Part 7: Inconsummate (chapters 31-35)
It had been a week since Lila was brought back from the brink of insanity.
In that week Kal had spoken to both Dr Asio and Arcus Hilgendorf, letting them know what happened with Lila.
He also asked Victoria to explain a few things, specifically what did she say to Lila while she was missing.
In the end, it turns out that Lila's condition was not the result of simply losing her family, there were several other causes too.
First off, after being controlled and working for the Octarian army, Lila generated the belief that they could not be stopped, following that she witnessed everything she had done leading to her family's deaths.
She felt that both her and the Octarian army was responsible for their deaths, but since she thought the Octarian army was unstoppable, it made her move all the blame too herself.
Feeling incredibly guilty while simultaneously traumatized by what happened in Octo Valley, Lila tried to forget everything by pretending that none of that had happened.
Of course, without Laven and her family, she was all alone, since Kal comforted her in Melanin prison just like Laven would have done, she began to see both of them as one Inkling.
That is what Dr Asio concluded
Arcus reported that after Lila's apology video went live, citizens all over Inkopolis started calling for a new army again. However thanks to Lila's warnings, the Vanguard movement had disbanded and the citizens of Inkopolis are now calling for a national defense force instead of an army to invade Octo Valley. The fear and anger of the population was still there of course, but now it was more fear than anger, they wouldn't want more Inklings becoming corrupted like Lila did.
As for Victoria, she told Kal that she knew what he was planning; to make Lila accept the truth by recreating the battle that took her family from her. By pointing out the inconsistencies in Lila's fantasy and even using the trigger phrase the Octarians implanted in her, Lila was finally able to see the truth.
Victoria had returned to Captain Vale's hideout, while Inker, Kal and Neon had returned to Inkopolis for a while to make sure everything back home had been resolved.
Recovering from her state of insanity and being left with no family, Lila now lived at an orphanage in Inkopolis.
As for the New Squidbeak splatoon, as well as Inker's friends, they were all going to Octo Valley again.
Nautilus base, Octo Valley
"Acting leader, the splatoons which drove back the Vanguard movement have been replenished with fresh troops, as for the battalions searching for Vale and her Octarian renegades, they've had little success so far."
From her usual spot behind her desk, Octavia pondered over what to do now.
Well first she may as well dismiss the Octoling messenger in front of her.
"Thank you, you may return to your duties now."
"Acting leader, if I may I would like to ask why are we not fully committed to finding the disavowed Captain Vale and her renegade splatoon."
"There isn't much Vale can do on her own, all she's been doing so far is hiding and setting up distractions for us. The New Squidbeak Splatoon is still the bigger threat."
"I understand that, but recently there have been rumors circulating among the troops."
"Oh?"
"Some say that you are holding back against Vale and her renegades by keeping most of hte army focused on Inkopolis."
"If I ever find out who started that rumor, they'll be punished. Maybe I'll let them experience that boiling pit that Vale loved to use on Inklings." Octavia spoke with a certain level of coldness and indifference which made the messenger recoil in fear.
"U-umm, w-well, some have also noticed that your recent plans with the Vanguard movement, the brainwashed Inkling and the new Roller type weapons all seem to be ideas taken from the now traitor Vale."
"I admit that Emily Vale had some good ideas, that's why I'm making use of them. Only a failed leader would stick the same plans and tactics regardless of failure."
"However that has also led some to believe that Vale shouldn't have been made a traitor so quickly."
"If she wasn't a traitor then she wouldn't have tried to splat the entire chain of command and shoot herself to the top."
From what she heard, Octavia thought that maybe the troops were starting to see through her…
"Listen, if you hear or see anyone that might be turning to Vale's side let me know immediately."
"That won't be necessary Acting Leader. There is another rumor going around, that Vale's renegades are collaborating with the New Squidbeak Splatoon."
'Vale working with Inklings? Impossible. Vale was an Elite like the rest of us, she couldn't bring herself to work with Inklings even if she wanted to.'
"And do you know how this rumor started soldier?"
The Octoling shivered at Octavia's words.
"U-umm as you know, the second battle with the Vanguard movement turned into a three way fight when renegade Octarians started attacking our positions from behind. Some splatoons reported seeing Agent 3 show up and get splatted again, allowing the renegades to escape."
"Agent 3? That can't be true, Agent 3 is dead."
"Perhaps not, footage recovered from Octoling goggles reveal an Inkling matching Agent 3's description showing up during the battle. The only thing different was that he seemed to be trying to attract attention."
"I saw Agent 3 die with my own eyes, double check the battle footage and you can tell the troops to stop questioning my decisions, I didn't dedicate extra resources to hunting down Vale because I had other plans."
"Right away Acting Leader."
As the Octoling saluted and left, Octavia went to summon the other Elites.
She had a plan for Vale, but that plan couldn't be leaked to the other Octarians.
However, Vale was already one step ahead.
Guerilla camp, Octo Valley
Vale had already known that Octavia was gathering a list of family and known associates of her and anyone in her splatoon.
It was absurdly obvious to her why Octavia was doing so.
Eliza and a few other volunteers had previously watched and trailed some of the army around the Undercity. (The incident where Inker wasn't given the order to pull back and was left behind by Eliza a few chapters ago.)
She knew that Octavia was gathering everyone they knew in Bassoon prison.
Unlike Melanin prison, which was made to hold, torture and enslave prisoners of war, Bassoon was for holding Octarian criminals.
Since Octavia hadn't made any demands yet, Vale assumed she was waiting until she had gathered enough hostages to threaten every single member of her splatoon.
'Honestly it's not a bad idea, even for her. But did she really think that I wouldn't find out? After that ploy with Lila and the Octobot King, I know well enough that Octavia sometimes does things without telling anyone her motives.'
Vale expected Octavia to demand their surrender once she rounded up everyone who had a connection to her runaway splatoon. It would be something along the lines of 'if you don't surrender yourselves to the judgement of the Acting Leader, your families will be punished in your place' that would force Vale's splatoon to either try and rescue them, or give up.
Or they could sit back and do nothing as their families and anyone else close to them were punished in their stead.
There was a downside to all three outcomes:
If they surrendered then Octavia who be unopposed and once again be able to send Octarians to their deaths needlessly.
If they rescued everyone, they would become a large group of mostly non combatant Octarians, which would make it much easier for Octavia and the army to hunt them down. They would also have more mouths to feed and thus may need to start raiding the Undercity to survive.
If they decided not to do anything, then there will definitely be a loss of trust in Captain Vale's leadership, some may desert her and sell out to Octavia.
In this situation, Vale could only pick the path that held long term consequences.
Even though it was an unspoken rule in Octo Valley, that caring too much for others would only bring disaster upon yourself, Vale was not the type to abandon anyone she knew.
The moment Octavia gathers all the hostages she needs, Vale would already have her splatoon standing by near Bassoon prison.
So that before Octavia can deliver her ultimatum, they would attack and free everyone they could.
Since her own troops were Octarians themselves, they could easily pass as Undercity citizens, as long as nobody questioned what they do for a living it should be fine.
Nobody really chats in the Undercity anyways, after all making friends is discouraged in a place like that.
Vale wanted to go as well, but since she was likely branded as a traitor and terrorist, her face would definitely be on wanted posters all over the city, so she would have to sit this one out.
To make up for her absence, perhaps Agent 3 and his Inkling buddies could help out instead.
'I doubt Agent 3 will come back, the reason he joined us in the first place was either because I recruited Victoria or because Lynn still had to return her favor right?'
'I'm sure we will end up on opposite sides again soon, but for now Agent 3 is probably still willing to work with us. Though I bet has some sort of goal in mind.'
'Perhaps he still thinks that getting on our good side means bringing our two races together? Though I don't really like the sound of that, I'm not about to become some pawn in Agent 3's goal.'
'Huh that's strange, I'm not sure why I'm so opposed to this idea of uniting the Inkling and Octarian races. Oh well, I'll figure it out eventually, if Agent 3 returns, I'll go make sure we are still on good terms with each other.'
As always Vale knew that there had to be some bit of trust in order for them to work together.
If Agent 3 returned, she needed to make sure that they were second guessing each other, that applied to herself as well.
Inkopolis plaza
"Huh? You are coming too?"
Now that the issue with Lila and the Vanguard movement had been resolved, Inker had planned to go back to Captain Vale's lair and pursue his idea of uniting the two races. To his surprise Kal was coming too.
"Well why wouldn't I? I may not like getting involved in dangerous or troublesome matters, but I'm not about to sit back alone in Inkopolis."
"I see."
If Kal wanted to go, Inker wasn't about to stop him, but he was still worried that he may get hurt.
"Hey, remember that you can't respawn, so if things ever get too dangerous just run okay."
"Yeah I got it."
Sky showed up a moment later.
"Hey there Sky, what's with the bag?"
Sky usually stayed behind with Cap'n Cuttlefish as mission control, so there wasn't a reason for him to be wearing a backpack.
"Well you see, I thought that I could take this chance to learn the Octarian language. I know I'm going to be a burden, but please put up with me okay."
"Don't worry, as long as we stay away from the Undercity we should be fine, and you'll be safe in Captain Vale's hideout."
"You should knock on wood after saying something like that."
The only one missing now was Neon. She showed up eventually, twirling happily and beaming at the thought of Octo Valley.
As usual Sky was visibly annoyed with her.
"You're late"
"I'm fashionably late." Neon retorted, whipping her hair around.
"Why are you flicking your hair around?"
"Can't you tell? I took a nice long shower before showing up. I look fashionable and I'm late."
"That's not what fashionably late means."
"Really? I wouldn't know. By the way Inker, shouldn't you have done the same? Did you forget that the only ink in Octo Valley is dark magenta?"
For a moment Inker was surprised, he did forget about Octo valley not having ink in his colour, but he was more surprised by how Neon managed to remember such a small detail.
"Oh right, there was something like that, oh well it's not much of a problem."
"Not much of a problem? Personal hygiene is important you know. By the way *sniff sniff* yeah you are starting to smell. I bet that soon Callie and Marie will be too disgusted to stand near you. Wait if that happens, maybe they'll kick you out of the splatoon and I can join in…. Okay forget what I just said and just be your smelly self!"
Ignoring Neon, who started muttering to herself mid lecture, Inker curiously sniffed himself.
"Do I really smell?" Inker wondered, looking at Kal for confirmation
"Not really… Well it's not noticeable unless you really try to smell something. You're fine as is... for now."
"I'm surprised that Neon would even notice." Sky added
"What do you mean? Of course I'd notice! I'm not some wild animal, I love being fresh just as much as anyone else! Don't go thinking that fighting is the only thing on my mind."
"But isn't that the whole reason why you're coming along?"
Neon averted her gaze from Sky immediately.
"Hey Inker we should get going right? If we wait any longer we won't make it before nightfall right?"
"Hey! Don't ignore me!"
"Let's gooooo!" Neon bolted through the manhole and into Octo Valley.
"Wait!"
"Slow down Neon!"
"Don't leave me behind! Watch out for the cameras too! Wait up!"
Sky, Kal and Inker chased after Neon.
Guerilla camp, Octo Valley
Inker had expected more patrols around Octo Valley, but for some reason, reaching Captain Vale's kettle was surprisingly easy.
The kettle was half buried and looked abandoned.
"Are you sure we are in the right place?" Kal asked.
"Yes this is definitely it, that captain knows what she's doing. I bet she made the kettle look like it's abandoned so that nobody would think she's hiding inside." Inker replied
"Yeah yeah, I remember it too, Vale said some sort of password before entering. Let's see…. What was it again?" Neon tried to remember.
"Honor to the valley." Inker said.
The kettle hummed to life again.
"Come on guys."
Inker and his friends entered the kettle and soon found themselves back in the repurposed hideout of the former captain Vale.
A few Octotroopers took note of their arrival, as if playing broken telephone they whispered to one another.
"Alright be careful guys, last time one of the Octolings shot me when I arrived." Inker told Sky and Kal.
But they didn't have to worry, the Octotroopers told Lynn, who then told the captain that Agent 3 was back with three other Inklings.
"Honor to the valley ehh? It's really strange hearing that from you. I see you brought even more company this time."
Inker and friends were met with Captain Vale, who had arrived to greet them.
"Yeah I hope you don't mind, they are just my friends and they aren't from the New Squidbeak Splatoon so try not to put them in danger."
"Bringing friends here is a risky move Agent 3, especially if they are just civilians."
"They'll be fine."
"Fine? You realize that we could be discovered and surrounded in a split second right? Bringing non combat ready Inklings here would only get in our way… Unless… Have they played turf wars before?"
"Yeah they have, hold on how do you know about turf wars?"
"I was part of the team that squidnapped Lila and your red friend. I saw what kind of things you Inklings do in your spare time."
"Huh?"
"I can see the advantages to playing turf wars, a deathmatch like that would prevent overpopulation and the winners would undoubtedly become strong soldiers."
Hearing Vale refer to Turf Wars as a deathmatch made him laugh nervously.
"Uhh… heh…. I think there's some sort of misunderstanding here, Turf Wars is just a game."
He didn't want the Octarians to get the wrong idea, that he was someone who wasn't above splatting other Inklings for entertainment.
"A game in your mind yes. But how else could you explain your victory against DJ Octavio? Not only that but Neon even managed to spar me to a standstill, you know not even Octavia could do that."
'Now that she mentions it, Neon and I are great at turf wars and that carried over to Octo Valley. Could Turf Wars be Inkopolis' way of defending itself?'
On the side, Neon beamed after hearing Vale praise her fighting skills.
"You see guys? Even an elite soldier of an elite army thinks highly of me. I'll become Agent 4 in no time!"
"It's not so surprising since you play turf more than any of us." Kal replied
"Yeah, by now we all know that you are only dependable when it comes to fighting." Sky added
"You guys… Kal when did you join Sky in picking on me?"
"I didn't... I just said what was on my mind! Hey i'll apologize so let go of me!"
Neon began grappling with Kal and Sky, temporarily distracting Inker and Captain Vale. the two looked over before returning to their talk.
"I didn't think of that. But still please don't send Kal and Sky on any dangerous missions. I'll do it in their place."
"If they aren't going to be helping, why bring them along in the first place?."
"Well, Sky wants to understand the Octarian language so he thought that this was a good chance to learn from an Octarian. As for Kal umm, he just didn't want to be left behind?"
Inker looked at Kal expecting him to clarify but he was too busy with Sky and Neon.
"Well if it's just two more Inklings I don't mind, be sure to show them the ropes around here. Also, since you came back I assume you are going to help us bring down Octavia?"
"Uhh, yeah sure."
"Good."
Eliza, Victoria and Lynn sat in the mess hall, having dinner with the rest of Captain Vale's troops.
Since Victoria felt out of place in Inkopolis, she immediately returned to Captain Vale's hideout along with Lynn and Eliza, while Kal and Inker finished things up in Inkopolis.
Today Inker and the others returned.
It wasn't just him and Neon this time, Kal and Sky tagged along too.
Sky wanted to learn the Octarian language, as for Kal well Victoria didn't know why he showed up.
Honestly she would have preferred that he stayed safe and sound in Inkopolis…
She watch Kal join Neon and Sky at a table across the room.
They still aren't getting along too well with the other Octarians, but after that mission where Inker managed to save Eliza's squad by distracting the Octarian army alone, they were starting to get better.
For one, they weren't going out of their way to harass the Inklings anymore.
Well at least Kal won't have to go through what Neon and Inker did when they first arrived.
'Kal probably couldn't be able to take it, just like how he couldn't handle eating rationed food.' Victoria thought.
She was focused entirely on Kal at the moment.
'What if he's sent to fight? He's somewhat tough, not tough like me but in his own gentle and somewhat naive kind of way. I think he'll be alright.'
"Yo Victoria, is something wrong? Why are you staring at that red Inkling?"
Eliza's voice brought Victoria back to her senses.
"Ahh! No everything is fine, I'm just wondering why more Inklings are joining us."
Lynn chimed in
"One of them wanted to learn our language so that he can navigate Octo Valley easier and also speak with other species of Octarians. Captain Vale told me to pick someone to teach him. It's still strange though."
"He wants to learn our language? Do you think there might be some sort of….."
Eliza's voice trailed off when she saw Agent 3 walk in, holding a tray of food.
Her eyes squinted, she clenched her teeth and her eyebrows cocked like a blade.
Agent 3 noticed her and just smiled back before joining the other Inklings
Eliza's face was full of anger, it looked as if the veins on her forehead were throbbing.
Eliza rapidly stuffed her breakfast in her mouth, washed it all down and left with a sour expression on her face.
The other nearby Octarians watched, confused.
"Don't worry, I got this."
Lynn excused herself and went after Eliza.
"What's wrong with her?" Victoria wondered
"Dunno, she was perfectly fine a moment ago." A nearby Octotrooper replied.
"Yeah I could see that."
And next to him was an Octoling who was part of Eliza's squad.
"Speaking of strange, even though Agent 3 is back, Eliza isn't planning to wake him up."
"Oh so that's how Inker was always up on time. But Eliza doesn't seem to like Inklings at all, I'm surprised she'd even bother waking him up."
"No that's precisely why she wanted to wake him up, she probably found pleasure in giving him a painful awakening each day. Normally by now we would discuss what methods to use, things like pouring water on his face or pressing a cold knife on his back. Eliza seemed to enjoy it."
"Huh, I didn't know she was a sadist."
As Victoria and the other Octarians chatted among themselves, Eliza found herself alone in the lair.
Until Lynn showed up….
"Hey Eliza, I think I know what's bothering you. It's what happened at the rig isn't it?"
Eliza didn't say anything, she just kept that same look on her face.
Lynn continued
"You couldn't let go of the fact that Agent 3 splatted your sister. But then he saved you and in doing so he ruined your revenge."
Eliza clenched her fists.
Before, Agent 3 was just an enemy, a bad guy, someone who took the life of her sister.
But he saved the lives of her and her squad, it didn't make much sense.
'Why would he risk his life to save those who would rather be hunting him down?'
What Lynn said was true, Eliza was angry at Agent 3 for a different reason now.
"Times are changing Eliza, Octavio is gone and Inklings and Octarians are slowly coming together to work as one. Maybe you can learn to let go, accept the fact that Agent 3 saved you and forgive him for what happened in the past."
"Hey, that was his mission and we chose to help out, technically we saved him."
After saying that, Eliza angrily left Lynn.
'There has to be an ulterior motive. Yes that must be it, Agent 3 didn't save us for no reason. I have to keep my guard up around him.'
Back at the dining hall, Kal and Sky were choking down their rations.
Sky didn't complain, but he whinced and coughed, visibly struggling to eat the disgusting food.
Kal was slowly nibbling on a piece of salmon jerky, which once again was so salty it was more like a ball of salt than actual jerky.
"Ughh this again."
"You've eaten this before?"
"Yeah Victoria brought some with her when she was staying with me in Inkopolis. I have no idea how she manages to eat this stuff." Kal said.
"Maybe they go through some sort of special training to eat rations." Inker joked
Kal sighed "If such a thing exists, I think I'm going to need it." before forcing himself to eat.
After finishing the overly salty jerky, Kal felt like he hadn't drank anything for days. To distract himself he sat back and looked around in awe, as if he were a tourist.
No matter how many times he saw Octo Valley, there was always something new to him.
Such as this lair, which looked like it was once used to grow food, like some sort of underground farm.
Whatever purpose this place once served was gone, it was now repurposed into a hideout for these outlawed Octarians.
But repurposed or not, Kal never thought he'd end up living in an underground lair, that was usually something kept in apocalypse movies.
Inker had already warned both Kal and Sky that sometimes the Octarians will go out of there way to mess with them, apparently they would stick nails in their seats, trip them in the hallways or pour water on them to wake them up.
But so far nothing had happened.
Either they were lucky, or the Octarians just haven't made a move yet.
Or maybe they would only harass Inker because he was Agent 3?
From what Kal saw, the Octarians either hated or feared him, so it would make sense for them to try and do whatever they could to get in his way.
As Kal took in his surroundings, his sight centered on Victoria, who was seated at a different table chatting with other Octolings and Octotroopers.
Even though they were constantly at risk of being discovered and captured by the Octarian army, Victoria and the other Octarians here didn't look worried in the least.
If anything Victoria looked as if she belonged here.
Victoria once declined Kal's offer to stay in Inkopolis, then once she actually had no choice but to hide in Inkopolis, she ended up feeling out of place.
'Octo Valley is her home after all. Guess Victoria wouldn't want to leave everything behind, just like how I wouldn't want to leave Inkopolis forever.'
'If she wants to stay here, then all I can do is help out until it's safe for her to stay. Well, I might not be that much help at all, but I want to do something.'
Beside Kal, Neon glanced over at him, then she whispered over to Sky and Inker.
"Look at Kal over there, daydreaming while staring at Victoria, I wonder if he's thinking about crossing the line."
She probably thought that Kal lost himself staring at her, but Kal didn't.
"I heard that. Seriously what is the deal with you and my love life?"
"Oh? Did you just admit that Victoria is part of your love life?"
"What? It was just an example! N-no wait, I mean a way of speaking? An expression maybe…. I mean, uhh. Stop poking your nose into my life and bother someone else!"
"Ahh I see you are still too shy to admit it right? Yeah I know what that's like."
All this was normal for Neon. But Kal did enjoy playing turf with Neon, there were times when she could get annoying.
Kal decided to either change the subject or just get Neon to stop talking.
"What do you mean shy? Wait hold the phone, you know what that's like? What does that mean?"
"What else could it mean? Is it really strange for a girl my age to have a crush on someone?"
"No, rather it's strange because it's you specifically."
"You're brutal! I've asked this before but just what is your impression of me!?"
"Someone who doesn't want to do anything but play turf wars right?"
"Don't answer so quickly! I'll have you know that I have much more on my mind than just turf wars."
"If that's the case, then who is this crush of yours that you've never mentioned before."
"W-well umm you see…"
Neon averted her gaze from everyone and looked down, she began playing with her fingers and made blushy looking face.
She went from her usual cheerful self to looking like a shy and innocent maiden.
"I-its, umm…"
Not only Kal, but both Inker and Sky were all brimming with curiosity.
Then, after attracting their attention, Neon's bushy tailed act vanished in an instant.
"As if I'd tell you! Hahaha! If you are curious you should find out for yourself! Oh? What's with the looks on your faces? Did you really expect me to reveal something so important and personal right now? Too bad!"
Neon laughed out loud as if she just played a prank on everyone.
Kal sighed "I should have expected that."
Inker smiled "Same old Neon."
And Sky said his usual "Troublesome girl."
From the Octarian side of the mess hall, Victoria watched Kal and the others speak and laugh as if living in an Octarian lair hardly bothered them.
Right now, both sides looked as if they had quickly adapted to this place, despite the looming conflict.
For now everyone was safe and happy.
A/N: It's been a while, but i'm back. I'm uploading this while the fireworks go off on Canada Day, so happy Canada Day to any Canadians reading this. If you're American then just imagine I said happy fourth of July three days later. As for everyone else, thank you for supporting this series.