Three awoke the next morning to pain. Everything in her body was in pain. Her back ached from sleeping on the couch, her neck ached due to the whiplash she was still recovering from, and her stomach ached because she was an idiot and didn't eat yesterday. Also her eyes hurt because it was bright as fuck and she didn't like it, someone should turn off the sun for a few more hours.

Three thought about staying in bed a while longer… but she could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen, which meant Eight was making something, which made Three's stomach growl so aggressively you'd think it was a tiger ready to pounce. Three sighs and pushes the sheets off of herself and, oh, these aren't the clothes she remembers falling asleep in. Actually now that she thinks about it, she remembers falling asleep in the living room. At like three in the afternoon. Why was it tomorrow?

Three then suddenly remembers… her dream. Her dream was intensely vivid and for once, was not leaving her mind at all. Three's mind would replay every detail of her nightmare for her as though it was a video stuck on repeat. Suddenly she remembers why she'd been brought to bed, she remembers Eight coming home and waking her up, and she remembers how Eight had only cared to help get Three comfortable and back to sleep in a better place. Eight had done so much for her in such a small space of time, what did she ever do to deserve someone like her? Despite the calming memories of Eight's embrace, the haunting image of her sanitized body still lingers in her mind. She hopes her dream was just that, a dream, and not some kind of omen of things to come.

Three stands, pushing her thoughts down slightly, and forcing her best "I'm okay" face as she opens the bedroom door and walks into the rest of her apartment. She makes her way towards the kitchen where Eight was making breakfast for the both of them. As Three approaches she takes in a deep sniff of the food being made and coos softly, Three knew Eight was likely only going out of her way to make breakfast like this as a result of her nightmare last night, but she wasn't about to complain about the reason, everything smelled so good.

"Morning sleepyhead!" Eight beams as she finishes making a stack of pancakes, setting the pan in the sink and splitting the pancakes into two even stacks on two separate plates. She walks over and sets them down on the table, grabbing some cutlery and some syrup for them and setting it all on the table.

"Thank you Eight, this looks delicious!" Three smiles, still pushing down the images in her mind from the nightmare she'd had the night before. She makes sure to give Eight a quick hug and a peck on the cheek to show how much she appreciates everything the Octoling does for her.

Eight can tell that all is not well in the land of Three's brain, but she decides to put off asking her about it until at least after breakfast, if nothing else, Three needed to eat. Eight had gone through the fridge when she got home last night and found that not only had Three not eaten the dinner prepared for her, but neither the lunch. Eight knew that Three didn't order takeout either as there were no remnants of takeout containers anywhere to be seen. Eight knew Three hadn't eaten since breakfast the day before, and she was going to stay home all day today to make sure her lover took care of herself.

The two cephalopods take their seats at the table, sitting close to each other, but not close enough to bump elbows. Three pops open the syrup and begins drowning her pancakes, which causes Eight to giggle softly, she found it cute how much syrup Three liked on her pancakes. Once she was done, Eight had her turn with the syrup bottle, she didn't drown hers like Three did, but there was still a healthy amount of it on her own stack of pancakes now. Eight leans over and gives Three one last peck on the cheek before the pair of them start eating their breakfast.

Three had started eating a lot more sensibly with some gentle encouragement from Eight, she no longer ate with such ferocity that food wound up on her ears, however this was… something else entirely. Three was slowly eating her pancakes, too slowly, like her mind was anywhere but the food on the plate in front of her. Eight knew it wasn't the quality of the pancakes, Three often revered them as the best pancakes she'd ever had, and whenever Three did take a bite Eight could tell she was enjoying them. No, there was something bothering Three, and Eight was going to get to the bottom of it.

Eventually the pair finished eating, and Eight set about cleaning the kitchen, getting dishes put away and loading up the dishwasher. Eight couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in her heart, when she came home last night Three was asleep on the couch, and Eight was going to simply carry her to bed without waking her… but then she started screaming. She was screaming things like "NO!" and "PLEASE NOT THIS!" and Eight couldn't help but wonder what had happened in her dream to make her react like that… and then there's the pain in her eyes when she woke up and saw Eight, like she'd seen a ghost, it ate at Eight to know that something could bother her girlfriend like that, to make her fearful even in what should be the sanctity of sleep.

Eight finishes cleaning the kitchen and then motions for Three to sit on the couch next to her, she knows this isn't going to be an easy thing to talk about, but she can't help Three if she doesn't know what's going on. She spotted Three's CQ-80 on the underside of the Coffee table and figured she went digging through Kamabo's files, which likely explains why Three was so content letting her go out with Pearl and Marina yesterday. Three was always so considerate when it came to Kamabo, she knew not to bring it up unless she had to, and she knew how it affected Eight. But by now, Eight had a plethora of other memories she was wrestling with that she could use to keep herself distracted from the Metro. Right now, she needs to know what's going on in Three's mind, and if it involves Kamabo, so be it. Eight would just have to remind herself to make an appointment with her therapist soon… and probably get Three to do the same.

"What's up Eight? You seem concerned…" Three takes her seat on the couch as Eight does the same, already locking their hands together. Three makes a mental note of how warm and comforting Eight's hand is, nothing like the cold she felt in her nightmare… This was real, and she was safe with her girlfriend in their apartment. That helped her calm down considerably.

"I-I am concerned Three… concerned for you…" Eight looks at Three, concern in her eyes but with the warmest smile she can muster given the circumstances. "Last night when I got home… you… were screaming in your sleep."

"Oh" Three stares at the ground, realizing that she's going to have to tell Eight what happened in her nightmare now, and wishing very much that Eight had just crashed at Marina and Pearl's for the night so Three didn't have to bring up Kamabo directly to Eight like this, especially because of what happened in her nightmare. She didn't want to put Eight through that, Eight had done so much for her already, she felt… almost guilty for how much Eight has been doing for her lately.

"Three, you know I'm here for you right? I love you, and I don't want to see you suffering alone…" Eight gently rubs Three's hand with her thumb, squeezing it lightly to try and ease Three's mind. Eight could tell that Three didn't want to talk about her nightmare, but Eight also knew that Three NEEDED to talk about it. Eight wasn't going to just sit and let her partner suffer. "I-I Normally wouldn't pry, but… when you woke up… you looked into my eyes like you didn't believe what you were seeing… in your dream did I… hurt you? Are you afraid I'm going to do something to you?"

"NO! No! Nothing like that at all!" Three reassures Eight, she could tell that Eight's mind had been playing the possible reasons for how she reacted both in her sleep and when she woke up, and she figured the best option now was to just tell Eight what happened, and they could handle the resulting consequences after. Three squeezes Eight's hand and the two of them relax slightly, and finally Three begins explaining. "I love you too Eight, more than I ever thought possible. I'll tell you what happened in my nightmare but… it's not going to be easy for you to hear."

Eight smiles her soft welcoming smile, and brings her hand up to cup Three's cheek, leaning in and giving her a soft kiss to lighten the both of theirs tensions. Eight could tell it helped Three as she no longer had a look on her face like she sensed a charger waiting to pick her off as soon as she grabbed the Rainmaker. Three took in a deep breath and looked Eight in the eyes, her expression telling her that it's going to be difficult to hear AND to say. Eight mentally braces herself for whatever might come, but she could never have prepared herself for the truth.

"Okay. It started out and I was… in the Metro…" Three starts, glancing at Eight too gauge her reaction. As expected, shock, the only reminder they'd had of Kamabo in the past year was the sanitized Octolings that ambushed them, and she knew the both of them had tried not to think about it too much for both of theirs sake. But the shock doesn't last long, Eight remembers the CQ-80 under the coffee table and realizes it's likely connected.

"Okay… so Kamabo… do you know… why?" Eight asks, trying to remain supportive but feeling her mind start flashing memories, the ever present bomb strapped to her back, every time she heard C.Q. Cumber say Test Failed. But she pushed those thoughts down and focused only on Three for the moment, she'd just have to schedule another appointment with her therapist, boy would he love to hear the story of why she's having flashbacks now.

"I think… it might be because I went digging through their files yesterday. I managed to find their information on how they sanitize Octolings, and was thinking maybe that info could be used to help counter it." Three explains, glancing over to the coffee table where the CQ-80 was still situated. She was still nervous, she really wishes she didn't have to give Eight the details of her nightmare, but Eight also deserves to know the truth.

"So it was on your mind when you fell asleep?" Eight prods, trying to get as much out of Three as she can, to hopefully help her not have these kinds of dreams in the future, she hates seeing Three suffer. She wants to make sure to do everything she can to ensure Three never has the kind of dream that has her screaming in agony, Three doesn't deserve that, even in a dream.

"Sort of, I found the files I was looking for originally, then after I fell asleep watching TV by accident. That was at about… Three in the afternoon." Three continues, still glancing to see Eight's reaction to every word she says. Eight puts the information she has with the information Three has given her, and she realizes that Three's nightmare very easily could be caused in part by the lack of food in her system. Before she can respond however, Three continues explaining. "And then when I fell asleep, the dream happened."

Eight nods, holding Three's hand tightly and supporting her, signalling for her to continue. She can feel Three's hearts beating faster, and so she takes a moment to get her to breathe. Three realizes that she'd been taking shallow breaths and quickly corrects the issue. Once her breathing and heart rate were under control, Three once again continues telling Eight what happened in her nightmare.

"So, the telephone… Tartar, he was there. When I approached him he laughed at me… and then… h-he…" Three feels the tears pricking at her eyes, a whimper escaping her lips already. Three can still see everything so vividly in her mind, but the one thing that always sticks out to her, is how Eight's eyes looked in the nightmare. The black sclera, teal iris, and empty pupils. But Eight still didn't know what Three saw.

"Oh Three… did he… hurt you?" Eight leans in, ready to pull Three tightly against her chest at a moment's notice, this nightmare sounds worse by the second. Eight could see tears starting to prick the edges of Three's eyes and it causes her hearts to ache. She hates how Kamabo can still be hurting them, it was supposed to be well in the past now, why was it still following them like this? It wasn't fair to either of them.

"No… not exactly." Three sniffles, pushing her emotions down for just a moment, she's going to get to the end of this nightmare. Once she's done explaining it she'll allow herself to actually break down and sob. "It was you… he-he… sanitized you… I was too late… I couldn't save you."

Eight was shocked, she never would've anticipated that Three would see these kinds of things in her nightmares. No wonder she looked so afraid when she woke up, and why she looked like she didn't believe Eight was real when she did. Three thought she'd lost her forever, and it tore at Eight's hearts to know that was something that Three's mind would do to her.

"Oh, Three, I-I'm so sorry!" Eight quickly pulls Three into a tight hug, holding Three's head against her chest and kissing it softly, she's not going to let anything hurt Three, especially not Kamabo. "I promise, I won't let that happen… I won't ever leave you… I love you so much Three."

"I love you too Eight." Three openly sobs and just curls into Eight, she focuses on how warm Eight feels, and how the soft skin of her hand feels so wonderful in her own, she focuses on how happy and grateful she is to have Eight in her life, and how she has no idea where she'd be right now without her.

Eight and Three remain in each other's embrace for what feels to them like an eternity, and yet not nearly long enough. Three's tears dried long ago, both of their hearts now beating normally. Eight gets an idea for something she can do that might help Three slightly.

"Hey Three… would it help if I maybe rubbed your shoulders a bit? You always seem so tense and maybe that might help?" Eight inquires as she gently draws circles on Three's back with her fingers, waiting for the Inklings response to her inquiry.

"It might… if it's not too much trouble?" Three looks up at Eight, hope in her eyes as she imagines what it might feel like to not have so much tension held in her body. Eight nods and motions for Three to spin around and she does.

"Just tell me if I'm rubbing too hard alright? I don't want to hurt you… and I'll do my best to work around your neck brace." Eight smiles and puts her hands on Three's shoulders, digging her thumbs into the soft skin of her back eliciting a pained groan from Three. Eight could tell that Three had a lot more tension in her back than she really should. "Lover, you should… maybe think about getting a massage from a professional at some point, they'd be able to get out more knots than I could."

"I keep meaning to… I keep not doing it." Three grimaces but because the tension is leaving her body, the pain is somewhat pleasant. It's like removing something that's lodged into your skin, it hurts like hell to remove, but once it's gone it's immeasurably better.

"I can help you schedule it, I just want to make sure you take care of yourself alright?" Eight digs into Three's back and starts working out some of the deeper knots, she hears Three whimper slightly but Three gives the thumbs up to her meaning she can continue, a silent signal they'd established long ago due to… reasons… which proved to be useful in this moment.

Three and Eight would spend a majority of the day like this, sitting together and taking care of each other. Eight called up her therapist to schedule an appointment and got Three to do the same. Eight made sure Three ate a proper meal for lunch and dinner, and she was happy to see Three had a much easier time eating because her mind was finally clear of her nightmare, at least enough for her to function.

When night rolled around, Three looked at their bed apprehensively. She wasn't sure she wanted to go to sleep, for fear of seeing the same images all over again. But Eight reassured her that she'd be safe, and that if something did happen, that Eight was right there next to her to help in any way she could.

Three did not have any nightmares that night, and slept peacefully in the arms of her girlfriend.