Squid Party

Chapter 29: Gangsta's Paradise

Lucas watched as Orange stormed back to their table, saying nothing as she flopped into her chair. Putting her head in her hands, she inhaled sharply before heaving a loud, exasperated sigh. The Smasher remained silent until she ran out of breath, the girl suddenly lifting her head with a forceful smile as if nothing had happened.

"...Well!" she said, voice laden with annoyance. "That was uncomfortable. Sorry you had to see that, Squirt."

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened over there?" asked Lucas. "It looked pretty serious..."

"Long story short, Blue's being a whiny buzzkill and I had to shut him down. I ain't gonna be having all this drama on my birthday, so I'll deal with him later." Orange smiled sadly. "...On that note, I do need to check on Octavia, though."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Nah, you're good. Just hang tight a little longer while I sort this all out." Orange stood again. "Won't be long, I promise."

"Okay." Lucas showed her his phone. "I'll be here getting more footage if you need me."

Smiling warmly at the blonde, the Inkling tuned her senses to Octavia and walked off in search of her. Pushing her way through droves of rowdy cephalopods, it wasn't long before she found the Octoling. She sat on the floor in a small, secluded corner of the stage, curled up in a ball as if someone had struck her.

"...Tavia?" carefully tried Orange.

Octavia flinched hard in response, an ear hesitantly twisting back in acknowledgement. Slowly, almost begrudgingly, she turned her head just enough for Orange to see her face soaked with tears, fresh ones already starting to fall. She hiccupped softly, shoulders shaking as she gripped her arms in defense.

"...Well," she sniffled, "that certainly didn't go as planned. I can't say I'm surprised. I... had a feeling it wouldn't work. I'm an Octoling, he's an Inkling, and I was a fool for trying to see past that. Perhaps there is something wrong with me..."

"No, the only thing wrong with anyone here is Blue!" spat Orange. "Where's Octavian? I'm gonna have him hang with you for a bit while I go talk some sense into that fuckwad."

Octavia wiped her face as her tearful gaze became one of confusion. "...Is he not here?"

"No?" answered the puzzled Inkling. "I thought he was with you."

"Agent 4—I mean—Magenta and I have been busy escorting the Smashers. He was tasked with helping prepare for the party, was he not?"

"...Yeah, he was, wasn't he?" Narrowing her eyes, Orange searched the area. "Lazyass musta skipped out on that, 'cuz I ain't seen him all day."

"Be that as it may," Octavia joined her in looking around, "he certainly should be here by now. A party animal such as himself is never one to miss out on a celebration."

"Didn't him and Blue go out drinking last night?"

"Indeed, but Octavian should've returned to our abode by the morn." Now worried, Octavia stood. "Come to think of it, he's not contacted me since then... I was so preoccupied with escorting duties, I surmised he would've been equally busy assisting you here."

Orange's ears perked up. "I can't sense him."

Octavia's ears swiveled around slowly. "...Nor can I. This is problematic."

"Something's not right..." Orange tuned her senses to the only other female agent, relieved to find her elsewhere across the stage. "C'mon. Maybe Magenta knows something."

Turning into a squid, Orange Super Jumped over to her as Octavia followed. Seconds later, the two landed to see the Inkling at a buffet table, doing exactly what they expected: sampling a delicious assortment of cakes.

"Magenta," said Orange sternly.

She faced her, cheeks puffed with cake. "Hmm?"

"Have you seen Green lately?"

"Not since this morning," was her muffled reply. "Why?"

"Well, we need to find him. We can't get ahold of Octavian, and Green was with him last, right?"

Magenta chewed and swallowed. "I think so? Green went to check on him and Blue earlier."

"Pray tell, have you at least spoken to Octavian as of late?" asked Octavia, concern seeping into her voice.

"Not since yesterday, no."

Orange made a face. "...So, you haven't seen Green since this morning or heard from Blue and Octavian since last night, and you never thought to tell us about this?"

The Inkling knew she stepped on a nerve when Magenta's face darkened. "...Y'know, last time I checked, this is your party. Shouldn't you know who's here and who's not?"

Slamming her hands on the table, Orange growled through clenched teeth. "Then. Sense. Them."

Still glowering at her, Magenta's ears perked and swiveled around. Only when she didn't sense either missing agent did her glare waver, quickly replaced with a look of worry.

"They're not... here?" She looked around. "But... I just saw you fighting with Blue. And Green—"

Magenta was cut off by a shrill scream. The girls all snapped their heads towards the source, subsequently horrified at what they saw. A fair distance away, Marie had Callie pinned to the floor as she towered over her, normally-flat expression now ravenous as sharp teeth snapped wildly at her cousin's face. Disgusting, neon green ink dribbled from her mouth and nose as it was slathered about during the struggle.

"Marie, stop!" begged Callie, desperately trying to hold her cousin back by the shoulders. "What're you doing?!"

Unsure of what else to do, some bouncers were quickly called by the flabbergasted crew. Within moments, Marie had been swarmed by several brawny Inklings and Octolings, all struggling to pry her off the wailing Callie. While the Squid Sisters definitely had their spats here and there, a physical fight between them was unheard of. Even more worrying was that even the bouncers were unable to get Marie under control. No amount of pulling or manpower was able to pull her off and away from her cousin.

At this point, much of the party had died down as partygoers gradually became aware of the girls' fight and the exasperated bouncers scrambling around them. Even Pearl and Marina had stopped their show, confused by the chaos in the crowd. Seeing not even six security guards could handle the situation, Orange frowned and Super Jumped over.

"What the hell's goin' on over here?!" she demanded upon landing.

"We're... trying to... get her off...!" groaned an Inkling bouncer, he and two Octoling guards struggling to keep the rabid Marie restrained. "But... she won't... budge!"

"Someone, anyone! Please! Do SOMETHI-I-ING!" sobbed the distraught Callie, her arm strength about to give out.

"We're trying, we're trying!" shouted an Octoling bouncer, just as distraught. He and two Inklings grabbed hold of Callie in an effort to pull her away as the others still worked on holding back Marie.

Orange growled in frustration. This would've been handled in no time if Callie was being attacked by anyone else, but no one had the gall to try and roughhouse an idol. Fortunately for them, she wasn't above attacking anyone, including a celebrity.

The Inkling looked around the platform for a weapon, finding one in a microphone arm dropped in the confusion, its boom still attached. Quickly grabbing it, she stormed over to the brawl, wielding it with violent intent.

"GET OFFA HER!" she bellowed, swinging it with all her might.

Callie squealed and recoiled as her cousin was brutally smacked away by the microphone boom. The crew and bouncers all scattered, either to escape Orange's wrath or from the sheer force of the microphone sending those still hooked onto Marie flying.

"There!" exclaimed Orange, standing tall with her makeshift weapon. "Problem solved!"

"Ms. Callie!" called out an Octoling bouncer, he and some other guards surrounding her. "Are you all right?!"

"No, I'm not all right!" screeched Callie, flailing her arms to part the small crowd. Scrambling to get up, the disheveled girl angrily thrust a finger into the startled bouncer's chest. "Some help you were! What kinda bouncers are you, anyway?!"

"I-I'm sorry!" The Octoling's ears pinned back. "W-we were trying, but she... s-she was so strong! It was like trying to pull back a car...!"

"Well, you didn't try hard enough! Marie's strong, but she's not that strong!" retorted Callie. The furious idol whipped around. "And I dunno what she's been drinking, but that stuff's gotta be spiked or something to make her act like that! I want a full background check of all the baristas and any drinks served here in the last hour, pronto!"

As the bouncers tried calming her down, Orange found her frustration curbed as she glanced over at Marie. The unconscious Inkling was awkwardly slumped over on her side, eyes screwed shut and face contorted in pain. The jellyfish that'd been lazing about in the water had just taken notice of the chaos on land, their blank gazes fixated on the fallen Squid Sister. Just then, they started hopping up and down, wildly waving their arms in a panic. Looking down, Orange immediately saw why.

Marie's body spasmed as she coughed violently, producing a thick, viscous ooze that splattered across the floor. This seemed to rouse her from unconsciousness as her once-yellow irises snapped open to show the black scleras and green pupils of the sanitized. Orange's eyes widened in disbelief at what she was seeing, unaware of the large gathering that'd built up around the scene.

By this point, Pearl had finally had enough, making her way off the pavilion to see what was going on. She pushed her way through the masses to survey the scene as a worried Marina followed behind.

"All right, all right, ALL RIGHT!" she yelled, throwing her hands up before putting them on her hips. "That's enough of that noise! Now, just what the hell is going on over here?! We're trying to perform here, people!"

Hearing this, Orange snapped her head towards her as Marie shakily got to her feet. "Pearl, stop! Get away!"

Already riled up from the show's interruption, Pearl narrowed her eyes at Marie. "Oh, from what?! Grandma over here?! Psh, yeah, okay!" She got into a fighting stance. "Yo, you wanna start somethin' or what?! C'mon, Old Maid, let's g—!"

Pearl didn't get to finish as Marie suddenly lunged forward with unbelievable speed and precision to violently sink her teeth into her neck. The force was enough to cause Pearl to spit out a small shower of her pink ink, head thrust backwards as her eyes widened and mouth fell open in shock.

"Pearlie!" screamed the mortified Marina.

Pearl's hands, once consciously balled into fists for fighting, snapped open in reflex. Her natural predatory instincts kicked in as her fingers hooked inward to form pink-tipped, ink-filled claws. Without even thinking, she blindly swiped at Marie, three of her nails tearing across the idol's face like knives.

"Mariiie!" squealed the terrified Callie.

The slash was deep enough to draw lime ink as it ripped into Marie's skin, injecting Pearl's pink essence into the open wound. Because the smaller Inkling had different color ink, the mix of colors proved caustic to Marie.

She let go of Pearl immediately, throwing her head back and howling as she clutched her face in agony. Hot, searing pain shot through her system, crippling her as she collapsed to the ground in a heap of pain. Released from Marie's hold, Pearl's hands flew to her neck as she staggered back, coughing and wheezing before also falling to the ground.

Seeing this, the crowd went from being mildly concerned about the situation to an absolute panic. Screams erupted from them as a stampede started, everyone either scrambling for the exit or trying to find friends and loved ones.

Orange gritted her teeth as she barked out orders. "CODE RED! WE GOT A CODE RED OVER HERE! X RANKERS, GET THE CLAMS OUTTA YOUR PANTS AND PROTECT THE SMASHERS! GO, GO, GO!"

Hearing this, many of the frantic cephalopods snapped to attention. Like a trained squadron, the aforementioned X Rankers located the nearest psychic and made a beeline for him. Within moments, the Smashers were surrounded on all sides by a wall of Inklings and Octolings, an array of weapons drawn and at the ready.

Lucas was still sitting where Orange left him and texting Ness when his view was suddenly obscured by cephalopods. The blonde had been so engrossed in talking to the other psychic, he had no idea what was going on. It didn't help that Orange's headphones had effectively muffled most of the commotion at the party. Despite this, he could've sworn he just barely heard Orange yell something about... X Rankers? He recalled hearing in passing that having an X Rank meant being one of the top turfers in the city, so whatever was happening had to be serious if they were protecting him like this.

Meanwhile, the bouncers floundered about in the sea of chaos, trying to control the panicked crowd. Eventually, they were able to corral them towards the exit and alert those in the building to evacuate immediately. It was pandemonium inside as those barreling down the stairs combined with confused guests filing out of their rooms, all trying to escape whatever happened on the roof.

Some cephalopods were in such a rush, they Super Jumped out of windows to save time. Their judgments initially clouded by fear, everyone eventually realized this was a much faster and more effective way to escape and followed suit. This cleared the way for those unable to Super Jump, like the jellyfish, to scramble their way outside to safety.

Back on the roof, the three agents quickly made a triangular formation together, Orange in the front with Magenta and Octavia covering her sides. Pulling out their weapons and activating their Bubblers, the trio huddled together to form an impenetrable shield. They protected not only each other, but the distressed Callie, horrified Marina, and wounded Pearl inside their makeshift barricade. By now, the stampede had started to thin, but was still a hazard for anyone not paying attention.

Knelt on the floor, Marina gingerly held the fallen Pearl. "Pearlie, speak to me! Are you all right?"

"Y-yeah, I'm good..." said Pearl through a weak smile. "C'mon, 'Rina... You know it'll take more than that to bring me down..."

Marina cracked a slight smile at this, but her relief was short-lived as Pearl coughed up neon green ink. That shouldn't be possible. Sure, Marie had just bit into her jugular, but only enough to leave a few nasty bite marks. The only green ink coming from her should be from the broken skin around her neck, not from within...

"Guys! Guys!"

The girls looked up to the sound of the voice just barely audible over the screaming crowd as Green pushed his way over to them.

Orange scowled. "Green! Where've you been?!"

"Sorry...!" He pointed a thumb back at one of the dining halls. "I was getting a bite to eat over there, but then I heard all this screaming and saw everyone running, and—!"

She cut him off. "Whatever! Just get your Hero Dualies and follow us! We gotta get to the Smashers and scram!"

"But what about Marie?!" whined Callie.

"We'll get her, too!" Orange gritted her teeth, trying to keep her Bubbler strong. "Just gotta wait for all these yahoos to get outta here! Can't do anything right now without getting trampled!"

"Green, perhaps you should activate your Bubbler to assist us!" suggested Octavia.

"Of course!"

Green was about to close the final gap between him and the group when Magenta suddenly recoiled in fear. "NO!"

"Huh?" Green also recoiled. "W-what is it? What's wrong?"

"Stop!" she yelped, face wrenched in terror. "Get away!"

Frustrated, Octavia turned to her. "Magenta, what is the meaning of this?! We do not have time for these shenanigans!"

"Don't come any closer! Just leave us alone!"

"W-why?" Green looked hurt. "I... I don't understand. Did I do something wrong?"

The commotion caused Orange to face the trio. She was about to yell at them to stop screwing around and stay focused when something dawned on her. Tuning her senses to Green, she discovered the source of Magenta's fear.

Her startled expression caught his attention. "Orange? You okay? Oh no, don't tell me you're going to start freaking out, too..."

"..." Orange said nothing, responding by pointing her Splattershot at him.

Panicked, he waved his hands in defense. "Woah, woah! Hold up! What's your deal?!"

"...Get back," she demanded.

"What?" asked Green.

"GET BACK!" she barked. "I ain't gonna say it again!"

"I... Okay..." He reluctantly stepped away, worried he was being forced back into the stampede. "Just don't do anything crazy, all right?"

"What's her favorite food?" asked Orange, pointing to Magenta.

"...What's that have to do with—?"

Orange shot a glob of her ink at Green's feet, causing him to jump in fright. "You gonna learn real quick that I don't like to repeat myself, so answer the damn question before I get pissed!"

Green looked her over with an unreadable expression before doing the same to Octavia and Magenta. The two girls responded with some unreadable expressions of their own as a sense of dread fell over them.

Finally, he smirked. Lowering his head to close his eyes, a dark chuckle bubbled up from his throat. Lifting his head again, his eyes opened to show the black scleras and green pupils of the sanitized.

"...You really are deplorable, you know that?" came a distorted voice that was anything but Green's.

Octavia's eyes widened. "I-is that—?!"

Orange blanched. "Tartar!"

The demented AI's chuckle erupted into a chilling laugh as he reared back and slashed a clawed hand at Magenta. The stunned Inkling's Bubbler shattered like glass as he tore through it, sanitized claws sharpened and hungry for flesh. Thinking quickly, Orange deactivated her own Bubbler before darting over and throwing herself into Tartar's side. As he was momentarily stunned, Magenta squealed and scrambled away.

"To me! At once!" called Octavia to the girls.

Now the only one with her Bubbler still up, she snagged Magenta's wrist, dragging her away to make some distance between them and the imposter Green. Seeing this, Callie and Marina quickly grabbed each of Pearl's arms to carry her together as they followed in the agents' wake.

Tartar snarled as he glared down at Orange, furious that she'd let his target escape. The Inkling found herself suddenly stupefied as he recovered from her attack much faster than expected. She'd slammed into him with all her might and he hardly even flinched...

Snapping herself out of it, Orange dodge rolled away, barely escaping another claw swipe. She rushed over to Octavia and the others, expertly weaving her way through the stampede's last few stragglers to quickly make some distance. In the final stretch, she jumped and flipped herself around in midair before skidding to a halt in a protective stance in front of the girls. By now, the stage had finally cleared, leaving only the two rings of X Rankers around the Smashers, half the Squidbeak Splatoon, and Tartar.

Standing tall, Orange furrowed her brow. "All right, Tartar! I dunno how you're still alive, when you got here, or what you did with my friends, but you got some explaining to do!" She cocked her Splattershot. "And you'd best start talking."

"Now is that any way to treat a guest?" coolly asked Tartar. "I supposed that's the only way mongrels like you know how. Pity."

"Where's Green?!" demanded Magenta. "What did you do to my boyfriend?!"

Tartar made a face. "Oh, so that's his name? How insipid. And he's your boyfriend? Disgusting. Glad I took care of him when I did, then. The last thing I need is for any of you to breed."

Wanting to nip this in the bud, Orange addressed the troops. "X RANKERS, WEAPONS READY!"

Both circles of cephalopods aimed their weapons at the fake Green.

"Oh, I don't think you want to do that," he warned.

"AIM!" continued Orange.

Tartar looked to his side. "You wouldn't want to hit my new subject, now, would you?"

Next to him spawned a large puddle of neon green ink, the liquid bubbling up from the wooden platform's small cracks. A hand was thrust skyward as an amorphous figure slowly, almost painfully, peeled itself from the sticky substance. Standing clumsily, the ink slowly receded into its body, revealing it to be the missing Squid Sister.

"Marie, no!" wailed Callie, grabbing her face in horror.

Orange wildly waved her arms. "HOLD YOUR FIRE! HOLD YOUR FIRE!"

The squads stopped, tersely lowering their weapons as they beheld Marie's fate with terror. Silent as night, the idol wearily staggered forward. Her head was slightly slumped to the side as her torso was protruded in an unnatural display of posture, much like a broken puppet. Sanitized sludge endlessly dribbled from a snarling mouth as more of it pulsated from her nose and left arm. She assessed everyone with her usual blank stare, but instead of her normal golden pupils, her sanitized gaze was clouded with animosity.

"Marie? So that's her name, then?" Tartar looked her over flatly. "Subjects don't need names; they're subjects for a reason."

"You're a monster!" angrily sobbed Callie.

"Magenta, Octavia," muttered Orange to her crew, "get everyone to Fishbait's side now. He's closer, and y'all are sittin' ducks out here."

"What?!" squeaked Magenta. "But you'll be all yourself! We can't just leave you alone!"

"I'll figure something out. Right now, you two need to take care of the girls. We can't fight him and defend them at the same time..."

"Are you certain?" asked Octavia. "Perhaps I could remain with you and—"

Orange looked at her long and hard. "Fight him? How? With what? The guy broke through a Bubbler, Tavia. If he can do that, what makes you think any of our other weapons will work?"

"..." The Octoling said nothing, unable to argue with that logic.

Orange returned to studying Tartar. "We don't have a clue what we're dealing with here, and I don't think you wanna find out through trial and error. I got the most fighting experience, so let me handle this."

"...Affirmative." Octavia nodded respectfully, surprised, but impressed by Orange's mature reasoning. Turning to the idols, she managed to calm the hysterical Callie down before carefully ushering them off.

"Please be careful..." worriedly murmured Magenta.

Aiming her Splattershot at Tartar, Orange covered the girls as they separated. The AI watched them devilishly as they made their way to the wall of cephalopods guarding Ness. Seeing Tartar had his eyes on them, some X Rankers aimed their weapons at him while others in the group helped the girls inside their circle. The capped psychic was somewhat privy to what was going on, but he went on full alert upon seeing them stumble in with the wounded Pearl.

"Woah! You guys okay? What happened out there?!" he exclaimed.

"Our apologies for the sudden interruption of the festivities," explained Octavia, "but we are currently on red alert. Fret not, as your safety is our main priority."

"Yeah, but..." Ness studied Pearl, concerned by the bite marks around her neck. "Who or... what did this?"

"We are under attack by an old foe of ours. This is very much an unprecedented turn of events and we are currently trying to handle the situation. Please bear with us for the time being."

Ness said nothing, but looked past Octavia to the other girls. Callie was quietly crying into Marina's shoulder as the Octoling studied Peal's wounds with growing dread. The bitten Inkling was having trouble breathing, occasionally spurting up neon ooze. Magenta had curled up into a ball, looking like she'd just seen a ghost, and despite her calm demeanor, Ness could see the slightest tinge of fear in Octavia's eyes.

He tensed up slightly as his PSI inwardly flared. Without even knowing who this "foe" was, Ness could already sense a dark, twisted aura and instinctively got on guard.

Tartar flashed Orange an oily grin as the girls finished taking refuge. "Well, Agent 3. You've certainly improved in your skills and tactics since we last met, haven't you?"

Orange returned the oily grin. "I have. Glad you noticed. So why don'tcha cut your losses and scram before I show you just how much I've improved?"

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that." Tartar put his clawed hands behind his back in an attempt to look unassuming. "You see, I've got some unfinished business to attend to. Namely, the eradication of your race."

"Well, that's just gonna hafta stay unfinished, then, won't it?" Orange took a firm, but cautious step towards the fake Green. "Last chance: beat it before I beat you."

"Raucous as ever, aren't you?" Tartar's expression soured as he brandished his claws again, forearms now drenched in sanitized sludge. "Very well, then. I'd be more than happy to use you as a nice, painful example of what's in store for the rest of your species."

Orange may've been brave, but she wasn't stupid. Whatever Tartar had up his sleeve wasn't something a few ink shots could handle. Him breaking Magenta's Bubbler already worried her, not to mention taking on Green's shape, the other missing agents, and whatever possession he had over Marie. Taking all of these factors into account, Orange decided to rethink things and Super Jumped into Lucas' ring of cephalopods. Her hasty retreat concerned the blonde.

"Um, do we need to step in or anything?" he cautiously asked. "Not sure what's going on, but whoever you were talking to sounded pretty evil. Ness and I are Smashers, remember? We're more than willing to fight if we need to."

"No, no!" briskly answered Orange, looking around pensively. "Don't worry, we, uh... We got this under control. Everything's fine. We're good. Just a bit of a brush with the resident villain, heh heh... Happens to the best of us, right?"

"Oh? Retreating already?" Tartar was heard scoffing beyond the circle of turfers. "You're even more pathetic than I thought, Agent 3. Hiding behind the other troglodytes won't save you. You're running scared, and we all know it."

Orange ignored his taunts to focus on her forces. "X Rankers, keep him in your sight! Long-rangers at the back, short-rangers at the front! Everyone else, hang tight in the middle! I don't want a single shot fired 'til I say so!"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" thundered the troops from both circles as they reinforced their positions.

"You picked the wrong time to try and ambush us, Tartar!" Orange shouted, peeking through what little space she could past the troops' bodies. "And this ain't a retreat! It's an onslaught! You're outnumbered, so I hope you're ready to get splatted like the scum you are!"

Tartar looked surprised. "Oh, dear. I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're right. It seems like I far underestimated your forces. I suppose I should do something about that."

Smirking, the fake Green lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. The cephalopods all braced for an attack, only for something far worse to happen.

All around the vacant rooftop, dozens of neon green Super Jump markers began to appear. One by one, the markers were landed on by a rabid Sanitized Octoling, each one snarling with purpose as she entered the fray. Within moments, the hapless groups found themselves surrounded on all sides by Tartar's own demented squadron of subjects.

"Now..." Tartar chuckled darkly. "What was that you were saying about us being outnumbered?"