Chapter 11 – A Fresh Start
"What?!" said Callie as the truck flew them back to Octo Canyon and after Blossom and Red finished their story. "You've defeated a HUGE STATUE that was going to DESTROY THE WORLD."
"Yeah," said Blossom. "But don't give us credit for that. It was Pearl who took down that statue."
"Oh."
Marie looked at the trembling Cadet. If it weren't for the mini Zapfish, he would have drowned in the pool of dark fuchsia ink. The mini Zapfish was lucky enough to fly and carried him despite being small.
"So…" said Marie cheekily. "What did we learnt?"
"Oh, shut up," growled Cadet as the mini Zapfish played with his hair.
The truck arrived back at Tentakeel Outpost. Sheldon turned off the truck and went to the truck's cargo. He opened it and dragged the snow globe out from it.
Both Cadet and Red pushed the snow globe to Cuttlefish Cabin.
"Octavio is so determined to destroy you Inklings," said Red.
"Why's that?" said Cadet. "The war has been already over a CENTURY ago."
"…I guess that we've been living underground for so long that Octavio wanted us to have a good life by taking over the Inklings."
"I leave without ceremony," said Blossom as she stared at the still-out-cold Octavio in the snow globe. "Don't be too sore; I wanted more. My sincerest apology."
Cadet looked at Blossom. "When did you ever think of that?"
"Just a poem I've made before I ran away."
As Red and Cadet stopped at Cuttlefish Cabin and took a breath, a familiar voice was heard.
"Ah!" said Cuttlefish. "Callie! Marie!"
"Gramps!" Callie and Marie said in unison as they threw their arms around him. "We were so worried!"
"It's OK," said Cuttlefish. "I'm alright now."
Callie looked up and saw Olivia and Jedi (both without their capes).
"Hey there," said Olivia.
"AGENT THREEEEEEEEEEEE!" squeled Callie.
"Oh, hello CalLEEEE!" screamed Olivia as Callie ran to her and hugged her causing both of them to fall.
"OHMYGOSH!" said Callie. "IWASSOWORRIEDABOUTYOUWHEREWEREYOUAREYOUALRIGHTAREYOUHURT…"
As Olivia struggled to break free from Callie's hard hug, Jedi looked at Cadet.
"So you're the new agent," said Cuttlefish as he shook Cadet's hand.
"Yeah," said Cadet. "I've heard a lot about you from Marie."
"Excuse me," said Jedi as he came towards them. "Aren't you…Cadet Classy? The Skull Sniper?"
"Yeah…" said Cadet bashfully.
"I thought you were captured by Octarians. So you became a new agent?"
"Yeah."
Jedi held out his hand and shook Cadet's hand.
"I'm Jedi Justice. It's nice to meet you," said Jedi. "I've heard a lot about you.
"Likewise," said Cadet feeling Jedi's strong grip. "Aren't you supposed to be wearing a Paintball Helmet?"
"Well...it was…"
"Why is this a new agent?" said Pearl as she and Marina went to Cadet.
If Cadet's eyes could pop out of his eye-holes, they would. First of all, he met the Squid Sisters and NOW he met the famous Off the Hook band?! He couldn't believe his luck.
"Oh…" said Cadet nervously. "H…hi…"
Marie snickered. "This is like the first time you saw me, Cadet."
"Wait," said Marina. "You're Cadet? The Skull Sniper?"
"Yes," said Cadet.
Marina looked a bit worried. "Cadet. Ever since you went missing, a lot of people were wondering where you were."
Cadet was shocked. "What?"
"Yeah, dude," said Pearl. "You freak everyone out. They've been searching for you."
Searching for…Cadet couldn't believe. He must have got Inkopolis worried. No. That couldn't be possible. Nobody in Inkopolis cared for him. Nobody.
"Cadet?" said Blossom. "Are you OK?"
"Marina," said Cadet. "Are you telling the truth or making up an LIE?"
"What?" said Marina. "It is the truth!"
"I don't believe it."
"Why's that?"
Cadet sighed. "Didn't you even know? Do you remember what happened in the last Turf War I entered? Inkopolis doesn't want to found a coward like me. They…they wouldn't care about a nobody…"
"AHEM!" said Oro's voice. "I care about you, dude!"
Cadet's eyes widened up again. Could…that be? He looked up. It was Oro.
"Oro?" said Cadet.
"Dude!" said Oro as he grabbed Cadet's shoulders. "You scared the carp out of my team and me. We have been looking for you ever since! Including your father!"
"What?! How did you…?"
"On the night you disappeared, Hunter decided to go to your house. He found out that your father was worried and that you haven't been home ever since. This got us in a panic, and we called the police to find you!"
Cadet was silent. He remembered what his father wanted him to do, but he forgot that his father could get worried about him. He looked down feeling upset. There was an unpleasant cloud of guilt, sadness, worriedness and regret clouding his head.
"I'm sorry," said Cadet. "…I was away because I was helping Marie to save the Great Zapfish and Callie. But what does it matter? It's not like Inkopolis cares if I'm alive."
Oro looked at Cadet and sighed. "I DO care."
"And how am I supposed to know that?"
"Listen. I know what those people up there did to you. I know how they made fun of you. But you're letting those negative things take control of your steering wheel. You know that you are not a coward, aren't you?"
"I…I guess…"
"And do you remember the time when I told you this: 'If you're feeling low, you could come to me for help. I'm available when you need the time to.' I never break a promise and have you ever heard that I betray people?"
"Not really."
"Well, that's what friends are for!"
Cadet was dumbfounded. "F…friends?"
"Yeah!" said Oro smiling. "I'm your friend, am I?"
"I…I thought you aren't."
"But now I am. You need someone to help you."
Oro put his fist up. Knowing what that meant, Cadet put his fist up and the two did a fist bump.
"S…sorry for causing trouble for Inkopolis…" said Cadet.
"It's OK," said Oro. "We know that you have to go and save us."
That was when Cadet saw Mary – shaking. She must be nervous about seeing him. Cadet recalled the time when he fought Mary in that Turf War. He guessed that Mary saw him as a demon.
"H…h…hi…" said Mary trembling, smiling sheepishly. "You look good."
"Mary?" said Cadet. "What are Oro and you doing here? I know that you two were associated with Off the Hook, but why are you here?"
"We also helped Blossom, Red and Cuttlefish to escape and get to Inkopolis," said Mary. "We came here to guard the entrance of Octo Canyon while Red and Blossom went to help you."
"Well that explains everything," said Cadet.
He looked over at Callie and Olivia which Olivia finally broke free from Callie's hug.
"Oh!" said Callie dragging Olivia towards. "This is the new agent; Cadet Classy! Cadet, meet Olivia Classy; the one and only Agent 3!"
"Hmm…something's fishy with both their last names," muttered Pearl under his breath.
The second Olivia saw Cadet; she was…shocked.
"C…Cadet…?" she said staggered.
Cadet noticed Olivia looks worried. "Yeah, anything wrong?"
Olivia hesitated. She looked at the rest of the guys.
"Excuse us for a while," she said before grabbing Cadet's hand and dragged him to the hut.
"What is it?" said Cadet once nobody wasn't looking at them.
Olivia sighed. "I got to make sure first. What's your father's name?"
"His name is Jeff. Why's that?"
Olivia gasped. Could it be…?
"Y…" stuttered Olivia. "You're name is Cadet Classy. REALLY Cadet?"
"Yes," said Cadet a bit confused. "Why's that?"
"I…*sigh*…I got to say something. The two of us…we are siblings. I'm your older sister."
Cadet was shocked. "W…what?! So…you're saying that we're related?"
Olivia nodded her head.
"Are you telling the truth or just making up a lie?" said Cadet.
Olivia sighed. "Since you're here, I got to say this; when I was three, you were born and I was happy to have a sibling. But, it was also the time our parents got into an argument. They finally agreed on divorce and Dad decided to emigrate to Inkopolis. He wanted to bring you along, but as you were still an infant, our mother refused to. This sparked up another argument which nearly harmed Mum. I could have gone up then to stop them, but I just stood there and watched. In the end, our Dad went and took you to Inkopolis while I stayed back in Squidney with Mum. Mum got rid of all the photos and contacts with our father which was why you never got to know her and I think Dad did the same thing but secretly, I hid one of our family photos so that I could never forget about you."
Cadet raised an eyebrow. "Olivia. If this is the truth, why didn't you come up to me and tell me all about this until now? We are both well-known in Inkopolis, so you should know about me."
"It's just that…" sniffed Olivia, wiping a tear. "After I joined the New Squidbeak Splatoon, I was too busy with my patrolling job. I hadn't had the time to look for you. I had been missing out on a lot of news and Turf War and stuff…I'm sorry for not telling you earlier…"
Olivia didn't look like she was going to break down, but she still had tears in her eyes. Cadet was speechless. He didn't know what to say in front of his long-lost sister, but he knew one thing; he couldn't let her down. He opened up his arms. Immediately, Olivia hugged him.
"I'm so sorry," Olivia said slowly as she cried.
"It's OK," said Cadet. "We're here together now."
Olivia broke away from the hug and smiled.
"Olivia?" said Cadet. "I don't want to be rude, but how am I supposed to know if that's the truth?"
Olivia smiled weakly. "Have you ever notice the difference between our last names and our appearance?"
"I did. I thought it was just a coincidence ever since I've heard of you."
"It's more than a coincidence. Our last names are the same, right? And there's no denying that we don't look that different, do we?"
Cadet looked at his hand, dark brown. He looked at Olivia's eyes. They are turquoise as Cadet's eyes. Olivia mostly looks the same as Cadet, so she must be right. They are twins.
Olivia reached to pull down Cadet's bandanna, but the latter hesitated.
"C'mon," said Olivia. "What's wrong with showing your face?"
Cadet sighed reluctantly and – for the first time in his life – pulled down his bandanna revealing his mouth.
"I…," said Cadet. "It's just that I get uncomfortable with showing my identity nowadays."
"HEY THERE!" said Pearl interrupting their moment. "I guess it's time to tell Inkopolis about your great big adventure!"
"But, young lady," said Cuttlefish. "We are not supposed to tell the Inklings about the New Squidbeak Splatoon. It's a secret group."
"Yeah," said Marie. "But I got to say; I made a promise with Cadet. We agreed that if we are working together, that means that I'm going announce that Cadet saved the Great Zapfish."
"But would that mean telling who the real thieves were?" said Callie. "Olivia pointed the fact of our past two years. If we do, how are we going to make the Octarians look?"
"The Octarians nearly destroyed Inkopolis, TWICE!" argued Jedi. "We could still tell everyone about them, that would teach them a lesson for stealing. It would serve them right."
Cadet looked at Olivia who looks worried. He then looked at Blossom and Red, having the same guilty look. The Octarians were responsible for the zapfish raid, and if they told the truth, all Octarians would be in trouble; including Blossom and Red. The two were bullied for so long and Cadet figured that they don't deserve to be bullied again.
There was one thing to do; he just had to let his life be. Let how every day was. Let how the bad things that happened to him happen. Let his pain continues.
"Marie," said Cadet. "I'm happy for the deal you made with me, but I'm refusing the offer now."
"What?" said Marie. "I thought you want to because you want to be acknowledged by the Inklings."
Cadet sighed. "Not for the price of making Octarians look bad. I say that we keep the whole thing a secret."
"Same here," said Blossom and Red in unison.
"WHAT?!" said Pearl. "C'mon! Cadet here saved the main power of Inkopolis, and Red and Blossom defeated a huge statue that nearly destroyed the world! You can't just keep it a secret."
"We have to," said Olivia. "Sure it will make us look good and spice up our reputation, but if we tell that Octavio was behind the Zapfish raid, we would NEVER find peace between the Inklings and the Octarians. I have been trying to mingle with the Octarians for a while and nothing changed until now."
It was silence for a while. Then, Pearl and Marina smiled.
"OK then," said Pearl giving up the thumbs-up. "Your secret is safe with me."
"And me," said Marina.
"Your secret is locked in my heart," said Oro winking.
"I'll tell my team not to tell anyone about that giant statue," said Mary.
Marie checked her watch. "You better go now. It's already noon, and everyone will be wondering where you are now."
"Cadet," said Marie looking at Cadet. "You may keep your Hero Suit, but NEVER tell anyone where you got it from. I will also allow you to use your nickname 'Agent 4' but don't go around telling people your identity."
"OK," said Cadet. "It's good seeing you, Marie."
"It's good to see you," said Marina. "But I'm not going to let you go without a reward. I made a chatroom for all of us to share. Would you like me to give you all the codes?"
"Sure," said Cadet taking his phone out.
Everyone gave their phones to Marina and she typed the code on their phones. When she finished, she looked at Blossom and Red.
"I believe that you two still have the chatroom we have together," said Marina.
"I'm not sure," said Blossom. "I don't remember and I don't think we brought our phones along."
While Blossom was talking, Red looked through the pockets on Blossom's ink tank. He pulled out her phone.
"I found yours," said Red.
At this, Cadet remembered what his father said to him. He still doesn't have a place to live at yet. Maybe…
"Hey Olivia," said Cadet. "I'm looking for a place to stay. Our father is moving back to Squidney, and I'm staying in Inkopolis, so do you have room for one?"
Olivia was surprised. "Why of course! I have room for three more in my apartment. My friends moved away because we went on with our solo careers. Cadet, Blossom, Red…you could be my roommates!"
"WHAT?!" exclaimed Blossom and Red.
"A…are you sure?" said Red as he took off his Hero Headset.
"Don't worry," said Olivia. "My room in the apartment that I lived in is pretty big and I'm pretty loaded."
"I'm not sure though," said Blossom.
"Then would you rather walk around in Inkopolis aimlessly?"
Blossom and Red thought for a while. They then looked at each other and nodded.
"OK," said Blossom and Red.
"Good!" said Olivia. "Then let's go!"
Cadet smiled and took off his ink tank. He grabbed his Toni Kensa Black Hi-Tops that was left at the cabin. He looked back at Callie, Marie, Pearl, Marina and Cuttlefish.
"Guess we will see you later," said Cadet. "It was nice seeing you all."
"See you later," said Callie and Marie in unison. "Stay fresh!"
"Take care, kids!" said Cuttlefish.
"Don't get cooked, stay off the hook!" said Pearl and Marina.
Cadet heard a gurgling noise. He looked behind to see the mini Zapfish flying towards him.
"See you later, buddy," he said patting it.
He turned around and followed Olivia, Blossom and Red who were talking to Oro, Mary and Jedi.
"You guys ready to go to Inkopolis?" said Jedi.
Blossom and Red nodded.
"Then let's go," said Oro.
Cadet, Olivia, Blossom, Red, Oro, Mary and Jedi turned into their cephalopod forms and dived into the entrance drain – heading to Inkopolis.
"Wait a minute," said Cadet as they slid through the dark tunnel. "Blossom. Red. Did you two empty your ink tanks?"
"Yes," said Red. "Why's that?"
"We aren't allowed to use ink in public places for safety unless in Turf Wars."
"Mine cracked, a leak in it," said Blossom.
Inkopolis Square
The group of 7 arrived at the small alley of Inkopolis. Cadet wiped his brow. It has been a while since he came into the square. Even though he was gone for a few days, it felt like he was stepping into a new world.
"What is Turf Wars anyway?" said Red.
"I'll explain later," said Cadet as he put his bandanna back over his mouth.
"Really?" said Mary. "You know that you don't have to put on your bandanna every time."
Cadet ignored her, and the group went out into the open. They could hear many people talking about something.
"Did you heard about it?"
"The Great Zapfish is back at Inkopolis Tower!"
"I know, right?"
Cadet felt butterflies in his stomach. He was tempted to tell everyone who saved the Great Zapfish, but he just agreed to keep it a secret. He still wished he could. If he would, everyone won't be mean to him and treat him fairly.
Taking that thought aside, Cadet looked at Blossom and Red. The two looked worried. The two octolings were concerned about coming into the Inkling society. Sure Marina fit in, but would they?
"Just don't focus on them," thought Blossom as they passed by whispering inklings. "Just ignore them…"
"HEY!" said one inkling. "You two octolings!"
Blossom and Red hesitated. But they turned their heads around.
"What is it?" said Blossom.
"Where did you get that nice hairstyle from?" said that inkling.
Blossom and Red were dumbfounded. "Huh?"
"Yeah!" said another inkling coming by. "That hairstyle looks cool!"
"Let me see!" said another.
"Everyone. Gather around those two!"
Blossom and Red soon found themselves surrounded by many inklings marveling at their hairstyles. Blossom and Red felt uncomfortable. They never expected to be liked by the Inkling society. At first, they thought they were going to be bullied again, but the Inklings accepted them. Maybe a BIT too much. Within moments, the large group of inklings surrounded Blossom and Red, trying to see their hairstyles, grabbed them from every side.
"WHOA! WHOA! WHOA!" said Blossom over the loud crowd.
"STOP TOUCHING US!" said Red.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"JUST GIVE US SOME PERSONAL SPACE!"
From outside the mosh pit, Cadet, Olivia, Oro, Mary and Jedi watched the madness.
"WAIT! WAIT!" screamed Red. "DON'T DO THAT!"
From a low angle shot – showing the tower of Inkopolis Square and off-screen from the madness – Red's Black Inky Rider could be seen flying in the air; his black leather jacket and his light lime green shirt.
"NOOOOOOO!"
"Wow," said Mary. "I never knew that Red has a fit body."
Cadet shuddered. He went through some horrible moments, but he never saw something this zany. This was so…so…so WRONG!
He looked at Oro, who had his phone out – recording that embarrassing moment.
"Um…Oro…" said Cadet. "I…"
"No, no, no," said Oro. "It gets BETTER."
Exactly 2 minutes and 17 seconds later outside Inkopolis Square
"Thanks for shooing those idiots away," said Red holding a broken 18K Aviators due to his glasses thrown in the air and his jacket unzipped and in a crooked way. "Sorry that I broke your glasses."
"Nah," said Olivia shrugging. "It's OK."
"Say, Red," said Cadet. "Where did you and Blossom get those clothes from?"
"Well Olivia gave it to us before we went to save you," said Red. "It's to give us a 'bit of power'. We even needed it to disguise ourselves so that Octavio won't know our real identities."
Cadet looked behind to see Oro watching the recorded video on his phone. Mary and Jedi were watching it in disgust.
"Please delete that video," said Jedi.
"C'mon!" said Oro. "Wait 'till I get this baby posted on the Splatnet. It's going to be famous soon."
"Post that video, and I'll chop those tentacles off your head," growled Red in a threatening voice.
Cadet looked up to see Blossom looking at a tree. She was looking at it as if it's something she hadn't seen before. He decided to approach her.
"You're OK?" asked the Skull Sniper.
"Yeah," said Blossom. "It's just that…this place is new to me. It has more life, color and bliss."
"I guess it's because you have been living underground for so long that you didn't know how it's like to be up here."
"Yeah. There are some things that I am unfamiliar with. Some signs look like they come from another planet."
"That's just the Inkling language. It's our secondary language. I can help you with that."
"I...I still feel like there's more to come. Even though I got it here, I still feel like I'm still in danger."
Cadet was confused. "What makes you think of that?"
"It's just that…" said Blossom. "I still have this feeling of a horrible fate. And there are also some questions unanswered; why were Red and I used as test subjects? Why Red's and Jedi's bodies could glow red? And plus, I still feel like I have forgotten someone who's important to my life. There are still more events to come in life."
Cadet was silent. She's right, but he didn't feel the same way as she did.
"I'm not so sure," said Cadet. "We will just have to wait and see."
Finally, they arrived at Olivia's apartment. It was a medium-tall building with fresh lime green and grey decorations on the sides.
"That looks nice," said Blossom.
"I know," said Olivia proudly. "Even if I have to say it myself."
"Hey guys," said Oro. "I got to go now. I have to get back for a team meeting."
"Yeah," said Mary. "I got some stuff to catch up with."
"I'm still not feeling well, better see my doctor to find out the problem," said Jedi. "I guess we will be leaving you four."
Olivia smiled. "Thank you for helping us so far. We'll see you later next time."
"Yeah," said Blossom and Red. "Thank you."
Cadet just waved timidly. He knew that they had become good friends with him, but he was still unsure about that.
"I'm not so good at goodbyes, but bye for now," said Jedi as he turned around to leave.
"Yeah," said Mary. "Call me when you need me. Take care of yourselves!"
"See you later, boi and stay fresh!" said Oro giving the thumbs-up.
They watched as the trio left to do their stuff.
"They've been a supportive group to us," said Red.
"Do you think Oro and Mary will become agents of the New Squidbeak Splatoon?"
"Possibly," said Olivia. "Perhaps not Oro."
Cadet snickered a bit. He could tell why. At this, he realized that he forgot one thing.
"Olivia," said Cadet. "I need to get my belongings from Dad's house."
"You're right," said Olivia. She then took a set of house key from her pocket and gave it to Blossom. "You two go to my room. It's on Level 3 and the room number is 49. Cadet and I will meet you later."
Blossom and Red both nodded. Olivia looked at Cadet.
"Let's go see Dad, shall we?" said Olivia.
Cadet was surprised that Olivia already had a car license. Olivia drove him back to Cadet's old home. Mr Classy was thrilled to see both Cadet and Olivia. He asked Olivia for forgiveness, and she accepted the apology. Mr Classy already put aside Cadet's belonging, so it wasn't hard to sort them out. They tearfully said farewell to Mr Classy and drove back to Olivia's apartment.
"Wow!" said Olivia as Cadet carried the last bag of items and his charger up onto Olivia's floor. "Nearly all your clothes are black and turquoise. Also, you only have one weapon."
"Well, I sold all my weapons to buy the E-Liter 4K Scope," said Cadet. "It's the strongest charger ever known."
"You still need some weapons to back you up."
"I don't do anything that's not long range."
Olivia opened the door. "Welcome to your new home!"
Cadet – with his eyes closed – entered the room.
"Hey guys," he said. "We are back…"
His voice dropped when he opened his eyes. He dropped the bag and the charger he was carrying. What he saw was a mess.
A COMPLETE mess.
Olivia's room was messy.
There were dirty clothes on the floor.
Several mini Zapfishes – wearing different headgear – flying around.
The kitchen has many uncleaned dishes.
It looked like as if a hurricane struck the whole room.
"So," said Olivia smiling with her eyes closed. "What do you think?"
"If I have a million dollars," grumbled Cadet. "I would buy myself a house to live in."
"Oh," said Blossom nearby, fiddling with her yellow bracelet. "You two are back."
Cadet saw the yellow bracelet. It read '10,008'.
"What's that?" said Cadet.
"Oh," said Blossom looking at it. "It something I wore during the tests."
"I thought you threw it away," said Olivia.
"My brother and I decided to keep them in case we go back to Deepsea Metro."
"Hey there," said Red who was sitting on the couch with a new pair of 18K Aviators. "Do you need help?"
Cadet was about to say no when he looked at his belongings. There were a lot of them and he would struggle to try to carry all.
"Yes," said Cadet.
"Where you will be sleeping is there," said Olivia pointing to a bedroom with its door opened.
Red and Cadet started to carry Cadet's belonging to the room. However, Red stacked 4 boxes on each other and carried them.
"Wow," said Cadet as they carried the boxes to his new room. "You're pretty strong."
"I was trained in the army," explained Red. "I should be able to handle carrying them."
As they placed Cadet's belongings on the shelves, Red decided to ask a question to Cadet.
"So Cade," he said. "I know that Marie hired you as Agent 4, but what did you do in your normal life?"
Cadet hesitated. He didn't want to tell Red about how he was made fun of. He knew that Red was bullied, but he felt uncomfortable about saying.
"Well," said Cadet. "I was an X-rank sniper. I didn't usually work with teams and only helped other teams if they needed a teammate. I earned the nickname the 'Skull Sniper'."
"X-Rank?!" said Red. "Wow! I guess Inkopolis really like you, huh?"
Cadet sighed. "Not really."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
Cadet turned his head around. "Nothing. J…just nothing."
Red folded his arms. "Nothing? C'mon. You said that not many people like you. Why's that?"
Cadet hesitated again. "Just…just forget it. It wouldn't matter, and it wouldn't matter for you."
Red raised an eyebrow. "Mate, don't hide your feelings. But if you don't want to talk about it, don't talk. I've been bullied before and I had been trying to escape from it, so here I am. I'm not going to live here seeing other people get bullied as well."
"I was bullied," said Cadet. "But not the way you think it would be."
"Then how?"
"Inkopolis…" said Cadet, tears forming in his eyes. "It's one of those places where they only wanted the strong and stomped out the weak. I…I was a coward and I was a laughing target. I barely had any friends before the whole agent thing. Nobody would want to be friends with a coward. Besides, I don't think I wanted to be friends with anyone."
"Friends with anyone? Why do you prefer being a loner?"
"I…I wouldn't want to talk about it, but one thing I know; teamwork is a LACKING STRENGTH. Working with others only pull you down. You can't trust your friends to help you. What if they are bad people? What if they betray you? What if they don't concentrate?"
"Teamwork is NOT a lacking strength!" said Red firmly. "I worked with my sister, and we've made it to here! We worked together to be free."
"That's…that's just luck. I don't get how teamwork works. For me, it will just cause more mistakes."
"Well, people make mistakes. You can't expect them to be always perfect. Even though you think that you couldn't trust others, you need to learn to trust others so that you could succeed. It doesn't matter what strengths or weaknesses they have."
Cadet sighed and turned his head.
"It's just that," he said. "I've been doing this myself my entire life…I just thought that no one would need me. I didn't want to make the same mistake again."
"Listen. I might not have some potion to make you feel better, but here's one thing…shut that carp up! I've gone through the same thing! I've been trying to fit in, but as you said, they don't want anyone weak. And yet, here you are complaining about it and not realising that I was in the same boat as well?!"
Cadet was silent. Red came up to him.
"You're just scared that people would make fun of you. Olivia would say that. By screwing up, that's why?"
"I just wanted to be like them," said Cadet sadly.
"No one is perfect. Everyone would make mistakes, but they will learn from them. You're just intimidated by those people out there which makes you believe that you're a failure, but in fact, you're not as long as you try. It's not like you're the only person who's a failure. There are many people out there like you, probably suffering worse than you. Making mistakes is OK. You just need a little push from someone…"
"And how am I supposed to know who to trust?" said Cadet gruffly pushing Red gently.
"You just have to trust me. I've helped you defeated Octavio, right? I helped you. Blossom helped you. Olivia helped you. And so did the rest of the guys. If we don't really like you, we won't help you at all, would we? We are on your side, and I promised that I wouldn't let you down. Even though we could make mistakes, we learn from them and move on. Teamwork is not a lacking strength. We work together to accomplish one dream. That's what friends do."
Cadet was surprised. Did he said…?
"You…" said Cadet. "You're saying that we're 'friends'?"
"Yeah!" said Red. "Why's that?"
"It's just that…you know it already. I don't usually have friends."
"Well, you do now! I promise to be there for you, anytime."
Cadet stared at Red. Maybe he's right. He remembered how Blossom and Red helped him to defeat Octavio, so he shouldn't think that teamwork wasn't great. Perhaps it wasn't right to listen to other people's opinions. He finally realized that there were people who cared for him and that they won't turn their backs on him. Like Red said, even though he and other people made mistakes, they learned from them. It's probably time to stop hiding in the shadows and to trust others for help.
Cadet smiled, but his bandanna still hid his smile. "S…sorry for being negative."
"It's OK," said Red. "Please don't do that same mistake as I did. I've always listened to those negatives things and I nearly took a life."
Cadet pulled down his bandanna, deciding to show his smile. At this, he held up his charger and placed it on a nearby table.
"Huh?" said Red noticing the charger. "What's that?"
"This?" said Cadet. "This is the E-Liter 4K Scope; the most powerful charger and it's Level 30."
"Wow!" said Red observing the charger. "I guess that must have got you the nickname, Skull Sniper."
Cadet rubbed the back of his head. "Heh. I got that nickname because I'm good with chargers."
He took off his Hero Jacket and Hero Headphones and threw them onto the bed, put back on his Toni Kensa Black Hi-Tops. He let his hair changed from lime green back to turquoise.
"How did you…" said Red, wincing a bit.
"What?" said Cadet.
"You've changed your hair color."
"It's just a simple trick for all Inklings. You should try it. It might work for you."
"Oh. At first, I thought you were…um…sanitized."
"No. That one might be different. This turquoise one is natural."
As they finished sorting Cadet's things, they came out from his new room and saw Blossom coming out from the bathroom; finishing a shower. She has a towel wrapped around her hair.
"I didn't know you were taking a bath," said Red.
"I just need one," said Blossom. "It felt so refreshing now. Your room is pretty nice, Olivia."
"Thank you," said Olivia proudly.
"Well now we are here," said Blossom. "What is a Turf War?"
"Oh, about that," said Olivia interested.
Olivia told Blossom and Red about how the Inklings play Turf Wars. She explained the rules, the weapons, the stages and the spawn points.
"That's pretty an intense sport," said Blossom. "Does everyone take Turf Wars seriously?"
"Just only the veteran squids," said Olivia. "Most of us play Turf Wars for fun."
"Did you play Turf War?" said Red.
"I played Turf Wars A LOT. I used to have a team before."
"I remember," said Cadet. "You called your team 'Team Candy' and you won three tournaments, right?"
"Yes," said Olivia.
"Were you famous in Inkopolis for Turf War?" said Blossom.
"Not really. My team was mainly well-known squids of Inkopolis. We lost in a few battles, but we won most of them. You should try Turf War someday."
"Nah," said Blossom. "After what happened, we should get some rest."
"Yeah," said Red. "Enough fighting and running around for now. We could do Turf War another day."
"Sure," said Olivia.
"Fine by me," said Cadet.
Suddenly, Olivia heard a familiar jingle on the TV she was watching.
"Ah!" said Olivia. "The news is on!"
The four looked at the TV. The Inkopolis News was on showing Pearl and Marina.
"Hmm," said Blossom. "They are dressed differently."
"That's their original outfits," said Cadet.
"You know what time is it?" said Pearl from the TV.
"This is Off the Hook coming to you live from Inkopolis Square," said Marina from the TV.
"We have breaking news!"
"The Great Zapfish has returned! Just earlier today, the Great Zapfish is seen back on Inkopolis Tower. This got many squids surprised asking 'How did it come back?' and 'Where had it been?'"
The TV changed to an image of the Great Zapfish on the Inkopolis Tower in Inkopolis Plaza.
"I never thought the Great Zapfish would return," said Olivia.
"And I never thought that we saved it," said Cadet.
"Do you think that everyone will know who stole the Great Zapfish and who saved it?" said Blossom.
"I doubt not," said Red. "But not now. Probably soon, but not when we are around."
"Hmm…For some reason, I remember it being bigger than that," continued Pearl.
"Yeah," agreed Marina. "For real. Was it always THAT small?"
"Anyway, in other news, Callie's been found! Reporters are asking her where was she and all she said was that she got lost in Calamari Country and it took her a while to get back. She is happily reunited with Marie, and the two said that they are planning to make a new album, possibly this Squidmas holidays!"
"We're glad you're back, Callie. Being without you made us all worried. Seriously! It takes two to make the one and only Squid Sisters!"
"EVEN MORE NEWS! Just today, we saw two octolings in Inkopolis Square!"
"True! But don't worry, they don't mean any harm to all of us. Please make them feel welcome. We know; maybe more octolings would come to Inkopolis!"
"So they decided to tell the world about us," said Blossom. "Well, this is unexpected."
"Hey, Marina," said Pearl. "Did you see those two octolings on the pictures on the Splatnet?"
"No," said Marina. "What happened there?"
"Ho, ho, ho! Let me show you. This one is a video by Gold-Victor. Thank you to him for sharing this today!"
Gold-Victor…that's Oro's nickname.
The TV started to play the video, showing the most embarrassing moment of Red's life of how the Inklings greeted them.
"Oh…my…GOSH!" said Olivia.
Red growled, his purple eye turning red. "Wait 'til I get to those two idiots. I will tear them off, tentacle by tentacle…"
"Um…" said Cadet. "Red? Are you OK?"
"What?" said Red. Then he noticed that Cadet looked worried.
"Oh…" said Red sheepishly – his right eye quickly turning back to purple. "Sorry. I got a bit uptight."
"Don't worry," said Olivia with a mischevious smirk. "The next time we meet Pearl and Oro, I have a nice 'surprise' for them."
Suddenly, Cadet felt his phone buzzing in his pant pocket.
"Huh?" he said as he took it out. He looked at it. It was from Marie.
"How did she…?" said Cadet before remembering something; he asked Marie if they could exchange phone numbers while in Octo Canyon. "Oh, right. Give me a second, guys."
He pressed the green button. He talked to Marie for a while before saying 'see you later' and ended the call.
"What is it?" said Olivia.
"Well," said Cadet. "To celebrate our victory, Off the Hook and the Squid Sisters are inviting us to a dinner party tonight."
"What?!" said Blossom and Red in unison.
"Ooh!" said Olivia. "At where?"
"It's at this fancy restaurant called 'Paradis'," said Cadet.
('Paradis' means 'paradise' in French)
"PARADIS!" said Olivia, jumping out from the couch. "That 5-star restaurant?!"
"I believe so…" said Cadet.
"I guess it's a reward for us," said Red.
"Then let's go," said Blossom. "Besides, I would like to explore Inkopolis today."
"OK then," said Olivia. "Give me a while, guys. Let me get change."
"O…livia?" said Cadet. Olivia was taking a long time changing clothes. Finally, she came out of her room.
She was wearing a Long Billed Cap, Matcha Down Jacket and Purple Hi-Horses. Also, Cadet swore he saw glitter on her cheeks.
"You look nice in that," said Blossom.
"Yeah," said Olivia. "I change different sets of clothes at times. I was planning to wear the Black Inky Rider, but I decided to settle with this jacket."
"Well you inklings are very fascinated with fashion clothing," muttered Red. "…and hairstyles."
"ALRIGHT!" said Olivia. "Now let's go for dinner. Hâte d'aller au restaurant!"
('Hâte d'aller au restaurant' means 'can't wait to go to that restaurant' in France)
Just as she opened the door, a mini Zapfish flew into the room and snuggled onto Cadet's chest. With a quick jerk of recognition, Cadet remembered that Zapfish. It was the Zapfish that Cadet saved first AND the one who tagged along with him when fighting Octavio.
"You?!" said Cadet. "What are you doing here?"
The mini Zapfish guggled something and took out a letter. Cadet looked at the message.
Hey Cadet,
This zapfish seems to really like you. I think it wants to stay with you. I'll let you keep this one as a pet.
See you tonight,
Marie.
Cadet was surprised. He looked at the mini Zapfish. "You…you wanted to stay with me?"
The mini Zapfish nodded. Cadet looked worried.
"Don't worry. I have some mini Zapfish here, and I can handle having pets. Also, I think I will give it a headgear so that you will know that this one is yours," said Olivia taking out a Black FishFry Bandana. She placed it onto that mini Zapfish.
Cadet looked at the mini Zapfish. It seemed to like him. Despite all the things we went through and the frustration he showed, the mini Zapfish loved him. He even has to admit that it was one of the first few friends.
"OK then," he said smiling at the mini Zapfish. "I'll take of you. I'll call you…Jet."
The mini Zapfish – now called Jet – purred happily and hugged Cadet. Cadet felt a bit of tears in his eyes.
"Guys," he said. "I want to tell you something."
"What is it?" said Olivia.
Cadet looked at the three people in front of him; Olivia, Blossom and Red. The four had gone through hard times and now, they are all together. With Inkopolis safe, they could relax. Surprisingly, they all felt like a family.
"Thank you," said Cadet. "Thank you for being my friends."
The End
Five Days Later, Squid Sisters' Studio
As Callie and Marie finished recording a song, they started heading to the rec room; walking through the hallway of the studio.
"Ah…" said Callie. "Doing this song was really good. I wish we could do it one more time."
"Save your lungs," said Marie. "We still have to set out the background music for our next song."
"YO!" yelled Pearl's voice through the hallway. "CALLIE! MARIE! COME OVER HERE!"
"Pearl," said Marina's voice. "You know you're not allowed to yell in a public building."
Confused, Callie and Marie turned back and found Pearl and Marina near one of the rooms. And there was another person with them.
That person surprised Callie and Marie.
At first, they both thought it was Blossom, but they saw that it was the wrong octoling.
The person was a 16-year old octoling with her fuchsia hair (with silver tips) tied up in a ponytail and her eyes were magenta. She was wearing black headphones, black trench coat, grey top, black pants and stained boots.
"AN OCTOLING?!" exclaimed Callie and Marie.
"Calm down, both you two," said Marina. "That octoling doesn't mean harm."
"Yeah," said Callie. "But why is she doing here?"
"First of all," said the octoling. "My name is Jazzy. And second, I got some news to tell you."
"What is it?" said Marie hoping that Jazzy wouldn't attack.
"Do…did you sang the Calamari Inkantation in Octo Valley two years ago?"
"Yeah…" said Callie. "Why's that?"
"Well, after hearing that song for a long time, many octolings decided to stop fighting; to stop trying to steal your Great Zapfish. But we can't live underground anymore. Many of them are on their way to the surface now. They aren't going to attack anyone. They will try to fit in and have a good time."
"How come you got here so fast?" said Marie.
"Well…" said Jazzy sheepishly. "I was a bit impatient, so I super jumped to nowhere until I landed onto Marina's chimney, getting my head stuck in it. I better get going now. I should look for my people and lead them here."
Callie smiled. "Well hope that the octolings will get here. I think that we can accept the octolings coming to Inkopolis, right Marie?"
Marie sighed. "Fine."
"Just to note," said Jazzy. "I believed that there are two other octolings here already, right?"
"Yeah," said Callie.
"Is it…Blossom and Red?"
"Well, yes! They are in Inkopolis now! You know them?"
Jazzy chuckled giddily. "Yeah…I was friends with them. I…I…used to be Red's girlfriend…"
"WHAT?!" said Callie and Marie.
They didn't assume that the octolings would be heading to Inkopolis, but definitely didn't expect that Jazzy is Red's GIRLFRIEND!
"Did Red tell us about it?" whispered Callie to Marie.
"I'm not sure," whispered Marie. "I even doubt that Red will remember that."
"Anyway," said Jazzy, who wasn't listening to Callie's and Marie's whispering. "I better be going. My friends would be wondering where I was. I better help them." She looked at Marina. "Thanks, Marina for letting me in."
"No problem," said Marina. "Be safe and keep watch of the octolings."
"See you later now!" said Jazzy winking.
She turned around and went to the exit. They watched as she closed the door and disappeared.
"I hope she will be alright," said Marina.
"Should we tell Blossom and Red about this?" said Callie.
"Nah," said Marie. "Let's make it a surprise. I wanted to see Red's reaction when he sees his girlfriend."
"Looks like we are going have new dudes in Inkopolis," said Pearl. "Inklings and Octolings; they would make a GOOD society."
AN: And we're done! The main story of Inkcredible - A Fresh Start comes to an end! I thank all the readers (you!) for reading this story and reached 844 views. Even though it's probably not enough, it had more views then Forces United (when it was released in the first month) when the story was released in the first month.
However, the story doesn't end here; I will be uploading THREE BONUS chapters which our heroes will explore the city of Inkopolis. There will be more surprises to come!
The idea of how Olivia revealed to Cadet that they were related comes from a fan-made Splatoon 2 animation called 'Splashout'; a funny animated series with an emotional twist in the first episode. It thought it would be sweet and surprising for Cadet to finally meet his long-lost sister.
If you like this story: follow or favorite this story for updates of the story. Make sure to review this chapter on what you thought of this story. I'm OK of hearing improvements from you (please no flames).
Until next time, stay fresh and keep on rocking.