Septendecim 68th, 20XX -
Marie sits in her cluttered office space, monitoring Agent 4's latest progress. She grips her coffee mug with disdain as she observes Marina's effort to seduce him. "Hmph, he and Callie make a far better couple," Marie grumbles to herself as she quietly sips her warm brew.
She suddenly spits out her gulp of caffeine when she bears witness to an unbelievable sight...
Marina stabs Agent 4 in the chest.
Her eyes widen with fear as she watches one of her best friends being torn open with a knife. A slight shiver works its way down her spine, freezing her body in place. She feels powerless to do anything, unable to put a stop to the nightmare — all she could do was just sit and watch.
Before long, Agent 4's body collapses on the floor with a loud thud. Marie leaps out of her seat from the noise and rushes towards the stairwell.
She readies her vocal cords and releases a displeasing scream, "Guards, I want to see Marina this instant."
The watchmen quickly obey her orders and begin to track down the wanted assailant.
Marie fixates her vision on the VR machine. She spots a squirming Agent 4 sitting in a large steel chair. Her heart feels overwhelmed with sadness as she sees him struggle. She knew the pain of experiencing VR all too well. It was the reason she needed to wear special glasses and undergo skin treatment. But she had never experienced what he had gone through. She wished she could take all the pain and suffering away from him, but she felt powerless to do anything.
There was no persuading him. Agent 4 was already set in his ways, no matter how difficult it would be to free Callie. But maybe she could do something, anything, to make it a little bit easier for him.
She shuffles back to her station and resumes watching the sickening broadcast. Her fingers dig into her scalp as she tries to get a handle on the situation, "This just doesn't add up. Agent 4 and Marina always seem so buddy buddy with each other. Heck, they even plotted against me at one point. There has to be a logical explanation here. Hmmm, maybe Agent 4 suffers from some form of memory loss, but if that were the case, why would Marina be okay with the VR process in the first place. Uhh, perhaps Marina has a secret twin. Nah, that sounds way too stupid. Breathe girl. You'll figure this out. Just try to breathe for now." Marie rationalizes.
"Oh, I know what I can do." Marie realizes. She unearths her notebook from one of her unkempt drawers and starts writing down a series of strategies and coping mechanisms for VR. It was a few tips and tricks that she learned over the years. Hopefully, it could provide Agent 4 was some amount of relief.
"Hey, C," The intercom addresses.
"What is it, Agent 26. I'm not in the mood right now," Marie harshly answers.
"It's uh... something about the sharks," The bumbling agent notifies.
"The sharks?" Marie gasps, dropping her pen.
"Yeah, they sent you a message. I think you should check it out."
Marie pulls up the newly sent file on her computer screen and double clicks on the tab. As she waits for the video to load, she wonders how the shark's managed to use this technology in the first place.
She plays the audio message. "Click"
"Greetings luv, it's nice to see ya see again." Fang projects. "I know we've had our differences in the past, but I think this time, you'll come around for old the Fangster." He says he scratches the back of his head with his hook.
"Oh cod, I will never date you," She furiously roars at the monitor.
There are a few mutterings of other sharks in the background of Fang's video."Put a sock in it will ya, no one wants to hear your shite," Fang yells.
"Sorry about that. You know how rowdy those little guppies can get sometimes. Anyway, how's the world been treating you. I'm doing just smashing myself, raised an army of savages, taught them how to kill and pillage, learned how to cook, ya know the works."
"Wait, what," Marie says, snapping her focus back to the screen after previously staring off into space.
"Yeah, I've been working on my culinary skills lately and preparing the finest meals for my men and me," Fang details.
"No no, not that, the friggin army. I want to know more about that friggin army you have. Uggghhhh," Marie groans.
After Fang goes on a long-winded rant about the importance of hairnets, he returns to the topic of interest.
"Guess who's in charge of handling a large-scale militia, yours truly. Forty thousand well-armed sharks capable of annihilating any unfortunate soul that stands in their way. And guess where those forces are heading right now, a little dump called Grizzco."
"You blokes might as well give up now because you know as well as I do, that you don't stand a single chance...
But uh... maybe I can work out something for you, sweety pie. You could be my bride, and we could ya know rule the seven seas together. Just think about it; I'm sure Great White wouldn't mind. Welp, see you soon. Cheers."
The message ends, and Marie quietly deletes the document. As Fang's frightful words linger within her mind, her thoughts begin to swirl.
"He's bluffing."
"But is he."
"No, my sources said that his numbers were in the hundreds, not the thousands."
"Still, that is quite large," Marie wrestles with herself as she attempts to decide the best course of action.
Marie glances over to the hidden door in the back of the room, "Freeing Callie from her icy prison was supposed to rally the troops, and increase team morale, but if we can't release her..."
The frightened agent chimes in again, "Um... C. Your not going to like this, but..."
"Ugh, just spit it out already," Marie complains.
"We couldn't find Marina anywhere."
"What," Marie says, gritting her teeth.
"And... Pearl's missing too. They probably left the facility together," The cowardly agent adds.
"I want you to find them now. Who knows what side they're on."
——————————————————
December 31st, 2019 -
As your eyelids flutter open, you feel a small irritation at the peak of your temples. And an uncomfortable throbbing sensation still plagues your weary head. As you begin to regain your senses, you slowly piece together your environment. You find yourself situated on one of Marina's dining room chairs with your fingers tightly secured behind your back. There's also an entanglement of bandages and medical tape inhabiting your lower torso.
Did she seriously patch me up?
How could Marina successfully treat a puncture wound to the chest with such little equipment? Unless... she was trying to miss my internal organs.
You also notice a bowl of animal crackers and juice boxes laid on the table for your consumption. Even when Marina was wielding a dangerous weapon, she still retained her motherly side. You're grateful for Marina's rush to your assistance, but you continue to hold some resentment towards her because of the hairy thread that constricts your wrists.
Why did she tie me up in her own house? Even with her family away on business, she still lives here. She must've been acting purely out of instinct and not thinking about the long term consequences. Another explanation for Marina's sloppy execution could be that you weighed significantly more than her, and it would be difficult for her to transport your carcass very far. Honestly, it was surprising that she could even lift your body to the dining room with the slender arms she had.
You hesitantly scan the gloomy apartment, afraid to lock eyes with the fearsome succubus. When you notice the lack of Marina's presence, you release a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, it appeared that Marina had already vacated the premises. What was she even talking about before? It was hard to concentrate on her words when there was a dagger protruding from your stomach.
Didn't she say something about Pearl having a crush on you? Now that you think about it, Pearl did show some signs of interest. It wasn't too hard to imagine her liking you.
But still, there was no reason for Marina to be so hostile towards you. It didn't make any sense. You've always treated Marina and Pearl with the utmost respect, what did you do wrong?
You continue to ponder a possible motive in your mind, replaying Marina's words on loop.
Hmm... so I guess the whole reason Marina attacked me was that she wanted revenge for me not accepting Pearl's advancements. She must really care for her friends. But It still doesn't excuse her behavior. No matter how you look at it, there's no way to defend her actions. She definitely had some psychological issues that needed to be worked out.
Although Marina didn't seem to show any visible signs of psychological trauma, she had never displayed any violent tendencies or questionable behavior. Yet here you are, currently strapped to a chair with mental scars aplenty.
• You gaze down at your tended injury.
It was slightly reassuring to know that she treated your wound before fleeing the scene.
• You gaze down at the fastened ropes.
But what she did was unforgivable. It was inhuman.
Gah, I'm so confused.
No, I need to stop focusing on Marina. I should be worrying about how to get out of this position. The nearby grandfather clock acts as a beacon of hope, depicting the proper time - 11:45 PM...
I can do this. I can still make it. I just have to think.
Your eyes scour the room, searching for any methods of escape. With your limited mobility, you look as high and low as you possibly can. Unfortunately, it seems that Marina had already stripped the place of any sharp objects before she took off. Damn, she's crafty. However, your hope is restored when you're drawn to a bright object in the center of the room. But I'm craftier.
You bounce the wooden chair along the floral carpeting, slowly reaching your desired destination. When you near the giant Christmas tree, you shake its branches with the chair's long backside. During this process, a clump of pine needles and fragile ornaments fall from above. After a couple of hard swings, you send the tightly secured star plunging to the ground.
The silver star cracks upon impact, and pieces of glass immediately scatter across the room. You use one of the sharper parts to untie the rigid ropes. Once you've cut the twine, you proceed to inspect the damaged star.
Even when it's broken, beaten, and sharper than ever, it still retains some of its original beauty.
You swiftly throw your body against the front door, trying to make up for the lost time. However, the door handle is tightly bound by a metal cord. The back door and windows also contain the same type of wire. All the exits were blocked entirely, and the clock showed no signs of slowing down.
In your effort to explore your mysterious surroundings, you accidentally bump into a familiar-looking wooden chair.
You clasp the rungs of the handcrafted stool and swing your arms in a fast circular motion. You build up speed with each passing rotation, sending the chair's velvet seat cushion flying towards the door.
Upon releasing the heavy lumber, the glass pane bursts into a miniature explosion of dust. You leap through the fragmented window, receiving small cuts from the broken glass. These minor scrapes only further adding to the list of painful injuries you've acquired tonight. You race down the fire escape and glide down the ladder's rungs. You then promptly charge onto the empty city streets.
The clock perched above a nearby street lamp reads as follows, 11:55 PM.
You launch your legs towards the barren crosswalk, flinging your arms forward with every step. You vault from each white line to the next, slowly increasing your maximum velocity. Your body feels like a machine sent into overdrive, billowing smoke from your mouth and twisting cogs within your calves.
You were slowly beginning to tolerate the feeling of static distress. Your peripherals appeared numb as if you had built a strong resistance to the pain. In retrospect, the experience had transformed from one that used to be discomforting to one that now felt positively exhilarating.
At this moment, you use your tentatek splatter shot for swimming through long strips of ink quickly. After arriving at Callie's apartment, you rocket up the side of the building, applying numerous shots of ink to the wall.
10 seconds
30 seconds
60 seconds
Your breathing syncs up with the amount of time remaining, continually haunting your every move. The clock posed as your greatest enemy, a force that seemed entirely unbeatable. But you kept pushing yourself, no matter how dire the situation seemed.
Marie roots for you as she watches the VR footage, "Yeah, go Agent 4. WE BELIEVE IN YOU. But most importantly, I believe in you."
Once you reach the roof, you spot a petite girl pressed up against the platform.
After releasing a massive sigh of relief, you slick back your hair and slowly approach the girl from behind. Your eyes meet a large steel ball placed in the center of the city — the town below showcases a plethora of balloons and colorful party streamers. There's also a gigantic clock that presents Inkopolis' current time, 11:59 PM.
Just in the knick of time, huh.
You stand next to the distressed Callie and extend your arms out to the support beam.
• You greet her with a playful tone.
"Not now Agent 4, I'm not in the mo-"
"AGENT 4, "Callie shouts, whipping her body around to see you. You notice that there are streaks of black mascara running down her face before she wraps her arms around your chest.
Argggh, Cod. Don't hug me right there.
"Why not."
It's nothing — just a few days in the hospital.
"Where have you been, you were supposed to be here a half an hour ago," She says, crossing her arms.
• You try to quell her nerves by fabricating a traffic story.
"I'm still mad at you. You're going to have to complete some favors for me if you ever want me to forgive you."
Yeah, yeah whatever. I'm just glad I made it here in one piece.
• You ask her why wasn't she at the party.
"I'm not really a party kind of girl. I know that might be hard to believe, considering I'm an idol and all, but it just doesn't appeal to me," Callie replies.
Yeah, after tonight, it didn't appeal to you either.
"Oh look, it's almost time," Callie exclaims as she glances at the flat-screen clock.
The crowd begins the countdown, "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..."
You stretch your arm around Callie's shoulder.
"Five, four."
You pull her closer towards you.
"Three"
Callie looks up to you.
"Two"
She grabs your face.
"ONE"
She plants a firm kiss on your lips.
"HAPPY NEW YEAR."
Confetti showers down from above and the new year is finally brought upon you.
After you and Callie engage in a couple more pecks on the lips, you both happily turn to a radiant light running across the clouds. "Look a shooting star," Callie declares, analyzing the golden fixture. The silver glow of the star blends in with the tsunami of confetti in the air.
"Quick, make a wish," Callie urges.
You've already got your wish. You made it here after all.
"Well, I wish we can stay together until the end of time," Callie prays, closing her eyes.
Somehow, I feel like that's not going to be true.
The shooting star implodes on the ground, creating a minor explosion within the group of pedestrians. Callie is the first to respond, "That isn't a star. It's a missile. And I think it belongs to..."
"Shark Enterprises," Marie says, listening to the feed.
"I still remember it like it was yesterday. The dreadful date that sent the world into ruin... January 1st, 2020, 12:01 AM - The Shot Heard Round the World.
And it looks like it's happening all over again."