Splatoon Stories

By Dev3978

Super Pearl

It was late in the night in Inkopolis Plaza, an area of the city of Inkopolis that had once seen better, fresher days, but had now experienced a radical, sinister makeover. Boarded up and concealed from the outside world, the Plaza was now taken over by the Octarians, who had used a nearby manhole as the main avenue to infiltrate the city. One after another, Octarians zipped up from this manhole in the upper corner not far from Inkopolis Tower, their bulging, green eyes creepily glowing in the nighttime darkness. This new hideout of theirs was not some place to run willy-nilly. It was deep in enemy territory, so the enemy Octolings that patrolled here made sure to keep themselves quiet at all times.

In a nearby building, a former café was now set up as the meeting place of the Elite Octoling in charge of all operations here: Captain Elite. She was using an old, CRT TV her comrades had hauled from Octo Valley to play a VHS of the footage a faithful Octoball named Squishy brought her earlier that day. Studying the footage, it showed a pair of Octolings of the friendly variety. They were the same ones who Elite had fought with a few of her comrades, and she glared at them with bitter familiarity. She could read the sad and passionate emotions of them, and their words were clearly captured to imply that there had been some sort of rift between them and their Inkling girl called Clip.

"Let's go change Clip's mind together," said the boy.

"Veemo! Let's do it, friend!" said the girl.

Elite balked as she re-winded the VHS once again for further analysis.

"Meh, I don't care for drama," she muttered to a couple of Octolings sitting nearby in the dark dining room. "These deserters get exactly what they paid for by leaving us for this crummy city. How stupid of these squids to leave a whole plaza deserted! Who even runs this city? Are they all kids? Pathetic."

Just as she was about to press the VHS Start button to play the video again, Elite's walkie-talkie buzzed. She quickly pulled it out, becoming tense at the expectation of who she was about to answer. The silver voice of a young adult Octoling spoke.

"Captain, please come back to Cephalon," she told Elite. "You must see the progress we've made on the experiment."

"Ah, yes, Lady Octavia," she replied. "The experiment… I'll be right there!"

She hung up, then turned the TV off before standing up to address her comrades, pulling off her goggles to reveal her green eyes.

"The Lady is ready to show me the experiment!" she declared to them. "Good. What we're about to cook up will be a whole lot of fun, girls…"

…

Cephalon HQ lied in the deepest, darkest depths of Octo Canyon. A foreboding cluster of buildings with neon lights greeted Captain Elite as she flew in atop a flying saucer that served as the quickest and most efficient mode of transportation in the Octarian world. The HQ itself was a large office building with a giant statue of an octopus perched on the top, its arms curling down along the sides of the building to give the vague shape of a tiara. Elite passed through the checkpoints of Octarians with its high, stone fence topped with outposts manned by Octosnipers and Octocommanders. Past this was a number of Octopods and Octoballs who acted as guard animals. She scanned her badge, entered the dimly-lit hallway, and continued to move forward, the powerful steps of her Neo Octoling Boots permeating this eerie scene. A fancier-looking office door was the sign of her leader's room, so she approached it and opened it, smirking at the fully-revealed form of Lady Octavia, her outfit surprisingly shiny in what was otherwise a dark abode.

"I've been waiting, Captain," said the Lady in a surprisingly sweet voice. "Forgive me if I sound rather excited. I've just learned that the test results of the experiment have been positive!"

"Really? Good. Very good, Lady Octavia," replied Elite, nodding.

"Come, let us check it out ourselves," the lady beckoned her. "It is only another nice, little walk."

A "nice, little walk" to her meant taking a straight path down the hallway, entering automatic doors that only opened for the lady herself and those with her. Going down this hallway to make a turn at an elevator took the two down several floors to reach deep underneath the ground. In this department, the white corridors gave the feeling of being inside a rundown hospital. Elite knew exactly where Octavia was taking her, but letting her lady lead the way, she was led to the automatic doors of a laboratory.

Once they entered, they were greeted by the surprised, yet nervous grumblings of Octarians. Their little boots shuffled uneasily as they worked. Dressed in lab coats and goggles, they wandered around the laboratory to give the appearance of being dutiful researchers when they had actually not done much except stare at the vials and documents strewn around the place. Octavia didn't care, as she pointed with grim delight at one container that held a shelled creature with beady, black eyes. Elite took a look at this, and she was surprised.

"Whoa, that Super Sea Snail has changed color!" exclaimed Elite. "So this is the ultimate form of these creatures."

"Yes, just as the ancient legends said," replied Octavia. "These shelled creatures are not just a delicacy of urchins, you know. They told of these things having magic powers. With our high-tech, sophisticated Octarian intelligentsia, there is no way that we were not going to try to unlock these powers to see if they are true. We used a nifty cooking method to bring this one to this state. If those colors are to be believed, I do believe they are."

Nodding at a nearby Octarian scientist, Octavia silently ordered the strange octopus to amble to the container. The Super Sea Snail held within, with its hard, spiky shell, beady eyes, and stalk-like face, rattled at the Octarian's approach. The other snails in the laboratory had the regular colors of light blue and purple, yet this one in the container was different. It had a curious color combination of red and white, a stark contrast with the colors of normal ones. Octarian grunts like the kind that ride on vehicles have no arms, so this one had to press buttons on the table with its body to direct a nearby crane to pick up the container and leave the snail exposed. The glass container was now off, so the crane took the special snail in its grasp and held it up like a prize from a crane game.

"Stand below the snail," ordered Octavia.

The Octarian scientist took a somewhat nervous step ahead to be directly below the snail. Its eyes looked up to see it with no expression.

"Now… release the crane!" Octavia ordered another scientist standing nearby.

This Octarian shuffled over to the crane's button to press agaisnt it, causing the crane to release. The snail fell onto the test subject's head. Suddenly, the Octarian found itself increasing to a larger size. Not only this, but its one-armed hair grew seven more to have a full set of hair. Its wavy octopus arms on its head flowing in the air in a breezy motion, the Octarian only left its mouth open, its bug eyes still expressionless despite it clearly being at least a little surprised at its new look. For her part, Octavia was ecstatic. She let loose a soft, delighted cackle.

"SUCCESS!" she exclaimed. "This, Captain, means that the power has been unlocked! GAHAHA!"

"Oh, you know what this means, my lady?!" replied Elite with glee. "Now we can have powered-up troops!"

"Yes, that is most certainly the ultimate goal," answered Octavia, nodding with a smirk. "Before we get to that, however, let me just tell you the one I have in mind to give a snail like this to. Care to guess?"

"Um," mumbled Elite, scratching the seaweed in her hair as she tried to think of names. "A new Octo Weapon? One of my girls? Your grandpa?"

"No, no, and NO," said Octavia, wagging her gloved finger dismissively. "You will never guess, so I will just tell you. It's going to be Pearl."

Captain Elite was so surprised, she took her goggles off and gave a few hard blinks at Octavia in stunned silence.

"But… milady? You HATE Pearl!" exclaimed Elite. "Forgive me, but how can you possibly want HER to be powered up? Isn't this counterproductive?"

Octavia merely shrugged her shoulders and looked away as the Octarian scientists got back to doing their work, though the wavy-haired scientist seemed to be enjoying its work a bit more now with its new hairstyle. Its purple lips curled into a little smile. Octavia turned to it, smiling faintly herself.

"Yes, it does. Especially when the little brat will be so delighted at her new look," said Octavia, still observing the Octarian's hair. "It will be quite a shock. Her fans will love it. It may be, well, fresh. But while it may be fresh for her, a certain defected DJ will begin to have second thoughts."

"Defected DJ?" asked the Captain. "Oh, how could I forget? You mean HER."

"Yes, I mean HER," said Octavia, twisting her head to stare at the cold floor with bitterness. "She's a beauty herself. She didn't need some makeover to get to her newfound status. That little Inkling got her there. But, and this is the kicker, Captain… she might be the one to take her away from there!"

Elite still seemed puzzled, but Octavia cackled again at whatever she was plotting at this moment.

"MWAHAHA! Serves HER right for abandoning me for some ugly, bratty, spoiled… well… you still seem confused. Ah, you'll see eventually, Captain. You'll see. Come, let's go back up to my room. I have a little delivery you and your girls will need to prepare."

…

It was sunset up in Inkopolis, and one art academy was about to host the latest concert of the hottest artist duo of the day, Off the Hook. Colorful posters of Pearl and Marina were plastered all over the walls on the campus. Excited Inklings and Octolings crowded around a venue that had carefully been set deep within this campus, their glowsticks already lighting up the darkened area with waves of pink and teal. The stage was set, the fans stood to cheer and wave, and so it only took the duo themselves to get this concert started. Their arrival was heralded by the flashes of light, confetti, and roaring of fans.

"Y'ALL KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!" yelled Pearl, saying her iconic opening line in Inkopolis News much louder than normal.

"It's Off the Hook, coming to you LIVE here at Inkblot Art Academy!" exclaimed Marina from behind her turntables. "Are you ready for a concert?!"

The fans cheered again to voice their approval, jumping up and down with so many of them grinning ridiculously and letting the electric feelings of a concert sweep them up on their feet. They chanted Off the Hook's names, their band name, and seemed itching to dance even before Marina dropped a single beat. Marina made sure to begin, turning her turntables on to deliver her crowd thundering beats.

"Don't get cooked! Stay Off the Hook!" yelled out both Pearl and Marina simultaneously.

The evening was filled with fresh music, bright lights, and the cheers of the many kids who crowded the campus. Pearl bounced around on stage and strutted back and forth to get herself worked up for the many lyrics she was about to rap. Marina smiled as sweetly as ever from behind her turntables, swaying to her beats. It all began with the hit song "Ebb and Flow", and everyone danced and swung themselves around to the fast and intense beats and snappy lyrics.

Little did anyone notice that a group of Inklings had snuck themselves into the crowd with their mischievous faces and signs looking downward hinting at trouble. They laid low for just a bit longer, allowing themselves to get lost in the middle of the loud music and screaming fans. Halfway through the song, they suddenly jumped to their feet and waved their signs up high. Pearl had turned around to strut back to the other end of the stage when she saw off in the distance right in the middle of the crowd a crudely-drawn sign being waved at her. It read in the written Inkling language, "SHAKE THAT FOREHEAD."

Pearl just looked away with a dismissive smirk. She was used to this. The "haters" had arrived, but she knew what to do. She kept rapping. The Inkling boy kept waving his offensive sign, yelling not in a cheerful, friendly way but the rowdy, disrespectful one. However, this sign was joined by another, then another, and then an unfortunately noticeable group of these troublemakers had made their full presence known.

The kids nearby looked at them with disgust, feeling as if they had been violated. Their disgust turned into outrage when they made out what the frantically-waved signs were saying. Some of them booed at them, hoping they wouldn't be misinterpreted for being at Off the Hook and they found themselves lumped in with these guys. A couple of them griped to each other, then darted off as if to get help. Sure enough, a few minutes later, the kids were leading a trio of intimidating-looking shark security guards into this situation, right in the middle of what was still a loud, happy, and exciting event. The music kept going and most of the crowd paid no attention at all. The towering, anthropomorphic Great White, Hammerhead, and Saw Sharks marched into the crowd in their polished, professional suits.

The troublesome haters nearly panicked at the sight of the shark security guards and began shuffling rudely out of the crowd. They bumped into members of the audience, predictably provoking even more discontent. One of them thought he could get in one last gasp of obnoxious rudeness by throwing his sign straight in the air to get it in full-view of everyone and shouting at the top of his lungs, "SHAKE THAT FOREHEAD, GOBLIN!" But Pearl kept rapping and dancing without skipping a single beat.

In the end, these kids were chased out of the concert, and nothing more was amiss. Off the Hook's concert continued to impress. Pearl went on as usual for the whole show, yet there was a moment when, in the middle of their interlude after finishing a song, Pearl seemed to give a little huff and shook her head at the ground briefly. Someone might have thought this was just Pearl refocusing after jumping around so much, but Marina knew better. She glanced over at her fellow artist with a little tinge of concern, but this quickly faded away with the next song on their schedule, and the show went on.

…

It was late at night, and the concert had successfully finished. Pearl and Marina now rested backstage in a private room together, refreshing their heads after a couple of hours of loud music and cheering. The incident was still on Marina's mind, so while sitting on a stool in front of her vanity, Marina turned to Pearl while she was sipping a bottle of Tentacola.

"Great job as always, Pearl," she complimented. "I've got a question, though. What did you think about those hecklers?"

"Huh? Hecklers?" asked Pearl, seemingly confused. "Whatever. Haters gonna hate…"

Not satisfied with Pearl's dismissive answer, Marina got up from her stool, concern written on her face.

"C'mon, Pearl, I know you saw them," insisted Marina. "Those signs seemed extra annoying this time. Sure, we kept jamming the night away, but you can't tell me that you didn't even think about them at least a little. It was nasty stuff!"

"Aw, Marina," replied Pearl, still seeming to be passive about this. "You gotta learn to tune it out. I ain't gonna let some hater spoil the night, and neither should you. Hey! How 'bout we go for a walk to clear our minds even more? Staying in this stuffy backstage room sure isn't helping."

Surprised at her smart advice, Marina nodded and they both left the area to go for a private stroll around the dark campus of Inkblot. At this time of night, the campus was the exact opposite of the rowdy concert hours earlier. Just the two of them enjoyed the peace and quiet of the calm atmosphere of the art academy's solemnity that was felt whether it was day or night. The campus was nestled within the tall, dark brown buildings. While located in the city, Inkblot was known for being surprisingly quiet, which was considered a bonus for helping artists concentrate on their work. The trees gently swayed to the small breeze that occurred on this night.

"AH," sighed Marina with relief. "That's more like it. Isn't it nice that we get to relax and unwind like this, Pearlie? It's almost as if that huge concert didn't even happen."

"Yeah, Marina," replied Pearl, the two of them continuing down a stone path. "Never gets old. I think I'm gonna sleep almost as hard as Judd tonight!"

Suddenly, Pearl stopped dead in her tracks. This sudden move made Marina stop as well, and she looked down to see Pearl stare coldly ahead at what lied ahead. Nearby, there was a long wall that was normally used to display various works of random art or even graffiti. It was the latter that got Pearl's attention. Marina looked, and then gasped. Tonight's graffiti featured a large, unflattering drawing of a shrunken, misshapen Pearl. Smirking evilly, she was depicted with a humongous forehead, squat body, and her squid tooth poking out of her mouth like buckteeth. It was clumsily and hastily sprayed, as if the naughty artist had to make it quickly before being spotted by a potential Pearl fan. Not only this, but there were sprayed messages that in Inkling said typical anti-Pearl terms such as "forehead, "goblin," "brat," and "gremlin." Marina rolled her eyes at it all, then turned to Pearl again and gulped. She became tense, her fists were clenched, and her crown began shaking, a bad sign that Pearl was not happy.

"OK, Pearl," said Marina bluntly. "You are NOT just tuning this out."

"SPLAT THESE CHUMPS!" squealed Pearl, jumping up in the air with her crown flying off and landing back on perfectly. "I'M GONNA SUE 'EM!"

Marina immediately started shushing Pearl and motioning her to calm down.

"Pearl! Keep it down!" said Marina softly, but firmly. "You're gonna alert our guards! And I don't want you unleashing your-

"Where's the trouble, mam?" asked a raspy voice.

It was one of the shark security guards, the hammerhead in particular. He hurried over to their spot in a swift, wavy run with his flat head swaying back and forth as if going through invisible water. Marina shook her head and smirked awkwardly to give the impression nothing was really wrong. Pearl, though, flipped around and pointed at the graffiti to her guard.

"See that?! Find out whodunit," she snapped. "I saw you guys going after the jerks during the concert. Find 'em out, root 'em out… do whatever! No one, and I repeat, NO ONE will bully me. Understand, yo?!"

The shark nodded quickly and power-walked away, even a big fish like him not daring to cross the small one. Seeing that it should be taken of, Pearl closed her eyes and sighed angrily, finally attempting to calm down. Marina, feeling bad for her friend, gave her a small hug around the shoulder.

"Look at it this way, Pearl," said Marina. "So what if a dozen jerks tried to tear you down? Hundreds of fans cheered you on. We can't let a dozen spoil the night for hundreds, right?"

"Yeah, I get what you're saying," admitted Pearl. "And, yeah, this kinda stuff does get under my skin. I just try to hide it."

"Well, it seems to me like we better get some real rest," suggested Marina. "How about going to bed? It'll be the crack of dawn before we know it!"

…

It was now the dead of night at Pearl's home: a sprawling mansion unlike few in Inkopolis. With a large sea of green for a lawn in the front, architecture of white, pink, and gold, and an impressive fountain featuring a pearl spewing water, the mansion was locked tight and protected behind high, iron gates, walls, and a security system of cameras. Pearl could hardly be more secure sleeping inside of her room, which was more like a chamber for the pretend princess. Her bed, draped with a luxurious pink and white blanket and massive pillows resembling Off the Hook's logo, Pearl chose to go to sleep in her humanoid form rather than squid form tonight. Her white crown was set aside on a nearby mini table. Pearl slept soundly, mumbling a few words under her breath in the dream she was having at the moment.

In this dream, she was reliving the experience she had when she was a tiny girl, an even smaller form than she is now. An old, celebrated music contest was going on, and the tiny Pearl stood in the backstage of the wooden area as her stately parents helped prepare their daughter for her first performance at this event. While so small, Pearl was looking up at her parents with big, gold eyes full of cheer with her crown perched atop her head that had longer hair back then. All three were excited for this big moment.

"Mommy, Daddy," she told them. "I'm gonna sing my heart out today!"

"Yes, Pearl, you shall," said her father, a dapper-looking business squid dressed in his finest suit for this day.

"This is the moment you've been waiting for, dear!" said her mother, a portly adult Inkling. "All of your rehearsing has led you to this very moment."

"Yeah, just you wait," squeaked Pearl. "Someday, I'm gonna be just as good as the Squid Sisters!"

Her father pulled open the curtain to take a glance at the audience. The eager crowd of fish, jellyfish, and Inklings young and old dominated the scene. They mumbled to each other in subdued anticipation of this cherished contest, far from the wild hype of a modern band concert. Many of them wore refined, colorful kimonos, happis, and yukatas, further lending a heavy folk influence on the venue.

"Ah, yes, the Youth Folk-Singing contest," muttered the father as he stroked his tentacle mustache. "It was just the other day when those young Squid Sisters impressed us all here. But now you get to be the star of the show, Pearl! You know as well as any that there is power that resides in the voice of the singer. We know you have it. Now you must show the world that you DO have it!"

A jellyfish appeared in their midst and waved one of his arms to get their attention.

"It is time for Pearl to perform," said the jellyfish.

Pearl could barely contain her excitement but got a hold on her bearings as her parents readied her dress for the coming performance. The announcer was saying his remarks above it all, and when given the cue, Pearl soon found herself walking out in full-view of everyone. Anyone would be likely to be anxious at starring in such an event, especially when the audience seemed even more imposing with their increased height over Pearl's stature. The stage she stood on allowed them to only be about level with her. Yet Pearl continued to hold herself together, smiling sweetly and seeming to touch the audience with her cuteness. She was ready with her mic, only waiting for the folk instruments to begin playing their tune. They played for the opening seconds. Pearl readied her voice to sing into the microphone. What came out was not what anyone, even Pearl, could ever expect.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Her singing turned out to be nothing but a piercing, electrifying scream. Audience members were bowled over by the power of Pearl's voice. Many plugged their ears in shock and disgust. Pearl, just as scared by it herself, only continued to scream. Her eyes were closed as her voice kept going and going. It began to produce shockwaves, which in turn caused nearby equipment to get fried. Her parents backstage were also plugging their ears, staring with wide, aghast eyes at what their daughter was doing. Suddenly, the stage began to collapse, and Pearl was finally silenced by the falling of curtains that completely covered her.

"MY DARLING!" cried her father, rushing just as quickly as her mother to come on stage and save her.

They threw off whatever equipment had tumbled down and got in their way, and the father swung up the curtain to get to Pearl. She was lying down; scared, but safe. Despite the presence of fried and destroyed equipment, no one else seemed to be in danger. Instead, they were in a panic and standing up to recover from the shock and awe of what happened.

"It's OK!" cried the announcer through the speakers. "No one is hurt!"

"Pearl, oh, Pearl," muttered her father affectionally. "Are you all right?"

"Ugh… yeah, Daddy," she mumbled as she opened her eyes while in his arms. "What just happened? What did I do?!"

Another unexpected twist occurred. Members of the audience suddenly got over their shock and proceeded to mock Pearl without warning. They began jeering, making funny faces, and pointed fingers at the little girl that seemed to ruin this event so spectacularly. Pearl blushed with embarrassment. To make matters worse, her parents disappeared in puffs of inky smoke, like Turf War players falling out of bounds. Poor, little Pearl was now overwhelmed by a hostile crowd with no one to protect her.

"What was THAT?!" yelled out a male's voice in a tone of mockery. "You call that singing, small fry?!"

"I thought my ears were gonna break!" yelled out another. "You sure broke the stage, you pathetic, pitiful princess!"

"Look at the size of her forehead anyways!" cried a female's shrill voice. "With a foul, little stature like hers, no wonder a horrible noise came out of her pint-sized mouth!"

Pearl took it all in for a few moments, and she almost started to tear up. But then she suppressed her tears and angrily bared her little squid teeth at them all.

"SHUT IT!" she yelled at them.

"Uh oh, she's gonna scream at us again, people!" barked an Inkling boy up front, who looked eerily similar to one of the boys at the Inkblot concert. "You're not gonna blow us away this time! FOREHEAD! FOREHEAD! GREMLIN, GOBLIN, FOREHEAD!"

He started this annoying chant among the audience, and they all answered back. In a clear signal that this was not merely reliving a memory, every single audience member stood up and chanted directly at Pearl, their eyes glowing red. They threw up signs that all featured the same ugly Pearl graffiti from Inkblot. Pearl could stand it no longer. She began jumping up and down and scurrying from side to side of the stage, much like she does when she's rapping but now in an unnaturally fast fury.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" she yelled at them. "PUT THOSE SIGNS AWAY! Y'ALL ARE DRIVIN' ME CRAZY! HUH…."

Pearl stopped and began feeling her head. It was starting to swell up. To her horror, her head continued to swell up. Her forehead was now becoming truly big. Her little eyebrows shrank underneath the round, shining mass of skin above. Her crown became small and insignificant as well. Not only did her head grow up, but it grew around. Even the shape of her head was changing. Pearl's head and hair began to make her resemble a mushroom. Eventually, her head became so big that she collapsed to the floor, her body and arms too small to support her enormous noggin.

"Wut's… happenin'… ta meh?" she mumbled, her mouth becoming so big and misshapen that her speech came out strange.

She was helpless as she looked up to the sky. What was a nice, blue sky with pleasant clouds was now turning into a gigantic mirror, and Pearl beheld her hideous appearance.

"YO NO!"

Pearl woke up with a frightened start. Sitting upright from her bed, all she saw now was her big, dark room. Pearl glared with annoyance as she held her Pearl logo pillow tightly.

"Stupid nightmare," she muttered. "Whatever."

While she was up, she looked at her large windows across her room, seeing the stars twinkling faintly so high above.

(If I could wish upon a star, I'd wish for a new look. That's where my thoughts are!)

She lied down and dug her little head back into her pillow in an irritated attempt to fall back asleep.

…

Morning finally arrived, and the many jellyfish servants of Pearl and her family started working along with it. Led by a dutiful jellyfish butler sporting a mustache, one group of them was busy in the kitchen preparing Pearl's breakfast. The butler briefly supervised their work, then left to take a somewhat long trek to Pearl's room all the way up a flight of stairs and down a few halls. He passed the ornate decorations of the mansion with statues of pearls, clams, and lifelike squids. High-quality photos and paintings of Pearl and her family were displayed along the halls. Finally, the butler arrived at Pearl's pink and gold doors and knocked the gold-colored handle.

"Breakfast is served," said the butler. "May you want to take your personal train to the breakfast, Pearl?"

"Nah, I'm just walking, Jelliam" said Pearl on the other side, groggy from awakening, but also seeming to sound a little grumpy.

Jelliam the butler didn't think much of this and floated back to the kitchen. Pearl took her time going to the kitchen herself, still not in a good mood and still in her pink pajamas. When she finally arrived at the kitchen after the long walk through the halls and down the stairs, the jellyfish servants had kept her breakfast secured in a tray to keep her warm breakfast from getting cold. She took her seat at a special, white table short enough to accommodate her height. Not even when the servants began to give her a big glass of warm milk and a large tray with a lid did she smile.

"We have prepared a warm, warm pancake breakfast for you, Pearl," said Jelliam.

He lifted the lid to reveal a stack of pancakes smothered in syrup and topped with butter. Their aroma and delicious appearance made Jelliam hope that Pearl could be delighted. She continued to look glum. Jellyfish were not known for being expressive, but Jelliam lowered his eyes to show some concern.

"You are bummed," said Jelliam. "Did you have a bad, bad night's sleep?"

"…Yeah," she muttered. "I had a nightmare, 'K? I don't even wanna talk about it right now."

"Understood," replied Jelliam. "Please eat the pancakes and allow the pancakes to get your mind off the nightmare."

Pearl began eating, but she continued to look "bummed" as she ate, a state that the servants knew meant that their little mistress should be left alone.

…

It had to take more than a delicious breakfast to get Pearl feeling better. Pearl decided that this involved an activity that she was all too familiar with, a solitary walk. She dressed into her casual gear, took her knapsack and Enperry Splat Dualies, rode one of her personal train rides to the sidewalk beyond the lawn, and got off to begin her long, lonely stroll to a park. Along the way, Pearl did nothing but mutter rhymes under her breath and went into dark alleys and quiet streets. She wanted to avoid as many pedestrians as possible, all in an effort to not get mobbed by any fans.

The nearest park for Pearl to visit featured a calm assortment of trees, flowers, and an imperial-style bridge that offered Inklings a safe, enjoyable look above the Snapper River. Because it was still early in the morning, the park was empty of other visitors, perfect for the famous one. After walking under the gates that led to this city park, Pearl began privately dancing to herself, finally starting to cheer up after a long, tedious walk through the city blocks.

"Ted tried to make fun of my forehead," rapped Pearl, making up a name for one of the hecklers. "He got chased by a shark instead. All I did was just go to bed back at my big ol' homestead. I got a nightmare, now I gotta get outta of its snare and start dancin' around this park without a care!"

She carried on like this for some time. She sat on chairs, hopped among the bushes and trees, and even played at the playground with its jungle gym and swings like she was still a little girl. After half an hour, something unusual occurred to make this park more interesting. Something was floating far up in the air, and Pearl got away from the playground to look up. It was a large, orange balloon holding a small crate on its string. The sight of this made Pearl smirk and hurry to her knapsack lying on a bench near the playground.

"Some random balloon?" she asked herself. "It's just asking to get cooked!"

She immediately rolled forward twice with her Enperry Splat Dualies to get closer, aiming as high as she could. Her accurate shots resulted in this mysterious package falling down before her feet after the balloon popped. The crate remained standing upright as Pearl approached it with intrigue. Pearl shot at the crate to break it open. What popped out was not what she expected.

"Huh? A Super Sea Snail?!" she exclaimed.

It was no ordinary Super Sea Snail. It was red and white, not blue and purple like any other. It also behaved differently, as it started to slide toward her. Pearl hesitated at first, side-stepping the moving snail and letting it pass. She continued staring at it in confusion.

(I've never heard of red and white Super Sea Snails before. Yo, this is cool. I gotta get a closer look.)

Pearl began following this creature for a while as it continued to slide away. However, she saw that up ahead, it would eventually be lost to the upcoming river.

(Wait, what? Uh oh. I better get a hold of that thing before it slips away. I just GOTTA have it.)

So Pearl rushed up and grabbed at the snail just before it could slide into the deadly water. That was when Pearl changed.

She noticed that her legs were getting taller. Her face and head were feeling differently. It all happened so quickly that Pearl lost her balance after grabbing the snail and almost fell down, wobbling on her feet instead. Something about her was not the same at all.

"HUH?! What's goin' on here?!" she cried out. "…I feel funny."

The most noticeable thing was her now much-improved ability to look farther ahead. She looked down and couldn't believe her eyes when she saw that her legs appeared quite a bit taller than before. She rubbed her hands against them, as if to see if they were real. They were.

"Uhhhhhhhh," she muttered. "….What's up with my face?"

Now she began touching her cheeks and forehead, feeling that they were not the shape they were before.

(Am I dreaming again? This is weird. What did this snail do to me? I gotta look in a mirror or something.)

A mirror was not readily available at this park. All there was to look at for a reflection was the nearby river, so Pearl decided to safely approach it to see what happened to her. It was a good thing that Pearl nervously kept her distance, feeling very creeped out by her improved vision and stature. One look at her reflection in the water made her almost scream in surprise. She instantly ran backwards in absolute shock, falling back on her bottom because she was still not used to her new height.

"OH MY COD!" yelled Pearl. "Was that ME?!"

Pearl wobbled back up onto her feet. Afraid that she would tumble into the water in fright if she dared to take another look, she got an idea to use her phone. Pulling it out, she touched on the camera app and chose the option to center the camera on her to take a selfie. What she saw staring back at her didn't scare her again, but this time made her look in stunned silence. A taller adult Inkling girl stared back her. She looked much like Pearl, yet somehow better. She was pretty, perhaps even beautiful! Her forehead was smaller with her bangs covering them. Not only that, but her cheeks were smaller and her head was thinner and not so round. Even her eyes were different, as she now had eyelashes to give herself a much older, glamorous appearance.

Pearl blinked several times. Then, her shock gave way to pure bliss.

"I've been transformed, yo!" she declared. "RAWSOME! This is the best day of my life!"

Pulling out the Super Sea Snail again, she was so happy with it that she gave it a kiss. The creature did nothing, and it seemed like it wasn't quite as lively as before, but Pearl took little notice. She started dancing around in glee, so happy with her new look.

"I'm not short! I'm not short of any sort!" she rapped. "Now I feel like a princess in excess. This Pearl has become a whole new girl!"

But then something dawned on her. She stopped, and her face quickly grew concerned.

"But am I gonna be stuck like this forever?" she asked herself. "…Whatever! This is amazing! I'm gonna text Marina to come here. She won't believe her eyes!"

…

Marina was riding her teal and black motorcycle down the streets of Inkopolis after receiving a cryptic text from Pearl, wearing her usual outfit with the additions of a black biker jacket and black helmet with her logo on it. "Come to the park on Snapper Street. I wanna show you something," read the text. The DJ didn't know what to make of this, and she once again grew concerned for Pearl. Staring anxiously at the location as she parked parallel on the sidewalk, Marina hopped off and shuffled toward the bridge where she thought Pearl was surely going to meet her. She was surprised when she heard a strange ruffling from the nearby bushes instead.

"Yo, Marina," said Pearl from within the greenery. "Don't go any farther!"

"Why are you hiding from me, Pearl?" asked Marina, now more confused than worried.

"It's a surprise, yo. You read my text?" asked Pearl. "Now, promise you won't flip when you see me, 'K? Cuz BEHOLD!

Pearl emerged from out of her squid form, emerging into her ultimate form before Marina. Marina gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth, her eyes widened. Pearl was actually standing level with her! Something happened to her face! Marina was speechless. For her part, Pearl posed with her arms outstretched and smiling smugly.

"Well, whattaya think?" she asked. "I've transformed! It was all thanks to this really weird, but really amazing Super Sea Snail. Check it! It's all red and white! It's gotta be magic, because just look at me. I feel like more of a princess than ever! I look just as fresh as the Squid Sisters. Maybe even more!"

Marina only stayed silent while Pearl kept talking, too stunned for words. It was both because of Pearl's new look as well as how stunning Pearl truly did look now. The Super Sea Snail didn't just made Pearl taller, it actually changed her. Marina could still recognize her Pearlie, but her taller stature and glamorous appearance made her seem almost like a new person.

"Aight, so I don't know how I can change back," said Pearl, looking back at the Super Sea Snail in her hand with a sheepish smirk. "But my new look's given me ideas! Get this, Marina. You know how we've been needing to shell out cash to our agent to book future venues for future concerts? Just wait until they get a look at me now! We've got ourselves a new gig. They can just call me… Super Pearl! The whole city's gonna go nuts over us, all over again! Who's the short, little gremlin now, yo? BAHAHA! Uh… Marina?"

Pearl finally stopped talking to notice her friend being absolutely dumbfounded. Her eyes blinked once or twice and her hands were still cupped over her mouth.

"…Fine. I get it, Marina. I've done told you how I transformed. You're probably thinkin', 'How are you gonna explain to everybody?' Inkling kids won't care. I'll just call this a new gig of mine, and they'll just roll with it. They're not gonna overthink it. Not even the Octoling kids will think much. You've just gotta trust me on this one, Marina. Let's go back to my house. We're 'bout ready to revolutionize Off the Hook!"

Pearl eagerly started strutting out of the park, completely confident about how things will go down. Marina finally moved again and nervously smiled as she followed behind. For a moment, she even wanted to start bursting out laughing at it all. But questions with the Super Sea Snail, how Pearl could ever change back, and whether Pearl would even want to change back persisted in her mind. They made Marina look worried as she left the park to go start planning however they were going to do Super Pearl's debut.

(Sounds like we'll have a fresh, new Inkopolis News segment after all these months.)