Agent 38: In The Making

Chapter 26: Nothing But Worry

     Eight quickly scurried back towards the apartment, grocery bags in hand. It had been almost 3 hours since she'd left Three at home. She hoped he was ok. After she'd left, Eight took some time to explore the Square a bit. She found a small place behind the Deca Tower called Grizzco, and a Cafe on the other side of the Deca Tower. Boxes were piled suspiciously near the "Grizzco" place, so she'd jumped over them and walked along the alley to see what she could find. Turns out, there was a whole club back there. Posters were littered across the walls, each with a drawing of an Inkling that looked exactly like Three (Except in a backwards hat, layered T-shirt, and baggy pants) scribbled onto them. It read:

     DJ SANDGO, PLAYING NEXT WEEK! NAB YOUR TICKETS BEFORE THEY RUN OUT!

     Hm. DJ Sango? Odd. As Eight approached a very well hidden door in the wall, she heard some really good music echoing from inside, along with the sounds of footsteps, whoops of laughter, and glass clinking together.
     Her mind flashed back to a foggy memory of a Sanitized Octoling holding her by the neck, and then smashing her through the floor as glass shattered around her.
     But nevermind that, there was a whole party going on behind that door! Eight creaked it open and saw flashing blue, purple, and white lights, mobs of dancing people, and a DJ on top of a platform that overlooked them all.
     Note to self, Eight thought. Definitely come here someday. And tell Three about it.
     She quickly clambered over the boxes and rushed back to the apartment before she realized she was lost. Eight had been wandering through a dark alleyway for the past 5 minutes, and the grocery bags were starting to get a bit heavy. Eight turned a corner and collided headfirst with a scrawny Inkling. She heard a few disgruntled noises as she rubbed her nose, and saw that there were four more Inklings with the scrawny one.
     "What're you doing out here, little miss?" Said the first one, a big guy who looked too buff to be wearing a sweater that was three sizes too small. "Did the Octo stray too far from home?"
     Eight glared right into his eyes. "I'm just taking food home to my sick partner."
     "Is that so?" Sang the one with Dualies. "Or did you steal that food and invade our home? Did you come looking for ink to spill?"
     She narrowed her eyes. "I'm telling the truth. Just let me pass, I won't be of any harm to you."
     The big guy suddenly pinned her to the wall of the alley, holding her by her neck. "You know what I think, boys?" He said menacingly. "I think we should teach this Octo a lesson: You mess with a squid, you get the ink."
     Eight scratched at his hand furiously, trying to get him to let go. Before she could loosen his grip, the scrawny one punched her left eye with a bony hand, most likely leaving a bruise. She let out a shriek of rage and kicked the guy holding her neck in the nuts. He let out a hilarious squeal of pain and staggered back. She glared at the other three, fists at the ready. Dualies Guy advanced. She ducked under his punch, grabbed his leg, and pulled it up. He fell and smacked his head on the cement, groaning. She turned to Scrawny Kid. He simply stepped back and put his palms up. She was about to advance on Blaster Guy before the big one wrapped an arm around her neck, trapping her in a chokehold.
     The other three began to circle her while she choked, unable to escape. Eight glared at them as they all took turns either punching, kicking, jabbing, or scratching her. Blaster Guy punched her hard in the stomach, forcing the air out of her lungs. Scrawny Kid kicked her in the face, leaving her with a bloody nose. The fifth Inkling was about to punch her in the face again before he paused, glanced at something, and pointed.
     Almost as soon as he pointed, he was splatted by green ink. Eight tensed. That was Three's color of ink. He should've been at the apartment, resting!
     Big Guy loosened his grip on her so she could breathe, and Three stepped into the alleyway.
     The group swiveled their heads to glare at him. They all let out barks of laughter even though Three was a bit taller and bigger than them all. They saw the small glow that flickered in his eyes and stepped back. She, too, got nervous whenever the glow appeared.
     "Aw, look at the widdle hacker!" Laughed Big Guy. "What're you gonna do, fight? You've got the looks of a fever on your face, idiot!"
     Eight shook her head vigorously, desperate to keep him from fighting.
     "You wanna see a fight?" Three said. He swiveled the Charger upwards, holding it with one hand. "Here."
     She saw as he let go of the trigger, and instantly knew what he was doing. Her eyes flicked to Scrawny Kid.
     "Looks like you missed." He sneered.
     Three smiled viciously, teal green flickering in and out of his eyes like flashing lights.
     "I never miss."
     With a scream, the ink landed on Scrawny Kid, instantly splatting him. The group stared at him in horror. Eight didn't know how to feel.
     She saw as Three engaged in battle with Dualies and Blaster, while Big Guy started beating her up again. The punches lasted for a while as she tried to fight back, then Three aimed the charger at Big Guy.
     "Let her go," He breathed. Eight collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily.
     "Dude, you blind or 'sum?" Said the last bully of the group. "She's an Octo! She doesn't belong here."
     "I'm aware of her race," Three said. "Put. Her. Down."
     Big Guy scoffed, grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, and hoisted her into the air. "Oh yeah? What're you gonna do?"
     Three's eyes went a vicious teal green all the way through. "I'll show you."
     Eight subtly tapped Big Guy's hand, eyes wide. He swiveled his head to glare at her.
     "I don't want this to sound like a threat," Eight breathed, near-silent words escaping her mouth. "But put me down right now, or he'll kill you."
     "Five." Three said, voice rising. "Four. Three."
     Big Guy swiveled his head to glare at her, then him, and her again.
     "Two." Three yelled. "This is your last chance. You have ONE SECOND to put her down or I kill you."
     A long moment passed.
     "One." He let go of the trigger. Eight screamed.
     "Alright, alright!" Big Guy yelled, ducking under the ink. He threw her to the floor and ran.
     Three scrambled over to her and stepped down to help her up. Eight took his hand and hugged him.
     "You should be at the apartment, dimwit!" She said, worried. "You could've died!"
     "And you couldn't have?" He said with a smirk. She rolled her eyes. Eight picked up the grocery bags and touched his forehead again. Still hot.
     "Let's get back to the apartment," Eight said, limping down the alleyway. "Can we super jump there?"
     "In the state that we're both in, do you think we can?" Three asked sarcastically, voice raspy. She could see he was still shaking as he grabbed two of the bags from her. "We can walk."
     Eight nodded, giving him a small kiss on the cheek.
     "Thanks for the rescue, Three." She said. Even still, when she told him good things about himself, he'd usually blush. And they'd been together for about 2 months, so she'd assumed that he'd be over blush-worthy compliments by now.
     "Don't mention it." Three said with a slight smile. "I'd do it anyday, over and over again if I had to."
     Eight laughed. "You're a real charmer, you know that?"
     "I don't think it's called charming," He said with a chuckle. "I think it's called love."
     "Y'know, three months ago," Eight started. "I never would've guessed that the powerful, mighty Agent 3 would say something so cheesy. But then again, I never would've guessed that I'd become your girlfriend either."
     Three laughed. "I don't think either of us did."
     "The Squidbeak Splatoon definitely did." Eight said. "Marie, Four, Callie, Marina, Pearl, even Gabriel."
     Three turned to her with an amused smile. Neither of them had told the Splatoon that they were together, except for Four, and he'd promised not to tell until they said so. "You haven't told them yet- right?"
     Eight shook her head. "No, of course not."
     But then again, they hadn't told the Splatoon about Three's side effects, either.

Sorry if this chapter is kind of... cruddy. I may or may not have writers block, so be patient with me please.
Word count: 1490