Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the deep abyss,

Echoes of what might have been—

Hope drowned, lost, unseen.

How did this happen? Why them? Why now?

They felt the darkness surround them, the cold water prevented them from breathing. The dim light from the surface, that beautiful white light of hope, was disappearing further and further out of reach by the second.

They had stopped trying to swim back to the surface. They knew, they wouldn’t succeed anyway.

When they fell, they had screamed. Screamed for help, tried to be heard by anyone. But no one had been there, no one had heard them, or maybe no one had cared. The screaming had only made things worse, so they let themselves sink to the bottom of the sea, stopped struggling, the salty water of the ocean filling their lungs.

They wouldn’t survive this, they knew it. But it still hurt. It hurt to know that everything would end here. Alone.

The lack of air caused black spots to dance around their vision. They could feel their whole body turning numb, only their lung hurt like fire, the water they breathed in felt like a thousand needles.

They faintly remembered how all of this happened in the first place. A mission. They thought it would be a normal mission, but they had failed. They had failed and now they would pay the price for it.

They should’ve said no. They should’ve listened to their gut feeling, it had been right. It had been a bad idea. Horrible even.

Then why did they say yes? Marie. It had been Marie. They did it for her, said yes for her. They wanted to make her proud, they wanted to relive this moment when they brought back the Great Zapfish, when they first defeated the DJ, when they found Callie. When they were a hero. A hero for her.

They gulped, the surface now completely out of reach, the light disappearing leaving them alone in the darkness.

They started humming a song. The song. The heavenly melody. A few tears dripped from their face and mixed with the cold water around them.

Suddenly they heard something. A buzz. Something electric. Then a faint, unintelligible voice directly in her ear.

Their headset. It was their headset. And the voice belonged to Marie. Or Callie. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that they weren’t alone anymore.

They couldn’t talk. They couldn’t be saved. But they wouldn’t die alone.

The lack of breath now showed the rest of its consequences. The voice slowly faded, even though it sounded like the person was screaming. But for them it sounded like a beautiful melody, luring them to sleep.

So they closed their eyes, the cold water surrounding them, the song in their ear, deep down in the ocean, as they finally fell unconscious.

⭒-.⋆⋅˚₊‧ ଳ ‧₊˚ ⋅⋆.-⭒

“Hello little inkling”, a soft, feminine voice said. “It’s time to wake up.”

They opened their eyes. Everything was blurry, but they could see someone kneeling in front of them. Was it an angle? Where they dead?

“Do you remembered who you are? What happened?”, she asked as she held out a hand for them.

They groaned. Everything hurt and they couldn’t think clearly.

What happened? They took the strangers hand. It was cold and wet from water, but her grip was firm as she helped them stand.

What happened? They shook at the whole body, dripping wet, but they managed to stand on their own.

What happened? They didn’t know. They didn’t know anything at all.

“Are you alright?”, the stranger asked. They finally managed to focus, first on their own hands, then their gaze drifted to the stranger still in front of them.

She was a bit taller than them, her skin was white with black spots, her ears were roundish and they pointed down. Her eyes glowed in different orange tones and she had huge eyelashes at the bottom.

Her hair was one long back part, which faded into what seemed like a fin and almost touched the ground, and three smaller ones, who were roundish at the end and fell into her face. The hair was mainly black, but at the end it blurred into gold, making her look majestic.

She also had a tail, which was white with black spots too and curled around her legs.

As for her outfit, she wore something that looked like a mix of a dress and armor. The dress consisted of only one big piece of black fabric, going from her right shoulder to the right side, where it fell down into an actual dress, divided into three parts.

Her arms were protected by leather, just like her one free shoulder. Her boots where mainly made out of leather too, and went up to her knees.

The outfit had several golden details, like her belt, some bracelets and various embroideries on her dress. But what stood out the most was her crown. It was like a diadem parted in the middle, made of pure gold, with small chains and engravings. It was the crown of a queen.

Everything about the stranger seemed intimidating, event though she smiled kindly. Maybe it was her aura, maybe it was the fact that she was dressed like a goddess. They didn’t know and they didn’t care. They still couldn’t think clearly either.

“Who are you?”, they asked warily, their voice still a bit raspy.

“My name is Amarine”, she said, her voice still kind and soft, as if she intended on not to scare them away. “And do you want to tell me who you are, young inkling?”

Inkling. They faintly remembered something. Squids. Humanoid squids. Where they that? An Inkling? Maybe. They didn’t quite remember. But the longer they considered it, the more it made sense.

“I don’t know”, they said truthfully. “I don’t remember.”

“Nothing? Not even your name?”, the stranger, Amarine, asked.

They just shook their head.

“Well that’s unfortunate”, Amarine said and tilted her head to the side. “But I can tell you what happened earlier.”

“Something happened?”, the inkling asked.

“You were drowning”, Amarine said and thought for a moment, “I don’t know much about your species, but for some reason you all unlearned to swim. What is ironic, since you’re descendants of marine creatures. Anyway, I was around here because I was… I was doing some research. Then I saw you. You have fainted, but you were still alive, so I saved you. Why you have drowned in the first place, I don’t know.”

“I wish I could remember…“, they said.

It was strange. They should feel scared or a least intimidated by the fact, that they almost died. But for some reason they felt completely numb, not even the fact that they lost their memories concerned them. They couldn’t really feel or control their body and everything felt like a dream.

“Thank you”, they added, “For saving me, I mean.”

Amarine just nodded, appreciating the thanks quietly.

There was a long silence. The inkling felt like they should say something, but they didn’t know what.

“We need to get you better clothing”, Amarine said after a while, finally breaking the awkward silence.

They looked down on themselves and instantly saw what Amarine meant.

“They’re completely tattered”, they said. What was once a new, modern suit of armor was now nothing more than a few scraps of cloth clinging to their wet body.

“Looks like you got into an explosion”, Amarine suggested. “Or your landlings-clothing just isn’t made for water.”

“Landlings?”, they asked, as they grabbed some clothing and tore it away. “Makes it sound like you’re a… eh waterling.”

She chuckled.

“Yes, you could call me that. But I’m actually a cetling, which are descendants from whales”, she explained, before helping them getting the useless armor off until they only wore their tank top and shorts. At least the boots were still usable.

“There are many other species who live in the water too, not just us. Almost like you on land”, she added.

“I wish I could tell you how it is, or which species and people there are, but I really don’t remember anything at all”, they said.

It was strange not to now anything and only slowly gaining their memories back. Some minutes ago they didn’t even remember their own species. But even if it got better by the minute and they at least got their basic knowledge back, they still couldn’t remember anything about their past. Or their name. Or their personality.

Who were they?

“That doesn’t matter right now. There’s more important things to do. For example, we need no name you”, Amarine suggested.

The inkling snapped out of their thoughts.

“I just thought the same…“, they muttered, actually considering believing in mind reading.

“And I already have an idea”, she said, before she bent down and grabbed one of the cloth pieces they threw to the ground earlier.

“What is that?”, they asked curiously, standing next to the cetling to see what was written on the piece of fabric.

“Agent 4”, Amarine read out loud. “Where you in a secret agency or something?”

They just shrugged their shoulders.

“Possible.”

“Doesn’t matter right now”, she said and gave the fabric to them. “I’ll just call you Four, if that’s okay.”

They starred at the writing for a moment, before nodding.

“Four sounds right”, they said and a small wave of relieve washed over them.

Four.

Suddenly the numbness from before left them, letting them taking in their surroundings fully. The salty smell of the sea. The blue clear sky above them. The loud waves from the ocean.

They finally felt their body again, felt the water dripping off them. They looked at their hands and moved them as if it was the first time.

Four.

Yes, they have called them that too. Four didn’t know who they were, but that didn’t matter. They would remember eventually. For now their name was enough.

“So, what now?”, they asked a bit uncertain, after taking a deep breath.

Amarine suddenly seemed a bit uneasy. Her tail curled tight around her legs and her hands rolled into fists.

“I saved you”, they began warily, “And maybe you could save me now.”

For some reason they already knew what was coming after that. They have heard it before.

See, I’ve got a little… thing I need some help with.

“There is a reason I’ve came here”, Amarine continued, “some of my people, the cetarians, have gone missing. Of course I went searching for them. I followed a lead until here, but then I lost it. Now, I don’t know what to do anymore and-”

“Wait”, Four interrupted her. “Your people. Like in… ohhh. Of course. Cod, I’m stupid. Is that why you have a crown? Are you a queen? Like, actual royal?”

Amarine smiled and nodded.

“Yes, I’m indeed a queen and royal too”, she said.

The inkling seemed a bit overwhelmed.

“Oh, eh, well, should I call you majesty now or something?”, they asked a bit uncomfortable.

“What? No”, Amarine said. “I actually don’t really care about my status. It’s just way too… formal.”

Four sighed relieved.

“So I don’t have to bow before you or go on my knees?”, they asked and Amarine just started laughing.

“No, please no, that’s… that would be… no, just don’t”, they chuckled, now way more relaxed than before.

“Ah, that felt good. I haven’t laughed in a while actually. Especially not with all that ‘s happening at the moment.”

Her tone went serious again.

“As I already said, cetarians and cetlings have gone missing”, the queen continued. “In addition to that karcharians have attacking us-”

“Can I please get an explanation every time we get a new species?”, Four interrupted them again.

Amarine sighed.

“That’s going to take forever…“, they moaned.

“Karcharians and karcharlings are the descendants of sharks. Next to cetarians, they are the majority of species that still live in the sea. However some of them think they’re something better, because they’re actual marine creatures, not like whales, who used to be mammals. Before you ask”, they looked pointedly at Four who already closed their mouth again, “mammals, in the time of humans, no I won’t explain that now, otherwise we’ll never finish, mainly lived on the surfaced since they needed to breath air, unlike fishes. But some exceptions like whales still lived in the water. Over our evolution we gained the ability to breath underwater too, but some karcharlings still don’t accept that.”

“Why not?”, Four asked, and Amarine shot them an angry glare at their interruption.

“Power. Self-Doubts. I don’t know, but it’s stupid. But sill…”

She waited for a moment, before she continued, as if it was rather hard for her to talk about it.

“There has been a war… long ago, between sharks and whales. We won, even though we lost many people. But the sharks and their allies want revenge for that.There might be a second war soon. Combined with the missing, it could get really though for us.”

Amarine sighed. Four could see that there was more, but didn’t want to ask. It seemed bad enough already.

“I’ll help you”, Four said confidently.

Amarine seemed surprised, so the inkling continued.

“I’ll help finding the missing cetarians. And try to stop the second whale-shark war. Whark? Shale? Doesn’t matter, but I’ll do my best. I have been on missions like that before, at least I think that.”

“You would really do that?”, she asked. “It’s going to be dangerous. Very dangerous. Down there, it’s completely different than the world you know. Or knew. You could die and you just escaped the death.”

Four knew they needed to help. Like they did before. They helped them. They didn’t know how, but they knew that they accepted the mission. And they succeed. And they will succeed again.

“I’ll do it”, Four said, standing a bit straighter. “And maybe it’ll help me getting my memories back.”

Amarine smiled.

“Then welcome aboard, Four!”

Again, that sentence felt so familiar.

Then welcome aboard, Agent 4!

They could hear their voice. No, not their. Her. Her voice. And then Four remembered. Not much, but it was something.

They could remember how she made them part of something bigger. How she asked them for help. How she said this sentence.

Then welcome aboard, Agent 4!

This warm feeling came back. They couldn’t remember her face, or her name. Just her voice. Like a deep melody. It was a feeling of home.

If I continue to remember so quickly, I will soon have all my memories back.

Four smiled. This mission was going to be dangerous. It could cost their life. They were scared, of course, but not too much.

They were way more excited. They loved a good adventure. They loved danger. They always have, they remembered.

Four doesn’t know much about their past self, but they knew something for sure. They never gave up. They never backed down. They always took a risk.

And they’ll do it again.

This was their story. Their new story. And they’re gonna make it as interesting as possible.

⭒-.⋆⋅˚₊‧ ଳ ‧₊˚ ⋅⋆.-⭒

“I lost them! How could I loose them ?”, she cried, tears flowing down her face. She had been walking around the small room the whole time, anxious and scared for her agent.

“Marie, please calm down. It won’t help them if you walk yourself to death.”

Callie had tried several times to calm her cousin down, but with no succeed.

“They could be dead! What if they’re dead? That would be my fault! I wanted them to go on this mission, even though I knew it’s gonna be dangerous”,the inkling said horrified.

“No, they’re certainly not dead”, Callie said and tried to sound confidently, but failed miserably. “They’re strong and know how to take care of themselves. They’re not sixteen anymore, but an adult.”

That didn’t help the situation.

“That doesn’t matter!”, Marie disagreed. “I’m responsible for them and for their safety. I promised them to take care of them, to never let them down. But I failed! And now their alone, I don’t know where and I can’t help them!”

She started crying again, but stopped walking, too tired to do so.

“C’mon, sit down.”

Callie tugged at Marie’s arm and the other finally sat down.

“Good, good, now breath slowly”, Callie instructed and her older cousin followed the orders. Her heartbeat and her breathing almighty slowed down, everything while Callie was embracing her from the side.

“They’re gonna be okay”, the younger one mumbled. “It’s Four after all. I remember, that they went with an octobrush against the Octo Shower, what was suicidal, but they somehow managed. Or that they always run through the levels to achieve the fastest time and didn’t care if they might fall into the water and die, because they never did.”

“And they saved you from the DJ a thousand times”, Marie chuckled, a mix between laughing and crying, still cuddled up in her cousin’s arms.

“Yes, but hey, the glasses were really fresh”, Callie insisted, laughing alongside the other.

After a while Marie’s silent cries came back.

“Hey, it’s okay. Maybe their headset just broke. They’re probably soon gonna contact us”, Callie said.

The older one sniffed, but nodded.

“You’re right. No time to worry. We have things to do.” Marie finally sat straight up and brushed her tears away.

“Exactly!”, Callie yelled now full of enthusiasm.

“We need to continue the missions”, Marie continued, now with her leader voice. “Agent 8 and Neo came back yesterday and we need their report. And a meeting with the whole NSS. And we need to contact Captn 3. And, and, and. Maybe one of the agents can even search for Four when they have time.”

Some hope started glowing in her eyes.

“Yay, it’ll be good to see everyone again in a huge meeting!”, Callie shouted. For her, everything was better than being depressed. Because maybe if she’d start, she’d cross a line and would show another side of her. She couldn’t have that right now. She needed to be positive, because she was the only one left. She needed to be happy, for them, for her cousin. She couldn’t let the group down.

“I’ll send the messages. The meeting is in two days. Be on time!”, Marie shouted over her shoulder as she left the cabin.

Callie smiled before sitting down again. She hoped that her feeling was right. That Four was alive.

She twisted the fake-hypnoglasses in her hand. Four had made them for her, so they wouldn’t have to safe her again, even though she was sure, that they somehow liked it. That they liked being a hero and going on adventures. But it was better for Marie, so she wouldn’t have to worry. Because Four didn’t. They never worried.

Callie sat there for some minutes, before following her cousin out of the cabin, the glasses tight in her hand.

She would need some rest and sleep, for what was coming. No one knew what it was. But it was going to be huge. And she wanted to be prepared.

⭒-.⋆⋅˚₊‧ ଳ ‧₊˚ ⋅⋆.-⭒

Chapter Text

It was strange, seeing their own reflection for the very first time. It was like looking at a stranger, just that the stranger was you.

The flawless glass in front of them showed a young inkling with clear turquoise eyes, freckles and tanned skin. The hair was shaved on the right side, the rest on the left side falling almost on their shoulder, the golden shimmer on the hairline smoothly fading into a bright yellow. Their whole skin was marked with scars from battles. Battles, they didn’t remember anymore.

“Are you alright?”, the now familiar voice of Amarine asked.

They didn’t turn around, not yet, as they kept staring in those familiar eyes. Their own eyes.

“Yeah, I guess”, they said without taking their eyes off of their reflection. “I just need to get used to… all of this.”

The cetling stepped behind them, their reflection appearing next to the inkling in the glass.

“Comm on”, Amarine said and put a hand on Four’s shoulder. “We should keep going as long as it’s still daytime.”

They nodded and turned away from their reflection, following Amarine further away from the wild ocean. Since Amarine was taller, she too had longer legs and the inkling needed to hurry a bit to keep up with her. But they didn’t mind. This was better than being alone.

Apparently they had stranded on an island and since Four couldn’t swim they were more or less stuck there. Therefore Amarine wanted to investigate about the missing, since her lead had brought her somewhere near there anyway.

Four had woken up on the beach, but the queen insisted on going as far away from the ocean as fast as possible. She said, that karcharians came from the sea and usually hunt at night. The sun had already been low, so they hurried a bit, the beach had turned into a desert of rocks as they had walked.

Right now they were walking through what seemed like a dead forest. The gray trees had lost all their leaves and some fog swirled on the ground. The whole place had something dangerous and mysterious, making the inkling uncomfortable. The sun had almost set and the sky darkened by the second, making them even more nervous.

They gripped their dualies, one in each hand, tighter. Amarine had found them somewhere near where they had stranded, along with a still functional ink tank. The cetling had helped them putting the ink tank on and connecting it to said weapon.

For some reason, Four knew how to use them. They had given some experimental shots and dodge rolls until they had felt familiar with the weapon. Now, they were the only thing that gave them safety, because knowing that they could use them and protect themselves, calmed them a bit.

Amarine too seemed nervous. She walked fast, on her face was a frown and Four could see how tense she was. They haven’t talked for a while, the silence getting more awkward and the inkling felt the urge to say something, to break that horrible silence, but they didn’t know what.

“I’m worried about them.”

Four was surprised that Amarine had said something. Maybe she had felt, how uncomfortable the inkling had been.

They looked into her face, seeing concern.

“I need to protect them, I’m their queen. That’s my duty. If I can’t do that, then what am I?”, she said and her voice broke.

“You try. Shouldn’t that be enough?”, Four asked, grabbing Amarine’s hand to support her.

She shook her head.

“Once I thought that too. I had tried. But I had failed. And now thousands are dead, dead for such a stupid reason. This time, I want to do better. This time, I will, no I need to protect them, find them, shield them from getting hurt.”

“But how? How are we supposed to find them?”, Four asked. They wanted to understand so badly, understand at least one thing after the loss of their memories.

Amarine’s face lit up for a moment, glad to be able to change the subject.

“It’s strange but I can… sense them. I feel warm and safe, I always had. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m their queen, or if it’s actually because of… that.”

Her fingers reached under the top of her dress and returned with a necklace in her hand. It was golden, fitting the rest of her appearance, except for the pendant. It was rhombus shaped and in the middle was a stone, shining clear blue.

When Amarine softly touched the diamond, it lit up for a second, sparkles and lighting surrounding it.

“Wow”, Four said, starring at the necklace after it went back to normal. “This is… beautiful.”

Amarine nodded.

“It’s a gift from the sea, which was given to me a long time ago”, she explained, turning the necklace in her fingers as if it was the most precious thing in the world, before hiding it again under her dress.

“It’s priceless. And dangerous too. It holds enough power to destroy a whole kingdom. In the wrong hands, it could-”

She didn’t finish the sentence as sadness crossed her eyes and she looked down. She definitely remembered something, something horrible, and even if Four was curious, they didn’t ask.

“Anyway”, the queen continued, trying to sound happy but failing miserably. “Besides some other… things it lets me do, I can also feel if someone of my people is near. But right now I can’t feel anything and that worries me, since this was my only lead.”

Four didn’t even notice they had stopped walking, but now they stood next to each other, realizing that not even Amarine knew where they had been going.

They wanted to say something to make her feel better again, even thought they didn’t knew what, but then they heard a rustle.

Low and faint, but Four was sure, that they hadn’t imagined it.

“Have you heard that?”, they asked.

Amarine didn’t answer, but she tensed, letting her gaze wander through the dead trees.

With the fog and the now missing sun, it was impossible to see anything, but the inkling could feel that something was near. Something dangerous.

They raised their dualies, ready to shoot whatever was there, even though they had no idea in which direction they would have to shoot.

The rustle grew loader, seeming to come from every direction at once and the fog thickened.

They tensed as they suddenly felt colder than before. When they turned around they realized that it wasn’t because something was there, but because something was missing.

Amarine.

Four hadn’t even noticed how calming and warm the cetling’s aura had felt, until it was gone anymore.

“Amarine?”, they asked. No answer.

“Where are you?”, they tried again, but there was still no sign of the queen.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. They were alone. Easy prey for a hunter.

They didn’t even have something to make light, so they tried to rely on their other senses.

The rustle was still there, not growing louder but not disappearing either. They smelt a decent sent of salt in the air and instantly stiffened.

Karcharians smell of the ocean. I’m not sure how to describe it, a bit salty and pungent. You’ll know it, when you’ll smell it.

They remembered Amarine’s words clearly, a shiver ran down their spine as the realization hit them.

The inkling didn’t know, how many karcharians were there, but they hoped they could take them all down.

They gave some experimental shots, the yellow ink disappearing in the fog, not hitting its target.

Suddenly everything grew silent. No rustle anymore, no wind either. The fog was now thick enough that Four barely saw their own hands. It was the calm before the storm.

They didn’t dare to breath, their heartbeat already going way to fast, beating violently in their chest.

Too loud. I’m way too loud. They’ll hear me.

Ridiculous thoughts. They had already heard them, targeted them, surrounded them. But their thoughts were fuzzy, Adrenalin flowing through their veins. Their whole body was prepared for a fight.

I can do this.

They couldn’t.

The first shot hit them right in the back, making them stumble, but they managed to stand. It was not a moment after when they realized, that it hadn’t been a shot, but a little creature, with particular sharp teeth which dug into their skin, making them scream in agony.

When they tried to get it off, it just bit down harder, deeper, making it almost impossible to get it off.

In a last attempt they lifted their weapon and shot over their head, trying to hit whatever was clinging to their back. Some splat sounds confirmed that they had hit their target and the creature hissed furiously, finally falling to the ground.

But it wasn’t over yet.

Now two new ones attacked them at the same time, biting and gnawing at their legs, the pain forcing them on their knees.

The bites hurt like fire.

The one attacking them from behind had left two huge scratches on their back and blood was running out of it on the ground, mixing with the yellow ink.

Four screamed again as the one biting their left leg tore a whole piece of flesh out, leaving a gaping hole in their leg, so they could see their own bone.

The pain let black spots dance around their vision, the world seemed to rotated.

They were too focused on the two climbing up their legs, therefor they didn’t notice the first one, that they had hit earlier, getting in position to attack again.

When it sunk its teeth in their abdomen, they felt a stinging pain and fell on their hands, shaking heavily.

Too late the realized that they had no protection at all. They’re suit was gone, they were half naked, their top and shorts, the only thing that they were wearing, were barely strong enough to protect them from their cruel attackers.

They had let their weapons fall, too weak from the loss of blood to keep holding them.

As a final effort of surviving, they took out the Splatbomb, that was hidden in the grip of their right dulaie, letting it explode right under themselves.

Two splat sounds was the only thing they could hear afterwards.

Still on their hands they looked around, searching for the last of the beasts.

It stepped, or rather floated out of the fog, stopping only inches away from their face and Four could see their attacker for the first time.

It was gray and not much taller than their fist, but its teeth were huge, two of them almost sliding across the ground, even though it had its mouth closed.

Two little fins at each side must’ve been its hands, but they seemed sharp as a knife and more like claws, just like it’s back fin and tail.

They wanted to concentrate on that, in case it wanted to attack them again, but there was something else that had caught their attention too.

Its eyes. They were just two orbs of green-turquoise liquid starring into nothing.

The inkling new, if it would attack again, they wouldn’t survive, regardless of its height.

But it didn’t.

It seemed to listen to something, before turning around and disappearing into the fog.

Four didn’t move for a long time and just breathed slowly to calm themselves. It was a wonder that they had survived.

It’s over. It’s finally over.

They were wrong. Again. And they realized it when they heard a crack.

Still not moving they tried to figure out from where it had come, until they realized that the origin of the noise was right underneath them.

It was not a second later, that the ground beneath them fell into pieces, opening a wide hole directly into the inside of the earth.

They couldn’t move. There was no way of escaping. So eventually they fell, fell into nothing but ruthless darkness.

It was horrible.

They screamed, but the deeper they fell, the more everything hurt. Their lungs felt as if they were set on fire, the pressure dragging them even deeper into the earth.

Four remembered this scenario and suddenly images flashed before their eyes. The dark water surrounding them. The light of the surface disappearing. The melody that lured them into sleep, those voices who called for them.

But this time, there was no melody or voices. There was no Amarine who could save them. This time, they were actually alone.

What made everything even worse was, that they didn’t fell unconscious. No matter how hard they tried. It was like someone wanted them to feel the pain and wouldn’t let them escape into their mind.

They didn’t know how long they’ve been falling or how long it would take them to hit on the ground.

Maybe seconds, or minutes, or hours, or days.

Nine days.

How were they not dead yet? This was impossible. Why couldn’t they just die?

I want to die.

The pain was too intense and their mind was fuzzy, maybe from the loss of blood, maybe from the lack of air.

They were still falling.

Four had stopped breathing, the air had become too toxic, now gnawing at their skin.

It was burning and their blood boiling and it felt like they were going to catch fire at any moment.

Four didn’t move anymore, hoping it would help easing the pain, but it didn’t.

Time passed and they kept falling.

They were still falling.

Their screams had stopped long ago, but now others filled the silence. Full of pain, hurt and despair. When they had looked around, they had expected to see at least someone, but they were still alone and that made everything just worse. The screams could come out of the darkness or out of their mind. They didn’t know.

I’m going crazy.

They constantly were in a state between awake and unconscious, alive and dead.

This place made them mad.

They were still falling.

There was no end in sight. Maybe there wouldn’t be an end. Maybe this was an endless void and they would keep falling for the rest of eternity.

They had nothing to cling on, nothing to hold on. There was no one with them, someone that could support them. There was no one to tell them that everything would be okay in the end.

They were still falling. Alone.

How much time had passed?

Seconds, minutes, hours, days?

Nine days?

Why was their face wet? Were they crying? Were they screaming? Were they sad? Were they scared?

They didn’t know. Everything felt so unreal, as if their body wasn’t their own anymore.

I don’t care. I just want to die.

But their wish wasn’t granted. Instead the pain increased and their mind seemed to shatter.

Please. Someone make it stop. Someone. Anyone.

But there was no one.

No one that could stop the pain. No one that could safe them. No one at all.

Four was there. But no one else. Why them? Why always them? Why were they always the one being alone.

Alone.

They were still falling.

⭒-.⋆⋅˚₊‧ ଳ ‧₊˚ ⋅⋆.-⭒

Amarine remembered the silhouette that appeared in front of her in the fog. Of course she did. She could never forget them. Them.

She didn’t need to see their face, she couldn’t. It would be too much. It was already bad enough.

“What are you doing here?”, she asked. Her voice broke half way through the sentence. She tried to hide it, but she couldn’t. Not from them. They new everything about her, way too good.

They chuckled.

“How are you here? How did you escape? When?”, she continued.

Again they didn’t answer.

They just stood there, staring at her.

Amarine didn’t need to see their face to know. Their presence used to be so familiar to her, so safe. Why did it have to change?

“I get it, you don’t want to answer my question”, she continued, not letting her guard down. They could attack at any moment. They would. They will.

“But at least explain me. Explain me everything. Why you did all of that. I want to understand so bad, because it destroyed everything. And because I still care. About me, my people, but also about you.”

They tensed.

They didn’t believe her. Of course they didn’t, they didn’t have a reason to. After everything she had done to them.

Amarine could feel their anger, their rage they held for her. It was understandable, even from her point of view. But it still hurt.

I did the right thing. It was the best for everyone. Also for them.

She didn’t even believe herself.

Her eyes got wet at the thought of it and her lips trembled. She should’ve chosen differently. Maybe if she had, everything would’ve been better. For her, but also for them. For all of them. She didn’t know. She didn’t want to know.

Do. Not. Cry.

But they could at least answer her. Speak to her. Say something. Anything. Let their strong voice fill this horrible silence. Oh, she hadn’t heard their voice for so long, she wanted to hear their voice so badly. Just once more.

“Please, I don’t want you to apologize. I just want to talk to you”, she said as she felt her emotions slowly taking over.

Don’t cry. Just don’t cry.

This was to much for her.

To see them again, feel their presence again. To have them here, next to her. Only this time they were an enemy. An enemy who hated her more than anything else. And that hurt her more than expected.

“I just don’t want a second war. The first one has already been bad enough, don’t you think? It would be horrible for my people, but also for yours. I know you don’t want to see them suffer, you would do anything to stop their pain. And I would too. Please, just let all of this behind us.”

They still didn’t answer. They didn’t move. They just stood there, staring at them.

Amarine had had enough.

“Stop being quiet”, she ordered, now trembling.

I can’t cry. Please, not here, not in front of them.

Silence.

They just tilted their head.

They smiled. She could feel their smile.

That was the last straw.

“Answer me!”, they cried. The first tears rolled down her face.

Why did she still care? Why? It made no sense.

They had hurt her so much. They had hurt everyone so much.

I can’t cry. I can never cry. But especially not here.

She bit down on her lips and let her head fall forward, looking at the ground.

Suddenly she heard them laughing. Not loud, but they did. Mockingly. Triumphing. Satisfied.

A wave of anger washed over her. The guilt from before was being pushed away as her hands rolled into fists.

Why am I crying?

It had been their fault, not hers.

They had started the war, not she. They had started the wave of destruction, not she. They had started their dispute, not she.

It had been them. It had always been them.

“You destroyed everything!”, they burst out, full of rage and anger.

Not a second later she froze. She shouldn’t have said that, not like that. Maybe even not at all.

She didn’t mean it. Somehow. She should mean it. But she didn’t.

Why did she say that? Why did she let her emotions take the better of her?

She lifted her head and saw them changing position.

They walked forward, something appearing in their right hand.

I hate you.

They didn’t say it, but Amarine heard their thoughts loud and clear and the words echoed in her own brain.

I hate you.

When they attacked, Amarine ducked down and rolled behind them. In her hands formed her axe, glowing of golden ink, sharp as ever. She wasn’t wearing armor, neither had she expected to fight them today, but she wouldn’t admit defeat yet.

I hate you.

Not a moment later, a blue glow dashed towards them and they reacted just in time. The scythe buried itself into the ground where Amarine had been standing just a second ago, only missing her by a hair’s breadth.

I hate you.

Without hesitation she attacked back, swinging her axe into the direction of her attacker but she hit nothing but thin air.

They weren’t there anymore. They were gone. Again.

I hate you.

She lowered her weapon and scanned her surroundings. The fog started to disappear, just like they had too.

I hate you.

That couldn’t be the last words she would hear from them, she knew that, but they had burned themselves into her memory.

“Are you there?”, she asked into the forest.

Of course there was no answer.

I hate you.

I don’t hate you.

Phalaemon.

Chapter Text

hey guys, sorry to tell u this but this fic won't be updated anymore. i have led myself to a dead end and don't know how to continue. HOWEVER i am rewriting it and have already finished the first chapter. i hope y'all support the new version too. anyway stay fresh^^

Chapter Text

yeah, as i mentioned this story is being rewritten, so if anyone wants to read the new one, this would be the link to it: Rising Tides