SPLATOON: The Octarian Race

Chapter 24- Moves

Back in the Inkopolis plaza all the inklings met up with Eliana, Flynn and Ren who were currently explaining their plan. The sky kept falling with rain throughout Inkopolis. "So…the race is coming…!?" Susie gasped as she looked at her brother and then back at Eliana and the others. "That's what an ally of ours told us." Flynn responded back. "Then how can they infiltrate the city with all the inklings around? This isn't safe for all cephalopods!" Josh said back. "...Hmm…we're going to have to make breaking news I guess…" Sho replied as he tapped his chin. "Huh? How?" Camille asked in confusion. "That's right, Sho…! Squid sisters! They know our identities, they know our situations! They can tell everyone to evacuate to Inkopolis square to Pearl and Marina." Ren said to all of them. "...Wait…! But…is this really going to work…? Because this…may change the course of Inkopolis's history again…" Eliana interrupted. All of them looked at her including Flynn. "...Lenard…is not here…we may not stand a chance against them…" She said unsurely. "Don't worry, we'll reason with the race and try to make them understand! I know not all of them can be bad in heart." Flynn said hopefully. "Yeah, we'll make sure to get Lenard back as well!" Camille added. Eliana looked at the two of them and the rest of her friends. "...Thanks you guys…" She said as she turned her face into a smile. They all hugged her happily.
…Whatever may happen…I won't give up…for Lenard…or Inkopolis…I realised…my strength doesn't come from me or my weapon. It comes from my friends and that's all I need no matter what happens.

Back at Octo Valley, the sun was setting. Hiko and Sasha made it back before dark however, Hiko knew that Yuka was going to make Sasha forget her memories with the daily dose. "Hiko…what are we going to do now…? I'll forget…and I'll be Master's empty puppet…" Sasha said as they were walking through the facility. "...I don't know, but I got a plan…hopefully Yuka isn't in the room right now…" He said back to her as they turned left to Yuka's office. They quietly opened her door and she was packing up all the serums and needles in her suitcase. "Hope number 5 is back…I need to attend her room soon. Ah I almost forgot something." Yuka muttered to herself. She remembered that she had to go to the back room to get more supplies. While she was doing that, Hiko and Sasha snuck into the room quietly. They stopped and hid under the desk. "...Okay…" He whispered as he started moving. Sasha kept her eye on him and back at the room Yuka went into. Hiko slowly got up from crouching into his octopus form and swam over to the suitcase on the bench across. He turned back into his humanoid form to make sure Yuka wasn't looking outside the back room. He took the serum from the suitcase quietly and hid it in one of her desks drawers. Hiko made sure that it was buried in her empty serums so Yuka can't tell the difference. Sasha put on a silent and encouraging smile, but they heard Yuka coming back from the room. "Ah, there it is…maybe the small needle wouldn't scare her." Yuka said as she looked at the small needle. Sasha made a shocked, yet scared face. Hiko quickly went back to Sasha underneath the desk and they both hid in their octopus forms quietly. "What's wrong…?" He whispered. Sasha closed her eyes slowly. "...She thinks that I'm not afraid of small needles, but I'm afraid of all kinds of needles…! Big or small…!" She complained quietly. Hiko started snickering quietly while Sasha made an annoyed face. But then they paid their attention back to Yuka, who turned to her suitcase. "Ah…! I thought I put the serum in here. Where did it go? I swear I put it in…" She asked herself as she looked around, but the serum wasn't even on the table. "Oh well…hope a day without the dose will be fine…I have no strength for this right now anyways." She sighed as she went back into the back room. Hiko and Sasha high-fived each other silently and went out of her office. "Phew…! That looks so scary to take, Hiko…!" Sasha said worriedly. "Heh. Well, just be glad. Accidents don't happen everyday, so if we don't stop Master soon, eventually, you're going to have to take it. By the way, refer me to Jakob now…we're back in the race and Master doesn't want to hear my real name being called." Hiko explained. Sasha looked at the brown octoling sadly. "...What if…it doesn't work…? All of this doesn't work…? I won't get to see my brother ever again…" The pink octoling said to him. The brown octoling stopped and looked at her. "...Just have hope. It's the best we can do…I wouldn't know what else to do. Besides…better get to your room before Yuka comes and informs you." Hiko said as he started seperating from her. Sasha didn't say a word back, but she went back to her room quietly. "...Ren…I miss you so much…" She said to herself.
As she entered her room, sat on the ground which felt cold. Few minutes later, she heard a knock. Yuka came in saw her on the floor. "Ah, Sasha. What are you doing on the floor? It's cold. Anyways, so glad Jakob returned you safe and sound. Sorry, but today there won't be a daily dose. I'm currently busy and probably we're on the move tomorrow. Are you okay…?" Yuka said until she noticed Sasha on the ground. Sasha got up and ignored Yuka as she sat on her bed. "...Uh…huh…" She replied silently. Yuka had a worried face, but Master called her from her communicator. "Yuka, inform everyone of the news right now. I want them all to know." He said. "...Of course…" She responded back slowly. Sasha looked at Yuka silently. "...Sorry. I need to head back now. Do you want to come with me?" Yuka asked the pink octoling girl. But Sasha shook her head. "....." "Okay. I'll check back in with you later, then." The beige octoling said as she left Sasha in the room. After she left, Sasha started crying silently as she stared at her hands and her body curled up. 
Hiko went back to his room and acted like he'd done nothing the whole day. "...Wonder how this is gonna play out." He thought to himself. Later, the speakers in the entire facility turned on. "Attention to all members and units we're going to Infiltrate Inkopolis in 2 hours. We will need all members to please assemble in the meeting room." She said through the whole building. Naoto got up from his bed silently and left his room. Kira stopped writing her report as soon as she heard the announcement as she walked out of her room too. As Sasha heard the announcement, she gasped softly and made her way to the meeting. "This better be good…" Hiko sighed as he also got up from his bed and walked to the meeting.

Back in Inkopolis while the rain stopped, Eliana and the others explained their situation to the Squid Sisters. "Huh…?! Are you sure about this? You can't just tell everyone to get out of Inkopolis plaza, y'know." Callie said to all of them. "But…! It's an emergency. You never know when they're gonna show up!" Flynn said back. Eliana looked at Marie hopefully. "Please…Marie…? For captain and for Inkopolis." Eliana added. Marie folded her arms, but then she slowly put them down and sighed. "...Okay. I guess we'll leave Inkopolis plaza in your hands. Callie start the-" Marie was cut off as Callie quickly started streaming. All the inklings stepped back from the camera including Flynn. Marie quickly sat down on the chair and put on her casual straight face while Callie just stared at the the camera with her cheery smile. "Hey there, squids! It may be a bit sudden, but Marie and I decided we'll have a collaboration concert with Off the Hook tonight in Inkopolis Plaza!" Callie said with wide smile on her face. Marie tried not to make an annoyed face. "Cod…I swear Callie…" She said to herself as she got up from her chair. "That's right. We want fans to make their way to Inkopolis square for this FREE performance! That's all for now. Stay fresh!" She and Callie both said as they posed in front of the camera until it cut for commercial. Outside, they heard a lot of inklings heading for the train station. "See? Not bad!" Callie said with a relieved sigh and smile. "Is there really a FREE collboration with Squid Sisters and Off the Hook?" Sho asked. Susie hit his shoulder with an annoyed face. "Ow…! What was that for, Susie…I was just asking…you know how we're Squid Sister fans…" Sho said back quietly. All of them chuckled. "Well, there can be. We'll just inform Pearl and Marina about the sudden issue." Marie replied back. "Sorry for the trouble!" Camille apologized. "It's not a problem. As agents of gra–captain, we're here to help out the bravest inklings who saved Inkopolis and captain." Marie said with a pleasant smile. "You can count on us." Josh said back and Ren nodded silently. "Thanks for keeping everyone safe." "No problem! It's the least we can do for you guys!" Callie told them back. Eliana looked away silently. Flynn caught her sad again and he tapped her shoulder. "...Sad again? Y'know if Lenard sees you like this, he's going to have that same old grumpy face like you do." Flynn teased. Eliana turned back to him. "...Oh…! Not that…I'm just wondering how all of this will turn out. If we're really going to make peace for both inklings and octolings, what if we make things worse…?" She asked. "Pshh. Don't worry about it. We'll just hope for the best. And plus, our main goal is to get Lenard back and stop Master. Easy, right?" Flynn scoffed. Eliana made an unsure face at him. "You say it's easy. That sounds like a plan, but it doesn't seem promising the way you put it." She said back. Flynn made a face of disappointment. "Cold, Eliana. But I'm just saying, that's what we're really after. Y'know, you finally remembered who you are and now it's time to put an end to the race and their plans. Including Master." He said back positively. Eliana just had an embarrassed smile as she looked down. "...You win. Hehe." She said back shyly. "Duh, I'm always right! Now let's get moving so we can watch this area!" Flynn said as he left pridefully.
Flynn never changes…actually…I feel like this is his true version. Back in the race he was pretty quiet. I guess he needed someone to talk to freely and it turned out to be me. I'm just glad that he's there for me as much as I'm there for him. For Lenard too, we will get him back.