Chapter 10: Of Spies and Splatfests

Inkopolis Square (? POV)

"Eye, are you in position?"

"You have a radar tracker on me, not to mention access to my cam feed, and yet you're still gonna ask me that?"

"Stop being a wise-ass, or I'll head up there and bend your tentacles the wrong way around."

"I'm vewwy sowwy missus Cassawndwa, may I make it up to u pwetty pwease?"

"Uuugh, you and Joanne are absolutely insufferable. Tell me when the party starts so I can get into your cam feeds."

"A'ight, Eye going dark."

Now where's a nice li'l place to set up shop? Oooh, that's a very nice rooftop.

Hup! Alright, now, where's that stage of theirs at... Aha! Let's see, a couple of squids watching Pearl and Marina get their things in order… Spyke looking suspicious as usual… Hmm... No Hybrid. Maybe those squid-heads were smart for once and didn't decide to put their assets on full display. This may complicate things a bit.

"Yo, Cass, I've checked every particle of air in a half-mile radius, but I don't see any Hybrids wandering around."

"Of splatting course… *Sigh* Just hang around up there for another hour or so, I'll check the cam feeds. If there's nothing by then, we'll just call it off and try another time."

Meanwhile…

Splatoon Headquarters... (Shepard's POV)

Me and the gang were hiding out inside the shack, mostly to watch a broadcast of the splatfest, but also so we didn't chance getting caught out in the open by the supposed "danger" the Old Man was talking about.

It was still pretty entertaining, with all the bright colors and music.

I'll give one thing to the Inklings and Octolings, they know how to party.

Even from half a mile away I could still hear the music off in the distance when I went out with Akali to get some fresh, cool, midnight air.

"You know, I've been thinking about something." I told her.

"What if we organized the Splatoon into a genuine military force? They already seem to have lethal efficiency even with communication problems, and not even a single leader except for the Old man. What would happen if we got them all together, made one single base of operations, and really started coordinating?" I wondered aloud.

"Honestly, I have no idea. It would probably easily be among the strongest armies on the planet... depending on what type of people you could muster, of course." She said.

"Yeah, maybe that's the next bright idea I'll hand over to him." I said, lost in thought.

"Question is" Akali began "where are you gonna find captains or commanders?"

I thought about that for a moment. Leaders seemed to be very rare, and very expensive in this day and age, so I'd need to figure out how in the hell I'd get one on my side.

"Heh maybe you just ask nicely." She chuckled to herself.

Wait a minute, that just might work…

"Girl, you're a genius." I walked back inside, with Akali now donning a look of complete confusion on her face as my mind began to put everything together.

Meanwhile…(Eye's POV)

Well, it was already half an hour past midnight, and there was still no sign of the Hybrid. Cass signed off, and I began to pack up my things and grab my deployable cameras, stuffing them into my supply bag as I snuck back down into the Central Domes. I entered, and Cass leaned on a nearby column.

"Nothing?" She asked.

"Nothing."

"Something tells me the Half-Blood isn't gonna be as dumb as we expected." She began.

"This is gonna be much harder than laying and waiting for her to just wander into our view. We need to catch her somewhere she won't expect us, or where she'll feel comfortable enough to let down her guard."

"I think I know just the place" I replied with a grin.

She looked at me, reflecting my grin and said "I'm listening…"

Two Days Later… (Klara's POV)

"Good splatting. Well, Akali, I think it's time we head back to the Headquarters so the Cap'n can accept you into the Splatoon. You've aced these tests with flying colors. Congrats!"

She lifted her head, and looked at me with tired, emerald colored eyes, and said;

"Thanks Klara, I couldn't have done any of this without your inspiration, remember that. It's been a great time training with ya."

"Feeling's mutual." I said, smiling.

We were about to head home, but then something sharp and small stung my back, and shortly after, I began to feel tired, and I collapsed as I heard shouting nearby, my vision slowly fading to black…

One Hour Later…

I yawned as I woke up. It was the middle of the day, and for some reason, my heart and mind were racing… what was it about… oh right, Akali… wait!

"AKALI!" I cried out.

I began searching every outpost from head to toe, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Splat it all!" I cursed.

Akali had been captured, and it was all my fault…

?, Octarian Dome 28… (Akali's POV)

Uuugh, where am I? Why does my head hurt so much…

"Oh, you're finally awake." A familiar voice welcomed me into an unknown place.

"Where the shell am I!?" I shouted at the voice, my eyes slowly adjusting to the intense light being shone at me.

"I'm gonna be asking the questions here, unless you want this to answer you."

As my eyes adjusted, I say the face of the squad leader from a while ago.

What was her name? Cass, I think?

She brushed a bat against my tentacles, and I was only growing more and more pissed by the second. But, that wouldn't do much, as I was held to a chair by metal clamps, so whoever was holding me wasn't stupid.

"Alright then, what do you want from me?" I asked.

"Good girl. For starters, where's the headquarters?" She glared at me, her bat pointed towards my throat.

I hesitated, and she must've noticed because she repeated her question a bit louder this time.

"Where. IS. IT?"

"Half a mile east of Inkopolis Square, on Limestone Ave."

"There we go. Was that all that hard?" She said sarcastically.

"Now, I'm just going to leave ya here, and have a chat with Sieg. I'll be right back for you, big girl."

Did she just wink at me?

The door slammed shut, and my mind was running laps trying to figure out how in the shell I'd get out of here...

Meanwhile…

Caspia Minor Guard Offices… (Kyrion's POV)

"Cod above, Ky, what in the shell happened to ya, buddy?"

"Not important, where is Squad Alpha Three at?" I asked sternly.

"They're posted about a quarter of a mile from here. I can give you the coords, but are you sure you're okay? That's a nasty gash buddy."

"Raz, I'll be fine, just give me the damn coords."

"A'ight, here they are. Go get 'em tigerfish."

I Placed the coords into my HUD, got my gear on and started the trudge over to Alpha Three. My wounds had healed, but not as quickly as I needed them too.

This is gonna be a long week.