Inkopolis City, Square
Back in the city in the afternoon at the Galleria, Mirai is following Hotaru as the duo are blending in with the inklings of the city.
Despite not interacting, Mirai is trying her best to fit in while avoiding being the odd one out.
"Hurry up." Hotaru called.
"Oh! Coming!" Mirai leaps into a shopping building as they finally arrive.
Inside the shop is full of weapons out of different models and the one at the front is an inkling boy with spiky hair who was messing around with an Inkbrush that is 'Inkbrush Nouveau.'
"Hm. Perfect. Keep the change." The inkling boy ran off while leaving his money on the desk.
"Good luck! Oh man… When do I get credit for this?" A short horseshoe crab boy sighs as he's sitting back on his desk.
"Sheldon." Hotaru calls.
"Oh! Mar- Ahem! Hotaru, ma'am! Sheldon Shellendorf reporting for duty! What kind of weapon do you want from the market?" Sheldon stands up as he salutes.
"I don't need anything. This new recruit is what you might say… Lacking skills when it comes down to using a Hero Shot." Hotaru points out the flaws Mirai has developed.
"What!? But that's impossible! It was great for recruits like her!" Sheldon exclaimed.
"I know. We need a weapon that works for this kid." Said Hotaru.
"Say no more, ma'am! Hey, kid!"
"Hm?" Mirai approaches Sheldon as Sheldon hands out the list of hero weapons with the Hero Shot crossed out.
"We're going to start you off with a weapon that'll suit your abilities. As far as I heard, your brother holds a slosher before he-... Nothing. Anyway, he used a Hero Slosher as a weapon of his choice. It's actually a bucket that throws a lot of ink which is powerful for the user to use." Sheldon explains the previous agent's weapon which has Mirai surprised.
"I'll try it!" Mirai chose a Hero Slosher.
"You do realise you're not your brother." Hotaru calls out.
"Relax, Hotaru, if the weapons are not for her, then we'll choose a different weapon." Said Sheldon.
"Alright. Mirai, you heard Sheldon."
"Yeah, yeah. Alright! Let's get started!" Mirai pumps herself up as she's ready to ink her targets.
As they enter a training room, Sheldon is bringing out a bunch of inflatable targets in order to test Mirai and her potential.
"Begin!" Sheldon calls as he's starting a timer.
"Heh! This'll be easy!" Mirai chuckles while raising a Hero Slosher.
Mirai finally charges and then sloshes some ink as fast as she can as her speed is just average but a little quicker.
Sheldon nods as Hotaru looks surprised.
Things are going so well until…
No ink is left.
"Eh? What? Oh come on! Hey, Sheldon! Can we try again!?" Mirai calls.
"Are you sure!?" Sheldon asks.
"Yeah!"
And then an attempt happens again…
And again…
And again…
"What's going on!? Why did my brother pass with a Hero Slosher!?" Mirai shouted out of frustration.
"I think it's because he's being very careful with a slosher whereas you're being too impulsive and throwing too much ink. Maybe a Hero Slosher just isn't for you." Sheldon points out.
In other words, Hotaru is right about Mirai not being her brother.
Mirai lowers her head as she couldn't just follow her own brother like this.
"Great… I need a different weapon."
"Excellent! At least you're learning to move on!" Sheldon claps as Mirai accepts her failures.
Then she tries different weapons such as…
Hero Splatling: too heavy as she can't seem to pick it up and firing it leads her to rocket backwards.
Hero Roller: also too heavy which causes her to collapse, despite some inklings managing to hold it.
Hero Charger: her eyesight isn't as good as Hotaru and she was shaking to the point of firing pushing her backwards.
Herobrush: something that Mirai refused to use because close combat with long rangers are what's leading her to death.
Hero Brella: a weapon so useful as a shield until the umbrella part leaves her, causing her to drop it.
Hero Blaster: a weapon she calls useless despite how powerful that gun is.
The weapons she tried are no good to her and Mirai would be marked as a useless agent.
"Boo! I can't do anything!" Mirai groans.
"Well, we have Hero Dualies." Sheldon carries the Hero Dualies that Mirai rejected.
"But they function like Hero Shots. There's no way I'll be able to handle this."
"They may function like that, but they're lighter and great for your agility. Just give these a try."
As Mirai takes the Hero Dualies she fires one of the inflatable targets, leading her to use both her targets to pop quickly.
Then her eyes widen as it comes to a surprising realisation.
"Hey, Sheldon, start the timer."
"Roger that!" Sheldon salutes and then restarts the timer.
"Oh? Looks like you found yourself a weapon of choice." Hotaru is surprised to see that Mirai has found what she's missing.
"Yeah. Here goes nothing!" Mirai prepares herself as the timer starts.
This leads to Mirai dashing forward and painting the walls amber and the targets at the same time as well as becoming a squid on the wall and fires her dualies at different targets.
Then Mirai spins around while firing her Hero Dualies at the rest of the targets as they all pop.
"That was… Impressive." Hotaru is speechless to see what Mirai has performed.
"Wow! That was amazing! The Hero Dualies is what you needed all along!" Sheldon cheers.
"Yeah. Hehe. Looks like I'm ready to be a part of the New Squidbeak Splatoon Unit!" Mirai laughs while raising her arm.
That is until the speaker beeps.
"Talk to me." Hotaru responded.
[Hotaru, it's the sanitised octarians. They're on the surface.] Agent 3.4's voice warned.
"What!?"
"Huh!?" Sheldon exclaimed.
"What?" Mirai tilts her head in confusion. "What's sanitised?"
"Even if I know them, I don't know the information about them. I bet they're related to the octarians." Sheldon rubs his chin as he's trying to process something about these new enemies.
[We have to be careful. Even the octarians are attacking their own.] Agent 3.4 continues.
"And you helped them, didn't you?" Hotaru asks.
[I chose to. They're frightened because of what happened to their own kind. Sanity be damned.]
"I see. We'll find DJ Octavio, bring back the Great Zapfish and fix this mess."
"Forget the Great Zapfish, Inkopolis is in grave danger!" Sheldon exclaims as Mirai gasps.
"You're right… Agent 3.4, create a road for us so we can pay a visit to this underground dweller." Hotaru orders.
[Ma'am.]
Beep. The speaker turns off as Hotaru's small one makes no noise anymore.
Then she sits down and laments.
"It's okay, Hotaru, I managed to give the hero headset a major update." Said Sheldon.
"You did?" Hotaru raises her head.
"Yeah. Mirai is testing this bad boy out."
"I don't know. But the latest model looks similar to the one I wore earlier." Said Mirai.
"I know, but look at the design difference."
As Mirai stares at Sheldon, her eyes are playing tricks on her as it's highlighting Sheldon himself and shows the information about him.
"Woah! I'm like a cyborg!"
"Heh. It's a one of a kind item, useful for anything! It provided some data instalment like bestiary, night vision and a few tweaks to make the speakers work both private and public." Sheldon explained.
"But what about the survivor?" Mirai asked.
"Don't worry, I'll send this to her with my trusty drone." Sheldon puts the new equipment in the box and closes it while tying it up with the drone, leading the drone to fly away with it towards a location to nowhere.
Afterwards, Sheldon walks towards his shop entrance and puts a sign in inkling language 'Closed until further notice - Please use your current weapons when the shop opens again.'
Then Sheldon opens his garage as he reveals a truck that is branded 'Ammo Knights' while he's revving the engine after entering inside a truck.
"Hop in!" Sheldon waves as Mirai and Hotaru are entering the back of the truck.
As they enter, the truck is starting to lift up as Mirai exclaims with surprise.
"Relax. Sheldon knows technology. We'll be safe for now." Hotaru grabs both of Mirai's arms, letting her know that they're okay.
"Yeah." Mirai nods.
Finally, the truck flies away from Inkopolis back to Octo Canyon while dropping a box to Agent 3.4.
"Hm?" Agent 3.4 opens the box and to his surprise, a letter says 'drop the old ones, this operation is getting serious!' "Sheldon… So you're handing out new equipment. Well, it's worth needing these."
Agent 3.4 changes his headset and has a new phone that is high tech as well as a hologram that shows a map.
"Interesting… So there's no octoweapons this time…"
Cephalon HQ
The central command is nearby and surrounding it is purple muddy water that looks to be toxic.
The truck then goes downwards while entering a hole that is their way to get inside.
But something doesn't feel right as there's no octoweapons.
As they enter, Mirai, Agent 4, changed to her hero suit with a few new pieces of equipment added by Sheldon.
"Wish me luck." Agent 4 pulls a grin while holding her Hero Dualies. And then morphs into a squid by entering inside a kettle.
"Good luck, Agent 4." Hotaru prays for Agent 4 to make it back and bring DJ Octavio out.
As Agent 4 enters inside a dark room, all she sees is a single inkling that looks familiar.
"Huh? You're Callie?"
[Callie!? Aori!?] Hotaru's voice gasped.
"Aori? Who?" Agent 4 stops as she witnesses Callie looking a lot different and has an octopus tattoo on her stomach. "Uh, is she a slut now?"
[Please refrain from calling her a slut.] Hotaru sighs through the speaker. [Aori! Can you hear my voice!?]
Silence as Callie stands right in front of Agent 4 as her shades flash by glaring at an inkling who changed from amber to green.
̶"̶Y̶o̶u̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶e̶,̶ ̶i̶n̶k̶l̶i̶n̶g̶.̶ ̶W̶h̶y̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶ ̶H̶o̶t̶a̶r̶u̶ ̶s̶e̶n̶d̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶?̶"̶ Callie asks in octoling language, causing Agent 4 to turn around and point at herself. "̶Y̶e̶s̶.̶ ̶I̶'̶m̶ ̶a̶s̶k̶i̶n̶g̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶y̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶e̶?̶"̶
"Uh… What did she say?" Agent 4 asks while turning on the speaker.
[It's an octarian language. I managed to equip a translator for this machine, even though it's a work in progress. It'll be updated in due date.] Sheldon answered.
"Oh." Agent 4 turns on a translator as her vision says [Download translator: Octoling Inkling.]
After that her ears can actually hear what Callie actually said.
"I said why the hell are you here!? Are you deaf!?"
"You don't have to shout, I can understand you!" Agent 4 snaps.
"Hmph! Considering I've been asking you for the fifth time, you're starting to grit my sand, inkling!" Callie growled.
"Anyway… You're Callie, right?"
"Who wants to know? And who's Aori?" Callie asks as if she doesn't know a person named Aori.
[You are.] Hotaru's voice called again.
"Huh? Hotaru, you said it time and time again, I am not Aori! I'm Callie, the solo star of the world and DJ's personal singer!" Callie boasts as she introduces herself.
"And Marie?" Agent 4 asks.
"Marie? She left a long time ago and now Hotaru is calling me Aori!? I bet she wanted to be Marie when in truth, we both left each other! You cannot replace her!"
As scanned, the glasses Callie wears is a hypnotic item which is brainwashing her to be one of the octarians, leading Agent 4 to believe that the hypnoshades are the reason why Callie is acting strange.
"Yeah… Hotaru, she's been brainwashed." Agent 4 whispered.
[So I see. Sheldon.]
[Already on it.] Sheldon replied.
Lucky for Agent 4, she can tell that Callie is still alive.
"And where's that stupid DJ!? Ugh… Are you going to leave? Or die?" Callie growls while releasing her weapon that resembles a roller, intimidating Agent 4 as she's about to be curb stomped.
"Would neither count?"
"Then perish! Octolings!" Callie yelled while summoning 6 octolings as they held similar rollers as hers are noticeably different. "Kill that squid!"
"Yes, ma'am!" The octoling girls are approaching Agent 4 as they place their rollers and zoom towards Agent 4, leaving no room to escape.
"Oh boy!"
Afterwards…
BANG! SPLAT!
The octolings stop as they witness one of their allies being shot down to death as they find a sniper.
"Huh? What the…"
"Look!" The octoling girl shouts as she witnesses a flying truck with an inkling in a kimono pointing her Hero Charger 0 at Callie.
With her sharpest eye and enhanced headset, Hotaru is about to make an easier snipe at the hypnoshades.
"Aori! Wake up!" Hotaru shouts as she's pulling the trigger.
BANG!
"Pathetic." Callie smirks which causes Hotaru to gasp.
Then swinging her roller, Callie ricocheted the ink by letting it turn magenta and crash onto the wall which shocks the NSS trio.
"Your efforts are futile, Hotaru! Do you really think that I'll fall for your trickery!?"
"Shit!" Hotaru grunts.
Callie clicks her fingers as it signals the octolings to charge towards Agent 4.
As Agent 4 fires her Hero Dualies out of desperation, the octolings dodge and leap as they go closer and swing their rollers all over as the 5th smack tears Agent 4's coat apart by revealing her slender body as she gasps.
"Four!" Hotaru shrieks.
"Going down!" Sheldon shouts as he's lowering the truck.
While Agent 4 lies on the floor, the octolings push her down by the limbs by preventing her from getting up.
"You should've heeded my words before I attacked. This is why inklings like you should disappear." Callie steps on Agent 4's chest and then spins her roller near Agent 4's face.
Agent 4 gasps as Callie and the octolings giggle.
"I wonder how much pain you get, even with your arm being crippled."
"Callie… Please don't…" Growling while getting up, Agent 4 pleads.
"Goodbye."
Little did she know, a truck is incoming while a lot of ink is darting towards the octolings as they all dodged and Callie blocks more of them.
"Hotaru!" Callie's voice turns bitter as her rage builds up.
Then Agent 4 was dragged to safety as Sheldon slowed down the truck.
"Callie… Just come back to your senses, please! Remember when we were kids?" Hotaru pleaded to bring Callie back.
"When I was a kid, I knew absolutely nothing about you!" Callie responds as Hotaru drops to her knees.
"We were a fa- Huh!?" Hotaru stops as she witnesses what's going on at the ceiling.
CRASH! The ceiling is coming apart as a horde of green skinned octolings.
"What the!? DJ, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?" Callie roared after witnessing what's going on.
A flushing sound is coming from behind as an octopus wearing a hat and strange hipster glasses appears and then slaps one of his tentacles on Callie.
"What!? Can't ya see I'm takin' a squirt! What the!?" DJ Octavio is also shocked to see a horde incoming as the remaining octolings are defending their boss and their team leader.
"Sanitised!?" The octoling girl yelled.
"Quick! Don't let them splat our boss!" The other octoling shouted.
As a horde surrounds the octolings, Callie and DJ Octavio, Hotaru instantly dives down but was caught on the leg by Agent 4 who hastily stops her from committing suicide.
"Don't!"
"What!? Let me go! I need to save Aori!" Hotaru yelled.
"Sheldon! Take us back!" Agent 4 calls.
"Not a problem, Agent 4! Sorry, Hotaru, but we cannot fight like this!" Sheldon then leaves the truck which hits Hotaru's chest as hard as she tries to reach her arm downwards.
"No! AORI! AORIIIIIIIIII!"
Unfortunately, Callie has so little care as she's raising her roller and glares at the sanitised horde.
"Come on!"
While the octolings are fighting in a struggle, the NSS trio are going back as Hotaru reaches her arm and screams.
Even Agent 4 pities Hotaru and she's just a recruit.
Back to Tentakeel Outpost.
It's night time and Cuttlefish's Cabin is still left untouched as the truck is parked near it.
Hotaru is weeping behind the cabin whereas Agent 3.4, 4 and Sheldon are sitting together by the torch as they're looking down in misery.
"So, you failed to bring Callie back." Agent 3.4 asked.
"Yeah. Sorry about that." Sheldon apologises.
"It's not your fault. Neither is Four. What you two are facing are the real enemy. As for Callie, what the hell happened to her?"
"It's the hypnoshades, they possessed Callie to work against us." Agent 4 answers.
In Agent 3.4's vision, a picture shows Callie with those shades and the description shows what the shades have in them.
"A brainwashing tool. She's not going to like what happens."
"Who?" Agent 4 raises her head.
"The survivor. She'll be going out there and murder anyone who hurt Callie." Agent 3.4 answers.
With the trio sigh, a speaker called as a loud inkling's voice screeched [WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO!?]
"Oi! Calm down, MC.Princess! We're in a situation that puts us on a tightrope." Agent 3.4 exclaimed.
"MC Princess?" Agent 4 tilts her head.
"Oh! She and DJ Hyperfresh are the duo that's also a part of the New Squidbeak Splatoon Unit. But the way MC.Princess sounds, it doesn't seem too good." Sheldon explained.
[No shit, crab! Now the sanitised are in Inkopolis and we need to stop them, no, YOU need to fix this before some fucked up shit happens and it'll be ALL YOUR FAULT!] MC.Princess roared.
[Simmer down, senpai! Look, we need you to stop them! I know it's scary, but we need to go to Inkopolis and stop them from harming the innocents.] A soft octoling's voice, DJ Hyperfresh begs.
The trio are lowering their heads as guilt rises, until another voice comes through the speaker.
[Where are they?] Hotaru's monotonous voice called.
[The target is at a… Oh my!] DJ Hyperfresh squeaks.
[Ya serious? A fucking love hotel! Fuck Inkopolis! Ya know what, FIX THIS SHIT BY EXTERMINATING THEM!] MC.Princess screamed.
"S- Sure thing, ma'am." Sheldon trembles as he's afraid of the duo, especially MC.Princess.
"We need a disguise. And Four is coming." Hotaru's voice is coming from the entrance as her eyes are bloodshot.
"Eh!?" Agent 4 exclaims.
[Perfect idea! Hey, newbie! Ya hear her, move your ass out and hunt the sanitised!] MC.Princess shouted.
"Oh come on!" Agent 4 couldn't catch a single break as she placed her face on the table.
[A- Anyway… Good luck!] DJ Hyperfresh then hangs up while staying calm and quiet about MC.Princess' tantrum.
Beep.
"Four. I know it's sudden, but prepare yourself. We're hunting the sanitised octarians tonight." Said Hotaru as her tone became very bitter.
"Crap…" Agent 4 squeaks.
After that, Hotaru is packing her bags along with Agent 4 as they're ready to start a late night mission at Inkopolis.
Agent 4 wanted to know who the survivor is.