Red in the Night Sky (Splatoon fanfiction)

Chapter 8

The warrior carefully opened the front door and looked inside. Not a single soul was seen and the only thing she heard was the tiny breeze of the wind. She walked inside, both hands gripping her roller. In front of her was a big staircase and there were two doors on both sides of her. 

She knelt down and examined the floor. The trail led to the door on her right. But there was something off. By the foot of the hill, there had been three sets of tracks. Now there were only two. "One of them was caught," she murmured and stood up. She opened the door on her right and peeked inside. In front of her was a long hallway, multiple doors on each side and one by the end of it. 

She started to slowly walk down it, careful where she stepped down. She examined the walls. There was a big painting of the family that had once owned this house. The Stephensen family. On the painting were a male Inkling and his wife, their kids between them. When she was passing, she noticed something odd about the painting. She stopped and examined it closer. A big, weirdly shaped spot was on it. The warrior gasped. It looked like a footprint. She touched it. It was new. She looked around and noticed another footprint not too far away. "How did it get on the wall," she murmured. "Did she walk on the wall?"

Before she could process what she was seeing, she heard a sound behind her. She turned on the spot, ready for an ambush. But there was nothing there. She sighed and started to walk down the corridor. But there it was again. It was a low sound, like a tiny voice. 

The Warrior listened harder, trying to hear what it was. It came from behind the wall in front of her. It sounded like a tiny girl's voice. "Help me," it said and a tiny whimper came right after. One of them was still alive! The Warrior dashed to the door that led into the room it came from and slammed it open. She walked into a big ballroom. Chairs and tables were by the walls and there was a big dance floor in the middle. Some balconies led from the next floor so that people could look over the dancefloor from above. 

The Warrior hurried to the middle of the dance floor and looked in all directions. There were no signs of the girl anywhere. "Where are you," the Warrior whispered. 

"Right here," the girl's voice sounded from the door. It was not a sob or a whimper. It was a triumphant voice that sounded confident and strong. The Warrior turned on the spot to face it. By the door stood a tall woman. She held a thin blade that was covered by red ink, like veins running down it. Her hair was different than any she'd ever seen. Two Octoling tentacles fell down her shoulders but four tentacles of an Inkling fell down her back. Her eyes were completely black and red dots stared at her, like red stars in a night sky. 

The Shadowling smiled. "Welcome, to Stephensen manor," she said and spread her arms. The Warrior gripped the roller tighter. "Where are the girls," she said and clenched her jaws. The Shadowling smiled and put her hands down. "They were naughty so I had to lock them up. They get pretty weird around strangers. But in what room they're in stays with me."

They stared at each other, their weapons ready. "I guess I'll have to beat it out of you then," the Warrior said through her clenching teeth. The Shadowling pretended to look offended. "It's rude to threaten your host like that," she said. "You could get kicked out."

"I'll take my chances," the Warrior replied. They stared at each other, waiting for the other one to act. The breeze of the wind blew the curtains and the creaking in the old wood was the only sound that was heard. 

The warrior was the first one to act. She charged at the Shadowling and flung her roller at full force at her. The Shadowling raised her blade and parried the strike easily. The Warrior was expecting a counterattack and raised her roller in a defense position. But the Shadowling did not attack. She just stood there, smiling. The Warrior raised her roller again and struck at the Shadowling, but she sidestepped it easily and kicked her in the back. 

The Warrior stumbled in front of her and nearly crashed into a table. She turned just in time to see the sword of the Shadowling slice through the air. She was just about able to block the strike but the Shadowling did not stop. She attacked so fast the Warrior had a difficult time trying to block them. She blocked a strike from her left but immediately she had to block a strike from her left. 

"She's toying with me," she thought as she realized that the Shadowling could have killed her ages ago. The Warrior blocked a strike and immediately swung her roller at the Shadowling's left foot. The Shadowling parried it easily and jabbed her sword at the Warrior's stomach. The Warrior sidestepped, just about dodging the sharp blade. But the Shadowling was ready for it and kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying through the air and crashing into a table. She rolled to the side and looked at the Shadowling. 

She walked slowly towards her, spinning her sword in her hand. The Warrior stood up and spat ink on the floor. She growled and charged at the Shadowling. Their weapons crossed and the Warrior staggered by the immense strength of the Shadowling. She pushed at full force, but the Shadowling did not budge. 

Suddenly, the Shadowling released the pressure and let go of her blade. The Warrior was not ready and stumbled forward because of how much pressure she had put on the blade. The Shadowling dodged under the Warrior, grabbed her sword out of mid-air, spun on the spot, and slashed across the Warrior's back. 

Pain shot through the Warrior's body and she fell down on all four. The Shadowling laughed and stood over her. "I have to admit, you're a good fighter for an Inkling," she said. "But you're flawed, just like the rest of your kind. Pathetic."

She raised her blade, ready to strike down. The Warrior thought fast, turned where she lay, and kicked the Shadowling in the stomach. She stumbled backward and grabbed around her stomach. 

The Warrior changed to squid form and hid in the ink that had spread all over the floor in the fight. She lay completely still and looked at the Shadowling. The Shadowling stood up and laughed. "Hiding won't help you help you, darling!" she said. "You might be used to being able to hide in ink but I am not as flawed as you are. The darkness is my ally. You can't hide from me."

She looked around the room until her eyes fell upon the spot where the Warrior was hiding. "I see you," she said and laughed. She lunged through the air, about to stab her sword through her. The Warrior swam to the side, just about able to dodge the sword, which stabbed through the floor where she had just been seconds ago. She turned back to humanoid form and kicked the Shadowling in the face. She stumbled back by the kick and swung her sword around, missing the warrior by inches. 

The Warrior dashed behind a table, crouched down, and gripped her roller tightly. The pain in her back was unbearable and she started to see white spots dancing in front of her. The Shadowling grunted and stood up. "Are we back to doing this," she laughed. "You cannot hide from me, darling. I see everything."

The Warrior closed her eyes, trying to ignore the pain in her back. "Is this really how you want to go out," the Shadowling asked into the darkness. "Cowering in a corner, trying to buy yourself just a few moments to live by cowardly hiding. Don't you want to go down fighting? Go down in history as the Warrior tried to stop me instead of going down as a coward?"

The Warrior's breathing started going faster. Images started to flash in her mind. Her village up in flames, her mother, Tommy, and Isabel crying at the pub and the Shadowling standing over her, triumph in her eyes. The Warrior opened her eyes. "No," she murmured. Then she bit her jaws together, grabbed her roller, and stood up to face the Shadowling. 

There they stood face to face, only a few meters dividing them. The Shadowling looked a bit impressed but she chuckled as she saw how the Warrior was staggering. The Warrior spat out a blob of ink and looked the Shadowling in the eye. "Have it your way then," she said through her clenched teeth, gripped her roller with both hands, gave a roaring battle cry, and charged the Shadowling.