A Tertiary Perspective

Grim Reaper

Axel left the hospital. The doctors had managed to gather that sanitation left the victim without a proper will of their own, leaving them very venerable to mind control, or even suggesting speech. Further tests proved that any given order would not stop being the Oceanics prime directive, until the imprinter changed it. They managed to use a combination of Axel's taser, halucinigenic substances, and induced dizziness to change the directive to 'rest here for now' for the pair Axel brought. They may have changed it again, but Axel had already left, to make some form of technical mind control, intending to have a way to help. The sanitation had no medical cure, but the doctors were trying.

Meanwhile, Agent 8 was trying her best to find Tartar. For once, C.Q. was making it easy for her, probably because he did not want to be barbequed. She entered the next station, where she fought the Octo Shower Deluxe, and noticed something off. Maybe the running ink lines, or the distant clack of metal on metal would've given it away, but she saw a strange tarp, and several dozen sanitized octotroopers. She ducked behind a wall, and took a few pictures. Unfortunately, the flash was on. One trooper turned around, and saw her take another picture of the work site. Luckily, his job was not to stop a spy, but to keep the ink lines functional. Agent 8 ran out as fast as possible, and got back to the bus. Unfortunately, there was another sanitized Octarian that saw her. Agent 8 called up Marie, and reported what she found.

"Really? We'll need to send someone down there. Probably 3." Marie said.

"But there were a lot!" Said agent 8.

"I know, we can have agent 3 use one of Axel's weapons. He is working on some way to give the sanitized octarians their free will back." Marie said.

Suddenly, the train came to a grinding halt, almost as is something knocked it's wheels off the tracks. Multiple sanitized octolings ran in and captured agent 8. She dropped her phone, but not her CQ80.

"Agent 8? Agent 8!" Marie panicked. "This isn't good, we need to get her out of there!" She hung up.

2 minutes later.

"That's... Bad. Alright, I'm going in there." Said Axel, upset by the news.

"Will you need backup?" Marie asked.

"Tartar never met me. I bet he doesn't even know the humans are here. So he won't know how to stop me. I'll be ok." Axel said.

"Good luck agent A." Marie said.

"Please. Don't call me that." Said Axel. "Axel is fine."

He hung up, and left the human tech workshop, the Reaper already drawn.

Another 2 minutes later.

Axel arrived back at the metro, and began following Marina's guidance to Agent 8's phone. He got there after a short time.

"Ok, here's the phone. That's Marina, but I'll leave you on the air." Axel said.

"Alright. Please bring 8 back safely." Marina said.

"Can do." Axel said. He turned to C.Q.Cumber. "Now, I need your tracing code to find 8's CQ80.

"This way then, sir." C.Q.Cumber said, leading Axel to the engine room.

Axel accessed the terminal inside, and accessed the CQ80's signal, which he began tracking. It led to a large, desolate room, not on the original test path. He took off, while C.Q.Cumber worked on the train.

After a short time, he got to his destination. And he could here screaming from the other side. He began pounding on the door, blasting it off it's hinges in a few punches. Inside, agent 8 and several other Octarians and Inklings were being dropped into large, nasty containers, filled with vile slimes. Axel immediately tossed the door at the containers, shattering the majority of them, but not Agent 8's. He dashed forward, tearing down the one sanitized trooper who got in his way. He reached the container 8 was in, and smashed it with his fist. Agent 8 had already endured a partial effect, but was still in control of herself. She fainted, and Axel picked her up, and told Marina to send any agents on standby to extract the other victims. Then, his face went cold with anger, and he dashed towards the head scientist, slashing him in half. Suddenly, dozens of guards burst into the room, and Axel was locked in a defensive fight against an oncoming horde. He raised the Reaper, and jumped right at the group, cutting down several. He tossed his cloak over agent 8, and dropped prone, rolled hard, and came up to the side of the guards, already attacking. They turned around, but Axel had already vanished. This time, he came up in the middle of the pack, and spun around, chopping up the rest.

A crashing was heard from afar. Several pairs of footsteps were with it. Agent 3 ran into the room, followed by agent 4.

"Good, can you guys get them?" Axel asked. Then he asked "and what's that noise."

Agent 3 panted "Big. As. Hell. Machine."

"Wonderful..." Axel said dryly. He fell prone and vanished again.

Agent 4 went to ask where he went, when a resounding clang echoed down the hall. Axel was taking on the death machine to buy them time. Agent 3 looked back, and saw that Axel couldn't really damage the machine, but the machine was too slow to hit him back. Suddenly, they heard a faint jingle, telling them Axel charged his special. He spun the Reaper around, and shouted "die, fiends!"

He slammed the end if the Reaper on the ground, and the machine stopped moving, it's driver had been splatted.

Axel walked back, tired. "I got im." He said slowly. "Let's scram, before another turns up."

"Indeed." Said agent 3.

"Where's 8?" Asked 4.

Axel pulled his cloak to the side. "Got her right here." He said. "Unconscious. Though. Let's leave."

"She doesn't look too good." Agent 3 observed.

"She's not. I think it's a partial sanitation. I'm taking her to the hospital. They've been studying a few sanitized octarians I took in earlier." Axel said. "She'll be ok."

"Ok..." Said Agent 4.

"Let's go. I'll tell Marie what happened." Said Agent 3.

"No need." Said Axel. "I've got Marina on speaker."

"And I already told Marie the situation." Marina spoke up. "She is very worried about 8."

"I know. I'll make sure she is ok." Axel said, as everyone left.

"Good riddance." Agent 3 said.

"Shame we couldn't bust this perpetrator right here and now." Agent 4 said.

"I'm still mad about the last time." Agent 3 said. "Little scum left a scar on my face that has yet to heal."

"You have a scar?" Agent 4 asked, surprised.

"Marie lets me use her face powder to keep it covered up." Agent 3 said.

"Try the human makeup instead. It doesn't come off as easy." Agent 4 said.

"How do you know?" Asked Agent 3.

"Only water washes it off, not our ink-water." Said agent 4. "Riley marked my shoulder as a joke, and it still hasn't come off completely."

"That's an oof man." Said Axel.

A short while later, Axel arrived at the hospital. "Another patient?" Then clerk asked.

"This one's better off, something could be done for her." Said Axel.

He revealed agent 8.

"To be honest I don't even know if it's an issue, but she also had head trauma and may or may not have internal bleeding. I just know she was on a train, and then the train kinda exploded." Axel said.

"Very well... I'll check her in." The clerk said. "Also, the scientists want to talk again."

"Very well." Said Axel. "Oh, and for the name, she goes by 8. Just 8." Axel said.

"I'll make a note." The clerk said. She wheeled out a stretcher. "I'll take her now."

Axel gently laid 8 down on the stretcher, and went to see what the scientists wanted this time.

"Maybe they made a breakthrough." Axel thought. "You never know..."