Chapter 16: Friend or Foe
After her and Dylan's failed attempts at escaping, and then being forced to fight in Gideon's arena, Jessica found herself right back where she had started: The same, sad rock and dirt cell, cuffed to the metal bench that she laid on, as she lazily kicked her foot back and forth, staring at the ceiling. She had seen Bridgett at the arena, so she at the very least knew she was alive, even if being held hostage… that much gave her some comfort. At this point, she cared more about Bridgett's safety than she did her own or even Dylan's, but regardless, there was pretty much nothing she could do right now, especially after her last escape attempt.
Jessica was in this same bored position when finally, the door opened. She looked over as multiple masked Octolings came in, followed by, surprisingly, Bridgett. Her eyes widened as she sat up.
Bridgett stepped forward, more than happy, if not anxious, to see her friend. "H-Hey, Jess…"
"Bridge." She stood up, and the two immediately embraced. They held each other tighter than either of them had ever held anyone.
Bridgett, of course, enjoyed the moment, but suddenly grew awkward again as she remembered what happened between herself and Jessica's digital self in the Subgrid. She awkwardly broke off.
"Did they hurt you?" Jessica asked. "Where have you been? Do you know who's been behind this? Did you kill them? Do you know where Dylan is?"
"I, uh… I'm… not sure how much I'm allowed to answer…" She responded.
"What do you mean? You're not seriously…" She trailed off.
"...They allowed me to come see you. We're even talking about… letting you go."
"You're talking with them?"
"...Yes…"
She backed up slightly. "…They put shades on you, didn't they?"
"No." She shook her head. "I promise, we've just been talking. I'm not brainwashed, I'm still me."
"…If you were brainwashed, would you be telling the truth?"
"Jess… just… listen." She rubbed her hands together a bit. "Do you know where Dylan went?"
"No."
"Do you know a direction?"
"We were in the mine, we were on different minecarts, and his travelled down another rail to god knows where. To be honest with you, there's a good chance he's dead, because these disembodied tentacles around the place captured me, took me in, and made me fight in an arena instead of allowing me to save him. You know that much, right?"
"I…" She looked down. "…I know… and I'm sorry…"
"This isn't the time for apologies, this is the time for busting out of here. Take out those guards behind you. What are you even waiting for?"
"I can't bust you out of here, Jess… I… I've been doing a lot of think-"
"Son of a bitch, they did tag you, didn't they!?" She clenched her fist. "How do I undo it?"
"NO!" She shouted. "I promise, Jess, it's just me! I'm clear-headed! I'm doing this of my own will. I… decided to make an alliance with Gideon…"
She stared at her, completely shocked. Such a thing was the last thing Jessica thought she'd ever hear her say. She thought she knew her better than that. It was so shocking, it almost brought her to the verge of tears. "…Gideon, huh? That the guy behind this?"
She silently nodded.
"Son of a bitch…" She shook her head, looking away. "…Well, I hope he knows that when I do get out of here, I'm gonna kill him. And it's gonna hurt."
"I can't let you kill him, Jess…"
"Why not? Do the shades they put on you give you euphoric feelings toward him?"
"No, Jessica, he's my father!" She suddenly snapped.
They both fell silent as they stared at each other.
Bridgett began tearing up. "…Gideon is my father… and… I had a mother… her name was Sondra. She died… and I couldn't even remember her… but I remember her now, because he helped me remember. He helped me remember everything." She nodded as tears fell down her cheeks. "Lydia Tecca. That's my real name. Can you believe that?"
She slowly shook her head. "…No. Honestly, I can't."
She stared at her. "…Well, it's true… look into my eyes, I'm not lying. Gideon has been trying to help me, that's all he's been trying to do, is help me. It just… comes across in the wrong ways sometimes."
"The wrong ways? They blew up a building and took hostages. That's a straight-up sick way. It's just how the Underdogs operate. Did you forget the last time they were active?"
"This isn't the Underdogs, Jessica."
"Then who is it?"
"It's just Octarians… normal Octarians. The Underdogs were a bad off-shoot and they're gone now."
"Normal Octarians are still the bad guys."
"No, Jess, you don't understand. All they want is a better world… for all of us. Because the Octarians have suffered down here for a hundred years… I've experienced first-hand how miserable they are down here. Gideon is… all he's trying to do is make it better. Because he now has the power to do it. Or, so he claims."
"Bridgett, he's manipulating you!" She hissed.
"No, no." She shook her head. "I wouldn't just let him trick me, he's being sincere. I can tell he is. A-And, I'm not saying that everything the Octarians have been doing is right… but that's the thing, I get it now, I understand why they do what they do. Because he was right about one thing, the Great Turf War never truly ended."
"Oh, hasn't it now?"
"No. It hasn't. We've always been at war, we've always been at odds, but we don't need to be anymore. We can put all of this shit to rest. The Splatoon… may not even be needed anymore."
Jessica just stared at her. The more she talked, the more unable she was to believe it. It was sounding less and less like Bridgett, and for as much as she cared about her, her words felt like a deep punch in the gut. She paused a moment, thinking over her next words. She scoffed, shaking her head. "…If you think we're still at war, don't forget, it's a war the Octarians started. I don't care what their motivation is, because it doesn't change everything that they did to us. And to themselves. That reminds me. You can claim to know what they do down here, but clearly, you don't. I've seen the shit and horror they unleash on themselves. That's not justified. It's evil. They're evil. And if you lost sight of that, then… I'll personally see to it that you're ejected from the Splatoon when I'm back on the surface, because you've lost sight of the job." She angrily sat down, fighting back tears. "Relay the message to your new Gideon friend."
Bridgett kept playing with her hands, silently staring at her. There was a chance she was right, but… for now, she ignored those thoughts, instead reminding herself of what she was doing here. "…You don't want to be let go? We can still… we can still try to do this… together… That's what I came here for… We can make everything better… We can find a middle ground with the Octarians and this will all be behind us…"
"No thanks, I'll bust out of here when the time's right. Count on that."
She sighed deeply, looking down. All the arguments she could possibly throw at her probably wouldn't work, anyway. "…Ok… um… when we do find Dylan, I guess I can hope for… a different answer from him…" She sighed and slowly turned to leave. "…Bye, Jess…"
"...And, Bridge?"
She briefly glanced back at her.
"Consider our partnership over. Because this new Bridgett, whoever you are…" She shook her head. "…I can't even call my friend."
Ouch. That… stung deep. Especially after that moment in the Subgrid, which… wasn't something she could look past, not really. A deep sadness now filled her, but regardless, she said nothing as she walked out, and the other Octolings shut the door.
The second Jessica was left with privacy, she immediately broke down, as the tears she fought back before fell down her cheeks. She leaned forward and covered her face as she softly cried to herself in a way she rarely let other people see, still unable to believe what just happened.
Escorted by the very same soldiers, Bridgett wiped her tears as she made her way back to the lab, where Gideon was doing his usual work.
"Lydia." He noticed her as she walked in. He stared at her. "…She didn't agree?"
She silently shook her head.
He tapped the table. "...I see… Well... I figured she wouldn't. It's like I keep saying: She's feisty. Stubborn. Not exactly a good role model."
She looked down. "…Hm…"
He was about to turn back to his work, but he noticed her sad face. "…You're not having second thoughts, are you?"
"I just…" She sighed. "…She… is my best friend… I knew it would be a weird thing to say to her, but… still hurts that she didn't take it well. At all…"
"Lydia…" He pulled her into a hug, which this time, she simply leaned into, not fighting him at all. "If you want… we can take more forceful measures against her." He continued.
"What… do you mean?" She asked as she broke the hug.
"Well, we should have some pairs of shades somewhere down he-"
She shook her head. "No. No. Nothing like that. Never anything like that. If anything, I'd rather she be allowed to be as comfortable as possible."
"Well… it was just a thought. Either way… if she's going to be stubborn… I still have to keep her in custody. Even if we allow her to be more comfortable."
"I…" She looked down. "…I understand that…" She paused, before she looked back up at him. "But if we're gonna do this, Dad… if we're going to do this alliance… if you can call it an alliance… it has to be done differently from how the Octarians typically do things. That means no brainwashing, no more kidnapping, no more… blowing up buildings. Otherwise… Jessica and the rest of the Splatoon will never, ever understand what you're even trying to do. I understand if you were raised to see the world a certain way, but my friends… were raised another."
He stared at her, before silently nodding.
His silence immediately gave her uncomfortable vibes, but she regardlessly retained her serious stare. "…Will you say it out loud?"
"...Yes. You have my word." He nodded.
She paused before she nodded back. "…Ok." She looked around a bit. "…So, what now?"
"The current objective that we've been dealing with is that somewhere down here, your boyfriend is still wandering around. Possibly planning his next move, too. He could be anywhere in this entire mine, but our search parties have no reason to believe he's dead. They would've found his body by now. But when he's found… we want you to be the greeting party."
She was filled by both relief and anxiousness at the same time. She had no idea what she was even going to say to Dylan after everything that's been happening. She nodded. "…I understand."
He smiled, reaching into the nearby drawer. He pulled out her own Octo Shot and handed it back to her. "I believe you've earned this, then."
She took it. It was a relief to see and hold this again. "…Thank you."
"You're welcome, Lydia." He kissed her head.
She rubbed the weapon a bit before she holstered it, walking out. She understood her current objective, but at the same time, she also had a more private one, and that involved making sure that the Octarians down here indeed weren't doing anything… too unethical. She wanted to believe, more than anything, that Gideon was telling her the truth, and that the itchy feeling she had deep down that Jessica was right was just paranoia. She had to make sure. Looking around to make sure no one was watching her like a hawk, she walked into another part of the lab.
The Ray
The Splatoon agents inside of Marina's ship admittedly just… didn't have much to do lately, echoing the days during the boring three-month trip they took to reach Axcia in the first place. Except this time, everyone was more silent and a bit more withdrawn, particularly hallowed out by the calamity they had seen at the Safe Zone. Even Pearl wasn't quite her usual, loud self, and no one had to question why. Although, there was at least one thing to keep them busy; Ever since they had left the Safe Zone the first time, the Ray's systems, particularly involving things like the weapons and communications, had all occasionally given off odd errors that even puzzled Marina, even if they were typically corrected fairly easily.
To help combat this, Callie was doing some typical maintenance work in the Ray's hallways, and she was in the process of wrapping up and heading back to the cockpit when an intense dizzy feeling overcame her. Her own breath practically echoed through her head as she stopped in her tracks, looking around; It was, somehow, even worse than what she had felt before. She immediately leaned her hand against the wall, and then raised her opposite hand to hold her head, trying her best to take deep breaths. The world around her practically disappeared, and more panicked breathing escaped her mouth as, feeling like she was about to faint, she ended up sliding down the wall, holding her legs just for the sake of holding something.
It felt like several minutes passed, but ultimately, the feeling went away once again. She looked around to confirm that her vision had straightened up, and then briefly touched her face, realizing that during the moment, without even noticing, she was crying. She had been crying hard. "…What the-?" Confused, she frantically moved to wipe them, surprised by how wet her face was. "O-Oh dear… God, what a mess…"
Afterward, she looked around some more to see if Marie or maybe Pearl was anywhere nearby, before she slowly stood up, finally returning to the cockpit to find them.
Given that it was just a regular day in the Ray, everyone was pretty much minding their own business, enough so to not even notice that she just had just climbed in. Looking around at everyone, she awkwardly cleared her throat. "…Uh… hey, gu-"
"Did you see it too?" Pearl suddenly cut her off, looking at her.
"S-See what?"
"We just got another Octo-ping. Uh, I'm trademarking that, by the way."
Callie went silent, while Marina stood up from her seat to walk over. "Really? Where?"
"It's kinda… in the general direction of where the Safe Zone and Axcia are at, but…" She double-checked. "Oh, shit… it's really not far, it's not far from us at all! Oh, hell yeah, we're finally back in action!" She finally got hyped up again. "Uh, what're we doing, Marie?"
Marie shook her head. "Don't look at me." She then looked at Marina.
Marina patted Pearl's arm. "Keep as close of an eye on these pings as you can, report any movements. Callie, Marie, get our ship prepared for combat, just in case."
Callie blinked as she stepped forward. "We're taking action?"
"No, not yet, but we need to take precautions. This is good, this is very good, we're in a position where we can watch them and see what they're doing, so we're gonna use it. We waste it, we'll be right back at square one."
"Feels more like square zero…" Marie huffed as she went to the controls.
Callie, meanwhile, was again feeling weird. Although this time, it was less straight-up dizziness and more straight-up anxiety. It was a feeling that she didn't understand; She didn't feel this way toward this mission before, so what was happening to her? She leaned against her usual seat, again trying to control her breathing.
"Callie?" Marina looked at her. "Weapons systems, please?"
"...Y-yeah… yeah." She shook it off to her best ability, sitting down.
Marie gave her own concerned glance back at her cousin as she noticed she seemed a bit off, but she opted not to say anything at the moment as she got on her own controls.
Splatoon HQ
Hugh Ward's printed schematics for Octo Mine and its entrance were now plastered on the HQ's monitors. Cap'n Cuttlefish and Sheldon were looking through all of it, carefully taking everything into consideration as they made their plans.
Oliver soon walked up to them, looking up at the monitors as well. "…So… it works?"
Cuttlefish nodded. "It works. Just need to figure out the strategy. Including who exactly we're gonna be sending down there." He turned to him.
"We have our soldiers. We just need to prepare."
Sheldon leapt up onto the desk, pointing his finger upward in a matter-of-fact matter. "There's just one little itty-bitty tiny issue with that, pal."
Cuttlefish sighed. "He's right… even if he's understating it. I'm very afraid that our 'soldiers' that we have… just aren't ready."
Oliver paused, looking around at the HQ. Daniel was still cuffed to his seat, sitting around in boredom, while Samantha was hiding away in the other room. In fact, she rarely came out into the main room, especially after Daniel pointed the gun at him. He knew, even if he didn't want to admit it out loud, that they were right. The team they had wasn't much of a team.
Regardless, he turned back to the elderly squid. "…They're all that we have, though."
Cuttlefish nodded. "I know they are. But-"
"Buddy, Daniel pointed a gun at you." Sheldon interrupted. "He's clearly too coo-coo for this. And Samantha, meanwhile, she is… ok, how do I put this nicely and in a non-insulting way… hmmmmm…" He paused. "…She's a complete baby. Actually, she's worse than that, she's like a stack of cards."
"Daniel will be a good soldier to have down there and I've been trying to train Samantha to be better." Oliver replied.
He sarcastically applauded him in response. "Hell of a job you've been doing, then."
"Look, I'm aware that they're not perfect choices, but I don't see any other options."
Cuttlefish and Sheldon looked at each other as they thought that over. It was very much the same reason that they were in this situation in the first place. Were they actually supposed to take the risk?
Cuttlefish sighed and turned back to him. "…No one's saying that we do have other options, but the fact of the matter is, the fate of the world as we know it just might lie on this mission. We need to be extremely careful."
Oliver paused a moment as he listened to his words. That, too, was very true.
Sheldon sighed as he turned back to his computer. "I haven't even brought up the main issue yet…"
"What?" Oliver asked.
"The Mine is fairly fortified. To even hope of getting in, you're likely going to need some Octarian credentials. Good ones."
"Yeah. You have me."
"No, you moron, you're not good enough. You're an escapee. A very wanted one. If the Octarians are smart, you're not gonna have a chance at unlocking anything."
"Which is why Sheldon and I were thinking…" Cuttlefish gripped his cane. "Our best shot might lie with a certain former Underdog. And I'm not talking about Daniel."
Regardless, Daniel, who was subtly listening in on the conversation, covered his face as he heard that. "Oh, god…"
Cole was napping in one of the HQ's other rooms when the door suddenly slid open. He jumped and stood up as Oliver and Cuttlefish walked in.
"Good afternoon, young man." Cuttlefish held his cane with both hands.
"Uuuugh…" He groaned as he sat up to face them. "What now? I've already told you everything that I know… so you better be letting me go."
"Not yet. We have an important favor to ask of you."
"I already did my favor, man, I'm out."
"While we do appreciate your help, I should've worded it better because this isn't so much a request. Think of it as your answering for your time in the Underdogs, much like Daniel just in the other room, there."
Cole didn't respond. He had already feared that more consequences were coming for him.
"...I'm going to take that silence as a good thing. It turns out, we may need some good Octarian credentials where we're going. And our best bet… is you. You're both an Octarian, who I imagine may be familiar with how to get around Octo Valley, and you're a former Underdog who may have the credentials we need to access certain parts of the Valley, and by extension, the Mine entrance."
"I… may have the credentials? Seriously? You're not even sure?"
"It's a bit of a leap of faith… either way, you're still our best option at getting around the place, so your presence will help out a lot. It may even be necessary."
"Your 'leap of faith' is gonna get me killed."
"We'll protect you." Oliver replied.
Cole looked at him, then back at Cuttlefish. "…Do I even get anything out of this?"
"You'll be set free and we'll get to finally move on from this. You'll get to forget that anything happened." Cuttlefish replied.
"What about when I get put on the Octarians' shitlist?"
"If this mission is successful, we're gonna be shutting down Gideon's operations." Oliver replied. "Everything from the crystals, to Gideon's plan. Beyond that, again, after the mission is over, you will be protected."
"...Crystals?" He asked. "There are crystals where we're going?"
He nodded. "That's right."
"...Will we be seeing them?"
"We'll be destroying them, if we can."
He shook his head. "…This is insane."
"We're perfectly aware." Cuttlefish leaned forward. "Although, in case I didn't make myself clear… we're not really giving you a choice."
He just looked down as he thought about it. They both awaited his response, and it took a few moments for him to look up once again. "…When's this mission supposed to be?"
The Mine
Bridgett's search both for answers and for where Dylan might've gone only took her deeper into the mine's laboratory, where not as many soldiers or scientists resided. Most rooms didn't even allow her inside, and most computers she tried to access had her locked out as well, whether they were accessed by a passcode, by a retinal scan, or a certain security clearance badge; Obviously, she had no passcodes in mind, and her hope in accessing via the scans proved fruitless, as the system didn't recognize her.
"...Hm…" She rubbed her chin. This was either a potential red flag that Gideon wasn't telling her everything, or it just meant that she hadn't been integrated enough into the lab thus far. Giving up on the computers, she instead started searching the rooms for any notes, hoping for, perhaps, any passcodes she might be able to find.
She was still in the process of searching through one of the lonelier rooms when she heard a quiet "Psst". She immediately looked over, but at first saw no one there. She stared for a moment, slowly turned back to the notes, and was then met with a louder "Psssst!".
This time, she could see the green squid peeking out at her. "Psst!" He hissed one last time.
Her eyes widened as she walked over, indeed seeing Dylan's familiar Squid-form. Desperately, she looked around to see that no one was around before she motioned to him that it was safe.
Immediately transforming back to his humanoid self, he walked over and cupped her cheeks, smiling widely. "Bridge…" He spoke quietly.
"Dylan." She held his arms. "O-Oh my god, where did you go?"
"Been hiding from a bunch of asshole Octarians." He chuckled. "What about you?"
She just responded by suddenly kissing him; She didn't even care about how dirty he was. He happily kissed her back, and he pressed her against the wall as it developed into a somewhat rough make-out session. She sighed into his mouth, holding him close, and while it was indeed a sweet kiss, it only took a moment before that damn memory of her moment with Jessica in the Subgrid again invaded her thoughts, and she abruptly broke off, panting for air. She looked down, avoiding eye contact.
Dylan, at first, thought nothing of it, leaning his forehead against hers. "God, I missed those types of kisses…"
"What… are you doing out here?" She forced herself to look him in the eye.
"Seriously? I thought you were just doing the same thing, I've been trying to figure out everything the Octarians are doing. I thought they might be hiding you somewhere here."
"They're looking for you… they're going to put you in a cell."
"I was already in the cell, and yeah, I agree, that's not a place I wanna go back to." He looked around before turning back to her. "But I do, at least, have a plan. I've slowly been mapping this place out. Jessica is still in her cell, but the cell is deep in these tunnels that are designed like a maze to make escape harder. We avoid the cavern with the crystals, that place is a death trap, but if we fight our way through the main labs, with whatever weapons we can grab, we can reach the elevator, and I think we'll be home free."
"D-Dylan, no, I can't… I can't leave…"
"What do you mean? There's no way we're staying here, we need to rendezvous with the rest of the Splatoon."
"I can't rendezvous with the Splatoon right now, Dylan, I…" She fell silent, remembering how Jessica reacted when she told her.
"You… what?"
"...This is my home, Dylan…"
Of course, he was immediately shocked, and pretty confused, just like Jessica before him. "…This is your… what?"
"This is my home, my family is here. My father. I-I've been trying to figure out what exactly they're doing too, but… I can't, just… leave."
He gave her an intense stare in the eye, extremely concerned. "Did they put shades on you?"
"No, no, Dylan, I promise that I'm telling the truth."
"B-But what about the Calamari Inkantation, I-I thought that touched your soul and stuff, like what happened with Marina. Isn't that how it works? I thought the Splatoon was your-" He paused, hearing voices outside in the hall. He swore, reducing his voice to a whisper. "L-Look, it's not important right now, what is important is that the Octarians are doing seriously shady shit down here. They have an entire cavern of powered crystals like the ones the Underdogs had, they are not fucking around. We make a wrong move, we're dead, we need to get back to HQ and tell someone as soon as possible."
She paused, listening to what he was saying. "…But… Gideon just wants to use the crystals to help end the conflict, t-that's all he's trying to do."
"End the conflict? No, no, no, Bridge, didn't you see the Project Legion notes?"
"Project… Legion?" She shook her head. "What… is that?"
"They're doing something, like, powering up an army down here. This isn't just a mine, this is a staging ground. They're making themselves stronger, and they're using the crystals to do it."
Bridgett fell silent.
"I've been trying to access more about the project, but this place is too fortified, all I can tell is that they're about to start another war. And it's a war they'd win instantly."
She looked down. "No… no, you're mistaken, t-that's nothing like what Gideon told me. He just wants us all to live in peace, t-there's… there's nothing wrong with that."
"He wants the Octarians to live in peace, sure, I can buy that. But what do you think is gonna happen to Inklings like me when he's done?"
"...No…" She desperately shook her head. "…No, you're wrong… we need to learn more first before we jump to conclusions."
"This is too important to not make conclusions, we need to-" They heard the voices getting closer. He pulled on her. "Bridge, come with me now, we need to grab Jessica then get the hell outta this pla-"
She pulled back. "D-Dylan, I'm so sorry, but I can't go."
"What the fuck do you mean?" He hissed. "We have to go!"
She shook her head yet again, tearing up. She wasn't going to start another conflict with her own father before she knew exactly what he was planning. "…I-I'm sorry…"
"Bridge, Bridge, ple-" He looked over as two scientists were about to enter the room.
"Shit- Go. Go, get-" She shoved him under a table, and he transformed back to his Squid-form to hide before anyone could see him. She immediately played it cool as the scientists walked in, not paying her much mind. She held that position for a few moments as she waited for the scientists to leave again; She looked underneath the table, seeing Dylan had already slipped away.
She sighed nervously, leaning on the table. Was what he said true? And if he was… what the hell exactly was Project Legion?
Splatoon HQ
Tension and worry was running high through what the NSS team had now become, with Cap'n Cuttlefish and Sheldon frantically yet carefully arranging their new invasion plan. In a change of pace, Cole was now a part of the planning process, helping to point out points of interest in Octo Valley to help them get to where they needed to go.
Daniel was sitting in his usual spot, listening in on their plan in complete boredom as he occasionally played with his cuffs. After a while, however, he looked up as Cuttlefish approached him.
Cuttlefish was holding a suitcase, staring at him. He slowly sat down in the chair nearby, scooting it toward him.
Daniel stared at him. They both fell into silence, with Cuttlefish not even sure how to start, so Daniel just sighed. "…If it's all the same to you… I think I'm fine getting sent back to prison now."
Cuttlefish didn't respond, looking down at the suitcase.
"That's where you were going to send me after I was done, right? If you weren't planning on killing me instead?"
"No, no one's trying to kill you. Yes, the plan is still returning you to the prison after we're done. But…" He kept staring at the suitcase, sighing.
"...But… what?"
Ultimately, Cuttlefish gave up on words, instead just handing the suitcase to him. Daniel gave a long stare at him before he slowly opened it, looking inside.
"...Is this…?" Daniel asked.
Cuttlefish nodded.
He looked at him and shook his head. "No."
He sighed. "Daniel, I'm aware this is a lot to ask, but hear me out. We're out of other options. Just as we were before. You've admittedly been a great help so far, and… we need as much help as we can get right now. Oliver thinks- and I'm starting to agree- that you'll be a useful soldier down in the Mine. At least, while we have an eye on you."
"You can't be-…" He leaned back, sighing. "…You know I almost lost it at the study, right? Like I always do? And you're seriously about to give me a gun and march me off into battle?"
"Yes, I saw what happened at the study. But… I also noticed something else."
"You noticed… what?"
"...That your finger wasn't on the trigger."
He paused as he stared at him.
"...That remains the only reason you're still with us. That gives me faith that we can make this work. The only obstacle now, is… whether or not you want to go down there." Cuttlefish leaned back as well, thinking about his next words. "…So we're going to give you a choice. From here on out, you'll get to decide what you want to do. Your first option is… we can send you back to the prison. You got us the Underdogs information that we needed, that was the deal we made, so I can settle for it. You go back to solitary confinement and you'll never see us again. Option two is… you stay on the mission a bit longer. You travel down into the Mine with Oliver and you fight. You fight for your sister, you fight for our way of life. But the risk for you will remain the same. Sheldon's device will remain hidden on you, we will be keeping an eye on you, and if you have another… moment, Sheldon will shock you and you will go down. Do you understand me?"
It took a moment before he responded again. Long, tense moments actually. He gulped as he looked at the side.
"Do you understand me?" He repeated.
He looked back at him. "…Yes…"
He slowly nodded. "…Then think it over. I'll give you enough time to do so." He stood up and turned back toward where Sheldon and Cole were.
Daniel, however, had one more thing to say. He had, indeed, been doing a fair amount of thinking after what happened in the study. "…If I go and if I do this… will it erase Ward's impact?"
He turned back to him, relieved just by hearing him say such a thing. "…Not entirely. He's made too big of a splash. But we will stop his memory from causing anymore major damage. I can promise you that much."
He looked down, playing with his fingers. "…And what happens if I… see Jessica? What will I try to do to her?"
"...Give her a nice hug and apology, I hope. We're not going to let you hurt her, if that's what you're concerned about."
Daniel didn't respond, so Cuttlefish just walked back over to where the plans were being made.
As this happened, Oliver was in the process of carrying an identical suitcase over into his and Samantha's room. He knocked on the sliding door. "…Samantha?"
When he got no response, he opened the door and walked in regardless. Samantha was sitting on her mattress in silence, glancing up at him. She looked as though she had been crying, long enough ago that the tears had dried on her face.
"Captain Cuttlefish wanted me to give this to you." He walked over and slid the suitcase to her feet. "We're making our preparations now."
She looked down at it, having a pretty good idea of what was inside. To Oliver's surprise, however, instead of accepting it, she looked away. "I don't want it…"
"What do you mean? You're gonna need this where we're going."
She shook her head, hesitating on her next words. "…I'm not going."
He stared at her. He was actually a bit irritated. "…Why… not?"
"Because I overheard you guys talking about me…"
He scoffed. "Overheard what?"
"That I'm a… baby… a stack of cards… which his… whatever, I guess that's true." She sniffed and rubbed her nose, looking at him. "You know in that moment when Daniel pointed that gun at me? My… my life, like, literally flashed before my eyes. Holy shit, I thought that was just a metaphor before. I actually thought it was all going to end there, that it was just gonna be… all over. Just like that. And that is… the scariest shit in the world." She shook her head and looked back at the wall. "And that made me realize… I'm not… cut out for this…"
He stepped forward. "What about your brother? I thought you were doing this for him."
"You'll save him, won't you?"
"I'll try, but I can't do this alone."
"Well, you kinda might have to anyway." She stood up and turned to face him, starting to tear up. "He and his dumb friends had always tried to warn me… talking about me behind my back… that I'm not cut out for this. They all thought they were soooo smooth, talking about me without realizing I could hear them, and I was sooo desperate to prove them wrong. D-Didn't, uh… didn't realize they had a point. It just took me to realize that the schizophrenic murderer is gonna make a better Splatoon agent than me. L-Like, seriously… what am I even gonna offer your team? Huh? What purpose am I gonna serve?"
"An extra gun."
She was crying again. "…But am I an extra gun that's just gonna get in your way? I-I screwed up with Cole, I've barely done anything of use, I…" She shook her head. "…I can't go down there… I know I'm just gonna screw up again…"
"Do you think that I haven't screwed up? That Daniel hasn't been screwing up?" He stepped closer.
"Seriously? Look at you. You're the one who escaped that place on your own, aren't you? Nothing even phases you… you don't get scared like I do. You can go down there, I can't."
"Do you really think that when I was down there before, I wasn't terrified myself? Do you think I even knew what I was doing?"
She didn't respond.
"My entire life, my entire existence, my entire purpose has been down there in that lab. That lab is all that I am, and I still don't feel like I can go back down and face it again. I've been terrified every day. I'm terrified of what's going to happen if I go back down there and if I see Bridgett again. I don't even… know what I'm gonna say to her. I don't even know if we're gonna get down there in time to save her. I don't know what I'm going to do if we fail. I keep running scenarios in my head and they all end poorly. I'm terrified… as we speak, I'm terrified. But do you see me giving up?"
She looked down. He never did appear very scared at all… he was more like a statue to her, someone she didn't understand at all. "…You… don't look afraid…"
"What do I look like, then?"
"...Like a soldier who's been doing this his whole life…"
"And as a soldier, I'm asking you to do this, Samantha. I've told you before, we're in a war. And if we don't step up, who else will? We're the only ones. And if not even you can be relied on, then… I'll only be more terrified."
She looked at him upon hearing that, surprised.
He nudged the suitcase toward her. "I've given you the training that I could. You showed satisfactory results. So I hope that you'll step up. If not for me, then for your brother. That's all I wanted to tell you." He turned to walk out.
Samantha watched him leave, feeling a bit more like an asshole now after how that conversation went. She looked back down at the case, staring at it. Did she… even want to indulge herself with the curiosity of seeing what exactly was inside?
A moment passed before she wiped her tears and slowly leaned down to open it. She did so slowly and carefully, and her eyes widened a bit as she pulled out the Hero Jacket. It was identical to the one Agent 4 already wore, and was complete with the same type of Hero Headphones, along with the Hero set of weaponry inside. She held the jacket, glancing at the door, before she just started staring into its yellow design.
It was true now, she realized. It felt more real to her now than it did in the moment when Cuttlefish first gave her the Agent 44 title, even if in a terrifying way. She was an agent of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, and her brother was waiting for her.
The Mine
It only took Bridgett a bit more digging through the notes to find yet another mention of Project Legion, even if much of it was redacted. Not only was it swiftly confirmed to her that it was real, but it sent uncomfortable shivers down her skin, just from the mere thought that Gideon was planning something sinister. To some degree, at least, Dylan was right, and now, the knowledge she had to do something about it was her priority thought. She spent a few moments just standing there, thinking about how to pursue this, before she ultimately just marched back down the halls toward the main labs where Gideon was.
It didn't take her very long to find him. She walked up. "Dad?"
Gideon, who was talking to some of the scientists, motioned them off as he turned to his daughter. "Lydia." He smiled. "What ails you? Did you find your boyfriend?"
She stood straight before him. "I just had a question to ask. I… get why you were acting secretive about things before, but… I'm hoping for a more straight answer this time."
He paused and thought about that before he shrugged, leaning on the table. "I hope I can give one."
"...What is Project Legion?"
Much to Bridgett's fear, he didn't answer. The scientists gave uncomfortable glances at each other, which Bridgett easily noticed. Regardless, she stared at her father, silently begging him to just answer.
"...Dear Lydia…" He stood up straight again. "Have you been snooping around?"
"Yes…" She said bluntly.
"Now why would you be doing that?"
"...Because I want to trust you."
"You want to trust me?"
"...More than anything…" She glared at him. "What is Project Legion?"
"You're not ready to know about that."
"You already dropped some pretty big bombshells on me, you think I can't handle more? Is it true that you're planning some big attack? That you're powering up some army?"
He started pacing. "No, no, no, it's nothing like that. What made you even think that?"
"I saw the notes, Dad. The notes that I could see, anyway. Please… just tell me the truth. Because either it's nothing and I'm overreacting, or we can shut it down. Either way, this isn't something I'm going to let happen."
He stopped and faced her. "Dear Lydia." He stepped forward. "What I want to know is… what drove you to suddenly trust me so little?"
"Because I can tell you're not telling me everyth-"
"Are you sure it was me, or was it something your friends told you?"
She didn't respond.
"...Hm…" He turned to some of the guards in the room. "Start searching around the lab for Agent 4, I get the feeling he's close by. Search everywhere you can, especially by Project Legion."
The soldiers nodded in return before they walked out.
"D-Dad." Bridgett responded, her voice shaky. "It wasn't Agent 4."
He turned back to her, annoyed. "Now why are you lying to me, Lydia?"
She paused, swiftly giving up. "…I just… I'm trying to find a middle ground here where everyone is happ-"
"And I've told you everything you need to know. I showed you… your entire life. How everything played out. I gave you exactly what you wanted, and you know everything about yourself now. Isn't that enough? Is this how I'm going to be repaid?"
She didn't respond.
He sighed. "Now, please… don't go snooping into things you don't know about, and then make assumptions. Project Legion has nothing to do with war. I can tell you that much. Everything I told you about making peace with the Inklings was true."
"...But how can I be sure about that?"
"I've told you before, Lydia. I have a grand plan. Please don't try to mess with it. Otherwise… your boyfriend just might not survive. Don't forget: Your friends are still enemies."
Bridgett looked down upon hearing that, before Gideon abruptly walked out.
"If I find again that you've been conspiring with the Agents… they will have to die. Decisions have consequences, Lydia." He told her as he did.
Bridgett said nothing, tearing up as she nervously stared at the wall.
The Ray
The Ray was drifting forward forevermore toward the latest Octarian signals, constantly scanning the areas around it.
Callie was paying close attention to her own monitors at all times, watching silently for any unusual activity, but she otherwise said nothing, nor did she do much, to avoid getting the dizzy feeling that now plagued her.
"Got another signal." Pearl said after a few moments.
"Where?" Marina asked.
"Same general direction. But it seems closer than before."
Marie looked at Marina. "You don't think they know where we are, do you?"
Marina thought about that before she shook her head.
Pearl suddenly chuckled. "Oh, man, I can't wait for the Shadow fight. Round 2, baby." She held up two fingers. "Oh, man, when all of us fight her together, it's gonna be so-"
"No one said that we're gonna be fighting anyone, Pearlie." Marina chuckled in response.
"Really? Boo…"
"Don't be so sure…" Marie replied. "Not sure how this could end without some kind of fight."
"Either way, I'm prepared." Pearl leaned back. "Ain't nothing these assholes could do to surprise us no-"
They were interrupted as a bright flash appeared in front of the Ray. Everyone except for Marie screamed, and they all briefly covered their faces before they then looked out the window.
Appearing in front of them, exiting its own jump, was the massive Octarian station. This time, they were not messing around. Mere moments after the jump energy subsided, multiple ports of the station opened up, as smaller Octarian ships came out to surround the Ray. The agents all looked on in complete shock.
The ships all pointed their weapon systems at Marina's ship, as Marina's radio then began buzzing. She glanced at Marie before she went to adjust its frequency.
It buzzed until the voice was understandable. "-games stop now, New Squidbeak Splatoon." The voice, who Pearl and Callie recognized to be Shadow, spoke to them through it. "Marina Ida. Pearl Hime. Marie and Callie Cuttlefish. I know everyone who's on board."
Unsure of what else to do, Marina gulped and took a moment to recompose herself before she spoke into it. "...What do you want?"
"As I said, the games are stopping now. We're no longer holding back lethal options. You make a move, you will be blown up on the spot. So prepare to be boarded."