Drake gazed at the city below him with Otome, leaning onto the guardrail. Otome shot a glance at the human next to her, and just as she was about to say something, a sudden blackout spread throughout the entire city, covering it in darkness and surprising the human, who instantly backed away in alarm.
"Of course..." Drake heard Otome say, also hearing her footsteps as she approached him.
"What just happened?" he asked, looking at the silhouette that appeared to be his friend.
"Just the usual you could say..." the lieutenant replied with an upset tone while crossing her arms.
"So this is the problem you were talking about, isn't it?" Drake said, looking around the whole place.
"Just a part of it..." Otome replied before the lights went back on, though they weren't as bright as they were just a few seconds ago.
"Now... Take another look at the city..." she continued, looking down while holding one of her arms.
Doing what the girl said, Drake approached the guardrail once again and was surprised to see how Octomburg city now had several zones in complete darkness, while the ones that had electricity were flickering or didn't shine as much as they did before.
This scenario turned the previously bustling night city into one that looked like it was on the brink of dying on itself.
"Lieutenant, we better head down now..." said one of Otome's squad members, to which she nodded and then turned to Drake.
"Let's go, there's someone we want you to meet first" she said while gesturing him to follow her.
Going down a slope, they arrived at an elevator that thankfully still worked, followed by one of Otome's squad mates pulling down a lever to activate the elevator. They stayed silent for a couple of minutes, until Drake asked a question that anyone could answer.
"So... Who am I supposed to see?" he asked, which made every octoling present look at each other, as if waiting for one of them to say something.
But a moment later, they all placed their eyes on Otome, who just sighed before finally answering the human's question.
"His name is DJ Octavio, or Emperor Octavio like he likes being called. He watches over the entire city, not to mention that he also leads the whole army, including us" Otome explained, earning a nod from the human.
"I see. So you could say that he's the one in charge of the whole city and the army, right?" Drake asked once again.
"Basically" Otome replied dryly while shrugging.
"And why did you take this long to tell me?" Drake kept questioning the group, crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side.
Otome was about to say something, but her younger sister interrupted her before she could say a word.
"We just wanted to know who'd be the most capable one to describe our leader, and the lieutenant here was the best option, right?" Irian said, giving her older sister a friendly nudge.
"Yeeaah..." Otome said with a hint of discomfort in her voice, forcing a smile while thinking that she was nowhere near as good at describing their leader... Or at least in a good way.
But the moment Drake was about to ask something else, the elevator had finally reached its destination and opened its doors.
Another group of soldiers received the group, and couldn't help but gasp upon seeing a real ancient one in the flesh, murmuring and whispering among them but being quickly silence by who appeared to be their leader.
"Follow us..." He said, he was a male octoling a bit taller than Otome, with a piercing gaze that would freeze anyone's blood. Despite not wearing a chestplate like other soldiers, his uniform, coat and badges showed that he was a high ranking soldier.
The newly arrived group led Drake and Otome into the city, and it didn't take long for the human to start feeling uncomfortable, feeling everyone's eyes on him, especially those of the female octarians, who would analyze every detail of his body.
Once they went deeper into the city, the faces of its citizens showed nothing but shock and surprise upon seeing the human walking among them.
The streets were slowly filled with curious bystanders trying to see what was happening, forcing the soldiers to push away anyone who came too close to the group.
Drake just looked around at the civilians that had gathered around him, and noticed that unlike Inkopolis, which was filled with all sorts of critters and colorful inklings, Octomburg consisted of only octarians and octolings, and their tentacles were varying shades of red like Otome's, with a few of them being black like Irian's. But there was someone who caught his attention, a dark-skinned octolings with short, dark brown tentacles and their tips being turquoise.
She was jumping up and down, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on while holding a laptop, but what seemed odd about her was that she was a high-ranking officer, shown by the pieces of kelp decorating the sides of her goggles. But instead of being at the front helping her fellow comrades with the crowd, she just stayed at the back, acting more like a civilian than the soldier she was.
But after a few moments, Drake lost sight of her in the multitude of people. Focusing on something else, he realized that just like Otome said, the female octolings were drilling holes into him with their eyes, and a lot of them gave him a mischievous grin while staring at him, making him gulp. Noticing this, Otome stood next to the human and glared at the other octarians, Irian also stood next to him, but she just gave him a bright smile to try and comfort him.
After a few more minutes, they were now arriving at what Drake thought to be a big manor. The civilians being left behind as they kept moving closer to the building, no one daring to even approach it.
"So this is where this Octavio guy lives, right?" Drake asked, looking around the building.
"Yes, and it's also Octomburg's power plant" Otome replied, catching the human by surprise for a moment.
"Hah... Guess that's why it looks like it works just fine" he commented, raising an eyebrow. Moments later, the gates to the manor were opened, a group of guards stepping aside for the newly arrived guests to come in.
The officer leading them didn't even say a word, and just walked inside before the rest followed.
Drake kept his guard up the whole time. Knowing that he was now inside the domains of the governor of the inkling's rival race, he couldn't help but feel some doubtful towards whoever he was, but he couldn't make up his mind before giving him a chance.
The inside of the manor seemed to be really tidied up, with high quality furniture and several paintings decorating the walls. It also had several guards standing on almost every corner of the building.
The sound of footsteps was the only thing being heard through the hallways as the walked while they headed to an elevator.
Deep down, Otome was feeling anxious, wondering how Drake's encounter with Octavio would end up, and wishing for the day to end without some sort of conflict between the two.
The moment they arrived at the elevator, the officer leading them was the only one to step in, along two personal guards. Drake also went in, followed by Otome, but the moment her squad tried to go with her, they were stopped by the officer.
"Only the ancient one and your leader can come, the rest of you will have to wait here!" he ordered with a cold tone.
"W-what!? But-...!" Irian tried to argue, but she was interrupted by the officer.
"I said you can't come with us..." he insisted, now almost threatening them, making Irian step back.
Both Drake and Otome didn't like how he talked to Irian and Otome's teammates, not one bit, even if he was a higher-ranking officer, they found his condescending attitude to be plain disrespectful.
"Hey... Do they really have to wait for us down here?" Drake asked, making the officer turn to him.
"I'm sorry. But those are orders from the Emperor Octavio" he replied, now with a calmer tone.
"What if I say that I want them to come with us?" Drake insisted while Otome's team looked at him with hope.
"My orders will remain the same... And with all due respect... I don't take orders from you" the officer replied, shooting a glare at Drake.
"Yeah... I can tell..." Drake said while looking at the officer with disdain before looking at Otome's team and shrugging, as if saying: "Well, I tried".
On the other hand, the lieutenant was clenching her fists, trying not to lash out and punch the officer in the face. But she quickly calmed herself down and sighed before looking at her team.
"It's alright... Return to base, I'll catch up to you once we're done here" Otome ordered, her squad saluting before reluctantly making their way to the exit.
In view of that, the officer finally started the elevator. Otome just kept her head low the entire time, while Drake looked at her with concern.
A moment later, the human placed a hand on her shoulder, making Otome look up to him, and seeing Drake giving her a soothing smile, to which she smiled back.
The officer discretely glanced at the lieutenant, noticing how close she was to the ancient one, and how that could benefit him in the future. He couldn't help but smirk with malice.
Once the elevator stopped, its doors opened and revealed another well lit hallway leading directly to two big doors, with a sign that drake didn't understand, but he already had an idea of what it meant.
The officer was the first one to step out, followed by his personal guards, and lastly, Drake and Otome.
In that moment, the air was filled with tension as they approached the doors, and paired with the lieutenant's anxiousness, she was trying her best to keep calm, and this was noticed by the human, now having a bad feeling about all this, but he tried to play it off by convincing himself that they would just ask for help with their energy problem.
Now at the doors, the officer knocked on it a few times, and after a moment, they slowly opened themselves.
The room itself was dimly lit, with the only source of light being several monitors that showed surveillance cams from all over the city, several wires running across the floor and a DJ stand in the middle of the room, acting as a desk. And behind the stand, there was a great throne facing away from the group.
The octolings walked up to a certain distance from the throne before they all kneeled down, including Otome, to Drake's surprise.
"My lord, we've brought you the ancient one as per your orders!" said the officer, but the only thing he got was silence.
The officer then turned to drake, noticing that he hadn't kneeled down like the rest of them did, instead, he was just standing with his hands in his pockets.
"You should also kneel down, you're before the maximum authority of our kind..." the officer said with a threatening tone, which only annoyed Drake a bit.
"I'm sorry, but I don't kneel down before no one, and besides... Do I really have to...?" Drake replied with a smug tone, taunting the officer in front of his leader.
Otome gulped with anxiousness. This was one of the things that she wished didn't happen, both because of the first impression her kind would leave on Drake, as well as the one he would leave on her leader.
The officer was about to stand up and face Drake to try and threaten him, but before he could do that, a deep and distorted voice made him instantly kneel down once again.
"Captain Reinek... I think our guest here is right. It would be very impolite of us to ask for someone like him to kneel down, even if it's before me... And don't forget that you're talking to a human, a member of the race that came before us... It should be you who should show some respect..." Octavio said in a calm yet menacing manner, making the officer gulp.
"I-I'm sorry, your majesty...! I don't know what I was thinking... It won't happen again, I swear!" Reinek replied, leaving Drake a little surprised at how Octavio put the officer back in his place. Though he well knew that it was out of fear instead of respect.
"Do not disappoint me, captain..." Octavio said before slowly turning around on his throne, slowly revealing his appearance.
Drake couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and look mildly surprised at the emperor. A large, purple octopus sitting on his throne, with a golden helmet in the style of kabuto* with an octopus shaped emblem on the front and stylized with a wasabi leaf. He was sitting with his tentacles crossed, but what caught Drake's attention the most was a bright scar in the shape of an 'X' on one of his tentacles.
(T/N: A kabuto helmet refers to what we usually call a "samurai helmet" in this case)
Octavio's eyes were blue with a green sclera, as well as having the same outline that every octoling Drake's met so far had, but he didn't focus too much on that, since his ever-constant frown made Octavio look like he was glaring at everyone at all times.
Octavio looked at Drake from head to toe, seeing that he was taller than he expected, though the human was merely a few centimeters taller than him.
"So the rumors were true... An ancient one has returned after all this time" Octavio commented, followed by placing his eyes on the lieutenant.
"Good job, lieutenant Otome. You truly showed me that you were speaking the truth after all" he continued, to which she stood up straight.
"I was only doing my job... Sir..." Otome said with her hands behind her back. Drake had glanced at her for a moment, but she quickly looked away in shame, as if feeling guilty about something.
The human then focused back on the great octarian, taking his hands out of his pockets and putting them behind him just like Otome did.
"Emperor Octavio, I suppose?" Drake asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Please, just call me DJ Octavio, or just Octavio, if you'd like" he politely replied, leaving Otome a bit surprised, since she knew that the emperor wouldn't show this amount of respect to anyone, but then quickly realized that her human friend was in fact, a human, so it was to be expected for everyone from her kind to show some manners when talking to him.
"Well... Almost everyone" she thought to herself, glancing at Reinek, still kneeling before Octavio like a lap dog awaiting for an order from his owner.
"Alright... Octavio... I guess you also know why I'm here, right?" Drake asked.
"But of course... That's one of the reasons why I allowed the lieutenant to bring you here" Octavio replied calmly.
"Allowed?" Drake asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.
Upon hearing the ancient one's question, Octavio dismissed every soldier in the room with a gesture using his tentacles.
"But sir, don't you think it would be safer if-..." Reinek tried to argue against Octavio's order, only to be interrupted by him.
"I said, 'out'..." Octavio demanded once again, now using a more threatening tone, which didn't go unnoticed by Drake.
"Y-yes, your majesty, as you wish" Reinek said, giving Octavio one last nod before walking out of the room, followed by his two personal guards. Otome had also turned around, thinking that she also had to leave, but before she could take a single step, Octavio called her.
"Except for you, lieutenant Otome. Remember that this also concerns you" Octavio said, stopping Otome in her tracks.
Otome didn't say anything and just walked up to Drake, who now started to feel like she was hiding something from him about her leader.
"You see, mister... Drake, is it?" Octavio asked, making an expression as if raising an eyebrow.
"Yes..." Drake replied dryly.
"When the lieutenant's squad returned, saying that she had been... 'Kidnapped' by a strange creature, we initially thought they were just trying to cover for her, thinking that she had deserted, disappeared, or... Died... In the worst case" Octavio started to explain, to which Otome just looked away while holding one of her arms, making Drake feel a little concerned about her.
"But when she came back after more than two weeks, demanding to have an audience with me, I wanted to just dismiss her, stripping her of her rank, and kick her out of the army" Octavio continued, now making the lieutenant look down in shame.
"And then she showed me the proof of your existence, and told me about the deal that she had made with you, so I had no other option but to give her a chance to prove it... Of course, I also ordered her to tell me everything she knew about you, and what happened while she was outside... Tell me, is it true that you also spent a few days in the city of those... Squids...?" Octavio asked, using a disdained tone when mentioning the inklings, as if trying to stay polite.
"Yes, it's true. A lot happened while I was in Inkopolis, but at least I didn't have much trouble over there" Drake replied.
"I see... But if my memory doesn't fail me, the lieutenant also told me that when you first met, you were being chased by a group of inklings, and they were being led by a duo that I probably don't need to mention..." Octavio kept questioning Drake.
"Yeah, well... Truth is, I've been to Inkopolis twice... The first one didn't go that well" he replied, whispering those last words, but they were still heard by Octavio.
"Hmm. The inklings have always been... Problematic... But I assure you that every problem you've ran into over there, you won't have them over here" Octavio 'reassured' Drake before pressing a button on his throne, turning the lights of the room on.
"I don't doubt that..." Drake said almost sarcastically, taking another look at the room.
"Because I'll probably run into another type of problems..." He thought to himself before focusing back on the large octopus in front of him.
"Well, that's enough distractions for now, let's get back on the reason why you're here... I heard that you humans had several ways to generate electricity, and some of them were even capable of powering an entire city. Which one fo you think could help Octomburg?" Octavio asked, now catching Otome's attention.
"Hmm... That depends on the area the city's in. As you may already know, my people had several ways to generate electricity, but most of them depended on the area to see which one would be the most efficient. I'd have to see what your current energy source is right now, and then explore the surface around the city to decide how I could help you" Drake explained, getting a nod from Octavio.
"In that case, you're free to check out our power plants, and the area surrounding Octomburg. I shall also send you some of my engineers to help you out, but you'll have to explain in excruciating detail whatever you have in mind" he replied.
"Guess I better get going then. Where are those... Zapfish things everyone's been talking about?" Drake asked, getting ready to head out.
"The lieutenant will take you there, now, would you kindly leave us alone for a moment? There's something important that I must tell her" Octavio politely requested, but Drake wasn't too fond of the idea of leaving Otome alone with him, even more so knowing the way that he had treated her after she came back.
But he then realized that he was inside the great Octarian's property, and Otome was part of his army, so he could only nod before turning around and leaving the room.
"Listen up, soldier... From now on, I want you to become that human's shadow. Learn everything you can about him, and try to convince him to stay for as long as possible. I know he trusts you, and we could use that against those scummy inklings. Make him tell you everything about his weapons, and how they work too" Octavio ordered while Otome just stood in place with her arms behind her bad, her head low enough for a shadow to cover her eyes.
"I don't care how, I just want you to do it, but make it so he doesn't suspect anything. And tell me everything you know afterwards... Have I made myself clear?" Octavio continued, getting dangerously close to Otome.
"Y-yes... Sir..." she forced herself to comply, clenching her fist behind her back in an attempt to hold herself back, knowing that she couldn't do anything in her current position.
"Good... You're dismissed, and don't you dare fail me, lieutenant..." Octavio warned Otome as she turned around and began heading towards the door.
But then, Octavio called for her once again, making her stop.
"Just one more thing... Tell that human to have a talk with our scientists, I'm sure those maggots would be overjoyed to study a live ancient one. And that would also make him suspect even less about our true goal" Octavio gave Otome one last order, to which she didn't even turn around and picked up the pace.
Once the lieutenant left, Octavio slowly turned around on his throne. If he had a mouth, he would have a wicked grin on his face right now, while a somber and evil laugh was heard across the room.
Now out of the throne room, Otome leaned against the doors, clenching her teeth with rage. Her ink boiled at Octavio's outrageous order, and if she was alone, she would yell the worst things that came to her mind.
But a familiar voice made her regain her composure, noticing that it was Drake who was calling for her.
The human walked up to her, but for some reason, Reinek and his guards were nowhere to be seen, perhaps they were called somewhere else.
"You're finally out of there... Did that Octavio guy tell you where the power plant is?" Drake asked now in front of the octoling.
"Eh...? No, I... I'll be the one to take you there" she replied with a fake smile, trying to hide her anger towards her leader.
"Oh, nice... I thought it would be someone else for a moment" Drake commented, smiling back at Otome.
"Y-yeah... How lucky, haha... We better get going then" she said before walking away, not even waiting for the human's response.
"Uhh... Sure" Drake replied, a bit confused about Otome's sudden eagerness to get out before catching up to her.
Otome didn't look at him, or even say a single word, which created an awkward silence between the two.
"So... Won't you tell me what you talked about with that guy?" Drake asked in an attempt to break the ice, making Otome finally look at him with a mildly surprised expression.
"Sorry, I can't tell you nothing about that... I can just tell you that it's nothing you should worry about" she lied, forcing a smile, but Drake wasn't fully convinced by her words.
"Sorry to tell you, but... I don't trust that Octavio guy all that much..." Drake commented.
"You're better off that way..." Otome muttered under her breath, but she was heard by the human.
"Said something?" Drake asked, a bit curious about what Otome said.
"Huh!? N-no, nothing! Hey, did you see where the other guy and his guards went?" Otome asked, in an attempt to change the topic, and reprimanding herself for being careless.
"You mean Reinek? I saw him standing besides the doors when I left. His eyes were glued on me the entire time. I thought about taunting him some more while I waited for you, but he just left before I could say anything" Drake explained, following Otome around a corner.
"I see... Oh, by the way, Octavio said you should stop by one of the research labs at Octomburg, he said he's sure our researchers would be happy to make studies on you" Otome said, getting a sigh out of Drake.
"Just what I needed..." he said sarcastically, making Otome giggle.
"Haha, you gotta give them some credit, you don't see a member of an extinct race every day, do you?" Otome replied, now having almost completely calmed down.
"I just wish they're not like the ones who initially found me" Drake continued.
"I can't promise anything" Otome said, following up with another giggle, now also getting one out of her friend.
After a few minutes of walking back and forth, the two had reached another elevator, which was being guarded by two soldiers, who just like everyone else, were dumbfounded upon seeing Drake for a moment before regaining their composure.
"Halt! We need a report with your orders before granting passage through!" said one of them.
"I'm taking this ancient one to the zapfish reservoir, by Octavio's orders" Otome explained.
"A-ancient one?" the other guard asked while looking at Drake, to which he gave her a peace sign.
"S-sure, go ahead" now said the first guard, before the two moved aside and let them through.
Otome didn't say anything else and stepped into the elevator, followed by the ancient one. Once in, she started the elevator, descending on their way to their destination.
Finally getting a moment of peace, Otome sighed and leaned against the elevator's wall, which Drake found a bit funny, and just like she did, he also leaned against the opposite wall.
"Pretty tiring day, isn't it?" Drake asked with a smirk, getting a chuckle out of the lieutenant.
"And it's still early... Guess this will be a very long day" Otome said.
"And the ones after this will also be like that, I don't think I could fix your people's problem in just a few hours" Drake jokingly clarified.
"I mean, who knows... Maybe your kind had some secret to fix this sort of thing instantly, and you just don't want to tell me" Otome joked back, giving Drake a playful nudge.
"Hmm... Maybe, maybe not, but in any case, if I told you then it wouldn't be a secret anymore" Drake played along with Otome, the both of them chuckling at their jokes.
"You know, Drake... There's something I've wanted to ask you for a while, but I couldn't find the right moment to do so, and before we get to the power plant... Can I ask you something?" Otome said, scratching the back of her head.
"Sure, what's up?" Drake asked.
"Well... You see... Hypothetically speaking, what would you think if an octolings were to feel something for... A human?" Otome asked while fiddling with her fingers, a cute blush showing up on her face, which she quickly hid by putting her goggles back on.
"Hmm... What would I think? I don't really see an issue with that, if it's what your heart really feels, then I'd say go for it" Drake replied, the true meaning behind Otome's question going completely over his head.
"And... If they were a couple, do you think they'd be happy?" Otome kept questioning, gulping in anticipation for the human's answer.
"They'll probably have some problems, like any other couple... And they'll probably also face some judgement from some of their people..." Drake replied, looking up as he kept thinking.
Otome felt a bit disappointed about his answer, biting her lip and feeling a lump in her throat, but it wasn't until Drake spoke once again that she put her focus back on him.
"But... If they endure that, and put aside their difference, accepting their ways of living, manners, and everything else... I think they'd be happy. And who knows, maybe after some time, everyone will finally accept them, and maybe even give themselves a chance to break out of the ordinary" Drake spoke out his thoughts while Otome stared at him.
She really didn't know what to say. The human's words had left her speechless, not to mention that her hearts were racing.
"W-wow, that was..." Otome tried to say, but she couldn't find the right words.
"Corny, I know..." Drake said with a soft chuckle.
"What? N-no... It was... Kinda deep, actually" Otome refuted, catching the human's attention for a moment. The two were now completely silent as they stared into each other's eyes, even if Otome's were hidden behind her goggles, Drake knew that she was looking back at him, making him gulp as his heart started to beat faster.
Unfortunately for them, the scene didn't last long, since they felt how the elevator had finally reached its destination.
"W-we better head out..." Drake suggested, trying to clear his mind.
"S-sure, let's go" Otome said, trying to do the same thing, fiddling with her fingers while trying to hide her burning red face.
Once out of the elevator, Drake took a moment to look at the main power plant that supplied all of Octomburg with energy, seeing how there were several rows of crystal spheres with some kind of yellow creature inside each one, generating an electric current that traveled up cables as far as the eye could see.
"And this is...?" Drake asked, leaving his question half finished as he kept looking around, and getting a giggle out of the lieutenant next to him.
"Hehe, welcome to Octomburg's main power plant" said Otome, approaching the chain wire fence of the complex and opening the gates.
Now having looked around from the outside, Drake followed Otome inside, seeing the many engineers that worked in the power plant.
He then saw a particular engineer, who looked like the one in charge, turning to him as he was talking with another octolings and run up to him.
"Hey Drake! I want to show you something!" Otome said while taking him by the arm, dragging him up some stairs and losing sight of the octoling who was running up to him.
"Hey! Watch it!" Drake said while trying not to trip and fall on the stairs.
Once they reached the top floor, Otome let go of Drake's arm, stood in front of him and removed her goggles.
"Remember those zapfish you wanted to see?" she asked excitedly, waiting for Drake to follow her.
"Yeah, it's the only thing I've been hearing about lately. You said it was some kind of fish, right? Or was it an eel?" Drake asked, trying to remember how they've described the zapfish to him, and noticing that they were approaching a row of crystal spheres, but most of them were empty.
"Heh, why don't you see for yourself?" Otome said before stepping away and showing Drake what was behind her, it being another one of the crystal spheres, but unlike the others, this one had a strange yellow creature inside, with a big round head, long twisted whiskers and big googly eyes that looked almost cartoonish.
Upon seeing the creature, Drake got closer to its enclosure, crouching down to take a better look at it and trying not to laugh at its appearance, and tapping on the glass, the fish squirmed away in fear
"What is this thing?" Drake asked Otome while still trying not to laugh.
"That's a zapfish, the most valuable source of energy that we've ever found in all of our history... And conflicts" Otome answered, muttering that last part to herself.
"So, these fish provide energy to the entire city?" Drake asked with curiosity.
"That is correct" Answered someone else from behind the two, to which Drake and Otome turned around and saw the chief engineer walking up to them.
"Oh, I completely forgot... Drake, this is the chief Tane Hiaku, he oversees the whole complex, and is the one in charge of our engineering department" Otome introduced the chief to Drake, to which Hiaku did a short bow before him and offered a handshake.
"So this is the famous ancient one we've been hearing about all morning, it's an honor to meet you" Hiaku said politely while shaking Drake's hand.
"The honor is... Mine..." Drake replied, already feeling embarrassed about his poor choice of words.
"I've also heard that you came here to help us with our little problem, and that you'll give us a few ideas so we can generate energy through some... Unorthodox methods, isn't that right?" the chief asked, trying to verify if the rumors he's heard about Drake were true.
"I guess you could say that, there's still some stuff I have to check before we begin. This is one of them" Drake clarified, pointing at the zapfish in the glass.
"Oh, I see... In that case, if you need help with anything, please be sure to tell us" Hiaku said before turning around and returning to his tasks, but before he got too far, he was stopped by Drake placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I think you could help me with a little something right now, I wanted to ask you some questions" Drake said, to which the chief turned around and gave him a friendly smile.
"Gladly! Go ahead, ask me anything" he agreed to the human's proposal.
"Alright... I've heard that the inklings also had these... Zapfish, was it? That means that they also use them to power their city, right?" Drake asked, getting a sigh out of the chief in response.
"Yes, yes they do... But their numbers are significantly higher than ours, not to mention that they also have the great zapfish, which gives them enough energy to power at least a quarter of their city, or so I've heard" he replied, only giving Drake more questions than answers.
"Great zapfish...? I suppose it's not like these ones, is it?" Drake asked again, once again pointing at the orange fish.
"The great zapfish is great not only in name. Its size and power are way bigger than a regular zapfish, it also has the ability to attract other smaller zapfish, which makes things easier for the inklings, since they can just find them around the shore, while we have to catch them however we can" Hiaku replied, shaking his head while looking down.
Drake kept silent and thought about his current situation, while Otome also looked down with a hint of sadness, realizing just how bad things really were.
"Just out of curiosity, how many of these fish do you have compared to the inklings?" Drake asked, already having an idea of what the chief's answer would be.
"Well... I can only tell you that we have a little over a hundred, that is without counting the ones Octavio uses for his personal machinery. And Inkopolis... They'd need a really large number to power a city that big... I'd say at least five to six hundred without the great zapfish" he answered, taking on a thinking pose.
After a few seconds lost in his thoughts, Drake suddenly walked away and made his way down the stairs, taking both the chief and Otome by surprise, who didn't take long to go and catch up with him, wondering why he suddenly wanted to leave.
"Drake, what's wrong?" Otome asked, but the human simply ignored her and called someone who she thought didn't come with him after all.
"Bruce!" Drake called, to which the robot instantly appeared beside him.
"What do you need, sir?" Bruce asked with its usual monotone voice.
"As soon as we head out, I want you to check for wind currents, sunlight clearance, the speed of the nearest river, and see if geothermal is an option. I also want you to see how much energy these zapfish can make" Drake ordered, which left Otome a bit surprised, but she had another question in her mind.
"Head out? What are you doing?" she asked, noticing that they were already outside the power plant and were walking to the elevator that brought them there.
"Remember what I told Octavio? About our different ways to generate energy?" Drake reminded the lieutenant about what he said earlier as they stepped into the elevator.
"I mean yeah, but... Wait... Are you really going to...?" she left her sentence half finished, having an idea of what the human meant, but not finding the right words.
"That's right... I'll find you another way to power the city!" Drake declared, starting their ride back up as the elevator doors closed behind them.
[Cuttlefish's hideout]
While Drake was busy in the octarian city, somewhere else in Octo Valley, the New Squidbeak Splatoon's secret hideout was filled with the sounds of battle in it, while the ink of two different teams was being shot in all directions, their colors being lime green and magenta pink respectively.
A tired SquidFire team was seen in the battlefield, who belonged to the lime green team. They all had several ink stains on their clothes and bodies. In front of them, the Squid Sisters stood completely clean, and still full of energy, showing that weren't even trying against the new agents.
"Come on, guys. Don't tell us that you're tired after just the first hour!" Callie said nonchalantly, carrying her roller on her shoulder.
"You still have another hour left, so you should put your heads back on the battle... If you can" Marie said while carrying her charger, but unlike Callie's challenging expression, hers was a mildly bored one.
"When you told me training with them would be tough... You weren't lying... At all" Nary commented while panting, now wearing her hero outfit just like her friends, and carrying a hero shot.
"You should be glad you missed the first two weeks..." Levin said, just as tired as she was, but being the first one to get back on his feet.
"Can't you... Give us a head start or something?" Nayls pleaded, but he only got a giggle from Callie in response.
"We're sorry, guys. But in a real scenario against the octarians, they're not just gonna stand around waiting for you to get back up" Callie said, wagging her finger in front of the group.
"And besides, you have the numbers advantage" Marie added, placing a hand on her hip.
"Come oooon~" Nayls complained, but he was quickly silenced by his sister.
"Shut up and let's get this over with, alright...!?" Shara said with an annoyed tone.
And with a sigh, Levin got ready for battle, followed by Nary, and lastly by Nayls, who let out a whimper as he stood up.
"That's the spirit, you guys! Let this be a lesson for you. Never give up!" Callie encouraged the group, placing her roller back down with a defiant smile, her cousin also getting ready to resume their training.
The two groups stared at each other for a moment, waiting for their rival to make the first move. And after a mere moment, they both jumped into action at the same time, shooting ink everywhere. Since Marie was specialized in long range combat, she tried to stay as far back as possible, shooting at anyone who got in her range. Callie on the other hand, she was the most reckless of the two, charging straight into the group while dodging their shots with impressive reflexes.
Her main target seemed to be Levin, since he was the one leading the team. Of course, the others kept shooting at Callie, but her quick reflexes and Marie's shots to cover her made things difficult for the agents.
Once close enough, Callie leaped into the air, ready to crush Levin under her roller. Realizing he wouldn't be able to dodge in time, he covered himself with his arms out of instinct.
But just as Callie was about to splat him, Levin heard how something blocked her swing, and opening his eyes once again, he saw Shara clashing rollers with Callie.
Without wasting any time, Shara pushed against Callie as hard as she could, making her flinch and take a few steps back, taking advantage of this opening, Shara placed her roller on the floor and made an attempt to run over Callie. But the experienced agent was quick to react, doing the same thing as Shara and clashing rollers once again.
Even still, Shara kept pushing against Callie, but for some reason, she didn't seem to be struggling, she just looked at Shara with a defiant grin on her face. The dark-skinned inkling instead looked upset, but it was all an act, since she was pushing her rival into Nayls' range, who was about to shoot her from the back.
Noticing the tactic that the siblings were using, Marie quickly focused on Nayls and aimed at him, and just as she was about to pull the trigger, Nary began shooting at her, forcing her to take cover.
Now with the barrels of his splatling spinning, Nayls aimed at Callie's back and let out a deep sigh.
"I'm sorry, my dear Callie... This will hurt me more than it will hurt you" He muttered to himself, ready to shoot at the idol. But in a sudden turn of events, Callie stepped aside, making Shara go past her and grabbing her by her wrist, using the new agent's own momentum against her, and throwing her towards Nayls, making both of them fall down.
Nayls was the first to react, noticing Callie running straight at them with a malicious grin.
Next thing he saw, she had leaped into the air with her roller ready to crush both of them.
Without a second thought, Nayls pushed his sister out of the way, sacrificing himself and being splatted under Callie's roller.
"You got my respect, Nayls. Giving your life for your sister is something that I would've also done in your place" Callie commented as she saw the boy's 'ghost' fly towards the respawn platform. But while she was distracted, Shara took advantage to try and get a hit on her.
But Callie hadn't forgotten about her, taking on her squid form and dodging Shara's swing.
Now truly mad, Shara ran towards Callie, trying to end her in the same way she ended her brother. Swing after swing, the dark-skinned inkling recklessly tried to hit her rival, but she kept dodging and blocking with her roller while stepping back.
Leaping into the air, Shara raised her roller to crush Callie, using the last of her remaining ink. And it only took a malicious grin from Callie to realize that she had fallen into her trap.
Callie ducked, allowing her rival to see Marie aiming at her with her charger from a vantage point that Nary and Levin couldn't reach in time.
Once Shara was in her sights, she pulled the trigger without hesitation, shooting a jet of ink right into her chest, splatting her in midair.
Seeing how another one of their teammates had fallen, the two remaining SquidFire members gulped while trying to think of something to get the upper hand, while taking cover behind a crate.
"You alright, Cal?" Marie asked as she saw the other two hide.
"Yeah! Nice shot!" Callie complimented her cousin's aim, giving her a thumbs up.
"Alright. Now we're down to two versus two" she continued, placing her roller on her shoulder.
From behind the crate, Levin and Nary were panting as they tried to think on how to fight the cousins, even if they were at a disadvantage.
"With Nayls and Shara gone, now we really have a problem!" Nary said, peeking from the side of her cover and seeing the two cousins just standing in place, as if waiting for them to make their move.
"Nary, listen. I've seen the way the attack, it seems like Callie charges ahead and pressures her target while Marie covers her from afar" Levin said, to which Nary looked at him with an unamused expression.
"Oh, really? I thought Callie just threw her roller at the enemy while Marie used her charger as a club" She replied sarcastically as Levin's obvious observation.
"Shut up, 'Miss sarcasm', what I'm trying to say is that Marie will always cover Callie's back, that's why she's so reckless" Levin said, placing a hand on his chin.
"So what do you suggest then?" Nary asked, now having calmed down a little.
"You'll go for Marie and put pressure on her. Chargers don't do well at close range so try to stay as close as possible" Levin proposed, getting ready to come out of cover.
"And what about you? Do you think you can handle Callie alone?" Nary asked with concern, knowing that they were risking it all.
"I'll try to stay as far from her as I can, she won't catch me off guard... Alright, are you ready?" Levin said while Nary also got ready to attack.
"Do we have any other option?" Nary finished with a defiant smile, getting a chuckle out of Levin. And almost in sync, they both came out of their cover to go face to face against Inkopolis' toughest fighters.