Chapter 30: The Fighter
Even at night, Octo City was as bustling as ever, with plenty of lights that cut through the darkness and a fair amount of people that were still up, even if a lot of these people appeared to be engrossed in holographic cell phone equivalents rather than with the world around them (not that that really felt different from their own world). The colorful night-time atmosphere probably would've sent Callie and Oliver good vibes if it weren't for the pressing matters at hand.
As they walked down the streets, navigating through the different islands of Octo City to find what they needed, Oliver kept his gaze down, trying to keep his face partially covered at all times while trying to look as non-suspicious as possible. Callie, while walking more casually with her prosthetics still on, walked in front of him in her best attempt at helping him hide.
"So to make triple sure I have this straight-" Callie continued. "You and Eight are both clones of Lydia Tecca… and are technically only a few years old."
"Correct." Oliver replied.
"But Lydia Tecca lived the life of a full person. And is still out there as, you know, Shadow."
"From what I understand."
"Man." She shook her head slightly. "That's still trippy. But hey, I'm glad that Eight technically has a brother now." She said as she glanced back at him. "For better or worse…"
"What could be 'worse' about it?"
"N-Nothing, I shouldn't play with scenarios like that."
"If you don't mind me asking, what is your fascination with Lydia Tecca?"
"...Well…" She started, hesitating. "I'm just trying to, you know, get into the head of this person. You know, understand what she wants."
He briefly shook his head as well. "It's beyond me. All I wanted was to make it to the surface, not… whatever this all is supposed to be. Some utopia. Does this look like a utopia to you?"
"No. Oh, god, no. In a utopia, Marie and I would, of course, still be together forever, Samantha wouldn't be dying, and I wouldn't have… the problems that I do. But, uh… speaking strictly for the Octarians?" She looked around. "Yeah, I don't know, maybe. It's a step up from what they lived before, at least."
"It was born out of bled ink. That's all I need to know to be assured this world isn't good."
"Well… does that really make it that different from our own world?" She pondered out loud.
He sighed. "I don't… I don't know."
As they kept walking, Callie blinked a bit, thinking back. After a moment, she decided to come out with some of her thoughts, because if any of her current allies deserved to know, it was Oliver. "You know… I think Lydia Tecca is the endgame to all of this."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that… our paths were always destined to cross, ever since we first met Eight. And they're still leading to her." She blinked, starting to feel a bit dizzy again. "The crystal… showed me. I-I thought it was Eight, that it was showing me, and I was confused… but now it's as clear as day. This is all about Lydia."
Oliver didn't respond as he too thought about that. He was most definitely nervous to ever confront Lydia, but… he did suppose it might happen sooner or later, if they wanted a way out of this. He stared downward.
Their conversation nonetheless died there as they eventually came up toward a medical station. It had bright holographic hospital cross up front, with an Octarian emblem in the cross' center, to announce its appearance. They stopped before it, staring up at the hologram.
"Is that-?" Oliver asked.
"Hospital? Hell yeah. Alright, one step closer to getting Samantha back." With full intentions of just waltzing in, she walked up toward the door, but upon her attempts to push it open, she was blocked by, of course, an error ID message. "Wh-"
"Get away from that." Oliver pulled her back toward the closest alleyway. "Come on, over here."
"What? What's wrong?"
"Last time Bridgett and I tried toying with those, we got on the bad side of some Tartar-Bots. Let's stay low and wait for an opening."
"O-Ok." She just ducked behind the corner with him.
Oliver poked his head out and stared ahead, waiting for any kind of opening they could use. He knew that they were definitely going to need IDs at one point, but regardless, until they could gain access to them, waiting and sneaking around was their best option.
From this point on, it was the option they were stuck with.
Inker Valley
As the night proceeded on and on, in a seemingly never-ending loop of darkness, Bridgett again found very little sleep coming to her. No matter how long she kept her eyes closed, no matter how relaxed she tried to make herself feel, no matter what positive thoughts she tried to conjure up, and no matter how heavy her eyelids felt when she did open them… her brain refused to wind down. Opening her eyes for the last time, she sat up in bed and curled up somewhat.
Jessica, in the bunk next to her, had originally seemed to be having the same sleeping problems she was, but at this point was now motionlessly lying there, awkwardly curled up with herself in her sleep. It wasn't the first time she had seen her asleep like that, but after their talk tonight, she did seem… extra… precious? Like she could join up with her and cuddle with her there?
Wait, what was she thinking?
Nervously stretching, she looked around at some other sleeping Inklings in the room before she got up. Thinking about it, she hadn't seen Marie since the team had broken off to wind down for the night, and she hadn't come in here to lay down either. Deciding to focus her worries on her, she stumbled through the dark to leave the room, and turned on a light as she navigated out into the hall.
These halls were of course mostly dark, most likely to conserve power, with a few lights on here and there in the middle of hallways and at turns to help guide people along. During her time here, she only saw a couple Inkling soldiers walking through the halls, who glanced at her as she passed them but otherwise ignored her.
After a bit of wandering these halls, her eyebrows furrowed a bit as she heard some distant gunshots down the hall. She paused and listened, now hearing a new one every few seconds. She walked over and followed the sound.
She was led into a lit training room, in which a few more Inkling soldiers were chatting, hanging out, or just practicing. Turning off her flashlight, she walked inside and looked around. The room suddenly fell a bit more silent, as a few of these soldiers stopped and started staring at her. She stopped and nervously gulped.
Regardless, after a second, they went back to ignoring her presence and doing what they were doing, allowing Bridgett to walk over and trace the source of the gunshots.
Indeed, to both her relief and some worry, it was Marie who was up and practicing her charger on some dummy balloons in a wide, open part of the room, alongside a couple of other soldiers. Bridgett paused and stood behind her as she watched. Marie was dead focused on her training, barely even taking her eye off of her targets, and only ever stopped when she needed to refill or reconfigure her weapon. After she eventually finished her round and her designated dummy balloons retracted into the ground, she lowered her weapon and finally turned to notice her. "Hey, Eight."
She stepped toward her. "Can't sleep either, huh?"
"With Callie still out there somewhere, how can you expect me to?" After refilling, she lifted her charger again. "Hup!"
The dummy balloons she was facing again emerged from the ground and moved along their designated lines.
Bridgett moved toward another table and leaned against it, simply watching her practice. "Still a very good shot, I see."
"Thanks." Marie replied nonchalantly and again held her weapon. Inbetween shots, she continued their conversation. "So, it's been three months since I last saw you fight. Have your skills held up ok?"
"Ask the Tartar-Bots, I guess. I'd like to… think I've stayed about the same. I don't know if I can say I've gotten better."
"What about Jessica?"
"Oh, you know she's still pretty much the best out of all of us." She awkwardly chuckled. "You can bet she's been saving my ass quite a lot."
Marie just kept practicing, and after finishing her current rounds, decided to take a break and step toward her. She had previously seen that Bridgett and Dylan seemed a bit more distant during their time in the Ray, so if there was any time to ask about that, it was now. "So, uh… what about you and Four? How've you two been… holding up?"
"Uhhhh…" She awkwardly rubbed her hands together and looked away.
She raised an eyebrow. "That bad, huh?"
"D-Depends on how bad you mean."
She sighed. "That's… a shame. Dylan always really liked you."
Bridgett looked down. "Then… why did he tell me we need a break, then? M-Maybe forever?"
This time, both of her eyebrows raised. "Damn. Even worse than I expected." She sat on the table next to her. "Must've been overwhelmed. Heavily."
"...Yeah. He… just wasn't the same after that accident happened…" She hunched forward a bit.
"Hey." She lightly punched her shoulder. "It's fine, though. It… happens. I'm just surprised, is all."
Bridgett didn't respond.
Marie grabbed her water. "Well, regardless, that is the absolute last time I ever take a 3-month vacation. Coming back to this shit has been the worst whiplash of my life."
"At least you came back with some cool stories."
"Trust me, I'd vastly prefer if I hadn't."
She nervously rubbed her legs. "So, uh… you really think that's it, then? Dylan and I are done?"
Marie side-eyed her. "I don't know. Maybe." She looked upward, putting all of the pieces of that puzzle together in her head and suddenly deciding to speak a bit more honestly. "…Ok, probably."
Bridgett looked down.
"But again, that's fine. I know this is your first, but break-ups happen. They're normal. I could tell you alll about it."
She looked at her. "That's weird. I've never seen you in a relationship."
"Because after what happened to me in high school, I got… picky." She admitted.
"Hm." Bridgett squinted a bit, confused by what she meant by that.
"Or more careful, at least. Regardless. I still can't predict the future. If you and Dylan both want it in the end, then… you'll be fine. That's what it comes down to."
She curled up a bit. "From what I understood, Pearl and Marina both wanted it, and now…"
Marie didn't respond.
She cleared her throat, turning back to her and swiftly changing that subject. "Is it- Is it weird that Jessica and I want to, you know… deck Marina in the face?"
"Trust me, I wanna do a lot more than just deck her…" She muttered quietly, yet angrily.
"What?"
"Nothing." She sighed. "…Out of anyone in the team aside from Pearl, I suppose you've been hit the hardest by all of that. I'm sorry."
She folded her arms, pausing another moment longer. "What… are we going to do about Pearl?" She finally asked.
Marie looked at her, but again didn't respond. Bridgett stared back at her before she sighed and instead stared outward, thinking.
"Who says that anything has to be done?" They heard Jaxon's voice from behind them as he approached them alongside Lucy, carrying a bag.
Bridgett looked behind her, while Marie rolled her eyes upward. "These weirdos again." She mouthed.
Bridgett stood up as she faced them. "Can't sleep either?"
"Oh, we did sleep." He replied. "This is when we always get up. You know, to start on our day's training."
She blinked a bit. "Wait a minute, then what time is-"
"Five." Lucy replied.
Wow. Bridgett had been tossing and turning in bed longer than she thought.
Jaxon set his bag on the table. "What about you two? How long have you been up?"
Marie stood up. "Practically since we first came to this world."
"Not healthy. You need to rest."
"I can't rest while Callie is still out there. And I'm not going to try."
"Well, spending all your time in the training room isn't going to help you help her if you don't get sleep."
"Oh, and you two just have it all figured out, don't you?" She asked, with the bitterness clear in her voice.
"That's what living down here will do to you." Lucy replied as she reached over to Jaxon's bag, opening it up. "We don't have much in the ways of spending time, so-" She pulled out what appeared to be a small blade hilt. "Routine is essential." She walked up toward another nearby training area.
Bridgett and Marie watched her. "What the hell is-" Bridgett tried pointing at her weapon.
"Hup!" Lucy shouted as she spun her hand, causing the weapon to form into a larger sword that visibly lit up as electricity charged through it. As multiple dummy balloons emerged from the ground, speeding around in unpredictable patterns, she charged at them and started using her sword to take them out. The others watched the show as, in addition to her offensive, Lucy jumped and flipped her way around the area, dodging training lasers or outright blocking them with her sword. Then, for her finishing move, she threw the blade, which then spun around her like a boomerang, popping all of the remaining balloons in one large movement before circling back toward her and into her open hand. She slashed it through the air one more time with a scream before the sword again retracted back to its hilt form.
The soldiers in the room that were watching, including Jaxon, applauded her, while Marie and Bridgett just stared.
"Jesus, they really do have it all figured out." Bridgett said.
Marie squinted a bit. "Was that-?"
"Octo-tech. Yeah." Jaxon smiled. "We take and use what we can. Like that Goldship that Pearl smuggled in with you? That's ours now too."
Marie looked back in Lucy's direction, nodding a bit. This whole situation was still definitely a nightmare, but this alt-reality NSS wasn't bad at all. "…I wish Gramps could still see what his legacy has turned into here."
"We've always had that legacy in mind. Not just his, though. All of yours, too. The stories that Pearl would tell us about you guys have shaped a lot of what we do here. They keep us moving." He suddenly smiled at them. "And now that you're actually here with us… I think we may finally have a chance to make the world a better place."
Marie fell extra silent as she stared at him in response. Hearing him it say it like that was… almost distressing.
Lucy came back up to them. "I've told you a million times, these other-world people are not gonna be our saviors."
"I was just-" Jaxon tried to argue.
"Our people have been in this fight on our own for 100 years and it will probably continue exactly like this for 100 more. If we can even survive for that long. If anything, these people showing up has just given us and Pearl more problems to worry about, with how they couldn't even stay together like they were supposed to." She walked up to the table with Jaxon's bag.
Bridgett looked down.
Jaxon walked up to the opposite side of the table. "But don't you think it says something that after everything, after everything Pearl told us, they actually came for us? That they're real and they're in the room with us now? These people took down their Underdogs. They bagged their Octavio multiple times. They're heroes."
"They're stories for children, Jax." She replied. "Their Octarians are not our Octarians. Besides, look at the state they're in. They're less of a team now than we've ever been. Pearl never should've put them up on that pedestal."
Jaxon sadly stared back at her. "So you think that Pearl never should've told all of those stories to give all of us hope, then, huh?"
"There is no hope, Jax. There's the next fight, for survival, every day. That's all this boils down to." Grabbing her things from the bag and grabbing her sword again, she walked off to continue training. Jaxon just stood where he was and rubbed his forehead. Bridgett and Marie, meanwhile, uncomfortably glanced at each other.
Jaxon turned back to them. "S-Sorry you had to hear that…"
In a way, as Marie thought about it, she almost felt inclined to voice her agreement with Lucy, at least to some extent, but looking at Jaxon's face… she opted not to say anything.
Noticing Jaxon's sad face as well, Bridgett cleared her throat. "Um… how about we just keep training?"
Jaxon looked at her. "You sure you don't want to sleep first?"
She shook her head. "Not right now." She walked over to find a weapon to train with.
"...Alright." He grabbed his own. Marie sighed before she joined them more hesitantly.
As they set up their weapons, Bridgett turned to Jaxon once more. "I can't speak for what your sister thinks… but our team isn't going to give up. None of us will."
Jaxon smiled as he faced her. "Thank you…"
"Just… promise me that we'll get the rest of our team back."
He nodded a bit. "I promise."
She nodded in return, and they went to train together for a while.
Elsewhere
The sewers beneath the city remained as dark as ever as the occasional maintenance bots patrolled the halls and kept the place clean.
Some time had passed for Dylan, but he had not ventured far from his hiding spot with Samantha, and was occasionally pointing his light down some halls as he paced to keep himself sane, looking around for any signs of Oliver's and Callie's return. He sighed, occasionally softly humming some tunes to himself, as quietly as he could to not attract the attention of any of the bots.
"Come on, you guys…" He muttered to himself. "This place is eerie as hell…"
Moments passed. When he eventually heard the sounds of a female groan, he immediately pointed his light down in the direction. "Callie? Callie?" He asked hopefully.
As he walked closer to Samantha, he realized it was actually his own sister who made the noise, and that she was also currently writhing around somewhat in her sleep.
"Shit." He immediately rushed to the first-aid kit and then to her side, desperately sorting through the tools at his disposal. He had no idea what to do, or what to use, or what was even going on, but after a moment, Samantha fell calm again. Shaking, he reached over to press his fingers against her warm neck, feeling her pulse, and then felt her forehead, confirming that her temperature had risen quite a lot. She was running out of time.
Panicking, he gave another look back down the hall, before he looked back at Samantha, shakily holding her arm. His friends had to get here soon, or else…
Octo City
Oliver had lost track of how long they had been waiting as they spent time around the area, waiting for a good way into the medical station.
They stood vigilantly and kept quiet as they watched, until finally, an opportunity seemed to open up for them as some hover-trucks came down from the sky and opened up. As some doctors came out the facility, they finally kept the door slid open as they helped the delivery people move some packages into the hospital.
"There's our opening, go, go." Oliver said as he walked over. Callie watched him before she followed.
With Callie in tow, he snuck over, keeping his head down as he went up to the truck, grabbed a package, and pretended to be with the delivery people as he made his way inside.
As he and Callie got inside, they set the crates in a random spot and snuck down the hallway, making sure they weren't being seen. Callie remained close behind him as they snuck along the wall, careful to not make any noise.
As they navigated the facility, hiding from anyone who came down these halls, they eventually made their way into a room where a fair amount of equipment seemed to be stashed. Coming out into the open, Oliver walked down the room and started looking around at all of the devices that were on tables and on shelves behind glass. To his fear, there wasn't anything here that he recognized.
As Callie came in, she looked through other parts of the room, but felt even more overwhelmed than Oliver did. "Ohhh, boy…"
Oliver tried opening one of these windows to examine these devices more directly, reaching his hand inside. From what he understood, some of these did seem to be used for resuscitation, and others seemed to be electric-based, almost like tasers. One of the tools he looked at did seem to be a long taser-like stick, and another appeared to be some kind of injector. He squinted in confusion.
As Callie's search brought her even more confusion than it did for Oliver, she came up to a computer which pulled up the usual holographic screen as she tried to access it. Briefly rubbing her fingers together nervously, she pulled the keyboard close and tried interacting with it, but of course, it quickly projected the red ID message in front of her.
Hearing the error noise, Oliver turned to her. "Callie, don't touch those."
"I-I was just trying to-" She turned as someone else entered the room.
It was another doctor who was coming in to investigate the error himself, noticing them. "Hey!"
Callie and the doctor stared at each other for a single second, before both took off running; The doctor ran to a electronic panel on the wall to trigger the alarm, while Callie ran to stop him. The doctor didn't make it far before Oliver pulled his gun and splatted him with great aim, reducing him to a puddle on the floor. Reacting quickly, Oliver then rushed to the wall panel by the door to press a button and seal them inside to prevent any more visitors.
"Shit." Callie swore.
Oliver hid his gun once again as he knelt down toward the doctor's puddle, poking it with his finger, before he looked around again to double check that no one else was coming. "There will probably be more."
"W-We can't just leave, though."
Oliver stopped to think about that for just a moment. Making up his mind, he went over to grab some random devices in the wall, in hopes that one of them would save Samantha.
"Hey, wait a minute." Callie interrupted.
"What?"
"What if we can use this guy? He must have ID, right?"
Pausing once again, he looked back down at the puddle.
It took a couple moments for the doctor to reform after being splatted, but once he was, and once he was finally awake, he would awake to Oliver holding his boot down on his chest, pinning him down. He raised his head slightly as he tried struggling against him. "H-Hey-"
"I don't want to hurt you." Oliver started as he glared down at him. "But I do want to ask you some questions."
"You…" He looked over toward Callie, who was standing next to him. The imperfections of the Octarians prosthetics were more clear to him than they would be for most, and in turn, he was actually fairly freaked out as he saw her. "Who are you!? What is this!?"
"We're just passing by and trying to help a friend, who is currently dying. We need to know what, if anything in this facility, we can use to treat a high-pressure gun wound and an infection."
"Do you think you can trick me!?" He replied, again looking at Callie. "What is this, some new rebellion trick?"
"Rebellion?" Callie asked.
"It doesn't matter who we are. Did you not hear what I said?" Oliver asked. "You're a doctor. You need to help us save a life."
The doctor was sweating at this point. "So y-you're not with the rebellion."
"No. What if we were?"
"T-The Tartar-Bots will come for you either way."
"What?" Callie asked again. "Why?"
"Attempted computer access without ID is an automatic flag… it alerts all Tartar-Bot personnel within a certain radius."
Immediately alarmed, Oliver turned toward the door, while Callie ran over and looked out the window.
Indeed, down the hall, she could vaguely see some large robotic figures coming down their direction in the hall. "Shit! He's right!"
Oliver turned back and immediately tightened his grip on the doctor's labcoat. "Tell me what we need!"
He tensed up and held his hands higher up in surrender. "I-I don't know how close to death your friend is, but you can try the emergency pack!" He pointed at where it was on one of the counters. "It's experimental healing tech. It seals wounds shut, repairs tissues, and treats infections, it should work. But there's a risk to it."
"Risk?"
"If they… if they…"
Callie turned to him. "We don't have time, they're here!"
Sighing, Oliver let the doctor go and scrambled to grab the pack, which looked almost like a black, sleek briefcase. Looking around at some other stuff, he also grabbed some other things he might be able to use, including the taser and a bundle of rope. He used his knife to cut off as much of the rope as he needed.
When the two Tartar-Bots arrived at the room and got the door open, they walked inside and held their spears up.
The doctor sat up on his knees and held his arms up. "There's two trespassers here. They're still in the room."
Immediately, the Bots opened their faces and began scanning the room, walking down the aisles between the tables. The doctor watched as they passed, turning their head from side to side as they scanned around.
Callie was hunched under a table in her Squid-form, holding her roller handle close as she held her breath. One of the Tartar-Bots was making its way in her direction, and was already in the process of discovering her as its scan uncovered her heat signature, and then, her heartbeat. It held its spear in an offensive position and stepped over.
Callie was in the process of slithering away and turning the corner as the Bot followed her, but they both stopped as they heard a clang sound on the other side of the room. The Tartar-Bot reared its head.
Using that distraction, Callie unearthed herself, pressed the button that prompted her roller to assemble. After then pressing the button that caused it to spin like an ink piston, she jumped out and slashed at the towering machine. As it immediately reacted to her, she dodged its spear-strike and then slashed her roller into its groin, turning up the intensity of its spinning to its maximum setting so that it would grind against it. Her eyes widened somewhat as she realized that did absolutely nothing against its armor, and was then stunned as the Bot shoved her back, sending her careening over the table before she struck the ground. She groaned.
The second Tartar-Bot did not revert its attention from finding the other target, and was hunting Oliver down by scanning for his heat signature as well. It was unbeknownst to it that Oliver was ready and waiting, with the taser and rope in his hand. As soon as the Bot started to draw too close, he pulled on the rope and pulled down the stack of boxes that was connected to the other end on the other side of the room, causing them all to collapse in a heap.
As the Tartar-Bot turned and pointed its spear in that direction, Oliver came up from behind it and jammed the taser into its neck as deep as he could, pressing the button to electrocute it. As the Bot briefly writhed in reaction, he tried climbing up on top of it, holding on as it buckled in an attempt to throw him off. As it opened its face and attempted to charge up its next attack, he drove the taser directly into its open face, which actually did seem to stun it. He leapt back to the ground and grabbed his things as he ran over in Callie's direction.
Callie was still stuck in a brutal battle with her own Tartar-Bot as she slashed her roller at it, all while dodging its lasers and spear attacks, until Oliver came up and again struck it with his taser, before he again jammed it into its open face and electrocuted it. Using that short time period in which it too was stunned, he began running with Callie. "C'mon!"
The doctor watched as they sped out of sight and down the hall, as an alarm began flashing. Some gates began closing in front of the agents as they ran as fast as possible to pass them before they could close. Running toward the exit, a final gate began closing at the door, but they didn't let up; Without losing momentum, they slid under, narrowly avoided being crushed, and then jumped back onto their feet as they ran out into the night air. Callie briefly looked behind her as she followed closely behind Oliver, who carried their new medical supplies close to his chest.
The Tartar-Bots, upon leaving the room themselves, looked around. The doctor behind them shakily got up as he went over to look as well.
"Maintain lockdown procedures. We have two felons. Alert King Octavio." One of the Bots turned to the Doctor. "What were they doing here?"
He nervously held his hands up, still shaking horribly. "I can tell you, I didn't help them…"
Regardless, the second Bot went up and aggressively grabbed his arm, almost to the point of crushing it. "Come with us, Doctor. We have some questions for you."
"Wait! Wait!" He shouted as he was promptly dragged away.
Oliver and Callie made the journey back into the sewers, and navigated their way through the different hallways, using the numbers and symbols on the walls to find their way around. Eventually, after yet another perilous journey, they made their way back to their hiding spot where Samantha was hidden. As they closed in, they could hear a panicked panting sound, which caused Callie's eyes to widen somewhat.
"Four?" She asked.
As it turned out, the panting sound was Dylan straight-up hyperventilating in a panic, as he desperately sorted through tools in the first-aid to figure out what to do next. Samantha herself looked absolutely dismal, as if she was already dead. The only signs of life left was her bare breathing and her fever.
"Four? Oh my god." She said again as she rushed up.
Although Dylan was relieved to see them again, he didn't show it, as he fought back tears that became apparent when he spoke with a broken voice. "I-I think she's dying…" He reached over to feel her pulse. "She's… she's…"
"Stand back, Agent 4." Oliver stepped up next, pulling out the emergency pack. Dylan and Callie both stepped back as he knelt down and set it on the ground next to Samantha, looked it over, and then pressed the button to activate it.
The pack suddenly started disassembling somewhat as its various parts started moving. As it paused, a tablet with two physical screens emerged from its underside. Oliver slowly reached forward to grab it, as the rest of the pack then continued to reassemble itself, transforming from its briefcase form and into a spider-like robot that stood obediently before its new user. The tablet screens lit up in Oliver's hands, presenting a warning that read: "Please clear the wound of any clothes or adhesives. Do not make physical contact with the patient during healing process.". On the second screen was a massive button that read: Begin Procedure.
"Lift her shirt and take off her bandage." Oliver commanded to his friends.
Callie and Dylan both immediately moved to do so, exposing Samantha's wound.
As they again backed up, Oliver took a deep breath and nodded. "Ok…" Mentally wishing Samantha the best, he then pressed the button, which caused the bot to turn and locate Samantha. It crawled on top of her and began scanning around her.
The agents all watched nervously until the bot completed the scan, and then stood still on top of her. "Inkling cells detected. Procedure cannot be deemed safe." Its robotic voice spoke out loud.
"What? Why is it stopping?" Dylan asked.
Oliver paused and looked over the screen once again. It had now pulled up the results of Samantha's scan, alongside the next button that read: Continue Procedure. This time, Oliver hesitated a bit… wondering what would happen if this went wrong… before ultimately, he forced himself to press the button.
Finally, the bot moved over to Samantha's wound, and then sealed itself over it, withdrawing its legs. A moment later, an intense electric shock erupted from its underside. Samantha's entire body jolted.
Although they were all terrified, none of them stopped the procedure as they watched more electric blasts emerge from the machine, as Samantha twitched violently. A moment later, Samantha's vitals on the tablet began to turn red, as the next message came up: "Warning: Negative reaction caused. Non-Octarian cells detected. Health status: Unstable. Please disengage."
Oliver's eyes widened as he looked back at the screen, gasping somewhat. "No." He looked back at Samantha.
"What's happening?" Dylan continued to panic, shaking horribly. "W-What's happening!?"
Oliver didn't want to stop the procedure, especially if this was their only chance at saving her. But… a moment later, as Samantha unconsciously writhed in place, her vitals began to straight-up fail. Her heart-rate had risen dramatically, and then started to fall. Panicking, Oliver waited until the last possible moment before he pressed the stop button, causing the bot and Samantha to both go still once again.
However, he had pressed the button too late. Dylan stared on as Samantha's head drooped to the side, with a line of drool falling down her cheek. A faint breath escaped her mouth before… she flatlined. Both of the tablet's screens turned red to reflect this.
"No!" Oliver screamed this time as he frantically tried pressing random parts of the screen in a blind attempt at fixing the situation.
"S-Sam!?" Frantically, Dylan rushed to Samantha's side and knelt down. He grabbed her head and pulled her face toward him. "Sam!? Wake up!" He lightly smacked his cheek. Callie just covered her mouth and started crying.
As Oliver kept playing with the screen, Dylan became increasingly distressed, until he was beginning to sob. "Sam! Please!"
Although he was starting to shake uncontrollably, Oliver finally managed to navigate to the settings page, which then gave him several options to customize the treatment. He looked through everything, thinking it over. It seemed that the problem was simply that it was reacting negatively to her Inkling cells, but he knew, for a fact, that Inkling and Octoling biology were not very different from one another. There had to be a work around. Thinking quickly, and not seeing other choices, he moved to turn down the treatment intensity.
"Let go of her! I'm gonna try again!" He told Dylan.
"No! No, I'm not lett-"
"I'm trying to heal her, let go of her!"
Dylan obeyed, but did not move from his spot. Without Dylan's hands on her head, Samantha's head again drooped lifelessly.
Although her hearts may have stopped at that moment, Samantha's brain still had activity within. It had, again, come time for her life to flash before her eyes… Her mind was now bringing up some of her most important memories…
Above even the immense pain she felt, her happiest memories from when she was a child filled her in her last moments of consciousness. Her happiest memories of playing, dancing, singing, frollicking in the grand outdoor world… and fantasizing about the life she would live upon growing up. Even from a young age, she had wanted to be more… so much more.
But a realization fell over her. Again and again, those fantasies had eluded her. From her younger self's dreams about being an astronaut, or a policeman, or maybe a fireman… to her dreams she had when she was older, of being an accomplished agent of the New Squidbeak Splatoon. She had these dreams ever since that day when she had first suspected that her own half-brother was hiding something from her, and she secretly followed him to Inkopolis Square, down the storm drain, and into Octo Canyon. She had pulled out her camera and taken pictures of him that day, secretly following him from behind when not even Marie was looking, and had gone completely undetected… but it wasn't enough. What was it all even for? What was her life for?
Her life, even in childhood, after all, wasn't all happiness and innocence. She had lost that fairly early too, from the day that her mother closed the door on her… and never looked back. Now, her more negative memories started to return to her.
"Mommy?" Young Samantha would shriek. "Mommy!?" She had desperately tried to open the door and keep her mom in her life… but she had already gotten in her car and left. Not even Dylan understand her pain at the time. Why would he? They were born to the same father, but they never had the same Mom.
Was Dylan even truly her brother? Despite their shared childhood, Dylan was, in so many ways, better and stronger than she was. He was the one who was brave enough to go on the rollercoaster when their father had encouraged them to try it. He was the one who excelled in gym class during school. He was the one who went on to become a proud agent of the NSS, having literally gone on to help save the world. But what did she do? What did she do in that massive shadow that he left behind?
Was she… even worthy of even being here among him in the slightest? He was probably so disappointed in her… he probably felt the same about their own relationship. He didn't deserve her. Hell, she probably didn't even deserve her own life.
Mentally standing in the void of her own memories, her own disappointment, and her own fatigue, she imagined herself to lower herself to her knees… and sink forward like a pathetic heap, lying down. She wanted to cry, but no tears came out… If she really was dying here, perhaps she deserved it this way. She deserved to fade away here. She deserved to never look back, or forward. She didn't even deserve to speculate on what she may have become if she had lived on… that simply wasn't her fate. And… maybe she was ok with that…
This was it for her… here, at the end of her life…
Jolting her from her last thoughts, another small but painful zap ran through her body, causing her hearts to start back up again. A moment passed, and then another one struck. Another moment, another zap. Her eyes shot open.
Dylan frantically looked her over. "S-Sam!?"
She had awakened into a fairly confused state, with no idea what was going on, and with the pain she felt completely fogging her mind. "D-Dylan…?" A tear fell down her cheek, before she screamed as another zap struck her. It was easily the most painful thing she had ever felt in her life.
"It's working!?" Callie asked.
Oliver shook his head slightly. "It's doing something, but I need to keep the energy levels down and do this one small step at a time." He reached for the button once again. "Ok, here we go."
As the next short burst happened, Samantha screamed again. Crying, she reached to grasp Dylan's armor.
"It's ok, I've got you!" Dylan held her arm.
"Don't touch her!" Oliver reminded. "Avoid contact!"
As Dylan hesitantly let go of her, Samantha stared at him. "D-Dylan…"
"It's ok, it's ok, I'm here. Just stay awake, alright?" Her brother pressured.
"I can't- I can't do it-!" She sobbed.
"We'll fight through this, ok? Just keep fighting!"
"Here we go." Oliver warned, as he again pressed the button.
With each surge that struck her, Samantha was absolutely drowned in agony, and also seemed to be falling in and out of consciousness. She couldn't handle another single second of this… and yet, the surges persisted, each somehow more painful than the last. Ink started to ooze from her wound, leaking from beneath the bot and onto the floor.
Oliver watched as her vitals again grew critical on his monitor. "Oh, no."
"C'mon, Sam, stay awake! Just one more, alright? One more."
But it wasn't quite 'one more' yet, and it wasn't going to be for the next ones, either. Samantha's mind was clouding as more surges hit her; She quite simply couldn't hold on. She could again feel herself fading.
More memories faded in, as Dylan's calling voice faded more into the background. Memories of school, her life with her family, and the few friends she had throughout her life returned to her… All the turmoil she felt in her life surrounded her, pushing her down. She was always the second fiddle, the one who couldn't excel, or even succeed a lot of the time. Everything she had done in her life had amounted to nothing. Even here, she was the one who had to be saved, as her own brother shouted at her to hang out. Even that, she could no longer do. She desperately wanted to let go, she desperately wanted to let go of the rope that was her life, this moment, and fall into the abyss below her.
"Please, Sam, please… stay awake, please." Dylan's crying voice broke through to her in an echo. "I wouldn't even be here if it weren't for you… I wouldn't have even gotten out of that stupid mine if it wasn't for you. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you."
She paused, considering that. That wasn't true, though… Really, it was Oliver and Daniel who helped them escape the Mine. She had just been along for the ride. She added nothing to the team… and she knew it.
But she also remembered Oliver's words, the ones that she had already been repeating to herself in her head as much as she could: "I'm asking you to do this, Samantha. 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."
"Please…" Dylan's more real voice continued. "I wanted to give everything up before… I was so low… but you were there for me. You were always there. You were holding onto everything so much better than I ever could… please keep fighting. I can't give you up. I will never give you up."
She again paused to consider that, before she remembered the rest of Oliver's words: "So I hope that you'll step up. If not for me, then for your brother. For your brother. For your brother."
Slowly becoming more alert, Samantha took one more moment of pause before… slowly, she began her fight for staying awake… to prevent her body from shutting down. She fought for her own life, to grab that rope again. It was like walking through an intense, agonizing wind, that was formed by each new wave of pain that the surges gave her, pushing her back somewhat. But this time, she didn't let up. She fought through to the end, for as long as she could physically hold on. She fought like this for what felt like several terrible minutes, the hardest minutes of her life, until-
As the surges finally halted, Samantha's eyes opened yet again as she gasped. She choked on her own saliva as she kept gasping for more air, as the intense pain the bot had given her started to subside.
"Oh my g- Sam?" Dylan again grabbed her arm. Oliver set his tablet down, and Callie came around to look. Color was returning to her face, as the bot worked to numb the pain it had caused and then withdraw from its position on her belly, revealing her now-healed skin. It moved to clean up her bled ink before it climbed off of her.
"Sam? Are you ok?" Dylan held her tightly.
She shakily started to sit up. "D-Dylan…" She moved to hug him.
"Thank god… thank god…" He cried as he hugged her back, petting her hair.
As they shared their personal moment, Samantha softly cried herself as she whispered into his ear. "Did you… mean that?"
"Mean what?" Dylan asked.
"About how you almost gave up?"
He nodded slightly, which she was able to feel, before he replied. "But I didn't give up on you."
She sniffled. "…Well… I didn't give up either."
"I know. I know." He squeezed her. "I'm so proud."
As they enjoyed their moment and eventually broke off, Samantha turned to notice the others. "Oh, uh…"
"Hey, Sam." Callie awkwardly smiled and waved. "It's uh, Callie, by the way. In case you couldn't recognize me with uh, all this on." She motioned over her own face.
"C-Callie. Hey. Uh… long time, no see."
"Ain't that the truth?" She knelt down.
She then noticed Oliver, blushing. "O-Oliver. You're still here too."
"Indeed." He nodded, leaning his arm on his knee. "And I'm so relieved that you're still with us, Agent 44."
A wave of proud happiness washed over her as she heard her own title once again. She managed to smile. "Um… you too… Agent 88."
Oliver couldn't help but smile back, before he broke eye contact and looked down.
Samantha's mind was still catching up with her, however, and although at the moment she was still incredibly weak, she managed to give a good look around, growing more and more confused. "Now, uh… I don't mean to ruin the moment, but… where the hell are we?"
The other three agents awkwardly glanced at each other as they realized just how much she missed. They had no idea where to even start explaining.
Inker Valley
Bridgett's lack of sleep was finally starting to catch up with her after many hours of mindless training, around the time when lunch was starting to roll around. Just like with breakfast and dinner, Inklings went to the cafeteria to sit and eat their food at different times to not over-crowd the place; Bridgett and Marie were among the last to come in, and got some of the remaining available food, sitting down to eat.
Upon returning to her place in the barracks, Bridgett looked around for Jessica, but didn't see her. Some disappointment fell over her as she sat down on her bed- she felt weirdly a lot like she wanted to see her again after their chat the previous night. Maybe… she just wanted to talk to her again, or just… relax, with her. Wait, no, she could relax by herself, right? She didn't need Jessica to do that.
Sighing, she laid back, with her head on her hands, and stared up at her bunk's ceiling. Finally, a feeling of drowsiness started to overcome her, and her eyes started to droop. She curled up and rested on her side, closing her eyes. Sleep was finally just around the corner…
Moments later, Jaxon rushed inside, looking around and calling for her. "Bridgett?"
Startled from the process of falling asleep, she sat up, blinking. "Y-Yeah?"
"We got a new report. And you're gonna wanna see this."
She blinked some more, awkwardly rubbing her eyes as she got out of bed and followed her outside. She had to speed-walk to stay caught up as they rushed down the halls, until Jaxon took her into another room, where Lucy, Marie, and Jessica were, standing around a small, holographic television.
"Where's Pearl?" She couldn't help but ask as she came in behind Jaxon.
The siblings ignored her as they all simply stared at the hologram.
Bridgett stared into it, seeing the breaking news broadcast of the strange, flamboyant Octoling man, with his ugly hair tentacles that shot up in all directions.
"What is this?" She asked again.
"The newest Thinker broadcast." Lucy grabbed the remote to turn the volume up.
"And that's not all, folks." The Thinker continued. "I know you probably heard the rumors. But let me set this straight- this news is coming in directly from King Octavio himself. Take a look."
First-person Tartar-Bot footage then came up on the screen, revealing their fight with Oliver and Callie in the medical station. Bridgett's eyes widened as she saw Oliver.
Marie, despite Callie's prosthetics that she had on, immediately recognized her cousin as well. "Shit!" She shakily rubbed her forehead.
"Don't get this footage twisted!" The Thinker continued. "If you study it closely, and trust me, our own analysts have, there is more to these seeming 'Octoling citizens' than meets the eye. Oh, yes, faaar more! These are no citizens… they're fugitives! Terrorists! And one of them bears disguise… Oh yes, dear viewers, don't confuse my words, we are staring down the faces of both Octoling and Inkling eyes tonight! That's right, there can only be one explanation for such a phenomenon. The rebellion- so-called freedom fighters- of Inkling menaces are at it again, and it would appear that they are infiltrating our own city!"
"Shit." Jaxon and Lucy both muttered as the rest stared.
"Octarians. I ask you to keep a steady eye on the streets. Trust no one- not even those close to you- because new rebellion trickery is afoot. Do not fall for their lies. And if you see ones of these here fugitives in this video footage-" Their faces again came up as images next to the Thinker. "Do not hesitate to call the Tartar hotline immediately. I promise you, Octarians, we will bring these miscreants to justice, and we will keep our beautiful city proud. Until then, as always, I have been the Thinker." He pointed at his own head. "Glory to the Octarians. Glory to King Octavio."