Yuri's PoV
"Chicken vs. Egg," Roy stated with a sigh. "I swear, these themes are getting more and more ridiculous. Besides, the chicken laid the egg first."
"No, the egg obviously came first," Octavia argued. "It's like how Marina reasoned—you need a chicken to lay an egg, and the chicken came from the egg."
"Whatever, it's a Splatfest," Perry said with a shrug. Much like the boy with hair swept to the side, he wore a white tee that denotated him as part of Team Chicken.
"It's the fun that counts," Yuri reminded them, winking. He himself had chosen Team Egg, like the other Rainbow Squids had done.
"Speaking of fun, where's Inigo?" Bonnie asked. "I thought he would battle with us."
"I dunno." Yuri rose from his chair and started stretching. "Let's hope he comes."
"Well, we can't just sit here," Roy noted. "I wanna get out there."
"Yeah!" Alexis agreed.
"How about we wait?" Bonnie suggested.
"Superfresh idea," the spiky-haired boy commented. "By the tower?"
"By the tower," she confirmed.
"Alright, we'll go to the tower. Maybe get our weapons, too," Roy announced.
Since they were in agreement, the Rainbow Squids started to walk over to the Deca Tower. Yuri pulled his phone out and started texting in the group chat their plans, mainly for Inigo's sake. After the message was sent, he then sent a quick text, asking what team the boy with the ponytail was on. He put his phone away and bumped into someone.
"I'm so sorry, I-" he immediately started to apologize. He stopped himself when he saw who exactly he had walked into. "Asher?"
The green-haired inkling gave a frantic nod. "I have to get out of here."
"Wait, why?" he tried to ask, but the young adult was already trying to rush pass him.
"I saw her; I-I can't let her see me," he replied in a panic.
"Who?" Roy asked.
He gestured for the group to follow him, and they ended up outside of the Grizzco building. He slumped against the graffiti-covered wall and sat down, knees tucked near his chest. He started fidgeting with the wristband that came with the Splatfest and muttered some self-encouragement before speaking louder, green eyes facing the younger inklings.
"Tiffany," Asher started to explain. Yuri heard a sharp inhale from beside him. His yellow eyes drifted over to find Roy, his mouth hanging open. "She's my ex-girlfriend. She's horrible, just horrible." He bit his lip. "She tries to get into your head, m-make you feel like you're nothing." He gulped. "I don't want anyone to feel t-that way. I don't know what she's planning, but it can't be good."
"That's..." Yuri frowned. "That's horrible." How could someone do something like that?
"It is," agreed the green-haired inkling. "She's haunted my dreams for years. Just when I thought I could move on, she comes back. She's gonna find me, and then this nightmare will start up all over again."
"I hope she didn't see you," Bonnie wished. "I know what it feels like to have no way to escape."
"But your parents changed," Octavia noted before returning her attention to Asher. "Why can't this girl?"
"You don't understand," he cried. "She won't change. She wants to hurt you." He wiped a tear from his eye. "Just... s-stay away from her. Please!"
"Aight, aight, man." Perry kneeled down and gave a thumbs up. "We got this."
"How do we 'got this' if we don't even know what she looks like?" Via pointed out.
"We could just avoid everyone named Tiffany," Bonnie suggested.
"Oh, but one of my classmates is named Tiffany!" the spiky-haired inkling protested.
"It was a joke," she said rather flatly.
"I don't want to remember what she looks like," Asher muttered. "B-But, if you see a red-haired lady about my age, I bet that's her. Stay away."
"If you're not too keen on having this 'Tiffany' see you, then you'd best scram," Roy noted, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, yeah, I should." The green-haired inkling rose to his feet, adjusting his ponytail a little bit. "See you later." The Rainbow Squids said goodbye as he walked away, deeper into the city.
After Asher had left, Yuri turned to the tan-skinned boy and asked, "Any updates from Inigo?"
He pulled out his cellphone, and disappointment fell upon his features. "He said he's busy."
"Again?!" Alexis cried out. "What is up with him lately?"
"I don't know, but we have a Splatfest to get to!" the dark-skinned inkling chirped. He patted the young inkling on the head before starting to walk towards the Deca Tower once more. "Woo! Let's go!"
The group entered the tower and started to head towards the interface that allowed them to access the room their weapons were stored in, like they had planned to after Inigo had or had not shown up. Roy entered in some information, and the plates shifted to reveal the stairs leading them to their secret room. Using his phone as a flashlight, Yuri searched for his Heavy Splatling Deco, which it did not take long for him to find. He hugged it for a few moments before letting it relax at his side.
"Hey..." Perry started. "Where's Inigo's roller?"
Yuri waved his phone around to find that his friend was right. "Shoot, yeah, it's gone."
"Did Inigo finally score a lady?" the pale-skinned boy joked. "Maybe he's showin' her his Carbon Roller." A few of them chuckled.
Roy's red eyes scanned the room and announced, "Well, we're ready." He started walking up the steps, Luna Blaster in hand. "Let's go."
"Yeah!"
They emerged from the private room, out into the crowded open. Roy and Perry departed into one of the lobbies, ready to face off against the opposing team, and the other squids were about to depart, too, when Bonnie told them to stop.
"Listen," she requested. They went silent, trying to listen to the noise around them. Yuri couldn't hear much else other than the idle chatter of inklings, but faintly, he heard...
"Is that... crying?" Via asked.
"Sounds like it," Alexis agreed.
They peeked around one elevator to find a short-haired girl with fair skin and teary, red eyes. She donned a yellow t-shirt marking her as a member of Team Egg. She clutched a canvas in her hands, and a Splatterscope was at her feet.
"Hello?" the beige-skinned girl greeted, kneeling down to meet her at eye level. "You OK?"
"No," the girl sobbed. "The V-Vigilante broke up with meeee."
Octavia stepped beside Bon-Bon. "Oh, I know you." She blinked, surprised. "Just a couple of days ago, you wouldn't leave his side."
The girl lifted her head to look up at the wavy-haired one. "Yeah, you're right," she confirmed with a sniff. "I-I made this painting of him." She turned the canvas around, displaying a detailed painting featuring the Vigilante in a hero costume and his fresh roller. "I was gonna give it to him last night, b-but then..." She let out another sob. "Oh, it's horrible! So nonchalant he was, breaking up with me like that!"
"He broke a girl's heart?" Yuri tightened the grip on his splatling. "Alright, this guy needs a lesson on respect."
"H-He's over there, if you want him." The girl lifted a quivering finger towards an inkling boy with white-colored hair tied up into a ponytail, marking him a member of Team Chicken. Several girls surrounded him, trying to touch him. With a blush on his face, he took a pen from one of the girls and signed her arm.
"Hey, Vigilante!" the dark-skinned boy yelled. The fair-skinned inkling snapped his attention over to him and stumbled over to him, the girls letting go of him.
"Yes?" he queried.
"You..." He pointed a finger at him, but soon, he lost his words. What was he supposed to say without being awkward? The Vigilante remained silent at this whole ordeal, keeping a charismatic smile. "You will battle me!" He ran over and grabbed the fair-skinned girl, who let out a squeak, before running back to the boy with the ponytail. "And, uh..."
"Leah," she said. "Remember me?"
"Yeah, I do," he replied. "I remember a lot of girls." He smirked, putting the wheel of his Carbon Roller to the ground. "And yeah, I'll battle you."
"Can we battle with you, Vigilante?" one of his fangirls asked. Surrounding her were two other inkling girls.
"Of course." He lowered his tinted shades and winked, and the girl who had just spoke swooned, putting her hands on her chest.
"So, that's that, then," Yuri muttered. He looked over his shoulder, towards his friends, and asked, "You squids wanna join?"
"We'll join," Via announced, stepping up with Bonnie.
"Yeah, and I'll go find my own battle." Shoulders slumped, Alexis lumbered away, into one of the many elevators.
That was easy, he remarked silently. "The teams are set," the spiky-haired boy announced. "It's battle time!"
"Battle time..." started Leah, "...and revenge time."
The group walked into an empty elevator, and after everyone had entered, the door closed behind them, and it began to descend. With a hiss, it stopped, and the grate opened up beneath them. They turned into squids, slipping through the grate, towards their next destination. It did not take very long before Yuri emerged from a spawn point, facing some sort of shipyard. This stage happened to be one of his favorites—Sturgeon Shipyard.
It didn't take long before his team started inking their side with golden ink. Octavia launched herself off of the spawn point, speeding through the base with the bristles of her brush to the ground. Bonnie and Leah started inking paths to the various perches around the map, while Yuri focused on inking everything left over with his splatling. One couldn't win a turf war without a well-inked base, after all.
The first person to breech their base was one of the fangirls, who carried a standard Octobrush. Some golden ink had splattered onto her white shirt, suggesting that she had just come out of a fight. She stopped in the middle of the area, holding the brush under one arm while she messed with her short hair. The dark-skinned boy threw a splash wall in front of him and started charging up his Heavy Splatling Deco. The girl then noticed him and started running towards him, but before he could release a charge, a beam from his left pierced her side, splatting her. He looked over to see that Bon-Bon had fired a fully-charged shot from her Classic Squiffer. When their eyes met, she simply smiled.
"You saved me there, Bon-Bon!" Yuri complimented.
"You could have handled it yourself," she pointed out. "You had the splash wall and everything."
"Yeah, but you splatted her before my charge was even ready—so I can use this to ink turf instead!"
"I guess you have a point." Bonnie looked out in the distance. "I think it's safe to go ahead. Let's go."
The beige-skinned girl submerged in the golden ink to swim ahead, while Yuri ran up the hill, a charged splatling in his hands. He arrived on the centermost hill and released his charge, spreading many bullets of ink across the land. Once it was over, his hair started to glow, signifying that his special weapon was ready. He pulled out Bubble Blower and swung the wand, creating a bubble of golden ink. He started to swing it again, but something pierced him in his side, splatting him before he could create the second bubble successfully.
He respawned, a little disappoint. It's OK, he told himself. Being splatted during the special happens sometimes. He super-jumped to Leah, who stood on the slow-spinning platform. It was tilted vertically right now, creating a useful vantage point. The red-eyed girl shot the lone bubble Yuri had created, causing it to burst in an explosion of ink. He heard a girl cry out, and beyond where the bubble had been, a white squid-shaped ghost floated off.
"Get off," she grumbled, pushing Yuri off the platform, onto the bridge. He nearly lost his grip on his Heavy Splatling Deco, but other than that, he was physically OK, though he had been a little wounded by Leah's dismissiveness. He rose to his feet, scanning the area quickly with his yellow eyes. He noticed the Vigilante advancing, the wheel of his Carbon Roller to the ground. Yuri backed up towards the edge of the platform, charging up his splatling again. The boy with the ponytail seemed to had noticed him, as he made a sharp turn to come up the bridge. He lifted the roller and jumped into the air, swinging it to create a thin wave of ink. It covered half of the dark-skinned boy with white ink, leaving him very close to death. He released the splatling's charge, pelting the boy in the torso with gold-colored ink, splatting him. However, it was not before the Vigilante got in another vertical swing, splatting Yuri as well.
He respawned to see that the opposing team had advanced quite a bit. Another girl from the opposing team paced around the lower area, spreading white ink everywhere with her N-ZAP '89. She suddenly pulled out some Tenta Missiles, looking around for a bit. Right as she fired them, another beam pierced through her, splatting her. Up on the red grates was Leah, her back up against the wall. A white marker surrounded her feet, and she looked up to find some missiles raining down on her. She turned into a squid to slip through the grate in an attempt to avoid them, but it was no use. One missile crashed into her head, splatting her.
When Leah respawned, she rubbed her head, saying nothing as she ran towards another perch again. Yuri stepped off the spawn point and started charging up his splatling again. His focus? Reclaiming turf. That was the point of a turf war, after all. And right now, Team Egg was losing. From the left side of the stage, where the middlemost area dropped off to access the main area on his team's base, a squid with a stored charge dropped in, a glow marking her position. She transformed back into a kid, revealing her weapon to be a Firefin Splat Charger. She patrolled the area, charge in hand. Someone else super-jumped to her, who just happened to be the Vigilante. She gasped upon sight of him, causing her to fire a poorly-aimed shot towards the ground.
"Oh, Vigilante," she swooned. "You super-jumped to me! Are you gonna protect me from Team Egg?"
"Mhm," he replied, nodding. "Team Chicken will win; I'm sure of it."
The Vigilante started running up a ramp towards the spawn, holding his Carbon Roller like a sword. Multiple vertical swings helped to create a path for himself, allowing him to swim his way up to them. Hiding behind a wall, Yuri charged up his Heavy Splatling Deco, which would help with stealth. He started to fire at the fair-skinned boy, peeking out from behind the wall. At sight of this, the Vigilante retreated, dropping down next to the girl with the charger. Little did he know, someone was waiting. Bonnie dropped down from behind them and released a shot from her Classic Squiffer, splatting them both.
"Booyah!" everyone cheered. Octavia joined the inkling with the double bun, some ink dripping off of her bronze skin. She stepped past her and cleared her throat to speak.
"I placed some squid beakons in the enemy base," Via announced. "I don't think they've noticed yet, so this is the perfect chance to regain a victory."
"You're the only offensive player here," Leah argued, sitting down on the grate. "The rest of us are defensive. We'll have to push into their base if we want to win."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Yuri asked, joining them. "Let's go!"
They started to reclaim their base, but before they could move in any further, the Vigilante appeared once more from the right side.
"Dang, they're fast," the wavy-haired girl remarked. "I got this." She started running towards him, bristles to the ground. Once she was in range, she started to attack him. With one swing of her Octobrush Nouveau, the weapon collided with the side of the Vigilante's head, and his tinted shades were knocked right off. The red shades skipped across the floor, eventually coming to a halt a few feet away from the edge of the map. The fair-skinned boy stood, dumbfounded, his neck craned to the side. Octavia had stopped attacking, instead diving into the golden ink and swimming away.
"Oh my cod!" one of the girls on his team squealed. "I gotta see his face!"
"No way!" exclaimed another girl. "Lemme see!"
"No, let me see!" the third girl on his team pushed the girl with the charger out of the way and started running towards the Vigilante. Fearing what would happen, Yuri started running to another vantage point while charging up his Heavy Splatling Deco. Once she was in range, he released the charge and splatted her. Some golden ink splattered onto the boy with the ponytail's back.
The Vigilante regained his senses and felt his face. He mouthed something before swinging his roller vertically, creating a path, and swimming over to where his tinted shades laid. He emerged from the path and fell to his knees, dropping the Carbon Roller, and he picked up the glasses. He stood up with a smile, grabbing the roller along the way, but his smile fell when he noticed a golden beam pointing at him.
Standing from a perch was Leah, aiming her Splatterscope at him. "So," she started, "you care about your glasses more than women?"
"Y-You don't understand," he stuttered. "I-I can't let anyone see m-my face."
"Well, now I see your face," she fired back. "And I know who you are."
"N-No you don't!"
"Stop lying," she snapped. "I've seen you at school, hitting on girls, hanging out with your real friends." She scowled. "Why aren't you with them right now? Too caught up in this?"
"Uh, Leah," Bonnie started, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Stay out of this!" she demanded, pushing the beige-skinned girl back. Bon-Bon let out a squeak, and the Vigilante flinched at the action. He remained silent at her questions, his mouth hanging open. "Answer me," she demanded.
"I-I..." he stuttered.
"Figures. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't splat you."
"I can give a few. One, so I can put these shades back on. Two, I know you won't expose me, regardless of what you do. Three, I don't think you have the heart to do so."
"You failed."
"Wh-" Leah fired her Splatterscope, piercing the boy in the chest. His possessions fell to the ground as he splatted into a puddle of golden ink, and they soon disappeared. Yuri presumed he would respawn with his tinted shades on, but he couldn't bet on it. The battle only got wilder, with all three girls constantly arguing over who, out of them, was better. The girl with the Octobrush elbowed the girl with the Firefin Splat Charger, stunning her, and with the force of the brush, she pushed her into the abyss. She proceeded to put her bristles to the ground and run up to Leah, who simply splatted her once she got into range.
The match ended not long after the whole ordeal, and everyone stopped inking turf. Octavia emerged from the ink and sat on one of the platforms, digging her hands into her cheeks.
"Ughh, we definitely lost," she whined. "And the Vigilante..."
"What about him?" Yuri asked, joining Via.
"I think I know who he is," she responded. "I'm not sure, but if I'm right, then it's not good."
"Who?"
She leaned over to him and whispered a name into his ear. "No. You're not serious," he whispered in disbelief, yellow eyes widening.
"I am," she countered. "I saw him up close. And it makes sense. Why he only has five tentacles and not six, why he's especially desperate to hide himself from us, and why Inigo's been gone lately."
"Now that I think about it... they sound identical, too." Yuri shook his head. "Well, if you're right, then we need to put some sense into him."
"Nah, that's Roy's job."
She giggled. "Yeah, that's true." A mischievous smile tugged at her lips. "But Roy doesn't know yet, so he can't."
Before they could continue their conversation any further, Judd and Li'l Judd made their appearance, doing their dance before the latter proceeded to strike out a white flag, marking the other team as the victors. Octavia and Yuri looked at each other and shrugged, and they proceeded to super-jump back to the tower. Judging by the map, Team Chicken did outdo Team Egg by quite a bit, but the imbalance was not as bad as Yuri thought. Some golden ink spotted the enemy base, presumably from Via's presence.
"W-Well, I have to go," the Vigilante announced. He started to step out the elevator. "Bye!" Before he could leave, however, Leah got out her painting and threw it at him. "Ow," he hissed, rubbing his back. He turned around and picked up the canvas. "Huh?"
"Take it, Ivan," she commanded. "I don't want it."
"My name's not..." He shook his head. "Never mind. Thank you." Leah did not respond. Gripping the painting in one hand and his Carbon Roller in another, he finally left.
"Let's go find Alexis," Octavia suggested afterwards. "We need to team up with her again."
"Right," Bonnie agreed. Yuri nodded as well, and they exited the elevator. It did not take long before they found the younger inkling. Alexis was hiding behind the elevator next to the one they just came out of.
"Al-" the wavy-haired girl started.
"Shh..." she shushed them. She gestured for them to join her, and pointed at the Vigilante, who was talking to a lady with red, long hair. Judging by the fact that she wore a sweater and not a t-shirt, this inkling was not taking part in the Splatfest.
"Is that Tiffany?" Yuri whispered.
Alexis nodded. "I think so."
They remained silent and started to listen in to the conversation the Vigilante and Tiffany were having.
"...think they found you out?" the lady questioned. The boy with the ponytail nodded.
"One of my exes called me Ivan. Ivan," he added.
"Don't worry," she told him. "No one will find out. If someone did, then you're just doing a lousy job."
"I'm not doing a lousy job. I'm doing great!"
"Are you sure about that?" Tiffany questioned.
"I..." He lowered his head. "No..."
She flashed a smile before continuing. "Hey, with this Splatfest going on... I'm looking for someone."
"Who?"
"The sister of a friend..."
"I hope she's not referring to Asher and Geneva..." Bonnie whimpered.
"She better not," Octavia whispered.
"Asher said to stay away," the girl with the double bun reminded in a low voice. "So don't go charging after her, please."
"...she look like?" the Vigilante asked.
"It's been a few years since I last saw her, but she should be around your age. Green hair, green eyes." She put her hands together. "Please, tell me if you see her. It's very important."
He blinked, surprised at her request, but then he smiled. "Alright. I will."
"Thank you." The two shook hands, and they parted ways.
"Shoot," Octavia swore. "She really is looking for Geneva."
"Good thing she's on vacation," Yuri assured, "or else we'd be in real big trouble."
"Still..." Alexis muttered. "I have a very bad feeling about this."
A/N: Finally, we've learned Tiffany's motives. See, I told you not to trust her! Anyways... is Octavia's theory correct? Well, you'll find out next chapter. I'm sorry this is a little late, but it's still relatively on time, right? Branchwing, out!