The place Octolife had mentioned to Murch was an apartment complex conveniently close to Inkopolis Square. For Octolings who had journeyed out of Octo Canyon, they had to have somewhere to live. "Inkopolis Pads" as it was officially named, "Octoling Pads" to the Octolings that lived here and made up the vast majority of its tenants, was a tall brick building that was almost mandatory for one to stop when arriving in the city. New Octolings understandably scared or confused with their new surroundings were sure to find a loving community here.
Octolife was now having a conversation with Murch in his own apartment. It was a basic apartment only consisting of a bedroom and a bathroom. Octolife made do with what space he could have, decorating his home with band memorabilia and owning a TV, game console, and a fridge using the money he won in Turf War. There was no kitchen, and Octolife was not a good cook, so he only had an induction burner and a microwave for cooking simple meals. Murch's eye looked around this place, and he grinned a little.
"You don't have a bad, little place at all, chum," complimented Murch. "Crazy all the stuff you can buy just from gold won from Turf War matches, huh?"
"Yeah, and it sure helps with the rent," replied Octolife, nodding earnestly.
The two were sitting at a small table Octolife had set up. Murch continued looking around, and he was intrigued at seeing writing that he could not read. It wasn't written Inkling, but Octoling, which made Octolife feel a little nervous at what his visitor might be thinking when he came across a poster with such writing on it. When Murch began staring at a poster of Marina with written Octoling along the bottom, his eye squinted in confusion until Octolife spoke up.
"So about that Super Sea Snail," muttered Octolife hastily. "Maybe if I can meet up with Pearl, she might be able to help me find out where to go."
"I'd say so," said Murch. "I think she's got a little something going on at MakoMart later today. Some kind of autograph and meet and greet deal. Maybe you should go there?"
"Sounds good to me," said Octolife, getting up from his chair.
He went over to a toolbox-like case where he kept his Custom Dualie Squelchers. Seeing him pull these out, Murch became intrigued as Octolife got ready to leave.
"You plan on playing at MakoMart?" asked Murch. "I'm pretty sure it's going to be closed while Super Pearl's having her event."
"Maybe so," said Octolife, now about to open his door. "You coming?"
"Nah," replied Murch. "Besides, you'll need to worry about one less person. I hope you like crowds, chum, because I don't."
…
MakoMart, a supermarket that became a Turf War stage in recent years, achieved its status by being the biggest store in the region. It sells everything in large quantities, which proved to be very useful and popular for Turf War teams to shop so they can stock up on food to share among themselves. It was originally a pure grocery store, but over the years, it branched out into a supermarket and now sells everyday goods and even Turf War weapons. The stage's layout proved to be good for a wide range of players from those who liked Dualies to Chargers.
Octolife had set out for MakoMart in the morning hours, knowing that it was generally the best time to go grocery shopping for him, and maybe being able to catch Pearl behind the scenes before she could start her event. Unfortunately, by the time he arrived, he looked in dismay at the crowd of kids spilling out of one of the store's two entrances. Because he was not used to this kind of thing, he hadn't realized that people were wise to show up at a highly-anticipated event early.
(Nope. Nuh uh. I am NOT waiting in line just to talk to Pearl again. This is hopeless. Whatever. I'll still check it out.)
So Octolife walked into MakoMart by taking the other entrance that was not crowded. A jellyfish greeter waved at him with its long tentacle as he entered the store's clean, white interior. Even though the many products that displayed up front could be eye-catching, Octolife turned left to see the line. It was predictably long, snaking all the way up even longer than the stage layout. Pearl's table appeared to be at the far northern end. Octolife groaned, shook his head, and decided to go up the store's stage area since it was clearly closed for recons only.
Meanwhile, Off the Hook sat at their long table adorned with their emblem and colors. Pearl sat on her large, throne-like chair while Marina sat on only an ordinary office chair next to her. Each kid who stood to see Super Pearl couldn't keep a straight face. They were either struck dumb without being able to say a word, flattered Pearl with compliments for her new look, or started chuckling at the mere sight of her, though thankfully not in a mean way. Pearl kept herself busy signing autographs, amused and delighted that she no longer had to lean over or stand up nearly as much as she used to.
"There ya go! Stay off the hook!" said Pearl to one getting an autograph.
"I have to hand it to you, Pearl," remarked Marina. "Your signature never stays the same."
"You got that right," replied Pearl, already drawing out her pen to quickly sign something else. "My signature practically changes every time. It's never the same twice!"
Marina nodded, then looked at the long line ahead. While it was nice to see Pearl enjoying herself, Marina couldn't help but think that something seemed off this time. Autograph sessions were nothing new, but now that Marina began to think about it, these kids weren't exactly looking so much forward to her. It was Super Pearl they were after. This made Marina pause and think, her hand on her chin and closing her eyes in contemplation.
(I don't think Pearlie's gotten this much attention in quite a while. Now just look at her! No one can get their eyes off of her. But can they still get their eyes on me?)
This thought hit her strangely hard, and she looked a little nervous for a few seconds. Yes, of course Marina would still get some happy fans and a few autographs, but Super Pearl seemed to have changed the game. She decided to keep watch on how the rest of the day went, hoping that maybe she could be noticed even just as much.
Back with Octolife, he had made it to the end of the stage layout, but this left him hanging. Octolife was starting to feel more upset. He almost thought about leaving the store when a familiar face in the line instantly got his attention. Without falling off the side of the stage, he got as close as he could to the side of the line just to see if who he was looking at was correct. When he couldn't deny the gear the boy was wearing, Octolife couldn't help but cheer his name.
"DENIM!"
The Inkling boy with the House-Tag Denim Cap was startled at his nickname being cheered out, and he turned to see Octolife waving frantically with his Custom Dualie Squelchers. Denim felt a sudden urge to forget about the line and reunite with his lost teammate, but he resisted and kept standing there, though he did flash a grin. Octolife immediately left the stage layout and came up alongside the line to talk to Denim from the outside. That way he wouldn't have to miss his eventual meeting with Super Pearl.
"Denim, am I so glad to see you!" Octolife told him, happiness written all over his face.
"Me too, Octolife, me too," replied Denim warmly, nodding with approval. "It feels like ages since we met. Where's the girls?"
"I don't know," said Octolife, now starting to feel worried again. "I had to leave them for a while to go find you. Why are you here to see Pearl? Didn't you see her at the Square?"
"Yeah, but I want an autograph from her," said Denim. "See, I didn't care about all this when my brother tried to get me to see her because of our team's drama, and that made him mad. I thought that maybe I could get Super Pearl's autograph to give him as a way to say sorry."
At the mention of Mesh, Octolife's mood turned even dimmer. He was just about to give Denim the bad news about his little brother when someone cheered both Denim's and Octolife's nicknames.
"DENIM! OCTOLIFE!"
They were both surprised to hear this familiar girl voice, and they both turned to see an Inkling girl and Octoling girl standing down by the end of the stage layout now waving their weapons in frantic greeting. Denim once again had to restrain himself while Octolife was almost as happy to see them as his other teammate. It was even better since they apparently didn't seem to be mad at all for Octolife leaving the way he did. Clip and Octophones came running to give Octolife a surprising, tender hug. He was taken a little aback at first but kindly received it as Denim reached out his arm to at least give a shoulder hug to the group. This all seemed to be pretty unusual for those part of the line but at least there was something to entertain them during their dull, lengthy wait.
"I can't believe we actually all reunited at once!" exclaimed Clip, tears starting to well up in her eyes.
"So you're not mad at me?" asked Octolife, just to be sure.
"Of course not," answered Octophones. "I knew you were way more concerned about Denim then whatever shopping we and Clip did. Yeah, we had to come to realize that. We've searched all over for you two, and a funny thing happened along the way. It helped us make up!"
Octolife could only sigh happily upon learning this, while Denim chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.
"Sounds like you should've been shopping for me!" said Denim. "Get it? Shopping for me? Not shopping for more gear or toys?"
The other three didn't quite catch on, especially the Octolings, but Denim only chuckled harder.
"Whatever. The team is back, baby! Now if only if I can get out of this line as soon as possible…"
"Allow us," muttered another girl's voice.
The voice was instantly recognized by Octolife, and he was petrified. Turning slowly toward the source as the others still looked around, he saw that it was Enemy herself, and she was not alone. Three other Octoling girls were with her, and the only way to tell Enemy apart from them was the fact that she wasn't wearing her shades. Sneering at the team of friends, Enemy had arrived at what had to have been the worst possible time for them, and the best for her.
"Knowing where Pearl would show up next is just too easy a way to tell when you fools will show up too!" said Enemy.
"Hey, remember us, deserter boy?" asked one of the three other Octolings. "We were running the base at Snapper Canal you rooted out!"
"No, of course I would not," snapped Octolife, now becoming irritable by giving them a wary glare. "Octarians all almost look the same. I do not miss the uniformity!"
"Whatever," hissed Enemy, pointing her Octo Shot at Denim. "Now we have who the Captain wants. You're coming with us, squid. Get out of that line!"
The others in the line became very alarmed at the sight of these bizarre Octoling girls and their unique gear, not to mention Enemy's wild hair and scary eyes. When she had the gall to pull out a weapon outside of Turf War and in a public event, however, it caused a commotion. Kids starting screaming and raising shouts of "HEY!" and "SECURITY!" which were heeded by the same shark security guards who faithfully served Off the Hook at Humpback Pump Track. Seeing their approach, Enemy held her ground and merely put her weapon away.
"What's the problem here?" growled a Tiger Shark security guard.
"We want to play a Turf War match here," said one of the Octolings, who surprisingly knew Inkling language more than Enemy.
Denim was about to protest this lie until the shark spoke up again.
"MakoMart will not host a stage until this evening. Pearl is having-"
"YO! What's goin' on back here?"
Now Pearl was coming to see the commotion. Evidently, the sharks were used to Pearl frequently injecting herself into their business, as the Tiger Shark relented and stood aside when Pearl stomped into view. At the sight of both Octolife and friends as well as Octolings who were obviously not the reformed type, Pearl felt conflicted. Not happy with the Octarians but still happy to see Octolife had found his team, Pearl just tried to keep a straight, pretty face when addressing the situation.
"Whoa, what a time and place to see y'all!" exclaimed Pearl. "Now, is there a challenge we got goin' or what?"
"Yes," stated Enemy, bluntly as well as severely.
"Aight, that settles it, then," replied Pearl. "Yo, guards! We're gonna have a Turf War here. Right here and right now! I'll go ring up the manager if I have to."
Denim finally got out of the line, which now seemed to be in a state of flux anyway. Octolife found himself getting nervous, however. Now they were about to have another high-stakes Turf War match, with both members of Off the Hook and a much bigger audience! Clip and Octophones didn't look so sure about this either. Octolife wanted to at least see what would come of this before committing to this match.
"I suggest that we say who gets what if they win," said Octolife to Enemy. "Clearly, you just want some revenge. Fine. If we win, I want to have one of your special Super Sea Snails."
"Very well," agreed Enemy. "If we win, you will all have to face Captain Elite's wrath, not just that Denim fool who just put you all in danger."
Denim looked a little guilty but also confused. Octolife gave him a reassuring smile along with the other two. By now, Marina had finally shown up, looking much more aghast at seeing the four friends and the Octolings than Pearl ever did. Pearl just ignored Marina's shocked expression as she got ready to announce the match to everyone within earshot.
"Listen up, y'all!" yelled Pearl, perfectly fine without a blowhorn. "We're gonna have a match right here in MakoMart! And Off the Hook will officiate. It's a super special, Super Pearlie match-up!"
Many of the Inklings and Octolings cheered, though some were disappointed that their long wait in line seemed to be for naught, so a few groans could also be heard. The match couldn't begin right away because Turf War officials had to be called to bring Judd and Li'l Judd to MakoMart, so the teams only split to each end of the stage to wait at their spawn points. As they went, Pearl approached Marina and took the unusual step of leaning over to her ear to whisper something, instead of going up on tiptoe.
"Marina, we gotta keep an eye on those Octarian punks. There's no telling what they'll be up to. New Squidbeak's gonna be curious to know about this for sure."
...
It took some time for all the necessary preparations but the match between the four friends and the four Octarians was now set. The friends were in lime green. The Octarians in pink. The two teams could not have been more different. The friends had their usual outfits while their opponents all looked identical once Enemy put on her Neo Octoling Shades. It was Pearl's suggestion that the teams be given names for this match to make things more fun.
"I think 'Team Enemy' fits those four just swell," commented Denim as he and his team waited in squid or octopus form in their spawn point.
"What's our name supposed to be?" asked Clip. "Never thought about it, huh?"
"Eh, I guess we'll just think of something during the match," replied Denim. "Come to think of it, those girls have never played a Turf War before. Maybe this will be easy?"
There wasn't much time to dwell on this, for Pearl and Marina stood over on a booth with Judd and Li'l Judd. It might not have looked like it but they privately had a lot on their minds at this moment too. Pearl seemed to be enjoying an interesting turn of events, while Marina still seemed to be so concerned about it all. With her hands on her hips, Pearl peered over at Marina and only giggled a little.
"Don't sweat it, Marina," she told her. "I bet that Octolife and pals have this in the bag. Those Octarian girls don't know Turf War. One of 'em even had to be loaned a .52 Gal just to play! The other three got their weapons but you can just tell they're totally awkward."
"If only I had your kind of confidence, Pearl," said Marina with a sigh. "Even I still feel bad about how Octolife's last match went. You weren't there. I hope they can pull out all the stops this time."
At last, everyone was ready. The two teams emerged from their spawn points, staring coldly forward. Pearl got ready to start the match with the blowhorn that was brought for the occasion. And the spectators watched on the far sides of the stage layout, curious and excited to see this bizarre matchup.
"Ready? GO!" cried Pearl.
The match began about as expected. Everyone ran forward firing their weapons at the same time, splitting up in different directions. Although they looked less than pleased to dabble in an Inkopolis tradition, the four Octarians picked up the pace all the same. Enemy had her Octo Shot, while two of the other Octolings had a Splat Brella and a Blaster just like Octophones' respectively. They too split up and fired their pink ink everywhere, and it was only a matter of seconds before the opponents would square off.
It was Denim who met Enemy for the first time, and Enemy fired harshly at him. Denim avoided this rather easily, shooting a straight-line of ink with his Splash-O-Matic to get away. He also dropped a vial of Toxic Mist to throw her off, which it did.
Octolife saw that an Octoling was charging down the long aisle-like stretch on their side of the stage. It was the one with a Splat Brella. She let its head pop off and go all the way down. Octolife smirked, dodge-rolled out of his hiding spot, and aimed above the Brella's head to make his shots go down onto the vulnerable Octoling. She was alarmed by this, and it was too late. The Octoling's ghost floated back to spawn.
As for the two girls, they were going along the other side of the stage, running up that aisle to reach Team Enemy's side. There, they met the oncoming Octoling with a Blaster, resulting in a duel between two identical Blasters. They fired one after the other while keeping their distance. Clip came to her teammate's aid by throwing her Sloshing Machine at her opponent, and she succeeded in splatting her.
Enemy was all alone in the center, growling that two of her comrades had been splatted already. She was emitting an aura, signaling that she can use her special. Enemy burst into the air with her own Inkjet. From up there, she could rain down a slow, but deadly succession of ink shots. She tried firing toward Octolife and Denim but they got away.
"Wait back there at the bumper, Octolife," ordered Denim. "I may not know what she wants me for yet, but I'll step up my game!"
Octolife took off and watched Denim make his move. He let Enemy try to splat him with her Inkjet, but her relative inexperience made the dodging easy enough. A few seconds later, Denim's aura appeared after he inked some more turf, and he unleashed his own Inkjet. Enemy was visibly stunned at Denim floating up to her level. She was not used to an Inkjet duel at all, though Denim waited just a bit longer. Enemy's Inkjet overheated and forced her to land back down at the spot she turned it on, and now Denim fired. This was almost set up for him.
"Way to go, Denim!" cheered Octolife from behind his bumper as Enemy's ghost angrily floated back to spawn. "You finally won an Inkjet duel!"
Suddenly, a Sprinkler was thrown onto his bumper. Startled, Octolife ran out from behind it as the Splat Brella Octoling came marching in, firing off and on. He was forced to retreat back on his team's side that ran behind a large shelf and led to their spawn point, making it a base of sorts. Not only this, but the .52 Gal Octoling appeared as well, not seeming to be used to her weapon but still very much a threat. Octolife did not want these two to infiltrate his friends' base, so he fired his Custom Dualie Squelchers and dropped a Splat Bomb to keep them away as well.
The .52 Gal Octoling giggled at the moment she realized her special was now available, her aura giving her a creepier look. She entered inside of a Baller and began to chase after Octolife, the wicked grin on her face implying she was having more fun than she ever had patrolling Octo Canyon. Octolife ran up through his friends' base and went up the slope to the upper corner, chased by the Baller every step of the way. Once Octolife had dropped down back onto the stage, the Baller exploded and the Octoling threw a Point Sensor at Octolife's feet, catching him. By now, the Splat Brella and Blaster Octolings had teamed up to await Octolife, and his sensor made him a prime target.
"No! They got Octolife!" cried Clip from the top of the center platform, seeing his ghost floating back to spawn from the far corner of the stage.
She didn't like that their side was invaded, so Clip ran over and began furiously flinging ink at both Octolings. Enemy had reemerged onto the scene of the battle and was held up by a feisty Octophones. Denim was busy trying to ink more turf, aware of the fact that he didn't want his team to focus so much on splatting when they should be inking. However, Octolife was beginning to notice something when he re-emerged.
(So I just fell for that trap. But these girls really aren't THAT hard. After all, they're no elite. I think we need to be more confident dealing with them.)
Clip and Octophones had stopped holding off the Octolings and began to focus on inking turf again, afraid that the Octolings would be far more dangerous when they tried to team up like they just did to Octolife. This hesitancy made the Octolings grimly delighted and they began to invade the friends' base once more. Octolife would have none of it. Boldly going to his team's entrance, which was the corner of the aisle that a team could slip through to come right up to spawn, he fired aggressively on three of the girls as they were approaching.
He managed to get the .52 Gal Octoling and the other two to beat a hasty retreat. Octolife hurried down the long aisle to Team Enemy's side, where Octophones was. Clip and Denim had taken off to ink elsewhere but Octolife took his other Octoling teammate aside to tell her something.
"Octophones, we can splat these girls!" he told her. "They really aren't that much."
"Oh, you're the one to talk," retorted Octophones. "You just got splatted by them, and now you suggest we fight back? Didn't Denim tell you that Turf War is about more than just splatting your opponents?"
"But we can balance it all out," insisted Octolife. "Look, we can do this. I know you're still hurt by the last match. This is different. We can both ink turf and splat the Octarians as we go. I'm going to help Denim and Clip!"
Octophones stared at him running over to the other end of their side of the stage. The two Inklings were busy inking but they also looked tense and nervous of another failure. Octolife approached Denim after descending down the slope. He was determined to get his team's spirits up, starting with the team's unofficial leader.
"Denim, we must splat Team Enemy more!" cried Octolife.
"Brave goal, Octolife, but I'm sticking to our 'base' as much as possible," said Denim. "No risk-taking after the last time."
Octolife huffed in exasperation and it wasn't long at all before his desire for a fight was met. Enemy had emerged and began shooting at him once more. Octolife fired back, but with MakoMart's tight corners, he was pushed back toward the center area. Two of the other Octolings with a .52 Gal and Blaster were climbing up the shelves to gang up on him. It painfully occurred to Octolife that Team Enemy was the fighting force, not his team.
"What's the matter, deserter?" asked Enemy. "Is your team afraid of us? Pity. Before long, you will all be splatted on this store's floor."
Octolife had enough. With a sudden cry of anger and desperation, he started dodge-rolling in any possible direction. Team Enemy were put off by this and fired and did so way off-target. It may not have seemed like it but Octolife was still deadly-focused. He took out Enemy on the ground level in a flash, then one Octoling after the other on the top of the shelf. He had splatted three enemies in a row!
"Whoa! Octolife just splatted three opponents in a row for his team!" exclaimed Pearl. "Fresh moves with the Custom Squelchers!
His teammates were impressed, running up to him and everyone yelling "Booyah!" in celebration.
"You actually did it!" cried Clip. "Team Enemy might look scary, but that must not mean they're good."
"Yeah, I made splatters out of them," replied Octolife happily.
This made Denim pause and think with his eyes closed. When he realized something, he opened his eyes back up with surprise and started waving at Off the Hook to get their attention.
"HEY! I just got an idea for a team name!" yelled Denim to the sidelines.
"Sounds like we have an idea for a team name at last!" said Marina, borrowing Pearl's blowhorn. "What is it, team?"
"From this day forward, call us… THE SPLATTERS!" yelled Denim in reply.
This made his three other teammates perk up with interest. The two Octolings chuckled while Clip initially just stared at Denim incredulously.
"The Splatters? Really?" asked Clip.
"Yes, really! Team Splatter. Where we splatter, it should matter!" yelled out Denim.
"Denim… that's great!" cheered Clip, showing that she approved after all.
Pearl could hear Denim's enthusiastic words from the sidelines. Even she was impressed.
"Whoa, that's good," muttered Pearl under her breath, then she turned and leaned toward Marina. "Yo, can we start cheering Team Splatter now? We're secretly not unbiased observers here, ya know…"
Unfortunately, the newly-dubbed Team Splatter didn't have the time to celebrate their bond. It was now the final minute! Once Pearl declared it, the team jumped back to its senses and got back to work inking turf. On Team Enemy's side, the .52 Gal user was all by herself, awaiting her three comrades as they rushed down to her area by the corner.
"This is it, girls, we must crush that team of fools and make real splatters out of them once and for all!" hissed Enemy, noticing that her opponents had gotten newfound confidence. "CHARGE!"
Team Enemy charged with frightening speed around the corner and down the stretch of MakoMart. It was enough to get most of Team Splatter's attention, except for Denim, who was stuck in the middle still inking around a shelf. Octophones grew alarmed and rushed to Denim's rescue, using her Blaster to ward off an oncoming Octoling. Clip soon joined in with an Autobomb, and the stage's tight corners here made it more necessary for the Octolings to keep their distance from the bomb shuffling toward them. Once it exploded, Octophones tried laying Toxic Mist, although she lost a little focus and found herself falling off the top of the shelf into the aisle below.
Octolife saw that his team needed him in this showdown, so he threw a Splat Bomb at the area, then rolled in to fire at the enemies he could see. However, Enemy had thrown a Splat Bomb in his direction, spooking him into rolling right into the thick of the action. He had a special available, and so he unleashed his Ink Storm. To his surprise, the enemies remained determined to stop him, with Enemy pairing up with the Blaster Octoling. Smirking and nodding at her comrade, Enemy gave the Blaster user her approval to get Octolife. She had a special too, her own version of Splashdown.
"Taste defeat, Octodeath!" yelled the Blaster Octoling as she rose up in the air.
But just as she executed her special, Octophones had climbed back up on the shelf and jumped to Octolife's rescue. She had her special too. A second after the enemy had used her Splashdown, Octolife dodge-rolled once more to get away, and Octophones executed her own Splashdown. What resulted was Octophones splatting the Blaster Octarian with her Splashdown due to split-second timing, and this included Enemy, who had recklessly stood nearby.
"What a close call!" exclaimed Marina, her commentary joining with the excited cheering of the match's spectators.
"You… you just saved me, Octophones," gasped Octolife, getting his bearings after getting nearly splatted.
"Just thought I could return the favor," replied Octophones, smiling.
Clip had splatted the .52 Gal Octarian over on Team Enemy's side, benefitted by the fact that the Octarian was still not quite used to her weapon. Denim zipped around a perplexed Splat Brella Octoling, wondering why he was not so interested in her right now. It was because it was the last minute, so Denim wanted to ink more than splat for now on. With Enemy and her teammate sent all the way back to spawn, Team Splatter now had the general area to themselves for the remaining seconds.
"GAME!" screeched Pearl.
At the sound of the end of the match, both teams took the usual step of going back to their spawn points, then stepping out to await the results. This was the moment Judd and Li'l Judd waited for. Once the teams had stepped away, the two cats began quickly inspecting up and down the store.
It wasn't even close. As Denim and Octolife had suspected, Team Enemy was simply too new to Turf War, whatever their experience in combat. Team Splatter's lime green had overwhelmed Team Enemy's pink. The two judges were already done, then declared that Team Splatter had won a decisive victory, 68% to 35%. The four Splatters erupted into cheers and began high-fiving, patting, and congratulating each other. Oddly, while they were clearly unhappy at this loss, Team Enemy only looked glum. Enemy just took her shades off and placed her hands on her hips, frowning at the happy victors.
"Meh, enjoy your short-lived victory," said Enemy, before sneering. "Consider this just a warm-up. You're not bad, Denim. Captain Elite should have a worthy opponent, at least."
Denim turned from his team to approach Enemy, his curiosity flaring up over what Enemy had in mind.
"Alright, what's going on, Enemy?" asked Denim irritably.
"We have your brother," said Enemy, ignoring Denim's shocked expression. "If you want him back, you will have to challenge my captain. We'll even take you to our new base. Oh, and I suppose I owe you a Super Sea Snail, Octolife. We don't have one on us, so you will just have to come to Inkopolis Plaza."
"OK, I can understand a little of your Octarian to know what you mean," growled Denim. "As the big bro, I must rescue the little one. Take me to your silly captain! Captain Elitist won't even know what hit her."
It was settled just like that. Denim began following Team Enemy, and his team watched on with equal parts apprehension and suspicion. Octolife in particular looked disappointed about losing Denim again, but he turned back and tried to make a reassuring, but mostly uneasy grin as he left the store with the Octarians. No sooner had they left when Marina approached Team Splatter to deliver a message.
"Psst, you three follow me," whispered Marina to the three of them. "We need to have a talk. A top-secret one."
They looked at each other and shrugged, then followed Marina and a few shark guards to the back of the store. There, they entered into the back rooms where only employees would normally go, leading to a warehouse that had now been temporarily taken by the guards for whatever private purpose Off the Hook had in mind. It was quiet and dark, with no employees around at this moment because of the guards blocking the entrance. Team Splatter was a little uneasy about this until Off the Hook entered, smiling to make sure the team didn't feel more awkward.
"Don't worry, we're not gonna sell you away in boxes or something," muttered Pearl. "But what we ARE gonna do is talk about our secret mission."
"Well, it IS a secret mission if you want to call it that," added Marina. "We're just here to let you know that we're all in this too. Pearl and I… we're in the New Squidbeak Splatoon."
At the mention of the secret organization charged with protecting Inkopolis, the two girls were surprised and immediately interested, though Octolife had already connected the dots earlier thanks to his limo ride. Just to make sure they believed; Pearl even pulled out a shiny badge of the group's symbol she was given at some point. Marina could only chuckle at the sight before pulling out her own. Clip and Octophones gasped while Octolife just nodded.
"Check it! We got the badge and everything," piped up Pearl. "Bug the Squid Sisters and the agents, and they'll show you there's!"
"Yes, and you better believe we can recognize Octarians when they show up," added Marina in an unusually stern tone. "No way were we gonna think they were just ordinary, friendly Octolings with unique hair and gear."
"Well, it is nice to see this officially confirmed now," remarked Octolife. "Did you happen to know Snapper Canal was taken over by the Octarians too?"
"Yes, and we were JUST going to dispatch Agent 4 there until you took the initiative," said Marina. "Sorry about that. I was hoping Denim was going to be there, but Cycle King was wrong. We've determined that the Octarians have infiltrated Inkopolis in pretty frightening numbers. Now that Denim's going to challenge an elite captain, we can get the Splatoon ready for a big battle ahead."
Clip and Octophones looked nervous but then determined to get this mission started. Octolife already unwittingly had his experience, and so was more determined to do what he could to help. For their part, Off the Hook wanted to take this gradual for Team Splatter. They privately knew that they had already been through enough with their team's internal drama, so even with Denim going to the belly of the beast, Marina in particular felt that they needed a rest first.
"We'll get you refreshed before we get started," said Marina. "It's gonna be dangerous, but after seeing you four enough, I think you have what it takes."
With that, she led the three back out to the store, then gave the guards the OK to lead them back to the front. After seeing them gone, Marina returned to the warehouse one last time to ask Pearl something as she stood coddling her badge.
"Now, Pearl, we need to have a talk too," Marina told her. "I've been thinking about the Super Sea Snail."
"Thinkin' about what, Marina?" asked Pearl. "About how amazing and awesome and fresh it's been for me?"
"Yeah… maybe a little too much," muttered Marina. This made Pearl look over at her quizzically.
"What makes you say that?" she asked Marina.
"Well, it's pretty clear that the fans love you more than ever," said Marina sheepishly. "But… they're not loving me like they used to."
"Pfft, yeah, right, Marina. Of course they still love you," said Pearl.
"No they don't! They actually love you more!" yelled Marina.
This outburst surprised her into gasping and staying silent for a moment. Pearl looked even more confused about what Marina was claiming.
"…So, um, I was just thinking that maybe you could try to.. go back to… normal?" asked Marina.
Pearl shook her head firmly before standing defiantly with her hands on her hips.
"NOPE! I ain't going back to smol Pearl! Those days are over, Marina. I've grown taller," snapped Pearl. "I don't know what you mean by people not loving you. Sounds to me like you're just being jealous. Don't look at me like that! Maybe you've just realized that I'm finally getting the recognition I deserve."
Marina didn't say anything. She sadly turned to walk out of the warehouse. Pearl was left to stand alone and looking confused again. Before Marina could leave, she turned to say one last thing.
"You've grown taller, alright," said Marina. "If only with your new height you could see me better."
With that, she left the warehouse. Marina thought about the Super Sea Snail more on her way back to Off the Hook's booth. The line had disappeared, the crowd had dispersed, and Marina was left to feel uncomfortably alone herself. Sitting on her chair, she began to think of what she could do.
(That Super Sea Snail has got to be behind all of this somehow. I think I'll go visit Sheldon. He should help me get to the bottom of this.)
…
Even with the secret mission always staying in the background, Off the Hook still had business to attend to. They were still scheduled to have a new concert that night, this one at The Reef. The stage had been set where the two performed, and Pearl continued to enjoy her new, beautiful appearance that still never failed to wow audiences. There was one sight on this night that brought something different.
A young Inkling girl, young enough to tell that she was just getting out of her squid form, was clutching a doll of Pearl from when she was still short. This small, purple Inkling girl would wave her doll around to the beat of the music, and even amongst the kids and a few adults in the crowd, it was noticeable. The girl was only right there at the corner, only several feet away from the stage out of safety guidelines. Pearl could certainly see her as she stomped around the stage, and when she laid eyes on the Pearl doll, she couldn't help but briefly pause to make a touched face at her fan.
(Aw, that's cute.)
It was barely noticeable in the heat of a LIVE song since Pearl went right back to rapping and strutting around the stage once again. But this moment began to linger on Pearl's mind after the music had stopped, the lights had dimmed, and Off the Hook packed up to leave.