Chapter Forty-Seven:
VR Escapism and Splatoon Chaos
Ever since the apocalyptic disaster at the convention, a shaken Boopkins found himself dreading the moment when the Waluigi Apocalypse would spread beyond Glitch Con and into the broader Mushroom Kingdom. He had vague memories of the first T-Pose incident, and the little Spike was left to wonder how the plague would be cured now.
Instead of heading for his tropical home and watching anime, Boopkins hid inside the nearest house he could find, with the Toad owner showing the best generosity he could offer. Afterwards, Boopkins listened closely and warily to the news, wondering when the chaos would begin.
Many long hours after escaping Glitch Con, and after witnessing the odd shifting of day to night to dawn, the young weeb's concerns were realized when he heard of Waluigi-inspired chaos sweeping Mushroom City.
In the late hours of the morning, Boopkins found himself staring out the window as T-Posing zombies glided through the streets of the neighborhood, pursuing a frightened FM along with many other innocents.
The kind Toad who'd granted Boopkins a temporary place to stay had departed the house an hour prior, likely to find his friends in the midst of all the chaos, leaving the Spike alone in doors as he helplessly watched the chaos. It was so scary outside, and going outdoors in the midst of all that chaos was a death sentence if one was attacked by a T-Pose Zombie.
"I'm just going to stay inside." Boopkins quipped sadly, and stepped away from the window, moving towards a nearby box with various video game-related equipment in it. He poked his head inside the box, and brightened up when he found a VR headset.
"Oh, hey! I got VR!" Boopkins exclaimed, and he tapped the power button, "I never need to go outside again! Let's go play some VRChat with Boopkins, yeah!"
In moments, with the headset resting upon his head and fully powered-up, young Fishy Boopkins found himself in a breathtaking city full of anime-looking characters, which was right up the green Spike's alley. Boopkins smiled with satisfaction, "Okay, world. Boopkins is here, and he's happy. Let's go on an adventure. I wonder if I'll make a new friend."
Callie stared out the studio window, glancing up at the sky with slight confusion. Marie sat at the table close by, looking at her phone with her trademark dry expression on her face, contrasting her cousin's usual energetic mannerisms.
"Hey, Marie?" Callie asked her cousin, "Didn't we say during our weather report segment on our broadcast that today would be sunny and clear?"
"We did say today's weather was sunny and clear." Marie replied.
"Okay, then why am I seeing purple clouds in the sky?"
Marie's eyes were wide, and she stood up, nearly shocked by her cousin's comment.
The white-haired Inkling pop star made her way to the window, and her jaw dropped the second she saw the purple clouds looming overhead. In the plaza below, Inklings were clamoring with confusion amongst themselves, and a few started taking pictures.
Violet specs of lightning exploded over Inkopolis, and thunder rumbled in the distance, followed by the sound of mad laughter. And without warning, lightning bolts rained down upon the city of color and the Squid Sisters were in shock as Inklings and Octolings were blasted, transforming into T-Posing Zombies in a matter of moments.
Both cousins looked at each other, baffled by the chaos that was beginning, and none of them noticed a tall shadowy figure holding a scepter taking shape behind them in their own studio. Callie and Marie turned around, and yelped when they saw a muscular Waluigi staring at them before he unleashed his power upon both pop stars.
In Inkopolis Square, Pearl was at a loss for words as she observed a pink Inkling girl being swarmed by T-Posing blue Inkling boys while many Octolings and Jellyfish roamed around in a T-Pose position. She looked at Marina, who stood back in alarm. A moment later, a shadow formed behind the Octoling, and a gloved hand grabbed her by the face.
Total chaos swept Inkopolis, in every district, every neighborhood, and every Turf War arena, as the city's residents and tourists were attacked by the shadows of Waluigi, and T-Pose Zombies prowled in search for those to convert into more like them.
A couple districts away from Inkopolis Plaza, the self-proclaimed unstoppable Octoposse leader Desti was sitting back upon a bench and looking at her Octo-phone as if she didn't have anything else to do. The fuchsia/pink-haired Octoling heard a noise and set aside her phone, looking up with a frown.
Desti stood, and grabbed her Ink Blaster right before a cyan-blue Inkling girl with gold eyes wearing black pants, a Rockenberg-branded White Inky Rider jacket, and Red Work Boots came gliding down the street towards the Octoling in a T-posing manner.
"GAH!" Desti shouted, "You get your T-Pose weirdness away from me!"
She opened fire on the Inkling that had been Vin Valentine of the infamous Team Killer Ink group, only for the T-Posing TKI Leader to float aside, avoiding Desti's every shots. The Octoling ducked as her squid counterpart spun about and swiped at the highly-skilled Octo-posse leader.
"What the fish?!" An irked Desti shrieked, "Do not tell me T-Posing is Inkopolis' latest trend! Either that, or someone is..."
Before the Octoling could go further, she was grabbed from behind, with white-gloved hands wrapping around her. Desti dropped her blaster, and gasped with terror as she heard a sneer and the face of Waluigi leaned over her shoulder.
"It's been a while, Desti..." Waluigi hissed with glee.
"WALUIGI?!" Desti yelled, "WHAT THE F..."
Her expletive was cut short as purple lightning rained down from the sky, and every fiber of energy in the Octoling's body was sapped away in seconds. Desti was helpless, and the last thing she saw with her own eyes and her own free will was Vin, more T-Pose Inkling zombies, and Waluigi.
Seconds later, Desti's free consciousness slipped away, and the Octoling became another soulless T-posing cephalopod in Inkopolis, joining the ranks of those who'd been infected by a madman's virus...