The vibrant lights of neon pink and blue shine through the underground smog that clears subtly through the ventilation systems installed at the roof of the underground dome, the activity of the big city echoing through the cavity where the sense of time is non existent. From the poverty stricken district where many struggle to find a meal and others bite the dust to the populous red light and entertainment district where many drunk their sorrows away and some yearned for cheap pleasure to the industrial district where construction continues in the meek hope of bettering the community. The octarian atmosphere is at opposite ends of the spectrum as the regime of Queen Octavio gains motion. Day after day the rift of the people intensify as the various race of octarians take sides of the split house in power. A future paved through war with technology advancing throughout the event was what Queen Octavio sought after. Instead of bowing down and asking peacefully for a world of unity, she envisioned a world of dominance that could be achieved through war, believing the previous failures is what led to this, and thanks to the special authorization by her to conduct questionable experiments, they had enough soldiers and technology at her command. If her allies believed they could throw her away after they were done with their agenda, they had another thing coming.

Old, yet unforgotten was a sight he'd grown such an attachment to that to return to such a place offered bittersweet memories. His parents and brother, the struggles they endured. The nights of anguish sleeping on cold floors, worried about when the next meal would come. Nights he'd never have to revisit again. It was a strange feeling for Jory as he took a trip down memory lane walking the streets of Octaria and viewing how even though he'd been away for a few months, nothing changed. There were still octarians roaming the streets going off to do whatever pleases them, plenty of impoverished citizens and beggars who just wanted to quench their hunger, and kids that still tried to make the best of their unfortunate existence. As he walks by soaking in the various sights he wondered if this was for the best, was his fate truly supposed to be this? To leave behind his brother and parents and escape from this hell and ascend to royalty. To live on the surface and even assimilate into a foreign society; deep down in the pit of his gut, he felt this was wrong, and yet the pleasant friends he made along the way with fabulous memories as a package seemed like a cruel robbery from the potential future that others in the community with the same roots as him could've enjoyed. Why was he the lucky one?

He stops in front of an old and deteriorating building-just one of the many lined up behind it-and puts his hands in his pockets imagining that if he hadn't been saved by the Octavio family, he'd still be in a house like this, or probably worse. The flashbacks of those days to what he lived now were enough to water his eyes with gratitude. "I was here…" he said in a trembling tone; "I'm standing here today because of my parents, who fought their hardest to keep me and my brother alive. I'm standing here today because my brother did everything in his power to ensure that I would live on. Now, I'll do my part." He wipes away the trickling tears and continues walking forward briskly, conviction settling as he found his purpose; ever since becoming an Octavio, Jory never really had an idea with what he wanted to do with his life since for most of his upbringing it was just survival that mattered. But now that he could think further ahead and no longer worry about not having a shelter ro meal, he wondered what was his purpose. So enveloped in his thoughts, he doesn't realize that just a while away from where he is stands a certain octoling in an elaborate disguise.

"Ah…!" Jory bumps into the octoling, apologizing immediately.

"Finally. You're a slow walker, Jory. Kept me waiting!"

"Shiva!"

"Yeeees~?" she responded in a songful tone, pleased that Jory addressed with such familiarity.

He looks around to find her retainers but for once-surprisingly-she's alone, "Where's the others?" he asked with wonder-filled eyes, happy to see her again. It'd been almost months since the last time they interacted. Their lives leading different paths; Shiva's responsibilities as the crown princess led to he having to frequent more visits to Octaria, especially now that her mother was taking action.

"I told them to stay behind. We'll see them soon. Why you ask?"

"No special reason. I just found it weird that you wanted me to come back to Octaria on such a spontaneous call that even Fuchsia was surprised. Oh-she wanted me to give this to you." he said taking out a folded piece of paper.

She opens up the folded paper and skims it, "Hm. I see." quickly she folds up the paper and grabs Jory by the arm; "Come on! Come on!" she said with haste dragging him; Jory has no clue what she has in plan but can only assume it's probably crazy since being warned ahead of time by Fuchsia that her sister could behave strangely at times.

A few minutes pass by of Jory quizzing Shiva on where they were heading, but she wouldn't budge as she kept dragging him by the arm. His embarrassment grew a little as onlookers stopped in their tracks to watch the duo marching down the street. "Why'd you call me all the way out here? I had to take that secret entrance you instructed and it was difficult!"

"Shhh! Keep it down about that." Shiva held her finger up to her lips to give him one final warning, making it clear that it wasn't safe to drop such a remark in this land.

"Sorry...so, why am I here? Where are we going?" he whispered with submission.

"Sometimes it isn't the destination that matters but the journey~!"

"That's an old saying…"

Shiva frowns a little but quickly recovers, "Something on your mind? You can talk to me..."

Jory nods, "Sort of…"

"What's up?"

"W-well uh…" His cheeks turn red as he catches an innocent glimpse of her smile; "You promise you won't laugh?"

"Mmhmm!"

"Okay. Lately I've been thinking about what I want to do. I've never had the luxury of thinking ahead with my life up until now, and after seeing what the others are doing, I think it's inspired me to do something too. Violet wants to write stories, Reice wants to be a cop, Shiva wants to do music, Kosami is getting into business, and even Fuchsia has her title as a princess. Everyone has such admirable goals that it made me think more about who I am and what I want to be."

"What's your goal?"

"I want to be a doctor. I want to help people here in Octaria. Heal the sick and treat the wounded. I know it's not an easy job but as someone who had their life saved at the kind hands of family, I want to share that blessing to someone who may not be as fortunate as I. Slowly, I'll do my best to change this land for the better."

"I don't see why I'd find that funny. That's an admirable ambition….I think you can do it!" she beamed proudly with approval in his choice of profession. While she kept a sunny smile urging him to continue speaking about his plans for the future, he shyly refused her insistence-thankful for her support. He still found discomfort with his goal of being a doctor since he wasn't sure if he had the resolve to accompany his lofty ambitions.

After a period of walking through some shortcuts throughout the city, the two arrived at a strange building hidden deep in the back alleys of the many buildings. The rank stench of mold from the nearby buildings caused Shiva to hold her mouth and squint her eyes as she walked up to a brick wall. Looking left-then right, she holds out her hand and pushes the wall to open a secret door. She warns Jory to follow her quickly and they enter taking some steps down below and arriving at a titanium door. Led by Shiva, the pair descend further below with their only sight present being a dull hallway with flickering light. Jory tries to humor her by saying this place seems all too similar to a bunker, to which Shiva confirms that indeed they're in a bunker meant to survive any destruction that might occur underground-spooking Jory. Continuing through the grey halls, they turn several corners before arriving at a room where there were plenty of voices on the other side. Shiva does a pattern of knocks then the door unlocks. A gigantic room filled with hundreds of people, Jory recognized some of the people looked all to similar to the people rotting away on the streets above. Several familiar figures that were sitting patiently rose immediately as they saw Shiva and Jory walk through the door; quickly the duo were greeted by Ciri, Reluna, and Vaairie standing beside an octopus wearing a huge crown. Jory froze where he stood taking in the sight of the person before him. The surprise that Shiva wanted to give Jory was the meeting of his majesty, DJ Octavio. Jory's legs buckle as the king rose to his feet with welcoming arms gesturing for the young octoling to join him at the round table all the way in the back of the room. Jory shuffles through the pockets of people gathered in their small circles until he finally reaches the table where DJ Octavio awaits, taking a seat next to the king and across the princess and her retainers. The chair squeaks a little as Jory settles in, still speechless to be in the presence of DJ Octavio. There were many questions on his mind that he couldn't fathom asking at the moment, but nonetheless his mind clustered on shocked thoughts and interrogating the king. Why was he here and not at the palace? Did something happen between him and the queen? These questions plagued his thoughts as the king watched him with what seemed like suspicion from his point of view based on the harsh glare received. It was difficult to generate a conversation but Shiva did her best to break the ice as she introduced Jory, who felt nervous to be in the king's presence.

"So you're the new Octavio I heard about. Pleasure to meet you, Jory." DJ Octavio expressed solemnly, spooking Jory a little who had thought of DJ Octavio as a different person from the one he saw now. "I can understand the stunned expression. You're probably wondering why I'm sitting here in a bunker and not at the palace with my queen…"

When he'd escaped from prison thanks to Han and his subordinates at the request of Queen Octavio, he initially wanted to exact revenge yet again against Inkopolis. However that all changed upon seeing what his wife had done in his absence. Jump starting a project called Psychological Cleansing, Queen Octavio brainwashed Octolings and other Octarians to become her slaves and do her bidding, ranging from becoming foot soldiers to building weapons capable of mass destruction with her intentions to wage a large scale war against the surface war and start with the annihilation of Inkopolis. DJ Octavia grew to loathe the plan and actions his wife had taken, growing a soft spot for Inkopolis now that his daughter lived there along with making friends with the inklings; he felt it wrong to rob her and her friends of harmony for the sake of pride and outdated ideals. And thus, he went against her. Creating his own faction within the palace, the king desperately wanted to halt all alliances with questionable allies, production of weapons and the enslavement of his own people in hopes to start fresh and rebuild the country into a land capable of thriving without violence. That failed though as the Queen's influence grew strong enough to the point that she was able to seize complete power of the throne and render the DJ Octavio near powerless. This led to Shiva's intervention since she was growing to dislike her mother more and more and sympathizing with her father to create a plan to take back what was theirs, hence why they were now in a bunker.

"There is a bounty for my head. Her highness wants me imprisoned and out of commission so she can further her plans for war, but I refuse to back down."

"Dad and I have been rounding up as many people in poverty as possible since anyone left on the streets from the lower classes get turned into fodder for the crown to use at their disposal."

"This bunker is a shelter for everyone."

"Wow, I knew crazy stuff was going on down here but I could never imagine it being like this…"

"I brought you here today because dad wanted to see you."

"Jory, I know we aren't blood related and that's fine. There are some bonds stronger than blood. I wanted to see what you looked like with my own sight so that should anything happen, I can remember your faces."

"Your highness…"

"Can I offer you anything to drink?" he said looking to lighten up after giving a grim insight to his potential demise.

"Some juice would be fine, thank you."

A chance to open up and grow a relationship with DJ Octavio, Jory poured out his soul speaking of his experiences on the surface world from the wonderful friends he had to the many places he visited, giving precise details on the funny moments he experienced with gratitude to share those moments with Fuchsia, whom he considered his best friend. DJ Octavio was pleased to see that his daughter wasn't the only octoling who found joy in the surface world, proud to see that Jory saw good in the hearts of inklings. A reassuring sight to behold, DJ Octavio relished the fact that he made the right choice in going against his wife and her faction, in betraying the ninja for the chance to save his country the right way-appreciative that this time he can do so with his daughter by his side. As Jory, DJ Octavio, and Shiva share a rare moment to bond together, elsewhere is Sally completing yet another grueling session on the path to recovery. Sweat drips from her forehead down to her chin as she gives a grimacing look stiffly raising her leg onto the bed after cooling down. The nurses assisting her reassured her that she was making wonderful progress and should keep up the work and possibly recover early. But while the encouraging words from them gave her some comfort, the greater discomfort she felt was found his her beating heart that pumps rapidly with a knot her stomach. She surfs the channels hastily trying to locate the correct one. A mission to return to the sides of her teammates, Sally made sure to keep up with all the news going on within the media-especially in sports. Her eyes flash with life as she locates the Spring Selection show, which is an airing of the teams competing in the Spring Invitationals and where they'd be placed for the 16 team tournament, tuning in just in time for the previews and introductions of the teams to be concluded. The Spring Invitationals would be taking place at the Rellan Complex in Giande-a city east of Beacon Hills and Flounder Heights. As the list unfolds with a representative of the committee displaying a giant card of each school participating, Sally takes her phone and makes a call. Around that same time at the dorm where Sally called home were where the others anticipate their placement for the invitationals-giddy about facing a fierce opponent early on. Together they huddle around the tv with everyone sitting together on the couches, bean bag chairs and some were on the floor. One look around and it felt comforting to see how compact everyone looked together; Sally was there through video call to watch the reveal live. On the tv screen, a huge bracket with 16 empty slots slowly got filled as team by team reveals the matchups. The hearts of Squidcom sink with each name placed on the bracket with anxiety of facing a fierce opponent like the Big 4 or a tenacious opponent like Squidops. There were two sides to the bracket with the right side holding Kalebrough Inkstinct as the favorite team to advance from that side. On the left is where things got interesting: Beacon Hills, Special Forces, Yermozani, Squidops, and Squid Academy's Squidcom all occupied the side with Squidops and Yermozani facing each other in the first round. As the tables revealed, Squidcom at first seemed to be relieved that they avoided a terrifying opponent in the first round but soon realized the unlikely task they'd face as they scanned the rest of the bracket. Should they advance from the round of 16 and into the quarterfinals, they might face Beacon Hills-the defending winter champions and one of the Big 4 of Inkopolis. Even if they survived a bout with Beacon Hills, their potential opponent for the Semi finals would be either Special Forces, Yermozani, or even Squidops; in the case that they survived that gauntlet and made it to the finals, it looked like they might face Kalebrough Inkstinct. That sinking feeling of anxiety turned to despair as they all came to the realization that they had to go through a gauntlet of powerhouses if they wanted to win the Invitational, potentially having to face every member of the Big 4.

"Come on, everyone! We wanted to get to this point after all-to battle against the best of the best. If we want Nationals where the best teams from all over the continent are, then we'll need to handle home turf first and take care of the locals in the backyard!" Sally rallied knowing that at times like this is where her presence mattered the most. Even if it was through the phone, her words had enough hope filled in them to keep her brothers and sisters heads held high. In the path to success, nothing validates a journey like adversity. If Squidcom were going to be serious business, it started with the Spring.

Much like Squidcom were together watching the show, so were the other competitors who were already forming plans for the event scheduled to happen soon. Each side made their peace with where they were placed with the teams competing in the left bracket having more fire in their belly now that they knew their journey could end on the first and second days. A tournament filled with several storylines, could Beacon Hills complete the double and win the Spring just like they did in the Winter? Were the Fangs and Inkstinct worthy of being crowned one of the new Big 4? Was this the time for Squidops to make a comeback? Will Jin and Special Forces recover from their Winter failures? Would Squidcom continue their undefeated streak? Were there any dark horse candidates to upset the favorites? These questions and many more circulated in the spotlight as the countdown to the Spring Invitationals begin.