Spike the Squid Kid

by Caecae97

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Other, Starlight Glimmer, Mystery, Spike, Profanity, Adventure, Slice of Life, Crossover, Thorax, Human, Ember, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 16052

Spike always loved playing video games. His favorite was the game Splatoon and its sequel. One night before bed, he saw a shooting star while he was playing. He made a wish on the star. That was the day his life changed forever.

Spike never really believed in magic, but that changed one night. While he was up late playing Splatoon 2, he saw a shooting star go by outside his window. Jokingly, he wished that the world was like Splatoon. What happened next was the last thing he expected. His wish came true. Now, Spike, and everyone else in Canterlot is an inkling, and Canterlot is Inkopolis. Now Spike lives his new life, as an inkling who's trying to make a name for himself in Turf War.

Published 2018-01-29 17:40:07 UTC
Last updated 2021-02-25 19:03:28 UTC

When You Dream Upon A Wish

It was another normal day for Spike. He'd gotten home from school and decided to play some video games. He had recently gotten a Switch and had fallen in love with Splatoon 2. The sequel was even better than the original, and that's saying something. He started up the game and quickly got into an online battle.

Twilight watched her little brother play his favorite game and said, "You know, there's an actual game called paintball."

Spike rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, but there's more strategy and stealth for this game. You never know what to expect in- son of a bitch! I should have known that guy had a Sting Ray! I really hate Chargers on this stage."

Twilight raised an eyebrow and said, "I must admit, this game does have a certain strategical appeal to me. Maybe I should try it."

Spike chuckled and said, "What's with the sudden 180? Not that I'm complaining. I'd be willing to help you get used to the game. Some advice, don't use motion controls. They suck."

As Spike played the game longer, his mother said, "Spike! Put the game down, it's dinner time!"

Spike had just finished a battle when his mom called him and said, "Coming mom!"

As the family ate dinner, Spike's father said, "Don't you think you're getting a little obsessed with that new game of yours? You've stopped watching TV, playing soccer, it seems like that game is taking over your life."

Spike rolled his eyes as he took a bite of his steak and said, "It's just a really good game. It's not like I'm obsessed enough that my school work is suffering."

Twilight raised an eyebrow and said, "I beg to differ, you've been asking me to help you study a lot, you almost never do that."

Spike sighed and said, "Yeah, I've been studying with you a lot, but I've still got a B average. A little extra help never hurts, and it's not like I'm cheating on my work."

Their mom said, "Ok, that's enough. It's Friday, so let Spike play his game for the weekend. He's been doing well enough in school that he's not in any trouble."

After dinner, Spike went up to his room with his Switch and continued to play his game. He was so invested in the game he didn't realize it was already dark. He put his Switch in the docking station so it could charge overnight. He looked out his window to look at the stars. When he was little, he would always sleep in a sleeping bag out on the back yard and fall asleep staring at the stars. He saw a shooting star go by and chuckled, "It's been a while since I've seen a shooting star." He looked at his Switch, and then back to the night sky and smiled. He closed his eyes and said, "I wish that the Splatoon world was real." he laughed to himself and said, "Man, what a cheesy wish. Whatever, it's not like magic's real." He laid down in his bed and fell asleep.

As Spike was sleeping, he dreamed about what it would be like to be an Inkling. He covered a lot of turf and splatted lots of people. He had a lot of fun. But he soon woke up to the sun shining through his bedroom window. He yawned and said, "Man, what a great dream." he got out of bed and went downstairs to get a soda to wake him up a bit. He opened the fridge and saw what looked like a can of Coke. He pulled it out and saw strange writing that looked familiar. He felt strange looking at it. It was his first time seeing writing like it, but he could clearly read the words "Tenta-Cola." He raised an eyebrow and said, "Must be some new soda mom got."

He sat down on the couch and turned on the news, and what he saw shocked him. He saw Pearl and Marina from his game on the TV. Pearl said, "Y'all know what time it is!"

It was if he was playing the game, but the Switch was up in his room, and Marina said, "It's Off the Hook coming at you LIVE from Inkopolis Square!"

Every little detail that came from the game was happening on the TV, Pearl and Marina were introducing the stages in Ink Battles, and then a paid advertisement said that Grizzco was hiring. Spike shook his head and said, "Ok, there's got to be a logical explanation. I'm still dreaming! Yeah, that's it!" he walked up to the bathroom and splashed some water on his face, but when he looked in the mirror, he saw that he looked like an Inkling! He splashed more and more water on his face and said "O-Okay... this isn't a dream... this is nuts though!"

Twilight knocked on the bathroom door and said, "Hurry up in there Spike! I'm meeting the girls at Deca Tower and I want to freshen up!"

Spike nearly screamed when Twilight said she was going to Deca Tower. It almost felt like everyone in town was pulling a prank on him, but Twilight was a horrible prankster. That's when he realized this was all real, he wasn't a human kid anymore, he was an Inkling. He walked out of the bathroom and saw his sister with tentacle hair in her signature ponytail with her iconic purple and magenta hair color. He said, "Sorry Twi, I'm just a bit off right now."

Twilight brushed past him and before closing the door she said, "By the way, mom said your Ink Battle License and Splattershot Jr. came in the mail. You want to have a battle with me and the girls? You'll need to get practice if you want good weapons."

Spike was still a bit freaked out, but he said, "Yeah, sounds fun. But if we're on different teams, I'm not going easy on you just because you're my sister."

Twilight giggled and said, "Right back at you little bro. But let's see if you can say the same thing about Rarity." and closed the door.

Spike rolled his eyes at her comment and walked downstairs to see an ID card with his name on it next to a Splattershot Jr. He said to himself, "What the hell is happening? If this isn't a dream, and it's not a prank, what is it...? Wait... that shooting star! Good lord... I guess I can't complain considering I'm the one who made that wish. Well, I guess I'l just try to have some fun and get as good at real Ink Battles as I am at online multiplayer." he picked up the Splattershot Jr. and the ID card, which was his Ink Battle License and said, "This is gonna be a lot of fun."

Spike's 'First' Battle

Spike had been waiting at Deca Tower with Twilight. As her friends started to arrive, he smiled. Rarity was beautiful as a human, but as an inkling, something about that made her even more beautiful. Spike looked at the other girls and said, "Hope whoever's on my team backs me up. This is my first battle, so I'll be relying on you for the most part."

Rainbow Dash ruffled his hair and said, "Don't worry squirt. If you've got me on your team, there's nothing to worry about."

Spike smirked and said, "Let me guess, I should worry if you're on the other team?"

Rainbow Dash chuckled and said, "Hey, you said it, not me."

Sunset Shimmer said, "Well, come on you guys. I'm getting antsy for a battle. I saved up all my cash for a week to get my new Dualie Squelchers, and I want to break them in!"

As they entered the tower, Spike showed his Ink Battle ID to the secretary, who asked, "I assume you'll be playing all together? Is there any specific team match ups you'd like?"

Applejack tipped her hat and said, "I think Spike should choose his team, since it's his first battle."

Spike smiled lightly and said, "I think I'll go with Dash, Rarity, and Sunset."

Dash gave a thumbs up and said, "Good choice squirt!"

Rarity smiled giggling and saying, "I'm excited to be battling with you Spikey-wikey."

Sunset grinned towards Twilight and said, "I was looking to get you back for that little stunt you pulled the last time we battled."

Twilight crossed her arms and chuckled, "I'd be delighted to see you try."

The battle was taking place in Musselforge Fitness. The two teams got ready and soon the battle was on. Spike could see that there was a path that the others didn't even seem to notice. He quickly started sending ink up one of the steel girder frames from the building. When he had enough ink there, he climbed up in squid form. He was practically invisible up there.

Fluttershy was looking through the scope of her charger, but couldn't find a target in range. When she saw orange ink dripping over top of the blue ink she'd laid down so she could refill her ink tank when she needed to, she assumed an Ink Storm was passing over her and ignored it. Suddenly, she heard somebody land behind her and froze up going, "Eep!"

The person behind her was Spike. When he played in Musselforge Fitness on his Switch, he had noticed there was a secret route that didn't show up on the map because there was no turf that could be covered, and the ink trails that led up to the secret route were on walls, so they didn't show up on the map. Spike fired his Splattershot Jr. and soon enough, he had sent Fluttershy back to her spawn point. Spike snickered to himself and said, "Man, this is more fun than I thought'd it be!"

Spike didn't notice that Applejack had locked onto him with her N-ZAP '89's Tenta Missiles. Applejack pondered how he snuck up on Fluttershy like that, but said to herself, "It ain't time for thinking, it's time for blasting!"

Spike noticed the circles that showed up before the missiles hit. He quietly said to himself, "Fuck." before getting back up after he got sent back to the spawn point. He quickly got up to the secret route again, and this time, he was going for Twilight. He could see Sunset backed up against a wall, and Twilight was aggressively trying to splat her. If this kept up, Twilight would be able to activate her special weapon, which would be a Sting Ray considering her main weapon was a Sloshing Machine. If she activated it, that wall wouldn't do much to help Sunset.

Sunset was catching her breath behind the wall and said to herself, "Shit! I can't stay back here forever, but she's not leaving me with any openings... I have a bad feeling about this, but maybe a double dodge roll will work."

Spike quickly jumped down, and as he was falling, he started firing at Twilight, who looked up behind her and in shock yelled, "Holy-!"

Sunset heard Twilight yell out and saw her opening. She rolled out into firing range of Twilight and open fired, and with her and Spike's combined effort, they splatted Twilight. Sunset sighed in relief and said, "Thanks Spike, I was pretty sure I was going to get splatted. But how'd you get behind her like that? There weren't any Squid Beacons nearby."

Spike chuckled and said, "Let's just say I did my homework on the stage maps. Maybe I'll show you how I did that... one day."

Spike's surprise jump tactic using the secret route was putting Twilight's team on edge. They were freaking out so much that his team would often splat them while they were trying to look out for him. It was hilarious to see his sister being so on edge, and the icing on the cake was that he was the one who was keeping her on edge. Soon enough, the battle ended. Because of Spike's tactic, it was a landslide victory.

Rainbow Dash cheered excitedly and ruffled Spike's hair saying, "Nice job squirt! I don't know how you did it, but those surprise attacks of your's were wicked!"

Twilight grumbled, obviously upset that she lost to her little brother, who just got his license. She glared at him accusingly and said, "I'm calling BS. You cheated somehow!"

Spike rolled his eyes and said, "That's a new one for you. Claiming I cheated just because you lost, talk about a sore loser. At least if Rainbow Dash had lost to me like you did, she would have been a good sport about it."

Applejack put a firm hand on Twilight's shoulder with a grip and said, "Twilight, back off. You know Spike better than any of us. You know he wouldn't even think of cheating in an Ink Battle."

Twilight sighed and said, "You're right, I'm sorry Spike. I just can't grasp how you were able to sneak up on us like that."

Spike chuckled and said, "I spent years researching the stages before I got my license. I know a lot of ins and outs on the stages. Maybe I'll teach you guys them some day."

After his first battle, Spike felt great. The group got some food and went on their way. As Twilight walked home with Spike, she asked him, "So how do you feel about winning your first battle?"

Spike smiled and said, "Victory is sweet, but it's even sweeter when my victory's against you."

Twilight rolled her eyes and said, "Just remember, revenge is a dish best served cold. I'm going to get you back for today's battle. I've lost before, and I knew I'd lose to you sometimes, but I didn't think I'd lose to my little rookie brother during our first battle."

Spike snickered and said, "Well, you can talk the talk, we'll see if you can walk the walk tomorrow."

After an oyster dinner, Spike went to bed. He thought to himself, "If this really is a dream, I don't ever want to wake up from it." before turning off his light and going to sleep.

A New Look Does Wonders

It had been almost two weeks since Spike's wish had come true. He had finally gotten used to the fact he was an Inkling, but the thing he still couldn't understand is why he was the only one who remembered that everyone used to be humans, and that Inkopolis used to be Canterlot. He walked downstairs and ate a bowl of Clammy-O's. It was kind of strange having a seafood based cereal, but it tasted great. "Must be because I'm an inkling now..." Spike said quietly to himself as he ate.

Twilight was watching the Inkopolis News to see what the battle stages were going to be today and said, "Shit! The one day I wanted to do Ranked Battles, it's Clam Blitz with Blackbelly Skatepark and Kelp Dome!"

Spike chuckled and said, "I've heard Clam Blitz is the hardest Ranked Battle Mode, and both of those stages are annoying. Blackbelly Skatepark is awkward to traverse, and Kelp Dome's grated walkways leave you as open as a sitting duck." After he finished his breakfast, he got up and said, "I'm going to go down to Deca Tower to see if I've gotten enough experience to raise my battle level."

Twilight raised an eyebrow and said, "It's been almost two weeks since you got your license, and you've been battling non-stop with us. How could you not have raised your battle level by now?"

Spike rolled his eyes and said, "I'm well aware that I've leveled up by now, but you know how the guys at Galleria are. I just wanted to be safe. Plus, a few extra battles works wonders for my wallet."

Twilight giggled and said, "I get it now, you want to go shopping. Maybe with Rarity?"

Spike blushed and said, "Sh-Shut up!"

Twilight laughed harder and said, "Denial is just as good as an admission of guilt!"

Spike clenched his fist as his sister laughed and went upstairs. He came back down with his Splattershot Jr. and snuck up on her while she was still on the couch. He tapped on her head, and when she looked up at him he said, "Payback's a bitch" before firing at her.

Twilight was quickly covered in ink and growled saying, "I'm going to get you for that!" pulling out her Splat Dualies from underneath the couch cushions and aiming at Spike, who was already running.

As the siblings were fighting an Ink Battle in their own living room, their mother came down and screamed when she saw the ink all over. "Stop fighting this instant! You two are not going anywhere until you clean up this mess!"

Spike, who was out of his mother's line of sight, quickly slipped into squid form. He thought to himself, "She's not going to try and get more ink everywhere to get me to come out of hiding..."

Their mother looked around, and all she could see was Twilight and purple ink, Twilight's favorite color. She looked at Twilight and said, "What were you trying to do, splat a fly on the wall?"

Twilight cringed at her mother's anger and said, "B-But Spike started it! He's in here, I swear!"

Before their mother could start yelling, their father came down and said, "That's enough. Dear, don't you remember anything about Inkling anatomy?"

Twilight brightened up and said, "Right dad! Our ink is disintegrated by airborne microbes!"

Their mother sighed and said, "That is true, isn't it... Ok, fine. You're not in trouble, and if Spike really is in here, I assume he can hear me. If you can, you're not in trouble either Spike. But I don't want this happening again. Just because I don't need to clean it up doesn't mean I want a living room covered in ink."

Spike gulped and came out of his squid form and said, "S-Sorry mom, it won't happen again. Twilight's right, I shot first... But she kept teasing me about my crush on Rarity!"

Their mother looked at Twilight and said, "You know you shouldn't be teasing him like that. You don't like it when he teases you about your relationship with Flash, so why would he enjoy being teased about his crush?"

Twilight realized her mother was right and said, "Sorry Spike, that was really mean of me."

Spike smiled lightly and said, "It's fine Twi. I'm going out to the Galleria." He left the house with his Ink Battle ID and went down to Deca Tower. He walked up to the receptionist and asked, "Excuse me, I'm here to check on my Battle Level." and handed her his ID card.

The woman put his card in a machine and said, "Spike Drake... let's see... Well, it seems you've gotten to Battle Level 5! Let me just update your ID and you're good to go." she pressed a button on her keyboard and soon after, gave Spike his ID card back, the appearance showing he was now Battle Level 5. The woman then said, "We've been implementing a new reward system to encourage players to raise their Battle Level. Let me check the registry to see what rewards you've earned. It'll be just a second."

Spike waited for her to check for his rewards. He didn't remember anything like this from the game, but in the original, if you won enough battles in a row, Judd would give you a cash reward.

The woman said, "Here we are!" and pressed another button on her keyboard. A little hatch behind her opened and sent out a box. She handed Spike the box saying, "You've earned some gear and 1500 Cash! Congratulations!"

Spike opened the box and saw three pieces of gear, a Skull Bandana, a Black Tee, and a pair of Mawcasins. Along with it was the 1500 cash. He smiled and said, "Thank you ma'am!"

After putting on his new gear, he went to Ammo Knights and was greeted by Sheldon, who told him about the weapons he was eligible to buy based on his Battle Level. He took a look around the shop and said, "I think I'll take the Splat Dualies and a Splat Roller."

Sheldon smiled and gave him the weapons saying, "Thank you ! I know you'll give it a good home!"

Spike left with his new weapons and saw Rarity, who was about to enter Ammo Knights. When she saw him she smiled and said, "Hi Spike! You look absolutely fresh with those new clothes!" Before she entered Ammo Knights, she kissed his cheek and continued on.

Spike blushed, but thankfully his Skull Bandana covered it up. He headed home since it was getting late. When he got home, he asked Twilight, "Hey sis, what do you think of my new look?"

Twilight smiled at her brother and said, "It looks good on you. You got home just in time, mom ordered pizza, and it just arrived a little while ago. Let's eat!"

After dinner, Spike tried doing some tricks with his dualies in his room, but accidentally shot himself in the head with ink while he was spinning it on his finger. "Ok screw this, I'm going to bed." He put away his dualies and started to go to bed.

Another Day, Another Power Egg

Spike walked around Inkopolis Square after finishing up a battle. When Off the Hook was on the news this morning, they had mentioned Grizzco was hiring. He had hated Salmon Run in the game, since the weapons he was loaned were almost always the ones he was horrible with. He pulled out his cellphone and saw that the weapons that were being loaned were Dualie Squelchers, an Octobrush, a Splattershot Pro, and a Luna Blaster. He said to himself, "Those are some decent weapons... might as well go for it." He walked down to the Grizzco building, which always looked shady.

He was greeted by the radio shaped like a bear with a salmon in its mouth, "Hey kid, you must be here for the job. I assume you read the training manuals if you're here. There's a crew getting ready to head out, get changed and head out."

Spike went and got into the Grizzco uniform, and then got on the boat to the Spawning Grounds. When they arrived and made it to land, Spike was loaned the Dualie Squelchers for his shift. He noticed the tide was going out, so that meant there'd be much more areas for Salmonids to come out, especially if it went out all the way to the shoreline.

One of his co-workers, a girl, looked at him and said, "First time working a Salmon Run shift? Keep your guard up and stay with the group, going out on your own is asking for trouble."

Spike nodded and said, "Thanks for the advice. Looks like the Salmonids are on the move, they're coming up the shoreline."

The four workers moved out to the shoreline, working together to splat as many Salmonids as they could. The strange thing though, was that no Boss Salmonids were spawning. Mr. Grizz contacted them and said, "There's no point in this run. Something ain't right. Alright crew, get back to the boat and pull out, no sense in putting yourselves in danger when there's no rewards. Since there weren't any Boss Salmonids, I'll compensate you guys with a bonus. Pick it up by the window."

As the crew was riding the boat back, Spike said to the co-worker who gave him advice, "This isn't normal. I've never heard of a shift not having Boss Salmonids. I've got a bad feeling about this."

Another co-worker nodded and said, "The kid's got a point. Everyone and their brother who works Salmon Run shifts could tell you about the Boss Salmonids... We were out there for two hours, and not even one came out. That doesn't sit right with me."

The girl sitting next to Spike said, "I've heard rumors that the Salmonid migration is reaching its peak, and that's the worst time to be going on Salmon Run shifts. But still, the migration hasn't ended yet, so there should still be Boss Salmonids. Something's definitely wrong here. You've got to admit, those Salmonids are smarter than they look, so they might be planning something."

As they were almost out of sight of the Spawning Grounds, they could all hear a giant mechanical roar. They rushed out onto the deck and what they saw terrified them. Spike shuddered at what he was looking at, an enormous salmon shaped robot. "Holy shit! Th-that thing's enormous! It's bigger than Deca Tower! Good thing we got out of there when we did, we wouldn't have stood a chance against that mechanical monstrosity!"

When they returned to the Grizzco building and changed out of their uniforms and went to meet with Mr. Grizz's radio, the radio said, "I saw that... thing, while you were leaving. You kids are lucky that thing didn't go in the water to chase you back. Hell, we're all lucky. If that thing got to Inkopolis... We'd have been screwed. I'm going to be closing down, for now. If the Salmonids can make something that dangerous, I don't feel comfortable putting people on the frontline against them. You earned your bonus, so go get it. For now, keep this incident between the four of you. It'll cause a huge panic if people find out about that thing."

The four inklings nodded and went and got their bonuses before going off on their own. Spike's bonus was two meal tickets he could use at Crusty Sean's Crust Bucket. He sighed to himself, "That thing... I don't think Mr. Grizz could pay me enough to fight that monster."

When Spike got home, Twilight saw him and said, "Hey, I heard you worked a Salmon Run shift. How'd it go?"

Spike gulped and said, "Pretty good, got myself a bonus." He gave Mr. Grizz his word he wouldn't tell anyone about what happened, and that meant he couldn't tell his sister.

Twilight smiled and said, "Good job. I'd go over, but dinner's almost ready."

During dinner, Spike didn't eat much. His mother said, "Something wrong Spike? You've barely touched your crab casserole."

Spike sighed and said, "Just a rough day with my Salmon Run shift and all. I'm just not that hungry after that."

Twilight raised an eyebrow and said, "Seriously? After a few Ink Battles, you're starving by dinner time."

Spike rolled his eyes and said, "It's going to come out eventually. Ok, I'll tell you what happened during my shift, but promise, what you hear at this table stays at this table."

His family shared a look of concern, but nodded and Twilight asked, "What could have happened at work that's making you so nervous?"

Spike started explaining, "The shift started out normal, bunch of lesser Salmonids. But then we noticed something. There were no Boss Salmonids coming out of the water."

His father said, "That certainly is odd, defeating Boss Salmonids is part of the job. How long did this go on?"

Spike continued and said, "We were out there for two hours before Mr. Grizz called us back to the boat. While we were on the boat back... that's when things got scary. We heard a loud roar, and rushed out to the deck. And what we saw... I can't even describe how terrified I was. It was a massive salmon shaped robot, it was even bigger than Deca Tower..."

His family's eyes widened and said in union "What!?"

Spike nodded and said, "Mr. Grizz gave us a bonus to make up for the fact there were no Boss Salmonids showing up, but he couldn't pay me enough to fight that metal monstrosity."

His mother said sternly, "You are not to go back to work for Grizzco until that thing is dealt with!"

Spike nodded and said, "Don't worry, he's closing down until he learns more about whatever that thing was. But remember, this conversation-"

His family nodded and said, "-Never happened." before continuing with their dinner.

Out of the Microwave and into the Octo-Oven

Spike walked through the square. It had been almost two months since the change, but something was off. He hadn't heard any news about the Great Zapfish, or Callie's disappearance. Suddenly, Off the Hook came on the video board on top of Deca Tower and gave the news. Spike chuckled and said, "Speak of the devil, and he shall appear." He saw a girl standing over a sewer grate, and when she noticed him, she went down it in squid form. Spike followed her down the grate, and said to himself, "Octo Canyon... so this is what it looks like in real life."

The girl who he saw had her back facing him and said, "The Octarians... they're back..." she turned around to face Spike and said, "I've seen you around town lately. You seem... different... than the other Inklings I've seen. There's something about you that's so mysterious. That's just what I'm looking for. I'm Marie. Yes, THAT Marie, from the Squid Sisters. I know you're probably starstruck, but try to contain yourself."

Spike smiled and said, "It's nice to meet you, name's Spike."

Marie smiled back and said, "It's great to meet you- wait... you said your name was Spike, right? Why does that name sound so familiar...? Oh! Sorry, that's not important right now. Listen, two years ago, Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon defeated the Octarian army. We thought things would be peaceful, and they were for a while, but they're back... Can I ask for you to help us?"

Spike nodded and said, "If it's for the safety of Inkopolis, I'll help in any way I can."

Marie smiled brightly and said, "Perfect! Thank you! I've got something for you." she handed him a suit of armor, and a shooter weapon. She told him, "That's your Hero Suit and Hero Shot, the gear you'll be using to fight the Octarians. Just don't wear it outside of Octo Canyon. If people know that the Octarians have returned, there'll be mass panic." As Spike slipped his Hero Suit over his normal clothes, she said, "A perfect fit!" and quietly said to herself, "Not bad for a hand-me-down..."

Spike smiled and said, "Well, why don't we get this show on the road?"

Marie smiled and said, "I like your spunk Agent 4. The Octarians hide in kettles, but they're invisible to the naked eye. That's where the Hero Shot comes in. Ink anything that looks strange, and you're bound to find a kettle. Once you find a kettle, go into squid form, and enter the fray. Good luck."

Spike walked through the area, it was just like he remembered it from the game. He shot ink around something he could feel in front of him, but couldn't see. When the kettle revealed itself, he said, "Well, here goes." He entered his squid form and went through the grate of the kettle.

As Spike arrived in the kettle, Marie contacted him via his headphones saying, "Testing, testing, 1, 2, 1, 2. Agent 4, do you read me?"

Spike clicked the communicator and said, "I read you loud and clear Marie. I'm ready to splat some Octarians."

Marie giggled over the communicator and said, "You seem confident. Based on how often I've seen you going to Deca Tower, I think you're safe without my two cents."

Spike smirked and said, "If you've ever got some good advice, I'm more than willing to take it." He made his way through the stage and saw some Octarians guarding a vault. He thought to himself, "There weren't any vaults on this level... It must be different from the game. Think Spike, think." He pulled out a Splat Bomb and tossed it towards the Octarians. While they were in a panic to get away from the bomb, Spike jumped out from the wall he was hiding behind and shot ink at them.

As the Octarians got splatted, Marie congratulated him saying, "Good job Agent 4! The Zapfish is close!"

When Spike got to the bubble holding the Zapfish, he shot at it and grabbed the Zapfish. As he got out of the Kettle, he said, "One down, two to go. So Marie, how'd I do?"

Marie smiled and said, "You did great Agent 4. I knew you had talent, and I was right, you do. Let's keep going until we find the Great Zapfish!"

A Few Hours Later

Spike finally got the other two Zapfish, and was taking a break by the little cabin near the sewer grate back to Inkopolis Square. He took a sip of his Tenta Cola and asked, "So Marie... why me? I'm just an ordinary kid. I mean, yeah, I'm good at ink battles, but I'm nothing special."

Marie smiled at him and said, "That's not true Spike, everyone is special in their own way. As for why I chose you, it's not easy to explain. When I saw you heading towards Deca Tower for the first time, something... clicked. I don't know why, but I felt like I knew you were the one I needed to help me."

Spike smiled and said, "I guess fate has a funny way of choosing the person you least expect for the job." He got up and said, "Well, I better get to the boss kettle."

Marie smiled and said, "Good luck, but before you go." she kissed him on the cheek and said, "For luck."

Spike blushed and said, "T-Thanks Marie." and he headed off to the boss kettle and went down it. He got on the launch pad and headed into the boss's arena. As the boss appeared he said to himself, "The game makes this thing look a lot smaller..."

Marie contacted him and said, "I'd recommend not getting hit by the end of those loaves of bread... that... have faces... totally weird..."

Spike dodged the attacks from the loaves of bread until all the loaves popped out. He shot ink up the side of a loaf and then from the top of the loaf to the ceiling of the oven. He saw the tentacle, the boss's weak point, and started firing non-stop at it until it burst.

As Spike super jumped off the top of the oven, Marie said, "Donut stop! You kneed to keep it up!"

Spike said to himself, "And I thought those puns were cheesy in the game..." As the boss recovered itself, and then shot out the pillars of ink that were standard of the second stage of the boss battle. After that, panels fell off from the oven, leaving less places for him to climb up.

Marie said, "Ooh! Churros! No... those are just ink columns... And it looks like there's less places to climb up."

Spike sighed and kept up the pressure. When the bread loaves came out of the oven again, he started covering them in ink, and jumped from one of the lower loaves to a higher loaf and then climbed up to the top. He shot the tentacle until it popped again. He smirked and said, "Is that the best you got!?"

Marie chuckled and said, "Don't get cocky, it's not over yet."

Spike chuckled back and replied, "Yeah, I know, but still, this it too damn easy." as the loaves covered parts of them in armor, he said to himself, "Dumbest idea ever."

Marie warned him, "That glazing machine will be a real problem if it's not taken out fast enough. I suggest taking care of that."

Spike thought to himself, "I didn't think you could take out the glazing machine. Hopefully this harebrained scheme works." he took out a Splat Bomb and set the charge. A few seconds before it went off, he threw it at the glazing machine, and the explosion caused it to fall off.

Marie seemed surprised and said, "I was just trying to boost your confidence, I didn't think you could get rid of the glazing machine that easily!"

Spike responded and said, "Trust me, I wasn't sure either." Without the glazing machine on his tail, he could easily get on top of the oven and destroy the tentacle for the third and final time.

When he super jumped off the exploding oven, he and Marie said in union, "This guy's toast!"

The loaves of bread started popping out of the oven, burnt to a crisp until the whole oven exploded, leaving the Zapfish in its place. Spike grabbed the Zapfish and headed back out to meet Marie. When he got out, he saw that the plug on the Boss Kettle short circuited and caused the device keeping him from going to the next area to blow a fuse and blow up.

Marie said to Spike, "Good job Agent 4. I think you should be getting home, your parents will be worried if you're out too long."

Spike nodded, taking off his Hero Suit and going back to Inkopolis Square. When he got home, Twilight asked, "Where've you been all day? I didn't see you at Deca Tower all day."

Spike thought up a response quickly and said, "Mr. Grizz called me and told me to come over, I thought he found out something about that giant robot, but the others weren't there, so I just hung around the Square."

Twilight shrugged and said, "Whatever. Mom's almost got dinner ready, so let's get ready to eat."

Spike sighed in relief when Twilight left and said to himself, "Great, between Grizzco and Marie, I've got two non-existent skeletons in the closet. Well, I guess I'll play the cards I've been dealt." and went up to prepare for dinner.

The Salmo-Bot

Spike walked around Inkopolis Square. He decided to see what Sheldon had to offer him. Right as he was about to walk into Ammo Knights, his cell phone beeped. He took it out and read a message. It was from Mr. Grizz. It said, "Kid, come to Grizzco, ASAP. I finally found out what that thing was. The others are on their way, meet them there."

Spike sighed and said, "Looks like shopping will have to wait." he walked over to the Grizzco Building and was met by the other three crew members from the last time he did a Salmon Run shift. "Hey, where's Mr. Grizz? Normally he talks to us through that little radio, but it's not here."

One of the other Inklings said, "I know, weird isn't it?"

Suddenly, a coarse voice said, "I figured it's time to show you who I really am." A large brown animal walked out from a back door and said, "Yeah, this is the real me. Listen, I did some more research, and I got a lead from one of my agents. That thing you guys saw, the Salmonids call it a Salmo-Bot. It runs on 10 Golden Eggs, it needs that much power to keep it running."

Spike seemed surprised to see Mr. Grizz in the flesh, but not surprised he was a grizzly bear. He said, "That's all well and good boss, but how the hell are we suppose to beat that thing?"

Mr. Grizz nodded and said, "I got that covered. You familiar with Power Clams?"

Spike said, "Ugh, Power Clams, I absolutely hate Clam Blitz. But what's that got to do with the price of tea in Cuttla?"

Mr. Grizz said, "I found out that Power Clams can do some serious damage to those cursed Salmo-Bots. I've been collecting Power Clams ever since I got this intel. I can supply each employee with five Power Clams, and a direct hit on the green core in the center of a Salmo-Bot's chest will instantly get rid of it."

One of the crew members said, "That's some smart thinking. But still, that thing's not going to be alone. It'll have an army of other Salmonids. But... I'm not one to run away from a fight, no matter the odds!"

The second crew member said, "Yeah! No matter how bleak a situation is, it's not over until the fat lady sings!"

The third crew member quietly scoffed and said, "I'm in. I'm not going to be scared off by those freaks of nature."

Spike nodded and said, "I've fought enough close ink battles to know you can always make a comeback. Alright, let's do this!"

Mr. Grizz gave a toothy grin and said, "You guys are up for it then. Catch the boat and head out."

The four inklings got changed and headed to the boat. When they got to the Spawning Grounds, things went a lot differently than their last time here. Salmonids and Boss Salmonids came out of the water and they collected the Golden Eggs.

When the shift was coming close to ending, Spike noticed the waves were getting bigger and said, "Guys, I think it's a Salmo-Bot!" And sure enough, he was right.

One of his co-workers said, "Get high up!"

While two of his co-workers were distracting the Salmo-Bot to give Spike and the third co-worker a chance to get to a high point, Spike charged his Splat Charger and stored the charge while he got up to the highest point. He put a Power Clam at the end of the charger's barrel, and focused on getting a clear shot. When he saw his opening, he yelled, "Smile, you son of a bitch!" before releasing the shot, sending the Power Clam right into the Salmo-Bot's core, causing it to fall apart and drop ten Golden Eggs.

While the crew collected them, they noticed a strange looking Salmonid walking out of the water, waving a white flag. The Salmonid looked a lot like an Inkling, but it wasn't possible for Inklings to go in the water, so it had to be a Salmonid. The Salmonid said, "Don't shoot, don't shoot! I don't want this life! I never wanted to be a warrior! Please... get me out of here!"

Before Spike's co-workers could attack, he said, "Wait, first thing's first. What are you? We've never seen a Salmonid like you before."

The Salmonid said, "I'm what's known as a Salmoning. I'm not that different than Inklings, but I never wanted to be part of this stupid war."

Mr. Grizz contacted them and said, "I can see what's going on. He's telling the truth. This kid's the guy who gave me the intel on the Salmo-Bots. Bring him back to the boat, and we'll talk about it later."

Spike held the Salmoning and super jumped to the boat, followed by his co-workers. On the boat ride back, the others were giving the Salmoning cold glares, until Spike stood up and said, "Why are you guys so harsh!? We were enemies with the Octarians, and now look at this, Marina is one of the most popular musicians in Inkopolis!"

One of the co-workers sighed and said, "He's got a point. Alright, I'll give the kid a chance."

The other two co-workers soon agreed to giving the Salmoning a chance. One of them asked, "So, what's your name kid?"

The Salmoning looked down and said, "I was never given one. All the Salmonids are identified by registration numbers."

Spike patted the Salmoning's back and said, "What do you think about Finn?"

The Salmoning looked up at Spike smiling and said, "Finn... I like it!"

As the boat arrived back at Grizzco, Mr. Grizz's radio met them and said, "Good job team, you cleaned house out there. And Finn... you're a brave kid taking a risk like that. I'll find you a place where you can be safe."

Finn smiled and said, "Thank you Mr. Grizz. And thank you too Spike, you were the first one to give me a chance."

Spike smiled back and said, "No problem Finn!"

Mr. Grizz said, "Well, the work day's over for you guys, so why don't you head on home?"

Spike nodded and after giving Finn his number, went back home. He thought to himself, "I never thought I'd make friends with a Salmonid."

Forming The Purple Dragons

Spike was walking home from another day of ink battles. He sighed to himself and said, "I'm getting so tired of being teamed up with amateurs. Twilight and her friends are good, but I'd rather battle with some of my own friends. But I haven't seen any of my friends since this whole crazy thing started."

Suddenly, Spike's cell phone rang. When he answered the call, a voice said, "Hey Spike, it's Thorax! I just got back into town, and so did Ember and Starlight! Why don't we all meet by the Crust Bucket and catch up?"

Spike smiled and said, "Sure Thorax, I'll meet you guys there." and then he headed over to the Crust Bucket and sat at one of the tables nearby. Soon, he saw an inkling girl with turquoise hair coming towards him. He waved to her and said, "Hey Ember!"

The girl smiled at him and said, "Good to see you again Spike. Seems Starlight and Thorax aren't here yet. I wonder how Starlight's been doing with this Octoling equality think of hers."

Spike was surprised when Ember mentioned Starlight and Octolings. Starlight must have been turned into an Octoling. "Hopefully she's doing good. It's been a while since we've hung out."

Ember nodded and said, "Tell me about it. Starlight's been off lecturing about how Octarians and Inklings used to be the best of friends before the Great Flood, I've been back home in Cuttla taking care of family issues, and Thorax went on that weird spiritual journey. What's up with you since the last time we saw each other?"

Spike shrugged and said, "Not much really, just got my Ink Battle License a couple of months ago, found a job at Grizzco, other than that, not much."

Another voice walking over said, "I doubt you've really had nothing exciting happening." Spike and Ember looked over to see an Inkling boy with light green hair, who they recognized as Thorax. He sat with them and said, "Also, there's nothing weird about a spiritual journey, thank you very much."

Ember muttered under her breath, "Damn his Vulcan hearing!"

Thorax chuckled and said, "Well, no offense taken."

As the three friends talked, a forth voice said, "Well, looks like the gang's back together." They looked over to the voice and saw a girl with dark purple hair walking over. She said, "So, how's it going guys?"

Spike smiled and said, "It's going good Starlight. Other than the fact that every time I go into Deca Tower, I get teamed up with amateurs."

Thorax nodded and said, "Tell me about it. In the battles I've been doing since I got back, the only time we win is because I was carrying."

Ember leaned back in her chair and said, "Yeah, it's nothing like when we played on the training simulators as kids. At least back then, we were all amateurs."

Starlight sat down and said, "Well, instead of just going in with any old players, why don't we form a squad?"

Spike sipped his Tenta Cola and said, "Not a bad idea. Any ideas for a name?"

For a few minutes, the four friends pondered what they should name their squad. Ember finally spoke up and said, "We all loved dragons as kids, and our favorite color is purple, so what about The Purple Dragons?"

Starlight raised an eyebrow and said, "Wasn't that a gang from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?"

Thorax rolled his eyes and said, "I still think it's a good idea."

Spike nodded and said, "I'm all for it. We've got to get ourselves registered at Deca Tower though."

The four friends got up after finishing their lunch at the Crust Bucket and headed over to Deca Tower. The woman at the desk said, "Hello there, are you here to register a squad?"

Spike nodded and said, "Yes, our squad name is Purple Dragons."

They all handed the receptionist their Ink Battle ID cards and as she put them in the computer, she said, "Thank you for forming an official squad. You can register for Ink battles as a full team from now on, and you won't have to wait for other players to arrive and be randomly matched. Please enjoy yourselves as a registered squad, and do your best to be declared the Turf War Champions."

For a little while after they registered as a squad, Spike and the Purple Dragons fought in some ink battles, and they had a winning streak. As it started to get dark, Spike said, "I think it's time we go home soon. We shouldn't be out this late unless there's a Splatfest going on."

Thorax nodded and said, "I'll see you guys in the morning then."

Ember stretched her arms yawning, "Yeah, my rents are gonna be pissed if I miss dinner, so I'm out."

Starlight on the other hand looked sad. She said silently, "Looks like I'll be spending another night in that crappy apartment."

Spike could barely hear Starlight, but he gathered enough and said, "Hey, why don't you stay at my place Starlight? Ever since Shining moved out, we've got an empty room."

Starlight smiled and said, "Thanks Spike. I appreciate that."

As Spike and Starlight walked home, Spike asked, "So how's your equality campaign going?"

Starlight looked at him and said, "It's not doing too bad, especially with Marina's support. I'm glad people are starting to see that we weren't always enemies, and that we should try to rebuild the bond between Inklings and Octarians."

Spike smiled and said, "That's great." When they walked into Spike's house, he said, "Mom! I'm home!"

Spike's mom walked in from the kitchen and said, "Oh, good! You can help set the- oh? Who's this?"

Starlight gave a polite bow and said, "My name is Starlight Glimmer, I'm a friend of Spike's. I hope you don't mind if I stay here. Spike offered me Shining Armor's old room."

Spike's mother smiled and said, "What a polite young woman. Of course you can stay here, any friend of my children is welcome here."

After dinner, Spike went to bed and said to himself, "Finally, my friends and I are back together,"

Splatfest Begins! Mario VS Bowser!

Spike had been out in the Square doing some weapon shopping after battling most of the day. As he met up with Thorax, Ember, and Starlight, he sipped from his Tenta Cola, and asked his friends, "So, anything new with you guys?"

Thorax shrugged, "Not much really, although I heard there's a Splatfest coming up. I haven't participated in one for a while, so it should be interesting."

As if on cue, the TV/billboard on top of Deca Tower came up with Pearl and Marina. As they started their news reel, Pearl asked Marina, "Why don't you tell everyone the good news before we announce the stages Marina?"

Marina nervously smiled and said, "What was the good news again?"

Pearl chuckled saying, "You know, the most important piece of our culture, the-"

Marina squealed as she interrupted Pearl, "Ooh! The Splatfest! What's the theme this time? I'm so excited!

Pearl pulled out a card and read it saying, "Well folks, here's an old school one. Mario VS Bowser! Who are you rooting for Marina?"

Marina rolled her eyes and told her, "Isn't it obvious?"

Pearl nodded, "Yeah, Mario!"

Marina's eyes widened as she replied, "What? No, I'm team Bowser! Bowser's not a bad guy, he's just misunderstood and lonely. How would you feel being a single father of eight? He needs help raising those little kids, and Peach and him did have some history before Mario showed up."

Pearl laughed, "Yeah right! Bowser's a sorry excuse for a dragon, plus he loses to Mario every single time! And Peach definitely loves Mario, there was even a game where Peach and Mario switched roles! Mario's been around longer than Bowser anyway."

Marina sighed and replied, "Yeah, Donkey Kong, but that was the story of a big hairy ape and his battle against Donkey Kong."

Pearl laughed for a while before saying, "Ha ha ha! Good one Ma- hey... wait a minute! Oh, it is so on this time!"

Marina giggled, "Pick your team at the Splatfest terminal and have fun!" after that, the news was normal, stages were announced and an advertisement for Grizzco played.

Spike asked his friends, "So, what team are you guys going to be on? You know we can't battle as a squad if we're on different teams. I personally like Bowser better. The boss fights with other villains aren't as fun, and they're too bland. Bowser fights are constantly changing and getting more interesting."

Thorax nodded, "I agree personally, nothing really changes about Mario, the only update to Mario's abilities in a while is Cappy's capture ability. They haven't released new power-ups in years."

Ember agreed with Spike and Thorax saying, "Yeah, that's true. Plus, Bowser has some cool forms, Dry Bowser was badass, The only thing cooler than a dragon is a skeleton dragon."

Starlight shrugged saying, "I'm not really a fan of Mario games, but Bowser does have a bit more appeal to me than Mario. I'm somewhat partial to the underdog."

Spike smiled, "I guess it's agreed then, we join Team Bowser." All the friends went to the Splatfest Terminal and signed up for Team Bowser. After they got their Splatfest Tees, they were excited and Spike said, "Now we just have to wait for the weekend."

A few days later...

It was late in the evening, Spike had just finished his dinner when he got his Splatfest Tee on and yelled as he went out the door, "Mom! I'm going out for the night!"

His mother called back to him, "Have fun sweetie! Go Team Bowser!"

Spike smiled as he ran down into the Square. Pearl and Marina had started their live performance that they do at every Splatfest. He met up with his friends and asked them, "You guys ready to go?"

The three friends said in union, "Yeah!" and the four of them ran to Deca Tower.

The receptionist smiled at them, "Here for the Splatfest I assume? Well, a Team Mario squad just started getting ready, so you'll be right up!"

Spike smiled as they got ready for their battle against a Team Mario squad. He heard a voice call out, "S-Spike!? You're on Team Bowser!?"

Spike looked over to the voice and said, "Twilight!? What are you doing on Team Mario!" he also saw Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Sunset Shimmer with them before saying, "Oh, it. Is. On! I've beaten you enough times to know how you think, so let's get it on!"

As Spike and his squad battled, their Splatfest titles started rising. By midnight on Sunday, they'd reached the top of the ranks. Spike yawned as Splatfest came to a close and Pearl and Marina told the crowd that the results were being tallied. As he walked home with Twilight after returning his Splatfest Tee, he said, "No hard feelings, no matter who wins, right?"

Twilight drowsily nodded and replied, "Course little bro. To be honest, I'm proud you got to Bowser King. I've only reached the top Splatfest Title once in all the Splatfests I've participated.

When Spike got home, he collapsed onto his bed and quickly fell asleep, but not before he was able to say, "Best Splatfest ever..."

Several hours later...

Spike had woken up around 2 in the afternoon along with Twilight. They sat on the couch ready for the news. When Pearl and Marina came on, they practically had their eyes glued to the screen.

Pearl started the news, "Marina, why don't we tell the viewers the breaking news?"

Marina raised an eyebrow and asked, "What did you break this time Pearl?"

Pearl sighed, "I didn't break anything, I'm talking about the Splatfest results! First, let's see which team was more popular!"

Lil' Judd walked into the news room with two flags, one red and one orange. As he did, Marina smiled and asked, "Ok Lil' Judd, we know you're tired from tallying the results, but we need you for this last part, then you can take a long, well-deserved nap. Tell us, which team was more popular? Lil' Judd twiddled his paws before raising the orange flag.

As Lil' Judd raised the orange flag, Spike and Marina said together, "Yes!"

Pearl got over her disappointment quickly as she said, "Yeah, yeah. Let's get to the part that matters, the battles. Tell it to us straight Lil' Judd, which team won more solo battles?" Once more, Lil' Judd twiddled his paws before raising the red flag.

Twilight fist-pumped and said, "Yes!" in union with Pearl.

Marina sighed but brightened up, "Well, we're tied, which means whichever team won the most squad battles wins the Splatfest. Don't keep us in suspense Lil' Judd, who won?" Everyone was anxious as Lil' Judd twiddled his paws, and when he reached for his flags, Twilight and Spike's hearts seemed to skip a beat. When Lil' Judd raised the orange flag, confetti dropped down above Marina and music played. Marina cheered, "Yay! Bowser wins! Great work everyone!"

Pearl fell back into her bean bag moaning, "Darn it! Whatever, Mario wins against Bowser every time, so I guess Bowser had to win eventually... as much as I hate to admit it..."

Marina smiled saying, "Good sportsmanship Pearlie. If you participated in the Splatfest, pick up your rewards at the Splatfest Kiosk in Deca Tower!"

After Spike, Twilight, and their friends picked up their rewards, Super Sea Snails, Spike and his friends celebrated by going to the Crust Bucket on Twilight's dime. As Spike sipped his soda, he said to his sister, "Thanks for buying us lunch sis, you're a really good sport."

Twilight smiled, "No problem Spike. But you'll be paying next time if my team wins, as long as we're on different teams, let's make this a tradition, loser buys the winner lunch."

Spike nodded and shook his sister's hand saying, "It's a deal."

From Sketchpad to Workshop

Spike had been in his room sketching. Ever since he found out Sheldon was working with Marie, he decided to help Sheldon out outside of Octo Canyon. He had spent the last two days sketching weapon ideas. When Twilight came into his room, she asked, "Spike, what's wrong? You haven't gone to Deca Tower for the past two days. It's not like you."

Spike didn't look up from his sketchpad, but answered, "I've been sketching some weapon ideas. Would you mind looking at some of them?"

Twilight sat down on Spike's bed, looking over his shoulder at his sketches, "These are really good. What do you call that one?" she asked referring to a weapon that looked like boxing gloves.

Spike smiled and said, "Thanks sis. I call that one the Splat Boxers. You can launch quick punches that let out ink. The weight of the design I had in mind makes them heavy, so they're a bit slow, but when it hits, it hits hard." He flipped through some other sketches until he stopped at a weapon that looked like a Charger and explained, "I always wondered what it'd be like to mix a Charger weapon with a Splatling Gun. I haven't thought of a name, but it charges twice, just like a Splatling Gun, but it has a scope like a Charger, so it shoots a lot of long range, precise shots in a short time. In exchange for the extra charge and the scope, it can't hold its charge though."

Twilight whistled, she was impressed with her brother and told him, "I heard Sheldon's been looking for weapon designers to help him make his own brand. I'm sure Sheldon could make something out of your designs. Why don't you go show him some of them?"

Spike smiled and hugged his sister saying, "Thanks for the support sis. I'll go see Sheldon while I'm out in town." he got up and took his sketchpad with him as he went into Inkopolis Square and entered Ammo Knights. When he saw Sheldon, he told him, "Hey Sheldon. I'm not here to buy anything, but my sister said you were looking for weapon designers."

The horseshoe crab looked up from the cash register. At first, he looked disappointed when Spike said he wasn't there to buy anything, but quickly brightened up when he asked about weapon designers. He nodded excitedly, "Yes, your sister's right! I've been wanting to make an Ammo Knights weapon brand for a while, but I'm not the best with ideas, I'm better with the building part of making a weapon. So, I assume you have weapon ideas?" When he looked through Spike's sketchpad, his eyes were shining with excitement. He smiled at Spike and said, "These weapon ideas are incredible! I love the Charger/Splatling hybrid, and the Splat Boxers look amazing! I'm certain I could help make these into true-blue weapons!"

Spike smiled and said, "Well, I'm glad to hear you like my ideas. Do you think we could work together on some of my weapons?"

Sheldon nodded, "Of course! The designer is just as important in creation as the mechanic!" Sheldon brought Spike into the back room of the store and said, "This is my workshop, where I repair damaged weapons for people. I'm excited to start on these!"

Spike appreciated the young shopkeeper's enthusiasm about turning his ideas into actual weapons, it made his feel that he wasn't the only one who appreciated his ideas, and that made him happy. He asked Sheldon, "So which weapon do you think we should start on first?"

As Sheldon flipped through Spike's sketchbook, he saw so many ideas he liked and finally stopped on one and asked Spike, What about your Octo-Mop design?"

Spike smiled and nodded saying, "Sounds good. The Octo-Mop is one of the dual function weapons. It can work like an Ink Brush, but if you hold down the trigger, it rotates sending ink in a spiral in front of you."

When Sheldon was told it was a dual function weapon, his eyes brightened up. "This sounds incredible! Let's get to work!"

As Sheldon and Spike worked together on the Octo-Mop, Spike lost track of time. When he realized it was almost 9, he panicked and yelled to Sheldon as he took off, "Sorry Sheldon! My mom's gonna kill me if she finds out I was out this late!"

Sheldon yelled back, "Don't worry! I'll call and explain things!"

When Spike had gotten home, he saw his mother was on the phone. He could hear her saying, "Thank you for calling to tell me Sheldon. I would have appreciated a bit of advance notice, but I'm glad Spike's safe. He just got home, so thank you for clearing things up." When she hung up, she looked over to Spike and told him, "If you plan on helping Sheldon with weapons, at least let me know if you'll be out late."

Spike nodded and said, "Yes mom, sorry about that. Sheldon and I were really excited to get one of my weapon designs done."

She ruffled his hair saying, "Don't worry, I know what it's like to be a kid. I'm proud your taking initiative to make your ideas into reality."

After a few days, Sheldon and Spike had finished three different weapons, the Octo-Mop, the Splat Boxers, and the Rapid Charger. Sheldon had managed to get Pearl and Marina to feature Spike as a guest to explain the weapons in a more simple way than he could.

As Off the Hook finished their news reel, Marina said, "Before we go, we've got a special guest today. Spike of the rising Purple Dragons squad has helped Sheldon design and build three state-of-the-art weapons. Today, we have Spike giving us a demonstration of all three weapons!"

Spike walked into the camera's view and said, "Thank's Marina. We've got three weapons, which were originally designed by me in a sketchbook. The first weapon-" he pulled out the prototype of the Rapid Charger and continued, "-is this beauty, the Rapid Charger. The Rapid Charger combines the quick fire rate of a Splatling, and the precision and range of a Charger. It charges up twice, just like a Splatling, but it also has the scope of a Charger. It's easier to show you how it works than it is to tell you."

Marina nodded saying, "And that's why we've got a test dummy for you to fire at!"

Spike got far away from the dummy. He charged up the Rapid Charger and let go of the trigger when the second charge was finished and the charger let off several long range blasts, splatting the dummy very quickly. "As you can see, the Rapid Charger shoots off quick blasts, but the blasts are powerful and have a long range."

After Spike finished demonstrating the other weapons, he said, "Thanks for having me Marina, Pearl. I hope all your viewers enjoy these weapons, brought to you by Ammo Knights."

A New Way to Ink

Spike was walking around Inkopolis Square. He'd been getting some attention from weapon enthusiasts ever since he helped Sheldon make the weapon ideas he had. He'd even met with Marina a couple of times, since she was really interested in the mechanical aspect of his weapon designs. As he walked through the Square, he heard people talking in huddled groups. He walked over to a group and asked, "Hey, what's everyone talking about?"

One of the other inklings told him, "It sounds like there's some sort of new battle mode, Splat Boxing."

Spike raised an eyebrow in interest and asked, "Splat Boxing, that wouldn't have anything to do with the Splat Boxers I designed, would it?"

A girl told him, "Oh! So you're the one who invented the Splat Boxers? Well, if you are, then yes. Splat Boxing is a one on one match between two people with Splat Boxers. You use your Splat Boxers to try to splat your opponent. Best 2-out-of-3 wins. It sounds simple, but that's what makes it so interesting! I heard that there's even going to be a Splat Boxing Tournament soon!"

Spike smiled lightly, "Sound like a lot of fun. I'll probably enter the tournament.

A few days later, the tournament sign-up was open. Spike quickly signed up, and then started training for the tournament. Training wasn't hard for him, since he invented the Splat Boxers, so he knew how they worked.

Soon enough, the tournament had begun. Spike sat in the lobby in Deca Tower, which was converted into a locker room. He watched the other matches on the TV screen. He smirked and said to himself, "These guys aren't half bad. Maybe I'll have some fun."

The PA system came on and announced, "The next match will be Spike VS Finn."

Finn was the same Salmoning that he'd met when Grizzco was dealing with the Salmo-Bots. Spike had seen some of his earlier matches. He relied on getting behind his opponents and splatting them quickly. He said to himself, "Finn's not going to be easy. I'm going to have to be careful if he gets behind me." He grabbed his Splat Boxers and put them on before heading out into the ring. As he saw Finn enter the ring, he told him, "It's good to see you again Finn. May the best squid win."

Finn chuckled with a reply, "I was about to say the same thing."

During the match, Spike was able to block Finn's head on approach. Finn jumped in the air and slammed his Splat Boxer's glove into the ring, sending him above and behind Spike. Spike smirked when he did this, he turned his left arm into it's squid form tentacle, and was able to use its flexibility to throw a punch behind his back.

Finn eyes widened when he saw Spike's glove coming at him, yelling, "Sh-Shit!" And with that moment, Finn found himself being splatted.

The announcer said, "Round 1 goes to Spike!"

As Finn respawned he chuckled, "Got to say Spike, never saw that move coming. You may have won Round 1, but I'm not going down easily."

Spike smirked saying, "You're going up against the inventor of Splat Boxers. When I designed these things, I though of every possible situation. There's a lot of things about the Splat Boxers most people haven't figured out yet."

Finn smiled asking Spike, "Well, let's see if your knowledge is enough to match my skill."

Spike smirked, "We'll just have to see." Before the bell rang, Spike noticed that the ring changed. Now the solid floor was a grated floor, meaning if they went into their Squid form, they would lose the round as a ring out. Although Spike already had a strategy.

Finn was just as surprised as Spike was when the floor changed from solid to grated. He was still excited and told Spike, "A little unorthodox, but this should be fun." Finn threw his fist forward, his Splat Boxer stretching out towards Spike.

Spike blocked Finn's attack with one fist and said, "Yeah, fun for me!" he put his other arm into its tentacle form and slipped it through the grating and threw a punch as Finn from underneath him, splatting him once more.

After Finn was splatted, the announcer called out, "Round 2 goes to Spike! The match goes to Spike!"

Fin met back up with Spike in the lobby after their match and said, "Good game Spike. I learned a lot facing you, and I had a lot of fun. I'll be cheering you on from here on out. Good luck."

Spike smiled, "Thanks Finn, I had fun facing you too."

As Spike faced more and more Inklings, his skill got better, and combined with the knowledge he had about the Splat Boxers, he advanced to the finals. He sat in the lobby waiting for the second Semi-Final match to end. It was Twilight VS Ember, and they were in the third round of their match. He personally wanted to go up against Twilight, but he would still be fine fighting Ember. He quietly said to himself, "This match is close, they keep getting chances, but they always counter it."

As Spike got up to get a drink, he heard the announcer say, "Inconceivable! Round 3 has ended in a draw!" He spit out his drink as the announcer continued, "According to the rules, in the case of a draw, the next match will be a tag-team match. Both Ember and Twilight Sparkle will move on as Team B while Spike, the winner of the first Semi-Final match will choose a teammate to go to the finals with him as Team A."

Spike thought long and hard about who he'd take to the finals with him. He quickly decided who he wanted to fight alongside. He called out, "Hey Finn!"

Finn walked over to Spike after he heard him calling his name, "What's up Spike?"

Spike smiled, "You know I've got to pick a teammate for the finals. I want you to be my teammate."

Finn's eyes widened and nodded, "Of course! Let's do it!"

As the two teams made their way to the ring, the announcer explained the rules, "The final match is a one round elimination match. The team that splats both members of the opposing team wins the tournament!"

As the bell rang to start the match, Ember was the first one to throw a punch, aimed at Finn. While Spike let Finn deal with Ember, he tried to break through Twilight's strong defense. He threw his punch and as his arm turned to a tentacle, he made it spin, and the extra force was able to break through Twilight's defense. Before she got a chance to get her defense back up, Spike threw a second spinning punch, splatting her on the spot.

Ember noticed Twilight had been splatted and growled to herself, "Great, now it's two on one... But I'm not going down easy!"

Spike got behind Ember while Finn got in front of her. Spike told Ember, "If it were one-on-one, you might have a chance, but you can't fight each of us from both sides.

Ember growled saying, "The hell I can't!" throwing one punch at Spike and one at Finn. Spike was able to block the punch towards him, but Finn threw a spinning punch to deflect it, and Ember's tentacle spun around her, constricting her movement. In her confusion, she struggled to get out of her bind, "Wh-What the hell just happened!?"

Spike got in front of Ember and looked over to Finn, "Together?"

Finn nodded, "Together!" at the same time, they both threw a spinning punch at Ember, splatting her.

The crowd cheered as the announcer said, "The match goes to Spike and Finn! We have a pair of new Splat Boxing Champion!"

Spike and Finn fist-bumped as they left the ring and went back to the lobby to receive congratulations from their friends and family.

An Ultimatum

Spike had been getting tired of trying to hide the fact he was working with Marie to get the Great Zapfish back. He knew it was for the best intentions of getting the Great Zapfish back, but hiding it from his friends and family was getting tedious and annoying. As he arrived in Octo Canyon, he said to Marie, "Marie, we need to talk. I can't keep hiding this job from my friends, it's getting harder and harder to make up excuses for why I'm leaving when I'm coming to see you."

Marie sighed, "I expected this would happen at some point. Hmm... Ok, I've got an idea, you can have your squad, the Purple Dragons, come down here with you, but nobody else."

Spike nodded, "I can agree with that." he headed back to Inkopolis Square and texted Starlight, Thorax, and Ember to meet him at the sewer grate outside of Ammo Knights.

When they arrived, Ember asked, "So what's up Spike?"

Spike explained, "You know how the Great Zapfish and Callie from the Squid Sisters disappeared? Well, it'd be easier to show you than to tell you." before sliding into the sewer grate in his squid form.

Thorax stepped on top of the grate, "We have been trying to get him to explain why he keeps having to ditch us, this seems to be the answer." before sliding in after Spike.

Ember groaned, "I can't believe I'm doing this."

Starlight rolled her eyes, "Just suck it up." before the two of them follow the boys into the sewer.

As Thorax, Ember, and Starlight arrived, they say Spike in his Hero Suit and Marie, and Thorax was the first to respond, "What!? Marie!? Ok, what the holy heck is going on!?"

Marie explained, "The Octarians stole the Great Zapfish again, and Spike has been helping me get it back. He's threatening to quit on me if I don't let his squad join in. Welcome to the team Agents 5, 6, and 7." before handing them their own Hero Suits and Hero Shooters. "Now, you guys can use other weapons supplied from Sheldon, but you'll need to work together to rescue the Great Zapfish."

Thorax looked at Spike, "If Spike's in, I'm in." before putting on his Hero Suit.

The girls nodded as they got into theirs. Spike smiled, "Thanks you guys. Let's get to work!"

As the group went through more stages and got more Zapfish, they met up at the second Boss Kettle. Ember laughed, "I haven't had this much fun in a long time! Let's do this!"

The four agents went into the Boss Kettle together and got ready for the boss to appear. When the Octo-Samurai appeared, Spike said, "I'll draw his attention with my roller, Thorax, you cover us with your charger, Starlight and Ember, you're on attack."

The others nodded and said in union, "On it!" before jumping into battle against the Octo-Samurai. The boss chased Spike, who was running with his Hero Roller, hiding in the ink when he needed to refill his tank. Soon enough, Ember and Starlight had it flipped over so its tentacle was exposed so Thorax could snipe at it until it popped.

Marie smiled as she communicated with them, "Good job! You sure know how to work as a team!"

As the boss fight continued, Spike had been splatted twice, leaving him with only one life left, but just as the Octo-Samurai was about to splat him again, he saw a strange orb and picked it up, giving him an Ultra Stamp special weapon. He thought to himself, "Wait a minute, these things weren't even released when the game first came out! Whatever..." before activating it and smashing the Ultra Stamp into the Octo-Samurai. As he did, the tentacle popped in one blow, causing the Octo-Samurai to explode.

Ember cheered, "We did it! That was awesome Spike!"

As the four agents left the Boss Kettle, they met up with Marie who was smiling, "Good job team! It's getting late, you guys should head home for now."

Ember nodded, "She's right, it is getting late. Let's go." before Super Jumping back to the grate to Inkopolis Square. As the others followed her, Ember asked, "Spike, promise us you won't keep any more secrets from us. We're supposed to be friends and teammates."

Spike nodded smiling nervously, "Yeah, sorry, but Marie made me swear not to tell anyone. But I'll agree to that, no more secrets."

As Spike arrived at his house, he found a letter at the door for him. He read it, "Dear Spike, I can't tell you who I am, but there's more to your arrival here than you know. You were brought here to save this world, and when your job is done, you will return to your world. I wish you luck, and I await the day I meet you."

Spike raised an eyebrow and put the letter in his pocket. After dinner, he went to his room and looked at the letter again, "I was brought here to save this world? And just when I thought I was getting used to this..."

Splatoween: Ghosts Just Wanna Dance

It was another day with the Purple Dragons, but now, they were thinking up more than just battle strategies. They were thinking of a song for their band debut. Marina and Pearl had given them the chance to write and perform a song for the Splatoween Celebration, which was just two weeks away. Spike and his friends were in his room going through lyrics. Spike read out, "Night falls on a spooky scene, deck the splatted halls in black and green." before saying, "Ok, I like that as a start, what else do we have?"

Ember looked through her notes and said, "How about this? With the ghouls and ghosts, and the haunted host, from the darkness there's a distant scream."

Thorax nodded, "Ok, ok, so far these ideas are coming together. Give me a minute to think up a tune."

Spike's phone rang and he saw it was from Marina, "Oh, hey Marina, what's up?"

Marina asked him, "Hey Spike, how's it going? You doing good on that song?"

Sighing, Spike told her, "We're having a bit of trouble thinking of lyrics, but it's coming along. Nobody ever said writing a song would be easy."

Marina giggled, "Well, that's true. I've got to go, we're about to do the news broadcast, see you later Spike." before hanging up.

After Marina hung up, Spike wrote down more lyrics and said, "I think I've got it! Ember, you're on backup vocals, let's go to the studio to see what Marina and Pearl think!" before running out with his friends. They waited until Pearl and Marina were done with the news, and then Spike handed them the lyrics. "What do you think?"

Pearl looked over the lyrics multiple times, whereas Marina only looked over them once. Pearl said, "These are some wicked lyrics! You're pretty good, let's get practicing for Splatoween!"

For the next few days, Spike and the Purple Dragons, along with help from Marina and Pearl practiced their song. Soon enough, Splatoween rolled along. Spike and his friends were in their Splatoween costumes they were going to use for the performance.

When night fell, Marina and Pearl walked out onto the stage in Inkopolis Square and Pearl yelled out, "Who's ready for Splatoween!?" as the crowd reacted, she said, "I can't hear you! Who's ready for Splatoween!?" When the crowd reacted in a giant cheer, she smiled, "That's what I'm talkin' about! Now, say hello to the Purple Dragons with their debut single, Ghosts Just Wanna Dance!"

Twilight yelled out, "Good luck Spike! Do your best!"

As Spike heard his sister, he started playing his guitar and started singing his first part of the song, "Night falls on a spooky scene. Deck the splatted halls in black and green. With the ghouls and ghosts, and the haunted host. From the darkness there's a distant scream. With frozen chills, screaming shrieking shills. Whoa that sounds like it's getting closer, drums are getting louder, bass is getting lower. As the shadows spin, you'll be joining in, but first you gotta find the key."

Now Ember joined in with her back up, along with Spike singing in union, "Who knows what is behind that door? Creeping up on the floor!" After their shared part, Ember continued, "We're not here to freak you out, we just came to shake it down, oh-oh-oh raise up your hands! The ghosts just wanna dance! Only want to splat your soul, give you chills and that's their goal! Oh-oh-oh, throw up your hands! The ghosts just want to dance!"

Spike continued onto the song, "There's music seeping out of every room, leading to a party doom. Frozen still in fright, nothing like the sight, of a mummy dancing on a tomb." Before going back in union with Ember, "Who knows what is behind that door? Creeping up on the floor!"

As the song started to end, Ember continued singing, "We're not here to freak you out, we just came to shake it down, oh-oh-oh raise up your hands! The ghosts just wanna dance! Only want to splat your soul, give you chills and that's their goal! Oh-oh-oh, throw up your hands! The ghosts just want to dance! All the ghosts are getting crazy, but their not here to scare you, just a haunted dance party, everybody is there, who came to get their creep on, so I'm spinning this song. Use your spooky, spooky voices as you're singing along! "We're not here to freak you out, we just came to shake it down, oh-oh-oh raise up your hands! The ghosts just wanna dance! Only want to splat your soul, give you chills and that's their goal! Oh-oh-oh, throw up your hands! The ghosts just want to dance! The ghosts just want to dance! The ghosts just want to dance!"

As the song ended, the crowd was cheering like crazy, and Spike smiled at how successful their debut was. As they went down to the plaza, Twilight ran over to her brother, along with her friends and said, "That was amazing Spike! I've still got shivers from your song!"

Spike smiled, "Thanks sis, I'm glad you liked it." before joining his sister and friends in the celebration.

As the Splatoween Celebration continued, the Purple Dragons, Off the Hook, and many other bands played spooky songs, and when his band finished their last song, Marina congratulated them, "Good job you guys, this was the best Splatoween Celebration ever. Tomorrow's the day the Splatfest starts between Trick and Treat. I hope you have fun over the weekend."

Spike smiled, "You bet I'll have fun, I'm always excited when a Splatfest is coming up." before fist bumping with Marina and heading home.

When Spike got home, his parents looked over from the TV and Night Light said, "Nice job out there son, we were watching the show from here. You really are a great singer. You should probably get some rest for the Splatfest tomorrow."

Twilight Velvet nodded, "I'm glad you had fun honey, but your dad's right, you should get some rest if you want to be in tip-top shape for the Splatfest."

Spike yawned and hugged his parents saying, "Thanks mom and dad, your support means a lot. I'll see you in the morning." before heading to bed.

Splatoween: Trick or Treat?

Spike had fun at the concert, but now the real fun began, the Splatfest between Team Trick and Team Treat, one of the most important Splatfests. Spike was getting himself ready with new gear and his favorite weapon, an Inkbrush Nouveau that he'd finally gotten enough money to buy from Sheldon. He met up with the rest of his friends and asked them, "So, what team are we on?"

The three of them took off their jackets, revealing their Splatfest shirts and said, "Team Treat or bust!"

Spike smiled, taking his off as well, "Great minds thing alike. Let's get going to Deca Tower!" before running off with his friends following him

As the four of them got matched for a match, they were ready and excited for their battle. However, all of a sudden, two members of the opposing team disappeared. Spike thought to himself, "If this were in the real world, it would be as unstable connection, but why'd they ditch their friends here?"

As the battle began, Spike and his Team Treat group easily overpowered the two remaining inklings, and it was a landslide victory for them, earning them even more points for Team Trick.

After the battle, Thorax grumbled, "A victory like that is weak. We only won because we outnumbered them, and that's thanks to some jackasses on Team Trick."

Ember nodded, "Yeah, that was no fun at all. But why do you think those other two bailed on their team like that?"

Starlight shrugged, "You'd have to ask them. But there is a chance they were kicked out of the battle by security. But only cheaters with altered licenses get kicked out."

Spike grumbled angrily when Starlight mentioned cheaters, "Well, I can't say we won fair and square, but at least some cheaters are out of the game."

After a few hours of more battles, Spike was starting to get tired, "I'm gonna call it a night you guys. I'll see you tomorrow after Pearl and Marina announce the winner of the Splatfest."

Thorax yawned, "Yeah, I'm getting tired too. It's too bad school starts again tomorrow, we won't have as much free time to battle and help Marie with the Octarians. No offense Starlight."

"None taken Thorax, but you're right, we'll be in school for seven hours five days a week. It sucks that we have to go back so soon. I think Marie will understand though."

Spike was taken aback by Thorax and Starlight's words, they were on some sort of Splatoween Break? And school started tomorrow? That was new to him, but in reality, it made perfect sense to him. He may be an inkling, but he was still a kid, so it's not like his parents would let him do nothing but spend time in Turf War.

Ember shrugged, "Yeah, it's lame we have to back go to school, but since we're going to Barry Cuda Junior High, there'll be lessons about more than just the basics, and I heard they're talking about adding classes for teaching more advanced tactics for Ink Battles."

Spike smiled lightly, he would be learning more about the strange world he found himself in, as well as having a chance to pick up some tips from the teachers for future Ink Battles. "Sounds cool. Well, I'm out, I'll see you tomorrow in school I guess." before the four friends started heading back home.

Twilight Velvet smiled at her son when he came through the door and said, "Just in time for dinner Spike, I made some shrimp cocktail!"

Spike smiled, finally, something he would normally eat, and sat down at the dinner table. After dinner, he went to bed after Twilight helped him gather all the things he would need for school the next day.

The next morning...

Spike had woken up and made himself a bowl of Clammy-O's and munched down as he watch the morning news with Pearl and Marina. He crossed his fingers, "Come on Team Treat!"

As they tallied up the results, Twilight came downstairs to watch with her brother, "You were on Team Treat too? Too bad we didn't get to battle side by side."

Spike chuckled, "Maybe next time we're on the same team."

Twilight smiled, "I'm holding you to that."

Marina cheered as the Splatfest results said Team Treat had won, "Yay! You may be right about tricks being sweet, but treats are even sweeter! And there's no treat sweeter than victory!"

Pearl mumbled, but got up from her bean bag chair, "Last thing before we go for now. School's started back up, and any students found skipping class to go have a battle at Deca Tower will be returned to school by the security, and if it keeps happening, you might be temporarily banned from Deca Tower. If you really want to do an Ink Battle, just wait until your lunch break, Crusty Sean is offering a special discount for students who show their Ink Battle License."

Marina smiled and said, "Remember kids, brain beats brawn every time, so stay in school!"

As the two of them finished the news, they did their signature, "Don't get cooked! Star off the hook!" and Spike got his bag and headed out to meet his friends walking by his place and joined them, following them to Barry Cuda Junior High, his new school.

Back to School: Part 1 (Homeroom & 1st Period)

It was Spike's first day at his new school in the Splatoon world, which didn't exist in the games, but there were a lot of things that weren't in the game that existed in this world. As he and his friends arrived, they saw Spike's sister in-law Cadence, who greeted them, "Spike, good to see you and your friends. Head over to the auditorium for your orientation, and then report to your homeroom."

Spike nodded, "Nice to see you too Cadence." before walking towards the auditorium with his friends. He had a feeling Celestia would be the principal, just like at his school before he made his wish.

As the last students arrived for orientation, Celestia walked up the stairs to the stage and stood at the podium, "Welcome to Barry Cuda Junior High everyone. My name is Principal Celestia. For those of you who are new to Inkopolis Square, you are attending the most prestigious school in the world. While you are here, you will be learning the basic subjects you learned while in grade school, as well as more complex tactics you can use in Ink Battles."

After orientation was over, Spike grabbed his schedule and saw that his homeroom was with Ms. Cherilee, and headed over to her classroom. When he saw Ember there too, he sat down next to her. Cherilee cleared her throat and said, "Now, at the beginning of the day, you are to report to your homeroom, this classroom, so I may take attendance. If you are not present at homeroom, we will first call your parents to see if you are home sick, and after that we will inform security at Deca Tower that you are not in class or home sick. Now, role call."

Spike addressed his homeroom teacher when she called his name, "Present."

Cherilee called out a phony name, "Anita Bath?"

At first, she didn't realize it was a prank, until a student called out, "You sure do!" and the class laughed.

Cherilee whistled sharply, hurting the students ears with the high pitch whistle, before walking to the back to see the student who called out. Spike noticed the student was Garble, who back in his world, was a year ahead of him. "Figures he's just as big a jerk here as he is at home."

Cherilee sternly told Garble, "Garble, the only reason you are in my homeroom is because you were held back a grade for poor behavior. If you keep this up, I will make sure you are held back again. This is your final warning, and you will be serving detention by cleaning the bathrooms for the rest of the week."

The other students chuckled, including Spike, amused by the fact that Garble had been held back a year. When Cherilee said he would be cleaning the bathrooms for the rest of the week, Spike thought to himself, "Maybe I should bring one of those spicy shrimp burritos mom bought for lunch this week."

After homeroom, the bell rang for first period, and Spike got up from his seat and looked at his schedule, seeing that his first class was Weapon Modding 101. "Weapon Modding? This should be interesting." before heading to the second floor for his first class.

As he arrived at his class, his teacher introduced herself to the class, "Good morning class. My name is Chocolate Harmony, and I'm you Weapon Modding teacher. Now, how many of you are familiar with Weapon Mods?" When none of the students raised their hand, she sighed, "Disappointing, but not surprising. We've got the school arena booked for class, so let's get going. Single file line please."

As they walked to the arena, Spike wondered, "I wonder what a weapon mod is... it sounds interesting."

When the class arrived at the arena, Chocolate Harmony asked, "I will need two volunteers who aren't afraid of being splatted. The respawn point is set up, so, who's ready?"

Spike quickly raised his hand and was chosen as the first volunteer, and the second volunteer was a girl he'd seen at school in the real world, Lyra.

When the two of them stepped up from the line the class was still in, Chocolate Harmony went and got two Splattershots and told them, "One of these Splattershots has a special mod in it. You two will have a one on one battle with these until the mod activates. Take your pick." before the two students picked up one of the Splattershots.

As the class backed away, Spike and Lyra started trying to Splat each other. Soon enough, Spike got behind Lyra and splatted her. "Woo-hoo! I- wait... what the-!?" before Lyra's Splattershot started beeping and quickly exploded in a burst of ink, not enough to splat Spike, but it still caught him off guard.

Chocolate Harmony smiled, "Very good you two." before addressing the rest of the class, "As you saw, Lyra's Splattershot had the Self Destruct Mod added to it. The Self Destruct Mod causes your weapon to self destruct when you've been splatted. If somebody on the opposite team is too close to the explosion, they will also be splatted. Now, on the first day of school, I always give students three different mods of their choice, so please form a line and come up to obtain your mods."

As the line moved, Spike decided to get a Self Destruct Mod, a Stealth Fighter Mod, and an Ink Saver Mod. "Thank you Ms. Harmony." before leaving the line.

As the bell rang, Spike looked at his schedule and saw his next class was history, which was the one subject he hated back home. He sighed and started heading to his next class.