Parliament building, Inkopolis
It had been two days since the incident with the Octolings.
Arcus' team found a lot in the Fields' household.
Right now Arcus planned to present all of that in the meeting.
He sat by as the other ministers argued about other things, until they finally got back to the topic of the citizens protesting for a new Inkopolis army.
He had a lot to say about that one.
"As you all know, I recently put Inkopolis on lockdown and arrested several Octolings who had managed to slip into our city. However there is more, some details that we cannot yet tell the public."
He had the reports from his IPD team ready.
"The Octarians had help from one of ours, Lila Fields, you may recognise her as one of the victims of the squidnapping incidents."
This caused everyone to start whispering amongst themselves.
They commented on the sheer absurdity of someone like Lila working for the Octarains.
Arcus paused for a moment before continuing.
"It turns out that she was handpicked and brainwashed by the Octarians because of her innocent and impressionable nature, after all, who would think that a young and cheerful little girl would turn out to be a spy? It gets worse, it turns out that Lila had been the one who pushed the families of the squidnapping victims to create the Vanguard movement."
The IPD had found out that Lila had been getting orders from Octo Valley to spread the word about her treatment in Melanin prison.
Since Inkopolis was such a peaceful place and everyone was so used to it, they couldn't tolerate the things Lila had experienced.
That drove them to protest for a new army, when that didn't work they formed the Vanguard movement.
"So you are saying that the Octarians had a hand in creating the Vanguard movement?" One minister asked
"No, they didn't just have a hand in its creation, I'm saying they were the ones behind it." Arcus continued "Think about it, we know that the Octarians are back and they want revenge, but they probably know that they don't stand a chance if they were to fight us directly. It's extremely likely that they had been trying to lure us into attacking them, they want to be able to take all the heat we can throw at them before making a move."
The room filled with various discussions again.
"In conclusion, we should stay away from Octo Valley, the only question now is whether or not we can reveal this to the public." Prime Minister Steenson concluded
The news had already shown the IPD arresting the remaining Octolings that Inker and the other didn't splat, however they didn't know much more.
How did they get here in the first place? What were they here for?
If Lila wasn't involved, they could probably release it without question.
"If we do reveal everything, how would the public react? What about the Vanguard movement? They are still trying to attack Octo Valley again despite losing so many members in the first wave."
"I doubt they would believe that the Octarians were the real creators of their organization, they can accept the loss of their members but claiming that they were backed by the Octarians would probably make them accuse us of slander."
"It's possible that they know already, after all, the only survivors of their first wave turned out to be Octolings wearing the clothes of the fallen Inklings and their spy Lila."
"Then we need someone they can trust to tell them the bad news. What about that girl Lila? She was forced into helping the Octarians against her will right? She could convince the rest of the Vanguard movement to disband."
"I dont think so." Arcus said, pulling out another report. "It seems that Lila is broken, she refuses to accept her family's death and wanders around looking for them, the nurses also say that whenever its meal time, she asks for four portions and sits around waiting for her family to show up."
The ministers shut their eyes and lowered their heads for a brief moment.
What a sad fate for such a young girl.
"Then, what's happening to her now?"
"She's been released for the moment, though the IPD is still monitoring her in case the Octarians try to use her again, but so far they haven't."
"Wait, she was released? Couldn't the doctors fix her or something?"
"No they couldn't, we don't know the extent of Octarian brainwashing and she's already suffering from severe emotional trauma, the doctors are afraid that putting her in an asylum or sending her to an orphanage would destroy her mind. They aren't sure how to make her accept that her family is gone and until that happens, she'll be denying everything and living in her own imagination."
The ministers sat in silence for a while, before moving on to other topics.
Fields family household, Inkopolis
"I'm home!"
Lila cheerfully burst into the house.
A dark and empty house
No one was there
"Hmm? Where did they all go?" Lila wondered
She flipped on the lights and flopped on the couch
"Oh well they will be back soon."
As she sat around she noticed a paper sitting on the table.
It read "Vanguard movement, second wave, list of members."
'Vanguard movement'
Something about that felt weird
Did she hear about that before?
Laven changed to his squid form and hid in a puddle of purple ink with his family
"Where's dad?" he asked
"They got him already."
"!"
Lila quickly tore up the paper.
"Jeez I haven't seen them around for a while, where could they be?"
She took out her squid-phone and dialed Laven's number.
After a series of beeps came an automated message
"Hey its me, it's your best buddy, its Laven! Do your thing when you hear the beep."
*Beep*
Lila hung up
'he's probably busy playing turf wars' Lila concluded
Time passed as Lila waited for her family's return.
She checked the clock
4:30 PM
Lila hopped to the kitchen
'I'll make something nice for when everyone comes home!'
Lila only knew some simple recipes, so she made a big pot of pasta and tomato soup.
She set the table, four bowls, four napkins and four spoons and proceeded to wait.
Lila sat waiting for a long time, happily swinging her legs, waiting for her family's safe return.
She waited until midnight, before falling asleep at the table….
Lila didn't wake up until noon the next day, by then the sun was high and the soup she made had evaporated.
Lila ran upstairs, hoping to see her family.
No one was there, all the rooms were empty.
"Jeez, what's with them, leaving without saying goodbye."
Lila wandered her house alone for a while, entertaining herself with music and video games, before realizing that maybe she could find clues as to where Laven went for the day.
Lila went to Laven's room and booted up his computer.
After a few tires she was able to crack his password, since she knew her brother well.
'Let's see…'
Laven hadn't posted anything online recently.
His last post was some kind of symbol or logo.
A silver and gold shield shape with a V carved into it.
Laven's comment was "How do you like it? It's going to be the official symbol of the Vanguard movement."
What was that Vanguard thing anyways?
In a panic Laven took Lila and ran, he blasted the Octotrooper but the noise attracted a few Octoballs which gave chase, rolling quickly towards them.
Lila immediately shut off the monitor.
Maybe she should head to the plaza, perhaps she could find Laven at Inkopolis tower.
Lila happily slipped on her shoes and left the house.
Inkopolis Plaza
There were so many creatures here.
Usually Lila wouldn't come here alone, she would follow Laven or risk getting lost.
After all he was always so caring and protective towards her.
Lila toured the plaza, glancing around quickly.
There were so many strangers.
Inklings chatting or playing on arcade machines
Jellyfish carrying toolboxes
Lila wandered over to Inkopolis tower.
She had only been here once before, and that one time caused her to be squidnapped and taken to Melanin prison, where she met Kal and Bogs.
Lila stopped thinking about what came after that.
"Excuse me, is Laven Fields currently in a match?" Lila asked a receptionist in the lobby
The receptionist browsed through the current games before replying "Nope, it doesn't look like there is anyone named Laven playing at the moment."
"Oh okay, thanks."
Lila left the tower
Where else could Laven have gone?
'There were a few cafés he went to with the other Vangu-
No that was a dream, there is no such thing as the Vanguard movement'
She walked around some more.
The stores wouldn't welcome her, since she was not fresh enough yet, so she only asked the shopkeepers if they had seen her brother.
They all kindly replied the same way "no" expect for a certain clownfish.
Lila left the stores.
"Sigh, where could they be?"
She looked up at one of the TVs in the plaza
The magenta and light green squids looked familiar, but who were they interviewing?
"So even though only one of you returned from Octo Valley, you are still planning to attack again?"
"Yes of course, we saw just a few days ago that there were Octolings in our city, it's only fair that we counterattack."
'Octolings in Inkopolis? What a joke, that is not possible.'
"You know, there are rumors that the Octarians had been using your organization all along as a way to sneak troops into our city."
"Those are just rumors, the first wave of the Vanguard movement went wrong because the was already a spy in Inkopolis."
'No that didn't happen.'
"They were led into a trap."
'No, shut up shut up shut up!'
"But now that the Octarians who snuck in have all been caught, there won't be any problem for us."
'Yes, yes they were all caught and punished, Mom, Dad and Laven never went to Octo Valley.'
"It's a shame what happened to the Fields and Mire families though."
'What shame? It's not like anything bad happened.'
"The rest of the Vanguard movement will remember them forever."
Lila clasped her hands over her ears, trying to drown out the news report.
"Lila, you need to run, just run anywhere, try to get back to Inkopolis."
Lila nodded
"But what about you?"
"Just go!" Laven gave Lila a push and ran back towards the Octoballs, firing his Blaster wildly.
What was that scene in her head? It almost seemed real.
'Heh, I have a crazy imagination.'
Lila thought, still covering her ears and running away from Inkopolis Plaza
He kept moving away from the Octarians, firing whenever he had the chance, but he was losing ground, even with a Blaster he was missing, his aim became shakier by the moment.
It wasn't long before he was backed into a corner.
Fear and fatigue finally overcame him as he collapsed to his knees, dropping his Blaster, Laven looked up to see tons of Octarians bearing down on him.
It was the last thing Lila saw of him, she heard him mutter "why didn't I listen."
It was like a nightmare, why was Lila having nightmares during the day?
No they were memories, memories that she didn't want to accept.
She felt a bad premonition in her heart, she begun to search Inkopolis even more frantically than before.
'Something happened to Laven! I haven't seen him for too long! I need to find him!'
Lila ran around, pushing her way through the crowds.
"Hey! Watch it!" someone complained, but Lila didn't hear them
She was too busy looking for her lost brother.
"Laven! Laven! Where are you!"
Kal's house, Inkopolis
Even though it was daytime all the curtains were closed.
Victoria stood in the living room, without her helmet, she held a Splattershot, which she aimed around the place, while making motions Kal could not understand.
She hopped around aiming the Splattershot at various things, transforming in and out of Octopus form and pretending to throw splat bombs.
"Well? How is it?" Kal asked
"It's no Octoshot, but it feels similar at least."
Victoria was preparing for Lynn's return.
When that happened, she would then join the disavowed captain and the splatoon that rebelled against Octavia.
As for the Splattershot, it belonged to Kal, she was taking it along incase the captain didn't have any spare weapons for her to use.
"So you've decided?" Kal watched as Victoria packed up the Splattershot into her bag, which also contained those disgusting "rations".
"Yep" Victoria replied, leaving her bag by the door "When Lynn returns, i'll be off to Octo Valley."
For some reason Kal didn't want to see her go.
He assumed it was because of how dangerous Octo Valley was.
"Hey, since this could be your last day in Inkopolis, can we go out to eat?"
Victoria smiled
"Sure."
Kal thought about where they could go.
They had just been there a few days ago, but that sushi place seemed appropriate.
After all it was the first place he took her.
Kal and Victoria left Kal's house, with Kal hoping that Neon didn't spot them again, otherwise she would definitely get the wrong idea.
Inkopolis plaza
Kal and Victoria headed for a place called Sushi Den, it was one of Kal's preferred restaurants.
Kal didn't have much to say, but there was a lot on his mind.
He looked at Victoria, who always seemed to enjoy the clean and happy atmosphere of Inkopolis.
Right now she was taking in the wonderful sights of the city of colour.
'Why did she want to go back to Octo Valley so much?' Kal wondered
Victoria previously said that it was probably due to an emotional attachment, but Kal didn't understand.
From what he saw, Victoria acted with reason, the only time she didn't was after being pushed to the edge.
It didn't make sense to want to return to Octo valley, if there was nothing there for her.
The two heard sounds of grunting and shoving, Inklings saying things along the lines of "hey!" and "What's wrong with you?"
And speeding out of a crowd was teary eyed Lila, who ran past the two.
"Laven! Laven!" she yelled as she speed off into the distance.
Kal and Victoria watched Lila run off
Something was wrong.
"What happened to her? Is that some kind of side effect from, you know"
Kal didn't want to mention brainwashing out loud in public.
"I don't know anything about it."
The two continued to the Sushi Den
Once they were seated and had ordered food, they had time to talk.
Not like they didn't have plenty of time to talk before coming here.
But the subject of Lila and the Vanguard movement was on Kal's mind now
"Did you hear about the Vanguard movement? They haven't learned a thing from their first failure."
Victoria nodded
"Yeah, actually, it reminds me of Acting Leader Octavia."
"Hey that reminds me, how come nobody has tried to rescue Octavio yet?"
"Who knows, maybe they think Octavia is doing a good enough job on her own."
Victoria paused as a waiter came by, bringing salads and miso soup.
"Thanks."
"Do you think you might run into the Vanguard if you go back down to the Valley?"
"Who knows, I just want to be able to come home."
"Good luck with that, you will need it."
"You don't have to tell me twice, honestly taking down Octavia with a single splatoon of guerillas seems impossible, I wonder what the captain has planned."
"Do you trust her?"
"Definitely, someone with a reputation like hers would have my trust. They say she could possibly be the best combatant among the Elites and she isn't bad when it comes to tactics either."
"Yeah I can believe that, you didn't see how she took on Bogs in Melanin." Kal remembered the time when Bogs tried to fight the captain.
Bogs, a big and well built guy had charged at the captain with all his might, it should have been an intimidating sight, yet the captain was unfazed, she simply dropped on her back and lodged her foot in Bogs' chest, sending him flying.
"Well then, I'll be in her care soon, I probably won't be able to contact you or anyone else after that."
"Why not?"
"Guerilla tactics means that we will be constantly on the move, we also won't risk exposing our camp by sending out messages."
"Oh"
Kal didn't know anything about military tactics.
"Well then, I hope that someday you return safely."
'Wait what? Why did I just say that? I mean Victoria prefers Octo Valley right? Why would I want her to come back?"
However it seemed that Victoria liked his concern.
"Thanks."
Another waiter arrived carrying the food they ordered.
There was all sorts of things, ranging from beef teriyaki rolls to shrimp tempura.
For Victoria's sake, Kal avoided ordering takoyaki.
The two began eating and talking about other topics. Things like the other types of weapons, since Victoria was unfamiliar with anything other than shooters.
The chance that maybe the captain would want Inker's help.
In a while the topic had looped back to the Vanguard movement.
Kal wanted to stop the Vanguard movement from attacking Octo Valley a second time.
Of course he and Victoria both knew that they wouldn't listen to either of them.
"What about Lila? Maybe she could help." Victoria suggested
"Yeah she could, maybe we should pay her a visit."
Once they had finished their meal of course.
Fields family household, Inkopolis
Kal and Victoria arrived.
This was where Lila, Laven and their parents lived.
Of course the house seemed very empty now.
It had been taped off in the past few days by the IPD, while Lila was denied visitors at the hospital, so Kal couldn't speak to her earlier about the Vanguard movement.
Kal knocked on the door, it took awhile but eventually someone answered.
As the door slowly opened, Kal and Victoria could hear a bit of sobbing.
Lila was there, her hair was a mess, her face bruised and drenched with tears, she looked up at her visitors, then froze.
Her eyes started tearing up again, but the sadness vanished from her face.
She had been crying because she was worried about Laven, but now she was crying for a different reason.
She cried with happiness when she looked at Kal.
No she didn't look at him.
Her eyes were pointed at his direction, but she didn't see Kal.
"Laven!"
Lila plastered herself onto Kal, hugging him tightly and crying into his chest.
"I was so worried! Where did you go?"
"Wha?" Kal didn't understand what was happening.
"Can you believe it? Some strange guy on the news said you were dead, that you, mom and dad all got splatted in Octo valley, It's ridiculous! Why would you go to Octo Valley?"
"Oh." Kal could somewhat understand
Lila must have seen and remembered everything she did while under control of the Octarians.
She probably couldn't accept that Laven and her parents had passed away.
"Lila, i'm sorry, but Laven is gone."
Kal felt Lila's arms tighten their embrace.
"What are you talking about!? You are right here, dear brother!" Lila said, as she looked up to Kal.
There was so much joy in Lila's face, joy and relief.
The opposite of what she was feeling just moments ago.
But despite it all, it was all a fantasy of hers.
Kal wasn't Laven.
Kal looked at Victoria, who was equally confused.
Neither of them knew what to do.
"Lila, look at me, I'm not your brother."
"Hmm? Haha, you are funny Laven."
She was even calling him Laven with every chance she got.
Kal brushed off Lila, then kneeled in front of her.
"Look at me Lila, I'm not Laven!"
He held his tentacles in front of him to show Lila that he wasn't even remotely the same colour.
Actually any normal person could see that there was nothing similar between the two.
Laven had purple tentacles and green eyes, the same as Lila, he also had a slightly paler skin tone.
Kal had red tentacles and brown eyes, he was nothing like Laven and was far from being able to pass as Lila's brother.
"What? You are not Laven?"
"No, Laven went to Octo Valley with you, remember? I don't know what happened after that, but he didn't come back."
"Ahh ahhh!" Lila started to panic again.
"That's not true! Where is Laven!?" She glanced around furiously
"Laven! Laven!"
Lila turned to run to her room, but tripped over herself, falling face first on the floor.
She was being assaulted by reality.
The sounds and images of the truth attacked her mind.
Images, no memories, they were memories.
Memories that shouldn't have happened.
Lila cried.
"Why did they leave me? Why! Why! Why!" She started slamming her head into the ground with all the force she could muster.
No wonder her face was so bruised
Kal winced at the sight and sound of Lila's head hitting the ceramic tiled floor
However Victoria jumped in, putting her hand between Lila's head and the floor, it hurt Victoria a bit, but it cushioned Lila, Victoria didn't mind the pain and patted Lila with her other hand.
"Lila, what are you talking about? They didn't leave you, your brother is right there." Victoria pointed at Kal.
"Wha?" Kal exclaimed, pointing at himself
"Just go with it!" Victoria whispered
Lila looked back up again, first at Victoria, who she couldn't recognise with a helmet on, then she looked at Kal.
"Laven?"
Kal didn't want to say it, it felt so wrong, but if he didn't what would happen to Lila?
It wasn't right pretending to be someone else, but maybe if it's for Lila's sake...
"Yes, its me Laven, I'm back."
A few hours later…
Kal tucked Lila into bed, she was really tired from running around all day and crying.
There were bandages on her head, thanks to Kal and Victoria treating her.
She had been losing her mind earlier, but now she had done a complete 180, she smiled at Kal and he smiled back.
Lila fell asleep very quickly, snoozing peacefully into the night.
Kal watched Lila fall asleep, then left her room and went back downstairs, were Victoria was waiting.
"So, how is it like having a little sister that isn't even related to you?" she joked
"Ugh, I don't know, why did you tell her I'm Laven anyways?"
"Would you rather see her ram her head into the floor?"
"No, but still why do I have to be pretending to be Laven? I barely even knew the guy."
"That girl is suffering quite a bit already, sure you aren't her brother but at least go along with that sad fantasy of hers for now. Until she can accept that her real brother is gone."
"How long will that be?"
"I don't know."
Kal collapsed onto the couch
"Sigh, what a mess, why couldn't the doctors fix her?"
"Did you really think that undoing our brainwashing would be that easy?"
"Who's side are you on?"
Victoria shrugged
"Kinda hard to tell at this point."
Kal sat lazily for a while, reflecting on what had just happened.
"Well I guess I could pretend to be Laven for a while…"
"That's the spirit"
"But I don't want to be Laven forever, I have my own life, I can't keep pretending to be someone i'm not."
"Don't worry, I'm sure it won't last long."
"Do you think that maybe your roommate could help out? I recall hearing that she had a medical background."
Kal was referring to Violet, Victoria's roommate who was apparently a paramedic of some sort in Octo Valley.
Victoria didn't like thinking about her.
"Hmph, I haven't stayed in contact with Violet, it's not like she'd feel comfortable helping out anyways."
"Why? Because i'm an Inkling or because you threatened to kill her the last time you saw her?"
"Hey, when somebody gets your family killed, wanting to take revenge on them is natural."
"If that's the case, then why isn't Lila feeling the same way?"
It was an important question, one that Victoria couldn't really answer.
"I'm a soldier not a psychologist."
She did recall something though, one of the Octolings who had captured her said that the Octarian captain had something to do with Lila's brainwashing.
"Perhaps the former captain of the Melanin prison guards could help us out."
"Did she have something to do with Lila's condition?"
"Probably, considering she's an Elite Octoling, well a former one at that."
Kal sighed
'Great, so I'm stuck playing house until Victoria leaves for Octo Valley.'
Kal handed Victoria the keys to his house.
"Here, you should probably head back now, I'll have to stay here tonight so that Lila doesn't go into a panic tomorrow morning."
"Oh, alright then, see you tomorrow."
The next morning Lila hopped out of bed and ran to Laven's room.
Nobody there.
"Laven! Laven?"
She checked her parents' room
"Mom? dad?"
She went downstairs.
Kal had slept on the couch, because he felt like it was weird to sleep in somebody else's bed.
As if it wasn't strange enough sleep in someone else's home without permission.
"Laven!"
Kal awoke to Lila calling her brother's name.
The first thing he saw was Lila on the side of the couch, staring deeply into his eyes.
"Why did you sleep on the couch Laven?"
"I uhh, was too tried to head back up."
Lila suddenly brought a hand to her face and winced.
"You're such a lazy brother."
'What a strange reaction'
Kal sat up, still wearing the same clothes from yesterday.
"By the way, where did mom and dad go?" Lila asked
"They uhh, went on a trip."
"Will they be back soon?"
"Yeah probably."
Kal went to the kitchen, first off he had to make something for Lila, after that he had to go to the hospital again to ask about what the heck happened.
Lila winced again, upon seeing Kal frying eggs.
"You can cook now?"
"Yeah, uhh, with mom and dad gone for the moment I thought I should learn a bit."
"You could just have left it to me again."
"Oh" Kal didn't think that Lila could cook "well then, let's make breakfast together."
'That was something Laven would say right?'
Kal really had no clue what Laven was like, all he knew was that he used a Blaster and cared for Lila.
Kal and Lila sat and had a breakfast of eggs on toast and milk.
After that Kal went up Laven's room, looking for a Blaster so that he could seem more like Laven.
He couldn't find one.
'Laven probably took his Blaster with him to Octo Valley.'
The doorbell rang, Kal could hear Lila's footsteps as she ran to the door.
"I got it!"
'It's probably Victoria, or maybe Inker if she told him what happened'
"Hello Lila, is your brother home?"
Kal recognised the voice, it wasn't either of his friends, but the defense minister of Inkopolis: Arcus Hilgendorf.
Lila called out to Kal "Laven! Someone's here to see you!"
Kal glanced out the second floor.
There was a limo parked outside along with two tough looking Inklings, probably Arcus' bodyguards.
'I guess he's being cautious after what happened a few days ago….'
Kal went downstairs and met Arcus at the door.
"We need to talk."
"Hmm? Okay, come on in."
Arcus entered the Fields' house, accompanied by one bodyguard, the other stood outside.
Kal felt a bit uncomfortable with one of Arcus's bodyguards in the room.
It was a tall Inkling in suit, wearing sunglasses even though he was indoors. He stood quietly to the side, standing perfectly straight with his hands in front, his gaze moving from Arcus to the windows.
Kal sat with Arcus in the living room.
"Lila, you can leave us, we need to talk among ourselves." Arcus said
Lila nodded and left the room, though Kal could see her peeking from the stairs.
Arcus noticed it too, so he spoke in a quieter voice.
"So Kal, you've been playing house recently.."
"You know huh, have you been watching me since that false accusation?"
"Heh I'm not that petty, no not you, Lila. The IPD have been monitoring her since her release from the hospital, just in case the Octarians start using her again. Though i'm surprised to see you involved again."
"It's not like I want to get involved, but recently it seems like I keep getting dragged into more and more trouble."
"Well then I'm going to trouble you some more, you should keep pretending to be Laven Fields."
Kal let out a sigh.
He was really started to get annoyed by the constant string of problems happening of late.
"You didn't have to come and tell me that. What the heck happened to Lila? Couldn't anybody else help her? Maybe an actual doctor or psychologist?"
"They tried, but the doctors are worried they might do something wrong since they don't have the slightest knowledge of Octarian mind conditioning."
"And neither do I."
"Maybe not, but yesterday Lila was going crazy, we were actually about to bring her in and lock her away when you showed up. It seems that for some reason she sees Laven in you. Maybe you did something he would do? I don't know, but whatever the reason, seeing you as Laven seems to have brought her back from the edge of insanity."
Kal thought about why Lila would see him as Laven, even though he was nothing like him.
All he could think of was Melanin prison.
"So hold on, you're telling me that because I comforted her while we were squidnapped by the Octarians, she thinks i'm her-" Kal glanced towards the stairs to make sure Lila wasn't still listening. "brother?"
"According to the doctors I spoke with, that's likely the case. It's a good thing too."
"How is it good? I have my own life, but now I'm living someone else's."
"It's good for Lila, at least now she can stop hurting herself and slowly move on. Beside the only other option would be to stuff her in a straitjacket and lock her away in an asylum somewhere. I'm sure you know that Inkopolis doesn't get alot of insane patients so we only have one asylum which is already understaffed."
In other words, Arcus was saying that Lila's future depended on Kal's behavior now.
"So that's it? You came here to tell me that the only way to stop Lila from going insane is if I pretend to be Laven?"
"Unfortunately yes. Also, please observe Lila's condition, if you discover anything important, then go consult with a at Cephalic hospital."
Arcus handed Kal a card, which included the contact information for a doctor who Kal never heard of.
"What am I even supposed to be looking for?"
"Anything that seems out of the ordinary."
"I barely knew both Lila and Laven before, how am I supposed to know what's normal for them?"
"Well you are going to have to guess then. I know it's difficult having such a burden pushed onto you, but unfortunately it's the best we can do for now."
Kal nodded and glanced at the card
' Asio huh."
"One last thing, would you be okay with the IPD monitoring you and Lila?"
"No. What ever happened to privacy?"
"Just being cautious, incase the Octarians try to use Lila again."
"If that happens i'll let you know."
"Okay, well then, i'll be off now."
"Bye."
Arcus left, along with his bodyguards, leaving Kal to sit alone in silence.
He hadn't even had time to prepare for a task like this.
Not like he had anything planned.
Maybe he just wanted to see Victoria off...
"Lila, i'm going out!"
With that Kal left the home that wasn't even his to begin with. He didn't bother waiting for Lila's reply, he wanted to see everyone and prepare himself mentally for becoming Laven.
Kal's house, Inkopolis
Kal rang the doorbell on his own home.
'Ring!'
"…"
No reply.
Kal tried knocking this time
'Knock knock'
"..."
Nothing
'Did Victoria leave already?!'
Kal was worried.
'I gave Victoria the keys to my house, now I can't get inside. Yeah that's why i'm worried.' Kal told himself.
Victoria might have left, or maybe she was just out with the others.
Kal hoped that Victoria was still there.
He knocked one more time, then rang the doorbell, then shouted:
"Victoria! Are you there!"
'Click' Came the metallic sound of the door unlocking.
"Victoria! So you were still here, why didn't you come earlier?"
"I'm an Octoling remember, plus this is your house, what if someone came to visit you and found me here instead?"
'So she was just being cautious.' Kal felt relieved.
"Anyways what's going on?" Victoria asked
"I just came back to get a few things….. Actually I want to head to the Plaza one more time to see everyone."
Victoria tilted her head in confusion.
"I'm the one who is about to leave Inkopolis, yet here you are sounding like you are saying goodbye."
Kal groaned "Well it turns out that since Lila sees me as her brother. I need to play along, otherwise she goes crazy and gets locked away."
"Really? That's an interesting problem."
"You bet. Anyways i'm heading to the plaza to tell everyone else and probably play some turf. Do you want to come along?"
'Turf wars huh' Victoria wasn't too fond of watching dreadful battles treated as games.
Still she felt like Kal would need the support, so she'd bear with turf wars for now.
Besides, maybe she could learn something useful for when it's time for real wars.
"Yeah sure."
Kal took his Slosher and left with Victoria, to the plaza.
Inkopolis Plaza
Kal and Victoria wandered around aimlessly.
Kal was trying to find Inker and the others, but to no avail.
He texted the group, but only Inker replied.
Oh well, Kal just wanted someone to know why he's going to start wearing purple while using a Blaster.
Inker spotted the duo and made his way over.
"Sup Kal, I got your message, what's so important that you need to see everyone about?"
"Well I wanted to tell Sky and Neon too, but I guess just the two of you is fine. You see yesterday I went to vis-" Kal stopped when he noticed a peculiar scene, behind Inker.
Specifically, a familiar cyan Inkling and a bright green Inkling arguing.
"See, there is nothing going on between them."
"No wait, don't go yet, watch once Inker is gone they'll do something."
"No they won't, I don't even know why I agreed to eavesdropping with you."
"It's not eavesdropping, it's just looking out for your friends. If something is going on we should support them to the best of our ability."
"Have you been watching romance movies or something?"
It was Sky and Neon, though Neon was barely noticable to Kal, Inker and Victoria because she was behind a bush.
Sky was trying to drag her out into the open, while they argued about something.
Inker, Kal and Victoria walked towards Sky and Neon.
Neon, who was earlier resisting Sky's attempt to drag her out, immediately stood up when she saw the others approach.
"Hiya guys!"
"What were you two doing?" Kal asked
"Oh nothing, I just happened to be passing by."
"Neon kept claiming that she had seen Kal and Victoria go on dates before."
Neon cringed as Sky started revealing everything
"I didn't believe any of it, so she said she'd could prove it and made me follow you two for a while."
Everyone stared at Neon.
"Hey it's totally normal to have some concern for two friends taking it to the next level."
"Is it also "totally normal" to eavesdrop on your friends…." Victoria replied
"I know you like to tease and joke around, but isn't this a bit too much?" Kal added
"Hmm? So the two of you aren't lovey dovey with each other?" Neon said with the most clueless looking face possible.
"N-no" Kal and Victoria both stammered
Neon looked at the two with a scrutinizing gaze, then went back to her usual smile.
"Hmm…. Yeah no, I don't believe a word of it!"
'We only said one word…' x2
"Oh well moving on then, what the big news Kal?" Neon quickly changed the subject.
She was probably trying to forget about it.
"Well I've ended up in a sort of, interesting problem to say the least."
"Oooo! do tell."
"It doesn't have anything to do with fighting, Okay Neon? So stop gazing at me with those expectant eyes."
"Aww"
"Anyways, remember Lila? Well I went to see her the other day, and all of a sudden she started calling me Laven."
"Wait why are you visiting her in the first place? You already have Victoria."
"What are you suggesting? I wanted to ask her about the Vanguard movement, after all they are still planning to attack Octo Valley despite the first disaster they had! Anyways it turns out that Lila's been hurting herself over what happened so I played along for the rest of the day."
"Oh! I get it now, Kal likes girls with issues." Neon was acting as if she made a big discovery.
"For cod sake."
"Neon I think you should shut up a little, this seems serious." Sky snapped
"You're so mean…"
Kal continued his explanation "So anyways this morning I got a visit from Arcus. Turns out he and the IPD have been monitoring Lila in case the Octarians can still control her. He told me that if Lila would go insane if I didn't pretend to be Laven. So now i'm suddenly supposed to become this other Inkling I barely even knew!" Kal got a bit agitated at the end there.
"Hold on, i'll be serious now, first off why is Lila losing her marbles? And why does she see you as Laven?"
"Lila can't accept what she did while under the influence of the Octarians, as for why she sees me as Laven, I really don't know. I mean I'm not like Laven at all!"
Neon nodded "Yeah yeah! You suck at turf and can't aim to save your life, but at least you aren't a moody crybaby like Laven."
'Now I want to hit her with a fist.' Kal suppressed his anger and asked about Laven instead.
"Hold on, so you knew Laven? What was he like?"
"Yeah I met him a few times, first was while you were squidnapped, all he did was cry and cry over Lila. Then I met him again while I was avoiding you all, he was grumbling about the Octarians and would mention the Vanguard movement to every team he played with."
"Ignoring what Neon said, I think Laven just really cared for Lila." Inker added
"Also, he was the one who convinced me to go to Octo Valley with Neon back then, I thought he was a pretty fresh guy until recently." Sky said.
"Hmm" Kal was starting to understand want Laven was like. "Well anyways after today I'm going to have to stay with Lila and pretend to be her brother I guess."
"I don't understand, why do you specifically need to be Laven?" Neon asked
"I don't know either, I must have done something similar to Laven I guess. I don't know, I just want to clear my head a little, you guys up for a quad squad?"
Neon threw her fist in the air
"Yeah! Now that's something I can relate too, come on!"
Neon grabbed Kal and dragged him towards Inkopolis tower, follow by everyone else.
Field's family household, Inkopolis
Kal spent the next few hours with his friends, they played turf wars, had lunch together, played some arcade games, etc.
In the afternoon, he decided it was time to head back to Lila's home.
Sure he felt a bit selfish for running out on such short notice, but who could blame him after everything that had happened so suddenly.
He also told Victoria to stop by and see him again when she was leaving for Octo Valley.
Obviously because he needed the keys to his house.
Kal stood outside Lila's home.
"..."
He rang the doorbell and prepared himself.
He would have to become somebody else now.
Lila unlocked the door, she peeked outside at Kal with tears in her eyes.
"Laven?"
Kal entered house
"Yes it's me, I'm back Lila."
"Wahhh! Why did you leave so suddenly! I was so worried!"
Once again Lila embraced Kal, at least that is what was really happening. But to Lila's eye, she was embracing her brother.
"Sorry if I worried you."
"I haven't seen mom and dad in so long, I thought that you had also left me!"
"Don't worry Lila, i'm not going anywhere."
Lila looked up at Kal
"Promise?"
"I Promise."
A/N: Okay so yeah this chapter is a bit weird, since it was supposed to tie up the fifth story arc, I probably should have moved this to the next chapter. Also this time the character bios will include an important character's likes and dislikes.
OCs from part 5: Trouble at home (Chapters 21-25)
Inklings:
Inker Cetamari: Blue Inkling boy, the New Squidbeak Splatoon's star agent. Despite finding himself in more and more situations where he is forced to fight the Octarians, Inker still holds the idea that maybe the two races could live peacefully. He is a skilled fighter, likely due to his experience as Agent 3 and a compassionate individual who would prefer putting only himself in harm's way to help others. (also known as Agent 3)
Likes: Turf Wars, helping others, hanging out with his friends.
Dislikes: Pointless conflict,
Kalus Kogia: Red Inkling boy, Inker's best friend/ childhood friend. Kalus was originally the average Inkling, having lived an easy life in Inkopolis, he used to think of the Octarians as nothing but the bad guys, until the events of Behind Enemy Lines and was somewhat arrogant at first. Kal learned that there were places far different from Inkopolis upon learning of Octo Valley, since then he grew to be more compassionate and tries to share the joy of living in Inkopolis, he similar to Inker in a way. However Kalus lacks Inker's combat skill and idealism.(also known as Kal)
Likes: Inkopolis, Squid Sisters, normal life. V̶i̶c̶t̶o̶r̶i̶a̶ ("Get out of here Neon!")
("phehehe.")
Dislikes: Trouble, problems.
Neon: Bright green Inkling girl, a friend of Inker, Kal and Sky. Neon is a carefree type who prefers to act on instinct rather then think. She is loud, hyperactive and outspoken, to the point where everyone around her describes her as being a little weird. She does and says whatever she wants whenever she feels like it. Despite her usual behavior, Neon secretly regrets every mistake she makes, sometimes wishing she was different. Neon loves fighting more than anything because she claims its the only thing that makes sense to her. She is a crackshot with Charger type weapons and has the skill to take on the Octarian army even better than Inker could.
Likes: Fighting, chargers, teasing her friends, joking around.
Dislikes: Mind games, lockdowns, mistakes.
Sky: Cyan Inkling boy, the youngest of his friend group. Sky is somewhat ambitionless and self aware, knowing exactly where he stands in life. Sky is the opposite of Neon as he always thinks and plans first before acting. However since Sky tends to act only on certainties, he tends to be bad at fast paced combat where quick decisions matter most, so he prefers to stay on the sidelines and have a low sense of presence. He sometimes wishes he had Inker or Neon's combat skill so that he could do more to help his friends when trouble arises.
Likes: Being safe and alive
Dislikes: Danger, risks, Neon (You're so mean, Sky")
("Get out of my bio, Neon!")
Laven Fields (deceased): Purple inkling boy. Laven was born and raised in Inkopolis, thus he is accustomed to the fun and fair environment there, he has little knowledge of anything outside of Inkopolis, this includes Octo valley. Laven was happy living in Inkopolis, easily making friends and happily living his youth, he also cares deeply for his little sister Lila, often comforting her and cheering her up when she was still a squid.
Unfortunately he was not prepared to deal with the unjust world outside of Inkopolis. When the Octarians started squidnapping Inklings at random, Lila was one of the first to be taken, Laven immediately fell into depression, blaming himself for losing Lila. When Lila returned he was incredibly happy to see her again, however he was also angered by what the Octarians had done to her, he along with the families of the other squidnapped Inklings started a crusade to take revenge on the Octarians, not knowing that real combat is nothing like the fair and fun turf wars of Inkopolis. He died along with his parents when the first wave of the Vanguard movement was ambushed by the Octarian army.
Likes: Blasters, Inkopolis, Turf wars, Lila
Dislikes: Octarians, bystanders, torture.
Lila Fields: Purple Inkling girl. Lila is an impressionable 11 year old girl, she grew out of her squid form much earlier than the average Inkling and was considered gifted. Lila was kept close to her family at all times, due to being bullied as a child, her brother Laven used to comfort her when she was feeling down so she feels emotionally attached to him and vice versa. Lila is one of the few Inklings who know of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, having met Kalus in Melanin Prison when they were squidnapped by the Octarians, who told her about Agent 3 and the battles he had with the Octarian army.
Likes: Friendly creatures, family, Laven
Dislikes: bullies, the boiling pit.
Arcus Hilgendorf: Black adult Inkling. The defense minister of Inkopolis. Arcus is a member of Inkopolis' political cabinet. As the defense minister, Arcus is in charge of Inkopolis police force, as Inkopolis lacks a military. Arcus' parents were part of the original Squidbeak Splatoon, he knew Cap'n Cuttlefish as a child, whom he calls "Uncle Craig" and idolized the tales of the Squidbeak Splatoon. Arcus is pretty serious when it comes to his job, taking the matter of Inkopolis' security seriously while also considering other factors such as public reactions. However he is not unreasonable and does not hold any sort of grudge towards the Octarians, he also keeps the New Squidbeak Splatoon hidden from public view, along with the Squid Sisters. Although he is married, his family as not made an appearance yet, though Cuttlefish mentioned he has "found a loving wife".
Likes: Squidbeak Splatoon, "Uncle Craig", his wife.
Dislikes: Complicated security issues, headaches
Octarians:
Victoria Holter: Octoling, originally an average Octoling soldier, Victoria wandered into Inkopolis on accident, she was originally distrustful of Kalus and the other Inklings, but have come to learn that they are not the evil creatures Octavio had them made out to be. Victoria is often serious, calm and cunning, choosing never to outright stand against anyone, however when things go wrong, Victoria will often lose her cool. Victoria is loyal to the Octarian race despite her friendships with Inker and the others.
Likes: Her family, Calamari Inkantation, Octo Valley, Victory, Ka("Neon! Don't you dare!")
("Come on guys! Let's pin her down before she messed up more bios!")
("Hey! All four of you ganging up on me isn't fair!")
Dislikes: Octavia, Violet, being talked down too,
Lynn: Octoling, a soldier serving under the Octarian captain. Lynn is as loyal as they come and will gladly follow orders, though this is revealed to be because Lynn doubts her own decision making ability. She was good friends with Claire, who would often tell her to make decisions on her own, advice she eventually took to heart. After Claire's death, Lynn seems to have taken her place as the Captain's right hand.
Likes: Orders, the captain
Dislikes: Almost getting splatted everytime she visits the Inklings.
Minor Characters:
Mauve Fields (Deceased): Laven and Lila's mother.
Wister Fields (Deceased): Laven and Lila's father.
Mire family (Deceased): Bogs' family.
Lissa Asio: A doctor working Lila's case.
Virril Steenson: The prime minister of Inkopolis.
Harting: a minister of Inkopolis.