Chapter Text
Octo Valley was a place that Acht had heard of many times, especially recently. It was the home and base of operations of DJ Octavio and had become the central location of the Octarian Army, and some inkling kid was tearing the whole place up.
A few hours ago they were instructed to temporarily transfer to Octo Canyon, as DJ Octavio had decided to fight the inkling personally. There would be hundreds gathered to watch and they needed all the security they could get. Nothing ever happened, and this likely was no different, but they went anyway. It was a chance to see her again.
They were positioned far away from the fight, in a large open area, with nobody else around at all, like usual. The sounds of the fight still made its way over, one of Octavio's music tracks, interweaved with inkfire, and impacts from the Octobot King they've heard so much about but never got the chance to see.
Acht had seen hundreds of combat drills but never a real fight, in fact they haven't heard of any real combat happening until the last week. Octavio managed to take The Great Zapfish and it seemed like the inklings were pissed. Or, what appeared to be just one of them.
They thought about everything they're missing out on. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and they were forced to sit still and wait. They weren't even sure what they were waiting for.
The impatience grew, and as to add onto everything else they were missing out on, the song backing the fight changed to something they hadn't heard before. At least they could hear it from here, even with how quiet and muffled it was, it buried itself deep into their head. They only word they could use to describe it was heavenly.
The high-pitched whistle followed by the metal clang of a kettle caused Acht to jump. They had zoned out and listened to the song play over and over, distracting them from what they were supposed to be doing, which was investigating strange noises (Probably). Some inkling could have been sneaking around while everyone was distracted. If that was true they'd get into trouble, but it's not like they hadn't been in trouble before.
They could have been in trouble hundreds of times before. They had slacked off countless times. They had sat and done nothing nearly every day. They ate the same food, listened to the same few records, saw the same exact same sky, and missed the same people every day. Their life had been nothing but repetition the past few months, and this new song was getting to their head. It was in a language they couldn't speak but they felt like they could understand every word. They needed things to change.
The sky on the other side of the kettle was beautiful. The stars filled their entire view. They'd never been on the surface before, they never thought they would. It was a bittersweet moment, interrupted by sight of a dim light in the distance, growing fainter.
Floating blocks formed a path to the edge of the canyon. It shouldn't have been that easy for someone to get there. Something was going on. Acht brushed it off and made their way across.
The canyon was surrounded by water for kilometres on all sides, and the bridge led to a dock, with a couple small boats. One of the boats was lit up, and Acht caught a glimpse of the person they were chasing. They could recognize the black tentacles and seaweed headgear of an elite. She fumbled with the wiring of the engine as Acht got closer, seemingly hot-wiring it. She trying to escape.
An elite attempting to escape was unheard of. If Acht let her go they'd be in the deepest trouble they'd ever been in before, but it's not like they could just fight an elite and win.
With an intense reluctance, Acht flipped on their flashlight, and the elite froze.
She didn't look up. She didn't move a muscle. Acht could hear her hearts beat. Neither of them said anything for what felt like an eternity. A tear catches the light and hits the bottom of the boat. The elite is the first to break the silence, speaking barely above a whisper.
"Please, just let me go."
Acht's hearts dropped. They had heard that voice more than their own, but it had been years since they heard her cry.
"Marina?"
They turn off the flashlight, leaving the small lantern Marina had as the only thing illuminating them both. She finally moves, to look up at her old friend again.
"Acht?" She sniffs.
She looked exactly as they remembered, they could never forget her face. It had been months and they could only stare.
Marina wiped her eyes and shifted eye contact back to the engine. "I'm sorry, I-"
"You were gonna try to leave without saying anything again," Acht interrupted. It was harsher than they wanted it to be, and they saw her sink deeper into the floor. Their guess was unfortunately right.
Months ago, she was moved to the Wasabi Supply Unit and nearly left before Acht could figure it out. She said it was because it was classified, but that didn't feel like the whole reason. They haven't seen her since and if she left now, they'd never see her again. Acht ran through arguments in their head, everything they could think of to get them to stay, but that wouldn't be right.
Acht walked to the side of the boat and climbed in, jolting Marina back up with the sound of their boot hitting the floor. Before Marina could speak, Acht explained, "I'm coming with you."
"Acht, I- I'm sorry, I'll stay, you don't have to come."
"There's no way I'm letting you stay here. I'm coming." Acht smiled at her. "So let's go."
Marina took a second, and she smiled back before turning around to tinker with the engine. Acht had seen that smile before many times. She was still incredibly torn. The engine sputtered to life, and after untying the dock line, they began moving. The docks grew further away. The large stone octopus statues shrank in the distance. Acht wouldn't miss it, they knew Marina would.
As they reached near the centre of the water, Marina stopped the engine, letting the boat coast the rest of the way. It was dead silent.
"So what caused an elite like you to just get up and leave?" Acht asked.
"I... I don't know," she replied. "During the fight I heard that song, and without thinking I was packed and ready to go a few minutes later."
She wasn't a good liar, but they didn't want to question it.
"Why did you come along?" Marina continued.
It felt like an easy question. It sucked in the domes. They couldn't make friends or talk to anyone because everyone knew that they were a delinquent. All they had left was their job which they hated. Since Marina had left they'd gotten more into making music but nothing ever felt good enough. It just reminded them of how they used to share records with Marina, and how much she cared about music.
The records!
"I just remembered I didn't bring anything with me," Acht replied, not answering her question. Marina noticed, but she didn't want to question it.
"Oh, well I brought a lot with me," she says as she begins to rummage through her bags. Packing a lot and getting out quickly is something an elite would need to know.
"Some maps, food for two w- one week, some changes of clothes, a tent, a sleeping bag, a couple tools, an Octo Shot, and... uhh." She looks behind to another heavy bag. "Music equipment."
It was unreal how much this woman could carry and where her priorities were, Acht thought. They could only laugh, until something caught their attention.
"Wait, a tent? Are we just going to camp out?"
"Well yeah, I don't have a place to stay."
"Do you have a plan at least?"
Marina fell silent. She was rarely careless, she was never allowed to be. She thought for a while before a somewhat perfect idea formed.
"Let's make a band together!" she blurted out, nearly knocking Acht off their seat.
The both of them had thought about it many times before. They had spent many nights listening to records, discussing what kind of band they'd be and what kind of shows they would put on. It was a fun distraction from the crushing reality around them.
"Yeah, I'd absolutely love to," Acht said, with full sincerity, "but still, aren't we basically homeless now?"
Her eyes turned away. It hadn't crossed her mind.
"Okay, that's fine, we can work with this," Acht added quickly before the mood was ruined, "Whatever happens I'll be with you, okay?"
Marina looked back to them with a sad smile on her face. The sun began to rise as they reached the shore.