Boy from Nowhere

Rumble in the Kelp Dome

"Good work, Three." Sheldon's voice crackled over the radio. "The Octolings seem to have set up shop in the Kelp Dome."

"They got Zapfish up there, don't they? Probably trying to snag some extra power." Cuttlefish grumbled.

"Grandpappy's shell, you're right! Think you can do anything about 'em, Three?"

"How many are there?" The question didn't really mean anything. With his training and skill level, two or three probably would've been too much.

"I count... eight targets." Crud.

"What do you think, Captain?"

"...hard to say, lad." That didn't sound reassuring, but what choice did he have? He was an agent, the only thing standing between the Octolings and Inkopolis. Didn't matter if it was one Octoling or ten, he'd need to find a way to win. Swallowing his fear, the agent quickly readjusted his headset and shook out his sore limbs.

"Alright, then. We'll work it out on the way. Sheldon, can I get some directions?"

"Sure thing. I need you to look in the direction of the big tower out in the distance toward land, that's the Deca Tower. I need you to look...  a little to the right of that, see that group of domes off in the distance? Those are the Kelp Domes, that's where they're going to-" The sound of electricity stopped the conversation dead in its tracks.

"Hold up." Three turned around, frowning as he trudged over to the pool in the center of the disk. After a couple moments, a little bubble broke the surface. Yeah, something was down there alright. Lazily tossing a bomb into the ink, he ducked away, trying to cover his face as it detonated. The explosion caused the ship to shudder violently, its mechanisms shaking the metal frame beneath his feet. Purple and green went flying everywhere, nearly blotting out his vision as splashes of color splattered onto his face anyway.

"...what was that?" An unhappy little buzz emanated from the hole as the Inkling returned to the now-empty recess in the disk. Hopping in, Three reached out for the little Zapfish, pulling his hand back at the last moment. It was powering the disk, probably not a good idea to pull it out right then and there. Turning to the control panel, the Inkling quietly looked over all of the machinery. All of its buttons and levers were labeled in unreadable Octoling, and it wasn't like he could exactly ask anybody else to help him do that from a hundred meters in the sky. He reached out for one of the levers tentatively, wrapping his fingers around it and bracing himself to push it. Hopefully he wasn't about to go hurtling toward the earth like a stone.

"My way over. Could you give me the directions again, real quick?"

– – –

"You're in the right spot, Three. Get that Zapfish out of there and bring it back to safety, y'hear me?" Pulling back on the joystick, Three brought the vessel to a sudden halt, his legs quivering slightly as he clambered out of the hole in the craft. Interesting an experience as that may have been, he was not looking forward to trying that out again.

"Got it, Captain." The agent murmured, grunting as he dropped to the ground.

"Good luck out there, lad." Shaking out his limbs as he straightened up, he advanced quietly toward the building. The massive door appeared to be completely shut, he'd need to find another way in.

"Alright, you're headed toward the loading bay, Three. It's a straight shot down the hallway to the Dome from there, but I need you to remember something. First door on the left is going to be a locker room, there should be a couple construction vests in there for the maintenance guys. They're bright green-yellow, should be hard to miss."

"Why?" The agent grumbled, frowning as he tried to process the request. Too many big words... "It work like armor or something?"

"No, not really, more like... disguising."