Agent 38: In The Making

Chapter 35: Deepsea Metro

     Eight led the group down towards the subway. It felt odd, willingly going back down to the place that nearly took her life. It sent shivers down her back when she noticed the weird mangled look to the walls, as if an army had recently come through here and tore up the place while leaving. The thought gave her a mini hearts attack.
     What if an army really did come through here? Eight thought with a shudder. What if they're on the surface right now? Has Tartar come for vengeance?
     She glanced at Three, his jaw set determinedly, his hands curled into fists, his eyes glinting with fear. Eight'd seen the way his eyes glowed, the way a possesive, eerily calm rage filled him when the side effects kicked in. She worried from time to time if one day he'd lose himself, that she'd lose the kind, sweet, courageous boy she'd fallen in love with, and that Three was the key to Tartar's revenge upon the world. But then, when the glow faded, he'd still be himself, and Eight would feel hopeful again.
     They reached the end of the steps and reached the subway. This area looked even worse, with cracked bits scattered across the cement floor and caved in areas of the roof dangled from above, so much so that they had the lay down and shimmy through the small gaps. At one point, Aaron actually got stuck, and they all had to work together to pull him out. After the next disastrous area, Eight burst into the station. She drew in a sharp breath at the sight of it.
     The usually high roof was almost completely destroyed, the tracks on the right side of the station were completely ripped out and torn apart, the sides of the station - usually filled with boxes and crates - were scattered into the broken train tracks, and the right side of the station was also in terrible condition. The only thing untouched on the right side were the train tracks.
     A horrible thought struck her.
     Iso Padre.
     "No," Eight breathed, tears filling her eyes. She sprinted out into the opening, not waiting for the others, tripped over the mangled remains of the blender, and tried to see the train. She could see the faint blur of its lights up ahead and breathed a sigh of relief. The train pulled into the station, hot air blowing up as it screeched to a halt. The Agents boarded the train, and Eight shuddered at its familiarity.
     Four, Gabriel, Callie and Marie went to the Girl Power Station first, while she and Three stayed behind because she wanted to introduce someone to him. Once they left, she led him to the train car that usually housed Iso with an excited smile. Eight stopped him right before they walked into it.
     "So, the guy you're about to meet was kinda like a father to me while I was down here," Eight said. "He helped me when I was down and helped me get back up."
     "Sounds like a great guy." Three said, crossing his arms approvingly. "What's his name?"
     "Iso Padre." She said. "At least, that's the only name he remembers. He was a test subject, too, but he quit the tests."
     "Interesting." He said. "Do I get to meet him or what?"
     Eight grinned. "Last thing..." She said as she turned around and walked through the automatic doors. "I hope you're not afraid of bugs."
     Three hesitated. "Kind of. Why?"
But she'd already walked into the train car. Iso spotted her, smiled, and put down his suitcase of toys.
     "Young squire," He exclaimed, his pincers opening and closing excitedly. "What a pleasant surprise! What brings you down to these depths once again?"
     Eight threw her arms as far around his shell as they would go and he wrapped a few of his pincers around her as well.
     "I missed you so much, Iso!" Eight cried. "I was going to come back down here to visit, but I brought a few friends along so we could train in the stations." She turned her head to glance at Three, who was leaning against a pole, arms crossed tightly, eyes wide, and skin a bit pale. He noticed her gaze and made a "what the frick is that thing and why is it here and what does it want" face. Eight ignored him and turned back to Iso. "I also had someone I wanted to introduce to you! Just give me a minute."
Eight trotted back to Three as Iso pulled out his suitcase to admire his toys. Three almost instanly leaned over to whisper.
     "Why didn't you tell me there'd be a massive freaky talking bug thing here?" He asked, watching Iso like a hawk with scared eyes.
     "Because I thought you'd want to meet the cephalopod who helped me." She responded simply. "Iso's not bad at all, he's entirely delightful. You don't have to be scared."
     "It's a giant, talking bug!" Three hissed. "I don't know how you expected me to feel-"
     "Ah, young squire, is this the fellow you wanted me to meet?" Iso asked, standing up and stretching his pincers with little crackling sounds. He took a few steps towards them and she felt Three tense up.
     Eight tore him off the pole which he was practically holding in a death grip by now and smiled up at Iso. "Yeah. Iso, I'd like you to meet Agent 3. He helped me start a life once I was on the surface. Three, meet Iso, the cephalopod I never asked for but always needed."
     Iso Padre stopped a few steps away and pulled out a long, spindly pincer to shake hands with Three. She got behind him and had to shove him forward to make sure he was standing upright and not fleeing to the other empty train car. Three froze up against her, paler than she'd ever seen him, and trembling so vigorously like an avalanche about to fall. Iso moved his pincer a little bit closer to Three.
     "I'm delighted to meet you." He tried, noticing the Inkling's fear.
     Three literally fainted in her arms.
     She crouched down, struggling to hold his weight, and shot an apologetic smile up at Iso. He laughed.
     "Fear not, this has happened before." He patted her shoulder with the pincer and went to sit back down. "Perhaps you should've checked to see whether he had a fear of bugs before bringing him here. This train is full of such curiosities like me."
     Eight laughed, glancing down at Three. His eyes were closed, his hearts were racing, and his brows furrowed. She rolled her eyes. Eight slid her left hand behind his head and her right hand beneath his knees, shifted her weight to her heels, and picked him up with a grunt. Eight carried him to the empty train car, the one she'd usually stayed in, and propped him up on one of the benches. The bad thing was, she knew how to carry an unconscious or wounded person, but didn't know a lick about what to do when they fainted or passed out.
     Mostly because any sign of weakness was deeply frowned upon in Octarian society, hence why she tried never to faint.
     Instead, she waited right next to him, in the hopes that he would wake up on his own and hopefully not start shrieking, as he'd done a few times before. She cradled his head and ran a few fingers through his hair, humming softly to herself and wondering how the other Agents were doing. The Girl Power Station was a difficult one, to say the absolute least. (But if I'm being honest, the 1st time I played Octo Expansion I beat it first try don't even ask me how) Eight had used four lives and finally beat it on the fifth, so she couldn't imagine how they were doing.
     Eight had never said this aloud, but the rest of the Agents (except for Three) were kind of lousy fighters. They were all pretty good, but she could beat them easily in a 1v1 fight. She started thinking up scenarios in her mind about what would happen if it were a 1v2, or if she had to take on more than one opponent. It had happened several times, especially in the Rainmaker stations, but the sanitized Octolings weren't exactly skilled. They were more... quick, if anything.
     Suddenly, Three twitched violently, bashing her in the lip with the back of his head. Ow! She thought, sucking the ink that was now gushing out of it. Eight flicked his cheek.
     "Three?" She tried. "Are you awake yet? If not, can you wake up, please? We need to check on the other Agents!"
     With a small groan, he leaned on her shoulder and shivered. "What happened?" Three asked softly.
     "You fainted before Iso could say hi," Eight said with a giggle. "Ya big weenie."
     He groaned again. "You'd better not tell Four about this. Or anyone else." Three's eyes darted to the door nervously. "And don't you dare make me go near that thing again."
     "Iso Padre is so nice, though!" Eight said, trying to explain once again. "If you'd just give hin a chance, I think you'd really like him. Never judge a book by its cover."
     "Whatever," He rolled his eyes and nuzzled her neck a little. "Just please don't make me."
     Suddenly, the train screeched to a halt, and the other Agents stumbled in, looking exhausted and traumatized.

Yayyyyyyy another chapterrrrrrrrrrr
Word count: 1595