Agent 38: In The Making

Chapter 29: A Dance To Remember

     Three watched with a smile as Eight bustled into the middle of the dance circle. The Octolings cheered her on with shouts and whoops of laughter while he simply clapped along to the beat. Even though her eyes were closed, she moved perfectly to the rhythm. After a while, the Octolings joined in, dancing hand in hand excitedly. Eight pulled him into the circle with a shout of laughter.
     Ah, to heck with it. Why not. Even though Three hadn't danced in a long time, he knew it wouldn't be hard.
     After a while, the entire dance circle was a total mess of drunk dancing Octolings, Gabriel and Aaron could be seen talking with a few Octolings near the edge of the cafeteria, while he and Eight danced to their hearts content. It was around an hour later that the party finally settled down a little bit, but a recording of the Calamari Inkantation was still playing as the Squid Sisters made their way through, signing autographs and making small talk with anyone who wanted to. Eight sidled up next to him with a smile.
     "So, do you think you like dancing now?" She asked. Three chuckled.
     "If I'm dancing with you, of course I'm gonna like it. Who wouldn't enjoy dancing with you?" He said with a smirk. She swatted at him playfully.
     "Oh, stop it." Eight giggled. "You don't have to act all romantic around me, just be yourself!"
     The faint scent of smoke drifted into his nose. "I am being myself! I meant what I said."
     Eight laughed again. "I'm going to go chat with some people."
     "Have fun!" He called as she walked away.
     The smell of smoke gradually got stronger, and he peered around, wondering what it could be. There was nothing in the cafeteria that suggested there could be a fire, not even the cooking area. But now that he strained his ears... a faint sizzling could be heard just beyond the door. His eyes went wide in horror as his hearts dropped.
     A bomb.
     And not the normal ink-based bombs, this was a REAL bomb, something that could kill them all just as painfully, perhaps more so. And Three hadn't seen any respawn points on the way in, either. He pushed off the wall and frantically looked around, hearts racing. Was there anyone near the door?
     His eyes landed on Eight.
     Three lunged towards her, teal green striking behind his eyes. "EIGHT, LOOK OUT-"
     With a violent whoosh and a boom, the cafeteria exploded into a giant fireball.

     The only reason why Three came to is because he quite frankly, did not feel like being cooked alive. He rolled around until his flaming shirt was finally extinguished, then staggered to his feet and limped out of the fire, coughing and wheezing. The group of Agents and Octolings were gathered at the edge of the fire, which was around the back of the cafeteria. Aaron instantly ran up to him with a concerned look, pulling Three's arm over his shoulder.
     "Are you alright?" Four asked. Three realized with horror that Eight wasn't standing among the group.
     "Where's Eight!?" Three yelled. Aaron shrugged, eyes wide. He whirled to the group. "Where is she!?"
     Callie pointed at the fire, hand over her mouth as tears slid down her cheeks.
     His eyes went wide. "I'm going in after her." Four grabbed his shoulders, shaking his head. "I'm not letting our best Agent and best friend die today." He wrestled out of his grip.
     Three spun on his heels and ran in, coughing and wheezing as the fire licked hungrily at his legs.
     "THREE! WAIT!" He heard Aaron scream.
He let out a yell of pain as agony scorched past his feet, but kept running until he found a small break in the fire, where a limp figure lay on the floor. Three's hearts dropped when saw it was Eight. He lunged over to her, lungs heaving in and out roughly, and shook her shoulder.
     "No, no, no, Eight!" He yelled, panic rising in his body. "Come on, you're not going to sleep yet, not yet!"
     Three slung her arm over his shoulder, pulled his shirt above the bridge of his nose, and tried to run out. He'd created a small pathway when going in, one that he could use to go out, but it was littered with flammable pieces of the wooden tables. Three staggered out of the fire, an unconscious Eight leaning on him, and limped towards the group, breathing heavily and quickly. Vision blurry and doubled, lungs filled with smoke, ears ringing like bells, Three collapsed. He heard muffled, blurry voices calling out as arms hooked under his shoulders and pulled him away from the fire. A gray-green figure pulled Eight away from it, too.
     Don't pass out, don't pass out.. Three thought. The burns along his legs sizzled like meat on a grill, the pain was so intense. The arms leaned him back against the wall, and someone waved a hand in front of his face.
     "Three? You there?" Said Aaron's muffled voice. He let out a loud, raspy cough as his vision sharpened and the ringing in his ears faded. The burns sizzled throughout his body, making it almost impossible to move without agony scorching through like a wildfire.
     "I'm fine." Three managed, trying to push off the wall to stand up. "I need to get to Eight-"
     Aaron pushed him back down with a gentle hand. "She's over there, she'll be fine. You need to rest."
     "Aaron, I'm fine-"
     "Stop pushing yourself, Three!" He yelled, fury flashing in his eyes. Alex stared at him, surprised as a long moment of silence passed. "Ever since we became friends, I've watched you push yourself to the most extreme limits, practically almost kill yourself, only to say it's not enough and try even more! You've proven to yourself, to EVERYONE, that you're strong, courageous, and persistent! What more do you want from yourself!? It's so hard to watch one of my best friends shatter himself to a thousand pieces just to build himself up all over again! Stop pushing!"
     Three gawked at him in surprise, eyes wide. He never knew that Aaron thought of him that way. He rubbed the burns on his legs and sighed.
     "Aaron, as much as I may seem to dislike you sometimes," Three started. "I love you like a brother. You've been there for me through thick and thin, for almost six years now. Thank you."
     "I have waited years to hear you say that!" Aaron said.
     "And I'm sorry. I never knew that I made you feel bad. Thank you for sharing that with me. But actually, can I get up now?" Three added. Aaron rolled his eyes.
     "Stay down. I know those burns are hurting like hell, so please, DON'T MOVE. You're gonna need a doctor for those."
     "But Eight-"
     "Is being cared for by Callie and Marie." Four said. "We need to find a way out of here, before we all suffocate to death."
Three leaned to the side with a wince, only to see a row of sanitized Octolings, each with a different weapon class in hand. They stood silently, watching, waiting, but not moving an inch.
     Aaron turned to follow his gaze, and quickly stood up once he saw them.
     "Stay here- we'll do the fighting." Four demanded, sidling up next to Gabriel.
     "Hah, no." Three said with a pained laugh, pushing off the wall to stand up with a grunt. He limped next to Four, closed his eyes, and concentrated. One good thing he'd discovered about the side effects was that he could make a horrifyingly quick recovery if he needed to. Eight had told him that his armor had regenerated fairly quickly during the fight in the Metro, so it wasn't much of a surprise. Teal green pulsed behind his eyes, and Three felt the burns fading away back into his skin, his flesh as smooth and unblemished as it had been ten minutes ago. Four let out a gasp next to him.
     "How did you-?" Gabriel cried.
     "You're not fighting them alone, not without me." Three said. "Time for a little bit of revenge."
     "But you have no weapon!" Four said. "At least I have Dualies and he has a Brella!"
     "I have fists." Three said. "Even better."
     "I JUST told you to stop pushing yourself!" Aaron yelled. "Three-"
     "I'm not pushing myself." He said quietly, dangerously. "I'm perfectly fine now."
     "Fine." Aaron huffed. "Let's get this over with."
     Marie stepped up next to him, green mask pulled over the bridge of her nose as her golden eyes narrowed to slits. "Eight's with Callie, but I'm not letting you three do this alone." She swiveled her head to glare at him. "And you're telling me how the hell your burns all went away after this, got it?"
     "Yes, boss." He said with a smirk.
     "Don't move unless they move," Marie breathed, pulling out her Charger and aiming through the scope on the top. "Maybe we can get past them."
     Three stepped forward, fists clenched, and walked towards one of them. They had completely circled the fire, stopping it's rapid spread. He hated to admit it, but he was actually nervous. These... these things had turned him into the monster that society assumed him to be. They made him not normal, in the worst way possible, with the things he could barely control.
     But anger and rage quickly filled the spot of nervousness.
     Three stopped right in front of its face, glaring. It still didn't move.
     Ok... weird. He thought. Three stepped to the side and walked around the circle of Octolings, trying to find the door. It was visible through a small crack in the fire, one that everyone would fit through if they went in a single-file line. He crept through the blaze and pressed his hands to the door. Three turned around with a smile, beckoning for everyone to come. The moment he turned away, the Octoling next to him smashed its Octo Shot in his ribs, and shoved him away with unexpected force. Suddenly, every sanitized Octoling turned to glare at him, each move precise.
     Three stood up with a grunt as they advanced on him. Marie, Gabriel, and Aaron all appeared at his side, ready for the fight. He smiled.
     Alright... Let's get this over with.
     Time for a little revenge.

Hi. So, sorry if production on the chapters has kind of slowed down, but I have school, so like... heck lol. Idk if you all can see this, but if you've ever read WoF, then I'm thinking of Three's side effects to be a bit like animus magic in the way that he falls under TarTar's control the more he uses them. So... Three is basically going insane 😂
Word count: 1818