Agent 38: In The Making

Chapter 18: Awkward...!

Eight realized what she'd said when Aaron gasped, leaned forward, and gave her a surprised smile. She gave him a wide-eyed glare, then Three stood up, grabbed the Shwaffle, and pulled out the keys, heading in the direction of the apartment. She groaned lightly and Four patted her on the shoulder.
     "He'll get over it." He said. "He's just... never really been acknowledged by anyone before."
     "Didn't you just meet him?" Eight asked. "How would you know?"
     "You know I was his friend before Agenthood, right?" Aaron asked, before thoughtfully adding, "Though I have to admit, I've never seen him this... I dunno, light." He turned his gaze to Eight. "He hasn't smiled in around 4 years. You changed that."
     "What!?" She said, sensing where this coversation was going. "No, no, there's no way."
     "Yes, there is a way!" Four countered. "You made this man smile for the first time in years! He likes you, I can tell."
     Her cheeks turned a deep pomegranate red. "N-no, he doesn't!"
     He put his hand on her shoulder. "Yes, yes he does."
     "But-" She started, then Agent 4 put his finger on her lips.
     "Shush." He said. "I know it when I see it. Go to him!" His voice dropped to a whisper. "Alexander hasn't ever had anyone really love him after 5 years old. That's when his father died. Then, his mother stopped being caring and just turned somewhat evil, and then he had no one else to take care of or love him. He never exactly made friends with anyone, fear of getting attached, so now he's lonely. And YOU changed that. So I say, go to your sad, lonely boyfriend and cheer him up!"
     Eight giggled. "Alright, fine, I will. But only because your uplifting attitude is so dang contagious! And he's not my boyfriend!" She cried as she stood up and walked towards the apartment.
     "Go get 'em, tigerfish!" Eight heard Aaron yell after her.
     When she got to the apartment around 10 minutes later, the door was locked, but the keys were in the hole. That was suspicious. Eight grabbed them and twisted them, and the door opened to an Agent 3 sleeping on the couch. She set down the Shwaffle on the counter and glanced at him with a smile. He looked so peaceful and kind when he slept, not like the tough guy facade when he was awake.
     I promise on my life, Three, She thought. I won't ever hurt you, physically nor emotionally, even if it means I have to distance myself.
     She walked into the kitchen and found Marie opening the fridge. She turned to her with a sly smile.
     "You're late." Said the green Squid Sister. She glanced at Three. "Hmm. Maybe you will be a benefit for him. It looks like to me... that he likes you a lot if he was ok with living with you."
     "We've known eachother for a day!" She said in a panicked whisper. "Besides, it would never be allowed!"
     Marie rolled her eyes and put her hands on Eight's shoulders. "It doesn't have to be allowed. It just has to be love." She nodded at two Hero Armor outfits that were laying on the couch beside Three. "Put those on. You two are on patrol at Beaker's Depot."
     Eight nodded as Marie left the apartment with a graceful wave. She walked towards Three and shook his shoulder lightly. He instanly awoke, a somewhat panicked look on his face. He masked it quickly, stood up, and stretched. "What is it."
     "We're on patrol at Beaker's Depot." Eight responded, pointing at the clothes. "Marie came and dropped these off."
     "K." He grabbed his set of clothes, along with the cape, and headed into the room to get changed. Once he was done, she grabbed her rubbery clothes and closed the door to the room behind her, putting on the tight leather clothing. She slipped on the heels and walked out, Inkbrush in hand. Eight closed the door and had a dizzying rush of deja vu when she saw Three.
     He wore the exact same thing he had worn when they fought, and bore the exact same weapon: His Hero Shot. He beckoned for her to come as he walked out the front door and she locked it once she was out. As they walked towards the grate to Octo Canyon, she was debating whether to break the silence or not. She chose not to, for fear of angering Agent 3 even more. They slipped into the grate when no one was looking and popped back out into Octo Canyon. She jumped when she saw DJ Octavio sitting in a snowglobe.
     "Holy mother of carp-" Eight said. "Is that-?"
     Three walked over and knocked on the glass, and Octavio gripped his wasabi string things tighter. "Hey, Octavio. Did Agent 4 kick your butt real good, or do you still need a beating from me?"
     "Lemme out of 'dis snowglobe and I'll show you how to kick someone's butt!" Octavio yelled. Then he spotted Eight, and a sly smile creased his face as she strutted next to Three.
     "Octavio." She said neutrally.
     "Commander Sarai, so good to see you again." The octopus said bitterly. "Say, why did you join these dimwits? Surely they would never have accepted you if they knew what you've done."
     Her eyes narrowed to slits as she pressed her hands to the cold glass. "I don't remember much about my past, and I don't want to. I'm just happy I'm no longer serving your disgusting empire. Now leave me alone and go back to rotting."
     Eight turned back to Three, who was gawking at her in surprise. She stormed past him, now in a bad mood, and asked where the launchpad to the Depot was. When he pointed to it, Eight grabbed his wrist and ran towards the launchpad, turning into her octopus form to launch. Three quickly did the same and they were thrown into the sky with unexpected force. Three smiled at her once he was back in Inkling form, and she followed to make sure it was a safe landing, gripping her Inkbrush tightly. Eight's legs gave out beneath her when she landed, earning a "You good?" From Three. She waved him off and stood up, glancing around the area.
     Suddenly, he moved closer to her and patted the zipper on her chest. "There's a com on this thing, we can use that to communicate." He tapped his headphones. She nodded, blush dusting her cheeks as she gazed into his fiery orange eyes. He seemed to notice this and stepped back, eyes locked for a second before he turned and started walking. "You go left, I go right?"
     "Sure." Eight mumbled. They were only a few steps away from each other when a circle of eight Octolings jumped in, surrounding them. Eight backed into Three and clutched her Inkbrush, printing a fierce glare on her face and narrowing her eyes to slits.
     She noticed none of the Octolings had the goggles on, and they were all wearing Inky Black Rider jackets. There were two words woven onto each jacket: "The Purifiers". They also wore masks, so she couldn't tell who they were.
     Her eyes went wide as she heard Three gasp, possibly noticing this too.
     "Well, well, well." Said one of them, removing her mask. "If it isn't my very best of friends. Hello, Sarai."
     Eight gasped as a barrage of memories flashed behind her eyes.
     Sarai and Miku dueled in the sparring room, kicking and jabbing and punching furiously. Sarai knew more about pressure points then she did, though, so she jabbed in between her shoulders and legs, and Miku collapsed with a grunt.
      General Sarai was walking in front of 20 rows of Octoling soldiers, explaining the battle strategies for invading Inkopolis. They all let out battle cries of ageement when she was done, and Sarai smiled, knowing she was in a place of power and safety.
     Sarai climbed to the top of the long pole and sat on the top as the Drill Seargent blew his whistle, indicating she'd gotten the fastest time for climbing the mile high pole. Miku waved down below, calling out excitedly.
     Eight snapped back to reality with a furious snarl, raising her Inkbrush. Miku snickered at her and Three tapped her shoulder. "What is it?" He whispered. As soon as he turned, the Octolings attacked. She jumped away from Three with a yell of rage, swiping her Inkbrush at anyone who dared come close. Eight splatted two of them, purple ink smeared across her face as Miku charged towards her, Octo Shot in hand. She flipped the Inkbrush around and stabbed it into Miku's stomach, probably leaving a bad bruise. She staggered back, gasping for air, and Eight tackled her to the ground, pressing the Inkbrush to her chest.
     "You ruined everything!" Miku wheezed. "You left me, Sarai! My rank in the army plunged! I was exiled!"
     "I don't care," Eight said. "You were the one who scared me enough to make me leave. And as much as I wish we could be friends, we can't, because you're evil!"
     "Eight!" Three yelled. "Get your butt over here and help me!"
     Eight turned to see him, taking on 5 Octolings at once. In the moment that she turned, Miku swept Eight's legs off her stomach and sat down on her, punching her repeatedly in the face and leaving.
     Eight lay there in shock, nose bleeding and body aching. She heard Three's cries for help and forced herself to standing with a groan. Miku stood on top of him, Octo Shot pressed to his chest. Four Octolings surrounded him, all with Brellas. She heard Miku's voice murmuring something in his ear before she sprinted towards them, Inkbrush gripped firmly in hand.
     "Get off of him!" Eight screamed, dropping the Inkbrush and tackling her to the ground. They rolled and twisted and jabbed at each other before she grabbed Miku's sleeves and banged her head into the ground, rendering her unconscious. She leapt off of the Octoling and grabbed her Inkbrush, backing into Three. The Purifiers were in a square around them, Brellas poised and at the ready. Eight twitched her Inkbrush a hair and they attacked.
     She slid under the first one and splatted him from behind, then the next one wrapped his arms around her neck and pointed his Brella at her head. Eight realized with a shiver that there were no respawn points nearby, and she'd be gone for good if she was splatted.
     Three turned after killing the last Purifier and his eyes narrowed to menacing slits. "Walk away now and I'll let her live." Said the man with the chokehold on her.
     Miku sidled up next to the man holding her and sniggered. She saw as rage filled his eyes and he quivered with fury.
     "Three-" Eight wheezed. "Go. I'll be fine."
     "Last time you said that, the Metro happened!" He yelled, aiming his Hero Shot at the Purifier.
     "It won't be bad this time, I swear." Eight rasped. "Just go."
     Three let out a defeated sigh and backed away, palms up. Tears filled her eyes, knowing she might not see him again.
     "Three, I-" Miku slapped her hand over Eight's mouth as they dragged her into the shadows of the Depot.

Holy carp. Was she about to say it?
Guess we'll never know.
Tomorrow I start school, so this is probably the last daily release of a chapter, but I will keep making them. I made sure to make it long so it would make up for double Three POV chapters. Ciao!
Word count: 1942