#missionlog

I have found a temporary place to set up.

Doc Mercer is missing. Nothing new.

Mission Log: Day 3, Thursday the 10th

Time: 18:01

Location: Still in the Apartment

I have tried to sleep on the events of what passed with Caesar and Myself, but my mind has been betraying me and will not let me rest until the ink has met the page. Just hoping that sleep will be obtained once I have recorded all of my thoughts and feelings so they are somewhere else besides rattling in my skull.

As he sat across from me, he kept shifting uncomfortably in his seat. It was clear that he was struggling being comfortable in the room. I continued trying to decipher what he was thinking. Was he intimidated by a impromptu interview with me? Did he feel that this experience was more than what he bargained for? Was there anything I could do to help him feel better here? I kept staring at him. Every aspect about how he presented himself was intriguing to me. He clearly was trying to mask every detail about himself in what he wore, yet his face seemed to betray every attempt he made by displaying his emotions like an open book. Finally he decided to speak up.

“Um, well, usually an interview starts with the interviewer asking some questions … right?” He stammered out, tripping on the first part of his sentence.

“I know” the words seemed to shock him a bit, which made me smile a little. “I wanted to see how you handle yourself in awkward situations”

He seemed to be a little annoyed with this answer “...We have been sitting here for 10 minutes”

“And?” I asked, which apparently was the wrong answer in his mind. His face scrunched up as he was taken back by my response. I started finding a small piece of joy in manipulating his emotions. It was almost like a pastime to me.

“Yes is was sufficiently awkward” He said with a minor bothered tone in his voice, “I’m sorry, is everything a test to you?”

I pondered that statement for a second before commenting, “More or less, most of the moments in my life have been life or death experiences, so I consider everything to be a test.” He didn’t really respond to that, and acted like he crossed a line somewhere. I quickly decided to change the subject. “Do you have any skills in Radio?”

His face lit up briefly, he started explaining, “Well I tinker with radios in my spare time, I fix broken receivers and broadcasting units, but today was my first time broadcasting on a system, let alone one of this caliber!” He started blushing as he decided to reign in his feelings a bit, “you could say I’m obsessed”

My eyebrow raised, that was a very specific hobby. I thought, hey let’s call his bluff, “Is that so? Do you know which model of broadcasting system I use? Brand, maker, and other information? It is kind of an antique”

Without missing a beat he proceeded, “The Studio has you on a Aegean & Coral MHXS 1730, of course the maker would be Dahlia Coral. I would suggest a Sinoper BRT 2700 with the way you like to mix music in the moment of the broadcast.” His eyes never met mine during the report.

I decided to expound while looking at the outdated system myself, “I wish I did have a Sinoper, I have actually been telling that to the station for over a year now.”

“However, I see their point too, the cost to switch over would be astronomical. If I’m being honest though your show wouldn’t be the only one that would benefit from the switch.” He was still examining the equipment as he spoke.

Ok, maybe the kid does know his stuff. “The first part is usually their response.” I decided to change the topic to better gauge his skill level, “Now, I need to know how much experience you have at Grizzco.”

Caesar started shifting a little uncomfortably, “I’ve been working there about three years or so. Before you started broadcasting for sure.” He was starting to become self conscious again, and not as sure of himself. I desired to know the reason why. Was he about to lie to me, or tell me a hard truth?

“Well, that is nice and all, but what position do you hold in the company? What is your pay grade level there?”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t ask that” Well it seems like it would be a hard truth moment. I contemplated, would he be a Overachiever? Or maybe just a Go-Getter? ”I just fell down to Part-Timer earlier today. But I am back to 130%”

My face involuntarily scrunched in pain. It had been a long while since I had experienced that, but I knew the feeling of disappointment that followed it, “that always hurts. But we can fix that later.” His eyes started lighting up again, but I noticed I was accidentally giving him hope, ”IF you are hired” I amended, to which his face fell again. Good. I still had control over the situation, “Anything else you want to bring to my attention?”

He thought for a brief moment. He seemed to take this opportunity seriously and weighed the question he was about to ask. “Is there anything that I could say to raise my standing with you? Other than the fact that I have Marina’s and Pearl’s vote?” Odd, he put Marina’s name first.

“There’s a lot you could say” I started to expound, “but they would need to be truthful.”

He took a deep breath, then proceeded with his final remarks of his thoughts, “The only thing I can think to say here is ... Even if I don’t get the job, this has been the best night of my life. Unlike you, I have never seen war. I have never been able to talk to people in this city ... until tonight. I didn’t have to hide, I didn’t have to be something I’m not. So I want to thank you, even though I have come to realize you had no part in choosing me for this … this opportunity, and for even just considering to let me continue. At the end of it all, if I don’t get this job, I lived. And that’s more than most in this city can say.” It wasn’t the most eloquent speech, but the words rang true. I hummed in consideration.

“Any last questions for me?” Caesar seemed to pause, before asking sheepishly, “Can I get an autograph? After all you are one of my biggest heroes.”

I rolled my eyes playfully, he never ceased to amuse me. So I pulled out my copper Inkee pen which was just for these rare occasions, “Do you have something to sign, or should I get something printed off?”

He brought out a homemade disk labeled “Levi’s Music” from his bag and placed it in front of me, his eyes beaming. I signed it pretty quickly, there was zero personalization, but it was a good signature nonetheless. When I handed it back, he responded cheerfully, “Thank you ... again ... for, well, everything.”

“No worries” I said in a very dry tone, “Now I need to write my expressions down, the exit is the same way you came in” I then focused on my computer. He started leaving, looked back in the room for a second, and then left promptly. I would be lying if I didn’t claim I felt semi bad for toying with him, but I did respect his honesty with me. Even if it seemed the information would do more harm to his reputation than help, he said it.

Digging into the computer files, I pulled out the recording of his time on air. Caesar definitely was having a ball on air. He would speak with such enthusiasm and a flair about what he prepared, and didn’t even get mad when callers would try to contradict his statements. A natural optimist. He did have a few bad habits as in leaving some parts to dead air or using an excessive amount of filler words … but that can always be taught. I hate to admit, but the kid even managed to find some new songs that even I enjoyed. It started looking really good for him, but I was not about to let him earn a job without some competition.

After I headed home that day (and a good hearty amount of sleep since I had been kidnapped the night before) I looked through all the other applications. I skimmed through those who had radio experience, weeded through those who had a great standing in the Grizzco records, and even looked at other musicians who had applied. I pulled the most prominent, the most intriguing, and the most bizarre out of their stacks, and made it my task to call them into my office. That night most of the time on air with Monsters in the Night was spent as auditions, as the times off of the air was their interviews.

I felt a lot could do the job, and they could do it well. The main problem that I encountered was a vast majority saw it as just that, a job. They may have added things to their resume or done other things to impress me, but they lacked the desire and motivation I was looking for. There was only a handful that seemed to enjoy being on the radio. Caesar seemed to top that list with flying colors. That was the moment I decided to finally let him know of his standings. My shell phone dialed in his own, to which it took a moment for him to respond.

When the dial tone finally ended I heard the phone fumble a bit before a calm and clear response of, “Hello, this is Caesar Pent” came through the phone. It was almost too calm for my liking. A smile came across my face as I decided to have a little fun.

“Yeah, this is Detective Mahi-mahi, we need you down to the station for some questioning on a … particular case.” I said in a gruff voice, trying to mask my own. I guess it worked because immediately there was an audible gulp on the other end on the line. Caesar came back with a wavering voice and a bit flustered, perfect!

“Oh my Cod, I-I’ll do my b-best to help out, I c-can get to the station in ten m-m-minutes or so … I mean, that is if the b-bus i-isn’t late, then it may be c-closer to thirty m-minutes or so, what do you need? A statement? A witness? F-F-Fingerprints?”

I almost couldn’t retain my laughter, I didn’t think it would work as well as it did. “Relax kid, It’s Levi. I was just pulling your tentacles!” A sigh of relief was heard over the line, dam he was so gullible, “How has your day been so far?”

He started responding, and was sharing what had happened. To be honest I zoned out thinking about how funny it would be to make a Detective Mahi-mahi costume for parties. It would be a hilarious gag to keep the memory alive, and to keep teasing Caesar time and time again. Finally I decided to cut to the chase.

“That sounds great Caesar. Just wanted to Inform you to be at the station an about an hour early to set up, you’ll need at least 2-3 pages of a report ready to go, turn the lights to 75% since anything brighter throws off sleep patterns, and remember I like hot chocolate with either added vanilla or a cube of caramel.” I started rambling

“Wait, what are you talking about?”

“Well, you will need to know this information if you want to be my new co-host of Monsters in the Night. That is after all why I am calling. You got the job”

I heard a muffled squeal on the other side of the line. Even though it definitely not as loud as I would expect, I had to pull my shell phone away from my ear. I was pretty sure I just made his day. His emotions were so easy to toy with. Finally before I hang up I left him with a few words of advice.

“Try to keep those nerves down when you are on air tonight, don’t screw this up and you will be around to see a few paychecks. I'll see you tonight in a few hours.”

Mission Log: Day 3, Thursday the 10th

Time: 17:40

Location: My apartment

We climbed the cement stairs, which seemed to stretch for a mile, gradually as we got closer to the top, more shells and tiles were in the cement as decoration. This started to baffle me, and I lifted my eyes to the room before me instead of just the next step in front of me. That is when I realized where in the world we were.

“Wait, isn’t this? … this can’t be … “ I said before Pearl finished my thought, “this is Grand Cambrian Station, or was, years ago. It’s has been shut down and falling into disrepair after the Great Turf Wars. It was a way to get Inklings into the more difficult to reach parts of the battlefields. We changed each platform to be a replica of each different turf arena”

I looked around to take in all of its beauty. Navajo Marble bricks laid the walls, allowing a sandstone and turquoise color scheme to be everywhere, a light moss teal was painted on the chipping and cracking ceiling. The floors were worn with foot traffic, but the Calacatta Gold tiles could still be seen through the dust. The girls flashlights glinted off of the gold gilded carvings. Although it was not as glorious as it once was, you could still see the labor and love that went into building what used to be the Hub of the City. How could people just forget about this treasure?

I thought in silence until they showed me the escalator back to Inkopolis Square. We came out right by the News Station, and went right in. Pearl talked to the front desk lady, “Has our visitor returned his pass?” To which she responded, “not yet, he is organizing Mr. Athen’s room while Grant is broadcasting” Grant! That was the daytime radio hosts name! I wrote it down on one of the loose papers, to the amusement of the girls. We decided to head back to the room to see who was the person they thought was competent enough to run my radio show.

We walked into the small hallway, leading into the room I would broadcast in. What did the secretary mean he was organizing? Who did this guy think he is to go around and change the way I had things set up? If something was out of place, I would probably … well, lets just say it wouldn’t go well for him. Finally we got to the area, I could hear Grant’s Voice coming from a different room. If I recall it was one of the bigger recording rooms, this one even had a name placard on it now. Of course, give the day broadcaster his own recording room, and let the guy taking your night shift suffer. At least that was what I thought until I noticed a new placard on my own door. All it said was Monsters in the Night. I tried finding the right words to say, but Pearl interjected, “Well, we can pull a few strings”

We walked in the room and I noticed the Individual who had taken over my show that night. The teenager stood up, he was about my height when slouching, but he looked like he could even be slightly taller than Marina if he maintained good posture. He had a pale olive complexion, it seemed like it could develop into a nice tan if he spent more time outside. The Tentacles peeking out from his black fedora was a light blue in color, although it looked like it faded to a more neutral base color. He was wearing a deep gray Off the Hook shirt under his black vest. He had simple Oxford dress shoes, which were worn and had been repaired by hand a time or two. His left forearm was wrapped, a little reddened from whatever wound was underneath. Probably he received it protecting himself. All his clothing was slightly disheveled due to moving around, but he definitely put a lot of thought into how he portrayed himself.

He looked at us in shock, he was awestruck by the sight in front of him. “Marina and Pearl! It is so nice to meet you, and It’s Mr. Athen I assume?” He asked, there was excitement in his voice, almost exuberant.

“Levi is just fine” I responded, then I decided to say what was on my mind, “Take off your hat.”

His expression became more dumbfounded, that was definitely not what he was expecting from a first exchange with me. He seemed to tug on the brim as he proceeded to speak, “Um, Levi .. sir, I am Caesar Pent, I am one of your first listeners and I’d like to say … “ I cut him off by holding up my hand

“Take off your hat, please” I state a little slower though to make sure he didn’t glaze over what I said a second time.

“You aren’t going to let this go, are you?” He questioned as he pulled the hat down a little tighter, definitely growing uncomfortable at the pressure I was putting on him. I crack a small smile with my response.

“Not until you let go of that hat, now if you don’t mind” I say, waiting for him to finally do what I had been asking. He shrank a little in his stature before finally showing some progress, but he made sure to say this before revealing his head

“I trust you” and as the fedora came off, his tentacles rested in their pompadoured fashion, the clear brown roots of his Octoling tentacles gradually fading to the light blue tips. He seemed to look at the ground for a bit, trying not to make eye contact with anyone in the room. I simply rolled my eyes as I looked at Pearl and Marina. Pearl had a confused, almost dazed look to her face. Clearly what was happening just went over her head. Marina had covered her mouth, and I thought for someone so thorough in planning she should have seen this coming.

“Knew it” was all I said before sitting down in my regular chair, with a small smile on my face. My hands went behind my head in a resting fashion. Caesar reacted almost confounded, these were clearly not the words he had been anticipating. His face then changed to a more inquisitive look.

“How did you know that? How could you know that?”

“Because I pull the same stunt.” I say, throwing my own Grizzco cap onto the desk, shaking my hair out to allow it to rest naturally.

“Well I was able to deduce that” he simply stated. Now it was my turn to be confused, I looked at the girls, who both shrugged their shoulders in response

“It wasn’t us, I swear” Pearl stated, to which Marina followed up, “I didn’t even know he was one of us”

“Well it was quite easy to figure out, if you think about it.” Caesar exclaimed, excitement gleaming from his eyes, “On the website to the News Station, there is a biography on each host, producer, and customer service representative they employ here.”

“Yes, I personally filled mine out, so I know it doesn’t say Octoling on there.” I clarified, to which he interjected.

“Exactly, it doesn’t say that, it doesn’t say anything about race. Everyone else has something listed there, Inklings, Urchins, Shrimpers, even Marina has Octoling in hers. Yours had nothing, so I just always believed it was … well … something you were maybe ashamed of.” He stammered out the last bit, while clutching tightly to his fedora. Well, I’d never thought of it that way. As I contemplated it, it was a silly notion that I’m surprised no one else had really picked up on.

“Well, the kid does his research, I’ll give him that.” I express to the girls, still trying to process this information. Almost at that moment, I had to wince in pain due to the squealing Marina started emitting.

“Oh! Two other Octolings in the News Station is such a treat! This will be so much fun!” She blushed and smiled so wide, almost like you would see on their updates. Good to know that reaction is genuine. Pearl seemed to roll her eyes, “am I the only one here who doesn’t care who is and isn’t an Octoling?”

“Well, you don’t see through those lenses, sadly, others do though …” I say, dejectedly. “When people look at us, usually …”

“... well they don’t want to get to know us.”

Marina then intervened, still with her cheery voice, “Well if the three of us can prove it with our work here at the News Station, maybe they will think of us as the rule and not the exception”

Caesar started stammering, a look of shock on his face. I wouldn’t say it was a scared shock, more like … starstruck. Apparently he heard something that didn’t register in my mind right away.

“I was told this was a one time thing. Do you mean I … that this is … “

“It is a trial run, No decisions have been made since I was unaware I needed an assistant until this morning” I expressed as I looked at Pearl and Marina accusingly. trying to not get his hopes any higher than they already were.

“That is true, as much as Pearl and I can advocate for you, Levi holds the ultimate decision on who gets the open position. I’m sorry we can’t promise you anything more than that.” Marina sighed, she really seemed to have her mind set on this guy. “Well, We have to go, but it was nice talking to both of you! Feel free to keep talking to each other” they both started leaving, when Pearl gave me a look, one that seemed to imply that I shouldn't hurt Marina. I detested that glare.

I sat in silence as the kid shuffled his feet. It seemed like he debated bolting for the door or hugging the ink out of me, both of which probably weren’t in his favor. I took another good look around the room, seeing its set up before I spoke up.

Mission Log: Day 2, Wednesday the 9th.

Time: 08:03

Location: The News Station

So, brief recap to everything after the room, the girls guided me out to see finally where I was being held. It was a closed down back office in a run down subway station. I walked out through the ticket booth, into the station, and was lead to the only train that looked like it could still operate. I was looking at it in awe when I approached, only to be stopped by a voice below calmly exclaiming, “Watch your Step! It’s a big one sir”

I looked down to see C.Q. Cumber again, his hat still fixed perfectly on what I assume is his head. He seemed to glow ever more slightly on this train. I now understood what he meant by claiming he was a conductor, I thought the creature was joking when he said that in the cement prison cell. It seemed this was his calling, not a kidnapper, not a bellhop, but a master of a secret train. I only nodded my head, still unsure of how I felt about him, but giving him the respect he commanded at the moment. My life was in his hands for the time being, so I wasn’t going to do anything hasty.

My eyes glanced around to see who else was on this crazy train with me. First there was a Isopod, who I could not tell in he was looking at at me or not, so I just tipped my head to him before looking at a the sea angel. I assumed this was the same sea angel who helped Cumber bring me here. He was huge, hulking in a varsity jacket, and at least twice my size. I looked away quickly to avoid his gaze. The others I saw was a Blobfish, a few Flashlight fish, and a couple Gulper Eels.

After writing my last segments, I started looking over my notes. My sketched plans of how to operate on certain battlefields. My Strategies, my designs, everything I tore out of this book, looking for something I could use once we reached our destination. I was scanning, compiling, and pulling pages together, regretting for a moment what I had done. Marina saw what I was doing and approached me gingerly.

“You know, we can fetch you a new notebook, so you don’t have to lose those notes” she said in a hushed tone, trying to not draw too much attention, “It would of course be after training, but It would be better than having those loose leaf papers flying around.”

I look at the pages that I held delicately. They must have seen me writing not only here, but in my holding cell through those cameras. “well, this notebook was sort of my catch-all notepad, they had a mixture of all my inspirations, whether it be music, battle strategies, radio notes, and the like.” I whisper back, trying to hide the few pages that had little doodles of boredom or graffiti art letters spelling out her Co-Host name, “I should be fine for now, thank you.”

She then pulled out a similar pocket book, but hers had a large embossed symbol of her Octopus form wearing headphones that was part of the iconic Off the Hook logo. It made my worn, tattered, and old tan army notebook look like it was less than second rate. She then proceeded a little more in her normal tone, “Great minds think alike” was all she said before walking back to her normal seat. I thought about the exchange, and it lead me to think if Pearl had a Similar one. As if she could read my mind, Pearl reached in her dress pocket, pulled out a white leather notebook that was a Matching set to Marina’s, and held it in the air for a second before returning it to it’s home. Well that answered that.

We eventually reached our destination after a few stops, it was almost exactly at 5 when we jumped off and walked into a big lobby area. I gasped in shock. With barriers, blocks, and girded metal, it looked like an exact replica of The Reef. It was definitely a training arena to be made the same size and shape in every detail. I looked through my loose leaf pages until I found my battle strategy of this field. Due to my occupations, I hardly got to play in the basic games of the Inklings, but I at least played on it enough to create a plan for when I eventually would join a league team. I kept gleaming from my previous insights, trying to find out what to teach here. That was when the stars came in and dropped their training bags.

I turned around and saw they had changed from their normal costumes into more practical gear. Marina wore an Annaki Mask, a Zekko Jade Coat, and Punk Black Shoes. Pearl was decked head to foot in Emperry Gear. She had on a King Mesh Hat, an N-Pacer Sweater, and N-Pacer AG cleats. Their bags held Ink Containers, weapons, and other training materials they thought they would need. I started examining the materials inside to see what each girl brought to use. Marina seemed to bring her whole arsenal with her. Between her Octobrush, Aerospray, Tri-Slosher, Splatterscope, and Undercover Brella, she had anything she would need in this training. Pearls bag was small and only held her Emperry Dualies. Surprise Surprise. Of course, those weapons were probably something her folks made as a custom request from their princess.

“Well, Marina grab the first weapons you will need. Let’s get some skills assessed, and then I can know what to teach you in the future.” I suggested, examining the battlefield again to see what drills we could run. She pulled out her Splatterscope, and handed me a touchpad with an arm strap attachment. I looked at her until she cleared her throat to explain.

“I designed this Battlefield Interactive Technical Engager pad for you, you can use a couple of its functions to customize certain styles of gameplay and combat to fit your needs. Even some modes which I personally designed after seeing league matches.” She blushed as she spoke, not of embarrassment but of pride. I touched a few of the commands, and I set the Rainmaker on the opposing pedestal. This was neat. I could get use to this training facility.

“Thanks, now both of you Super Jump to that spawn point and defend the Rainmaker, if it gets to the opposing teams pedestal, then you must go on the offensive and retrieve it.” After laying out the plan, Marina smiled while Pearl furrowed her eyebrows. She had a question, but I was going to let it steep for a second. I turned my back again, looking at the bag of weapons.

“Ok, so who is going to be the opposing team?” Pearl asked after a second, almost impatient with me, to which Marina hypes even more, “oh yes! The B.I.T.E. can send programmed training bots, in the forms of Salmonids, Octarians, even other Inklings or Octolings! Which would you like us to battle against?”

I picked up Marina’s Octobrush, and hook it into a spare Ink Tank. “Me, you will be defending against me. I cannot tell anyone’s weakness or strengths until I’ve seen them first hand.” I swing the tank on my back, and stand in my Spawn Zone. The tank fills with a luminescent mint green color, and the tips of my hair changed to match. I set the opposing color to be a purple, equally as luminescent.

They both jumped and awaited the signal, I proceeded to start the countdown, and when it allowed us, I started laying down ink in a wide pattern, covering my half of the map pretty thoroughly, allowing for quick movement under the ink. Then I started progressing to the rainmaker. Pearl seemed to struggle. Although she was great with her dualies, she did not take time to predict my movements while I was under the ink. It made it easy to sneak up on her, start attacking, get a splat before she could fully turn around and start firing back. I could get her out of the way then continue my path to the objective. Marina gave me a bigger run for my money. Her sniping skills already seemed pretty decent, and she knew to look for my movement before starting to aim through the scope. She would splat me a good three times and Pearl got me once before I would score the rainmaker to my own pedestal.

Their offensive skills were both were pretty predictable. Pearl tried to take time to go around and try to sneak attack, however she hardly would go under the ink, so as soon as she would start to refill her tank I could get a jump her and eliminate that threat. Marina would try taking the more direct approach, shooting a line then swimming until she would get close enough to start sniping the rainmaker bubble. A good auto bomb in her direction would frazzle her and she would begin to panic or retreat. They only retrieved the rainmaker back twice, one a piece when my back was turned and focused on the other. By the end, we were all exhausted and ready for a break. As soon as I noticed we ended a little before 8, I panicked.

“I have completely missed my show! I have to tell the director” I said almost shoving the Octobrush into Marina’s arms.

“Don’t worry, we can go meet who took care of it tonight for you, we called a perspective co-host to DJ the show to night. Your alibi on the air is that you were sick.” Marina said cheerfully as she put away her equipment. I tried returning the B.I.T.E. Module, but she refused. “That’s for you, I can make another if I ever need one.”

Mission Log: Day 2, Wednesday the 9th.

Time: 4:42

Location: On a Subway

Staring right at me with shocked impressions were both members of the group Off the Hook. I cannot tell you how hard those old feelings of the morning before came and hit me like a Stingray. How did I manage to screw up twice in front of them, in front her? This got me more aggravated but it turned my anger away from them at least. I tried forming something new to say but I just couldn’t think of anything adequate in the moment.

“Are you done, or do you need to vent your frustrations some more?” Pearl asked in a snarky tone, to which Marina nudged her shoulder. “Pearl, that may not be what he needs to hear right now” to which Pearl retorted in a ‘you stole my thunder’ way, “I was just wondering if we should start explaining things to him now.” They went over, grabbed the chairs, and sat down near the couch that I finally decided to sit down on.

“Well you guys are the ones who hired someone to kidnap me, I suggest you start the conversation. It only seems fair to me” I responded, genuinely confused and curious as to why I had drawn the attention of the newest pop duo on the scene. I had a feeling they wouldn’t go to these lengths if it was about my music.

Pearl started speaking, the excitement was bubbling out of her face. “So, we actually have been watching you for quite some time, how long has it been? 3 or 4 months?” She asked her partner, who snickered at the inklings response, “For you maybe, I started listening to his show for about a year, you know, when we first got the assignment from Captain.”

“Anyway, we have been listening to your show, we have been watching your employee videos at Grizzco, and to say we were impressed would be an insult. You have a level of expertise around the way you take care of Salmonids, first your all over here, then over there, then you are …” “What she is trying to say is, of all the people we had to consider for this, you were the only one who lived up to your reputation. We have rarely seen people who can navigate a turf like it is a battlefield.” I winced at that word. Battlefield. Sadly it is what every situation felt like at Grizzco, as if I was back in the trenches.

I finally responded, “Look, if you are looking for a mercenary, I’m not interested. I have seen enough combat to last a lifetime.” I was expecting that to end the conversation right there, but to my surprise, both of them giggled.

“A mercenary? What gave you that idea?” Marina said with a light-hearted tone, to which Pearl responded, “Definitely not, we want to put all your expertise to use. Not just how you fight”

“Then please, explain why in the carp my fighting skills have to do with anything.” I add to the conversation, trying as hard as I can to get to the bottom of this situation. This whole order had to be important or it would have been a conversation could be had without the kidnapping.

Finally the two girls put on more serious expressions to their faces. “Well, first things first, have you heard of the Squidbeak Splatoon?” Marina asked with an inquisitive tone in her voice. I simply just nodded. Octavio made sure everyone in his army knew about the original Squidbeak Splatoon, the force that turned the tides of the Great Turf War into the Inklings favor. As well, Agent 3 was one of the new Squidbeak Splatoon according to the intel we had received. There were a few other agents he still had yet to meet, but he didn’t plan on meeting anyone in that group if he could say anything about it.

“Well say hello to Agent 6 and 7!” Pearl almost screamed. “We were inducted a year ago today actually. I don’t even know if any of the other agents know we are working on this project!”

“Pearl, you need to work on the secret part of being a secret agent, anyway, we have been working on this new project. One the normal citizens of Inkopolis cannot know about. There has been some … genetic experimentation to create the perfect spy. Someone who could infiltrate into Octavio’s forces and allow us to stop threats before we have another incident with the Zapfish or other concerns.” Marina added, she then continued, “However, the only info we really know about Octavio is what the Captain can recall from the Great Turf War, and the little I could contribute from having lived as a civilian. Other than that, we don’t know hardly anything”

The conversation was interrupted as C.Q. Cumber came in, and had a Galactic Seanwich on a platter. “One Seanwich, Hot and Fresh! As requested” Was all he said as he put it in front of me. I thanked him but if he heard it I couldn’t tell, he had retreated again through the mini door. I sort of felt guilty since he didn’t understand I meant the one in my fridge that was about a day old or so. I decided to eat as Pearl picked up the conversation again.

“So when we found out about you, we did some digging. We found out about your service record, you were one of the closest to Octavio, a true Commander-in-Reef of the Octarian forces, apparently he even called you his …”

“This is where that stops” I interjected, looking away. I felt violated, I had tried so hard to put that past behind me, and here it is being dredged up from the seafloor by two of the biggest celebrities in my field of work. Let alone the girl I had been admiring from afar. I was struggling to regain eye contact with them again. “Cut to the chase now, why do you need me?”

“Well isn’t it obvious? The spy will need training if they are to infiltrate and defeat Octavio’s forces. We want you to show her all the ropes, how to succeed like you can, like you did.” Pearl said, still having a bit of excitement in her somber voice.

“So you would induct me to be Agent 8 and train this new pet of yours on how to be an Octarian soldier?”

“Well, technically she is Agent 8, but Agent 9 is still available” Marina stammered out, “You would be a combat instructor, strategist, and Octarian specialist all wrapped in one! You wouldn’t need to even see combat yourself, you would just prepare her and other future agents to do so.” She then slid a contract over for me to sign, “the first page is a security waiver, one promising you will not repeat any of this information to unauthorized personnel. The rest line out more of what we expect out of you.”

I started thumbing through the contract, looking at all the details. Reading all the specifics was long and tedious, however I did not want to miss any detail. I had come to learn that small print was not my friend. After a couple minutes or so a thought came to me, “here is a problem though, Grizzco is paying for most of my rent as long as I work at their set hours. A lot of this schedule contradicts with most of my shifts, that would mean I’d be living on the streets.”

Pearl shifted in her chair uncomfortably, “remember when we ‘sold out’ to Grizzco to let them sponsor us? Yeah, we haven’t been seeing a bit of that money. It was a deal to let us take shifts for you. We have racked up quite a few hours so you can get paid leave off for a month or so. Plus with what this pays you, soon you could have your own apartment.”

Well, not only did they have a response, but they had a solution. They did seem to have done their research. Pearl wasn’t as superficial as she let herself appear to be while she were on air, but I didn’t know she could be that thorough. I looked at the schedule once more, “And what about my Radio Show? I just barely got that deal, you can’t expect me to leave my only shot of success in music.”

This time Marina chimed in, “We have been looking into a couple of individuals who could help you host the show when you are away, and co-host when you are there. You of course would have the decision as to who you keep on board, but we have narrowed it down to a good selection of candidates.” Dang, they were good at this.

My mind was racing, this was so much to take in, especially under the circumstances. After what seemed like a hundred years of silence I sigh and finally I ask the question that had been weighing on my mind, “and what if I just don’t want to do it? What if this isn’t something I plan on?”

Pearl cut in first saying “Well that would suck since we already put in Grizzco hours” but it was Marina who provided the answer I desired, “Then we would understand and C.Q. Cumber would give you a ride home. We would love to have you, but we will not force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

I debated it out in my mind, weighing the pros and cons. Some of the pros; I’d get to work on something completely underground (probably in both definitions of the word), I’d get to see a quicker leave from Grizzco, and possibly spending more time doing what I love. The cons? I’d be knee deep in reliving my past, I might feel I was betraying Mr. Grizz who welcomed me before most anyone, and finally, would anyone involved still like me after they learn all of what I have done? I came to my decision and tossed the contract on the ground. “I would prefer to go home, I am comfortable where I am at right now. Thanks for the kidnapping, and the food, but I don’t want any part in this ‘Secret program’ you have set up”

Pearl started getting a little red in the face, “after all that work we went through? You are just going to walk out? Without a second thought?” I felt terrible, seeing someone I looked up to being upset with me. I couldn’t help but think that I had let her down.

I had to say something, even if it would hurt to say it, “Yes, look, you may not be used to rejection, or even had to deal with anything really serious before, but I refuse to let my past come to haunt me again. The things I have seen and done are not something I like to think on constantly. So yes, I don’t think this is in my best interest”

Marina chimed in, “Pearl, he can do whatever he wants, we can always keep looking, can you tell Mr. Cumber to prepare a railway for departure?” Pearl studied her face for a second, then muttered “fine” as the two started walking toward the door. I thought that was the end of the exchange. Boy was I wrong.

Pearl turned around again, with a sense of determination, “NO, This is not the Levi we have come to know. What happened to all the talk of ‘looking for something more, something greater?’ You talk big on your show about how you wish life could be different, how you want more than anything to become somebody of worth to Inkopolis. Now here we are giving you a golden opportunity and you throw it at our feet. This could be your great adventure, this could be the acceptance you are looking for, and because you are too comfortable with living like a beggar you won’t seize the opportunity that could help you. I won’t give up on you, the Levi I know wouldn’t give up so easily.”

She stared at me in silence for about a minute. I debated what she had said, she had brought up a few good points, let alone she did quote my show. That proved they didn’t just listen to the show, Pearl was a fan, maybe one of the only genuine fans I knew about. Finally she turned around, and started walking slower, and almost dejected. I picked back up the contract, looked at the compensation section, and wrote three new points into the contract. I then proceeded to sign it.

“Hey, Pearl” I called after her, holding the contract out, “add those few things to what I need, and we will be in business.” She grabbed it and read over my terms, finally her face broke into a smile, “I think we can arrange that, Welcome aboard Agent 9!” Now like Marina, you probably want to know what the new added items were. The first was that a Drink Ticket for each day of work. Second was 30 minutes of time each week to ask both Pearl and Marina any questions I desired. The final one was to get my hands on the illusive Emperor outfit from Emperry.

“Well, with that out of the way, we can start the training now!” Marina said excitedly, to which I raised an eyebrow, “I thought that it said Agent 8 will not be trained for another month.” I stated, almost more confused than before. To which Pearl smiled, “It also states you will train the new agents that need your help preparing for combat.”