should be getting up on time, and in addition, I won't be disturbed by Mrs Gilbert every day."

He lectured. Zane rolled his eyes when he wasn't looking.

"Moving on, we have got a new seating plan. In case you are wondering, you are sat right here."

The teacher pointed at a double-spaced table, which was inhabited already by an Inkling girl with long, pink hair. She wore a red zekko hoodie and a bobble hat. Some of the other students started to giggle and make unpleasant comments under their breath. Zane sat down next to the pink-haired girl.

"Speaking of which, Ami please may you take off your hat?"

The teacher asked politely.

She took off her hat whilst hearing other classmates snicker at her. The teacher sat down at his desk which had a name tag on it saying:

'Mr. G Kirk'

By now, the had already been done, leaving the students to talk amongst themselves. Wanting to finally speak to someone, Zane glanced towards the girl next to him.

"Hey."

He greeted the girl, grabbing her attention.

"Your name is Ami, right?"

"Yeah it is."

Ami answered, taking her hands out of the pockets of her hoodie. She looked towards him but didn't look him in the eyes.

"I heard people talking about you whilst I was walking over to my seat, what's that all about?"

He asked, feeling a little sorry for her.

"Don't worry, I'm not the only one they target. They also target that other kid from the year below us. I think his name is Max."

She replied, her voice sounding softer than a warm blanket. She quickly decided to change the topic.

"Anyways, how have you liked it here so far?"

"Three weeks into this place and only four days where I actually show up, all of which I've been late. I think I'm already on great with them."

He said sarcastically.

"Haha, I'm sure they'll warm up to you."

She giggled as she finally decided to make eye with him.

"Well imagine being at this school year group from day one and doing the following, say the wrong answer, talk gibberish, having your stomach grow loudly, be embarrassing during a P.E lesson and even crying because of the pressure of hard work."

Zane had a loss for words, he didn't even know how to reply to that, he just stared at her, one of his eyebrows raised.

"Well I know what the consequences are for those missteps."

She said, breaking the silence between them.

"Oh..."

Zane whispered.

Ami decided to change to topic back to him.

"So you're name is Zane right? Mrs Gilbert said your name out loud."

"Well yes, that's true"

He answered with a soft smile.

Ami smiled back, offering a handshake.

"Well then, it's nice to finally meet you!"

"It's nice to meet you too."

He replied. The two Inklings both shook their hands.

"So, do you hang out by yourself or do you have others to keep you company."

"I have a small group of friends that keep me company, maybe I'll introduce them to you!"

She said, she didn't want him to be alone, especially not after the dreaded start that he has had.

Zane didn't respond to that last part, he seemed hesitant about being in a friend group. He kept it to himself because he didn't want to risk saying the wrong thing to Ami as it wouldn't be fair to be turned down after a nice meeting.

It wasn't long until the bell rang, signalling the end of form time. All the students got up from their desks and stood behind the chairs.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen. Have a great day!"

Mr Kirk said to them all with a smile.

Both Ami and Zane left their desk and walked out of the classroom. On their way to their first lesson, she saw a green-haired Inkling walking with a lime-haired Inkling.

"Oh Zane here are two of them!"

She said before calling them out.

"Drift, T-Dawg! Come here for a sec."

"T-Dawg?"

Zane muttered to himself, he was now under the impression that everyone was named strangely at Inkopolis.

The two Inklings walked over to Ami and Zane.

"Right you two, this is Zane. You know, that new kid that ed a couple of weeks ago?"

She explained, wanting Zane to hopefully be accepted.

"Hello Zane, the name is Drift. Glad to meet you! I hope you settle here well!."

The Inkling with green, side-sweept hair said.

Drift raised his arm for a handshake, Zane accepted it and the pair of them shook hands. Zane looked at his multi-coloured Takoroka Windcrusher jacket, mildly fascinated by the vibrant colours.

"Oh and I'm T-Dawg, not that it matters or anything!"

He greeted, chuckling a little.

"Well anyway, I have to head to class. Cya there!"

T-Dawg walked off to his next class, leaving Zane with Ami and Drift.

"Can I just ask who came up with the name T-Dawg? Because I've never heard a name like that anywhere."

Zane asked.

"He did."

Ami answered.

"He thinks he's gonna be a rapper when he grows up. He's released a few tracks but I'm not into it. Don't tell him that..."

"Huh, alright then."

Zane replied before moving on to a different topic.

"So, how long until the academic year ends?"

"We only have to wait until July to graduate. It's April right now, which means that Exams start in a month...Yeah, that's the downside of things. But hey if you do well, you succeed in life."

Drift assured him.

"That's if I even make it that far, who knows, maybe my parents will get another job out of nowhere and it'll make me move again."

Zane sighed. Knowing them, he probably predicted that this would happen.

Drift put a hand on his shoulder.

"Dude, as someone who has had... relatively busy parents, I think you'll do just fine."

"Yeah, three months isn't a long time now, is it?"

Ami said with an assuring smile.

Zane smiled at the two of them.

"Well, thanks for your kind words."

He replied.

"Anyway, we should probably get going. Does anyone know where Maths lessons are"

"Oh, I have that right now!"

Drift answered before walking to the exit.

"Follow me, I'll lead you there.

"Bye guys!"

Ami called out before she too walked to her lesson.

M E A N W H I L E W I T H S E L I N A . . .

Selina approached the gates of Bluegill Town, still having a frown on her face from the conversation she had with her son. Her mind was temporarily taken off the subject upon driving up to the guards.

Both of the guards wore a Kevlar bulletproof vest, the colours matched their hair colour. They both had padding over their arms and their legs. Their vests each had a golden badge attached to them with a black squid on them.

Selina was quickly greeted by the guard with orange, slit back hair on her right.

"Good morning, Ma'am! May I see your id, please?"

Selina grabbed her bag and took out her purse. She took out her id and showed it to the guard, to which he allowed her to , not before she asked a question.

"Excuse me, I've not been here for long, so forgive me if I sound rude but what exactly are you wearing?"

"Oh..."

He muttered before looking over to the armed guard on Selina's left.

"Ollie, she's interested in our gear!"

"Barry, we're not relevant anymore, you might as well say what it is!"

The other guard replied playfully

"Okay..."

He responded before looking back at Selina, who found that exchange amusing.

"The gear we wear are old work uniforms from nearly two decades ago. The workplace in question no longer exists, sort of, but there is nothing else that we could wear for this job. Besides, this place is not active at all so nobody cares much."

"However, if there is any danger around, not that there is likely to be danger lurking around, but just in case, be sure to let us know!"

The armed guard told her.

"I will do!"

Selina replied. She seemed fine being caught up in a conversation, it was a nice distraction from what had happened before, but she knew that she hadn't got all day.

"Well anyway, I should get ready for work, it starts in an hour. Have a good day, you two!"

"Okay, Ma'am! Have a good day too!"

The guard said before Selina drove off back to her home.

"Nice one!"

The other guard said sarcastically.

"Thanks for helping me out.

He said sarcastically.

"Well, at least we got through this!"

He replied. The two guards smirked and chuckled at each other before giving each other the v-sign

Selina drove around the corner and entered a straight road. She shortly turned left and drove down an empty road. The guards weren't lying, the roads of Bluegill were nearly empty. She turned right and arrived at her road. She parked her car neatly and got out. She approached door number ten.

Upon entering her home, she entered the front room and saw that the TV was left on and was still playing the news, not that it bothered her at all, it was nice to have something play in the background.

She glanced over to the shelf near the dinner table and saw an old family photo from when Zane was a baby. Selina frowned as she thought back to the times in which she and her husband were able to be happy with their son. She knew very well that those days were gone now.

M E A N W H I L E W I T H Z A N E . . .

Zane stared out of the nearest window, looking at his reflection. He didn't the single time that he was able to stay at one place. He hoped that he was able to stay at Inkopolis.

The classroom he was in was on the opposite side of the school and up the third floor. The room itself had smooth white walls, blue floors and a clean whiteboard. The tables were each able to fit two people at a time.

To his left, Drift looked at him and was able to sense his uneasiness.

"Hey man, are you alright?"

Zane quickly turned towards Drift and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just thinking about stuff, that's all."

"Oh yeah?"

He responded.

"Quick question, have you ever had family trouble?"

Zane asked.

"Oh..."

Drift muttered, he had a moment to think about his answer, not wanting to give away too much to someone he had only just met.

"It's complicated, to say the least, you'll understand fully one day."

"Oh alright, sorry if that was a bit too personal."

Zane said, thinking that he might have made Drift uncomfortable.

"Don't worry about it!"

He assured Zane, giving him a pat on the back.

"I haven't spoken to many people before if I'm honest: I haven't seen the point of it because knowing my parents, I'm probably gonna be out of here soon."

Zane responded with a sigh.

Drift gave Zane an assuring smile.

"Do you want to leave Inkopolis?"

"I don't, I just want to stay and live in one place."

He answered.

"If you really want to stay then just tell them not to take the jobs. You're at an age where you can have your say in things, you know what I mean?"

Drift told him.

"I know. Even my Mom agrees with me, but my dad has been obsessed with making money from jobs that cause too much of his time, he's become more bitter towards us."

He said with another sigh.

"I'm sorry that you have to go through with that. If you ever need company come to us for it. Me, Ami and the others would love to help you out in any way."

He offered, making Zane feel better about it.

"Thank you."

Zane replied, smiling.

"Anytime! So, what do you think about Inkopolis so far?"

Drift asked.

"Well it's much better than Splatsvile, that's for certain. That's the only place that I'm happy I moved away from. It seemed like there was a lot of dangerous things going on there."

He said with a soft chuckle.

"One second your walking down the street with an Ice Cream cone and the next second it's just gone, like vanished out of thin air, it's weird. Although the Splatfests held there were neat."

"Well you don't have to worry about danger, Inkopolis is a very safe place, apart from when the Great Zapfish gets stolen every couple of years, seriously, have they not tried putting restraints on it?"

Drift assured him, getting a small chuckle from Zane.

"Besides, you and I have so much life left in us, I don't suppose we'll run into danger anytime soon."

Zane smiled at the last point Drift made before bringing the focus back onto him, particularly his hair.

"What is that white streak?"

Drift felt his hair as he navigated his right index finger across the streak.

"You know, I really don't know. Mom said it was a birth mark, so I'm just gonna go with that. No matter what colour I switch to in Turf Wars the white streak still remains."

He answered. Even Drift himself was confused of it's origin.

"Ami jokingly said once that it looks good on red, but I don't know."

Zane smirked a little.

"Does your family have that same mark?"

"No. Like I said, my family life is pretty personal."

Drift repeated, unintentionally sounding mean.

Not wanting to cause any more discomfort, Zane turned began to look out of the window, looking at all the buildings from Inkopolis City in the distance. He began to daydream about what it would be like to stay at Inkopolis without any family problems.

M E A N W H I L E E L S E W H E R E . . .

The Once Great Symbol, a faded light of a once beautiful world. Some say that the ruined castle was once owned by an ancient tribe, all of those rumours were false. What happened to the castle and who lived within it had always been up in the air to the general public, nevertheless, it had been abandoned ever since.

Off in the distance was an Inkling hiker with a dark grey buzzcut. Despite his hair, he looked like he was in his early forties. He wore a white shirt with navy green overalls on top and had a dark blue backpack on his back, which barely managed to hold a fishing rod, despite the fact it couldn't fit into the bag. He held a bag full of fish in his left hand.

As the hiker approached the castle, he spotted strange activity. He saw an Octoling with long red hair, dark clothing and a cape emerge from what looked like a flame circle, he seemed to be approaching the castle. However, what the hiker was fixated on was the blade that Octoling was holding.

The hiker had a worried look on his face, something about the Octoling seemed familiar to him. He slowly but steadily began to follow the Octoling towards the castle, wanting to get a better view without being caught. Who is this Octoling? What is his goal? Why was the hiker so fixated on him? Only time will tell...

T O B E C O N T I N U E D . . .

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T H X F O R R E A D I N G ! ! !

I hope you enjoyed this first chapter of Splat Force: The Gifted. In case you are wondering, the first couple of chapters in the series will be setting up the story. Then around chapter 5, the set-up would be complete and that's when the madness begins for the characters. Anyway, have a great day folks! ^^

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