A/N: Warning. So, there's no wounds or any "blood," but there's a bit of self inflicted pain in this chapter. So, trigger warning.
"So, you really don't care that Anemy wants revenge?" said Oliver. "That she's suffered so much?"
"I do. It just fell out of my mouth. I do care, but I don't want her to do it."
Erray had just finished explaining what had happened to the others, when Oliver piped up a little to ask him that question. They were back home at Cuttlefish's house.
"Anemy's really gonna do this?" Marina whispered. Her voice was quiet, but wobbly, her eyes were sparkling with a sheet of tears.
"I-I mean…" Pearl let out a sigh, but tried to keep her usual tough mood. "We knew this was going to happen."
"But not alone!" said Marina. "We swore! All of us swore she would never be alone!"
At first, Pearl shrugged, but then she locked eyes with Agent 4. She stood and stormed her little body right up to the boy. He guessed her size didn't matter, not to say it ever did. She pressed her index finger right up to his chest.
"Well, you were the last person who saw her!" she snapped. "So fess up! What shell did you do to her?!"
Erray shook my head. "I-I didn't…"
"The Boss told us that we deserve to live our lives," said Oliver. "Her final orders to us were to disregard her safety and to live our lives, as she will live hers."
Oscar sniffled. He was clinging to his brother the whole time. "Alone…"
Marie was sitting on the couch with the cap'n. She was trying not to cry. Actually, it looked like she had been, but her constant glancing to the floor told Erray, the cap'n, and Coel that maybe she was just tired of everything at this point.
Everyone was still looking at Erray. He spoke.
"I… I told her… That it wasn't right to be using you all to get what she wanted."
"Using?!" Pearl then snapped. Erray swore she could smack my head off my shoulders with her bare hand if she wanted. She gestured to Marina, Oliver and Oscar. "We wanted to help her! In the first few months when these bozos hung out with us, they were constantly getting chased and bothered by DJ Octavio's army! We saw Octolings and Inklings alike getting taken kicking and screaming back underground. We didn't want to stand for it!"
Erray shook my head. "You're right. But all the anger, the conflict between us… I said to her that all this chaos is exactly what Octavio would've done! If we let Anemy kill Octavio, it will grant his desire to see Inkopolis, our homes, and everything we knew, destroyed. But, Anemy doesn't care."
"But-" said Marina.
"Not even Off the Hook, or the Squid Sisters will stand a chance. Music, dancing, love, happiness… all of it will belong to no one if he dies. An Inkling killing an Octarian will just spark more hate!" The Inkling boy closed my eyes and reopened them to see a new batch of tears, blurring my vision. "I don't know how to defeat hate, but I don't want to lose her. I've… We've worked so hard to get back together."
Pearl backed away. "Look, as much as we wish for it, it ain't love that makes the world go 'round. It's money! The world ain't all black and white."
"Pearl!" said Oliver.
"Well, it's true!" said Pearl. "You lived underground with that Octo idiot as your grandfather! You wanna disrespect the Inkling who freed you and your brother?"
"But I don't w-want her to go…" said Oscar.
"Me neither, but that's how it is! People come and go!"
Marina crossed her arms. "I don't want her to go, either," she said. "But she's our friend. Shouldn't we respect her wishes?"
"And let her sacrifice her future?" I said. "Everyone's future?"
"If Octavio dies, that doesn't necessarily mean another war will happen," said Marina. "We've been prepared for this! I say Inkopolis will stand long after he's gone."
"An Inkling killing him will just prove to Octarians who have tried so hard to get to the surface and live amongst us once more, that they aren't welcome here!"
Erray's grandfather stood up and raised his voice.
"If killing Octavio really was the answer, my commander and chief would have done it himself all those years ago!"
The cap'n nodded. He had both of his hands on his bamboozler for a cane. "I could've… all those years ago..."
"Yeah?" said Pearl. "Then why didn't you, old man?"
"Hey!" Marie then hissed.
"Oh, shut up! Don't even get me started with what you did to the boss?!"
"'Did to'?!" The Squid Sister then stood up herself. "So, she left out the part where I… Callie and I did everything we could to make her smile again?!"
"Wow," said Pearl. "'Shut up and be happy!' That's what you did?"
"Don't you talk to my granddaughter, like that, kid?"
"Kid?! I'm twenty-one, old head!"
The next thing anyone knew, everyone was arguing amongst themselves. Marina was at war with Marie and my grandfather and I think Pearl and the cap'n started having a very aggressive rap battle. Oscar started crying again and was hiding in his brother's embrace. Erray was shaking, hands out but unsure of what to do.
"HEY!"
Everyone stopped their arguing and stared as Vichay entered the room with her phone. "Can any of you get a hold of Bass or Angel? They're not responding."
Marie turned to her. "I tried earlier, but got nothing."
Just as she said that, everyone's phones started going off at the same time. It was the tone that would go off during an emergency, like if there was someone dangerous in the area, or a big storm approaching and warning Inkling and Octolings to get inside.
When each of them pulled out their phones - at least the ones who did, because Cap'n Cuttlefish still had one of those really old phones that didn't even have a touch screen - everyone saw a broadcast of the same thing.
"Hello, everyone!" a cheery voice yelled.
"Wait…" said Erray. "That's…"
"CALLIE!" said Marie.
Sheldon ran into the room with his own phone. He turned on the TV and it was showing the same thing.
"There's some kind of interference going on throughout the city. I'm getting the signal everywhere. I'm not sure what kind technology would be this strong enough in the city's-"
Everyone unanimously shushed the mitten crab so they could listen.
The city had been so low on power nowadays that many of the city's lights had stayed off at night to save on it. But then, everyone around the city of Inkopolis and in their homes underground, saw no one other than Callie's face on the screen, as she stood on the top of Inkopolis Tower. Her shades were on, and she turned the camera towards the very empty plaza. There was barely a light on there.
"Wow," she said, her voice suddenly flat. "Nostalgia… It feels like only yesterday everything changed, at the same time, it also feels like a hundred years ago." The camera turned back to her. "Hello, everyone! It's me, Callie! Easy to remember, right? Well if you don't, the whole city will! When the sun rises on Inkopolis tomorrow, each and every one of you will bear witness to a brand new city! But hey! While we wait! We might as well give you all a show! How about we show off our first performers." She turned away, but looked back at the camera. "But you should totally stay tuned for the grand finale!" She held up a peace sign with a grin that showed her fangs. "Later!"
The camera moved and Angel and Bass came onto the screen. They seemed nervous. Angel was wearing a long black skirt that didn't have as many sequins as Callie's outfit did, but she had similar leggings and a takoyaki accessory in her hair. Bass had changed into some kind of dark jacket, unzipped, wearing a fuschia colored tank underneath, leather gloves on his hands with spikes on the knuckles, his pants were dark and his boots glowed pink as he walked.
They were wearing shades over their eyes.
"Angel…" Vichay whispered under her breath.
Marie stood. "We have to go, now!"
"Marie, are you sure?" said the cap'n. "It could be a trap."
"Even if it is, we have to help them," said Marie. She stood up, but before she left, like Callie, she turned to the people around her. "Even if they hate me, I still have to. Erray!"
Erray nodded. "Right!" He followed Marie down the hall to grab his weapons.
"What about Anemy?" said Oscar.
"Well, our orders we're to disregard her safety," said Marina We can focus on protecting all we can-"
"Yeah, we're not letting Anemy kill him," Vichay then interjected.
"It's her choice!" Pearl then snapped.
"And it's ours to not want her to do it!" said Coel.
"Well, it's too late! She's in the HQ, so we can just sit back and get ready for what will happen afterwards."
"Unbelievable!" said Vichay. "You guys are so selfish! You'd leave a whole city and possibly the rest of the world to deal with the actions of one girl."
"Selfish?" said Marina. "Marie forced her to drop out of Inkblot Art Academy and abandon her dreams! For what? Silence? You guys are like Octavio."
"And Anemy is better?"
"Excuse me!" Oliver raised his voice. His eyes locked on to the captain. "Sir, if I may. If there is anyone who may be able to tell us how to shut down the barrier on Cephalon HQ, it's Jade."
The cap'n raised his thick eyebrows. "Really? Should've thought of that."
"Oliver, what the shell?!" Pearl hissed.
"What are you doing?!" said Marina.
"Alright, then, bucko!" said the cap'n. "We haven't been able to get her to say anything, but maybe you'll have better luck."
Oliver nodded. "Of course. I will be with you shortly."
The cap'n stood, helped by Vichay and then he walked off with Coel to the basement.
Oliver looked back down at Oscar, who clinging to him like he would vanish if he let go. When he looked back up tears had entered his eyes.
"I'm sorry, both of you," he said. "But, Erray's right. I can't live in a world without the bo… Anemy. She gave us our final orders to live our lives, but my life isn't one without you, Marina, and all of my friends. If there's a chance to save her, I will take it… and the responsibility that comes along with it."
"Dude! She's our boss!" said Pearl. "You going against her, means you're going against us!"
"Then attack me! I don't care!" said Oliver. "But attacking me, means you're attacking Oscar, as well."
Before either one could ask the child, Oscar, who had been listening, was nodding in his brother's arms. He turned his head to them, eyes locked on them, eyebrows furrowed and tears running down from his eyes.
"Anemy told us that what we were to do were her final orders," Oliver continued. "So, in other words, that girl is no longer our leader. She is one of the greatest friends I've ever had, and there's no greater failure than failing them. There will be consequences no matter what we do, but I'd rather it wake to a better Inkopolis, than one in ruins from the coming war."
"We won't let it happen!" Pearl yelled. "We're Off the Hook."
"Oliver, you've seen what the army has done! You really want this to continue?"
"I don't! But caving into their level shouldn't have been what we should've done!"
"There's no honor in what we're doing!"
"Uh, no offense," said Vichay. "But, I'm sure it'll take more than a rap duo to stop the reaction of Octarians who just lost a public figure of their own. They'll hate us, and need something or someone to take that hate out on. I don't know how to make hate stop, but this ain't it."
Pearl, for once, wasn't able to say anything. Marina shook her head.
"There was never honor in war," said Marina. "Standing by that is asking to die. You've seen it yourself, Oliver."
"She's not talking about honor," said Oliver. "She's talking about which path will lead us to a better outcome. We don't know what will happen if Anemy kills Octavio. It could be good, but all of us know more bad will come out than good."
"So, what?" said Pearl. "You just want to throw away all our progress?"
"Throw it all away? Of course not! We saved Saltwater City! Protected Inkopolis countless times, saved lives, and look at you and Marina: Off the Hook is more famous than ever."
Oliver turned towards the TV. Octarians had set up a whole sound system. Inklings from all around town had shown up to the plaza, puzzled or excited to see Callie. But then he saw the Octarian troops telling them where to go and where to be. Others were looking at the Inklings, inspecting them like expensive objects.
They had to do something. He had a strong feeling that this wasn't just a show.
"And I have an idea of how your fame can improve even more…" he gestured to the TV. "For once, let's do something for Anemy, to repay her for everything she has done for us." He walked up to both of them. "We've gone through many changes since we came up here. We learned a new language and learned how to get along with one another. Please… Let's not let one of them involve losing the friend who brought us here."
Marina sniffled. She put a hand on her arm. Pearl glared a little at Oliver for making her tear up, but she was doing the same.
"Fine," Pearl huffed. "You win. But if Anemy hates us after this, I'll make sure you hate me!" Oliver grunted a little when Pearl punched his arm. "So, what do you think, 'Rina?"
Marina nodded slowly. "Okay…"
Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. Granted, he felt as if he had no right to feel this way. He was going to do the same thing they planned on doing earlier, but he guessed that deep down…
Nobody wanted Anemy to leave them...
"Go with Erray to the Plaza and do what you can to rescue Angel and Bass with him. I need to convince Jade to tell us how to break the barrier.
Vichay smiled. She turned to go tell Erray the good news.
There was still the issue of how they were going to stop Octarians with an entire city watching. Everyone was stumped, but Marie was already prepared with a solution.
There wasn't much going on in the plaza. Many people in the town had gathered, but what began were somewhat dull remixes. Angel and Bass hadn't even done anything yet, but people were getting antsy. Octolings from the army were everywhere making everyone nervous.
Just when some people had enough, they began to leave, only to find that all the exits from the plaza were cut off by Octarian troops and they rounded everyone up at the center of the plaza. They were firing ink into the air and into the ground. People started screaming and running for their lives. Suddenly, there were UFOs in the skies shining down red lights and an Octoling, with blades of kelp sticking up from her dark tentacles on her head, stepped out of the from the darkness
"People of Inkopolis! Your time has come!"
The crowd murmured, scared and confused. Suddenly, a bunch of Octo Troopers were thrown into the space in front of the tower, where it had been blocked off with construction barricades. They were knocked out, covered in purple ink. There was gasping and more talking, when suddenly, Erray, the hoodie of his hero suit pulled up stepped forth, hair glowing, equally glowing eyes staring up at the enemies on the make-shift stage they had put together.
The UFOs shined their red lights down on the Inkling boy, the hue no longer deterring him, and he didn't care who could see the faint stain of low tide ink on his face. His Grizzco Dualies were given a new coat of paint in hero gear style. He twirled them in his hands as Octolings were sent down to deal with them.
"We will not answer to the likes of you, scoundrel!" Angel then said. She held her arm out. "Hit it!"
Erray thought this was crazy, rushing into battle in front of a bunch of people and risking revealing their organization to the world.
Octolings came down just as a remix of the song "Inkoming" started to play, with Angel singing the vocals. The Octoling grinned, their hair glowing, but Erray had more practice. Sure the song was for them, but it wouldn't be as strong no matter how fast he was.
He just had to get those shades off of Bass and Angel.
Just as the Octolings ran towards the Inkling, Erray jumped into the air, light shining and slammed back down. The enemies got far enough to avoid being splatted, but the force did send them tumbling back.
Erray landed on the ground, just taking in his surroundings, as the crowd started cheering. He finally understood what Marie was talking about and smiled.
To them, this was all just an act. A part of this impromptu "performance."
Erray Super Jumped into the air and kicked down an Octolings who had gotten up. Then he dashed towards one coming at him from the side, shot the weapon out of his hands and then splatted her. More got up in time, just as Erray was beating back more of the forces. The Inkling tripped another before splatting him in the back of the head with one dualie and then shooting another one in the shoulder just in time. The impact made her topple back a little and then Erray finished her off.
The audience was cheering wildly. The situation was very real for Erray, but he was relieved that it wasn't for them. He dashed away when an Octolings was using an Octo Splattling and began to fire down at the would-be hero. Just then he ran and grabbed an Octolings who screamed as they were used as a living shield and Erray threw a bomb at Octarian on the stage. She stepped back and jumped down throwing a whole bunch of suction bombs.
Leaving the unconscious Octoling on the ground, Erray zigged and zagged, stepping around and swimming in ink, avoiding blasts as he ran up towards her. The UFOs began raining down missiles from above. The agent had no choice but to jump. He flew forward, caught the Octoling and pinned her to the ground as the ink landed.
Erray splatted the Octoling while the crowd went wild at the explosion. He stood, panting. He just hoped the others would catch up with him shortly...
The whole time Jade had spent incarcerated in the wretched snowglobe with her only loyal friend, she had not spoken a single word. Her wounds had been tended to and she was all patched up, which in her mind was foolish. The second she saw an opportunity she'd find a means of escape, or if she couldn't, she would try and take everyone of them down with her.
Jade couldn't hear the sound outside of the confines of the snow globe she shared with Alex. They kept the lights on, and only turned it off when it was night time and they were both asleep… not that she could tell what time of day it was, since the basement had no windows. The food they gave them was kind of unusual, but it wasn't awful.
Alex had gone about how they ignored him and apologized for anything they found out, but Jade didn't say anything in response. She was just confused. How did she get here? The last thing she remembered was that Agent 3 damaged her jet pack and she plummeted down towards what appeared to be her death.
Her life had flashed before her eyes. At that moment, when she was falling, she realized she was going to die back there. She had dedicated her entire life to the Octarian Army since she was a little girl, obeyed her every order and demand, followed the rules, accepted the sacrifices and loss that came with it. There was no greater glory than to die in battle, and she gave into the hazy stupor of accepting death and shut her eyes, for what she thought was the last time.
Instead, she woke up, and found herself here in the company of Alex.
She was stunned. Why would the Inkling save her? She was her enemy! Her life didn't matter to the enemy… It shouldn't!
Serving the Octarian Army was all she had ever done.
It was all she had ever done…
And she was going to die doing just that.
Jade took a shaky breath, her arms shaking, and she couldn't understand. Her thoughts were from every grueling day, every training session that pushed her limits, losing friends, betraying the ones they thought were hers…
She didn't even realize her breaths were getting faster, until she saw Alex looking at her.
She was going to die, doing what she always did… serving the Octarian Army. The thought repeated over and over again.
It was the thought that sent her into a sudden fright of terror.
Did she really want that?
Jade grabbed her head and shook it.
"J-Jade?"
"Shades…" she whispered.
"What?"
"I need my shades!" she pleaded. "I need them! Please!" She shook even more, covering her eyes, trying to imitate the comforting darkness those lenses would give, how the thoughts of doubt would ebb away as the gentle red lights glowed and flashed to the beat of her general's songs, making her objectives clear and conscience clean.
It wasn't the same. Hand over the eyes, provided the darkness she desperately needed, but there were no red lights. The doubts remained and the thoughts got stronger.
"Commander…" Alex knelt down and held her hands. He wasn't really sure what to do. Many of the other recruits had similar experiences when they were without access to their shades for too long. He growled, stood up and started banging on the glass again. "Let us outta here, you squidiots!"
By the time the door finally opened, Alex was cursing in Octarian. Oliver slammed the door shut. Jade jumped, but dared not to turn to face him. Not like this. She leaned on the glass behind her, using it to support herself, while she kept her eyes covered. Somehow, her breathing evened out, but she was still shaking.
"Shut your mouth!" Oliver then snapped at the protesting Octoling. "Being loud is one thing, but how dare you run your mouth like that to your superior!"
"Oh shut up! You're not even in the army anymore, traitor!"
Oliver just looked at Jade who was practically looking like a small child scared in the corner. Her legs were pulled up to her chest. Her eyes were still covered with her hands.
Alex looked over to the door. Oscar was at the entrance. The door was closed, but he sat atop the stairs with an arm around a Slosher and his other hand holding some Burst Bombs. He was glaring, but it wasn't directed at him. It was aimed at his commander. Still standing, he moved just a bit closer to Jade. No one would hurt his commander again on his watch.
"Jade…" Oliver said, softly. "Jade." He called her name several times, but didn't get a response.
"Leave her alone!" Alex said.
"Shut the shell up!" Oscar then yelled.
"Oscar! Language!" Oliver snapped.
The little brother flinched. "Oh. Sorry." And he went back to hugging his Slosher while guarding the entrance. Oliver turned back to the globe and pressed his hands on it. He took a deep shuddering breath.
"Jade. Please. Talk to me."
"Why should she?" said Alex. "After everything you've done to her, after everything you were promised, you just left it all!"
"I wasn't 'promised' it," said Oliver. "It was forced on me."
"Butsquit!"
Jade suddenly let her hands down. She was still shaking and kept her eyes shut. "You. Had. Everything. Your grandfather, the general, loved you and Oscar. It took every fiber of her being to even look at him. "Now look at you." Her voice grew soft and saw shaky from her panicky fit. "I didn't expect you to love me. You were always my friend. You were…"
Oliver frowned. "Jade."
"The single most… closest friend I've ever had and you just… walked away. And just like everyone else, you didn't even say a word. You and Marina…" She turned away. The way Jade said Marina's name was cold and bitter. She held out her arm limply before letting it fall back down. "Now look at you. From prince to peasant. The Oliver I knew would never be as neat as that! You were a DJ! The Octolings loved you!"
"I did," said Oliver. "I did have it all. Fame. Money. A family. Expensive things. But none of that was what I needed. I was trapped in a gilded cage." He closed his eyes, remembering that day, even though what happened afterwards was tragic. "Once I heard the Inkantation, I realized that everything we had done wasn't right. I knew I couldn't just stand by while-"
"Yeah, well, I heard it too!" Jade suddenly shouted. Her head snapped around and she focused her eyes on Oliver. "So did Alex. But we, despite our doubts, didn't turn our backs on our comrades and friends. We confided in our general and he helped us make sure that the New Squidbeak Splatoon didn't brainwash us, like they did to you."
"Is that really what you think?" said Oliver.
"Yes!" she answered almost immediately, but then began to shake again in response.
Oliver crossed his arms. "You don't seem well, Jade."
Jade shrugged. "Since when have you ever cared? Just leave me alone like everyone else has?"
"Jade…"
"It's the shades…" said Alex. "She needs them. So get them, or this is cruel and unusual."
Slowly, Oliver's jaw dropped. Jade had heard the Inkantation. Before, she never wore shades… but now…
"Are you deaf, or something?"
"Quiet, you!" Oscar snapped.
"Jade…"
The girl slammed her fist on the glass, despite knowing it was useless. The impact gave her hand intense pain, but it took her mind off her doubts and thoughts for a little bit. "Just get me my splatting shades, and maybe I'll talk to you clearly."
Oliver shook his head. "Jade, you don't need them."
"You leave me, team up with that wretched girl, kidnap me, and now you're telling me what I need and don't?!"
"Just listen!"
"Why should I?" said Jade.
"Because if you don't tell me how to turn off the barrier to Cephalon HQ, your general is going to die."
Jade shook her head. "Doesn't matter. Without the Zapfish, Inkopolis will go dark. Agent 3 kills Octavio, our troops will storm the unpowered city and we'll use the machine he built as our ultimate weapon. Without him, I guess I will be at the wheel, once they free me."
Jade let out a laugh, but Oscar, Oliver, and even Alex were a bit taken back at how loud it got. It sounded triumphant, but a bit sad, like she wanted to cry. She shivered again, and Oliver frowned.
"In. Other. Words." She stood up, grinning as she struggled to hold back the tears building up in her eyes. "You. Lose."
"That won't happen!" said Oliver. "And we're not the ones being brainwashed!" He teared up, himself. "I made a mistake, Jade. You're right. I shouldn't have just left, but you weren't going to leave."
"Of course not," said Jade. "I, unlike you, wouldn't run from my problems."
"But there was no way I could change things from the inside, as long as Octavio was stepping on my heels. For my own and Oscar's sake, I had to..."
Jade laid her hand over her eyes. "I ain't talking, liar…"
"You think this is a lie?" said Oliver. "Do you think I would intentionally want to hurt you, despite everything we've been through?"
Alex was dumbfounded. He didn't know what to say at this point, but just sat down and began to observe. He was still ready to go if the traitorous Octoling tried to lay a hand on his friend.
"No…" she mumbled. Her lip was trembling and her voice sounded unsure. "I… I don't know."
Alex pressed his hands on the glass. This time, his voice was a bit more soft. "Please…" he whispered. "She needs her shades."
Oliver pulled out his phone. He pulled it up to the current livestream going on in Inkopolis Plaza. "Jade, I don't know what I can say to make you believe that what the Splatoon did didn't brainwash us. But, I have reason to believe… to know that it's actually the other way around. So, I think I should just… show you."
Slowly, Jade moved her hand away. Oliver approached the snow globe slowly. He held out the phone. Reluctantly, she sat down, so she was more at his level since she was elevated off the ground by globes platform.
And together, with Alex supervising from behind, they watched the performance.
With Entropical starting to play, Bass jumped down from the stage and Angel glided down with her Splat Brella with grace. They raced towards Erray. He fired back, but Angel stood in front of Bass, defending him with her Brella and then jumped forward with his blaster.
Then, Vichay Super Jumped into the fray from the audience, hitting Bass in the face and knocking the shades off. He fell flat on his back, motionless, Blaster falling near him. The audience cheered, but Angel had acted like nothing happened and continued her attack.
She was tough, especially with her being defensive. All of Erray's shots and Vichay's swings were being blocked. Then she threw down a device and a pink colored cloud appeared, raining down ink. That's when Vichay went on the offensive, hair glowing from the Entropical remix. It started raining down pink lighting bolts which sent the siblings back near the barricades.
The audience was still cheering like this was just an exposition match.
Erray huffed. His hair glowed, and just like with the Octoling, he Super Jumped right at her. She blocked with her umbrella, but pushed out of the storm's radius. When he was shaken off he took the Splat Brella with him. The girl ran at him as he stood and he tossed the weapon aside, wrapped his arms around her, eying the light green glitter on top of the old Booyah Base and faced her towards it.
A streak of low tide ink hit Angel in the face and it was over.
Erray lowered Angel to the ground gently, but it turned out it wasn't over. The UFOs above them all focused the lights on the Inkling boy. The weapons were out and the music had changed. It was building up. He was prepared to use his remaining strength to take it out.
But there was no need.
Just as the beat picked up, a row of Hyper Bombs landed from the sky and blew the UFOs down. The crowd erupted in awe.
"Wh-Wha?" Angel mumbled. She sat up slowly, waking to the sound of the oncoming music, and looked around. "What's happening?"
Bass did, as well, waking up in Vichay's arms. A chopper flew around the plaza's skies shining down the lights of pink and turquoise as it rained down confetti of similar colors. Just from seeing that and the design on the chopped, Erray, Vichay, Bass, Angel, and even the townspeople knew who had come to their aid, or in the audience's case, their performance.
"Take the instruments!" Erray then said. "GO!"
Everyone Super Jumped onto the stage. Erray picked up the guitar, Bass ran to the drums, Vichay picked up a bass, and Angel did what she could with the nearby keyboard.
Just then, Marina jumped down with grace and landed on the stage as she began to sing. She had a handkerchief tied around her head, a white top that showed her midsection, turquoise pants and a pair of white sneakers. A long neck chain was around her neck.
Somehow, they had hacked into the enemies speakers, because they were playing what Marina was now singing: An entirely new song.
Then Pearl jumped down from the chopper, causing more cheers from the audience. She was wearing a pink hoodie with yellow sleeves, her crown was gold along with her neck chain. She had very short shorts that were white and her silver sneakers had really thick soles despite the fact that she was still adorably short.
Still, it had been so long since Angel and Bass were on stage… even though Angel was a bit rusty with the keyboard, since the days Anemy tried to teach her. They were having fun, nonetheless.
"Don't you see it?" Oliver said, as Jade was watching Oliver's phone with care.
"They seemed passionate," Jade said. She was sitting on her knees, hands pressed to the glass. She accidentally shed a few tears from the nerves getting too intense. "Just like you were once."
"I still am," said Oliver. "But I don't care about fame or anything I had, and they don't either."
"Then what's the point?" said Jade.
Jade turned to her slowly and smiled.
"They're happy, Jade."
"In the place to be!" Pearl said on the stage. "It's me, Pearl, Off the Hook's MC!"
"And I'm Marina, the DJ," Marina said, happily.
"We're so hyped you guys could turn up for our impromptu performance to test some of our… uh, new tech and show off our new song, Shark Bytes!" Marina nodded along in agreement. "How about a hand for our performers?"
Bass, Angel, Erray and Vichay just looked at each other and waved as the audience cheered and clapped for them.
"So, this place has been a bit gloomy since the Great Zapfish has been gone," said Marina. "So, we wanted to cheer everyone up." They went silent upon hearing the people asking and yelling about the Squid Sisters and Callie. They almost forgot that she was seen right as the stream went live at the beginning.
"Well, you'll be happy to know that your Squid Sister is fine," said Pearl. "In fact, she's getting ready for a really big show about to happen."
Marina quickly stepped forward. "Y-Yeah… and while you're here, we're going to show it all on Inkopolis Towers big screen like old times."
"Until then, let's make some noise!" Pearl exclaimed. She threw her fist into the air and the audience roared as they began to play Color Pulse.
Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. Angel and Bass looked safe and sound. Content, even.
"Wouldn't you wish that for me? For your friends?" Oliver then said. "For us to be happy?"
"So… Our home just wasn't good enough?" said Jade.
Oliver lowered his phone and pressed the button to put it to sleep.
"Hey! Turn it back on! I was watching that!" Alex grumbled.
"I loved our home," said Oliver. "But the rules weren't fair." He saw her beginning to shake again, her breath was getting heavy. "Please, stop lying to yourself Jade."
"Lying? You said you were loyal, and then you left!" Jade hissed.
"You heard the Inkantation!"
"Stop."
"And when you went to confide in my grandfather, the one man you trusted-"
"Stop!"
"He took you and placed those shades on you, to suppress any doubts you had."
"STOP!"
"Jade, he was brainwashing you… just like everyone else."
"I said SHUT UP!" Jade shrieked, banging on the glass. "SHUT UP! SHUT THE SHELL UP!"
Oscar let out a tiny yelp. He stood, Slosher in his arms, but stayed where he was. The Octolings kept banging on the glass until her fists were throbbing in pain. Then her head sank, as tears ran down from her eyes.
Oliver was pale, realizing what had happened to her in the time he had been away. He hurt Erray, and so many other Inklings, not to mention Chip, but never once did the Octoling ever consider…
That Jade was a victim herself…
Alex had scooted to the back of the Snow Globe. He was shivering in fear, but he couldn't take his eyes off of Jade, a product of what Octavio had done to her.
"It… It wasn't like that…" Jade whispered. She took a sharp inhale of air and her body shuddered. "It wasn't… He said… I was…"
"I shouldn't have left you alone, Jade…" said Oliver. "If only I had known." He teared up and the droplet ran down his face and onto the floor. "I'm just as bad for leaving you with that man."
"I didn't… No, I…" She lowered her head and covered it with her arms. "No… I need the shades!"
"No, you don't..." Oliver raced towards the Snow Globe.
Oscar gasped. "No! Oliver, stop!"
Oliver opened the snow globe just to get Jade out. She kicked and screamed, but once the snow globe was sealed again, Oliver just wrapped his arms around her, not letting go until her struggling stopped and screaming devolved into nothing but loud and hard sobbing. He lowered them to the ground, his back against the wall and Jade's face hidden in his chest. He just rubbed her back, allowing her to just let it all out.
"I can fix this, Jade. But, I need to get into the HQ."
The girl continued to sob, but Oliver eventually received a nod.
A/N: "Butsquit!" - In case you didn't get it, I'll explain it here. It's a play on the swear word, "bullsh*t" "But" is taken from the fish that is known as a halibut. And "squit" is from "squid."
So, uh… yeah.