DRIIN!
Agent 2 pressed the doorbell near: if someone is home, we can start the investigations. I can hear footsteps, getting closer to the main door.
"W-who's it?"
I can see an eye spying through the peephole.
"We are agents, miss. We have to investigate in your house..." Agent 2 said.
"... I-ID card…"
Agent 2 comes near the peephole and shows her ID card. Nothing was heard for a while… until a clicking sound. The girl opened the door and shows herself: it was Annie, the Shopkeeper of Cooler Heads.
Mirii says:
A famous shopkeeper that happens to have a secret club of fans. I happen to know some of those: they are so fanatic that I always see them, with the latest cap or accessory released at the Cooler Heads. I wonder she likes to get all this attention…
In fact, this girl is extremely shy: even more than myself! Lack in self-confidence is something common in her, since she always asks for forgiveness even when the customers are wrong. Luckily she got a little fish swimming through her hair: his name is Moe.
Moe is said to be completely useless in the shop: he only rants or teases anyone that tries to have a nice conversation with Annie. He must be very jealous of her… but if he keeps ruining business, he might get replaced by a more educated clownfish. It'd be really curious to hear, how those two met before…
"H-how can I-I help you?" Annie said.
"We have solid proof to inspect your house… there might be an Inkling hiding somewhere." Agent 2 explained.
"… w-what's the p-proof?"
"A broken window and an Ink trail leading to your residence…"
Annie didn't say anything: she was clearly thinking about something.
"B-broken window? I-It was me… a-a long story, really. Y-you don't w-want to hear a-all of it…"
"We will. Every last bit of it." I said without fear.
"Uuuh… are you sure, Mirii? I hate long stories…" Bars complained.
"I believe you hate more getting shot from my Charger, Bars."
Bars screamed in fear, shutting up in the process.
"Come to think of it, I actually hate long stories too!" Agent 1 said worried. "Can we get inside the house already?"
"Agent 1… if she happens to have a good reason, to not let us in… we can't do anything." Agent 2 explained.
"B-but we are secret agents! We don't need reasons: we bash inside every building we want and take names!" Agent 1 explained with great proud.
"Do that and you'll surely take the jail…"
"Ack! … uuuff, why laws are so boring?"
… I seriously hope to never know, how she sees this job.
"Anyway, I think you need to tell us your long story… miss Annie." I said trying to take control of the situation.
"… I-I don't tell anything to y-you… you're n-not a-an officer."
What?! Does that really matter?! I'm still with authorized agents! She is not doing a good job avoiding suspects…
"You can talk to her. She has my permission…" Agent 2 replied giving me a huge help in the process.
"… O-K… then, I-I hope t-to not bore y-you…"
I think the time has finally come! I get to interrogate Annie and get to the bottom of this! Similar to the Confrontation phase, except here we're dealing with something much more important: whenever the suspect is saying the truth or not!
If I can guess contradictions, I'll force Annie to let us enter inside. I cannot fail this time! Hunley's life is depending on me, now! I don't want to lose him… … that was actually a terrible thought. L-let's not think about that and start this!
-The broken window-
"W-well… I-I actually c-come back just r-recently here. I-I g-got into my room a-and… y-you s-see… I-I got r-robbed! T-they s-steal everything v-valuable… I-I f-forgot to put on t-the alarm a-and the police c-couldn't do a-anything t-to stop them. N-now I-I have t-to clean up m-my room…"
… it didn't feel like a long story at all, actually. However, she said that a theft happened inside her home. Is this the truth?
"Your house got robbed?! That's awful! We should catch them before they all spend your money for pricy merchandises!" Agent 1 said in panick.
"… what merchandises?" Agent 2 asked.
"Like all the Squid Sisters Album! Those things are getting rare too! THEY MIGHT EVEN SELL THEM ALL ONLINE FOR A FORTUNE! P-poor fans… forced to spend an outrageous price for those awesome albums, because of those selfish people…"
"Agent 1… I think those album aren't really worth it much, since there are so many of them now… maybe like 50 years later, still sealed?"
"WHAT?! How can you be so insensible!? Did you even listened to them? They are instant classics!"
That girl must be a fan of the group… and also a fan of b-movies.
"So, this was your testimony… right?" I asked.
Annie nods pretty quickly.
"Y-yeah… h-hope I-I didn't w-waste your time…"
"Hey, man! That story of yours, got me really curious! Like, who are those thieves…" Bars commented.
"I believe there's something wrong with this testimony." I announced.
That phrase made Annie jump from the terror.
"W-w-what?! S-something wrong…?!"
"Yes. Let me call someone first…"
I knew what to do: I called up Ana again and talked to her. I asked if the Cooler Heads was closed early that day. She told me everything. Now I only need to formulate everything right…
"Well… it looks like your testimony is incomplete."
"I-incomplete?!"
"Yes. A friend of mine said how strangely some shops were already closed… especially one in particular…"
I pointed with my finger against Annie.
"Yours!"
Annie got a jumpscare: her glasses almost fell off.
"Then… I hope you have a real long story to tell, because you'll not get away with a short one."
"I-I-I-I'm s-sorry! I-I d-didn't thought t-that it'd m-matter…!"
Of course it was! Except you didn't want to talk about it! I bet she's thinking about something in this very moment… but with her lack in self-esteem, she's going to say a blatant lie. I can't let the pressure vanish: I must press on her, until she gives up! Now it's the chance to really play Hard mode!
-Where she was before-
"E-ehm… w-well… y-you s-see… I-I have to buy f-food for Moe. A-and"
"STOP!"
My shout scared her once again…
"Where did you buy Moe's food?"
"O-oh… o-of c-course f-from Freshy Mealy! He l-loves t-their products… s-so I b-bought s-some box of f-food a-and I-I got home."
Hmm… I got an idea. I took my smartphone and searched on the Inknet. Freshy Mealy… oh, very interesting.
"… I'm afraid we're having a problem here."
"The connection is down?!" Bars asked.
"No… her testimony is."
Annie jumped again, almost losing her glasses. She seems to be in a huge panick, now.
"N-no! I-it c-can't be!"
"It's. According to their official website, Freshy Mealy is closed in this very fine day. Now… can you tell me" I pointed my finger on her, once again. "how did you buy products from a closed store?!"
"N-noooooo!" Annie shouts while grabbing her cheeks.
Yes! She's almost falling down! One more contradiction and she'll not be credible anymore!
"Miss Annie… I want you to remember something, before we continue."
Annie was listening to me… as well as everyone else.
"Saying lies in front of authorized agents, could cost you a bad penality. You'll not be sent into a prison, but you're already risking your shop for this. Are you really sure to continue fabricating stories? Telling the truth is the best option for you right now…"
Annie didn't say anything… completely silent. It seems like she's not done yet…
"I've enough of this!"
W-what-a?! Who said that?! … wait… could it be…?
"Yo, little Inkling! Enjoying hurt Annie's feeling, huh?! Yo got some serious nerve to do that IN MA FACE!"
Yes… it was Moe speaking.
"M-Moe, please… i-it's n-not the"
"Annie, now listen up! What the fish was that show? I DIDN'T LIKE IT!"
"S-sorry… I-I w-wanted to s-solve things b-better…"
"Better? IT WAS WORSE! Like, she smoked ya good! Did yo do the homework?!"
"Y-yeah, b-but"
"THAT'S A F- AND AN EXTRA MEAL FOR ME! Ya made poor Moe unhappy, now…"
"Oh… n-no! W-what can I-I do now?!"
"Watch and learn, amateur! LEAVE IT TO THE MENTOR!"
"Hey! You're a very bad fish, you know that?! You should respect that gentle girl, willing to share her hair with you!" Agent 1 interfere.
"Yo girl! Like ya all talk, but no sense. TOO MANY FISH IN DA BRAIN!"
Agent 1 was getting really mad…
"HOW DARE YOU, YOU LITTLE" Agent 1 was blocked by Agent 2 with perfect reaction time.
"Wow, I can't believe that Moe is so mean… I mean, man! Aren't you exaggerating a little bit now?" Bars commented.
"NOPE! That girl started all! Like, what's ya problem?!" Moe shouts again, looking at me. "Got a bad beaten, lately?!"
… I admit, he was getting a bit annoying…
"Of course! A LOSER BEAT YO UP! Like you got to be a loser of a loser!"
… reeeaaally annoying…
"And then, ya pick on girls! FULL OF SALT IN THE MIND!"
… grrrr…
"Ya stink with that salt, yo know that? GO TAKE A SHOWER!"
GRRRRRRR!
"W-whoa, dude! Mirii i-is all red… a-and s-she's snorting l-like a BullShark! S-stop risking your l-life"
"DARE TO SAY ANOTHER INSULT LIKE THAT AND YOU'RE GOING DOWN INTO THE SEWERS! UNDERSTAND?!"
"… pfff, ha ha ha! POOR LOSER! Can't beat this ol' clownfish with fancy words! FULL OF FAILS!"
"WANNA SAY THAT ON A FRYING PAN?!"
"No need for pans! YO HEAD IS ALREADY BOILED!"
HHRRRRMMM! THAT'S IT! I'M GOING TO USE HIM AS A TARGET PRACTI-
"Moe, that's enough!"
... Annie said that…?
"Dafish?! What did ya say again?"
"I said… that's enough, Moe. I don't want to hear you offending those people. Please, give your excuses to all them…"
"… YE GOT CRAZY?! They are mocking ya without logics!"
"They aren't Moe. No one ever teased me for all those years! The only one giving me some trouble now and then… it's you."
"DAPLONK?!"
"Because of your insults to the others, not only our shop doesn't have a good reputation… but those bad things are hurting me too deep inside. Even now, I'm feeling terrible…"
"… Annie… I didn't know…"
"How you didn't know that? D-Don't say other lies, now!"
"B-but I thought yo liked it… I did all this to protect you. Ya're too weak to even testify that the Squid isn't in da house."
"I know… b-but insulting is too far, Moe! Please, do it for me… I-I can't see people going away with a bad vibe on them."
"… d-do I have to?"
"Yes. I know you're a good clownfish… you were the only one capable of understanding me, after all. That's why we're like siblings: together to help each other out. And I wish this'd last forever…"
"… Annie… I-I'm like, so proud of yo!"
"H-huh?"
"Ya didn't noticed?! Look how you talked for this whole time!"
"Uh… I talked… n-normally?"
"Yes! Da courage! Da brave! DA MIGHT! I made you more confident!"
"R-Really?! I-I w-wasn't that shy, before?!"
"That's true! I guess that the clownfish didn't everything wrong, huh?!" Agent 1 replied.
"Agent 1, you're not mad at Moe… anymore?" Agent 2 asked.
"Well! We all do mistakes, right? He wanted just to help out! I could close an eye, for this time…"
"… yo…"
"W-wait! Do you have still something to say against?!"
"… GOOD COMPLIMENT! Moe approves!"
"M-Moe! That was…"
"Rad! It's the first time that Moe says something nice, right?!" Bars asked curious.
"True! Oh, Moe…"
"But don't get da wrong concepts! ANNIE IS MA SIS, GOT IT?"
All laughed up about that… except me: I don't usually laugh much.
"CHANGING ARGUMENTS! What about dat testimony?"
"That… well, actually Annie got contradicted before…" Agent 2 said.
"Oh… it was a mistake, actually. You see, I forgot that today the store was really closed. So I got to another one, somewhere in the city… I-I don't remember its name, though…"
"W-what?! That means… the testimony was accurate?"
"No way! It seems too easy to say one thing and then lie on the other!" Agent 1 said.
"But that's true…! I go to Freshy Mealy each day and often I confuse shops with it. I-I was also, much less confident… and everything was s-so hard to say correctly."
"Nggh! This seems tough, Agent 2! What we should do?! Press her more?!"
"Sure, say out loud your intentions…"
Agent 1 covers quickly her mouth.
"Oops…!"
"But even then, I don't know if we can't do it much… unless she has an idea." Agent 2 said while looking at me.
… I think it's the right time now…
"… actually… this case was solved long ago."
I heard everyone saying the loudest "WHHHAAAAAAATTT?!" ever.
"… y-you're serious about this?!" Agent 2 asked in shock.
"Yes. It was… sure unexpected actually." I said while smiling.
"No, seriously! We can't do anything against that new testimony…"
"Oh… that's not necessary in the least. There's something even more decisive said before."
Annie did a jumpscare, worried.
"RAGEQUITTER ALERT! She's bluffing the bowl out of us!"
"Oh, good… I actually wanted to hear you, Mr. Moe."
"I'M STILL IN DA YOUNG YEARS, BABY!"
"Always something to say back, huh… well, how about you answer me this simple question: how would you call me?"
"Easy: UNCOOL INKLING! Get fresh, before inking everything with dat stupidity."
I couldn't resist laughing about that last word he said. It's too hilarious! Even Bars didn't expect that reaction…
"ONLY SCRUBS LAUGH! And yo're wastin' our time!"
"Pfff, excuse me… ahem! Anyway, the solution of this mystery is said from no other than…" I pointed my finger on the clownfish. "Moe!"
"Hey, yo! Keep that finger back to its place. IT'S AN INK WORM!"
"There's something very contradictory you said earlier… I'll remind you all of that."
"B-but I thought yo liked it… I did all this to protect you. Ya're too weak to even testify that the Squid isn't in da house."
"… sorry… I fail to see the contradiction." Agent 2 said.
"Me too! It seems normal so far!" Agent 1 said too.
"Uh, Mirii… I think you're the one that got all confused, this time." Bars adds.
"Far from it, Bars. This phrase he said is very interesting… especially when he mentioned the Squid…"
"OH YEAH?! Like, that's all ya got? Ha ha ha ha ha! LAUGHS THE LAST, NOW!"
I shook my head in disapprove, while doing an even bigger smile.
"Now… answer this next question, Moe. Who mentioned we wanted to find a Squid in the first place?"
All the sudden, a big silence fell down in the area…
"Before, you called me an Uncool Inkling, meaning that you don't usually say Squid to everyone… except if you see one, right?"
Moe jumped out from Annie's hair because of that contradiction.
"GBRBRELAAAARRRGGHHH!"
"W-whoa… I-I didn't thought of that!" Agent 2 said in shock.
"Now… I'd really like to hear how did your little brain managed to process such information. Be sure to say even the smallest details…"
Moe was silent, but he didn't need to: his sweats did all the talking.
"… anything? That's what I thought!" I pointed him again. "The only possible solution is that there's an Inkling in your house! But not just any Inkling… someone that was unable to transform back!"
"W-wait! But how can you be so sure about it?! We didn't even know that he was still a Squid!" Agent 1 said.
"Moe confirmed this! We have all the rights to check in this house and"
W-what-a?! Annie… was in front of us, blocking the entrance with her arms.
"Y-You stay away from Hunechno! YOU'LL NOT TOUCH HIM!"
"Eek! W-what she's doing?!" Agent 1 asks.
"She's admitting it, that's what…!" Agent 2 answered. "Let us enter, Annie…"
Annie shook her head violently.
"I knew I s-shouldn't open the door… y-you are back to k-kidnap him again… r-right?!"
"Kidnapping?! No! We are here to save him!" Agent 1 shouts.
"H-he told me that h-he was chased by meanies… and those must be you!"
"YA BETTER EVADE AWAY! Because I'm going to epically smoke ya!"
"NO, WAIT!"
That voice… h-he's him! Annie turned her back looking at Hunley!
"Hunechno, d-don't get here any closer! I-I'll defend you f-from those bad guys!"
"But that girl is my friend! … uuuuh, what was her name again…?"
… HE FORGOT MY NAME?!
"A-are you sure, Hunechno? Do you know them?"
"Of course! Let me see them!"
"Don't! Y-you're still injur"
It happened all fast: suddenly I fell down to the ground, being knocked down by a weird thing… I didn't took any better look at it, since I was stunned by the hit. … It sure feels soft and puffy, a bit mushy and squishy too. Did a plush knocked me over? No, that doesn't make any sense…
I was almost losing my senses… but I heard this call, like it seems to come right where the thing is. It was… a wonderful voice. Very charming and cute. For some reason, it was making my energy grow on me: it makes me want to get up and run a marathon through the world, right away! I guess it's just a sensation…
Finally, my eyes started to focus a bit better and my head was functioning like it should. I still have something on me, so I didn't thought twice to analyze it. What I was holding is a very familiar Squid. Orange… c-cuddly… c-c-cute…
"Mirii! Are you all right?! … Yikes! Help! I-Ink is coming out from her nose!"