Chapter 26: The Ravenous Octomaw

After returning to Octo Valley, Roenaldo watched as the residual energy from the recent Zapfishes caused a reaction in a large kettle located in a dirt pit. A sharp whistle could be heard as compacted steam arose out of the kettle's lifted lid. As Roenaldo jumped down to the object, Agent 1 said, "Ooh, a Boss Kettle! If we're lucky, then this'll be the place where the captain is being held!" This possibility intrigued Roenaldo greatly; if this were true, then he would have one less thing to worry about. Fueled by hope, Roenaldo quickly slipped through the sieve at the top of the kettle and squished along the following metal pipe.

The squid soon arrived in a room that was extremely dark, even by Boss Kettle standards. In what little visibility there was, Roenaldo was able to see a large lake of purple ink that churned slightly, producing a wet, unsettling sound. To add on to the creepiness, sounds of banging metal and mysterious voices could be heard, and Roenaldo was deeply disturbed. Despite the discomfort, Roenaldo shook his head and pressed on; if this area were so foreboding, then he would surely find something important. With that in mind, he used the launch pad in front of him to Super Jump onto a circular, metal platform that had gained rust from years of neglect. On the small island, he noticed a faint light in the center. He approached the gleam to find a Zapfish ripe for the picking. "Oh," he said to himself, "Just like that, huh? I guess that no guards decided to show up in this lair. Explains the rust." Although he was disappointed to see that the captain was nowhere to be seen, Roenaldo was satisfied with at least finding another marine creature to save.

As he walked towards the electric fish, he noticed something strange: the lightbulb-like field the Zapfish was encased in was wiggling slightly. Having the feeling that something was amuck, Roenaldo paused before taking slow, cautious steps. He stopped about 10 feet away from the Zapfish and fired a test shot from his weapon. Not even a second after the electric barrier was struck by yellow ink, a giant mouth with many sharp teeth burst out of the ground, gnashing at the air with extreme ferocity and causing Roenaldo to yelp and jump backwards; he was inches away from being chomped to pieces. "WOAH," exclaimed Agent 1, "That was close! Good eye, Agent 3, you sure avoided that trap!" The owner of the terrifying set of teeth, a robotic machine with a piscine body shockingly similar to that of a Zapfish, continued biting until it realized that nothing was there to attack. After realizing this, it snarled before doing a backwards flip into the ink sea. "Uh oh," said Agent 2, "I've heard of this thing from the captain. This is the Octomaw! It's been said that this monster can eat any Inklings it sets it's eyes onto, no matter how protected you are." In the dimly-lit arena, Roenaldo gripped his Hero Shot tightly as he looked around anxiously. He might've avoided the initial attack, but now the Octomaw was likely circling around him, staying virtually invisible until it decided to strike again. He tried his hardest to not get consumed, keeping his eyes peeled for any hostile movement. Using his observational skills to the max, he noticed a small line of purple ink cutting towards him. He looked at the fluid with confusion, saying, "What? I thought only Octolings and Inklings could swim like that! You're telling me that this giant robot can do the same?" Deciding not to question the physics of this Octoweapon, Roenaldo instead inked a path and swam away from the ravenous weapon. Having missed again, the Octomaw decided to switch tactics; it launched its white teeth into the air and dived into its ink. The detached molars each then transitioned into their attack mode, revealing ejectors at their fronts that started bombarding their with purple ink balls. As Roenaldo sidestepped and ducked the incoming projectiles, Agent 1 said, "What the heck? You're being swarmed! Agent 3, knock these teeth out of the sky!" Roenaldo took the time between rounds of fire to shoot at some of the turrets, all of which were pretty frail. Soon, the teeth ran out of ammo, and they flew into the inky sea. The Octomaw later reemerged, appearing to have regained its molars. However, parts of its dentition were missing, causing it to whine with disappointment. Its electronic eyes turned red as it dived into the sludge and towards Roenaldo, who preemptively retreated. However, instead of doing it's usual upwards strike, it repeatedly started chomping at its foe, prompting Roenaldo to repeatedly jump backwards. As Roenaldo was being chased in circles, Agent 2 said, "Hey, I've got an idea. If that Octomaw is so hungry, why not feed it a bomb?" Roenaldo smiled ; he had wondered why he had not thought of this idea sooner. He multitasked fleeing and retrieving a Splat Bomb from his Hero Shot before setting his sights on one of the gaps between the Octomaw's teeth. Once he had prepared his explosive, he flung it into the robotic mouth, causing the Octoweapon to make a choking sound. Its eyes formed X symbols as the Splat Bomb blew up in its throat, causing the Octomaw to fall over with its mouth agape. A red tentacle emerged out of the esophagus of the machine, searching for what interrupted its process. It was immediately shot by Roenaldo, who was tired of being treated like a piece of meat. He watched as the Octarian appendage convulsed before returning to the inside of its mech, and he swam backwards; his job was not done yet.

After the tentacle regained control of its machine, the Octomaw shed all of its teeth at once, replacing them with shiner, silver dentures. With its new look, the mechanical fish dived into the liquid surrounding the arena. Roenaldo tried to look for where his enemy could be, but he could not see a thing. Suddenly, after hearing a bit of splashing behind him, Roenaldo was attacked from behind by the Octomaw, who had leaped out of the ink. Roenaldo had a second to scream in terror before he was eaten. It was then that he realized the teeth were just meant to hold him in; the real danger was the purple ink that oozed out of holes in a sponge at the bottom of the Octomaw's mouth. Roenaldo tried to scramble out, but there was no use; the ground was too slippery and he was trapped. This, he was engulfed in the hazardous liquid and had his body dissolved.

"Holy," exclaimed Agent 1, "I feel like I'm watching a horror movie!" Agent 2 added, "Try not to be like the protagonist of those films; be smart about fighting this thing! Try using your ears instead of your eyes and react quickly. Roenaldo took a second to recover from the shock of drowning in ink before shaking his head and jumping back to the pit, this time taking Agent 2's advice to heart. When its foe returned, the Octomaw snapped it's teeth before jumping back into the liquid around the liquid around the platform. Roenaldo closed his eyes and took deep breaths. "Okay," he said quietly, "Where are you swimming?" He listened intently, paying close attention to the differences in rippling on one side of him compared to the other. Once he had an idea of what was happening, he jumped to his left. Fortunately, he was correct in his observation; the Octomaw whizzed by him to his right. "Oh yeah," congratulated Agent 1, "Awesome! Looks like the Octomaw is still recovering from that dive. Now's your chance to knock it's teeth out! Make it regret ever trying to jumpscare you!" Roenaldo smiled, swimming over to the front of the robotic fish and aiming his Hero Shot at the molars. Unfortunately, due to the increased durability of the fangs, Roenaldo was only able to take out one before the Octomaw realized what was happening to it. Enraged, it launched its teeth into the air and swam away to safety. The airborne sentries then began to circle Roenaldo, who prepared to avoid some projectiles. However, instead of that happening, the teeth each took turns dive-bombing the agent. Roenaldo was struck in the chest, legs, and head, and he was knocked to the ground. "Agent 3? Come on," said Agent 1, "You have to get up!" However, Roenaldo was in no position to move; the flying teeth were relentless. As the squid was held in place, the Octomaw revealed itself from the ink, performing an upward leap as it cloaked itself in purple fluid. It then crashed down on the Inkling, using both its weight and toxic sludge to completely obliterate its adversary.

As Roenaldo reformed at his base, Agent 2 said, "Uh, Agent 3? I don't mean to alarm you, but you don't have any revives left, and this Octoweapon is putting you through the wringer. Unless you want to be fish food, I would recommend backing off, at least for now." Deep down, Roenaldo knew that Agent 2 was speaking the truth; this foe seemed very powerful. However, Roenaldo never saw himself as a quitter. He shook his head in defiance, responding, "No! I'm not going to throw in the towel now! Not when I've come so far!" Agent 2 tried to convince Roenaldo otherwise, but he wasn't hearing any of it. He was going to defeat the Octomaw one way or another. Fueled by his sense of duty, Roenaldo Super Jumped over to the robotic menace, who turned around in surprise. Roenaldo showed no hesitation in lobbing a Splat Bomb through the small gap between the mechanical piscine's teeth. The Octomaw attempted to jiggle the explosive out of its mouth before it detonated, but it was too slow. Once again, the mechanical beast was rocked by a violent burst of yellow, and it fell to the ground. Roenaldo swam over to the Octomaw's mouth and waited for the operating tentacle to emerge like it always did. Once the red appendage appeared, Roenaldo quickly blasted it with his fluid. Now severely damaged, the Octarian arm returned to its place inside the Octomaw, which let out an angry roar upon waking up. It and Roenaldo gave each other fierce looks before the former flipped into the sea of purple.

The Octomaw swam all the way to a sewer pipe in the far end of the lair that was now illuminated by an eerie spotlight. There, the fake fish could be seen growing a new set of golden teeth before diving back into the large ink lake. Then, the room began to shake. "Uh oh," said Agent 1, "I'm not liking this quake right now. What's happening?" After a while of intense vibration, a large purple wave started to form where the Octomaw had dived, with the Octoweapon sticking its head out straight in the middle of it. "Holy carp," screamed Agent 2, "What the shell is that?!" Roenaldo, too, was dumbfounded. How was he supposed to escape this? By the looks of things, there was no way he could sidestep the giant wave nor could he Super Jump over it; the Octomaw would simply swim up and grab him. Many thoughts flashed in Roenaldo's head as the impending doom grew closer and closer, but none of them involved a plan to escape safely. With the Octomaw now feet away from him, Roenaldo settled on one solution. Preparing a Splat Bomb, he jumped straight into the mouth of the Octoweapon, allowing himself to get consumed along with the explosive. He scrunched up as tightly as he could to avoid the incoming purple ink, trying to ignore the sting that he felt on his ankle as the Splat Bb began its countdown. Just as Roenaldo was about to accept death, the yellow bomb finally blew up, causing some of the purple ink to dissipate. Roenaldo was shook to and fro as the Octomaw convulsed in pain, feeling the robot flop around until landing back on the platform and barfing out the agent. Roenaldo stood there half-covered in purple liquid as the tentacle reappeared out of the Octomaw's throat. Seeking to end the battle, Roenaldo blasted the bulging arm with the full might of his firearm. Finally, the tentacle was splatted. Having ingested many liters of yellow ink, the Octomaw started malfunctioning, making pained choking sounds as its eyes formed spirals. After some flailing, the Octoweapon blew up, coating the whole area in bright fluid. A Zapfish laid in the remains of its larger counterpart, looking very afraid. As Roenaldo stood in the light of his victory, Agent 1 said, "Oh. My. Cod. I can't believe what just happened. Agent 3, you're the best Inkling I've ever seen!" Agent 2 added, "I won't lie, I was already paying my last respects for you. Thank you for not making me arrange a funeral." Roenaldo walked over triumphantly to the Zapfish, not even caring about the shock he received. He had successfully proven that he could make a comeback in dire situations. .