#zapfish protector

3 continued to stare at the buildings below, his arm slowly lowering to his side. He wondered... Was this a residential dome? Would it be right to just take a Zapfish from a place like this? Even if it was stolen from Inkopolis? He chewed on his cheek, now contemplating going to a different dome. This place was dark enough as is, they wouldn’t be able to function without light down there...

“You alright, 3?” Cuttlefish’s voice came through again, “The Zapfish ain’t gonna rescue itself, you know!”

Grunting in reply, 3 eventually pocketed the radio and stepped deeper inside. The security here was just about as tight as a weaponized dome, however as he dodged bullets and Octarians, he couldn’t help but think that maybe neutralizing these guys, instead of outright splatting them, was better. Where this line of thought came from, he wasn’t sure. Maybe it was the uneasy feeling he got when he entered.

Of course, getting caught up in his own thoughts and trying a new strategy only got himself splatted a good few times. This netted him a few comments from the other agents; concern from 1 and the captain, and dry wit from 2.

Eventually, he did reach the end, and the battery that held the Zapfish. Without skipping a beat he broke the barrier and cradled the fish in his arms, smiling at it sweetly. This was always his favorite part of a mission: being able to hold the rescued Zapfish. They always seemed so delighted to have a bit of attention! However, he couldn’t really enjoy the moment.

Eyes drifting to the area below, 3′s hearts sank when he saw the lights from the windows dim in succession, with a number even outright turning dark. He had seen this  happen in the military domes, and always left with a spring in his step knowing that he had slowed the progress of the Octarian’s eventual assault. But this time... He couldn’t help but feel like what he was doing was wrong. There was a sudden pit in his stomach that he hadn’t felt with his previous missions.

The Zapfish squeaked in confusion and looked up to him with its round, watery eyes. 3 returned the gaze with one of pity, a frown etching itself into his features. It was one thing to take the power away from weaponry. It was another thing to take power away from potentially innocent people. Did they deserve this? He didn’t know. Right now, he didn’t really think so. The uncertainty made his ink feel chill.

Reaching into his safety vest, 3 pulled out a hand-made treat, to which the Zapfish began to wiggle eagerly at the sight of. With a gentle smile he fed it to the little creature, and carefully placed it back inside of the battery. There was a confused look on the Zapfish’s face, but after a few seconds, it had settled back in and remade its barrier.

“Huh?!” Cuttlefish’s voice came bursting through the radio, “3, what are you doing? Tha--”

Agent 3 turned off his radio. 

-----

There had to be an answer to his dilemma. The Octarians weren’t entirely innocent, through their thievery and all that weapon crafting... But all the same, they were still people. Until now, the agent had thought that the Octarians were stealing Zapfish just to power their weaponry. They didn’t want to tap into what they had to power their residential areas... But now he had reason to believe they were also stealing Zapfish to power their homes.

The pit in 3′s stomach hadn’t gone away. It had only gotten worse as he carefully made his way into the base of the dome, sliding over screens, rocks, and muddy earth. After removing his safety vest, he had found a large strip of grey fabric and crudely wrapped it around his head and shoulders, hiding his tentacles and face from scrutinizing eyes. 

Taking in a deep breath, he stepped into what appeared to be a town nearly in shambles. 

Cracked mortar, hazy windows, dim lighting... 3′s shoulders tensed up at the thought of having to live in a place like this. Dirt roads, broken pavement, water damage... Succulents were growing out of window sills and the roofs of many homes, trying to catch what light they could. But no sunlight would touch their leaves. 

He stuck his hands into his pockets and pressed on, passing by confused Octarians and Octolings who had been affected by the sudden brownout. He didn’t know a lick of Octarian, but he could pick out a few words here and there... “Light,” “Scared,” “Worry...” So-on and so-forth. It reminded him of Inkopolis, whenever there was a power outage. People would leave their homes and chat with the others on their block. He felt a connection with these people in that moment, but it felt wrong of him to think that he could relate to the plight these poor octopuses had to endure.

Stomach now doing backflips and tying itself into knots, 3 could only look at the dirt path before him. Maybe what he was doing wasn’t so righteous after all. Head hanging low, he bumped right into a large Octobomber and stumbled backwards. The Octarian turned with a concerned look and started speaking in a concerned way, however 3 could only make out, “sorry,” and “okay?”

Grunting in reply, 3 threw his hands up in a submissive way and nodded briskly, wanting to shrug it off as quickly as possible. It was his fault, after all. Hearts thumping in his ears, he sputtered out a quick apology and ran off, vanishing into a narrow alleyway.

3 had seen enough. It was time to get out of this dome. Maybe figure out what on earth he was going to do from here...

-----

After losing contact with 3, Cuttlefish was in a bit of a tizzy. What exactly happened in that dome? Where had he gone? Was he safe? Did the Octarians capture him?! He wasted no time in calling Agents 1 and 2 to help find the teen, and then sprung into action himself. 

He scoured the base from top to bottom while the other two searched around the kettles. Finally, after an hour, Agent 3 was located.

“Oh, 3! There you are!” Cuttlefish called, slightly out of breath, “I’ve been scrambling all over the Valley looking for you! Girls, I found him!” he puffed into his radio. He hobbled over and was about to give the Inkling an earful until he noticed the rather somber aura the lad was giving off.

Oliver was sitting at the end of a platform, with his legs dangling over the ledge. His uniform was folded neatly and sitting on his lap. His hands were propping him up as he stared into the distance. He heaved a sigh that made his head droop even further than it had already sunk. 

“Cap’n...” he whispered, “What are we even doing here?”

Taken aback, Cuttlefish didn’t reply at first. He leaned against his Bamboozler and furrowed his brow in confusion. Didn’t 3 know by now? He certainly should have!

He tapped his cane against the ground, “Stopping the Octarian menace, of course!” he spoke with vigor, shaking his fist in the air. However he too seemed to deflate when Oliver looked over his shoulder.

What a somber look it was. 

“The dome I went to today,” Oliver started, turning away, “Was a residential dome.” there was a brief pause of deafening silence, broken by the agent’s shaky breath, “If I took that Zapfish... Hundreds, maybe thousands of people would be left in the dark.”

Cuttlefish didn’t seem to know what to say.

“I might just be a custodian,” Oliver continued, “But I know we don’t need every single Zapfish to power Inkopolis. We could just have the Great and a hundred or so little ones, and we’d be fine.” he bit his lower lip, “I wanted to help because I thought the Zapfish were in danger,” he drew in a breath, “Because they were being used for evil.”

“Well,” Cap’n’s voice was low, “They... They are.”

Oliver turned so quickly that his tentacles slapped the side of his face, “But not all of them!” he cried, “I don’t care what you think about the Octarians, they’re people, too! And they need light just like the rest of us!” 

Cuttlefish stepped back in shock.

“Haven’t you seen the places they live in?” Oliver demanded, “They’re in shambles, worse off than the shack you call home!” he threw his arm in the direction of the Squidbeak Splatoon base. 

“Well, no... I haven’t...” Cuttlefish shrank back a bit, “But they can’t all be like that, the Octarians are smarter than you think! They’re cunning, and--”

“Oh, come off it!” Bunching up his safety vest in his fist, Oliver rose to his feet and drew his arm back, readying himself to throw the uniform into the pit below, “I’m not going to be a part of this if it means I’m hurting innocent people!”

A firm hand grabbed his wrist, crashing Oliver’s mind back to reality. He turned back to Cuttlefish, whose face had turned quite stern. The two stared long and hard at each other, before Oliver’s arm finally relaxed, his shoulder and head falling. When it was released, his arm fell to his side with a flop.

“Now, then...” Cuttlefish sighed, “Let’s talk this out.” he attempted a smile, which creased his cheeks, “How about we grab some crabby cakes and tea?”

Weary look in his eye, Oliver slowly turned his head back to Cuttlefish and soon gave in with a nod.

“Good, good!” Cuttlefish hummed. He tapped Oliver’s legs with the end of his Bamboozler, “We’ll get this sorted out, young’n, don’t you worry.”

Having shuffled back to the shack, Oliver’s mind was starting to feel a bit clearer. He ducked his head as he stepped inside the makeshift home, and plopped rather roughly into the stool set up beside a low table. Cuttlefish scurried around, gathering the cakes and the supplies to make tea. Once the kettle was on the stove, he took a seat as well. 

“So...” he started, “What exactly did you find out there?” the elder listened carefully as Oliver retold his experience. Cuttlefish’s expression turned all the more grim with each word, his hand slowly picking at his beard, “I see...”

Oliver was hunched over the table, feeling sick to his stomach. Too sick to eat the crabby cakes that had been set in front of him. He wasn’t even sure that Cap’n would even listen, much less take those words to heart. He understood why the old cuttlefish had such a vendetta against the Octarians, but wasn’t it about time for something to... Change? It had been 100 years since the Great Turf War, after all.

By the time Oliver’s story was finished, the kettle had started to whistle. Scurrying about again, Cuttlefish filled two mugs, one of which had a very broken handle, with hot tea and served them. Oliver wrapped his hands around the mug and stared blankly into the liquid, finding the silence more agonizing than anything Cap’n Cuttlefish could have possibly said. His eyes drifted up when the old Inkfish sat back down.

“I don’t think it’s right,” Oliver stated firmly, before Cuttlefish could speak, “Taking the Zapfish from places Octarians live in.” his eyes fell, and his grip around the mug tightened, “They’re probably just trying to survive.”

“Making and powering weapons isn’t survival,” Cuttlefish interjected, “Defense at best, but...” he trailed off when Oliver’s expression darkened. 

There was a long pause. Cuttlefish closed his eyes thoughtfully, “You feel very strongly about this, don’t you, young’n?” 

“Yeah,” Oliver affirmed, “When I went deeper into that dome, I saw... Us. But in a different form.” his brow creased, his head hung low, and he was now staring at a knot in the table, “Why would they so willingly live in a place like that? As smart as they are, I don’t think they’d consider trying to trick us by thinking their situation is bad...” he removed one hand from his mug and pressed it against his face, the warmth flowing over his right eye.

Cuttlefish scratched at his chin in a pensive manner. He picked up a crabby cake and nibbled at it, clearly trying to think his words through. Oliver was surprised. He honestly expected the old man to come up with one dozen arguments for why they should take any and all Zapfish out of the domes, but he really seemed to be taking this seriously. Did he value Oliver’s opinion that much?

Having finished off the snack, Cuttlefish took a drink of his tea, and finally spoke up again, “I would like to remind you that the Octarians are planning an attack.” he set his mug back onto the table rather loudly, “That UFO was no fluke! It may not have been an all-out attack, but mark my words, it is a start!” he shook a finger in Oliver’s direction.

There was a brief pause, where the two Inkfish locked eyes. Oliver’s were full of worry, and Cuttlefish’s were full of determination. However his old, wide eyes softened a touch when he stamped his cane on the ground.

“However!” he proclaimed loudly, “I think you’re right.”

Oliver sat up slightly, “You think so...?”

The Cap’n nodded, “Yes. It may be wrong for them to steal the Zapfish, but it’d be wrong to deprive their homes of power.” his gaze turned stern again, his brow heavy, “But. That doesn’t mean we can just leave the Zapfish powering weapons and armories. And we certainly can’t leave the Zapfish in the tentas of Octavio!”

The teen nodded slowly, “R-right.”

“3, you have my word; as long as I’m the captain of the Squidbeak Splatoon,” he stood and held up a peace sign as if it were a salute, “We will not take Zapfish from residential domes.” he looked to the Inkling expectantly, “Do I have your word that you’ll stick with us?”

Hesitating briefly, Oliver’s hand fell back onto the table, and he swallowed the lump in his throat. He considered it carefully, and weighed the options in his head. 

Rising to his feet, the agent smiled weakly and returned the peace sign. “Y-yeah. You have my word, Cap’n.” 

With a skip of delight, Cuttlefish shuffled to 3′s side and clamped a hand onto his shoulder, giving him a light shake, “Good to hear, 3. Good to hear.” he was grinning enough that the corners of his mouth were visible under his mustache, “Frankly, you’re the best thing that’s happened to the Splatoon in 100 years, and I’d hate to see you go, young’n.”

3 chuckled softly, his eyes darting away, “Uh... Thanks, Cap’n... I’ll keep doing my best.” meeting the captain’s eyes again he added, “And... Thanks for listening to me. It means a lot.”

Satisfied, Cap’n Cuttlefish patted the Inkling’s shoulder firmly, and hobbled back to his seat to eat another crabby cake and finish off his tea. By now, Agents 1 and 2 had returned to the base, and were ready to hear what exactly happened to 3.

In what felt like no time at all, she had made it to the barracks and fled to her room. The building was surprisingly empty--usually someone would be around to keep an eye on things, or resting after performing their duties... It was likely due to the streets being so full from the grand battle that DJ Octavio had called everyone to see. However, now it was clear that the outcome was one that the emperor never saw coming. 

He was defeated in battle. Agent 4, the perky little Octoling that had sided with the enemy had knocked his crown off, got her allies into the dome, reclaimed Callie’s voice, nabbed the Great Zapfish, and took the Octo Emperor into custody.

Everything was in place for the Octolings to want to stage revenge, and yet...

Carice looked to her hands. While she would have normally felt the urge to rally up some troops and dive head-first into the Squidbeak’s base, for the first time in her life she didn’t feel as though she needed to spring into action. She frowned and pressed her back against the door, heaving a sigh. 

It was as if she could breathe easy for the first time in her life, but that felt so wrong to her. She knew she should do something about the problematic Inklings and their antics to take the precious Zapfish away, however she felt such a lack of need to go and free their emperor. The conflict stewing in her mind made her stomach feel like an unsteady tempest. Until now, she had an undying loyalty to Octavio. A compulsion to serve him, and do whatever it took to help her homeland and people.

What made the difference, now? 

Shuffling over to her bunk bed, she flopped unceremoniously onto the stiff lower mattress. She found herself humming the same song she had heard in that stadium just minutes before, breaking the dead quiet of the quarters. It was a good song, and it had wormed its way into her ears like no tune before it. 

Carice slipped her shades off of the bridge of her nose, and held them at arm’s length above her head. As she stared into the dark frames, she wondered why she and the others had been wearing these and those bulky goggles for so long. Fashion? A sense of unity? Practicality? She felt like there was a significant reason, but whatever it was had completely lost its edge. Her hands fell to her sides, the frame of the shades still held between her right finger and thumb.

She continued wondering, her mind getting dangerously close to thoughts she never could have imagined before. Could the Octarians manage without Octavio to push progress? They did survive without him for two years, but it wasn’t as if the domes were getting any better in his absence. But with Octavio’s focus on making Octo Weapons and Bosses, were the domes improving much with him around, anyway?

His aggression and frustration with the Inklings were both pushing himself and his people towards war... When most simply wanted peace. Even still, the Inklings weren’t making things any easier, and even when Octavio was out of commission, Carice had to aggressively protect the people that lived in the crumbling domes.

Carice grunted. She pressed her left palm against her forehead and screwed her eyes shut, her nose wrinkling with mild frustration. She wanted to help the Octarians that lived here. She wanted them to live in comfort, to have the sun grace their faces. But what of Octavio? He wanted to take the surface by force. Surely, that could get them what they wanted. But maybe Octavio’s desire for war was... Wrong.

And maybe her loyalty wasn’t to Octavio, but to the Octarians themselves.

If he were to return again, wouldn’t they just keep doing the same thing? Continue to make weapons and steal Zapfish to power them? It hadn’t worked for the past 100 years, what would make the difference now?

But.. All the same, could they really reach the surface without a fight? Carice couldn’t hope to know. Her knowledge of the surface was limited at best, only able to steal glances of it now and again. She knew it was beautiful. She knew it was something to fight for, if need-be... But...

If one cephalopod from the surface could stand to face groups of Octarians alone, she dreaded to think of what it could be like to face an entire army of them.

Shifting slightly, she opened her eyes and stared at the bunk above her. There simply wasn’t an easy answer to this. Her ink felt cold, and now her body was feeling as heavy as her mind. She looked back to the shades held in her hand.

With her thumb she rubbed at a smudge at the edge of the lenses, her brow creasing slightly. What was she to do? Was there anyone else that had felt the same way that she had? She slipped the shades back over her face and rested both hands over her stomach. She considered calling one of her teammates, someone she knew she could trust. 

But, she hesitated. Perhaps she should keep this to herself. She was at such a high rank, and held so much respect that she couldn’t stand to have her peers and subordinates see her in a weakened state--especially not after the events of today. There was no room for doubt right now. So why was it that she couldn’t shake her own?

Suddenly, a message came through her shade’s radio, causing her to jump upright in an instant, “Carice!” a voice came through, “Squidbeak Agents 3 and Craig Cuttlefish have been found near the egg processing plant! Backup needed!”

“Copy,” she replied flatly, “I’ll be there in a snap.” Carice sprung to her feet and flew out the door, grabbing an Octoshot and a few Burst Bombs on the way out of the barracks. She had rarely been to the egg processing plant, but she knew how important Power Eggs were to the Octarians. 

There was no time to dwell on confused thoughts. One thing was certain: she wasn’t going to let yet another Agent take their other supply of power. If they lost those Power Eggs, it’d spell a disaster for her people! As she rushed to the plant, she tried to shove her own thoughts out of her mind.

Until now, that was always such an easy task...

-----

Thousands of eggs, hundreds of fish. Agent 3 wasn’t at all prepared for what he had seen within the deepest part of the Octarian’s egg processing plant. 

At first, it was what he had expected; Power and Golden Eggs being counted, sorted, and processed to be used for energy, and even food for Zapfish. 3 had found this to be more than enough information to relay back to Orabella, the Salmonid who had hired him to collect this information... However, that was until he had found something much more.

Secret entry ways, hidden paths. Skeletons hidden within the belly of the beast, just barely out of reach for the average Inkling. But Agent 3 was no longer your average, every-day squid.

Leaving Cuttlefish to keep watch above, Agent 3 followed after some workers, doing his best to keep hidden. He tried to say close enough to slip between pipes and security that only got more intense the further in they went. He had to weave through machinery, scramble behind walls, and stay in his squid form more than half the time. His hearts were pounding so loudly that he was sure that the Octarians would have been able to hear him... 

Finally, when the Octarians reached their destination, 3 hung back for a few minutes, hiding within some pipes to ensure that the coast was clear before he decided to take a look around. The room was spacious and round, and had a walkway that wrapped all the way around the outer wall. A series of doors lined the metal walkway, and at the other end of the room was a set of stairs that led down to the open center. The fluorescent lights above buzzed, leaving the walkway just bright enough to navigate.

Slinking out of his hiding place, 3 looked this way and that before eventually peering over the walkway’s edge, and into the deepest part of the room. There were a series of tubes, all of which were filled with a golden liquid and glowed warmly in the dim lighting.

His ink turned cold when he managed to make out the shape of a handful of them. Were those... Salmonids? The agent hesitated, his brow creasing and his tentacles tensing. They didn’t look quite... Right.

Double-checking his surroundings again, his hearts nearly jumped out of his throat when he heard someone exiting a room nearby. Without thinking twice he slipped through the railing in his squid form, and landed on a crate below with a mighty plop! He hastily hid himself behind the crate, straining his ears for any sign that he had been seen or heard... He could hear the confusion of the Octoling above, however it seemed that, for now, he had avoided detection.

Still, he waited a few minutes before peering over the crate. Eyes widening, he was shocked at what he found within the tubes. It... Was a Salmonid, that much was true. But it looked as though it were growing arms and legs in place of its pectoral and pelvic fins. The others were much the same but at different stages. Some had hands. Some had differently shaped faces. Some lacked tails completely. A few shifted and twitched within their tubes.

3′s mouth had gone dry. He remembered Cuttlefish hearing rumors that the Octarians were working with someone on biological experiments... An external help to make Octotroopers into Octolings. But he thought that it was just on their own people, not another species entirely...!

Dumbfounded and unable to believe what he was seeing, the Inkling found himself reaching for his phone as his beak dropped. He opened the camera, and with trembling hands, he started to take a series of pictures of these odd-looking Salmonid experiments. Without a doubt, this was something Orabella had to see.

After the third or fourth picture, 3 nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the cry of a nearby Octarian. He looked over and saw a group of them, each with an Octoshot wrapped up in their tentas. He nearly dropped his phone as he scrambled to get out of their firing range. 

Ripping his radio out of his jacket, 3 cried into the speaker, “Code red, I’ve been spotted! Get moving!” the radio spat out static and 3 swore, however he had no time to confirm if Cuttlefish could have heard him this deep below. 

Now grabbing his Hero Shot, 3 had to defend himself as he scrambled past Octarians, gathering Octolings, and security measures. Inking himself a path, he swam through to the other end of the room, trying to focus more on his escape instead of the oddities within the tubes that surrounded him. 

Throwing a bomb up over the metal stairs, he skillfully skipped over a number of the steps, eyeing the scattering Octarians as the bomb exploded. Rather than trying to run past them, he grabbed hold of the railing and jumped to the other side, where it was clearer for him to make a break for it.

However that didn’t last very long, as the number of guards and attacking scientists only grew. They spilled out of the doors, attempting to impede his path or threaten him with whatever supplies and weapons they had grabbed in their haste. Skidding to a halt, 3′s gaze darted between these simple workers, and the guards gaining on him from behind. An idea sprung to mind all of the sudden as he spotted an ID tag wrapped around one of the Octarians--the same tag that the others had used to open the doors that led here.

He knew he was going to hate himself for this later...

Rushing forward, the unsuspecting Octarians shouted in surprise and started to back away, their cries only growing louder when the Inkling wrapped both arms firmly around one of the smaller lab workers. The rather scrawny Octotrooper cursed at him, squirming, kicking, and thwacking him with the blunt end of a stapler as the Agent attempted to get them locked into one arm.

The whole room seemed to freeze when the barrel of Agent 3′s Hero Shot was pressed against the side of the Octarian’s head. Sweat dripping down his brow, 3 stared at the group with a cold, hard stare. They returned his stare with equally hard, but far more worried glares. Hearts pounding away in his ears, the agent hoped that they weren’t going to call his bluff...

Backing away, he approached the door. The tension in the air was so terribly thick, that what took mere seconds felt like hours to everyone involved. The moment 3′s heel hit the door, he used the dangling ID card to open it, popped the lanyard off the Octotrooper, dropped them, and ran as fast as he could through the twisting corridors. 

Through the last door, 3 was almost home free. However as he looked about to see if there were any soldiers about, he ran into someone and was sent tumbling onto the ground, a familiar voice shouting out in pain.

“Oh! My cuttlebone...!” 

3 grunted and shook his head. Once it dawned on him who he had tripped over, he jumped up onto all four legs, “G-gramps?!” he cried. The old cuttlefish was sprawled on the ground, looking a bit dazed, “Oh shoot, I’m sorry!” he scrambled over to help the Captain get back up onto his legs. 

Cap’n Cuttlefish wobbled a bit, pressing a hand against his back and shaking the daze out of his eyes, “Hooh! You right near gave me a heart attack, young’n!”

“S-sorry!” 3 puffed, looking around, “I thought you had already escaped...!”

“Ah, yes!!” Cuttlefish went on to say, “I found a fire escape, that should take us right outside!” with the end of his Bamboozler, he pointed the way.

“G-got it! Let’s go, now!”

-----

There were fewer Octolings ready to battle than normal. It was as if half of the soldiers hadn’t received a call to action, leaving their numbers quite thin. A number of Octarians came in their stead, but... 

Carice didn’t know what to think of this. Where could everyone have gone? Did they miss the call? Were they hunting after Agent 4 and Octavio? Could they have possibly been facing the same doubts as she had?

Her boots sank into the muddy earth as she charged past her fellow soldiers, a notable sense of dread looming over their heads like a brewing storm. It was clear that they too were worried about their current numbers. Every soldier knew well that when an Agent was threatening their livelihoods, they needed to be on the defensive. Especially after what happened with Octavio earlier that afternoon.

“Ah, Carice!” a Twintacle darted up to her, flagging her down by waving a tenta in the air, “We were trying to take down the Squidbeak Soldiers when we had completely lost track of them once they got outside!” he bowed his head, tightly closing his eyes with regret, “I’m very sorry!”

“Okay.” came the Octoling’s reply, “Do you have any idea what he was doing in the processing plant?”

The Octarian hesitated, shrinking back a bit, “Um.” 

An Octocommander in a lab coat spoke up quickly, “He was sticking his nose where it didn’t belong, perhaps planning to steal another source of our power.” his face grew intense, “He escaped before he managed to get his filthy tentacles on anything.”

Carice nodded, “Got it...” she mused briefly, placing a hand to her chin. She always wondered what all was in the plant, but she rarely ever looked. Power Eggs, surely, but other than to feed a Zapfish, what business did the Squidbeaks have there? She shrugged off her own questions and returned to the matter at hand, “You fought your hardest and called for backup. That’s the best thing you can do when it comes to the Agents.” 

The Twintacle seemed relieved that he didn’t get chewed out for this failure. He looked up to her with a tiny smile on his purple lips. The Octocommander on the other hand, returned to the plant.

Diving straight into things, Carice squared her shoulders and took charge of the group by calling them to order. Once she had their attention she said, “We need to find those Squidbeak soldiers.” the others nodded in agreement. She pointed to a pair of Octarians, “You two patrol the surrounding area. Call us if you see anything suspicious.” 

When the pair nodded in reply, she started to divide the Octolings and Octarians into groups of two to four, “Group A, you head north, group B, I’d like for you to head south.” she clapped her hands together, “Group D, head east, and group C will come with me to the west. Fan out, but keep close to each other if anything happens. ”

Carice had decided that no other Squidbeak Agent was going to get away with effective murder today. Either they were going to be driven out permanently, or they were going to be taken as prisoners. It was only fair, after all. Perhaps they could work out a deal with the remaining Squidbeak Soldiers to get their emperor back on the throne.

That was what was needed for her people, right? A strong leader that would help them get to the surface? Even now, Carice still had a cloud of doubt clogging up her thoughts. Why was she struggling with this so much?

Now, to convey this idea to her soldiers, “Try to not splat them,” she instructed, “Capture both of them, and bring them back here.” she thrust her right fist into her left palm, “If they’re going to take our leader into custody, then we’ll take theirs.” she threw a hand into the air, “Dismissed!”

The soldiers saluted and called, “Roger!” before executing their orders. With a satisfied nod, she motioned for her group to follow after her.

Carice ushered her group to fan out, and started to hunt for the Squidbeak Soldiers. Nowhere to be seen, the Inklings were always a slippery sort, squeezing between your fingers and getting away at a moment’s notice. However, it wasn’t until now that she had thought about how strange it was for Cuttlefish to be here as well. Wasn’t he always just out of reach, feeding instructions and input to his little agents? Of what she had seen of him, he was hardly in any shape to go into battle.

Inking a path she swam past her teammates, her keen, brown eyes shrewdly tracking down the bright yellow ink that Agent 3 typically had. Traces of his ink could be seen--a few signs of fights here and there from when she had initially gotten the call, but for the most part, the evidence pointed to him trying to high-tail it out of the area. 

In a strange turn of events, the Octarians couldn’t help but notice that Agent 3 had started to take paths that would make it so he could avoid splatting anyone. He’d run, swim and dodge his way out of trouble nearly every time, and it made him difficult to pin down. He was quite good at subduing his opponent, but he rarely ever took the option to splat. Carice could never understand this--she knew from experience that he was a horrifically skilled fighter once he applied himself. So why was it that, even now, he took the path of the coward? 

That hardly mattered. He was causing a problem, and it needed to be taken care of. 

Jumping out of her ink, Carice realized she had lost the trail. Blast, where did those stinking cephalopods go?! She surveyed her surroundings, looking for any signs of oddly colored ink or out-of-place footprints. Perhaps she had gone the wrong way, and 3 had managed to give her the slip. Just her luck today... Things really were going from bad to worse. Was this planned? She almost couldn’t put it past them.

It was about time she went back to regroup. Turning back the way she came, her ears caught the sound of some voices whispering nearby. Narrowing her eyes and straining her ears, Carice tried to determine if she was just hearing things, or if the Squidbeaks were nearby. It could have also been a group of allies, however she wanted to be certain before moving on.

With careful footsteps and her gun at the ready, she crept closer to the source of the sound. Her body was tightly wound like a spring, however it seemed as though the case were the same for her targets.

Out of a nearby bush, Craig Cuttlefish sprung into view shouting, “Y-yo-you’ll not be taking me today, Octarian!” and the moment he had enough footing, he fired his Bamboozler. 

Covered in rust-colored ink but no worse for wear, Carice took a few steps back and fired herself, “I found the Squidbeaks!” she barked into her radio, spurting off the coordinates with each shot she took at the old captain. 

While she had nailed the older cephalopod with a few bullets, his cohort, Agent 3, appeared from the woodwork and used a tattered old cape to shield the captain from fire. He quickly ordered Cuttlefish to stay low, then threw his cape behind him, flinging red ink everywhere. Hero Shot in hand, he shot Carice a serious look before taking aim. 

Diving into her ink, Carice dodged the first barrage of bullets. She sped off in the opposite direction when she heard a bomb flying towards her, flecks of ink from the explosion scattering all about. Jumping out of cover, she surveyed the area for the agent, however he was out of sight, likely hiding in ink himself. 

Throwing two Burst Bombs in succession, she managed to weed him out from behind a rock, and in no time at all the two were firing at each other. Breaking herself out of the heat of the battle, she realized: she didn’t want to splat him, not just yet. Taking a few hits, she dove into her ink and hid behind a crumbled wall, ready to throw a bomb the second that 3 came near. If she could at least break his shield, he’d be easier to subdue...

A few seconds had flown by, and just as she had determined, 3 had made his way towards her. Leaping into the air she threw one Burst Bomb, which nailed him directly in the face. The Inkling shouted as his shield broke, reeling backwards as he wiped the ink and off his face and rubbed the stars out of his eyes. Now was her chance! 

Gripping his armed hand with a firm grip, Carice grinned beakily when she heard the footsteps of soldiers drawing near, “Alright, Agent 3!” in his surprise of hearing Inklish, she took the opportunity to drop her own weapon and grab his free hand, “You’ve got nowhere to run!” without looking to see who had approached, she barked, “Okay soldiers! Help me bring 3 into custody! Someone go grab Captain Cuttlefish,” she used her head to motion to where the captain was hiding, “He’s in that bush, there!

It was then that she noticed the stupor on 3′s ink-stained face. He was staring wide-eyed at the soldiers behind the Octoling, a look of worry and confusion slowly creeping across his face. Blinking, Carice was tempted to demand why no one had listened to her order, but held her tongue as she glanced over her shoulder.

Those... Weren’t her subordinates. 

Pale green skin, deep blue tentas tipped in a bright, acidic green, and a striking smell of cleaner that accosted Carice’s nose. A small army had suddenly surfaced out of nowhere, and they were nothing like Carice had ever seen. They certainly dressed like Octavio’s army, however it was glaringly obvious that these were not under the Octo Emperor’s ruling.

One lifted her weapon, a Splat Charger, and aimed it between 3′s eyes, “Target found.” she said with a robotic tone. The Inkling tensed.

Hearts leaping out of her chest, Carice let go of 3, throwing their arms apart in the process. She stumbled back as a bolt of fluorescent ink shot between them. Unknown soldiers and unknown ink. She had seen similar colors, but this stuff almost looked alive as it plummeted to the ground.

Meanwhile, 3 hardly hesitated to dive back into his ink. He called out to Cuttlefish to get moving, worry striking his face as he quickly realized the elder may have some trouble keeping up. His shield recovered as he swam, however he had a strange feeling that this wasn’t going to help him very much...

Confused as to what was going on, Carice wasn’t sure if she should deal with these strange soldiers, or continue after 3--

Her question was soon answered, as the Splat Charger was now targeting her. Inhaling sharply she dove into her octopus form, the strange ink dangerously close as it sailed over her head.

“Seek and destroy,” the first Octoling stated. With a nearly mechanical shout, the rest of the Octolings charged forward, splitting off into two groups; one to go after Agent 3, and one to go after Carice. 

Scrambling to get her Octoshot, Carice managed to fire down a soldier that had gotten a little too close for her liking, and instead of splatting as she had expected, their body evaporated into a mess of pixels, almost like a digital glitch. 

Carice’s ink turned cold. What were these?

No time to dwell on the oddity--where one had been splatted, two more were in their place. Hearts pounding, she attempted to call for backup again, dreading to think that these strange Octolings had taken out her group...

3 wasn’t fairing much better. While the captain could fight for the most part, the Bamboozler wasn’t exactly the strongest of weapons out there. In trying to take down these weird Octolings, protect Cuttlefish, and maintain his own ink levels, the Inkling found himself quickly overwhelmed by these numbers. Where were they coming from?!

In a panic, he executed a Splashdown, splatting a good number of the soldiers, and knocking back a few others. A quick reprieve, if nothing else. 

“Huh?” Cuttlefish cried out of nowhere, “Look there, that girl is fighting them, too!” he pointed through the parted sea of soldiers. 

Looking about, 3′s eyes eventually landed on the Octoling that had nearly trapped him. She had at least five soldiers surrounding her, and it appeared as though she had started to resort to melee moves as her ink tank depleted.

3′s brow creased, “Wait,” he huffed, slightly out of breath, “Why is she fighting them?” he continued to puff, “Aren’t they Octolings, too?”

As more soldiers approached, 3 was met with a dilemma. He had to get Cuttlefish out to safety, but, if he was being honest with himself, he couldn’t leave this girl high and dry either... Even if she was an enemy. He swore under his breath, shooting down a few more soldiers. He hadn’t any space to think, and he was almost out of ink!

“Captain!” he called, “What do we do?!”

“We run away!” the elder cried, firing his Bamboozler rapidly. He was getting much too old for this.

“But what about her?” 

Cap’n Cuttlefish knew Agent 3 well. He knew that there wasn’t much point in trying to argue with him when he got an idea in his head. The boy valued the lives of the Octarians as much as he valued the lives of the Inklings--so to tell him to just abandon this struggling girl in the heat of battle was likely not something that would sit well with the young agent. 

“Uh...!” 

SPLAT! The sound of a direct hit of a Splat Charger rang through the area, accompanied by the sound of 3′s armor breaking. Flecks of the strange-colored ink scattered over the elder inkfish. With a look of horror in his wide eyes, he called out in shock when he saw Agent 3 toppling over. Before he could even reach out, he was swarmed by pale green hands.