Note: A couple lines were taken from Side Order.
The Monochrome Order
"Again?"
Eight sat in the chair, staring up at the eyes of an octoling–her instructor at the academy. Thick maroon tentacles covered the left side of her head, the other side shaved off. Similarly maroon eyes peered down on her, framed by a purple mask with long eyelashes.
She groaned, resting her aging hand the color of clay on her forehead. "You know you're not supposed to sneak out."
"I know," was Eight's only reply.
"Then you need to act like it," her instructor insisted. "Diligent and dedicated, like a true Octarian."
Eight simply stared at her, her words simply going through one ear and out the other.
The entire time, the instructor's eye had not moved off of the young octoling. "You have so much potential, but all you're doing is wasting it."
Eight still did not say another word, her head beginning to droop. She knows she has a lot of potential. If they weren't so insistent on being a "true Octarian," perhaps she could use it.
The instructor sighed. "I don't want to transfer you out. But if this behavior continues, perhaps I will have to."
Eight fought the urge to smile. If she didn't have to deal with the academy and do as she pleases, perhaps that would be a good thing.
…Would it?
Eight stared down at the color chip she held, rubbing her thumb against its orange gleam. Releasing her uneasy breath, she set it in Pearl's Palette and turned towards the elevator door.
Marina said this project would reinforce her memories. But the memories she had been seeing weren't hers.
Was every memory she had come to know as her past a lie? Had she been running around with someone else's memories since the day she met Pearl and Marina? Had she been running around assuming someone else's name since the day she defeated her inner hero?
She didn't know anymore. Rosemarie Dumbah could've been her doppelganger all this time without her ever realizing it.
"Yo, Eight." Pearl flew in front of her, mechanical whirring the only other sound in the elevator. "You alright?"
Eight took another deep breath and nodded. "I'm alright."
"Well, if you say so." Moments later, the elevator door opened, and Pearl promptly flew outside, waving her arms. "Now c'mon, Eight! Let's go splat those Jelletons!"
Acht nodded, leaning against the wall with their arms crossed. "And don't get splatted yourself."
Marina, on the other hand, hunched over her laptop, keys clacking away. "The floor after this one's a boss. There should be a locker key for you if you manage to clear it." She looked up and smiled. "But I bet it'll be a piece of cake for you!"
Eight gave the best smile she could in return. "I'll try my best."
Truth be told, though, she didn't know how many more foreign memories she could handle. Her head was already starting to hurt from all the new information swimming around in her brain.
She chose an easy floor for a reason. But she figured she would have to choose between three difficult floors before long. She didn't know how she would fare then.
Eight stepped out of the elevator, Order Dualies materializing in her hand. This should be quick. If a boss floor was next, she needed to conserve her energy.
She rode the cage to the platform and ran around the perimeter, jumping over hills and conveyor belts and splatting any Jelleton that crossed her path. A minute or two later, the last portal exploded, and Eight was soaring back to the elevator as pale blue ink swallowed the platform, red glitter shimmering in the artificial light.
The door shut as soon as Pearl and Eight stepped back inside, Acht pressing a button to start the elevator back up.
"Good work," they remarked.
Eight nodded. "Thank you."
Pearl chuckled, throwing out her arm. "We make a superfresh team, don't we?"
"Yep," Marina agreed. "I would've still been under Order's influence if not for you two and Acht."
Pearl flew up to her partner. "Yeah, you're right." Marina giggled as she sped around her head, before coming to a stop in front of Eight. "We would've been cooked without you!"
"I was just doing what I had to." Eight clasped her hands in front of her, her earlier headache beginning to ebb away. "But I'm glad everyone's alright now."
"Me too." The elevator jerked to a stop, and Acht turned their head towards Eight. "Guess it's time for the boss."
"Already?" Pearl snapped towards Marina. "Any idea what it is?"
She shook her head. "We won't know until we step through that door." She typed another few lines on her keyboard, adding, "I need to poke around more to see if there's a way to let us know which bosses are in the Spire."
"Got it." Eight took a deep breath. Without a new memory to clog her head, she should be able to give it her all. She really, really hoped so.
The elevator door opened, and she stepped out into the next floor, a million red eyes twisting to cast their gaze down on Eight. Pieces of Jelletons stood tall against the back window, light casting their shadows on the land down below.
Heart pounding, Eight's eyes began to search for the boss as she crept towards the cage, but all she could see was a black puddle of ink on the opposite platform.
"Be careful, Eight." Marina sounded worried. "Something doesn't seem right."
She shivered. She almost expected a skeletal imitation of the Octomaw to pop out of the puddle and lunge straight at her, only being able to catch a glint of its pearly teeth before swallowing her whole and splatting her.
Instead, the figure that emerged from the puddle was an inkling dressed in the same outfit as her, pulling an Order Shot out with enough force to throw ink into the air. An inkling that looked hauntingly familiar.
For a moment, Eight faltered. Inklings? She was fighting inklings?
Thinking about it more, she supposed it made sense. Most sanitized Octarians climbing the Spire of Order would see inklings as enemies. But if inklings were still being depicted as the enemy after all this time, it would only set back all the progress made ever since Eight reached the surface. She couldn't possibly see Marina, of all people, designing enemy inklings.
But then again, Order had control of the Memverse right now. If it wanted to make inklings enemies, there was nothing Marina could do about it.
It was only when a familiar voice spoke that Eight was snapped out of her thoughts.
"Intruders confirmed." The inkling snapped their head up, revealing a face covered by a silver mask. "Commence eradication."
Eight gasped, her hands going to her mouth as she met piercing red eyes. That was Alexis!
No wonder she hadn't been responding to any of her texts. She had been greyscaled!
"Eight?" Pearl hovered closer to her head. "What's up?"
She gulped, taking a step back. "T-that's…"
Six more inklings of various builds and heights, their skin tones shades of grey, emerged behind Alexis. They, too, wore identical outfits, albeit with helmets covering their heads instead of a mask.
"Chill, Eight," Acht spoke up. "Those are Jelletons too. They just look like inklings."
"They're supposed to be, but looking at the code…" Marina paused. "...Give me a moment. Go on ahead, Eight."
Eight summoned her dualies, clenching them as hard as she could. If Acht said they were Jelletons, then she had nothing to worry about. But she couldn't shake off the sinking feeling in her stomach.
"...Right." Eight stepped into the cage, gesturing for Pearl to follow her. The inkling-shaped Jelletons dove into their own puddle of ink with a plop, though a hand emerged briefly to pull the palest one down with them.
The cage opened up, allowing Pearl to carry her down to the central platform as a super-jump marker appeared in the pit before her. Recalling all her battle knowledge, she began inking the ground–if she inked her surroundings, she could gain the advantage.
It wasn't long before the first Jelleton landed and began swinging its slosher at her. Eight dodge-rolled for a clear shot at it, but the Jelleton transformed into a squid and slipped away.
However, the Jelleton soon found itself forced to transform back in order to ink its escape. Eight transformed herself to chase after it, allowing her to catch up and jump out to deal the final blow.
Yet when Eight leaped out of the ink, her fingers on the triggers of her dualies, she found herself looking at someone else for a few moments.
Perry. A member of the Rainbow Squids, her rival team, and one of her inkling friends.
Doubt returned to the forefront of her mind. What if this was the real Perry's soul? If she splatted his soul, what would happen to his body?
If he was under Order's control, it would respawn him, she assured herself. It wasn't like she splatted in the real world every time she splatted in the Spire of Order, was it?
She found herself forced back into reality as her armor broke, sending her tumbling back into her own ink. She transformed into an octopus and began to swim away, though Pearl's cries indicated the Jelleton was still chasing her.
Yet black still edged blue no matter how far away she tried to get. She didn't think the slosher had that much range, did it?
"Eight," Acht called as Eight's armor repaired itself. "They have the same abilities you do. Be careful."
She emerged from the ink to face the Jelleton, firing her dualies to slow their advance. "Including color chips?" Now that she thought about it, she did pick a color chip that increased her weapon's range last floor.
"Yep."
"Dang," Pearl grumbled as the Jelleton started to close in, its own drone tagging Eight with a deep red beam of light. "Be extra careful, Eight!"
"I will." She tossed a curling bomb off to the side and transformed into an octopus to follow its trail. If she wanted to defeat that Jelleton, it seemed she would have to gain the height advantage.
After the bomb exploded, she stormed up the ramp to the top of the hill, grabbing a suitcase of armor and dodge-rolling forward. The Jelleton simply turned its head towards Eight before blue ink pelted its body, splatting it with a scream that sounded too, too familiar.
Eight stood up, eyebrows pulling themselves together as her mouth fell open. It sounded like Perry, too. Too, too much like Perry.
"Are you sure they're Jelletons…?" Eight muttered, her voice quiet.
"Huh?" Pearl flew up to her. "Whatcha say?"
She shook her head. "Nothing." She couldn't worry about her friends. She needed to focus.
"You sure?" She hovered in front of her face. "You don't look too hot."
"Now's not the time to sit around," Acht advised. "Two more incoming."
Eight began to ink the platform, noting the super-jump marker in the corner of her eye. "How's the code, Marina?" She couldn't keep her voice from trembling.
Even from here, she could hear the keyboard of a laptop clicking away. "I'm getting there. It's pretty hard to look through this when Order keeps overriding my permissions... I'll let you know when I find something."
"We'll leave you to it, Rina." Pearl flew back to Eight's side as a Jelleton wielding a roller landed on the ground below her, flicking black ink into the air. "Now Eight, get 'em!"
Eight dodged-rolled to the side and began to fire. The Jelleton, however, proved to be quick, tossing out a curling bomb before it could get hit and disappearing into the black trail left behind. She shifted her attention to covering the trail back up–if she wanted to win, she had to give the enemy as little room to move as possible.
At least, thanks to Pearl, she knew exactly where the Jelleton was heading.
At the end of the trail, it threw out another curling bomb and started to follow it, only for it to leap out of the ink halfway through, its roller upright as it prepared to slam it down on Eight. She dodged the attack and aimed her dualies at the Jelleton, primed to splat it.
Only for pain to explode in the back of her head, shattering her armor in a flash of yellow light.
Eight stumbled, the world turning and her head pounding as she struggled to regain her balance. The Jelleton with the roller now climbed up the ramp, barreling straight towards the octoling.
"Eight!" Pearl cried. "Get down!"
Hearing her voice, the grip on her dualies tightened, adrenaline pumping through her veins and pushing away the pain. For a moment, she was back in the Deepsea Metro, staring down the Dreaded Agent 3 as a glob of turquoise goop encased the right side of her face.
Black ink lapped at her feet, forcing her back to reality. She couldn't think about that now. She only had one life left, and if she splatted now, she would have to climb the tower all over again. She would have to witness foreign memories once more.
Eight dodge-rolled behind her, shooting ink at the incoming Jelleton. She turned into an octopus before she could hit the ground, dropping into her light blue ink with a plop. From above, though, she could still see Pearl waving her arms in panic.
"Shoot, there's one behind you now!" A pink light beamed from her forehead, pointing in the opposite direction of the Jelleton with the roller.
"It's got a charger," Acht mused. "Pretty good aim, too."
Eight emerged from the ink and whirled behind her. A shorter Jelleton with grey skin stood on the highest platform next to an ink rail, the light on its charger growing brighter and brighter. Eight jumped out of the way as it fired its next shot, throwing a curling bomb in its direction.
She knew chargers very well–they were her preferred weapon, after all. If left alone, they posed a massive threat. The best way to deal with a charger user was to get up close, and an imitation would be no different.
The charger-wielding Jelleton was not without its tricks, though. The black drone hovering beside it flew into the air and began spewing out the bony fish Eight had long grown used to calling Jelletons, stopping her in her tracks.
"C'mon!" Pearl whined. "Weren't we outnumbered enough already?!"
Acht growled. "The one with the roller's coming at you too."
"You'll be splatted if you don't get out of there!" Marina warned.
Eight began charging up her curling bomb. "I have an idea."
"I hope it's a good one," said Acht.
Once the bomb was fully cooked, she released it, only sliding a few inches forward before exploding into a huge puddle of ink, splatting the smaller Jelletons and knocking back the larger ones. As soon as the bomb left her hands, she submerged in the ink to refill her ink tank before tossing out another, uncharged, curling bomb towards the hill the charger user stood on. It bounced off the wall, inking it just enough for Eight to be able to climb up it. She swam towards the wall and surged up the dash track, flying into the air and splatting the charger user before it could retaliate.
Bonnie's scream echoed through the corridor, fear tearing its claws into Eight. That scream…it sounded so, so real, underneath the mechanization.
She landed on the hill and closed her eyes, the image of the blue-haired inkling, complete with her gentle smile, appearing in the darkness. She took a deep breath, tightening her grip on her dualies as the image faded.
She couldn't get distracted. She couldn't.
Eight opened her eyes as Pearl cried out more alarms, the snapping jaws of Jelletons growing louder and louder. In the interest of not getting cornered, she crawled inside the ink rail and rode the stream to its end, popping out above the central platform. She shot ink below her, allowing her to land safely with a splash, one knee to the ground.
Pushing herself up, a surge of power began to well inside her. At long last, her special weapon was ready. If she timed it correctly, she could take the Jelletons out all at once.
The moment the roller user leaped into the air was the moment she pulled out her Reefslider, laying out a glowing blue trail in front of her. She rammed into the roller user, screaming out Inigo's scream as it splatted, and slid into the pit, putting her foot to the ground to slow it to a stop. Only then did it explode, taking out the remaining Jelletons.
And once again, Eight found herself standing there, looking back at where the Jelleton with the roller had splatted.
Thinking about it now…it was like Inigo himself had been there.
It was like Bonnie and Perry had been there, too. But if Acht and Marina said they were Jelletons, then they were. Right?
She gulped. She knew she shouldn't bother Marina while she's busy, but…
"Just one more wave," Acht noted before Eight could say a word, "so don't get sloppy now."
Pearl nudged Eight's cheek. "You hanging in there?"
Eight giggled and swatted her away. "Yeah." She glanced towards the elevator she had arrived from. "Any progress, Marina?"
"Almost there…" She trailed off, her voice replaced by the sound of clicking keys.
"Yo!" From Pearl's body fired a pink beam. "The one with tentacles' coming!"
Three circles surrounded Eight, prompting her to scramble for a curling bomb and toss it to the side, granting her just enough time to flee the Triple Splashdown before it landed. She popped out of the ink at the edge of the platform, whipping around to face the newcomer as black ink splashed into the air.
As the ink settled, she met the red eyes of Alexis's doppelganger. Normally, her roommate, friend, and fellow agent wielded dualies, but this time, the Jelleton held the Order Shot in its hands, pointed at Eight.
It seemed too, too much like the real thing. All three hearts beat louder and louder, her stomach twisting into knots.
Then, Marina let out a gasp.
"These aren't Jelletons!" she exclaimed. "They're greyscaled souls!"
The world slowed down.
She wasn't fighting Jelleton imitations of her inkling friends. She was fighting their actual souls. The very essence of their being, overridden by Order.
It was like fighting the hijacked Agent 3 all over again. But unlike back then, she was much, much closer to these people.
Nausea churned in her stomach, her dualies sliding from her grasp. Has Geneva been greyscaled too? Was that why she canceled their date at the last second? What about Octa Prisma? Have they been pulled into the Memverse as well?
She hoped she didn't see them. She really, really hoped she didn't see them.
Bile rose up her throat, and she covered her mouth, forcing herself to swallow it down. Alexis was growing closer by the second, black ink edging closer and closer. She had to focus.
But how could she? This was so much worse than Agent 3 and even Marina had been. So, so, so much worse.
Distantly, she could hear Pearl's voice screaming her name. She could hear Marina and Acht screaming into her ears.
But all she could focus on was Alexis. Perry, Inigo, and Bonnie's screams echoed through her mind, tearing into her soul. For all she knew, she could have killed them in the real world the moment she splatted them in the Memverse.
Every inkling she fought so far had been a member of the Rainbow Squids too.
The realization chilled her ink. Did that mean Geneva was here?
Cod, please don't let Three be here. Please, please, please…
But with the Memverse under Order's control, it seemed like anything was possible.
In the corner of her vision, more black ink approached from the other side. A pincer maneuver, she recognized, and she was powerless to do anything.
Was this how she was going to splat? Was this how she was going to spiral back down to the bottom floor of the Spire of Order? Was this the end of life as she knew it?
Eight clenched her fist and took a deep breath, grounding her senses.
She couldn't splat here. Not when Order was still a threat. Not when the entire world was counting on her. And the longer she took to reach it, the more peril the world was in.
She shook her hands to release the tension built up inside them, her dualies reappearing in a flash of light. With a few blinks, she scanned her surroundings.
Alexis approached from the right, while an inkling holding a splatling–Yuri, judging by his appearance–approached from the left.
"Eight!" Pearl exclaimed, her voice swelling with panic. "You there?"
"Yes," she replied more quietly than she would have liked. "I am."
"Well, what are you waiting for? Swim for it!"
"I think you need to take a break after all of this," Acht remarked. Eight inked a path forward and dove into the trail as they continued, "You know these guys?"
She climbed up the hill and transformed back at its top. "Y-yes."
"Thought so."
"Parallel Canon was supposed to be based off of Agent 4, and Agent 4 alone," explained Marina, "but somewhere along the way, Order pulled in the souls of inklings Eight knew and made them part of Parallel Canon."
Eight turned around in the direction she just came. While Alexis charged after her, a spray of bullets came from her right, indicating Yuri had decided to hang back and try to splat her from afar. Splatlings were like chargers in that they were a massive threat if left alone, making the choice of who to take out first exceedingly clear.
"Agent 4?" Acht repeated. "Like Agent 3?"
Eight had only taken a few steps when the platform shook. Looking over her shoulder, a willowy inkling had landed, pushing the bristles of their brush to the ground. Eight leaped to the ground and threw out another curling bomb, narrowly dodging Yuri's next volley of bullets as she submerged into the ink. A series of high-pitched whirs from somewhere behind her prompted her to believe one of the black drones spat out more Jelletons to chase after her.
"Well, they're not the same person, but yeah." Marina paused to type something into her laptop. "They're both inklings part of the New Squidbeak Splatoon."
Yuri dove into the ink to reposition himself, his drone spewing tiny Jelletons of his own. The break from his constant fire, at least, gave Eight the opportunity to cook another curling bomb, tossing it straight into the swarm before submerging back into her ink. By the time the bomb exploded, taking out the swarm, both inkfish had remerged, prompting Eight to throw out yet another curling bomb, this one bouncing off the walls, as Yuri charged up his next attack.
"Hm…" Acht trailed off, deep in thought. "...Drawing a blank on that."
Yuri released his charge, a flurry of bullets spitting out of his splatling. With the amount of turf he was covering, Eight was forced to alternate forms, inking whatever puddles she could with her dualies before swimming to keep her momentum. She risked a glance back in the direction of the central hill, where the brush wielder she now recognized as Octavia charged towards her, Jelletons by her side. Alexis followed not too far behind, ink bubbling off her black hair.
"You don't remember? Agent 3, the dreaded inkling that terrorized the domes?"
Eight's head snapped back towards Yuri. His round of bullets had finally run out, backing up as he began to charge his splatling again. She had to splat him now. She couldn't think about the consequences. She couldn't hesitate. She could only focus on the task in front of her, just as she had done so, so, so many times before.
"...That sounds right. Sorry, Marina. Most of what I can remember is of you."
Eight didn't have enough ink for a curling bomb, so she simply inked a trail in front of her and dove into it, swimming as fast as she possibly could. But each moment only dragged on longer and longer. She couldn't let her nerves get the better of her, but how could she when the haunting image of her friend stood in front of her?
"It's okay. I'm just glad you remember anything at all."
She closed her eyes and leaped out of the ink, firing her dualies. Maybe if she couldn't see him, it wouldn't be as bad.
Yuri's scream tore into her ears, clawing at her heart. She opened her eyes, and he was gone.
Eight forced herself to take a few more deep breaths, tapping her fingers against her dualies. She couldn't waste any more time. She could make no more mistakes. Not when the enemy was growing closer and closer by the second.
A splat bomb filled with black ink flew towards her, forcing Eight to scramble up to the top of the hill. Down below, Octavia turned into a squid and dove into the ink, the enemy drone and Pearl's beam allowing Eight to track her location. Jelletons trailed behind the inkling, scarlet eyes glowing with a renewed fury.
The safer option would be to run onto the dash track and escape, but Eight knew her best chance at splatting Octavia would be now. She submerged into the ink, taking in whatever ink she could, before cooking a curling bomb to throw at her assailant.
Octavia, of course, was faster. She surged up the wall, transforming into her kid form to begin swinging her brush. Gritting her teeth as the black ink burned into her light brown skin, Eight released the curling bomb early and raised a dualie with her other arm, firing at her face.
The bomb rammed into Octavia's gut, knocking her to the ground, blue ink splattered across her body. Eight bit her tongue and stepped forward to the edge of the platform, pointing her dualies at the inkling below her. Octavia reached for her brush, but that was all she could do before Eight closed her eyes and fired.
She couldn't think about Octavia's scream, and how weak it sounded. She had to keep going.
"H-how many more?" she croaked. Her voice, too, had grown weak.
"Two," Acht replied. "You're at the home stretch."
Two, Eight repeated silently. Just two more.
"Do you want a hug when you get back?" Marina asked, a sadness to her words.
"Wanna hug now?" Pearl offered, hovering in front of her face.
The answer to that question came at a splat bomb landing at Eight's feet.
"Never mind!" Pearl swung back to her side, a pink beam aiming at the inkling swimming through black ink. "Get outta here, Eight!"
Eight was already on the dash track before Pearl could finish speaking, launching herself into the air. The inkling approaching her had decided to turn around, emerging into the form of Alexis as she launched into a sprint. Pearl only began shouting out curses as Alexis leaped into the air, inky fists forming at her sides.
Before long, Alexis and the fists slammed into the ground, a vortex of black rising in their place, splattering on Eight's legs. She screamed as pain exploded in her body, shattering her armor in a flash of red light.
She tumbled onto the central hill, rolling to a stop. She opened her eyes to the sight of yet another wave of Jelletons riding up the hill, her dualies lying on the ground a foot away. Explosions sounded behind her, and another red-and-black pointed at her indicated the final member of Parallel Canon had arrived.
There was no more time to think. She had to move.
In a flash of blue light, a Reefslider appeared by her side. She pushed herself on top of it and kicked its side, prompting it to charge into the crowd. It kicked up ink as it slid across the floor, splatting any Jelleton in its path. Eight began to scan the arena for any sign of Alexis, but once again, she had managed to slip away. Just like she would've done in real life.
She stopped the Reefslider before she could ride off the edge of the platform, exploding and knocking back approaching Jelletons. She threw a curling bomb into the crowd and dove into the comfort of her own ink, focusing all her effort into repairing her armor.
The chime in her ears prompted her to emerge at last with her dualies in hand, dodge-rolling forward to splat the remaining Jelletons. Once the ink settled, though, she spotted a particularly tall inkling rushing towards her, holding a blaster. Roy.
Two more. Only two more.
Roy began to fire the blaster, but Eight dodge-rolled to the side before the shot could explode. Specks of black dotted her shoulder, hissing as they hit her skin. Ink flew from the barrels of her dualies, but Roy stepped out of the way, summoning Jelletons to act as his meat shields.
Eight dodge-rolled again, aiming above the Jelletons. At least being tall made Roy an easy target.
Blue ink pelted his silver helmet, trickling over red eyes, but he still did not falter, whipping around to face Eight and fire his blaster. Eight turned into an octopus and performed a backwards squid roll, the barrier of ink protecting her from the worst of the damage. She found herself forced to transform back as she landed on enemy ink, legs heavy as black stuck to the soles of her shoes.
The Jelletons had gathered in front of Roy, forcing Eight to cook another curling bomb and throw it out before they could reach her. The bomb tore through the path of Jelletons, the force of impact sending them flying, only to slow down as it reached Roy. He fired another shot from his blaster and leaped over the curling bomb, exploding just as he landed on the other side.
Light blue outlined his back, his gait mechanical as he marched towards Eight. Droplets of ink splattered onto her jumper with each shot he fired, her skin alight with pain.
For a moment, she looked at Roy himself, stalwart determination set in his tanned face. He aimed to splat her, and he would follow through.
Eight took another deep breath, sucking in as much air as she could. Right now, the Roy she looked at had been drained of color, a helmet hiding his true face. The Roy she looked at was the Roy Order imagined. He was what Order imagined for everyone.
With one final dodge-roll, she fired at him, a scream clawing its way out of his throat as blue ink burst into the air where he once stood. A red-and-black void swallowed Roy whole, and before she knew it, he was gone.
One more. Then it would be over.
Unfortunately, the one inkling left was also the inkling Eight had been trying to avoid the most.
Eight turned around to the sight of Alexis leaping into the air, the Jelletons accompanying her bellowing low roars that lingered in her ears. The Jelletons crashed to the ground with a splash, leaving behind trails of black as they advanced towards the octoling. Ink from Alexis's Order Shot rained down from above, forcing Eight to make yet another retreat.
She followed the trail of the next curling bomb she sent out to the base of the hill at the edge of the platform, emerging to ink a trail up to the ink rail. Alexis responded by throwing out a bomb of her own, its red frame shining in the light. Eight activated the ink rail and swam inside it to escape the explosion, but not once did her eyes leave the shadow of her friend chasing after her.
Her hearts beat faster and faster as she rode the ink rail. She needed to end this now. She needed to end this now before she broke down completely.
After all, Alexis was far, far closer to her than the other inklings that formed Parallel Canon. If she wanted to defeat her, even if it resulted in her death in the real world, she had to ignore the real Alexis. She had to ignore everything that made them friends. She had to ignore what everyone else thought of her.
She could only see Alexis as Agent 4, enemy of the Octarians, and not anything else.
Eight stopped above Agent 4, the black drone next to her fired a beam towards Eight. She snapped her head towards the blob hanging from the middle of the ink rail, and in the blink of an eye, she aimed her weapon and fired.
And that moment was the moment Eight could finally strike.
She leaped out of the ink rail, light shining down on her back as she pointed her dualies at the inkling down below. She rolled forward and began to barrel towards Agent 4, smashing her thumbs against the triggers. Ink flew from the barrels of her dualies, splattering color onto Agent 4's monochrome form.
Black ink pelted her in return, her armor falling apart in shards of red light. Pearl and Marina screamed in her ear, but Eight's sights were set on Agent 4.
She closed her eyes. It was now or never.
Noise exploded in her ears, and she crashed to the ground, pain aching in every muscle in her body as she tumbled away like a marionette without its strings. The dualies fell from her hands, their destination forever unknown.
Her ears were ringing, pain invading every inch of her mind. All she could do is wait for the moment she splatted.
But that moment never came.
"...ht! Eight!" Warm hands shook her body, her mind finally catching up with her surroundings. "Get up!"
Eight opened her eyes to see a pale golden gaze staring back at her, framed by rosy cheeks.
"...Pearl?" The adrenaline was starting to fade, her limbs filling with cement. "Why aren't you…?"
"Hey, we won." Pearl put her hands on her hips, the puffy coat she wore making her seem much bigger than she actually was. "I wouldn't leave without my bestie, would I?"
They won? Then…
Eight gasped and sat up, her head swimming as dread clawed its way back into her heart. "Alexis!"
"Your roommate?" Pearl paused, her face falling. "Oh, yeah. Your roommate's also Agent 4."
Her breaths drew faster again, tears welling up in her eyes. She splatted Alexis. She splatted Alexis.
"It'll be okay." Pearl patted her head. "Rina's sure of it."
She balled her hands into fists, holding them close to her chest. "B-b-but–"
"Their souls are being stored as data for Parallel Canon," Marina chimed in. "If Parallel Canon appears again, they will, too. I don't think their real-world counterparts even know about this fight."
Eight paused. "They're…fine?" Alexis is fine?
"If death is what you're worried about, then yeah, they're fine," Acht replied. "Great work, by the way."
Pearl grinned. "See, Eight? Nothing to worry about!"
Eight nodded, rising to her feet. Her legs trembled, but she was okay. Everyone would be okay.
Pearl hopped up into the air, shifting back to her drone form. "Now, let's get movin'."
She flew over to the central platform, where a golden light shone. Eight opted to transform into an octopus and swim over to it, black ink receding from her body as she surrounded herself in her own ink. When the worst of the pain was gone, she emerged in front of a locker key and snatched it out of the air.
Light shone through her fist, flickering and waning until it was gone. When she opened her hand, the locker key was no more. But in the back of her mind, she knew it was hers to keep now.
She turned back towards the elevator, glancing over at Pearl.
"You ready?" she asked.
Eight took a deep breath and nodded. "I am."
"Then let's go!"
Pearl shot towards the elevator, shrinking into a pink speck against the grey background. Eight herself turned into an octopus and super-jumped back onto the platform, chasing after Pearl as she flew inside.
And as soon as Eight stepped into the elevator, she collapsed into Acht's arms, strength draining from her body at once.
"Woah." They lifted their arms as Eight's draped across their shoulders, tilting their head towards Marina. "A little help?"
Marina set down her laptop, joined Acht, shifted Eight's weight over to her own body, a long tentacle draping across Eight's back. Only then did she wrap her arms around Marina, hugging her as tightly as she possibly could. Puffy arms grabbed her from behind, squeezing Eight between Pearl and Marina.
At long last, the nightmare was over.
Warmth spread through her body. It felt so, so, so nice. For a moment, it didn't feel like her worst nightmare had come to life. For a moment, it didn't feel like she had spent an eternity fighting for her life. For a moment, it didn't feel like she was trapped in another world with no one but Pearl, Marina, and Acht.
But just for a little while, she could relax.
Marina was the first to let go, and Pearl soon followed. Eight stumbled towards the wall, slumping down to the ground and twisting around to face them. They stared back at her, hand-in-hand.
"Let us know when you're ready," Marina said.
Pearl transformed back into a drone and struck a pose. "Then we'll get right back to the grind!"
Eight smiled. She was truly lucky to have Pearl and Marina as her friends. She didn't know where she would be without them.
"...Could I select a floor?" she eventually asked.
"Yeah." Pearl beamed out her Palette in front of Eight. Three new color chips appeared off to the side, accompanied by a brief description of the floor they led to.
Eight's hand hovered over the color chips before grabbing a Swim Speed Up chip. "This one."
And as she clasped the color chip in her hand, a vision burst to the forefront of her mind.
The record spun around and around without end, the needle bouncing with every rotation it completed. Heavy beats reverberated through the room, through the ground and into her ink.
But that's all they were. Beats. They didn't have any meaning. Not anymore.
The person who gave her the record was gone now. Her only friend was to never be seen again.
Nothing had felt right ever since.
She drifted through the chaos and disarray like a ghost, going through the motions without another thought. When she returned to her room, she simply sat there, staring up at the ceiling before eventually falling asleep.
The only thing she ever tried to do since that day was play the records her friend had lended her. It was her parting gift, but little did Eight know, it would be the final gift she would ever give her. The conversation that day were the final words she would ever say to her.
Her eyes focused on the picture she took with her attached to the record player. But she couldn't bear to look at it for long. It only served as a reminder that she was gone.
She closed her eyes and dropped her head. The world moved on without meaning. What was the point of anything anymore?
No one cared about her anymore, after all.
A/N: Hey, I'm alive! But anyways, here's the chapter responsible for "Scions of Order's" conception. The night Side Order came out, upon encountering Parallel Canon for the first time, I wanted to write a one-shot where the Parallel Canon Eight fights is her friends. Most of this was only written a week ago, but you get the idea. Anyways, as I finished Side Order, more stories came to mind, and well, you get the collection you see today. That will be a year ago soon...how time flies! Though, 2025 is already an achievement in of itself-kind of unreal we're pretty firmly in the mid 2020s now.
So, with half of the chapters now released, what's next for "Scions of Order?" The next short story will be called "Memories of Order," and it, too, will be a single chapter. We'll be going back to Saturday releases again, so you only have to wait six days this time instead of seven. See you then, and Branchwing, out!