Chapter 5: A Reason to Live
Like a puppet with her strings cut, Agent Eight dropped to the ground in despair.
Inker looked over.
He was concerned, Eight wouldn't actually just die like that right?
He hurried over to her side.
She was alive, but she looked dead inside as she lay on her back, staring blankly to the ceiling.
"Eight…"
Inker crouched next to her, shaking her gently in hopes she would at least move in response, but she did not, her body flopped around like a ragdoll.
Eight had become listless, she did not respond nor did she make any movements.
Seeing her reduced to such a state, Inker glared at Ophelia, who had now completely shed her fake personality and was standing with a smug looking grin on her face.
"How could you throw away Eight like this?!" Inker shouted
Ophelia shrugged "Is that wrong? The whole point of this project was to create disposable super soldiers."
"Yeah but…. Eight remembered you, even after losing her memory you were still important enough to her that she remembered you. Now this is how you treat her?"
"Of course, she's already served her purpose anyways. It's not like I wanted her to grow attached to me while I ran some extra tests to make sure she was living just fine. In fact she should be grateful I even had a purpose for her in the first place, most creatures are born without one."
Ophelia was now completely indifferent towards Eight's well being.
Inker felt that if he was in Eight's place, he would have regretted ever calling Ophelia a friend, not only that but he might have splatted her on the spot.
"You can't just brush her off so quickly! Don't you know all the things she's been able to accomplish? All on her own!"
"I don't care, I've already made more of her. These versions will do as I say without question. They are much better soldiers than she could ever be, so I don't need her around anymore, nor do I need your company." Ophelia's face suddenly became a lot more sinister as she turned to her clones of Eight "Kill them."
Instantly, the seven Eights drew Octoshots all at once, as if they were one being.
Inker scowled, he didn't think he could beat Eight in a fight, so he didn't see how he could possibly beat seven of her.
Inker decided to accept being splatted, knowing that the hero suit will save him.
As for Bough, Victoria and Neon they were already free to leave, so they should be fine.
Yes, there was no reason to lash out now and get worked up for no reason. Once they had regrouped, they will think of a proper strategy to deal with Ophelia and…
'Wait a second!'
Inker wiped away that idea.
Because he suddenly remembered that Eight did not have her own hero suit.
Plus Ophelia had said 'them' not 'him' so that meant the clones were gunning for both Inker and Eight.
Inker tossed a seeker towards the clones, who scattered in different directions with lightning quick reflexes, Inker took this opportunity to dive towards Eight, who was still lying motionless on the ground.
As the clones began firing at Inker, he quickly scooped up Eight in his arms and made a run for it.
Eight lay still in his arms for a moment, continuing to stare blankly into the ceiling. For a moment however, she moved, just a little.
It was just enough for her to angle her head and see who was carrying her.
What she was was Agent 3's face, sweat running down as he constantly glanced back, looking out for incoming projectiles. Eight could see ink flying past them, narrowly missing Inker's face.
She was quite surprised to see Inker carrying her while running for his life, so much that she couldn't help but go "huh?"
But Inker didn't have time to notice that.
He ran as fast as his legs would take him, yet it wasn't enough.
He could feel the burning of foreign ink splatting against the back of his head and seeping down into the hero suit.
The clones of Eight were just as fast as Eight was, that meant they could easily catch up to him easily.
Inker knew this, as Eight had previously outran him while wearing high heels, so as he ran, he desperately tried to slow down the clones by momentarily dropping Eight's lower half to throw a bomb or fire his hero shot.
But while that slowed down the clones, it also slowed down Inker as he had to pick up Eight again after.
This wasn't going to work, they were still hot on his tail.
And they were scoring hits.
Inker felt like he'd go 'splat' any moment now, he could feel his body about to lose shape and burst.
But it wasn't being splatted that worried him, it was the knowledge that if he was splatted now, Eight would surely be killed. With no other option but to resist, Inker steeled himself as much as he could and kept pushing forward.
Inker reached the kettle exit, but to his dismay, it was locked again.
Ophelia clearly wasn't letting him go so easily.
'What about Bough, Neon and Victoria? Could they help?'
With that in mind, Inker turned around only to face the seven clones of Eight who had been chasing him so relentlessly. He could not make it back to the others.
The clones stood there, staring blankly at him as they fired their octoshots.
Inker hadn't even managed to splat a single one of them yet.
Running so hard didn't help either.
Carrying Eight while running at full speed had exhausted Inker, as he struggled to keep standing and fire his Hero shot.
With no other choice, Inker gently put Eight down on the ground as he fought against exhaustion and pain to keep standing.
That's when he felt a gentle tug on his cape.
He looked down to see Eight, looking at him with lifeless eyes.
"Just leave me here, I don't mind." She said in an emotionless tone.
"No way!" Inker insisted.
Sweat and ink coated his body as he pushed himself as hard as he could.
His arm shook as he tried to aim, likely due to both exhaustion and a surge of adrenaline.
He tried to advance as much as he could, but he was forced back on the defensive.
One more step back and he would have trodden on Eight.
So without any other choice, Inker stood strong, calling for help into his Hero headset as he used every last drop of ink in his Ink tank trying to fend off his attackers.
The clones of Eight only used Octoshots, almost as if they had no other weapon on them.
They were also very co-ordinated, whenever one took too many hits, it would retreat and take cover behind the others.
Inker couldn't splat any of them as his Ink Tank slowly depleted.
Finally he ran dry.
Inker's first instinct was to die in ink and recharge, but doing so would mean leaving Eight to die.
Instead he stood firmly in front of Eight as the clones stopped firing.
Inker could hear footsteps approaching, it was likely Ophelia's.
As he waited to see the face of that despicable Octoling, he heard Eight speak again.
"Don't worry about me, I'm just another product of project E.E.L anyways, go find Neon and the others and get back to Inkopolis."
"No way! If I run now, you'll die!"
"That's fine, I already served my purpose after all, this was meant to be."
"You can't possibly think that!"
But one look at Eight's listless face confirmed it.
She had lost the will to live and wasn't getting back up anytime soon.
"Let them splat me." Eight said "At least that way you'll have time to get back to the others."
"I'm not letting that happen!"
Eight went silent again, but she just very slightly tilted her head to look at Inker.
She still looked lifeless as she lay motionless on the ground, watching Inker turn to face Ophelia once again.
Ophelia had that same smug look on her face as she quietly and calmly approached Inker.
"Did you really think I would forget to lock the place down again? Or did you seriously think that I'd leave it unlocked just because you ordered me to?"
Inker ignored that, instead he asked "Why? Why would you do this? Is it because of the Calamari Inkantation?"
Ophelia snickered "Because I can! Because I want to! Because I'm better than you! What? Did you think that just cause I'm not under Octavio's control i'd suck up to you Inklings? Pfft, don't make me laugh."
Inker clenched his fist, never before had he felt so much anger towards an individual.
Ophelia really didn't care about Eight, Alicia or anyone else.
Inker's eyes darted around, trying to look for a way out.
He could still hear the sounds of E-Liter and Blaster fire, meaning that Bough and the others were still fighting.
The exit behind him was powered down, he could not exit from the way he entered.
And Ophelia with her clones stood in front of him.
The clones appeared to have no free will and stood around with blank expressions in their eyes, as if they were lifeless drones.
In a way, they looked just like Eight, who was lying on the ground with no motivation to live.
Inker wondered how he could possibly get Eight out of this situation.
He wasn't prepared to lose someone he had gotten so close too.
Over the last three years as an agent, Inker had seen Inklings and Octolings lose someone close to them, even if he himself had never experienced such a loss, he had seen others go through it and wished he never have to go through anything similar.
Maybe now he would.
"Say… You're quite the resilient one aren't you?" Ophelia said.
Inker didn't bother replying to her, he was too busy trying to find a way out.
"If you stay and help me with project E.E.L, I wouldn't mind keeping you and your friends alive for the time being." Ophelia offered
Inker wasn't buying it, he had already seen how Ophelia treated her friends.
"Even if I agree, you'd just get rid of us once you are done making more copies, right?"
"Hmph, guess you have some brain cells after all. Too bad, I would have loved to create my own versions of the infamous Agent 3."
With a jolt of her head, Ophelia gave the order to the clones to finish off Inker and Eight.
Inker had no time to think of a strategy as a volley of ink came flying his way.
Inker tore off the cape he was wearing and crouched down next to Eight, then he held it out in front of them both.
If this cape could protect him from rain and water, it could probably stop some ink right?
Holding the cape up with one hand and his mouth, Inker used his other free arm to drag Eight away from the exit and to a corner, where he then used both his hands to hold up the cape as a shield.
There were pitter pattering sounds as shots of pressurized ink splatted against Inker's cape.
It almost felt like Inker was protecting Eight from deadly rain.
However, the ink was slowly making its way through the cape.
Not only that, but the cape was getting heavier and heavier as more ink stuck to it.
Inker was soon struggling even more, trying to hold it up.
He breathed heavily and grit his teeth, trying to shield himself and Eight for as long as possible, hoping that someone could come to his rescue.
As for Eight, she stared with awe.
Inker looked so determined, even though the odds were against him.
But why? Eight could not understand.
"Why?" Eight asked "Why are you trying so hard to save me? I'm just a science experiment. Why are you fighting so hard for a fake Octoling?"
"What do you mean fake?! You're very much real!" Inker said through gritted teeth.
"I'm not. I was created, not born, I'm just a mass of engineered living material someone strung together. A fake, artificial Octoling."
Silently, Inker cursed Ophelia for making Eight think this way.
Eight was so focused on her past that she wasn't looking any further than that.
But to Inker it really didn't matter what they found out about Eight's past.
She was still the same Octoling she always was, rediscovering some history wasn't going to change that.
If Eight couldn't see things from that perspective, Inker would have to open her eyes.
"Cut it out with that whole 'fake' nonsense!" Inker shouted "Eight, have you forgotten how Cuttlefish and I trusted you even though you were once our enemy? Did you forget how Pearl and Marina helped you even though they barely had any idea who you are? Did you forget how Inkopolis welcomed you despite your history with the Octarian army?"
He looked back at her, finding Eight staring at him with confusion in her eyes. It was almost as if she couldn't understand why Inker was saying all this stuff.
Perhaps Inker had to clarify, even further.
"Eight... " Inker said "I don't care if you come from a mother, an egg, or a lab!"
Eight's eyes widened, she suddenly felt the strength to sit up as Inker continued.
"So I don't care if you are the product of a science experiment and I doubt anyone else will either. No matter what, you are still the same Octoling who saved both me and Inkopolis."
It was true, it was all true.
Eight remembered how Cuttlefish, Inker and Off the Hook were always there for her.
Even if she had fought Inker before, he still showed up just in time to rescue her from Tartar and that giant blender.
Even if she was a complete stranger, Off the Hook still offered to help her pass the tests that she could not.
Even if she was once an enemy, Cap'n Cuttlefish still helped her escape to Inkopolis.
It made perfect sense that they would all be there for her even if she was revealed to be an artificial Octoling.
"Everyone was worried, you know." Inker continued "When you left with Ophelia and didn't return, Bough and I went looking for you. But soon everyone wanted to pitch in, even Marie!"
How wonderful.
Eight felt like she might cry.
Inkopolis was full of great people, great friends.
She wanted to go back, back to the promised land she worked so hard to reach.
"Ophelia might not have any use for you, but should that really matter? You've met so many creatures, made so many friends and had so much fun in Inkopolis, isn't that enough? Isn't the good times you've had in Inkopolis a good enough reason to live?" Inker finished
"...You're right." Eight replied.
She didn't need Ophelia to give her purpose.
She didn't need to be a normal Octoling to keep existing.
Even if she was a science experiment, even if she was once an enemy of Inkopolis, even if she was abandoned by her own creator and accomplished everything she was made for, she still had a reason to live.
Because in the end, all that meant was that Eight was free. Free from Octavio's control, from Tartar's sinister plans and from Ophelia's mad experiments.
Eight picked herself up.
If Ophelia, her creator had no use for her, then she would live for herself.
She wasn't going to be a burden for Inker any longer.
Just like in the metro, Inker had saved her life and she saved his later on.
Now Inker had saved her again, if the pattern holds true, now it would be her turn.
Eight burst out from underneath Inker's cape, surprising Ophelia.
Perhaps because they were too dependent on Ophelia's orders, the clones didn't react immediately.
They only fired at Eight when Ophelia told them too.
But by then it was too late.
Eight, welding an Octoshot which had been modified for Turf Wars, had an Inkjet as her special.
She took flight, soaring like an eagle over her clones and showering them in ink.
She flipped over the first few and fired her Octoshot at the ones in the middle.
As Eight landed, she jolted herself backwards, pointing the Inkjet's exhaust towards two more clones and powered up the Inkjet once again, sending a blast of ink into the clones.
This not only splatted them, but propelled Eight into another clone's chest.
Eight kept going and ran that clone into a wall, where she quickly got up and splatted it with her Octoshot.
Then she aimed herself backwards and fired up the Inkjet again, sending her up into the air towards the remaining clones.
They fired up at her, but Eight was much faster, with momentum from the Inkjet still sending her up, Eight expertly splatted more clones with precise aim of her Octoshot.
Finally as she fell down, only one last clone remained, the one she had given blue eyes.
The clone stared blankly at Eight as she descended upon it foot first.
Eight landed on the clone, quickly firing her Octoshot below her to splat it. The final clone was reduced to ink before Eight even touched the ground.
All seven clones had been splatted in a matter of seconds.
"Wh-wh…" Ophelia went, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Eight looked around her, at the massive ink puddle she was now standing in.
For a moment, she wondered if she should feel sorry for those clones, in a way they could have been considered her sisters.
Then she noticed Ophelia, trembling while pale faced, staring at Eight's work.
"That's impossible! That defies all logic! It's not scientifically possible! Those clones were better in every way! This makes no sense!" Ophelia shouted while pulling her hair.
In the meantime, Inker stood up, still exhausted. Eight went over to him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, helping him up.
The two watched Ophelia rant about how what Eight had just done supposedly defied all logic.
Inker, still leaning on Eight, thought about those seven clones. They all looked like Eight, but…
"Now that I think about it, Eight beat me back in the metro on her own, yet these seven clones of her weren't able to do that…" Inker muttered
"What? No way! You're Agent 3! How can you lose to some cheap prototype!?" Ophelia rambled on.
Eight suddenly recalled the golden toothpick, she considered telling Inker about that strange vision of hers, but decided not to.
What happened in that locker is something she should keep to herself.
"Those clones were physically identical! Plus they had no feelings! No pain! No remorse! No hesitation! How could they lose!?" Ophelia went on.
"You're mistaken." Inker said.
"What could you possibly know about this?!"
"I know that you said Eight had free will, unlike those clones you made. That's what made her better, she has the ability to learn, to adapt. Eight has adapted, grown and survived dozens of deadly tests in the Deepsea Metro, that's what makes her so much better."
"You are stupid! If Eight has really been through all that! She should be traumatized and weak!"
"Hey I'm not the one who can't grasp the concept of experience." Inker shot back
In response, Ophelia only growled in anger.
"Well then…" Inker said, leaving Eight's side to stand on his own. "You can probably guess what happens now…"
Inker and Eight exchanged glances and nodded.
Inker had his Hero Shot in hand while Eight had her Octoshot.
"H-hey, w-what are you doing?" Ophelia stammered, her anger dissipated instantly when she realized what position she was in.
"You've not only stolen a zapfish from Inkopolis, but you also tried to kill us, what do you think is going to happen?" Inker smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
He and Eight advanced on Ophelia, who rapidly became even paler than before.
"H-hey wait! That was all just the delusions of a dreamer, haha… Alicia, aren't we friends? We look out for each other, right?"
Eight tilted her head "Hmm? Weren't you the one who told me to kill myself earlier?"
"Ahaha, t-that was out of context. Of course I didn't mean it Alicia... Heh"
"I'm not Alicia, I'm Eight."
"Ahhh r-right! Eight! I think that's a good name!"
"It's just a number."
"R-right! B-but You remind me a lot of Alicia, s-so maybe you can forgive me and we can be friends again?"
"Didn't you kill the real Alicia."
"U-uhhhh, b-but I really regretted it, p-plus I uhh, I secretly looked up to her! So maybe there is some way you can forgive me?"
"Maybe Alicia can forgive you, but I'm not Alicia."
Eight didn't need Ophelia anymore, neither did she see her as a friend any longer.
"N-no wait!" Ophelia backed away from the two agents "I-I was wrong! I'll give you your zapfish back and let you all leave, just please don't come any closer okay?"
"You think we'll just walk away?"
"A-ahh right, I should do something as compensation for your time r-right? I-ill get to that just stop edging closer to me…"
Eight and Inker didn't say anything in response.
Ophelia, now defenseless, panicked as both Agents closed in, weapons in hand.
She cowered behind her arms
"NO STOP! I-I'll properly reflect on my actions! JUST DON'T HURT ME! PLEASE!"
Eight and Inker both stopped. They chuckled a bit.
Both of them just wanted a little bit of payback after what Ophelia had put them through. But they weren't actually going to hurt her.
"Why would I hurt you? We are just making sure you aren't getting away." Eight said.
"Besides I'm not the cold blooded killer Octavio says I am." Inker added.
In response, Ophelia sighed in relief, however she still looked nervous.
"What's going on? I heard shouting."
Bough came running, followed by Neon and Victoria.
"Good to see you are all safe." Inker said
"That giant thing wasn't that dangerous after all." Victoria explained
"Well not for you, cause it was focused only on me! Fighting it was really fun!" Neon beamed "What happened here anyways?" She then asked, taking note of the large splashes of ink.
"It turns out, Ophelia here isn't as innocent as she may look." Inker replied
"I thought so.." Bough added
Ophelia, trapped between the five, glanced around nervously.
She had nowhere to go now.
If she still held out for some hope that she could slip away, it was taken away when the kettle entrance burst open with a loud pounding noise.
"Finally! Quick we have too… Oh you're all here…"
Kalus had arrived, alongside Sky, Lynn and a detachment of New Octopolis soldiers, they brought a battering ram and forced their way into the lair.
Octotroopers from New Octopolis fanned out to protect the exhausted Agent 3 and Agent 8, while Kal and Sky approached their friends.
"Victoria, everyone… You're all okay?" Kal asked
"We are now, what's wrong?"
"We found some information on this lair back in Octo Valley, but then we lost contact with you. So I thought you had gotten into trouble."
"We did… So you all found out about Project Engineer Eradicative Lifeforms?" Inker asked
Kal and Sky nodded. "Ophelia, genetic engineering, anti Inkling weapons, everything about it." Sky said
"Looks like the cavalry wasn't needed after all." Kal commented
"Well you are all here." Victoria added, she eyed the Octarian flying saucers that had brought them all "At least we can get a ride back now."
"Oh right! Somebody cuff her too." Inker pointed at Ophelia. "And I still need to get the zapfish back."
"I know where it is, I'll help" Eight and Inker hurried back into the lab one last time.
With Eight remembering this lab clearly now, she and Inker found it in no time.
When they returned, Lynn's troopers had taken Ophelia into custody.
With Ophelia secured, the zapfish recovered and her past cleared, Eight felt satisfied, she and the others boarded the saucers Lynn and the New Octopolis army had brought and flew back to Octo Valley. From there, they would all head back to Inkopolis.
With that, Project E.E.L was shut down for good.
The only piece of it left was Eight herself.
The fact that she was a science experiment still bothered her a little, but not nearly as much as before.
As Inker had said, her origins weren't going to change who she was and nobody would disown her for being a creation by some science project.
But just to be sure, Eight wanted to tell everyone as soon as she got the chance…
Nautilus Base, Octo Valley
"Alright here we are, Nautilus base!" The saucer's Octostriker pilot called out to the others.
Inker, Kal, Neon and Sky disembarked, followed by Bough and Victoria.
Eight was the last to leave, as she stepped out of the saucer she saw Pearl, Marina and Cap'n Cuttlefish all standing there waiting for them.
"Agent 8! Good to see yer still kicking!" Cuttlefish waved as the group arrived.
Eight glanced around.
The only ones not present were Callie and Marie, though Bough said it was because they were dealing with Octavio and his hypno shades, at least Marie was…
Still, everyone was here for her, she had only been gone for a day, yet all these Inklings and Octolings gathered together to help look for her.
New friends, each interesting in their own way. Friends she could trust and who would replace the role Ophelia once filled in her heart.
"Everyone…" Eight said, looking at this gathering of cephalopods. "Thank you all for looking for me."
"Hey, no sweat!" Pearl replied
"That's what friends are for." Marina added
"Umm… There's something else you all should know…" Eight added.
"Hmm? What's that?"
Eight glanced at Inker one last time.
If her origin didn't bother him one bit, then it shouldn't bother anyone else.
Still, Eight felt compelled to ask, just in case…
"While I was gone, while we were in Octo Canyon, I found out where I came from, who I am. You see, there was this project called E.E.L, which aimed to create Octarians bred for battle and I…"
Eight hesitated for a moment, she was just a bit nervous, there was still a tiny chance that maybe they wouldn't like her anymore.
"...I am the first Octoling they created."
Eight scanned the faces of everyone present.
They looked as if they were expecting Eight to go on.
The only noticeable thing was Neon whispering something to Sky.
"Uhh… Go on." Bough said
Eight wasn't sure what else to say, she expected more of a reaction to this.
"I'm not a normal Octoling, I wasn't born, I was made in a lab! Doesn't that mean anything?"
"Uhh well."
Everyone present exchanged glances.
"It just means you're a little different, but that's normal." Marina said.
"R-really? So the fact that I came from a glass tube doesn't bother any of you?"
"Not at all!" Neon exclaimed "Actually, I think it's kinda cool! So that means you are like... a living weapon or something?!" She skipped up close to Eight and began poking at her with a curious expression on her face.
"No" Inker cut in "Eight is an Octoling, just like Marina and Victoria. Right?" He turned to Marina and Victoria for further confirmation.
"Yes, yes she is. Where you come from doesn't matter." Victoria replied
"You see? I told you they wouldn't mind." Inker said.
Eight looked around, nobody disagreed, it was just as Inker said, finding out that she came from a vat didn't make a difference.
In the end, she was still their friend, Agent 8.
"Oh wait? Weren't you also trying to find your real name as well?" Neon recalled
"Right, uhh, I don't think I ever had a name. Ophelia used to call me Alicia, but that was just to fool me into following her…"
Eight thought about it for a moment. She never had a problem with being called Eight, she was just curious as to who she was before she woke up in that metro.
"You know what? I think I've gotten used to being called Eight. Yeah that will do. From now on I'll introduce myself as Eight without any second thoughts."
"Alright! Well then, what now? Oh I know! By the time we get back to Inkopolis it will be late, but a safe return like this calls for celebration! Who's up for a late night round of turf wars?!" Neon asked.
'Ahh, I'll have to sit out then, I'm pretty beat." Inker said, still somewhat tired from his desperate defense of Eight.
"Do you only think of Turf Wars? There are other ways to celebrate you know?" Sky countered
"Well we should get back to Inkopolis first, I need to check on Marie and see if she's gotten Callie back again." Bough added
"Sounds like a plan, are you coming too Victoria?" Kal asked
"Well I am free at the moment.. Sure, let's go." Victoria replied.
Eight's background reveal hadn't changed anything, everyone was happy that she was safe and they were already going back to their usual habits.
Eight smiled, she could already picture the fun and rowdy atmosphere once they had returned to Inkopolis.
A wild bash in the city of colour.
Everyday was so fun, it wasn't always relaxed or quiet, but it was fun.
Now that Eight wasn't left worrying and wondering about her past she could properly enjoy it all.
Besides, she had no one else to give her purpose anymore, so that just meant she was free to give herself a reason to live.
And that reason was none other than Inkopolis, her promised land.
"Alright everyone! Let's head home to Inkopolis!"