Inkopolis Plaza
With the Final Splatfest nearing its end, Inkopolis Plaza was jam packed with Inklings.
Even Callie and Marie were surprised by the sheer amount of Inklings showing up to their grand finale, it was so crowded that you could no longer see the pavement, instead Inkopolis Plaza was covered in a large blanket of colours.
As midnight approached, Callie and Marie stopped singing and waited for the clock to strike 12.
Nobody knew who it was, but somebody started a final countdown to midnight.
"20! 19! 18! 17!"
Whoever it was, shouted as loud as they could, soon the whole plaza joined in, some of the Inklings at home watching the Squid Sisters live started counting down too.
Smiling, Callie and Marie even joined in.
"5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Stop battling!"
The day ended, and with it the Squid Sisters' last time hosting the Splatfest.
Splatfest officials began tallying the results, as Callie and Marie thanks everyone for supporting them.
Slowly but surely, the crowd began to clear out.
Everyone was so elated by the Splatfest that they didn't notice the Inkopolis police officers standing nearby with impatient looks on their faces.
It took almost two hours for Inkopolis Plaza to clear out.
By then, Kal had returned from Octo Valley, although he wasn't able to say much, he felt refreshed to have at least been able to say he loved Victoria at least once.
Neon was right, doing so really lifted a huge weight off his shoulders, he felt like he could fly.
But for now, it was late and Kal wanted to be up as early as possible to see Victoria and the other Octarians as they settle in Inkopolis Plaza.
He wasn't very useful in Octo Valley, but maybe things will be different in Inkopolis.
Octo Valley
Victoria and the New Octopolis army had been waiting for hours.
'How long does it normally take to clear out a plaza?'
Inker and Cap'n Cuttlefish had already returned since neither could be seen alongside the Octarians if they were to keep their New Squidbeak Splatoon a secret.
That left only the Octarians sitting around waiting for someone to give the all clear from the other side.
Finally, an Inkling dressed in a police uniform passed through the manhole, informing VIctoria and the others that they were ready to receive them.
One by one, the New Octopolis Army entered Inkopolis, some were nervous, others excited.
They were about to enter a whole new world.
Victoria, taking her new role as leader very seriously despite her lack of experience, made sure she would be the last to enter, so Eliza ended up being the first to enter Inkopolis, followed by everyone else.
"So this is Inkopolis…" Eliza muttered as she glanced at the undamaged, clean and brightly luminated Inkopolis Plaza. 'Huh, even if we are in the middle of a city the air here seems a lot nicer than in Octo Valley… I wish Elieen could have been here with me.'
Behind her, many of the other Octarians had their own comments to their first glance of the surface.
After Eliza and her squad confirmed everything was safe, all the non combatant Octarians on their side came through.
Some were in awe of the bright and vivid colours of the city lights, some had never even seen an undamaged building before and gazed at any structure they saw. A few were mesmerized by the sight of the Great Zapfish resting above Inkopolis Tower.
Victoria's former roommate Violet was amazed by pretty much the entire city and soon found herself wondering why Victoria would rather choose to live in Octo Valley than stay here with Kal.
After all the non combattants left Octo Valley, the rest of the armed Octarians followed.
Octolings with Rollers and Octoshots, Octotroopers on little hovercrafts, Octosnipers dragging their sniper platforms.
Then there was the Octostriker Kevin, who had dreamt of flying through the real sky someday.
As soon as he made it through the manhole he stared straight up, clumsily bumping into a few other Octarians as he walked without watching where he was going.
"The real night sky..." He muttered, It was just like in the stories. Although it was dark you could make out small glints of light representing the stars, and if you looked closely you might even see clouds despite the lack of light.
Kevin assumed the large white circle in the sky was the moon, though he thought it was supposed to be crescent shaped.
Too bad they had to leave all their larger vehicles behind, he would have loved to fly everyone through the clouds aboard his saucer.
Lynn was one of the last to enter Inkopolis, upon seeing the beautiful city around them, her tentacle hair started to struggle as if they were excited and didn't want to stay bound up in a ponytail anymore.
Lynn was too busy taking in the scene to worry about her hairy problem, but before she could have much of a reaction, Victoria made it through the manhole, meaning that everyone was now present.
"Hey! Enjoy the sights after we've set up camp!" Victoria ordered, immediately bringing the New Octopolis Army back to attention.
As the rest of Inkopolis slept, the New Octopolis army settled in Inkopolis Plaza.
The IPD on the other hand, began setting up barriers and roadblocks around the Plaza.
Of course, a movement of this scale couldn't have gone unnoticed by the Octarian army.
Nautilus base, Octo Valley
In a planning room, Octavia and many of the other Elite Octolings, pondered over a report they had received.
While most of the little rebellion started by Victoria had been captured or put down, Victoria was still out there and at large.
Octavia didn't even acknowledge her as much of a threat at first, but the most recent developments were worrying.
"I thought for sure they would sit this one out." Octavia said.
That was of course, in response to the report that Victoria and all the remaining unloyal Octarians had taken refuge in Inkopolis.
"Inkopolis had barely made any contact with any Octarian since the Great Turf Wars, so why would they suddenly intervene? It's makes no sense."
"There must be some reason, it's not safe to assume that Inkopolis was in the dark about all that has happened recently, they might see this 'New Octopolis Army' as a way of getting rid of Octavio."
"It's even possible that the whole thing was started with their help." the Elite Octolings discussed
"If that was the case, they would have kept a low profile and left the New Octopolis Army to their own devices once things started going our way."
"You know what this means right? The new leader of that group, Victoria Holter, she must be well connected if she was able to convince the Inkling government to shelter her remaining forces. Maybe we've underestimated her." Octavia said.
But it was still hard to believe that an Octoling with nothing special could have so much influence in Inkopolis.
"If I recall correctly, she's the one who got lost in Inkopolis before. Agent 3 personally delivered her back to us, it wouldn't be surprising if the New Squidbeak Splatoon has something to do with this." One Elite commented
"We put her through every possible test we had! There was nothing wrong with her, she was still willing to fight for the valley and against Inkopolis. As far as we know she was never brainwashed." another explained.
"What if Inkopolis had secretly surpassed DJ Octavio in that field?"
'Well we won't find out by waiting, send an emissary to Inkopolis and demand that they hand over the remnants of the New Octopolis army."
Inkopolis Parlament Building
Getting off the phone with an IPD officer, Defense Minister Arcus nodded and turned towards the rest of the Inkopolis cabinet members, all having gathered in response to the developping situation with the New Octopolis army.
"It's done, the rebelling Octarians are grateful for our help and are occupying half of Inkopolis Plaza." Arcus informed the others
"Everything went well." One minister commented.
"For now yes, but was it the right move?" Prime Minister Steenson wondered.
For some reason he was having that same feeling, that same headache from back when the Vanguard Movement was just being formed.
It was too early to relax, Steenson felt that something was going to happen soon and it will put a lot of pressure on the cabinet, they would probably be forced to make decisions within a limited timeframe.
With an election not far around the corner, Steenson didn't want to mess up now.
"Hey now, it's too early to make conclusions, all we can do it wait for the Octarian Army to make their move." Arcus assured the prime minister.
"Then it's my time to shine, I've poured over every agreement we've made with Octo Valley at the end of the war, there hasn't been any further agreements made after that. So far we haven't gone against any treaties, so we're ready for whatever the Octarian army has to say." declared the minister of foreign affairs.
"Let's not forget that the renegade Octarians are occupying Booyah Base, even though we are letting them do so, it might not sit well with the public." Another minister pointed.
"If that's the case, I should see to it that Turf Wars is hosted somewhere else, with how much publicity the Final Splatfest brought, Turf Wars is more popular than ever, so naturally I've had my people scout out suitable locations for a new Turf Wars lobby." came another minister.
Steenson watched his cabinet members work so enthusiastically.
None of them looked as worried as he was, he almost envied them.
Being the Prime Minister at a time like this was most pressuring.
"Listen here, lets not act too hasty, if things are good as is we should just leave it as is!" Steenson interrupted the other ministers.
They exchanged glances then hastily agreed.
"It's too risky to change something now, if we screw up now I doubt our popularity ratings will recover in time." Steenson explained
"I get it, so I shouldn't move the Turf Wars lobby yet?" the Minister of culture asked.
"At least not until someone has a problem with the one in the plaza."
"What about the Octarian army? We will definitely be hearing from them soon."
"Then wait for them, do whatever you need to but don't do anything until absolutely necessary."
That was Steenson's plan, just like with the Vanguards if the cabinet could resolve things with as little involvement as possible, it would reduce the risk of things blowing up in their face if it went wrong.
Or so he thought.
Kalus' home, Inkopolis
Kal was tired from both the Final Splatfest and that mad dash he made for Victoria.
Even if he wanted to wake up earlier, the fatigue from before coupled with his natural habits as an Inkling kept him asleep till it was almost noon yet again.
When he realized what time it was, lept into motion making sure not to miss the results of the Final Splatfest.
He managed to tune in just as the Squid Sisters were in the middle of announcing the results
The final results were appearing on screen, first the popularity vote then the wins.
"Boom!"
"Ta-da!"
As the results were annouced, Marie's eyes went wide.
"HOLY CARP! I WON?! I WON!."
Recovering from her surprise Marie smiled at the camera. "Thanks for believing in me, Team Marie!"
As for Callie, she stared, mouth agape for a while, then she calmly spoke "I'd like Judd, Gramps and most of all… Congrats Marie, you've earned it."
"Thank you Callie, for being my best friend."
"SQUID SISTERS FOREVER!" Callie cheered.
"Well… I guess that's it I'm really going to miss this."
"Me too Marie…. Me too."
"Now get to the Plaza and claim your prize!"
That was the signal for dozens of Inklings to start flooding towards the Plaza.
Glad he listened to Neon's advice and picked the winning team, Kal hurried to the Plaza but when he got there, the scene was vastly different compared to before.
The IPD had closed off most of the Plaza, specifically the area around the manhole.
This included Inkopolis Tower.
There were whispers among the Inklings, who had shown up to collect their rewards for the FInal Splatfest.
Just what was going on here?
"Why is there so many cops here?"
"Hey , do you think maybe Spyke…"
"No wait look there, are those Octarians?"
Someone pointed past the IPD blockade, where Victoria and the New Octopolis army had settled.
Hearing this, Kal pushed his way to the front of the crowd.
He could see familiar looking Octarians taking up most of the Plaza, Lynn, Eliza, Victoria, but he didn't see Inker or Cap'n Cuttlefish anywhere.
"Hey! Why can't we go to Inkopolis Tower!" someone shouted as they realized the tower was part of the area that had been cordoned off.
"Calm down everyone, the Octarians you see here have been chased out of their home, They are being hunted in Octo Valley so we are keeping them here for the time being, the Plaza will return to normal as soon as it is safe for them to leave." an IPD officer explained
"More importantly! How are we supposed to turf now?!" Someone shouted.
"Yeah! What are you doing about that!?"
"Who cares about the Octarians?!"
"Somebody throw those octoslobs back underground!"
Kal noticed some of the Octarians react to that last comment.
He could see Lynn hold Victoria and Eliza back as various shouts rang through the air.
"Send them back to Octo Valley already!"
"They don't belong here!"
"Booo! Bring back Turf Wars!"'
Kal could understand missing Turf Wars, but why could these other Inklings be more subtle about it? They didn't know what Victoria and the others had been through.
Then again he reacted the same way once before.
Even so, it didn't sit well with him, how everyone only seemed to care about Turf Wars and didn't even hear what the IPD officer said about them being hunted in Octo Valley.
"Settle down everyone! We understand how important Turf is to us all, the battle lobby has been moved to the Deco Tower in Inkopolis Square, anyone here for Turf Wars please head there for the time being."
Hearing that, the crowd of Inkopolis Plaza began to thin out and head westward towards Inkopolis Square.
It was surprising how quickly everyone left when they realized they could no longer play Turf Wars here.
The only Inklings left were a few curious ones, who were somewhat interested in what the Octarians were doing here.
They got as close as they could to the barriers before the IPD officers asked them to step back.
Victoria and the Octarians took note of them, but continued with their own tasks.
Meanwhile, now that the crowd had thinned out, Kal managed to spot Inker hanging out in the Plaza.
"Yo Inker!" He waved at his friend.
Inker was not wearing his Hero Suit, nor did he have the Hero Shot on hand. Instead he was wearing more common Turf War gear to blend in.
"How come you're here and not with them?" Kal asked
"With all the attention this is attracting, I'll probably expose the New Squidbeak Splatoon if I was seen there."
'Oh right… Must be hard keeping that a secret huh?"
"Only in times like this. What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Don't you want to hop over there right now?"
"Why would I do that?"
"Come on, don't play dumb, we all heard what you said to Victoria." Inker said with a grin.
"Oh right that… it's no big deal."
"No big deal? No no, you're in love! And you made such a bold declaration in front of everyone! How is that not a big deal? Anyways, how did it go?" Inker nudged Kal.
Kal really should have expected his best friend from childhood, to be so curious.
"There's not much to talk about, Victoria just told me to save it for after the Octarian civil war."
"Ouch, must be hard keeping your mouth shut when you've already said something that big."
"Oh no it's fine, I'm glad I got that out. Though Victoria was saying something about death flags and bad omens. I don't really get it, but well... she didn't reject me, so I'm happy." Kal smiled
"So you two are a thing now? Hah! Why didn't I see it coming? I'm glad you had the guts to confess to her even after she kicked you out of Inkopolis."
Unlike Neon, who understood the real reason why Victoria made Kal leave, Inker was oblivious.
Still he congratulated his friend, while Kal only laughed awkwardly.
Then he looked over the barrier, trying to see what Victoria was doing.
She was talking to Lynn about something, as some of the New Octopolis troopers went in and out of the manhole, probably watching for the approaching Octarian army.
Victoria took note of Kal, but then immediately went back to her own business.
Kal did kind of feel like hopping over the IPD blockade and going to Victoria, but she probably had things handled.
Plus there was still that bad omen Victoria mentioned, Kal didn't know how it worked but he assumed he should refrain from any further confessing.
Well then, he had to distract himself again.
"Hey let's not wait around here, i'm gonna go check out the Square, maybe the shops there have new gear for us! Besides, I still have to claim my Splatfest reward." Kal said.
"Oh speaking of that, how did the Final Splatfest go? I ended up missing the whole thing."
Kal and Inker left for Inkopolis Square, chatting about the Final Splatfest as they walked.
On Victoria's side of the Plaza, she watched Kal turn away and leave.
It was somewhat of a relief, the further away from the fighting he was, the better.
"Are you still worried Captain?" Lynn asked
"Eh no, i'm fine, the war comes first for us anyways." Victoria replied.
"Don't worry about the death flag, I will do my best to make sure nothing happens to either of you." Lynn assured Victoria.
"No there is really no need, I can handle myself."
An Octotrooper standing nearby chimed in. "Don't take that death flag so lightly, if something goes wrong, don't be afraid to use me as a shield. I am just a single tentacle after all, it won't matter if I die."
"You don't need to go that far." Victoria commented
"He's right! Don't prioritize us over yourself! Not when someone is waiting for your safe return!" Lynn added
"Don't you still have your sick father and little siblings to take care of?"
For some reason, ever since Kal created that bad omen, Victoria noticed that all the Octarians around her were suddenly acting different.
It was heartwarming to know they got her back, but it also got a bit annoying when they went too far.
In fact just a while ago, Eliza mentioned that she didn't mind being reunited with her deceased sister if it meant saving Victoria.
It was a tad too extreme, bad omens and death flags are just myths, not fact, though Victoria still generally preferred to avoid them.
Speaking of Eliza, she was running up to Victoria with some news.
"There's an emissary from Octavia on the other side of the manhole, apparently she wants to talk with Inkopolis, what should we do?" Eliza asked
Victoria wasn't sure either.
If Octavia convinced the Inkopolis government to kick them out of Inkopolis Plaza, they would be powerless to do anything.
On the other hand, not allowing this emissary to pass through might not sit well with the Inkopolis government either.
Then again, the ground they now stood on was technically part of Octo Valley for the time being.
Just as Victoria considered turning the emissary around, one of the IPD officers approached her and made her grant the emissary safe passage into Inkopolis.
The Inkopolis government must have been expecting them.
Victoria reluctantly let Octavia's emissary pass through their blockade.
She and the New Octopolis army stared at the emissary with unease, knowing that before them was an enemy they could not attack.
What is worse was that this enemy could see the complete layout of their camp.
As soon as the emissary was out of sight, Victoria began planning a rearrangement of the whole camp.
Inkopolis Square
The new hub for all Turf Wars and Turf War related shops seemed even more crowded than Inkopolis Plaza.
The first thing Kal noticed was that the Square seemed a lot more narrow compared to the Plaza
He and Inker could see the Deca tower directly in front of them, piercing into the sky, covered with billboards.
There was already a constant stream of Inklings entering and exiting the tower.
"Whoaho, so this is going to be the next Inkopolis Plaza?" Inker said
"I kinda hope the Plaza doesn't shut down, there's just too many memories with that place." Kal wished
"As long as Booyah base doesn't close down, we'll still need to Plaza for our gear."
"Hey, isn't there some shops around here?"
"Oh yeah, I think it was called the Galleria or something, let's go check it out."
Like with Inkopolis Plaza, the shops didn't allow any newbies to shop for newer gear.
Kal and Inker however, were no newbs.
The first shop that caught their attention was "Ammo-knights" It was the same name of Sheldon's shop in Inkopolis Plaza.
What was it doing here?
Inker and Kal entered to see that the shop was bustling with activity.
"Hello hello! Let me guess you're looking for weapons? Well you've come to the right place!" Came a familiar voice.
Sheldon was here, doing some silly dance and explaining the basics of his shop to a group of Inklings near the counter.
Watching the little goggled horsecrab go on and on about weapon sets and testing, Inker concluded this must have been the same Sheldon they knew.
"Yo Sheldon! Didn't expect to see you here!" Inker said
"Ahh if it isn't Craig's pupil, it's good to see more returning players. I see you still got the outdated Splattershot Pro set. Don't fret! I have the new set in stock!"
Wasting no time to secure a sale, Sheldon immediately began to show Inker the new Point Sensor and Ink Storm which were paired with newer Splattershot Pros.
Wanting to stop Sheldon from rambling on about his weapons, Inker hastily agreed to update his old set, then he decided to change the subject.
"Why are you here? What happened to your shop in Booyah base?"
"What that old place? It's nowhere near the Turf Wars lobby, how am I supposed to show off my weapons when there isn't anyone there?"
"Wow you really relocated fast."
"Gotta go with the flow if you want to make a profit. I was lucky there wasn't another weapon shop in the Galleria."
Sheldon then noticed Kalus stand there as well, he immediatly began to entice him into buying the new Slosher weapon set just as he did with Inker.
After that brief meeting with Sheldon, Inker and Kal continued around the Square, now with new sub and special weapons.
They didn't find any of the other shopkeepers from Booyah base, perhaps they had a harder time relocating compared to Sheldon.
Inker and Kal continued to the Deca Tower, heading for the new Turf Wars lobby when Kal stopped.
"What's wrong?" Inker asked.
Kal was feeling that same feeling, that sense of foreboding he had felt before.
He thought that it would be gone and forgotten once he confessed to Victoria, but it was still there.
Kal originally thought it was because he was the only one left out of Octo Valley, but he still had that feeling even when everyone was now with him in Inkopolis.
Maybe it was the entire Octarian civil war giving off that feeling, he couldn't just ignore Victoria and the others just because they were in Inkopolis Plaza now.
"I'm going back to the Plaza." Kal said.
"Can't get your mind off Victoria?"
"Not just her, everyone else too. I just don't like begin in the dark, not knowing what's happening to them right now."
Inker placed a hand on Kal's shoulder.
Honestly he was feeling something similar.
He had to separate from the New Octopolis army to hide his Agent 3 persona, that meant leaving things unfinished.
It didn't sit well with him either.
"I get it, Turf Wars isn't going anywhere, let's go back to the Plaza."
Inker and Kal weren't the only ones who couldn't ignore the Octarians in the Plaza.
Sky, having learned the Octarian language and befriended many of the Octarians, wondered how they were doing in the Plaza.
And after spending so much time in the dark and gloomy Octo Valley, going back to the high class Inkopolis lifestyle was strange.
High class?
Sky was never part of a high class society, why did he think that?
'Maybe it was because of the poor living conditions in Octo Valley….' Sky thought for a moment
….Or maybe it's because of this strange event happening before me.'
By strange event, he meant the girl dining across the table from him.
She had sapphire coloured eyes and had her long, bright green hair all the way down.
Her shoulders were bare, thanks to the pure white evening dress, which accentuated her tan skin.
Sky watched his high class looking individual work on her meal from the outside in.
Unable to contain his confusion he muttered. "I don't even know who you are anymore."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Neon replied
In complete contrast to her usual loud and wild self, Neon looked like a mature beauty, who was well versed in the art of fine dining, her mannerisms matched the atmosphere as she and Sky were dining in an expensive terrace restaurant.
This whole thing had been her idea, though when Neon told Sky that she wanted to take him out for lunch, he never expected this.
Neon who would loudly slurp Ink shakes in Inkopolis Plaza and get her face and fingers messy by chowing down on fast food burgers, was expertly handling a knife and fork as she quietly ate a salmon steak.
It was a big surprise to Sky, that Neon even knew proper table manners to begin with.
"I know I said I liked that unpredictable side of you, but don't tell me you learnt all this in one day just to surprise me." Sky said.
Neon calmly swallowed her food, and wiped away a bit of seasoning caught in the corner of her lip before talking.
"Oh I'm used to this, if you must know I had a life before I discovered Turf Wars."
"A life that involved five star restaurants and formal wear?"
"Is that really hard to believe?"
"Just what did you do before you started playing turf?"
"Hmm… I'm not ready to talk about it yet."
Neon returned to her meal.
Sky, still finding it hard to believe Neon could behave in such a way, start to think about other things to make conversation.
"They shut down Inkopolis Plaza for Victoria and the others, you think Arcus knows what he's doing?"
"Sky, things like politics are taboo topics in places like this."
"I wouldn't know… No but you can't just ignore the Octarians there can you? I mean you should have gotten along well with some of them."
"Hmm, you're right, I wonder how that black haired captain is doing, sparring with her was really fun."
"Oh about that…."
"... I can guess what happened."
"Yeah."
"So that's why Victoria is in charge now huh?"
"Do you think Kal managed to reach her last night?"
"Why don't we find out, I bet he's at the Plaza right now. Ahh, but I need to change first."
Inkopolis Plaza
Shortly after Neon and Sky returned home and changed into their turf war gear, Kal and Inker were standing as close as they could to the IPD blockades, separating Inkopolis from the new Octopolis Army.
Inkopolis Plaza was nowhere near as lively as before.
Kal noticed Victoria looking their way every now and then, but she seemed busy with something else.
A while later they saw a group of Octarians being escorted out of Inkopolis Plaza by the IPD.
Then as soon as they were gone, Victoria and the New Octopolis army leapt to their feet and rearranged every tent and makeshift shelter they had.
A few Inklings who were just hanging around the Plaza looked over at them with curiosity, then returned to their own business.
During this time, Neon and Sky arrived.
"Aha! I knew you'd be here!" Neon exclaimed.
"Where else would I be?"
"So? How did it go?"
"How did what go?"
"What else? I'm talking about you and Victoria of course!"
"Oh that… Well, I guess it went well."
"You guess? Did you get rejected or not?"
"No… Hey wait, why does it sound like you were expecting me to get shot down?"
"Oh no! I'd never want that, I've been shipping you two since day one!"
"Yeah well, you were right about us."
Kal turned back to the blockade and kept waving at Victoria hoping to get her attention.
He wasn't sure if Victoria was just ignoring him due to that bad omen, or if she was too busy to notice.
Lynn however did notice and approached the blockade.
"Hello Kal, were you trying to speak to the captain?"
"Yeah, why isn't she coming?"
"Victoria is a bit too busy with the rearrangement, also she doesn't want to raise any more flags. Don't worry though, we'll make sure she gets back to you safe."
Despite having a normal conversation, several IPD officers glanced their way as if making sure that neither of them tried to cross the blockade.
Inker approached Lynn as well.
"Anything from the Octarian army?"
"O-oh Agent 3."
"Please don't call me that here."
"S-sorry, Inker, we've only seen a messenger from Octo Valley pass through here, I don't know what happened, but it seems that Octavia is discussing things with your government. Actually you know one of them right? Can you maybe ask them how it went?"
"I'd have to find Cuttlefish for that."
"Please do, it would help us a lot."
"Okay I'll go do that, see you later."
Inker left to find Cuttlefish as the nearby IPD officers and Inklings looked over with curiosity.
As Inker left, a shout came from the other side of the blockade
"They're coming! The army is coming!"
Kal, Neon and Sky all pushed themselves against the blockade as several IPD officers extended their arms telling them to back away.
Over at the manhole, Octarians started pouring in one by one.
Victoria, Lynn and Eliza immediately fired upon them, as Octoballs and shielded Octotroopers began to cover the ground with bright Magenta Ink.
Kevin and the few Octostrikers that remained, took off and fired volleys of Inkstrikes, hammering the Octarian army as they passed through the manhole.
A few Octarians from the Octarian army made it and tried to cover some ground with their dark magenta ink, but were quickly splatted by Victoria and the other rebelling Octolings.
Things seemed to be going well for Victoria, much to Kal's relief.
It was easy for them to defend themselves when the only entrance was a small manhole.
"Whoa! Look at that! That's some large scale turf wars going on!" Someone shouted.
Kal looked over and saw some of the local Inklings taking an interest to the fighting.
However, in their eyes, they only saw it as a fun sport, since Inkopolis had respawn points these Inklings were completely unaware that the Octarians being splatted in front of them, were being permanently killed.
Some of them even started cheering as if they were watching a normal Turf War game.
Kal really wanted to give them a mouthful, but he wasn't the type to start fights.
Instead he only glared the nearby Inklings who began to crowd at the barricade to watch the New Octopolis army take on the Octarian army.
Some were even holding snacks, munching on them as they enjoyed the sight of Octarians taking each other's lives, totally oblivious to the truth.
As for Victoria and the Octarians, they were too busy fighting one another to notice.
Octavia was sending Octotroopers, Octolings and Octocopters through the manhole one by one.
They didn't let a single one escape back through the manhole.
After only two minutes, the fighting stopped as the Octarian army realized they couldn't just charge in.
Victoria and the New Octopolis army suffered nearly no losses and breathed a sigh of relief.
It would be hard for Octavia to get to them here.
Now why were there whistles and cheers coming from the blockade?
There were a lot of Inklings there, the IPD officers prevent them from going any further.
They looked... happy?
Some were even shouting 'congratulations'.
"Those squids…. Do they think this is some sort of game?" Eliza sneered.
From what she had seen, Victoria knew it was true "Sadly yes."
"Disgusting, we aren't here to put on a show."
"N-now, please calm down, they probably just misunderstand." Lynn assured Eliza.
"Eliza, please focus on the war for now." Victoria ordered.
Eliza sighed, "Yes of course, I'll go check on everyone right now."
"Don't forget to salvage what you can from the defeated Octarians."
Eliza ran around, checking those with enemy ink splattered on them.
Lynn as well began to check on the others, at the same time she sifted through the gear left behind by those that were splatted.
As for Victoria she started to wonder how long they would last.
Octavia wasn't stupid, she would definitely try new ways of breaking through their lines.
Victoria began to run simulations through her head, she tried to think of ways she could break her own defense.
'Leading with Octocopters and having them fly high to distract the initial defenders, then having Octoballs roll through to pave the ground for the army behind them might work. They could probably fly saucers in, since we lack any fliers to effectively engage them. A few Shielded Octotroopers might also make a good troop to lead with.'
Then she planned countermeasures for them.
If they tried to distract them with Octocopters, she could easily assign one group to attack only those who are just entering the manhole.
If they flew saucers in, she didn't have much other option than to refit some Octotroopers with those propeller helmets and make them temporary Octocopters.
If they lead with a Vanguard of Shielded Octotroopers, they could easily surround the manhole and fire at them from their exposed sides, or maybe have Kevin sink an Inkstrike into them.
As Victoria racked her brain over any possible scenario, she noticed Kal was still watching her and waving at her.
He really wanted to get her attention.
With a sigh, Victoria nodded towards him to show that at least she knew he was there.
That was enough for Kal to stop waving.
Now, back to defense.
A while later Inker returned, having spoken with Cuttlefish and Arcus.
"Lynn!" he shouted, getting the attention of the pony tailed Octoling.
Lynn hurried over, whatever information Inker had, could be useful.
"You're back, we just fended off the first attack. So what did you find out?"
"Arcus says that, the area around the manhole is considered Octo Valley for the time being, so they aren't going to force any of you out, but they won't stop Octavia and the Octarian army from attacking either."
"So we are really on our own?"
"Sorry."
"Don't be, this is our fight in the first place."
Before Lynn headed back, Kal chimed in.
"What about Victoria? Is she holding up well?"
"She seems to have things under control, don't worry." Lynn assured him.
"Oh that's good. I noticed she was using a Blaster now, where did she get that?"
"Oh that was from the purple Inkling who is part Vale now. Hey speaking of her, where is she?"
"Oh you mean Lila? She's probably back at the orphanage, want me to bring her over?"
"Ahh, no need, but if you can, please tell her that we'll welcome her back into the Splatoon with open arms!"
"Please don't bring Lila back into this."
"Ahh s-sorry, I just miss the old captain…"
"You know what, I think I should bring her here sometime."
"Really? That would be great. Thanks"
As Lynn turned and left, a few Inklings Kal had never seen before came running over.
"Hey, were you just chatting with that Octoling?" One of them asked.
Kal was suddenly worried, he remembered how earlier some Inklings were shouting at the IPD to throw the Octarians out of Inkopolis so they could turf again, how did these Inklings feel about the New Octopolis army?
Still he was just talking to Lynn, so he couldn't just lie and play it off.
"Yeah, I guess."
"Cool! Hey! Think you can tell them how awesome they looked?"
"Huh?"
"We were watching that whole battle! They have some awesome teamwork! I wish my turf war teams were half as coordinated as them." One Inkling said
"Hey you think they'd be interested in our smaller scale Turf wars?" His friend added.
Kal really wanted to explain things to them, how they weren't playing some large scale version of Turf Wars but rather having an actual war.
Instead these Inklings were completely oblivious and were acting as if they had just seen some new role models.
It was somewhat annoying.
The next day, Kal, Inker, Neon and Sky returned to the Plaza again.
This time however, they found that there were much more Inklings there.
Kal went "Wha?" as he saw large crowds of Inklings gathered near the barrier.
Yesterday, there had only been a few dozen Inklings here after the Turf Wars lobby was moved, but today there was easily two hundred something Inklings hanging around the Plaza.
"What happened?" Inker wondered.
All those Inklings seemed eager to watch another battle between Victoria's group and the Octarian army.
Sky immediately pulled out his phone to start searching the web for any information on what's going on.
Then he found it, one of the Inklings that was hanging out in the Plaza at the time of the first battle had recorded some of it.
From what he saw and what he showed Inker, Kal and Neon, the local Inklings didn't even understand that this was an actual civil war, instead they thought it was some kind of game.
Apparently, the way the New Octopolis army fought attracted quite a bit of attention, as they were well coordinated and fought as a team.
Now there were Inklings here to watch their next exciting battle, whenever it happened.
The crowd of Inklings drew some suspicious gazes from the Octarians, who were confused as to why they were there.
"Inker! Kal!"
Lynn was approaching the barrier again.
"Wh-what's with that mob? Don't tell me there's a new Vanguard Movement trying to destroy us." She asked nervously.
Behind her, were some other Octoling and some Octotroopers as well.
They all looked nervously at the Inkling crowd sitting not too far from the blockade.
"They aren't going to kick you out, if anything, they're your fans." Kal reassured Lynn.
"Fans?"
"FANS!?" Came a more angry voice from behind Lynn.
"Ahh, Eliza! When did you get there?" Lynn exclaimed
"That's not important, hey red guy! What's this business about 'fans'?! Do you really think we are here performing for Inkopolis?"
Kal jumped back, he didn't have much contact with Eliza before, so even though he had known her for a while, it was the first time he actually talked with this Octoling with a short fuse.
"D-don't blame me! Some Inklings just admire your skills and coordination, that's all."
"Yeah! You guys are surprisingly popular!" Neon added
As Kal and friends tried to explain things to Lynn, Eliza and the other Octarians, the nearby Inklings started to take note of their conversation.
Most of the Inklings here didn't know much about the Octarians, there were a few bad rumors that they stole the great zapfish sometime before, but it was returned so all was good.
When they first saw them, they couldn't really care what they were doing, but after watching them fight to them it was a pretty cool thing to watch.
However those serious looks and strange goggles made them seem a bit unapproachable.
Plus there was all that history between them and Inkopolis, Octarians were said to be selfish and evil by some.
But right now, they saw four normal Inklings who were around their age, calmly talking with some of those serious looking Octarians
A few courageous Inklings stood up and walked towards the blockade.
"This isn't supposed to be some public event!" Eliza complained
"Even so it's not bad getting attention right?" Inker said
The Inklings watched for a bit longer, then they gathered the courage to tell these visitors how cool they were.
"H-hey u-umm, even if you aren't fighting just for show, you all seem pretty cool you know." One Inkling said.
"Oh well, uhh thanks." Eliza said.
"Yeah the way you all watch each others back when fighting, just awesome! I saw the whole thing and I don't think I saw anyone of your team get splatted!"
"Gee, uhh that's just the way we were trained…" even though Eliza didn't look any less displeased, she appeared to be flattered by these comments.
A few Octotroopers did not understand what the Inklings said, so they asked the Octolings to translate for them.
"You guys train for this? No wonder you all look so serious."
"Yes yes, that's because…" Eliza was about to give her views on Octarian pride, but somebody's shout cut her off.
"AHHHH!" Shouted a smoldering Octostriker plummeting down from the sky.
Eliza sighed, and hurried towards the downed Octostriker.
"Dammit Kevin! I told you the sun is hot! Why do you keep trying to fly that high!"
With Eliza gone, the Inkling's praise was directed to Lynn, who was just as flattered.
"No I'm just a regular Octoling, it's really all thanks to the captain that we are here.." She stammered
Seeing how there was no danger in talking, more Inklings came over to the blockade, to a point where the IPD started focusing on that one point, making sure nobody tried to pass.
"Who designed that gear by the way! It looks real fresh!"
"How do you get that purple outline around your eyes?"
Questions like these were asked by the Inklings, and a few flattered Octolings replied, adding in their own comments about the gear the Inklings were wearing.
In the end, they completely forgot about Inker, Kal, Neon and Sky and began to gossip with the local Inklings, though still under the gaze of the IPD.
Spending another day at the Plaza, Inker, Kal, Neon and Sky watched as more Inklings began to open up to the Octolings of the New Octopolis army.
When Inker and co arrived the next day, there were even more Inklings in the Plaza.
And a good majority of them were pressed against the blockade, talking to some of Victoria's troops.
From what they could hear however, it was less about the war and more about hobbies and fashion sense.
Though the Inklings were only talking with the Octolings, there were some other species of Octarians nearby who looked like they wanted to join in.
Kal wanted to check in with Lynn to see how things were going, but Lynn and all the other nearby Octolings were already talking with someone else.
Instead he turned to Sky
"You can speak Octarian right? You think you can ask those guys over there how things are going?" Kal said pointing to the other Octarians who could not communicate with the average Inkling.
There were Octotroopers, Octoballs and that big Octostriker who flew too close to the sun yesterday.
Actually Sky knew that last one, that was the same Octostriker called Kevin, who was always asking him about the real sky back in Octo Valley.
"Wow, you look a bit toasted." Sky said, in a language unfamiliar to the Inklings around him.
Kevin, ever the chatterbox, was glad to see a familiar face.
"Hah! This is a mark of pride! If I'm going to fly even higher I have to get used to that scorching heat! Believe it or not, I can actually fly much faster here than in Octo Valley." Kevin said
"Well the air is thinner up there."
"That's pretty cool, I wish we were able to bring the saucers along, I think Tony and my other pals would love to see Inkopolis from such height."
"So would I, hey if you ever move to Inkopolis, you should start some kind of flying saucer tour company."
"You know what, I think I might just do that."
"Yo! You speak Octarian?" one Inkling asked Sky.
"Yeah."
"Where did you learn that? That's awesome. Hey ask that big guy over there why he was on fire yesterday!"
And so, Sky ended up translating for some curious Inklings.
Everyday Inker, Kal, Neon and Sky would return to the Plaza, they would see Octarians and Inklings talking over the blockade.
By the fifth day, it had become a common sight.
"It looks like Inkopolis doesn't hate the Octarians after all." Inker said.
"Just like with me and Victoria, once you actually get the chance to know them, they aren't anything like the rumors say." Kal added
Inker thought back to his original goal: show the Octarians that Inklings didn't have to be their enemy and reunite the two races.
That goal seemed closer than ever here.
"Well then, maybe Inkopolis and Octo Valley can finally reunite after this…"
"I hope so…"
Sky soon joined the crowd of Inklings, some of them recognised him and immediately asked his to translate something for them.
Then something else happened.
"The army is coming! The army is coming!"
In response to this shout, all the Octarians immediately hopped into defensive positions.
Octolings and Octosnipers pointed their weapons at the manhole, Octoballs and Octotroopers began inking the ground around the manhole.
With a determined look in their eyes, the entire New Octopolis army stood, waiting for the second attack to commence.
"Oh! I think they are about to fight!" One Inkling exclaimed
"Oh yes! I want to see, move over!"
"Please! Settle down! For your own safety please stay on this side of the blockade." an IPD officer said.
As for Kal he immediately pushed his way to the front of the crowd, ignoring the complaints of the other Inklings, he had to see if Victoria was in trouble or not.
He saw her, holding a Blaster and firing at a shielded Octotrooper who had come through the manhole.
This time, the Octarian army begun their attack with shielded Octotroopers.
The shielded Octotroopers were completely surrounded when they arrived, so there was always someone ready to splat them from behind.
But soon, enough shielded Octotroopers had made it past the manhole to create a shield wall around it.
As they hovered forward, Octocopters and Octolings began pouring through the manhole.
Kal watched in horror as the New Octopolis army began to lose ground.
Victoria however wasn't worried.
This was one of the scenarios she had planned for.
"Splat bomb volley! Now!"
Victoria and all the other Octolings on her side threw Splatbombs towards the New Octopolis army.
Some ricocheted off the Octotroopers' shields, while others managed to make it over and deal damage to the Octarian army.
Still it wasn't very effective.
The Octarian army now had some parts around the manhole claimed and more were still coming.
Victoria saw her troopers getting splatted and had to act quick.
"Alright, now where's that Kevin? Tell him to start firing already!" Victoria ordered.
"I'm on it!"
Victoria saw the inkstrike being fired.
As the missile made a smooth arc in the air, the Octarian army began to scramble.
"An opening! Everyone attack!"
As soon as the Octarian army broke formation they were vulnerable, so Victoria and her troops fired at them with everything they had.
Eventually the Octarian army retreated.
However this time, things didn't go as well as the first time.
As Victoria and the New Octopolis army regrouped, they were missing a good portion of their forces.
The majority lost had been the Octoballs and Octotroopers who were covering turf, but there were others lost too.
As Victoria had Lynn count the number of fallen, they heard another cheer emanating from the blockade.
The Inklings there still didn't know just how serious this was.
"Alright that's it, I'm going over there to set things straight." Eliza said
"H-hey wait! You were getting along with them so well just earlier! Stop!" Lynn chased after Eliza.
Eliza and Lynn were met with cheers when they approached the blockade, more Inklings started to congratulate them.
But the most infuriating were the ones saying "good match" or "good game!"
"Don't you have better things to do!" Eliza shouted
"Ahh, d-don't mind her, she's a little cranky after losing a few comrades." Lynn assured the crowd.
"Let go of me Lynn! And you all listen up! This isn't some damn game! Stop acting like you're watching some sport!"
"Oh, sorry it looked like you were playing Turf Wars just now." one Inkling replied
"It was a Turf War, but it's not a game!"
"Turf Wars isn't a game for you?" One Inkling said,
"Oh that's one tryhard Octoling." another added.
Eliza was getting even further annoyed
"Didn't you see us getting splatted?!"
"Jeez, why are you making such a big deal out of it? Everyone makes mistakes."
"Yeah just console them once they've respawned and all will be fine."
The Inklings didn't understand why Eliza was so angry, but then Eliza said something which struck them hard.
"Who's respawning? What are you joking about?"
"Huh?!" came the shocked voices of the many Inklings.
Some of them thought at first that maybe Eliza was joking, but one look at her pissed off face was enough to prove she wasn't.
"D-don't you have a respawn point nearby?" One Inkling asked
"What's a respawn point?" Eliza answered with a question of her own.
"N-now hold on, playing turf without a respawn point is-"
"I told you! We aren't playing?! Didn't you hear? We are here because we've been chased out of Octo Valley! This isn't some game of ours! We are here fighting for our lives!"
All the Inklings stared at Eliza with disbelief.
"Umm, wait… I was just talking with an Octoling named Jess… I think I saw her get splatted so does that mean?"
"Oh, then she's dead." Eliza replied
The Inklings let out a collective gasp.
"Dead? That means they aren't respawning anywhere… right?"
Eliza and Lynn nodded.
In Inkopolis, Inklings could respawn, so they never even had to worry about things like murder or accidental deaths.
So to hear that someone they had just been talking to was now gone forever, it was a big shock to all of them.
"So you guys aren't some big Turf team?"
"Of course not!" Eliza snapped
"And those other Octarians, who are they?"
"The Octarian army."
"Why are they after you?"
"Isn't it obvious? We don't want to live under DJ Octavio's control and they won't allow it! We aren't here by choice, rather we are here because there is nowhere left for us to run!" Now that these Inklings were finally understanding their struggles, Eliza continued explaining everything.
"These Octarians with me now? They are called the New Octopolis army, dedicated to bringing Octo Valley back to a time before DJ Octavio took over."
"It's a bit small for an army.." Someone commented
"Well sorry if it doesn't meet your expectations, but this is all that's left. You think we weren't already fighting before coming to Inkopolis? Think again!"
The Inklings who had been cheering and congratulating the Octarians, now shriveled in shame as Eliza scolded them.
The only ones who didn't were Inker, Kal, Neon and Sky, for they already knew everything.
Eliza noticed Inker in the crowd, who smiled at her as if to say 'good job' Eliza only gave a grunt and turned away.
As for the Inklings who had been oblivious this whole time, they were not going to make the same mistake.
The next day, the number of Inklings in Inkopolis Plaza had multiplied dramatically.
There were almost as much Inklings here as there were for the Final Splatfest.
But this time, they weren't here for the New Octopolis army, rather they were here for the IPD.
"Give them a respawn point!" Some shouted
"Let them into Inkopolis!"
"Tear down that blockade!"
The idea of being unable to respawn, to lose your entire life was too much to take for the average Inkling.
This was the vast difference between Octarian and Inkling.
Problems which had become accepted by the poor Octarians of Octo Valley, was huge and unbelievable to the Inklings of Inkopolis.
In response to this mob, the IPD officers now held shields in case the mob got violent.
News reporters flocked around the scene, as Inklings shouted at the IPD to help the New Octopolis army.
The IPD however, were under orders not to intervene.
Some Inklings knew this, and a second mob was outside the Inkopolis Parliament building.
Parliament building, Inkopolis
In response to the new protests, Prime minister Steenson had once again called the ministers for an emergency meeting.
"They just want us to give the rebels a respawn point right? Why not just do that?"
"You don't get it Harting, the only reason Inkopolis is safe without an army is because we are the only ones with the ability to respawn, we can't just give this technology to someone else."
"But the New Octopolis Army doesn't seem hostile in any way."
"Not yet, plus what if they still manage to lose? Then the Octarian Army will get their hands on respawn points! We'll end up having respawning Octarians putting us under siege!"
"Besides we can't just openly help out the New Octopolis army, remember what that Octarian emissary said? They were keeping a close eye on us remember?"
As his ministers argued, Steenson felt that headache return.
He couldn't understand why the public were all trying to take some good Samaritan role with a bunch of Octarians they just met.
"As long as nothing and no one passes the blockade in the Plaza, Octo Valley has no reason to declare war, so we can't just send a respawn point to the rebels." he reminded the ministers.
"Prime minister, I understand you are worried about the possibility of a second Great Turf War, but now that things have blown up, wouldn't it be better for us to just pick a side instead of remaining as bystanders?" Arcus asked
"Nonsense! The Octarian army hasn't crossed our borders so we must remain neutral."
"They've already made it pretty far into the plaza that last time."
"As long as they don't cross the blockade, they aren't technically in Inkopolis."
"But sir, this is the Octarian army we are talking about, if they wipe out the New Octopolis army, there isn't anything stopping them from continuing their warpath into Inkopolis."
"So then we put a respawn point in the Plaza for our own use."
"That won't satisfy the public though."
"The public only sees what they want, just like with the Vanguard movement, these New Octopolis supporters don't understand a thing!"
"That was completely different! The Vanguard movement was about creating an army, right now we are talking about Octarians fighting inside our capital city!"
That's between them and doesn't concern us! I don't want to hear anything more from you Arcus! I have heard your counsel but my decision stands, we won't do anything!"
Arcus sighed.
"As you wish sir."
"Good, is there anything else anyone has to say?"
There was a brief pause, but then Arcus spoke up again.
"Actually something just came up, it seems like Octarian saucers are entering Inkopolis airspace."
"Didn't you hear what I just said? They are just here for the New Octopolis army! Ignore them!"
Arcus didn't like this one bit.
Inkopolis Plaza
Kal, Inker, Neon and Sky watched as a respawn point was brought into the Plaza.
But it was placed a good distance away from the blockade and out of sight from the New Octopolis army.
"Hey! Bring that closer! How are the Octarians supposed to use something they can't even see!" someone complained
"This respawn point is here for your safety, not for the Octarians." an IPD officer said
"They need it more than us!"
"Boo!"
As they watched the nearly Inklings shout at the IPD, Kal noticed something in the sky.
Round grey objects were coming into view.
Victoria must have seen it too because she and the New Octopolis army were scrambling to take their positions again.
Victoria had pictured this scenario too, where Octavia would realize that Inkopolis had no army to stop her from violating it's airspace and assault them from the skies.
To counter that, she had some Octotroopers abandon their hovercraft and wear Octocopter helmets, allowing them to fly.
Kevin and the Octostrikers here would also play an integral part of this defense.
Meanwhile Victoria, Lynn, Eliza and the other ground based Octarians would be ready to deal with any drop pods the saucer released.
They watched as the saucer got closer and closer.
Kal watched as well.
He was hoping that Victoria had everything planned out.
As he watched the saucers get closer and pick up speed, he felt that something wasn't right.
Then he noticed the strange sight of some Octarians hopping out and flying away on their own.
He didn't know anything about military tactics, but he could guess what this was.
Desperately, he tried to climb over the blockade, only for two IPD officers to grab him.
Unable to get any further he shouted "Victoria! Look out! Don't stand there! run!"
Hearing this Victoria looked over and saw Kal struggle in the grasp of Inkopolis police officers.
What did he mean?
Then she noticed it too.
The Octarian saucers that were approaching looked completely out of control.
As they were normally piloted by Octostrikers, Victoria squinted and saw those Octostriker pilots flying away.
This could only mean one thing.
"Everyone! Run! Scatter!"
Those saucers were not going to hover and fire at them, they weren't going to release drop pods, they were going to pummel them with themselves.
Dozens of Octarian saucers came crashing down on Inkopolis plaza.
There were loud noises, screams from the nearby Inklings and Octarians alike.
Hot chunks of buildings and pavement was kicked up everywhere.
Victoria looked up, trying to avoid the falling saucers when she noticed they weren't all hitting them.
Since there was no one piloting them, some strayed towards the IPD blockade and the Inklings.
Then she saw Kal, the two officers pinning him down had bolted, Kal looked up in shock then tried to run as a flaming saucer came crashing down.
Victoria didn't see what happened to him after, the metal rain seemed to last forever.
When it finally stopped Victoria's ears were still ringing.
There was dirt on her face and a huge pain in one of her arms.
But she was still alive.
The same couldn't be said for the area around her.
Debris of Inkopolis Plaza was scattered everywhere.
Octarians and Inklings alike lay about.
Some managed to get back up, others called for help.
"E-everyone! If you are unhurt please get up!" Victoria ordered.
Only a few dozen Octarians got up.
Eliza was among them, she dusted herself off and found an Octoshot.
However the same could not be said for the rest.
"Ahhh! I can't! I can't feel my wing!" Kevin shouted, one of his wings had nearly been torn clean off, and now barely hung on to the rest of his body.
"Someone help him!" Victoria ordered and a battered Eliza rushed over to his aid.
"Lynn? Lynn! Where are you?! I want a report now!"
"S-sorry, I don't think I can manage…." Came a weak voice.
"Oh cod, Lynn!"
Half of Lynn's body was badly damaged by scalding hot debris, some bits of metal had been lodged into her skin and she was bleeding bad.
"I can't believe this…" Someone said.
As Victoria wondered what she could possibly do now, she looked towards the tents that held the unarmed Octarians.
It too, was destroyed, but it seems like everyone inside heard her call and ran out in time.
Her former roommate Violet, who was once a paramedic for Octo Valley was tending to some other wounded Octarians.
Victoria called her over, and placed Lynn in her care.
As she scanned her surroundings, she noticed some Inkopolis ambulances pull up and begin taking injured Inklings away.
Now that the attack had ended, IPD officers were returning to man the blockade, as news reporters began reporting on the disaster that struck the plaza.
Victoria noticed just how many Inkopolis emergency vehicles had arrived.
Perhaps they could spare some for her injured.
As she walked towards the blockade for the first time, she noticed a familiar red Inkling being loaded up into the back of an ambulance.
Victoria relaxed a little.
Kal might very well be as badly injured as Lynn, Kevin and many others, but at least he was in good hands.
'Yes Kal will make it, I'm sure of it! He is pretty tough after all… Not tough like me but in his own gentle and kind way..'
However as she approached the Inklings she was soon stopped by a burly IPD officer.
"Stop there, the border to Inkopolis is here."
"Hey come on now, why can't you give us a hand? We don't have proper medical equipment and we have much more wounded than you!"
"Sorry, we can't cross the border."
"Damn you! Don't you have any common sense!? Octavia just destroyed a part of your city and you're still worried about borders!?"
"Apologies miss, but orders are orders."
Victoria scowled, then she shouted at the closest Inkling paramedic
"Hey you! Can't you toss over some medpacks or something!"
The paramedic looked at the IPD officer, who shook his head, then he ignored Victoria.
The IPD officer spoke to Victoria one more time.
"Please stop trying to get Inkopolis involved, i'm sorry to say this, but the prime minister won't let us do anything as it could be seen as a declaration of war to Octo Valley."
"What?! Look around you! Not just us, but some of your people are hurt because of Octavia!"
"An accident i'm sure."
"An accident?! Did this seem like an accident to you?"
"Of course not, but like I said, we can't do anything, I'm sorry."
"Fine then."
Victoria left in a sour mood.
Did all Inklings lack common sense?
She looked back at the blockade, where there were still tons of Inklings gathered.
She looked at Violet, who was laying out all the wounded Octarians near what used to be a shelter for non combattants.
Then Victoria had an idea.
"Move all the wounded over there!" She ordered, pointing at the blockade.
"Huh? But what good would that do? We should really start treating them as best we can-"
"Just do it, it's better to move them as far away from the manhole as possible."
"Uhh, okay."
"Besides Inkopolis won't budge unless we do something. So we'll show them our wounds, our people in need, we have to shame them into helping us."
The remaining Octarians started to move their wounded towards the IPD blockade.
Kevin who had nearly lost a wing.
Lynn who was completely burned and scarred on one side.
The Octotrooper who was impaled by a rebar
The Octoling who had lost her eyes.
And many others
As the wounded Octarians groaned in pain, the IPD officers and Inklings looked uneasy.
"Ma'am may I ask you to please move these folks elsewhere?" One officer asked
Victoria didn't comply.
"Where else is there? This is the furthest we can get from the manhole so it's the safest for them."
"Well I understand that, but you are making others uncomfortable."
"Then tell them to leave! These Octarians are fighting for their lives! We don't have time to worry about your comfort!" Victoria shouted
The officer went silent and returned to observing.
Victoria, satisfied, head back towards the manhole.
Seeing this, the few Octarians who were still fit for fighting followed her.
"What should we do now?" Eliza asked
"There's not much we can do, defend ourselves the best we can for now."
A/N: I almost split this into two chapters, but I felt like I made this story long enough as is, so I decided against it. Also the time i'm uploading this is exactly one hour before new years! I know I said I wanted to finish this story by the end of December, but that is just impossible at this point. I will do my best to get the final chapter out before the holidays end.