Boy from Nowhere

Wet Socks

The tunnels reverberated as he zipped through them, amplifying and echoing every single noise it picked up. Garbled Octarian grumbling, the harsh clanging of metal and low rumble of machinery. He felt trapped, like the tunnels around him would collapse and leave him exposed to the enemy or outright crush him.

Three shot out of the tube, his body barely slowed by the grate blocking its entrance. He braced for impact, but instead of landing with a solid thump on concrete, the agent was greeted with a massive splash. Shit, ambush! He flinched as the liquid sloshed onto his clothing, expecting his body to start burning, but was instead met with the chill of... water. It soaked into his clothing, leaving him feeling uncomfortably clammy and heavy.

"Lad, what you got down there?"

"Water..." he grumbled. "It's everywhere. Guess I won't be sneaking up on anybody this time."

"Water?" Was that fear in the captain's voice? The old man's next words were so soft that he nearly missed them over the ancient radio's static. "So that's how it is."

"Sir?"

"Proceed with caution. Let's make this quick." Three slowly stalked forward, water flowing around his waterlogged shoes. Platforms and stalagmites were haphazardly strewn across the landscape, some raised far above the water and others nearly engulfed by it. Stepping onto a submerged concrete slab, he began investigating the platform above it. It was doubtful that he'd be able to reach it even if he- The agent grunted as he tripped over a small object on the ground, nearly face-planting out into the shallow water. His arms creaked in complaint as he kept himself propped up, the rippling water gently tapping his nose.

"I told ya to be careful, lad." The captain chuckled.

"I know..." He mumbled, shakily pushing himself up and walking up to it. True to his assumption, the second platform was just out of reach, his fingers barely scraping against its underside even if he tried to jump, not that he really could. Superjumping felt too risky, especially with water around. One wrong breath and it'd all be over. He'd need another way up. He strode back over to the little yellow object, kneeling down to get a better look at it. It was a tiny little sponge, dense and rock-hard. How had such a small object tripped him? Gripping it as best he could, the boy tried to pick it up to no avail. With the way it clung to the ground, it may as well have been bolted in.

He sighed, standing back up. One last thing to try. Three brought the Splattershot to a firing position, tapping a few shots off. The ink soaked into the porous material, causing it to swell and hueing it a bright lime.Three gently poked it with the muzzle, watching in amazement as the engorged sponge jiggled slightly. Just how large could Octoling sponges get?

"I'm not hearing anything, Three, what's going on?"

"Just... looking at something."

"Well make it quick, lad." The Inkling fired at the sponge again, his eyes widening as it continued to swell up. When the growing had finally stopped, the ink-soaked mass was so large that it could comfortably reach the platform. He switched forms, jetting up the soft wall and returning to his terrestrial form. The sponge gave way under his weight, forming small dents where his feet were planted. He stepped forward, watching as ink pooled into the new crater on its surface. It was going to take some getting used to all the Octoling technology...

The newly accessible platform was empty save for an Inkrail, which fired a thin beam off into the distance. Well, not like he really had any other paths to take. Three hopped in, zipping across the flooded expanse. Popping out on the other side, the agent found himself face to face with the oddest defense he'd ever seen.

Twintacle Octotroopers stood guard at the end of a long pathway, with tires and other debris forming makeshift roadblocks. Garbled snatches of speech emanated from their lips. Taunts, he could tell that much. They think that'll keep 'em alive? Rip 'em up. Three pulled out a bomb, winding his arm back and hurling it at the tentacles. Ink flew and the explosive clattered to the ground, detonating harmlessly. He took the opportunity to vault over the first row of obstacles, ducking behind a stone pile before they could gun him down.