Eight's PoV
For a few days now, Eight's eyes had been directed to the golden toothpick whenever she saw her reflection.
Right now, she was looking at herself in the mirror in Agent 3's bathroom, adjusting her hair. The accessory sat on her left ear, gleaming in the artificial light. It was beautiful, a reminder of her achievements, but at the same time, it caused her to think of the militaristic Octarian society.
The night after she obtained the golden toothpick, a memory came back to her in the form of a dream. She was standing in a crowd, watching DJ Octavio himself. She couldn't be any older than 14, only having just gained the ability to change forms. The giant octopus held out one of these golden toothpicks to a battle-worn, elite octoling. She took the toothpick and stuck it into her hair, bowing and reciting the oath of loyalty. After she finished, Octavio turned back to the crowd and gave a speech on the glory of the Octarians. Everyone saluted, giving cheers that, looking back on it, seemed forced.
She wasn't sure if the golden toothpick she had belonged to that elite specifically, but it was still a marker of exceptional military accomplishments. Perhaps she could have gained one herself, the proper way, if the Calamari Inkantation never happened.
But that was the past, now. She was free. No longer did she have to serve DJ Octavio as a mindless soldier. She only served herself now.
"Eight?" someone called. It was Three's brother. "You still in there?"
"Oh!" she gasped. She snapped out of her thoughts and ran to the door, opening it to look into Asher's green eyes. He still wore pajamas. "Sorry... You may bathe."
"...I was just gonna use the bathroom," he pointed out. "I need to pee."
"Ahh! Double sorry!" Eight rushed out of the bathroom, into the living room. She tripped on a slipper and fell face-first onto the couch, landing in not the cushioning, but...
"Eight?" Three's voice marveled. The octoling transformed and looked up. The green-haired girl stared straight down at her, eyes wide.
...She had landed on Agent 3's lap.
"Um..." Heat rushed to Eight's cheeks. "Hi."
"H-Hi," the inkling responded. She picked up the octopus and turned her towards her. "You're so soft like this..."
"I am betting you are the soft as squid, too!" she protested.
She blushed, but said nothing more on the matter. "Do you...want to go on a date?" she asked instead.
A date?! Eight froze at her words, the thought of it racing through her head. A date, with Agent 3? There were a million possibilities on what would happen. It could go badly, or it could go wonderfully. They could go to the movies, the beach, the Reef... Anything was possible. Heck, they could even go to Octo Valley or Octo Canyon! And perhaps it could end with a kiss. The octoling's heart continued to pound with excitement and anxiety.
Three frowned. "Are you..."
"Yes!" The pink-haired girl transformed back into a kid and hugged the green-haired girl. "I want date!"
She nodded. "You decide where," she then said.
"Right now?" she inquired. She couldn't decide on a place right now!
"Not now," she assured her. "I was planning to get my Clam Blitz rank up today, and the rotation changes in an hour."
"Ah..." the octoling muttered. She lifted herself off of Three and pumped a fist. "Good luck!"
The long-haired girl nodded. "Thanks."
"You are welcome."
Eight rolled off of Three, and the fair-skinned inkling rose from the couch, walking over to the exit of the apartment. "See ya later," she said.
"Goodbye!" the octoling exclaimed, waving.
Three waved back, and she left. Eight rose from her seat as well, the inkling's request now sinking into her mind. She had to choose a place to take Three on a date...but she had no idea where. She frowned. How was she going to decide in only an hour?
Asher exited the bathroom, yawning. "Oh!" she gasped, running over to him. The older inkling snapped his head up, looking around for the source of the sound. He then focused on Eight, green eyes confused. They were about the same height, though she believed Three's brother was a little taller. "Asher!"
"...Yes?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Are you knowing a good place for date?"
"A date?" The adult placed a hand on his head. "Are you taking Geneva on one?"
Geneva... That was Agent 3's real name. But she had always felt more comfortable referring to her as Three. It just made more sense in her mind. Just like how Agent 8's own name was Rose, but she felt more comfortable being referred to as Eight. To the point where she still hadn't told Asher or the other members of the New Squidbeak Splatoon her real name just yet.
"Yes," Eight replied. "You her brother. You are knowing her much!"
"She was gone for almost a year. Things have changed since then."
"But she still like general things, right?"
"I think so." He put his hand on his chin, thinking. "She usually did turf wars as dates. A lot of squids do that."
"Anything else?"
"Well, you could always go to Port Mackerel. I heard it's fun just riding on the machines with your date."
"Does Geneva like it?"
"I dunno. I'm not aware of every date she goes on." Asher sighed. "That's all I can think of."
"Aw...I am not liking the ideas you give," Eight pouted.
"Sorry," he apologized with a frown.
"It fine," she assured him. "I shall think."
He nodded. "You leaving now?"
"Yes."
"Alright, have fun."
"Goodbye."
Eight left the apartment and rode the elevator down to the ground floor. She exited the complex and started walking down the street, towards Inkopolis Square. Most squids she knew drove there, but she didn't know how to drive. The best she could do was control the machines Octotroopers rode, but even then, they were meant for Octotroopers. Not for octolings.
As she strolled down the sidewalk, she started to daydream. She recalled her first crush, a fellow octoling in her squad. She was only 14 at the time, and Agent 3 had yet to terrorize the Octarian domes. Everything was peaceful, but fear still loomed in the air as the domes were slowly falling apart.
"I made this!" she had told her crush. "For you!" She remembered holding out a bouquet of flowers she picked from a garden; a Twintacle Octotrooper was keeping one in one of the residential domes.
Her crush had shook her head, pushing the bouquet back. "Rose, I can't accept this," she rejected. "We're young. We still have our duty to DJ Octavio to fulfill."
She had frowned, feeling defeated. "Ah... I understand."
Later that day, she had walked up to the abyss of the dome, throwing out the flowers. They were dying, now, just like her hopes that day.
She later encountered her first crush in the Deepsea Metro, though she had not realized it until she had gotten the mem cake containing that specific memory—she was the first sanitized octoling she had encountered in Fake Plastic Station, when Cap'n Cuttlefish was her only ally. Knowing the truth, now, the thought now made her sick.
But ever since she was freed, she had a new life, now. She couldn't look back at the past; she had to look forward.
After arriving in Inkopolis Square, Eight walked past the Crust Bucket, to the table Octa Prisma usually occupied. It was almost empty today, with Brayden and Iris alone sitting in the seats, backs hunched over to look at the former's phone. The curly-haired octoling cleared her throat, and the couple looked up at them.
"Eight," Iris muttered, speaking Octarian. "Hi."
"Hi," Brayden followed.
"Umm...hi," she greeted back. "Can I ask you something?"
"That being?" the indigo-haired girl then queried. "Make it quick. I want to get back to this video."
"A video?" Eight raised an eyebrow. "What's it about?"
"The Great Turf War," Brayden answered. "It's funny how inaccurate it is."
"And there's a disgusting amount of bias here, too," Iris added. "'The inklings were more intelligent with their superior number of arms?' No! They're dumb, but they're a thousand times more dangerous than octolings! That's the advantage having more arms gives them!"
"We make up for the lack of arms through our intelligence," the tan-skinned octoling finished. "You know that, right?"
Eight hesitated before giving a slight nod. It was the same Octarian propaganda fed to her for almost her entire life. In some ways, it was true, but ever since she was freed by the Calamari Inkantation, she began to question...almost everything. Were inklings truly the bad guys? What about the Octarians? It was something she often couldn't think about for long, for then she would start stressing out over it.
Most octolings she had talked to following her arrival to Inkopolis shared a similar sentiment. She didn't necessarily think all inklings were dumb—most of her fellow agents were remarkably clever. Pearl was also smarter than all her big talk made her out to be. And not all inklings were as dangerous as the Octarians made them out to be—some squids she had met wouldn't even harm a fly. Though, with the right training, a single inkling could be more deadly than an entire army of Octarians. This proved true with Agent 3, and it was proven again with Agent 4.
Whatever the case may be, she definitely did not want to get on an agent's bad side, or else she would be splatted on the spot.
"Anyways, what I wanted to ask is..." Eight brought her hands up, touching her fingertips together. "...Do you have any ideas of where to take Three on a date?"
"A date?" Brayden blinked.
"Did you seriously forget?" Iris scolded him. "Eight's dating the Dreaded now. Don't know why, but she is."
"Hey, she's a really nice squid if you get to know her!" she protested. "And she's strong, she's brave, she's serious, she's hot..." The girl with light brown skin began to ramble on about her new girlfriend. It still seemed unreal that Three liked her back. Agent 3, one of the most dangerous inklings known to Octariankind, liked an octoling. Just that in itself was amazing.
"We get it," the indigo-haired girl interrupted, cutting Eight off. The curly-haired girl rubbed her head, cheeks red with embarrassment. "You like Agent 3. As for advice..."
Brayden put his hand on his chin, thinking. "Well...you could take her out to a restaurant. Inklings like food, right?"
"I don't want to take her to a fancy restaurant!" Eight rejected. "I don't have the money for it!"
"Doesn't have to be fancy," the blue-haired boy remarked. "Cocktail Garden works."
"That's still on the expensive side..."
"OK, what about McTentacles? They're everywhere up here," Iris suggested.
"A fast food place? That's a terrible place for a date!"
"Never mind the restaurant idea," Brayden commented. "What about an amusement park? Wahoo World's popular this time of year."
"Wahoo World? That's a little far, isn't it?"
"It's not that far," the indigo-haired girl pointed out. "If you can't drive, yes, but it's still not that far."
"...Drive?"
Iris groaned, digging her face into her hands. "Never mind."
"Just think of someplace else," Brayden concluded. "If you won't go to those two places, then my mind draws to a blank."
"Aw..." Eight muttered. "OK... Sorry."
The couple merely dipped their hands and returned to watching the video on the blue cellphone. The curly-haired girl frowned and started walking away from Octa Prisma's table. She walked towards the middle of Inkopolis Square, standing right on the painted spawn point arrows. She lifted her head, pink eyes focused on the giant screen on the Deca Tower. It displayed an advertisement for one of Inkopolis's popular brands, though she couldn't remember which one.
It was then an advertisement for Off the Hook's latest album flashed on the screen. That's right! I could ask Off the Hook! Immediately, she dashed off towards the studio, located on the side of the square. Eight opened the door and stepped outside. Some inklings were crowded around the doorway, with two guards stationed in front of it with crossed arms. The girl with pink hair pushed through the crowd, reaching the two inkling guards, both dressed in black suits.
"Show me your pass," asked one of them, a woman with fair skin.
"I...am special guest," Eight replied in Inkling.
"'A special guest?'" questioned the second one, a man with brown skin. He crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow.
"Um..." The octoling racked her brain for the special phrase used by guests to visit Off the Hook. "'Selfish shellfish aren't fresh, man.'"
The guards nodded and stepped out of the way, opening the door. Eight walked inside, and soon, she was staring right into Marina's eyes. The dark-skinned octoling quickly noticed her, and she gave a cheerful wave. Pearl looked behind her and jumped up from her seat, striking a pose.
"Yo, Eight!" the pale-skinned inkling greeted. "Nice seein' ya here."
"Nice to be seeing you too," the curly-haired girl said, bowing. "I was the coming to ask you the question."
"A question?" Marina queried, eyes wide. "What is it?"
"I am doing the undertaking of the date of Agent 3," she replied. "But I have trouble on the decision of where."
"Wait, hold up!" Pearl blurted. "Since when were you and Agent 3 dating?!"
"Wednesday," she replied. "It a new thing."
"Well, why didn't ya tell us?!" the short-haired idol continued. "That's straight-out epic!"
"Yeah, congrats, Eight," the long-haired idol agreed.
"Thank you." She smiled. "So...ideas?"
"Pearlie and I were going to go to the movies later," Marina started. "You and Agent 3 can join us if you want."
"What movie?"
"Hominid World," Pearl answered. "Basically a movie 'bout inklings tryin' to resurrect humans. Rina likes this kind of sciencey stuff."
"Sounds cool, doesn't it?" the dark-skinned octoling remarked.
"Well...I am not knowing the movies Three likes," Eight pointed out. What if she ends up hating it?
"It's the thought that counts," Marina assured her. She stood up from her chair and patted Eight on the shoulder. "Trust me," she then said in Octarian.
Pink eyes wide, she stared into the idol's eyes for a few moments before nodding. Marina returned to her seat, and Eight simply muttered, "Thank you."
"No prob, Eight," Pearl said. "No prob."
"We'll text you when we're leaving for the movie!" Marina called.
They said their goodbyes, and the curly-haired girl left the studio, entering the square once more. Now that her dating dilemma was solved, all she had to do was past the time now. She turned to face the Deca Tower once more.
Doing turf wars might be the perfect way to past the time, it seemed.
That afternoon, Agent 3 and Agent 8 stood outside Plankton Theaters, the theater Pearl and Marina told the latter about in a text. Three's hand brushed Eight's, and then they interlocked fingers. Squeezing the green-haired girl's hand, they walked inside to be met with a dark purple interior, blue and green lights dotting the ceiling, positioned in such a way to look like spirals. The floor was made of blue-grey carpet, a rug directing them to the ticket booth.
"I will pay," Eight whispered to her girlfriend. "I choose this place."
"You don't have to," Three insisted. "I brought my money for a reason."
"But-"
"Eight, you already did so much. No need to go broke so quickly."
"Hm..." Eight's voice trailed off with a frown. It was nice of Three to pay the tickets and food for them, but she still felt that it was her responsibility, and her responsibility alone. She just felt bad for allowing Three to make every single payment.
"What movie are we seeing again?" the fair-skinned girl then asked the octoling.
"Hominid World," Eight replied. "Pearl and Marina suggest it."
"Alright." They approached the ticket booth, where a blackbelly skate stood behind the counter. She wore a purple hat and a purple shirt, with a nametag on her chest.
"Hi, what movie do you want to see?" the skate asked, her tone bored.
"Hominid World," Three replied. "The new one."
The skate nodded and held out her hand, flexing it. With her other hand, she pointed to the cash register, displaying the total. Agent 3 pulled a pile of coins out of her wallet and dumped them into the skate's hand. The employee pulled them towards her and stashed the coins away before handing each of them a ticket.
"Woo!" Eight cheered. "May we be obtaining the corn that is popped?"
"Popcorn?" she puzzled.
"Yes! That!"
"OK." They approached the popcorn booth, eyeing the popcorn buckets set out on the counter.
"Get the most big," the pink-haired girl whispered.
Three's exposed green eye scanned the counter. At first, it appeared that they wouldn't get a big bucket, but then a prawn set down a giant bucket, bigger than anyone had ever seen, on top of the counter. Eight's eyes grew wide with wonder, and her jaw dropped. Agent 3 jumped up and grabbed the bucket. It was over a foot deep, and it was absolutely huge. It was as wide as her head, excluding ears, forcing her to wrap her arms around it. She carried it over to one cash register and placed it down on the space next to it.
The cashier, an inkling boy about their age, simply stared at the popcorn bucket, eyes wide with shock. "Uh..." He gulped and looked back the couple with golden eyes. "You do know how much that costs, right?"
"No," Eight stated. "How much?"
"10,000G," he replied.
Agent 3 and Agent 8 looked at each other. A single popcorn bucket was as expensive as some weapons! Eight could hardly believe it.
"Can we split it?" Three whispered.
Eight nodded and pulled some coins out of her own wallet. They handed their combined total over to the cashier, and he promptly stored them away.
"Alright," started the cashier. The green-haired inkling grabbed the bucket off of the counter. "It's yours now. You can refill it for 500G, if you somehow run out."
"Thanks," Three simply muttered, and then they walked away, into the room the tickets denotated. Eight quickly spotted Pearl and Marina near the back, wearing the outfits she first met them in—Pearl in an oversized sweatshirt, and Marina in a white, sleeveless crop top. The octoling with light brown skin tugged the fair-skinned girl's hand, and she directed her over to where Off the Hook was sitting. They sat a seat or two away from them.
"Hello," Eight called over to them. "We are here."
Pearl and Marina looked over at the agents and, and they both smiled. "Heh, you came!" the pale-skinned idol remarked.
"Hope you like this movie," the dark-skinned idol followed. "I always loved this series. Hominid Park was the first movie I ever watched when I first came to surface." She turned her attention back to the movie. "Maybe you'll come to love it, too."
Eight nodded. "I hope so."
After several previews, the movie finally began to play. In the movie, everything seemed peaceful at first, with several inklings coming to investigate a destroyed park, meant to exhibit the destroyed humans. Though Eight knew humans weren't much taller than inklings and octolings in reality, the humans here were humongous, towering above the visitors. The group began tracking down humans, complete with some fight scenes between different kinds of humans, fighting with giant weapons. Eventually, everything went haywire, forcing the group to escape. They were able to save some humans, though, allowing inklings and humans to coexist peacefully.
Towards the end of the movie, a thought seeped into Eight's mind. I should kiss her, she advised herself, glancing over at Three. Her exposed eye was focused on the movie screen, a smile growing on her face. A joy that Eight rarely saw. She likes the movie, the octoling realized. She glanced back over to Off the Hook, whose eyes also focused on the movie. Thanks, guys, she said silently, a smile of her own tugging at her lips.
Eight tapped Three's hand lightly, and the green-haired inkling made a small sound, looking into her pink eyes. The octoling grew nervous, a blush creeping along her cheeks again. What if she says no?
But, the chance was quickly fleeing her. She had to act, now.
"May I...kiss you?" she whispered the question, her heart racing.
Three blinked, surprised, but then she nodded. "Sure."
She said yes! she enthused in her head. The two leaned towards each other, and soon, they locked lips. The taste of buttery popcorn was strong, but underneath it, she could taste something else, something she couldn't quite describe. It was sweet, but not that sweet. It was salty, but not that salty. Regardless, she felt good as heat spread through her body.
Eventually, their lips parted, and Eight released a shaky breath, feeling as if she was going to splat in her seat.
"Sweet," Three remarked quietly. "Just like you."
"T-Thank you," she muttered, blushing some more.
The green-haired girl smiled. "No problem." They returned to watching the movie, seeing its end.
In Eight's mind, it was a successful date. Nothing bad happened, and most importantly, she managed to kiss Agent 3. She gave another glance at her girlfriend. Her smile only seemed to grow even larger, complete with her blushing face.
Yes, she was certain now that their relationship would last.
A/N: Bonus Story 4 is complete! It's basically an Agent 24 fanfic. But it makes sense in-story, since Agent 3 and Agent 8 had just started dating. I always find it fun to write from an octoling's perspective. They are quite different from inklings, both literally and culturally. You can write the same scene from different perspectives, and you get completely different interpretations. Now, why did them I have them watch the squid version of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom? Well, to be honest, I searched up movies released in 2018, since I couldn't think of one. Jurassic World made the most sense, so that's what I had them watch. Now, about Season 4. It'll come back in June. You know the drill: a bonus story released on the first day of the month, and the first chapter of that season the on or around the following Sunday. Therefore, Bonus Story 5 will release on June 1st. The Season 4 debut doesn't have a set date yet, but I do plan for it to not be part of an arc. So, it will most likely be released on June 6th. Finally, I can get a break... Well, see you in June, and Branchwing, out!