On we go.
Chapter Eight
Escape
Liz stared at the Octoling who was the reason she had become Agent 3. Her hair tentacles looked like somebody had dunked them in boiling water or something, her clothes were in tatters, and she was clearly nervous. She recognized the other Octoling as well, Catherine of C Group. She understood that they had a past of some kind, and that Catherine would not act favorably if she attacked. She had no intention to, anyway. Facing Cass, she said, "We'll talk about it later." Facing Cuttlefish, she said, "Subtle, Cap. This place is a sham. I'm ashamed you fell for their silly trick."
Cuttlefish sighed. "Desperation does strange things, Agent 3." Liz chose not to answer that. Facing Catherine, she said, "Do you have a weapon?" Catherine shook her head. "I've been down here for who knows how long." Liz sighed. "Almost two years. That's the last time I saw you." Catherine grimaced. "Clair's not gonna be happy..." Cass looked at Liz. "How'd you find us?" She faced her. "The distress beacon from your CQ-80. It's a good thing I got here when I did."
Cuttlefish made a decision. "Agent 3, Agent 8, go on ahead. Catherine and I will follow shortly." Liz nodded. "Aye, Cap'n." The two entered the escape path to the surface, and Catherine faced Cuttlefish. "Are you sure putting those two together is a good idea?" Cuttlefish faced her. "Whatever happened between them, they need to resolve it." Catherine sighed. "Why did you have them go ahead?" He replied, "Because there's something about that phone that makes me curious."
With Cass and Liz, they had just entered the first level of the path when Cass muttered under her breath. Liz faced her. "What?" She faced Liz. "I need a weapon." Liz sighed. "We might find one on the way out, but I'm not sure. I know there are Splat Bombs at some point, but I don't remember where." Cass nodded. "I'm sorry, Liz." Liz faced her. "I thought I said we'd discuss it later." Cass sighed. "I know, but I still feel terrible..." Liz nodded. "You should. Hitting me with a rock is not nice."
Cass nodded. Liz continued. "Why did you leave me laying there, by the way?" Cass swallowed nervously. "I thought you were dead..." Liz raised an eyebrow. "Were you trying to kill me?" Cass shook her head. "No, but that doesn't excuse it..." Liz nodded. "We have a long way to go. I'll make my decision about you after we make it to the top." Cass nodded. They made it through the first area with no problem. The second area, Cass nearly fell over the edge of a platform, but caught herself in time.
Soon enough, they found the Splat Bombs that Liz had mentioned. Cass picked them up, and faced Liz. "I can use them for distractions." Liz nodded. "Good idea. Get ready." Seeing a pair of Sanitized Octotroopers, Cass threw a Splat Bomb at them, and Liz Splatted them as they looked at it, curious. Moving on, they climbed through many obstacles, making their way to the surface. Cass found an Octo Shot along the way, so they both could fight. They reached a room with a power core.
Liz nodded towards it. "We'll need to detach it so that we can use it to power the escape hatch." Cass nodded. "How do we get up there?" Liz gestured ahead. "Inkjets. We can use them to gain some height. I'll take the left, you go right. We'll meet back here." Cass nodded. They began to work on the eight locking clamps, releasing them one by one, until they freed the core, and followed it to the escape shaft. Once they arrived, Liz attached it, and they entered an elevator.
Cass then realized something. "Hold on." She pressed her finger to her headset. "Cap'n, it's Agent 8. Come in." There was no response. She tried again. He didn't answer. Rolling her eyes, she pressed her comm button again. "Cathy, come in." Her sister didn't reply, either. Liz tried contacting the Cap'n, but got no reply as well. "He almost always answers me." Cass's eyes went wide. "They're in trouble." As she said this, they heard a saucer approaching. They looked up, and saw Cap'n Cuttlefish tied upside down.
He saw them. "Agents, that twisted phone took control of Catherine's mind! Help!" When Cass heard that, she dropped her jaw. "What?!" She looked up at her sister, who had some kind of pulsating sludge on the right side of her face. The clearly brainwashed Catherine looked down at them, and struck. Cass dodged, and Liz was slammed against the wall, knocked unconscious. The Octoling looked at her sister, and knew that she would have to fight her. "Cathy, if you're in there, I'd like to apologize in advance for this."
The brainwashed Octoling struck, aiming at Cass's head, who easily dodged, and fired back. She landed a couple hits, and took cover in her ink, waiting. The brainwashed Catherine struck again, and Cass dodged, firing back. Both opponents backed off after trading shots, and Cass weighed over her options. 'She's not fighting at her full strength, which means whatever's controlling her doesn't know how to use it.' Cass rushed, and the brainwashed Octoling met her. They locked hands, dropping their Octo Shots, which didn't melt.
Cass made a choice, and headbutted Catherine in the face, knocking her against the wall, and grabbed her weapon off of the ground. She fired at the sludge on her sister's face, blasting it off. Liz spoke up. "Whoa..." Cass faced her. "You got good." Cass shrugged. "About time." Holstering her weapon, she leaned Catherine against the wall. They got Cuttlefish down, and he faced Cass. "Well done, Agent 8. I know that was hard for you." She nodded. "I'm just glad she's safe now..."
Liz looked at the ladder that was behind Cass. "Hey. Get up to the surface. See if you can signal for a ride. We'll be right up." Cass nodded, and began climbing. Upon reaching the top, she saw a fleet of helicopters approaching her. In one were two individuals, and Cass caught on to who they were. "Pearl and Marina?" They gestured to her, and landed the chopper. Once all four were aboard the platform that was attached to the bottom of the chopper, they began to rise, and Cass sighed.
As Pearl and Cuttlefish had another rap battle, Cass noticed something. "Hey, what is that?" They all looked, and took note of the platform they had been on before, rising out of the ocean, revealing a massive statue. Pearl broke the silence. "Yo... What the heck is that?" Cass squinted, trying to get a better look, and took note of a window in one of the eye slots, where the phone was staring at them, except this time, it was covered in green goop. Cass grimaced. "Here we go again..."
A/N
Surprise! Except not really!
