Chapter Text
Her whole body was in pain.
Needless to say, she had had one hell of a morning. Being thrown from perilous situation to perilous situation, with hardly a moment to catch her breath, only to be thrown into another, even more perilous situation in which she currently found herself. Her hearts pounded in her ears as all of her muscles cried out in unison, begging her to stop. Her arms, beaten and burned, desperately clung to her weapon. Her back, scarred and stained, carried the burden of her borrowed ink tank, making her painfully aware of each time the ink inside sloshed around. Her legs, weary and wavering, kept her firmly planted on the ride rail beneath her, barely supporting her weight.
But despite everything, she pushes onward. Everyone is counting on me. She knew she had no choice. No matter how loudly her body screamed at her, she had to do this.
"15 seconds. You've got two left, Eight." Marina's voice filtered through Eight's earpiece.
Eight quickly scanned the side of the statue for the remaining bombs, one above and ahead of her, the other far below. She knew she couldn't get both without doing something risky. Fortunately for Eight, her brain had been trained to think quickly in situations just like this. Even if she couldn't remember that training, Eight knew just what to do. She produced a splat bomb from her ink tank as she approached the final hyperbombs.
"Five"
The splat bomb rolled out of Eight's hand,
"Four"
Eight straightened her legs, leaping from the ride rail,
"Three"
Eight swung her Octoshot towards the hyperbomb, a barrage of ink leaving the barrel,
"Two"
The distinct sound of a splat bomb detonating was shortly followed by the resounding thud of a hyperbomb doing the same,
"One"
~~~ Five minutes earlier ~~~
Eight stared at the statue before her. She hadn't understood most of what Tartar had said, but she knew enough Inklish to know what his intentions were.
She looked over at the horizon. The rising sun was just beginning to coat the distant city in its light. She had worked so hard to get here, she wasn't about to let it all be destroyed without putting up a fight.
But what could she do? She was just one octoling against a world ending threat.
She found herself staring at Agent 3. She felt a pang of guilt in her chest. They had been unconscious since Eight knocked the sanitized ink off their face, which unfortunately also took a decent chunk of skin with it. Cap'n Cuttlefish was doing what he could to stabilize them with the first aid kit from the helicopter, their yellow ink staining his hands and track suit.
"Eight." Marina's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked at the older octoling, her eyes held a look of calculated determination. She had a plan.
"The statue is using the sunlight to charge its cannon," she continued in their native tongue, "we need to cover the entire thing with ink to stop it. My hyperbombs can coat it fully but they need to be detonated manually. I need you to detonate them before it's done charging. I'll start with five on the chest. Then every 30 seconds I'll drop five more on the neck, back, and right arm. After two minutes I'll drop ten on the head. You need to detonate all of them in less than 3 minutes. Can you do this?"
Eight gave her a nod as she shrugged her ink tank off her shoulders. She walked over to where Three laid on the platform, picking up their ink tank. A look of confusion crept onto Marina's face as she watched Eight secure the borrowed tank to her back.
"Their tank doesn't have a limiter on it." Eight spoke as the tank rapidly filled with magenta ink. "I can't have anything holding me back if we're gonna pull this off."
Marina gave her an understanding nod as Eight stepped to the edge of the platform. She shifted into her octopus form and took off towards the statue. Over the sound of air rushing around her, she was able to make out one last shout from Marina.
"Good luck, Eight!"
~~~~~~
Eight watched the final bomb expand before detonating with a resounding thud as gravity regained its hold in her. She couldn't help but smile as she fell, knowing that her job was done. Now her friends could finish what she started.
Her relief was interrupted by her landing on a platform. Now with a solid surface beneath her, she quickly super jumped back to where the others were waiting.
Eight skids to a stop on the helicopter platform, her legs wobbling as she struggles to stay upright. She feels a hand on her shoulder and looks up to see Pearl smiling at her. Pearl's mantle glows intensely as she says something to Eight, but she can't hear it over the ringing in her ears.
Eight feels her eyelids grow heavy as Pearl turns to face the statue. Her fight to remain conscious is soon interrupted by a long drawn out noise. Even without all her memories, Eight can confidently say she has never heard a louder noise in her life.
Eight isn't sure when the noise ends. After a certain point the only thing she can hear is the ringing in her ears, a result of her proximity to both the numerous hyperbomb detonations and whatever uncodly shriek Pearl had managed to pull from The Abyss. She only realized it was over when she saw Marina tackle Pearl into a tight hug, showering the inkling in her affection.
Eight couldn't help but smile at the sight, feeling relieved that it was over, despite the incessant ringing. She pulled her eyes away from the cuddle pile in front of her to look out over what remained on the statue. A large hole was blown all the way through it, letting her see out the other side, as the statue slowly began to sink beneath the waves.
She turned back to Pearl and Marina, only to see them looking up. Following their gaze, she found Cap'n Cuttlefish. He seemed to be saying something. Damn this ringing. Whatever he said must have been important, as Marina quickly got off of Pearl, offering the short inkling a hand up. The two hurriedly climbed the ladder back into the helicopter, with Eight following close behind.
When Eight entered the helicopter, she watched Marina relay a message from the Cap'n to the pilot. She turned around, finding herself enthralled by the sunrise. She basked in its light as she felt its warmth wash over her. For a moment it was the only thing she was aware of, no ocean beneath her, no statue crumbling, no obnoxious ringing. Just the sun's light warming her pale skin.
A hand on her shoulder pulled her from her thoughts. She turned to see Marina standing next to her, smiling as she spoke. Eight frowned, pointing to her ears and making a slashing motion in front of her neck. Marina gave her an understanding nod and sat down in one of the seats that lined the interior of the helicopter. She motioned for Eight to join her.
Eight happily sat next to Marina, letting out a long sigh as she did. She closed her eyes, finally feeling the adrenaline leave her system. She leaned against Marina, the exhaustion of the morning washing over her. Feeling the reassuring presence of the older octoling, Eight let out a content purr as she drifted off to sleep.
~~~~~~
Marie stood there, parasol in hand, watching as the sun rose over Octo Canyon. Over the past two months she often found herself awake before the sun came up. She never intended to, in fact she loathed the idea of being awake at an hour with only one digit, instead her newfound status as an early riser could be attributed to her brain's inability to think of anything other than her family.
While it had been about a month since she helped Agent 4 rescue her cousin, both her grandfather and Autumn were still missing. She hadn't heard anything from either of them in well over three months, and this wouldn't be the first time the thought of them being hurt, or worse, had crossed her mind.
Marie's ear twitched. Did someone just… scream? She turned her gaze south towards Inkopolis Bay. The sound was faint at this distance but she was still able to pick it up. She tried to figure out the cause of the sound but she found herself coming to the same conclusion each time.
Someone had screamed in Inkopolis Bay, and the sound was much louder than any sound an inkling, or any other species for that matter, should be capable of making.
She was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of someone exiting the sewer grate, followed by footsteps. She recognized the cadence in a heartbeat, though it was hard for her not to, since she had practically lived her entire life with Callie.
She turned to face her cousin as she approached, doing her best to match Callie's beaming smile.
"Well, someone's up early." Callie joked as she closed the distance between the two squids.
Marie gave a half hearted shrug. "Just wanted to watch the sunrise." She could feel her cousin's eyes looking her over as she turned back towards the canyon.
Callie couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, that's bullshit and we both know it." She walked up to her cousin, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Something's clearly bothering you. You can talk to me if you want." She gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I'm here for you. Always have been."
Marie let out a sigh as her shoulders slumped. "I just can't stop worrying about Gramps and Autumn. I'm even starting to lose sleep over it." She turned back to face her cousin as she continued. "They were just going out on a survey mission. They shouldn't have been gone for more than a month. But we haven't heard anything from them in over 3 months. Something had to have happened to them."
"Hey, I get it. I'm worried about them too." Callie grabbed Marie's free hand. "But you worry too much. They can take care of themselves. I mean, Autumn took on the whole Octarian army by themself and came out with hardly a scratch. And Gramps has survived this long, he's tougher than he looks. Honestly at this point I think the only thing that could take him out before his time would have to be, like, a world ending threat or something." A smile crept onto Callie's face. "Besides, if you keep worrying, at this rate you'll look like Gramps by the time you're 25."
"Point taken, Cal." Marie lifted her hand to her mouth as she let out a long yawn.
"Damn, you must really be losing sleep over this."
"Did I not say I was?"
Callie paused for a moment. "Y'know what, how about you take the day off. I'll help Thalia with her patrol."
Marie raised an eyebrow. "Are sure you're gonna be okay?"
Callie placed her hands on her hips as she spoke. "What did I literally just tell you about worrying?"
Marie let out a sigh. "Yeah, you're right. I definitely need a day off."
"Want me to make you some tea before Thalia gets here?"
"I'd like that." Marie smiled as she pulled the other inkling into a hug. "Thanks Cal. You're the best."
"Of course. Anything for you cuz." She gave Marie a quick squeeze before she pulled out of the hug and walked back towards the cabin.
Despite the prior conversation, Marie found herself looking back towards the bay. A thought had begun to form in her head ever since she heard that scream. While her conversation with Callie had distracted her from its presence, it had not dismissed the thought entirely. She couldn't help but shudder at the possibility.
Please be okay, you two.
~~~~~~
Eight’s body was stiff as she woke from her nap. She had slept sitting upright, something she had gotten used to doing during her time in the metro. She stretched her arms over her head as she let out a small yawn. She walked over to the window, taking in the view before her.
They were above a city, which she assumed was Inkopolis, the sun no longer obscured by the horizon. The buildings below them were varied in their construction, some made mostly of brick with evenly spaced windows across their sides, others had walls that seemed to consist exclusively of glass. Their heights were as varied as their appearances. While most of them sat well below the helicopter, their roofs clearly visible, there were some that continued to stretch well above where they hovered, though all of these buildings appeared to be glass sided ones.
It took Eight a moment of taking in the cityscape for her to notice that the helicopter was no longer moving forward, but instead was slowly descending. She glanced down, seeing that there was another building directly under them. A number of figures stood on the roof of the building. The way they stood made it seem like they were waiting for something.
A hand on her shoulder pulled Eight out of her thoughts. She looked over at the owner of the hand, seeing Marina giving her a gentle smile. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired. And kinda sore. Otherwise I think I'm fine, for the most part." Eight turned back towards the window. "It feels so… different up here."
Marina gives Eight's shoulder a gentle squeeze, letting the younger octoling continue.
"Like, everything I see, it's not just a projection on a screen. It's a place I can go to and see and touch and just… be there and… just, exist physically in the same space." She stops to collect her thoughts. "It's… a little overwhelming, to be honest."
Marina nods in understanding. "I get it. I felt the same way when I made it here. It took me a bit to get used to that feeling. But having Pearl there with me made it easier."
Eight followed Marina's gaze as she looked over to where the inkling in question was seated. She stared at the screen of her phone, a bored expression plastered on her face. Upon noticing the two octolings looking at her, she smiled at them and gave a small wave, a light blush dusting her cheeks as she looked at her girlfriend. Marina responded with a smile of her own, accompanied by a soft giggle, which caused Pearl's cheeks to turn a more vibrant shade of pink.
Marina turned back to face Eight, her cheeks beginning to take on a teal hue of their own. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that you don't have to figure this out on your own. You have people who care about you and will help if you need it, so don't hesitate to ask, okay?"
"Okay." Eight nods.
The helicopter shifts suddenly as it finally lands after its slow descent. Eight would have fallen over, were it not for Marina's hand still on her shoulder. Marina walks over to where Agent Three is laying, picking up their unconscious form as the door to the helicopter is slid open. Marina passes Three off to one of the people from outside the vehicle.
Cap'n Cuttlefish begins to talk with one of the people Eight doesn't recognize. She tries to follow their conversation, but is quickly reminded how exhausted she is. Must not have been a long nap. She watches from the helicopter as Three is rushed off to somewhere inside the building.
Marina approaches Eight once more. "We should have you looked at while we're here, just to be safe." Eight gives only a nod in response, feeling a fresh wave of exhaustion threaten to pull her from the conscious world.
Eight's mind is too tired to process the events of the day beyond this point. She can vaguely remember being taken to a room within the building (which she had learned is called a hospital) and getting the numerous ink burns across her body properly treated.
She now found herself staring up at the ceiling of the room she currently shares with Three, who had yet to wake up. Eight, on the other hand, had drifted in and out of consciousness multiple times, each time she awoke a different group of people where present in the room, some she recognized others she didn't. Currently, the dark room was occupied by herself, Agent Three, and another inkling. While this other inkling had been present every time Eight could remember being awake, she wasn't sure of who they were.
Eight let out a silent yawn, feeling sleep call to her once more. No point fighting it. She thought as her eyelids grew heavy. At least the bed is comfortable.
~~~~~~
Thalia emerged from the sewer grate that led to Octo Canyon, seeing Marie standing in her usual spot.
"Good morning, cutie." Thalia walked over, her signature shit-eating grin plastered on her face.
Marie pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "I'm really not in the mood to deal with your bullshit today, Thalia."
"Hey, no worries." She says as a smaller, less shit-eating smile takes over her face. "You wanna talk about it?"
"Not really."
"Sounds good. Just let me know where I'm patrolling and I'll go get myself ready."
"You'll have to talk to Cal about that. She offered to take over so I could take the day off. To be honest I really need it."
"Yeah I can kinda see it. You're looking a little rough around the edges."
"What's that sup-"
"MARIE!"
The two inklings froze as they heard Callie shout from inside the cabin. A moment later the door was thrown open as Callie stepped outside, a complex mix of emotions on her face.
"I just got a message from Gramps. Autumn's in the hospital."
Before Thalia can remember whose names those are, her thoughts are interrupted by the sounds of Marie's parasol clattering to the ground. Thalia looks over at the older inkling, only to see her sprinting towards the sewer grate.