ATTENTION: This chapter covers content from Splatoon 2's Hero Mode.
Most of Marie's and Sheldon's dialogue come from the game, while Marina's and Pearl's dialogue are taken directly from the game.
Alexis's PoV
"Yayerrrrrrr! Flight or fight!" Pearl boldly declared upon the reveal of the winner of the latest Splatfest.
"Hooray!" Yuri cheered. "Flight won!"
"And Invisibility lost…" Bonnie muttered, head on the table as she scrolled through the contents of her phone.
"Buh…" Marina murmured upon hearing her friend's announcement.
"Flight rules! We shine like bright jewels, with the right tools to smite fools!" the idol rapped.
"That's my girl," Perry muttered, pulling his phone out to record the huge screen.
"Are you seriously going to write raps for all of your victory speeches?" Marina pondered, putting a hand near her mouth.
"Write raps? Nah. These rhymes come straight off the dome." The short inkling chuckled. "I bet you wish you were invisible right now, huh?" The taller, funny-looking one simply gaped at shock at her, so Pearl continued on to say, "If you participated in the Splatfest, your prizes are waiting in the Square!"
"Well, that's done and done," Inigo said as Off the Hook went on to announce the latest stages. "I've been itching to play Rainmaker again." Soon after he said that, the duo announced that Splat Zones was the latest game mode in ranked battles. "…Or maybe not," he groaned.
"I dunno, I would like to play some Splat Zones," the purple-haired inkling commented. Upon returning his Splatfest tee, he ended up changing into a simple white t-shirt. "They're fun."
While the Rainbow Squids discussed their plans for today, another thing has been in the back of Alexis's mind for a while—when she could continue her quest to save the Great Zapfish. Since she has started, she powered her way through Tentakeel Outpost. Marie was surprised by her skill, but regardless, she called someone else to help them along the way—Sheldon. Alexis was not too thrilled that he was going to help, but he had proven himself useful by supplying her with a special roller. Due to lack of experience, she was splatted several times within the underground hideout of the Octarians, but eventually, she rescued the Zapfish from there.
Now, she wondered if Sheldon had his next weapon ready. By the time she got out of the lair, he had still not finalized the weapon for real-world use. She visited Marie every day since then, and today, she was going to try again.
"Hey, guys?" she spoke up, getting out of her chair. "I'm gonna go solo for a little bit."
"Again?" Roy whined. "You've been going solo quite a bit these days."
"It's only been a few weeks," the young inkling pointed out.
"Still!"
"Let her go," Octavia said to the red-haired inkling. She rubbed her eyes. "I'm fine with it."
"Alright, fine. You can go," the tall inkling gave in. "Just be back before sunset."
"Don't worry." Alexis smiled. "I'll keep an eye on the time."
As she started walking towards the familiar grate, she looked over her shoulder to see if the Rainbow Squids were paying attention to her. They were not, going back to talking to each other again. Smiling, she slipped into the grate to travel to Octo Canyon. When she emerged from the grate, she already had her Hero Suit on, as if it had been bound to her the moment she walked into the canyon. Near the cabin, Marie stood there like she usually did, twirling her umbrella. When she noticed the newcomer, she smiled.
"Hey, Agent 4," she greeted. "I have some news for you."
"Is Sheldon finally done?" the bronze-skinned inkling asked, starry-eyed. "Please tell me he's done!"
"He is," Marie confirmed. "He said he wants you to go to the next kettle as soon as possible."
"Will do!" Crouching in her squid form, she launched into the air, soaring to the next area. She did not dare to look down, as it was a long drop from the air, all the way to the bottom of the canyon. If she forced herself to stop super-jumping, she would be calamari for sure. When she transformed back, she was at the top of a tower, standing on the kettle she revealed beforehand. Without a second thought, she slipped into the entrance.
When she reemerged, she had to squint from the sudden bright light. Lamps shaped like stars dotted the sky, giving the sky a sort of orange hue. Directly in front of her was a slope covering in purple ink, turning into magenta ink by the time the slope reached flat land. She heard the whirling of a drone in the distance, so she looked up to see one carrying a black box. It dropped the box into Alexis's hands, and she opened it. Inside were a pair of familiar-looking guns. Dualies!
"OK, take this with you," Sheldon instructed. The short-haired inkling picked them up. "It'll help me gather some practical battle data." She nodded. "These are the hottest weapons in the game right now—the Hero Dualies! While shooting and moving in any direction, you can do a slick dodge roll. You can dodge-roll forward, backward, or side to side. It's totally raw!"
"I use dualies most of the time," Alexis pointed out. "But thanks for the reminder." She winked and began to shoot the crates.
"O-Oh…" Sheldon muttered. "In that case, you already know what to do!"
Once the crates were broken, she moved to the ride rail at the edge of the platform and shot it. A purple, metallic stream of ink shot out of the bulb. She jumped on it, travelling over the magenta ink below.
"You can still use your weapon when riding on top of a rail," Marie informed.
"Fresh." Aiming her dualies at some red balloons that appeared, she started shooting at them until they popped. When she got to the other side, she looked around for something of interest. To the left, she saw yet another ride rail, so she shot it to activate it. She jumped on that one next, disregarding the need to climb up the hill.
"You can also jump while you're riding a ride rail," the inkling over the radio then said. Noticing the rail climb upwards ever-so-slightly, she jumped like Marie advised, landing on the next one. "Don't forget to jump while you're riding rails." She jumped onto a checkpoint, only to see yet another rail appear directly in front of her. She got on that one, prompting the idol to say, "You should be able to grab the squid rings as you ride the rail too." Alexis passed through the floating ring surrounding the ride rail and jumped onto the next platform, where she activated yet another rail. Below the rail was an Octotrooper, which was splatted during her efforts to activate the ride rail.
When Agent 4 jumped onto the next rail, another squid ring appeared, this one floating above it instead of between it. "Time it right and jump through that ring!" Marie egged. In an instant, the bronze-skinned inkling jumped, but she just barely missed the ring. Neither inkling said anything regarding her failure to grab the squid ring, but Alexis went right ahead and splatted the Octotrooper on the next platform. She activated the next ride rail and continued. "Good stuff. Let's keep going."
The short-haired inkling got on yet another ride rail, one that was quite long. "You gotta be careful not to fall off when jumping on winding rails like this," the inkling over the radio advised. I won't jump off, Alexis thought scornfully. I'm not that dumb. It led to another floating platform. The lowest area had a ride rail in between two crates. She shot down an Octocopter and jumped onto the tiled floor. She activated the rail and hopped on it, breaking the crates within the path of the rail. Alexis came face-to-face with an Octotrooper, but she quickly disposed of it. She activated the next rail and moved on.
At the next checkpoint, Agent 4 was presented with two ride rails. Shooting one, the other quickly activated. She smiled and hopped on the left one. "Jump to the other rail!" Marie egged. Seeing a squid ring, she did so. Another one, facing diagonally, appeared. Doing a flip, she hopped to the previous rail, just barely going through the next squid ring. She continued to jump back and forth until the end of the rail, where she hopped onto the grate. "OK, now you're just showing off," the idol muttered as she broke a small, orange box. A ticket popped out of the degree, and she happily took it and stuffed it into her pocket.
The next ride rail winded through a narrow space. Squid rings floated above the rail at some points. I bet I can do these! the bronze-skinned inkling challenged herself, a cocky grin spreading across her face. She jumped through them. At a turn, an Octocopter flew past, shooting a glob of magenta ink at her. "Take this!" she exclaimed, jumping on the turn and splatting the Octarian. However, her boasts got the best of her as she fell to the ground, screaming as soon as she realized her mistake. When she respawned, Marie's only reaction was a single sigh of disappointment. Alexis rode the rail once again and hopped onto the next checkpoint.
Turning the bend, the older inkling shouted, "Octoslobs!" At the end of the walkway was an Octotrooper, minding its own business. "Fry 'em up, Agent 4!"
"Will do." Rolling towards the trooper, she focused her aim and took it out pretty quickly. She continued to run down the path until another ride rail crossed her path, this bulb facing sideways. She shot it and watched as the railing stretched out until the end of the platform. A shortcut! Alexis climbed on to it and rode it down to the end of that walkway. She leaped through the ring and rolled onto a shorter ride rail. Hoping onto yet another walkway, she activated the ride rail that winded right above the path. She rode it, shooting the Octotroopers below as they attempted to hit her with the magenta ink. She landed on the end of the path and activated the next rail.
While she rode down the hill, Marie commented, "That looks like fun." She added quietly, "Sometimes I wish I was the one risking my life out there…" When Alexis arrived to the next ride rail and hopped on it, she said, louder, "Keep an eye out for new rails to jump to." The young inkling nodded and hopped through the squid ring onto the rail next to the one she activated. She broke the box in her path and jumped onto a third ride rail, where there were a bunch of squid rings. Though she missed the highest squid ring, she broke the orange box on the tall platform she landed on, where a white, shiny fish popped out.
"What's this?" Alexis asked, dangling it by the tail. She couldn't tell if it was a real fish or a fake one, but she was sure that it was not alive.
"That's a Sardinium!" Sheldon chirped. "It can be used to upgrade the fabulous weapons I give you. The energy contained in these are quite potent. When together, a few of these can enhance the stats of any weapon."
"Fresh," she muttered, putting it in her pocket. "Let's keep going."
She jumped down to the pad below, lighting up a purple color as soon as she put her feet on it. "The Zapfish must be close," the idol concluded. "Onward!" The next ride rail activated was one of the longest yet, winding around strange steel beams dotted with flashing lights. It ended at the base of a tower, leaving for a very high fall if she were to fall off. Octotroopers patrolled around pillars, looking for any squids to splat. "Baddies!" Marie exclaimed once she noticed them. "Steam these clams!"
Immediately, Alexis splatted the first Octotrooper that noticed her, though it managed to shoot out a bit of magenta ink. Sticking on to her clothes, she submerged into the purple ink to shake it off. She searched for someway to climb the pillars of varying heights, though she was slowed down by the incoming Octarians. She dodged their slow bullets and soon found a wooden platform with the bulb of a ride rail on top of it. She activated it and quickly climbed onto it before anymore of them could rush towards her.
"Going up!" Marie exclaimed as the rail winded around the pillars, alerting the Octotroopers stationed on top of them. She hid inside the railing in an attempt to dodge their ink, but soon enough, she found herself falling off of railing, right in front of an Octotrooper. It sprayed ink into her face, causing her to let out a cry of pain as it got into her eyes. Holding down on the trigger of the dualies, she shot it, with its defeat marked by a gargled cry. "A launchpad appeared," the inkling over the radio informed. "Though, you might want to just stand there until you can see again. I can't afford for you to just walk off and get splatted."
"Even better, I'll hide in the ink." Transforming into a squid, Alexis slipped into the purple ink below her feet. Magenta spots danced in her vision as the ink faded away. Though her eyes still ached, she could see enough to see the swirling ink at the center of the tallest pillar. She swam into it and launched into a ride rail above her. She rode on it, her smile growing as the zapfish came within view. When she came within range, she fired ink at the barrier surrounding it and made a dash to grab it. Putting the dualies in her belt, she snatched it from the pedestal and held it tightly, cheering as it squirmed in her arms. "I got it!"
"Then, away you go." Agent 4 proceeded to super-jump out of the base, adjusting her eyes to the light as it hit her skin.
With the zapfish still in her arms, she heard Sheldon say, "Let me check your weapon log… Yup! Data's coming through." While the bronze-skinned inkling smiled, he continued on to say, "Oh, man. This is really good stuff. The more data you get me, the quicker I can finalize my retail version, so keep it up! But remember—this is just a loaner. I'm not running a charity here! Good luck, Agent 4!"
Alexis jumped down to the boss kettle, where Marie was leaning against a vine-covered pillar outside of it. Setting her umbrella down, the pale-haired inkling took the zapfish from her.
"Great job, Agent 4," she complimented, smiling. "I'll send the zapfish back from here." The girl in the kimono turned around and started walking to the entrance of Suction Cup Lookout.
"Hey, Marie, before you leave…" Alexis spoke up, taking a few steps towards her. "Can you tell me about this Agent 3 gal?"
"Agent 3?" The idol turned to face the agent again. "Well, she saved the Great Zapfish the first time it went missing. The Cap'n recruited her. Obviously, Callie and I couldn't save it because we were hosting Inkopolis News at the time. However, when the Cap'n got kidnapped by DJ Octavio, we came to her aid. During the final battle, we were able to free him and save the Great Zapfish! We couldn't have done it without Agent 3."
"So basically… Agent 3 is the best?"
"I guess you could put it that way. But don't worry, you're also pretty great… and you have better hygiene."
"What does Agent 3's hygiene have to do with anything?"
Marie shrugged. "It doesn't."
"A different subject now—how close is Sheldon to finishing the next weapon?"
"Last time I checked, he's almost done. So…come back tomorrow?"
"Alright. Can't wait."
And thus, Agent 4's adventures came to an end… for now