Agent 38: I Never Forgot You

Chapter 10: Departure

     Thursday had come and gone. The team was out into the valley already, as they had been for two weeks, searching for her brother.
     The Splatoon walked through the fields, silent. None of them were visible to the other; they were all seperated in the tall grass, but they still heard everyone's footsteps, and knew to follow the trail of crushed stalks. They were gathered in a pentagon formation, with Three being the tip, Eight being the far left, Aaron being the far right, and Callie and Marie the two other edges behind them.
     The sun roughly beat down on them, which seemed to affect the others, but to Eight, it was just another day. She'd walked these fields for so long that she knew them better than anyone. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed the freedom of being able to do what she wanted. Out here, no one could order you around. Out here, you didn't have to be judged and picked at by society. Out here, you were free.
     Eight shook herself. Don't think like that, She scolded. You were better off in Inkopolis for three days than you were out here for three years.
     Suddenly, the footsteps around her stopped. A fist raised slightly above the grass, just enough for them to see. Three's sign to stop and crouch.
     His hand stayed there for a long moment, silence growing thick, as though the Earth itself was holding its breath.
     And then, slowly, his hand opened and dropped out of view. She heard a releived sigh from the group, and then their footsteps returned as they pressed forward.
     Wind gently wafted through the overgrowth, whistling through the sky and rustling through her hair. She still had the cape on; it felt comforting to her. The hood was pulled over her head, and she nestled deeper into the thin cloth.
     Stomp stomp stomp stomp..
     Wait.. She thought. That's not right. There's only two sets of footsteps. There should be four.
     She listened harder, straining her ears. Yeah. Only two pairs.
     "Callie? Marie?" Eight called quietly.
     Stomp stomp...
     She felt a trickle of cold sweat down her back.
     Only one set of footsteps.
     Eight quieted herself and limited the noise she was making, only allowing her feet to touch down on the ground for a moment before she took another step. Slowly, the footsteps increased, until there was way more than 10. Eight sped up, being as silent as possible, until she saw Three through the brush and rushed over to him.
     He turned. "Eight? What are-"
     She slammed a hand over his mouth and whispered, "We're being followed. Callie, Marie, and Aaron aren't here anymore."
     "What? How do you know?" He breathed.
     "I can't hear their footsteps."
     Three fell silent, and a dawning look of realization flooded his face.
     "What do we do?" She mouthed.
     "I don't-"
     "Watch out!" Eight shoved him out of the way as someone dove for him from behind, and the person collided with her, tackling her to the ground. She heard Three scream something, and then her attacker punched her in the face. Eight reached around, eyes watering, scrabbling for something she could grab, and her fingers closed around a rock. She kneed her attacker in the groin, earning a scream from a male voice, threw the rock at his face, and grabbed his neck. Eight forced the person off of her and rolled away with a groan.
     She lay on her stomach for a second, and then someone grabbed the collar of her cape and literally threw her.
     Eight landed back-first with a grunt, struggling to breathe. When she finally managed to open her eyes, a cold shiver of terror ran down her back.
     Aaron, Callie, and Marie were on their knees, hands behind their backs, held down by their necks and arms. Three was grappling with two other people before they finally managed to hold him down, too.
     Everyone turned their attention to the sanatized Octoling.
     At least 20 of them stood in a manmade clearing, tents piled around every corner. They glared at her with eyes all the same color, a piercing gray-ish maroon. They all wore White Inky Rider jackets and Punk Cherries for shoes, which looked quite odd. The jackets all had stains of a teal-ish green color on them, which might have been the design, except for the looks of hatred and disgust they glared at her with.
     Eight stared down at her arms.
     Well, heck.
     Someone emerged from the group, a mohawk curl on his head with two other branching put of it, and the rest pulled back into a ponytail. He had piercings in his nose and ears, a ring on his finger, and snatched her by the neck. His fingers curled tighter and tighter as she gasped for air.
     "No!" Three yelled, attempting to break free from his attacker. "If you hurt her I'll-"
     He was cut off with a swift kick to the face. Aaron twitched against his holder, as though he really wanted to kill them, but stayed still. Callie and Marie didn't even mask their anger, furiously cussing out the men keeping them seated.
     Eight turned her attention back to her attacker, swung her legs up, and tried to kick him in the groin again, but to no avail. He squeezed tighter, tighter, until her vision began to stain red.
     "Where. Is. My sister." He growled. His eyes seemed to be filled with fire, as though a rage in his mind had never been put out. The boy shook her, and now Eight found herself feeling faint. "Where is she!?"
     He dropped her on the ground as she breathed heavily, and then kicked her in the stomach. "Tell me!"
     "I don't know," Eight managed. "Who you're talking about, but-"
     He grabbed her by the jaw. "Sarai Blackstone, former Commander in the Octarian Army. Ring a bell?"
     Eight gasped.
     "Gabriel?" She whispered, softer than ripples in a lake.
     His eyes went wide.
     The boy leaned in closer, his facial features suddenly becoming softer, suddenly looking so young, younger than child.
     All was silent for a long moment.
     "Sarai?" Gabriel breathed.
     Eight nodded, tears filling her eyes.
     He let go and wrapped his arms around her, shaking, and she did the same. Eight cried into his shoulder, relief flooding her veins.
     "I thought I'd never see you again," Gabriel said, his voice trembling. "I thought you were dead."
     "I thought you were dead! Don't do that!" Eight cried, wiping at her eyes.
     Her brother pulled away, examining her. "What the shell happened to you?" He stood, fury returning to his face. "Did you do this? Did you hurt her?" Gabriel stormed up to Three and kicked his stomach.
     "Ow! No, I didn't do that, are you stupid or something?" Three hissed through gritted teeth. "Eight was- she was my girlfriend, I'm not about to hurt her! How insane do you think I am?"
     "Pretty out of your mind," Gabriel shot.
     "Well at least I'm not hanging around with thugs who've been killing people!" He fired back. "At least I'm sane enough to know that you're crazy!"
     He kicked him again. Three let out a cough of pain, glaring daggers at Gabriel.
     "Don't hurt him!" Eight's mouth said, though there was no intention behind it. Where did that come from? It was like the old Eight still cared, but the current one didn't. She was torn between the two, and god, was it annoying. "He didn't do anything to me. He saved me."
     Her brother turned and looked at her for a moment, then turned back to Three. He crouched down, inspected the Inkling for a moment. "Thank you."
     Three turned his head away, still glaring at Gabriel. "You're welcome, I guess. Now could you let us go?"
     "I'm afraid not." He smirked. "What was you're little... cult doing out here, in my territory?"
     "Looking for you, bastard," Aaron hissed. "Per Eight's request. I'm not really sure why though. I don't know why anyone would go looking for a piece of crap."
     Gabriel slapped him across the face.
     "Any more objections?"
     "Very many, but I'll keep quiet for now so I don't offend your delicate Octoling sensibilities. No offense, Eight."
     She smiled. "None taken."
     Gabriel scoffed, clearly angered. "You've been hanging out with these jerks for how long again?"
     "They're not jerks, Gabriel. Calm down." She protested.
     He rolled his eyes. "Nevermind. You know what? Let's get down to the question of why I was trying to find you, and why you were trying to find me. You first."
     "Um... well..." Eight paused. "I miss you. I haven't seen my own brother in years, and.. I want you to join us again. You're the only bit of family I have left. I don't want to lose you."
     Gabriel threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, well isn't that ironic, huh, boys?"
     The group behind him laughed as well, consisting entirely of Octolings.
     "I've been sending them out to look for you so you could join us!"
     Eight held back the extreme urge to cringe.
     There was silence for a long, long, long, neverending moment. Gabriel stood there as if this was a suspenseful pause, not an awkward one. Three, Aaron, Callie and Marie looked worried, maybe even confused, as though they already knew she was considering it.
     "...So?" Her brother exclaimed, clearly excited. "What do you say?"
     Ok. Now the suspenseful pause.
     "Join your family, your childhood friends, or make me kill all your new ones?"
     Eight jolted. "What!? Kill them? No! Never!"
     The excitement on his face instantly faded.
     "Oh. Oh, sister, that's not the right response. Not unless you want your 'friends' to see another day." Gabriel said, anger slipping into his voice.
     "Oh-ho, is that a threat?" Eight bristled. "I'll be happy to let you know that if you harm a single tentacle on their heads, I'll massacre your entire gang."
     "Hm! What a bold proposal! Say we test this theory?" He snapped his fingers, and the member holding Three let him go and moved over to Eight. The man forced her to her knees, put one hand on the back of her neck, and held her hands behind her back with his other one.
     The Octolings shoved him forward as Three rubbed his wrists, scowling at them, and turned his gaze on Gabriel.
     "In this case, I'll make a bold proposal." Her brother said haughtily. "Alexander and I will duel. If he wins, you'll all go free, including my sister. If he loses, I kill you all, and my sister comes with me. Deal?" He held out his hand.
     Her eyes widened. She knew Three better than she knew herself; he'd pounce at the chance to fight someone, especially if he thought he'd win.
     Don't say yes, don't say yes, please don't say yes-
     Three shook his hand.
     Aaron let out a groan, and Three's facial expressions suddenly indicated he felt he'd made a grave mistake.
     Before anyone could react, they were on the ground, rolling and punching and kicking and screaming. Eight could barely see anything from her angle, but from what she could make out, Gabriel was... winning?
     A flash of silver hit her eyes, and with a shiver of fear, she realized he had a blade in his hands.
     "Wait! Stop! Stop!" Eight screamed. "He's using a knife!"
     "Quiet, you." Said her holder. He applied a bit of pressure to her neck, indicating he could snap it, and she reluctantly quieted herself.
     Eight turned her head away. If Three got hit... she really didn't want to see what would happen.
     After a bit, when she couldn't take it anymore, she looked up again.
     Three was also on his knees, holding his arms up in an "X" formation to shield his face from her brother. Eight was startled by a rush of deja vu as she remembered him crashing through the roof in the Metro.
     Gabriel grabbed Three by the ponytail, swinging his head around so he could look at her, and grinned maliciously.
     "How could you love this idiot?" Gabriel shot. "Look at him! He's a weak, pathetic creature."
     Three stared at her, his face battered and bruised, ink bleeding from his nose.
     "Gabriel, you lay another finger on him and I swear, I'll-"
     "You'll what, dear sister?" He chuckled. "You can't do a thing. And now I'll make you watch."
     He turned Three around so he was on his knees, hands behind his back, eyes looking straight into her brothers'.
     "Watch as I beat him to death."
     Three threw his head back and laughed.
     "Ha! Been there, done that!" His eyes narrowed. "Do your worst."
     Gabriel grinned.
     "My pleasure."
     Eight's eyes went wide.
     Her brother was visibly angered, though she couldn't tell why. It wasn't like Three had done anything to him... however, she didn't know their relationship very well.
     Gabriel's hands closed to fists. He punched him once, twice, thrice, four times, and then kicked him in the chest. Her brother leapt on top of Three, wrapped his hands around his neck, and pinned him to the ground.
     "No!" Eight yelled, struggling against her attacker's grip. He held her down as she tried to wrestle away, on her knees.
     She dared to look up, and saw that Three had, quite literally, caught Gabriel's fist. The Inkling moved it aside, grinning, and punched Gabriel in the face. Three stood, gasping for air, ink gushing from several scrapes on his arms. Gabriel staggered to his feet, breathing hard, glaring daggers at him.
     Three wagged a finger at her brother, as if daring him to advance.
     The Agents laughed in disbelief.
     The two grappled for a moment. Gabriel thrust his elbow into Three's chest, Three responded with a swift jab to his stomach, and then her brother swung for his head. He barely dodged it, and then kicked him in the torso. Gabriel fell to the ground, his breath hissing out like a poppef balloon. Three advanced, kicked him again, and then... stopped. There was anger in his eyes, in his posture, but then he turned to look at her and sighed.
     The third Agent advanced on him. He knelt down and took hold of Gabriel's chin, his eyes not filled with fury, but... pity?
     "What happened to you?" Three said, softly. Her brother's eyes widened in rage.
     "You took my sister! You took her and, and you corrupted her and now she's fighting the only family she has left because of YOU."
     Eight felt a sharp stab of guilt in her stomach. He was right.
     "I didn't do anything," He argued calmly. "It was Eight's decision to stay with us. She could've left whenever she wanted to; we gave her that choice."
     Well. Three was right, too.
     So why hadn't she left?
     Her brother didn't respond. He lowered his head and stared at the ground. But... something didn't feel right. Gabriel never gave up, even if it would kill him. He was persistent and determined, for sure.
     She felt a jab of sinking dread in her body.
     Was she the only one who saw the smile on his face?
     Was she the only one who saw his hands slowly moving behind his back, reaching for something?
     Was she the only one who saw the glimmer of a silver blade, reflecting off the sun?
     Was she the only one who felt the sudden rush of terror?
     Eight lunged forward. "THREE!"
     He turned to look at her, and all of a sudden Gabriel lurched forward and slashed the blade across his face.
     Time seemed to slow as Eight watched, from a perfect angle, as the knife cut straight through his scarred eye.
     Sound seemed to fade out as Three fell backwards, shrieking, and clutched his face in agony.
     The world dropped away, the commotion and the jeering and the laughs of insanity.
     The last piece of the puzzle freed itself from its jar, gently clicking into place with the rest of her memories.
     And, suddenly, she remembered.
     She remembered it all.
     And the reason why she loved him, you may ask?
     Because he'd just fought tooth and claw to save her.
     Her brother's eyes eyes were wide, filled with horror, yet overflowing with pride. Gabriel raised the inkstained knife to his face, examining it.
     And then...
     He slid his tongue over the blade.
     Utter, pure, unblemished outrage coursed through her veins.
     HOW.
     DARE.
     HE.
     "Eight, don't-" Aaron tried.
     Nah.
     Nothing was stopping her now.
     She wrapped her hands around her attacker's wrists and twisted them outward. He let go with a yell of pain, and in one swift move, she whipped around and roundhouse kicked him in the face. Eight tackled the one holding Marie with a scream of fury, and then the one holding Callie jumped off the help the one she was attacking. Eight lept off the one she was on, causing the other one to crash into him, and let them grapple as Callie and Marie made sure they couldn't go anywhere.
     She whipped to the one holding Aaron, and he instantly fled.
     Ink stained on her face, she turned and ran to Three.
     Eight slid across the ground on her knees and gently slipped her hands around his face. "Three! Three, look at me!"
     She received no response. He clutched his eye, breathing shallow and raspy, gasping for air, and shrieking in agony all at once.
     "Three! Look at me!"
     "I can't- my eye-" He cut himself off with another scream.
     "Three, please look at me." Eight pleaded. "You're going to be okay, please just look at me."
     Slowly, he opened his uninjured eye. Tears streamed down his face as his chest heaved up and down.
     Eight gently thumbed them away. "You're gonna be ok, you hear me? You're going to be just fine."
     He looked as though he was going to respond, but suddenly, his eyes rolled back and closed, his hands fell away from his face, and he went limp in her arms.
     Her hearts stopped. "Three?"
     No response.
     Tears rushed to her eyes.
     She shook him. "Three!"
     He was still, silent, quieter than the depths of the ocean.
     Eight slowly, menacingly turned her head to glare at Gabriel.
     She stood, rage overpowering all her emotions.
     "Guys, take Three and get out of here." Eight called to her friends, without turning. "This one's my kill.
     "But, Eight-"
     "Go!"
     She heard their footsteps as they ran.
     A shiver of relief made its way through her fury. They were safe, for now.
     Agent 8 drew her daggers and, with a snarl of rage, charged at her brother.

Holy mother of crudbuckets
That happened
Word count: 3110