#7 - Sanitized

Revival...?

(I put this video here for you to see Ralsei's gay scarf. Do not question me.)

Octavio's POV (One week later)

"Hey,"

"I'm not in the mood to talk right now, Callie," I said. "Can't you see that I'm busy?"

"Busy?"

"Yes! I need to fix the Octobot King!"

"Oh, yeah,"

She walked away. I thought she wouldn't come back, but a minute later, she returned with Four, Eight, and Marina. "We can help!" they said.

I sighed. "Okay, just as long as ya don't mess up anything!" I started fixing the controls while Marina worked on the Ink Vac. I could hear the other two chattering away about somethin'. I'm not an eavesdropper, though. As I worked on the Fist Controls, I talked to Marina.

"So...Inkopolis is pretty nice, huh?" she asked.

"Better than being underground for the rest of eternity,"

"There's still so much you haven't seen," she said. "They have idols, kind of like Turquoise October. They do the news, make music, and even announce the Splatfests. They have this thing called the "Internet!" They have so much,"

"Well, I believe it."

There was a long pause. "Do you worry about Ahato?"

"Yes," I said. "I am afraid she will be incurable."

"Do you think she's even gonna wake up?" Marina asked.

I didn't answer for a minute. 

"Maybe," I said. "I don't know, Ida,"

Ahato's POV

What is wrong with me?

I...

I almost killed...

Why can't I just be normal?

Why do I have to be like this?

Why do I always destroy everything around me?

...

Do I even matter anymore...?

I don't know. Cod, I don't know what matters anymore. What's wrong with me?

I don't mean anything. I know that now. I...

I don't know why I ever thought I was worth anything. What, because I...

I...

I can't think of a single goddamn thing.

Four's POV

"So, you...remember anything new?"

"...Yeah," said Eight.

"Really?!"

"I remember a lot, actually," she said. 

"Like what?"

"I remember my life before this," she said. "I remember...someone. There was always someone there for me. I remember feeling trapped, realizing that life in Octo Canyon would never change. I remember feeling horrible for a long time. But she was always there for me," Eight started to tear up a little. "And now she's gone, and I can't even tell her that I remember!"

"It's okay, Eight," I said, trying to reassure her. "I don't know what you're thinking right now, but it's okay. We can all figure this out later. L-let's just go back to fixing the Octobot King for now,"

"No," she said. She looked up at me. There were tears in her eyes now. "I remember, but don't know if she does, and now she's gone!"

"If you're really okay with talking about this, then, uh, who is...'She?'"

Eight wiped her eyes and turned away.

"Ahato."

Author's Note: Oooookay, sorry for the short chapter after that flood of creativity, but I really wanted it to end on a cliffhanger! So yeah, Eight was Marissa this whole time! No wonder Ahato liked her the best.

That big plot twist wasn't actually what was going to happen in the original plans for #7-Sanitized, but I decided that it wouldn't be very good to put an original character in the story and then...not go anywhere with her. So yeah, Eight's name is Marissa now!