Chapter 9: Chapter 6: Octo Expansion (I) – Off The Hook

It was the afternoon the next day. And for the most part, another day working as co-anchor on Inkopolis News, live from Inkopolis Square.

Marina had still been a bit more stressed than usual lately, mostly in part due to keeping tabs on and supporting Seven, Eight and Cuttlefish through their journey in the Deepsea Metro. Her research on the Metro itself and Kamabo Corp had turned up frustratingly few leads. And Pearl’s assurance that she had a plan to follow up on the robot rumours had not materialised into anything substantial.

At least, not until Pearl blindsided her with the post-stage rotation segment that afternoon. “Now that’s done and dusted… Hey, Marina. I’ve got a juicy rumour that I’ve heard going around the Square lately. You wanna know what it is?”

Wait, is this your plan?! Marina thought to herself. “Uh… Wait, is this the one about the ‘robot’ I’ve been hearing about as well?”

“BINGO! For those folks who haven’t heard this from the ol’ grapevine, people say they’ve been seein’ someone who looks like a human! And when questioned, he says he’s a robot from 12,000 years ago!” Pearl grinned, throwing up her hands excitedly. “Ain’t that crazy, Marina?”

“Oh, yeah, it does sound pretty far-fetched, but stranger things have happened, I suppose,” Marina nodded.

Her gaze wandered towards the square outside the studio, seeing Inklings and the occasional Octoling walking around or watching them from outside the window.

Then her breath caught as she saw someone with a group of Inklings walking around the square. He was dressed fairly normally, but that human-like black hair gave him away.

“-so, all you folks out there let us know if you got anything on-”

“Uh, Pearlie? I think that’s him. Like… Right outside.”

Pearl blinked, looking where Marina pointed, the cameras spinning around to see as well. Both focused on the figure with the black hair. “HUH. Uh… That doesn’t look like some kind of Splatoween costume, that’s for sure.”

Marina noticed their producer making some gestures. “Looks like our producer wants us to go out there and talk to him live on camera!”

“SHELL YEAH! I’m down for that! Let’s gooooooo~!” Pearl launched herself off of her seat and started heading out of the studio, Marina eagerly following behind her while grabbing a microphone on the way out, followed by cameras.

Fortunately, they caught the group right before they were about to enter the lobby. Most of the Inklings in the group and the ‘robot’ were blindsided by Off The Hook and a camera crew coming right up to them, though some of the latter started looking more excited when they realised that they were in focus.

Marina spoke up, holding the microphone forward, “excuse me, sir! We’re Off The Hook, reporting for Inkopolis News. You look like the rumoured ‘robot’ who’s been said to be going around Inkopolis.”

“That’s because I am,” the black-haired robot smiled.

“Really? I mean, you don’t look like an Inkling or any other species from Inkopolis, but you also don’t look like anything I’d picture as a ‘robot’,” Pearl blinked.

“Yeah, you look so… Lifelike,” Marina nodded.

“Well, that’s the idea, really. But I suppose I should introduce myself,” the robot said, a blue helmet appearing on his head in a flash of light, causing everyone around him to gasp. “My name is X. I was created by Dr. Thomas Light 12,000 years ago as his magnum opus, a lifelike robot capable of true free will, free thought and self-determination. I was meant to be sealed away for 30 years to complete ethical testing, but I was recently unearthed and activated.”

Marina looked at Pearl in shock. It went without saying that the reaction was mutual. Pearl looked back at X. “Ayo, this is crazy. I have a feeling our ratings are gonna go through the roof…”

Taking a deep breath, Marina tried to continue the impromptu interview. “And you’re just… Wandering around Inkopolis?”

“Why not?” X blinked. “No better way to get to know it.”

“I suppose you have a point. I hope you’ve been enjoying your time here. Is there anything in particular you’ve been exposed to that you love about Inkopolis society?” Marina asked.

X seemed to ponder for a moment, before he winked, “well, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the music. The Calamari Inkantation has been a recent favourite of mine.”

Marina’s heart stopped for a moment. She knew that look in his eyes. It wasn’t the exact same, but she knew for certain that X’s soul, if he had one, had been touched by the Inkantation, just like herself, Seven and Eight. He wasn’t some spy for Kamabo. “W-Well, of course, it’s my favourite, too. You’ve got good taste.”

“I mean, things aren’t perfect here, but nothing is. When I see Inkopolis, I see hope for the future,” X said. “I know you’re excited to talk, but my friends here really want to get to their Turf War matches, so maybe we can schedule a proper interview sometime?”

“Of course! I’m sure we can do that. Besides, our time is running short here, anyway,” Marina said, turning to the camera, “anything you want to say to our audience, X?”

“Keep moving forward for a better tomorrow, I guess. Learn from the people who came before you, and strive to do better, for everlasting peace,” X smiled.

“I’ll raise a glass to that!” Pearl laughed. “Alright, that’s all we have time for, peeps! This has been Inkopolis News - don’t get cooked, stay off the hook!”

When the cameras stopped, Marina turned to X, speaking in a hushed tone, “actually, I was hoping we could talk less formally in private, X? We’ve got some information you might be interested in… About other active robots.”

X’s eyes widened, but he nodded. “Uh… Yeah, that definitely sounds like something I should be hearing about. Can you give me the cliff notes?”

“We’ve been in contact with some folks in some underground metro via a radio we found on Mount Nantai,” Pearl said. “Two Octolings who’ve lost their memory, and an old dude named Cap’n Craig Cuttlefish.”

“I’m sorry, did you say Cap’n Cuttlefish?” Spoke the male Inkling in the group with the spiky hair. “I did not mishear that, right?”

“I’m sorry, this is kinda between us and X,” Marina said. “You kids should probably go and-”

“Nooo, this is definitely our business now,” spoke the girl with the wave hair. “X, we need to tell Callie and Marie about this.”

“Oh, right, the Squid Sisters are Cap’n’s grandkids-” Pearl then did a double take. “Wait, you guys know the Squid Sisters?!”

“I’m actually living in their apartment for the moment,” X laughed sheepishly.

Marina blinked, trying to piece together why these kids would know Cap’n Cuttlefish… And then she realised. “Wait… Don’t tell me all of you are part of…”

❖

“Oh my cod I can’t believe I didn’t put it together until now,” Marina groaned as she put her head in her hands in embarrassment. “You two are Cap’n’s granddaughters and were at that ‘concert’ and I didn’t think to consider the possibility you two were also part of the New Squidbeak Splatoon.”

“For what it’s worth, we do a very good job of making it look like we’re just super-talented celebrities and not secret agents,” Marie remarked as she put a hand on Marina’s shoulder.

Marina and Pearl had been dragged off to Tentakeel Outpost discreetly by the group, and before long, Callie and Marie arrived as well once they had been alerted that Off The Hook had information on their grandfather’s whereabouts.

“You know, this could be a pretty sweet hangout, but it’s pretty sparse,” Pearl said, crashing on the couch. “Some more furniture, a mini-fridge or two, and maybe some awnings for when it rains. Like, seriously, there’s so much space that we could make use of here!”

“I like the way you think, Pearl,” Callie giggled.

“I mean, that’s nice and all, but… Why is HE here?!” Marina pointed at DJ Octavio, floating in the snow globe. He was one face she hoped she never had to see ever again. “I thought he was locked up in Octo Valley!”

“Hello to you too, Marina Ida, you traitor,” Octavio sneered.

“He got out, brainwashed Callie and stole the Great Zapfish. Again,” Artemis said dryly.

At this point Marina and Pearl had been introduced to the six Inklings. Artemis in particular had been gushing about she was such a huge fan of Off The Hook, and it was kind of adorable.

“Oh. That explains why it went missing,” Pearl said. “And… You guys actually risked your lives to fix everything? Gotta say, mad respect.”

“We need to get back on topic,” X said. “Pearl, Marina. Where is the Captain, and what’s going on where he is? Where are Agents 3 & 4?”

Marina took a deep breath. “Okay… So Pearl and I found a lost radio while taking a walk on Mount Nantai. Turns out it connected to the Captain’s, and from there, we established contact. The Captain has joined forces with two Octolings who are trying to reach the surface, they’re trapped deep underground in some strange underground metro run by ‘Kamabo Corp’, who seem to be trapping people underground to do ‘tests’ to see if they worthy of reaching the ‘promised land’. The two Octolings have lost their memories, so Cap’n is just calling them ‘Agent 7’ and ‘Agent 8’ for now. We don’t know where 3 & 4 are, Cap’n said they got separated.”

“Uh… I’m Agent 7, and Hinata is Agent 8,” Karlene said.

“How long has this been going on?” Marie asked.

“About a week or so?” Pearl replied.

“Oh, well, that simplifies things. Sorry, Karlene, Hinata, Liam, Koji, you four are now Agents 9, 10, 11 and 12, respectively. Grandpa’s rank trumps mine.”

“I should be mad, but he is the Captain and frankly it’s weirdly appropriate, so I’m just gonna let that slide,” Liam sighed.

Octavio suddenly laughed. “Cuttlefish, recruiting Octolings. Pull my tentacle, that’s hilarious! Is he really so desperate?”

“Your Majesty, there is one other thing you may find interesting,” Marina said, walking over and showing him some images on her laptop she had gotten from the Deepsea Metro - specifically of the ‘Sanitised’ Octarians. “Kamabo Corp has Octarians working for them. I’m not sure what’s going on with them, but they don’t have any life signs, and they act almost machine-like.”

Octavio looked at the photos. He seemed to process this for a bit, before looking absolutely livid. “Those are MY TROOPS! What the shell did those punks do to them?! I’ll dubstomp this ‘Kamabo Corp’ right into the ground!”

“Yeah, I knew you wouldn’t like it,” Marina frowned, stepping back and closing the laptop. She couldn’t believe she admired this guy once upon a time. On some level, she still did, if partly out of ingrained loyalty. He did want the best for his people, but… He was just so bitter. She felt so conflicted.

“Wait, more importantly, are you guys in contact with Gramps? Like, right now?” Marie asked.

“Still got that radio,” Pearl said, holding it up, and switching it on. “Yo, Cap’n, you still kick’n?”

“Darn tootin’, whippersnapper. What’s ‘sup?” Spoke an old male voice on the other end.

“Cap’n, why didn’t you tell us that your granddaughters are part of the Splatoon?” Marina asked.

“Oh, I guess I probably should’ve-wait, are they with you? Right now?”

“Hello, Gramps,” Marie said, with a barely-constrained mixture of annoyance and relief.

“Ah. Agent 2. How’re you and Agent 1 doing?”

“Just fine, Gramps! But we’re worried about YOU!” Callie said. “You’ve missed a LOT up here! We’ve got, like, six new agents!”

Marina started setting up the camera feeds on her laptop linked to the Metro’s camera system, giving them full view of the Cap’n and the Octoling agents, who were currently resting between tests while on the train.

“Oh-ho! You’ve been been on a recruitment drive? Now that’s what I want to see!” Cuttlefish chuckled.

“Actually, it’s more because Agents 5 & 6 couldn’t properly maintain operational security, but nevermind that,” Marie said. Marina noticed Artemis and Orion both wince at this.

“And also they found me,” X said, “Captain, my name is X. I’m a robot created by the late human scientist Dr. Thomas Light. Agents 2, 5 and 6 found me and activated me.”

“We know he can be trusted, he was instrumental in defeating Octavio a second time and rescuing the Great Zapfish again. That’s another thing we’ll report on once you’re back up here, Gramps,” Marie said.

“Huh, well I’ll be! A pleasure to meet you, X,” Cuttlefish said. “And I’m guessing Octavio is locked up again proper this time?”

“Go jump off a cliff, Cuttlefish,” Octavio interjected.

“Yep, that’s him alright.”

That’s when Seven spoke up over the radio. “Wait, who else is with you?”

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“The whole Splatoon is here! Well, aside from you guys and 3 & 4, but yeah,” Koji said. “We can see you, but I guess you guys can’t see us, which is a shame.”

“Um, I’m sure we’ll be able to see each other in person when we get to the surface!” Eight said. “This is a bit overwhelming, but nice to meet you all, I guess!”

“Oh my cod, she has the most adorable voice!” Callie squealed.

“Maybe you can join us in Turf Wars together! We’ve got a couple of teams with only three members each, so you two can easily slot in! Oh, I’m Artemis, by the way,” Artemis said. “With me are my baby brother Orion, my besties Karlene and Hinata, and Orion’s besties, Liam and Koji!”

“Sure, we’d be down for that. We just gotta get out of this Metro, first,” Seven said.

Marina shuddered in surprise when she heard Octavio chuckle darkly, and she turned towards him. “What’s so funny?”

“So you’ve lost your memories, Colonel, Lieutenant,” Octavio cackled. “Are you two a couple of additional traitors, or just forgetting where your true loyalties lie, hmm?”

Marina heard Eight squeak in fright.

Seven spoke up. “Hard to take you seriously when you’re locked up in a snowglobe, Your Majesty.”

Octavio just crossed his arms, grumbling to himself.

“You know who they are?” Marina asked, but she was just met with silence.

X turned to Marina, “have you got spacial coordinates for their current location? I might be able to teleport down there.”

“Something is weird with space-time down there, so I don’t think that’ll work,” Marina shook her head. “And there’s multiple fields down there I think might disrupt your teleportation. If you want to get down there, you’ll have to do it by foot.”

“Alright, looks like we’ve got a rescue mission to stage,” Liam said.

“That’s a negative, Agent 11,” Marie said. “Who knows how long such an expedition will last for. You still have your studies. I think X is best suited to the job.”

“I’ll have to concur with that assessment, Agents,” Cuttlefish said. “Apologies for asking this of you, X, but if you can find a way down here, perhaps open up an alternative escape route…”

“I’ll do my best,” X said. “I’ll need to be prepared for the trip, though… Marina and Pearl said you guys have been fighting robots?”

“That’s right, multiple robots of human origin,” Cap’n said.

Marina brought up images on screen. “These are the opponents Seven and Eight have fought so far.”

“Then I’ll have to be ready for anything,” X said. “But at the same time, I can’t just teleport out for repairs and recharging. I do have a self-repair system, but it requires energy.”

Marina pondered for a moment. “I think I know someone who might be able to help with that.”

“You do?” Marie blinked.

“Yeah. Let’s just say I’m not the only former Octarian engineer making a name for herself in Inkopolis.”

❖

Marina had taken X to a street not all that far away from Inkopolis Square, and to a specific apartment.

She knocked on the door. She had phoned ahead, so she knew she was in the right place.

The door opened, revealing an Octoling girl. She had blue eyes, and a hairstyle with three tentacles at the front resembling three angular bangs and a longer tentacle at the back as a ponytail. She wore a pink sleeveless dress, a matching pink vest, leggings, white gloves and a pair of Annaki Habaneros. “Hi, Marina! Who’s this with you?”

“Hello, Ciel,” Marina smiled, before gesturing to X. “This is X. I’m sure you saw the news earlier today…”

“Wait, this is him?!” Ciel said excitedly, turning to X and extending a hand. “It’s truly an honour to meet you!”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” X said, shaking it, “Marina tells me you’re a robotics specialist?”

“Yes, I am. Please, come in,” Ciel said, letting them in to her apartment. “Sorry if there isn’t a lot of space, I’ve had to dedicate some of it to my own projects. I can’t afford a big apartment yet.”

Marina noticed her workspace, an organised chaos of tools and parts. “You’ve certainly been busy.”

“Thankfully some companies I contract with lend me space and equipment for projects, but otherwise I haven’t been able to afford something larger than this yet,” Ciel said. “Anyway, how can I help you?”

“X here needs some upgrades so he can keep himself maintained,” Marina explaind.

She took the time to explain the situation and what X was doing to be doing. Ciel listened with keen interest.

“I’d love to help, but it’d take way too long without a proper workshop, parts and his blueprints,” Ciel sighed.

X rubbed his chin. “I might have a solution for that, actually…”

❖

Marina was rather surprised to find that not only was Sheldon an affiliate of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, he had access to everything from Dr. Light’s lab, including X’s blueprints. He had moved them all up to his personal workshop for further study.

“I’d be delighted to let you work in here,” Sheldon said. “There should be more than enough to get to work on what you need. In fact, I’d be happy to help with the upgrades, there are so many opportunities to work on-”

Marina ignored the rest of his rambling. “Will all of this do, Ciel?”

“Yes… Thank you so much! I’ll get to work right away! In fact, I’ve got some ideas,” Ciel said, looking over X’s blueprints. “I think I can upgrade X’s self-repair system significantly. As well, if you want him to last long enough on a long expedition, I think I can add four additional reserve energy cells to his system.”

“Excellent! Let’s start right away,” Sheldon rubbed his hands together. “We need to get this done as soon as possible.”

“I think this is just enough in my wheelhouse that I can help, too,” Marina said. “Sure, I’ll have to dash out to do Inkopolis News, but until then…”

“Sounds good. I’ll be here if you need me,” X said, sitting down on a nearby stool.

“Thank you, everyone. Let’s not waste time,” Ciel said, as they got to work.

Marina observed Ciel as they worked. Even when they had worked together, she had never seen Ciel so happy to work on a project. She felt guilty for not seeing her as often as she would’ve liked, once they had both settled in Inkopolis. “Ciel, you look really happy.”

“It’s because I’m doing something to help other people,” Ciel smiled. “Back when we were working in the Octarian Army, all we could think about was working and serving. We didn’t know any better. I designed the Octobot King for DJ Octavio. But in that small window where it was silent and I could think for myself… I thought I saw the Great Zapfish in pain. When the Inkantation broke the spell over me, I knew I had done something terrible.”

“Oh, Ciel… It was the same for all of us. It wasn’t your fault,” Marina frowned.

“I know, but I still want to make up for it anyway,” Ciel said. “I’m trying to develop a brand new renewable energy system, that works anywhere, rain, shine or dark. So Inkopolis won’t need to rely on the Great Zapfish anymore.”

Marina was awestruck at hearing such a selfless goal. She chuckled, shaking her head, “wow, makes me feel kinda guilty for going into music and just using my talents for building Splatfest stages…”

Ciel giggled. “Don’t say that! The things you do make you happy, and it brings joy to so many other people. Honestly, I’m just jealous you’re such good friends with Pearl. You two have such good chemistry!”

Marina blushed, “thanks. Pearl has been a wonderful friend for so long. I can’t even imagine what life in Inkopolis would be without her.”

“So, when are you going to propose to her?”

“Ah, well-” Marina suddenly froze when she properly processed the question. “P-P-PROPOSE?! We… We aren’t even…!”

Ciel was giggling non-stop. It even got snorts from Sheldon and X.

“Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” Ciel said, continuing to giggle. “But you two are just so cute together!”

Marina took a deep breath, and smiled, as she kept working. “I can’t say you’re wrong.”

❖

They managed to engineer an upgraded self-repair system and four reserve energy tanks over the course of the evening. Once installed into X’s body and fully charged, Marina did some final checks. “Alright, it looks like everything’s in order. You’re good to go.”

“I’ve also installed a universal adaptor into your arms so you can draw power from various sources,” Ciel nodded.

Marie, who had also come along with X that morning, spoke up, “alright, just to reiterate, X - your mission is to find Gramps and the other agents.”

X nodded, in full armour, “right. Should be straightforward, just a matter of finding an entrance to that underground complex…”

“I think I might have an idea, actually,” Marina said. “There’s an old subway entrance in the Square that’s been conspicuously unused for a long time. I’ve noticed a few Kamabo Corp posters near it.”

“How many tests are left that the two Octolings have to do, anyway?” Callie asked.

“They’re pretty close to being done, they want to try and get the last few done tonight,” Marina said. “But it’s not that they need to finish all the tests, but rather they need to collect four ‘Thangs’. They’ve already got three.”

“What do these ‘Thangs’ look like?” X asked, blinking.

Marina showed everyone photos of the gathered Thangs so far. Callie’s eyes widened. “Uh… Those looks like parts of a blender!”

“I don’t like this at all. Tell those two to hold off on putting together whatever the shell that is until X arrives,” Marie said. “X, you better double-time it, I have a really bad feeling about this.”

“Right. I’m going,” X said with a frown, dashing out of the workshop.

Marina nodded, as she began communicating with the trio in the Metro, “Cap’n, Seven, Eight, hold off on getting the last Thang. We’ve got a bad feeling about this, wait until X has gotten to you.”

spoke a masculine voice that Marina had never heard before. It wasn’t C.Q. Cumber or the Telephone. “We’ve been happy to let you guide the test subjects until now, but I’m afraid what you’re suggesting now is a step too far. You should’ve said your farewells to those three, because they’ll be ascending to the ‘Promised Land’ very soon.”

Then then connection cut out. No, worse, Marina was being blocked.

“That’s really bad,” Marie frowned.

Marina nodded. She really hoped X could get to them in time…

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