Chapter 8: Intermission 2: Shadow of the True Self

Eight panted as she gripped her Octo Shot, carefully patrolling the maze as she inked the ground around her. She was trying to move slowly and silently, not because she wanted to be particularly stealthy, but because her own movements would potentially drown out her enemy’s.

This enemy was more indirect, disappearing into the shadows and then ambushing her before disappearing once more. The dimly-lit maze did not help things. Shadow Man’s large shuriken had splatted her once, and she had cuts from multiple hits since then, with not a lot of damage to show for it on her adversary.

“Your mind is just as lost as your body is in this maze,” spoke Shadow Man, his voice hard to place in the dim light around her. “Uncertainty dogs your movements. You are a shadow of your true self.”

“What would you know? You don’t know me at all,” Eight replied nervously.

“I am aware of my function in this place. I am here to test you, one who has lost their way, and their memory,” Shadow Man said, his voice now in another direction. “My most sincere sympathies. I too was once a very different person, with a different purpose. Unfortunately, as a robot, I am bound to my programming, and thus have no choice but to follow my orders. I wish we could have met in better circumstances. But as long as fear and uncertainty clouds your mind, you won’t be able to win.”

“Ugh, for a ninja he really doesn’t know when to shut up!” Pearl groaned. “Ignore him and let him have it, Eight!”

The problem for Eight, however, was that ignoring him was not a possibility. His words cut deeper than any of his blades. Sure, Seven didn’t really care all that much about who he used to be, but the fact that, for all the memories that were coming back to her, Eight couldn’t even remember her name.

And the memories she had regained scared her. She was worried that, if she were to regain her memories… She wouldn’t be the same person she was now. That she’d lose everything, including her newfound friends.

She heard something to her left. She dashed backwards, firing in that direction. A blade cut a gash on her arm, causing her to scream in pain as the shuriken returned to its owner, who disappeared once more.

She slumped against the wall. “I can’t do this… It’s too much…”

You’ve fought admirably with only one hand tied behind your back, spoke a voice in her head. But you need to unshackle yourself. Internalise this pain. You’ve lived with it all your life, after all.

Huh…? Who… Who are you? She questioned in her own thoughts.

Rest now, Princess. I’ll fight in your stead.

Eight stood up tall, taking a deep breath as clarity returned to her mind. She tossed the Octo Shot aside, and reached for the weapon on her belt, still wondering why C.Q. Cumber permitted her to bring it into the testing chamber. She held down a button with her thumb, spinning the hidden activation mechanism.

A series of intricate sections shot out, automatically assembling into one long ‘blade’. Ink flowed along the ‘edge’, Octarian technology causing it to flow in a specific fashion with intense pressure in a loop.

“Now I recognise it! That weapon’s an Octarian prototype! How did she get her hands on it?!” Marina asked, flabbergasted.

Eight gripped the handle with both hands, waiting for her enemy to make his move as she charged the ‘blade’, allowing more ink to flow into it.

This time, the sound came from her right. She turned, side-stepped, and swung. The shuriken missed her, while her own counter-attack struck true, actually causing proper damage to Shadow Man, who clenched his side due to the gash in it. “That weapon… A liquid blade projectile?!”

“This isn’t some toy for a Turf War. This is a weapon of war,” Eight said with authority, preparing another strike. “I suggest you take me seriously, or I will destroy you by way of a hundred cuts.”

“Another side of the coin… So the silk was hiding some steel after all,” Shadow Man remarked, making multiple hand signs that caused multiple duplicates of himself to appear in a burst of smoke. “Your eyes are no longer clouded. Very well, I shall face you head-on as you wish.”

The duplicates charged Eight, throwing shuriken as well. Eight rushed forward, deflecting with quick, expert strikes, slashing through the copies with the ink-formed blade swiftly and decisively.

When she came upon Shadow Man, striking vertically, he suddenly caught the ‘blunt’ part of the weapon with his fingers. She knew immediately he was physically stronger than her, but with both his hands occupied, she had another trick she could use, letting go with one hand and dropping a bomb at his feet.

Shadow Man cursed under his breath, jumping back and letting go of the ‘blade’ as the bomb exploded, splattering him. He threw another shuriken as he leaped, but Eight caught it as she started charging up another strike, dashing forward as she spun around and flung it right back at him.

The shuriken nailed Shadow Man right in the chest, causing him to groan in pain. Eight rushed him, and just as he landed, they slashed at each other with their respective weapons, dashing past each other.

Eight grit her teeth. She had taken on a nasty wound around her torso.

However, Shadow Man was much worse for wear, having nearly been sliced in half. “You have the soul of a samurai. Your form inspires awe. Well done, young lady. I hope we meet again… In this life… Or the next…”

He fell to the ground, motionless.

Eight retracted the blade back into its ‘sheath’… And blinked. What just happened?

“THAT WAS SO COOL! Sure that weapon is pretty dangerous and would be totally illegal in Turf War but WOOOOOOOOOOOW,” Pearl said.

“Eight… You seemed like a totally different person for a minute there. Are you okay?” Marina asked. “Can you still unlock that weapon?”

Eight looked down at the weapon in her hands, and frowned. That part had been a blur. “Sorry, I can’t. Also, I think I’m gonna need some of that medicinal spray now…”

❖

Eight winced as her wounds gradually healed from the spray, while she rode the train to the central station, reflecting on the fight that had just ended. She still held the Mem Cake in her hands.

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‘Another her’ had taken control during the fight, revealing combat ability she never knew she had before. Did she always have an alternate personality, that of a ruthless warrior?

As the train arrived at her destination, she stood up, taking it slow. The doors opened, and waiting on the other side were Cap’n Cuttlefish and Seven.

“Eight! You look like you had a bad time, geez,” Seven said, helping her off the train. “Pearl and Marina told us what happened.”

Seven had been a reliable and friendly partner through this whole ordeal, which was funny, because most people wouldn’t think that at first glance. He had green eyes, but his hairstyle was extra punky, with the first tentacle as a mohawk and the three other ones being significantly larger and giving off a ‘spiky’ impression at the back, going upwards instead of down.

“It’s good to see you made it back safely, young lady,” Cuttlefish said, as they all sat down on one of the benches at the station. “You managed to get that weapon of your working?”

“Apparently. My ‘other self’ deactivated it before I regained my senses, though,” Eight sighed, examining it, “and how she did it is a blur in my memories. Seven… Do you remember anything new?”

“Not much, to be honest. I actually fought another robot today as well - ‘Snake Man’. But he was easier than Quick Man, to be honest. I guess I just got lucky,” Seven said. “All I know for certain now is that we were friends… Or at least I was your subordinate.”

“Yeah… That tracks with what I remember, too,” Eight nodded. “I can’t remember what my name was or my exact rank, but I know I was an officer in the Octarian Army. I also remember that I came from a family of Octarian nobility. My other self called me ‘Princess’ before she took control.”

“I wish I could be more help in that regard, but you weren’t exactly the only noblewoman in the army, Eight,” Marina said. “I think we might’ve met, once upon a time, but that was a long time ago.”

“My eyes ain’t what they used to be, but you look troubled, Agent Eight,” Cuttlefish said.

“I’m worried that if I regain my memories… I won’t be the person I am now,” Eight squirmed in place. “What if I was a terrible person? A monster?”

“Whoa, whoa, Eight, calm down. That… Doesn’t mesh with what I remember you were like,” Seven said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Besides. We both were touched by the Calamari Inkantation, right?”

“It’s not something you just forget,” Cuttlefish nodded, “even before losing your memories, you knew the Inkantation. I’ll repeat it as many times as I gotta - no fan of the Inkantation is a foe of mine. I believe, even if you were misguided, you both were good people before we met, and I’m sure that won’t change even when you regain your memories.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you won’t change, Eight! People don’t just change at the drop of a hat just like that,” Pearl spoke up. “Just keep on truckin’ so you three can finally get up to the surface!”

“I’m sure the old you was just as much of a kind-hearted person as you are now, Eight. I’ve got no doubt about that,” Marina said reassuringly.

“Thank you. All of you,” Eight sniffed, wiping away her tears. “I need a rest. Today’s been… A lot.”

Seven chuckled, “yeah, me too. Too knackered to even do your evening exercises?”

Eight blinked. “Since when did I-” Then a memory hit her like a truck. “Oh, wow. I used to work out a lot.”

“Explains why you’re ripped, geez,” Pearl chuckled.

Eight was not a slender girl by any stretch - she had well-toned muscles all across her body, and a curvaceous figure for her age. Apparently her old self really worked on her legs in particular. She honestly felt a bit embarrassed thinking about it.

“Well, we were soldiers, and apparently skilled enough to send after 3 & 4,” Seven shrugged.

“You know what? I think I’ll do my exercises before I rest. Gotta work through the pain,” Eight said, as she stood up and started to stretch. “I can’t depend on ‘other me’ to bail me out again.”

“Awesome, sounds like fun!” Seven grinned, hopping off the bench.

“Cap’n, um, I think it’d do you good to join in,” Eight said. “How long has it been since you last properly exercised?”

“Well, I can give it a shot. No guarantees I’ll be able to do much with this ancient body, but we’ll see,” Cuttlefish got up, taking a deep breath as he tried to stretch. Unfortunately he wasn’t doing particularly well.

“So, uh… While you’re doing that, I should mention there’s a rumour going around about a robot in Inkopolis who looks like a human and showed up out of nowhere,” Marina said.

That triggered alarm bells in Eight’s head. “That might be bad, if Kamabo Corp is sending their robots to the surface for something. People might get hurt. Could you two look into it?”

“No problemo, I’ve got an idea for how we could do that,” Pearl chuckled. “Just keep doin’ what you’re doin’, and we’ll let you know what we find.”

“Thanks, you two,” Eight said, as she stretched.

She decided that it didn’t matter who she used to be or how her memories might affect her. She was who she was now, and that wouldn’t change. Right now, her focus should be on the prize in front of her, namely an escape to the surface, so she could see Inkopolis with her own eyes and meet with Pearl and Marina in person for the first time.

The knowledge that their escape was getting closer and closer only filled her with more determination.

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