Chapter 5
Freedom?
Cephalon HQ
"Gaaahhhhhhh….."
DJ Octavio had just received word that his latest octoboss, the Octo Oven, had been obliterated in its battle against the new Inkling menace. Needless to say, he was most displeased with the news.
"Grrr…. Useless… piece of junk! Gaaa!" The Octarian general roared, slamming his turntable so hard both the vinyls spinning on it shattered on impact. The messenger that brought him the news of this was shaking in her boots, barely able to form a coherent sentence out of fear. The king had an unfortunate tendency to shoot the messengers of bad news.
"S-Sir… It's not all bad news… before fleeing the scene… our scouts… They were-"
"What..?! grrr… This better be good.. Or I'll dubstomp you into oblivion!"
"Uhh.. ahh… T-they… Theyfoundoutwhothemysteryinklingwas…!" The young octoling practically screamed out before retreating into her octopus form and covering her head.
After taking a second to mentally decipher what the terrified octoling had just said to him, his anger slowly began to melt away, however slightly.
"Aaaand..? Who are they…?"
Seeing that the DJ wasn't going to kill her, at least at the moment, she quickly straightened up and changed back to humanoid form.
"Well.. We don't know EXACTLY who they are… but we were able to fully confirm that they are not Agent 3. This is what he looks like, sire.." Regaining her composure, the messenger took out a tablet device and pulled up the photo that the Octarian scout had taken of the new inkling agent.
"Gahhah… GAHHAHAHAHA…! THIS is the slimy little hipster that's been taking back the zapfish…?! This little PIPSQUEAK?!"
"S-sir… If I may be so bold…. H-he has been able to get through a few octodomes… and he did soundly defeat the Octo oven.."
After taking a moment to calm down from his laughing fit, Octavio pondered how such a plain-looking and pathetically small inkling could defeat his creation. He was only able to come up with one conclusion at the moment.
"A fluke.."
"I-I'm sorry, sire..?
"A fluke. A lucky break and nothing more… Those mindless octotroopers were never good for more than cannon fodder anyhow… and the Octo Oven could have simply malfunctioned. Has he fought any Octolings yet?"
"To our knowledge, no. There haven't been any Octolings stationed in the Octodomes that he's raided."
With this knowledge, the ocatrian DJs face curled into a cruel smile.
"Gahhahah… then maybe we should introduce him to some… Bring me the prison warden, I'd like to check the current status of our very special prisoner.."
"Yes sir, right away sir!"
Turning and running out the door as fast as she could, the octoling messenger was just happy to get out of that throne room with her life.
Cuttlefish cabin, Tentakeel Outpost
"Aahh..! This isn't the kind of training I had in mind, Marie! Whoa..!"
"Just shut up and dodge!"
Just as she had promised the previous night, the pop-star was training her young agent, trying to hone the raw potential that she had seen within him. And in doing that, she was firing her charger at him from point blank with the intent to kill.
"Isn't this dangerous?!" The shaken agent protested, as he just barely ducked under another jet of ink from Marie's hero charger.
"Relax, the spawn pad near the pipe over there is connected to the city's power grid. It isn't running out of power anytime soon." She assured, taking another pot shot at him only for him to dodge to the left, much to the dismay of the poor training dummy behind him. "Now, DODGE!"
She had been going easy on him to start him out, aiming at his sides and only firing weaker, half charged shots at him. After not landing a single drop of ink on him in the first hour of training, she decided that it was time to step things up a notch.
"Okay Four, warm up is over!" She announced with a smirk.
"W-warm up..?!"
Four was already reaching the limits of his stamina. His legs were wobbling from the quick movements and his head was starting to ache from focusing so hard on where the shots were going.
"Mhmm. Time to step it up. DODGE!"
The first shot of round two was a fully charged shot aimed right at the center of Four's chest. By closely watching the barrel of her charger, he was able to get out of the way, but just barely. The next shot came fast, and Four wasn't as lucky this time. He tried to dodge, but his reflexes were just a little bit too slow and the stream of neon yellow ink grazed his side.
"Ow…! Jeez, time out, let me he-"
And that was all he was able to get out before the next shot came and obliterated him. The neon yellow ink splatter complimented the pink training dummy rather well.
"No timeouts in a battle. You're dead." Marie snickered.
After another hour of torturing Four with that, Marie had moved on to some different training methods. Training methods like throwing a splat bomb and only allowing him to start moving out of the way once the bomb had begun exploding, chasing him around with a roller, and firing her charger at him while he jumped and climbed around the various obstacles around the outpost.
Needless to say, Four was completely exhausted by the late afternoon. Only then did Marie decide to have a little mercy on him and call it quits for the day.
"Ok Four, that's it for today." She announced to him, lowering her charger and giving him an innocent smile.
Four thought he was tired after his first mission. He thought he was exhausted after his tussle with the Octo Oven. Oh, how naive he was, thinking he was pushing his body to its limits back then. His heart was pounding harder than when he tried talking to his first crush back in school, he had gallons of sweat running off him and soaked into his shirt, and at some point he had lost one of his shoes.
"I… It's over...?" He stammered out between gasps for air.
"Sure is. Solid work today, Four."
"Oh…. Fresh."
That was the last thing he remembered before he fell backwards into a puddle of his own ink.
Perhaps Marie was enjoying this a little too much.
Somewhere deep within Cephilon HQ…
"Sigh….."
For what seemed like the millionth time, the captive captain was bored. No amount of drawing with her own ink would be enough this time. She was just stuck, sitting against the wall, counting the metal tiles on the ceiling.
Cod, I wish I had some music or some parts to tinker with…
Did we really need to steal the Zapfish from the Inklings to survive? We're smart. Better with machines than most. Could we not have found a solution to our energy problem without starting another conflict?
"Oh, clam up, brain…" She groaned, pulling on her tentacles. "I am not in the mood…"
Think about it… We never even needed the Zapfish.. And the Great Zapfish? That didn't even go towards powering our domes… It was used to power the Octobot King… Octavio's super weapon… Was all of that even for us? Or was it just about Octavio's vendetta against the inkl-
CLANG
"Owwww…."
Sometimes the only way to shut her own traitorous thoughts up was a sharp blow to her head. Thank goodness for the metal wall.
It can't be true… I refuse to believe it… That song.. It messed with my mind somehow… just like those Inklings.. Creating a song that can brainwash us.. What a dirty trick..
As she continued trying to right her clouded mind, there was a loud knock at her cell door.
Meal time already? I just ate…
Two elite octoling soldiers entered her cell, both brandishing octoshots.
"Former captain Gwendlyn, you've been granted an audience with DJ Octavio."
"An audience…? What for? He throws me in a hole for… I don't even know how long and now he wants to talk to me…?"
The soldiers grabbed the former captain by her arms and pulled her to her feet.
"Things have changed."
That was all the explanation she was given as she was dragged from her cell.
Cephalon HQ Throne room
After being confined to a single room for so long, it was almost difficult for the Octoling captain to remember what it was like to move around freely. Well, relatively freely. She was still being held by the arms and dragged into the Octarian general's throne room. The room was large and dim, the only light coming from the colored light panels on the walls and the laser lights emanating from behind the throne itself. In front of the throne was the DJs signature turntable and supply of wasabi stalks.
What in the world could Octavio want with me…?
It looked as though her question would soon be answered as she was brought before the DJ and forced to kneel before him.
"Captain Gwendlyn.. It's been far too long… How have you been?" The octarian general said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
What the shell was she even supposed to say to that?
"I've… been better."
"I see, I see… Surely you haven't had any… traitorous thoughts… in these last 2 years, have you?"
With those simple words, the captain's ink went cold. Not only did the nebulous amount of time she spent alone finally have a number, but he knew about what the song did to her. Even with this revelation, she had to stay calm. Even a simple change in facial expression here could spell her doom.
If she wanted to survive the next few minutes, her next words had to be chosen carefully.
"You're referring to the Calamari Inkantation, correct?"
"Oho…. you already know of that vile song's effects, do you?"
"It was a little hard not to. The intrusive thoughts nearly drove me crazy… It… took alot of mental discipline to overcome them."
With those words, her amber eyes met with the octarian DJs. Her calm tone and poker face thankfully hid the fact that all three of her hearts were pounding out of her chest.
"My loyalty to you remains unshaken, general."
While his octopus form had no mouth, it was clear that a smile was crossing the DJs face.
"Good… very, very good…. Because I am in need of your leadership once again, captain. The Great Zapfishhhhh as well as the other Zapfishhhh are once again in our possession.."
"Has the Squidbeak Splatoon launched a counterattack..? I-is it…"
"No captain, it isn't Agent 3. His whereabouts, as well as Cap'n Cuttlefishhhhh's.. are currently unknown… We believe that the Inklings have a new Agent."
For a moment, she could feel a slight sense of relief wash over her.
I don't have to deal with Agent 3 this time..
"A new Inkling agent?"
"The details of your assignment will be sent to you soon. For now…" He looked at the Elite Octolings that brought her in. "Please escort Captain Gwendlyn to her quarters."
It almost seemed unreal to her. Just an hour ago, she was still rotting in a prison cell. Now, she had her old position back, as well as a chance to redeem herself.
It almost seemed too good to be true.
After a quick walk and elevator ride, she was standing in front of her room. In fact, it was the same exact room she had lived in 2 years ago, back when the Great Zapfish had been taken the first time.
Her quarters were exactly as she remembered them. Not just the room itself, but everything in it. It seemed like nothing had been touched or moved since she was arrested. Even her bedsheets were still messed up from when she rushed out the door to face Agent 3.
"Cough… So much dust…" she coughed out as she turned on the room's ventilation system.
The quarter's themselves were pretty plain and cramped. With 4 beds all built into the walls, it was actually meant to house her as well as her squad. The only other feature in the room was a workbench for building and customizing weapons.
Has this room always been this drab…? It feels a lot colder than it used to... Almost the same as my prison cell… just with beds.
She mused to herself as her eyes fell upon the scattered parts on the workbench.
That's right… I never quite finished my new roller…
Back when Octavio had taken the Great Zapfish the first time, he had granted her a copy of some special blueprints. Apparently he had stolen them from the Inklings back during the Great Turf War. The blueprints themselves depicted a large dynamo motor that could be fitted onto a roller, sending its power through the roof and allowing it to spread massive amounts of ink. Unfortunately, It also made the roller itself weigh a ton.
Well, if I'm gonna be fighting again… May as well finish this…
A thick layer of dust had formed over all the parts, but that was easily dealt with. Along with the parts on her desk was her old music player and headphones. The battery on the music player was obviously dead, but plugging it into the wall socket fixed that.
Even as she sat down to start working on her roller, she could feel the thoughts she told Octavio not to worry about echoing in the back of her mind.
Is this really what I want? I JUST got out of that cell and now I'm about to be carelessly thrown into battle once again.
Of course this is what I want… Agent 3 humiliated me 2 years ago. I want revenge.
But this ISN'T Agent 3, is it?
Not even slipping on her headphones and blasting music at max volume was drowning out her thoughts this time.
Cuttlefish Cabin, Tenakeel Outpost
As the gentle evening light washed over Tentakeel outpost, another long day of intense training came to an end. Marie was standing on the edge of the outpost, staring out at the next area they would be raiding.
Suction-cup Lookout was floating a few hundred yards away from the edge of Tentakeel outpost. It was a little hard for her to see due to the distance. She could only just about make out it's basic structure.
I should go scout it out myself before I send in Four… but not now, they might have surface patrols…
A quick peek through the scope of her Hero Charger confirmed this. A few regular and twintacle octotroopers circled around the area.
Clam it… I hate always being right… Hopefully they'll give up looking and move on soon… Then we'll have a little time to strike…
With a sigh, she put down her charger and sat down on the side, with her legs dangling over the edge.
I can already tell this isn't gonna be as easy as it was with Three… He was practically already a pro battler when Gramps recruited him… Octoslobs hardly even knew what hit 'em…
She quickly looked back at the archway that led back to Cuttlefish cabin.
Maybe it wasn't the best idea to just grab the first squid kid that noticed me… but it's not like I could have just put an ad in the paper… Who under 40 even reads the paper anyway… Like it or not, Four is all I got.
Getting back up and walking back to the cabin area, she saw her exhausted agent-in-training, now fast asleep, lying face-up on the wooden bench. Just above his head was the wrapper to the Crusty Seanwitch she had gotten for him when his training ended for the day. She couldn't help but smile a little at the sight.
It's kinda hard to believe that this goofy kid took out an octoboss.
Quietly, she opened the door to Four's room in the cabin then gently removed his hero headphones.
If he keeps training as hard as he has been, no Octarian will be able to touch him. At least, I hope so. I don't wanna see anything bad happen to this kid…
As gently as she could, Marie got her arms under him and lifted him up.
Wow, he's lighter than I thought he would be. Guess it makes sense… he's not the biggest Inkling.
After gently moving him to his bed and closing the door, the pop-star started making plans to get some sleep herself.
That was, until she heard someone arriving at the outpost.
"Who's there!?" She yelled defensively, aiming her charger where the noise came from.
"Aaaahhh…! Don't shoot…! It's me…!"
Upon hearing the nasally voice of the familiar crab man, Marie lowered her charger.
"Sigh… Sheldon, I thought I told you to come by during the day… also to call first so I can mentally prepare myself."
"Come during the day and miss out on potential weapon sales? No, thank you! I have rent to pay! Now, where is Agent 4? I need to speak with him." Sheldon looked around as he spoke, until his eyes rested on the hero headphones in Marie's hand.
"Four is asleep. Y'know, that thing people do after training all day? That's why I told you to come by earlier." She said with a roll of her eyes. "Whatever you need to tell him, you can just tell me."
"Fine, Fine. I just wanted to say that I've sent out my delivery drones to Suction-cup Outpost. Whenever he deploys, I want him to use the weapons they carry in order to gather testing data for me so I can make retail versions of them."
"Hm… I guess it would be good to get him used to other weapon types… Alright, I'll tell him. That all? Or did you want to talk my ear off some more?"
"Sigh… That is all. If I didn't know better, I'd think you find me annoying, Marie!"
"Ooh, I would never think that.. Good night Sheldon."
After she finally got him to leave, Marie made her way to her own room in the cabin.
Callie is a lot better with people than I am… I wish she were here…
CHAPTER 6 IS NOT A MYTH. I'VE SEEEEN IT.
Honestly, as I finish writing this chapter, I can see why this was the one that originally killed my interest. It's mostly just setup for the more interesting stuff that's gonna come later. It was kinda hard to find a natural chapter break here, but I'll be f*cked if I'm giving you a chapter that's under 3k words. Professionals have standards, damnit.
That being said, things are 100% gonna slow down from here, as I'm no longer just revising my old work and throwing it onto the internet. So, I'd expect a few weeks to a month to wait for the next one. Them's the breaks, as much as I'm enjoying this I have a real life to live.
Until we meet again,
~Ghost
