Eight woke up to the light of the sun shining on her face. She squints and pulls the blanket over her to block it out, but it proves pointless as her alarm starts blaring shortly after. She groans loudly and rolls over, slamming her palm firmly against the top of it to silence it. She sighs and pulls the covers off of herself, sitting up and stretching her arms as she lets out a quiet yawn. She looks at her clock and sees what time it is, 7:14am. Why had she set her alarm so early? Usually she's not up until much closer to 10… and then the memories from the previous day came back to her.
"Oh right… that's why it's so early." Eight stands and slides her feet into her slippers so the cold floor doesn't attack her. Pearl had insisted on purchasing her these expensive silk pajamas which… okay Eight conceded, she loved these things. They were so comfortable it felt like she was being hugged by a cloud.
Eight shook her head to focus her mind, she had to talk to Marina today. There were three possible reasons why she hadn't mentioned the fact that they were SISTERS, and really, only one of them concerned her. But she highly doubted the one she was concerned about was the case, after all, she's been so caring and welcoming since Kamabo.
Eight steps into her bathroom, flicking on the light and looking herself over in the mirror. She feels kinda cute with her tentacles down, it makes them longer in the back than the front. She examines her face for any thing like dried drool which she is relieved to see none of. She then snags her toothbrush and makes quick work of cleaning her mouth. She doesn't want to have bad breath for this very important conversation she's going to have with Marina. Once her mouth is rinsed out she grabs a hair tie off the counter and pushes her tentacles up, wrapping the tie around it to re-form the ponytail out the back of her head.
Proud of her handiwork she smiles at herself in the mirror before turning to exit the bathroom, switching the light off behind her. She walks back over to her bed, snags her phone off of its charger, and slides it into the pocket of her pajama pants. She then takes a moment to straighten her sheets and blanket so they're tidy. Finally, once her morning routine is done, she turns to leave her room. She knew Marina was going to be one of two places, either the studio or the kitchen. She figures she'll check both since the kitchen is on the way to the studio.
She made her way down the stairs and as she passed by the kitchen she heard the sound of someone walking around and opening cupboards. She makes her way through the gap in the wall that leads from the hallway to the kitchen and sees Marina, she seems to be in the midst of throwing together a selection of foods, likely preparing meals for the next few days so she doesn't have to be in the kitchen every day. She has her headphones on and is idly dancing to the beat as she mixes ingredients together.
Eight enters and gives Marina a smile and a wave, prompting her to do the same in return. Eight motions for Marina to take her headphones off to which she nods and obliges.
"What's going on Eight? You look a little distressed." Marina comments, setting her headphones on the counter.
"Yeah… c-can we talk talk? Like sit down and have a one on one thing?" Eight gestures towards the kitchen table, signifying to Marina that there was something serious going on in EIght's mind.
"Of course we can. Go sit, I'll be there in a moment." Marina smiles and takes her apron off, setting it by the sink as Eight goes to the table and takes her seat. Marina washes off her hands and dries them on a nearby towel before finally making her way over to the table and taking her seat near where Eight is situated. "What's on your mind Eight?"
Eight pauses, she thought she was ready for this. She was sure she was ready for this. She wasn't ready for this in the slightest. She hadn't even thought of what she was going to say or how she was going to say it. She just wanted to know something simple but she didn't know how to ask it without making things weird. Oh no her mouth is opening she's gonna speak as the words form in her brain.
"D-Did you know who I was when I was in Kamabo?" She blurts out, her hearts beating far too fast and she swallows loudly after realizing how blunt her question is.
Marina's smile falters, she suddenly looks incredibly worried. But then she starts studying Eight's face much closer than she ever had, and little things started falling into place, things she thought were just coincidence now all coming together, too many to be coincidence. The way Eight's nose comes to a soft rounded point, her eyes so brilliantly purple, and the short tentacles flanking her face all coming together in Marina's mind. Marina's cup slips from her hands and smashes against the floor, she can feel tears pricking the edges of her eyes as she leans towards Eight.
"K-Kiaria? I-I thought I was s-seeing things…" Marina leans in and grabs Eight, pulling her into a tight hug, which Eight returns quickly.
"Yes, it's me… Why didn't you recognize me sooner?" Eight squeezes the hug tighter, hiding her face in Marina's shoulder as she feels the tears welling in her own eyes. Her memories slowly making her realize just how close she and Marina had been.
"I- It had been… so many years since I saw you… I thought it was just wishful thinking every time I saw my sister in your face, and with your memories gone I-" Marina chokes back a sob, she has so many emotions right now and the biggest is happiness to have her sister back, followed by regret for not realizing the truth sooner.
Eight simply holds Marina as Marina does the same for Eight, the two finally able to show that they're there for each other, just like they had been in the domes. Just like they had been right up until Marina left to be free while Kiaria stayed behind to fight a rebellion.
"I… I should've never left you alone… I should've stayed and fought by your side like you wanted to… I was just so afraid of losing the freedom I had, so I ran… and you got hurt because of it. I'm sorry Kiaria, I am so, so sorry." Marina grips tightly to Eight, never wanting to let go, never wanting to have to leave her again.
"No, don't you apologize. We both did what we thought was right." Eight sobs gently, her mind finding tiny pieces of her relationship with Marina before the hypnotization broke. "Besides… you still helped me, and look at us now, we're together and alive on the surface!"
Marina chuckles and pulls away from the hug, wiping the tears from her eyes as Eight does the same. Happy to finally have the closure she desired after finding the truth about her past. Marina smiles, wiping her face again to free it of any tears that she may have missed earlier.
Eight smiles back and does the same, happy to have so many people in her life she can turn to when she needs, and finally understanding the warm familiarity Marina and her seemed to always have since they met just after she escaped the Metro.
"That was always your dream wasn't it? You stayed and fought because you wanted us to be safe, you couldn't just leave for fear he'd come back and try and take us back." Marina says, grabbing a broom to clean up the mess she made with her shattered cup moments ago.
"Yeah… I mean he never came after you at least, so I feel like staying did something, even if it did end up with me being in the Metro." Eight laughs, then the laughter quickly stops and she stares into the distance.
"Eig- I mean… Kiaria? Are you alright?" Marina turns to look at her, seeing her staring into the distance and becoming lost in thought making her worry.
Eight began to shake, tears welled in her eyes, and she suddenly fell to her knees. She placed her hand over her mouth and she quickly finds herself trembling. Her memories would come in flashes and this was one of the most intense flashes she'd had since she had her talk with Octavio.
Images flashed in her mind, friends she'd made and watched explode into ink with no respawn pad to speak of. The number of times she herself was kept from battle just so a wound could be tended to, only to find more of her comrades had perished. So many faces she sees in her mind and knowing that likely none of them she'll ever see again.
"Kia?!" Marina rushes over and quickly pulls Eight into a hug, holding her close and stroking her head. "What's wrong? Speak to me."
"S-So many… gone… how many more were lost because I wasn't there?" Tears begin rolling down Eights cheeks, so many memories she now wishes she didn't have now flooding her mind.
"Hey, listen to me, it isn't your fault okay? Stop blaming yourself, please, you are the most kind and amazing Octoling ever." Marina says as she hugs Eight tighter, again stroking her head to comfort her.
Eight hadn't expected this outcome from talking with Marina. She wasn't sure if it was the result of her memories coming back over time or if talking with Marina had somehow triggered them, but either way, Eight felt like she needed to clear her head, she needed to get out of the house for a while to make sense of what's going on in her mind.
She made sure Marina knew she was heading out but said she didn't know when she'd be back. She figured if she didn't feel right in her head by sundown she could snag a hotel room or even crash with Three if she'd let her. Oh Agent 3, there's a lot of memories regarding the agent that were crashing her mind. She remembers how merciless she seemed back before her hypnotization broke, how she tore through Octo Valley like it was a hobby… but then something else stuck out to her in her mind.
The first time Eight and Three had actually fought, the final stand of the Octoling military before Three would go on to face the Octobot King. Agent 3 was making her usual run through, Octolings were being sent back to their spawn points in such numbers that they were forbidden from returning to the fight lest all the power get used just keeping them alive. Eight remembers hearing the sound of the spawnpoint fizzling out, Agent 3 had just nabbed the Zapfish from the stage meaning that this could very well be it.
Eight had been hurt in the battle but managed to escape to the side before being splatted, but there was a gash on her side that was leaking ink, she'd be fine given enough time but she feared what might happen should Agent 3 spot her, and well, you know what they say about speaking of the devil.
But rather than turn her weapon on the downed Octoling, Agent 3 did something unexpected. After kicking Eight's weapon aside, she knelt down next to her, and tore off a piece of her clothing, wrapping it around the wound and smiling at her.
"You may not understand me, but, no one deserves to die like this, or at all. Regain your strength and maybe we'll see each other again." Three smiles before turning and heading out of the stage, ready to face Octavio.
Eight finds herself thinking more about what happened that lead her to where she is now, more of her memories returning from when she was Hypnotized. Marina and her had worked together designing the route they would corral Agent 3 to following, each OctoWeapon strategically placed to be the last line of defence for each area… and how she'd torn through them like paper.
Eight found herself sitting on a bench in Inkopolis park, watching the world go on around her. There were so many Inklings and Octolings just living their lives now, happiness and joy could be heard as children played in the field nearby. Eight smiled to herself, maybe it had been worth it after all. All these Octolings she could see were happy and safe, they didn't have to worry about Octavio anymore. Eight found herself looking towards the horizon as the sun rises high and reflects off the lake, something about this place made her feel warmth inside of her, though she couldn't quite figure out why.
Eight figures it must be the happiness of those around her, occasionally Octolings would give her a glance and then smile and wave, she was sure some of them looked familiar to her. Maybe they were friends she'd made in the rebellion, maybe they were fellow soldiers in Octavio's army, either way, they were free and on the surface now. Eight sighed and let her body relax, maybe she didn't have to stress so much any more? Maybe she could stop looking to the past, and instead focus on the future. The future she'd get to spend with those around her that she cares about, and that care about her. Eight smiles and thinks, maybe things will start looking up from here on out.
