The four Sharklings were out on the streets, taking in the sights as they looked for the nearest train station. They had thought Inkopolis had been impressive from a distance, but now they were almost overwhelmed by how massive it was. It definitely put everywhere in their old home to shame; it was certainly more fun to be in. Even Sinamoi found himself being drawn in by the sights and sounds of the city, almost forgetting what they were doing. That is, until someone ran into him.
"Ouch!" yelled the colliding individual as she fell back on her butt, dropping several rolls of fabric she'd been carrying. She looked like an Inkling, but instead of tentacles for hair she had what looked like two pointed "ears" poking out from the top of her head. In her case, they were peeking out from under some kind of head scarf the girl was wearing. She was dressed head to toe in clothes that appeared to be a mishmash of colors and wild patterns as well.
"Hey, why don't you watch where you're going?" demanded Keket, frowning at the girl. "You could break something running around like that!"
"Keket, I'm fine," said Sinamoi, dusting himself off before holding out a hand to the girl. "Are you hurt, Miss…?"
"Huh? Oh, it's Zuni," she said, taking his hand as he helped her up. "I'm sorry about that, I'm just in a big rush. I just had a great idea for a new project and I'm trying to get home before I lose the inspiration." She quickly tried to gather up her dropped fabric.
"Here, let me help with that," said Hector, picking up a few rolls of fabric. "Wow, you're a very colorful individual."
"Thanks, I try," said Zuni with a big smile. "Thanks for that." She blinked when she got a good look at his face. "Fresh shades you got there! Where did you get those?"
"Hmmm? Oh you mean these?" he asked, pointing to his visor. "These aren't a fashion accessory I picked up. They're the only thing allowing me to see what's in front of me. See, I was blinded in a trai-" He saw Sinamoi shooting him a look and quickly changed gears. "Uhh, an accident when I was younger, and someone built these so I'd still be able to see. They hook to cybernetics that link directly to the vision center of my brain."
"Oh, well that sucks that you lost your sight," said Zuni, "but at the same time, now you've got something that sets you apart from the others! Of course, those trippy hairstyles of yours already do that. You look like shark people!"
Keket cleared her throat, caught off guard by Zuni's perceptive ability. "Y-yeah, we, uh, we're shark enthusiasts," she said carefully. "We all wanted to try something different."
"Speaking of different, that's a unique hairstyle of your own," said Jabb. "How did you get the tentacles to make those cute little ears?"
"Oh this? This is standard for a Hareling like me," said Zuni, pointing to her hair. "Have…you guys never heard of Harelings before?"
"We're from out of town," said Sinamoi. "Far, far out of town," he added. "We're still getting used to things in the big city."
Zuni suddenly raised an eyebrow and leaned in closer, looking at Jabb. "Wait a second…those teeth," she said. Jabb quickly tucked his lips in to hide them, but it was too late. "Wait a second…you guys ARE shark people? Where the heck did you come from?" She didn't seem alarmed or frightened; she seemed excited by this discovery!
Keket quickly covered her mouth and hissed "Shhhhh! Tell the whole world, why don't you?"
"Okay you caught us," said Sinamoi. "We're Sharklings, and we're here on an important mission. I don't suppose you know where we could find the nearest train station?"
"Mission? What kind of mission? Are you guys on the run from the Octarians?" Her questions seemed to be coming a mile a minute. "Why do you need to take a train trip?"
"We're…let's just say we're trying to rescue the rest of our kind from the Octarians, and we need help to do it," said Jabb. "We need to take the train to Splatsville and find Deep Cut, and see if they'll direct us to the Squid Sisters."
"Oh is that all you need to do? The Squid Sisters are right here in Inkopolis right now" said Zuni. "Just head to Inkopolis Square, they'll be in a building to the right of the shopping center."
"Well, that saves us a wasted trip," said Jabb. "Shame, though, I was looking forward to seeing the Splatlands. Guess it will have to wait for another day."
"Thanks for the help, Zuni," said Sinamoi. "We appreciate it."
"In that case, let me tag along," said Zuni, putting away her last roll of fabric in her backpack. "I've always wanted to meet the Squid Sisters! Besides, you'll need a guide to life on the surface, and I'm just the girl to do it!"
"Well, I don't know," said Keket. "This has the potential to get dangerous. Especially if the Octarians send people after us."
"Sounds like fun," Zuni responded, bouncing on her toes. "Now come on, follow me!" She took off running down the street.
"Sir, are we really doing this?" asked Keket, looking at Sinamoi.
Sinamoi just shrugged and said, "You heard the lady, let's go." He and the others took off to catch up with Zuni.
As they walked to the Square, Zuni was rattling off about the best things to do in the city, where all the hot hang outs were, and a very brief warning about entering the back alleys of the city. In return, Sinamoi chose to take her into his confidence and told her all about the Sharklings, and about their mission to rescue them. Zuni seemed to be hanging off every word they told her, and voiced some fairly strong opinions about whoever had decided to just lock the Sharklings away in a freezer like frozen fish sticks.
"So it seems these Squid Sisters are the key to getting the aid we need," said Keket as they entered the Square.
"That's kind of crazy," said Zuni. "I mean, the Squid Sisters are big time celebrities, but I don't know how they can help with that. Unless they have some kind of secret connection nobody knows about." She stopped and looked around. "Oh! Here we are, guys, Inkopolis Square!"
"Wow! It's even more amazing than you made it sound," said Jabb, looking around. "Looking forward to checking out those shops."
"Same here," said Keket, "I need to seriously expand my wardrobe."
"Uhh, guys? I hate to be a buzzkill, but we've got a problem," said Hector, suddenly lowering his voice.
"In front of us or behind us?" asked Sinamoi, lowering his voice.
"Behind us," replied Hector. "Four Octolings, likely black ops agents, in civilian disguise. They've been tailing us for about ten minutes now."
Zuni carefully glanced back while pretending to look at a sign across the street and saw them: all four dressed in black, wearing long trench coats with telltale signs of concealed weapons underneath. "What do you guys want to do?" she whispered. "Try to ditch them?"
"No, they'll just keep coming back," said Sinamoi. "Plus, they may target the Squid Sisters if they see them. We need to deal with them here and now."
"You know, I actually have an idea," said Hector. He leaned over to Sinamoi and whispered something into his ear.
Sinamoi's eyebrows went up and he looked at Hector. "Okay, we'll do that," he said. "Keket, you and Zuni go over by the shops, act like you're window shopping. Jabb, you check out the stage. Hector, you go by the Turf War lobby. I'll head up the stairs and wait for their leader to follow me. Get it?"
"Got it," said Keket.
"Good," said Jabb, nodding his head.
They all split up and went to their designated spots. The Octolings all split up, one following each Sharkling at a distance to avoid arousing suspicion. Too little too late, unfortunately for them.
"As soon as it all goes down, keep your distance," Keket whispered to Zuni. "It's going to get really ugly really fast."
"Got it," whispered Zuni.
Sinamoi waltzed up the stairs, acting as casual as could be. He couldn't hear the footsteps, but he could sense the Octoling tailing him, carefully closing the gap. He only hoped his plan would work, or this would all be for nothing. He reached the studio window and there they were: Callie and Marie, the Squid Sisters themselves. They were seated at a table having a conversation, just carrying on like nothing was happening. As they talked, they spotted Sinamoi looking into the glass, smiling politely. They smiled and waved back just as the Octoling came up towards Sinamoi, pulling an Octoshot out of her trench coat.
Marie spotted this first and her smile faded. She started to shout for Sinamoi to turn around, but the Sharkling was more than ready. He immediately spun around and grabbed the Octoling by the wrist with one hand, and smacking the Octoshot out of her hand with the other. The two grappled for a few moments before Sinamoi used his enhanced strength to throw her over his shoulder, smashing her through the glass of the window like a baseball. Both Callie and Marie jumped out of the way, the former screaming bloody murder from the shock.
Between that and the shattering glass, the element of surprise was blown. Keket struck first, delivering a backwards kick to the face of the assassin behind her, knocking her flat on her back. The assassin tailing Hector whipped out his Octoshot, only for Hector to twist his arm back, forcing him to drop the weapon. Jabb took it a step further, grappling with his attacker and yanking the Octoshot from his hand, immediately opening fire on him with his own weapon. The assassin let out a cry as he was splatted across the pavement.
Sinamoi jumped through the shattered window, unwilling to let his attacker recover. "Sorry ladies, I can pay for that!" he shouted to Callie and Marie as he yanked the assassin up off the floor. She responded by instantly headbutting him, forcing him back as she pulled a blade from her sleeve. "Mongrel dog fish," she growled, brandishing the blade as she faced him. She lunged, swiping and slashing as Sinamoi evaded her. Several times she came close enough that the blade cut through the fabric of his tank top, but just narrowly missing the skin beneath. He caught her wrist again and flung her again, sending her sailing over the railing and tumbling through the air down to the ground below, screaming the whole way.
"Guess you could say we had a falling out," said Sinamoi, looking down at where she fell. He looked for his team and saw that they'd managed to subdue the last two assassins and had them restrained. "Guess that takes care of that," he said, turning to the Squid Sisters. "Are you two okay?"
"We're fine," said Marie, "but we're very confused. Why were they trying to kill you in broad daylight? And…who or what are you?"
"I'll answer all your questions at once," said Sinamoi. "My name is Lieutenant Sinamoi, former Octarian army…and I'm a Sharkling. Those assassins were sent to kill me and my team to keep us from finding the two of you."
"What's a…Sharkling?" asked Callie. "Is that some special kind of Inkling?"
"And why would you be trying to contact us?" asked Marie, raising an eyebrow.
"Because the rest of my kind are being held prisoner by the Octolings," said Sinamoi, "and we can't rescue them without help. So, we were told to find you."
Callie and Marie looked at each other, then looked up as they heard approaching sirens. "Alright, I think you need to tell us the whole story," said Marie. "But, first we have a mess to clean up."
A/N: Harelings are the brainchild of Alexis Pflaum and her "Project Splatoon 3" concept. All credit to them! Go check out their work if you can, it's amazing! ArtStation - Project Splatoon 3 Complete Game Concept Overview