Sanitized

Chapter 33; Faith

I woke up in an uncomfortable position, and began to move around.
I looked upward, and saw Elliot resting on me.
I blushed madly, and like the clumsy person I am, fell onto the ground.
"Wha- oh, hey Faith." Elliot said to me.
"Ummm, hi." I said, standing up. I hit my head on the ceiling and fell back into the seat.
Elliot laughed, and smiled at me.
"Well- WAIT WHAT HAPPENED?!" I asked.
Elliot said, "Well, you got sanitized somehow, and fought Tres and I, while Opal, Steven, Isaac, Pearl, Callie, Marie, Phoenix, Paxton, Serenity, and now Evelyn, were sanitized too. Tres and I attempted to find the ink connector so that we could insanitize you guys, because I don't have Opal's ink. It worked on you, but Evelyn broke it, so now we are probably doomed. All of that time, I didn't sleep or eat, Tres got shot by a gun, I got shot by a gun, Tres and I fell off a cliff, and-"
"I get it." I said cheerfully.
"Okay, well you missed out on the part where Tres and I-"
"It's fine, I'll live without the full story." I said, opening the car door.
"Oh uh okay." Elliot said.
I hopped out of the car, and into Humpback Track, with Elliot following close behind.
"Faith!" Tres screamed, running up to me.
"Tres!" I said, hugging her.
"Been a while." she said.
"Ye. I heard what happened when I was gone." I was a little embarrassed.
"Good, well, then there is no time to waste! Let's go get our friends back." Tres said.
"You seem a little more positive than usual." I said teasingly.
"Well, I guess I've changed a bit." Tres said, walking over to Cappy.
"We should get you fitted for your new Agent uniform." Elliot said.
I noticed that Tres and Elliot's tentacles were white, they were both wearing a new uniform, and holding Aerosprays.
I walked over to Cuddles.
"Oh my cod! Fiver!" Cap Cud said.
He hugged me awkwardly with his frail bones, and I giggled at his enthusiasm.
"Here's your new uniform." Marina said smiling.
"Did Pearl not make it?" I asked.
Marina nodded somberly.
I was a little disappointed.
My newfound friendship with Pearl was positive and fun. Pearl was funny and awesome, I was sad that she wasn't here.
"What happened to everyone else?" I asked.
"You, Marie, Callie, and Isaac were the first wave of agents that got sanitized. Then, Phoenix, Paxton, Peyton, and Pearl got sanitized next. Next, Opal and Steven got sanitized. Finally, our new Agent, Evelyn, got sanitized when attempting to save you." Marina said.
"Wow. That's crazy." I said.
"I know." Elliot said.
"I don't know half of their names." I said bluntly.
Everyone laughed, and Cap'n gave me my uniform.
I smiled, and walked over to the other side of the stage.
My tentacles turned white, and I put on the black and gradient into a neon green sleeved, tight sweatshirt, sport shorts, Moist Ghillie Boots, and black designer headphones. I grabbed my trusty Kensa Splattershot, and walked back over to the crew.
"You look so CUTE!" Marina said, while running up and hugging me.
"Thanks!" I said smiling.
"Leave it to Faith to like Marina's obsessive obsession." Tres said, smiling widely.
Something felt off about Tres, something had made her extremely happy, more than usual. I knew Tres as a sort of hostile and serious person, who was only occasionally positive. I knew that on the inside, she was a very nice person, and outside she was funny. I didn't know what had happened that had made her so happy.
"Where to?" Tres asked.
"Marina already fixed it?" Elliot asked.
"Yep, already good as new." Marina said.
"Wow, that was quick. How long was I asleep for?" Elliot said.
"About 2 hours." Tres said, patting Elliot's back.
Elliot smiled embarrassedly, and said, "I slept a while, but it's more the fact that Marina worked so quick."
"I think you still need more rest, after the amount of time you haven't slept." Cappy said.
"I agree with Captain." Tres said teasingly.
"How long did you not sleep?" I asked condescendingly.
"Two weeks, but I took little naps. I also slept for 4 hours yesterday." Elliot said.
"So for the past 2 weeks, you've gotten 6 hours of sleep? That's not healthy sleep for 1 night!" I said, crossing my arms, "You should have gotten some sleep."
"Well, that's not all, Faith. He also starved himself." Tres said teasingly, "I told you you should have listened to me."
"Well, I'm sorry. I even said that I was. There's no time for sleep. I don't think there's any time to sleep now." Elliot said.
"Yes there is. You are going to sleep while Faith and I go to save some of our friends." Tres said.
"I don't know if you guys can make it without me, I don't want either of you getting shot..." Elliot said caringly.
"Well, I appreciate your care, but there is no time to waste!" I said cheerfully.
"Leave it to Faith to brighten our situation." Tres said smiling at me, "But she's also correct. There is no time to waste. You need to get some sleep for once, and we need to get our friends back as soon as possible."
"Why can't you just delay the mission so I can be there too?" Elliot asked.
"We can't wait for the Octarian Army to sanitize more people, we have to stop them as soon as possible." Capper said.
"Can't I at least come in the car?" Elliot asked.
"No. We can't have you sTressed out. Besides, if they get sanitized, we need you." Marina said.
"Okay, fine" Elliot said.
"Sweet dreams!" Tres said teasingly.
Elliot smiled at her, and I noticed something off. I decided to ignore it, and focus on the mission, unlike all other times.
Elliot smiled at us dejectedly, as Tres and I walked over to the car.
"Has Elliot filled you in on the Octarian weaponry situation?" Tres asked, opening the car door.
"No. What is it?" I asked, hopping into the car.
"The Octarians have ancient human guns, used to permanently kill, we need to be extra careful." Tres said, hopping into the driver's seat next to me.
"Wow, that's crazy." I said, a little terrified.
"Yeah, they got me in the arm." Tres said, lifting her sleeve and showing me a large bandage around her forearm.
"Oh cod!" I said, cupping my face with my hands.
"Yeah, I'm lucky it hit me there, and not someplace vital." Tres said, starting the engine.
She began to drive down the road, as I watched Cuddles, Marina, and Elliot interact back at Blackbelly Skatepark. I smiled at Tres as she turned down an abandoned street, that would usually be bustling with Inklings and Octolings, if it hadn't been for the Octarian Army and their sanitizations. I sighed and decided not to think that negatively. I knew that we needed to have hope.
"Wait, where are we headed?" I asked bluntly.
"Oh yeah, we never really said it out loud, but we're headed to Inkopolis Plaza." Tres said.
"The old hotspot of culture? Where they used to do Inkopolis News?" I asked excitedly.
"Yes, that Inkopolis Plaza." Tres said.
I smiled excitedly.
"I knew you'd like this." Tres said, laughing at my response.
"Yay! I'm so excited!" I said, squirming in my seat.
"Really? I couldn't tell. I doubt it will be the same though." Tres said.
"You think that it'll be abandoned too?" I asked.
"Of course! If it wasn't already abandoned, it sure is now." Tres said.
"What do you mean?" I asked, swinging my legs back and forth.
"Well, people stopped hanging out there anyway, after Inkopolis Square was created, everyone wanted to go there. Inkopolis Square was fresh and new, and everyone loved how there was so much new opportunity. No one really wanted to stay in Inkopolis Plaza anymore, people occasionally went, and some stayed, just because they didn't want to move, or didn't think it was worth it. Inkopolis Plaza probably lost all of the people that it had after people got sanitized everywhere. And no one would be able to stay, now that it's an Octarian Army base." Tres said.
"Wow, you talked for a while." I said bluntly.
Tres laughed at my comment, and said, "Yeah, I guess I was just reflecting on the good old days. Not that I'm that old anyway."
We both laughed and I said, "Would you have picked a different life if you could have?"
"I don't know anymore. I mean sure, my life is crazy, but I like crazy. I'm always in danger, but sometimes a sense of danger is fun. I have great friends that care about me and laugh with me. I don't think that I would pick a different life."
"You talked for a while again." I said bluntly, "But you're right. I like danger, and craziness, and my friends, but sometimes I wish my life was a little more normal. That we could all just-just go to a League Battle, and with all of our friends."
"I wish that too sometimes. Not that specific, but something to that effect."
"I like talking like this."
"Well, this sort of talking will have to wait, because we're here."