Pearl and Marina's dialogue is from Splatoon 2.
Inigo's PoV
The day after the confrontation with Tiffany, Inigo stood at Hammerhead Bridge, leaning against the railing, staring out into the water. The cracked tinted shades rested on the bridge of his nose, its current state messing with his vision.
Though, there was a reason he came here, dressed as the Vigilante. He pulled out his phone and stood up straight, facing the object towards him. He started to record a video, a sad smile on his face.
"Hey, squids," he greeted. "You may have noticed that I've been quiet for the past few days... Well, I'm here to say, the Vigilante is no more."
He changed the camera so that it was facing the water, and he proceeded to grab the tinted shades, ripping it off of his face and chucking it into the sea. It became a mere speck in the distance, sinking into the waves. A weight lifted off his shoulders, Inigo released his breath and finished his speech.
"Goodbye...forever."
He stopped recording the video and posted it on Squidsagram. He put his phone away, staring out into the river for a few seconds more.
Finally, it was over. After Tiffany betrayed him and tried to kill him, there was only one action to take. And it was an action he had been considering for a long time now. He was no longer the Vigilante. Once again, he was just Inigo.
The boy with the ponytail took the thicker hairband out and replaced it with the thinner hairband, exposing his cowlick once more. He started walking back to Inkopolis Square, putting in his earphones and listening to Fresh Start along the way.
He chuckled to himself at the coincidence. He was listening to Fresh Start when he first met Tiffany. And now that everything was over, he was listening to Fresh Start again.
He hopped onto a train back to the square, gripping the silver pole with a fair-skinned hand. His phone buzzed, and he took it out to see a text from Geneva. Excited, he opened it. The green-haired inkling had not spoken to him since yesterday, when she found out he was the Vigilante. However, his hopes were crushed when it was simply a link to a video, with the girl asking him to watch it. He opened the link and tilted his phone sideways, wishing to see the footage.
The news anchor, a betta fish, began to speak. "Monday afternoon, 22-year-old Tiffany Teuthis was arrested for attempted homicide of two teenaged inklings, both aged 17." Footage of the street the alleyway he confronted her in began to play, accompanied by a mugshot of the red-haired lady. "The teenagers were unharmed, sustaining only minor, ink-based injuries. The families of the victims have requested that their names be kept private." The images used to represent him and Agent 3 were simply silhouettes of stock images.
After the video finished, Inigo started playing music again and put his phone away. Tiffany was gone. It was strange to think that just yesterday, they were on good terms. Now, their relationship was beyond repair.
Perhaps it was for the best.
The Splatfest came the following weekend, and Inigo could not have been more excited. Not only was it a special Splatfest, it also marked one year since Off the Hook took over Inkopolis News. Inigo had chosen Team Octopus, now donning a black-and-magenta tee. He liked to eat octopus more, so he decided to choose Marina's team. Though, everyone had different reasons. The vast majority of Octa Prisma also chose Team Octopus, presumably because they themselves were octopi. The only ones not to choose Team Octopus were Eight and Peyton, though he wasn't sure why.
Standing outside of the lobby were the other Rainbow Squids on Team Octopus—Octavia, Geneva, and Bonnie. They were talking among themselves when they noticed the boy with the ponytail. Via and Bon-Bon waved, but Geneva remained stationary, glaring at him with her exposed green eye. Inigo walked over to them and grabbed the wavy-haired girl's hand.
"Ready?" he asked, a smirk on his face.
"Ready," she replied.
They let go, and then Bonnie announced, "Let's go."
The inklings walked into the Deca Tower, which was, of course, packed. They proceeded to grab their weapons out of the storage room and started searching for a lobby. An inkling girl with funny-looking hair chatted eagerly with another inkling with the same hairstyle, and an inkling with short hair joined them. They all wore shirts with Team Squid's logo on it, and they then turned around, heading into one of the elevators. The group started walking towards them, but another group of squids on Team Octopus entered the elevator before them. Inigo frowned, and he then tugged on Via's hand, leading them towards the empty elevator. After they entered, Geneva leaned against the wall, folding her arms against her chest.
"There's been a lot more octolings lately," she remarked.
"Huh?" the girl with the double bun puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Yeah, the only octolings I've seen are Octa Prisma and Elyse," the wavy-haired girl agreed. "And DJ Octavio, if you count him."
"Funny you mention Elyse," Geneva commented. "She's, uh, my new neighbor now."
"Really?" Inigo marveled. "That's fresh."
"Yeah, she moved in yesterday. Haven't talked to her much, though," she elaborated. She then shook her head. "Back to the subject." Before she could continue, another group walked into the elevator, wearing Team Squid shirts. Instead of words, Geneva sighed. "...Never mind. I'll tell you later."
The boy with the ponytail examined the newcomers. Agent 8 stood in the doorway, twirling a curly tentacle around her finger. Next to her was a bronze-skinned inkling wearing double egg shades. He couldn't help but think she was familiar... On the other side of Eight was Peyton, though she simply just wore an Annaki beret, instead of wearing the glasses as well. He considered seeing her purple eyes rare at this point. Inigo didn't recognize the fourth inkling—she had wheat-colored skin and short hair, complete with pink eyes.
"Oh, Audrey," Octavia recognized. Her orange eyes drifted towards the group. "You know her?"
"Oh, Alexis's sister," Audrey deadpanned. "Nah, I don't know them. I just followed them here."
"Yes, confirm," Peyton certified.
"Oh," Via realized, her mouth open. "Forget what I said then."
The door shut behind them, and the elevator descended deeper into the tower.
"Four's with you?" Geneva asked Eight. She simply nodded in response. "I see."
Inigo looked over at the bronze-skinned inkling. Now that she mentioned it... The girl did appear to be Agent 4—same skin color, same haircut, and even the same height. Her leg bounced excitedly, though she was looking away from them. In her hands were the Hero Dualies—the same weapon Alexis uses.
The elevator stopped, and the metallic floor opened beneath them, revealing the grate, darkness below them. Inigo turned into a squid and slipped through the grate, swimming to his next destination. When he reformed into a kid, he was met with a starry, dark sky, various food containers floating about in the air. Neon signs adorned the sides, and on the stage itself, some kind of rubber structures poked out of the ground, shaped like tentacles. There were magenta tentacles that tapered towards the end, and there were also bright green tentacles, shaped like a squid's head. A Shifty Station, he assumed.
The match started, fireworks shooting into the sky, forming the shapes of squids and octopi. Inigo wiped some of the falling confetti off his hair, but something felt...off. He looked over at his friends. Somehow, they had gained the funny hairstyles he had been seeing more often as of late. Their ears and fingertips were rounded, and a few suction cups adorned the top of their tentacles. Was this the 'cover sheet' Off the Hook mentioned in the Splatfest announcement? He supposed so.
Bonnie looked over at Inigo, puzzled. Her face appeared to be the same, but at the same time, it wasn't. The dark mask around her eyes—the same mask that adorned the eyes of every inkling—had become separated, and her features had become sharper, with smaller eyebrows and sharp eyelashes. Like the other girls, her hair had been modified—it was still in a double bun, but her tentacles now tapered towards the end. The smaller tentacles on the back of her neck were absent.
"...Why are you looking at me like that?" Inigo puzzled similarly, raising an eyebrow.
"It's just..." Bonnie shook her head. "Never mind. Let's go battle."
The boy with the ponytail slammed his Carbon Roller to the ground, flicking magenta ink in front of him. He rolled it for a few feet before jumping down to the grassy clearing. He inked the grass for a few seconds before running up a ramp, lifting his roller when he got to the edge of the platform. There were two transparent gates—to his right was a gate outlined in magenta, and to his left was a gate outlined in green, both labeled with the number 'one.' The magenta, tapered tentacle stood outside of the right gate. He jumped down to it and tried smacking it, only for it to have no effect. He lifted his roller and stared at the gate, dumbfounded.
His confusion quickly disappeared when he saw a reflection in the glass. Startled, he jumped, only for the reflection to mimic his movement. He blinked, realizing that the stranger in the mirror was, in fact, him. His hair was still tied up into a ponytail, now being identical to Peyton's hairstyle. He retained his fair skin and indigo eyes, but like he had seen on Bonnie, his eye mask was not connected.
So that's what's wrong, he deduced. He snapped out of his thoughts as someone stepped on him, causing him to stumble. He turned around to see that Agent 4 had rolled towards the tapered tentacle, shooting it with green ink. He rose his roller and slammed it down on her, just before the tentacle could burst. His expression stern, he watched as a green ghost floated away from the explosion of magenta ink. The tentacle in front of him was swollen, green ink dripping off of the rubber. Inigo lifted the roller, wiping some sweat off his face. He turned to see where the bronze-skinned girl had come from. It was then he spotted an octopus climbing up a box, reforming into who he assumed to be Geneva.
He climbed up the box as well to join her. She jumped down to the squid tentacle, shooting it until it blew up. The green gate began to recede into the ground, allowing people to pass through. Inigo scanned the area once more before approaching the fair-skinned girl. Her hairstyle was similar to Agent 8's normal hairstyle, but it was much longer in the front.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hey," she greeted back, not looking back at him and instead staring straight ahead with her green eye.
His spirits dampened, Inigo watched as Geneva continued inking the area ahead with her Splattershot, covering up the pavement with magenta ink. It was then he noticed a pale-skinned girl climb up the white box, slinging her Tri-Slosher back and forth. She inched towards the long-haired girl, who then noticed her. She rolled up to her and leaped up into the air, a magenta circle marking the area of impact. Geneva slammed her fist down to the ground, creating an explosion that splatted her attacker. Her tentacles came to rest, now moving idly by her hips.
Inigo clapped briefly before beginning to search for the second squid-shaped tentacle. He found one by simply turning the bend past the spot the first one was. As soon as he reached it, however, ink pierced through the small of his back, and he let out a scream of pain, splatting against the rubber. He respawned a few seconds later, rubbing his gut. He super-jumped to Bonnie, who was positioned on the center box. She snapped towards another inkling with a charger, splatting her with one hit from her Classic Squiffer.
The boy with the ponytail jumped down to the main level, slamming his roller down and covering up turf that the other team had inked. He heard another gate open, this one belonging to his one team. He bit his tongue, annoyed. But, he had to avoid the urge to go chase after the squid that invaded their base. That would end badly. Instead, he once again targeted the second green tentacle. Some magenta ink already dripped off of it, but there was no sign of any attackers. He started smacking the tentacle with his Carbon Roller, the tentacle wiggling as it expanded.
He heard someone swimming behind him. He turned around, seeing ripples in the ink approaching closer and closer. A squid leaped out of the ink, and he then stared into the purple eyes of an inkling version of Peyton. Two tentacles framed her face, and she had two other tentacles tied into a ponytail. Two smaller tentacles could be seen on her neck. She threw a burst bomb at him, splattering green ink right on his face. Blinded, he threw an auto bomb down and started swinging his roller wildly. He heard Peyton gasp before another wave of pain tore through his body, splatting him.
Inigo respawned, his feet wobbling. Both times he had splatted had been particularly harsh splattings, but he had to press on. Not even half the match had passed yet, and the winner of the match was indeterminate. In the distance, he saw an octopus-shaped ghost float away into the sky, followed by one of the magenta gates opening. He whipped his head around, where he spotted the final tapered tentacle. He had to protect it, no matter what ailment came over him.
The boy with the ponytail did a vertical swing, swimming off towards the small area that housed the third tentacle. His eyes drifted over to the right, where he noticed Agent 4, advancing towards him and shooting ink from her dualies. Inigo put the wheel of the Carbon Roller down and circled the tentacle, gaining enough points to activate his special weapon. He pulled out a container and threw it to the ground, causing a magenta cloud to rise into the air. However, it didn't work—Four merely rolled through the Ink Storm, magenta ink now dripping from her clothes. Inigo threw an auto bomb at her and hid behind the tentacle. She rolled out of the way, but the bomb still chased her. After a few seconds, the bomb blew up, splattering more enemy ink onto Four.
It was then a marker appeared around the bronze-skinned inkling's feet as she approached the tentacle, remaining in place as she dodge-rolled towards the structure. Inigo revealed himself from behind the tentacle and splatted Four in one hit before walking up to the marker. Preparing for the inkling that would land at the marker, he started slamming his Carbon Roller against the ground. A girl with wheat-colored skin landed, throwing a point sensor moments before she splatted. A black arrow now circled around Inigo, revealing his position to the other team. However, there wasn't much he could do about it.
He ran into the main area, dodging ink that flew towards him. He started flicking his roller both ways, trying to fend off the enemy. Peyton once again attempted to splat him, but he was prepared this time. He swung the roller vertically, getting a direct hit on the girl with the ponytail. Satisfied, he continuing inking turf until the black marker disappeared off of him. Afterwards, he swam towards the third magenta tentacle once more. He sat at the base, waiting for anyone to approach him.
A few seconds later, he looked up to see a bright green Ink Storm, looming closer and closer to him. Soon, it contacted his skin, and he was forced to emerge, trying to ink a path through the rain. In the distance, he noticed a green beam, growing longer and longer, until it touched his shirt. Up against the central box was a girl with light brown skin, having short hair identical to Agent 4 and Audrey. In her hands was an E-liter 4K. He started moving out of the way, but the girl—who he assumed to be Agent 8—fired, cleaving his arm and splatting him.
Inigo once again respawned, now with a minute left on the clock. He rubbed his arm, relieved to find it still there. Spawn points were a miracle sometimes. He super-jumped to one of Octavia's beakons, located up against a wooden platform. On the other side of the area, he could see a green sponge. However, right in the middle of it was the third squid-shaped tentacle, only damaged slightly. He threw out an auto bomb before hiding in front of the squid beakon, cautious of any enemies. A magenta circle marked the auto bomb's radius, but it simply idled for a few moments before expanding, exploding into a puddle of magenta ink. Inigo emerged from the puddle around the beakon, giving an affirmative nod. He swung at the tentacle, swelling it with magenta ink. It grew larger and larger until it popped, lowering the third and final gate.
With access to Team Squid's base, Team Octopus could push through their defenses and win. He rolled over to the new area, a trail of magenta ink following him. However, something then bumped into him, knocking him to the ground. He lifted his head, his own ink sliding off his face. He turned around to see a Baller expand, filling with green ink. He cursed under his breath as it exploded, splatting him.
Once more, Inigo respawned, and super-jumped to the same beakon. He was splatted upon arrival, thanks to Audrey's inspection of the area. The Quick Respawn chunks he had on his shoes activated, allowing him to jump back into the action faster than usual. He didn't super-jump this time, instead jumping straight down to the clearing just in front of the raised platform the spawn point was on. Some blades of grass stuck through the thick ink, but they were quickly flattened as Inigo ran over them. The magenta gate labeled with a 'three' lowered, allowing for a green beam to shine through. The fair-skinned boy jumped back, remembering that Eight carried a charger on her. The beam disappeared momentarily, a glowing spot moving through the ink. The girl with light brown skin popped out of the ink, firing her E-liter 4K immediately. A trail of green ink landed a few feet from Inigo, onto the ramp.
"Hey, Eight!" someone called. Indigo eyes drifted over towards the source of the voice. Octavia stood on the raised platform, leaning on her Octobrush Nouveau. Her normally wavy tentacle was kinked, tapering towards the end. Eight lifted her head, her pink eyes focusing on Via. "Can you hit me?" she taunted.
"Now?" She lifted her charger and pressed down on the trigger, charging it up. The light on it glew brighter and brighter.
"No, not now," Via corrected. "While I'm running!"
"I think," Eight replied.
"Then it's a challenge," she declared with a wink. She pressed the bristles of the brush down on the ground and started running down to the clearing where the third tentacle once was. "Let's go!"
Eight swung her body around, trying to aim towards Octavia. She released the trigger, causing a beam to shoot out of her charger, but it didn't hit at all. Some of the ink fell into the abyss, counting towards nothing. Instead of jumping down to the clearing, Via swung back around, running back up to the spawn point.
What is she doing? Inigo thought, frustrated. She's gonna run out of ink!
The bristles of the Octobrush Nouveau ran dry by the time she returned, so she jumped into the spawn point. Eight aimed towards her, but her shot simply bounced off of the barrier, spreading out around the machine. Via popped out of the spawn point a few seconds later, winking again. Geneva then respawned and stared at her, confused. The wavy-haired girl paused for a few moments, allowing Eight to snap her E-liter 4K towards her and splat her.
"Yay!" she cheered. "I-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Inigo emerged from his hiding spot and slammed his Carbon Roller down on her head, causing her to explode into magenta ink. Her gear sunk into the ground, and the boy with the ponytail stood over where she was, smirking. He looked to his side, seeing Audrey roll towards him with a Baller once more. He threw an auto bomb at her, and she merely ran it over, destroying it. Inigo swam up the ramp and watched as the Baller exploded, covering a large area with green ink. The wheat-skinned girl repositioned herself, holding up her .52 Gal. She started inking the surrounding area some more, approaching Inigo.
She managed to land a shot on him before he proceeded to splat her. His hair now glowing, Inigo threw out another Ink Storm, which flew across the map. Right after he threw it out, a green marker then surrounded him. Tenta Missiles. He retreated back into his team's base, and in front of him, missiles fell from the sky, splattering even more green ink everywhere. He got right back to covering it up, and by the time he finished, the match ended. He lifted his Carbon Roller, magenta ink dripping from the wheel.
He started walking into the main area. However, something was off—the majority of people present had some kind of fog around them, wavering. He looked over at Geneva, who had super-jumped up to the top of a perch, talking to Eight. Her appearance was hazy, as was the other girl's. They seemed be a mixture of their original species and the species they chose for the Splatfest, with their original appearance becoming clearer by the second. Soon, the haze faded, and Geneva and Eight appeared normal again.
Inigo pulled out his phone and turned on the camera. He, too, looked like an inkling again, though he could faintly see his octoling appearance around him.
"Weird," he commented, putting his phone away.
"Guess we don't have the cover sheet anymore," he heard Octavia comment. He looked over towards her. She stood next to Bonnie, both appearing to be inklings once more.
"Who do you think won?" the beige-skinned inkling asked her friend.
"Team Octopus, duh," she replied. "Did you see all the turf we inked in their base? We're winning for sure."
Judd and Li'l Judd then appeared on the central box, holding a magenta and green flag respectively. They danced, and as Via predicted, Judd struck out his flag, marking Team Octopus as the winner of the match.
"Booyah!" Inigo cheered.
"Oh," Geneva noticed, looking over at him. "We won."
Geneva and Agent 8 jumped down from their perch, the latter holding out a hand. "Good game."
The long-haired inkling took her hand and shook it. "Good game."
Inigo frowned. How he would like to talk to Geneva again, casually. But now that the truth was revealed, they barely spoke at all.
But he couldn't get upset over it. He'll fix his friendship with her. One day.
A few hours after the Splatfest ended, Inigo once again sat with the Rainbow Squids in Inkopolis Square, exchanging a glance with Geneva. They merely stared at each other, not saying a single word.
"What's with the passive-aggressiveness?" Yuri asked them. "It's weird seeing you two like this."
"You know," Geneva muttered.
"C'mon, Geneva, he quit being the Vigilante," Octavia pointed out. "You know that, right?"
"I know, but..." She leaned over to the wavy-haired inkling and whispered something to her. Feeling a twinge of rejection, Inigo turned around to look at the giant screen plastered onto to the front of Deca Tower. Just as he was about to speak, the jingle to Inkopolis News played, displaying Off the Hook's logo.
"Oh! Oh!" Roy exclaimed, standing up and slamming his hands down on the table. "They're gonna announce the Splatfest results!"
"Y'all know what time it is!" Pearl greeted in her chipper voice.
"It's Off the Hook, coming at you LIVE from Inkopolis Square!" Marina followed.
"Marina! Before we announce the stages, why don't you share the breaking news?"
"Breaking news? What did you break this time?"
"I didn't break anything! I was talking about the Splatfest results!"
"Ooh! The Splatfest results are in!"
Off the Hook proceeded to display the results to the Squid vs. Octopus Splatfest, which declared Team Squid the winner.
"Buh-buh-buh-booyah!" Pearl cheered. Marina simply looked at her, distraught. "Squidkids be the best! Ten limbs never stressed! Ayyyy!"
"Good effort, Team Octopus!" Marina said, calming down. "I'm proud of you."
"Hard to believe we've been doin' this for a year already," the pale-skinned idol remarked.
"Yeah, we've come a long way," the dark-skinned idol agreed.
"Big thanks to all the fans that make this possible. We love ya!"
"I love you too!" Perry called from his seat, cupping his hands around his mouth.
"I don't think she'll hear ya," Bonnie commented.
"If you participated in the Splatfest, your prizes are waiting in the square!" Marina finished. Afterwards, Off the Hook proceeded to share what the stages were before signing off.
"So, there goes it," Alexis declared, placing her feet on the table. "Squids are better than octopi."
"Wonder how Octa Prisma's taking this," Geneva mused.
Inigo looked over at the group of octolings. He noticed Giovanni chuckle, closing his eyes and crossing his arms, smiling.
"Surprisingly well," he deduced.
Alexis got up from her seat and ran over to them, followed by the rest of the Rainbow Squids. "So, whatcha think?" she asked them.
"Not happy," Iris grumbled.
"It is expected," the green-haired octoling pointed out. "We know how superior your skills are to Octarians."
"No, we are better than them," Brayden argued. "The Splatfest does not prove anything."
"Well, it's the law now," Octavia pointed out. "Squids are legally better than octopi."
"I suppose so," Oscar conceded with a sigh.
"It feel nice to be on team that win," Eight remarked. "More super sea snails!"
"Yeah!" Peyton agreed. "More super sea snails!"
Inigo gave a sad smile. He turned around, starting to walk towards the Deca Tower.
"Hey, Inigo!" Roy shouted. He looked over his shoulder, at his friend. "Where're you goin'?!"
The indigo-haired inkling turned around completely, now facing the Rainbow Squids and Octa Prisma. "Home," he replied. "I've been thinking on it for a while."
"Huh?" Yuri blinked. "What do ya mean?"
"I need a break," he explained. "After everything that's happened over the past few months, I need a break. With being the Vigilante, then the whole thing at the bay, and now with fighting Tiffany last week." And Geneva going silent on me, he added quietly.
He expected backlash, but instead, everyone just nodded their head.
"Take all the time you need," Bonnie muttered, smiling. "I think I would take a break if I would you, too."
"Yeah, can't force ya to do anythin'," Perry agreed. "You're our friend, right?"
"Yeah, and we wouldn't be good friends if we force you to stay," the yellow-haired boy added.
Geneva's poker face remained. "It's for the best," she said.
Inigo nodded. "See you next week," he announced.
The Rainbow Squids waved goodbye, and the boy with the ponytail started walking again. Instead of heading into the Deca Tower, he went to the parking lot nearby and climbed into his car. He started it up and drove away, going home.
Finally, he could rest.
A/N: So, as you probably all know by now, Splatoon 3 was announced a few days ago. How will this effect the Rainbow Squids? Well, this is a story about Splatoon 2, and the story will end after the Chaos vs. Order Splatfest, so not much will change. I think the most references I'll make to it will be lore-related - it doesn't even take place in Inkopolis! By the time Splatoon 3 releases, I expect that we'll probably be in Season 5. The general plan is, Season 4 starts in June 2021, Season 5 starts in March 2022, and Season 6 starts in January 2023, with a hiatus of about three months between them. And since Splatoon usually releases in the summer, it's reasonable to expect that we'll be in Season 5 by then.
Anyways, get ready for the Season 3 finale, "The Hero Within," coming out next Sunday, February 28th! It's a VERY, VERY IMPORTANT CHAPTER, so please do not skip over it! Probably even more important than Fly Octo Fly/Into the Light! Got it? Bonus Story 4 will likely come out the following week, since I don't think I'll finish it by next Sunday. After that, it'll be a hiatus, with Bonus Story 5 coming out on June 1st. See you next week, and Branchwing, out!