It had been a week since Cornell's attack during the Splatfest. He was looking at a huge charge for the event. It only had delayed Splatfest for three days, and when the Cars vs Planes Splatfest occurred, Team Cars emerged triumphant, much to the annoyance of Maize. He wished he could have participated, but he only had gotten out of the hospital yesterday. He was in his home, wearing a black shirt that had a pattern of drawn vines like piranha plants on it. His living room had been tidied up a lot now, but his coffee table was covered with parts for a weapon that did not look complete yet. There was a blueprint attached to the wall for a splatterscope. He was trying to make a new one to replace the last one that had unfortunately got smashed. His television was playing in front of him, but he was not really paying much attention to it.
"And the last of the current ranked turf war stages today… is walleye warehouse!" Marie's voice chimed. The Squid Sisters were nearing the end of a regular stage rundown like always, informing which normal stages were up and which ranked areas would be played for the competitive squids.
"Is it wrong to admit I sometimes miss working there?" Callie added their usual continuation of the stage chatter. Her cousin looked irritated, recalling their part-time jobs they used to have at the warehouse.
"Only if you remember that time we got in a huge debt, because you destroyed three boxes of imported cargo," Marie reminded of all the bad times they had during their part-time work, like how they occasionally wound up breaking the assembly lines. Callie seemed embarrassed to be reminded of that time. Thankfully her grandpa helped save them from that accident. Maize chuckled, seeing the two on his television. They never could go one stage coverage without their banter.
"Squee!" a noise blared from the television. Maize looked up confusedly wondering what had interrupted that broadcast, the Squid Sisters caught off guard on that.
"Err… how about we cut to commercial before we move onto the news," Callie suggested before walking off camera. Marie didn't disagree at the idea of a small break. The cameraman however appeared to have other ideas, following her along until she approached to the side away from the main television that they usually stood in front of. Callie had approached one of the squids off to the side, who seemed to be sitting in front of a computer, making sure the footage was being recorded smoothly. He was holding Bondi in one of his arms. The squishie had started to speak up more lately, and as such make rather louder noises.
"Heh. Momma's little star already on TV," Maize joked to himself, but then watched as part of the splatterscope fell apart from not being assembled too well. He sighed in frustration, wishing he had paid extra to just have the weapons shop assemble it. Callie didn't even notice the camera on her as she held Bondi, until Marie grabbed the lens and refocused the direction of the camera.
"Hey, commercial! Leave him off the air!" Marie demanded, seeming furious at her cousin's son being on television. She didn't want him to be bothered when they took him out in public. They never wanted to disguise Bondi if they could help it. Almost instantly, the broadcast cut to some commercial about watermelon and lime flavored soda.
"That cameraman might get a salary cut for this," Maize chuckled, thankful that the Squid Sisters had been handling missions on their own ever since he got admitted to the hospital. It was great to know that he had others he could rely on. However, as the yellow squid continued fiddling with his weapon, he suddenly got an idea.
"Octoronia! She can put it together," Maize snapped his fingers with the idea. He recalled his octoling friend and her sister being a pair of good inventors. If they assembled things on a regular basis then weapons should be a cakewalk for them. He went and grabbed a box from the side of his couch and set it by the coffee table, instantly swiping everything off of it, and into the box with a loud clatter. He closed the box and picked it up.
"Mollusk Metropolis! Here I come!" Maize hummed, grabbing his octoling goggles from the counter before happily heading out the door. He was feeling a lot more energetic since he got out of the hospital, mostly because he hated lying in bed for long periods of time and doing nothing. It almost drove him crazy. He needed a proper weapon before he went on any more missions, since going unarmed lately had turned up poor results.
Maize had carried the box all the way to the Inkopolis Main Plaza. Here there was a cleaning job still going under way, despite the attack on the Splatfest happening a week ago. All of this ink was going to take some time to clean up. Everyone in the plaza seemed happy, despite the events a week ago. Maize, after viewing all of this, approached the hatch by the vending machines. He rested the box aside and used both hands to open the hatch up. He grabbed the weapon box before he climbed inside, letting go and falling within, the hatch slamming shut loudly behind him.
Maize was happily entering into Octo Valley. When he arrived to the all too familiar setting, he had to pull himself out of the pipe. His body had not entirely recovered yet. It still felt like his own muscles were fighting against him and demanding more rest.
"Ey, squiddo! You come to visit?" Captain Cuttlefish greeted. Agent 3 smirked, though saw a checkerboard on a small table set up between the elder and DJ Octavio. Of course the octopus did not look anywhere entertained, that same furious glare being focused on them.
"Sorry, cap'n. I'm just passing through. I need to head to Mollusk Metropolis. Do you have my helmet? I left it here when I last left," Maize requested. Captain Cuttlefish seemed disappointed at the lack of being visited, but he rarely ever felt ignored, thanks to his grandsquids and their dear friend.
"I found a black helmet the other day. By the by, you did great saving the Splatfest. If I had known what was going on, I'd have to have joined you in fighting," the captain exclaimed. He felt nothing but pure anger, not just toward Cornell, but also himself. He had let Callie and Marie get into danger like that while he was completely oblivious, but he could not hold it against himself. Someone had to watch Bondi, after all.
"I promised I'd be there if Callie or Marie ever needed help, and I didn't plan to let them down," Maize saluted, the elder squid lightly laughing as he went over to a small basket nearby full of various items. He gathered the random trinkets and gadgets that fell into Octo Valley from all around. It took a moment, but he pulled out the familiar black helmet, presenting it to Agent 3.
"Thank you, cap'n! I'll handle more missions once I handle my business in Mollusk Metropolis," Maize thanked him while taking the black helmet and beginning to stuff his tentacles into it so to hide them. He hated having to disguise like this, but he had no choice. He took his glasses off his face, before pulling out the octoling goggles and putting them on as well.
"I really owe you a lot, squiddo. For someone so young, you have enough experience to be as old as me," Captain Cuttlefish smiled. That statement hit a little close to home. The yellow inkling shook his head in disagreement.
"I already owe you a lot. I'll be back later. You take care," Maize bid him farewell before beginning to walk away, having to find the other hatch to get to Mollusk Metropolis. Captain Cuttlefish returned to his game of checkers, looking down at the board before back up to the still angry trapped octopus.
"Hey… how'd you jump four of my pieces in a row?"
Maize did not take long before he began to go through the long pipe so he could get into Mollusk Metropolis. The trip there looked beautiful alone, seeing all the nature that had been blooming into the pipe. When he reached the end of the tunnel he saw that all too familiar lantern, as if it was left there as a metaphor for the light at the end of the tunnel. Maize could see that forest beneath him at the bottom of the Cliff side. Being here brought back the memories of the time a week ago before the Splatfest attack occurred.
"Hm… how am I going to find Octoronia?" Maize asked himself. He had no idea how he would find the two octolings that he had made great friends with. He regretted not sharing his phone number now with each of the Special Squid Service's clients, that or start carrying business cards. He made a mental note to discuss that with the Squid Sisters sometime. Business cards sounded like a great idea to him.
"Wait, what is that?" Maize tried to look off in the distance, wishing his vision was better when wearing the goggles, but from what he saw in the distance, there was smoke, and quite a lot of it. That was where Mollusk Metropolis was. He started running down the hill, feeling panicked. He hoped this was not bad but it was clear that a fire had broken out.
Maize continued running down the path through the forest. The closer he got to the octopus homeland, he could see much more octolings spending the time in the forest, their expressions ranging from annoyed to depressed. It only took a few minutes afterwards, but he at last arrived into Mollusk Metropolis. Three buildings were caught in a furious blaze. Somehow a fire had broken out, and the natural vines and wildlife growing on the buildings made the flames spread fast. Maize could see the worst of the fires at the apartment complex in the center. Beside that were two small shops that had the misfortune of being caught in the flames. The squid could see octolings already trying to put out the fire.
"What happened here?!" Maize inquired from the first octoling bystander he could find, who was a boy in a school uniform staring into the flames in awe. He focused his attention on him.
"I think someone left their oven on when they left their home. The apartments all have a strong water system for fires, but the tank on the roof must have gotten clogged," the octoling explained what he thought happened. The emergency sprinklers and other water based protection plans for the apartment were not working. It was scary for Maize to know this. The two small buildings looked like they would be easy to put the fire out on, but the apartment did not look like it would be easy. The inkling had an idea, dropping his box containing the splatterscope parts on the ground.
"Why do I keep pressing my luck…?" Maize sighed in frustration, but his brain was focused on his idea and he could not back down on it, knowing other octolings lives were in danger. He saw a small river of water that had been pouring from upstream. Nature really was working perfectly with Mollusk Metropolis. Maize quickly dived into the water with a light splash. He had barely submerged himself for a minute before he was quickly pulling himself out, having soaked his entire body. He began to run straight toward the apartment complex.
"He-hey! Wait! You're going to get burnt!" one of the firefighting octolings shouted, trying to stop him. Maize had ran through the burning front door, relying on his soaked clothes and body to protect him, his goggles shielding his eyes. The apartment entrance lobby was toasted, or better yet overcooked. The ceiling was collapsed with multiple pieces of destroyed furniture. He headed straight for the stairs, heading up to the next floor.
"Help!" Maize heard a female voice, looking down the apartment hall. He could see another octoling in a white dress in the flames. She was trapped under the collapsed floor. He quickly got to the other side of the hole.
"Hey! Jump over! I've got you!" Maize insisted. The octoling needed to trust him on this. It was either burn alive or risk gaining an injury trying to escape. He watched as she took a step back, and she began to charge, leaping over the hole in the floor. The yellow inkling thankfully grabbed her by her arms, pulling her up to safety.
"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" the octoling girl immediately ran off down the steps to escape the flames. Maize hoped she would be fine, aware that the entrance was the only way out at this point. Whoever the designer for this apartment complex was did not even consider a fire escape, which could feel insulting to those who lived here. Maize could hear the wood of the ceiling creaking. It was close to falling on top of him. Agent 3 continued up the steps, beginning to sweat, feeling the heat overwhelming him. The water he was drenched in had quickly dried up.
"Almost… there…" Maize coughed. He began to feel the smoke entering his lungs as he got past the third floor, nearing the fourth. Once he got up there, he could see the wooden door at the end of the hall on the fourth door with a sign that read 'Roof Access'. It had been super heated now that he could not even touch it without burning himself. The yellow squid bit his lip, going straight for it. He grabbed the doorknob, feeling it sting and burn the palm of his hand. He jerked it open before continuing up the steps, doing his best to ignore the red hot pain.
"Finally!" Maize coughed, gasping for fresh air now that he was on the roof. He shut the door to the roof behind him. He had ran through that burning apartment, and the exercise did not help his breathing issues. He could see a huge circular object that he presumed to be the water storage unit. It looked full, at least. He began to look around the roof at one of the corners. He found a crowbar being left lying carelessly around with a tool kit.
"Here we… go!" Maize jumped up, swinging at the water tank and denting it hard. He swung again, bashing another dent into it. This time water began to slowly lightly pour out. He had to do this, and quick. If he stopped now, he would be leaving who knew how many mollusk lives were in danger. He pulled back and swung as hard as he could, bashing the water tank one more time with his crowbar. There was only one second moment of silence, until the huge dent began to rip open, as well as the entire water tank.
"Waaah!" Maize got drenched in water as it all began to pour out, flooding the entire roof. The water strongly poured off the sides of the roof. The flames were then drenched and suppressed under the practical tidal wave that flooded the inside of the building. It took only a minute, and the yellow squid had to survive, holding his breath and trying not to get washed off the roof. The fire was almost completely gone thanks to his actions.
"Gah!" Maize gasped, spitting out water that had forced its way down his throat and nose. He began to hear cheering, which confused him. Agent 3 stood up, approaching the ledge of the rooftop and looking down into the streets. He could see all of the octolings cheering for him for putting out the fire. The firefighters were now finishing it off to make sure the blaze did not rekindle. Maize recognized two familiar friends in the crowd, and he began to move toward the roof access, wanting to climb out of the now water and fire damaged apartment complex. He was thankful to have been of help, but something felt entirely unnatural behind this fire. He hoped to find some information out from his fellow agents.