Sin of Treachery

Hyrule; Mogma Mines (Play "Sad Olivia" from Mario: Origami King.)

Miko found a cave near the edge of the volcano. Judging by the large footprints in the soil, she deduced that Carmine had run in here. She didn't have the energy to call out to her or to move faster than she already was. As she walked deeper into the mine, there seemed to be colored gems lodged in the soil, softly flickering on and off to provide light to this dimness. There were Mogmas digging around the soil, a race of yellowish, long-armed mole creatures.

"Hey, Ledd! What was that weird alien thing that just came past?"

"I dunno, Flint, but that moaning sound was kinda creepy. We'd better stay away from it."

Miko passively glanced at the Mogmas, but felt her shoe bump something. It was Carmine's helmet. Miko silently picked it up and followed the trail into a left tunnel. It led to a wider tunnel with several doors and socializing Mogmas. "Hey, check out this goil!" a Mogma pointed. "Lookin' at that getup, you look like you're on your way to a party. You won't get to Castle Rock through here."

"…" Miko only gave him a cold stare and continued, crossing a few small bridges to reach one of the doors. The door looked like it had been forcefully yanked open, so she entered. Miko went up a small staircase past some conversing Mogmas. "That thing looked like some alien that escaped from a madhouse. I don't wanna go near it!"

"Maybe it escaped from that new theme park over yonder?"

Miko stepped up to a door leading to the second level of the village. She crossed a narrow ledge to another door that a Mogma was peeking into. "Yah!" the mole yelped, realizing Miko was behind him. "Don't sneak up on me like that! Hey… you wouldn't happen to know that thing that just ran past? It's makin' a scary sound. …" The Mogma looked Miko in the eyes. "You look a little under the weather yourself. I dunno what's up, but… just do what ya gotta do."

The Mogma dug away and let Miko enter the door. Faint rays of light shone through the gaps of the tunnel as Miko could hear Carmine's sobs echoing eerily. She stepped forward slowly, seeing Carmine's discarded gloves. Soon, Miko found her friend sitting on a rock within a wider ray of light. Her form was hunched over a pond of clear water, reflecting her shriveled and miserable visage. Miko calmly approached and sat beside her.

Carmine saw Miko's reflection appear, but couldn't look up. "It's my fault… I…I killed Drake… I wasn't ready for this… I never should've come… I was right not to go to New Galaxia… 'cause if we did… the same thing would've happened… I'm just not ready for war…"

Miko really wasn't sure what to say to her. She knew a pep talk wouldn't work here… especially since she had no motivation for it. The best she could do was try to take the blame away. "It…it's my fault. I'm the one who wanted to come here… and I was looking at it all wrong. I was… trying to have fun. I was so excited to be on such a big mission with my new friends… and I thought nothing was gonna go wrong. But now Haneesh… and Drake…" Miko could no longer restrain herself as tears streamed down her face. "I never should've joined this team!"

Miko could only sob for the next few minutes as her tears dripped the pond. "I should've just gone back to Hinobi! Then, when this happened, at least Drake wouldn't have died! I'm the one who dragged you into this…"

"Maybe… but you're way better than me. When I got my accident… Drake still wanted me in his team. He still believed in me… he didn't think I was gross, or helpless… and I didn't wanna be useless, either. I did my best to get better… so I could still be useful. But I betrayed them… I betrayed Drake… I even let myself get captured before… After all this, I really am just the worst…"

"No… you're not." Miko softly put her arms around Carmine's shoulders. "It was an accident… Drake wouldn't be mad at you."

"You don't know that… Deep down… what if Drake still pitied me? What if he was always worried about me? He…he's probably angry at me… right now…"

"I guess I don't… It's been less than a year since I met you guys… so, maybe I don't know how he really feels. Or how the others feel. But I think you're great. I think you're very brave… and you took this mission a lot more seriously than I did. I'm gonna get you guys home… and I'll look for Mitch on my own. I won't trouble you guys, anymore."

"…" Carmine lay her head on Miko's chest. Miko softly put an arm around her swollen head, feeling Carmine tense up and quiver. However, Carmine tried to be still and accept her friend's warmth. She remembered how Drake used to do this… he was never grossed out by the feel of her squishy, ugly head. Even though it hurt, Drake knew she needed some reassurance once in a while. And Carmine welcomed it…

"Well… let's go back to the others. Wanna put your stuff on?"

"No. I…I need the air."

"Okay…"

Miko calmly walked Carmine through the mine, ignoring all the curious looks and comments from the Mogmas. Holding her bare hand, she could feel Carmine quivering from the exposure. Perhaps Carmine wanted to let herself suffer… but even so, Miko was glad to be able to look her in the eyes, to be able to share her feelings.

When they exited the cave, Sectors Q and Hinobi waited for them. "H-H-Hi, guys…" Carmine stuttered. "I'm… sorry."

"No… it's my fault." Miko said. "I'm the one who deserves your blame…"

Eddy looked away. Internally, he had been growing more frustrated over this whole situation, all to save Miko's teammates. It seemed like she had acknowledged that… but he couldn't bring himself to agree. "Let's just get off this planet. There are some ships here to take us."

"We're sorry… for making you guys come here." Bergy bowed.

"It's fine…" Jenny sighed. (End song.)

Manta Maria; Sweetopia

The Juicy Juice Sea was a lush reddish-pink, complimenting the sky on this sunny day. The Inkling flagship was nearing a coastside resort with a towering glass of juice in the center, sprinklers of various flavors squirting juice into it. With the different shops and buildings resembling fruits, the entire resort seemed like one huge healthy plate with a fountain. "Check it out, Marie!" Callie beamed. "I could just eat that place up, it's so tasty!"

"We're not here for a vacation, remember? They're gonna kill us as soon as we drop in."

"Having MaKayla in our party will be a real relief." Artie replied. "She's a real strong timebender. She can definitely help us in saving Squitaba."

"Assuming Squitaba can even be saved at this point." Squam said pessimistically.

"We won't know for sure until we get her Devil Fruit back." Marie replied. "As long as we keep her out of the enemies' mouths, there's hope."

Callie looked away and bit her lip. Not long ago, she had signaled Ineptune and the Kremlings to recover Squitaba's fruit. It was inevitable at this point that they would encounter the Kremlings and learn her secret. "Hey, Marie, I need to talk to you about-"

"Hey guys, Marina here." They heard the Octoling's voice in their earpieces. "Nagisa and I were able to hack Vanellope into the communications tower. Now's your chance to fly in and save them; the guards won't be able to call for backup if they get attacked."

"Perfect." Marie grabbed her ink gun. "Squam, Artie, we'll go down first. Callie, help guard the ship, we'll call for you if we need you." The green sister jumped into the cannon and "Squirmy!" launched herself to the resort, Squam and Artie quickly following. Callie sighed, upset with herself for keeping the secret for this long. They already lost so many Inklings in this war, so they'll be furious when they learn the truth. (Play "Coral Cave" from Ape Escape!)

Stage 19: Smoothie Soiree

Mission: Rescue MaKayla King and Terry Stork!

The Splatoon landed on a small sand patch away from the left side of the beach. Half-eaten oranges were floating in the water, serving as platforms to cross to the beach. People of various races were relaxing on the sugar sand, and none of them appeared disturbed by the Splatoon's arrival. A wall with juice flowing down prevented the Inklings from going up it, and the only way in was a gate, its bars composed of streams so fast that they would rip up whoever tried to pass. The group explored the beach in search of something to deactivate the gate, but were attacked by Cataquacks, large two-legged blueberries with duck mouths.

"WAAAAH!" Artie cried when a Cataquack flipped him into the air with its mouth, landing headfirst in the sand upon landing. Although the ink would hold them back, the trio could only evade the creatures. However, Artie noticed a floating treasure above one area and had a Cataquack fling him to it. There was a snack bar in the back right corner, but the Pianta guarding it immediately sealed the shutters when he noticed the suspicious group. Marie became a squid and slithered underneath the floor, since the bar was situated on poles, and she could slip up between the floor bars. "Why can't I get a signal?" The Pianta was trying to use the radio, but was bombarded with Marie's ink and KO'ed. She opened the shutters and flipped a lever that would turn off the gate sprinklers.

The Splatoon passed the gate and entered the town area. Some of the strawberries growing out of the natural flora were actually Piranha Plants, one of them snapping Squam's shoulder before Marie shot it off. "Stay focused." They followed the fruit-paved path to a large swimming pool. A Zora woman and Cheep-Cheep man were smooching and twirling, two little merkid children were playing volleyball with two Bubblainians, and it was an overall happy atmosphere. …Until they realized that volleyball was holding a Minish prisoner.

"Uh, excuse me, kids, can I see that ball for a second?" Artie asked.

"You want the little guy, don't you? He's mine!" the merboy yelled.

"He doesn't look like he's having fun."

"I know!" the mermaid beamed. "If he can hit the ball 50 times, he can have it!"

"This level sucks." Artie sighed. Complying with their demands, he joined in the game as the ball was passed around the five of them, watching it closely and hitting when it came. The Inklings could only wait impatiently until he hit his 50th serve. "Finally!" He claimed the ball afterward, opened the air hole, and let the Minish onto his hand. "Sorry about that, little guy."

"Why didn't you just let me out when they sent the ball the first time?" the Minish asked.

"…You're-too-small-can't-hear-you." Artie chucked him in the cube.

"Anyway, this pool is surrounded by un-inkable fences." Squam reported. "But it looks like there's a tunnel under the pool. We'll hide in the Infi-Cube and you swim us."

"Not good swimmers?"

"Inklings can't swim, smarty." Marie replied. "Our ink gets messed up. I know, we're squids, it's ironic."

"Something to appreciate later~" Artie let his friends jump in the cube before diving in the pool, swimming into said tunnel. Inside the tunnel were giant grinders meant for carving up fruit, but they moved slow enough for Artie to go through the gaps (seriously, what if the kids swam down here, this felt very unsafe!). Artie reached a surface, where two Gearmos (maid robots) dropped a pineapple and watermelon in before rolling away. Artie resurfaced and freed the Inklings. From this platform, they overlooked another river with giant half-watermelons flowing down. There were Sharksicles beneath the water and razor-streams above some parts.

This time, Artie hid in the Infi-Cube while Squam and Marie jumped onto a melon, inking it up to hide to go under the first stream wall. The next wall had vertical streams, so the two quickly shot ink to move the melon to float between a gap. Next, vertical and horizontal streams blocked them, but Squam shot a switch to turn off the verticals before they hid in the ink. They were about to go off a waterfall, but two Inkrails were available for them to squirt and ride across the air. A series of green "?" balloons were floating around the zigzagging rails, prompting the two to shoot, and in succeeding, a cage opened on the ground below, giving them access to a treasure chest.

Artie came out after they set foot on a shallow juice area, where children were playing around. There were mushroom fountains, hoop fountains, and on-and-off sprinklers where the kids awaited their favorite flavors. There were flapjack octopi called Gushens inside juice bubbles, made from waterbending, and upon spotting the intruders, they shot powerful gushes. The bubbles could be destroyed with enough ink shots, after which they KO'ed the Gushens. They felt the ground slowly sloping down into deeper waters, and the sight of kids swimming made it obvious, so the trio hopped up a stairway of sprinkler mushrooms.

One of the mushrooms was double-stacked, the higher mushroom encasing the cap in razor-streams (seriously, this park is a giant safety hazard). Marie told them to form a stack with Squam on top, allowing him to shoot a switch at the top and turn off the streams. From this shroom cap, a Juice Shower rolled by; it was a round robot that produced a juicy shower, which the kids were chasing and "bathing" under. The Splatoon could jump onto the robot's head and let it carry them across the pool. It would go through hoops of more razor-streams, the trio having to shoot switches on said hoops to turn them off. The Shower stopped by a stairway leading up to the slide, but they instead used it to leave the pool area.

"Guys, this is Callie. I think I saw MaKayla and Terry. I saw them ride one of those giant sprinklers onto the giant juice glass. Then they hang-glided onto that square platform."

They noticed a tall, wooden platform held up by support beams near their left. There was no way to climb it from the bottom, but it did seem in gliding distance from the central juice glass. "Should be a quick climb if you send Haylee over." Artie replied.

"Actually, there's a lot of guards around that platform, probably tasked to watch them. Maybe it's best to do what they did and glide there."

"Always the complicated way." Marie rolled her eyes. "Fine, we'll ride that sprinkler over there."

"Good idea. And, Marie, when you get back, I…I need to talk to you about something private."

"Sure thing, Sis." The group followed a road to the grape sprinkler. There were strange, giant Doritos lain on the ground—they grew faces and came to life, trying to jump at and slice the group, but were quickly destroyed by ink. They arrived at a Cataquack field and noticed a garden growing giant melons. Their instinct told them to roll a melon across the field; Artie had this honor while his friends shot the Cataquacks to prevent them from flinging the melon. However, to get the melon onto a high ledge, they relied on a Cataquack's trajectory, and this reliance helped them up as well.

There was a giant switch that could only be pressed by the melon, and this opened a giant cage containing a giant boy from the Avalaran KND. "Thanks for saving me! I was captured by a giant lady."

"Yikes, you're a big one!" Artie said. "Way too big for the Infi-Cube. Guys, let's Fulton him." The Splatoon attached Fish Balloons to the giant and had him uplifted. There was only a short distance to the grape sprinkler, but there were large blocks made of Pringles lain around. They grew arms, legs, and heads and charged at the trio, swiping Frito claws. The Splatoon dodged backward and buried the Pringle Men in ink, watching them melt into half-liquid masses.

"According to Roger's reports, these chip monsters are made from Jaune Pringle's Chip-Chip Fruit." Marie said. "I wonder if he's around here somewhere…"

"Is he a strong fighter?" Squam asked.

"Roger says, 'He's soft, but he has a big heart.' Whatever that means." There was nothing else to obstruct them en route to the fountain, but as soon as they reached it, it was shut off.

"Don't let them onto Smoothie Tower!" A Pianta had twisted a crank with pipes linked to the fountain. "Stop them!" A horde of Piantas in police attire charged in, shooting guns loaded with coconuts, pineapples, grapes, and watermelons.

"Callie, send Haylee over!" Artie called. "We need her wrench!" The Splatoon hurriedly dodged the deadly fruit and shot the guards into submission. Haylee donned a parachute and loaded herself into the cannon, blasting directly to Artie's area. After a safe landing, Haylee locked her wrench onto the bolt-crank and twisted, the others defending her from cops.

"There, that did it!" Haylee beamed when the sprinkler shot back to life. "Don't wait up!" She briefly bashed a cop's head before running to the juicy stream and jumping in. "YAHOOOOO/SLURMYYYYY!" The others followed suit, soaring across the resort and landing at the top of the Smoothie glass, which had a bouncy lemon platform to catch them. There was a sign that read, The Lovers' Outlook is but one flight away! There were hang-gliders available to carry them to the platform Terry and Kayla were on, but not before Artie dove to the very bottom of Smoothie Tower for a treasure chest.

The others simply hid in the Infi-Cube, leaving expert pilot Haylee to glide to Lovers' Outlook. It seemed that only a single, kissing couple was occupying the platform. "Everyone, this is Nagisa, we've run into some trouble. The resort's owner, Smoothie knows about the disturbance at the tower, she's coming to get us! Is the mission almost complete?"

"It should be over in a moment; no one seems to be guarding the targets." Haylee replied.

"Nagisa, I think I know a way we can fight Smoothie!" Marina's voice replied. "Lemme just ask Vanellope if she's okay with it."

"That's too risky, we should just escape."

"Look at those long legs, we can't outrun that! Just trust me, this should work."

"Do what she says, Skunk Boy!" Pearl snapped.

"Ugh, fine. This better not backfire."

Haylee saw the Big Mom flagpole on the platform and had to shift down and up to get some altitude. She got level with the top of the pole and swapped the flag for a Raccoon Jolly Roger. She then dropped onto the platform, after which the Splatoon came out. Terry and MaKayla were locked in a deep make-out session. "Alright, you two, vacation's over." Haylee chuckled, going over to break them up. "We're here to save you guys."

"Hey, bitches, hopin' for a threesome?!" proclaimed the gray alien in a MaKayla disguise. (End song.)

"ROGER?!" The Splatoon jumped.

"Oh hoh hoh!" The man disguised as Terry had an orange mustache. "Roger, it appears they have come to our rescue~"

"Oh, I think they'll be needing rescuing soon enough, Jauny."

Just then, several giant Frito-like fingers grasped the edges of the platform, and giant Pringle Men pulled their selves up. "Roger, what the heck is this?!" Haylee asked. "Did you lie when you said Kayla and Terry were here?!"

"Sadly, yes. I was going along with your plan at first, but that was before Jauny and I fell in love. He found out I was a spy a while ago, and the poor thing was conflicted. He wanted to be with me, but he couldn't betray his own family. So, I decided… I will marry Jaune Pringle and join the Linlin Family!"

"Are you squidding me?!" Squam shouted. "After everything that's happened, I'm gonna kill you if you're betraying us for this hick!"

"Ohf! How dare you speak of me in such a vulgar way!" Jaune sobbed. "Roger, let us sit in luxury as my Pringle Men demolish them." He molded chips from his body and enveloped himself and Roger inside another giant soldier. With the Pringle Men closing in, the Splatoon shot ink at the one Jaune was inside, but had to run back when it swiped its Frito claws.

"This calls for the wrecking crew." Haylee declared, twirling her wrench. "Callie, I need you to send my building supplies." She spoke to her wristwatch. "And don't forget the Ink Cannons." (Play "Knucklotec Battle" from Mario Odyssey!)

Sub-boss: Snack Division Minister of Chips, JAUNE PRINGLE

The Splatoon could only dodge the Pringle Men's attacks, shooting ink at the feet to make some of them fall over, during which they could shoot the faces. However, as Jaune was the one controlling the giants, blotting their faces didn't matter. Crates with building supplies began to fall on the field, using parachutes for a softer landing, and Haylee quickly ran around to snatch them before the Pringle Men could crush them. "Perfect! Artie, lend me a hand." The crates contained dozens of Lego parts, with Haylee using her crafty speed to construct a giant, blocky robot, and Artie installing Squid Tech into the creation.

"Now we're talkin'!" Haylee used levers to make the robot punch the Pringles to pieces. "Time to show you what real craftsmanship is!" One of the Pringles was moving away from her, so she stretched the robot's right arm and grabbed it by the neck. She pulled the Pringle over, engaging in a fist fight with it until the stomach burst open, and the lovers were exposed. "MAMA MIA!" Jaune cried when the robot's hand grabbed him and Roger and furiously bashed them around the ground. The Pringles reformed and jumped the Lego, breaking off some of its parts and freeing the two.

"Pringles, form a tower! We will be much safer up here, darling~" One of the Pringles put the two on its head as all the other soldiers hugged it, molding into an extending tower. Haylee quickly fixed up her robot, trying to punch the tower, but it proved to be more durable than the individual soldiers. Each segment of the tower was rotating, and the faces would spit chip balls down at the group, and said balls would melt into mush and slither back to the tower.

"Marie, Squam, this calls for you!" Artie declared. "See that tank on the robot's back? Fill it up with your ink and Haylee can shoot a giant laser!"

"Sounds good to me!" Squam replied, the two squirting a path up the Legobot so they could shoot inside the tank. Haylee kept dodging the chip balls, giving the Inklings enough time to fill the tank. "It's ready!" The tank sealed as all the ink flowed into the left arm. Haylee aimed the palm at the tower, revealing a cannon.

"Ink Palm GUN!" A stream of blue mixed with green came spewing out, Haylee moving it along all the way up the tower. The rotating segments ceased and liquefied, causing the tower to collapse. Haylee dug the robot's hand into the mush and yanked out Jaune, treating him to another round of floor-bashing. "Huh?!" Haylee gasped when Jaune vanished from her grasp.

"Are you okay, my sweet Pringle?" Roger was standing with Jaune near one of the railings.

"Oh, thank you for saving me, Roger. But now I have to create more chips now that she ruined that batch. Ho ho ho! Ho ho ho!" Jaune danced giddily and clapped hands, more chips seeping out of his skin and forming into a giant mustachioed head to encase the couple. Two giant hands materialized as they launched at Haylee in a punch, the robot dodging. Haylee ducked the robot when a hand swiped overhead, then jumped when the other swiped over the floor, and jumped back to avoid a clap. The Inklings were filling the tank, and once full, Haylee awaited a punch from one of the hands. The right one launched, so she fired the Palm Gun to drench the hand and melt it.

The left hand began furiously banging the floor in the hopes of smashing the dodging robot. The hand was able to grab the Legobot and begin squeezing. "Abandon robot!" Haylee yelled, smashing the self-destruct button. They all jumped out before an Inksplosion destroyed the robot, and the hand. Haylee was quick to craft another Legobot from the unused materials, at the same time Jaune formed two more fists from the head's mustache. The fists attacked more swiftly, but Haylee was a keen dodger. She grabbed the right fist, swung it into the floor, and melted it with ink. The left fist grabbed her again, but Haylee kept the arm free this time and shot the Palm Cannon at the head, puncturing the face.

"You missed, dumbass!" Roger taunted, having suddenly escaped the head with Jaune in his arms. "Hurry, Jauny, make some more!"

"Ohf… I'm trying, Roger…" Jaune made weak claps as Pringle Men slowly formed. "I'm-a so… tired…"

"It's hard work building toys from your own sweat and blood." Haylee remarked. "That's why I prefer the manual way. When I build things with my own hands, I always got strength for more!" She balled both the robot's hands, raised them, and smashed down.

Roger slowed down time and pulled Jaune out of harm's way. "Missed again, dork—AAH!" He was shot by Marie's shot gun. "My eyes! I can't see!"

"You're awfully slow for a timebender." Marie said. Haylee ejected from the robot, raising her wrench proudly before slamming either end down on Jaune and Roger, taking them both down.

"Heh. Is that all you can do? You wouldn't last an hour on the construction site." (End song.)

Communications Tower

Many Piantas lay sickened on the tower stairs due to the noxious gas from Nagisa Shingetsu's skunk bombs. The skunk boy faced out the window as a white-haired Amazon was nearing the tower. Smoothie's upper body was very slim and small compared to her towering legs, a rose tattoo on the right leg, and decorative adornments on her pink boots. "Marina, she's almost here! What's taking so long?!"

"Hey, a code like this takes a while to get adapted to!" Marina replied. She was a tall, dark-skinned Octoling with brown and teal tentacle-hair and a thin top with a large zipper. "There, it's done! Vanellope, it's up to you now."

"The fact that you Sky Gods are here must mean you're trying to seize Jaune and Diana." Smoothie deduced, cracking her knuckles as she glared at the tower. "But your first mistake was kidnapping my daughter. I will wring you dry until you return Sasha to me!"

"Wring yourself dry first, lady! Seriously, those Krabby Patties went right to your thigh!" Vanellope's snarky voice rang from the tower.

Smoothie flushed. "Are you brats calling me fat?!"

"At least that would look way better than how you look now. Your body is so disproportioned, I'm surprised you can find your own head."

"Show yourself, cowards! Come out and face me!"

"OKAY!" A digital mass exploded from the tower, Smoothie falling on her rear. "HAH HAH ha! Check me ou—ut, everybody! I'M A KAIJU! RAWW—WRRR!" Vanellope clenched her teeth and bared her chibi fingers, not looking the least bit terrifying despite her gigantic size.

"A kaiju?!" Smoothie got to her feet, surprised to encounter a child as large as herself. Even stranger was that the child kept freeze-framing. There were gaps all over her body, exposing the over-inflated pixels underneath. "You look like some half-assed hologram!"

"I agree, she looks absolutely horrible!" Nagisa panicked. "What made you think this was a good idea?!"

"I mean, it's a cheat code I use in my videogames." Marina scratched her head awkwardly. "I thought it'd work better on Vanel."

"No wor—ries, I'm used ta—stuff like this! I'll show you wh—at a broken hol—gram ca—do—AAAH!" Smoothie KICKED the child in her bulbous cheek and knocked her several meters.

"Vanellope, stay near the tower! The signal will work better!"

"Not if I can help it!" Smoothie was about to squeeze the tower, but was kicked off her feet by Vanellope. Though the Program struggled to maintain a firm posture, her pixels struggling to withstand their new form, Vanellope felt nevertheless determined.

"As I—as saying, yo—re going d—wn!" (Play "Boss 1" from Kid Icarus: Uprising!)

Boss fight: Breakfast General, Minister of Juice, SMOOTHIE BLOUSE

Smoothie leapt in the air to deal a Rocket Kick, Vanellope forcing herself to the right to dodge, followed by an uppercut kick, which Smoothie easily evaded as she grabbed Vanel's leg and squeezed the pixels out. The Program quickly glitched away, but had to prop herself on one leg. "H—y! You shr—nk my leg!"

"I'll cut you down to size with my Squeeze-Squeeze power!" Smoothie tried to grab Vanel, but she glitched above the titan and landed on her, forcing Smoothie to the ground. The Amazon bent her legs above her back to kick Vanel off, sending her away from the tower, followed by another kick to send her further. Vanellope's form was jittering on the ground, unable to recover, so Smoothie brought her foot down—Vanellope smashed into pieces, her pixels each shaping into normal-sized Vanel clones as they raced back to the tower. They glitched around rapidly when Smoothie tried to stomp them, so she withdrew a volcanic rock from her Infi-Sack and squeezed lava at the clones. Some Vanellopes were destroyed, but the remaining mass were gathering inside the tower, for Marina was hurriedly Copying Vanel's code.

Vanellope burst out of the tower as a reformed giant, her leg restored as well. "Here, this should help a bit." Nagisa said, adding his own input to the code. The gaps on Vanellope's body were steadily coloring.

"Yeah, I think I'm getting used to this! Try to catch me now!" Vanellope glitched behind Smoothie when she tried to grab, but the woman expected this and kicked back. For an instant, her foot made contact with Vanel's stomach, but her pose glitched to that of Vanel's hand grabbing the leg and swinging the Amazon into the ground. Vanel squished the leg, juice squirting out, but Smoothie had grasped a portion of ground to shoot juice at Vanel's eye, the kaiju sparking as Smoothie got up and grasped her oversized head. She compressed the head, forcing the pixels out as it dramatically shrank, whilst the rest of her body remained massive.

Vanellope punched Smoothie off, and her tiny eyes noticed the shriveled form of the woman's leg. She stumbled on that leg before withdrawing a giant apple and drinking its juices, reflating the leg. "Wow, it really does go to your thigh." Smoothie threw a roundabout kick, but Vanel's shrunken head easily ducked, returning a counter-kick to Smoothie's back. The Amazon performed a backflip and tried to sit herself on Vanel, the girl immediately glitching back, but in a nimble fashion, Smoothie stretched her legs back to catch Vanel's central body and squeeze, forcing the pixels out. Now at normal size, Smoothie tried to stomp her like a bug, the glitch evading more nimbly than ever. The Amazon did the splits and spun like a grounded propeller, Vanel repeatedly glitching in the air to stay above her legs.

"GOTCHA!" Smoothie snatched the child like a fly out of the air, but opened her hand to nothing. "?!" Vanel was by her left, then her lower right—she was glitching around the air, leaving only pixelated afterimages, as if she wasn't sure where to load. Those illusions appeared to be getting bigger and bigger, until—"SQUISH!" Vanellope sat herself on Smoothie's back and pinned her to the ground. She squeezed the woman's arms, wringing them out like a sponge. Smoothie retaliated by bending her legs to plant against the ground, jumping with Vanel still on her, and bending her legs back to grab the child and throw her into the ground.

Smoothie hugged the ground with her shriveled arms to squeeze the liquid out and reflate herself. She then grabbed a massive donut from her satchel and squeezed its juices to enlarge her arms, making them thicker than the legs as she threw fiercer punches at Vanel. Growing more adapted with the Giant Code, she threw her own punches, her hands magnifying for brief seconds when they impacted with Smoothie's. Smoothie brought both arms back and tried to smash Vanel between them, but she sat down, her head glitching to shrink and duck under the hammer-hands. At the same time, all the pixels went to Vanellope's foot for a massive kick!

Smoothie collapsed on her back, arms plopping to either sides. Vanel then glitched above the woman for a Lickety-Split Mammoth Kick, her freeze-framing giant feet rapidly stomping her central body. Juice came spurting out of her until Smoothie was reduced to half her size. Vanellope backed away to recover her data, body returning to normal proportion. Smoothie recovered from the assault, willing the juice in her arms to reflate her body, returning to her default proportion as well. Smoothie grabbed a handful of large plums from her Infi-Sack and stuffed them in her mouth, gobbling nonstop as her head swelled.

Her sights were locked on the tower, her hands smashing into her head as she blasted a purple Juice Gun. Vanellope believed her best chance to block it was another Mammoth Kick, her right foot swelling as she kicked with all her ferocity. The powerful liquid caused her body to dramatically glitch, pixels unable to form a proper shape, but in spite of all this deformation, she passionately kept kicking, refusing to stop until the juice was all out. When Smoothie finally slowed to a halt, Vanellope's remains lay on the ground, struggling to maintain a form.

"Who was it you were calling out of shape?" Smoothie smirked. "Now for the rats." She marched around the Program and approached the tower. "Uaf!" Her vision was blotted by pixels as something glomped her head.

"I still have more shape than you!" Vanellope taunted, her body now the size of Smoothie's head.

"Stupid little-!" Smoothie brought up her hands in attempt to clap the small giant, but she glitched away, causing Smoothie to flatten her own head in a vertical shape. "Damn it! Where are…?!" Each eye facing an exact opposite side, Smoothie couldn't make out anything, but she began to feel a bunch of Vanels glomping her legs, arms, and waist.

"Lickety SQUEEZE!" All the Vanels squeezed their limbs at once, their arms magnifying in that brief instance to pump juice into the chest and pelvis. This occurred in rapid succession, Smoothie unable to shake them off as the juice kept coursing. They kept their arms magnified as they gave one strong, final squeeze, the chest and pelvis swelling until they BURST with juice! Smoothie shrunk to half her size, but Vanel would give her no time to rest as her clones merged back into a giant form. "Lickety SQUISH!" With a storm of freeze-frame glitched stamps, Vanel smashed all ends of Smoothie's body, juice spewing everywhere, and the giant was ceaseless until she could no longer make out the Amazon's body.

"I think she's won." Nagisa observed. "Marina, let's go!"

"You did it, Vanel! You can shrink down now." Marina called.

"Finally!" Vanel glitched back down within seconds. "I'm sure glad Dillon wasn't around to see that." (End song.)

Nagisa and Marina raced out of the tower to join her. "Where did Smoothie go?" the former asked.

"Um, is that her?" Marina pointed to a shriveled doll-like figure lain in the juice. The three curiously approached as Nagisa gently picked it up by the leg, Smoothie dangling like a dry pack of juice.

"So, it seems that Smoothie's Devil Fruit was one that worked against her. She could turn her targets into 'sponges,' but she herself was a sponge that could be squeezed with enough force. It makes sense this fruit would be given to a giant, because that makes them harder to squeeze."

"Um, is she…is she dead?" With a distraught expression, Marina slowly reached the cyan tip of her finger and poked her. Smoothie wriggled. "Oop! Sorry, hehe!"

"Anyway, that was brilliant work, Marina, as was yours, Vanellope. Let's keep this prisoner under wraps and keep her away from liquids." Nagisa slipped the shriveled Amazon into his shirt pocket.

Manta Maria

Both teams returned to the ship via Fish Balloons. Marie and Squam were holding a handcuffed Jaune and Roger, the latter groggily coming to his senses. Roger gasped when Nagisa trained a gun on him. "You'll have a lot to answer to when the commanders hear of this, traitor!"

"Hey, I'm not the only traitor here, buddy! That squid bitch over there works for the Kremling Krew!"

Callie's heart nearly came to a halt at this accusation, the others facing her with shock or confusion. "And what evidence do you have to present?" Nagisa inquired.

"I found out when I was on Mobius, while I was with those W7 girls."

"You mean Sector W7?" Haylee asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, I guess you don't know, yet. Wait, THIS must be how you found out!" Roger realized. "God, time travel sucks. Look, what basically happens is-"

Callie pelted the alien with ink bullets until he was KO'ed. The magenta squid glared sharply at him, making sure he was down. "Uh… Callie?" She looked at her cousin. "You said you wanted to… talk to me?" When Marie remembered this, putting it together with Roger's words, the green sister felt a bad omen.

Callie released a light sigh, biting her lip for a moment. "Do you remember about a year ago, when I went out on a solo mission?"

"Um, vaguely… Was this before we were taken by the Sky God Pirates?"

"Yeah, it was… actually pretty good timing."

One year ago

Inside the Rusty Angler, the submarine flagship of the Kremling Aquatic Division, Ineptune examined the jars full of Zapfish within the cargo hold. They were small, yellow electric fish with big, frowning lips. "I find it hard to believe such small creatures can suffice as viable power sources. But I'm sure little Klammy will be able to cook something up."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Ineptune whipped around, hearing a ceiling vent drop open as Callie aimed a shotgun at the giant mermaid.

"Oh, heavens! An adorable little Inkling has infiltrated my sub! The crewmen must not have noticed you because you were so small~"

"I splatted everyone else on this ship, and you're next! You'll find that I'm the second-strongest squid in the city!"

It turned out I was in over my head. I had no trouble dealing with the riffraff, but Ineptune was too strong. She flooded the room with her poisonous water, and before long, I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was on the deck of a ship. And towering over me was…

"Cough, cough, gasp…" Callie hacked the filthy sludge out of her throat, her vision returning to a pair of scaly feet. She looked up beyond a bulbous golden belly and shrank before K. Rool's fearsome scowl.

"Of all the people who have tried to challenge the Kremling Krew, this Squid Sister had to be the dumbest one of all. She wouldn't even make a decent meal."

His deep, thundering voice filled Callie with pure dread. When she sailed out to rescue a horde of stolen Zapfish, she had no idea she would be brought before one of the most dangerous criminals on Mushroom. "No, you got it all wrong! I-I wasn't trying to challenge you, I just wanted your attention! I-I wanted to make a deal!"

"Very well. I'll hear your attempt to spare yourself."

"The thing is, Inkopolis has been facing financial problems, and we're running short on supplies, and when we heard the great K. Rool was around the area, I-I thought, maybe he would be willing to help us?"

"My name is K. Rool, not K. Ind, you stupid squid! Why do I care about your petty struggles?"

"Because I can get you more Zapfish! Think about it, you guys can't get close to Inkopolis because our Great Zapfish protects us from invaders, but if we convince him that you're friendly, we can give you tons more Zapfish, and all we want are funds!"

Kroctus STOMPED the deck and rocked the Gangplank Galleon, Callie rolling backward. "Do you think me a fool? Although your Great Zapfish is powerful, I would be more than a match for it! Last year, I challenged the legendary Thunder Bird, Zapdos to a battle and choked out its last breath. Now that same bird serves me… in a manner of speaking. I could conquer your island right now if I cared enough! But you, on the other hand, will-"

"Inkopolis is full of strong Inklings! They can serve your Krew, and the Zapfish, too! Hey, have you ever heard our songs? Our music is really popular, the kind that can change hearts! We can write a song about you, everyone will love it and wanna follow you! Please, give me a chance, I don't wanna die, please!"

"Aww, the poor thing is begging for her life. Can't we spare her, Kroctus?" Ineptune asked.

"Heh heh har! Very well, Inkling, I will give you a month to prove your worth! Return to your island and compose a song that captures my greatness. In fact, let me make your job a little easier." Kroctus presented her with a music sheet. "This is my own personal theme music I had since I first set sail. Make lyrics to the rest of it. Persuade your entire race to follow the Kremling Krew, because in one month's time, I will return to take them for my own. And any who resist will face punishment."

"But we expect regular progress reports from you." Ineptune said. "Fortunately, I have just the thing." She withdrew a banana shaped like a telephone. "We bought this Call-Call Fruit on a whim since it was cheap, but you can use it to keep in contact with us. Who knows, it might be useful in other ways, too."

"Uh… th-thank you." Callie nervously took the fruit.

They gave me a rowboat to sail home, but I was too scared and ashamed to tell you, Marie. When you weren't around, I kept trying to write K. Rool's song, but nothing came to mind! I was too nervous and upset! Heck, he probably didn't even care about the song and this was all a big prank to torture me before he inevitably took the city. Either way, I decided to get help from Pearl and Marina; I told them I was trying to make a song about a mighty conqueror. Of course, Pearl quickly connected to the idea and had a flash of inspiration. They finished a draft of the song and I had them sing it to me in private.

♪ "You can do it, whelp, you can claw 'em gnaw 'em stone 'em beat 'em!" ♪ Pearl rapped vigorously to Marina's DJ. ♪ "I do this with my mind, you just obey me!" ♪

Callie danced to the rhythm, but secretly had her Call Fruit active, allowing K. Rool and Ineptune to hear the song. ♪ "And do you stammer stammer seein' mah eye?" ♪ The Animal King had a big smile as he danced in his throne. ♪ "You better star me, steam me, see me, scrub me, feed me my pie." ♪

"Haha! This song is wonderful!" Kroctus laughed. "I can't wait to hear a live performance!"

I told Off the Hook they had done a great job, but that we wouldn't be publishing it until we put some final touches. They had no idea they were singing about K. Rool. When anyone found out I had basically sold out my entire race, the Squid Sisters would be ruined. We're supposed to be Inkopolis' idols, the heavenly singers that bring the heart and soul to our race. When the deadline was coming, I only prayed. Prayed for a miracle from the heavens, to save us from our doom, and my disgrace. …And my prayer was answered.

A tremendous spaceship descended from the heavens, enveloping Inkopolis in shadow. A fierce wind stirred the city as Skaios announced his presence. "People of Inkopolis, your town has been accused for years of oppression against the Octarian race! The Sky Gods have come to liberate your town, and your exciting Turf Wars will become the 2nd most popular sport in the Free Kingdom!"

"RAAAAAH!" Skaios hadn't noticed the gigantic, electric fish that had been resting around the central tower. The Great Zapfish sensed a terrible threat from the infant god and leapt to gulp Skaios in its gaping mouth. Unfortunately, the Zapfish swelled like a balloon, so it immediately spat Skaios out, blowing itself across the sea as swiftly as a punctured balloon.

"Argh, no beastie be makin' a meal of me today! Jataro, begin the liberation!"

Inkopolis became the territory of the Sky God Pirates just three days before the deadline. I was beyond relieved because no one would have to know what I had done! But this only caused the Kremlings to target the Sky Gods, and I feared that, if Kroctus was as strong as he claimed, he could easily retake what was promised him. I had to uphold, not only my reputation with our people, but my promise to him, or else we might both die! So, I would keep calling the Krew and feeding them intel about the Sky Gods. After all, it's not like we really enjoy serving them, right? They took us from our home, and our people are dying fighting for them!

Present time

Marie had been speechless during Callie's story, unsure how to respond. When it seemed that her cousin had finished, Marie said what was on her mind. "I…I can't believe you never told me this. I can't believe you tried to sell us out!"

"They were going to kill me, Marie! You would've done the same!"

"And you didn't think the Kremlings wouldn't let a bunch of us die for them?!" Squam shouted. "They're no different from Skaios!"

"I just wanted to live, is that really so selfish?! And it didn't even matter because we were abducted by Skaios, anyway! I was able to come home, and no one was hurt because of me!"

"That won't spare you the punishment." Nagisa spoke. Callie gasped when the Hope Pirate trained a gun on her. Behind him, Pearl and Marina looked at Callie with disappointed faces.

"So, that song we wrote… was for K. Rool?!" Pearl asked in disgust. "Uck, I can't believe I was singing for that oaf!"

"If it's any consolation, I only thought of you when you sang it." Marina consoled, grinning sheepishly.

"Callie, for the crime of treason, you are under arrest." said Nagisa. "You will be brought before Captain Skaios and he will decide your punishment."

Callie whipped out her ink gun and shot Nagisa's away, but the boy morphed into a skunk and shot a noxious beam of gas directly at her face. As Callie coughed and gasped, Nagisa flipped behind and kicked her down, cuffing her hands. "Cough, let me go!" Callie struggled to escape, but Nagisa grabbed a shock rod and electrocuted her. "Blur-ur-ur-ur-urp! M-Marie, do something! I'm sorry I never told you, I just didn't want to worry you, I didn't mean to sell us out!"

"Nagisa, wait!" Marie touched his shoulder. "Why don't we just banish Callie, so she can't report on the crew anymore? I don't want anything bad to happen."

"It's bad enough that Yuta betrayed us, but I won't allow any more bugs to damage our crew! Callie and Roger will be tried for their crime, and the rest of you had better stay in line if you want your friends saved." Nagisa dragged the Squid Sister into the cabin. "Until the captain is finished with his errand, I believe Commander Serket's web is the best way to keep you in check."

The Overtale

"Yes, Maria, the ship is sailing near the Inkopolis area now." Cheadle whispered into the cellphone. "I don't know how long we'll be docked here, but I still want you to be careful."

Papyrus was standing guard outside the cell, pretending to hear nothing. "Papyrus." Aranea Serket stepped in.

"WAH!" Papyrus jumped in fright; Cheadle quickly hung up. "Ahoy, Captain! You need something?!"

"I was… checking on the prisoner."

"Cheadle's doing splendidly! I was entertaining her with tales of my heroic exploits!"

"And they're absolutely dreadful!" Cheadle whined, playing along with the lie. "I want a new cell!"

A cellphone rang. "YEEK! I-I-I-I wonder if that's mine?!" The skeleton began to sweat(?) in panic.

Aranea took out her phone. "It's mine." She answered, "Hello?"

"Forgive me for disturbing you, Commander Serket. This is Nagisa. I would like the Quickwarp in your ship connected to the Manta Maria. I've just apprehended two traitors and believe they would do best in your custody."

"Of course, Nagisa! I'll activ8 it right away." She hung up. "Sigh, would you 8elieve that, Papyrus? Two tr8ors in one day."

"Boy traitors sure do suck, nothing worse than traitors!" Papyrus's bones rattled in fear.

"I agree, Papyrus. Tr8ors are pro8a8ly the worst thing an organization could have. It shows weakness in our security, an unsta8le structure that spurs disloyalty. That's why, when I was made the 8th Captain, I esta8lished a rule: until true freedom was realized across the universe, our crewmen, even in death, would continue to serve us."

Behind her, Inthan and other Inklings who died on Breakfast Town walked up, eyes glowing blue and hanging limp like the zombies they were. "And as far as I'm concerned, a tr8orous crewm8 is a dead crewm8. They'll serve us until the very end."