Agent 38: In The Making

Chapter 15: Home, At Last

The helicopter drifted towards the distant docks of Inkopolis Square, the sun shining down upon the white-capped waves beneath. A sense of relief washed over her as the wind whisked through her hair, past Alexander and Sarai, who were seated next to eachother on the edge of the metal platform, legs dangling. Three had told her his name, since she forgot it, and then told her her name, which sounded really pretty. She'd smiled and hugged him, whispering a "thank you" into his ear.
     He'd smirked and pulled away. "You have no idea what I went through to get to you. I found Gabriel- wait."
     Three turned back to the broken statue, panic in his eyes. "I left your brother there- Gabriel, do you remember him?"
     Eight stared at him with wide eyes. "Why would you leave my little brother on top of a piece of land that would be destroyed! Heck, it wasn't even LAND! It could've been submerged at any second! Oceans have waves, you know! I've lived underground all my life and I still know that!"
     "Let's hope some people found him and took him to the Square. Maybe we can find him there." Three said calmly.
     "M-maybe..." She said. "So, um... where are you going to go once we get there?"
     "I dunno." He responded. "Mom kicked me out of the house for not coming home for a year- little does she know, I saved the Great Zapfish once upon a time. She said, 'Alexander Liam Squidlink, how dare you leave the house whithout my permission!? If you're old enough to live out here without me, then you're old enough to live alone!' And then she slammed the door in my face."
     Eight smothered a laugh. "That's you're full name?"
     He reddened. "Yes. Why?"
     "I don't mean to make fun of your name, but..." She giggled. "Squidlink? Where does that come from?"
     Three crossed his legs and looked out to sea. "My father. I got it from him. When he died, Mother was furious, so I stayed away from her. That's mostly why she was mad. But I have a better life now."
     "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"
     "It's fine." He muttered.
     They stayed silent for a long moment until Marina jumped down to the platform.
     "Hey, guys," She said nervously, eyeing Agent 3. "So, Pearl and I have decided that we should let you guys stay at our place for a while, since Eight doesn't have a house. You can stay too, Agent 3, if you don't have a place to stay."
     "Oh, um..." He looked awkward, as if he wasn't used to people offering him something, especially something so big. "Thanks. I'll think about it."
     Eight stood up and gave Marina and hug. "Thank you for helping me through all that. It's nice to know I already have friends."
     Marina smiled. "No problem, darlin'."
     She sat back down next to Three, and she heard small footsteps as Pearl jumped down.
     "Okay, be real with me Pearlie..." She heard Marina mumble under her breath. Eight strained her ears to listen. "They look so cute together, don't they?"
     Both Three and Eight heard this and swiveled their heads to stare at them. Pearl rolled her eyes and Marina quickly scrambled back up the ladder to the heli, muttering something that sounded like, "I'm gonna go check on the Cap'n."
     She glanced at Three. In all truth, it was hard to ignore how handsome he was. He had a chiseled jawline, orange eyes that sparkled like mini fireballs in the sun, and his body... She probably shouldn't think about it too much. Eight had just met the Inkling, and he seemed kind, in a guarded, protective way that suggested he was the type of person that hid his feelings from everyone and did things without any objection if he thought it important. What she looked for in a person was personality, but if he was good-looking too... that made it better.
     What am I thinking? Her mind yelled. You just met him! And he's an Inkling! Society would never allow it!
     She stared back out to sea. The docks were almost right beneath them. Eight pulled out the last mem cake, wondering. Should she eat it now? What if she remembered something awful? What if the last piece of the puzzle was a massacre that she committed? Eight inspected it with trembling hands before tucking it back into her pocket.
     Not yet, She decided. I'm not ready.
     "When we get to the Square, I'm going to see if I can find Agent 4. Maybe he can help us. Would you wanna play some Turf?" Three asked, turning to her with red-dusted cheeks.
     She smiled. "Yes, of course! I've been waiting all my life to play Turf War!"
     He grinned, just a little. "We can make that happen."
     The metal platform touched down against the wooden docks. Eight stepped off, quickly before the helicopter itself landed. Three scrambled off and stood next to her, cape waving around from the wind the chopper made. Marina, Cuttlefish, and Pearl stepped out, and they all had smiles on their faces.
     "Uh oh." Three muttered sarcastically. "What're you all smiling for?"
     Pearl spoke first. "Well, Cuttlefish told us that with all the money his grandkids are making,"
     "That they can rent out an apartment for you both, since they welcome all Agents, and you two can stay there until you get back up on your feet." Marina finished. Eight and Three glanced at eachother, alarmed. Living together? In the same house? In a small apartment?
     How do they not see that this is a terrible idea? She thought. Unless... they're purposely putting us together so we can get used to eachother? No, they wouldn't do that.
     Right?
     She didn't know.

*Around an hour or two later...*
     Agent 8, Agent 3, Agent 4, Callie, Marie and Cuttlefish were all gathered at Octo Canyon, waiting for Marina and Pearl to show up. She kept getting untrustworthy looks from Callie and Marie, which made her feel rather unwelcome, to say the least. Agent 3 sat on her left, while optimistic Agent 4 sat on her right. She scooted a tad bit closer to Three and his strength and warmth. It was weird to say, but she felt safer around him, even though he'd tried to kill her only a few hours earlier.
     "So, Agent 8." Marie started. Eight tensed. "We would all like to thank you for saving Inkopolis. And from what I heard, you really put Agent 3 over there in his place. Good job."
     Eight cracked a smile while Three just looked mostly uncomfortable. Callie giggled. "Come on, Three! Loosen up!"
     He touched the scar that slashed from just above his right eyebrow to just below his right eye and sighed. She felt a pang of guilt in her stomach.
     "You both have no idea what she went through to put me in 'my place'." He growled.
     "No idea what I went through." Three added softly under his breath. No one else heard this, but now she just felt worried.
     "Anyway," Eight said, trying to change the subject. "Why are we all gathered here?"
     "Oh, right." Marie pulled out a map and Callie got up and carried over a few bottles of ink. Eight politely refused hers and told the others that she drank water, and they all looked at her like she was crazy. "So, we've heard of a gang of Octarians that have come to the surface and have gone around finding Inklings alone, and those Inklings haven't been seen since. They call themselves 'The Purifiers'."
     Everyone but Three and Four suddenly swiveled their heads towards her.
     "Do you know anything about this?" Marie asked calmly, voice cold and firm.
     Cuttlefish stepped in. "Agent 8 has amnesia. She doesn't remember anything about her past. Now, lay off."
     Marie glared at him while Callie only elbowed Marie in the ribs.
     "We need to find a way to stop them." Said Callie. "And we know where they're headquarters is."
     "So, we've devised a plan." Marie said. "Agent 4 and I will go out and patrol the area while Agent 8 and Agent 3 take a day or two to settle into the apartment and recover from the big battle you two just had."
     "But that's unreasonable." Three said. "Cod knows what's happening to all those Inklings, they could be dead by now! We need all the Agents out in the field, finding out whatever we can and saving those people!"
     "My decision is final, Agent 3." Marie said calmly, eyes narrowed. "You both need at least a day to get better. You two are both our best Agents, no offense Four, and even though we need you out there, we can't."
     "I'm fine!" Three cried. "Eight might need some time, but I'm ready to go! Listen, I-"
     "Three, you just got mind-controlled by a telephone and got your butt whooped by Agent 8!" Marie yelled. "You need time to get better!"
     "Three, just agree already and let's get this over with." Callie tried.
     "But I'm good to go right now-!"
     "Three, just let it go! We all think it's best that you both get some rest." Four chimed in. "Just get it done and over wi-"
     Eight slammed her hands down on the table. "ENOUGH!"
     Everyone turned to stare at her. "Marie's decision is final. Three and I will take a day to recover and then get back out onto the field while Four and Two go and find out more about this gang, got it?" Eight said, nothing but authority in her voice.
     Everyone nodded, even Agent 3.
     "Good." She finished.
     Marie smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Three let out a furious groan and stormed off. She winced.
     "Is he always like this?" She asked quietly.
     "Not since his father passed away, but that was two years ago. He was always sort of serious and tough, but it got worse after he defeated Octavio." Callie whispered.
     Marie pulled out some keys and handed them to Eight. "Here are the keys to your apartment."

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
School starts in 4 days, so the rate of when the chapters come out might be kind of slow, but I'll definitely keep putting them out there.
Word count: 1743