Bonnie's PoV
"So, Bonnie, what do you think?" Octavia asked, stepping out of her room wearing the full milky Eminence set. She flicked her longest tentacle behind her ear and put a hand on her hip, allowing her to present the outfit in its entirety.
"Oh, it looks good on you," Bonnie complimented. Even though it had been a week or two since Via's birthday, she was still surprised Perry managed to get it for her as a gift.
"Thanks." She grinned. "I'll be the freshest squid on the block in no time!"
"Right. Everyone will be jealous!"
"I know, I know!" Via tugged on her friend's hand. "C'mon, let's see what Alexis thinks."
"I think she'll like it too."
"I hope so!" The two ran to the young inkling's room and knocked on her bedroom door. "Alexis! Come see my brand new outfit!"
"OK." The door creaked open, revealing the short-haired inkling. She was fidgeting with some black shades. Her eyes glanced over her sister and then she sighed. "Oh. You're finally gonna wear the full thing?"
"Yeah, I think today will make for a good debut," Octavia replied. "…Though those shades look pretty fresh, too. Can I wear it?"
"No!" Alexis hissed. "They're dangerous!"
"How are they dangerous?" Bonnie chimed in. "They're just a pair of sunglasses."
"They're… uh…" She pressed a silver button on its frame, and a red glowing dot appeared on one side of the shades. "See? It just screams evil!"
"I'm not convinced," the blue-haired inkling said bluntly. "Where'd you get that, anyways?"
"I… found it on the ground! You see, I was out with my friends, and we just found this laying around. So, I took it, and I kept it," the short-haired inkling explained.
Upon her explanation, the beige-skinned inkling simply shrugged. Seems reasonable.
"Do you know anything else about it?" Octavia asked.
"…No…" she murmured.
"We could ask someone if they know anything about it," Bonnie then suggested. "Like… the engineering teacher or his new assistant. One of them has to know something about this."
"Doesn't Marina of Off the Hook know tech stuff too?" the wavy-haired inkling brought up.
"Yeah, but you need money to go meet her in the studio," she rebutted.
"True…" Via admitted.
"Can't you guys ask Perry for money?" Alexis interjected.
"I doubt he'll say yes," the older sister pointed out, sighing.
"I mean, if you want to ask him, go ahead," Bonnie added. "Besides, just going to a teacher is free."
"Alright, alright. I guess that's fair," the short-haired inkling admitted.
"Then…" Octavia smiled, pounding a fist into her hand. "I guess you know the plan."
"Should we tell the others?" the girl with the double bun asked, taking a moment to clean her glasses in the process.
"No!" Alexis burst out. "They shouldn't know about this."
"We're bringing it into school," Via argued. "People are gonna see those shades either way. Besides, I kinda want to tell them about this."
"Not if we stuff into a backpack!" the younger inkling insisted.
"Wouldn't they break?" Bonnie commented.
"Then… we'll just put it into a case," she corrected. "There! Problem solved!"
The wavy-haired inkling reached out to grab the shades out of her sister's hand, but the latter simply recoiled, taking a few steps backwards.
"You're not giving that up, huh?" Octavia teased. "You really think it's that dangerous." Alexis nodded furiously. "Well… keep it." Her orange eyes glanced over towards Bonnie's before returning her attention towards her sister. "We'll meet up with Bon-Bon tomorrow, then."
"…OK…" Alexis muttered.
The next day, Bonnie entered West Inkopolis High School to see the two orange-haired sisters, standing right by the entrance. Arms folded, Octavia had a smirk on her face, while Alexis looked off to the side nervously, fidgeting with her thumbs. When the former saw the blue-haired inkling, her mouth eased into a smile, and her arms fell to her sides.
"Bonnie! You're here!" she greeted. She jumped to her side, the footsteps of her new milky enperrials clacking against the tile floor. Though Bonnie's were a different color, the friends' shoes were identical. "Ready to go check out those shades?"
"Yeah." Her eyes glanced over to the younger inkling. "…You did bring them, right." She nodded. "Fresh."
The trio started navigating the vast hallways in the building. As usual, they were crowded with students, so they had to push through them in order to get to their destination. The room containing engineering class was appropriately labeled as such, with a graphic reading 'Engineering' proudly plastering above the doorframe. The door itself was already opened, so they simply took a few steps inside.
At the teacher's desk, an old inkling with faded red hair styled into a ponytail was toying around with some wires. His blue gaze was steady and unmoving as his hands, covered by fingerless gloves made of leather, connected them together to some machine parts. Footsteps could be heard from the other end of the room, and soon, a funny-looking inkling with short blue hair, exposing rounded ears, emerged, carrying an open box. The white apron she wore was stained with grease. Soon, she stopped, and her red eyes, covered by pilot goggles, drifted over to look at the newcomers.
"Sir! You have some visitors!" the woman called.
The old man looked up from his desk, his thick eyebrows raising in curiosity. "Hmm… I don't think you young ladies are my students. But, come on in, won't you? Make yourself at home."
The trio sat down on some stools as the blue-haired lady set the box on his desk. The elder teacher pushed the mass of wires aside, leaving a clear space.
"Mr. Fangtooth, we came here to ask a question," Bonnie soon spoke up after a moment of silence. "It's about something we found."
Via elbowed her terrified sister, and after a gasp, she quickly unzipped her backpack and pulled out a case. She opened it to reveal the pair of shades. Mr. Fangtooth's assistant's eyes widened upon seeing them, but regardless, she snatched the glasses out of the case and brought them over to the old man.
"Thank you, Miss Grim," he said as soon as she gave them to him, pushing spectacles up the bridge of his nose. He inspected the glasses before pressing one of the buttons on the side. The red dot on the left side of it lit up, casting a glow onto his pale face. Pressing another button, more colors began sliding across his face. He pressed the silver buttons again to turn it off. "Interesting."
"Do you know what it is?" Octavia asked.
"No," Mr. Fangtooth replied.
"Personally, I think it is Octarian technology," Miss Grim chimed in.
"Octarian technology?!" the wavy-haired inkling cried. "Why would you say that?" Though the inkling with the double bun was not too keen on the suggestion, it would make sense. She recalled reading in the history textbooks about the Great Octoweapons, used during the Great Turf War. They posed a great threat to inklings at the time, but luckily, they were stopped, and the inklings won the war.
"Well, well, Miss Grim. You might be right. It's been a proven fact that the Octarians have made several advancements inkling society hasn't," the old man explained. "For example, the propeller lifts found in Ancho-V Games originated from the Octarians." He held up a finger. "And, some other inventions have found their way into other stages today, like the ink rails that were recently installed in Moray Towers."
"There has been an increase in Octarian technology in Inkopolis lately," the funny-looking inkling added. "Specifically, in the past two years."
"Hmm… but still, why do you think the shades are Octarian tech?" Octavia continued to prod.
"I don't think there's any technology similar to this that's this compressed," the old man responded. "It's the only logical explanation we have."
"Also… where did you find this?" Miss Grim then added.
"I…" Alexis muttered.
"My sister found it on the ground," her older sister finished for her. "Where exactly? I don't know."
She's been acting strange about this whole thing, too, Bonnie wanted to add. Yet, she remained silent. She opened her mouth to speak, but then she faltered and gazed down at her feet. She couldn't understand why Alexis was so anxious. Usually, she was such a cheerful girl, always eager to have a battle. Right now, she remained silent for the most part, barely speaking.
"Well, if anything, we'll take it apart for you," he offered. "You'll have to come back tomorrow, though."
"That's fine," Via agreed.
"I've been wondering what's in it, anyways," the beige-skinned inkling added. She looked over at the short-haired inkling. "What about you?"
"Go ahead," she muttered.
"Thank you for your consent," the blue-haired woman then said, bowing.
"Alright." He smiled. "You're welcome to stay until the bell rings."
"I think we'll be on our way," Bonnie decided. They got up from their stools and started walking towards the exit. "See you tomorrow."
The following morning, the three inklings walked back into the engineering classroom to see the parts of the disassembled shades sprawled out on the desk. From the entrance point, Bonnie could see no one. Getting further into the room, she saw Mr. Fangtooth and Miss Grim helping two lobsters, one of which she recognized from when she helped out with Mr. Nema's chemistry class. They appeared to be working on a project.
"Mr. Fangtooth? Miss Grim?" Octavia called. "We're back."
The duo looked over at them and waved. "Ah, hello, young ladies!" the old man greeted. "Are you here about the shades you gave me yesterday?" The three nodded. "Well, right this way." The man with a red ponytail started walking over to his desk. "Make sure they're alright," he commanded the funny-looking inkling.
"Yes, sir," she complied, and she resumed her focus on the lobsters' project.
Mr. Fangtooth sat down in his chair and gestured towards the parts. "This is all the technology compressed into those little pair of glasses." He picked up one microchip and noted, "This one contains the data for the lights on the lens." He set it down and picked up a small, thin circuit board. "And this one gives functionality to the buttons, therefore controlling the lights." Setting down that piece of machinery, he put his knobby elbows on the table and clasped his hands, adding, "I also discovered that pressing the button multiple times will display different patterns."
"Anything else?" Bonnie asked.
"After we only had the frame to work with, Miss Grim tried it on. It fit her perfectly!" The teacher put a hand on his change. "Which is strange. I theorize that these were made for octolings."
"Octolings?! This just gets stranger by the minute," the wavy-haired inkling blurted out.
"I mean… you did say it was Octarian tech, so…" the girl with the double bun recalled. The assumption of the shades being made for octolings wasn't too far-fetched.
"There is one thing neither of us could figure out, though," he continued. He picked up another microchip with a tiny red light on the corner of it. "It must have a purpose, but what could it be?"
"A tracking device?" Bonnie suggested.
"Or maybe it's… an evil thing!" Octavia followed.
"Whatever it is, it'll remain a mystery forever," he finished.
"Ahem."
Looking towards the entranceway, a girl with fair skin and thick dark hair was standing in the middle of it. She was wearing the shades Alexis had found, though kelp was protruding from the ends of the frame. She wore a black vest and fingerless gloves ending at her elbows, fashioned with a metal plate on her chest and two black belts wrapping around her waist. A white sticker was stuck onto the plate, marking her as a visitor. She wore black boots with silver heels as well. Her arms were crossed, and she was frowning.
"…I'm guessing that's an octoling," the blue-haired inkling whispered to her friend. Looking over at the younger inkling, she noticed that she had tensed, with beads of sweat dripping down her forehead.
It took a moment for Via to register what she had said, but then she screamed, "Aah! An octoling!" Bonnie glanced over to the other end of the room, where the other people inside had snapped up their heads to watch the scene.
The newcomer studded over to the teacher's desk, taking a lollipop from the mug on it and sticking it into her mouth. Coldly, she said, "So, this is the where her shades go." I was right? the blue-haired inkling marveled. That was a tracking device?
"Oh? Could you explain, deary?" Mr. Fangtooth asked.
"A time in the past, the inkling has break into a base octolings would be at," she started to explain. "She steal the shades of our elite. We think that we track her to stop her through her shades. It lead me to here."
"Wait a sec, my sister found these shades on the ground somewhere," the wavy-haired inkling snapped, throwing an arm out in front of Alexis. "There's no way she could break into an Octarian dome, much less an octoling dome. She's literally C- rank! The squid you're looking for probably dropped them."
"Are you the surest?" the octoling hissed. "She match the description of report—shortest of hair, orange eyes, and skin the bronze color."
"Nah, it's probably a lookalike," Bonnie dismissed.
"Hmph. I would have the splat of you if the people in front did not take my weapon from me," she grumbled, leaning towards Alexis.
"So… you want this back?" the old man offered.
"No." However, she swiped the microchip with the light on it out of the teacher's hand and clenched it tightly within her fist. Then, she took the lollipop out of her mouth, threw it into the trash, and stomped out of the room, leaving the group to their lonesome. She slammed the door behind her, starling the beige-skinned inkling.
Via put a hand on her chest and let out a sigh of relief. "That was terrifying. I thought she was gonna hurt us!"
"Well, I'm glad she didn't," Bonnie remarked. She was going to have nightmares of that octoling trying to splat her, she reckoned.
"…Alexis?" the older sister mumbled. Looking over at the young inkling, she was still paralyzed, refusing to move an inch. "Are you okay?"
After a brief moment of silence, Alexis relaxed and replied, "Yeah, I'm fine." She started heading towards the door and soon put a hand on the handle, twisting it to push it open.
"You sure?" Bonnie added. "You don't seem fine."
"I said I'm fine!" she snapped, walking out of the room.
"Alexis! Wait!" Via called, running after her.
The girl with the double bun shrugged and looked over at Mr. Fangtooth. "That's normal," she stated. "I guess I should catch up with them."
"Alright. Have a nice day," he said.
"You too." Bonnie left the engineering room, the encounter with the octoling still fresh in her mind. What if she comes back? I can't let any of my friends get hurt…