Disaster Looming
“Man, that last match was awesome! That had to be the quickest win we've ever gotten!” Dan cheered.
“No thanks to you.” Eight rolled her eyes. She had been the one to carry the Rainmaker the entire time.
“Yeah, dude. You know something is wrong when the Charger main outpaces both a Shooter and Dualies.” Runo laughed.
“Well, I’m not used to the Splat Dualies having the Crab Tank, okay?” Dan argued. Runo was going to continue teasing him, but was interrupted by Off the Hook's “Color Pulse” playing from their phone. Why would Pearl and Marina be calling now?
“Wonder why they didn’t just call me…” Eight muttered, the same thought process apparently running through her mind. They must be calling on business; something concerning the NSS as a whole.
“What?! When did this happen? Are you sure it wasn’t an accident?” Runo asked, louder than they meant to. There was a pause, during which Marina’s panicked voice could be heard on the other end.
“And where did you lose the signal?” Runo asked.
“What’s going on?” Eight whispered. Runo beckoned the other two agents into the (thankfully) empty locker room of the Lobby, then put the call on speaker,
“I’ve got Agents 4 and 8 with me. Repeat that please, you two?”
“We think Cory may have been kidnapped!” Pearl replied.
“Cory?” Dan asked.
“Coral. My little sister.” Eight corrected, “Pearl always calls her Cory.”
“OH CARP!” Dan shouted, “When?! How?!”
“About an hour ago, right after I got off a call with her, she sent out our secret distress signal from her phone. We tracked her to the Splatlands, heading towards Inkopolis like she was supposed to be, but her train wasn’t supposed to leave for another two hours. Even worse, when she passed through Octarian territory, the signal was lost and hasn’t come back.” Marina explained, “I think… Somehow Dr. Oarfish must’ve gotten to her. His old lab was directly under the mountain, if I remember correctly.”
“Oarfish? I thought you said he wasn’t a problem anymore, that Coral was safe.” Eight protested.
"Uh, who's Oarfish? I thought our issue was with Octavio." Dan asked quietly. Eight silently mouthed the word "Later."
“That’s what we thought, but… In allowing her to take this deal to get rid of that package, we pushed her right into his trap.” the Octoling on the other end wailed.
“Well, hang on, calm down for just a second,” Runo butted in, “Splatsville is a sketchy city at the best of times. Marina, how sure are you that this Oarfish guy is really the one behind Coral’s disappearance?”
“Almost certain. Nobody but us, Coral, and him knew what was in that box. He’s the only one who could possibly have a use for it and know how to set it off.”
“Set… what off? Marina, what exactly has Coral gotten herself into?” Runo asked.
“It’s a weapon. A highly infectious and dangerous virus that— supposedly— Dr. Oarfish planned to unleash on the surface to help DJ Octavio conquer it. Or at least that’s what Coral said.” Emily explained, “She stole the samples and his research materials when she fled the underground, so they could never be used.”
“If it’s in his hands, he could already have set his plans into motion. We have to act fast.” Marina warned.
“We have to rescue Cory!” Pearl shouted.
“We will, Pearl. Let me just let the others know what’s up, then we can all meet up at Cuttlefish Cabin to figure out how exactly we’re going to do that.”
“Thank you so much, Captain.” Marina sighed with relief before she and Pearl hung up.
“Change of plans, guys. We’re headed to Cuttlefish Cabin.” Runo told their two agents.
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After alerting Neo Agent 3, Callie, and Marie, the group reconvened at the small cabin on the edge of Octo Canyon, soon joined by a very distraught Pearl and Marina.
“Alright, so tell me the whole story. I know a little bit thanks to you and Eight, but if we’re going to find Coral, I need to know exactly what she’s gotten herself into and who this guy is that took her.” Runo told the idol duo. Pearl nodded to Marina, knowing that she knew more about it.
“Well, it’s a long story, but it all started in the Domes. Dr. Oarfish was one of DJ Octavio’s top scientists, and he specialized in biological warfare. Coral was a test subject in his Ink Virus project, a deadly virus spread through ink that could potentially wipe out thousands of people if it were ever unleashed on the surface… which is exactly what Oarfish planned to do. He and Coral supposedly were the only two known to have any sort of resistance to the virus, which is why she was his test subject; she could be repeatedly infected and still survive every time. At least that’s what she told me every time she managed to escape from the lab.”
“So he was using Coral to create some deadly virus to wipe out all life on the surface? She’s just a kid! That’s horrible!” Dan protested. Marina nodded and continued,
“When she escaped the last time and made a break for the surface, she stole his research materials as well as the prototype samples of the Ink Virus, and she’s been holding onto them ever since. If Oarfish didn’t have them, or her, then he couldn’t use them and he’d have to start back at square one. We weren’t sure how to get rid of the samples without risking someone else finding them or unleashing it on the world ourselves accidentally, though, so she kept the container hidden until she moved to Splatsville.” the older Octoling explained.
“Today she told us she found someone who would take it and dispose of it properly for her, and that they’d even pay her in Super Sea Snails for handing over something so dangerous. We knew it sounded sketchy, but I figured… Well, it’s Splatsville! People do sketchy things there, and usually it’s fine! But this time it was a trap, and now Cory’s gone.” Pearl added.
“We do have a lead on where she might be, though! Her signal disappeared right around Mt. Nantai. The lab he kept her at was over on the other side of the Valley, closer to Octo Canyon, but I believe his original lab was here, in the lower levels of the easternmost Dome.” Marina pulled up a map of the region and pointed to a spot in Octo Valley.
“Then that’s where we’ll start. Pearl, Marina, Agent 2, Agent 4, and Agent 8 will go to rescue her.” Runo ordered, “Agent 1, Agent 3, I think we should pay DJ Octavio a visit and learn more about Oarfish himself from his boss. I hear he and his remaining Octarian loyalists have moved into the Crater since we cleared out Alterna.”