Agent 38: I Never Forgot You

Chapter 3: The Search Begins

*Four days later...*
     Three had already told the team about his theory when Marina came rushing out of the manhole, frantically pointing at her phone. She'd shoved it into Three's face, nodding her head with an excitedly worried expression, and the group went silent.
     "H-hello?" He stuttered, bewildered. "Who is it?"
     "Yo, Three, it's Pearl!" She shouted, making him cringe. "I've got something super important to tell you! And the team! Am I on speaker?"
     "Yeah. What is it?" He asked.
     "Ok so, last night," Pearl started, her voice hectic and rushed. "I was doing a perimeter check around our camp, y'know, just to be safe, since we just started building, and I heard someone screaming. So, y'know, I ran over to see what it was, and to my surprise, it was a sanitized Octoling!"
     "What?" Three exclaimed. "Are you guys ok?"
     "Yeah, yeah, we're totally fine," Pearl responded. "Don't worry. So, since our group has been helping these Octos wherever we find 'em, I figured, 'Well, might as well help her, she seems pretty scared', so I did. I went over and tried to comfort her, but when she looked up, BOOM! I knew who she was!"
     He raised a brow, skeptical. "You knew who a random sanitized Octoling was?"
     "Uh-huh!"
     He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, Pearl, why is this so important?"
     "Because the Octoling was Eight, you dimwit!"
     Three's eyes flared wide, the world dropping into slow motion as his hearts skipped 8 beats at once.
     She's alive.
     She's actually alive.
     She's not dead.
     Eight's alive!
     Someone took the phone out of his hands. "Are you sure? 100% sure?" Marie's voice questioned.
     "One million percent sure!" Pearl's voice piped. "I'd recognize her face anywhere. Heck, Rina and I worked with Eight for a while. It'd be a bit hard to forget her."
     Three snapped from his trance and took the phone from Marie's hands. "Did you see how she looked? Was she ok? Was there anything wrong with her?"
     Marina gently removed the phone from his hands. "I think it's best if Pearlie tells me this part instead so I can relay the information a bit less... aggressively."
     Aaron put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure she's doing fine, Cap."
     A soft gasp was heard from Marina.
     Three's hearts sank lower than his stomach, dread seeping into his mind.
     "Okay, Pearlie." Marina mumbled softly. "I hope you're doing well. See you soon."
     "What is it?" He questioned, his voice soft and light as if it, too, feared the answer. "What happened?"
     "Well, it's just..." The Octoling blew out a breath, her eyes sad. "Pearlie told me that Eight... didn't remember her. And based off what she told me... it looks like her amnesia got worse. Which means... she probably doesn't remember any of us."
     The Splatoon was quiet for a long, long moment, silence pressing in on them.
     "It doesn't matter," Spoke the Captain, determination and steel in his voice.
     Three's Agents looked up, startled from their state of hopelessness.
     He grabbed his hat, marked with the emblem of the Squidbeak Splatoon, and propped it on his head.
     "We're getting Eight back. No matter the cost."
     Three looked down at his group. "Aaron, Callie, Marie, suit up." He ordered, then turned his gaze on the Octoling. "Marina, I need you to stay here and watch Inkopolis with Cuttlefish. If anything happens with Pearl, update me. If Inkopolis is in trouble, I'll send Callie and Marie back to help. As for Aaron and I, we'll keep looking for her until we find her, and only then will we return."
     Marina saluted. "Yes, Captain."
     Aaron drove his knuckle into the back of Three's head. "I've got your back, Cap."
     Callie and Marie nodded. "We've got this."
     Three felt his hearts swell with hope, his veins rush with determination. "Let's get started."
     *A day and a half later...*
     Three, Four, Callie and Marie were each packing two small bags of belongings into a cargo truck.
     Not long after, they were packed in and on the road, with goodbyes already said and hugs already given. Aaron sat in the passenger's seat, Callie and Marie in the backseat, the belongings in the trunk, with Three driving. They'd decided to take the route that Pearl and her Chaos Crew had taken, stopping frequently (Every hour or two) to search the endless plains.
     Three was right about knowing where Eight was. The massive fields were surrounded by mountains and hills all around, which made it difficult to get there by car. It was even more impressive when he found out the Chaos Crew had trekked here by foot.
     Two big bags of food (Canned, dry, chip bags, cereal, pots, pans, etc) stood in front of Aaron as he pulled things out and gave them to the cousins. He could hear Callie munching on snacks and Marie quietly scolding her as she protested back.
     "You girls okay back there?" Aaron said, turning in his seat.
     Marie pulled her head back in from the car, traces of vomit on her face. "Just peachy." She retched again, and Three chuckled.
     "It's not funny, Thr-" Marie cut herself off with another gag.
     "It is, actually, very funny, and I'm going to keep laughing until you stop." He snickered.
     Marie's vomiting went on for another two minutes until he felt his own gag reflex activating at the sound of hers.
     He slammed his foot on the brakes. "Alright! That's it! Stretch break!"
     Three threw open the door and inhaled deeply, slowly, cold air filling his lungs. Marie stumbled out of the car and ran to the bushes. Callie ran out to comfort her, and Aaron instantly grabbed the snack bags and started eating.
     He rolled his eyes. Heh, road trip with the Agents. This shouldn't end well.
     Three picked up a can of pineapple, checking the expiration date. His jaw dropped.
     "Aaron," He said incredulously, voice rising as he turned his piercing gaze on the Inkling.
     Aaron glanced up at him. "Yes?" He mumbled, mouth full of chips.
     Three rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Where did you grab the food from?"
     "Um... my house?" Aaron peeped.
     Three threw the can of pineapple into the grass. "THAT CAN'S EXPIRATION DATE WAS FOUR YEARS AGO!" He dropped to his knees and ransacked through the bags, rapidly checking the expiration dates on each snack he found. "Aaron!"
     "What!? What did I do this time!?" He objected.
     "All the food's expired!" Three screamed. "Every single freakin' crumb!"
     "Aaron!" The cousins scolded in unison.
     "Sorry!" He apologized sheepishly.
     "Why do you have expired food at your house? What do you eat all day!?" He yelled.
     "Uh... pizza that I keep in the fridge?"
     Three and the cousins let out a groan.
     He shook his head, exasperated. "Alright. Whatever. Did you guys bring pillows and blankets?"
     Aaron, Callie, and Marie each nodded.
     "Okay. Into the car, before it gets dark." Three said. "I'll turn on the heater and stuff. You guys wanna watch something?"
     "Yeah!" Callie giggled.
     He chuckled. "Thank cod this thing has a DVD player, then."
     Aaron settled into his seat, staring at the little slot with a small screen beneath it. "Is that what that is? Never seen one before."
     Three let out a sigh. "Yup."
     About an hour later, they were all piled in the car, comfy and warm, watching an old movie from the humans' time. From what he'd read, it was called "Home Alone", and seemed to take place around the time of Squidmas. It was this kid who'd been forgotten by his family on a trip to Paris, so he stayed alone at his house and protected himself quite cleverly.
     It wasn't long before all their stomachs started to grumble and asked what they would eat.
     Three threw on a sweater. "And on that note, I'm going to go hunt."
     "What? No!" Aaron protested. "Not by yourself! It's dark out there, at least let me go with you."
     He turned and flashed the Inkling a grin. "There's several reasons why I decided at this time, you know."
     The yellow Inkling gasped. "Ohhhhhhhhhhh. Ok, fine, sure. But be careful."
     Three grabbed a steak knife Aaron had packed and ventured into the plains. The tall corn stocks were already up to his shoulders when he heard a wolf's howl.
     Three crouched, grinning, as he focused himself on where the sound came from, then quietly sprinted through the fields. He gripped the knife as he slowed to a halt, parting away the bushes with two fingers to peer at the commotion. He gasped.
     A pack of wolves scurried around a small opening, barking and swiping at something. Three leaned forward, squinting, and accidentally slipped out of his cover.
     The wolves whipped around to glare at him with beady yellow eyes. As gasp was heard from the figure they'd been fighting. Without a word, Three stabbed the knife straight through one of the wolves, bringing  the pack to silence. The group of furballs sprinted away, whimpering, leaving him with the figure.
     In the dark, he couldn't see that well, but already knew this was a sanitized Octoling, and already knew this was a female. Her moonlit silhouette showed off her curvy figure, her teal green pupils glowing in the dark. She, too, was holding a dead wolf in her hand. She almost seemed familiar, somehow.
     Wait.
     Is this it?
     Did I find her?
     The two drew closer, closer, each wondering who the other was. Her eyes glared into his with piercing curiosity. She looked as though she already knew who he was, but she just couldn't believe it. Three dropped the bloodied wolf, stepping towards her as she did the same.
     The moment she stepped out of the moonlight, she gasped and jumped back.
     "What?" He cried. "What's wrong?"
     "You're dead!" She yelled, panic flooding her eyes. "I-I killed you! You're dead!"
     Three instantly recognized her voice.
     This, indeed, was Agent 8.
     "Eight, slow down," He said, trying to make his own voice sound calm or slowed down. He couldn't believe he'd found her! After all these years! "You're not in any danger. You're safe."
     She hesitated, her wounded body starting to tremble. Her eyes seemed to cloud as if remembering something, but couldn't quite make it out. Eight looked scared and disoriented, maybe even slightly deranged. He didn't have any equipment on him to help her, though.
     "Stay here," Three suggested, holding out his hands in a "stay" motion. "I'll be right back. You're hurt and in no condition to be walking around this place on your own."
     He picked up the wolf and slung it over his shoulder, then took a step back. Three hesitated, glancing between her and the direction from whence he came, and slowly walked away.
     A part of him desperately wanted to run back and hug her tight and never let go again, but the sensible part of him told him to keep moving. Three waded through the sea of corn and wheat and grass as they cut at his legs, making him wince. Soon, he saw the silhouetted figure of the car, and ran towards it.
     Three slammed his hand onto the window, waking up all three of the Inklings inside.
     Aaron opened the door with a groggy look on his face. "Did you get anything?"
     He chuckled, shaking his head, and dropped thr wolf. "Nah, not what I got." The Agents exited the car, staring at him with hopeful eyes. "Who I found."
     They gasped.
     "You found her!?" Callie exclaimed, excitement spilling out onto her face. "For eel!?"
    Three nodded, finally letting his joy seep out. "Yeah, I found her! But she's hurt. And needs help. Aaron, did you at least bring a first aid kit?"
     Four produced the kit from under the car seat. "Yeah, obviously. I'm not that uncultured."
     Marie elbowed him playfully. "You didn't even know about us when I recruited you."
     "I lived a long ways away from Inkopolis at the time, of course I didn't know you guys." Aaron protested.
     Three grabbed his wrist. "Callie, Marie, I need you two to stay here. Do either of you know how to cook?"
     Callie was about to say yes when Marie shoved her face away with a grumpy expression. "I've banned Cal from the kitchen since she almost set our house on fire. But yes, I know how to cook."
     "Good," Three said. "Can you cook that?" He pointed at the wolf, handing her the steak knife.
     She flipped it in her hands, debating. "No job is too big, I suppose."
     "Fantastic." He said. "Aaron and I will be back in a bit, hopefully with Eight."
     The cousins nodded as Three and Aaron walked into the fields. For a long while, the only thing that could be heard was the sound of the duo's breaths, and the grass waving in the wind.
     "Hey, Three?" Aaron asked quietly.
     "What's up?"
     "I don't know why... but I feel like something bad is gonna happen."
     Three felt a shiver down his back.
     A long, cold shiver of dread.

Strap every possible seatbelt in the world on luvs
Word count: 2204