Chapter 15

The Next Day…

Otis returned to Cuttlefish cabin yet again where Sarah and Marie were waiting. Marie was patiently standing with her umbrella while Sarah was punching and kicking the air, full of energy, ready to go.

"Well, you're looking a lot better." Otis pointed out.

"Yeah, my stomach aches a tiny bit," Sarah admitted. "But other than that, Marie says I'm ready to get back out there."

"And this time, you'll have each other to rely on this time." Marie said, reaching for something in the cabin. "And you'll need to look the part too…"

She gave Otis a large box. Inside was a Hero Suit just that matched Sarah's. He quickly put on the jacket, boots, and headphones.

"Woah, sweet, this fits like a glove!" Otis said. "How'd you know my size?"

"I have my ways." Marie replied. "So what do you think, Agent 4?"

"Maching unifoooorms!" Sarah cheered. "Let's take a picture!"

"Alright, Marie, hold my phone." Otis said.

"Just don't post this online or anything." Marie urged. "Secret agents and stuff, you know?"

"We won't" The siblings said in unison.

"Pose for the camera!" She held the phone steady.

The siblings struck a pose and Marie took the picture. Being satisfied with the results, they were off to the next area, Slimeskin Garrison.

"Don't expect any resorts this time." Marie said. "My dossier says from here on out its all military bases and research facilities."

"Well, at least I won't be ruining anyone's vacation this time." Otis said, relieved.

"It's not like any of these octos were friendly before." Sarah pointed out.

"But with the both of you working together, we should knock these out in no time at all." Marie said, determined. "Now go knock those kettles out!"

"Yes Ma'am!" They said in unison.

"Please don't call me ma'am." Marie sighed. "I'm not some grandma (had to deal with that enough my last Splatfest)…"

"Sorry." They both apologized before heading into the first kettle.

It didn't take long to clear the first kettle, despite the confusion on the purpose of the Octoballers. They found the second kettle a bit more challenging due to constantly getting pinned behind walls by Octocommanders. They found the third kettle pretty to look at. They found the experimentorium oddly devoid of experiments. Propellerland existed.

"You know, I'm not getting a whole lot of 'research and logistics' in this research and logistics base." Sarah commented.

"Yeah, it almost feels like they moved whatever they had out of there." Otis added.

"And still no sign of the Zapfish, Callie, or that 3.5 guy." Sarah said.

"There has to be an easier way to find out…" Otis wondered.

They took a moment to think.

"Ooh, ooh, I've got an idea!" Sarah jumped up.

"Alright, shoot." Otis said.

"We're in an Octarian base, right?" She asked.

"Right." Otis replied.

"And naturally an Octarian would know about this place, right?" She continued.

"Riiiiiight..." Otis could see where this was going.

"So, I was thinking…" She leaned in closer. "Maybe we could find an Octarian and 'convince' them to give us a little info."

"But what Octarian would tell us anything?" Otis wondered.

"I know the one…" A devious smile appeared on Sarah's face. "Maybe we should check and see how our best friend is doing."

10 minutes later…Another POV

Another day, more Zapfish duty. More useless regulars to guard the Zapfish. Well, at least I have some Elites this time, some Octosnipers, shell, I even have sharp here. The tall towers here are great for Charger users like him. Now if only I had the rest of my squad…

Suddenly I saw one of the regulars trip over. Pathetic nobody.

"Ugh, you'd think being hypnotized to follow orders would increase efficiency." I lamented. "Well, at least these troops don't sass as much."

"Captain Cassandra!" One of said troops grabbed my attention.

"What is it?" I adjusted my goggles.

"Our scouts report that the agents are on their way." She informed me.

Of course they are. Why shell was I sent to guard more Zapfish? I wish I was back in the Gorge.

"Which one is it? I asked her.

"Both." She replied.

Both?! Seriously?! I can get the drop on one of them, but both?

"S-send all troops to their positions!" I ordered. "Put three next to the entrance with orders to splat anyone who comes through!"

"Yes, Captain!" She saluted before heading off.

"Sharp, you're with me!" I told my squad mate while I grabbed a Roller. "I will not be humiliated again!"

5 minutes later…

Any time now…Cod they piss me off. There's no way they can humiliate me again. They aren't that great…yeah, they aren't. They just got lucky. First time, she got another fighter in at the last second and the second time I got hit in the head and she just switched weapons in the middle of a fight. Yeah, that's right, they aren't skilled. They were just cheating. They're dirty, unskilled cheaters. Well, good luck playing dirty this time. This place is so well-armed, that some of my troops are getting splatted already-wait, what?

Sure enough, they were sneaking around, splatting my troops. Even a couple of Octosnipers got splatted.

"Wait here sharp," I ordered. "I'm gonna get a closer look."

I jumped down and snuck my way over there. Close, but not too close.

*Splat*

*Splat*

I turned to see two of my troops guarding the Mini Zapfish get splatted. The agents grabbed the Zapfish, but something was off. They were inking all over the place, intent on covering all of our ink. They were also looking around, checking every corner. The shell are they doing?

"You see her?" The one named Sarah asked.

"Nope." Her brother named Otis said. "Keep looking. I know Cass's here somewhere.

"Wait, what?!" I screamed internally. "Were they…looking for me?!"