Inkopolis Plaza
"The Octarian army is coming!"
Victoria had been prepared to hear those words half an hour ago, but now she dreaded them.
Inkopolis Plaza and what remained of her New Octopolis army had just been bombarded with Octarian saucers only moments ago.
Victoria and whoever was still standing, didn't even have time to move all their wounded to a safe place, half of them were laid down near the IPD blockade, while another half were still lying on what used to be a tent near Inkopolis tower.
Victoria, Eliza and all the rebelling Octarians who were still strong enough to fight quickly rushed to the manhole and tried to cover as much turf as possible.
However they weren't fast enough, nor were they as many as before.
Knowing that a massive force awaited them Eliza said "We can't last very long out here!"
"I know that!" Victoria snapped.
She quickly looked around, where else could she go?
The IPD won't let her any further into Inkopolis so she had no choice but to stay in the Plaza and the Plaza was completely open to attack now.
The buildings around them had been destroyed and rubble lay everywhere.
Inkopolis Tower was damaged but still stood, however it was far too close to the manhole and was unreachable.
The shops to the west had mostly crumbled, but a few were still standing.
Victoria ordered everyone to fall back there, especially the Octoballs, who could at least cover some ground while rolling back.
Among the ruins of Booyah base, Victoria and her remaining Octolings stood in the windowless husks of the stores.
Octosnipers set up on whichever buildings still had a roof, Octoballs quickly covered the entire west side of Inkopolis Plaza.
Finally, Octotroopers took whatever they could find lying around, using them as makeshift shields and placing them right behind the weapon on their hovercrafts.
However, before Violet and the non combattant Octarians could move all the wounded to one place the Octarian army arrived, in a similar style to their second attack.
A wall of shielded Octotroopers, followed by a swarm of Octocopters, then Octolings and Octoballs followed.
Victoria noticed that there was a much larger number of Twintacle Octotroopers among the enemy this time.
There was also movement in the enemy's ink, so it was possible they had Octodivers too.
And behind all that, the Elite Octolings, including Octavia arrived.
"Eeeek!"
Noticing this sudden army emerge behind them, Violet and the Octarians who were not fighters quickly dropped whatever they had and ran to hide behind Victoria and her soldiers.
"S-sorry, we couldn't get everyone to safety." Violet said.
They had left Lynn, Kevin and many other Octarians who were wounded from the iron rain.
They were already suffering, moaning in pain and requiring medical care, but going out for them now was too risky.
Victoria noticed Lynn struggle to tilt her head towards them, gritting her teeth in pain.
Then she mouthed something along the lines of 'leave us'.
Victoria closed her eyes and silently apologized to the wounded she had left by the IPD blockade.
It was normal for Octarians to die everyday in Octo Valley, so they should have grown accustomed to loss by now.
Yet after spending so much time fighting alongside these Octarains, Victoria couldn't help but feel saddened.
Looking at the face of Eliza and the other remaining soldiers, she could tell they felt the same way.
Unfortunately there was nothing else they could do in their current state.
They were already hanging on by a slim thread.
All they could do was steel themselves for the upcoming assault
...
...
.
.
Everything was cloudy
Was it actual clouds? Or was it just blurry vision?
Kal remembered being in the Plaza, trying to reach Victoria when he realized those Octarian saucers were going to come crashing down on them.
He was held back by the IPD, and could only shout at her before his mouth was covered too.
Then it was chaos.
He had been held down so he didn't see much, but there was crashing and shouting.
His ears started ringing and then darkness.
Where was he now?
It was bright, Kal could make out several colours in the distance.
Blue, purple, orange, pink…
Where was he?
Kal rubbed his eyes, everything still looked cloudy, but he could see approaching splotches of colour.
Then as they got closer, he realized the colours were actually both squid and octopi floating around in the air.
One of them noticed him and flew over.
"It's been a while, remember me?" the octopus said.
"Uhhh."
"No? How about now?"
With a flash, the octopus became an Octoling.
Though it still didn't ring any bells at first, Kal did notice one thing familiar about this one Octoling.
She had a scar on one of her cheeks.
"Oh! I remember! You are…. Uhhh….." Kal struggled to remember the name of this Octoling he met only once before.
"Come on, you can do it." she encouraged Kal to remember.
Kal had seen this Octoling once all the way back when he was captured and locked up in Melanin prison.
There he met Lynn and two others…
So this one standing before him was named…
"...Claire! Yeah that was it! Right?"
"Bingo! that's my name."
'Where am I?"
"I don't know."
Then more octopi came floating over
"Oh, if it isn't Agent 3's friend."
"Ahh you met him too captain?"
An Octoling with black tentacles whose presence Kal once feared and another Octoling from Melanin prison.
Captain Emily Vale and Madison.
"Hold on a second Vale, I heard from Inker that you threw yourself into a lake. Does that mean…"
Before he could finish, some squid came floating over.
"Hey Hey, it's the little red head." One squid said and he took the form of a massive orange Inkling.
"Kal, we probably got off on bad terms, but i'm still glad to see you." Said another, who was a purple Inkling with a similar height and build to Kal.
Kal had a much easier time recognizing these two, because even though he did not know them very well, their actions had left a big mark in his memories.
"Bogs and Laven?" Kal asked
"Gold star." Laven smiled
These two, Kal wasn't completely sure about Captain Vale, Madison and Claire, but with these two he was certain.
"You two are both dead! Wait hold on, does that mean I…."
Kal dreaded to finish his question.
Could this be the death flag Victoria mentioned?
Now that he thought about it, Victoria did confess to him under the impression that he would be safe.
"Does that mean what?" Laven asked.
"Oh umm…. Nothing…" Kal said.
Now he understood what were those squid and octopi floating around.
He remembered how in Turf Wars, he would see a ghostly squid fly upwards every time someone was splatted. Those ghosts would then return to a spawn point.
Kal remembered seeing similar octopus ghosts fly away from the remains of splatted Octolings.
'Wait no! How could this happen!? I thought there was a spawn point in the plaza!'
Kal grabbed his head and shook it furiously, hoping he could shake away the scenario he feared.
'Maybe only Inklings who are splatted can respawn? Maybe I died in some other way?'
"Well if it isn't Kal… I had hoped not to see you again so soon." Those words bore no ill meaning, the one who said it sounded sad.
Two more Octolings appeared.
They looked even older than Captain Vale, Kal also remembered who they were.
Robert and Maria Holter, Victoria's parents, the same ones who burned to death buying time for Kal and Victoria to escape.
Kal didn't want to believe it, he didn't want to believe he was dead, not yet.
'Stop showing me all these individuals from the past!'
It was getting harder to deny what he thought was true.
"L-lieutenant Holter?! You've met him too?!" Captain Vale stammered.
It was probably the first time Kal ever heard her stammer.
"Emily! No wait, it's Captain now. I need to stop doing that." Maria replied with a nostalgic look in her eyes.
"I don't mind, not at all! You call me whatever you like."
As those around him began to reconcile Kal tuned them out.
Technically it still wasn't confirmed, but the more he thought about it the more believable it became.
'I died didn't I?'
Kal started tearing up just a little bit.
'In the end I still wasn't able to do anything significant, I was still so useless even in my own city…'
Claire stared at him, clearly reading every expression he made.
"Hey now, don't feel down. You did great out there." She said
"Did I really? But I couldn't even do anything worthwhile."
"What are you saying?!" Laven exclaimed "It's all thanks to you that Lila can keep going and live her life without us. I couldn't say it before, but thank you for looking after my sister."
"!" Kal had forgotten about that.
"Thank you for helping Lynn earn Agent 3's trust too!" Madison and Vale said.
"And thank you for bringing our family back together, even if it was only for one night." Robert said.
"Most importantly thank you for looking out for our daughter all this time. I knew I could depend on you." Maria added.
Kal smiled.
He was still a bit sad, but at the same time happy.
The only one present who had nothing to thank him for was Bogs, who stood there with his massive arms crossed, he gazed outwards into the horizon, away from the rest.
".. You know, maybe if I had listened to you and calmed down, things wouldn't be this bad… Maybe I wouldn't have been boiled alive, maybe the Vanguard movement would have never happened." Bogs said.
"It won't be easy for Inklings and Octarians to get along, but as long as they aren't super aggressive like me, maybe things will work out." He added, with a distant look in his eyes.
"Come on man! What are you talking about? Haven't you been paying attention? Inklings and Octarians are already getting along thanks to Kal." Laven said
"H-huh? Really?" Kal was sure he didn't hear that right.
"Yeah! All those Inklings you saw in the Plaza, the only reason they felt brave enough to talk with Octolings was thanks to you."
"But how? I didn't do anything."
"You did, you were the one they saw talking with Lynn." Claire explained
"But Inker was the one who called her over…"
"Yeah but can you really relate to Inker?" Laven added "I mean that guy is an Agent and all he did was relay what the Defense minister said. But you mentioned Blasters and Inklings, things I can actually understand you know?"
Kal still didn't get it.
He wasn't an Agent of Inkopolis, he wasn't some hero of Octo Valley, nor a soldier, nor an idol, he was just a normal Inkling, what influence could he possibly have over those other Inklings?
Claire, once again reading Kal's face, told the others. "He still doesn't get it."
"You probably think that because you aren't anything special, you couldn't possibly have had an effect on things. Captain Vale said. "But that is just not true, it's precisely because you are who you are that other Inklings felt encouraged to speak with the Octarians. See someone once told me…. Actually that someone is right here, Holter know what I'm about to say right? why don't you explain." Vale turned to Maria
Maria hovered forward. "The first step is always the most difficult, but once somebody takes that step, the rest comes naturally. You, a normal Inkling, was able to speak confidently with an Octarian. Seeing that, the other Inklings nearby would naturally feel more at ease with speaking to Octarians themselves."
"You see? You weren't completely useless after all! So quit doubting yourself." Laven added.
"I see.."
Thanks to them, Kal was feeling a bit better.
"Thank you… I guess now I can die with one less regret…."
"Don't die just yet, you're still young and have a whole future ahead of you." Robert said.
"Huh?" Kal squeaked
"Yeah, you're an Inkling, save that for once you are at least past my age." Vale added
"Huh?" Kal said again.
"Or at the very least. Make my daughter happy first." Maria added
"Wait, hold on. Am I not dead? Is this not some sort of afterlife?"
"Not at all." Madison said.
"Then how are all of you here? Is this a dream?"
"I dunno" Bogs replied.
"Then what is this?"
"How are we supposed to know?" Claire asked "I just happened to notice you passing by."
Now Kal was confused.
"Wait, then where…. Am….. I….. Now?" Kal began to struggle, he was suddenly feeling heavier by the moment.
"Ahh it's time." Vale said. For some reason the images of Inklings and Octolings Kal once knew started to grow distant.
Kal couldn't find the strength to talk anymore as he felt himself being pulled to the ground.
He watched as Claire, Madison, Vale, Maria, Robert, Bogs and Laven waved at him.
Then everything went dark again.
Slowly Kal began to feel some sort of pain.
But at the same time, he felt something soft.
There was a voice somewhere.
No, not just one, several…
What were they saying? Something about Inkopolis Plaza being destroyed. No something about what Kal did. No it was something asked out of concern… Wait maybe those were all separate voices.
"Urghhh." Kal moaned, slowly regaining his senses.
'He's up! He's finally up!"
Kal realized he was lying in a hospital bed.
He groaned and sat up, immediately feeling something hug his head.
"Oh dear, I was so worried."
'Oh no' Kal thought, recognising the voice of his mother. 'Please don't let anyone I know see me like this..'
Kal barely managed to open his eyes.
Both his parents were there, even his grandparents too.
To his dismay, Inker, Neon, Sky and even Lila was present.
He could already see Neon suppressing her urge to point and laugh.
'Great…'
Kal took a moment to recall what had happened, then realized he wasn't hurt too bad, perhaps he had only been unconscious for some time.
Actually, it was a weekday, yet his father who is normally at work came here along with his grandparents and they live hours away from Inkopolis.
He concluded that he must have been out for a long time.
Now how to deal with his family of his?
"Mom, dad, what are you both doing here? Isn't today a work day?"
"We heard you had been hospitalized, so we dropped everything and came here as fast as we could. What else?"
'Gee... are all parents like this?' Kal wondered.
"Umm, Ma can you let go of me please? I just woke up and uhh, my head still hurts a bit."
"Oh right! Sorry dear."
'Please stop calling me that infront of Inker and the others!'
"Good to see you're finally up." Inker said.
"Yeah I'm glad, I really wasn't ready to move on. Haha." Kal replied with an awkward smile.
He still didn't know if he just had some strange dream, or if he really was dead for a moment and met all those who had died over the last year.
"It looked really bad there for a while, I mean seriously! I can't believe someone would send a ton of saucers crashing down on Inkopolis Plaza of all places! I didn't care before but I'm starting to hate the Octarian army!" Neon shouted
"Just be glad we are all safe, the Plaza can be fixed. Inklings getting impaled by metal rebars aren't as easy to heal." Sky said.
"Hey wait…. Is that what happened to me?" Kal asked
"Yeah, can't you tell? Well I guess that means the doctors did their jobs well, also you were lucky that it missed anything important. You're doing alot better than some of the others here."
"Others?"
"Those saucers came slamming down all over the Plaza, you remember how many Inklings had been gathered there right?" Inker reminded him
"What about you guys?"
"Oh we're all fine, I saw it coming and got out of the way while warning everyone I could." Inker said.
"And I carried Sky and zipped outta there!" Neon proudly announced.
"For the record I could have easily ran on my own, you know, just saying…" Sky added, probably feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Well you are all good, but we can't say the same about Lynn and the others." Lila said, though it sounded like Vale was the one currently in control.
"Hold on a sec, I thought you went back to the Molluscs of Mercy." Kal asked
"I snuck out again when I heard my Splatoon arrived."
"Can you please let Lila come back for a bit?"
"I am Lila."
"No not that.. You know… switch so that Lila takes over… or uhh."
"Whatever do you mean?" Lila said, with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
'You know what, forget it." Kal wished he could go back and prevent Vale from ever laying a hand on Lila.
"Excuse me, I would like to speak with my son in private for a bit." Kal's mother asked the others.
"Oh, sure thing Mrs Kogia, come on guys." Inker replied, leading Neon, Sky and Lila out of the room.
Once they were gone, Kal noticed the stern expression on his mother's face.
"Now dear, I hope you have a good reason for going to Octo Valley without even telling us first."
"Come on, I told you all the fresh squids live on their own… Wait how did you know about Octo Valley?"
"Your friends explained everything while you were unconscious. Now I want you to understand that there are some things you just shouldn't get involved with! I understand being squidnapped that first time! But you had no reason to go back!"
As Kal was wondering how he should reply, an Inkling dressed in a doctor's coat came walking in.
"Oh sorry, is this a bad time? I heard the patient was up so I came to do a checkup to make sure everything was healed properly."
"Oh no worries doctor, we can come back later." Kal's father said.
Kal let loose a sigh of relief as he watched his family leave.
"Alright now Mr Kogia, I'm just here to make sure you're….."
Kal tuned out the doctor's words, and just nodded and did what he was told.
His mind focused on one thing, the TV, quietly broadcasting what was happening in the Plaza.
Inklings were enraged by the destruction of the Plaza, and since many of them had already befriended the New Octopolis army, they were demanding that the Inkopolis government do something to defend their country.
The camera work was shakey when the reporters tried to approach the blockade, but from what Kal saw, Inklings were voicing their opinions on how the Octarian army clearly wasn't going to stop at just defeating the New Octopolis army and that Inkopolis should defend itself.
They had been repeating this all over the news today.
Kal wondered if that strange dream he saw, was the result of his mind somehow hearing both the news and Inker and his friends explaining things to his family, maybe what he heard was transformed into speech for the ghosts he saw.
Still unable to decide what happened earlier, Kal focused on the events in the background.
For what it looked like, the IPD were having a tough time keeping things under control.
It was only for a moment, but Kal saw what appeared to be the Octarian army in Inkopolis Plaza.
There seemed to be some sort of battle between them and the New Octopolis army, it looked like Victoria and the others were holding out well but they were completely surrounded and outnumbered.
Suddenly Kal felt that odd sense of foreboding festering within him once again.
For some reason it was gone earlier, but it was back now
Everytime Kal thought that Victoria might be in trouble, that feeling came back.
He didn't understand why before, but now he did.
Maybe it was that strange dream making him finally feel useful, or maybe it was Neon finally making him realize his feelings for Victoria, but he could begin to understand why he felt this way.
It happened every time he saw his friends out there fighting without him. Every time he felt that someone he cared about was in danger and he wasn't doing anything to help.
This meant he had to get to the Plaza A.S.A.P.
"Umm sorry doc, but how long is this going to take?" Kal asked urgently, interrupting the doctor mid speech.
"Well it shouldn't take long, just a quick check of your wounds and vitals should suffice. It won't be longer than ten minutes. Anyways aside from the light tissue burns, we had to stitch a portion of your abdomen back together so ..."
Kal tuned out the doctor again as he thought about what could possibly be happening in the Plaza.
Victoria was never to type to admit she needed assistance, but Kal had gotten used to that, he knew Victoria's limits and knew she would probably feel angered by the initial reception from the local Inklings.
Despite this Victoria probably would have demanded aid.
If the Inklings were still out there protesting it meant that the Inkopolis government still refused to help.
Kal wondered what he could possibly do in this situation.
He wasn't an Agent like Inker, he wasn't super talented like Neon, he didn't have Sky's ability to translate Octarian nor did he have the memory and will of an Octarian captain in his head like Lila.
He was just: Kalus Kogia, an Inkling you could find anywhere in Inkopolis.
But that was just fine.
Like Vale and Maria had said, Kal was more relatable to the average Inkling than any of his friends.
He was someone who was usually more relaxed, who wanted to look fresh, who was a fan of the squid sisters and who loved ink battles.
Right now, maybe that was exactly who he needed to be.
The ten minutes the doctor spent checking Kal's condition was the longest ten minutes of his life.
As soon as the doctor told him he was good to leave, Kal surged from his hospital bed.
He picked up his gear and weapon set which had been put aside in the room and checked it for damages.
The Ink tank had some holes in it, a chuck of his Slosher was chipped away and his bombs was nowhere to be found.
As for the clothes he couldn't find his Black Anchor Tee, as it had been tossed out due to how badly it had been damaged, instead he was wearing a basic tee on him now, probably a temporary replacement from the hospital.
His headgear and shoes were in working order, and had even been cleaned by the hospital staff.
This would do, after all what Kal was planning to do wasn't going to need much gear from him.
When he left his room, he left in a hurry, quickly thanking and saying goodbye to the doctor as he went past his family and friends who were waiting outside.
Seeing Kal in such a hurry, Inker, Neon, Sky and Lila followed him and matched his pace.
"Kal, where are you going?" Inker asked
"Where else? To the Plaza of course."
"Look I know Victoria' is in a tight spot, but there isn't anything we can do here."
"Yes there is, just follow my lead… actually Inker you should probably go get Callie and Marie and tell Cuttlefish to have Arcus try to get help for the Octarians."
"Uhh okay I got it, but what are you going to do?"
"I'll figure it out when I get there."
Inkopolis Plaza
The Octarian civil war was on the verge of ending.
Victoria, tired from all this fighting, looked at what must have been the entire Octarian army gathered around the manhole to Inkopolis.
She and what remained could barely fight off the army, when suddenly Octavia and told the army to pull back.
She was up to something, Octavia had tricked her before, she might do the same now.
"Whatever happens do not leave your positions! The moment you step out there is the moment you die!" Victoria told her troops.
She assumed Octavia was pulling back as a feint, to try and lure the New Octopolis army out of defensive positions and catch them out in the open.
But that didn't work given how close the manhole was to Booyah Base.
"Well now, why don't you give up already? Or better yet, why not step out and fight!" one Elite shouted.
Victoria immediately understood Octavia's intentions.
She was indeed trying to draw out the remaining rebels.
"No matter what happens, don't move." Victoria ordered.
"Yes I get it, I won't lash out at a time like this." Eliza assured her.
The Elite was soon joined by more Elite Octolings.
"Still not coming out? How shameful! Weren't you supposed to be soldiers? What happened to your Octarian spirit?"
'Those taunts aren't going to work, idiot.' Victoria thought.
"Well now, if there is no fight left in you, maybe there's some left in them."
One of the Elite's held up the injured Lynn.
Another held up Kevin.
One by one, the Elite Octolings held up the injured Octarians that Victoria wasn't able to bring to safety.
Victoria gasped, now she felt even more ashamed of herself, for trying to use her injured companions to shame Inkopolis into helping them, instead of immediately assuming the army was coming and bringing them to safety.
Victoria silently apologized, and steeled herself.
She thought that the Elite's were going to put on a show by executing their wounded in front of them to drive them out.
But she was wrong.
The Elite Octolings weren't that merciful.
The one who held Lynn observed her wounds for a brief moment.
Lynn, who could only open one eye, looked fearfully at the Elite.
The Elite eyed hte pieces of debris lodged in Lynn's skin, then with one finger she twisted and pushed the bits of metal even further into Lynn's body.
"Gahhhh!"
The Elite pushed until both the bits metal and her finger was dug into Lynn's flesh, then she wiggled and twisted her finger about, expanding her cuts even further.
"AHHHHHH!" Lynn cried in agony.
Beside them, the other Elites set to work on brutalizing the wounded Octarians.
"nononoNO!NO!STOP!" That was Kevin, who's wing was almost completely detached from his body, one Elite was holding him down as another tugged on his injured wing.
It looked like his wing would be ripped clean off any moment now, the massive Kevin struggled but in his current condition he was too weak to put up any noticeable bit of resistance.
All of the New Octopolis Octarians who had been injured earlier, were put through even more excruciating pain, as the Elite Octolings put on a show by opening their wounds, peeling their skin and digging into cuts.
Victoria looked on helplessly.
She wanted to run out there and help those who were suffering, but she knew the moment she stepped out there, the New Octopolis army would end.
She looked to her remaining troops and the non combattants on their side.
Eliza and the soldiers were exerting a strong killing aura, every one of them couldn't stand to see their comrades treated in such a way.
Even some of the non combattants looked ready to charge into the Octarian army.
But that was exactly what they could not do.
They would break instantly if they went on the offensive when already at such a disadvantage.
'How long would this last?' Victoria wondered 'How long before someone finally snaps?'
"YOU BASTARDS!" Someone shouted
Victoria immediately looked to the source of the voice, expecting to see one of her troops finally lose it and rush out.
But the shout didn't come from any of her Octarians, it came from the IPD blockade.
"You destroy Inkopolis Plaza! then you torture your own kind?! Have you no shame!"
'Is that Kal?' Victoria wondered
After hearing that, more Inklings began to shout.
"Yeah! Keep that stuff outta Inkopolis!"
"You're gonna pay for destroying the Plaza!"
"Is bullying weaker Octarians all you can do!?"
The IPD immediately tried to calm the Inklings down.
"Hey stop it, this does not involve us."
"They destroyed the Plaza! You think they'll stop there!?"
"That could have been accidental, we are not certain."
"Accidental my foot! Aren't you supposed to protect Inkopolis?! Go out there and stop them!"
"I'm afraid none of us can do that."
"You have a spawn point right there! Just go!"
"We will not! The prime minister will not allow it!"
As things were going nowhere between the IPD and the local Inklings, both the Octarian army and Victoria's group were distracted for a brief moment.
But when they saw that nobody was doing anything other than shouting, they ignored them.
Victoria however saw someone struggling to get past the blockade.
"Forget the IPD! We have our own weapons! We can fight for ourselves!" That sounded like Kal.
Victoria saw bits of red as Kal struggled to get past the IPD.
When that didn't work however, Kal backed up to try again, however this time Neon grabbed him.
"Don't worry Kal, I got this."
As the IPD was distracted with stopping Kal from crossing, Neon had slipped one of her squid beakons over the blockade.
With one strong jump, Neon flew up and over the IPD and while midair, she tossed Kal past the blockade.
Kal landed with a thump, it took a moment for him to realize where he was.
Finally, when he saw the Elite Octolings glancing over in confusion as he heard the voices of other angry Inklings behind him, Kal knew what he should do.
'The first step is always the most difficult, but once somebody takes that step, the rest comes naturally'
He still wasn't sure if that was a dream, or if he actually met the ghosts of the past.
But that didn't matter, the words he heard were clear as crystal.
'If nobody else is going to help the New Octopolis army. Then I'll do it! I'll take the first step!'
His updated Slosher set no longer featured an Inkstrike as a special.
Instead it featured a weapon he had never used before. As he activated his special, Kal suddenly found himself welding two oversized missile launchers.
A large circle appeared before his eyes and locked on to five Elite Octolings who stood motionless, confused by this weird turn of events.
Finally, the two missile launchers made a quick 'beep' sound as they released a flurry of homing missiles towards the sky.
The Elite Octolings didn't know what this weapon was, but considering it was a missile of some sort, they naturally assumed it would deal splash damage.
So instead of trying to shield themselves with the wounded Octarians, they scattered as the missiles chased them down.
And then it happened, with Kal being the first one to attack the Octarian army, the other Inklings began to realize they could just do the same.
"Oh right! I completely forgot I have a Splattershot!"
"Come on we've played turf all the time! Let's put that experience to good use!"
"YEAH! Follow that guy! Make them pay!"
As the IPD raised their shields and formed a wall to prevent Inklings from passing, they were unable to stop the literal wave of various turf war players as they charged into the remains of Inkopolis Plaza.
Sure the Turf lobby was moved to Inkopolis Square, but this Plaza was home to many sweet memories they made over the years.
Plus in this utopia of a city, they had never seen anyone demonstrate such cruelty in public like the Elite Octolings.
In their eyes, all they saw were the most evil beings they had ever met, who had destroyed a part of their city.
"Oh… my goodness…" Victoria muttered as she saw hundreds of thousands of Inklings climb over each other to get past the blockade and engage the Octarian army in combat.
Inklings of all colours and sizes came pouring towards the army, the Elite Octolings who had scrambled earlier, no longer had the time to focus on Victoria or the injured such as Lynn.
"Hey! This violates the earlier agreement! If you attack us we will not hesitate to fight back!" one Elite Octoling shouted
"What agreement?!" The random Inklings of Inkopolis had no idea what kind of deal the prime minister had made, so they attacked without relent.
"These Inklings…. Fine then! It's war! War again!"
The Elite Octoling directed the rest of the Octarian army to fight the wave of Inklings.
"There's so many of them…" One Octotrooper muttered.
"Don't be afraid of some Inkling mob! Remember your training and stay calm! Besides we were going to take over Inkopolis at some point, might as well start now!" Octavia declared.
"Stand fast! Let them come to us! We are going to cull the Inklings! Inkopolis won't have much of a population after today!" an Elite shouted as she rallied her soldiers.
Victoria watched as a mob of Inklings came crashing down upon Octavia and the Octarian army like a tidal wave.
Parliament building, Inkopolis
Defense minister Arcus once again found himself among the ministers, sitting around a large table, quickly discussing the turn of events.
Some believed this was going to be the start of a second great turf war, while others were still certain that they could salvage the situation somehow.
Arcus however simply wanted to be granted permission to aid the New Octopolis army as Cap'n Cuttlefish would have.
So when he had the chance, he told prime minister Steenson exactly what he wanted to do.
"Sir, now that the Octarian army is fighting our own people, I really don't see a reason in keeping the IPD neutral, they may not have been trained for battle, but their duty is to serve and protect, so they should-"
Steenson cut him off "This again? I will not allow it, while things do seem bad I believe we should continue to not act out."
"What good will that do?" Another minister asked
"Well, as long as we denounce the Inklings who are acting out, we can still prove to Octo Valley our desire to remain neutral."
"I can't believe you would do such a thing. Those Inklings out there are only fighting because they believe it is right." Arcus said
"Just because they think it's right doesn't make it right! I am tired of explaining this to you Arcus! I will not risk a mistake with the elections coming up soon! We all wish to make Inkopolis a better place! So no matter what we will not interfere in this matter!" Steenson scolded Arcus.
Arcus had heard this every time he suggested that Inkopolis help the New Octopolis army.
For a moment he felt defeated but then he noticed a pattern in what Steenson was saying.
This time, he was the one getting angry.
Arcus pounded the table! "That's what you're worried about!? The cod damn elections!? There's a war out on the streets! Inklings were hospitalized by Octarian saucers and Inkopolis Plaza has even been destroyed! And you're here sitting on your hands cause you're afraid of losing an election!?"
"That's enough! I won't have any member of this cabinet risk a mistake only months before the election!"
"I would rather risk making a mistake and lose the election, than be remembered for doing absolutely nothing!"
Arcus would not relent now, he sat back before, but now things were too urgent for him to obey Steenson's stupid policy.
"Actually, I feel the same way." Another minister added.
"Thank you Harting."
"So do I."
"I agree with Arcus, it's about time we at least try to step in."
Steenson looked at the various ministers who began to align themselves with Arcus.
He couldn't allow his cabinet to divide itself.
With no other choice Steenson said "Fine then, do as you see fit… But mark my words you will take full responsibility for anything that follows!"
This didn't bother Arcus one bit. "Sir, I wouldn't have it any other way."
Arcus immediately left to phone the chief of the IPD.
"Let everyone through, we are done with staying neutral, have your men set up more spawn points near the Plaza and get those wounded rebel Octarians out of harm's way!"
Inkopolis Plaza
As the IPD officers stopped trying to prevent Inklings from entering Inkopolis Plaza, the Octarian army found itself under even more pressure as there was now nothing between them and the Inklings.
Kal, having already been splatted a few times, kept going right back to the plaza as soon as he respawned.
Meanwhile Neon had let herself loose, she was having the time of her life jumping around and splatting dozens of Octarians as she used her E-Liter from great range behind the other closer ranged Inklings.
Even Sky had reluctantly joined the fight, doing what he could with his Roller, though he was constantly getting splatted by both sides.
As for Lila, who had no weapon, stood by, muttering to herself as she switched between her usual self and the bit of Vale left within.
"What in the world did Kal do?" Inker said as he finally made it to Inkopolis Plaza.
He was now dressed in his Hero suit.
"Agent 3! You've finally made it! I don't get what's happening but Kal keeps running in and…. Kal made an example of himself which prompted the other Inklings to stand against Octavia… Emily! Stop doing that! It's rude to just cut me off!"
'We should probably take Lila to a doctor sometime.' Inker thought.
Behind Inker were two other Inklings.
"Well we are here now, we would have been here earlier if someone hadn't decided to pack up her Hero suit early!"
"What can I say? I'm an early bird! I didn't know I'd need my hero suit today! Hey aren't you that Inkling on Huetube who shut down the Vanguard movement?"
Callie and Marie looked at Lila with curiosity, since they had been so focused with the upcoming end of their careers at Inkopolis News, they didn't know what happened to Lila.
"It's complicated, but you're looking at both that Inkling girl and an Octarian captain at the same time." Inker told them
"Huh?" Both Squid Sisters went.
"Hey I'll explain later, right now we should go help Victoria and the New Octopolis army."
"New Octopolis?"
"Oh right, you missed that too. Whatever, just help me out."
Before Inker could leave though, he felt a tug on his sleeve.
It was Lila "Wait, umm Emily wants to say something…. Agent 3, you see Lynn and those others laying there, I have to ask for your help in getting them to safety. I'd go myself but well, I'm not me anymore."
Inker looked to where Lila was pointing and saw the injured Octarians lying on the floor like discarded wrappers after the Elites had turned their attention to the Inklings.
"Okay I got it, leave it to us!"
As Kal, Neon, Sky and a whole bunch of other Inklings continually threw themselves at the Octarian army, Inker and the Squid Sisters helped the IPD retrieve Lynn, Kevin and all the other wounded Octarians.
Midway through Victoria called over to him from within the rubble of Booyah Base.
"Inker, we have some wounded in here too, I know Inkopolis can care for them better, so do you mind taking them with you too?"
"No problem, that's why I'm here." Inker replied.
"Thanks a lot. Violet! Where are those wounded? Get them over here so Agent 3 can take them to safety!"
"A-agent 3?!"
"Come on! You've seen him plenty of times by now! Just get over here! Actually you should go with him in case Inkopolis doesn't know how to treat Octarians!."
"Uhh.. Okay! I'll do it!"
Like that, Lynn, Kevin and all the other injured Octarians in the Plaza were also accepted into Inkopolis hospitals, the IPD along with the New Squidbeak Splatoon helped move them away from the fighting behind the spawn points in Inkopolis Plaza as convoys of ambulances began to arrive and take them away.
Meanwhile the Octarian army was beginning to wear out.
They were barely losing anyone to the Inklings, but no matter how many Inklings they splatted they just wouldn't stop coming.
"How are there still so many!? We must have splatted an entire city' worth of Inklings by now!" One Octocopter shouted.
"I don't get it either, but we can't give up now! Think of how happy Octavio and the Acting Leader will be once we win here." an Octoling told her flying friend.
"That's great and all, but my fingers are starting to get tired..."
"It's only been two hours! Get over it!" Octavia shouted as she heard complaints.
Hearing this the troops immediately shut up and continued splatting Inklings.
They were probably taking down around 40 Inklings with every Octarian they lost, but still they were somehow still coming.
The other Elite Octolings were beginning to get suspicious.
"Acting Leader, this isn't going anywhere, I say we split the army up, one group deals with the New Octopolis insurgents and the other holds back the Inklings. Or maybe some of us could break formation to try and find out why these Inklings are coming non stop."
"What are you suggesting? This is our moment of triumph. Look! my fellow Elites, look at how inferior the Inklings are compared to us!" Seeing so many Inklings being splatted was ecstasy for Octavia.
"uhhhh... Yes it is indeed a marvelous sight…"
The Elite quietly backed away from Octavia and gathered the other nearby Elite Octolings.
"This isn't going anywhere, I have a feeling that we are being tricked."
"Did you tell the Acting Leader?"
"Who else would I go to? The Acting Leader is too caught up with what still looks like our fight."
"Then what are we supposed to do?"
".. I'm not sure, but if we are to serve the real Octarian cause we can't stay here."
"What about the Acting Leader?"
"Forget her, what's important now is that we save what we can, so that our real leader Octavio still has something to lead when he returns."
Silently, all the Elite Octolings slipped out of Inkopolis Plaza, leaving the army and Octavia to fend for themselves.
The battle continued for over another hour.
Once they had brought every wounded Octarian to safety, the New Squidbeak Splatoon joined the fight, blending in easily with the massive amount of Inklings present.
They were also joined by Kal, Neon and Sky.
Kal did his best with his damaged Slosher, while Inker helped him out with expert handling of his Hero Shot.
As for Neon she found herself joined by Marie as the two Charger users made their way to higher ground and began to support their friends.
Callie led the way with her Hero Roller, Sky who also used a Roller, observed Callie closely and tried to mimic her way of fighting.
The IPD officers joined the fight too, they wielded N-ZAP '85s along with the riot shields they were previously using to block Inklings to form a slowly advancing wall.
This combined with the fact that other Inklings slowly catching on to each type of Octarian's strengths and weaknesses slowly turned the tide of battle.
One by one the Octarian army began to fall, as they could not possibly win against an infinitely respawning enemy
As for Acting Leader Octavia, she finally snapped back to reality.
She was taking so much pleasure in beating the Inklings for a hatred so old she could barely remember it's origin.
Now Octavia began to panic.
She turned to her officers; the other Elite Octolings only to find that they were gone.
"What the!? Where did they go? Those traitors! Did they leave me behind?!"
She looked back towards the Inklings, who were getting closer and closer as they were finally beginning to break the Octarian lines.
"Tch, this isn't over, I won't lose here!"
Octavia too, ran from the Plaza heading back into the manhole and into Octo Valley.
Victoria and the New Octopolis army, watching from their defensive positions noticed Octavia retreat.
Her exit went unnoticed among the Octarian army for only a few brief moments.
"Acting Leader! We can't hold for much longer, the Inklings are actually…. !? Acting Leader!? The Acting Leader is gone!" Someone noticed
"Did she get splatted?"
"No she was just here, wait all the other Elites and gone too!"
"What? Then what are we supposed to do?"
"I don't know!"
"Uhh the Inklings are still coming! They look very unhappy.."
"E-everyone for themselves!"
As the Octarian army realized it was abandonned and leaderless, it quickly fell into chaos.
Some tried to fight, but most of them gave up and ran for their lives.
And since they were no longer defending themselves in one big group, there were plenty of openings to reach the manhole.
"You men! Get over there and don't let any Inkling pass!" an IPD officer said as he pointed to the manhole.
The Inklings could not respawn in Octo Valley, so the IPD's first priority was to not let anyone enter Octo Valley.
Now that the Octarians were no longer defending it, they could secure it and lock it down.
As for the other Inklings, they were still angry over the destruction of Inkopolis Plaza and the torture of the New Octopolis army.
They ran after the fleeing Octarians.
"Ha!" One Inkling tackled a fleeing Octotrooper off his hovercraft.
"There we go! Not so tough now are ya!" He had several others began to beat the Octotrooper.
Nearby, an Octoling from Octavia's army found herself wrestling with another Inkling before a second drop kicked her to the ground, the Octoling then found herself being kicked while down.
"This is for Shrimp Kicks! And Cooler Heads! And Jelly Fresh!" One Inkling named the shops of the destroyed Booyah base as she and her friends beat down another Octoling.
"Noo! Stop! It wasn't me! I was just following orders!"
Inker, Kal, Neon and Sky watched.
However before long Victoria ran up to them.
"Hey! I know they are technically our enemy, but don't just let your people treat them like that!" she shouted to Kal and the others.
"Oh right, uhh should I send them to you then?"
"I don't think…" Victoria pondered for a moment, the Octarian army had lost the will to fight, so she was in a place to take some prisoners.
Besides, they weren't Octavia and the Elites, they weren't the ones making choices, they just followed orders.
"Sure, send them our way."
As Inker, and his friends, along with the New Squidbeak Splatoon started to stop the hot tempered Inklings from hurting the remaining Octarians, Victoria went over to the IPD and told them to do the same.
"You heard her! Fan out and find every Octarian left in Inkopolis! I want them all taken in safely and shown merciful treatment." the leader of the officers ordered.
Following these orders, a group of officers went over to the Octoling getting curb stomped by Inklings and pulled the Inklings off her, then one officer helped the Octoling back up while his partner shielded him from anymore Inklings who were still a bit angry.
The shaken and bruised Octoling immediately thanked the officer. "Ahh… Th.. thank you very much… I was just following orders… I don't have anything against you… Honest."
"I get it, now show me your hands."
The Octoling complied and the officer cuffed her "We are going to hand you over to the New Octopolis army, don't worry. I guarantee you that you won't be treated poorly."
"Ahh that's fine… I..I understand."
Inker and company had a bit more difficulty since they lacked the IPD's authority.
"Would you stop that already!"
"Get your hands off me! Can't you see I'm busy!"
"That's exactly what i'm talking about stop smacking that Octoball!"
"If I stop he'll roll away again! Let me give him a good kick!"
"Would you just calm down for a moment!"
As Inker argued with another Inkling, Neon and Sky went over to the little Octoball who was just being stomped on by said Inkling a moment ago before Inker pulled the Inkling away.
Since Sky was the only one who could speak Octarian he assured the Octoball that he would be safe if he just handed himself over to the New Octopolis army.
Neon who seemed to stick by Sky's side much more often now, simply gave a reassuring smile to the Octoball, who then accompanied Neon and Sky to help a group of Octotroopers.
This time Neon tried to pull the other Inklings away and began a fistfight until Marie and an IPD officer broke it up.
"Aww, but I was winning!" Neon complained
Meanwhile Sky led the Octoball and a bunch of Octotroopers to Victoria, where they were taken prisoner.
Inker and Kal went to help another Octoling who was cowering in an alleyway.
"Eeep! A-Agent 3!" the Octoling shouted
"Calm down, I'm not going to-" Inker began before he was cut off
"I'll do whatever you ask, just don't hurt me!"
"Uhh, maybe you should let me handle this?" Kal suggested
"You sure?"
"Yes I'm sure." Kal had gotten used to dealing with Octarians who still believed the Agent 3 rumors by now.
"Uhh okay then."
Not soon after, Victoria, Eliza and the remainder of the New Octopolis army prepared to head back to Octo Valley.
They had rounded up as much Octarians as they could and were now going to head back to the Undercity.
"Wait, you're all leaving just like that?" Kal asked
"Yeah, of course. "Eliza said.
Victoria looked at Kal, who seemed to have had expectations crushed
"I know you have things to say, but we aren't done yet, I saw Octavia run back to Octo Valley and we haven't found any of the Elite Octolings, I bet they are heading back to the undercity."
"But then why?"
"They are weak at the moment we can't let this chance slip." Victoria turned to Inker and the New Squidbeak Splatoon. "Give Inkopolis my thanks, we'll meet again soon."
"The IPD has things handled here, I think we'd all want to go with you." Inker said. "Right guys?"
"Of course! I mean we got the big boss waiting for us right! This is going to be fun!" Neon shouted
"You have a very twisted definition of 'fun' you know… But well, I guess I don't mind coming along." Sky said
"No no you should stay here, be our mission control or something like before!" Neon suggested
"Hoho! Well as long as the equipment in my house is all fine, we'll be right on it!" said Cuttlefish.
"Oh good, gramps is getting his shack back, that means we can stop drawing straws to figure out who he gets to bunk with." Marie commented
"I'm just curious, is it really because of bad luck that I always draw the shorter straw?" Callie asked her cousin.
"Still can't stand the Cap'n's snores? So I guess you'll be helping us secure Octo Valley?" Inker asked.
"Of course!"
"And don't leave me behind!... Ah sorry recently Emily's been having outbursts like that." Lila said.
"Well if she's the one in charge I guess it will be safe for you to tag along." Inker said.
Finally Inker looked to Kal, who was more than eager to go.
"I want to see this through, I'm in!"
Nautilus base, Octo Valley
Octavia hurried through the Undercity, trying to pick up whatever bits of the Octarian army had been left behind.
To her surprise the Undercity seemed empty, so she hurried to Nautilus base hoping she could find the other Elite Octolings.
But even the main base of the Octarian army was empty.
Judging from the number of weapons, documents, fake zapfish and power eggs left behind, Octavia concluded that it had been hastily evacuated, it was the only reason to leave so much behind.
This wasn't good for her, she quickly checked all available Octarian channels requesting an explanation on why Octo Valley was so empty.
When she got no reply, she genuinely believed she was in trouble, possibly for the first time in years.
She was alone in the abandoned Nautilus base, there were no Octarians left for her to command.
She quickly checked every surveillance camera in the Valley, whoever evacuated the place had done so in such a hurry that the whole Valley still had power.
All that was left were the Octarians who supported Victoria and the New Octopolis army who were locked up in prisons all over the Valley.
Anyone who could possibly still be loyal to Octavia was gone.
Still going through the camera's she noticed Victoria, leading the New Octopolis army back to the Undercity.
She was coming to end her rule.
"No no no NO! I won't lose control! I won't!"
Octavia wondered what could have happened, then she recalled Octo Canyon, maybe the valley was finally deemed uninhabitable and they all moved there? But that wouldn't explain the rushed evacuation.
Octavia tried to contact anyone in Octo Canyon, to no avail.
'There should be at least someone there, why aren't they answering?'
The lights flickered as Octo Valley almost had another blackout.
A great sense of dread washed over Octavia.
She could see Victoria and the New Octopolis army reach the prisons of the Undercity, gaining more numbers as they discovered that a lot of their soldiers and supporters had not been killed, but rather taken prisoner when the Reserve army cut them off.
With nothing left, Octavia nabbed all the fake zapfish and power eggs she could carry and made a break for another lair.
'If I can start the Octobot King, maybe I can escape to the Canyon!'
Octavia bolted to what used to be Octavio's boss kettle.
Unfortunately for her, she didn't know that Cuttlefish and Sky were watching the Octarian CCTV cameras.
Tracking Octavia through the valley was Inker, Kal, Victoria, Neon, Lila and the Squid sisters.
Eliza had been left back in the Undercity to sweep for any remnants of the Octarian army and free the imprisoned members of what would soon become New Octopolis.
Octavia ran with all her might to the Octobot king, she crammed everything she could into the compartment designed for the great zapfish and hopped into the DJ booth/pilot seat.
"Alright, come on now, I've seen you run for Octavio dozens of times, don't fail me now, don't!"
The Octobot King struggled to take flight, it eventually managed to hover, but not nearly as gracefully as before.
Octavia could see Agent 3 and his friends arriving.
They stopped when they saw the Octobot King.
"Haha! My era isn't over yet!" Octavia cackled as she fired one of the Octobot's fists at the group.
"Whoaho! That's quite a mechanical monstrosity she has there!" Neon exclaimed
"Why do you sound happy?" Marie asked
"You'll get used to it." Sky said over her headset.
"It's the Octobot King, but it shouldn't be able to run without a power source great enough…" Victoria said.
"Can you beat that thing?" Kal asked
"Well we've beaten it once before.'' Inker shrugged as he fired at the fist flying towards them.
Slowly the first turned blue and was sent flying back at Octavia.
And since Octavia didn't have the correct power source for the Octobot, this one hit was all it could take.
The fist slammed into the Octobot, which then immediately began to make loud mechanical noises.
"Huh?" Came the quietest voice Octavia had ever made.
The Octobot sputtered in flight and collapsed into the ground.
Inside, a speechless Octavia sat with her hands still on the controls.
"...Wait… That's it? I was expecting more of a fight! I didn't even get to do anything! I want a redo!" Neon protested.
"Hey be a bit more serious, remember we still have to catch Octavia." Victoria reminded Neon.
"Yeah yeah, well I guess I already had my fun earlier…"
Victoria steadily approached the Octobot, knowing that an Elite like Octavia could still put up a decent fight.
But with three Agents, a combat freak, a little girl with the mind of a captain and the Inkling she loved standing by her side, she was not going to lose.
Octavia however had no more fight left in her.
She sat motionless even as Victoria and her friends all held their weapons towards her.
She didn't even turn to look at them.
"...It's over, isn't it?" She asked.
"Yes and you lost, now let go of the controls and come quietly." Victoria said.
"..."
Octavia looked down at her hands.
What was there left for her?
"I will not. Nothing you say can change that. I feel as if the moment I let go, I'll be letting go of everything I had built." she said
Victoria shrugged, then raised her Blaster.
"Hey hold on a second." Inker said, stopping Victoria "You know, it's not all your fault, from what I've heard, DJ Octavio had his goals and hatreds stamped into the minds of every Elite Octoling. So your rule wasn't real."
Victoria didn't know what Inker was trying to do. Did he think that everyone could be saved?
"It was real to me…" Octavia muttered.
"And that's why you lost." came a voice Octavia hadn't heard before.
"Hey don't get too close Lila." Kal said.
"I'm not Lila." Lila said, as she moved forward and sat on top of the DJ booth in front of Octavia.
Octavia looked at this little Inkling, she looked oddly familiar.
However the expression on this little girl's face didn't match the rest of her body.
Lila sat with a wry smile on her face.
"What did I tell you? The Elites aren't loyal to you and the others only followed you out of fear."
That sounded familiar and it pissed her off. Octavia glared daggers into this little girl who didn't seem phased in the slightest.
Lila had a smug look on her face as she laughed and said "I told you they would rise up against you someday. I'm glad I got a front row seat watching it all go down."
Octavia realized why this little girl ticked her off so much.
"Vale… So you've come to torment me after killing yourself?"
It was Lila sitting in front of her, but the one talking was Captain Vale.
"I'm just enjoying the show."
"You.. Why did you turn against me? I was doing great as Acting Leader! I was going to take Inkopolis!"
"You still think that? Man that's almost sad… I've warned you over and over, I pointed out flaws in your plans but you wouldn't listen, I knew someone like you was doomed to fail, so I left. I bet all the other Elite Octolings realized the same thing."
"... Well I've lost, so nothing I say now matters…"
Although she said that calmly Octavia felt more riled up than ever.
The old hatreds of Octavio and the new hatreds she had discovered for Emily Vale and Victoria festered within her.
Plus she wasn't the type to accept life as a failed leader.
"You done Vale? Well then, I'll say it one more time let go of the controls and-" Victoria
In one swift movement Octavia leapt from the Octobot controls, leaving a Splat bomb behind as everyone else scrambled for cover.
Octavia took out her Octoshot and held a second Splat bomb in her hands, she turned to face her enemies…
Before she was splatted by ink of various colours.
Bright magenta from Victoria's Blaster
Red from Kal's Slosher.
Bright green from Neon's E-Liter
And blue from Inker's Hero Shot.
Like that Octavia was gone.
Victoria had nothing against splatting her, as it was Octavia's orders that got her family killed.
Kal as well, was captured and beaten under Octavia's orders.
Neon on the other hand probably just acted on instinct, as did Inker.
The group stared at the puddle of mixed Ink that had been Octavia just seconds ago.
Victoria half expected Octavia to jump right back out, but no, it was over. It was over all the way back in Inkopolis, Octavia only delayed the inevitable by a little while.
"It's done, come on now Holter. Let's see how the rest of the Valley is doing." Lila said, still in Captain Vale's personality.
"I should never have let you have Lila." Kal muttered.
Lila stood for a moment, possibly reverting between personalities for a bit before she said. "You know eventually I'll forget a lot of the things I saw and heard at this age. So in a few years, Lila will be completely on her own again…. Wait really? But Emily I thought you were going to leave me!... It is inevitable sadly. After all, I'm dead, this is just some memory I left behind…. But I'm going to miss you… I know, but you won't need me by then, so can you at least tell your Inkling friend to let me stay like this for a while longer?... Okay, Kal please learn to get along with Emily, she won't be here forever."
It seemed like Lila had gotten attached to the imaginary Captain Vale in her head.
Kal sighed "Oh well, I guess it can't be helped."
Undercity, Octo Valley
Upon their return Victoria found that Eliza and the New Octopolis army had freed everyone imprisoned for supporting them.
"You know there are a lot more survivors than I thought." Eliza commented as she and Victoria watched the big bunches of Octarians, young and old, who had chosen to leave Octavio's government.
It was less than half of what showed up back when she first announced the New Octopolis army, but it was still a lot.
Many of them had been cut off from their main base and captured when Octavia brought in the Reserve army, but it seems like they were left behind.
To find out what happened, Victoria had her soldiers go through everything they could to figure out what happened, while the rest settled back in the dilapidated Undercity.
Eventually they discovered that the Elite Octolings had abandonned the fight in Inkopolis and hastily moved everyone still loyal to Octavio out of Octo Valley and to Octo Canyon.
It appears as if the Elites had given up on Octavia the moment she lost focus.
As Vale predicted, they were never loyal to Octavia, but to Octavio's wishes.
They would carry on the DJ's old hatreds for years to come.
But for now, there were Octarians who were ready to put that behind.
Most of them didn't even know why they hated Inklings to begin with.
While an opposing Octarian faction was still out there, they wouldn't do much now that Inkopolis had started supporting New Octopolis.
After they figured out what had happened, Victoria gathered everyone she could.
"Good work everyone, Octavia is gone, the Octarian army is on the run and we've managed to leave a good impression on Inkopolis." She said. "Now then, this is pretty much all I can do, the task of rebuilding will lie in your hands."
"Hey what are you saying? We need you to lead our new nation!" someone shouted
"Yes that's true! You can retire on us yet, we still need to fix the Undercity and create a just government."
Victoria didn't know anything about those.
"I'm flattered you think this way.. I really am, but I'm just a soldier and a rookie one at that."
"Maybe, but you were the one who led us to this victory." Eliza pointed out "Come on Captain, don't retire just yet."
"I'm not! I'm just saying I'm not suited for this! I mean come on! I'm one of the youngest here!"
"That doesn't matter, I'm sure you'd be a great leader… No wait that sounds too much like Octavio…. Hey 3 What do Inklings call their leader?"
"A prime minister." Inker replied
"Well then, who here wants the captain to become the first prime minister of New Octopolis!?"
"B-but I know nothing about politics!"
Despite this Victoria was met by thousands of raised hands.
Victoria didn't know much about politics but neither did any other Octarian at this point because Octavio had been the only Octarian leader for the past hundred years.
"It looks like a unanimous vote." Eliza said
"Wait hold on! There must be someone better! I... I just wanted to be a soldier." She glanced around for anyone she could push the role onto, but it seemed like everyone was dead set on keeping her as the leader.
"No I just can't! Gahh!" Victoria bolted.
Eliza and the other Octarians watched Victoria run.
"You know, you guys are piling an awful lot of responsibility on Victoria." Kal said.
"It only feels right, I mean she did create the New Octopolis army, so it's it normal for her to lead it to the end?" Eliza said.
"Well, I get that but, Victoria is just completely overwhelmed…. You know what, give me a moment, I'll be back."
Kal left in the direction Victoria ran, he found not too far away, with her head pressed against a wall.
"I thought it was finally over… Why do I keep getting dragged into these things…. Ummm Kal, what should I do?..." Victoria asked.
"Well they are kinda right you know, you can't just leave when there is still so much to do."
"... Who's side are you on?"
"Hey don't forget, you said you wanted to make Octo Valley a better place when you were younger."
"Yeah, by destroying Inklings. That was just the dreams of a kid who looked up to soldiers! This whole leadership business is just… not for me!"
"You know I still remember hearing you talk about Octo Valley back then. You said that you wanted to be a soldier because of how bad conditions were. Well now you really have a chance to improve things! Show everyone that Octarians don't have to live in blackouts or builds with cracked walls."
Victoria sighed "I know.. I know, but just, why me?"
"I don't know anyone better."
"How can I do this?"
"I don't know." Kal shrugged "but I do know that the first step to anything is going to be most difficult, it was the same for me when I fired at the Elite Octolings earlier and it's going to be the same for you."
"... I guess."
"Go on, you don't have to lead Octo Valley forever, just get things going, make the first step and the rest will come naturally. And if things don't go well, the door to Inkopolis is always open for you, I'll make sure of it."
That was the same thing Kal said to Victoria the first time they parted ways.
"Alright then.. I guess I have to give it a shot…"
"Go for it, I'll be back in Inkopolis cheering you on."
As Victoria and Kal started to return to the others Victoria suddenly remembered.
"Wait did you forget our promise? After the Octarian Army is defeated I was going to hear your feeli-"
Kal, not wanting a repeat of his loud and embarrassing announcement quickly interrupted Victoria "Let's leave that for later."
"What? Did you change your mind?"
"Never in a million years… I just.. Well I think I could take some time and make it better…"
"Okay, I just wanted to be sure… Don't ever forget… promise?"
"Promise."
Victoria and Kal returned to where Inker, Eliza and hundreds of other free Octarians were waiting.
Victoria walked back to the front, standing in between Eliza and Inker, she looked at Kal one last time.
Kal gave her a nod.
She sighed, then looked to the soldiers and supporters of New Octopolis. "Well then I guess I'll stay by your side! Let us rebuild Octo Valley in our name. We have lots of work to do…. And I have much to learn.."
Inkopolis Plaza
Upon return to the Plaza it seemed that things had died down.
There was no longer any sign of the IPD or emergency services.
Though Inkopolis Plaza was still destroyed, some Inklings were still around, talking over what happened.
Callie and Marie, who had managed to accompany the four for this last trip to Octo Valley said goodbye not long after.
"We should get going! We have new careers and new paths just waiting for us!" Callie said.
"Goodbye Agent 3 and friends." Marie waved.
"Goodbye!" Inker, Kalus, Neon and Sky at the two celebrities, still disguised by their Hero suits.
"Well that settles it! All's well that ends well! But Kal, are you sure you don't want to stay in Octo Valley?" Neon asked
"What can I say, Inkopolis is for me and Octo Valley is for Victoria, I don't see that changing anytime soon."
"But aren't you worried that-"
"The only thing I'm worried about is Lila, why did she choose to stay behind in the Undercity?"
"Well that was probably Vale's doing, though I think it would be best if Lila stayed behind, I know you don't seem to like Vale much, but she is still a good leader, Victoria is in good hands." Inker said.
"I thought it would be Victoria taking care of her…"
The four friends wandered about in the ruined Plaza.
They walked into Booyah Base, where Victoria and the New Octopolis army had taken shelter just hours ago.
"This used to be Cooler Heads, right?" Sky asked as they stood among the rubble.
"Yep, I hope they rebuild this place soon, along with the rest of Inkopolis Plaza." Inker replied.
"Hey, it's not fun to grovel you know! The sun's almost down and we haven't had anything to eat in a while! So let's do just that!" Neon suggested.
"Yeah dinner sounds good, just don't dress up like some high class lady again." Sky said
"I told you not to mention that!"
"Then don't do it in the first place! You troublesome girl!"
Looking around, Kal noticed that somebody had parked a yellow food truck by the Plaza. It had 'Crust Bucket' written in Inkling on the side.
"Hey that's Crusty Sean isn't it?"
He could vaguely recall Callie and Marie mentioning that the former shoe shop owner was changing professions.
"Oh it is! Well I'm glad to see the destruction of Shrimp Kicks isn't affecting him." Inker said.
"Hey let's not waste time! What's he got on the menu!?"
After Neon rushed over to the truck, the four friends bought some 'seanwiches' then they left the Plaza searching for a place to sit.
Along the way they could hear Inklings still talking about the Octarians they had seen.
"Those New Octopolis Octolings all had matching hairstyles too!"
"Yeah I wish I could have asked them how to make my hair look like that!"
"Hey did you know they're making Octoling armor replicas?"
"Wait really!? I gotta check that out!"
It seemed like Octarians were not seen in such a negative light anymore.
Neon nudged Kal "Hear all that? I bet Inkopolis would love having Victoria around."
"Well even if I tried I doubt I could get her to stay."
"So you're letting her go again? This is the second time!"
"When you say it like that, you make it sound like I'm abandonning her."
"Yeah! You should chase after her with all your might!"
"Uhh no, I Victoria and I will go at our own pace thank you."
Inker laughed "I still can't believe Neon was right all this time about you two. How did I not see it?"
"You probably missed more than you know." Kal replied
Then they noticed Neon, resting her head on Sky's shoulder.
Sky for some reason, didn't look displeased at all.
"Huh? Wait a second, what is this?" Inker asked
"Oh didn't you know? I'm dating Neon." Sky said
"Wait… what…"
"I'm dating Neon."
"What the!? When did this happen?!" Inker exclaimed
"During the final splatfest, didn't Neon tell you? Neon didn't you tell him?" Sky asked
"I was err a teeny bit distracted, I mean it WAS the Final Splatfest."
"I can't believe it…"
"Hey I was as shocked as you when I found out." Kal added
"I mean those two are…"
"... complete opposites?"
"Yeah."
Neon looked at Inker, who was still surprised by the sudden revelation.
A wry smile crept to her face as she came to the realization that Inker was the only one amongst them who had yet to have a relationship.
"Wahahaha! Jealous?! Don't worry Agent left on the shelf! There are plenty of squid in the sea!"
"Gahhh! What did you just call me?! That better not be my nickname from now on! Hey seriously! You know I'm actually pretty close with the other Agents!"
"You mean Callie and Marie? Get real, they are way outta your league, Agent left on the shelf."
Kal chuckled seeing Neon discover a new hobby of teasing Inker.
Finally as the sun set on this eventful day Kal wondered how long it would be before he met Victoria again...
A/N: Well that's it, that was the last full size chapter, I'd give a final message now, but I want to save it for the epilogue, I'll get that done as son as I can, for now just stay fresh!