Part 2 – A nostalgic, salty breeze

Day 3 since I first got this journal
Marie's Penthouse, Inkopolis Plaza, 10:50 PM
Now Playing: #16 salty – dedf1sh

Good night, myself. Agent 3 logging again. I couldn't get myself to sleep, so I thought writing my mind off would help. Tonight, I'm staying with Marie on her apartment. She's sleeping on the big armchair right now, and I believe I will sleep on her rug. It's a comfy rug! Soft, fluffy, stainless. It's the quality stuff. I'd turn off the TV, but infomercials are on and it's the only thing keeping the room lit enough for me to write this. Man, I have plenty to say about today.

First off, EP and I went on a date, of sorts. It kinda blew up big time.

Remember last time I closed mentioning I'd go out with EP to Port Mackerel for no reason at all because I promised doing it for she insisted on doing it? (That was a pretty long question) And then I cancelled it because I didn't sleep thanks to this stupid diary? Well, that was terribly timed.

Woke up at 9 or so, she was already up by then doing something from her college. Seas deep below, I wish I could go back and see a happy face like that again. We had breakfast (tried to help around this time), packed and went into our rollickin' rolling way by train departing at 1 PM and after fifteen minutes of a worryingly packed ride we arrived in the shore just a walk away from Port Mackerel. We didn't catch the newscast about the day's rotation of ink-sport stages and it just so happened to include that place. Worse of all, it was COOKING out there.

So, she said with a fairly worried smile "Well…We are already here, we can make the most of it! Right?". I was already walking on fin rice, so I obliged with my best mood and an uncharacteristically smiling face, then walked about tryina stay away from the people. You know, after investing so much of my time on the desolate shellscapes that are the Octo regions, going through absurd measures to stay on the low when the girls don't feel like being surrounded 24/7, and just having a limit to general noise when it's not a festival or something important has shaped [I believe both of] us in a way to not really enjoy being there.

Walking through the sunny, hot, salty, busy, and (if you missed the *Port* part) noisy cargo equipment wasn't fun. Like, at all. Exhausted and dry, without barely any substantial talk after an hour got me to suggest going instead to Arowana Mall, as it was like two stations from there and we could catch a breath on the ride. Somewhat disappointed, she agreed, and we traveled there with a couple of Crusty Sean's drinks on hands, he was luckily there on a city tour giving flyers to have someone franchise his food trucks while he stayed at the Square. We DROWN on coupons; the stuff is everywhere! Is he even making any money?

… Come to think about it, there was a bit of substantial talk through it. We spoke about what was coming for both of us, especially with her leaving Inkopolis to go to the Inkleton Research Labs at the south of the region, she is currently on college specializing in the mechanics behind weapon development. I talked Sheldon into having her in mind since his family was the one running the place and I will beat you up if you think there's someone more prepared than Dawn to take that place in the research institute. I naturally won't follow her there, as I have all I'd ever ask for here in Inkopolis, got unfinished business around, and duties to attend with the Cap'n.

I'll miss her when she leaves. I don't want that day to come.

After making it to the mall, we didn't really shop anything and it was painfully obvious how unhappy she was being there, nothing seemed to get a genuine smile outta her.

Hm.

I just realized I don't want to write about that anymore.

We went home, she told me to please leave her alone for a bit. If possible, for a *long* bit. Uh. So, here I am on Marie's. She's sleeping above me. Above as in the fancy armchair behind me, and I'd be staying on the cool rug she's got in her place.

Wait? I'm pretty sure she was sleeping there…?

Good grief, she's awake and was rea d i

Marie here, 'sup future Sango. You'd be concerned at the sudden change in writership—That's a word right? Sure. In writership of this, highly confidential document. Right now, you have been banished to the depths of The Junk Room as I'm reading through this piece of valuable intelligence. Don't worry, you gave me permission, the part where you got locked in my attic was just some playful, completely normal teasing that I'm fairly certain I'm gonna be embarrassed of by the time you read this. You probably are messing with my personal stuff anyways right now, so it's even. I want to add that the whole Port Mackerel fiasco was a stupid idea by Callie. See, back in the days when we were at Camp Triggerfish, the other kids were boasting about… Dating? Whatever. Callie got from some kiddo that Port Mackerel was a hot dating spot at the time and it apparently stuck ever since in her head. We were like 13 then, so take that as you will. I took that as squid playing on her tendency to eat up everything she hears. Oh, and why would Callie and EP talk about her taking you on a date? You SHOULD already know, but still, bec

MAN, YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT MARIE WAS DOING FOUR YEARS AGO. BAHAHAHAHAHA. CLASSIC. I WILL NOT WRITE ABOUT THIS, NOR I NEED TO, I'M SURE THIS WILL BE ENGRAVED ON MY MIND ANYWAYS.

I'm thankful I didn't write anything that could possibly ruin my relationship with Marie. And what was all that she wrote about? Like was Callie giving EP tips on dating? What for? I'm told that you shouldn't practice that kinda stuff with anyone except from, you know, the actual person you are into?

Reading myself now, I look like a moron that would be oblivious to an obvious crush that their best friend has on them for the longest time. I already asked and after a negative she only stopped talking to me for a day. So I get that EP is only into science.

STILL.

This was "fun", but I'll visit Eight. Asked Marie if she wanted to come but told me she'd rather sleep because tomorrow there was gonna be Splatfest reharsal. Also, she told me to come back if EP still wanted to stay by herself, just to keep in mind that I'd get my ink sac ripped off if I woke her up.

RIGHT, THE SPLATFEST! Forgot to mention it: Recently, Off the Hook's broadcast announced that a festival was to come and that they would share stage with the Squid Sisters! THIS IS HISTORICAL AND I'M SO HYPED. Not only that, but it is gonna be a full blown festival, ABXY signed up, Ink Theory will perform too, the drummers from High Tide Era, Sashi-mori, and that one Celtic band will collab again, and…

I AM INVITED TO PERFORM WITH MARINA. HOW. CRAZY. IS. THAT.

Context: Some time ago, after the Deepsea Metro shenanigans, there was this wild music festival unrelated to the Splatfest that had featured a lot of impromptu celebrity performances, plus some other folks got their kickstart from it. The event had an estimated public of no less than 6 quantizillion people. Not to brag or anything, but I have developed myself a bit of a DJ career. I picked up the stage name "Sango" since that is what Marie has been calling me for a while. She says it's cool and it sticks with me and was fine with me using it as an alias. Also, Marie helps me out when she's free, 'manager/producer/co-lyricist" if you will.

Right, so Pearl was aware of what I was doing in the shadows and invited me to the stage to have a RAP DUEL WITH MARINA. It went on for EIGHT HOURS. THE HYPE WAS SOOOO REAL SQUIDS ACTUALLY STARTED THROWING THEMSELVES AT THE SEA. I'M NOT MAKING THAT UP. A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN REPORTED AS "MISSING" AND HAVEN'T BEEN SEEN SINCE. Actually, that's kinda messed up. What the devilfish happened there?

Anyways, we're planning on doing that again, but with an approximated assistance of 7 quantizillion chumps, no less. I have been preparing for a while and- Right, Marie's gotta sleep and wants me to turn the light off, I'm going with Eight to teach her some dumb trick with the ink tanks. Gonna write until then. Stay fresh, me.

[Funky narrator change. Third person experience until next log.]

Marie walked to the bedroom, sheepishly waving goodbye while covering her yawn to the agent, who was borrowing a key to the apartment as he waved back, and so he left the apartment complex. Sango strolled in the middle of the road, occasionally taking the sidewalk when necessary. Seemed like wind was strong that night, so he wore his Hero Jacket again (Plus using the Headgear as common headphones connected to his phone), rocking the Hero gear like it was any other Wednesday.

After a mildly exciting series of taps and swipes (of which details won't be disclosed for the sake of brevity), the phone rang in the midst of a lonely street, as the mostly residential area was on its afterhours and despite being near the city's center, usually that area was just plain unpopulated and not taken care of by the government, noticeable by the lighting being off every once in a while. Five, six hold beeps later a garbled sound emerged from the line, before a hum and a cough corrected the nonsense into inklish with a cold tone that ominously spoke 'This is who talking?'.

"Eight, it's Agent 3, y'all up for some midnight training? I just thought up about something cool you may or may not know about-" the squid was abruptly interrupted with a more laid back tone

"I would love to! Just give sum time so I can get to crash site."

She got a response about going to Inkopolis Plaza (Instead of their usual spot at the UFO crash site) and getting inside the abandoned Ammo Knights' target practice in the back. A positive answer and a few directions were given, after which the call was over, so he carried on going down the street as the Plaza was not terribly far to travel by foot, a concept he enjoyed as it gave space for himself to rearrange his thoughts and rest from the commotion of Inkopolis life.

After arriving, Agent 3 found some time to stroll around a not completely empty, but lonely plaza- A far cry from its popularity peak years ago, not a single young inkling made presence as it was mostly visited by salary men riding on and off the train station behind to go home, people from the resident area having a walk, some shady looking folks, and the occasional nostalgic inkling or jellyfish that came to remember what once was the world's hot spot for fashion and ink sports, just like him. Given, it was now the Inkopolis Square that had taken the title, which was as far as a 20 minute walk from there, but it hit him anyways.

The lighting was dimming a bit thanks to a faulty couple of bulbs, and the speakers that once blasted the area during the day weren't even on standby with radio or generic jingles as per usual, except for a couple in Booyah Base… Or whatever was left of it. Inkling culture was hard on what was considered out of the loop, completely giving up the past for the shiny future, and the Plaza was proof of it. There were once plans to revitalize again the area with another aesthetic overhaul and an expanded mall, but the idea was abandoned when not much interest was shown by neither the men in suits nor the youth. As such, the Plaza was just a ghost town from where once familiar faces had moved on. Annie set up her shop online and grew closer to Sheldon, who actually just carries on with his life of preserving weaponry knowledge and selling it, Crusty Sean followed his dream of having a food truck, Jelonzo achieved a godly status in the fashion industry, Spyke went bazillionaire and spread his ways to everyone, and the Sisters have finally settled in the stars after blasting above them. He thought he was the only one still the same, but it got to him that after running away from home he had saved the world twice, was friends with the most interesting people around, made a change with the benefits of anonymity, and even kicked a steadily growing musical career.

Agent 3 remembered and felt really thankful about it. He smiled, as he indeed had changed the world a bit, even if he kind of wished the past lasted for longer.

The blue-inked squid stood outside of which was once the studio that Callie and Marie used to broadcast (for some reason one of the few spots still intact after all those years) and looked to a folded couple of chairs behind a small table, remembering when they first waved him back after fanboying among the other inklings that piled to try and get the idols to notice them. Sango felt an electricity rushing down his figurative spine, as was taken back to his first ever contact with them, and how it started his crush on Marie. He'd rather never think about any romance-related topics (EP's case was the prime example of it) but just then noticed that he actually never grew out of it. A speaker faded in a jingle of Maritime Memory, just fitting enough to throwback to his first Splatfest. He hummed the melody and with a few steps from the stairs came a voice that sung along from afar:

"Fihana neni~ Fihana neni, nienoweni-" It was Eight, that had an Octoshot on her back as she approached Agent 3 with a faint smile, greeting her colleague, which had just now realized he didn't actually bring any weapons to practice with, followed by a facepalm and a nervous smile as he quieted the sound in his Hero Headset.

"Oh, hi there Eight!... Alright, looks like I forgot both the ink tank and my gun- BUT I didn't really want to show you something about shooting itself… Uhuh, sorry about that. I was just walking by, you know, remembering how life was back then… You know that song, right?"

Agent 8 nodded happily about it, since she was such a big fan of the Squid Sisters. They walked around, with Sango telling her all about the place, throwing in old stories, a couple ramblings, noticing a few ancient posters from years-past Splatfests (even a couple of promos for Squid Squad's "Fresh Kids" album), and reminiscing about the "good ol' days music" and "how it just wasn't the same". The whole nostalgia pack.

Half an hour later (and after making sure the place was empty), Sango tricked out the front door of Ammo Knights and entered alongside her partner to the desolated storefront, with some boxes and broken pieces of equipment laying around. They made their move towards the backdoor which led to the lot behind that Sheldon had arranged as a training field. Agent 3 took a broken tank with him and activated the electricity of the building so the balloon targets and lights from the back could function.

"Don't tell Sheldon, alright?"

"This is fine, Sheldon will not know. What is it you wanted to show me?"

Agent 3 sat on the floor with a screwdriver he took from the front and requested her to loosen up her tank and put it on the floor while he demonstrated how to remove the security limit for special and sub-weapons from the tank.

"About that, I'll buy you another one, I have some extra money around and this'll be fun… Just keep it on the low, EP taught me how to do it, but Sheldon scolded me a river to never, EVER try it again." The inkling laughed it off a bit, knowing very well that he probably should have had kept his promise.

After getting rid of it, he shot an ink puddle with the girl's weapon and jumped onto it to wait for the tank to fill, and although it was leaky he quickly arose and rapid-fired a stream of splat-bombs. After filling the tank again he used the (now forbidden) ink-zooka for a timespan longer than legal, until his physical limit where he turned into squid and hid in the ink for a bit to rest.

Eight watched all of it with a child-like wonder and exuberant emotion, ready to screwdrive her way to tournament illicitness, being stopped by the blue squid before morphing back and asking for the tool, suggesting he'd do the move instead, but she refused as the octoling did it in matter of seconds, being herself well-versed on the technology behind it.

"I see; this is how you fought me back in Mount Natai! This will do well on combat. Thanks plenty, Agent 3!" Quick to mount it to its support, Eight jumped straight to cover the field on ink, with Sango trying to evade being splattered by it jumping around and staying out of her way.

"Waitwaitwaitwait, y'all ain't speaking about turf wars, right? Eight- Eight!" The girl from seas below couldn't resist after the opportunity to do just what Sango had haunted her dreams with, climaxing the act by using her special ability: The Killer Wail.

Wait, what?

"Eight, how the shell did you manage to get a Killer Wail on that?! EIGHT!" Sango yelled to no avail, as she used the giant megaphone to blast a sudden loud riff that instantly exploded the targets. That wasn't gonna flow.

"EIGHT, THAT'S A BANNED WEAPON!", he yelled after the sound faded away and the weapon vanished, while looking around worried for the impending arrival of the police or an angry mob woken up by the noise.

"But yours too!", Eight replied a bit disappointed as she strapped her weapon to her octo-army ink tank.

"Wuh-well, yeah, but the thing is- FISH IT, THE FEDS!"

Police sirens wailed back at them from far, and Agent 3 pulled her arm for a moment to get her moving before super-jumping to the other side of the wall in the far back and going into squid form to go through some fences, as Eight followed his lead without hesitation. A couple of turns later, they got into a street with most of its lights out, morphing back to their humanoid form. A sigh of relief came from Sango, before realizing that they still had the hijacked tanks, ditching his into a dumpster and telling her –"This never happened, got it Eight?... I-I'll get your tank sorted out with Sheldon; I'll have to tell him that I opened the store without asking anyways…Man, I'm SO sorry about this, luh-let's just walk home, hm? It is pretty late already and".

"It is fine, Agent 3… It was fun while it lasted, haha! And I believe going to this Plaza trip has been good enough, for you shared the memories there. I would have loved being there back then!... Mehehe, this was thrilling~" She replied, still under the effects of the adrenaline rush of the sequence. She then took a deep breath and smiled while taking her tank and giving it to him, just so they could walk again in the dark street, in a vague direction to where Marie's apartment complex was located. Agent 3 pondered for a bit, and looked at the octoling, ready to question once again:

"Hey, Eight… Where do you live? Come on, I wanna get you there safely… I-I KNOW you can put a fight even against me an alla that, but still, I think-"

"It is fine. Does not matter, really, I can get home by myself." –She coldly replied, to the surprise of none about the matter. Sango had seen her before sleeping on a bench, and was really worried about it, but she refused to elaborate every time.

"Look, Eight, tonight I'm crashing with Marie, but if you've got any troubles y'know that you can always come to me and EP's apartment…"

"Fresh. Cool, I will have you know if I happen to need so."

Agent 3 sighed as he knew he was already taking it to far, and just nodded, with them stopping above a metro station, separating their ways there and saying farewell to each other until the next night.

"Hey, Eight, A4 might come with us tomorrow!... I'll make sure your tank gets fixed, I promise", and the octo responded with a softer tone "Okay! I will see you tomorrow, Agent 3! Stay fresh!" –Sango smiled at that expression and waved as she walked down the stairs— "Stay fresh, Eight!"

After taking a long breath, he carried on walking to Marie's place.

He slowly opened the door as to not wake her up, but it was useless as she was reclining sideways on her armchair, watching TV with a jaded look on her face. She turned his eyes on him with a small groan, seeing his tank not even being filled in his own ink color. The TV cast reported that a monstrous screech was heard near Booyah Base and that police forces were dispatched, identified as something like the Killer Wail by people around.

"Tell me it wasn't you, Sango…" she told the nervous squid with a slightly disappointed tone, while he put next to the door the tank and his shoes, then approached her sitting on the floor by her side, leaning his head on the chair.

"Sorry for waking you up, I was showing off with Eight a little and we got juuust a bit carried away…"

"You taught her the tank limit thing, didn't you?" –She smirked and put her hand over Agent 3's head, patting it while letting out a sweet giggle.

"…You bet- I thought it was a great idea! Told her to not use it on legit matches, tho, hope she got that"—His reply got her another short laugh, and she stretched her arms before sitting more conventionally on the big chair.

Agent 3 stayed on the floor a few moments before standing up and stretching too, while she raised and turned off the TV with the remote.

"Good night, Sango… Uh, help yourself to the couch, ahaha, and wish me luck tomorrow. We're gonna have more or less the complete setlist of the event… To tell you the truth these last days have been rough, but it's gonna be great! Heh, come visit me later and I'll tell you all about it… Oh, and remember to practice your number- AND to lock the door before leaving, 'kay?... 'Kay, see you tomorrow, good nightTycho"

Marie kissed his cheek and then raised her arms yawning into her room. Agent 3 once again smiled before mumbling to himself a pretty confused:

"…Good night, Marie?"

He laid down on the comfy couch, petting a zapfish plush (Presumably a gift from Cap'n Cuttlefish), tired to death after that crazy day. He closed his eyes a couple of seconds to ease himself into sleep, before noticing that in the drawer holding lamp was his journal, rolling his eyes after the idea that Marie had been reading or scribbling on it. He took it and opened it to write a new entry.

[Back to First Person mumbo jumbo.]

Day 4
Marie's Penthouse, Inkopolis Plaza, 1:28 AM
Now Playing: Cephaloparade – Turquoise October

Today was WILD. Apparently Marie has granted herself reading privileges, so I might tone down what I say. I survived 20 years without a journal, anyways, so thanks a lot, smart girl.

So, I'm back here. I went to the Plaza and got ran over by the memories train. Thought of the girls, Sheldon, Annie, Spyke, my first turf war buds, that kinda people. The festivals, EP, my time working with her parents, how everything used to be new and exciting… Huh, I just realized I didn't think about the Cap'n, I might check on him tomorrow that I go back to the Square to repair Eight's ink tank because of, uh, illegal going-ons. Also, I gotta go check the apartment, see if EP is feeling better now.

I think I might have carelessly dug up some feelings I forgot I had, and kinda wish had stayed buried. But the festival is coming! Gonna look forward to it… Oh, hey, Marie actually left me some tips and ideas on the back of the notebook! That's thoughtful, helpful too!… Because you know, she's a singer, writer, producer, alla that.

Alsothemoralevalueofitandhowitmuchmeanstomeinmanyways.

I REAALLY wanna detail the stuff that happened today with Eight, but I don't think my insides and outsides are excited about staying awake. Alright, Sango out.

Stay Fresh!,

Agent 3