Quinn idly scratched at a spot under his right eye as he walked through the streets of Inkopolis. It was right at the end of his second week of living here, and despite the hardships he was facing, he took some manner of pride in that fact. Because really, this whole 'living on your own' thing was hard! It fell on him and him alone to cover his rent. Him alone to buy and prepare his food (though, the preparing part wasn't new). He had to buy his own supplies, decorations, turf weapons, and everything else. And somehow, he had to make enough money for all of it!
Still, two weeks wasn't so bad. He was still here, ready to grind some turf games, despite his aching muscles from the previous day's identical plans. Today's games were for rent of course, but also for a new set of bowls for the kitchen. There were a few other basic things he needed, namely other simple kitchen utensils, a broom, and a new set of nice towels, before he could start saving up for some bigger things, like a couch or a TV bigger than 14 inches. He'd get there, one match and one item at a time.
He strode into Inkopolis Plaza early in the morning. The sun had only just broken over the horizon line, casting much of the plaza in the orange brightness-framed twilight only found in places with buildings this tall. Despite the early hour, there was a solid flow of life throughout the city. People of all species moved about with purpose; many of the inkfish similar to himself found themselves waiting in Plaza like he was. He watched as it began to fill with more people with the same plan as him: spending the day playing Turf.
The most popular sport by a landslide; Turf wars were loved by almost all that could participate. Granted, that number was pretty limited to only Inklings, like him, and Octolings. They were the biggest thing on the continent, and in both species respective countries, Inkadia and Octolis, had developed a 'friendly' rivalry in the sport. All the different game modes drew huge crowds daily. From the classic turf war, to the various ranked modes; the more focused Splat Zones, the tense coordination of Tower Control, or the highly cooperative Rainmaker and chaotic fun of Clam Blitz.
Quinn wasn't "fresh" enough to play ranked yet, which really just meant he was too new. Acknowledging that fact left a slightly bitter taste in his mouth, not because of the lack of experience, but because of how expensive it was to get started in turf. He had to buy a weapon first, he chose a splattershot and that cost a few hundred G (plus monthly payments). Then he needed an ink tank and the turf pants to use them. Filling the tank with his natural ink regeneration would let him draw it out later, with rings in the pants allowing him to quickly reabsorb the ink to use it as needed. That cost him several thousand G altogether. He also needed officially sanctioned turf gear, and while he was able to snag a simple logo tee from home before he left, he still had to shell out another several thousand G for the cheapest shoes and headband.
With a quiet sigh, Quinn pulled his mind from his sunk costs, instead sweeping his eyes across Inkopolis Plaza. This was the part of the city he was easily becoming most familiar with. It was a surprisingly open space for such a densely packed city. A collection of turf-approved clothes shops, called Booyah Base, lined the left side, with the weapons shop on the end. The other side had a few buildings dedicated to other activities, there was some kinda dojo and an arcade called The Reef. The last building had a cafe on the first floor, and a news studio on the second. A famous Pop Idol duo called the Squid Sisters would broadcast the news, including the current turf stages, every morning. It was for that reason that a slowly increasing number of eyes were turning towards the large window bordering the recording studio, his not included.
Between the weapons shop and the news studio, and directly across from the Plaza's entrance, sits the Plaza's main attraction. A large lime green A-frame tower, cleverly named Inkopolis Tower, loomed over the surrounding buildings. It served as both a landmark for navigation and a point of interest itself, as it hosts the primary Battle Lobby, the central hub for all things turf war. It was effectively the heart of the city, at least for the youth that was 14 or older, like him.
A lanky sea urchin sitting in one of the many side streets leading out of the Plaza het his eyes. They exchanged nods before both deliberately turning to look a different way. That was Spyke, Quinn 'knew' him in the way that knowing someone's name makes you friends. They had talked twice total, both times Quinn asked after modifiers for his gear called ability chunks. Spyke had them, for a price Quinn couldn't match currently. Quinn's fingers drummed against his leg in impatience as he waited for the news to start so he could get on with his day.
It only took a few additional minutes of patience for the celebrity duo to finally walk into the news room. Almost every face in the crowd turned towards the TV closest to them-- there were several hanging off the sides of buildings for people-- to watch as the screens flickered away from the miscellaneous advertisements. A bright Inkopolis News Logo appeared on the screen. A chippy news jingle plays as the Squid Sister's logo appears. Equally chipper music continues to play as the logo faded, revealing the titular Squid Sisters smiling on screen.
Callie, the pink inkling of the duo moved first. "Hold on to your tentacles..."
"...It's Inkopolis News time!" Marie, the lime green inkling, follows up without pause.
Quinn almost immediately tunes out their banter. There will be some flashy effects if anything important is announced. The day's stages are displayed pretty prominently inside the Battle Lobby, so he'll do his turf thinking then., the line should be long enough anyway. Instead, he turns his attention towards breakfast, or really the fact that he hasn't eaten it yet.
Up near the Battle Lobby's entrance, there's a little nook between the Squid Sister's Studio and the Tower. It was pretty forgettable, there was nothing there but a vending machine, a few trash cans along the wall, and a red sewer grate. The vending machine is out of the way enough that its prices hadn't been increased like all the others in the area, a fact Quinn took a small bit of pride in knowing. It made the cheap breakfast granola taste a little bit better, thanks to the secret discount.
Only, as Quinn's gaze swept over to the little nook, he noticed that the sewer grate was propped open. No, that wasn't propped open, the sewer grate was being held open. Quinn stops walking, too puzzled by what he sees to continue.
An old man stood under the grate, one shaky hand holding the grate open while he lazily rested underneath it. He was, eeh, scraggy, would best describe him. He wore an old military hat and a shirt with so many patches on it he doubted the original existed underneath. A large beard draped under his chin, hiding his mouth, while two bulging eyes under very bushy eyebrows stared up at the TV screen.
In the background, Callie and Marie bantered about Blackbelly Skatepark and Arowana Mall. Quinn couldn't take his eyes off the bizarre man in front of him. Apparently, the old man could tell he was being watched, as he turned to look at Quinn almost immediately. They held each other's gaze for a moment before the old man cocked his eyebrows, not in surprise, but recognition.
Quinn started forward again, whatever spell had frozen him in place broken by the eye contact. Before he could finish crossing the Plaza, the old man cast a side glance at the TV, before quickly dropping under the grate, letting it fall. The grate slammed down with a dull Ka-thunk, that caused a few people to look around.
Quinn sped up, only just not breaking into a sprint. He peered into the grate the moment he was close enough, but the old man was no where to be seen. Circling around the grate, he checked every possible angle he could, but there was nobody there, just the quiet flow of ink through the piping below.
He stood near the grate for a few moments, breathing a bit harder from the sudden burst of movement. That was... weird. Very weird. Why was an old man watching the news from a sewer grate? He wasn't stuck, he had clearly escaped of his own will and power. Idly, he scratched at the place under his eye.
His thoughts are cut short as a collective call of "Stay Fresh!" echoes from the TVs as well as several members of the crowd. Quinn's head whips back towards the main TV to see the Squid Sisters holding their iconic pose, before breaking it to wave at the camera.
Conversation picks up rapidly among the Plaza-goers as the news fades to black. With no further fanfare or warning, the doors to the battle lobby under Inkopolis Tower open, and the crowd quickly streams inside. Quinn follows after a few moments of hesitation. He puts the strange encounter out of his mind, preparing for the days battles.
He chose to stay at Arowana Mall for the day. It took some restraint to not wander through the store and spend his limited G, but he ultimately managed to hold off. He pick two cheap peanut butter sandwiches and a bottle of water for lunch. They were a bit plain, but within budget and a blessing after forgetting his granola bar earlier. He was about halfway through the second sandwich when the entire mall complex suddenly dimmed, before darkening almost completely. Light only shone through the windows and skylights creating patches where things were nearly pitch black. Things stayed dark for a few seconds, causing a few people to scream, and everyone else to roll their eyes at them. There were several loud clicking noises, and most of the lights in the mall turned back on at about 70% strength if he had to guess. All of the stores had their lights return as well, but none of their signs or window displays had power.
It wasn't unusual for some store displays to lose power occasionally. The Zapfish that powered the city were living creatures, their power output could vary based on a lot of things. What was strange was the entire building essentially going dark for several seconds. The grid was designed around tiers of need to prevent that exact thing. Quinn scratched under his eye as he turned back to his sandwich, it was probably nothing crazy.
The games after lunch went a bit better than the morning; he ended up matching with a pre-made group of friends. It just means he has to adapt to their playstyle and callouts, and adapting was something he knew he was good at. Regardless of the match quality, there were several points throughout the day where Quinn couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. He had built a strong trust in his gut feeling since before he moved out, and it was telling him it was more than just some mall goers looking down at the game as they walked by.
In the end, Quinn, with the help of his teammate trio later in the day, managed to win five of the nine games he played. Quinn split from them when they turned for the locker room back in the Plaza's Battle Lobby. He waved goodbye to them as he walked through the Lobby's front doors. Mentally, he tallied how the money he earned today would be allocated. He built his budget around 3 out of 7 daily games being wins, so the extra wins would certainly be appreciated. That extra G would be put to the couch fund, because at this point he's tired of the piddly little wooden chair he's got right now. He's about mid way through the plaza when a sudden flicker on the TV makes him stop.
A familiar pretty jingle plays as the news logos quickly flash across the screen. Rather than their usual studio, Callie & Marie stand in front of a large window, which you could clearly see the runway of an airport behind. Both hosts wore comfortable traveling clothes, with an overcoat hiding most of it. They still wore their distinct headpieces regardless of this fact. They smiled as they stood, clearly waiting for an off-screen cue, jumping into action the moment they got it.
Callie moved first. "Hold on to your tentacles..."
"...It's Inkopolis News time!" Like before, Marie follows up without pause.
"Hey everyone!" Callie eagerly cheers, pumping her arms. "Squid Sisters here, bringin' you all the news you could ever want!"
Marie rolls her eyes, settling into a more relaxed stance. "We've GOTTA get you back on a teleprompter," she snarks alongside one of her signature smirks.
"Oh, stop!" Callie mimes brushing off her cohost's comment, before turning back to the camera with a beaming smile. "I just thought I'd be a little extra energetic since this is like, a bonus broadcast!"
"That's right," Marie confirms, her face turning a shade more serious. "We're supposed to be patiently waiting for our plane, but something pressing's come up just last second."
Callie jumps in immediately, "What kind of news hosts would we be if we didn't get you this info ASAP?"
"The kind that's on break, like we should be," Marie murmurs vaguely away from the mic.
"Contractually not for another three hours!" Callie brightly corrects from beside her. Things are awkward for a few moments as both celebrities make eye contact and small gestures with people off screen. Callie steps towards the edge of the frame, covers her mic, and leans in to talk with a man who's just barely visible as he leans in.
Marie steps over slightly to center herself on the screen, and shrugs with a sarcastic smile. "Eh, apologies folks. Things aren't exactly as smooth outside of the studio. Gotta play things by ear when a big story's developing."
A moment passes before Callie nods and steps back towards the camera. She smiles as she hands Marie a cue card, before she begins talking. Her voice is shockingly serious compared to the energy it held mere moments ago. "It's been brought to our attention that around 12:15 this afternoon, the city began to struggle with a significant loss of electrical power. One of the four Great Zapfish, the one located near the Northern residential district, has gone missing."
There's a pause long enough for Quinn to look around. He remember the power surge earlier. Several other people in the Plaza seem as dumbstruck as him.
Marie looks up from her card with a concerned frown. Her eyes meet Callie's for a moment, before she starts talking. "Investigations are still ongoing, though no results have been revealed publicly as of yet. A small number of eyewitnesses in the area claim to have seen some kind of 'unknown flying platform' in the skies around the Zapfish facility. All the witnesses agree that the object was circular, and seemingly defied gravity as it moved through the sky, though none were able to capture any image of the supposed object."
"If you or someone you know has any information about the Zapfish or this 'UFO' please reach out to the Inkopolis police department immediately." Callie pauses, looking off screen again, before nodding and continuing. "The city will be switching to a reserve power plan, typically reserved for when a Great Zapfish is retired. If everybody follows the instructions that will soon be provided, the city should see no functional loss in productivity. Please listen to your local authorities over the following days for best practices and mandatory rules."
Marie begins speaking again, but something grabs Quinn's attention. A familiar feeling of being watched, coupled with a strong surge of Deja vu makes him slowly turn his head away from the TV.
Ka-thunk.
Now wait a damn second. Quinn quickly darts across the plaza, stopping just before the grate from earlier that morning. The nook looks the same as it had that morning, trash cans along one wall, vending machine on the other, grate on the floor. He was sure he had just heard the sound of it closing again. There wasn't anything else in the area that made that sound! Bewildered, Quinn circled the thing, again peering through it at every angle, before giving up and deciding to go home. Echoes of the crowd cheering "Stay Fresh!" follow him as he begins the walk.
It took a good 20 minutes to reach his apartment. A big pain in the ass, sure, especially after a day of turf wars, but the significantly cheaper rent made it all worth it. Plus it was actually pretty close to some discount shops, and when the day's turf matches were held at Flounder Heights or Archerfish Anchor it was a much shorter walk. He scratched at the spot under his eye while he walked.
He paused at his front door. Taped to it was a city-provided notice regarding the new power regulations. An unofficial curfew was set between 12am and 6am where anything not deemed essential was to be depowered, including things like street lights and store signs. It went on to list a bunch more specific things, solar panel incentives, fines, fees and the like. For him though, it mostly amounted to "keep the lights off if you don't need them," which was easy enough.
Stepping into his apartment wasn't the experience he wanted it to be yet. His living room was just a wooden chair in front of his coffee table, with a 14 inch TV sat just a few steps away on an incredibly cheap stand. He had a few posters up on the wall, but those were there to hide chipped paint or that one weird stain he didn't want to think about. The other thing that sucked about his apartment was the smell. It was more a problem with the building itself than his specific room. The place just smelled old. He was given several air fresheners by the landlord as a moving in gift, and it took using pretty much all of them at once to hide the smell. Quinn worried about what he'd do when they ran out, as he hadn't made his budget with using 4 air fresheners at once in mind.
Once inside, he quickly removes his turf gear, carefully setting the tank, splattershot, and headband all on the ground by the door. He beelines straight for the bathroom, where he takes some time to clean himself up after. A few minutes later now clad in softer clothes, he languidly makes his way through the three room apartment, stopping in the kitchen space to make a quick dinner. Cheap ramen makes for a good basis for stir fry, throw in a few vegetables and some sauce and you have a solid day's meal. His turf pants find themselves folded and set next to the tank, with his basic tee tossed next to them.
Once the food was cooked, Quinn marches with it to the carefully lowers himself into the small wooden chair in front of his coffee table, balancing his bowl of stir fry in one hand as he holds the chair still with the other. Once he's sure the chair isn't going to fall out from under him, he shifts the bowl until he's holding it in his lap as he kicks his legs up on the table. An involuntary groan of relief escapes his lips as he takes the weight off his feet. He grabs the TV remote from the floor beside him, and powers the small screen on. A bit of channel flicking lands him on the news, where the Zapfish bulletin is still going, though it seems the Squid Sisters have left at some point. It's not the most interesting thing, and it's entertaining enough, so he lets it play.
Zapfish, Great or otherwise, are kept in one of four special facilities in the city. The habitats are designed and staffed to keep the creatures in good health and spirit. The spaces the small (or large) creatures are kept are designed to collect the passive electricity they give off, which is then distributed around the city as needed. While the security around these facilities wasn't weak, it also wasn't exactly strong either.
The investigation revealed no finger prints, foot prints, ink spills, or really any disturbance of any kind. The cameras all cut out half an hour before the squidnapping happened, there was no malfunction in the system, no alerts or warning. They just simply stopped recording both visual and audio. The only proof that something had happened at all, was a large square hole in the roof of the Great Zapfish's enclosure, about 30 meters above the water.
It turns out that all of the smaller zapfish had also been snatched, though the theft had been much less subtle. The broadcast shows several shots of broken glass, twisted locks, and one battered-in door. Still, despite the extensive damages, no trace of the culprits could be found anywhere. This was especially perplexing because of the forcefield zapfish created. They were rather weak all things considered, but it took ink to break them, and there was none of that to be found.
The footage would cut between shots of the active investigation taking place in the facility and interviews with different people from all over the corporate ladder. From the low level techs on site to the lead detective, and even the mayor of Inkopolis herself, everyone interviewed basically said the same thing in some form or another: "We have no clue where the Zapfish is, or how it was stolen."
Quinn tuned out of the program when they started talking about the supposed 'UFO' sightings. As much as he begrudgingly admitted it would make a lot of sense, he just didn't buy it. There was no way in hell someone managed to make actual hovering technology, not reveal it anywhere, and then use it to steal the Great Zapfish. It just didn't make sense. You could get rich enough selling that tech to buy your own Great Zapfish at that point.
With a quiet grunt, Quinn pulls himself out of the chair. He takes a few minutes to wash the bowl and the pan used to cook the noodles, and moved to get ready for bed. His life wasn't exactly thrilling at the moment, especially if the books on time management and personal budgeting holding up his alarm clock had anything to say about that. But it was his now, and as much as it sucked that things were hard, it just meant he could only go up from here. With muscled sore from a day of playing, Quinn laid himself down in bed, and fell asleep.