Bonnie's PoV
"Booyah!" Yuri cheered. "Donnie made it to the final round!"
"I know, right?" Bonnie enthused. "I can't believe I get to support my favorite turtle!"
"Easy for you to say," Octavia muttered. "Mikey lost to Donnie. I thought he was more popular!"
In the square, inklings around them were dancing as Off the Hook sang Color Pulse, up on the stage above the entrance to the Deca Tower. Yuri and Bonnie both donned purple t-shirts, while Octavia was donning a red t-shirt, marking her as a member of the opposite team. A jellyfish waddled by them, where Bonnie waved at them. They stopped for a few brief moments before continuing on their trek.
"You chose Raph instead, then?" the girl with the double bun commented.
"Yeah, he won the first of these three Splatfests," the wavy-haired girl confirmed.
"Donnie won the last one, too," the spiky-haired boy pointed out. "So, I bet he'll win this one, too!"
"That's...not how it works," Bonnie argued, shaking her head.
"Well, I just gotta hope he wins, and he'll win," he countered, pumping a fist.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, when Raph wins," Via teased.
"No, when Donnie wins," the blue-eyed girl jested. She giggled at her own joke. "See ya tomorrow, Via."
"You too." The wavy-haired girl walked towards the Deca Tower, disappearing into the crowd. Now, it was Yuri and Bonnie's job to search for the other two inklings on their team who had chosen Team Donnie—Inigo and Perry. Via had made sure the former didn't run off as the Vigilante and actually join them today. She even got Perry to watch over him.
The two inklings split up, checking the opposite sides of the square. Bonnie peeked into the shops of the Galleria, scanning each for her friends. She spotted them in Headspace, with Inigo trying on a gas mask.
"I don't like this," he admitted. "It's too stuffy."
"Dunno, I think it looks neat," Perry insisted. "Maybe not with those clothes, though."
The boy with the ponytail took it off and set it on the shelf again. "Maybe another day," he proclaimed.
"OK, but whaddabout this visor?" The pale-skinned boy picked up a golf visor. "Doesn't get in the way."
"I already have that," he groaned. "I wore that for two months straight when I was a newbie."
"Yeah, but that's old. This one doesn't look like it's been caught up in the guns of a Hydra Splatling."
"Perry, you did that. You took my visor and ran it through your Hydra Splatling one day just to mess with me."
"Hey, that was fun!"
"Not for me!"
"Hey, squids, stop!" Bonnie stepped into the shop, sliding in front of the two boys. "We're ready now."
"Oh, Bon-Bon, hey." Perry waved. "Thought I'd see Yuri, not you."
Bonnie winced. "Ouch..."
"Sorry," he corrected himself, frowning. "That was a joke. One hundred percent a joke."
"Didn't seem like it," she muttered.
"You're gonna beat me up 'bout this," the purple-eyed boy commented quietly.
"Let's go," Inigo said at last. "Yuri's probably waiting for us."
The three inklings walked out of the shop, back into the square. Bonnie searched the other strip of buildings in search for her dark-skinned friend. She quickly spotted Yuri walking into the Shoal and started calling his name. He turned around, and with a smile, he ran back to the group.
"Ah, so you were in Headspace!" he chirped.
Perry nodded. "Thought Inigo needed a new hat."
"I didn't need a new hat, but it was pretty relaxing in there," Inigo added.
"Well, are we all ready?" asked Yuri, pumping a fist.
Bonnie nodded. "Definitely."
"Booyah! Rainbow Squids, let's go!"
They ran towards Deca Tower, pushing past the group of inklings that had congregated in front of the stage Pearl and Marina danced on. Inside, the lights in the tower flickered between red and purple, representing this Splatfest's colors. The group pulled out their weapons, ready to battle. Some inklings were dancing near the side of the tower. Bonnie also spotted Tiffany near an elevator, and she shuddered. Her head lifted from her phone as they neared the elevator, and she gave a sweet smile. Bonnie glared at her in return and entered, leaving her behind. Inside was a group of inkling boys she didn't recognize, talking to a familiar fair-skinned girl.
"Tess!" Bonnie realized. "Hi."
Tess turned around and waved. "Hi," she greeted back. Her green eyes scanned their shirts. "Aw, man, you squids are on Team Donnie..."
"I'm just on it 'cause I like purple," Perry replied. "Pretty simple, right?"
"Patch! Tackle! Zip!" Yuri suddenly piped up. The group of inkling boys turned to the spiky-haired boy. "It's you!"
"Hey, Studio," one dark-skinned inkling with a bowl cut greeted. "Nice seein' ya here."
The pale-skinned boy looked over at his friend. "'Studio?'"
"It's a nickname," Yuri explained. "After my headphones."
"Ah, got it. These squids named after gear, too?"
"Yeah, but I can't wear my jacket," an almond-skinned inkling confirmed. "Splatfest rules. Which is stupid, because I like my jacket." Bonnie squinted, examining him. I feel like I know him from somewhere...but from where?
"Guess you're 'Jogger,' then," Perry jested.
"Shut up," he snapped, blushing.
"Anyways, these are some of my other friends," Yuri continued to introduce them, walking up to them. "That's Patch." He patted the other dark-skinned inkling's back. "That's Tackle." He pointed to the honey-skinned inkling wearing an Octo Tackle Helmet Deco. "And that's Zip." He finally pointed to the boy with the jogging headband. "They go to East Inkopolis."
"Nice to meet you," Bonnie said, clasping her hands together.
"Nice to meet you too," Tackle muttered.
"I'll be honest, Studio, thought you mained a slosher or something," Patch continued. "You didn't really strike me as a splatling type."
"Well, I like supporting my friends," Yuri explained. "And besides, splatlings are super fun! You sit back, charge it up, and let it rip!"
"If ya want slosher advice, y'all can talk to me," Perry interjected, sitting on his Sloshing Machine. "They're my favorite."
"Well..." The boy with the bowl cut threw his Neo Splash-o-Matic in the air, which spun around before he caught it. "May the best team win." He then donned a toothy grin. "Better not let me down, Tess."
"I won't!" Tess put her feet together and saluted. "I'll give you a match to remember!"
"That's the spirit!" He pumped a fist.
The elevator began to descend, and a few seconds later, the paneling of the floor slid open to reveal the grate that would lead to their next destination, wherever that would be.
"See you on the other side," Inigo stated. "And may the best team win."
Everyone turned into squids, slipping through the grate and traveling to their next destination. Bonnie popped out on the spawn point, and a little later, she transformed into a kid, looking out on a school's campus. Various sketches were hung up on the walls, and graffiti was present everywhere she looked. Inkblot Art Academy. Once the match started, the beige-skinned girl began firing her Classic Squiffer rapidly, created small trails of purple ink wherever she pointed. The rest of the Rainbow Squids had proceeded, but she hung back, wishing to charge her special weapon up.
The moment her hair started to glow, she began to swim towards the middle area. She climbed up on a box, looking down at the inklings below. Behind the statue attached to the tower in the middle was Patch, and he was now emerging from it. He aimed his shooter at the ground, inking whatever turf he could. Sticking her tongue out, Bonnie began to charge up her Squiffer, and the moment it beeped, she flicked her wrist and shot it, the trail piercing right through Patch's chest. He splatted with an expression of surprise, a red ghost flying away as his gear sunk into the ground.
She hopped down to the main area, scouting it. Inigo ran past her with the wheel of his Carbon Roller on the ground creating a path for her to take. Storing her charge, she dipped into the ink and swung around the bend, popping out and firing a shot afterwards. It didn't hit anything, instead falling on an uninkable wall. Sighing, she activated Ink Armor, a purple mist surrounding her before hardening into a protective layer of ink. She inked the side of the tower and climbed up it, giving her a perch to rest on.
Zip jumped onto the top of the uninkable wall and lifted his Dynamo Roller, preparing to swing it. Before he could complete the swing, Bonnie rushed towards him and fired her Classic Squiffer, splatting him in one hit. What ink managed to leave the roller came in direct contact with her body, shattering the Ink Armor and leaving a few drops of red ink on her clothes. She landed on the ground, the soles of her shoes becoming sticky with enemy ink. She trudged through it until she reached her purple ink, where she submerged in the ink to recover.
Bonnie returned to the top of the tower and charged up her weapon again. While she was gone, Yuri had taken her place, a splash wall set up in front of him. He was firing away with his Heavy Splatling Deco, his tongue sticking out. Trying to dodge his shots was Tess, awkwardly strafing behind the uninkable walls. She tried firing back with her Splattershot Pro, but the splatling proved to outrange her, as she eventually splatted. The splash wall broke, and Bonnie jumped ahead, falling down to the floor, unable to make the jump.
Tackle ran down the ramp, Foil Squeezer in hand. As soon as he turned the bend, he pulled out a Bubble Blower, in which he proceeded to swing it, creating three large bubbles that cornered the beige-skinned girl. She began shooting at them in panicked, only for the bubbles to become red as they filled up with ink. They quickly burst, immediately splatting her. When she respawned, she immediately super-jumped to Yuri, but as she flew through the air, she heard some voices.
"Watch your back, Yuri," said Tackle. His shooter was pointed at the dark-skinned boy. "You never know when someone will sneak up on you."
Yuri turned around, confused. "Huh?" The honey-skinned inkling pressed the trigger of the Foil Squeezer, popping it open. He repeatedly pressed the trigger until he splatted. Bonnie gasped, and she met a similar fate when she landed. A few shots later and she was also flying back to spawn as her gear sunk into the top of the pillar. When she respawned, she was staring straight into Yuri's yellow eyes.
"That sucked," she muttered.
"Yeah." He stepped off the spawn point, adjusting his grip on his splatling. "But it's still early in the match." He looked over his shoulder and smiled at the girl with the double bun. "We can still win!"
She blinked before nodding. "Right."
Bonnie started running towards the middle of the map, only to find that it had been covered in red. Patch was turning the bend, walking up the ramp with his Neo Splash-o-Matic. As soon as his hair glowed under his hat, he began throwing suction bombs from a Bomb Launcher. The beige-skinned girl jumped back, surprised. She climbed up the wall and from the ledge, she threw a point sensor at him. A swarm of purple-and-black markers appeared, coating Patch in it. When Patch noticed it, he simply smirked.
"Being tracked won't stop me," he gloated. "I'll just stop you in your tracks instead." With the last of his Bomb Launcher, he threw two suction bombs up at the wall, landing at her feet. She ran even further back, allowing the boy with the bowl cut to advance further.
Perry dropped down next to her, pouting. "What now?" he whispered.
"I don't know!" she scolded softly. "Why're you asking me?"
"Thought you'd know," he explained. "You're smart."
"Then..." She gulped. Just what were they going to do? Tess had super-jumped to Patch, and she was now firing up at them. They scattered as she threw an Ink Storm at them. "Splat them!" she commanded.
"Should be no problem." Perry threw an autobomb down at the clearing, and it activated, waddling towards the girl with the ends of her hair cut off. She screeched, running away. She tripped on a wooden board, and she stumbled to the ink-covered ground. The bomb blew up at her side, splatting her.
"C'mon, Tess," Patch grumbled, frowning. "It's just an autobomb." His red eyes focused on the two inklings again. "Whatcha gonna do now? Splat me?"
Bonnie and Perry looked at each and nodded. "Yeah," confirmed the latter. "That's the plan."
He gave a toothy smirk. "Too bad I can't let that happen." He transformed into a squid and super-jumped away, much to the blue-eyed girl's dismay. "See ya, suckerrrrrs!"
She lowered her charger. "Dang it... I almost had him."
"On the bright side, they left our base," Perry tried to cheer her up. He started swinging his Sloshing Machine, blobs of purple ink falling onto the lot. Some of it was even dripping off of the statue in the middle. "Reclaim the block; it's splat-o'clock. Time to win, put the other team in the bin."
"Your rhymes need some work," she sighed, shaking her head. The pale-skinned inkling didn't seem to hear her, as he was now advancing towards the plaza. Bonnie decided to follow him down. A wave of red ink crashed onto him, splatting him. She looked up to see Zip, Dynamo Roller in hand. His green eyes met her blue ones, and he raised an eyebrow.
"Huh," he noted. "You look like my mom's friend."
She kept a poker face. "Yeah, so?"
"Nothin'," he replied. "Just thought it was interesting."
She sighed. I need to focus. She inked the side of the tower and charged up her Classic Squiffer. Turning into a squid, she charged up the wall and popped out of the ink, splatting Zip a split-second later. Once again, Team Donnie had regained control of the map. The beige-skinned girl looked towards the side of the map, near the water. Tackle and Inigo were battling, the former swiftly dodging the shots of the latter. Wishing to help her teammate, she swam towards the two boys.
Tackle glanced over at Bonnie, eyes narrowed. "Again?" He threw a bomb at Inigo and ran up to her. "You're like a pest. Always coming back after I splat you."
"It's two-on-one now," she pointed out. "How will you escape this one?"
"I-I can still splat you!" he defended, firing his Foil Squeezer. "I'll-"
He was cut off mid-sentence as a roller crashed down on him, splatting him. Inigo lifted his Carbon Roller over his shoulder, smirking.
"He talks too much," he remarked. He looked up at Bonnie. "C'mon. Let's go. We can't waste much time."
"Right." They dashed up to the main plaza once more. Inigo continued on ahead, up the ramp, while Bonnie returned to the tower she was perching on just a few moments ago. Her posture poised, she charged up her weapon, aiming it in front of her. As she swung her body, the laser that marked the range of her Classic Squiffer moved along with it. In the enemy base, Inigo was swinging his roller around, splashing purple ink everywhere. Patch ran up to him in an attempt to splat him, but Inigo simply dodged the attack and splatted him himself.
He's got this covered, she thought reassuringly. In the meanwhile, she kept a close eye on the area below, searching for anyone who managed to escape Inigo's splatting spree. Yuri super-jumped to her a few seconds later, charging up his splatling and unleashing many ink bullets on the lot the boy with the ponytail was currently lurking. Just as there was only one minute left in the battle, a Dynamo Roller crashed down on him, splatting him. Zip dropped down and pulled out a Sting Ray, aiming at Yuri and Bonnie. They scattered, dropping to the floor.
The girl with the double bun sprinted up the silver ramp and charged her Classic Squiffer once more, splatting Zip as soon as the giant beam coming from the machine he held died down. However, the danger had yet to subside. Red bullets were raining down from above. Lifting her head, she spotted Tess, firing her Splattershot Pro. Not noticing Bonnie, her hair started to glow, and she jumped onto the statue in the middle of the small lot. She burst an Ink Storm against it, and a red cloud now drifted across the stage, drops of ink dripping from it.
Bonnie hopped onto a patch of purple ink and charged up her weapon. Tess's yellow-green eyes scanned the area, and a few seconds later, she noticed the beige-skinned inkling at last. She shot at her once more, and the moment Bonnie released the trigger on the Squiffer, she splatted. The trail of ink was just long enough to splat Tess as well, and now two squid-shaped ghosts were flying to their respective spawns.
From the spawn point, she scanned the map. Team Raph was advancing once more, but Team Donnie was still holding on. She could just barely see another member of her team splat on the rightmost grassy lot. Determined to avenge him, she started to swim over there, Patch coming into view. Bonnie emerged and pressed down on the trigger of her charger, charging its power. He threw a burst bomb at her, causing her to cancel the charge and retreat briefly. Her foe climbed up to the main area, firing his Neo Splash-o-Matic.
"Thou art stopping here," he snickered. "Get it? 'Cause we're at Inkblot Art Academy."
Bonnie's face fell. "...That's lame."
Patch's brow furrowed. "Oh, you're payin' for that!" Before Bonnie could react, he pointed his shooter at her and shot her with ink, splatting her quickly. As she returned to the spawn point once more, she saw Inigo sneak up on him and splat him in retaliation. He wiped his forehead and put the wheel of his roller down once more, covering the center of the map back up.
When she respawned, a whistle blew, marking the end of the match. From the platform she stood on, Bonnie heard clapping behind her. She turned around to see Tiffany, sitting on the sidewalk that separated the stage from the street. A small smile framed her features.
"Well done," she congratulated. "I think you won."
"Have you been here the whole time?" she asked, shrinking back.
"Most of it, yeah," she confirmed. Her body was tilted forwards, her long, red hair falling down to her knees. "Do you have a problem with that?"
"Yeah..." she muttered. She tried to think of a reason why, but the only words that came out of her mouth were, "I do."
Tiffany sighed. "You know, you and your friends have been suspicious from me the moment they met me." She shook her head. "I don't understand. I haven't done anything wrong." She pouted. "So why are you so insistent on attacking me?"
"I-I..." Bonnie stepped back, frowning as she went through all the information she knew about her in her head. Despite Tiffany's claims, one thing stood out to her the most—she hurt Asher, Geneva, and Tess. Of which she is searching for the first two as of this moment. At least, that's what she assumed—if she wanted to hurt Tess, she could have done so back in the country.
"You hurt my friend!" she blurted out.
Tiffany's eyes widened, and she straightened, bringing a hand to her chest. "Me? Hurt you friend?"
"Yeah!" she declared. "T-Tess!" Bonnie didn't want to mention that she knew the young inkling's siblings, too. That would only make the lady more suspicious.
"You mean back at the seahorse race?" she questioned. Before the blue-eyed girl could continue, Tiffany explained, "I was just trying to give her some tough love. She just took it the wrong way, that's all." She gestured for her to leave. "I see Judd. Don't bring this up again."
"What?!" she hissed. "Come back!" Before she knew it, Tiffany was gone. Sighing, she started walking over to the center of the map, where Judd and Li'l Judd were located, standing on top of the central tower. The former had just struck out a purple flag, marking Team Donnie as the winner of this match.
"Woo!" Yuri exclaimed. "We won!"
"Team Raph's got nothin' on us!" Perry boasted.
"I'll admit, Studio," Patch started, "your team has some amazing synergy."
"We've been together for almost three years now," Inigo explained. "Isn't that amazing?"
The boy with the bowl cut laughed. "Guess that makes sense."
"We should go out for ice cream!" Tess suggested. "I'm hungry."
"Are the ice cream shops even open?" Tackle queried, putting a hand on his helmet.
"Well, they gotta be! Or else I'm filing a complaint," the fair-skinned girl defended.
Yuri looked over his shoulder and waved. "Hey, Bon-Bon. Somethin' wrong?"
"It's nothing," she replied, rubbing her arm. "I just saw something."
"And it scared ya?" Perry guessed.
"No, not scare, more like...made me mad." If Tiffany hadn't gotten away, then maybe... She shook her head. I don't know. But we have to stop her. Somehow.
"I think Tess's right," the indigo-eyed inkling pointed out. "I think if we all got some ice cream, we'd be feeling a lot better."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Zip asked, popping some gum into his mouth. "Let's go."
Inigo nodded and turned into a squid. "Let's get some ice cream, and have a splat-tastic time while we're at it."
"Yeah!" everyone cheered.
The group super-jumped back to the Deca Tower, where they promptly left and started heading towards the nearest ice cream shop, still wearing Splatfest shirts. While they walked, Bonnie scanned the streets, looking for Tiffany. Nothing. It was like she disappeared with the wind.
Did I imagine it? Dismissing the thought, Bonnie lifted her head, her chin held high. Enough of that. This is my life, and I'm not going to let those thoughts hold me down. But I still have to be wary, in case Tiffany shows up again...
A/N: Man, a lot of things are going to happen between now and the next Splatfest chapter. What things? If you've been paying attention to chapters earlier in the season you can probably guess, but either way, I'm very excited to write them. Hard to believe I'm almost halfway through Season 3 already. It still feels early in the season. Perhaps before I know it, it'll be the end of Season 3, and all of things I have been highly anticipating this season will have been written. But we still have several chapters to go, so buckle up. We have a wild ride ahead. Next chapter is an Inigo chapter...I can just feel the angst oozing off of it already. Speaking of Inigo, did you see the Square post I made this past Wednesday? It's basically just a drawing of Inigo with some pocky, and I had dressed up my inkling as him, too. Why? Well, it's more-or-less a tie-in with a drawing I did to celebrate Pocky Day, in which a past Geneva meets a Geneva after she comes back from her vacation. In that, past Geneva dons Inigo's ink color, while future Geneva dons a different person's ink color, causing future Geneva to remark how weird it is to see her with Inigo's ink color. But, it's completely irrelevant to "The Rainbow Squids." It's just something I did for fun. If you wish to see it, I recommend looking at my DeviantArt page and not my Tumblr, as it's easier to avoid spoilers there. See you next week, and Branchwing, out!