The Story of the Squidbeak Splatoon (My Splatoon AU Fanfic)

Chapter 32: Double-Edged Splatana (DJ Dichromacy: Pre-Order Today!)

Order Splatana - pallet: Keygen Shachi

"Wowds cannot expwess how confused Keygen makes me. He hates both Chaos and Owdew. He hates the chaos of the suwface, but also the owdew of the Octawian Awmy. I hope he doesn't change like Mawina did." - Smollusk

"The splatana is a relatively new weapon. It seems to be very popular in Splatsville from my statistics." - Marina

"I have so much fun with this weapon! Going zoom-zoom-Wamp! TKO!" - Pearl

"Are there any more new weapons I haven't heard of? This one seems... odd." - Acht

"I bet Captain would like this weapon- oh, this is his?" - Purah

"Well?" Acht asked Smollusk as they again traversed the spire. Marina immediately went off with the palllet.

"Weww... Weww!" Smollusk repeated. "Weww I'm... Stiww thinking."

"I was able to finish this one pretty quickly." Marina said as she returned with the Spatana's owner.

"YOU!" Smollusk shouted.

"Me?" It was Keygen.

"You'we the one that made the Memverse!" Smollusk pointed.

"You helped 'Rina? How do you know this guy?" Pearl asked.

"You may not know me by my stage name, I am still pretty underground." Keygen waved his hand. "But I'm the Captain of the now defuncted 'Octo Excavation Association'. The One and Only: Keygen Shachi!"

"You're the one that Smollusk here is blaming for giving it the sole purpose of disregarding everyone's free will." Acht said to Keygen.

"What?! Me??" Keygen was confused.

"Key..." Marina began. "Look, we all know that before the Association began you hated the surface. And I know even though you wanted to help people get up there, you and a lot of others struggled."

"I don't get how y'all had so much trouble." Pearl butted in. "You're going from a tyrannical ruler to a freedom town to live your own life."

"I know to someone who didn't go through what we did, leaving a controlling and strict ruling seems easy... But when it's something you've known all your life... Believing all Inklings are the reason your people are suffering. It messes with your head. When you become so accustomed to tragedy of your everyday... It just becomes your everyday life. When the opportunity sprung up for freedom when that cycle was finally broken, I felt hope I could get everyone to the surface. but after I was sent to the metros... I began to just hate both my old life and Three for offering me a new life that I couldn't have. I guess the popcorn shrimp here took my colliding hatred as if I hated all who had free will."

"Popcown Shwimp?!" Smollusk replied in anger. "Now you've done it Twaitow Keygen!"

"Stop right there." Keygen up his hand up, Smollusk didn't transform. "I don't like Order, and I also hate everything I've been through, being forced to watch your comrades die because of Kamabo. I'm mad at Three for offering me freedom, but I can't believe it took me 'til now to realize: even though my fallen friends never got to, I was able to get at least 80% of the Octolings to the surface." Purah looked at Keygen with wide eyes. Keygen looked at her and patted her head. "Maybe not in one peace, but Marina and I truly wanted to help Octolings through it all... Maybe I've taken somethings for granted."

Smollusk thought for a moment. "Acht, youw question."

"Eh?" Acht replied.

"I still am twying to come up with an answew. I may have one soon. we'll have to see, until then... my mind is still set on twying again  fow wowld domination if I can't see anything else to solve."

"Fine." Acht replied.

"Tord." Keygen murmured when he came with Heimdal to the surface.

"You, it's been a while." Tord replied. "How are you?"

"Better." Keygen said as he looked up to the sky. "The memverse really helped put my head together... even if I did get kidnapped by a micro program that was influenced by my music in the wrong way..."

"Wrong way?" Tord asked. "I've picked up a CD of yours. Is there a right way to interoperate your music?"

"I wrote a lot of stuff during my time in Kamabo. The things I saw would've messed you up too. Well, I mean you did get a taste-" Keygen stopped himself as Tord flinched. 

"You know about-" Tord began.

"I saw Angel's whole journey since the start." Keygen replied as he walked away.

"Where are you going?" Heimdal asked.

"I've made up my mind. I came to the memverse because I was trying to find you, buddy. Now I gotta find... someone else."

"Who?" Heimdal asked.

"An old friend... I don't even know if she's still alive to be honest... no harm in looking for her, is it?" Tord stared at him for a moment as a chill ran up his spine.