DISCLAIMER: I don't know how accurate this will be to the full game, since we only have one trailer to go off of. For those reading this in the future, this was written before Splatoon 3's release. I'll consider it canon to my timeline for now, but if there's something in the game that contradicts it, consider it non-canon.
Anyways, Captain 3 here is the same as Agent 3 in "The Rainbow Squids." You don't have to read it, since that story and this one don't really have anything to do with each other. I wanted to establish my version of New Agent 3 now, since the new trailer has given me quite a bit to work with. Anyways, onto the story!
A tan-skinned inkling girl, yellow hair braided on the left side of her head, wandered the frozen wasteland, gripping her backpack as she treaded through the snow. Various metal structures stretched out for miles, casting shadows across the land. For a few brief moments, the girl stopped, lifting her head as yellow eyes focused on the buildings. So odd... And was that a rocket, too? Why would a rocket be out here in the middle of nowhere? So many questions, and so little answers.
She felt a slight nudge at her foot. Looking down, a smallfry pushed against her ankle, their tail wagging with anxiety.
"Calm down, little buddy," she whispered to the smallfry, reaching down to pat their head. "Once I figure out the deal with this place, we can leave." She smirked. "Maybe we'll find something useful."
The smallfry stopped, looking up at her with their bulging eyes, blinking.
"C'mon, let's go."
The two companions continued their trek, the chill biting at her arms and legs. Perhaps she should've worn a coat to this place today... But, it was too late now. She just had to be careful, or else she would freeze to death out here, and no one would know. The metal structures grew near. But in the distance, she also spotted something else - an orange building. Kind of like if some scientists set up a lab here. Her curiosity growing, she began to run, feet now stomping on the ground as she left footprints in the snow, her little buddy speeding after her.
Just outside the building, three figures came into view. Who were they? And were they...expecting something? Maybe they were just taking a break; that's what it was. And staring out into the distance.
No, that was a stupid thing to think. They had to be out here for a reason! She'll just have to talk to them and find out why.
As she neared the group, they all lifted their heads, and startled, the inkling girl stumbled, slowing to a stop. She nearly tripped and landed face-first in the snow, but she managed to regain her balance, spreading out her arms and keeping herself from falling. Now standing straight, she lowered her arms and met the trio's gazes. As she expected, they all looked to be several years older than her. But at the same time, they were younger than she thought...
The woman on the left seemed to be the most cheerful, life sparkling in her golden, starry eyes. She was dressed like an idol, her corset sleek and black, with three yellow cuts on her torso. The corset transitioned into a dress, and underneath the dress were white leggings. On her feet were black boots that seemed to have metal heels, and her gloves were leather and black as well. Pearly earrings were attached to her ears, and she wore a metallic choker. Though, there did seem to be a practical side to her outfit, as she wore a metal sash over her body, something attached to the back of it. A backpack, maybe? Physically, she had pale skin, her long, black hair standing out against the snow. One tentacle hung behind her head, while the other was pushed forward, falling towards the side of her face under the sushi hat she wore. The tips of her hair were yellow, matching the ink colors of the other inklings present.
The woman on the right resembled the one on the left, though she had grey, short hair tied behind her head, and her outfit was completely different. This one wore a stylish white lab coat of sorts, extending to her knees. The lab coat donned a squid pin, and the same yellow cuts found on the corset of the first lady could be found on the coat. She wore grey leggings, and her boots were black, too, the soles of it yellow. Her black gloves seemed to be made of rubber, and in one hand, she carried a grey-and-yellow-green umbrella. She, too, wore earrings, and a squid ring hat was positioned on the left side of her head.
The woman in the middle differed the most out of the trio, her long hair only being one color: yellow. She had fair skin, and peculiarly, her right eye was turquoise and cloudy, while her left eye was green and clear. Scars battered her tentacles, a sign of her seniority. Yet, she appeared to be younger than her colleagues. Nonetheless, she seemed to be the leader of this group, a patchy blue cap with a golden pin in the center of it situated on top of her head. The top she wore was tattered, being a collage of yellow, blue, and orange. Underneath the top was a black sports bra, and while she did spot black sleeves, she couldn't tell if the woman was wearing a shoulderless top, or if the sleeves were just weird arm guards. The ends of her black pants were torn, and she wore black sandals with neon yellow soles and black-and-blue straps, matching the headphones she wore around her ears.
"Hi!" the woman on the left greeted at last. "Did Gramps tell you to come here?"
"...Gramps?" the girl puzzled. "..That old man from the mainland?"
"Yeah, yeah, that sounds like him," the woman on the right agreed. "You don't see many old men in the middle of the Splatlands."
"So, did he tell you the gist of what's going on?" the black-haired woman inquired.
"Uh..." She started scratching her head. "I don't think so."
"Really?" The grey-haired woman's eyes widened, blinking. "Well, guess we'll have to explain."
"So, you know what an Octarian is, right?" the first woman then asked.
"Yeah," she confirmed. "Who doesn't?"
"Well, some Octarians live here," the woman in the middle spoke at last. "The problem with these ones is..."
"Get this - they're furry!" the black-haired woman interjected.
The girl with the braid gawked at them. "Furry?" Why would an Octarian be furry?
"Yeah, furry," the grey-haired woman affirmed. "It's not normal. That, and there's a bunch of strange fuzzy ooze lying around here."
"Whenever you touch this ooze, you turn furry!" added the black-haired woman. "Gross!"
"But..." This whole situation was completely baffling. Furry Octarians? Fuzzy ooze that turned inklings, and octolings, she presumed, furry? None of this made any sense! Besides, the only things that ever had fur were mammals, all mammals were extinct, weren't they? Judd and Li'l Judd aside, why would fur suddenly pop up now? She had so many more questions now! Just how was she going to ask them all? In her head she groaned. She wished to go back to five minutes ago when she didn't know that all of this existed...
"Now that you know what's going on, we have a proposal for you," the woman in the middle began. She looked over at her friends, smirking, and the two other woman nodded. They proceeded to pose. The women on the sides stood on one leg while the other leg was raised, their hands also raised as well. Meanwhile, the woman in the middle crossed her arms in front of her, hands limp. "We'd like for you to help us investigate this fuzzy ooze, and potentially put a stop to this," she finished after a brief moment of silence.
"...What are you doing?" she perplexed afterwards.
"We're posing!" the black-haired woman chirped. "Though, uh, that's not the reaction I expected."
"Wouldn't be the first time," the grey-haired woman sneered.
"So, anyways, are you gonna help us or not?" the woman in the middle asked again.
Would she? The inkling girl looked down at the smallfry. They bounced in place, not paying much attention to the strangers standing in front of her. But, as long as she was here, they were happy. And as long as they were here, she was happy. That was the important part. She couldn't bear losing her only friend. She returned her attention to the trio. What was she going to say? She could just leave, but for some reason, she'd feel bad if she just stayed here.
"We're gonna take your baffled silence as a yes," the grey-haired woman concluded.
"Congrats," the woman in the middle started. "You're now Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon."
"The what?" she repeated.
She sighed. "Well, the important part is that you're helping us." The woman in the middle jumped off of the crate she sat on, turning around to open it. She pulled out some clothes and handed them over to the inkling girl. "Put this on. There's a changing room inside."
"Okay..." She stared down at the clothing she had just received. It consisted of a yellow jacket and dark cargo pants, as well as yellow-and-blue boots. A white headset decorated with blue lights sat on top of the jacket. It wasn't what she would wear normally, but it was a start. She started to walk towards the orange building when she realized something. She turned around and shouted, "Wait! I never asked you your names!"
The black-haired woman snickered. "Don't worry! We were going to tell you later! But since you asked..." She jumped up into the air, holding up one finger. "I'm Agent 1!"
The grey-haired woman put a hand on her hip. "I'm called Agent 2."
"And I'm the Captain," the woman with the blue cap announced, crossing her arms. "Got it?"
She nodded. "Got it!" She looked down at her feet, where her little buddy trailed behind her. "C'mon, let's go."
She approached the door and opened it, immediately feeling the warmth on her skin. She walked inside with the smallfry, preparing to change into her new outfit.
Today, her adventure will start.
While they waited, the Captain sat back down on the crate, gripping the sides of it. They finally got a new member! At last, the threat of these furry Octarians could be put to rest. Though she would have rather done it herself, she was the captain of the New Squidbeak Splatoon now. She couldn't risk getting herself into battle unless it was absolutely necessary.
She didn't want a repeat of what happened down at the Deepsea Metro.
She sighed, looking up at the sky. She wondered how Agent 4 and Agent 8 were doing. They should be protecting Inkopolis. Under their watchful eyes, the city she had called home would forever be safe.
"So," Marie broke the silence at last, "we have a new Agent 3."
The Captain nodded. "Yep."
"Remember when you first joined?" Callie interjected. "Hard to believe it's almost been six years since then!"
"I'll have to get used to calling you Cap'n instead of Three..." the grey-haired idol muttered.
"Yeah, it feels weird, doesn't it?" the black-haired idol agreed. "Three is now Cap'n, and that girl is now Three."
"Mhm," the Captain simply muttered.
For the longest time, she had thought of herself as Agent 3 when in the New Squidbeak Splatoon. To give up the moniker and pass it onto a new person felt very strange. Alas, things change. She couldn't hold on to the name forever.
She just hoped that the new Agent 3 would live up to her legacy.
She heard the door open, and she spotted the new Agent 3 in the doorway of the orange building, her salmonid companion next to her. The two walked down to the snow, standing in front of the trio once more.
"So, where do I go?" the tan-skinned inkling asked them.
"Eager, aren't ya?" Agent 2 commented.
"Well, you gotta look for anything weird," Agent 1 began to answer her question. "Octarian domes are invisible until you reveal them with ink!"
"Just be careful," the grey-haired inkling reminded her. "We don't want you turning into...one of those things."
"Don't worry." She took off her backpack and kneeled down, letting the smallfry hop inside it. Its head poked out of the bag, looking down. "I'll be extra careful."
"You better keep your word," the Captain told her. She jumped down from the crate again and opened it, pulling out the newest iteration of the Hero Shot. "Take this," she instructed, holding out the weapon. "It'll help you fight."
"Thanks," she said, taking the shooter. "And oh, no, I don't plan on breaking it!" she called, now starting to walk away. "Trust me, I'm very reliable!"
"We'll see," Marie called as her silhouette grew smaller and smaller. After she disappeared, she walked over to the building and leaned against the wall. "Now, we wait."
"Go, Agent 3!" Callie cheered her on from a distance. "You can do it!"
The Captain smiled. She had faith in her.
Hopefully, things wouldn't go wrong, and they could get the situation under control.
The world could depend on it.
A/N: And that's that. I was originally planning to only post this on AO3, but I figured that you guys over on this site might like this, too. And, I'll reveal this now: I do plan to write a story based around Splatoon 3's hero mode after it comes out. Maybe I'll wait for DLC to come out, too. Neat, right? Anyways, that's very far off into the future, so I have plenty of time to think about it. We don't even know when Splatoon 3's coming out other than 2022! But anyways, I'm excited, even if this plot came out of nowhere for me. Well, Branchwing, out!