A World Once Familiar, Redux (Splatoon/Subnautica x Male Reader)

3: A Watery Hellscape

A loud THUD echoed out as your flailing quickly took you off the bed, landing on the wooden floor in a painful, sobering impact.

"Ugh..." Your voice, low and raspy, was barely audible even to yourself as you clawed your way out of the thick blanket you had been using.

It had faded from your memory as quickly as it woke you up, but something had decided not to play nice in your dreams. Your still-racing hearts alone gave enough testimony to that fact.

Not that it was an uncommon occurrence. Quite the contrary. Since you had arrived on this planet a few weeks ago, you rarely slept without nightmares, visions of the things you had been forced to face, lingering sensations that had already numbed you. The few times you woke up in peace, it was always with lingering doubts in your mind, thinking that this promise of earth was a fabrication of your mind, and that you were still in some sterile metal habitat.

Which made it a shame that the one truly peaceful awakening you had, yesterday morning, ended with... well... the events of that morning.

  A few pants escaped your lips as you slowly freed yourself from the blanket that had been holding you captive. It was massive, large enough to cover you completely, and it was well-stuffed, making for a fluffy, warm experience when drifting off. Unfortunately, it also made that blanket a struggle to escape when you got tangled...

  After a few seconds, your attention was captured and drawn upward by the light sound of knocking. Someone was at the bedroom door.

"Op..." The single syllable caught in your throat before you took a breath in, standing up with that blanket in hand.

"It's op-open." You called to the one on the other side of the door. In response, the doorknob shifted before the door slowly opened. Probably a precaution, in case you were suddenly violent again. That meant this was probably...

  "...I heard a shout." Pearls voice greeted you as you slowly spread the blanket back over the bed.

  "It wa-was... nothi-thing." You assured the inkling, tending to the corners of the bedding.

  "I'm not very inclined to just believe that." Pearl told you, eyes narrowed as you took a last look over the bed. It was made... not professionally done, but it was made. With Pearls scathing glare arcing over you, you slowly sat down on the bed, looking back at Pearl. She was fully dressed in that white suit you had seen when she was on the news. She likely had work, which gave her that excuse she needed to drop you off at the square and forget you existed for a few hours.

  "I... rolled a bit... too far." You lied, feeding the inkling false information.

  "I fell off the... the bed. That's why—... why I shouted." You claimed. Pearl slowly nodded in response, eyeing you up and down.

  "Uh-huh..." She let out a low grumble, scanning your appearance from the clothes to the unkempt hair. Her eyes lingered a bit longer than expected on the usual golden shine, before falling back to your eyes.

  "Get cleaned up. I'll be waiting in front of the door, where you'll be brought downstairs to have breakfast, before we all go to the Square." She instructed you.

  "Okay." You nodded in confirmation, a motion that seemed to prompt Pearl to back up, out of the room.

  "I don't just mean look decent. I'm telling you to shower. I don't care if you're a hobo, I won't have my home smelling like one." She insisted, slowly closing the door to give herself the necessary time to make her point.