Three was not having a good day. Okay that was probably the biggest possible understatement in the history of understatements. Her entire body was sore and weak, she had ink leaking from various parts of her body, and she just all around felt pain everywhere. Her brain was foggy at best and her muscles all just ached with unimaginable pain. Oh there's also the fact that she's currently being dragged towards a sanitization chamber that will rob her of her free will and turn her into a mindless zombie, one that will likely be used to get to anyone and everyone Three has ever personally cared about.
Three doesn't really like this outcome, but she's got no strength to fight back. Her entire body is aching and her mind is remarkably unfocused, she can't even try to wrench her wrists free from the grip of the sanitized Octolings that are dragging her to her ultimate demise. She bows her head in shame, she never thought this would be the way she went out, especially because she thought she'd finally found her eternal happiness with Eight… Three wished so desperately that she at least had the chance to say goodbye.
Three barely registers the sound of the speakers in the room activating, they start playing a beat she's somewhat familiar with but between her weakened state and the melody being just different enough from what she's familiar with, she doesn't truly figure out what song is playing, she doesn't think it matters really. But then, the vocals start, the song becomes clear to her beyond a shadow of a doubt, and the words course through her body in a way no other lyrics ever could.
"Ya weni marei mirekyarahire Juri yu mirekerason"
Three feels the pain from her wounds lessen, and the fog that clouds her mind lifts. She wrenches her wrists free from the Octolings that hold them, turning on her back quickly and using both of her legs to kick them in their chests causing them to fall backwards. They land on their backs and their Hypnoshades clatter off of their faces and… oh, that's why they still need them. The Octolings look at each other with horror, they can see what they've become and the look on their face says that they hate it. They grab their heads and scream in pain before suddenly dissolving into puddles of sludge.
"Okay that's gross" Three says as she stands, the Inkantation coursing through her entire being. She feels some of her strength return to her and she turns to face the door, still locked, but it's where she has to go. Surely she won't be allowed to just waltz out, whether she gets through that door herself or not, there's bound to be plenty of resistance between her and the surface. She wonders if she'll be able to get through the door and make it home to her lover, or if she'll end up trapped down here until her final moments.
Three realizes quickly that the Inkantation isn't going to sustain her forever however, so she limps towards the table that she was previously strapped to. Her arm clutches her stomach and tries to slow the bleeding, it's by far the worst wound and she wonders if it'll get treated in time before she dies of ink loss. She can't focus on what might happen though, her survival depends on her keeping her attention here and now where it belongs.
She makes it to the table and finds the small cart beside it, there were a lot more tools and objects on it that Tartar could've used but he opted not to. Likely because he got carried away with the ones he was using, and he still wanted enough of Three to use as a puppet for his evil deeds. She didn't even want to think about why there was a spoon of all things on the cart. She glances to the restraints that held her wrists and the glowing ink that now drips from them, too much more of that in her system and she'd become nothing but a husk of her former self. Fortunately it seems that she's not going to experience that.
Three hears the door open and she looks over to see two more Sanitized Octolings entering, she remembers what happened with the ones that were dragging her towards the sanitization chamber but… that felt cruel. They should at least go out in the least painful way possible, and with their hypnotized and brainwashed state, they likely wouldn't feel much in the way of physical pain. Three reluctantly sighs and grabs a knife off the cart, she's not proud of herself for having to do this. Her left arm clutches her stomach while her right hand holds the knife in a reverse grip. The Octolings approach, they're unarmed and are only going to attempt to subdue Three. Three bows her head in shame over what she's about to do.
"I'm sorry it's come to this." She sighs heavily as the Octolings attempt to grab Three, but with the Inkantation flowing through her, she manages to channel it into her movements. She swiftly brings the knife down into the shoulder of one of the Octolings, causing them to collapse on the ground, writhe into a ball, and then dissolve into a puddle of ink. "Okay that's just gross… again."
She doesn't get much time to observe the remains however, as the other Octoling is now on the attack. She pounces on Three to attempt to tackle her to the ground but Three dodges to the side swiftly, the knife slicing across the Octoling's chest in the same swift motion, and in a moment, they too are a puddle on the ground.
Three then falls to her knees herself, despite the Inkantation, she's worn out due to ink loss and stress. Her body is barely holding together as it is. She prays that somehow, some way, she's going to make it out of this… She doesn't want to go out before she gets the chance to actually ask Eight the only question that matters between them now, one she hopes the answer to is yes. Three feels her consciousness fading, she imagines the scene of her and Eight together standing at the altar. Would one of them be in a dress? Would they both be in a dress? Suits? Who would officiate? Probably Cap'n Cuttlefish, he seems like he'd do it.
Three hears the door opening once again, she looks over and once again a Sanitized Octoling enters the room. Except something is different, their tentacles seem more… unique. They almost seem to have a… personality to them. They also are far taller than any other Octoling Three has met, towering much higher than even Eight. The Octoling looks down at Three, and then kneels down to be eye level with her. Three doesn't know why, but she feels safe in this moment, as though this Octoling somehow won't hurt her, despite everything about their appearance screaming otherwise to her mind.
"Salutations, Agent Three of the Squidbeak Splatoon." The voice of the Octoling sounds somewhat robotic, and yet distinctly female in tone. The Octoling then does something she's never seen a sanitized Octoling do. She smiles a genuine smile.
"W-Who…" Three coughs, struggling to keep herself conscious, and struggling to remain in the moment.
"My designation is Test Subject 8,888, however I personally identify as Dedf1sh." The Octoling removes the Hypnoshades from their face and tosses them across the room, the Inkantation likely fried them. Three looks into their eyes and is surprised to see that they're like a normal Octoling's. The sclera are white and there's a distinct life within them. "I was the first test subject to resist the sanitization process, and now that my hypnotization has been broken, my free will has been restored."
"Wh-why are you.. Here.." Three's vision is blurring and she can tell she's not going to be remaining awake for very long, but she has to know why this Octoling seems so interested in her. Three already has a girlfriend! One she has every intention of returning to and spending the rest of her life with, ideally anyways. Three manages to focus her mind enough to hear Dedf1sh's reply to her question, fighting the ache of her body to listen to what the Octoling will say.
"You faced off against Octavio, and during the proceedings of the battle, the Squid Sisters performed the song known as the Calamari Inkantation. This song broke Octavio's hold on my mind." Dedf1sh states, it sounds like she's reading information off of a card rather than recounting lived events, but then she's also partially sanitized so that could be responsible for the odd speech patterns. "I fell to Kamabo by accident, and Tartar took advantage of my naivety. However the Inkantation has once again broken the hold on my mind. I would like to repay my saviors who have now unwittingly freed me twice."
"S-Surface… you want… the surface…" Three manages to put together the pieces of what Dedf1sh wants, and frankly deserves as well. Three hopes that this situation ends in such a way that the both of them can make it there safely. Three simply smiles before having to take a moment to wince from pain, she's still bleeding out at this moment and needs medical attention as soon as possible. Hopefully rescue will come for her, there's no way the song started playing by accident.
"I do not wish merely for the surface, I wish to show gratitude, and it begins with protecting a damaged Inkling who deserves a better fate." Dedf1sh grabs the knife from Three's hand and turns to stand between her and the door. She takes in a deep breath and lets the Inkantation flow through her, and Three sees a new level of determination enter the Octoling. Her skin seems to have small patches of unsanitized area, which reveal a pale but freckled skin that likely covered her entire body in the past. Three has to blink in surprise because she could swear she sees the unsanitized area growing.
The door again opens, a squad of five Octolings enter and scan the room. Dedf1sh screams and charges at them, knife in hand. Before they can react at all, she's managed to dispatch two of them with quick slices across their necks. A third one falls quickly as she sweeps their feet out from under them and brings the knife into their chest. The two remaining Octolings attempt to grab her but she ducks to the side and jabs the knife into both of their sides. She's not proud of herself, but she's protecting Agent Three. These Octolings don't even have the same level of self identity that Dedf1sh has, they barely have any form of identity within them at all. They're barely more than robotic drones with the sanitization and the hypnoshades on their faces.
There then comes a commotion from outside the door, it sounds like a fight has broken loose outside of the room they're currently in. Dedf1sh remains ready, though she is somewhat confused as to why there seems to be a battle going on outside of the room she and Three presently occupy. Loud metallic banging can be heard and the sound of someone grunting and dodging attacks as well. Dedf1sh is trembling visibly, she has no idea what's going to come through that door, but she remains between it and Agent Three, the knife at the ready.
Suddenly the sound of something large and metallic collapsing on the ground can be heard, followed by some indecipherable speaking. What happens next is very unexpected. The door doesn't unlock like it normally does, but rather, something is audibly stuck to the door, and after some muffled beeping, a loud BANG can be heard, and the door falls over off of its hinges, and then standing on the other side of it was the one Octoling that Dedf1sh hoped to see the most, 10,008.
