3. A Whole New World
More than a month passed by, and Summer was beginning to show signs of its arrival. Most Inklings Ankyr's age couldn't think of anything but Summer vacation, which was still about two months away. And, of course, Turf War. The squid kid in question, however, had been disappearing between matches or simply not showing up multiple times, making his friends concerned and, in the case of Rocky, aggravated. Caurel, being the person she was, demanded that they all respect Ankyr's privacy and insisted that the male Inkling could tell them whatever needed to be told in his own good time. Everyone agreed, but Ankyr did start sending text messages when he was about to disappear again. His latest disappearing act, however, was put on hold, as he had forgotten that the first weekend of Third Month, or Maya, as it was also called, was approaching. And for these three nights and two days, it was tradition for their group - and many citizens of Inkopolis and the surrounding areas - to take part in a festival of bright lights, unhealthy food, and chaotic good times that only happened once a year.
"Die, Octopus scum!"
POP! POP!
Two balloons shaped and colored like Octarians exploded with well-aimed shots from a dart gun mounted to a counter.
"Don't you think that's a bit offensive?" Ankyr asked as he watched Rocky score points at the carnival game.
"He doesn't think much at all," Caasi couldn't help but tease, snickering. Though her insult cost her a smack from her girlfriend, who had an arm around her waist, she didn't mind in the slightest.
BUZZZZZ!
"Oh come on!" Rocky let out a string of curse words at the timer and threw the dart gun, which was expertly caught by the old military squid running the booth.
"Better luck next time, Jet-Star," she said with a wink as she handed him a large Octarian plush toy, which was unceremoniously tossed backward and caught by his twin sister. "See you tomorrow?"
"Give me one more go, Cherry, JUST ONE MORE!" The older Inkling shook her head.
"Kid, don't you remember why I cut you down to one game a day in the first place?"
"But this is an ANNUAL fair! And you're only here two nights out of the whole week! THAT'S TWO GAMES A YEAR!" Caasi let out a fake gasp upon hearing that.
"Rocky, you just did math! I'm so proud of you!"
"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!"
"Rocky, come on," Caurel said, pulling her twin away from the booth before he could resist. "Let's go before she bans you forever. And the rest of us."
"Seeya tomorrow, kids," Cherry waved. "Good luck with that one."
"Bye, Cherry," the group chimed, aside from Rocky, who was flailing and cursing.
"Okay, I'm done with this," he said when he calmed down. "Let's go back to the Plaza."
"It's Squidbeak Days," Ecto said. "Nobody's gonna be in Turf War."
"Somebody's always in Turf War," Ankyr pointed out, but was immediately shushed by the female Inkling.
"Why are you so lazy today, Ecto?" Rocky asked.
"Not lazy," she shook her head. "Just trying to catch some mad inspiration from the new rides this year."
"We should've known," Caurel guffawed.
"Whatever, I'm out," Rocky persisted. "If you're all gonna keep wasting your time here, I'll at least be useful and increase my rank."
"Wait," Caurel said. "Let's make it an even split. Who wants to go cheer on Rocky? I know I'm staying here, I wanna ride coasters 'til I'm pureed."
"I second that notion,"" Moises said.
"What do you say, love?" Caasi asked, turning to Penny. "Wanna go watch Jet-Star make a fool of himself?"
"HEY!"
"I'd love to go cheer him on," Penny said, throwing a reprimanding glance to her girlfriend before turning her attention to Caurel. "I will miss you, strawberry jelly."
"Not as much as I'll miss you, banana oatmeal," Caurel said, hugging her best friend.
"Disgusting," Caasi said as Penny turned to hook an arm around Caasi's claw and the other around Rocky's arm.
"Let's go, guys."
"What about you, Ankyr?" Caurel asked.
"Um... I think I'll go for a boat ride."
"What?" Caurel asked, eyebrows raised.
"Pardon?" Moises gawked.
"This late?" Penny asked.
"I... I was thinking of seeing the fireworks and neon lights from farther away, y'know, seeing it reflected on the ocean..."
"Oooh, I like the sound of that," Penny said, yanking Caasi's clawed arm up and down. "Babe, take me out to do that later tonight!" Caasi chuckled and nodded, but Rocky squinted at Ankyr.
"What's really going on here? Why are you being such a girl?" Rocky asked, making Ankyr's demeanor completely change.
"Soy sauce," the older Inkling said, bordering on a shout, and Rocky's expression softened.
"...Sorry. You know I-"
"It's alright... We're cool. Have fun, dude."
"Leaving so soon?" another voice asked, and many groans rose up from the group as they turned to face the newcomer.
A group of six Inklings approached them, led by a male with short-shaved red tentacles and a broad lightning bolt mark on his face to match.
"Do you really need that much practice?" the red-head continued with a wide grin.
"Hello, Ziggy," half of the Killjoys greeted in a tired tone.
"Gasp!" the tattooed squid kid exclaimed, holding a hand to his chest in faux-astonishment. "You sound like you're not happy to see me! But that can't be... It's a well-known fact that everybody loves me!"
"What do you want, Ziggy?" Rocky snapped, limited patience already worn out.
"I was just wondering what team you guys are picking for this month's Splatfest."
"We don't even know what they are yet," Ecto said in a tone that suggested this should be obvious. Before she could raise her arm to look at her wrist device, a loud beep rang out from it - and from the phones and devices of everyone else present.
"Oh, look at that," Ziggy said with a devilish smile. "It's midnight. What a coincidence!" Most of the Killjoys rolled their eyes or ignored him in favor of reading their messages, but Rocky went on a tirade about how he couldn't stand the other boy, his attitude, and his lightning bolt-emblazoned face.
"Queso," Ecto said without a second thought.
"Salsa," Ankyr said with a shrug.
"Salsa," Caurel agreed.
"Queso," Rocky and Penny said together.
"Salsa," Caasi said, nudging Penny in the side.
"No, queso," the Inkling insisted.
"Salsa," the Crayfish said.
"Queso."
"Salsa!"
"Queso!"
"Queso!"
"Ques... What?"
"Reversal failed," Ziggy laughed, fake-applauding Caasi's attempt. "Nice try, though."
"Zip it, star-boy!"
"Good thing I'm not an Inkling," Moises shrugged. "You should never be made to choose between the two. You should always have equal portions of both."
"Always?" Caurel grinned.
"This is my belief," Moises nodded sagely. "Just like you should never be forced to choose between rice and bread."
"Hopefully that'll never be a Splatfest question," Ecto said gravely.
"Or between udon and soba," Moises went on. "Or pancakes and waffles..."
"Clearly the superior choice in that one is french toast," Ecto said, causing the Jellyfish to shake his head.
"I'm so disappointed in you."
"Anyway, I'm off to the station," Rocky said. "You dorkfishes can keep doing whatever you're doing."
"Wait up!" Penny pulled Caasi along behind her as she followed their obstinate friend.
"Alas, I must part ways with you as well," Ziggy said, giving the remainder of the Killjoys a low bow. "Can't let Jet-Star go in Ranked without me, can I?"
"See you later, Ziggy," Caurel said with a smile. "Be nice." Ziggy grinned.
"Never."
\/\/\/\/\/
"Pyxis?" Ankyr whisper-shouted into the darkness, just before it was pierced by an exploding firework launched from the coast behind him. Pink light showered onto everything for the shortest moment before retreating and surrendering to the dark of night.
"Pyxis?" he repeated, stepping forward. "Are you there?"
"I'm here," the Octoling's voice announced from high above. Another firework blast lit up the cliffs long enough for Ankyr to see Pyxis jump down, and by the time the next one fired off, they were right in front of him. "Hey, Pretty Harmless."
"Hey!"
"How did you know I would be out here?" they asked as they sat down, facing Inkopolis and all the vivid lights of the festival.
"I... didn't," Ankyr said, taking a seat next to them. "I just hoped. I mean..."
"I kind of hoped you'd come by tonight, too," they grinned.
"So, um," Ankyr cleared his throat after an awkward silence - albeit one filled with smiles.
"Yep," Pyxis nodded. "'So um', indeed."
"Are you out on patrol tonight? I don't see the charger..."
"Nah, patrol never happens at night. Only grave watch, and that's down under." Upon seeing his puzzled expression, they continued. "It's a long story, but basically we live underground."
"Down there?" Ankyr asked, pointing a thumb behind them, to Octo Valley.
"Yep. It's easier to get there than it looks. I mean... Anyway..."
Another moment of silence.
"Why are you out here, anyway?"
"Well... I like watching the fireworks. There are a lot of nights that they happen, but I didn't know until I got this job. They went off right at the end of my shift one evening, and I was... mesmerized. Fireworks aren't really a thing anymore, down there, I mean. I don't know why... Anyway, I stayed out way later than I'm allowed to, just to watch them. Which... I've kind of made a habit of, on those nights. I have a calendar... I've been working on it for a while. Oh my gosh listen to me go on. Ankyr, why didn't you stop my rambling?"
"I... didn't think there was a problem?" They both chuckled. "I'm cool with listening to you talk. Less chance for me to say something stupid." Pyxis guffawed at this.
"Oh hey! You're from over there! You must know the reason for the fireworks!"
"Oh, uh... Yeah... I do."
"Well?!" They grabbed Ankyr's arm and yanked it back and forth.
"I, uh... Are you sure you want to know?"
"Of course I want to know!"
"Okay, well... Every year, for three days and two nights, there's a big festival with rides and stuff. It celebrates the... victory of the Great Turf War."
"Oh..." Pyxis' shoulders slumped, and they folded their hands together.
"I'm sorry, I know that history has a completely different meaning for you. I... I don't know what to say."
"It was a war," Pysi said after a silent moment. "If the Octopi won, we would be celebrating now instead, because history and culture and whatnot. That's the way it goes."
"So... You don't hate me?"
"What?" They shook their head. "Is that why you were worried about telling me? No, Ankyr, I don't hate you. You haven't done anything wrong. What I hate is that people destroyed each other when they could've all gotten along and worked together to create a better solution. It's ridiculous to the point of infuriating."
"I couldn't agree more." This put a smile on the Octoling's face.
"I'm glad. Now, if you acted like a jerk about it all instead of being... you, then yeah, I'd have problems."
"I'll keep being me, then," Ankyr laughed.
"Good. So, tell me about the other firework nights. There won't be any more for a while, right? Oh, but there's that one night where the whole city lights up! That's in about four and a half months, if I recall correctly."
"The town festival," Ankyr nodded. "There's great music, too. You should come check it out, y'know, close-up."
"Me?" Their eyes went wide. "Go there? That... That would be awesome!"
"Yeah!"
"Do I have to wait that long, though?"
"Hm... Why don't you come to the next Splatfest?"
"Splatfest?"
"Every month we have a twenty-four-hour festival where we decide which of two choices we want, and... Y'know what, it's a long story."
"You mean the two nights a month where there are glowing images all over the sky?" Pyxis asked, eyes widening again. "I'd love to go to that!"
"I'd love for you to be there," Ankyr said, scratching the back of his head. "There is one thing, though, I should tell you beforehand... We have this thing where we battle each other... Not as violently as a real war or anything, we don't have any weapons powerful enough to really kill anyone. But... It's our most popular sport, and Splatfest revolves around it."
"Okay?"
"It's called Turf War."
"Ah." Pyxis nodded.
"Because you have to ink the most turf to win... It's just a game."
"Ankyr, I get it," the Octoling said, throwing their arms around him. "I'm not angry, I just have a lot of thoughts. Let's just sit quietly and watch the fireworks for a minute."
"Yeah... That sounds good."
"Good."
"Um... You do still want to come to Splatfest though, right?"
"Of-course-I-wan-na-go!" They shook Ankyr from side to side a moment, before stopping and patting him on the back and shoulders. "Sorry about that... I get carried away..."
"It's okay," Ankyr laughed. "How 'bout those fireworks, though, right?"
"Yeah," they nodded, throwing an arm over his shoulder. "How 'bout 'em."
The two sat on the rocks just as they were, watching the fireworks, though they couldn't stay silent for long when neither of them ever ran out of things to talk about around each other.
"What kind of place do you live in?" Ankyr asked.
"Oh... Radical City. Far below the ground, beneath the Octarian caves. There are other cities like it, but most are across the sea, from what I've heard."
"Is it dark?"
"No, we have solar panels above-ground that bring energy to us. It's used for lighting and weather, mostly."
"Weather?"
"Yeah, there's... Well..."
"You don't have to get into it," Ankyr said. "I'll never try to make you talk about anything you don't want to talk about."
"It's just complicated," Pyxis laughed. "You'll think I'm silly, but the church always claimed the sunlight and weather were a gift from the deity they... we worship. It was discovered that the weather is really produced by a machine our ancestors took from the surface..." They let out a breathless laugh. "But the church denies the machine's existence and insists on its version of the truth."
"I'm liking this church of yours less and less," Ankyr said, covering his mouth when he caught himself. "I'm sorry... That's probably... That's rude. I don't even..."
"Ankyr, calm down," Pyxis shook their head. "I know about my religion's lies and shortcomings. Well, maybe not all of them; there could be more. But I'm not ready to... do anything about it. Not yet. I have to think about it. My friends in the city keep telling me to move uptown with them, forget about my family and everything. I know they only have my best interests at heart, but... It's not that simple."
"Can I meet your friends someday?" Ankyr asked with a smile.
"Well... I'd have to tell them about you first," they laughed, brushing a tentacle out of their face. "I still haven't done that yet... to anyone."
"Me either," Ankyr said. Both faces turned violet-red, and both of them stared at the fireworks once more.
"It's just that," Pyxis started, still watching the colorful explosions of light, "I don't want to... I don't know. I like this, how this is right now. Us talking to each other. This is nice."
"It is," Ankyr nodded.
"Is that selfish?"
"If it is, I'm just as selfish as you," he giggled. "I like that it's just us when we hang out."
"Yeah, I can talk to you about things I don't feel comfortable saying to anyone else."
"Same. And you kind of take the weight of my angst away from everyone else. I'm... sorry if that's terrible."
"Maybe just a little bit terrible," Pyxis laughed. "But also great. And honest. Which is nice."
"Well, I try."
The two fell silent once more, staring at the fireworks, only speaking to point out a particularly gorgeous design or color scheme.
"Ankyr," Pyxis eventually spoke up. "I've been wanting to ask you something for a while... Will you be my friend?" Ankyr gave them an amused glance, and soon burst out into laughter. "What? Why are you laughing?"
"Sorry," the Inkling said once he caught his breath. "It's just... I thought we already were friends." Pyxis smiled. "But yes. Yes, I would love to be your friend."
\/\/\/\/\/
"I've got to get going soon," Ankyr said. "If I'm not back before it's light out, I'll be in trouble."
"Parents?" Pyxis guessed.
"Nah... The boat house isn't exactly open at night."
"You stole a rent boat?" Pyxis asked, eyes wide.
"I left money!"
"Oh my gosh," they shook their head, smiling. "You really are Pretty Harmless."
"What do you mean?"
"You're just... Really innocent. Pure. Like a nudibranch puppy."
"I'm not that innocent," Ankyr said, cheeks turning violet-red. "I've done... things."
"Oh yeah?" they chuckled. "What kinds of things?"
"Well... For one, I stole a boat."
"You paid for it."
"Yeah, but I paid for it illegally." This made Pyxis laugh more.
"Okay, get out of here, you dangerous criminal. I've got to return before sunrise, too."
"Sure thing," Ankyr said as they both rose to their feet. "When can we hang out again?"
"Um... Do you have anything to do Tuesday afternoon?"
"Nope, totally clear."
"I guess I'll see you then."
"I guess so," he smiled.
\/\/\/\/\/
Another week passed in the blink of an eye, and Splatfest was just beginning. As soon as school let out, multitudes of battlers had rushed to Inkopolis Plaza to decorate for the festival, and now that the sun had set, it was time to celebrate. There were stages already set up, two in front near the lobby, and several in the side-streets around Inkopolis Tower. Any moment now, one of the two main stages would be occupied by the opening band, and massive crowds were sure to form in front of them beforehand.
"Almost midnight," Ecto said, looking at her wrist device. "Where's Sunshine?"
"Here!" the very Inkling in question shouted, squeezing through the crowd. He was wearing a red tee identical to the one worn by Caurel, as opposed to the yellow worn by Rocky, Ecto, and Penny. Caasi wore a bright-red jacket opposed to her usual blue and brown, obviously trying to represent her extreme love of salsa. Moises wore a tank top that was red and yellow, split down the middle, with white text that read "Make love and food, not war". Abbey simply wore their usual type of clothing, an immaculately cleaned and ironed dress shirt buttoned to the top with matching pants and spiffy brown boots. Today's suit was white, and with the festival lights reflecting off of them, Abbey was the brightest living thing in the plaza.
They all turned to see their missing team member arrive, and their eyes widened when they noticed he was pulling someone behind him.
"Who is this?" Rocky asked.
"Made it through the crowd okay," Ankyr said, ignoring Rocky for the moment to hand Pyxis his water bottle and pat them on the back. "You alright?"
"I'll be fine," they nodded once they downed the remainder of the water. This was when they lowered their view from the captivating SplatNet posts glowing above the city, and noticed the group of people staring at them. "Oh... Hi..."
"Ankyr," Caasi spoke up first. "You... brought a friend!" Pyxis lowered their gaze after glancing at each of them for the slightest moment.
"This is why you've been ditching so much?" Rocky asked, glaring at both of them.
"'This' is a person," Pyxis said, suddenly confident enough to speak, "and can be spoken to." They crossed their arms. Caurel, Penny, and Abbey applauded the Octoling, and the others standing behind the male Inkling bombarded him with low "Ohhhhhh"s.
"Who is she?" Rocky asked, ignoring his jeerers to glance from Ankyr to Pyxis, then back to his childhood friend.
"I prefer they," Pyxis corrected, giving him a short bow.
"Right, who are..." Rocky cut himself off and averted his attention to the Octoling, finally addressing them. "Who are you? How long have you known Ankyr? Why haven't we seen you before?"
"Pyxis, a month and some change, and... I don't know, neither of us thought about it before?"
"That's not a real answer!"
"...Which one?"
"You know which one!"
"More importantly," Ecto said, stepping in front of her hot-headed friend, "and this is probably the most important question I'm ever gonna ask you... Salsa or queso?"
"Pardon?" Pyxis raised an eyebrow.
"She's talking about the Splatfest," Ankyr said.
"Oh, so this month it's salsa versus queso," Pyxis nodded.
"So?" Ecto asked, and most of the group leaned in closer in expectation.
"Um... I don't know."
"You 'don't know'?" Rocky echoed. "That's not acceptable! This is Splatfest! You have to have an answer!"
"Calm down," Caurel said in a bored tone, grabbing the collar of her brother's tee and yanking him away from their new acquaintance, who was having a light laugh at his behavior.
"I've just never had either," they shrugged. Hearing this, Moises gaped at her.
"You've never had queso or salsa?"
"I mean, I've known about them. But the Sacred Codex says that resisting unnecessary sensations brings you closer to the divine. They don't make you guys follow that here?"
"Sounds to me like you're in a cult," Abbey said. This made Pyxis laugh, but they stopped when the female Inkling's serious expression remained.
"You... You're not joking."
"I never joke about dangerous crud like that. Whatever group you're in, if they're using force, persuasion, whatever, to control what food you eat or what music you listen to, what clothes you wear, anything like that at all, it's a cult."
"I..." Pyxis felt their stomach clench more and more at everything Abbey mentioned. "It may... Some of that may be true, but..."
"I'm not gonna try to argue with you," the Inkling shrugged, holding their hands up. "I just want you to keep in mind one thing: groups like that do not care about you."
"Abbey, ease up," Ankyr said, gently grabbing hold of Pyxis' hand.
"It's true," Caasi spoke up, more gently than any of her friends would have expected, considering her usual behavior. "They pretend to care about you - maybe some of them actually do. But they really just want to control you, and they'll throw you away if they decide you're not really 'one of them'. That's their last choice of action though, because they'll try to keep as many numbers as they can."
"Caasi...?" Rocky grabbed hold of one of the Crayfish's claws, lowering his guard just enough to look into his friend's eyes. "Are you... Do you need to talk... I mean...?"
"I'm okay, roller-boy," Caasi said with a gentle pat on the Inkling boy's head. She turned her attention back to Pyxis as her claw was released by Rocky, only to be grasped by Penny.
"They only really care about spreading their 'truth', whatever that may be. They send their people to different neighborhoods, different towns, even different countries if they can afford it - all to convert people, recruit them into their belief system, their 'family'. More people to have power over. If they really cared about the people they take in, they'd let them think for themselves. But no, they don't think of them as people, they don't understand things like basic decency or-"
"Honey," Penny cut her off, caressing one of her girlfriend's feelers with her hand. "This is a new friend. They didn't do anything. You're here, not there. I've got you."
"I-I know," Caasi said, shaking her off and turning around. Before Pyxis could say anything, she had melded into the ever-moving crowd.
"Don't worry, she'll be back," Penny said. "It takes a while for her to cool down." Pyxis nodded, not feeling much like talking anymore.
"In the meantime," Ankyr spoke up, clearing his throat, "Pyxis, meet the Fabulous Killjoys." He gestured to each person in turn. "Rocky, a.k.a. Jet-Star, our 'fearless leader'..."
"Meh," Rocky said, giving them a dismissive wave before directing his attention to his phone.
"Ecto, battle name Fun Ghoul, the smartest person I'll probably ever know, who can fix and/or build anything..."
"Stop, I'm blushing," Ecto smiled, busy at work putting in her contact lenses. "No, but really, don't stop, keep it coming." Most of the group laughed at this, and Pyxis' smile started to return.
"Penny, also known as Party Poison, who's a legitimate hired actor now!" He jumped up and down excitedly with most of the little gang, letting out screeches of joy, while Pyxis, Rocky, and Abbey applauded. Once he calmed down, he continued with the introductions. "Caasi... just left. Anyway, Caasi is the crawfish woman. She's awesome, I promise. You'll love her once you get to know her."
"I never put any stock in first impressions," Pyxis winked, patting him on the shoulder.
"Good way to live your life," Abbey nodded.
"This is Abbey, who's not one of the Killjoys officially, but we're trying to win them over." The dreadlock-sporting Inkling gave a small smile at this. "And this cool Jellyfish over here is Moises, our biggest fan and founding member."
"Sunshine, you forgot about me," Caurel said, crossing her arms.
"I was saving you for last, I promise," Ankyr smiled, scooting over and throwing his arms around her.
"Sunshine?" Pyxis giggled. "They call you Sunshine. I love it."
"Isn't he the biggest ball of sunshine?" Moises asked, pinching Ankyr's cheek, which made the Inkling scrunch up his face.
"He is."
"Anyway," Ankyr resumed, "This is Caurel, who goes by Kobra Kid in battle. She's the glue that holds us together. And keeps us from crossing too many lines. The stepper-inner, basically. Me and her are pretty much the 'mom friends' of the group."
"She and I," Pyxis and Caurel corrected simultaneously. They stared at each other, bemused, before bursting into laughter. The entire group devolved into arguments about whether grammar really mattered, until Ankyr realized he had forgotten someone.
"Where's Rory?"
"She's got prior engagements," Caurel said.
"Thank the Ocean Goddess!" Rocky shouted, raising his arms in the air dramatically.
"Am I missing something?" Pyxis asked.
"Rory is a friend of ours," Ankyr explained. "Our other biggest fan. Don't... Don't tell her I said Moises is our biggest fan. She'll hurt me."
"Okay?" the Octoling laughed.
"She's... overly passionate and excited like 100% of the time. And madly infatuated with Rocky."
"And tries to pursue a relationship with him even though he's already said no," Caurel added in a flat tone. "So you can imagine how full my hands would be if she were here right now." Pyxis smiled at her.
"Stepper-inner?"
"Yeah, I does what I gots ta'," Caurel said, crossing her arms with a wide grin. Most of the gang had a chuckle at this, right before the sound of a guitar drew their attention to the left-hand stage.
"Just checking everything, guys," a pink Urchin spoke into a microphone. "We won't start before the announcement, we promise."
Ecto checked the time, while most of the assembled crowd cheered.
"Five minutes to midnight," she said.
"You're really ready for this," Abbey chuckled.
"Ready for Team Queso to win," the young inventor said, "as it should."
"Word," Penny smiled, bumping her fist against Ecto's.
"Are you all going to battle?" Pyxis asked.
"Well, me and Caasi don't produce ink," Moises said. "But we're definitely gonna watch and cheer on our squadmates."
"I was planning on sticking around for a while," Ankyr said. "Listen to some of the new local bands. I know Squid Squad is gonna be amazing, but there are so many new sounds to check out. And Tomorrow's Warning is one of the opening bands, so..."
"Aw, you always do opening battle with us," Caurel fake-pouted.
"Ssshh!" Rocky said. "The longer he stays here, that's one less salsa person playing."
"Queso's going down anyway," his sister said, sticking out her tongue.
"Not a chance!"
A loud jingle and light from the large overhead screen interrupted their squabble. The Inkopolis News logo displayed for a moment on the screen before it gave way to a video image of four musicians with wild hairdos.
"You know what time it is," announced the enthusiastic orange-tentacled Inkling girl standing behind a keyboard.
"Inkopolis News Time," continued a purple-headed guitarist, who picked a few notes in rapid succession.
"Not only that, but Splatfest starts tonight!"
"Yep! Got those stages for us, Ikkan? ...Ikkan?"
"I got it," another Inkling with magenta tentacles said, rising from the large amplifier he was perched on. "You guys could do some work sometime too. Just sayin'."
"What, we are working," the purple-headed one said. "We have to keep our fans interested. So, what stages will this all-important debate be battled out on?"
"It will be... Urchin Underpass...
"OH YEAH!" the female Inkling shouted, throwing her fist in the air. "The one and only! Streets as smooth as my keyboard solos!"
"Didn't you bomb the closing solo of that one show, Namida...?" the guitarist asked.
"You mess up one time, ONE TIME, and they never let you forget it!"
"Moonage Daydream," Ikkan continued reading, ignoring his bandmates.
"That is the freshest place to party," Namida nodded.
"They give us free soda when we play there," the guitarist said with a lilt in his voice, salivating.
"YOU DON'T NEED MORE CAFFEINE!" the drummer shouted.
"SPEAK FOR YOURSELF, MURASAKI!" This exchange made Namida fall down laughing, but Ikkan simply sighed and shook his head before continuing with the stage announcements.
"...And Saltspray Rig."
"Guys, remember to sign the petition to keep the rig shut down," the guitarist said. "Don't let big corporations steer us away from clean energy!" Namida shook her head from where she was still lying on the floor.
"Ichiya, our fans won't like us as much if we're preachy..."
"So, yeah," Ikkan said, shoving the paper into his jeans pocket. "Those are the stages. Have fun or whatever. Best of luck to everyone, may the best team win, tip your waitstaff, et cetera..."
"Yowsa!" Namida said, jumping up to her feet. "Sounds like an explosive time. So what are we waiting for? And when you're taking a break from battling, don't forget we'll be jumping on the Right SquidForce stage at two and rocking out the rest of the night! Come by and see us!"
"See you guys in the mosh pit," their guitarist said with a casual salute. The drummer played a quick solo before the screen shifted to the news logo once again. Shortly after, it faded to a commercial break.
"I am not gonna do well at Moonage Daydream," Ecto said.
"Not do well?" Caurel echoed. "Ghoul, do you not understand how good you are?"
"There's only one good place to snipe from, and it's... not that good. I mean, other than the one that's not worth it. I'm gonna have to change it up."
"I can watch your back," Rocky said, exuding confidence.
"No, we need you to ink as much turf as possible with your roller. We both have to play our part... IF we get grouped together."
"I mean, it's a twenty-four-hour thing, dude. We will for at least some of the battles."
"That's what I meant."
"So, to the lobby?" Penny asked.
"To the lobby!" the majority of the group shouted, before turning and marching off. Caurel and Moises gave Ankyr and Pyxis hugs before they left, and the two waved at the departing group before Ankyr turned to his Octoling friend and took a deep breath.
"So, you wanna check out Tomorrow's Warning?"
"I don't know who that is, but I'm down," Pyxis smiled. "Wherever you go, I'll stick with you."
"Just what I was planning, muwahaha!" This made Pyxis laugh as the two walked down the street between Booyah Base and Inkopolis Tower.
\/\/\/\/\/
"Can somebody else please do something?" Rocky yelled, frustrated, as he set a Seeker bomb and ran for cover. The inevitable explosion took out one red-colored Inkling, but two more closed in on him. Unfortunately, the place he had run to was a corner which he was quite literally being backed into.
Before they could attack him, or he could set down another Seeker, a volley of yellow Burst Bombs bombarded the two opponents and splatted them. Rocky opened his eyes to see Ziggy standing there, his usually red lightning bolt now colored the same yellow as his tentacles. He winked at Rocky before swimming away.
"ZIGGY!"
Rocky swam after his current teammate, not resurfacing until the tattooed Inkling did.
"What are you doing?"
"Um... Battling, obviously," Ziggy chuckled.
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT! What do you think you're doing? I had that under control!"
"Didn't look like it to me."
"I don't need you to save me. EVER."
"Yeah, we've talked about this before. But don't worry, I'm not going after that fragile ego of yours. I'm just playing the game."
"WHAT game?"
"The one you've forgotten about," Ziggy said, staring down at Rocky's dry-as-a-bone roller, "which is why you're not doing anything."
Rocky stopped and looked down at the paved street of Urchin Underpass. While they were talking, Ziggy had been hard at work inking as much as he could with his Splattershot, while he himself had completely forgotten in his rage. Instead of acknowledging it, Rocky, shaking furiously, lunged at Ziggy. The calmer of the two, Ziggy simply ducked out of the way. Rocky let out a furious growl and dove into the ink in his mollusc form, soaking up enough to fill his battle tank. When the tattooed boy started moving again, he rose to his feet and followed him, this time spreading ink with his roller along the way.
"Why are you even on my team?" Rocky asked when Ziggy finally popped out of the cheese-yellow ink. "You said you were going to pick queso!" Ziggy nodded with a bemused expression, gesturing to his yellow shirt.
"Yeah."
"SCREW OFF!"
"I... don't know what you want in this scenario, Rocky," the other Inkling laughed, carrying on with his task of firing ink everywhere.
"You only said you were picking queso to make me pick salsa, because you were gonna pick salsa!" Rocky declared, once again forgetting to refill his ink. "So I stuck with queso instead! But you saw right past that, didn't you? You knew I would figure out you did it on purpose, so you just went one step ahead!"
"I... think you're overthinking this, dear."
"YOU'RE A CONNIVING JERK."
"I said I was picking queso, because I was picking queso. Simple as that. Not everything is about you." He winked once again, and Rocky, completely losing his temper, grabbed Ziggy, flung him to the right, and slammed him into the chain-link fence. Immediately, a loud whistle rang out across the battlefield, and all of the battlers stopped what they were doing and stood in place.
"What do I have to do for you to disappear?" Rocky asked, finally with a calm voice, keeping Ziggy pinned against the fence. The other Inkling stared into Rocky's eyes, his own beginning to glisten with tears.
"Is that what you want me to do, Rocky? You want me to disappear?"
"Penalty," announced an official who approached them. "Physical assault, automatic forfeit." The device he was holding printed out a shiny sticker, which he placed on Rocky's Splatfest Tee.
"Oh come ON!" Rocky yelled, turning to the official. "That was barely anything! We could've won!"
"Automatic forfeit," the official repeated, not reacting to Rocky's attitude in any way. "Thirty minutes cool-down. Have a great evening." Rocky growled once more, and turned to yell at Ziggy again, only to find that he had already swam away.
\/\/\/\/\/
"I've never done anything like this," Pyxis shouted over the speakers, jumping up and down with Ankyr and the rest of the crowd. "It feels so different... so great! I think I'm gonna pass out, but I've never felt better in my life! Isn't that weird?"
"That's the usual for a concert experience," Ankyr shouted back with a grin. "You'll get used to it... sort of. I'm glad you like one of my favorite bands!"
"Show me more of them," they said, grabbing hold of one of the Inkling's arms. Ankyr's face turned as red as his shirt, and he nodded.
"Another one's gonna be playing on the Zekko stage over there, in a few minutes." He pointed to the stage East of theirs, down a long alley, which was currently vacant.
"Yes!" Pyxis jumped even higher and faster, almost falling on someone. They shifted their weight and crashed into Ankyr instead, and the two stood still for a moment, both blushing this time.
"That was clumsy."
"That was cool," Ankyr said with a wide grin.
"Whatever way you wanna look at it."
"Thank you guys so much," the vocalist shouted once the song was over. "Thank you all, I really mean it, thanks for coming to see us. I know there are much better bands playing on the SquidForce stages-" At this, a few people in the crowd let out a cheer, and a few yelled "Boo!"
"But you chose to come hang out with us instead, and that means the world to me and the guys. So this next song, we'd like to dedicate to you. All..." here she paused and made a gesture with her hand as if she were counting the crowd, "...fifty-six of you." Ankyr looked around for a moment, wondering if she was joking, or had actually counted all of them. He met the gazes of several others who were just as curious, and they all blushed together and lowered their heads as the music started up again.
"That was silly."
"That was cute," Pyxis said.
"Whatever way you wanna look at it," he shrugged as the music started.
"One more time for the squids in the back,
gonna come around the corner with a sneak attack.
There's no-wrong-way in a city this big and
there's no-one-I'd rather be doin' this with than
you~
You can't hang with my squad if you don't like to dance.
Peel yourself off the wall and take a chance, now come on!
Fill up your hearts while you've still got time,
rack up those points, don't get left behind.
There's still a lot of treasure here left to find.
Now I got a one-up, AM I LOSING MY MIND?
Got a long battle ahead, now here we go.
Take the long way around, break down so slow.
And there's no-wrong-way in a game this big and
there's no-one-I'd rather be in this mess with than
you~
you~
you~
Come on, sing it with me!"
\/\/\/\/\/