Sanitized

Chapter 22; Innocent

Tres and Paxton walked into the apartment, and I waited outside the door.
Not wanting to see them after the last debacle.
I could hear them giving introductions, and all of them asking where I was.
I had told Tres and Paxton to answer that I was down on the beach.
I walked over to the elevator, and then down the boardwalk, and onto the beach.
I walked through the warm coarse sand. I took off my sandals, and set them on a rock next to me. I carefully climbed onto the surface of the wet rock. I had put on protection this time, and couldn't be splatted. I sat with my legs crossed and looked up at the sky, and put my hand above my forehead to shade the sun from my eyes.
No clouds, just like on the day we got here. Just like on the day Faith had left.
I needed to tell them what we had learned, and I knew that Tres was too shaken up to talk about it.
I sat there for a couple more moments, savoring the scene.
Serenity.
That was the word to describe that moment.
The only sounds were calm.
The scene was picturesque.
The girl who wasn't next to Faith or the others when I was there, but was somehow, miraculously, not with the surviving agents.
I reluctantly hopped off the rock, and put my sandals back on.
And then walked back up to the room, knowing I should talk to them.
I stopped at the door for a moment, almost scared of what questions people would ask. And of Steven. I opened the door with a sigh, and then everyone looked at me.
Phoenix said, "Opal?"
Elliot said, "Opal!"
"Opal." Steven said.
I looked at all of them, and immediately changed gears.
"I know their plan." I said quietly, "well, at least some of it."
"Go on." Pearl said.
"Octar has created an entire army of sanitized inklings, consuming our friends. They have Tartar's sanitizing ink, and somehow, one drop is strong enough to sanitize. We were almost sanitized, so Octar told us that he was taking our land. Whatever that means. And in the sTress of all that, Isaac was captured. And sanitized...."
Tres looked downward.
"Hey it's fine, we'll get them back." Elliot said, putting his hand on Tres' shoulder.
She looked up at him, with true sincerity in her eyes.
"Are you being... positive?" Tres asked him. She then started giggling.
He smiled at her, and then said, "sure, whatever floats your boat."
We all smiled and laughed a little with them.
"We barely escaped, and then Paxton saved us." I said, looking at Paxton.
"Wow, that's awesome." Phoenix said to Paxton, with stars in her eyes, like he was her hero.
"It was nothing." Paxton said with a sincere cheerful smile.
Phoenix smiled at him.
"Which of our friends did you see?" Pearl asked.
"Wow, actually come to think of it, I saw Callie, Marie, Faith, and Isaac, but I didn't see Serenity." I said quietly.
"Good, she must be safe with Marina." Steven said.
I was filled with jealousy, he cared so much about her, but I had to tell him.
"No, uh, actually, Marina said that she wasn't there with them, and that they sent Faith and Serenity and Marie on a mission, but they never came back..."
"Well then, we should ask again." Steven said.
"Umm, Marina said that she would call me back if anything happened." I said shyly.
"Okay. Well if she's not there she must be sanitized." Steven said, now suddenly concerned.
I felt enraged, and I usually don't get angry.
"Wanna play knight in shining armor?" I said quietly, teasing him.
"What?!"
"I'm just kidding..." I said meekly.
"Is all of this a joke to you?! Are you even telling the truth about the plans?!"
Steven stood above me again. I looked at him scared.
"You could just be lying about Serenity and everyone else!" Steven screamed.
"But I'm not-"
"I thought we were supposed to trust each other here!"
"And yet you don't trust ME!" I screamed.
The entire room went silent. I stood with my fists balled at my sides. I looked furiously at him.
Everyone looked at me, terrified.
"YOU LITERALLY DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO CARE ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE! AND ALL OF THE SUDDEN, WHEN I BRING UP SERENITY, YOU'RE INTERESTED! NOW YOU SEE WHY I WAS JOKING ABOUT THAT?! YOU WANT THIS TO NOT BE A JOKE? THIS. IS. NO. PLACE. FOR. SCHOOLYARD. CRUSHES!" I screamed.
He stared at me.
I still looked at him.
And thought about what I had just said.
I sighed with anger.
"I'm just going to go." I said, and then walked out the door I had just walked in 2 minutes ago, and slammed it behind me.
I listened to the silence in the room.
They had been shaken by what I had said.
I wasn't usually like this!
I would be sweet and innocent, but recently I've just been, not myself.
I crouched down on the ground by the door, and wrapped my arms around my legs. I stuffed my face at my knees.
I listened to silence in the room.
Then I heard Tres scream.
"Seriously? Opal's right. You've been the one making all of the decisions for us, and they've all been opinionated on what you want to do. You don't care about us. You only care about yourself. Ergo, why we left our FISHIN homes, and left everyone there in danger! Coward! The only person other than yourself that you've been thinking about is Serenity! Opal wasn't wrong when she said that we would be talking about the safety of other agents, and you wouldn't give a carp, but all of a sudden, when we bring up Serenity, you actually care! You don't deserve to act as our leader. I'm out of here!"
I heard Tres pack up her things and walk out of the room. She saw me sitting on the floor.
"Hey..." I said, "did I go too far?"
"No. You stood up for yourself, and the rest of the agents. Steven is out of his mind."
I nodded, and then said, "are we really leaving them?"
"We can if you want."
"I kind of do."
"You can go back in there, but I'm heading downstairs to the lobby."
"Okay, I'm going to stay for a little bit, and then leave."
"Okay, text me when you're ready."
Tres walked over to the elevator and went in and I watched the doors close.
I worked up the courage to walk back into the room.
Steven was out on the balcony, so I didn't have to see him.
"I just want to stay for a little longer." I said, embarrassed.
"Okay..." Elliot said.
"I introduce to you, Agent 11!" Phoenix said dramatically, posing in front of a doorway, and then motioning to Paxton who walked out of the door.
Paxton had on a black hoodie, leggings, and punk whites.
"Doesn't he look super cute?" Phoenix said, putting her hands on his shoulders.
"Thanks!" Paxton said.
"Yeah. I guess?" Pearl said.
"Um. You look cool, dude." Elliot said.
"Thanks!" Paxton said.
"Oh, and Peyton is now Agent 12!" Phoenix said.
"That's good. We have more help now." I said, trying to stay positive.
There was an obvious stiffness in the room, besides Paxton and Phoenix, no one could really speak. I had never felt so guilty, jealous, or scared. I flipped out, and I regretted it, but I didn't.
Phoenix kept complimenting Paxton, and the rest of us sat there.
Me, Pearl, and Elliot were affected by the stiffness, Phoenix and Paxton didn't have a care in the world, Marina and Cap were in Inkopolis trying to solve problems, Tres was down in the lobby reflecting, Steven was out on the balcony, Faith, Callie, Marie, and Isaac were helpless and sanitized, and Serenity was nowhere to be found.
I packed up my things and Phoenix said, "Opal, Wait."
"Yeah?" I said.
"Come on out here."
We walked into a separate room.
"I think you should wait, and you and Steven should talk. Actually try to get somewhere, other than screaming. Okay?"
"You're right. I've just never seen the Squidbeak Splatoon so- divided."
"Conflict in responsibility brings conflict in relationships. Everyone is sTressed, and only just now getting to know each other. Give it time. Be forgiving."
"Usually I am, but I feel envious. And I don't know why, but I do."
"That's very confuzzeling. I know that things will get better."
"Thanks Phoenix, for showing the positive side."
She nodded and said, "these things happen, and I can't imagine living like this for all of your life. Even though I have lived in peace before."
I hugged her.
"You really are sweet and innocent Opal, it's the circumstances that've changed that." Phoenix said, wrapping her arms around me.
I made a sound of agreement and then said, "thank you so much, I needed this."
We sat there for a moment.
I lifted my head and then grabbed the side of the bed that me and Phoenix were sitting on.
"I am going to go downstairs to get Tres." I said, hopping off the bed.
Phoenix nodded and we walked out of the room.
I walked out of the apartment room and to the elevator.
When I got downstairs  to the lobby, Tres was waiting.
"I think we should go back up for a bit." I said.
"Okay. If you say so." Tres said.
We walked all the way back up to the apartment room, and my legs groaned in pain. I had been going back and forth between different places for at least an hour now, stopping in between.
I opened the door, and Pearl and Elliot looked at us.
"Hey, Tres." Elliot said.
"Hey." Tres said.
"We were just going to hang out here for a bit. Decide things more, before storming out..." I said, embarrassed.
We sat down on the couch, and I didn't know what to do.
"I think we should go." Elliot said.
"What? You want to come?" Tres said.
"Well, yeah, because I care about everyone's safety." Elliot said.
Tres and Elliot were in one of their little squabbles again, but this time it seemed like Elliot didn't really want to argue with her now.
"Are you sure, or you just want to follow the crowd?" Tres asked teasingly.
"No, Tres, I'm serious. I care about you guys, and Inkopolis. I still want to joke around, but I'm serious. I care about you..." Elliot said, staring off into the air when he said those last words.
He said, "I'm glad that I get to be a part of something so important, so I want to do what I can."
"Well I guess that means that we should leave." Tres said.
Elliot nodded and we walked out of the apartment.
"Anyone else want to come?" I asked, turned before I closed the front door.
"I'll stay here." Paxton said.
"Same." Phoenix said.
"I think I'm staying." Pearl said.
Elliot, Tres, and I nodded, and then walked out the door.
We stopped down at the lobby, waiting for the next train that would take us to Inkopolis.
"It doesn't leave for another 2 hours." Tres said to us.
"Think we'll just have to wait." Elliot said.
"Okay, I'm going out to the beach." I said.
"Okay." Tres said.
I left my luggage and walked out the door and onto the shore.