Splatfest rolled in, and all Octolings and Inklings took to their respective teams. Arowana Mall, Musselforge Fitness, and Starfish Mainstage are in for the Splatfest. Marina pulled out all the stops with her self-designed stage, Shifty Station, which had bounce pads, gushers, and ramps that lift you up a few meters.
A female inkling, with the traditional twin long tentacles on either side of her face, was in the heat of battle, steering Team Pearl to victory against an aggressive Team Marina on Arowana Mall, who had members that shoot-to-splat her team. Aerospray MG's were on two of the aggressors a guy Inkling with a bald mantle, and a gal Octoling sporting a bun, pursuing her Jet Squelcher and Tentatek Splattershot allies. She was on the high ground, keeping watch with her E-liter 4k Scope. She diligently put an Ink Mine on the pathway most accessible to enemies, discouraging backstabbing splats.
"Alright team, Ink Storm's ready, time to move! " barked out the female Inkling, as she tossed a contraption to the ground, fizzing straight to the skies. A pink-colored rain cloud materialized after, drizzling pink ink on the battlefield. Jet Squelcher girl, an Octoling with fair skin and short unmade tentacles used her range to splat the Aerospray MG guy, while the Tentatek Splattershot guy used the distraction to ink more turf along the side paths, charging up his own special move: the Inkjet.
"Right then, Tentatek boy, light those suckers up and give em hell!" chided the same female Inkling, still sniping away all who come within her sights, squidding occasionally to refill her ink. Said guy, an Inkling with the classic twin-tentacle ponytail, unleashed the Inkjet, & was wrecking havoc, spraying a trail of pink while lobbing big balls of ink at the enemy, forcing the gal on the Zink Mini Splatling to retreat, while still attempting to fight the Inkjet. The Rapid Blaster Pro was giving it her all, but got splatted for it.
Another of the E-Liter's allies, a guy Inkling with a spiky Mohawk on the Dark Tetra Dualies, had just respawned, spraying turf where the Aerospray twins made a dent. Suddenly, he spotted someone to flank: the Z. Mini Splatling gal, an Inkling with the side cut tentacle. While she was busy covering turf, he squidded to swim through the terrain faster. He waited for a few seconds...and the he struck. He dodge rolled to her position, catching her by surprise, using his mobility to his full advantage to splat his Splatling foe.
The one-minute music came to life, reinforcing the need to win on both teams. The E-Liter Scope fending off an Aerospray, but falling to the Zink Mini Splatling. The next seconds were filled with chaos and close encounters, the air running thick with tension.
E-Liter gal Super Jumped to the Tentatek Splattershot boy, anticipating her arrival. She duly re-set her Ink Mine on a rampart leading to her sniper perch, while the T. Splattershot boy went on his own way, hurling a Splat Bomb to start. And soon, the final countdown was upon them.
Ten. T. Splattershot boy was locked in a duel with the MG Inkling, both halfway to splat.
Nine... Eight. The Octoling on the other MG was trying hard to spray more turf, but was getting harassed by the Dark Tetra Dualies, which in turn was on the Splatling gal's sights, using all his dodge rolls to avoid the lethal rain.
Six... Five. The E-Liter was trying her best not to get splatted by the Rapid Blaster Pro, the mine doing all it can, but wasn't enough. The situation seemed hopeless, but the Jet Squelcher came in and engaged, giving the E-Liter some time.
Four... Three... Two... One. The opposing team tried their hardest to unleash their special at the last second to turf even just a morsel of the ground, but victory was favoring Team Pearl a bit more. The Jet Squelcher was successful splatting the harassing Aerospray MG, exploding in a blast of pink.
"Prrrrrt!" The whistle blared, the signal that the round has come to a close. Both teams came out of the battlefield, to a rear area where the map was brought up as they approached the giant screen. The graphic brought up the clash bar, Team Pearl's pink on the left while Team Marina's teal on the right. The two cats, Judd and Lil' Judd came in to decide the battle. After a few seconds, the bar snapped in favor of Team Pearl, 51.2% vs Team Marina's 49.8%. Judd held up the pink flag, while Lil'Judd flopped over, pointing his arrow-tail to the left of the screen.
Sportsmanship was shown, the teams commending each other for a battle well fought.
"Nice sniping there!", said the Tentatek boy, while being patted by the Tetra Dualies boy in appreciation of the victory.
"Like, yeah, this squid is a Kraken at that weapon!", said the opposing Inkling on the Aerospray MG, the R. Blaster Pro gal sporting short tentacles nodded in earnest.
"Holy carp, that Inkjet tho!", said the Mini Splatling gal.
"Oh that? Won't be possible without Miss E-Liter here.", the Tentatek boy said, nodding to the Inkling he referred to, nodding back in acknowledgement.
"Hey girl, want some snacks over at Crusty's?", invited the Jet Squelcher gal.
"Nah, I'm good.", she said to the Octoling.
The teams proceeded to the Super Jump pads outside the mall, taking them back to the Deca Tower. Team Pearl did not have a clue that amongst them stood one of the finest of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, only known as the mysterious Agent 3, the one-squid terror of the Octarian menace, and the first new addition to the Splatoon a long time after the preceeding twin agents.
Three days later..
The results came in, after a back-to-back series of all-nighter concerts that extended into dawn, after hundreds of raging Turf Wars fought, some of which may had broke some friendships. This Splatfest was the most highly contested, Inklings and even Octolings coming out in force to support their favorite Off the Hook singer. There were the die-hards, then the "go-with-the-flow" people, and then some who probably based their decision on a coin toss, like the mysterious Agent 3, whose leadership & combat skills on the splatterfield were top notch, but hygiene & socializing out of the battlefield weren't the agent's strong suits.
Noontime came, which was prime time for the results to be revealed to the public. Everyone was anticipating this, some even making bets on who's going to win. Stakes involved new weapons, gear, loads of cash, Sea Snails, or a combination of any of the aforementioned. Everyone looked up excitedly at Deca Tower's main screen, as the newscast jingle bopped to life.
"Ya'll know what time it is!", the voice of Pearl squeaked to life.
"It's Off the Hook, coming at you live from Inkopolis Square!", boomed Marina's voice.
"Yo, Marina! Hit me with the good news!", said the Inkling on the couch.
"Breaking news? What did you break this time?", replied the dark-skinned DJ.
"Haha silly!", said Pearl, laughing a little at her partner's question, "I didn't break anything! I was talking about the Splatfest results!", she replied back.
"OHH! The Splatfest Results are in!", Marina giddily realized.
"Aight then, now to see who's more popular!" said Pearl, brimming with confidence.
"Shall we find out then?", said Marina confidently.
The graphic for Popularity popped up, the percentage juggling digits for suspense.
"Bada Bada Bada!", warbled Pearl in anticipation.
"Buda Buda Buda...", mumbled Marina in response.
"BLAM!" "BUH-BAM!", said the duo in unison
Popularity put Marina at an advantage, 56.8% vs 43.2%. Some people in the Square cheered, while the others were in disdain.
"Aw, man.", was the only thing Pearl could say in disappointment.
"Yeeeeeeess!", squealed Marina slightly, her graphic sparkling, indicating victory.
"All right, all right, all right... Now for one part that matters.", said Pearl, opting to change the subject to put her initial loss behind.
"Yeah, popularity isn't everything.", agreed Marina.
Next graphic was Clout. They did their anticipation kiai again, while the numbers were juggling. The final score for Clout for both categories popped up, Pearl winning ever so slightly, 50.3% against 49.7 in Pro, but Marina scored the advantage in Normal, 50.4% vs 49.6%, another close battle.
"Are ya'll kidding me now!?", blared the Inkling rapper, her graphic sparkling this time.
"Wow!", Marina screamed softly.
"Now y'all. It's time.", Pearl said, determined.
"The final results.", Marina affirmed.
The three categories popped up, with the final results. And then it happened. Because Marina won two of the categories, it was consequential that Marina won. Color Pulse's jingle played for the dark-skinned DJ/singer, who is very giddy of her win.
"Excellent job, team!", said Marina, congratulating her own team.
"Well fought, Team Pearl, congratulations." said the defeated Inkling, taking the time to congratulate and thank her supporters. "Y'all gave it your all, I know it."
"Well, seems like I'm the better half. Well according to the law anyway." said Marina. "But hey, I'm still just a half, and a halve is never whole, Pearl."
"Aw, don't patronize, 'Rina. You've earned this one.", said the rapper. "Although...this one maybe kept in my archives."
"I hope this doesn't change anything!", said the DJ.
"Shell naw!", said the boisterous Inkling femme. "We're still Off the Hook, remember?", reminded the rapper. "And we. Are. Family.", she closed firmly.
"Off the Hook forever! We love you guys!", chorused the duo, standing to meet each other, putting their hands on each other's back, as a sign of sportsmanship.
"If you participated in the Splatfest, your prizes are waiting in the Square!", announced Marina, her hand still on Pearl.
The stage announcements & hiring announcements from GrizzCo seemed filler, now that the results to the ultimate Splatfest had been announced, seemingly coming by like a breeze, up until the closing spiel arrived.
"Until next time!", primed the Inkling rapper.
"Don't get cooked, stay off the hook!", they chorused, doing their signature pose once more, unknowing of what life had in store ahead for the famous duo.
*After-Chapter Bits:
Imma' need to list all weapons down next time. It's kinda hard having to jump between WPS(my writing app) and Chrome.
What'd be the reveal next chapter? Could it be...? And...another Agent reveal? But who was it?
Stay tuned!