Hey everyone, CDS here. This blog will be the first one of two in which I make another crossover story with a League of Legends champion (guess which one based on the title). And like I did with the Warriors series. They are absolutely fantastic so be sure to go check them out if you haven't already by any chance. Luke also makes great Gmod to boot.
This story of course isn't a part of Luke's canon. It's again meant as some sort of spin-off story to pay hommage to amazing series of fanfiction. To give some setting though: let's just say it would be in another timeline, after the events of Warriors with Novi defeated by the Splatoon.
Anyways, with that introduction out of the way, let's get to the actual story shall we? Thanks for reading, constructive is appreciated.
Get Jinxed - Volume 1
10:00
The alarm now rang for the fifth time. But once more, the purple inkling girl made a quick tap with her finger before snuggling up in her blanket again. It was a Sunday after all, now she had an excuse to just be lazy as opposed to the previous days this month. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to prevent her girlfriend from being a living alarm clock which she couldn't just cease with the tap of a finger. The lights went on in her room, as the cyan inkling girl with her signature Special Forces Beret continued to pull the purplette's blanket away.
Teri: "Come on Maddie, time to get up. I don't want us to be late, you know Lane hates that."
Madeline: "Five more minutes-"
Teri: "Nah uh, in your case, that would be an extra hour!"
Taking her by the arms, the cyan girl pulled her girlfriend out of her bed, forcing her to stand upright.
Teri: "I made you a proper breakfast. You're going to need it, Lane said he wanted to do an all-out training. Can't let the rust get on us, he says. Oh, and don't forget our date in the afternoon-"
She gave Madeline a quick kiss on the cheek, causing the latter to brighten up a bit from her tired mood and even blush a little.
Madeline: "Alright alright. Thanks Teri, it was about time I didn't let my breakfast become lunch again."
Teri chuckled with a comforting wink, getting the purplette to the breakfast table.
As Madeline was spooning away at her bowl of chocolate coated cereals, Teri sat down on the other side of the table and decided to spark a conversation as she couldn't help worrying about the former's gloomy behaviour the past days.
Teri: "Hey, Maddie-"
Madeline: "Hm?"
Teri: "Do you have something on your mind?"
The purplette shrugged and sighed.
Madeline: "Eh ... not anything specific. Though I guess I do feel ... quenched?"
Teri let her head rest on one of her arms, assuming a calmer listening position.
Teri: "Aren't you happy with our win on the Bayside Tournament? That was all thanks to your well placed splat bomb. Liz would have splat us all if you didn't take her out then."
Madeline: "Of course I'm happy with that. It's just-"
She let the spoon rest in the bowl for a while, seemingly reflecting internally. The effect Teri had hoped for in this conversation.
Madeline: "Now that you say that, I think I am missing some adventure. Something to get the adrenaline pumping again."
Letting out a sigh again, she resumed.
Madeline: "With everything being so peaceful on our agent work and the current tournament cooldown, I miss a proper challenge. That's what's on my mind, to answer your question properly at last."
She continued her breakfast.
Teri: "Are you missing ... Novi?"
Madeline almost choked in her cereals at this sudden question, causing Teri to get next to her and slap her back.
Madeline: "No, of course not. I am more than happy that she's finally gone. But ... ugh, it's complicated!"
She let her forehead lean on two clenched fists. Teri gave her a hug.
Teri: "Hey, you don't have to explain it any further now then. Let it unravel a bit for yourself first. I am already glad you wanted to talk about it in the first place."
Maddie returned Teri's hug, as the comfort she found in this moment helped her hold back the small tears which were rising in her eye sockets.
Madeline: "How did I end up with such an awesome girlfriend?"
Teri: "Because she had the fortune to end up with one as well."
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Lane: "Are you even trying?"
Madeline: "Funny, I was going to ask the same thing."
The purple, skull bandana wearing inkling boy used his signature Splat Brella, blending his defense flawlessly with offense. He shot every time he found an opening and was always quick enough to shield any assault Maddie threw at him. The latter (colored cyan like Teri to have an ink color different from her opponent) was in fact holding back, as she though of an idea to break through Lane's defenses. Knowing his strength in counters, she needed to find something not even he would expect.
Madeline: "Gyagh!"
Some of the ink droplets bursting from the brella's gun barrel graced her face. It wasn't anything bad and didn't actually hurt a lot, it was more so a small surprising sting.
Madeline: (Alright Maddie, it's now or never-)
Humming the tune of the famous Squid Sisters song, she dashed backwards, making sure she wasn't in the purple inkling boy's range.
Madeline: (Come on, give it to me.)
Lane: "Oh, you want me to come over huh? Alright then, let's finish this!"
He opened his brella shield long enough for it to detach. He started swimming in its ink trail as the brella shield made its way towards Madeline, who smirked. She readied a Splat bomb, before she sprinted towards the brella. Olson and Teri, who were spectators during this training duel, raised their eyebrows.
Olson: "What is she going to do? Lane will just jump out as soon as she throws it."
Teri: "Mmmm. With Maddie, you never know what she's planning. I don't know how much she thinks her plans through in battle, but she always manages to steal the show."
When she was close enough, Madeline threw the splat bomb. But not over the brella in an attempt to hit Lane. Instead she threw it directly onto the Brella, much to the surprise of Lane and the spectators. Now that the Brella was covered in her cyan ink, she managed to swim up onto it as if it was a ramp. Once airborn, she reverted back into humanoid form and took aim with her Splattershot. Lane wasn't in time to react.
Madeline: "Peekaboo!"
Well aimed ink bullets rained down upon the purple inling boy, splatting him. Madeline landed, making a small bow while her own ink color reverted back to purple.
Olson: "What the what? How do you keep coming up with these absurd ideas?"
Madeline: "Absurd? It worked perfectly, what's so absurd with that?"
She gave the green inkling boy a semi-cheeky smile.
Olson: "I guess your right, showstealer. Better be quiet now-"
Lane got over to the spectators and Madeline. He was visibly looking frustrated with his loss.
Lane: "How did I fall for that, damn it."
Madeline: "Don't sweat it, I also got lucky. I was honestly scared my plan would go sideways."
Lane: "Ye ye Madeline you ... wait, what?"
He looked over at the purple inkling girl, who looked back with a serene look.
Madeline: "Something wrong Lane?"
Lane: "No ... I was just confused."
Madeline: "Good. I am going to get us some drinks. Same as always?"
The rest nodded.
When Madeline had left to the vending machine, Lane turned to Teri.
Lane: "Pardon me for asking, but is she feeling okay? Usually she starts quoting hero oneliners after a stunt like that, now she just gave a bow and itted that she had luck on her side?"
Teri: "Don't you worry too much about it Lane. She has been feeling stressed out indeed. It started out small at the beginning of this month, but now we're three weeks further and I'm afraid it has only gotten worse. I want to keep her busy as much as possible to keep her thoughts off of it. Thank you for this training session, it looks like it brightened her up a bit."
She shortly took off her beret as a way of showing her respect.
Olson: "I see. She's missing action?"
Teri: "Exactly. Good Maddie knowledge Olson."
The cyan inkling girl turned to Olson, who chuckled.
Olson: "After our time in the metro, I've become better at deducing Madeline's behaviour. I hope she'll get her mind cleared out soon and-"
Lane: "Change the subject."
After him pointing to a Madeline carrying soda cans towards her friends, the trio ceased their conversation.
14:00
Lane: "See you later, lovebirds."
Olson: "Have a fun date you two!"
Madeline and Teri waved the two boys goodbye when they had exitted the training areas behind Ammo Knights, after which Teri took the former's hand and pulled her along.
Madeline: "Hey, easy there! Where are we going?"
The purplette wasn't used to this more eager behaviour of the cyan inkling girl, but it was a surprise which made her mood brighten up some more.
Teri: "Somewhere to eat. You'll see once we're there."
A small wink prevented any further curious questions from the purplette, who smiled back in anticipation.
It wasn't a long walk before they reached the place. It was a pizzeria, one the two of them were familiar with. When they settled down inside, Madeline chuckled.
Madeline: "Everytime we're here, I just get reminded of our first date. Even though I didn't realize it was an actual date heh."
Teri: "No kidding."
Madeline: "Sorry-"
Teri: "Hahaha, don't worry. It was honestly both frustrating and hilarious to see how oblivious you are. You have your heads in the clouds a lot, but that's actually something I kind of like about you."
Madeline gave another chuckle, blushing a bit while shaking her hand down as a way of saying 'oh come on'. It made Teri happy to see the gloomy shadow around Maddie fade more and more. But she could tell it wasn't truly gone.
Teri: "What do you say about the pepperoni pizza with extra cheese plus a cheesy crust?"
Madeline: "My favourite? Sign me up!"
The cyan girl's judgement was right. While her purple girlfriend had been in a better mood after the training during their lunch, it dropped back to a more bored and pessimistic behaviour afterwards. Not even the Squid Beatz Machine seemed to cheer her up.
Teri: "Maddie, should we-"
Madeline: "I'm sorry Teri, I am just ... tired."
She let her head rest on a clenched fist again, slowly drinking the rest of her drink in the Arcade's cafetaria.
Teri: "Do you want to get some rest back home?"
The purplette slowly nodded.
Teri: "I'll take care of our groceries. You go home alright? You do look exhausted."
Madeline: "Thanks ... I guess the training really did a number on me."
She gave a small smile, before getting up to give a quick hug.
Teri: "It won't take too long. I'll be with you soon."
Maddie gave her a nod, before she made her way to the Arcade's exit. The cyan inkling girl gave a sigh, continuing her own drink with a sour feeling.
21:00
Nervously, Teri unlocked the door of the appartement. She had completely lost track of the hour. The plan she had just discussed, it was the perfect solution for Madeline's problem. It still needed some adjustments, but she was amazed everyone was willing to work along with it. It gave her a warm feeling to know that their friends cared so much about Maddie. Before she even entered the living room, the cyan girl already started apologizing.
Teri: "Maddie, I'm so sorry for being late. I bumped into Gail. We both ended up talking too much and-"
Only when she had properly entered, she could see Madeline sleeping on the couch. Her eyes were covered by a comic book of the 'Agent Zero' series, something Madeline was an extreme fan of.
Teri got the comic off the purplette's face and got a blanket to cover her up, not wanting to wake her up just to get her onto her actual bed. It was something she had done before, and Madeline was always grateful for it. After giving a little kiss on the forehead, Teri made her way to her room.
Teri: (Don't worry, Maddie. Things will be looking up soon.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
"So we just have to think of a proper location?"
"Yes. And make sure we can get there easily once Ziggs has made our present for Inkopolis."
"Good, good."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
One week later.
Madeline was playing Rummy with Teri. After the Splatoon had asked them to be standby, the purplette had gotten more excited.
Madeline: "What do you think?"
Teri: "Regarding what?"
The cyan inkling girl made a sequence of five numbers in red with a cheeky smile.
Madeline: "What we need to be standby for? There has to be something going on suddenly right?"
Teri: "Perhaps Marie is anticipating something, but doesn't have definitive evidence. Or something in those lines."
Madeline: "Maybe. Makes me all the more curious though-"
The purplette formed a set of four 3's, with Teri's squidphone ringing right after.
Teri: "Well, speaking of Marie-"
She took up the call, listening for about an entire minute (which seemed like an hour too Madeline) before she nodded.
Teri: "Okay, we'll be there!"
Ending the call, an eager Madeline got next to her girlfriend.
Madeline: "What did she say?"
Teri: "Someone has broken into Ammo Knights last night. Sheldon wants the Splatoon Agents to help him, something very important to him was stolen."
The purplette's eyes got even bigger.
Madeline: "What is it? A new weapon?"
Teri: "He would tell about it there. Come on, let's go! Marie and Callie will bring along our Agent gear."
Madeline: "Heck yeah! Finally some action!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------
After gearing up in the changing rooms of Ammo Knights, the Agents of the Splatoon got over to Sheldon's counter where he was going to tell about the case.
Madeline: "Hey Mina, how was your date with Liz yesterday?"
Mina: "I uhm, grmpf-"
Blush heavily formed on his cheeks as he couldn't even stammer out his words.
Madeline: "Hahaha, tell me when the butterflies in your stomach quiet down a little."
Mina: "Very funny-"
Lane: "Silent you two!"
The agents had placed themselves in a half circle surrounding the little Horshehoe Crab.
Sheldon: "Thanks for coming, it means a lot."
Marie: "No problem Sheldon. With what you've done and still do for the Splatoon, we are always ready to help."
The little fellow nodded with a sincere smile, before he got a big paper off his counter.
Sheldon: "I'll get straight to the point. I've been developping a new weapon and my first working prototype for it got stolen. I don't feel comfortable at the thought of someone running around with an experimental weapon of mine. It's not just dangerous for the sea creatures around them, but maybe for the as well-"
Madeline: "What is the weapon exactly?"
The weapon expert now showed them the paper properly. On it were the blueprints of a weapon, which looked like some kind of small inkzooka but shaped like a shark. There was also quite some text, but the agents didn't bother reading it as Sheldon already started his famous rambling.
Sheldon: "What you are seeing here are the plans for the Polaris Blaster. Long story short, it's basically an Inkzooka but doesn't shoot the ink-tornadoes. It shoots a solidified version of ink shaped like small rockets, which upon with a solid surface will get distorted in its molecular structure, causing the ink-rockets to explode much like a burst bomb or blaster shot. But it's much more powerful and bigger in range at the cost of a slower fire speed. I am actually still wondering if I should make it a main weapon or a special and-"
Marie: "Alright Sheldon, easy there. I think we now know what we need to know."
Madeline: "Yeah, you almost lost me with the word molecular."
The Horshehoe Crab rolled up the paper, getting it under his arm as he nodded.
Sheldon: "You're right, I am slowing you down if I keep rambling like this. Any more specific questions before you start the investigation?"
Nobody seemed to have any, except Olson.
Olson: "Just out of pure curiosity, why is the weapon shaped like a Shark?"
Sheldon: "Oh. I just thought it looked cool and wanted some resemblance to the Rainmaker, which is also shaped like a sea creature. Took inspiration from a human game for this shark design."
Olson: "Really? Which one?"
Sheldon: "Something with League in it."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Madeline: "Nothing to find. Why are we looking here? It's most likely some Octarian rebel residing in Octopolis."
Marie: "We have no clue who stole the weapon, so we can't exclude thugs within our own city. You'll be scouting the center of the city. Call for backup if you spot anything. Over and out."
The lime green Squid Sister's broke connection with Agent 3's hero headphones. A bit reluctant yet still eager to continue, Madeline decided to look in more desolate alleys of the city center. She was always surprised on how many there were.
Madeline: (Hmmm. Not much. What am I even supposed to look for here? What kind of lead does Marie expect me to find?)
She kicked a soda can in front of her. Again, and again, and again ... until she reached the end of the alleyway. She was now onto Inkopolis Plaza. She let out a small groan, before taking the main street to go more into the outer center ring.
Madeline: (I am an agent, not a detective. If Sheldon just chipped his weapons we-)
The purplette suddenly stood still, silenced at the sight of the next alleyway she was about to enter. Being so caught up in her internal muttering, she didn't realize it was the one Teri used to hide in before they met. She had already ed it more than one time by now of course, but always found her feelings getting mixed when she was near it. On one hand, she was grateful and happy that she had found the cyan inkling girl there, who became her roommate, teammate, fellow agent and even her girlfriend. On the other hand, she felt bad for Teri. Living on the street, all alone, cast away by your own family ... it was a horrible thought, also filling the purplette with anger towards Teri's sister and parents. Of course she didn't hold a grudge against Gail, Teri's older brother. She even found him a pretty chill guy and thought his polite behaviour was kind of funny, jokingly calling him 'The Rich Kid' at times. He was the only family member who ed his sister, for who she was and wanted to become. He was also the one to financially help Teri out when Madeline was stuck in the underground.
The purplette got herself together, stepping into the alley. The cardboard box was now completely gone, no traces left. Somewhere Madeline found it a bit unfortunate, as it gave a familiar feeling of recognition. But perhaps it was good that it was gone. A symbol to not cling onto the past, to keep moving forward. Her thoughts drifted off a bit towards Gail again.
Madeline: (Perhaps we should invite him over for something fun again. After this case is settled. Teri told me he had proper battle training. Maybe we can have some fun in Turf Wars. I should ask her what-)
Once more she cut her thoughts short. As she got deeper into the alleyway, she noticed something onto the walls. Drawings it seemed. Getting close to it, she could now properly make out what it was.
Madeline: (Was this graffiti always here?)
The purplette couldn't help but think that the graffiti was actually well done. There was quite a lot of it. There was the word 'ENEMY' scattered all around, in different styles. One was in toddler-written letters, each one in a different color. Another one was in more rounded, cyan letters with a smaller written one in white underneath. There was also a purple one in glitch-like letters, Madeline found that one the coolest. There was a graffiti-drawing of a heavy splatling, shooting its ink with the word 'Pow-Pow' written above it. But what really caught the attention was the enormously written 'Jinx' in the center. The J had a smiling shark face on its upper right tip, the I was a rocket taking off, the N was written the most normal (though it looked a bit like it was shaped like a cloud) and the X were two bullets crossed. Agent 3 was stunned by it.
Madeline: (That sharkface on the J ...)
She looked at the last graffiti art, which completely dumbfounded the purple agent. It was a graffiti-drawing of a shark-shaped rocketblaster, just like how Sheldon's stolen weapon looked. It had the word 'Fishbones' written above it. Madeline could feel her hearts collectively speed up, activating her headphones to call Marie.
Madeline: (NOW THAT'S A LEAD!)
"AGENT TWO, I FOUND A LEAD. SEND BACKUP TO THE TERI ALLEY."
Marie: "Alright alright, no need to shout like that. Where is that alleyway? It's actually named that?"
Madeline: "Eh, I don't know the actual name of it ... just tell Agent four, she'll know."
Marie: "Alright, the others will be there as soon as possible. Stay there."
Madeline: "Roger that."
The purplette looked to both sides, making sure no one else was in the alley. She sighed with relief. She shouted too loud indeed, but nobody overheard it. Or at least she thought when suddenly an excited female voice echoed through the alleyway.
?: "LIKE MY GRAFFITI SO MUCH YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO SEE IT AS WELL? THAT'S SO SWEET, I'M GONNA BLUSH!"
Surprised, Madeline looked around her once more. Nobody.
Madeline: (Unless-)
Looking up, the purplette saw a silhouette watching down on her from the roof of the right flanking appartement building. An echoing giggle followed from above.
Madeline: "Hey um, miss! Nice graffiti, but it raises some questions for me. Could you please come down?"
?: "Don't call me miss. Call me by my name, you can do that. You seem like someone who could be my friend."
Madeline: "... what's your name then?
?: "Oh come on, it's literally written in front of you."
Instinctively, Agent 3 looked at the graffiti once more. Now it was obvious, and the voice said it before she could.
Jinx: "JINX! Stands for Jinx!"
Madeline: "Well then, Jinx. I'd be glad to be your friend. Could you come down now for a sec?"
Jinx: "Nah, you better come up here. I wanna try something fun right now ... and you seem like the perfect playmate-"
Madeline couldn't reply as she jumped out of the way of a Fizzy bomb coming down. It made dancing jumps on the ground for a while, before it exploded in a violent burst of cyan ink. Agent 3 could swear the bomb had a beartrap-like structure on it, which was violently biting away before the ink explosion happened.
Jinx: "HOW DO YOU LIKE MY INKCHOMPERS?"
Madeline looked up, anticipating possible new drops. The silhouette was now gone, Agent 3 activated the call function of her headphones again before superjumping onto the building. Landing on the building, she took cover behind a chimney block to make sure a possible attack wouldn't interrupt her emergency call.
Marie: "What's up Three?"
Madeline: "I encountered a suspect. We're on the roofs near the mentioned alleyway. Warn the others, I'll try to slow her down! Over and out!"
Agent 3 carefully got away from her hiding spot, looking for her target. The grip on her Hero Shot was firm, finger on the trigger. But the roof was completely empty.
Madeline: (Carp, I miscalculated-)
Her realization and a whistling projectile sound was enough to make the purplette jump aside just in time, watching an ink-rocket fly by, exploding as it lost height and crashed onto the rooftop. Getting behind the chimney block for cover again, Madeline now properly saw her adversary on the other roof of the left appartement building flanking the alley. Their outfit consisted of a western-inspired upper class tailor-made suit, with a brown cloth covering up part of the upper body and shoulder. Their face and tentacles weren't visible, as it got covered up by a red bandana covering the lower face, purple glowing glasses covering the eyes and a ragged straw boater on top of the head. Deducing their species wasn't possible, and if it wasn't for their voice, Agent 3 wouldn't have any idea about their gender as well. Aside from their outfit, Madeline saw her opponent's weaponry as well. They wielded the Polaris Blaster on their left shoulder, while a heavy splatling was hanging on the right hip and a N-Zap '89 on the left.
Madeline: (Carrying around three different main weapons with one of those being an experimental protoype and also self-made subweapon. That's quite the list young lady.)
Jinx: "Sweet moves! You ARE a good playmate!"
The voice had only gotten more excited and happy, to the point where it sounded crazed.
Jinx: "Won't you come and play?"
Madeline: (I need to stall her. She might run off if I just stay here. That rocket launcher has quite the range, but Sheldon said the fire speed is it's exploitable weakness.)
"Yes. Let's dance!"
The purplette squidformed and superjumped high into the skies. An ink-rocket was fired, but it barely missed again. Once she was above Jinx, she shot wildly around herself, causing the purple ink to rain down.
Madeline: (I don't like using a move I learned from Novi. But this one is just way too cool not to perform.)
The rainy assault had its hoped effect, as Jinx dashed out of the way, not being able to take aim with the Polaris Blaster when Madeline landed in Hero Shot range.
Jinx: "AWESOME! JUST A LITTLE BIT OF ENERGY!"
When Madeline took aim with her weapon, an Inkchomper got thrown her way. Its beartrap jaw made it hook onto the Hero Shot.
Madeline: "CARP!"
Instinctively, Madeline let her weapon fall and jumped backwards. Some cyan inkdroplets of the explosion landed on her skin, something which would have been painful when she was just a rookie agent, but after her past missions, it was a feeling she was used too. Unfortunately, it gave Jinx an opening to kick away their opponent's weapon, leaving Three weaponless.
Madeline: "Those stupid bombs-"
Jinx: "Ow, does the Agent not like my chompers? Perhaps Fishbones should say hi again!"
Madeline: (Naming your weapons? Weirdo-)
"It's the Polaris Blaster, and I'll have you return it to Sheldon!"
The loose cannon readied their rocket launcher, no care for the purplette's words.
Jinx: "Pffft, giving personal names is nice! Fishbones likes it, and what would you do if you didn't have a name, Madeline?"
Agent 3 was frozen in place. No movements, no words, no reaction to Jinx properly aiming their shot.
Madeline: (How- HOW? How does she know my name? I have no clue who the shell she is, how-)
Jinx: "BYE BYE!"
The jaws of the metal shark released its fourth shot, making its way to Madeline. When she snapped out of her trance, she wasn't in time to dodge the inkoming rocket. She made a blocking motion with her arms, eyes closed, ready to embrace the pain she was about to receive. An ink explosion sound was heard by her ears, but no pain stung her body. No floaty feeling which she had during respawns. Instead, she still heard Jinx's voice.
Jinx: "As much as I like partycrashers, I hate those brellas. See you on my next graffiti tour! And-"
Teri: "You're not going anywhere!"
Madeline opened her eyes. She wasn't on the nearby respawn pad, but still on the roof. Purple ink was around her in a big circular area. Lane patted her back.
Lane: "Good thing splashdowns can neutralize those ink-rockets. I wonder if Sheldon already tested that."
Madeline: "Holy- I thought I was toast right there. Thanks Agent Skull."
Callie: "Hands where we can see them! Don't try anything funny, you're outnumbered."
Jinx: "Sad. I could show you something funny you know."
Madeline now saw that Jinx was surrounded by the entire Splatoon, except for Marie. All were colored purple to match Agent 3. Callie and Mina had taken sideways positions, which was the best for their close-ranged roller and octobrush respectively. In front of Jinx were Olson, wielding his blaster and Agent 8, who wielded Dualie Squelchers. A good combination to anticipate possible assault coming from their target. Teri was coming Madeline's and Lane's way, giving the former her Hero Shot back.
Teri: "You seemed to have lost this. Are you okay?"
Madeline: "I'm fine, don't worry about me, focus on Jinx here. Thanks for coming you guys."
Lane: "Jinx. That's her name?"
Teri: "Must be a pseudonyme."
Madeline: "Be careful, she's unpredictable and wild. Also ... she knows my name."
Teri and Lane got big eyes, looking back from Madeline to Jinx. Agent 1 seemed to have heard it from her position.
Callie: "We'll figure out how she knows and all the rest when we bring her to base."
She turned to the loose cannon.
Callie: "Jinx, you'll be going with us for some questions. We don't mean any harm, so just lay down your weapons and unmask yourself now."
Surrounded, the loose cannon looked over all the agents, weighing their choices. They sighed, taking off the Polaris Blaster and aiming it downwards, crouching to seemingly lay it down.
Jinx: "You're right. It's all fun and games until something gets blown up ..."
But then, they firmly held onto the rocket launcher and placed her feet onto the shark head from which the eyes glowed as an excited laugh rose from them.
Jinx: "THEN IT'S A PARTY!"
Nobody was in time to stop the sudden move of Jinx. An enormous explosion of cyan ink came from the metal shark's mouth, covering the entire roof while it propelled the loose cannon up into the air, similar to the performance of a superjump.
Jinx: "FISHBONES! WE'RE DOING IT!"
While Lane was quick enough to open his brella shield to protect himself, Teri and Madeline, it broke immediately. And his weapon seemed to refuse reforming a new one.
Lane: "What the shell? How much power was behind that explosion?"
Teri: "A lot. Just look at this."
The entire roof of the appartement building was covered in cyan ink. All other agents were splatted.
Madeline: "What about the others? You-"
Lane: "Don't worry Three. We all hooked ourselves on the respawn pad you were assigned to as well."
The purplette sighed with relief.
Madeline: "Good. But now what? That psycho took off. Are we going after her?"
Lane: "I didn't see in which direction she launched herself. But even if I did, we shouldn't be going after her now with just the three of us."
Teri: "Skull is right. Against someone like her, we need a plan. A good one. So back to base now! I'll alert the others."
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"How much time will it take to finish our tunnel?"
"About a week. Same time Ziggs still needs. He'll make sure we get to see fireworks."
"Good, good."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
08:00, 5 days later.
Madeline: "Shouldn't we just have scouted for a possible hideout that psycho might have right away back then?"
Teri: "We didn't have a lead for that. Agent two made the right decision to wait for Jinx's next move."
Madeline: "I hope it paid off. Guess we'll see soon."
The two inklings were making their way through the tunnel leading to the Splatoon base in Octo Valley. As soon as they arrived, they suited up in their agent gear. Once the other agents had arrived, they gathered around Marie who started her projection on the wall. It was an insanely big map, showing Inkopolis and surroundings. There were red dots on some places.
Marie: "Alright, I assume you all know that you're here for new intell regarding Jinx. It might help us to actually catch this criminal."
Agent 3 perked up at the last sentence, getting a grin on her face. She luckily managed to keep her commentary for herself.
Madeline: (This won't be like on that roof Jinx! Get ready for a rematch!)
Marie: "Those red dots indicate power plants from which zapfishes have been stolen in the past days, during the late evening. Not enough to cause problems for the areas they provide electricity too, but who knows what Jinx will use those zapfishes for once she has enough."
Agent Skull raised his arm, getting permission to ask a question before the lime green Squid Sister continued.
Lane: "How do you know it's Jinx and nobody else?"
Marie: "Cameras were always disabled by a long-ranged powerful blast of cyan ink. That's the work of the Polaris Blaster. Graffiti has also been found in the less populated city parts close to the indicated power plants."
Teri: "Perhaps then ... we should guard the untargetted power plants?"
Olson: "Yeah, but but won't that divide us too much?"
Agent 2 gave a chuckle and nodded.
Marie: "Glad you two bring up that point already."
She did a mouse click on her laptop, causing a green dot to appear right under the sequence of red ones.
Marie: "Jinx has been stealing the zapfishes in such an order which allowed me and Agent One to deduce that she'll target the ones powering Port Mackerel next, today by nightfall again."
Lane: "So there we'll wait for Jinx then."
Agent 2 nodded, giving another mouse click to show a plan of Port Mackerel. One building was colored green, with a zapfish logo on it. That was the power plant, providing energy for the port.
Marie: "We just have to decide who will be placed where now. After that, I suggest we get some sleep, because it will most likely become a long night ..."
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23:00, Port Mackerel.
Madeline was lucky. She was the one to be placed inside the power plant. With a small, camouflaged hammock on the ceiling, she had positioned herself in squid form high up. From there, she could observe the entire interior. It was an insanely big space, mostly empty except for a well enclosed transparent container, containing about a dozen of zapfishes, with all sorts of technology attached highly similar to the monitoring systems of nuclear power plants humans used. If Agent 3 recalled collectly, the container was mainly made of glass with titanium particles in it. It made her wonder how Jinx managed to get the zapfishes out, as using the control system to open it was pure rocket science in the eyes of the purplette.
Despite her friends being in the area, especially Marie who had assumed a sniper lookout on the roof of the powerplant and Teri who was guarding between nearby containers, Madeline was still nervous. Determined for a rematch, yet still nervous.
Madeline: (Those Inkchompers, I can anticipate those like regular Fizzy bombs now. It's that damn rocket launcher which forms a problem. Can't give her enough range and time to shoot. But that will be less of a problem indoors.)
The purplette strategized, sinking herself into her thoughts until she heard glass shattering and a thud from someone carefully landing on the floor. She looked towards the source of the sound, seeing Jinx beneath a window with a fine hole cut in it.
Madeline slowed down her breathing. The loose cannon hadn't spot her, but hearing was an option too, even if the distance was big enough. She needed a surprise attack.
Madeline: (Come on. Walk towards your zapfishes-)
At last, after Jinx had looked for possible threats, they walked over towards the transparent container. The Polaris Blaster was hanging on their left shoulder again.
Madeline: (Now or never!)
Jumping off in squid form, she reverted back to inkling form mid-fall, almost dropping down onto Jinx.
But the latter was quick to react, evading Agent 3's attempt at an airborn dropkick.
Jinx: "Thought someone would give me a welcome in here. Saw some of your friends around here, but I didn't feel like saying hi."
They readied an Inkchomper, the move Three predicted. A splatbomb of her own got caught by the biting jaws of the chomper while still being in Jinx's hand, exploding in a mixture of purple and cyan ink which unfortunately only seemed to slightly faze the loose cannon. They charged up their heavy splatling, firing a barrage of ink at the agent. It caused the extra protective layer of armor Madeline was wearing to break, preventing her from getting splatted, which bought enough time to retaliate during the splatling's cooldown. Her own assault covered Jinx's glasses and bandana in purple, effectively blinding them.
Madeline: "Let's see if all that gear protects you against this!"
A short superjump onto Jinx's chest tackled them down. Stunned by the impact, the loose cannon got disarmed and pinned down by Agent 3. She was ready to call Marie and unmask her captive.
Madeline: "It's game over for you! We'll have you return the Polaris Blaster and-"
Jinx: "Listen up sweetie, well played! But I'd be a fool if I didn't take precautions when playing my games. It's not a save file, more so an extra credit. Call Teri."
Madeline didn't freeze up this time, but she did loosen her grip on Jinx. The latter didn't make any sudden moves though, as if they were confident in their sudden psychological warfare.
Madeline: "How do you know our names? Why-"
Jinx: "Just call, sweetie."
Reluctantly, Agent 3 activated her headset to call Agent 4. Vibrations came from under Jinx's cape. Madeline came off the loose cannon, who took out Teri's headset.
Jinx: "Thought I'd take this with me, since you probably have something of a tracker in this thing. Listen up, I am not one to hurt others as long as I don't have to. Certainly not your cupcake. So here's the deal. You and the other agents back off and let me do what I came here to do plus you won't interfer with my future escapades. Then nothing will happen to her and I'll release her once I'm done. Clear or do I make a drawing? I have a can of graffiti with me."
Another input was given to the headset, giving a call to the closest Agent in the environment.
Marie: "Yes Agent 3?"
Madeline: "Two, call the other agents. We have to leave. She has Teri ..."
Marie: "Wait, what?! How do you know that? What's-"
Madeline: "SHE HAS TERI OKAY?! NOW JUST DO WHAT I TELL YOU FOR ONCE!"
The purplette's fear, anger and sadness were mixing together all at once. Teri being captured on a mission, it refreshed the bad memories from Sam's betrayal.
Marie: "Understood. We'll see you at the base."
The call ended. Madeline was holding back tears and tried to stop her body from shaking.
Madeline: "There ... just like you wanted."
Jinx: "Good, good. Don't look so blue, sweetie, I am a squid of my word. Go now, and you'll get your girlfriend back soon enough."
Once she was outside the power plant, Madeline performed multiple superjumps to make her way towards Inkopolis Plaza. But she didn't go to the Splatoon base first. She made her way into the alleyway where she had met Teri. Where she had encountered her new enemy. She sat down and curled up, her tears now finally broke through her eyelids, streaming down over her cheeks.
Madeline: "I ... I failed ... Again."
Comments (1)
How did I not read this until now?! This was amazing! I had the biggest smile on my face as I read it!!