Chapter 10: The Obscurest Chiaroscurist
Back with the .5 Pack, they are tied up in rope while carried on shoulders by the Fuzzy Octolings. They follow Mr. Grizz's shadow figure.
As they struggle to get free, Mr. Grizz's voice is heard, "If you three didn't try to escape and fight my minions, you wouldn't have to be restrained."
"You know, once we get out of this, we're going to rip you up," said Taylor.
"You're messing with the wrong Inklings and Octoling. But this whole time, Elliott…" said Corey.
Prince Octavius said, "Taylor and Corey, I'm sorry. I couldn't have the courage to say that Elliott and I were the same people. Elliott was created, so I'll be able to hang out with you and everyone. I value our friendship and hurt so much for keeping it a secret from you, even from my beautiful Owen and my father."
This touched Taylor and Corey. But when they pass a dome prison, the .5 Pack sees DJ Octavio and his Octobot L3G.s in it.
"Father!" Prince Octavius shouted in shock.
When he saw him, DJ Octavio quickly rushed over and said, "Son! What is this?! If you hurt my son, I'm gonna-!"
"Your son will be promoted along with these two Inklings as my lieutenants. You should feel proud of him," Mr. Grizz responds.
Horrified of what he meant, he shouted, "NO! You can't! NOT MY SON! He was the only egg that survived."
"Your wife was foolish for trying to make amends with Salmonids. It was easy to prevent it from happening."
Shocked to their core, DJ Octavio and Prince Octavius' jaws dropped.
In tears, Prince Octavius said, "It was you…You killed my mother?!"
"You monster! Taking my wife wasn't enough for you?! I won't let you have my son!" DJ Octavio was enraged while hitting the glass.
"Oh my gosh," Taylor and Corey were terrified of what was happening.
Then Mr. Grizz said, "Some sacrifices must be made for the better future of Earth. Queen Ortensia shouldn't have tried to help the Salmonids to protect their Golden Eggs from me. Those Inkling detectives wouldn't mind their business. And those pair of Salmonids thought they could stop me from finding their egg chosen to become the next Salmonid Overlord. But fortunately for me, the New Squidbeak Splatoon has hired the child of those detectives and that chosen Smallfry."
"Oh no! Agents 3 and 3.5!" Taylor said.
"Let's proceed forward," Mr. Grizz walks forward.
"Father! Help me! Father!" Prince Octavius yelled.
"Octavius! NOOOO!" DJ Octavio shouted before they disappeared into the shadows.
Determined to escape to save his son, he begins to work on his Octobot.
Meanwhile, with Tyler and Sammy, they entered the Boss Kettle of Site 6 while O.R.C.A. said, "Unauthorized personnel prohibited beyond this point."
"(Déjà vu from hearing that statement before. It could mean we might fight the last one of Deep Cut, Big Bro.)" said Sammy.
But Tyler's face is surrounded by twinkles of excitement while he thinks, "I'm going to meet him alone! I'm going to meet him alone! I'm meeting him alone!"
When they entered the place, Marie said, "Hm. Hmmm! Our Captain is picking up a strong signal!"
"It might be Ex-Captain Cuttlefish!" said Captain Terry.
Upon seeing who's at the very end of the battlefield, Tyler quickly launchpads over there in joy. With his mask on his face, Big Man turned to the duo while the tapestries flipped from green to red.
He said, "Ay! (Hold it right there!)."
Tyler then squeals while moving his hips from side to side, fantasizing about seeing his favorite idol.
"Uh, Agent 3?" Chris, confused.
"Agent 3 must be a big fan of Big Man," Owen commented.
"Ha, good one."
Then Big Man continued, "Aaay! (This treasure isn't yours! You can't have it!) Aaay… (I wouldn't fight you if I didn't have to, but…) AAAY! (THIS IS FOR SPLATSVILLE!)"
"(Huh?)" Sammy is confused, but Tyler is still in fan mode.
By reciting some spell technique, he is covered in his ink so he can go into the ground and transform into a giant blue shadow of himself.
"(What the heck is that?!)," Sammy shouted.
Then Tyler happily exclaimed, "It's The Hype Manta Storm. It's Big Man's family fighting technique passed down for generations. Plus, they are wealthy. Richer than French Frye and Shiver Fin Soup!"
"(You realize you're about to fight this guy?)."
"I do. I don't want to, but it's the only way to get closer to him."
Big Man then said, "Aaay! (Check out my sweet moves!)."
As Tyler shoots the shadow, Marie says when it begins to multiply, "The shadow is splitting up!"
"Aaay? (Can you guess which me is the REAL me?)," said Big Man while firing Splat Bombs.
"I'll listen to my fan-loving heart!" said Tyler, shooting a shadow that made Big Man come out.
When he is splatted, Callie says, "Whew! Nice splatting!"
After Tyler super jumps, Big Man shows himself and says, "Aaay… (You're pretty good…)."
"You think so?" Tyler squealed.
"Oh, geez," Owen annoyed.
Then Big Man recites the technique while saying, "Aaay! (But I won't lose!) AAAY! (I've been training TOO HARD to lose!)."
Back in shadow form, he gets more aggressive while saying, "AAAY! (Watch me slink through this ink!)."
"I wish I could, but I want to prove myself to you," said Tyler, firing on all the shadows.
"Total fanatic freak mode," Chris commented.
Marie said when Big Man popped up, "He's out again! Get 'em, Agent 3!"
After Tyler splatted him, Marie said as he super jumped, "That's it! Keep it up!"
Big Man then appears again and says, "Aaay… (You've got moves, it's true…)."
"Oh, thank you!" Tyler replies happily.
"Focus, will ya?!" Captain Terry commanded.
Reciting his technique once more, Big Man continued, "Aaay! (But I've got…uh…MORE MOVES!) AAAY! (No more kid gloves. It's Big Man time!)."
The four ledges then rise out of the ground as Big Man says, "Aaay? (No hard feelings when you lose, OK?)."
"You're so sweet," Tyler responded.
"(Big Bro, you're embarrassing me!) Sammy shouted.
But when Tyler does the Splashdown, Big Man comes out for Callie to say, "He's out again! Let 'em have it, Agent 3!"
"I'm so sorry, Big Man. Don't take this personally. I still love you," said Tyler shooting him until he splats.
Tyler then super jumps once Marie says, "The Captain's cheering you on!"
"Great job, Agent 3!" Captain Terry cheered.
Big Man then stands before Tyler and Sammy to say, "Ay… (Oof…)"
He then fell to his knees and continued, "AAAY! (Well, that was a flop.) Aaay… (I really tired, too!)."
He then took out a smoke bomb and said, "Ay-ay-ay. (Ay-ay-ay.)"
But when he dropped to the floor, it won't go off. Confused, he kicked it. However, the explosion caused him to fly into the air while he screamed. The tapestries turn green, and the vault opens to reveal the last treasure.
"Oh, man. It was an honor to battle Big Man. I hope he'll be OK," said Tyler, going to the treasure.
"Well, it's not Gramps…but we should probably grab this thing, anyway, since we fought for it."
Back with the .5 Pack, they are still carried and tied up. They find themselves in a glass elevator with Mr. Grizz's shadow and the Octolings. When it goes up, the .5 Pack can see all of Alterna.
"Is that Alterna?" Taylor said.
"But where are we going?" Corey asks.
The .5 Pack turned to see the rocket for Prince Octavius to say, "We're going up a rocket ship."
While reaching the top floor, Mr. Grizz said, "Now, my minions. Let's give my new lieutenants their special gear."
The .5 Pack was thrown on the floor outside the elevator. They became horrified to see Mr. Grizz's shadow holding his hands as the elevator doors closed.
Their screams of pain can be heard behind them while shouting, "No, no, no! It hurts! Get that off my head! I can't breathe! My brain is being pressured! Stop! Please, no more! GAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Then Mr. Grizz's voice is heard saying, "There. Now, you are my lieutenants. Come. It's time to do your first mission with me."
Then in unison, the .5 Pack's voices are heard, "Yes, Mr. Grizz."