Hey all, BaguetteMan, back at it again! I decided to branch out once again. This story will have a main storyline, but will seem more like a sequence of vignettes than anything (at least, that's the goal). If things get too complicated, let me know so I can work them out.
The story takes place after the events of Splatoon 3, with no Cuttlefish involved. So, Captain = Old Agent 3.
Now, for some background…
"What do you mean, limited communication!?" Four yelled, visibly upset at the conditions of the mission he was about to go on. "I want to talk to you guys!"
Last week, the Captain had offered up a mission to the Squidbeak, for whoever would like to accept the challenge. Agent Four, with his wild and outgoing personality, immediately accepted the offer without hesitation.
It was only just now that Four was learning the conditions of his mission. His bags were packed, his shoes were tied, and his stomach was full. To tell him that he would not be allowed to talk with his best friends made him sad.
"We can't risk it, Four," the Captain replied calmly. "We have to keep everything hidden from the Octarians and Cod knows what else down there."
"So I can't contact you at all?" he huffed.
"Not a peep from you, unless it's important."
Callie walked next to Four and wrapped her arms around his torso. "It'll be alright, Four," she said, rubbing her cheek on his. "We'll be here when you get back!"
"Yeah, don't sweat it too much," Marie said from another part of the room. "Get in, get some info, get back. Easy as pie."
"I know, I just wish we could chat…"
Not long after, Four was on a bus leaving Inkopolis for the outskirts, to a small forest county known as Calamari County. His friends were all back in Inkopolis, and he couldn't help but feel sad as he stared out the window at trees, trees, and some corn every now and then.
Several people got on and off the bus at various stops while Four watched them all. Most people seemed to be commuting to and from work, or some of the farmers going into town to sell their fruits and vegetables. Rural Inkopolis was certainly a sight to behold. It was nothing compared to the city.
The bus chugged along, with Four missing his friends more and more every kilometer they went. He wished he never took the mission to begin with. But someone had to do it, and he was going to make sure he did everything he needed to get done.
He closed his eyes and began daydreaming of fighting off hordes of octolings as he made his way out of Octavio's palace with documents of important information. Octavio, with his giant Octobot, chasing down little old Four- and going SPLAT! against the wall when he would get shot by Four. Just like he had done before.
'Wait, didn't Three say that Octavio was a good guy now?' Four thought. 'Eh, it's whatever.'
Four's daydreams were interrupted by a loud voice coming from the front of the bus.
"Terdemais stop. Last call." The bus driver called out to all the passengers on the bus. "We're going back to Inkopolis, so get off now if you need to go further."
Most of the passengers, including Four, gathered their belongings and made their way off the bus. Unlike the rest of the passengers, who were mostly carrying crates of corn and other crops, Four had only his two backpacks and his Splattershot Pro with him.
Terdemais is a small farming town about six hours out of Inkopolis. It was the largest town in Calamari County, which is why there were so many people with crops exiting the bus. This small town was one of the few places where farmers could sell their crops and consumers could purchase fresh produce.
But Four wasn't here for the fresh produce (although, he did purchase a couple fresh apples from someone selling them for cheap, but only because he was hungry). He was more interested in what was beyond the town limits.
Looking at the beautiful sunset that loomed over Terdemais, he turned his back to it, and made his way for the fields that surrounded the town.
Back in Inkopolis, Agents Three and Eight shuffled around, realizing how boring it was without their friend. Four had been the livelihood of the group, constantly making things fun and being a general nuisance to the Captain. Someone else had to take charge of the silliness and make things more fun around here.
The Captain, on the other hand, was enjoying the peace and quiet. Part of her was a bit sad that she had to send one of her Agents away for an extended period of time, but another part was over the moon that her loudest and rowdiest Agent was gone. She sipped on her black coffee as she carefully watched Callie and Marie, who were chatting with each other over tea.
"I sure hope Four is okay on his own," Three said with a hint of sadness in her voice. "Knowing him, he's probably joking around with the passengers on his bus right about now."
"I wouldn't doubt it if he is," Callie chuckled. "He can get quite silly sometimes."
"I almost regret sending him on the mission," Captain blurted out, shocking everyone. "He's going to get himself in trouble out there."
"Four's smart, Captain," said Marie. "He won't get in any trouble if he doesn't want to."
"And what if he wants to?"
Silence filled the room as everyone looked at the Captain.
"I think we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Captain." Three piped up from the back of the room.
"You know what Four is capable of, Captain." Callie said while sipping her tea. "I've seen your notes on his training. And I know you love being brutally honest."
Captain sputtered and spit out her coffee. "Wha- how did you get your hands on my notes!?" She exclaimed in frustration. "You know those aren't for you to see!"
"Sorry. I just couldn't resist."
Captain's face turned bright red in anger as she gripped her coffee mug tightly. The rest of the Squidbeak chuckled to themselves while watching to see what she would do.
"Oh, I'll have my revenge in due time, Agent One." She threatened. "You'll never see it coming."
"...But now that you told me, I'll know it's coming."
"Oh, screw you!"
Eight and Three cracked up laughing, but quickly stopped once they got the glare from Captain.
"This will be a fun couple months."