Gamelover41592: Thanks
Not much to say other then one thing. The title of this chapter is a double meaning. I'll let you learn for yourself what that means.
At this point, Nicole had gotten used to agent work. Most of the Octotroops didn't phase her much anymore. The only thing that she isn't wasn't used to was Sheldon forcing weapons on her. She did it for Salmon Run, but in that, she was more concerned with surviving, so she didn't have time to think about the weapons she was stuck with.
"Say hello to a simple weapon with a fantastic profit margin-the Hero Slosher!" Sheldon said after his normal "get me data for this" line. "Once you get the aim down, you'll be sloshing your enemies in no time!" Nicole couldn't help but snicker as she thought about all the...jokes made about the normal slosher weapons.
"Talk about mood place is creeptastic," Marie grumbled.
"Stay sharp, Agent 5!" Sammy warned.
"I'll stay as sharp as the ends of my tentacles!" Nicole promised. She walked along, only to be nearly flattened by a giant smasher machine.
"That's an Octoseeker! Watch out for those things! They'll hunt you down until you're a pancake!" Sammy cried.
"Try to avoid being spotted by them," Marie added in.
"Ugh, I hate stealth!" Nicole groaned. She still listened, as she knew that it was a death wish to fight the Octoseekers head on.
The fact she got to use Dualies made up a little for the stealth of her last mission. Nicole loved her dodge rolls and quick shots. And she had a feeling she would need them for a new enemy she just met.
"A Tentakook! After it!" Marie ordered.
"Those things steal keys and leave bombs behind. Be careful," Sammy revealed.
"Please! Hunting that thing down will be easy!" Nicole bragged.
About 10 minutes later
"FINALLY!" Nicole exclaimed as she finally splatted the little nuisance. Then she remembered that since it was her first time seeing one, she would have to deal with a bunch of them later.
"UGH!"
"WEEEEE!" Nicole cheered as she used a bounce pad to clear a large gap. "I can see why Octarians stay here. This is great!"
"I must find one of these Bounce Pads for some…research," Sheldon said cryptically. Everyone else could tell what he wanted the Bounce Pads for.
"Hey, Marie, could we get a Bounce Pad for...research too?" Sammy asked.
"I don't know how comfortable I am with being so...samey with Sheldon," Marie said obliviously. To everyone, it was just a harmless statement.
That is, until Sammy collapsed and started screaming.
"Samey!"
"Samey! You are such a worthless loser!"
"Ugly!"
"Worthless!"
"Stupid!"
"Samey!"
"Samey!"
"Samey!"
"Samey!"
"Samey!"
"Samey!"
"...Sammy?"
Sammy was weary as she opened her eyes. She could make out Marie, one of Sheldon's drones and Nicole all looking over her.
"Marie…" Sammy managed out. Marie pulled her into a hug.
"Sam! You scared the carp out of me! What happened?" Marie asked. Sammy looked down. She didn't want to tell Marie about what had happened, but if anyone deserved to know, it was her(and Callie, but she wasn't here at the moment).
"Remember how I said I didn't remember where I came from?" Sammy asked. When Marie nodded, she sighed. "I just did…" Much to her relief, Sheldon seemed to realize that he wasn't needed at the moment and flew the drone off. Nicole, on the other hand, stayed. Either way, Marie got the full story of just how much her sister suffered under her twin. Once the story was finished, Marie looked away. Her hands were clenched into fists
"...Your 'sister' better hope she never meets me," Marie said quietly.
"Yeah! She's a jerk!" Nicole piped up.
"You won't. I never, ever want to go back there," Sammy said. "Besides, as far as I am concerned, you and Callie are my real sisters." Nicole just went to look to the next kettle as the two shared another hug.
"Oh yes!" Nicole cheered when she saw the next weapon had ready for her.
"This thing can turn you into a one squid army! It's the Hero Splatling! Charge it up, then release the button to unleash a fat stream of ink! Charging it up leaves you pretty vulnerable to attack though, so be careful," Sheldon explained. Nicole quickly found some boxes that she unloaded her ink onto.
"Eat ink, you splinter causing punks!" Nicole cackled as she blasted the boxes to pieces. "Yeah! Who else wants some!?"
"Maybe take a few deep breaths, Agent 5!" Sammy said. Nicole did calm herself down, just in time to find the next obstacle she had to deal with.
"That's an Ink Switch. Shoot it to activate something nearby," Marie explained. Nicole did just that, moving quickly so she could find some Octojerks to test her new weapon out on.
"Nope. Still hate chargers," Nicole groaned. As much as she loved hanging out with Marie, chargers were the bane of her existence.
"You just don't have the attitude for chargers," Sammy joked.
"Or the patience," Marie added in. Nicole growled as she moved ahead. The place seemed to be a parking garage of some kind. Of course, it was a strange place(like most Octarians locations), as the landscape wasn't made for cars and giant ink rollers covered the cars in ink.
"Remind me never to get my car washed here," Sheldon deadpanned.
"You can reach the pedals?" Nicole asked, causing everyone to laugh as Sheldon pouted.
"I'm not that short!" The weapon maker protested.
"Even Pearl is taller then you!" Sammy pointed out.
"Humpback Pump Track!" Nicole exclaimed when she realized where she was.
"Must be more Octolings, stay sharp!" Sammy warned.
"Retrieve all eight Mini Zapfish!" Marie ordered.
"You got it!" Nicole said as she surged forward. As she splatted Octoling after Octoling, she found herself wondering what life was like for these guys. And why they were always wearing those sunglasses. Either way, she had to stop them.
"Okay, Octoboss time," Nicole said as she rolled her shoulders a little. She was getting hyped. She had her best weapons and she was ready for anything. The boss was a giant cube with a face.
"Wait, I know this guy! It's Octostomp!" Sammy exclaimed. "But I thought Agent 4 took care of him?"
"I guess he's back for more. You've got this, Agent 5," Marie encouraged.
"I'M BAAAAAACK!" The Octostomp yelled out. Nicole didn't have any problems the first time. She let him face plant, then inked up the sides and splatted the tentacle. Then the Octostomp surprised everyone by putting on a coat of some kind.
"O...kay," Nicole said.
"And I bought this sweet new coat!" The Octostomp said. He hadn't changed much from there. Nicole just had to blast the bucket for the coat first. Then the Octostomp gained two extra faces.
"GAAAAAAUGH! THIS DUDE JUST GREW TWO MORE FACES!" Marie exclaimed.
"I can handle it!" Nicole bragged. Sure enough, she could handle it just fine.
"BOO-YAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
"What was that?" Nicole exclaimed as she rejoined Sammy and Marie in Octo Canyon.
"It sounded like it came from the city!" Marie exclaimed.
"Let's go check it out!" Sammy said as they rushed back to the manhole. The sight they found was a strange one. A large statue was destroyed in the middle of the harbor. A large group of helicopters was flying back to the city with several platforms under them.
"DID YOU SEE THAT!?" Pearl called down to the group once she saw them. The helicopter she was on lowered the platform down. Pearl climbed off, followed by Marina, a shy looking Octoling, Agent 4 and Cap'n Cuttlefish.
"Gramps! Jax!" Marie exclaimed. Her and Sammy hug-tackled their grandfather.
"Good to see you, squddios!" Cuttlefish laughed.
"What am I, chopped liver?" Jax huffed to himself.
"Yep, because I'm your replacement," Nicole said as she slung an arm over his shoulder. "Nicole, Agent 5, at your service!"
"Jax, Agent 4," Jax said as they shook hands.
"Who's your new friend, Agent 4?" Sammy asked.
"That's Agent 8!" Cuttlefish said.
"Does she have a name?" Sammy asked.
"...Ash. My name is Ash," Agent 8 said shyly.
"Relax, kid. We don't bite," Marie said.
"So where were you that caused all this?" Sammy asked as she gestured to the statue and helicopter.
"I could ask you the same thing!" Marina fired back.
"How about we go grab 8 here some clothes and then we can talk?" Pearl offered. Everyone nodded and walked off together.
WHEW! Major stuff went down this time. So not only are Agents 4 and 8 here, but so are Pearl, Marina and Cap'n Cuttlefish! And, of course, Sammy got her memories back. If you missed the trigger, it was when Marie said "samey". I know that her never hearing in before then was kind of a long shot, but that was the best trigger I could pick.