Purple 9's POV:
There was nothing but a splurge of green and yellow ink to surprise me and Zen a few days later after we freed agent 2 from death.
"Those little twerps, they're abusing the little present we gave 'em!"
I looked over at Zen, she had said it in a joking.
"I was demoted so I'm in charge of clearing away the scraps of this area, why are you helping me?", She didn't answer, "Fine whatever, I'll clear this up by myself..."
I walked off and started placing the individual sprinklers that were destroyed today. It was currently nighttime so everyone in inkopolis and octo-valley should have been asleep by now. It was just me and Zen to do the cleaning before the next day started for us.
I knelt down at a designed area where a sprinkler was meant to go and placed it on the floor. It started going round in circles shortly after and clearing away the green and yellow off of the floor.
"You know throwing those sprinklers is an easier solution right?"
I turned around, once Zen noticed I was looking at her she demonstrated for me by throwing a sprinkler on the wall to the side.
"Just curious...how does it feel like to be switching roles with me?"
"...Switch?"
She laughed at my response, "You still don't get it don't you huh? You little waste of air, have you noticed that when you got demoted I actually got PROMOTED to your role?!", I stayed quiet but Zen just kept laughing, "It's funny isn't it?!"
"Not for me..."
"It wasn't for me either you piece of trash...or at least that's what I would like to say to you..."
I looked forward at Zen, we both threw a sprinkler off to the correct sprinklers before any of us could respond and I waited for Zen to respond.
"Did you have a back flash 9?"
"What do you mean?"
She placed one more sprinkler and looked at me closely. She deducted my clueless expression and focused her eyes to see if she could remind me what she was talking about. I had no idea what she was implying.
She threw a punch at me and I fell to the ground, I quickly ignored the pain and looked at her.
"HEY, WHAT GIVES!!??"
"That Purple 9, was how we first met and for me...it was how I first met a new world, the world of the octarians!"
"Well deal with it, JERK!!!"
Another punch landed on me, like before I dusted myself off and ignored the pain to face Zen.
"I thought you changed. What happened to the whole 'emotional thing' about Purple 8 leaving?!"
"DON'T EVEN BRING THAT UP!!!"
"Did you have a bias!!!"
I stayed quiet again, she was having the upper hand and for once, she had a sad expression on her face, almost in a state of tearing up.
"You know what 'bias' is. It's when you choose one side over the other. Did you treat all of us like crap just so you could have Purple 8 feel all high and mighty?"
I stayed quiet but this was annoying Zen to a point where she sat down and held her knees to cradle herself.
"Did you?", a drop of salty water landed on the floor beside her.
"I was ordered to. She was originally in charge of setting up points for us to invade inkopolis in our previous attempt and she did it successfully. Originally I was meant to praise her and set her as an example for you all but she was too kind, she ended up being friendly...I didn't like it..."
She sobbed more tears after, each sob was painful for me to watch. It was not natural to see Zen of all people doing this.
"Don't you remember? You never cared about us! Everyone you disregarded was so cruel and IT WAS JUST...hard...", More sobs followed but she tried to talk, "Its at that time that I...I TRIED TO ACT LIKE THEM, everyday of being under you I became the crazy maniacal freak I'm known to be today and...I was that for so long that...", Sobbing and sobbing followed, "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO BE NORMAL!!!"
My head looked up at her a little, what was she talking about?
"I came to help you with cleaning this place up so I could see what you could remember about this whole thing...and it seems...you never cared for us..."
Zen rose up from her spot and looked at me, her face was eyeing me but it failed to look serious or angry, it succeeded however in becoming sad.
"Because of you 9...I'll never be innocent again...I'm just a crazy nut-case and, I hate it! I HATE BEING JUDGED BY EVERYONE I MEET, I HATE EVERYONE STAYING AWAY FROM ME, I HATE NOT HAVING ANYONE TO TALK TO!!!"
"I'm sorry!"
A tear fell to the floor.
The wind blew past in a violent manner.
We both turned quiet, the only sound that was heard were the sound of sprinklers clearing the mess of agents 2 and 4.
She looked at me.
I failed to look back at her.
I...
I was truly...
I was sorry for what I did...
...
...
I felt remorse...
We stood, the seconds blew by exactly like the wind and Zen faced me, she sobbed a little bit more and she started using the strength that hadn't been taken by her tears to crawl towards me.
She walked a little big more and then tried standing up only to limp a little bit due to her lack of strength.
"I'm sorry...Purple 7...I'm sorry, Zen."
More wind blew past but Zen walked past me, she looked back at me and spoke.
"We have been ordered a mission together tomorrow...I'll see you then."
She super-jumped away and left me in the dust. That was it for that night. I cleared up the mess and looked at me home, sector 3. Normally the higher up octarians would be on the higher sectors, I used to be and live in sector 5 but I got moved down to 3 because of my fight with agent 4. Zen was the one who inherited my home...my old kettle and yet, she hadn't realized.
I walked to the edge of the floating island and sat there. To me it felt like the wind was Purple 8. I felt like she was watching over how her two best friends were doing.
"You never did tell me what a bad person I was...", I spoke, "I guess you were too kind to point it out but...for once I'm glad that I was moved down...Now us lower-downs can be treated by a remorseful octoling...like Zen. I wish you were still here with us though...Right now, we don't know if you'r dead or not Purple 8...you cute little trendsetter..."
I headed to my kettle, it was getting dark now and I had no time to be talking to myself.
______________________________________________________________________
Rachel's POV:
"What do you mean 'what does it feel like to have friends?', shouldn't you guys know?"
"We already told you, we never grew up with friends. We have no idea what it's like."
The sun was setting and our shopping-day was over. Koy and Luka had the courage to ask me a burning question withing them but I just wanted to head home so I didn't get in trouble.
"Talk woman!!!", That was Luka.
"Yeah, tell us the details for analysis, how does it start?!"
That was idiotic, details for analysis?
"Well obviously I starts with going up to the future friend and talking to them, doesn't it?!", I replied to both of them.
"In your case that must have been Tess who went up to you.",Koy asked.
I stayed quiet and Luka and Koy stared at me. Luka groaned a little and walked off.
"Whatever I need to go home, my bro is quite the snitch so I'll get in trouble if I stay any later then now. Tell me her answer if she speaks Koy, see ya losers!"
"Affirmative.", Koy answered Luka.
Luka was gone but Koy wasn't. He was my last enemy standing between me and my freedom to not answer.
"You know Koy...It wasn't actually Tess who came up to me first, it was me..."
"SERIOUSLY!!!", he was taken aback.
"Yeah I know. You would expect a person like her to go up first but back when this whole drama never existed and we were still in our schools...me and Tess were completely different people."
"How so?"
I thought back in my head, it was nice to relish this old memory of peace. I stayed there for a while but I was eventually cut off from my flashback when I was called back up to reality.
"Hey, speak will you!!!"
"JEEZ YOU DON'T HAVE TO NAG ME, YOU WANNA START ANOTHER COMMOTION AFTER THE WHOLE INKOPOLIS SQUARE FIGHT?!?!?!"
"I- I'm sorry..."
"Oh..."
That was too far for me. I felt my cheeks burn up a little but I ignored it and spoke to Koy.
"That was too far...sorry..."
"...yeah...sorry..."
We both silenced each other but I still wanted to talk to Koy. I wanted to re-live my memory of my young self with Tess.
"You know...I'm not lying about me and Tess being completely different people back then. She used to be super shy and never talk to anyone and I used to be super cheerful...I guess back in those days we both tried to mimic each other until one day we became who we were today, we almost swapped personalities..."
"Really!!!"
"You know, originally I was in a hurry to get home since it's late and all but...I want to relish my memories. I'll tell you how it all started..."
Me and Koy decided to sit in a bench in the mall next to each other and I told him everything that I remembered. We were both in wait at what my head could remember of the time, everything...
______________________________________________________________________
Years ago, Back in the first day of school:
"ALRIGHT CLASS, PAGE 19, TURN TO IT!!!"
The sound of everyone flipping pages was overtaking my teachers shouting seconds after the order was said.
"Hey, should I share you my answers, you do the bottom part since your smart and I'll do the top and we can share when the answers are about to be marked."
"Jeez, your so lazy..."
Those two kids were smart to talk when miss couldn't hear them over the sound of page-flipping. They were best friends since childhood so they were pretty planned out with things like secret keeping and such.
Then there was me. I had already finished most of the work through pure brains. I did the final question and handed it in to miss as she got her cup of coffee to sip on.
"You request...MADAM!!!", I said in a posh voice.
"Your such a joker Rachel, you would have been in trouble for attitude if it wasn't for your brains."
I laughed, "I'm not that smart miss!"
"Very well. Go take a piece of paper and doodle, or you can take out your reading book to sit on for the remainder...", She stared at the clock for a second, "of half an hour!"
I groaned, "Jeez, that long..."
"Well I wasn't bothered to print out any work sheets and I didn't plan further ahead for this lesson so sit and be quiet!"
"What if I don't!"
"DETENTION!!!"
"WAAAH!!!"
I quickly rushed to my seat and sat down, "Jeez, why is miss so cranky...".
I lied my face down the table and held my workbook close to my left hand. The sound of pen scribbling was heard after. I quickly got up and looked over at the inkling next to me. She was drawing doodles on her book. She had purple colored tentacles, short hair, and slightly tanned face. She was also in desperate need of some brain cells, she must have ignored miss and just started doodling, either that or she didn't comprehend anything and done the doodles.
"Shall I explain how to solve that."
She turned her head towards me, she then quickly turned it back and continued drawing.
"WAI- WHAT??!! HEY, DON'T IGNORE ME!!!"
She ignored me and continued doodling over her work, at any rate she was going to get in trouble for not doing anything when miss marks it.
"HERE, GIMME!!!"
I snatched it away from her and wrote all the answers down in my book. She looked over me, I even did the favor for her of copying the working out so her work looked believable. I finally gave the work back to her so she could doodle again. At first she smiled, then she looked at the work, tears welled up inside of her and fell off, she ran to the teacher.
"HEY, WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?"
She kept sobbing and a few minutes later I got in trouble for sharing the answers. It turned out that after sharing those answers she felt guilty and owned up, making me get in trouble instead. I was chewed up big time from the teacher and from the rest of the day I continued my work and avoided all contact with the little rascal next to me. It was either she got in trouble or me and I was beginning to wish it was the first option.
It got home when my mum picked me up though. Miss actually informed her and she wasn't very pleased with the whole thing at all. By the end of the day I had learned my lesson and lay down in bed thinking of a way to get even with the snitch.
The next day it was recces and I was sat in my bench eating lunch. The snitch was crying to miss because she left her lunch at home but she managed to drag her to the only empty seat available, the seat next to me.
After miss left she continued sobbing, the tears were making a mark on the wooden table but I ignored it. The sandwich I was eating was almost finished but I was too full to finish it up, then their was the insistent sobbing beside me that needed help. I let out a groan and passed her the food. She wiped her tears and looked towards me, I looked back at her.
"EAT THE SANDWICH YOU SNITCH!!!"
A tear was escaping her eyes.
"AND STOP BEING A CRYBABY!!!"
She wiped it away and covered her face, she was following my order. She ate the remainder of the sandwich and tries her best to not sob. By the time she was finished eating 'her' sandwich I had already built up enough remorse to let my anger from the day before go. I got out my reading book and started reading the comic, she looked at it in curiosity. I closed the book and looked at her.
"I'll share the book if you agree to answer a few questions of mine, OK?"
She nodded.
"Can you talk? Like, at all?"
She nodded.
"Do you like comic books?"
She nodded again.
"Were you listening to miss yesterday?"
She nodded her head yet again, but this time it was in a sideways manner.
"Do you...do you want to be my friend?"
She nodded up and down.
"Since you can speak...can you say it please?"
I awaited her answer, a tear welled up withing her but she wiped it off in worry that I might see it. I watched her struggle to get her mouth to open but eventually she finally spoke.
"Yes, I want to be your...friend..."
She started to let her scared tears up, I threw her my comic book.
"Don't get tear-marks on them. You can borrow that book but your not allowed to keep it, give it to me tomorrow."
She held my hand, "Thank you...my name is...Tess..."
She kept sobbing but I liked her stubbornness to keep my order. I smiled.
"And mine is Rachel, nice to meet you!"
The bell for the end of break rung out but me and Tess stayed there for a few minutes...mostly because Tess wouldn't let go of my hand.
______________________________________________________________________
Back in the present:
After I finished my story Koy was amazed.
"WOAH, but Tess is so different today?!"
"I know right!?", I faced him, "I used to hate how she would keep secrets away from her friends and...I still do. I guess she doesn't understand what friends are for because I really want to help her...It's why I joined you."
"To see what she's hiding?"
"Yeah...but even though she's my best friend, I'm glad I made two new friends on my quest."
"Really, who?"
"PFFT!!", I laughed hysterically at his reply, it was too funny to take but Koy was looking at me with genuine wonder which made it even more funny, "You act so smart but in reality your a dummy, IT'S YOU AND LUKA STUPID!!!"
His eyes widened with happiness and slowly his cheeks became a pinky-red color. We both walked home in our own ways after that and we went to sleep.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Meet the cast:
1. Tess as the main character
2. Rachel as her best friend
3. Joe as the air-headed one
4. Kai as the smart guy
5. Koy as the rival
6. Marie as the mystery
7. The interviewer as the questioner
8. Octo oven as the first boss encounter
9. Sheldon as the weapon supplier
10. crusty Sean as the grub guy
11. Rachel's mom as the cautious one
12. purple 9 as the big octoling
13. Tess' mom as the mom
14. Marina as the kind one
15. Pearl as the sassy kid
16. Koy's mom as the strict parent
17. Koy's Dad as the chance-giver
18. Purple 8 as a trendsetter
19. Sora as the young brother
20. Luka as the older sister
21. Zen as Purple 7
22. Octo samurai as the second boss encounter
23. (New) The teacher as the knowledge giver