Embedded Files
Decided to expand a little bit on some of the lore I built up around the second R.I.P.1.0.3. track, Beneathness, with a little two-part story featuring some of my Splatoon characters. The second part will hopefully be a little longer, but with any luck this'll whet your appetite~!
***
“What’s eating you?”
Brassic’s question caught Skint off guard, causing him to choke on his drink mid-sip. Naturally, he tried to play it off and recover quick. “Wassat?” He replied, hoarsely.
“You’ve been in a funk all morning, mate.” Brassic replied, pausing to take a bite out of his Seanwich. “A decidedly un-Skint-like funk.”
“Dunno what’cha mean, Brass.” Skint said, forcing a grin. “I’m feelin’ aces, bud. Not a care in the world, nope. Totally copacetic.”
“People who are actually ‘totally copacetic’ do not use the term ‘totally copacetic’”. Brassic replied, poorly imitating Skint’s voice with each repetition of the phrase.
Skint, unsurprisingly to Brassic, relented pretty quickly. “Awww heck with it; I ain’t able to lie t’you.”
“You can’t lie to anyone, Skint.”
“‘Boutta bare my soul to ya dude, lay off.”
Brassic adjusted his sitting position, crossing his legs and resting his elbows on the table, hands clasped together. “Go ahead.”
“Well...” Skint looked a little unsure, scratching his neck. It must be something fairly major, for Skint to look so unsure, Brassic thought to himself. “You ever heard anythin’ ‘bout... the old subway network?”
Brassic cocked an eyebrow. “Er... you’re gonna need to be a tad more specific, buddy.”
“Y’know, the one y’can get to via the barred up entrance by the Turf Lobby?”
Brassic thought for a moment, before a look of recollection came over his face. “Ohhhh yeah; the one every paranoid nutbar says is ‘bare haunted innit’.” Brassic said, with a dry chuckle. “What about it?”
Skint just looked at him sheepishly, before cracking an awkward smile.
“... Skint.”
“Brassic, shut up f’ore y’even go there.”
“Really, Skint?”
“Brassic please I’m beggin’ you dude.”
“Skint, c’mon!”
“Stop smilin’ like that! Yer makin’ me feel like a idiot here dude!”
Brassic briefly stopped chuckling, wiping his eye. Skint honestly couldn’t tell if that was a mocking gesture or if he really had laughed hard enough to tear up a little, and neither option was very flattering. “Ok, ok, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I just... didn’t peg you as the superstitious type!”
“I ain’t!” Skint said, defensively. “Well, I mean, I ain’t, normally... but this is... different.”
“Different how?” Brassic asked, settling back into his neutral expression. “Ran into some scary skelemen ‘round that way, did you?”
“Nothin’ like that, y’dillweed.” Skint said, rolling his eyes. “But I... heard some things yesterday.”
“Give over, Skint; you’re the least likely person to buy hearsay on the street.”
“Nah, dude, I mean like... I heard some things coming FROM the Subway. Like, out from the station.”
Brassic was genuinely a little surprised to hear that. “Go on.”
“Well like, I was hangin’ out by that way in the square, catchin’ up with some folks I ain’t seen in a few, and I was headin’ off to grab a bite I heard some like... metallic clatterin’. Like, I dunno, steel beams or somethin’ striking each other. It was super faint; dunno if anyone else even really heard it y’know? And it was comin’ from the direction of that alley. So I head over there- y’know in case someone was hurt or somethin’- but it was totally empty there. As I’m ’bout to head off, though, I distinctly hear more clangin’- and it’s totally comin’ from down in the station. So I walk over, right, lean in to listen closer, and I hear...” Skint paused, worry evident on his face. “I hear groaning, dude. Like, angry, hungry groaning.”
Brassic took a few seconds to digest this; as he himself said, Skint isn’t a very good liar. If he was taking him for a ride, he’d have picked up on it by now. And Skint really did seem to be a tad shaken by the experience he was relaying to him. “It couldn’t have been anything else? Or that the noise could have come from somewhere else?” Brassic asked, though his tone gave away that the question wasn’t dismissive.
“Absolutely pos, Brass.” Skint said, dead certain.
Brassic’s brow furrowed slightly. “Ok. So, you heard some odd noises, and it’s spooked you. I can see how that’d set you on edge, but this seems to have effected you a bit deeper.”
“That obvious, huh?” Skint said, flashing another sheepish smile.
“A little.” Brassic replied, gesturing with his hand as he did so. “So, there’s something else, right?”
“Yeah; Warp’s plannin’ on takin’ one of her personal expeditions down there soon. Y’know, what with Splatoween comin’ up ‘n all that, I think she’s lookin’ for some musical inspiration ‘n is try’nna get into t’spirit of things.” Skint said. “No pun intended.”
“Worried about her?” Brassic said, tone softening properly.
“Well, yeah, but it ain’t just that; I said I’d go with her. B’fore alla that happened.”
“... Huh.” Brassic said, rubbing his chin. “I didn’t think you were much for exploring abandoned places.”
“I ain ‘t, really.” Skint said, finally taking another sip of his drink, some tension released now he’d talked about what was on his mind. “It’s just that she usually goes with at least one other dude on these lil’ trips of hers, but this time she was plannin’ on flyin’ solo. An’ I just didn’t want her runnin’ off somewhere dangerous without someone lookin’ out for her.”
“Can’t fault you for that, mate.” Brassic said, exhaling. “Gonna assume you weren’t expecting to have to protect her from ghosts or ghoulies, though.”
“Look, man; I dunno if that’s what I’m expectin’ to find down there.” Skint said, fear pretty evident in his eyes. “Truth? I dunno what’s down there, period. But somethin’ definitely is. It could be anythin’, spooky or not. And I ‘unno if there’s a lot I can do to keep us safe if whatever it is finds us even if it ain’t some sorta weirdo monster thing or whatever.”
“Ok, ok; I’m picking up what you’re putting down, Skint.” Brassic said, pulling out his phone and rapidly tapping the screen, typing something. “Seems to me like the solution is obvious; you two need a level headed chaperone.”
“You’re comin’ along?” Skint asked, surprised.
“You’re white as a sheet just telling me about some noises you heard, and knowing Warp she’ll be too caught up in the mood of the whole affair to notice what’s in front of her; I’d rather have you both in my line of sight rather then sitting up here worrying about the pair of you falling into a hole or whatever.”
Skint smiled, this time warmly. “Dude... I ‘ppreciate that.”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t go thanking me just yet; save it for when I inevitably have to fend off any vagrants that try mugging us at knifepoint.” Brassic said.
“Or starvin’ beasties with a taste fer Inkling flesh.” Skint replied, only half joking.
“Oh for heaven’s sake...”
***
~ Decon (14/10/18)
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