Chapter Text
Gem was in need of a bit of quick cash. Turf wars couldn't pay for her apartment forever, and she was getting a little bored of them lately. Best to wait a while for some different players to turn up and spice things up.
So, she was job hunting. It turned out there weren't actually many places that were hiring, and even less that were willing to take her. She didn't know why, it wasn't like she didn't have any qualifications. Sure, most of those involved taking out other people in turf wars, which she was damn good at, but apparently shops didn't need well trained security guards. Or something like that, anyway.
That was how she found herself, tired and annoyed after several hours of no success, wandering through some backwater shady alleyways with not a clue as to where she was. The streetlights hung low, random spatters of multicoloured ink mixed in with whatever gunk was laying visible on the ground. There was the hiss of steam released, the smell of something burning, the electricity sparking overhead. Not the best place to be, if she was being honest. Her sneakers kicked against the ground, like it was it's fault her day had been so bad. Her cap was pulled over her head, and Gem wished she was back in turf wars, because that was usually where she took her anger out on whatever poor team she was playing against.
Her hand ran long the wall as she walked, tracing over worn down posters for old concerts, splatfests, events… And one new one, advertising for something called JellieCo. Huh. What could that be? Frowning, Gem stopped, turning to view the information given on the poster, that was written in a ridiculously small font. From what she could make out, it read:
JELLIECO
Hey there! Are you in need of a job? Got some debts to pay, got some pockets to fill with some good old fish eggs? Well, I have just the thing for you! This is JellieCo, a 100% trustworthy company for all you inklings in need of a quick buck.
We deal in harvesting the beautiful golden fish eggs from the horrible salmonoids that live in the ocean, a place that any inkling with a brain knows is incredibly deadly, which of course makes these salmonoids incredibly dangerous as well. Don't you worry about that though! We make sure all our employees have the safest sort of gear, know the safety manual by heart, and always follow the rules! (99.99% percent of the time, anyway.) Nobody has died on the job yet to this day!
So, what are you waiting for? Head to the JELLIECO office in your area, and get yourself hooked up in a once in a lifetime opportunity! We'll be waiting with open arms!
-S
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. .
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…This was very clearly a sketchy gig. It was too enthusiastic, too fancy with words, and it used completely fake statistics. If Gem signed up for this, it would almost certainly go downhill from here. She shouldn't take it. She shouldn't take it, and keep hunting for a proper job instead. In the morning. When she wasn't in the mood to make bad decisions. Well, it wasn't such a bad decision, was it? It was a job, probably with someone in charge who'd want a professional turf wars gal. And she could always quit if she didn't like it. And she was just checking it out, it didn't mean she was going to take the job-
Without realising it, she'd already begun to walk to the location that had been given on the map that was on the back of the poster, which she'd taken from the wall in order to read the small writing more easily. The sky grew darker as she walked, the artificial lights flickering down on the two long tentacles that made up her hair. She took off her cap, feeling a little faint. That being said, she hadn't been in ink for several hours now. She might be drying up a little. She'd have to get to whatever JellieCo was quickly, and possibly ask if it was okay if there were any ink weapons she could borrow. It seemed like the type of place that would have that kind of thing.
After a few minutes, Gem reached the place the map had directed her to. The outside was definitely rundown, and looked to be in terrible condition, with faded paint and mess everywhere. The inside wasn't much better. There was a fishing sack tied to the ceiling, filled to the brim with golden fish eggs. That was the first thing Gem laid eyes upon, and it immediately set the vibe of the place. Greedy. Suspicious. Showing off wealth. Attracting hires.
There were also a couple screens, a red neon sign of a fish, some fans, some tv screens, a sewer grate entrance which Gem assumed was how you got to the location of the salmonoids, and a strange wooden carving of a cat with a fish in it's mouth, with the only indication of it being a radio the signal wire sticking out from it. No person in sight.
"Hello?" She asked, glancing around the room a bit more. The green exit sign glowed brightly and clearly, and she wondered why they would need to specify which way it was to leave. Kinda creepy, since this was such a small area. She considered following it back out, but the wooden cat-radio thing crackled, and a cheerful voice was heard over the speakers.
"Well, hello there! How may I help you?"
Gem stiffened at the loudness of the voice. Taking a final look around the room, just in case there was an actual person she could see and talk to. There wasn't, obviously. She responded to the unknown voice with hesitance. "Um. Yes. I'm here about a job…?" There was a few seconds of uncomfortable silence before the radio registered a response.
"Oh, but of course! Welcome to JellieCo! What's your name then, inkling?"
It was definitely weird that whoever was speaking knew she was an inkling, and not, say, an octoling, or a different sort of marine species. Lucky guess, maybe. Hopefully. Or those big screens over there also had a camera system rigged up to them. That was likely, but it still gave off a bad feeling. Unluckily, she was too annoyed from earlier to care.
Folding her arms, Gem stared at the cat-radio defiantly, for no reason in particular other than the fact that she was slightly uncomfortable and this odd form of communication certainly didn't help. "My name is Gem. Gemini Tay." She thought for a moment, before adding: "What's yours?" Another moment of silence went by. Gem tapped her hand on the table, fidgety and impatient. She was also starting to feel fainter. She'd need to refill on ink soon.
"Gemini Tay, you say? I believe I've heard of you. Won a lot of turf wars lately?"
Gem nodded, and smiled a little. She was allowed to be proud of her achievements, okay? It was only natural. She wondered if she should give a verbal response, since it was a radio, not a person, but she was almost certain that the person speaking with her could actually see her, despite that. And yes, after a couple seconds, the voice responded, which confirmed her suspicions.
"You're very good at it, I tell you. Very good skill with the splatling weapons. Anyway, you can call me Scar! I'm the head of JellieCo, and here to help new employees get the hang of the ropes! …That is, if you're looking to sign up."
She should say no. She should probably, no, definitely say no. But nothing bad had happened yet, and Scar seemed nice enough, and she was pretty sure it would be near impossible to find another job that wanted to have her this much. Besides, the turf wars had been boring as of late. It might be fun to try something new. Though, there were a few things she needed to know before she made her choice. "So, how much is the pay?"
There was a laugh from the radio. It was responding quicker now. It might've never been slow to begin with, and those slow pauses were intentional. That would be weird, though Gem wouldn't put it past the company to do so.
"Everything about the job can be found within the contract provided. Would you like to see it?"
Hesitantly, Gem nodded. There was a whirring noise, and a compartment to her left opened up. Inside, there was a paper with lots of normal contract, and an even larger amount of fine print, as well as a pen filled with ink. While she wasn't planning on signing the contract without even reading it, picking up the pen and feeling it change under her fingertips to her natural orange colour made her feel slightly less woozy. Maybe she'd keep holding onto it, for now.
The contract was long and confusing, but it very clearly stated the basics on how you got paid, and how it would increase the more you got past your quota for the golden fish eggs. It also very clearly stated that most of the training would be done on the job. The fine print was too small to read. This was a bad sign, but Gem had been ignoring bad signs all evening. What could be so wrong with ignoring one more?
It was also late. Maybe she should sleep over this. Instead of signing her life away while she wasn't in the right mindset for it. Maybe. Or, she could sign it, and be over and done with it, and wake up tomorrow knowing she had a job to go to, instead of more fruitless searching! So, she did the stupidest thing, which was doing the stupid things while knowing it was a stupid thing.
She signed the contract, the orange ink staining the page with a sizzle and a hiss.
This would go fine.
. . .