Vai rubbed the back of her head, groaning as her senses started to slip back into her control. Memories flushed back into her mind and her eyes suddenly snapped open when she flinched awake. Mano and Krahn were already up, but they were sitting down next to each other instead of looking around. Nora was still unconscious. "What's going on?" Vai asked shakily, her voice trembling. "We aren't sure, but we looked around for a little bit and couldn't find a way upstairs," Mano replied, sounding drab as usual.
"Upstairs?" Vai echoed, suddenly remembering Iso's words about a detour to get up a level to the central station. "Oh, and what's with the clothes?" Vai asked, looking Mano and Krahn up and down, and eventually looking down at herself and observing her own clothing, not remembering changing out. "Dunno," Mano answered blankly, gazing around with lethargy hanging in his gaze. "I'm sure it was a lot of fun undressing you," Krahn said provocatively to Mano, raising an eyebrow at him and biting his lip playfully. Mano scoffed and glared at Krahn, turning in the other direction.
"Well, we've gotta find a way outta here, yeah?" Krahn chimed, standing up and making his way over to Nora and shaking her gently. "Yo, Nora, wake up," Krahn said softly, his hand wrapped around her bare shoulder. "Hmn.. What.. What the hell?" Nora mumbled groggily, shaking her head slowly and ridding herself of sleepiness.
"So what did you and Krahn do?" Mano asked suspiciously, eyeing Vai. She sighed, not wanting to reveal the truth, but she felt as if she had no choice now. "When I left The Hivemind's office yesterday, I found a grate on the floor and decided to explore it since it was so well hidden. While I was looking around, I found someone down there," Vai trailed off. Mano glared at her expectantly, irritated with how vague her explanation was. "And who was this?" He asked accusingly, almost sounding offended. Vai sucked in her breath, nervous about unveiling her whereabouts.
"I-Iso Dunar-" she stammered, glancing off to the side. Mano quickly cut her off. "What?!" he shouted, enraged and now catching the attention of the other two octolings further off to the side. Vai stayed silent, flinching at his noise level. "The most dangerous Octarian?! Ever?!" Mano screamed, his face beginning to burn and fluster as tears began to form in his eyes from frustration and fear for his friends." What, did you two sit down with that mongrel for a fucking tea party or something?"
"Mano!" Krahn yelled over him, stressed out by Mano's sensitivity. "Shut the hell up! We don't know who or what is down here!" He shouted, desperation lining his tone. It was silent for a few more moments, and Mano regained control over himself.
"Let's just keep going and walking around," Krahn muttered, seeming more irritable than usual. He kept on pushing forward, slipping in between the openings of the entrances of the abandoned subway station. He glanced over at an empty booth, observing it quietly while the rest of the group followed behind. "Hey, guys! Maybe we can find someone who's lost like us, who can help us get out of here!" Krahn said suddenly, prancing around the cubicle and rummaging through the dusty papers on the desk inside of it.
"These are blueprints of the facility! Booyah!" Krahn said happily, grasping the papers tightly and hopping out of the small office. "But it doesn't seem to be, uhm, accurate anymore," he murmured quietly, taking note of the ruins around him and his friends. "W-we'll be okay! I'm sure of it!" Krahn said nervously, marching forward into the train in front of him that lacked a door.
"Krahn! Do not just go waltz in there! You said it yourself, we don't know what's down here, and we're unarmed!" Nora hissed quietly, running up next to him to catch up. "Yeah, but I have a good feeling about this. Don't worry!" He beamed, running ahead of the other octolings. Nora trailed behind quickly after as they ran down the train, and Mano eventually ran after them.
Vai hung around the back, still uncertain of going into the abandoned subway. She was also worried about Mano's sudden outburst. She sighed and followed them down the train, eventually reaching a few puddles of their own pink ink.
All four of them simultaneously jumped into the ink in octopus form, some more enthusiastic than others, and hopped through them, eager to find a way out of the abandoned section of the metro. They all eventually exited the train and returned to octoling form, the dim lighting of the general area unsettling them a bit.
They walked down a long corridor that connected to a new room, now with harsher white light bearing down on them coldly. Something like an IV was scattered all around the room, some still filled with the liquid used to sanitize octolings. On the left, there was a cluster of machines used to keep the liquid safe and sterile for long periods of time, and it seemed to be just fine, considering it has certainly maintained its bright blue color and ominous glow.
There was a pair of doors along this wall as well, with a vault blocking the exit. "Guess we gotta find a key," Krahn murmured, staring up at the vault. "These doors should allow us to get through. Outcasts or not, we're still Octarians," Vai said pointedly, and she stepped confidently on the locked pad in front of the door. It suddenly matched the color of Vai's ink, and an inkrail was activated from where she stood. Vai looked back at her friends, urging them forward with a slight smile and swimming through it to another room.
There was an equipper in the room, which gave Vai a splattershot jr. and a splat bomb. The other three octolings with her were also loaned the same weapon and advanced forward, scanning their surroundings once again. "Let's start looking," Vai announced, spraying her ink on the boxes blocking her path and running over to the left. Krahn and Nora went to the right, and Mano headed to the center first.
Mano almost immediately popped the balloon fish in the center, destroying any other boxes within its blast radius. Nora was busting crates while Krahn was popping balloons, searching just as hard for the key as the rest of the crew. Vai slid back and forth on the dash tracks, letting out little yelps of surprise as they propelled her forward. "You okay Vai?" Krahn asked her jokingly, still busy with the floating targets. "Y-yeah, I just haven't been on these in quite a while. I would slide on them when I was a fry, but now it's surprisingly intimidating," Vai laughed, landing steadily on a taller platform and busting the boxes on it.
Mano activated a guardrail and was drifting smoothly on it, doing a front flip as he hopped off of it onto the same platform as Vai. "Wow," Vai chuckled, amused by his attempt to flatter her. Mano smirked, returning to his duties as a key finder. "Ay yo!" Krahn yelled, high above everyone else. "I found the key!" he hollered, smiling dorkishly as he hopped down from where he stood victoriously. "How'd he even get up there?" Vai muttered to herself questioningly, squinting at the dark skinned octoling grinning proudly. "Let's go!" Krahn shouted, running back over to the equipper.
It quickly stole his weapon back, sparking a gasp from the enthusiastic Octarian. "Hey!" He yelped, confused by the sudden theft. "Keep moving, Krahn. The equipper only lends you weapons," Mano said informatively, now gesturing to the inkrail in front of him. "Oooh! Kinda like Grizzco, yeah?" Krahn beamed, a huge sparkling grin spread across his face.
Mano's facial muscles contorted into that of pure confusion and he shook his head slightly. "Uhh, sure," Mano replied slowly, his half-lidded eyes shutting for a moment as he sighed quietly. The group of four swiftly swam through the inkrail, popping out of it and making their way to the vault. Krahn gulped as he pressed the key into the keyhole, staring up at the unusually large cube for a vault. It suddenly opened with ridiculous speed and the walls of it dissipated, leaving another dark corridor stretching before them. Krahn sighed with relief, smiling reassuringly back at his friends as they all slumped with relief.
"Onward!" Krahn declared dramatically, marching forward like how an Octarian soldier would. They all trailed behind him, walking on the train tracks that appeared to be abandoned. "It sure is dark in here," Nora murmured nervously, her footsteps almost inaudible as she tread quietly. "Don't worry Nor! You've got me!" Krahn said confidently, still marching in the pitch blackness of the long hallway. Nora chuckled softly, her high pitched voice sounding shaky in the epitome of darkness before them.
Ahead of the group there was a dim light, which seemed to urge the two pairs of Octarians to walk faster and to investigate their potential haven in this maze of corridors, all void of light. They all sped up, the clicking of their boots on the wooden tracks becoming louder and more rushed. The light became stronger the quicker they approached. The mere sight of a warm, yellow light fueling their legs as they ran faster and faster towards it.
"The end! There it is!" Nora yelled, running ahead of the other Octarians. They all suddenly burst out of the corridor, running down the tracks until they came to a violent halt. "Oof!" Krahn yelped, slamming into Mano. Mano only grumbled while Krahn grinned nervously. "The tracks just.. End," Vai murmured, staring down at the endless void below her boots. "Damn," Mano cursed quietly, staring down with her.
"C'mon guys! Check this out!" Krahn shouted, hauling Nora up onto the concrete floor above them that the other two octolings hadn't noticed before. Mano pushed himself up off of the tracks and held his hand down to Vai, offering her up. She smiled and took it, pushing up off of the floor as he heaved her up next to him. "Thanks," Vai said, smiling slightly. "No problem," Mano replied, a smile that almost seemed genuine painted on his tanned face. They both stood next to Nora and Krahn, who were scanning the area with awe in their wide eyes. "See!" Krahn said excitedly. "It's Central Station!"