The race was now set between Cycle King and Enemy in Humpback Pump Track. A sizable crowd of Inklings and Octolings stood around the track, the clear majority of them Cycle King fans. Pink and white surrounded the track along with signs bearing the initials "CK" and the Tentatek symbol. His challenger, the foreign and hostile Enemy, had no support whatsoever. Not even Octolife cared, as he refused to raise a single cheer of "Booyah!" for the likes of her.
A simple marker was laid for the race's start. Cycle King stared ahead, his squid eyes squinting in a fashion that was hard to tell whether it was confidence or arrogance. For her part, Enemy's steely stare didn't signal so much determination as it did a fed-up attitude to get this over with. And Octolife stood with his hands firmly at his sides. He was no fan of either racer.
"Prepare to enter the cycle," Cycle King muttered in a cheesy tone at Enemy. She made no reply, not even turning to face him.
"READY?!" yelled Silver, who was in charge of this race with his blowhorn up.
Cycle King returned to look ahead and now became just as tense as Enemy.
"GO!" boomed Silver. And they were off!
Cycle King breezed ahead with an early lead, his feet appearing to go so quickly that they became a blur around his bike's wheels. But Enemy also got a good start, and onlookers cried with a mix of surprise and excitement as she immediately proved herself to be no slouch. Enemy rode right behind Cycle King, her piercing green eyes looking for any opportunity to get around her new foe. As the two quickly made it past the center half of Humpback, Cycle King didn't appear to be losing his cool, but eagle-eyed viewers might have noticed that his face appeared to be just a bit more tense than usual. The girl with strange speech might just give him a challenge for once.
Octolife continued to stand with indifference, feeling awkward about being this way while surrounded by spectators happy at the sight of a good race unfolding before them. Now merely folding his arms, he frowned at the two racers as they zipped past the other side of the track. Before the race, he heard of Silver telling the two that this was going to be a five lap race. Maybe by the third lap he might start showing a little emotion? Not for his Enemy but for hoping that she can win this race so that he can be one step closer to finding Denim.
The first lap went without a change. Enemy remained directly behind Cycle King, and he maintained his momentum. By the second lap, Enemy looked to be trying a bit harder, veering over to the side in an attempt to get ahead with a burst of acceleration. Whenever this happened, Cycle King immediately checked her. With a tight race such as this, Octolife finally allowed himself to get his hopes up by the latter end of the second lap.
Then everything changed at the start of the third. It began with another large crowd of Inklings and Octolings suddenly rushing around the building's lobby area. This grabbed the attention of the race's spectators and they started to break away from the race little by little out of curiosity. The two racers did not know it, but their race was losing its audience. Octolife didn't notice until he turned to look toward the lobby area, and he gasped. Amongst the throng of kids cheering and desperately looking at something that was not the race, he could see the towering figures of the shark security guards. Had a celebrity just entered the building?
Octolife couldn't help but go see for himself. Toward the end of the third lap, Cycle King briefly noticed the changed atmosphere of the track and was visibly shocked. Who dared to take away his audience? It better be someone way fresh! Thoughts like these raced through his head as he had no choice but to keep going, but Enemy remained laser-focused on her race.
By the fourth lap, Cycle King began to actually lose a little of his speed and focus because he was still distracted by what was going on. The fans were all gone! He could hear that they were cheering someone, but it wasn't his opponent nor himself. His eyes kept darting back and forth around the track to see where this was all coming from. Enemy was trying to pass him again, but Cycle King suddenly swerved to her side while trying to look over toward the lobby area. This was a disaster for him. The sudden move proved too much for his bike and the usually-talented Inkling bicyclist found himself plunging down into the area below. His squid form could be spotted jumbled up on top of the heap that was his bike, his squid eyes dazed in bewilderment.
Smirking with amusement, Enemy pulled ahead. The fifth lap was all hers, completely unopposed. By the time she coasted to the finish line, Enemy was so delighted that she began to giggle mischievously, parked her bike, jumped off, closed her eyes, and posed with her arms up in the arm in triumph. But no one saw her, not even Octolife. Not a single cheer was raised for this stunning upset. Enemy opened her eyes back up and looked around in disgust to see what was amiss. Now she knew what was going on, and she immediately drooped in disappointment, letting her bike fall down on its side.
"Who are these squids cheering for? That isn't me?" she growled to herself.
The guards finally thinned out the crowd of kids enough for Enemy to see, and the sight only made her even more disgusted. It was a celebrity duo, and the one strutting into view with her white crown poking above the crowd made her unmistakable.
"Pearl…" snarled Enemy under her breath. "She just spoiled my victory."
Octolife had been pleasantly surprised to see Off the Hook's entrance, but this gave way to worry the moment he turned and looked at Enemy's furious glare toward them. He sheepishly looked around and noticed that no one was cheering her victory in the race, of course. He approached the girl as her hands were clenched and she started to breathe harshly with outrage, and Octolife gulped and made a nervous laugh.
"Well, thanks for winning the race, I guess," he shyly muttered to her, feeling more uncomfortable by the second.
"It's her! It's the little snot-nosed brat!" exclaimed Enemy. "Only she's a big one now!"
She began to pace back and forth, watching the two celebrities as they slowly made their way down toward the track.
"OOOH, this makes my green blood turn red. That Pearl is my enemy, and that of my lady's! She will pay big-time for my humiliation, deserter. I must make her pay for this! Her sharks don't bother me. Just wait until she stomps her white boots down this track toward me…"
"Hey, don't get any evil ideas now," replied Octolife, waving his hands in front of her like pushback. "You still need to help me find Denim, and you just won. You still owe me."
Enemy stopped and stared at Octolife with irritated offense.
"It doesn't matter that I won this stupid race. The race was cancelled the moment those two entered! Now help me humiliate that petty princess more than just she did me, or I'll be the one not helping you!
This was the last straw for Octolife. Glaring, he folded his arms and stood stubbornly still before shaking his head firmly from side to side.
"No," he said. "I will not help you. Besides… I like Off the Hook."
Then Enemy's last straw was broken. With an angry shriek, she rushed to a nearby bag that temporarily held her Octo Shot. This was the moment they both waited for, except that Octolife didn't feel that this was the right time or place for a fight. Instead, he simply ran away just as quickly to get away from her, firing the Custom Dualie Squelchers he kept on himself to keep her away. He heard the shots of her weapon in his direction, but they missed. He was lost within the dispersed crowds within seconds.
"Must…find…Pearl," muttered Octolife as he panted during his run.
Humpback could be tight in places. The meandering corners made the crowd a hassle to slip through, and it was natural for Octolife to not want to get close to the guards, whether they were sharks or not. He could make out that Off the Hook were going toward the area where one chooses a bike to ride. He took whatever opening came up within the crowd and slipped in and out, slowly making his way farther up the track.
From the corner of his eye, Octolife spotted a remorseful Cycle King lumbering toward him. The poor jock's ego was clearly hurt because he was the only one in this whole crowd to be making a sad face. Octolife found himself feeling a little sorry for him, which he thought quite surprising. He stopped and allowed Cycle King to approach him and say something.
"First off, I'm sorry for everything," Cycle King told him. "I shouldn't have challenged that strange girl in a race to make this all a challenge for you."
"At least the crowd did not notice," said Octolife with a reassuring smile.
"Yeah, thank my lucky sea stars for that," replied Cycle King with a nervous laugh.
Octolife glanced back at the empty track and saw a concerning sight. He could spot Enemy, sulky as ever, now marching up toward their area, but she wasn't looking for him. Brandishing her Octo Shot, it looked like she was searching for Off the Hook instead. Octolife became alarmed and turned to alert Cycle King of impeding trouble.
"Forget about the race," snapped Octolife in a small panic. "Enemy is out for revenge! Not you, but Off the Hook. Come on, Cycle King, we have got to find them before she does!"
He wanted to take off at once, but Cycle King looked confused. He followed, but he seemed like he needed a little help. At least they were not in danger of Enemy seeing them. The crowd remained a stubborn obstacle. It wasn't that much of a concern for the two boys, but Enemy was slowed down by it. Whenever she came upon them, she just rudely shoved through, not caring about the dirty looks she received.
"Why's she called Enemy?" asked Cycle King as the boys slowly, but surely made their way up higher.
"I cannot say," replied Octolife. "Oh no. Not the jellyfish!"
Any of the three would be mistaken if they thought they would only run into Inklings and Octolings here. The jellyfish were also gathered around, and they were excited even if their eyes didn't clearly show it. Somehow, they were even worse to get through than the kids, because at least the kids were easy to see. Jellyfish are short creatures, and it wasn't too surprising for Octolife and Cycle King to find themselves bumping into them as they advanced. Thankfully, the jellyfish didn't even seem to notice.
"I got an idea!" exclaimed Cycle King happily. "Might not be polite with the jellies, but they're not fussy. Watch!"
Octolife stopped and stared at Cycle King as he allowed himself to fall back directly onto a jellyfish's head. The impact of the head made the boy not just bounce but propel him away. This particular jellyfish didn't even look to see who deliberately bounced onto it.
"Keep up!" called Cycle King, who then immediately went to bump into the next one to bounce ahead.
Octolife mimicked what he did, and he too was bounced ahead to the next one, and the next one, and all without getting yelled or glared at. If anything, one jellyfish seemed to turn to them quizzically, but it worked. This awkward tactic helped them cover quite a distance, and they arrived at the lobby.
"I would never have imagined that would be so fun or so easy," admitted Octolife to Cycle King with a laugh.
"Yeah, but don't even THINK about touching those guys," muttered Cycle King in a suddenly serious tone.
He pointed ahead, and they both gulped. The shark security guards were intimidating up close. Some were taller or thinner than others, but they formed an imposing wall of suits, shielding the celebrity duo behind them. They were also diverse, with a couple of classic Great Whites, Hammerheads, a few Tigers, a couple of Saws, and even an Angel. Their huge frowns only added to the tension the boys felt.
"What now?" asked Cycle King anxiously.
"We must warn them," said Octolife, trying to summon a little courage. "There is trouble."
Cycle King watched Octolife with impressed surprise as he stepped out toward the seemingly least-intimidating shark guard they saw. The Angel Shark's head lowered to peer down at the boy as he approached. Octolife could sense his shyness flaring up, but he only gulped again before speaking with a sense of urgent respect.
"Excuse me," he said, "but there is someone suspicious here you need to look for."
"Who?" asked the Angel Shark, and while the shark's head started to look around to see who this perpetrator might be, Octolife saw that the name tag on the shark spelled out, "GRACE." The boy's mention of trouble alerted a Hammerhead and Saw on either side of this Grace to look around as well.
"She's a girl that looks really different from all the others. You can't miss her, Grace," said Octolife with a little more confidence.
Grace the Angel Shark might have looked and sounded like the soft sort, but even if she was, she still drifted out of her formation and descended down the facility in an ominous, flowing movement. In the space she left behind, Octolife could see Off the Hook, and it looked like Pearl was practicing to keep balance on her flashy pink and white bicycle in her new form. It looked promising, as Pearl smirked with glee at her longer legs holding her frame up and leaving the nearby Marina to gawk in silence. Cycle King caught this glimpse and swooned.
"Ah, that is so fresh of them," said Cycle King. "Pearl is actually borrowing one of my own bikes. Gotta love the pink and white!"
Octolife turned back behind him to see how Grace was doing. Even from all the way up here, she was easy to spot, and then Octolife also spotted Enemy and started chuckling. With her hair, green eyes, and gear, Enemy was even easier to spot than Octolife thought. Enemy appeared to be frightened by the angel shark and started to move in the other direction, which only prompted the shark to follow.
"Silly Enemy is just asking to be escorted by brandishing her Octo Shot like that," mumbled Octolife to Cycle King. "You are not supposed to carry around weapons so publicly."
"Aw, man! I was just about to snap a photo!" complained Cycle King, who was holding out his phone at that moment.
It didn't take long for another shark to come fill up the space Grace left behind. Now with a large Great White in the way, it seemed to be the end of the line for the two boys.
"Keep your distance," muttered the Great White guard in a rumbling voice that made Octolife instantly shrink away.
"But Pearl's using my bike!" protested Cycle King. "C'mon, just one quick photo and we'll be outta here."
"Yo, what's the voice I just heard?" asked Pearl from within the guarded space. "That ain't one of you guys! This really one of his bikes?"
The Great White turned his head to have to peer down at the direction of Pearl's voice.
"It's just a couple of Inkling boys here," he rumbled. "Please don't mind-"
"Bring 'em here!" ordered Pearl.
Rebuffed, the Great White and his colleagues allowed the boys to enter by forming another, wider space for them to slip through. For their part, Off the Hook thought that maybe having a couple of lucky Inklings to come spectate Pearl's trial run would help add to the occasion. Instead, they became even happier once they got a good, close look at Octolife.
"Heyo! If it isn't Octolife!" exclaimed Marina.
"YO! This is just perfect!" exclaimed Pearl with equal delight.
"Hey, what about me?" asked Cycle King, feeling a sudden tinge of jealousy at Octolife's attention.
"It's so good to see you two again," replied Octolife, smiling warmly at both of them. "Wow, Pearl. You do look… gorgeous."
Pearl giggled, brushed her hair, and winked at the compliment. Already tired of Octolife getting much more credit, Cycle King sighed a little before he began to observe the bike Pearl chose to ride. Now with Enemy appearing to be gone, the pressure released enough from the two boys that they allowed themselves to savor being in the presence of celebrities, even if Octolife had gotten mostly used to it by now.
It couldn't be overstated how pleased Pearl was at this moment. Sitting upon the bike with unusual dignity, the powered-up princess seemed to be positively gloating over being upon the one thing that used to give her such a hard time in her younger, shorter days. Marina was all too eager to explain. The guards motioned to the group that it was clear to proceed, so they did.
"Pearlie used to struggle with bikes, it's true," Marina told the two boys as they approached the track. "It's not just dialogue for an Inkopolis News segment. Now with her super form, we might just witness history!"
"Ba ha! Once I get goin', Marina, I'll put history outta its misery!" exclaimed Pearl, even just walking on the bike making her giddy.
"Now, remember, Pearl," began Marina in her calm, explanatory tone. "Remember what I've told you on the way over here. You gotta keep your balance. Don't hesitate or freak out or anything like that. Just keep in mind-"
Octolife drifted from their chatter to look toward the track again. Not just Off the Hook fans, but any Inklings and Octolings were watching this "trial run" of Pearl's. He was glad that he can now relax somewhat. No more worrying about tagging along with an enemy. Sure, he had to find Denim, but at this happy moment, Octolife felt he could keep a smile on for what felt like the longest time. Pearl stopped and waited at the line laid out for her, spectators stood all around, Cycle King and Marina stood by to offer their warm, sincere support, and then Octolife saw her.
Not too far down the stretch lied a somewhat concealed Octoling girl, down at the side of the track where one might fall in the heat of a match. While there were spectators spotted down in that area too, Enemy's hair was just too red not to overlook. No one else paid attention to her, especially those closest to the action. Octolife's mood changed on a dime. Feeling a rush of fear and outrage, he whipped around toward Pearl to give the alert.
"WAIT! There is-"
He didn't see that a nearby jellyfish silently fired off its starting gun filled with pink confetti. With a beautiful smirk, Pearl took off with surprising elegance and raw speed. Marina gasped with stunned surprise while Cycle King began to cheer heartily, but Octolife only descended into total panic. He didn't even think as he found himself rushing on his feet down into the side of the track to run straight to Enemy.
After her bursting start, Pearl slowed down the second she started to feel wobbling. Still moving forward, Pearl now began to concentrate, privately as impressed as anyone else that she was still going without falling. It didn't matter to Octolife, though. He was zipping through whatever kids stood in the way and rammed into the jellyfish to bounce farther ahead, still not getting any reactions from them. By the time he had gotten within striking distance, Enemy had pulled out a Splat Bomb from out of her hoodie, smiling menacingly.
"NOOOOO!" yelled Octolife with the force of a full-throated Turf War cry.
Enemy had only turned toward him in shock to see him diving upon her, knocking her down to the floor. The Splat Bomb was tossed high into the air before splatting several feet away in-bewteen two jellyfishes, and this time they looked bewildered. Their bewilderment was nothing compared to Pearl's. She heard someone yell and began to swerve wildly.
"HEEELP!" she cried, and her mouth even emitted sparks.
Pearl's long legs turned to jelly and that was more than enough to send her falling down into the side of the track, not unlike Cycle King. Dozens of gasps were heard all at once and the shark guards swooped down to help the rare squid form of Pearl get up from her fallen bike. Marina may come across as the calm and collected sort but seeing Pearl like this made her rush down with enough speed and fright to rival Octolife's.
"Pearl! Are you all right?" asked Marina, her voice full of worry at the sight of Pearl being lifted by her guards.
"Ugh, yeah," mumbled Pearl, who had now just emerged from her squid form to resemble a human princess being carried by a human prince.
Octolife angrily looked left and right, but Enemy had disappeared. Maybe the damage had been done, or she had something worse in mind? Regardless, she was no longer to be found, and so Octolife took a deep breath to relieve himself before meeting up with Off the Hook. Fans all around them only watched with deep concern and muttered and grumbled among each other over what went wrong.
"Aight, Marina, that does it," groaned Pearl, now back on her feet and putting her fallen crown back on. "No more stupid bike rides for me. This stuff is dangerous, yo. You can keep your bikes while I can keep my limo!"
"Aw, Pearlie, don't get salty," muttered Marina. "Today was still the best you ever tried! Besides, you're not the only one to ever crash like that. Far from it."
Cycle King sheepishly stepped up, looking as if he wanted to say something.
"She's right," mumbled Cycle King. "I just had a race a moment ago, and I lost. Fell down the side just like you did. Don't be sorry, Pearl. You still gave my bike a chance, and even that's something to me!"
Octolife only stood there and left his mouth hanging at the boy next to him. This was the same Cycle King who arrogantly fought Octolife and his friends at The Reef, yet he was talking about an accident he didn't need to and telling it to Pearl no less!
"I do not think she would be mad at you, Cycle King," said Octolife to him, smiling before turning grim. "There was a troublemaker."
At the mention of someone causing trouble, Pearl bared her teeth and shook her fists.
"Haters STILL gonna hate?! Gimme a break!" cried Pearl. "Who was it?!"
"I… can't say," replied Octolife awkwardly. Cycle King glanced over at him with disappointment.
"Why can't you say anything about this enemy girl?" asked Cycle King in confusion.
Octolife took a moment to look over at Off the Hook and making a secretive wink. Marina caught on before Pearl did and winked back.
"It's top secret," answered Octolife with a sly smile.
Cycle King groaned a little, but he certainly wasn't in the mood to complain too much. Pearl appeared to want to move on, because she pointed at the shark guards to start leading them out of the building. Taking their cue, the guards began to escort Off the Hook, and the two boys were allowed to follow a while longer. Sensing that time was running short, Cycle King shook his head to refocus and glance over at Octolife with some urgency.
"OK, I guess I better spill the beans about Denim," said Cycle King, and Octolife listened intently as they walked along. "I saw that Denim went to play some Turf War, but with some stranger kids, not with any of you guys. He looked pretty salty. Depressed even. From what I heard from my team, they saw him playing Turf War for a good while, but eventually he just couldn't take it anymore and left. I heard he headed toward Snapper Canal."
"Snapper Canal? I will go to Snapper Canal. Thanks, Cycle King!" replied Octolife.
"You come ride with us, Octolife," said Marina. "We need to talk about this girl you met, but somewhere more private."
Octolife was only too glad to follow, and Cycle King gave him a friendly wave goodbye as the Octoling boy and his celebrity friends entered the limo for a ride to the site of another Turf War stage.
…
Taking a first limo ride can be an unforgettable experience, and it was no different for Octolife. From the feel of the incredibly-comfortable leather seats, the wide leg room, and the dark, but stately atmosphere of the inside, he took it all in, and the urgency of the outside world somehow faded for now. Off the Hook were aware of their guest not being used to this kind of luxury, so they allowed him the time to soak it in. Not until the limo had left Humpback's parking lot and got out onto the street did they begin their conversation.
"First off, since you're obviously not just your average Octoling hiding from the Inklings, I think you'd handle the full deets of how Pearl got to looking like that," remarked Marina, pointing at Pearl in her current state and privately still trying to get used to seeing her that way.
"That's right, octo kid, you're 'bout to hear the inside story of how Pearl got to be super," said Pearl, kicking back and relaxing on her side of the seat.
"It all began when I got that cryptic text from Pearl," began Marina, Octolife leaning in closer with keen interest. "I guess she wanted to make it some kind of surprise, and surprise me she did! I couldn't say anything. She claimed that a weird Super Sea Snail came out of a crate that was floating from a balloon, she picked it up, and then just like that, her legs grew up! Her whole body got a complete remodeling. Naturally, you'd think Pearl would want us to shake up Off the Hook, and you'd be right. My little Pearlie has been super ever since, and everyone seems to love her now. Well, except for this one girl you met. None of our live performances feel the same. If anything, it's a shame that she can't bounce up and down like she used to."
"Yeah, doing that while big was way more tiring than I thought," said Pearl, "but I ain't complaining. I don't think I wanna go back to my li'l ol' self anymore. May not look like it to you, but sometimes the haters poking at my height kinda hurt me on the inside. Now, that won't even be a thing anymore!"
"Super Sea Snails are bizarre creatures," added Octolife. "It sounds like you might have discovered a new species, Pearl."
Pearl shrugged her shoulders while Marina nodded at his suggestion.
"That's what I thought too," said Marina. "The only problem I can think of for that theory, though, is how it came. How did it get in a box? Was it being shipped? Where did it come from?"
"Meh, sometimes you think too much, Marina," replied Pearl, waving her hand at her dismissively. "It's sure not poison! Whatever it is and wherever it came from, it's been all cool with me. Besides, it's super!"
For the next twenty or so minutes the three discussed this Super Sea Snail and its implications. Octolife also told them about Enemy and what she and the Octarians were up, and they became unusually tense, especially Marina. Their limo continued on its trip through the winding streets of Inkopolis, attracting the curious eyes of its fishy residents as it went. The day remained sunny and pleasant beyond the limo's many tinted windows. Octolife would take some time to look through these windows, noticing that the city streets gradually became lower in population and development.
By the time their limousine arrived at the tail end of Snapper Canal, Octolife was determined to get out and search once again. He waved goodbye to Off the Hook, but not before Pearl stopped him just before he could shut the door.
"Yo! If you ever see Denim, tell him Super Pearl said hi!" she called out to him.
"OK, I will do that," answered Octolife. And once he shut the door, the limo left him to stare around at the new stage he was dropped off.
…
Despite its rough, under-construction appearance, Octolife was surprised at how strangely calm Snapper Canal was. With no Turf War currently going on, he took advantage of this by wandering around, thinking that he could even treat this like a recon for whenever he would play here. He could see the narrow, artificial river that was fittingly-named the Snapper River, with its popular ducks drifting along it and making a few cute quacks. The hum and rumble of bulldozers driven by jellyfishes was ever present, though Octolife couldn't help but wonder what exactly they were doing. They weren't doing anything to the river, and despite a few signs and tape in places, he couldn't tell that they weren't digging or moving things around.
Eye-catching graffiti lined the many walls of this area. A bridge lied overhead that was occasionally driven over by a rickety train. Octolife was enjoying this sight-seeing, until an obvious problem finally forced him to pause. Denim was not here.
"He's not here," he muttered under his breath in disappointment.
Groaning, he shook his head and tried to look around with a more critical eye. Not a single kid was here, squid or octopus. This really did seem to look like a normal recon session. Octolife began to walk out of there in disillusionment, his Squelchers drooping down at his sides.
(Guess Cycle King was wrong. There's not even a match going on. What a waste of time, and I'm all alone all the way out here in the city. There better be a spare trolley around here. Wait… what was that?)
He turned his head up to see a strange shape scurry off from beneath a nearby cliff. As it lumbered along, Octolife peered closely over the cliff to catch this odd shape going up from behind the bumpers into a nearby alley. Glaring with suspicion, Octolife held tightly to his Squelchers as he decided to follow this strange, hooded figure. He had suspicions, but he just had to follow to find out.
Octolife slipped past some fencing while following this creature, who took no notice of him. Past the quiet, empty street beyond the canal, Octolife could see that this creature slipped into a dark alley. By now, he could no longer help it. This happened to be another Octarian goon on the loose.
(OK, that is definitely an Octarian. Probably part of another covert operation. Why else would it be sneaking around a Turf War stage when no one's playing? I'm not afraid of the creeps. I knew them.)
So Octolife entered the dark alley himself. The hooded Octarian was better used to its hoodie than previous ones, because it shuffled up onto a nearby platform without tripping once. This platform was Octarian technology as it immediately floated up with the Octarian on top of it. Octolife hid behind a trash can to watch it go up. After it had transported it up to the rooftop to hop off, it descended back down, and Octolife promptly hopped on. He got prepared for a fight, clutching his Squelchers tighter with the platform's rise.
When he reached the top, he came upon a familiar sight, but still different from what had been Enemy's operation. This one featured a hushed gathering of Octarians moving around as quietly as they could, and not one, but two Octolings handling what were clearly crates. An Octosniper was using its mouth not for sniping but for blowing air to make balloons. Because he was standing unabashed in plain sight, the Octarians only stopped what they were doing to stare at him with blank faces.
"We have company," said one Octoling girl to another, both of them nearly identical to Enemy but with slightly different voices and wearing their Octoling Shades.
"Yes, he just found out our delivery service!" exclaimed the other Octoling, before looking around at the dumbfounded Octarians with exasperation. "Hey, Octoheads! That guy is a deserter, not one of us!"
The Octarians shook their heads as if to refocus and a trio of Octotroopers charged at Octolife on their little feet instead of on vehicles. These Octolife splatted easily. The Octosniper in charge of blowing balloons jumped a little in its position, knocking over its device and raising up an ordinary Charger-like weapon instead. Its move happened so quickly that Octolife didn't have enough time to rush to stop it but rolled away towards the crates. The Octosniper began firing, and with each shot, Octolife dodged to cause it to destroy the crates instead.
That was when he saw what they were delivering, and he was aghast. They were the Super Sea Snails Pearl had claimed, and they truly did not stay still. The snails leaped high into the air after their crates were destroyed, and they began to slide around the rootop. Octolife tried to avoid them out of fright, but the two Octolings watching the fight only smirked wickedly.
"Look at that! Our Super Sea Snails are loose!" cried one Octoling with delight.
"And it looks like the perfect time to start Octavia's experiment!" replied the other. "Troops! To the snails!"
At her order, the remaining Octotroopers began to scurry around the rooftop, touching each snail as they could. Octolife couldn't believe his eyes. The Octarians began to grow larger, and with a gang of five, space had gotten to be a problem on this formerly quiet and uneventful rooftop.
"Ahhaha! We have the big boys now!" cheered the Octoling on the left.
"Good luck dodge-rolling with them in the way, Inkling lover," sneered the Octoling on the right.
Octolife stared nervously at the larger Octotroopers merely staring back with their green eyes. He might have been in a tight spot but his raised Squelchers kept the enemies away at least a little. However, he saw that there was one snail that had not been caught, and it was heading for the end of the roof!
Octolife lunged at this snail, just as the Octotroopers descended on him. His well-timed roll prevented him from getting flattened by their increased weight but the last snail proved to be elusive. It dropped off the roof, dropping all the way down before landing with a clatter on the sidewalk and sliding across the street. Octolife could only watch it go as the Octotroopers had struggled to slowly get back up for another potential flattening.
(Think, think… how can I get that snail? Oh! I hope this works.)
After trying to close his eyes and think for a few seconds, he decided to make a risky but necessary move given his circumstances. Turning to face a certain direction, he could sense a far-off signal, and he was quietly impressed. He immediately went into octopus form, got ready as the Octotroopers began to approach him again, and then super-jumped with all of his might. The Octotroopers were piled on top of each other with no Octoling boy underneath.
What Octolife had done was super-jump back to a Spawn Point that was still on. Relieved to be back in the Turf War setting, he could see the Super Sea Snail now sliding down a slope. Unfortunately, he could hear that the Octarians were not pleased with this setback and had gone to drastic measures. From his perch, he could see that the giant Octotroopers had rolled themselves off their building and were rolling down to confront him, with the two Octolings catching up behind.
Ignoring them, Octolife instead pursued the snail. Try as he might, his speed was not enough to catch this snail in the end. It had bounced off a wall and was now heading toward the canal itself. He dodge-rolled twice, and he fell short. The snail splashed into the water, and with Octolings sharing the Inklings' aversion to water, Octolife could only sadly watch the snail float away. With nowhere to run now, Octolife turned to bitterly face his enemies as they arrived at the scene.
"I guess you could say we are on a roll?" asked the Octoling on the right. "We must get you before…"
She didn't finish, because at that very moment, there was a sudden splashing of water that startled the Octolings away from the canal unless they got hit by the dangerous liquid. Everyone looked to the canal to see that the snail was ultimately caught, but by something that was no cephalopod. A mallard duck had approached the snail as it briefly floated down the river, and all it took was one nibble with its bill to transform. Now the duck had turned into an enormous size, bigger than any goose or swan. Alarmed at its sudden growth, the duck kept quacking in surprise, splashing water and frightening everyone into keeping their distance.
"OH NO! That stupid duck has taken our last snail!" cried the Octoling on the left. "Look at that avian monstrosity!"
It wasn't done yet. The duck came up onto land and began to stomp around the bottom of the stage chasing even the bigger Octotroopers for having intruded into his territory. The Octotroopers remained expressionless, but their frowning mouths showed that they didn't like this at all. Fortunately for Octolife, he managed to super-jump back to the spawn point again and began to laugh at his enemies being scattered by a giant, aggressive duck.
"Look out! Pearl called those things 'evil' once!" mocked Octolife.
"We'll remember this, traitor!" yelled an Octoling as she and her comrade fled the stage in a huff, their Octarians rolling right behind them.
With its intruders gone, the giant duck calmly went back to his water and floated down the canal and out of sight, although its large size made it take up the whole canal on its way down. Octolife breathed a sigh of relief, not for the first time, and chuckled again.
(Well, that was fun… but I still haven't found Denim.)
This fact still didn't fail to make him feel down again as he walked dejectedly out of Snapper Canal to try to find a way back.
…
Predictably, it was a long, disillusioned trip back to Inkopolis Square. Lost and lonely, he had no choice but to search for a stray, friendly trolley. He flagged one down two blocks from Snapper Canal. This trolley wasn't going directly to Inkopolis Square, but another stage called Starfish Mainstage, which needed no introduction to Octolife. It was a famous, literal stage where the city's best and brightest stars performed, and he listened to the teams talk strategy as they rode over. He only wished his team, if it was still together, could be doing that again soon.
The setting sun shimmered over Starfish Mainstage as the teams left for their rather unique evening match. Octolife hopped off, then went to another trolley stop that would finally take him to the Square. Unfortunately, the trolley seemed to take its time, and Octolife waited somewhat impatiently as the sun slowly slipped away. It was getting almost dark by the time the trolley showed up at last. It turned out that the trolley was running late due to the mysterious disappearance of the very trolley Enemy and her Octarians had stolen and it was supposed to meet up with that one. Of course, Octolife could not say a word about the whole ordeal, as much as he wanted to, but he kept quiet as he heard the Inklings and Octolings talk about how weird it was for the normally fast and efficient trolley system to be missing one.
By the time Octolife returned to Inkopolis Square, it was night. He privately had to admit that it was intriguing to be in the Square at night when a Splatfest wasn't going on. It wasn't dead. A few kids were hanging out at Deca Tower to schedule special nighttime matches. The Shoal was the most active place in the Square since this arcade had no problem staying open with its neon signs blaring. The Crust Bucket and the Galleria were shut tight, and the entrance to Grizzco Industries somehow looked even more uninviting with its dark, obscure location.
(What will I do now? The girls must be worried sick. Denim is still missing. And I'm still on borrowed time. Will someone ever help the likes of me now?)
Octolife sat at the empty table in front of Ye Olde Cloth Shoppe, his team's favorite. He buried his face in his hands and sighed deeply. Then he heard the footsteps of someone approaching. He looked up but had to look down for this person. His spikes and one green eye that strangely seemed to glow in this darkness were unmistakable. It was Murch, the small urchin Octolife had heard about from Denim.
"Hey, chum," greeted Murch. "I've been noticing you running around Inkopolis lately."
"You have?" asked Octolife with a little surprise.
"Yeah, I can see a lot, even though it may look like I do nothing buy play Squid Jump," said Murch. "Anyway, ever since Super Pearl happened, I've been kinda obsessed with the Super Sea Snail she got. I see you got what it takes to help me out."
He turned to look at the café where he would normally sit by. It was obviously closed, but he still couldn't but help at fawn over the one who likes to go there.
"Man, I bet Spyke would love to see one," muttered Murch affectionately. "He's usually a pretty chill guy but imagine the look on his face if he saw me use one right in front of him! That would get his eye off his laptop. You have to help me make that happen."
"OK, but I have a favor to ask, too," added Octolife. "I could help you get a red Super Sea Snail, if you can help me find Denim, my teammate."
"Sure, sure, no problem," agreed Murch, and this cheered up Octolife considerably. "It's gotten pretty late. What kind of home do you have?"
"There's a place where me and my kind go," said Octolife as he got up to lead the way. "Follow me."