Chapter 3
Sunlight streams through the expansive city, igniting the colors within it to a new level of splendor. The buildings shone like a million stars, bright, but not painfully so, and beautiful.
It was this sight that Amber woke up to. She mumbles slightly in her sleep, shifting to her side, facing the window. The sunlight hits her eyes, making her frown and groan slightly. Sadly, she knew she wouldn't get more sleep.
She blinks slightly, turning onto her back so she didn't have to deal with the sunlight. She pushes herself up, throwing off her covers. She stands up, rubbing her eyes and yawning widely.
She goes to her closet, grabs some clothes, and leaves her room. She enters the bathroom and turns on the shower. Luckily, the entire city had purified water in their systems, cleaned by a very intricate filtering system. As long as it was clean, inklings could enter the water.
Amber feels the water, waiting for it to warm up. Once satisfied, she strips herself and steps in the shower. It only takes a few minutes for her to wash up and get out. She puts on her clothes, a simple white t-shirt and blue shorts with an orange line on the sides.
She steps out of the bathroom and into the small living room. She quickly grabs herself some breakfast and brings it to the couch, where she then sits down. She switches on the TV, wondering what was going on.
The TV automatically went to the news station, where Callie and Marie, the Squid Sisters, were the ones leading. Amber decides to watch it. She wanted to see what was going on in the city after all.
Callie and Marie were finishing up the stage announcements, looking as happy and carefree as ever. Then, their expressions seem to dim. Marie sighs, then says "Now, we have some bad news."
Callie nods, her smiles strained. "This isn't just any normal bad news either. This is serious! So you all better be listening."
Marie looks at her cousin, then says, in a very un-sarcastic voice "The Great Zapfish was stolen."
Amber's eyes widen to the size of saucers, and she nearly spits her food out. What?! The Great Zapfish, stolen?! Who the hell could've done that?!
At this point, Callie stopped smiling. Even her boundless enthusiasm was dampered by this. "We have no leads on who could've done it. It was gone before anyone could've reacted."
Marie nods sadly. "No one could've expected this, no matter how prepared they were."
Callie's smile suddenly comes back, albeit still strained, as she says "But no need to worry. The Agents are on the case as we speak!"
Marie just smirks, her normal attitude coming back as well. "If anyone can figure this out, then the Agents can. But, for now, the Battle Tower will be closed off. It is too dangerous to do turf wars without power in spawn points."
After that, the Squid Sisters panned off to other newscasters, describing the weather and such. Amber didn't stay to listen. By the time the cousins were off screen, Amber had finished her food and was walking out the door.
The orange-haired inkling walked quickly through the crowds, ignoring the chatting around her. She had one mission, and that was to see if this was true. She had no reason to think the Squid Sisters were lying, but this seemed too impossible to be real!
After a few minutes she found herself back at the square, looking up at the Battle Tower. And, despite what she was seeing, she still couldn't quite believe it. The Great Zapfish really was gone!
Amber steps back in slight shock, not sure what to do now. No turf wars meant no money for her to get easily. She had some left over, about 1500, but that could last only so long. Who knows how long the GZ could stay gone!
She frowns, then decides to look for the one person she knew could trust right now, Ika. She moves through the crowds, certain she'd find him eventually. Everyone in the city seemed to be coming here.
The young inkling then found herself next to Sheldon's shop. She looks around not seeing any sign of the tall, black-haired inkling. She frowns, then continues closer to the Battle Tower.
She pushes past one last person, finding herself at the left-hand side of the tower. There didn't seem to be anyone here, beyond the police tape set up and the policeman looking at the tower with interest.
She sighs, about to go away, when she notices something. If she had moved even a tiny bit faster, she would've missed it. She turns back to the tower, looking at the small alleyway next to it.
Amber's eyes narrow as she notices a tall figure, their long tentacles flowing freely. They were crouched in the alleyway, looking around. Amber hears the telltale noise of a grate being entered, and the figure is suddenly gone.
Amber's eyes narrow in suspicion as she notices this. The Great Zapfish disappears, and suddenly a mysterious figure is moving around the place? Seems too good to be a simple coincidence. She looks over to the cop, noticing that he didn't even see the figure. Her eyes suddenly ignite with a new determination. If no one else noticed, then she would investigate herself.
She suddenly frowns as she looks at the tape in front of her. The cops would never let her in here. So, she needed to sneak in. And the best way to do that was when it was dark, at night. She grins, plan in head, and leaves.
Night fell upon the city like a blanket, dimming the lights and quieting the normal ambiance to a calming white noise. The populace was mostly asleep, save for the few rowdy and party heavy groups. One inkling was neither of those.
She hops across the buildings with a certain amount of grace. Occasionally she would stumble or had to catch a railing, but she was doing well so far. Soon, she found herself back in the wide area of the Inkopolis Square.
The figure jumps off of the building, landing with a slight bounce. The light of the dim street lights showed the figure's features. Clad in a black t-shirt and black pants, they looked like a ninja. The most defining feature were the bright orange tentacles that acted as hair on their head.
Amber quickly runs across the square, staying in the dark as much as she could. It was late and none of the shops were open at this time, so it was empty in the square. Still, she wanted to be sure.
She slides to a stop next to Sheldon's shop, looking around for anybody. Still not seeing anyone, she moves into the dark alley near the tower. She looks around some more, still not seeing anyone.
Then, she hears a shaking. Amber freezes, then quickly dives to the side, avoiding anything that could make a loud noise. She peers around the dumpster she hid next to, looking at what could've made the noise.
A gurgling appears next, and then a figure rises from the grate. They had their tentacles in a bow, making them fall down their back. Amber couldn't discern anything else about their appearance though.
The figure walks forwards, moving quickly. Amber watches them, wondering who they were. Then, the figure stops. They seem to look around, only noticeable in the dark by the shuffling heard.
Then, Amber freezes. She didn't know how, but she knew that the figure's eyes were looking in her direction. She didn't want to move, fearful that if she did, she'd be found.
Eventually, the figure lost interest in looking around. They turn into a squid and jump onto a building, disappearing onto the rooftops.
Amber breathes out a small sigh of relief. She picks herself up, then walks over to the grate. Looking around once more to check for the figure, especially above her, she finds herself alone. She falls into the grate, wondering just where this lead to.
The pipe shot her quite the distance, made quick by the propellants in the pipe. She feels herself at the end of the pipe and re-emerged from the ink. She looks around cautiously, taking an interest in the area.
She couldn't see much in the dark, but the moon did help her. She knew she was outside the city, shown clearly by the numerous stars clear above her. And, judging by the massive shadows in the distance, she was in some sort of valley or canyon.
Frowning, she decides to keep this information in mind. For now, she noticed a small cabin and wanted to investigate.
She nears the cabin slowly, just now noticing the noises coming from it. It seemed to be an urgent talking, but it was quiet, as if the conversers didn't want to be heard. Amber wasn't sure how they could be though. This place seemed relatively empty of inklings, save the cabin and voices she could hear.
As she neared, she could begin to discern what the people were talking about. It sounded like one female voice, and one male voice.
The male one says "But we need more help for this. The Octarians have never done this before."
Amber frowns as she hears this. Octarians? What do they have to do with this?
The female voice then speaks up, making Amber focus on the conversation. "No we don't. We just need…"
Amber frowns again as the female voice suddenly becomes muffled. Before she could do anything, the male one says "Just give me a chance! I bet I could find someone!"
The female voice seems to respond, but Amber couldn't hear. She moves closer, trying to make it out, when a noise echoes through the area. Crunching. Amber's eyes go wide and she looks at her foot. She just stepped on a… crabby cake wrapper?
Despite the ridiculousness of that in a tense mission, Amber couldn't shake off the feeling of dread that washed over her. She hears some shuffling inside, and then the female says "Four, did you hear that?"
The male responds with "Yes, I did. I'll go deal with the intruder."
With that, Amber's nerves, already shot by the stress of sneaking and not being caught, couldn't handle anymore. Amber turns and runs to the grate, just barely avoiding making any noise in her panicked state. She gets to the grate and jumps in, eager to return home.
A figure watches the retreating girl with interest. He managed to get up there once he said he would investigate. He was fast, very fast.
Another figure, obviously female, appears next to him. "So, you going to go after her?"
The first figure just shakes his head. "Nope. Don't need to."
The female raises an eyebrow, looking at the shadow next to her. "Oh? Why's that?"
The male pulls down his half-face mask, showing the smile beneath it. "Because I know her. And she is definitely the one we need."
-Author Notes-
A shorter chapter, but filled with some important stuff. Time to get this ball rolling, ladies and gentlemen! Hope you enjoyed!