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Part 4 - "She's the Boss"

Here they were, back in the elevator!
Agent 4 sighed with relief, twirled around so their back faced the wall, and slid down to sit.

They were quite proud of themself! At this point... they just completed Floor 19!
There were still 11 more floors to get through, but because they reached a nice and round number, it just felt different. And sure, the drone battles got tougher, but they and their companion got tougher too. As they took a much-needed break, they felt ready to go!

"That's the spirit, Agent 4! But remember, the elevator's still gonna take a while to reach Floor 20. Let's take the time to take it easy for a while - I dunno if you're tired, but between elevator hacks on one hand and controlling this drone on the other, my hand's cramped up real bad..."

Agent 4 looked up at the H4CKER drone - now that he at least had some kind of visible presence in the memverse, it was easier to focus on his words.
But as hyped up as they were to face the next floor, they did feel kind of... bad. Their companion had been working tirelessly for at least a few hours now, just to save them! And sure, they were pretty good at fighting off security bots - better than 7 floors ago, at least -but it still felt like they were putting H4CKER through a lot of work...

"Eh, you already know I'm a bit shady, right? Saving a life's gotta build up some good karma," he laughed. At this point, Agent 4 accepted H4CKER's antics. At least the both of them got along well!
They had also started to feel more and more like themself, whoever they are, or whoever they used to be.

"Yeah, I've noticed that. You're pretty chipper, aren't you? You've got a good sense of humor, too! Good for me, really. I don't know if I could handle talking to someone who can't joke around," H4CKER, well, joked. They knew he'd likely help them anyway.

"Moving on... now that you're feeling better, I should share something with you," he started.
Agent 4 tilted their head. Would it be something important? Maybe... maybe he knew them before this happened...?
"No, no, but that'd be pretty cool too," H4CKER responded, "When I first got into the Memverse, I noticed that it looks exactly like Inkopolis Square. Everything's white, though. It's like a snowstorm wiped everything out and turned it into a ghost town..."

Inkopolis Square...
That place sounded... familiar.

"Yeah, exactly! This place you're in right now? It's designed after Deca Tower. I mean, it's technically still bringing you into ink battles, so I guess that checks out," he started, "anyway, it makes me wonder if the simulation was made by someone in the Square. And if you got sucked in somehow.... maybe that's where you lived?"

Agent 4 thought on it for a second. They still couldn't put their finger on it, but something about Inkopolis Square made their head feel like it was trying to remember something that only just slipped their mind...
It reminded them of... glitter. Yellow, glittery ink. A green paper parasol... and a snow globe, for some reason. It was an odd combination, but it was so specific that it had to mean something!
They sat there and squeezed their robotic eyes shut, trying to remember anything more... then just sighed. It made their head feel too weird...

"Snow globes, glitter, paper parasols...Maybe you used to work at a place that sells trinkets."

Agent 4 shook their head. Why would they be called an agent if that were true?

"Good point. Maybe it was a front for a secret agency."

No, that didn't seem right either...
Gah! It was starting to frustrate them! They grabbed their head and looked downwards. Why couldn't they just remember now?