The next day had finally came. Friday, 8:50 Pm. The sun has set, Inkopolis gleamed in light and the sound of amazing music from Pearl, Marina, Callie, and Marie who were on top of the stage in front of Deca tower, with their song coming to a close, Inklings and Octolings roared in the square as Callie waved to them all excitingly and Marie gave a much more calm wave.

Callie: Thank you, Thank you!

Marie: we hope you guys are enjoying the performance!

Pearl: we'll be back after a quick break!

The four Idols walked to the edge of the stage, taking a staircase down as security squids were blocking the fans from approaching them. They all went into the news station and Pearl sat down on her bean bag while Marina sat in her normal chair with spare chairs for the squid sisters, and while Marie sat in her chair normally, Callie slumped her whole body and let out a long groan.

Callie: Uuuugh...I'm tired.

Marie: we still have a while, so suck it up.

Pearl: I'm honestly still surprised you guys actually decided to show up for this splatfest.

Marie: after a discussion, yeah, why not?

Marina: what was your discussion if you don't mind me asking?

Marie:.....just uh.....*sigh* weird stuff.

Callie: because......

Marina:......

Pearl: wait a minute......

Pearl looked at the two cousins, seeing the sadness, yet nervousness in their faces, causing her to sigh herself, then lean back in her bean bag while crossing her arms.

Pearl: you guys are only here because of Agent 3, huh?

Callie/Marie:......

Pearl: as expected....

Marina:.....you two.....

Pearl: why? Why are you still on her about this? It's been 10 months ever since that incident and you two are still chasing her around?

Marie: the only reason we're chasing her is because she keeps running away. If she would just take the time to sit down and tal-

Pearl: I'm pretty sure if she's running away constantly, that would kinda give you guys a hint, no?

Callie: but we......we just want to apologize.....

Marina: have you tried contacting her phone?

Marie: she blocked us in every way possible. And I think she just changed her number overall.

Pearl: maybe it's best if you guys just leave this situation alone. It's been stressing you two out like crazy.

Marie: that's easy for you to say.....you two don't know how it feels to live like this....with so much guilt.

Callie: throughout her career.......we never.....gave 3 the love and comfort that she properly deserved......

Marie: she would always keep to herself.....and we did nothing about it. We never tried to break through and get to know her.......but once agent 4 came into the picture.....it was like she....changed.

Callie: 3 and 4 were best friends.....then the two met agent 8.....and it seemed like 3 was a completely different squid. That was the first time I've ever seen 3 smile...

Marie:........now that 8 and 4 are gone....

Pearl:....please don't remind me....

The room went silent for a minute, nobody knew what to say, but Marina was the only one who built up enough courage to open her mouth to break the silence.

Marina: maybe we should talk about something else....like....uh....what song we're gonna sing next.

Marie:....I guess you're right.....

In the square, Dawn was leaning against the back of Crusty Sean's food truck, with her backwards cap and her Octo buns splatfest tee.

She looked at her phone and saw that it was 8:59, and just as she let out her sigh, she heard footsteps approaching her. She looked over and saw Rose with her E-Liter on her back and her Octo Buns splatfest tee as well. Dawn leaned up from the truck and Rose looked down to notice her splattershot that was on her hip.

Dawn: *sigh* let's just get this splatfest over with.

Rose gave Dawn a nod and the two walked along the square towards Deca tower, but were then noticed by some cephalopods in the distance, who waved towards them.

Shade: Rosie! Dawney!!

Dawn:.....for fucks sake...

Dawn looked over and saw her Coworkers along with Mona walk over and greet the two, and while Rose greeted them back, Dawn stared over at Deca tower, wanting to get out of the public eye as soon as possible.

Shadow: looks like you two are the only Octo bun supporters.

Rose: *nods*

Shade: awe! Are you two gonna turf together!? That's so cut-

Dawn: *covers her mouth* can you please not be so fucking loud!? I really don't want certain people to notice that I'm here!!

Shade: mmmph! *lick*

Dawn: ugh! Seriously!?

Shade: *giggles* you asked for it.

Shadow: "certain people"? What type of people are you talking about?

Dawn: *glares* none of your business.

Shadow: fine, fine...that's fair.

Mona: w-we hope you two have....fu-

Dawn: yeah, yeah whatever. Let's go, Rose.

Dawn grabbed Rose's arm and dragged her along through the square and into Deca tower, not noticing the other group of cephalopods watching her in the distance.

Scarlett:.....there she is~...

~~~

Dawn and Rose ran throughout the battlefield of Moray towers, inking their way around. Rose looked over at Dawn and saw her easily defeating her opponents, quickly disposing of them whenever they challenged her.

Dawn saw a Dynamo roller jumping down to hit her with a mean wave of Ink, causing her to jump away and dodge the shockwave, then she quickly grabbed her burst bomb and threw it directly at the Dynamo's face, blinding her, making her rub her eyes in pain. The Dynamo opened up her eyes and looked around, but couldn't find Dawn in time to notice a barrel of a splattershot pressing against the back of her head.

Dawn: die.

Dawn splatted the Dynamo, then looked around to find anymore opponents. The map was basically covered completely in blue Ink, since the color brand of Octo Buns are Blue, while Squiddy cakes are purple.

The timer eventually concluded, and the match ended. Rose looked back at Dawn to see her panting from exhaustion, mainly because she was doing most of the work for the past 5 battles.

after the two got their money and experience points, which is needed to buy specific gear and enter shops, the two went to their spawn pad and left Moray towers, which took them back to Inkopolis square. Dawn and Rose walked through the square with the blasting music and shining lights, which made Dawn rub her head in pain and sit down at a table.

Dawn: cod...my head...

Dawn looked up and didn't see Rose anywhere, which only made her assume that the girl ditched her, letting out a sigh and crossing her arms while leaning back in her chair.

Dawn: I knew it...

Dawn looked around the square and saw how......happy all of the cephalopods were....how well they were bonding and dancing together, which only reminded her of her old self from Inkopolis Plaza....back when she was young and naive, and all she wanted to do was Turf 24/7.

She closed her eyes and relaxed a little, thinking that she would be by herself for the rest of the night, but then she felt something cold touch her cheek, which shocked her completely and made her look over to see Rose holding a plate of cheesy crusty fries with two cans of strawberry tentatek soda.

Dawn:.....so you didn't ditch me....

Rose: *tilts her head*

Dawn:....never mind....

Rose sat down and placed the plate of fries in between the two after giving Dawn her soda, which she popped open and began to drink.

Dawn:.....thanks....

Rose:......*nods*......*nom*.....

Dawn looked up on the stage and saw the squid sisters singing alongside Off The hook, which only made her sigh and take a longer sip of her drink but also turn her backwards cap to the side and tilt it down a little so the squid sisters wouldn't notice her face in the distance, but then she felt something warm touch her face instead this time, which made her look back towards Rose, seeing her pointing at the fries.

Dawn: you don't have to poke my face every time you want my attention, dammit!

Rose: *point point*......

Dawn:.....*sigh*.....

Dawn took a French fry of her own and slowly ate it while leaning back to relax from her previous games. She looked at Rose and saw her looking up at the Squid sisters, and her face lit up when she saw them both dance and sing their beautiful melody to the square.....which caused Dawn to look away from her and shake her head a bit.

Dawn: I'm guessing you're just as blind as the rest of these idiots.....

Rose: *looks at Dawn*

Dawn:....you like the squid sisters a lot, huh?

Rose: *nods*

Dawn:.........I remember when I liked them.....they were my inspiration.....

Rose:.....*cute stare*

Dawn: why are you looking at me like that!? I'm holding up my end of the deal, alright!?

Rose: *nod nod*

Dawn:......well....uh.....I'm not the best with stories.....but um......which one do you like more?

Rose: *points at Callie*

Dawn:......hm....a Callie fan....If Octolings were on the surface back then, I know you would've went team Callie for sure.

Rose leaned a little closer with a shocked expression on her face, surprising Dawn a little, who leaned back a bit from her.

Dawn: yes, there was a Callie vs Marie splatfest....

Rose:....*points at Dawn*

Dawn: I was a Marie fangirl back then....but...*shrugs*.....I slowly started to link with Off The Hook more. And before you ask, Marie won that splatfest.

Rose: -_-.......

Dawn: yeah....I forgot that Octolings don't know any of the old splatfests that used to happen....

Rose: *nods*

Dawn: uh...let's see....

Rose:.....*leans closer*

Dawn: there was early birds vs night owls...that one was fun....I was team night owl...

Rose: *shakes her head*

Dawn: *rolls her eyes* of course you would be an early bird.

Rose: *gestures more*

Dawn: don't rush me, sheesh!....uh...cats vs dogs was a thing.....

Rose: *confused*

Dawn: the only reason I went team cat was because I didn't know what the fuck a dog was....

Rose: *points to Judd*

Dawn: yes, and Judd...........Also, Rose....Too close.

Rose began to notice that every time Dawn would speak, she leaned closer and closer to her each time after being more interested to the point where Rose was leaning over the whole table. Rose quickly realized how close she was and instantly leaned back, sitting back down in her chair and apologizing to Dawn by waving her hand.

Dawn: *sigh*....it's fine.....

The two sat in silence for a minute. Dawn grabbed another fry and ate it, then looked over at Rose who was looking at a Jelly who was dancing on top of an Inkling's head. Dawn hesitated, and she didn't understand why, but then she opened her mouth towards Rose, instantly catching her attention.

Dawn:....Rose...

Rose:...*looks at Dawn*

Dawn: I have a question...

Rose: *tilts her head*

Dawn:....you don't have to answer it...but it's the only thing that made me think about yo-...

Rose: *cute stare*

Dawn:...it annoyed me a lot...

Rose:....

Dawn:....Rose....why don't you participate in splatfests?

Rose:.....

Dawn: this is your first splatfest in like, 5 months....what gives?

Dawn saw Rose start to look away and get very uncomfortable, placing her hands on her lap and shaking a little, which actually concerned Dawn a little.

Dawn: like I said, you don't have to answer.

Rose: *shakes her head*

Dawn saw Rose pull out her notepad slowly and start to scribble on it as her hand slightly shook, but before Rose could finish her note, a familiar voice was heard in the distance by the two.

Shade: Uuuugh! Another loss!!

Rose and Dawn looked over to see Shade dragging her Kensa dynamo across the ground while whimpering and Shadow, Conner, and Mona all walked alongside her. Dawn looked back at Rose and saw her quickly put away her notepad as if her message was very personal and secretive, which only made Dawn grumble in annoyance from the horrible timing of their arrival.

Shade: we lost 4 games in a row!! This is not my splatfest!!

Shadow: I don't really care about that. Where the hell is Rune with our spicy Sea steaks?

Conner: *shows his phone*

-Rune's message-

C: where are you?

R: sorry. Kelp house is kinda busy and the place is packed. I'm basically in the library until they finish my order so I can go pick it up.

——

Shadow: *sigh* Maybe we should've got something else as a Splatfest meal.

Shade: hell no! A spicy sea steak will be the only thing that would cheer me up at this point!

Rose:....

Before every single splatfest, the Café crew would all come together for a group meeting and decide on a Splatfest meal. The Café will be exclusively open only to them after hours when they are done with their splatfest turfing battles, to all decide on a celebratory meal that they would all enjoy together...but there's one catch...before the splatfest, the crew would play a group game of cards called "slick snakes", and the loser would have to pay for the entire meal.

For the last 3 splatfests in a row, Rune has been the loser within the game, meaning that he has to go out and gather the food while also paying for it and bringing it to the Café.....not to mention that Rune really sucks at Slick snakes.....which is why Conner would usually train him to get better...even Mona is better than Rune at Slick Snakes.

Mona:....h-he's in....Moray city....right?

Shadow:....

Mona:....M-Moray City!....

Shadow: oh...yeah, he is. That's where the Kelp house is.

Mona:....maybe.....I should go help him with the....steaks...

Conner: *grabs her shoulder*

Mona: eh!?

Conner: *shakes his head*

Mona: b-but would if he's hurt!?

Conner: -_-.....

Mona: *whimpers*....don't....look at me like that....

Shade: Roo Roo will be okay! Let's just focus on having fun!

Shadow: aren't you like, the only one NOT having fun?

Shade: *crying* I'm having fun!

~~~~~~

Rune: *sigh*.....Jewel, why would you make such a stupid decision?

Rune was leaning against the wall in the Moray City Library, which was basically empty because of the splatfest. He was reading a book that was labeled "Shattered chronicles", which revolved around a protagonist named Jewel, searching for the truth about her fallen mother.

Even though he doesn't show it all that much, Rune is a bit of a booksquid, burying his nose into books usually when he has some free time and such, but he didn't really talk about his books with his coworkers, mainly because of their other habits, which he didn't mind.

Rune:....alright then.....death isn't the best solution for him....

Rune pulled out his phone and looked at his messages with Conner, seeing a picture that was just recently sent to him of Shade and Shadow, along with Mona, throwing up peace signs while Mona was confused, along with the text on the screen saying. "Hurry up, Roo Roo!"

Rune:.....Yeah yeah, it's basically around the time to go grab my steaks anyway.

Rune slid his phone into his pocket and closed his book after bookmarking it, but just as he walked away, he bumped into another cephalopod girl, making them both stumble back, with her falling on the ground and Rune dropping his book, losing his page.

Rune: ah...shit! I'm sorry!

???:....I-It's fine....I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going...

Rune rubbed one of his eyes while looking over at the Inkling, seeing her face for a split second before she covered her whole entire face while feeling around the floor for her pair of shades, which landed near his foot. Rune picked up the shades and walked over to her, gently tapping her on her back.

Rune: I think these are yours.....

???:...O-Oh! Thank you very much!...

The girl grabbed the shades and turned around so Rune couldn't see her face, sliding her shades on and turning back around to him, giving him a little thumbs up.

???: much better! I appreciate it, my squiddy dawg!

Rune:....what?

???: ya know? My slick skin? My Ink comrade? My league bro bro?

Rune:.....what the hell are you talking about?....

???: is that not the..."cool slang" you guys say?....

Rune: I've never heard anyone say any of those things......

???:....*mumbles* but it said that in the manual.....

Rune: manual?

???: uh, nothing!! I'll be going now!

Rune saw the girl quickly speed walk by him, but before she could even get far, she was stopped in her tracks by Rune's words.

Rune:...ya know...I'm very good at remembering people just by their voices alone.....you sound very familiar......

???: *sweats*....u-uh....

Rune: I saw your face for a second as well....your eyes....

???: n-n-no you didn't! You're bluffing!

Rune: *crosses his arms*.....You remind me of Crystal.....ya know....the mayor of this city?

Rune slowly walked closer and closer to the Inkling, seeing her whimper and slowly back away until she backed straight into a wall. Rune stood right in front of her and glared at her until she finally let out a sigh of defeat, slowly reaching up and pulling off her shades.

Crystal:....yes.....you caught me.....

Rune: why are you dressed like an....old school squid? What's with the backwards cap and saggy jeans? Along with the bandana?

Crystal: because I wanted to blend in!

Rune:....it honestly just makes you stand out more than anyone else....

Crystal:.....really?.....

Rune: yes.

Crystal: b-but I can't walk around normally....I get swarmed by Inklings and Octolings.....So I have to wear my wicked disguise!

Rune: please stop saying words like that....

Crystal: but it's street slang, my dawg!

Crystal threw up two peace signs and puckered her lips while all Rune could do was cringe at her horrendously.

Rune: it's not...nobody says that...

Crystal held her pose for a bit longer, but then slowly stopped and let out a very long sigh, dusting herself off before switching back to her normal mayor demeanor.

Crystal: I apologize for my behavior....I just want to live the life of a normal Inkling....

Rune: well yeah...but walking around and yelling weird slangs isn't "living the life of a normal inkling"

Crystal: I read about it in an Inkopolis magazine! It explained how to become "fresh"...and it's something that I really wanna do!

Rune:...if you say so...

Crystal: my little guppies usually see me as a beautiful, privileged girl...but I didn't ask to be one....nor do I like it...

Rune: your guppies?

Crystal: my people of my city....staying locked up in my home all day is very tedious....I want to....get out and explore. I love turf war, and I love the delicious food here as well.

Rune: so you're telling me that this is your city, yet you've never tried the food?

Crystal: no....not all that much...

Rune leaned down and picked up his book before letting out a sigh and walking past her, which completely caught Crystal off guard from his sudden rejection to continue the conversation.

Rune: I'm going to pick up my spicy sea steaks.....have a nice one, Crystal.....

Crystal: w-what did I say!?

Crystal looked down at Rune's book and saw the "Shattered Chronicles" cover, which froze her up completely as he walked out the library.

Crystal:....Shattered....C-Chronicles...wait!...wait a second!...

Crystal put her shades back on and quickly ran out of the library, looking around outside, but she saw Rune nowhere. She looked directly across the street and saw a crowd of squids in front of the Kelp house, which made Crystal let out a determined "hmph" before running towards the crowd, moving squids and Octos out of the way.

Crystal: excuse me...pardon me!

Inkling girl: the fuck?

Octoling boy: watch it!

Inkling boy: don't touch me!

Crystal got on her tippy toes, looking above the crowd to see Rune's tentacles within the crowd, which made her push through even harder to catch him.

Crystal: h-hey!...(he's so fast!)...

Octoling girl: watch where you're going, parasite!

Crystal was violently shoved by the Octoling girl, putting enough force on her to knock her shades right off of her face. Crystal quickly covered her face and began to panic from being in the gigantic crowd of cephalopods, looking down on the ground and seeing a random squid accidentally step on her shades, breaking them completely.

Crystal: (no!....now what am I gonna do!?)

Crystal whimpered and moved her fingers out of the way from her eyes a little, seeing Rune in the distance taking his food and paying for it.

Rune: thank you....

Crystal: wait!

Crystal made her way through the crowd while covering her face a much as she could while still trying to fucking see right in front of her, and from her vision, she saw herself slowly approaching Rune more and more, looking at his black hoodie and gently grabbing it, allowing him to trail her out of the crowd.

Crystal:......*pant*....*pant*...I finally caught you....I have a serious question...

Rune didn't respond to Crystal's statement, and when the two completely left the area and got out of the crowd, Crystal made sure she was pretty far away from the crowd before removing her hands from her face and letting out a sigh of relief.

Crystal: that was a whole disaster in there....wow...anyway, about my questio-...

Crystal looked over towards Rune....only for her eyes to widen in shock, noticing that the figure wasn't Rune at all, but rather a unique Octoling girl......a girl with grey skin that looked toxic and decayed, cracks around her eyes, and horns on the top of her head that looked sharp like a sea urchins thorns. Crystal was lost for words at the sight of the Octoling, seeing her holding a giant meat cube that was on a stick, to which she opened her mouth and completely devoured the cube.

Crystal:....I.....I'm sorry....I thought you were someone else.....Your black hoodie....

The Octoling turned around and looked away from Crystal, and Crystal noticed an actual tail that extended from the Octoling's lower back, a tail that looked very similar to a stingray's. The tail swayed slowly back and forth, making Crystal confused and even question on if the Octoling was even an Octoling at that point.

Crystal: I know you.....

The Octoling was beginning to walk away from Crystal, but stopped after hearing her words, and she stood in silence, allowing the wind to blow her tentacles and make them away across her face, and for some reason, Crystal was barely able to actually pull out the words to even say to her.

Crystal:.....Violet....that's you, isn't it?....The leader of the Archdemon squad.....

Violet slowly turned her head around and looked at Crystal, yet she had no emotion on her face.....she instead just gave Crystal a tiny, gentle nod, and it allowed Crystal to see the pure black eyes of the Octoling, seeing her white pupils, making it look as if she was staring into your soul.

Crystal:......I.....

Violet:..........

Crystal: I hope your team makes it up there!....k-keep up the good work!

Violet did nothing but stare at Crystal, which made it very awkward between the two, but before Crystal could even speak, a voice spoke over her from behind, catching her and Violet's attention.

???: Violet!!

Violet:...........

A very short Octoling kid ran past Crystal, making her instantly realize who the tiny girl was after seeing her little baby horn on the side of her forehead, but unlike Violet, the girl had no tail in sight.

Crystal:....(Eleanor...)...

Eleanor held up a bag to Violet, and she slowly reached inside, pulling out a Octo Buns tee along with Eleanor.

Ellie: now we can participate in the splatfest with Luna and Mercy!

Violet:......

Ellie: wait....no, they're team squiddy cakes! Dang it!

Crystal could do nothing besides stare at the two cephalopods, seeing Violet slowly shift her gaze over to her, which already sent shivers down her body, but the look also gave Crystal a message.....a message that told her....tonight.....would change everything.
~~~~~