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"Come on, big boy!" Grina's head was turning left and right, while sprinting and passing different persons. "Aqua was about to say something serious!"
"Wh-who's Aqua?!" Bars was panting a bit, with his eyebrows up, sweat jumping from his head and his eyelids lowered in the middle.
"A new friend of mine!" She smiles. "I left her scouting the area with Hunry, while I was coming back to ya!"
She slides, standing still and turning her head some more. Bars bended forward, as his irises shrunk and his teeth gritted: in less than a second, he lifted his posture.
"Uhm… I wonder where is she…?" Her right hand pushed her right tentacle behind. "You heard her, right? Her voice was so loud, it must have been a microphone or something."
"Like, I'm not seein' any stage or anything fancy around here…" His right hand was scratching the top of his head.
"Sigh… you can't just have signs on the road, huh?" Grina shrugged, opening her arms. "You want me to use the darn navigator…"
"Do we have something like that, girl?" His mouth opened a bit.
"That would the smarties, Barsy!" She turns behind, pointing her right forefinger on her head's top-right side, while smiling and lowering her eyebrows. "But look around here… there is nothing to look for! Just ordinary people walking by in an ordinary mall! That voice could have come from anywhere…"
"Then, what do you wanna do…?" His head tilted to his left a bit.
"… I know that I would rather see Hunry and Mirii back with us, since they are our best friends…" She bended forward, as her arms stretched down and her eyebrows went up. "… but I'm so tired, that I'm getting that depressing feeling… I thought some action would cheer me up, you!" She smiles a bit.
"So... time for the ice on the cream?" He grins a bit.
"Exactly!" She jumped, as her hands clapped a bit. "A fast break, before resuming our duty!" She does a salute, as her right eye winked and her tongue stuck out.
"But, what if the matter has a time limit…?" Bars folds his arms, as his head lowered, his eyes closed and his face frowned. "Like, Aqua might need us in the now and not in the later."
"… why did I said fast break, sweetie?" She bends forward, smiling and lowering her eyebrows. "This fast break is going to yield a world record in any breaks field!"
"Oooooh, ah ah ah!" His right hand hit his right knee. "Like, you got me again with that surprise Burst Bomb, girl!"
She turns behind, as her right hand moved forward from the back forming an arc.
"We got a finish line to pass, Barsy!" She sprinted. "My trophy is gonna be Banana, Chocolate and Mint!"
"Mine is gonna be Chocolate, Cookie and a touch of whipped Cream on top!" He chuckles, sprinting behind Grina.
Hun was walking with Fara on his left side: his eyes tracked down Grina and Bars rushing to the left, while laughing and closing their eyes. His mouth opened, as he stands still.
"Griiinnaaaa! Baaarrsss!" His left hand was waving left and right. "Come heeerreeee!"
The two Inklings kept running in the same direction.
"Heeeeyyy!" The boy bends forward.
"Big bro, forget them!"
His head turns to his left, lowering down: Fara's eyebrows and mouth were a bit downturned, as her hands were behind her back.
"The' ar' not listenin' to ya…" She left a sigh.
"Bu-but"
"Hun, maybe ya should do somethin' 'bout tha' mean man hittin' the door…" Her left hand pointed behind. "Before it's 'oo late…"
Hun's head lifted: the man was in front of the metallic door, as a group of people are around him.
"… I guess you are right!" He frowned a bit. "I'm gonna help that man and Aqua, since they are in trouble." He walks towards the small crowd.
"What's going on?!" The man's right fist punched the door two times. "Why are you not opening?!"
"Ehm… l-listen! I-I can help!" He puffed his chest, frowning a bit.
The crowd was still looking towards the door, talking with each other.
"Eeeehhhmmm…" Sweat jumped out from his head. "E-excuse me…" His eyebrows went up.
He bended a bit down.
"I… I-I want to help…! P-please…!" He swallows silently.
"Big bro, why ar' ya not shoutin'?" Fara's eyebrows were up, as her head was tilting up and staring at the crowd.
"W-well… m-maybe shouting would disturb them…" He trembles a bit. "I-I don't want to step on everyone l-like a boulder, you know… s-someone might get hurt!"
Fara's head turned to her left.
"Don' say 'hat, big bro…" She smiles a bit. "Ya will neve' 'urt anyone… ya 'r too 'ind to 'urt others!" Her eyes closed.
"You say so…?" He lifts his posture.
"Ye!" She nodded. "Com' on, Hun… shout! Do tha' for me!" She jumped.
Hun inhales deeply with his nose, while frowning.
"LET ME IN! I CAN HELP!"
Everyone turned behind, seeing the boy: he jumped, as his eyes expanded and his irises shrunk. Sweat was coming down from him.
"Eeehhhmm… I…"
"What do you want, kid?!" The man threw another punch towards the door. "Don't you see that we are trying to take off this door?!"
"I-I can push that down!" He stomped the floor with his left foot, bending forward. "Step aside, ok?!"
The man's eyes expanded, as his mouth flattened. A laughter came from the right.
"This is an emergency, kid!" The man frowned a lot, as puffs of smoke came out from his head. "I heard a scream inside and those bozos are doing everything to not let me in!"
"Please, let me try!" His fists clenched, as his face frowned even more. "I can turn into a Squid and push that door down with my head!"
The laughter became louder.
"Buzz off, kid!" His left hand tilted down and then upwards, as his left arm stretched. "You wasted too much of my time already with your previous questions!"
Hun inhales loudly: he turns into a Squid and starts bending on himself. Slowly, the people in front of him went either to their right or to their left. The man stepped on the left side. Hun began sliding on the clear floor, jumping towards the door.
BAAABUUM, CO-CORO!
In humanoid form, Hun rolled towards a brick wall, smashing on it: he fell on his back, as his eyes were spinning, his teeth gritted and his arms wide open on the floor. Squids were spinning above his head. The man jumped inside the room, as his head looks around.
Two Inkling men were lying on the floor, moaning and trembling: two Inkling women had her knees touching the floor, with their head turned towards the man. Her eyes were large, her irises were shrunk. Aqua was sitting on the floor, as her right eye was closed and her left eye was semi-opened: her right hand was resting on her head's right side.
"… you…" Trembling, Aqua slowly stands up.
"Wh-what's going on, Aqua?!" His eyebrows were up. "Are you alright?!"
"… it was too good… to be true…" She took a deep breath, as her face frowned. "… you are a liar! This whole course is a lie, everyone!"
The man's face went paler.
"WHAAAT!? WHAT ARE YOU"
A lie?!
What's happening?!
Quick! Let's get inside!
An Inkling man pushed the man, as the small crowd entered inside the room. Everyone was staring Aqua down: she smiled a bit, as her right eye opened a bit.
"… this whole situation is rather weird per se… and also sad, since it fooled me this easily…" Her eyes closed for a moment. "… this night I discovered that this course wasn't meant to teach anyone the use of the weapons… in fact, it's used to run experiments on individuals."
The small crowd yelled, as everyone starts talking with each other!
"SHUUUUT IIIITTT!"
Their mouth sealed, as the man walked in front of everyone, staring down Aqua.
"Run experiments?! Who gave you this ridiculous idea?!" He snorted, as puffs of smoke came out from his head.
"Good question… because I have some photos with me." She smiles, as her left arm thrusts forward.
Her left hand was grasping her smartphone, which was showing the man's face next to other faces under a name.
"This man works for a company known as Neo Enterprises." She nodded. "Do you see our faces here too?" Her right forefinger was pointing at each face. "Well… here is the thing: we never signed up a contract with Neo Enterprises!"
The man's face turned blue, as his cheeks puffed and his eyes expanded.
"… l-lies! Th-they are all lies! She modified everything!" He bends forward, as sweat covered his face and starts panting silently. "She's threatening my position as the boss!"
"Nice try, boss…" Her head lowered a bit, while smiling and lowering her eyebrows. "But there is one thing you are forgetting… the link who reports such page."
The man yelled, as he jumped in the air and his glasses flew to his left.
"No one tricks Aqua and gets away with it…" Her head rose into neutral position, as her eyes squeezed. "… all I have to do is to reveal that link and everyone in Inkopolis will believe my accusations!" Her arms folded. "From there, they will take a peek at the numerous articles mentioning Neo Enterprises' scam history. They were even denounced just recently."
"Oooooooooohhh…" The man's teeth kept chewing on the top of his tie.
"So, boss… which treatment you prefer? A slow, but painful one…" Suddenly, wind was coming towards her. "… or a quick and easy reveal?!"
"Ooooooooonnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooo!" The man's teeth chewed rapidly on his tie.
He turns around, while gritting his teeth and sweating.
"Aaaaah… aaaaaahh… it's getting late for work… I-I must run! RUUUUUUUNN!"
Suddenly, he turns behind rushing past everyone!
"Stop him! Quick!" The taller man rushed right behind the running man.
The short man laughed, sprinting as well.
Give us the link!
We want to see the website too!
The small crowd surrounded Aqua, as her head kept turning in every direction! Hun was a bit stumbling, as his little sister's hands were on his hips.
"Are ya alrigh', big bro?!" Her eyebrows were up, as her mouth downturned.
"Uuuuhh…" He shakes his head quickly. "Wh-what happened…?" His eyelids were in the middle, as his head turned left and right. "Wh-where are we…?"
"You thre' 'own a door, Hun!" She nodded, still keeping her expression. "But ya slamd agains' a wall…"
"… ah." His eyes blinked, with his eyelids fully up. "And… then?"
"Tha' woman made tha' 'ean man ran awa'!" She frowned, as her right hand pointed behind the rectangular hole.
"What?!" He frowned. "We must catch him, Fara!" He sprinted out of the room.
"Wait!" She starts running as well. "Th' man"
The boy kept rushing, passing the different platforms which were spread around a square-like area: on the left, a smaller door connected to a squared cabinet.
"Whoooaaaaa, Hunry!"
Hun slides forward, gradually slowing down and releasing smoke from behind his feet: his head turned to his left, seeing Grina and Bars with an ice cream each on their right hands.
"What's up with the funky ride?" She licked her ice cream. "Got too much sugar?" She grins a bit.
"Dude, you could had called us!" Bars bites his ice cream. The tip of his nose had a bit of chocolate. "Like, the boredom was melting worse than the Sun!"
"I-I did that! You passed by without even looking at me!" Hun's arms moved up and down.
Grina and Bars' head stared at each other, before returning forward.
"… not sure if the ice cream was hypnotizing us or you really need a microphone…" Grina bended forward, as her mouth lifted a bit. "… anyway! If we aren't late for the party..." Her eyes closed, while grinning. "… then invite us! Hope that the ice cream doesn't ruin the whole atmosphere."
"A man is running away!" Hun turns left and right. "But I don't know where he went."
"… aaaah, now I get it!" Grina lifted her posture, while shrugging and smiling. "That wasn't the party… it was the hype train." She licked her ice cream.
"Th-the train…?" Hun's head tilted to his right.
"Well, a chase is fun only when the hunted is in play." She sighed. "Alas, the hunted caught the hype train… moving away with it." She licked her ice cream.
"W-we can still catch him!" Hun frowned, while bending forward. "Right?!"
"Sure… if you know where to go, that's." Grina's head lifted, tilting to her right a bit, as her eyelids opened to the middle, her eyebrows lowered slightly. "But that doesn't sound action to me… it's more like a puzzle."
Her eyes closed, while shaking her head.
"Look, if I hear the word puzzle one more time, I think my brain will move out in another dimension." She resumes her same head position and expression, while licking her ice cream. "If the fugitive man is just a side-quest, then I'll pass that to the police and focus on the main mission."
"Grina, Aqua mentiond him!"
Her irises moved down right, seeing Fara frowning and puffing her cheeks.
"He wantd to trick her an' her friends!"
"… Aqua, huh?" Grina licked her ice cream. "Speaking of her, we should go back there and do a little talk with her."
"Why?" Hun opened his mouth.
"That gymnastic woman might have gold medals around her neck… but her face was anything but shining." Grina nodded, while licking her ice cream.
"Wh-what does that mean?!" Hun's eyes expanded.
"It means Miss Fitness might have been too worthy for her own good…" Grina's left eye winked.
"… too worthy…?" Hun's head tilted to his left.
"Where is she?" Grina bended forward, while grinning a bit. "Inside that storage room?"
Hun turns behind: some people were coming out from the backstage room.
"Ehm… yes?" His right eyebrow rose.
"Good." The girl starts walking, licking her ice cream.
"Girl, like didn't you said to not complete more puzzles?" Bars rushed, stopping near Grina's left side and biting his ice cream.
"It's a puzzle, yes… but all the pieces are already together." She bites the ice cream cone. "It's going to be just a matter of pointing that down… nothing headscratchin', big boy." Her tongue sticks out.
The boy chuckled.
"Alright, alright!" He grins, while closing his eyes. "Looks like you got this case in your hands!"
Grina nodded, while smiling. From the room, Aqua walked out followed by two Inkling women. The girl grins.
"Hey there, Aqua!" Her eyes closed. "Looks like you won 1st place yet again!"
Aqua's eyes expanded, as her mouth flattened.
"… w-wait, you know my name?!" Her jaw dropped. "Who are you?!"
Silence fell in…
"… eh eh… you got some nice sense of humor there." Grina's mouth simply smiled. "A little odd…" She shrugged. "… but original! I give you that." She nodded, taking another bite at her ice cream cone.
"Wh-what are you talking about?!" Aqua frowned. "I never saw you! I'm 100% sure!"
"Aqua never forgets a face." The woman on Aqua's left nodded, while smiling. "After all, she wants to be as friendly as possible."
"… interesting…" Grina turns behind. "Hunry, do you know her?"
"Yes! I do!" He nodded, while frowning. "She's the one who brought me here with my sister!"
"EEEEEEH?!" Aqua's face went pale, as her eyes enlarged and sweat starts jumping from her head. "I-I would never do such terrible thing!" She frowned, clenching her fists. "This course is a scam! I would had done the total opposite!"
"Wait, Aqua…" The woman on Aqua's right lowered her head, as her left hand stands under her throat. "Maybe it's all because of that event…"
Aqua's head turned to her right: she left out a gasp.
"You mean… that when I said to have lost my memories, I invited people here?!" Her arms opened a bit. "Bu-but… bu-but why?! I-I"
"You remembered something… you pretended to know everything, when the truth is you almost forgot your original intentions." The woman rose her head, opening her eyes and tilting her head to her left. "You said that to us, before fainting down while saying that message."
"… ah." Aqua's eyes shrunk. "… no wait… this can't be the truth." She frowned.
"WHAT?!" The woman jumped, as her jaw dropped.
"If that's the truth… I should have bonked my head somewhere." Her eyes squeezed. "I should have taken an injury in other words… but you never said anything like that."
"B-because you never said that!" Sweat jumped out from her head. "You just said that you lost your memory! I-I mean… it could have happened way before you would get here!"
"Impossible." Aqua's eyes closed. "I remember placing small microphones inside those vases… which is an idea I got from a movie I liked!" She grins for a moment. "It felt cool doing a stunt like that! It would also make me look sooo smart!"
"Then… wh-what does that mean?!" The woman's irises shrunk. "I-I mean, you are you now… and… ehm…"
"Might I add the last piece of puzzle?"
Their heads turned forward, looking at Grina's smiling face. Her hands were on her hips. Her eyes closed.
"After all, Aqua doesn't remember the moment where she talked with me… a shame really, because she just made a new friend!" Her head rose, tilting a bit to her right, as her eyelids lowered in the middle and her grin popped out slightly.
"Uh... uhm…" Aqua swallowed silently. "W-what I did…?"
"What you did…?" Grina's head lowered, as her eyes closed. "… it really depends from which point of view we are talking about…"
"Huh?!" Aqua bended forward, as her irises shrunk. "… huh?!"
"Well, I hope you like theories which sound so much about the truth…" Her head returned to her neutral position, as her eyes opened. "… with a pinch of sci-fi." She grins a bit.
Aqua's left eyebrow was twitching.
"How you are talking or gesturing while listening… was completely different from the moment we talked to you." Grina lifts her posture, as her arms were stretching a bit backwards.
"EEEEH?!" Aqua's right fist hits her left hand's palm.
"… even now you are acting totally different from before." Her eyes closed. "When we talked to you… I was seeing a cold, calculated aura around you. Now, you are finally following the ethnic imposed by your clothing."
Grina spins on herself, stopping with her left forefinger pointing at Aqua.
"In other words?! Aqua never forgot anything: she was a totally different person in that time!"
"Meeeee?!" Aqua's hands were on herself. "W-wait… a-are you saying th-that… I-I'm wearing a mask?!"
"… nope." Grina shakes her head. "Because… your previous attitude was way too similar to another one me and my friends know well."
"Huh?!" Ink was coming down from Hun's head, as his right wrist was drenching his forehead. "Wh-what are you talking about…? Aqua n-never reminded me anyone…"
"Hunry, I hope you didn't forget about that statement I made before…" Grina kept staring at Aqua, as her posture lifted.
"Wh-what statement?!" He frowned, while bending forward.
"Why… I'm the chef of personalities!" Her arms went in the air, as her eyes closed and sparks surrounded her face. "I know too well how to act as anyone I please… but guess what I can also do!" She bended down, as her left forefinger pointed up-left, her right wrist rested on her right hip and her left eye closed.
"… you can… understand who's acting?" Hun opened his mouth, as his eyebrows downturned.
"Bravo!" Grina clapped, while smiling and closing her eyes! "Although, I'm not that super-duper perfect as you might think…" She turns behind, staring at Aqua. "It took me a little while realizing the rather weird series of coincidences… but like all trips, this one is finally getting its end!"
Grina spins around, ending in the same pose as she did before.
"Aqua! During the time you couldn't remember anything… you were possessed!" She grins.
Wind was coming towards the girl.
"Not by just any ordinary Squids… but from the same person we were looking for! The same person who disappeared under mysterious circumstances…"
MIRII KELPSHELL!
… everyone's faces were pale, except Grina's. Aqua took two steps backwards.
"… p-possessed…? M-me…?" Her irises disappeared. "… Mirii…? … … … … …"
Suddenly, a flash happened in front of her eyes!
They knew I can't do anything in such state… to make things worse, they are running an experiment on myself as well!
… nnngghhh… it's so frustrating seeing Hunley this desperate and incapable of assuring him… siiigghh… I wish I could… so I would see him smiling… …!
… how that happened? Did they hit me in the head…? … those women were wearing Assistance clothes… right now I'm not seeing anyone like them. Maybe Grina knows more about this…
… disgusting. I have never seen such Squids who hated other cities like this… … and I'm supposed to promote such thing, making sure the whole show goes well? No… not on my watch. Aqua is a terrible, terrible person… but now she's under my control: I can change her reputation and make sure she is forced to follow the good ideals, so no other Squids will become as egocentric as her.
I-I can't let them open the Station! The scientists are going to run experiments on everyone! … wait… isn't it a huge coincidence that this woman took that candy?! The same woman who promoted the opening of the Station…?
"… … … … …" Aqua's mouth was left open, as her eyes were completely white. "… … … …"
"Aqua?!" The woman on Aqua's right grasped her shoulders, as she moves her back and forth. "Aquaaaa!"
"… … Mirii… Kelpshell… perfection… … perfection…" Aqua's expression was the same.
"Huh?!" The woman moved a bit backwards. "… A-Aqua…?"
"… they gave me a candy to eat… that candy let Mirii control me, against her will… she's kidnapped by the scientists…" Her irises returned. "… the assistance workers were the ones giving me the candy!" She frowned.
"Ooooh, what's this?!" Grina jumped, as her hands clasped together near her head's left side, while her eyes closed. "A completed puzzle!"
"A-Aqua w-was… M-Mirii?!" Hun's eyes were a bit watery. "N-no… nnoooo…"
"Mirii couldn't tell anything about her… she was forced to act as me." Aqua nodded. "You can still save her! She's"
"Looks like the experiment needs a serious revision…"
Everyone turned behind, while Aqua and the two Inkling women's head rose. The white coat-wearing Inkling woman was smiling, as her eyebrows were down and her hands were on her hips. Behind her, several assistance workers holding a Splattershot, pointing it towards the group of Inklings.