DJ Octavio had returned to Octo Valley after spending a few days catching up with his wife. He was thinking about what she had told him as he walked through the door of his base.

'Could it really be time to give up these plans of taking over Inkopolis? Is all my father's hard work really gonna be all for nothing?' he silently thinks to himself. 'No. We've come so far. The goal is right at our tentacle tips. This time it will be ours.' He presses a button and pages Octobob.

"Octobob?"

"OH! Your majesty, you're back already?" Octobob asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Listen. I want the plans going into action this Friday, got it. The invasion starts this Friday. Inform the troops. Got it?" DJ Octavio commands.

"This Friday? O-oh OK, sir. I'll tell everyone else. And, um, do you want the walkie-talkie back? I'm sure your son would like to report stuff to you. "

"Yeah, sure. Bring it here. Bye for now."

"Bye, sir..." Octobob begins heading to the control room to announce the plans going into action. Inkopolis would belong to the Octarians very soon.

On Octavio Jr's end, things were going swimmingly. He was really starting to reconsider the Octarian plans he was supposed to carry out. He preferred to hang out with his friends at Booyah Base, watch them do turf wars and rank battles, and was even starting to enjoy their music too. His friends were glad he was having a change of heart and we're hoping for the best.

Today was the day he was going to ask Charlotte out. They were going to hang out at Arowana Mall today, so it was the perfect spot to ask. Erink was aware of this and would help the young Octoling out by distracting Teuta.

When they arrived at the mall Erink tugged on Teuta's arm.

"Hey, let's go check out the video games. I hear they have a new asquiibo coming out today." he said.

"OH, heck yeah! Let's go!" she said, while breaking into a sprint. Erink nodded at Jr and followed Teuta.

"We'll catch you two later. Meet up by the doughnut shop, OK?"

"Alright. See you two." Charlotte said. Erink ran off and Charlotte turned her attention to Octavio Jr. "Let's go wander." He nodded and they headed off. While walking his heart began to race. He was so nervous about asking since he had never done something like this before. They window shopped for a bit. Charlotte went in and tried on some clothes. Eventually they got bored of walking around, so they sat on the rim of a fountain. They were sitting silently until he worked up the courage to speak up.

"Um... Charlotte? Can I ask you something?" he started.

"Shoot." she replied. He takes a deep breath.

"Would you... Would you..." His face was starting to blush purple. She looked in his direction.

"Would I what?" Her pink eyes pierced through him. He gulped, finally mustered up the courage, and spat it out.

"Would you like to go on a date with me?" Her eyebrows rose in surprise and she was silent. He expected rejection and remained silent, anticipating her reply. She smiled gently.

"Sure." she replied. He lets out a sigh of relief. "What day and time? And where?" He tenses up again.

"Oh my cod. I didn't even think that far ahead." She simply giggled and patted his back.

"Don't sweat it. There's a carnival in town this month. We can meet there. I'll send you the directions. How's Friday at 5pm for you?" she asked.

"It's good."

"Great. I'm looking forward to meeting you there." She smiles at him and he somewhat smiles back. "Anyways. We should go meet up with Teuta and Erink."

"Right. Let's go." They head to the food court where Teuta and Erink were waiting. Right by the doughnut shop like Erink said. They l waved to each other.

"Let's go get some doughnuts!" Teuta exclaimed. They all simply laughed and went to get their doughnuts. It was basically a chill day of just hanging out at the mall.
-

Days passed and it was finally Friday. Those days went on about normally; the usual school, turf wars, and ranked battles. Jr received no updates on any plans, so he went about his day normally. DJ Octavio's plans were ready to go into action and they started that evening. Jr made his way to the carnival where Charlotte was already waiting. He waved to her shyly and she waved back. Before they started their date, Charlotte asked him something.

"Are you sure there are no plans going on today?" He nods and replied.

"I'm sure of it. Nothing should be happening for a few more days." She nods and then the two started off their date just by playing some carnival games.

Elsewhere, Octarians were starting to invade Inkopolis. They captured Cap'n Cuttlefish first. The Squid Sisters were just chilling during their down time, when suddenly Octarians burst through the doors. They gasped.

"An invasion!" Callie exclaimed. An Octoling had her at gun point.

"Come nice and easy, and old Cuttlefish won't be hurt." the Octoling said, smugly.

"You wouldn't." Marie said.

"I can and I will." The two didn't want to risk their grandfather's safety, so they complied.

"OK... Just please don't hurt him, OK?" Callie sighed sadly.

"Of course." the Octoling smirked, placing handcuffs on the two cousins. "Take them back to the base." An Octobomber escorted them out and to a UFO. The Octoling followed.

Meanwhile, Teuta and Erink were at home playing video games when a bunch of Octarians ambushed them. While trying to fight them off by hand, the house was thrown into disarray. The couch got knocked over, cords from the game system got tangled, and when the two agents did get their weapons, ink was spread everywhere. They were severely outnumbered and were swiftly captured. Cephine went and hid under their mom's bed when the commotion began. She was left at home all alone.

Back at the carnival, things were going well. Charlotte and Jr were on the Ferris wheel.

"I've really enjoyed this day so far." Charlotte sighed happily.

"Me too. It's the most fun I've had in a long while." Jr added. They were sitting very close to each other.

"Octavio... Do you really want to go through with your original plans? Isn't there anything that can be done to help the Octarians?"

"Electricity is scarce down there... And the place is really falling apart... Our next thing would be to resurface, but where would we go?" he frowns. He looks down at his fingers that he's twiddling. She pats his shoulder. He looks up at her.

"I'm sure we can figure something out. Things are a lot different now." She smiles at him and he smiles back. They were really close now. They were moving closer and were about to kiss, until they heard a scream. They stopped and stared. Octarians were there messing everything up; they were knocking over stalls firing. Jr's heart skipped a beat. Charlotte's heart dropped. She whipped around angrily to face him.

"You said no plans were going into action today! You lied?!" she snapped.

"Charlotte, no- I didn't-" he stammered before she smacked him across the cheek. She stood up on the seat and began making her way down the ride. "Charlotte, wait!" He called following her down.

"I don't ever want to see or speak to you again. You Octarians can't be trusted!" She called angrily. Those words hurt and he stopped in his tracks. She stormed through the chaos and eventually he lost track of her. Anger and sadness swirled around inside of him. He sighed and rubbed his cheek.

'My dad obviously has something to do with this.' he thought, pulling out his walkie-talkie. He calls his dad.

"Dad, you there?" he asked.

"'Sup Jr?"

"I thought the plans were delayed! What's the big idea?!"

"Whoa, whoa. Watch the 'tude, mister. You took too long and we got all the info we need. We nabbed a bunch of Zapfish, Cuttlefish, and most of the agents. Return to base now. Well, later Jr."

"Dad, wait." DJ Octavio already hung up. Jr sighed. He felt frustrated, hurt, and just all around upset. 'I guess my dad was right… Octarians and Inklings just aren't meant to be...' He begins making his to Octo Valley. It was time to put aside his feelings for the Inklings, and fulfill the Octarian dream.