Chapter 2:

(And once unto the breach we go! Okay, so we should start things off with the first mission, all that, now let's get the ball rolling!)

(Flashback to 5 years ago)

Eight was adjusting to life on the surface. There were many things that proved to be a challenge for the young Octoling, but it was mostly thanks Three, Pearl and Marina that he was able to adjust. Eight couldn't speak yet, so he had to constantly signal to certain things. They were getting some new clothes for him to wear. Marina pulled over a jersey that she thought Eight would like, "How about this one? It looks pretty cool, right?" Eight thought about it for a moment, but when he visualized himself wearing the jersey, he couldn't necessarily picture it.

Eight pointed at the shirt and then toward the store. Marina tried to think about what he was asking, "Are…you asking where I got the shirt?" She asked, Eight nodded, smiling.

"Here, follow me. I'm sure you'll find something you like." She explained, seeing Three in the shoe section and Pearl looking for some head accessories. Eight looked a little skittish, the girls were going out of their way to help him get some new clothes.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Marina asked, Eight was unsure of what to look for.

He wanted to wear something that felt less militaristic and more laid back.

Marina could see it, "Okay, I think I get it. Here, what do you think of this one?" Marina had held up a red long sleeve t-shirt. It was Cuttlegear Brand. Oddly enough, the shirt felt like it spoke to Eight. He could see himself wearing something like this. It felt comfortable and the design was relatively simple, but telling. Marina chuckled, "Do we have a winner?" Eight seemed unsure, and shrugged. He didn't want the clothes to be too expensive, "Hey, don't worry about the price. Once you get into Turf Wars, you should have enough." Marina said. Eight nodded, smiling brightly. "Yo, Eight, me and Three managed to find some things you'd probably like!"

(End of flashback)

"All right, hit the button to the top floor already." Pearl demanded Acht. Acht adjusted her headphones, "Love to, but this elevator only goes up one floor at a time." She explained to them. Eight looked surprised, "Whaaat?! How come?! You mean I gotta be patient?" Pearl said, upset and annoyed. "I'm in a hurry myself. But we play what we're dealt. We'll just have to take this a little at a time." Acht explained, it wasn't the most expedient way, but it was a way.

Eight looked on, "Acht, is there anything I need to do on this floor to gain acceptance for the next?" He asked her.

"We're almost at the next floor. I'll tell you guys as we go. You two ready?" Acht asked.

Eight nodded, solemnly. "Heck yeah! We were born ready, right, Eight?" Pearl asked. "Agreed."

Eight had said, the elevator stopping.

When the two of them walked out, they stared into a huge black void before being consumed by computer code and white light.

"Wh-What the…?" Pearl asked, in absolute shock. "This was…just like my dream…" Eight remembered dreaming about when he was heading home.

"You guys need a sec to take it in?" Acht asked, worried about the two. "S-Sorry…" Eight apologized, seeing that the Dualies had materialized out of thin air.

"Anyways, we're up to 1F. It's the floor right above the foyer. Each floor has an objective you need to clear. Take care of that and you can go up to another floor." Acht explained, pointing from the elevator. "See that black orb looking thing. It's like a portal. Your objective here will be to destroy it."

Eight looked over, and saw a circular platform on the floor. Acht explained that the color chip installed in the Palette from before amplified the damage output from a distance.

Eight took a few distant steps away from the practice target and shot a few. "Whoa…Acht, that's so cool!" Pearl said, "Okay, I think I'm readiness:" Eight, "Uh, you mean you're ready, right?" Acht asked.

"Yeah, don't mind Eight if he messes up on a word." Pearl said, "I-I'm ready!" Eight said, preparing himself for whatever could be here.

"Okay, that little platform'll open up with a cage that'll take you to the next part of the building." Acht pointed at the platform.

Eight nodded, walking up to the platform, the cage Acht mentioned had opened up and started floating towards the other platform.

"Pearl, get ready for the drop." Eight said, seeing the line on the floor of the cage, "On it! Grab in, Eight!" The cage dropped Eight down and grabbed onto Pearl. "Be warned. Jelletons are about to come out of that portal. Watch yourself!" Acht said.

Pearl looked excited, "That's what we're here to bust up!" She said,

"If they think they can take ME on, they are sorely mistaken!" Eight said, shooting at the emerging Jelletons.

Eight dodged an attack from and tried to the reach the speed booster, "All right, now let's blow up the portal!" Pearl said, Eight fired at the portal, with the coral pink ink surrounding it and growing bigger. Just as it was about bring out more Jelletons, the portal burst in the colored ink.

"Okay, we're clear! Nice warmup, you guys." Acht had said.

(Later back in the elevator)

Pearl laughed at the successful mission. "I knew Eight had it in the bag!" She said, Acht folding her arms. "Yeah, that's was solid work. You look like you get the gist of the color chips." She surmised, Eight nodded his head, though he looked like he was lost in thought.

"There are different kinds of color chips. You get one every time you head to a new floor. Here—I'll show you." Acht said, now explaining the inns and outs of how the floor worked, and accessed some sort of holographic display. "What you're seeing is the next floor and details on the color chip you'll get there." Acht noted that the chip collected here was based around Poison Ink. "I'd tell you what it does, but's it's all written there already." Acht joked.

"It's cool. No teacher like experience! Am I right, Eight?" Pearl looked to her friend, who seemed lost in thought, staring down at every detail on display. "Eight?" She tried to bring him back to reality. He gasped when he realized how much he was staring at the screen. "A-Apologies. I was just thinking about somethings…s-something." Eight corrected himself.

"Do you do that often?" Acht asked, "Yeah, Eight kinda has a bit of trouble with the language. Before, he…didn't really talk." Pearl explained.

"Oh. That's rough, buddy." Acht said. Eight waved his hand, brushing it off. To him, it was no real struggle. Being able to talk now was enough not to complain.

"The light before we opened the door, we have to clear floors to…advance, I think is the word. It reminds me too much of…" Eight thought this place reminded him of from five years ago. "Not to mention, Acht was clearly…" Eight subsided his thoughts and accepted the mission on the next floor. "Let's get moving. We need to find Marina." Eight said, accessing the mission of the next floor.

The elevator door had opened and once again greeted the three with the illuminating light of computer code. "Wanna test out the poison ink?" Acht asked. Eight shot a few at the test dummy, seeing that the poison effect was truly there. "This should be useful." Eight nodded. "Once more unto the beach, Pearl?" Eight said.

"Haha! Le's do this, yo!" Pearl said, excitedly.

Acht gave a questioning look, "Aren't you gonna correct—"

Pearl gave a look that said, "We're not talking about this."

Eight surveyed the platform, seeing tons of crates and a couple boost pads. The objective was to take down three portals this time. "Pearl, get ready to drop!" Eight said, the cage dropping the Octoling.

"Okay, let's cover the ground." Eight's strategy was to access the special that came with the Dualies, in doing so, the Jelletons will be slowed down and poisoned by the ink, making them easier to defeat.

"You creatures are hardly challenge!" Eight said, shooting a few Jelletons to reach the first portal. "The first portal's down! Let's get this fish, Eight!" Pearl said, excitedly, seeing her friend's hair light up.

Eight shot the coming Jelletons on his way to the next portal, before heading into the next phase of his strategy.

"A Reefslider?!" Pearl said, seeing Eight ride it across before its inevitable detonation! "Okay, we're halfway through." Eight said, calmly, finishing the second portal off with a few shots of the Dualies. Eight used the dodge roll ability to push himself off the platform, turning to Octo-Form and swimming through the ink, "One more push should end this quickly." Eight said, making it to the boost pad, launching himself into the air. "You're seriously on top of this, Eight!" Acht thought it was going to be difficult to guide the Octoling through this, but it seems likely that Eight has handled worse.

Eight had completed this floor, walking back victoriously. "Attempting to defeat me was foolhardy." Eight simply said, in his levelheaded tone.

"Whoa…Eight, that was a sick line!" Pearl said, "I'm honestly surprised he got every word right." Acht said. "I…I did?" Eight said, feeling admonished for sounding cool.

(Later)

"You two are handling this like pros. Maybe you do have what it takes to reach the top." Acht said, impressed by how.

Eight and Pearl looked at her, "I think both of us wanted to ask about that. How come you know so much about this place, Acht?" Pearl asked, Acht brushed her hair off of her glasses. "Fair question. Everything I'm telling you, I'm pulling from the elevator console." She explained, "I learned the trick from the same place Marina did. Though I won't blame you for being skeptical."

Pearl spun around, "For real?! I guess it's true that Marina's a turbo nerd when it comes to machines." She said, Eight cringing at comment. "If you went to the same school, I'm not surprised you can do the same stuff." Eight thought about that comment and remembered everything he learned about Marina's life before Off The Hook.

"Well…she was a few ranks above me. I wouldn't put myself quite in her league." Acht said, before showing the next display. "By the way, here's your next chip." Acht pointed to the chip, seeing that it was a different color than the two red ones they've seen to this point. This chip was yellow. The description read as followed:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lucky Bomb

None 30%

•-•-•-•-•

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Increases the chances of enemies dropping Lucky Bombs. Lucky Bombs explode from the closest enemy to the farthest.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Lucky Bomb? Lucky for who?!" Acht explains that it's a drop when Jelletons are defeated, "Sounds great. I'm always wishing a bomb would should up to blow away anyone harassing me!" Pearl said. Eight and Acht looked at her in cringe, "You DO realize I'm your bodyguard, normally, right, Pearl?" Eight said.

"O-Okay, maybe we should save this discussion for later. Let's move on." Acht said. When Eight added the chip to the Palette, he could see that there his pale-pink hair slighting tinted itself orange. Eight continued to lose himself in thought about this whole situation. "Eight? You okay, you're zoning out again, yo." Pearl asked. Eight took a deep breath, "I…apologies. It's just…this place is…strangely to me." Eight messed up a few of his words, "But it's…also familiar." Eight kept going back to the memories of Deepsea Metro, even when he didn't find those memories pleasant.

"Ohhhh…I get it, now. You gonna be okay?" Pearl asked, Eight solemnly nodded and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I shall be fine." Eight said.

This place—whatever it was—the Octoling was leaning toward it being a training facility.

But what exactly would he be training here for, and what exactly awaits Pearl, Acht and him when they reach the top?

(Okay, we're at the end! I hope u guys liked the chapter, I wanted to write Acht's dynamic with the gremlin and the cinnamon roll that's acts like a stone wall. Guess which one is which, haha. As for the flashback with Marina, I just wanted to try and get some ideas on what HER relationship with Eight could be, it's not romantic, he has feelings for someone else.

Speaking of Marina, I have it in my head she'd sound like Rihanna's voice from Home

Three's voice will be revealed soon

Anyways, I hope u guys had fun! Stay strong and awesome! Happy Flag Day!)

Galatians 5:1 KJV

1.Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.