Chapter 25

The Next Day…Inkopolis Square

Carp…I didn't have enough money…wonder how many games it'll take to make enough…

I looked at the monitor on Deca Tower.

Huh…Toxic Mist won the tournament. Well, that makes sense.

I could try Grizzco…but that one time in an actual run…

I then felt something poke me in the back. It was a brush. I turned around to find it was Nine from said team. Gas mask and all.

"Splat, splat, splat." She said.

"W-we aren't supposed to have our weapons out in the Square…" I reminded her.

She tilted her head, then immediately threw it to the side.

"Where's Sarah girl?" She asked.

"Why do you want to know where Sarah is?" I was confused. "Do you know each other? And do you always talk weird?"

"I'll drop the crazy girl voice." She decided. "I do know her…she probably doesn't remember me out of that ego of hers though…so where're you going?"

"Just…trying to make some money for a laptop…" I told her. "Uh…aren't you uncomfortable in that…uh…"

"Neo Octoling Armor." She answered. "And fits like a glove, actually…"

I tried not to stare.

"Hey, Tim!" It was Sylvia. "Woah, you friends with Nine now?"

"She just ran into me." I told her. "I'm just trying to get some money for a laptop."

"Oh, let's do some Salmon Runs!" She suggested.

"I-I'm not sure…" I said. "I mean, after last time…"

"But you have me with you this time!" Sylvia put her hand on my shoulder.

"You were with me last time!" I reminded her.

"Oh…well, I got better since last time!" she reassured me.

"I'll come too." Nine shrugged. "It's been a while."

We ended up going in anyway, despite my reluctance.

"Right on time, kids." Mr. Grizz greeted us. "I've got work for ya."

We accepted the job and I headed down to the changing room. I was almost done when my goggles got a message. I held the left side a second.

"Where ya at, boy?!" It was Octavio.

"Didn't have enough money." I told him. "I'm doing some Grizzco shifts to get enough.

"…A'ight…" He said.

"So when did you get a phone?" I asked.

"It's your…friend's." He told me. "Just borrowin' it a second."

"How'd you get my number?" I asked.

"It was on his phone." He answered.

"How'd HE get my number?!" I was disturbed.

"Sometimes it's best not to ask questions." He remarked. "Anyway, gotta go now. Cross-fade to black!"

He then hung up.

…Cross-fade to black…

I should use that sometime.

I was about to exit the changing room when the intercom went on.

"Sorry kid, gonna have to leave those groovy goggles behind." Mr. Grizz said.

"But I wore them last time!" I told him.

"Change in policy." He told me. "No eye wear unless you are visually impaired."

Carp…

I took them off.

I hope this doesn't cause trouble…

Five Minutes Later…

I stepped onto the boat.

Sylvia, Nine, and some random squid girl were already there.

"What's with your eyes?" The random girl asked. "You sick? Because a lot of people have been getting sick lately and I don't wanna catch anything…"

"Uh…just a little…" I lied. "So, I'm Octim. How're you?"

I stuck my hand out.

"…GYAAAA!" She yelled as she jumped back onto land. "Germs! Germs! AAAAAAAHHH!"

"Well, we're one down." Sylvia crossed her arms.

"We'll be fine." Nine came over. "Just less eggs for quota."

I then noticed Nine had red eyes and her face looked almost like Sarah's.

"Are…does Sarah have a twin sister we don't know about?" I asked.

"I wondered that same thing, but no." Sylvia said. "But I saw her Battling ID."

She showed it to me.

"Her name's Nina Pire." Sylvia told me. "Her face is similar, but she used to have longer hair and was much paler. I saw tan lines on her when she was changing. Now usually haircuts and sun tans are no big deal, but it looks like she made a conscious effort to look like Sarah."

"I believe that's mine!" Nina took her card back. "It is true though. Now, I assume you want to hear my amazing and tragic backstory for why I made myself resemble her, right?"

"Not really." Sylvia shrugged.

"Yeah, I just thought you were a weirdo." I shrugged too.

Nina just stood there with a shocked expression.

Ruins of Ark Polaris…

"Huh…Never been on this stage before…" Nina looked nervous. "W-wasn't it morning a minute ago? What's with the ominous dark sky?"

"Sometimes it's best not to ask questions." I remarked.

"Well, we'll take this in-stride!" Sylvia remained determined.

A few seconds later, we Superjumped to the top of the structure.

We came out with these weapons I haven't seen before.

"What's this?" I was confused. "It's a Slosher, but-"

"Aaaaw, yeah!" Nina had a look of pure bloodlust on her face, eyeing her weapon. "Grizzco Weapons!"

"Yeesh…Sylvia, is that normal?" I asked.

I got scared when I saw she had a similar look on her face as she gazed at her charger.

"Ooooh, Octim…" She giggled. "You'll understand in a few seconds…"

We were soon put against a large group of Salmonids.

"Hey, these are grind rails, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, they are!" Sylvia shouted as she rode one, carrying an egg.

I turned my head to find Nina splatting tons of Salmonids with her Brella.

Okay, gotta find some eggs…

My thoughts were cut off when a Scrapper spun around the corner

"Gah!" I used my slosher.

The Slosher ink went straight through the Scrapper, splatting it.

Wait…did this just…

I saw a Fly Fish about to fire missiles.

I flung Ink at the pilot and the whole thing got destroyed.

"This is AWESOOOOOOME!" I yelled as I grabbed an egg and went for the basket.

A Little Later…

"WHAT A HAUL!" Mr. Grizz was impressed. "The sea has blessed you with its bounty. I should think about givin' ya a raise."

That…was…amazing…

"How'd ya like the fancy weapons?" He asked. "Those're some of my favorites."

"That was awesome!" I shouted.

"Another shift?" Sylvia asked.

"Yeah!" Nina and I shouted in unison.

Three Hours Later…

It somehow ended up being just the three of us the entire time, but we didn't complain too much.

We got some great bonuses out of it.

We sat by the Crust Bucket afterwards.

"We should do that again some time." I suggested.

"Heck yeah, we should!" Sylvia agreed.

"Eh, why not?" Nina agreed. "I need to do some more Salmon Run shifts anyway."

"So if you're Nine, who're the other members of Toxic Mist?" I asked.

"I'm not supposed to say." Nina replied. "Also, don't tell anyone I'm Nine. It's supposed to be a secret."

"Eh, that's fine." Sylvia shrugged. "We all have secrets."

"I'm guessing your eyes are a secret then?" Nina asked. "Because I know Octoling eyes and those aren't regular Octoling eyes. And I can tell you aren't sick because you wear those goggles all the time and were fine."

"Y-yeah, it's a secret…" I told her.

"Eh…none of my business anyway…" She shrugged. "Heck, the only reason I followed you was to see if I could find Sarah."

"Okay," I sighed. "What's your deal with her?"

"…Vengence…" She hissed.

"For what?" Sylvia raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you'd never ask…" Nina leaned back and put her fingertips together. "Let me tell you something about your 'teammate'..."