Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

    Frye walked down to the Square. The big screen was in the middle of a broadcast, going over the league battle stages. She hadn’t seen Callie in weeks, mainly because Callie had been so busy. However, unusually, Callie hadn’t texted Frye about her day for a while now. Frye looked down at her phone, and scrolled through her text messages. It could've just been the fact that Callie was meant to be on vacation, but Frye kept in contact with Marie as well. Marie hadn’t seen Callie at all. Worry started to well up in Frye.

    Frye looked back up to the big screen. Pearl and Marina had finished up about the league battle stages, reporting on the missing Great Zapfish. Frye had heard this story before. A few years ago, everyone freaked out over the Great Zapfish going missing from the plaza. However, the next thing to flash onto the screen shocked everyone, Frye included. Callie was missing.

    Frye, panicked, dashed behind Crusty Sean’s food truck, and started texting Marie.

    Frye: marie! callies gone missing!

    Marie: i can see the big screen to ya know

    Frye: rlly? where r u?

    Marie: between grizzco and deca tower

    Frye looked out from behind Crusty Sean’s food truck, and sure enough Marie was standing between GrizzCo and Deca Tower. Frye got up and walked over, but Marie went through the grate before Frye got too close. Frye, impulsively, jumped down as well, following Marie.

    Frye popped out in a weird place. Marie was standing there, holding some sort of Brella. However, it looked more like a prop and less like an actual Brella. Marie turned around with a smirk on her face.

    Frye: WHY DID YOU RUN AWAY?!

    Marie: BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT YOU FOR THIS!

    Frye: And what exactly is “this”?

    Marie: Finding Callie.

    Frye: YOU DIDN’T WANT ME TO HELP FINDING MY OWN GIRLFRIEND?!

    Marie: I mean…

    Frye: I care about her JUST AS MUCH as you!

    Marie: Do you wanna beat up a bunch of Octarians?

    Frye: IF IT WILL LET ME FIND CALLIE!

    Marie: ALRIGHT, “AGENT 4”!

    Frye: OH I’M AN AGENT NOW?!

    Marie: YEAH! Here’s a hero suit. Get into it and fight those Octarians!

    Frye: OH I WILL!

    Frye threw on her new hero suit, ran straight into the main part of Tentakeel Outpost, and immediately found the first kettle she could get into. The level was Sunset Octocopter , the third level.

    Marie: FRYE THAT’S THE THIRD LEVEL!

    Frye: WELL I STILL NEED TO BEAT ALL THE LEVELS BEFORE I CAN FIGHT THE BOSS!!

    Frye threw herself into Sunset Octocopter , rushing through the kettle. She felt the air flowing through her tentacles before she spawned into the level. She noticed that she only had 3 lives on this level. She stepped off the spawn pad, ready to rush through the level.

Chapter Text

Frye launched off the dash track, and parkoured over the small ledges.

Marie: No need to be a show-off here.

Frye: I’M NOT BEIN’ A SHOW-OFF!

Marie: Yes, you are.

Frye: Sweet a ride rail! We had these back where I’m from.

Marie: What are you gonna do?

Frye: FLIPS!

Marie: Show-off…

Frye: I TOLD YOU, I’M NOT A SHOW-OFF!

Frye continued on, hopping over gaps and feeling the flow of the wind through her tentacles. She took down an Octocopter on the way. She ran into some ink pistons next.

Frye: Ooo… What are these?

Marie: Frye, run. You’re gonna get-

Next thing Frye knew, she was falling to her doom. She respawned at the last checkpoint she had hit, right before a dash track.

Frye: Alright… Note to self, do not stand in front of whatever that is.

Marie: Talk about being an idiot.

Frye: Well I didn’t know what it was gonna do!

Marie: Why didn’t you listen to me then?

Frye: Because I didn’t hear you!

Marie: HOW DID YOU NOT HEAR ME?
Frye: I don’t know.

Frye walked past the ink piston, this time not standing in front of it, and came to a section with four of them. Frye went left, spotting a small box. She splashed it with her Hero Shot, and some sort of fish came out of it.

Frye: What’s that?

Marie: Sardinium.

Frye: Ooo… I’ma climb and grab it.

Marie: You can’t just climb up and- …Nevermind.

Frye: See, you shouldn’t doubt me!

Marie: Says the one that stood in front of an ink piston.

Frye: HEY!

Frye leaped over the gap, a lot bigger this time, and landed on the other side. She splatted a few more Octocopters, and braced herself for a big timed leap. She waited for the ink piston to retract, and then leaped over the gap. She came up on a dash track and two ink pistons.

Marie: Alright Frye you can time this.

Frye: Hmm… I can try!

Marie: You didn’t activate the last checkpoint because of how you got the Sardinium, you have to be careful.

Frye: Alright, alright. I got it. No worries.

Marie: But if you fail…

Frye: I won’t, trust me.

Frye mistimed her jump, falling after hitting the ink pistons. However, she landed on some clean ground that she could use to get herself back on her feet. She climbed back up, and tried again, successfully getting it the second time.

Marie: I’m not surprised you got hit by the ink piston.

Frye: HEY!

Marie: What? I’m being honest.

Frye: I didn’t try to!

Marie: But you still did.

Frye: I’m just gonna keep my mouth shut.

Frye climbed up onto a bigger area, noticing 9 boxes, stacked in a 3x3 square. She shot the boxes down, revealing 2 ink pistons inking over a wall. She shot her ink all up the wall and tried to climb it, timing it after the ink pistons retracted.

Frye: I feel like there’s something else here…

Marie: What do you mean?

Frye: Like some kind of secret…

Marie: Maybe try looking around, idiot.

Frye: Hey I’m not an idiot.

Marie: You got hit by ink pistons twice, dying once in the process.

Frye: We all make mistakes.

Marie: I’m pretty sure the first time wasn’t a mistake.

Frye: It was curiosity.

Frye noticed a pathway on the right, following it. She found another dash track, this time attached to the wall. She shot up, and landed on the platform with the Sunken Scroll on it. She picked it up.

Frye: Ooo some kind of scroll!

Marie: That’s a Sunken Scroll.

Frye: Let’s read it!

Marie: FINISH THE LEVEL FIRST!

Frye: OK WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME?!

Frye dropped down from the platform, launching with the launchpad. She landed on the ride rail, slightly lost her balance, but regained control. She flipped off the ride rail, striking a pose in the process.

Marie: I thought you weren’t being a show-off.

Frye: Where I’m from, that's nothing!

Marie: Well it’s a lot here.

Frye: So what? You don’t have culture?

Marie: WE HAVE PLENTY OF CULTURE!

Frye: Like what? Battling each other to the death over some arbitrary question?

Marie: It’s not to the death.

Frye: Then why do people get so worked up about it?

Marie: Because it doesn’t happen often.

Frye broke some boxes, climbed up another ledge, and jumped onto a dash track, splatting four Octocopters from the sky. She made a few more jumps, then flew past the rest of the section with the dash tracks.

Frye: Alright, final checkpoint. Not much more now.

Marie: Please be careful and not clumsy.

Frye: I’m not clumsy.

Marie: You almost fell off a ride rail.

Frye: We don’t talk about that.

Frye got herself set up. Her heart was pounding. Marie would start yelling at her if she messed this up. She waited for the opening, and took it. She rushed right past the ink pistons, each one closer than the last. She barely made it out on time, landing on a ride rail. She landed on solid ground, right in front of the Zapfish. Using a bomb, she threw it at the shield, and grabbed the Zapfish.

Frye: Woo! That was thrilling!

Marie: You didn’t do too bad.

Frye: You gotta admit, it looked cool! Right?

Marie: Yeah, it did. Now let’s get a look at that scroll.

The two placed the scroll into its page in the book, appearing suddenly. There was a message that went with it, about Ammo Knights moving to a new location. The scroll itself seemed to show some doodle of Sheldon, although not of great quality, holding a bomb.

Frye walked back from the kettle to the main area, doing small parkour to get around the boxes. She walked over to the middle of the island, where the boss kettle was, and sat down.

Frye: So, how will this thing open up?

Marie: You just gotta save 3 Zapfish. You already saved one, so only two to go!

Frye: If all of these kettles are like that one, this is gonna be a thrilling adventure!

Marie: Who knows? There’s only one way to find out, and that for you to explore through them.

Frye: So what are you even doing?

Marie: Just doing some research on where Callie could be.

Frye: Any leads?

Marie: Not yet, sadly…

Frye: May I help with that research?

Marie: You’re helping by going through these kettles.

Frye: Ok, so you’re just saying you’re sitting and chilling all day doing “research” while I’m running around having fun? Sounds like you’re the one missing out.

Marie: I’m not missing out on a thing!

Frye: Are you sure?

Marie: Positive.

Frye: Are you really, really sure?

Marie: YES!

Frye: Oookkkay. But if you get jealous it’s not my fault!

Chapter Text

Frye shot another kettle open. This one was Return of the Octarians . Frye hopped in, letting the wind rush through her tentacles once again. Landing on the spawn pad, Frye notices the ground is already inked in front of her, headed straight for a launchpad. Frye quickly submerges into the ink, rushing straight towards the launchpad. She launches herself to the next platform.

Frye: Just a single Octarian and some enemy ink? What is this?

Marie: Well this is the actual first level, so…

Frye: Oh, ok! Ya know, why’s this ink all sparkly?

Marie: I don’t know!

Frye: Well I thought since you dragged me into this you’d know!

Marie: I’m not a KNOW IT ALL!

Frye: Ok sassy.

Marie: Mmhm…

Frye splats the Octarian, rushing over to the next one. She throws a bomb as a distraction, then splats it real quick, revealing a launchpad. She springs upwards onto a checkpoint, noting three Octarians down below. She splats them quickly, revealing 3 squid rings to fall through.

Frye: Sweet! I got a reward for that!

Marie: Probably compensating for how much you may die later on.

Frye: What do you mean?

Marie: Well if you do the same thing you did with the ink piston…

Frye: I’M NOT GONNA DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN!

Marie: We’ll see about that.

Frye followed the path, running into another Octotrooper. She splats it, breaking the boxes behind as well. To her right is 5 Octotroopers in a pyramid formation atop boxes. She splats all 5, revealing a launchpad.

Marie: You missed the balloon.

Frye: Well I don’t need to get the balloon!

Marie: You still missed it.

Frye: I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW A BALLOON WAS THERE!

Marie: Well I did.

Frye: That’s cool!

Frye used the launchpad to launch upwards towards the right. She landed, and used the Balloon Fish to lay some ink down. She splatted the two Octarians, making sure to get the balloon one had attached to it. She headed left, into a grated area. She popped the Balloon Fish there, to see no key and three Octotroopers. She held her ground, successfully fighting them off.

Marie: Seems like you went the wrong way.

Frye: No duh, there’s no key here.

Marie: Maybe try the other side.

Frye: That’s what I’m doing!

Frye rushed over to the other side, and started breaking the boxes. She had no problem dealing with the Octotroopers that popped out, and found the key. Rushing back to the vault, she opened it up to find another launchpad. She launched herself over to the next checkpoint, landing perfectly on the checkpoint. She broke some boxes and grabbed some armor.

Marie: This is the first armor you’ve grabbed.

Frye: What does it do?

Marie: What do you mean “what does it do”? Have you never seen armor before?

Frye: Not once in my life.

Marie: All it does is give you extra protection from enemy fire.

Frye: Oh that doesn’t sound bad at all!

Marie: It’s a good thing.

Frye rushed straight over the enemy ink in front of her, splatting only the Octotroopers in her way. She found a Shielded Octotrooper, blocking the path forwards. She threw a bomb quickly, and splatted it from behind.

Frye: Hmm… I think there’s some kind of secret here.

Marie: Maybe check behind you. There’s more space there.

Frye: No… I’m thinking atop these walls.

Marie: I doubt it.

Frye: I’ma climb up there.

Marie: I’m telling you, there’s not gonna be anything- Nevermind then.

Frye: See! I TOLD YOU! Another thing to the collection… Looks like another Sardinium!

Marie: Wow… So clever…

Frye: I’m the one who figured it out in the first place!

Frye hopped down, hugging the wall to land on the launchpad. She hopped through the squid ring, then looked down below her platform. There was a box on some grated platforms. She jumped off her platform, turned back, and landed on the grates. She opened the box to reveal a Sunken Scroll.

Marie: Ok seriously how are you able to find this stuff so easily?!

Frye: I don’t know, I just… sense it?

Marie: That makes no sense.

Frye: I know but that’s the best way to describe it.

Marie: Well do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?

Frye: Not that I know of, nosey.

Marie: I’m not nosey.

Frye: Yes you are.

Frye stayed hidden behind a platform, waiting for a Shielded Octotrooper to move. It turned its back, and Frye striked, taking the Shielded Octotrooper down. She turned left towards some boxes, and smashed them. She popped the Balloon Fish, revealing two regular and one shielded Octotrooper. She took them down with style.

Marie: You can sense secrets and fight really well, you’re more than a one-trick pony.

Frye: You thought I was a ONE-TRICK PONY?

Marie: I thought you were just good at secret finding!

Frye: Even though I’m also a SHOW-OFF FROM WHAT YOU’VE SAID?!

Marie: HOW MANY TRICKS DO YOU HAVE? BE HONEST!

Frye: I do not know.

Frye launched herself with the launchpad from the fight she had taken, landing her on the final checkpoint. She jumped down without a second thought, taking down all four Octotroopers there. She opened the vault to the Tenta Missile special, and used it on the Octotroopers down below. Hopping down again, she fought all the Octotroopers left. She used the three keys to open the three vaults.

Marie: What was THAT?!
Frye: I dunno, good fighting skills?

Marie: You destroyed them!

Frye: Maybe it’s just natural talent…

Marie: Maybe, maybe not. Who knows?

Frye: Not me.

Using the launchpad under the last vault, Frye jumped to the platform with the Zapfish. She broke the shield and grabbed the Zapfish, taking it back up to the surface. Taking her Sunken Scroll, she placed it in the book to reveal the first Sunken Scroll overall. It was of the Youth Folk-Singing Contest, where a young Inkling damaged the venue. The Inkling looked… familiar? It clearly wasn’t Callie, nor Marie, but she still was familiar from somewhere. But… where?

Frye couldn’t worry about that. She explored around Tentakeel Outpost, finding another Sardinium laying in a box. She then noticed a gold balloon, and popped it. Following the ones it spawned around, Frye eventually got herself a sticker for the Sunken Scroll book.

Marie: Ok seriously how? This isn’t even a level!

Frye: I don’t know, I’ve never known, but I’ve always been a secret finder.

Marie: Alrightly, bit dramatic, let’s get back to work.

Frye: I’M NOT BEING DRAMATIC!

Marie: YES YOU ARE!

Frye: WELL IF I’M BEING DRAMATIC THEN YOU ARE TOO!

Marie: I am not being dramatic!

Chapter Text

Frye walked around Tentakeel Outpost, looking for the last level she needed before she could fight the boss. She had walked around these fences multiple times, but she couldn’t jump in, nor could she get a bomb over. Eventually, Frye tried shooting into the fenced area, where the level was revealed. Now Frye just had to get into the fenced section. She noticed how there were some locks on the inside. Reaching her hand inside the fences, she popped open the lock, letting the gates open up.

Marie: Why didn’t you just use your squid form?

Frye: Because we were taught to only use squid form for fast movement.

Marie: You can just use it to slip through de-fences!

Frye: That’s not funny.

Marie: You’re not funny.

Frye: I never tried to be funny, unlike you.

Marie: So?

Frye: You aren’t funny.

Marie: HEY!

Before Marie could keep arguing with Frye, Frye hopped into the kettle she had found. The kettle was for Welcome to Octopia , what was meant to be the second level. Frye rushed down the slope in front of her, splatting both the Octopod and Balloon Fish. Grabbing the power egg pack, Frye climbed up the wall in front of her. She ran into two sponges, in which she hopped onto one and shot at it to move herself up to the next level. She was met with two more sponges and an Octotrooper.

Frye: This is pretty easy so far!

Marie: Wouldn’t be surprised if it gets harder.

Frye: Even if it does get harder, I can take it!

Marie: I’m not so sure about that…

Frye: Do you have confidence in me or not?

Marie: Both.

Frye: HOW?!

Marie: Exactly how you think.

Frye jumped atop the sponges, shooting at one. She noticed the sponges were linked - if one was shot at they both grew. Frye shot down the Octotrooper and hopped down. She climbed up the wall and surprised the Octotrooper up there. She then hopped on the sponge there and used it to get up, instead of inking the wall.

Marie: Showing off once again, huh?

Frye: I don’t see that as showing off.

Marie: It is.

Frye: It’s not.

Frye rushed ahead, popping another Balloon Fish to take out four Octopods. She popped two Balloon Fish on the wall, rushing up and grabbing a power egg pack. Using the launchpad, she headed to the next area. She hopped down, using her ink to jump over the sponge instead of using it. Before climbing up the wall, Frye dodged some Octotrooper shots. She shot both of them down before climbing up onto the grates. Instead of climbing the next wall, Frye hopped down, turned left and opened a small box to reveal the levels Sunken Scroll.

Frye: Sweet! Another Sunken Scroll down!

Marie: How did you find that?

Frye: However I normally find this stuff.

Marie: And that makes no sense.

Frye popped the Balloon Fish above her, inking the wall. She grabbed the Sunken Scroll and climbed up, noting an Octotrooper. She waited for it to turn its back, then shot it down. She walked upon the grates over to where another wall was, where she climbed it quickly. She noticed a box atop one of the pillars from before, and threw a bomb to break the box. Turning around, Frye took down the two Octotroopers before climbing atop a sponge. She shot at it, inked the wall in front of her, then jumped.

Frye: That gap was too large to jump from the sponge to the ledge.

Marie: At least you inked the wall in case you failed.

Frye: It was in case I couldn’t make the jump!

Marie: Same thing.

Frye: NOT the same thing.

Frye turned left, inking up the wall and landing on some grates. She looked down and noticed some boxes and a launchpad. Although she knew she could go down there, she decided to head down a different way: jumping off the side of the platform she was on. She broke the boxes to reveal some armor. Using the launchpad, she got a view of a platform up above with three boxes on it.

Frye: One of those has to have a Sardinium.

Marie: How do you know that?

Frye: Every level so far has had a Sunken Scroll and a Sardinium.

Marie: But how do you know there’s a Sardinium up there?

Frye: I don’t know, but I do.

Frye turned left, revealing two sponges and some Octotroopers. Frye rushed forward, using the sponge to get up and splat the two Octotroopers. She ran forwards, noticing how part of the wall was inkable all the way to the top. Something clicked in Frye’s brain, as she inked the wall all the way up so she could climb to the top. Climbing up, she was on the platform with the three boxes.

Frye: Let’s see here… Yep! There’s the Sardinium!

Marie: How did you know that was there?

Frye: Like I said, I have no clue.

Frye then jumped down, inking a path to get the Power Egg pack. Using the newly inked path, Frye grabbed the Power Egg pack and used the launchpad to head to the next area. She opened up the two boxes to reveal a Splashdown special and some more armor.

Frye: Ooo, are we hoppin’ into some fight here?

Marie: If we are, please be careful.

Frye: Alright, alright. Chill. I got this.

Frye rushed forwards over enemy ink, when 5 Octotroopers spawned from the sky. Frye rushed forward with her special, using it to defeat four of the Octotroopers. Frye splatted the last one and the box behind it, to reveal another Splashdown. She looked up to see six Octotroopers falling from the sky. She maneuvered carefully, then Splashdowned, splatting 5 of the six Octotroopers. She splatted the last one with her Hero Shot, then sprung into the launchpad.

Marie: That was EPIC!

Frye: That was nothin’...

Marie: It was epic to me.

Frye: Where I’m from, that's nothing.

Frye, using the sponges, climbed up and splatted another Octotrooper. Turning left, she hit the final checkpoint. Deciding that Balloon Fish were lame, Frye platformed carefully over the multiple sponges. On the other side, she took down an Octobomber, and then looked up. Noticing the multiple Balloon Fish, Frye once again decided to do something different. She inked up the bottom sponge, hopped onto the top one, and inked it. She then did that again, and finally used a Balloon Fish to climb up the star-shaped wall to grab another Power Egg pack.

Marie: You went through all that effort to still use the balloon fish.

Frye: But the parkour earlier was really cool, right?

Marie: Unnecessary.

Frye: Seriously? That was unnecessary? It was cool!

Marie: You just did things in a harder way.

Frye: You mean cooler way.

Marie: No, I mean harder.

Frye: Cooler.

Marie: Harder.

Frye threw a bomb and opened up the shield holding the Zapfish. Grabbing the Zapfish, Frye headed back. Opening up the Sunken Scroll book, she placed the Sunken Scroll in. While doing that, she heard steam coming from somewhere, but she wasn’t sure where. Frye looked at the Sunken Scroll she had placed, and noticed the depiction of an Inkling fighting some sort of DJ…

Marie: Great job, Frye. How about you get some rest? We can pick up again tomorrow.

Frye: Oh, ok! Should I just leave the Hero Suit here or take it with me?

Marie: Leave it here.

Frye: Alright. See you tomorrow!

Marie: See you tomorrow.

Chapter Text

It was the dead of night. DJ Octavio and Callie were digging around the scrapyard that was Octo Valley. It had been abandoned since the last time they were down there. They were looking for a particular thing, the Octobot King. They planned to revamp it into the Octobot King II, upgraded with a platform for Callie to stand on.

DJ Octavio: Callie, why don’t you grab scraps from around other kettles while I fetch the Octobot King?

Callie: At your service!

DJ Octavio headed up towards the final boss kettle of Octo Valley, Enter the Octobot King!, as Callie headed to Unavoidable Flying Object in search of other scraps they could use. In particular, Callie remembered there being a giant UFO in the level she could use for a platform.

Callie remembered helping Agent 3 with the level a long time ago. She remembered the level layout, as it was at Blackbelly Skatepark. Other than the UFO in this level, there were other levels Callie could get to. The other main one that could have a good amount of scraps, begrudgingly, was Pinwheel Power Plant .

The main reason Callie disliked Pinwheel Power Plant was because of the spinning platforms making her motion sick. However, she still needed to collect the scraps for the Octobot King II. She shook her head, and focused on the mission ahead. She collected as many scraps as she could from Unavoidable Flying Object , headed over to Pinwheel Power Plant , and discovered that everything there had been shut off, probably to conserve power.

She grabbed as many scraps as possible and headed back up to where DJ Octavio was. From there, the two headed back to Octo Canyon to upgrade the Octobot King, let the Great Zapfish be added in, and truly show off the power of teamwork.

Chapter Text

While DJ Octavio and Callie had been gathering scraps from Octo Valley, Frye had been sitting at the first boss kettle at Octo Canyon. She didn’t admit it, but she was nervous. Frye knew that this was her first real test, whatever was down there. She dug around and did some research, only to find out that she, for all she knew, could face a giant metal dog thing that tried to eat her.

Frye took a deep breath. She read the title of the boss mission: Industrial Toast . What could that mean? From her research, there was no toaster-like boss. Maybe it was that Octomaw she had researched. The “ Industrial Toast ” was the Octomaw eating her… Right? She had no way to confirm her questions until the morning.

Frye just wanted an answer. What was this boss? What could it do? Could she beat it? Was it easy? Was it hard? What did it look like? How did it maneuver? How did it attack? How does she defeat it? Is it even defeatable? Is it like a fortress? Or can it run around? She could do this, right?

Meanwhile, Marie was on the phone with her manager at her place. She was being honest with her manager: She was trying to get a lead on where Callie was and that was more important than her work. She was on the verge of tears, thinking about how she didn’t know where Callie was at all.

Marie: Can I please just have a few days? Please?

Manager: We can give you one more day.

Marie: Thank you so much. I promise I’ll use tomorrow to its fullest to try to get a lead on Callie.

Manager: Alright. Get some rest.

Marie: Will do.

Marie hung up, sat down on her bed, and sighed. She knew that getting any lead on where Callie was would be hard. The only possible lead she had currently was through Frye. Maybe, just maybe, Frye would be just what Marie needed to find Callie. They can worry about the Great Zapfish afterwards, right?

Chapter Text

Marie sat down on the bench in front of Cuttlefish Cabin, and opened her computer. She was waiting for Frye to arrive, so they could tackle the boss kettle. Marie started going through forums that had been by Callie fans on where she could be. Marie had some insider’s knowledge, although she didn’t want to present that until further notice.

From the corner of Marie’s eye, she spotted Frye popping out of the grate. Frye yawned, and waltzed over.

Frye: Morning Marie… Didn’t get great sleep last night.

Marie: Sorry to hear that. You ready to tackle the boss today?

Frye: I can try to take it on.

Marie: Alright. You got this!

Frye: Thanks Marie!

Frye walked up to the boss kettle, and read the name of it again. Industrial Toast. Taking a deep breath, Frye finally dropped into the kettle. She dropped onto a small platform with a launchpad. There was another platform with the Zapfish in sight. Oh, this must not be that bad, Frye thought. How wrong she was…

Frye launched to the main platform, where a tentacle grabbed the Zapfish. She heard chanting, as a giant block-like object, in a octogonal shape, came out of the ground. Fear struck her, as she hadn’t seen anything like this in her research! Suddenly, it was revealed: this was the Octo Oven.

Marie: Stay calm, Frye. You got this, remember. You will beat whatever this is.

Frye: Thanks for the reassuring words.

Marie: You’re welcome.

The Octo Oven moved towards Frye. Her heart was pounding. She walked backwards in fear. A light came on, as the stick with a face started to shoot out. Something, Frye wasn’t sure what, told her that this would work like an ink piston. Dodge it , Frye thought.

Frye dodged the stick, noticing how it looked almost like bread. Then it clicked in her brain. Wait, this is an oven. That’s bread , Frye realized. The oven moved forwards again, as Frye dodged, moving out of the way of the bread again.

Frye: Ya know, maybe this will be easier than I thought!

Marie: Don’t drop your guard, now.

Frye: I won’t, no worries.

Frye moved around, as the Octo Oven started hopping around. Then, all the bread popped out, as Frye realized she could ink and climb it. She climbed up the bread to the top, where she shot down the tentacle that stole the Zapfish.

Frye: That was easier than I thought! Now I just need to get the Zapfish!

Marie: Frye…

Frye: What?

Marie: There’s probably more than one-

Marie was cut off by Frye getting hit straight by bread. Frye bounced straight into the ink stick on her right. She was weak, life seemingly on edge. She felt the ink cover her, making it hard to move.

Marie: Frye? Frye, can you read me? Frye, if you can read me, please drop some ink for yourself to recover in. Frye? FRYE?

Frye only caught the start of what Marie said, as the oven rushed bread at Frye again. Everything faded to black…

Chapter Text

Frye respawned on the small platform from before, her mind still rushing. Her ears were ringing, heart pounding. Her vision was swirling, although it was calming down. She sat down on the spawn pad, and closed her eyes, as if she was trying to get the world to stop.

Marie: FRYE! Are you ok?!

Frye flinched, as Marie was too loud. Frye slipped her headphones off, resting them around her neck. She took a deep breath, and muttered incomprehensible words.

Marie: You need to pay attention, ok? You can’t just assume that you’re done right away.

Frye: Mmhm…

Marie: Relax, calm down, then hop back in, ok?

Frye: Mhm…

Frye sat for a while, leaning on the back of the small platform. Everything felt hazy. She knew she had to get this done. She just wasn’t sure how. It was clear that the Octo Oven was defeated by that tentacle atop. The true problem was how she was meant to survive long enough.

Frye started humming. It was always something she could rely on if she became too panicked. It was something that calmed her, although she didn’t know why.

Marie: Frye, why are you humming?

Frye: Because it calms me.

Marie: Oh, ok!

Frye continued humming, going from slow humming to faster humming. Eventually, she got up, ready for round two. She hopped on the launchpad, rushing in. She dodged the first bread attack. The second bread attack removed an ink stick.

Frye: Nice!

Marie: How’d you figure that out?

Frye: Accident!

Marie: I’m not surprised.

The bread launched out again. Frye dodged between two, then climbed up and splatted the tentacle atop. This time, Frye didn’t let her guard down, as phase 3 began.

Chapter Text

The oven moved forwards like usual. However, this time it dropped three ink sticks in a row, in multiple positions. One set almost landed on Frye, scaring her. However, she stepped back, fine. The oven was moving out something from its side. Frye wasn’t sure what it was.

The thing out of the side was pouring out ink. Enemy ink, dangerous ink. Frye wasn’t sure what it did. Suddenly, the oven started spinning. Frye ran away, knowing she couldn’t dodge it. She hid in some of her own ink. The oven didn’t spot her.

Frye hopped out, as the oven spotted her. She dodged the bread, then again. She dodged the third one. The oven hadn’t launched all the bread yet. She seemed to speak too soon, as the bread decided to launch all the bread out.

Frye climbed up, avoiding the armor on the bread. She shot down the tentacles. Then, the bread shot out of the oven, toasted. Suddenly, the oven exploded. Ink rained down everywhere, but it was Frye’s ink, not the enemy ink. The Zapfish was sitting in a shield, with the Sardinium in front of it.

Frye grabbed the Sardinium, threw a bomb, and grabbed the Zapfish. She left the kettle with pride as the fenced off area blocking a launchpad was unlocked.

Marie: Great job, Frye. I need to tell you something, though.

Frye: Wassup?

Marie: So… I’m not gonna be able to help out a lot from here on out. Instead, I have a friend on call that will help instead.

Frye: Ooo, who’s this friend?

Marie: Well… Sheldon?

Frye: Wait-

Sheldon: Hello Marie! THIS IS SO COOL! Ahem…

Frye: Oh cod.

Sheldon: Agent 4, I’m Sheldon from Ammo Knights, the only weapon shop with over 542 million years of trusted service!

Frye: 542 MILLION YEARS?!

Sheldon: Yes! Make sure to stop by Ammo Knights in Inkopolis Square for all your weapon needs! Tell me Sheldon sent you!

Frye: Aren’t you Sheldon? Or…

Sheldon: No worries! Marie told me everything! To think that MY signature weapons could be of help to the New Squidbeak Splatoon! I’m honored!

Frye: Cool. We kinda need to make progress though.

Sheldon: I’m afraid I can’t just let you treat my vast arsenal like an all-you-can-ink buffet, especially since I have a business to run!

Frye: Yeah yeah, I’ll just stick with the shot and it’s fine. CAN WE GET A MOVE ON?

Sheldon: Well I wanted you to test some new weapons I am currently developing!

Frye: Catch?

Sheldon: All you have to do is use them in real-world conditions. I’ll be able to gather all sorts of data!

Frye: Oh for cod’s sake…

Sheldon: Collecting all the data will let me make retail versions! Once those are out, you can use them in Turf War! Win-win! OH YEAH, and-

Marie: Stop. We need to get a move on.

Frye: That’s what I’ve been saying!

Marie: One last thing: Ammo Knights Enhancifier. Pop in Power Eggs and Sardinium, pop out some buffs.

Frye: Oooo~ I gotta try that out!

With that, the call ended. Frye waltzed over to the Ammo Knights Enhancifier, Sardinium in hand, curiosity shining within her eyes. That curiosity might not be something one noticed right away, unless looked out for. Of course, someone like Callie would almost immediately notice.

Frye looked at the Enhancifier, only to learn that she was short on Power Eggs for every upgrade. Frustrated, Frye shut the Enhancifier, and walked around Tentakeel Outpost, looking for more Power Egg options. She regrabbed the Sunken Scroll balloon, giving her 10 more Power Eggs. ‘ 100 to go… ’ Frye thought to herself.

Frye spent the rest of the day going around and collecting Power Eggs. By the end of it, she had over 600 Power Eggs, and unlocked Curling Bombs. She decided, to end it off, she’d do a run of Sunset Octocopter with her new-found bombs. Breezing through, Frye beat it in only 1:26.

Chapter Text

“ DJ Ocativo! The Octo Oven has gone down! ” a panicked Octoling, elite ranking, rushed in. Another young Inkling, not Callie, was with the elite. Of course, this would be Aleah, an Inkling abandoned in her youth near a Zapfish, in which the Octarians decided to take in as their own. Aleah had some mad battle skills, and seemed to quickly be climbing into elite territory.

“ Ok, send out a force to The Reef at sunset. ” Octavio calmly responded. “ Callie? ”

Callie looked up from the UFO she was repurposing, turning off The Girl From Inkopolis . “ Yes? ”

“ Can you lead the force that we’re heading out over to The Reef ? ” Octavio asked.

“ Yes sir! ” Callie responded.

The force was arranged, mostly just Octolings either fresh out of training or with one or two missions of experience. But there was one other that caught Callie’s eye: Aleah. Aleah wore a pair of Octoling Shades, not too much different from Callie’s Hypnoshades, albeit less powerful.

Eventually, the Octoling force made it to The Reef . They assumed their positions, covering the area in their ink in the process. Callie smiled, seeing that they had taken over an Inkling playing area. Now, everything they could ask for was set. The sunset basked over the field, which made Callie realize something:

Nothing could beat the surface when it comes to how wonderful it feels. But the Octarians could have all this if they beat the Inklings once and for all. And Callie could be seen as a hero.

Chapter Text

Frye just got out of Octo Canyon. Seeing it was only dusk, and therefore she still had time left, unlike the day prior, she did the only logical thing: make her way over to Deca Tower. In particular, cooling off with some Turf War. But before she could even make her way over, an emergency broadcast by Off the Hook started playing.

It wouldn’t have been too bad, if it weren’t for the fact that The Reef had been shut down for the time! Inklings were outraged, especially since many liked that map! But the few blurry images shown of The Reef gave Frye a horrible gut feeling. Especially one, where in the corner of the image, a pink and black tentacle was moving right out of frame.

They were clearly Octolings. But a pink and black tentacle? It wasn’t an Octoling, they had suction cups on the outside. No, this was… This was Callie! Frye quickly snapped a picture. She figured it out, and now she was gonna have to crank it into double time. Callie was with the Octarians. Now, faced with a dilemma, Frye had to make a choice: Cut her break short, somehow contact Sheldon, and find the kettle that led her to that mission, or come back tomorrow.

Frye chose the first option, because for what she knew, Callie was still at The Reef .

Chapter Text

Frye couldn’t be more glad she had bought Curling Bombs earlier that day. Mainly because she had to rush over to Suction-Cup Lookout. Then, she had to find the level. It, fortunately, didn’t take long, as her first instinct was to look in the back. She had forgotten to even contact Sheldon, though, so blindly rushing into a kettle was… not a great idea at first glance.

The first thing Frye saw when she entered was The Reef . ‘ Good, I’m in the right place, ’ she thought to herself. Eight columns of light shone throughout the stage. An armor sat to her left, and she grabbed it. Of course, dead set ahead was the first of eight lights, with a Mini Zapfish powering it. However, an Octoling sat next to it.

Frye threw a Curling Bomb. The shield of the Mini Zapfish opened. Rushing in, Frye quickly grabbed the Zapfish, before promptly getting her armor broken by the Octoling. Quickly splatted, Frye sighed a breath of relief, only to immediately get ambushed. However, she had learned from her past mistakes, quickly taking a turn and splatting the other Octoling as well.

Frye heard an explosion. ‘ A third one? Cod, how many are there? ’ she asked herself. Using the terrain to her advantage, Frye climbed up, spotting an… Inkling? It was wearing Octarian gear, but… it wasn’t Callie, nor was it an Octoling… Frye decided to sneak past it, instead of splatting it.

Frye was fortunate, as the Curling Bomb she used to sneak away opened the way towards another Mini Zapfish. But there was an Octoling, backing up towards her. Frye went ahead and shot it down. Curling Bomb. Second Zapfish.

Before moving on to the third Mini Zapfish, which was just a quick drop down, static came over her headset. The voice was choppy, and from what was made out, entirely in Octarian. But there were two things about this voice that stuck out: it’s accent, and how the Octarian didn’t seem fluent. At the very least, it wasn’t clean Octarian, Inkling accent and tone.

Frye felt oddly scared and yet at ease from the voice. She slipped by, opening the third light quickly, only to get ambushed again. The ambush was for naught, though, as Frye was quick to dispatch it. Third Zapfish.

The fourth sat to Frye’s left. Frye didn’t hesitate, quickly following her Curling Bomb. She opened the shield. Fourth Zapfish. She heard shots from behind. It was quickly stopped with another splat. She went straight ahead from there, opening a big, taped up box for some Power Eggs. Curling Bomb.

Turning around, Frye saw a small box ahead, guarded by an Octoling, which was easily dispatched, although not before Frye got too cocky and broke her armor again , making her slow down. Inside the box was a bomb launcher. She noticed the Splash Wall on a small platform, quickly breaking it.

Behind the Splash Wall was a box, a big box, containing a Sunken Scroll. Frye didn’t bother even looking at it, just grabbing it and going. She used her position to quickly rush below the bridge in the middle, with another Zapfish on the other side. In the middle sat another armor, which Frye was quick to grab, before more shots. Turn around. Break armor. Splat.

Frye turned back around, threw a Curling Bomb, and immediately broke the shield. Fifth Zapfish. She climbed a few more platforms, although nothing showed. Shots, another Octoling. However, it was too far away to bother splatting. Spared. Using the sponge, Frye quickly climbed up, finding another Zapfish.

Frye broke the box ahead of her. Another bomb launcher. Straight ahead, Zapfish and Octoling. Octoling first. Quickly dispatched, Frye used another Curling Bomb. Sixth Zapfish. Down below was another Octoling. Frye jumped and shot it down. Frye climbed up the bridge, popping some balloons, but heard shots again. Another Octoling, which Frye just as easily dispatched.

The intercom broke over again, but this time, less static. A different voice, this time in Inklish. “Frye, what are you doing?!” That was Marie. Frye just turned her intercom off. This could be dealt with later. Right now: find the last two Zapfish, the Sardinium, and, of course , Callie.

Frye grabbed another armor, sitting around on a small platform. She assumed she could make the jump over to the ramp that would lead to the seventh Zapfish. Success! Quickly throwing a Curling Bomb, Frye grabbed the seventh Zapfish, and dealt with the Octoling sitting right next to it. Breaking another box with Power Eggs in it, Frye climbed up to the enemy spawn.

Frye noticed a box sitting down below. Throwing and following her Curling Bomb, she broke the box with the armor in it. An Octoling, with kelp sticking out of its glasses, landed beside her, which got dispatched just like the rest beforehand. She climbed up the last few ramps. Handling the last few Octolings, which were just like the last, Frye looked around. Right, Sardinium. She laid down some ink, finding a box hidden in the ink. Quickly breaking it, Frye found herself the other secret collectable of the level. Turning around, Frye threw the last Curling Bomb she needed to rescue the last Zapfish.

As soon as Frye got out, she threw the Sunken Scroll into the book, gathering more knowledge. This one seemed to be on the hip new Splatnet, but Frye didn’t pay attention. Instead, Frye hopped back to Cuttlefish Cabin with a super jump, figuring she would get some rest there and start early in the morning.

“Frye Onaga. What were you doing in that mission without anyone?” Marie’s stern voice layed chills down Frye’s non-existent spine.

“Look,” Frye pulled out her phone to the blurry picture on the news, “See that in the corner? That’s Callie.”

Marie’s face switched from upset to shocked, “No way… Then why in cod’s name is Callie working with the Octarians?”

Frye looked down for a second, then pulled up some texts between her and Callie. These had been daily texts from weeks, even months ago, but they all stated the same thing: “my day was alright. just the same as usual,” or, “decent. kinda wanna break, ngl.” Frye realized that this was what Callie meant by a break. Or at the very least what the break was as of late.

“Well,” Marie broke the small silence, “If you’re right about this, we should kick it into high gear. It’s getting late, though. If you want, you can sleep here tonight.”

Frye looked around, “But if it’s true that Callie is with the Octarians, the more time we spend kicking back the longer Callie is with them. And, if what happened last time is true, so is the Great Zapfish.”

“When did you learn about that?” Marie inquired.

“Oh, I found the mission logs,” Frye nonchalantly replied, “That’s also how I know about stuff like the Octomaw.”

Marie let a small smirk adorn her face, “Well, at least get some rest, ok? I’m sure Sheldon wouldn’t mind getting up early for tomorrow.”

“Or, you know, I could go do more now and then take a nap and do more later!” Frye beamed with her idea.

“Well,” Marie chuckled, “You do you. I can get Sheldon for you, ok?”

“ALRIGHT!” Frye enthusiastically yelled.

Chapter Text

First off, why haven't I been updating this fic?

Simple - The format I had been styling it in, where I detail how Frye is going through the kettles, just isn't fun to write.

Don't get me wrong, I want to see Frye succeed in the end too. The problem is I just don't want to continue where it's going.

However, that doesn't mean I want to stop writing this fic. I want updates to slow, sure, but I think I have an idea on how to change the fic while keeping the general idea in tact. And it has to do with a certain other character mentioned earlier in this fic. A certain Inkling. I'll... figure it out shortly. Also I'm gonna actually start writing The Lost Soldier's Rescue again. I promise that it's gonna be fun with some OCs sprinkled in.

And to address the one who wants to see Big Man,

I think I can work with that. But only in Splatoon 3 base story mode.

Chapter Text

    "I'm glad you were able to come, Aleah," DJ Octavio stated.

    "Me too, sir," Aleah responded, "So why have you brought me here today?"

    DJ Octavio cleared his throat, "I need you to distract the New Squidbeak Splatoon for a while. Understood?"

    "Yes sir!" Aleah saluted.

    Frye felt down in the dumps. After clearing out some more levels the night prior, being Octozeppelin Invasion and The Octopark, and not getting to bed until 2 in the morning, she did not want to wake up. All she wanted to do was to lay on the couch she had turned into her bed and sleep. This, of course, prompted Sheldon to come over after Frye didn't respond to a single text or answer a single call.

    "You're running a fever of 100.9F, plus your general lethargicness has got to mean you're sick, but I'm no doctor, so I really don't know what to do. I've never had to take care of someone while they're sick. What medicines do you have here... Do you think that would work? Well, at the very least, I'm trying to get you better faster so you can actually do your job, so would they decrease the time that you are sick? And how do you consume the medicine? Is there something you should have with it? Do you just drink it? And what about pills?" Sheldon rambled on.

    Frye, sick and snarky as ever, replied, "Maybe just be quiet for a bit so I can sleep?"

    "Well if that's the case," Sheldon started, "Is there a type of music that helps you sleep better? Is there somewhere more comfortable to sleep that you'd rather sleep? And how about-"

    "Just shut up." Frye bit back, then stuffed her head into her pillow to try to drown Sheldon out.

    Sheldon stared at Frye for a second, before turning away and walking out of the cabin, only to be met by the face of an Inkling in Octarian gear. Her tentacles were a light blue, and draped down the sides of her face. Her blue eyes shined in the sun. She slyly smiled, not saying a word. Although Sheldon didn't trust this Inkling, Frye was sick and Sheldon doubted there would be a way to get rid of her otherwise. As such, Sheldon let the young Inkling in.

    The moment Frye noticed the Inkling Sheldon had let into the cabin, her mind immediately jumped into action. Frye's body, however, decided otherwise, as she didn't budge at all. Because her body refused to move, Frye opted for her next option: Telling the Inkling to get out.

    "Leave," Frye simply commanded. Even if her body refused to move, her mouth would always move when she needed it. Unfortunately for Frye, this Inkling didn't know Inklish. And Frye didn't know Octarian.

    "Uh..." The Inkling gazed, "Is there... anything I can help with?"

    Frye, unamused, hissed back, "I said leave."

    It was at this point that Sheldon wanted to butt in, but something told him that it might not be the best idea. He didn't know Octarian either, so what could he do? There was an Octoshot clearly grappled to the Inkling's waste by the Octarian gear she wore. But a question rose within Sheldon's mind: Why was this Inkling working with the Octarians? Were there some alterior motives? It was presumed that Agent 3 had alterior motives for beating up every last enemy spotted two years prior, so what makes this any different?

    "I don't know what you're saying."

    "I said leave, idiot. I don't feel well."

    "What do you want from me?"

    "Why can't you just leave?!"

    "Don't you just know Octarian?!"

    "Don't you know Inklish?!"

    "Just tell me what you want!"

    "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

    "You leave me no choice..." The Inkling grabbed the Octoshot on her waste. Lifting it up, she pointed it at Frye.

    Within split seconds, Sheldon leapt towards the Inkling, knocking the Octoshot out of her hands. He grabs the Octoshot, pointing it at the Inkling. The Inkling fumbles for a second, before grabbing a Splat Bomb and throwing it towards Sheldon. Sheldon made a dash towards the Inkling, firing the Octoshot with a custom-made ink tank for non-Inkling and Octolings. The Inkling dodges to the side. Sheldon slides across the floor, before making another lunge towards the Inkling. The two go into each other, crashing into the TV and breaking it. The room goes silent for a moment, before indescribable yelling breaks out between the three.

    Two hours later, Marie, who got off from work early, arrived at Cuttlefish Cabin, hearing screaming. She walked into the cabin, seeing Frye wearing earbuds and asleep, with Sheldon and an Inkling fighting. The entire cabin was completely disheveled by the fight at hand.

     "Where have you been?" Octavio asked.

     Aleah, bruised from head to toe, simply states, "I distracted them by getting into a fight. Thankfully, one of them is sick, so it might take a while for them to get back into commission."