Diana tossed and turned in her bed throughout the night in her sleep. She was having trouble having a good night sleep, as nightmares of her past haunted her. This happened every once in a while, usually after a stressful day. Her eyes were shut very tight, and her hands clutching the sheets of her bed.
"Diana?" said a voice. Diana's eyes sprang open.
"Ah! No! Wha- Huh?" said Diana. She looked to the side of her bed to see Nathan, already up.
"You had the nightmares again, did you?" he said.
"...Yeah..."
"Don't worry, they'll go away soon."
"I hope...but I still, I'll never forget that day..."
"Just don't think about it, okay. The more you think of something bad, the worse it'll get."
"Is that why you don't have nightmares about it?"
"I guess."
"Oh...well, at least it's a new day." Diana said as she got out of bed, "I'll let it pass, it's not important anymore."
"Yeah, it's gonna be a big day. Who knows what we'll find today." The two then got into their Hero Suits and headed to the main base after having breakfast. The two met up with Agents 1 and 2, who were looking at Hero Suit blueprints on one of the base's computers.
"What are you doing?" asked Nathan.
"Huh?" said Agent 1, "Oh! We're looking at the Hero Suit blueprints. This software lets us create new suits, gear, weapons, etc. It's what Smith used to build the Hero Shot, and the Hero Suit."
"Hey!" said Smith as he entered the room, "What are you doing?"
"Just virtually making stuff," said Agent 2.
"Like...?"
"I dunno. We're not saving or actually building anything, we're just playing with the software is all."
"Just don't save, okay?"
"Okay," said Agent 1 as she turned off the software. "Hey, where's Gramps?"
"Right here!" said Cuttlefish as he entered the room, "How did everyone sleep?"
"Alright," said Nathan.
"I prefer home," said Diana, "But it was fine tonight."
"I see. You don't have to sleep here, ya know," said Smith, "If you prefer to sleep in your own home, you can do that, you just have to wake up kinda early to get here. That's why we have bedrooms, just in case."
"Oh, I see," said Nathan, "I didn't know we had that option. Thank you, actually!"
"No problem, bucko!" said Cuttlefish, "I want my agents to be comfortable regardless of the circumstances."
"Anyway," said Smith, "Is it okay if we go over some of the things I've been working on recently?"
"Sure!" said Agent 1.
"I don't mind," said Diana.
"Alright," said Smith as he put a map of the area on the supercomputer screen, "I've located the other two kettles. I have no idea which one the key is in, though. But this one to the left has a strange signal coming from it. I think something important may be in the dome it leads to."
"Hmm?"
"Agents 1 and 2," said Cuttlefish, "you two are staying here. I need you to help me design some new weapons. Okay?"
"Sounds good to me!" said Callie, "I can finally use this software to it's full extent now!"
"Oy..." Agent 2 thought.
"Smith, you're gonna be the support for these two, okay?" said Cuttlefish.
"What?" Smith said in confusion.
"You're staying here, and provided them advice from the headsets. Like I do."
"Oh, I see."
"Are you okay with that, Agents 4 and 5? You two are our newest agents, but seeing how Nathan managed to defeat four of six Octolings and how both of you beat down three Octolings, I figure you'll be good for this mission."
Nathan and Diana looked at each other and nodded before Nathan said, "Fine with us."
"Alright! Then let's go get them Octojerks!"
Nathan and Diana headed out of HQ and headed for where the second kettle was hidden. Using the map layout from their Hero Watches, they discovered it's location and revealed it by spraying ink on it. Nathan and Diana entered the kettle, and made their way down into the dome. When they got there, however, it was empty, with only one long platform, like bridge, from side of the dome to the other.
"What?" said Diana, "A bridge that leads to nowhere..."
"Try looking down," said Nathan. The two looked over the edge of the bridge to see multiple platforms below it, but the highest one was a far distance away. "See."
"Do we have to JUMP?!"
"It's gonna be at least a 64-foot drop...but we don't have a choice."
"What do we do?"
"Let's convert to the same color...Yellow, perhaps?"
"Sure, why not!" The two converted to yellow.
"Now do you trust me?"
"Of course I d-"
"Then jump!" said Nathan as he grabbed Diana's arm and the two jumped off.
"No! I'm not!" Nathan fired some yellow ink below his and Diana's feet "Morph into a squid and we'll be fine!" Nathan and Diana turned into squids and landed in the yellow ink puddle, making a big ink splash upon landing. The two emerged in humanoid form, unharmed.
"Wha-"
"Told you we'd be fine!"
"Ohh...I get it! It's like a...cushion almost...kinda..."
"Yeah," Nathan said, "I heard X has done that multiple times to get out of trouble when falling from great heights."
"X? As in Champion X?"
"Yep."
"I see...good to know!" Nathan and Diana continued to search, using their Hero Watches to pinpoint where the strange signal was coming from. "That way!" said Diana, pointing to the north. The area was composed of multiple steel platforms. There were multiple levels of platforms, about five of them. The first level was the highest and also the biggest, with the greatest number of platforms.
Most of the platforms had Octarians guarding them, which Nathan and Diana easily and quickly dispatched. Some of the platforms had to be moved with switches or some other type of mechanism. The two eventually made it to a platform leading to the second level below, but it was locked in place with a five-number code.
"Ugh...this whole place is a damn puzzle," said Nathan.
"I'm good with puzzles," said Diana, "I think I can figure this out...There's always clues around these places..." Diana looked around and spotted a bunch of signs clustered together on a wall. She examined it and found that throughout all of the signs on that wall, there were only five numbers able to be spotted.
"I found something! There are only five numbers in the big ol' cluster of signs and stuff. From left to right, it's...5, 2, 9, um...1, and 4! Try entering that into the keyboard." Diana rushed back to Nathan as he entered the code, 52914, into the keyboard. Sure enough, the code was right and the platform was moving freely.
"Ha ha! Nice!" said Nathan, smiling at Diana as they rode the platforms downwards. They ended up going past the second level and arrived at the third, much to their surprise.
"There's Octolings ahead!" said Smith over headset, "Two of 'em! They're at the next level, so be prepared for a fight when you get there!"
"Get it, Smith!" said Nathan as he equipped his Hero Shot. The two walked down the path, looking for the Octolings that Smith had detected. They looked at their Hero Watches and pinpointed their location, it was a platform on the fourth level above whatever was causing the strange signal on the fifth.
"Okay..." said Diana, "The signal is coming from the only platform on the fifth level, and I think those two Octolings are guarding it."
"Sounds like it might be the case," Nathan said.
"Hey! One of the Octolings just moved according to the watch!"
"Huh?"
"I'll take care of 'em! You try taking another route past 'em and find out what that signal is!"
"Are you sure you can handle both of 'em by yourself? I could barely handle those three back in Inkopolis."
"Hey, if I can't, I'll send ya a signal okay? Go!"
"Got it!" Nathan said as he headed for a longer alternate route that also lead to the fifth level, while Diana headed for the two Octolings on the platform. She jumped right off the pathway and landed right in front of them. Being as bold as she was, she made herself known to them, her face showing that she meant business and was ready for action. The two Octolings, who turned out to be Abigail and Edith, were surprised by this.
"Hold it right there, Inkling!" yelled Edith, "Hands in the air! You ain't allowed here!"
"..." Abigail was silent, but aimed at Diana with a confused look on her face.
"Either run home or be a part of our Inkling collection!"
That statement reminded Diana of an important thing: she still didn't know why Inklings were being held captive. "Why are you taking Inklings?!" Diana scolded, "What's with the kidnappings, and what do you intend to do with us?!"
"That is classified information!" yelled Edith, aiming her weapon at Diana's head, "Abigail, give it to her!"
"Uh...yeah," said Abby as she and Edith opened fire at Diana.
"Bring it, Octojerks!" said Diana as she charged into battle.
