"Level 10...I guess I can do Anarchy Battle now." NESU says to herself as she walks through the crowded streets of Splatsville. As she was going to Grizzco, she finds herself in front of a wall with hundreds of missing posters. Since she had nothing better to do, she decided to call up Four to see if she would go with her.
Four did not pick up. NESU goes to her house and peers in through the window. Nothing. She looks all over Inkopolis Square and finally finds her, but Four seems...off. She's slightly slouching and spaced out, contrasting her usual self. NESU waves her hand in front of her eyes but nothing happened.
"Poke, poke. Hey, I'm back. Is this an alternative way of sleeping?" Obviously, no. And it wasn't just Four; everyone in Inkopolis Square stood there, as if they were frozen in time. Seeing nothing could be done about it, NESU takes her Reef-Lux 450 and heads out into the Splatlands.
The Crater, that strange landmark, every alley, every train station, no one was there. Walking through the streets into the desert, NESU looks closely at the rocks for a clue as to where at least one of them is. As she nears the Outer Splatlands Desert, she stops because the sand she's standing on is denser than all the other sand.
Suddenly, the ground caves beneath her! Surprisingly, it wasn't like falling down the Crater to Alterna, the walls weren't made out of dirt; they were made of metal. It's barely noticeable at first, but the tube slowly curves into a slide! "Wee. This is kinda fun." NESU looked around and saw there were cameras zooming in on her hair, eyes, teeth, and ears; she thought nothing of it and continued to slide. When she reached the bottom, there was an entire underground city.
"Like the kettles that Captain and Four went in..." she muttered to herself as she took notice of how cold it was. Walking around, the place was dark and empty. No one else was there, yet everything looked well kept, even on the inside. "Maybe it was abandoned recently." NESU explores the place for hours, looking to see if the missing turflings were kept anywhere. A multitude of footsteps broke the silence. NESU knew she had to run. "Many footsteps signify many people-" she said as she hid in a box. The battery has run out.
Dawn has come, and yet she's still here. Since she is in a dark box, she can't charge. NESU would stay here forever if it wasn't for someone opening that box. The stranger was shocked, to say the least; they did find a "person" in there, anyway. Being exposed to the sun, NESU is slowly waking up; meanwhile the stranger is panicking because she isn't breathing. "Oh no, is she dead?!" Robo girl arises to interact with the stranger...in a very unfriendly manner. She points her Reef-lux directly at the confused octoling.
"Enemy soldier, prepare to die." They yelp and cover their face with their hands, shaking. "DON'T KILL ME!" Seeing that she wasn't hostile, NESU lowers her weapon and flatly apologizes. "You are not a threat. Sorry." The octoling realizes that they are both scared and puts their hands down. "It's...ok? I'm Takozo, by the way. You must be new to Frozen Octernal, huh?"
"I am NESU. Frozen...Octernal? Is that what this place is called?" she asks her new friend, her vision wandering to the TV studded sky. "Well, yeah! C'mon, I'll show you around!" Takozo raises her fist in the air to signal a "This Way!" NESU follows close by as Takozo leads her through the crisp, biting city. She found it weird that 1: There were only Octarians, and 2: They're all wearing what can only be described as a fashionable amalgamation of enemy gear. "Hmm."
"So, that's the clothes store, the shoe store, the hat store, but you want to go home, right? Let's go to the edge of Frozen Octernal. That's the way out."
They talk about random stuff to get to know each other. "So, what were you doing in that box?"
"Oh, I was...sleeping." NESU answers casually.
Takozo is only half surprised that her new friend's response was so nonchalant. "It is what it is, am I right? But why did you come here?"
"I'm here to look for missing inklings. Are there any here?"
"Nope, none."
NESU is disappointed at this, but she still wants to make conversation. "Bummer. Anyway, why is it so cold? Did the AC break?"
"Yeah, basically. We can't turn it off, so that's why we wear these." Takozo points to her thick gear.
"Ok, understandable. Oh, we're here."
Finally, they make it to the edge. On the wall, there is a kettle that leads up. "I hope that you will visit again, Nesu. And without trying to shoot me." Takozo said, that last part teasing. NESU waves goodbye and jumps into the kettle. After coming out of the desert, she runs off to Inkopolis Square again to check on Four.
