Chapter 2: Recruitment

Agent 4 watched as the familiar green inkling jumped down from the platform. He was wearing the same outfit as Agent 4, but dark green. He landed perfectly on the ground, adjusting his Jellyvader cap upon impact. His bright green eyes now finally visible.

The moment he locked eyes with Agent 4, he instantly recognised her. The two stared at each other in silence, several emotions flowing through them both. Happiness, anger, regret… relief. The silence continued for another minute before Agent 5 dropped his Dynamo Roller and broke the silence.

"C-Chloe? Is it really you?" It seemed like it was his turn to cry.

Chloe was at a loss for words. She didn't know what to say. The silence just continued on longer. Marie and Marina looked at each other awkwardly.

Finally, Chloe mustered the strength to say something.

"I… I-I'm sorry…" She closed her eyes and began crying once again. She just couldn't hold it in… she hadn't seen her best friend for years since he went missing. The silence was broken by loud sobs and sniffles. Her Hero Slosher hit the ground with a loud CLUNK!

She felt arms wrap around her in a tight hug. Tears dropped on her shoulder. When she opened her teary eyes, she saw Ryan crying over her shoulder. Chloe hesitated, before tightly returning the embrace. The two reunited friends cried together. Marie and Marina silently agreed that it was best if the agents were left alone for a while. They super-jumped back to Tentakeel Outpost and left Chloe and Ryan by themselves.

"It wasn't your fault," Ryan said between sobs. "You were scared. I know now panicked you can get sometimes... when I found out that *sniff* that it was you in the match, I-I immediately tried to find you… a-and I saw you enter the sewers when I left the lobby..."

Chloe and Ryan had calmed down now, sitting side by side next to the billboard. Shoulder to shoulder. Just like it was before he...

"Where… where have you been all these years?"

"It's a long story."

"Well, I've got all the time in the world."

Ryan's aura got darker. Chloe sensed the change of mood, preparing to listen to every word of Ryan's story. Ryan held his Dynamo Roller on his lap, tinkering with the engine mechanism.

"The past two years… they traumatized me. I was low on money, I needed to find a job, and fast. It was around this time that Grizzco Industries opened up. I signed up for a job, and they hired me. You know how it goes, you fight the Salmonids, and if you get splatted someone can revive you. However, back then they didn't give us life rafts. If you were splatted, you had to hope that somewhere in Inkopolis a respawn point was available.

"I got too cocky during battle. I thought I could do things on my own. I left my co-workers behind to take out a Scrapper… but they surrounded me. I was splatted.

"I was floating for ages. It was nighttime, most respawn points in Inkopolis were turned off. I was in the sky for hours. I thought I'd never come back… but then I respawned.

"But I wasn't in Inkopolis, oh no. I don't completely remember… but I was somewhere in Octo Valley."

Chloe gasped. He was really in Octo Valley all this time? She continued to listen.

"Some Octolings found me… but instead of splatting me again, they took me away. Locked me up. I was so scared, and they acknowledged that. By feeding me fear.

"They beat me up. Forced me to work for them. I hated it. I didn't want to be there. I just wanted to play Turf Wars and goof around like I always do. But these guys kept me locked up.

"I tried to escape. Multiple times. But they found me every single time. And brought me back and forced me to fight. You know what they made me do? They made me kill inklings. And if I didn't comply, they'd beat me and lock me up in a pool of fushia ink. They forced me to kill my own kind! Kill! Not even splat! I ENDED PEOPLE'S' LIVES! I KILLED SO MANY!" Ryan was tearing up. Chloe brought her hands to her mouth.

"Eventually they got sick of me retaliating after a month or two, and so they brainwashed me. I don't remember how, I don't remember any of the events after that. I probably killed many more in the two years I was gone. But I do remember hearing shouting and exclamations about some 'Agent 3' person.

"I don't know why, but they let me go. The last thing I saw before they knocked me out and threw me outside was an Inkling in Hero Armor, being dragged into the headquarters. And boy was he mad at the Octarians. He was yelling at me, calling for help. He wanted me to come and save him. But I couldn't do anything.

"When I came to, I was lying near a grate. I had become older, no longer 14. I'm a goddamn fully blown teenager now. The Octarians stripped me from years of my life that I'll never get back.

"I went through the grate to arrive at Inkopolis Plaza. The plaza was deserted. No one was around anymore, Inkopolis Tower was shut. But I later found out that everyone was hanging downtown at Inkopolis Square. I found that my bank account still existed, got a credit card, bought some new weapons with the last of my money, including this one, and tried to fit back into society by playing in some Turf Wars. Learnt the new maps, joined a random lobby. And we both know what happened after that.

"Turns out that you're the only inkling I've talked to since I came back who recognised me. And I'm so grateful for that. That even after I went missing, you're the only one who cared. No-one I talked to recognised me. None of my friends believed me. Only you did. Just, thank you, Chloe."

Agents 4 and 5 sat beside each other in silence once again. Ryan was wiping away his tears. Chloe was processing the huge backstory that was told to her. Both were enjoying each other's company, watching the sun set over the rocks.

"We're gonna fight back."

Ryan fixed his gaze to Chloe who was still watching the sunset.

"No-one should have to be put through that kind of shit. I will bring you justice if it's the last thing I do."

From now on, chapters will be much longer, I thought the previous ones ended too quickly. Enjoy!