(To xXsilverp00lXx:) Just gonna acknowledge your review about ships you wouldn't expect. Anything I could possibly say here gets into spoiler territory, for lack of a better term.

I'm serious, I cannot think of any proper response I could say that wouldn't spoil anything.

Thanks for the feedback, though.

Anyway, on to the chapter.

The more people I met, the more I came to realize that I was a short girl. Literally the only person I knew that was shorter than I was was Pearl, and that was kind of a given.

I led Agent 3—No, Simon—to the same dead-end alley I'd found Jacob in. We were close, just a few blocks away. My hands were buried in my pockets, and I was keeping my head down. I probably couldn't have looked any more shady.

The cracks between the buildings gave way to patches of sunlight. Every time I stepped into one, I felt a bit warmer. Overhead, there was a blend of bright orange and the first blues of night.

I looked up, brushed my hair away from my face, and closed my eyes. Annie—She was Annabelle Octrope, the fourth child of Akash Octrope. It would have taken a miracle to disprove it.

And at some point, sometime… I knew them. It might not have been the deepest of relationships—Eileen could have been just helping me up after I'd fallen down. But the fact remains that I did. On the other hand, I may have been a close friend, whatever that would have entailed. There was no way to tell what the exact details were—all I had to go off was a single moment in time and a girl I used to know.

And Annie hadn't only deserted—she'd fought at Sharktown. At this point, Octrope was nothing more than a name to her. She'd absolutely changed. Just, maybe not to the degree that I had. Perhaps that was why it was only her voice, and not her actions, that gave me those sparks of recognition.

I couldn't just ask for the flash drive again, not after I ran away to keep myself in check. No, I wouldn't ask. I was Sky, and I didn't want to dig up any more unsettling memories. Who I was isn't who I am.

I came to a stop on the sidewalk and looked around. "Yeah, this one right here."

Simon strolled into the alley like it was an everyday walk, which, for him, it probably was. "This is where you saw them?" He started visually tearing apart the alley, rapidly glancing at everything around him. "How long ago was this?"

"Uh, like a whole day ago."

He squatted down and touched the ground. Since when did he become a junior detective? "That's why I can't see anything," he said. "Any idea where they went?"

I put a hand behind my neck and pointed to my right, back where we'd come from. "That… way?"

"Well, that's a start," he said, getting back on his feet. "The statue was one-way, so we're not getting in through there… You guys were in a subway, right? Maybe… no, that's crazy. Unless…"

"Unless?"

"A while ago, I heard something from somebody I know about an abandoned subway near the square. I doubt it's the one we're looking for," he said, "but it might be worth checking out. I'll head over. Come with me." And with that train wreck of a conversation, he jumped away.

I breathed a sigh of half relief and half exasperation and chased after him.

"That," he said, pointing to a quiet corner to the right of the tower, opposite Grizzco. "Let's go."

The second I took a step after him, I stopped.

"Hey!" someone shouted, "You're NightFall!"

It took me a painfully long time to realize that whoever that was was talking to me. I hadn't forgotten I'd named myself NightFall—just, I didn't exactly associate myself with the name.

Two Octolings rushed to me from the doorway of the weapons shop, a boy and a girl. Both looked fourteen or older—so, adults.

"E— Eh?" I was even struggling with my confusion noises, that's how bad I was with PR.

Simon stopped, grinning sweetly at the two and seemingly oblivious to my anguish. It was almost as if they didn't notice him. I was, unfortunately, the center of attention.

"NightFall, right?" the girl continued. "Super good one? You've dodged Gemini, like, four times. That's practically unheard of."

Gemini who?

That was… A Masked Mayhem member, right? Must have been the Charger, then.

"Ah!" I forced myself to smile and open my eyes a bit more. "Yeah, that's me. NightFall…" I managed to get that out, at least.

"We've seen so many of your matches," laughed her partner in crime. "You're really underrated right now. Masked Mayhem's stealing all your glory, I swear. Your first battle with them was the closest one they've ever had," he said. "Is that right?"

"Yep," said the other.

Well, this was good. If they kept going like that, I wouldn't have to get another word in.

"She noticed right away just how…" He snapped his fingers. "How technical you get. Most people stop with getting their reflexes and aim up." He looked at the tower, for some reason.

Then she took over. "Yeah, but you do that, and those traps you set up and the stunts you pull to get around. Have any tips for us?" She awaited a response, leaning towards me and bouncing on her heels.

"Uh…" I legitimately had none. I'd just run out on the battlefield and think quickly. But that wasn't really an answer.

A few agonizing seconds passed as I racked my mind for anything. "Keep an eye on the sub weapon?" Yeah, I was reaching pretty hard.

"Sub weapon, sub weapon. Like the bombs?" he said. He hit his fist against his palm as if that were some great revelation.

"Yes, stupid," teased the bubbly one. They were actually taking that. "You're always the one saying she traps 'em with the bombs on one side and the gun on the other. Then she bends around, avoids their shots… Those small movements. That, too!"

These two were some of the last people in the square. It was approaching that half-hour limbo between the day and night people. "…Anyway," I said, taking a step back and forcing a fake smile, "I have some… things… to do. Bye?" I hoped that that wouldn't blow up in my face.

"Right," she squealed. "See ya!"

I had escaped.

I turned around, and Simon took it as a cue to keep going. I didn't dare to look back as I heard them walk away.

"Looks like you have a bit of a… fanbase," he observed. "That was what that was, right?" He gave a nervous laugh. "Still don't speak Octarian…"

I nodded.

"Sheesh, how good are you?"

I left that question in the air. I couldn't answer that one. "Wh… Where was that subway?"

"Ah, right. Here." He peered over a metal gate blocking a path leading into a tunnel I didn't recognize. "Any security cameras?"

As if the NSS needed any more reason for me to question their legality.

Oh well. The whole saving-the-city thing would probably give them a pass.

"Not that I know of." What else was I supposed to say, really. "But I've never really looked."

"Great." Even without a definitive no, he swung himself over the railing without any more hesitation. I looked over my shoulder and kept tailing him.

Before the square was even out of sight, the path went left to reveal more downward-sloping ramp.

The rest of the tunnel was wider than the one Annie and I had gone through under the forest, but it was about as well-lit. Which is to say, not at all.

It was made of stone, or maybe dug into stone, I didn't really know. The bottom half was painted a dark blue, with a line of white arrows, each about as big as my foot, on the floor. Why they needed that was beyond me. It wasn't like it forked off anywhere.

I had no idea what awaited me down there, but I kept going, and calmly at that. As much as I loathed going underground again, someone had to do it. Ideally, it would have been the rest of the NSS, but the thought of one of them getting their memories wiped wasn't a lovely one.

"Hey," Simon said, turning his head around. "Sorry for putting this on you, but can you lead the way? I didn't have the time to grab a weapon."

He what?

"If ever it comes to fighting, I'll do what I can."

"Fine," I said. I rushed to get in front of him and unholstered my Octo Shot.

Ahead was more tunnel, more ramp, and more white arrows. I slightly slowed my pace. "What was it like down here?" I asked, not facing him. "For you, at least."

"Well, uh. We fought," he said. I winced. I was hoping he wouldn't bring that up. "And then we weren't. I think they tried to erase my memory like they did with yours… Guess I got lucky and escaped it."

Lucky didn't even begin to describe it.

"I'm thinking that they could only wipe me if I were asleep. But my headset was blasting some really loud screaming and woke me up. It was the captain, saying something about targets and balloons, never bothered to ask. My mic was broken, so…"

"There were a lot of balloons down there."

"Some weird sound was playing from outside the headset, but I didn't get any of it. I think it had something to do with the memory wipe. Then after a while, the room drained, and I was getting my bearings, then a hatch opened under me." He stopped. I almost turned to check on him, but then he started again. "Up ahead."

My head shot up. There was a line of turnstiles that looked like they hadn't been used in ages. At the ends, empty booths. I hopped over the turnstiles, and Simon a moment later.

And once I passed through, the tunnel opened up into an abandoned subway.

This was not Deepsea.

Somehow, it looked… less abandoned. More recently deserted, when Deepsea was completely devoid of any maintenance.

"Well, we made it somewhere, but…" Simon trailed off.

A train ahead rested on a rail and blocked both ends of the station. There were empty lockers and a kiosk with a tattered awning in the wall to the left. To the right, a chain-link fence blocked off a series of pipes.

The colors were darkened, but at least there wasn't any rubble on the ground.

"Something's up there." I pointed out a second floor on the wall opposite us, flush with the train's roof.

With a confused hum, he started towards the train. "Eh, might as well try it. There's nowhere else to go."

I passed around a cheap-looking bench and stepped over a yellow line to grab onto the train. It was… remarkably less rough than I thought it'd be. Clambering up to the roof, I retook my hard-earned position in front of Simon.

Deep inside that empty part of the wall was a passageway that led to an old-looking elevator with a rusty gate. It was open, as if it were waiting for someone to enter.

I scowled at it and wordlessly stepped in. Simon hit a button, and I pursed my lips as it started to descend.

I stepped back to the corner and gripped my Octo Shot tighter. Wherever we were going, Deepsea or not, it couldn't have been anything pleasant.

After a short eternity of moving down, it stopped.

There was a large glass wall ahead that extended to the ceiling. A control panel was laid into the floor in front of it. Beyond the glass was a cube-shaped room with all other surfaces tiled with a white material. A short staircase to the left of it went even lower.

"That. That's the place with that yellow liquid." Simon went up to the glass and gestured to a group of four off-colored tiles. "And that's the hatch that dropped me."

So we were here.

"I jumped from below and pulled it back open. Then I went through there." A camouflaged door on the right side of the room. "And found you with the captain in that blender."

I turned and scanned the room. The elevator was still there, and there was nothing that looked like it might attack.

We really were here.

"The stairs," I said. I almost said more but found myself unable to.

Taking the lead again, I went down. It turned, then turned again, and at the bottom, there was a glowing lever on the wall in front of me.

I glanced at Simon, and he had no signs of objection. I pulled it, and the wall beside it slid open.

Deepsea Metro. My birthplace, in a sense.

The same faulty light, same painted-on fake doors, even that cone I tested myself with. All of my earliest memories, all at the same time.

I shuddered. "F— found it."

"I shouldn't take you further in," Simon said. "Come on. We're going back."

All in all, that hadn't taken long. Though the sun was down, the square was empty, save for a few.

"Sorry for that," Simon apologized. "And thanks for sticking with me. I'll see if I can get the team on this tomorrow."

"Mm." I nodded and turned away, facing Deca Tower. Behind me, I heard him take a few steps and jump away. I shut my eyes. Then I looked up.

A deep shade of blue, and that was all. No stars, no moon. I pulled my phone out.

"What, found something already?" Well, Annie sounded lively.

"Y— yeah. I did."

"Wait, what?"