"Ah nuts!"

A young inkling boy stood outside of the Arcade, scowling, as the words GAME OVER scrolled across his machine.

"NO!" He cried, as he pounded the machine. "It ate my quarter!"

"Give it a rest, Kyle." Another Inkling boy said, grinning widely. "You're not going to be saving Inkopolis from Aliens anytime soon."

Kyle stiffened a little, before giving a small nod. "Y-yeah…" He said slowly. "I guess you're right…."

His friend gave him a strange look as he stepped down from the platform. "What's with you?" He asked, as Kyle stepped past him. "You've been acting so odd lately…"

Kyle shook his head. "No, it's nothing." He claimed. "Hey, want to smash the Pachinko machine?" No one in Inkopolis played the ancient, Metal Gear Pachinko machines from Konami. They simply destroyed them every time a repaired antique unit made its way into the arcade. It was a tradition that was said to predate Inkling society.

The boys joined another group who were preparing to do the same thing, and half an hour later the remains of the machine was lying in pieces on the floor. An Inkling girl scowled at them as they made their way out.

"At least throw the pieces in the trash where it belongs!"

Kyle and his friend stuck their tongues out at her and stepped back into the street.

"So do you want to Turf or what-?"

Before he could finish speaking, the News Jingle began to blare from speakers all around them. As if by instinct, the boys turned to look upward. There, on the giant screen overlooking the city, were two Squids.

"Hey guys!"

"It's Off the Hook coming at you live from Inkopolis Square…"

"Is Marina EVER going to ditch Pearl and go solo?" Kyle's friend complained as Pearl and Marina had yet another nasty back and forth argument about the next upcoming Splatfest, Wizards Vs Squids. "She can't sing!"

Kyle almost opened his mouth to agree, but suddenly a dark skinned girl from in front of them turned around to look at them. His blood ran cold. That was…

"Pearl is a wonderful singer." The girl said quietly. "Even Marina agrees…"

She turned back around and walked away from them. Kyle stared after her, a little surprised that she did not even acknowledge him. His friend eyed her warily.

"These Off the Hook fans are really hardcore." He commented. "They're even getting their tentacles to look like Marina's. How do they do it? Do you know?"

Kyle opened his mouth to answer, but closed it again. He had never realized it himself until it had been explained to him, but these Squids that had been written off by society at large as merely being Inklings imitating Marina's style were not actually Inklings. They were, in fact, Octolings that had escaped from the Underground and begun new lives on the surface. And the girl who they had they had just spoken to had been the one to open the way for them.

"So now that we have the Turf War changes out of the way…. What else do we have to talk about, Pearlie?"

"HUGE NEWS!" Pearl exclaimed, throwing up her hands in shock. "The biggest!"

"The biggest?" Marina repeated, sounding baffled. Kyle almost tuned this bit out. Usually they were just trying to make minor adjustments to Turf War Maps seem more interesting than they actually were.

"Yes." Pearl said, nodding furiously. "This is huge news, so listen up everyone!"

"What is it, what is it?"

"Famous Pop Stars Callie and Marie have been reported as missing!"

Kyle's head snapped to the screen, his mouth open in horror. His friend scoffed and rolled his eyes. "The Squid who now?" He asked derisively. "Who cares?"

"What?" Marina asked, flabbergasted. "Really?"

"Yes!" Pearl said. "Again!"

"Oh yeah." Kyle's friend said to him, tilting his head thoughtfully. "This isn't the first time this has happened, huh? It must be a publicity stunt…"

"No…" Kyle said, surprising him. "It isn't."

Kyle ignored his friend's curious look as he turned his head to the side and, and as he had suspected, he saw a familiar, bright neon yellow squid standing by the grate, staring right at him.

"Hey, I'll catch up with you later…"

"Huh?"

Kyle broke into a run and made his way across the square. The bright neon squid wrapped her cape around her shoulders as he approached.

"Samus." He said breathlessly, as he came to a stop in front of her. She nodded at him.

"Agent 4." She returned. "So you've finally heard, I see."

"Finally?" He exploded. "Were you keeping this from me?"

"We were hoping it would be nothing." Agent 3, Samus, claimed as she shook her head. "We knew where they had gone, and that they hadn't been splatted. It's not unusual for us to go down to the Valley for weeks at a time, after all."

She paused.

"But things have changed." She said. "We believe that Callie and Marie are in grave danger."

…

The Squidbeak Splatoon had expanded considerably in the past two years. Following DJ Octavio's attempts at stealing the Great Zapfish, Cap'n Cuttlefish had begun taking it upon himself to recruit talented squids into fighting back against the Octarians.

First had been his own Grand Daughters, Callie and Marie. Talented turf war battlers, beloved idols, and fantastic secret agents. They had served his cause to their best of their abilities. However as their responsibilities and popularity began to get the better of them, they were unable to retrieve the Great Zapfish themselves. In an act of desperation, Cap'n Cuttlefish had hit the streets of Inkopolis, begging for help.

By sheer, dumb luck he had discovered Agent 3. An Inkling girl who had grown bored of Turf War battling and wanted something with a bit more of an edge to it. She had been brought on with no idea what she was getting into, and had exceeded all possible expectations. She defeated Octavio, took back the Great Zapfish, and began working more closely with him on other matters of National Security.

So closely, in fact, that she was with him during the abduction of the Great Zapfish and Callie's abduction, forcing Marie to bring in another random Inkling… Kyle, Agent 4. Although nowhere near as talented or eager to fight as Agent 3, he had managed to pull through and get back the Great Zapfish.

And finally… the final member of their growing posse (And admittedly Cuttlefish's personal favorite) Agent 8. Born and raised to be a child soldier for the Octarians, Octavio's humiliating defeats (Coupled with experiencing the magic of the Calamari Inkantation) led her to defect, following a vicious battle with Agent 3. Although she had completely lost her memory of the Octarians, she had escaped from the Underground with the help of Cap'n Cuttlefish and their friends, Off the Hook, and immediately upon reaching the surface fought off an ancient, primordial evil. She had joined the Squidbeak Splatoon in hopes of freeing more of her kind, and as time went on… more and more Octolings began to make their way to the surface. The ball had started rolling for real. Because of her efforts, the conflict between the Inklings and Octolings would finally come to an end. Cap'n Cuttlefish slowly was beginning to understand that their enemies were not the Octolings, but the man who had been brainwashing them for over a hundred years. Octavio.

"They've been missing that long?" Agent 4 exploded. "Just why was I not told this?" He looked genuinely upset. Agent 4 shook her head, her long yellow squid tails flopping around in front of her.

"Calm down, Kyle." She said, her voice somewhat sharp. "Panicking is not going to bring them back. Octavio would never kill them. He would want to humiliate them first."

Kyle nodded, remembering just how panicked Marie had been about Callie's unexpected disappearance when he first joined the Splatoon. Although she had tried not to show it, she was horrified at the thought of losing her cousin. But in the end, it had turned out that Octavio had merely brainwashed her and set her against him. Both Agent 3 and 8 had been brainwashed at some point as well… Agent 8 in particular had apparently been brainwashed her entire life before hearing the Calamari Inkantation, It seemed to be the typical move for Octavio to pull. To use his enemies rather than get rid of them.

"They are still alive, I'm sure." Samus went on to say, as she glanced at Eight. "Do you have anything to add, Eight?"

Eight was staring out of the window absently, taking in the surrounding area. She did not answer. Samus sighed, shaking her head.

"So." Samus said. "What is our first order of business?"

The group fell silent.

"I…. do not believe there is any other way." Cap'n Cuttlefish said slowly. "But… we're going to have to send you down there. To where they disappeared." Agent 4 recoiled from him in horror. Agent 3 narrowed in eyes, and even Eight turned to face them, her expression unreadable.

"Down there?" Kyle said, his voice low. "To where they disappeared?"

"Yes." Cap'n Cuttlefish said slowly. "We need to find out what happened to them."

Samus immediately stepped forward, brandishing her Tentakek shot. "I'll do it-"

"No, I will!" Kyle snapped at her. "Stay out of it!" They glared at each other. Agent 3 icily, but 4 with a fiery passion.

Eight stayed out of it, her head bent. The SquidBeak Splatoon was still not entirely sure of what they had to do.

…

Octavio laughed to himself as he stared into the bright colors of the Great Time Orb. Everything, so far, was going according to plan. Callie and Marie were still unaccounted for, but Octavio was sure that they would pop up, out of nowhere, when he made his move to take over the planet.

Once he established himself here, he would migrate all of his people into this new planet. He would have them exterminate all of humankind, and take over the world before the accursed Inklings could even appear. If only he knew just where Calllie and Marie were, and what they were doing… everything would be perfect.

He was confident that they weren't dead. It was only a matter of time until they resurfaced again.

"Soon…" Octavio murmured, as he stared deep into the Time Orb. "I will have everything I have ever wanted.

From the shadows, watching him from some distance away, stood a cloaked figure who looked on at him with an amused expression. He had not noticed her, for the entire time she had been standing there, watching him.

"Oh, poor little fool." Bellatrix Lestrange whispered, as she stepped closer to him. "He has no idea what he has gotten himself into…"

…

A/N:

The Octo Pass DLC is amazing. Play it.