Chapter 13

When Amber heard that they were going to the Octoling HQ, she thought of a desolate, bleak area filled with nothing more than various militaristic equipment and serious soldiers. She wasn't prepared for an entire city!

Apparently Cephalon HQ was not just one of two headquarters for the Octolings, but also one of their main cities, the other being Ceph City. Amber was left in awe at the sight of an Octoling metropolis, much smaller than Inkopolis, but still large.

They exited on the outskirts, the kettle hidden from general sight. Amber looks around, taking in her surroundings. The city was filled with skyscrapers well spaced apart, along with various other buildings for entertainment, medical needs, and other things a city would have. To her left she could see a residential area filled with houses and apartments for the Octolings, spanning across an area roughly 200,000 square feet. But, the biggest sight for her was in front of her.

Spanning across the upper area of the cavern wall was a massive screen. On it were various advertisements, shows, and other television reports. Below it stood five separate entrances to another area beyond the cavern wall, the word "ARENA" on a large sign above the entrances and below the massive screen.

Ika takes note of Amber's awe and where she is looking. "Octoling technology never fails to impress me. Ain't that right, Three?" He watches as she nods slowly, still slightly shocked.

Before any more discussion could be said, the massive screen flickers, and then one figure dominated the screen. Ika's eyes widen and Callie gasps, which makes Amber confused. She takes a closer look at the figure, trying to figure out why they were surprised.

The figure was mostly cast in shadow, but some defining features did stand out. He, and Amber could tell it was a he from the extremely broad and well-built body, was a tall man. He could be as tall as Ika, or maybe even more. Along with his well-toned muscles, he was wearing a very ornate Sokutai, something reserved for important figures in Calamari County. He was crossing his arms over his chest, and he had piercing green eyes with red lining the outside. He seemed to be permanently glaring, despite the grin Amber could see on his face.

"WHAT IS UP CEPHALON HQ! THIS IS YOUR KING DJ OCTAVIO SPEAKING, HERE TO TELL YOU THAT A NEW SHOWDOWN WILL COMMENCE IN THE ARENA WITHIN THE NEXT 20 MINUTES! HURRY, AND DON'T MISS IT." Somehow, his glare seems to intensify and he seemed to look directly at Amber, his grin widening. "It'll be a KILLER performance!"

Suddenly, Amber knew why that man was important. It was King Octavio, the leader of the Octolings. He uses mechs and music to amplify his troops or increase his army without actually risking lives. And, despite his wording, Octavio was a very imposing figure, his deep voice adding a sense of foreboding to his words. Especially that last part, calling it a killer performance.

Ika tsks and says "Well, we know for sure where Cap'n is now. Octavio most definitely has him." Amber and Callie nod, their thoughts on the same track. Amber looks at the screen and sees it displaying a repeated message of 'KILLER PERFORMANCE, COME SEE IT NOW! KING IN ACTION, RARE SIGHT!' Somehow, it disgusted her with the repeated advertisements.

Now with a location in mind, the trio of agents begin making their way to the city. Once she got a better look of their location, Amber noticed that they seemed to be on a rocky cliff overlooking the city. It was high enough that they could move around freely without being seen, while also having access to a lower skyscraper for easy access to the rooftops.

They quickly get on the roof and look around the city. Octolings of all kinds were going to the Arena, their animated chatter managing to reach even them. Amber couldn't help but take notice of the random words being said.

"A new performance with the King?! This rarely happens!"

"I can't believe we spend money on this stuff instead of trying to reach the surface."

"At least there's entertainment down here…"

"WOO! GO KING OCTAVIO!"

"How can I enjoy this if the living conditions keep getting worse?"

Amber frowns in sadness, and slight surprise, at the statements. A majority of them were just excited to see whatever is in the Arena, but others, and quite a bit of them, were lamenting about their horrible lives down here. It made Amber upset in a way she's never felt before. She turns to Ika and says "Why do we let the Octolings suffer like this? So many of them seem miserable down here."

Ika sighs, his own eyes scanning the crowd, his ear twitching periodically. "I know it is bad, but we can't do much. We have to protect Inkopolis, and with the Octolings unwilling to work towards peace, we can't do much of anything to help them."

Amber takes in the information, then looks down at the crowd. "There must be some way," she mumbles to herself. "Some way, somehow, they will all be free and happy again. I can feel it…"

Ika smiles to himself at the statement, but opts not to say anything about it. Instead, he points to an area off to the side of the entrances for the citizens and says "Let's go through there. It seems to be a side entrance."

Everyone's eyes fell onto the entrance Ika pointed out. There were a couple Octarian guards around it, along with an Octocommander scanning the area. They seemed ready to fire at any moment. Amber grins. "Guards? Tense? Definitely important."

Ika and Callie nod in agreement. They begin making their way across the rooftops to get inside the building. It didn't take long and was quite an uneventful trip. Now perched on the closest rooftop to the entrance, they begin to scan the area.

Ika frowns as he says "No octolings anywhere, but there is no cover either. It'll be a straight shot." He turns to Amber and says "Did you bring a charger?"

Amber nods as she holds out her hand and ink coalesces in it, forming a Hero Charger. Ika grins and says "Nice work with that by the way." Amber beams in response.

Amber brings the charger's scope up to her eye and she says "Take them down?" Ika's eyes narrow as he says "Wait. Not yet."

He watches carefully as the Octarians look around, their tension lowering. One of them begins to yawn, and Ika's eyes widen. "Now!"

Amber doesn't hesitate as she pulls the trigger, sending a beam of ink to the Octocommander. It grunts in pain and falls off its pedestal, unconscious. The other two guards look around in fright, the other disoriented from yawning. The more focused one is hit next. The tired guard searches for the intruder, quickly moving to the side. He catches a glimpse of orange on a rooftop before he falls unconscious.

Amber grins as she finishes up her job. With their path cleared of enemies, the three of them jump down to the ground and run to the side entrance, quickly going inside.

The inside of the cavern was covered with metal walls, light bulbs giving the corridor some illumination. The agents look around, searching for anything of interest. "There's nothing here," Callie says. "Just a long, metal hallway."

Ika frowns, suspicion rolling around in his mind. "Be careful. Areas like these can hold many secrets, potentially deadly."

He clicks a button on his headset and says "Two, are there any potential threats in here?"

Marie responds almost instantly. "Not that I can see. It seems like it leads straight to the arena, but I can't get a signal in there. It's completely radio silent."

Ika's frowns deepens. "Sounds just like a trap. Are you two ready?" He turns to Callie and Amber as he says this. They nod in response. Ika smiles grimly and says "Let's go then." They then begin walking down the corridor, wondering just what waited for them at the end.

Nothing was in the hallway, just as Marie said. It didn't do anything to calm them though. Soon, the silence began to settle around them with a vice grip. Amber gulps as her nerves begin to act up, heightening her anxiety. Every heartbeat sounded like a gunshot, and her thoughts sounded too loud to her.

Soon, they could see the end of the hallway. Despite wanting to do otherwise, the agents force themselves to move slowly. They couldn't risk getting caught because they were running and making noise.

They manage to reach the exit, and they enter a new area. There was a singular bridge leading to a massive circular arena. There were various tentacle-looking machines covered with speakers, Octarian ink below the arena. One thing stood out though. All around them was a deep darkness. No matter how hard they looked, no matter how much they strained their eyes, they couldn't see into the darkness.

Suddenly, a single spotlight turns on. They turn to the noise of it activating and see a figure in the distance, far off from the arena. The agents' eyes widen as they take note of the white beard, glasses, and patchy shirt. "Cap'n!"

Cap'n groans, obviously waking up, then looks to the arena. His eyes widen and he yells "No! It's a trap!"

Ika is about to respond, when another spotlight turns on. He turns to the arena circle and sees a large, imposing figure. His eyes widen slowly as he takes note of the muscular arms, the robes of a king adoring his body, and his curled up octoling hair. His piercing green eyes drilled into Ika's own, and Ika can't help but widen his eyes in shock. It was the Octoling King, Octavio.

Suddenly, another spotlight turns on. Then another. They begin turning on so rapidly that the agents lose track of how many there are. They shield their eyes as Marie gasps in surprise. "These numbers! It can't be!"

Whatever Marie was going to say is drowned out by a ROAR of voices. All around them were Octolings, all cheering loudly. They were so far from the arena that they couldn't even be reached with hopping. Ika's eyes widen in shock as Amber mutters "The whole city. They all are here…"

Ika rubs a hand across his facial mask, checking if it was in place. Safe with the knowledge it was, he looks back to Octavio. The king was glaring at them, a smug grin on his face, before suddenly turning on the balls of his feet and turning to the crowd. With a loud, deep laugh, he throws his arms to the side, as if welcoming the whole city, and says "Welcome to the Royal Performance!"

The crowd's cheers somehow grow louder with this declaration. Octavio just laughs in delight at the crowd's cheers. "I know how excited you all are, so we won't wait long." He turns back around, his royal garments fluttering like a cape as he does so. "On one side we have the extraordinarily talented inklings, the Squidbeak Splatoon!"

The cheers still went strong, which surprised the agents. In fact, they didn't diminish at all. Amber curls into herself a bit, saying "Why are they still cheering for us? Don't they hate us?"

Ika grits his beak, looking around in confusion. "I don't know. But I do know I don't like this."

Octavio then swipes a hand over himself and says "And on my side is your's truly, King D. J. Octavio!" The crowd screams with delight at Octavio's announcement. The octolings showed whose side they were truly on, no matter how confusing the cheering was.

Octavio glares at the agents as he says "And without further ado, let the battle COMMENCE!" Octavio yells the last part, his legs spreading out and his arm pointing to the roof of the cavern, like a rock star would. The metallic tentacles around them flash red, then hum with electricity. Ika frowns as he analyzes this, his mind working through the reasoning. Amber was quicker on the uptake than him though. "Those things need a lot of electricity. They must have the Great Zapfish in here!"

Ika smiles at the deduction and is about to respond, when music begins playing from the speakers. It wasn't deafening, considering the amount and size of them, but it was loud. The agents were slightly startled by the sudden dubstep, but it wasn't enough to keep them open. They turn to Octavio, who was crouched down, ready to pounce. The three of them ready themselves, then move forwards.

As agents, all three of them were fast. They knew that, and they tried to utilize it to outplay the old king. None of them were ready for when Octavio moved. Octavio sets his eyes on Callie, then takes a step. His figure blurs as he thunders across the arena, his speed much more intense than anything they ever could've predicted. Callie's eyes widen and she has no time to react before the hulking mass of muscle barrels into her like a steam train.

She flies backwards, screaming in pain, but still holding her roller. She rolls slightly, before skidding to a stop. She takes a heavy breath, holding her side, and stands up shakily. Ika slides next to her and says "One! You alright?!"

Callie nods, her eyes warry and focused on Octavio. The King straightens up, his body tense, but relaxed in a way that showed complete confidence. Ika's eyes wander to the side, and he sees Amber trying to move quietly, a roller forming in hand. Ika's eyes move back to Octavio, and then they narrow. Octavio smirks in amusement, and Ika rushes in.

Octavio falls into a stance, ready to defend, when a he hears a yell behind him. He turns and his eyes widen when he sees the little orange inkling raise a roller over his head. He quickly moves to the side as the wave of ink falls onto the spot he was just at. He smirks at Amber and says "Need to be a little faster than that hipster."

"Then how about THIS!" The yell came from behind again, but Octavio didn't have time to react completely. He turns around and brings his arms up as red ink covers them. His hisses in pain, but ultimately doesn't go down. He swipes his arms down, rage in his eyes, as he screams "SLIMY LITTLE HIPSTER!"

Ika's eyes widen in shock, and quite frankly fear, as a megaton of muscle rushes at him. Octavio grips Ika's head, lifting him up with little effort. Octavio holds him in the air, Ika too shocked to react, as Octavio yells "IMA REMIX YOUR FACE FOR THAT LITTLE MANEUVER!"

With that declaration, Octavio slams Ika into the ground. Ika's face meets the metal with a loud, painful CLANG, and Ika screams out in pain. The crowd 'Oooooo!'s loudly, as Octavio huffs in anger. He turns to the other agents, only to see Callie with her roller raised.

Callie tries to bring it down on Octavio, but he simply reaches up and grabs the roller. Callie's eyes widen as Octavio holds the roller up by the metal sides on each end, his arms not even struggling from the effort. Octavio glares at Callie, then pushes against the roller, making the pop star fall onto her bottom from the force.

Octavio walks over to her slowly, Callie scrambling to get up. Octavio is almost to her, when he feels an ink splatter hit his back. He roars in anger and quickly runs to Callie, kicking her hard. She flies across the arena, rolling to a stop, but without her roller.

Octavio turns to the perpetrator of his pain, and sees the little orange inkling. If he remembered correctly, that one was afraid of specials. Never used one, even when beneficial to her and her team. With a devious grin, Octavio yells "Well well well, seems like the agents need a little boost. Why don't we give them a SPECIAL gift!"

The crowd cheers, and Octavio laughs loudly. "Alright then! HERE YOU GO!" Octavio reaches behind himself and pulls out a can. He then throws it at Amber, the top coming off. Ika, who recently recovered from Octavio's brutal attack, his nose bleeding, screams "NO!"

Amber's eyes widen as the can hits her, but doesn't cause pain. In fact, she feels a familiar rush of power as something coalesces in her hands. An inkzooka.

Amber freezes in fear at the sight of holding a special. The world goes red and nothing could be heard to her but her rapid breathing and deafening heartbeat. She couldn't even process Octavio laughing in delight.

"Look at her, frozen in fear! So much for the mighty age-, hm?" Octavio looks back at Amber, and his eyes widen in surprise. Ika was back up and running at full speed, despite the hit he took. Octavio vocalizes his surprise and yells "Wha- how?! That attack should've knocked you out cold!"

Ika glares at Octavio, then turns to Amber. He gently pries her fingers from the inkzooka, making her blink. Tears had started flowing from Amber's eyes, but she still didn't react. Now though, she turns to Ika as the inkzooka leaves her hands. Ika turns to Octavio and frowns. "Eat this, you piece of shit."

Octavio's eyes widen as a tornado of red ink flies towards him. He quickly moves out of the way, but Ika wasn't done yet. Ika fires every shot he could, hoping to hit the elusive king. But, his injured nose was making it harder to aim, and as such, every shot missed.

Ika curses loudly as the inkzooka dissipates, and Octavio breathes out a sigh of relief. Then, Octavio laughs loudly, his hands on his hips. "HA HA HA! Seems like you really are out of your league here inklings!"

Ika looks around, wondering what to do, when a glow appears next to him. He turns to his side and sees Amber gripping her head. Her whole body was glowing, and she was muttering "No no no no. Not again. Not again! It's happening."

Then, suddenly, ink forms all around her. The ink gathers above her body, and then suddenly shoots high into the air. It begins to arc, as Octavio stops laughing and watches it warily. Then, suddenly, the ink turns into a rocket. Octavio's eyes widen in shock and fear as it begins to fall. "Wha- OH SHIT!"

The King tried to run, but just couldn't move fast enough when he had such little warning. The rocket lands right next to him, and Octavio's form is submerged within a literal tornado of orange ink. It flies high into the air, Octavio's screams heard within, but ultimately drowned out by the roar of the explosion.

The ink begins to stop spinning, and the arena falls silent. Octavio couldn't be heard anywhere, and Ika searches around, looking for him. Ultimately, he just turns to Amber and helps her up. She wasn't crying anymore, and was looking around in confusion. "D-Did we do it?"

Ika frowns and says "I don't know." His voice was slightly nasally from his injury, but he would be fine in the long run. Amber frowns and instantly pulls out her medical bag and begins treating the injury. Ika sighs as a pain reliever is given to him. He takes it without a second thought.

Just as Callie manages to reach them, roller in hand and quite beaten up, Marie suddenly says "Wait! Up above!"

They all three look up, and the crowd cheers once more. A large, spherical mech was floating above them, but that wasn't the important part. What was important was the massive catfish attached to the bottom. It gurgles loudly in distress, before being pulled into the mech. The mech vibrates violently as the metallic tentacles shift around, the speakers blaring a new song.

Then, suddenly, a loud cry is heard behind them. They don't get time to turn around as a trail of purple ink is seen, and lands in the mech. The mech begins to descend, and the agents realize what the trail was. Octavio, now in his octopus form, was piloting the mech. He glares at them, his wasabi sticks on the turntables, as he yells "LET THE REAL SHOW. COMMENCE!" The music roars as the cheers begin once more. The agents' final showdown had only just begun.

A/N

Honestly, I am quite proud of this chapter. I really feel like I got the mood I wanted to convey, and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did! And if you can, please leave a review! They are all very much so appreciated!