Chapter 3

The first warning Ika got that something was wrong was the shaking he felt in the pipe. His squid eyes widen wide as a sudden crash sound is heard far ahead. He looks forwards, but can't see anything but the red ink that surrounded him.

Then, as suddenly as the crash, he begins free falling. His fear causes him to inadvertently switch back to his humanoid form. His hood falls down as he continues his course for the ground below him, screaming the whole while. The fall takes a second, and suddenly the ground is in Ika's face.

BOOM! A plume of smoke erupts from where Ika landed. The smoke settles and he is seen shaking his head to rid himself of the dizziness of the landing. Then, two shrieks fill the air. Ika looks up, and instantly screams out.

Callie and Marie fall just as ungracefully as Ika. Marie slams into the ground a few feet away from Ika, but Callie managed to land on something. She flinches at the jarring impact with the ground, but is otherwise ok. She looks around, wondering how a fall from that height didn't hurt.

"MMMPPPHHH!" The sudden loud muffling caused Callie to leap in the air with a yelp. She turns around and sees a pile of red ink, a very dazed red squid in it. Callie instantly makes a cry of worry and picks up the dazed squid. "Oh, Ika! I didn't know you were there." Her only response was some dazed gurgling.

Three more clouds of smoke erupt as the other three agents slam into the ground. Marie is recovered at this point and is walking to Callie, her charger out and ready. She looks around, taking only slight notice in the dazed conditions of the other agents. "Where are we?"

Callie looks around as well. The area they were in was dark, signifying that is was night time now. It was covered in forest, each direction looking the same as the others. "I-I don't know." She clutches Ika a little tighter, causing him to snap out his daze. He tries to struggle out of Callie's grasp, but he didn't have the strength. Resigning to his fate, he lets out an annoyed gurgle at his predicament.

Marie hears the noise and looks over to it. There she sees Ika in his squid form being snuggled by Callie. She smiles under her mask and says "Don't worry 7. I know the feeling." Ika glares at his cousin for not helping him, but her eyes just take on a smug light. He makes a noise similar to a 'humph' and looks away.

By this time the other agents had recovered and had made their way to the family. Whinter looks around and says "Any idea where we are?" Marie and Callie shake their heads, neither of them having a clue.

Agent 3 then says "Wait! I have a map!" She rummages in her pack for a second, then pulls out a rolled up piece of paper. She opens it up and begins scanning it. "Alright… if this is the pipe we took, and this is the forest, then…. Aha!" She puts the map on the ground and points to a seemingly random part of the forest. "This is where we are!"

Everyone sweat drops at the annunciation. Marie closes her eyes and says "3, that just is some random part of the forest." Agent 3 harrumphes and says "Don't question my tracking skills! I am the best in Inkopolis!" Marie's confusion rises in response. "If you say so."

Agent 3 then looks at the map again and says "The area we are in is very close to the Calamari mountains the pipe runs through. If we continue going North-East, we should reach them by foot in a little less then a day." She folds up her maps and looks around. She takes notice of the moon and its position, then points in a random direction. "This way! Follow me!" She then begins marching away briskly, each agent running slightly to catch up.

-1 hour later-

"How much faaarrrtherrrrrrr?" Callie whines for the tenth time. Marie had developed a twitch in her eye at this point, and each agent had begun to get driven crazy by Callie's whining. Ika had it the worst, him still stuck in Callie's arms.

Then, he suddenly turns humanoid. His head locked in Callie's arms, it was a very awkward walk. He shoves on Callie's arms, each shove enunciated by a word. "I. Have. Had. Enough!" He finally frees his head, his hoodie flying back in the process. He pulls it back up and says "I need some stress relief! I can't handle Callie's whines!" Callie shouts in protest, but otherwise agrees. They all had been walking through the night and needed some rest.

Marie looks around, then spots a clearing a way away. "Let's go over there." The group begins walking over to the clearing, each one ready for some rest.

They enter the clearing and instantly get to work on setting up camp. Callie and Marie had expected some in the woods exploration and had prepared accordingly. Besides, an agent should always be prepared for any situation.

Luckily, this lesson seemed to be ingrained into the others. Each agent looks into their special packs and pull out the necessary equipment for a camp. They each begin pitching up tents, Agent 3 volunteering to get a fire started and cook some food.

After a few minutes, each inkling is sitting around the campfire. They were each very dazed and tired, but the smell of roasted fish in the are made them all stay awake a little longer. Agent 3 sat on the ground near the fire, her focus entirely on the spinning spit that cooked the fish.

Soon, the fish was finished. Each agent ate contentedly at their food, each one loving the salty taste of the roasted salmon. Callie looks at Agent 3 and says "This is really good 3! How did you learn to cook like this?"

Agent 3 flushes in embarrassment, chuckling sheepishly. "W-Well, I um... cooked a lot when I was younger. Before I came to Inkopolis, I did it all the time. Turns out I was really good at it. I just wish my parents could see me now." A look feel over Agent 3's eyes, filled with a deep longing.

Marie nods in agreement at the statement. "I can agree with you there. I too wish that my aunt and uncle could see me, Callie, and Ika now. We've come so far." The two black-haired inklings nod as well.

Clementine then decides to bring up a topic that she wanted to bring up for a while. "Hey Callie, Marie. Why do you two stay in Inkopolis anyways? Aren't you two old enough to leave?" Marie sighs, and looks at the sky.

"Maybe I could, but Callie and Ika can't, as they are both only 17, while I myself am 20. I wouldn't ever leave them alone. Besides, me and Callie have a career there now." Callie nods, and Ika simply stares at the ground.

Whinter's eyebrows furrow and he says "Do you guys ever regret becoming famous?" Marie sighs, and she pulls down her face mask. She knew that she needed to be fully exposed for this. No hiding behind a mask.

"Yes, I do. I often wish me, Callie, and Ika could just go back to Calamari Country and be young squids again, singing being nothing more than a hobby. But, I also feel an obligation to the young inklings of Inkopolis. They look up to us, and I feel that I need to uphold that responsibility."

Callie looks over at Whinter and says "It is a lot to shoulder, but we enjoy it. Every time we sing, we can feel the excitement and happiness of Inkopolis. I wouldn't trade it for the world. We even asked Ika to join, but he didn't want to."

Agent 3 looks at Ika in shock. "What?! Why not?" Ika sighs and says "It's a long story. I hate being in the spotlight, and I just didn't want to be famous. People may say I am a good singer, but I much rather prefer the secluded life I have now."

Ika then claps his hands suddenly and says "Alright! Enough of that mushy stuff. Let's all get some shuteye." Each inkling mumbles their agreement, and they all go to their respective tents. Shortly after, the soft sound of the forest fills the night and puts each agent to sleep.