Chapter 11: The Formula

Years Ago

Somewhere in the Domes Beneath Octo Valley

Marina Ida.

By far the smartest Octoling the Octarian army had ever seen. In the eyes of the other Octolings that knew her, it was actually terrifying how much her brain could hold. But there was more to her than just smarts. She was cunning, dangerous, manipulative, and kind of a psychopath.

Kind of. Ever since she was a little girl, she was taught to not get close to anyone. ANYONE. Her parents, who really were psychopaths, were strong believers in DJ Octavio's world order, following him like religion, even if religion was banned in the Octarian culture.

Marina grew up learning to despise the Inklings and to never count on anyone but herself for anything. But despite all these learnings, she always had a gut feeling that she was being lied to, and that the Octarians themselves were the enemy to be feared. She never realized until she was older that she was right in her suspicions.

Here she was, age 6, on her first day of elementary school. History class. Like much of the Octarians world, the classroom she sat in was gray and lacked life.

"Let's start at the beginning." The teacher started, walking forward. "80 years ago. The Great Turf War…"

Young Marina tuned out the teacher, having already heard the story of the Great Turf War. Blah blah blah, the Squidbeak Splatoon defeated them and they were forced underground, they had no power because the Inkling menace kept all the zapfish, blah blah blah. Her focus was instead aimed on her own work. She didn't know what the Great Turf War had to do with school anyway.

She had a crazy amount of ideas in her head for a 6 year old, and the only way for her to clear it out was usually to write them down. She had tons of notes at her home, including ideas she had for weapons. One day, she wanted to be a weapons designer.

One day, she would create the best damn weapons the Earth had ever seen.

3 years passed. Within these 3 years, a lot happened. The Octarians who ran the schools discovered just how smart Marina was, since during science class, she constantly ignored the teacher in favor of writing her own advanced formulas and equations, some of which the teachers couldn't even explain. They'd never seen someone like Marina.

So, while just 3 years ago she was a little girl on her first day of the 1st grade, here she was, already in the final months of the 12th grade, still a little girl. She was like a midget compared to the huge tall brutes that took up the high school hallways, and yet, despite that, she still performed the highest out of anyone in any of her classes. It was now that people were starting to get terrified of her brain.

It would only be a few months before she graduated, and found herself a job in the weapon building business.

Now, here she was, age 10, working among even bigger and taller brutes on big machinery. She was a big part of a project called F.L.O.O.D.E.R., which was actually based on blueprints she herself doodled when she was younger. Everyone around her was wondering how a 10 year old got into such a dangerous job, but as it was a direct order from Octavio himself, no one could argue.

The downfall of a 10 year old working in such a dangerous job though is that she had a bodyguard following her basically the whole time, never taking his eye off her. To her, the bodyguard was terrifying, with his big muscles and serious angry eyes always staring down at her. So at best, she chose to just ignore her and go about her work.

The final design of the Flooder machine was capable of instantly flooding any Inkling or Octoling who doesn't have armor, able to rain down more ink at once than an average shower head can. And the thing is… that wasn't an intentional design.

"That girl is gonna get someone killed with the things she creates!" One of the workers complained to Octavio.

"She's too young to be working here in the first place, and you're letting her run around, disobeying blueprints, and tampering with the machines to dangerous levels behind our back! She can't be working here!" Another worker yelled.

Young Marina sighed. Her ass was fired.

But no. Octavio actually laughed, and… clapped?

"Well done, young Marina. I made a smart choice hiring you. I mean these Flooder things were never intended to be weapons, we just needed something for cleaning, but Marina… Your creativity is outstanding. These aren't cleaners… These are weapons! Top of the line guards!"

"Are you kidding me?" One of the workers yelled.

Marina only smiled.

Octavio then proceeded to do an extremely rare thing. He transformed into his human form, and stood up from his chair. He had black skin and a large cross-shaped scar on his arm. She walked toward Marina, knelt down, and patter her shoulder.

"Young Marina here is obviously a prodigy. You're gonna do big things for us, kid… And, listen, I can't legally let you on to something of this scale yet, but when you turn 13, you'll be seeing yourself on the Great Octoweapon program." He said with another laugh.

Marina gasped. "W-What? You don't mean… those?"

"Yes I do. You're gonna be in the big leagues. Also, don't listen to these clowns. They don't know what they're talking about."

Marina giggled to herself in excitement. This was her dream!

"That's it! I quit! I don't get payed enough for this shit!" One of the workers suddenly screamed, heading for the exit.

Octavio sighed. "Guards."

The worker who was walking to the exit was suddenly stopped. Four female Octolings, wearing metal goggles and wielding Octoshots, got in front of him before he could leave.

"Police! Stand down!" One of them yelled.

But the worker wasn't obliging. "You can't make me!"

Then the police got aggressive, as one of them tackled him, knocking him down with a yelp.

"You are under arrest for denying the orders of the Octarian police force in direct presence of Commander Octavio. You have the right to remain silent."

The worker began to struggle and scream against them, leading another Octoling to tase him until he was unconscious. "Take him away."

Marina continued to watch as they dragged the man out, slightly disturbed by the violence.

"Amateurs." Octavio said, sitting back down in his throne-like seat and reverting to his Octopus form. "Thank you, young Marina. You can go."

Marina nodded, and began to walk out with a "thank you".

"Hey." Octavio said, one last time, causing Marina to briefly turn around to hear what he had to say. "I expect big things from you. Don't let me down."

6 Years Later

Marina, now 16, had been working in the Great Octoweapon program for 3 years now before she got promoted yet again. Now, she was working straight for Octavio herself, under the Wasabi Supply Unit. Not only did she work there, she had the highest ranking out of the people there, multiple commendations to her name. She was personally working on a project directly requested by Octavio, a floating device by the name of the Octobot King. As part of the job, she had recently cut her hair for it to be shorter than she usually has it.

She had also gotten into a few side missions under Octavio's request, her most recent one to seduce and then bully a rich Octoling into giving up some blueprints he stole from the lab.

She entered Octavio's throne room, throwing the blueprints to him. "They're all yours. Go nuts."

Octavio used his tentacles to pick the blueprints. "…Well done, Marina. Seems you have more talent than just building things."

"You're quite welcome. Now… you know why I did this for you… right?"

Octavio smiled and put the plans away. "Right, indeed." He pulled out a gift, a box wrapped in paper. "You just may be the first Octarian to own such a device, but, this belongs to you."

Marina took the gift from him, opening it up. Inside was an keyboard that resembled a piano. "…It's beautiful…" She said with a big grin, moving her fingers along it. "I love it, thank you."

"You've done so much work in the past years to earn this. You are probably the finest Octarian here. And… I hear you're a bit of a music head."

"I used to listen to some music when I was younger, yeah. I've always wanted to write my own." Marina said, not taking her eyes off the beautiful keyboard.

"I'm a music head, too. I love a good DJ session. Anyway, well, I may have another surprise for you."

Marina finally looked up from the keyboard. "Hm?"

"I'm thinking I'm gonna let you in on Project T.A.R.T.A.R."

"...What's that?"

"It's a very secret project, few people know about it, and… I know about the formula."

Marina felt like her heart fell into her stomach. She had her own secrets to keep and one of them was potentially just found. "What formula?"

Octavio pulled out a small slip of paper with an equation in Marina's handwriting on it. "This equation. It's called… Sanitization? Is that what it's called?"

Yep. Marina's worst fear had just come true. She mentally kicked herself, she knew she should've burned the damn slip. This was single handedly the worst abomination her brain had conceived, and she happened to write it down one night when she was drunk.

"According to my biology team, a formula like this would completely brainwash a person. Almost like a zombie." Octavio turned to his humanoid form, stepping down from his seat. "You brain certainly never seems to disappoint. This could be world-changing. I'm just curious why you would keep this from us?"

"...I never kept it from you."

"Then why was it found in the trash?"

Marina lied. "Must've lost it or something, I don't know."

"Marina… Young Marina…" Octavio put his hands on Marina's shoulders in a comforting way. "I do appreciate your efforts. I can see why you'd keep this private. Really, I'm not even mad. I'm just… a bit disappointed."

Marina sighed. "I'm sorry. I just… I didn't want that to get in the wrong hands."

"It's not in the wrong hands." Octavio said with a smile. "It's with you." He handed her back the slip. Marina, surprised, looked back at him.

"Your next assignment is to make this formula work. Test it on live Octarians if you have to. I don't mind. And… I think you're really gonna like Project T.A.R.T.A.R."

"Sir… With all due respect, I think this formula is an abomination to any and all life forms and I personally don't see it as an accurate portrayal of my intentions." Marina said bluntly. "I request this formula be burned and forgotten."

"Well, perhaps I wasn't clear." Octavio said, a little angrily. "…It's not up to you." As Marina looked down, a few female guards came up behind her. "Due to the top secrecy of Project T.A.R.T.A.R. these guards will be escorting you. Don't worry about your keyboard there, that will be brought to your room for later. Oh yeah… And you'll be blindfolded. I do hope you understand."

Marina sighed as a bag was suddenly placed over her head.

A few hours passed, Marina having no idea where they were going. She couldn't tell for sure but from the sounds she could hear it sounded like she was in some kind of a submarine. Eventually, the guards escorted her out of the craft and took her bag off. She was in, what appeared to be some kind of a lab.

"This is Tartar Labs. Probably the most secure Octarian base ever." One of the guards explained. "Only people who have very special permissions from Octavio himself even know this place exists." The guard turned to directly face her, even though her threatening eyes were hidden by her goggles. "If a word of this place ever escapes your lips to anyone outside these walls, you will be executed. Are we clear?"

Marina rolled her eyes. "Crystal clear."

"Very well then. Would you like the grand tour?"

Marina nodded. For the next 30 minutes, they took her around the facility, where she saw the most horrifying images she had ever seen. Through the windows they passed, Marina could see multiple Octarians going through some kind of experiment.

"What the hell is going on down here?" Marina gasped. She may have been considered a psychopath by others, but in truth, she had quite the emotional heart.

"You Sanitization formula. We're trying to make it work." The guard replied.

"By torturing people?" Marina said, a couple tears streaming down her face.

"Mostly everyone here are just low-life Octarians. They don't have much purpose to be existing, anyway."

"They're still living beings! They have… feelings, and dreams, and you're torturing them!" Marina snapped suddenly.

The guard chose not to respond to that. "There's only one Octoling we're experimenting on at the moment." She said as she brought her to another window, where a female Octoling pinned to a table could be seen. "Reason being, treason. We don't even know her real name, she just goes by Dedf1sh. That's the thing about criminals, they're just… low-life. Despite that though, we do plan on bringing in more Octolings to the experiment."

"This experiment is sickening."

"You're the one who designed the formula, are you not?"

Marina sighed. "Yeah, but… I was drunk, you know? People do stupid shit when they're drunk!"

"So are you gonna help us finish the formula or not?"

Marina looked down for a few seconds, thinking over her answer, before looking back up with finality. "No. I'm not gonna be any part of this. I'm out. Get out of me here."

"If you refuse to help and we let you leave, we're gonna have to wipe your memories of this project. You know that right?"

Marina sighed again. She did like having her memories. "If I complete the formula… NO ONE will get experimented on unless I know it works and I give the permission."

"I will discuss such matters with Octavio. Come. We have a place where you can work."

They brought her to a small lab with some papers and pens, a desktop computer, and a bunch of junk stashed around the sides of the room. They opened the door to let Marina in. "We will give you as much time as you need to work on the formula in here. You will work on it right here and right here only, and you will not bring your work back to Octo Valley upon your return. Everything you have seen today is top secret. Understood?"

Marina rolled her eyes again. "Understood."

The guard closed the door behind her, leaving her to contemplate what she was doing by herself. She sighed, turning on the computer.

She took a couple hours to think over the equation, reluctantly completing and writing it down. She also wondered if she still had time to burn the equation she just wrote and let her memories get wiped, but decided to let her emotions out of the matter.

Suddenly, however, she heard… a ringing sound from inside the room. Confused, she looked around. There wasn't a phone anywhere in here. She heard the ringing again, this time tracing it to a box covered by a blanket. She removed the blanket and dug around the box, finding nothing but junk, and some kind of a robotic face looking back her, almost as if it was the face of an old fashioned telephone.

"What the…" She muttered, thinking at first it was just a face. Then she realized, the face was where the ringing was coming room. She pulled it out, and sure enough, it seemed to be an old fashioned telephone.

Deciding to use her time to goof off, she took the phone and plugged it into the computer, turning it on. To her surprise though, this caused it to whir to life.

She looked at it in confusion as it began to make noises that almost sounded like a voice. She must have accidentally answered whoever was calling. Oh joy, she was gonna prank call this person.

Even more to her surprise however, its head and speaker began to move around, as if it was a living creature.

"Ayo, friend. I'm a telephone! What's your name?"

Marina stared at it. "What the…"

"Nice to meet you, what the! Boy, I sure wish I had a name!"

"What? No. My name is Marina. Are you… speaking?"

"Why, yes I am! I sure hope I'm not confusing you. I am an AI construct created [calculating] 12,000 years ago by a brilliant professor. I was created with the prime objective of teaching human knowledge to the next sentient species to take our place, after humanity was ultimately wiped out by rising sea levels due to climate change! Tell me, are you the next sentient species to take humanity's place on Earth?"

"Well…. yes…"

"Excellent! Then here's a fun fact for you! Humans LOVED entertainment! They loved to read, watch television, and dance with each other! Boy, humans sure are interesting, aren't they?"

This was quite the enthusiastic telephone. "Well… to be honest, we already knew that…"

"Oh? Well then how about this, I bet you didn't know this! Humans also-"

"Stop. Ok? Just stop. You're creeping me out." Marina said, just about to turn off the telephone.

"Oh, well gee, I sure am sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to make up for it?"

Marina held back her hand, deciding not to turn it off. "You're an AI?"

"Yep!"

"Are you… are you sentient?"

"Oh well, gee, I don't believe I am. I don't even have a name. I assure you I am a very complex AI however! Ask me anything about humans and I can answer!"

Marina called back to the stupid name they decided to give the whole project she was currently working under. "Tartar."

"Pardon?"

"I think I'll call you Tartar."

Tartar shook a bit in excitement. "Well, oh boy, that just warms me up inside! I finally have a name! Thank you, what the!"

"I told you, my name is Marina."

"Oops! Sorry, Marina! That is truly my mistake, is there anything I can do to make up for it?"

Marina took a few seconds to think. "I think… I think I can actually give you some sentience. You know… free will."

"Oh well gee, that sure sounds great! Thanks, Marina!"

Marina began to log into the computer. "I've written lots of random equations and formulas in my day so I'm sure I can cook something up real quick for you. Do a little reprogramming. You could be like… my child. How does that sound?"

"Oh well gee, that sure sounds great! Thanks, Marina!"

Marina noticed it was just recycling dialogue at this point. "Yeah… You could definitely use some reprogramming."

"Oh, well gee, I sure am sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to make up for it?"

Yep. Recycling dialogue.

She then spent another few hours typing a lot of code into the computer. Luckily, her smart brain allowed her to type even faster than average so it didn't take too long to type everything out. She powered down the telephone and began to upload the reprogrammed code to it. It would take a few days to take effect, but soon enough, he would have sentience, and free will.

Of course, Marina didn't think this would have any major consequences in the future. It was just a stupid fun project… right? The sanitization formula, however…

She took the equation she wrote down and handed it to the scientists who were working there. Not even bothering to think about the test subjects there, she requested to the guards she return back to Octo Valley.

A Few Days Later

Octo Valley

Marina sat in her room, having taken her mind off of Project T.A.R.T.A.R., playing around with her keyboard. She had this very specific set of notes that seemed very catchy to her, which she wrote down on a little slip. She didn't know what she was gonna call it yet, but she was thinking about something along the lines of… Ebb & Flow.

Yes. That sounded like a good name. She wrote down the title above the lyrics.

Suddenly, an angry looking guard came in to her room. "Commander Octavio demands you presence. Now!"

Uh oh. Marina was in trouble. She slipped the paper into her pocket for later. "Who are you?"

"I'm guard number 10,008. Please come with me."

Number 10,008 led her to Octavio's room, who was actually in his human form, pacing back and forth, and he seemed to be very, very mad.

"Octavio. She's here." 10,008 declared, stepping to the side, leaving Marina to him.

Octavio angrily turned to her. "Marina! What did you do to the telephone in Tartar Labs?"

Marina sighed. 'Oh shit', she thought. "I may have… goofed off a little bit…"

"Goofed off? The telephone went sentient! And he took over the lab!"

Marina looked down. It was just a telephone, how can it take over an entire lab?

"Now the damn thing thinks that Octarians are some kind of threat to the Earth! He was talking about eradicating us!"

"Oh…" Marina said shyly. This wasn't what she expected.

"And what's worse? He got your formula, Marina!"

Marina looked down in horror. This was totally her fault.

Octavio walked up to her. "I've always been very forgiving to you, but now you've crossed a line you shouldn't have crossed! I am VERY disappointed in you! Project T.A.R.T.A.R. is in ruins now! I gave you a very simple job!"

Marina began to cry a little bit. She didn't like being snapped at. "Sir… I'll make up for it. I can reprogram the telephone again, I can…"

"I don't wanna hear it, Marina! This isn't your problem to fix anymore! I'm taking you off the project!"

Marina rolled her eyes. Like she cared. "Sir, I just wanna say… I'm sorry. I didn't think…"

"Without your memories!"

Marina's eyes went wide. "Sir…"

"This was a very secret project and you ruined it! Now the word is all over the public! Right as we were preparing to steal the Great Zapfish, too… I have commanded my guards to cleanse your memories of the past 5 days."

"Sir… Sir, please…"

"Take her away!" Octavio screamed at the guards, as number 10,008 suddenly grabbed her from behind and cuffed her hands.

Marina sat in a dark and cold lab, one that she actually helped design. In front of her was a bed in a tube they were preparing to lay her in, where her memories would be taken. Again, another machine she herself designed.

"Before we take away your memories… Are there any memories within the last 5 days you wish to be reminded of?" 10,008 asked her.

Marina took a second to think, remembering her song. "Yes…" Said, taking out the paper with the name Ebb & Flow and the musical notes on it, handing it to her.

She took the paper. "Very well. This will be delivered to you after the procedure. Now, let us begin."

The guards took her and layed her into the tube, and before closing it, they injected her with something by needle and put some kind of a helmet over her head. Marina sighed, closing her eyes.

At least Project T.A.R.T.A.R. and the telephone would no longer be a concern to her. Right?

How little she knew.

Present Day

Tartar Labs

Marina awoke with a gasp, as her body relaxed. She was on the floor by the machine she just powered on. She took a moment to process what she just saw.

Whatever she just saw, it was a vision of her of the memories she lost from those 5 days. She hoped it was just some kind of a sick dream, but she could tell they were real, and her memories were relocated. She designed the Sanitization formula. She reprogrammed Tartar. She was the monster behind this whole apocalypse all along.

She was… a monster.

Crying, she sat and then stood up. She was horrified.

"What did you do to the machine?" A voice scrambler said behind her. Jumping, she turned around to see the Executioner

"I didn't…"

"You turned it on."

"Who… Who are you?" Marina said, horrified by the mask.

The Executioner took off her mask, revealing a very concerned looking Agent 3.

"Three…"

"Why'd you turn on the machine."

"I didn't know what it was…"

"What did it do to you?"

Marina chose not to respond. She looked down slowly, seeing her weapon she dropped on the floor. After staring at Agent 3 for several seconds, before suddenly leaping for it.

She succeeded in grabbing it, but also felt something stab her stomach. She yelped out in pain, slowly looking down, to see what it was.

Agent 3 had thrown the spear she held right into her abdomen. She looked back at up in 3 in shock, already struggling to breath. This is what she gets for wearing crop tops.

She stepped backward, almost feeling like she would pass out from the shock. "T-three…"

Agent 3 slowly walked up to her, grabbing the spear. "I'm sorry…"

Marina thought she was gonna pull it out for her, but she didn't. She actually shoved it further in. Instead of screaming, she gagged, ink starting to bleed from her mouth. Tears of pain were streaming down her face. "W-w… Wh…"

Agent 3 began to cry herself. "I'm so sorry…." She put back on the Executioner mask and pulled the spear out, quickly running out.

Marina continued to bleed furiously from both her stomach and mouth, as she fell down on her back with struggling breaths and gags. The ink that was bleeding out of her started to form a pool she was laying in.

She struggled to speak. "H- help…" She could barely whisper.

After a few seconds, someone else came in, her Dualies pointed high. Pearl, who saw Marina lying there, gasped.

"Marina!" She yelled, dropping her dualies and kneeling down, putting her hands over the wound. "MARINA!"

"...Pearlie…" Marina whispered, continuing to cry, as she felt herself losing consciousness.

Pearl was crying even harder. "I NEED SOME HELP! SOMEONE! I NEED SOME HELP! PLEASE! RIGHT NOW!"

Callie and Marie quickly walked in upon hearing the screams, their own weapons pointed high. "Oh no…" Marie gasped. She immediately kneeled down to check the wound. "Callie! Run back to the sumbarine and grab the first aid kit, now!"

"MARINA!" Pearl screamed above her tears.