The four Sharklings managed to slide through the vents and exited the base, evaded the few guard patrols, and made their way to the tunnel Dr. Angelfish had told them about. Inside the tunnel, they found four duffel bags filled with typical Inkling clothing: shirts, shorts, and shoes.
"Seriously? We have to wear these?" asked Keket, holding up a T-shirt and staring at it.
"We have to try and blend in as much as possible," said Sinamoi, already undressing out of his bodysuit.
"It's bound to be more comfortable than our typical combat gear," said Hector, doing the same thing.
"Come on, let's hurry up and get into these civvies and get going," said Jabb.
Keket sighed and started peeling out of her own bodysuit. "I'm not distracting you, am I, guys?"
"You don't have anything we haven't seen a thousand times already," said Sinamoi, already pulling on a tank top.
"Still as much fun as you usually are," Keket said with a roll of her eyes, pulling on some undergarments.
Once they'd all finished dressing they took a moment to look over themselves.
"I could get used to this look," said Jabb, wearing a dark green T-shirt, black shorts, and some high tops.
"I admit, it's not too bad," said Keket. She was wearing a white T-shirt, orange shorts, and some sneakers.
"Definitely more comfortable than our combat gear," said Hector, wearing a white shirt with a vest, some tan pants and black shoes.
Sinamoi stood dressed in a tank top, orange shorts with a white stripe running up the sides, and some black high tops. "Okay, looks like we're all dressed like Inklings. Now let's see what else she left us," he said, looking through his duffel bag. Inside he found four smartphones, each shaped like an octopus, four small backpacks, and an audio recording. He passed out the smartphones and then pressed the PLAY button on the recording device.
"My Sharklings, this is Dr. Angelfish," came the voice from the recorder. "If you're hearing this, you've completed the first phase of your mission. Now begins the most difficult part: blending into Inkling society. The less attention you can draw up there from the general population, the better. It means less risk of the Octoling army getting suspicious. To help you accomplish this, I've loaded your smartphones with some basic info about life in Inkling society. Far more in-depth and accurate than the propaganda they fed you in training. I've also set you all up with a bank account and a substantial amount of money I was able to launder over the last few years. You should be financially stable for the duration of your mission. But, should you need more, you must seek employment among the Inklings. You may choose to do so regardless of financial status, however. Might do you all some good to see how civilians live.
"Lastly, you must consider the possibility that your absence would be discovered and agents of the Octolings sent after you. Perhaps even some of your own fellow Sharklings. If that happens, do whatever you must to protect yourselves, no matter the cost. I know it will be difficult, but the success of your mission depends on it. Good luck out there…and Cod speed your way. Dr. Angelfish, signing out." The recording came to an end.
The four Sharklings said nothing. Not even Keket could find it in herself to make a comment. They all just silently looked at each other and nodded. They knew what they had to do, and it was time to get busy. They took off down the tunnel, using their shark forms to navigate the network of pipes that led up to the kettle on the surface. It took a few hours, but they soon made it up to the kettle and emerged. Not too far off they could see the towering city of Inkopolis, gleaming in the midday sun.
"Well, there it is," said Sinamoi. "Inkopolis, the city we've heard so much about. I admit, it's quite a sight."
"And crawling with Inklings and Octolings with too much free time," said Keket. "We're going to go nuts here, I'm sure of it."
"Or we'll assimilate and forget all about our old lives," said Hector, making an adjustment to his visor.
"I say we treat this as a learning experience," said Jabb. "You never know, we keep an open mind and this place might surprise us."
"Let's just get into the city first, and then go from there," said Sinamoi, already walking towards the city. The others quickly followed.
They made the hike into the city and found themselves in a world they had only previously dreamed of. Buildings everywhere, skyscrapers reaching up to the heights, and the sidewalks full of Inklings, Octolings and jellyfish. All going about their lives, be it shopping, dining at the many restaurants, or working various jobs. What stood out most to the four, though, was how…happy everyone seemed to be. Everywhere they looked they saw smiles and sunny dispositions.
"Good grief, this place is going to give me cavities with how sweet it is," said Keket, looking around. "How can anyone be this perky?"
"Inklings are very upbeat and fun-loving," said Jabb. "They're just being true to their nature."
"I kind of like it," said Hector. "Better than being surrounded by a bunch of angry Octoling troopers all day long. I might want to stay up here after we complete our mission."
"That depends entirely on if we complete our mission," said Sinamoi. "Of course, if and when we do, you'll be more than able to spend your days up here."
"So what do we do first?" asked Keket, feeling a group of Inkling boys checking her out.
"First let's secure ourselves a residence, then get some food," said Sinamoi. "We're going to need shelter, and we haven't eaten a thing since they put us in cryo."
"I admit, I could use a nosh," said Hector. "I wonder how we're supposed to use all that money that the Doc put aside for us?"
"Looks like we use the smartphones to do that," said Sinamoi, bringing up one of the phone's apps. "Says here we pay using this application on the phone."
"Well that makes it easy," said Keket. "That solves one problem anyway. Now we must make sure we can blend in properly."
"Best thing to do in that case is to act natural," said Jabb. "Just observe what the Inklings do and then replicate it."
"Good idea," said Sinamoi, already watching Inklings and Octolings discreetly, paying attention to how they walked and talked. As he was doing so, he spotted a food truck. "Follow me, guys." He walked up to the food truck followed by his team.
The Inkling girl who was operating the food truck stopped what she was doing and looked at him. "Oh, hi there! Wow, those are some fresh threads," she said with a smile. "What can I get you guys?"
"Well, we're new in town," said Sinamoi. "What do you personally recommend to a few new faces?"
"Definitely the shrimp tacos, they're the best," said the girl with a grin. "How many can I get you?"
"Better make it three each," said Sinamoi. "We're…pretty hungry. And three of those Ink Colas as well."
"Wow, you guys must not have eaten for a few days," she said jokingly as she gave him the total cost of the order.
Sinamoi paid and said, "You might say that. We've had a pretty rough trip."
"Oh…wow, you poor guys," she said. "Well hopefully now that you're in Inkopolis things will get better."
"Thank you, I'm sure it will," said Sinamoi.
While the girl got to work on their food, the four of them sat at a table talking. "Well, I may have a solution to our shelter problem," said Hector. "I was surfing the information network up here and found a few apartment listings that look good."
"Nice work, Hector," said Sinamoi. "That solves two of our problems."
"Still, there's something that's been bothering me," said Jabb. "If we're supposed to keep our heads low, how are we supposed to find support for freeing the others?"
"A fair question," said Sinamoi. "If only there was someone we could make contact with that could point us in the right direction."
"I think I can help with that," said Keket. "I was going through some of the files on my phone and I found a reference to the Squid Sisters."
"The same ones who took out Octavio?" asked Hector. "What about them?"
"Seems the doc suggested we try to find them and establish contact," said Keket. "Even pointed us towards a contact with ties to them. Some Octoling music star named Marina."
"Guess that's our best lead for the time being," said Sinamoi, getting up to retrieve their food. As he came back and set the tray down, he continued, "Any idea where to find this Marina?"
"According to this, she does the news broadcasts here in Inkopolis with an Inkling named Pearl," said Keket, taking a bite out of one of the tacos, her eyebrows going up. "Hot damn, this is delicious! Anyway, we should probably seek them out and see if either of them can put us in touch with the Squid Sisters."
"At least now we have a course of action to follow," said Hector, scarfing down a taco and a few fries. "Jeez, this makes our military rations taste like drain sludge. I definitely want to live here now!"
"Then we go and try to establish contact with Marina and Pearl next," said Sinamoi, taking a sip of cola. "Hopefully we can establish that contact, though. From what I've seen, these 'celebrities' tend to be out of reach for the common populace."
"Like that's going to be enough to stop us," said Keket with a grin.
"Keket's right, we're Sharklings," said Jabb. "We're too stubborn to let anything get in our way."
Sinamoi actually smiled and nodded, "You guys are right, we've got this."
As soon as they finished their food, they were up and on their way to find Pearl and Marina, and hopefully be one step closer to finding help.