"We're coming out" Eight's voice called through the communicator. Everyone breathed a visible sigh of relief. Marina tacked a few commands into her laptop to make sure the path remained open as Eight and Three made their way out. Marina had found a way to deal with the pesky Octo Snipers that had pinned Eight down briefly earlier, allowing Eight a much safer path out than she had going in. Eight noticed that the Octoling that was in the room with Three was following them out, however she seemed docile, at least for now, so she wouldn't focus too much on her, just on getting Three to safety.

Callie and Marie stopped singing, their voices worn and throats sore from keeping Eight egged on for so long. But it was worth it. Both Eight and Three were their friends, and they'd do anything for them. They came down from the makeshift stage Pearl had set up for them to properly perform the Calamari Inkantation, and made their way over to the rest of the group.

"Okay I'm tracking Eight, she should be out in just a moment." Marina called out to everyone. They all gather near the entrance that Eight had gone through not too long ago, Marie looking to be the most relieved out of everyone.

"Thank gods they're okay. Callie, we need to do something for Three. She's gone through entirely too much." Marie says to her cousin, trying not to let on that she was worrying like a mom does and failing miserably. Marie was the one that was always the most concerned about anyone and everyone that was on a mission, and she was just as concerned about Eight as she was about Three, but the level of concern for Three was compounded by the fact that she'd been down there so much longer.

"Yeah I agree, maybe once she's fully back on her feet we could like, take her and Eight out on a real fancy evening… one which doesn't end with them nearly being killed ya know?" Callie chuckles, their lives put them in far too many life or death scenarios and it would probably be really nice for Three and Eight to get a proper break. Plus, they needed to give them a proper night out together, not like the last time… which ended in them being assaulted in a nightclub.

"Yeah, agent work is difficult and they've both earned a real big break even without this" Marie chuckles, knowing full well that Callie was trying to ease her nerves. It worked to a degree, but Marie still worried about Three. She'd been down there god knows how long. At least she knew for a fact that Eight was still okay, since it was HER voice that called through and told them that they were on their way out.

They heard footsteps echo from within Kamabo, but they were slow and pained. Everyone's eyes fixate on the opening, and soon a figure begins to emerge from the hole they created to enter the facility. They now see just why those steps were so pained. Everyone's pupils shrink as they watch in disbelief as Eight, fighting back tears, carries the nearly lifeless body of Three out of the darkness. Eight's face is stoic but her eyes and lip quiver slightly as she carries Three into the light.

Three's body is in horrible shape, her right tentacle was cut off, and at the base of where it had been looked burned and scarred, meaning it wasn't coming back. Her body looked significantly thinner. The scar on her face was practically glowing. And if you looked closely at her wrists, you could see similar scars to the one on her face lined them. There was orange ink still dripping from her thigh and stomach. The only good thing about Three's condition was that she was still breathing. Three was tough as nails and wouldn't stop fighting, even if her body had to be the one to put up the fight for her.

Without hesitation upon seeing Three's condition, Pearl immediately got on her phone and called for a helicopter to pick them up, but insisted that only Eight and Three get on it. Pearl already knew Three needed to get to the hospital fast if she wanted to have any chance of survival, and if less weight saved two seconds, that was worth it. If not having to wait for all of them to get on board saved two seconds, it was worth it. Because two seconds might be the difference between life and death.

Just before stepping on to the helicopter, Eight pauses, and looks over at Marina. Marina can see the murder in Eight's eyes and Eight speaks a simple request with so much venom it could poison everyone in Inkopolis.

"Blow it to hell." Eight turns and boards the helicopter and it speeds off towards the hospital to hopefully save Three.

Marina brings up her laptop again, and begins typing commands into it. If this one act could bring Eight some solace, then she was doing it. Alarm bells begin blaring within Kamabo, and they echo from the opening they had made. Off in the distance the ocean begins to whirlpool as hatches and doors and anything Marina could open were opening to the ocean above. Then, to seal the fate of Kamabo, she hacked into their defense system, and detonated the warheads that lie beneath, turning the entire compound into nothing more than a distant memory. The water floods in and slowly but surely Kamabo is filled with the salty water, causing any and all beings still inside to meet their final fate. For most, it was a mercy. For the sanitized, it was peace.

Marina closes her laptop and puts it away, getting ready to start heading out, when another figure starts walking out of the opening. Everyone is on edge and ready to fight but… they seem harmless enough. The figure is an Octoling by the looks of it, patches of their skin were the sanitized teal, but the rest was freckle covered and just a few shades lighter than Marina's skin tone. The Octoling looks up at the sky and smiles, before taking in a deep breath and letting it out. Everyone is still a little uneasy, that is, until the Octoling just walks over to a patch of grass and sits down. Callie decides to go over and talk to them, whereas Marie is on the phone to contact Jay, she needs to know what's happening with her cousin. Pearl walks closer to Marina and places her hand on Marina's shoulder, smiling up at her.

"Three's going to be okay, and now they can't hurt either of them anymore." Pearl squeezes Marina's shoulder, choking back a sob, she'd been so worried about both of them. Eight was like a daughter to the both of them, even though she was a literal sister to Marina, and Three was already like family as well. Pearl is just glad that her family is at least somewhat okay, Three and Eight were absolutely getting some kind of treat as a result of this, be it a big vacation to somewhere exotic, or maybe they'd just buy them a house since they knew Three had been looking for one on occasion.

Marina smiles back, putting her arm around Pearl in response before leaning down and kissing her forehead. They both knew that this was going to be a strange time for everyone involved, between Eight and Three having their worst fears realized, to Marina and Pearl watching Eight march into uncertainty and danger and knowing she has to. It was always painful when she had to take a risk like this, but they'd never watched her cross the threshold between safety and mortal peril so directly before.

"We should go home, we can check up on Eight and Three at the hospital tomorrow." Marina pauses, she knows everyone there wants to go now, including her, but she also knows that what they both need right now is space. When Three wakes the first thing she should see is her lover. She will see her friends shortly thereafter, but she should see Eight first. "We need to let them get Three stable, she's got Eight, she'll be fine. I know she will."

Everyone glanced over to the distant chopper speeding towards Inkopolis general hospital, and prayed that Marina was right. Reluctantly they gathered their things and headed home. Three had to be okay, she was Three, she could handle anything, right?


Eight lays Three down on the floor of the chopper as it flies them to the nearest hospital. She wanted nothing more than to continue holding her in her arms, but they were tired and she would rather set her down gently than accidentally drop her. The pilot made sure the hospital knew that there was an emergency delivery coming to their roof. Eight, not having the strength to continue holding Three in her arms, opts to just hold Three's hand in her own.

"Hang on Three, I know you can make it." Eight squeezes Three's hand gently, she doesn't fully believe the words coming out of her mouth, but dammit if she isn't going to try anyways. She can't lose her. She WON'T lose her.

As soon as they arrive, there are nurses waiting with a stretcher to take Three inside. Upon seeing her condition, they all share a collective worried look which does nothing to ease Eight's aching heart. She hands Three over to them as they load her onto the stretcher and rush her inside. Eight thanks the pilot of the helicopter before they take off and heads away from the hospital to keep the landing pad clear.

Eight is instructed to wait in the waiting room. Something she's none too keen about, but she understands. The next hour may as well have been a decade. Every second Eight kept worrying. She prayed to whatever gods may exist to please let Three be okay again. She'd been through too much already, she didn't deserve this too.

After the first hour passed, a Doctor entered the waiting room. Eight perked up immediately but didn't rise from her chair, not yet. There were still a handful of other people in the waiting room and he could be here to call on any of them… but she is genuinely hoping he's here to tell her that Three is going to be okay… she just needs good news, something, anything.

"Kiaria Ida?" He called. Eight stands up and walks over to him, taking a deep breath and putting on a brave face. She'd faced the horrors of Kamabo twice now, she could handle whatever this Doctor was about to say to her. She stands not far from him, but not so close that she's invading his personal space. She smiles at him with a pained smile, her concerns finally getting the better of her.

"Yes that's me. Is Thr- I mean Alex going to be okay?" That name felt weird coming out of her mouth, but in this environment, it's what she had to use. She knew Three preferred to be called by her agent number, but these doctors wouldn't know that, and even if they did, there was a level of professionalism and interpersonality that came from using one's true name.

"She's stabilized for now, but she's lost a lot of ink. Her natural colour of Orange would've been a blessing a few years ago, but it's a curse now. Orange just isn't common anymore, turns out it's a recessive ink color, and to make matters worse, most Inklings can't hold orange for very long if it isn't their natural colour." The Doctor breathes a heavy sigh. "We need to find a compatible donor soon or she may not wake up."

Eight's hearts sank. No way this could happen. Not to Three. Not to her. It wasn't fair! Three had gone through so much bullshit and Eight couldn't accept that it would end here for her. There HAD to be something that could be done to help her.

"How do you know if someone is compatible?" Eight asked, wondering if she could help in any way to undo the damage. Thanks to some studying she had done, she'd come to find that Octoling and Inkling ink are practically identical, and as such if all they needed was orange, Eight could hold Orange as long as she wanted. She'd been on plenty of missions with Three where she'd had to shift to orange on the fly to keep from accidentally splatting her, and then she'd go on to spend the rest of the mission that way without even realizing until later when her body eventually shifted back to the navy blue that it seemed accustomed to now.

"It isn't an exact science as we'd like it to be, but orange is just a difficult color for a lot of Inklings to maintain. We could shift her own ink color to match what we have but she's lost too much, her body simply won't allow it to shift color until it's restored."

"So, they just have to… be the same color?" Tears well in Eight's eyes. Hope sparked in her mind, Three had a chance now. Eight knew what she had to do and she was beyond willing to do it. Anything for Three, especially after what she'd been through.

"Yes. Naturally orange inklings are just a rarity now." The doctor's voice is pained, like he's had to give this explanation one too many times before. "We either need someone who can hold Orange for a long time, or someone who was born orange."

Eight shifts her colour to orange without a second thought. Surprising the doctor in front of her. He hadn't ever seen someone be so prepared before. Eight was more than ready to sacrifice all she had to if it meant saving Three, she couldn't bear the thought of a world without her lover.

"Take my ink, I'm orange now and I don't even have to think about keeping it there." The welled tears start to flow down her face, she's going to do this. She is going to save Three. "Orange is second nature to me now, please just save her."

The doctor nods, the look on his face signifying that this is a very uncommon outcome. They take Eight into an exam room to run a few tests. They take samples to make sure it does in fact match Three's ink. They make sure she can hold the colour under pressure. They confirm that she can, in fact, hold her ink at orange almost like it was her natural colour. And that she's willing to do anything if it means helping Three.

They have Eight sit in a recliner next to Three, and they hook them together with a pump between them to keep the ink flowing from Eight to Three. A faint pumping noise can be heard, at first Eight feels a little lightheaded as the ink leaves her body, but she gets used to it quickly. She chances a glance over at Three, she can already see some colour returning to her face. Eight is finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Three is going to be okay.

Eight is given some food and some water to help her own body reproduce ink faster so she doesn't end up in the same spot as Three. She requests a book so she can read while she sits next to the girl she loves. They oblige and provide her with a copy of the book she's been meaning to read for ages. The only book Three even owned at home.

"Love and war" Eight chuckled to herself quietly. "You and I have seen plenty of war, I hope when this is over we can just focus on love."

Eight smiles over at Three, the monitors hooked into her occasionally flash a little light to indicate they're still working. Sometimes something will beep and a nurse will enter the room to check on both Three and Eight.

Eight speeds through the book, having nothing else to draw her attention makes her a fast reader. She realizes why it's Three's favourite book. The main character was a stoic general who always put the success of the mission first. But then between missions while they're away from the army, they meet a beautiful girl who is so soft and sweet and she totally changes the General's outlook. The General starts to value life more, and much to the joy of the girl, The General values her own life more as well. At the end of the book, when the war is over and The General can finally rest, the girl is waiting for them. They waited because they knew that when the war was over, the warriors needed someone to show them how to rest.

But what Eight found the most intriguing was the name of the General, it was only spoken once in the last chapter of the book, by the very girl they had fallen in love with. The girl spoke it with such softness and reverence, as though speaking it out loud was a proper sign that the war was well and truly over. The name the girl said when the title General was no longer needed, was Alex.