Chapter Text
The last thing Lemon remembered was the cold but burning feeling of water and the pain crushing her chest. Her rapidly-melting fingers clawed desperately at the thick, tree-like arm that firmly held her under. Clouds of her own ink billowed through the water, she could see them even as her vision started to blur and her eyes, too, began to dissolve.
Lemon was no stranger to getting splatted by water. She’d taken her own fair share of tumbles on maps like Mahi-Mahi Resort or Camp Triggerfish. Granted, the last time she’d fallen in water was years ago, but she could still recall the first time the liquid tore her form apart. It had been frightening, she remembered, the first several moments were completely still and shockingly cool to her skin. Her eyes had been open and the water was a bright, clear blue. Almost serene, the her from two years ago had thought, the place under the waves of which their ancient ancestors had emerged from. And then she had splatted, respawned, and kept fighting.
Unlike those times, there was no respawn. No way of telling if she would ever breathe or move or do anything ever again. Unlike those times, she'd splat for good. There was an old feeling that she had learned to bury years ago, a deep, mind-numbing terror that forced a wild shriek from her throat.
The frantic calls from the rest of her party (Snake, Duck Hunt, Ryu, Cloud) were drowned out under the pounding in her ears- her entire form was already melting- she didn’t know if she even had ears anymore.
The water was turning more and more yellow by the second. Even as her hands continued to pound against the iron-clad grip the creature had on her, Lemon knew it was useless.
Her eyes squeezed shut.
She didn’t want to see the faces of those she failed.