Tonyo threw his Krak-on Zap onto the table in his lounge and sat down, the mysterious hat in his coat. He moved it to a box in the basement, promising himself that he would investigate - but he was already certain upon the owner. It just didn't make any sense.
"Why would she have Anasia's straw boater?" he mused, as the squid sisters signed off on the TV and he flicked the remote to turn off the machine. Perhaps now he had his lead which would take him to the final conclusion - what really happened to Anasia? He knew the doctor had lied, but he didn't know anything else. Finally, though, he had a clue. A very strong clue.
He awoke the next morning to a tapping on his door, and fully expecting a person to be there, he was surprised to find no-one there. He looked around, and only after searching a bit did he find a boy lying next to his 'out' garbage pile. It seemed the boy had thrown a rock to the doorbell.
The boy was short and slender, and wore a black inky rider and a mask which had also been painted a pure shade of night. His shoes - a pair of metal boots - set his image to that of a gangly teen. His tentacles were not visible, but the ink coming from a scratch on his face gave away his race. Tonyo dragged him inside and lay his limp body on the sofa.
"Thanks," he muttered hoarsely, barely managing to breathe and speak simutaneously. He seemed a little roughed up, but all his wounds were old. "I fell over and-" he paused momentarily - "hurt my leg. Can't stand." he looked famished more than anything, and before long he was sitting up and eating a large Octo Pie after a huge Hot Dogfish.
"Heavenly," he muttered between mouthfuls, then swallowed. "thank you so much." he looked at him carefully. Tonyo looked back.
"Uh," Tonyo said uncomfortably, "I'm Tonyo. You are?" he looked expectantly, but the boy shook his head.
"It doesn't matter." he said, refusing to reveal anything. "Just call me whatever you want to."
Just then, Tonyo detected a hissing in his voice. Could it be...?
He thought quickly and acted quicker. "I will call you Blacklight, then," he said, hoping it would answer his question. It did, and it also earned him a few pieces of half-digested Octo Pie on the empty plate.
"You.. have sharp eyes," he stated, staring. "How did you know?"
"Your voice. Same hissing sound." was his answer as he stuffed a large piece of Catfish Burger into his mouth, chewing slowly. The boy looked at his feet sadly.
"I should go," he said finally. "but I can't. I cannot walk," he stated, looking sheepishly at Tonyo. "I would appreciate you not talking about me. Please," he added. Tonyo stared at Blacklight with a newfound respect. His appearance did not define his character, and Tonyo found him a much nicer personality than people seemed to think.
Suddenly, a rapid banging ensued, and two faces appeared at the door.
"Oh, not Agents 1 and 2," he said in exasperation. The door opened on its own, and Tonyo realised one of the two new faces had picked his lock.
They were interesting faces, at least. A purple-tentacled squid wearing a purple inky rider and a beanie entered first, followed by a taller, green-tentacled inkling who was wearing a white rider, a hygiene mask and a bandana. They walked directly to Blacklight and began fussing over him.
"Agent one, agent two," he complained, "Don't just barge into a guy's house like that!" He shook his head apologetically. "I'm sorry." he said to Tonyo.
Agent 1 looked carefully at Tonyo with a playful expression on her face. Her shades hid her eyes, but definitely did not interfere with her vision.
"Hey!" Agent 1 cried, pointing at Tonyo. "You're the kid Blackie saw during his cheater raid! The one who shot perfect inkzookas!" At this, both Tonyo and Blacklight blushed profusely.
"Calm down, Agent 1," Agent 2 scolded his counterpart. "You're being hyperactive again." his voice, similarly to Blacklight's, was raspy.
After some discussion, they somehow came to have supper there, and Blacklight explained their roles. Agents 1 and 2 were retired war veterans of sorts, who hacked the system to help Blacklight stop cheaters. He was the face of the operation, but the Agents were behind technicalities. Agent 1 found the game that was wrong and Agent 2 identified the player cheating. Blacklight was there to be the 'action man', and jump in to save the players at risk because of cheaters.
"You know," Agent 2 mused, "You and Blacklight seem to have hit it off; so to say, you're compatible," he announced. "you should work with him." Tonyo jumped at this suggestion, and Blacklight began to stutter and speak rapidly. Nothing made sense and Agent 2 went on.
"Blacklight is very antisocial," he continued. "he really needs another friend on the field other than us. We even have a spare power suit in your ink colour, believe it or not." Tonyo thought for a while about it. Surely, it would be more interesting than waiting for a battle that used cyan so he could play at all, and he would easily sustain himself with his night job. He came to a decision.
"If Blacklight is willing to have me along, I'll go for it," he said simply. "If I'm not welcome, no matter." Blacklight looked down at his ice cream and fiddled with the spoon until finally he replied.
"Yeah, I guess it is a good idea." he admitted. "As long as I can go it alone sometimes." Agents 1 and 2 suddenly celebrated, and soon Tonyo was dragged away to be inducted into the protective arms of his newfound friends.
