Perry's PoV
"The theme's Sweater vs. Sock, huh?" Bonnie commented. "Could have been better, not gonna lie."
"I mean, it could have been worse," Yuri piped up. "My siblings and I went to a carnival and saw some lady the other day. She told me that somewhere, in an alternative universe, there was a Splatfest about toilet paper preferences."
"Now that's weird," Via admitted. "By the way, what are your toilet paper preferences?" she asked with a smirk.
"We are not getting into that," Roy protested.
"Ah, c'mon, Roy," Perry said. "Have some fun every once in a while."
"...You squids know I was jokin', right?" Octavia pointed out.
"Of course, of course!" Perry lied. But I still have a point, right...?
"Anyways..." Roy rested his legs on the table and pulled up a green sock on one leg. "I think Team Sock is definitely the way to go."
"Don't ya like sweaters?" the inkling with spiky bangs asked. Perry was on Team Sweater, of course—he just loved showing off his ugly Squidmas sweaters.
"No," he grumbled. "I always put on my Squidsmas list, 'DON'T BUY UGLY SWEATERS'."
"Maybe I should try that," Alexis mused. She fidgeted with the green bracelet that came with the Team Sock tee. "My cousins keep buying me them every year, and it's annoying."
"I thought you liked them," the wavy-haired girl bleated. True to her alignment with Team Sweater, she was wearing a sweater made from white wool under her Splatfest tee.
"Did you..." her sister started.
"Anyways!" Via interrupted, standing up from her chair and striking a pose. "I'm itchin' for battle."
"Me too." Yuri stood up as well. A light briefly shined on the green tee he was wearing.
Her arms fell at the spiky-haired boy's words. "But... we're not on the same team."
"I know," he replied. "Doesn't mean I can't battle, too."
"Wait," Inigo spoke up suddenly. "How about we fight against each other?"
"Good idea, Inigo!" Yuri beamed.
"Who'll be Team Sock member #4, then?" the pale-skinned boy piped up.
"I'll call Asher," the inkling with the ponytail replied. He pulled out his indigo cellphone and proceeded to punch some numbers in.
"Asher?" Roy muttered.
"Why him?" Alexis asked.
"Well..." Inigo's phone rang, and soon Perry could faintly hear Asher's voice on the other end. He held up a finger to silence them. "Hi, it's Inigo." He paused to let the other inkling speak. "Whaddya mean, 'How do I have your number?'? You gave it to me at the tournament!" He was silent once more. "I wanted to ask you if you wanted to battle with us." Another pause. "Sweater vs. Sock." After another moment of silence, the boy with the ponytail groaned. "Agh, alright. See ya another time." It cut off, and Inigo put his phone back into his pocket.
"He said 'no'?" Via assumed.
Inigo nodded. "He's out partying." He scratched his head. "And it sounds like he isn't in any state to battle, either." He shook his head. "He would choose Team Sweater, either way."
"Well, who're we gonna ask now?" Perry whined, slumping onto the table.
"Someone from school?" Bonnie suggested.
"We better get textin', then," the boy with indigo eyes remarked.
"I'll send out a post of Squidsagram," the wavy-haired girl announced, pulling out her phone.
Seconds later, everyone was glued to their phones. Perry's mind drifted to a certain girl—Lori. Wonder what she's up to. He was quick to ask her if she wanted to join them, and she sent him a reply in a similar speed—she couldn't. She explained she was with her friend, and they were getting ready to battle. He glanced between the Rainbow Squids briefly before deciding to text someone else.
His finger hovered over one of his good friend's name when suddenly Yuri exclaimed, "Yes!"
"Huh?" Everyone's attention snapped over to the spiky-haired inkling.
"Jade responded that she's coming here right now."
"Jade from physics?" Perry asked.
He nodded. "That's the one."
A few moments later, they heard footsteps running towards them, and they turned around to look at the newcomer. A dark-skinned inkling girl wearing a Team Sock tee sprinted towards them, the light reflecting off of her forest green hair that was tied up into a double bun. She was holding a N-ZAP '85 in her hands. As soon she reached the Rainbow Squids' table, she stopped to catch her breath.
"Whew..." Jade breathed. "I made it!"
"That was fast," Roy commented.
"Nice to see ya, Jade," the purple-eyed inkling greeted.
"Hey, Jade!" Yuri greeted as well.
"Hey," she greeted back. Her orange eyes scanned the group. "So, who's all on my team?" Roy, Yuri, and Alexis all moved towards them and exchanged greetings. "I didn't think you'd be on Team Sock, Yuri," she mused.
"Well..." Yuri scratched the back on his head. "I couldn't choose! So, I picked the team the idol I like best—Marina—supported."
"You like Marina best?"
The members of Team Sock turned around and parted for the other inklings to see. Standing there was Giovanni and his posse. The octoling with a mohawk, as well as Iris, were wearing Team Sock tees, while Oscar and Yvonne were wearing Team Sweater tees.
"Gio!" Alexis complained. "We told you not to stalk us!"
"No." He shook his head. "You do no say 'not to stalk us.'"
"It was implied!" she protested. "It's included in being creepy!" Jade muttered something to the short-haired inkling, but Perry couldn't make out what it was.
The dark-skinned girl scanned Octa Prisma for a moment and asked, "Didn't you squids win the Deca Tournament?"
"Yes," Iris replied, the corners of her mouth turning upward. "Thank you for knowing."
"Uhh... you're welcome?" she said. She turned back to the Rainbow Squids and shrugged.
"Changing the subject..." Perry interjected. "You excited for the Splatfest?" he eagerly asked the group of octolings.
"Obviously," Gio snickered. "It is the first of the Splatfests."
"It is the more of the liking of the first Splatfest of Giovanni," Oscar elaborated. "I-" He glanced between his teammates. "We have did the Splatfests of before." The green-eyed octoling glared at the orange-eyed one, causing him to shrink back.
"Finally," started Giovanni, "I want battle you in this Splatfest later."
"We will be win also!" the girl with indigo eyes boasted.
"Until we meet!" Yvonne bubbled. "I no can wait!"
Octa Prisma ran off towards the Deca Tower, their laughter fading off into the distance. Everyone just looked at each other with bewildered on their faces, leaving them in silence.
Yuri was the first to break the silence. "Shall we go?"
Everyone agreed and headed off to the tower themselves. However, before they entered, Perry stopped in front of the stage where Off the Hook performed and began waving his hands wildly, calling Pearl's name. In return, Yuri began calling his friend's name, only to be ignored. After the duo finished singing their song, the pale-haired idol walked up to the edge of the stage and squatted down.
"Yo, whaddya want?" Pearl asked.
"Don't fall off!" Marina called.
"I'll be fine, 'Rina!" she called back. Her attention returned to Perry. "So?"
"I just wanted to say 'hi'!" he replied.
"Hiya," she said back. "Keep bein' fresh, aight?"
Perry seemed to smile from ear-to-ear. "I will!" he promised. He ran under the stage and did a little jump as he cheered. She noticed me! he exclaimed silently. And she called me fresh, too!
"Now can we battle?" Roy asked, crossing his arms.
"Of course!" The purple-eyed inkling put his hands on the tall boy's shoulders. "But did you hear that?"
"Pearl noticed you, we know," Octavia deadpanned.
"Exactly!" Perry ran up to the elevators. "Now, c'mon!"
The group entered an empty elevator. The door closed, and they began descending. The entire time, Perry was smiling because of the encounter with the idol. Now, he was quite motivated to battle and score a win for Team Sweater. The grate soon opened underneath the inklings' feet, and they slipped into it.
The squids on Team Sock spawned in a grassy, open area, underneath panels displaying a space background. In the distance was a pillar with two machines connected to it that spun around as it spread ink. Seconds later, everyone began firing their weapons. Perry decided to stay behind and ink the surrounding area this time around—he wanted enough points to summon his Sting Ray real quickly. He was quickly distracted by something spreading red ink, though. Snickering, he transformed into a squid and jumped to the edge of the ramp, allowing the machine to push him off. The drop was not much, though, much to his disappointment.
"Perry..." Bonnie stopped to look at him. "What are you doing?"
"Havin' fun!" He climbed back up the ramp and let the machine push him off again. "You try!"
"Erm... alright." She fired a small path in front of her with her Classic Squiffer and climbed up the ramp. The two inklings waited for the machine to come back and push them off again. Afterwards, Bonnie transformed back into a kid and shook her head. "I don't get it."
He sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll get back to inking."
A few sloshes later, the boy's hair started to glow red. He noticed one of the walls was being covered by yet another machine and climbed up it. On top of the platform, Perry pulled out the Sting Ray and began to fire it, aiming at the pillar. While he was firing it, a suction bomb landed right next to him, causing him to jump off the platform, back onto the grass. His special weapon ran out, much to his annoyance. The pale-skinned inkling began tossing ink everywhere with his Sloshing Machine again in hopes of gaining more turf for his team.
He threw an autobomb out in front of him. It stood there for a few moments before waddling away towards the pillar. Jade emerged from on top of a box on one of the machines and started running towards him, jumping over the bomb he sent in the process. He gasped and began targeting the dark-skinned girl. A cocky smile on her face, she fired her N-ZAP at him. Perry backed up, hoping to stay out of the shooter's short range. He threw out another bomb, but the next time he tried flinging ink at her, he found he was out of ink. He cursed and swam away before Jade could splat him.
Perry was back at the spawn point. There's not much to this map, is there? he joked to himself. Once his ink tank was full again, he ran back down the ramp. He was surprised to see how much green covered the area. He threw his Sloshing Machine up into the air and caught it, thinking of what to do. Jade suddenly appeared from the corner, rushing up to him again while firing her N-ZAP '85. He tried catching his slosher, but it clumsly fell out of his hands, leaving him defenseless. He threw out one final bomb before he was splatted.
When he respawned, he noticed Bonnie had taken it upon herself to perch on one of the highest points of the stage and aim from there. Seconds later, a red mist surrounded both her and Perry, and in an instant, their bodies were covered in hardened ink.
"Fresh job, Bon-Bon!" the purple-eyed inkling called as he ran towards the middle again. He heard ink fly past him, so he risked looking over his shoulder to see the source. Once again, it was Jade. He threw yet another autobomb and dove into the ink trailing behind the machine spreading red ink in the center. At last, the dark-skinned girl was taken down by the bomb, splatting in a satisfying explosion of red. "Booyah!" Before he could further celebrate, the machine spreading green ink ran over him and splatted him.
To his relief, when Perry respawned next, they were no longer at a terrible disadvantage. Specks of green spotted the area, but his side was mostly red, at least. He super-jumped to Octavia, who camped out on top of one of the platforms that could be reached through the middlemost platform. She stood at the edge, flinging ink with her Octobrush down at the ground.
"Oh! Perry!" she gasped at his arrival. She stopped attacking momentarily, which allowed someone to toss a splat bomb on top of the building. They jumped off to avoid the explosion. He heard Via scream on the way down. Perry looked behind him to see who splatted her—it was none other than Roy. It was then he was pelted with bullets, with his attacker being none other than Yuri.
Once again, Perry was sent back to the spawn point. Only this time, he respawned alongside his wavy-haired friend.
"Well, that was a surprise," he teased.
"They only got us because I was distracted," she said, ignoring his comment. Her orange eyes then faced his. "Somethin' up, Perry? You've been acting more... silly, than usual."
"Yo, ya realize Pearl talked to me, 'ight?" He blushed. "It's like, the second time ever."
"Well, congrats, but we gotta focus on the battle," Via declared.
"She's right," added a new voice. Next to Perry was Inigo, his Carbon Roller thrown over his shoulders like usual. "It's still a Splatfest battle, so we gotta win!"
"For Team Sweater," Octavia added.
The purple-eyed boy smiled. "Right." He looked between his two friends. "For Team Sweater."
The inklings once again charged towards the battlefield, inking every spot of green they could find. Almost immediately after Perry approached the center pillar, Roy popped out of the ink, shooting his Luna Blaster. The boy jumped out of the way, clutching his arm as green ink seared it. He bit his lip to distract himself from the pain in order to toss a glob of ink at the inkling with his hair swept to the side. The tan-skinned boy covered his face, with the bulk of the red ink getting on his arms. This allowed Perry to score another direct hit on his friend and splat him.
The team pushed further into enemy territory, and soon, Perry could activate his special once more. Jumping on one of the platforms, he pulled out a Sting Ray again, this time aiming at the other team's spawn point. The barrier around it shimmered green as the giant beam made contact with it. He then aimed it lower, where he proceeded to pelt Yuri in the face with it.
Perry yelled an apology as his spiky-haired friend splatted. "Sorry!" His Sting Ray ran out of power, and now he could resume inking the area with the Sloshing Machine. Unfortunately for him, he spotted Alexis pulling out some Tenta Missiles, right on the spawn. She proceeded to fire them, and quickly were green missiles barreling towards him. He retreated back towards the pillar, missiles exploding behind him.
With everyone retreating, their opponents could now push back into their territory. Once again, Jade took the lead, with Ink Armor surrounding her teammates. She inked over the trail the machine spinning around the pillar created, but another one quickly covered it back up with red ink. Bonnie held up her Classic Squiffer and fired, piercing through the dark-skinned girl's ink armor. The hardened green ink shattered, and Jade winced. The girl with beige skin charged up her Squiffer again, and one shot later, the other girl was splatted.
Octavia made chase with her sister. Whenever the wavy-haired girl leaped with a swing of her brush prepared, Alexis always seemed to roll out of the way and shoot. Interestingly, she never seemed to land a hit on Via either, as the older sister ran in a zig-zag motion around the pillar. Perry decided to help out as he climbed on top of the box on one of the machines and started to hurl ink down at the dualie user. He landed one direct hit on her, but that did not faze her in the slightest. She simply just changed her focus on Perry. Alexis threw a burst bomb at him, knocking him over and causing him to fall to the ground. The machine ran him over and splatted him.
Perry wasted no time super-jumping back to the action. He launched towards Inigo, who was simply running along, covering paint with his roller. Roy suddenly jumped out at them, but with a vertical swing, the fair-skinned boy was able to take him out in one hit. His hair started to glow, and Inigo threw out a canister containing Ink Storm at one of the buildings in the middle. The purple-eyed boy watched the red cloud roll over the horizon, raining ink down on the battlefield.
All of a sudden, the two machines surrounding the pillar stopped moving. Everyone darted towards it in order to cover it up with ink. The result was a mess. People were being splatted left-and-right. Roy came rushing in with his Baller, and the explosion that resulted ended up splatting the remaining Team Sweater members present. When Perry respawned, he was horrified to see how far Team Sock had managed to push in. A few seconds later, the whistle blew, and it was a game.
"Oh..." Bonnie murmured, walking up to the still ink-spreading machine on the ramp. "We lost."
"Yeah, we definitely lost," Octavia agreed.
Suddenly, the purple-eyed boy had an idea. He started running down towards the enemy turf, calling Jade's name. She turned around to face him, and he trudged through the sticky green ink to reach her.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hey," she greeted back.
"You did superfresh out there," he complimented. "I don't think I've ever encountered someone as good with an N-ZAP as you."
Jade raised an eyebrow. "What are you trying?"
"Noth...ing?" Perry shook his head. "Why would ya think that?"
"It's all the same—some boy walks up to me, gives me a compliment, and five seconds later they're trying to date me." She grumbled, digging her face into her hand. "It's annoying."
"Um..." Perry backed up a few steps. "OK... Um... Sorry."
"It's fine," she said. "I know you, Perry—you're not very subtle."
"So..."
"Thanks, by the way." She smiled. "I've practiced using the N-ZAP just about every day. I don't think I'll ever get tired of usin' it."
"And I don't think I'll get tired of my Sloshing Machine, either."
The two laughed, and just in time, Judd and Li'l Judd showed up. They did their signature dance as always, and the smaller car struck out a green flag, as expected. No cheers or cries were made as they super-jumped out of the Shifty Station, towards the Deca Tower once more so they could see their statistics.
"I wish the Shifty Stations weren't just for one Splatfest," Inigo commented. "They're so fresh."
"I know, right?" Octavia agreed, clasping her hands together.
"I love riding those ink-spreading things," Perry added.
"The spreaders?" Alexis spoke up.
"Is that what they're called?" the boy with the ponytail inquired.
"Yeah," she confirmed.
"Spreaders." Yuri chuckled. "Simple, yet fitting!"
As the statistics scrolled by, Jade asked, "You wanna play again?"
Roy looked around and nodded. "I guess." Everyone else nodded in agreement.
"Booyah!" she cheered. "Maybe we'll get another win for Team Sock!"
"Nah," disagreed Perry. "Team Sweater is clearly better."
"Oh, we'll see about that," Alexis teased.
The elevator door shut once more, and the Rainbow Squids descended through the tower again, ready for another match to start.
A/N: Hey there, it's Branchwing! I find it hard to believe it's already February... time flies. Next thing you know, it'll be the end of the year, and we'll be at this Season 3 moment I've been highly anticipating. Planning ahead? Yes, I know. But I love my Rainbow Squids (and Octa Prisma!). They're practically my children at this point. By the way, fun fact for today: It's a palindrome day! No matter what date system you use, 02/02/2020 will always be a palindrome. Pretty, cool, right? Or should I say fresh? Hmm... Anyways, I don't think this chapter is my best, but regardless, I hope y'all like it as always. Branchwing, out!