Walking next to her, chatting amicably about the past month, Four finds herself liking Eight more and more. In the beginning, she didn't like her at all - she was too cheery, too excitable, too Eight. (And, well, their first meeting hadn't been pleasant either, what with Three being concussed and delirious on the couch and all. Four grabbed Eight by the shirt and screamed at her until her voice was hoarse, and Eight didn't have anything to say for herself beyond "Sorry.")

But was Four really at fault there? She doesn't regret it, or... Well, no, she feels a little bad about it, but she doesn't think her anger was entirely unjustified. Eight was the cause of Three's many sleepless nights, the reason why Four moved from her nice apartment complex to Three's shittier, tinier one. Eight didn't directly cause all of Three's scars and her two-week-long absence, but she caused her friend pain, and Four would rather die than see Three cry again.

Well... Would friends even be the right way to describe them? They're more than friends, yet less than lovers. Whatever she is with Three, Eight interfered.

But, well, that's water under the bridge now, isn't it? Eight and Four are friends now, however rocky their start was, and that's what matters.

Right?

"So, um, Four?" Eight starts, pulling Four from her thoughts. "Are you any good at Monopoly?"

The question seems a little out-of-place, but then Four remembers that that's basically the only thing to do at Three's apartment.

"I'm okay at it," she replies. "Three usually kicks my ass, though."

Eight hums softly, nodding. "We should all play together sometime," she says. "I think it would be fun."

Four has a feeling Eight isn't very competitive at all. She can only imagine the shitshow that the three of them playing Monopoly would be; Four and Three screaming at each other until they physically couldn't any longer while Eight, like, had a panic attack in the corner over the two yelling or something. Eight seems like the type to have a panic attack the slightest sign of conflict, right? With how jittery and nervous she gets just going to places, Four couldn't imagine the girl going through the horrors described at Kamabo. If she had to guess what Eight was back in the Domes, she'd say engineer. She couldn't see Eight being much beyond that.

"Eh... Maybe." Four checks the time - a little bit past 4:00. "Oh, shit."

"Huh?" Eight blinks. "What's wrong?"

"We're like, kinda running late. It's 4:05 now, we were supposed to be back already..."

Eight's eyes widen.

"... Oh." She goes silent. "If you don't get lost, we'll be back in five minutes if we leave, um... Right now."

"Well..." Four sighs. "It's gonna take us at least ten minutes to get back to the entrance." At least, it would with all of the stuff they bought. Some of it's for the party, but most of it's just clothes she bought because they'd look cute and goddammit Four wants clothes, alright? "Then we'll load everything into the trunk, and if we don't get lost and if there isn't any traffic... We'll be back by 4:30." She's about to text Three an apology for running late when her phone buzzes in her hand.

Three, 4:07 PM: Keep 8 out longer

Three, 4:07 PM: The microwave is on fire

You, 4:08 PM: Oh, geez, OK

You, 4:08 PM: Good luck!

Three, 4:08 PM: Pay my bail if I kill someone okay?

You, 4:08 PM: OK, I'll see you soon then

You, 4:08 PM: Aaaaa wait

Three, 4:09 PM: ?

You, 4:09 PM: How much longer do you want us out?

Four sighs. "Or... Not."

"Who was it? What happened?"

"It's Three. She said to keep you out a little longer." Four rolls her eyes with a grimace. "I can only imagine the shitshow there."

"Well..." Eight sighs. "We kind of already shopped, right?"

Three, 4:10 PM: Be back at 6:00ish

You, 4:11 PM: OK, stay safe, don't do vegetables, eat your school, stay in drugs!

Three, 4:11 PM: Love you too asshat

Smiling softly, Four rolls her eyes as she slips her phone back into her pocket. "Yeah, we did, but, uh... We have, like, two hours to kill now." Shifting a little, she racks her brain to think of, like... Something to do. "So, uh... What do you, like..."

"Umm..." Eight quietly taps her foot against the ground as she thinks. "... Well, you said something about looking for new teammates, right?"

She furrows her brow slightly, watching Eight nervously drag unseen marks into the tile. "Yeah..?"

"I, um, sorry if this is weird or anything, but... I- Never mind."

... What?

"Are... Do you want to try out for a position, or something?" If Eight's blush and silence following her question means anything, Four think it's a yes. "I know I have two members that'll be delighted to go, but, uh..." If Four brought Eight up to any of them, she knows both Neuros and Spear would be racing out the door. Neither of them give a seagull's ass or any fraction of a shit, as unfortunate as it is. That'd leave them with an empty spot in their team, so... Noticing Eight's somewhat-hidden crestfallen expression, Four finds herself pitying the girl. "I don't have any problems with you joining, it's just..." She sighs quietly as they continue walking. "I have two really shitty team members, and I think they'd both leave given the opportunity, and then we wouldn't have enough members for a full team."

"Oh," is all Eight says as she continues thinking. "... What if I found a fourth member?"

Four can't fight the grin off her face once she thinks about it. "We'd have to see if they played well, but if they did..." Grabbing her phone again, she fishes through her contacts to find Dana. "Hold on," she tells Eight, who nods. "My, uh, one fucking functioning team member should be happy to hear this..." Pressing a button on her phone, she holds it up to her ear as it rings.

Eventually, Dana answers. "Hello?"

"Dana, hey," she greets. "Is this a bad time to talk?"

"No, I'm free right now, why? Did something happen?"

"You could say that," Four breathes, trying to downplay her excitement. "So, uh... You know how we've both been looking for new members?"

"Right..." Her voice trails off. "Oh, did you find someone? Where'd you find them, and do you think they'll be good?"

"Yeah, yeah, I did," she replies, chuckling slightly at her enthusiasm. "We've been friends for a month or so, but she asked me about it earlier. I've heard she plays well, if it counts." Well, not so muchplays as it is fights, given that she (apparently) beat Three in a fight and then immediately saved the fucking world, but Dana doesn't need to know that.

"You've only heard?" Dana asks. Four doesn't need to see her to know she's pouting. "I know we're desperate, but..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but... You know Summer, right?" Dana makes a small noise on the other end, one that's part acknowledgement and another part mild contempt. Four knows the two don't exactly, uh... Get along, like, at all, but... "Right, she apparently beat her in a one-on-one."

"Oh?" That caught her attention. "I know I'm not the biggest fan of her, but... She's a damn good roller."

Four decides to not mention the fact that Three was using her Hero Shot, which is already overpowered as hell, and the fact that shooters are Three's best weapon and she just uses rollers because swinging them makes her feel cool.

"Right," she says instead, "Have you found anyone at all?"

"Oh! Yeah, I have." Sweet. "I was gonna tell you about him tomorrow since I had a feeling Spear wasn't gonna show up and we could test him out then, but... Now works, too," Dana chirps with a laugh."His name's Lucas and he's a pretty good E-Liter. Found him when I was playing Clam Blitz. He snapped me from across the map." She pauses. "Or... Well, he did a few times. We won, but I think it's only because he was with this C- kid. Even though he played so well, he apparently isn't even eighteen yet. That's kind of a trend, y'know? All those inklings with the weird hair are suuuuuper good turfers." Weird hair..? Oh. Oh, she meant octolings. Yeah... Child soldiers would probably excel at the game. "Anyways, what weapon does your new recruit play?"

"Uh..." Four briefly covers the transmitter as she turns to Eight. "Hey, Eight? What weapons do you play?"

"Um... I can use all of them just fine, minus the Inkbrush. It's too flimsy." After a moment of thought, she adds, "I sort of like splatlings, though, and blasters aren't awful."

"Those are, uh... Kind of different." Eight nods. "Any others?"

"Shooters, obviously." Four hums a little.

"She uses splatlings, shooters, and blasters," she tells Dana.

"Those aren't very similar," Dana muses. "Are you sure she's not just saying that?"

"I mean, you've seen me," Four replies, adjusting the bags in her grip. "I play dualies but I can use chargers sometimes. And, well, she did beat Summer. Tatzelwurm knows she had the ink scars to show it."

"Yeah... Okay, sure. When did you want to test them out?"

"Like, uh... Now." Dana laughs loudly on the other end, a sharp, guttural cackle.

"God, Sarah, never change..." She clears her throat. "So, I can text Lucas and see if he's free, but... If not... Y'know."

Four nods, knowing Dana can't see it. "Sorry, I know it's short noti-"

"Aw, are you kidding me?" Four cocks an eyebrow. "I've been WAITING for this day for, like, months! God, Spear's such a dick, too, and Neuros is a whiny piece of shit. I'm so excited." She pauses. "We're meeting at Deca, right? What time?"

"Uh..." Four pulls her phone away to check the time - 4:15. "It'll take us like twenty-ish minutes to get to Deca, so... Wanna go for 4:45?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's perfect!" Four can just hear Dana's grin. "Oh, and Lucas replied, he said he's ready to go whenever."

"Awesome!" She can't help but be excited. Finally... "Yeah, we'll see you soon, then!"

"Okay! Bye, Sarah!" Dana hangs up after that.

Turning to Eight, Four beams. "We're doing it!" she says. "Oh, but... Do you actually have your gear and stuff?"

"Mmh... I think I have another ink tank in a locker there, since I don't like lugging one around." She pauses. "And, um... I only really have a Splattershot Jr., since I'm not a super active player, but I can just buy a weapon at Ammo Knights, right?"

She nods. "Yeah, you can, and, uh... Actually, have you bought any of the Hero Weapons?" Eight cocks her head to the side. "Since you're an agent and all, you get little perks from Ammo Knights. They're just custom versions of the normal weapons, but you should be able to get access to other weapons that you're too low-level for. Actually... That reminds me, what level are you?"

"I think I just hit twenty-seven?" Ah, so... Not very high at all. Still enough to get all of the basic weapons, at the very least. "I know I keep my tracker in my bag, at the very least..."

"We'll be able to play a few matches, I think..." Her voice trails off. What else did she need to cover..? "Oh, do you know your ITL?"

"ITL..?" she repeats, furrowing her brow. "I'm not sure what that is."

"Ink toxicity level," Four explains. "Basically, how much venom do you produce and how often do you have to clean the tank filter?"

"Oh, that's what that is... Mmh, I think when I was buying a tank, Sheldon said it was, like... 4.00, I think?" What. That's too fucking high, what the shit. "Is that a lot..?"

"Yes." High is 2.00. Extremely high is 2.50. 3.00 is unheard of, but fucking... Fucking 4.00? To Four's knowledge, the scale caps at 3.00, so why the fuck does Eight claim to be at 4.00? "Are you sure he said the right number, not, like... 2.50 or something..?"

"Well... I can check once we get to Deca. I still have some ink testers left from when we were buying..." Eight pauses to brush a tentacle out of her face. "I have to clean my filter every three turf matches and every two Ranked, but I can push to five if I really have to."

What. The fuck. "Maybe you need to buy a tank with a stronger filter or something?"

"... I did?" Eight cocks an eyebrow. "The weaker ones broke after a few games. Why, what's yours?"

"0.50," she replies. Eight looks wildly confused. "... That's, like, average."

"That's low, " she mumbles. "How do you, like... Defend yourself?"

"... With my dualies?" Four says slowly. Eight blushes slightly. "I- What do you mean?"

"... Never mind," she says quietly. She clears her throat. "So, um... What weapons do you all use?"

"I play Splat Dualies, those come with Burst Bombs and Tenta Missiles. Dana plays Inkbrush, which has Splat Bombs and Splashdown. I've heard the other potential recruit uses the E-Liter, although I'm not entirely sure which one. The basic one's got Ink Mines and Ink Storm, though. So... I guess just pick whatever you think synergizes with that?" Sparing a glance at Eight, Four can tell she's wildly fucking lost. Giving her a smile, she tells her, "It's fine, don't worry. I'll help you with it."

Eight smiles back. "Thank you, Four."

"It's nothing," she replies. "We're friends, right?"

"Yeah, but..." Eight pauses while struggling to find the words. "It just means more than you know," is what she settles on, and her words make something stir in her chest. Four has to look away to avoid blushing, although she's sure she does anyways.

"I'm happy to help, then," she tells her, and Eight responds by taking her hand and gently squeezing it.

Yeah...

Four's happy she doesn't hate Eight anymore.

After informing Dana that they'd be stopping at Ammo Knights to pick up a weapon, Sheldon begins fucking yammering the moment Eight asks a simple question about a weapon. Eight looks very, very uncomfortable, but she's a decent person who doesn't know how to tell Sheldon to shut up, and Four kind of didn't want to snap at the guy but also what the fuck, it's a Tentatek Splattershot, it's not that difficult.

"So, did you get all that?" Sheldon asks with a wide grin. Four and Eight share a glance, and then Eight nods. "Great! Are you interested?"

"Um," Eight starts, nervously fiddling with the strap of her bag. "... Sure?"

"Just to make sure," Four adds before Sheldon actually sold her the damn thing, "It comes with Splat Bombs and Inkjet, right?"

"Yep, it does!" He holds it firmly in his grasp. "Oh, and there's a custom variant of it, too." Sheldon suddenly ducks beneath the table and pops up a few seconds later. In his hands is a Splattershot, but with a chrome finish and black details - it takes Four a second to realize it's a replica of an Octo Shot. He hands it to Eight, who takes it gingerly. She slowly turns it in her hand as she inspects it, and furrows her brow as she realizes what exactly it is.

"How do you..?"

"He's the NSS engineer," Four explains, and Eight visibly relaxes. Now Sheldon looks tense, so she rolls her eyes and tells him that "Eight's an agent as well. Agent 8." Sheldon opens his mouth to ask a question Four's heard (and asked) multiple times, so she cuts him off. "No, we don't have eight agents. It's a long story. And it's not a racial thing, to my knowledge." He closes his mouth.

"I wish you told me earlier!" he mumbles, pushing up his glasses. "Well... You get discounts on all of the custom Heroes now, and... That custom Octo Shot won't cost you any more than the regular Tentatek now." The price tag doesn't matter much, given that Eight's fucking loaded , but the sentiment can be appreciated at the very least. "Are you interested? It's 2,100 C."

Eight inhales shakily, closing her eyes, then exhales and opens them. "Su-"

"Well, okay, it's not really a custom, a lot of the design is based off the actual Octo Shot's design, what with the funnels and all, AND it's got a built-in filter for venom! It was kind of a pain to make, but I'm really happy with how it tu-"

"Sheldon," Four snaps with a glare. His face turns blue with embarrassment and he apologizes. "C'mon."

"Sorry, sorry, I'm just- I'm just so excited to share! And... That Hyperfresh character was a big help, too." He clears his throat. "So, you're buying it?"

"Yes," Eight mutters, unable to force all of the edge from her voice. She almost shoves her card into his hand. Four notes the small circles towards the ends of her tentacles start glowing a slight blue. Strange... She's never actually seen that before. "Thank you," she adds quietly.

Sheldon pulls the TIDP guard off the handle and instructs Eight to press her thumb against it. The TIDP lights up in Eight's color. "Tada! Now it's synced."

"Thanks, Sheldon," Four says with a forced smile. She practically drags Eight out the door as soon as possible, and Eight visibly deflates the moment they leave. "He's annoying, right?"

"How can someone talk so much?" she asks. "It's unbelievable."

"Yeah, I know... If we didn't need him on the NSS so badly, I'd kick him." Eight laughs. "What? Wouldn't you?"

"... Maybe," she replies after a moment of thought. "But... There's a built-in filter?"

"Oh, I wouldn't know," Four admits. "I wasn't paying attention."

"... How?"

Four shrugs. "It's a skill you acquire after the third time you visit him, I guess. He's not that bad... I just think he's happy to share his stuff with the world, you know?"

"I... I guess I understand," she says with a sigh, "But he... Would it kill him to be a little quieter?"

She laughs, and Eight gives her a look that can only be described as pure unamusement. "Sorry, sorry, but... Yeah, I think he'd benefit a little from it." Checking the time, Four notes that it's 4:40. Perfect, they're on time.

The walk to Deca doesn't even take five minutes, and by the time they walk in it's two minutes shy of 4:45. Four looks around for Dana while Eight grabs her hand again and honestly does she use lotion or something? Her hands are really soft... Maybe Four should ask, or something. Would that be weird? Maybe she could get Three to ask or something, Lord knows she owes her one at this rate-

"Sarah!" Her eyes snap over to the speaker. On one of the couches in Deca's waiting room is Dana, Inkbrush resting on the side of it with her ink tank. Dana waves at her, which Four returns. "Man, I was scared you were gonna be late and ohhhhhhhhhhh my god is that the new girl? She's adorable."

"I have never been late in the history of anything ever," states Four. If she's going to be honest, that might be the one thing she's, like, actually consistent with. "And, uh... Yeah, that's her. Eight, meet Dana. Dana, meet Eight."

Dana gives Eight a wave, who looks mildly uncomfortable.

"Um," Eight says eloquently, "Hi?"

"Soooo, like, are your tentacles naturally like that? And is that your natural ink color, because if so that's so cool, and- Wait, are you like, one of those albinos or something where your ink's the color of your blood, or- Nonono, can't be, right? It's too purple, but wow it's so nice! And what brand of oil do you use, I've never seen a blue highlight like that before, unless you, like, have some kind of piebaldism or something but I don't think there's any that's just on the tentacles, I mean unless you do in which case wow, you could totally enter a contest as some kind of genetic anomaly for that alone, or, like- Do you have an Inkstagram? I can totally manage an Inkstagram for you, with like, the right lighting and everything you'd get guys lining up at your door in minutes! And you could totally pull off that goth-y kinda frilly look, and- Sarah, wait, oh my god, don't you think she'd look cute in a skirt? She could ROCK a skirt," Dana babbles.

"Dana," Four says, "Tone it down a bit."

Realization flashes across her face as she blushes. "Sorry, sorry, I'm just really excited..! I've been WAITING for this day for, like, ages." Dana slumps further into the couch as she kicks her legs about idly. "Lucas left to go get his stuff from his locker, by the by."

Oh. Right. Lockers exist.

"Ummm, Four?" Eight cocks her head to the side ever-so-slightly. "What's your locker number and code? I can go get your stuff for you, if you'd like."

That's... Awfully nice of her. Unless she's trying to avoid Dana, which is also pretty reasonable. She's nice, but... Geez, it wouldn't hurt to talk a little less! And... Now all Four can think about is Dana and Sheldon trying to have a conversation. Wouldn't that end poorly?

"Sure, sure. Want me to write it down, or something?" she asks.

"Could you text me it, please?" Four nods and does just that. "Thank you."

"It's nothing," she says with a small smile. "You know where they are, yeah? Hall B, take two lefts and it's under the blue section."

"I remember where the lockers are, Four. Thank you, though." Eight lets go of Four's hand and moves it to the strap of her bag. "I won't take too long!"

With a small smile, Eight's off.

"So," says Dana in That tone, "She calls you Four?"

"Yeah," she says, taking a seat next to her. "Why?"

"You, um... Have something going on between you, or..?"

Four rolls her eyes. "No, you dolt. She's dating someone and I'm not looking for anyone right now."

"Nooo, just last week you were complaining about how lonely you are!" A curious cloudy medley of pink and red swirls towards the ends of Dana's tentacles. "Sooo..? Don't you liiiiike her?"

"Act your age," Four scoffs with an eye roll. Dana pouts but the small orange spots dancing about her mantle suggest she's teasing nonetheless. "And she's nice, but... Like I said, she's dating someone."

"Hmm..." While not breaking eye contact, Dana furrows her brow as her mantle cycles through different shades. "... Who is it? Do I know them?"

Four sucks in a breath. "Youuu could say that..."

Dana narrows her gaze further before her tentacles briefly flare up with bioluminescence. "Don't tell me it's Summer."

"How the fuck did you get that on the first guess?!" Four didn't say anything about it at all. "Seriously, are you a psychic or something..?"

"Your tentacles matched mine when I got to her color," she explains. "But, wow, really? I didn't think Summer was even, like, capable of getting a date in the first place..."

"You know, you're way too good at controlling your mantle. It's scary, you should teach me..." Dana grins as it fades back to her normal hue. "Yeah, it's kind of a recent development, though? Turns out they're both fucking morons, so it took like... At least a month longer than it should have."

Dana hums and nods. "Mmh, yeah... Weeeeell, it worked! Maybe Summer'll get outta your hair then, huh?"

"Nah," Four says plainly and Dana's mantle briefly lights up in a furious display of whites and blues. "Hey, hey... It's fine. She's a lot better than she was in July, anyways."

"She better be," Dana grumbles. "I just hope- Eight, was her name?" Four nods. "I just hope she's not... Like her."

While Dana could... Definitely choose a better person to say this to, Four understands. "She isn't," she tells her and there's a slight edge to her voice that she couldn't force out. Dana's tentacles flashe beige in apology and Four nods. "So..." Four clears her throat, adjusting in her seat as she inches closer. "Tell me about the new guy."

"Oh! Right, right, his name's Lucas, like I said, and he's seventeen, apparently. He's a reeeeeeeaaaally good E-Liter, and he uses the Scope so obviously he'll kill you from, like, outta nowhere. Said he prefers the Custom but he'll use the reg if he's gotta, and, uhh... Oh, his gear, right? Right, right, he's got a Tenacity bandana with all Special Up, 'cause of the bubbles, pair of boots with Object Shredder and Main Saver - for Ink Armor, so he claims - and he either runs more Main Saver or Sub Up, depending on the mode and circumstance and stuff." Dana folds her hands in her lap and smiles. "That good enough?"

"Yeah, that'll work..." That gives them one backliner to replace Neuros, although the charge-storing capabilities of non-scoped chargers was something they might miss. Tenacity's always a nice ability to have although Four hopes it wouldn't see a lot of use. When Dana goes down, the penalty from Respawn Punisher keeps her out a few seconds longer, though she gets in a little faster with Stealth Jump and all Jump Speed Up. Four prefers to wear Special Up with her Tenta Missiles - three sub slots with a main of Charge Up - so the Tenacity bonus should make it easier to pester the enemy with them until Dana gets back. Hopefully Lucas can keep the enemy away from the objective while Four's using her special, but... That still remains unseen.

And then there's Eight, the wild card.

Four still has her doubts about Eight and accepted her invite on a whim, truth be told. On one hand, she's an NSS agent, which is a testament to her skill. On the other... Is Eight cut out for these kinds of things? Eight's barely level twenty-seven, compared to Four and Dana's level 36* and 25*, respectively. Eight can fight... Probably, given how badly Three looked after Kamabo, but...

She sighs.

"Hey, Sarah, is something up?" Dana asks, pale blue dusting the ends of her tentacles.

"No," she says, forcing a smile. "It's fine. I'm just a little worried, is all."

"We'll do good!" she chirps with a bright smile. "Don't worry. I'm sure we will."

Before Four can give it much more thought, she sees a familiar figure walk back into the lobby.

"Sorry it took so long," Eight apologizes, handing Four her ink tank and Hero Dualies Replica. "Is this the other recruit you were talking about?"

Next to her is a decently tall octoling with an E-Liter Scope strapped to his back.

"Hello," he greets, voice muffled by his bandana and distorted in a way Four can't describe, in a way beyond an accent. "I'm Lucas."

Offering his hand out for a handshake, Four takes it.

"Lucas, it's a pleasure to meet you!" she says, not oblivious to way Eight winces at her 'I have to pretend to be a functioning member of society' voice. "I take it you met Eight when you were over at the lockers?"

With a small sigh, Lucas nods. "Yes, we did. I already checked the rotations, and League is currently on Rainmaker. Dana already disclosed your gear sets when I was, um... Selected, so I'm wearing Sub Up to allow us to move across the map easier."

Selected, huh..? Yeah, that's a good way to put it. Four loves Dana, she really does, but... Sheesh, if she's not overwhelming. Spear once compared her energy to that of a freight-train on caffeine, which was... Appropriate.

Four nods, putting on her ink tank. "So... Shall we go, then?"

She's met with two smiles and a slightly-unnerving stare, and that's a good enough answer for her.

(As they start walking down the halls to register, Four takes a deep breath in and exhales slowly.)

(Things will go well.)