Part 8: All Out Assault (Chapter 36-40)
Discovering that the Octarians are not free, rather controlled by DJ Octavio, the disavowed captain Vale decides to attempt a revolution against Octavia and replace the Elite Octolings with a new government that is not controlled by Octavio. The only problem: Vale is an Elite Octoling herself, even though she has turned her back on DJ Octavio she is still somewhat under his control. Knowing that she would endanger her own movement, Vale begins searching for a way out. While Arcus, the New Squidbeak Splatoon, and others from Inkopolis are inclined to support Vale, but Inker is reluctant to start another conflict.
Guerilla hideout, Octo Valley
It had only been days after Captain Vale announced that her splatoon would no longer serve DJ Octavio. Yet already, Inker, Kal, Sky and Neon were already noticing changes in the way they were treated.
Octarians no longer kept their distance from them, they would even sit with them in the mess hall and hold conversations. They also wouldn't exclude them from anything they did to pass the time.
Inker found himself eating rations at a table with both his friends and various Octarians from Vale's splatoon.
Basically, Vale's unexpected meeting with Octavio had helped Inker accomplish what he set out to do, however…
"Today is the day, we are going to take the captain's message to the air waves." Eliza cheered.
She and many other Octolings were fired up for today, because today they would make themselves known to the rest of Octo Valley..
At first they had been questioning whether or not they should do this since none of them wanted to fight their own people. But after Vale showed them all the evidence of Elite Octolings' violent actions towards the everyday Octarian citizens, they were convinced that Octavia needed to go.
As for Vale's sudden shunning of DJ Octavio they weren't sure what happened, but apparently Vale figured out that he was controlling the Elite Octolings somehow.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kal asked Victoria who was sitting next to him. "You were against fighting your own kind just a few months ago."
Victoria sighed, Kal was right she didn't want to fight other Octarians if she didn't have to.
"You've asked me before, but my answer won't change. Acting Leader Octavia is still an idiot who needs someone to show her that she isn't all that."
Kal still thought that they should get involved if they didn't have to and was having mixed feelings about staying here.
Sure he didn't want to be left out, but he didn't want to risk getting splatted either.
Though he could somewhat understand why Victoria was determined to stay and fight.
Kalus had originally thought Inkopolis was perfect.
But to Victoria it wasn't.
Inkopolis was still an Inkling settlement,there would still be some time before Octarians can visit without having to pretend to be squids.
Kal could understand how uncomfortable Victoria must feel, having to go out covering her head everyday in Inkopolis, Octo Valley was still the best place for her.
Yes, after the last few months, Kal thought he could understand Victoria better than anyone else.
He knew that Victoria didn't want to fight with other Octarians, but Victoria wasn't the kind to let feelings get in the way of things.
Unlike the sea creatures he knew in Inkopolis, Victoria was different in how serious she could get.
Once she had her sights set on something she would pursue it relentlessly.
Though Kal felt that describing her in that way would make her sound like an unreasonable one, but she wasn't.
She wouldn't be so determined if she didn't see any reason to be.
Though sometimes Kal wished Victoria wasn't always so serious.
"By the way Kal, you are going to stay put for this one." Victoria said.
"No way."
"You are going to hold us back if you don't. I can depend on the splatoon and Inker in this situation, but not you."
'What? Am I really undependable?' Kal wondered
'Well if it's Victoria saying that, maybe I am? I mean unlike Neon she wouldn't say something unless she meant it. But am I really just a burden?'
"Maybe I'm not dependable now, but if I just keep sitting on my hands here I won't ever have a chance of being helpful in the future."
Victoria smiled "Alright suit yourself."
It wouldn't really make a difference whether or not Kal came along with them.
But Victoria felt like she was already dragging Kal into too many things recently.
Kal might appear eager to help, but he also doesn't like getting involved in these kinds of things.
That was made him so different from the Octarians she knew.
Victoria wasn't going to confirm what Neon had said, that she and Kal were in a relationship, they weren't like that.
Though she wouldn't deny being somewhat intrigued by Kal.
Though not in a loving sort of way, no. Rather she found it interesting that Kal, who originally wouldn't stop trying to push her away, would end up going to such lengths to help her out.
Kal, who normally did not understand much about war and other conflicts, who did not like getting into trouble, would still come through in the end to help out.
Frankly put, he was really different from anyone she knew in Octo Valley.
She had met young and naive recruits like Inker, happy go lucky kids like Neon, and quiet guys like Sky, but Kal was well, strange to say the least.
He didn't want to go to Octo Valley under normal circumstances, but if everyone else was here he wouldn't want to be left behind.
Perhaps it could be defined as a desire to compete with those around him?
Whatever it was, Kal wasn't someone who should be risking his life down here in Octo Valley.
But if he really wanted to, Victoria wouldn't stop him.
"Ahh Victoria, the captain has already picked who is coming and who's not." Lynn said as she arrived. "You are coming along, and so will I."
"What about me?" Eliza cut in.
Eliza hadn't been sitting with the group, but rather just happened to be passing by at the moment.
"You're staying here, unfortunately. Because the captain wants Agent 3 with her on this one."
Given his previous experiences with Eliza, Inker expected that she wouldn't be too happy to hear that she was traded out for him.
But Eliza did stay true to her word, she wouldn't like him, but she won't let her personal grudge get in the way of her captain's goals.
"Oh, well that's understandable." Eliza said, and left without complaining.
After Eliza was gone, Lynn and Victoria left to find everyone else who was going to be helping them take over an OVNB studio.
Inker watched as Victoria and Lynn quickly gathered up all the Octarians chosen and begun speaking about the upcoming mission.
"I've seen you on the firing range, you got a pretty good shot, I'm glad we're in this together."
"Just don't hold me back!"
"Hey, if anything you'll hold me back."
"You know, If everything goes to plan, we won't even need to fight."
"Screw the plan, half the time it goes wrong anyway."
"But if you fail to plan, you plan to fail."
"What is that? A movie quote?"
"Movie? The captain said that, are you falling asleep during briefings again?"
"Don't say that out loud!"
Inker watched the eager Octolings talk about various things after they figured out they would fight together.
It was strange seeing them unfazed by the idea that soon they would probably be fighting their own kind.
Or worse, that they might not even survive.
Inker remembered Victoria disliking the idea of turf wars, so why is it that she's perfectly fine with actual wars?
As he thought about this, Neon stood up and skipped over to the group, soon she was having a merry time with the other Octolings.
Neon was just as eager to go as the Octolings, but simply because she loved to fight.
Seeing how she didn't start loudly complaining, it would seem that the Captain was bringing her along too.
Inker wondered if he was the only one who wasn't so sure about this.
He had already spoken with Cuttlefish, who was all for Captain Vale starting a revolution.
Then there was Callie and Marie, who said they would probably join in once they've wrapped up the final splatfest and got new contracts.
He hadn't spoken with anyone else back in Inkopolis sine he didn't have the time to go back yet, so for now it seemed like everyone he knew was okay with this.
Kal and Sky probably didn't care, Neon was probably hopping with joy at the thought of it and Victoria was determined to make her home a better place.
But Inker felt like this was not the best way to resolve things.
He wanted to help Octo Valley reach a bright a prosperous future yes, but he didn't want to start a war between the Octarians.
And he would be helping a side that he just happened to be on.
This was way different from taking back the Zapfish.
There was so many questions on his mind, which side was right which side was wrong?
Who would replace Octavia after she's gone? Vale?
Wouldn't a civil war ruin Octo Valley even further?
This didn't feel right to him, but he couldn't think of any other way Vale would find support for her splatoon.
Now that he thought about it, was Vale really in the right here?
Sure Octavia might have given her unreasonable orders, but did that really make it right that she tried to stage a coup and take over the Octarian army.
It was like siding with the lesser of two evils.
Well actually Vale wasn't that bad, her ideas were just a tad too aggressive in Inker's eye.
'Maybe I should tell her that.'
"Hey hey, Sky!" Neon suddenly appeared, giving Sky a hearty smack on the back and nearly causing him to spit out his food.
"Don't do that while I'm eating! Troublesome gi-"
"Yeah yeah I get it. So you can kinda understand what those small Octarians are saying right? Good, cause I-"
"You didn't even give me a chance to answer! No not yet, I just started learning Octarian just yesterday."
"Whaaat? Aww, well hurry it up cause there's an Octotrooper saying something and everyone else is laughing, I feel like I'm missing out on some good jokes."
"Wow you've gotten really friendly with the Octarians so fast."
Neon nodded furiously "Friends are wonderful!"
"Yet right now you have no idea what they are saying. They could be making fun of you for all we know."
"Whaaaaat!? Is that what's happening?"
"I didn't say th-"
Neon stood up with a determined look on her face "Alright!" she exclaimed "I'm gonna go punt that runt."
"No stop!"
Neon ran back towards the group of Octarians, while Sky gave chase.
This scene was pretty much the usual interaction between those two polar opposites.
A moment later an Octotrooper flew across the room, followed by Sky scolding Neon while apologising to the little Octotrooper, while Neon ignored Sky completely and hurried back over to Inker and Kal.
"So Inker, when is the next splatfest starting?" Neon asked
"Uhhh, Sky's calling you to go back." Inker pointed out
"Meh, he'll get over it. So when is the final splatfest?"
Neon was quickly trying to change the subject in order to cover up the fact that she just kicked an Octotrooper across the room.
What a rowdy scene she just made.
Inker relented and told her when Callie an Marie's last splatfest was happening, as Sky arrived to drag Neon back towards the Octotrooper.
"Hey! That hurts! Stop pulling my hair!" Neon whined
"Then come with me and apologize already!" Sky shouted
"No, not yet, I want to know more about the upcoming splatfest!"
"Inker isn't going anywhere! Ask him later."
"Nooo!"
"Hey put me down! Why are you so much stronger than me?"
Sky had initially been dragging Neon by her hair, but Neon quickly overpowered Sky and sat back down in front of Inker.
Eventually Neon did apologize to the Octotrooper she had kicked, though the trooper didn't really mind.
Since she had already sent Lynn to go round up the troops, Vale had time for other things.
She may be trying her best to end Octavio's rule, but she also knew that she needed to find a way to get him out of her head.
Though it was difficult when she didn't even know how Octavio's mind controlling music even worked, or how it affected her.
All she knew was that it made her dislike Inklings and sometimes would influence her actions without her knowing.
If she couldn't save herself, then she would need someone else to succeed her and fast.
It couldn't be another Elite Octoling, no they were all enthralled by Octavio, it had to be someone who never reached that rank.
The problem is who?
'Out of all the Octolings here, who would be the most capable leader?' she wondered
There were quite a few Octolings here who stood out to her.
'Eliza Pierce knows loyality and understands the importance of individual lives, but she can be somewhat unreasonable which puts her in a bad spot.
Lynn Radars is my new adjutant after Claire's death, while she shares some qualities with Claire she lacks the self confidence to lead and would be better suited as a second in command.
Of course I could always appoint Victoria Holter, I don't see her ever turning on the Inklings. She's not afraid of taking risks and stepping up for what she believes in, but she's also smart enough to know when to speak and when not to. She takes after her mother I guess.'
That reminded Vale, what happened to her splatoon from the days of the Salmonid war?
She had already found out about Maria Holter's death after she set her own house ablaze in order to protect Victoria.
What about the others? Maybe they could help her.
Vale hadn't kept in touch with her former comrades from the Salmonid war, though considering how often accidents happen in Octo Valley there may not be many of them left.
Aside from that, the ones who were not Octolings had much shorter life spans.
She began recalling the names of the various Octarians she had fought alongside back then.
'Alyssa, Cody, Erina, Allison…'
Well no use thinking about them now, first they should spread the word.
In order to reinforce the notion that Octavio has been lying about everything, she planned to have Agent 3 appear alongside her.
After all, the news studio had constantly shown fabricated and sometimes ridiculous stories about Agent 3.
They had basically turned him into a symbol of fear for the average Octarian, fear that would often evolve into a need for violence.
Making Agent 3 look like a ruthless killer was probably part of Octavio's plan to recruit more Octarians into the army.
Or maybe it was to hammer in the idea that Inklings were bad and everything the Octarians do to them is good.
If she was to strip Octavio of his control over Octo Valley, first she would need to expose as much lies as she could while avoiding truths that might possibly sway the Octarians to join up under Octavio again.
That would also mean limiting the help she received from Agent 3 and the New Squidbeak splatoon. This revolt of hers had to be seen as a movement of the Octarian people, not an Inkling backed one.
Speaking of Inklings, Inker arrived once again to see the captain.
"Ahh Agent 3, I supposed Lynn has already told you about our upcoming mission?"
Inker did recall Lynn mentioning that he was coming along, but Lynn didn't directly tell him.
"Uhh yeah." Inker replied
Even though he had only spoken two words, there was a noticeable bit of uncertainty in his voice.
"I see, you aren't so sure you want to do this. Are you worried that I might end up under Octavio's control again?"
"No, this just feels wrong to me."
"How come? You wanted to unite Octarians and Inklings didn't you? If we are successful in taking Octavia out of power you'll be able to do that."
"Yeah but starting a civil war? That's not how I imagined doing it."
"This isn't civil war, this is a revolution and it's the only way are are going to get rid of the other Elites."
"It doesn't matter what you call it, the result is the same, violence and fighting and not the fun and games kind either."
"You'd do well to remember that the Elite Octolings are the ones who command Octo Valley, while they might fill political roles they are all still soldiers first and not only that, but they are the ones who will never turn on Octavio."
"Yet you did?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"I'm not sure, I'm doing my best to do what Octavio wouldn't want, but it feels wrong. I have to fight with myself in order to even stand here and speak with you."
"You should listen to that song I showed you. Actually how about instead of making the rest of Octo Valley fight each other just play the Calamari Inkantation on the news instead?"
"What good would that do?"
"The Cap'n told me that it has a countering effect to Octavio's music."
"So we play that then what? Not everyone is going to turn on Octavio just because they can. There will be some who sympathize with Octavio and others who are too afraid to make a stand. The only way I- we are putting a stop to Octavio is by force."
Inker sighed, this was exactly was he was trying to avoid.
"You are way too aggressive, lots of Octarian lives are going to be lost once this revolution of yours begins."
"And If I do nothing, more lives will be lost in an endless cycle of war with Inkopolis. My course is set."
'How naive of Agent 3 to think that everything can be accomplished peacefully.' Vale thought
It kinda reminded her of when she first enlisted.
'In a few months or maybe even years he'll realize that everything that's done requires a sacrifice, just not always lives.'
"If you haven't made up your mind yet then go back to Inkopolis. I don't have time to waste on second guessing."
"So what? You're kicking me out?"
"I'm saying I don't need you here if-" Vale realized what she was saying and stopped herself, calmly took a breath to clear her mind then tried again.
"No I mean what you do here is up to you, be grateful tha-" She stopped again.
It was hard for her to remain friendly with Inklings for a long period of time.
Maybe if she tried a less direct way of explaining what she wanted to say.
"I think of the army as a well oiled machine, like any machine it will only function well if all the parts work in unison. If a part isn't working, there is nothing wrong with swapping it out."
Vale was trying to explain that she didn't mind if Agent 3 left now.
Inker somewhat understood what she was saying.
"So I can leave and you'll find someone else to replace me?"
"Something like that."
"So nothing I say will change your mind?"
Vale nodded.
"Alright, I get it."
If he couldn't change her mind what else could he do?
Well he could always resort to force, but that would be counterproductive.
Inker didn't like where this was going, not one bit.
While Inker was sharing his last minute doubts with Captain Vale, Victoria and the others were preparing for battle.
"Lynn! Lynn! Tell us stories about big sis!"
"Sorry Daniel but I really have to go now. Play nice with the others okay?"
"You'll be back soon, right?"
"Yes of course, don't worry, I'll tell you more stories about your sister when I get back."
"Yay!"
Lynn said goodbye to the little Octolings she was looking after.
"Quite an energetic bunch aren't they? Don't worry, they'll be in good hands." Violet said.
Violet and several of the other healthy non combatant Octarians were doing their part around the lair, looking after the young, tending to the sick and helping out wherever they could.
"Thank you, yeah they are pretty feisty, it's kind of hard to keep them from running all over the place."
"I can handle it, don't worry about a thing, just make sure Victoria doesn't do anything rash okay?"
"Of course."
Lynn then went over to her sick father and said goodbye, leaving him and the siblings of Claire and Madison in the care of Violet and some other Octarians.
Victoria didn't really have anyone to see, though she did speak with Violet earlier.
Violet just warned her not to lose her temper again and pointed out some negative effects it would have on her body, which Victoria didn't really pay attention too.
So while she waited she searched out the one who probably had the best aim in this entire force, Neon.
Obviously Neon would join in on anything that might involve fighting.
Neon had been strangely popular with the other Octarians ever since she fought Captain Vale to a standstill.
Just a day ago under pressure from her subordinates, Vale actually sparred with Neon a second time with the same result.
There was no questioning Neon's fighting skill now.
As for why Victoria was seeking out Neon, it was simply because Kal decided he wanted to come along.
There would be no better way to ensure his safety than to have Neon look out for him.
Victoria found Neon pestering Sky, who was trying to study the Octarian language with the help of an Octoball and an Octoling.
"-and then she said, 'it's not live, just very fresh!' get it?" Neon was probably telling a joke she just heard from the other Octarians.
Though the Octarians teaching Sky giggled, Sky was unamused.
"Why are you even here?"
"Why not? I'm gonna get going soon so I may as well check out how ya doing."
"Well I'm doing great, now leave. Stop being such a troublesome girl."
"You're so cold! Oh hey Victoria, are we leaving already?"
"We're about too, I just wanted to ask for a favor. You see Kal decided to come with us so-"
Neon cut her off.
"Say no more! I'll make sure none of the Octarian celebs get a chance to seduce your boyfriend!"
"Not that! Kal isn't my boyfriend! and don't go splatting unarmed Octarians!"
"I was just going to keep them out of sight…."
"No, don't hurt anyone you don't have too, I just want you to make sure Kal doesn't get splatted."
"Oh just that?"
"Yes."
"So you don't want me to keep shooing away anyone who might have an interest in Kal?"
"No… Hey wait a second, recently some of the Octolings have been asking me if I was in a relationship with an Inkling. You wouldn't have anything to do with that would you?"
Neon looked away from Victoria.
"... Say Sky, how long do you think it takes to learn a new language?"
"Don't ignore me!" Victoria shouted.
"Can you two argue somewhere else?" Sky asked, suppressing the anger in his voice.
"Aww, but I do so enjoy your company." Neon replied.
"Sorry Sky, come on troublesome girl." Victoria apologized, mimic's Sky's way of referring to Neon.
"Wahhh! First Sky now you too! I have a name for a reason! Don't just label me with nicknames!"
"Then stop spreading rumors about me and Kal!"
Victoria took Neon and left before Sky got even more irritated.
Everyone was set and good to go.
Undercity, Octo Valley
Octo Valley News Bulletin was very similar to Inkopolis News Time in Inkopolis, the similarities being the way news was presented and how it even featured two celebrities known to Octo Valley as the Octo Twins.
The difference was that Octo Valley News Bulletin was a state run studio, it would only broadcast what Octavio or what the Octarian army told them to.
Because of this, Vale had taken a squad of Octolings with her, which included Victoria, Lynn, Inker, Neon and Kal.
She expected that as soon as she broadcast her subversive message, Octavia and the Octarian army would come crashing down upon them.
And she was ready for it, Octavia wanted to starve them out of hiding? Then she would go all out.
Those working at the Octo Valley News Bulletin never thought they'd see the day when their own studio was attacked.
The unarmed occupants of the studio were quickly overpowered and captured by Vale and her Octolings.
As Vale's Octolings set to work preparing for a valleywide broadcast, one of the captured news anchors began to struggle.
"You! You're that traitor Vale! You got some nerve showing up in our studio!" One blue Octoling shouted.
She was one of the Octo Twins, who normally hosted the Octo Valley News Bulletin.
"Taki, calm down." Her twin, an orangish yellow Octoling named Koya whispered.
Taki ignored Koya and shouted at Vale.
"Don't think you can get away with this!"
Vale motioned to Lynn to go and secure Taki.
"I don't, in fact I think Octavia will be storming her way here as soon as she sees this next broadcast."
"You… You're planning on luring Octavia here with a broadcast? ABSURD!"
"Taki please stop, you're going to get us hurt." Koya whispered once again.
By now Taki had managed to stand back on her feet, thought she was still tied up.
Under orders from Vale, Lynn approached the Octo Valley celebrity and forced her back onto the ground with the rest of the news crew.
"You're in WAY over your head Vale! If you think that me, Taki of the Octo twins will go against the Acting Leader and say what you want then- then…." Taki stopped when she noticed someone else enter the broadcasting room.
He had blue tentacles tied up in a ponytail behind his head, he wore a bright yellow jacket with black sleeves and held a weapon that looked like it came from the future.
"Alright, Neon is watching everyone else on the bottom floor and Cuttlefish is watching the studio's CCTV cameras." Inker reported to Vale.
Taki knew exactly who he was, after all she and her twin Koya had done tons of stories on him by Octavio's request.
She immediately deflated in the presence of the lone Inkling who beat DJ Octavio.
Taki finished her earlier sentence with a much meeker tone.
"Uhhh….heh…. Then just put it on the transcript." she said, forcing a smile.
The rest of the news crew who were maybe thinking of putting up some resistance lost those thoughts when they laid eyes on Agent 3.
"We don't need you to say anything, just sit there and wait, we'll be gone before you know it." Lynn told Taki, Koya and the others
Seeing this reaction Inker asked Vale. "Hey, don't tell me you brought me along just to scare everyone."
"Of course not, I need you to make an appearance here. To show Octo Valley that you aren't what Octavio says you are."
"So i'm gonna be on the news in person? What am I suppose to say?"
"Just walk in an introduce yourself when Lynn tells you to, then say whatever you think about Octo Valley, after that you're free to do whatever you like. After all you still aren't too certain about this are you?"
Inker nodded "Isn't that obvious."
"One last thing, play that song you keep talking about, the Calamari Inkantation, not too loud, but loud enough for me to hear."
Inker gladly did so.
He thought that Vale had decided to try his idea of pacifying the Octarian army using the Calamari Inkantation.
In reality though Vale knew it wouldn't work, she had another reason.
Inker said that the Calamari Inkantation had a cancelling effect on Octavio's music.
Maybe it could have a similar effect on Octavio's control over her.
Vale sat in front of a camera, while Vale's Octolings took the roles of the news crew.
"Ready? We are live in 3….2….1...:"
Vale took a deep breath and stared into the camera lens.
"Good evening, some of you may have been expecting Taki and Koya, others may recognise me from previous broadcasts. For those that don't, I am Captain Emily Vale, former Elite Octoling of our beloved army."
Inker noted that this time, Vale wasn't sweating or jittering like she did back when she announced that she was turning on DJ Octavio.
He didn't know it was with the help of the Squid Sisters' song, rather he assumed it was Vale's steely determination.
"Our Acting Leader might have said things about me, that I'm a traitor, a terrorist and a disgrace to the Octarian cause. That's a lie, our current Octarian government is full of liars, both Octavio and Octavia claim that Inklings must be destroyed, and that Agent 3 is the enemy of all Octarians that too is a lie and I have the real Agent here to prove it."
Lynn gave Inker a slight push and Inker took a seat next to Vale.
Vale just wanted him to introduce himself and give his opinion on Octo Valley.
But the lack of a script and any news anchor experience made Inker a bit nervous.
"Uhhh hey, I'm Inker Cetamari of the New Squidbeak Splatoon. You may know me as Agent 3. I'll start off by saying yes, I did fight the Octarian army and I did defeat Octavio, but it was simply to get the Zapfish back. I don't know what they've been telling you about me, but I've got nothing against Octo Valley. In fact I wish for both of our race, Inkling and Octarian to put aside the events of the past and stop fighting. That is all."
Not the best speech, but Inker didn't know what else to say.
Fortunately Vale could work with that.
"Now you know what was false, now let me show you the truth." Vale continued
On cue, an Octoling played footage recovered from various sources.
There was the footage from the Elite Octoling goggles that Violet had kept on her.
"This footage was taken from the goggles of an Elite Octoling, now watch and listen closely."
The video showed a team of Elite Octolings breaking into homes at random, accusing the occupants with treason with no evidence at all.
"This is what the army has been doing under Octavia's leadership."
Next there was footage Vale's troops themselves had gathered, of innocent Octarians being forcefully taken from their homes and put in Bassoon prison.
"Is this what the so called 'Octarian cause' is? I didn't think so and for that I was branded a traitor. What do you think?"
Vale showed more footage of the Elite Octolings making random accusations.
This time the video paused on a family of three Octolings, a mother Octoling and her two children who cowered in fear behind their mother.
Then it showed all the prisoners Vale had found in Bassoon prison.
Relatives of the soldiers in her splatoon, they were all elderly or children.
"Is this what our army should be doing? They called me a terrorist yet they go and do things like this. Octavia claims she has the good of the Octarian people at heart, yet-"
By now Inker had left the broadcast room.
This still didn't feel right to him.
The speeches, the call for violence.
Though what else could he do?
He wandered the news studio for a bit to clear his mind.
He came across a room full of what appeared to be old props and records.
Kal and Victoria was there for some reason laughing at something.
When they noticed Inker, Kal showed him a picture.
It looked more like a painting, though the creature on the painting looked strange.
It had the head of an Inkling, but it's legs were made of metal and it had one glowing blue eye.
"What is this?" Inker asked.
"It's you!" Kal said, hardly containing his laughter.
"What?"
"Remember how I told you the Octo Valley News made up all sorts of silly stories about you? Well this is one of them." Victoria said.
"Ohhh."
Inker remembered Victoria telling him about all the ridiculous stories Octo Valley had made up about him.
As a joke he held the picture next to his face
"It looks like me?"
"Yeah, if you were some cyborg thing." Kal replied.
They rummaged through everything and found more Octarian propaganda on Agent 3.
"Oh this one, I remember seeing posters of this back in Nautilus base." Victoria said, holding up a posted that read 'Inkling Agent #3 Octarian enemy #1'
It featured Agent 3 smiling sadistically preparing to execute a wounded Octoling who was tearfully begging for her life all while under his foot.
"Wow that uhhh… that's probably how Eliza sees me."
"I think you'd be right." Victoria said
Inker, Kal and Victoria continued sifting through random things and laughing at whatever fabricated image of him the Octarians had created.
Inker felt somewhat refreshed, it felt just like the things he would do while hanging out with Kal, Sky and Neon back in Inkopolis.
For a moment he had forgotten what they had originally came to do, until Vale came looking for them.
"Drop it you three, we need to leave."
Inker snapped back to reality and once again worried about what was to come after Vale's broadcast.
He sighed as the group prepared to leave.
"So it's done?" Inker asked
For some reason Vale was starting to find Agent 3's naivety to be somewhat amusing, she chuckled a bit and replied
"No Agent 3, It's only begun."