Octavia's PoV
"Hey, squids," Perry spoke up, bringing everyone at the table's attention to him. "Y'know Mount Nantai?"
"Mount Nantai?" Octavia puzzled. "Yeah, what about it?"
"I was thinkin'." The purple-haired inkling smirked. "We could go camp there."
"Is that even legal?" Bonnie asked.
"Not on the mountain itself," he explained, "but there's a camping spot nearby. Lots of peeps use it."
"I'd love to go camping," Geneva commented. "It'd make me think of the farm."
"See, that's one reason why we could go camping," Perry chirped. "For Geneva's sake!"
"Camping would be great!" Yuri exclaimed. "I haven't done it in years!"
"I've...never been camping," Inigo admitted. "My parents never took me."
"Well, that's all the more reason to go!" the yellow-haired inkling exclaimed. "Camping is the one thing we should all experience at least once."
"Wise words, Yuri, wise words," Roy remarked, clapping.
"So, it's settled?" Inigo spoke up. "We're going camping?" Everyone nodded. "Alright, we're going camping."
Come the weekend, the Rainbow Squids arrived at the Mount Nantai Camping Site, driving in two different cars. The boys took one car, while the girls took another car. The boys arrived a few minutes after the girls did, immediately jumping out after the car had settled.
"Ah, feel that fresh air Inigo?" Perry chirped, crossing his arms. "That's the scent of the mountains."
"We're not in the mountain, Perry," Octavia remarked, leaning against the car. "We're just at a forest near it." She had been the designated driver of the group—Alexis couldn't drive, Geneva was out of practice, and Bonnie didn't feel comfortable driving to a new place. So, it was all up to Via to lead them here.
"Yeah yeah, I know," he acknowledged. "Way to ruin the fun, Via."
"Wha- 'Ruining the fun?!'" The purple-haired boy started snickering before growing into full-blown laughter. Octavia groaned, throwing her hands down. "You're the worst sometimes..."
"Anyways, don't we gotta check in first?" Yuri pointed out. "That's how camping usually works, right?"
"Here, yes," Geneva added, "though it's not for everywhere."
"I'll check in," Perry announced. "I'm the one paying for this."
"Alright, we'll wait for you," Bonnie agreed.
The pale-skinned inkling walked away, and the Rainbow Squids conversed among themselves. He came back a few minutes later with an urchin, who was holding a stamp and stamp pad. The drab attire he wore marked him as a park ranger, some spines poking out from under his hat.
"Hold out yer hands," the urchin instructed. "Make this quick."
Everyone held out their hands, and one-by-one, the urchin went around and stamped everyone's hands with red printing ink. Octavia retreated her hand after she was stamped to look at the design. It simply depicted Mount Nantai, with squid-shaped arrows swirling around it. The words, 'Mount Nantai Camping Site,' were, unsurprisingly, written beneath the mountain, but still within the circle.
"Have fun," the ranger said, putting the stamp pad away. "Don't forget to check out after yer time's up."
"We will!" Alexis chirped. "Thanks!"
The urchin nodded and walked away, leaving the group to their lonesome once more. Yuri was the first to go ahead, running over to the nearby dirt path. The rest of the Rainbow Squids soon followed, walking along the trail. Trees soon surrounded them from all sides, providing shelter from the harsh summer sun. Some flies buzzed in Octavia's ear, much to her discomfort. She made a face and swatted them away. Yet, they still kept coming. It was something she would have to put up with this weekend, it appeared.
Eventually, more and more tents became visible. They walked past a family of jellyfish, who were playing cornhole with the family of sardines next to them. They then walked past a group of inklings Via didn't recognize, exchanging items she was pretty sure were illegal. A separate group of inklings were partying, with one opening a cooler and grabbing a can of soda from it, waving it in the air. Later, they came across a sea anemone couple, taking selfies with the female anemone's phone.
Soon enough, they finally arrived at their campsite, a rather wide area with a sign staked into the ground to mark it. They pushed past the bushes and trees to find a dirt clearing. A pile of logs was stacked in the middle of it, likely meant to be a campfire. The land dropped off behind some more trees, and Octavia could hear the sound of a stream flowing through the area.
"Well, we're here," Roy announced, throwing down the backpack he was carrying and setting down a cooler. "Finally, I can relax."
"No time for relaxing, Roy!" Yuri exclaimed. "We still gotta set up the tents."
"Mhm," Octavia confirmed, setting down the tent she was carrying.
"One tent for the boys, and one tent for the girls," Geneva observed.
"Well, that's nice. None of the boys can snoop in on our girl talk!" Alexis remarked.
"We could still eavesdrop on you..." Inigo noted.
"C'mon, have some decency," the short-haired inkling groaned.
"Let's...just set these up," the green-haired girl concluded.
They proceeded to set up the tents. While the tents were being placed, Inigo set up a table, while Alexis put some food they had bought on it. They gave each other a fist bump and proceeded to help out with the tents. About twenty minutes later, they were ready. The tents were beside each other, both facing the campfire. The boys' tent was green, while the girls' tent was pink. Octavia wiped some sweat off her forehead and walked into the tent. She placed her sleeping bag down on the floor, then putting her backpack on top of it. Alexis walked in after her, placing her sleeping bag next to her sister's. Bonnie and Geneva walked in next. Geneva placed her sleeping bag up against the wall, while Bonnie placed hers next to the fair-skinned girl.
Afterwards, Yuri and Perry left momentarily. They came back with a small gas grill and set it on the table.
Roy eyed the grill. "What's that for?"
"Dinner!" Yuri replied, enthusiastic. "Wouldn't be a camping trip without a grill!"
He sighed. "Fair, fair."
"You squids want anythin'?" Perry asked, turning to the girls.
Octavia raised an eyebrow. "You can cook?"
"Sure I can," he boasted, tugging on the collar of his hoodie. "I'm an expert at it."
"Sure..." Via's trailed off.
"Oh, yeah?" Geneva teased, crossing her arms. "Go ahead. Cook our dinner."
"I-I'll do that!" The purple-haired inkling grabbed some meat out of one of the coolers. "What, you want grilled fish? I'll make a mean grilled fish."
"Grilled fish works," Alexis muttered.
"There better be teriyaki sauce," Bonnie commented.
Perry turned his attention back to the grill and turned it on. He placed the slabs of raw meat on it with some tongs and kept an eye on it.
"You want help?" Yuri offered.
"Hey, Geneva gave me a challenge," he pointed out. "It has to be me, and me alone."
"Aw, OK..." The yellow-haired inkling pouted and walked back to join the rest of the group, while Perry prepared the dinner.
Octavia expected their dinner to be done rather quickly. She continued talking and talking, awaiting her food. Come sunset, her stomach growled. Perry's grilled fish was still not done.
"Geez, what's taking him so long?" Alexis complained. "It's gonna be dark before we can eat."
Suddenly, an unpleasant smell wafted around Octavia. "Is that..." She sniffed the air.
"Smoke!" Inigo interjected, finishing her sentence.
The group turned around. Perry was absent, and dark smoke rose from the grill. Their food was burning.
"Shoot! Turn it off!" Roy cried out, surprised.
Everyone got to their feet and scrambled to their grill. Yuri, being the closest to the table, reached it first, and shut it off. Slowly, the smoke dissipated, revealing the charred remains of the fish. The top of it seemed fine, but black edged its sides. Bonnie grabbed the tongs and flipped one fish over. The meat was as black as the night sky, and the smell wasn't pleasant.
"I hope you like your fish charred," Geneva commented.
"Definitely not," Alexis said, shaking her head. "I like mine nice and juicy."
"Yeah, it starts to lose its flavor when it's burnt," Roy agreed. "Tastes like crap then."
"I like it burnt," Bonnie remarked. "It has a nice flavor."
"But it's super dry..." the red-haired inkling complained.
"What our dinner tastes like isn't important," Inigo tried to calm them down. "It's Perry's fault that they turned out this way. We should be blaming him."
"Where is he, anyways?" Yuri asked, looking around. "I don't see him anywhere."
Just as the dark-skinned inkling finished his sentence, Octavia heard some whistling from up ahead. She stepped onto the trail to see a glance of purple hair, walking her way. Upon seeing the orange-haired inkling, he waved, though Via didn't wave back. She put her hands on her hips, scowling.
"Hey!" Perry greeted. "What's with that face?"
"Our dinner," she stated.
"Yeah, what 'bout it?"
"You burned it," Geneva interjected bluntly.
"Huh? Whaddya mean 'I burned it?!'" he perplexed, surprised.
"Just come look," the wavy-haired girl instructed. He walked over to the grill, and Via proceeded to gesture over to it.
"Ehe... It's not that bad," he brushed it off. "At least you squids stopped it before it could burn further."
"Let's just eat," Inigo uttered, grabbing a plate.
The Rainbow Squids sat at the table, eating the charred grilled fish. Octavia would've preferred it, well, not burnt, but it would have to do. After they finished eating, Yuri opened the drink cooler and pulled out a water bottle.
"I have a new idea!" he announced. "How about we play truth or dare?"
"Truth or dare?" Roy reiterated. "I'm down for that."
"Hopefully I don't get anything embarrassing..." Bonnie muttered.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun!" Octavia enthused.
"Yeah, I know!" Alexis agreed.
"Alright, alright." Yuri placed the bottle on the center of the table. "Alexis can ask first, since she's the youngest. Whoever the bottle lands on is who she has to ask."
"Please don't be me..." Bonnie muttered, crossing her fingers.
"Aight, aight." Alexis placed her fingers on the bottle. "Ready..." She twisted her hand, spinning the bottle. "Go!" The water bottle spun in circles, before slowing down and stopping in front of the blue-haired inkling.
"Darn it," she cursed.
"OK, Bon-Bon, truth or dare?" Alexis asked, putting her elbows on the table. A mischievous smile crossed her features.
"Umm, dare," she replied.
"I dare you...to lick the bottom of your shoe!"
"What?! Oh..." Bonnie brought her leg up, looking at her feet. She took one of her shoes up and turned it so the sole was facing her face. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
"Do it! Do it!" Roy chanted, slamming his fists on the table. "You can't back out now!"
"Yeah, it's truth or dare, baby!" Perry exclaimed.
Bonnie stuck her tongue out, her hands shaking. She licked the shoe, immediately puckering thereafter. Slowly, she put it back on, and now she sat with her hands resting on the table, clasped together. Her expression made it seem like she just witnessed four Inkstrikes try to overwhelm her with enemy ink instead of just licking the bottom of her shoe.
"Aight, I'm next," the purple-haired inkling announced, placing his pale-skinned hands on the water bottle. "Here we goooo!" The bottle spun and spun, until it landed on Yuri. He turned to his friend, smirking. "Truth or dare, Yuri?"
"I'll take a dare," he answered.
"No one's willing to be honest, huh," Octavia snickered.
"Well, can't take it back now," Yuri defended, putting his hands up.
"K, Yuri, I dare you to kiss the person to your right," Perry instructed. "On the lips."
"Woah, things escalated fast!" the dark-skinned inkling exclaimed. He looked to his right, though there was no one beside him on the bench. However, the person across from him was Geneva. She looked at Perry, who simply gave a thumbs-up.
"Guess I'm kissing you," she muttered.
"Well, at least it's you," he mused.
"Just make it quick."
The two leaned towards each other and kissed each other briefly. They quickly sat back down, both blushing from embarrassment.
"...We both have fish breath," Geneva noted.
"Yeah..." Yuri breathed. "Let's not talk about this again."
"Agreed."
The group turned to Inigo. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Spin the bottle!" Alexis replied. "It's your turn to ask."
"Oh!" He put his hands on the water bottle and spun it, spinning around until it landed on Alexis. He smirked. "Truth or dare, Alexis?"
"Oh, I didn't want it to land on me!" she fretted. "But fine, I'll answer. Truth."
"Truth, alright." He placed his hand on his chin, thinking for a little bit, before opening his mouth to say, "What weapon are you the worst at?"
"That's easy. Chargers," the short-haired inkling replied. "I like moving around. With a charger, you basically have to camp the whole match."
"Not with all chargers," Bonnie argued. "Squiffers and Bamboozlers are very mobile compared to a Splat Charger or an E-liter."
"Hey, that was my question!" she complained.
The beige-skinned girl snickered. "Alright. It's my turn now." She proceeded to spin the bottle, which landed on Perry. "Oh, Perry..." She looked over at the purple-haired boy. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare!" he immediately replied.
"Alright, you have to strip down to your underwear-"
"That's not too bad."
"-and dance like a chicken. For five minutes."
"What?! Are ya tryin' to embarrass me?!" he protested.
"Get to it, Perry." She raised her hand and clapped, dismissing him.
"Agh..." The purple-haired inkling got up from the table and walked over to the boys' tent. He came out a minute or two later, only in pink boxers. Octavia pulled out her phone and proceeded to play a polka tune. Begrudgingly, Perry proceeded to dance to the music. Via held back her laughter, her smile betraying her enjoyment of the scene. After the music finished, he sat back down, defeated.
"I think I got second-hand embarrassment from that," Roy groaned.
"Same," Yuri agreed.
"Anyways, it's my turn now," Geneva announced. She glanced over at Perry. "You're not changing back?"
"I mean, it's almost night. Might as well go to sleep after this is done and over with," he defended.
Geneva sighed and spun the bottle. This time, it landed on Octavia.
"Ooh, gimme a truth!" she exclaimed before Geneva could ask the question.
"A truth?" She blinked. "OK. Do you like the Squid Sisters or Off the Hook better?"
"Oof, that's tough," the wavy-haired inkling admitted. The Squid Sisters were the most iconic in her mind—they were the idol duo when she first started battling in turf wars, after all. It was always her dream to meet them, and by learning of their role in the New Squidbeak Splatoon, she kind of achieved that. Off the Hook, on the other hand, were a very unique group, unlike any she had ever seen before. Their synergy is what made them successful, and their music stands out from any other group. She was also inclined to believe the theory that Pearl and Marina were girlfriends. With all that in mind...
"I'll say Off the Hook," Via concluded. "You're not hearing music like theirs anywhere else!"
Yuri looked at the bottle. "Finally, it's my turn to ask!" He spun the water bottle, which ended up landing on Roy. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare," he said. "No way I'm answering a truth."
"Hiding your secrets, Roy?" he teased. "Oh well. I dare you to sing Color Pulse!"
"Singing?! Y'know I'm terrible at it, right?" the red-haired inkling complained.
"Exactly." Yuri did some finger guns, much to the other boy's annoyance.
"Fine, fine." Roy cleared his throat and began to sing. "Rasta ruminai yonabiarubawe..." When he got to the rapping part of Color Pulse, he tripped up on his words in an effort to match the speed Pearl sung at. He forgot the lyrics towards the end of the song, instead substituting them for humming. After he finished, he looked at the group. "How did I do?"
"You sounded like a dying zapfish," Perry remarked, clapping, "but other than that, it's good."
"Wha- Isn't sounding like a dying zapfish a bad thing?!" Roy cried.
"I dunno, is it?" Octavia teased.
Roy glared at her. "Just move on to the next person."
"My turn!" Octavia placed her hands on the water bottle. Taking a deep breath, she proceeded to spin it. It stopped on Geneva.
"Oh? Whatcha gonna ask me?" the green-haired inkling remarked.
"I take it you want a truth?" the wavy-haired girl asked. Geneva nodded. "Alright. Who's your crush?"
She immediately blushed. "Uh... Is a description fine?"
"Oho, so you do have a crush!" Via jested. "It's truth or dare! You can't back out now!"
"I wasn't backing out," she countered, shaking her head. "I was just asking for an alternative way to answer the question."
"I... Oh, go ahead," she conceded.
"OK." Geneva gulped, her blush still present. "Well, my crush...is nice."
"How descriptive," Roy deadpanned.
"Are they a boy or a girl?" Perry asked.
"Or neither?" Inigo added.
"A girl," the long-haired girl revealed. "She's smart, and she's really good at battling."
"Really?" Bonnie marveled. "Is she as good as you?"
"Yeah, you are really good," the boy with the ponytail agreed. "Even after that vacation, you're still in top shape."
"Well... She kicked my butt once," she confessed. "I don't remember it, though."
"Knocked ya cold," Perry mused. "Never thought of that to be your type."
"Yeah. Ironically it was after she kicked my butt that I fell for her," Geneva continued. "I woke up, and she was looking at me. And then she smiled. She was so pretty in the sunset..." She shook her head. "I'm done. Who's next?"
"That'd be me," Roy declared. Once more, the bottle was spun, this time landing on Inigo. "Huh. Truth or dare?"
"Truth," he replied.
"OK. Who's your new girlfriend?"
"The one question I didn't want to be asked," he groaned, digging his face into his hand. "...It's Naomi."
"Naomi?" Bonnie puzzled. "Like, the one that dated the Vigilante for a month Naomi?"
"The same," he confirmed.
"I heard about that," Geneva noted. "So, after they broke up, she came to you instead?" Inigo nodded in confirmation. "Wow. I knew she had a new boyfriend, but I didn't think it'd be you."
"Well, now you know," Inigo finished. "Just don't talk about it."
"Alright. I know well how to keep a secret."
They continued playing truth or dare into the night, when Octavia started to get tired. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. Alexis yawned as well, followed by the rest of the Rainbow Squids.
"I'm beat," Geneva said. "I'm going to sleep."
"Yeah, that's a good idea." Inigo got up from his seat. "At least we don't have to change into PJs."
He was correct—Bonnie made the rest of the boys do the chicken dance in their underwear. "I'm putting on a shirt," Yuri announced. "I usually sleep with one on."
"While you do that, we'll change," Octavia announced. "We're still in these sweaty clothes."
"Mhm," Alexis agreed. "I want something nice and cool."
"G'night, girls," Perry said, climbing into the boys' tent.
"Good night," the inkling girls replied back.
They entered the tent, where they promptly changed into pajamas, one at a time. Octavia and Geneva went, then Alexis and Bonnie. Octavia climbed into her sleeping bag and looked over at the green-haired inkling. She had put a sleeping mask on, her back against the wall of the tent. Via smiled and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.
She woke up in the middle of the night when she felt something grab onto her. She jumped at the feeling, only to find Alexis with her arms wrapped around her older sister's arm. Her eyebrows were furrowed, a frown on her face. She made a small whining noise.
"Alexis..." Octavia uttered. "I'm here." She placed a bronze-skinned hand on her sister's hand. "Don't worry."
She didn't think it helped much, but the short-haired girl's face relaxed a little bit, seemingly more at peace.
Via looked over at Bonnie and Geneva. The former slept peacefully, while the latter was turning in her sleeping bag, muttering something.
She wasn't surprised. For the majority of time Via knew her, Geneva had a bad case of nightmares. The last time she remembered her sleeping in peace was a few weeks before they battled together for the first time, at a sleepover. It seemed it still persisted, even after her vacation.
But now, Alexis was suffering them.
Why? She didn't know. She probably wouldn't get an answer. So, she went back to sleep, hoping to awake in the morning.
Beams of sunlight met Octavia's face, and her eyes fluttered open, squinting to adjust to the light. She sat up and looked at her side. Alexis was already gone, and so was Geneva. The wavy-haired inkling crawled over to Bonnie and shook her shoulder.
"Wake up, sleepy-head," she told her friend. "It's morning."
"Ngh..." The blue-haired girl's eyes opened slightly, focusing on Via. "I'm tired. Can't I sleep more?"
"But we have a fun day of adventure ahead of us! Like hiking! Hiking around Mount Nantai would be fun, wouldn't it?"
"I guess."
"So, get up! We still need to take a shower!"
"Oh, OK." Bonnie sat up, putting on her retro specs. "Wonder what breakfast will be."
The two girls crawled outside. Alexis and Geneva were seated next to each other, talking. Mimicking the way she wore the sneaky beanie's mask typically, Geneva had a proper eyepatch on the right side of her head.
"Hey," Octavia greeted. The two girls turned around to face the other two.
"What's for breakfast?" the girl with the double bun asked.
"Toast." Geneva grabbed a toaster from the table and showed it to them. "We have bread, and this toaster."
"Toast?" Via repeated. "Alright." Octavia and Bonnie put two slices of bread into the toaster, and a minute or two later, they popped out, now donning a golden-brown color. They buttered the toast and began to eat it.
"Where's the boys?" Bonnie asked as they ate it.
"Down by the stream," Alexis replied. "Dunno what they're doing."
"I'll go check it out," Octavia announced, finishing the toast. "We still have to shower, after all."
She threw the plate the toast was on away and walked down to the bank. Indeed, Roy, Yuri, Inigo, and Perry were all present, still in their underwear. They were simply standing next to each other, facing the river.
"Uh..." she started, curious. "What are you squids doing?"
Yuri flinched and turned to face the bronze-skinned inkling, pulling his pants up. "Shoot! Um... Just admiring the scenery!"
Perry turned around, nervous. "Y-Yeah, nothing to see here!"
"And you're admiring it. All together?"
"Yeah, we're totally not peeing in the river," Roy added.
"Wait, you peed in the river?!" Octavia cried. "There's a bathroom five minutes from here!"
"Sorry, Via," the purple-haired inkling apologized with a shrug. "Couldn't hold it any longer."
"It was a nice bonding experience," the yellow-haired inkling added with a smirk.
"I can't believe you guys..." she groaned. "Look, we're all awake. Let's go shower."
"Great." Roy climbed up the bank, gesturing for the rest of them to follow. "Let's go."
After gathering the girls, the Rainbow Squids started walking to the bathhouse. There were a few bathhouses scattered throughout the camping site, so they didn't need to walk far before they reached one. There were two bathhouses—one for boys, and one for girls.
"You better not sneak a peek," Alexis warned the boys.
"Don't worry," Perry promised. "I have some decency."
"I kinda doubt it," Via whispered to her sister.
"We'll see," she whispered back. "We'll see."
The groups separated, and Octavia entered the girls' bathhouse with the others. It was separated into two sections—one for ink-based creatures, and one for all other creatures. Being inklings, they entered the section labeled with a squid. Underneath the label was a blue square, marking the ink color of the shower. The girls undressed and changed their ink color to match the shower's. Geneva immediately dashed into the shower after she was done, much to Octavia's confusion.
Octavia, Alexis, and Bonnie entered after her. They stayed close to each other, sharing their shampoo and conditioner. As they showered, the wavy-haired girl glanced over at Geneva. Her back was turned, rubbing shampoo through her hair. After she rinsed herself, she left as soon as she came.
"You girls think Geneva's acting weird?" Via spoke up. "She didn't join us at all."
"Yeah," Alexis agreed. "Maybe it's related to why she keeps hiding her eye."
"Definitely," Bonnie concurred. "I don't get it. She could just tell us why. We're her friends."
"It's probably like, a huge secret," the wavy-haired inkling theorized. "Let's not pry on it."
"Yeah," the beige-skinned inkling concluded.
Geneva was waiting for them in the locker room, wearing the same clothes she wore the previous day. The other girls changed into fresh clothes, and they proceeded to leave the bathhouse. The boys were waiting for them outside.
"Alright," Inigo started. "Shall we go hiking?"
"Yep," Geneva responded. "I'm pumped."
"Alright." Alexis jumped up between them and threw a victory sign in the air. "Rainbow Squids, let's go!"
They proceeded to spend the rest of the day hiking. Nothing particularly eventful happened, but it was a good bonding experience. Inigo almost walked off a cliff a few times, but Roy saved him before he could fall. They even hiked up to the top of Mount Nantai, where they proceeded to rest. While they took a break, Alexis proceeded to tell a ghost story.
"You wanna hear a story I heard 'bout this place?" she proposed.
"Go ahead," Inigo permitted.
"Alright, so." She clapped her hands and rubbed them together. "Legend has it that if you go to Mount Nantai alone, on a quiet night, you can see a tiny, pale shadow, wriggling and wreathing in the forest. And then, suddenly, BAM!" She clapped them together, causing everyone to flinch. "You hear an ear-splitting scream, loud enough to shatter glass." No one reacted to her last sentence. "That's the part where you run for your life."
"Bah, that's nonsense," Geneva dismissed. "Probably some animal. Or a squid using a Killer Wail."
"I dunno, this mountain's almost abandoned," Bonnie defended with a shiver.
"Guess we'll never know," Octavia said with a shrug.
When they arrived back at the campsite, it was once again sunset. The group made s'mores, roasting marshmallows over the campfire. Yuri suggested that they roast chestnuts instead, but the other Rainbow Squids shot down the idea. Soon, they were once again ready to go back to sleep. Octavia plopped down on her sleeping bag, exhausted, and quickly fell asleep.
Via once again woke up in the middle of the night, Alexis clinging to her once again. The wavy-haired inkling looked at the other side of the tent, only to find Geneva absent.
That's weird, she thought. She wiggled her way out of her sister's grasp and stepped out of the tent, putting on sandals. She examined the campsite. Geneva was nowhere to be found. She walked down to the riverbank. She wasn't there, either.
"Maybe she just took a walk," Octavia mused to herself. "There's nothing to worry about."
Though, her sisterly instincts were kicking in. She didn't know how long the green-haired inkling had been out, but she worried something bad would happen to her.
She returned to the campsite, searching the area. She soon spotted some fresh footprints, leading onto the trail. Assuming the footprints to belong to Geneva, she started to follow them. They led further into the area, passing by some more tents. The footprints soon led off the main trail, into a side, hiking trail. It was surrounded with vegetation, the trees and bushes thick with leaves.
"Why'd she go this way?" she wondered out loud. "Maybe she's going to hug trees?" She laughed at her joke. "But wait, she could've just done that at the campsite. Hmm..."
Octavia started walking down the trial, leaves brushing her legs. She ventured deeper into the forest, the trees soon coating her with darkness. She could barely see anything in front of her—only the faint glow of the underside of her tentacles. But, she had to press on. She wasn't going to leave without Geneva, and if she failed to find her, then she would definitely not get lost in the forest.
Eventually, she spotted another inkling, the underside of her long hair glowing dimly. Excited, she started to run towards her.
"Geneva!" she called. "Is that you?"
"Huh?" The inkling turned around. "Octavia?" That was definitely Geneva's voice.
"It is you!" she exclaimed. She stopped a few feet in front of her.
"What are you doing?" she puzzled. "It's pitch black out here."
"That's what I should be asking you!"
"Well, I couldn't sleep, so I took a walk. But that still doesn't answer my question."
"I woke up and didn't see you, so I started looking for you. But now that I found you, we can walk together!"
"Aren't you tired?"
"Yeah, but-" She paused when she heard something rustle in the leaves. Octavia's face fell, nervous as she looked around for the source of the sound.
"Who's there?" Geneva demanded, pulling out a glowing weapon. Judging by the pattern, it was an original Hero Shot Replica.
A soft laughter could be heard. Octavia looked up to see a glowing red dot within the tree. The dot then disappeared, and the branch rustled. She felt enemy ink drip onto her.
"Look out!" Octavia exclaimed, tackling Geneva. They crashed to the ground, just in time to escape a ring of glowing circles around them. Magenta ink exploded within the ring, some of it getting on their shoes. The red glowing dot appeared again, this time facing them. Octavia pulled out her phone and turned on her flashlight, facing the phone towards them.
Their attacker was a funny-looking inkling that was younger than them, wearing sleek, black clothing, which included a crop top, shorts, and boots, revealing her tan skin. Her hair was in a braid that reached down to her waist, and a fourth tentacle rested on the side of head, like it was part of a side cut. Black shades hid her eyes, and she had a devilish smile on her face.
"An octoling!" Geneva gasped.
"That's an octoling?" Octavia puzzled. "What's one doing here?"
"Of course..." she grumbled. "Octo Valley is near here. But I thought they moved...?"
They didn't have time to talk further, as the octoling began shooting at them. They rolled out of the way, dodging the shots. Geneva fired back at their attacker, shooting green ink back at her. However, it appeared that her aim wasn't to splat the octoling—she was inking the ground.
"You have Calamari Inkantation on your phone?" the long-haired inkling asked her friend.
"What? Calamari Inkantation?" she reiterated. "I do, but why ask now?"
"I have an idea." Geneva super-jumped over the octoling, causing her to look around, confused. The inkling jumped down on their attacker, pinning her to the ground. The octoling's weapon was knocked out of her hand, and she struggled to free herself from Geneva. "Via! Play Calamari Inkantation!"
"Uh, OK." She pulled up the song on her phone, and she turned the volume up, the Squid Sisters' voices now coming through the speaker. The octoling stopped struggling as the song progressed. Geneva let go of her, standing up and putting her weapon away. The octoling got up as well, reaching for her weapon.
"...Must...fight..." she muttered, her voice strained. "Commander King...wills it."
"I don't think it's working," Octavia remarked.
"Maybe we need a live performance?" Geneva pondered. She grabbed the octoling and apprehended her, causing her to gasp. "We'll figure out what to do with her."
Via turned the song off, causing the octoling to regain her aggression, flailing her legs. "Let's go back."
"Right."
The two inklings arrived back at the campsite, dawn approaching. Inigo climbed out of his tent, yawning. He looked over at them, surprised.
"Who's that?" he asked, examining the octoling.
"Name not important," the octoling growled. "I splat with honor."
"We're not gonna splat you, relax," Octavia calmed her down. She looked at Inigo. "I was thinking we could bring her to the New Squidbeak Splatoon."
"...But we'll have to go back to Inkopolis first," he pointed out. "Literally no one else is awake."
"We leave today anyways," Geneva remarked. "It won't be that long."
"Thank cod..." Octavia muttered, relieved. "I'm done with all these bugs."
A few hours passed, with Octavia keeping an eye on the octoling. Geneva was originally watching her, but she fell asleep, resting her head on the table. While she waited for the rest of the Rainbow Squids to wake up, she attempted to make conversation with the octoling.
"So, what's your name?" she asked her.
"I say name not important," she snapped. "Despicable inklings. Let me go."
"No," she stood her ground.
"Despicable, despicable," she scoffed. "I splatted for sure."
Alexis was the last to get up, and when she saw the octoling, she let out a scream. "Ah! What's an octoling doing here?!"
"She jumped me and Geneva in the middle of the night," Via explained. "We're gonna bring her back to Inkopolis and hand her over to the New Squidbeak Splatoon."
"Whatcha think the New Squidbeak Splatoon's gonna do?" she demanded, crossing her arms. "You're lucky you captured her at all!"
"You sound like you're speaking from experience," the wavy-haired inkling deadpanned.
"I-I'm just being rational! You know about the Great Turf War... We almost lost to the Octarians!"
"Hmm..." Octavia pulled out her phone and started playing Calamari Inkantation again. The octoling relaxed, though she appeared uncomfortable. "It has some effect on her..."
"I..." She bit her lip. "I cannot...forget...mission..."
"Looks painful," Yuri commented from the other side of the table. "Maybe the name question will work now?"
"Maybe." Octavia looked over at the octoling. "So, what's your name?"
"...Name..." The octoling gulped. "...Elyse Pallidus..."
"Oh, that's pretty," she remarked. She turned off Calamari Inkantation, causing Elyse to shake her head furiously.
"Use force so I give name," she growled. "Despicable inklings."
"Via!" Bonnie called from within the girls' tent. "Come pack your bags!"
"Oh!" she gasped. "Right!" She stood up. "Watch over Elyse for me, OK?" she requested of Alexis. The short-haired inkling nodded, and Octavia climbed in the tent, packing her belongings.
After everything was out of the tent, they folded it back up, now able to be carried. Octavia picked it up and looked back over at the table. Inigo tugged on it. Alexis grabbed Elyse and stood up. The boy with the ponytail woke Geneva up and started to fold the table once she was off it. Soon, everything was set. They could start returning to the cars and go back to the place they came from.
"That was a fun camping trip, wasn't it?" Perry remarked as they headed back towards the entrance.
"Octolings aside, yes," Geneva agreed. "It was fun."
"Booyah! Mission accomplished," the purple-haired inkling cheered, pumping a fist. "We need to go camping again some time."
"Yeah," Inigo added. "It would be nice to go here again."
"Double booyah!" Yuri exclaimed.
The rest of the Rainbow Squids cheered, while Elyse simply scowled.
Finally, their camping trip had come to an end, and now they were returning to Inkopolis with a possible new friend in hand. Octavia just hoped that whatever the New Squidbeak Splatoon had in store, it would lead to Elyse being freed from the Octarian army.
A/N: A few notes to make here. 1. Commander King is another character of mine; he will not appear in "The Rainbow Squids". However, he is in another story that I may or may not publish to AO3. He doesn't play a major role there, but it does provide some insight into his character. I thought referring to him here would be a neat reference to it. 2. The idea of the Rainbow Squids bringing back an octoling is remnant of a scrapped version of the Season 2 finale. In the original version, they didn't encounter Agent 3 at all, instead finding a sanitized octoling and bringing her back to Inkopolis. I scrapped it early into Season 2 because it was just too odd - besides, there was not a reason for them to go down there in that version. 3. Elyse is Brayden's sister - they have the same last name. If you're wondering when Brayden said his last name, it was in Bonus Story 3, when Octa Prisma is introducing themselves to Peyton. I don't have much to add, though I'm sorry this is, once again, a little late. I'm not particularly in the mood to talk right now. Branchwing, out.