Chapter 38: Taking a Stand
"At long last, my dear friends… all people of Octo City… today we rejoice. For today we can officially confirm that Pearl Hime, the leader of the wretched New Squidbeak Splatoon rebellion, that has been plaguing our society for 100 years… is dead."
The Thinker's voice was playing around the entire city, on every electronic that still worked in the outage, as the Octarians continued to work on getting the city's power back on. All around, people turned to their phones, computers, or closest working televisions, which now broadcasted the artificially-created mugshot of Pearl herself, to as many eyes as possible.
"The New Squidbeak Splatoon and the Inkling menace is but a breath away from extinction." The Thinker continued. "And we glorious Octarians… seize the day. Because no matter what angle the Inkling menace may try to attack from, we will always bounce back. 10x as hard, 10x as strong. My friends… stay strong. Because this war of 100 years… is finally coming to an end."
Inker Valley
"FUCK! FUCK!" Bridgett sobbed at the top of her lungs as she slammed another pot down. "THAT PIECE OF SHIT! THAT MOTHERFUCKER! FUUUUCK!"
The rest of the team, with the especially concerned Oliver, Jessica, and Dylan among them, stood in the doorway as they listened to Bridgett's complete meltdown in this dome's kitchen, while she repeatedly grabbed random objects and either slammed them down or hurled them across the room, sobbing all the while. Samantha shakily held her mouth, trying to hold off her own panic attack as she listened.
"WHAT DID SHE DO!?" Bridgett continued as she shattered a glass. "WHAT DID SHE DO TO DESERVE THIS!? IS THIS HOW IT ALL ENDS!? BECAUSE THAT FUCKER LIED TO US FOR YEARS!? I LIVED IN THEIR HOUSE! I LIVED WITH THEM! AND THIS IS WHAT IT COMES TO!?" She threw a box, spilling all of its contents on the floor. "MY FUCKING 'FATHER' GREW ME IN A TANK! FROM A PSYCHOPATH! AND FOR WHAT!? WHY THE FUCK AM I ALIVE!? WHY THE FUCK AM I ALIVE AND SHE ISN'T!?" More crashing sounds. "MARINA LOOKED US IN THE EYES FOR YEARS! YEEEEARS! AND SHE FUCKING LIED! SHE LIED ABOUT EVERYTHING! PEARL WOULD STILL BE ALIVE IF IT WASN'T FOR HER! SHE SHOULD STILL BE-" Finally wearing herself out, she paused, panting for air. "She should still be…" She dropped onto her knees, lowering herself onto all fours, as she sobbed on the ground.
Hearing the noises stop, Oliver and the others walked over to comfort her. He, Jessica, Dylan, and Jaxon all knelt next to her, some of them rubbing her back.
"Pearl lived her whole life…" Jaxon assured her. "She lived, she loved, and she had a family. Her life wasn't wasted. It was complete."
"She…" Bridgett kept sobbing. "We were supposed to be her family…"
Hearing her words, Marie also started to cry again, but she turned away and covered her face so that no one would see her.
Jaxon rubbed Bridgett's shoulder. "She spent her life waiting to see you again… and in the end, she did. At the end, we were all there for her." He squeezed it. "That's what matters. You made her happy."
"No… no…" Bridgett lowered her head as she sobbed. "I let her down, I let her down…"
Callie, who was silently crying as well, raised her hand somewhat. "What about her husband? And her daughter?"
Lucy sighed, arms folded. "…They're reunited now."
"I promise you…" Jaxon continued. "Her life was more fulfilled than you think."
Bridgett, although still crying, steadily calmed down as she heard that, sighing.
Marie turned more toward them as she lowered her arm, balling her hand into a fist. "…We better make damn sure it was."
Everyone looked at her.
"Marina, Lydia, any other Octarians that are out there… we need to take them down." Marie continued. "We need to put an end to this. We need to avenge her."
Jaxon stood up, facing her. "You know we'll try, but… we may still be fighting a losing battle. They… could be staging an attack on our Valley at any moment, after… everything I told them…"
"And? So what? We took their energy first, then we took their tower."
"It may not be enough…" Lucy continued. "We gave them a hit, sure, and we've bought ourselves time, but these Octarians… they tend to bounce back."
"In my world, it's the other way around. We tend to bounce back." She looked around at everyone. "So let's think. How else do we hit them before they hit us? What else can we take away from them?"
As everyone looked around at each other, thinking, it was Callie who first hatched an idea, speaking up. "…Their control."
Again, everyone looked at her.
Callie stepped up, wiping her tears. "M-Me and Four and the others, we saw it… we saw how they control people. The way that they… manipulate people, through that Thinker guy. He's all over the news. He's on every screen. He's the #1 source of information in this place, isn't he?"
"Yeah…" Lucy nodded a bit. "He pretty much is."
"He's definitely in Octavio's pocket. In every way." Jaxon added.
Marie nodded a bit as well, thinking. "Great, well… we have our target, and we still have a window where the Octarians are exposed." She folded her arms, looking at Jaxon. "So what are we gonna do?"
Jaxon, smiling a bit as a new feeling of hope came over him, put his own thought into it, and turned to some high-ranking soldiers in the room. "I need someone to start rounding civilians up, and get them ready for a full Valley evacuation."
"Yes, sir." They nodded as they walked off.
"For the rest of us?" He looked around, the small smile still on his face. "We're going to take away their control."
As everyone nodded and started to head out, Jessica helped Bridgett to her feet, who silently wiped her tears, looking at her. They briefly looked each other in the eye, sighing, before she turned to follow the others. As Jessica followed as well, she briefly stopped by Daniel, who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded, as they made eye contact in that moment as well. Daniel hesitated another moment and let out a deep sigh as ultimately, he followed as well.
As the sun once again set over the landscape of Octo City, lowering it into darkness, the detached labs from Octavio Tower was still floating up in the air above the city, invisible to the naked eyes thanks to its cloaking mechanism. A small Goldship soared up toward it, slowing down somewhat as it made its approach.
Inside, the many Octarian scientists on board were still working on their various Axcian crystal projects uninterrupted, despite all that had been going on down in the city itself. Octavio, still in his mobile throne, was still receiving updates on the full situation, including on Pearl's death and the tower's siege, but was continuing to lounge around, opting to wait for even more updates. After a bit, he decided to turn his throne and head back into the room where Marina-2 was working nearby.
Marina-2, still completely focused on her work, didn't even need to turn to hear that Octavio was approaching her. In front of her, behind a glass wall, multiple robotic arms under her control were assembling a fancy new syringe design, which was then slowly filled with a bright green liquid. "It's incredible…" She said. "My life's work… has lead to this. Such power in such a simple container."
"It's finally ready?" Octavio asked.
She took off her goggles and turned to him. "The prototype is, my King. The serum that will make the Octarian form more than Octarian, and give it Axcia's power… We have our first vials."
"Is it ready for the testing phase?"
Pausing a moment, Marina-2 eyed him before she awkwardly looked away.
"The hell's wrong with you? I asked is it ready for the testing phase?" Octavio continued.
"There may just be one small problem." She watched as one of the vials that was placed behind the glass was picked up by a robotic arm, and placed through a slot in the wall. She went to pick it up. "We've indeed proven that the serum can be made, but we may not yet be at a point where… a simple Octarian can hold it without dying."
"Simple?" Octavio drove his throne closer to her. "You've done all the math. All the calculations. Simple Octarians are what this thing was designed for."
"Some of my calculations may have been off. But it's but a minor setback in the longrun, I assure you. It's just that perhaps this design is for… something a bit more. Because compared to us… there's another type of Octarian that is more likely to be able to hold this serum."
Now he was just getting annoyed. "What type?"
"Whatever type you want to call Lydia Tecca."
He paused and squinted at her in confusion.
Marina-2 went over to the nearby table, where with a simple hand-wave, she summoned a large hologram of Lydia Tecca's file. "I was looking over Lydia Tecca's DNA during this research. Whatever's been done to her… whatever experiments that Gideon Tecca previously did to save her from her life-threatening illness… it made her different from a simple Octarian. It made her… stronger."
"Stronger?"
"Lydia Tecca's very DNA, her cells, her entire nervous system… it's even steadier than that of a fully healthy Octarian. There seems to be a combination of all the healthiest parts of what I suspect to be her clones inside of her. Not only that… but there seems to be mild traces of Axcian energy already inside of her as well."
Octavio paused he looked over Lydia Tecca's 3D body scan, where indeed, some small amounts of green energy could already be seen flowing through her veins to represent the anomaly. "…What the hell…?"
"I don't think she herself is aware of this." Marina-2 continued. "But if these calculations are correct… then she and her two clones alone could hold this serum. The three of them will need to be studied further."
He thought about that as he steadily clenched his tentacle. "The three of them already escaped the tower…"
"So we'll find them. Will we not?"
Octavio glanced at her before he turned his throne and prepared to speak into comms. Before he could, however, he was interrupted as the labs alarms went off. He looked up. "Oh, what the hell now?"
As they all looked around, multiple guards in the room started to head out of the room, while others stayed behind to defend Octavio.
After waiting a moment to see what was going on, Octavio regardlessly huffed and turned to one of his guards. "Send the word out. We need to find Lydia Tecca and her clones, and bring them back here."
A moment later, however, they suddenly heard Lydia's voice from nowhere. "You don't need to look… I'm already right here."
Octavio's bodyguards frantically pulled their weapons and pointed them everywhere before, again from seemingly nowhere, they were taken out by invisible gunshots, which splatted them. Even the Tartar-Bots were confused until they were eventually shorted out, collapsing. Octavio jumped in a panic as he looked around.
Marina-2 ran to grab something, but was interrupted as the other Marina, still in her black, scaly robe, suddenly appeared before her, accompanied by four of her silver drones. "Don't even think about it."
Marina-2 simply backed up, staring at her angrily. "…I advised our King to not let you run around freely before."
"Probably would've been a good call for you." She looked at Octavio.
Octavio stared at her, beginning to sweat. "How did you find us?"
"Simple matter of tracking some equipment I left behind here. I think ahead, you know."
He suddenly turned to flee in the other direction. He was interrupted as his throne was grabbed, held back by an invisible force, before he suddenly felt a painful stab in his abdomen. His eyes widened and he screamed, looking down at this bleeding wound.
Finally, right in front of him, Lydia appeared out of thin air with a sadistic smirk, with her blade still inside of him. She leaned toward him, as the two remaining silver drones by her side. "This is for Eva." She again pulled it out.
Octavio screamed again as the two drones opened fire on his floating throne, shorting it out before they went to join at Marina's side. The throne collapsed to the ground with him inside. "You-" He choked. "You motherfucke-"
"You don't care at all, do you?" Lydia continued. "About what you did to her?"
He glared at her. "What I did? You… you were the one who killed my friend all those years ago… my friend! The way I see it… I repaid the favor!" He coughed. "Do you care about what you did?"
"Oh, I don't regret what I did to your friend…" She leaned toward him. "The only thing I regret is not leaving him with a message… letting you know that this world was never supposed to belong to you."
"Hypocrite…" He weakly shoot his head. "Hypocri-!"
She grabbed him. "Do you know how it felt? Watching her die? Without so much as a body left? She had children… that are going to grow up without her now." She held her blade toward his face. "Do you know how that feels?"
"Baaah!" Octavio shouted as he kept bleeding. "Her children were gonna be happy! You know why? Because I created a perfect society… perfect! Look at you, you god-damn child… what have you done to help build it? I did this… me! You may try to take the credit… but I know what I've built! And if you kill me… you won't want to see what happens next. You're gonna need me."
"Don't be so sure. Because this world you worked so hard to build? It's ours now." With that, she plunged the blade into him one last time.
Octavio let out a last "Oomph-!" sound before he slowly went limp. Marina closed her eyes and looked away. Lydia withdrew her blades and stood up, wiping some of the ink from herself as she looked at the two Marinas.
Marina-2, seizing the opportunity in which Marina's guard seemed to be down, tried lunging toward one of the desks to grab something. However, she was cut off as one of the drones fired some high-pressure ink into her leg, prompting her to scream, and further knocked her down with an energy blast. Marina looked at her as she crawled away and leaned against the wall, and she followed, standing over her, with four of the six drones pointed at her.
"You…" Marina-2 hissed as she held her leg. "Do you think… that you're better than me?"
"This really hasn't been about good and bad… but… better than you?" Marina knelt down. "Yeah. After all, with everything you do… down to the tone in your voice… you act and sound just like Mom and Dad. And I spent a long time trying to be better than them."
"Because they taught me everything that I am. They taught me how to take control and make leaps."
"Then you shouldn't have listened."
She laughed. "You're both hypocrites… you think you have it all figured out… but we put in the work. Don't forget that."
"I assure you…" She motioned to her drones. "So have I."
Marina-2 laughed one more time, but this time, she was cut off as one of the drones opened fire on her head. She fell limp.
Marina stared at the body as the drones around her relaxed and went into stand-by mode. Somewhat shaken by what she had just done, she exhaled sharply and closed her eyes.
Lydia walked over, softly kicking Marina-2's arm to the side just to feel how lifeless she was. "That's that, then."
Marina opened her eyes again and stood up. "I wouldn't have liked this to be so violent…"
She sighed. "We've already discussed this. And we both knew they had to go. With everything they've done."
She side-eyed her.
Lydia turned and looked around at the lab, and around at the different scientists who were curled up in here as they stared at their two dead leaders. She walked up toward the hologram of her own file, with the rotating body scan that showed the energy within her very own body. She stared into it, with a clear look of longing in her eyes. "…Did you hear what they said before?"
Marina didn't respond. She could tell where this was going.
Lydia continued to look around, locating the vial with Marina-2's new serum. She slowly went to pick it up. "After all these years… all these… miserable years…" A smile slowly formed on her face as she rubbed it. "I was more special than I realized. My father… gave me more than I realized." After another moment, she suddenly chuckled. "And here I thought… he was sending me out into the cosmos for death. To get rid of me. But maybe… he really was sending me to find my purpose." She looked back at Marina. "Maybe my fate is etched in the stars."
Marina rose her hand. "Slow down a bit. You don't know… what all the serum would do to you."
Thinking about it, she suddenly turned toward the other, terrified scientists in the room. "Some months ago, when I first touched one of these crystals, I had a vision." She announced. "Of a grand Octarian city. I thought it had been fulfilled when I arrived here, but… there's something not quite right. There's something missing. A perfect world… still needs to be shaped. And we can shape it. With a few more steps."
The scientists just silently stared back at her.
"Tell me." She held the vial up so that they could see. "In it's current state, this serum… it will make me stronger?"
"...Maybe." One of them nodded. "If so, it's for you and only you."
"But it's untested." Another one said. "We can't say for sure what effects it will cause."
Lydia again stared at the vial, considering that. "…Well, I'm no stranger to being a lab rat." She turned back to them. "Get it prepared."
As she listened to her words, Marina stepped back somewhat, steadily growing more and more concerned by Lydia's new attitude.
Octo City
Channel 8 Studio
The Thinker's stage crew was busy around the much emptier studio as they worked to set up the next broadcast, a bit slower than usual due to after-effects from the New Squidbeak Splatoon's recent break-in.
On the stage itself, the Thinker was seated by a couple of his assistants, who were busy applying some make-up on him and touching up his look as he read over and rehearsed his monologue. "My friends… there are still going to be atrocities ah- no… hm. My friends… there are still going to be challenges ahead. Better." He moved to write that down in his notes. After a moment, he suddenly lowered his script with a frustrated sigh. "Honestly, for god's sake, how the hell are we gonna keep spinning this narrative that the Inkling menace is almost extinct while pretending that they didn't totally get the jump on us and take over Octavio Tower. Huh?"
One of his producers, a big, obese Octoling man standing to the side in an overly-fancy suit, was drinking his wine. "Until the situation is sorted out, you're going to keep up whatever narrative we tell you."
"Things are a complete mess both out there and in here, and I didn't sign up to make a fool out of myself when the people realize just how bad the situation is!" He threw the script down. "Someone give me my god damn massage already!"
An extra assistant ran over to massage his shoulders.
The producer finished his drink and casually threw the glass to the side for another assistant to clean up. "Have faith in our King's plan. He is known for his great comebacks, after all. The Inkling menace will be driven to extinction. They do not have as much power as you might think they do." He moved to walk out. "Keep that in mind when we go on in 5 minutes."
Before he could get backstage, he was interrupted by some gunfire in the other room, prompting everyone to turn around. As they heard more gunshots getting closer, the Thinker moved to hide behind his chair.
A moment later, a large amount of Splatoon soldiers, with Jaxon, Lucy, and Marie up front, came in with their weapons pointed forward. The producer backed up.
"We on time?" Marie smirked a bit.
In a rage, the Thinker suddenly stood up. "You MANIACAL-"
"-MONSTERS!" The Thinker shouted as he violently thrashed against the chair he was strapped to in the backroom. He was throwing his head around like a complete madman, as if he was trying to bite anyone that dared come near him, flinging saliva around him as he continued to scream. "YOU EVIL, DEMONIC MENACES! YOU ARE WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR SOCIEETYY! YOU ALL WILL DIEEE! YOU WILL BE MARCHED ONTO THAT STAGE, AND YOU WILL BE EXECUTED IN FRONT OF THE MASSES, BY THE GLORIOUS KING OCTAVIO HIMSELF! HE WILL HAVE HIS JUSTICE! HE WILL HAVE HIS SATISFACTION! AND I WILL BE LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO YOUR GRAVE, ON THE DAY, THAT YOU WILL RUE, FOR THE REST, OF YOUR SOUL'S CURSED DAYS! THEY WILL BE SPENT IN NO LESS THAN ETERNAL HELL AS PUNISHMENT! I WILL END ALL OF YOU MYSEEEELF!"
Callie and Marie stared at him, with folded arms and somewhat wide eyes as the Thinker kept continuously screaming at them. "…What… the… fuck?" Marie muttered.
"Geez, and I thought the Solar Flair girls were crazy." Callie replied.
"Can't believe Lucy had the gall to compare us to this nutjob."
"Wait, what?"
"You know what, nevermind."
As one of the soldiers got tired of his screaming and went to place tape on the Thinker's mouth, the Thinker was left with his muffled screams and mindless thrashing as the others walked into the other room. The Squid Sisters walked back onto the stage, which was now being set up for their own usage.
Marie looked around. "Hell of a nice set-up, though."
After a couple minutes, Jaxon walked up to them as well, climbing up on stage. "The place is all ours. For now. No alerts sent out, and no one coming, but it's not going to stay that way once we start the broadcast. You sure you wanna do this?"
She nodded a bit. "The world needs to know the truth. They need to know that they can decide for themselves what kind of world they want to forge. And… a Squid Sisters concert or two wouldn't hurt."
He chuckled a bit, before his smile turned a bit more somber. "Pearl would've loved to see you do this."
She somberly nodded as well. "I know."
"We'll do our best to make her proud." Callie added.
Lucy then came up on stage as well, carrying a CD that previously belonged to Pearl. "You sure about the song choice?"
Marie nodded yet again as she took another look at the disc. "This song changed our world, and now it's going to change yours. I promise."
She scoffed a bit. "If you say so." She held it at her side. "We'll likely only be able to hold this broadcast for so long. So make it quick."
"Good luck." Jaxon gave a last smile as, with that, he and Lucy walked away again.
Callie took in a breath as she and Marie turned to face each other. "Well… you ready?"
Marie delicately reached over to correct some of Callie's tentacles in her hair, fixing up her look somewhat. "Might be feeling a bit of stage fright."
"Stage fright? You… haven't had stage fright in a long time."
"Callie, it's been a long time since I've done anything like this. And… I also can't say I've ever tried to start a revolution before."
She put an arm on her shoulder. "You'll do great. Just… speak from your hearts. Like the good old days."
She nodded a bit. "…Like the good old days." She sucked in her own breath. "…Ok. I think I'm ready."
She nodded back and got into position with her.
As Jaxon and Lucy headed backstage, and Jaxon went into the control room to make final preparations, the other Splatoon agents were simply standing around in the halls, among the many soldiers that were standing as guards in preparation of the Octarian's inevitable eventual attack. Samantha in particular was watching with more eagerness than the others, with a grin on her face as she waited for the broadcast to start.
Bridgett, on the other hand, wasn't really watching at all, and was instead leaned against one of the walls by herself with her arms folded, as she stared ahead at absolutely nothing… still thinking deeply about Pearl's last days, and how much she had failed to be there for her…
She barely even noticed as Dylan at one point walked past her, stopping before her. He stared at her with deep concern, gulping. "…Bridge?"
She barely even looked up at him, making eye-contact. "…What?"
He simply stared at her. After the last conversation they had, all the time they had spent apart since, and… the look she was currently giving him, he… wasn't sure what to say, if he should say anything, or if she even wanted him around. He hesitated. "Are you… ok?"
She gave a very subtle nod before she looked back down.
He took a step forward. "Do you… need anything?"
"...I want to be alone." She told him after a moment.
He stared at her, sadly, before he drooped his head somewhat and slowly walked back to what he was doing before. Tearing up once again, Bridgett leaned her head back against the wall, sighing.
Out of sight, Dylan lingered down the hall as he peeked down the corner at her, staring at her, before he again drooped his head and continued on. He headed into the control room where Jaxon was, folding his arms.
After a bit, as he and the others figured out the controls, Jaxon smirked slightly as he started the countdown, which began flashing on one of the screen. "Should be live in 10… 9… 8…" He kept counting.
On the stage, Callie and Marie straightened themselves as they stared ahead into the camera, seeing the lights shift around them. Marie cleared her throat, holding her position.
Everyone who was standing guard only gripped their weapons tighter. Even Bridgett, who had been sulking up to this very moment, grabbed her weapon as she went to join with the others. In spite of what she had told Dylan, she joined by both Oliver and Jessica's sides, exchanging brief looks with them.
Then, at the countdown's end, they all looked up as the Calamari Inkantation filled their ears. Specifically, it was a mix of the song that Pearl had created; Upon hearing some of Pearl's usual undertones in the mix, the slightest smile formed on Bridgett's face. She, Oliver, and Samantha looked over at their nearest screen as, in perfect sync, Callie and Marie had already broken into their iconic dance, in all its beautiful, hypnotizing glory, as they sang the opening lyrics. Although they hadn't done this dance in years, it was as if they had still rehearsed it frequently, or as if they never forgotten a single movement, as they danced to this famous melody against a backdrop of flashing green and pink lights.
It may have been famous for the Splatoon members displaced from their own timeline, but for the many Octarian civilians here, all around the city, people were now hearing this song and seeing this dance for the first time, as they again looked at their nearest screen. As it filled more and more people's ears, more and more people began to feel… funny, as if this song was doing something to them. As if… it was awakening something inside of them.
Even many soldiers around the city, who were gearing up to attack the studio upon realizing the broadcast was hijacked, stopped and looked around at each other in confusion, as this strange, funny feeling came over them as well once they heard the song. Some of them even looked down at their weapons, wondering… what exactly were they fighting for again?
Although this effect was enough for Octarian soldiers, the song had no such effect on the Tartar-Bots, who were now careening toward the Channel 8 station in multiple Goldships. The Inklings who stood guard outside pointed their weapons upon noticing them. "They're here!"
As the Tartar-Bots engaged the guards outside, the noise was loud enough to reach inside and into the background the podcast. Callie and Marie briefly looked over, but didn't stop, as they let the rest of the song play out as intended. The lights behind them flashed brightly one last time as they struck their last pose to the last note, finishing their dance. The moment the song was over and the lights around them returned to normal, Callie ran off-screen to grab her roller.
Marie, instead, looked straight ahead into the camera with a brave face. "What you just heard, was the Calamari Inkantation. Specifically, it was a mix that was created by Pearl Hime. The leader of the New Squidbeak Splatoon. A brave team of Inklings who have been living underground for 100 years." She briefly looked to the side as she heard more battle noises, before looking back at the camera as Callie joined up with her once again. "The Octarian government has been telling you lies, that she was the greatest menace to your society. But they were just that, lies. She fought for your freedom. She died for your freedom! Because the Octarians killed her!"
Over the footage of Marie, next came up security footage of Eva's execution in Octavio's throne room, retrieved directly from the tower after it had been taken over. "And this woman, Eva Tecca. She was a mother, a mother of two little children." It showed a picture of Eva with her family as well. "She realized what is going on and she too, tried to fight for freedom, so they killed her too! The Octarian doctor, who they tried to pin the blame on my cousin Callie, even him! Both innocent people that were killed simply because they didn't do what was wanted of them! It's not going to stop there. As we speak, they're coming for everyone, whether Inkling, Octarian, woman, child, doesn't matter. If you've ever said or done anything you don't like, it could happen to you too."
As the battle noises started to get louder, Callie grabbed her arm. "Marie, c'mon!"
Marie didn't budge. She was still staring directly into the camera. "If you take away anything from this broadcast… remember that melody we played. Remember Pearl Hime, and Eva Tecca. Don't let the Octarians come for you. Don't let them control you. Our kinds have been fighting for 100 years… but we don't have to anymore. Because our real enemy is up there on his throne! Above all of us! All we have to do is stand as one, all of u-"
All around the city, her voice was cut off as finally, the broadcast was halted and replaced with the Octo City logo, and the big, bold Stand By text beneath. Then, a moment after that, all screens around the city shut down entirely, as everyone stared around at each other, shocked.
The entire city had fallen so quiet at this point, it was like the world had abruptly ended. Everyone looked around, confused… scared… and… different. Many people, under the effects of whatever the hell that song was, felt more alive, more able to think, more… free.
And with that new feeling, all around the city, more and more people were starting to take action. Some people started riots, others grabbed weapons and headed toward the station, and as the rising tension grew for everyone, the larger and larger these riots began to grow. Slowly, chaos was bubbling up in the city. More and more civilians had now turned against the government.
Things, however, were not solved just like that. There was still a war to be had, for the Octarian government, amidst the confusion and chaos, had their automatic protocols set in place for a situation like this. All around, civilians and even soldiers looked up as various skinny, purple towers around the city, with one stationed on each individual island, began to open up. Purple electricity erupted from the inside of these towers as several ports opened up.
Further adding to the growing chaos, people anywhere near these towers began screaming and running away as, one after the other, giant, mechanical machines were ejected from these towers and sent careening toward the ground. These Great Octoweapons shook the ground as they landed, before they looked around and began their march forward as more continued to drop in behind them.
As the night progressed, the war for Octo City began.
In Octavio's floating labs above the city, the chaos was fully visible from what few windows there was as Marina stared out at the chaos below. She hadn't seen the recent broadcasts, and she had no idea what exactly was going on down there, so she all she saw was… this world somehow going further and further to hell. Things continued to turn in the opposite direction of how she wanted this to go. She knew that this was the Splatoon's doing… and with that thought, a deep anger filled her chest. Sighing, with her drones still by her side, she went back into the other room.
Lydia, at this point, was seated in a chair with her armor off, as the scientists around her prepared to inject her with the new serum.
Marina stared at her. "You're really going to go through with this?"
Lydia scoffed somewhat. "You practically sat there and watched as Pearl and the others came in to take that tower… do you think you have a say?"
Marina sighed and walked toward the table as yet another twinge of guilt struck her chest. She leaned against it and rubbed her forehead. This entire situation… it was just such a mess… so what the hell was she supposed to do now?
"What this world needs… is a savior." Lydia continued as the scientists kept prepping her. "Someone who can defeat this team of yours once and for all."
Marina stared ahead at the statistics on the holographic list before them, re-confirming to herself that it explicitly stated that this initial version of the formula, even working with Lydia's enhanced biology, only had an 38% chance of powering Lydia up… and in turn a 62% chance of causing death. "And if it doesn't give you the effects that you want?" She again looked at her.
She thought a bit more about that. "Then it's my fate, etched in the stars."
She scoffed as well. "The way you talk, the way you… hunger for some kind of power… you're sounding more and more like your father the more time you spend in this place."
"What, with his endless speeches about how special Axcia is? No… no, I'll continue to leave that kind of thinking to him. He gave his life… he threw it away… he got his consequences. Now I'll take mine."
Marina stared at her, silently thinking, as her mind went back to the chaos she saw below. This deep anger that she currently felt… from those last moments when Pearl had last rejected her… and all this chaos the Splatoon had been creating… she was now unable to simply shrug it off. Maybe for now, she should just… let this play out, and see what would happen. Partially out of desire to find a solution to this predicament and partially out of… curiosity? To see such a scientific monument play out right before her eyes? She had her safeguards in place with her drones if something went wrong, anyway. She looked down. Maybe… she wasn't as different from Marina-2 as she thought, if she was really about to let this happen. Yet… what else was she going to do? She glanced back at Lydia.
Lydia took a breath and turned to the other scientists. "…Do it."
Marina stood back, preparing her drones for attack in case something went awry. The scientist with the injector, with shaky hands, slowly moved up toward Lydia as she leaned back. Everyone else watched with baited breath as, finally, Lydia closed her eyes and winced as she felt the Axcian liquid enter her ink-stream with a burning presence. She hissed to herself.
They continued watching as… nothing happened. Lydia sat there, panting, as the scientist frantically backed away. Then, after a moment… the pain really began to set in. Everyone jumped as she grunted loudly, twitching and shaking, with her eyes rolling upward almost as if she was entering a seizure. They looked up as the lights began flickering.
As moments passed with Lydia writhing there, she then began screaming, as sudden green bolts of energy erupted from her hands, destroying random objects in the room. Everyone took cover.
Lydia continued screaming there, leaving everyone unsure if she was dying or becoming stronger. She even seemed to become more still, as if she was twitching in her sleep, until finally, she went completely limp. Curiously, Marina and the others slowly moved out from their cover to take a look at her.
When Lydia's eyes opened next, her own pupils had transformed into a slightly more green color, and she let out a long breath as a smirk slowly grew on her face.