Chapter 21: Those Like Us
Earth
Octo Mine
Cole watched intently as multiple Octoling scientists were pulling out two new copies of Hunter 12's gauntlets from behind a highly secure wall in one of the labs, setting them down on a table. He looked them over. They had a new, updated design, and were that much more sleek and powerful-looking.
"Wow-wie…" He reached forward to touch one of them.
"Getting all hands-on, huh?" Gideon interrupted as he stepped over.
"Sorry, doctor. Was just admiring." He pulled his hand back. "…When do I try 'em on?"
"Have some patience." He looked them over as well. "Are you sure that you want to try them on?"
"Do I see anyone else stepping up to the plate?"
He looked around, not responding. After a moment, he started walking around the table. "Hunter 12 was special. Used for a particular purpose." He paused again, looking at him. "You're just a boy. From Inkopolis. Originally recruited by a man I'm not even fond of."
He suddenly got close to him, his breathing somewhat shaky. "But these gloves give you power, right?"
"Oh, yes. Even more than what we had before. This is a more… perfected design."
"Then they'll make me invincible."
"I think Hunter 12 just proved that's not true."
"He made the wrong decisions. I'll do better than him."
"You're acting power-hungry." He kept pacing. "That's not necessarily what I look for in a soldier."
He huffed. "Let me try them on and I will prove to you that I can use them. Then I'll get your agents."
He paused yet again as he looked at him, smirking a bit. In truth, in spite of his questioning, he was actually looking forward to throwing this guy headfirst into battle, especially if it was going to get them past the rubble and toward the agents. Sure, it was an act of desperation, a contingency plan, but… he still knew, deep down, that this was going to work for something, one way or the other. He just needed to make sure he was ready to use them. "…You want to try them on?"
He just nodded.
He stared at him, before he gave a slight nod to the scientists behind him. Cole turned and watched as part of the wall slid away, and in its place, an upgraded version of Hunter 12's armored suit, that was clearly intended to go with the gloves, slid into place.
Elsewhere in the cut-off section of the labs, Bridgett, Oliver, and the others were following Dylan down the more empty hallways as they headed down toward where he believed Project Legion to be. It seemed that, when Jessica accidentally bisected the lab, activity in these sections pretty much halted, as they only had to get past minimal security.
Samantha walked up toward Dylan. "…You… do know where we're going, right?"
"I… think." He looked around a bit.
"...You think."
"Look, it's been hard to navigate down here while getting around security, alright? And besides, I think with I had to work with, I did pretty well."
She looked at him, a bit annoyed.
He noticed. "…What?"
"…You know… um… you never really congratulated me or even thanked me for making my way down here. You know… to rescue your ass. I almost died. Like, they put me in cuffs and stuff."
He looked down. "…I'm… sorry…"
She stared at him and huffed. "…Barely an apology, too…"
"No, no, look." He turned to her. "You did good. Alright? You actually made it down here, you risked your life, I… thank you."
She kept staring at him, unsure of how sincere he was being.
"...I just didn't want you to be put in harm's way again. That's all." He continued. "This isn't a desirable place to be for anyone. And while I was down here by myself, I was really just hoping that… you were still ok up on the surface. But… clearly, you held up better than I could have hoped, and you… actually came through."
More staring. She blinked, a bit touched. "…Well, as far as thanks go, that… wasn't terrible."
"Thanks, I tried. And who knows…" He nudged her arm. "Turns out after all, you might be… a pretty good agent. Maybe even better than me in some ways."
Now that was what truly moved her. She couldn't help but smile. "…Thanks, Dylan…"
As they walked, Jessica and Daniel had remained completely silent, refusing to even really acknowledge each other, while Bridgett and Oliver were now walking together. They occasionally looked at each other, unsure of what to say to each other.
After a moment, Oliver glanced at her. "…I'm glad you're ok."
She looked back at him. "Oh… um… thank you." She looked down. "I didn't realize you… worried about me."
"...You know that I was… also a part of the operations down here. Right?"
She nodded awkwardly. "Y-Yeah, I… picked that up." She scratched her head. "Actually, um… Gideon… did show me what happened, uh, immediately after the healing tank. I couldn't remember it before, but uh… I am aware that I managed to escape… without you. I don't know what even happened to you. I'm… sorry…"
He stared at her. "…Can I ask you a question?"
"I guess I owe you that much… Probably much more than that, actually. So, uh… ask anything."
"...What made you think it was a healing tank?"
She paused. She froze in her tracks, actually. "…What do you mean?"
"The green ocean. How was it a healing tank?"
"…I, uh… that's what… Gideon told me…"
He stared at her, looking quite unconvinced.
Some ink drained from her face. Was it possible that what Gideon had showed her in the Subgrid, wasn't… the truth? "…Are you saying it was… something else?"
"Well, that's one mystery I was hoping to figure out while we're down here."
She glanced to the side, suddenly feeling quite distressed, as she realized: The mystery wasn't over…
"...Come on." He nudged her along. "We'll figure it out. I promise."
She didn't respond, her mind once again racing. How much of her past that she saw was real? Was any of it real? Did she truly know Gideon in even the slightest?
Would… she ever find out the truth?
The walk continued as they headed down into more and more labs, which, as Bridgett looked around, appeared more and more like biological experiments were going on down here. They did end up taking down a few soldiers and scientists by surprising them with choke-holds and disposing of them before they reached Dylan's destination. He walked up to the sealed door. "This way!" He announced.
Oliver took his stolen badge and walked up to the door, looking up at it. It was quite secure, but indeed, painted on it was a bold, somewhat threatening P.L. label, along with some bio-hazard warnings. He stared at that logo before he moved the badge toward the keypad for it to be scanned.
Surprisingly, it appeared to accept the badge, except it also wasn't going to let them in that easily, as it also brought up a passcode prompt. They all looked at each other.
"Now what?" Samantha asked.
Oliver looked around. There were still plenty of labs here for them to explore, and they included some computers to look through. He looked at the other agents, confidently. "C'mon. I know we can find a way in." He went over to start searching. The other agents all followed.
Bridgett, meanwhile, instead paused as she looked around… Although she didn't remember ever physically going to this place, she… did recently see this part of the labs in the Subgrid. She closed her eyes, trying to remember…
It happened right after she was ejected from the tank; Shadow had dragged her into this room, pointing a gun at her head. "I'll kill her! I swear to god, I'll kill her!" Shadow would shout.
She opened her eyes again, looking back at the Project Legion door. Oliver was wrong, wasn't he? What she saw in the Subgrid was real, and the healing tank had to have been here after all. Now, she was going to find it.
The Octarian Station
The Ray
Callie's eyes slowly blinked open as she finally awoke, groaning in pain. Her vision was hazy, and her head hurt like hell, prompting her to reach up to feel the bruise on her cheek where Marie had punched her. "…Ah… owww…" She groaned, stretching slightly.
She sat up, trying to rub her head with both hands, before she realized that her right hand was tied to her own bed's headboard. "What-?" She immediately tried to struggle her way out of it, pulling on the cuffs. "Hnnngh!" She growled as she kicked her feet off the same headboard.
"Please stop that, Callie." She heard Marie's voice. "You're gonna hurt yourself more than you're already hurt."
She paused as she turned to her. They were in their own bedroom, with Marie leaning against the wall with her arms folded, next to her charger.
"…Marie…" Callie said.
Marie looked down.
"...I… I can explain-"
"Can you?" She suddenly looked at her. "Because it looked a bit like you had lost your mind back there."
She paused, still remembering everything that happened. "…I…"
She sighed, once again sounding like she was fighting back tears. "…How did this happen, Callie? How long have you been brainwashed again? Do you know?"
She paused as she thought about that. She, in fact, didn't even know. "…How do you know I'm brainwashed? How do you know I'm not just crazy?"
"Because Marina ran a scan, and guess what she found? There's some kind of, fucking… chip in your head." She sighed heavily and rubbed her own arms. "She doesn't know how long it's been there, maybe ever since Octo Canyon for all I know, but my guess is that the Octarians have since evolved past using sunglasses. How fun."
She blinked. "…I don't know when this happened, or who did this to me. I don't remember."
"Are you just being forced not to tell me?"
"...No… I'm telling the truth, I don't remember anything like that… I promise…"
She sighed, looking down. She was no longer sure if she could ever believe another word out of her mouth. Ever. She had clearly been too compromised, more than she ever previously wanted to believe.
Callie looked down as well. "…Can you… can you undo it-"
"I don't know." She suddenly snapped, looking at her. "Marina's working it out, but as she said, any attempts to do so might fry the chip and kill you."
She paused, eyes widened.
At that moment, Marie finally broke down, hiding her eyes behind her hand as she started crying.
Callie was fighting back tears as well, staring downward. "…I-… I'm sorry…"
She shook her head. "…Don't say that… just don't fucking start…" She had to force herself to look back at her this time. "…Just tell me this one thing… when you first convinced me to come on this mission… were you brainwashed then, too?"
She gulped, refusing to look at her. It took a moment for her to respond. "…Yes…"
She stared at her, completely furious. It was now more audible in her voice, too. "…And you don't remember when it started?"
"I promise you, I don't!" She broke down crying. "I was fine for a while after the Canyon, but at one point, I just… I just… gah!" She sobbed. "I don't know! I want to but I don't! My brain won't let me know!"
Marie whimpered a bit as she tried to keep herself from sobbing as well, looking away. She shakily wiped her tears.
"...What are you gonna do to me…?" Callie asked, shaking.
"...Nothing… Nothing, Callie, this isn't your fault…" She shook her head. "…But we're not letting you leave this room…"
"...W-W, I-, uh… W-Why not? What happens if I can't leave?"
She sighed. "Pearl will feed you, and we'll figure out bathroom breaks, but otherwise, we can't let you leave. Things are too dire right now."
"You can't just…" She suddenly started struggling against the cuffs again. "You can't just leave in here! I can't just stay in here!"
She jumped, shaking horribly. "…I-I'm sorry, Callie… but you're not giving me any other choices…"
"No! No!" She struggled more violently. "If you leave in here, I'll- I'll lose my mind! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME!"
She jumped again, covering her mouth as she looked down.
Callie took a breath, managing to calm down somewhat. "…It's too late, we can't do anything… but you can't leave me in here…"
"...You're wrong…" She shook her head. "It's just that the responsibility is on me now… it can't be on anyone else. So whatever I need to do…" She grabbed her charger. "I'll figure it out."
"What do you mean? What do you mean!?"
"I mean that I'm taking down Shadow and her robotic army. At any cost."
"YOU CAN'T! YOU CAN'T STOP THEM! THEY'LL JUST KILL YOU!"
She shook her head. "…Maybe… but I have to try." She sighed. "…Bye, Callie. I love you." She walked out, making sure to shut the door and seal it up tightly.
"MARIE! MARIE, NO! YOU CAN'T STOP THEM! YOU CAN'T STOP HER! SHE'LL WIN, YOU KNOW SHE'LL WIN! YOU CAN'T SEE HER FACE! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO! MARIE! MARIE!" Callie kept screaming.
Marie choked back more tears as she ignored her screaming to her best ability, walking down to the loading bay.
Pearl and Marina were nearby in the hall, running up to catch up with her. "Holy shit, that is not the Callie that we know and love." Pearl commented.
Marie ignored them.
"Where are you going?" Marina asked.
"To kill Shadow. She's the one behind all this shit, right?"
"W-What? I mean, yeah, I think she's one of them, but… why? You can't just-"
"Yes, I can." She turned to her. "I have to. Otherwise, we all lose. It's all come down to this and you know it."
Marina didn't respond.
"Don't you need help?" Pearl asked.
"For now, you two just keep an eye on Callie. Please. If anything happens to her, I could never-" She trailed off and took a breath.
"Marie…" Marina stepped forward. "I know things are hanging on a thread here, but… we need to play this smart. Remember when you gave these decisions to me?"
She stared at her before she cocked her weapon. "…No offense, Marina… but at this point… the 'smart' way is long gone. The only person I can trust is myself." She turned to press the button to open the ramp. "So either Shadow dies, or I die trying."
Pearl and Marina just watched her, completely stunned and somewhat frightened by her attitude change. Marie marched down the ramp before it was even fully lowered.
Marina put her hands on her hips. She could tell that at this point, Marie wasn't just marching to save the day or for freedom or anything like that; She was marching for vengeance. "…This can't be good…" She muttered.
Marie made her way down to the control room where she knew Shadow usually hung out around, ignoring any Octoling crew members that she passed. A couple glanced at her, but at the moment, she had strung her charger around her shoulder with the safety on in her attempt to make it look like she wasn't just about to massacre everybody, so they ultimately said nothing, focusing on their own issues.
As she made her way down to the control room, she quickly saw that Shadow wasn't anywhere in sight; What's more, the control room didn't even seem that occupied right now. It was almost like the Octarians were simply… on a break. It was like they knew they won and were just letting things play out now… and that thought was enough to make her shudder in anger. She located even one Octoling she could ask about this and marched over to her.
"Where's Shadow?" She barked.
She looked up from her control panel and turned to her. "…Not your business."
"...Ok, I'll repeat." She wasn't even playing subtle at this point, slowly reaching back for her charger. She turned the safety off. "Where is Shadow?"
Seeing her hand movements, she backed up somewhat and nodded at someone else behind her.
Marie heard another gun cock before she was poked in the back of the head. She sighed, sarcastically raising her hands somewhat. "Damn… guess you got me…"
"Give me your charger, Inkling." The soldier behind her said.
Her glare remained blank and furious as she slowly obeyed, removing it from her shoulder as she held it out.
She took it and stepped in front of her. "We were playing nice with you, I don't know what's changed."
She scoffed. "None of us have been playing nice this whole time… I would've liked to speak my thoughts about it to Shadow's face, though. Instead of another faceless grunt."
"Well, we can march you and your Splatoon friends back to your cells if that's what you prefer."
She glared at her. "Try it."
She squinted a bit, before she reached for her radio, about to contact a higher-up. However, the second she lowered her guard, Marie jumped her, tackling her. The soldier's gun fired at the floor as Marie wrestled her charger back and swiftly shot her in the chest, before diving behind cover as the other Octolings in the room turned their own weapons at her.
She panted angrily as she briefly got the charger all set up for combat, before she re-engaged in the gunfight, slowly taking down any Octolings that dared try to attack her. She groaned in pain as she took a high-pressure shot that barely managed to cut her arm, causing her to briefly slump over, but it was nothing that could stop her- she was now far too furious. After feeling some of her ink, she continued the gunfight until finally, the few Octolings in the room were either splatted or downed.
Slowly, she rose from her cover and returned to the first crew member she spoke to. Switching her weapon to high-pressure mode, she suddenly shot her in the knee, earning a horrifying scream out of her. She pointed the weapon at her chest. "Not gonna ask again. Where's Shadow?"
She stared up at her, frightened. "…Fuck you…"
She shot her leg again, causing her to scream some more.
"Where!?" Marie gritted her beak.
She started crying. "…She likes to hang out by herself… on the top deck… she goes there to think, we're not supposed to interrupt her…"
She switched her gun back to splatting mode. "Good answer." She shot her in the face, splatting her. She briefly stopped to scavenge these downed foes, pulling out any weapons or tools she could use in her quest, before she turned her attention back out to the exit, making her way out into the hall.
She didn't make it far before finally, the alarms activated, signifying to everyone on the station that Marie had begun her attack. Maintaining her angry, blank stare, she pointed her weapon forward as she navigated the hall, ready for anything they were going to throw at her.
Of course, Octoling soldiers soon began to converge on her position, but each time she even saw something move, she fired ruthlessly and as precisely as she could, taking down any foes that came her way. When she needed to take cover or dodge gunfire, she did so, and when she needed to take breaks to refill her ink, she did so, but as Octolings came at her in waves, she shot all of them down, her mercy now only taking the form of choosing to splat most of the foes rather than straight-up killing them. It was lucky for her that their forces still seemed fairly ill-prepared after the previous Shrieker incident.
Her mind was in fury mode the whole time. The lies, what the Octarians had done to the Safe Zone, the apparent game of 4D chess they had been playing… but above even that, she thought about Callie, about Octo Canyon, about their previous confrontations, and it all made her ink boil. If this was her last stand, she wasn't even sure she minded anymore. Was she turning a bit into Jessica now, who she always had a bit of a distaste for? Maybe, but in the moment… she no longer cared. If anything, this was now necessary.
She navigated the halls, searching for any way up to the mentioned top deck that had been mentioned to her, and from there, it didn't take her long to find the elevator and travel all the way up to her destination.
This top deck clearly went largely unused, leaving her somewhat confused as she walked down the darker hallways, looking for any clues on Shadow's location. This place was smaller and less of a labyrinth, so it didn't take her too long to find Shadow's room.
As she walked in, pointing her charger inside, Shadow was simply… sitting on the floor, legs crossed, as she stared out the large window to the star-filled void outside. She didn't move in the slightest, giving Marie a chance to examine the room. It seemed strangely like it was a child's bedroom, with a twin-sized bed in the corner, Octarian toys on the floor, crude drawings on the wall, and pictures of an unrecognizable Octarian couple that she could only assume was Shadow's family, likely her parents.
She looked at Shadow, preparing to sneak-attack her. She took a silent step forward.
"No need, Ms. Cuttlefish." Shadow finally spoke, even if she still didn't move. When Marie didn't respond, she lowered her head somewhat. "…This doesn't have to be another fight. We can just relax and enjoy the scenery. There's currently no rush."
At this point, Marie was slightly unnerved. She took another look around at her stuff in her room.
She turned her head ever so slightly. "…You're wondering about the room."
Marie just blinked, not moving.
She looked back out the window. "A lot of people do. I didn't have… much… of a childhood. Granted… I never had much of a life. For the last few months, this room has been my home… I daresay… moreso than even my actual home. I find it… comforting… and the stars…" She looked at some of her favorites once more. "…They're beautiful."
"...Taking in last visuals, then?" Marie asked.
She paused, straightening her posture a bit. "…When I was first sent out here… I didn't want to come. I wanted to stay home. In the Valley. That's all I ever wanted, was to stay home. Live a life. A childhood. But instead, my father gave me up, sent me down a path of misery, military training, standing guard around a loser that plays with wasabi… until, eventually… I discovered that my supposed fate was to die… Supposedly…" She clenched her fist. "I'm much like you, Cuttlefish. I'm a puppet. A pawn in someone else's war. I'm a pawn that's replaceable… cast aside by replacements that are, for some reason, more loved than me. It's all that my life has amounted to… but even then…" Again, she looked out the window. "I have to admit… I've found some peace in it… even if just a little…"
"We are nothing alike." Marie finally growled. "I don't give a shit about whatever tragic-sob-story-backstory you have bubbled up, but I do have one question for you. Why are we here? Why am I here? Why did Callie have to be involved?"
"Gideon made the plans, not me…"
"And what part do Callie and I play in all of this? If your plan is so god damn thought out, how does it end?"
At that point, Shadow looked down before she finally rose to her feet in one slick move. She straightened her gloves. "It goes deeper than the two of you, actually, in ways you'll probably never discover. Your part in the plan was never something I quite agreed with… Get a portion of the Splatoon sent to Axcia so that we claim Marina's knowledge to complete our work, while the Splatoon remains fractured and weak on Earth, led on a goose chase as they search for Underdogs that don't exist until Gideon is ready to take them in and we can finally unite the galaxy. At least… that's how he likes to put it. There's been a few wrinkles, unforeseen elements, and push-backs, but I'll hand it to him. In the end, it's worked quite well. It's too late, Cuttlefish. I've already seen my future, I know where I end up… your Inkling world will end. And I will lead the new one." Finally, she drew her blades from her gloves. "I won't let you take that from me."
She got ready to squeeze the trigger. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I already take something else from you?"
"It was your Calamari Inkantation that did, actually." She turned to face her. "Yes, I remember that day clearly, Ms. Cuttlefish. It's changed even more than you realize. But I hope you know… you have played your own part in these events magnificently. We are where we are because of you. And as you die, that will be your only mark you leave on the world."
Done listening, Marie took the shot, striking her head, but her armor easily withstood it. She barely had time to react as Shadow lunged forward and slashed the blade at her.
Earth
Octo Mine
Cole's new gauntlet began to glow as he tried it on, as he awkwardly closed his fist and opened it again. He took a breath. "Man, are these… supposed to make me feel tingly?"
"You get used to it." Gideon said as he circled him. He got behind him to help him aim. "Now… remember to focus… aim… let lo-"
He was interrupted as Cole just took the shot, blasting the target Gideon had designated for him. "WOO!" He shouted as Gideon let go of him. "That was…" He laughed as he looked at the gauntlet. "Oh, man."
Gideon just nodded. "Good, that was very good."
"Ah, now that's a rush." He turned to him. "What about the other one?"
Moments passed as he tried on both gauntlets. He barely even cared about the strange tingly feeling they gave him; He was so excited that he was still able to strike the targets, cheering more and more as he did. "YEAH!" He clenched his fists. "THESE ARE AWESOME!"
Gideon just watched him, somewhat eager to just get a move on already.
Cole turned to him, still in his adrenaline rush. "Where's the armor? I've got some agents to kill…"
He rose his hand. "Some patience would do. Do you remember what I told you?"
"Yeah. Yeah. Break down the rubble, kill everyone except for Bridgett. They won't stop me, sir."
"And what else did I tell you?"
"What? What else did you tell me?"
He leaned forward, with a somewhat devilish grin. "Remember to have some fun when you do…"
The Project Legion door remained tightly shut as the agents worked to hack into the nearby computers. Thanks to Oliver's badge, they were making far more progress than the Agents had previously made. Not only that, but they were finally digging up some juicy information about what the Octarians had been up to ever since the Octo Canyon incident, including what they were up to during the period of time when the Splatoon thought them to be inactive.
Jessica shook her head as she read through some of their logs. "These people have a god damn obsession with that Axcia place…"
"Axcia?" Samantha asked. "What's Axcia?"
"The source of the underground energy that Gideon wants." Oliver replied. "They sent a floating station out to retrieve it."
"Oh, cool, so is it, like… underwater or something?"
"Wouldn't that be more convenient and normal?" Jessica muttered. "Hold on to that naivety for as long as you can, kid."
"Well, what else are you finding?" Bridgett asked anxiously.
She paused, shaking her head. "…It's hard to say, but I'm starting to think that this goes deeper than we thought…"
"What do you mean?" Samantha asked.
"I mean that they had… some kind of hold on us. These crystals have been underground for a long time but they… somehow kept us from knowing. It's almost like… no, I don't know…"
Bridgett looked down, then at Dylan. Dylan was keeping to himself, doing his own research, until she walked over. "…Hey, um… Dylan?"
He paused and glanced at her. "…Yeah?"
"...I just… noticed that you haven't been talking…"
He didn't respond, turning back to his screen.
She looked down. She wanted to confide in him about some of the stuff she was currently feeling, but ultimately, she decided she needed to apologize to him first. "I, uh… I'm sorry, Dylan. I'm really sorry, I didn't really mean to… hurt your feelings or anything or make you think I don't love you. There really has been more things bothering me than some stupid digital kiss, and I didn't really want to make all of it your problem, I just… I shouldn't have told you… I… just don't-"
"It's fine, Bridge." He said, even though his tone of voice said differently. "I already suspected for a while that you were getting close to Jessica. Too close, in fact. But I… I get it. You connected with her more about the vigilante shit, I just…" He sighed. "Whatever. I just get it."
She looked down. "…I'm sorry about that, too… I never meant to do anything to our relationship. I thought, that, what we had worked as it was, and that I could stick closer to Jessica so that she could help me with that other side of my life, and I… I'm still relatively new to the surface life and I just don't how to socialize properly, and-"
He suddenly looked at her. "You know I didn't know how to socialize either, right?"
"...I…" She paused.
"Yeah…" He sighed. "…You were the first girl, who… I thought seemed to be on the same level as me. But I guess I… I guess I was wrong."
"...What are you… saying?"
"I'm saying that I wasn't planning on sticking with the Splatoon either way. And that… that hasn't changed." He looked back at the screen. "…I told Jessica first, but… if we make it out of this, I'm… I'm done. And I don't think I'm coming back this time."
She fell really silent, feeling a bit hurt by that.
"Like I said, I get it…" He continued. "You found more of a family with the Splatoon, and I realized, I… didn't, so much…"
She looked down. "…But then… what will happen to… us?"
He gave her a look, more serious than before, even if it was still sad. "…You tell me."
She didn't respond. She had no response… and she had no chance to really continue the conversation either way as they started to hear distant explosions down the hall.
He looked down with the rest. "The hell? What was that?"
Jessica recognized the sound. "Sounds like… Hunter 12's gloves."
The noises continued. "Oh, no. They're getting through the rubble." Oliver said. "We've gotta move."
"We just need the passcode first."
"Maybe we need to get out of here already." Daniel spoke up.
"No." Bridgett suddenly said. "I'm not leaving until we know what's behind that door."
They fell silent as they stared at her.
"...Me neither." Oliver affirmed.
Daniel shook his head and looked down. "Starting to regret this again…"
"Well… let's hurry then, before we all get turned into calamari." Dylan started searching the computer faster.
Marie was thrown against the wall as her brutal duel with Shadow continued, before she was then forced to dodge her blade as Shadow attempted to stab her in the eye, instead stabbing the wall behind her. She desperately kicked her to break free before they wrestled away from the wall, grunting at each other as Shadow frequently tried to slash at her again.
The duel continued throughout the room, damaging some of Shadow's belongings, and although Marie did a mostly good job at dodging, she was taking more of a beating than Shadow was, occasionally getting cut along her arms or even her body, screaming out in pain the whole time. She had started to bleed all over the inside of her own suit, but her anger related to Callie and her hatred for Shadow managed to keep her going, as she fought back to her best ability, trying pointlessly using her own weapons on her.
But her attacks all remained just that: pointless. She was no match for Shadow, and Shadow was aware of this, slowly beating her more and more into submission until finally, Marie was forced to lean against the wall, gasping for breath. She went in for another stab, but Marie managed to pull one last dodge, wrestling with her until Shadow shoved her down onto the ground. She grunted.
Shadow victoriously pinned her down, stomping on her arm with her boot. "Remember, Ms. Cuttlefish… I offered to do this without a fight."
Marie flinched and covered her face as she moved for the killing blow, but was instead surprised as she felt Shadow get thrown off of her. She looked up, confused.
Pearl had come in with her own dualies, managing to wrap her legs around Shadow's neck to temporarily throw her down. Afterward, she reached to help Marie onto her feet. "Marie!"
"P-Pearl!" She allowed herself to be pulled. "I thought I told you to stay with Callie!"
"And I told you you'd need help, didn't I!? Don't forget, we're still a Splatoon."
Shadow got on her knee, shaking her head as she reached to make sure her mask was still on tight. "Persistent…"
They both turned to face her. "So what do we do!? Did you figure out any armor weaknesses or something?"
Marie briefly rolled her shoulder. "No, her mask is sealed on. She's too quick for me…"
"Yeah, well, let's see how she deals with two of us." She twirled a dualie. "Been looking forward to round 2."
Shadow stood up, pretty pissed at this point. "And arrogant, too. You were both too blind to even figure out what the next stage in our plan is, you think you have any hope left?"
"We'll figure it out after you're dead." Marie lunged forward to continue the fight.
Cole, now in Hunter 12's old armor, was only getting closer and closer to the location of the agents, successfully breaking through the rubble as the agents meanwhile rapidly searched for a way into Project Legion.
"Guys, this is pointless, they're totally coming!" Samantha started to panic.
"Just wait a moment!" Oliver hissed. "This is too important to leave."
Jessica gripped her weapon for a fight, as did Daniel.
"I got it!" Dylan screamed. "I got the passcode!"
Bridgett and Oliver both looked at his screen, before Oliver immediately turned back to Project Legion's door. "Excellent! Come on. You four, stand guard." He motioned to the others.
Dylan looked at the others as anxiously, he and Samantha also gripped their weapons.
Alongside Bridgett, Oliver rushed to type in the passcode, again using the badge to get the door open.
They both stood back partially as the door slid open; They were met with a burst of cool air and condensation, revealing the darker, more blue room behind it. The two of them looked at each other, as they finally walked in, turning on their lights to see inside. The room, which felt like a giant refrigerator they had walked into, was filled to the brim with unethical surgical equipment, which they looked through.
Time seemed to slow down for Bridgett in this moment as she looked around in suspense, but there was one thing she did realize: If her life she saw in the Subgrid was real, this is where the surgeries took place after she experienced the Calamari Inkantation. She recognized the room that much.
"...What… were they doing in here?" Oliver thought aloud.
Bridgett said nothing, looking around for any more clues about what happened during her time here… but then she noticed the green light coming from the next room over, mixing in with the blue tint of the room they already stood in. Oliver looked over, noticing it as well.
Her steps moved slow as Bridgett moved forward, holding her breath with baited anticipation.
The violent battle against Shadow continued. Marie and Pearl fought in tandem against their enemy, doing whatever they could to break away at her armor. Yet… despite their best efforts, the fight again turned sour as, after trying to once again wrap her legs around Shadow's neck, Pearl was stopped and thrown into the wall, collapsing with a grunt.
Shadow reacted quickly as Marie tried to take the opportunity to attack her from behind; Turning around, she blocked her attack before she grabbed Marie by the throat, shoving her against the opposite wall.
"You…" She began strangling her. "You frustrating vermin!"
Marie desperately choked for air as she tried kicking at her.
She ignored that, holding her tighter. "You simply don't understand… your life was always meant to go this way… just like mine went the way that it did. Do you think I don't know how that feels? Do you think I don't know how it feels to have happiness ripped from me? To be betrayed? You're like a child, discovering your emotions for the first time."
Marie stared at her mask in fear, feeling her consciousness fade.
"But I hope you know… with your final thoughts… that I underst-" She was suddenly knocked aside by a powerful blast of electricity. Marie fell to the ground, gasping for air.
Marina was standing in the doorway, pointing the powerful taser-like gun she had previously used at her. She stepped closer to her, holding her at gunpoint with it. "I hope you understand that we've got you, fucker."
Shadow slowly got up from the ground, getting on her knees, when she felt her mask, coming to a realization. Although the mask had protected her from the blast, it came at the cost of it cracking open, revealing one half of her face. She sighed, quickly accepting the situation, and the defeated agents both turned to watch as she reached to take it off entirely, throwing it aside.
She turned to show her full face, and they all fell silent as they saw her true, familiar eyes. Aside from the black Elite hair that she had, she was a carbon copy of… Bridgett. And it wasn't just that she looked like her sibling, or another relative, no, she looked exactly like Bridgett, with the only difference being that she looked maybe a bit older. She glared at all of them, but said nothing.
Pearl sat up, freaked out. "W-… What-…"
She closed her fist, activating a new, hidden device, causing all of her armor to slowly light up until finally, she disappeared in a flash of light that left the agents to question what they just saw.
They all looked around to see where she had gone, but otherwise remained completely silent as they stared at each other, in complete shock.
Bridgett's own eyes widened as she looked up and around the green-tinted room.
Oliver's did as well. "No…"
Surrounding them were entire shelves of tanks, all filled with the ominous green liquid. Among this liquid, each tank had their own carbon copies of both Bridgett and Oliver, still sleeping in their fetal positions. They were all lined up perfectly, elegantly, and as the two of them looked around to examine them, they could see that while some of them had some differences in terms of skin and hair color, as well as the fact half of them were male, they all had the same face that matched their own gender.
They were all, in only somewhat different forms, Lydia Tecca's clones.