One may say the simultaneous three thumps of a beating set of hearts can cause panic. Others might say it could be shyness, desperation, fear of the unknown and the perpetuating self-righteousness of an individual. For a group in a cold, fake-wintery wonderland, it was anything but, as the sound of a Hero Shot from an Octoling slowly dropped in time, a look of shock spread over his face as he turned to his friend.
In the depths of the last bunker of humanity, a yelp from a braided green-tanned Inkling stood there with shivering thoughts of his own. Agent Four had returned. Everyone who he had left was now here, bar two very important people he was there to search for with Neo, his counterpart standing right next to him and his plucky companion, Buddy.
Yet as he could've played more with him in the snow - the banter between the two becoming increasingly more playful - his past soon caught back up to him as he stood face-to-face with a previous companion of his own. Staring straight at him in Alterna's sub-terrain depths was his former protege: Marie of the Squid Sisters.
Agent 2 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon.
And not only that too. Agent 1: Callie and the cousin's other half. The former Captain: Craig Cuttlefish. His former arch-nemesis: DJ Octavio. All stared with white ghostly faces of horror as the figure of the past remained and came back. Marie was the first to speak.
"B-Breck?!"
She ran to him in shock. First, she was in denial, shaking her head.
"Breck... it can't be... Breck? I-I... B-Breck?!"
Then followed a set of stuttering words as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say.
"I-I-I... no... n-n-no... n-n-n-n-n-no..."
And at last, as her vision began to falter and the Inkling in question stared back at her from one person of the past to the other, she began to feel something gather in her eyes. It couldn't have been anything else. Sometimes, when the world was always against them, a figure would feel the weight of the world on their shoulders. For the famed idol known around the cephalopod region of Inkadia, she would soon see another side of herself.
Maybe a call-back to the times of the past, in the entirety of Inkopolis' Final Fest, calling on which side she needed to represent. She was on Team Order, and yet she couldn't keep her own thoughts in order. None of the current individuals in that moment in time could either, but she was the one feeling the anomalous as most of her emotions were hard to read. She always was, wasn't she? That's what she told herself at least.
But what of it? Could she even feel better at that moment? Could she get rid of the trauma that was caused by the gaping hole that began to fill her heart?
Could fixing something such as this make everything in her journal go away from those two and a half years ago?
Team Order couldn't fix this issue. Their side lost after all. Her side lost after all.
She lost Breck. She had been given her own order alright, with the addition of her repressed thoughts now back in the limelight and at the forefront of her mind. Her heart needed to be an agent, but her mind was different. She found herself her new side. Her own Side Order.
A side of tears.
Ark Polaris(ation) - Chapter Three - Alterna(te) Thoughts
One tear fell from the idol's eye. Then came another, and another again. A floodgate opened, and a hardened grip followed.
Breck was pulled into the grip, tightening and tightening to the point it could have suffocated him, but realising it was his own actions, his dumbfounded silence prevented him from moving.
In her grip, Agent Four - her agent - came back to her. Her chance of talking to him again could come true. In a hug, the world spun, as Marie threw herself around him and hugged him tightly.
Nova - the Octoling surprised at the attention he saw Four being given - stood quietly, shimmering to the side uncomfortably as he thought he was intruding on something he shouldn't be seeing.
Four on the other hand was quieter than when he super-jumped in from his squid form. He looked down, quivering lip making him shake as Marie wept in his arms.
The quietness from the two continued for a while, until at last when she was ready to let go she looked at him in disbelief.
"Breck... Breck... I..."
"M-Marie..." he began quietly, his shivering becoming more apparent.
"You're... alive. Y-you're actually... alive. After all that... you... you..."
She immediately began to release something that had been building up over the times she was desperate. Being blocked by him stung, but the worst part was she didn't even know if he was alive. That fateful day, from all those years ago, had become suddenly retracted. He was here, right here, right now right in front of her. And she knew, deep, deep down, that she had to let him know just how she was feeling for so so long.
Even if it made him hurt inside.
"WHY?! After all this time, you return. And yet... y-you never told us where you went?! You expect me to say hi after this because you vanished like that?! And after me trying to reach you for over two years - TWO YEARS - Breck, I-I... I had lost hope you were even alive. After all this time, you just show up here like nothing ever happened?! Do you think the hole in my heart from your departure makes me h-happy?! I missed you, so, so much, and now here you are like you're a spectre of my past that has come back to haunt me, and you think you're an agent again?! Why did you leave?! Why did you go?! WHY DID YOU CLAIM IT WASN'T MY FAULT, WHY DID YOU IGNORE ME WHEN I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU AND WHY DID YOU NOT LISTEN TO ME WHEN I WAS SUFFERING FROM WORRYING ABOUT GRAMPS?! BRECK, JUST... JUST..."
A smack came right across his face, leaving a mark in its place. Breck could only flinch, still quiet.
"J-just... Just tell me what it is you're hiding from us all! WHY GO?! YOU WERE O-OUR FRIEND!"
Marie began to wipe her tears away at the sight of her former agent in the flesh now getting scolded from her pent-up hurt. All he could do at that very moment was take the full brunt of what she was talking about. He knew he should've talked to her, given her a proper reason or even just said that he was safe, in the neighbouring city on the other side of the Splatlands.
Yet he was a coward. He knew it, she knew it, and the entirety of the Splatoon knew it. He was always a coward.
He ran away from his duties, his friends, his past and his history. Growing up in a different place, and feeling left out, was always like him.
He was always the loner. Nova too as well.
The both of them were a lot closer now than they had initially realised.
Nova was the first to make a move in the area. He placed Buddy down, letting him rollick off to some nearby boxes, and he stood at Breck's side, putting a comforting arm around the older Inkling's shoulder. Breck turned to Marie, now looking up and seeing her hurt, distraught face, before looking at Nova and bringing him now into a hug.
The New Agent Three was now at the helm of a lost Agent Four. Nova jumped, his eyes and tentacle hair covering each other and looking down as he felt the shivers of his companion begin to hiccup. He gave some comforting pats as he began to clench tighter, the Octoling looking at Marie with a face of anger.
Marie flinched from the eye contact and looked away. Callie began to run forward, hugging her cousin before staring at Nova who had the face of needing time to think. She brought her fellow idol out of the way, guiding her to the camp and letting them sit nearby without the pair of them coming to disturb them.
Cuttlefish and Octavio exchanged looks, but both nodded and continued their game, quietly but surely.
This was now just a moment for the two current agents together.
"Breck... hey, buddy, are you doing okay?"
"Gwah?"
"Buddy, not you dummy, I mean..." he sighed, "...Oh okay, fine come here."
Little Buddy wallowed over and jumped on top of his head but looked down with curiosity and a hint of sadness. The only Salmonid to be awakened by the Calamari Inkantation, he was a lot smarter than the others of his species. He could super jump, he could tell how his owner was feeling, he could even understand what was needed and he helped Nova out all of the time.
Two peas in a pod, brothers in arms like a formed found family. Looking down, he realised something. That family had increased.
The individual to have joined the family in question? None other than the Inkling clutched in arms around Nova's shoulders as he began to hear something come up from his own mouth. Stuttered, stammering hiccups of regret.
"Nova... I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. This... this is all my fault. I should've... I needed to... why did I not see this coming? She had every right to say that to me. What have I done?"
Breck looked at him with lost eyes. Cheeriness was gone, and in its place was a darkened disposition of woe.
"Breck... It's not you. It never was you, ok?"
"Wha-?! How can you say that?! You weren't there all those years ago! I did what I did because I did it myself, not you. How could you know how it feels?! You don't speak for me in this situation as I brought this upon myself!"
"You don't think I don't know that?" Nova retorted calmly, his face serious.
"Why mention it then?! You're not me. You're not Agent Four Nova, that's me. Or I guess... still was me. Gah, shellfish if I know, I'm a screwup. Always knew I was a screwup after all in the end..." the Inkling shivered, face in his hands.
Neo sighed, nodding. "I know... I know. I am just... me Breck. I could never understand Inklings. I still don't, even now. Do you think you're the only cast-out of the Splatoon? You're not. I still feel partially responsible for why Cap left. She... never said anything, and all I'm left with is a million questions to figure out. I'm an Octoling fighting Octarian soldiers, my own kind. Mr Grizz didn't care about me at all after everything I ever went through and my entire childhood was built on lies. I never had anyone come up to me and want me around as I spent more time hiding and crying in my room than I did spend time out here. It was bad enough that I got mocked by Inklings and Octolings, so I contemplated just not having anything else in my life. I did come back to the Splatoon in the end as... I... I feel it gave me a family and something I've yearned for all my life up until now. I'm no hero either Breck. I'm the so-called "Agent Three" but I still ain't in my mind at least. I'm just Nova Octanirm. That's it. Supernova in matches, Agent Three I guess here, but deep down it's just me, Nova. I wish I had a better grip on life than I had in my past. I may know I'm not you, and I will never be you, but I don't want you to be left alone anymore. I... I... I don't want to be left alone anymore. If you're the same, then... I think we shouldn't be alone anymore. Right, bro?"
"B-bro?"
"Brothers in arms Breck, isn't that how the saying goes? We're family. A weird family now but... you playing in the snow with me there. I-I... I always wanted that. I always wanted to have someone to say hello to. To play with. To have fun with, have a life with, and have someone to accept me for just the only me that they know right now. The people who wouldn't change the world or move shell and earth to shell and cod, they mean more than the FREE festival, the past times, the current times... if it's just one person I can do this with, that's more to me than anything in the world. And I know I can't speak for the past you... but... I think - to me at least - you still continue to be and always are Agent Four. The only Agent Four I know, even if we're still trying to get to know one another."
"Three... No, Nova. I have something I want to say to you too."
The green-eyed Inkling's pupils expanded sincerely in front of the Octoling, a hand gripped in his and a playful shove to him as he put his own arm around his neck.
"You're the only Three I know too. Your past, my past, they are alike. And... I'm sorry. I feel this is something only I can solve on my own, but... if it's any consolation, I want to protect you from any thoughts that come to your mind too."
"I... um..." Nova looked down a bit bashfully, his tentacle hair wobbling from his nervousness.
"I mean it. Neo, Three, Supernova, what's the difference? You... said you're my bro, and if you mean that, I'll say this. Your pain is now my pain. Your worries become my worries. And just so you know, your fears become something we take on together. Nova... you're... different from any other Octoling I ever met. You've... taught me a great deal in a short time. How you have it in you I don't know. But... your bravery, your kindness, it's enlightening to know you have this in you. You're someone I feel I can confide in without any more worry. So forget my past hatred for your kind. Forget your hatred for my kind. If anyone - Inkling, Octarian, any sort of mammal and the like - gets thrown our way, we beat their butts... together."
"Gwah wah gwam gweh nam!" Little Buddy chirped, now with a bit more happiness.
"Buddy..."
Travelling to his shoulder, the Salmonid nuzzled Nova, the Octoling smiling whilst Breck put an outstretched set of hands around Nova and pulled him into a hug.
"We're our own weird little family now. And Marie..." Breck shivered, but nodded, "deserves to know the truth. Back at the Crater, I remembered my fears and regrets from my past because of my negligence. I should... um..."
"Learn to pass it and share with others?"
"R-right, yeah that..." he nodded, facing forward to the camp.
"Heh, I'm glad," Nova smiled, before facing in Four's direction and seeing both Cuttlefish and Octavio playing their game.
The both of them noticed the Octoling had gotten up and they turned to face him directly.
"Three, you're a good friend. A great agent until the end. You set the Captain's example remarkably well, I'm glad to see my recruiting paid off."
"Thank you Mr Cuttlefish," Neo returned with a hand rubbing the temples of his head.
"Call me Craig, you do not have to be so formal with me all the time. And... Four. It's... it's been a long time."
"C-Cap'n. I-it has. I-I... I'm... sorry. For everything during that intel meeting all those years ago. I... I just... I didn't really like Octolings at the time, and... it was... it was my stupid prejudiced self that shut off any sense of meaning to the word. I was cruel to Eight. I was cruel to Three. I was cruel to Nova here when we first met. All of this was my arrogance, and... I u-understand if I don't deserve to be Four again. I-I... came back as I want to be instated, seeing here as Nova put aside my distaste for them and has taught me that not all of them are cruel or despicable as I thought. And... DJ Octavio too. I um..."
"GWAHAHAHAHA, Four you are the same as ever. I'm not the same Octavio as you knew, even if that consarned snow globe could've had some central heating in it. I may have escaped sure, yet now I see I should've been the one to help protect our planet - especially after Grizz kidnapped my soldiers in the same way that blasted AI stole them in the Metro..."
"Metro?"
Nova gasped. "O-oh, you don't know about..."
Immediately, he pulled out the letter from Fliss given to him after their meeting in the alleyway of Splatsville, opening it for Four to see.
"When you get the chance, you need to read this. It's a clue to Clam's whereabouts."
"Clam... Oh, Clam..."
Breck looked down sorrowfully. "I pushed her away as an agent way too hard, and all she wanted was to say hi. I let my jealousy get in the way of the right thing to do... I'm such an idiot."
"...Kid, if there's anything, I too was an idiot."
Octavio put down some of the wasabi-root sticks he would use as a means of playing his music and for the game of chess he was playing with Cuttlefish.
"I'm sorry for stealing the Zapfish, it was supposed to be for helping my people. The propaganda, the lies on my people... I was a fool. Craig and I fought on several occasions that go over a century ago, to the Great Turf War due to the sea's rising levels. Humanity's naivety brought us to our knees and I was resentful of the Inklings and Octolings that defected from the way of life as I knew it. Cuttlefish is a visionary on the front of how to look after those who we care about. Your name is Breck, yes?"
"I um... mhm, it is."
"Breck, our battle taught me your resolve to save Callie. It was a battle well fought, as I was determined to save my people after hearing he had gone with the old Three. You won... I remained bitter and I stayed for days thinking of a way for revenge. And yet... here I am now learning of other threats, bigger than I had envisioned."
"Commander Tartar was the first," Cuttlefish chimed in, "...you weren't aware at the time. You knew Eight came from somewhere, but as you left I never got the chance to explain. The Metro was where myself, Eight, Three and Off the Hook won against the rogue AI that was a telephone built on the destruction of Inkopolis. Clam was the saviour of the city."
"S-she did that?"
The older Inkling general nodded, stroking his near-reformed beard.
"Mhm, quite. You saved my granddaughter, and I'm thankful you did. You had no right to talk to Clam though that way at that time and you were going to be punished, but you did a complete cut-off I had not planned at all. You are a remarkable agent Breck, and I see now you have a bigger heart and a more capable mind. I'm proud of all my agents, and yes, I know I would've shared the intel with you on that day, but we wanted you to come too. Tentakeel Outpost is officially a defunct camp now. Here in Alterna we still have things to deal with, especially with any remnants remaining of the Fuzzy Ooze kept by Grizz. Nova, your tenacity and your feelings after you saved us made me reflect... and it may have been five months since that time Fliss helped you out of your trauma, but... to see I failed two of my own agents shows that my retirement is my own deserved need to have some sense of compensation for you both. I'm truly sorry for the hurt I caused you both."
"It's okay," Nova smiled, Breck walking forwards to say his own reply.
"What he said. But... it was my fault I said most of those things so hurtfully to you all in the first place. I should've just... been kinder at the time. Kept my mouth shut."
"As a man of the future now, the past is the past. I'm... truly happy to see you safe. Marie... is still deeply hurt for some reason, much of which I don't know as she never explained properly everything that happened in my absence. But despite that, even if the current Captain isn't here... as the former captain of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, I hereby reinduct you into our merry band of agents as your former title, Agent Four. Welcome back."
The face of the green-eyed Inkling widened with increasing glee before he jumped up for joy. Neo smiled as Four began to hug Cuttlefish and Octavio as well, who only grimaced momentarily as he still was gruff in personal contact but he pulled the equivalent of a smile before the Inkling returned to join his adopted brother's side.
"And Four... learn to talk to others. From experience from the older generation to your own, and hohoho, if the noggin' can be treated to make oneself feel happier, then you should be more than entitled of being a better person for yourself."
"T-thank you..." Four smiled.
Nova turned away from the older generals of the Inkling and Octarian armies to face the keen eyes of the Squid Sisters. Marie still was distraught, Callie looking at her and providing a reassuring arm to help with her comfort. Neo was still a bit regretful at the faces he pulled at them, but knowing he had no other choice, he decided to take a breather and leave Four to receive his proper Hero Gear and weapon again.
He looked up at the sky. Fake technological screens covered the exterior of the island he was on nearby the landing pad and grate that led straight back up to the surface. A hole was still blasted and ripped from the crash made by Grizz when he launched up into space on an Alternan rocket in the battle with himself and his nemesis who couldn't care less other than to murder Cuttlefish, the world and invoke his scars that still covered his body from parts that didn't fully heal over time.
The Splatoon needed time to recover with Four now joining the mix. He knew everyone cared about Breck in their own way, much as the Octoling did too. For him though, the centre of attention was brought back to his childhood nightmares and the screams. Those cursed screams he thought, and now, when scavenging was not a part of his agenda, he realised something. How could have remembered something like that, when it was years ago?
Were his scars still not fully healed yet, the mental sides of his brain traumatised at even a slight mention of it?
Did he have only himself to blame for everything that happened within such a short span of time?
Not knowing the answers growing in his head, he looked around further to see anything that stood out to him. And then, in the blink of an eye, he saw something. A kettle, shaking in the position he was once in, had appeared out of nowhere. It stood there ominously, in the place where he first landed into this place that changed the course of his life, blasted down into the snow.
He looked around, seeing if anybody were to take notice.
Four had gone with Octavio and Cuttlefish into the larger building with the steps where spare reserve gear was kept for others who were to have come for training or other sorts of interactions should an emergency transpire. As for the Squid Sisters, they had moved slightly and stood out of the way, now out of sight in an attempt that Nova assumed was to better collect Marie's thoughts of Breck.
This left only him and Buddy.
"I guess it's just us again, eh Buddy?"
"Gwah!" chirped his Salmonid friend, who also noticed the kettle and in an instant began to scurry over to its entrance.
"Buddy stop! Don't just wander off without me keeping an eye on you!"
Running after the Salmonid, he splatted ink to the entrance and transformed into his octopus form to swim to it. Changing back, he splatted the entrance open and saw the kettle open.
"What the-?! It was a kettle...? How?"
He checked his map and cross-referenced his position to the discovery of all six sites. All previous kettles he had completed, spare for the one he was at, yet peculiarly... it did not even appear. His position was there, but no kettle was being displayed. He then realised something - perhaps he could talk to the AI he was acquainted with, O.R.C.A. If not him, why not the voice that guided him through his trials and tribulations?
"O.R.C.A? There's a kettle here that isn't appearing on the map. What's going on?"
"A~~~gent- Three... A p-pleasant d-d-d-day to you. K-kettle. Y-You s-s-s-s-s-say-? ERROR DETECTED. NO KETTLE HAS BEEN DETECTED. ANOMALOUS DATA IS PARTIALLY CORRUPTED. LOG DATA COMPROMISED. INFORMATION A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-AT O-OTHER... S-SI-... KE-T-TLE... SOLDI... K-KETTLE... L-L-L-LOG... O-O-OUT- ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR..."
"What the?!" Nova jumped in surprise, grabbing his Hero Shot immediately.
"... ... ..."
"...?"
The sound of silence echoed in the chamber of the first site. Nervousness began to falter and grow, as he stared down at the kettle's entrance. Buddy looked at him worried, before jumping into his backpack, getting the message that he needed to go inside.
"Buddy... what's going on? Something isn't right here..."
"Gwah... gwah gwa nem gweam..." the chirped reply came, the Salmonid rustling in the backpack and a nuzzle into Neo's back to provide him with some sort of reassurance.
"I know. I... have a bad feeling about this, but... guess with everyone preoccupied we have no choice. Let's go."
Diving straight down into the kettle, the familiar thumping noise came as he entered into the kettle known mysteriously in its preview as "After Alterna". As Neo landed, he was presented with the weapons selection screen, but O.R.C.A. was unusually silent.
"... ... ..."
The power eggs sign glitched, requiring a whopping 333 to proceed. Attempting to switch his weapon caused the AI to have a changed line but provide the same silence.
"... ..."
The more the silence ran hollow, the more Nova knew whatever lay at the end of this mission was something horrible. Why else would a kettle appear out of nowhere like this? It just didn't make sense to him or to anyone else.
Moving forward, he jumped through the opening blow doors and jumped straight down to the first checkpoint. A strewn of platforms, jumps and distant objects were all Nova could see. And he was only able to do this with himself, Buddy and his upgraded gear only. Whatever happens, he had to do this for his family... for Clam, the one he still wanted to meet, for Breck who wanted and needed to show how much he could do again now as Four and for Fliss.
"I'm doing this for you guys. For you Captain Fliss... or big sis. Whatever this is... I'm doing it for you."
He continued and would begin his mission, going and jumping over the opening platforms and splatting... hairy Octotroopers.
"O-Octotroopers? I-impossible!"
Then came his alternate thoughts. He wasn't in just some regular mission.
He was in his own fight for the hidden truth.
A hidden truth unbeknownst to him but explaining the AI's corruption, and with it, the hidden corrupting pollution of the remaining soldiers obscured from sight at first.
And at its end, the opening to the polarisation caused by Grizz's original nature inside the ruined ship of Ark Polaris.
"Clam is what?!" exclaimed a sudden cry from a familiar cyan-tinted Inkling, headphones slipping down to the bases of her neck.
In the dead-set light that shone from the entrance from the balcony behind her, the grown-up Fliss stood gobsmacked at the revelation of Marina's explanation.
"Gone Fliss, gone. We don't know where she is, at least the last time we were working on sorting out our touring equipment, right Pearlie?"
The Octoling idol brushed the backs of her hair behind her but twiddled with them for nervousness, with the usual pompous equivalent of Off the Hook looking down with a sigh.
"Yeah, right back at ya 'Rina. We've been attempting to find her, wherever she is right now, but we haven't heard hide nor tentacle of her whereabouts. Should we explain the past two years since we last saw the Cap?"
"I uh... well, I guess there is no harm in it. Lemme get my laptop quickly, I'll be back in a second."
Marina made a dash for the door to fetch her equipment from the living room downstairs, leaving both of the Inklings in the room to themselves.
Pearl noticed the changed expression on Fliss' face, looking stoic from the information she had been told.
"Sooooo... what should I call you then? Cap? Fliss? Captain Fliss? Agent Three? Captain Fliss Agent-"
"Pearl, please," came the reply and glare, making the other Inkling grimace backwards momentarily before looking down to the floor.
"Sheesh, still the same tough cookie as ever..."
"That's-"
"Three, or Cap, or whatever - you haven't changed at all since the Metro, have you?"
The moment the mention of the place that scarred her was brought up from Pearl's mouth caused Fliss to jump and stare at her.
"...What are you talking about?" she replied, arms crossed.
"Learning to depend on others and jumping recklessly into danger without thinking things through first. Look, I..." the Inkling idol sighed, face flush with seriousness, "I get it. You struggle to talk to others, and this is the first time I've ever actually seen you... well, talk. You used to communicate with simple sign language and letters, journals or just plain writing, and now you just speak without any care in the world? How? Why? And also more importantly..."
She walked in front of the Captain, pushing an accusatory finger at her.
"...Why are you so hellbent on doing this just on your own without the others? Could you have not asked them to have helped you in this search? This is all so sudden that this just doesn't feel like you."
"Tch..." she flinched but shook her head, "I can't. I just... can't, okay? My agents wouldn't even know what they would be getting themselves into if this is somehow related to that... place again. I have changed... I know I have, I've come to both of you for help regarding Clam! She's my..."
"Best friend?" Pearl raised an eyebrow. "Funny, I only remember the both of you fighting the last time I heard over the comms, and during our helicopter ride back. This goes beyond friend territory as far as I'm concerned Captain. How has one so introverted and quiet become so talkative all of a sudden?"
"You don't know what I've gone through Pearl, stop trying to dig up stuff I don't want people to-"
"Girls, shut up and stop arguing!"
Marina burst through the door and stared at them both angrily. Both Inklings turned their heads away from each other, making the Octoling idol only roll her eyes.
"Please, the last thing I need to hear from any of you right now is even more arguing. Now look. Here's a video of the last tour we were doing with Damp Socks just in Inkopolis Square. And if you were to be so kind to pay attention, Flissy, Pearlie, then we can make some progress."
Fliss sighed in defeat and approached the laptop, pressing the play button via the trackpad.
"WHAT'S UP INKOPOLIS SQUARE, IT'S YOUR GIRL PEARL ON THE STAGE!" rattled the MC Princess in the video, Pearl smirking as she held her microphone. "WHO'S READY TO PUT THE TENTACLE TO THE METAL?!"
A crowd cheered with Inklings and Octolings jumping up and down.
"It sounds like the crowd's fired up, but I don't think Pearl heard you. Who's ready, or rather PUMPED for the tentacle to the metal with us and Damp Socks?! Check it Pearlie!"
"Right at ya 'Rina! I SAID WHO'S READY?!"
An even bigger cheer from the crowd gathered as the sounds of bombastic electric guitars, a piano, drums and other instruments from the band's members kicked off into high gear, Marina smiling as Pearl got on the mic to begin singing one of the latest releases of the aforementioned opener, just before moving onto their other song Candy Coated Rocks.
However, what Fliss noticed from the video footage was Clam in the background, attending to the stage's lighting. She was exactly as she remembered her, the pink tentacle hair of the Octoling swaying in the wind that made her appear as cute as she thought.
"Clam..."
The present Pearl and Marina exchanged a glance at each other, the former looking at the other with a nod and a worried look, the Octoling sighing in tow.
Throughout the rest of the performance, the idols were singing and made the crowd get even more hyped up from the singing that was emanating from their main souls, with the hidden Agent Eight - Clam - adjusting some of the positionings so most of the focus could be on the past Pearl that moved across the stage and Marina concentrating on her pianist skills.
Although the crowd made Fliss almost flashback to the FREE festival with Nova and her first date with her secret girlfriend, something on the footage appeared off to her. In the middle of the footage, she kept a close eye on Clam all the time, but toward the end of the performance, something changed.
The footage had cut, making Clam suddenly disappear from her previous position. The cut between her on stage and her sudden disappearance caused Fliss to frantically pause the video and rewind it so she was on screen again.
"What?! T-that's impossible!"
She repeated the footage again. And again. And again. Every repeat, every action, only made the change even more eye-opening for her. Her face became more desperate as she continued to rewind.
"She has to be safe, she has to be safe... she can't just disappear-!"
The video buffered to the disappearing part again and this became enough for Fliss to crack.
"What the SHELL?! WHY?!"
She slammed her fist down on the trackpad and began panting heavily, her breathing becoming erratic at the footage. There was no evidence to suggest it had been tampered with as far as she could see, making her feel all the worse about her predicament.
Now - she realised - she failed her third and final agent.
Agent Four was the first failed agent. He left and was never to be seen again.
Second was Neo - the New Agent Three and Nova - who she failed. He almost left, never for her to see him again until something in her clicked. She saved him... but almost too late.
But this was too much to bear for her. The one she loved, right there on that very screen, she had failed the most. She was gone right before her very eyes.
And then and there - she was the agent she failed most of all.
Pearl sighed and looked down, putting an arm around her.
"Cap, I... I'm so sorry. I wish we could've noticed a lot sooner, and she was still here right now. And... just now, I'm really sorry I-"
"WHO KIDNAPPED HER?!"
Marina jumped from the sudden ferocity that filled its way into the Captain's voice. She was furious.
It also made her flinch, reminding her of the description of her sanitised look ever present when she was possessed by Tartar, but also from the original times of her origins in Octavio's army. It made her even more glad she could be of help to the one she was in front of at that very moment in time.
"Fliss..." the Octoling idol tried to say, but was interrupted the moment Fliss scrolled through the video again.
"WHICH ONE OF THESE... THESE... LOWLIFES KIDNAPPED HER?!"
Absorbed into the video, she kept rewinding for anything - any clue - that could've helped her in her own internal struggle of not getting to Eight sooner. If only she still wasn't occupied with Alterna and the Fuzzy Ooze and-
"...guh..."
"...Huh?"
She flinched as if she thought she was hearing things. Playing the video again, she stopped and listened to see if her brain was playing tricks on her.
"...guhwahhhh!"
"Clam!" Fliss cried, realising the yelp was her own voice. Watching the video upon closer inspection, the "cut" between the video she realised was a hidden, very small pink figure falling off the stage by an unknown figure, obscured by shadow. There, she realised, was that there also appeared to be a splotch of ink from a vent coming forward from underneath, realising she had disappeared under the network of the city. She had been taken to two places.
The abandoned Tentakeel Outpost. Or the source of her original nightmares from beforehand...
The Deepsea Metro.
"No... no no no no no no no. How?! How could there still be anything from that pla-"
"Whoa whoa whoa, steady on there Cap, what is it?" Pearl got in front of her and shook her back to reality, making the former Agent Three blink several times to see who was talking to her.
"O-oh. Ohhhhhh. U-um..."
Marina looked at the laptop as her opposite comforted the stuttering Captain, confused as to what she noticed. She too caught wind of the situation, following Fliss' original eye contact and hearing the yelps come from Eight.
"This... this is bad Pearlie. Eight could be trapped back down in the Metro, based on what Fliss has just seen here..."
"Huh?! Wait, what?!" she exclaimed, pushing past Fliss to see what she was referring toward.
"Look, right there."
"Huh? I don't see..."
Marina rolled her eyes and pointed. "If not look, then listen Pearlie."
"Oh come on, you know listening ain't my strong suit, I'm known for death metal singing you know-!"
"Just. Listen."
"Okay okay, sheesh." Pearl facepalmed from the undeserved prying eyes in her opinion and began to listen. Eventually, she would become caught up like her friends.
"No way-! The Metro?! Again?! How?! Wasn't that oversized buckethead of a telephone crumpled by my Booyah?! Tartar shouldn't still even exist, let alone that statue that looks something out of a sappy drama show..."
"No. It shouldn't."
Both of the idols gasped when they saw Fliss clutching her fist in the air.
"That Metro deserves to go. I've still got scars from that place. I cover my hat with it, just so the others don't worry about the things they missed. Mr Cuttlefish should still be... watching the others right now with Callie and Marie. But... why? Why is this happening again? How could she be down there, with who knows what down there? I thought Kamabo was defeated when we destroyed the NILS statue and terminated their access to the sanitised Octolings, based on the account of Eight. Girls, I... I..."
She began shaking as the more she spoke the more she was holding back tears. Her facade was nearly beginning to crack.
She was no much more than she saw Nova was in that alleyway when he broke down into tears right back at her.
The hug he had given her at that time was the first she had in more than two years. A proper hug... that felt like family.
Now on the receiving end, she realised maybe this was what it felt like to be helpless. Seeing the one that you love to be torn apart away from you and only having the fractured memories that remained, she thought, was enough to make anyone feel overwhelmed. But being totally helpless... was more on not having any sort of help at all. And on top of being the Captain, if she couldn't even save all of her agents, how could she still lead the New Squidbeak Splatoon with a confident heart?
"Cap... No Fliss, look at me. Look at us," came the soothing voice of a more sympathetic Pearl.
"H-huh?" She looked up at them both, her confidence faltering.
"We guided Eight out of that Metro together. And seeing as we've already told the band we're taking an indefinite break that we haven't disclosed because of her being that special to us, we want to help you know that you're not alone. No one has to be anymore. Right 'Rina?"
"Right, indeed Pearlie. We may not be in contact with Mr Cuttlefish right now, but who's to say that's gonna stop us from trying to save her together? We worked with you as unofficial agents, and if it's anyone who's gonna save Clam again, it's us."
"L-look, I appreciate your offer girls, truly. But that's not it. This is why I didn't want the others involved. Clam... means more to me, than to anyone else in the world for me. She... she grew close to me, shortly after the time she finished escaping to Inkopolis with us again. I..."
She had gotten her cap again and pulled it down her face, hiding a blush forming on her face.
"If it means I save her after she saved me, then so be it. I've failed enough of my agents as is already... and I can't fail Breck, or Nova, or Clam again..."
"Uh... Breck? Nova? Who are they?" Pearl said confused, tilting her head. "Are they these other agents of yours or something?"
"I... well, um... one of them still is, Nova. He's my successor, the new Agent Three. Whilst I left Inkopolis, we were gathered to deal with a threat that had been detected in the Splatlands region near Splatsville, and Craig Cuttlefish being the Cap before he promoted me, began searching for a new agent that could help with uncovering the answers to what was going on. We kept running into dead ends no matter how much we tried dealing with our own problems, but if it wasn't for Nova finally appearing along with a little Smallfry he calls Little Buddy I don't think I'd still be alive talking to you guys right now."
"What does that mean Flissy?" came the response of an intrigued Marina.
"Nova saved us after fighting a massive enemy who wasn't Octavio for once in space. It was someone by the name of Mr Grizz, who I only now know too well after said Octavio came to save both him and Buddy from space and he was brought back to Earth here along with myself, the Squid Sisters who I know you girls know well, the ex-Cap and Deep Cut, the local idols."
"Deep Cut? Ohhh, that lively trio?! I've always wanted to make a collab with them!" exclaimed the Octoling idol excitedly, causing Pearl to smirk.
"I've been curious about them too, even though the big manta ray guy I think is a goofball. So they helped you then did they?"
"Uh, helped was a stretch... but I uh... how is any of this talk important? Shouldn't we be more focused on Clam?"
"We know, we know, but whilst this Nova sounds like someone we both really want to meet, what about this Breck?"
"I um... don't know what happened to him. He was originally Agent Four, recruited by Marie but... he left the Splatoon more than two years ago."
"What?!" the idols both exclaimed simultaneously, only making the Captain sigh more in tow.
"It was my fault. I made him... uncomfortable as I was wanting to protect Clam from him. If he met you two properly... I can only imagine what he would've said. He hates Octolings with a passion."
Marina widened her eyes but twirled her hair again after following Fliss in sighing. "I guess from all the fighting from the Octarian army..."
"Something like that I guess," replied Fliss, "...I made too many mistakes all those months and years ago. If I can just remedy that, even a tiny bit, by saving Clam... then I... I... I can feel I've done at least something right, even if too late."
Off the Hook looked at her for a brief moment before they both began snickering and laughing.
"Huh? Why are you two finding this funny?" proclaimed a sarcastic Captain, who only looked on at her bemused companions.
"Because you simply could listen to us in helping you. If you've come to us and don't think we won't return the favour as a result, then you're mistaken. Even as the Captain you can be awfully dense, Fliss," laughed Pearl, seconded by Marina nodding.
"Hey, I'm not dense!" she pouted, crossing her arms, only making the other two smirk more.
Despite their difference though, she knew that both of the idols were right. If she could get help in solving the mystery of Clam's whereabouts, she would be one step closer to returning back to Alterna and reuniting with Nova. All she needed to do was reunite her family together.
Easier said than done she thought, but from there on, all missions did start from somewhere.
She eventually would begin following down into the vent to the two places of interest, ensuring that no squid, octopus or any other cephalopod from those she cared about the most would be left behind ever again.
The Kamabo Corporation brought her life nearly to a standstill when she saw she nearly betrayed her own girlfriend. And if they were somehow responsible for the kidnapping of Clam again...
...
Just what did it mean for the links of anything unforeseen?
Nova was already making his way over platforms, jumping in octopus form between four ramps and splatting any enemy that appeared in sight.
Perhaps coming into the kettle on his own was a mistake, but Buddy was accompanying him and for that current moment in time, that was more than enough to help with maintaining his confidence, even if his insecurities were slowly starting to get the better of him.
Upon coming to a rotating platform, he saw Octosnipers began appearing from enemy ink, as well as Octocopters and shielded Octotroopers hidden behind ramps on accompanying platforms the further he flipped and made his way through with the Hero Shot gripped in his hand.
He was determined to find out the reason why the kettle suddenly appeared out of the blue and without any of the others keeping track of his movements, the only thing he could trust at that moment in time was his own instincts against the risk of remaining Fuzzy Ooze.
"Buddy, let's stop on this platform for a bit," the young agent proclaimed as he finished splatting enemies that were in the middle of a vertical platform that went up.
"Gwah gwah nem?" chirped his faithful companion confused, but Neo was concerned about looking down into the abyss below.
"What the...? Why is this so deep? I've not seen any mission like this since saving the world..." he muttered to himself, surveying the open zone.
In the distance, it looked like sky-high platforms scaled high like pillars in the air which made it confusing to Nova as to why everything was so different in this kettle compared to everything else.
O.R.C.A had crashed and was non-respondent the moment he had entered through the entrance doors, leaving his default weapon as the only option he had in taking down these enemies that still existed with no explanation as to why.
Although it felt awkward splatting his own kind in the kettle, Nova had grown accustomed to it due to them being under the influence of Mr Grizz, his own arch enemy that made him want to continue the line of work in the first place.
Regardless, something bugged him before he would proceed.
Octavio and Cuttlefish were too preoccupied with their game to notice anything properly with the situations that were going on at the time.
Callie and Marie were still trying to recover from Four's return, if at all if the latter Squid Sister was feeling any better at that point.
And Breck and he hadn't noticed the kettle when the both of them had super-jumped straight into Alterna from a hall in the ceiling from the New Agent Three's original awakening in humanity's last bunker, and yet here was at the very beginning again.
"...The end justifies the means huh?" Nova said out loud, scratching the twirl from his tentacle hair as Buddy jumped onto his head.
"Gwah!"
"Huh? Buddy? What is it?"
Curiosity got into him about what caught the Smallfry's attention, which wasn't any of the upcoming obstacles that still persisted in their way, but more something that had begun to appear on the user interface of Three's headset that displayed access to the Sunken Scrolls he had picked up and the Alterna logs in question.
"...Wait, what? What's... this being decoded?"
In between the indecipherable text of a few areas of remaining data that had yet to have been decoded by the AI that was supposed to guard each of the kettles and their respective tasks, a seventh log had begun to appear under the one he had filled in from the sixth sight, predominantly after beating Big Man in the last kettle. The log hadn't even been there before, not having its own established number, and instead appearing like a program file he noticed from technology.
"Huh? A '.exe' log? What the shell is this?"
Undecoded text scattered the display as he saw distorted images that bugged out from the code, and with it, the only eyes to see it was him. If he was to show anyone else this, he would be considered "punished" by O.R.C.A, and potentially get splatted.
But underneath it all, Nova tried to speculate just what was going on.
Was this kettle appearing... suddenly a test of strength made by the AI or whoever it was to see if he was ready to bear witness to the data that would be displayed on the screen if he completed his mission?
Was this all just an elaborate test, made by the last humans or by the Splatoon if it was there to test his worth in saving the world?
Was this all a fancy hoax... or was this all for real if there were any particular threats, how much of it would he need to take seriously for everyone he cared about?
Scouring his brain was troublesome for Nova to think about. His young 15-year-old brain was not as sophisticated as his agents' counterparts were, but with a chirp from Little Buddy understanding what the Octoling was thinking and the both of them nodding in tow, Nova realised something.
Perhaps now in the kettle for another purpose, he was truly indeed going through alternate thoughts.
Alternate thoughts...
...
That something on the other end of this all would lead to the bigger truth of what was really going on.
A lone cryopod stood still from the rain that lashed down in the surroundings of the sea surrounding the rubble ruins of the Ark Polaris.
The two interconnected missions of two different people were pleasing for the anomaly, who could only begin to really see for the first time they awoke.
A hand pushed open the stasis chamber, coughing from the new breaths brought to them from the surface as they were caught on new life.
One hand pushed upwards to gain momentum, the other for breathing around the throat for consistency in the reassurance to maintain that everything would be okay at that particular moment in time, despite the wreckage of debris that surrounded the figure's location.
The anomaly began to stand up, taking their first steps on the land that was covered with dust, rust, decay and bacteria from pipes that leaked into the surrounding area from humanity's demise nearly all those years ago.
...
Humanity's demise...?
A clutch to the head and an anguished cry followed.
The realisation of the world they saw around them began to seep in.
The sounds of the sea... of the wind blowing through the cracks of the ship...
The near post-apocalyptic state of the world that was carrying through the anomaly's position next to... wherever they were.
Finding out whether or not they could move, the anomaly - taking the form of a humanoid figure nearly like a mammal - walked forwards with bated breath.
First, one step came forward from a stomp.
...
Second, another step came.
...
Then another.
...
Eventually, all of the steps started turning into running footsteps to find some sort of view from the outside world, just to confirm the figure's real place in this new reality, whether they were in the equivalent of heaven or not and had succeeded in finding another planet to find new forms of life. As the last anomaly... the last human...
...
It was their job to see whether there could be any forms of attempts to rebuild society as it once was. Whether a feat could even be susceptible to a grandiose vision was not something the anomalous human could foresee. And yet in the distance, from all of the running, they realised the cracks in the ship's exterior. They could check where they were for good. Going forward with a somewhat new motivation, the human stopped and stared out into the horizon in a wide vertical crack.
...
Upon realisation, they knew that all of this appeared familiar. Trees still existed, the sea was pushed from the waves by the forces of the wind and the sounds of said wind blew over their head as they took in the world for the first time in 12,000 years.
They knew that their mission would be to ensure that no matter how far in the future they were, humanity would continue to prevail, even with all of the other mammals placed aboard the Ark Polaris. Mudd Laavark - the lead scientist - was enough to attest to that.
...
Or at least so the human thought. They were still on Earth. They were still existing. And from the looks of the wreckage everywhere... no one else appeared to have survived the crash down to the planet's scarred surface. Inexplicably, a new feeling began to feel being brought up in the human.
Why were they the only one left behind?
Were they the only true survivor from the ship left remaining or had civilisation truly moved on nearly distant millennia ago?
What was this feeling brewing up inside of them at that very moment in time?
And then, a click. A simple feeling of important recognition, one that regardless of stature anyone could see with basic experience.
The feeling kept brewing until the feeling eventually became the hard-hitting central focus of what they were going through. The human could only think of one thing in mind at that specific point in time.
...
Revenge.
To be continued...