Roenaldo emerged from the Boss Kettle, he pointed ahead of him and said, "Okay! Another Great Octoweapon defeated! What's next for me?" Agent 1 responded in a surprised tone, "Really?! After all of that, you still want to keep going?" Roenaldo nodded, replying, "Yes, ma'am! I feel energized again after that fight!" Hearing this, Agent 2 said, "Excuse me, what? I'm sorry, but there's just no way that you've got a third wind just now. That's not even a thing!" Roenaldo set the Zapfish down next to him, returning, "Says who? Trust me, you two, I can keep going!" As Roenaldo looked around for a path to his next destination, Agent 1 stated, "Agent 3, we appreciate your concern, we really do. But you're clearly pushing yourself too hard. You have to take a break!" Roenaldo spun his Hero Shot around and retorted, "Why should I take a break when the captain and the Great Zapfish are being held hostage? I've got to save them!" Agent 1 replied, "And you will! But you won't be able to do that if you're too tired to walk! Look at you, you're red as a lobster!" Roenaldo looked at his arm, which was usually a chocolate brown, was starting to become flushed with red. He shrugged, saying, "So, my skin's changing color. Big deal. As they say, no pain, no gain." Agent 2 responded, "Yeah, but your pain will soon lead to no gain. Agent 3, as higher ranking members of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, we're ordering you to rest up. We don't want to see you again until at least tomorrow, do I make myself clear?" Roenaldo tried to interject, but he was stopped. "No buts," said Agent 2, "We're being serious, aren't we, Agent 1?" Agent 1 answered, "I have to agree with her, Agent 3. I don't like to see you struggling like this. Trust me, we can live without the captain and the Great Zapfish right now. What matters is that we rescue the both of them eventually, right?" Roenaldo thought about this for sone time. His first thoughts were to ignore the words of the two agents, but he knew better than that. Besides, they were right; he was pushing himself too hard. "…Okay," he said finally, "You win. I'll go back home and rest up." Agent 1 responded, "That's the spirit, Agent 3. I hope that you enjoy yourself while you're away so that we can finish this!" Roenaldo wordlessly jumped back to Cuttlefish Cabin, dropping off the Zapfish before taking the route back up to Inkopolis.
Roenaldo looked up at the sky and widened his eyes in surprise; it was morning when he entered Octo Valley, and now it was evening! "Wow," he said to himself, "Time sure flies." He put his hands on his pockets and walked towards his house; it was time for him to begin dinner. As he walked, he could feel the presence of an individual behind him. He turned around to find none other than Gustavo. "Heya," he said, "What's been going on with you?" Roenaldo shrugged and answered, "Nothing much. I just got back from doing…something." Gustavo looked closer at Roenaldo before continuing, "You look a little rough. Why don't I treat you to a little something to make you feel better?" Roenaldo was put off by this sudden act of kindness. Despite his suspicion, he didn't want to turn down free food. "Okay," he said, "I don't see why not." So, Gustavo led Roenaldo to the outskirts of Inkopolis Plaza, walking along sidewalks and roads to end up at a restaurant called Snail Express. The two Inklings made their orders and sat at an empty table. Despite the establishment's name, the food came very quickly, and both squids started enjoying their meal.
"So," said Gustavo between bites of his mushroom tuna noodles, "Now that I've got your attention, would you mind telling me what you were doing in that sewer?" Roenaldo almost choked on his mackerel broccoli noodles. He swallowed hard and said with a pained face, "…You saw that?" Gustavo spun his chopsticks, responding, "Sure did. In fact, I caught you in the act this morning." Roenaldo could not believe his ears. He was sure that he made his entrances to the manhole quickly and without detection. Why did he have to get caught now?" Gustavo went on, "So, unless I'm mistaken, you're no plumber. Why, then, did you dive headfirst down that hole?" Roenaldo ate a bit more of his food as he tried to think of an excuse. "Well," he stayed after chewing on a broccoli head, "That manhole leads to a series of pipes, you know? One of those pipes lead to my secret base. Yeah, I made that little hideout all by myself. Used sticks, drapes, you name it. I used to be the only person who knew about that place, but I guess the secret's out, huh?" He smiled friendlily before going back to his food. Gustavo, however, did not believe a word. "You're lying." He said. Roenaldo twirled some noodles around his fork and responded, "What makes you say that?" Gustavo pointed his fork at Roenaldo's leg and answered, "Your leg's twitching. Believe me, I know these signs." Seeing this, Roenaldo immediately ceased his movement. Gustavo then leaned forward a bit and said, "Come on, man, why you gotta lie to me? I'm your friend, right? What've you got to hide?" Roenaldo hid his face under his baseball cap as he chewed on a mackerel steak. "Gustavo," he said, "You don't understand…"
He paused as he thought about the situation. Yes, it was true that his role as an agent was supposed to remain a secret, but what was the harm in letting one person know about it. They were alone, anyway. Roenaldo finished ¾ of his bowl before stating, "You know what, I give. What I just told you was only the half-truth. Yes, that manhole leads to a secret area, but not one made by me. At the end of that pipe is a place called Octo Valley." Gustavo raised his eyebrows, saying, "Octo Valley? What sort of place is that?" Roenaldo cut up a broccoli stem, responding, "It's this place underground where these people named Octarians live. Some of them look pretty weird, like these ones that are just tentacles, others that are one-eyed spheres, and even one that is just a paper stamp. There are also these ones called Octolings that look like us, but they're taller, have different looking tentacles, and are way less nice." He shook his head and continued, "But that's besides the point. These Octarians stole something from us: the Great Zapfish!" A surprised look fell on Gustavo's face as he said, "Really? The Octarians are the reason for this? To tell the truth, I thought that aliens were the cause, like Callie suggested." Roenaldo shook his head, replying, "Nope. Well, I wouldn't blame you for thinking that; the Octarian's technology is out of this world. In fact, that UFO we were exploring belonged to them. Anyway, I go down there because I was hired by this old war veteran, Cap'n Cuttlefish, to be Agent 3, and my job is to find out where the Great Zapfish is being held." Gustavo nodded, stating, "Sounds cool. How's that working out for you?" Roenaldo's face turned glum as he answered, "Not very well. Cap'n Cuttlefish recently got squidnapped by the Octarians." Gustavo frowned and responded, "Ah, unfortunate. How do you think he's doing right now?" Roenaldo looked to the sky, replying, "I can't say for certain. But these two other agents contacted me saying that Cuttlefish had sent a distress signal to them. So, at least he isn't dead. But still, I'm very worried for him. He's like a grandpa to me, you know?" Gustavo ate thoughtfully before saying, "I know the feeling. I have a grandma back home that's sweet as a plum. I would be devastated if anything happened to her." By then, Gustavo had finished his noodles and he said to Roenaldo, "So, all this stuff about Octarians, Zapfish, and captains sounds very interesting, but something's bothering me. Why were you trying to keep it secret? Something like this sounds important." Roenaldo ate some of the cut-up broccoli and responded, "Captain's orders. He said that me telling people about all this would cause panic in Inkopolis." Gustavo nodded again as he said, "Ah, makes sense. Well, don't worry, Roenaldo, my lips are sealed!" He smiled at his friend as he continued, "By the way, judging by how tired you looked when I saw you, you must've been working your butt off in Octo Valley. I guess you care a lot about your job, right?" Roenaldo nodded as he ate the last of his noodles. Gustavo grinned as he said, "I figured that you would be like that. When I first met you, you seemed to be quite the determined Inkling, even if you were a little unprofessional. You're a good squid." He then got up and extended his hand out to Roenaldo before saying, "Thank you for telling me about this, man. Best of luck to you in finding both the Great Zapfish and that captain of yours. If you're as hardworking asI think you are, then you'll finish the job for sure." Roenaldo accepted the handshake, stating, "Thanks a lot, Gustavo. I appreciate the support." Gustavo smiled and responded, "Anytime dude!" He started walking away, doing a peace sign as he said, "See you around!"
Roenaldo sighed, happy to have gotten that matter off his chest. With a relieved conscience, he headed back to his house to sleep. He was going to need all of his energy for what was to come tomorrow.