A flash of ginger hair and a toothy smile. Test tubes and wires. Jumbled voices in a language she couldn’t understand. Cold.
- - - - - - - - -
Darkness. The cloth tied around her head to cover her eyes dug into the tops of her ears. She was being carried in the arms of someone, jostled slightly with every step they took but otherwise secure. Salt hovered at the edge of every shallow breath she took, but there was a crispness to the air that indicated night.
“Set her down here?” the person carrying her roughly asked.
A softer one answered. “Yes. Be careful with her.”
And then she was being lowered to the ground, her back to a wall and her limbs being moved in a way so that nothing would ache or fall asleep. Her blindfold was also removed but she made no effort to open her eyes.
The voices stepped away and continued chattering for a moment more, the softer one reporting into a walkie-talkie. There was a pause, then an inky woosh.
At this, her eyes cracked open, unfocused and hazy. She blinked slowly, trying to clear her vision while fighting a bone-deep exhaustion that threatened to pull her under. She managed to get a clear view for just a moment before her eyes slipped shut for good, and the last thing she saw was twin streaks of ink cutting a gash through the stars.
The air stood still in the room, thick with early summer heat. Through the blinds, sunbeams cast striped shadows across the floor, desk, and couch as dust danced through them. Silence had long settled, aside from the crickets chirping outside and the distant notes of a windchime.
In this silence, Sasha awoke with a start. Her heartbeat raced, felt everywhere in her body, as terror and panic at the unknown froze her in place. She panted, trying to catch her breath and get her mind to focus enough to take in her surroundings.
She was laying on the couch, a light blanket over her. It appeared to be more for modesty than warmth, seeing that she was only in a tank top and shorts, but she was also alone in the room, so she felt comfortable--as comfortable as she could at the moment--to push the blanket to the side and sit up.
The room she was in was small with two doors leading off of it, but due to the placement of windows, it appeared to be the main room of the building. She was on the far wall, a window with the blinds down across from her and a desk in front of it. To her left were a set of lockers, and to her right was a kitchenette, a table, and two chairs. On the arm of the couch next to her lay a causally folded navy blue windbreaker jacket with a reflective stripe across the top, and a pair of chunky snow boots sat nearby. She pulled the jacket on, leaving the front unzipped, and was grateful it was made of a breathable material. She left the boots alone for now.
Still tense but no longer on the verge of hyperventilating, Sasha got to her feet and made her way to the door on the opposite wall. Due to the large window on that side, it seemed to go outside, whereas the other door likely led to another room or a closet.
The door was bare wood, sitting a good two inches off the ground, and clattered when she slid it open. The afternoon sun made her immediately close her eyes though, face scrunching up as she attempted to block the bright light with her hand. Squinting, her vision adjusted enough to make out dirt and concrete platform in front of her. Old power lines with little flags ran overhead, and a corner was shaded with a modest tree. To the right was a large rock structure with an arch carved out, metal scaffolding plates leading to a larger area. It was from this direction a woman in a kimono was hurrying towards her, a large green umbrella hiding her face in shadow.
Sasha, who hadn’t left the doorway, quickly stepped back inside and slammed the door, holding it in place while she frantically scanned the room for anything she could use to defend herself. It was spotless. There wasn’t even a utensil in the kitchenette sink, and she didn’t have time to rifle through the cupboards for a knife or a fork. The shoes looked heavy enough to use as a bludgeon though and after a moment of deliberation, she crossed the room in three quick strides and picked them up. She was trying to get a good grip, half turned back to face the door when it opened again and the woman rushed in. She had snapped the umbrella shut before entering, and she set it aside in a way that was clearly hurried but retained a sense of poise.
“Four, what are you doing?” the woman exclaimed, surprise and concern mingling in her voice. “Oh nevermind, it’s good that you’re awake. How are you feeling?” She crossed the room in a similar fashion as Sasha had, and had placed a hand on her forehead before Sasha could even think to raise the boots still gripped haphazardly in her fists.
“Um.” Sasha stepped back, as much as she could in the corner of the room, and bumped into the edge of the couch. Her voice was raspy, rough around the edges in a way that made it hard to come out. “Who are you?”
The other woman also stepped back and Sasha tried to discreetly adjust her grasp on her makeshift weapon. But the woman just looked thoughtful, concern hovering in her shoulders. “I had a feeling this might happen…” she sighed. “I’m Agent 2, or Marie, from the New Squidbeak Splatoon. You’re Agent 4, though it doesn’t seem like you remember that. You’ve been missing for two weeks and I found you passed out in Sector 4 this morning, unharmed but unresponsive.” She paused for a moment, then added “I’m not going to hurt you, so you can drop those boots whenever you feel like it.”
Sasha looked down at them, then back up at the woman—Marie—but didn’t let go.
“Or not. Be like that, I guess. It’s good to see you’re mostly okay, Four,” Marie said, genuine care in her voice. She turned and headed to the kitchenette, opening one of the top cupboards and pulling out a glass. She filled it with water from the tap, then added a couple ice cubes from a minifridge before handing it to Sasha. “I’d imagine it’s been a while since you’ve had any, and your voice doesn’t sound great. Drink.”
This well intentioned gesture was also a ploy—to take the glass she would also have to drop the shoes she was still holding. Sasha regarded her for a moment, before setting the shoe in her non dominant hand down and taking the glass. Water did sound nice. She drained half the glass in one gulp, the ice clinking as she lowered it. Marie raised an eyebrow at her but didn’t offer further comment.
Marie took a seat at the table on the other side of the room, clearly reading Sasha’s wariness and giving her as much space as possible, before continuing to talk about stuff Sasha could barely follow. “Seeing as you’re like this, I don’t want to leave you alone, and being here overnight probably isn’t a great idea right now. I’m going to message Three and you’ll stay the night with her, I want someone who can monitor your condition for a little bit.” She pulled a phone out from somewhere in her kimono and tapped on it for a moment before setting it down on the table. “I’m sure you have questions, is there anything I can answer for you?”
This stunned Sasha, even though it was an obvious question in hindsight. What didn’t she know? What did she want to know? Her mind raced, following thought threads back to a simple, terrifying conclusion: she didn’t know anything. At all. She knew her name, but that was it. Trying to recall anything past when she had woken up minutes before was like trying to push against a wall, or see through a thick fog. It was impossible. This was enough shock to make her drop the other shoe and sit down heavily, sinking into the couch.
“I… I don’t know. Who is Three? What is this place? What happened to me…?” The words streamed out of Sasha, if only to fill the silence in the room and the deafening roar in her ears. She stared at the ground in front of her, missing the small, pitiful smile Marie gave her.
“Three is Agent 3,” she said gently. “You two haven’t worked together much, but she’s reliable and I trust her to take care of you. I can tell you don’t necessarily want that-” She was right, Sasha was bristling. “But I also think you know we’re not going to let you stay alone in this state. I hope you’ll be able to trust her. As for this place, this is Octo Canyon, one of the above ground hubs for octolings and octarians. We agents have to patrol the area to make sure they don’t try to attack the city. You actually went through all the kettles in this place and fought DJ Octavio to rescue my cousin and return the Great Zapfish,” she said with a nostalgic smile. “I’ve said it before, but you probably don’t remember. I’m really grateful to you, Four. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
With the introduction of new information, Sasha could feel some memories trickling back. The different sectors of the canyon, and the tens of kettles contained within, a small yellow zapfish at the end of each one. The way it got darker the further you went down until you were only a few feet above rolling purple water. The final fight against Octavio, in a dome surrounded by thousands of his fans, to save ███. She winced, that particular part not coming back.
“What is your cousin’s name?” Sasha asked, hoping it would clear the pain stabbing her brain due to the blocked memory.
“Oh, uh.. it’s Callie.” Marie was caught off guard but answered promptly. “She’s Agent 1, and our grandpa is the Captain of the Splatoon.”
Thankfully that did clear up the momentary headache. She saved Callie, the pop star that was brainwashed and opening for the DJ. Marie had swooped in and sniped the glasses right off her face, leaving Sasha to finish Ocatvio off. She sat with this memory for a moment, letting the details slowly come into focus, before another thing dawned on her.
“Does Three have a name or is she just-”
“You can just call me Three,” a new voice said from the doorway, accompanied by the clatter of wood on wood. “You may be staying with me, but we should maintain a professional relationship.” Backlit by the now setting sun stood another woman. She had sharp features, blunt cut bangs and long hair- no, tentacles (why did she want to call it hair??) She stared at Sasha and she felt a shiver go down her spine. Reaching for her trusty boots crossed her mind, but something in the harsh gaze told her that doing so would be a very bad idea, so she held back.
Thankfully, she turned her attention to Marie. “You said she doesn’t remember anything? To what extent is that?”
“Well, we haven’t been talking long,” Marie answered casually, “But I don’t think she knows anything. She was asking about Callie and the canyon, so she’s definitely lost memories of at least the last year. It’s possible that the amnesia goes back further but Three, please don’t push it too far.”
“Is that really what you think of me?” Three scoffed.
“And be nice to her,” she admonished.
“Sure, sure, mom. I wasn’t planning on torturing her or anything,” Three said with an eye roll.
Marie laughed lightly, this kind of banter clearly commonplace, and turned back to Sasha. “You should get changed into casual clothes, I’m sure Three doesn’t want to hang around long.”
Casual clothes… that made sense. The jacket was passable but snow boots weren’t exactly normal footwear. “Um, where…”
“In the lockers,” Marie nodded to the set lined up across the room from her. “Yours is the one closest to you.”
Sasha eyed the locker. It was about as tall as she was (when she was standing) and didn’t have a lock--none of them did. She glanced back at the pair, who thankfully weren’t staring at her, and got up. She still didn’t feel great about having her back to them, so she quickly opened the locker and assessed the contents. A stack of clothes sat within easy reach, a white button up and what looked to be a pleated skirt. A pair of socks sat folded next to them, and a pair of loafers rested at the bottom of the locker. The other contents were multiple volumes of manga on a top shelf, some snacks and drinks, and what looked to be a chunky white water gun. Sasha grabbed the shirt and shrugged off the jacket she was still wearing, shrugging on the shirt and buttoning it deftly. She contemplated the skirt for a moment before pulling it over her shorts and zipping up the side.
“You know there’s a bathroom over there, you could’ve changed there,” Three called from behind her and Sasha spun around, face and ears flushed. She opened her mouth to retort but Marie spoke up first, chiding Three and saving Sasha what probably would’ve been even worse embarrassment. Sasha pulled the socks and shoes out of the locker and closed it, sitting down on the couch to finish getting dressed.
“I’ll be waiting outside,” Three said, opening the door that she was still standing near. “Come out when you’re done.”
When she was gone, Marie said “Please try not to mind her much, she can come off kind of rude but I promise she doesn’t dislike you.” Sasha hummed, not really believing her.
“Can I leave these here?” Sasha asked, gesturing to the jacket and boots.
“Yes, of course.”
Sasha finished pulling on the loafers and got up. She went to place the still half full glass on the table and as she passed her, Marie said “I hope you make a full recovery soon, Four,” a soft smile on her face. “I’ll check in in a couple days, try to get along with Three in the meantime, okay?”
Sasha just hummed again with a tight, hesitant smile, at a loss for words. “Thank you,” she managed to get out, and quickly headed out the door.
No longer newly awake, she didn’t need any time to adjust to the sun. Three stood to the left by a raised portion of the ground capped by a metal grate. “You ready?” she called out.
A stilted “Yeah” was all Sasha got out before Ava stepped over the grate and disappeared.
What the fuck.
Sasha rushed over and peered down, but it was definitely a solid grate, no hole big enough for a body to drop through. How did she do that? Was Sasha supposed to follow? She stared at the metal mesh, trying to wrap her head around what she just saw when Three popped up again, inches in front of her.
This close, it was clear she was a couple inches taller than Sasha, enough so that she had to physically tilt her head up to look at her. Her eyes were light gray and sharp, and a smattering of freckles covered her face, ears, and neck. There even seemed to be a hint of a swirling tattoo on her left side… and then she stepped back. “Okay,” Three breathed out, “I wasn’t really expecting you to know as much as a paralarvae but we’ll work with what we’ve got. Come here.”
Without a second thought, Sasha stepped forward, now on top of the grate. Her mind was reeling, too much happening in too little time. Para… what? That sounded like an insult, but Sasha couldn’t figure out how, but she was much more willing to ponder that than the reason why she did what Three asked with zero hesitation.
Speaking of Three, she had stepped around Sasha and was now muttering “hold still…” as she poked Sasha at a point near the top of her spine. An intense shiver ran down it and her ears clogged, like she rose in altitude too fast, and then suddenly she was in the dark. Her body felt different, smaller but faster and more streamlined. She couldn’t exactly see, but she could tell where everything around her was, and in all directions instead of just ahead like normal eyesight. It felt so wrong though, like she wasn’t supposed to be able to do this. Before she could panic or try to figure out what had happened, Three’s voice sounded nearby. “Don’t think about it too hard or you’ll lose this form. Just follow me, quickly, and I'll explain it later.”
With that, Three took off, racing down the pipe they were apparently in. Sasha startled for a moment, then followed after, not wanting to get lost or left behind. They sped through the pipe system for what felt like ages, Sasha getting more and more exhausted as they went on, but Three slowed after what was actually only a couple minutes.
“Okay, jump here,” she instructed and Sasha did so with the last of her energy. She stumbled as she regained human form, grabbing onto the nearest thing—Three’s shoulder—so she didn’t fall. Three, to her surprise, put a hand on the small of her back to steady her. Sasha froze, just long enough for the warmth to seep through her shirt, but Three stepped back a moment later. “We’ve got a couple minutes’ walk to the train station, will you be alright?”
“Yeah… I think so,” Sasha breathed out shakily. “What was that?”
“Later,” was all Three said, then set off, leaving Sasha still rooted in place.
It took a second for Sasha to take in their surroundings and once she did, she had to jog to catch up with Three to avoid getting separated. They were on the edge of a bustling city plaza and with no way to skirt around it, Three was making a beeline through the heart of it. They wove through the crowd, sidestepping strangers as they did the same, everyone lost in their own world. Nothing short of chaos.
And the noise. It was so loud here, it made her head throb. She hadn’t noticed how quiet it was in the canyon, but she sorely missed it now. All she could do was focus on following Three, the pain was too distracting to do much else.
After what felt like ages, they finally broke through on the other side but Three barely slowed down. She led them down a set of stairs which, based on the signage, was the entrance to a metro system. Everything felt both very familiar and brand new at the same time, so Sasha tried to soak in as much as possible, basking in the borderline deja vu and nostalgia that she didn’t understand in the slightest. She almost missed when they reached the ticket barrier, Three having procured a card and passing through, but Sasha was stuck on the other side. She patted down her skirt to see if it had pockets (it didn’t), and was about to call out for Three to stop when she realized that she already had, and was holding her card across the barrier for Sasha to take. She was really out of it, wasn’t she? She took the offered card and passed through, returning it with a quiet “thanks” that Three seemed to ignore.
They headed down another set of stairs and arrived on the platform, which was half full with other people. Sasha, taking the initiative this time, found an open spot next to the pillar and claimed it, leaning heavily against the cool stone and closing her eyes. The last hour had been incredibly overwhelming in multiple ways and it was finally catching up to her. Her head still ached, less now but it’s not like the train station was quiet in any way. All of her limbs felt heavy, kept alive with an electricity of tension that she couldn’t get to go away. Not that fully relaxing right now would be a good idea, but it would be nice if she wasn’t so on edge. She stayed like that, eyes closed, trying to focus on her breathing and the cold pillar at her back to ground herself, until she heard the train rumble in and felt the wind it stirred up hit her face.
She waited until the last minute to push herself off the pillar, reluctant to start moving again, but was surprised to see Three standing patiently there with her. If it showed on her face, Three didn’t react at all and only started to step forward once Sasha started moving. If Sasha hadn’t moved, would Three let the train pass and waited for the next one? She had seemed to be in a hurry, with how fast they had been walking, but on the platform, she looked completely unbothered. Of course they’d have to get on a train eventually but…
On autopilot, Sasha boarded the train and stood, lost in thought, until the train jolting forward made her stagger. Shaking herself back to reality, she grabbed a poll in front of her and widened her stance a little for balance, glancing around the rather full car. It was a little rowdier than she expected, multiple groups of older teens or young adults laughing and chatting. There were the odd business man or woman in a suit, looking tired, but most of the people were fashionable people around Sasha’s age. It was similar to the plaza they passed through in that regard, and got Sasha wondering about what type of city they were in—or at least part of the city they were in—that adults appeared to be rare.
The train took a curve faster than she was expecting and Sasha staggered, catching herself just before she bumped into Three. She righted herself and shook it off, but was still slightly swaying in place, and not just to the rocking of the train as it sped down the tracks.
“Hey, do you think you could let my friend here take your spot?” she heard Three say, her comprehension lagging a second behind. Friend? She’s probably just saying that because it’s the easiest explanation. “She’s not feeling great and it’d be good for her to sit down.”
A guy in one of the seats in front of them got up and Three ushered her into the empty spot. It was on the edge of the row, a plexiglass barrier to her left that she gratefully laid her head against. She murmured out a quiet thanks and closed her eyes again, content to just feel the sway of the train instead of having to match it. A heavy tiredness creeped through her mind, turning her limbs and thoughts to lead.
Twenty minutes and a couple stops later, Three got her attention again. “This is our stop.” Sasha hummed in response, bracing herself for a moment then using the poll to lift herself up. She was still a bit unsteady on her feet but tried to hide it as they left the train, then the station.
They were on a main street in a residential area, but it was much less crowded than the plaza. Small apartment complexes rose all around them, local shops and convenience stores on the ground level of most of them. It was much quieter too; there was chatter and the normal city noises, but nowhere near the level of the city center or the train. Sasha let Three lead her down the streets, recognizing that she should probably be noting the turns but forgetting as soon as they made them. Eventually they slowed in front of one of the taller buildings, Three holding the door open for Sasha as they entered.
In a small lobby area, Three started to head for the stairs before hesitating, then pivoting for the elevator. Sasha, deciding she didn’t want to keep appearing weak, headed for the stairs. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she heard Three call, but she continued to pull the door open and started up. The fresh air had been nice, she probably had enough energy to make it to Three’s apartment.
“You don’t even know what floor it’s on,” Three huffed, falling a half-step behind her.
“Which one is it then?” Sasha retorted, determined. Nevermind the fact she was already using the railing to help her each step.
“Sixth.”
Shit. Well, she couldn’t back out now. “That’s fine.”
It was not fine. By floor 3 she was completely exhausted, her steps noticeably slower. She staggered halfway to floor 5 and Three caught her, then hovered cautiously behind for the reminding flight and a half. Needless to say, her plan had backfired.
Once they reached the right floor, Three, apparently unfazed by climbing six flights of stairs, passed the pair of doors closest to the stairs but stopped in front of one of the second ones. She caught up to Three as she was unlocking the door, this time heading in first.
Sasha closed the door behind her and Three knelt to quickly untie her boots. “I’m going to go make sure the guest room is set up, make yourself at home.” She then crossed the apartment and disappeared into a room, leaving Sasha to take in the space.
To her right was a full kitchen, an island with a couple bar stools serving as a dining table. It was spotless, nothing on the countertops but normal kitchen appliances: microwave, toaster, coffee maker, knife set. She couldn’t see the sink from her position but she assumed there’d be no dirty dishes in it. Across from the kitchen was the living room, an L-shaped couch bracketing a coffee table with a TV stand directly across from it. The space was well lit from a window over the smaller side of the couch and a large sliding door that led out to a small balcony. On the far wall, between the kitchen and living room, was the short hallway Three had disappeared into.
She kicked off her loafers, putting them somewhat neatly on the shoe rack next to Three’s boots, and headed into the living room to plop down on the couch. The windows let in the late afternoon sun---almost sunset now---warming her within moments. She relaxed for the first time that day, lulled into comfort by the squishy couch and sun. But the break from constant movement came with the time to realize how bad she felt. And she felt like shit. Her headache was still there, her limbs still leaden now with the added burn in her legs. At least the lightheadedness wasn’t really affecting her sitting down. She breathed slowly, letting each exhale take a little of the pain away, until she slipped into a light sleep.
“I didn’t really expect 'make yourself at home' to mean 'fall asleep on the couch' but I guess this is fine,” came a light chuckle from above her. “Do you want to get into bed?”
“No…” It can’t have been that much later, but when Sasha opened her eyes again, it was fully dark out. Three had turned on lamps that lit the space in a soft glow, and was currently crouched down in front of her. Sasha sat up, forcing Three to look up at her, and felt a little smug. Then her stomach growled, and her smugness was immediately replaced with embarrassment, while Three’s smirk only grew.
“Food, then? I’ve got soup on the stove.” Three stood up and offered her hand to help Sasha do the same.
A part of her mind complained, but Sasha took the offered hand. “Soup sounds great, thank you.”