-> [A Sea Of Dried Paint] (Classic Edition)

[Chapter 10 - Déjà-Vu]

The operation to properly investigate the unknown area was underway. The plan had two phases: the first one would have a small team, which includes Petra and Unizo as the commanders, sneaking through the facility in order to map out most of it, and discover just what is it's purpose.

The team arrived via helicopter and started descending, with a virtual mini map to make sure they don't get lost, and made sure to use signals instead of words so they wouldn't risk getting caught.

Meanwhile, Abigail and the two scientists were back at the base, observing everything through the monitors.

"This place is immense...what could the owners possibly be planning?" Pix wondered.
"I dunno...but if Agents were taken here by force, it can't be good." Abi said.

The team eventually came across the huge, open areas, with little platforms to stand on. Their only choice was utilizing their grappling hooks for mobility, so they swung around and climbed the walls to proceed.

A lot of areas were mapped out, and the team kept going deeper, until they found a huge window. Observing closer revealed some sort of Metro station on the other side. One of the team members opened a way through with a lazer cutter, and they all landed on solid ground.

"...a abandoned metro? Under a laboratory?" Zaire said.
"Team. Try following the tracks and see where they lead. And be careful if a train is speeding through." Abigail said through the radio.

They split into two and did what she said. And some interesting discoveries were made.
Petra's team came across a small room with broken boxes and water. Blue-colored ink was everywhere, most likely shot from a weapon.

"...this ink is still fresh. Someone was here recently." Petra said quietly through the radio.

Following the ink trail lead the team to a wrecked station, with a giant hole in the ceiling.

"It's looking like something...or someone was trying to escape." Pix noted.

On Unizo's side, they found a opening in the walls, which lead to...a room full of tubes, with more Sanitized Octarians inside them. They were attached to wires, which were connected to a console and a monitor.

Unizo held his head and took deep breaths. The sight reminded him of his past. The old laboratory. Except this time, it was much larger in scale. He needed to take it all in without getting too anxious.

"Uni? You ok?" Abi asked.

In response, he just exhaled and nodded, quietly proceeding through.

About an hour passed. They regrouped at the outside.

"We managed to map out a lot of ground...but we still didn't find a clear sign of Cuttlefish or the agents. There's no way to tell if that blue ink belonged to one of them." Petra said.
"I'm looking at the map right now...it seems like the radio signals follow the train's trajectory. It's possible they're inside one of the functioning ones." Pix said.
"And there's the thing about those...clones. They appear to be mostly digital. But I'm still unsure how they did it..." Uni said.
"What matters is, we have enough reason and means to properly send the invasion team there. Petra. Unizo. Get your team home, and we will discuss our next action from there." Abi said.
"Roger that." Petra responded.

They all entered the helicopter and flew away, back to the Octarian areas.

"What's our next move?" Uni asked.
"Now that we got a invasion team in the works...we need to try and get in contact with Cuttlefish. I don't know if the Squid Sisters told him what happened here yet, so we need to make sure not to alarm him once we get there." Abi awnsered.
"Sounds good." Petra responded.

Unizo sat down on the chair and started pressing buttons.
"...oh. Looks like he left the channel on. That makes things easier. Now I just have to connect..." He said.

Some static noises starts coming, and once it fades out, they could hear the sounds of the train moving and some quiet chattering.

"I'm in. Once I turn on the microphone, we'll be able to talk with him."
"Excellent." Zaire said.
"Leave the talking to me." Abi said, sitting down close to the microphone and made a signal for Uni to turn it on. He did so.

"Hello? Are you there, Captain Cuttlefish?" She said.
"Hmm? What?" The old man grabbed the radio and held it closer.
"This is General Abigail from the Octo Valley. Do you copy?"
"Wait...Octo Valley?! But that place was shut down two years ago! How are you--"
"It's a long story. But to keep it short, we started rebuilding after Octavio was dealt with. We managed to find a Alternative power source using solar energy." She said.
"I see...so the Calamari Inkantation really did change the Octarian's hearts! I knew it!" He said, excited.

Petra just chuckled quietly.

"We tracked down the radio signal you had up, and I believe we found out where you are. You're in one of the trains, correct?" Abigail asked.
"Indeed! Does that mean you can get us out of here too??" He said.
"We're gonna need you to go to the central station. Once we arrive, we can escort you out while our teams look for the missing agents?"
"That's amazing! Agent 8 is currently doing some tests down here, but we still didn't find Agent 3. Any help would be welcome!"
"Just hang tight. We will be arriving shortly." She said.

Some static came up again for a bit.
"Ok, I'm back. Sorry that it took so long." Marina said.
"...!" Abi was not expecting that.
"Oh! Right on time, Octo girl! You need to meet our new friend!" Cuttlefish said.
"Huh? Friend?" She went silent for a few seconds.
"Someone else is connected to this channel. Is anyone there?" She asked.
"...yes. General Abigail from Octo Valley."
"H-Huh?!? Y-you mean...that same Abigail who took down Octavio??"

That obviously surprised the whole group. How did she know?

"Yes. It's me, Marina."
"Oh my GOSH! You have no idea how thankful I am for what you did, I'm...!"
"I appreciate your gratitude, but let's save the thank yous and hugs for later. Right now, we got a mission in our hands." She responded.
"...right. Sorry, I just wasn't expecting to talk to you so soon..."
"You know her, Octo girl?" Cuttlefish asked.
"Yes. I don't know if anyone told you yet but...Octavio recently escaped from his prison. General Abigail here was responsible for leading a rebel group to take him down and save everyone." She responded.
"By the Great Zapfish!! Octavio escaped?! And this Octoling leadered a group that took him down??"
"Yes. We needed to serve justice after what he did to us." Abi said.
"You have a warrior's soul, young lady! I can't wait to meet you in person!"
"Yeah, me too. But at any rate...how are we going to do this?" Marina said.
"We managed to locate the area Cuttlefish and Agent 8 are being kept at. We will escort them out of the facility while our teams look for Agent 3." Abi explained.
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Cuttlefish said.
"Understood. I'll go warn Pearl to prepare our chopper. We will rendezvous on the outside." Marina said.
"Gotcha. I'll warn you both once we're on our way. Hang tight."
"See you soon!" Marina said.

Abigail turned the microphone off and faced the group.
"Who's ready for a intense rescue mission?"

To be continued...