Alexis's PoV
"Can I have them back?" Callie asked, jumping up and down. "Please?" A lime green squid wrapped her tentacles around a lamppost, holding a bag of chips in one hand. The golden gaze of the squid narrowed. A warning sign.
"You know you're on a diet, Callie," Marie's voice scolded. "I'm not giving them back."
"Aw..." The black-haired inkling frowned, eyes widening ever-so-slightly. "Please...?"
Her cousin sighed and slid down the lamppost, transforming back into her humanoid form. Marie held out the bag of chips, and the black-haired inkling took it and opened it, popping some of the crisps into her mouth.
"Mmm..." she mumbled. "Thanks, Marie!"
"You're welcome, but I'm not giving them to you again."
"Uh..." Alexis raised a hand, waving it around. She and the other agents had been observing the scene for a few minutes as the cousins chased each other, all for a bag of chips. "Hi."
The two inklings looked over at the newcomers. "Oh, hey," the grey-haired inkling greeted. "You look like you want something."
"Mhm," Eight nodded. "I am having the idea...for mission of new!"
"A new mission?" Callie lifted her head, still stuffing chips into her mouth. "Ooh, what is it?"
"Do you know the website Swimmit?" she started.
"Yeah, there's a whole Subswimmit dedicated to the Squid Sisters," Marie remarked. "I've made a few posts there; the people there were tame enough."
"But what does Swimmit have to do with anything?" the black-haired inkling perplexed.
"Eight found a Subswimmit," Agent 3 interjected. "It's basically a place to post about missing people, but all the posts there are specifically about Octarians." She took out a green phone and pulled up a website, turning it around to show it to the cousins. "You see?" She clicked on the first link and read it out loud. "'Looking for my friend, Lydia Par, age 19. Please email me if you find her.'" She turned her phone around again, displaying a drawing of an octoling soldier.
The grey-haired idol took Three's phone and examined it, scrolling through the Subswimmit. Eventually, she gave it back to the long-haired girl.
"Interesting," she concluded. "But...it sounds a little tricky. We'd have to find out what these Octarians look like first, then we have to find out where they live."
"Don't we have the files?" Callie pointed out. "Like, remember when we saved the Great Zapfish the first time? We got Octavio to give us the password, and now we can access it."
"Oh, yeah." Embarrassed, Marie gave a smile at her cousin. "I forgot about that."
"That is making the sense!" Eight interjected. "Cap'n Cuttlefish have find the file of Marina and post it to her chat room!"
"Yeah," Three said. "We barely used it, though. Guess it's time to put it to use."
"We'll find Lydia Par," Marie suggested. She went into the shack, and a few moments later, she arrived with a laptop. She set it down on the bench and opened it up, then proceeding to go on a web browser and type in a web address. When she hit the enter key, she was prompted with a blue-grey screen with Octarian text on it. There was a box to enter in text. She clicked on it and entered 'TAKOWASA.'
"'TAKOWASA?'" Alexis puzzled. "That's the password?"
"Yeah," the idol confirmed. "Not sure why, though."
Marie hit the enter key again, and she was prompted with another page consisting of a search bar and several buttons. She called Callie over, who proceeded to examine it.
"Alphabetically, by generation, by occupation..." the black-haired idol read. "Let's just type in Lydia's name."
Eight blinked, surprised. "You are able to read Octarian?"
"Yeah, I was brainwashed by them for half a year, remember?" she chirped. "I picked up some things from there." She winked, sticking her tongue out.
Marie typed in Lydia Par, and a few names popped up. She clicked on one name, resulting a picture of a standard elite octoling to pop up. Below the picture was basic information, along with another text box. The grey-haired inkling typed in 'wasabi' in the new box, causing a timeline to pop up.
"Let's see..." Callie muttered. "Well, she's an elite octoling, obviously. She was in Dome 6 of Beaker's Depot, but she was moved to Cephalon HQ following her failure to defend the dome." She put her finger on the second-to-last line on the timeline. "It also says here her hypnoshades were stolen once."
Her hypnoshades were stolen once?
A memory popped in Agent 4's mind—she was fighting her way through a twisted version of Humpback Pump Track, and her last enemy was an elite octoling with a roller. She managed to knock her shades off and take them to school, where another octoling showed up to take them back.
...I'm the one that stole them!
"Four?" Marie looked over at the bronze-skinned inkling. "Are you alright? You look like I just came up behind you and scared you."
"It's fine," she blurted. "I just thought of something, that's all?"
"What, did you forget something?"
"No no no!" she insisted, shaking her hands in front of her. "It's nothing, really!"
The idol sighed. "Alright..."
"Well, anyways, we're going to Cephalon HQ," Agent 3 summarized. "But where?"
"Yeah," Alexis agreed. "That place is like a maze! We could get lost, or worse, fall off and drown!"
"Let me look," Callie answered. The black-haired idol took the laptop once more, scrolling up to basic information. She clicked on one link, bringing up a new page. A group of elite octolings, including Lydia, were shown at the bottom of the page.
"Aaaannd... There!" She highlighted one line of text. "She's in a civilian dome, working as a guard."
"We'll help you get there, don't worry," Marie assured the younger agents.
"But there's a few problems," Agent 3 pointed out. "We'll have to figure out a way to get Lydia out without alarming anyone. And a way to get in, too."
"What about using wigs?" Eight suggested. "Wigs not are hard to be found."
"Well, our outfits are conspicuous. We'd have to beat up some octolings too to be convincing."
"Can't we just sneak in?" Agent 4 suggested.
"Like I said, we need to figure out a way to get her out, too," Three argued. "We'll just draw attention to ourselves if we just take her and go."
Alexis sighed. "Man, this is complicated." As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately perked up. "But you'll figure out a plan, right? Because you're Agent 3!"
Three rubbed the back of her head. "I... Alright..."
The next day, when the group met up in Tentakeel Outpost once more, Agent 8 had decided to bring two wigs with her, both depicting the hairstyle she normally saw octoling soldiers with. Four was in charge of gathering the outfits, so in her hands were several uniforms—she wanted to make sure the outfits fitted them, but she didn't know her coworkers' exact sizes, so she just beat up a bunch of octolings for outfits.
She put the uniform that fit her at her side and handed the other outfits to the other two agents. Agent 3 took a wig went inside the Cuttlefish Cabin first, coming out wearing the uniform, sans the hypnoshades, and the octoling wig. Disregarding her eyes, she looked just like a typical octoling soldier.
"What am I supposed to do with these?" she wondered out loud, examining the shades. "If I put these on, then I'll probably end up attacking you or something."
"That's why I got these," said a new voice. From deeper within Tentakeel Outpost, Marie emerged, wearing a casual outfit consisting of a hat and a green jacket, magenta ink dripping from the brim. She reached into her pocket and pulled out three hypnoshades, all deactivated.
"Huh? Marie!" Alexis gasped. She dashed over to the grey-haired inkling, eyes wide. "Where'd you get them?"
"I have my sources." She pulled down her mask and smirked.
"Are they having safety?" Eight spoke up.
"Should be," she replied. "Don't worry, we'll restrain you if they don't work."
"I'll try them first," Agent 4 announced. She looked down at the hypnoshades and gulped. Here goes nothing. She grabbed one of them and carefully slid them onto her face.
...Nothing.
"Uh... Four?" the curly-haired octoling muttered. "Everything good?"
"Yeah," she simply replied, turning to face them. "Everything's good."
"So, they work?" Agent 3 inquired.
"Yeah," she insisted. She grabbed the other two hypnoshades and handed them to the other girls. "Put them on."
Smirking, Three put them on and put her hand on her hip. "Convincing, right?"
"Mhm," Eight muttered. She looked at her hypnoshades, frowning. "But..."
"But what?" The fair-skinned girl lowered her hand, raising an eyebrow.
"I think about before I become the free." The girl with light brown skin turned her head to the side, pink eyes avoiding her girlfriend's gaze. "I worry if I put the hypnoshades on, I will turn against you."
"Don't worry." Agent 3 lifted her hands, placing them on the octoling's shoulders. "I'm not attacking you, am I? Four's not attacking you either."
She placed a hand on her arm. "I give guesses that...that is the truth."
"See? You have nothing to worry about."
"Hm..." Eight stared at the hypnoshades for a few more moments before putting them on. "You are correct... There is nothing that is different." The octoling disappeared into the shack and came out dressed in a uniform. "I still have bad feelings."
"Remember the plan," Three whispered, elbowing her arm.
"Right."
Alexis went inside the cabin next, bringing inside the uniform and a wig. She put up her tentacles and bound them to her head with a hairnet, and then she put an earpiece in her ear and folded them back. Next, she donned the wig. Finally, she put on the uniform and looked at herself in the mirror. There was something eerie about seeing herself in a completely different outfit. She could tell it was her, but at the same time, she thought of the octolings she had fought in the past.
She took a deep breath, putting a hand on her chest to prevent panic from seizing her. She stood in the room, staring at her reflection. When she was ready, she exited the cabin, stepping out into the sunlight once more.
"Looks like you're all ready," Marie announced.
"Yep!" Agent 4 chirped. "Let's, uh, save an Octarian!" The words felt foreign on her tongue, to talk about saving Octarians instead of fighting them. But, that was their mission for today.
"Callie and I will provide support from here," she explained. "Well, it'll just be me until she gets here, but you get the point." She pulled out her Hero Charger and pointed it towards the sky. "Now, go! We better not keep them waiting!"
The three agents changed their ink colors to magenta and proceeded to super-jump, flying into the rock structure that housed Cephalon HQ. They reformed into their kid forms on a metal platform in the dark cavern, dim lights glowing throughout the area. A sea of magenta ink rippled beneath them.
"OK." Agent 3 raised a hand to her ear. "Where's the entrance?"
"Shouldn't be that far from you," Marie's voice rang in Four's ears. "Wait for that floating platform to arrive, and ride it down to the edge of the cavern."
Three simply nodded and walked up to a glowing pole, leaning against it. Soon enough, a platform with lights matching that of the pole arrived, and the trio hopped on top of it. The platform flew around the area, displaying all the convoluted mechanisms used for all to see.
"Woah..." Eight muttered. "I have not been being here much, but the technology... It is the fresh."
"Somehow, I'm not surprised," the grey-haired inkling's voice remarked. The platform soon came to a stop, arriving at a small platform with stalactites hanging above it. It seemed to be bare, but a light oddly reflected off of the center of the smaller platform. Agent 8 pulled out an Octo Shot and shot it, revealing a kettle.
"Good luck," Marie muttered. "You'll need it."
The three turned into their cephalopod forms and slipped through the grate, traveling into the dome. Oddly enough, instead of spawning on a glowing circle like Alexis had been expecting, they popped out in a clearing, where Octarians were simply roaming about.
An octoling soldier walked up to them and began to speak. Through her limited understanding of the Octarian language, she was able to make out what she said: "Welcome. Names?"
"Uh..." Eight bit her lip. "I am...Lily Rube. My friends are...Nora Natus, and...Sadie Joubini. We are looking for Lydia Par."
"I see..." The soldier put a hand on her chin. Alexis couldn't understand what she said afterwards, but she simply nodded and gestured for them to follow her. They started walking through the streets of the strange town, tall buildings, some suspiciously shaped like octopus tentacles, and neon signs hanging above them. She noticed pictures of DJ Octavio plastered onto the sides of various structures, and the music blasting through the streets felt odd as well.
They eventually arrived at a small building that was longer than it was wide. The roof of it was flat. Two soldiers stood outside the building. The soldier guiding them talked to the guards, and they soon stepped out of the way and opened the door, allowing them to enter. The inside of the building was rather plain, with off-white walls and a series of long hallways. They wandered through the halls, some Octotroopers patrolling them. They gladly stepped out of the way to let the agents and the octoling pass before returning to their task.
Eventually, they came to a door with two more octolings, these ones elite, standing outside. The elite octolings had identical clothing and hairstyles, but their skin tones were different. One of them had dark skin, reminding Alexis of Marina, while the other had tan skin.
"Lydia Par," the soldier guiding them spoke up. The tan-skinned octoling lifted her head, raising an eyebrow. She continued to speak, stepping out of the way and gesturing to the disguised agents. Lydia asked a question in response, with the soldier answering that question as well. They swapped places, and then the door opened.
Standing in the doorway was another elite octoling. The group moved out of the way, allowing everyone inside to leave the room. The octolings leaving were all wearing the same uniform, but none of them looked like the typical soldier.
Eight peeked into the room they came from and leaned back to whisper to the inklings, "Technicians, I think."
"Commander," a male octoling's voice then spoke. Alexis turned to the source of the voice—a bronze-skinned octoling with magenta hair styled into a curtain cut. He appeared to be older than both Eight and Three.
In Octarian, he asked the elite octoling a question, in which the curly-haired octoling then butted in, "We only need Lydia Par."
The octoling with the curtain cut turned to Eight. "I don't plan to stay with you," he pointed out. Alexis couldn't make out his next sentence, but she saw the agent frown.
"Well... OK," she reluctantly agreed.
"You may go," the elite octoling leading the group told him.
"Thank you." The bronze-skinned octoling proceeded to join the group. Both he and Lydia squeezed in between Agent 3 and Agent 4, and the group proceeded to leave the building, going back the way they came to reach the room. They left the building and went straight down the street, towards the way they came.
As they walked, the inklings walked up to Agent 8 and started to whisper in her ear. "What're we gonna do now?" Alexis questioned.
"Free them both," Eight whispered back. "It should not be of the hard."
"Just change the plan a little," Three agreed.
The bronze-skinned girl nodded. "Alright, alright."
They continued to walk through the town, and eventually, they reached the clearing they arrived in.
"We're going to the surface?" Lydia puzzled in the Octarian language.
"Yes," Eight replied.
"O...kay," she simply said.
Eight turned into an octopus to super-jump. Alexis looked around to see if anyone was watching them, and seeing that no one was, she turned into a squid and jumped out of the dome, a trail of magenta ink flying behind her as she shot through the air. Soon enough, they were met with the darkness of Cephalon HQ, each person present transforming into their kid forms as soon as they emerged from the kettle. They waited for a platform to arrive, stepping on it. Eight looked over at the inklings, and with a nod, they set their plan in motion.
Agent 3 apprehended Lydia, while Agent 4 apprehended the other octoling. Both were surprised, with the boy yelling curses at them. While they were distracted, Eight moved in and grabbed their hypnoshades, throwing them into the lake.
"Hey!" Lydia shouted. "You can't do that!"
"Do it now," Three hissed through her teeth.
"Oh! Right." Eight pulled out her phone and started to play Calamari Inkantation. Lydia's expression slackened, soon into one of wonder.
It's working! Alexis realized, a grin growing on her face.
However, the boy she was holding did not seem amused, his orange eyes narrowed. "Bullfish," he growled.
Eight flinched. "'Bullfish?'"
"Maybe we should try a live performance," Three mused.
Lydia looked up at her captor, eyes wide. "Really?"
"Uh... Sure," Agent 4 muttered. She looked down at the other octoling. "What do we do with him?"
"Knock him out," came Marie's answer. She jumped, startled. I forgot she was there! "We'll just put him in a snow globe for now."
Agent 3 released Lydia, allowing the tan-skinned octoling to stand up. She raised a fist and punched the bronze-skinned octoling in the side of the head. He gritted his teeth and started to groan before his voice trailed off and his head drooped. Four released him, and he fell face-first onto the ground. She kneeled down next to him and poked him. He didn't respond.
"Yeah, he's out cold," Three confirmed. She grabbed the boy and turned into a squid. "Let's get out of here."
"You're coming with us," Four told Lydia.
"Oh! OK," she remarked.
Turning into cephalopods, the group super-jumped out of the rock structure, back towards Tentakeel Outpost. They arrived in front of the Cuttlefish Cabin. Marie had changed back into her kimono and stood next to a radio, holding a microphone, while Callie was next to her, typing away at a laptop. Upon their arrival, Alexis took off the wig and hairnet, allowing her tentacles to fall by the sides of her head again. She waved to the cousins. Marie nudged Callie, and they looked up and waved back.
"Yay! You got her!" the black-haired idol cheered.
Agent 3 took off her wig and hairnet, smiling. "Seemed easy enough."
Lydia looked at the inklings, eyes wide. "Wait! You...are squids!"
"Yeah," Four confirmed. "Eight's an octoling though."
"I have been free since the Calamari Inkantation, just like you now," the girl with light brown skin remarked.
"Woah..." Lydia looked around the area, blue eyes wide with wonder. She walked over to the Squid Sisters, examining them. "You...sound like...the song."
"Yeah, because we performed it," Marie snarked.
"Wow!" she enthused. "It is very nice to be meeting the you!" She grabbed the grey-haired idol's hand and quickly shook it.
"Nice to meet you too," Callie greeted. She put down the laptop and reached out her hand, with Lydia taking it and shaking it.
"By the way, agents," Marie spoke up, turning to the group. "I pulled out a snow globe for the other guy. You can put him in there." She gestured to the giant snow globe behind them, which was open. Three set down the bronze-skinned octoling inside before grabbing the top of the snow globe and closing it, enclosing him inside. "We'll deal with him when he wakes up," she concluded.
"By the way, I got an email back from the octo that posted the Swimmit thing," the black-haired idol noted. "They want to meet Lydia in the square, outside the Deca Tower."
"'The square?'" the tan-skinned octoling repeated, tilting her head.
"It's just outside of here," she explained. "Just go through that manhole, and buh-bam! You're in Inkopolis Square!"
"Hold up," Three interrupted. "When do they want to meet her?"
"Right now," she replied.
"Right-" The long-haired inkling stopped herself and blinked, surprised. "Then we gotta go!"
Alexis nodded and turned to Lydia. "You're coming with us."
"Huh?" The tan-skinned octoling turned around. "Oh, OK."
"I will stay here," Eight announced. "I want to be seeing what happens with that boy."
"Sounds good," Three remarked.
Lydia and the two inklings walked over to the manhole in the corner of the clearing and turned into their cephalopod forms, slipping through the grate. Agent 3 and Agent 4 emerged wearing their civilian outfits, though Lydia still wore the octoling uniform. They quickly spotted a fair-skinned octoling with poufy dark hair in front of the Deca Tower, wearing a choco layered LS and choco clogs for gear. They were on their phone, texting away.
"Huh?" Lydia spoke up, walking up to the octoling. "Andy?"
The octoling turned around, purple eyes going wide. "Lydia? Is that really you?"
The tan-skinned octoling clasped her hands together, a smile growing on her face. "Yes, yes, it is me!"
"Lydia!" Andy ran over to her and hugged her, giving her a quick kiss on her cheek. "It's been so long!"
While the two octolings had their reunion, Geneva chuckled and crossed her arms. "Guess that thing was legit."
Alexis looked up at the inkling and nodded. "Yeah, and now they're together again."
"Indeed," she muttered. "Maybe we can reunite some other octolings in the future."
"Maybe," she agreed.
Geneva pulled out her phone and showed Alexis the current rotation. "Wanna do some league battles? It's Splat Zones."
"Splat Zones? Sure."
"Alright, then. Let's get to it."
The two inklings walked pass the two octolings, into the tower. While they grabbed their weapons and went into a lobby, the short-haired girl started to think about their last mission.
Saving octolings instead of defeating them... Maybe she could get used that.
A/N: This chapter was short... Though, there wasn't exactly any fighting, so I guess that's understandable. Hope you guys like it. I really like the concept of it, but the execution could've been better, I'll admit. Anyways, next week is going to be a little iffy in terms of posting. My mom wants to take my sister and I for a brief vacation sometime within the next week. It's in the state, though I don't know how long we'll be staying. I think it's most likely going to be in the weekend, seeing as my sister's birthday is Friday. Will I be able to post on Sunday? We'll see. If not, then I'll try to post Monday. Or the day after I get back. Keeping that in mind, see you next time I post, and Branchwing, out.