#7 - Sanitized

Ahato's Return

Dedf1sh's POV

i cant describe 

how this feels.

i found my mind.

now i can think clearer,

but i still have some

restrictions.

it feels like

...

my thoughts are...

being separated

every time i try to think.

i cant think too hard either.

still cant put in much effort.

i guess i can kind of see whats going on?

its strange.

its like im seeing octavio from my real eyes

and myself in my mind.

i feel

somthing!

the agents. theyre here?

Eight!

Eight, can you hear me?

...

oh, i shouldve expected that.

it was worth a shot, though...

...

wait.

I can think.

I can feel.

I can...control?

Ahato's POV:

Suddenly, I was pulled back into reality. It felt painful, like I was-

Dedf1sh's POV:

I'm back.

I had control. For a second.

I could leave this place.

I ran to the end of the dark abyss. There wasn't an end. That was okay, though. I scraped at the floor. Suddenly-

Ahato's POV:

Okay, I needed to be quick.

I ran as far away from Octavio as I could. It hurt me to see him like this. Almost splatted, lying on the ground helplessly. I squeezed my eyes shut and kept running until I couldn't feel the ground anymore. I heard the ocean below me. I felt cold again. Out of instinct, I curled up into my Octo form, letting go of the strange Splatana I had-no, whatever that stuff was-had picked up. It was so cold. I felt awful. I shouldn't still be alive. Mari's been waiting for me for too long, Octavio's almost dead because of me, and if it weren't for me the Agents might not even be here, looking for me.

I'm such a bad friend. 

Friends don't accidentally almost murder kings.

Friends don't put friends in mortal danger.

Friends...

Oh no. The others are probably looking for-

Dedf1sh's POV

I'm back.

I used too much energy, though.

I think

Im just gonna

go

to

sleep

Three's POV (2 mins earlier)

Why did Eight react like that?

No one likes me. Not even myself. All I do is mess things up. I said I would be the leader, but now Four has to do it. I can't even do my job right.

Sometimes I really wish life was easier. Not getting-a-normal-job-that-isn't-being-a-secret-agent easier, just-

Wait. Who is that?

"Ahato!" Eight exclaimed, pointing at the figure I was looking at. Everybody was looking now. "I think she's right!" said Callie. "Let's go!" yelled Pearl.

But as we ran to meet her, we saw someone else. Octavio! I was about to run up and splat him right there, but I saw that Ahato had almost done that already. She was holding a Splatana and was about to deliver the final hit, but then she looked back at us with those cold, lifeless eyes. I froze. She had stopped attacking Octavio, but what now?

That's when she looked right at Eight. For a second, I thought I saw her look desperate, like she just wanted to run away and never come back to this strange underground place ever again, like she would be willing to do anything just...for...

Freedom.

She wasn't doing all this.

Suddenly, her expressionless face changed. She looked like she had just gotten struck by lightning. She had finally achieved her goal. But only for a split second, because it was over as soon as it had begun. Her blank expression returned, and she turned away to face Octavio, who was no doubt unconscious. 

I heard Eight call out to her. "Ahato!" she cried. "Don't give up...whatever's going on, you need to win the battle!"

I doubt Eight's cheering did anything, but something had woken up Ahato. She realized that she wouldn't be able to stop herself when it took control, so she did something crazy. She did something very brave and jumped into the freezing water to stop it.

"Ahato!" yelled Marina. She rummaged around in her bag for a second before pulling out a syringe of Sanitized ink. "Get her out of the water! I'll find a way to fix her!" 

It was time for me to be useful. I jumped from fake iceberg to fake iceberg, careful to avoid the water. Eventually, I reached the iceberg she was near and I was able to pull her out. She switched to her Octoling form, but she was still unconscious. 

I examined her. he looked about the same, except that her hair was all fuzzy now. She must have gotten infected by the strange ooze.

I'll admit it, I almost cried a little. We had been able to find a cure for the Sanitization, but what about this? Ahato had been such a valuable cephalopod, both as an Agent and a friend. How could we fix...this?

Marina was smart, but how could this be reversed?

I carried her back to the other Agents. Marina examined her for a second, then went back to digging in her bag. 

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Marie. "She looks...really bad,"

Marina sighed. "I don't know, guys."