AN 2: Episode 1: I looked over your suggestion sebastian830, I'm sorry but I decided that the narrator voice would really just be one sentient voice that can speak to certain individuals. However, I'll try to talk in different tones with the different characters, so that it seems more personalized. Hope you'll enjoy it.
Splatoon: The Bate Bros.
A Timebomb Set For Detonation
"Man, that Splatfest was fun!" Sharq laughed.
The Art vs. Science Splatfest was concluded, Splin and Sharq only attending a couple of battles of course, and the Inkopolis Plaza was settling down. The Booyah Base shopkeepers helped Callie and Marie clean-up the giant trucks where they would normally perform on, Spyke rhythmically tapping his finger on the ground as usual, rolling in the money. And Super Sea Snails.
Currently, the two were at home. Despite earning a couple Super Sea Snails, they gave most of them to Spyke or other people as an act of goodwill, and the fact that they couldn't afford to pay for food for all these snails. They did, however, find out a new name for their beloved Snail pet.
"I'll call you… Salty!" Sharq exclaimed, raising the newly named Salty above his head, under the cramped roof of their house. Salty seemed to like his new name, and made "clink" noises in its shell happily.
"Ah. The classic phrase to describe sore losers, and in this case, sore winners and losers." Splin nodded. "Makes sense considering the Splatfest results."
Salt comes standard with all Splatfests now, don't you know.
Splin acknowledged the voice first, saying, "Hello voice."
"Hiya voice!" Sharq piped up, patting Salty and putting him by the Tele-Cube, which glowed a deep blue, presumably in a hibernation mode. Sharq suddenly paused, scratching his head, and asked, "Hey wait, you weren't around much last time? Where were you?"
Oh, just paying someone a visit.
"Who?" Sharq asked, picking up a Splatendo Wii U Gamepad. (I couldn't think of a good name pun for this one, sorry.)
Eh, you probably already know her.
"Hmm… That doesn't really answer my question." Sharq put his fist on his cheek, wondering.
But anyways, I've been thinking. You two have been working pretty hard in your adventures. I think you deserve a much needed break.
"As much as I appreciate that voice…" Splin began, "I fail to understand how that relates to your visit."
Don't worry your little Inkling head about it, Splin. Go ahead, take a load off, play something on that laptop of yours, I gotta go somewhere, see ya!
Splin and Sharq looked at each other, then shrugged and waved to the ceiling, both bidding the voice adieu. Sharq offered a Wiimote to Splin, who reluctantly took it, and began their day off.
T-41, or as we all know her as Tai, was bouncing a blob of ink back and forth on the wall of her dorm. Her goggles were undone, lying around her neck. The dorm was pretty darn small, with only one room consisting of a bed, an alarm on the wall, metal floors, ceilings, and walls, and a small bathroom to the left. The door leading out was a simple blast door that would open automatically, a small glass window stuck in the middle. Even though it looked like the most uncomfortable hotel room ever, it was considered a luxury to most Octarian soldiers, who would normally be stuck inside with other Octotroopers, crammed together.
The blob of ink made a harsh "bang" as it collided with the metal, making a repetitive melody of crashes and bangs. Tai kept score, mentally adding a point each time she caught the ball as it bounced back. Of course, a loud noise repeatedly made at nighttime doesn't go down well with neighbors.
"T-41! CEASE THIS RACKET IMMEDIATELY!" An agitated voice yelled from behind the left wall.
Tai giggled. "What's the matter, Aussie? Too loud for you?" Tai kicked the side of the wall with her boot, rattling the wall.
"IT'S 4U55-13! JU- Just… Go to bed, T-41." Aussie quieted down, a sigh passing through the wall.
Tai punched the wall in smug rebellion. Thug Life.
"AND STOP HITTING THE WALL!" Aussie yelled back.
Tai sat on her cot, pouting. "The Inklings get to stay up all night playing Splatfest, why not me?" We hardly get called out to do stuff, and I'm supposed to stay in here, doing nothing? Bull. Shrimp."
Now now, there's no need to use such language young lady.
Tai looked around. "Oh boy, I'm going crazy too. That voice from before…"
If you were going crazy, you probably would've murdered everyone here by now.
Tai nodded. "True, true. But still, there's the problem with me having to stay indoors. Why can't I go out and do something? ANYTHING?"
Tai's goggles began to crackle around her neck, a voice chiming, "T-41, report to the main briefing room for an assignment, over."
Looks like something opened up.
"This better be good." Tai said, taking her goggles and attaching it around her head. She stood up and walked out of the room, the door making a clunk each time it came down.
"T-41. As you know, Agents 1 and 2 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon have taken back the final Zapfish before the Great Zapfish, with the help of some new faces." An elderly Octosniper explained.
Tai sat at a large oval table, multiple seats circling it. At the head of the table was the elderly Octosniper, as well as other Octolings and Octotroopers sitting around. Tai was at the very end, sipping a cup of joe.
"Mmm-hmm." Tai mumbled in acknowledgment, enjoying her drink.
A younger Octoling smacked the cup out of her hand. "Pay more attention! The commander is speaking to you, show some re-"
Of course, you should know that you never mess with Tai's drink. Tai stood up from her seat removing her goggles, grabbed the other Octoling by the chestplate, slapped off the other Octoling's goggles, and stared her in the eyes.
"Look at that. You spilled my drink. I wonder if your ink would work as a good substitute?" Tai asked semi-menacingly.
The other Octoling laughed. "You don't scare me, T-41. You couldn't take care of a single Inkling, and you expect me to-"
She didn't get to finish her sentence, as Tai kneed her in the stomach, then flipped her onto the floor, and poured the rest of her coffee on her face.
"I haven't gotten any sleep, so you're lucky I don't break your head with my mug." Tai stated agitated. She turned back to the table of Octarian forces, who were scooting their chairs away from her. "As you were saying?" Tai asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes.
The Octosniper blinked, wiping away beads of sweat. "E-Er. Right. So, we need to launch a counter-attack, possibly get the Zapfish back. The celebration called, 'Splatfest' by those Inklings is over…"
Tai grumbled, looking at the floor sourly.
"...So now would be an optimal time to strike." The Octosniper finished.
"So what do I have to do? Assassinate their popstars? Poison their drinkable water? Maybe even take them on in the plaza?" Tai asked in interest.
"...Actually, we need you to sabotage one of the stages they always play on." The Octosniper said.
Tai stared in disbelief for a moment, before bursting into laughter. "Oh man! Y-You want me to blow up one stage just so they can't play their little game? Ahahah! That's priceless! That's- Oh you're serious." Tai's laughter abruptly stopped.
An Octocopter sitting in a chair spoke up. "T-41, I know it sounds kinda stupid, but-"
"It IS stupid, Jerry. Why should we blow up a single stage when we could assault the main plaza?"
Because there are multiple squid kids who would splat you three times over before you would respawn.
"Grr, whatever. That's still a bad idea." Tai muttered, confusing the other Octarians.
"Uh… Who are you talking to-" Another young Octoling started, before Tai interrupted her.
"Another thing, aren't I banned from working out in the field for a while?" Tai asked.
"Not anymore." A voice stated firmly. DJ Octavio floated over to the table from the shadows, settling by Tai.
"T-41, I'm giving you permission to go out there and sabotage those Inklings. Give them a thrashing that'll show 'em who's boss." Octavio said, placing a tentacle on Tai's shoulders.
"Feh." Tai pushed Octavio away. "Sure, when you need someone to do the job, NOW you put me in. Just get a squad of your other Octolings to do the job."
"You know that wouldn't work. L-33 and 7-00 are still recovering, as for the other two…"
"Yeah yeah, one was splatted, the other one's missing. I know this. Watashi wa baka ja nai, I'm not stupid." Tai stated quickly.
A hint of anger could be seen flashing through Octavio's eyes, before he calmed down. "All we need you to do is scare the Inklings away. Once they're intimidated enough, they'll think twice before messing with us."
Tai sat up. "Alright, I'll need the bomb, my equipment, and a drink. This one over here spilled the first one." Tai gestured to the unconscious Octoling. "Don't worry, I'll bring her back to her bunk. As for the mission…"
The first thing Tai felt as she jumped through a kettle was mild excitement. Sure, she could potentially die or get captured and tortured for information, but getting to move out of the stuffy kettles and into the Inkling world was pretty cool. Standing outside of the kettle for the first time, she took her new surroundings with stride, basking in the cool night air. Tai pat a small C4 bomb attached to her belt, a small keycode pad on it. Beginning to walk out the kettle, she went out, headstrong and confident of her abilities. Of course, the small version of the Great Zapfish was quite a surprise to her.
"WHOA!" Tai said, stumbling backwards. The Great Zapfish look alike stared at her, piercing her soul with his eyes.
"Ugh." Tai stood up and dusted herself off, walking off without a care. The Great Zapfish followed her, whimpering.
"SHH!" Tai shushed.
The Great Zapfish simply stared, before barking, "Shockwhisk!"
Tai looked at the self-proclaimed, 'Shockwhisk' with mild amusement and confusion, before she heard snoring coming from ahead. Peering around the corner, she noticed an old Inkling wearing a captain's hat and rags for clothes, shiny medals attached. Tai looked at the Shockwhisk, putting one finger up and blowing in a, "please-be-quiet-so-I-don't-die" gesture. The Shockwhisk laid on the ground, seemingly understanding. Tai gave it a thumbs-up, and began to tiptoe past the old timer.
"SNNRK! Ah yes please… Thank you Callie… zZzZz… Don't take away my crabby cakes…! zZzZz…" The old Inkling spouted in his sleep. Tai couldn't help but suppress a smile, shaking it off when she remembered her mission. She hopped through the grate leading to Inkopolis in octopus form, sliding towards her destiny. Or at least the chance to delay the next Splatfest.
Popping her head out of the grate, Tai took in the sights and sounds of Inkopolis. Other Octarian forces had spread rumors that it was a place of no mercy, or extreme foolishness. To her, it just looked like any old city.
How you liking Inkopolis, Octo-child?
Tai breathed in the air, and sighed in relief. "Not exactly what I expected, but still, pretty cool." The sly Octoling surveyed the area, Inklings and other sea creatures were loading up trucks with boxes.
Boxes? Hmm. Hey Tai, maybe you could use one of those as a disguise.
Tai pulled her goggles down. "Are you kidding? These squids can't be that stupid. ...Can they?"
Sharq was out for one last sight of the city before he went to bed. Of course, all that running around in the Turf Wars was not without its flaws. Walking around, he saw that most of the benches in Inkopolis were taken by other Inklings or had some boxes stacked on them for pickup. Too tired and lazy to Super Jump home, he scoped out a place he could sit on. Spotting a discarded box, away from the other boxes, he walked over, and sat directly on top.
"Ow!" A voice cried out from inside.
"Huh?" Sharq hopped off the box, and lifted it slightly. Inside was none other than the Octoling from earlier, or Tai. "!" Sharq's eyes widened at this.
If I had my phone handy, I would play a certain stealth music piece at this part, but I'm using way too many references right now so it will have to wait.
"HELP!" He began to run away, until Tai pulled him inside. Freaking out, he began flopping around as a squid inside the box, only calming down when Tai picked him up and slapped him silly.
"BE. QUIET." Tai emphasized the words with a slap.
"Ouch! Okay okay! I'm sorry." Sharq said, reverting back to a humanoid form, rubbing his cheek. "What are YOU doing here anyways?"
"Top secret mission. You're lucky I don't slap you into oblivion after saying that." Tai lifted the box gently, scanning the ground for anyone who would tread nearby. Seeing no one, she put the box down.
"Look, you seem like a cool dude, so I'm gonna let you in on a secret." Tai said, eyes darting back and forth. "I'm gonna blow up that new bridge you guys love so much."
"HAMMERHEAD BRIDGE?!" Sharq exclaimed.
"Shh! Look, it's from the higher ups. I'm supposed to do it."
"Why?!" Sharq asked.
Some of the Octarians are just crazy like that.
"Really?" Sharq questioned again, Tai looking at the cramped ceiling of the box.
"Hey voice, shush! He doesn't need to know!" Tai whined.
"Wait, you can hear him too? I thought Splin and I were just going insane!"
Tai meet Sharq, Sharq meet Tai.
A moment of silence occurred, before the Octoling and the Inkling slowly shook hands.
"That's great and all, but I'm in a predicament. This guy over here isn't going to let me detonate this bomb. Another thing is that now I know that multiple people probably share the same idea as him. So, I'd have to go back empty handed, where my superiors are waiting, only for them to fire me and cut off my pay. Perfect. Just perfect."
Just then, a beeping noise could be heard. The ink-based C4 that Tai carried started beeping.
"Not to mention the bomb I'm carrying is activated." Tai sighed.
"What?! When did that happen?!"
Those things are sensitive. You did crash into the thing while you were being slapped silly. Though I'm still curious on how CS:GO C4s put up so much resistance.
"He's right. Anyways…" Tai interrupted, "The timer on this thing is set for 45 minutes. It was meant so that when everyone least expects it and the workers on the bridge are done, it would splat the bridge in Octarian ink, where are forces would move in to occupy, or to destroy the bridge altogether. Either way, the two options would be destructive."
Sharq sighed, before an idea came to his head. "Wait a second, I know someone who could help us out with this! Follow me, we can probably make it there without too much of a hitch!"
"Hold on there boy! I know you're eager, but what would these people think of an Inkling escorting an attractive little Octoling like me carrying a bomb?" Tai said.
Sharq face reddened. "Uh yeah… Sorry. Attractive?" Sharq asked.
Tai merely rolled her eyes. "Hey man, a girl's gotta look her best, even when on a mission."
Well, you two are in a box. You could use the box as cover while you sneak through Inkopolis.
"Yeah, that'll work, The Steamroller over here totally didn't see me." Tai remarked.
"To be fair, I just wanted a place to sit." Sharq chimed in.
Hey, if a war veteran and a clone of him could do it, you can too.
Tai and Sharq stared at each other, before they decided to put it to action. "Alright, let's go…"
Callie pouted slightly, her hand on her chin, boredly watching worker Inklings carry Splatfest materials into the truck. Marie and Jelonzo sat besides her, talking about the Splatfest.
"Shopping during the festival of the splat has been booming!" Jelonzo exclaimed proudly. "My heart is warmed by the little Inklings' tastes for the clothing."
Marie smiled at the fresh jellyfish. Despite his odd dialogue, he was quite a charming little fellow. "Glad to hear it Jelonzo."
"Well, I return to Jelly Fresh now, must count the sums of the monies! Stay fresh, Sister of the Squids!" Jelonzo waved with one of his stingers, and walked off to his store.
Marie waved back, and turned to her cousin, who was currently looking at something. "Callie? You okay?"
Callie blinked. "I think I partied a little too hard."
Marie raised an eyebrow in confusion and concerned, and looked in the same direction. All she saw was a Splatfest box, discarded in the middle of the street. Marie turned back to her cousin, and waved her gloved hand in front of her face.
"I'll say. Maybe we should get you home-"
"There! Right there, it moved!" Callie sat back and pointed, her hand shaking.
Marie turned back to the cardboard box. It was simply lying there.
"Okay, don't worry Callie. Let's get you home before you get any worse." Marie said, grabbing Callie by the hand.
She kept staring at the box, before blinking and said, "...Okay…" Callie walked away, still being dragged by Marie.
Meanwhile, two pairs of legs sprouted from under the box, and carried it away.
"Man, where is Sharq? It's almost 9 o'clock, maybe he passed out due to exhaustion again…" Splin said.
Splin was chilling at home by his bed, playing Counter-Splat: Global Inkfensive on his laptop. (I swear, sooner or later I'm gonna get sued for these references.) The Tele-Cube and Alarm Clock were lying on the bed as well, Salty still asleep on his counter bed. Of course, because the Inkternet was on the fritz and the fact that Splin lived in the mountains/hills, his ping wasn't the best, so he immediately crashed.
Splin sighed. "I'm gonna need to go into town and buy a new router."
Just then, someone knocked on the door. Splin looked to the door, and then to the Tele-Cube. The Tele-Cube had question marks all over it, signifying its confusion.
"Who would be so loony as to walk up a hill at night just to visit some random hut?" Splin asked aloud. The Alarm Clock gave a tiny beep, similar to a "Huh?".
Splin walked up to the door cautiously, and looked through the windows. A large cardboard box with a Splatfest advertisement plastered on the top of the box. Splin retreated back inside to grab a Sploosh-o-matic, opened the doors, and cautiously walked towards the box, standing straight and aiming true. Splin looked around to make sure no one was in sight, and crouched near the box, still aiming. With the utmost importance, he slowly lifted the box.
"!" Splin backed up, breathing heavily. "Thank goodness, it's just you Sharq. And… Ms. Tai I presume?"
Sharq lifted the box and tossed it to the side of the house. "'Kept you waiting, huh?"
Tai nodded. "Nice to see you too, Charger. There's no time for chit chat, this thing's about to blow."
"Err… The bathroom is under the staircase, if that's what you're asking…"
"Wha…? No! I meant this!" Tai lifted the bomb, showing that there was only 5 minutes left on the timer.
"What?! You came to eliminate us?!" Splin backed up, aiming the weapon at Tai's head.
"Again, no! Let me finish! I was just going to set this on the Hammerhead Bridge…"
Splin's finger slowly descended on the trigger. "That doesn't help your case."
"...Look, the point is, this thing is about to explode. You can help me defuse it, or I can toss it over there-" Tai pointed at the city. "To get rid of it. As well as a bunch of innocent lives."
Sharq nodded. "Splin, listen to her! She doesn't want to hurt anyone right now, she's just stressed. Besides, it was my fault the bomb got activated in the first place!"
Splin glared at Sharq, only to sigh and lower his weapon. "Okay. But after we're done, we're going to stock up on food, because we're not leaving these hills for a week. I can't risk you screwing something like this up again for awhile."
Sharq smiled. "Alright! But uh… I think we should work fast."
Predictably, the timebomb began to tick down in seconds extremely quickly. Only three minutes on the clock remained, sending the three of them into a panic. Sharq, because I don't know, picked up the timebomb and tossed it inside the house onto his bed.
"W-Wha. Why'd you do that?!" Splin asked.
"I thought we could save ourselves some time!" Sharq said in defense.
"But… Ah, forget it! Let's go and defuse this thing before we all get destroyed." Splin said, the other two nodding.
They all burst through the house doors, startling Salty. "Sorry for waking you up!" Sharq apologized. Salty didn't seem to mind too much, and hopped carefully over to the beds.
The Tele-Cube flashed red, and grew a Charger weapon to fire at the bomb. Splin slid over to his bed to calm it down. Even the Alarm Clock was acting up slightly, multiple warning chimes and beeps coming from it. Sharq and Tai quickly assessed the bomb, and looked for anyway it could be defused.
"Hey, Headphones!" Tai yelled.
"My name is Splin." Splin said back.
"Whatever! Come on, we need help with this!"
Splin walked over to the opposite bed, inspecting the bomb. "Wow, what a coincidence."
As another reference in the books, the timebomb looked very similar if not exactly the same as a C4 from Splin's game.
"How'd the Octarians come up with this design?" Splin asked Tai. She merely shrugged. "Well, if it's anything like I think it is, we're gonna need a bomb defuse expert."
Tai turned to Sharq. "I thought you said this guy could help us."
Sharq chuckled nervously. "He probably could have?" Tai sighed in exasperation.
Splin thought for a while, before he thought of something. He went over to the Tele-Cube, and whispered to it. The Tele-Cube made a few beeps and glowed, creating a set of small bags, one with a screwdriver and wire cutter attached.
Splin smiled. "Thanks Tele-Cube." The cube flashed to a GIF of a thumbs-up.
"Alright, how much time do we have left on the timer?" Splin asked.
Sharq turned. "One minute."
Splin's head drooped. "Of course we do. Step aside please, let's see what I can do."
Everyone in the room held their breath. Despite his efforts, Splin had difficulty trying to defuse the bomb. Sharq was in the corner, praying, while Tai was writing a last will and testament.
"I give my goggles to Aussie… She's been wanting new ones for a while. My room should go to Jerry…" Tai muttered.
Frustrated, Splin held his hand to his forehead. There were only 45 seconds remaining on the bomb's timer, and all Splin had managed to do was cut one wire, and all that did was make the timer lose 5 seconds.
...For what it's worth, I'd like to apologize on how everything is going so far.
"Thanks voice." Splin said, staring at the bomb. He continued to inspect the bomb, getting an idea. "Well… There's only a small chance. But any chance is better than nothing."
Splin took the bomb, and ran out of the house. Sharq and Tai stopped their depressing last words, and took off after him.
He ran with the bomb, towards the bottom of the hill, and began to dig, pulling out loose piles of dirt, and placing the bomb in the hole. He began to inspect the bomb, and attempted to defuse there.
"Splin, have you lost it?!" Tai yelled out.
Splin turned and yelled back, "Slightly! If I can't defuse the bomb, we could detonate it here and prevent major bloodshed!"
Sharq thought it over. "Alright, well hop to it! We only have 20 seconds!"
Splin looked at the bomb. Sure enough, the time was flying by, ticking down. Splin carefully inspected the wires of the bomb, cutting quickly. So far, the bomb remained intact, the timer still counting down however. With only ten seconds left, Splin eyed the bomb, with two wires remaining, one red and one yellow. He took them in his hand, chose the red wire. Quickly snipping it with the wire cutters, he closed his eyes, prepared for an explosion. It never came. Opening his eyes carefully, he saw that the bomb, instead of a timer counting down, had a smile face made of a colon and a parentheses. Ignoring the oddly glad-to-be-alive bomb, he stood up straight and looked at both Tai and Sharq.
"Bomb has been defused." Splin smiled.
Counter-Terrorists win.
"Heh."
"Well, now that we disarmed a threat to the entire city of Inkopolis without anyone knowing, what's your plan now Tai?" Splin asked.
Tai fidgeted at the kitchen counter. She was asked to stay for the night, and considering the absolutely awful turn of events that life had in mind for her, she gladly accepted. She sipped on a clean mug of coffee, prepared by Sharq himself, and stared at the shiny counter-top. "If you don't mind… I think I'd like to hang out here for a while. It'd be pretty embarrassing for me to go back now, if you would understand."
Splin nodded slightly, and walked over to the kitchen. He ducked his head and opened up a compartment underneath the counters, and pulled out a mattress.
"What the?! You guys keep a spare mattress under your kitchen counter?" Tai asked.
"Well, yeah. Mom told us that if we'd ever have guests who were too wiped out to go home, we should help 'em out, give 'em a place to stay for the night, right?" Sharq turned to Splin, who nodded in response.
"Yep." Splin crouched once again, and pulled out multiple blankets and pillows. Tai could only watch in surprise. "Sharq, could you give me a hand with this?"
Sharq leaped over the counter, Tai carefully holding her cup, and pulled the mass pile of comforts between the two beds and next to the dresser, and set it there, wiping their brows. Tai smiled a bit, before jumping on the mess of comforters.
"We didn't even set the bed yet!" Splin groaned.
"Nah, it's cool. I live in pretty messy spaces anyways." Tai waved to the boys. "Oyasuminasai." With that being said, Tai tossed her goggles on the dresser, and immediately fell asleep.
Splin couldn't believe someone could fall asleep that fast. Turning to Sharq to ask what he thought, he was already in a slumber, arm slightly off his bed. Splin sighed, and walked to his bunk, slowly drifting out of consciousness and off to Dream Land 64, awaiting the next adventure to come.
"Sir, T-41 still hasn't returned from her mission. Permission to send out a scout to find her?" An older Octoling asked, a special tiara of kelp surrounding her head, signifying her dominance over the other troops.
DJ Octavio didn't speak, looking at a map of the domes. All of the Zapfish had been taken away, along with multiple Octarian forces respawning, albeit slowly due to lack of power. The Great Zapfish was the only thing keeping them alive, charging the respawn points, thirty seconds per soldier. The secret camera situated above the Hammerhead Bridge picked up nothing out of the ordinary, simply the bridge. Octavio kept silent in sadness, finally speaking up. "...No."
"W-What? Sir, with all due respect, she hasn't returned in the time window she was supposed to. She could be in great danger, captured, or even worse!" The Octoling exclaimed.
DJ Octavio turned to the Octoling. "4U55-13, you know that girl as well as I do. When she's gone for a long time, she's usually off doing something crazy and stupid. But always comes back in one piece."
"No way!" A voice yelled out. An Octocopter troop came flying in, agitated. "Tai wouldn't be gone that long, she's usually back by dinnertime! Sir, me and Aussie should be out there finding her!"
"J3r-ry, shush!" Aussie scolded the Octocopter.
"I hate to interrupt…" The elderly Octosniper from earlier entered. "But Agent 3 is coming for the Great Zapfish and the Cap'n."
Octavio looked at the screen, where Cap'n Cuttlefish was shown snoring on a platform, tied up, unaware of his current situation. The Great Zapfish and a smaller version of it yelling, "Shockwhisk!", were suspended over a series of metal pipes and platforms.
Octavio sighed. "Ready the troops to defend the Great Zapfish, I'll go and help them out."
Jerry flew in front of Octavio, blocking his path slightly. "You never answered the question!" He shouted, small tears coming out of his eyes. "Tai may be kinda lazy and rebellious, but she's still our friend. YOUR friend. Now you can give us all these orders, but if you don't let us leave now, we're never going to listen to you again, sir."
Octavio slowly closed his eyes. "Aussie, is this how you feel as well?" The Octoling's goggles eyelids slowly closed, and the Octoling nodded. "Alright. You two find Tai and bring her butt back here, I'll be defending the Zapfish from those slimy hipsters."
Jerry and Aussie looked at each other and nodded. Jerry wiped away some tears with his tail, saying, "W-We won't let you or T-41 down!" Aussie grabbed onto Jerry's tail, and they flew away towards the surface world.
Octavio smiled sadly, staring at a small photograph of an Octoling male wearing a samurai helmet sitting next to an Inkling male wearing a captain hat, the two looking like good friends. "Not all Inklings are evil. None of us are. Tai, let's hope you ended up with the good tracks instead of the bootlegs."
AN 2: Episode 2: When it comes to writing offical character dialogue, I think I have a bit of trouble with that. Sorry if this chapter comes off as more serious than you'd like it to be. Thanks again to sebastian830 for reviewing this story! I apologize again that I couldn't use your idea, I couldn't find a great use for it, so, Entschuldigen Sie bitte. (I should probably take language classes, I meant to say something along the lines of "sorry" in German, so double-apologies if I butchered that.) Thanks again from the bottom of my heart to everyone who reads my story, I know you all probably have busy lives, so it makes me glad to know that people can take time out of their lives for a little something stupid. Anyways, thanks again, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, lemme see if I can finish a chapter for a TF2 story later. See you next time!