Octavia's PoV

"What do you mean, Oscar got taken by the Octarians?"

"I swear I'm telling the truth," Roy insisted. He reached into his pocket and took out a tranquilizer dart, its feathers colored magenta. "See?"

Alexis picked it up and began to examine it. "That's Octarian, all right. But how'd you even get this?"

"They shot me, too," he explained. "Seriously, that thing's strong. It was past midnight when it happened, and I still feel tired."

Currently, the Rainbow Squids were gathered in Inkopolis Square, awaiting the results of the Knight vs. Wizard Splatfest. But with how panicked Roy seemed, perhaps they shouldn't pay attention to Inkopolis News, for once. Yet, Octavia still wanted to see who won, and she was sure everyone else in the Rainbow Squids would agree, too.

Hearing some footsteps, she lifted her head to see most of Octa Prisma, barring Oscar and Yvonne, approaching them.

"Good morning," Giovanni greeted. "How was the Splatfest?"

"Have you seen Oscar and Yvonne?" Iris then asked. "They not at their apartment."

"Funny, we were just talking about Oscar," Geneva commented. "According to Roy, he was supposedly kidnapped by the Octarian army."

Giovanni's eyes seemed to bulge out of his head. "What do you mean, 'kidnapped?'"

"See for yourself." Roy showcased the dart to them. "You guys of all people would know if it was truly Octarian or not, right?"

Gio took the dart and examined it. "You are right. It is Octarian."

"I think I use it before," Peyton mused. "On a mission."

"I have also seen darts just like that," Brayden corroborated.

"Then it's settled. Oscar really was taken by the Octarians," Inigo proclaimed.

Iris frowned. "You jump to conclusions too quickly, I think."

"He's right, though," Geneva argued, pacing around the table. "The evidence adds up. Roy and Oscar get shot with that, then Oscar disappears, and since you guys haven't found them..." She stopped in front of Octa Prisma, a small smile touching her lips. "I think it's safe to assume he got kidnapped."

"And Yvonne?" Eight asked. "Where is she?"

"She probably got kidnapped too," she concluded. "We could probably go into the Octarian database to prove it, but I don't have a computer with me right now."

"Can't you pull it up on your phone?" Octavia pointed out.

"That database is old, Via," Alexis informed. "It just looks wonky on mobile."

"Oh, so that's how it is." She huffed. "We can go to Octo Canyon, can't we?"

"I was going to suggest that," Geneva said, her face falling, "but then Octa Prisma showed up."

"We can go with you," Brayden offered. "I think the others will be more likely to believe it that way."

"I think they would've believed us, even without you," Alexis groaned.

"I would've called Eight, anyways," the long-haired girl remarked. "But, you can still come with us."

"Of course," Iris agreed. "I am wanting to see with my eyes that Yvonne is kidnapped, too."

"Then the conclusion is obvious," Gio finished. "We will come with you."

"Great!" Roy jumped out of his seat and began marching over to the manhole leading to Octo Canyon. "C'mon, we gotta hurry!"

"There's no rush," Brayden chastised. "As long as we are all here together, none of us has a chance of being taken by the Octarians. Especially in such a public place like this."

He stopped in his path, turning around to scowl. "If Iris was kidnapped, wouldn't you panic, too? Seriously, the sooner we get there, the better."

He sighed. "I suppose you do have a point." His hands falling by his sides, he began to follow Roy. "The rest of you should get moving, too."

"Right," Octavia said. With the group, she began to follow the group into Octo Canyon, making sure no one else was watching them before they transformed into their cephalopod forms and slipped through the grate. When they emerged from the manhole at Tentakeel Outpost, the air already felt fresher, though the tentacle-shaped rock formations still loomed over them. Out of everyone in the New Squidbeak Splatoon, only Cap'n Cuttlefish was present, playing a card game with DJ Octavio.

"Hey, Captain!" Alexis exclaimed, dressed in her hero suit. "We need ya!"

The old man blinked. "Now? But we just started playing blackjack, bucko!"

Octavia glanced over at the giant octopus. He sat in the snow globe, holding some cards up to his face while the wasabi sticks he usually held laid by his side. "How did he get them?" she asked. After all, wasn't he usually confined to that snow globe except to feed him?

"I gave 'em to him, of course," Cap'n Cuttlefish replied. "While Agent 2 is out in the field, I need somethin' to keep myself occupied. And at the same, I can keep an eye on Octavio this way."

"We don't usually run into them playing cards," Geneva elaborated, placing a hand on her hip. She, too, donned her hero suit. "But he does it."

"Anyways." He gripped his cane and rose to his feet, his knobby knees trembling. "All you squids are here. I'd be thinking something happened."

"Yeah," Roy interjected. "Oscar went missing!"

"Yvonne too," Peyton added.

"Those two are from Octa Prisma, aye?" he inquired. The group nodded in confirmation. "Ah." He snapped his head over to DJ Octavio. "Did you have any part in that?"

"No!" the giant octopus defended. As he continued to speak, only frowns were brought upon the octolings' faces. "Whatever my subordinates do, I have no role, ya hear that? Yeah, bringing the soldiers who abandoned the army back here is one thing I've ordered—I can't have my army grow weak—but they're the ones who order my soldiers to bring back specific people."

Eight twirled a tentacle around her finger, the ends of them waving around nervously. "What if they ran into the general hunters? Then it be your fault."

DJ Octavio huffed. "Ya usually need a large force to capture an octoling in Inkopolis, or you gotta catch them by surprise. I've noticed they tend to grow stronger the more they do turf war. Your friends are no exception."

"Well, we can check the database to make sure," Geneva suggested. She walked over to the Cuttlefish Cabin and disappeared inside, bringing out a laptop moments later. She opened it up and proceeded to open up a rather plain website, the background colored grey. She entered in the password, bringing up a larger screen. The group began to huddle around her as she searched up Oscar's name. Moments later, a picture of a younger Oscar popped up, followed by a description of him.

"Here," Alexis remarked, pointing to one of the upper lines. "It doesn't say he's AWOL."

Giovanni frowned. "It does not give much more information, though. It only says he is in Octo Canyon."

"Well, that proves Roy's assumption, location or not," Agent 3 explained. "He really was captured by the Octarians."

"What 'bout Yvonne?" Yuri asked. "Surely we would see the same thing if she was kidnapped, too."

"Let's see..." Her fingers clacked on the keyboard as she typed in the yellow-haired girl's name, and soon enough, a picture of her quickly popped up, albeit with curly hair much like Eight's.

"Oh, that is an old picture," Iris murmured.

"And..." Geneva placed a finger on the location line. "Same thing. It says she's in Octo Canyon."

"Well, it's settled." Perry straightened, stretching his arms. "We got our answers. Now you two just gotta save them, right?"

"These were updated really recently," Agent 4 rejected, shaking her head. "If we go out now, we'll only be on a wild goose chase."

The green-haired girl nodded. "The only thing we can do is wait for more information."

Brayden sat down on the bench, shaking his head. "They have probably put hypnoshades on them by now. It will not be easy to save them."

"Well, we gotta prepare, too," Cap'n Cuttlefish called, walking over to join the group. "Ya can't go out there blind, else ye'd be fish bait."

"The hypnoshades won't be hard to deal with," Alexis remarked. "It's getting them in and out we gotta worry about."

"What if more people from Octa Prisma get kidnapped?" Via decided to ask. "Then it'd be even harder, wouldn't it?"

"Do not say that!" Eight gasped.

"Then maybe we'd need an Agent 5," the short-haired girl joked.

"Or, we'd need multiple trips," Geneva continued, remaining serious. "Which isn't ideal at all."

Cap'n Cuttlefish slammed his cane into the ground, grabbing everyone's attention. "We have time to talk it out," he announced. "We'll be needing both Agent 1 and Agent 2 here to decide, and as we speak, that's impossible."

Iris sighed, shaking her head. "How unfortunate. If that is what you say, though... We can wait."

"Yvonne was going to visit for something," Peyton lamented. "Now, she no can."

"Well, there's no use sulking around now," Yuri opined. "Let's go back."

"I'll call ye when we meet, as usual," the old man reminded the agents. "See you soon!"

They said their goodbyes, and once more, they slipped through the manhole leading back to Inkopolis Square, popping out moments later. Upon their return, several inklings wearing enchanted hats cheered, waving magenta glowsticks around in the air. Immediately, Octavia realized the winner of this past Splatfest—Team Wizard.

"Did we seriously miss it?" Inigo groaned. "Maybe we should've waited a little longer..."

"There you are!" a new voice called. Turning their heads, they spotted Eden and her team running up to them, smiles on their faces. "We were looking for you," Valerie continued.

"I was surprised not to see you at your table," Eden revealed. "After all, you are almost always there if you are not doing a turf war. For you to not be watching Off the Hook announce the results of the Splatfest is unusual indeed."

"Sorry, but we were doing more important things," Alexis said, grabbing her hands behind her back. "Things you don't need to know about."

"I guess Team Wizard won?" Bonnie mumbled, scanning the Square.

"Indeed," Victor confirmed. "Too bad we didn't get to play together this time, Bonnie. I want to see more of your charger skills."

"Maybe another time," she denied.

"Well, since you are here..." Eden walked up to Via and Bon-Bon and placed her hands on their shoulders, smiling. "Do you want to...'hang out?' With me and Valerie."

The two inklings exchanged glances before nodding. "Sure," Via replied.

The boy with the afro sighed. "I can't come along?"

"No, Victor, you cannot," she snapped.

"Fine," he conceded. "You can go ahead."

"Good." She tapped her foot. "Let us go, Valerie. I do not want to waste much more time."

Valerie nodded. "R-Right!"

Eden began pushing Octavia and Bonnie away from the group, the situation only growing more awkward. With a nervous smile, Via waved goodbye to the Rainbow Squids and Octa Prisma, and with a similar awkwardness, they waved goodbye back. Soon enough, they were launched onto the streets, and now she, Bonnie, and Valerie were walking along the sidewalk, trying to keep up with Eden's pace.

As Oscar and Yvonne's disappearance came to mind, Via frowned. Someone in Eden's group had to be an Octarian spy, but who? Even the New Squidbeak Splatoon seemed stumped on the matter, unless they were withholding some important information. She didn't want to assume they were hiding anything from them—the stakes continued to grow higher and higher, after all—yet it was perfectly within their ability to do so. They already hid from the Rainbow Squids for several years, who's to say there are even deeper secrets lurking beneath the surface?

Eventually, they arrived at Deca Wings. Sea creatures of all shapes and sizes roamed around in the grassy field, living their lives peacefully, without a care in the world. They stepped onto a track and began to score the perimeter of the park, chatting among themselves.

"You seem like you two have known each other for a very long time," Valerie remarked, a smile touching her fair lips.

"Yep!" Via confirmed. "Since elementary school!"

"I didn't have many friends before Via," Bonnie explained. "But now, I have a whole bunch of them! And it all started when I was first met Via."

She laughed. "Ah... I remember it like yesterday."

Octavia stood in front of the rest of the class, her hands clasped in front of her as many eyes fell on her. She wasn't used to all of this attention... Was this what all new students felt like? Maybe Alexis felt the same way.

"Octavia, please introduce yourself," her teacher requested.

"H-Hi," she greeted. "I'm Octavia." She'd much rather be called Via, but it was more important that everyone knew her full name.

"Octavia?" a boy in the crowd sneered. "Like Octavio? That old Octarian general?"

"Maybe she's secretly an Octarian," his friend whispered, though he spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

"She can't be!" a third boy exclaimed. "They're extinct!"

"You never know..." he jeered.

"Settle down, class," the teacher demanded. At once, they went silent. "Please be kind to Octavia. She must be really nervous right now." She looked over at the orange inkling, a small smile touching the horseshoe crab's lips. "Now, Octavia, you'll be sitting over there." She pointed to a table towards the back of the room, where only one other person sat—a blue inkling wearing glasses. "The other two people at that table are absent today, but I'm sure they'll be back tomorrow."

With a nod, she followed her instructions and sat down next to the inkling with glasses. She shied away from her as she sat down, worry etching her features.

"Hi," Via tried greeting. When she failed to get a response, she then asked, "What's your name?"

She gulped and replied, "Bonnie."

Smiling, she held out a hand. "Nice to meet you."

Gingerly, she took it and shook it. "...Nice to meet you, too." After a few moments, she took it back and held it close to her chest. "You're already nicer than the other two girls here."

She glanced at the two empty seats. "What do you mean?"

"They don't like me," she said, frowning. "Maybe you won't like me too, after a while."

Her eyes widened. "Don't say that! If they're bullying you, I won't stand for it!"

"How do you know? You just met me."

"It's a promise, Bonnie. And I don't go back on promises!"

She didn't react to her declaration, instead adjusting her glasses and slumping back in her chair. "We'll see."

"Alright, alright, enough talking!" the teacher exclaimed, grabbing everyone's attention. "Now, let's start on our first lesson of the day. Get out your math books, everyone..."

"And that's that!" Octavia concluded, throwing her hand up in the air. "Little did Bonnie know, we soon became the bestest of friends."

"...Is bestest a word?" Valerie wondered out loud, scratching her head.

"Sure it is!" she assured her. "It's the best version of best!"

"It can be used for emphasis," Bonnie agreed.

"Well, it is good you two are very good friends," Eden started, "but there are more important things to worry about, such as the future. Some inklings go to college, do they not?"

"College..." Bonnie frowned. "I don't like thinking about it."

"Why? Adults must each have their place in society, do they not?"

"Well, you don't have to go to college," she explained. "You can still get a job without it."

Eden's phone began to ring, and they stopped in their tracks. Eden pulled it out and raised a hand, gesturing for them to wait as she walked over to a tree, hiding behind it as she answered the call.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Via's head. If Eden was the spy, then perhaps she could catch her in the act and capture her. She started to walk over to her, only for Valerie to grab the collar of her shirt and pull her back.

"Are you trying to interrupt her?" she chided. "That is impolite."

Orange eyes narrowed. "Well, Eden is the one who made us stop in the middle of the road so she could call someone in private. Isn't that suspicious to you?"

"Suspicious?" Valerie's eyes widened, lowering her hands. "That is the same thing one of your friends said to me and Trace a while ago. Do not tell me he influenced you...!"

"What are you talking about? Actually, you know, never mind that. I don't know if you noticed, but Oscar and Yvonne both went missing. Your entire team showed up at around the same time, and I'm starting to think that wasn't a coincidence."

She groaned, her tentacles growing stiff. "I cannot believe you right now!" She looked over towards the tree, her eyebrows furrowed. "Eden!" she called. "We are leaving!"

Eden peeked out from behind the tree. "Already? But I am not finished yet."

Before Valerie could fire back, she quickly resumed to what she was doing, much to her annoyance. She groaned, digging her face into her hand as she muttered something in Octarian. She continued staring at the tree, and as soon as Eden emerged, she immediately grabbed her hand and dragged her away without saying goodbye.

Neither Octavia nor Bonnie spoke until they were both gone. "That was odd," the latter remarked with a frown.

"Yeah," the former agreed. She lowered her head, thoughts swimming through her mind. "Could they both be spies?"

She frowned. "Do you really think that?"

"Well, we might as well assume all of them are spies," she declared. "We can't take any risks."

As soon as she finished speaking, their phones buzzed, and they took them out of their pockets. Upon reading the text Alexis sent them, Via gasped, covering her mouth.

Somehow, Giovanni had went missing, too.

A/N: Sorry for another late and short chapter. I wasn't feeling too well this past week. But, I'm trying my best to get these chapters out to you guys. There's a lot of talking in this chapter, so I apologize. I hope you don't mind. Well, Branchwing, out.