The Reluctant Hero (Splatoon)

Chapter 6

"It seems that some Octarians can assume humanoid form. These specimens have superior physical capabilities and are highly aggressive. But what motivates them, if anything at all?"
—Sunken Scrolls 1:9 (2.6)

Saturday, 1:45 p.m.
East of Inkopolis

Cole adjusted his hat, examining his getup. It wasn't anything particularly fancy or secret-looking. In fact, the outfit that Marie had given him, a baseball cap and black nylon jacket, looked pretty normal. He was hoping for something like in the movies, maybe a black suit with sunglasses or a ninja uniform. Oh well, at least everything fit. On his back, he carried a backpack full of supplies: enough food to last two people a day or so, a submachine gun, a crowbar, a hammer, lockpicks, and flashlights. Cole felt like a thief with all this break-in gear.

He looked over at Marie, who had tied her hair into a ponytail and put on her own spy gear. That consisted of a dark green cap, a face mask, and a hoodie. Instead of a backpack, Marie had a brown messenger bag, presumably with more supplies. She slung a black rifle over her shoulder, but he supposed that it wasn't an ordinary hunting rifle. The otherwise familiar bolt-action model had a modified barrel and custom long-action bolt that he had never seen before. Cole had grown up around firearms, but that weapon looked threatening.

The pair walked east, further away from Inkopolis. The plan was to stop by Tentakeel Outpost, a small hilltop outpost on the way to Suction Cup Lookout. The lookout, according to Marie, was a coastbound military station situated between Octo Canyon and official Inkling territory. It was active and lightly guarded, and it currently held prisoners Agent 3 and Captain Cuttlefish. Cuttlefish was a Great War veteran as well as the founder and leader of the NSS.

On the other hand, Tentakeel Outpost, their intermediate stop, was in the middle of the woods. The Octarians had completely abandoned Tentakeel because of its inconvenient location, which made it perfect for the NSS. For years, it had served as a secret point of contact between NSS agents and their embedded informants. For the past month, Marie had been picking up reports left in the outpost, hoping to learn something about her missing comrades. She wanted to check the place for updates today, just in case anything had come by.

From where they stood, Marie pointed out the outpost in the distance. Cole could see a small set of buildings surrounded by a chain-link fence. He reached into his pants pocket out of habit but found nothing—Cole had left his phone at the shack. He and Marie were wearing earpiece radios, but he missed having his phone. He sometimes messaged people while trying to get somewhere. In fact, he often caught up with Natalie that way, texting her while getting groceries or walking home. He still needed an excuse to tell both their families. Everyone was expecting Cole to come back soon. He wasn't exactly needed at home on the farm, as the Leoidea family could make do with his mother, father, and two brothers just fine, but his trip to Inkopolis was supposed to last no longer than three days. Today was Cole's third day out, and from the looks of it, he'd be away for a while longer. He'd have to think of something to tell everyone.

The agents reached the abandoned outpost, three brick houses with broken windows and a collapsed sentry tower. An old fence with a low metal entrance gate surrounded the perimeter.

"Stay here," Marie instructed, climbing over the gate. "Let me know if anyone comes by."

Cole set his backpack against the fence and sat down. Tentakeel Outpost was situated atop a hill and surrounded by light forest. Except for the dirt road that led them here, there were no other signs of civilization. It reminded Cole of where he went for runs.

After several minutes, he thought he heard a voice. Someone was talking on the other side of the gate. Cole got up and peered into the gate but couldn't see anything.