Boy from Nowhere

Objective: Recover

Three limped down the street, his mind foggy with fatigue. Every step he took felt heavy, his limbs burning and skin screaming as cuts were reopened by the constant movement. The sky had grown light during his search, evaporating any hope of finding the Octolings with the fading night.

The plaza was quiet, sparsely populated with wandering Jellyfish and a few Inklings that looked nearly as dead as he did. Three limped past them, hoping that their exhaustion would prevent them from paying attention to his battered clothing.

"Captain?" Somebody grunted on the other end of the radio, the audio peaking harshly as fabric rustled.

"What's goin- ah, it's just you, Three. How's it goin', bucko?"

"No leads. I checked everywhere. Nothing."

"Damn... you really were searchin' all night, weren't you, kid?"

"Yeah..." he yawned, rubbing the chill from his arms. A sudden jingle caught everybody's attention. A massive screen on the opposite side of the plaza lit up, a cartoonish sign popping up. What little writing was present on the design was horribly loopy and stylized, though it wouldn't have mattered much anyway.

The screen cut to two Inkling girls, the music fading into the background. Their tentacles were... black and white? He hadn't even been aware of the existence of such tentacle colors... Inkopolis really was a special place.

"Hold onto your tentacles!"

"It's Inkopolis News Time..."

"I'm Callie!" The black tentacled girl chirped excitedly.

"And I'm Mar-" Her white tentacled partner was cut off by a paper from off-stage. The girl's droopy eyes widened in shock, and she turned to her counterpart, trying to get the bubbly girl's attention. Snapping her fingers repeatedly did the trick, and the black tentacled Inkling looked down at the sheet being shoved in her face.

"News flash! News Flash!" The former facepalmed, but tried her best to pull herself together.

"What is it? What is it?" The nervous look on both their faces was not doing Three any favors. He coughed slightly to alert the captain.

"I think we have a problem..."

"What is it, lad?"

"Inkopolis's Great Zapfish has... vanished!" Everybody else in the plaza gasped, their heads collectively turning to the massive tower in the center of the plaza. Looking up, Nemesis saw the very obvious lack of a massive fish.

"Damn those slimy Octolings... they stole the Great Zapfish from right under my- our noses. What good's livin' next to the enemy if they break past ya the moment you close your eyes?"

"The fish went missing last night, and... huh?" The white-tentacled girl was handed another sheet of paper. "Let's see... more bad news, a major disturbance was reported in a residential area last night involving an unidentified flying object. Multiple sources have reported a figure dressed in all black fleeing the scene and the authorities are currently on the lookout for whoever they may be." An image appeared on the screen between the two girls. Grainy, sure, but the splashes of lime and the backdrop of the photo made it all too clear who the person in question was.

"Do you think that the mystery person could be the one behind the Great Zapfi-"

"Maybe, Cal. Who knows. Whatever the case, everybody should be careful." Three jerked his attention away from the newscast. The Zapfish and lack of sleep were already causing enough of a headache. One problem at a time.

"I'm comin' back, captain, give me a minute."

"Alright, lad. I hope you've got some fight left in you after that all-nighter. You're going to need it."