The Squid Sisters' dialogue is taken from Splatoon 1.
Yuri's PoV
September 2nd, 2014
Walking through the halls of West Inkopolis Middle School was a yellow inkling boy, clutching the straps of his backpack. It was the first day of eighth grade, and it is often a hallmark for young inklings. Eighth grade, a year of change. Most inklings gained the ability to transform during this year, and it was also the last year of required schooling in Inkopolis. And with gaining the ability to transform came the ability to participate in ink battles.
Yuri was excited. As soon as he turned 14, he could officially register himself to participate in ink battles. But that wasn't all—he also needed the ability to change forms. And he wasn't quite old enough for that just yet.
"Hey, Yuri!" someone called. He turned around to see a purple inkling boy running up to him, wearing a CoroCoro cap on his head. "You've seen Roy yet?"
"Roy?" Yuri blinked. "What about him?"
"Nothing," he replied. "I just haven't seen him. And he's usually here by now."
"Oh, that's weird," he admitted. "I'm sure he's alright. It'd take a lot to stop him."
The bell rang, and the two boys looked at each. "That was quick," the purple inkling remarked. He started running off. "See ya later, Yuri! Lunch, if we're not lucky!"
"Bye!" He waved and lowered his hand. He started walking to his homeroom, scanning the halls. He soon found it and entered the room. Loe behold, his homeroom teacher was a teacher he didn't particularly like. Ms. Poma, a blue angelfish, was one of the meanest teachers in school. He and Bonnie had her for language class last year, and she was absolutely terrible. She constantly failed everyone in the class, pitting them against the work of college students. The only student she liked was a single jellyfish, who was a writing prodigy. Unfortunately, he was not in seventh grade language class now.
Ms. Poma slapped a meter stick in her hand and pointed at Yuri. "Yuri Gahhm," she snarled, her lips curling. "Go sit down. Right there." She pointed at the seat closest to the door.
"OK, OK..." The yellow inkling sat down where the angelfish instructed, waiting for the rest of the people in his homeroom to pour in. He tapped his foot, impatient.
Ms. Poma, strangely, did not tell one green inkling to sit down. Instead, she directed her to the wall, where she stood, nervous.
She turned to the class and cleared her throat. "Attention, you freshness-obsessed pricks. We have a new student attending our school." She pulled out a paper and read the name on it. "'Geneva Gonati.' She comes from the countryside. Say hi, Geneva."
"Hi," said the green inkling, shuffling her feet.
"Sit there," she instructed, pointing at an empty desk. "Go! Good squids should sit down, and listen to their teacher."
Geneva scrambled to the desk, sitting down without saying another word. Ms. Poma proceeded to hand out their schedules, and Yuri was quick to read it. His first class was science. He never was a fan of science...
The bell rang, and Ms. Poma yelled, "Scram! Stop sitting around all day!"
Yuri got up from his seat, but instead of leaving immediately, he walked over to the new squid, Geneva. She held the schedule in her hands, donning a poker face. Upon Yuri's arrival, she gasped, surprised.
"Hey!" he greeted. "Nice to meet ya!"
"Um... Nice to meet you too," she greeted back. "What class do you have first?"
"Science," he replied.
"With..." She looked at the paper again. "Mr. Portugal?"
"Yeah!"
"Woah, we're in the same class."
"Booyah!" Yuri cheered, pumping a fist. "Let's go there together."
"OK," she simply said, raising an eyebrow.
Nonetheless, they left the classroom, Ms. Poma yelling at them to go to class. Some people in the grade below them were walking into class, worried looks on their faces. The two inklings simply walked past them and started searching for the science classroom.
"Too bad you got stuck with Ms. Poma for homeroom," the yellow inkling remarked. "She's one of the meanest teachers in the school."
"I see," she muttered. "Is Mr. Portugal any nicer?"
"So I heard," he replied. "Apparently he's pretty funny."
"Hm," Geneva said with a smile, closing her eyes. "Just as long as he doesn't tell stories the entire class. I had a teacher like that last year."
"Ha ha," Yuri laughed. "By the way, if you need someone to sit with at lunch, you can sit with me and my pals."
"If I'm not the only girl, then...sure," she muttered.
"Don't worry, ya won't be," he said with a wink.
They arrived at class and promptly took their seats. Mr. Portugal, a man o' war, proceeded to go over the syllabus and ended the class teaching them about the scientific method. Yuri didn't see Geneva after they left class, though hopefully, he would see her at lunch.
However, at lunch, he and his friends found himself with a much more major predicament.
Come lunch, an inkling boy—one that could change between forms—with tan skin and shoulder-length red hair walked up to their table, much to their confusion. Yuri huddled near Perry, staring up at the boy with bewilderment. The red-haired boy seemed equally confused, raising an eyebrow.
"Are you a high-schooler?" Bonnie asked, cowering behind Octavia. "You look so mature..."
"What are you talking about?" the boy puzzled, looking between them. "It's just me."
"Huh? Did you do somethin' to Roy?" Perry demanded, stepping up to him. He grabbed a fork and pointed at him. "I'm not afraid to use this!"
"Perry! What the heck?!" he cried out. "I am Roy!"
Perry lowered his hand. "Oh."
"But I thought Roy didn't change yet," Octavia puzzled. "When did this-" She gestured to the tan-skinned inkling. "-happen?"
"Since yesterday," Inigo explained. "Trust me, I was at his house yesterday."
"Why didn't ya tell us?" Yuri asked.
"Yeah, I was worried about him!" the orange inkling complained.
"I wanted it to be a surprise," the indigo inkling countered. "And it worked! See?"
The yellow inkling turned back to Roy. "Can you turn into a squid?"
"A squid?" he repeated. "OK." The tan-skinned inkling became covered in red ink, his features becoming indistinguishable as his form shrunk to the size of a squid. His backpack and lunch bag fell to the ground, a red squid now sitting where Roy once stood. The squid sat up and waved a tentacle.
"Woah." Perry leaned over and picked up Roy, holding him out in front of his face. "Dude, you're tiny!"
Roy scowled at him. "That's what you say," he grumbled. He transformed back, causing the purple inkling to let go in surprise. "It feels weird to transform into a squid. I'm small, and I can't walk."
"I bet you'll get used to it," Yuri assured him. "I mean, if you want to play a turf war, you'll have to transform all the time! And you can hide in ink now! Isn't that super-duper fresh?"
"I guess..." Roy scratched the back of his head. "But I'm still 13. I don't turn 14 for another two weeks."
"Yeah, so you'll have time to get used to it!" he chirped.
He smiled, pumping a fist. However, his face quickly fell. He looked back at the group of inklings, a worried look etching his features.
"But I won't be playing turf war with the rest of you!" he panicked. "That's gonna suck!"
"Um... Am I interrupting something?" a new voice asked.
Yuri looked past Roy to see a familiar green inkling. Geneva! The girl was holding a tray of food, frowning.
"Oh, it's the new squid," Perry remarked. "Hi."
"Hi." She scanned the group. "Yuri, Octavia, and Bonnie... You three are all here."
Via looked at the yellow inkling. "You asked her to eat with you too?"
Yuri nodded. "Yeah! I just can't leave a newbie to sit all by themself!"
"Huh?" Inigo walked up to Geneva, an eyebrow raised. "Who are you?"
"Geneva," she replied. "That's my name."
"You said she's new?" Roy asked, looking down at Yuri. He gave a quick nod.
"Come sit down," Octavia suggested, patting an empty seat next to her. "Next to us."
"OK." The green inkling walked over to the orange inkling and sat down, placing her food tray on the table. The group now turned to face each other, silent.
"So... What now?" the tan-skinned inkling asked, sitting down at last.
"I think we need to make a promise first," Inigo announced, still standing on the floor of the cafeteria. He reached out his hand and hovered it over the center of the table, palm down.
"Which is...?" Octavia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We won't start doing turf wars...until after all of us can change forms," he declared. "We've been friends for years, and we've done almost everything together. Why not do the same for here?"
"Where do I fit into this?" Geneva asked, looking over at the indigo inkling. "I just met you squids. I'm not your friend..."
"We can be friends," Yuri remarked. He placed his hand over Inigo's. "That's why we all invited you here, right? Because we want to be your friend."
Her eyes grew wide with wonder. "You really think so?"
"Yeah," Bonnie muttered. "We can be friends."
"Why don't you be our friend?" Inigo suggested. "You'll fit in perfectly."
Geneva looked between the inklings and smiled. "Thanks." She placed her hand over Yuri's. "I'll make this pact with you too."
Everyone else placed their hands on top of one another, and then Inigo continued to speak. "From this day forth, until we can all change forms, none of us will participate in a turf war. Tentacle promise." Everyone nodded with determined faces. "Alright. Three, two, one..."
"Booyah!" everyone cheered, throwing their hands up into the air.
The tentacle promise was made. Now, the wait begun.
May 28th, 2015
The end of the school year was nearing. Most inklings Yuri had gained the ability to change forms by now, himself included. Shortly after his fourteenth birthday, he had practically woken up in a new body. His once yellow skin, slightly darker than the color of his ink, had become a dark brown, and his overall features had become...more adultlike. It took a few weeks to get used to, but now, he was an expert at changing between a kid and a squid.
Everyone in his friend group had the ability to change forms now...except Perry. It has been two months to the day since he turned 14, yet he still looked like the seventh graders that kept running around in the eighth-grade hallways.
Someone started playing Calamari Inkantation on loop before school started in his classroom a few weeks ago, and it became a habit. One inkling placed a radio down on a lab table and pressed the play button, causing the heavenly tune to echo throughout the classroom. Yuri started humming to it, soon dancing to it. The Squid Sisters' hit song was just too groovy to resist.
"Yo, Yuri," Perry's voice greeted.
Yuri stopped dancing and looked over towards the door. A pale-skinned inkling stood in the doorway, looking at him expectantly. His purple hair was tied up into a ponytail, some bangs covering his forehead. There was only one explanation...
"Perry!" he gasped, running over to him. "You finally changed!" He punched his shoulder lightly and started changing between a kid and a squid rapidly in celebration.
"Huh?" Geneva lifted her head, looking over at Yuri and Perry. "Oh!" She walked over to him. "Finally, we can all play turf wars together."
"I know, right?" the dark-skinned inkling remarked, changing back into his kid form. He turned back to Perry. "Do the others know yet?"
"Nah, just got here," he replied. "Plan to tell them when I see 'em, though. Just wanted to see you first."
"Well, now we got a plan," the other boy rambled on. "We go to the registration office, register, and get a weapon and some gear! And then we can battle together!"
"Yeah, yeah," Perry agreed, his voice getting higher with excitement. "That's superfresh! Right after school, right?"
"Didn't we talk about this a while back?" Geneva pointed out with a shrug.
"Yeah," Yuri acknowledged. "Which is why I mentioned it."
She laughed. "Of course you did. Didn't think anyone forgot."
The boys laughed as well, and then Perry said, "Ah, well. See ya later."
"See ya," Yuri said back, waving to him as he returned to his seat. It appears that at last, he and his friends would participate in their first turf war together.
Shortly after registering, Yuri received a starter's gear set—a white headband, a basic tee, cream basics, and a Splattershot Jr. So did everyone else. They changed into the starter's gear and exited the registration center. They walked to Inkopolis Plaza, which wasn't far from the building. And when they arrived, they looked around in awe.
Yuri had only been in the plaza when the fox and tanuki statues were being cleaned, but now, when there wasn't a big crowd standing in front of the statues, it seemed...normal. Several inklings walked around the plaza, some chatting with each other. One inkling exited the clothing shop on the side of the plaza, carrying a few bags of clothes. Another entered a café on the other side of the plaza. However, perhaps the biggest draw was the Squid Sisters. There was a ramp leading up to the top floor, where one could peek inside the stage used for Inkopolis News—he recognized it by the bright colors used. Several inklings were crowded around the window, to the point where he couldn't even see the Squid Sisters.
Yuri turned his attention to Inkopolis Tower. It was one of the two towers in Inkopolis, the other being Deca Tower, though barely anyone young goes to the square, where it was located. It just wasn't very fresh. Inkopolis Plaza, on the other hand, was very fresh. Especially when the Squid Sisters were here! Oddly enough, the Great Zapfish wasn't curled around the tower, like it usually was. He ignored it, however. Perhaps it was just going to get food somewhere.
"Wow..." Geneva breathed. "So this is Inkopolis Plaza."
"Yep," Inigo chuckled, crossing his arms. "Fresh, right?"
"We gotta battle," Perry announced, turning around and moonwalking towards the tower. "It's a rite of passage."
"But there's only seven of us," Octavia pointed out, scanning the group. "We'll need an eighth squid if we want to play turf war."
"Maybe we can find another newbie?" the indigo-haired inkling suggested. "There has to be one somewhere in the tower..."
"Yeah!" Yuri agreed. "C'mon, let's go!"
They ran towards the tower, the doors sliding open. To Yuri's surprise, it was bigger on the inside. Green patterns flashed around the walls, complete with some elevators lined up against the far end of the building. The three major modes—turf war, ranked battles, and squad battles—were marked with giant signs depicting their respective logos. Screens below the signs showed the stages for each mode, just as it done outside. A fourth sign, depicting the logo for private battles, was located to the left of the turf war sign, though there were no screens displaying the stages available.
"Wow..." the yellow-haired boy muttered. "It's huge!"
"Yeah..." Bonnie agreed, eyes wide with wonder.
Roy scanned the area. "I can't see anyone," he remarked. "This is gonna take a while..."
"Yeah-" Inigo's voice cut off when he perked up, looking over towards something...or someone. Yuri looked over at where he was looking. A long-haired inkling a few years older than them exited the ranked battle lobby, a Carbon Roller thrown over her shoulder. Her current ink color was lime green, but her eyes were indigo, not to dissimilar to Inigo's own indigo eyes.
"Ophelia!" Inigo called, waving a hand. "Over here!"
"Ophelia?" Geneva asked, confused.
"My sister," he responded, quieter. "I've told you about her, didn't I?"
"Oh, that's your sister," she realized. "Y'know, I expected her hair to be tied back..."
Ophelia ran up to them, a big smile on her face. "Inigo! You're finally doing turf wars!"
"Yep," he confirmed. "We were all gonna battle together, but we need an eighth squid."
"I can be that eighth squid," she offered. "I'll get out my Splattershot Jr., too. Just for this match!"
"Perfect!" Yuri exclaimed. He pumped a fist. "Finally, our first turf war... I've been waiting forever for this moment!"
"Give me one second." Ophelia winked and ran off. A few moments later, she returned, holding a Splattershot Jr. Instead of a Carbon Roller. She still donned the same clothes as she did when she exited the elevator—a squid hairclip, a black layered LS, and squid-stitch slip-ons. "Ready!" She snickered. "I'm gonna crush you all!"
"Woah, take it easy!" Roy pled. "At least on us! We're newbies!"
She sighed, lowering her weapon. "Alright, alright. Can't promise that, though."
"No, promise that," he demanded, turning into a squid. "Tentacle promise?"
Ophelia simply stared down at him.
"Do it," Inigo requested.
She sighed and turned into a squid herself, wrapping a tentacle around Roy's. "Tentacle promise."
They transformed back, where Ophelia proceeded to lead them to an empty elevator. The elevator wasn't too big, but it was just the right size to fit eight inklings. As soon as they filtered inside, the door closed, and Yuri felt the weight of the elevator shift, causing them to descend. He tapped his foot, excited. It was almost time for their first turf war.
The elevator suddenly stopped, much to everyone's surprise. Yuri felt something under him slide open, and soon, he found himself standing on some sort of grate. Ophelia turned into a squid and slipped through the grate, like she was some kind of liquid. Yuri and the others quickly followed, the metal briefly phasing through his body before he was set on a track to elsewhere.
All of a sudden, he popped out of some kind of glowing platform, resting on the top in the form of a squid. Just what this was appeared in his mind—a spawn point. A few seconds later, he transformed back into a kid, holding a Splattershot Jr. He looked to see who his teammates were. Roy, Octavia, and Geneva. Which meant that the others were on the opposite team.
He tried firing his Splattershot Jr. Some orange ink squirted from the barrel of the shooter, flying out a few feet in front of him. Smiling, he started walking and shooting at the same time, covering some turf on the metallic bridge. In the distance, he saw some towers that he could obviously not reach. Judging by the shape, he had an idea where he was.
Saltspray Rig. They learned about it in school. It was the most prolific oil rig in Inkopolis. It was also conveniently a great spot for turf wars.
The bridge dropped off into a series of skinny catwalks. He saw two ways up to the top. There were some elevators near the bottom, or he could take the long way. Yuri ultimately decided to take the elevators, walking over to them, inking his surroundings at the same time. However, soon, he found himself with an empty ink tank. He searched his brain for knowledge on what to do in this situation. He remembered watching some turf war matches, but he couldn't remember the specifics.
Soon, he found his answer—hide in the ink. He took a few steps back and turned into a squid, dissolving into the orange ink. He remained there until he felt his ink tank fill up completely, and then he emerged from the ink, continuing to shoot the Splattershot Jr. and walk towards the elevator. At the elevator, he encountered a familiar face—Perry. His hair was colored blue now, and he was also shooting ink from his Splattershot Jr. When he noticed Yuri, he lowered his weapon and waved.
"This is fun!" Yuri exclaimed, stepping in front of where the elevator would be. "Don't ya think?"
"Yeah." He looked down below, a nauseous look on his face. "I just wish we weren't in the middle of the ocean."
"There's other stages, though," he pointed out. "We won't be here all the time."
He gave a slight nod. "Mhm. I'm happy for that."
"Wait!" he suddenly remembered, pointing his shooter at Perry. The pale-skinned inkling threw his hands up, surprised. "This is a turf war, and we're on opposite teams! I should be splatting you!"
"U-Uh... Don't splat me!" he cried out. "Splat Inigo! Or his sister!"
"All's fair in love and turf war, Perry!" he declared. "Our battle starts, now!"
He gulped and pointed his Splattershot Jr. at him. "So be it. Let's go!"
The two boys ran towards each other, firing their shooters and yelling battle cries. Blue ink came in contact with Yuri's chest, and his battle cry soon turned into one of pain. Perry's features distorted into pain as well as orange ink hit him. The blue ink was soon overwhelming, and Yuri felt himself explode, popping into a mass of blue ink. His gear sunk into the ground, and he was now flying away in the form of a ghost. Perry had done the same, but instead he exploded into orange ink.
Yuri's ghost entered the spawn point, and a few seconds later, he was once again in his kid form, like nothing had ever happened. There was no sign of damage whatsoever. ...Aside from a painful sting. But considering the healing properties of ink, he assumed it would quickly go away. He turned into a squid and swam through the ink, popping up occasionally to ink any walls that could be inked. He was right—the pain did go away as he submerged in the orange ink. Soon, it was like nothing had ever happened. He once again arrived at the elevator, covering any blue ink nearby with orange ink.
At the top of the rig was Ophelia. She sat on a box, throwing a splat bomb up in the air and catching it.
"Hey, Yuri," she greeted, winking. "That's your name, right?"
"Huh?" he puzzled. "How do you have a splat bomb?"
"It comes with the Splattershot Jr.," she explained. "Pull one out, and you'll see!"
He searched his pockets and felt something. Indeed, in his pockets was a splat bomb. Keeping one eye closed, he threw it towards Ophelia, causing her to scramble off the box. It started tipping off the box, unable to keep the balance. It fell where the older inkling had jumped off, and the bomb proceeded to explode, followed by Ophelia's scream. A blue ghost flew from where the bomb landed, signifying his success.
"Booyah!" he cheered. "Another one for me!"
Octavia soon joined him, surprised. "What? You splatted someone?"
"Yep!" he confirmed. "And I splatted the oldest one here! Ophelia!"
"Oh my cod, that's good!" she enthused. "You're a master already!"
"I know, right!" he agreed. "If we keeping inking this thing, we'll win for sure!"
"Mhm," she agreed. "Let's paint the rig orange!"
The two inklings proceeded to fire their Splattershot Jrs., making sure to cover every single spot with orange ink. Yuri's head was low, focusing on the ground, while Octavia's was raised high as she focused on the walls and crates. She climbed up one tower of crates, inking the very top of it.
"I feel like I'm on top of the world!" she declared, throwing out a victory sign.
"You should try throwing out a bomb!" Yuri called up to her. "Ophelia taught me how! You just reach into your pockets and bam, bomb!"
Octavia followed his instructions, and soon enough, a splat bomb was in her hands. She threw one down, landing behind Yuri. It exploded behind him, though it had little effect.
"Bad choice, Via," he heard Inigo's voice say. He turned around to find the fair-skinned boy, his weapon held out in front of him. Blue ink surrounded him. "I'm gonna get you!"
"Not if I get you first!" Yuri announced, running towards him.
"Bubbler!" Inigo exclaimed with a smirk, and before any ink could get on him, his hair flashed blue, and he suddenly became covered in a blue, translucent barrier. Yuri smacked into him, stumbling and falling to his feet.
"Wha?!" he blurted. "How'd ya do that?"
"It's my special weapon," he explained, twirling his weapon in his hand. "You can't hit me as long as I have this."
Yuri snickered. "I'll find a way." He jumped back up and ran back a few steps. "A Bubbler's not gonna stop me!"
In that moment, the dark-skinned inkling felt a rush of adrenaline surge through his body. His own hair flashed orange, and in an instant, his surroundings became tinted orange. Gasping, Inigo started backing up before changing into a full-blown escape. He turned into a squid, splashing through the blue ink, allowing Yuri to track him. Inigo's Bubbler broke, just as he reached some orange ink. Panicking, he started covering the area around him, though his efforts came to naught—Yuri reached him and fired his Splattershot Jr., splatting him in a few swift hits.
"Booyah! I've splatted three!" he exclaimed once more. However, he then heard someone approaching him. "Huh-" His words were cut off when ink hit his arm and side, causing him to recoil backwards. He turned to face his attacker. Ophelia. He didn't have time to react, as she dashed towards him and splatted him in a few more hits.
As he floated back to the spawn point, he saw Ophelia laughing. "Always keep an eye on your surroundings!" she sassed. "Don't know when someone will sneak up on you and splat you!"
He respawned, his confidence deflated. So mean... He took a different route this time, turning left at an intersection and dropping off to the lowest part of the map, a metal platform with some crates in the middle of it. However, he also happened to land right into blue ink. He lifted his foot, the sticky liquid dripping off of it. He shot ink as his feet, replacing the enemy ink with ink he could actually walk through. He continued inking the area without any further incident. He looked around, Ophelia's advice in mind. No one seemed to be around. He continued up the bridge, towards the elevators.
However, as he got to the elevators, someone dropped down on him, hitting his head and stunning him for a few seconds. "Ow..." He rubbed where he had been hit, gathering his bearings. Next to him was Bonnie, eyes wide.
"Oh my cod!" she immediately explained, bowing and holding her hands out in front of her. "I'm so sorry for hitting you, Yuri! Please forgive me!"
"Bon-Bon, it's fine," he assured her, patting her head. She stood up straight, a small frown on her face. "I bet things like this happen all the time in a turf war."
She sniffed, rubbing her eyes. "You think so?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
She smiled. "Thanks, Yuri." She turned around, shooting ink at the bridge where the dark-skinned inkling had come from. "I'm gonna keep inking things. Bye."
"Bye." The beige-skinned girl walked away, doing exactly as she described. When the elevator to the top of the stage arrived once more, Yuri hopped on it, hiding in the ink to refill his ink tank. He hopped off it and remained in the orange ink for a few more seconds, now fully recovered. He emerged and started inking the area once more.
Once again, he was caught off guard, splatting before he reached the area farthest from the spawn point. His suspicions were correct on who splatted him—Ophelia. She was once again laughing, leaning back against the box he had first found her one. As he floated away, he spotted Octavia, still on the top of the tower of crates, throwing bombs down on the people below her.
Yuri decided to attempt to make his way over to Octavia this time. He swam through the ink to get a head start, soon approaching the top of the stage once more. Geneva had arrived with him. Ophelia emerged from behind the box, spinning her weapon around once more. Her hair was glowing blue, much like Inigo's had done when he first encountered him.
"C'mon, Ophelia," Geneva groaned, scowling at her. "You made a tentacle promise to go easy on us. A tentacle promise!"
"I am going easy," she defended. "Guess I'm not going easy enough if you're saying that."
"Yeah, you caught me off guard! Twice!" Yuri commented in protest. "At least don't ambush us!"
She shrugged. "Guess it's a force of habit. I'm used to ambushing squids."
"At least try to stop for this game," Geneva requested.
"Alright, alright," she groaned. "I'll stop. I'll just, ink turf I guess." She walked past the two younger inklings, leaving them alone once again. They looked at each other and nodded. They started inking the area, covering it with orange ink. They soon encountered Octavia, who let out a sigh of relief at their arrival. She jumped down to their level.
"You're finally back!" she exclaimed. "I thought I was gonna be there forever!"
"...You could've left at any time, y'know," Geneva pointed out.
"I know," she acknowledged. "But it was scary without a friend. I kept throwing bombs, and I splatted anyone who came up here. All by myself!"
"At least you managed to hold off the others," Yuri comforted her. "That's pretty rad, isn't it?"
She looked up at the dark-skinned inkling with orange eyes and gave a nod. "Thanks." She started walking up the ramp. "Finally, I can ink the rest of the map, and we can win!"
"That's the spirit!" he cheered. "C'mon, Geneva! Let's go!"
They continued inking Saltspray Rig. With the three of them together, they were able to splat anyone thrown at them. Geneva tripped and fell into the water, causing Octavia to laugh. However, they were joined by Roy, who activated Bubbler. A protective barrier covered not only himself, but the other two inklings present as well. Yuri's eyes grew wide with wonder, and he started running ahead, only for the Bubbler to deactivate as soon as he was far enough away from Roy. He pouted and started running back, only to find that Roy's Bubbler had deactivated as well. A bomb dropped down on them, causing them to scatter. All three of them splatted.
They all respawned, dazed. However, it didn't matter, as a whistle blew, signifying the end of the match. The rush of battle fading away, Yuri scanned the map. It appeared that his team had one, but at the same time, it was extremely close.
"That...was epic," Roy breathed. He turned to the group and donned a toothy smile. "I can't wait to do more!"
"Same!" Octavia agreed, pumping a fist. "This was the best day of my life!"
The three inklings continued to talk about the battle when a black-and-white creature suddenly jumped in front of them. They stopped, turning to look at it. Small, pointed ears, a plump body, and a tail, ending in an arrow.
There was only one person this creature could possibly be—Judd the cat. His large, yellow eyes stared up at them before turning to scan the stage. He started dancing, piquing Yuri's curiosity. He leaned closer, eager to see was Judd would do. He struck out an orange flag.
"Huh?" Roy blinked. "Did we win?"
"Heck yeah we did!" Via exclaimed. "Whatever color flag Judd throws out is the winner of the match!"
"C'mon, Roy, thought you knew this," Yuri teased, patting him on the back.
"I sure did!" he defended, flustered. "I just forgot, OK?"
"Sure you did," the bronze-skinned inkling deadpanned.
They noticed streaks of blue ink, flying through the sky. "We should probably get back," Yuri suggested. "...Looks like we have to super-jump? Is that right?"
"Looks right." Roy turned into a squid, preparing to soar through the air. "Let's go." He super-jumped, and Octavia and Yuri then did the same. They returned to Inkopolis Tower, where they could see their statistics. Of course, Ophelia had splatted the most people.
"We did great," Inigo remarked. "Great job, Rainbow Squids." He looked over at his sister. "...And Ophelia."
"Hey!" she complained.
"'Rainbow Squids?'" Bonnie puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, uh... It was a thing I came up with," he explained. "You see, because our ink colors follow the rainbow."
"Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple," Octavia listed. "...Hey, you're right!"
"Funny our names line up with the colors, too," Perry remarked.
"Then from this day forth..." Inigo held out his hand, palm facing the floor. "We are the Rainbow Squids."
"Rainbow Squids..." Geneva repeated. "I like that name." She placed her hand on top of Inigo's.
"Agree!" Yuri chirped, placing his hand of Geneva's.
Everyone else put their hands on top of each other, barring Ophelia, and then Inigo began to count down. "One, two, three..."
"Rainbow Squids!"
Everyone threw their hand up in the air and started changing forms rapidly in celebration. Ophelia simply chuckled, closing her eyes with a smile.
"Fourteen-year-olds... Wish I could experience my first turf war again."
The Rainbow Squids continued partying. Now that they had a name for themselves, they were one step closer to becoming masters at turf war.
The next day...
The group of inklings left Inkopolis Tower, pumped after their latest battle. They eagerly talked among themselves about the results of the match.
"Dude, did you see my little trick with the Splattershot there?" Roy enthused. "I activated Burst Bomb Rush, and bam bam bam! I splatted two people!"
"I know, that was really good!" Octavia agreed. "Like, super-duper good!"
"Imagine if you mastered that," Perry remarked. "You'll be the freshest squid on the block."
"I know, right?" the red-haired inkling gloated. "Everyone will be jealous!"
As they stepped into the large clearing, they suddenly heard the intro to Inkopolis News, directing their attention to the large screen plastered on the side of one building. Soon enough, the cheery voice of the black-haired idol reached their ears.
"Hold on to your tentacles..." Callie started.
"It's Inkopolis News time!" Marie finished.
A transition played, and then the first idol was exclaiming, "News flash! News flash!"
"What is it? What is it?!" the second idol demanded, her voice getting more excited.
Callie's tone then turned into shock. "Inkopolis's Great Zapfish has...vanished!"
"Wait, seriously?" Marie gasped.
"What?!" Roy gasped as well.
"No way!" Perry marveled.
"So that's why it wasn't there yesterday," Bonnie mused.
"If it isn't recovered soon, are we gonna lose power?" the black-haired idol asked her cousin, echoing Yuri's thoughts.
"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine...probably," the grey-haired idol assured her.
"I wonder if it has anything to do with that UFO crash!" Callie then theorized, the image changing to one of a low-resolution picture of some kind of object.
"Sounds likely to me!" Marie agreed.
"Well, that's all for now!" the first idol chirped, regaining her previous cheerfulness. "Until next time..."
"Stay fresh!" the two of them exclaimed, doing their signature pose. The newscast ended, and the group of inklings looked at each other, surprised and worried.
Perry was the first to speak up. "Guys! This could be bad!" he panicked, shaking his head. "If Inkopolis loses power, then we're doomed!"
"I know, I know, I know!" Bonnie cried, tears pricking her eyes. She hid behind Octavia, cowering.
"But didn't Marie say we'll probably be fine?" Yuri comforted them. "If Marie says so, then we have nothing to worry about!"
"That's what you say..." the blue-haired inkling whined. "...I want my glasses."
"I just hope it comes back soon," Octavia muttered, clasping her hands together. "The fact that it's gone...I can't bear to think of it."
"I'm worried too, but... Maybe we can take our minds off it for now?" Inigo suggested, placing a hand on his chin. "Like Yuri said, Marie said that we'll be fine."
"Yeah," Roy agreed. "It just makes me mad thinking 'bout it!"
"Guess I'll go with it," Geneva complied.
"Great!" Yuri exclaimed. "Let's go!"
As they walked back towards Inkopolis Tower, Geneva suddenly stopped. Yuri turned around to see why. She appeared to be staring at something, but when he looked in her direction, there was nothing of note there. Other than Judd, who was sleeping on top of a crate.
"Huh? Geneva?" Octavia puzzled. "Why'd ya stop?"
"Oh, I...uh...just remembered," she answered, scratching the back of her head. "I promised my brother I'd go play...tennis with him. Yeah, tennis."
"Aw, you gotta go?" Perry asked with a frown.
"Yeah," she sighed. She immediately perked up and remarked, "We can play together tomorrow, though!"
"Yay!" he cheered.
"Well, see ya." The green-haired inkling waved and walked out of sight, where the Rainbow Squids proceeded to turn back around and enter Inkopolis Tower once more.
July 18th, 2015
Come the second Splatfest, the Rainbow Squids were hyped. The theme was Roller Coasters vs. Water Slides—odd, but it was still fitting. It was the middle of summer, after all. However, not everyone seemed hyped. Geneva, in fact, seemed...unusually worried.
"What's with that look on your face?" Octavia asked, looking over at her friend.
"Huh?" She looked over at Via, immediately putting on a stoic face. "Oh, nothing..."
"Is it about the Great Zapfish?" Perry asked. "Please tell me it's about the Great Zapfish."
"Well, uh... You can say that," she replied. "Just some stuff happened earlier."
"Like what?" Yuri asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't wanna talk about it," the fair-skinned girl muttered, looking down at the ground.
"I see," Inigo commented. "No reason to pry, then."
August 15th, 2015
Unable to sleep in the middle of the night, Yuri walked into Inkopolis Plaza when he heard some commotion in front of the Inkopolis Tower. One look at it told him all he needed to know—the Great Zapfish had returned.
He pushed through the crowd, trying to find his friends. He found them near the front row, focused on not the Great Zapfish, but something else.
"Hey," he whispered to Perry, sliding in next to him. "What's going on?"
"One, the Great Zapfish came back," he explained.
"Yeah, I know that," he interjected.
"Two, there's a superfresh girl that just popped up," he finished. The purple-haired inkling pointed at the focus of the crowd—a green-haired inkling girl wearing strange, reflective clothing, looking up at the Great Zapfish as well. She looked over at the crowd, gasped, and ran off. Some inklings lowered their phones, evidence that they had taken pictures of this strange girl.
Yuri looked around. "Where's Geneva?" he then asked them.
"Dunno," Roy replied. "Probably sleeping. She might not of got the memo."
The intro to Inkopolis News chimed, directing everyone's attention to the jumbotron. Of course, they announced the return of the Great Zapfish, though it appeared that its whereabouts would forever be a mystery. They ended the broadcast by playing Maritime Memory, a slow-placed song that combined both City of Color and Calamari Inkantation.
"Can we battle?" Yuri requested of them. "I can't sleep."
"I need to sleep," Octavia rejected with a yawn. "I only came here because of Bonnie's text."
"Me too," Perry added. He yawned, and continued, "Geez, Via's makin' me sleepy."
"Ah..." Yuri muttered with a frown. "I see."
Well, nonetheless, at least the Great Zapfish was back now.
Present Day
In the Reef, Yuri was playing cards with a few of his friends inside of a café, the sound of an intense ranked battle raging outside. A classical song was playing—it wasn't his favorite genre, but it did have the potential to create some of the most beautiful music in existence. He examined his cards and stared over at Yvonne, who sat at the opposite end of the table.
"You have a five?" he asked her.
"No," she replied. "Go fish."
"Dang." He took a card from the pile, only for it to be exactly what he needed. Making a group of four cards, he took it out of his hand and placed it down in front of him.
"K, my turn," Perry announced, shuffling his position on his seat. "Iris," he started, looking over at the indigo-haired octoling. "You have any kings?"
She grumbled a pulled out a card from her hand. "Go fish."
"Booyah," he whispered. He then looked at Yuri. "Do you have a king?"
"Nope," he responded. "Go fish."
"Dang." He picked up a card from a pile.
As the four continued to play the card game, the bell at the door rung as someone entered the café. Yuri looked over to see who the newcomer was. It was none other than Geneva herself. Her hair was a deep purple, a sign that she had recently come out of a match. There was some dirt on her shirt, but other than that, she appeared to be fine.
"Hey, Geneva!" Perry greeted. "What brings you here?"
"I was just battling out there," she explained, walking over to their table. "But instead of going back, I decided to come here."
"Why?" Iris asked, scowling.
"I saw you guys, so I was wondering what you were doing," she replied. "It's...pretty simple."
"No, it not," the fair-skinned octoling hissed. "You have 'ulterior motive,' right?"
"Iris..." Yvonne groaned. "What if she try to be the friends?"
"Yeah, I seriously don't get why you get mad at me or run away every time you see me," Geneva confirmed.
"You should know," Iris snapped.
The long-haired inkling was only more confused. "I seriously don't. I mean, I have an idea why..." She paused, putting her hand on her chin and shaking her head. "No, that doesn't make sense."
"What are you meaning?!" she cried out.
"Yo, Iris, calm," Perry warned her. "It's a café."
"Fine, fine," the octoling said, biting her lip. "I be the calm." She looked back at her cards. "A three?" she asked, looking at Perry.
"A three? Yeah, here." He pulled a card out of his hand and handed it to Iris.
She took the card and pulled three other cards out of her deck, laying them out in front of her. "Three... I no do have to look at the threes again."
"Is there a reason why she hates threes?" Geneva asked Yuri and Perry.
"Iris hates Agent 3," Perry replied. "That's why."
"Oh." The fair-skinned inkling straightened, mortified. "I'm...gonna go now." Before the two boys could say their goodbyes, she was already halfway out the door. "Bye!"
"Geneva!" Yuri called. He sighed, looking back at the group. "You know, I was actually thinking about Agent 3 just a little while ago."
"What about Agent 3?" Yvonne inquired.
"Well, when the Great Zapfish came back the first time, there was a girl," he started. "Wearing black clothing and a neon vest... Just like Agent 3."
"Oh yeah, you might be right," Perry commented. "She even had green hair, like Agent 3. Who would've thought?"
Iris growled and demanded, "Get back to the game."
"Oh, right!" Yuri looked at his cards, and the card game continued on.
Why did Geneva leave? He wasn't sure. But perhaps some questions were best left unanswered.
A/N: Well, that's the end of another 7,000-word chapter. Can you believe that there's only four chapters left in Season 3? So much stuff has happened in this season, it seems unreal. Which means, if everything goes accordingly, the season finale of season 3 will be February 28th. Only one month left! Woo! I'm excited for the finale, especially since it's intended to be one of those "nothing is the same anymore" chapters. Perhaps not for the readers, since you can probably guess a few things yet to be said in the story, but it will be for our good friends the Rainbow Squids. "But wait, their perception of the world was already shaken by 'Fly Octo Fly/Into the Light!'" Yes, but this is going to shake it up some more. Enough of the finale talk, the next chapter's going to be another fun one. See you then, and Branchwing, out.