Chapter 11: Something For Your Mind
Pale green light shimmers on the seafloor
An octopus, unaware she is already captured
Rests within her mind, dreaming fleeting dreams…
A burning sensation seared most of Bridgett's skin, as the green ocean surrounded her, with bubbles rising all around her, sliding past her figure. She was floating in place, trapped in the burning hug of all this surrounding liquid, which felt like acid to her skin. She slowly opened her eyes, looking around.
There he was. Again, the mysterious boy. The male Octoling that was floating in place next to her, with only the green goo to cover parts of his body just like with her. She squinted at him. She was never able to figure it out. Who was this boy?
A terrifying, familiar feeling washed over her. Where was she? Who was she? Why was she here? What was going on? …Did she have a life? She didn't have time to think about it. The world around her jolted, first with a small shake, then with a larger quake, and an alarm echoed its way through the water, with a threatening red light flashing and mixing in with the green tint of the strange liquid. She looked forward. Before her, floating in the void, was a figure. Who was this figure? Could she see a face?
Bubbles rose from her mouth as she opened her mouth, reaching forward. Then she took a step. Then another. She looked down in confusion, watching as her feet lightly splashed through the shallow, green pond with each soft step that she took. She turned around, seeing that the boy who had accompanied her was now gone. It was just her in the green void now. Squinting, she turned forward again, setting her sights back on the distant figure as she slowly walked forward.
It was a fairly long walk as she closed in on the figure, as she occasionally gave glances at the barren void around her. "…Hello?" Her voice echoed through nowhere. "Hello? Can you hear me? Jessica? Marina?"
As she kept walking, her own voice echoed endlessly until it started to come back to her, distorted.
"Ahoy! Octoling!"
"You can't remember anything about yourself? Anything at all?"
"So you and this Agent 8 don't know where you are?"
"Congratulations, number 10,008! The door to the promised land will now open!"
"EIGHT! WE GOT YOU!"
The voices rang through the void as she stepped closer to the figure, an Octoling who had her back turned to her.
Bridgett paused as she stood behind her, vaguely able to recognize her. "...Marina…?" She asked hopefully.
Marina turned around, smiling. "Hi, Eight."
"Oh my g-…" She suddenly rushed forward to hug her. "I haven't seen you in…"
"I know… I know…" She squeezed her. "I'm supposed to take you home…"
Home… that sounded so wonderful right now… but…
She broke the hug. "What about…?"
"I wouldn't worry about that. This is your mission now. You need to learn more about home."
She stared at her, a bit unsure, but… this was Marina. She was just happy to see her again. For now, what she said, she would do. She nodded. "…Ok."
Marina smiled at her and led her toward the door behind them. She put her hand on her back as she led her inside, and the door slowly creaked open on its own, allowing them to step through.
It was a beautiful living room inside. The walls were white and the carpet inside was comfy, unlike anything she had ever felt before. A leather couch rested on the floor, in front of a big, flat screen television that was on one of the walls. Rays of sunlight came in through the living room window, giving the room light without any need for an artificial light source, which was another thing that she hadn't seen before.
She looked around at it all as she entered, holding a bag with all of her stuff. This was going to be her home now. "…Wow…"
"Welcome to the fuckin' crib!" She suddenly heard Pearl scream as she followed her in, rudely shoving past her. "The true home base of Off the Hook!"
"...It's…" She looked around again. "…Yeah. Wow. You really live here?"
"And write music here, practice here, smash stuff here, ya know, all the fun stuff."
She blinked. "...Do you actually smash stuff here?"
"No. She's joking." Marina interjected. She seemed a bit shy about this, but gave her a warm smile. "Um… welcome, Eight. There's… food, a TV, and you'll have your own room, so, no need to fret over sleeping arrangements."
"O-Ok…" Bridgett looked around again, looking at the TV. She pointed at it. "What is that?"
"I just said, it's a TV. Have you… never seen one?"
"I-I've never seen anything like… almost all of this…"
"Right… well… come check this out." She pulled her arm and led her toward the coffee table, where she picked up the remote. She pointed it at the screen and turned it on.
Bridgett stared in amazement as she watched the screen light up, and she smiled a bit. "…What do you watch on it?"
"All sorts of things. Watch this." She started flipping channels, showing her all the different programs.
Bridgett watched in amazement as she saw the screen flash at her. She saw things like skyline shots over Inkopolis, people firing guns at each other, people demonstrating how to make food, cartoons, her and the male Octoling floating in an endless green ocean, some Inklings skiing down an icy mountain, the Squid Sisters, a distorted image of Marina, several Jellyfish in a line touching the sidewalk with their outstretched arms, Agent 3 standing high over her… her cape flowing behind her, a green Sanitization tumor protruding from her head… As she watched, Bridgett's excited smile slowly melted into a worried frown.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Marina asked her after a moment, still smiling.
"...Yeah… cool…" She stared at the screen, unmoving.
A stash of mem cakes flooded out onto her new bed as Bridgett poured them out from her bag, which she set aside. She began sorting through the cakes, picking a couple of them up to look at them individually. She looked at her mem cakes of Marina, of Callie and Marie, of DJ Octavio, and a couple others, trying her hardest to actually recall where she had these memories from. They felt like… ghost memories. Memories that were there, but with no context or assurance they had actually happened. And… why were they called mem cakes? Were they actually cakes? A bit curious, she held one forward and slowly held her tongue out, reluctantly giving it a small lick. She quickly found it tasted more like a pencil eraser, and scrunched her face as she threw it back onto the pile.
She sat down on the end of the bed, searching through her bag some more. She still had her Octo Shot, Deepsea Metro outfit, and her CQ-80, which she pulled out. She held it over her lap and pressed the button, summoning the holographic screen before her. She smiled a bit, happy to see it still worked.
"We, uh… can get you a phone if you like." She heard Marina, who was standing in the doorway. She looked over. "…Uh… sorry… should've knocked."
"...What's a phone?" Bridgett asked her.
"A small screen device originally meant to call people with. Not like the telephone you met in the Metro. But, you can do lots of things with one." She stepped inside. "Plus, they're designed to fit in your pocket. Would be more handy than this."
"What's wrong with this?"
"Nothing. It's just that a phone has more features." She sat next to her, pulling her own phone out. "You can… take pictures, watch videos, make videos, or, my favorite thing to do with it, you can listen to music."
Bridgett stared at it. "…All with that little tablet? Wow."
"Yeah." She chuckled. "Um… wanna see? Or, heh, hear?"
"Oh. Um… sure."
She smiled. "Check this out." She took off her own headphones that she could always be seen wearing, slipping them on Bridgett's head. Bridgett just watched her curiously as Marina then pressed the screen on her phone a few times, and the next thing she knew, Into the Light was playing directly into her ears.
She had heard Off the Hook's music before. She had heard music that had moved her soul before. But this? She closed her eyes as she heard the song playing all around her, its high quality, beautiful melodies, and the surprisingly somber voices of both Pearl and Marina sending chills down her spine. The rest of the world around her disappeared as she listened to every detail, with only herself, Marina, and Pearl's voice as if her hand was on her shoulder, in the moment.
Marina watched the whole time as Bridgett found herself lost in the song, from beginning to end. By the time she opened her eyes again, they had welled up with some tears. "Uh…" She blinked. "…Wow…"
Marina was a bit surprised, but regardless giggled. "I know." She took her headphones back.
"...C-Can I maybe use those more?" She pointed at them.
"Hm… sorry, these are for borrowing purposes only. But I can get you your own pair."
"Right… of course."
She set them in her lap. "…How are you feeling?"
"Why are you asking?"
"I just… understand this must all be a lot for you to take in. I mean… I was overwhelmed myself, when I came to the surface, and… you've had the added experiences of all those tests down there, and the human statue rising from the bay, and-"
"And that Agent 3 girl trying to kill me." She interrupted, looking down.
"...Yeah…"
"...We know for sure that Tartar is dead, right?" She looked back at her.
"Nothing more than a broken telephone now. The AI is shut down. He can't hurt you anymore."
"Good…" She looked back at the CQ.
"...You know, Eight… I… want you to know that we're not letting you live here for no reason. We're doing it because we care."
Bridgett looked at her.
"You've been through a lot, I know." She put her hand on her shoulder. "I know getting used to the city might be a bit overwhelming. But… we're here. We'll always be here to support you."
She smiled. "Uh… thanks, Marina… I, uh… really don't know what I'd do without you right now…"
"No problem." She smiled back.
Bridgett looked down a bit, back at her CQ. In the moment, yes, Marina was here. They still had time to spend together. But… she also couldn't shake the more somber feeling that… Marina was somewhere very, very far away right now, and that she couldn't truly see her anymore. She paused. "…Marina…?"
"Yes?"
"...When you say that… you'll always be here to support me… you do mean… always, right?"
Marina didn't respond, looking off to the side as she propped her leg up, seemingly thinking.
"...N-Nevermind, that was a weird question…"
"No, no." She shook her head. "…You're right, you have a point. We might… not always be able to see each other..."
"...Oh." She looked down.
"...One day, you're going to want different things from the world and you may want to move out, to, you know, do your own thing. And then I, even later on, will have… my own responsibilities to fill." She looked her in the eye. "And I'm going to have to go. There's… no other way…"
She stared at her CQ. "…I know…"
Marina looked down as well, and they fell silent for a moment. Slowly, she put her hand on her shoulder. She looked her in the eye. "…I'm… here now, though."
Bridgett looked at her.
"…I just need you to do one thing for me while we are here."
"...What's that?"
"I need you to wake up. Just real quick. So that he can talk to you."
She paused. "...W-What?"
Marina's face suddenly turned more stern. "I need you to wake up."
Bridgett gasped as she finally woke up, her eyes widening. A beeping sound beat at her ears, her vision was hazy, and her head felt loopy, as if she was on drugs. She panted a bit, leaning her head to the side, feeling some kind of helmet on her head. She squinted a bit in confusion, leaning her hand up to feel it… No, she was only imagining the sensation of moving her hand. In actuality, her limbs were strapped down to the table she rested on. Becoming increasingly terrified, she looked around.
"I wouldn't move too much if I were you." A voice spoke to her. "You've lost a lot of ink."
Now that she thought about it, she did feel unusually weak. She looked toward the man that was nearby. "…Where… am I…?"
"In a safe place." He replied.
"...A safe-…" She looked around some more. She was in some sort of laboratory, filled with high-tech, Octarian equipment. "…The Valley?"
"Deeper."
"...The Canyon."
"Deeeeeper."
She groaned and leaned her head back, starting to struggle against her restraints. "…If you don't let me go and start giving me answers now, you're going to regret it."
"We'll get to that." The old Octarian man flipped some switches, before walking more into her view, his eyes blocked by massive goggles. He took them off as he turned to her, revealing his strangely familiar eyes. "But right now, I want to focus on you."
"...Where are the others?"
"Your friends? Oh. We've taken care of them. You needn't worry."
She started struggling again. "All that does is worry me!"
"Oh, well. Again, we'll get to them later. Oh, but of course, I'm being rude. I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Victor Frankenstein." He outstretched his hand, as if to offer a handshake.
She stared at him.
"...I'm kidding, I'm Doctor Gideon Tecca. Thought you needed a good chuckle, but…" He lowered his hand. "Whatever. You might have heard of me. Might not. Doesn't matter."
"...You're not funny…"
"...Well, we all have our own style of humor. Or maybe you're just too stressed out. Either one is fine. Uh… Bridgett. Right?"
"...Been reading up on me…?"
"A little. Uh… I actually know… more about you than that. Way more. But right now, I'm still trying to gather information. Which is why I need you to relax."
"How am I supposed to relax?"
"Don't think and just do."
She sighed. "…At least tell me the others are alive."
"...Fine. They're alive."
She leaned her head back, still not sure if he was even telling the truth. "…That didn't help as much as I hoped it would…" She paused. "That… dream I just had…"
"It's actually a simulation. You're plugged into it through that awesome helmet on your head. Currently, it's programmed for memory retrieval, so that you can… relive… whatever memories you may desire." He looked her in the eye, laughing. "Not to sound too proud of my work, but I'd say it's an awful lot like travelling through time. Wouldn't you agree?"
"...What could you want from my memories…?"
"There's a few things. A few things." He dramatically nodded before he leaned down next to her. "See, I'm an… interesting man. I do some interesting work. And now you're a part of that work. You've always been a part of something much bigger, and you don't even realize it."
"...What… do you mean? Why me?"
"...Well… relax, let me plug you back in, and maybe the answers will come to you." He patted her arm. "What I want you to do, is to surf your memories, let it guide you. What I'm looking for is from before your time in Inkopolis, so please, go as far back as you can. If you cooperate, it will show you your home. Who you really are."
Bridgett just stared at him. "…I don't think you understand… I don't… have those memories…"
He just nodded. "Just let the machine do its job. You'll see." He returned to his controls.
"Hey." She started struggling again. "Hey. Wait. Stop." She started looking around again, as Gideon turned on the machine. He was doing this for a reason. She knew it. "I'm not going to- I'm not going to give you-" She started feeling dizzy, to the point that it didn't even feel like she had control over her own breathing. A calm breath escaped her mouth. "…A-Anything…"
"Relaaaaax…" Gideon told her.
In her last moments of wakefulness, her eyes darted around as she searched for any way out, but nothing was coming to her. Except, she did happen to notice the machine she was plugged into, and it was technology that was terrifyingly familiar to her. It was something that used to belong to Marina's lab.
It was the device known only as the Subgrid. And it was the last thing she saw before falling back under.
Meanwhile
Dylan groaned as he finally came to, accompanied by an awful splitting headache. Just like Jessica and Bridgett before him, once he reached up to hold his head, he quickly came to notice that he was restrained, tied to the wall. His eyes widened as he felt the wall and his restraints, and he looked around.
Jessica was still lying on her metal bench, swinging her leg a bit as she played around with her cuffs. "…Wakey…"
"Jessica…?" He groaned again, leaning forward. "…Where-"
"No idea, no idea, and, no idea. No idea to any question you could ask about this."
"...Ok…" He sighed, thinking. "…Is… Where's Bridgett?"
Jessica turned and shot a glare at him.
"...Right… no idea… Have you at least seen her?"
"No…" She kept working at her cuffs. "I got hit hard at the Square… Next thing I know, I'm in here with you."
"…Fuck…" He sat up, starting to tug on his own cuffs. He thought more about what had happened. "Those… men who attacked the Square…"
"They're Octarian. Figured out that much."
"...They totally lured us in… The hostages were a ruse…"
"And now, here we are, stuck with the consequences. Gotta say, I'm surprised you showed."
"...Sam wanted to go, and I… couldn't let her. I couldn't sit and do nothing."
She sighed. "…Nice to have company, I guess."
"...And of course, that's the nicest thing you've ever said about me…" He then paused again, as another realization hit him. "…Oh, no… if Bridgett's not in here with us..." He looked at her.
Jessica looked back. Even if she tried to hide it, her eyes also appeared very panicked. "…We can't think about that right now."
"How am I supposed to not think about that right now?"
"Well… let's just… set our sights on getting out of this cell… and finding her. That's all we can do. I find that… panic tends to not set in as much if I have something to focus on."
"Maybe for you." He struggled with his own cuffs. "I don't work that way…"
She faced him again, a bit irritated. "What do you want me to do, Four?"
"I don't know, you're Agent 3. Can't you just… do something crazy and get us out of here?"
She sighed and turned back to her cuffs. "I'm working on that…"
He paused, definitely starting to feel the panic come on. "…Oh, god… I shouldn't be here… neither of us should be here…" He pulled hard on his cuffs, starting to tear up. "God, I should've burned that damn suit and taken Bridgett on a vacation when I had the chance…"
Jessica scoffed slightly. "I tried the whole 'burning the suit' thing, but this shit just calls you back sooner or later either way…"
"...Do you think Bridgett is-"
"Don't." She looked at him. "I know she's fine, because… because she has to be. Because she's Agent 8. Because I… I need her to be."
"Because you need her to be? I… I don't even know what I'd do without her. Or what I'd do if she..."
"...I get that. But you're not the only one here who feels close to her…"
He didn't respond, looking around.
"...Let's focus on getting out. And then-" She was interrupted as they both heard a loud creaking noise, as the door was loudly opened. They both looked over to see an Octotrooper come in, riding on its black electric platform, which held two trays of food in front of it. They both stared at it.
"Food. Eat time." The Octotrooper used a robot hand to rudely toss the trays toward the Agents, causing much of the food to fall and land on the ground. The Octotrooper then left, again closing the door.
Jessica and Dylan both looked at each other again, and Jessica gave him a knowing look. She went right back to her cuffs, working on getting herself out.
The Subgrid was not anything more than a computer simulation. A very advanced, realistic simulation, that had originally been developed by Marina. How Gideon acquired the technology, Bridgett did not know.
But the code was very in-depth, and the world that Bridgett now walked through could not be distinguished from real life. A breeze brushed her skin, the warmth of the sun beat down on her… a familiar feeling washed over her. She recognized this memory. She looked around. She was in Octo Valley, on the surface of the Valley, at least. This was after she decided to make her escape and see the surface world. But… how did she recognize this memory?
She kept walking forward, taking in all the details as she walked past. She let the memory take hold of her. The ever-familiar scent and feel of Octo Valley, that strangely felt unfamiliar at the same time. She leaned down, running her hands along a few blades of grass that protruded from the ground, as if feeling nature's grace for the first time.
However, something was off… Despite the silent wasteland-like atmosphere of Octo Valley's surface, she could hear… voices. Inkling voices. Letting go of the grass, she stood up and began making her way over.
Standing near a kettle, were two Inklings. One looked very old and skinny, with a white Captain hat, a green tracksuit, a cane, and a map he was holding. The other was a girl who looked to be about 16 or 17, with a Hero Jacket, Hero Headset, Hero Runners, and the torn, gray cape with the number 3 on it, flowing behind her as she studied the map. Squinting a bit in curiosity, Bridgett hid behind a tree, trying to listen in as best as she could. Her hand reached to grab her gun just in case, but she stopped as she realized she did not have one equipped. She regardless kept watching.
"The Octarians have shown no activity here, here, or here." Cap'n Cuttlefish pointed his cane at parts of the map. "There's been some activity in these other areas, but in slim amounts."
"Then let's cross them off and move on." Jessica replied. "This Valley hasn't shown anything of note in over two years."
"True, but, the Great Zapfish was taken again only months ago. Never know when these guys could make another move." He folded up the map. "And we still don't know what set off our alarm this morning."
Getting more and more curious, Bridgett carefully stepped closer and closer to hear a bit better.
"It was probably a bird or something." Jessica continued. "If we're lucky, we'll- what was that?" She suddenly turned toward Bridgett.
Bridgett, not realizing she accidentally just kicked a rock slightly, immediately morphed to her Octopus form to hide before they could see. Of course, that only created another noise, as Jessica and Cuttlefish both stared.
"...Can ya check that out, young lady?" Cuttlefish asked.
Jessica grabbed her Hero Shot and walked over, barely even expressing caution as she walked over and checked behind the tree, seeing… no one there. She sighed, before looking around a bit. "…Clear here." The second she turned around again, she heard footsteps. This time, she quickly swiveled and pointed her Hero Shot. "…Whoever you are, come out."
Bridgett was now hidden behind a small wall, as Jessica made her way over. There was no way she was making it out of this without being seen now. Biting her lip, she slowly stood up and faced her, arms up. "D-Don't shoot."
Jessica immediately held her at gunpoint. "Got ourselves a spy." She said as Cuttlefish also walked up.
"I-I wasn't spying…"
"Then what're you doing up here?"
She stared at her, panicking inside, as she desperately thought of an excuse. "…I, uh… like your cape."
Jessica squinted at her in confusion.
Dammit. Horrible answer. She felt tempted to flee, but fought the urge.
"...Who are you?" Jessica asked her again.
Who… was she? "I'm…" She tried to say something. But… who was she? What was her name? What was she doing here? "…I'm…"
As Jessica kept staring at her, clearly ready to pull the trigger, Bridgett went into fight-or-flight, and suddenly took off running. Jessica fired at her, coating the ground in her currently yellow ink as Bridgett ran toward a random kettle. Jessica suddenly leapt into the air, slamming down in a splash-down in front of her, blocking her path. Bridgett grunted as she fell backward, landing on her butt, before trying to get back up. Jessica suddenly rolled toward her, grabbing her and holding her at gunpoint.
"Last chance to talk to us." Jessica hissed.
To her surprise, Bridgett performed a flip, kicking the gun from her hand. She attempted to grab her, and they wrestled for a moment, before Jessica threw her aside. They both fell down in the process, and turned to look at each other, before swiftly getting back up at the same time. They stared each other down, silently daring each other to make the next move. But something felt wrong. Bridgett knew what was about to happen. She knew… this was right before…
Panic slowly started to set in, and the second Jessica made another move, she suddenly surrendered, holding her hands forward. "No, no, Jessica, stop!"
Jessica paused, fist in the air, confused at having just heard her own name.
"S-Something's about to happen." Bridgett pleaded. "I-I'm reliving a memory. You're a part of that memory. We're about to get attacked. Or we will be, soon. We're going to get lost in the Deepsea Metro, and then I'll have to go through hell just to get out."
She was just more confused. "...What are you-"
"I can prove it! I-In the real world, the two of us are friends. Close friends. We've been friends for years."
"I've never seen you before."
She gulped. "…Your name is Jessica Abbygail Murdock. Your brother is Daniel Murdock. Your parents died when you were very young… and you spent a long time living in an orphanage, under someone named Dana. You were recruited as Agent 3 by Captain Cuttlefish because you saw him in the manhole in Inkopolis Plaza one day, you decided to follow him, and you've been working closely with him ever since. Sometimes, you even affectionately call him Gramps, just like Callie and Marie do. You've helped train me… so I know a bunch of your moves. I know you."
Jessica still seemed extremely confused by what was even going on, but also seemed to be listening, partially lowering her fist.
Bridgett nodded a bit, sighing in relief.
"You shouldn't be messing with the simulation like that, Bridgett." Gideon's voice suddenly spoke to her. "Let your memories play out how they're supposed to."
She looked around, looking for the source of the voice, but saw nothing. She wasn't going to relive what was about to happen… there was no way she'd willingly go through that again. She gulped, turning back to Jessica. "…Now… like I said… we're going to be attacked. We need to go."
"By who?" Jessica asked.
She looked around some more, an ominous chill falling down her back. He was coming. She knew it. She reached over and grabbed her hand. "I'll explain later, but for right now, we need to run." She pulled her along.
Bridgett locked the door behind her as she and Jessica entered their own apartment; This particular memory was how the apartment was in the present day, with everything accounted for from the last time she was here. She looked around, amazed at how much it felt like she was standing in the real thing.
Jessica stepped forward, looking around. "…Who's apartment is this?"
"Ours. In the future." Bridgett started combing the house for anything she could use. She quickly found her own reliable Agent 8 gear that she stashed around the apartment. "Oh, thank god…" She quickly began equipping everything.
Jessica just watched her. "…So, in the future, you and I live together?"
"Yes." She turned to her as she holstered her Octo Shot. "Well, I did live with Pearl and Marina, but, after the Underdogs incident, I decided to stick closer to you."
"...The Underwhats?"
"They're… uh, never mind." She turned back to grab the rest of her stuff, even grabbing her CQ-80, but was interrupted as the TV suddenly flipped on by itself. They both turned to it.
A crude, glitched image of Marina was on the screen, wearing a nice suit, sunglasses, and slicked-back hair. "Do you two even know the consequences of messing with your own memories? HA! I don't. But I certainly wouldn't wanna find out. Ha ha HA, ha ha H-"
Panicked, Bridgett grabbed the remote and switched it off.
Jessica looked around, concern written all over her face. "What the hell is going on…?"
Bridgett turned to continue what she was doing, but after a moment, she paused. "…Listen…" She stepped toward Jessica. "I know this is scary… but… if we work together… maybe you can help me get out of here."
"I don't even know what here is."
"It's- It's hard to explain. But you believe me, right? That you and I are friends? That you and I are… close?"
Jessica stared at her. "…I… I think so… yes."
She nodded. "…Good… good. I've been told the two of us work best together, so… this'll help."
"...When you say we're close, how… close do you mean?"
"...Well… we're close friends and we're work partners. I don't know how else to-…" She sighed, as she turned and kept equipping herself. "Look, I'm not sure I have time to explain everything. We'll just get our stuff, and then we'll-" She was again interrupted as the TV flipped back on.
"Stop now, before you get your brain all scrambled." Marina's image continued. "Wouldn't want to end up brain-dead, would you? Your mind is not a place you wanna become trapped in, because all of your worst dreams will want to come play with you." She suddenly became distorted, in an almost demonic manner.
Eyes wide, Bridgett looked around before she picked up a lamp, throwing it at the TV to break the screen permanently. She was starting to hyperventilate, but quickly stopped herself to instead take deep breaths. "…Try me, you son of a bitch. I'll get out of this nightmare eventually. Then you're done for."
Jessica stared at her, before they both then turned to the door, as someone tried turning the doorknob. Corrupted yet familiar sounds could be heard from the robotic telephone just outside as the doorknob was turned desperately. Bridgett pulled out her Octo Shot as the locked door was then pounded on, as the ferocious AI started to break his way in.
"What is that!?" Jessica grabbed her own gun.
"Who we're running from, he followed us!" Bridgett replied, looking around. Spotting the couch, she ran over to it. "Help me prop this against the door!"
Jessica holstered her gun again as she ran over, and they both picked it up, carrying it over to lean it against the door. The machine kept pounding for only another moment before everything fell silent once again.
Bridgett sighed in relief, before a green, sanitized tentacle suddenly broke through a hole in the door, reaching for her. She screamed as she fell backward, and the door was pushed back more violently, slowly breaking its hinges and even pushing back the couch.
Jessica helped her up. "Let's move!"
"Yeah! Out the window!" She aimed and fired some ink at the enemy as it crashed its way inside, and they rushed to the window. Jessica smashed it open, climbing out to the fire escape. She quickly morphed to her Squid-form before blasting off in a super-jump.
Bridgett briefly looked behind her, noticing a large mountain of green ooze that had broken through the door and was corrupting the whole apartment as it expanded and made its way toward her. Gasping, she closed her eyes, holding her CQ close to her chest as she desperately thought of a safe place to hide. Quickly, she transformed, following suit after Jessica.
The next thing she knew, she and Jessica crash-landed safely onto carpet. Bridgett rolled to a stop before she panted, slowly sitting up to check her surroundings. They were once again in Marina's house.
Jessica got up just before her. "…Where are we, now?"
"...A safe place…" She got on her feet.
"What the hell was that thing? What is going on?"
"...I told you, it's hard to explain."
"Then explain it to me. Come on. If we're really as close as you say, you trust me, right?"
She paused, staring at her. Jessica raised an eyebrow at her, until Bridgett sighed, caving in for her. "…I'm plugged into something called the Subgrid… I got kidnapped by some weirdo… Octarian scientist in the real world, and now I'm here. He's forcing me to relive my memories. He's trying to… I think he's trying to find something from my past."
"...Find… something?" She shook her head. "What happens if he finds it?"
"I don't know yet… but I doubt it'll be good." She turned away from her. "Which is why I need to get out of here, before any more…" She waved her arm around, still not understanding how this mindscape even worked. "…bad memories come after me."
"What other bad memories do you have?"
She didn't respond.
"...Bridgett?"
She started steadily tearing up. "…You… don't wanna know…"
She stepped closer to her, repeating herself. "…If we're really as close as you say, you trust me, right?"
"Of… of course I do."
"...Then what was that hesitation just there?"
She sighed before she turned to her. "…We haven't always… gotten along…"
Jessica stared at her, appearing genuinely concerned. "…Did I… do something to you?"
"...You tried to…"
"What did I do?"
She started shaking. "…If I talk about it here, it might happen again…"
She shook her head, before suddenly reaching up to cup her cheek. "I can't imagine, ever… hurting you…"
Bridgett looked at her arm, confused. What was she doing? Tears streaming down her cheeks, she looked her in the eye. It… did feel extremely comforting… her shaking had already calmed down… it even… felt kind of right. "…I don't like to imagine it, either, it's why I don't look back on it often…"
"...I really scared you… didn't I?"
"...Yes…"
"...So what'd I do?"
She shook her head. "…It… It wasn't your fault…"
Jessica sighed and held her close, hugging her. More tears slid down her chest as Bridgett leaned into her, sighing as they tightly embraced.
"...I won't do it again…" Jessica leaned her head on hers. "I promise…"
Bridgett closed her eyes, feeling her warmth. Her embrace. She remembered the first time she ever felt like this. Slow, pleasant music was playing all around her. Dylan had pulled her along for something called a "date", and the two of them were in each others arms. Her right hand held Dylan's hand, and her left hand was on his shoulder, with Dylan's hand planted comfortably on her waist, as they slowly danced around in a circle. It felt so peaceful… so right… like she belonged to someone. Her eyes were closed a fair amount of the time, but she would open them again, able to see his eyes that stared back into hers.
He smiled. "…You like it so far?"
"...Yes." She shakily nodded, smiling for one of the first times since she… well, she didn't remember when the last time was. "…I, uh… I really…"
"...Me too." He sensed what she wanted to say, nodding.
They paused for a bit as they just enjoyed the dance. "...You… do this a lot?"
"Uhh…" He awkwardly jetted his eyes upward. "No…" He admitted. "Girls back at the high school dances weren't exactly… lined up for a dork like me."
"...What's a dork?"
"Eh… an awkward person. Looks like a… well, never mind that."
She shook her head. "…I don't think you're awkward."
"You… don't?"
She shook her head.
He couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I'll give myself some points for being a secret agent and all that. And, well… this moment. Dancing with a girl like you."
She smiled at him.
"...You really don't think I'm awkward?"
"The thought never even crossed my mind." She told him seriously. "When we met, I actually thought you seemed… really cool."
He smiled. "And you're… so very beautiful."
"Really…?" She couldn't help but smile widely in return.
"Of course you are…" He cupped her cheek. "You're even more beautiful than those idols we work with… up on stage and adored by pretty much everyone around them… You're so much prettier, Bridgett."
She paused. This was the first time someone had called her something other than Eight. "…You… just called me Bridgett?"
"Hm?" He blushed a bit. "Oh… right, I remember us talking about that name before, uh… sorry if that was weird. I do kinda… think it sounds better than Eight, at least…"
Bridgett blushed as she leaned her head into his hand, completely lost in the moment. "…Bridgett… yeah…" She smiled, nodding. "…Bridgett."
He smiled back at her, and her eyes started to drift shut again. Before they fully closed, they leaned toward each other, and the space between them closed as she felt his lips touch hers.
Yet after the night of her very first dance, her very first kiss, and then her first time waking up next to her partner the next morning, their relationship had only begun to eventually deteriorate. As more events among the Splatoon happened, they would start talking less and less, as their interests diverged more and more. These days, Dylan didn't even want anything to do with the Splatoon or the life she wanted to live. Instead, her own interests had started to converge more with… with…
…Oh god…
By the time her eyes opened again, her lips were pressed against Jessica's instead of Dylan's, until they softly broke off, in each other's arms, still holding each other in Marina's house. Bridgett stared at her, completely shocked. When did that even happen?
"...What…?" Jessica asked.
She broke off from her, starting to feel sick to her stomach. "…Oh my god…"
"What? Was I too fast?" She reached for her again, but Bridgett suddenly backed off.
"No, no, just… don't touch me." She said, getting shaky again. Her mind started racing. Was that how she really felt? But… never mind that, what did she just do to Dylan? What was he going to say when he found out? She shook her head and closed her eyes tightly. She was letting too many negative thoughts come up. She needed to think of something positive right now.
She could already hear the effects. The telephone was once again scraping at the door, turning the doorknob, trying to shove its way through.
"Bridgett?" Jessica kept asking. "Bridgett, what's wrong?"
"Just… just be quiet, please…" She replied, trying her hardest to focus. This was Marina's house. She was with Jessica. She was safe. Nothing could ever hurt her here.
She thought back to all the good times she had here, with Marina and Pearl. Sure, Pearl had been awfully loud a lot, and she had spent a lot of time hidden in her own room, taking as much personal time to herself as she could. How she wish she could've spent more time with them… because now, they weren't even really around.
No. No, she couldn't think about that. She was here, in the moment. She could spend all the time she wanted with them. Trying her best to think of another pleasant memory with Marina, she opened her eyes.
Bridgett was still in Marina's house, but was now in her room, packing up the last of her things from her closet. Her room was otherwise empty at this point, except for the stripped-down bed, empty dresser, and duffel bags that contained all her things.
She packed silently, minding her own business, until she paused, hearts starting to sink when she realized what memory this was. She heard Marina clear her throat. She turned to see she had entered the room.
"…Hi, Eight…" Marina told her.
"...Hey…" She continued packing up her collection of mem cakes that she kept in her closet.
"...You have everything?"
"Yeah… just about…" She got the last of them and stood up.
Marina looked around somewhat shyly, peeking into her bag while Bridgett wasn't looking. The CQ-80 that Bridgett still used to record diary entries was visibly sitting there. She reached down to grab it.
Bridgett grabbed the last of her things and then turned around, suddenly snatching it from her. "No."
She stared at her. "…I-I just wanted to hold it…"
"You've already breached my privacy once."
She looked down, as Bridgett put it back in the bag and zipped it up. "…I-I'm sorry…"
Bridgett was fighting back tears. "...Just don't touch it." She stood back up.
"...Do you… really trust me that little?"
She sighed, shaking. "…It's not that I… don't trust you…"
Marina stepped forward. "...Eight… I… feel like there's been something you haven't been telling me…"
She froze up a bit. It was true, but she wasn't just about to come with it. "…That's not true."
"Isn't it? You haven't been home as much lately, you occasionally come home with bruised knuckles, you disappeared for two straight days once and had me worried sick… and I know you weren't just out with Dylan. In fact, Dylan isn't satisfied with how much you've been seeing each other. He told me."
She paused for a moment, looking down. Tears starting streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't help but let this memory consume her. "…I just… you don't have to worry about it. I'm fine."
She sighed. She didn't quite believe her, but had also given up. "…Ok…"
Jessica leaned in and knocked on the door frame. "Time to go?"
"Yeah." Bridgett awkwardly wiped her tears. "Everything's packed. Just give me a second."
She just nodded and leaned back out, leaving the Octolings back to their awkward silence. She could hear the telephone still scraping at the front door, more aggressively than ever.
"...I love you…" Marina said after a moment.
Bridgett stared at her. "...I love you, too…"
She pulled her into a hug, which she returned. They held it for a moment as in the other room, she could hear the door fall off of its hinges. A low, sanitized growl could be heard as the otherwise warm atmosphere in the house started to turn more dark and cold. The lights around them blinked before shutting down, and an intense chill overcame her, even causing her breathing to become visible as she broke the hug.
Marina only watched as Bridgett slowly reached down to grab her bags, stepping out. Already shaking as she stepped out, she then jumped as her path was suddenly blocked by Jessica. Except she was no longer the friendly Jessica she had grown attached to. Her eyes and hair were both green, and the massive, sanitized tumor was protruding from her head as she faced her.
"Jessica!?" She asked.
Jessica grabbed her, causing her to drop the bags she was holding, and shoved her backwards into her own closet.
She tried to break free, struggling against her. "Jessica! Jessica, don't do th-"
"Shhhhhhh…" Jessica slammed the door.
The subtle, faded sound of the Calamari Inkantation began to fill her ears as she slowly opened her eyes once again. Now, the entire area had instead transformed into the terrifyingly familiar, dark arena, with surrounding stereos and party lights. Furthermore, Jessica's hair and ink were once again orange, as she stood atop her floating platform, cape flowing in the wind as she turned to face her. Bridgett's own eyes widened. "…No… no… oh, no… no, no, no…"
Jessica did a small twirl before she leapt into the air, slamming down with a splashdown. Bridgett desperately hid behind the glass box filled with wasabi sticks to block the blow, whimpering a bit to herself. Regardless, she didn't hesitate to run around the opposite side and fire at her. They began circling the arena, covering everything in their ink, which wasn't helped by Jessica's seemingly infinite supply of ink and autobombs.
"Bridgett? Your heart-rate is spiking. You need to calm down right now." Gideon's voice spoke to her again.
She wanted to respond, but she was now too laser-focused on the current fight. She tried everything against this nightmare version of her friend. And it was true she was far more experienced in combat than the last time she faced this, but… splat. Splat. SPLAT! Defeat after defeat. Death after death. No matter what she seemed to try, Jessica just always seemed… better.
"Jessica, please don't do this to me again…" Bridgett whimpered, continuing to fire at Jessica as soon as the arena reset again. She fought valiantly against Jessica this time, but she couldn't seem to outsmart her enough to even get past her second phase. She started crying as the arena reset again. "…Please let me go…"
"Bridgett, calm down now, you're going to go brain-dead!" Gideon commanded.
"Please let me go…" She kept fighting, and fighting, and fighting, until eventually, she found herself leaned against the glass wasabi container, sobbing. She let herself collapse to the ground in a heap, where she curled up. "Please let me go…" She barely even moved as Jessica again approached her, holding her Hero Shot to her head to finish her off. "Please let me go…"
"Bridgett. Can you hear me? C'mon. Lydia. Lydia! LYDIA!"
"Please let me go…" Bridgett struggled against her restraints on the real-life table, still plugged into the Subgrid.
"Lydia!" Gideon called to her for the last time, looking over her vitals. Her heart rate was fluttering and her ink pressure had spiked, while her brain activity was straight-up dismal. Gideon watched the screen as her brain edged dangerously close to shutting down, while the rest of her vitals started to go critical. He sighed, somewhat angrily, as he quickly shut the Subgrid down, frantically typing in the kill order on his computer.
Some lights on the Subgrid turned off, and Bridgett gasped loudly as her eyes shot open. She looked around.
"Wakey…" Gideon said, with more frustration in his voice this time. He folded his arms as he faced her.
Bridgett just stared up at him, panting a bit.
"...Do I get to know what that was?" He asked.
She didn't respond.
"...Hm…" He just reached over to pull her helmet off, unplugging her. "…That was fascinating… very fascinating…" He suddenly chuckled. "You give quite a show. You always do."
Tears fell down Bridgett's cheek as she angrily stared at the ceiling.
"Though, I warned you, you're not supposed to mess with the Subgrid. This baby will only ever mess with you back." He leaned toward her. "…If we're going to work together, you need to cooperate with me… getting rebellious right now will only end up with you dead."
She suddenly looked at him, gritting her teeth. "I would rather die than give you anything…"
"...Hm…" He nodded his head a bit, frustrated. "…You really are different from the rest of the bunch. You're very… very special…"
She looked at him, again confused. "…What… what are you talking about…?"
"...Perhaps you'll figure it out another time. For now…" He pulled out a syringe. "Just rest up."
"No, no… I'm confused… Different from who? How am I special?" She asked, watching powerlessly as he came up, preparing to inject her. "What do you mean special!? What are you doing with me!?"
"We'll talk about it another time, Lydia." He said, injecting the drug into her arm.
Bridgett quickly became hazy, and she rested her head. Her vision became blurry as stared at him, slowly losing consciousness. What… did he just call her…?
Some Time Later
Once again, it was meal time for the real Jessica and Dylan. An Octotrooper drove his platform down the tunnel, which was largely made of dirt and rock, as he made his way to their cell, holding another couple trays of food. He used the robot hand from his platform to unlock the door, and then drove in. "Food. Eat ti-" He paused.
Inside the cell, Jessica and Dylan were nowhere to be seen. In fact, their cuffs were left behind, with Jessica's still hooked to the bench and Dylan's hanging on the wall. Desperate, he quickly turned to leave and inform someone. He didn't make it far before he was suddenly grabbed, dragged screaming into the cell. The door closed with him inside.
A moment passed, before the door opened again. This time, Jessica and Dylan snuck out, looking around.
"…Alright… what now, Agent 3?" Dylan asked.
"Shut up and follow my lead." Jessica replied as she looked around, before walking down the tunnel. Dylan watched his back as he followed. Now, they just had to find Bridgett.
Alright guys, that does it for the rewrite. All of the content from the original draft of the story has been replaced. As I said in Chapter 1, Chapter 12 will be the first chapter after where I left off so it's back into the swing of things for me.
If you've read both this and the original version, don't be afraid to leave a review and tell me if it was enough of an improvement for you. I personally feel a lot better about the story now, at least, but I also want to know what the readers think. Either way, I think the story will only get better from here. So, see you soon. *waves*