Delta looked up at Dylan's apartment, wondering if she should tell him his life-sized cardboard cutout of the Squid Sisters was visible from the Square. Kai and the others had hauled her off Humpback Pump Track with the promise of good food and movies at one of the apartments the Nationals staff rented the team. After the celebration was over, the others went to sleep—but Delta's hearts were still racing from the Turf War. She figured wandering around the Square was a better use of her time than tossing and turning in bed. It was after ten o'clock and the place was nearly deserted—Delta surmised no open shops meant no passerby.
The sound of someone clearing their throat broke Delta out of her reverie. She whipped around to locate the source of the sound, but found nothing behind her. She looked around again, certain she wasn't alone.
Then she saw it.
First Delta saw the shadow on the ground, stretching over the edge of the manhole—thanks to the construction light above Grizzco's. Delta looked up and found a figure standing over the manhole, angling a yellow parasol to cover their face. The sleeves from the figure's black kimono swayed with the wind. Delta couldn't see their face, but it felt like they were…watching her through the parasol. Delta looked around. They were the only ones in the Square. The figure took a hand off the parasol to fiddle with something behind it.
"Hello?" Delta called out. Nothing, but the hand was back on the parasol—as if she was waiting for Delta to do something. Delta looked around. Normally this would be against her better judgment, but…Delta sensed no malice from the figure, no intent to do ill. She cautiously took a step towards the figure, then another. Then another. Delta got close to ten paces from the figure before she vanished down the manhole in a cloud of lime green, leaving Delta alone to follow. She took a deep breath before changing into a squid herself and slipping through the grate.
Delta followed the squid through twists and turns that seemed to make no sense. Down, left, right, right, right, up, left, right, straight, left, down. Finally Delta could see light shimmering from a grate and moved through it.
She didn't expect to find herself in a rocky formation of half-floating rocks. An archway stood in front of her, looming over a ground made of dirt and aged brick. Practice balloons huddled together at the end of some sort of makeshift range. A small shack sat at the other side where the figure from before stood, her back turned to Delta and muttering to herself. Delta thought about calling out to the squid, but she had no idea what she had gotten herself into.
The other Inkling made the decision for her. Her yellow parasol shifted to the side as she turned to look over her shoulder at her new company, and she didn't need to turn all the way around for Delta to recognize her.
"Ah, there you are." The Inkling said as Delta's jaw nearly dropped. "I was hoping you were able to follow. It's a little tricky the first time."
Delta was stunned. Out of all the souls in the entire world, Marie—the Marie—popstar from the ever-famous Squid Sisters stood before her in this strange place. In the flesh. The same Marie whose songs had sold a billion copies the nation over. The same Marie who woke Inkopolis up every morning with Inkopolis News two years ago. Dylan's not here, Delta thought to herself. He's going to kill me.
"Yeah, yeah." Marie—THE Marie—popstar of the ever-famous Squid Sisters—let out a sigh as she fiddled with her purple hair clip. "Look, I get it. You're star-struck, but I need you to get over it. We don't have much time."
Delta blinked.
"Um," Marie—the MARIE—popstar from the ever-famous Squid Sisters began. "Oh, carp, I forgot to check. You can talk, right? Please say yes. Say anything, really."
"Uh," Delta stammered out.
"Good enough!" Marie answered, excited she got a sign of life out of the newcomer. "As I said, I don't have much time so let's get right to the point. I need your help."
"Wait, whoa hold up." Delta held up a hand to slow Marie down. Marie's confession knocked Delta out of her stunned state, but she still felt like she was hallucinating. "What is all this? What are you doing here? Where even is here?"
"Sorry." Marie cleared her throat. "I'm not used to bringing squids up to speed on this stuff. You're in Octo Canyon, for starters. Tentakeel Outpost to be squidsific."
"Octo Canyon?" Delta repeated. "As in…Octarian?"
"You guessed it." Marie replied, cracking a half smile. "You're from Echo's Edge, right?"
"Right." Delta wasn't sure how Marie knew that.
"So I'm sure you've heard all about the Great Turf War between Inklings and Octarians." Marie fiddled with her kimono's sleeve. "Well your history books were wrong—The Great Turf War never ended. It just turned cold."
Delta blinked again. That was a bold statement, especially coming from a popstar,
"You don't believe me." Marie commented, reaching into her kimono's inside pocket to pull out her shellphone. "Remember last time the Great Zapfish vanished, about two years ago?"
Delta nodded. Marie walked over to Delta and held out her phone, showing a picture of four masked Inklings. Front and center was a certain black tentacled squid wearing sunglasses and a pink beanie, mouth wide open in one of the biggest grins Delta had seen. Callie. Her right arm was outstretched taking the selfie, and her left had snuck around to give the Inkling next to her bunny ears. To her left was a squid with gray tentacles wearing a lime green cap and a surgical facemask, looking peeved but slightly amused at Callie's last second prank.
But what caught Delta's eye was the background behind the squids. A massive—and Delta meant massive fish laid on the ground in front of floating weapons. Delta instantly recognized them as Octarian armaments, the weapon smiths back at Echo's Edge kept blueprints of Octo weapons around for reference.
"Alright." Delta gave an approving frown. She guessed as outrageous as the situation seemed, it looked like Marie was telling the truth. "So you're saying when the Great Zapfish vanished last time, it was actually the Octarians who took it?"
Marie nodded.
"Who was responsible for bringing it back?" Delta asked. Things were starting to come together.
The New Squidbeak Splatoon." Marie straightened up a little as she answered. "That's a group of four Inklings that keep the Octarian threat at bay. Three agents and a leader. Agent 3 was in charge of finding the Great Zapfish and freeing it from captivity. With the help of Agents 1 and 2, of course."
"And how do you know all this?" Delta still found a popstar's credibility in military dark ops questionable.
"Well," Marie began, pride leaking out of her voice. "I put up a pretty good act myself. I may look like just an absurdly talented pop star, but in truth I'm Agent 2. I helped bring the Great Zapfish back two years ago."
"And the Zapfish disappeared last night..." Delta thought aloud.
"The Octarians squidnapped it." Marie finished for Delta. "Again. But they took things a step further this time. They also took Agent 1."
"Agent 1?" Delta repeated, then her eyes widened as she remembered who else went missing recently. "Callie is Agent 1?" Marie gave a solemn nod.
"Last time we were able to bring back the Great Zapfish." She continued. "But now... the captain is away with Agent 3, and Callie has vanished. I can't do this by myself, especially if I want to keep my cover." Delta gulped, now understanding the gravity of what Marie was asking.
"Look." Delta started, pulling at the short tentacles at the nape of her neck. "I appreciate that you asked me, but... I have no experience or ability to do this. You're talking about fighting for real, making real maneuvers and risking real things. I only know sport. I came to this city to play in the tournament, not risk my life in something I don't qualify for. I'm...sorry." Delta turned to head back down the grate.
"Wait." Delta felt a hand grab her forearm. She turned around to find it was Marie's. "I know what I saw in that match earlier tonight. You might fight for sport, but you've trained for the real deal. That's all I need—I can help train the rest." Marie paused, closing her eyes and taking a breath. "I need your help. If the Octarians have the Great Zapfish for too long, Inkopolis will not only lose power but the Octarian leader will be able to raise an army and take the city while it's defenseless. I don't have time to find someone else. And..." Marie faltered, swallowing a lump in her throat. "And who knows what's happening to Callie." Marie's eyes opened again. "Please."
Delta froze. She knew Marie was telling the truth, and she guessed Delta's secret agenda for entering the Nationals. Delta caught a second look at Marie since she had closed the distance between them. Dark circles clung to her eyes, in stark contrast to the gaunt white skin. Delta could faintly make out tear trails from her eyes down to her chin—old tears Marie hadn't bothered to wipe away. The usually put together celebrity was coming apart at the seams. In fact, in that moment when Marie looked at her with desperate, pleading eyes, Delta had forgotten she was a celebrity at all. The Marie Delta was seeing was an Inkling hopelessly overwhelmed and utterly alone, trying to save a squidnapped friend but had no idea what to do or who to turn to. Delta couldn't just... leave her like that, and fight everything on her own.
"Fine." Delta sighed, against her sense of self-preservation. "I'm in."
"Thank you." Relief washed over Marie's eyes like a fresh ocean wave, but it was gone in an instant, and Marie's self composure had returned to normal. "Now, we have a lot to do—but let's get you set up first. From this point forward, you are now Agent 4 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon." Marie motioned for Delta to follow her to the cabin, picking up a set of clothes. "And as a signing bonus, you get a brand new suit. Trust me, it's way better than the stupid old ones that made you look like a disgruntled construction worker." Marie handed the clothes over to Delta, who looked at them, then back to Marie.
"Yeah no." Marie rolled her eyes. "I don't have magic dressing powers." She jabbed a thumb toward the cabin. Delta shrugged and went inside to change.
The so-called Cuttlefish Cabin 2.0 (now fireproof) looked small on the outside, and felt even smaller on the inside. A small cot lay on the left side of the rectangular floor plan, and a desk with a laptop took up the space on the other end. A rudimentary cooking station sat directly across from Delta, and on the wall next to the bed lay a charger unlike anything Delta had ever seen. Its bulbous muzzle and main body were covered in a nebulous black, lined with a lime green border. And it was astoundingly well maintained; the charger practically glowed with the amount of polish.
"Hands off that charger, by the way." Marie called through the door. "No one handles it but me."
"Yeah, yeah." Delta called back. "What kind of charger is it, anyway? I've never seen anything like it."
"It's from a series only available to Splatoon agents." Marie answered. "Although that's the older model. You'll get one of your own to use—it comes with joining."
"So everyone in the Splatoon's got one?" Delta asked as she tied the boots' shoelaces.
"Well not the charger per se." Marie corrected. "But you do get a weapon from the series. My cousin—for example—has the roller variant."
"Your cousin's in on this too?"
"Uh, yeah?" Marie sounded confused. "Callie's a part of all this, remember?"
"Wait." Delta paused, processing. "Callie's your cousin?"
"What, you didn't know that?" Marie asked.
"Uh, no." Delta replied, zipping the bright yellow jacket up. "I just assumed you guys were sisters. You know, because you're both called the Squid Sisters? Why did you name yourselves that if you're not sisters?"
"Because cephalopods would line out the door for the Squid Cousins." Delta didn't have to see Marie's face to sense the sarcasm in her tone. "Half of your success is dependent on how you brand yourself. Remember that."
Delta figured Marie had a point as she walked back outside, fiddling with the turtleneck collar. Squid Sisters sounded a million times better than Squid Cousins.
"Hey, not a bad fit." Marie commented as Delta turned the corner.
"I feel like even a blind squid can see me." Delta gestured to the nearly glowing yellow jacket.
"It's still better than the older one." Marie chuckled at Delta's comment. "Come on, let me show you how this is going to work." She slid her parasol closed and walked through the rock archway, motioning for Delta to follow.
"So we have two main objectives we need to achieve." Marie began as she walked. "Our first and most important is to rescue Callie and the Great Zapfish. But we also need to subdue whatever Octarian threat is brewing before it has a chance to grow into something larger." Marie stopped at an opening in the ground, since repaired with glass. "To do both, we need to strike the Octarians where it hurts—their base of operations." Marie pointed her parasol down at the polluted lake below them. Delta peered closer through the glass and made out tiny little structures resting on the water's surface.
"Cephalon HQ will definitely be our endgame." Marie withdrew her parasol. "But we obviously can't just walk right in and start beating things up. For multiple reasons." Marie gave a sigh. "First off the most elite of Octarians guard the base, and there's hundreds of them there at the moment. Unless we can find a magical way to clone you a hundred times, you're all we've got. And that's not even taking the barrier into consideration."
"Barrier?" Delta asked.
"Cephalon HQ has the ability to put up an electrified barrier whenever it has enough Zapfish power." Marie explained. "No Inkling can cross the barrier as long as it's up."
"So then that's a pickle." Delta scratched her head. "The Great Zapfish is powering the barrier...and is behind it?"
"Well, the barrier isn't actually powered by the Great Zapfish itself." Marie answered. "I forgot to mention this, but the Great Zapfish has accumulated a lot of offspring in its century of living. And Zapfish tend to keep their babies safe…by holding them in pouches inside their mouths."
"So you're saying not only did the Octarians steal the Great Zapfish and Callie, but also whatever babies the Great Zapfish was holding?" Delta could hardly believe how flawlessly this had gone in the Octarian's favor.
"Right." Marie replied. "And the babies themselves can also be used to generate electricity. They're usually used for military upkeep, including the barrier protecting Cephalon HQ."
"And how many babies are there?" Delta asked.
"About fifty." Marie calmly replied.
"What?!" Delta was stunned.
"Zapfish have large clutch sizes." Marie seemed to not even blink at Delta's reaction. "Anyways, as I was saying—the barrier's power is outsourced from the Zapfish in surrounding outposts. I've tracked them to this canyon. Your job is to head into each stronghold and retrieve each Zapfish. Every time we do that, we weaken the barrier and eventually we'll be able to get inside to rescue Callie and the Great Zapfish."
"Okay." Delta stretched her back, ready to get going. "So what's our first move?"
"There's four Zapfish right here in Tentakeel Outpost." Marie explained as she fiddled with whatever she grabbed from the bench earlier. "Let's clear out this area and see how the Octarians respond."
"So…" Delta started, looking around the area. She didn't see anything that looked even remotely close to alive, let alone a Zapfish or Octarian. "Where are they?" Without skipping a beat, Marie whipped out the shooter she had been hiding and shot a stream of ink at what looked like nothing but air. After about five hits, the air materialized into a flattened kettle with a grate on top.
"Octarians like to live in kettles underground." Marie explained. "And they keep the entrance under an invisibility cloak as a defensive measure. You can spot them pretty easily after a while." Marie held the shooter out to Delta, her grip now on the barrel rather than the trigger. "You ready to do this?"
Delta had instead moved over to the kettle, staring down at the blue steel with confused eyes.
"It's a kettle…" She muttered to herself, reaching a foot out to touch it.
"Oh cod help me." Marie looked up to the sky. "Yes, Captain Obvious. Anything else you want to point out?"
"Why is it a kettle?" Delta kneeled down.
"That…I actually don't know." Marie conceded with an approving frown. "Trust me, it's not the worst of questionable design choices you're going to see down here." Delta gave a shrug, managing to get herself over the kettle. In her eyes, if design didn't have a function, it wasn't worth her attention.
Delta took the shooter from Marie's hands. It was small but sturdily made—the stabilizer fit snugly into Delta's shoulder almost as if it was made for her, but the black barrel was short and the yellow chamber was small. Delta expected its rate of fire was a little less than desirable, but one look at the muzzle proved that it was engineered for battle rather than sport.
"That's yours." Marie commented. "It's the latest version of the new Hero Shot. Obviously still a prototype, but hopefully it will grow with you as you learn with it. And while I'm on the subject of equipment…" Marie dug into her kimono's pocket and pulled out a small black case before handing it to Delta.
"Put these in." Marie said as Delta opened up the case to find two tiny discs submerged in liquid. "They're contacts with tiny little cameras embedded inside them. They'll help me see whatever you're looking at."
"You're not coming?" Delta asked as she fished out a contact.
"No." Marie shook her head. "I think my identity's been compromised, so I'd rather not enter unless you're in trouble. Plus someone always needs to stay behind and watch the escape route. I'll be guiding you through the radio comms instead."
"Understood." Delta popped the second contact in, hearing a soft squish as it lined up with her eye. She put her hands on her Hero Shot and looked down the kettle's grate.
"Ready?" Marie let out a breath. Delta nodded.
"Good luck out there. You're gonna need it." Marie gave her new recruit an encouraging nod as Delta shifted into squid form and leapt into the kettle.
Agent 4 dropped into a respawn pad, and she cautiously stood into her humanoid form.
"All right, Four." Marie's voice crackled into her headphones. "Video feed is coming in solidly. Can you hear me?"
"Perfectly." Delta replied, bringing a hand up to adjust the pyramid-like headphones sitting around her ears.
"Good, sound's working on my end too." Agent 4 heard Marie shift in her seat. "Take a look around and let's see what we've got to work with." Delta did as she was told, scanning the area and taking in her surroundings. She knew she was underground, but she couldn't help but notice the yellowing colors of the setting sun. Closer inspection revealed that it wasn't a sun as much as it was a computerized dome, programmed to televise a video of a sunset sky. Delta herself had landed on a strip of a road, with twists and turns almost like a maze. Directly in front of her was a short incline, followed by a landing with four wooden crates on top.
"Hmm," Marie muttered over the radio. "Looks safe to approach, but take it easy. Octarians like to hide in crates for ambushes."
Agent 4 took a slow step forward, keeping a close eye on the boxes. She advanced slowly…slowly…until she was in range before clicking the red button on her tank and hurling a splat bomb at the crates. It exploded in a burst of yellow, crushing the wooden boxes to reveal nothing inside. Satisfied with the security of her immediate surroundings, Delta walked closer until she was at the edge of the puddle of yellow ink.
"Hmm?" Agent 4 caught a glimmer of something shiny in the puddle and peered closer in an attempt to figure out what it was.
"What the…" Marie called over the radio. "Is that…glitter or something?"
"Looks like it only appears when the ground is inked." Agent 4 moved her head from side to side, watching the shimmer stay within the inked zone. "Why is there glitter hidden in this kettle?"
"I…honestly don't know." Marie sounded confused and a little off guard. "That's new. Maybe the Octarians decided to get a little more festive. Anyways we have better things to do than muse over their decorations. Hop on that dash track and let's get to work."
Delta stared at the automatized ramp, wondering if that thing was stable enough to even stand on.
"Just trust me on this." Marie seemed to sense Delta's hesitancy. The rookie agent took a deep breath and stepped on the conveyor ramp. She was instantly catapulted into the air, landing on a tiered incline in a matter of half a second.
"Ha ha." Marie chuckled at Delta's stumble. "Gets your ink pumping, doesn't it?" Agent 4 was about to respond when she saw some sort of ball moseying around in midair. The ball turned around to reveal two wide, green eyes staring down at the new Agent. It let out a bubbly gurgle before cutting its propellers to drop altitude and get within firing range.
"Octocopter!" Marie cried out. "Take it out!" Delta didn't know if it was the adrenaline from launching off the ramp or the sudden threat of a serious enemy, but her Hero Shot raised up almost automatically, and Agent 4 pulled the trigger to shower the cephaloball with pellets of yellow. The Octocopter exploded in a puff of purple smoke.
"Wait." Agent 4 froze, the gravity of her reaction starting to hit her. "What did I just…"
"You didn't kill it, if that's what you're wondering." Marie calmly replied. "Because there was nothing to kill. Low level troopers like Octocopters are created when Octolings sever their tentacles and don't possess their own consciousness. And even if they did, their own respawn pad would pick them up—but because of the power issue Octarian respawns are backlogged for about a month."
"Huh." Delta carefully vaulted over the tiered levels and made her way to the top. "By the way, why is everything floating?"
"Octarians like to flaunt their technology." Marie answered. "They love their antigravity tech, and after a while the nonsensical platforms just became part of their aesthetic." She paused. "Hit that rail with some ink and hop on. It's a pretty fresh ride." Agent 4 did as she was told and leapt on, trusting that the rail would be able to hold her weight. It did, and she stumbled at first but managed to make it through without falling off. Her feet landed in front of another aerial dash track. She decided to jump into it, only to land on a platform right in front of another Octocopter.
The dangling tentacle spotted her quickly, and wasted no time in shooting at her. Agent 4 had little time to duck behind one of the nearby walls for cover. She gripped her Hero Shot, waiting for the volley of purple to end. She spun back out, finger already on the trigger and splatting the Octocopter in a matter of moments.
"Hmm." Marie muttered over the radio. "Not bad. Not bad at all."
"Thanks?" Agent 4 replied as she eyed the distance between her landing and the next one. She flipped into a squid, nearly launching herself across and onto the next ride rail. The maneuver landed her in front of a suspicious line of purple Octo ink.
"Ah." Marie began as a giant column of ink shot out from the nearby wall. "Ink pistons. I don't recommend you touch those."
"Well I kinda gathered that." Delta replied, waiting for the piston to retract before crossing. Her progress rewarded her with even more pistons to pass.
"Ha." Marie let out a chuckle at Agent 4's quip. "But seriously, don't touch those. They…" Agent 4 heard Marie clear her throat. "…aren't a fun way to go."
"Sounds like someone speaks from experience." Agent 4 teased, spotting another Octocopter and making short work of it. After her third splat, Delta was growing more comfortable with combat.
"Ok, I'm impressed." Marie commented. "You seem like you actually do have some tactical training, even outside the occasional motion in Turf War. Where did you learn how to take cover and clear corners like that?"
"You aware of anything about Echo's Edge?" Delta began as she waited for an ink piston to get out of her way.
"Rural farmland with a militant attitude." Marie replied.
"That's one way of looking at it." Agent 4 let out a laugh as she made her way through the rest of the area. "Well, our Turf War coach was a veteran, and a pretty well decorated one at that. When he heard I was hoping to sign up one day, he took me aside and trained me."
"And let me guess, he wasn't done by the time you left for Nationals." Marie surmised over the radio.
"How'd you—" Delta was cut off when she accidentally stepped on a dash ramp, catapulting her into the air. She watched in slow motion as ink pistons shot out at her, nearly impaling her as she narrowly squeezed by them. Agent 4 clutched her chest and gasped for air, wholly unprepared for the near-splat situation she had found herself in.
"That's how I know." Marie answered Delta's unfinished question. "Your ability to aggress without clouding your judgment is a huge asset, and you're right to rely on it. But sometimes I've noticed it prevents you from looking at the big picture. You haven't fully trained your—what did you call it, 'beast mode?'—and because of that you don't yet know how to gauge timing when you're in the zone. I'll let the pistons be my example. Timing is the key to a long and existent life."
"Fine." Agent 4 let out a breath. "So I'm a little rough around the edges."
"It's cool." Marie brushed off Delta's comment as she walked up to another dash track. "At any rate, look left." Agent 4 did as she was told, and found a small pipe's mouth sticking out of the side of the road. "That's what passes as emergency communications around here. There's a little report sheet hidden in the inside pocket of your jacket. Do me a favor and shove it in there."
"Uh…" Delta started as she unzipped her jacket. "Why?"
"All warfare is based on deception." Marie explained as Delta heard her put a book down. "I had some time to brush up on my Octolish, so I forged a report saying that Tentakeel Outpost was attacked by a traitor. And since the Octarians didn't have the resources to put security cameras up here, they should be none the wiser." Agent 4 pulled out a folded sheet of paper with blocky text she couldn't understand, complete with consistent signatures, seals, and watermarks. It was clear Marie took the time to make it as believable as possible.
"But there is no traitor." Delta said as she slipped the paper into the pipe.
"Yup." Marie replied. "You're the one behind the attacks, but the longer it takes for them to figure that out the better off we are. Plus this story has the added benefit of creating distrust within their ranks, slowly weakening them over time." Marie's voice started to pick up in energy, unusual for the laid-back Squid Sister. "Find every way to cripple your enemy, both directly and indirectly. It's a rule of the battlefield."
"Huh." Delta muttered as she continued on. That was an idea her coach had never told her.
"Oh, look—your favorite piston situation." Marie teased as Agent 4 came to another dash track. "Remember to think before you leap this time, yeah?" Delta stared down the aisle of pistons periodically obscuring the path across three dash tracks. She could make out a glowing rim on the other side—she was close to the Zapfish. Agent 4 took a deep breath and studied the pistons, looking for any sort of trend in their movement.
Open, open, open. Agent 4 thought she had one.
Close, close, close. She had it. Delta steeled herself, and leapt onto the dash track. She cleared the first one with little problem. The second one was closer, a little too close for comfort.
"Holy…" Delta heard Marie mutter over the radio.
"CAAAAARRRRRP!" Marie shouted as a piston grazed the back of Agent 4's hoodie. Four winced as her feet final crashed against the metal floor.
"Ahem." Marie cleared her throat, settling down from her outburst. "Sorry." Agent 4 hardly heard her, and instead focused on the lightbulb shaped cage in front of her. A tiny Zapfish sat inside, its frightened quivers sending tremors down its golden scales. Huge, pleading eyes followed the newcomer as Delta froze, taking care to move as slowly as possible.
"It's okay." Delta held her hands up in an attempt to calm the Zapfish down. "I'm not here to hurt you." The Zapfish let out an uneasy gurgle, not sure if it should snarl, greet, or cower at Delta.
"Ouch, that looks like it hurts." Agent 4 noted the electrodes pinching the Zapfish's electric whiskers. Marie went quiet, mildly surprised by Delta's sudden softer side.
"I'm gonna get you out of there, okay?" Delta rested a hand on the surface of the barrier. The baby Zapfish sent a tiny jolt through its whiskers, causing the barrier around it to glow. The electricity sent tingles down Delta's fingers.
"Break the barrier with some ink." Marie spoke up over the radio. "It might spook the little fella, but it won't hurt him."
"You sure?" Delta asked.
"I've done this before, remember?" Marie gave a smirk over the radio. "Geez. For someone who mercilessly eviscerates Inklings in Turf War, you sure worry about Zapfish a lot."
"It's a baby!" Delta defended, placing her hand back onto her Hero Shot. "Who wouldn't feel concerned for a baby?"
"I'm not criticizing." Delta could almost hear Marie hold up her hands in surrender. "Just get out of there, yeah? It's never a good idea to hang out in enemy territory for too long."
"I'm gonna get you to safety, okay?" Delta tried her best to calm the Zapfish down. Marie was right, sticking around was bound to do no good. "Just hang on tight." Agent 4 raised her Hero Shot and opened fire on the barrier.
The shield shattered in a spray of glittering shards, while the Zapfish let out a startled shriek. Delta instantly leapt forward and snatched the baby out of its cage.
"Great." Marie's voice came over the radio once the trembling Zapfish was in Delta's arms. "Bring him back here so we can get him safely stowed away."
"Understood." Delta hugged the golden fish to her chest as she Super Jumped back to the kettle's entrance.
Delta's new friend had since grown to adore her by the time they landed at Tentakeel Outpost. The Zapfish danced around Agent 4, playfully nibbling at her yellow jacket as they passed the Outpost's archway. The Turf War player looked up to find her mentor watching the scene, her features turned upwards in a warm half-smile.
"Well someone admires you." Marie commented as she adjusted her hairclip. "Come on, I'll show you where we keep them." She walked towards the Cabin as Delta followed suit, sliding the door closed behind them. Delta took a confused look around the tiny, rudimentary interior, unsure of how they were going to fit fifty Zapfish inside. Marie gave a knowing smirk in response, and kicked the floor's carpet corner aside. Delta looked down to find a newly revealed trapdoor glistening in the cabin's lighting.
"After you." Marie said as she unlocked the trapdoor, lifting the door open. Delta grabbed on to the mahogany ladder below, taking care to watch her step in the dim lighting. Agent 4 hopped off at the bottom, her feet stomping onto dirt ground. She looked around, her eyes registering nothing but darkness.
"Welcome to the real Cuttlefish Cabin." Marie said as she hopped off the ladder, switching on a nearby mining torch. The high-powered flashlight cut through the darkness to reveal tunnels dug out of the ground—almost like mines. Marie turned her shellphone's flashlight on and led Delta down the center passageway. "It's a good idea to pay attention here—the other tunnels are either dead ends or booby traps."
"All of this…" Delta began as they walked into a large antechamber, complete with a huge column-like tank in the center. "…sat under a tiny cabin?"
"You really thought that was our real base of operations, huh?" Marie turned back to face her protégé with a half-smile. "As I said earlier—all warfare is deception. When we're able to attack, we must look like we can't. We must feign disorder among ourselves and strike when they least expect it. I'd say the little shack above does its unassuming job very well." Delta tilted her head ever so slightly, processing Marie's words. Her thoughts turned to Marie's stage comments on Inkopolis News two years ago. It was a common occurrence for Callie to ask Marie for strategy tips on the live news.
"You sure you know what you're doing?" Delta asked, remembering Marie's nonsensical answers on the show.
"What, you're talking about the show?" Marie replied with a scoff. "Callie couldn't take a hint—that's why my answers were ridiculous. I didn't want to show what I knew on live television. But in actuality I love this stuff." Marie gave a contented sigh, her fingers running through the pages of notes sitting on a nearby desk. "I've been studying strategy in my spare time for ages. I just…wish I was using it under better circumstances." Delta turned to look at her mentor, whose mood had suddenly turned from proud to morose. But the moment passed as soon as it arrived, and Marie was back to herself.
Delta opened her mouth to respond, but was distracted by something nudging her shoulder. She turned around to find the Zapfish she rescued had followed them down the shaft, holding a blue tiger lily in its mouth. It dropped it into Delta's hands, clearly intending it to be a gift.
"You're special." Marie gave a half-jealous scoff as Delta twirled the flower in her hands. "None of the other agents got gifts. I guess you have a way with animals."
"Yeah." Delta absently agreed, admiring the flower's electric blue petals—just like Entrenched's signature color. "I volunteered at a shelter for abandoned Sea Snails before coming to the city. I guess I picked up a knack for pets there." She watched the Zapfish absently float around the room, curiously sniffing the furniture.
"All right, little fella." Marie began, gently nudging the Zapfish towards the glass tank. "In you go." Delta undid the hatch at the back of the tank, feeling a slight breeze as air slipped out of the tank's interior. The Zapfish ducked inside, playfully floating around its new home.
"One down." Marie let out a calming sigh. "Forty-nine to go."
Delta gave a silent nod in agreement, her fingers tucking the flower into the inside pocket of her jacket.
She now had forty-nine motives to continue.
Hey everybody! I want to extend a big thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and followed once again. I really appreciate it! This is another longer one, but the feedback from the last chapter's length was positive, so I'm not terribly worried about it this time. For some reason Fanfic isn't giving me the option to input that silver line to break up scenes, so here's hoping some extra spacing does the trick...
Thank you for reading,
~RisingPhoenix56