Some of DJ Octavio, Callie, and Marie's dialogue come straight from Splatoon 1. All of Cap'n Cuttlefish's dialogue comes from Splatoon 1 as well.
Now, let's answer some of Firemaster0730's burning questions:
First off, I'd like to say that I enjoyed reading through your reviews. And don't worry, you're not coming off as cringy at all. For Perry's choice in the Sock vs Sweater Splatfest, I tend to base them off of what I think they would prefer more, with some obvious exceptions. I do try to balance the teams based on the popularity vote. I'll keep Perry being a simp for Pearl in mind for future choices. I like your little self-insert there, though I don't think Inigo is the type to blab about things that happened to him, especially since he's trying to keep the whole Vigilante thing a secret. And Alexis's ink color is yellow-orange, orange for simplicity. If two characters are related, expect them to have the same ink color. I like your prequel idea, but don't worry; there's six seasons in total. We're not even halfway done yet! I have plenty of time to insert flashbacks. In fact, be on the lookout for a flashback in Season 3. I think you'll like it. Your idea is pretty cool, though the antagonist for Season 3 is set. It's been set since before Season 2 ended, actually. You'll be able to figure out who it is within the next few chapters. And hey, nothing is completely original. If you want a scenario similar to the Vigilante's situation, go ahead and write it. Just credit me for inspiration. :)
As for some other things you discussed, they're spoilers. They'll be answered by the end of Season 3, I promise you.
Now, let's get to the story.
Iris's PoV
"Where are they?!"
Giovanni paced around the Rainbow Squids' table, impatient. He tapped a few fingers against the metal, a stern look on his face.
"If I had to guess," started Brayden, sitting down in one of the chairs and leaning back in it, "they went to investigate whatever's down in that subway. The 'ghost' or whatever."
"Brayden," Iris requested. "Get up."
"OK, wildflower." The blue-haired octoling rose from the chair and walked over to her. "See? I'm up now."
She sighed. "I swear, you can be insufferable sometimes."
"Aren't I the one you've known the longest?" he whispered in her ear. "I've known you since-"
"Stop, stop." She pushed him aside. She loathed talking about her past in public.
"We should go look!" Yvonne offered. "What if there's something fresh down there?"
"I'm not in the mood," Oscar admitted. "I just want to sit down with some food from the Crust Bucket, and eat."
"You're always thinking about food, Oscar," the dark-skinned girl whined. "Why not have an adventure for once?"
"I had an adventure when I came to Inkopolis, and I'm happy to leave it at that." He crossed his arms, still stubborn.
"How about we take a trip down memory lane, then," Brayden suggested. "Octo Valley."
"You're not gonna show us around Octo Canyon?" the octoling with the afro puzzled. "You said you would one day."
"Octo Canyon's too dangerous right now. You have to have an amazing amount of stealth not to get caught."
"I'm stealthy. Why not bring me?" Giovanni asked.
"Because I don't trust you enough."
Iris sighed. "We found a plan, and we're sticking to it." She grabbed Brayden's hand and started walking to the train. "C'mon, we're going to Inkopolis Plaza."
"Fine," the green-haired boy grumbled.
Octa Prisma arrived at the train, where they asked for a few tickets to the plaza.
"Inkopolis Plaza?" the ticketmaster perplexed. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Giovanni replied in Inkling.
"Alright..." He gave the group of octolings tickets, and they all sat down near each other. Soon, the train started to depart, and they were on their way to the plaza. It did not take very long—they arrived within the hour. They hopped off of the train and walked towards the manhole that led to Octo Valley. Without a single word spoken, they turned into octopi and slipped through the grate, and moments later, they emerged in a land surrounded by green grass and rocky formations.
"Woah," Oscar gasped. "I've never been in this part of the valley."
"It's where the New Squidbeak Splatoon hide out," the boy with the mohawk explained. He picked up a zapfish doll from a nearby shack. "Remember the old guy DJ Octavio captured all those years ago? This belongs to him."
"You sure do know a lot," the boy with the afro commented.
"He stalked them for like, two years," Iris pointed out. "Of course he knows a lot."
"I was trying to do the same thing in Octo Canyon," Brayden added. "The thing is, I couldn't keep an eye on them 24/7, since I was trying to make the others believe I was still a member of the army."
"You said they had hypnoshades, now?" Yvonne spoke up. "What's the deal with that?"
"It's something the higher-ups invented to keep everyone in line," he explained. "I had a friend remove the hypnotizing mechanism inside, so I wouldn't be swayed over to the army once more."
"Sounds terrifying," she commented, taking a seat on the bench. Regardless, she still had a smile on her face.
Why do you take everything so lightly? Iris chastised her silently.
"Let's move," Giovanni announced, setting the doll down. "We're not here to sit around all day."
"Aw, alright." Yvonne jumped to the ground, following closely behind the green-haired octoling.
The other members of Octa Prisma were quick to follow, and they soon arrived at a deactivated inkrail. Their leader pulled out his Octo Shot Replica and shot at it, lighting it green. He dove into the bulb, emerging onto the trail as a green ink blob. He looked down at the group with beady eyes, scowling.
"What are you waiting for?" he hissed. "Change your ink color and let's go!"
"O-Oh, right!" Oscar stuttered, the color of his afro quickly changing to match Giovanni's hair. The others changed their ink color as well and dove into the inkrail. Everyone swam down it, traveling until they reached the next sector of Octo Valley, where the Octonozzle once resided, deep within the tower in the middle of the area. It was like a skatepark, similar to Blackbelly Skatepark, only it was not. The ditches here were good for training exercises.
Iris shuddered. It had only been three years, but it still seemed so long ago since she was last here.
"Up there." Brayden pointed a tan finger at the tower. "That's where you fought Perry and Alexis, right?"
"Indeed," Giovanni confirmed. "I see you have been listening."
The boy with a side cut pulled down his face mask, revealing a smirk underneath. "Of course I was listening. Why wouldn't I?"
He groaned. "You're unsufferable sometimes..." he muttered.
"Can we go to another sector now?" Yvonne requested. "I'm bored."
"I can't reminisce?" the boy with the mohawk questioned with a frown.
"Oh, fine." She plopped down onto the dirt, changing into an octopus. She closed her eyes and tucked her tentacles in. "I'll wait."
"Wait, I'll join you." Oscar turned into an octopus himself and slinked over to Yvonne, where he rested alongside her.
Iris groaned and dug her face into her hand. "You guys... Stop trying to take a nap."
"Why?" he questioned. "It's a nice time to take a nap."
"Because I don't want to go through the effort of waking you up later," she argued. "It's annoying, plus it's a waste of time."
"Can't you carry us?"
She snorted. "I'm not doing the heavy lifting."
Oscar reformed into a kid, his arms crossed. "Fine." He picked Yvonne up and placed her on his afro. She sunk into the squishy hairdo, making it appear larger than it actually was.
Giovanni started walking over to the next inkrail, where he proceeded to shoot it, revealing an even longer trail to the next area.
"Shall we go?" he asked.
The members of Octa Prisma looked at each and nodded. Oscar tapped Yvonne to wake her up. He proceeded to place her onto the ground, where she transformed back into a kid. The green-eyed octoling dove into the inkrail first, followed by his teammates. They arrived at the third sector of Octo Valley, which were filled with various towers.
"I remember this place," Oscar mused. "It's where I grew up."
"You grew up here, huh," Iris muttered. "It certainly has an industrial look to it."
"Well, there's tons of stuff you can use here," he pointed out. He picked up a piece of scrap metal, showing it off to the group. "You could repurpose this for building new equipment for the Octotroopers to use."
Giovanni nodded. "It's where I gathered a lot of the parts for the new-and-improved Octonozzle, too."
"Huh, so this sector really does have its uses," Yvonne remarked. "I just thought it was a dump."
"Anyways, I don't have any reason to stick around in this area." He proceeded over to the next inkrail. "Let's get going."
"That didn't take as long as the first one!" the dark-skinned girl complained. "Is it because you don't have anything to 'reminisce' about?"
The fair-skinned boy bit his lip. "Don't say that again," he threatened.
Yvonne blinked and looked off to the side, guilty. She lowered her head as Octa Prisma proceeded to the next inkrail. Once again, Giovanni shot it to activate it, and he started travelling along it, the others also following him. The next sector was one Iris was all too familiar with—it was the sector she and Brayden grew up in, and it was also where she was stationed before the Calamari Inkantation.
Area 4 of Octo Valley was a humble area, but it had its fair share of traps. One must keep a close eye on the ground, or else they risk falling to the very bottom of the valley, never to be seen again. Thankfully, platforms had been installed to lower the chance of an accident, but they still occurred from time to time. Unfortunately, the installation of the platforms meant that intruders would be more likely to break into any of the underground domes. They were already masked with invisibility technology, but yet, some inklings still manage to break through.
Like Agent 3.
"Iris?" Brayden called, snapping the fair-skinned girl out of her thoughts. "You there?"
"Sorry," she apologized. "I was just lost in thought. That won't happen again."
They started to wander through the sector some more as waves of nostalgia started to wash over Iris. She both missed and loathed this place.
"There's so many towers," Oscar commented.
"We should climb up one!" Yvonne suggested. She ran towards one of them and prepared to super-jump. "Catch me if you can!"
"Yvonne!" Iris scolded, anger rising up inside of her. "Get back here!" She super-jumped after her, right onto one of the kettles. Both girls had fallen inside, a side-effect of trying to land on grate-like structures with their ink-based bodies. They ended up spawning in a place...that looked exactly like Bluefin Depot.
"Hey, where are we?" the dark-skinned girl wondered out loud. "Isn't this one of those places octoling soldiers guard?"
The girl with poufy hair blinked, scanning the area. Everything was still there. The only thing that ruined the illusion of the two actually being in Bluefin Depot were the flickering skylights—years had disrepair had caused them to slowly lose power. Some of them had even fallen off, revealing the wiring of the dome underneath.
"Uh... Iris?" Yvonne looked up at her teammate. "Are you there?"
"It was here," she muttered.
"Huh?"
"Where everything fell apart."
A fair-skinned elite octoling paced around the metal grate, observing the lesser octolings with eyes that could pierce through even the toughest of soldiers. In her belt was an Octo Shot, and she held a tablet in her hands. In distance, the golden glow of a zapfish could be seen in the virtual sunset. The elite octoling soon stopped and turned to look at them.
"Attention," she started. "As you know, the Dreaded grows closer to our lair with each passing day. I trust you all to protect the zapfish with your lives. Even when you face death, you must never back down."
"Right!" everyone exclaimed in unison.
"If you flee, the consequences will be great. Do you understand?" She articulated the words of the last sentence to make them especially clear to the soldiers.
"I understand," everyone said.
"Good. Everyone, move out." The group of octolings started disperse, including Iris. She was stopped when another elite pulled on her hand, dragging her towards them. "Except you," the first one said.
"Huh?" the young octoling gasped. "Why?"
"We have an experimental weapon for you to try out," replied the one that grabbed her.
She blinked her indigo eyes. "Experimental?"
The third elite octoling, who had not spoken at all, pulled out a roller with red accents and handed it to the girl. Iris marveled at the weapon. She loved the roller. Even though her only experiences with it had been watching those above her use it. But someone with her ranking, using the coveted roller? It was like a dream come true.
"We want to see how well a standard octoling soldier can use this weapon," the first elite explained. "For a prodigy such as yourself, we are sure you will have no problem using it."
"I..." She trailed off, being at a loss for words. "Thank you. I will not let you down."
The second elite nodded. "Now, go hide. We need to be as prepared as possible for when the Dreaded comes."
The Dreaded... Iris had heard about her. A terrible inkling, tearing through Octarian forces, leaving nothing but a magenta-stained trail of ink behind in her wrath. The very thought of her made her shudder. She could not be allowed to continue on. She must be stopped.
The indigo-eyed girl nodded and ran off, turning into an octopus and hugging against the brick wall. She'll never see me coming. She saw ink trails soar through the sky, presumably belonging to the three elites who were super-jumping back to their base. Suddenly, the ambient light of the spawn point and checkpoints shifted from magenta to a light blue. Almost immediately afterwards, a foreign color glowed from behind where they were once standing. A blob emerged from the hijacked spawn point, taking the form of...an inkling.
This was the Dreaded. Her time to strike had finally come.
Her fierce eyes scanned the area before stepping off of the platform, a sleek shooter-type weapon in her hands. She aimed it in front of her and started walking down the metal steps, firing ink at her feet. The first octoling to jump out at her was an elite soldier, and the dark-haired woman immediately started to charge towards her. She threw a bomb at her feet, but the intruder only jumped back, throwing out her own bomb in response. Blue ink splattered on the elite octoling's clothes, but that did not faze her. She just continued to fight. Fast as lightning, the Dreaded dodged her shots, soon finishing her off with another few bullets from her weapon. A magenta ghost floated off into the sunset, marking her defeat.
Underneath her goggles, Iris narrowed her eyes in frustration. Already, the Dreaded had torn through an elite octoling. Though they were connected to their own spawn point, it was certain that the fallen soldier would not return any time soon.
The inkling continued to walk down the bridge, where a standard octoling emerged from the puddle of magenta ink, located in-between two grates. Slowly, she advanced towards her, firing her Octo Shot. The Dreaded jumped, stumbling backwards, and for a moment, Iris thought they had a chance of winning. Yet, the intruder quickly regained her composure and fired at the soldier, splatting her almost immediately. Iris gasped, covering her mouth with a gloved hand. With no words spoken, she watched as another soldier tried to attack her from below, firing through the grate. Some Octarian ink now dripped from her shorts, but she simply backed up onto solid ground and fired down on the octoling. Again, she splatted rather quickly.
No... She knew she shouldn't be surprised, given the Dreaded's reputation. But seeing it in real life made it a thousand times more horrifying. Her friends... Her friends that she laughed with, played with, looked up to. They were disappearing, fast. Iris turned into her kid form and stood up, her legs shaking. I-I have to stop the Dreaded. Now.
Iris wandered under the bridge, but the Dreaded was already gone. She was following a path of scattered power eggs. A checkpoint lit up once she stepped on it, and the fair-skinned octoling cursed under her breath. She put the roller down to the ground and started to run after her. By the time she reached the checkpoint the inkling had stepped on, the intruder had already entered the nadir, a magenta ghost floating away from where she stood. Another loyal soldier, gone.
"Do I even need the Bomb Rush?" the Dreaded asked to no one, putting a hand on her headset. She went silent for a few moments, and then she said, "I see. Better to save it."
Iris gulped. This was her chance. Her one and only chance to stop the Dreaded, once and for all. It would be so easy. She just needed to approach her and swing her roller down. She was so close to the ledge, so close to dropping down and ambushing the intruder. But... she hesitated. Another octoling jumped over to the side the inkling stood on. She gasped and swung around, pointing her weapon at the soldier. She threw a bomb that exploded on contact with the octoling's skin, and a few shots later, she had splatted as well.
No, no, no... The fair-skinned girl backed up to the checkpoint. The Dreaded inked a wall with a wooden plank leaning on it and swam up it, turning the bend to face whatever lied ahead. I can't, I can't! She jumped down to where the inkling had been standing and felt the ground. It was sticky with blue ink, stinging as it dripped off her fingers. She looked back up at the orange sky, ghosts flying into the sunset. Her terror only grew, but she could not fail her mission. She must not.
She super-jumped up to a higher level, given that it would be difficult to ink the wall with her roller. The Dreaded was ascending the steps when suddenly, she looked over in Iris's direction. She gasped and hid behind a wall, but that did not end the inkling's curiosity. She started walking over to where the young octoling was hiding. At this point, she had turned into an octopus and hid in a small spot of magenta ink, trembling.
"I thought I saw something..." the inkling mused, looking around. The enemy ink on her started to evaporate, and her long hair hung loosely at her sides. She held her shooter much like a soldier would, though her stance was rather unpolished. Erratic, if one could describe it.
She walked up to the ink puddle, Iris growing smaller than she already was. "Was that always there?" she questioned. A bored expression lined her features. Then, she shrugged. "You're right. Well, now it's time to get back on track." The Dreaded walked away, heading back up the metal steps. Yet, the octoling girl still remained, fearful that the inkling would change her mind. More magenta ink rained down around her, the remains of her comrades surrounding her. It was suffocating.
A voice in the back of her mind was screaming to go stop her, stop this bloodshed. With each and every splat, they only seemed to amplify. Yet, Iris continued to be stuck to the floor like glue. She looked up. Sparks flew in the corner of her eye, and the checkpoints nearby started to power down. The zapfish had been captured. She had failed. She watched a blue trail of ink soar into the atmosphere, out of the dome.
The wait of her refusal to her act was now finally sinking in. She emerged from the ink puddle and rose to her feet, dropping the roller. The first elite octoling to have been splatted landed in front of her from a super jump, and her mouth formed a circle on sight of the standard soldier.
"You..." she gasped, her voice whispery. "The one we gave the experimental roller to. You failed."
Tears started to well up within her. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry is not enough." The elite octoling grabbed her hand. "We'll see what DJ Octavio has to say."
"What?!" Iris exclaimed, a tear falling down her cheek. "No! No! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
The elite octoling curled her hand into a fist and punched her in the head, everything going to black.
Iris covered her mouth out of reflex, her indigo eyes watering up as she stared down the place.
"Iris...?" Yvonne called. "Hello?" She waved a hand in front of her face.
She glared at the dark-skinned girl, tears stinging her eyes. "I don't want to talk about it."
It was then Giovanni, Oscar, and Brayden all spawned in around her, startling the fair-skinned girl.
She swung around, placing her feet off of the spawn point, gritting her teeth. "Why did you come?"
"I wanted to see if you were alright," Brayden responded.
"It would be a shame to lose both you and Yvonne here," Giovanni added.
"I was dragged along with them," Oscar finished.
"No one asked," the boy with the mohawk snapped, causing the bronze-skinned octoling to recoil back.
"Could we explore the place?" Yvonne asked, putting a finger up to her mouth.
"Wildflower here doesn't look too hot," the tan-skinned octoling commented, shaking his head.
"Oh, shut up," she hissed, crossing her arms as a small blush bloomed on her cheeks.
"I wouldn't mind checking this place out," the boy with the afro said. "It kinda looks fresh."
"It's modeled after a place in Inkopolis," Iris informed him. "It's gone, now, but the resemblance still stands." A tear started to roll down her cheek, but she simply wiped it away.
"It would be fresh to check it out," Giovanni agreed with the other boy. "I'd like to see more of the Inkopolis of the past, and these domes are the perfect place to do so."
Brayden blinked. "But-"
"I'm the leader." He tapped a boot to the concrete after he stepped off of the spawn point. "We're going."
"Fine." Yvonne and Oscar were quick to follow the green-eyed boy deeper into the depot, but Brayden remained by Iris's side. He gently grabbed her hand and tugged it towards him. "I'm with you," he whispered in her ear. "I'll take you out if it hurts too much."
"I'll be fine," she insisted. "Let's go."
They traversed the familiar scenery, quickly catching up with the others. Ink no longer covered the ground, but there were still objects to mark someone's presence—litter, pieces of metal, other wiring, et cetera. As they approached the nadir, Iris listened in on the trio's conversation further.
"Remember the Calamari Inkantation?" Yvonne chirped.
"The Calamari Inkantation changed my life forever," Giovanni remarked. "I'd never forget it."
"It's where we all met, too," Oscar added. "Without it, I bet we wouldn't be here today."
"I knew you before the inkantation," he huffed. "We were in the same unit."
"I know, I know," he acknowledged. "But it's where we met Yvonne and Iris, too."
The dark-skinned octoling nodded. "We'd still be serving Octavio if it wasn't for the Squid Sisters. And I'd be growing wasabi. Yuck!"
"What's wrong with wasabi?" Oscar frowned. "I like it..."
"How would you feel if you were destined to farm wasabi for your entire life?"
"...Sad."
"Exactly!"
As they continued talking, Iris started to remember her own experience with the Calamari Inkantation. Her imprisonment, the punishment she almost received, and most of all, hearing that heavenly melody, setting her soul free.
Iris sat in the surprisingly well-kept cell, hunched over and fiddling with her thumbs. An elite octoling walked by and unlocked the glass door, offering her a plate filled with some kind of green mush under the door. She took it and started to eat it, the spicy wasabi burning her tongue. She panted, setting the plate down and waving her hand like a fan. Yet, the elite octoling still remained by her cell door.
"After you eat, you will meet with DJ Octavio," she informed her. "It is then he will decide your punishment. Remind me of your crime once more."
Iris took another bite of the paste and gulped. "Failure to follow orders."
The elite octoling smirked. Once the plate was empty, she unlocked the door and took Iris's hand without any resistance. They traversed DJ Octavio's lair, jumping from platform-to-platform. Floating in the Octobot King was DJ Octavio himself, his muscular tentacles crossed and looking down on the Octarian he was speaking to. He fired a missile at the Octarian, knocking them down into the abyss. Power eggs started to float around the spot where they had fallen. Iris approached her leader with tear-streaked cheeks.
"Iris Thaumo. Gen 89 – Octoling soldier. Member of Wasabi Spice Unit 204." The elite had started to read off of her data file. "Currently located in DJ Octavio's quarters. Birthday: February 21st, 2001. Spawn of Marianne Thaumo. An unexpected prodigy in combat. Promoted to the aforementioned unit just after she graduated at age 14. The same year, she was selected to use the experimental roller against the Squidbeak Splatoon. She did not act when one member of the Splatoon invaded Area 4 Dome 5, resulting in her imprisonment."
"Hmm..." was his only response. He lumbered over the dashboard of the machine and stared at Iris with bulging green eyes. "Speak."
"I didn't mean to disobey orders," she started with a croak. "I got scared." She fell to her knees, sobbing. "I'm sorry, DJ Octavio! It won't happen again. I'll make sure of it."
He raised an eyebrow. "I 'member how much hope the elites had for someone of yer kind. But that's gone now, ya hear?"
Her hands began to tremble. No...!
"I'll-" Orange glowed from the corner of her eye, causing the giant octopus to pause. He crawled back into the Octobot King and started to fly towards the source. The turbulence from the jets knocked both Iris and the elite octoling off of the floating platform, causing them to fall. Surprisingly, Iris didn't care. She had begun to accept her fate the moment Octavio started to speak his sentence. She closed her eyes, hoping her death would be swift.
Suddenly, her fall was broken. She fell into something and was then lifted up. Her indigo eyes peered open to see a dark-skinned octoling holding her. Unlike most female octolings she had seen, who all had poufy hair, this girl's hair was curly, reaching her shoulders. A goofy smile was plastered on her face.
"Hey!" she greeted. "What's a soldier like you doing here?"
"I..." She blinked. So, she lived. "You shouldn't have saved me."
"Why not?" She tilted her head, confused.
"I'm horrible and weak." The words felt foreign on her tongue. "I failed to stop the Dreaded."
"Really? That's all?" she puzzled.
"You wouldn't understand," she hissed. "Besides, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm delivering wasabi," she explained. "The guy who usually does it got sick, so I'm doing it for him."
"Ah... I see."
"Anyways, I'm Yvonne Megale of Wasabi Growth Unit 18." She placed Iris down and offered her hand. "You?"
"...Iris Thaumo." She took the dark-skinned girl's hand and shook it. "Aren't you chipper." She then narrowed her eyes and looked towards where DJ Octavio had gone. A green light emitted from the bottom of the Octobot King as it sucked the Great Zapfish inside. The speakers began to rotate, bringing Iris and Yvonne closer towards the scene of the battle. Standing just in front of the spawn point was...the Dreaded. She froze, remembering their earlier encounter.
DJ Octavio placed his wasabi sticks on the turntables of the machine and laughed. "I'ma remix your face, Dreaded!"
"Dreaded?" the inkling puzzled. "I... No..."
DJ Octavio gave her no time to speak further, as he immediately began to launch some missiles at her. He began to play his hit song, 'I Am Octavio,' through the speakers the lair was covered in. The two girls watched the battle in excitement, with Yvonne cheering DJ Octavio's name.
She heard footsteps approach her, and she turned around to see two male octolings. The one on the left had bronze skin and an afro, while the one on the right had fair skin, a mohawk, and a fresh notch in his ear. They appeared to be part of the same unit, given how they arrived together. She tapped Yvonne's shoulder, causing her to turn around as well.
"What are you doing?" the fair-skinned boy asked, his tone hostile.
"I was watching the battle, what are you doing?" Iris countered.
"We wanted a better look," the bronze-skinned boy replied. "Doesn't everyone?"
"How crowded is it back there?" Yvonne asked.
"Quite crowded," the boy with the afro responded. "It's a miracle we could get up here."
"I-" Octavio let out a cry, interrupting the boy with the mohawk. shifting the group's attention towards him. The machine he rode spun around, and he cursed at the Dreaded before flying away. The inkling, a determined look on her face, hopped on the launchpad that had spawned and flew over towards his direction. They started running towards the edge of the tentacle-like stands in hopes to see the action better.
"I can't believe it!" Iris exclaimed, upset. "The Dreaded even tears through DJ Octavio!"
"Apparently she is known as Agent 3 to inklingkind," the bronze-skinned octoling noted.
"What?" Yvonne turned to look at him. "'Agent 3?'"
"That's what the old man said," he confirmed. "Giovanni and I are part of DJ Octavio's personal wasabi supply unit, so we watch him on our breaks."
"He's either insulting Octavio or yapping about the other members of the Squidbeak Splatoon most of the time," the other boy, who Iris assumed to be Giovanni, continued.
"We assumed the 'Agent 3' he mentioned referred to the Dreaded. And as soon as the Dreaded came, it turns out we were right all along," the first boy finished.
"So the Dreaded's real name is Agent 3?" the dark-skinned girl puzzled. "I don't know if that's cool or lame."
"It's lame," Iris argued. "It makes her seem less scary than she actually is."
"It's...cool," Giovanni said. "I like the way she fights."
"Despite being the enemy?" she questioned. "You're weird."
"Ooh, do you have a crush on her?" Yvonne teased.
"No!" he snapped. "Just because I admire her doesn't mean I like her!"
She giggled. "So... What's your name?"
"My name? It's Giovanni Briareus," the fair-skinned boy replied. "I thought you would've picked up on my first name already."
"Yeah, I said his name," the bronze-skinned boy agreed. "Anyways, my name is Oscar Margina."
"Nice! I'm Yvonne Megale!" she greeted.
"And I'm Iris Thaumo." She gave a small wave and lowered her hand once more. Another cry sounded from Octavio, and turning around would reveal that the Dreaded had stopped him in his tracks once more. He flew away, but she simply super-jumped after him. Anger threatened to boil out of her skin. "That inkling!" she roared. "I hope she burns for all that she's done!"
The other octolings flinched at her declaration. "That's a little harsh, isn't it?" Oscar pointed out.
"Has she splatted your friends? Has your life been threatened by her?" she screamed, taking a few steps towards the boys. "I can never forgive her for what she's done! I will never let the opportunity to splat her slip by me ever again!"
"No..." the boy with the afro muttered.
"Exactly." She turned back towards the action. "DJ Octavio...better...win," she strained.
The challenges the Dreaded came across got trickier and tricker every time, but somehow, she did not falter. DJ Octavio managed to blast her with the Killer Wail at one point, giving Iris a brief moment of hope. But, the inkling simply respawned at the checkpoint, much to her frustration. She pummeled Octavio with the fists of his own machine, and soon, he was spinning again, the music finally dying out. The crowd had gotten eerily silent.
Suddenly, the stereo crackled, and DJ Octavio's music was suddenly replaced by two inklings singing, accompanied by a pop-like beat. Iris saw the Dreaded's mouth open in a gasp.
"What's this?" the giant octopus questioned as he started to dance. "Where mah beats?!"
A voice spoke through the speakers, catching Iris off-guard. "Agent 3? Can you hear our song?" Her voice was a little garbled.
"You've got it upside down!" another voice chastised her.
"'Our song?' Isn't this by the Squid Sisters?" the inkling questioned. "But yeah, I can hear it."
"Uh..." The second voice trailed off.
"Huh? What's this?!" the old inkling called from a different location. He broke free from the ropes binding him and started dancing as well. "That heavenly melody... It's the one and only Squid Sisters!"
"Don't you ever worry your granddaughters like that again!" the first voice scolded the elder.
"Agent 3! Take care of Gramps for us, 'kay?" the second voice then requested.
"I'm confused..." the Dreaded said, scratching her head.
"We'll explain later," she added.
"Final push! Chaaarge!" the first voice exclaimed.
"Oh! Right!" The intruder turned into a squid on the launchpad and flew away, towards Octavio.
Suddenly, Iris didn't care anymore about if her leader lost. In fact, she wanted the Dreaded to win out of all people. Suddenly, she didn't feel as if the world was weighing on her shoulders. Suddenly, she started to see visions of a bright future on the surface. Suddenly, she felt unsatisfied with the way things worked in Octarian society.
Suddenly, she wanted to be free.
"This song..." Oscar murmured. He took off his goggles, revealing orange eyes. "It really is heavenly."
"Calamari Inkantaion," Giovanni said.
"What?" Yvonne looked at him.
"Calamari Inkantation; that's the title," he repeated. "I don't know how I know it. It's like a long-lost memory came back to my brain."
"I..." Iris looked down at her feet. "You're right." The other two octolings murmured in agreement.
Suddenly, she felt her feet shuffle about, her body grooving along with the beat. "What's with this song?" she asked to no one, her voice breaking out in laughter.
"We need to leave," the bronze-skinned boy concluded, "but I want to hear this song through first."
"Same," the dark-skinned girl agreed. She then remarked, "I can't believe everything I thought was wrong..."
Iris continued to dance, the rhythm flowing through her body. Looking around, other Octarians were dancing, too. Even the lesser Octarians such as a plain old Octotrooper. She could swear she saw Marina Ida in the crowd of octolings, too. The Calamari Inkantation appeared to be affecting everyone, no matter their status in the army.
Soon, DJ Octavio was launched into the Octobot King. It started to spin around before exploding, splattering orange ink everywhere. Left behind was an unconscious Octavio and the Great Zapfish. It stared at the Dreaded for a few seconds before flying out of the giant octopus's lair. The force from the explosion wasn't enough to splat anyone, but some still got on the Octarians that had managed to get a front-row view, Iris and friends included. She wiped the ink off her goggles and took them off, blinking.
Giovanni took his off as well, grabbing Oscar's and tossing them both into the abyss. "Don't need those anymore."
"We need to get out of here before more elite octolings come to see what happened," Iris declared.
Just as she said that, however, the room broke out in a frenzy to escape the lair. Octolings upon octolings started to pile upon each other, trying to find a way out. Some lesser Octarians were caught in the crossfire, being swept off the platforms and into the abyss. And there were octolings falling off, too. There were quite a few octolings laying low as well, hiding under debris. Without any hesitation, Yvonne rushed to the exit, much to Iris's chagrin.
"There's another way out," Giovanni informed them. "It's meant for emergencies, but this is enough of an emergency."
"Hey, I've been here longer than you," Oscar badgered. "I know it better."
"Take me to the emergency exit," Iris demanded. "I don't care; just get me out of here."
"We'll all get out of here," the boy with the mohawk promised. "I'll make sure of it."
"What about Yvonne?" the boy with the afro questioned.
"She left our group; that isn't important." He turned into an octopus, preparing to super-jump. "Follow me."
They super-jumped from platform-to-platform, until they reached a platform close to the bottom of the dome. She could faintly see the remnants of the abyss's victims at the bottom, but they were hard to make out. Giovanni pressed on the wall, and a panel swung open, revealing the night sky outside.
"You can thank me later," he requested with a smirk. "Now, go."
"You first," Oscar said, bowing.
"Why not you two? You led me here," Iris perplexed.
"It's ladies' first, isn't it?" he teased.
Iris looked back outside. The drop was far, but the flying object seemed to get closer to the sectors with each passing second. She turned her head to say thank you, but her mouth simply hung open when she saw more octolings arrive behind the boys.
"Uh..."
"What are you waiting for?" Giovanni scolded. "Go!"
Oscar turned around and gasped. "Behind you!"
"What?" He turned around to see the crowd rushing towards him. He let out a cry and pushed both Iris and Oscar out of the exit. Iris watched as the octolings piled upon him, trying to escape out the door.
"Giovanni!" the boy with the afro cried, reaching a gloved hand out for him. He retracted it and frowned. "Why did he do that?!"
"Well, thanks to him, we're gonna go splat on the ground," she complained. "If only we had something to super-jump on..."
He scanned the area. "I don't see anything nearby."
Suddenly, Iris had an idea. "Use me!"
"What?!" He snapped his attention to her, orange eyes bewildered.
"I was supposed to be executed," she explained, her eyelids heavy. "I deserve to be down there..."
"You're gonna throw away your second chance?" he perplexed. "I would take it if I were you."
"A second chance..." The visions she had received listening to Calamari Inkantation flashed in her head again. A world without anything to stress over. "I..."
"Well, guess I'll use you, then."
"Wha-" He grabbed Iris and pulled her towards him before turning into an octopus and super-jumping off of her chest. The force only elevated her fall speed, and she started to scream. I'm not dying here!
She was caught in some wires, breaking her fall and electrocuting her. She froze up as the sensation surged through her body, and in an instant, it was gone. She untangled herself and plopped to the ground. Low behold, she was now in Area 3. She thought about staying, but then she remembered her new mission. She turned to the edge of the valley, where the octopus-shaped rock formation rested.
"Hmm..." She super-jumped over to one of the tentacles, scraping herself against the slate. Ignoring the pain, she jumped from tentacle to tentacle, until she had gotten to the top of the octopus's mantle. From here, she could see a city. Inkopolis, home of the inklings.
And soon, it would be her home as well.
Another tug on her hand. Iris looked over at Brayden, who stared into her indigo eyes.
"The others found something," he explained. "C'mon, let's go check it out."
"I hope it's useful," she complied.
The duo walked over to where Giovanni, Oscar, and Yvonne where standing. It was around the bend, where one could drop into the right nadir of Bluefin Depot. Against the metal wall was a trembling box.
"Look at this," the green-eyed boy jeered. "It's alive."
"Ooh, what if there's like... a little gnome?" the yellow-eyed girl suggested. "That'd be cute!"
"Those pointy things squids keep digging up?" Brayden puzzled. "Doubt they can be alive."
"Well, let's see." Oscar grabbed the sides of the crate and picked it up. Contrary to Yvonne's prediction, it was not a living decoration. In fact, it was a girl. Underneath the box was a pale-skinned octoling, with two of her purple tentacles tied up into a ponytail. She wore the old octoling uniform, though her goggles were slung around her neck. Her arms were hugging her knees close to her body, her purple fingertips especially notable. Upon sight of the group, her eyes widened.
"That gear..." she muttered. "It looks like ones I've seen in magazines from Inkopolis."
"Yeah," noted Brayden. "We live there."
She gasped. "You got to the promised land?" She stood up. "Do you know someone named Peony?"
"...Peony?" asked Giovanni, scratching his head. "Promised land...? I have no idea who or what you're talking about."
"Peony's my sister," the purple-haired octoling began to explain. "About a year ago she fell into some hole, and so, I called her on the walkie talkie a few days later. She didn't know who I was at first, but after a little bit, she explained that she lost her memories and was now collecting 'thangs' to go to the promised land, AKA the surface. The last time I spoke to her was after she collected the last thang, so I bet she got a fresh-looking cellphone after she arrived in the promised land and now lives with the inklings!"
"You're a talker, aren't ya," Iris grumbled with a sigh. "Look, what's your name?" she asked, annoyed.
"Peyton Wunder," she responded.
"Nice to meet ya, Peyton," Brayden greeted, reaching out a hand. "I'm Brayden."
"Only Brayden?" Regardless, she took his hand and shook it.
"Err, Pallidus," he added. "I don't use it much anymore."
"You don't use surnames in the promised land?" she puzzled.
"Only in official things, I've learned," Giovanni admitted. "No one wants to hear 'Briareus' on a regular basis up there."
"'Briareus?' Ooh, I've heard about that name!" Peyton enthused. "Ada Briareus, hero in the Great Turf War!"
"I know," he sighed. "I used to hear it all the time."
Iris sighed. "So, you're also a history nut."
"Oh, yeah, I love history! Even if it sucked for the Octarians," she started once more. "But I want to rewrite history in the promised land! Make inklings and octolings live together again!"
"It's going pretty well so far," the blue-eyed boy assured. "You'll love it."
"In fact, why don't you join our team?" Giovanni offered. "Octa Prisma. We've been looking for a purple member anyways."
"A... team?" She smiled. "I would love to."
"Great!" Yvonne helped Peyton to her feet and pumped a fist. Standing, she was an inch taller than Iris. "Let's go back to Inkopolis!"
Iris nodded. "Yeah. I don't want to look at this place any longer. The sooner we leave, the better."
Everyone nodded and super-jumped out of the dome. They emerged on top of the tower looked towards Area 1, where the manhole leading to Inkopolis Plaza was located. They launched over there once more, landing in front of the cabin. Giovanni gestured for Peyton to follow him, and he dove into the grate. After she slipped through it, the other members of Octa Prisma followed her out. They arrived back in the plaza, where they walked towards the train station. They took a train to the square, where they emerged a few minutes later. They started walking to the more populated place of Inkopolis Square, where inklings simply hung out, chatting among themselves and texting away on their phones.
"This is the Galleria," Oscar explained. "You can buy the freshest things here."
"Oh! They won't accept you if you're not fresh enough!" Yvonne added. "So you'll have to go level up!"
"...Fresh? Level up?" Peyton looked around, nervous. "I don't understand."
"Welcome to the surface," Iris deadpanned.
"It took a while for me to understand how Inkopolis worked," Giovanni admitted. "But you'll get it quickly. Besides, turf wars are really fun."
"They are? I'll be the judge of that." Before any of them could say any more, the purple-haired octoling suddenly looked over towards a knocked-over trash can. A jellyfish was walking over to it to set it back up. "Wait!" she called out, still speaking Octarian. She ran over to the can and grabbed something that had spilled from its contents. A broken Tri-Slosher, with a few holes in the plastic and the handle snapped in two. "This looks neat!"
The indigo-eyed girl blinked. "It looks terrible."
"I could fix it," Brayden offered.
"Or you could just go to Ammo Knights and trade it out for a new Tri-slosher," Oscar suggested.
"Is that where they sell weapons?" she asked. The boy with the afro nodded.
"Right there," he directed, pointing at the weapons shop. "It's part of the Galleria, so you can't go in there without being fresh."
"I'll trade it for you," Giovanni announced, swiping the slosher out of Peyton's hands. He pushed the door of Ammo Knights open and entered the shop. A few minutes later, he came out with a brand-new Tri-Slosher and gave it to the newcomer.
"Wow! This looks even better!" she exclaimed, examining it.
"It's new," Oscar pointed out.
"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Iris grumbled, shaking her head.
"How about we treat you to a few turf wars?" the green-eyed boy offered, following his statement with a wink. "It's the least I can do."
Peyton nodded. She walked up to Giovanni and stayed by his side and walked towards the Deca Tower. Oscar and Yvonne looked at each other before racing off after him. Now, it was only Brayden and Iris, alone in the square.
The indigo-haired octoling glanced over towards the Crust Bucket, where many inklings gathered, including themselves and the Rainbow Squids. They were back at their usual spots, chatting away. The blue-haired octoling started to walk towards them before Iris grabbed his hand and pulled him back.
"Not now," she whispered.
He raised an eyebrow. "What? What harm would it do?"
"I don't want to talk to them," she hissed.
He rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. We'll walk to the car." She smirked and ran off towards the parking space near Inkopolis Square. "Hey! Wait up!"
Eventually, Brayden caught up, now outpacing Iris by quite a bit. However, just before they reached the parking lot, the boy suddenly grabbed the girl's shirt sleeve and pulled her into the nearest alleyway. She yelped, surprised at the sudden action. Now, she was staring into his blue eyes, a blush creeping up his cheeks. He pulled down his face mask, revealing a nervous expression.
"What do you want, Brayden?" she demanded.
"I..." He trailed off. "Just let me have this."
"Have what?" Iris raised an eyebrow. The boy's blush continued to grow, his lip quivering.
"I..." He diverted her gaze, turning his head away from her. "...No. Not without telling you first." His hands started to tremble as well as he muttered something under his breath.
Does he...? Iris did not take very long to ponder on her thoughts. "Just spit it out!"
"I wanted to keep it a secret," he started, "but now that I'm on your team, now that I get to battle by your side every day... It's getting harder and harder to hide it."
"Brayden... No, Ray." Iris plopped her hands on his shoulders. He looked back towards her, his blush getting larger. "You're the only person that truly cares about me." She rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes. "When I was all alone, you were there for me. And you went out of your way to make sure I was OK."
He let out an uneasy laugh. "I wanted to make you happy."
She smiled. "I want you to be happy too." As she remembered more about her past, she frowned. "When I was sent away to join the battle unit, I was devastated. I never thought I lose my best friend. I thought the other soldiers in my unit were my friends, but now I realize... They weren't. They never cared about if I died or not. They only saw me as another asset. And young, stupid, naïve." Tears pricked her eyes. "But I'm not anymore. But I still feel like the worst thing in the world. I thought ragging on the inklings would make me feel better, but it didn't. Sometimes I feel bad for them, but Calamari Inkantation or not, I still can't deny what Agent 3 did to me." She laughed and looked up at Brayden. "You're the person I look forward to every day. I can forget about everything for a while when I'm with you."
The blue-haired octoling wiped a tear from her eye. "Then may I?" His blue eyes drifted towards her lips. All Iris gave was a simple nod, and then they leaned towards each other, locking lips. The kiss went on for a while, lasting until the indigo-haired girl felt a raindrop fall on her head. She leaned back and looked up at the sky. The clouds were getting darker by the second, the rain steadily getting faster.
"...Shoot," Brayden realized. He grabbed Iris's hand and ran out of the alleyway, towards the parking lot once more. "We're gonna splat if we stay out here any longer!"
"Took the words right out of my mouth!" she yelled in agreement. "We can continue in the car!"
He looked back at her, eyes widening. "I'm sorry, I think I've had enough for today!"
Iris's face went bright red with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she cried, her eyes watering again.
"Don't be!" he assured. "We can continue another time!"
She gave a quick nod. They then reached the car. The blue-haired boy pulled out his car key and unlocked it, and they both crawled inside, heavily breathing. Resting her head on the dashboard, Iris then started to chuckle.
"It's weird," she admitted, "to think my best friend is now my boyfriend."
He pulled up his face mask, but the blush was still there. "Yeah."
"Let's not tell the Rainbow Squids," she proposed.
"Huh?" He blinked. "If you say so. Don't worry, I'm good at keeping secrets."
"I know you are." She leaned back in her head, processing recent events. Despite everything, she felt...good. Even when she recalled the other members of her team—Giovanni, Oscar, Yvonne, and now Peyton. She felt that they were her friends now, too. And if the Rainbow Squids ever found out about her relationship with Brayden, she worried it would be used against her in the future. But she felt confident right now that she could defeat them all. Even Agent 3.
All she needed was a little extra help from her friends.
A/N: Phew. Welcome to the longest chapter yet. And I thought nothing would surpass "Let's Finish This!". There were quite a few differences between the early version and the final version, but overall, I'm happy with how this chapter came out. I hope this sheds some light on how Octa Prisma acts when the Rainbow Squids aren't around, as well as some backstory! Woo! Anyways, if you've been looking at my profile, you'll know that the Season 3 premiere will come out on September 6th, or this Sunday! I'm so glad Season 3 is finally coming; there are some big things planned... Well, hope to see you then, and Branchwing, out!