Chapter Description:
Spike has finally got me out of Deepsea Metro on the first attempt... or at least, that's how it feels even though it wasn't the case.
Marina has found out a few details about just how Spike got his hands on some magic too. Spike probably doesn't know this though... and he's about to come in and visit me. I wonder what for?
Disclaimers:
Splatoon is owned by Nintendo
Spike is my own OC, as is the currently unnamed Sea Urchin.
Despite how stressful it was to be controlled by Spike and trust that he'd complete the tests without getting me splatted too often, as he progressed me through Octo Expansion the stress each time seemed to lessen as I got more accustomed to it.
For his part, Spike kept his skills sharp, and likely thanks to his playing in turf wars, even seemed to improve - which in turn definitely helped reassure me that despite occasional mistakes and some of the more challenging tests testing his skills, I could trust him to see me safely through Octo Expansion.
That's not to say it all went to plan, of course. Once or twice he found himself really put to the test, which in turn meant I had to listen to him getting steadily more angry - even rage-quitting on a few occasions.
Sometimes this meant that he stopped playing for a bit, and I had to endure several days of waiting for him to decide to attempt it again. At least by then I had a ready supply of CQ Points to spend on the vending machines and their… rather limited selection of pre-packaged food.
Maybe it was just that I was still getting used to having the taste buds of an Octoling instead of a human, but no matter what I tried, it always seemed to taste rather bland. Some of it even made me question whether it was out of date - not that it ever was.
Spike made the choice to avoid doing the 'thang' stations until there was nothing else to do - much to the veiled annoyance of the Telephone when I wasn't under Spike's control, taking every opportunity to try to encourage me whenever I was at Central Station to use the vending machines.
Finally however, Spike cleared the last test and assembled the totally-not-a-blender that really does ascend you to the Promised Land, no, really, it does. Knowing the truth behind the Telephone really didn't help do anything about how unnerving the entire experience is.
I mean, I knew exactly what it was and what it would do - and despite knowing that while under Spike's control, Agent 3 would turn up to interrupt the blender… the threat of danger was something I couldn't ignore. After all, Spike had used magic before, and who knew what kind of side effects that might have?
Thankfully, however, Marina hacked my CQ-80 and sent the distress call that caused Agent 3 to come crashing through the ceiling, punching the Telephone (the look on its 'face' was priceless) and then ending up knocked out so I had to leave Captain Cuttlefish behind as Spike took me through the escape.
I wondered why Spike didn't seem to comment as we started the stealth stage, but put it down to his being focused on trying not to get me splatted. That being said, there was a… curiosity. When we finished the stage, I heard him burst out with an exasperated, "Finally!"
But this was the first attempt - why did he sound like he'd already had to play it several times? But being under his control, I didn't have any way of asking about it as we moved on, but I heard Spike grumbling faintly about time.
I don't know about him, but I certainly felt a lot better about my chances once he got me a weapon in the next section, even if it was only Splat Bombs at first, and the Octo Shot later.
Again though at the end of each of the phases, there were curiously annoyed remarks from Spike, and right as I stood at the start of the fourth phase, he spoke up again. "I'm going to have to take a pause here to cool off. I can't go back to another mode in the middle of this, so I don't know how going to the home screen will feel to you. Try not to get yourself splatted while I'm gone."
His remark was unwarranted however, as only a moment later I heard him yet again, "OK, that was longer than I would have liked, but I'm finally back. Let's get back to getting you out of there." Clearly the home screen paused time entirely for me.
As Spike took me through the fourth phase of the escape, I had the nagging feeling that there was something I was missing, some detail I couldn't put my finger on at the time, and not just because he was controlling me. I started to notice that Spike controlled me as if he knew what to expect. Had he found a way to practise without me?
I got distracted from that line of thought when I heard the sounds of the Telephone doing… something to Agent 3 and Captain Cuttlefish. Of course I knew what it meant, but the sound effects were… disturbing enough that I really didn't want to think about it. Never mind that it meant I was actually going to have to fight Agent 3.
"Bear with me a few moments," Spike told me as we entered the next phase, the Diaphragm phase. "I'm going to look up some help on this one. I'm getting a bit annoyed at having to flail around blindly getting you splatted…"
What? But I hadn't been splatted! And blindly? The way he'd been controlling me definitely didn't feel blind. And then I remembered something I'd read once before on Inkipedia - that the developers had revealed that if you got splatted in this section of Octo Expansion, Agent 8 died and your 'respawning' was actually the game going back in time instead.
That explained why I wasn't remembering the failed attempts. Clearly Spike either didn't know or didn't remember this. It did however make me a little concerned - just how many times had I 'died'?
With the aid of whatever help he looked up, the next two phases went a lot better - though as he didn't make any remark in the Peristalsis phase, which is just a Tower Control mode really, I wondered if it was even really the first attempt. I clearly didn't remember anything he'd said in a failed attempt, because for me time was wound back before then if it happened - and I had no way of knowing, and no way of asking.
I was… extremely apprehensive about the fight with Agent 3, even if he was mind-controlled - and even knowing that I would only remember the one successful attempt, and not any failed ones. Even what I do remember is… mostly a terrified blur. Spike didn't make it any easier with am angry remark part way through the fight, "I'm going to turn you into the biggest ink-splat Inkopolis has ever seen, even if you are Agent 3, if you splat me one more time!"
Despite Spike's remarks, Agent 3 fell to me thanks to Spike's control, allowing me to free Captain Cuttlefish and remove the mind-controlling sanitization goop from Agent 3's head. Something which actually takes place off-screen, and that I took considerable care in, because I really did not want Tartar to mind-control me too.
"Now for the easier part of this," Spike commented as I emerged above ground for the first time since he turned me into an Octoling. "Or at least so I was told by just about every player's Octoling that I ever met."
From having watched people play Octo Expansion, that's the same sentiment I recall hearing too. Despite the time-limit on this section, we had plenty of time to spare by the time that Spike made me explode the last hyperbomb, exploding the NILS Statue and destroying Tartar.
"You're going to get a bit of time free from me in a moment," Spike told me. "After that you'll be in Inkopolis Square at last. Don't wander off - I won't be controlling you there for a little bit because I'm going to come in again."
Rather than sitting through the credits sequence that normally plays, I instead got flown to Inkopolis alongside everyone else. I didn't say much, preferring to just… try and recover from the adrenaline rush the whole experience had given me, even if it was more Spike than me.
And once we got back to town, I didn't even get to say anything before Marina took me aside after only a whispered word to Pearl, who took care of excusing us as I was led, unexpectedly, to the backstage of the Inkopolis News Studio.
"So two things," she told me. "First, I figure you probably don't want to be wearing the same outfit any longer than you have to - especially an Octarian one - so I arranged for some basic gear for you."
"That's definitely appreciated. If I wore this any longer, I feel like it would start embedding itself in my skin…" I remarked, ducking behind a handy screen to change. The small package she'd handed me turned out to be the same basic starter-gear that new Inklings got, only with the Fresh Octo Tee instead of the Basic Tee. Had I still been human, I would have preferred to have a shower, but since that would splat me…
Fortunately, Marina had thought of that too. "Here, take this too," she went on, handing a small spray-can around to me. "You, ah… definitely smell like you've been down there a long time without a wash."
"Are you reading my mind or something? I was just thinking about that too. Anything else, or did you want to mention the second thing?"
"I've told Pearl to expect you around the studio a bit so you can stop by and ask us questions about, you know, being an Octoling and all that. The second thing is about Spike and the magic you told me about."
She didn't say any more until I'd emerged, changed into the new gear and hopefully smelling a lot better than I had before. I was beckoned over to her laptop, showing a map of Inkopolis.
"So I had to do a lot of digging to find out about this. It turns out that being a video game character means that it's kinda hard for me to learn stuff about the video game world. Still trying to come to terms with that discovery too, but…" She seemed a little unsettled by that.
"Yeah, I can see that being a bit of a shock to discover. Sorry for my part in that."
"Not your fault," she waved it off. "Anyway, the green line on this map is what you have access to when Spike is controlling you. Not much, as you can see. I had to go outside that area to find Inklings that belong to other players."
"Only Inklings?" I asked. "Wait - don't tell me. Because I hadn't got out of Deepsea…"
"Playable Octolings weren't unlocked, so I couldn't see any of them. I had to pay some off-duty player Inklings to talk to the off-duty Octolings to get some information. You owe me for this, you know," she added pointedly.
"Whenever Spike isn't controlling me, I'll do whatever I can to make up for everything you've done," I told her, which seemed to be enough to satisfy her. She nodded and moved on, opening up more details on her laptop, showing someone who looked much like Spyke, the Sea Urchin.
"From everything I was able to dig up, this is the guy who provided your Inkling with the magic he used on you. He doesn't have traditional charges for his services, so I have no idea what Spike offered him. On top of that, there's something… weird about him."
"Weird how? I realise I may come to regret asking that question, since even being an Octoling is kind of weird." I saw Marina's expression then quickly added, "To me, at least. I was human not so long ago."
"Guess I can let you off for that then," she replied with a slight smile. "What I mean is that everyone who went to see him had the same thing to say - they remember him always being there… but they also have the feeling that he wasn't there just a few weeks ago."
"That's… huh… I wonder if that's down to magic too?" I wondered.
Marina shrugged. "Magic is something from outside Inkopolis - and probably the rest of this world. Shouldn't you know more about it than me?"
"It's not something I actually know anything about. I mean, I live in an area that's got a magic-rich environment, but I don't actually do any magic. Still… at least I know who I need to find."
"Just be careful. Everything I've been told about him says the costs are steep. And you've got to try and keep this from your Inkling too."