Pearl and Marina's dialogue is from Splatoon 2.
Bonnie's PoV
The day after the Splatfest, the Rainbow Squids had gathered around their usual table, eagerly awaiting the results. Bonnie pulled out her phone and checked the time. There wasn't much time now before the next showing of Inkopolis News would broadcast.
"Hey," Yuri started, looking around, "where's Alexis?"
"She said she was going to be busy today," Octavia explained. "She sent me a text last night. More like at midnight, but whatever. Point is, she had to get up early today to do whatever she's doing."
"Isn't that a little suspicious?" Inigo pointed out. "Think about it. Did you see her come home? Did you hear her leave?" He crossed his arms. "Either way, she's not here."
"I'm sure she's fine," the spiky-haired boy ensured his friend. "She told Via she wasn't gonna be here, didn't she? She'll be back later, I'm sure of it."
"Yeah," the wavy-haired girl agreed. "Besides, I'm sure she'll be fine. She's not one to disappear without reason."
Moments later, the jingle for Inkopolis News began to play, causing everyone to turn their attention to the giant screen plastered on the front of the Deca Tower. After the intro finished, Pearl and Marina took its place, staring at the camera as the screen behind them displayed a pink-and-teal graphic.
"Y'all know what time it is!" Pearl started.
"It's Off the Hook, coming at you live from Inkopolis Square!" Marina followed.
"Marina!" the pale-skinned idol exclaimed. "Before we announce the stages, why don't you share the breaking news?"
"Breaking news?" the dark-skinned idol marveled. She didn't seem very surprised, judging by her expression—they said this every time. "What did you break this time?"
"I didn't break anything! I was talking about the Splatfest results!"
"Ooh! The Splatfest results are in!"
"Here it goes!" Perry exclaimed, pounding a fist on the metal table.
"Aight," Pearl began, "first let's see which team was most popular."
"Let's find out!" Marina followed.
Over the graphic of the latest Splatfest, some numbers began to flash on the screen as the duo began to mumble some sounds. Soon enough, the numbers stopped, deeming Team Salsa to be the more popular team of the two.
"Why am I not surprised?" Geneva sighed.
"How about them apples, Marina?" Pearl teased. At her words, the dark-skinned idol went silent, her tentacles moving idlily. "Alright, alright, alright..." she continued. "Now for the part that matters."
"Yeah, popularity isn't everything," Marina agreed.
"Time to see which team got the most clout in normal and pro matches," the pale-skinned idol announced.
"Please please pleeeeeease!" the dark-skinned idol begged.
More numbers flashed on the screen as the idols made background noise to pass the time. Bonnie brought her hands up to her mouth, blue eyes wide as she watched the screen. She was so nervous that she felt like she was going to splat then and there. Soon enough, the numbers stop, and her arms lowered in disappointment. Team Salsa had won.
"Are you kidding me?!" Pearl gasped.
"Wow!" Marina followed. Her face quickly fell at the sight of her loss. But she quickly perked up again as they moved on to the next part of the script.
"OK, y'all. It's time..."
"For the final results!"
"The winner of the Splafest is..."
The winning numbers began to be emphasized as Inkopolis held its breath. After the final sound, Pearl and Marina cheered, followed by a good amount of people in Inkopolis. Bonnie looked behind her to see a group of boys jumping around and cheering loudly, waving Team Salsa flags in the air. She sighed and looked back at Inkopolis News.
"Salsa too hot to handle!" Pearl cheered, throwing her arms up in the air.
"Nooooo!" Marina cried out.
"Don't step to the spice, if you can't pay the price!" she began to rap. Perry started to mouth the lyrics alongside with her. "Team Guac got rocked, hot salsa paradise!"
"Splat me now..." the dark-skinned idol groaned.
"Yayuh! We did it, Team Salsa!" Pearl cheered.
"If you participated in the Splatfest, your prizes are waiting in the Square!" Marina reminded the audience. With that, a transition played, and they went on to announce the stages.
"Well, I'm done here," Geneva announced, standing up from her chair and crossing her arms. She looked over at the news and dipped her head. "I'm going to do some turf wars."
"Why don't cha stay here?" Yuri suggested. "We can play a game or something!" The green-haired inkling glared at him, and he promptly gulped. "Uh... Never mind, then."
"Don't try, Yuri," Inigo pointed out, frowning. "She's not gonna stay around as long as I'm here."
"She can't avoid you forever," Bonnie pointed out. "She has to come around eventually."
"You know how much of a grudge she had with Tiffany," the indigo-haired boy continued. "And since I associated with her for a while... I don't know if she'll ever forgive me."
"We're the Rainbow Squids, Inigo," Perry assured him. "That's not gonna get in the way of anythin'."
"And a rainbow has green in it," he argued, snapping his head up and narrowing his eyes. "Without her, what are we? The Colorful Squids?"
"She already was gone for almost a year," Roy pointed out, leaning back in his chair. "And we had Alexis."
Inigo's eyes went wide, blinking. "You can't be serious!"
"Yeah, we knew she was gonna come back eventually," Via argued. "And Alexis was supposed to be temporary, but..." She frowned. "I can't imagine the team without her now."
At her words, Roy growled, but said nothing else. He pulled out his phone, looking at something on it. The arguing seemed to have ceased, but an uneasiness still hung in the air. Bonnie looked over at Via, her brows knitted with worry.
"Geneva and Inigo will make up, right?" she whispered.
"I hope so," Via remarked, "but with all that's happened..." She trailed off, frowning.
The blue-haired inkling let out a sigh, standing up. "I'm going to battle," she announced.
"First Geneva, now you?" the boy with the ponytail perplexed with bewilderment. "Seems like everyone's against me today."
"I just need time to myself," she muttered. "I won't be gone forever."
"As long as you come back, then everything's good," Yuri remarked. "See ya later, Bon-Bon."
She nodded. "You too."
The other Rainbow Squids said their goodbyes as Bonnie walked towards the Deca Tower, a lump in her throat. But instead of walking inside, she stayed outside, unable to get past her worries. For a few minutes, she paced around the tower, thinking. How much longer will the fighting go on? She can't bear the thought of the Rainbow Squids splitting up, but with each passing day, it seems to become more and more likely.
Please make up soon... she thought.
"Hey, Bonnie," a familiar voice called from behind her.
The blue-haired girl turned around to see Zip, his arms crossed. He had his green zip hoodie on today instead of tying it around his waist like he usually did. She searched around him for his friends, but oddly enough, they weren't present.
"Hi," she greeted, forcing herself to speak. "...Where's Patch and Tackle?"
"They're in the lobby," he replied. "I told them to wait for me."
She blinked. "Just to see me?"
"Well, you're the only one that can help me with my hair predicament," he pointed out. "Mom doesn't trust Patch or Tackle, but she trusts you."
"What about Yuri?"
"I don't think she knows about him. Besides, once she finds out that he's friends with the others, she probably won't trust him either."
"So, about the hair thing," Bonnie then started, "are we gonna try again?"
"That's the plan, yeah," Zip confirmed. "It's been a few weeks since the last time, so I think it's safe to ask my mom again."
"...What about your dad? Can't you ask him?"
The almond-skinned boy frowned. "He's never home. Good luck trying to get to him."
"So, we have to ask your mom," she realized, now growing a little nervous.
"Yes," he confirmed. "Not now, though. When she gets home from work."
"When's that?"
"I'll text you when she texts me." Zip reached out a hand. "Deal?"
Bonnie took it and shook it. "Deal." They released each other's hands and nodded towards each other.
"Better think up a plan in the meantime," he told her. "You can tell me on the way there. We'll meet up here."
"OK," she said. "Sounds like a plan."
"Great." Zip started to walk away, towards the Deca Tower. "See you later."
"Bye," she called. And with that, Zip was gone. She placed a hand on her chin, thinking about what to do.
Well, whatever. She'll figure it out sooner or later. For now, she'll have to wait.
Just as she finished up her latest Salmon Run shift, Bonnie's phone lit up, catching her attention. She put on her glasses and stared down at the phone screen, reading its contents. As soon as she saw Zip's name, her eyes widened, and she opened up the text. It was just as she expected—his mom had gotten home. Just in time, too!
Taking the boat back to Inkopolis, she changed into her normal clothes and used some perfume to cover the scent of salmonids on her. As soon as the boat arrived, she super-jumped back to Grizzco Industries, landing just outside the building. She looked back over at the bear statue. It had gone silent, with no hum to be heard. She put a hand on her chest, letting out a sigh of relief. She walked down to the area outside the Deca Tower, where she quickly spotted Zip sitting on a bench.
"Hey!" she called, running over to him.
"Hey," he greeted. "You came."
"Of course I came," she pointed out. "I promised I would help you get that haircut, right?"
"You did," he acknowledged. He stood up, rolling his arm around. A backpack was situated on his back. "Let's go. No time to waste."
Before Bonnie could speak, he turned into a squid, preparing to super-jump. Though she was surprised, she promptly turned into a squid as well, and together, they super-jumped, soaring through the air. They landed just outside of the familiar townhouse, Bonnie stumbling as she transformed back into her kid form. She let out a sigh of relief. At least she didn't scrape her knees, or worse.
"So, Bonnie." Zip turned to face her. "What's your plan?" She leaned over to him and whispered in his ear. His eyes flashed with surprise as his expression turned annoyed. "Seriously? That's barely any different!"
"I know, I know," she acknowledged. "But... I think it's more likely for her to say yes if we start small. Give her time to get used to it."
He crossed his arms. "You really think so?"
"Hopefully. It doesn't hurt to try."
"...Fine. I guess it's better than nothing."
"Well, let's try it."
Zip nodded and walked up to the door, ringing the doorbell. A few moments later, an almond-skinned inkling woman answered. Beth.
"Oh! Zip, you're home!" she exclaimed. Her eyes glanced over at the girl behind him. "And Bonnie, too. What a surprise."
"Well, Mom," he started, "I brought Bonnie here to ask you a question."
Her face quickly fell, eyes narrowing. "Is this about the haircut again?"
"Well..."
"You're not getting it," she insisted. "I thought I made that clear."
"Beth, let me explain," Bonnie stepped up. "It doesn't have to be extreme. Just...something small."
She groaned. "Did you meet Zip's friends? Are they getting into your head? Maybe I should tell your parents."
"No, I haven't!" the blue-haired girl insisted. "I swear."
"Hmph..." She crossed her arms.
"Mom," Zip continued. "My hair's really long now. Wouldn't it be better if it was shorter?"
"Maybe for you," she grumbled. "It's fine just the way it is."
"But he doesn't like having long hair," Bonnie spoke up. "Please, Beth? At least make him happy just this once."
"It can still be long enough to put into a ponytail," he argued. "Most boys with ponytails have it cut to their shoulders. It'd be no different here."
She looked between the two inklings, their eyes expectant. At last, she nodded.
"OK," she conceded. "You can get a haircut."
"Yes!" Zip pumped a fist.
"But I'm coming with you," she continued. She glanced over at Bonnie. "You, too."
The almond-skinned boy sighed. "Well, you can't win them all." He took off his backpack and handed it to Bonnie. "Patch and Tackle are in here," he whispered to her. "They wanted to come, but I didn't want Mom to know they're here, so this was the next best option."
She peered inside to see two squids, their ink colors matching the ones the two boys normally donned. She nodded and put the bag over her shoulder, just like Zip had worn it earlier.
Beth had disappeared into the house, coming out a few moments later with a coat and car keys. "Let's go," she announced.
"Right," Zip declared, nodding.
The sky tinted orange from the setting sun, the three of them climbed into the car that was parked on the side of the street, with Beth in the driver's seat, Zip in the passenger's seat, and Bonnie in the back seat. She set her backpack on her lap, opening it to check on Patch and Tackle. The two squids stared up at her. The hot pink squid winked, while the royal blue squid nodded. She closed the top of the bag, holding it close to her as they drove to the hair salon.
They arrived about five minutes later, parking across the street from it. Next to the door was a white pole with pink-and-green stripes circling around it. The blue-haired girl slung the backpack over her shoulder, and the three inklings climbed out of the car. Beth offered Zip her hand, but he promptly denied it, glaring at her. She let out a sigh, and then they crossed the street, into the hair salon. At the counter was a sea anemone, a clownfish sitting on her head.
"Welcome," she greeted. "Who's getting a haircut?"
Zip raised his hand in response, and the employee nodded.
"Polly!" the clownfish on her head called. "We got an inkling for you!"
A wavy-haired inkling who was cleaning a station looked up, pink eyes staring over at the sea anemone. She nodded and stood up straight, setting her cleaning utensils aside. She walked over to them and stared into Zip's green eyes. Though Bonnie would've been easily unnerved by her, the almond-skinned boy seemed unfazed, his hands clenched into fists.
"Hey," she greeted. "How would you like your hair cut?"
Zip pulled his hair tie out, letting the tentacles fall by his sides. Bonnie's eyes widened, amazed by how long his hair was—it was almost as long as Geneva's hair, reaching down to his thighs. Knowing Zip, though, she could see why he would want to cut it. It reminded him of someone he didn't want to be, right? That was how she perceived it.
"To here," he replied, putting a hand at his shoulders.
The hairdresser nodded. "Should be easy enough." She made a gesture, signaling Zip to follow her. They walked over to the station she was just cleaning, wiping the chair off before seating Zip in it. She placed a cloth around him before pulling out a spray bottle, squeezing it to dampen his hair. In the meantime, the sea anemone seated Bonnie and Beth in nearby chairs. Bonnie opened her backpack again, allowing Patch and Tackle to peek out and watch.
After the hairdresser finished, she grabbed a pair of sharp scissors and cut the tentacle, the remains falling to the floor. She shortened the smaller tentacles as well, matching the ponytail style popular with boys. She paused to let Zip examine himself, and he quickly nodded, allowing her to continue. She wiped his hair clean and changed her ink color to match the almond-skinned boy's. She grabbed a mold resembling the ends of tentacles and clamped it around the end of the freshly cut tentacle. She grabbed a carton and a Splattershot, with the shooter weapon filling up with green ink upon her touch. She pressed the barrel of the weapon to the top of the carton, holding the trigger to fill it up. Afterwards, she poured the ink into a hole in the mold and quickly closed the lid once it was filled. She set a timer and began talking with Zip, though Bonnie didn't pay attention to their conversation. Once the timer rang, she released the mold, revealing the tentacle. It was as if it was always that length, untouched by any blade. She repeated the process with the other tentacle, and once it finished, she wiped Zip's hair clean again and took off the cloth, allowing him to stand up and examine himself in the mirror.
"Finally!" he cheered. "Booyah!"
The hairdresser smiled. "I'm glad you like it."
Bonnie gave a thumbs up, while Patch and Tackle nodded in approval. "Looks good," the blue-haired girl remarked.
"It's..." Beth trailed off. "...Acceptable."
Zip turned towards the beige-skinned inkling. "Thanks again for your help." He sighed, putting up his hair. "Wish I could get something different, but hey; I got the chance, so I took it."
"Wanna do some turf wars?" Tackle then asked, poking out from the backpack.
"Of course I do!" he replied. "Especially when I feel this great!"
Bonnie turned towards Beth. "Could you drive us to the Square?"
"The Square?" The inkling woman narrowed her eyes. "It's getting late."
"It's not that late," Zip argued.
"Please?" the blue-haired girl begged. "At least let us celebrate."
Beth remained silent for a few moments before dipping her head, conceding. "Fine," she said. "I'll drive you."
"Booyah!" the almond-skinned boy cheered. "Thanks again."
She stood up from her chair, gesturing for the inklings to follow her. She paid the sea anemone first before walking out of the hair salon, crossing the street alongside Bonnie and Zip. Once again, she crawled into the back of the car, setting the backpack on her lap again. She glanced at Patch and Tackle again before closing it, leaning back in her chair as she enjoyed the ride.
They stopped not far from Inkopolis Square. Beth parked on the side of the road, allowing Zip and Bonnie to climb out. They said goodbye before she drove off, reminding Zip not to come home too late. He rolled his eyes, but nonetheless, he still remained in good spirits. Once Beth's car was out of sight, Bonnie set the backpack on the ground, allowing Patch and Tackle to crawl out of it. They transformed back into their kid forms, the former proceeding to stretch. She then handed the bag back over to Zip.
"Finally," Patch remarked, putting his arms behind his head. "That took forever."
"It was cramped in there," Tackle added.
"Sorry," Bonnie muttered. "If I'd known you two were coming, I would've brought a bag with me."
"It's fine," the honey-skinned boy assured her. "As long as Zip's happy, I'm happy."
Zip smiled. "I knew you cared for me deep down."
He blushed. "H-Hey!"
"Well, regardless," Patch started, taking a few steps towards Inkopolis Square, "everything's said and done. Zip's hairy situation's dealt with, and now we can relax."
"It's not over yet," he reminded the dark-skinned boy. "I may have gotten a haircut, but I still want something other than a ponytail." He pounded a fist into his hand. "I still have more work to do before that point."
The three inklings looked at each other and smiled. They then started walking away from Bonnie, but Patch held his arms out, stopping his friends. He looked over his shoulder, smirking.
"You comin'?" he asked.
The blue-haired girl blinked. "Why would I?"
"Well, you helped Zip," he answered. "That makes you pretty OK in my book."
"No, that's alright," she declined, rubbing the back of her head. "I should get home anyways."
"Tch," Patch muttered. "Well, if you change your mind, just come back."
After a few moments of silence, Bonnie smiled. "I'll think about it."
"See ya whenever," the dark-skinned inkling said. His friends waved goodbye, and they disappeared into the light, leaving Bonnie alone on the side of the street.
She pulled out her phone and started to check her messages. Alexis had not spoken at all, though seeing as she wasn't mentioned in the texts any of the Rainbow Squids had sent her, she supposed nothing was wrong. Putting it away, she started to walk to Inkopolis Square, thinking.
Even with Geneva and Inigo's conflict, things seemed pretty okay. Zip had gotten his haircut, Alexis seemed to be fine, and the rest of the Rainbow Squids seemed happy. Once Geneva and Inigo settle their differences, things would finally go back to normal.
Everything was going to be okay; she was sure of it.
A/N: A little late, but it's finished! I couldn't really find anything on how inklings get haircuts, so the hair-cutting part took some inspiration from John Sandwich's "Good Hair Day" animation. If you haven't watched it, you should! It's very good! Anyways, there's only two chapters left in Season 4. Wow... Hard to believe that, right? It's weird to think we're almost at Season 5. Well, nonetheless, see you next week, and Branchwing, out!