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Nnngghhh… I-I can't take this one lightly… if I refuse to take this house as vital part of my plans, th-then what other house will?! I-I can't think of any valid alternatives… no! Perfection doesn't operate through any panic status… I-I'm a calm Squid! I know everything concerning concentration!
… nnggghh… if only I had more time… I would had gone through the entire city, looking for the best place to build a treehouse from scratch! I own different gadgets which would help me accomplish such task. Curses this immense predicament! I-I really don't want to be compared to dust…
At this point, though… I cannot have both. My choices are two… risking the treehouse or risking to ruin my image. No, not risking the treehouse... risking that and all my tools of perfection! Such risk is really taking away my breath… it's way too strong to stop with the second risk.
W-wait…! I-I can't say the results now! I… I-I need to think about it! Very accurately too… … nngghh… I'm running out of decision time… I must speak. Now.
"Due to a very tight schedule, I believe this treehouse possesses all the requirements for being our temporary Headquarters, until the Agent threat has been completely vanquished." Mirii nodded, as the girl stood in front of the tree.
"Heh! Today I wouldn't even be sure how to recognize Mirii…" Grina's wrists were on her hips, as her head shakes slowly. "A Mirii who bases her own decisions on mere looks? I'm not even sure we have the real Mirii, in front of us."
"Of course you would say a such idiotic phrase, if you keep ignoring my speech!" Mirii turned behind, while frowning, as some veins popped out from her forehead. "I said due to a very tight schedule! I even confirm I said such thing with strong belief!"
"Oh, you strongly believe?" Grina's eyelids lowered to the middle, as her eyebrows went down and her smile grew a bit. "A Mirii who also believes so much is something I wouldn't think to ever hear in my whole life!"
"Kn-knock down that music, you darn Squid!" Mirii kept stepping in place, as smoke was coming out of her ears and her fists were clenching, while her teeth were gritting.
"Huh?! Did you used the words in an artistic way?!" Grina bended forward as her mouth opened wide. "Wow! Why… I can't believe you are finally getting some common sense!" She turned behind, facing Bars. "Have you heard our little student's words, Barsy?! She is learning how to speak!"
Mirii's hands were in front of her mouth, as her eyes were expanded.
"Nnngghhhh! H-how th-that mistake ever happened?! …" She frowned. "I really shouldn't hang with you two… you… you are a poison for my reputation…"
"I would say you aren't too happy to keep on picking up that dictionary of yours…" Grina turned behind, as her wrists went on her sides, as she bended forward a bit, her eyebrows went up and her smile grew. "… instead I'm very happy to hear you follow the fresh ways more than you make it appear."
"I-I could guess whatever ridiculous statement you are about to say next…" Mirii snorted. "… I was in the middle of said prediction, while I was trying to make you quiet… thus I ended up creating such contradiction from my side." Her eyes closed, as her hands went down. "I'm incompatible with your rudimental ways of communication and I would take off the skateboard if you don't stop"
Mirii's eyes expanded: she growled, as she resumed walking in place, while raising her head and gritting her teeth even more.
"In other words, me and Hunley will investigate the treehouse in more details!" Her eyes opened, as puffs of smoke were coming out of her ears. "While you and Bars go in our treehouse, waiting my call!"
"Ooooh…" Grina snickered. "… looks like Miss Perfection has a little confession to make with a humble Master…"
Mirii's face went red, as her irises shrunk.
"Nnngggrrrrr! No, no, NO!" Mirii's hands grabbed her tentacles, pulling them down a bit. "Enough with the assumptions! I wasted way too much time, interacting with your stupidity!" Her right arm stretched forward, as her right forefinger pointed at the sidewalk. "Go there! No further questions!"
"Hmm…" Grina's mouth flattened a bit. "… I guess me and Barsy should do something about your temperament…" Her head shook slowly. "That salt of yours is really giving tears to my eyes…"
"… siiighh…!" Mirii kept her pose. "Please, just go… I'm really losing my patience…"
"Aaaalright, alright!" Grina turned behind. "Back to work for all of us! See you soon, you two!" Grina's right arm rose, as her right hand waved left and right, while walking forward.
Bars began walking, remaining on Grina's left side. Slowly, Mirii turned to her right with her head lowered and her eyes closed.
"… I have to remember about changing those two's behavior…" Her head shook. "Their antics is making them look more idiotic then they are… and I might end up like them, if I keep hanging with them!"
"My father always said that the more you grow, the more mature you get…" Hun smiled, as he nodded. "Maybe you should just wait?"
"I'm not sure about it, Hunley…" Mirii walked in front of the rope ladder. "Me and you are already mature… and those two aren't that different from our ages." Her head rose, as her irises were watching the rope ladder disappearing in the darkness. "One of those days, I'll talk to them and make them change their childish behavior… it's not just for me, but for us." She closed her eyes for a moment. "Hunley, we must get inside the treehouse and begin our examination."
"Why?" Hun's mouth opened a bit. "Didn't you said"
"Yes, I said that this house is fine… however, we must bring the furniture for decorating this treehouse and tools to fix holes, clean the floor and other managing activities." Her right hand grabbed the horizontal rope standing above. "Once we have identified this treehouse's problems, I call my friends and explain to them which items and tools they must pick… as well as gadgets which are waiting to be used."
"Oh…" Hun's eyes were following Mirii climbing up the ladder. "… ok." He went in front of the ladder, grabbing the horizontal rope standing above.
The girl's eyebrows were down a bit.
"This rope feels new… how curious." Her mouth flattened. "I can't really ignore this… it's making me uncomfortable." She sighed. "I hope the house isn't inhabited by others…"
Mirii stands up from the ladder, touching the wooden floor with her feet. Her eyes squeezed a bit, as her left hand covered her nose.
"The dust… surprisingly it's less than I expected." She took some steps forward. "I can't lower my guard, though… the darkness is really"
"It took you so long to reach this treehouse…"
Mirii jumped, as her head was turning left and right. Suddenly, the light comes up from a bulb attached to the ceiling: two Inklings, one tall man and a slightly short woman, were standing next to the wooden wall: they were both wearing a full Hero suit.
On the middle, a small round table with three chairs standing respectively up, down-right, down-left. A wooden crate was resting on the up-right corner, with a walkie-talkie device resting on it. Mirii's eyes expanded, as she took a step backwards.
"Who are you?!"
Mirii turned behind: Hun was frowning, watching the two Agents.
"We are the ones supposing to take on the inspecting mission…" The man went away from the wall, folding his arms. "… but that might change."
"Wh-what?!" Mirii swallows silently, as her face became paler.
"Mirii Kelpshell… I can't name a single day, where you weren't mentioned." The woman left the wall, stopping on the man's left side and folding her arms. "Hearing all those urban legends about you, served us right… I knew you were up to something."
"U-up to what?!" Sweat covered Mirii's forehead.
"Don't lie to us, Mirii… we know you wanted to change the mission's destination name into this one." The man frowned a bit. "We heard your discussion from up here… and getting here wasn't that hard, since we know how to climb!"
"Actually… I received some help from him…" The woman blushes a bit, as her forefingers were twiddling and her mouth smiled a bit, while her eyes were closed. "I-I don't know how to climb…"
"Th-that's not the time to talk about that!" The man blushes a bit, as he tilted slightly backwards. "We got Mirii on the ropes! We have all the proofs of her scheme!"
"NO!" Mirii bended forward, as her eyes expanded. "Th-that's not"
"Because of your friends, you wasted enough time to get here before us… and now, you are going to pay your own mistake by telling us the truth!" The man nodded, as his eyebrows went down and his mouth smiled.
"Nnnnggghhh!" Mirii's right wrist was drenching her forehead. "… nngghh…"
"Mirii, I suggest you to give up… and just let the truth come out." The man's head rose. "Any lies will make your situation even worse…"
"Leave Mirii alone!" Hun went in front of the girl, while bending forward and frowning. "She didn't do anything wrong!"
"… Hun Squidson I assume?" The man shrugged. "We heard that Mirii usually sticks around with you… but no matter your persistence, you will never let Mirii escape out of this one that easily!" His right arm went backwards quickly, returning back in its previous position. "Step aside and watch us give some justice to this corrupted world!"
"Justice?! Mirii is all about that, you know?!" Hun growled.
Mirii blushes a lot, as her mouth opened wide.
"She is helping Inkopolis getting rid of Project Neo!" Hun rose his posture. "Isn't that justi"
"NO!" Mirii's irises shrunk, while not breathing. "NOOO!"
"… eh?" Hun turned behind. "… OH NO!" His hands went on his head, as his eyes expanded.
"Huh?! You… you know Project Neo?!" The man's eyes expanded, as he bended forward.
"So, the rumors were true after all…" The woman's eyes were wide, as her irises shrunk. "She is really going after that project…!"
Mirii immediately jumped forward, as her right forefinger pointed at the two Agents.
"I demand you to not stand in my way!" She frowned. "I promised to save this city from the evil essence which is the project itself!"
"To save the city?!" The man frowned. "What are you talking about?! Project Neo is absolutely harmless!"
"No, it's not…" Mirii lifted her posture, as her head rose. "I heard many tales of despair surrounding this obscure world… way too many to ignore." She nodded. "Project Neo is a huge scam, created to run terrible experiments on innocent cavies."
"Experiments…?!" The man's head turned to his left. "Is it true?!"
"I-I don't know anything about Project Neo… except we are not allowed to hear anything about it." The woman nodded. "Nor Mirii and her friends."
"They don't know anything about Project Neo…?" Everything, except Mirii, was covered in the darkness. "… this could be a good thing… I'm tending to agree about using their ignorance as a vital advantage… … however, I'm not too sure about this. The risk I'm seeing is so large, I wouldn't even dare to dive into it…"
Mirii frowned.
"At the same time, if I'll not do anything about this… those Agents will proceed with their original plan of taking me out of the Headquarters… they will get rid of our treehouse and all my chances to stop Project Neo. It's guaranteed such fate… I know that. I cannot change a fate this powerful…"
She sighed.
"I… I have no choices… I have to risk. I have to dive into the obscurity… … Mirii, be strong. This part is crucial… my future, my friends' future and even Inkopolis' future is resting on my hands… … I… I'm ready."
The darkness faded away. Mirii's right foot stepped forward.
"… tsk. I'm astonished from your lack of knowledge based on such large matter." She nodded. "You are accomplices of one of the biggest scams in the history of this city."
"Would you stop accusing US?!" The man frowned a lot. "We are serving this city right! We would never go against it!"
"Your actions will sign years of darkness on Inkopolis…" Mirii folded her arms. "… unless you choose to cooperate with us."
"You are implying that we must risk our Ranks for getting ourselves involved into an unrelated matter?!" The woman roared, with her teeth gritted, her face frowning and her back bending forward. "Tough luck: without any evidences, of course we will"
"I have a vital evidence…" Mirii's eyes squeezed a bit.
"… huh?" The woman rose her posture. "You do…?"
Mirii nodded.
"… do you trust a chief?"
"Depends…" The man nodded, as his eyes closed. "… if they say something of elevate importance, of course we will. I mean, a chief's speech could be used against themselves… … wait…" His eyes opened, almost popping out. "You are not seriously suggesting"
Mirii nodded, while frowning even more.
"This is it… be strong, Mirii." Her head lowered. "You only have this chance to save everything."
Her right arm stretched forward, as her right forefinger pointed at the two Agents.
"You guessed right… I'll make a chief confess about Project Neo's horrible nature!" Mirii's face went completely white.
"WHAAAAATT?!" Both Agents' back bended forward, as sweat covered their foreheads.
Mirii began breathing loudly. Hun's back was slightly tilted backwards, as several sweat drops were spread on his forehead, his eyes were expanded, his irises shrunk and his mouth completely flattened.
"… I'm sure you will know this chief in particular…" Mirii's right arm retreated.
"Who you are referring to?!" The woman trembled, as her right hand nails were on her mouth.
Mirii's right hand was holding her smartphone, trembling a bit.
"… Tonnalisa Pinna." She swallows silently.
"Her?!" The man quickly shook his head. "I-I heard she is a brand new chief…!"
Mirii nodded… jerkily. Her right thumb pressed on a speaker circle.
Tuuuu… tuuuuu…
Hello?
"Tonna?" Mirii sighed loudly.
Oh, hi Mirii! Did you checked the treehouse?
"… Tonna… I'm dropping that plan…" She swallowed silently, as her eyebrows went up. "… instead, I'm taking a new one…"
… huh? What?
"Tonna… … in front of me and Hunley… th-there are the two Agents supposed to take inspection of our treehouse…" Her teeth were gritting.
… Mirii, tell me this is a turfing joke…
"Th-they are inside the treehouse we were supposed to take… they are listening to you." Her irises went forward.
WHAT?! ARE YOU NUTS?!
"Tonna… they are about to reveal everything… Hunley accidentally mentioned Project Neo in front of them..." Mirii sighed loudly, as she was stumbling.
HE DID?!
"I-I'm sorry! I-I'm so sorry about that!" Hun went down on his knees, as his mouth opened wide. "I-I wanted to defend Mirii from them, s-so I said that out loud! I forgot about it!"
Oh no… and why in the turfing name of the universe you are calling ME of all times?!
"Tonna… those Agents don't know much about Project Neo… unfortunately, they do not believe my words! However, yours…" Mirii's back tilted a bit backwards.
… oh… oooooohh… shiiiiiippp…!
"Please Tonna, cooperate!" Mirii bended forward, as her eyes expanded and pain was conquering her stomach. "I-I know your speech can be used against you…! I-I know your position as a chief is in extreme danger… but without your help, Project Neo will not be stopped! You have to take this risk… you have to do this for the whole city!"
Aaaaaaaaaahhhh, Miiiiirrriiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
…
…
…
…
…
…
Are those Agents listening to me?
"Yes, we do." The man nodded.
The two Agents walked forward, stopping in front of Mirii's smartphone.
… you don't know anything about Project Neo, do you…?
"No, we don't know…" The woman's head shook.
… Project Neo… that… that project… … made my sister disappear…
The two Agents' eyes expanded.
"You… you are confirming Mirii's words?!" The man's mouth opened.
Yes. I'm against Project Neo, because of what it's doing to Inkopolis… not just from mere experiments. Everyone working around them are in constant danger: employees cannot leave their jobs, otherwise they will be charged with fake crimes.
"… I'm not dreaming this… this is Tonna's real voice!" The woman's eyes are blinking.
"Wh-what are you saying?!" The man turned to his left, as his jaw dropped. "Have you heard what Tonna said?! She's downright accusing Project Neo! Do you know what that means?!"
"Yeah…" Her shoulders turned to her right. "… those Agents involved into Project Neo would be all accused. Agents, chiefs… this is a crime costing them years inside a cell." She nodded.
"Yes, exactly! This is a turfing nightmare!" He nodded. "The reputation of our Headquarters will be trashed forever!"
"… will? I think it's already trashed." The woman's eyes closed. "We are working for an organization of pure egoism… unfortunately, this is not a nightmare."
"And Mirii… is she really going to stop it?!" The man turned forward, watching the smartphone. "Will she, Tonna?!"
She's not the only one… as I said earlier, I'm against Project Neo. I want to find answers about my sister… I want to see her again.
"… at this point, I'm not doubting Mirii anymore." The woman's eyes closed. "I would feel so dirty, if I'm helping this project existing."
"Yeah, same here." The man nodded. "We are the Agents involved into the inspection… … we promise to not say anything about this, nor we will give you any punishments from our mission."
"You will?!" Hun smiled widely.
"… I'm not sure about this…" Mirii's eyes squeezed a bit. "Can we trust you?"
"Sure you will." The man turned behind, walking towards the walkie-talkie.
His right hand picked it up, turning behind and raising the device.
"This is a walkie-talkie used as a recording device… this whole speech has been recorded here."
His right thumb pushed a button.
"Recording cancelled!" A female voice came out from the walkie-talkie.
"… now no more." The man lowered the walkie-talkie.
"In addition to that, I want to help you stopping Project Neo…" The woman smiled, nodding.
"How?" Mirii's head rose.
"I heard this a while ago, while I was walking on the hallway: an Agent said out loud that a treehouse was used as part of Project Neo." The woman's irises went down.
Mirii's eyes expanded.
"You mean… this treehouse IS part of Project Neo?!" Her mouth opened wide.
The woman shook her head.
"This old house? Not even in the slightest!" She chuckled. "Actually, I wanted to keep that as a secret… and check everything around, myself!"
"Huh?!" The man turned to his left. "What do you mean?!"
"Sigh! My naive colleague…" Her head turned to her right. "I remember dearly the great times we spent together, completing many missions… but I can't forget my competitive nature." Her eyebrows lowered a bit, as her mouth formed a 3. "That's, you would inspect the treehouse… while I would be looking for that part of Project Neo which is hidden in that"
"Hey, that's not nice!" The man frowned. "I was the one who brought up the whole inspection matter! Shouldn't I deserve some kind of"
Taaa-a-a-a-a…
The two Inklings immediately turned forward: Mirii's irises were shrunk, as her right hand was a bit open.
Mirii?! What happened?!
"Are you alright?!" The woman's hands went on Mirii's shoulders, as her eyebrows were up and her mouth downturned.
"… you… you can't be serious… you can't…" Mirii's expression was the same.
"Serious for what?! The treehouse?! …" The woman's mouth flattened. "… yes, I'm not joking. I was looking forward to inspect your treehouse, since it happens to match the street name that Agent said! Ink Avenue, isn't it?"
"No… no!" Mirii's eyebrows went up, as she took some steps backwards. "NOOOOOOO!" She stumbled, falling on her bottom.