Sinamoi stood at the train station with the rest of his team, waiting for the departure.
"I can't believe it," said Hector with a big grin. "We're finally going to see the Splatlands!"
"I don't get why you're so excited," said Keket. "It's mostly just desert with a single city."
"Either way, I said we'd take a trip here, and I think now is as good a time as any," said Sinamoi. "The Army should be contacting us within the next day or two, so we might as well go now. Once they give the call, we're going to be busy making preparations."
"Yeah yeah, I get that," said Keket. "Honestly I'm just glad to be doing something. And, I'm enjoying this new version of you. You seem happier, as well."
"I definitely feel better, that's for sure," said Sinamoi. "I guess a little fun really doesn't hurt anybody."
"Hey, here comes the train!" said Jabb, grabbing everyone's attention. Sure enough, the train pulled into the station like a giant metal eel, the doors to the passenger car opening to let its current load of passengers disembark. The Sharklings all stepped on board as soon as they could, taking their seats. Unfortunately, they didn't notice four very sinister figures board the train from two cars down.
"What do you suppose they're going to Splatsville for?" asked Ornus as he took a seat.
"Who knows what they're up to," said Caliga, "and more importantly, who cares. All I know is they won't be coming back."
"This is almost too easy," said Nero, smirking. "We're going to be back home before you know it at this rate."
"I wouldn't be too sure," said Noctis quietly. "After all, they're the best team out there next to us. I still think we should wait for a more opportune time."
"Yes, thank you for saying that for the fiftieth time, Mr. Cloak and Dagger," said Caliga dryly. "If you don't like it, feel free to hide in a dark alley somewhere and brood. We're taking these guppies out now, while their guard is down." She couldn't help but smirk when she saw the frown Noctis gave her before he looked away.
The train pulled out of the station, two very different sets of plans being made.
Splatsville
Sinamoi, Keket, Jabb and Hector emerged from the train and out into the city of Splatsville. "Well, here we are," said Sinamoi, "at long last, in Splatsville. What do you guys think?"
"I think it's amazing!" said Hector. "This makes the second major Inkling metropolis we've visited so far!"
"Just looks like a smaller Inkopolis with a bigger emphasis on anarchy," said Keket. "But…I guess it does have its charms."
"I might want to try some of those Turf Wars while we're here," said Hector, taking pictures with his phone's camera. "Wonder what the arenas are like here?"
"Honestly I might join you," said Sinamoi. "Might have to gear ourselves up first, though."
"That sounds like a shopping trip," said Keket, starting to smile. "Am I right?"
"Sounds good to me," said Sinamoi, but then he suddenly turned serious. He turned around and began looking all over, as if trying to spot something.
"Sinamoi? What's the matter?" asked Hector.
"I just suddenly got this feeling," said Sinamoi. "The feeling that we're being followed."
The others went quiet. "You think it's Black Fin Squad," Hector whispered as quietly as possible.
"It might be," Sinamoi whispered back.
"Figures, we can't even take a little trip out of town without trouble following us," Keket grumbled under her breath.
"Everyone be on your guard," said Sinamoi. "Come on, let's go this way." He headed for a café immediately to the left of the train station. They all ordered coffees and took their seats, watching the entrance without appearing to do so.
Sure enough, in walked four other Sharklings, wearing hoodies to disguise their appearance. But the body language was all there: the military stride, posture and demeanor, the way they kept surveying their surroundings, the tell-tale teeth. They all took seats near the entrance and just sat there, probably watching them from the corners of their eyes.
"Yeah that's them, alright," Sinamoi whispered as he sipped his latte. "I'd know Nero's profile anywhere, that bloody-hungry bastard."
"Caliga…ooh I'd love to get my hands on her right here and right now," Keket hissed, sipping her mocha, ignoring the whipped cream mustache it left behind.
"Yeah, and I'd love to show that slippery sea snake Noctis a few things myself," said Hector, watching the spooky Sharkling from behind his visor.
"Ornus…I'd love to humble that lumbering lummox right in front of everyone," Jabb growled.
"Let's not be too hasty," said Sinamoi. "We can't just make this place messy with people. We need to be smart about this."
Just then a door near the back of the café opened and in waltzed a jellyfish in a T-shirt and wearing a headset. He slid straight over to the register and began placing an order.
"Now what's that all about?" asked Keket. "Is there some kind of studio next door?"
A passing Inkling overheard her question and she turned to her. "First time in Splatsville, huh? Right next door is where Deep Cut does the Anarchy Splatcast."
The four Sharklings all looked at each other. "Deep Cut…didn't the Doc suggest we go to them for help?" asked Jabb.
"Kind of pointless now, what with the Army backing us up," said Keket.
"That's a shame," said Hector. "I really wanted to meet them. They seem like a fun bunch."
Sinamoi was quiet, sipping his latte. "Actually, I think Deep Cut might be able to help us in another way," he said. "It might keep Caliga and her cronies off our tail fins for a little while."
"What did you have in mind?" asked Jabb.
"Get up and follow my lead," said Sinamoi, getting up from his seat.
The others got up and began to follow him out of the café. As they passed Caliga and her team, they all put their hands behind their backs…and flashed them a well-known hand gesture.
"Oh those cocky little bitches," Caliga growled, her eyes narrowing. "Okay, enough waiting around. We're doing this now. Get up, all of you." She stood up out of her seat and began to follow, the others getting up to join her.
Inside the studio, Deep Cut were enjoying their little break between broadcasts, just sharing some silly stories.
"So next thing I know, he goes flying overhead, thinking he's going to execute the perfect sneak attack," said Frye, using her hands to re-enact the incident. "Only then does he realize he overshot the ledge and down he goes, like a brick. Cost his team the lead and ultimately the Turf War because of it."
"In other words, he should have remembered the old saying 'always look before you leap,' as they say," said Shiver with a slight chuckle. "So sorry I missed that."
"Sometimes Turf Wars can turn into live-action cartoons," added Big Man, still standing behind his screen.
As Frye continued with her story, Shiver glanced towards the large window that looked out into the city. She could see four individuals standing by the glass, all with what she had to say were seriously fresh hairstyles. They made her think of sharks, with the fin sideburns and tails. Must be shark enthusiasts, she thought to herself. One who was wearing a pretty impressive pair of shades was taking a photo of them with his phone and waving with a big smile. Shiver smiled and waved back with her fan, and Frye and Big Man joined in.
Shiver was about to leave it at that and go back to the conversation when she saw four more figures move into view, all wearing hoodies with the hoods pulled up. Almost at once she started getting a bad feeling. She remembered the incident almost a week ago that had happened in Inkopolis, where Callie and Marie had experienced some kind of attack on some visitors to the city. Was it about to happen again? She got her answer when each of the figures suddenly slipped blades out of their sleeves and came up behind the other four. Her eyes shot open in alarm, realizing what was about to go down.
"Hey Shiver, are you okay?" asked Frye, before looking out the window and seeing what Shiver had seen. "What the heck?!"
It happened like the strike of a match. Sinamoi and his friends immediately spun around, blocking the blade strikes, triggering a brawl. Any civilian that had been close by quickly ran away to escape it. Ornus let out a roar and charged at Hector, only for Jabb to deliver a powerful sweep kick to his leg, sending him into the window. The glass shattered, sending the massive Sharkling into the studio, narrowly missing one of the sound jellyfish.
"Impressive reflexes," said Nero, leering at Sinamoi as the two grappled. "I thought for sure I'd finally stick you like the hogfish you are."
"Funny, I was just about to point out how slow you've gotten since you went into cryo," said Sinamoi, headbutting Nero hard before tossing him over his shoulder, sending him crashing into the studio as well.
The camera crew retreated to a safe distance, but didn't flee the studio. Instead, they began to film the entire thing, broadcasting it live not only to the Splatlands, but also to Inkopolis!
"You know, Keket, I almost beat you the last time we scuffled," Caliga sneered as she swung her blade at the other Sharkling. "This time I'm going to bleed you, nice and slow."
"Your memory is as weak as your swing," said Keket, grinning. "As I recall, our last encounter went like THIS!" She caught Caliga's wrist, then grabbed her by the back of the head, and then slammed her face first into the glass, leaving a nasty cut on her forehead.
Hector was looking around quickly. "Where'd you go, you slimy little bottom feeder?" he yelled out.
Seconds later, the air behind him shimmered and Noctis appeared, grabbing him from behind in a chokehold. "Right behind you, guppy," he hissed menacingly.
"Ggh…good…right where I expected you to be," said Hector, elbowing him hard right above where his ink sac was located. Noctis immediately released his hold, coughing out a mix of blood and ink, clutching his chest. Before he could recover, Hector decked him hard with a series of punches to the jaw, shattering several of his teeth, before sending him smashing back into the wall with a kick to the diaphragm.
Ornus roared in rage, swinging at Jabb, who was easily evading the larger and slower Sharkling. "Stay still so I can smash you!"
"Now now, Ornus, swinging wildly around isn't the right way to make shark burgers," said Jabb mockingly. "Especially when I can just spring behind you," he added, doing a handspring off one of the chairs, sailing over Ornus' head behind him, "and dance on your head!" As he delivered his line, he gave Ornus a solid kick to the back of the head with both legs, sending him smashing face down on the floor.
"What on Earth is going on here?" Frye yelled, hiding behind the screen with Shiver and Big Man, peering out to watch the fight.
"I don't know, but now I know how Bosses Callie and Marie felt last week," said Shiver. "I wonder if it's the same guys they saw?"
"Who cares?! They're wrecking the place!" exclaimed Big Man.
Caliga and her team regrouped, facing down Sinamoi and his team. "Hate to say this, Caliga, but we're not winning this round," said Nero.
"If you think I'm retreating now-" Caliga started to say until she spotted the camera crew. Worse, she saw the lights on the cameras, indicating that they'd been recording everything. Her eyes shot open, realizing she'd just blown their cover. "Okay, I admit it," she said, "we need to back out of here." Glaring at Sinamoi, she added, "Don't think this is over." She grabbed a smoke bomb from her belt and threw it at the floor, where it burst apart.
"Cover your eyes!" yelled Sinamoi as the smoke filled the room. When it cleared, Caliga and the others were gone. "Well, we survived that one," he said. He turned to the others. "You guys okay?" he asked.
"We'll live, thankfully," said Keket, looking around at the studio. "So much for not making a mess."
"At least no civilians got hurt," said Sinamoi. He looked up at Deep Cut. "Is anybody hurt?"
"No, no we're fine," said Shiver, stepping out from behind the screen. "You guys weren't exactly subtle, though."
"A thousand apologies for that," said Hector. "They didn't really give us much choice in the matter."
"No kidding, who the heck were those guys?" Frye demanded. "And who are you guys? Where did you learn to do all that? And where'd you get those fresh hairdos?"
"Wait a moment," said Shiver, coming closer to Sinamoi. "You…aren't by chance the same guys who were involved in that fight in Inkopolis last week, were you?"
"Guilty as charged," said Sinamoi. "I'm Sinamoi, and that's Keket, Hector, and Jabb. You guys heard about that incident out here, too?"
"We heard it directly from the sea horse's mouth," said Big Man. "Callie and Marie told us everything. But who were those guys after you?"
"That's quite a story, actually," said Jabb. "If you'd like to hear it."
Shiver, Frye, and Big Man all looked at each other, smiled, and said in unison, "Interview time!"