The Resurgence AU

The NILS Statue

Everest stayed on the train, glaring as she watched 8 step off the train. They didn't even realize that Everest was there! They just talked to some old bag of bones that came down there with them! He looked a gust or a small flick away from keeling over DEAD.

Everest hated how happy they both looked. So carefree. So unaware that their arrival had spelt doom for her guardian.

'...what's stopping me from attacking them? I'm not weak to ink! They could do nothing to me if I attacked them...' Everest's thoughts spiraled deeper and deeper. The deeper they went, the heavier urges for revenge they turned into.

Soon, Everest just slid off of the chair and covered her face. She just wanted to cry as she sat down. She couldn't fire the NILS Statue as long as 8 was here. It frustrated her to no end that she needed to wait to get her father back! Everest needed to wait until that octopus and their dusty grandpa peeled their ways out of the metro and probably had to wait until Operator was around to witness the beam hit and- uuuggghhhhh— why did Everest have to wait for so damn long!?

CQ moved his way into the cart Everest sulked in and looked up at her, "Any other tests you wish to retry, Everest? Maybe Brute Rollup Station? Test B12? The other Rainmaker test, perhaps? Test F09?" Everest slowly looked up from her hands at the sea cucumber before her.

"I-...look, I don't know. Just- just take me to all the various tests and don't stop until 8 is off the damn train. Is Operator back from Test A02 right now?"

CQ seemed alarmed by the request and sputtered, "But- uh- I have- other–...are you sure? 8 has tests that they need to do too. Y-You haven't even unlocked all of the tests even after 4-9 years down here!" CQ didn't answer to the last part, too stunned by the request.

Everest suddenly grabbed CQ tightly, shocking the sea cucumber, "CQ I swear to The Leviathan, RIGHT now is NOT a good time to piss me off! Just take me to the tests!" Everest resisted the urge to throw CQ into the ground and instead, placed him back on the ground and nudged him out the door. "Okay! Okay! I get it! Geez!" CQ squawked back and crawled as fast as he could back to the conductor's cart just as 8 reboarded. Everest's nose twitched and she narrowed her eyes before she sat back down out of view.

Once the train got moving to the first test, CQ came crawling over to 8 and told them that today, they had a strange schedule and that their desired test would come up eventually and to not be alarmed when the train is not there when 8 has completed the test.

8 understood with a nod. They quickly sat down and messed around on their stupid CQ-80. Every single thing that 8 did just made Everest angrier. They didn't deserve to live a carefree life. They...they were who was going to be spared from the NILS Statue blast. Everest wanted to kill 8 with her own hands...

***

The very second that the train had come back to the central station, Everest leapt off the train. She messed with her frizzy and mostly unbrushed hair. Operator left the train just behind her with a relieved sigh; its face and hands were coated in sanitized ink and its coat was heavily stained as well, "Gosh, that took forever. Gonna need to get a deep cleaning and wash out my jacket!" It said as it passed by Everest. Its smile faded the second it saw Everest's wavering form.

Operator looked scared once again, frowning and moving away quickly. "Oh...hi uh...I-I thought it would be a bit longer until you...got off..." Everest stared at Operator before cracking a soft, weird smile.

"Dad..." Everest murmured; Operator looked a little sick when he heard her, "No, I have plans, father. Good plans..." Operator stared back at Everest. Seeing Everest's strange, shaky smile made him weary. "You'll be back to your real self, dad...!" Everest folded her hands with a smile.