“I haven’t been awake all that long, but I will say I am a fan of your work. And you are very pretty. I’m usually more inclined to have my fun with men, but I can make an exception for a woman as gorgeous as you are, Marie,” the Inkling woman said with a sultry tone.
“Sorry, I’m dating someone else right now,” said Marie flatly.
“That’s okay, I’m not one for long-term relationships, anyway. I just want a simple kiss, and that’ll be all.” The woman’s hand reached up to Marie’s cheek.
Marie thought letting her touch her lightly would’ve been fine. She quickly regretted not pulling the trigger - at the moment the fingers touched her flesh, something intense surged through her. It wasn’t like the energy wave, it was something entirely unique. Her heart was immediately racing, and part of her was seeing this strange woman in a new light. It’s like she was a naive schoolgirl all over again, swooning over a handsome boy. Her eyes wandered over the woman’s body - she couldn’t tell if what she was feeling was love or pure lust. And this chick was very easy on the eyes.
The Inkling pushed the Charger aside, bringing herself right up close, their lips mere inches away as she put both hands on Marie’s cheeks, intensifying the effect. Marie was panting audibly. “You Inklings certainly lack the physical resistance humans did. I’ll admit, you’ve got enough willpower to not be driven over the edge by ecstasy from my touch alone.”
Marie grit her teeth, “what are y-”
A finger was placed on her lips. “Shush. Don't be so scared. It only hurts a little... Then you'll just feel like you're falling into darkness.”
And then the woman kissed her right on the lips.
Despite her best efforts, Marie was unable to restrain herself any further, and leaned into the kiss, tangling tongues like this stranger was a lover she hadn’t seen in a long time, wrapping her arms around her. She barely even noticed that something was being drained out of her, but she didn’t care. This woman was, right now, her whole world.
Pearl’s jaw dropped. The other girls were staring as well. But it was hard to not look away.
It was Cap’n Cuttlefish who turned off the feed. “Noooooooope. Not gonna watch that.”
“That was lewd,” Marina said, looking utterly red in the face. Pearl couldn’t in good conscience disagree with that assessment. Like, seriously, wow.
“How’s Marie’s vitals?” Dr. Light asked.
“They seem to be fine, just a relatively minor energy drain, why?” Ciel asked, checking Marie’s Hero Suit stats.
“Okay, good, she’s not draining poor Marie dry, then,” Dr. Light sighed with some relief in his voice. “That’s the trouble with dealing with succubi… Especially this one.”
Marie slumped down onto her butt, exhausted, panting, and feeling no shortage of shame for multiple different reasons that one would not elaborate on in polite company. However… She couldn’t deny the experience had felt… Really good. “I… Wow… What did you…?”
“Mmm… That was most satisfying. I knew you’d show me a good time. Inklings have such an interesting and delightful taste, and you’re the best yet so far. If I had to guess… I could taste a bit of grape in there. Quite classy,” the Inkling woman said lustfully as she stretched, a pair of black leather wings appearing on her head, and another pair on her back, “should be a decent enough recharge. Be glad I didn’t go all the way. But I don’t do that to most people - it’s just sooooo wasteful. Why suck someone dry when you can leave them alive and have some more fun with them later? Makes a lot more sense that way.”
She leaned forward, kissing Marie on the forehead, sending a shiver of lust through her. “You asked me who I am, well, I think you’ve earned it. My name is Morrigan Aensland. Thanks for the meal, cutie. Next time you go to sleep, you’ll get a very enjoyable dream. I just wish I was there to enjoy it with you~”
As Morrigan opened the door, Marie groaned, getting back up onto her feet, “how much energy did you take?”
“Just enough. Don’t worry, give yourself a few minutes, and you should be able to keep going,” Morrigan smiled.
“Morrigan, why are you here?”
The sound coming directly from the speakers in Marie’s suit surprised her as well. Morrigan blinked as she turned back towards Marie, closing the door again. “Oh, is that Dr. Light? Goodness, it’s been such a long time. I thought you’d be long dead.”
“I am. Don’t dodge the question, I know you’re not merely here to get some thrills. I also presume you’re still the queen of Makai? I admittedly have been out of the loop regarding the supernatural ever since humanity’s extinction.”
Morrigan chuckled, brushing back her hair with her hands, “you sound concerned about the state of Makai, so I’ll tell you. Makai has been dormant until relatively recently, my good Doctor, and yes, I am. Its denizens have had to change and adapt significantly to this new world that it mirrors.”
“I see, but that still doesn’t explain-”
“As much as I’d like to stay and chat, Doctor, I have responsibilities that I must perform,” Morrigan said as she spun around on her heels and walked out the door, closing it behind her. “Ta-ta~!”
That left Marie slumped at the back of the supply closet as she tried to get her breath back, and more confused than anything.
And then the voice of Gramps came in over the comms. “Agent 2! Come in, Agent 2! Do you read me?”
“Yeah, I read you, Gramps,” Marie groaned, as she got up. “I’m still not sure what just happened. Is she some kind of mutant, or…?”
Dr. Light’s voice came over the comms next. “No, she’s a succubus.”
Marie froze in place, trying to process what she just heard. She had to’ve misheard that, that, right? Either that or he was messing with her for some reason. “Dr. Light, was that a joke? Because if it is, I’m not laughing.”
“Oh, I wish. You just had an encounter with the queen of Makai, Morrigan Aensland. Last I saw of her, she looked like a human woman, so it seems she’s changed her appearance to better suit this new world. It seems Inklings and Octolings never developed as much of a biological resistance to a succubus’ touch due to lack of exposure - the denizens of Makai probably went into hibernation after humanity’s extinction, based on what she said.”
Marie groaned. “Cod, seriously?! I just had a make-out session with a succubus?! Ugh, I feel dirty right now. Nobody tell Callie, otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“I’ll say, your footage certainly stirred up some interesting reactions from the ladies here at the Outpost,” said Gramps.
And then Pearl chimed in. “Seriously, girl, that was scandalous. Wouldn’t look out of place in a-” There was the sound of someone smacking her over the head. “Ow, Alia, it was a joke…”
Oh, right, all of the girls there were either lesbians or bisexual. And considering how intense that had been… “Ugh, splat me now…”
Still, no point sitting still. Once she had her energy back, she checked outside the supply closet for any enemies in sight, and then got moving.
As soon as the footsteps came close enough, Iris leaped around the corner, drawing Yamato for a quick, decisive strike. The poor Octoling soldier and the Octotrooper in her range didn’t even have time to react before both were splatted. It was an unpleasant feeling, feeling a steel blade go through flesh, even if no blood appeared to be spilled.
Karlene also successfully ambushed a couple of troopers with her Hero Shot, inking the ground around her and diving into the ink in order to keep moving, and to give Iris some room to quickly move around in.
The incoming forces immediately scattered and backed up, trying to return fire. But the Agent duo pressed their offensive, Karlene keeping up the ranged pressure and keeping the ink flowing as Iris swim between shots, performing quick slashes as she swam, keeping up the pressure-
“Focus on the Inkling and capture her. I’ll deal with the traitor.”
-before a whip curled around the katana, locking it in place as all but one of the Octarians moved to circumvent her, going for Karlene. The one that remained was someone that Iris dreaded seeing. “General Ferham…”
“Hello, Colonel, fancy seeing you here,” Ferham said with a sadistic glint in her eye, keeping the blade locked in place with her ink whip. “I commend you making the best of a poor situation, but I believe that sword belongs to us.”
“Don’t make me hurt you, Ferham,” Iris said, gritting her teeth. Normally she was fairly sure she could take on Ferham, but right now she was at a huge disadvantage. “We don’t have to fight!”
“You have the gall to say that after defecting to the side of our enemies?!” Ferham’s eyes widened, as she tried to wrangle the sword out of Iris’ tentacles. “Throwing away our pride and your family legacy? All because of one stupid song?!”
“You say that because you haven’t heard the Inkantation! It opened my eyes to a world where Inklings and Octolings can live side by side in peace!” Iris grunted as she tried her best to keep a hold of the sword, which was much harder with tentacles. “Octarian pride and family legacy never made me happy! Wearing the mask of a ruthless warrior day in and day out was something I hated! Now I have friends who actually love me for who I really am!”
That actually seemed to make Ferham angrier, but it allowed Iris to slip the sword out of the whip’s hold, and she started striking, trying to move unpredictably. Unfortunately the whip itself was metallic, so Ferham was able to use it to block and deflect her incoming strikes. “The Inklings are just using you. They’ve brainwashed you into believing that!”
“One shouldn’t throw stones from a glass house, General, the Emperor himself has been indoctrinating us since the day we were born! He literally brainwashed Callie when she tried to extend an olive branch to him!” Still, Iris was struggling to attack Ferham. She simply didn’t have the dexterity and flexibility to fight her on even terms.
“She deserved it!” Ferham snapped, using a block as an opportunity to wrap the whip around the blade when Iris was doing a leaping slash, and finally wrenched it out of her tentacles, sending it clattering to the floor. Before Iris could rush to retrieve it, Ferham struck, wrapping the inky whip around her body, immobilising her. “And if it means using the same method to return you to your senses? So be it.”
Iris groaned, looking over towards Karlene - despite her best efforts, the Octarians had pinned her down as well. “No… Ferham, this isn’t right…”
“Might makes right, Colonel. And you’ve lost,” said Ferham, tightening the whip and doing the classic noblewoman’s laugh. “Once you and your friends are ours, we’ll free the Emperor, and then-”
Ferham spun around in surprise, moments before a different sword cleaved right through her, splatting her.
Iris looked on in astonishment as Artemis angrily charged the remaining Octarians, who stared firing at her in a panic as she screamed in rage. However, they were forced out of position by a well-thrown Splat Bomb by Koji coming from the other side, allowing Artemis to pick them off one by one, swinging quickly and efficiently despite her condition. When the fire seemed overwhelming, she’d just block and allow Koji to force them out of position again.
Iris was staring at this spectacle in sheer admiration… Well, more than admiration. Seeing her girlfriend kicking butt and taking names was strangely… Hot. She thought she wasn’t into such displays of violence, but apparently it was more ingrained into her by her Octarian upbringing than she thought.
“Artemis…!” Iris sniffed, hugging her back, tearing up. “You guys saved us… Thank you!”
Artemis blushed, “w-well, you would’ve done the same for me, so…”
“Who the heck was that chick, anyway?” Karlene asked, as she came over with Koji, “you know her, Iris?”
Iris sighed. “General Ferham. She’s been around for a while, like, before I joined up. She’s a prideful, arrogant woman…”
“Also, she dated Callie while she was brainwashed, so, that was a thing,” Pearl said over the comms.
That nearly broke Iris’ brain a bit. “Excuse me?! I… What?!” She could never picture Ferham dating anyone, nevermind Callie.
“That’s a long story that needs explanation, I can imagine,” Koji said. “But we’ve gotta get moving before Ferham and her goons catch up to us again.”
“Affirmative, Agents. Agents 1 & 2 are en route with the new Hero Suits Ciel made - they’re still in the testing phase, but she made enough for all of you just in case,” said the Cap’n. “So far they seem to work alright, they don’t negate the effects of Gate’s fancy device, but it only makes the effects last a few minutes. The ladies back here are working on figuring out how to fully negate it. Agents 3 & 4 seem to have figured out those neck-bands the Octolings are wearing negate the effects entirely, and they’re on the move.”
“Alright, guess we should head Callie and Marie’s way, then,” Artemis said. “Also, the Octarians have a mole in their ranks. Some weird shapeshifting chick bailed Koji and I out of a jam.”
Dr. Light interjected. “Her name is Morrigan Aensland, and she is a succubus from the pre-mollusc era.”
Judging from the baffled expressions shared by the other Agents, it seemed Iris wasn’t the only one who was very confused by that statement. “Doctor, are you sure about that?”
“Oh, yes. Do be wary of her, she’s not necessarily an ally, and will likely to try and drain some energy from you via kiss if she gets the chance. Marie found that out the hard way.”
Pearl chimed in again, “seriously, you should’ve seen it, it was borderline softcore-”
“Pearlie, that’s way too much info as it is! Also, you’re exaggerating! It wasn’t… That lewd…” Marina said.
Iris was blushing profusely at the mental image of Marie kissing another girl, and so was Artemis. “Um… Putting that aside… We should move. Right now.”
Nobody contested that proposal, immediately moving in the direction which they were sure Callie and Marie would be coming from.
Gate, however, looked way too smug when he noticed her and her squad come in. “So much for not underestimating the Agents, eh, General?”
“Shut it, Gate,” Ferham fumed, pulling on her whip, and then noticed the lab had multiple differents squads that had just arrived, and lead by three other generals. “I see you came as well.”
One of the generals cackled, “well, of course! It’s our best chance to finally capture the New Squidbeak Splatoon!” Botos was a larger Octobomber-esque Octarian like the Octo Samurai, but he was even more rotund and used anti-gravity tech to get around with special green suit akin to a jetpack. He was craven and not a lot of people liked him, but he was really good at sucking up to his superiors.
Scarface crossed his arms. He was a well-built male Inkling with his head being covered by a form-fitting black helmet that only exposed his purple eyes and a huge head of long hair going out the back. “I’m just here because I want to take a crack at Ethan and Ayane again in an honourable fight. I hear the robots are pretty powerful too.”
“You’re always eager to get into a fair fight, Scarface,” snorted Red, leaning against a wall. Red had slicked-back hair and an eyepatch, with only one red eye visible. Red’s squad, which he called ‘Red Alert’, was less formal and handled things on their own terms rather than following high command, which they only got away with because they got things done. “That predictability is gonna get you killed one of these days.”
Scarface chuckled. “Someone has to have standards, Red.”
“Can we focus?” Ferham snapped. “The Splatoon are getting away, we need to stop them before that happens!”
Red nodded. “Right. So, apparently the Splatoon has expanded its ranks somewhat?”
“Twelve Agents have infiltrated the base,” Gate said simply, bringing up his own security footage. Of course he hijacked the base’s main security apparatus. “Ten Inklings… And two Octoling traitors, including Colonel Mizuno.”
“Is anyone gonna tell her parents, then? Heh, not it,” Botos chuckled.
“Speaking of parents…” Scarface looked at the Octoling boy in the footage. “Red… Ain’t that…?”
“Well, I’ll be damned, I was wondering what happened to him,” Red chuckled, a slight smirk on his face.
Ferham raised an eyebrow. “I thought you’d be more upset.”
“Hey, kid’s doing pretty well for himself, can’t be mad at that. That’s a pretty inventive use of his abilities, too,” Red chuckled.
An Octoling boy standing next to Red saluted - he had bangs over his right eye and two large tentacles extending out towards the side behind his head. He shared his father’s red eyes. “Fath-uh, Sir, I’d like to fight him myself.”
“Settle down, Lumine, you’ll get the chance soon once we corner ‘em,” said Red, turning to the others, “alright, what’s our strategy? These corridors are too cramped for us to go charging at them all at once.”
Ferham pondered the situation, and decided to take charge. “We need at least one team going in from the front entrance to flank the robots. That’ll be your job, Scarface. Botos, you and your squad should guard the lab. Red, you and I will go after the Agents. Is that agreeable? We need to keep the pressure up as much as possible without giving them an opening to ruin Gate’s work.”
“Fine, fine, whatever,” Botos snorted, arms crossed.
Scarface nodded, heading out, “very well. I look forward to seeing how powerful these robots really are.”
“Sounds good,” Red chuckled, going over to the console, “but lemme do this one thing first.” He pressed the intercom microphone button. “Axl, if you’re hearing this? Get ready, kiddo, because we’re not gonna make this easy for you and your pals.”
“And that’s the gist of it,” said the Cap’n.
“Okay, so we gotta catch up to the others and get those new Hero Suits,” said Liam. “Everyone, let’s move!”
Axl was relieved things were going fairly well now that the four of them were working together. And they seemed to have a clear shot at a retreat to Callie and Marie. So far so go-
No, no no, not him. Why did it have to be him?! And if his squad was here, he probably brought Lumine along too…
“Who the heck was that?” Hinata blinked. “You know him, Axl?”
Orion turned to him, seeing his eyes go wide. “Axl… Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not,” Axl said, shivering. “That’s my father. He’s an Octarian general and the leader of the ‘Red Alert’ squad.”
“Seriously?!” Liam groaned. “You never told us your dad was that much of a big shot!”
Axl sighed, as he gripped his Dualies. “I don’t think it really mattered to me or him. He was always a ‘sink or swim’ kind of guy when it came to his kids. He never had many principles. I guess I should’ve known I’d have to take him on eventually, though. Don’t worry about me. I can take him when the time comes. But his squad ain’t no joke - among their numbers is probably my older brother, Lumine, who is kind of a smug jerk who always thinks he’s the smartest person in the room.”
“Geez, your dad and your older brother, too? Talk about messed up family reunions,” Hinata quipped.
“You won’t be fighting alone, though,” said Orion, hugging him. “We’ll be here.”
“Aw, Ori…” Axl blushed. He didn’t know what he’d do without him.
“Alright, enough of that, we really do gotta move,” said Liam, as he started swimming, “we gotta catch up to the others, fast!”
Axl nodded, and he, Orion and Hinata got moving…
