Chapter Text
Eight didn't know why she agreed to test that... thing. Was it a bizarre sense of obligation? A hope that it would help her deal with the returning memories? Or did she really think this would be easy? She was with Pearl and Marina, right? Surely with them present, nothing could go wrong, right? She supposed that's what she got for trusting them. After her soul was returned to her body she had... Yelled at the idol duo. She had made Marina cry and Pearl probably hated her. She had messed everything up. Part of her wished she'd been sanitized. That mindless void, everything blurry, no memories to reflect on. Even that sounded better than life.
And so here she sat. The endless track of the metro stretching out before her. A single tear rolled its way down her cheek. Before long, she was full on sobbing. Scribbles in Octarian worked its way across the page, ending with a simple apology. She left the note in her locker, the same one she took the golden pin from 4 years ago. She took the pin out of her pocket, and set it on the note. It was to be given to Three, to remember her by. She heard the familiar sound of the train as things started to come back. She had felt scared, alone, much like she felt now. Only this time she had no one. No crazy old men, no pop stars giving her advice or jokes. She stepped onto the track. She could see the light swiftly approaching. She closed her eyes. But no impact came. She heard the train flying by behind her. She opened her eyes. And there was Three. She was crying. They were both crying. Eight had really done it now. Three, her love, the one person she hadn't ruined everything with. She had made her cry.
The car ride was quiet. No talking, just the muffled sound of sobbing from the back seat. Three couldn't take her home. As much as she wanted to just hug her girlfriend and make everything better, she couldn't. Eight needed professional help. They had to stay somewhere until Three figured something out. Pearl and Marina were out of the question, seeing them right now would only make things worse for Eight. She had to go to her sisters. They could give Eight a room, food, and supervision until Three could get her help. They arrived at the apartment complex. After Three helped Eight up several flights of stairs till they had gotten to the right floor.
"Hey, Eight." Three spoke to her for the first time since finding her on the tracks. "We're going to stay with my sisters for a bit until we get stuff figured out. We won't have to worry so much about money for a bit. You, uh, really like their music, I think!"
"I'm sorry..." Eight sobbed. "I'm so damn sorry, Three."
"Lets talk inside." Three rang the doorbell. An inkling with black, pink-tipped tentacles answered the door.
"Oh my cod, Three! Its's been so long! And you must be... Here, come inside." The energetic inkling quickly turned to concern. The door closed behind the three cephalopods. "Do you two need some privacy? Three, you know where the guest room is, right?"
"Yeah, thanks Calz." Three was incredibly grateful for her sisters situational awareness. Three led Eight to the spare room, and sat her down on the bed. Three hugged Eight as she held back tears.
"It's gonna be ok, Eight." Three assured. "we're gonna get you help."