Part 9: New Hatreds (Chapters 41-46)

Without Octavio controlling them directly and with the Calamari Inkantation pushing Octarians to think for themselves, Octo Valley became a powder keg waiting to blow. With Victoria's act of defiance from the regular Octarian army and Octavio's regime, Octo Valley explodes into civil war between those who support Octavio's old hatreds of the Inklings and those with newfound hatred for Octavio's regime. As Octarians begin fighting amongst themselves on a never before seen scale, Agent 3 can only hope that once the dust settles, his dream of unifying Inklings and Octarians may finally come true. As for Inkopolis, it is watching, rooting for one side but reluctant to enter, fearing the start of another Great Turf Wars.

Nautilus base, Octo Valley

"Acting Leader, we have a problem..." An Elite Octoling reported to Acting Leader Octavia

"You don't say! Send the rest of the 4th combat group to OVNB studios! Wipe out the 401st splatoon and the splatoon calling themselves the 'New Octopolis army'!"

"But ma'am, we've lost more Elite Octolings throughout the city, the ones that are leading our forces in the city are being picked off by someone, without proper leadership-"

"I don't care, send them in and pull the Elite Octolings back."

"Uhh, yes ma'am."

Octavia did not know who was taking out those Elite Octolings, but it didn't matter as long as she still held the advantage in numbers.

Sure the Octarian army lost so much talented Elites over the past year that they had to reform splatoons into company sized groups while removing the existence of battalions and companies. But they still had a numerical advantage.

The formation of the Octarian army was now an 'army' which consisted of several 'groups' each group consisted of 3 - 5 splatoons and each splatoon was made up of around 144 Octarians and lead by an Elite Octoling.

And with the increased losses of Elite Octolings, the size of a splatoon had been inflated to 300-400 Octarians by now.

'Even if the Elite Octoling was taken out the splatoon should still operate as normal' Octavia thought, but she was wrong.

This was bigger than what she knew.

Victoria and the rest of Captain Vale's splatoon weren't the only ones who were losing faith in Octo Valley's government, there were thousands more, all the Octarians who heard the Calamari Inkantation back when Agent 3 squared off against DJ Octavio started thinking for themselves.

The Elite Octolings were too loyal to Octavio to abandon him and there were still a lot of Octarians who were okay with DJ Octavio's regime, but there were others who weren't.

Those others never spoke up because they were afraid, afraid of what Octavia and the Elite Octolings would do if they stood up.

Now they didn't have to be afraid anymore.

It wasn't until later that Octavia finally realized this.

"Acting Leader, things have gotten worse. The entire 4th combat group appears to have defected from the army to join their compadres." An Elite Octoling reported.

"What the? Who was in charge of the splatoons? Of that group?"

"Unfortunately they were splatted, I did say that someone was picking off the Elites in the field."

Octavia was pissed.

Everything was falling apart so quickly.

This 'New Octopolis Army' might have more support than she thought.

"Pull everyone back then, we need to reorganize ourselves."

"Yes Ma'am."

Octavia then took the time to search for anything on this 'Victoria Holter' such a random low ranking Octoling shouldn't be much to deal with, so why were things working in her favor?

Then she found it, Victoria was originally an Octoling in the 401st splatoon, which in turn was part of the 4th combat group.

She was also the one who was lost in Inkopolis but returned thanks to Agent 3.

'Could it be possible that the 4th combat group defected because Victoria was one of their own.' Octavia wondered.

To another race this might be possible, but in Octo Valley nobody really made friends with anyone because of how often they would die.

So naturally the only explanation Octavia came up with, was that there is some other factor in play that she hasn't seen.

Maybe it was that unknown enemy who was hunting the Elites throughout Octo Valley.

Octavia guessed that it was someone from the New Squidbeak Splatoon, but it was impossible, they couldn't know the Undercity so well that they could remain undetected and know exactly where to flee.

If Vale hadn't been confirmed dead a while ago, she would have suspected it was her.

There was only one thing to do now, calm down and plan a counterattack.

Undercity, Octo Valley

While Octavia and the Elite Octolings were shocked by this unexpected development, Victoria was surprised.

The splatoon sent to attack the studios that she, Inker and the others were occupying was the same splatoon she was once a part of.

What was more surprising was the news that they had lost their commanding officers to some unknown enemy and after the strict and cruel orders they were given before, they had decided to join Victoria instead.

They weren't alone, there were much MUCH more Octarians flocking to the studio.

Victoria only called herself the 'New Octopolis Army' because she didn't have a better name in mind, but now she found herself leading what was quickly becoming an army.

Sure she did invite anyone who wanted to make a stand against Octavio to join up with her at the OVNB Studios, but she didn't expect this kind of a response.

"Octo Valley has really been divided in two…." Victoria muttered as she watched more and more Octarians arrive, volunteering themselves to help.

'What about the army?' Victoria wondered 'The army should has attacked us by now.'

Victoria was sure that Octavia was furious and would immediately mobilized the entire army to overwhelm her.

Instead they were only met by soldiers who were ready to switch over to Victoria's side.

The single splatoon which was previously under the leadership of Captain Vale, had grown to a small army with thousands of Octarians.

It wasn't anywhere close to the size of the regular Octarian army nor the reserve army occupying Octo Canyon, but it was still way more than VIctoria or anyone was expecting.

Now was the matter of equipping all these Octarians for battle.

"Agent 3! See anything from up there?" Lynn called up to Inker, who hadn't moved from his spot on the roof.

"Nope nothing, I don't think the army is coming."

"Okay, you should probably get down here now, the captain is about to make her next move."

The 'captain' in this case, was Victoria, although she wasn't technically a captain, Lynn and the others insisted on calling her that since she was taking Captain Vale's role.

Victoria, now convinced that Octavia and her army wasn't coming, decided to make her own moves.

Now that she had her old splatoon mates joining her, she should take advantage of whatever resources they brought with them.

"Kevin.." Victoria called out to the large chatterbox of a Octostriker.

"Hmm? Yeah what's up? We are pretty popular at the moment aren't we?"

Victoria was trying to give orders yet Kevin didn't pass the chance to make small talk.

"Yes I didn't expect this kind of a reaction.. Well forget about that. Can your saucer still fly?"

"Can it ever!"

"Good, then I want you to fly over to Melanin and fire some Inkstrikes at any craft they have there."

"Just me? Haha… err I guess I can try but-"

"Of course not, take any other Octostriker we have with you. Oh and I recall you carrying Octosnipers on your saucer while you were still in the army, do that too."

"Alright! Leave that to me."

"When you come back don't bother landing here, We'll probably be gone by then, actually hold on, we should probably change our radio frequencies first."

Victoria almost forgot an important detail.

Even though it was unanimously decided she was going to lead, she still lacked experience.

After nearly sending Kevin and a bunch of other Octostrikers away with no proper communication equipment, Victoria decided to send those that were fit for fighting back to their hideout to grab some equipment and armor.

Eliza took a splatoon along with some volunteers to go back to their lair and arm the volunteers, while Lynn, Victoria, Inker and the others waited at the studios for more Octarians to arrive.

Those that showed up had the same reasoning.

"Why are we trying to fight the Inklings anyway? Shouldn't repairing the valley come first?"

"Why hasn't anyone stood up in the past hundred years?"

"Why are we expected to just deal with this collapsing place and call it home?"

Nobody knew why their whole species just accepted their place and did whatever Octavio told them.

But now they were going to change that.

Octavio did nothing but push them to war against Inklings, Octavia did nothing but push them to war with Inklings, Victoria? She was kinda doing the same thing, but not against the Inklings this time.

That one small difference meant so much to a species looking for change.

What Victoria called the New Octopolis Army, soon became a movement of freedom from the old Octarian regime.

It made waves through Octo Valley, reaching the ears of those who weren't even affiliated with the Octarians…

Undercity, Octo Valley

Lila watched the saucers fly by, sounds of inkstrikes could be heard in the distance.

Octo Valley sounded like a war zone.

"Umm Emily, I want to go home." She muttered

Before her stood Emily Vale, though her face sometimes looked cruel, right now she appeared sympathetic.

"Don't be scared Lila, I won't let anything happen to you."

"Why do you need me so badly?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

"What if I don't?"

"I'll tell you later, for now we got another Elite Octoling to deal with, I've got a bone to pick with this one."

They had just seen Kevin and other defecting Octostrikers demolish Nautilus base's hangars, grounding whatever other saucers they had left.

"They are doing pretty well…" Emily commented.

They watched the Octarian army try to fire back at the saucers, but Kevin and the other Octostrikers beat a hasty retreat.

With their saucers unable to fly, Octavia would likely start using the reserve army's vehicles.

"Perhaps we can try and deal with the runners? No nevermind, we should focus on the Elite Octolings." Emily said.

She led Lila away, to another place where they could find an Elite Octoling.

"Could we maybe go tell Kal that we are here?" Lila asked

"No, we can't speak with anyone until we are finished here. Now keep quiet or we might get spotted."

It was getting more and more difficult for them to move around unseen, now that all the protesting Octarians were either arrested or joined Victoria's New Octopolis army.

Emily led Lila to another place Lila was unfamiliar with, as with most of the place they had been to over the past few days, it was dark and abandoned.

Lila assumed Emily was going to shoot someone through a window again, but instead Emily seemed to vanish the moment they arrived.

For a moment Lila was calm, assuming Emily went to do her own thing, but then she quickly became worried.

"Emily! Where are you?!" she called out.

This drew the attention of a passing Octoling.

No, not a normal Octoling, an Elite one.

Did Emily know she would be passing by at this very moment?

The curious Elite Octoling entered the abandoned building.

A scared Lila, quickly dove behind some abandonned furniture, landing a bit hard against the floor.

It hurt a bit, but she wasn't going to cry out.

She noticed the Elite Octoling speak to someone, but nobody else was there, either she was talking over the radio or some was mumbling to herself.

"I can hear you breathing, why don't you come out." the Elite Octoling said, pulling out an Octoshot and aiming it towards Lila.

Lila panicked.

What was she supposed to do here?

The Elite Octoling was quickly approaching, however only moments before she reached her, Emily reappeared.

The Elite Octoling probably wasn't expecting two sea creatures here.

Grabbing the Elite Octoling and twisting her arm, Emily quickly managed to disarm the Elite Octoling.

Emily struggled with the Elite Octoling, for some reason, she chose not to shoot her with the Bamboozler.

"Surprised to see me Lieutenant?"

"What? Who are you?"

Then the Elite Octoling managed to get a glimpse of Lila.

"Inkling?" she exclaimed, before being knocked down by Vale.

From the sidelines, Lila watched Emily fight with someone who was apparently familiar to her.

Emily however, was not bested when it came to hand to hand combat.

Being pushed back, the Elite Octoling tried her best to block Emily's attacks, but Emily was far too fast.

Even when the Elite Octoling was able to get a punch off, Emily would return three more.

Meanwhile all Lila could do was sit on the uncomfortable floor, watching the fight in front of her.

"You… I don't know what you're up to, but even if I die here, it won't help Inkopolis." The Elite managed to say, between blows. "They are next."

Emily however didn't mind.

"You think that's why i'm here? I don't care about Inkopolis!"

Pulling one of her opponent's arms over her shoulder, Emily flipped the Elite Octoling over her and pinned her to the ground.

Emily took this time to pull out the Bamboozler.

"Take a good look at my face McKenna! Did you forget who I am!?"

"What?"

The battered Elite stared up at Emily.

"It's me, Emily Vale, the same one you screwed over back in Octo Canyon."

"No it ca-"

She was finished off by the Bamboozler they had borrowed.

"Emily!"

"Lila, are you okay?" Vale asked.

"Why did you disappear like that?!" Lila cried.

"There there, I told you I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

"Yeah but… but I was scared."

"You weren't in any danger, I knew you would call out for me and draw Mckenna into this abandoned building." Emily assured the little Inkling.

"W-what?"

"I did say I had a bone to pick with this particular Octoling, after all it's thanks to her that I lost Claire and half my splatoon. It's a good thing she always takes the same route to get to Nautilus base.""

"So that's why you brought me here? As bait?"

"No, well not exactly, you know you're helping me out in a big way."

"Okay… just please don't do that again."

"Don't worry, I won't do it again. Come on now, we should leave in case anyone heard the shot."

"Okay..." Lila was hurting a bit from her dive earlier, but it was nothing, she followed Emily back into the Undercity, still somewhat nervous.

Then she remembered she still hadn't told her why she was needed here.

Parliament building, Inkopolis

As the minister of defense, Arcus Hilgendorf had seen nothing like it.

This was not an emergency like the Vanguard incident with Lila Fields that happened before, but rather a developing situation that they had to keep their eyes on.

After all Octo Valley was right underneath Inkopolis

In his office, Arcus reached for the phone and dialed the prime minister..

"Hello?"

"Prime minister, Hilgendorf from the ministry of defense."

"What is it Arcus?"

"Sir, as unbelievable as it may sound, it seems that Octo Valley is in a full blown civil war. Communications have been unclear, but from what I've been able to gather one side is tired of DJ Octavio constantly trying to steal our power supply."

"So they're fighting among themselves? What do we have to do with this?"

"Sir, while previous attempts by the Octarians to retake the surface ended in failure, if the right side wins this war, we may have the opportunity to reconnect with our eight armed friends."

"You mean try and make peace with the Octarians? Skimmer's administration gave up on that eighty years ago."

"While that may be true, don't you agree that Octo Valley might have some good things to offer us, should our two races reconnect?"

"Like what? Octo Valley is barren of any valuable resources, as for their technology the only things worth noting are hovercrafts and flying saucers, which aren't any better than our planes and cars."

"I see, well then, I'll be keeping an eye on the situation as it develops, but for now please consider the possibility of Inkopolis getting involved."

"Look I don't know what assets you've got in Octo Valley, but do make sure they aren't caught. I'm not about to put Inkopolis at odds with the Octarians and risk a second great turf war."

"I understand, have a good day prime minister."

Arcus hung up, then immediately picked up the phone again, dialing a different number."

"Uncle Craig, you were right, Steenson doesn't care. Whatever happens in Octo Valley, Inkopolis isn't getting involved."

On the other end, Cap'n Cuttlefish spoke.

"That's why I'd never get into politics. Well, I think my boy Agent 3 can whoop some of the Octarians around, but this is a civil war on a scale he's never seen."

"Sorry Craig, I wish there was more I could do."

"Don't ink over it, you got your own job to do. I know part of you still wishes to be a hero like your parents, but let's stay in the moment."

"Right, well then, please keep me updated."

Cap'n Cuttlefish's shack, Octo Valley

"Well, looks like you lose again." After clearly explaining everything to Arcus Hilgendorf, Cuttlefish took the time to taunt his old nemesis.

"Not yet, Octavia still has a tune going. As long as the Elite Octolings still splat to the beat, Octo Valley is mine."

"Oh but that famous captain of yours found a loophole."

"And that involved offing herself. Hmph, ambitious little Vale just couldn't leave well enough alone."

When Octavio last saw Captain Vale, he revealed to her that the Elite Octolings like her could never go their own way no matter what. When Vale threatened to overthrow him at all cost, Octavio simply laughed it off knowing that an Elite like Vale could never really bring herself to oppose him, even the Inkantation would only have a temporary effect.

But he underestimated Vale's resolve.

"To think that captain would so readily throw away her own life…"

"Or did she?" Cuttlefish added "Someone stole my Bamboozler a while ago and left a note. That captain might still be out there, hunting down the other Elite Octolings."

"That's impossible, she could never bring herself to do that, not with her level of mind conditioning."

"Oh no, it says right here." Cuttlefish showed Octavio a note "Borrowed your weapon to hunt down the other Elite Octolings, don't come looking for me. Signed: Emily Vale."

There was a vein popping out on Octavio's forehead.

"Oh and here's my favorite part." Cuttlefish continued "P.S: Tell Octavio his beats couldn't be milder."

Octavio began to curse the supposedly dead captain under his breath, much to Cuttlefish's amusement.

Then he remembered he should probably let Agent 3 know that Vale was apparently still out there, hunting down the Elite Octolings.

The captain had earned his respect, Cuttlefish had never met an Octarian with such a strong resolve, aside from Octavio maybe.

Guerilla Hideout, Octo Valley

"Are you sure? I saw her dissolve in that lake myself." Inker said in response to Cuttlefish informing him that Vale might still be out there.

"Well, unless you know the captain signature, all we have is this name."

"Okay, uhh i'll talk to the Octarians about it. By the way are the other Agents coming? Victoria is overwhelmed by responsibility now and we could really use all the help we can get."

"Once they're done with their final performance, I think they'll be rushing to help."

"Oh right! The Final Splatfest! Ahh I'm really going to miss it aren't I?"

"Looks that way bucko."

"Dammit…"

Inker, Victoria, Lynn and the others had returned to the lair they previously used as a hideout.

Only problem was that they now had thousands of Octarians with them, opposed to the few hundred they initially had.

Victoria knew that Eliza's job involved checking inventory, so she had sent her back to the lair early to start arming the volunteers, however.

"There is no way we'd have an extra four thousand Octoshots lying around, and don't even get me started on the hovercrafts! Even if we started using the rollers the previous captain made, we'd still be left with several thousand unarmed Octarians." Eliza complained

Vale's lair had been equipped for a thousand Octarians at best.

"Uhh… alright then, I guess most of us will be staying here until we can find more weapons…" Victoria replied.

She really wasn't used to this.

"Captain, what are we going to do about shelter? There is no way we can fit everyone inside this one lair." Lynn asked

"Arghh! I didn't plan for this… Why can't the problems come one at a time? Well uhh, there are dozens of abandoned kettles out there, we could just repurpose the largest one." Victoria suggested.

"Hey Victoria, umm, I know you're busy with other things, but according to Cuttlefish, captain Vale might still be alive."

"What?! How?"

"Well, apparently she stole the Cap'n's Bamboozler and left for Octo Valley after leaving a note…"

"Are you should the old timer didn't just lose his uhh.. Bamboozle… something?" Victoria's impression of Cuttlefish wasn't all that great.

"If he did, why would he find a note signed by Vale?"

"Is it really her who wrote it?"

"I don't know, who can recognise her handwriting? Lynn probably."

"Definitely Lynn, I'll send her over to Cuttlefish."

"Hey wait, isn't there other things you should take care of?"

"Yeah, it's not like Lynn leaving is going to slow us down. But if there is a chance that Captain Vale is out there, I want to find her and ask her what the hell was she thinking!"

Victoria was feeling overwhelmed by all the sudden responsibilities she was burdened with, part of her was mad at Vale for jumping off that cliff and leaving everything to them, another part was hoping that bringing Vale back would ease the pressure on her.

Things didn't end there, after Eliza, Lynn and Inker came even more problems for Victoria to deal with.

"We are trying to move some of the newcomers to another lair, but the kettles there have hardly any power." One Octoling reported

"What can we do about that? Search the other kettles for fake zapfish, if you can't find any you'll have to do with living in the dark for a bit." Victoria replied

"Captain Holter, with all these new volunteers, our current rations won't last more than a week." came another report from an Octoling.

"Ahh I almost forgot about that! Sadly I don't see any other option aside from having the newcomers go back and take whatever food they had left in their old homes."

"Yo Victoria! We smashed Octavia's saucers good but uhh… well we're kinda low on fuel for our own saucers and I don't think we can fly anytime soon." Kevin reported

"Guess we'll have to do without them, well Vale didn't need saucers before so I think we'll be fine. At least you and the other Octostrikers can still fly."

"Ahh Victoria! We have a problem, one of the new volunteers brought his pregnant wife along and we're not really sure what to do with her." Violet reluctantly added to Victoria's growing list of problems.

"Why the hell is someone bringing their pregnant wife into a revolution!?"

Reports like that kept coming in, thought it should have been expected, for someone as inexperienced as Victoria she was having a hard time.

"Victoria!" Kal exclaimed, finally able to find her after squeezing through the crowded lair.

Victoria sighed, thinking that there was no end to her problems. "What do you need?"

"Huh? Nothing, I just wanted to see how you're doing, after all you did a great job, so many other Octarians are here for us now!" Kal was just there to give his support, but Victoria brushed him away.

"Thanks but I don't have time for this." Victoria said, turning back to other Octarians who had problems to report.

As much as she would like to relax a bit, she had no time to waste on other things.

Kal meanwhile, looked deflated after being shooed away. He stood still for a moment, watching Victoria trying her best to manage the growing New Octopolis army.

He shook his head 'No, Victoria is just being rational. Yes that's it she wouldn't just dismiss me like that if she didn't have a reason! I shouldn't waste her time.' Kal concluded and sadly left Victoria to her own problems.

With the sudden influx of volunteers who wanted to help end Octavia's rule and make peace with Inkopolis, they needed more rations, weapons, armor, housing, heck more of everything.

That wasn't the only problem…

"Is that Agent 3?" One Octotrooper whispered to his friend.

"Looks like it."

"What's he doing here?"

"Don't know but I don't like it, I thought this was an Octarian movement."

Inker, who had trouble earning the trust of Captain Vale's splatoon due to his previous actions against Octavio, was once again a cause for concern in the eyes of the newcomers.

Inker noticed the suspicious gazes cast his way.

Although they seemed wary of him, the new Octarians did not make any move again Inker.

But from experience, Inker worried that someone might try something eventually.

The last thing he needed was more Elizas harassing him day and night.

Speaking of Eliza she had noticed the tense atmosphere surrounding Agent 3's presence as well.

The newcomers she spoke with seemed to have mixed feelings about it, some were relieved to have someone as powerful as Agent 3 on their side, others were hoping for a ticket to Inkopolis if they could earn his trust.

But they were also worried he'd switch sides if Octavia promised to leave Inkopolis alone, others even held him responsible for Octo Valley's current state.

Eliza decided to report this to Victoria as well, but seeing over overwhelmed Victoria was trying to properly organize this new army of hers, she changed her mind.

'This problem is Agent 3's so he should deal with it himself.'

So Eliza searched for Inker, probably for the first time ever, to tell him about the few Octarians who were not thrilled about working with him.

"Agent 3!" Eliza called out, after finally spotting Inker talking with Sky.

When Inker saw Eliza he thought to himself 'oh no…' Knowing that Eliza couldn't possibly mean good news. Sky on the other hand felt hostility and took a step back for safety.

"What is it?" Inker asked

"Isn't it obvious? Do something about your presence already." Eliza commanded

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Can't you tell not everyone is okay with you being here."

"You've made that quite clear already."

"Not me, I'm putting up with you already, do something about the newcomers who blame you for Octo Valley's current state."

"What am I supposed to do about that? I can't just wave my hand and make everyone like me."

"Well do something! The captain should have taught you how important trust is."

"Are you just here to bother me?'

"Or course not!"

"I doubt it."

"What are you implying? That i'd go out of my way just to bother you for a few minutes?"

"Yeah, isn't that what you did when I first got here?"

"Oh shut up."

Sky silently watched Inker and Eliza trade quips.

He didn't come here to fight, so he just stood back and watched.

As Inker and Eliza continued their verbal spar, Sky noticed a strange looking Octarian approach.

From what he had learned, this type of Octarian was an Octostriker.

What he didn't know was how chatty this specific Octostriker was.

"Hey! You're Agent 3 aren't you? Good to see you getting along so well with our kind!" Kevin said in Octarian.

Though Inker didn't understand him, since only Octolings spoke in universal language, he glanced at Kevin for a moment, confused.

Eliza, being an Octoling, understood him

"Don't joke, haven't you heard some of us think that 3 here is why Octo Valley is a crumbling hell hole to begin with?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah there were a few guys like that, only a small amount from what I've seen though. Hey why is 3 not saying anything? And what's with that confused look?" Kevin asked

"I don't think he can understand you." Eliza pointed out "I doubt he speaks Octarain."

"Aww man, that's too bad, I wanted to ask him what a real sky looks like…. Oh I know, you two seem like good friends. Ask him for me!"

"Friends!?" Eliza angrily grabbed Kevin. "Don't ever say that again! Even as a joke!"

"Whoa whoa! Okay I get it!"

Eliza left go of Kevin, now in a bad mood, she glared at Inker one last time and huffed away.

"What's with her?" Kevin muttered.

Now that Eliza was gone, Sky was no longer afraid to speak up.

He had spent the last months becoming more and more fluent with the Octarian language and could understand every word Kevin spoke.

"Oh she hates Inker with a blind passion." Sky said.

Kevin was surprised to hear an Inkling speak Octarian.

"Hey you speak our language? Awesome!"

"Uhh guys? Don't leave me out here." Inker interjected, not understanding anything Kevin or Sky just said.

"Don't worry, he just accidentally assumed Eliza was your friend and it pissed her off."

"Hey, uhh what's your name?" Kevin asked Sky.

"Sky."

"Sky? Is that really...?"

"Yeah I know, Octarians and Inklings have different naming sense." Sky replied, being used to this reaction by now.

"Oh well, Sky, ask 3 about the real sky…. Not you I mean like the blue sky… Oh wait you're blue too… uhhh you know what I mean."

"Uhhh.. Kevin here wants to know about the sky?" Sky translated

He and Inker lived on the surface so there really wasn't anything to say about the sky.

But to a flying Octarian like Kevin, who spent his life underground, bumping his head against the ground every time he flew too high, the limitless sky was something of great interest.

"The Sky is uhh… light blue? And full of clouds…" Inker really didn't know what to say about something as normal as the sky.

Still he tried to make a casual conversation with Kevin, while Sky translated for him.

This had an effect on the other Octarians as well, specifically Octotroopers, Octoballs, Octocopters and all the other non Octoling species who had no way of talking to an Inkling before.

Seeing Agent 3 and an Octostriker chatting so casually, some of the other octarians were able to ease their paranoia of Agent 3 who had been depicted as a monster in Octarian media.

A few even joined in with their own questions and dreams about the surface scene.

The Octoball who wondered what a stake park was like.

The Octotrooper who was curious what became of Inkling tentacles after they got a haircut.

The Octocopter who had never seen a real helicopter before.

Now knowing that Sky could speak their language and that Agent 3 was friendly, Inker and Sky found themselves swarmed like celebrities by curious Octarians.

And while this was happening, Kal came by, looking for Inker and Sky after being shooed off by Victoria, only to see them surrounded by Octarians.

Kal could not speak Octarian, nor did he have a reputation like Inker.

'Am I really useless here?' Kal thought.

He wasn't the hero type, he didn't like getting involved in troublesome events but he didn't like being left out either. Kal began to wonder if he should do what Victoria suggested before and head back to Inkopolis.

The next few days saw no fighting between the New Octopolis army and the Octarian army, as both Victoria and Octavia had to reorganize their forces.

With not enough equipment or housing for all the new volunteers, Victoria picked out the Octarians most fit for fighting and armed them, while she sent the rest back into the Undercity as sleeper agents, who would wait for the opportunity to nab the weapons of a fallen soldier and rejoin the main force.

As for Octavia she had to make sure all of her troops would obey her every command as well as protect the remaining Elite Octolings, who were getting fewer and fewer in number. Unfortunately the Elite Octolings were the only ones who would serve Octavio's cause unquestioningly so they still had to command the larger Octarian army.

Not planning to let Octavia make the first move, Victoria began starting skirmishes and ambushing the Octarian army throughout the valley.

Octavia on the other hand, dug in, trying to catch members of the New Octopolis army at a disadvantage, while at the same time trying to locate their main lairs as well as the mysterious individual who kept splatting her Elites.

Supposedly Captain Vale was still out there and Victoria would not pass the opportunity to bring her back into the fold.

For now, an Octarian civil war had begun.

A/N: I've stretched this story long enough, time to start the final part. As usual this first chapter sets things in place and soon well see things resolved. Any OC that has survived up to now will likely make an appearance in this final part, as for the Squid Sisters, I'm not confident in keeping them to their character, but I want them to show up again too.