Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Air is seeping in the dusk
I just can't help myself from falling
Into something greater bеyond these walls
They'rе dragging me closer
I know I've seen these places in my dreams
And I've woke up to them”

The first thing they felt was a strange discomfort in their members.

No... not exactly a discomfort... It was stronger and intense.

Pain.

Why were they feeling pain?

How did they feel pain?

...

Who...

... Who was they?

"... Hey ... Are you awake?"

A voice was captured in their ears, unlike the song that was echoing in their minds. Slowly, feeling their eyelids strangely heavy, they managed to force themselves to find out whom the voice belonged.

A young Inkling's worried face was now in their field of view, an expression that quickly changed to surprise, and then relieves.

“Oh! Thanks to Cod, you are alive! You were so quiet that I was starting to worry! ” Inkling commented, moving away a little. They took the opportunity to get up in a sitting position, feeling his head throb.

“Guh! I see that the other plague is also standing! ”

A new, deep voice caught their attention. They turned and came across a great red Octoling in their swim form, using some kind of ancient military helmet. Scars also covered some of his tentacles, an X-shaped scar is highlighted by its crossed tentacles.

For some reason, they are not impressed.

“I was also starting to get terrified that this guy would be my only company here! I'm sure I would go crazy! ” Inkling's words were spoken so excitedly that it seemed that she was mocking the Octoling. He certainly thought so, since he turned his face to the other side.

Turning again, they took a better look at Inkling. Her tentacles were very short, just touching her shoulders, in a dark yellow tone with the ends tending to orange, her eyes have deep  dark green. One of her ears had a small cut at the end, and the tip of her fingers seemed a little sharp. She wore a black shirt without a sleeve, a shorts of the same color and boots, and had two neon yellow bracelets that were on the ankle and her wrist.

A quick look down made them confirm that they also wore the same clothes, including the strange bracelets.

In facing the place, they also realized that it was in some kind of station, with some structures that made them remember a subway, with the doors, or locked, or with ribbons blocking the passage. Right above them, there was a hole with broken pipes and broken strands. Behind the orange Inkling, there was a train standing with one of the doors open, seeming to be the only safe exit where they were.

Hmm. Convenient.

They touched their tentacles. The two in the front were larger than the orange Inkling, easily passing from their elbows, in a greenish yellow tone, with the ends darkening to black. They had some scars in them, but not as obvious as the Octoling. Their fingers also seemed sharp, and something said they were not even near the normal length. All of this has not helped anything in their doubt about who they are.

"You also have no idea what is happening, do you?" The Orange Inkling asked, sitting next to them. They just stared at her, but apparently it was enough, as she gave a small smile. “Yeah, me either. When I woke up, I was already here, with you passed out by my side and this guy screaming with me about the fight not over.”

“This is because it is over! You were just lucky that we were suddenly attacked by someone, or my protégé, Agent 8, would have ended with you!” The octoling shouted, pointing one of the tentacles for them. Their only reaction was to raise an eyebrow.

“Yep, I have no idea what he's talking about. He kept saying this and would wait for you to wake up to kick our butt together because there is no honor to defeat someone fell or something.” Inkling shrugged, leaning a little toward them. "Do you have any idea?"

They frowned a little, trying to remember. The name 'Agent 8' sounds vaguely familiar, but they have no idea who can be. In fact, they couldn't remember anything, the only thing they remembered was a heavenly music that was still echoing in the back of their brain.

They looked up again. Based on the fact that their whole body hurts, especially their head, they would say they fell from there. And as they can't see the top, it must be a deep place.

If they fell from that height, and if they hit their heads during the fall...

"..." They opened their mouths, sucking the air a little. A strange metallic taste invaded their tongue, but they ignored in favor of talking about what they were thinking. "... Fall."

It was just a word, but for some reason, their whole body was tense when their words came out. Their throat also contracted involuntarily, their vocal cords seeming to burn with the movement, as if not used to that movement.

Aren't they used to talking ...?

The other two blinked, the octoling looking almost shocked. Inkling just looked up too, gently hitting her forefinger in the chin thoughtfully.

"... You mean... We fall from up there, and when we reach the ground, we end up losing our memories?" She nodded to herself a few times. “Yeah, it makes sense. When I woke up, I had a brute headache. ”

This time it was their turn to blink. Had... Had she understood everything they meant with just that word? Really?

... In that case...

"... Music..."

"Music? Oh! Do you mean that song that seemed to play in my head before I wake up? Did you hear it too when you were waking up? ” They nodded. She laughed. “This weird, isn't it? We lose our memory, but this specific song is the first and only thing we remember. ”

She began to humming that strange song, and they can't avoid hitting their finger softly on their thigh at the rhythm. For some reason, that song brought comfort to them, and considering their situation, they would accept any kind of comfort they could have.

With the corner of their eye, they noticed the Octoling frowning, thoughtful. His posture had also changed, looking less tense and agitated and more confusing and contemplative.

"... I know this song." The Octoling suddenly commented, drawing the attention of both Inkling. “This is... Calamari Inkantation, at least that's how I remember that your species call it. It is an old song that our species found in a ruined city of your species, and some of mine decided to sing during the fight between Agent 8 and a crazy scientist. ” He finally turned completely to them. "Could this song, this heavenly melody, have echoed in your soul?"

None of them said, not only because they were just vaguely aware of what they were talking about, but they also had the feeling that the answer he sought was not necessary to be said.

"... So you really are like them..." Those whispered words were for himself, but they listened anyway. The Octoling straightened his posture, somehow managing to seem proud and embarrassed at the same time. “In that case, I must apologize for my actions. If I knew it earlier, I would never have been sending Agent 8 to attack you! ”

“Don't worry, didn't you say we were attacked by other people? We fight or not, I really don't think I would have changed the end result. ” The Inkling said carefree. “But now that we are in the same page, can you tell us who you are? Among us, you are the only one who still seems to have memories. ”

“Gyah ha ha! If you want to know so much, I'm DJ Octavio! Leader of the Octarians and current captain of the great New Octogrip Splatoon! ” For some reason, he laughed at the end of his presentation. They were honestly impressed by the change of attitude that DJ Octavio had when he discovered their situation.

Exactly how important is this song?

DJ Octavio stopped laughing and looked around, putting one of the tentacles where his chin should be.

"Tell me, what do you think of making a collaboration?" He asked and pointed out where the train was. “It seems that this is our only way out, and we have no idea if there are still enemies after here. So I believe it would be better for us to synchronize our beats. At least, we even left here. ”

The two Inkling looked at each other, with the orange shrugging and leaning her heads with an eyebrow raised. Although saying nothing, they knew exactly what she was asking.

Are you okay with that?

Their answer was to get up and extend their hand to help the Orange Inkling, both soon following DJ Octavio.

***

This is Deepsea Metro Central Station, the realio dealio central hub of the facility. Here is your CQ-120 and CQ card.

The two Inklings just blinked while two cards and two objects similar to a flat submarine with a control of the strange telephone that spoke to them. They hesitated with a second before taking one of each, with the Telephone continuing to speak and seeming to be calling someone.

“‘ Applicant 10.003 and Applicant 10.004 ’? What a stupid title! ” DJ Octavio complained, looking a little suspicious of the Telephone. What made the Orange Inkling turns to him.

"You think?"

“Of course! It's too long and practically says nothing beyond what your arrival order was! ” He crossed his arms. “I can name the number of my agents, but I let them choose their own titles and use them! The only reason why I call Agent 8 simply 'Agent 8' is because she doesn't care if I call her for her title or her number! ”

"A title ..." The Orange Inkling looked at them for a few seconds, then looked at her CQ-20 and then DJ Octavio, before looking at them again. They also looked at their CQ, the numbers 10,003 recorded in the corner of their card.

10.003 ...

They looked at her and nodded.

She smiled.

"Hey, Octavio ..."

"What?"

"What do you think then call us Agent 3 and Agent 4?"

"... You aren't yet in my splatoon, even using these titles, combined?"

"Combined!"

The newly named Agent 3 turned to the tracks as the sound of the train approached. The train looked incredibly simple on the outside, considering everything that had been explained to them, and the three entered the moment the doors opened. The faster they ended what they needed, the faster they would leave here.

As soon as they entered, they were greeted by a translucent sea cucumber using a hat that presented itself as C.Q. Cumber, the driver and subway guide. He explained about the various lines of the subway, and that completing the tests can make a new line of the subway available.

The goal was simple: complete the tests and find the four thangs that are somewhere on these lines. Once this is done, they can go to the Promised Land.

For some reason, Agent 3 always felt a shiver when they heard this 'Promised Land'.

“Let me show you to your first test. One of you, please press the CQ-120's left side button” He asked. Agent 4 quickly did and a holographic screen appeared in front of them, causing Agent 3 to blink, DJ Octavio tilt his head and Agent 4 to whistle in appreciation. The holographic screen was mostly empty, except for a yellow line that connected to a circle that marked where they were and a small red circle next to it. “This is the Deepsea Metro map. Go ahead and select the destination for us to go to the first test.”

Once this is done, C.Q. Cumber left to guide the train, and the three of them sat in the chairs to wait. It didn't take long, in fact, to reach the destination, but possibly because this was the first test, it must be the closest. Upon arriving at the station, C.Q. Cumber advised that only they and Agent 4 could descend, leaving a sullen and worried Octavio behind, along with their CQ-120s, as only the cards were needed.

“An each station, you will be able to choose one of the weapons that is available, exceptions in just a few. The rewards are how much CQ points you will receive for passing the tests, which are required in order to take each test.” He explained as he guided them to a capsule, where they could get the available weapon there.

Just a Splattershot and Splat bombs on this one, but it makes sense that the initial test would have the simpler choice. Which means this test should also be simple.

Perhaps. Probably.

Agent 3 stared at the gun and looked at Agent 4, she nodded discreetly.

“These tests… Is there anything in them that we should be concerned about?” she asked, turning to C.Q. Cumber. He lifted himself off the ground a little, seeming to look up in contemplation.

“This test is very simple, just defeat your opponents and reach the end of the map, so no. In the others, however... I suggest trying to pass whenever possible on the first try.” One of his limbs reached out to point at the ink tank. “If you end up failing any objective in the test, it will automatically be considered a failure and the tank will explode with your opponent's ink.”

This made Agent 3 look down at their ink tank, noting now that it appeared to be bigger than it should have been, but it was still light. Probably due to this extra function of filling up with enemy ink, there must be some device that forces the ink color to change to be able to do this.

A small part of them just wanted to throw it away from them. The rest, however, simply accepted it as one more fact about this place that they would have to get used to. Tests are supposed to be challenging things that push participants to their limits, and what better way to encourage that than knowing there's a threat right behind you?

This is how testing should be done. Or at least they think they are.

Agent 4 frowned a little, but didn't look surprised or scared. Probably having a similar train of thought as theirs.

"Well, at least now we know what happens if we fail..." Agent 4 sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. “One more question: Is it okay for us both to take this test at the same time?”

“I will probably have to have a meeting to discuss cooperation between you in the other tests...” C.Q. Cumber seemed to flatten out a little to the floor as he spoke. “But in this one in particular, as this is the first test, I don’t see a problem.”

"Okay, that's all we needed to know." Agent 4 approached the door and opened it, being pulled inside, but not before shouting, "Thanks for the heads up!"

“Take care out there.”

Nodding to the sea cucumber, Agent 3 quickly darted through the door before it slammed shut, landing next to Agent 4, whose small smile she always carried had completely disappeared. The two quickly looked around, seeing nothing but a large room, with trees made out of plastic and some enemy paint smeared on the floor. Almost in the center of the room there were some metal blocks on top of each other, forming a small tower.

Agent 3 grabbed Agent 4's shoulder, nodding toward the small turret. Agent 4 nodded and stepped back, letting the other agent-named approach, their gun ready to fire.

Their caution was well rewarded, as just as they could get a better look at the tower, someone emerged from the ink overhead. A strange Inkling with green tentacles and glowing eyes with a gun. The exact moment it spotted Agent 3, it quickly aimed its gun and started shooting.

Agent 3 was quick on their feet, dodging the shots while firing back. They looked to the side and jumped back, moving away from the enemy's range. When the enemy descended to attack them again, Agent 4 took advantage and fired a sequence of shots at its back, splating its at the time.

Hmm. Very easy.

Agent 4 approached the enemy ink and touched it with a finger, giving a small yelp and quickly backing away while flicking her finger. Agent 3 reached over in concern and took her hand, noticing that her finger had taken on a reddish tint that was slowly fading.

It almost looked like...

"Yeah. That ink burns, and not the way enemy ink should.” She answered their inner question. She flicked her hand once more before returning to her gun. “No wonder C.Q. Cumber asked that we get past the objective on the first try whenever we could. It's definitely going to hurt if it gets splated by that paint."

Giving a small grunt, Agent 3 turned towards the door it had just opened at the back of the tower. Even from a distance, they could see at least five more towers like the one in this room, which means more enemies. They frowned as they approached and shot the ground beside them.

“Hide.”

Agent 4 dove into the ink, with Agent 3 painting the floor in front of them some more to give Agent 4 more mobility before fully entering the room and continuing to spread the ink. They felt a strange sensation in their tank, as if they had run out of ink, but quickly that sensation disappeared and they continued shooting. And they kept shooting.

Hmm. Strange.

Again, enemies appeared on top of the towers, this time three. A Brella, a Roller and a Dualies. They all aimed at Agent 3, who was already prepared and started the attack. Roller swooped down and tried to hit them, which they dodged but quickly backed away due to Dualies. A shot towards its was intercepted by Brella, and they were again attacked by Roller.

A small snarl came out of their mouth and they threw a bomb near the turret, spilling more of their ink. The enemies aren't as strong, Roller's attack was a bit sloppy, Dualies' aim wasn't as good, and the only thing Brella did was protect. But the fact that the three of them were together left few openings for them to fight back, and it was starting to get annoying.

Their ink that was right under the Dualies let out some bubbles, and they ended up stepping on a piece of wood from some destroyed box.

Without hesitation, they picked up the piece of wood and hurled it at the Dualies. Brella's shield wasn't enough to protect them and Brella started to lose balance while Dualies was forced to roll to the ground.

Directly to Agent 4.

She emerged from the ink just as the Dualies' feet hit the ground, hitting her weapon like a club right on its heads. With the enemy losing focus, Agent 4 quickly kicked its legs, knocking its down and taking its weapons. She let out a small grunt of pain as she forced her ink to replace that of the enemy that was still in the weapon, but as soon as she did, she shot the fallen enemy in the head, eliminating its.

Realizing this, Roller tried to do a diagonal attack to push Agent 3 away and go towards Agent 4, but the attack stopped mid-movement. Roller turned, only to see Agent 3 holding Roller by the handle, gun pointed directly at its head. A single shot and now only one enemy remained, who quickly took aim at Agent 3.

Its efforts proved fruitless, however, as Agent 4 painted the walls of the tower and swam upwards, executing a charge that knocked both of them down before it could fire. Brella lifted himself off the ground a little, only to see a roller hurtling towards its, crushing its head and splating it.

A pause was made, both agent-named were silent for a few seconds, waiting to see if another enemy would appear. When all that happened was a glow appear on a platform at the end of the room, they both relaxed a little. Agent 3 quickly dropped the Roller and looked at their hand, still a little red from holding the enemy's weapon that still leaked that weird green ink, but it wasn't sore like before.. Agent 4 also dropped the Dualies and retrieved her weapon of choice, closing in on Agent 3.

“I liked these Dualies, it felt… natural to use them. But I think we have to complete the missions with the weapons given to us... They never said anything about not using the opponents' weapons in battle though.” She shrugged with a small smile, which dimmed a bit as she stopped beside Agent 3. "Are you okay?"

Agent 3 fiddled with their hand a little before turning to Agent 4 and nodding. That brought her smile back to its former size, and they both fixed their weapons as they approached the platform. As soon as they stepped on it, it opened and a holographic glow said “TEST PASSED!” appeared, as well as an arrow written 'Exit' and pointing to the hole.

The two agent-named glanced at each other before Agent 4 shrugged and jumped. Agent 3 blinked before huffing and rolling their eyes, a little amused at the recklessness the other was showing, before also jumping up.

The two were ejected to the station where the test had begun, being greeted by C.Q. Cumber. The train doors soon opened, and they got on, being greeted by DJ Octavio, who looked a little pale as he stared at them. Agent 3 took out their CQ-120, pressing the button on the side that was beeping. When the holographic map appeared, two new dots on the yellow line had appeared.

“Congratulations... You passed your first test. New stations are now available for you to visit and test your skills within. You can choose freely which available stations you want to go to, you can even retake a test if you wish. Safe travels...” That said, C.Q. Cumber headed towards the front of the train, leaving the three passengers in that car alone.

“…I don't know about you, but I'm curious to know if there are any vending machines around here where I can buy a snack before I go to the next test. What do you say?” Agent 4 asked, crossing her arms behind her head in a relaxed pose.

Now that she said it, their belly felt kind of empty... A snack before another test sounds good.

Before they could give their opinion, or Agent 4 guess what they wanted, a static sound began to echo in the car. They turned to the source of the sound, which was DJ Octavio, looking as surprised as they were when he pulled a radio from inside the helmet he wears.

“No way… Is it still working?” DJ Octavio had a hopeful glint in his eyes as he started fiddling with the radio. “Agent 8! Agent 8, can you hear me?”

For a moment, the static continued, and DJ Octavio continued to stare at the radio as if it were the most valuable thing he had ever found.

And then, an excited voice answered something incomprehensible.

Agent 3 blinked, unsure how to react. What exactly was it? Was it some kind of warning or threat, or was someone actually trying to communicate but getting interference? Judging by the way Agent 4 tilted her head and frowned, she had no idea either. But before they could argue about it, another voice, calmer and softer, spoke:

“You are holding that upside down.”

"Oh... Hi? Can you hear us now?”

“Wait a moment…” DJ Octavio perked up at those voices, looking both shocked and relieved. “Callie? Marie?”

“… Gramps Tavi?”

“Wait, Grampa Tavio? Is that you?"

“Callie! Marie! It's really you!” The Octoling's expression turned suddenly grim. “How did you get that signal? Marie, don't tell me that..."

“I wasn't trying to make another Factopedia about the Octogrip Splatoon, Grampa Tavio! Have a little more faith in me!” The soft-voiced one, Marie, exclaimed, sounding a little embarrassed.  DJ Octavio did as close to an eyebrow raise as swim form could.

“It's true, Gramps Tavi! We were just walking around Mount Nantai when Marie's radio started picking up interference!” The excited voice, probably Callie, said. “Where are you, by the way? We're close to Squid Valley, but you said you and Hachi were going on a Super-Ultra-Secret mission or something!”

“We were on a mission, but we got ambushed by someone, and it looks like we got dragged underground.” DJ Octavio sighed worriedly. "And now, Agents 3 and 4 need to get the... 'Thangs', so we can get out of this place and find Agent 8."

“Have you recruited new agents?”

“HACHI IS GONE?!” Callie's scream almost completely drowned out Marie's question, and it made DJ Octavio jump off the bench in surprise.

“GYAH! Don't yell like that all of a sudden, Callie! You almost stop the beat of one of my hearts!” Callie let out a small moan, and Agent 3 didn't know if she said 'sorry' or 'woomy'. “No, I didn't recruit new agents. They just chose those titles because they don't remember their real names.” He took a short break. “They are just like you two.”

The radio was silent for a moment, long enough for the two agent-named to start to worry. Then, Marie spoke again, her voice trembling slightly.

“Are… Are they Inklings? Did the Calamari Inkantation free them too?”

"Yes. But it's not just that.” He again paused as he looked at the two Inklings, looking wary for a moment. “Agent 8 seemed to recognize them when we met, and they have a cut on the tip of their left ears… Not only are they Inklings, they are also experiments that managed to escape.”

...

... What?

Chapter Text

"Promise I'll stay here 'till the morning
And pick you up when you're falling
When the rain gets rough, when you've had enough
I'll just sweep you off your feet and fix you with my love
My only one
My only one"

If someone had asked Four if she was okay, she would have said no, but she would have appreciated their concern.

The memory loss had worried her a little at first, but she had pushed it aside in favor of focusing on her current mission of getting out of this place with Three and Octavio. The warnings Q.C. Cumber had given her had hinted that the tests would only get more complicated, but she had expected that. Octavio having supported someone enough to adopt them and make them his granddaughters (at least that's what Four thought it was, they could very well be just young girls who liked to call him that) was surprising, but if they could help her get out of here faster, she would be very grateful.

The part about her and Three apparently being experiments...

... She was still processing that.

“What do you mean by that?” She asked, tilting her head slightly. Beside her, she could see Three blinking rapidly. Which obviously meant they were as lost as she was. Octavio looked at them with that strange look he usually did when he found something disturbing. Maybe she should have asked more calmly or disinterestedly? She pointed to her own head. “Don’t tell me you forgot that we don’t remember anything? Amnesia is supposed to be our thing, you know?”

For some reason, her attempt at a joke only made him look more disturbed.

“...That's... A long story to share on the radio.” Marie answered hesitantly. Four did her best not to let her face show how shaken she was by her voice. By Cod, her voice was divine! So beautiful, with a soft frequency, but with an incredible hidden strength... Four forced the blush that wanted to appear on her face to retreat. “The best summary we have is that there is this mad scientist. He... Took on the role of leader and forced several of us to become his guinea pigs for some experiment he had.” Her voice shook slightly when she spoke about taking over the leadership. Subtle, almost imperceptible, but Four was mesmerized enough to notice.

She recognized that tremble in her voice. It happened when someone spoke of something that was painful to them. Something emotionally painful, the trembling of physical pain is different. She probably knew the old leader, or at least it was someone whose leadership she liked and missed.

“Everyone who was experimented on had some kind of modification to their bodies, and a cut on their ear to mark them as an experiment.” This time it was Callie, and again Four avoided reacting. Her voice was as beautiful as Marie’s, but it held some kind of different strength in it, one that made Four want to fight or submit to it. “Some of us were luckier than others. If you can speak and think normally, it means you’re lucky like us!”

Most of those who were experimented on ended up losing their rationality or regressing to animalistic mentality, then. That, or they simply died from whatever this scientist had done to them. Some kind of genetic modification, obviously, since all the scars she saw on herself or Three were from battle and not surgery.

“So... Basically, there’s a scientist who wanted to make either a biological weapons army or simply ‘improve’ our species as a whole. So he assassinated the former leader, took his power by force, captured anyone who could be a threat or who couldn’t do anything against him even if they tried and turned them into his experiments. He did some kind of genetic modification on us, which some couldn’t handle, and probably some kind of brainwashing to turn the successful experiments into servants. But this Agent 8, or some other octarian, realized something was going on, found some way to free us from this brainwashing and try to help us.” Four summarized, closing her eyes while nodding to herself. In fact, this story seemed quite long, and there were probably still more things or important details that they had to leave out to compact everything. “That’s a hell of a character’s backstory. I’m kind of glad I can’t remember it, I bet it was traumatic to live through.”

Silence.

Four opened her eyes, confused by the sudden silence. Octavio was staring at her again like he does when he thinks she’s done something disturbing and scary. The radio was still giving off static, so it was on, but neither Callie nor Marie were talking. She turned to Three, who blinked and stared at her, which they did when they were shocked by what she said.

“... What?” She asked, a little uncomfortable with suddenly becoming the center of attention.

“... Details...”

Details? Maybe she had exaggerated the summary and given too many details? No. If that were the case, Three and Octavio’s reaction would be different. More uncomfortable or irritated, perhaps. They were surprised. Surprised why?

...Because she explained in detail what happened?

“... Ah! How did I get so many details from that summary?” Three stared at her, that was a yes. She looked away and shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea. People speak or react and I interpret it as best and with as much detail as possible to make sense to me. That’s how I know what you mean.” She looked back at Three, one eyebrow raised. “You don’t do that?”

Three shook their head. Hmm. Curious.

“... It’s just as I imagined...” Octavio suddenly commented. Four and Three turned around, Octavio had his eyes closed and one of his tentacles massaging the right side of his head. A headache forming or just exasperation? “Since Agent 8 had recognized you, I was under the impression that you were from the ‘Elite’... Now I’m sure that you’re a ‘Soldier and Specialist’ duo.”

“...That’s not very good, is it?” Four asked, not really expecting an answer, she already knew the answer was yes. Octavio looked at her with an arched eyebrow.

“Let’s just say Agent 8 is very good at her job, and in all the dangers she’s been in, the only time she’s genuinely almost died was in an encounter with a duo like you.”

Oh. It's even worse than she thought.

...But it gave her an idea.

“...If we’re ‘Elite’, then there must be some information about us somewhere, right?” She placed her hand on her chin thoughtfully. “Do either of you two know who we are?”

“Maybe!” Callie replied, her cheerful voice no different from before. Either she had already recovered from the shock or she hadn’t even been that surprised by what Four had said. “But we’ll need to see your faces to confirm, the elite duos rarely spoke to anyone other than their Partners, so we’re not sure if your voice sounds familiar.”

Partners. With emphasis on the P. The scientist must have done something with what he considered ‘elite’ that caused specific pairs of Inklings who survived the experiments to come together and create some kind of strong relationship, similar to symbiosis. Maybe that’s what makes Four understand Three so well, even though they’re so quiet and silent. Octavio said that Four and Three are similar to Callie and Marie, and she wonders if it’s just because they were also experiments who survived and escaped or if the two of them are also one of those ‘elites’, with a relationship similar to the one Four and Three have.

“We’ll have to go back home so I can get my hacking equipment, not just for that, but also to help you all on your mission. We don’t know where you guys are and I don’t really like this ‘doing challenges without help to get released from where you are’ thing, it sounds too familiar to me...” Marie commented, a slight irritated hiss in her voice. Probably where they came from, they had to do tests on the scientist’s orders, could that be why Four and Three didn’t feel too bothered when C.Q. Cumber explained what they would do? Because they were both already used to it? Was this how the ‘elites’ decided who they wanted as Partners or the scientist they chose? “When we get what we need, we can try to hack the system to help you guys, or try to find Hachi while you’re in the tests.”

“I’d appreciate it if you did, I don’t really like the vibe this place gives off either.” Octavio sighed. The radio went silent, signaling that the girls had turned it off, and the trio sat there quietly for a moment, unsure of what to do. Four felt her stomach churn and quickly remembered what she had originally wanted to do.

“So...” She turned to Three, who also turned to her. “... Do you want to come with me to see if we can find something to eat?”

***

A few hours later, when the radio station turned on again, she and Three had already passed two tests to get the 8-ball to the end, freeing up two more train tracks. It was a really tough test, not letting that ball fall into the abyss, considering how sensitive that thing was to a push. It probably would have been harder if Three, halfway through the first one and right at the beginning of the second one, hadn't lost their patience and simply decided to pick up the ball and carry it to the end, Four providing cover so that neither they nor the ball would be hit by enemies.

Four didn't think the Telephone would be very happy about this, but the rules only said to get the ball to the end without falling, and that's what they did. If it didn't want that to happen, it was the Telephone's fault for only giving one rule with a wide range of possibilities.

Three had just returned from the main station, some cereal bars and juice boxes in their hands, when the radio started to give static, indicating that it had been turned on. Octavio quickly took it from his hat.

“Girls? Is that you? Can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear, Grampa Tavio.” Marie’s angelic voice came from the radio. Her voice sounded a little strained, as if she had just run a marathon. “We’re almost done here to start hacking the system and finding your location. Callie is finishing the tent we’re going to stay in.”

“Oh… Do you really need a camp? Nights near the mountains can be pretty cold, after all.” Octavio sounded a little wary as he spoke.

“Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine. We’re more worried about you, we can go back to the city any time it gets tough around here, you don’t have that luxury.”

Four let Octavio and Marie start catching up, turning to her Partner. If she had any doubts before, after all the tests they had, she was sure that Three was her Partner. The synchronicity they both had was honestly kind of scary, with her understanding perfectly what they were saying and them always knowing where she was, even when she was sneaking into the ink.

“So, should we tell her?” Three raised an eyebrow, a question. She shrugged. “You know, the fact that you can’t transform into squid form.”

It was something they had both noticed during the tests, for some reason, Three was unable to transform into squid form, even in situations where they should. They jumped very high, were incredibly resistant to enemy ink (Four didn’t see Three get splatted once, neither did she, but she was rarely hit or seen, so it made sense in her case) and never ran out of ink.

On the other hand, even when they went to the launchpads to go to the other parts of the test, they didn't transform, they just gained more momentum to be able to jump in humanoid form. Four is sure it must be some kind of bizarre side effect of whatever the scientist had done to them, she kind of felt sick imagining what side effect she got.

Three looked at her, then at the radio, frowning slightly and looking down afterwards.

“... No...”

“...You're not ready yet, are you?” Three was quiet, that was a yes. Four gently knocked her arm from theirs. “Don't worry, when we get out of here, we'll find a way to fix this. And if we can't, it's okay, I'll be by your side the whole time.”

Three turned to her, and even without moving a single muscle, Four knew that the way their eyes warmed slightly was not her imagination. She smiled and approached Octavio, listening to the end of the conversation he was having with Marie.

“-Try to focus more on finding Agent 8, okay? Agent 3 and Agent 4 are doing great and shouldn’t have much trouble with the rest of the tests, but Agent 8 is somewhere out there and we don’t know where. There’s a chance she managed to get out on her own, but there’s also a good chance we’ll end up leaving without her if we keep going like this.”

“Don’t worry, Grampa Tavio, we’ll find Hachi. She’s our friend, after all, and we owe everything we have to her.” And then she hung up again. Octavio sighed heavily, looking both tense and relieved at the same time, never a good combination to have.

"All good?" Four asked as she sat down next to the big Octoling, he sighed again.

“Yeah, just... I know both of them and I know they’re very capable, they’re my granddaughters, after all... And his biological granddaughters...” The last part was whispered, it didn’t seem like something Four should hear. It made her curious, did he know who the grandfather of the Inklings who were helping them was? He was old and had mentioned the Great Turf War a few times, so was it some enemy he had back then? No, the way he said it was with a tone of longing. Maybe some friendship that had to be separated when the Great Turf War happened? “Still, I can’t help but be a little worried about their safety, you know?”

“Uh, maybe?” Four had been a little worried about Three in the first tests, but after seeing how well they did, the worry went away. She knew they would be able to complete the tests, even without her help, so why worry when they had her by their side? “But if you trust the two of them, then I see no reason to worry about them. It will only make them more determined to prove otherwise, which will make them try something more dangerous, which will make you more worried, and so on. If you trust them, then don't think about what might happen, just trust that they will do what they need to do and without any problems.”

“...” Octavio gave her a sideways glance, but she could tell that beneath his crossed tentacles was a small smile. “I didn’t know you were the type to give pep talks.”

“Me neither!”

Three walked over and handed each of them their cereal and juice, sitting next to Four as they all enjoyed their little snack.

A little later, when everyone had decided to take a nap, Four was woken up by a faint sound of static. She turned her head, Octavio’s radio was on again. She saw Three move, so she quickly but quietly picked up the radio and went to the next car so as not to disturb either of them. She turned the sound down and waited.

“Grampa Tavio? Can you hear me?”

“No, he’s sleeping right now.” Was Four’s answer, smiling a little when the radio went silent for a moment. Now she was sure it was a surprised silence. “Marie, right?”

“... Yes. And you’re Agent 4, correct?”

“You can just call me Four.” She leaned against the wall of the train car, crossing one arm and resting the other on it, bringing the radio closer to her face. “I hope everything is okay over there, Octavio was really worried about you two.”

“He’s always worried about us, no matter what we do.” She snorted, it sounded extremely affectionate, it was kind of cute. “Like I told him, we’re fine and we’ll be even finer once you four are free from wherever you are.”

“Understood.” Four looked up for a moment, a little thoughtful. She wasn’t sure how to continue the conversation, this was kind of new, so she came up with the first question that popped into her head. “So... What’s the surface like?”

“Hmm?”

“The surface, what’s it like up there? I mean, I don’t remember anything about my life, so I don’t know if I’ve seen the surface or not. What’s it like up there?”

“I... I’m not sure how to answer that. Especially if you don’t remember our colony, I don’t have a lot of things I can use as reference.”

“Okay, fair enough...” She ran her hand over her face, a little embarrassed. “That was a stupid question.”

“Hey, don’t be like that. It’s normal to be curious about here, but I guess you’ll have to see it for yourself for that.”

“I know, I know, it’s just...” A slight blush took over her face as she confessed: “... I just wanted to hear your voice a little more.”

“...W... What?”

“Your voice. I like it, it’s calming, and we’re in a bit of a stressful situation here.” Four sighed, sliding down the wall until she ended up sitting on the floor. “I guess I just wanted to hear your voice one more time before I went back to sleep.”

For a moment, the radio went silent, and that made Four a little worried. Had she said something wrong? Was commenting on her voice rude? She didn’t think so. Sounds should be a way of demonstrating your strength and ability, right? The louder and more intense it is, the better. Her voice was soft, but deep, which was an obvious indicator that she was strong and capable. Maybe it was commenting on the fact that her voice was soothing to her ears that was rude?

Four opened her mouth to apologize.

“... It’s vast.”

Four closed her mouth.

“From where I am, I can see the ocean, a large expanse of salt water, dangerous for beings like us to swim in, but it’s a beautiful sight.” Marie began to explain, and Four closed her eyes, trying to imagine what she was talking about. “The sky, as far as I know, is infinite, stretching far beyond our vision. During the day, it’s a very clear blue, with the sun, the great star closest to Earth, shining brightly. Now, it’s setting, and the sky on the opposite side of the sun is darkening into a deep blue, approaching black. From where the sun is, both the sky and the sea are orange, the sea a lighter shade and the sky a darker shade, the parts that seem to meet the sea a reddish hue.”

Four could almost see the scene, the sky being strangely easier to imagine than the ocean. She could see the sun, a bright ball of light, touching the sea water, shades of orange, yellow and red creating a magnificent painting.

“That… sounds like a great sight.” She swallowed hard, a little hesitant about what she was about to do. “… And… Who am I sitting next to while I watch this?”

“… An inkling.”

Four held her breath.

“Light skin tone, white tentacles with green tips. Her tentacles are long, but tied in a hairstyle that makes them appear short, with a right-parted hair bang on her face. Wearing a black outfit with green details similar to the Octo Army, a black top that covers her shoulders, shorts of the same color and combat shoes. And…” She heard a deep, shaky breath from the other side. “… Golden eyes with cross-shaped pupils.”

Four imagined, it was a little more complicated, she didn't know all the details, she couldn't know exactly what the shape of her face was, what expression she wore, whether or not she had visible scars. But she was sure of one thing.

“... You're beautiful, Marie.”

“... You haven't seen me yet.”

“It doesn't matter. I know you are, I can feel it. And I can't wait to meet you in person.”

“... I can't wait to meet you too, Four.”

Chapter Text

What I've done
I'll face myself
To cross out what I've become
Erase myself
And let go of what I've done

Agent 3 felt... weird.

Specifically because of the way Agent 4 was talking to Marie at that moment.

It wasn't jealousy, they were sure of that. In fact, they were happy to see Agent 4 so happy while talking to Marie over the radio, literally the first thing she did when she woke up, and the two were talking without a care in the world at that moment. It was kind of cute, honestly.

That didn't mean they didn't feel a little weird about the sight, which was apparently shared by Octavio, who was also looking at her strangely.

"Okay, as much as I love seeing Marie having a new friend, I need to interrupt the conversation for a moment." Callie's voice suddenly interrupted the conversation, making Agent 4 step away from the radio with an exaggerated pout. "Gramps Tavi, I hope you don't mind me taking your laptop, but it was either that or try to take one of the computers and end up drawing everyone's attention."

"No problem, the sooner we leave and the less people know, the better." Was Octavio's answer, closing his eyes.

“Great! Marie is almost able to hack the cameras, so soon we’ll be able to see you and how you’re doing, maybe we’ll even be able to create a chat with that CQ-120 device!” Callie commented excitedly, bringing out Agent 4’s smile again.

“Can you guys hack to see where the Thangs are? I think our job will be much simpler knowing which way to go.” The train stopped moving and the doors opened. “And speaking of which... We’re at the station for the first Thang we need!”

“Oh, already? You two are an impressive duo.” Marie commented, making Agent 4 puff out her chest in pride.

“Of course! Three and I are an unbeatable duo!” Agent 4 raised her hand for Agent 3 to high-five, and they did so after a second of hesitation.

“Yeah, it’s honestly scary to watch those two work.” Octavio commented, which made Agent 4 pout again, feigning annoyance as she began to exit the train. Agent 3 followed her silently.

The station was incredibly still and silent, empty of anyone but them and a weapon for both of them. It was very strange, especially for Agent 3 who was already getting used to the tests, to walk through the gate and find nothing but some kind of large piece of equipment in a protective bubble. A part of them half expected an enemy to appear and attack, and by the way Agent 4 tensed slightly, she expected the same.

But no. No ambush, no new challenge, just the two of them destroying the barrier and releasing the Thang. They both hesitated for a moment to grab the Thang, but quickly carried it onto the train, which began to move straight to the main station without any request from the two of them.

They brought it to the Telephone, who praised them for finding one of the four Thangs and let them return to the train. With nothing else to do, Agent 4 chose a new challenge for them to explore and continue their mission.

“Everything okay there, Octavio? You seem more tense than usual...” Agent 4 commented after a moment, he frowned a little.

“Just thinking... I could swear I’ve seen something similar to that Thing you brought...” He placed a tentacle on the equivalent of his chin. He shook his head then. “But there’s no point in theorizing about it now. For now, stay focused on your mission.”

“You don’t even need to ask.”

The train stopped, the doors opening for the two’s new challenge. Agent 4 stepped out with a confident smile that quickly became a serious expression as always, Agent 3 following silently. Their weapons were chosen and they entered the challenge, an open arena whose mission was to protect the orb that existed in the center. Agent 3 narrowed their gaze as they watched for any nearby enemies that might appear.

At first it was easy, some octotroopers and octocopters appeared and shot, easily eliminated by them. It started to get annoying when octosnipers also appeared, Agent 4 always focusing on eliminating them when they appeared. Agent 3 only made a grunt of frustration when some inklings also appeared in the battle, making everything even more chaotic, the two inklings had no option but to separate to better cover the ground.

Enemy on the left. A ink bomb eliminated its. Enemy on the right. A quick, relentless burst eliminated its. An attack from an inkling. Block, point-blank shots, the body became an explosion of the same ink color of Agent 3. Repeat. The assigned agent's focus did not waver, preventing anyone on their side from getting too close to the center. A quick check on Agent 4 showed that something similar was happening to her, her precise shots eliminating anyone who dared to come within her field of vision.

Right. Splat. Left. Splat. Middle...

... A scream?

Agent 3 looked back, Agent 4 seemed to be having trouble with the enemies on her side. One of the octosnipers hit her arm and she retreated as she tried to recover, the enemies continued to advance relentlessly.

It was not thought, it was a primal instinct that made them grab their enemy's weapon and literally rip its arm in half, advancing at full speed towards the other inkling with the new weapon in hand. Agent 4 seemed to sense that Agent 3 was approaching, because she quickly dove into the ink, leaving an enemy exposed for a brutal attack from them, crushing its body with the weapon they had stolen and attacking everything that approached with a primal fury. They vaguely noticed her reappearing on the other side of the arena, returning to shoot whoever appeared, essentially switching places with Agent 3.

The fight continued, both switching sides every half minute to avoid being surrounded again. Eventually, the horde was over and the sound of a successful mission echoed in the arena. Agent 3 quickly dropped their weapon to approach the other Inkling, carefully observing her for injuries. Agent 4 rolled her eyes, but let them observe her, paying special attention to the arm that was hit.

“... I'm fine now, see?” Agent 3 frowned slightly, carefully holding the arms of the other Inkling, who only had the usual smile on her face. Finally, Agent 3 gave a light sigh and looked intensely at Agent 4, who gave a light laugh. “Okay, okay, I get it. I'll be more careful next time, I promise.” Agent 3 lightly tapped one of the other Inkling's tentacles as they walked towards the exit, causing her to complain amusedly to them. Octavio was waiting for them with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, now I’m sure being overprotective of your Partner is normal for your species. You went from fighter to genocidal in the blink of an eye when she screamed.” He commented, looking at Agent 3, Agent 4 giving a mischievous smirk on her face.

“Right? It was kind of cute.” Agent 3 hit the other inkling’s tentacles again, a little harder, still not to the point of hurting. Agent 4 simply started laughing.

“Ah, that’s nothing compared to Marie! At least you were in real danger, there was one time Marie almost attacked an octoling simply because they looked at me strangely.” Callie suddenly commented, with Marie’s voice in the background shouting her name indignantly. Octavio picked up the radio again as the two inklings approached.

“Callie, Marie, are you okay?”

“We’re more than okay, Gramps Tavi. We’re protected, we’re safe, we can hear you and SEE you!”

“Oh! You can see us now? That’s great!” Agent 4 said excitedly. She turned to a specific spot on the train and waved. “Hello girls!”

"HI!"

“Hi Four. How did you know the camera was there?”

Agent 3 blinked, focusing on where Agent 4 was looking. It took a lot of focus and attention, but they managed to find a tiny camera on the wall, disguised by having the same colors as the walls of the train. How did she realize there was a camera in that place?

“I have no idea. I just knew!” Was Agent 4’s answer, shrugging her shoulders. Somehow, they expected this answer, but it was still disappointing.

“Honestly, I’m not surprised, considering who you are...” Marie’s comment instantly caught the attention of everyone on the train. Octavio frowned.

“Wait, do you recognize these two too? I thought only Agent 8 knew who they were.”

“Well, that’s usually the case. It’s rare for Inklings to know another duo other than their own Partner, but it’s pretty much impossible for anyone in our colony not to recognize them, unless they also suffer from amnesia.”

“Oh, that doesn’t sound good...” Agent 4’s expression grew tense and worried, rubbing her cheek. “If we’re so famous, that means we’re close to the mad scientist who started all this, right?”

“... ‘Close’ is too strong a word for it, since you definitely didn’t have a relationship, not in the normal sense. I’d say more like you were his... ‘Favorite Attack Pets.’”

Agent 4's face twisted into an uncomfortable grimace, and they felt part of their facial muscles twitch as well. They were probably making a similar expression, just on a smaller scale. Somehow, that sounded even worse than if they were relatives or willingly supporting what the scientist did.

“... Oh, my Cod... Please don't tell me they are who I think they are...” Octavio looked like he was about to explode from stress, for some reason.

“... Yes, that's them. The Green Death and The Shadow Slayer.”

The train fell silent again, Octavio was paler than ever, alternating his gaze between them and the radio. Agent 3 shifted their balance slightly, feeling uncomfortable, while Agent 4 put her face in her hands, letting out a loud groan of frustration.

“... Let me guess. Best experiments, perfect soldiers, always completing even the worst missions without question, leaving no survivors. Am I right?” She asked in a muffled voice, receiving an affirmative sound from the radio. She raised her gaze upwards, her face looking as if she had swallowed something disgusting. “That explains why eliminating our enemies seems so natural to us... I'm starting to regret asking if you knew us...”

Agent 3 looked down at the ground, feeling a little embarrassed. They hadn’t thought about it before, how easy it was to kill their enemies without a second thought, but she was right. How many people had they eliminated without hesitation, just because it was part of the mission? The Inklings and Octarians seemed like nothing more than empty shells, but what if they simply weren’t paying attention? Were the enemies… Were the opponents in this place afraid of them too?

Agent 3’s gaze fell on the Octoling holding the radio again.

“… Hurt you…”

“Huh?” Agent 4 looked at them, then at the radio and Octavio, before gasping. “Oh, right! Did we hurt you before? Please tell me we didn’t…”

Silence was the only answer.

She took a step back, her wide eyes slowly drifting to her own hands for a moment. Agent 3 also felt a discomfort in their chest, guilt spreading through their body. Had they hurt the people who were helping them before? Why? How did this happen?

...

What could they do about it?

“What... What exactly did we do to you?” Again the answer was silence, Agent 4 looking devastated, looking down. “... I’m sorry.”

“... Sorry...” Agent 3’s throat still hurt a little when they used their voices, but they had to say it. They didn’t know why they attacked them, probably an order or something, but it was still their fault.

“No! Don’t worry! It’s not your fault, not entirely at least!” Callie was quick to try to lighten the situation.

“Yeah, you were just following orders. None of us knew any other way to live.” Marie said shortly after, her voice softening a bit. “We hold no grudge against you.”

“... Still, you’re helping us even after we did who knows what to you... I feel bad about it.” Agent 4 almost muttered, looking up at the radio. “When we get out of here, I’ll make it up to you...” Agent 4 glanced at them before looking back at the camera. “We’ll make it up to you, both of you, I promise.”

“... You don’t have to, Four.”

“I want a bunch of fries as compensation!”

“CALLIE!”

“What? She offered.”

Agent 4 gave a light laugh, turning to Octavio, who looked thoughtful.

“... I wasn’t the one who got attacked, not really. But Agent 8 was, very much so.” He began, making the train go silent again. “I think she’s afraid of you and what you did, she called you both demons the first time you met, she still bears the scars from that confrontation.”

His words made Agent 3’s head hurt slightly. A brief memory, a dark pink tentacled octoling falling to the ground, looking terrified at them while holding a wound on her face, appeared in their mind. Was that Agent 8? Were they the ones who hurt her? A quick glance to the side made them notice that Agent 4 had also flinched a bit, still looking embarrassed, but also in pain. Did she have a memory too?

“… Still. I think she also believes that you weren’t entirely responsible for what happened.” This made both Inklings turn their gazes to Octavio. “She was the first one to start creating a plan for your kind to stay on the surface, she was the one who said out loud how cruel and unfair your lives were, she was the first one to accept Callie and Marie into our city. She said she spent enough time down there to know that neither of you had a choice about anything. She will probably have a hard time, but knowing her like I do...” Octavio crossed his tentacles as he looked at them. “If you prove that you are sorry for what you did, she will forgive you for what happened. She already did it once, after all.”

“Hachi really is amazing, isn’t she? I don’t know what would have become of us if it weren’t for her...” Callie commented, sounding nostalgic and melancholic at the same time. Agent 3 and 4 looked at each other for a moment, nodding to each other soon after.

“We’re going to find the Thangs, and Agent 8. And we’re going to get out of this place. And then we’re going to make up for each of you for the bad things we’ve done.” Agent 4 said firmly, crossing her arms.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about us two! I was just kidding when I said...”

“We want to.”

The radio quickly went quiet when they spoke. Octavio stared at them with wide eyes, and even Agent 4 seemed surprised at how firm their voices were.

“Our mistakes… We want to make amends.” Their throats hurt, the muscles contracting in a way that almost felt like spasms, but they kept talking. “… We’ll make up… For everything… We promise.”

“… Okay.” Callie replied after a few seconds of silence. “If that’s what you want, we accept it.”

“Just don’t try too hard on it, okay?”

The two agent-named nodded, Octavio started talking to his granddaughters about how things were going up there while Agent 4 went to get them all something to eat. Agent 3 sat across from Octavio, far enough away to not understand what they were saying, but close enough to be able to hear Callie's excited voice talking. They didn't know why, but they liked hearing her voice, and they were sure that it was so beautiful when it sounded.

Something inside them was eager to put a face to that voice.

***

“So! We have good news and bad news!”

“Oh Cod.”

“The bad news is that no matter how much we analyze them, the result is always the same. They don’t show any kind of vital signs, I don’t think they’re anything more than empty shells, basically zombies.”

“Oh my Cod...”

“I figured... The moment they didn’t even react when I tried to talk to them or eat something in the middle of the fight, I knew something was wrong. What’s the good news?”

“Well, since they’re technically no longer alive, you don’t have to feel bad for crushing them without remorse!”

“Oh... My Cod...”

“... Wow. You seem even more tense than usual.”

“I just found out that we’re in the middle of a bunch of zombies, that you’re killing a bunch of our people’s zombies, and we don’t know why or how it happened! How can you stay calm about this?!”

“I mean, if I get desperate, it’ll only make things worse for us, won’t it?”

Agent 3 listened to the conversation while remaining focused on the map in front of them. According to the girls, they had been there in the subway for three or four days, and although they hadn’t found anything about Agent 8 so far, Agents 3 and 4 had already managed to get a second Thang, which was good. If they kept going at the pace they were going, that week or early next week, they would finally see the surface and could help in the search for the missing octoling.

Marie managed to locate the third Thang on one of the tracks and they were almost there, with just one more mission left to reach the item. They tried to analyze the map, trying to find some pattern, but it seemed quite random to them. Maybe they should try asking Agent 4 if she could see anything, she was much better at this than they were.

A small message appeared on the screen, catching their attention.

Aori_Kraken1: Hey Three! You guys were amazing on the last mission, Marie was impressed with the way Four used the Charger and you rocked with the Roller! A+ to you! ☆
But, well, I noticed that even though you were trying, you were just kind of swinging around without much technique in your attacks. Roller is my main weapon, so if you want, I can give you some tips!

Agent 3 blinked for a moment, a slight smile appearing on their faces. They glanced quickly to the side, noticing that the two of them and Marie were still talking about something, before answering.

KingOfDJs: I accept. But can it be later? We're going on a mission soon and it seems like the group is discussing something. I'd like to hear you talk about it.

They almost wrote that they liked her voice, but stopped themselves from doing so. It seemed a little embarrassing to write that... It didn't take long for her answer to come.

Aori_Kraken1: Of course! I'll be waiting for that! ^w^
Good luck on your next mission! ♡

The train stopped just as they finished reading, they and Agent 4 said their goodbyes and entered the station. As soon as they grabbed a weapon, however, they both stopped, their bodies suddenly tensing.

... Something was wrong with this place. It felt different, more dangerous than usual.

The two entered the room, which looked like an arena, waiting for their opponent to appear. That's when something giant fell from the ceiling, making the floor shake a little. Three giant metal cubes with green faces in the middle stared at them with the usual blank stare of opponents in this place, they seemed to have legs on the bottom and a tentacle on the top that quickly retracted into the cubes. Agent 3 heard Octavio gasp in shock over the communicator.

“These are... It can’t be...”

“You know these things, Octavio?” Agent 4 asked, her eyes never leaving her opponents.

“Yes... I do. I thought all of these had been destroyed during the Great Turf War, so how...?”

“These look a lot like the pictures I saw of Octostamps in the museum...”

“... Wait, Gramps Tavi, are these...?”

“Yes... These are one of the Great Octoweapons that were used in the war, the Mighty Octostomps.”

“An Octoweapon?! I thought Hachi was carrying the last remaining Octoweapon! How come three of them are here?”

“I don’t know, Marie… But however it happened, it doesn’t change the fact that they’re now against us. Agent 3, Agent 4, don’t hesitate to use everything you’ve got against this!”

The Octoweapons roared at them, the ground shaking with their strength. They would probably be incredibly intimidating to most beings who faced them.

Agent 3 narrowed their eyes at them as Agent 4 cracked her neck.

It wasn’t for them.

Without another second of hesitation, the two genetically modified soldiers advanced against the large machines of war and destruction.