[Solo] Black and Yellow

Garnet had to admit. That visit to the ingredient shop made him interested in the art of creating potions and other neat stuff. This kind of shop was on almost every street, but very quickly he noticed that the quality and price was as varied as the number of shops he encountered. Garnet couldn't quite tell which things were higher quality and which were lower, but he could definitely tell the difference between them. The more he submerged into the topic, though, the more complex it began to be. He didn't expect it to be completely easy, of course, but this sudden learning curve threw him off a little bit. It sort of reminded him of the time when he used to tinker with weapons in his own time, later on secretly helping out Sheldon in his ink weapon shop with testing and data gathering. Garnet was proud of his work and was happy to see some of the weapons that came out were made with his tiny bit of help. Yeah... Back home, when things were a bit simpler.

The Inkling exited a potion shop in one of the less populated streets of Magnolia. While he didn't buy anything right out of the bat, he ordered a book that the shop owner recommended for people who wanted to get started in the art of potionmaking. Garnet was quite pleased and excited about the purchase. A note would be delivered to him once the book was available to be picked up. Though he also hoped that the shop owner didn't try to scam him into buying a shady book. With a faint smile he would check the time on his phone. He was almost sure that he was in the shop a bit longer than he had anticipated. Garnet was passing by a side street, when he caught something out of the corner of his eye.

He decided to investigate. Garnet turned a sharp left into the side street. The thing that he caught of the corner of his eye were yellow footprints. The kind somebody would leave behind when they would step into a liquid and then onto regular ground or floor. The yellow stuff had a faint shimmer to it, no smell, just a vibrant colour. Ink. It was fresh, as it hadn't disappeared quite yet. The best thing about Splat battles in general was that the ink, that was used to ink the turf and splat the opponents, vanished within couple of hours. Technically it was eaten away by some microbes or whatever in the air, but the effect was the same. Wherever the battle took place, it would always return to its previous state. So whoever smeared the ink in the side street was not far off.

Garnet tried to follow the footprints, but they quickly faded. There was only so much ink that a sole of a boot could hold on to. Thankfully for him, there was more splatted ink around. It didn't look random, though. It was as if.. somebody was running and tried to get rid their pursuer or pursuers. At least that was the vibe Garnet was getting from the ink pattern. Very similar to the strategy used in Salmon Run. He walked fast, but the walk slowly turned into a run. He had to have been getting close. To whoever it was. It was only certain that it wasn't Crystal.

Soon enough, Garnet heard angry yells as he dashed between brick buildings that were ocassionally splatted with yellow ink. He noticed that the area ahead of him was a bit more open, instead of being just an another narrow street. What he would give to be able to swim in his ink to be faster. And then he halted into a sudden stop. He saw a group of thugs, who were in a half circle, having chased something or somebody into a corner. They had ink splattered all over them and they didn't sound the happiest. "What's the matter, seafood? Not so tough anymore, are ya?" One of them growled as he took a step forward. "I read that article before. You think this is the guy?" An another asked. "Yeah. Pretty sure they offered a reward for him." The last one laughed. Garnet grit his teeth and quietly side stepped, until he managed to see through a gap between the thugs. And he couldn't believe his eyes.

In a corner there was an Inkling. Dressed in a splendidly white coat and shoes with golden accents and had short, side-swept, yellow tentacles. He was holding a pair of guns, which Garnet quickly identified as the Enperry Dualies. There was only one who fit the whole description. Emperor. Emperor looked in between the thugs and seemed to take notice of Garnet. The Inkling knew that he was in a pickle and was too proud to ask for help. Except that he knew that he needed it. Garnet gave Emperor a nod as he changed his ink colour to the same yellow. Emperor's eyes slightly widened in surprise, but he quickly figured out what Garnet was going to do. Garnet would run away and hide around a corner. He was acting as a guiding beacon for Emperor to Super jump to. And within a few moments an Inkling landed right next to him. He gave a bubbly sigh as the Dualies disappeared from his hands.

"Thanks for the help. I was starting to think that hunting Inklings is a sport around these parts." Emperor would say as he turned to Garnet, though one could tell that it was hard for Emperor to say the first part. Garnet was looking at him, dumbfounded for a few moments, before he would reply. He was just confused to hear his language spoken again. It was a pleasant change, though. "I can assure you that that's not the case. Unless you did something." The Inkling would reply to the other as his ink returned to his signature black with red tint. Emperor's face was as unreadable as he remembered. "I didn't do anything, except for existing, that is." The taller Inkling would reply as he looked Garnet over. "Though I'm glad to see that I'm not alone in this predicament." Garnet would nod in response. "I can say the same." Though he didn't expect there to be Emperor, of all Inklings. It was no use just standing around, though. Garnet would wave for Emperor to follow him. "Let's get going, though. They may be looking for you." "Right."

The two Inklings walked back to the street from where Garnet first started this mini adventure. Both of them were quiet the whole way. There was a certain type of respect between one another, that not even the currect circumstances seemed to break. Respect that seasoned Splat battle veterans had for one another. Until Emperor raised his concerns. "What have you been doing? A valid question. "I was wandering around for a while, but then I joined a Guild of mages and met some new folks. Though I can't really talk to them." Emperor took a mental note of what Garnet had said and nodded. "True. It is surprisingly hard to express oneself without the knowledge of a language." He would agree with Garnet's line of thinking. The duo kept on walking as they talked.

"You mentioned a Guild." Garnet would nod for Emperor to continue. He decided to ignore the looks they were being given every now and then. "What does that mean?" Garnet would look at Emperor who was in turn looking down at him. His face didn't show any emotion in particular. Garnet thought about it for a bit. "I was mostly looking for a place to stay." Garnet would begin. "But I ended up in being surrounded by really great people who treat me as a part of the family." Emperor didn't say anything at first. "It's better to have a place to go back to when I'm looking for my brother." Garnet would add and Emperor would suddenly stop. It took a few steps for Garnet to realize that and stop aswell to turn around. "Crystal? He's here too?" He would ask with a mild shock written on his face. "Well, I don't know for certain, but whatever threw me in this world could've done the same to Crystal. Though I hope not." Garnet would reply as Emperor's teeth gradually clenched. "So you're saying that-" "That Prince could be here aswell? Yeah. Look at yourself." Emperor's face turned even paler than he already was, if that was even possible.

Emperor clenched his fists, deep in thought. "So you wanna come with? I can offer you a place to stay if we join forces." Garnet would ask Emperor with a smirk on his face. He knew that Emperor's pride would never let him accept this kind of deal, but these were not the usual circumstances. Though Garnet was surprised that he managed to keep his coat a pristine white. The taller Inkling would give a bubbly sigh in defeat. "Let us away then."