Eight and Three were putting the finishing touches on their outfits. Three hated that she needed to look so dressed up but she figured getting to see Eight dolled up the same way would make it all worth it. Three was in the bathroom in her bedroom, she's got a bag of makeup next to her that Marie had provided, and Eight had helped her learn how to apply. Three guessed that after this mission she'd likely never need it again, but she also wasn't planning on throwing it away either. Eight was in the half bathroom which connected to the living room, doing the same prep that Three was doing for their mission.
Three, for probably the first time in her entire life, was applying lipstick, it was subtle but it did give her lips a gentle sheen, and darkened the shade a couple degrees. Her entire application of makeup was something she'd never done actually, from the eyelashes to the eyeliner, to the foundation and gentle blush she'd applied. She found it interesting how well her makeup even covered up her scar. If you looked closely you could still see the imperfections in the skin that resulted from the santization sludge burning against her face, but at a glance you'd never notice.
Finally once she was satisfied with how she looked, she turned away from her bathroom mirror and grabbed her belt off the towel rack where she'd left it when she started getting ready, cinching it tight around her waist. Once it was secure she pushed her way out of the bathroom that was inside her bedroom, and then into the living room from her bedroom, now just waiting for Eight to finish getting ready as well.
Three's look was now complete. Her tentacles were pulled back to the back of her head in a pseudo ponytail, though a little bit of them were still present at the front of her head as a result of where they grow from. Her face was gently painted with makeup, just enough that she wouldn't look out of place on the mission, but still lightly enough that she still looked like herself. Her body was adorned in a beautiful black dress which had only one shoulder strap, the other side leaving her shoulder completely exposed. The dress was interrupted at her waist by the belt she had just put on, it was similarly black and made of a similar material so it blended well, but it had a gold plated clasp that added a touch of metallic colour to the overall look. Finally the rest of her dress fell to just after her knees. Her feet were adorned in glossy black flats with no socks to complete the look.
Eight stepped out of the bathroom connected solely to the living room shortly after, a similar application of makeup on her face, however her outfit was dramatically different. Eight opted for a fitted suit rather than a dress, the jacket, pants, and tie all a brilliant purple that seemed to match her iris colour. Her dress shirt was a simple white but its simplicity complimented the brilliant purple of the rest of her outfit wonderfully. Her lips were matched to the same colour as it as well, showing a bit more adventurous nature than Three. However since Three has never worn makeup before, she's still being quite adventurous, at least by her own standards.
Three looked at Eight and blushed hard as she saw her, she looked absolutely stunning. Her outfit complimented her figure perfectly. It didn't hug every curve but it wasn't meant to, rather it fit so that just enough of her body shape was shown despite no actual skin being visible. Three was absolutely enamored by her beauty and her blush and staring were proof of this. Eight notices Three staring and giggles.
"I take it you like my outfit?" Eight teases, blowing Three a kiss and blushing lightly, enjoying the attention her girlfriend is giving her despite how important the coming mission is. She manages a smile and strikes a pose to show off her outfit to Three even more.
"I don't know how you did it, you somehow became even more beautiful than you already were." Three flirts through her own blush, smiling as her girlfriend rolls her eyes. Three now knew two very important things. One, Eight looks amazing in a suit. Two, if Eight continues to tease and flirt with her like this, she's going to melt.
"You look absolutely gorgeous as always, even if your beautiful face is somewhat covered by that makeup." Eight giggles prompting Three to roll her own eyes. Eight knew Three never wore makeup so she had to poke fun at her for it at least once. Three also appreciated the way in which Eight went about the poking fun, because it helped her feel confident in herself how she liked being, which Eight knew Three secretly cared about a lot.
"You're a butt. Are you ready to go? I… kinda want to get this mission over with, we're still due to have our actual lazy day." Three sheepishly rubs her neck, a little embarrassed to admit that she wants a proper day off but knowing Eight will agree with her. They hadn't had the chance to relax since the message came through so they were both very eager to get this over with so they could get back to being normal cephalopods.
"Yeah let's go, this guy better have the intel we need. That message on its own concerns me… I hope it isn't what I think it is." Eight replies, idly staring at the floor for a moment before shaking her head and offering her arm to her girlfriend. "Shall we go my dear?"
"We shall." Three smiles and takes Eight's arm, not asking what Eight meant because Three frankly didn't want to know. She wanted to know the truth and nothing else, speculation would serve her no benefit, it would simply cause her to worry about potentially the wrong thing.
They head out of Three's apartment and lock the door behind them. Unlike when they would normally go on a date, they weren't heading to the roof to the launchpad. This time they were instead headed to the ground where Marie had arranged a ride for them. Three felt like it was all a bit extravagant and indulgent, but it's what's expected and since they're trying to blend in, it's what they need to do. What Three hadn't expected was just how nice their ride was going to be. Marie had reserved and paid for a stretch limo for them to ride in, and Three was stunned. She expected maybe a luxury sedan with a chauffeur, not, well, this.
"That's a bit overkill isn't it?" Three asks, still holding Eight's arm.
"I'm sure Marie has her reasons for this… but yeah it is a little much." Eight agrees, but neither of them is going to complain. Their chauffeur opens the door for them so they can enter the vehicle. Three scoots in first allowing Eight to follow shortly after.
The ride over is fairly uneventful, save for a few quick pecks shared by the two lovers in the back of the limo. They would properly kiss but they were trying to not smudge their makeup so they settled for small shows of affection. They sat together and held each other's hand as the vehicle pulled up to the location. The movement of their ride stops and within a moment the door is opening and their chauffeur is gesturing for them to get out. Eight steps out first and offers her hand to Three to assist her, which Three graciously accepts. The two head towards the entrance as their chauffeur returns to the driver's seat and drives away. The two approach the door and the greeter spots them, smiling and welcoming them to the venue.
"Welcome to the End of Line club! Can I get your names?" The greeter asks, ready to flip through his book of names to ensure the two are indeed on the list. He does pause when he looks at Eight, like he sees something he recognizes but just can't quite put his finger on. Fortunately for him, Eight quickly pipes up.
"Kiaria Ida and Alex Narakai." Eight says, rolling her tongue around her mouth after, as though their real names felt weird to say, which to be fair, they did. Three was only really called Alex by her cousin Jay, and Eight was so used to being called, well, Eight, that her real name sounded strange to her. It barely even came out of her mouth right, and Three visibly felt a little weird hearing Eight say both of their real names out loud.
"I-Ida?! Oh excuse me for not recognizing you miss, your resemblance to Marina is uncanny now that I've got a proper look. Go on in, you and your date have a wonderful evening!" The greeter pushes a button and the doors open, allowing Eight and Three to enter. They say their thank you's before heading through the doors into the club.
The first thing the two notice when they enter is the atmosphere, there seems to be a lot more focus on an electronic vibe than they were expecting. The floor seems to be made of square panels that give off a gentle white light, with minimal lighting from above. Fortunately their attire was more than appropriate as most people in attendance were in similar outfits to theirs. The second thing they noticed was how high up they were. The elevator ride to the top of the building hadn't felt too long however it seemed like they were fifty storeys into the air. A fall from that height would mean more than a splat, chances are they wouldn't even be able to sync with a spawn pad due to the distance fallen at terminal velocity. Fortunately the venue was enclosed on all sides by what looked like fairly thick glass. They walked onto the floor and strode towards the bar, they took their seats next to each other as the bartender noticed them and finished drying the cup in his hands before setting it down.
"Hello there, what can I get for you?" He asks as he walks over to them, looking between Eight and Three waiting for one of them to reply.
"We'd like to speak with Zod" Eight states, causing the bartender to pause for a moment. The bartender leans against the bar table, moving in closely to the two of them to speak more privately despite the public location.
"What business do you have with him?" He squints suspiciously as he looks at the two of them.
"Just tell him that agents Three and Eight of the Squidbeak Splatoon would like to speak with him, Agent Two sends her regards." Three stares him in the eyes as a realization dawns across his face. He quickly straightens up and tugs his shirt to straighten it as well.
"Right, I will just… go tell him you're here." He turns and leaves the bar, leaving Three and Eight to sit and wait for someone to return.
"So this guy seems to have some connections, but it's good to know we still have at least a little pull because of the Splatoon." Three chuckles, looking over to her partner who seems to have a rather concerned look on her face. "Eight? What is it?"
Eight shakes her head, dismissing the thought that troubled her. She thought she saw a symbol from her past, but it was gone before she could confirm or deny her suspicions. She decides it's best just to let it go.
"Nothing, it's fine. I thought I saw something, but I was probably just seeing things." Eight smiles unconvincingly, she's still on edge. However before Three can get a word in, the bartender is returning to the two of them. He's walking at a brisk pace and has his arms behind him, coming to a stop once he's close enough to them for them to hear him.
"Please come with me, Zod will see you now." The bartender gestures towards another elevator that will no doubt take them to the booth that overlooks the entire club. Exactly the kind of place that the owner of said club would likely reside if he were present.
Three and Eight follow him to the elevator and he uses his key card along with a pin number to activate it, allowing them to enter and ride up. The elevator dings and the doors open, allowing them to enter the room. Across from them is a large desk which sits by the window that overlooks the club, there was a private bar to their left, and a lounge area with a couch and a TV to their right. On the opposite side of the desk to them there was a chair that faced away from them, it looked as though there was a figure occupying it. Without turning around initially, a voice calls out to them from the chair.
"So, the infamous Agent's Three and Eight." The chair turns and a figure is revealed to them as the light shines on his body. He's a hair taller than Three if his height while sitting is any indication, he's wearing a pressed and fitted black suit with white shirt and black tie, the tentacles atop his head are pulled back into a ponytail, much like many male Inklings do, however his eye mask is a closer match to the male Octolings Three and Eight have encountered. "You know, I was expecting agents with your reputation to be a little… older."
"So you're Zod… you're shorter than I expected." Three retorts, she's not going to be teased without retaliation. She crosses her arms and gives him a snarky expression which prompts him to simply roll his eyes.
"Charming, just like Marie." Zod stands and walks around his desk, making his way towards them. He has his arms crossed behind his back as he walks towards the pair of Cephalopods in his office.
"Three, we have a job to do, please try not to upset him." Eight puts her hand on Three's arm to calm her, however she is trying to stifle a giggle as Three's retort was genuinely funny.
"So, what brings you to my doorstep, certainly if Marie had wanted a chat she'd have come herself, so it must be something important." Zod crosses his arms and stands in front of them. Their previous assumptions about his height were confirmed, he's barely taller than Three by a small margin.
"We intercepted… a transmission of some kind, but we can't figure out who sent it." Eight pulls a small thumb drive out of her pocket, holding it up for Zod to see. "This contains the raw transmission as well as what Marina was able to translate, Marie said you might be able to discern where the transmission came from."
He snags the drive out of Eight's hand and walks over to his computer, plugging it in and listening to both the raw transmission and the translated one. He taps his thumb against his chin as he ponders the audio his ears have just processed. He types a couple things into the keyboard on his computer and then pops the drive out of it.
"Marina's translation was only partial, there were words missing from it. I was able to get the entire message by instead of filtering out what might be considered noise and isolating it, the message is contained within that." He hands the thumb drive back to Eight who pockets it quickly.
"So then what's the actual message?" Three asks, crossing her arms impatiently.
"We will return, for I still live. There is no escape from our destiny. To the end of time your kind we will destroy." He says plainly, but he doesn't let them ask anything as he continues. "There was also another message buried within it that I don't quite understand… 10,008, vengeance will be served."
Eight and Three take defensive stances, both very unnerved by these words. Zod notices their uneasiness and rolls his eyes gently.
"Ladies, relax. I am prepared to do anything in my power to help you here." He does a grandiose bow which only serves to heighten the tension in the room. He then turns and walks over to the window behind him, and he looks through it almost like he's expecting something. "Now, I've got my computer attempting to identify the source of the signal. No doubt you'll want transport to the location once I've found out where it is, and you may also need forged passports to get you through any checkpoints unquestioned, not an easy task in today's climate…"
He turns and faces them again, smiling widely.
"Ladies, this is going to be quite a ride." He smirks, and the glass ceiling over top of the main club area shatters. Various figures land as the cubes of tempered glass fall around them, and suddenly Three and Eight realize, they've been set up.
