Chapter 8: Hiding

?, 3:00

"... Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Inkopolis police department, at…" Green stood up. Marie and Persimmon looked at tension was almost tangible, when…

"I baked cookies. Who wants cookies?"

Green looked at 07-35, who was carrying fresh cookies. "How… Why?"

"I… I feel bad about how you guys had to run away. So I made cookies to thank you."

"Violet, while I appreciate the gesture, none of the supplies for cookies here are even vaguely edible."

07-35 looked startled. "Do you mean that eggs should not be solid? Or that milk is not supposed to be gooey?"

"Violet, Milk is a liquid that should be smoother than ink, and eggs should be liquid on the inside."

"... Inside? Do you mean that I needed to crack them open?"

"... Just throw them out."

"Alright, I will do that. Hey, am I on the news report?"

Marie stood up. "Surprisingly, no. Although they're saying that Green and Cobalt kidnapped me and Persi. How… utterly… oh crap."

Green looked up. "What?"

"We have no active agents. Callie can't patrol by herself. Vermillion is in Takyo. And we're all here. Zero active agents."

"Well, shit. You're right.

*SLAM*

"Actually, she is wrong."

Green bolted up, standing at attention. Marie dropped her tea. 07-35 hid behind the couch. And Cobalt chose that moment to walk in with coffee.

"What? You're all looking at me like I have an eleven- no, twelfth tentacle."

Green saluted. "No, sir! I just didn't expect you back so soon, Sir!"

"At ease, agent. I guess proper procedure would be to tell you when I'd be back."

Finally, Cobalt spoke up, putting on a shaky smile. "Vermillion! How's it going?"

"Explain. NOW."

Conference Call, 4;30

V- "Hello? Are we all here?"

N- "Naranja, signing in."

M- "Morado here, I'm in."

C- "Carmine is present."

V- "Good. Now, I-"

N- "Sorry, Vermillion, but I need to tell you: those roommates of yours are dead. Nobody messes with my little sis. Nobody."

V- "Actually… That's the thing. She wasn't kidnapped. She went with Cobalt and Green because Callie ratted on them."

M- "Wait, hold on. She ratted on them? Not cool, Amigo. What did she rat them out for, hermano?"

N- " did my sister go with them for?"

V- "Well, they certainly weren't helping an octoling."

N- "Well that's a-"

V- "They were helping two octolings."

N, M- "Are you even serious?"

C- "Well that's delightful. Now what did you call me and Morado for?"

V- "Ah, yes. You know Captain Cuttlefish? Well…"

Captain Cuttlefish's house, 3:45

"... Look, squido. I'm telling you, you aren't going on a patrol by yourself, let alone a mission. Agents work in pairs. That's final. I'll try and find a new agent, by try is all I can do. They don't exactly- hold on a moment, it's Agent 5." Callie started audibly cursing while on hold. For 3 minutes. Finally, Captain Cuttlefish picked the phone back up. "Sorry about that. Listen, can you train…"

Vermillion's Retreat, 4:00

"So, the plan is: I will bring you groceries once a week. You can use the Internet as much as you want because of my security net, but absolutely no phone calls. Refrain from any loud music, fireworks or light shows. If anyone other than me or one of my squad mates are at the door, call me immediately, then escape. Remember: the basement toilet is actually a passage to an old clifftop bunker. That is all."

Green stood up. "Sir yes Sir!"

"Now, where is the other Octoling?"

"In the kitchen, sir!"

"Right. I'll talk to him and be on my way. Oh, and enough with the sir business. I'm here as a friend, not as your commanding officer, Green." Vermillion started towards the kitchen...

Octo Valley, 4:00

Agent One, AKA Callie, was somewhat impressed. The three auxiliary agents could wield the "hero" (really just repainted, they needed Green to modify them and he was… well... ) slosher, inkbrush, and octobrush with ease. They were mission-ready in ten minutes. "Alright, ready for a mission?" All three inklings turned to her, and in unison: "Yes Ma'am!" She smirked. Easy.

Vermillion's Retreat, 4:03

As Vermillion walked into the kitchen, he switched from from friend mode to sergeant mode. He never did this in front of anyone he knew because as an agent, they all had the same rank. But in the Octoling Freedom Force… He saw the Octoling. "Ah. Field Marshall 07-34, I presume? I've heard lots about you." Sev looked startled, responding with a few mutters before: "How the bloody… oh. You should be ashamed of yourself, you double-agent scum."

"Double Agent? Oh, no no no. More like both halves of the same New Squidbeak Splatoon is strong, yes, but the OFF has numbers. Obviously, both needed a common soldier."

"The OFF? I thought… wait… Subject 10. Is he with you?"

"What about them?"

"I know who they are."

"Alright, spill."

"Only if you take me to them."

"You can't make demands right now. I mean, honestly this is my home field. I could do anything. You know, it would be a shame if something happened to your commerade-OOF!" Vermillion was cut of by Sev leaping at him from across the table.

"If you so much as lay a finger on her, I WILL END YOU. Am I clear?" Vermillion shoved Sev off of himself. "Crystal Clear."

"Now, take me to them. There is something I need to try…"

Inkopolis P.D. Chief's office, 5:00

"Yes, I understand that you want them back… My brothers? They suspects nothing, the naive fools… Yes, my sister has the F.F. research… No, I don't think that they have found us out yet… Alright. We are searching every resource at our disposal, and thanks to my older brother, I can gain access to military files… Everything will be in place for your rule… The mysterious power? Shadowstrike is looking into it… No, the Splatling Sentinels have practically disbanded. Their leader is a professional gunsmith, for pity's sake… Do not worry. You will not be denied your rightful rule… Hail, Lord Octavio." Unbeknownst to Chief Evergreen, however, was that throughout his conversation there was an eavesdropper. A very specific eavesdropper… An orange Inkling… by the name of Naranja… Naranja Magenta.

?, ?

"Well, They certainly can handle this. After all, if they really are C.O.R.E. material, then they can handle an army."

"Don't be so sure, brother. Even 138 can get overwhelmed by odds like these."

"That's what I'm saying, though. There's 10 C.O.R.E. candidates here, and they're all working together. Don't misquote me, 343."

"I get it, you're from a betaverse. But this is an alphaverse, 297. Things are different here. If we intervene too soon, the timeline may unravel."

Author's Note: What? Who are these mysterious spectators? Why is Chief Evergreen listening to Octavio? Why did this update take so long? One of these will be answered in the next chapter. Onwards!