Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

VeronIKA yawned. It had been a long day. From Turf War to Anarchy, the young inkfish had been keeping themselves busy with having fun or climbing the ranks in specific modes. She had been putting more focus on Rainmaker. She was so close to earning A rank, all she needed was a few more points! She could try to do a Series next time around, but she could end up losing more points than gaining any- So, Open it is! Nevertheless, let's save that talk for later, she's tired and she's sure her little buddy is tired as well. He doesn't do much aside from waddling around the square when she's in a match; she always wonders what kind of adventures he gets into… Okay, enough thinking! Time to snooze! The inkling laid herself on the futon on the floor, allowing the little Salmonid to swim in and snuggle up against her. VeronIKA wrapped the two in a blanket and both slowly drifted off to sleep…

Suddenly, a vibration came from her phone. Her eyes slowly widened as she groaned. She really didn’t feel like seeing who it was… but there was a chance it could be important- Maybe one of her friends wanted to tell her something or perhaps she left something back in the lobby? Who knows? Besides, if it’s something that’s not important, she can just go back to resting her head. VeronIKA flipped open her phone to see who sent the message. The girl’s eyes widened more as she sat up.

“Callie?”

A name that would sound familiar to Inkopolis squid or octo kid. Even adults knew who that name belonged to! Yep, it was none other than the first half of the popular idol group: Squid Sisters! However, to keep their affiliation unknown, she was registered under “Agent 1”. Actually, depending on who you ask, that may be even more suspicious but she could just say that it’s one of her friend’s codenames during turf! Perfect excuse! It helps that she has an “Agent 2” list. If Callie was messaging her, it had to be important… or she just wanted to show her a funny picture- Out of the main three, she was the only one to occasionally contact her outside of work. Meme or not, she should check the message. The squid sat up and opened the text. It read…

“heyyyyy 3!!! sorry for this sudden message but we were wondering if you could come to the base rq? theres something we need to show you! thanks and see you and little buddy soon!”

The message was topped off with a smiling face and a waving emoji. The young squid leaned back and slightly tilted her head. Huh, she didn’t expect that. Though from the sounds of it, it sounded kind of important; what could they possibly want to show her? There’s only one way to find out. The girl removed the blanket and stood up, waking up the Smallfry beside her. Its eyes blinked one after the other as it looked up at the inkling. VeronIKA looked down and giggled. She bent down and picked up the tired fish.

“Sorry Little Buddy, but looks like we’re gonna have to wait a bit before we can get some rest.” The Salmonid gurgled as she placed him back down. Well, best to not waste any more time! Now, where did she put her Hero Suit? It should be in her closet… She walked over to the wooden doors and opened them. VeronIKA searched through her clothing rack. Shirt, shirt, sweater, coat… another shirt… actually, this a really old shirt- It was the first and only shirt she had when she first arrived in Splatsville. It was filled with holes, she honestly should’ve thrown it away by now, she had way fresher stuff now. Yet, she couldn’t, it’s sorta sentimental, y’know? Like getting a new weapon but still keeping your Splattershot Jr. because it’s been there with you since the start!

But she wasn’t here to get sentimental about clothing! Where the heck was her hero uniform? Scratching her head, she looked around the rest of the room. Even Little Buddy was helping with the search. Not on the floor, in the bathroom, or in the kitchen, where was it?! It’s like it wasn’t even in the building at all- Wait a minute… IS IT IN HER LOCKER?! Oh carp, it has to be! She remembers perfectly now. A few days ago, after coming back to Alterna to redo some missions, she was scheduled to meet some friends. VeronIKA spent longer on the missions than she expected, which resulted in her having to rush out of Alterna in a hurry to meet her friends. It was the first time they saw her in uniform. She had to explain it was for her job, which wasn’t a lie technically- Could she even call agent stuff a “job”?”

Anyway, it took a bit of convincing them and lying to make them back down and not ask any questions. So now they all think she has two jobs: Salmon Run and a weird, super illegal job that would probably get her locked up if anyone knew about it- Hooray… After that, she put her uniform away and must’ve forgotten it since. The inkling sighed. Looks like she’s gotta head back to the lobby and grab it. She should let Callie now. She pulled her phone out and began to type.

“alright got it. I’ll be there soon gotta pick up my uniform from my locker.”

VeronIKA hit send and was ready to head out. Luckily, it looked like her little companion was finally awake, even if he didn’t want to be. Maybe some head pats would give him an energy boost!! She ruffled the little fish’s mohawk. It smiled and gurgled in glee, he looked completely energized already! See? Head pats are the perfect pick-me-up! Okay, no more wasting time! She put on a pullover gray hoodie and her Force ReBoots. She put on a pair of headphones and with the Salmonid close behind, they both left the apartment and made their way to the lobby.

The lobby wasn’t too far from where she lived, only about a 10-15 minute walk. Little Buddy stayed closed behind, occasionally getting distracted by a bird or another inkfish walking by. In the estimated time, the inkling reached the square. It was still pretty lively even in the afternoon. From squids and octos simply hanging around, to some entering the lobby to play a few games. VeronIKA stood in front of the entrance of the large tower. She looked down at the small salmon.

“You stay out here and wait for me, okay? I’ll be quick, promise.”

She spoke to the Salmonid. It jumped up and down and swam in circles, basically his way of saying okay. Squid nodded and smiled before entering through the two sliding glass doors and making her way up to the lobby. The place wasn’t super packed as it usually was, with only about 15 people waiting for a match or hanging around, but that didn’t really matter. She was here to get her suit and get out of here. Inkling quickly made her way into the locker room and found her locker. The outside wasn’t as extravagantly decorated as some other lockers in here; she would find some that had a ton of sticks plastered over it to make a unique design, some made as jokes, and some that were just… hard to explain- However, the inside was moderately decorated! A bunch of stickers covered the inside door, a shirt was hung and some sneakers were displayed. She even had statues of some Salmonids! But, she wasn’t here to observe, she needed that suit, and luckily, it was right here!

The inkling first grabbed the shoes to her uniform. She removed her ReBoots and replaced them with the yellow and blue boots, stuffing her previous footwear in the locker. Next, the jacket. She grabbed it and- Huh? Something fell out of it… She bent down and grabbed the piece of paper. She flipped it over, it was a picture… “Memories of Alterna”. It’s been a few months since this picture was taken. The inkling smirked. Time sure does fly, huh-

“VeronIKA?”

Startled, she stuffed the picture in the locker and shut it in one swift motion. Wait, that voice was familiar… She turned her head and it was…

“Hiro…?”

“The one and only!”

“Cod, you scared the carp out of me! What are you doing here?”

“Hehe, sorry. Though, I could be asking you the same. I thought you were going back home after that game we played earlier?”

“Oh, uhh… Well, I did but I got called to do some… work.” She slowly lifted up the yellow and blue jacket. The octoling crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, right. Your other job.”

“Yep… I don’t think I should be wasting any more time. I should go-“

“What was that you put in your locker?”

“Wha- Excuse me?”

“When I came over here, you shoved something in your locker. What was it?”

“It… It was just a picture. Nothing you should worry about.” That was the truth but she couldn’t have been more suspicious in saying that- Hiro looked at her for a few seconds before exhaling.”

“If you say so. Well, I guess I won’t take any more of your time. I was just on my way out anyway. Good luck with your job!”

“Thank you. See you tomorrow for some Anarchy ?”

“You know it!” They both put their fist up and gave each other a bump. The octoling smiled before turning around and making his way for the exit. VeronIKA opened back her locker to continue putting on her suit.

“Oh, and VeronIKA?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“You should really be careful around that drain. People saw an old man hiding down there a few months back. Wouldn’t want you getting harassed by some old geezer.” Hiro stopped as he spoke. The squid froze completely for a second, before moving to turn to face him.

“W-Why are t-telling me this?”

“No reason in particular. I just don’t want to see my friend hurt or anything like that. Though, if you do see that old man around there again, you’ll let me know, right?”

“Uh… y-yeah. For sure!” She nodded with a crooked smile.

“Cool. See ya tomorrow IKA.” He waved goodbye and then left the locker room and eventually, the lobby.

VeronIKA stood there. Faint music from the speakers played as she thought about the interaction that just happened. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Callie was waiting for this, there’s no time to be thinking about this stuff! Inkling stuffed her sweater in the locker and closed it. Squid pulled out her phone and texted the idol one last message.

“Omw be there soon.” She pressed send. It was quickly responded to by Callie with a thumbs-up emoji. She ran out of the locker room and lobby and returned back outside.

In the square, she expected to see her bug-eyed friend waiting for her… but he was nowhere to be found! Oh, come on! She really doesn’t have time for this… VeronIKA looked around and eventually, she found the Salmonid… On top of the Grizzco sign. How the shell… No time for questions, she just needs to get him down. She stepped closer to the work building. From the looks of it, he seemed to be sleepy, wow, he must’ve really been tired- Now she’s gonna feel bad for calling him back… The squid cleared her throat.

“Little Buddy! This way!” *She shouted. Many eyes went on her. She knew it would’ve been embarrassing but it was the only way. As if he was trained to respond to the callout, the Smallfry immediately woke up and jumped off the sign into the hands of the inkfish.

“I thought I told you to stay put? It’s time to go.” The little fish responded with gurgling. She chuckled; didn’t know what she expected.

She held the salmon in her hands as she walked down the stairs. VeronIKA made her way to stand above the sewer drain. However, before immediately going into her swim form like so many times before, she waited and looked around… She sighed and shook her head once again.

“Alright. Let’s see what they want me to see.” VeronIKA transformed into her swim form and she, alongside Little Buddy, made their way to Alterna…

Chapter Text

This sewer system was not a simple one. It was an intricate system full of different paths leading to different exits. VeronIKA knew of three exits: The Crater. It was where Cuttlefish led her, leading into her new position as a member of the New Squidbeak Splatoon. Underground Sewers. She unintentionally found that exists when trying to get back to Alterna one day- She hasn’t had the chance to explore it, but she has heard of squid and octo kids going down there to hang out. Alterna. An ancient sanctuary built by an ancient species, this is where her agent work officially started to begin. The inkling didn’t have the need nor want to explore the other possible branching paths, maybe if she’s really bored one day… After time and time again going back to Alterna, she’s gotten pretty good at easily making her way through the pipe maze.

After 5 minutes, VeronIKA and Little Buddy reached their destination. She popped out the drain in her swim form, turning back into an inkling as her boots touched the snowy ground. The little fish in her hands jumped out and began swimming away to reach the usual spot the agent would meet the two idols. The inkling followed behind. Usually, the captain of the Splatoon would also be present alongside the two agents, however, she wasn’t here today… She would mostly sit in the middle of the cousins and not say anything at all, at least, not directly to her. She would speak to the other half of the Squid Sisters, Marie. At least… she thinks? She may not know much about Captain, but the things Marie says she says doesn’t sound like her at all- Like, why would she say to tell her to buy Marie a drink? There was also a massive black storage trunk next to them that wasn’t there when she last visited… Could whatever they wanted to show her be in there? Guess she’ll find out soon enough…

It didn’t take long for the Squid Sisters to notice VeronIKA’s arrival. Her little friend was already swimming circles around the older cousin’s feet. It may come as a surprise, but out of the two cousins, Marie was the one most interested in the Salmonid. VeronIKA caught her playing with Little Buddy a few times when walking around Alterna. The salmon seemed to enjoy his time playing with her as well! The inkling bent down and ruffled the little fish’s hair.

“Heh, nice to see you again little guy.” Marie moved her hand down to its chin and scratched him. His tail and fins flapped, gurgling with excitement. Callie looked ahead at the approaching agent. She extended her arm and waved out.

“Hey, Agent 3! We’re glad you could make it!”

“Sorry for the hold-up. I tried to get here as fast as I could. You said you guys had something to show me. I’m assuming it’s in that chest?” VeronIKA pointed to the storage trunk.

“You’re correct! But that isn’t all we wanted to show you… Hey 3, have you ever heard of the band Off the Hook?”

“Off the Hook? Yeah, I’ve heard of them. The collabs they did with Damp Socks play during matches. Though, it plays a little too much if you ask me…” They were good songs, but some variety would’ve been nice- Maybe more tracks from C-Side?

“Wellllll… Hold onto your seahorses because we have a surprise for you~ Oh, but before that, take these.” Callie handed VeronIKA two pairs of earbuds. One normal-sized and the other mini.

“Wait, huh? What are these for- “

“Ahem… YOU GUYS CAN COME ON OUT NOW!” She didn’t answer her-

Callie turned and yelled towards the building behind them… What? Who was she talking to? Was there someone inside- Suddenly, a loud thud was heard from behind the door. The noise startled the little fish, causing it to run and hide behind VeronIKA's feet. She could hear faint sounds of voices coming from inside, though she couldn’t make out what they were saying. Eventually, the door violently slid open. It was somehow conveniently pitch black past the door frame. All the squid could see were two silhouettes. One tall, one short. The short one was wearing a pair of orange shades, it shined as the “sunlight” hit the glass. Then, the figure jumped out of the shadows and onto the railing, revealing herself for everyone to see… But wait, what are these earbuds for-

“WHAT IS UP ALTERNA! IT'S THE ONE! THE ONLY! MC.PRINCESS IN THE HOUSE!”

The pygmy squid shouted and the young squid kid would quickly learn why she was given those earbuds- She didn’t even have a microphone, how the shell was she so loud?! Even Little Buddy had his fins on his ears… Was that really her natural voice? She always thought those were just effects to make her voice louder- How would anyone be able to work in a studio without constantly wearing sound mufflers? Yeah, it wasn’t that hard to tell who this was… She heard that voice too many times now for it not to be completely recognizable. She jumped from the railing and onto the crate Captain usually sat. She slightly towered over the three inklings with her arms crossed and a smug smile.
Cod, her ears were still ringing… She knows she was given earplugs to stop her ears from getting blown out, but she was barely given a heads-up! Some sort of apology would be nice… The next figure revealed herself. Yep, no mistaking it. It was Inkopolis’ second widely-known band: Off the Hook. Unlike her partner, she came down the normal way.

Callie and Marie pulled out their earplugs. Callie did a spin around to face the squid kid. There was a look of excitement and anticipation on her face.

“Wellllll?”

“Well, what?”

“Aren’t you excited?! It’s THE Off the Hook!”

“I don’t think now's the best time to say this, but I’m not really… a fan of Off the Hook? No offense.” VeronIKA stated, looking towards the two members of the band. Pearl sucked her beak and Marie snickered.

“Heh. None taken. I guess not everyone has taste!” MC said while jumping off the crate and going next to the DJ.

“This reminds me of when I first met 4. Except she didn’t dislike the Squid Sisters, she didn’t know who we even were. Speaking of which, you guys can come on out too!” Marie shouted back to the house. Huh? What? Were there more people in that building?

Three people came walking out. The first one was Captain; which explains her absence. Though the other two were behind her, VeronIKA did not recognize them. An inkling and an octoling. Captain walked the stairs as you expected, simple. The other inkling walked down with a pep in her step and the octoling walked down with carefulness and elegance.

“Agent 3, meet Agent 4 and Agent 8. Agent 4 and 8, meet Agent 3.”

“Sup!” Said the small inkling.

“Greetings!!” Said the tall octoling, waving.

“Uh, hey.“ Said she. So, these were the other agents. She’s heard other agents be mentioned by Callie and Marie now and then when they talked, but aside from a few tidbits of information, she knew almost nothing about them.

Agent 4 was the inkling. She was wearing a black top with a yellow-greenish jacket tied to her waist. She had a pair of shorts and massive boots. She was small, way smaller than everyone here, except Pearl of course. She had at least an inch above her. Was the Splatoon really hiring kids to be agents? Yeah, she’s 16, but that’s at least a young teen! This kid looked about 14!

Putting that aside for now… Agent 8 was the octoling. Out of the three, she didn’t look the most “agent-like.” Her clothes looked casual. She was wearing some denim overalls, a white shirt underneath, a bucket hat, and some Red Power Stripes. She was also really tall, she was about a few inches shorter than Marina. VeronIKA thought she won the height competition but looks like she’s been dethroned. After her quick observation, the small inkling was the first to approach. She had her hands on her hips as she looked up at her underling. 4 stuck her hand out for a shake and grinned.

“Cod, what are kids being fed these days? Only 16 and you’re already taller than Captain!” The short one snickered, turning around to look back at the other. Captain gave 4 and piercing glare but 4 laughed it off.

“Well, she is our oldest and newest recruit. You and Captain were 14 when you first joined. Captain was average height, but you 4, you were and still are our shortest recruit- Huh?” Marie looked down and saw Little Buddy bumping his head on her leg. She chuckled.

“Let me rephrase that, was our shortest recruit.” She corrected herself and gave the little salmon more chin scratches. 4 looked a bit annoyed by it but-

Wait. “Oldest recruit”? “You and Captain were 14 when you first joined.”? WAS SHE RIGHT ABOUT THEM HIRING 14 YEAR OLDS- BUT WAIT AGAIN! “Kids these days”?! “Only 16”?! WAS AGENT 4 OLDER THAN HER?!? B-But how…? She was so… small…

“Anyway, it’s nice to finally meet ya, rookie! We heard some pretty neat things about you!” She still had her hand out.

“You’re not gonna leave me hanging, are ya?”

“Oh! Uh… Sorry. Spaced out for a second It’s nice to meet you too, Agent 4.” She shook the other’s hand.

“Sorry if this is personal, but seeing how you know mine, how old are you?”

“Nah, it’s fine! Don’t sweat it! I’m 19!”

19 YEARS OLD?!

“Huh…”

“What? Expected younger because of my height?”

“What? Uh, no-“

“Well don’t underestimate me just because I’m small. I’m as capable as anyone else here!”

“Yeah, you’re a real ankle-biter.”

“Marie!”

“Ah. It’s Agent 2, remember?”

4 let go of 3’s hand and went over to Marie. It sounded like they were arguing about something, though it sounded playful more than anything. If she had to guess, those two definitely had a closer relationship… Also, note to self: Don’t bring up height around 4. Ever- The next to approach was Agent 8. A big, bright smile was plastered across her face, it almost felt contagious. VeronIKA was the one to stick out her hand this time. The octoling responded by using both of her hands to grab VeronIKA’s and shook it gently.

“It’s wonderful to meet you! Captain has spoke of many good things about you! Thank you for giving your support and looking over her!” She then… bowed? Okay, didn’t expect that…

“Uh, it’s nice to meet you too. Also, I wouldn’t say I was looking over anyone- If anything, it’s the other way around. I’m still a newbie in all this agent stuff.” 3 scratched the back of her head and chuckled. 8 giggled in response.

“Regardless, thank you for joining!”

“Don’t mention it! All it took was following some creepy old dude down a sewer drain!”

That was supposed to be a joke- a very poor attempt at one, BUT, 8 did chuckle at it, so it wasn’t that poor! One thing she noticed is that she wasn’t super fluent in inkling. She could understand what she was saying but she used a few wrong words here and there. The octoling waved goodbye and walked back over next to Captain. VeronIKA looked at her. She looked at VeronIKA. They both exchanged nods. Maybe it’s the fact they were Agent 3, there’s some sort of unspoken bond they share to where they can just do that…

“Alright Agent 3, I’m glad you’re getting along with the other agents, but we didn’t call you here for an agent get-together. Marina, AKA DJ-Hyperfresh has something to announce. Go ahead, DJ.”

DJ stepped forward and cleared her throat.

“Thank you Agent 2! First off, I want to say I’m sorry Agent 3 for Pearl’s- I mean, MC’s introduction- She loves to make a big entrance- Are your ears okay?”

“Yeah, there’s still a bit of ringing but I’m fine. I think Little Buddy is fine too.”

She peeked her head over Marina’s shoulder and saw Little Buddy playing around with the other agents. 8 was enjoying its gurgles and fin flipping, 4 on the other hand… She was keeping her distance.

“I’m glad to hear that. Now, could you follow me for a second?”

3 nodded and followed behind the octoling. They stopped in front of the black storage trunk she saw when she first got her. It looks like she was finally about to see what was inside.

“I’m sure Agent 1 has mentioned the thing you’re here to see is in this chest, correct?”

“Yep.”

“However, before I open the chest, I need to give a bit of context. I must warn you, what I am about to explain will be a lot. In both information and processing it. Are you prepared for what you’re about to hear?”

“After looking through those Alterna logs, I think I’ll be fine with whatever you’re about to say.”

“Very well…” Marina cleared her throat and began to speak.

Deep Sea Metro. A subway station located under Inkopolis. Not a lot of residents took the train because it was thought to be abandoned. Apparently not. Most of its passengers were denizens of the deep, creatures you wouldn’t usually see on the surface. This was news to VeronIKA. It’s probably because she doesn’t live in Inkopolis- Anyway, about 5 years ago, Pearl and Marina got a transmission from the underground station. That’s where they met Agent 8 and Cuttlefish. They were trapped there and the only way out was to complete trails around the metro and collect four “thangs” as stated by a… telephone…? With the four items, they would be taken to the “promised land”. So, having no other option, 8 located the four thangs and brought them back to the telephone. It assembled a machine that it promised would take them back home… They would quickly learn that was not the case.

“You see… When 8 collected all parts, we expected the telephone to take them home as promised-” Marina spoke.

“Instead, he tried to blend up 8 and the old man!” Pearl butted in.

“Wait… blend? Why would it want to do that?” 3 asked.

“To make Sanitized Ink…”

“Sanitized Ink?”

“It’s a substance made up of blended parts of octolings and octarians…”

“Wait, what?!”

“The Deepsea Metro wasn’t only an underground train system, but also an underground facility. The trails 8 completed weren’t there to challenge her, but to trick her into getting these four objects so she could get blended up too… She would’ve been the 10,008 subject if it had succeeded-“

No way… 10,008… Does that mean…? She wouldn’t be lying to say that thought didn’t make her stomach turn-

“But before that phone box could blend up those two, 3 came crashing down and freed them! Oh, wait. I mean Captain!” MC said.

“From their rescue, we planned an escape. Since they were underground, the only way to go was up. It was dangerous and many close calls, but 8 managed to reach the top “

“But not before duking it out with Captain! She was possessed by a bit of sanitized gunk but that didn’t stop 8 from putting the beat down on her! Like, she literally grabbed the thing off of her face!”

8 fought Captain… and won?! She guessed she was possessed but that’s still an amazing feat! VeronIKA turned her head and looked at Captain. She turned her head away and pulled the brim down to cover her face. 8 smiled awkwardly and gave her a pat on the back. Hehe, looks like she was embarrassed by it. Wait a minute… Was that where that green scar came from? It was on her face and Marie mentioned she got it from an intense battle… Even if she wasn’t affected by it fully, that sanitized stuff really leaves a mark…

“So, 8 finally reached the top. We were there to greet her but unfortunately, the calm moment was short-lived. Emerging from the sea, a massive statue appeared… A statue of a human…”

“Wait. A statue of a human?! Do you mean the one next to Hammerhead Bridge?!”

“Correct. It wasn’t just any normal status either. This is where the telephone revealed its true identity as Commander Tartar. An A.I. built by a human scientist 12,000 years ago. It was built with the right intentions, but after years of isolation and seeing how inklings and octolings evolved, its thought process changed…”

“Basically, we as a species weren't good enough for him blah blah, so he attempted to sanitize the entirety of Inkopolis! Luckily for us, we had 8 over here to stop him! Marina used some of her prototype suction bombs and littered them all over the statue! Then 8 went around and blew them all up! Once the statue was covered, it was my time to shine! I blew that bitch up with my personal Killer Wail!”

“MC! Language.”

“Pssh! The kid’s 16! I knew all the curse words at 13!” Marina glared at her with her arms crossed.

“That was technically my first turf war! I’m glad I could save a lot of people but I wish the stakes weren’t so high…” She giggled.

VeronIKA is surprised 8 is doing so well after that- It was 5 years ago, but going through what she had to, that sticks with someone…

“Ahem… The reason why we’ve told you this Agent 3 is that inside this box… is Commander Tartar.”

“What?! He didn’t get destroyed when you destroyed the statue?!” 3 jumped.

“He did!? At least, we thought he did… Only now, I and MC decided to go back and investigate the NILS statue… We didn’t expect to find much… but surprisingly, we found Commander Tartar, alive…”

“But how?!”

“We don’t know for sure, but some sanitized ink was still attached to him when we found him. My only guess is that is what kept it alive.”

“So why didn’t you just destroy him and finish the job?”

“Because that isn’t all we found. There was a door in the statue none of us had been to or explored. It was locked by a code written in human language. Even with the knowledge I have, I couldn’t translate it.”

“So? What does this have to do with Tartar?”

“It was created by humans, meaning it knows the human language. If we can get him to help us, we can find out what’s behind that door!”

“Okay, alright, fine. That makes sense I guess.”

“Which brings us to my main question… Would you be willing to lend us a hand in investigating the NILS statue?”

VeronIKA’s eyes widened.

“M-Me? Why me? Why not Captain or the other two?!”

“Agent 4 will be tagging along on this mission. As for 8 and Captain, 8 isn’t really an official agent. She was given that title due to Mr. Cuttlefish needed to shorten the number 10,008. After everything she’s experienced, we try our best to not make her go through something similar… She’s only here right now because she wanted to see a Captain. As for Captain, she’s the leader of the Splatoon and is needed here to give direction.”

“I guess that makes sense… but I-I really don’t know. That whole Mr. Grizz thing only happened a few months ago and I think one of my friends is on to me regarding agent work-“

“It’s fine if you don’t know! I’m not forcing you to participate in the mission. We’re only here to let you know about it. If you can’t or don’t want, Agent 4 is fine with doing it alone-“

“N-No…! Just… let me think about it for a bit, okay?”

“Very well.”

“How long will you guys be here?”

“3 days.”

“3 days… I’ll have an answer then.”

“Great! Thank you for hearing us out Agent 3. It was wonderful to meet you and whatever your decision will be, I’ll respect it.”

“Yeah… thanks… I actually think it’s time I get going. It’s getting late. This way Little Buddy!”

The Smallfry didn’t want to leave but unfortunately, it was time to head home. He left the inkling and octoling warm hands and swam to VeronIKA, jumping into her hands.

“It was nice to meet all of you! I’ll speak to you all again soon!”

“Cya kid!”

“See ya later!”

“Farewell!”

VeronIKA and the rest waved as she walked back to the sewer drain. Today was a lot… She got to meet Off the Hook and the other agents of the Splatoon… And she learned the true history behind that sunken statue. She always thought it was some sort of art piece or statement when she saw it. But now, she had a lingering question above her. Should she go on this mission? Maybe some sleep will help her come up with a decision… Standing over the drain, the squid transformed into her swim form and went back to Splatsville…

Chapter Text

Hmmm…

What to do…

“IKA?”

Should she go on that mission?

“IKA!”

It might not be all that bad. If it’s already destroyed, what’s the worst that could happen-

“VERONIKA!”

The whistle was blown. GAME! It was a Rainmaker Knockout.

“Huh? What?”

“What the shell was that V?!” An inkling wearing a Viking helmet approached the taller squid with her hands up.

“Oh… I, um… I must’ve spaced out. Sorry-“ VeronIKA looked down, scratching the back of her. Then, the jersey-wearing squid got closer, placing a finger on her chest and tapping her repeatedly. She dug her finger into her chest with the last tap.

“Oh yeah? You’ve spaced out for the last two games! What could possibly be on your mind that have you distracted so much? This was my rank-up game y’know-“

“Steph. Drop it.”

“Huh? Hiro! Come on? Don’t tell me you’re defending her! This was your rank-up game too!”

“This was all of our rank-up game. If you want to talk about this, at least do it when we’re out of the stage. The other team has already left.”

“ Ugh fine! I swear, if I go back down to the 500s because of this we, you, and I are gonna have a score to settle.” Stephanie glared at VeronIKA before leaving to exit the stage.

The tall inkling didn’t know how to respond. What could she say anyway? Sorry? Nah, that wouldn’t fix Steph’s rank. She sighed as she looked down at the sandy floor of the stage. Then, she felt a hand land on her shoulder. It was Hiro.

“You ready to go?”

“Uh… I… yeah. Sure.”

The remaining inkfish exited the stage and found their way back to the lobby. Inside, there were four other inkfish waiting for them. Two inklings and two octolings. They approached the group of four who returned and all asked what happened out there. Hiro was the one to explain. He told them that VeronIKA wasn’t feeling well and it caused her to get distracted. Their group got worried and asked if she was fine; all except Stephanie who was still upset. VeronIKA replied with a toothy smile and answered yes. She apologized for costing them the game and it was probably best she sit the next few matches out. They all agreed and hoped she felt better soon. The inkling thanked them and walked off to the locker room…

VeronIKA sat on the couch with her hands on the bottom of her head before groaning loudly and sticking her arms up. She got a few stares from the other inkfish inside… then she groaned a bit more quietly.

“I really don’t know what to do… This is terrible…”

“What’s terrible?” A new voice entered.

“GAH! Hiro!? Why do you keep doing that?”

“Doing what?”

“Sneaking up on me?! This is the second time!”

“Oh, hehe. Sorry! I’ll try not to do it again.”

“No… It’s…It’s fine. Don’t worry about it…” VeronIKA sighed as she put her hands together and looked at the tiled floor. The octoling looked at her for a second before taking a seat next to her.

“So. What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean what’s wrong? I’m not feeling well, you said it yourself-“

“I only said that so the others wouldn’t bother you. I know there's something else.”

“Hiro-“

“Is it that secret job you have? Even since you came back from it yesterday, you’ve been zoningout. Did something happen?”

“Hiro.”

“Did you get hurt?! Did someone hurt you-“

“HIRO!” VeronIKA shouted. The octoling looked at her with a surprised look before closing his mouth and looking to the side. The inkling’s face dropped. She sighed, putting a hand on her forehead.

“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to yell…”

“No, I should be sorry. I shouldn’t be pestering you about this. I’ll go if you want-“

“Yes, this is about my secret job.”

“Huh?”

“I… I was offered a position for a certain task and I don’t know if I should take it.”

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I’m cut out for it, I guess?” VeronIKA twiddled with her fingers. Hiro leaned back and chuckled.

“Well, I doubt that.”

“Huh? Doubt what?”

“Doubt that you’re not cut out for it!”

“W-What?” VeronIKA said. Hiro sat back up.

“Yeah! You’re one of our top players! You’re definitely cut out for it.”

“Hiro…”

“What? I’m right! Well, that’s assuming this job has anything to do with your turf skills.”

“I- Yeah, I guess you can say that-“ Her words were muffled by her digging her face into her scarf.

“Ah? Finally opening up about your secret job, eh?”

“I’m not. That’s all you’re getting.”

“Fine, fine. I know you probably won't ever tell us what you’re doing, but can you at least tell us this?” Hiro’s tone lowered.

“Yeah…?” VeronIKA lifted her face out of the cloth.

“Whatever you’re doing… Promise us it’s not something dangerous, okay?”

“… I promise.” Right after she said it, Hiro raised his hand, sticking out his pinky to VeronIKA.

“Pinky swear?”

“What are you? 5?”

“Come on! Pinky swear!”

“Hehe, fine. Pinky swear.”

Their pinkies interlocked. Both of them smiled as they lightly chuckled. However, the inkling felt a pit in her stomach… She was lying to her friend, she didn’t want to! But… she had to… She didn’t want them to worry…

“I and Yarr were gonna go to the ramen shop in the back of the square, you wanna join us?” Hiro offered.

“Uh… thanks, but I can’t. I need to get ready for my job.”

“Aw, alright. See you tomorrow then?”

“Yeah, definitely.”

“Great! See you then!”

The two gave each other a fist bump and left the locker room. Sharing a final wave goodbye, VeronIKA made her way toward the exit while Hiro made his way back to the group.

“Alright guys, Veronika went back home so I think that’s enough games for me for today. Yarr and I are gonna head to the ramen shop, anyone wants to tag along?” Hiro asked.

Some said they still had a few matches they wanted to play and some of the others said they were already busy with other things.

“Well, guess it’s just you and me Yarr!” The octoling turned to his same-species friend wearing tinted goggles.

“You ready to head out?”

Yarr gave a thumbs up.

“Nice! Though, before that… Hey Stephanie! What’s your rank score?” Hiro turned to Viking helmet-wearing inkling.

“What!? I’m not telling you!” She shouted in response, showing and gritting her beak.

“Aw, come on! It can’t be that bad!”

“No!”

“Please?”

“I said no!”

“Pretty please?”

“Steph attempted to ignore Hiro.

“With a cherry on top?”

“COD, FINE! It’s… 501, okay!?”

“Wow… Guess that score between you and VeronIKA won’t be settled then, huh?” Hiro said with a smug grin.

“You…! SHUT UP!”

“Hehe, I’m just kidding! I’m sure you’ll be able to get those points back soon enough. Anyway, see you all again tomorrow!”

Excluding Stephanie, everyone waved goodbye to the two as they left the lobby.

————————————————————

VeronIKA popped out of the sewer drain with Little Buddy in her hands and just like many times before, he hopped out and swam his way toward the camp. It was the usual sight, but this time, the cousins and Captain were joined by Agent 4. Marie was talking to the even agent while Callie was talking to Captain… Well, it was more so a one-way conversation on her part. The squid with the braided tentacle decided to approach Marie and 4 first.

“Hey, guys. Hope I’m not interrupting anything-“

“Oh, hello Agent 3. You’re fine, me and 4 were just catching up.”

“Yeah! Don’t sweat it!”

4 chuckled and smiled, showing their beak… It was gonna take some time to get used to how small she was. She was a whole 3 years older but VeronIKA felt like she could easily pick her up like a baby… Putting that aside for now…

“Uh… Where’s OtH? I was assuming they’d be here for the three days Marina- I mean, DJ mentioned.”

“They’re not here right now, but they will be later. You didn’t expect them to spend the night here, did you?” Marie asked with a grin.

“Uh! N-No! Why would I think t-that…” The odd agent quickly defended herself, awkwardly scratching the back of her head.

“Because you thought we lived here?”

“That’s-!” VeronIKA tried to get a word out but she couldn’t defend herself against that because it was literally true!

It’s not her fault they’re here every single time she arrives! Cod, now 4 is laughing at her…

“Well, technically, you weren’t completely wrong with that statement. Captain lives here.”

“Huh? She does? I thought she’d stayed with you guys?”

“You’d think we’d keep that stink bomb in our apartment? No way.” Another chuckle from 4.

“Though to answer your question, yes, she does. If you want to know why, go ask her.”

“She probably does it because she doesn’t have to pay rent!” 4 added in.

“Heh, probably.”

“Enough about Cap’n! How about you Neo 3? Where do you live?”

“Oh! I live in an apartment, alone with Little Bu- Wait a minute… Neo 3?”

“Yeah! It’s a nickname I thought of for you! It’s like calling you New 3 but cooler!”

“Huh… It does have a nice ring to it. Thanks!”

“Don’t mention it! Now, what were you saying? You live alone with who?”

“Little Buddy?”

“Yeah! He’s my friend! He should be around here somewhere- Oh! There he is!” 3 bent down and picked up the Smallfry and showed it to Agent 4. The prime agent took a noticeable step back and her expression changed.

“This is Little Buddy, the Smallfry!” Little Buddy gurgled in response.

“Oh, yeah… I remember seeing this thing yesterday. Is it like your pet or something? Did you scoop him up from one of your shifts?”

“I wouldn’t call him a pet… I do take care of him like one, but he’s not always dependent on me… I don’t really know, I just call him my friend for the most part.”

“Friends with a Salmonid, huh? You don’t see that every day.”

“Little Buddy has been with me for as long as I can remember. There’s not a single time I can think of where he wasn’t by my side.”

“Sweet. Though you sure it’s a Smallfry? It’s a bit…” 4 poked its stomach. It tickled a bit, causing Little Buddy to gurgle. “… big?”

“Yeah, I noticed that too. It’s weird because he’s been like this forever. I initially thought he was just gonna grow and become a Cohock or something, but nope. He’s just been this really chubby Smallfry.”

“Hmmm… guess that makes it a Bigfry, huh?” The inkling chuckled. 3 chuckled back.

“Yeah, guess you’re right!”

VeronIKA let Little Buddy down. Salmonid ran up to Marie’s feet and jumped up. The inkling picked the fish and patted its head.

“You two can continue talking. Little Buddy and I have a playdate to catch.” She left the two agents by themselves. The older agent chuckled, crossing her arms.

“What a weird woman. Never expected her to fall in love with a Salmonid.”

“Me neither actually. I thought it would’ve been Agent 1.”

“Aw come on! You don’t need to use code names. It’s not like we’re on a mission right now!”

“But Agent 2 said-“

“Who cares what Marie said! She’s not here right now, is she?”

“Y-Yeah… Guess you’re right.” The odd agent looked down when suddenly, a hand was offered to her.

“The name is Surume! What’s yours?” The young agent hesitated before eventually shaking her hand.

“VeronIKA.”

The two agents hit it off pretty well! Their conversations lasted pretty long. 3 had asked where 4 lived since she explained her living status. It was in an apartment as well; about 40 minutes away from Inkopolis. Apparently, Agent 8 and she were roommates!

“So… are you two like…” 3 trailed on.

“Like what?”

“Uhhh…” She looked away embarrassed.

“Wait… Are you asking if we’re dating?!” Surume burst into laughter. It took a minute for her to stop-

VeronIKA stood there awkwardly, not saying a word.

“Oh cod, I’m sorry, but that’s hilarious! To answer your question, no she doesn’t. She’s only been staying with me because Callie and Marie asked if she could room with me since she had nowhere else to go.”

“Ah.”

“The other option was staying with OtH but since they were busy with the Splatcast and all, it would’ve been hard to watch over her. Since she was new to Inkopolis and inkling culture in general, I had to teach her a few things about how everything ran! It wasn’t all that bad, I even learned some new things myself!”

Their conversation continued. Surume then asked why VeronIKA joined the New Squidbeak Splatoon.

“I… I don’t know, really…” 3 twiddled with her fingers.

“For eel?”

“Yeah… When I first followed Cuttlefish, I didn’t think much of it, but after falling into Alterna and the Squid Sisters asked me to find him, I couldn’t just not agree to join.”

“Mmm… Yeah, I get it. I’m sorta in the same boat.” She put her hands on the back of her head.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well, the first day I came to Inkopolis Square, I saw this creepy old lady just looking at all the squid kids walking around. Being the curious person I was, I sorta walked over and followed her down the drain. And wouldn’t you know, that creepy old lady was Marie!”

“I guess creepily looming near a drain in hopes you find an agent to hire is a thing, huh?”

“Heh, looks like it. Anyway, I didn’t know who the Squid Sisters were at first, but regardless, once she explained her cousin was missing, I couldn’t just leave! I had to help!”

“Aww, that’s pretty sweet of you.”

“Hehehe…” The inkling rubbed underneath her nose.

An hour passed and the two were still talking…

“So, VeronIKA.”

“Yeah?”

“You do Salmon Run shifts, right?”

“Uhhh… yeah?”

“Why?”

“H-Huh? What do you mean by “why”? I need the money-“

“But you have that Salmonid friend, right? Little Buddy? You're fine with splatting its kind to earn a quick buck?”

“I… It’s fine. Salmonids are fine with that kind of thing… It’s one of their main reasons for existence. They live to die in combat.”

“Mmm… but to have their death be at the hands of a kid who wants to raise their praise grade has to be some kind of a disservice to culture or something, right?”

VeronIKA stood there. She didn’t know what to respond with. How was she supposed to respond? She did extensive research on Salmonid kind and culture to make sure she could take care of Little Buddy as best as she could! They live to die in combat but it doesn’t change the fact their lives were taken just so some kids can get a good paycheck… Especially after knowing what all those eggs were for… But 3 couldn’t answer, she needed to say something. Luckily, she was saved by the sound of multiple people coming out of the entrance drain. It was Off the Hook and Agent 8! Finally…

“Sorry to interrupt you Agent 4 but I gotta cut this short. I’ll speak to you later.” She waved goodbye as she went over to the new arrivals.

“Oh! Well, speak to you later Neo! It was fun!” She waved back.

Agent 3 walked up to the group of three.

“DJ, MC, Agent 8. Welcome back!”

“Oh! Hello Agent 3!" Said the DJ.

“Yo!” Said the MC.

“Greetings!” Said 8.

“I didn’t expect to see you today. I’m guessing you came up with an answer to my request?” Marina continued.

“Yes, I did. And my answer is… I’ll go.”

“Are you sure? You still have two more days to think about it.”

“Yes. I’m positive.”

The taller octoling put her hands together and did a tiny clap.

“Wonderful!”

“Glad you have you onboard, kid!” The MC tried to place a hand on her shoulder but quickly realized she was too short for that- So, she just lightly punched her instead.

“This is wonderful news! I wish you and Agent 4 great luck in this mission!” Agent 8 added.

“Thank you. So, when is this mission?”

“Well, that three-day deadline was also for when the mission starts… So, in two days!”

“T-Two days!? I didn’t expect that early…”

“We can delay it if you like.-“

“No, it’s fine. That should give me enough time to prepare.”

“If you’re certain, very well…”

“Mhm. But I think I’m gonna head back home now. I’ve been here for quite a bit, actually.” VeronIKA turned around, called out to Little Buddy, and it quickly swam and jumped back into her arms.

“Tell the others I said goodbye and I’ll see you all tomorrow.” The inkling smiled at them.

“I see. Well, take care, Agent 3!” Marina waved goodbye.

“Cya, 3!” Pearl signed her off.

“Farewell!” 8 waved as well.

VeronIKA walked over the drain. 2 days… That should be enough time… Tomorrow, she should ask how long this mission would be… It shouldn’t be too long, right? Yeah, probably… Well, time to head home. She went back into squid form and went down the drain, leaving Alterna once again.

Chapter Text

The school of inkfish all gathered at the cafe section of the lobby. A small area above the locker rooms was meant for those who wanted to get a coffee or tea instead of the usual pouches found below. It was also meant for those who wanted to play a game of Tableturf! Out of the group of six, two were currently in a battle. The quiet and sweet octoling Tako, and the loud and rambunctious inkling, Anemone. From the looks of it, the octoling was winning! She had the squid completely blocked off and there wasn’t enough space for any cards to be placed. There was only one turn left and being the clear loser, Anemone passed her turn… Yet, instead of letting the inkling take the loss as it was, Tako had to rub salt in the wound and used her favorite Hydra Splatling card! With the special nonetheless- Her points went from being a few points above the squids to winning by a complete landslide!

“Wha- Was that really necessary, Tako?!” Anemone shouted as she slammed her hands on the table and stood up. The octoling giggled.

“Sorry, sorry! I was just so close to ranking up and I thought if I got a bit more points, it would help me get there faster- Oh! It did! I’m level 50 now, yay!” Tako said in a soft, excited voice as she displayed her phone screen with her rank to her friends.

“Cod, level 50 already? Isn’t that the max level? Didn’t you like, start playing this a month ago?” Anemone asked as she rolled her eyes and sat back down.

“You’re right but ever since my first game, I’ve been obsessed! I just had to play until I reached level 50!”

“Jeez, I don’t understand how you could play this game so much… I keep trying to play it and it’s always super lame!”

“Is it because you keep losing?!” Stephanie shouted, inserting herself into the conversation. She grinned with a chuckle.

“Shut it, Steph! You’re talking as if you’re any better than me!” Anemone shouted back, crossing her arms.

“At least I’m level 10! You’re a whole 5 levels below me!” The viking hat-wearing inkling shouted back even louder while stepping closer to the pixel glasses-wearing squid.

While the two got at each other’s throats and the third one attempted to break them up, the other three watched from the opposite side. VeronIKA sipped on the green-yellowish pouch, Hiro took a bite into his crab sandwich, and Yar looked over the railing at the other inkfish below. They all chuckled seeing their friends get into their little argument, luckily, it didn’t turn into actual violence- The inkling with the braid laugh ended with a sigh, and Hiro quickly noticed.

“Whach up?” The octoling boy asked with a full mouth. The inkling turned to face him. She could see crumbs fly out of his mouth-

“Nothing much, just thinking,” VeronIKA answered, sipping her pouch again as she put her hand on her cheek. The octoling swallowed the food in his mouth and wiped his lips.

“About what?”

“You remember that thing we talked about yesterday?”

“That job thing?” Hiro took another bite.

“Yeah. I decided to take the offer.”

“Oh! Nice!” His mouth was stuffed with food once again-

“Though the thing is… I might be going away for a few days-“

“Wha-?! ACK!” He began to choke on the food still in his mouth. The octoling had a coughing fit until the food was dislodged from his throat. All of the inkfish in the cafe looked at the boy, it even caught the attention of the jellyfish behind the counter-

“Hiro?! Are you okay?” VeronIKA asked with a worried look, putting a hand on his back. The boy coughed a bit more before waving his hand.

“I-I’m fine- Don’t worry!” He chuckled with a smile. The inkling girl sighed and looked away only to see her other friends surrounding her.

“Hiro! Are you alright?!” Tako asked, worried.

“Yeah! It sounded like you were choking?” Anemone said, concerned.

Yar stood there. It was always impossible to tell what they were thinking because of those glasses but they were probably worried too.

“Did VeronIKA do something to you?!” Stephanie shouted again, jumping to conclusions-

“What? I didn’t do-“ VeronIKA tried to defend herself but Hiro placed a hand in front of her.

“She didn’t do anything. I was just a little surprised by what she told me… Speaking of which, you don’t mind telling me more about this secret of yours?” The octoling turned to the inkling with a wide smile. It looked friendly but a closer look could tell it was far from that-

“H-Huh?” VeronIKA was confused.

“A secret? Oooh! Can I know?! I love secrets!” Anemone jumped up and down.

“Sorry guys, this is just between me and IKA! Come on, we shouldn’t waste any more time!” Hiro grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the cafe.

“Woah! Hey!” VeronIKA shouted as her words grew faint. The remaining four inkfish watched as they left the lobby.

“I wonder what that was about…” Tako asked, putting a finger on her chin.

“Yeah… That was pretty weird. You got any clue what that could’ve been, Yar?” Anemone turned to ask the octoling, putting her hands on her hips.

Yar shrugged.

“Gah! Forgot them! If they want to keep their dumb little secret, let them. I’m going back to tableturf.” Stephanie scoffed and turned back around and went back to the tables. There wasn’t anything the others could do so they went back as well.

Meanwhile, VeronIKA and Hiro were both standing in front of the studio outside the lobby. It was the afternoon, however, the sun was close to setting. The square wasn’t as busy as it usually was. The octoling stood there with his arms crossed while the inkling stood there grabbing her arm.

“I thought it would be best if we talk out here. I can already tell you’re getting tired of me asking about this job of yours, so having more people questioning you probably isn’t something you want.” Hiro looked at VeronIKA, but she kept her face turned. He sighed.

“So. What’s the thing about you going away?” The boy asked. The inkling sighed and turned to him but kept her eyes down.

“The job they offered me… It’s gonna be out of town…” She explained, occasionally scratching her arm.

“That doesn’t explain why you’ll be gone. Where are you even going?”

“The job is in Inkopolis and from the sound of the description, this won’t be a short and simple task… It’s gonna take a lot of time.”

“Wait a minute. Inkopolis?!” Hiro uncrossed his arms and his eyes widened.

“Why are you going there?!”

“That’s where the job is…” That’s all she said. She still refused to make eye contact. Hiro gritted his beak and looked down. His hands clenched into a fist.

“Why…” The octoling muttered out. Finally, the inkling looked in his direction.

“Why won’t you tell us…?” Hiro looked up. There was a clear look of sadness in his eyes, but no tears. VeronIKA’s eyes widened and her eyebrows drooped.

“We’ve been friends for what? Five years? Five whole years and you can’t tell me what the heck you’ve been sneaking off doing these last few months!” His tone was a mix of confusion and shakiness.

“Hiro… I-“ The squid stepped closer.

“I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt. I thought maybe it was just a small side job that you’ll quit later! Or perhaps you’ll eventually tell us instead of being secretive! Instead, you’re telling me that this job has a mission where you need to go to an entirely different city! And even now, you’re still not telling me…”

VeronIKA stayed silent.

“Was that pinky promise we made a lie?”

“Hiro…”

“Tell me, VeronIKA. Was it?”

“No…! No… It wasn’t a lie…” Her tone lowered.

“Then tell me. Tell me right now what this job is about!”

“I… I can’t…”

“Why not?!”

“I JUST CAN’T, OKAY!!!” VeronIKA yelled loud enough for anyone outside or inside to hear. Hiro took a step back. Tears began to form in the inkling’s eyes.

“I wish I could, but I just can’t…”

“IKA…” Hiro put his hand out but quickly dropped it. Maybe he shouldn’t have done this. Maybe he should’ve just trusted his friend… Now he’s made her cry.

“VeronIKA… I’m- I’m sorry-“

“It’s fine, don’t apologize. I… I get it. You’re worried, but I’m… I’m okay. I’m not doing anything dangerous, I promise.” She smiled. She wiped the tears away and tilted her head. Hiro chuckled.

“I guess you’re right… I… I think we should head back inside now. Is that okay with you?” The octoling pointed to the sliding doors with a smile. The inkling nodded. Things were settled and everything was alright… That was until…

“Heyyyyy! Agent 3!!!” A faint, but familiar voice came from behind the studio window. VeronIKA quickly turned her head and saw who it was coming from. The dancer of Deep Cut, Frye.

She waved her arms frantically as the inkling with the braid waved her hand in front of her neck to signal her to “cut it out!” But she didn’t. It was only when the octoling beside her covered her mouth with her hand that she stopped talking. The singer smiled with embarrassment, waving to the two inkfish with a closed fan. VeronIKA was glad it was over… However, she knew Hiro saw and heard all of that. The inkling slowly turned her head to look at him.

“What… was that all about…? Hiro asked, genuinely confused.

“It was just Frye saying hi! They always do that.” VeronIKA attempted her best to not seem suspicious.

“She called you “Agent 3…”

“That’s just one of my nicknames on turf!”

“But… neither me nor anyone on the team had ever called you that before-“ Hiro looked at her with suspicion. Carp, carp, carp! It wasn’t working!

“VeronIKA. Why did a member of Deep Cut call you Agent 3?” The octoling took a step closer.

The inkling was frozen. She didn’t know what to do! She couldn’t think of an excuse or lie to escape this! Was there no other option? Suddenly, she felt something hit her leg. She looked down. It was Little Buddy! She immediately scooped him up and hugged

“Little Buddy?!” She was glad to see him for multiple reasons! The little fish jumped in her hands and did his usual gurgling.

“Oh! I’m surprised to see you, little guy! How’ve you been?” Hiro asked as he gave the salmonid a pat on the head.

“Little Buddy doesn’t usually come back to me this early. I think this means he’s hungry. I should really go feed him!” Hopefully, that was a good enough excuse…

“Wait! What about the others? And what about the thing I asked you-“

“Just tell them I had to take care of Little Buddy! We can talk later, okay? Cya tomorrow!” Before Hiro could say anything more, she ran off with the fish in her hands.

“Hey! Wait!” Hiro shouted, but she was already gone. The octoling stood in front of the window for a bit. He turned around to look at the three idols sitting in the recording studio.

It was obvious the three of them were avoiding eye contact with him, but one managed to slip up. The manta ray. Hiro caught him looking and when he noticed, the big fish turned his head away. The octoling sighed. There’s nothing he can do now, might as well just head back inside.

A few feet away… The inkling was out of breath. She didn’t know why she ran so far away, she just needed to get out of Hiro’s sight- Breathing heavily, she lifted Little Buddy in front of her face.

“You’re a real lifesaver, you know that?” VeronIKA smiled as she rubbed her nose with the Smallfry.

“But that was really close… I don't know how long I can keep this up. Just one more day, one more day of dodging questions… Or I could just say I can’t make it tomorrow? No, that would be even more suspicious… Ugh… I’ll think about this later. For now, let’s go home and get ready to head back to Alterna.” The inkling placed the salmonid on the top of her head and continued the rest of the way by walking.

————————————————————

VeronIKA arrived back at Alterna. Just like yesterday, she was greeted by a different scene. This time around, Agent 4 wasn’t anywhere to be found, instead, Off the Hook was here. Marina was talking to Marie and Pearl was talking to Callie. Agent 3 was deciding who to talk to, she technically already talked to both Agent 2 and DJ yesterday… Talking to Agent 1 and MC could be interesting. Looking over the four inkfish, she noticed the lone octoling to the side, it was Agent 8. Wait a minute… what was in her hand? Stepping a bit closer, she found out the yellow object in her hands was her Hero Shot! What was she doing with that? Maybe she should approach and ask. So, she did.

“Hey, Agent 8, right? What are you doing over here?” VeronIKA opened. The octopus turned around with a bright smile.

“Agent 3! Welcome! I didn’t hear you come over. This is your weapon, correct?” The agent asked as she inspected the bright yellow firearm.

“Yeah. Cuttlefish gave it to me when I first joined.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this! The craftsmanship is noticeably different from Shellhead’s!” Agent 8 was entranced by the weapon. She inspected every angle and piece.

“Huh? Shellhead? Who’s that?” Agent 3 never heard that name before…

“Oh! I apologize! Shellhead is the code name given to Sheldon!”

“Oh, right, Sheldon. Sometimes I forget he’s also a part of Splatoon.”

“Mhm! Shellhead has provided much assistance to the Squidbeak. His weapon craftsmanship is on a whole other level!” 8 smiled with a chuckle.

“You know you can just call him Sheldon, right?” Agent 3 crossed her arms and chuckled as well.

“But, are we not on mission time?” She put a hand on her chin.

“Well, technically I guess, but nothing is really happening right now, is it?”

“I suppose you’re right…” The tall agent turned her head away.

“How about this? I’ll introduce myself first and then you do yourself!” Agent 3 cleared her throat.

“My name is VeronIKA.” The inkling let out her hand. The octoling turned back and hesitated for a second. Eventually, she smiled and shook the squid’s hand.

“You may call me Nana!”

Talking to Nana wasn’t impossible but did prove to have its challenges here and there. It wasn’t because her inkling was broken or ineligible, but because her manner of talking would sound weird at times. For example, adding more words to a sentence when they aren’t needed or giving more syllables to a word. Yet, for the most part, VeronIKA did understand the octoling. Talking to her was pretty interesting! She learned she worked alongside Sheldon at the Ammo Knights in Inkopolis.

“Huh. At first glance, I would’ve never expected you to be into weapons.” VeronIKA grinned.

“Looks can be deceiving! I find weapons to be very intriguing. The story that goes into every firearm, the process that goes into building it, and finally, seeing the weapon in action! It’s all so beautiful!” Nana said with much enthusiasm.

“From the sound of it, you would love to hear all of Sheldon’s ramblings about weapons, huh-“ The inkling said as a joke.

“I love hearing Sheldon go on about weapons!” There wasn’t a hint of sarcasm to that- what was wrong with this girl-

“Oh! Wait! Since you work at Ammo Knights, do you think you can tell me what new weapons are gonna come out? A new Tri-Stringer kit would be nice!”

“Sorry! Not only do I not know what a Tri-Stringer is, but I also wouldn’t be able to tell that because it is against company policy!”

The conversation switched to living status. VeronIKA already knew Nana and Surume lived together but by talking to the octoling, she got a better understanding of how the two lived and even learned some new stuff about the fourth agent. Apparently, she’s a college student! Must be heard trying to balance agent life with normal life.

“I was and still am thankful for Agent 4 taking me in. Without her, I don’t think I would have been able to take in everything inkling culture had to offer! I wouldn’t even be able to talk with you.” Agent 8 said with a look of innocence in her eyes.

“I’m guessing she’s the one who taught you inkling?”

“Correct! I did vaguely know some but Agent 4 helped me understand and speak it clearly.”

“Heh. Well, sounds like she did a good job! You speak inkling really well.”

“Oh, thank you so much! I always worry if others can understand me or not… That means a lot!” Her eyes lit up with joy.

“You’re welcome!”

They continued to talk. The conversation somehow became our Captain.

“Uhh, I don’t know if this is like a breach of privacy, but you wouldn’t happen to know Captain’s real name?” The inkling with a braid nervously asked with a chuckle. The octoling thought about the question for a second.

“I suppose since you are the only one that doesn’t know, it’s only fair I tell you.” Nana leaned into VeronIKA’s ear.

“It’s Kaori!” Once said, the octoling leaned back.

“Kaori, huh? That’s actually kind of a cool name.”

“I agree!” Nana quickly added.

“I wonder why she’s like… that? Y’know? I suppose it’s because she’s been through a lot but a hi would be nice now and then.” VeronIKA spoke.

“Kaori has always been like this, at least, for the time I’ve known her. But I could let you in on a little secret!”

“Huh? What’s that?”

“She does have a playful side!” Nana giggled with a wide smile on her face.

“For eel?!” The squid’s eyes widened. She was pretty surprised to hear that-

“The Captain you see indeed is how she usually presents herself, but she’s not as cold and mysterious as you might think! She laughs, smiles, and even tells jokes! Her smile might be a bit crooked and her jokes do not always land but it’s always sweet to see her do it!” Nana’s tentacles began to curl.

“Wow… I didn’t think Captain would let her guard down around anyone. Are you two really close?”

“Heh… You could say that… She was the first agent I met while in the metro and after we escaped, we agreed to keep in contact… The rest is self-explanatory.” As she spoke, a slight blush could be seen on her face…

“Wait a minute… Are you and Captain-“ Before the inkling could finish, the sound of a new voice could be heard from behind.

“Agent 3, 8! Getting along quite fine, I see!” It was Marina!

“Oh, Marina! Hello! I and VeronIKA were just getting to know each other!”

“Wonderful! Though I hate to break up your conversation, 8, MC says she needs to talk to you about something. I think it’s about her Killer Wail-“ The octoling chuckled awkwardly.

“Oh! Alright! I’ll go immediately!” Nana stood up from the box they were sitting on.

“It’s been wonderful talking to you Agent 3! I hope we can do it again sometime!” The octoling and inkling waved goodbye as she went over to the short MC.

“I’m glad you two are getting along. 8 can always use more friends.” DJ smiled, looking down at the inkling.

“Don’t mention it. She seems cool and an interesting person to talk to.” VeronIKA said, getting up from the crate. In seconds, Marina’s face dropped from a smile to a neutral look.

“There’s only one more day left before the mission. Have you made sure to do everything before then?” The octoling asked. The inkling’s face dropped as well. She remembered what happened before she came here…

“Yeah… I think I’ve done everything I need to do. Though, a question.”

“Hm?”

“How long is this mission gonna take?”

“That… I can’t say for sure. This area we’re exploring is completely uncharted. We don’t know what could be in there, how big it might be. For all we know, it could be a dead end…” Marina looked to the side.

“That wasn’t the answer I was looking for, but I guess it can’t be helped.”

“We promise we’ll try to do this as quickly as possible. With two agents on the field, it should be quick work!”

“I guess you’re right. Well, I think it’s time I leave. It’s getting late.” As usual, she called over Little Buddy. He came swimming over and jumped on top of her head.

“Well then. I’ll see you both tomorrow! Take care!” Marina waved them off. VeronIKA waved back to her and the others as she made her way back to the drain.

One more day… One more day until the mission can finally start and she can rush through it to get it down. Maybe after all this, she can go back to being a mostly normal squid kid… And maybe… she can finally tell her friends what she’s been doing… VeronIKA transform into her swim form and left Alterna.

Chapter Text

VeronIKA woke up earlier than usual. She sat up on her futon, eyes halfway opened and barely conscious. She looked towards the window expecting to see the soft rays of sunlight piercing through the glass and into her room, lighting up the dark, but her room was still covered in darkness. The sun had barely begun to rise. The inkfish was granted two options: go back to sleep or stay awake. VeronIKA had never been up this earlier, not by choice, her body just seems to not want to be awake before anything after 10 AM, so maybe she can use this opportunity to experience something new! The inkling got up from the mattress and stood on top as she stretched. The minimal light from the outside barely managed to illuminate the room, making it hard to tell what was what, but luckily, this apartment wasn’t that large. She used her hand to guide herself through the dark until she finally hit the switch. Flicking it on, activated an old, but reliable ceiling fan. The apartment was revealed to be mostly empty. The only thing of note was a large green plastic trophy of a King Salmonid in the corner. It was given to her for participating in this month’s Big Run. It was for uh, getting in the Top 50, the lowest placement- You would think with how many shifts she does, she would place higher, but nope. Luckily, she wasn’t the only one. Most of her friends placed in the top 50. The only two who didn’t were Yarr and Cal. Those two decided to join their other group of friends, leaving Chao and Stephanie to team up with some randoms. Cal and Yarr placed in the Top 5, by the way- Aside from that, there were a bunch of shoe boxes stacked in the corner, a short round table, and some garbage spread around here and there. Little Buddy was still sound asleep on the futon so the squid made sure not to be too noisy.

The inkling’s apartment was small but most young inkfish would kill for a place like this! It had a working stove and oven, and she also had her own washing machine! No having to wait in line to wait and use the community washing machine. With these many pros, it was a miracle VeronIKA managed to score this place for such a cheap price, however, the phrase “Too good to be true” definitely applied in this situation- She was on the first floor, who knows how long she’s been dealing with all the stomping and yelling from upstairs… Her room was dangerously close to the train, it would be a nightmare to go to sleep at times… And she was positive there was a bug's nest hidden somewhere in this room- But all in all, it was still the best place she’s lived in by a long shot. The sun was beginning to rise from the horizon as the first train of the day pulled into the station. The inkling’s stomach growled, a bit early for breakfast but who’s she to deny her impatient belly! VeronIKA quietly walked over to the small kitchen and opened the fridge. There wasn’t much inside, only a few canned drinks, eggs, and some butter. She should really go grocery shopping after her next shift instead of buying another pair of shoes… She should have some bread around here somewhere, so eggs and toast it is!

VeronIKA watched as the egg cook. She wasn’t entirely focused on them. Instead, she was thinking of what she should do today. It was the final day before the mission. She would’ve stayed home but after that little thing with Frye yesterday, staying home would make her out to be more suspicious… Gah! Why did she have to do that?! Hiro was already suspecting something was up, but after that fiasco, he definitely knows something is up! Of course, Hiro wouldn’t interrogate her while everyone else was around, even if he knows she’s been lying to him, he was still respectful of her privacy. Knowing that, she could attempt to stay with everyone else and when it’s time for everyone to go, she can quickly leave before Hiro tries to ask her anything! Was it the best plan ever? No, but it was the only plan she had… Suddenly, she felt something hit her leg. She looked down and it was Little Buddy! He was finally awake! The inkling chuckled as she bent down to pick up the Salmonid.

“Morning, Little Buddy!” The little fish gurgled and jumped in her hands. She giggled. “Thanks again for saving back there yesterday, but now I’m in another pickle. I don’t know if I should just stay home or hang out with everyone today… What do you say, Little Buddy? What should I do?” VeronIKA turned away from the stove and lifted the smallfry in the air. He gave his signature gurgle and fin flaps. The squid chuckled.

“Even if I could, I’m not gonna eat them! They’re my friends!” Little Buddy didn’t seem to like that answer, his gurgling and flapping became frantic! He almost slipped out of her hands! “Hey! I’m sorry but you already know eating friends isn’t allowed!” She said with a chuckle, trying to keep her grip held on her scaly friend but for some, he wouldn’t stop moving around-

“H-Hey… I already said sorry, what’s wrong-“ Then her nose twitched. Was… was that smoke? She slowly turned around…

“OH, CARP!”

Well… Breakfast wasn’t all that bad… Yeah, the eggs were burnt and looked awful but the toast was pretty good! Besides, Little Buddy enjoyed it too! That would be a positive if that Salmonid didn’t chow down anything you put in front of him- Anyway, it was getting around that time she started getting ready. She just needed to get through today. Don’t say or do anything weird and everything will be fine. If Hiro asks anything, stay calm and don’t say anything stupid! She got up and got ready. She put on a gray hoodie and her Zebrafisth Hi-Tops. She opened the door, and the Salmonid jumped on top of her head as they left the apartment.

She reached the lobby at her usual time. Little Buddy hopped off her head and parted ways from the inkling. She walked in and reached the training lobby floor. As expected, most of her friends were present. She noticed Yarr was missing but wasn’t out of the ordinary. What was though is Chao being here! He’s been a no-show these last few days.

“Sup everyone!” VeronIKA called out. Everyone responded by saying hi back or a wave. Though, now that she has a better look… There was another person missing… “Wait a minute, where’s Hiro?” The inkling asked. She didn’t even notice instantly… He was usually here around this time-

“I was gonna ask you the same thing, IKA.” A familiar voice was the first to speak up. Stephanie. She walked up to the squid with the braid, getting a little too close for comfort. She still had her viking helmet and glasses on but this time, she was wearing a Squid Satin Jacket. VeronIKA took a step back.

“Wh-Why would you be asking me that?” It was a genuine question from VeronIKA.

“Why?! You were literally the last person who saw him! That’s why!” Stephanie shouted, gritting her beak.

“W-What?”

“After you two went outside to talk about whatever, neither you nor him returned! I don’t really care about you disappearing because we know it’s because of that secret job or whatever but it isn’t like Hiro to just leave without telling anyone…” The long tentacle inkling crossed her arms, turning her head away. VeronIKA stood in silence with her face towards the ground. This was… It’s odd enough that he left without saying a word but with what happened yesterday, could Hiro be planning something?

“Have you guys tried calling him…?

“Of course we have! We ALL called him and texted him! Anemone even tried to message him on Twitter and Clamstagram!”

“He’s not that active on those platforms but it was worth a shot.” The scraggly hair inkling said with a shrug and a chuckle.

So, Hiro really was just… gone. Poof. VeronIKA almost wanted to ask if anyone tried going to his apartment but that made her think if anyone actually knew where he lived- Hiro never invited any of them over to her knowledge, but even if one of them did know, it would be weird for the octo if all seven of his friends came knocking on his door- She sighed and her body relaxed, but it was immediately put on guard when the squid in the viking helmet pointed at her.

“Where’s Hiro, VeronIKA!?”

“Why would I know?!”

“I already told you why you would know!”

“Okay, I was the last to see him, but-”

“But what?!”

“Let me finish! Cod!” VeronIKA shouted, turning all attention to her. It was enough for Stephanie to back off. The squid with the braid let out an aggravated sigh.

“I was the last to see him, but I didn’t see nor did he tell me where he was going.”

“How’s that?” Tako inserted herself.

“Because I was the first to leave. I was in a rush, so if he wanted to tell me anything, I probably missed it.” Everyone began to talk amongst themselves, however, some of them had a look of doubt on their face. Did they not believe her? It was the truth-!

“What did you two talk about?”

“Huh?” Another familiar but rare voice entered, Cal. He only spoke when he needed to make a call out or if it was something important…

“Steph said you two went out to talk about something. What was it?”

“I… I can’t tell you that…”

“Why not?”

“It’s private…”

“Our friend has gone radio-silent. He could be missing and you’re worrying about your privacy?”

“He’s not missing?! Why would you even say that-”

“Oh? And how would you know that? Didn’t you just say you didn’t know where he was?”

“I don’t! Wh- Why- What are you trying to do, Cal?”

“I’m just trying to see if you’re lying or not.”

“Of course, I’m not! Why would I lie about something like this?!”

“Don’t know. But that look on your face says otherwise.”

VeronIKA started to get annoyed. The day was only beginning and she was being accused of being a liar when everything she’s said so far was the truth. Hiro was her friend too! Why the shell would she lie about something this serious? The squid shook her head and put her hands up.

“You know what? I’m not dealing with this. You can believe what you but know everything I’ve said today is the absolute truth. Bye, guys.” She turned around and headed towards the next. No one said a thing. Eventually, one of the friends spoke up and called out to VeronIKA, running towards her to catch up. Meanwhile, Chao walked up behind Cal and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t you think that was a bit harsh, dude? It really didn’t sound like she was lying…” The octo said, sounding a bit concerned. The inking turned his head slowly and didn’t say a word. He walked away.

“VeronIKA! Wait!” The inkling was halfway out the door when she heard her name being called. She stopped and turned around. It was Tako.

“I’m sorry about Cal! You know how he gets when he talks. He doesn’t hold anything back…” The octoling said with a chuckle.

“Yeah… Look, I’m sorry for storming out like this but I just… couldn’t take that anymore…:” She looked to the ground.

“It’s completely fine! I understand and I won’t ask you to come back. All I ask is that you be careful…” Tako smiled. She was always so nice. Her voice was soft-spoken and caring,

“Thanks, I will.” VeronIKA smiled.

“Especially around that grate. I heard a lot of bad rumors regarding it…” And from that point, VeronIKA’s smile completely faded.

“Goodbye, Tako.” She didn’t wait for her to respond as she quickly went down the stairs.

“Oh! G-Goodbye…! Was it something I said…?

————————————————————

“Hey, 2?”

“Yeah, 1?”

“Don’t you think 3 looks a bit… bothered?” Callie pointed at the young agent in the distance. Marie turned her head to look. She was kicking the snow beneath her feet as her little buddy swam circles around her. He looked like he was trying to cheer her up in his… own little way…

“Huh, you’re right. I wonder if something happened.”

“Shouldn’t we do something?” The first agent asked, sounding genuinely concerned about their newest recruit. The second agent stared at her cousin for a few seconds. She sighed.

“I’ll go talk to her and see what’s up.” She made her way toward the third agent. 3 didn’t seem to notice the crunching of the snow that approached her until something began to cover her. She looked up and saw it was an umbrella, then she looked to her side to see Agent 2 with a slight grin.

“That rain cloud above you looks pretty bad. Hope you don’t mind me blocking that for me.” The agent chuckled. A small grin appeared on the younger agent’s face.

“Heh. I don’t mind, thank you.”

“So, what’s got you down?” The older inkling stepped closer, allowing both of them to stand under the umbrella. Agent 3 looked down and began to rub her arm.

“It’s no-“

“Oh no you don’t. You can’t use that excuse on me. I know something is wrong. Besides, why else would Little Buddy be so close if there wasn’t?” 3 looked down to see the smallfry huddled against her foot. VeronIKA sighed.

“Alright… something is bothering me.”

“There you go.”

“It’s… it’s my friends. I’ve been trying my best to hide this whole agent thing from them, but I think they’re slowly figuring it out… or have already at this point… ” Marie stood there silently, slightly twirling her umbrella.

“Well, they don’t know the specifics… Like, I don’t think they’ve figured out I’m an agent doing missions to save the world and stuff… I think… but they’re definitely suspecting something.”

“And what makes you think that?”

“A few days ago, Hi- one of my friends told me to stay away from the manhole. I should’ve just taken it as a friendly heads up but the way I reacted was… suspicious to say the least- Then, I sorta opened up to one of them about this mission-“

“Hold on. You told one of your friends about this mission?” Marie looked into VeronIKA’s eye with a sharp glare. The young squid kid took a step back and raised her hands.

“Vaguely! I didn’t mention any details at all! I swear.” Agent 3 quickly answered. Agent 2’s state lasted for a few more seconds before she turned away.

“Go on.”

“… I promised him I wasn’t doing anything dangerous, I pinky swore on it, even though I knew I was lying…” The squid crossed her arms and looked down at the snowy floor.

“After that, I told that friend I would be going to Inkopolis for this “job”. That made him ask questions I couldn’t answer…I did get him to stop asking eventually, and when I thought I was in the clear, Frye had to open her big mouth…” The older inking’s eyes widened at the mention of the Onaga. She sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“… What did she say?”

“… She called me Agent 3 in public…”

“Cod, that squid. I’m gonna need to tell one of them to keep her on a leash…”

“I managed to dodge the question thanks to Little Buddy, but I think that interaction sealed the deal… It doesn’t help that before coming here, the friend I talked to didn’t even show up today and now I got my other friends accusing me of doing something to him! One of them even mentioned to be careful around the manhole too!” VeronIKA’s volume increased a bit. She sounded angry, sad, and agitated all at once. Marie sighed lightly.

“Well, you’re not the first agent this has happened to.”

“H-huh?”

“Mhm. Agent 4 almost spilled the beans about being an agent. Though I say, “almost”, she basically told her friends everything.” She chuckled, twirling her umbrella in her palm.

“Wait! For real? W-what happened?”

“Oh, nothing. Her friends didn’t believe her. They thought she was just making stuff up or retelling some dream she had.”

“Huh…”

“Although, none of 4’s friends suspected she was hiding anything, unlike yours. From the sounds of it, they’re just worried about you. Especially that one guy.” Hiro… He always was making sure everyone was doing okay… her especially…

“We only tell you to hide being an agent from others because if word got out about this, there would be a crazy amount of media coverage. Imagine. Inkopolis’ Squid Sisters Recruiting Young Inkfish to Become Agents. Doesn’t sound too good, huh?”

“I… I guess-“

“Agent 1 and I would be questioned. Captain and the other agents too, probably… Heck, maybe even Off the Hook or Deep Cut.”

VeronIKA stood there silently, not knowing what to add.

“But just because we tell you not to tell anyone, doesn’t mean you have to follow it.” Agent 3 tilted her head to the side, slightly confused about what she meant by that.

“You trust your friends, right?”

“Yeah…! Of course, I do!”

“Well, then we trust them too. I’m sure they won’t go blabbering their heads off if you tell them this is supposed to be a secret.” That… That would’ve been good to know way earlier… but thankfully now her intentions to eventually tell her friends the truth didn’t seem like a wrong thing to do.

“Then, first thing tomorrow, before I leave for Inkopolis, I’ll tell them everything…” The young agent formed a fist and smiled with a sense of newfound determination. Marie smiled, glad to see the inkling’s mood had been lifted.

“Great. Now then…” The older inkling bent down to pick up Little Buddy. She carried him in her free arm. “Let’s go see the other agents. MC and DJ are also here.” VeronIKA nodded as she followed Marie up the metal stairs. At the top, Callie was waiting for them.

“Hey 2, Hey 3!” She extended her arm to wave at the two. They both waved back.

“You feeling any better, 3?” Callie asked.

“Yeah, I’m good. Sorry if I made you worried.” The young inkling chuckled, scratching the back of her head.

“Pssh, you’re fine! Don’t sweat it. But I’m glad to hear it because now you’ll fully be able to enjoy your first Agent Get-Together!” The older squid put her hands together and clapped. Seeing Callie’s excitement made VeronIKA feel more excited. You could say she was contagious.

“Alright, you two. Let’s not keep the others waiting more than we have already.” The two nodded as Marie closed her umbrella and slid open the metal door…

————————————————————

Despite being a part of the Splatoon, VeronIKA felt a tad bit out of place- Not only was she the youngest, but everyone here knew each other for years while she only knew most of these people for a few months. Talking to them separately was fine but as a group…

“I’m sure you’ll love college, Nana!” 4 spoke. She sat with her legs folded on the couch.

“You think? I have heard it can be very difficult and challenging!”

“Pssh, don’t listen to that. Talking from experience, college is a breeze! It’s only hard if you don’t pay attention or slack off. The actual difficulty part is those college fees… but you don’t have to worry about that!”

“Huh? How come?” 8 asked, tilting her head. Surume chuckled as she pointed to the MC and DJ.

“Because you got two rich moms who can easily pay that stuff off for you!” The small inkling chuckled. She even managed to get a laugh from the pair. Pearl crossed her arms and nodded.

“Damn straight!” The smaller inkling shouted out.

“That would be very helpful, but I think I want to try and pay for it on my own! I have a lot saved up from working at Ammo Knights!” The octoling smiled brightly. Marina smiled with a proud look in her eyes.

“If you say so. If you want my advice, you should come to my college! Not only is it… somewhat affordable- but we can also be class buddies!”

“Don’t you study art and fashion? I do not think we’ll be in the same class since I want to pursue engineering.”

“Ah carp, you’re right… I guess we’ll still see each other around campus then!” The two laughed together. Captain sat in the middle of the two. They weren’t asking her any questions but she didn’t seem bothered. If anything, she looked relieved not to be a part of the conversation- On the other hand, Agent 3 tried to find a place to jump in, but school wasn’t exactly… the best topic for her… Luckily, Surume noticed the inkling’s lonesomeness and called out to her.

“Hey, Neo!”

“Oh! Uh, yeah?”

“You’re 16, right? Meaning you’re still in high school. How’s school life treating you? Any cool stories?”

“Oh, well… uh…” VeronIKA looked to the side before swallowing the lump in her throat.

“I actually take… online classes-“

“Huh. You didn’t strike me as an introvert. Guessing in-person was a little too much for you?”

“N-N-No! It’s not that! I don’t do it in person because I don’t want to… It’s because I have to…” The inkling began twiddling with her fingers.

“Oh? What’s that? 4 asked a question, but didn’t get an answer. VeronIKA stayed silent as she played with her fingers. The small inkling could tell through body language this probably wasn’t a fun topic for her to talk about.

“I see. Forget I asked.”

Topics about mundane things such as life, what was their favorite clothing brand, favorite music, etc continued for a bit until the conversation switched over to agent stuff, a topic the newest agent may have some better luck in.

“Upgrading and completing all those missions with all those different weapons were a pain, but it was definitely worth it!”

“Hold on, weapons? You have multiple?”

“Sure I do, check it!” 4 got up from the couch. She raised her hand up and suddenly, half of a dualie appeared in her hand! VeronIKA’s eyes and mouth widened.

“W-What?! How d-did you do that?!”

“If I’m being honest, I don’t know myself. When I completed all my missions with a certain weapon, I just sorta gained the ability to summon it! Pretty cool, huh?” In her other hand, she summoned an Octobrush, but it had a different casing than usual.

“The drawback is that summoning one takes up a lot of ink. So, I can only switch or take out between two weapons out of time.” She sat back down as the weapons faded away. Agent 3 didn’t even think something like that was possible! These agents were really something else… Does this mean Agent 8 also has some cool, epic powers? Or maybe even 1 and 2?! DOES THIS MEAN SHE’LL GET COOL, EPIC POWERS?!

“Your ability is so cool, Agent 4! A part of me wishes I too could have awesome powers like you and Captain!” Agent 8 spoke. Ah… So only those two had powers and it wasn’t some latent power thing all agents had… That’s cool, that’s fine… VeronIKA was really hoping for cool powers too…

Eventually, the get-together was coming to an end. Conversation slowed down and some inkfish looked tired… Especially Callie, who had already fallen asleep- VeronIKA sat down in silence, looking around the building… Nothing interesting to note aside from a few cardboard boxes. Suddenly, the squid felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up to see it was Marina.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Oh! No, definitely not! I was just… spacing out-“

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah! I’m fine! Please don’t worry, I’ve had enough people do that for me already-“ Marina stared at the young squid before giving a small smile and nodding.

“Very well. I wanted to give you this. It’s for tomorrow.” The octoling handed the inkling a train ticket to Inkopolis.

“Oh, I didn’t think you were gonna buy me a ticket.”

“I’m the one who asked you on this mission, it’s the least I can do!”

“… Thank you,” VeronIKA said with a smile, stuffing the ticket into her jacket. Seeing how it was getting late, the young squid thought that now was a good time to head home. She got up from the seat and called Little Buddy over to her.

“Alright everyone, I think it’s time I go home now.” The little salmon jumped into her hands as she waved everyone goodbye. VeronIKA exited the house and made her way toward the drain.

Today started really weird, but luckily, it sorta ended on a good note! She still didn’t know where Hiro was or if he was planning something, but now she knows she doesn’t have to hide her agent stuff from her friends anymore! First thing tomorrow morning, she’ll tell them the entire truth! She should probably text them tonight to tell them all to meet up before she has to board the train… She’ll do it when she gets home. VeronIKA stepped over the grate and went into her swim form.

Eventually, she popped out the other side back into the square. It was night, the only sources of light being street lamps and storefronts. However, the young inkfish wasn’t paying much attention to that.

“Are you excited for tomorrow, Little Buddy? It’s our second big miss-!”

*Click!*

“Huh?” A bright light flashed on her face as she looked forward. Someone was standing in front of her… Someone familiar…

“H-Hiro?!”

“Hey, IKA!”

Chapter Text

VeronIKA laid quietly in her futon. She tossed and turned

“H-Hiro?! What the heck are you doing here?!”

Words echoed through her mind as she stared blankly at the dark room ceiling.

“I could be asking you the same thing, IKA”

She couldn’t close her eyes. She couldn’t take her mind off what happened earlier…

“You… You were gone the entire day! Where have you been?!” The inkling asked. Her voice was shaking but she still sounded concerned.

“Well, if you’re worried, I’m not hurt or sick or anything. I just decided not to come to the lobby today.” The octoling answered, putting the hand that was holding the camera on his hip.*

“A-And you didn’t bother to tell any of us?”

“Oh, I did tell some of you guys.”

“H-huh? Wh… what do you mean?” VeronIKA was confused.

“Yarr and Cal. That’s who I told.”

“Hold on… What are you saying?”

“Why do you think Yarr was missing this morning? Or why Cal pressured you so much? They were both helping me with my little plan.” Hiro said with a smile.

“Plan? What… plan?”

“Well, after what happened yesterday with you leaving so suddenly during our talk, I started to have my suspicions. I wanted to believe nothing was happening with you but no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t… shake the feeling… So, I made a plan. I had Cal get you upset so you would leave early. Assuming you would go to your “job” right after, I had Yarr spy on you from afar somewhere in the square. Once they got the information I needed, they called me here and I waited for you to return. And now, that brings us here.” Hiro explained. VeronIKA stood there with eyes wide and brows slightly furrowed.

“So, now I ask… What have you been doing down there? Why have you been lying to me? Was Little Buddy even sick yester-“

“You got Yarr to… SPY on me?!” The squid interrupted the octo with a loud shout.

“VeronIKA, I-“

“Why on earth would you do that?! Friends don’t get each other to spy on them!!!”

“I wouldn’t have to spy on you if you just told me the truth!” Hiro began to shout back.

“I couldn’t tell you the truth! Did you ever stop to think WHY I lied to you? WHY I didn’t want you to know what I was doing? It’s because I want to protect you guys!” To get away from the noise, the little Salmonid jumped out of her hands.

“Protect us from what? Didn’t you say you were fine? What could you possibly have to protect us from?!” Hiro was not letting up. The squid with the braided tentacle groaned and looked to the side, knowing she couldn’t answer that.

“I… I can’t answer that! You know this already!”

“So, even after I find out you're lying and have physical evidence of you coming out that drain, you still won’t tell me?” The octos eyes flattened as he sighed.

“Fine. If that’s how it’s gonna be, I’ll just tell everyone else.”

“W-What?”

“I’ll show them this picture and tell them you’ve been lying to us about whatever this job was. None of them will trust you afterward, which shouldn’t be bad for you because you didn’t trust us from the start.”

“You…!” VeronIKA bared her fangs, ready to show as loud as she could. Instead, she closed her eyes and signed.

“You know what? Fine. Do it because clearly I’m not a good friend and don’t deserve to hang out with you guys…” Her voice began to shake.

“I… I was thinking about telling you guys after this mission because I knew keeping it hidden all this time was bad. I hated that I had to lie… but after this, I don’t think I should anymore.”

“IKA-“

“Tell the others I won’t be coming in the morning to say goodbye.” VeronIKA spoke as she began to walk off. Hiro watched, his expression becoming sorrowful. Then the squid stopped in her tracks and looked back.

“Goodbye, Hiro.” The inkling continued forward as the Little Buddy followed behind.

Hiro watched as the inkling and salmon walked off into the night. The octoling stood there in silence. He looked at the camera and the picture he had taken… Was all of this really worth it? Did… did he do the right thing? No, he didn’t. He broke his friend's trust and now he would probably never see her again. Yes, she lied but as her friend, he should’ve trusted she had a good reason to do so. Gahhh! He was so stupid! He needed to find a way to fix this… Hiro made his way back to his house.

————————————————————

VeronIKA was up early once again. Not because she managed to wake up early, but because she couldn’t sleep. Ever since she got home last night, she was drifting in and out of consciousness. In the end, she decided to stay awake. There wasn’t much she could do to keep herself awake aside from looking at the ceiling or out the window. She did end up untying the braid that’s been in her for months just to keep herself occupied. She ended up looking like Captain, just with fewer scars and smaller eye bags. Although, she immediately regretted it but didn’t have the energy to put it back… VeronIKA wanted to get some resemblance of sleep, but she was afraid if she did so, she’d miss her train to Inkopolis and she couldn’t let the Squidbeak down like that. Inkling groaned with her hands covering her face. Cod… Why… why did he have to do that? Everything would’ve been perfect if he just… didn’t! Another groan left her mouth… You know, minutes after she got home, she got a text from Hiro. VeronIKA didn’t bother to open it or see what it said. She was done with him and everyone else… If he wanted to tell everyone she was a liar and keeping a secret behind their backs, let him. She didn’t care. Not one bit…

“Maybe I should just leave Splatsville and live in Inkopolis…” VeronIKA quietly said to herself.

Hours had passed. It was nearing the time for their train to depart. VeronIKA had packed everything she needed, well everything she thought she needed. She didn’t know how long she would be staying in the city but it’s best to come prepared regardless. She neatly packed her uniform, an extra pair of clothes, sneakers, a toothbrush, her ticket, and of course food for Little Buddy. For her outfit for the ride, she wore a basic Squid Force white tee and shorts, alongside her old Reboots. With everything ready and prepared to go, VeronIKA made her way to the front door. The small Salmonid jumped inside the handmade pouch on the side of her duffel bag. The squid stitched it on herself so her friend could have somewhere to stay that wasn’t in her hands. Finally, she turned off the lights and left the apartment, closing the door behind her.

As she made her way to the station, it was evident she was extremely tired. The inkling could barely keep her eyes open and she already let out multiple yawns. Hopefully, she can get some rest on the train ride- Suddenly, her stomach started to rumble. Maybe something to eat too while she’s at it… She stepped into the square, she was only a few steps away from the station, but that was when she saw it. All of her friends except for one specific octoling were standing near the station’s entrance. Were they here to confront her already?! Actually… how did they know she would be here at this specific time?! You know what, that doesn’t matter! She needed to find a way around them… Wait a minute. She untied her tentacle! They won’t be able to recognize her with her iconic braid! Looks like she didn’t need to regret it after all, huh? VeronIKA walked towards the exit with a smug look on her face, thinking everything was smooth sailing. That was until…

“Is that… VeronIKA…? OMC, it is! VeronIKA! Over here!” A voice shouted out. It was Chao. The squid stopped in her tracks. She closed her eyes and breathed out of her nose. Looks like a different hairstyle wasn’t enough to conceal her identity. The inkling turned to face her group of friends who had approached her with an awkward smile.

“Hey guyssss… Didn’t see you there…”

“And we almost did see you with your new style! Thank Cod for Little Buddy poking his head out of your bag! What’s up with that anyway?” Chao continued to talk. VeronIKA gave a little glance at her salmon friend who only gurgled in response.

“Oh, well you know… Just wanted to try something new, that’s all…” She awkwardly laughed.

“Well, it looks good on you! Also, you look like a mess! Have you not been asleep?”

“Heh, not really… but aside from that, what are you guys doing out here anyway? It’s pretty early…”

“We finally managed to get in contact with Hiro last night. He said the reason for him being gone yesterday is because he wasn’t feeling well-“ Stephanie began talking. Oh, did he now…

“Then he told us all to meet you here because apparently, you’re going to Inkopolis for your secret job or whatever. He said it was a secret between you two that you’d be going but he felt bad for leaving us out she he told us.”

“Did… he say anything else?”

“Nope. That’s it. Now I don’t know why you felt the need to keep this secret. Aren’t we your friends?” The inkling stepped into VeronIKA’s space.

“Y-You are! I just didn’t-“

“Bah! I don’t care about your excuses. Just stay safe or whatever… And stop copying my style!” The slightly shorter inkling crossed her arms and walked away. VeronIKA chuckled slightly and let out a small smile. Then, both Anemone and Tako appeared in front of her.

“You have to bring us some stuff back from Inkopolis! It’s the only place that has limited edition Squid Sister and Off the Hook merch!” The squid in glasses excitedly opened up.

“I also heard there are Tableturf Cards you can only get there. Please VeronIKA, you have to get me them!” The octoling with twirls in their hair begged. The squid put her hands out in front of them to calm the two inkfishes down.

“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try.” The two gave little nods and backed off the inkling. VeronIKA looked over at Stephanie.

“Hey, Steph? Hiro said he wanted all of you to be here, right? So… where is he?”

“Huh? I don’t know! He should’ve been here by now!” The inkling with the viking hat responded without turning around. VeronIKA didn’t know if she wanted to see the octoling or not after what happened yesterday… Though it seems like she wouldn’t be able to decide. Her train was ready to leave in a few minutes. If she wanted somewhere good to sit, she needed to go now. The squid repositioned the bag over her arm for a better grip.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have much time left. It was nice seeing you guys one last time. If you see Hiro, tell him thank you and I’ll see him later. Bye, guys! Most of them waved goodbye as she began to walk to the entrance until two inkfish stopped her. It was Yarr and Cal… She wasn’t too happy to see them but she didn’t make that clear. The flat-haired inkling placed a hand on their shoulder before leaning into her ear and whispering.

“Good luck on your mission.” Hearing that sent a shiver through her body. VeronIKA gave the inkling a look before smirking and nodding. Cal let go of her shoulder and walked away. Next, Yarr patted her shoulder twice before giving her a thumbs up and walking away.

Now that everyone said their farewells, VeronIKA could finally make her way down to the station. The platform was a bit crowded as the morning train was nearly ready to depart and so everyone was trying to get on. Fortunately, the squid managed to hand in her ticket rather quickly, allowing her to finally board the train. She also managed to find a spot next to the window. Looking out the window was always the best part of these long rides. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be able to do that because instead, she’ll be sleeping. Before she clocked out, she looked down at Little Buddy.

“I’m gonna rest, alright? Don’t cause any trouble, okay?” She pointed at the little fish which responded with a gurgle.

VeronaIKA giggled. She put her head back and closed her eyes. She began to think. She’s never been to Inkopolis before… Most of her life has been spent in Splatsville or the desert. She wondered how different it would be from her hometown… Before she could doze off completely, someone sat down next to her. It was an octoling wearing a sudadera roja, mask, shades, and a bucket hat… Quire the outfit they had there… The inkling would’ve just ignored the person but something about them felt… strange and oddly familiar? There were a few other available seats, why did they decide to sit here? And those eyes… Those were the same colors as…! VeronIKA’s eyes widened. She sat up and began to stare intensely at the octoling. He eventually noticed but tried not to stare back… Suddenly, the squid ripped the shades off the octos face, and just as she suspected…

“I knew it was you!”

He pulled the mask down and awkwardly waved.

“Uhhh… Hey IKA…?”

Chapter Text

“I can’t believe this! Why are you here?!” The squid shouted.

“Hey, hey! I know you’re upset but lower your voice! People are staring…” The octo whispered with his hands in front of him. He looked around to see other passengers starting in their direction.

“I don’t care! Tell me right now or I swear to cod- Mmph!” Suddenly, Hiro’s palm was placed on VeronIKA’s mouth in hopes of quieting her down.

“I’ll explain everything if you calm down, okay?” The octoling spoke. She looked at him for a second before rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. She nodded and with that, Hiro removed his hand.

“Okay, look. I’m here to apologize for yesterday.” He spoke in a quiet tone.

“Oh, are you? Wow, thanks.” She said sarcastically while looking away. She whispered but her voice was still louder than the young octo’s.

“If you’re wondering, I didn’t tell anyone about what happened last night. Not even Cal and Yarr know!” VeronIKA slowly turned her head to look at the boy.

“Y-You didn’t…?” Her arms dropped.

“No, I didn’t. Neither do any of them know I’m here right now.” Hiro looked away for a second before sighing and then turning back.

“After you told me you wouldn’t be saying goodbye to us in the morning, I assumed your train would be leaving around that time. So I managed to buy a ticket at the last minute for the train you were taking. Then, I texted everyone and told them all to meet in front of the station. As you saw, I was nowhere to be found because I was really waiting at the station.”

“Let me guess, you were waiting for me?”

“Correct. Once I saw you board the train, I followed behind. I almost didn’t recognize you with your tentacle untied. Thank cod for Little Buddy! Actually… Why is your tentacle untied?” He leaned in closer and she turned her face away.

“D-Don’t worry about it…! Anyway, why couldn’t you just do this back with everyone else?”

“I don’t want them to know about this and everything going on with you. I told you I didn’t tell them, right?”

“Y-yes… You did…”

“I thought about what I did last night and I realized how stupid and inconsiderate I was. I said I was doing it because I wanted to protect you, but you’re in no need of protecting, you know how to do that yourself. You didn’t want to tell me what you were doing and I should’ve respected that. I shouldn’t have spied on you and just waited until you were comfortable with telling me… VeronIKA, I’m truly sorry. I meant it. I’ll completely understand if you don’t wanna forgive me…” Hiro spoke with sincerity in his three hearts. He looked to the ground as VeronIKA stared at him. She took a deep sigh and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re right. What you did was dumb and inconsiderate, but I can tell you meant your apology. So I will forgive you. We’ve been friends for years and friends deserve a second chance. Besides, I’m sorta to blame too. I lied to you when I promised I wasn’t doing anything sketchy… I apologize for that.” The octoling picked up his head as the inkling gave him a big smile. He smiled in response and then suddenly hugged the squid kid.

“Thank you so much! I really, really appreciate it! I promise I won’t ever break your trust ever again!” The hug between the two inkfish lasted for a bit. A slight blush appeared on the squid’s face as she slowly wrapped her arms around Hiro… only for his grasp to be broken off her seconds later. The octo awkwardly chuckled with a slight blush on his face as well.

“Oh! Sorry about that…” The boy spoke.

“Yeahhh… I-It’s fine…” The girl chuckled as well.

The two sat there in awkward silence, both looking in the opposite direction of the other. Eventually, VeronIKA broke the silence.

“So what kind of business do you have in Inkopolis?”

“Uh…”

“Don’t tell me… You only board this train just to tell me you’re sorry?

The octoling didn’t say a word.

“Oh my cod, you did. Yeah, you definitely did, you don’t even have a bag with you!”

“Okay, yes I did! I didn’t really think that far ahead but it’s not like I can’t just buy a ticket back to Splatsville when we get there- Hey! Stop laughing!” Hiro blurted out as he saw VeronIKA chuckling.

“I’m sorry, but that’s really funny! But I guess you aren’t wrong.” The squid said before stretching and putting her hands behind her head as she laid back.

“In any case, it looks like we have a few hours until we reach Inkopolis. I’m gonna take a nap. I couldn’t sleep a wink last night.” The inkling began closing her eyes.

“Alright. I guess I’ll wake you up once we get there.” The octoling responded. Silence fell between them once more until VeronIKA opened her eyes and looked over at the boy.

“By the way… since you saw me do all… that… I guess I can tell you what I’ve really been doing these past few months…” The squid’s voice lowered as the octo’s eyes widened.

“A-Are you sure…? You don’t have to if you don’t wanna…”

“Yeah, I’m sure. It’s not good to keep things from friends and it’s not like I didn’t want to tell you eventually.”

“If that’s how you feel… then alright. I’m listening.”

“Oh, not right now! When we’re somewhere more private, then I’ll tell you.”

“Oh! Right, yeah.” The boy looked away, slightly embarrassed. The girl couldn’t help but chuckle. VeronIKA closed her eyes again and slowly began to drift off into sleep.

————————————————————

A few hours passed. The snoring inkling felt a tap on her shoulder. She ignored it at first, but then she felt another tap. The inkling grumbled as she slowly opened her eyes.

“Huh… Wha-?”

“Wake up, sleepyhead! We’re here!” Hiro announced.

VeronIKA rubbed her eyes to clear up her vision. She saw all the passengers making their way out of the train. The squid began to stretch her limbs. How long was that? Felt like 3-4 hours. That wasn’t a full night of sleep but she did feel way more energized than this morning, so that is a plus. Now fully awake, VeronIKA looked down into her bag and saw her little friend was still sound asleep. She smiled as she gave his belly a little rub. As the remaining bit of passengers left the cart, the inkling stood up with the octoling following right behind. They exited the train and stepped onto the platform. They walked down the stairs and now, they officially arrived at their destination.

Inkopolis.

Specifically the plaza. For some reason, she expected it to be bigger than the square back in Splatsville… That’s not to say she didn’t like the feel of this place. Everything was much more condensed and easy to find. It was also a bit colder here than back home. VeronIKA looked around at all the inkfish walking around. The fashion sense of this place actually seemed a bit different from Splatlands. It looked more… retro… Is that a good way to describe it? However you describe it, it felt different. The squid looked up and saw the Great Zapfish coiled up around the tower before them. Well, a Great Zapfish. Apparently, they’re multiple. VeronIKA turned to Hiro who was taking in the sights. The squid remembered what she told him on the train before she fell asleep. She took a deep breath. Well, they’re here now, she just needs to find a private place. She turned her head to the right and saw a secluded corner next to a tree. That should be good. The girl tapped the boy's shoulder.

“So, are you ready for me to tell you what I’ve been doing?

“Wha-? Oh, yeah. That… Again, are you sure you want to tell me? Won’t your boss get like… upset?”

“Actually, she’s the one who told me it was fine to tell you. Come on.” The inkling said as she walked to the corner, hoping the boy would follow.

“Oh. Alright then…” Hiro still felt uncertain about all this if both she and her employer were saying it was fine then… The boy sighed and followed the girl. The squid placed her back on the wall and crossed her arms.

“Alright, let’s start from the beginning…”

VeronIKA began to explain everything. From the point of going down the drain to having to fight a genetically mutated grizzly bear. It all sounded… insane, ludicrous even. Hiro squatted down with his back to the wall. He held his bucket hat in one hand and placed his other on his chin, trying to process everything his friend just told him.

“So, you followed some creepy old guy down the manhole, ended up falling down from the crater into some lost paradise made by humans, met the Squid Sisters and Deep cut, ended up doing some trials designed by some A.I., only to fight a massive super-mutant bear in outer space who happened to be the owner of Grizz Co…” Hiro tried to recap everything. He sounded insane saying that out loud…

“Don’t forget Little Buddy turning into a massive salmon to fight Mr. Grizz!” VeronIKA pointed a finger.

“Y-Yeah… that. Look VeronIKA, I don’t know if I believe all that-“

“Well, that’s the truth.” The squid crossed her arms back.

“Do you have any like… proof of this?”

“Why do you think Frye called me “Agent 3” the other day? I know all of this sounds pretty insane but I assure you all of this really happened.”

“It’s just… hard to wrap my head around. Old human-built civilizations, agents, mutated bears, it’s a lot, y’know?” The octoling scratched the back of his tentacles as he stood up and looked at the squid.

“But it does sound like you’re telling the truth. Besides, you wouldn’t really have a reason to lie now, would you?” Hiro chuckled as he asked.

“Heh, nope. If you need some further proof, check this out.” VeronIKA dug into her backpack and pulled out her phone. She searched through her gallery until she found a picture. She showed it to the boy. It was the picture of her alongside the Squid Sisters and another inkling wearing a cap and old rags.

“We took this after I beat Mr. Grizz as a celebration of sorts. They told me it’s a thing all the agents do after a successful big mission.” VeronIKA explained as Hiro looked at the photo. Well, there was no denying this one. Unless she was perfect at photoshop, this image was 100% real.

“Hmmm… If I remember what you said correctly, Callie and Marie are agents 1 and 2, and the inkling with all the scars is your Captain?” The octo asked.

“Yep!”

“So what about Deep Cut? Are they agents too?”

“Nah, but there are other agents. I met them a few days ago, actually!”

“Oh? How many more?”

“Two. Agents 4 and 8.”

“Uh… what happened to Agents 5 through 7?”

“I… I don’t know, actually… Never really thought about that…” VeronIKA put a hand under her chin and began to genuinely think about it until Hiro put a hand on her shoulder and chuckled.

“Maybe that’s a question you should leave for the others… Though, speaking of them, are you like… supposed to meet them somewhere?”

“They didn’t tell me anywhere specific when they gave me the ticket. I should probably text them and tell them I’m here.” With her phone still in hand, the squid began to send a message to Callie. She said she had arrived at the plaza and wondered what she should do next.

Thankfully, the idol responded rather quickly. She was glad to hear she made it safely. She then proceeded to say she would need to head to the square instead of the plaza, a train at the station should be able to take her there. VeronIKA was wondering why they just didn’t give her a ticket to the square instead but she wasn’t going to bother asking. However, before thanking Callie, she asked if it was alright if she brought someone. The Squid Sister texted back saying let her ask Marie first. A few minutes passed and she responded with a thumbs-up emoji. Alright, that’s settled then! The inkling placed the phone back in her bag and looked at Hiro.

“She said we need to head to the square. We should probably head back to the station and wait for the train. Come on!” The squid began to walk off until she heard the octo call out to her.

“W-Wait! Should I really be coming with you? I know you explained everything to me but it’s not like I’m an agent now. I think this should be where we part ways-!” Suddenly, Hiro felt a hand grab his. His face turned a tint of red.

“It’s fine! I asked them and they said it was fine for you to come! So stop slowing me down and let’s get going already!” VeronIKA began to drag the boy by the hand as they ran to the station. Hiro stumbled a bit before getting his footing. His worried frown turned to a smile as he followed.

Chapter Text

The train ride to the square didn’t take nearly as long as the first ride did. In about thirty minutes, the two Splatlandian youths arrived at Inkopolis Square. This place was smaller than the plaza and even smaller than Splatsville’s square! Jeez, did inkfish really hang out here? It felt so cramped, not to mention kind of bland… Well, there was a mini-skate park off to the side which was pretty cool, but aside from that, this place didn’t have much to offer… And compared to the plaza and back home, this place wasn’t nearly as crowded. Only a few inkfishes were hanging around what she assumed was the plaza and a few jellyfish. There was one in particular who seemed to be…  rubbing the ground. Huh… Those guys were always a little weird to her, she found it best not to question whatever they did. Aside from that, there were your usual stores spread around, clothes, shoes, headgear, weapons, and the general store. However, there was something slightly different about this place compared to the plaza. When getting off the train, she noticed a terminal that seemed to be for Hotlantis. Harmony wasn’t situated in Inkopolis so that was probably how people from there got their items and prizes, but with this place, there was an actual store… There’s no way Harmony could be running it, right? Maybe she should check it out later… There was also Ammo Knights. Sheldon ran the one back in Splatsville so who was running the other two? Probably some part-timer… but who in the world would have the same amount of energy for weapons as that shoe crab? Hold on… Agent 8 spoke about running the shop in Inkopolis when they talked a few days ago. She never specified if it was in the plaza or the square though… Maybe she can walk in and see for herself… Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder. 

“Hey, you alright? You’ve been kinda spacing out…” Hiro asked. VeronIKA awkwardly chuckled and scratched the back of her head.

“O-Oh! Sorry! I was just… taking in everything. This place is really different from Splatsville, huh?”

“Heh, you can say that again. I can’t help feeling like an outsider.” The octoling chuckled again as he looked around. He could see a few different inklings and octolings looking in their direction… Perhaps they noticed that these two weren’t from here… Anyway…

“So, now that we’re here, where to?”

“Right! Uhh… I’m gonna have to text them again-“ The inkling said, putting down her bag and pulling out her phone once again. The octoling chuckled lightly in response. VeronIKA texted Callie, telling her they were there and what to do next. The idol’s response was almost instant. She told them to go to Ammo Knights. Well, looks like Agent 8 might be working there after all! Or it could just be Sheldon. He was a part of the Splatoon too. There’s no point in guessing when the store is just a walk away!

“She said Marie is in Ammo Knights. Come on!” VeronIKA picked up her bag and began to run off but she quickly stopped when she noticed Hiro standing completely still.

“Hey? What’s wrong?”

“I’m just now processing that I’m actually going to meet the Squid Sisters…”

“Heh, didn’t take you as a fan.” The inkling chuckled.

“Well, I’m not a huge fan, but still! It’s not every day you say you met an idol group!” Hiro said with a hint of excitement only for VeronIKA to look at him with a smug look. He was confused for a second until he finally realized. “Well, aside from you , not everyone can say that!” The octoling corrected himself. The inkling simply giggled before continuing her way to the store.

“Just try to control yourself! I don’t need my bosses thinking my friends are lame!” She shouted back.

“H-Hey!” He shouted back before running and catching up. Eventually, the two reached the store and entered. Behind the counter was a family face, the tall octoling she met a few days ago, Nana Agent 8. In front was a woman wearing a green sweater, a Firefin cap, as well as a mask… Really? Was that the best disguise she could come up with? Not even any shades?! 

“Marie! Nana!” The inkling shouted in joy.

“Wait, Marie?! Where?” Hiro said as he looked around.

“Hey, not so loud. I don’t want to bring a crowd of kids running in here for autographs.” The woman in green turned around as she pulled down her mask. The octoling behind the counter leaned into Marie’s ears.

“Uh, Marie? Who is this and why do they know our names? They kind of look like Captain…” Nana whispered.

“It’s VeronIKA. Agent 3, the girl you met a few days ago. She just doesn’t have her tentacle tied.”

“O.M.C! Agent 3! I’m sorry for not recognizing you!”

“Wait, that’s Marie?! A-And who is this other person?!” Hiro attempted to ask but got no answer.

“Oh, sorry! Also, it’s fine, don’t worry about it. Anyway, it’s nice to see you guys again!” VeronIKA said with a wide smile as she carefully placed her bag down.

“Likewise. Why is your tentacle untied, anyway?” Marie asked.

“Eh, long story. What are you guys doing here?”

“I would answer that but your friend over there looks pretty lost.” The idol pointed to the octoling standing behind the girl. VeronIKA turned around to see that Hiro did look pretty confused.

“Oh yeah. Marie, Nana, meet Hiro, a good and longtime friend of mine. He’s a real big Squid Sisters fan so go easy on him!” The inkling girl teased.

“Hey! I never said th-!” Before he could finish his sentence, he was cut off by the other octoling greeting herself.

“Hello, Hiro!” Nana waved. Seconds after, Marie approached the young octo and leaned in. Hiro was confused and nervous.

“Hmmm… I’ve heard about you.” Said the idol.

“Y-You have…?” Responded the boy.

“Yep. VeronIKA has talked about you a few times. She said you were a kind and reliable guy. She even said you were a little cute-“ Marie said with a giggle as the octoling’s face turned red.

“Heh, I guess I do talk about him a b- Hey wait a minute! W-What did you just say?! I’ve never said that! Why are you lying!” VeronIKA’s face turned a bright red as she began screaming at the idol while Marie simply chuckled. Nana tried to break them up all the while Hiro stood completely still looking at the floor.

“… she thinks I’m cute…”  The octo said to himself before picking up his head and looking at the inkling. She was still screaming at the idol until she eventually stopped and turned to look at Hiro. Their eyes met. They stared at each other for a bit. The octoling could only crack a small smile and chuckled lightly. The heat on the inkling’s face instantly as she quickly turned away.

“That was funny. Anyway, to answer your question, I was waiting outside for you when I remembered Nana worked here. So I decided to drop in and say hello.” The oldest inkling explained.

“So, everyone isn’t meeting here?” The young squid asked.

“Pfft, of course not. This would be a horrible place for an agent meeting.”

“That is… true… So then, where?”

“It’s just a few steps away. Come on. It was nice talking to you, Nana.”

“Wait, Nana isn’t coming with us?”

“Unfortunately not. Someone needs to be here to watch the store and unfortunately again, Mira is not here.” The octoling spoke.

“Who’s Mira?” VeronIKA asked.

“Mira is our new intern! They are very passionate about weapons, however, they have some trouble with being present to work.”

“Oh. Well, it sucks you can’t join us.”

“Do not worry! Pearl and Marina have already filled me in about the mission!”

“Huh. That’s good to hear. I guess this is goodbye then!”

“It is! I will see you again later! Goodbye!” Nana waved goodbye.

“Cya!” The inkling waved back and was ready to head out when she noticed something in the corner of the room. It looked like a weapon, but nothing like she’d ever seen before… “Hey, Nana… What’s that?” She pointed to the object.

“Huh? Oh! Well… I don’t know if I can tell you that…” Nana said, looking to the side.

“Oh come on! I promise I won’t tell anyone about this! Not even Sheldon! Please?!” The inkling begged. The octoling took a deep breath and sighed.

“Very well.” She walked over to them and picked it up. She showed them off and from the looks of it, they looked like gloves or gauntlets… “These are Sheldon’s newest prototype. They are called “Hole Punchers”; the name is subject to change.”

“Hole Punchers?” Hiro sounded curious.

“Correct. Unlike most weapons, this one is not designed to ink. Instead, it is completely used as an offensive tool.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound very useful. Why design something that can’t ink anything?” VeronIKA asked.

“Unfortunately, I do not have an answer for that. It also has no range whatsoever and is meant to be used in close quarters.”

“This sounds like an awful weapon…” Hiro said.

“I do not know how well it works in the field but I could give an explanation of how it’s meant to be used.”

“Eh, might as well.” The squid kid added. Nana nodded as she began to explain.

“Inside the weapon, there is a button. When pressed, it begins to fill a bomb at the tip of the weapon. Similar to how a Steelhead fills the bomb on top of its head. Depending on how long you hold the button, the bigger the bomb becomes. When you release, the mechanism on top “punches” down on the bomb and it explodes. I would give a demonstration, but this would not be the best place to do it.”

“Actually, that does sound pretty cool. Right IKA?”

“Yeah, you’re right! I kinda want to use it now… When’s this thing gonna become available?”

“I don’t know. As I’ve said, it’s still in its prototype stage.”

“Oh, yeah you’re right. Well, as soon as it becomes available, I’ll be the first buyer!” The squid chuckled.

“You guys done yet?” Marie’s voice cut in.

“Oh carp, coming! Uh, thanks for showing us the weapon Nana! I’ll speak to you soon, cya!” The young inkling picked up her bag and waved goodbye as the young octoling did the same and followed behind. Nana waved goodbye as the three inkfish left the store.

“You said this place was a few steps away. So, where is it?” VeronIKA asked.

“Right down there.” Marie pointed to the left and down… directly towards a drain. The squid looked at the drain with her eyes squinted before looking back at the older woman. The idol simply shrugged. “Hey, it’s not a secret base without going down a few pipes.”

“Uh, I’m sorry to butt in but… I’ve never gone down any… drain pipes before… Is there anything I should expect?” Hiro butted in.

“There’s a lot of twists and turns down there, so expect to be a little nauseous when you get out. All you two need to do is follow me and you’ll be golden.” The idol explained.

“If that’s all, I think we’re ready to go!” The inkling said.

“Before we do that, I’ve been meaning to ask…”

“Hm?”

“Where’s Little Buddy? I doubt you left him back in Splatsville.”

“Oh! He’s in here!” VeronIKA placed her bag down and peered inside. Inside was a sleeping smallfry. “He’s been asleep ever since we got here. He must’ve been really tired.”

“Huh. I wonder why he didn’t sleep on the train ride.”

“Heh, yeah… I wonder why…” Hiro laughed awkwardly as he looked to the side. Little do they know he had to deal with the little Salmonid that entire ride- 

“Yeah, I wonder too… Regardless, I’d say this is a good thing! Now he’ll have all his energy for the mission!” VeronIKA said before picking up the bag again.

“I suppose you’re right. Well then, let’s get going, shall we?” Marie said as she stood over the grate before going into his swim form and falling through. Next was VeronIKA and then Hiro.

————————————————————

The three inkfish popped out one at a time. First Marie, then VeronIKA, and finally Hiro. Both Marie and VeronIKA landed on their feet when they popped out, but for Hiro, he nearly fell over. Not only that, he felt extremely nauseous.

“You okay, Hiro?” His friends asked, placing her bag down.

“Y-Yeah… I’m… fine! I just need to… oh cod…” It felt as if he was about to throw up…

“If you’re gonna throw up, do it over the ledge. Anyway, welcome to Octo Canyon. We’re currently at Tentakeel Outpost.” Marie spoke as she walked on ahead.

“This place looks kinda pretty-“ VeronIKA was cut off by the entrance of a familiar voice.

“Marie! VeronIKA! You made it!” It was the other half of the Squid Sisters, Callie, who just like her cousin, was wearing something more casual. A pink beanie with a star on it and a pink sweater with some shades that were currently on top of her head. She hugged her cousin. Once they let go, Callie walked over to VeronIKA and hugged her too. She stopped once she noticed the octoling about to vomit. “Uh… that’s the friend you were talking about, right? Also, why is your tentacle untied?”

“Long story. Also, yeah, that’s Hiro. Just give him a minute, this was his first time doing this…”

“Oh, I totally understand! I was like that too when I first did it. Pretty sure I threw up the first three times.” Callie said with a giggle. Eventually, the boy reverted from a sickly green to his usual blue. Luckily, he didn’t throw up… He still felt awful though-

“IKA, I don’t know how you can do that every day…” Hiro spoke with a hand on his stomach, but suddenly…

“Hello!” The energetic idol greeted the octoling. He nearly fell over again by how startled he was. “It’s nice to meet you, Hiro!”

“L-Likewise…” The octoling forced on a smile. 

“What even is this place?” The inkling asked.

“It’s the place where I made camp and recruited Surume a few years ago. It’s not used as much but I like to come here by myself or with her to relax or reminisce.” The tried idol explained.

“Oh.” VeronIKA let out before beginning to look around the area. This place felt really cozy. There was a little lounge to the side, a TV on the other, a few training balloons, and a… giant snow globe. “Hey… What’s that snow globe for?”

“Oh! That’s the place we kept Octavio in!” Callie butted in.

“Octavio… Isn’t he the one who helped us defeat Mr. Grizz? Also, “kept”? What do you mean by that?”

“Well, you know how Octavio wasn’t always one to help. If anything, he was the main source of all our problems until that day! So, when we defeated him, we put him in a snow globe!”

“Did… did it work?”

“Nope!”

“Not even once. He would always find a way to get out.” Marie added.

“Huh…” The squid looked ahead and heard what sounded like ink being shot. “Is someone over there?”

“Oh! That’s probably Surume! She went to train a bit before the mission!”

“I’mma go talk to her. I’ll be right back!” The inkling said before running ahead, leaving her friend behind with the two idols. Once more in the open, the squid saw the other agent in the distance. She was about to approach when something else caught her attention. It was something quite unexpected. It was Captain. She was sitting down and watching the small inkling. Instead of approaching Surume, VeronIKA decides to go over to Captain. The scarred inkling didn’t acknowledge the other as she sat down next to her.

“Uh… hey.” VeronIKA attempted to start a conversation. Captain turned to her and raised her head slightly to greet her. The young squid turned her head to look to observe the even agent. In her hands were a pair of dualies. She was expecting them when suddenly… it changed into a blaster! “Wha- How did she do that?!” She confusingly asked.

“Surume has gained the ability to weapon switch.” Unexpectedly, Captain began to talk. Her voice was deep and pretty quiet. VeronIKA looked at her before blinking a few times.

“Huh? Weapon switch…?” The young inkling was confused.

“After mastering every weapon type available to her, Surume has the power to switch to any weapon of her liking at the cost of her ink. How much ink she uses is dependent on what weapon she wants.”

“I… I didn’t know that was even possible… That’s so cool! Can’t you do something similar with your specials?”

“Mhm.”

“Can all of the other agents do something cool like that?”

“No.”

“Oh… Do you think… I can learn to do something like that…?” The young agent asked, cashing the older squid to raise an eyebrow. “I just think it would be pretty cool… y’know…”

“… Well, I wouldn’t say it’s impossible. Mastering a weapon isn’t the hardest thing to do, but removing your limiter… I would suggest it…”

“Huh? How come?”

“Holding all that power inside you takes a toll on your body. So much that even a sprained ankle is enough to take you out…” Kaori chuckled lightly.

“Oh… Huh, I never thought about it that way…” So was Captain just keeping all those specials inside her this entire time? That would make the most sense; those specials had to have come from somewhere… Then what about Surume? Are those weapons just inside her too? She could ask Captain but she had a feeling she didn’t know much herself. She guessed she’d just have to ask the inkling herself… Speaking of which, she was approaching them.

“Oh! VeronIKA! When did you get here?” The slightly older agent asked with an Octobrush laying on her shoulders.

“Hey Surume! I got here a few minutes ago. I was just talking with Captain.”

“Talking with Captain? Pssh! Yeah right! Captain never talks!” The small inkling looked at the cap-wearing squid with a smug grin. Captain looked unamused.

“We were also watching you train. I noticed you transformed your dualies into a blaster earlier… and now it looks like it’s a brush!”

“Guess you’ve seen my secret ability, huh? I was gonna show you when we started the mission, but I guess I can show you now! Yep, I got the ability to switch to any weapon type I want!” The inkling lifted her brush and in a second, it changed into a bucket! “Well, to any Hero weapon, that is.”

“That’s amazing! How do you even do that?!”

“Well… Actually, I don’t know how it works myself… One day, I was just training and instead of using my Hero Shot, I wanted to use the brush. The next thing I know, my gun turned into a brush!”

“Wow… That’s weird… but interesting!”

“Mhm! I realized it only worked with weapons I completely mastered, so after that, I decided to learn every weapon in my arsenal, so now I can do this!” The bucket in her hand quickly changed from the bucket to a charger, a brella, and finally a splatling. “Though, each weapon takes a bit of my ink so I can’t swap through all of them.”

“Man… You guys are so cool! I hope I can be as cool as you guys one day.”

“Well, probably not as cool as us but I’m sure you can still become super cool!” Surume chuckled.

“Heh, thanks!” VeronIKA smiled. Moments later, the three inklings heard a voice calling out to them. It was Marie.

“Guys, the meeting is about to start! Get over here!” The idol called out to the three inklings. VeronIKA and Captain stood up and all three made their way back. Back at the outpost, there were two new arrivals, Pearl and Marina. The octoling was standing next to a familiar trunk, the same one she brought the first time they met. Except, this time, something was sitting on top of it… a telephone box… that had to be him right… Commander Tartar…. The inkling gave a disturbed look as she glared at it before looking away. VeronIKA then noticed Hiro who seemed to be standing separating himself from the rest of the group. The inkling approached.

“Hey. You alright?” The young squid asked.

“Oh, hey. Y-Yean! I’m fine! Just thought I stay over here since you know… I’m not really a part of the team.” He said nervously, chuckling and rubbing his arm.

“I’m sure the others wouldn’t mind-“

“No, it’s fine! Trust me.” The octoling responded with a smile. The inkling frowned slightly.

“If you say so… I’m gonna go then, the meeting is about to start.” The inkfish began to walk away until suddenly…

“Hey, hold on!” Hiro called out to her. VeronIKA turned around. “Let me get this for you…” The octoling grabbed her tentacle and began to tie it back up. “It must be annoying having people ask why your tentacle is untied, huh?” The young boy asked with a soft chuckle. The young girl stared at the boy with her mouth slightly open as her face began to turn a bright red.

“U-Uhhh… yeah… I-it is…” It was the only thing the girl could say as Hiro continued to tie. Once he was finished, he lightly tapped VeronIKA’s shoulder.

“All done! Now you look like your usual self! Huh? Why are you so re-?”

“It’s nothing! T-Thank you! I have to go!” It was the last thing she said before walking over to the rest of the group. She stopped to stand next to Marie. Her face was still slightly red as she looked down at the idol who was also looking at her. The idol merely snickered before looking away. VeronIKA was way too embarrassed to do anything…

The meeting had finally started. Marina was the one to speak, similar to last time. She mostly went over everything they talked about before, adding some new things here and there. The most notable new addition was the stuff about the telephone box.

“Agent 3?” Marina spoke.

“Yeah?”

“Could you take this, please?” The octoling walked over and handed something to her. It looked like a watch…

“Uh, what’s this for?”

“It’s a communication device. We’ll be using it to assist you during your time in the Metro. Agent 4 will have one too.”

“Neat.”

“But that’s not all. That watch will also help you communicate with Tartar.”

“Cool… Wait what? Tartar?! Why would I want to talk to that thing?!”

“As I’ve said before, Tartar is the only one with the knowledge to open that door. Since carrying him around isn’t an option, I decided to put a piece of his A.I. into that watch, that way, he can provide assistance.”

“Okay… I should’ve asked this at the beginning, but how are you so sure this thing will help us? Isn’t he evil?”

“When reprogramming him, I did my best to remove any parts of his original self that proved to be malicious. However, most of that was a part of his main coding so to say he’s completely reformed would be a lie… But I believe I removed enough parts for him not to be considered hostile.” Marina explained. VeronIKA was hesitant but it’s not like she could just not take her word for it. It was too late for that. The inkling sighed.

“I guess I’ll just have to take your word for it…”

“If Tartar happens to revert to his old self again, all I need to do is turn off his main body and he’ll be completely deactivated, so there’s nothing to worry about!”

“Well, that’s good to know.”

“Oh! You’ll also be needing this.” Marina handed her something.

“A metro pass?”

“It was originally Agent 8’s. She threw it away since she escaped the metro but we managed to find it again even after all this time. She had a lot of credits saved up so you won’t have to worry about getting any more!”

“That’s convenient.”

“What else… What else… Oh, right! You remember how I said we found the entrance inside the statue, correct?”

“Yeah?”

“Well… unfortunately, we will not be able to immediately access it…”

“Huh? Why not?”

“When Pearl and I first found it, we used a helicopter to explore. At the time, not many took notice of the statue, meaning we could easily fly by and explore, but now, many people seem to have taken notice of its appearance. If anyone were to go near it now, it would be considered trespassing.”

“Why can’t you guys get like a permit or something?” Agent 4 asked.

“We have tried… but we aren’t exactly licensed investigators… So, unfortunately, they denied our request.”

“I wanted to give those guys a piece of my mind but DJ over here wouldn’t let me!” Pearl added.

“So, how are we supposed to get inside?” Agent 3 asked.

“We can enter through the station entrance in the back of the square. It is blocked off and technically trespassing, but compared to the statue, there isn’t much surveillance on that place.”

“Sounds like we’ll have to go see the longer way then. Fine by me.” The odd agent said with a shrug.

“And I think that about covers everything… Any questions?”

“Nope.” Said Agent 4.

“Nah.” Said Agent 3.

“Great! You two are allowed to start the mission anytime today! Agent 3, Agent 4 will show you the way to the station.” Marina said with a smile as she clapped her hands together.

“I’m good to go right now. How about you 4?”

“Likewise! I’ll be at the grate!”

“Alright! I just need to change real quick!” VeronIKA walked over to her bag. After all this time, it looks like Little Buddy is finally awake. “Oh! Rise and shine little guy! That must’ve been a good nap, huh?” The little Salmonid simply gurgled before jumping out of the bag. The inkling giggled before searching through her bag and finding her Hero outfit. The girl went somewhere more secluded to change and in a few seconds, she was fitted with her full Hero attire and her Hero shot. Little Buddy was also with her, sitting inside her ink canister. Going back to the outpost, the girl was stopped by the sudden appearance of Captain. “O-Oh! Captain! What are you doing here?”

“… I just wanted to say good luck on the mission… Also, listen to 4. She may be an idiot and annoying at times, but she means well and is a reliable teammate…”

“Oh uh, thank you! I’ll be sure to remember that.” VeronIKA smiled as she walked away. The young agent saw the other agent waiting for her, but before she went toward her, she noticed her friend standing off to the side. She approached him instead. “Hey.”

“Oh, hey.” Hiro responded.

“I’m about to leave for my mission.”

“Yeah, I know… It sounded pretty tough from the way Marina was explaining it.”

“Nothing I can’t handle!”

“Heh… yeah… It’s crazy to think I met both the Squid Sisters and Off the Hook on the same day. I won’t be forgetting this day anytime soon.”

“Welcome to my life.” The girl giggled and soon the boy did as well.

“Well then… good luck on the mission.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you later?”

“Definitely.” The inkfish both smiled and suddenly, VeronIKA hugged Hiro very tightly. The octoling was a bit surprised, but he quickly hugged her back. The two eventually separated both with slight blushes on their faces. They both waved goodbye as the inkling walked and went with the other inkling that was waiting. The inklings went into their swim forms and fell through the grate.

“This is the second time now.” Marie spoke.

“What?” Captain asked.

“The second time one of our agents fell for an octoling.”

“Oh.”

“Well, three if you count that thing with Callie-“

“Yeah, stop talking now.”

“Heh, rude.”