Chapter 31: Clash Against the Octobot King: The 1st Movement

After jumping down from the UFO onto the apex of a half pipe, Roenaldo made his way back to the surface portion of Octo Valley. "So," said Agent 1 as Roenaldo stood on the top of the kettle tower, "We've got all of the smaller Zapfish. Where's the big one?" Agent 2 replied, "I don't know, maybe it's being held somewhere else entirely." As Roenaldo tried to think about where that place could possibly be, all of the kettles in the area started vibrating, producing a monotone hum that tickled his ears. Steam then billowed out from all the metal objects, and it wafted up into the air above Roenaldo. Seemingly in response, a saucer the size of a car came flying in from the sky, extending an analytic stick that confirmed the identify of the gas. It then beeped before darting towards Roenaldo, inspecting him before making another electronic sound and opening its own hatch, revealing a grate for the Inkling to slip through. "Sweet," said Agent 2, "A ride. Normally, I wouldn't tell you to get in a stranger's vehicle, but I think that this is the exception. Who knows, you might just end up exactly where you want to be." Heavily intrigued by that chance, Roenaldo enhanced his Hero Shot one final time before hopping onto the flying object, turning into his squid self so that he could enter the hole in the middle. Once he did so, the UFO started to rotate, starting off slow before gradually ramping up into an ultra-fast spin. As Roenaldo was given the blender treatment, Agent 1 exulted, "Yipee! This is fun!"

After a long, stomach-churning trip, the saucer eventually passed through a chute that led to a gigantic, dark, underground space. Roenaldo was ejected onto a grey platform with multiple blue rings on it, where he held his head and lurched from side to side. "Urgh," he groaned, "Can I get in one of these things without regretting it?" As Roenaldo tried to keep his stomach contents from hitting the floor, he heard a familiar voice saying, "God dang it, get me down from here! I want my crabby cakes!" Roenaldo gasped and looked in the direction where the voice came from. Dangling upside down on a rope that was attached to a small saucer was Cap'n Cuttlefish, who was making a racket. Roenaldo chest was filled with a fervent, ecstatic feeling as he said, "Captain? Is that you?" The senior managed to turn his head enough to look at Roenaldo before saying, "Agent 3?! What the hell are you doing here?!" Roenaldo ran forward, answering, "I'm here to save you, Cuttlefish! Just stay right there, I'll get you untied!" As Roenaldo was doing this, Agent 2 shouted, "Wait, Agent 3, this could be a—" Before Agent 2 could finish her sentence, a giant, metal hand appeared in front of Roenaldo to flick him away. "Gyah ha ha," boomed a deep voice, "You thought!" Roenaldo tumbled backwards and landed on his face, the wind knocked out of him after taking that heavy hit. He groaned and propped himself up on his shoulders before saying, "What the heck was that?" Suddenly, the entire area started to light up, revealing many robotic tentacles that waved around incessantly. Also illuminated was a large, spherical machine that floated in the air. "Heh, heh, heh," said the deep voice, "I'll tell you what that was…" A foreboding beat began to play as the sphere slowly turned around. At the halfway point, music began to play in a rising crescendo, ending in a loud bass drop once the vehicle completed its full rotation. Sitting in a purple cockpit was a large, red-violet octopus that had two of his eight arms crossed in a menacing pose. Roenaldo could hear raucous clapping and cheering in the space around him as the octopus declared, "DJ Octavio is in the house!"

Roenaldo got up while rubbing his gut, a pained yet peeved expression on his face. "Wait," he said, "YOU'RE DJ Octavio?!" The Octarian pointed a tentacle at Roenaldo, responding, "Did ma beats shatter your eardrums?" He flew in close to the squid and leaned forward. "Here," he said, "Lemme repeat myself…I AM THE RULER OF THE OCTARIANS! Got that, inkstain?" Before Roenaldo could retaliate, the DJ backed his sphere up to where it came from, and the mocking sound of laughter could be heard from the unseen audience. "Yes," said Roenaldo while glaring at Octavio, "I could hear you the first time. So, you're the one who captured the captain and the Great Zapfish, right?" The octopus looked at the metallic tentacles around him, saying, "Does this squid ask stupid questions or what? That idiot Cuttlefish was easy to capture! As was…" He levitated his mech upwards to reveal the fat, black head of a fish, "The Great Zapfish! You Inklings are just as dumb as you were 100 years ago." Roenaldo looked at the giant Zapfish's pained face. Although he had been tormented by its brethren, he couldn't help but feel bad for the large creature. He pointed his Hero Shot forward, stating, "We are not dumb, Octavio. I'm going to take back both that Zapfish AND the captain. Mark my words." Octavio laughed cruelly and unfurled his arms. "Well," he said, "You talk big for a kid like yourself. Tell you what, I'mma let you feature in my latest show!" He pulled out two wasabi sticks and started scratching them on some turntables, causing electronic dance music to play. "Gyah ha HA," burst the DJ, "Ya'll ready for this, Octo Valley?! You're all invited to watch the debut of my newest ride: The Octobot King! It's time to drop the BEATDOWN!"

Cuttlefish was carried away as DJ Octavio rose into the air, continuing to play his music as metal fists revealed themselves in their sockets. "Come on, Agent 3," said Agent 1, "You can't let Octavio get away with this. Give him the best you've got!" Roenaldo jogged in place, responding, "You bet I will! I'm going to shoot that octopus into oblivion!" He bumped his fists together and let out a battle cry before rushing at the floating sphere. He then opened fire on the cockpit, hoping to end Octavio quickly. However, his ink was cut off by an invisible force field. "Haha," boasted the DJ, "Sorry, that isn't going to fly around here! Hey inkstain, think fast!" Roenaldo looked to his left to see a robot hand flying at him, which he ducked to avoid. "Hey," said Octavio, "What're you doing so close? I'm not doing autographs! STEP OFF!" Octopods with their legs removed emerged from holes in the Octobot King's lower half, flying towards Roenaldo to knock him backwards with their explosions. The squid cried out in pain as his body was covered in purple ink, and he rolled to his side. "Agent 3," said Agent 2, "Close combat isn't going to work. You have to find some other way to hurt this guy." As Roenaldo got up, Octavio stated, "You better be grateful, pipsqueak! Those were only my weaker Octorpedoes! Let's see how you handle this!" Eight more Octorpedoes started flying towards Roenaldo, and they looked bigger and more dangerous than the last ones. "Ah! Agent 3," said Agent 1, "Don't get hit by those missiles! Dodge as much as you can!" Roenaldo, however, decided to stay put; although the self-sacrificing bombs looked different, they were still essentially Octopods. So, he simply shot them down, prompting Agent 1 to say, "Oh yeah, duh. Good thinking, Agent 3!" The DJ spun one of the metal hands in their slot, stating, "So, you think you're a big shot, huh? Well, peep this!" When the fist flew towards Roenaldo, the Inkling started to think, "Wait, those Octorpedoes went down with some ink, didn't they? Who says I can't do the same to these knuckles?" He aimed his gun at the incoming projectiles, letting loose with the intent of knocking down the threat. Rather than that happening, the fist was repelled back towards Octavio, breaking through the shield to strike the octopus with full force. "GRAH!" yelled the Octarian, "How?! You weren't supposed to do that!"

As Roenaldo looked forward with astonishment, Agent 1 cheered, "Alright! You found his weakness!" Agent 2 added, "Who would've thought that the key to victory was making your opponent hit himself?" The DJ scratched his turntables harder and snarled, "Lucky shot. I'mma fry you with this next one!" He sent both of his fists at the squid as the crowd spurred him on. Roenaldo opened fire on the left one and rolled away from the right one, shooting the latter as it returned from its failed strike. The combined, reflected force sent the Octobot King back a fair distance, and Roenaldo ran along the lighted platforms to catch up. "Fine," said Octavio, "I WON'T use my hands. Take this instead!" 16 more Octorpedoes of varying sizes and power flew towards Roenaldo, who shot them all down. "Heh," he said confidently, "Is that all you—" suddenly, a fist came from the right to sucker punch the squid, causing purple ink to billow out from the impact point. The crowd cheered as Roenaldo's spirit rose into the air, and the DJ laughed triumphantly. "Ah," grumbled Agent 2, "I figured that he would pull something eventually. Get back in there, Agent 3, and be wary!" Roenaldo nodded and swam back to the point where he was splatted, an annoyed expression on his face. DJ Octavio crossed his arms, saying, "Back for more, huh? Well, if you really want it, then I'll gladly do an encore!" As he said, he performed the same maneuver, allowing Roenaldo to perfectly anticipate and counter the attack. "Hey, Octavio," he said, "Don't you know the saying about fooling someone twice?" The Octarian growled and pointed a wasabi stick at Roenaldo, exclaiming, "Who do you think you are, dissing my moves like that?! That's it, you want a new track? Peep THIS!" Octavio dived into a small purple puddle, revealing a cannon that launched a giant, purple, octopus-shaped missile that flew straight up. The entire crowd cheered as the Octobot King punched the large object towards the squid. "Uh," said Agent 1, "What are you going to do?" Roenaldo smiled, replying, "The same thing that I did before!" He took aim at the missile, shooting it with full force to send it straight back to its sender. "Nuh uh," said Octavio, "Not today!" He punched the missile so hard that the left hand broke, but in return the missile returned straight to the Inkling. Roenaldo stifled a gasp before quickly shooting the incoming projectile. The Octobot King used its remaining right hand to knock back the ballistic, but to its own misfortune; it had ran out of hands. Thus, when Roenaldo sent the missile back, Octavio was left defenseless. "GRAH!" yelled the ruler as he was struck, "You little punk!" The crowd booed as Agent 2 said, "Way to keep your cool, Agent 3. Keep this up and we'll have the Great Zapfish in no time." DJ Octavio got up and said, "This is nowhere NEAR over, inkstain. That was just the opening track; the real song starts NOW!" With that, Octavio flew towards a set of floating platforms in the distance, causing Agent 1 to say, "Get after him, Agent 3! It's time to make him face the music!" Roenaldo raised his weapon to the sky and cheered his approval before making his way to a yellow launch pad that was waiting for him.