A/N: I was bored this past week as all my classes have been turned into online courses or have just ended, so with not much to do, I reread my story and realized the epilogue only took part in Inkopolis. So I decided to write a few extra scenes which takes place before Victoria returns in the epilogue in order to show how the others were doing in Octo Valley.

One year before epilogue.

As the Octarians who were no longer living under Octavio's rule settled down in Octo Valley once again, those that had fought as part of the New Octopolis army knew that they had to prepare themselves in case the Elite Octolings and the Octarian army came back to bring them back in line with Octavio.

Older army veterans were brought back into the army to either take up a commanding role or train some new soldiers, while those who had already fought the Octarian army kept their roles.

The citizens who had hidden from the Elite Octolings while they evacuated the valley, or those who had been imprisoned for supporting the New Octopolis army all had their own parts to play in rebuilding the valley.

As for Nautilus base it was now the main headquarters for the New Octopolis army.

"Good evening Captain" One Octoling greeted Lynn as she and Lila passed by.

The Octoling then took note of Lila and looked a bit confused, she didn't expect to see an Inkling here, and definitely not one so young.

"Uhh, are you babysitting for someone?"

"Huh?" Lynn was lost for a moment, then she followed the Octoling's eyes back down to Lila.

'Ahh that's right, not everyone knows that Vale is in there.'

After Octavia had been defeated, Lila had chosen to stay in Octo Valley.

It wasn't Vale making the choice, it was Lila herself.

She didn't really have much in Inkopolis to begin with, but in Octo Valley Captain Vale had a place, thus Lila could somehow fit in.

Most of the original members of Vale's splatoon were aware of how their captain had implanted a part of herself into Lila in order to get back at Octavia, but to many of the new members of the New Octopolis army, Lila was just a normal little purple Inkling.

"Oh y-you're mistaken, this is Captain Vale."

The Octoling still didn't understand "Huh? Umm, are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine." Lynn insisted

"Perhaps we should go to the infirmary."

"I'm not sick!"

"Then maybe some coffee."

"I'm not drunk either! Li-Captain! Why aren'y you saying anything? Don't just leave me hanging here!"

Lila giggled as Lynn struggled to explain to this new Octoling how Lila was also what remains of Emily Vale. "No, I'm good, this is far too entertaining…. Umm Lynn looks troubled, maybe we should…. Really? Well I guess we've had our fun. Alright then, yes in a way, I am Captain Vale." Lila began speaking to herself again as she and Vale swapped back and forth.

"Huh?" Things still hadn't cleared up for the Octoling.

It was strange seeing Lynn walking around the Nautilus base with a little Inkling in tow, but seeing the Inkling speak to herself then claim to be Captain Vale was even weirder.

"Lynn isn't crazy, I am Captain Vale in a way. It's difficult to explain, but there were certain circumstances that put my splatoon in danger. So I did what I could to make this Inkling follow my goals and serve in my place. The real me is dead of course. I hope this clears things up."

"It doesn't! Ahh." the Octoling covered her mouth as she forgot that she wasn't supposed to behave in such a way to her superiors. "Forgive me for speaking out of line, but that still doesn't make any sense to me."

"Well I can't say I blame you, as much as Octavio and the other Elite Octolings made constant use of mind conditioning, the method I used to end up in this state was completely new and previously untried."

"Mind conditioning… Well I still have a long way to go before I even touch that subject, but to be honest I don't really like the sound of it…" the Octoling muttered.

"You don't have to like something to learn it, just don't make use of it unless you find yourself in a pinch."

"Ahh, I see. Well it was nice meeting you Captain Vale." The Octoling satuted both Lila and Lynn before hurrying off, still somewhat confused.

Seeing the Octoling wander off bewildered Lynn wondered "What is that new method of mind conditioning you were so eager to try out even back in Melanin prison?"

"You really want to know?" Lila's voice suddenly grew solemn

"W-what's with that expression?"

"Do you really want to know? What I have done could be known as my life's work you know. Since it's worked so well, it's dangerous, I can't tell you unless you promise to take it to your grave, even if Octavio captures you and tortures you for that information."

"Wh-wha, Captain! everything you just said is way too heavy!"

"Well there's no helping it, we are both captain's now so I guess I can tell you. It all began when I took an interest in the so-called 'split personality disorder'."

"No stop! I'm not interested anymore!" Lynn quickly clasped her hands over her ears.

Once again Lila laughed "Oh I'm just joking, It's not that serious, sure it's an original method of mine, but I doubt it's something that would get Octavio's attention from whatever hole he's hiding in."

"Captain, what's wrong with you? Why are you so mischievous today?" Lynn complained

"Hmm? I don't know, maybe it's because everything has finally settled down and we are no longer constantly preparing for war. Or maybe it's just the Inkling side of me taking over, after all Lila will eventually go back to normal."

Saying this Lila had a very peaceful look in her eyes.

Well technically it was Vale making that expression.

As a former Elite Octoling, who had been trained for battle and had seen nothing but conflict since her entry into the army, this new peacetime must have been very refreshing.

"Well anyways, you're pretty much my successor at this point, so if there's anything you want to know I'll be glad to teach you, just don't wait too long, otherwise I'll fade away." Lila said, still in Vale's personality.

"T-thank you captain, but maybe not today…"

"Hah! Did I really shake you up that much? You're a captain too now, just like I was. You should steel yourself a bit more."

"Uhh yeah I'll do that."

Lynn never did go through what Vale had in order to reach her rank, now she could somewhat understand why Victoria wanted to leave her position and go back to her original third class trooper rank.

Leaving Lila to herself, Lynn continued on through the base.

Even though it was a time of peace, some patrols said they noticed the Octarian army snooping around the borders.

Of course, the New Octopolis army wasn't going to let their hard earned freedom be taken away.

While some saw peace as a more quiet and relaxing time, others saw it simply as time to prepare for the next conflict.

To match the Octarian army, New Octopolis needed new recruits, said recruits were being trained by various Octolings who had volunteered to do so.

As the Octarians of Nautilus base went about their day, Lynn happened across a new group of said trainees.

For a moment she thought she might spot Victoria in that group, as she had really wanted to rejoin the army. No wait that wasn't right, Victoria had already passed training once before, there was no reason for her to be in that group.

"Alright listen up!" a familiar sounding recruit instructor shouted.

In her hands was a picture of Agent 3, small enough to be held in one hand, but large enough to be seen by all the recruits.

"Many of you know who this is, Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon. You may all know him as an ally, but let me remind you he has fought and defeated countless Octolings like yourselves! No scratch that, Octoling more experienced and trained than yourselves! You know what this means?"

There were a few confused murmurs among the recruits.

"It means you'll have to be better than them, we can't defend the valley if one Inkling can mop the floor with you all! So I better not see any slackers! Go give me fifty laps around the track! Move it!"

The drill instructor shouting commands at the new recruits was none other than Eliza.

Curious as to how she was training these newcomers, Lynn decided to stand by and observe a little.

Lynn watched as Eliza put the recruits through rigorous exercise.

"Too slow! Agent 3 would have lapped you by now! Pick it up!" Eliza shouted.

After those warm ups, Eliza instructed the recruits in fieldcraft and marksmanship.

Of course she didn't make it easy on them either.

"Do you really think hiding in a little puddle in the middle of an open space is good camouflage!? The Octarian army would spot you easily with their goggles! Even Agent 3 could spot you without any aid!"

"Good shooting… If your target was a barn! Stop jerking the trigger! If you miss you'll be splatted in three shots! Just like everyone else who fought Agent 3!"

Agent 3 was mentioned constantly by Eliza.

At one point Lynn wasn't sure if the recruits Eliza was training were meant to defend the valley or splat Agent 3. Maybe she was using him as an example for the new recruits to follow, but Agent 3 was mentioned incredibly often when Eliza trained the recruits.

Later on, Lynn met Eliza in the mess hall.

"Hey Eliza, I saw your training earlier today."

'Really? If you had the time, why not come introduce yourself? Set an example for all those green recruits."

"Nah, I think Agent 3 is a good enough example already. You seem to mention him all the time."

"Well of course, he did beat DJ Octavio before, if only other Octolings could get to his level…"

"Hey be honest now, you don't hate Agent 3 anymore."

Eliza immediately denied it "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on! Why can't you admit it? None of the Inklings are as bad as they seem once you get to know them." Lynn pressed on

"I agree with that, but don't misunderstand that for me taking a liking to Agent 3."

"Nobody else brings up Agent 3 as much as you do, I'd find it odd if you really still hate him."

"I'd find it more odd if I somehow started getting along with him after he killed my sister. Look, I recognise his skill, that's why I bring him up so often. If every Octoling could fight as well as he could, we would have overthrown Octavia in a day. Of course, that doesn't mean i have stopped hating him."

Lynn could see Eliza tense up as she went on, it seemed like Eliza never would get over the whole incident with Elieen and Agent 3.

"I-I see, I won't bring it up again."

"Yeah don't."

In the end Eliza was simply being more rational and not allowing her grudge against Agent 3 get in the way of things again. With Agent 3 as an example, Eliza set out to train the new Octolings to be even better soldiers than the previous generation.

But even if Lynn never brought up the subject of forgiving Agent 3 to Eliza again, there was no way to stop rumors from spreading among the rest of the army, that Eliza had long gotten over her grudge.

A few days later, Lynn would notice other Octolings having a similar conversation and an annoyed Eliza glaring her way with furrowed brows.

"I-it's not my fault! Honest!"

Seven months before epilogue

Some distance away from the undercity, now known as New Octopolis, there was a slab, well it wasn't actually a slab, it was a chuck of wall from a demolished house.

Anyone else who passed by this bit of debris wouldn't give it much thought, but in reality, this was where two Octolings were buried. Specifically, they were Robert and Maria Holter, Victoria's parents who had been burnt to death in their bid to protect Victoria.

Only Violet and Victoria knew about this, however that was about to change.

Violet had been told to take some Octarians and move the remains of Robert and Maria back into the city and place them in a proper resting place.

A memorial for those who had died in the Octarian civil war.

There weren't many bodies to bury as most had been killed by splatting, though some had perished when Octavia sent saucers crashing down on Inkopolis Plaza.

In memory of all, regardless of how they died, a statue was built.

It showed an Octoling soldier, wearing armor and holding an Octoshot in one hand.

At the foot of that statue was a plaque that read "In memory of those who died in darkness, so others could see light." a phrase with both literal and metaphorical meaning to the New Octopolis Octarians.

Even if their civil war hadn't lasted very long, it had cost a lot of lives, all those who could be identified had their names carved into the ground, all who were buried had tombstones, all who could not be identified would be represented by the statue.

Finally, on Victoria's request, Violet moved the remains of Maria and Robert to a grave in said memorial.

It was thanks to them that Victoria could live on to lead the New Octopolis Army when Vale died, so she felt that they deserved a place in the memorial.

Violet with a few other Octarians helping, dug up the bodybag containing Robert and Maria, seeing the burnt decomposing remains of two Octoling would churn the stomachs of anyone else, but Violet and the other Octo Valley medical workers had long gotten used to seeing such things.

They moved the remains out of the bag and into a coffin, which was then brought back to the memorial and placed in a grave.

Like Violet had promised, Maria and Robert would now be properly laid to rest.

Three hours before epilogue

Victoria woke up after a day of training, the first one she's had in over a year.

It was tiring, but it felt right. Much better than sitting in an office all day with endless documents being thrown your way, a job like that should go to someone older and more experienced.

Giving up her position as president of New Octopolis and becoming a soldier again felt great. Like this, she was back to being a normal soldier, she would climb the ranks as one normally should, not by sheer chance and not with help from Inklings.

It just felt right, just like what she pictured her life would be years ago.

Well it wasn't completely the same life she had pictured.

First off, her apartment was actually in decent condition and wasn't falling apart like her previous one.

That was thanks to the aid they received from Inkopolis.

Since New Octopolis and Inkopolis were going to be allies, Inkopolis had no reason not to lend them some Zapfish for the sake of reconstruction.

Like that, New Octopolis became a safe place to live.

No more weekly blackouts.

No more constant train derailments and apartments collapsing..

And if you did accidentally get splatted, they had respawn points now.

Octo Valley was now a place you would want to call home..

Of course, many Octarians chose to move to Inkopolis, but those that stayed felt proud of what they had done to the Valley.

They saved it, they did what Octavio claimed could only be done through the annihilation of Inklings.

It was great.

Victoria lay back in her bed until someone rang her doorbell.

Victoria sighed and hurried over to the door.

If this was someone trying to drag her back into politics, she was going to give them an earful.

"H-hello Victoria."

"Violet? What are you doing here?"

Victoria didn't expect to see her former roommate here.

Last time she heard from her, she was still doing fine as a paramedic, though that was months ago.

Why was she suddenly standing here dragging a luggage bag around?

"Sorry for showing up unannounced, but could I stay here for tonight?" Violet asked

"What happened?" Victoria's expression changed to a more serious one, as if she was about to enter battle again.

Violet jumped back a bit at Victoria's sudden change in tone.

"Ahh no! I'm not in danger or anything. It's just that… well… I've lost my job."

Victoria calmed down, she had to get out of that wartime attitude, sure the Octarian army's been poking around their borders, but there was no reason for them to go after Violet.

Since there was no reason to turn her down, Victoria let Violet inside.

"Forgive me for asking, but how did you lose your job? I thought everything was fine on your end."

"Well" Violet awkwardly scratched her head "You know how medical workers were always in high demand back then? Now that the valley is safe and we don't have fatal accidents every day, we don't need as many paramedics, nurses and doctors as before."

"Huh, I guess the new state of the valley isn't the best for everyone."

"Don't say that, if anything it should be good that I'm out of a job, it means everyone is safe."

Victoria shrugged "If you say so… Well I guess you want to stay here for a while until you get back on your feet?"

"Please?"

"Sure, I don't mind, it will be just like before."

"Thank you, I guess I'm lucky that you're still living here after stepping down."

"I'm not moving to Inkopolis anytime soon, I don't want to leave all this behind."

"Well then, I guess we are roommates again."

"Guess so. Actually this is good, look after the place for me tomorrow."

"Huh? Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes of course! I'm going to Inkopolis."

"What? Did you just say you would never move to Inkopolis?"

"I'm not staying there! It's just that, well... It's been over a year since I last saw Kal and the others, it's about time I pay them a visit don't you think?"

Even if Victoria did her best to conceal it, Violet could tell that she had been looking forward to leaving for a long time now.

Victoria was unanimously voted to govern New Octopolis despite not having any knowledge in land management, finance nor politics, it was simply because she was considered a hero.

She hated being in that position because she didn't know what to do and had to quickly study up in order to make New Octopolis prosper.

Finally, once things were stable, Victoria quit and rejoined the army, but that wasn't without problems either.

Some Octarians, like Lynn or Kevin, wanted Victoria to go straight up and take the role of general, which had been Octavia's rank before she became Acting Leader.

Just like with the whole president mess, Victoria just wasn't ready to take such a role.

It took her quite the effort in order to convince everyone that she wanted to move up the ranks properly.

Now that all of that was settled, Victoria could finally have some time to herself.

After all she had done for the valley, nobody would object to her spending a day in Inkopolis.

Violet gave her friend a bright smile, she deserved some time to herself after all she had gone through.

"Well then, don't worry about me. Have fun!"

With her life in Octo Valley finally going back to normal, Victoria left for Inkopolis.