The following day, recruiting began. When they went to school, Charlotte, Teuta, and Erink asked the Inklings around to help with stopping DJ Octavio's reign. Jr asked the Octarians. A lot of people agreed to help, while others were sort of afraid of coming in contact with danger. It was understandable, so the group didn't fret. They met up at lunch time to discuss how recruiting was going.
"How did it go for you guys?" Charlotte asked.
"It was a pain, but I got a few Inklings on board." Teuta said.
"Everyone I asked was either unsure or didn't wanna." Erink sighed.
"It went well on my end. Octoling and Octarians were mostly up for it. I feel that we may need more. Let's compare numbers." Jr suggested. When the four of them compared numbers of recruits, it wasn't nearly enough. Jr sighed disappointedly.
"Not enough?" Charlotte asked.
"Unfortunately. There are numerous people in my dad's army and the amount of people we recruited is barely have even quarter of it. Remember they're scattered across Inkopolis while some still remain in Octo Valley. I'm sure I could get some of the ones working for him on our side." Jr explained.
"How will you convert them?" Erink asked.
"I can be very persuasive. I know what my people want and I'll do my best to provide it." Jr replied.
"Wow, so noble... "Erink said while resting his head in his hands admiringly.
"Anyways, we should continue trying to recruit people. If we can get a least half the quota, I can find someone else to fill the rest." Jr continued. They nodded and parted ways. They continued the search even after school. More and more people were willing to revolt against the octopus king. Eventually they got to a little over half the quota of recruits. The four of them met up at Charlotte and Teuta's house.
"How are the numbers now?" Jr asked. They compared and he nodded approvingly. "These are good. Really good. I know some Octarians that can probably help, if needed. But in order to contact them, we need to go to Octo Valley. Would that be fine with you guys?" They all nodded. "Good. We'll leave tomorrow morning, alright?"
"Gotcha." Teuta and Erink said in unison. Charlotte simply nodded. The rest of the day went about normally.
The following day they left early in the morning for the Valley. There was no one guarding the kettles so they made their way in. This was a mission big on sneaking around so, they kept as quiet as possible. Most Octarians weren't awake at the time, so the mission was fairly easy. They got to a base and there was a door with a numeric lock code. Jr swiftly typed in the code. Everyone was quite surprised at how he could remember such a long code.
"Dude, how did you even remember all those numbers?!" Erink whispered, surprised.
"I don't remember the numbers. I remember the tune it makes when you press the buttons." Jr softly explained.
"Oh... Neat!" They continued on their way into the base. They eventually reached an elevator and they went inside. It was taking a short while to reach their destination.
"So where exactly are we going?" Charlotte inquired.
"To the Octoweapons." Jr replied, casually. The three Inklings stood stiffly.
"Dude, why are we going to the weapons? Are you turning on us?" Erink asked. Jr stared, clearly offended by that statement.
"I'm not gonna get them to kill you guys, relax. I figured I could persuade them to help us." Jr explained, with a little bit of irritation in his tone.
"Oh... Sorry, man..." Erink apologized. They all relaxed a little. They reached the floor with the Octoweapons. They all followed Jr as they approached the first room. He pressed a button, which made a large door open up. In there was the Octostomp. Erink got tense again, because he was somewhat afraid of this boss. Jr confidently walked towards the stamp.
"Yo, Stan." Jr started. To the Inklings it sounded like another language. It was the Octarians own language. They watched silently.
"It's nice to see you, your highness. What brings you here?" Stan asked.
"It's about my father. He's successfully taken over Inkopolis and stolen The Great Zapfish. My friends here and several others are working together to end this. I want to know if you'll join our side." Jr said.
"Your highness, with all due respect, I can't turn on the king. Especially when we've ultimately achieved the goals we've been working towards."
"I understand that, but may I remind you what's happening to the Valley? The quicker we fix my father's mistakes and finally make up with the Inklings, the quicker we can leave this Valley. I don't want to risk losing anyone else." Stan is silent.
"I'll think about it..." he said. Jr sighs and turns to leave.
"He says he'll think about it. We'll come back to him." Jr said. They followed him out the room and into the next one; the Octonozzle's.
"Nozz." Jr said. She turned to stare and was a bit surprised to see him.
"You're highness... And friends..." she said. She also spoke in the Octarian tongue and her voice was somewhat nasally. "Why are they here?"
"They're friends of mine. It's sort of a long story. I came here to ask you a favour." Jr continued. She was listening. "My father has taken over Inkopolis and stolen the Great Zapfish. I need your help in the revolt." She stared solemnly for a bit. She considered what was happening to the Valley and what could come out of Jr being in charge.
"Would this get us out of the Valley? It IS deteriorating."
"If all goes according to plan, then yes." She simply nods.
"I'll fight by your side, Prince Octavio." She bows to the best of her ability, as she was still in her weapon. Jr bowed back.
"Thank you, Nozz. I'll do my best to fulfill your wishes." Jr said. He turned his attention back to his friends. "She's on board. There are two more will still have to persuade." They nodded and headed to the next room. It was the Octowhirl. Teuta was pretty tense about this boss.
"Don't worry. He's nice." Jr reassured her. She relaxed a tiny you bit. The Octowhirl was spinning around the room and humming loudly. Jr cleared his throat and he stopped. Upon seeing them he bounced onto his side and happily rolled over to them, the three Inklings hiding behind Jr for cover. He stopped right in front of Jr and hopped upright again.
"Your highness! I'm surprised to see you down here! Must be serious, judging by your expression!" he laughed loudly. Once again in Octarian.
"It is quite serious, Earl. My dad took over Inkopolis and took the Great Zapfish." Jr began.
"That sounds great! Right?" Jr shook his head.
"I can only imagine what he'll do to the Inklings. If we don't recruit more people to stop his reign, the Inklings can be sent down here. It's deteriorating and the Inklings wouldn't survive down here. Are you willing to join my side and revolt against my father?" Earl hopped up and down happily.
"Of course, my prince. If wouldn't wish the Valley on anyone. Even if we were banished down here." He bowed and Jr bowed back.
"Thank you, Earl. You won't regret this."
"I know I won't. You've always made the best decisions, your highness." Jr turned to leave and his friends followed.
"He's on board. Now to see if the last one will be and then back to Stan." Jr said to them. They nodded and followed him into the next room. The next room belonged to the Octomaw. They Charlotte was especially tense in this boss's room. Jr focused patted her shoulder reassuringly and called them.
"Marl. Are you in here?" He waited and the fish-like mech popped out of one of the containers. He swam towards them and spoke, in Squinglish for once.
"Your majesty and friends, it's great to see you all! You three look familiar have we met before? I'm Marl, the guy manning the Octomaw. It's a pretty fun job and all, but it gets a tad boring if there's no one to chomp! Haha! Prince Octavio, how are you? You've grown so much! I remember when he was a wee octobaby. Cute as a button. His father always said-"
"Marl. You're rambling again." Jr groaned.
"Oh, my deepest and humblest apologies, your highness. I was just excited someone came to visit. Anyways, what brings you here?"
"My dad's taken over Inkopolis and stolen the Zapfish; we're revolting, and are you with me or against me." Jr summarized.
"Revolting? Why? I thought Inkopolis was always the goal. Will something bad come of this? Are people gonna-"
"Marl." Jr growled, clearly irritated.
"Sorry, sorry. I guess if you know what will become of all this, I'm on your side. I trust your judgement."
"Good. We'll call you if we need you, OK?"
"Oh of course, your highness. Bye! See you later! Sayonara! Toodles! Tata!" Jr hurried them out of the room. He sighed once the door closed behind them.
"He seems nice." Erink grinned, looking back at the door.
"He is," Jr started, "But he tends to ramble nonstop if he gets the chance." It can be frustrating." He shakes his head and places his hands on his hips. "We just need, Stan- the Octostomp, and we'll be set. He's a bit ornery at times, but I'll do my best to convince him." They nod and head back to the stubborn Octarian's room. He walked up to him. He began speaking in Octarian.
"I need an answer today. Are you in or out?" Jr demanded. He looked down at the prince.
"You're asking me to work alongside Inklings, your highness. They're the reason we're down here. What makes you think they'll accept us if we even get to go to the surface?" he retorted.
"They accepted me. And I trust them." Jr said. "I can assure you that they won't turn on us. Things have changed, Stan." The Stomp sat there silently for a bit.
"What do you hope will come out of your little plan, your highness?" Jr huffed at his plan being called little, but replied nonetheless.
"I want Inklings and Octarians to be seen as equals. For us both to live on the surface." Stan stared in silence and then finally laughed a little.
"You sound a ton like your grandfather when he was young. I suppose you could use all the manpower you can get. I'll assist you." He bowed.
"Thank you, Stan. I'll assure that my plan doesn't fail."
"I'll be holding onto that. Good luck." Jr turned to leave and motioned for the crew to follow. Once they exited the room they turned to him for the verdict.
"He's on board." Jr said. The Inklings cheered.
"Now we can move onto our next step, right?" Charlotte asked.
"Correct." Jr said. "We should probably go before we get caught." They nodded and began making their way out of the base. They were successfully unseen and made their way back to Inkopolis. The following day would be when they'd put their next step into action: taking back Inkopolis.