Bet you didn't see this story coming, did you? Listen. While Redd represents my normal self side almost every day, Aaliyah represents my... sensitive, antisocial side. ;)

And... I didn't make a story based on Mia just yet. So I'll do this one so she can help a friend that she cares for.

With that done, let's get this chapter started. :D


Another day in Inkopolis Square. The scene is at on the lower floors of New Albacore Hotel.

Mia enters her apartment, in her agent outfit. She just had to fight a boatload of Octarians that were trying to invade and take over the places around Inkopolis. Mia and Caleb were the only ones who managed to do it. Callie and Marie were busy with their music business, and Redd was doing the same for his group.

"Phew... ugh, sometimes being an Agent can take up a lot of energy..." Mia groaned. As she was walking in, the first room she decided to go to was her bedroom. When she walks in, she grabs her casual clothing. Then she walks to the bathroom to change into those clothing.

She felt more comfortable now that she was in that basic, casual clothing set she wore since coming to Inkopolis Plaza.

"Huff... I just want to relax..." Mia said softly while walking back to her bedroom. She just jumped on her bed, laying on her back. The Octarians weren't really hard to defeat. But since it was, like, a huge army, that could make things a bit trickier.

For Mia, being Agent 3 was one of the best things that ever happened in her entire life. She wasn't weak, and she wasn't too strong either back then. Now she was in between, protecting her fellow squidizens from the clutches of evil.

But of course, during her free time, she always tends to draw some anime on her notebook. She's gotten really good at sketching, and now she's making sure to at least make the colors in black and white.

As long as she enjoyed anime and drawing, she could mix the two together and finally take some time to relax.


Some time has passed, and Mia just finished another drawing she recently created. Since she knew about Switch from what Redd told her, she learned more about much more universes across from theirs.

Mia looks at her recently made drawing. It was a mixture of another one of Mia's fancy anime girls. And the other cross was from a hero called Spider-Man, from another universe called "Marvel".

"There. That should finish it." Mia sighed as she put the notebook down, along with her pencil. Then she heard the doorbell ring.

"Hmm. I wonder who that could be." Mia thought. She exits her bedroom and walks to the front door of her apartment. When she opened the door, she is greeted by Caleb.

"Hello, Mia." Caleb greeted.

"Oh. Well, hello, Caleb. You need anything?" Mia asked.

"Not really. Just thinkin' we can talk for a bit." Caleb replied.

"Well, come in." Mia said with a smile as she moved aside so Caleb can walk in.

"Heh. Your apartment is really nice, Mia. It's as good as Redd's." Caleb complimented him.

"Like him, I also do Turf Wars. Just not often as him though..." Mia responded.

"Oh. I see." Caleb said, understanding completely of what she was talking about.

"Anyway, you said you wanted to talk to me. What's on your mind, Caleb?" Mia asked.

"Well... I do kinda have a favor to ask you," Caleb explained, "You see, Cap'n and I are going back to the Deepsea Metro to investigate some more about the sanitized Octarians that Tartar left behind. I was wondering if you would like to come with us."

"That place smells real nasty. I don't wanna go back there." Mia exclaimed as she made a vomiting motion, as if she didn't really like the looks or any other senses possibl for the female Agent.

"Neither do I, it kinda freaks me out," Caleb sighed, "But... I think you're the only one who can help me on this mission. Redd might be busy with hanging out with Marie, and Joel and David haven't seen the Deepsea Metro yet. And... and..."

"I know. You know Aaliyah is too scared to come." Mia interrupted.

"That, and... she can't fight. I need someone to help me out, in case of some attackers. Please, Mia." Caleb pleaded. He seemed very desperate.

"You can ask Redd, you know, Caleb. He might not be busy." Mia suggested.

"Are... Are you sure, Mia? He might say no..." Caleb mumbled.

"Redd is always up to help people! That's what he likes to do," Mia said with a smile, "Remember, he's Agent 4, so he's not not experienced. So in case of random attackers, my brother can help. Trust me."

"I... I guess I'll give it a try." Caleb said, his courage rising back up.

"Plus, it'll be nice to hang out with Aaliyah. Since we're both girls." Mia said with a smirk.

"A girl hangout?" Caleb asked.

"Definitely! A girl hangout!" Mia repeated.

"Heh, yes! It sounds like a plan, Mia!" Caleb cheered.

"Alright, go find Redd, and tell him about your plans with Cap'n. He'll be more than happy to oblige, I just know it." Mia responded as she put an arm on his shoulder.

"Wait. I just had a thought..." Caleb realized.

"What's up?" Mia asked.

"What are you gonna be doing with Ali, exactly?" Caleb asked Agent 3.

"Maybe we'll just go to the mall, go out for lunch, see a movie... you know, stuff that girls do." Mia said with a shrug.

"Are you sure Aaliyah will be okay with that? She's antisocial. It'll be tough for her." Caleb asked, a worried look on his face.

"That's why I'm here! I'm Agent 3, and I help people! She'll be alright. You just worry about her too much, Caleb." Mia responded.

"Worry too much... I guess I do." Caleb sighed in defeat.

"You really love her. It's perfect for an Octoling like you, Agent 8." Mia teased, a wide smirk made. Caleb's whole face turned pink.

"O-Oh gosh, um... I gotta go now, Mia! Thanks for the advice, and have fun with Aaliyah!" Caleb yelled as he ran back to the front door.

"No problem, Caleb! Be safe, and... yep! Stay Fresh!" Mia called out while waving good bye. Caleb smiled back and winked before shutting the door and leaving. Once the door was fully closed, Mia pondered for a moment.

"Does she really have that much trouble?" She thought.


*scene change: outside Aaliyah's apartment*

Mia rings the doorbell, the classic "ding dong" sound being heard. Mia heard a yelp, and then footsteps frantically pounding on the floor.

"I'm coming!" A shy female voice yelled. The door opens, and Aaliyah is there.

"O-Oh. Hi, Mia." The innocent Octoling greeted.

"Hi, Aaliyah. It's good to see you." Mia said with a kind smile.

"So... um... why are you... here?" Aaliyah asked.

"I was wondering if you want to hang out with me. Just the both of us. A girl hangout." Mia requested.

"Hangout? I've... never done that before..." Aaliyah mumbled.

"Ah, don't worry! It'll be fine! Remember, it's just me coming with you! So you don't have to worry about a thing!" Mia insisted, her smile wide. Mia isn't really a social butterfly-fish, but she knew Aaliyah since leaving the Metro, so Mia knows of Ali's shyness.

"So... what do we do on a... hangout?" Aaliyah asked.

"Let's go to Arowana Mall. To look around the many shops." Mia suggested.

"O-Oh. Okay." Aaliyah said, and then she held Mia's hand, knowing that Mia will lead the way. Because Aaliyah wasn't really the "leader" type of Octoling.

"Alright, let's walk there. It'll be nice to get some exercise." Mia requested.

"Okay." Aaliyah replied.


*scene change: outside. Sidewalk to Arowana Mall*

"S-So... Mia..." Aaliyah mumbled as she was walking on the sidewalk to the mall.

"Hm? What is it, Aaliyah?" Mia hummed as she turned her head a bit as she kept on walking.

"What do you... do? In your free time?" Aaliyah asked.

"Just draw or watch anime. That's all. Other than that, it's tough to try and keep my apartment since my job as an Agent." Mia explained. The kept on walking for a couple more minutes before Mia broke the silence.

"How do you think money gets transferred to keep my apartment, Aaliyah?" Mia asked. Aaliyah tried to speak, but all that really came out were silent stutters.

"Aaliyah?" Mia asked.

"Bills..." Aaliyah mumbled, but her voice was very quiet, so Mia still couldn't hear.

"Aaliyah, speak up, please." The third Agent commanded, a bit of annoyance in her tone.

"I-I don't know. Through bills." Aaliyah stammered.

"Ugh, no. It gets paid through me." Mia groaned.

"O-Oh... okay..." Aaliyah said quietly. And they didn't really talk to each other through the rest of their walk to the mall.

When the two cephalopods reached Arowana Mall, they walked in and greeted nearby squids and octopodes who were going in and out. None of the two had any idea what to buy, si they just did some window shopping, and just looked around each of the many shops.

Approximately 20 minutes later...

.

Mia and Aaliyah came out of another shop, mainly a clothes shop with accessories added into it.

"That was fun! It was nice to explore these shops!" Mia cheered.

"Yeah, it... was kinda fun, especially with you, Mia." Aaliyah said shyly.

"Anyway, Aaliyah... wanna go get some ice cream?" Mia asked.

"Sure!" Aaliyah chirped excitedly. Mia motioned her hand, giving the sign language of "come with me". And Aaliyah slowly follows.

There was a small little ice cream shop, mainly used for taking the frozen treats on the go.

Mia and Aaliyah stood in line for about five minutes before they can ask for their order.

"Well, hello there, you two. What can I do for you today?" An Inkling boy with white hair asked.

"Hm, I'm gonna have mint chocolate chip, and in a waffle cone, please." Mia said. And then Agent 3 turned her head to Aaliyah.

"What would you like, Ali?" Mia asked.

"Chocolate." Aaliyah whispered.

"And she will have that please." Mia said while pointing to a chocolate dipped ice cream on the menu.

"Alright, one mint chocolate chip, and one chocolate dipped cone. Will that be okay for you two?" The man asked for the final touches.

"It's vanilla dipped in chocolate, Aaliyah. That alright?" Mia asked. Aaliyah didn't know how to respond. She just opened her mouth and stammered some nonsense. Mia was getting pretty fed up with that.

"Grr... Aaliyah, what is your frickin problem?" Mia exclaimed, very annoyed at the innocent Octoling. The man behind the counter already was making the ice cream.

"D... Don't swear at me..." Aaliyah pleaded, a slight whimper added.

"Sigh... you're right, I should't have done that. Sorry, Ali." Mia said, putting one of her hands on her face.

"It's okay, Mia. I forgive you." Aaliyah said innocently.


More time has passed, and the two finished their ice cream. They were checking out one more shop for squid phones before they decided to leave. Aaliyah just sat on a bench while Mia was talking to one of the shopkeepers about the phone she had with her right now.

While Aaliyah was daydreaming, but after a couple minutes of doing so... there was something that caught Aaliyah's eye.

There were two small posters on one of the small desks. One had a white frame, while the other had a black one. It's almost like they were light and darkness. And then... there was a small image of mysterious things on each of the posters.

(WARNING: Spoilers for World of Light in Smash Ultimate. If you haven't completed World of Light yet, DO NOT look below!)

On the poster with the white frame, there was... something that Aaliyah didn't recognize. The thing was a giant ball of light, surrounded by giant white wings, some of them glowing orange, and the other glowing blue.

On the poster with the black frame, there was another thing that the innocent Octoling doesn't know about. It was a giant eyeball: blue as its natural color, black pupil, but surrounded with a black outline. Surrounding it were these ugly, black tentacles, and they all had red pointers at the end of them.

And at each of them was some kind of mysterious wording. The white frame one said "Give in and get consumed by light. We'll erase the darkness.". And the black frame one said "Give in and get swallowed by darkness. We'll erase the light.".

(Spoilers end here.)

Aaliyah, not knowing how to react to something so scary, yet weird, put the posters back. Just in time, Mia was done talking, and she was coming towards her.

"Do you need to use the bathroom before we leave?" Agent 3 asked. Aaliyah got startled by that, not only because she was in a daydreaming trance, but the fact that out of all questions, THAT was the question the female Agent asked.

"Geeeeeeeeeez! I'm not a little octopus anymore!" Aaliyah whined.

"Sigh... I was just asking, Aaliyah." Mia groaned.

"Let's just leave... I think I'll go back home..." Aaliyah said quietly, and she stood up. Mia got surprised by that.

"Does she not like our hangout?" Mia thought, "Wait... no. That's not it. Aaliyah can't speak up for herself. I'm gonna have to teach her that, to help her in this world so she can have a better time around other squids."

"Aaliyah, remember! We're going out for lunch!" Mia called out.

"O-Oh, r-right. Sorry..." Aaliyah said quietly.

"It's quite alright. Now come, let's go." Mia replied, and she walked along, with Aaliyah following behind.


Author's Note: Yes, I HAD to mention those two in those posters. I just love Smash Ultimate SO FREAKING MUCH, I felt like I had to do this XD. Anyway, like it so far? It might be a while before the next chapter comes. I still gotta work on Depressink and Inkopolis Chaos.

Anyway, Stay Fresh, everyone! And Smash until the very end! ;)