Chapter 51: Turf War Shenanigans
"GO!"
Adstrum immediately ran off the spawn point with his Krak-On Roller in front of him covering the ground. He headed down the right path from his team's spawn.
On the other side of the map Jack was showing Cici how to hold her Ink Brush.
"You have a good grip on it?"
She swung it. It flew very far and hit Blue right in his face. He sighed as his ghost flew off to the respawn point.
"Huh. That's not how you use it, but nice shot." Jack chuckled and ran to wear she threw the brush, shooting ink around as he went. "Let's go get it back."
"Wow… I have never seen someone use a brush like that…" Corol wrote some notes.
"She's full of surprises. She just needs to get a better grip on it." He looked at Cici. "Come on, Cici!"
"Incoming!" Cuddlefish tried to snipe the incoming person, "Tsk, missed"
Adstrum headed for the tower in the middle of the map and started splashing a path to the top of it.
"Here you go, Cici." Jack picked up her brush and handed it back to her.
Cici painted the ground and ran into Clair.
"Heh, easy" Clair started firing at her.
Cici threw her brush at her. Clair stared at her blankly.
"Cici…" Jack facepalmed and walked over to the brush. "You need to get a better grip…" He held his hand up. "Hold on, Clair."
Cici taunted Clair and stuck her tongue at her.
"Oh, you are dead now." Clair chased after her.
Cici giggled and ran away from her.
Jack sighed and picked up the brush. "She's a pain sometimes, but I love her." He turned into a squid and swam after them.
Adstrum stood on top of the tower and held his roller upward. "I am the king of the hill! Bow down to me!"
"Weeee!" Cici ran around the tower with Clair chasing after her.
"Hold the fuck still, damn you!" Clair growled.
"Hey, watch your language!" Adstrum yelled before laughing. "Says the guy who curses whenever he fucking feels like. Hahaha!"
"Heh, I like her." Pearl laughed.
Callie nodded. "Still the same as I remember her. And Cici annoys her just as much as before." She giggled.
"Hello, Addie!" Cici waved to him, still running circles around him.
"Hello, sleepy!" Adstrum waved down at her.
"Oh, Cici… where did your weapon go?" Arisara sighed, holding her fire.
Jack popped up from the ink next to her. "She keeps throwing it." He chuckled and held out the brush.
"Just tape it to her hand" Blue muttered, rubbing his nose.
"Who carries tape with them? Sorry about that, by the way. You okay?" Jack asked, concerned.
"Yeah, just really stings."
"Hehe, sorry" Cici jumped over Clair.
"Let's just play."
"Okay" Cici took her brush and drew a tic tac toe game.
"Cici… no…" Arisara rubbed the bridge of her nose.
Jack sneakily shot an X in the middle of the game.
"They are playing… tic tac toe…" Marina seemed confused.
Pearl shrugged, "Jack sneakily shot an X! What will the other team do?!"
"Never change, Cici." Callie smiled and shook her head.
"Fuck," Clair was catching her breath, "Cheap move…"
"Cici's hard to keep up with." Adstrum said as he landed next to her.
Cici smiled.
Arisara shot a dot on the top right corner.
"Thanks for playing along." Jack whispered and shot an X in the bottom left corner.
"Arisara took over a corner! What will happen next?" Marina announced, shrugging as well.
"Are they really going to announce a match of Tic Tac Toe?" Callie giggled, looking at her cousin.
"Yup. It's part of the job."
Adstrum shrugged and swam back up on top of the tower. He looked around for the other players.
"Uh, Cuddlefish… have Turf Wars changed?" Corol seemed puzzled as he painted around.
"Um, not really but… I think our team is, um… weird…" Cuddle shrugged as she painted as much as possible.
"Nah, Jack's just making sure Cici has fun!" Adstrum yelled down at them. "Hi guys!"
"Hello" Corol greeted.
"You having fun, Corol?" He jumped down to where they were.
"Heh. I'm more confused than anything."
"Eh, just don't question it too much and you'll be fine." Adstrum pulled out his roller and started painting a path toward the other spawn location.
"Um, sorry" Corol painted over his path.
"Don't be sorry. That's how you play the game. Cover the enemy's ink." He sped up.
Cuddlefish shot at Adstrum.
He ducked in time, but got some enemy ink on his back. "Oh, you cheeky little…"
"Oh, Clair is angry… again. Oh, what's this? Someone tossed a power up onto the field."
"Power ups?" Jack looked up from the Tic Tac Toe game.
"Candy!" Cici smiled.
"Yup, candies with some abilities for a bit of time." Arisara smiled.
"Oh, right! I remember that being brought up." Jack looked at Cici. "Don't eat too many, okay? Only one at a time. And wait for the effects of one to wear off before eating another."
"Yeah."
"I'll get it" Blue ran to get it.
"It's mine!" Cici chased him.
"I hope he doesn't get hurt." Adstrum chuckled as he dodged another shot from Cuddlefish.
Cici jumped onto Blue's head and he fell face first.
"She really wants that candy." Jack chuckled nervously.
"I call foul…" Blue groaned.
Cici ate the candy and instantly became hyper. She ran quickly back to Blue.
"Sorry, Jack! It was too tasty!" She hugged him.
"That's Blue, Cici!" Jack waved at her.
"... Why me?" Blue groaned some more.
Cici ran to Jack and ran around him. She was painting him green.
"Heh, good think we're on the same team." He smiled before he felt her brush hit his face.
"Heh, I thought she'd paint hearts around him." Callie smiled.
"Maybe she thinks he's Blue?" Marie watched her paint Jack.
"You think we should take her to an optometrist and get her sight checked out?" She looked at Marie.
"Maybe. I'll mention it to Jack later."
"Sounds good."
Adstrum swam up to Cuddlefish and tried to slam his roller into her.
She jumped and swam away.
"Smart girl. I learned how to deal with chargers." He shrugged and continued painting the enemy spawn area.
Cici ran and hugged Adstrum, "Tag!"
"Oh no, I'm it." He smiled and hugged her back. "Hello, hyper-Sleepy."
"Candy! I want more!"
"I don't have any. Hey! Get your hands out of my jacket!" He pulled her arm out of his jacket pocket.
"Hehe" She giggled, "Sorry."
"You are so silly. Why don't you go bug Jack?"
"I don't feel hyper any more. Okay!" Cici swam to Jack.
Agent 3 was shaking the ink off him when he turned and jumped at seeing Cici behind him. "AH! Cici, you startled me."
"Hm?" Cici smiled.
"How are you feeling?" He pet her head.
"I'm okay."
"You want to go paint some areas with me?"
"Are you guys going to play for real now?" Arisara asked.
"That depends on what Cici wants to do. And if she can keep a grip on her brush." Jack chuckled.
"I got it now, I promise!"
"Good girl!" He kissed her cheek.
"Okay then" Arisara started shooting pink ink at Cici. Cici ran away.
Jack fired back at the octoling.
Adstrum started swinging his roller around the enemy's spawn area, covering a lot of ground in pink ink.
Blue got up and rubbed his face. He started covering the floor with pink. Corol shot at him and Blue dodged.
Some people started tossing different types of candies onto the field.
Jack grabbed one and ate it, his ink quickly replenishing and allowing him to fire without having to stop for a while.
Blue ate a defense candy and he headed towards Corol. Corol's shots had less of an effect on him.
Cuddlefish ate an attack up and she shot at Blue. He was knocked back.
Adstrum ate a special candy and his tentacles started bubbling. He smiled widely and ran toward the battle, turning into a Kraken and charging at Cuddlefish and Corol.
Corol ate a super jump candy. He grabbed Cuddlefish and brought her back to base.
"Hey, a Kraken! I haven't seen that special in forever!" Callie smiled at the footage. "And smart move by Corol!"
"Wow, those candies are interesting!" Marina beamed.
"Now I want some!" Callie bounced a bit in excitement.
"These are only prototypes."
"Dang…Hope they are safe for the competitors."
"They are. Arisara tested them on herself."
"YAY FOR ARISARA! Oh...wait, she tested them on herself? Is she okay?" Callie had a concerned look on her face.
"I dunno" Pearl shrugged.
"Um...hold on." Callie pulled out her phone and called Arisara's number.
Arisara looked at the phone confused. She looked at the camera and answered it.
"Um, is this allowed?" Arisara asked.
"In this case, yes." Callie replied. "Are you okay? I was told you tested the candies yourself."
"Oh, luckily I was just poisoned for an hour, but I'm okay."
"Ari…" Callie sighed. "Please don't ever do that again. If you need someone to test something you are making, don't use yourself."
"I can't do that to other people."
"You can't do it to yourself either… Just...please let us help you next time. We don't want to lose you."
"I'll think about it…" She rubbed her head.
"Okay. Thanks. We'll talk more after the match. Good luck and have fun!"
"Kay" Arisara hung up, "Oh, I'm in trouble..."
"What for?" Adstrum appeared next to her, still in Kraken form.
"Testing experimental candies on myself."
"You really shouldn't do that. You should get some lab rats or some volunteers next time."
"I'm not putting other people in danger for my stupidity"
"You shouldn't put yourself in harm's way either, Ari. We care too much about you. Please be more cautious and thoughtful next time." He swam away.
She took a special candy and she shot tenta-missiles at everyone on the field. Cici ate all the candy she could find. She imploded for some reason and returned to spawn.
"Oh that's right… Don't eat too many. You will implode and it doesn't hurt. Just slows you down for being greedy" Arisara sighed.
"Cici!" Jack ran back to spawn. "I told you to be careful with those candies…" He sighed in relief at seeing her.
"I exploded!" Cici seemed excited.
"No, you imploded. It's...the opposite, I think…" He shrugged. "I'm just glad you are okay."
"Let's do it again!" She painted out to get more candy.
"No!" He swam after her, following the trail she was making. "Cici, do not do it again! Please!"
"Jack's got his hands full with Cici." Adstrum chuckled and pointed at them as he stood next to Clair. "Poor guy."
"I guess" Clair shrugged.
She was about to eat an ink up candy, but Cici ate it.
"HEY!" Clair chased Cici.
"Cici, calm down with those candies. I know they are good, but they could have bad side effects." Adstrum watched the two run around him in circles.
"Just maybe... poisoning…" Arisara muttered quietly.
"Do you need to see a doctor, Ari?" Adstrum asked her.
"No. I'm sure I'll be fine."
"We're taking you to see a doctor anyway, just to be sure."
"I'm fine, though."
"You think that, but trust me, there could be hidden problems."
Cici ran past them. She was bubbling as she ran around. Her bubbles floated into the air.
"Huh...guess ink up lets her make bubbles faster?" Jack raised an eyebrow.
"That or she's really happy," Arisara shrugged.
"Oh, that could be the case." Jack held his arms open and caught Cici as she ran into him. "Hello."
"Candy!" She hugged him.
"Calm down, cutie. At least let this one wear off first."
Adstrum splashed some ink on some of the bubbles.
They changed into his color as they popped.
"Oh, hello!" He started splashing pink ink on as many bubbles as he could.
"AIM AT HER BUBBLES! THEY SPREAD INK!" Corol shouted.
Jack looked at the bubbles and then looked at Cici. "You are full of surprises, aren't you?"
"OOoo" Cuddlefish shot at the bubbles all of them popped in green.
"Huh?" Cici seemed puzzled.
"Your bubbles...Just watch." Jack shot at some and they popped into more green ink.
"Oh!" She splashed at her bubbles and they popped green.
Everyone ran around popping bubbles. The bubbles stopped when the candy wore off.
All of Blackbelly Skatepark was covered in pink and green ink at this point.
"We are at the 2 minute mark of the match! It has so far been a match to remember. This is surely the weirdest and fun-est Splatfest match ever in Cephalopodic history!" Pearl cheered.
"A lot of the viewers are tending to agree, too. According to the online polls, that is." Callie smiled.
"More and more power up candies have been tossed by many fans rooting for either side."
"Heh, poor Jack is going to have trouble keeping Cici away from them all."
"She's a crowd favorite… or maybe they are trying to pop her" Marina shrugged.
"I hope it's the first thing." Callie looked at her cousin.
"I don't think it bothers her. She popped like 3 times from eating too much" Marie giggled at her antics.
"It definitely bothers Jack." Callie giggled and pointed out the panicking squid as he tried to grab the candies before Cici.
"But I want the candy!" Cici whined.
"You keep popping from eating too many of them." Jack sighed and tossed a candy out of the area.
"Meanie…" Cici saw another one, "YAY!"
She ran to get it.
"I wouldn't do it if I didn't care about you." He ran after her. "Please wait until they wear off before eating another!"
"Those two are cute together, but I feel sorry for Jack sometimes." Adstrum chuckled as he stood next to Arisara and Blue.
"At least everyone besides Jack is having fun" Arisara giggled at the two running around.
"I think he's secretly having some fun trying to keep Cici under control...and failing at it." He nodded.
"... I can't reach it..." Cici muttered.
"Well, you need to slow down. Stop eating them so quickly." Jack patted her head.
"Meanie…" She pouted.
"I love you too." He hugged her.
She stuck her tentacle onto his face.
"Heh, very cute couple." Callie smiled at the video of the match. "Do we have a kiss cam?"
"I heard that…" Cici looked at the camera. She turned red.
"How the heck did she hear us?" Callie raised a brow at Pearl and Marina.
"Opps, I left the mic on" Pearl quickly turned it off.
Jack blushed as well and let go of Cici. "Uh...heh."
Cici threw a splat bomb at the camera.
"Oh, she doesn't want to be on camera right now." Callie giggled.
"We did point them out" Marina chuckled, "But they are sooo cute!"
"I know, right!?" Callie squealed.
"Oh there she goes again" Pearl snickered, "She likes sweets, huh?"
"A bit too much." Callie nudged her cousin. "Poor Jack can hardly keep up."
"He has got his work cut out for him…" Marie watched Jack chase Cici.
Adstrum painted over a few more empty spots with magenta ink and felt his tentacles bubbling. "Oh, I haven't felt this in so long. Nyahahahahahaha!"
"Get. OFF!" Blue struggled from Cici's hug.
"Cici, come on!" Jack sighed and chuckled as he tried to pull her off. "Why'd you run to him? You know I've been with you this whole game."
"Hm?" Cici tilted her head.
"Let go of Blue, Ci-..." His eyes went wide when he noticed a giant magenta squid rushing toward them. "KRAKEN! Gotta go!" He pulled Cici off Blue and bolted the other direction.
"Hug me" Cici hugged Jack.
"Thank you…" Blue sighed.
"You're welcome!" Adstrum yelled as he swam past him, going after Jack.
Blue yelped when Cuddlefish shot him, "Gotcha!"
Adstrum continued to chase Jack and Cici, twirling into the air when he was close enough and splatting Jack. He was confused when he didn't see Cici get splat, before realizing he had some extra weight standing on him.
She stood on his mantle.
"Hello, tiny." He waved at her while continuing to swim around looking for another target.
"It's been a while since I surfed" Cici giggled, "This actually gives me an idea…"
"Enjoy it while it lasts. My special's about to run out." A few seconds after he said that he was forced back into his regular squid form.
She sat in pink ink, excited about her idea.
Adstrum popped out of the ink and looked at her. "You might want to cover the area under you in your ink."
"I bet I can paint Callie and Marie before this ends. I just gotta break the rules."
"What? Um...not sure if you should do that." Adstrum shrugged. "But I'm curious how you will do that."
"You'll see. I just need to collect as many ink up candies as I can" Cici got up and ran to collect the candy.
"Don't eat too many at once!" He yelled and sighed.
"No promises!" She shouted back.
He was about to leave when he saw a super-jump marker where Cici was just standing. "Huh, Jack, really?" He held his roller above his head waiting, but stopped when he saw it was Corol. "Woah. I thought you were Jack trying to get back to Cici."
"Oh, she's okay" Corol watched her collecting candy.
"Well, let this be a lesson." He nudged him with the roller. "Think twice before super-jumping to a teammate's location. Especially if they are out in the open."
"Um, it's not like I can cancel mid jump…"
"I was talking about before you jump. I could have easily splatted you."
"It's fine. Part of the game, right?"
"Yep, exactly."
"But, um, what exactly is she doing?"
"I have no idea. It worries me a bit. But there's only three minutes left of the match, so let her have her fun."
"She's running without her weapon and collecting candy."
"Where did her brush go?" Adstrum raised an eyebrow.
He shrugged.
"Anyway...I'll give you a three second head start before I start swinging again." Adstrum smiled. "One."
"Heh, okay" Corol jumped back to Cuddlefish.
"He didn't even try to shoot me." Adstrum shook his head and laughed. "Eh, he'll learn. Just hope he's having fun."
Cici collected as many candies as she could.
"CICI!" Jack ran to catch up to her.
"No!" She ran away from him.
"Drop the candies!"
"Huh? She's collecting them now and not eating them?" Callie raised an eyebrow. "What are you planning, Cecilia?"
Cici ran from Jack.
He swam after her, nearly catching her a few times but she kept slipping through his grasp.
She ate a special up and her tentacles started bubbling. The bubbles flew everywhere.
"Is that her special? Bubble Wand without the wand? Or is she making a smokescreen? Bubble-screen?" Callie looked at the other idols.
She ate another one. The bubbles became thicker. She grabbed a bubble and threw it at Jack, trapping him in it.
"AH!" He tried to force his way out but couldn't. "What is this!? Cici, how did you do this!?"
"Sorry!" She ran off.
"WOAH! Have you guys seen something like that before!?" Callie was amazed.
She ran over to Corol and Cuddlefish.
"How are you doin-" Corol got cut off when Cici trapped them too.
"Sorrygotogo!"
"Why is she trapping her teammates?" Adstrum raised an eyebrow in confusion.
She ran over to Clair and trapped her.
"Hey come on this is cheating!" Clair yelled.
"Hm, a smart idea would be to hide." Adstrum dove into his ink. "Wonder where Ari and Blue are."
"I need to clear the area, soooorrryyy!" Cici launched her up into the air with the other bubbles.
"Cici what are you doing?!" Arisara got caught in her bubble, "Blue, do something!"
Cici dove into her bubbles to avoid his shots and trapped him as well.
"SORRY! I'll explain later, I promise!"
She ate a special duration up and ran around looking for Adstrum. She changed colors as she did. There were now many colored bubbles floating around. She gave up looking for him. She ate all the ink up candy and erupted with bubbles.
As she was doing that, Adstrum ran around avoiding her bubbles and covering the ground as much as he could. He found it difficult with all the bubbles in his path.
"Cici, don't hurt yourself!" Jack yelled down at her.
The whistle was blown. Judd started dancing. Everyone's eyes were on the screen and for a second the bubbles did not matter. Judd stopped and pointed to Callie's side.
"That's it folks! CALLIE'S TEAM TAK-" Pearl stopped when a loud boom was heard
Callie looked at Marie with a concerned face and looked at the screens. "Was that…?"
"Th-the bubbles" Marina looked at the now popping bubbles around Cici.
The bubbly mist popped all at once and different colored rain from the sky. The field was covered in different colored spots. The helicopter zoomed out to get a better look. She painted the whole map into Callie's and Marie's smiling faces with a "Thank You!" at the bottom.
"Oh, that's so sweet!" Callie smiled widely. "Thank you so much, Cici!"
"I am twinkly," Cici muttered, laying on her back.
Jack landed in a puddle of green ink next to her, popping out with worry on his face. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, it was fun. I'm tired, though."
"Naptime, huh?" He smiled and bent down to pick her up.
"Yay!" She hugged him.
He blushed and held her bridal style as he walked back to their team's spawn point.
"How was it up there?" Adstrum asked Clair, Ari, and Blue as they landed back down.
" Clever girl… It was pretty interesting" Clair shrugged.
"Geez, she could've just asked" Blue shrugged.
"Well, specials only last so long." Arisara chuckled, "Then again, she wasn't using a weapon special…"
"I'm curious how she got that idea from me being a Kraken." Adstrum wondered. "Maybe it made her think of the specials."
"You have more visible spots when you are a kraken. This picture is entirely made of dots."
"Oh. That's cool!"
"You two have fun?" Jack asked as he passed by Cuddlefish and Corol.
"I gotta ask how she did that!" Corol had stars in his eyes.
"Anyone could blow bubbles…" Cuddlefish seemed jealous.
"She's….unique." Jack smiled and kissed Cici's cheek. "And now she's tired."
Cici mumbled a bit and snuggled into Jack more.
He smiled and stepped onto the respawn pad. "Well, let's see what happens now." He sunk into the pad and reappeared at the main lobby. He saw the other team waiting for them.
Cici stayed a squid in his arms.
Arisara took Cici and checked up on her. Cici bit her hand.
"Ow. Good news, she's actually gotten healthier. But she is grumpy" Arisara watched her dangle from her hand.
"That's not much of a surprise." Jack chuckled. "But she's our little grump. A cute little grump." He grabbed her and pulled her into a hug.
She nipped his ear.
"Ow! Jeez…" He sighed and pet her gently. "Where did this attitude come from? Guess you really want to take a nap, huh?"
She released him and fell onto the detonator. She wiggled her tentacles a bit before sleeping with her face planted on the floor.
"Oh, yeah! I gave that to her." Adstrum smiled. "Tom's office is now..." A faint explosion could be heard. "Puncake!"
"Aw, Cici." Jack picked her up and walked out of the tower with her. "Let's get you into bed, okay?"
She swam into his shirt and cuddled his belly.
"Uh...okay?" He shrugged and continued on his way to the tour bus.
"So, um, what happens now?" Corol asked as he walked out to join the others.
"Well, now we wait for what Callie, Marie, Pearl, and Marina have to say." Adstrum shrugged and sat down at an outdoor table.
A bunch of loud cuss words were shouted from outside.
"Pearlie! I told you not to bother her!" Marina ran after Pearl, who was running around with Cici biting her hand.
"The hell?" Adstrum raised an eyebrow.
Jack was facepalming and waited for Pearl to stop running around. "Dammit…"
"That was so awesome!" Callie jumped for joy.
Marie gently removed Cici from Pearl's hand. She let Cici bite her glove. She just took it off.
"I'm so sorry, Cici." Marina sheepishly smiled.
Cici growled in response, still hanging from Marie's glove.
"I think she REALLY wants to take a nap." Jack chuckled. "I'm trying to take her to the bus so she can lay in bed."
"Here you go" Marie handed Cici to him.
"Thank you, Marie."
Cici hugged the glove and fell asleep again.
He turned around and headed back to the bus.
"Well, that was a fun match, wasn't it?" Adstrum looked around at everyone.
"That was incredible!" Callie smiled wider. "That was so much fun to watch!"
"It was. It has been a while since I played" Arisara smiled.
"Right?" Blue stretched.
"It was fun, I was worried for nothing." Corol shrugged.
"As long as Corol's happy, I am too" Cuddlefish hugged Corol.
He flashed pink.
"Heh, glad you all had fun." Callie giggled. "And now we just have to wait for Tom to come whining."
"Cici set off the detonator." Adstrum smiled.
"Good! That should really tick him off."
"I don't think he can go anywhere. Those are cops over there" Marina looked at the studio.
"Huh? Did someone call the cops on him?" Callie looked over.
"I think Shelly sent out the information." Marie watched the eel squirm.
"HA!" Adstrum pointed at him. "Suck it, you bastard!"
"Fuck you too, Tom!" Pearl and Callie stuck out their middle fingers at him.
"Wait, didn't he have information or something on Marina?" Adstrum looked at her. "Where was that? On his computer or something?"
"She sent a virus to wipe it" Marina smiled, "I need to learn how to do that."
"Nice!" He pumped his fists into the air. "You are in the clear now!"
"The bastard is gone!" Callie jumped for joy while hugging Pearl.
"Fuck yeah! Now we can move on to the real deal final." Pearl beamed.
"Yeah! Wait, you two are announcing the real final splatfest now?"
"Totally, be honored if you guys join too" Marina smiled widely.
"I would love to! But…" Callie looked over at Marie. "What do you want to do?"
"As long as we are still Squid Sisters, why not?" Marie smiled.
Callie beamed and ran over to her cousin, pulling her into a hug.
She hugged her back.
"So...What about a new manager?" Adstrum asked. "Who's that going to be?"
"We decided we'll manage ourselves."
"Oh. Okay. Hope you two can handle that." He shrugged.
"Well, considering Cici is our manager…" Callie replied.
"Good point. Wait, didn't she give that job to Shelly?"
"Shelly said it was temporary" Marie replied, "Why?"
"Um...I don't know." Callie shrugged.
"Were you thinking Cici can be their manager too?"
"Well, she did say she wouldn't mind taking that job earlier. But...You think she can handle that?"
"She barely does anything else for giving us money… waaaay too much money."
"She needs to be taught the value of the dollar." Adstrum chuckled.
"Good luck with that." Jack said as he walked out of the bus.
"She gave us money every week… Did you not check your accounts?" Marie raised her brow.
"Yeah, I did." Callie nodded.
"Wait, did she give some to all of us?" Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah" Marie nodded.
He pulled out his phone and logged into his online bank account, his jaw dropping at the amount he had in it. "Holy crap…"
"Um…" Adstrum blinked as he stared at his phone. "I don't know what to do with that much."
"FOOD! I can buy all the food I want now!" Arisara beamed.
"Um, that sounds… um... well, not good" Blue looked at her.
"We should talk to her after she wakes up."
"Well, Ari knows what she wants to buy." Adstrum smiled. "Oh, we gotta take you to see a doctor as soon as we can."
"But I'm fine," Arisara replied.
"We just want to make sure. Have you ever been to the doctor in your life?"
"No… The octarians don't have a doctor. If you die, you die."
"Ari, you need a checkup." Callie sighed.
"I'm fine, though" Arisara turned into an octopus and crawled into Blue's shirt.
"COLD!" Blue jumped a bit.
"We'll get her to a doctor someday soon." Adstrum sighed.
"So what's your plans now? Wasn't the country tour supposed to end here?" Marina asked.
"Yeah, it was. So we go back to Carti Ridge after the true final splatfest? When is that getting announced, by the way? Later today or soon-ish?" Callie asked.
"Tomorrow of course. It's pretty late and we may have to clean up the stuff." Pearl pointed out.
"Alright, sounds good to me. Maybe Marie and I can go out and see Inkopolis again. Want to go out for a night on the town, Marie?" She looked over at her cousin.
"Sure, I guess. I don't have any plans" Marie shrugged.
"Yay! We can go to all your favorite places, if they are still around." Callie jumped in excitement.
"I haven't a clue if they are there, since the plaza isn't used anymore."
"Well, we saw the old shopkeepers. Most of them. And we can go to the old plaza and see what has become of it. Maybe it's being used for something else." She shrugged.
"I guess we can go take a look."
"Okay. If you want to, though." Callie hugged her cousin and started walking toward where Inkopolis Tower was located. "We'll see you guys later!"
"Have fun!" Adstrum waved.
Marie stayed quiet as she followed behind Callie.
They both arrived at the tower and saw the old Plaza, seeing that some of the shops were in the process of being reopened as new places of business. One of them appeared to be a restaurant. The walkway up to the window to their old studio was still there, and the studio was being renovated.
"I wonder what this place is going to be next…" Marie muttered and looked at the studio.
"Hey, the Squid Sisters!" An inkling with a construction worker hat on approached them. "What are you two doing here? Reliving old memories?"
"...Sure, let's go with that." Marie fakely smiled.
"Kind of...but mostly wondering what's happening here. Why are the shops being renovated? And what is happening to our old studio?" Callie asked.
"Oh, well, the city didn't want to see this place go to waste, and the folks that used to hang out here are, well, older. So the city wanted to capitalize on this old place by making it a place for more mature folks in this city, and tourists from out of town. So a lot of the old shops are being repurposed." He replied.
"Ah, good on them" Marie shrugged.
"I think your old studio is being turned into a location for recording a talk show or something. I don't know. Something for television."
"That's great. I hope it goes well for them."
"From what I know, one of the shops is going to sell Squid Sisters merch."
"That sounds great!" Callie beamed and looked around more. She was happy to see the old plaza being used again as some older inklings were already hanging out.
"Wow, time flies… or kids are having babies waaayy too young."
"Those might be older siblings showing their little brothers and sister where they used to hang out. I really hope those aren't parents." The construction inkling laughed.
"Any idea what Sheldon's old Ammo Knight's shop is being used for? Looks like a restaurant." Callie asked.
"Oh, yep. The outdoor training area has been repurposed as an outdoor eating area."
A strong breeze blew and Marie wasn't standing there anymore.
"Hm? Marie?" Callie looked around.
Marie blinked and realized she was nowhere near Callie anymore. She flinched when she realized there was someone standing in front of her. His red eyes seemed to glow and made streaks with his every movement.
"I was looking everywhere for you." The person told her as he moved closer.
"...I take it you are working for the octarians?" Marie dusted herself off, "Lucky for you, I give no fuck what you do to me."
"... I know what you've been through. You are in pain. It's because of all of them, right? Your 'friends'."
"Heh, sorry did I make that too obvious? Great, so now what?"
"Fuck them. Come with me."
"Sorry, I'm not about to make Callie cry."
"... Figures you would be stubborn" The person lunged at her.
Marie shut her eyes and waited for something. She opened them when she felt her being carried. He was just casually walking upstairs.
"Where the fuck are you taking me?!" Marie struggled.
"The roof."
"I won't let you kidnap me!"
"Tsk, a bit too late for that." He clicked his tongue.
Marie struggled in his arms. He just let her hit him and bite him. He seemed to slowly get annoyed. Marie eventually got tired.
"What do you want from me? Look, you can do whatever you want to me... just leave Callie and my friends alone."
"...Will you just shut up?"
When he got to the door to the roof, he gently put her down.
"Look, if I wanted to kill you I would have killed you and Agent one from the start!" The person flexed his fingers and long claws extended from his fingers.
He snarled and lashed out at the door. The metal claws sparked as they tore through the thick metal door. Marie pushed her back into the door. She was shaking and terrified. He calmed down and seemed a bit guilty. He retracted his claws back into his hands and seemed upset with himself.
"Just… go take a look." He rubbed his arm.
Marie shakely opened the door. The rush of cool air hit her face. The bright light blinded her for a moment. When her eyes finally adjusted, she saw outdoor chairs and a table with hanging lights everywhere. She walked over in awe and then she noticed it. The view of Inkopolis's skyline, lit up with all the city's lights. It was like a sea of stars. She was speechless as she walked to the railing. The lights glittered in different colors and fireworks from Splatfest lit up the sky from time to time.
"It's beautiful…" She turned to face him, "But I don't understand… Why? Why are you doing this?"
"I want to be honest." He walked into the light, revealing a striped black and white Octoling with long tentacles, "I was an assassin sent by Octavio to kill Agents one and two. Three came a bit later, but my main targets were you two. I started stalking all of you, learning everything I can about you all. You just never noticed me. None of you guys did. I chose you as my first target because you were the weakest out of the three. I shifted into that zapfish plushie you got from Cuttlefish. I would have killed you first, then everyone after... but after I saw what your life became without the mask and act you put on. The tears and sorrow that replaced the genuine smiles and joy you once had... I just…"
"You… what?" Marie seemed lost.
"I'm not expecting you to forgive me, or believe me. I can't even blame you if you want to kill me." He walked over and sat on a chair.
"So you are just throwing me a pity party… " She walked over and sat across from him, "So you will feel less guilty… is that it?"
"...Yes and no." He looked at his hands, "I want to make you feel better."
"Well, you are doing a terrible job at it."
"... I know… Sorry. I'm not good at... this… I'll leave you alone after this. I promise you won't see me again."
"... But this is beautiful… I honestly haven't seen the city from up here in such a long time. It is like a sea of stars. A 'starry sea' as Callie would put it."
"Yeah, I remember you said something like that and you wanted Callie to come too. I brought you all your favorite snacks and drinks. So you all can enjoy it. Don't worry, they are coming soon. I'll be out of your tentacles when they get here."
"Heh, I can't blame you for that. I'm sure everyone will try to kill you."
"I mean, I did kidnap you. So I can't blame them." He handed her the Zapfish plush, "Here, sorry I stole it."
"Of course you did," She laughed and took the plushie, "Even though you did, it was pretty nice... I mean it was nice of you to do this for me."
"Even though you don't really know me. I have known you for over 4 years… It was hard for me to watch you cry and be hurt, but I'm sure you would have made takoyaki out of me if I did something, though."
"I mean you are like the ultimate stalker now… wait did you se-"
"No. I have enough common sense to not look. You are making me sound like a predator… and not the right kind either."
"Okay, I just had to make sure" She looked at the plushie, a bright smile lit up her face, "... I can't believe this is happening, though."
"Yeah.. I guess I can see why. I can't understand why either. But I feel like I had to make you smile before I leave you."
"I know you said you will leave after Callie and my friends get here. But, um… can we maybe... do this again sometime?"
"Wh-what?" The mimic Octoling seemed dumbfounded.
"Can we hang out again sometime?"
"D-did you not hear what I said? This is a goodbye forever gift. You can't-... I can't-... We are supposed to be enemies… It's best for us to stay apart… That way I won't bring harm to you or your friends again."
"You said it yourself. If you wanted to kill me you would have from the start. Even though you came with malicious intentions, the fact that you did all of this for an enemy. I don't think we are enemies any longer."
The octoling tried to get his words together, but the sounds of footsteps snapped him back to reality. He stood up.
"Sorry, I have to go now. At the very least, you actually smiled." He smiled to himself.
Marie ran over and pulled him into a hug. He was stunned at first, but hugged her back. He super jumped into the air and a large shadowy monster flew across the sky. The door busted behind Marie as everyone poured out from the door. She was just watching the shadow disappear into the distance.
"Marie!" Callie ran up to her and wrapped her arms around her cousin. "I'm so glad you are safe!"
"Where the hell did you run off to? Why are you up here?" Adstrum asked with a concerned look on his face.
"...I never got his name…" Marie petted the plushie as a smile crept up her face, "Sorry. I just wanted to see the view… This was the best spot for it. I just ran without thinking."
"Oh, okay. Glad you are okay." Jack sighed in relief.
"Marie… you are lying... aren't you?" Arisara raised her brow.
"Maybe…" Marie kept looking out into the distance.
"Hmm?" Cici tilted her head, still asleep.
"So...did you enjoy your time?" Callie asked as she let go of her.
"It was set up so we can look out into the distance. We used to do this back when we moved into the old studio. I kept complaining about not being able to do this since Squid Sisters became so big. He set this up for us, as a goodbye."
Callie looked out into the distance. "It is a pretty view. Wait, 'he?'"
"Um, he sorta kidnapped me to bring us here. I don't really know how to even explain him."
"Who kidnapped you?" Adstrum glared. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
"I have no idea. He and I talked for a bit… but I never got his name. I don't think I'll see him again, but I kinda want to see him again. It's only fair I get to know him too, but I guess that's harder now. It's okay, though."
"Oh...well, I hope you get to see him again. As long as he did not hurt you. But he better not kidnap you again." Callie sighed in relief. "So glad you are okay."
"I don't know. He was supposed to kill us all… He just ended up pitying me. I think this was an apology attempt. A mimic octoling with metal claws… Now I've seen everything."
"A what?" Jack raised his eyebrow. "What's a mimic octoling?"
"I think it's a shapeshifting octoling?" Adstrum shrugged.
"Yup they change into inklings, octoling, whatever they want, but they can't get rid of their stripes." Arisara nodded, But metal claws… that is an old project that should have ended a long time ago."
"You know about this?" Adstrum asked.
"Well, of it. I read some files while I worked as a grunt in a lab."
"Could you tell us more?"
"It was done on, like, five octos. All of them went insane from pain and got locked away in an abandoned fort. All but one died. Nobody knows what happened to them. I mean, all information was lost after four years of no communication."
"Oh...so we might be dealing with something more dangerous than we thought?" Jack thought for a moment. "But he didn't seem to want to hurt Marie. Just brought her here."
"I'll... protectzz... you" Cici sleepily walked to Jack and hugged him.
"He just wanted to see me smile before he left." Marie shrugged, "It was weird… but it was really nice of him…"
"Oh, that's sweet of him. And I'm so happy to see your smile again!" Callie hugged her cousin again.
Marie smiled and hugged her back.
Author's Note: And this is it, the penultimate chapter! Next is the epilogue! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry that this fic is taking so long to finish, but motivation has pretty much left. Hopefully Splatoon 3 can bring some back.
Thank you The Bowser Monster, Lilikeith, and Guest for leaving reviews. Greatly appreciate them.
I plan on taking a break, Guest. Kind of already have a lot. Life got in the way a lot and distractions as well.
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Will try to get the last chapter written soon.