Inside a room that was incredibly large, Nero entered and walked down a red path towards an enormous throne with someone sitting on it. Huge torches lit up the windowless room. Nero walked up to where the red path ended. The huge man stood up.

"What is your purpose here?" he said in a tough tone.

"They've beaten the first of our Octoweapons," Nero replied.

"Tell me, Nero...why are you in this army?"

"To make sure the Octarians prevail."

"Yes, you are correct, my son. I put you in the highest position for a reason: You're tough. Strong. Malevolent. I trained you to be an ultimate Octoling. You have succeeded in becoming one. Just the qualities I'm looking for. Being the top commander, I expect great things from you, Nero. I expect you to lead us to victory."

"You will not be disappointed...King Octavio." Nero smirked.

The next day...

Nathan woke up from his sleep, not knowing what the day would bring after his experience from yesterday. If the Octarians could build a massive airship and a giant robot scorpion, just imagine what else they could build. Nathan's thoughts were focused on the same question that he and the entire New Squidbeak Splatoon were thing: What was the reason for all this? The Inkling kidnappings, the raid back at Saltspray Rig, what was it all about?

As Nathan prepared himself for the day, equipping his roller and placing it in a scabbard-like case on his back that he himself created, he wondered to himself if the some of the Octarians weren't as bad as the rest. The one Octoling he and Diana talked about before the assault on the rig, Abigail, seemed like she might be the good side. But Nathan truly didn't know, and had a feeling that he may never.

However, he ignored his thoughts and headed for the plaza where the manhole to Octo Valley was. When he exited his home however, he looked at Diana's place next door. He knocked on the door a few times, and heard a scream in surprise. Nathan chuckled, as he was used to this happening back at his old home. Diana opened the door halfway, still half asleep.

"Nathan?" she said.

"You overslept?"

"...I guess? My alarm clock hasn't been set up just yet. I was in the middle of a dream when you knocked on the door. Damn...that knocker sounds like a fish flippin' car crashing instead a building. Not much better than back at our old place, but the place itself is better here. My room back there didn't have nearly this much space."

"Heh heh, true. Sorry if I startled you. I'll knock manually next time. I hate knockers, anyway."

"Tell me about it. Anyway, I'm gonna get dressed. I'll meet you back at base."

"Okay." Diana closed the door and Nathan headed for base. When he entered the plaza, he realized that the number of Inklings was notably smaller than it was the last time he was there. Most Inklings were taking about the disappearances and the Saltspray Rig incident, which was all over the news.

Nathan entered the manhole and arrived at Cuttlefish's house. Smith was outside by the house, working on what looked like blueprints on a white desk, equipped with a light for nighttime work. There was man standing next to him, who was telling him about the blueprints.

"Smith?"

"Huh?" Smith said, "Oh, hey Nathan! Where's Diana?"

"She's on her way. She woke up late."

"So this the Agent 4 guy you've been talking about?" the man said, turning to face Nathan. Nathan recognized his face almost immediately. It was Champion X, the well-known Turf War master and current holder of the championship title. He wore the Champion Belt that marked his championship, but was otherwise dressed up like an average Inkling. He seemed to be about 18 years old.

"Whoa! Ch-Champion X?! What are you doing here?!"

"I'm just talking with my bro, that's all."

"Wait...you and Smith are brothers?!" Nathan was so shocked that he almost fell over.

"Yes, actually!" Smith intervened, "But uh...not many people know...Put don't tell anyone, okay?"

"I promise I won't!"

"Thank you," said X as he lifted his Paintball Mask, "My real name's Matthew. Nice to meet ya, kid."

Nathan calmed down and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, too!" The two shook hands.

"So as you probably don't know, I'm actually a weapons and armor designer myself. I created the very weapon I use in every battle."

"The Platinum X Roller?"

"Yep. That's the one. Me and Smith here are developing a new weapon together. We don't have a name for it just yet, but I think when it's ready you'll like it."

"What is it?"

"You'll see eventually!"

"Cuttlefish wants you at HQ," Smith said, "He wants to show something to you and Diana...when she arrives of course."

"Got it," said Nathan as he entered the house and the elevator for HQ. When he arrived, Cuttlefish was sitting in a wooden chair, talking with Agents 1 and 2. He was showing them how to use the supercomputer, which Agent 1 seemed to have a lot of trouble with.

"I can't find the menu button!" she said panicked.

"Ugh..." Agent 2 said as she pressed the menu button, which was large and said "MENU" right on it.

"Oh...uh..."

"This is why you can't pass a driving test...or ride a bike."

"I can ride a bike!"

"...Why did we take you to the hospital three weeks ago?"

"...Uh...I was sick?"

Agent 2 simply facepalmed and walked away.

"Is anything...okay?" Nathan asked.

"Oh, everything's fine!" Cuttlefish said, "My grandkids are trying to use the big supercomputer. But it's been rather complicated, especially for Agent 1. She does NOT know now to operate very many things...I try my best to help her out."

"Heh heh! So I saw that X...or Matthew...is here with us today."

"Yep, that's the big bucko himself! He's just visiting for a few hours though, he's helping Smith with a new weapon design. I think it's some kind of roller, but I don't know. The bros won't let me look at it. But anyway, where's Diana. Is she alright?"

"She overslept. She's on her way."

"Okay! I just wanted to tell you that the Hero Suits 2.0 is ready for use."

"Thanks for letting me know!" Nathan heading for the Rest Area and put on the suit, equipping the Hero Shot that came with it. He placed his roller, still in its scabbard, against the wall by one of the beds. When he arrived back in the main base room, Diana arrived, her face with a look of shock.

"Nathan!" she said, "Why is the Champion here?!"

"He's apparently Smith's younger brother," said Nathan, "The two are developing a weapon of some sort. X is only gonna be here for a little while, though."

"Wait...WHAT?! He's Smith's br-"

"I was thinking the same thing! It's quite a coincidence, isn't it? Anyway, the Hero Suit 2.0 is ready according to the Cap'n." Diana headed for the armor room, putting on the suit as well. When she returned, Smith and Matthew came down to join the group. Smith pushing a button on the supercomputer keyboard, and a table unfolded from the floor. Gathering, the team discussed.

"So," said Cuttlefish, "Them Octojerks are stepping up their game. They've raised the difficulty quite a bit."

"Yeah," said Smith, "They're no easy enemy to take down."

"My grandfather fought in the Great Turf War," said Matthew, "He said that at true power, they can be a real handful. And I've seen what you've been through. Those cameras on the headsets have a recording feature as well."

"The Octarians ain't go down without a fight. A BIG fight," said Nathan, "But I think that Nero is gonna be one of the big threats. He's gonna be no piece of cake to take out."

"And then there's Octavio," said Agent 1, "And if Nero's as deadly as he seems to be, than I can barely imagine what the big boss has in store for us."

"That giant scorpion thing was powerful," said Diana, "But we took it down. Whatever they've got for us next, it's gonna be big and bad."

"I know," said Smith, "We have to think of some way to deal with 'em ahead of time."

"We just need to keep improving our gear and looking for Boss Keys. The second area is now open, and I've heard some other Splatoon called the Elite Five is doing recon somewhere around there.

"Elite Five?" said Diana.

"As in that squad of experienced players of both Turf War and Ranked Battles?" Nathan said.

"That's what we're thinkin'. Yeah," said Matthew, "It's gotta be them."

"We'll meet up with 'em eventually," said Cuttlefish, "For now, let's focus on finding the next Boss Key! I'm gonna try lookin' for more agents. Since the Saltspray incident, a few have actually volunteered to join."

"Me and Diana will head out for the Boss Key," said Nathan, "We might encounter that odd Octoling Abby along the way, too."

"Alright then, bucko! Good luck!"

"Same to you, sir!" Nathan and Diana rushed out and headed for the now-open second area. They found the area's first kettle and braced themselves for whatever was ahead.

Diana took in a deep breath. "Another day, another mission."

"Yeah. Let's move out." Nathan headed into the kettle, with Diana close by his side.