Part 3: Retaliation (chapters 11-15)
With Inker, Kal, Neon and Sky safely back in Inkopolis it seems like things have gone back to normal, however there is little time to rest. Inker, still healing from his wounds cannot go back to Octo Valley for some time, giving Acting Leader Octavia time to plan her next move.
Enter the Octobot King, Octo Valley
The familiar sight on an Octarian saucer came into view, as a new splatoon of Octarian soldiers came to replace the current one lying in wait.
This process was repeated every day for over a week, nearly every splatoon in Octo Valley has had a turn hiding inside the Octobot King, waiting for Agent 3 to arrive and rescue the last Inkling they had.
The only ones who had yet to play this role, was the Elite Octolings.
"Acting leader, may I ask why we are leaving a dangerous opponent like Agent 3 to the hands of regular troops?"
Amongst a room full of Elite Octolings, one had dared to ask a question.
'How brave of them.' Octavia thought
However, she had to keep the real plan to herself, until she was absolutely certain, nobody could know why she had set up an ambush like that without tipping of any Inklings at all.
"Because we will be needed later, we are Octo Valley's finest, we must be kept for when we are absolutely certain that Agent 3 is back."
Unfortunately, Octavia's response made everyone question her.
"Wait, so Agent 3 might not show up at all?"
"Come to think of it, how would Agent 3 know where to go?"
"Yeah, we didn't spread the word about this, I don't think anyone outside of the valley would know where that last Inkling is."
"Even if he did know, this is Agent 3 we are talking about, would he really come for one random Inkling?"
These Elite Octolings questioning Octavia's plan so openly irritated her.
"You guys, do you not believe that there is more to the plan than I'm letting on?"
"How would we know?"
"Exactly, trust in me for now, oh and prepare yourselves, there are few more splatoons who have yet to guard the Inkling a second time. If Agent 3 does not show up after a week, we will abort the mission."
"Abort?"
Octavia had never done such a thing before
The Elite Octolings thought it was weird for her to keep something secret even from them, however Octo Valley was in a bad enough condition as it is and Octavia had announced that she was considering aborting the current plan.
"Could the Acting Leader have learned something from the previous failure?"
At the mention of "failure" Octavia swole up a bit, however even she acknowledged the bit of truth in that statement.
'Yes, I think I did learn something, something important actually.'
"Whoever said that, you are possibly correct, whether you are or not however remains to be seen. In the meantime let the regular troops know of our plans, and be ready to move on a moments notice."
She was smiling, it was a smile that showed everyone that she was not worried at all.
Inkopolis, Inker's house
"Hiya! We are here again!"
"You guys don't need to come visit me everyday you know, I'll get better on my own."
As if on a new schedule, Kalus, Neon and Sky went to visit Inker, who had been staying home until he had healed.
"Are you feeling better now?" Kal had asked this everyday ever since the unexpected visit from Victoria.
"Kal I know you really want to rescue Lila, but I can't help you right now, if you can't wait any longer then just go with Neon."
"Yeah, I can fight just as well! Why do you need to wait for Inker? Let's go to Octo Valley again right now!"
"It won't be so easy since the Octarian army are expecting us, if we are going without Callie and Marie we will need Inker with us, also we should properly prepare this time and have someone acting as mission control who could probably help us navigate Octo Valley."
"The Octarian army waiting for us is no surprise, but how and what do you know about mission control?" Inker asked, since Kal had never been involved with the New Squidbeak Splatoon before and should not have known about something like that.
"Not much, I'm just saying what Victoria said."
Kal had found Victoria wandering in Inkopolis a few days ago.
When he recognized the helmet and jacket he previously owned, he immediately guessed that Victoria had come looking for them and he was right.
Because Victoria had brought some bad news; that the Octarian army was setting up an ambush for when they would try to rescue Lila.
Kal however wasn't about to leave Lila in the hands of the same people who boiled Bogs.
"You can't expect me to just give up because there are Octarians watching her, I doubt Inker would either."
Victoria was probably expecting such an answer, she smiled and said
"Well guess it can't be helped, if you want to rescue the last Inkling we captured then head to where the Octobot King was."
"Octobot King?"
"Inker should know where that is, theres a flying saucer with a boss kettle on it past the rig, if it gets moved then i'll go to Cap'n Cuttlefish's shack and show you another way to get there."
"Yeah, okay how about we just go now? Neon is pretty good and I have played Turf Wars for a while now so I think i'll be fine."
"You? You played that gladiatorial deathmatch known as turf wars?"
"Deathmatch? Where did you hear that?"
"Inker told me that Turf Wars was about splatting the enemy team and covering ground."
"Well yeah it is, but calling it a deathmatch is a bit excessive."
'If Kal played Turf Wars and survived, maybe he is tougher than he looks?'
"Regardless you shouldn't go without a professional like Inker oh and have someone act as mission control to help you out this time."
"Mission control?"
'Right, Kalus is a civilian.'
"Just have someone stay back and guide you through a radio or something."
"Got it, when Inker gets better we will go right away!"
"When you get there, toss a few splat bombs into the Octobot King, the Octarians waiting for you would likely be hiding in there… and Kal."
"Yes?"
"Be careful okay."
Having done what she came for Victoria turned and walked away
"Hey wait where are you going?"
"Octo Valley of course."
"Already? You just got here? Why don't you stay a bit, Inkopolis is a great place, this time I'll show you around and."
"I'm still a soldier okay, I can't just leave without permission, I have to be back with my splatoon by tomorrow so I need to get going now."
"Why do you need to be a part of the army? Can't you just find something else to do?"
"Octo Valley isn't Inkopolis okay, its hard to make a living there, jobs are hard to come by, plus I don't think I can do anything else so i'll stay with the army for now, anyways it's great to see you again, but I really need to get going, be careful when you get to Octo Valley.
And with that Victoria left in a hurry.
Back in the present Inker noticed something about Kal's recollection of events.
"Wait a second, you never told me that it was a trick to lure us back to Octo Valley."
"Yeah but I figured it would be nothing new, anyways if Victoria came here to warn us then it must be serious, that's why I don't want to go without you or Callie and Marie's help."
Inker sighed and pulled out his squid phone and started going through his messages.
After that he checked the Inkopolis news website.
"Yeah thought so…." he muttered before putting his phone down
Callie and Marie are busy preparing the next splatfest so you-"
Inker was interrupted by Neon who squealed with delight at the thought of another splatfest
The Splatfest was a popular event in Inkling culture, hosted by none other than Callie and Marie the splatfest started with Callie and Marie introducing the two sides, followed by 24 hours of turf wars between the two sides, equipment and stages where locked during this time and rewards were given out at the end of the event, also Callie and Marie preformed non stop during the event. It was something that nearly everyone in Inkopolis looked forward too.
Since it involved turf wars, Neon was obviously a big fan of it.
"SPLATFEST! What are the sides going to be!?"
Neon had practically shoved Kal aside and lept on Inker, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Okay calm down, uhh I think they said it was early birds and, no wait I'm supposed to keep it a secret, besides weren't you planning on helping Kal in Octo Valley a second ago?"
"Yeah, but this is a Splatfest! You guys should know how much it means to me, how could I possibly miss it!"
Just like that Kal lost the one person who was currently ready to go with him.
Noticing Kal's expression Inker laughed a bit
"Look Kal , there is nothing I can do to help at the moment, and the Splatfest is tomorrow. Sorry, but you are going to have to wait a bit longer, if i'm walking into a trap i'd rather do it when I don't have stitches."
At this point Kal had no choice but to wait.
Yes, the Octarians had set a trap for them.
Yes Inker was still recovering from his unplanned superjump.
Yes, there was another splatfest coming up."
Still Kal could not relax whenever he thought of Octo Valley.
'Hopefully the splatfest can distract me for a while.'
"We've received word from….on high."
"You don't mean?!"
"That's right, there's going to be a Splatfest soon!"
"Ohh! What's the theme? What's the theme?"
"Just a moment, the theme is descending as we speak!"
"Let's see it! Let's see it!"
"Annnd its here! We've got the Splatfest theme!"
"Let's hear it! Let's hear it!"
"Alright i'll announce the theme!"
As Callie said this, Marie and dozens of other Inklings all over Inkopolis gulped simultaneously as they waited for the introduction of the Splatfest theme.
"The theme for the upcoming Splatfest is…"
"Wait for it….."
"On come on tell us already!" a few impatient viewers yelled
The screen behind the squid sisters changed to a split screen showing "Early Bird" on one side and "Night Owl" on the other.
"Up and at em squidbirds!" Callie said cheerfully
"We're going to splat it up all night long!" Maire continued
"Do you like to get an early start to you day? TEAM EARLY BIRD!"
"Or do you live for the nightlife? TEAM NIGHT OWL!"
"As they say, the early bird gets the worm! Let me guess Marie.. You're on team lazy?... err I mean team night owl?"
"Good one Callie, but isn't it past your bedtime? You senior citizens really need your beauty sleep."
"...Hurk… You're just jealous that I make the most out of my day."
"Hey I accomplish things, why just yesterday I….. uhh…..I…."
"I rest my case."
"What about you at home? Do you have worms?"
"Head over to the Pledge box and pick a side!"
Many of Inkopolis' citizens didn't even bother with the rest of the show, they all made their way to the Pledge box.
"I chose team early bird!"
"I'll see you on the losing side then!"
"You'll be too busy sleeping in to walk to Inkopolis tower."
Completely oblivious to the Octarian army Inklings all around were discussing nothing but the splatfest.
"Who did you pick?"
"Marie's side of course?"
"Didn't you like getting up early?"
"Yeah but I like Marie more."
"Do you even care about the theme?"
"Not really I always pick Marie."
Those who were not in it for the rewards, were there to see the squid sisters performing live, dancing to City of Colour all day during the splatfest.
"So, which side are you picking?" Sky asked Neon
The two were lined up in front of the pledge box where hundreds of other Inklings were gathered.
Kal was with them too, but he seemed to distracted
"Night owl of course, early bird is not going to win."
"How would you know?"
"I have a hunch."
"Well i'm picking early bird, it's better to be up early and keep to schedules."
"I'll see you on the splattlefield then! Night owl will win because there is always the most activity at Inkopolis tower at night than in the morning, so they will probably have the majority vote, and the new rules won't make the least popular side win more points from matches like last year."
"... are you really Neon?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You normally don't think at all and just go with the flow."
"I am going with the flow! all that is just common sense."
"You're idea of common sense must be different from the rest of the world's. Kal what about you? You haven't said anything yet, early bird or night owl?"
"Hmm? Umm I stay up pretty late so night owl I guess,"
"You too? I understand Neon staying up late, but you should keep in mind that waking up early is very important once you get older."
"You are already thinking about that? According to Victoria Inklings get up late compared to the Octarians so I think it's natural for me, as an Inkling, to pick night owl.
At the mention of Victoria, Neon opened her mouth to tease Kal, who quickly covered Neon's month anticipating what she was about to say.
Still for Kal to mention Victoria while waiting to start a splatfest meant that he was still thinking about Octo Valley, Sky knew this.
"Kal please try to get your mind of Octo valley for now."
After finally reaching the pledge box and choosing sides the three went off to Inkopolis tower to start winning matches for their teams.
Kal had lost his Heavy Splatling when he was captured and didn't bother to ask where it could have went since he was already grateful to be rescued, so he went back to the Slosher he had previously used.
Sky being the lowest level present, used a regular Splat Roller which Kal had returned to him.
Neon had brought the custom E-Liter 3k again, but it was different this time.
"Wasn't your E-Liter an unscoped version?" Kal asked after noticing that Neon was now using a Scoped Custom E-liter 3k
"Yes"
"Why would you buy a second E-liter? I thought you liked having no scope so you could see more of the battlefield?"
"No reason, I just figured it would be better."
The trio left the crowded pledge box area and entered Inkopolis tower, which was equally crowded.
Inside Inkopolis tower was many many rooms, this was where the Inklings got paired up for turf wars, hundreds of rooms linked to a huge and complex network of tunnels connected to the spawn points of the many maps were here.
Of course the amount of maps they could play on were always limited to a certain few.
Since they were participating in the splatfest Kal, Neon and Sky could not enter the same room and chose "play with friends" so they had to each enter a separate room.
"See you guys after your matches!"
"Good luck you two!"
"See you soon."
The three waved at each other as they each entered an unoccupied room.
The many rooms of Inkopolis tower were the same, a dark room with minimal lighting, the advanced systems of the tower would scan the player (or players if several had entered the same room to play together) and retrieve their name level and rank, it would also determine what weapon they were using and attempt to match them with team members who did not use the same weapon type.
Kalus, Neon and Sky all stood in the familiar looking room, one that they had been to hundreds of times in their life.
A computerized voice spoke after a moment of silence in each room.
"User identified…"
"Kalus, level 20, rank B+ Weapon: Slosher"
"Neon, Level 42, rank S Weapon: Custom E-liter 3k scope"
"Sky, level 9, rank C Weapon: Splat Roller"
"Would you like to join a splatfest battle?"
"They may be in separate rooms, but all three of them replied at the same time."
"Yes."
"Yes!"
"Yes"
"Searching for suitable match"
"Waiting for teams to be ready.."
"Team Early Bird ready!"
"Team Night Owl ready!"
The floor underneath the Inklings folded away letting the Inklings fall into tube connecting to their matches as well as a device that would temporarily change their colours.
Kalus appeared in Hammerhead Bridge alongside three others, who were all purple.
Neon appeared in Mahi-Mahi Resort alongside her team also purple.
Sky appeared with his team in Piranha Pit, now orange.
'Alright, if anything can get my mind off Octo Valley, this is it!' Kal thought to himself.
"..."
After their first game was over Sky and Neon met Kal back at the lobby.
Kal stood there with a blank expression.
"Did you lose? You lost didn't you? You look like you lost."
Hammerhead bridge was a map full of obstacles, grates and uneven ground, perfect for a close ranged weapon like Rollers, or the weapon Kal was using: a Slosher. Kal had spent the match somewhat distracted at first, but then he started to remember how fun Turf Wars was, after that the rest of the match was spent ambushing enemies by taking advantage of the map's uneven terrain and many grates.
It was the most fun Kalus had ever since returning to Inkopolis.
"I didn't lose."
"Why do you look like you've seen a ghost then?"
"I completely forgot, I forgot how amazing Turf wars was, I know I was only gone for two weeks but still, it all feels so new…. You guys were right, there is nothing we can do at the moment so let's just enjoy our regular lives until that time comes." Kal had to avoid mentioning Octo Valley in a public places like Inkopolis tower.
"By the way Neon, why did you ask if Kal lost?" Sky asked
"Well he looked odd, by the way did you lose?"
"Nope, let me guess, you lost?"
"Emmm."
"Is that why you immediately talked to Kal instead of boasting about winning? Cause you normally do that."
"Ohhh you're sharp."
"You didn't answer yet."
"...yes….." Neon voice was barely any louder than a mouse's squeak
"You know, if you are used to not having a scoped E-liter you could always go back and grab your unscoped E-Liter, it's not like we will end up together in a game with our difference in levels."
"No this one is fine! Besides it isn't my fault I got paired up with three Rollers! Why do so much people use such an overrated weapon?! I hate people who use Rollers! Watch i'll win my next game!"
Neon dashed off into another room to start searching for another splatfest battle.
Kalus laughed at the all too familiar scene and went to find his next game, as did Sky.
"Team Early bird ready!"
"Team Night Owl ready!"
The next battle for Kal was in the Piranha Pit.
Kal swam around the map, jumping between kid form and squid form to cover turf and move around quickly, he then took a full hit form a splat bomb and found himself returned to his spawn point.
He then took out a Roller attempting to cover turf before noticing someone who had just splatted one of the night owls squidbagging the area not realising his presence.
The Inkling was easily taken down, Kal moved on and was taken down by a blaster welding Inkling.
Once again Kal found himself coming out of his team's spawn point.
'What great fun! I will definitely invite Victoria to try this out someday!'
More minutes of pure action passed by, Kal got the drop on several Inklings and worked with his team to take down a few others, all while covering turf every now and then.
"Inkstrike!"
'Where is it hitting?!'
Kal saw the enemy Inkstrike land a good distance away from him
'Phew, not hitting me that's for sure.'
"Roller coming from the conveyor belt!"
"I got him!"
'Splat'
"Nevermind you got him!"
'Splat'
"Booy-"
'Splat'
"Make way! Inkzooka coming through!"
"Watch the left!"
"She's mine!"
"Kraken incoming!"
"Mine is ready too, get behind me guys!"
"9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 STOP BATTLING!"
"Annd the winner is….."
Judd twirled around before pulling out a purple flag indicating the Night Owl's victory
"Yeah!"
"Woohooooo!"
Kal and his team cheered, high fived each other, booyah'd together, and all sorts of stuff while the other team looked down or smacked the floor..
Sure to an outsider it might look like a bunch of sore winners and overdramatic losers, but this was normal for the Inklings who were naturally competitive and full of energy.
"I won again guys!"
"I lost again."
"I lost too, I see what you meant about Rollers Neon, I ended up with three other Rollers in Mahl-Mahl resort, we lost big time."
"I won't accept this! I refuse to believe that a scoped E-Liter is so much harder than the other one! I'm going for round three!"
"Team Night owl ready!"
"Team Early bird ready!"
"Alright! Hammerhead bridge again!"
Kalus, Neon and Sky spent the whole day at Inkopolis tower, playing battle after battle.
By 11:00 they were all tired from all the running, shooting and swimming.
What else to do now then to hang out in Inkopolis square and enjoy Callie and Marie's performance
"Here you go! Three black and white inkshakes."
"Thank you"x3
Kal, Neon and Sky, toured the city of color while sipping on their inkshakes.
"Today was great! I'm glad I got to take part in the Splatfest again!" Kal's was feeling much better now, but he was still worried about Lila.
At least now he could accept that there was nothing he could do.
Neon placed her hand on Kal's shoulder and gestured at the scene before them. "You see! No need to be so stuck up on Octo Valley! Don't forget to enjoy Inkopolis every now and then!"
"Weren't you also trying to go to Octo Valley before you heard about the Splatfest?"
"Sky why do you hate me?"
"Hey i'm just asking"
Finally they found a place where they could watch both Squid sisters preform.
"How do they manage to dance non stop the whole day?" Sky wondered
"The world may never know"
The next morning
Usually the Inklings would get up at later times, probably around 10 o'clock but today was different. Sure everyone was tired after yesterday's splatfest, but how could anyone possibly miss the results?
Just like with the announcement of the Splatfest, millions of Inklings tuned in to watch the Inkopolis news team announce the results.
"Before we reveal the stages, some special news!"
"Huh really?"
"The splatfest results are in!"
"Ohhhhhh!"
"First we'll reveal which team was the most popular!"
"Come on…"
"Bada-bada-bada-bada"
"Wait for it…."
"Boom!"x2
"Aww.. we lost"
"Yay!"
"Next up..
"Quickly quickly!"
"Time to see which team won the most battles!"
"Bring it on!"
"Bada-bada-bada-bada"
"Wait for it…."
"Boom!"x2
"Nooooo….."
"Heheheh!"
"No hard feelings either way yeah? And finally…."
"The final results?!"
"That's right! The winning team of this splatfest is.."
"Come on come on…"
"Boom!"
Behind the squid sisters showed a scoreboard showing the results of both popularity and wins percentages for both teams.
Night Owl had won both the popularity and wins sections, there was no doubt in who had won this Splatfest.
"HOOT HOOT! Team night owl wins! How do those worms taste Callie? Yummy?"
All over Inkopolis, Inklings of team night owl were going crazy with joy, screaming, pounding their chests and diving through closed windows, while team early bird flipped tables and rolled on the ground.
"You know Marie? I'm really sick of your attitude. You talk all this smack… but i've won WAY more Splatfests than you."
"Whatever I won all the important ones."
"You wanna talk smack? Put up or shut up!"
"FINE! Next Splatfest we play for keeps!"
That sudden statement brought all the Inklings watching back into control, none of them expected to see the Squid sisters lose their cool on T.V, they stopped cheering and rolling and all stared at their T.V screens.
"FINE! This just got personal!"
"FINE! Your prizes are waiting in the plaza!"
"...does this mean…"
Inklings all over Inkopolis wondered the same thing:
"...That the next Splatfest will be the last?"
Now that the Splatfest was over, it was time to get back to more important things.
"Ring!"
Inker rushed over to answer his door, already knowing who would be on the other side.
"Hiya!"
"You guys again, how did the Splatfest go?"
"Good news! I have gotten used to the E-Liter 3k scope now! Ready for Octo Valley!"
"As you can see" Kal said holding a super sea snail "It went pretty well, not for Sky though."
"I should have known that most of Inkopolis would choose the lazy option…."
"Don't worry Sky, there is always next time."
Kal recalled the little quarrel Callie and Marie had after announcing the Splatfest results.
"Speaking of next time, word is that the next splatfest will be the last one, after all Marie did say "next splatfest we play for keeps"."
"Huh when did she say that?"
"You didn't watch the news today?"
"No not really, I was rewatching my fight with DJ Octavio, I was thinking that if the Octarians could repower the Mighty Octostomp with fake zapfish they might have done the same with the Octobot king, after all why else would they keep their last hostage there? Anyways I'm feeling somewhat better now, i'll call Callie and Marie and we'll set off for Octo Valley immediately so you won't have to wait any longer."
"Uhhh that might not be the best idea."
"Why not."
"The two of them seemed pretty mad at each other when they did the news today."
"Oh they were probably following a script, I don't think they'd ever get mad at each other."
"Really, cause it seemed pretty real to me, why not call them and find out?"
There was no reason not to, after all Inker was about to ask them to come along anyways.
Inker pulled out his squid phone and dialed Callie's number
"Hello?"
"Hi Inker, what's inking?"
"Hi Callie, I'm about to go to Octo Valley again and find the last inkling they got there, I learn't my lesson from last time so i'd want all the help I can get."
"Sure! I'll be right there!"
"Tell Marie to come too, we will need a good Charger user watching our backs"
Hearing the words "Good Charger user" Neon grabbed Inker and started shaking him
"Hey! What about me! Don't forget I use a charger! Plus im an S rank now and you are still A+!"
Inker brushed off Neon and kept listening to Callie
"Oh it's fine really, Marie is uhh, busy. Plus I can hear your friend Neon in the background, she's probably better than Marie anyways… even though that's a pretty low bar."
"Huh? What did you say at the end there?"
"Oh nothing! Anyways we don't need Marie so don't bother calling her, i'll come and help you guys out, don't wanna see you torn up again!"
Callie was trying to push Marie out of this, Inker had to call Marie and hear what she thought.
"Hi Marie how it going?"
"Oh everything is just perfect, staying up late watching movies, being mobbed by fans in the street, dominating Callie in the splatfest causing her to make a scene….."
"Wait what?"
"You didn't watch it? Too bad, Callie lost both the popularity vote and games won segments, she lost it on camera."
'Why do I always miss the news everytime something happens!?'
"Anyways what's up? Why are you calling me all of a sudden? Are you feeling better after that trip to Octo Valley a week ago?"
"Yep, actually that's why i'm calling, remember how Kal said that we left one Inkling behind, well she is being left in the place where we fought DJ Octavio's Octobot King. Obviously it's a trap so I wanted to get all the help I can."
"No problem, i'll see you at gramps' shack in ten."
"Oh and get Callie too, if the Octarians could find another way to power the Octostomp they probably could power the Octobot king too, so i'll need help from both of you."
"No need, I recall gramps saying something about the old Octobot being super power hungry, no way they could get that thing to work again, it will probably just be a bunch of Octarians in an open area, so Callie would be useless."
"Did something happen between the two of you?"
"No, why do you ask? It's obvious that, Callie, who uses a Roller, would be helpless in the Octobot area"
"Well it's still best to get all the help we can get, after all last time we fought the Octobot King, I need both of you there to help."
"There is no guarantee that we will even fight the Octobot king again, we don't need Callie, plus she probably busy at the moment, see you in Octo Valley."
Inker could tell by their attitudes, the recent Splatfest had definitely driven a wedge between Callie and Marie.
"Well how did it go? Are they coming?" Kal asked
"They are coming, but you were right, they definitely aren't getting along after that Splatfest, oh well I invited them both separately so hopefully they'll get along during the mission."
"By the way, the Octobot King you keep mentioning, its DJ Octavio's machine isn't it, I remember you telling me about it, are you sure we can take on something like that?"
"Hey don't leave me out of this! What is the Octobot King anyways?!" Neon had never heard of the Octobot King before, neither did Sky, but the latter did not plan on fighting anyways, so he decided not to ask.
To answer Neon, Inker showed her and Sky a picture of the Octobot King after he had defeated it.
"This is the Octobot king, it might not look like much in this photo, but it is DJ Octavio's personal war machine, it carries a huge variety of weapons; from lasers to torpedos and fists, it can also deploy Octarian pods that bring reinforcements to the battle, why are your eyes shining?"
Neon tried her best to hide her excitement "Ahh not they are not, but i'm very interested, how did you beat it?"
Well I had the help of Callie and Marie, they showed up, playing Calamari Inkantation and Octavio started go berserk, actually now that I think about it, he was angry that his song was overwritten but he seemed to dance to the Squid Sisters' song during the battle, nevermind i'm getting off topic, anyways a lot of the Octobot King's attacks could be deflected by shooting enough ink at it, that was how I beat it. You look like you are lost in your own world, hello? Inkopolis to Neon, come in Neon!"
"Ahh yes, so we are probably fighting a big and powerful machine right! You will definitely need my help, so let's all go as a team!"
"Wait I never said anything about fighting!" Sky was worried that he'd be dragged into another dangerous situation."
"But you are coming along right?"
"Well yeah, but I don't want to go up against something like that." Sky said, pointing at the photo of the Octobot King.
"It's fine, you can help us out without fighting, normally the Cap'n stays back and guides me through the lairs, you can do something like that."
"Sure, I can do that."
"Well then it's all settled, we will set off for Octo Valley again."
"Oh remember, if the boss kettle isn't there Victoria said she'd come find us and we would need to go through the Undercity to get to the Octobot King."
"Don't worry I haven't forgotten, i've been stuck at home for over a week and i'm itching to get back in action, let's go rescue the that hostage and if the Octarians bring the Octobot King back online, i'll be ready for it!"
A/N: Its almost been 30 days since I last updated this story, sorry if you are disappointed by the lack of plot progression in this chapter, I just felt that it would be odd if the characters jumped right back into Octo Valley after just returning, plus I planned for this story to end between Splatoon 1 and 2, so I decided to include the two last Splatfests of Splatoon 1. Another thing, I know the story kinda felt like it had reached an end after chapter 10, I did think about making the next ten chapters into a separate story since its going to take a different turn, but decided not to, lets just say that chapters 1-10 was the first narrative arc and a new one is beginning now.
On a side note, I am now a full time university student working a part time job in a sushi restaurant so I probably will end up having an erratic upload schedule, I won't be able to make a new chapter every week like in the past.
"Oh, you work in a sushi restaurant? what kind of seafood do you serve there?"
Hmm? who was that, well its a sushi place, so you know; shrimp, squid, salmon, octopus...
*BLAM*
Hey how did you get here!? no wait stop I don't make the food I'm just, wait ink won't hurt me... no stop that's my only Fairlady Z car shirt, no not my laptop I need that to write your storimmm mmmphhhh!