Back Home
Before you read, I want to tell you several things:
This story is an epilogue to Renegades, another story of mine and hence takes place afterwards. This means that you might gain some spoilers from this story if you had not read Renegades. As of the making of this chapter, I'm still working on the Splatoon story arc of Renegades so you can read that as I update that story. As with Renegades, this was co written with Yeroc8, who does most of the editing and sometimes writes chapters or segments of chapters.
Disclaimer: I don't own Splatoon or any of the characters unless they're my OCs
"Ayo! We're finally back home after kicking the GC's(1) butts! How does it feel guys?" Pearl exclaimed happily as the group entered the Inkopolis Square. The Square had not changed much since they left. It was still bustling with life, with Inklings and Octolings conversing and Jellyfish hanging around.
"Feels great, although, I'm gonna miss those guys." Callie replied.
"Yeah, I know. But, we did keep a few…" Marina added. Everyone looked to see she still had her DJ turntable which she was pushing into the studio.
"What? I need to keep him so I can announce stages and play music." Marina said. One of the records on the turntable then transformed.
"Good to be back, er, home? Second home? Home away from Cybertron?" Eject said as he stretched. Another record transformed, this one being Rewind.
"Welp, now that I don't really need to hide anymore, I could record more events easily!" Rewind exclaimed happily. Eject playfully elbowed him on his arm.
"That's all you're thinking about, your database? I'm thinking about the fact I could finally participate in Turf Wars!"
"Eh, not so fast Eject. I think having you participate would kind of be cheating, since you are completely resistant to ink." Three said. The group were then met by the others that stayed behind on Inkopolis.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Lily said as she greeted the others.
"We were kinda worried about you guys. We were afraid you would be splatted." Benzo added.
"But here they are, safe and sound! So, what should we do to celebrate your victory?" Cuttlefish asked. Everyone thought for awhile before Four spoke up.
"I think we're all tired right now. Maybe we can do something later, but for now, I think we just want to rest."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Marie agreed. Everyone except Off the Hook and the Cassettes left the studio. In the back, Rewind was getting all the information of news reports from the facsimiles(2) of Pearl and Marina left by the Renegades. After sharing the necessary information to Pearl and Marina, the two Cassettes shut the facsimiles down before wheeling them away into a closet.
"Alright, we're about to start announcing today's stages. Eject, stay out of trouble. Rewind, you can record us as long as one, no one sees you, and two, you stay out of trouble." Marina said to the two Cybertronians, who just nodded.
Meanwhile…
Agents Three and Eight walked right into their apartment, setting their stuff down and sitting down on a couch. Three yawned, having been tired from all the fighting in space. She then got up from her spot and stretched.
"Welp, I'm gonna go sleep. Hopefully, we don't have any Seacons or Retardicons or whoever they send interrupt my nap." Three said to Eight before slowly walking off to her room. Eight just shrugged before grabbing the remote to watch TV. She just flipped through channels, curious about what was on during this time of day. She eventually stopped at the Inkopolis News channel.
"A hot topic going around Inkopolis are these "agents" who had saved the city from Shockwave two months ago." Marina announced.
"Hey, didn't we help them?"
"Yes Pearlie, because they asked."
"What about those big robots they were with?"
"Well, we don't know much about them or these 'agents'. Those robots seemed to have disappeared and ever since Inkopolis was saved, so did the agents. As of right now, government officials are preparing to investigate Octo Valley and any other plans Shockwave may have had." Marina said.
"Hey, aren't the Octarians on good terms with us Inklings now?" Pearl asked.
"Well...um...yeah, maybe. Hopefully. Anyway, on a related note, the deaths of many Inklings in the persons on Octo Valley have angered several Inklings, with many nativist groups trying to get Octolings out of Inkopolis."
"Woah, sounds rough. Maybe we should help calm them down Marina. Whaddaya say?"
"Yeah, that would be great! Inklings and Octolings living together, forgetting about the problems of the past."
"Anyway, here are the stages…" Pearl announced before Marina displayed them. Eight paid no attention to the stages being announced and turned the TV off. She slouched over and sighed, upset about what she heard. She had seen that Inklings and Octolings had started living together peacefully when they left. Now she hopes it can stay that way.
Also Meanwhile…
"Ugh, great. Now EVERYONE knows we exist, and everyone's gonna start noticing that kettle by Ammo Knights." Marie said in frustration.
"Hey, didn't Mags(3) say he installed attention deflectors onto the kettle? You know, the thing that makes people not notice it's there unless they know beforehand?" Agent-4 said. Four decided to come with the Squid Sisters to their apartment, having been bored.
"Yeah, now that you mention it, he did. See Marie, we have nothing to worry about!" Callie said, trying to be positive.
"Hmm, maybe. It still bothers me that everyone knows of our existence."
"This'll pass by. Soon, we'll just be old news." Four added, trying to be positive as well, although she did see Marie's point.
"Hey, any of you guys want some french fries? I gonna go get some. If it's one thing I missed, it's the fries." Callie asked, heading out the door of their apartment.
"Mm, not right now." Four answered.
"I knew you were gonna get some fries after this was all over. I'll come with you. Four, you wanna come?" Marie asked the Inkling, who just stood in front of the TV. She thought about it for a while before coming up with a decision.
"Okay, sure." All three Inklings left the apartment building and walked around Inkopolis. It had been awhile since they were there. Suddenly, Callie remembered something.
"Oh, we need to get those facsimiles of us! Or else people are gonna wonder why there's two sets of Squid Sisters."
"Yeah, I don't need drama like that filling the rest of my schedule. Let's go do that and then we'll get the fries." Marie agreed.
Also Meanwhile, in the Depths of Octo Valley…
Octus was not having the best time there was. Not only had the Octarians been defeated by the New Squidbeak Splatoon once again, but their new leader Shockwave had caused so much damage to their society. Houses constantly fell apart, causing several casualties daily. They still had not gained a sufficient power supply. Many Octarians just wanted to make peace with the Inklings, and now the Inkopolis government was heading into Octo Valley for investigations. Octus had been holding them back, not allowing them access to their home. He was sick of Inklings and how they were treated down here. He wanted revenge.
"Sir, the Inklings at the entrance of Octo Valley are still requesting that they come to help our situation and investigate Shockwave's experiments." an Elite said to her leader.
"Tell them I do not wish for their help. I want the Inklings to suffer just as us Octarians have suffered. Tell them they will not have access into Octo Valley anytime soon and that they should just give up and go home."
"Yes sir, as you wish." The Elite walked out of the building that acted as his headquarters. Octus sat on a throne he had made for himself. He admits that the Octarians could use the help, but he feels it'll show weakness in him. Weakness that he cannot afford to show to his enemies. Just then, another Octoling walked in. He had a lab coat on, with several pens inside the front pocket. There were a couple fading scars on his tentacles, which curled and uncurled as he walked.
"Octus, we've recreated one of Shockwave's experiments that you have requested. I thought that maybe you would want to see it for yourself."
"Indeed I shall." Octus followed the scientist into a large lab. The lab was quite crowded, with materials and equipment scattered and grouped up in different parts of the room. The lab was filled with a chemical aroma that filled Octus' nostrils as soon as he went inside. The scientist stopped in front of a giant tube. The tube had a young Octoling boy inside, floating in some sort of translucent liquid which Octus could only assume as some sort of ink. The tube was about twice the size of the Octoling, making Octus wonder why he had to be in such a large tube. Several machines were wired onto the tube, with scanners checking vital signs and many other types of information.
"I introduce what Shockwave has called a 'Phase Sixer'. A living being, but styled as an ultimate weapon of destruction. According to his audio logs, Shockwave had created these weaponized people to participate in the war in his home. This Octoling will have enhanced strength, endurance, speed, durability, and much more."
"I do not see any difference from a regular Octoling."
"Ah, but we have not started yet. I requested that we do not start until you had arrived."
"Well?" Octus said, soon becoming very impatient. The scientist spoke with the others as they started to begin the experiment. Soon, the Octoling began to grow larger and appear stronger, with some muscles expanding. His claws had grown sharper and longer, his tentacles curled and moved erratically, and he started to outgrow the tube. Electricity crackled throughout the machines and tube and the scanners started to show more larger scaled signs. Soon, the crackling stopped and the bolts of electricity vanished. The ink was soon drained from the tube as it opened and the Octoling stepped outside.
"Sir, I present to you, your most powerful warrior yet: Cephalord. He lives to do your bidding, and he fights for you and you only." the scientist said, presenting Cephalord like a car dealer would present a new car.
"And what if he decides to attack me? Then what? You said it yourself, he's my most powerful warrior." The scientist had a solution, and grabbed a file from a desk that happened to not have anything but paper and files on it.
"Cephalord has a chip that was injected inside his brain. The chip was created for this sole purpose. Should he attack you, you just need to verbally say this code and the chip will kill him instantly." Octus took one look at the file the scientist had given to him before looking back at Cephalord.
"Is he able to attack right now? Or does he need training?"
"The chip had already given his brain information, such as combat styles and techniques and information on how to use any weapon. Basically, he requires no training."
"Yes, I require no training. What should I do for you?" Cephalord asked. This caught Octus off guard, as he did not expect the Octoling to speak.
"I-ahem, I want you to attack the Inklings outside Octo Valley. They had been pestering me about coming in. I want a message to be sent, I want the Inklings to know that I want nothing to do with them."
"As you command, master." Cephalord turned into a Kraken before super jumping away.
At Octo Valley's Entrance…
"Ugh, these Octarians will never let us in. let's just leave." an Inkling said to his colleagues. He had begun to lose hope that the Inklings and Octarians could make peace. There were fifty Inklings, all from orders by the government, to help the Octarian race find a way to make peace.
"Don't give up, we had a mission to do, and we're gonna complete it." Just as the other Inkling said that, something slammed down onto the ground in a very large splashdown. The splashdown took out ten of the Inklings standing by. When the others looked to see what had attacked, they saw an enormous Octoling. He had metallic armor on, with some Tenta Missiles on each side of his chest and a back mounted Inkzooka. He also had two Mini Splatlings on his forearms and what appeared to be guns on the side of his shins. He towered over the Inklings by height, and he appeared much stronger physically.
"Hello Squids. The name is Cephalord, and I believe I was told I had a meeting to attend here. So let's talk, shall we?" Chephalord began to walk closer to the forty remaining Inklings.
"What is that thing?"
"Who cares? It's gonna splat us, so shoot it!" The Inklings opened fire, but it hardly seemed to harm him.
"Ugh, you guys realize this hurts a little, right? Here, let me show you my pain and then you can tell em about yours." Two Inklings were shooting at the Octoling when he grabbed them both by the head and slammed their heads together. He did so with so much force that both heads were crushed. He then dropped the headless bodies on the ground before quickly moving to the rest. He gunned several of them with his Splatlings and stomped on a group of three. He then picked up a short Inklings and tore off her limbs with his teeth before munching on her head while he shot two more. Cephalord began to massacre all the Inklings until only one remained. Cephalord kneeled beside him, his face close to the Inkling's.
"Pl-pl-pleas, don't splat me! I-I can't come back and I have f-family!" the Inling muttered softly, both from fear and injury.
"Tell them that Octus wants nothing to do with peace, only revenge. And tell the whole entirety of Inkopolis that I said 'hi'. Got that?" The Inkling nodded furiously before Cephalord picked him up from the ground.
"Great, I'm proud we both understand what's going on here. Here, let me help you on your way, I don't wanna be rude now, do I?" Cephalord then chucked the Inkling far away before dusting his hands off and wiping the ink off himself.
"Ah, it's good to be me."
The Next Day…
"Woah, say what now!?" Pearl asked. They were broadcasting right now, and Marina had just announced a large headline.
"Well, a group of fifty Inklings sent by the government were murdered by some large, heavily armed Octarian. Only one survived the fight, but he later died while being hospitalized."
"That's scary. What about making peace with the Octarians?"
"Well, looks like that idea has been thrown out the window. This new information has also been used by many Inkling nativists to try and find a reason to force Octolings out of Inkopolis." Pearl noticed Marina was a bit off today. She seemed a bit more upset than usual.
"Hey Reena, you okay?"
"No, no I'm not. I-I need to go take a break." Marina just left, leaving Pearl confused and to announce the stages by herself.
Later…
"Reena, you okay?" Pearl asked, walking into a small room that was the break room. It had a vending machine and one table with three chairs. Marina sat in one of them, her arms resting on the table while her head was buried in her arms.
"Reena?"
"I'm not okay...just please leave me alone."
"C'mon, what's wrong?" Marina rose her head up from her arms and stared straight at Pearl. She had some noticeable tear stains in her eyes. The sight of her like this saddened Pearl. Marina, noticing Pearl would expect an answer by now, sighed before speaking.
"I-I guess I'm just frustrated that our races still can't get along. When I heard that the Inkopolis government were gonna try to help the Octarians and make peace with them, I was happy. I was ecstatic. But now that this happened, those Anti-Octo groups now have a reason to hate Octolings and ban them from inkopolis. Now, we might as well start a Second Great Turf War while we're at it." Pearl sat down beside Marina, patting her back.
"It's okay, the New Squidbeak Splatoon will figure something out. WE can figure something out. We figured something out when Shockwave attacked, what makes this anymore different?" Pearl asked. Marina smiled before tackling her friend in a big hug. Just at that moment, Eject and Rewind decided to barge in.
"Okay, a single Octarian kills fifty Inklings in public. FIFTY. INKLINGS. Does that not scream 'Great Turf War Two'?" Eject said while simultaneously grabbing the other bot's shoulders and pulling him closer so that they were face to face.
"But that's no reason to start a war! They should just apprehend him. Or her. I have no idea what gender it is. That information hasn't been known yet since the guy sorta died before interrogation." Rewind replied.
"This better not be another Shockwave plan. That dude gives me the creeps, especially that eye. The way it just coldly stares at you. He can't even blink. It's just...unnatural." Eject added, shuddering as he thought about the it. the two soon noticed Pearl and Marina sitting there in the room as well.
"Oh hey guys." Rewind said, waving to the two. They then focused their attention to Marina.
"Hey, you okay? You kind of just left Pearl to do everything herself." Eject asked. He sat down on the remaining seat and started to fidget with a pen on the table
"It was one heck of a unique news broadcast that I managed to record. A bit boring compared to the other ones, but unique to say the least." Rewind added.
"Yeah, I'm okay guys." Marina replied before the four of them started to talk to each other.
Tentakeel Outpost…
"Did anyone else watch Inkopolis News?" Marie asked. At the Outpost was Agents 3, 4, 8, and the Squid Sisters, as well as Cuttlefish, Lily and Benzo. They were all huddled in front of Cuttlefish Cabin. Octavio's snowglobe was still there, however it has been empty since the Octarian had left to go unite the remaining Octarians to make peace with Inklings.
"Yeah. Sounds bad." Four simply said.
"I have a feeling Octus started this. Knowing him, he wouldn't be too supportive of a treaty, he would rather wage war. He's pretty mad the Octarians lost the Great Turf War long time ago." Lily added.
"Then it looks like we have another problem in our hands. We have to find out what octus is up to, and who this Octarian is." Cuttlefish said.
"Right when I thought we could have a break after we return, something new happens…" Three moaned. Eight stared at her best friend in a confused expression.
"We can do this. We've beaten people like him before."
"Maybe. But I wouldn't bet my life on it…" Three replied solemnly. They continued to talk until they finally dispersed, leaving Tentakeel outpost to become quiet once more. The only noises that were heard were the birds chirping and on a far away rock was Octavio, in Octoling form, looking through a pair of binoculars.
"Welcome back New Squidbeak Splatoon. And good luck." He said to himself before super jumping away into the horizon...
(1): GC = Galactic Council
(2):A Facsimile is a copy of a creature that could look, think, and act entirely like the person used for their template. Facsimiles usually have no knowledge of being fake.
(3): Mags is the nickname for Magnificus.
Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter even though it is shorter than what I usually write. I'm not the best writer out there (there's tons more that are better than me lol). Be sure to review and stay tuned for the next update!
