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Chapter Text

A light gust blew through the grass, tilting flowers in its gentle breeze, passing by the world around it in unknowing bliss as the sun shone down proudly, through the clouds and over the field. Nature had grown here as intended, and all should've been peaceful. It should've been. Yet, today, life had other plans, as the grass and flowers both soon found themselves trampled by the scurrying feet of Inkling soldiers, driving their boots through the dirt, with no care for anything but the battle ahead and their own survival.

"OPEN FIRE!" An Inkling screamed, breaking the peace even further.

A line of cannons all fired on command, one at a time, before bouncing backward from the recoil. Large, explosive balls of green ink were hurled through the air over the battlefield, before striking somewhat random destinations on the opposing team: An army of the Octarians, who had put aside their own differences and joined as one team against what they now considered the Inkling menace.

Thus was the nature of the Great Turf War: A large-scale conflict of opposing species, two species that used to get along well not even long ago, before being forced to fight over who would be able to keep control of the surface world. Sounds of explosions, running, and screaming rang through the area as the opposing armies clashed, covering the field in more and more ink as more people were splatted in battle.

The Octarians charged forward with great energy; they had, after all, been winning battles in strides, and confidence was running high. But today, it soon appeared that things might not be so much in their favor. As a group of them charged into battle, they were suddenly blocked off by an explosion of ink in their direct path, and they all briefly stopped cautiously.

The ink quickly subsided, revealing the figure that the Octarians probably feared the most. A large, overweight yet muscular Inkling, with a long gray beard that matched his determined, lovable smile, and the eyes of a fearsome animal; It was none other than the legendary Cap'n Squidbeak. Seeing that the Octarians stopped before him, he took a moment to rest his Bamboozler on his shoulder, while his Inkling allies arrived by his side.

"Morning, fellas." Squidbeak greeted his foes. "I hope it's not too early for a party. Say, you wouldn't mind telling me where I could find the nearest ass-whooping, would you?"

The Octarians remained momentarily frozen in fear, all of them well aware of this man's legacy, until one Octoling in the back got impatient. "What are you waiting for!? Shoot him!"

They opened fire on him, but Squidbeak was too quick, as he swiftly defended himself by suddenly revealing his wooden shield, effortlessly blocking the barrage of ink. An Octoling attempted to charge at him in response, but he suddenly bashed the shield into him, before kicking him away and opening fire on the other Octolings, who had been caught off guard. His aiming was excellent, and he quickly splatted a good number of them. "HaHA!" He bellowed victoriously.

Every time an Octarian even dared to attack him, he always instantly improvised a defense and then counter, and while he did occasionally take some nasty ink hits, his body mass was enough to keep him from being splatted for a bit longer, keeping him locked in the fight. Even if the Inkling soldiers by his side helped him out, he probably didn't even need them. He was just that good. If only he had been able to attend all the battles in the war, maybe things would be going their way… It would also help if the Inklings were better at getting up in the morning, but, what was a whole other thing.

He kept battling, hardly letting up as more and more Octarians became puddles of ink before him, as the Inklings around him also started to lower in numbers. He looked around. He was good, but the sheer number of Octarians was starting to get a bit overwhelming.

"Stand your ground, men!" He pressured his allies, shielding himself from another barrage of ink. "Keep your aim true!"

His fellow soldiers did their best to heed his commands, but they were getting too overwhelmed, and the purple ink of the enemy were starting to overtake the area. He continued to fight valiantly, but it wasn't long after that when he heard an Octarian yell at him from directly behind, in their own language. He stopped what he was doing, slowly turning his head a little to see that he was being held at gunpoint by an Octotrooper, the last one in the immediate vicinity. He sighed and raised his hands a little, slowly turning to it.

"Surrender your men!" The Octotrooper commanded.

"...Sorry, I don't speak dummy." He remarked.

The Octotrooper angrily repeated itself, before it suddenly exploded into a mess of ink as it, too, was splatted. Squidbeak, rather than jumping in surprise, simply grinned as he turned around fully.

Stepping out from the nearby smoky fog was the Inkling man who fired the shot, a handsome Second Lieutenant with white ponytail hair that was visible through his hat, and a goatee on his chin. Followed by some other Inklings, he grinned and gave Squidbeak a reassuring nod. "Cap'n."

"Cuttlefish! Glad you could make it!" He dropped his shield, which was on the verge of breaking from all the high-pressure ink shots anyway.

"Likewise." Cuttlefish held his Bamboozler with both hands. "But there's another wave coming. And we haven't even cleared the first."

"I figured those tricky sons of bitches would have backup. But we'll fight until every last one of them is either splatted or fleeing. Or, you know, the other way around."

"It's not like you to talk as if losing is a possibility, Cap'n. Feeling a little out of it today?"

"Oh, I might've had a disappointing breakfast. But I'm here, and not going anywhere!" He walked over to a nearby hill to get a better view of the battlefield, with Cuttlefish following.

"What do you think they want here?" Cuttlefish asked.

"To secure the area all for themselves, of course. They seal the area, our forces take a hit. You see that fort over there?" He pointed behind him, at the building that was armed with cannons. "We let them reach that fort, and this is gonna go down in the history books in a way we don't want it to. Understand?"

"Understood." He nodded.

"Good." He looked over the hill again, noticing the incoming second wave of Octarians. "There's the horde you mentioned! I'll help defend the fort! You men make sure those pigs never get there! Alright? Time to make it rain, boys!"

They responded with a war cry, briefly raising their weapons into the air, before running down the hill and into battle, with Cuttlefish in front. The Octarians, seeing the army, also ran forward, as the two differing factions soon collided. Cuttlefish ran in without hesitation, gunning down anyone he saw with a differing ink color and little thought.

As the battle raged on, Squidbeak arrived back at the fort. "I get we're all just about ready for tea time, but they're coming in hot! Man the cannons!"

The Inklings nodded and started arming their cannons again, as Squidbeak got himself prepared for the coming battle, flipping his Bamboozler in his hand. It wasn't long afterward when, despite all his forces' best efforts, the Octarians were again nearing the fort.

"Open fire!" He commanded.

The cannons all fired more shots of explosive ink balls at the ensuing army, taking a fraction of them out, as Squidbeak directly took on the survivors along with his Inkling allies, shooting them down with their weapons. However, Squidbeak couldn't help but notice that the fight seemed a bit… easy, this time.

"What's the matter, you tentacle-headed lubbers?" He teased them as he knocked one aside before splatting him effortlessly. "How am I supposed to show you my A-game if you won't even put up a fight!?" He whacked one with his Bamboozler.

"Captain!" Someone who was atop the fort shouted suddenly.

Free for just a moment, he looked up. "What is it!?"

"Look!" He pointed in the distance, and everyone, including the Octarians, stopped as they looked overl. Even Cuttlefish stopped alongside his men as they looked up. From over the mountain, an entire series of planes could be seen flying in. At first, Cuttlefish smiled, seeing that they appeared to be Inkling-made.

"Well, I'll be…" Cuttlefish sighed, staring up in amazement.

"Looks like the cavalry arrived!" Squidbeak gloated. "Feels like they're making this too easy."

A moment passed as they looked ahead. The Octarians had started to flee, but… something was off. The planes were flying well overhead, and were heading on a straight path that lead directly over the fort itself. Cuttlefish squinted his eyes. Focusing hard enough, he and the rest of the Inklings were able to see that they were… being flown by Octotroopers.

He gasped. "Air strike! Air strike!"

Surprised, Squidbeak turned back to the fort. "Man those cannons again!"

The Inkling soldiers atop the fort immediately began to re-prepare the cannons, as the planes closed in.

"Fire!" Squidbeak commanded.

The cannons again blasted backward as they fired their massive blobs of ink toward the planes. Due to how unprepared they were, most of them missed and instead hurled toward their own Inkling allies. One of them, however, was able to strike the wing on one plane, and the Octotrooper in it quickly lost control, unable to prevent the plane from spinning awkwardly as it careened down to the Earth. In its last moments, the Octotrooper aimed the plane as best as it could, and it exploded on impact, falling directly into a group of Inkling soldiers.

"No…" Squidbeak said as he watched. What were they supposed to do now?

"...Reloading!" One of the soldiers at the cannons announced as he got right back to work.

"No, hold your positions, we won't have enough!"

"Cap'n, they're coming, we can't do nothing!"

"So hold your ground!" He looked up. "…I want you men to get out of here!"

"What about you!? What are you doing!?"

"Holding them off." He braced himself.

"Captain!" He tried to run over and stop him, while Squidbeak morphed into his large squid form, preparing to blast off in a super jump, toward the planes, but they were both too late. Having been unaware of the barrel that was dropping from the planes underside toward the fort, it struck the ground and burst with a loud BOOM. Its fiery explosion erupted through the fort without mercy. The Inkling was knocked back, and Squidbeak was bashed aside.

Hearing the explosion, Cuttlefish turned in their direction, with his Bamboozler only loosely in his hand. "…Cap'n…" Gripping his weapon, he took off running toward the fort, right into the face of danger. "Cap'n!"

The attack was far from over. More barrels were already raining down, and with each one came another massive explosion, either directly on the fort or on the field around it. He shielded his face, trying his best to navigate the chaos.

"TAKE COVER!" An Inkling shouted, as their army scrambled to evade danger by any means necessary. As it was a field, there was little cover to hide behind, and despite some attempting to use rocks or anything they could use for defense, their attempts proved fruitless, as most of them were soon either consumed by the fire, knocked down and subdued by a nearby explosion, or suffocated in the now-smoky atmosphere. The fort itself was meanwhile giving out by its very foundation, and began collapsing into a heap of bricks as a wall of fire erupted from its exits.

Cuttlefish, who was holding up well all things considered, was just nearing the fort, doing his best to protect himself from the smoke. He coughed. "CAP'N-"

Finally, one last explosion erupted just nearby, and he was blown off his feet, flying backward until he struck the ground again. He rolled a couple times before settling on his back, where he now laid, extremely weakened.

Unable to do much, he stared up at the smoky sky. His ears were ringing, but he was pretty sure the explosions were dying down… Groaning a bit, he turned his head toward the fort. Through the smoky mess, he could vaguely see the planes flying away, their job finished. He then looked toward the fort, which was now a destroyed, smoking mess. They had failed… just like that…

"...No…" He tried his best to get up, but was too winded.

Minutes passed as he struggled to get up, his ears ringing the entire time. He might've fallen asleep a few times, he wasn't sure… Yet, his need to find survivors and maybe help people was greater than his weakness. Mustering his strength, he was finally able to slowly and painfully roll over to his stomach, where he pushed himself up. Coughing from the smoke, he looked around. Around him, in the fiery wreckage, was many of his fallen allies. A mere couple of them were starting to stir like he was, but most of them remained unmoving. Limping over, he checked the pulses of a couple of his nearby friends. Both were already dead.

He coughed again as he teared up, unable to do much. Moving on, he continued limping through the battleground, toward the fort, avoiding the fires as he did. He doubted anyone would've survived here, but… he had to check.

"...Cap'n." He coughed, approaching the fort. "Captain." He started to look around. "…Captain!" He said a bit louder.

Finally, some rubble nearby stirred in response.

He gasped a bit, limping over. Looking around the rubble pile, he soon came to find Cap'n Squidbeak himself, who was sprawled against it. "Cap'n!" He limped over and fell to his knees next to him.

Squidbeak choked up some ink and looked up at him. "…Lieutenant."

"You're gonna be ok. I'm going to…" He then looked him over, the reality of his state washing over him. His big body had been enough to protect him from the immediate carnage he was faced with, but… his chest was lined was shrapnel, and he had lost a lot of ink. He fell into silence.

"...You don't have to say it." He groaned, clearly in pain just by talking. "Definitely one of my worst scrapes… I'll… be ok."

"Help should be here soon. Just hold on."

"That's not what I meant by ok." He choked again.

He stared at him.

"...Not many guys my age get to go out like this. At least I've… done my part…" Squidbeak continued.

Cuttlefish gulped, having trouble finding the words to say. "…I… You've… done so much for us. We… can't do this without you."

"...You'll figure it out…" Groaning again, he mustered his remaining strength to reach up, pulling off his Captain hat. "…A Cap'n ain't much if his men can't live up to him… is he?"

He didn't respond.

"Here." He slowly handed it over, groaning more as he did.

He stared at it, but didn't take it. "…Cap'n…"

"You've done good today, Lieutenant. I can see I trained you well… besides… you're still standing… and that's a big accomplishment… Take it."

"...I can't…"

"Someone's-" He choked again. "…gotta continue the fight… otherwise… what we've done so far… will be in vain."

He stared at him, hearing his words. Understanding, he slowly reached and took it, but he didn't put it on. He simply held it, staring at him with teary eyes. He wanted to say something like… "Thank you for your service", or even just, "Thank you…", but… nothing came out.

Squidbeak leaned his head against the rubble, letting himself rest for his final moments, and Cuttlefish stayed by his side, just so that he wasn't alone. Moments passed in silence, as he stayed until Squidbeak's eyes went lifeless, and his last breath was let out. Tears falling down his cheeks, Cuttlefish reached over to slowly pull his eyelids down.

After another moment, with the Captain hat in hand, he slowly stood up again, coughing some more as he took another look around. As his adrenaline started to die back down, exhaustion was slowly catching up with him, as he limped on to potentially find any more survivors.

But something else caught his eye. Not far from the site of Squidbeak's body was the single Octarian plane that the cannons had managed to take down, in its own burning wreckage. Curious, he started limping toward it. It didn't look like anything the Octarians would own… so where'd they get it?

Limping over, exhaustion started to take hold of his mind, but he didn't let up. He had to investigate the plane. Feeling more and more faint as he slowly approached it, one interesting detail, on the side of the plane, just visible in the wreckage, caught his eye before he ultimately collapsed, unconscious.

It was the Ammo Knights logo.

Two Weeks Later

Candles surrounded and lit up a black-and-white picture of the now former Cap'n Squidbeak, his face within the frame as big and emboldening and ever. The audience within the church, which was made up of entirely Inklings due to the war, remained silent outside of the beautiful piano music, which set the tone. A group of Inkling soldiers, dressed up in honorary clothing, carried Squidbeak's casket, with an Inkling flag on top, down the aisle. Cuttlefish was among the carriers, his face appearing particularly bleak today. He was looking better, but still had a couple cuts that he tried his best to hide, and it was clear he had only recently been released from medical care. He kept his gaze forward and avoided eye contact with anyone, his hearts heavy.

The church remained silent as they soon set the casket down, and the ceremony continued as normal. People gave speeches, and later on in the cemetery, soldiers fired their blanks up into the air out of respect. Cuttlefish, all the while… remained silent, all the way up until Squidbeak was lowered into the ground and buried, covered up forever. He wanted to go up and make his speech, but… he didn't know what words would suffice.

It was only after the funeral ended that another soldier came up to him, patting his shoulder. He looked at him.

"Can't help but notice you've been silent." The soldier said. "I thought, you know, since you fought so closely with him for so long, you'd want to say something."

Cuttlefish looked ahead. "Any words that can be spoken here have already been spoken."

"I heard he gave you the Captain hat, but you turned down the promotion?"

"...It didn't feel right."

"Squidbeak himself gave it to you. As his final action. And besides, after the hell you went through, I think you've earned it."

At this point, he ignored him.

"You can't blame yourself for his death. You did all you could." The soldier continued.

"Clearly not enough. I should've… seen the planes coming."

"Nobody saw the planes coming. The Octarians fought dirty. Simple as that."

He looked down, thinking back to the logo he saw on the side of the plane. After a moment, he turned to him. "Do you know anything about… Ammo Knights?"

"Ammo Knights? Well… yeah. Weapons company. Shopping line. Things like that."

"Do you think they'd ever… ally themselves with the Octarians? Help stage the attack that killed Cap'n Squidbeak?"

"...Where is this coming from?"

"Just answer the question."

He sighed. "Well, I don't know, it's hard to say. The Shellendorf family, I'd reckon they're their own side. Or the side that benefits them the most."

"Shellendorf?"

"Family of Horseshoe Crabs that run the company. The current runner is Ammoses Shellendorf."

"Ammoses… Shellendorf." He looked down, thinking about that. He looked back at him. "Where do I find him?"

"Not a clue. But, if it provides any help, I know one guy who might have one."

"Who?"

"Jack McLeod. He's a bar-owner in Inkadia City. Close affiliation with Ammo Knights."

He nodded. "Alright. I'll look into it."

He stared at him. "I'm not sure what you're up to, but… just try to keep your head in the ring? We need you, Lieutenant."

He again nodded. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

He nodded and shook his hand, before finally walking away.

Cuttlefish looked back down at the ground, where Squidbeak's casket now rested, hidden from view beneath the dirt. He sighed. Ammoses Shellendorf… that name now rang through his head like a bell, as he wondered what that name could possibly have to do with all this. Could Ammo Knights be working with the Octarians? He'd have to find out, huh?

And with that, his adventure began.

Inkadia City

Inkadia City was probably the biggest city in the entire world at the time, and was bustling with life, even if the general atmosphere seemed quite gray and almost boring, especially as night was starting to overtake the city. Dressed in a nice suit and fedora, Cuttlefish stepped out of his bus and onto the sidewalk, where he looked around.

The city used to be a proud home to both the Inklings and the Octarians. They, and all sorts of species actually, used to live in harmony, used to be each other's neighbors. But now that he looked around, after everything that's been going on in the world lately… he could see only Inklings. It hurt his hearts a bit, but he didn't have the patience to linger right now.

Waiting for the cars to pass, he crossed the street toward his destination, a somewhat small building that had a big, bright, proud sign up front.

McLeod's

Food - Drinks - Musical Entertainment

Opening the door, he headed inside, as soft jazz music began to soothe his ears. Looking around, he noticed that the place seemed pretty nice for a simple bar. Actually, it almost seemed to be less of a bar and more of a club. It was lit nicely, abound with tables, and had a stage on which a formal Inkling band was playing their music for the evening. He whistled a little as he took in everything, while his eyes scanned the room for Jack McLeod. Who was he, exactly? Where could he be?

As he continued looking around for any clues on where to find him, the band wrapped up their current piece, and the audience cheered and responded in applause, interrupting his thoughts.

The lead musician spoke into his microphone. "And now, for your night's entertainment: The Dazzling, Clara McLeod."

He immediately turned his head upon hearing that name, and the audience again cheered. He raised an eyebrow, as at that moment, a woman in a beautiful, sparkly red dress, with black heels, long black gloves, and her hair done up in a large bow style, came out from behind the curtain. He blushed at the sight. She was… to put it simply, perfect.

The lights dimmed slightly as the band started playing a new, sexier tune, and the audience whistled and cheered her on. Clara then began singing, her voice light and elegant yet pitch-perfect, and she quickly gained more cheers from the audience before she could even finish her first verse. Her movement was subtle yet sexy and precise, and some of the guys leaned in, just wanting a touch. She delivered, leaning down partway through her tune to seductively touch one of their cheeks. She was clearly having fun with it, and the band was having their own fun as well, occasionally giving her grins inbetween notes.

Even Cuttlefish found himself leaning inward, smiling a bit. Clara was certainly alluring, and her voice was heavenly. It was way sooner than he wanted that the tunes finally ended as Clara wrapped up her last song, and she was quickly met with thunderous applause before the room could even fall into silence. Clara gave her audience a smile before heading backstage.

As Cuttlefish kept looking around, he then noticed as Clara soon came back out in fresh, but still formal clothes from behind a curtain in the corner of the room.

Cuttlefish cleared his throat, taking a moment to clear his thoughts as he reminded himself of his mission. Somewhat nervously, he followed her toward the bar, where she had walked behind to get to her bartending job. He nodded a bit as he took a seat, nervously gulping a bit. "Ma'am."

She noticed him. "What can I get you for?"

"I'm not here for a drink. I'm here for something else."

She started cleaning a glass. "I'm flattered if you're here to mingle, but I'm busy."

"Not busy enough if you have a moment to talk with me. I just have a question."

She shrugged a bit. "Ask away."

"Thank you, ma'am." He hesitated. "…Do you know where I can find Jack McLeod around these parts?"

She stopped what she was doing, giving him a glare.

"It's for something very important, ma'am." He insisted.

She put both her hands on the bar, tilting her head slightly. "Who's asking?"

"Second Lieutenant Craig Cuttlefish. I just want to ask him some questions."

"And I just want you to start showing yourself the door if you're not just here for a drink."

"Ma'am, just let me have a few words with him, and I'll leave quietly."

She gave a nod toward a nearby man, who nodded and suddenly walked up, holding up a gun to Cuttlefish's head. A bit surprised, he held up his hands in surrender.

"Jack doesn't want visitors right now. So, unless ya wanna get splatted…" Clara nodded toward the exit. "Door."

Taking only a moment to weigh his options, Cuttlefish sighed a little, before suddenly turning and ramming the man's gun with his elbow, causing it to fire against the side. Swiftly disarming him, he took the gun for himself and turned it on him. The man, in turn, immediately held up his hands in surrender just like Cuttlefish had before. Clare, meanwhile, was of course surprised, but barely moved or even flinched.

The bar fell silent, as someone else stepped into the room. "Well, well, well."

Everyone turned to see as Jack McLeod, in the flesh, walk up toward the situation. He was wearing his own bartender vest, and his hair was done up in a topknot style. "That's the first time I've seen someone get the best of ol' Jerry there." He announced. "He's more of a cutthroat, heads rolling kinda guy."

Cuttlefish lowered the gun. "I don't mean anyone harm. I just want a few words. Important ones."

"I beg to differ, with the way you just kinda strolled in here and took my best guy's gun."

"You haven't given me a choice."

"Fair. Fair." He nodded a bit. "Ok. Second Lieutenant, you said?"

He nodded.

"...Give back the gun and I'll give you two minutes."

Jack sat down at a booth near the back of the establishment, and Cuttlefish sat across from him, placing his hat on the table.

Jack casually leaned back, draping his arm over the back of his seat. "So, let me guess. You're here becaaaaause… you want something from me."

He sighed, deciding to cut straight to the chase. "I heard from another source that you know Ammo Knights."

"...I've done business with them. Ammoses is a friend."

"Do you know where I can find him?"

"If I did, I wouldn't tell you."

He sighed, taking a moment to think over his next response.. "…Look… I know to you, I'm just a stranger who walked into your bar and held a gun on your guy. But I recently lost someone very important to me. Someone in the line of duty, under the Octarians' hand. On the side of one of their planes was the Ammo Knights logo."

"...Bullshit."

"I saw it with my own two eyes, Jack."

Jack paused a moment. "...Lieutenant Cuttlefish, you said? I think I might've read about this in the paper. You lost your… Captain Squidnut, right?"

"Squidbeak." He corrected bitterly.

"Oops, sorry. Sounds even stupider than I remembered."

He stared at him. "Just give me the information, Jack."

"How about you listen to me, buster?" He leaned forward. "Around here, you have no authority to call me Jack. Ok? You're my uninvited guest, not a friend. Now, whatever kissy mark on whatever plane you saw, you're off your gourd."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because that's not Shellendorf's game. It's real simple. I'm sorry for your loss, really, but you're looking in the wrong direction."

He sighed. "Then where else am I supposed to look?"

He pointed toward the door. "There's a good place to start."

He looked at where he was pointing, before looking back at him, an unhappy look in his eyes.

"Don't give me that look. Whatever this war thing is, I don't want any part in it."

"...This war involves all of us, Jack. Whether you like it or not."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." He stood up. "If it makes you feel better… you go out there, and you go kick some Octarian commie ass. I bet you can do it."

Cuttlefish angrily watched him as he walked away, sighing to himself. He put his fedora back on.

Unbeknownst to them, however, Clara had been standing nearby and listening the whole time, despite the fact she had work to do. As Jack walked away, she walked up and stopped him. "Jack."

"Hm?" He looked at her.

"Why did you shut him down like that?"

"You were listening?"

"I heard him mention Ammo Knights. Do you think he knows about the guys who previously came in and-?"

"Don't worry about it, Clara. Whatever it is, I definitely don't want you getting involved."

"And why not?" She folded her arms.

"Because I don't want you getting hurt."

"He came to you for help and you shut him down."

"He also took my guy's gun and nearly shot him."

"...I think you need to go back and apologize. He deserves to know if Ammo Knights is..."

"They're not." He said, even if he didn't sound entirely confident in saying that.

"How do you know?"

"Because I just do. Look… whatever he saw, I'm sure it was nothing. He had just gotten attacked, he was delirious."

She just stared at him.

"...Whatever he's up against, it's not our fight. Let's just keep our sights focused on this bar. Alright?"

"...Alright…" She sighed, still a bit unhappy.

"Thanks, Clara." He hugged her only briefly before walking away.

She watched him walk away, while Cuttlefish, who was nearby listening secretly, sighed as well as he put his hat back on and stood up. He would have to find answers elsewhere. As he began to walk out, however, Clara walked up to her.

"Hey." She stopped him.

He looked at her, surprised. Again seeing her quite beautiful figure up close, he blushed slightly. "…Hey."

"You'll have to excuse my brother. He's a bit of a pighead."

"It's fine, ma'am. I'll be searching elsewhere."

"Right… I just… wanted to apologize for him."

"I understand. Um… that was a lovely performance you gave earlier. I wish I could see more. For now, excuse me." He again turned to leave.

"...I want to help!" She suddenly called after him.

Surprised, he turned to her.

She walked up to him, talking more quietly this time. "Ammoses Shellendorf is a family friend. Lately, he's gone… silent."

"Silent?"

She nodded. "Not only that, but the Ammo Knights' business has had slowed activity lately."

"...So something really is up."

"I believe so too… there was a reason why we've been a bit jumpy and have Jerry so close by. We had other people coming into our bar and asking where Ammoses was. Aggressively. I didn't know who they were, but… if it's connected, I want to help find out why. If you'll let me, sir. If Ammo Knights is up to something, I want to know about it."

"I appreciate that, but a lady like yourself shouldn't be doing something so dangerous. I can handle it on my own."

"Even if I have a lead?"

She paused. "...What do you know?"

"I know a warehouse. Ammo Knights does a lot of work there. It… might not be much, but it might be a place to find more clues?"

He looked around a bit, before turning back to her and smiling a little. "That would be helpful."

She nodded, looked around again to make sure Jack wasn't looking, and suddenly ran to grab a napkin. Pulling out a pencil, she wrote down an address, handing it to him. "Meet me there after midnight."

He looked it over. "I will. Thanks, Ms. McLe-"

"Just call me Clara." She looked around again, before walking back to work as if nothing happened.

Cuttlefish gave another look at the address, slipped it in his pocket, and finally headed out.

That Night

As darkness fell over Inkadia City, the place grew significantly more quiet, with nothing but a few cars or people on the sidewalk to bring life to the streets.

Cuttlefish silently headed toward his destination, occasionally checking the address on his napkin as he headed there. He was brought to a fenced-off warehouse, which seemed subtle and didn't have any sort of obvious connection with Ammo Knights. He looked at the address for just a moment, wondering if Clara had given her bad information.

He wasn't left worrying for long, however. "You're not dressed properly enough." He could hear Clara speak, and he turned to see her walk over as well, wearing suspenders.

He looked down at his own suit, still wearing the same one from earlier. "I just haven't changed."

"You really wanna ruin that if we get into trouble?"

"I'm sure I can manage. Um… you… um… you… er…" He looked her up and down briefly, wondering if should compliment her. "…You look nice."

She smiled a bit. "Thanks, Cap'n. You don't look half bad yourself."

"I'm… not a Cap'n."

"You sure? I read in the paper that Cap'n Squidbeak passed his hat along to you."

"That's… true, but… the news tends to overstep on their reports, and… Wait, were you reading up on me?"

"I did a little bit of research. Now we gonna do this, or what?"

"Yeah, let's do it."

She nodded, and they walked toward the warehouse, quickly getting blocked off by a large, green sliding door. She walked up and tried to open it to no avail. "Well… I should've figured we wouldn't just be able to walk in." She admitted, putting her hands on her hips.

Cuttlefish looked around, noticing a window somewhat high up nearby. He pointed. "There. Come on."

She followed him as they walked over, taking turns as they super-jumped onto the ledge, and Cuttlefish kicked the window open. As the glass shattered into the dark warehouse, they dropped down onto the ground. Illuminated only by the window's moonlight, Clara pulled out her flashlight, and they started walking forward.

Of course, the warehouse appeared devoid of people, although it was filled with a stacks and stacks of Ammo Knights gear, both in boxes and out in the open. Cuttlefish looked around for anything that seemed explosive specifically.

"So far, I'm not seeing anything spectacular." Clara pointed out.

"We'll keep looking. For anything. Clues on what they used, clues on where they went, clues on…" He paused as he noticed some particularly dangerous looking missile objects. "…what they might be planning."

Clara noticed as well and pointed her light right at them. "Son of a kraken."

"...This is just what I feared. Weaponry we can't prepare for."

"What are we supposed to do with all this?"

"...I suppose for now… we-" They were interrupted as they heard a sudden crash coming from somewhere else in the warehouse.

"What was that?" Clara whispered.

Cuttlefish pulled out his gun, and together, they began inching forward. As they got closer, more sounds could be heard, as if someone was tossing something aside. Cuttlefish gripped his weapon tightly as once they got even closer, a light could be seen moving around in an office through the window, from another flashlight.

Clara gave Cuttlefish a look, which he returned with a reassuring nod, as they silently inched toward the door, backing against the wall. Clara kept her light pointed, and Cuttlefish took in a deep breath, before suddenly getting in front and kicking the door down. He swiftly pointed his weapon as he stepped inside. "Don't move."

The male Inkling inside turned to him and suddenly hurled a book at his weapon. Within that second where Cuttlefish was defenseless, the Inkling ran out and decked him in the face as he fled, knocking him down.

"Craig!" Clara screamed, before watching the Inkling flee. However, she wasn't going to sit and do nothing. Reaching down and taking Cuttlefish's gun, she gave chase, following him down the warehouse. "Stop!"

He didn't respond, running down on the opposite side of some boxes. She attempted to fire some ink at him every time they passed a gap, but hit him with nothing. She swore to herself before she took a different route, cutting him off when he tried to rush for the exit. He crashed into her, sending them both tumbling down.

The flashlight fell from her hand and rolled away, leaving them both in nothing but the moonlight. Struggling, Clara reached her gun up and attempted to shoot at his stomach, but he grabbed it and aimed it away, causing her to fire some ink at some more random boxes. He kicked her down, took the gun for himself, and again attempted to flee.

Before he could reach the exit, a superjump could be heard inside the warehouse, right before Cuttlefish's squid form crashed into the Inkling's back, sending him plummeting forward onto his face. He groaned in pain, and rolled over, as Cuttlefish turned back to his humanoid and swiped the gun from him, turning it on him. "Don't move."

The Inkling panted as he raised his hands, defeated.

"Who are you?"

Clara, who again found the flashlight, ran up and pointed it at him, revealing: "…Jack!?"

Jack, with ink pouring down his nose, sighed. "Ok. You got me."

"What are you doing here!?" She yelled.

"I dunno, what are you doing here?"

"But what are you doing here!?" She repeated.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" He yelled.

"Enough!" Cuttlefish shouted, shutting them up. He sighed, again turning to Jack. "What are you doing here?"

"Investigating…"

"I thought you didn't care about this case."

"That's what I wanted you to think." He groaned and grabbed his side as he started to get up. "I don't need goons I can't trust up in my shit."

"Well, we're both here now. What were you investigating? And why were you so antsy about it?"

"...Ammoses Shellendorf is missing." He finally admitted as he stood up completely. "He's been missing for a while. And whatever's going on with Ammo Knights? It's real fishy…"

He stared at him, surprised. "Where was he last seen?"

"I don't know."

"You knew about this, didn't you?" Clara asked. "Why didn't you tell him?"

"The better question, sis, is what you're doing here. I specifically told you not to worry about this."

"You left me no other choice, Jack. We've noticed some very dangerous weapons here and now, I feel like I have to do something about that."

"Is that so? What am I supposed to do when you get killed investigating into this, huh?"

She got closer, angry. "What am I supposed to do when half of Inkadia City gets blown to smithereens, huh?"

He stared back, just as angry.

Cuttlefish sighed. "Well, whatever the case, Jack, we're in this together now. Tell us everything you know."

"What I know is that a month ago, Ammoses Shellendorf vanished. Poof. For a while, I thought he was just doing his work. Right? No biggie. But after I got those weird visitors asking me about what I knew about him, I looked into it. Not a word from him, not a friend who's witnessed him, nada. And ever since, Ammo Knights has slowed development, in favor of straight up stockpiling. The weapons are all being funneled in and out of this warehouse, and they're being taken somewhere I don't even know."

"...So they've been taken over?"

He sighed. "I was in the process of finding out before you ever-so-graciously attacked me."

At that moment, however, they suddenly heard the warehouse gate slide open. They all looked over.

"...Well, I think we're about to find out." Cuttlefish pointed his gun. "Move, move."

They all hid behind the crates as people came in, flashlight beams visibly looking around and exploring the warehouse.

Jack decided to peek out, curious as to who it was, before his eyes widened slightly.

"What? Who is it?" Cuttlefish whispered. He looked out as well, seeing the Octarians that had entered the building. After a moment, however, it became clear they weren't there to attack.

"What are they doing?" Clara asked.

Cuttlefish inched forward, but his eyes widened as well when he realized what was happening. "Oh, no…"

Multiple Octolings were currently pouring gasoline everywhere in the immediate area around them, beginning to form a line from some of the missile weapons to the entrance. One of them pulled out a match and lit it.

"Ok, we're about to get turned into Squidmas ornaments." Jack backed up.

As the Octoling threw his match at the ground, lighting the gasoline, Cuttlefish grabbed Clara and Jack, and with them, suddenly super jumped as fast as they could out the window. As they smashed through the glass, a BOOM sounded as the warehouse lit up in a brilliant show behind them, destroying even more of the glass in the process before the trio could even touch the ground. Balls of fire and sparks rained out, as the Inklings came to a painful, rolling landing on the parking lot outside.

Clara groaned and coughed as she laid on the ground, rolling over onto her back.

Jack immediately crawled over to her. "Are you ok?"

"I-I'm fine."

Cuttlefish sat up, staring at the burning wreckage of the warehouse. He winced a bit, thinking back to the same terror he felt when the fort he was supposed to protect was bombed.

He looked down briefly and closed his eyes. He used to be friends with the Octarians… and his closest friend of all used to be at his side around these parts. Now, he stared on, at the senseless destruction that had been brought right here in Inkadia City, his home. Now, more desperation to stop this than ever before was filling him up.

Jack stood up, looking it over as well. "…Dammit. Gotta love the attention you two brought to the place."

Cuttlefish looked around, still able to hear other Octarians around them, apparently fleeing the scene. And of course, the police and firemen were going to be here soon… He started getting up, groaning a little. "We gotta get outta here."

Clara started struggling to get up, while Jack got up first and helped her, pulling her to her feet. They took one last look at the building as they started to hear sirens in the distance.

"Where do we go now?" She asked.

"...Come on." Cuttlefish pressured as they walked away. Jack continued helping Clara as they went out and down the sidewalk, and after they had walked a distance, he looked over the team, sighing a little.

"Welp…" Jack started. "It was nice meeting ya, Cuttlefish, but, I'm getting my sister out of harm's way now. So, uh… good luck on… this." He turned to walk away. Cuttlefish and Clara exchanged a brief look as he said this; He could only get so far, however, before he heard a gun cock behind him.

"You're not going anywhere, Jack." Cuttlefish finally replied, pointing the gun at him.

He stopped. "…Pick your next action carefully, Lieutenant."

"Our next action is figuring this out before the Octarians can hurt more people."

"The warehouse and my only lead just got blown to kingdom come, what more do you want from me?"

"Your cooperation."

He slowly turned to face him. "Sorry, but this just isn't my fight, Cuttlebones."

"You made it your fight when you got involved and came here."

"Yeah? Clara shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place. You gonna put the gun down, or do you want an ass-kicking?"

"I'm a trained, decorated soldier. You're a bar owner who relies on bodyguards to handle your tussle for you."

"Were you not paying attention in that warehouse?"

"You know what we need to do next, McLeod. The Octarians aren't going to stop despite what we've seen today. Now either you help me-" He stepped forward. "Or you're getting the ass-kicking."

Jack sighed, staring at him. He gave a glance at Clara.

"I agree with him." Clara nodded.

He stared at her a bit as well, before turning back to Cuttlefish. "Just give me your word that we won't put Clara in harm's way."

"Done." Cuttlefish replied.

Regardless, he still hesitated another moment. "...Well, then. Where to next, boss?"

He looked at Clara, who gave him a nod, before looking back at him. "We're going to find Ammoses Shellendorf."

Unknown Location, Octarian's Turf

The roar of multiple engines could be heard, as multiple cars, carrying crates of supplies, drove into the Octarian work station. Inside, there were several Octarians, working on an assortment of different projects, as the sounds of saws and flickers of sparks filled the room, from behind the curtains that covered up their larger projects. The cars stopped, and more Octarians got out. As a truck with a tarp over its cargo followed them in, the Octarians in that came out as well, before going to uncover it.

One Octoling went up to the middle of the room, where a single, male Octoling sat at his desk, his head topped with a golden helmet. "My Lord." She told him.

"Hm?" He looked up from his map, where he had drawn out all the land the Octarians have taken hold of, as well as the land the Inklings had.

"We've lost the Ammo Knights warehouse in Inkadia City. Inklings were seen snooping around and we had to blow it."

"Inklings? What were they doing there?"

"Looks like the Second Lieutenant and some new friends has caught onto what we've been up to."

"Second Lieutenant?" He looked down. "…Cuttlefish."

"Is this going to be a problem?"

"...No… No." He pointed at his map. "Our plan is moving smoothly. We've secured enough of Ammo Knight's weaponry to complete most of our new equipment. Once we take down the castle and secure its land, the Inklings and their allies will no chance of winning. I'm sure of it."

"...If you say so. We'll keep you informed." She walked away.

"And Jaimie?"

She turned and faced him again.

"If you think Cuttlefish will be a problem… go ahead and send Thompson. See if we can have some sense knocked into him."

"Yes, sir." She finally walked away.

He slid his map to the side, revealing a second, smaller picture beneath. A picture of himself, smiling, as he faced Second Lieutenant Cuttlefish himself, deep in conversation. "Still coming out to play, huh?" He muttered to it. "Was crossing Squidbeak outta the picture not enough for you… old friend?"

The picture stared back as anger started to overtake him. Memories of a time before the Great Turf War had ever began raging started to overcome his mind. He spitefully slid the map back to its original position, covering it up once again.

Back In the Day

There was nothing but peace in the air. Peace, and the warmth of the bright future that should've been ahead of them. Inklings, Octarians, and all species lived in harmony, and still shared the great land of Inkadia. Sure, maybe some tension was starting to build… maybe, as their populations grew, they were running out of space to co-exist. But in the mind of some… this only provided a potential to rebuild. To form a bigger, stronger world. Together.

Craig Cuttlefish's hands were in the mud in the field he sat in, alongside his friend, as he helped his dear friend to shape this section of the ground.

"Look at all that." The Octoling man waved his hand out toward the field. "Isn't it all the most beautiful thing you've ever seen? Look at the view those mountains give us."

"Yeah." Cuttlefish nodded as he sat up, smiling. "It is beautiful."

"They keep saying that we won't be able to share this land forever. But look at it. There's no reason for our people to be at odds. This is our land. Ours."

Cuttlefish just looked at him, in the moment admiring the confidence in his friend.

He looked at him. "Just you wait, Cuttlefish. Inkadia City will be made bigger and stronger. We'll have enough food and resources for everyone to go around. Such a future is right in our grasp." He stared at him. "Don't you feel it?"

It took a moment for him to respond. His gaze went out to the beautiful and natural view that surrounded them, with deep thoughts running through his mind.

"Cuttlefish?" He asked him. "Don't you feel it?"

He smiled. "Of course I do, Octavio. A world for all of us… it's what we deserve. We just have be careful in how we form it. Don't forget that."

"Oh, to hell with that. Time is precious. If we don't act on these plans soon, it's possible we won't be able to share these spaces forever."

"Hey." He looked him in the eye. "It's not time to fret, Octavio. I promise you. Whatever happens next, you and your people will always have a home with us. I promise you through the mud I sit in."

He couldn't help but smile, as he patted his shoulder. "Thank you, my friend." With that, his gaze once again went back out to the distant view. "Thank you."

The War

Cuttlefish's eyes abruptly opened as his pleasant memories were torn from his head, feeling the shaking beneath him.

He was in a small, black car that was driving down the countryside road into their next destination. The sun was starting to rise upon them as they passed the inviting sign along their way.

Welcome to: Calamari County!

Clara was in the back seat, in deep sleep as Jack drove the car, while Cuttlefish had been resting in the passenger seat, with his hat over his face. He yawning a bit as he took his hat off, sitting up.

"Wakey wakey, sunshine." Jack told him as he noticed.

He looked around. "Where are we?"

"We just entered Calamari."

He looked out the window, staring at the green fields that they were now passing, which were coated in an orange hue from the morning's sunset. "It's…"

"Beautiful? Gorgeous? Beyond compare?" Jack replied, although without taking his eyes off the road. "With the sunsets that never lose their charm?"

"You sound familiar with it."

"Eh… just that Clara and I were raised here, is all. The sunrises here are always special. And that pleasant waft of salty sea air around here?" He shook his head. "Can't be beat, I tell ya that."

He paused. "…If you like it so much here, why're you in Inkadia?"

"Life. Life happened. Parents got hit hard and couldn't shake it around here, and I guess… we couldn't handle the memories after that. Clara especially couldn't."

A wave of sadness washed over him, as he looked back at the sleeping Clara. "...I… didn't know."

"Eh, don't feel bad. You can never tell how many hardships a person holds just by lookin' at them. You gotta get to know them." He nodded slightly. "Clara took it hard… but she's strong. She can hold anything."

"She's really quite… special, isn't she?" He said, now staring at Clara's beautiful, sleeping figure.

"She is." Jack nodded in agreement. "I reckon she and the bar are all I have left."

"...I can see why you would want to protect her. Without a doubt." He looked out the front window. "But I'm also sure she can handle herself."

"Maybe she can. Maybe she can't. All I know is I'm not losing her."

"And you won't."

He gave him a look, smiling a bit. "You're not that bad, Cuttlefish. You know that?"

"Well, I'd certainly hope so."

He nodded a bit, before he looked back out the front window as he kept driving.

As the drive continued for another several minutes, Clara soon began to stir awake, as the smell of the County came through the open window. With a nostalgic feeling beginning to wash over her, she blinked a bit before sitting up, looking out the window. Indeed, she was back in the home she knew.

"Jack?" She turned to him from the backseat. "What are we doing here?"

"Lookin' for clues on where Shellendorf could be." He replied.

She looked back out the window, as the nostalgia began to overwhelm her.

It wasn't long after that when the group began to pull in on a small town, an orange sign on the side of the road reminding them of its simple name: Sashimi Town. Jack drove up until he found a place to park, and the three of them got out, looking around. Clara took in a deep breath, just to take in the air.

"Come on." Jack started walking down the street, to which Cuttlefish and Clara followed.

"Where are we going, exactly?" Cuttlefish asked.

"Ammoses Shellendorf lives here when he's not working back in Inkadia. If he's hiding anywhere, or if there's any clues to where he is, it's here."

"What if we don't find anything here?" Clara asked.

"Well, then, we're shit out of luck, huh?

Cuttlefish sighed as he followed, as Jack soon led them to an Ammo Knights store. He opened the door and they stepped inside, looking around. Several weapons lined the walls, but the store was otherwise strangely empty.

"Well. It seems we're shit out of luck." Jack continued. He turned back to the door. "Ok, time to go."

Cuttlefish, however, grabbed his arm. "We're here to find clues, remember?"

"Oh…" They suddenly heard a female voice from the other room. They all turned to watch as a small, purple-colored Anemone girl walked in, her voice soft and shy. "Hello… um… sorry about that. Business has been slow lately, so my shifts have gotten lonely…"

Jack squinted a bit, stepping forward. "You're not a Horseshoe."

"I am not… My name is Hannalie. What kind of weapon can I help you with? We have a special sale going on Bamboozlers, today… if that interests you…"

"We're not looking for weapons, we're looking for someone. Or rather, clues on someone who has gone missing." Cuttlefish said.

"Oh… um… may I ask who?"

"Ammoses Shellendorf." Jack said.

She audibly gulped. "...Who?"

Clara sighed. "If… if you can just lead us to someone who might know him, that would be extremely helpful."

She hesitated. "...Well… I can redirect you to this region's shop owner. He is a Horseshoe. Unlike me… His name is Biff. He's been taking time off."

"Where is he?" Cuttlefish asked.

She then thought more about it, looking down. "…On second thought, I changed my mind… maybe come back another time?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Miss. I know that we're strangers to you, but believe it or not, lives are on the line right now. We need to know."

She looked back up at them. "Lives… on the line?"

"Oh, yeah, big time." Jack said. "You, us, your mother, your grandmother. Everyone you care about may just die. And you will be really sad about it."

"Jack, come on." Clara sighed. "Is that necessary?"

"I don't know, it might be."

"...On third thought." Hannalie continued. "I changed my mind again. I can maybe… tell you."

"So where is he?" Cuttlefish asked.

"At his home. Just downtown. I can give you the address, if you'd like…" She shyly went to write it down.

The team patiently waited until she handed the slip of paper over, which Cuttlefish took. "Great. Thanks, miss. We'll be on our way now." He turned around.

"Except, one small thing." Jack stopped them. "Didn't you say you were having a sell on Bamboozlers?"

Moments later, the team was now walking down the sidewalk, sporting newly bought Bamboozlers. "Aw, yeah." Jack said as he held his up and admired his. "They let these babies go on sale?"

"Well, these are standard weapons for the military and there is a war going on right now." Cuttlefish replied. "And hey, let's not go waving these around in public, alright?"

"Sorry, Cap'n. I just want to be prepared if anything happens, that's all."

He looked around to make sure no one was watching them. "Well, keep your mind sharp and keep moving. That's about as prepared as we can be right now."

"How far until we reach the Horseshoe's place?" Clara asked.

"Not far. Right down here." He finished, unaware as they passed an alleyway where a single, disguised Octoling, dressed in a trench coat and fedora, was leaning against a wall. He reached up and pulled the cigar from his mouth as he watched the passing group.

It didn't take much longer for the group to arrive at the destination, being an apartment building that was guarded by a doorman. Cuttlefish stopped and sighed as he saw him. "Well… we're not taking these weapons in?"

"Why not?" Jack asked.

"It's best to just not attract that kind of attention. Come on. We shouldn't be in there for long." He led them into an alleyway so that they could hide their weapons, before they went up to the apartment building.

"Now, make sure you tune in next week for the next exciting chapter of Earl's Magnificent War Tour! Filled with action, suspense, and romance; could this be Earl's final bout? Don't miss out on the answer." The radio show finished on a brand new, state-of-the-art radio player, with a slight static sound to accompany it.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh." The small Horseshoe Crab in his own apartment nodded as he worked on his notes, mumbling to himself. "Or, you know, you could stop being lazy and broadcast it now. I wouldn't mind."

As the radio continued on a different broadcast, he heard a sudden knock on his door, and he turned to stare, waiting to see what would happen next. Upon hearing more knocking, he quickly got up to turn off the radio, stash his notes in a nearby cabinet, and lock it up. He heard yet another knock, and groaned this time. "I'm comin'!"

As he got up and answered, he was met with Cuttlefish, who was standing in front of Jack and Clara. Cuttlefish looked inside. "Are you the one named Biff?"

"Uh… maybe. Can I help you?"

"I am Second Lieutenant Craig Cuttlefish. I was hoping to ask you a couple questions."

"Sorry, but I'm takin' time off." He tried to close the door, but Cuttlefish blocked it with his foot.

"Sir, this is important. We're looking for Ammoses Shellendorf."

"Screw off."

"...Is there a problem with that?"

He tried pushing the door shut again. "I said, screw off."

Cuttlefish sighed. "Ok." He suddenly shoved the door open, before stepping inside.

Biff backed up. "Whoever you are! I'm warnin' ya!"

"We just need to know where he is. Then we'll leave you alone."

The Horseshoe Crab desperately looked around his own apartment for something to use, before he picked up a book from a nearby bookshelf. He threw it at him. "Out!"

Cuttlefish blocked the book with his arm. "Sir-"

"Out!" He threw another book.

This time, Clara got between them, hands up. "Everyone, relax!"

Biff, who had grabbed another book, held it in a threatening position. "I don't wanna hit a dame."

"Then stop, and listen! We know you work for Ammo Knights… for Ammoses Shellendorf. Are we correct?"

"What's it to you?"

"Ammoses is missing. We're trying to find him. His weapons, they've fallen into the wrong hands. The hands of the Octarians. With them, our very way of life could be threatened. Do you understand? We're trying to help."

He scoffed. "You got a lotta nerve, coming here."

"Biff… where's Ammoses?"

"...Even if I knew… I wouldn't tell ya. Now. I won't ask again." He pointed at the door. "Get out. Before you spell trouble that I ain't looking for."

Jack sighed. "Enough of this." He suddenly stepped up, grabbing him by the shirt.

Biff stared up at him. "What're you gonna do a Horseshoe, wise guy?"

He sarcastically chuckled. "I dare you shell up, toughie, because I'm willing to get rough. And I'll hurt you big-time." He tightened his grip. "Tell us where Ammoses is."

"Go to hell."

"...Ok. Ok." He sighed and seemingly eased up, letting go of him, which prompted Biff to relax a bit. Of course, however, Jack was only feigning, and he suddenly turned and slapped him. Jumping in surprise, Biff vanished into his helmet, as Jack kept wailing on him. "Don't hide from me!"

Clara also jumped a bit, surprised by the sudden violence. "Jack."

"Tell me where Ammoses is!" He continued. When Biff of course didn't respond, he sighed and prepared to get even rougher. "Alright, then."

As Jack raised his fist yet again, Cuttlefish suddenly grabbed him. "Jack, stop!"

He stopped and looked at him. "Don't start a quarrel with me, Cuttlefish."

"We're trying to get answers, not beat him until he's a pulp."

He looked back at Biff. "Aw, but he's all shelled up, isn't he, friend?"

Biff had peeked back out his shell enough to stare at him, before suddenly glancing partially to the side as he noticed something behind the group.

The rest were slow to notice as the suited man with the fedora walked in. It was none other than Thompson, with black leather gloves on, a toothpick in his mouth, and a gun that he slowly aimed at the back of Cuttlefish's head. Cuttlefish, who was slowly noticing Biff's odd stare, finally turned to follow his gaze. Even then, he didn't notice in time before-

"Look out-" Clara jumped over in her attempt to tackle the man, wrestling with him to grab his gun from him. She was surprisingly strong, but it wasn't enough for her as Thompson responded by elbowing her in the face, and she fell back into the wall, unconsciously sliding down.

Chaos erupted as Jack watched. "Clara!"

Cuttlefish moved to wrestle with him next, but this man was himself strong and trained. Struggling against him, he managed to aim the gun in Jack's and Biff's general direction, and Biff gasped before he once again hid under his shell. Jack dodged into his Squid-form as Thompson fired multiple shots at them, and Cuttlefish tried punching him to throw his aim off. However, in doing so, he loosened his own grip on him, and was easily overpowered as Thompson punched him multiple times in retaliation, knocking him back into a table, and then turned his gun on him.

It was now Jack who lunged forward to grab him and keep him distracted, punching him as hard as he could multiple times, causing his face to start bleeding. Having dazed him, he managed to grab his gun from him. "Who the hell are you?"

Mustering his strength, Thompson groaned and gritted his teeth before he punched him back, forcing Jack to step back and knocking the gun from his hand as they brawled through the apartment. His punches were even stronger than Jack's, allowing him to pummel him until Jack had lost his footing and awkwardly fell behind the couch.

With no one in his way, Thompson wiped some ink from his mouth as he pulled out his knife and walked over toward Biff, who in the chaos, had apparently slipped away. He looked around in confusion, searching around behind furniture and other objects.

As he peeked behind a drawer, Biff suddenly revealed himself, throwing a trophy at his head as hard as he could before he finally made a break for the door. Thompson reacted quickly as he blocked the strike with his arm and moved to grab him, holding him up by the shell.

"No! No!" Biff pleaded, hiding within his shell as best as could.

Stabbing the knife in through Biff's underside, Thompson only had a moment with him before Cuttlefish leapt back into action, punching him and forcing him to drop the Horseshoe. He dodged his knife slashes as Thompson again retaliated, but was unable to dodge another hard punch as he was knocked aside. Before he could move to kill him, it was next up Jack who again moved to tackle him, screaming loudly as he shoved him against a well and knocked the knife from his hand. The wall cracked as Jack grabbed him and then ran him into another wall, breaking a few things as they did.

Cuttlefish, who was on the ground with Clara, watched this brawl as he tried to get over his dizzy feeling. Clara, who was waking up herself, was the first to notice what had happened to Biff. She groaned. "Oh, no… Craig?"

Cuttlefish looked over as well, noticing that Biff was bleeding on the ground. "Oh, shit-" He desperately crawled over.

Biff was panting in pain as he laid there, as Cuttlefish and Clara crawled to his side. He tried turning onto his side, but Cuttlefish stopped him.

"Don't move." He held him still.

Biff groaned. "W-Who-"

"W-We don't know." Clara said.

Biff suddenly choked up some blood. "O-… Oh god, I think I'm dying…"

Clara looked at Cuttlefish, unsure of what to say.

Cuttlefish glanced back, before looking Biff in the eye. "Then help us get the people who did this to you."

He stared back at him. "…I-I don't kn-"

"Yes, you do. We just need to know where Ammoses Shellendorf is."

He choked up more blood. "I don't… know where he is… I don't even think he's still-" He was interrupted by more choking.

Clara sighed and leaned back a bit.

"No." Cuttlefish shook his head. "No, we need a better answer than that."

Biff lightly shook his head. "…All that I know is… where… he might go… where he hid his secret stash…"

"Secret stash?" Clara asked.

"Back at Ammo Knights… His… secrets… that… would… help…" His eyes rolled upward. "…Defeat…"

"Biff?" Cuttlefish shook him. "Biff. Where do we-? Shit. Oh, shit." He tried resuscitating him, to no avail. "No. No! Biff! Not now- We need to-"

"Craig." Clara told him.

Feeling Clara's hand touch his shoulder, he gave up, leaning back and panting angrily.

As Clara sat there to comfort him, she looked over to notice something. "Craig?" She said yet again.

Cuttlefish looked at her, then followed his gaze. In his last moments, Biff had reached his hand out, and was holding a small, golden Ammo Knights pin, as if trying to hand it to them. Squinting a bit, he reached over to pick it up.

As this went down, Jack and Thompson's brawl had continued out into the hall, where they were starting to catch the attention of Biff's neighbors, who screamed and got out of the way. It remained a violent, destructive brawl, that left multiple walls cracked until finally, Jack was able to knock him down for the last time.

Thompson tried to reach up to him, but Jack punched him once again, keeping him pinned. "Not gonna ask again, Octo-scum." Jack started. "Where's Ammoses Shellendorf? What have you been planning?"

Thompson spit up some ink, remaining as tough as he possibly could. "Shellendorf? That ugly crab?"

He punched him again. "That's right. What'd you do?"

He forced a grin, chuckling a bit. "This all about him? He's an ammo-licker. Completely pathetic. We already forced him into hiding."

He groaned. "I know he went into hiding, I want to know why."

"It doesn't matter, anymore. When we found him, we- We took his own weapons- And we unloaded them on him." He said, grin still on his face. "He went up in flames."

"...No. You're lying."

He raised his head as much as he could. "Do I look like I'm lying?"

"...No… No! You're lying! Where is he- Where-" He kept punching him. "Where is he!?" Grabbing his suit, he kept punching him repeatedly. "Where- Is- He!?"

As he spent the next moment ruthlessly beating him to a pulp, Cuttlefish and Clara rushed up from behind. "Jack!" Cuttlefish shouted.

Jack froze, fist still in the air, as he turned to him, growling in anger.

"Jack?" Clara asked, covering her mouth.

Cuttlefish stepped forward, glancing down at Thompson's corpse. He looked back at Jack, slowly putting a hand on his shoulder.

"GET OFF!" He shoved him as he got up.

"Jack." Cuttlefish held his arms up. "We found a clue on where to go next. But I need you to calm down first."

Panting, he glanced down at his battle-damaged hands, painfully clenching one of his fists. "…It doesn't matter, anymore…"

"What do you mean?" Clara asked.

"...All of this was for nothin'…"

Cuttlefish and Clara looked at each other in horror, realizing what he meant. He slowly turned back to him. "That can't be true, Jack."

Jack fell silent, slowly stepping down the hall.

"Jack." Clara called for him one last time, stepping forward herself. "Stop. We can't just give up."

He stopped and glanced back at her, but only for a moment before he continued on his way.

"Jack!" She shouted. "Please!"

Cuttlefish and Clara simply watched as he disappeared down a corner, and they looked at each other one last time. Cuttlefish looked down in defeat.

"What are we supposed to do now, Craig?" She asked.

He didn't respond, glancing at her.

Chapter Text

Later

Ammo Knights

As night started to fall over Sashimi Town, Hannalie was just closing up shop for the day when she once again heard the door open. As she looked over, Cuttlefish and Clara shoved their way in, walking over.

She awkwardly brushed some hair out of her face as she faced them. "Um… we're closed."

"Doesn't matter." Cuttlefish walked over. "This is important."

"How important?"

He pulled the golden pin out of his shirt pocket. "We talked to your friend Biff. This is all he had for us." He held it out toward her.

Her eyes widened as she stared at it. "You… You got it?"

"He gave it to us." Clara said.

She stepped back a bit, quite shocked. "He… He actually trusted you with it?"

Cuttlefish nodded a bit. "Yes. I think he did."

"Where… is he?"

He didn't respond.

"...Is he…?" She didn't dare say it out loud.

"Yeah." He somberly nodded. "He passed. I'm… I'm sorry."

Hannalie took a moment to recompose herself, taking in a breath. "…Well…" She took it from him. "If he actually trusted you with this and… with his life… then…" She paused, thinking it over.

They both stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

"...Come with me." She finished, turning and walking into the other room.

They both glanced at each other as they followed her into the backrooms, up until Hannalie walked up to what, at first glance, appeared to be an ordinary wall that was blocked off by ordinary shelves.

"Help me?" She stopped and looked up at him.

"Oh. Uh, sure." He stepped where she motioned him toward, and they both worked to pull some of the shelves and other objects off and away from the wall. Eventually, the wall was just left barren.

Clara stared at it. "What… are we doing here, exactly?"

"Shhh…" The girl briefly held her finger to her mouth before she held the pin up and held it to the wall. She pressed it up against the slightest dent in the wall, which was shaped just like the pin. In reaction, the entire wall suddenly buckled.

Cuttlefish and Clara backed up as the wall started making mechanical noises, and a moment later, a hidden door in the wall came out and then slid to the side, revealing a downward staircase behind it.

Hannalie stepped to the side, putting her hands together. "This way, please."

Cuttlefish shyly took a step forward, amazed. Exchanging yet another look with Clara, he inched forward more and more, peeking down to see the dark path that these stairs led down, until finally, he started walking down. Clara followed, and as they went deeper down, Hannalie stayed behind to once again seal the entrance back up.

They briefly glanced up as they were slammed in darkness, and Clara pulled out her light, turning it on as they walked down the rest of the way. A million thoughts raced through Cuttlefish's head. What was down here? Was this another trap? What were they walking into?

They weren't left pondering for long. They walked down all the way until they came into a medium-sized room, which was filled to the brim with maps on the wall, battle plans and strategies, notes, and unusual weapon parts that were scattered on the central table.

"Holy shit." Clara muttered as she looked around.

Cuttlefish remained just as silent, completely amazed, as he walked over to some of the tables to examine the notes and maps that were collected here. They were… Octarian plans. Plans for upcoming Octarians strikes, and how to counter them. How was this here? Where did they come from?

As he pondered this, his thoughts were taken from him as he heard a nearby… purring sound? He glanced to the side somewhat. "Do you hear that?"

Clara was looking around a bit as well. She looked at him. "No. What?"

"That weird… noise." He turned and tried to follow it, when at that moment, a bizarre, small furry creature, unlike anything he had seen before, came up from behind the table.

It walked up to him, about to touch his leg. "Meow."

"AH!" He jumped and rushed over to Clara. "What the hell is that thing!?"

As the creature jumped in response and ran away toward the room's corner, the Inklings were both startled once more as they heard a voice from the nearby hallway. "Don't spook the cat, friends." They both turned to watch the figure step out of the shadows and into the main room.

It was a tall Horseshoe Crab, who was wearing a large welding mask and holding multiple tools in his hands. "Hannalie let you down here, huh?"

"Who are you?" Cuttlefish asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" He reached up to take the mask off, revealing the face of Ammoses Shellendorf, who smirked at them. "You didn't know coming in?"

"Y-… You…" He lowered his guard.

"Yep! Me." He set the mask and his tools down.

"We… We were told you were dead." Clara spoke up.

"That's what we want the Octarians to think, now isn't it?"

"...Yes." Cuttlefish nodded a bit. "Yes, I guess it is. Biff didn't even know you were down here… but… Hannalie does?"

"Oh, yeah. I'd trust that girl with the last breath of my life. I've actually been training her myself, and was actually in the process of giving her flying lessons, before everything went to hell. She's a fast-learner and a trusty sidekick, I'll tell you that."

He gave another look around, as the strange creature climbed up on the table at that moment. "But… what the hell is that thing?"

"The cat?" He casually walked over and picked him up. "That's just Judd. I've been protecting this little guy from the Octarians, too."

"The… cat?" He and Clara kept staring, bewildered. "I thought those were extinct."

"Yeah, again, that's what you're supposed to think, but this li'l guy has been hanging out in secret for the past 2,000 years or so." He pet and tickled the cat. "Isn't that right, Judd? Isn't that right? Oh, you cute little thing."

"...Weirdest god-dang thing I've ever seen." Clara muttered to herself.

The two of them kept staring as Ammoses kept petting the cat. After a bit, Cuttlefish shook his head. "…Anyway. What… happened to you, exactly?"

Ammoses set Judd down. "The Octarians stole a shipment of my Ammo Knights weaponry and tried to have me assassinated. They blew up my house and all. They didn't know I survived the wreck and went underground, but I'm afraid it didn't stop them from seizing almost complete control of our Ammo Knights stores and weapons back in Inkadia."

"They've been using them in the war." Cuttlefish replied. "They disguised themselves as our own forces and hit us hard. We lost good people to them."

"I know. From down here-" He motioned to the room around them. "I've been doing everything I can to counter them. But I could only do so much besides planning."

"And what are you planning?"

"It's been more like figuring out what they're planning." He went over to a table. "And how to counter it. Because, I'm afraid… we only have so much time."

He stepped closer to him, concerned. "So much time before what?"

"Before they take down Arowana Castle." He turned to them and stepped out of the way, motioning to the map behind him. "And win the war."

Cuttlefish walked over to look at the map. Indeed, it appeared they were planning a bitter seige on the castle. "Oh, no."

"What?" Clara asked. "What's so important about Arowana Castle?"

"If they take control of the castle, there won't be anything stopping them from taking control of Inkadia City. From there… we'll be forced to surrender."

She put her hand on her chest. "Dear God."

He turned back to Ammoses. "How do you know all this? How do you know they have the capabilities to do this?"

"Because by using what resources I have left, me and my allies have been keeping an eye on them as best as we could. They've been using Ammo Knight's resources to build something." Ammoses went over to the nearby blueprints. "Something big."

Cuttlefish and Clara followed him over, allowing him to show it to them. Cuttlefish's eyes widened as he saw the blueprints to the massive, destructive Octoweapon.

Octarian Turf

Indeed, the Octarians had been working on some very big projects, and they were just about finished with their most massive one that stood in front of Lord Octavio. It was a massive, mechanical suit, with an open slot that could fit an Octoling inside to control it.

Octavio stepped toward it, reaching his hand up and over to feel its metal exterior. "Yes." He whispered to himself. "This is the key. This will take them down."

A few of the Octoling mechanics that helped put this thing together stood behind him, hands behind their backs as they watched him admire their handiwork.

He slowly turned back to them. "Will it be ready for the attack?"

They slowly nodded.

He stepped back and looked directly back up at it. Its head, which was vaguely shaped like an Octopus, practically stared back at him, ready for its new mission.

"First, we take Arowana Castle." Octavio nodded, grinning. "Then the world will be at our knees. And Cuttlefish…" He paused. "Cuttlefish… Will be forced to surrender."

Ammo Knights Hideout

Cuttlefish sat down to look over his Bamboozler weapon and get it prepared. "How soon will this attack happen?"

"Soon." Ammoses said. "Could be any day now."

Clara was pacing a bit. "Do you have a telephone?"

"It's too dangerous to be communicating with anyone from here, honey."

She turned to him. "I don't care. If the war is about to enter a decisive stage, I want to talk to Jack."

"And I understand the sentiment, but right now, we can't do that."

"Jack is my brother, I'm not just going to-!"

"Clara, easy, easy." Cuttlefish stood up to grab her shoulder. "Jack made his choice when he walked away. Nothing we can do about that now."

"But… I can't just…" She trailed off, starting to cry.

"Hey." He pulled her into a tight hug, which she returned. She closed her eyes as she leaned into him.

Ammoses stared at them for a moment as they shared the moment, but upon realizing how deeply cuddled into Cuttlefish she was, Clara opened her eyes again and backed off. Cuttlefish awkwardly let go of her.

"...Heh." Ammoses chuckled. "You two haven't connected in that way yet, have you?"

Clara ignored that as she turned to him. "What do we do next, Ammoses?"

"It's plain and simply, actually." He turned back to his plans on the table. "We need someone at Arowana Castle who knows how to counter that Octoweapon."

"So, you." Cuttlefish replied.

"Yes, very much me. But the thing is, I can't do it on my own. I've been ill-staffed, in case you haven't noticed."

"How many people will you need?"

He shrugged. "Luckily, I know a couple good-hearted individuals who just happened to wander in… didn't you notice?"

"Us? You want us?"

"Yes. You can get me in, to the Octoweapon, and you can distract the enemy while I dismantle it. You're a Cap'n, aren't you?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm not."

"I read it in the paper, Cuttlefish. Cap'n Squidbeak gave his life in the line of duty. And the one who was there for him to pass the hat along to… was you."

"Which was a mistake on his part."

He squinted. "You fought by Squidbeak's side for a long time, and you think he makes mistakes?"

He didn't respond.

"If I'm not mistaken, Cuttlefish, you were given that hat for a reason."

Cuttlefish took a moment to come up with his next response, looking down. "A good captain should be ready to march his army into battle. I'm… I'm not that."

Ammoses stared back at him. "Hm… Well, in either case, this Octarian attack is coming up. And I need fighters."

Another moment of silence hit them until Clara spoke up next. "I'll go."

Cuttlefish turned to her, immediately about to object.

She, however, cut him off. "I know what you're going to say. I… couldn't even take on that Octarian man without getting knocked out instantly. But… if Ammoses needs us… if the world needs us… I'll do anything I can for them."

"But if you get hurt because of me, I don't know if I'll ever be able to-" He stopped himself, sighing.

She stepped toward him, a comforting gaze in her eyes. "You have a good heart, Cap'n Cuttlefish. And I'd like to think I at least have a decent one. I've been here for you this far, let me stay for the rest. Let me do this."

He stared back at her. This was in no way a thing he wanted to let happen, but… at the end of the day, it wasn't his choice. It was hers. And if he was going to allow it to happen… it was doing to be on one condition.

Clara watched as he slowly walked over to the table, and took his backpack off, setting it down. He zipped it open and slowly pulled out Squidbeak's Captain hat, staring at it. Clara and Ammoses both watched from a fair distance, Ammoses nodding his head with a smirk.

After a moment, Cuttlefish turned back to them. "How good are you at shooting?"

Clara shrugged a bit. "I know how to shoot. You can teach me more."

He nodded. "…Let's get to work, then."

Ammoses suddenly laughed, with his arms folded. "Guess that settles it. We're a small splatoon or something down here, now."

"...Yeah." Cuttlefish nodded, still holding the hat. "We are."

Meanwhile

Jack practically slammed his shot glass down immediately after downing its contents, sighing. He had found himself at a random, quiet bar, somewhere in Sashimi Town, which he had come across by chance after taking a long, thoughtful walk to clear his head. The result: He was now well on the way to being drunk beyond rational thought. It was lucky for him that he wasn't already at that point, however, and the bartender was keeping an eye on him as he dried off some freshly washed dishes.

"Slow down, you're gonna get drunk beyond repair." The man remarked at him. "We're not gonna be open that long."

"How about you just shut up…" He motioned for a refill. "…and keep doing your job."

He sighed, quickly finished what he was doing, and grabbed the bottle. "Who's the girl that you're moping over?" He asked as he poured him his next drink.

"Admittedly, it's a man." He glared at him. "And he hit hard."

He stared at him. He had noticed his battle damage before- the bruises, the cut knuckles- he just hadn't wanted to say anything. Now, however, he started to suspect he should say something. "Someone… did this to you?"

He downed it yet again. "You could say that…" He motioned for another refill.

At this point, he just slid him the entire bottle. "Did you call the police?"

"Police can't do anything." He poured his next glass for himself. "Our world is probably going to end soon, my friend. And there isn't shit we can do about it. Except drink until it's alll over. At least… that's my mantra. From one bartender to another." He briefly held up his glass as if for a toast, then again downed his shot.

Although he had been listening intently, the bartender scoffed upon hearing 'the end of the world'. He got back to drying off dishes. "Yeah, you're drunk, bud. Slow down a bit."

"I'm not drunk. Not yet." He shook his head and poured yet another drink. "I'm still clear-headed enough to remember what just happened."

He looked at him. "What… happened?"

Jack sighed. From there, he spent his time explaining his woes to him, from what the Octarians were doing, to Ammoses' apparent demise, and how he had failed to find him in time.

The bartender listened to his every word; He did not know this man. He couldn't fully relate to his struggles. He wasn't typically the type of person to try and help others like this guy. But… listening to his story… he felt for him. He felt the sorrow in his voice, and his guilt in having left Ammoses behind. He was filled with it. He looked down.

When Jack was finished talking, he went right back to drinking, dramatically throwing his head back as he downed it. They fell into silence for a good few moments before the bartender spoke up.

"So why don't you do something about it?" He suddenly asked.

Jack paused as he slowly looked at him. "…Excuse me?"

"If this Ammoses Shellendorf meant so much to you… and these Octarians who did that to him are still out there… why are you here drinking?"

"A business-runner really shouldn't be asking questions like that."

He leaned forward, hands on the counter. "…I can feel your pain, friend. But sitting here and drinking your sorrows away… isn't going to help you."

He set his glass down, glaring at him. "How do you know what's going to help me or not?"

"Personal experience."

He scoffed and looked down.

The bartender leaned forward slightly more. "You can still do something about these people who got your friend. Go to the police. Or go to Ammo Knights. Go to your two friends you left and help them. Just do something. Make sure he's avenged."

Jack stared at him, and although he didn't respond, he too listened to his words.

"Trust me." He continued. "Doing something is going to help your situation more than sitting in my bar and trying to drink away the memories that anything ever happened."

He paused for a few moments, thinking about that. He leaned back. "…Are you telling me this because you care about me, or because you want me out of your bar?" He asked, with sarcasm in his voice.

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Both."

Another moment passed. Jack stared down at his drink, thinking it all through. Before he had even completely made up his mind, he stood up, set down his money for the drinks, which included a handsome tip for his brief new friend. "Almost feel like paying you extra for the shrink session, doc."

He nodded and took the bills. "Just don't do anything rash."

"No promises." He turned and headed out the door. The bartender watched until he went out of view down the street, staring down at the sidewalk. The man had a point; He had unfinished business. And quite possibly, a war to prepare for.

It wasn't just Jack McLeod that was thinking about war that night; Everyone else involved was thinking of the same.

Jack, Clara, and Ammoses remained down in the Ammo Knights hideout, talking strategy, preparing weapons, and teaching Clara about the basics of the battlefield, using Ammo Knights dummy balloons to practice her aiming. Cuttlefish would smile at her from behind as he watched her shooting, and Clara would turn to notice, unable to help herself from smiling back, with a nice red blush on her face. Ammoses noticed this for himself and looked between the two of them, his signature dorky grin stuck on his face as he pet Judd.

By morning, Jack was in his own hotel room, and was preparing his own weaponry while going through intense work-out sessions, looking through the papers all the while to catch any sort of hint on where to go next to confront the Octarians. As he soon picked his next target to look for, he got his suit ready in his room's mirror, anxiously staring at himself for a good few seconds before he got his things and headed out.

Octavio and his Octarians, of course, were preparing as well in their own turf, and were finishing their final preparations on Octavio's massive Octoweapon. Before long, Octarians were beginning to load up onto trucks and planes, heading out in different teams.

"The Inkling menace will never see us coming!" Octavio shouted his last motivational speech at everyone as he watched the Octoweapon get loaded up and prepared for transport. "After we take the castle, no one will be able to stand in our way! NO ONE!"

Finally, the final preparations of Cuttlefish and Ammoses led them to another Ammo Knights warehouse somewhere in Calamari County's fields. Its massive doors opened up, allowing sunlight to stream inside as the three of them stepped forward.

"Behold my secret beauties." Ammoses held his arms out as he led them inside. "The Octarians never got a hold of all of my stuff. And this place, well… it'll do by us particularly well."

Cuttlefish and Clara stared ahead in amazement as they saw its contents. It wasn't just a warehouse; It was a hangar, lined with multiple Ammo Knights planes.

"I…" Cuttlefish barely knew what words to use. "How?"

"I'm Ammoses Shellendorf, that's how." He folded his arms. "This will get us to the castle, no fuss. At least, the fuss won't begin until we get there."

"I… don't know to say." He looked at him.

"Then don't say anything. Except thank you. Also, thank the weather for blessing us and making this a viable option." He led them forward, and they all got their things loaded up onto the best plane.

As they loaded everything up, Cuttlefish looked at Clara. She, of course, appeared quite nervous. "You ok?"

She awkwardly nodded. "Just thinking about Jack. I, uh… wish I had stopped him from walking off. I wish I could've talked to him, at least."

"…You know, you still have a last chance to walk away. Put this behind you. You can go find him."

Clara barely even looked back as she worked. She shook her head. "I'm still in this same as you, Cap'n." She looked down somewhat. "…You almost sound nervous that we're not going to win this yourself."

"I… don't know what I think." He admitted.

Finally, she turned to him, a comforting look in her eyes. "We'll get through this. We're going to win. Thanks to you."

He was still a bit too flustered to say much, and instead opted to give her a nod.

"You about ready?" Ammoses asked.

"Yeah." He placed the last of their supplies in the plane.

"Alright, then. All aboard." He passed around aviator goggles before he climbed up into the pilot seat. "Let's get this show on the road. For all we know, the attack could've already begun at this point."

Arowana Castle

Arowana Castle was, without a doubt, a complete fortress and one of the Inkling forces' sturdiest strongholds. The castle itself was a maze, and was heavily patrolled by the ever-so-cautious Inkling military, even more so since word had spread about what happened to Captain Squidbeak's last fort. Tension was already high; They knew about the tactical advantages of hitting this place, and what would happen if the castle fell. They were the last line of defense before the Octarian's very victory.

But even with all of this tension, and all of their preparations, the Inklings were simply not in place to properly defend against what was coming… largely, because they were still underestimating the coming threat.

The attack was not stealthy, nor did it need to be. The lookout crew had easily noticed the first incoming Ammo Knights planes, and identified them to be allied with the Octarians.

"Incoming!" The first guard to notice, with binoculars in hand, shouted first. Before long, men were shouting at each other, both to give orders and just in general panic, as they quickly lined up to get the cannons into position.

"Fire!" The present Captain shouted just before the cannons were fired, blasting off massive balls of destructive ink at their foes. A couple planes were taken out, but it wasn't nearly enough to stop the first wave of bombs, which tore through the front of the castle.

Just like that, the Inkling forces were thrown off balance, with several front-line soldiers abruptly taken out as the planes began to circle back around. But they had minimal time to recover, as soon after the bombings took place, the frontal assault began. The Octarian army approached the castle from multiple sides, in great numbers, forcing the Inklings to fight back in a brutal, ink-filled battle.

Thus, the Siege of Arowana Castle had begun.

Ammo Knights

Peace was always a fickle phenomenon. Hannalie, who was still running the shop in Ammoses' behest, knew this. She glanced at Judd, who was napping on the table with his head in his arms, softly purring to himself, as she anxiously yet calmly worked on cleaning weapons. It was the type of peace she wished the world could keep forever… without having to go through all of the conflict that surrounds it.

As she somberly thought about this, she soon heard a ding, prompting her to look over at the opening door as an Inkling she had seen once before walked in. She shyly lowered her weapon as she faced him. "C-Can I help you?"

"Yeah." Jack walked up to her. "Have you seen my friends come back through here? Looking for answers on where to go next?"

She gulped. "Who's asking?"

"Please, ma'am." He held a hand forward. "I just want to help. Especially if they're in trouble."

She hesitated. For a couple moments. Again gulping, she nodded slightly. "…They may be."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

She stood up straight. "I know exactly where they went."

Arowana Castle

The Inkling's bold fortress was already slowly falling to the enemy. More of its walls were cracking or collapsing, and more Inkling soldiers were being taken out. They were surrounded by screaming and death as they fought, to the death if it was needed, as they bravely marched forward into the growing battle no matter the consequences.

The soldiers that manned the cannons were trying their best to fend off the attacks both on the ground and in the air, but they were slowly running out of ammunition, making them gravely aware that they simply weren't going to withstand this onslaught forever.

"Captain!" A soldier rushed up to the big Inkling inside the fort. "We won't have enough to fight off all the planes!"

"Do what you can!" He shouted back. "Just focus your aim on their air forces!"

In obedience, they kept loading the cannons and waiting for the next air attack, which came by soon enough. More bombs were rained down, and more intense explosions rocked the castle without mercy, sending their forces in a frenzy. The ground troops were doing a well enough job keeping the grounded Octarians from getting too close and entering the castle, but it did not change the fact that they were all swiftly getting overwhelmed, bringing more casualties and lowering their moral significantly. They simply would not last much longer until the invasion became too much to contain…

Sweat built on the captain's head as he realized this, staring ahead as the planes circled back around for their next brutal attack.

"I'm out!" A soldier at one of the cannons announced.

"Me too!" Another one said.

The Captain's mouth opened anxiously, but no sound came out. He stared ahead as the planes got closer and closer, signifying their next hit that they may not withstand…

Bangs filled the air, and the Captain briefly shielded his face as loud plane gunfire struck his ears, wincing to himself before he forced himself to look out to see what had happened. To his surprise, one of the Octarian planes had taken a hit from something other than the cannons, derailing from its path as it careened and collapsed elsewhere. A second later, an intense wind came over them as another Ammo Knights plane soared up from behind, passing over the castle.

He squinted. "Is that…?"

"WOOHOOOO!" Ammoses cheered onboard the plane. "THERE'S MORE WHERE THAT ONE CAME FROM, COMMIES!"

Soldiers on both sides of the conflict looked up at the surprise newcomer, as the plane began circling around and taking on a couple more of the planes in air combat. "Holy shit!" One person cheered.

As more Inkling-allied troops cheered for their arrival, Ammoses soon flew back over the battlefield. He looked back at both Cuttlefish and Clara in the backseat. "Make me proud and make them bleed! I'll join you soon enough!"

Cuttlefish nodded, and was the first to leap off the plane. He drew his parachute and drifted down near the battlefield, a small distance away from the action. As soon as he touched ground, he took off his pack.

One soldier came over to help him up. "Well, I'll be damned! Word was that you disappeared!"

"Just took some time." He grabbed his weapon and then his own captain hat from his pack, putting it on. "Looks like a relentless strike, this one."

"How'd you know to come here?"

"Had some help, but we'll talk later!" He patted his arm as he walked toward the battlefield with him.

Indeed, their arrival and Ammoses' air interference had helped to turn the tide of the battle, at least a little bit, but it was more than enough to anger the Octarians, and draw out the next phase of their invasion. As the ruthless battle continued, some soldiers began to feel the Earth beneath them rumble, for a second at a time, prompting some people to look up in confusion.

Taking one massive step at a time, the massive machine marched its way forward and onto the battlefield, toward the Inkling's front lines. Before long, a soldier looked up and backed up in a panic as he looked up to see the Octoweapon towering over him. He turned to run. "Retreat! Retr-"

A massive mechanical fist was swung down at him, crushing him and splashing grass and dirt around him. The fist slowly rose as the machine kept inching forward, taking out any Inklings that stood along its path. Any attempts to fire at it or do anything against it did nothing.

Cuttlefish, having made his way closer to the castle in the heart of the battlefield, soon noticed the rumbling himself, and along the other soldiers at his side, looked up as the Octoweapon approached their base.

With each thunderous footstep, the Octoweapon trembled slightly until finally, it came to stop a small distance away in front of him. It slowly fell into a neutral position, before its head slowly lifted up and backwards, revealing the familiar, crowned head that rested inside. "Cap'n Cuttlefish!" Lord Octavio rose his hands from underneath the massive armor, briefly raising them into the air. "So it's true! You got promoted!"

Cuttlefish felt his hearts sink. "Octavio."

"Do you like what I've been up to? I hoped you'd be able to see it! I made this design with you in mind!"

He angrily gripped his Bamboozler as he stared up at him. "What are you doing here!? Why are you doing this!?"

Octavio's expression was furious, and his eyes practically held its fire as he glared at him. "Do you remember our last conversation we had, old friend? Just before this whole war started? Before all of this started?"

He shook his head. "Your mind's not clear, Octavio. It hasn't been for a long time!"

"Are you serious?" He visibly winced. "You don't remember?"

He didn't respond. He did remember… he remembered clearly… but…

Octavio shook his own head. "You had promised me that you would help my people keep their homes in Inkadia City… throughout all of Inkadia. That this senseless war would be stopped before it could ever begin. That our peoples would still share these lands! You promised me, with your own hands in the mud! And what did you follow it up with?"

Cuttlefish still didn't respond. His gaze slowly went down as he listened.

"Oh? You have no answer? Well, allow me to jog your memory." He leaned forward. "You went straight to Captain Squidbeak, and you leaked our plans to build Inkadia into something better! Something stronger! For everyone!"

He finally shot his own glare up at him. "You wanted to force our people from our homes! You wanted supremacy! You wanted to rule! And what do you rule over now? You turned your people into another army and called war on mine! It was not a decision I forced upon you!"

"You forced more than you know!" He clenched his fist. "You don't take responsibility for anything! But I do. And when I rip Arowana Castle from you, my plans for Inkadia City will move forward! And you will NOT BE A PART OF IT!" Octavio was automatically lowered back down in the Octoweapons chest as its head closed back up, and a moment later, the machine once again became mobile. It rose its fist and stepped forward.

Cuttlefish of course turned to run, but he was a bit too late, as the fist slammed down, knocking him forward. He hurled through the air before rolling across the dirt, groaning to himself as he came to a stop. Octavio's machine of course didn't stop there, and was now coming in for the kill. Cuttlefish briefly held his leg, assessing it to possibly be sprained, before he scrambled to his feet and continued running.

Unbeknownst to him, the Octoweapon stopped as its chest opened up, unleashing four different turret-like gun barrels, which began spinning around as they aimed directly at Cuttlefish.

"Craig!" Cuttlefish heard just before he was tackled to the side. He again rolled to the ground, as a line of ink shots ran down the path where Cuttlefish was previously running.

Clara was on top of him, holding him as she panted. "You ok?"

He couldn't help but smile. "Am now."

Getting back on her feet as quickly as she could, she pulled his arm to help him up, briefly looking back to see that Octavio's Octoweapon was charging up another shot. They ran out of the way as more blasts of ink were hurled at them, striking other soldiers in their vicinity.

"Run as much as you want, Cuttlefish." Octavio's voice sounded from the Octoweapon's speaker, as it continued on its way, walking forward toward the castle. "It will only do so much for you."

The brutal battle continued as Octavio marched his way toward the castle, with nothing able to stop him. He continued to easily take out any soldiers that dared to come close, either slamming them down into the ground or unleashing his turrets to fire upon them.

As he inched closer and closer to the castle, the soldiers in charge of the fort grew steadily more aware of his power. "He cannot get into the castle, he'll tear us right down!" The Captain announced. "Fire upon it!"

The soldiers on top armed the rest of the available cannons as fast as they could, aimed, and awaited their command.

"FIRE!"

Octavio looked up as multiple large blobs of ink soared from the castle directly at him. Stopping in his tracks, the machine held an arm up to block them, before instantly and entirely becoming buried under a mountain of its ooze. The Inkling forces all watched intently as, after some visible struggling from within, the collective blob fell silent and settled on top of the Octoweapon, starting to harden like cement to keep it trapped.

"Got him! Yes!" Someone cheered.

Another moment of cheering happened before the massive, mechanical fist punched its way out of the blob, before reaching down to start tearing it off. From there, Octavio didn't struggle much from pulling the Octoweapon out entirely. He laughed once he was fully free, victoriously raising the Octoweapon's arms into the air. "Is that the best you can do!?"

"Shit- RELOAD!" The Captain commanded.

"We don't have enough!" A private replied.

The Octoweapon kept marching forward toward the castle, with nothing to stop it. The battle continued as it was from there, as Inklings and Octarians clashed near the castle gates. The Inklings were finding it harder and harder to keep the Octarian forces out, long before Octavio would even arrive.

After Ammoses leapt from his own plane, he soon rolled into the battlefield, using his shell while holding his necessary pack of tools as he reunited with Cuttlefish and Clara. "It's time!" He announced to them. "We need that thing dismantled before it reaches the castle! We need to get close so we can distract it!"

"That thing's more destructive than we anticipated, Shellendorf." Cuttlefish commented. "This might not work."

"I know, he made improvements." Setting his pack on the ground, he started casually equipping his necessary gear, which included gloves and special goggles, which were even larger than the ones he already wore. "Just get me in close, we'll have to figure it out."

"Ok." He and Clara both made sure their weapons were ready as Ammoses grabbed Cuttlefish's back and pulled himself up, piggy-backing on him. "Ready?" Cuttlefish finished.

"Ready." He nodded.

Together with Clara, he ran away from the castle and in the direction of the Octoweapon. Clara wasn't quite as fast as him, but followed from behind as they fought through the battlefield, shooting their way through waves of incoming Octarians and their attacks to get through. Even on Cuttlefish's back, Ammoses did his part, pulling out his gun and firing at enemies as he was carried along. They took cover when needed, and continued running when they could.

At the same time, Octavio was still well on his own path, smashing his way through Inkling forces and blockades, occasionally laughing through the Octoweapon speaker as he did. It wasn't long at all, however, before his laughs turned into a growl, as he saw Cuttlefish and his team approaching.

Cuttlefish stopped in his tracks as he started to get a little bit too close, staring up at the massive threatening machine before him. "Ok, now what!?"

"Keep him distracted, like we discussed!" Ammoses leapt off of him.

Inside the Octoweapon, Octavio squinted as he saw the Horseshoe Crab he thought to be dead. "Are you-?"

With barely any fear for his own life, Ammoses rushed up and leapt up the Octoweapon, grabbing on and starting to climb up.

"What the- INSECT!?" The Octoweapon buckled, nearly throwing him off. Ammoses screamed as he held on for dear life.

Before Octavio could shove him off, he looked over as Cuttlefish and Clara both started firing shots of high-pressure ink at his armor. Screaming in anger, he once again drew his chest guns, aimed, and fired a barrage of high-pressure at them.

"Duck!" Cuttlefish screamed as he and Clara dived out of the way.

"Shouldn't have to go this way, Cuttlefish!" He screamed as the Octoweapon marched forward and once again tried slamming its fists down upon them. "Don't make me kill you!"

As Cuttlefish and Clara dodged his attacks, the distraction was enough for Ammoses to fully climb up on top of the Octoweapon's back. Although he was still struggling to hold on as the Octoweapon buckled beneath him, he was able to situate himself by grabbing onto the back's handles, and he reached into his pack. "Ok, ok, ok…" Sticking his tongue out, he pulled out his first tool and started working to take the armor plates off. Again, he was almost thrown off as the Octoweapon took another giant swing, almost dropping his tool. "Shit! Stop squirmin'!"

Clara was finding dodging harder and harder, as Octavio figured out their patterns and struck the ground next to her. She collapsed as dirt and grass flew through the air above her, wheezing.

Octavio had been going easy on these two, but his slams starting to get more aggressive as he slammed the ground before her. She weakly got up and tried to run away, but was briefly sent hurling through the air again by another shockwave. She rolled across the ground.

"Claraaa!" Cuttlefish shouted.

"What's the matter, Cuttlefish?" Octavio continued. "Afraid I'll hurt your girl?"

He kept firing distracting shots at him, making his way in Clara's direction, as Octavio moved in for the killing blow. He defiantly stepped between the two, and proceeded to stand still there, facing him.

Octavio stopped as well. "Well… look at that. You do care for her. More than you ever cared for me."

Cuttlefish shook his head as Clara started slowly getting up behind him. "I always cared for you, Octavio. You were the one who betrayed my trust."

The robotic fists rose into the air. "You're twisting our history again, you LIAR!" Before he could attack again, he stopped, pausing as he noticed something.

Indeed, Ammoses was working on opening up the Octoweapon from behind, and Octavio was finally alerted to it as an alarm in his suit went off. However, between every time Ammoses was almost thrown off and the sheer durability that this armor had, which beat even his expectations, he started to realize that it may not have been possible for him. He grunted.

"Cuttlefish! I can't get through!" He announced in his panic.

"I see what you're doing!" Octavio refocused his efforts on knocking him off. One of the mechanical fists reached back in an attempt to grab him, prompting him to scream and climb onto the head for safety.

Cuttlefish took the opportunity to help Clara up. "You ok?"

She just shakily nodded in response.

"Go, get out of here." He tried pushing her away, before the Octoweapon managed to reach down and grab him. "GAH!" He screamed as he was lifted into the air.

"CRAIG!" Clara reached for him in vain.

"I should crush all of you!" Octavio shouted once more as he successfully shook Ammoses off a moment later.

Ammoses careened to the ground near Clara, screaming and hiding in his shell as he landed. Clara went to help him up as well.

The Octoweapon held Cuttlefish tightly, squeezing him. He could barely do anything, struggling weakly to break free. He watched as he was held face-to-face with the Octoweapon's terrifying helmet.

"You messed with my people. I'm just returning the favor." Octavio taunted.

"Octavio… please…" Cuttlefish grunted, finding it harder to breathe.

Clara and Ammoses looked around somewhat. The battle was turning more and more against the Inkling's favor. More Octarians were taking over the surrounding battlefield, and the front lines had now managed to infiltrate the castle, attacking its guards inside. More Octarian air forces, with the same Ammo Knights planes, were flying overhead as well, restarting the Octarian's air assault. This time, the cannons simply didn't have enough ammunition to hold them off. The Inkling forces were finally getting overwhelmed, and Cuttlefish's team at the center of all of it could now do nothing about it.

But there was still one more surprise coming in to again turn the tide. Cuttlefish found himself suddenly dropped from the Octoweapon's gasp as aerial blasts of ink struck it, confusing Octavio and causing him to back off somewhat.

Again, everyone looked to the sky to watch as yet another Ammo Knights plane had swooped in overhead, and was currently in the process of circling back around.

Clara was more confused than the others. "Who's this!?"

Ammoses squinted as he stood up. He turned his goggles to zoom in on this new ally. "I think that's-" His eyes widened.

Indeed, the plane was driven by Hannalie herself, and onboard the plane in the passenger seat was Jack, holding the bizarre Cat creature that was Judd.

Jack was holding Judd with his arms outstretched. "A-Am I still supposed to be watching this thing!?" He shouted.

"Remember what I said, don't let him out of your sight!" She replied.

"I'll be damned!" Ammoses excitedly punched his fists into the air. "The flying lessons worked!"

"Grrrr…" Octavio was slowly getting more pissed than ever as he straightened the Octoweapon and braced for the next assault.

Cuttlefish and the others moved out of the way and watched as the plane and Octavio focused their attention on each other. The plane circled the battlefield, coming in when able to land its aerial attacks, but Octavio was retaliating, and unleashed his turret to unleash his own attacks at them.

Hannalie panted as her plane just barely dodged the last attack. "O-Oh, man! T-This might be rough!"

"Just get in close!" Jack continued. "Blast that son of a bitch apart!"

"I-I'm trying!" She took the plane around for another attack, which went about the same way as before except worse. The plane briefly shook as a powerful blast of ink shook the side. "O-Oh, no! N-Not good!"

Cuttlefish's team on the ground watched in concern as Octavio prepared his next attack. Clara ran up to distract the machine once again, but Cuttlefish grabbed her arm. "Let them handle this!"

Hannalie briefly looked back at Jack, then stared ahead, silently contemplated what to do next. It was harder at this point to keep peace in her thoughts, but she tried her hardest regardless. "…Get ready to evac the plane! Do what you came here for!" She shouted at him.

"What are you doing!?" Jack replied.

"Just do it!" She circled back around for her next attack.

Ammoses anxiously gripped his own helmet. "Hannalie, what're you doing?" He muttered.

They watched as Hannalie came in, unleashing her next attack, as Octavio then unleashed his own, this time successfully smashing the plane's wing. Hannalie, Jack, and Judd all shook violently in their seats.

"NO!" Ammoses shouted.

As they watched the plane start to careen toward them, Cuttlefish's own eyes widened. "Go! Go! Get out of here!" She grabbed Clara and took off running. Ammoses turned as well, and then ducked down into his shell.

"Hehehe…" Octavio chuckled as he stared up at the incoming wreckage, before he noticed that Hannalie had lined herself up directly in his path. "Oh-"

He didn't have long to react as the plane drove itself into the field, destroying everything in its path in a fiery explosion as it ran the Octoweapon over. Ammoses, just out of its path, was knocked aside, and Cuttlefish and Clara both just barely managed to escape its deadly path and were too knocked down as the ground beneath them uplifted from the force.

The plane settled, and in the aftermath, the wreckage's smoke began to fill the air, leaving behind a fire-lit trail of destruction. The plane itself now sat as a destroyed, burning husk, its pilot now dead and left burning inside. The battlefield had been significantly quieted as everyone reacted to what happened.

It took a few moments for everyone to recover from the daze. Coughing up the smoke, Cuttlefish slowly helped Clara up once again. "You ok?"

She just nodded, covering her mouth with her shirt to block the smoke.

They slowly turned to face the wreckage. Ammoses, seeing no way that Hannalie made it out, fell to his knees. "…No… no…"

Clara herself was just now getting a good luck at the destruction left behind. "Jack!? Jack!?" Again, she tried to run forward.

"I'm right here!" They heard a voice from a small distance behind them.

Her eyes widened as she turned around, seeing where Jack had landed with his parachute. Still holding the cat, he was in the process of taking the pack off as he made his way over.

"Jack!" She rushed over to hug him, practically tackling him.

"Woah! Hey-hey." He patted her back as he held her tightly.

Judd leapt from his arms and instead walked over to Cuttlefish, who stared down at him as Ammoses slowly made his way over. "Uhhh…" Cuttlefish droned as he saw the cat. "Hey."

As they embraced, Jack turned to face Clara after a moment. "What did I tell you about staying out of this, you little shit?"

"I'm sorry… I couldn't help myself this time." She replied.

"And why was that?"

"Because the Cap'n needed my help." She broke the hug.

He turned to face Cuttlefish, nodding as he noticed he was finally wearing the Captain hat. "Nice to see you, Cap'n."

He nodded in return. "You too, Jack."

"And… Ammoses!?" He turned to notice as he walked up.

Ammoses nodded. He sadly sniffled, still very much grieving his new loss. "You and ol' Hannalie decided to come out all this way just for us, huh?"

"You bet your boyscout uniform I did." He embraced him as well.

As they all reunited there on the field, Cuttlefish turned to notice as the Octoweapon shook once again, as if coming back to life. He gripped his Bamboozler. "Look alive, everyone. This ain't over yet."

Now standing as one team, they all turned to watch as the Octoweapon slowly opened up. Stepping out from the burning wreckage was Octavio, now in the flesh and on his own. He appeared to be bruised and cut in places, and his own crown was partially damaged, awkwardly tilted to the side on his head. He panted angrily as he faced all of them. "You… do you think this war will end here!?"

"Not really." Jack held up and cocked his own Bamboozler. "But this skirmish here? Kinda."

Cuttlefish clenched his fist. "Tell your forces to surrender, Octavio. Make this easier for all of us."

"No!" Octavio replied. "My Octarians will never stop coming for you! You hear me!? NEVER! We will never surrender this war! I will NEVER stop fighting for MY PEOPLE!"

"You say that you're fighting for your people, but all we've seen you do is hurt innocent ones." Clara stood alongside Cuttlefish and Jack. "And we will stand up to you as long as you do."

"Gahh!" Octavio whined almost like a child. "Who do you all think you are, anyway!?"

"...We're the Splatoon. The Squidbeak Splatoon." Cuttlefish said. "And we'll fight in the name of everyone you've hurt. In this war and beyond if needed."

Octavio growled angrily as he then lunged forward, taking them on all at once. There was no mistaking that he was a talented fighter, and was dodging their imminent gunfire as he rushed them to make his stand… but he was no match for the combined might of this new team. Beyond even that, he was blinded by his own rage in this moment. They didn't even need to splat him as the team, mainly Jack and Cuttlefish, starting beating him around, knocking him back and forth and taking turns on him, until finally, he was knocked to the ground, bleeding and defeated. His new enemies all stood over him, holding their weapons in case he tried anything else.

Octavio moaned in pain, as Judd suddenly crawled onto his chest. "Meow."

"Ah- g-gaaack!" He hissed as the cat leaned forward and started licking his face. "N-Not like this… oh… so sad…" He muttered to himself.

Octavio may have been out of this fight, but he wasn't out yet. His crown opened up to form a large propeller, and he lifted his head somewhat as it activated. The Splatoon watched in bewilderment as he was suddenly lifted into the air, and Judd leapt off of him.

"Dagnabbit!" Ammoses groaned as everyone tried firing at him, but their ink missed, and they instead watched as he lifted further and further into the air.

"Hear me, Cuttlefish!" Octavio said for the last time, smirking in spite of his injuries. "I'll get my revenge!" He laughed mockingly as he was lifted further and further away. "Still hear me!? I'LL GET MY REVENG- oh!" The propeller briefly wavered as it continued carrying him off. "Oh, dear!"

The Splatoon watched him as he got smaller and smaller from their perspective, as they relaxed themselves and looked around the battlefield. Octarian forces were already retreating after hearing that their plan had gone sour, and the Inklings were celebrating their victory. A crowd of soldiers even ran over to their location to thank them and congratulate them, creating cheers all around them.

The team stood proudly, enjoying this moment. Cuttlefish and Clara looked at each other, exchanging smiles.

The only one who didn't seem quite as proud was Ammoses, who was staring off at Hannalie's crash site in silent sadness. Jack noticed and patted his back, comforting him.

After a moment, Clara moved over toward Jack, and Jack put an arm around her as they all stared onward, motivated to fight another day.

The Great Turf War was by no means over. Everyone knew this. But Cuttlefish knew in his hearts that one day soon, peace would return. And to work toward that goal, he and his new friends had dedicated themselves to their new team, and made it official. It wasn't before long that they were making headlines on the paper: The Squidbeak Splatoon, mainly comprised of Cuttlefish, Jack, and Clara, with Ammoses as their proud weapon supplier and Judd as their weirdly adorable pet and friend. There was no doubt in anyone's mind and this Splatoon was turning the tide of the larger war, and it was thanks to their exceptional team effort.

They had been participating in this war for quite a while and had gotten multiple war victories under their belt. But today, they were relaxing, and trying something a little different. They were all standing in a field within the Inkling's battle turf, and were simply enjoying this moment of calmness together as a nearby Jellyfish prepped his new, experimental camera technology to finally snap a picture of this legendary team.

Jack and Ammoses were hanging out and chatting, and Judd was napping on the grass nearby, as Clara walked up to Cuttlefish, smiling. "How're you feelin', Cap'n?" She asked.

He took another look at the scenery, smiling. "I'm feeling pretty good." He looked at her. "You?"

"I'm feeling great." She gave him a smile. "I just… I noticed before that on more relaxed days like this, you tend to think a bit more about Cap'n Squidbeak. And how he's no longer here. Just like Ammoses with Hannalie."

Again, his eyes went out toward the scenery. "Squidbeak would be proud of what we've accomplished in his name. I know that much. Hannalie would, too. And perhaps Biff. And everyone else… It's actually something else that I've been thinking about today."

"What's that?"

"Octavio. He… really seems deadset on the idea that I'm the one who caused this. That I'm the one who started this war. We used to be good friends." He looked her in the eye. "Do you think that makes me like him?"

"No." She shook her head. "You may be alike in some ways, but in others… you're the opposite. And don't ever forget that he started this war. That's why we're here. To finish it."

He smiled. "We wouldn't be here without your heart, Clara."

"And I wouldn't be here without all of yours."

They both blushed a bit as they again broke eye contact, running out of words to say. Clara awkwardly moved her hands behind her back.

It took Cuttlefish a moment to muster the strength for his own question. "I don't suppose that… later on, in a relaxed day like this, you and I could… grab a drink? Just us?"

She smiled. She had been waiting and waiting for such a question… she just wasn't sure she herself had the strength for it, either. "I'd love that, Craig."

He smiled back, as they both continued to awkwardly stand there like lovestruck children in grade school. Cuttlefish looked down, again avoiding eye contact, with the smile stuck on his face.

"I still think about my future, after all of this, after the war's won. When we've found peace again." Clara also found herself looking out at the scenery.

"Yeah? Any plans?"

"Yeah. I want to go back to Calamari. After all these years. I want to… be among its fields. With Jack. With my future children." She looked at him, smiling. "And with you."

He stared at her, with love in his eyes. "That sounds captivating."

"It does." She nodded.

"Any ideas of what names you wanna be passing down?"

"...Shorten down the name, Calamari, what do you get?"

Cuttlefish paused, thinking about that for a second.

"Callie." Clara answered, smiling. "I always liked the name Callie."

He kept staring lovingly at her, thinking about such a pleasant name, as the Jellyfish again called out to them. "Places, everyone!"

They hesitantly broke from that spot as everyone went to their places. Judd woke up at that moment, sitting up, as Cuttlefish, Clara, and Jack took their poses, and Ammoses stood in the background, smiling.

"Hold for a moment." The Jelly pressured as the camera did its work.

The picture that would go on to be the only surviving photograph of the Squidbeak Splatoon was snapped that day. Cuttlefish didn't know it at the time- none of them did- but the Squidbeak Splatoon and the Cuttlefish family line's legacy had started here… and it was going to go on to be the greatest and most cemented legacy the world would ever see.