The final day for the Splatfest has finally arrived, the last chance of any cephalopod to make their name known by society, but while everyone was going to relax at the square to wait for the sun to go down, an Inkling girl was quickly running through a parking lot in the opposite direction from Inkopolis.

Mona quickly ran into a big building with a logo that presented a squid with a letter on top of it. The location is known as "Swim Speed postal service" a simple mail delivery company that mostly Jellies operated in, but sometimes you'd see an Inkling or Octoling as a worker here and there.

Mona was one of the few cephalopods who actually managed to work at the postal service, throwing on her cap and dusting herself off before walking through the main lobby of the postal service station.

Mona looked around and saw some squids, Octos, and many different deep sea creatures being helped or delivering some mail to the employee Jellies. She simply kept to herself and walked past the lobby until she walked inside of a back room, seeing the back working area of the building.

Jelly tentacles stretched and moved everywhere throughout the area, grabbing onto letters and packages and moving them to certain locations to get shipped out or brought in. Before Mona could take a step, she was bumped on her side by a stack of boxes, which made her look over to see a small Jelly holding 3 boxes all by itself, struggling to maintain their weight.

Mona: oh!....h-here...I can help you with that.

Mona picked up two of the three boxes, then gave the Jelly a little smile before walking away to place them in their proper location to get shipped out after looking at the address and shipping information.

Mona:...hm....this package is for-

???: Mona.

Mona fidgeted and let out a little "eep", almost dropping the two boxes, but she caught them and maintained her balance. She looked over and saw an Inkling boy with mixed skin and dark blue tentacles along with red eyes. The boy was holding a clipboard while also wearing the same postal squid cap as her, and showed no expression of happiness while scribbling on his paper.

Mona:....g-good afternoon, Ollie...how was the splatfest for you?

Oliver: I told you not to call me Ollie. And It was....*shrugs*....shitty.

Mona: what!?

Oliver: *scribble* it's only because of the damn squid sisters.

Mona: O-Oh.....yeah...

Mona walked with Ollie down the building while holding the two boxes, but then Ollie snapped his fingers and two Jellies quickly stretched their tentacles out and grabbed the two boxes from Mona.

Mona: h-hey!

Oliver: they'll take care of it.

Mona: but I wanna help...

Oliver: I know. I'm giving you something more.....complex today....

Mona: what?...

Oliver: look, you know exactly why I gave you the day off yesterday, right?

Mona:.....uh....

Oliver: it's because I wasn't gonna be operating the postal service, and I'm the second in charge here, right under the big boss, but she's on vacation.

Mona: *nods* mhm...

Oliver: I told the big boss that this splatfest was gonna be my little sisters very first splatfest ever, and there was no way in hell I was gonna miss that. I turfed with her and bought her the freshest gear in the square.

Mona: *tiny smile* awe. you're such a nice big bro..

Oliver: shut it. My sister didn't even have that good of a time.

Mona: w-what?...

Oliver: like I said before....it's because of the damn squid sisters.

Mona:.....oh.....

Oliver: my sister loves them with a passion, so when they announced that they were coming to Inkopolis, I knew I had to take her for eel to see one of their concerts in person........she hated it.....

Mona:.....

Oliver:.....I had to cheer her up greatly after that by doing other shit and taking her out for a meal......and since the postal service was actually closed...now we have double the amount of mail to deliver....which means YOU have double the amount of mail to deliver.

Mona:.....w-what?.....

Oliver: yup.

Ollie opened the door specifically with Mona's name on it, showing Mona her office and inbox, seeing that it was completely overstuffed with letters.

Mona:......

Oliver: you're gonna deliver all of these bad boys.

Mona: b-but-

Oliver: no buts. I understand, and yea, business sucks. My stack is way bigger than yours, so deal with it.

Ollie walked away and let out a little sigh in the process, but he didn't even make it that far without feeling something grab onto his ankle from below. Ollie turned around and looked down to see Mona grasping onto his leg with tears welling up in her eyes, looking up at him with a face of mercy.

Mona: but it will take me all day! I won't be able to participate in the splatfest!

Oliver: I still never understood how you can shout, yet sound quieter than Judd's meows...*sigh*.....Mona....your shift is as long as you make it.

Mona: b-but I know I can't deliver this mail before the splatfest starts.....

Oliver: well you usually spend over 4 hours to deliver your mail, and since you basically have double, that's 8 hours of mail delivery. *shrugs* you will get paid extra, so don't worry.

Mona:........

Oliver: it's 3Pm and the splatfest starts at 8.....so you'll be able to enjoy around 30 minutes of the splatfest if you really work hard.

Mona: Ollie....p-please...I wanna spend this moment with my friends......I'll work even harder after the splatfest ends....I-I promise....

Oliver: let go and get to work.

Mona: but if I do, she'll be with him....

Oliver: who?....wait, what?

After realizing what she just said, Mona quickly stopped and a blush formed on her cheeks. She stood up and looked away from Ollie, then he thought to himself for a second, looking away from her and shaking his head.

Oliver:....I can't believe that you actually believe in that stupid splatfest myth...the "Splatfest's blessing".....cod....

Ollie saw Mona's blush become darker. She shook and trembled at the sound of it when it came from him. He looked down at his clip board, then scribbled for a second on it.

Oliver: I'll give you 1 delivery to complete.....something that'll basically let you out very early....

Mona:....O-Olli-

Oliver: BUT!! you better come into work and bust your fucking ass on Monday!! Got it!?

Mona: *nod nod* mm!

Oliver:.....alright......This delivery is simple.....so just...follow me.....

Oliver walked out of Mona's room and allowed her to come with him to his workstation, also filled to the brim with mail. He pointed in the room, but specifically at a box.

Oliver: I want you to deliver this package. Once you do, I'll give you the rest of the day off. You better be a slick squid when I let you leave. I'm not in the mood to get swarmed by jellies that complain.

Mona: Ollie.....t-thank you. I promise I'll work hard on Monday!

Oliver: you don't have a choice....remember what I taught you about packages?

Mona:.......u-uh.....I...

Oliver: when you have a package.....you must deliver your mail from a Inkstrike Bike.

Mona:.........

Oliver: yes. Take the bike and head to the destination with it.

Mona: b-but I'm still getting trained...I don't know how to drive it just yet.

Oliver: *shrugs* you wanna get out of work, right?

Mona:....Mhm....

Oliver: you gotta suck it up. The package is supposed to be going to flounder heights. That's like, a 2 minute super jump, but a 30-ish minute drive. Have fun.

Oliver walked past Mona and gently patted her shoulder before walking out of the room, leaving Mona to stare at the package.

Mona:.....o-okay...I can do this..

Mona walked over to the package and grabbed it from below, trying her hardest to pull it up, gritting her teeth and letting out a little grunt. She let go of the heavy package and panted from already being exhausted, but then quickly let out a "hmph" and tried once more to lift the box.

She grunted louder and pulled the package slowly up from the ground, but before the package even got 2 inches off the ground, Mona's hands slipped and she flew back, slapping herself in the face in the process, whining to herself.

Mona:....n-never mind......

~~~~~~

The simple chirping of birds echoed through the sky. The sun was gleaming down directly on top of a flower that just recently bloomed. Cephalopods walked to and from Flounder Heights, chatting, smiling, and relaxed.

Dawn sat at her kitchen counter all by herself, taking a bite of her cereal while looking down into her bowl, seeing the extra bits of Oats float around above the milk. She heard mumbling in the distance, which made her slightly turn her head and see an Inkling girl on the Tv news report channel.

*Tv*

News Squid: Disappointment is being shared throughout the weekend, Ladies and Gentlesquids. The squid sisters have taken the region by storm, but I don't mean that in a positive way as usual, sadly.

Dawn:....

News Squid: reviews and investigation say that this Splatfest could potentially be one of the worst Splatfests in Turf history!

Dawn picked up her bowl of cereal, actually getting a little interested in the News, which made her get off of her stool and walk over to the living room to eat in there instead. She sat down on the couch and placed her feet on top of the coffee table, looking at the Squid point at a picture of the squid sisters right before her eyes.

News Squid: With the Squid sister's performance and horrible timing to the concert on Saturday night, their awkward rush off of the stage on Friday night, the act of disappointment and anger truly did fuel the hearts of the many Squids and Octos around. *shrugs* looks like the only thing that cephalopods have to look forward to is their super sea snails and cash that they'll earn at the end of the weekend.

Dawn:.....*nom*........

News Squid: with a weird performance and unknown collapse, we must wonder "what is truly going on behind the scenes of the two idols".

The News squid began to ramble a bit more as Dawn munched more on her cereal, then saw the camera pan over to Inkopolis with another news squid, who was holding up a microphone to an Inkling boy.

News Squid 2: please tell us, sir, how has your experience been with the splatfest so far?

Inkling boy: this splatfest is horrible! Literal Seahorse Shit! The only thing that was quite entertaining was when Scarlett lost to that weird Inkling and Octoling girl that were trending on squidstagram!

Dawn:.......

News Squid 2: I see....what are your thoughts on Off The Hook? Considering the circumstances with the squid sisters, do you believe Off The Hook could've handled the splatfest alone?

Inkling Boy: yes....one hundred percent......I'm going to be completely honest.......the splatfest would've been better if the squid sisters DIDN'T show up.

From the Inkling boy's mouth...from his own words alone, it was enough for Dawn to actually widen her eyes in shock. She stopped eating, and it looked as if certain squids and Octos were beginning to see through the blinding trance of music.

Dawn:.......huh......

Dawn felt herself sinking into deep thought, but she quickly shook her head to snap herself out of it. She raised her spoon from her milk once more and put it in her mouth, but this time, she only drank the milk from the spoon with no oats whatsoever.

She looked down at her bowl and noticed that her cereal was completely gone and eaten.....all except for one oat that floated in the milk all by itself, an oat that was shaped like a squid.

Dawn:......I really did ruin the splatfest for everyone, huh?.......

Dawn stood up and walked over to her kitchen once more, dumping her bowl of Milk into the sink, not even bothering to drink it. She washed her bowl before putting it away, then she walked away, heading down the hallway and opening up her room door.

She walked in her room and up to her bed, which was only simply 2 mattresses on top of each other. She felt a tiny buzz from the bed, then turned her head and heard it once again. She reached under her covers and grabbed her phone, looking at the notifications she got from the Café group chat.

:Shady Squid: Yo guys! Did anyone see the news!?

:Rune: yeah. What about it?

:Shady Squid: what's going on!? Why are squids being so mean to the squid sisters!?

:Rune: do you not understand what's going down right now?

:Shady Squid: sadly no. Me and Shadow only played for the first day of the Splatfest. We spent all day yesterday getting Knighty poo all situated.

:Rune: oh yeah, I was wondering where he was for the splatfest.

:Shady Squid: sadly he couldn't participate because he didn't vote on a team.

:Rune: that sucks.

:Shady Squid: Speaking of Knighty Poo!

:Rune: ?

~Shady Squid has added Knight to the Group Chat~

:Rune: shit.

:Knight: hello andss theyuz

:Rune: amazing way to make an entrance, my guy.

:Shady Squid: this is Knighty poo's first phone, Rune! Don't make fun of him for typos!!

:Rune: alright?

:Knight: I apoege

:Knight: Apogeaw

:Knight: Apologize.

:Rune: there ya go, bud.

:Shady Squid: Roo Roo! Change your username!

:Rune: no.

:Shady Squid: please! It'll be fun!

:Rune: no.

~Shady Squid has changed Rune to Roo Roo~

:Roo Roo: seriously?.....why did you even ask if you could do it yourself?

:Shady Squid: because I wanted to see if you'd actually do it :)

~Roo Roo has changed their username to Rune~

~Shady Squid has changed Rune to Roo Roo~

Roo Roo: Shade, stop.

~Roo Roo has changed their username to Rune~

~Shady Squid has changed Rune to Roo Roo~

Roo Roo: STOP!!

:Shady Squid: nope! ^^

:Roo Roo: I swear....

~Shady Squid has changed Conner to Corn~

:Roo Roo: yo, Rose. I have a question. You willing to come over and help me, Conner, and Mona beat this video game?

:Shadow: Dude!! Why didn't you ask me first!? I'd totally help, wtf!?

:Shady Squid: do not interrupt Rosie! She's with Dawney right now!

:Roo Roo: Shadow, you're our last resort. I wanna see what Rose has to offer.

:Shadow: that's fair. Never seen the girl pick up a controller though. ;-;

—-

Dawn watched as her coworkers texted back and forth in the group chat. She silenced her phone and slid it into her pocket before standing up and looking over at her wall to see her collection of weapons.

She walked over and saw her Splattershot that 8 gave her, placed farther away from the others, the one she used yesterday night, and still cherished to this day.

She picked it up and gently turned it around, noticing another scratch on it, which made her rub her thumb over it and let out a long sigh, walking over to her dresser and placing it perfectly on top of it.

Dawn: I'll just use my Tentatek from now on........I don't wanna break it more than before....

She walked into her bathroom after leaving her room, grabbing her toothbrush and toothpaste, she applied some toothpaste onto her brush and wet it a little before she began to brush her teeth, leaning on the sink while doing so.

She began to look at herself deeply in the mirror, noticing her scars and very pale skin. She spit out some toothpaste and continued to brush, looking at her ruffled tentacles dead calm stare.

Dawn:......(I still don't understand why you never run away, Rose......from just my ugly appearance alone.......)

She began to realize what she just said and she paused for a second. She looked completely confused and concerned at her own words. She spit into the sink once more, clenching onto the sink a little bit with her other hand.

Dawn:.....(what the hell am I talking about?.....)

Dawn grabbed some mouth wash and poured it in her mouth, swishing it around a bit before spitting it out into the sink. She rinsed off her brush and put away her mouthwash before stretching and using her hands afterwards to rub on her tentacles, ruffling them even more just to properly wake herself up.

Dawn:.....( thinking about that silent weirdo should be the last thing on my mind....)

Dawn walked back into her room and grabbed onto her boots, sliding them on her feet before walking over to her bed and grabbing her backwards cap. She put her hat on her head and grabbed onto her Tentatek splattershot, clipping it to her waist before leaving and walking into her living room once more.

Dawn: (I guess I'll just battle in some ranked games before I go- )

Just then, Dawn kicked something on the ground. It rustled and made her look down to see it was a crumple of paper that's been sitting on her floor for days. She kneeled down and picked it up, knowing exactly what the piece of paper was.

Dawn:........

Dawn fixed the paper and opened the crumbled ball, seeing a statement written on it, which made her stare in silence.

~~
"I apologize for bothering you like this. I just wanted you to see if you were alright. Please come to work tomorrow, I enjoy your presence"
~~

Dawn:......

Dawn looked over at her front door after throwing away the slip of paper from Rose. She walked up to the door and reached out to turn her doorknob so she could start her day.

Dawn: (maybe I should check if the idiot is okay........)

Her hand stopped before it touched the doorknob. She began to shake and tremble at her own thoughts. She backed away a little....lowering her hand.....looking away in annoyance.

Dawn:.....fucking hell....

Just then, Dawn heard a knock at her door, which made her jump a bit. She stood in silence for a second, then calmed herself before walking back over to the door and grabbing onto her doorknob.

Dawn opened her door and saw an Inkling girl standing in front of her, giving her a gentle smile in the process.

Mona: h-hello......swim speed postal service. We have your packag-..........

Dawn: package? The hell?

Mona:.......D-Dawn?......

Dawn: who the hell are you?

Mona:.......I-I.....I'm Mona.......remember?

Dawn: no.

Mona:.....But.....I come to the cafe all the time.....

Dawn: nope.

Mona: but I-

Dawn: never heard of you. And you got the wrong address because I wasn't expecting a damn package.

Mona:......oh.....t-the address and name is yours though.....it belongs to you.

Dawn:.......

Mona: I-I can show you....

Mona gestured Dawn to walk outside with her, and Dawn followed her with an annoyed stare on her face. She saw Mona walk over to a motorbike and point to a big package that was resting on top of it from behind, tied up securely.

Mona: t-this.

Dawn rolled her eyes and walked over to the package, looking at the information written on it.

Dawn: *mumble*....To Dawn.....from....

Dawn's face froze up for a second, which shocked Mona. She stood still in front of the package, then looked at Mona, who then walked over and used a little pair of scissors to cut the box loose from the bike.

Dawn picked up the package with ease, making Mona feel very disappointed in herself knowing that it was hard for her to simply move it an inch off the ground.

Mona: I-I hope you enjoyed our fast shippin-

Dawn: whatever....get out of here.

Mona whimpered a little as she saw Dawn walked back over to her apartment door, leaving her and going back inside.

Mona:.....

Just then, her phone buzzed in her pocket, which made her pull it out and look at her notifications to see that she got a text from Rune.

:Rune: we're about to head to Grizzco. You free?

Mona's body felt warm once again and she let out a calm smile, texting him back in the process.

:Mona: yes. I'll be there as soon as possible.

Mona let out a tiny woomy and grabbed onto her helmet, clipping it onto her head and hopping onto her Inkstrike bike, driving off while Dawn sat down on her couch, looking at the package in front of her on the table.

Dawn:........how did you find my address?.......

Dawn ripped open the box, and the first thing she saw was a letter written on top of the items inside. She grabbed the letter and looked at it, beginning to read it to herself.

~Dear Dawn~

"I truly do understand that life has been a roller coaster of emotions for you. I deeply apologize for the things I allowed them to do to you. If only I noticed sooner, then maybe things could've been different. I managed to gather up many things from your old apartment and send them to you for remembrance of those you held dear. Wear them, hang them on your wall, cherish them. I know these items mean a lot. If you ever need a shoulder to lean on, I'm here for you, Squiddo. Keep your head up to show your unbreakable will of strength and courage. You may not be Agent 3 anymore, but you are still Dawn, a squid who saved me and has earned my trust and loyalty. Push forward and don't give up, I do believe that's what agent 8 and 4 would want from you, correct?"

"P.S": I didn't tell my granddaughters anything about your location. I know how you are.

~Signed~
~Captain Cuttlefish~

Dawn felt her body shake when she finished the letter.....she was lost for words. She looked into the box and saw a black layer of soft material lay on top of the items inside.

Dawn grabbed the black cloak, looking at it to see that it was her Agent 3 cape from long ago, ripped and torn from her many battles to save those of the promise land.

Dawn:.......

Dawn looked deeper into the box after placing her cape down. She grabbed onto a square object that Dawn immediately knew was a picture frame. She pulled it out and looked at it to see her, Agent 8, and Captain Cuttlefish sitting together and smiling while enjoying some nice ice cream on a hot summer day.

She felt her eyes water up for a minute, but she quickly stopped herself, shaking her head to get rid of her depressing emotions. One last important thing caught Dawn's eye, a shiny small object inside of the box. She leaned towards the box and reached inside, pulling out the shiny item.

Her eyes widened, her vocal chords tangled up, her heart pumped rapidly. Right before her eyes, she was holding onto a golden toothpick......the same toothpick that she gave to Agent 8...the same toothpick that she wore every single day.....

Dawn's body trembled.....she felt a drop of her tears hit onto the golden toothpick......another drop fell, seeping into the letter that Cuttlefish gave to her.....she gritted her teeth in anger and sorrow as she held the paper and toothpick close to herself, embracing them and hugging them while letting out a sniffle.

Dawn:.......it's not your fault.......old man..........