"Seth!" Paad called out, his brother coated in ash and soot. "What happened, brother?"

"Some... motherfucking Inklings stole my tapes. Had to go across the border and then you... you guys... bombed the building they were in."

Paad's eyes twisted in confusion. "Why would a squid want your tapes?"

"Fuck if I know. I didn't even realize people knew about those tapes."

"Yeah... fishy, that."

"Look, Paad, I... I'll explain it later. I'm covered in soot, there's a fucking war going on over there... compared to what's happening, none of it's important."

"Oh yeah, about that. We're about to storm the wall."

"Already?"

"Yeah. Stupid fuckin' inklings really boned up the deployment." Paad started walking towards the rally point. "Like, especially so. I would say it's typical, but it really isn't."

"...you think...?"

"The witch is dead? I'm thinking so, yes. He was basically the only somewhat competent one."


"Rabas." The intern bumped the news anchor's shoulder. The other looked up at him, his body withdrawn and closed in. "...it's a quagmire in there."

"I... I know."

"...should we report it?"

"No. We're under direct orders from the state to prevent any information from leakin-" Rabas was handed a letter from another intern, which was quickly opened. "...when was that command given?"

"Well, they rushed through the front gate an hour ago, didn't they?"

"Right, okay... I guess it's because the leader of the county died two hours before that."

"...oh."

Rabas sighed, opening one of his desk's drawers and grabbing a bottle of liquor. He untwisted the cap and began drinking it by the neck. "Well... guess I'm permanently head of Inkopolis News, then."

"And the bearer of bad news."

"...shit, should I call her?"

"I think it's better if the state handles that."

"No, no, think about it. If I'm the first person to break the news... fuck, maybe she'll give me an actual news station to run."

"...R-Rabas! For squid's sake, this really isn't the time to think about furthering your..." Before the intern finished, Rabas was already dialling the number.


Marie sat down on the gaudy green couch in the living room, rubbing her hands up against her face as she tried to mentally prepare herself. Nara was leaning against the wall. "Fuck, Nara... I'm not ready for this."

"I know you aren't... not much we can do about it. You know the rules."

Marie sighed, tearing up a bit. The sombre silence was only cut short when Marie's cell phone began to ring.

Nara sat beside her, reaching into her pocket and taking it out. "...Inkopolis News? Why the fuck are they calling?" Nara looked to Marie, who was practically sobbing. "...mind if I take this for you?" Marie shook her head. With that, Nara stood up, touching his hand to the idol's shoulder for a quick moment before walking into the other room. "Hello?"


"Hi, yes, may I speak with Marie, please?" Rabas leaned back against his chair, tapping his fingers against the desk. The intern glanced at him, worried.

"...she's going through a lot right now. Could you call back? We're just about to be deployed and... well, she needs to be ready for it."

Rabas gave a worried smile. "About that... listen, this may be really hard on Marie, so I trust you to break the news, but... Joji died a few hours ago. Part of the reason why there's been such a clusterfuck at the border is because there's been a breakdown of communication in HQ. You... aren't technically supposed to know this yet. The state's coming by the break the news too, but-"


Nara growled slightly as he heard that Rabas had broken the news early. "Slow the fuck down. Why the fuck are you calling, then?"

"Listen, Marie was a good friend to me back when she was doing the news, so I really want to... save you the awkwardness. I know you guys are getting close to walking over to the recruitment station. Hoped that maybe I could catch you guys before you did."

"Yeah, well, thanks, whatever. It's just... a bad time to be calling."

"I understand. Honestly, the people that are going to be coming to your door anyway aren't the best at empath- wait, what the fuck was that?"

"What was what?"

"Sounded like someone screaming."


As Paad cried out at the top of his lungs, the gurgle being barely silenced as the war cry echoed through the dilapidated ghetto, there was soon an outpouring of anguish from the rest of the population. First, ten, then hundreds, then thousands cried out as loud as they could, and soon the entire valley was letting out a bloodcurdling war cry.

The mob of uniformed, armoured members of Octavio's Fist took this opportunity to storm one of the larger holes within the wall, pouring out into a suburb like a leaking drain. At first, the soldiers patrolling the area didn't hear the soldiers enter over the screams of the valley. When they finally did, there were already about fifty within Inkopolis proper. The patrolling soldiers had no chance.


A chill ran down Rabas' spine, a slow shudder coming from his lips. "You heard that too, right?"

"No shit."

"Right, I have to go. It sounded like it was getting closer." Rabas hurriedly hung up. "You think they'd attack this place?"

The intern beside Rabas nodded. "This is an active network to the masses. I could imagine them wanting it for their propaganda machine."

"Maybe... hope they don't do anything too drastic..."


Seth walked up to his brother, completely outfitted in body armour as he cradled a rustic rifle in his hands. "...is that what it sounds like?"

"Sounds magnificent, doesn't it, brother? That's the cry of our people." He stood over a dead Inkling, pillaging the ammunition from magazine pouches on him. "Here, take this. Same calibre." Seth was handed a relatively pristine magazine, and sure enough, it was the same type that went into his gun.

Seth shoved one of the magazines into an empty pouch, no feeling evident in his face. "So... what now?"

"Right, Takoyaki said that Inkopolis News is straight forward from here. He'll send soldiers to secure this neighbourhood now that everyone's dead, so we can move forward and kill everyone one of those motherfuckers in that building-"

"That wasn't part of the plan."

"...what?"

"Takoyaki wants the people in Inkopolis News alive."

"He only wants that Rabas shithead alive. We don't have to spare anyone else." He looked over to a worried Seth, walking forward. "Besides... we can probably operate a news station better than they can."

"Listen, Paad... they did nothing to us. If we kill civilians, then..."

"Then what? It's not like it matters if we kill a few. Shit happens."

"I'm sure they were thinking the same thing about Aloe."

Paad stopped in his tracks and slowly turned to his brother. "Listen here, you fucking disloyal shit. You keep forgetting that these people aren't innocent. For generations, we've been under the fucking Inkling yoke. They use those people in those buildings to spread lies about us. What do people do in a hospital, Seth? There are only good, charitable things a hospital does. Not like contributing to a fascist propaganda machine."

Seth stood in silence for a few moments. "Right... and doesn't it seem a little schizo that after they massacred an entire hospital, the only people who were there to help were Inklings? If they were just one coherent hive-mind, they would've left me for dead."

Paad grit his teeth. "Maybe they realized you weren't one of us, Seth. Not an actual Octarian. You're a fucking squid in disguise."

"If I was, I wouldn't have taken the shot."