Chapter Text
”Welcome Agent 3. Ahead of you, is Test: 6-7.“ The automated voice played in the briefing room. ”The purpose of this test is to examine your agility and reaction time. You will only get one chance With your payment, good luck.“ Q took a small breath, looking down at his salmonid companion as he jumped onto their open hand. ”Well Finny, You ready?” they asked. Lil' Finny responded with a happy trill before diving into their ink tank. Q chuckled quietly and payed the fee at the gate ahead of him and walked through it.
Ahead of them was a structure that spiraled into the sky. Spotting a parascope nearby, Q dove into it to get a better veiw. The structure spiraled and spiraled until it stopped suddenly with a brightly-lit finish marker. Their eyebrows raised in surprise at just how far they had to climb.
“Well, better get going then.” Agent 2 spoke from Q's radio. She was right, no time to lose! Q inked a trail onto the first platform ahead, spying the case of armor in front of them. As they picked up the armor and began to don it, they felt the floor lurch down beneath them. Lil' Finny squeaked in surprise. “Huh?!“ The radio chimed again with the voice of Agent 1. ”The floor is sinking... Wait- WHY IS THE FLOOR SINKING?!“ Q looked ahead, the platform was indeed sinking slowly down, down into the chlorinated water below.
”Oh boy...“ They mumbled, rushing ahead and climbing the first wall up towards the second platform. Any moment of relief was quickly extinguished when that platform lurched down and began to fall as well.”It's uh... still sinking. Quick Agent 3! Up, up, up!“ Agent 2's flat-voiced encouragement did nothing to help Q's panicked mind as they continued to scramble onward. Finny watched as the previous platforms quickly plunged into the depths below, warning Q with desperate chirping. Q tried to soothe the small salmon. ”We'll be ok, just have to keep moving.“ And did just that.
❦
Up another wall, two furred octarians sat perched awaiting their arrival, and began to shoot globs of marbled ink that burned to the touch. ”GA- Please just stop!“ Q whimpered, they knew pleading was futile, but what else could they do? Q climbed the next wall, just barely making it. They turned around in time to watch with horror as those two poor octarians sank, dissolving painfully. The same fate awaited all that lay ahead, it hurt Q's heart to think about. ”What're you standing there for? Keep climbing!“ Agent 1 frantically warned. Q had no choice but to keep going. Flimsy crates blocked their path on the next platform, no matter, they broke quite easily. Finny reached with his pectorals and quickly grabbed another armor case that was in one of the crates, and slapped the visored helmet onto Q's head.
“Thanks Finny.” they spoke quickly, doing their best to conserve their breath. Higher and higher they climbed, Narrowly dodging the painful failure below them. They yelped as the platform they climbed onto began to tilt unlike the ones before, making it even harder to regain their footing. It only got worse as the sound of a charged sniping ink shot rang out behind them. They continued upward and upward, the challenges only continued to rise. Q came face to face with the octarian assassin attempting to snipe them down, and was faced with no other choice than to splat them, “I'm sorry!” they whimpered.
❦
The home stretch, a long set of climbing walls that fell oh so quick, barely leaving any time to think between lobbing splat bombs and inking ladders. Finny trilled anxiously as he looked down at the looming fate below the duo. He quivered, hiding back into Q's ink tank.“Almost there... don't worry we're almost there...” Q attempted to reassure their companion, though their voice wavered and tears speckled their eyes.
Q fumbled, feeling the final platform fall beneath them. They desperately lept toward the finish platform, just narrowly escaping a watery grave. They lunged towards the button that marked the end of the test. A chime played out, they had done it. Q heard the two original agents cheer and congratulate them over the radio, but it was muffled as nothing but panic rang in their mind. They silently got up, with mouth agape they walked to the edge of the finish platform and looked down. There was no sign of any of the platforms they had just scaled.
“Umm... Agent 3? Are you ok?” Agent 2 asked with concern. Q stayed silent, just staring with shock.
“They're all gone...” They whimpered, petrified with a wide-eyed stare. “They're all gone I- I couldn't help them!” They stumbled back, falling against the finish marker. “They did nothing wrong and... and they were just destined to drown! I- A-All of them are dead!“ Q sobbed. Finny immediately responded to Q's distress, hopping out of their ink tank onto Q's shoulder and nuzzled them. Q hyperventilated, looking with teary eyes to the salmonid and quickly held him in their arms. All the agents could hear was sobbing over the radio. That sinking feeling had consumed them.