Chapter 21: The End of Everything - Part 2
Back in Present Day
They hurried to the front of the building where large entry door was. To their dismay, however, the door was tightly shut, and the keypad next to it was smashed.. "Dammit!" Marie yelled. "The submarine is on the other side."
Marina let go of Callie and went over the keyboard, seeing how bad the damage was. "There's no way this will work now."
Agent 3 went and tried to pull on the door, but nothing. "We're trapped."
Marie grunted. "Ok. New plan. Back to the lab. We'll have to work with what we have from there."
As they turned around, however, they saw that multiple Stalker Beasts were creeping toward them one of the hallways. They stopped, staring at them in horror. With how strong they were, they were hopelessly outgunned already.
"...Well… It was nice knowing you guys." Callie gulped.
"...Get back to the lab." Agent 4 said. "I'll hold them off."
"Don't be stupid, Four." Agent 3 replied. "I can do it."
"You have more use to the team than I do. Go. I'll be fine."
"Come on." Marie said hesitantly. Everyone but Four quickly ran back to the lab, but they couldn't run too fast because of Callie.
As soon as the Beasts saw them run for it, they began to lunge forward to chase them, but Agent 4 quickly rolled in front of them, pulling out his Hero Shot. The Beasts then attempted to attack him, but he quickly used all his knowledge on acrobatics to dodge their attacks.
He fired at them with the Hero Shot, but of course, it wasn't doing much. It wasn't doing anything, in fact.
Eventually, they started to catch up with him, as one of them managed to grab him and slam him against the wall. He bounced off, and quickly regained his senses to dodge more attacks. Taking them on all at once wasn't a smart idea.
"Stop!" Marie yelled at the team as she herself stopped and turned around. They could still see 4 fighting them off from a bit of a distance. "He can't fight them on his own." Marie let go of Callie, pulling out her Hero Charger, but Agent 3 grabbed his arm.
To Marie's horror, Agent 4 was finally overpowered. He was slammed into the wall again, and as he bounced off, he landed awkwardly on his stomach, dropping his Hero Shot. With a scream, he was dragged into the oncoming horde of beasts as they piled on top of him.
"FOUR!" Marie screamed, running up. The beasts heard her scream, but chose to ignore it as they were now busy feasting on 4, who could be heard screaming in pain. "FOOOOUR!"
"He's gone!" 3 said, not letting go of her arm.
Agent 4 could be heard screaming loudly still, as the beasts trampled him like massive ants, slowly dying.
Marie began to cry. There was no saving him, but the least they could do was give him a quicker death than the hell he was experiencing. She pulled out a grenade. "I'm so sorry, Four."
She pulled the pin and threw it as hard as she could, before it landed right in the pile. Agent 4's screams were abruptly stopped as the grenade went off and completely demolished that section of the hallway.
"WE HAVE TO GO!" Agent 3 screamed.
As Marie went back to grab Callie, she remembered when she first met Agent 4. Just like Agent 3, he was just an innocent Inkling who happened to follow her into a storm drain. She remembered how when they first met, 4 didn't know who the Squid Sisters were. She remembered how just like 3, he fearlessly traveled headfirst into the domes of Octo Canyon, rescuing the Great Zapfish and Callie. She remembered everything the two had been through together since the NILS statue.
The team went back to carrying Callie, attempting to go to the lab, but of course, the sound of the explosion caught the attention of even more Beasts walking among the facility. Soon enough, more intercepted them, stopping them dead in their tracks.
Back with Agent 8
"I'm not going to ask you again. How do you know who I am?" Tartar said angrily.
Agent 8 sighed. "…Ok this is gonna sound really weird, but I'm from the future. I come from like, a year and a half after you destroy Inkopolis. And I came back to kick your… telephone face in, and set shit straight, alright?"
Tartar continued to stare suspiciously.
"...Look, I don't know if you're a complete psychopath yet, so I just want to say… Destroying Inkopolis and then using a time machine to take over the universe or whatever? It's not worth it. You still have time, to drop the blender parts, drop the experiments, and set things right before things go really, really, wrong. And trust me, things will go really, really, wrong."
"...If my plan works as you say it does, how do things go so wrong? Hm?"
"Because you're delusional. You think wiping out sentient life is the answer. I heard you explain it all to Marina."
Tartar raised his head to the word Marina. "…Mother…"
"Oh, yeah, and your 'Mother'. Let's just say that you're really gonna ruin her life. Do you really want that for dearest mommy?"
"So I destroy Inkopolis and that witch still lives?"
Agent 8 raised her eyebrow. He really didn't like Marina. "Look… I don't know how much good you have in you this far back in the past, but… I'm really counting on you to do the right thing. Because, I really don't wanna fight you, and you don't wanna fight me."
"Why should I listen to you?"
"Because you're wrong. Inklings and Octolings are both beautiful species, we just… have some darkness within us. And no matter what you may think of us, Inkopolis and the rest of the planet is worth saving."
Suddenly, several sanitized Octarians came in, preparing to attack her. She gripped her Hero Shot, but to her surprise, Tartar reached up his hand to stop them. They obeyed.
Tartar leaned down to 8. "What about my mother?"
Agent 8 softly smiled as she thought about Marina, knowing that she was now getting somewhere. For what seemed like the first time in a year and 6 months, something was going right. "Marina, she's… The nicest and most caring person I've ever met. And all-in-all, she's actually a pretty great mother figure, and… I think you're very wrong about her."
Tartar went back to standing straight, but didn't take his eyes off her. "So Marina is like a mother to you too, huh?"
Agent 8 nodded. "And I love her with all my heart."
"Hm." Tartar said with a reassuring nod. Agent 8 began to feel a little peace, finally feeling like she had won. But it didn't last long.
Suddenly, Tartar grabbed Agent 8 by the throat. She groaned out, grabbing his arm and attempting to pull it off.
"You're just like Marina. You idiotic Octolings. Fools who think your kinds are worth saving."
As Agent 8 struggled to breath with Tartar's fingers wrapped around her throat, she looked over Tartar's shoulders. To both her dismay and her relief, IA3 was standing in the corner of the room.
"You better come up with a backup plan, kid! You don't have a lot of time!" She yelled, and of course, only 8 could hear it.
Agent 8 tried to fight back, but because of her stomach wound, couldn't do much. She pulled out her grenade, and then gently rolled it underneath Tartar.
Tartar, confused at what she just threw, let go of 8 for just long enough for her to bounce back and escape the explosion radius. Despite Tartar being directly over the grenade, he tanked the explosion, barely taking a scratch.
Agent 8 sighed. "He's fucking unkillable…" She mumbled to herself. She needed to come up with a plan, fast.
Tartar didn't take that long to get up, and Agent 8, in her fit of panic, came up with the best plan she had; Run.
She pulled out another grenade and pulled the pin. Tartar, now knowing this trick, attempted to grab it, but suddenly, with perfect timing, 8 threw it up to the ceiling, it exploding against the glass. Tartar looked up as glass fell down over them. Then, without hesitating, 8 super jumped through the hole.
Just like the other times she went up through the ceiling, this brought her right to the Coccyx Phase of the NILS statue, but she quickly realized that it didn't look the same. Everything was still under construction, and an army of Sanitized Octarians were waiting for her.
She grasped her stomach in fear. She was not ready for this level of combat right now. She was only getting weaker still from her wound. As she prepared to raise her gun and fight back, something suddenly hit her in the head. With a grunt, she fell to the ground, unconscious.
Back in Present Day
Marina looked around, noticing they were right by a window to one of the smaller lab rooms, a door nearby. "Guys! In here!"
Before the Beasts could catch them, they quickly got into the room and slammed the door. The Beasts stayed outside, attempting to ram their way in.
"Is this room good enough, Marie?" She asked.
They set Callie down on the table. "Maybe. No promises."
Marina looked back. "I don't think it'll be long before they break in." She then looked around. It was a smaller room, but there was two doors. Only one of them was being banged into. "Guys! There's another door we can sneak out of!"
Marie wasn't listening. She was too busy looking around the room for anything she could use to treat Callie's wound.
Marina silently watched, before attempting to see if she was willing to talk still. "…I'm sorry about Four."
"It's all of our losses." She replied simply, wiping the tears from her face. She pulled some bandages out of a drawer, and then turned back to Callie, preparing to put them on. However, Callie stopped her.
"Marie, Marie, stop, please don't bother." Callie sighed.
"What? You leg is injured, I need to treat it!"
"It doesn't matter what you do to treat it, the thing's useless now, and we're surrounded by killer Beasts that aren't exactly easy to kill. Just let me go, and go save yourself. I'll just slow you down."
Marie continued to treat the wound. "No. I already lost Gramps, and I lost Four just a minute ago, I am NOT losing you too!"
"Marie, please. I've made up my mind. Just, please, go save yourself."
"I would never leave you behind to those things!"
"Marie, you've already done so much for me." Callie said, beginning to cry as memories of the Squid Sisters began to flood her. "You convinced me to start music, you saved me from the Octarians, you've stopped me from making so many more stupid decisions over the years, you've already given the world to me. I never really got a chance to give the world back."
"Stop talking as if this is goodbye! We're all getting out of here together!"
"Marie…" Marina said, stepping forward and grabbing her arm. "…She doesn't wanna come."
Marie let go of the bandages, defeated. She looked down for several moments, before looking back up at Callie, tears streaming down her face.
"It's all gonna be fine, Marie." Callie continue. "You promised me that and now I'm promising you."
Several moments went by, Marie accepting defeat, the door being banged on rapidly the whole time.
"Marie, it's not gonna be long before they bust through the door. We need to go." Marina pressured.
Marie grabbed her charger. "I agree. Go. Destroy the machine."
"Are you not coming with us?"
"Those beasts are gonna be chasing you next, you're gonna need somebody to hold them off."
"Marie…"
"Callie and I gave each other a promise. I wouldn't break it for the world." Marie finished. She turned back to Callie, extending her pinky to her. "Squid Sisters forever."
Callie tearfully grabbed it with her own pinky. "Squid Sisters forever."
Marina stared at them in disbelief for another few seconds, but knew she had to quickly accept it, unless she wanted to stand around and get eaten. Now crying herself, she hugged Marie. "Thank you for everything."
Marie sadly accepted the hug. "Go. Get out of here."
Marina grabbed her Hero Shot, and along with Pearl and Agent 3, began to walk out. "I love you."
"I love you too."
The three of them completely failed to notice and Sheldon stayed behind in the room with the cousins, as the door shut.
"Sheldon, what are you doing!? Get out of here!" Marie said angrily.
"You convinced me to join the depressing Splatoon, sister, and I swore to the role of Agent 5 to my death." Sheldon said, standing up on a table, "If there's no Squid Sisters, there's no Splatoon. I'm with you to the end of the line." He pulled his out his own Hero Shot.
Marie sighed. "Oh, Sheldon…"
"So are we gonna do this?" Callie asked. She slid herself off the table, continuing to lean on it with most of her weight going on her good leg, grabbing her own Hero Shot.
Callie and Marie stood side by side, shoulders touching, while Sheldon continued to stand on the table. All weapons were ready.
"I love you, Marie."
"I love you, Callie."
A few seconds passed, and the door finally slammed open, the Beasts flowing in with several roars.
Back with Agent 8
Agent 8 slowly opened her eyes and looked around, feeling as weak as ever. She was back in her Deepsea Metro outfit, Octoshot still in hand. She was… back in Octavio's base again.
She was unable to get up, she could barely even move. Her limbs were so weak that they might as well have been chopped off and it wouldn't have mattered. Turning her head, she looked up to see the floating platform. No. Not this again.
She was regaining a little bit of her ability to move her limbs, but could still barely move from her current spot. She looked around. Cap'n Cuttlefish, who she was ridiculously relieved to see, was standing beneath the platform, looking back up at it.
"Cuttlefish?" Despite her weakness, she was still able to speak clearly. "Cuttlefish!"
He ignored her, not taking her eyes off of the platform.
8, currently having no patience, quickly got upset. "Cuttlefish!"
Cuttlefish finally turned to her. "Eight?"
8 smiled. "It's… it's so good to see you…"
"You! You let us all die!" He suddenly yelled, his eyes becoming angry.
"W-What?"
Cuttlefish began to slowly wobble up to her. "You let us die! You let us down!" He continued to yell angrily. Suddenly, his hand literally disappeared from his body, disintegrating into dust before 8's eyes, and his cane dropped to the floor as the grip on it was lost. 8 could only stare in confusion to what she was witnessing.
Cuttlefish was still walking up to her. "You let us die!" He repeated as his legs also turned to dust. Without something to stand with, he fell down face-first, as his whole body collapsed into dust as well.
8 began to cry. "Cuttlefish…"
"Eight…" She heard Agent 4 say from another corner of the room. She turned to face him, seeing him staring back with a very disappointed look. "You were supposed to protect us." Then, all at once, his body turned into dust, floating away in some non-existent wind.
Agent 8 quickly realized she could finally move again, as she slowly got up. She reached for the dust, but it was already floating away off the platform.
"Eight…" She heard another voice say behind her. She turned around to see Marina, once again stabbed in the stomach, ink furiously bleeding from her mouth. "I don't feel so good…"
"Marina…" 8 said, slowly walking toward her. Suddenly, Marina lunged at her in a hug, grasping onto her for dear life.
"I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go…" Marina repeated in fear as 8 slowly laid her on her back, where she laid painfully, staring into 8's crying eyes. "…I'm sorry…" She muttered one last time as she slowly faded into dust.
As her body disappeared, 8, who was partially laying on her, fell through the dust, suddenly colliding with the floor. She turned around to watch the dust float away, silently weeping to herself, in absolutely shocked.
Slowly, she looked up toward the platform. She could just barely see her Inner Agent 3, cape flowing as always, kneeling down on one knee.
IA3 stood up and turned to face her. Her face was frowning at first, but slowly, it became a distorted smile, like that of a clown. "You're running out of time, kid."
8 waited for her to come crashing down, but nothing ever came. Just the soulless stare and the surreal smile. She looked back down, quickly noticing that her legs were fading to dust.
"No…" She muttered. She attempted to stand up, but ended up in more of a crawling motion without her legs. Her head shot up as her body slowly faded into dust.
Then, suddenly, with a gasp, she was back. She shot awake from her dream, her eyes opening instantly, a hard cough escaping her mouth. Her stomach hurt now more than ever, but at least she could move.
She slowly got up on all fours and threw up some ink, as she grabbed her Hero Shot and attempted to stand up. She analyzed her surroundings. Ironically, she seemed to be where she originally fought the brainwashed Agent 3, on the elevator in the Spinal Phase. She looked over to see the Young Tartar, who was leaning on one of the platforms, playing with his fingers.
"...Welcome back, number 10,008." Tartar said, looking up. The elevator was ascending. Why would he be taking her to the surface? "We have so much to talk about."
Her attempt to stand up failed; Her legs currently felt like jelly, and she was barely able to keep herself up with her arms. She shakily gripped her Hero Shot with all her strength just so that she wouldn't drop it. She was shaking so bad she was reminding herself of how Cuttlefish would shake all the time.
Tartar stood up and walked over to her, towering over her. "I saw the wound. You're going to die soon, even if I spared your life."
Agent 8 grumbled. "…I know a friend who survived way worse…"
"...You're trying to hold on to hope. I can respect that. But what I cannot respect is that you continue to hold on when there is no hope."
Agent 8 sighed. "…You got me, so why am I still alive?"
"Like I just said, you're going to die anyway, so I'm taking you up to see the sun one last time. I'm forgiving like that."
Agent 8 closed her eyes. The sun… The sun would be a great thing to stare at right now. But, she wasn't about to just let Tartar walk her up and go out like that. She was going to go out with a fight.
Gripping her Hero Shot even harder, she mustered all her strength to stand up. Slowly, limb by limb. It was the hardest time she had ever had with such a basic task.
"Don't, Number 10,008. You'll hurt yourself." Tartar said, a little amused.
8 continued trying to stand up, slowly and steadily, when suddenly, Tartar got aggressive. He kicked her in the stomach, instantly flaring up her stomach more than it was already flared. She yelped out in pain.
"Don't be stupid, Number 10,008…" To Tartar's surprise, she still wasn't done. He stood still, staring in awe.
She pushed past the pain. Slowly, 8 finally got back on her feet and put herself into a battle position. Hero Shot in hand, and her breathing heavy and slow, she got ready for the fight of her life. She shook her head in disapproval. "…I can do this all day…"
Back in Present Day
With half of the team now gone, Marina, Pearl, and Agent 3 were now the last ones left. Without stopping, they quickly ran back to the central lab and closed the doors, securing the area.
Now that they had a moment to breathe again, Marina sighed and began to cry, leaning on a table. "I wouldn't have let us go on this mission if I had known we'd lose more than we gained…"
Pearl went to comfort her. "There's nothing we can do about it now. For now, all we can do is stay here and pray Eight gets back to us. Then we'll destroy the machine."
"We don't have time to wait for Eight." Agent 3 said, pacing rapidly. "How are we supposed to destroy the machine?"
"We have a big bomb." Marina said, pulling it out from her armor. "Powerful enough to decimate the entire facility. Even if it doesn't directly breach the machine's force field, the machine would lose its footing and its power source and shut down."
Agent 3 stared in disbelief. "You do realize that if we're locked in, that bomb is gonna kill us too, right?"
Marina looked down. "Well… not if we can find a way out. But…" She looked at Pearl. "…We may not be walking out of here alive."
Pearl looked back in horror. They all took several moments to stare at each other, the dark reality of their situation settling in. "…So this is it then? This is where we die…"
Marina didn't answer the question. "…Let's just save the bomb for a last resort. Come on. Let's see if we can breach the force field somehow."
They began to walk to the the time machine room, when suddenly, something grabbed Marina by the throat, shoving her into the wall. Pearl immediately reacted and attempting to reach for her, but was knocked back into a wall.
"You wanted to breach my armor…" Tartar said, staring directly into her eyes. His armor skin was completely torn off, revealing the disgusting mold of body parts that was his exoskeleton. His eyes were just massive red lights. Without his mouth, he was speaking through a mere unmoving speaker, his voice distorted kind of like a voice scrambler. "Well, now you get to see the real me, mother."
Marina attempted to speak, but she was being choked too hard, absolutely no air passing through her throat.
"I don't care if my plan fails anymore. All these cockroaches I've dedicated my life to hating, they're not worth it. All I really want… is to see you die."
Marina was already blacking out as she stared into his massive red eyes. She wanted so badly to call out to Pearl.
"I will rip out your organs while you still live. You will know true pain and shock, and finally, death. You will know what I have dealing with my whole life."
Suddenly, a big metal tube whammed him in the side of his head, and without his armor, sparks flew out like blood where he was just hit. He let go of Marina, who slid down to the floor, desperately gasping for all the air she could fit in her lungs.
Tartar turned around, grabbing where the sparks were flying out. "Executioner."
Agent 3 prepared herself for battle. "Taking off your armor wasn't so smart."
Tartar laughed, although no smile could be seen without his mouth. "Go ahead, Executioner. Kill me. See if you can before I kill you."
Before 3 could say anything, Tartar lunged at her, which she swiftly dodged. One of the broken Executioner spear pieces was still lying on the ground, which she grabbed with a roll.
The next time Tartar lunged, she dodged once more and pierced him in the chest with it. Currently unable to feel pain, Tartar only laughed maniacally. He was letting out the darkest edges of his insane personality.
Using the spear to tear her way inside, Agent 3 reached her hand in and pulled out his heart, which was a medium sized energy core. Tartar's body immediately began to shut down, causing him to grunt, but 3 still wasn't done. She pulled out a grenade, pulled the pin, and shoved it in to where his heart used to be.
Tartar continued to laugh maniacally as the grenade exploded, tearing his body apart. His head bounced off the wall, letting gravity center it in the middle of the room. The red lights from his eyes began to power down, quickly blinking. With the last seconds of his life, Tartar made his final ominous laugh.
"I have unlocked the chains of which binds all living creatures together. …Death." His voice became even more distorted. "Professor… Our reunion beckons..." Finally, his eyes shut off all together.
They stared each other for several seconds, before suddenly, the entire world around them began to shift in flashing lights. A loud noise erupted, as if they were in the middle of big explosion. They both covered their ears in pain. Pearl grunted. "What the fuck was that!?"
Marina looked around. "Oh no. Reality glitches. Our universe is starting to fall apart. We need to destroy the machine now!"
Back with Agent 8
Tartar grunted in anger, and then lunged at her, when all of a sudden, 8 activated her Ink Armor one more time, which as a side effect, gave her a little bit of her strength back. As Tartar punched her straight in the face, she wasn't affected at all, allowing her to follow up with her own weak punch.
Tartar fell back a little bit, and 8 began to fire a line of ink as her Armor ran out, and Tartar strafed around. 8 was unable to catch up as Tartar rolled behind her and attacked her knees, knocking her off her one foot.
Tartar grasped 8 from behind, holding her in a position where he could snap her neck if he wanted. "Octarians!" He called out.
Several Sanitized Octocopters flew into the scene at once, each one carrying Twintacle Octotroopers. Instantly, green ink from everywhere was being sent in her direction, and as soon as possible, she pulled out her Baller, instantly knocking Tartar off and protecting her from any and all shots of ink.
She used the baller to tank the ink for a few seconds, and then as she saw Tartar coming in for another hit, she set the Baller to explode. It immediately splatted most of the Octarians and knocked Tartar into the glass railing.
Quickly, she pulled back out her Hero Shot and began to fire at any remaining Octarians, doing so swiftly, even with her pain and weakness. As they became splatted, multiple Sanitized Octolings then dropped into the arena.
"Seek and destroy!" They called out like robots. Agent 8 quickly slid away and hid behind a platform, laying down some ink for her to hide in her octopus form. She was unable to bring in as much ink thanks to her injury, but soon enough, she came out with her next attack: The Inkjet.
She flew across the air with style, the Octolings pointing up and trying to shoot her out of the air. She responded with massive shots of ink, instantly splatting around 3 of them. 2 more remained, however, when her Inkjet ran out and she leaped back to where she was hiding. Once again pulling out her Hero Shot, she quickly stepped away from the platform and fired upon the Octolings, and while she was too weak to strafe their attacks, she was able to splat them both first before they laid too much ink on her.
She grunted and took a second to refill her ink, and then quickly stood back up when she remembered that the real fight was about to begin.
Tartar lunged at her from behind, and she quickly turned around to block the attack. Tartar grabbed the Hero Shot, and the two wrestled with each other for control.
"Give up with peace, Number 10,008. You cannot hope to beat me in your current state." Tartar muttered, as he managed to take the Hero Shot from her hands, knocking her down and smashing it beneath his foot. "Your destiny is to die here."
"Don't even talk to me about destiny…" Agent 8 grunted as she stood back up and resorted to punches. This was the part of the battle where she was starting to realize just how much we weakness was gonna affect the outcome.
She was no match for his metal body. With one move, Tartar knocked her against the platform wall and began to wallop at her. This was reminding her of both her fight with the Executioner, and her fight with the older Tartar. Now having a bloody nose, she activated the Ink Armor again and tanked the hits.
As soon as the armor ran out, she dodged another punch to the side, grasping her stomach from the pain this brought. She prepared herself to continue fighting. This was the time to bring out all she learned from Agent 3.
Tartar lunged again, and this time, she was straight up ready. Mustering the last of her strength, she grabbed his fist from the air and shoved him back, wrestling him onto the floor. Tartar was once again surprised.
Agent 8 got on top of him. "This is why you don't destroy a society filled with innocent people just because you see them the wrong way… You piss people off." She used all of the strength in her arms to punch him in the face multiple times. The green sludge that leaked from his face began to get on her fist.
This was it. The final blow. Tartar looked on in fear as she used her finishing move; She activated her splashdown, rising into the air. This wasn't even an ordinary Splashdown, this one was improved by Marina, and even stronger. Time seemed to slow down in this moment.
Then, 8 came crashing down right into Tartar's chest, an explosion of red ink covering most of the platform, even knocking it down just a little bit. It was the strongest strike from a single Splashdown from history.
As the ink settled and the area became visible again, Agent 8 looked down at her foe. His body was completely torn apart, his head once again disembodied. She stared for several seconds, feeling victorious for the first time in a long time.
"Grkk! G-g-gaahhh!" Tartar spurted out, as his head began to shake uncontrollably, shutting down.
Agent 8 smiled. "…Any last words, you god damn telephone?"
Tartar was still spasming. "…Octotroopers!" He spoke, presumable through a com system. "…Activate… self… destruct…" These were his last words as his telephone body finally broke down, falling apart in front of her.
Agent 8 looked up. Self destruct?
Back in Present Day
They ran into the time machine room together. The time machine was absolutely freaking out, and was now floating through the air. "…Is that normal!?" Pearl screamed.
"Nope." Marina sighed. She pulled out the big bomb. "I hate to say it but we don't have time to wait for Eight. I'm going to set up the bomb to blow up the facility, and then we'll only have a few moments to break out."
"How long can the timer set to?"
Marina looked at it. "A couple minutes."
"Marina… I think we should stay."
Agent 3 sighed to herself, sitting down by the corner of the room, staring at the beautiful lights of the machine. She really didn't care if these were her final moments.
Marina looked up from the bomb. "What?"
"We're not getting out of here. All of our friends are dead or missing… Maybe we should just…" Pearl stopped, grabbing her hand.
"Why is everyone so suicidal today?"
"This was our final mission. Tartar's dead. We won. But in order to keep that victory, we need to do this."
Marina stared in disbelief. She took a few moments to accept the reality, the harsh, cold, reality. Now she was kind of glad Agent 8 was still missing, she would never want to subject her to this. She looked at Agent 3, just to see that she was still here. Agent 3 locked eye contact with her. "…Thank you for helping us." She decided to say.
Agent 3 nodded. "I didn't do it for you." She played a little but with her Hero Outfit. Now that Tartar was dead, she felt satisfied enough to leave the world in peace. "…Do you think… that Cuttlefish would be willing forgive me if he were still here?"
Marina hesitated, and then nodded.. "…Absolutely." She turned back to Pearl, but continued to stare down at the bomb. "…If I start the timer, there's no stopping it."
Pearl looked at her with fear. "…What other choice do we have?"
Back with Agent 8
"Shit…" Agent 8 slowly got up. Now that her rush of adrenaline was over, she was getting weaker once again. Suddenly, large explosions began to rock the statue. She looked up, and sure enough, fiery explosions were raining down debris everywhere. While she was glad the statue was currently being destroyed, she was now caught in the middle of it.
As the entire facility began to flash red lights, she looked over on the other end of the elevator, where her IA3 was standing. She had an approving look on her face.
"...Not bad, kid." She disappeared for the final time.
Before she could plan some sort of epic escape, a large piece of debris slammed into the pillars that were holding the elevator, and the whole thing became crashing down. As the elevator lost its footing, she toppled off of it into a face-up free fall.
As she fell, she quickly accepted her death. She had succeeded. If Marina was correct in her theory, time should now reset. She saved Inkopolis.
She was heading straight for a pit of fire. With her final tears, she turned her thoughts back to Marina and Four, the last comfort she had in her life. Too bad she couldn't be with them in her last moments.
She closed her eyes.
Back in Present Day
Marina hesitated to start the bomb, breathing heavily, one of the worst panic attacks she had ever felt settled in. She began to shiver from fear and what might be waiting for her.
Pearl took sight of this and grabbed her hand. "…We'll go out together. We'll be together."
Marina suddenly burst into tears, throwing her arms around Pearl like a wild animal. "Pearlie…" She said through her sobbing. "I don't wanna die."
In a strange change of pace, Pearl was the only calm one out of the two. "Neither do I. I'll be right here with you, I promise. We're Off the Hook to the end."
"I can't just go out like this, I, I, I…" She started but couldn't find the right words. "I have too much I wanna say to you."
Pearl closed her eyes, fighting back her own tears. "Me too. So let's summarize."
"Oh, Pearlie…" Marina said, her crying getting louder. "I'm so sorry. I don't deserve you..."
"I don't deserve you."
"I fucked up so hard with you, and, and, and…"
"Marina, all of it is alright. You're still my best friend." Pearl was now failing to keep her tears contained. "I'm not leaving your side."
Marina continued to strongly sob into her ear, but Pearl didn't mind. With a deep breath, Pearl suddenly took the bomb from Marina and activated it. 2 minutes remained as it began counting down.
"I'm right here." Pearl said, rubbing the back of Marina's head in comfort. Marina was holding on to Pearl so tight she thought she thought she might crush her.
For 2 minutes, they simply sat there, not letting go of each other, simply enjoying each other's presence in their final moments. Marina remembered all the emotional memories they shared together, from when they first met, to how Pearl showed her Inkling society, to how she showed her the notes of Ebb & Flow, which inspired them to start a band together. They would never have dreamed in a million years that Off the Hook would live up to and replace the Squid Sisters, but somehow, they did it.
Every few seconds, Pearl repeated "I'm right here." to make sure the point was well within Marina's brain. Calming down a little, Marina buried her face in Pearl's neck, keeping her as close as physically possible.
The timer continued to tick down as light continued to erupt from the time machine. 30 seconds to live.
Marina wondered where Eight had gone. Wherever she was, Marina prayed that she was safe and happy. She was… like a daughter to her.
10 seconds remained.
Pearl lightly kissed Marina on the cheek. "I love you."
"I love you, Pearlie."
Agent 3 stared at them, her mind on Cuttlefish the whole time.
5 seconds remained.
They all closed their eyes tightly.
3
2
1
An underwater explosion could be heard from a distance, as the sun rose on an empty Inkopolis.
The city where few buildings remained, or any structures for that matter, where small animals like birds could now thrive.
Years and years passed. The forgotten city slowly got overrun by plants and wildlife. No sentient life-form remained in the surface world, and just like with the humans before them, the planet was left to proceed wherever nature went next.
Just the next step in the cycle of life.
The New Timeline
Agent 8's eyes slowly drifted open, confusion setting over her. Had she been dreaming? She must have been.
They must have never went back to Tartar Labs. She must have never went back in time, she must have never fought Tartar. Thus, she fully expected to awake to the smell of Marie cooking breakfast, maybe a little tune played by the Squid Sisters and Off the Hook.
She awoke and stood up. There was no injury in her stomach, but her surroundings were… very unfamiliar. She awoke in a nice bed, in a nice bedroom, in nice pajamas. Now more confused than ever, she got up and opened the blinds to the window. She could see Inkopolis, non-destroyed, still glowing with life.
She was immediately sent into a emotional state when she saw this, covering her mouth. It was so beautiful. She must have changed time after all.
She looked around the room. It was a simple room, white walls, a closet, a bed. She double checked to see that her stomach was no longer injured, and it was, not even a scar present. Her body was now as if the NILS statue never struck, but, she still remembered everything.
She turned to the dresser, where a couple photographs sat in frames. The version of her in this timeline must have never went through the metro, instead leaving straight to Inkopolis right after she left the Valley. This is what she assumed at least, and the happy Octoling in the pictures that was herself was all the evidence she needed.
She felt a pinch of satisfaction and happiness when she saw her own smile. She truly seemed happy in this timeline.
But now, what happened to the rest of the Splatoon? She had to go investigate. She moved over to her closet, where she was met with a variety of different clothing. She put on the closest to her and left in a hurry.
Inkopolis Square
Agent 8 looked around in amazement as she reached Inkopolis Square. She looked up at the massive digital billboards and television screens in awe. The blue sky, the fresh air, the life… it was all so peaceful. She was crying so many tears from the beauty of it alone.
Suddenly, a TV screen on the Battle Lobby tower burst to life, music beginning to play. Pearl and Marina popped on screen.
"Y'all know what time it is!" Pearl started.
"It's Off the Hook, coming at you LIVE from Inkopolis Square!" Marina continued.
Pearl and Marina… They were still around in this timeline. Pearl and Marina were currently going over the Turf War stages and whatever, but she wasn't really listening. She slowly walked up to the TV screen as if she could jump up through the screen and hug Marina. She walked all the way up to almost the tower itself when she turned and saw them.
In a little studio on the right side of the Square, she could see them through the glass, recording the news in person. Already getting emotional again, she went up to the glass, and patiently waited for them to finish recording, awkwardly putting her full face on the glass, unaware she was looking kind of stupid as a result.
As the popstars went back to their seats, they both noticed 8, confused expressions on their faces. Pearl covered her mouth as if she was trying to hide a snicker, but Marina just simply collected her cool and gave an awkward wave.
Agent 8 backed up from the glass in disappointment. They didn't seem to recognize her, but she wasn't about to sit around and guess. She looked around, seeing if there was an easy way into the building, although there didn't seem to be one.
She came up with the next best thing. She investigated the Square for the bit, finding something she could use, and sure enough, she stumbled upon a small postbox with papers and a pencil laying about. She took the pencil and a single piece of paper, and walked back to the studio, before writing her message in large bold letters.
Marina, who was still talking with Pearl, turned to see 8 place the paper on the glass. One of her eyebrows raised as she read the message.
THIS IS AGENT 8. DO YOU RECOGNIZE ME? I SURVIVED THE MACHINE.
"Who?" Marina suddenly asked, also directing Pearl's attention to the paper.
"Oh dear…" Pearl said, awkwardly. "Uh… stalker alert."
Marina gave her a long look, before decided that no, she did not recognize the person. She began to feel creeped out. "Um… I think we should just go out for lunch…"
Pearl sighed. "If you're buying."
"Pearlie, we both have more money than we can count..."
"Haha, so?"
The two collected their things and headed through the door in the back. Defeated, 8 dropped the paper and looked down in despair. They must have been overwritten.
She began to turn around from the glass, looking around to see the Inklings around her staring at her like she was some sort of creep. Agent 8 sighed, walking away to mask her tears.
Cuttlefish Bunker
The elevator slowly descended to the bottom of the bunker, opening to let Agent 8 in, who had known the keypad code to get in in the first place. She opened the door to the rest of the bunker and looked around. It looked very different from when she last saw it, not only because of how it had been a while since she had last been here, but because it no longer had Marina's extra touches to it. She sighed and looked around. Although the emotion surprised her, she was strangely nostalgic to the place.
She sat down at the dining room table, remembering all the memories she had here. If the versions of the people she knew and loved were overwritten in the transition… then it was kind of like they died. The people who replaced them aren't the people that she knew. The very thought brought her grief.
She sat for several minutes, silently weeping as she faced the facts. Marina no longer recognized her. To her, they never met. A part of her wanted to go back to the old timeline, just so she could hug the Marina she knew one last time. After sitting at the table for as long as she wanted, she moved over to where her bedroom used to be. As she expected, none of her belongings remained.
Nothing remained. Outside of the cans of food that laid about, the bunker was empty and unbelievably lifeless. She felt so alone compared to how she felt in the actual apocalypse, which was the weirdest thought ever.
But yet it was a legit emotion nonetheless. She was now alone, she now had nobody. As she turned to leave, she heard noises coming from the elevator.
Immediately taking a defensive position, she reached for her Hero Shot, which of course wasn't there. So instead, she stood awkwardly as the doors opened and someone walked in.
"Ahoy! Damn Octoling! How did you get down here!?" Cap'n Cuttlefish said, weapon pointed straight at her.
"Cuttlefish…" Agent 8 sighed in relief. "It's so good to see you…"
"Shut up! I'm not gonna ask again, how did you get down here!?"
Agent 8 felt like her heart dropped from her stomach when she realized how this looked from Cuttlefish's point of view. She was an Octarian and just broke into his super secret bunker… "Um… I can explain…"
"You'd better." Cuttlefish said angrily.
Agent 8 chose her words carefully, before letting it all out.
Around an Hour Later
Cuttlefish Cabin, Octo Canyon
"...So… Just so I have this clear…" Marie started. "…You're from another timeline where Inkopolis was destroyed, and so you leaped through a tear in space-time to go back in time and destroy a telephone, thus saving Inkopolis from certain doom?"
Agent 8 sighed. "I… Ok yeah it sounds crazy when I say it out loud."
"I dunno, seems pretty legit to me." Callie said, sipping her coffee.
Cap'n Cuttlefish, Marie, Callie, and Sheldon all sat around the Cabin, the Squid Sisters enjoying their coffee as Sheldon and Cuttlefish sat more toward the back.
"...And you were Agent 8?" Cuttlefish questioned one last time.
"Yeah…" 8 said awkwardly. "I guess it's ok if you don't believe me, but… I do feel like I've gotten to know you all pretty well in that other timeline."
"Well, 'Agent 8'…" Marie said, stepping toward her a little bit. "I mean… what's your name?"
"Just… Agent 8…"
Marie turned around and looked at Cuttlefish suspiciously, before turning back to 8. "Well, Agent 8, I'm afraid that without solid proof we have literally no reason to believe you. In fact, if you want, I can pay to get you proper help…"
Agent 8 sighed yet again. "Well… I know you two are excellent dancers."
Marina smirked a little bit. "Sweetie, anyone who's anyone just kind of knows that about us, you're gonna have to try harder."
"I know that Callie has some bizarre sexual interests."
Callie spit out her coffee a little bit with a chuckle. "Whaaaat? That's crazy… I would never…"
8 continued. "I know she likes to sleep with a teddy bear every night."
Then Callie straight up dropped the coffee, her chuckle still existent but now even more awkward.
Marie eyed her suspiciously, knowing that she was right, and should have no way of knowing it unless she was either a crazy stalker or telling the truth.
8 went down the line to Sheldon. "I know that you have a huge soft spot for anyone who's into technology, and I know that you like to talk a lot."
Sheldon rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I mean… Do I really talk a lot? Wait a minute, I don't think I've ever seen you in my store…"
Then, finally, 8 turned back to Cuttlefish. "And I know that you love someone who goes by Agent 3 very much. I know that she's like a granddaughter to you, and you're like a grandfather to her. And I know that you two are inseparable, and would do anything to protect and forgive each other."
Cuttlefish eyed her in amazement. It was all very true. "Great Scott… You really are telling the truth, aren't you…?"
8 nodded. "With all of my heart."
A plopping sound could be heard from the storm drain, prompting her to turn around. Agent 4 was standing in his Hero Outfit, as he walked up to the group. "Hey guys. I was called?"
Agent 8 immediately blushed. "…Hey, Four…"
Agent 4 looked at her in confusion. "Hey… person…" He turned to Marie. "…Who's this?"
Marie turned back to Agent 8 in shock. There was no way on earth she knew who Agent 4 was. She looked at Cuttlefish. "Gramps? Do you… Do you really believe her?"
Cuttlefish smiled beneath his beard. "…I do."
Agent 8 smiled gratefully.
Cuttlefish extended his hand. "Well then, I say welcome back, Agent 8."
8 accepted the handshake.
Everyone in the area then went over to 8 to give their own handshakes and welcome her to the Splatoon.
Marie sighed as the group wrapped up. "Well, it was lovely catching up with you, Eight, but, well, Callie and I need to get going. We have a concert with Off the Hook tonight, and I'm honestly pretty nervous…" She slipped an extra ticket from her jacket. "…Here's an extra free invite, my treat. Only because I invite all the Splatoon members though."
"Oh!" Agent 8 suddenly yelled, stopping them. "Off the Hook? Pearl and Marina? They were Agents 6 and 7 in my timeline."
Marie raised an eyebrow.
"I think you should… hire them again. They're really wonderful people to work with." 8 finished with a subtle smile.
"Well…" Marie glanced back at Cuttlefish for permission, who just shrugged. "…I'll see what I can do."
Agent 8's Apartment
Agent 8 silently returned to her apartment to get prepared for the sudden concert tonight. She had a lot of thoughts to sort through.
She now had relationships to rebuild from scratch, unfortunately, and larger still, a whole new life to face. She didn't know how she was gonna go about tackling it.
She looked through her apartment, eventually coming across papers and pencils. It seems like this timeline's version of her was still into that sort of stuff.
This is when she had an idea. The NSS and world that she knew was gone, but, her memories of them weren't. She spent the next several hours, just, drawing.
She drew as many happy memories as she could think of. She drew Cuttlefish Bunker, she drew the renovated Deepsea Metro, she drew when the NSS finally reassembled, among many other moments.
Then, she wrapped it all off with a final portrait of the NSS together, even including Agent 3 and Cuttlefish. This piece of artwork was special to her, so she put as much detail in it as her talent possibly could.
Eventually, as the art itself was finished, she colored it in, and then went back to her pencil to leave a caption.
In loving memory of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, saviors for me and the world.
She hung it on the wall as it concluded. She was going to look at this drawing every day, and remember the people she loved. A single tear fell from her eye, which she silently wiped off. Now she only wished she could see them one last time.
Inkopolis Square
Agent 8 reached the Square under the nighttime sky, where Agent 4 was waiting for her. The concert was just about ready to begin.
Agent 4 walked up to her, a slight smile extending on his face. "So, uh… Marie says I'm supposed to help you get used to things around here."
Agent 8 smiled. "Oh… Uh… Sounds like fun."
"She also said I should take you out for shawarma."
Agent 8 blushed. "Oh… You mean like a…"
4 raised his eyebrow as 8 continued to stutter.
"Like a… like a… date?"
Agent 4 sighed. "Well, I mean, not exactly. We'll have company."
He moved to the side a bit to reveal the orange haired Inkling, who stared at her almost menacingly.
Agent 8 had to keep herself from groaning. "Uh… Hi, Three."
"So I see you already know who I am." 3 said with a slight smirk. "Cuttlefish has already told me about you. He said Four and I should keep an eye on you."
"Um… both of you?"
"Is there a problem with that?"
"No." 8 lied. "No problem. Sounds like… sounds like fun." She said with a fake smile.
3 didn't buy it. "…I don't know what exactly what you know about me, but… I don't mean any harm. I'm just a girl, and I'm here to make sure you don't break down and have a panic attack facing such a large new world like you are right now."
8 had to keep herself from rolling her eyes, but didn't know to respond.
Agent 3 was starting to suspect she was making her uncomfortable. "So… Was I… Did I do something to you? In the other timeline or whatever?"
8 looked down. She wasn't doing a good job at hiding her emotions, and now, dammit, 3 was already onto her.
3 turned to 4, and then back to 8. "Well, I just hope you can understand that I'm really just here to help. I don't know what I did in the other timeline, but… I promise you I'm not like that here. I'm gonna take care of you, Eight."
8 continued to look down awkwardly, but slowly forced herself to lock eye contact with her. The silence between them was getting a bit uncomfortable.
3 no longer knew how to convince her. "…Do you trust me?" She said, extending her hand.
8 took several seconds to think through her answer, staring at her outstretched hand. Just as 3 looked like she was gonna give up and put it down, she accepted the handshake. "…I do."
3 nodded with relief. Without saying anything, she began to walk away, leaving 8 to 4. 8 and 4 stared at each other, as the concert began. Concert lights slowly drifted through the area, hinting at a slower first song.
Everyone looked up at the stage, where Marina and Pearl came out to cheers in their trademark Off the Hook outfits. Slow guitar music began to play, with of course some more electronic elements thrown in.
They began to slowly sing their first lines peacefully, slowly dancing to the beat. After the intro of the song, Callie and Marie joined with their own Squid Sister outfits. They slowly danced in sync with each other, letting the slow song play in peace.
Agent 8 slowly grabbed 4's hand and rested her head on his shoulder. 4, although caught by surprise, shrugged it off, knowing she had been through a lot that he wasn't even aware of.
They watched the four popstars continue on with their emotional song, as 8 slowly buried herself more and more in 4. She looked up to the dark sky, ready for her new life.
A Year Later
The dark night sky pierced the streets of Inkopolis, the moon clearly visible from the rooftop that Agent 8 sat on. She looked over the streets of Inkopolis like a silent guardian, one hanging over the ledge, a radio sitting next to her, which was playing the Calamari Inkantation on loop on low volume. She had been listening to the song every day since she first entered this timeline to remind her of who she was.
With the help of Marina and Sheldon, she had recreated her Hero Outfit and Hero Shot from the previous timeline, which she now wore. As an extra bonus, a gray cape now flowed from her back, the number "8" faintly visible on it in the moonlight.
Suddenly, the Calamari Inkantation stopped as the radio was overridden. Static played, and then an incoming message. Marina's voice sounded.
"All Agents of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, this is Agent 7. The Great Zapfish has gone missing again, I repeat, the Great Zapfish has gone missing again. We suspect that the Octarians are behind this and request all Agents begin investigating. Over." As the message cut off, the Calamari Inkantation began playing again.
Agent 8 stood up. Gripping her Hero Shot, she took another look at the moon, and made sure her cape was on tight. Then, swiftly, she spun around and leaped off the building with a flip, jumping into action.
The End
Alright, so these chapters took a bit longer to finish than I was expecting, but the story is finally finished! ...Somewhat, at least. There's a few things I want to bring up if you'll stay a minute and read, however.
First, I'm thinking I might go back and give this story a bit of a rewrite. While you have all seemed to be enjoying the story, which I'm happy for, the story has also received a fair amount of criticism and I think some of it can be fixed. I've had a chat about it with a friend, and, while I have no idea when because I have a lot of other plans, I do intend on maybe going back and redoing some of the story. I'll probably have a note up on my profile if I do something like that, so keep an eye on that.
Second, I'm just wanting to announce that while my next big story project like this will be for The Legend of Zelda (as listed on my profile already), I have some smaller projects planned for the Splatoon category that I will be working on soon. I won't say what they are here, but again if you want, keep an eye on my profile for updates for those.
Third, I just wanna say thank you one more time for taking the time and reading this whole story. It means a lot to me that people are willing to read this, even if the story has some obvious rough edges. Thank you again to everyone who has reviewed, this story got way way more than I expected, and while I've only responded to a few of them, I hope that everyone who left one knows I really appreciate it. If it weren't for you, I probably would've abandoned the story by now. So, seriously, thank you all.
And... for now I believe that is it. I intend on putting this story up on Ao3 as well just because I happened to get an account for that and it's just sitting there, and I don't know why anyone here would care, but... now you know. Anyway, see you next story.
Agents 3, 4, and 8 all silently and awkwardly sat around the table in the middle of the shawarma restaurant. 3 and 4 were just kind of sitting, staring down this mysterious food, while 8 devoured hers with greed.
"...How are you still hungry?" Agent 3 asked, slightly amazed, slightly annoyed.
"...It's been a very long time since I've had food like this." Agent 8 responded shyly, as she continued to eat at her own.
Agent 4 sighed, wondering how he got this job.
Agent 3 rolled her eyes and shrugged it off, before taking a large bite.