OctoSquids (Splatoon story)

Chapter 14 - Memento Mori

After about a month, the funeral preparations were done and over with. Now, Plum found himself in the open space of Inkopolis's local cemetery, accompanied by what was left of the OctoSquids, the Inkling Brigade, his parents, his uncles, Tallulah and even Off The Hook. Everyone stood in front of Ridley's tombstone, decorated with orange memorial flowers, small machines that he seemed to have worked on, and a framed picture of him, taken not too long ago. Plum could not stand looking at that picture anymore, knowing that he could not see his bright smile with his own eyes ever again.

Ridley's parents, Adrien and Tulia, were now standing next to his tombstone, before everyone else who decided to come.
"My son has always been caring...and optimistic... No matter how many mistakes he made, or how many hardships life threw at him, he always kept such a bright smile on his face...", he began to speak, his voice already cracking in the verge of tears. "Seeing his eyes open for the first time...was the best day of my life... He still cared about me, even if I was too hard on him... I'm so glad to have been your dad...", Adrien continued as he placed his hand on the tombstone. At that moment, however, he could not take his grief anymore, as he now broke down in tears. "I'm sorry, Ridley...", Adrien cried as he was brought into a hug by his wife. She seemed calmer than him, but Plum could tell she was suffering just as much as he was.

Soon after, Calder was now the one next to Ridley's tombstone. All he did for the first few minutes was stare at the tombstone as he slid his hand atop the stone in silence. Knowing that he was Ridley's roommate, as well as how bold Calder was, anything could come from this. Eventually, Calder finally faced everyone.
"Did you know we once hated each other's guts? He hated me for being so reckless and I hated him for being so smart.", Calder began as he chuckled silently. "We settled on our differences, though, and soon after, I found myself sharing a room with him.", he continued, then looked down in silence, trying to keep his composure. He wiped away small tears as he faced everyone again. "I've learned so much from him...", he muttered as he then looked slightly towards the sky. "Buddy, if you're listening to me...thank you for everything!", he called out loudly as his voice cracked. His powerful voice brought even more tears to Plum's eyes.

To Plum's surprise, a chair was set up next to the tombstone, and Moray was sitting on it as she held an acoustic guitar on her hands. She began to tune the sound of the strings for a few seconds, then glanced at Plum. Right after, she began to play her guitar as she prepared her voice.

♪ Despite our tears, we wish your fears be vanquished.

May you rest in peace, and have gods ease our anguish.

The love you gave to us will never vanish.

We'll remember your name, despite your body vanished.

May our future be bright again... ♪

Moray slowly stopped herself from playing her guitar as she looked back at Plum, whose eyes were drenched in tears after such a beautiful, short song. It was such a surprise to him, he couldn't help but cry on the spot. After he calmed down, though, Moray approached him as they both embraced in a tight hug.
"Thank you so much for being here, Moray...", Plum told her. Moray looked up to his face.
"Are you gonna be okay...?", Moray asked him. It was now Plum's turn to say a few words. He looked down to Moray.
"I-I'll be fine...", he lied to her, knowing that he was not going to be okay, but forced himself to stand in front of everyone anyway.

Plum took a deep breath as he braced himself.
"Ridley was...not only an amazing example to so many... He was also an amazing friend, son, nephew...a-and cousin...", Plum began. "I loved him very much... Which is why I can't help but feel guilty for...", Plum trailed off. He could not bring himself to continue talking as tears continued to stream from his eyes. Lucio was about to walk over to him, thinking that he had said enough. "Ridley was the closest to a brother I've ever had...", Plum managed to mutter out one last thing, his voice cracking.
"There there, Pluto... You've said enough..", Lucio told him as he hugged him and brought him back to where everyone was.