Anonymous review time:
ika tako gamer: Too bad Agent 4 fights Octo Oven off-screen here. Well, there is chapter 57 ("Leave, Now"), but that's the Octo Expansion version. I have been considering writing a separate fanfic covering the levels not shown in "The Rainbow Squids," but maybe when things get a little better for me.
In case you're wondering, an Any% speedrun of Octo Canyon is about one hour and thirty minutes from the videos I have seen. A 1000% speedrun (all weapons, sunken scrolls, and sardinium) speedrun takes a whopping 12 hours to complete, and that's the world record! Regardless, I can tell you that I remember it taking a few months before I got all of the Hero Weapons and 1000% it. So, it takes a while, but maybe it won't take as long as you think. Octo Expansion though is a whole different beast - it took me a whole year before I fully completed it (doing all levels with all weapons). In the end, work at your own pace, and you'll get all the Hero Weapons eventually. Not even Alexis has all the Hero Weapons fully unlocked at this point in the story - I think she's working on unlocking the Splatling at the moment.
Now, for the story:
Warning: Contains vomiting (though it's only like a paragraph or two)
Perry's PoV
Unusual for the early morning on the weekend, Perry was already awake, crawling under his bed in the form of a squid to pull out some magazines he had stashed underneath it. He emerged from underneath it with the magazines, transforming back into his kid form. Within a second, he now held the magazines in his hands. He put them down on a nightstand and picked up the top one to read.
Smirking, he opened it. He had gotten the magazines from Yuri a few months ago—the yellow-haired inkling had originally bought them for himself, but he ended up not liking them, so he gave them to Perry instead. However, he didn't really have the chance to read them much, as he was busy with other things such as making new rap songs or doing some late-night ink battles.
The room slowly grew brighter as sunlight crept in through the window, bringing forth a new day. He rubbed his eyes, still groggy. He folded the corner of the page and set the magazine down, finally rising from his bed. He grabbed his phone, put on a t-shirt, and headed downstairs to eat breakfast.
In the kitchen, he encountered his dad, who was making coffee. It was here he noticed how...short his dad actually was. According to his last doctor's appointment, he had grown in height by only a single inch. Which meant he was 5'6" now. His dad was 5'8". Here, they almost looked the same height. To make matters worse, most of his guy friends were taller than both of them.
After his dad grabbed his coffee off the coffee machine, he lifted his head and turned to face Perry. "Hey, you're up early."
"Yeah." Perry started to do a few stretches. "Maybe I can eat breakfast with ya for once."
He laughed. "Maybe! After I drink my morning coffee, though. I have a company to run."
"Aight, aight," the boy remarked. "I'll watch TV. Tell me when yer ready."
"I was going to watch TV," his dad protested. "I need to see the news."
"Oh, the news." He pulled up his phone to watch the latest broadcast from Off the Hook. Nothing special popped up, but he wasn't surprised. At least he could see Pearl for a few moments.
The older man sighed and walked to the living room, where they had a giant flat-screen TV planted into the wall. He sat down his couch, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Bella, turn on Channel 3," he instructed.
"Turning on: Channel 3," a female voice echoed from a device sitting on the table next to him. The TV flickered, soon revealing a group of news anchors.
"Coming up next, an exclusive tour of Jerry Sculpin's, CEO of the Sculpin Company, extravagant mansion," announced a sea urchin broadcaster. The screen then cut to a commercial about medicine of some sort.
"Finally, they're airing this," his dad commented, drinking more of his coffee. He turned his head to meet Perry's purple eyes and informed, "They filmed this last week when you were in school." He didn't reply, blinking at him in response. "What? Don't cha wanna watch this?"
"Not really," he replied, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.
The older inkling sighed. "I see." He returned his attention to the TV, sipping on his coffee some more. Soon enough, the commercials ended, returning to the news anchors. The screen then cut to a sea anemone entering the mansion, greeting his dad at the door. Perry didn't pay attention to it after that, walking through the dining room, back to the kitchen. He started to look through the cabinets, searching for something his dad could make when he was done watching the news. Soon enough, he found pancake mix and took it out, placing it on the counter. While he waited, his phone suddenly buzzed, and he took it out to look at it.
'SQUIDS,' read a text from Inigo. 'GIO'S IN MY HOUSE.'
Perry sent a text asking why, with his friend responding that he didn't know. He proceeded to send a picture of the green-haired octoling lying down on his couch, wearing the outfit he had donned ever since Geneva returned to Inkopolis—he still wore her old short beanie, but now he wore a half-sleeve sweater and new-leaf leather boots instead of copying her attire like he did before. He couldn't see Giovanni's face too well, but he assumed he was asleep.
'wake him up,' the purple-haired inkling sent.
'Not now,' Inigo replied. 'Its too early.'
Perry shrugged and texted, 'your call.'
He put his phone away, just in time for his dad to arrive in the kitchen. "Hey, Dad." He picked up the pancake mix and pointed to the box. "Let's eat pancakes."
His father simply sighed and gave a small smile. "Sure. I'll make some."
"Yes!" he exclaimed, pumping a fist.
The older inkling snatched the box out of the younger inkling's hands, allowing him to leave the kitchen for now. He walked over to the TV and started flipping through channels. Eventually, he settled on a replay of a recent Off the Hook concert. At the moment, they were singing one of their new songs, Shark Bytes. Pearl had jumped onto the stage to begin her rap, with Perry starting to hum along a few seconds later. By the end of the concert, his dad started to call his name, and he turned off the TV, rose from the couch, and retired to the dining room.
Steam rose from the pancakes, exquisite syrup and a container of butter situated between the two plates. The older inkling had already sat down in the chair furthest from the entrance from the living room. A chair next to him had been pulled out from under the table. Perry walked over to that chair and sat on it, pulling up to be met with the sweet scent of his favorite breakfast food.
As the purple-haired boy started to pour a ton of syrup on his pancakes, he looked over at the seat across from him. It was empty. He wasn't surprised, though.
He had never met his mother. She had left the family when he was just a baby, and for as long as he could remember, it was just him and his father, living in the same mansion together. His dad didn't like talking about it, so he rarely asked any questions about her. It didn't bother him too much, though. But sometimes he wondered what it would be like to have a nurturing mother and a full family.
His dad brought him out of his thoughts by asking, "How's school?"
"OK, I guess," he answered. "Nothin' special."
"I remember when I was a senior in high school," he started. "The fall of '86... It was one of the best years of my life. I had a girlfriend. I had a car. I could do whatever I want."
Perry continued eating his pancakes as his father rambled on about his high school days. He wasn't too interested in it, though it would be rude just to leave now. Unfortunately, the rambling continued on for the entire breakfast, and as soon as they finished, the older inkling became disappointed.
"The pancakes are done already?" he remarked. "Well... Maybe we can hang out again some time. You can tell me about your school life when that happens."
"If we remember," he jested. The two laughed, and Perry handed his dish to his dad before walking upstairs to change into his usual outfit. As he was putting his earrings in, his phone buzzed, and after he finished, he took it out of his pocket to read the message.
'Octa Prisma has a surprise for us,' read Inigo's text. 'Thats what Gio said. Go to the square as soon as you can.'
'will do,' Perry texted back. He put on his King Flip Mesh and raced down the stairs, to the door.
"Bye Dad," he called. "Gonna go to the square."
"Alright, bye," he shouted back. "I'll see you when you get back."
The purple-haired inkling winked and walked over to his car. It was an older model, but it was easy to drive, which was good enough for him. He spun the keys around his finger before putting them into the ignition and starting up the car, driving away.
The drive to Inkopolis Square wasn't too far, but there was a lot of traffic. And Perry hated traffic. It was just so boring just sitting there, moving an inch every-now-and-then. The transit took forever, it felt like, but eventually, he got to the parking lot, where he could park the car and walk to the square. He found a place to park and hopped out of his car, beginning his trek to Inkopolis Square.
The plants around him were lapped with dew, and a light mist hung in the air, making it a little foggy. He rubbed his eyes, resisting to urge to yawn as he approached the square. Hopefully things would clear up later so he could do some turf wars.
He found himself to be the last one of the Rainbow Squids to arrive, as he saw his friends all gathered around their usual table near the Crust Bucket. As described in the texts, Octa Prisma were present as well, standing near them.
I wonder what their surprise is, he said to himself.
He walked up to them and took a seat at the table. "Hey," he greeted, making a gesture.
"Hey," Yuri greeted back, smiling.
"Hi," Yvonne then spoke up. "Do you have readiness?"
"Ready?" Bonnie blinked. "For what?"
"Our surprise," Gio replied, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. "You did not hear?"
"Ohh, that," she remembered. "Yeah, then I guess, yeah."
"Oh, I just remembered," Alexis then interjected. "It's my turn to watch DJ Octavio today!" She stood up, bowing. "Sorry, squids. I'll be back later." She ran off to the manhole next to Ammo Knights, standing in front of it. She looked at the group and gestured for them to look away. Perry returned his attention to Octavia, who had a hand on her chin.
"Huh," she remarked. "That's too bad." She shook her head. "She'll be fine, I hope."
"Yeah, she should be," Geneva agreed.
"She is a good inkling," Eight added, placing her hands on above her chest. "She will be making the sure that Octavio does not leave."
Via sighed, smiling. "That's a relief."
"Anyways..." Brayden reached into his pocket and pulled out a blindfold. "Ready?"
Bon-Bon jumped. "What the heck? A blindfold?!"
"We are wishing for a surprise," Oscar explained.
"You're bringing us somewhere?" Inigo wondered. "Why blindfold us?"
"For the surprise, of course!" the yellow-haired octoling exclaimed.
"Prepare to be the blindfolded!" Iris declared.
The octolings went up to the inklings corresponding with their respective colors. Perry stood up as Peyton approached him, blithe as she tugged on the blindfold. The purple-haired inkling turned around to let the girl tie the cloth over his eyes, his vision going dark. Growing a little nervous, he started reaching out for someone. He felt someone grab his hand, and they started to drag him away from the table, towards...somewhere.
"I don't like this..." Bonnie murmured as the music that was ever-so-present in Inkopolis Square got softer and softer.
"Be patient," Brayden reminded. "We will be there soon."
"Where's 'where?'" asked Geneva.
"That will ruin the surprise," Gio argued. "I am not telling you where."
"...Should've expected that," she remarked.
Soon, the scent of salt hung in the air as it grew more humid. They were near the ocean; he was sure of it.
Are they taking us to the beach? he wondered. I didn't bring any swimsuits! He felt himself step on something wooden, hollow steps thudding against the structure. A boardwalk?
"Tickets?" a lady's voice then asked.
"Here," replied Giovanni. Then, there was a pause. A lump arose in Perry's throat. He gulped, a little nervous.
"You may go. Enjoy your ride on the Dusky Dolphin! We will be heading off in about twenty minutes."
As soon as she finished, realization settled in, soon replaced with panic. They were going on a cruise. And Perry and cruises did not mix well.
"Thank you," the green-haired octoling muttered, and the group continued to march through the deck, up to the top of the ship. As soon as they stopped moving, he felt the blindfold being taken off of him. And just as he expected, he was met with the sight of the sea.
"We're on a b-boat..." he muttered.
"A boat?" Roy looked around. He then turned to Gio and crossed his arms. "He gets seasick, y'know."
The octoling raised an eyebrow. "He does?"
"Yet, a cruise is still of the fun," Peyton commented. "I think."
"Not for me!" he snapped. "The boat moves ten feet and I feel like I'm gonna throw up!"
"'Seasickness...'" Oscar repeated. "Would we...as we are, get seasickness?"
"I hope not," the purple-haired girl told him. "That removes fun."
Octavia put her hands on her hips. "You act like you've been on a ship. But didn't you live underground for most of your life?"
"I was of the scouting variety," she explained. "I went on many boats...to spy on Inkopolis."
"Man, that's...something I didn't want to know," Yuri commented, rubbing his head with a frown.
The ship rumbled, throwing Perry off-balance. He repositioned himself, taking a deep breath. He turned around to see that the boat was moving away from the harbor, out to the ocean. He took a few steps in the direction he faced, eyes wide.
Just don't look out at the sea, he reminded himself. Don't look out at the sea...
"Do you feel it, Octa Prisma?" Brayden questioned from behind him. "The ocean breeze. It is wonderful, is it not?"
"Yes! I love it!" Yvonne chirped.
"Could be romantic," Oscar pondered.
"R-Romantic, huh?" Roy stammered. "Sure..."
"Hey, we still have Perry to deal with," Via scolded.
He looked over his shoulder. The blue-haired octoling had his arms spread out, his hair tentacles flapping in the wind. Iris approached him and grabbed his waist, looking out from beside his head. Brayden's blue eyes glanced over at her, and he smiled. She lifted him, much to his surprise, and he laughed. Perry appreciated the movie reference, but he couldn't admire it for long as a bout of nausea washed over him.
He stumbled towards the railing, gripping his head. He turned around. Cerulean cascades lapped at the hull of the boat, dark shadows fleeting away. The boat was moving...but he wasn't.
"Bad...idea," he muttered to himself. After his nausea faded, he turned to the group and asked, "Where's the bathroom?"
Yuri turned around. "Cod, Perry, you OK?"
Giovanni lifted his head and turned to face the pale-skinned boy. "I can direct you to our cabin."
"Does it have a bathroom?" he inquired. After he finished speaking, he felt queasy once more, and he stumbled, gripping the railing once more and groaning.
The green-haired octoling didn't answer, grabbing Perry's hand and running off to enter the inside of the ship. Alarmed, Yuri dashed after them, worry etching his features. The purple-haired inkling turned into a squid, crawling up Gio's arm and resting on his shoulder. Eventually, they reached a room, where the octoling pulled out a key and opened the door. The room seemed huge, several beds lining the walls. Everything about it was tacky, though. The walls, the rug, the blankets on the beds... It wasn't fresh at all. Though seasickness wasn't fresh either.
Gio opened another door to reveal a high-quality bathroom. He grabbed Perry and set him on the counter of the sink, where the squid proceeded to transform back into a kid. His purple eyes scanned the people present. The octoling had his arms crossed with an annoyed expression, though his eyes seemed to betray worry. Yuri stood next to him, eyes wide and arms raised slightly.
"Did you have to run all the way down here?" the yellow-haired inkling asked the octoling.
"What? He cannot enjoy the sea," he explained, "so he might as well rest."
"That's...surprisingly nice of you," Perry noted.
"What can I say? You Rainbow Squids have taught me a few things," he remarked, smirking.
"Yeah yeah, you went over that spiel last school year," he pointed out.
"But at least this cruise didn't happen earlier," Yuri tried lightening the mood. "Else you'd be stuck, and Giovanni wouldn't help ya at all!"
The purple-haired boy sighed. "Then... Thanks."
"Uh... You're welcome?" Gio said. "Whatever. Just do not splat."
"Don't plan on it," he jested. He hopped off the sink counter, only to get nauseous once more and stumble. "Agh..." He walked over to the toilet, lifted the seat, and kneeled. "Get outta here," he moaned.
Gio stared at him for a few moments before Yuri tugged on his hand. "Let's go," he told him softly. "Unless you wanna see him throw up or something."
"Fine," the green-haired boy muttered. The two boys proceeded to walk out of the bathroom and close the door, leaving Perry to his lonesome. He returned his attention to the bowl, his nausea intensifying. He took off his hoodie and retched as a foul taste arose in his mouth. A few seconds later, he vomited, cursing to himself after he stopped.
He wiped his mouth and washed his hands, and he heard the door creak open. He turned to face it to see someone placing a water bottle at the doorstep before quickly closing it. After he finished, he grabbed the water bottle and drank the entire thing, hoping to rid himself of the bad taste. But, if his seasickness told him anything, he would likely throw up again.
Eventually, his nausea faded, so he decided to take a bath. He turned on the faucet to see purple ink flow from it, eventually filling the bathtub up. He undressed, took his earrings out, and slipped into the tub, letting himself soak in the ink. It was nice to relax, and hopefully, nothing bad would happen to him in here.
He heard someone knock on the door and called for them to come in. Yuri and Giovanni entered, though the two of them were both shocked to see him in the bathtub, the former's eyes going wide once more, and the latter curling his lip in disgust.
"You sure we're not invading your privacy?" Yuri asked.
"Nah, you can't see through ink," he remarked, putting his hands behind his head. "Though I think the girls would mind if you barged into the bathroom while they were bathing."
Gio, flustered, opened his mouth, but he ended up gritting his teeth and groaning, putting his hand on his head. "We were going to ask you if you needed more water, but since you are taking an ink bath, I think that is not necessary."
"Still get me some," Perry instructed. "Maybe I'll throw up again, I dunno."
"If you say so," the yellow-haired inkling acquiesced. The two boys left the room again, leaving Perry by himself once more. Soon enough, they returned with a few more water bottles. Perry reached up to take one and opened it, starting to drink it.
"When are we goin' back?" he asked, putting the bottle down.
"Tomorrow," Gio replied.
"Huh?!" Yuri gawked at him. "But my mom doesn't know! She'll be worried sick!"
"None of our parents know," Perry pointed out. "So we can put the blame on Octa Prisma when we get back."
The octoling frowned. "That is harsh."
"Well, you did take us on a cruise without any of us knowing."
"I suppose you are correct. But it was with good intentions, is it not?"
"Maybe tell us beforehand," Yuri suggested. "So this doesn't happen again."
Perry smirked. "Looks like Alexis dodged a bullet here."
"I did not buy one for her anyways," he revealed. "I predicted that she would not go. She does not like Octa Prisma at all."
"Now I'm wondering if she really did have to watch DJ Octavio," the spiky-haired inkling mused.
"Sounded like it from what Geneva and Eight said," Perry remarked.
He shrugged. "Eh, that's a question for another day." The two boys started walking out of the room. "See ya later, Perry. Whenever you get out of the bathroom, I guess."
"See ya." The door shut, leaving the purple-haired boy alone again. He continued to drink water, soaking in the ink bath. Eventually, he heard some noises from outside the room, so he figured that everyone had gathered in the room, ready to call it a night. He rose from the bathtub and wiped himself dry before putting on his clothes again. He would rather have a fresh pair of clothing to wear instead of the one he wore on the ship, but there was nothing he could do about it. He grabbed his earrings and walked out of the room to see that both the Rainbow Squids and Octa Prisma gathered in the room, choosing beds.
He walked over to the bed Yuri sat at and sat down next to him to examine the other beds. As he expected, Geneva and Eight chose the same bed, and so did Brayden and Iris. Oscar and Yvonne chose to sleep together, leaving Gio to sleep with Peyton. Roy and Inigo shared a bed, and finally, Octavia and Bonnie chose the same bed. He couldn't say that he was surprised.
"I guess you feel better now?" Via asked.
"Yeah," he replied. "For now."
"Good," she said. "At least you don't have to see the ocean from down here."
"Mhm." He put down his earrings on the nightstand next to him and crawled into bed. "Night."
"Night."
Perry closed his eyes, drifting off into sleep. Soon enough, he would be off the boat, and then his worries would be gone. But he also had school on Monday...
"What a trashy weekend," he muttered, rolling over onto his side.
The following day, the boat docked early in the morning, around the same time they had boarded it the previous day. The Rainbow Squids and Octa Prisma walked off the ship, away from the docks and to Inkopolis.
"Ah," Perry remarked, stretching. "I feel like a new squid."
"It has literally been one day," Iris grumbled. "How do you 'feel like a new squid?'"
"Well, I'm not on that boat, so can't get seasick if you're not on a boat. Plus that bath I had was superfresh!"
"You should have seen the sea!" Yvonne enthused. "An ancient dolphin appeared!"
"Can it be ancient when the dolphin is still around?" Oscar puzzled. "There are dolphins we can talk to live in Inkopolis too..."
"Eh, life's weird," the purple-haired boy said with a shrug. "We eat squids, but we are squids at the same time. Same goes for octopi and octolings, I think."
"Don't stress too much about it," Geneva noted.
They eventually the square, where they went their separate ways. Perry immediately returned to the parking lot and drove home at the sight of his father wandering outside on the front lawn, calling his name. He pulled in the driveway and hopped out of the car, where the older inkling proceeded to run up to him.
"Perry!" he exclaimed. "Where have you been?"
"So uh..." He rubbed his head, frowning. "Octa Prisma—the rival team, y'know—had a surprise for us and...uh...took us on a cruise."
"A what?!"
"A cruise," he repeated.
"But don't you get seasick?"
"Hey, I didn't know they would do that," he defended himself, raising his hands in front of him. "But yeah, I got seasick. I just sat the cabin. Missed out on whatever was happening up on the deck."
His father let out a sigh. "At least you're home now."
"Yeah..." He started walking inside, pushing the door open. "And I'll be here for the rest of the day, I think."
"Good, good," he breathed, placing a hand on his chest. "I don't even know what I would've done if you'd gone missing."
"Well, you would've done something, that's for sure."
The two laughed, and Perry stepped inside the mansion, closing the door.
At last, he was home.
A/N: My mom conveniently decided to install a window fan around the time I would normally post a new chapter. But at least I have a window fan now. She complains that my room is hot a lot (conversely, it's usually cold in the middle of winter), so I guess she won't complain now. Anyways, this is a chapter I've been wanting to write for a while, and I'm glad I have written it. It's less light-hearted than a usual Perry chapter, but at least you get some more information about him. Branchwing, out!