Tartar hesitantly entered Hammerhead Supply Shop the next day. He began grabbing a few things off the shelves, humming to himself. He planned on making a city-wide broadcast to announce that he was still alive, but meant no harm. If he could just get his hands on the technology he needed today, he would have it working by the next day.

"'Let the rhythm move, let it flow into your soul...Grab your friends and go, you ain't gonna play alone...'"

He examined a bowl-shaped piece of rusty metal.

"'Step out of your zone, you are stronger than you know...Will you take a stand? Will you join our dance?'"

"You're an Off the Hook fan?"

He screamed, dropping a few parts and nearly cutting his arm on a pole.

"I am so sorry about that! Here, let me help you!"

It was Marina who scared him, and she knelt down and picked up the stuff he dropped. She dropped them back into his arms. "Can you carry all of that?"

"Yes, I can. Thank you." He tore his eyes away from her. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I'm building a Shifty Station for the upcoming Splatfest. It's going to be announced in an hour or so. You should vote for your team, if you're interested."

"Splatfest?"

"Oh, right! You wouldn't know, would you? I remember you saying your memory was fuzzy from the Sanitization."

Tartar wasn't wearing his hat, so he tried to block his face as much as possible with the items he had on hand. "Would it bother you to explain it to me like I was a Squidling?"

"Basically, it's like Turf War. There are two set teams in a Splatfest which will battle it out to declare the winner. Whichever team wins, basically says that side of the subject is better. Some people try to be good sports about it, but others are..." She rubbed the back of her head. "Some can get a bit too competitive and forget that Turf War is just a game. On the second day of the Splatfest, at the halfway point, my Shifty Station will be open. It's like a normal battle course, but with an Octarian twist. I usually use bounce pads or Inkfurlers and stuff like that."

"Sounds...interesting."

"Yeah. I have a question, if it's not too personal."

"Ask away." He spotted a hunk of metal that was in the shape of a sort of small wall. It was attached to wheels and looked small enough for Little Buddy to sit inside. There was a splat of pale green ink on the side. "I wonder if she'd like this..."

"If you don't remember anything, how come you know about our song? We didn't release that cover to the public. It was just a small thing to motivate Agent 8."

"I heard it, while you were stopping...Commander Tartar." He felt weird announcing himself in the third person, but she seemed to have been buying his act, so he kept going. "It spoke to me, like how the Calamari Inkantation touched my fellow Octolings."

"I've never met another Octoling who loved to build."

"Oh, I love it!" He felt more confident speaking to her when he couldn't see her. "I love to invent things! It helps me actually use my knowledge for something, rather than just sit alone in the deep dark and think about the consequences of my actions..."

"Are you...are you okay there?"

"Oh, yes! I am perfectly fine!"

"Okay, that's good. You got me a little worried there with that last thing you just said..."

"I'm still uh...pretty new here...Would it bother you to give me the grand tour?"

"Are you kidding? I would love to show you around!"

"Great! It's a date then!"

"What?"

"I didn't mean like...a romantic date! I just meant it as a date, like a certain time and day! I totally meant it like that!" He felt himself overheating. "I'll just purchase these items and meet you in the square! Okaaay?!"

Before she could answer, he scurried over to the counter. He didn't have everything he needed, but if Marina ended up having spare parts from her Shifty Station, he could use those. He hurried to Ivory's apartment to grab his hat.

"Tartar? Is everything alright? You're breathing kind of hard. Do you need to use my blender again?"

"C-can you have a heartbeat if you have no heart...?"

Ivory blinked and stopped the game of chess he was playing with C.Q. "Aren't you alive? How can you not have a heart? Unless you're calling yourself heartless after you almost destroyed us all...In any case, you still have a heart, right?"

Tartar gave him a strange look. "Although I am alive, most of my body consists of robotic parts...So it is impossible for me to have a heart."

"Eh..."

"I'm just as confused as Ivory, sir," C. Q. said. "What do you mean?"

"My...'heart' was racing just then...When I was talking to...You don't think I like her, do you?!"

Ivory and C. Q. shared a look. Ivory leaned a little closer. "Who?"

Tartar began pacing. "No, that's not possible. She was with the people who tried to kill me! But then again-No! I don't have feelings!"

"Sir, can I input the fact you were...angry at the Inklings and Octolings?"

"Shut it, C. Q. I'm trying to think." He ran his hands through his hair. "But how could I actually have feelings for her? She's...Marina! Argh!" He messed up his hair.

"You like Marina Ida?" Ivory asked. "From Off the Hook?"

"That's...something," C. Q. said monotonely. "But what do you think is the reason you started liking her?"

"She invited me to build something called a 'Shifty Station' with her...I cannot have feelings for her!"

Ivory smiled. "You're funny, Tart. Loving an Octoling that wouldn't have liked you before just shows how far you've come. She's very kind, and her voice is calming, so I can see why you'd like her."

"But she's going to take me on a tour of Splatopia now...So I guess I have no choice but to get to know her better, huh?"

"Sir-"

"Not like a date, C.Q! Like a thing between friends. The issue is, she has no idea who I am. She's likely to have a suspicion, but my identity is still concealed. I just hope she doesn't get upset when I do my broadcast."

"Broadcast?" C. Q. Cumber asked. "You didn't inform me of a broadcast."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, C. Q. I really shouldn't keep things from you like this."

Ivory tapped a finger on the table. "So...broadcast?"

"When I help Marina with her Shifty Station, I'll be able to grab some of her spare parts because I couldn't acquire everything at that store. When it's finished, I'll broadcast my identity to all of Splatopia."

"Tart, that's a risky move!"

"Ivory makes a point, sir." C. Q. folded his arms. "The denizens of Splatopia do have a record for...shall we say, stopping villians. I know you've changed, but revealing yourself like that might get a lot of anger directed at you."

"You have no need to worry!" He waved a dismissive hand. "I'll explain what Aniya and Subject 1,008 have done for me."

"1,008?" Ivory questioned.

"Sir, I do believe she goes by a name here."

Tartar tapped a bent finger against his chin and closed his eyes. "Oh, what did Aniya say? Hachi? 1,008 goes by Hachi now."

"You know Hachi?" Ivory stood. "Aniya knows her too. If you want to talk to her separately, I'd bet Aniya knows where to find her. I feel it'd be better to try this with her first, just to see how it plays out."

"That...is actually a wonderful idea, Ivory. I've seen her personality. It may be hard to convince her since I almost blended her, but she's not the type to hold grudges. So where is Aniya right now?"

"She's in a place called...Alternia? It's by the stairs to the Lobby. I'm not allowed down there, but I'm sure you'd be able to drag her out if you mention fish and chips are on sale at Crusty Sean's truck."

"Does she like fish and chips?"

Ivory nodded, ears bouncing gently. "She loves it so much! She dragged me into eating some. It's not my favorite, but I'm glad she likes it."

"How much does it cost?"

"Usually? About 200 coins. On sale, it's only about 100."

Tartar pulled out a small pouch Aniya had given him before his first Turf War. "I have roughly 500. That must have been when we won against Kite."

"Are you going to try it?" Ivory giggled. "I mean, if you really want to!"

"No, I'll be able to pull her out better if I actually have some with me. I'm going to buy one for her."

"I'd bet she'd appreciate that."

Author Note: The lyrics for Fly Octo Fly are from Man on the Internet's lyriced version of the song that I found on Spotify. I'm also going to start posting Side Order tips on here, since I got up to the Order boss on my first run-through (which I am impressed with), on the final checkpoint.

For the Asynchronous Rondo boss: (Be weary, if noises can bother you, I would suggest turning the volume off or down (I know I had to) because the audio is pretty creepy.) Stay out of the light! The bumpers can be used to stay away from the light. It'll summon a handful of swarming mobs when you get caught (and the boss screams louder). The layers are relatively weak, so staying under it is the best strategy that worked for me. It'll use a move like the Wave Breaker on you, so when shooting at the layers, don't forget to jump! When it stops attacking, run behind a bumper. It'll use a strong attack that'll break your armor and kill you if you're not fast enough.

Hope my tips will help! Of course, you can always find your own way to beat the bosses, but I wanted to try and help because some people might have an issue with certain bosses.

As always, Don't get cooked, stay Off the Hook!