ATTENTION: This chapter covers content from Splatoon 2's Hero Mode.
Callie's dialogue, as well as some of Sheldon's and Marie's dialogue, is taken directly from the game.
Alexis's PoV
"Run! Leave now and never look back!" the mysterious voice demanded, though the phone had garbled their speech a little bit.
"Are... Uh... Are you holding the phone upside down?" Marie asked, worry edging her voice.
"Ugh... I totally was," the voice admitted, their speech clearer now.
"CALLIE?!" the grey-haired idol cried, panicked.
"Callie?" Alexis repeated, merely confused. Right now, she was sitting in the lair of the Octoshower, who she had just finally defeated with one of her least favorite weapon classes—the charger. The Zapfish it held squirmed in her arms as she listened to the conversation over her headset. What does her phone being upside down have to do with anything?
"Umm..." Now that Marie had pointed out the mysterious person was possibly Callie, the short-haired inkling could tell the voice was feminine. "Nope, this is definitely not Callie! So just...leave. It's dangerous here! And it's not safe at all!"
"Ummm... Don't those mean the same thing?" she pointed out.
"Whatever! Just get out of here!" 'Callie' demanded once more. "I'm not calling again!"
"W-wait! Don't go!" Marie pled. "Callie?! CALLIE!" The other line cut to silence. Alexis could hear the idol take in a heavy breath.
"Marie...?" she tried reaching out to her.
"I..." The inkling over her headset faltered momentarily. "I can't believe it. Could Callie really be working with the Octarians?"
"It seems so... strange," the bronze-skinned girl admitted. "I can't wrap my head around it."
"Look." Her voice stronger, Marie requested, "Agent 4, I need your help now more than ever."
"I'll try my best," she promised. "For the Great Zapfish... and Callie."
"Especially Callie," the idol reiterated. There was a moment silence between them before Marie said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"
"Right, right!" Agent 4 proceeded to super-jump out of the dome, back out into the sunlight. She heard the cords connected to the boss kettle crackle, and down below her, the barrier surrounding the next launchpad shattered, granting her access to the next area. She set the zapfish down in front of her. She figured Marie wouldn't want to see her right now. "You'll be fine, right?" she asked it, in which it nodded. "Go home, now," she told it. "They're all waiting for you." With that, the electric fish jumped into the air and proceeded to fly off into the distance.
"OK, Callie and the Great Zapfish are up ahead," the grey-haired inkling instructed. "Let's do this, Agent 4!"
"Right!" Alexis proceeded to jump down to the next launchpad. She stepped onto it and turned into a squid to super-jump. She flew from the Slimeskin Garrison, into one of the tentacle-shaped formations in the canyon. Everything went dark as she flew into a small hole in the rock. She landed on a hard, metal platform, surrounded by a sea of ink. Only neon lights dotted around the floating islands helped to illuminate the cavern. "Woah..." She suppressed the fear rising up in her to move forward. She examined the platforms flying by. All of them seemed to lead somewhere else. "Where to first?"
"Hmm..." started Sheldon. "Oh!" he gasped. "It seems the next kettle... is on an invisible platform?!"
"An invisible platform?!" the short-haired inkling exclaimed in surprise.
"Don't worry, Agent 4!" he assured boldly. "I'll guide you." She nodded. "First, wait by the blue station!"
Alexis walked up to the pole with a blue neon light on it and proceeded to wait. Soon, a platform with blue lights rimming it floated by, and she hopped on it. As she rode on it, she watched everything fly by, right before her eyes. It almost made her sick, really. The sea below did not help.
"See those poles?" the horseshoe crab asked.
"Yeah," she answered.
"Fire some ink over there!"
As the platform got closer, she pulled out the Hero Shot and began firing it. At first, the bullets fell hopelessly into the abyss, but then, one bullet stuck to something. And another. And another, until a small patch of the invisible platform was covered. When the floating platform slowed, she jumped off it, onto the invisible stretch of land. She hid in the ink momentarily to refill her tank, and then she emerged, firing her weapon again. She fired around the perimeter of the platform until some ink landed another moving, invisible platform. She jumped on it again, and proceeded to jump to another invisible platform once she was close enough to it. Up ahead was a checkpoint, floating on nothing. She repeated the same procedure once more, the checkpoint activating as soon as she stepped on it.
Inking the area in front of her would soon reveal a wall. She climbed up it and proceeded forward. When she reached the end of a catwalk, she thought she had reached a dead end until magenta ink from some sprinklers landed on some more platforms that were moving in a circular motion. She dispatched of the sprinklers and covered one of the platforms in her own ink before moving on. A few meters in front of her, she spotted some more sprinklers. It was not her plan to take them down. Instead, she continued firing her weapon in the surrounding area until she noticed a platform in the very center of the ring. She jumped down to it, where she noticed something off about the platform. She pulled the trigger of her Hero Shot, firing it until a creak sounded to reveal a kettle.
"That's it!" Sheldon exclaimed.
"Nice job, Agent 4," Marie complimented.
Alexis smiled and dove into the kettle. When she spawned inside, she was amazed at the sight of artificial lights, shaped just like stars. Glowing specks floated down towards the bottom, and fireworks burst in the night sky. It was one of the prettiest domes she had ventured in, she had to admit. She shook some yellow-green ink off of her and was about to go on her way when one of Sheldon's drones buzzed by, holding a weapon case. It dropped it off in front of her, and the short-haired inkling proceeded to open it up. Inside was a brush with a theme matching all other hero weapons she has had to use so far. She picked it up and held it into the air.
"OK, take this with you," the horseshoe crab requested. "It'll help me gather some practical battle data." Alexis simply nodded in response. "If you love getting up close and personal, the Herobrush is the weapon for you," he started to explain. "You can ink the ground as you run, or you can slash repeatedly! You can close in on enemies really quickly, and then splat 'em to bits like a ninja!"
I wouldn't call Via a ninja... she noted silently, memories of watching her sister practice her skills surfacing in her head.
"With the Herobrush, it's all about swinging it until your enemy explodes!" Sheldon finished.
"Mhm," she mused. "I've seen it many times before."
"Then you should know this fact—you can ink as you go!" Marie pointed out.
Agent 4 put the bristles of the Herobrush down to the ground and started running, destroying any boxes she came in contact with. By the time the crates ended, she was just out of ink. She hid in the little path of ink she created to refill her tank. She emerged, and then some Octopods noticed her and started barreling towards her, a hissing noise sounding from its back. She started swinging the brush to protect herself, and when the Octopods leapt towards her, they were destroyed on contact with the brush.
"You don't have unlimited ink, so watch the tank on your back," the idol reminded.
"I know, I know," she acknowledged, annoyed. "But when have I ever run out of ink?"
"A few times," remarked the other inkling.
She groaned. "Fair point..."
The short-haired inkling continued running along, destroying any Octopods that ran towards her. She turned the corner, where she encountered a simple Octotrooper. She immediately splatted it and continued on. She soon reached a small orange crate. She broke it to reveal some power eggs, but a path forward was nowhere to be seen.
"The path ahead is invisible," Marie noted. It was then another Octopod noticed her from on top of a crate and proceeded to run towards her, down the invisible path. "Just cover it with ink and you'll be fine." Alexis took a few steps forward and destroyed her small opponent. Yellow-green ink splattered in front of her. She walked up to the crate the Octopod was on and broke it, revealing armor. She picked it up and started searching for a path to the launchpad in the distance. Slowly, she revealed the path to it, and soon, she reached the swirling circle. Turning into a squid on it, she flew off to somewhere else in the dome.
The next area involved climbing. She painted the walls with the brush before climbing up it. She repeated it, over and over again, until she reached the top. Though on the first level were just some crates, she encountered a lone Octopod on the second. It started charging towards her, but once it again, it fell with a single swipe of the Herobrush. The third and topmost level had a shielded Octotrooper on it.
"Those guys with shields are no big deal if you can flank 'em!" the idol commented with enthusiasm. The shielded Octarian noticed Alexis as it came around the bend and proceeded to shoot blobs of ink at her. Alarmed, the short-haired inkling fell back and clung to wall, where it wouldn't see her. A few seconds later, she heard the machine Octotroopers rode whir again, so she climbed back up to the top level and was met with the uncovered back of the shielded Octotrooper. She launched herself towards it and splatted it with a few swift strokes of her brush. Agent 4 pumped a fist and continued onward.
Stepping onto the yellow grate, she looked down through it to see the contents of the area below her. Some squid rings floated below her feet, which led her to an ink-covered area another shielded Octotrooper patrolled. She waited a few seconds before dropping through the squid rings and attacking the resident Octarian. When it splatted, a can containing Splashdown appeared in its place.
"Lookin' good," Marie complimented.
"Thanks," she said back. Alexis walked up to the can and picked it up. "Now, what about this..."
"Ah, yes!" Sheldon interjected. "Splashdown!" The inkling opened her mouth to speak, but the horseshoe crab continued rambling on, more enthusiastic than usual. "Use it! Uuuuuuuse it!"
"Where would I...?" the agent started muttering to herself. Her question was quickly answered when she saw the next platform below—three Twintacle Octotroopers on an area covered in magenta ink, circling around an orange box. Squid rings floated above the crate. An idea popping into her head, she jumped off the grate leading down to it and broke the can as her feet left the around. Immediately, she yelled, "Hhup!" as yellow-green ink surrounded her fist. A circle marking the area of impact appeared around her, and quickly she dived through the squid rings, towards the box. A vortex of ink swirled around her on impact with the ground, and she heard the gurgled cries of the Twintacle Octotroopers soon after. When the ink cleared, Alexis found herself covered in more protective armor.
"Booyah!" she cheered.
"Way to be, Agent 4!" Marie cheered as well.
The bronze-skinned girl walked up the next grate and slipped through it, collecting the squid rings along the way. She plopped onto the checkpoint, where she reformed into a kid. She walked up to the unactivated grind rail bulb and swung her Herobrush, which proceeded to activate it and break a nearby crate. She picked up the armor that was inside and hopped onto the rail. She rode it down to the next area, another catwalk. In the corner of her orange eyes she saw... a Tentakook.
"Tentakook!" the idol alarmed.
"Marie, I see it," Alexis deadpanned, crossing her arms.
"Oh, um... carry on, then."
Agent 4 put the bristles of her brush to the ground and started running. As soon as the Tentakook noticed her, it started skating away, leaving a bomb in its wake. It splatted right in the inkling's face, breaking the first layer of armor. She quickly shrugged it off and continued running. The Octarian soon stepped onto something invisible and sped away.
"More invisible paths. Take it slow," the inkling over the headset advise.
"Woah!" Alexis gasped, stopping inches away from falling off the path, into the abyss. She jumped back into the ink trail in the form of a squid and reformed once she regained her footing. "Phew." She scanned the area once more. The Tentakook had left a trail of magenta ink behind it. She spotted it dancing on top of something. However, she also noted an orange crate. Should I go for it...? It could contain more armor, after all. A few moments later, she shook her head. I don't need it. She put her Herobrush to the ground and followed the narrow path of ink the cowardly Octarian left behind.
It let out a cry and dropped a bomb again as it fled. This time, however, Alexis dipped into her yellow-green ink and swam a few feet back, not risking her second layer of armor being broken. After the bomb exploded, however, she continued her chase. She quickly met the Tentakook again, but however, when it dropped a grenade this time, the explosive simply fell off the edge of the platform. The Octarian jumped off the path as well, landing on another invisible walkway. The inkling followed it, determined to splat it.
As the chase continued, Alexis heard Marie groan, "I don't think I'll ever get used to this..."
Finally, she managed to corner the Tentakook. With a few strikes from her weapon, it exploded into yellow-green ink and promptly dropped a key, which the idol made note of. Agent 4 unlocked the vault up ahead, revealing the all-too-familiar swirling circle. She stepped onto the launchpad and flew off to her next destination. The next area, from what she could see, was divided into two sections. Dash tracks allowed anyone to travel from one area to the next. That's exactly what the Twintacle Octotroopers on the other side did—they jumped over to where Alexis stood and started attacking her. Their combined power broke her second layer of armor, leaving her with only the Hero Suit now. She started swinging her brush rapidly, hoping to splat them as quickly as possible. She splatted one of them, but the remaining one, which had some yellow-green ink spotting its feature, managed to break her Hero Suit. She didn't even notice it at first, though, as a few more swipes splatted the second one before it could splat her itself.
The agent rested a bronze hand on the railing to catch her breath after the close fight. Looking down at her hands is what finally made her notice her suit had broken. She tried to muffle her surprise over it, but a yelp still escaped her mouth. Moments later, however, the yellow sleeves of her hoodie appeared again, signifying the Hero Suit's repair. With that, she stepped onto the dash track, which flung her over to the other side. She walked up the edge of the platform again to see a mass of Octotroopers down below.
"What in the world are they up to?" Marie wondered out loud.
"I don't know, but..." Alexis started.
"I feel a big fight coming on..." the idol finished.
"Exactly!" the short-haired inkling agreed.
The inkling over the headset chuckled. "News flash—I'm a mind reader. I know exactly what you're thinking," she teased. "But seriously. Be prepared."
Alexis nodded and walked up to the only orange crate in the line of boxes. Breaking it revealed yet another can with a special weapon on it, so she picked it up.
"Oh! That's a Curling Bomb Launcher!" Sheldon explained. Past the boxes, one of the Octotroopers noticed her and started shooting at the inkling on the battlefield. "Let 'em have it!" She broke the can open, and immediately she was equipped with the aforementioned launcher. She started throwing out a bunch of curling bombs, and the explosives started bumping off the walls and flying off of the dash tracks. Though many of them hit at least one Octotrooper, none of them splatted. However, a few of them were injured to the point where she could just run them over with her Herobrush. After she disposed of the last Octotrooper, only one Octarian remained—a Twintacle Octotrooper with a shield, but this one had darker tentacles than normal, and two thrusters were on each side of the machine it piloted. It was easily able to dodge most of her shots. As the agent ran around the battlefield, she picked up some armor, but it was immediately broken by this Twintacle Octotrooper. Finally, after throwing a bomb over its head to distract it, she managed to splat it.
Alexis wiped some magenta ink off her cheek and perplexed, "Why was that one so strong?"
"I think that was a Deluxe Twintacle Octotrooper you just faced there," Marie explained. "I've only ever seen a few in my entire life, but for eel, they. Are. Tough."
"Yeah," she agreed. "They are."
"Anyways, nice fight," the idol continued. "Get to that launchpad." Agent 4 looked to the side to see that a launchpad, like Marie had said, had appeared. She ran over to it and turned into a squid on it, bringing her to the next area almost immediately. There, a line of magenta ink sprawled out in front of her, and an Octocommander stood in the distance. She put the bristles of the brush down and ran straight through the line. The Octocommander started charging up its weapon, and some hissing sounded from on top of the crates that were in the way. Some Octopods were now charging towards the inkling. She swung behind a wall as the Octopods crashed into the ground. She hid behind her cover, listening as the Octocommander began its rapid fire.
"When brute force won't work, try using a little finesse," she suggested. Once the Octocommander had ceased fire, Alexis stepped back out into the open and continued forward, when suddenly a Twintacle Octotrooper popped out of the ink. She let out a surprised cry and started striking it, causing it to fall and explode into yellow-green ink. The other, bigger Octarian, had begun to charge up its weapon again. The short-haired girl smashed the boxes and jumped up to the Octocommander. As it was firing, she swung the Herobrush once more, splatting it.
"Yes," Marie exulted. Alexis progressed to the next checkpoint, to the next area. There, more Twintacle Octotroopers circled around a tall, wooden building. The inkling's orange eyes drifted up it until she reached the top, where a lockbox stood. She splatted the Octotroopers and climbed up the the building to be met with the sight of a shielded Octotrooper. It spewed a giant glob of ink right at her face, causing her to fall to the moat below. When she landed, she felt something pointed dig into her back, and then she heard an explosion. Her Hero Suit shattered once more, and she sat up with a groan. She climbed out of the moat and sat down in front of it, waiting for it to repair. As she sat, another Tentakook ran by, its path confined to the narrow moat, but when it saw her, it dropped a bomb and ran away again.
Hmm... She inked her feet and hid in the puddle left behind, waiting for the Tentakook to return. A little later, it sped by again, pausing right in front of her to do a little dance. This was her chance to strike. She emerged from the puddle and swung her brush, splatting it immediately. Left in its place was a key. Remembering the lockbox, she climbed back to the top of the wooden building and hid in another puddle of ink, waiting for the shielded Octotrooper to expose its back. It had actually shot out some magenta globs when she arrived, but soon it looked around, confused, and returned to its normal duties. At the perfect moment, Alexis popped out of her hiding spot and struck the Octarian in the back. It dropped a can containing yet another Splashdown in it, and when she picked it up, Sheldon proceeded to ramble about it again. She tuned him out and proceeded to unlock the lockbox. Inside was a silver thing with likeness to a fish—a Sardinium. She tucked it away in her pocket and continued on.
At last, Alexis could see the glow of the zapfish, far off in the distance. For a second, she wondered why the industrial Squee-Gs were not immediately heading towards her, but then she noticed some floating crates... or rather, crates on invisible platforms. She inked the invisible wall and broke the crates once she got on top of it. The first crate she broke contained armor, while the other contained a can containing Ink Storm. She glanced between the two cans—the one in front of her, and the one she held. Do I really need Splashdown? A few seconds later, she shook her head and picked up the Ink Storm can, tossing the Splashdown can aside. Over her headset she heard Sheldon try to stifle a scream.
"Ready to get up close and personal with a couple of Octocommanders?" Marie asked, trying to sound encouraging.
"No..." Agent 4 whined.
"Now, lead those industrial Squee-Gs with ink and bombs!" she directed.
Alexis climbed to the top of the invisible platform, where the two Octocommanders present proceeded to start charging up their weapons. She threw a splat bomb at the ground in hopes of attracting one of the industrial Squee-Gs. Seconds later, both Squee-Gs running around started beeping and heading towards the puddle of yellow-green ink the bomb left behind. It was then the Octocommander on one of them began to fire. That Squee-G was the first to arrive, so that was the one the short-haired inkling hopped on. The Octarian looked down at her, anger steaming through its sunglasses. She swung her Herobrush back and forth, quickly splatting it. However, one Octocommander still remained, one she could not reach at the moment. It was then she remembered her special weapon. She broke the can, and out came Ink Storm. Holding the container in the air, she waited until she could get a straight shot and threw it.
A yellow-green cloud started travelling across the invisible plane, spreading droplets of ink wherever it went. The fire of the remaining Octocommander covered the battlefield, including the industrial Squee-Gs. Alexis now found herself standing in the sticky magenta ink. Following the assault, she inked her feet and directed the industrial Squee-G to the vantage point in the middle of the clearing. She climbed up it and used her bombs to direct the other machine to her, the one that would bring her to the zapfish.
Somewhere, she heard a gurgle. "You did it!" Marie then exclaimed.
"Did what?" She looked over to where the second Octocommander would be, only to see a puddle of her ink in its place. "Oh."
"Now, grab that zapfish!"
A few more bombs later, the bronze-skinned girl could finally leap over to the other side. She busted the barrier surrounding the electric fish open, and she promptly pulled the freed zapfish into a hug. She smiled and super-jumped out of the underground dome. She emerged from the kettle, and immediately Sheldon began speaking.
"Let me check your weapon log..." the horseshoe crab informed. "Yup! Data's coming through!" He paused, and then he commented, "Oh, man. This is really good stuff."
"You say that every time, Sheldon," Alexis pointed out.
"But really! You bring great data every time you test out one of those lovely new weapons, Agent 4," Sheldon noted. "So remember—the more data you get me, the quicker I can finalize my retail version, so keep it up!"
The agent simply nodded and proceeded to super-jump back to where she entered, where Marie was waiting. Her face was partially shadowed by her umbrella, but from what she could see, she wore a worried expression. When she saw Alexis, her lips drew up in a half-hearted smile.
"Hey," she greeted.
"Hey." She gave the zapfish to the idol. "You OK."
The grey-haired inkling frowned. "It's just... Callie." She sighed. "I really hope we can save her soon."
Orange eyes drifted around the cavern, thinking. "Where could she be?" Agent 4 wondered out loud.
Marie muttered something under her breath, and the other inkling asked for her to repeat it. "I think she's with DJ Octavio," she guessed.
"DJ Octavio? He's the leader of the Octarians, right?"
She nodded. "If..." Her voice faltered again. "If... If Callie really is helping the Octarians, then that slimy disc jockey wouldn't risk leaving her out in the open."
"I see..."
A silence now weighed between the two inklings. Instead of saving more zapfish, however, Alexis's mind drifted towards another topic—the split between Roy and Octavia. The whole situation had been going on for over a week now, and frankly, Alexis was getting tired of it. Like the others, she just wanted the Rainbow Squids to be whole again! Thankfully, Inigo had devised a plan to fix their relationship. However, they still needed an extra person to help them out. Suddenly, the short-haired inkling remembered the idea she had thought of before coming to Octo Canyon. Now was her chance to propose it.
"Hey, Marie..." she started. "Do you like Salmon Runs?"
"I..." The idol focused her starry eyes on the girl, rubbing her eyes. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"
"Just let me explain!" Alexis proceeded to detail the situation between Roy and her sister, then going deeper into the plan. Finally, she proposed her idea.
After she finished, Marie raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about this?"
"Please, Marie?" she begged. "I'm already helping you save the Great Zapfish and Callie, so can't you help me on this one small thing?"
After a few moments, the idol finally nodded. "Alright," she said. "I'll do it."