Chapter 10: Twin Stars

A/N: So, I didn't get two chapters posted yesterday. I will spare you the details, but know that my left arm will probably be broken for a while. On the bright side, I am right handed, so I can continue this :D. Also, you get more Splatoon-ish related sorta things in this chapter. Why? Well, it has been 10k words and the closest thing I have is a reference to Turf Wars like once I think. Also, future lost. Boooo!

Izzy still felt the after effects of the vision. He could still hear Lightning's voice, the cold rain pelting him as he traipsed through a muddy obstacle course. Shaking the feeling off, he tried to not think about it. It added more questions to his already impressive pile of unanswered mysteries. Izzy's stomach growled loudly, and he realized he hadn't eaten or had water for the past three days. Resigned to the fact that Hamil didn't keep any water around for some reason, (seriously, how did he drink?) and the sink dispensed colored liquid that Izzy would rather not test. The food might be edible, it looked mostly like extreme seafood, so eating that should NOT be a problem.

"Good, you're awake." Izzy turned to see Hamil wearing some sort of disguise leaning against the door to his room. "If you are wondering, we were going to leave in the middle of the night. I couldn't wake you up ; were you having a nightmare again?"

Izzy shook his head. "Sorry about that. Where exactly are we going? And aren't you supposed to be taking B back as well?

"They still have the kettle to Octo Valley blocked off still, I think it is mostly because they are too lazy to unblock it. Still you can't be too careful, especially considering inkling's… strenuous relations with Octarians." Hamil explained. "I honestly have no idea what to do with you, so I'm taking you to squids who can help. My friends are coming back from their camping trip today, so I can't really afford having you both here."

Izzy nodded briefly. "I understand, I'm ready to go if you are."

oo0OO0oo

Luckily, the trip to the studio type area they had arrived at was uneventful. Hamil had lived in Inkopolis for about a year, and knew some of the back alleyway paths and side streets to take. Arriving at a conspicuous metal door adorned with many symbols that even Izzy knew meant danger, Hamil pulled out a phone shaped like a squid and made a call.

Izzy wanted to desperately leave and search for any other humans like him who had made it, but where would he start? It was better to stick with Hamil and whomever he was about to meet for now. Despite the fact Izzy had full trust in Hamil, his heart still thudded nervously in his chest.

When the door finally opened, Izzy was taken aback. Not by an oversized hulking brute of an inkling, but by two female ones who stood a good head and a half shorter than Izzy. One had white hair, and had a dress type midsection with a green and black motif, while the other had black hair with a pink and black tight fitting shirt.

Warning bells went off in the back of Izzy's mind, where had he seen these two before?

"Heya Agent 3 and friend!" the pink one cheerily proclaimed, catching Izzy off guard. She seemed oddly cheery for the situation.

The green one was quietly observing him, and Izzy returned her gaze with one of his own. Their eyes locked for a moment before she looked away and cleared her throat. Meanwhile, Hamil had been explaining the situation to the pink one, who was nodding eagerly.

"So… can it understand us?" The green one asked, prompting Izzy to give a soft chuckle.

"You could call me something more polite than 'it' you know." He said quietly

"Huh that is not at all what I expected you to sound like.. anyway sorry if we offended you! My name is Marie, what's yours?" She said, extending her hand. That was twice in the space of a few minutes Izzy was shocked by her kind and trusting personality. He reached out and gave her a handshake.

"Delta." He said simply.

oo0OO0oo

"So you're saying this Cuttlefish guy has met humans before?" Izzy questioned, taken aback by the discovery.

Callie nodded. "I believe it was during the Great Turf War that he met two humans, one female and one male. I don't know what happened to them, as grandpa would never finish that part of the story no matter how much I asked or Marie begged him." She glanced over to said squid, who was currently engaged in a conversation with Hamil in the longue, both unaware of the information Callie had told him.

"Maire called Hamil Agent 3 when she first saw him. Does that mean anything significant?" Izzy implored. He saw Callie stiffen involuntarily before replying.

"I suppose it doesn't matter telling you; after all the Cap'n might extend an invite to the team if he likes you." She murmured. "But yes, bottom line is that I am Agent 1, Marie is Agent 2, and Hamil is Agent 3. We also have two other agents you have not met yet, their names are

Walvi and Sepio. Hamil hangs out with them, so you might have seen them once or twice. Together, we form a team called a 'Splatoon'. Our Splatoon today is in charge of keeping the Octarian menace at bay. Recently, they stole the Great Zapfish; our main source of power. Without it, our reserves can only last so long."

Izzy soaked in the information, sipping a cup of water that Callie and Marie had to specially order. "So you and other operatives have been undertaking somewhat of a shadow war to reclaim this… Great Zapfish?"

She nodded. "Yes, basically. Cap'n Cuttlefish is the leader of our Splatoon; he recruits new agents and oversees our mission. In his day, he was one of the best soldiers inklings had ever known, and today he still proves to be a resourceful commander." Callie paused "He also our grandfather. Well, me and Marie's to be exact."

"So when do I meet the Cap'n?" Izzy asked.

Callie looked at her watch briefly, before smiling at Izzy. "Now, if you can actually convince Marie to move."

oo0OO0oo

The group had moved quickly, taking a route akin to the one Hamil had led Izzy on. They came to a teapot shaped structure with a grate covering the top of it. Grime and dirt caked the sides, and rust was evident on the metallic build of the grate.

"What exactly is this?" Izzy said. He had seen one before on the night he made contact with Hamil, but had never received a true explanation of what is was or what it did.

"A kettle." Hamil answered for him. "We use them to fast travel to certain spots by shifting into squid mode and sliding through them."

"How exactly am I supposed to use them? Last time I checked, I'm not mainly completely composed of liquid, and can't shapeshift." The squid trio looked at him incredulously.

"You can't?" Marie questioned. "How did Humans get around?"

"Walking and vehicles." Izzy said. "I never got to use a teleporter; they were still in beta when the flood warnings were issued, so they never really got finished."

"Vehicles seem a really inefficient way to travel, our fastest car is like 40 MPH at best." Hamil interjected.

Izzy laughed, before noticing the serious look on his face. "Really? Our fastest LAND based vehicle goes like 270 MPH. Our fastest aircraft is like over 4,000 MPH. I can see why you need these things though." Izzy said, kicking the kettle. An idea blossomed in his mind. "Say, is there just a stream of liquid that flows in a direction in kettles?"

Receiving a nod from the inklings present, Izzy grinned before continuing. "If you don't mind the collateral damage, I can just punch through the grate, and ride the stream to our destination. It's fairly rusted already, so anyone who checks will probably chalk it up to wear and tear." Hamil looked like he didn't care, Marie simply shrugged, and Callie nodded after a minute of thought.

"That is… pretty smart actually." Callie said, shrugging. "If you're up to a bit of swimming, go for it."

oo0OO0oo

A short time and more property damage later, the inkling trio and Izzy arrived near a shack in Octo Valley.

"Eugh, what even is this stuff!?" Izzy complained, shaking his body to get rid of the clingy goo.

"It's ink, what else would it be.?" Hamil said, a small smile on his face.

Izzy did a mental facepalm. Of course it was ink! They were squids and… "Wait." He began. "Don't you produce ink from your… you know what? Nevermind." Izzy shuddered at the implications of what he had just done.

Still half covered in a layer of yellow ink, and flailing about trying to rid his body of it, the grins of Marie and Hamil evolved into full-fledged laughter, while even Callie cracked a small smile at his predicament.

'Let's go." Izzy grumbled before marching over to the shack. Plastered onto it was several pictures, either of Octarians or Callie and Marie. This was presumably the right place based on the description he had received from Callie, so he rapped gently on the door.

The door flung open, and Izzy saw a withered elderly inkling. Narrowing his' eyes at Izzy, the inkling twitched his beard before shouting: "Back for more are ye? I'll show ye a true inkling!" before raising his cane, which had a flip scope attached to it. Izzy paled as a stream of green ink came straight for his face.