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BUMF! BUMF!
Mirii's teeth were slowly biting her lips, as her eyes were staring at Bars leaning against the door with his back.
"… Bars, can you hold that door for a while?!" She sighed.
"Eh, eh eh… like, no problemo for me, girl!" Bars grins a bit.
BUMF!
"You can look for that stuff even for centuries… Bars will still hold on like the first time ever!" His mouth smiled.
Grina's hands were holding a black remote: her right thumb was pushing a small, red button located under a circle symbol.
"What the shell?! That's so low!" Her hands lowered the remote, as her eyebrows went up. "The darn remote shouldn't stop functioning right when we need it the most!" Her arms opened wide. "That's so forcing us into launching an all-in situation, with the treehouse as the bet!"
"Enough talking!" Mirii's shoulders turned left and right. "We must find that secret as soon as possible, before Robbo will interfere with our progress!"
"Don't say that!" Grina's mouth downturned, as her eyes were seeing the girl moving near the wall. "Robbo would never go against us! We gave that robot a lot of care!"
"How would you give a care to a piece of junk like that…" Mirii mumbled, as her hands were touching the wall. "It wasn't made to register any data related to the matter…"
Hun went near Mirii's right side, touching the wall as well.
"What are we looking for, exactly?" Hun was frowning a bit.
"Anything who's hidden from our eyes." Mirii nodded, as she bended down. "That would be the secret we are looking for."
"Ok! I'll do my best!" Hun moved to his right, still touching the wall. "The Inkinators must win!"
Mirii smiled a bit, as her eyes were staring at her hands, pressing on every part of the wall. Grina put the remote on the table, as she crouched and crawled under it.
BUMF! BUMF!
"You know, I forgot to put new batteries on this thing… but that's a good thing, right?" A sweat drop appears on Bars' right side of his head, as his eyes closed. "Without energy, the robot will stop knocking the door and we will get all the time we want to look for the secret."
"Let's pull the cupboard!" Mirii rushed towards the closed cupboard. "It might be big enough to hide the secret we are looking for!"
"Alright! I can pull it without any problem!" Hun dashed, stopping near the cupboard's left side.
His hands grabbed the cupboard's left side, as he tilted backwards while stretching his arms.
"I'm pushing from here, Hunley!" Mirii's hands were on the cupboard's right side. "You already occupied the left side."
"Mmmnnngghhh!" Hun's eyes were squeezing, as his teeth were gritting.
The cupboard was moving slowly to the left.
"Hunley, stop pulling!" Mirii's head turned towards the wall. "We have successfully moved the cupboard out of its original position."
Mirii's right forefinger bended, as the finger knocked on the wall.
Tonk, tonk.
Mirii's eyes expanded, as her mouth flattened. Grina rose from the floor.
"Tonk tonk?! Don't tell me that's"
"The secret! It's lying behind this fake wall!" Mirii frowned a bit. "I knew it! I know this treehouse too well to not think about said solution."
"Wait, wait!" Grina dashed, as her right hand landed on Mirii's left shoulder. "Before opening the wall of wonders, let's bring Bars with us!" She nodded two times. "Robbo might bring that door down and"
"Girl, like go ahead without me!" Bars' teeth gritted, as his right eye closed and sweat covered his forehead.
BUMF! BUMF! BUMF!
"The beast keeps on knocking, as you can see! Only Bars can hold its fury out of the treehouse!" He chuckles a bit. "I'm the wall, now! It's your turn to be on the adventure!"
"What are you saying, Barsy?!" Grina turned behind, as her mouth opened wide. "Come here! Inkinators cannot be called as such without you!"
Mirii leaned a bit torwards Grina's left ear.
"Let's get this over with, Grina." Mirii's mouth was showing her teeth. "The sooner we are done, the sooner we can deal with Robbo."
Grina's mouth was waving, as her eyebrows were up. Mirii turned towards the wall, raising and lowering her head. Her eyes glued on a black, horizontal line located at the bottom. She bended down, as her right fingers touched the line.
"… a sensor." Mirii nodded. "I can feel the glassy material… …"
Mirii's right hand went on her side, picking up her smartphone: her right thumb was sliding on the screen, pressing on circles containing a number each. Hun bended forward, as his mouth opened a bit.
"Mirii, what are you doing…?" His head tilted to his right a bit.
"Simple: I'm accessing to one of my gadgets…" Mirii's eyes were still seeing the screen, as her right thumb keep on pressing on different parts of her smartphone's screen. "… which is called Corrupt-a-Ink."
Her right hand moved in front of the line.
"The smartphone will send a signal to the sensor, hoping to trick its security system… if the gadget succeeds, the wall might react." Mirii's head rose. "Of course it will… this gadget proved its worth every time I used it."
Tin… tin…
Tin…
Mirii's eyes squeezed a bit.
Vvrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…
Part of the wall began raising: Mirii rose, as her right hand put her smartphone away. Grina took some steps backwards, as her hands covered her mouth. Hun bended forward, tilting right and staring at the darkness behind the wall.
"A-Am I seeing this?!" Grina's eyes expanded. "This must be a dream… no, a nightmare!" Her eyes were a bit watery.
The wall rose completely, as the lights came up on a metallic floor: the walls surrounding the floor had some raised parts, with red and blue round shaped objects on them. Each raised part had a pair of those.
"… what kind of room is this…?" Mirii took a step forward.
"Mirii, be careful!" Hun jumped in front of Mirii. "We don't know anything about this room!" He turned behind, frowning. "It could be a trap…"
"I-I agree!" Grina nodded, swallowing loudly. "How about we put the cupboard back to its original place and"
"No, I intend to investigate on the matter." Mirii's shoulders turned to her left, frowning a bit, as her mouth formed a small point. "We are close to learn more vital facts about Project Neo… if this room can tell us about its weakness, we would finally obtain a valid strategy to use against it."
BUMF! BUMF!
"Whoa, whoa!" Bars' eyes expanded. "Sorry to drop in like a boulder but… I think I heard a crackling right near the door!" He panted a bit.
"Get out of there, Barsy!" Grina turned behind, while her eyebrows went up and her mouth downturned. "I'm begging you! This situation is really scaring me so much!"
Mirii walked towards the table, as she picked up a very small pencil, resting on it, with her right hand: she turned behind and walked, stopping in front of the small room. Her right hand threw the pencil inside the room, as it impacted on the floor.
Mirii's eyes were seeing the pencil lying on the floor, as some seconds passed by.
BUMF!
"… nothing happened." Mirii's head rose. "An enough proof for me to fully inspect the room."
"Wh-what if it takes a while?!" Sweat jumped out from Hun's head.
"Hunley, I know exactly what I'm doing." Mirii's head turned to her left, as her legs were moving towards the room. "Not even once in my life, I ever dared to venture in any situation I wasn't aware of."
Mirii stops in the middle of the small room, as she turned her sight around the walls. She bended down, picking up the small pencil, as her left hand rested on a red, round shaped object.
"… this room must be analyzed thoroughly." Mirii's head rose a bit. "I have to come back here many times, that's for"
Bzzzzzzzz!
"Uhm?!" Mirii's irises went up, as her mouth opened wide.
BZAP!
"Aaaaaah!" Mirii curled a bit down, as her eyes were closed.
Slowly, the eyes opened… they were pointed at the ceiling.
"… something wrong came from up there." Mirii's mouth opened a bit. "Everyone, are you" Her shoulders turned to her left.
She gasped, immediately leaning her back against the wall. Her eyes were expanded: desks and chairs were each spread across the metallic floor. Slowly, Mirii walked forward as her head kept on moving around.
"… now I understand what that small room was." Mirii turned behind, watching the small room. "It was nothing more than a Teleporter Device… fascinating, really." Her mouth opened a bit. "Such prodigy of technology was hidden inside the treehouse for all this time…? Incredible."
Her mouth sealed.
"No one seems to be around… … I don't intend venturing alone." Her head rose a bit. "Not just alone… also without any proper equipment." Her eyes closed. "I must get back to the treehouse and conceive a plan with my friends. I must be quick too… I'm already missing Hunley…"
Mirii sighed loudly.
BZAP!
Mirii jumped, as her mouth released a scream.
"Yikes!" Hun jumped out of the small room. "Am I alive?!" His eyes were expanded.
"Hunley?!" Mirii's eyes were large for a moment.
She smiled widely, as she rushed towards the boy and hugged him.
"Hunley!" She blushed a lot. "I-I'm so glad to see you…!"
Hun was blushing a lot, as his mouth opened.
"Mirii…" He smiled. "… you got me really worried…"
"I-I'm deeply sorry for such mistake!" Mirii retreated her arms, lowering her head and grabbing her right tentacle delicately. "How could I have ignored your warnings…? I-I'll remember this mistake… I swear!"
"Mirii, that's ok…" Hun's bended a bit forward, keeping his smile. "You couldn't guess about this… you even tried to throw the pencil and nothing happened!"
BZAP!
Hun turned behind: Grina and Bars were all standing still in the small room, as both of them had their eyes expanded and their mouth flattened.
"AM I IN INKOPOLIS?!" Grina jumped out of the small room, as she panted loudly.
Her hands kept touching herself.
"Phew…! I-I'm all in one piece!" She turned behind. "Barsy?! Do you feel alright?!"
Bars' right hand was scratching his right arm, as he took slow steps towards the girl.
"Like, total fresh!" He chuckles. "I could use that thing all day."
"Bars, that teleporter is not a toy…" Mirii's head rose, as her arms folded. "… treat it with care and intelligence."
"Who cares about the darn toy!" Grina turned behind, frowning a bit. "Once we return inside the treehouse, the small room will be history!"
"I deny your future actions." Mirii lowered her head, frowning. "This teleporter might actually be useful for our tasks…"
"Useful for what?!" Grina's arms opened wide. "That thing only sent us… …"
Grina turned around, watching the different desks and chairs.
"… what is this place, anyway?" Her right eyebrow rose.
"Good question…" Mirii turned behind. "… we are going to find the answer." She began walking forward.
"W-wait!" Sweat jumped out from Grina's head. "Th-this place is really making me nervous…!"
"… hmpf." Mirii was passing different desks and chairs. "You were almost begging to see a haunted treehouse… yet, you cannot stand a deserted place of desks and chairs."
"I-I don't like it neither, Mirii…" Hun's shoulders rose, as his head was turning around, while walking forward. "It's… you know…" He swallowed silently. "It's so empty, it shouts so loud about the impending danger…"
"Like, the weird office… it does bring me back." Bars' head was turning around, as his hands went behind his neck. "I already told the dream, right? I was this little boy named"
Grina turned behind, as she was frowning a lot.
"Barsy… please, shut up." Her irises shrunk. "Don't give me any… brrrr!" She returned forward, shivering.
Bars was standing still, as his mouth opened a bit. He resumed his walk, closing his mouth. Mirii's head turned to her left: she stopped, as her eyes were seeing some stars in the distance from the window.
"… i-illogical!" Her face went paler, as her irises shrunk.
"Whoa!" Bars lifted his posture. "Check it out: we can see stars from here!"
"Huh?" Hun turned towards Mirii. "Is it already night?"
"… wait, stars?!" Grina's eyes were expanding. "… d-don't tell me!" She rushed towards the glass.
Her hands landed on it, as her irises went down…
"EEEEEEEEKKKK!" Her jaw dropped. "AAAAAAH!"
"Wh-what's wrong?!" Bars rushed towards Grina.
Mirii was standing perfectly still, barely breathing.
"… we… we are…"
"Mirii?!" Hun jumped in front of the girl, as his eyebrows went up. "Why are you acting like this, all the sudden?!"
"… how could be calm in front of such phenomenon…?" Slowly, she walked towards the window.
Her eyes were still seeing the stars… below, a large planet with lands, seas and oceans.
"We… we are in outer space…" Mirii swallowed silently. "Th-that's the planet where we live…"
"L-let's get out of here alreeeaaadddyyyy!" A stream of tears were coming from Grina's watery eyes as she was bending down in front of Mirii, grabbing her shirt. "I-I don't want to leave my nice home! I-I like that planet so muuucchh!"
Mirii's mouth was a bit open, as her eyes were still seeing the planet.
"… how did those scientists create something so technological and futuristic… it goes beyond my comprehension." Her eyes blinked two times. "It's fascinating… but at the same time… it's also terrifying." Her head turned towards Hun. "This area… why it was abandoned? What happened exactly…?"
"Mirii… I'm really disliking this whole situation…" Hun sighed. "I don't even want to know what this means…"
"If those scientists found a way to teleport living beings in outer space… imagine the possibilities with such technology!" Mirii frowned a bit. "They could travel around the world in the blink of an eye…! They could even reach places unknown to Squid kind! Places where vital resources might be located…!"
"Like, I could use this to get inside any videogame warehouses… and get myself those newer ones, without paying!" Bars chuckles.
"… Bars…" Mirii's eyes squeezed a bit.
"Ehm… sorry for that joke, girl!" A sweat drop appears on Bars' right side of his head.
"Tsk… obviously, this technology shall never fall into the wrong hands." Mirii nodded. "That's why I want to keep this teleporter for us, only… not even Tonna will know anything about this, unless it's absolutely necessary." Her eyes closed. "All the information related to this teleporter must be controlled wisely… not even the slightest of the hints must be given."
"I-I don't want the teleporter… it's all yours!" Grina's eyebrows were up, as her head was nodding. "I prefer the good ol' walking or using the real futuristic travel: a simple car!"
"Hmpf." Mirii's eyes squeezed a bit. "Don't tell me you are scared of that teleporter as much as you did with that piece of paper created by Kelly?"
"Brrrr!" Grina shook her head violently. "Th-those are the worst…! They give you the impression of being divided into millions of particles… whenever I get back into one piece, I cannot ignore the possibility that some of those particles"
"Stop thinking about imaginative events! Instead…" Mirii's head turned towards a desk and a chair. "… before moving back to the treehouse, we should give a quick inspection to the area and find any information related to Project Neo." She nodded. "In such large area, there is bound to be an evidence or two related to the project…"
Mirii began walking towards the desk, as her right hand landed on it.
"Judging from the number of those desks, it's elementary to conclude that several workers were once operating inside this area. Whenever those were scientists or employees, it's a mystery I'll attempt to solve…" She turned behind.
"Maybe we should speculate all this inside the treehouse…?" Sweat was jumping out of Grina's head, as her irises were tilting left and right. "The air here is rather… hard to breath."
"Speaking of the treehouse, what happened to Robbo?" Mirii's arms folded.
"Like, that thing ran out of energy!" Bars chuckled. "I took it back inside and then we jumped here."
"Uhm… I hope its noises didn't attract too much attention…" Mirii's eyes closed. "I have to inspect that robot and make sure to remove anything threating the Inkinators'." Her eyes opened, as her right hand landed on her right hip. "Although I would need a lot of time for successfully complete the operation… such a predicament."
Her head lowered.
"Bringing the robot with us might as well be impossible, without being discovered… and since Robbo has connections with the project, the Agents will surely have an evidence usable against us. Right now, we must keep this Agent rank as much as possible… or at least until Project Neo is finished."
"Not to mention the permission…" A sweat drop appears on Grina's right side of her head. "I think our freedom time is running out… but hey, I don't care if Miss Rules gets mad at it." She grins a bit. "It's not like she has many chances of giving me some trouble… I could just poke around the same rules she follows."
"Tonna will not get mad at us, I can guarantee that." Mirii nodded. "All I have to do is to mention a little diversion in our primary task… that's, the fact we have found documents or anything related to Project Neo, mentioning how we found those inside the treehouse and not this area."
"Will she believe that lie, Mirii…?" Hun's mouth downturned. "I get a bit nervous telling lies like this…"
"Hunley, this strategy doesn't have any sort of weakness… thus, I wouldn't get the slightest of the worries." Mirii's arms folded. "So, is this strategy clear to all of you at this point?"
"Yes!" The three Inklings said together.
"Good." Mirii smiled a bit. "We will explore this area for a little longer, before returning to the Headquarters… I'll think of a way to fix Robbo and study this teleporter technology."
"Or even getting to the treehouse…" Hun's mouth downturned. "How would you do that?"
Sweat covered Mirii's forehead, as her eyebrows lowered a bit and her mouth flattened.
"Nngghh… good question… … I-I'll think of it, as well!"
Mirii turned to her right: a shadow was near a large vase, moving to the left. Her eyes expanded.
"Someone is here!" She frowned. "Let's chase that shadow!" She rushed forward.
"Chasing who?!" Grina's fingers were on her waving mouth. "A monster?!"
Hun dashed, following Mirii's directions.
"Whoever you are!" Mirii rose her head. "In the name of perfection, I order you to stop and identify yourself!"
Darkness was in the distance of a hallway with metallic doors left and right.
"OW! OW!"
Slowly, an Inkling man appeared from the shadows, while his knees and hands were touching the floor: he was wearing a white coat and his head was colored in grey. His back kept growing and shrinking, as his pants were rather loud. Mirii stopped, while her fists were clenching and her teeth were gritting.
"Who are you?!" Her eyes squeezed a bit. "Reveal yourself at once!"
Slowly and jerkily, the man stands up.
"… I heard your discussions…" Slowly, the man turned behind, bending a bit forward. His face was full of wrinkles. "You… you don't want to harm me… right?"
"That will depend from your actions…" Mirii's head rose. "Begin talking about yourself."
"Oh… oh…" The man lowered his head. "… how wish I could…"
"Hmm?" Mirii's eyes squeezed.
"I… I never had a name…" His face darkened.
"Nonsense!" Mirii's right arm stretched forward, as her right forefinger pointed at the man. "How an old man like you have lived throughout all those years, without being properly called with a recognizable name?! It's simply unacceptable!"
Bars and Grina came from shadows, stopping behind Mirii.
"Phew! It's just an old man!" Grina's eyes closed, with her eyebrows up, while grinning. "I thought it was a monster…"
"Grina, be quiet." Mirii kept her posture. "I want to make this man declare the truth!"
"I-I'm telling the truth…" His head rose, as his eyebrows went up and his mouth downturned. "… I just woke up from a capsule…"
"Ooooh, I see the games here!" Bars chuckles, as his arms folded while grinning widely. "The dude got his memory lost! Like, that's"
"No… I'm sure that I never lost any memories…" The man sighed.
"Whoa, dasquid?!" Bars' eyes expanded.
"Any proof for such claim?" Mirii's head lowered, while frowning a bit.
"Because… I remember distinctly one thing… … I'm a clone of this man you are seeing."
The 4 Inklings' faces went paler.
"I still don't know why I have such memory… the capsule, however, had a name on a small tag: Clone Generator. That's why I'm believing this mysterious memory…"
"You… you were created just now?" Mirii's irises shrunk.
"I don't know… I don't know many things, except this basic knowledge." The man sniffed. "Do you know who was this person…? Anything…?"
Mirii's mouth flattened.
"Not only they have created this powerful teleporter… th-they even managed to clone an Inkling?! Just, what those criminals are up to?! I must immediately find out their plans… and more information regarding this cloning capsule."
"ACK!" The man's hands fell on his stomach. "AAAAACCKKK!"
The 4 Inklings yelled: the old man melted into a pile of grey ink, same for the coat.
"Alright, that's it!" Grina turned behind, starting to sprint. "I'm outta here!"
"Wait for me, girl!" Bars rushed, reaching Grina, as his downturned eyebrows were up.
Mirii took some steps backwards, as her irises were shrunk and her mouth a bit open.
"Mirii, let's go!" Hun's right hand went on Mirii's right shoulder. "I really can't stand watching this! I-I had"
"Hunley, leave those two running away…" Mirii walked forward. "… follow me. I need you the most, if I want to unfold this mystery."
"Are you sure it's a good idea?!" Hun reached Mirii's left side.
"That clone failed to give me a good reason for abandoning this mission." Mirii's head rose. "Instead, I have even more reasons to reach this Clone Generator and examine it as soon as possible."