The manhole had a tunnel in it, and it yeeted them out at really high speeds. "AAAHH!"
"Where are we?" Macro asked. He and Cerrena looked around them. There was a lot of fuzzy stuff around, and a makeshift little camp thing to the left. It had a piece of paper in it, and it had a sketch of an inkling on it. When they looked to the right, you could see the Eiffel Tower that the humans made. It looked like it had been flipped over, but the Inklings only remembered it being the way it was. There was also a giant crater, full of even more fuzzy stuff! Fuzzy stuff galore! "I don't like this.." Macro whimpered. Oh yeah, he doesn't like craters.
"It's okay, dude, there's a fence in between us and the crater, don't worry!" Cerrena said in an attempt to comfort him. It didn't seem to work very well, but then he looked in front of them and took a step back in surprise. The old man that was staring at them earlier was right there! Well, actually that was probably expected. They did follow him down here, and he was old, so he probably couldn't move very fast.
The old man started speaking. "Th-th-the Oc-Oc-Oct–"
"Are you okay?" Cerrena asked, but he didn't seem to hear her.
"THE OCTARIANS ARE COMING! AGAINNNNNNNNNN!" he yelled. Cerrena and Macro just looked at the old man, then at each other and just shrugged. This man is probably just crazy, they thought. The old man kept talking. "Oh, uh, hi… Have we done this once before? The old noggin ain't what it used to be. Anyhow, the name's Cuttlefish. Senior advisor to the New Squidbeak Splatoon, at your service!" He made a peace sign. The two just looked at him in confusion. Yup, this guy was nuts. "That look in your eye… It's just what I've been lookin' for!"
They just looked at him. Cerrena started talking. "Uh, okay.. I think the only look you're gonna get in Macro's eyes is fear at the moment." Macro looked at her, slightly offended. "Anyway, why were you staring at us? I mean, that's just weird. Do you need something?"
"The Great Zapfish that powers Splatsville has been squidnapped!" That startled the two younger Inklings. "It's the Octarians again. You can bet your bottom sand dollar on it! See, the Great Zapfish has gone missing before. Twice, in fact! And those Octojerks were behind it both times. I've been keepin' an eye on 'em even though I'm technically retired. And with eyes like mine, there ain't anything that escapes me!"
"Does he ever blink? Also, those eyes are terrifying." Cerrena whispered to her friend.
"You got that right." He responded.
"But they still made off with the Zapfish. And WE'VE got to get it back! Right?" When he didn't get any response, he just kept talking. "So, uh…That was a job offer, kids. The pay is…zero…but you might just save the world. You're in, right? RIGHT?!" They started to respond, but he cut them off. "Course you are! Starting today, you are the new Agent 3's of the New Squidbeak Splatoon!"
"We're both Agent 3? Weird, but okay." Macro said. They were suddenly dressed in some sort of winter set of clothes, which was exactly what you want to wear in the Splatlands. "What the squid? What is this?"
"This is your new Hero Suit! It'll help you fight the Octarians. Huh. Is there such a thing as somethin' GROWING in the wash? It sure is baggy on ya guys…" The old man mumbled something, but they couldn't make out what he was saying. "Now, let's go get those Octoclowns! I'm counting on you, buck-OH!" Fish jumped out and ran around a little bit. "You've already got another agent with ya, huh? Well, I'm fresh outta Hero Suits, unfortunately…Ah, but it's a salty li'l scamp, ain't it? It'll do fine." Fish stopped running. "Now, where was I…Oh, right! Let's go get those Octojerks! I'm counting on you, buckos!"
"Uh…" the two new recruits looked at each other. "Well, okay. Let's go. C'mon, Fish." They started walking. There was some fuzzy stuff all over in the corner. "What is this? What happens if I touch it?" Cerrena was a little curious, but she didn't want to touch it because it was kind of gross. So she pushed Macro into it. He turned into a weird fuzzy blob with arms and legs! "UWAHHH!" his new appearance freaked her out. She stumbled back, tripped on her feet, and fell backwards into the fuzz behind her, which was exactly what she was trying to avoid in the first place!
Cuttlefish somehow made them unfuzzy. They were a little traumatized from the fuzzy stuff, and just sat there, trying to recover from their sudden surprise. "Mind the Fuzzy Ooze that's all over the place. Touch that stuff, and who knows what'll happen."
"Well, thanks for the warning. It was so convenient." Macro responded sarcastically. It was one of his talents. He got up. "C'mon, Cerrena. We have to find the Zapfish." He acted all confident and not scared of anything, but she could see the fear in his eyes. He really didn't like craters.
They got past some Fuzzy Ooze, and found a tea kettle. Cerrena didn't like how it was a boring color, so she shot at it. It opened, and Cuttlefish told them to go inside of it.
When they were in it, there were crates and balloons everywhere. There were some pillars that they could climb up on. They explored a little, and found a launchpad. "What's this do?" Cerrena asked.
"You turn into a squid, and go in it. Then it super jumps you somewhere. Have you ever seen one of these?" Her friend was way smarter than she was, and she facepalmed. They went in, and it launched them to a different area. There was a weird fish balloon thing, and they both agreed it was too suspicious and shot it. It exploded, and broke a whole bunch of crates behind it.
"Look at all the boxes! Boxes galore! Whee!" Cerrena loved shooting things. She shot at everything that got in her way, NOTHING was going to survive. THey found out that if you threw Fish at a box, he would break it for you! They also found some weird square things. Cuttlefish called them "splat switches." When they inked all of them, a path opened up. There was a weird looking Octarian ahead. "Gross, he's all fuzzy!" Cerrena noticed. She doesn't like fuzzy things, except for cats. Cats were okay.
It was soon dead, and another path opened up, with the Zapfish. They shot at the barrier around it, and saved it. When they got out, they noticed some of the Fuzzy Ooze had a weird ball on top of it. Cuttlefish called it a "Fuzzball," which made sense.
"Is that your Smallfry buddy chirpin' about something? You know…that species is rumored to have a BIG reaction to Power Eggs…Anything's worth a shot, right? Try powering up your little buddy up with Power Eggs!" Cuttlefish advised. Cerrena grabbed some Power Eggs she had gotten from the kettle, and held Fish up above her head. Instinctually, she threw him at the Fuzzball.
She missed, and Fish was on the Fuzzy Ooze! "FIISH!" Cerrena and Macro yelled in sync. Cerrena took charge, ran really fast, and jumped into the Fuzzy Ooze trying to save him. When she was back to normal, she noticed Fish was right next to her. "Huh, I guess Fish is invincible to the Fuzzy Ooze. Cool!" She said. She took another attempt to throw him at the Fuzzball, and this time she made it. He ate it all up! All of the Ooze connected to the Fuzzball was gone!
They went through more kettles and got rid of more Ooze, until they got to the crater's Fuzzball. "Ugh, I'm gonna be sick…" Macro said. He laid down, and they let him be. When Cerrena looked up, she realized how far down they were compared to when they arrived. She threw Fish at the Fuzzball, and the rest of the Fuzzy Ooze disappeared. Suddenly, they felt rumbling.
A giant machine was crashing down the mountain towards them! When it stopped, the octopus inside said, "GYAH HA HA! I finally found you, Cuttlefish! My Octarian troops have gone missing, and I know you're behind it!"
Cuttlefish told Cerrena he was DJ Octavio, and to fight him, and she said "Bring it on, dweeb!"
At the bottom of the crater was the perfect battlefield. DJ Octavio used his giant machine, and was using his DJ skills. Cerrena inked around the small area she had, when he suddenly threw a hand at her! She freaked out, and inked it. Ink first, think later, as she always said. It was sent back to Octavio. He didn't like it very much, so he sent a spinning hand. When she inked it, but nothing happened, she ran out of the way. After it landed, Macro called to her. "It's stuck! Send it back at him!" She did so. This exchange happened for a little while, him sending hands, and her sending them back. Eventually he fell out of his giant turntable death machine. She had charged up a Splashdown, and used it to smash his face!
Octavio wasn't done. He got back into his bot, and sucked up all the ink around. His vaccum kept on going, and he sent another hand at Cerrena. Her ink didn't hit it, the vacuum was sucking it all up! She got pretty angry, and tried to throw a bomb at him. She accidentally sent Fish at him instead! Luckily, he blocked the vacuum, and Cerrena could ink again. She made him come out of his machine again, and Splashdowned again.
He had one more round. He did mostly the same stuff, but Macro was taunting him this time. He said things like, "Betcha you can't hit her!" and "Dweeb!" along with "What a bad shot!" He wasn't the most respectful person alive. Eventually, Cerrena defeated him once and for all. Macro and Cuttlefish came down with her.
"Guh…No fair! Your gear is way too strong!" DJ Octavio said.
"You put on a weak show, Octavio! Your set list is getting old…Or maybe it's just you!" Cuttlefish responded. "Seriously, that was too easy. It's like you weren't even usin' the Great Zapfish's power!"
"Mute it, fool! I didn't steal the Zapfish this time!" Octavio snapped.
"Bwuh? You didn't?" Cuttlefish was surprised. "But if it wasn't you…Then who was it?"
Suddenly, through some very slight cracks in the ground, Fuzzy Ooze shot up and stole The machine Octavio was using. They all slipped, falling into a giant hole! DJ Octavio and his bot were taken down really fast, and Cuttlefish was grabbed by a tentacle of Fuzzy Ooze! Macro yelled "Cerrena! I told you craters were evil!" before being taken too. Cerrena's coat and boots slipped off, and she was left with a less efficient Hero Suit. She was getting really dizzy, and blacked out.
Author's note: Hello again! How are you all? I left you on a cliffhanger, mwahaha! You will never know what will happen! Unless you've played hero mode. Then I guess you already know.
So how do you like this new chapter? I'm glad you're all liking the story! I plan on finishing this, it's something I really want to do. I'm really grateful for the reviews I've gotten. They're really nice, thank you! Don't worry, we'll all see Captain 3 and the Squid Sisters in the next chapter. I love Captain 3. Except when they're Inner Agent 3. That hurts.