AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'd like to apologize greatly for this chapter being so late! I'm still planning out the ending, so it's taken me a while to make a final plan. I hope you understand! The next few chapters may be late as well, so please be aware of that! Anyway, enjoy the story, we're almost done!
"THEY'VE WHAT?!" yelled Nero.
"Sir, I kid you not! Edith has been killed!" said an Octoling Elite.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Nero grabbed the elite by the throat.
"BUT I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!"
"SHUT UP!" Nero kicked the Elite in the stomach and threw her aside. "It matters little who was responsible, for ALL of the Inklings will DIE! Our ultimate weapon is finally finished, and we shall unleash its immed-"
"Not yet!" said Octavio, entering the room.
"Wh-WHAT?! But sire-"
"The weapon hasn't undergone the proper testing. We need to make sure everything is okay and make sure everything works properly. We don't want to accidentally destroy ourselves, now do we?"
"But sire...we MUST kill them at once!"
"Don't worry, we will attack. Let them enjoy their final moments... I assure you, we will strike by dawn tomorrow...Prepare the army! If the weapon fails, we'll take them out by force."
"And what about the-?"
"We'll use that, too. Ha ha ha..."
Meanwhile
"Well, team..." said Cuttlefish at the discussion table in the base, "This could be our final meeting before the final battle."
"True," said Nathan.
"Or it could be our final meeting EVER. Depending on whether or not we SURVIVE the final battle!" said an agent.
"Don't be so negative!" said Callie, "We can do it! We just-"
"Casualties in war are unavoidable. At least ONE person is gonna die in this fight. We've already lost five agents on recon missions. RECON missions! Them Octarians ain't screwing around. They're dead serious."
"Stop being a pessimist!" yelled Diana, "That guy who's gonna die WILL be Octavio!"
"Yeah...if he doesn't kill one of us first!"
"Shut up..." said David as he kicked the leg of the wooden stool the agent was sitting in, breaking it and causing the agent to fall, landing with a thud.
"Wha- OOMF! ...Ow..."
"And keep quiet!"
"Was that really necessary?" said Nathan.
"Yes. Yes it was."
"...Anyway...We need to the proper preparations for our final confrontation. Armor, weapons, whatever! We must make sure we're ready! If we lose this fight, we lose Inkopolis and possibly even the rest of our world! We have no other choice! We MUST win this battle! It's for the fate of us all!"
"He's right!" said Nathan, "This is a fight we cannot lose! If we do, all is lost forever."
"Ya know what I'm worried about?" said Jason, "The fact that they might try to attack during Splatfest tonight!"
"SPLATFEST?!" everyone yelled.
"Oh no..." said Nathan, "That would be a PERFECT time for them to attack."
"Does that mean we'll have to stay up all night?" said an agent.
"We probably should go to sleep earlier today," said Smith, "Because if they WILL attack during Splatfest, we'll need to be well-rested and we can't be tired no matter what! We need to have as much energy as we can get!"
"The Ultimate Weapon might be unstable," said Abigail, "One of my squadmates notified me that they're planning on attacking sometime tonight, as long as the weapon isn't too unstable."
"What do they plan to do with that weapon?" asked Sarah, "Like...where are they gonna fire it?"
"Not in Inkopolis, that's for sure! They won't go into the city unless the weapon fails, so even if we DO foil their plans for the Ultimate Weapon, the fight will still be far from over."
"Drat..." said Jessica, "I was hoping they'd give up after the destruction of that thing."
"Do you really think they'd give up there?" said Nathan, "Based on how they haven't given up throughout the years?"
"Yeah! What about the war two years ago? And the Great Turf War?!" said an agent.
"Calm down!" said Cuttlefish, "This war is almost over, and the victor will be decided soon. Like I said, we must rest, prepare, and make sure our own weapons are ready."
"We should start now," said Smith, "We need to use all of our remaining time wisely!"
"I agree!" said Nathan.
"Very well!" said Cuttlefish, "If you feel the need to train a bit or something, the training yard is open. Everyone, make any necessary preparations. Weapons, armor, sleep, whatever! Get what you need to get done!"
For the entirety of the rest of the day, the entire Splatoon was hard at work. While some got some early sleep, others worked their weapons and training. Smith developed a final suit for the agents to wear, the Hero Suit X. It was similar the Hero Suit and Hero Suit 2.0, but had better armor and some agents had specialized versions of the suits or their weapons with special functions. Smith's own suit, for example, had his suit outfitted with a special headset that included a visor that could give him vital info on enemies. A scope was also placed on his Hero Shot.
Diana was given a suit with thinner armor to make it easier for her to move. Due to her agility, it was fitting that she wear a uniform that allowed her to use the great flexibility she had. It also came with some miniature versions of Burst Bombs that were the size of golf balls, but had equal amount of power as the Burst Bomb.
The Elite Five had abilities that fit their fighting style and personality. Jason got a powerful scope for his Custom E-liter 3K with a special targeting system. Tony got special boots that increased his speed when rolling his Dynamo Roller. Sarah's Range Blaster got an upgrade in both fire rate and range, as well as a new paint job with lime green flames instead of the original orange.
David got a suit with gauntlets that increased his strength, making it easier to carry his Heavy Splatling. His ink tank was also noticeably wider, in order to hold more ink. Jessica was outfitted with a helmet that included the standard headset and sensors that detected when an enemy was near.
Nathan's suit was the most buffed, and it was almost completely different from the rest. The safety vest was gold instead of neon yellow or orange, and it had golden armor consisting of shoulder guards, plates on his upper legs, gauntlets, and boots. His suit had two ink tanks instead of one, his left sleeve was labeled with five stars, and his right sleeve was labeled with a "4".
When night came along, many of the agents either got some shuteye or they were still training. Some were still asleep by midnight, and others had just woken up from their long mid-day naps. Nathan and Diana were among the ones who had slept through the day. At about 4:30 PM, about an hour before daybreak, the Octarians still hadn't made a move.
"I guess something went wrong," said David, "That weapon of theirs must of malfunctioned. Ha! Win for us!"
"They could be adding some things," said Abigail, "Or they may be playing with us and trying to get our guard down. Even I can't predict them, and I'm one of 'em! Well...half of one."
"I was about to say, ain't you a hybrid?"
"Be quiet!" said Diana, "They could strike at literally anytime!...Wait...where's Nathan?!"
"Outside," said Smith, "I don't know what he's doing, but he's out there." Nathan was standing on the edge of Octo Valley, looking at Inkopolis in the distance celebrating Splatfest. He knew it was only a matter of time before it could be ruined. The full moon shined brought, illuminating the parts of the night that the festival lights in the distance didn't.
"Thought I might you up here, kid," said a voice, the voice of Titan. He walked up to Nathan, holding a silver case.
"Titan?" said Nathan, "What are you doing here?"
"I came to help. I ain't gonna that city to some stupid high-tech octopi. I tried to do recon, but all the kettles are sealed off. I can't enter the domes. No one can. No one goes in, no one comes out."
"Really?"
"Yeah...Here. This...err...These might help you." He lent Nathan the case. Nathan set it on the ground and opened it, revealing its contents. He took out one of the objects, a golden Hero Shot-like weapon.
"What is this?"
"It's the Golden Hero Machine. That thing is no ordinary weapon. See that button on the side of the gun?"
"Besides the trigger? Yeah, I see it."
"Press it."
"Okay." Nathan pushed the button, and the weapon suddenly transformed into a golden Hero Roller-like weapon within seconds, fully powered. "Whoa! WHOA! Okay! Now THAT is awesome!"
"Thought you'd like it! Anyway...now to the REAL important stuff."
"Huh?"
"Like this." Titan took out what liked like a dagger. Its blade was glowing blue, and the center core of the weapon was brightly glowing blue as well. "This is something I found a while ago. I call it the Power Spark. It's ancient and it's no weapon. This device, when plunged into a machine, can power it up instantly regardless of the original power source! If you come across something that's not powered, just jam this anywhere into and BOOM! You got yourself a new machine!" He handed the Power Spark to Nathan.
"Really? What's its significance?"
"If something important powers down, you can use this to power it back up. It has three charges though, and you can only use it those three times...UNLESS you where to jam it into a machine that ALREADY has power. It'll shut it down, but give you an extra charge."
"So...this can defuse the Ultimate Weapon?!"
"Not sure about something like that, but sure, maybe. Even if it can, you'll have to get close enough to insert it, and even getting close to that thing could be EXTREMELY dangerous!"
"It's worth it if it works."
"Okay...anyway, this last one isn't as fancy but it's sure to come in handy. This is a remarkable Canned Special. I only have one. It's the Inknado."
"Wait...Inknado?! That's the new special I used in the Turf War right before I found this place!"
"Yeah. Remember, only one. Use it wisely and it the right time. THE. RIGHT. TIME."
"Got it." Titan gave Nathan the Inknado. "What else is in there?"
"Nothin'. That's it! But I'm going into that battle too. An extra player would never hurt."
"Yes...It-" Nathan was interrupted when he heard a faint rumbling noise. "D-Did you hear that?"
"What?"
"Shh! Listen!" The rumbling sounded again, and seemed to be coming from a deserted area nearby to the east. Suddenly, the ground opened up in the spot where the sound seemed to be coming from. "It's time. Their activating it!" Nathan immediately sent the signal to HQ, and the alarm was immediately sounded.
The enormous Killer Wail/Inkzooka hybrid cannon emerged from the ground, and nearly two hundred Octarian soliders, mostly Octolings, were guarding the machine. Octavio was in his mech, looking at Inkopolis in the distance. Nero was at the control panel, ready to fire. The Ultimate Weapon was ready.
"C'mon, kid!" said Titan, "Let's put that new Hero Machine to the test!"
"Right!" said Nathan as he and Titan slid down the outside of Octo Valley, meeting with the rest of the team with a ton of vehicles.
"Grab a vehicle from that truck and hurry!" said Cuttlefish.
"Whoa, who's the green guy?" said Leo.
"That's Titan. He's gonna help us," said Nathan, "Now what are we waiting for?! Let's move! Move! Move!" Nathan grabbed a motorcycle and he and the rest of the team rushed for the Ultimate Weapon.
The final battle...was about to begin.
