Splatoon Manga: CybeRun

Chapter 13: Take Action!

⚙️Chapter 13: Take Action!

The squidbeak had just re-entered the city, ready to head to L1-V3's headquarters. Bobble had provided them with directions beforehand, as the HQ was a factory with the tallest point in the city. At the moment, the squidbeak needed to keep an eye out for their robotic counterparts. Sure, the smokescreen had let the group get away, but they were up against robots. Advanced technology with sensors and weapons in their body and more. At this point, it was better safe than sorry.

As they scanned the area for new paths to take, they could feel unease creep into them. The sea creatures here were waiting in perfect lines and groups, as well as being grouped via body shape. Unfortunately Bobble Hat didn't have any form of clothing to disguise the group, and she didn't have enough money to allow them to buy things either. The squidbeak also did not have money to buy things, and chances were their money was outdated. Their only hope now was basically not drawing too much attention to themselves, which they had already failed.

They could see all sorts of creatures staring at them as they walked through the city. Urchins giving them one eyed stares, sharks and orcas giving them menacing yet intrigued glares, Jellyfish and humanoid jellies whispering to each other, starfish and less human-headed creatures also making things weird. Flip wanted to ask the citizens what was wrong, but...she restrained herself. She remembered what she'd thought about earlier, where she thought she didn't quite fit in with the rest of the squidbeak. She could remain quiet and gain their approval, she didn't need to quarrel with Rider or Gloves or anyone else with a temper.

"I think I can see something!" Goggles piped up, pointing outwards and ahead of the squidbeak.

The group followed his line of sight. There was a sort of communicator tower in the distance, and the group could see it was the tallest thing sticking up in the city. There was a massive building below it that was also several stories high, so the squidbeak could only assume that that was the HQ they were headed towards. Bobble had told them that there was no transport that would take them directly there, so they had to go by foot. Besides, they didn't have an ID or similar in this world, so if they tried anything then chances were they would be found out in seconds.

Maybe they already had been found out. Bobble had told them that L1-V3 heavily monitored certain parts of the city, so if they weren't careful they could be found out early. But hey, they had no way of knowing if she'd seen them or not. No alarms had gone off, but if those robot versions of them worked for her...then they were in pretty big trouble. They just had to lay as low as they could until something major happened.

"Hey guys, look at that!" Gloves exclaimed, pointing off to the side of the group.

To the left of the group was a thin, rectangular structure with a digital screen. The squidbeak walked up to it, and it turned out to be a map of the city! Using it like a touch screen, try were able to locate the factory, which was indeed just up ahead where Goggles had pointed out the tower. Good, they were on the right track.

They walked away from the map, having figured out a route to go to get to their destination. They were going to try and use alleyways whenever they could, but as of now they weren't an option since they didn't really lead anywhere. After that, they'd try to get there by walking through less populated areas while also taking any chance they could get to sneak into the HQ at the same time. Everything seemed like it was going according to plan. Suddenly, Flip noticed a glimmer amongst the crowd. None of the species here could light up, and none of them looked luminous...unless that light was from metal, which meant...

"Guys, look!"

Sure enough, it was robotic Prince!

He was so small, he blended in with most of the crowd...even if the crowd was so orderly and neat. His gaze was locked onto the squidbeak as they walked towards the HQ, and it appeared that he was also following them. This...wasn't good. What if he was spying on them for L1-V3?! But...why hadn't he attacked? Did the squidbeak need to destroy him so that he wouldn't be able to tell L1-V3 the info about them?

"Squit, how'd he get here?!" Rider growled.

"He IS a small robot...and I think robot us have a high status here. He could probably get through authority buildings and all that even if we hid in there," Hachi explained.

"He could probably also access areas we cannot," Nana added.

"What do we do?! We haven't even done anything and they've already found us!" Gloves exclaimed.

"Should we use some of our materials to distract him?" Goggles asked.

Flip marched towards the robotic Prince.

"I can-"

"I'll take him on! I'm just as small as him, so I can chase him down if I have to! You guys keep going!" Prince interrupted.

Flip paused, but stopped where she was. She supposed she should give the little one credit since he'd taken on Ebony and Noir before.

"Y...yeah, haha. I was gonna say I could go with you, but if you have this down then I believe in you!" Flip said nervously.

Rider gave Flip a suspicious look, so Flip avoided eye contact with him. Goggles and Gloves gave Prince a thumbs up while Hachi and Nana smiled. Prince looked up at Emperor, unsure of what he would say. Emperor looked down at his brother and gave him a confident nod.

"Go. Make me and Mom and Dad proud," he said.

"I will."

Prince turned around and sped off to face his robotic self.